The battle begins, and Stella and Natalia start to hold off the tentacle monsters. Though there were hundreds of them, it seemed like the two thought they could handle it.
With Natalia’s buffs, Stella fired the Arrow of Stars, clearing away the tentacle monsters.
Monsters being swept away by the falling constellations.
While they were doing this, Iris stood proudly in front of me.
“My opponent is you, Kraken.”
“Iris.”
“What? Why does your voice sound so weak? You were all riled up just a moment ago.”
“Does it look that way?”
“Yeah.”
“Honest as always.”
In truth, bringing these guys here and tying up Stella and Natalia was practically the success of my second plan.
Still, I tried to buy as much time as possible.
Just to delay the fight for even a little bit.
The reason was simple.
“…I really think I’m going to lose, Kkomkmu…”
“Hold on. There’s only the third plan left now.”
“Haa…my whole body hurts…”
It really feels like I’m about to die.
One of the disadvantages of being a Kraken is poor fuel efficiency.
When it comes to evaluating Kkomkmu, it’s high cost, high performance.
The efficiency is incredible, but it requires a lot of mana to use.
Ever since I made the boundary with my tentacles and used it to beat Blackheart, my body has been deteriorating.
I’ve barely managed to keep going thanks to the energy drink I had this morning.
On top of that, the technique I just used is ‘Self-Replication.’
Instead of creating a few monsters by cutting off my tentacles, it reduces the number of usable tentacles and consumes a large amount of mana.
In short, I’m like a car with a red light on the dashboard right now. I can keep going, but it’s risky.
In the midst of all this, Iris attacks without hesitation.
Hooook! Her fist swipes through the air.
Pang! She slashes one of my tentacles. The fallen tentacle twitches on the ground before turning into powder and disappearing.
How many more tentacles can I operate?
How many more can I regenerate?
Iris smirked, sensing her advantage.
“Get ready. Today, I will finally rip off that mask of yours.”
That would be inconvenient.
I looked at Iris and joked.
“This face under the mask is actually quite handsome.”
“Lie.”
“It’s true. Even girls have followed me around saying it’s attractive.”
Iris snorted.
“Whoever she is, there’s definitely something wrong with her eyes.”
“…Yeah, that’s what I think too. Even I consider my taste peculiar.”
I decided not to reveal that the person in question was her. It’s unnecessary information.
Afterward, the battle continued: Iris attacking and me defending.
Eventually, I heard from Kkomkmu.
“All gathered. If we squeeze it out, we might be able to use it once.”
“…Alright.”
“What’s good?”
The continuous attacks from Iris paused momentarily, likely because she sensed I was hiding something.
Well, that’s true.
I slowly stepped back toward Yoo Yul. She was currently bound by tentacles, unable to speak.
I lifted Yoo Yul slightly.
“Do you know what the Trolley Dilemma is?”
“The Trolley Dilemma?”
“…You don’t seem to know. Are you studying properly? As a magical girl, life is important, but so is your original life.”
“Don’t meddle in other people’s lives!”
Iris blushed and asked.
“So, what is it…?”
“…Suppose there’s one person and five people on the track. Would you pull the lever to change the course or not—”
“Ah! I get it! It’s about sacrificing one person or saving many, right?”
“Exactly, you understand well.”
I slowly retreated while holding Yoo Yul. Iris tried to stop me but hesitated due to the monsters blocking her path.
“What are you planning to do?”
“Life is always a series of choices and hardships. In these moments, we make decisions and often regret them.”
“…You always say cryptic things.”
“Haha, is that so? Anyway, what I mean is this, my dear rival.”
I turned to look at Iris from the edge of the roof.
“Choices always come with regrets,” I said.
“…”
“Thus, I hope you choose wisely—not without regret, but with fewer mistakes.”
She still stared at me blankly. I shouted at her.
“Make your choice! Iris! Will you kill me to take one step towards peace, or save this girl?”
“Hold on! What are you planning to do!?”
“I’m merely giving you the choice. If you ignore this girl’s death and eliminate me, you’ll become a hero.”
Final Plan 3:
It was to make Iris save Yoo Yul.
This was the purpose from the beginning. My goal was to make Yoo Yul feel gratitude towards Noah.
It was also how it happened in the original story.
If Yoo Yul wanted to get closer to her, she needed to acknowledge someone stronger than her and rescue her when she was in danger.
Though I felt a bit uneasy, I decided to trust Noah.
He would surely come to save Yoo Yul.
This was also the intuition of a player who had seen her actions dozens of times.
“Then.”
“Hey, you crazy bastard!!”
I threw Yoo Yul off the building and jumped after her.
Beside me, Yoo Yul closed her eyes, seemingly aware of her impending death, while above us, Iris descended fiercely.
“Come on, Iris! My esteemed rival! Which choice will you make?”
+++++
‘You’re crazy! Crazy! Crazy!!’
Noah began flying to chase after the falling Yoo Yul and the Kraken.
They were falling rapidly. If he aimed for the Kraken in this state, he could probably deal with him.
He might even kill him, but that dark guy must have some kind of scheme. He probably wouldn’t do anything to get himself killed.
There still seemed to be plenty of spare tentacles. Maybe he won’t die.
On the contrary…
‘…What about Yoo Yul?’
Yoo Yul appeared to be in real trouble.
She didn’t have enough power to transform and quietly kept her eyes closed.
Tears streaming down her face scattered in the air as she muttered softly.
“I don’t want to… I don’t want to die…”
“Tch.”
Iris glanced at the Kraken once and changed direction. What she grabbed was Yoo Yul’s body.
Lifting her up, Iris started ascending.
“Hey… Why…?”
“It’s annoying to save you.”
“That’s not the point… Isn’t Kraken your rival?”
“But…”
“But nothing… Isn’t this a great chance? To sever this bad relationship… To destroy your enemy…”
Whish.
Arriving at the rooftop, Iris tossed Yoo Yul aside.
Kung! Yoo Yul rolled upon impact.
Fortunately, all the monsters had already been defeated.
“Admit your mistake if you know you’ve done wrong!”
“…”
“And…”
“…?”
“I’m not a magical girl to destroy enemies.”
“…”
“I’m a magical girl to save people.”
With those words, Iris hurriedly moved below.
There he was, as expected, clinging to the building wall using the suction cups of his tentacles.
Gyaak!
A powerful punch.
Falling with the force of gravity, he struck the Kraken’s head.
Even he couldn’t withstand such an impact and collapsed.
Iris quickly secured his surroundings and removed his mask.
“…Sigh… Again?”
She sighed in disappointment.
‘Skin shedding.’
A technique frequently used by the Kraken before getting caught. He creates a clone identical to himself and escapes.
‘Then it’s too late.’
Annoyed, Iris returned to the rooftop.
And she witnessed it.
“Are… Are you surrendering like this… Is this fine?”
There was Yoo Yul, kneeling with her hands raised.
Somewhere in the past, the words of an uncle came to mind.
“…It’s true.”
Disobedient kids need medicine.
+++++
Chooop.
Noah, drinking an iced Americano, glared at Yoo Yul.
“So.”
“Yes…”
“You were raised by a violent group when you were young, and you haven’t corrected your speech habits yet?”
“Yes…”
“But you’re doing well now, aren’t you?”
“I’m trying! No… I’m trying…”
Apparently, Yoo Yul was a weapon cultivated by a violent group.
“There are sometimes people who take unknowledgeable ability holders and use them as weapons.”
Those were Seo Jin-a’s words.
Her eyes were filled with pity.
Yoo Yul continued speaking with her arms still raised.
“To avoid being looked down on, I had to show strength. That way, I picked up bad language and tried to hide any weakness…”
“But how are you here now?”
“My adoptive father quit his job and ran away with me… No, fled. At that time, he destroyed… No, annihilated the organization, and that’s how I ended up living like this.”
So, that’s the situation.
Noah stared at Yoo Yul for a while before asking.
“Hey. Answer me honestly then.”
“…Yes!”
“How was the chicken skewer you criticized earlier? Was it delicious or not?”
“Chicken skewer… Oh, it was extremely delicious.”
“Really?”
“Yes! I want to eat it again whenever I get the chance.”
Noah became curious about the kid who acted like this despite having plenty of money. Like a child who hadn’t eaten for days.
Why doesn’t she just buy or make it herself?
Soon, Noah understood the reason.
“If Dad were alive, he would have made it for me… But Dad was an amazing cook.”
“Ah…”
“I can’t order food often because I need to save money.”
“Wait, wasn’t your family rich?”
“…I live in an orphanage.”
His mouth went dry.
“Dad quit his job and opened an orphanage… There used to be a lot of kids, but not so much now.”
“Then why did you say you didn’t use the money earlier?”
“Because… I wanted to appear strong…”
“Hey, you idiot!”
Bang!
Noah delivered a playful punch to Yoo Yul’s head.
“Why is appearing strong so important?
“Ack…!”
“Quickly take the card back! Buy some snacks or whatever!”
“Too painful… No, it hurts a lot…”
Yoo Yul clutched her head and whimpered.
Looking frightened, she resembled a long cat cowering. This softened Noah’s heart.
“…Sorry.”
Somewhere, he’d seen this expression before. The appearance of someone pretending to be tough to avoid looking pitiful.
‘…Like me before I met Uncle.’
That was him.
Had he not met Uncle, perhaps he would have been like her now—pretending to be tough, constantly bumping heads with others.
“…Ah.”
Noah reached out to Yoo Yul’s head again.
Was he going to hit her again? Yoo Yul flinched.
But this time, it wasn’t a punch. It was a soft palm, just like Uncle used to do.
It was Noah’s favorite pat-pat.
“Did it hurt a lot?”
“…Yes.”
“Sorry. I won’t do it again like that. So…”
“You shouldn’t pretend to be tough either.”
“But… When I go home, everyone is younger than me… So I need to be strong…”
“Pretending to be tough and being strong are different. Understand?”
“Yes…”
“Yeah, then you should apologize to your sister.”
Nod.
Yoo Yul turned her head toward Seo Jin-a.
“Sorry for calling you chicken shed…”
“It’s okay. I’ve already forgotten.”
“But…”
“Yes?”
“What does chicken shed mean?”
“Didn’t you know?”
“Yes… Some scary uncles used to call it that…”
He was astonished.
What kind of thing was that in front of children?
Noah gently patted Yoo Yul’s bangs even more kindly.
“You mustn’t do that again. Got it?”
“Yes…”
“Good. Then you should drink yours now.”
“Thank you for the meal.”
Saying that, Yoo Yul sipped her blueberry smoothie. The large cup didn’t fit in her hand, so she eagerly drank it with both hands, clearly enjoying it.
Watching her drink enthusiastically, Seo Jin-a spoke.
“Hmm… I should visit Yul’s place sometime.”
“Should I go?”
“Yes. Looks like only the kids are living there. I know someone who works in this field.”
That would work.
Lee Tae-hwa nodded and took another sip of his drink.
Suddenly, he felt someone’s gaze.
It was Lee Tae-hwa.
“…Why?”
“Not really~ Just?”
“Why are you doing that again?”
“Well… I saw our Noah receiving caresses like that usually…”
“What kind of expression was on my face?”
Lee Tae-hwa mimicked Noah’s earlier expression while petting Yoo Yul’s head.
Warm eyes and slightly raised corners of the mouth. They were full of love.
An expression he often saw.
Whenever Uncle used to pet his head, this was the expression he showed.
“Ah, I’m envious. Uncle loves you a lot.”
“No… Hey.”
“Not at all. You were just patting and almost kissing—”
“No I wasn’t!”
Whish! Noah stood up from his seat.
“Then we’ve finished everything for today, right?”
“Yes. I’ll shop a bit more with Yul.”
“I’ll just go home.”
Noah also nodded.
“Then let’s disband here. Sister and Yul will continue shopping, Tae-hwa will go home carefully. Okay, disband!”
“Go see Uncle soon, Noah.”
“Hmm…”
“Hehe.”
Until the end, Lee Tae-hwa kept joking. Noah calmed his bubbling anger and headed toward Uncle’s house.
Even though he told him not to, he really missed Uncle.
It was because while giving caresses to others, he also wanted to receive them.
He also wanted to give gifts as soon as possible.
With a thumping heart, Noah pressed the doorbell.
“…Hehe.”
Noah enjoyed this moment the most.
Pressing the doorbell and waiting for him, this fleeting moment.
The excitement of wanting to meet him soon, the anticipation of seeing him soon combined to create restlessness, but even that feeling was enjoyable.
However, today was different.
No matter how many times he pressed the doorbell or knocked on the door, Uncle didn’t come out.
‘Maybe he’s sleeping…’
It was possible. He looked tired lately.
‘Can’t help it.’
Regretfully, Noah trudged back home.
What surprised Noah next happened immediately afterward.
His phone rang.
It was an unknown number, so he hesitated for a moment whether to answer, but eventually pressed the connect button.
A voice he’d never heard before came from the other side of the phone.
[Hello, are you Noah?]
“Yes, it’s me. Who is this?”
[Ah, it’s you. Well, Mr. Shin Hyun is in our hospital’s emergency room, so we’re contacting you.]
“…What?”
