Transformation or Death-Chapter 193

Between Names (5)

‘That is all karma.’

It was a habit of speech of my master.

She firmly argued that if one did good deeds, they should receive proportionate compensation, and if one committed evil acts, they should receive equivalent punishment.

A phrase I once forgot, but now remember well.

***

Ippotranslation

This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.

***

The moment I trampled on the Scorpion, what I felt was the wind.

It was exactly a day like today. A morning where sunlight was obscured, with a gray, chilly wind brushing against my arms – a cold and dry day.

“Master…?”

Waiting for them was enormous despair – they who had set out on a long journey to exorcise the villain.

Her master had betrayed her. No, ‘betrayal’ was not the right word.

The expression ‘losing one’s self and running wild’ was more appropriate.

Fortunately, the damage was not significant. Just a slight tear on a child’s forehead who had not yet managed to evacuate.

She thought she could block it. Most personnel had already evacuated during the villain exorcism. Human casualties were minimal, with most damage being done to property like buildings.

However, what awaited them was rejection and hatred.

Not knowing how much her master had contributed to peace, people treated him like a villain, throwing stones. They shouted insults and called for his death.

“What are you doing right now!”

Even when she tried to stop these actions, people did not cease their verbal abuse. Instead, they attacked her, claiming she was on the same side.

“I can explain everything! Just stop! Please! Please…!”

Not a single person was willing to listen to her plea. They continued to despise her master.

Knowing nothing, not understanding how much effort he had made behind the scenes.

Friends were all dead, colleagues scattered everywhere. The enemy was powerful, and people were exhausted. In a moment with no room for respite, even those they thought were allies turned their backs.

Those who had always cheered her on were now suddenly transforming, treating her like a demon.

Insulting her as a traitor, as a prostitute.

It was absurd. Who were the real traitors? Weren’t these the people who received benefits and now curse her?

They seemed like beasts to her. She felt they were no different from the villains she had faced so far.

In fact, weren’t they even worse? Those who were honest about their desires?

When she came to her senses, she saw herself dismembering them like villains, with a massive legion of villains beside her.

No humans were left. She had either turned them into villains or had the villains kill them.

When she felt there was no one left to turn, Botis stopped her rampage.

Then she turned her eyes to check the corpses in the passed location.

What caught her eye was a child’s corpse. The horrific face of a boy who died in his mother’s arms, trembling in fear.

She didn’t understand then, but now she realized.

She had ultimately done the exact same thing.

Those who attacked her master, thinking all villains were human enemies, and herself who indiscriminately labeled and massacred all humans as one-sided hate mongers – what difference was there between them?

In the end, they were the same.

No one understood the circumstances. No one tried to know her master’s life. She, too, never tried to understand their lives.

Even though she was originally one of them.

Those who threw stones at her master, or herself who buried their lives in dirt – there was no difference between them.

Both were ignorant and met hatred with even greater hatred.

With no one left to hate, this too was peace.

But this was not the peace she desired.

This was not it. This was not what she wanted to do.

She just wanted everyone to stop fighting and be peaceful.

Wanting everyone to be happy, regardless of their origins, free from inherent conditions.

What the Scorpion gave her was her human emotions when she was a person, and the memories of when she abandoned that person.

Botis regretted recovering her loss.

She was not a leader guiding peace.

She was merely an unforgivable massacrer.

She truly shuddered, thinking that sometimes it’s better not to know.

***

Ippotranslation

***

“Human memory is truly terrifying.”

Botis spoke while rushing towards the Scorpion. Watcher, thinking it was a soliloquy, did not respond.

“Memories contain reminiscences, and reminiscences are filled with various emotions. When I recall that time, I’m overwhelmed by emotions again. It’s been so long. The spirit of sacrifice.”

Looking back now, it seems so futile. Did she abandon people over such a trivial matter?

People naturally complicate everything over small things, so it didn’t seem strange.

Even now, this tiny memory has twisted everything she had built up.

In the end, she too could not escape being human.

“I am Green Arcturus.”

She slowly traced back her life.

“The closest friend of Sky Polaris, her guardian, and a disciple of Amundsen.”

Amundsen? As an unfamiliar name reached his ears, Han Jae-jung harbored doubts. But he refrained from interrupting the monologue.

“My dream was peace, but the path lacked love and ultimately led to destruction. I wanted to be understood, but I never extended my hand to understand first.”

Arriving near the Scorpion, Botis planted the stick she had been carefully carrying into the ground.

“This is my responsibility.”

Kugu-gugu-gung!!! Bushes and vines sprouted from where she planted the stick. The waves of vegetation, surrounded by starlight, wrapped around the ice-covered Scorpion.

The trees seemed more like streams of light than plants, enveloped in starlight.

Han Jae-jung was shocked. All these starlight must have originated from Botis – what was she thinking, manipulating such a massive amount of starlight at once? Even a Watcher with the light of about 40 stars would not dare attempt such an reckless operation.

“What are you thinking?”

“Didn’t I tell you earlier? That I was planning to take down the Scorpion.”

“At this rate, you’ll collapse from exhaustion before taking it down.”

“Oh my.”

Botis smiled.

“Didn’t I say I wasn’t the one to take it down?”

As the grown vegetation wrapped around the Scorpion’s entire body, a sound like a key unlocking a lock clicked.

This action was merely a signal for what was to come.

A drug that turns people into villains, and a cure that works on villains and humans alike – Botis was an expert in drugs. In other words, an expert in poison.

The poisons fed to the Scorpion’s avatar contained her starlight. The moment the Scorpion digests it, the poison becomes starlight that constitutes part of its body.

When the poison becomes close to Botis’s starlight, it resonates and causes a specific phenomenon. The effect is simple. As always, making plants grow.

Vegetation sprouted between the merged Scorpions. Lush trees broke through and spread the connection points, emerging into the world.

“What’s happening?!”

Blue Sirius, who had been restraining the Scorpion moments ago, jumped over. Watcher greeted her with a friendly wave and watched the miracle unfold.

“It seems… They’re trying to dissolve the merger.”

Just as predicted, the parts of the Scorpion that had been perfectly merged began to split apart. The vegetation occupied the space like leaving bond marks, spreading the connection points.

“…If it’s not your doing… Botis?! Why is that guy…”

The vegetation finally broke through Blue Sirius’s ice, stretching towards the sun. The villain’s struggle couldn’t break the ice, but nature’s mystery made it possible.

“Wait, isn’t that guy on the Scorpion’s side! Right now, all of this could be fake…”

Blue Sirius’s point was valid. However, Han Jae-jung didn’t think so. One of Botis’s reasons for protecting the Scorpion – Jason’s retirement – had succeeded.

From the beginning, he didn’t think she was genuinely protecting the Scorpion. Her actions so far suggested she was more interested in developing her power and skills while confronting the Scorpion.

‘…Did she intentionally do this knowing she couldn’t stop the plan of Paradox? Or, as the legend says, could this entire scene be fake…’

Han Jae-jung examined her intent. No matter how she thought about it, it was truly confusing. But now was not the time to dwell on such things.

The tentacle’s merger was being undone. It was impossible to deny that this was the most effective attack so far.

Sssshhh!! The plants completely grew, and the tentacles once again disassembled into eighteen branches.

Looking at the tentacles scattered in the air, Watcher and Blue Sirius were forced to act despite their doubts.

This was the only chance.

Blue Sirius created an ice tower and imprisoned the disassembled tentacle parts inside. He maintained them as individuals to prevent them from merging again.

Watcher leaped into the air towards Paradox at the center. The joint of the tentacle, shaped like a fighter jet, was completely spread apart, and the Paradox inside was ejected and flew into the sky.

Starlight gathered at his foot. The body, now transformed into lightning, struck directly downward.

“Paradox!!!”

“Haha, well, I’ve been caught.”

Kwaaang!!! The kick successfully struck Paradox and dropped him to the ground. It was a fatal blow containing his entire spirit.

“What fair game? Were you planning this from the beginning?”

“Yes. I had this plan from the start. But isn’t it fair? From the beginning, following the orthodox method of not being a strong enemy, but gradually climbing the levels and challenging the final boss….”

Thump! Watcher’s fist struck his cheek.

“Shut up. Do you think such an excuse would work? Where did the respect you usually talk about go? Huh?!”

“Haha, because I’m a villain too. What deserves the most respect is my own will. But don’t be too sad. It was a fair game for everyone.”

Paradox raised his hand and pointed behind him.

“Including our reward, Tentacles.”

An ominous energy surged from the tentacle parts frozen in the ice. Something dark and cloudy passed through the ice as if mocking it. It was starlight, and it was poison. The poison of loss.

The poison connected with itself, creating a kind of path. It was closer to a thread reconnecting with itself.

“Well, congratulations. Tentacle has just regained its self.”

A new color of starlight filled the line made of hideous smoke. Red, blue, yellow, green, purple, pink. Numerous colors intertwined and became something darker and more viscous.

Like a paint bucket in an art room. Various paints mixed, eventually becoming a murky and deep, indescribable abyss.

It was no longer even a form.

It was color itself.

Something indescribable and grotesque. It could no longer even be called a living being.

A spark arose within that abyss-like color. Thunder and lightning struck, and rain fell. A storm came and a guy came. It emitted rays of dozens of colors. Screams without mouths numbered in the hundreds, roars in the thousands, and agonized cries in the tens of thousands. It was chaos. It devoured and destroyed everything within that abyss.

The ice imprisoning the tentacle parts disappeared. Not melted. Literally vanished. It was loss.

The thicket also vanished. Not burned to ash or torn. Vanished. It was loss.

The moment it vanished, the abyss spat out the exact same ice and thicket from within. At that moment, Han Jae-jung realized the true nature of the chaos emanating from the abyss.

These were the things the tentacle had lost.

It was wielding exactly what it had stolen. The number was so vast it was chaotic.

It seemed the principles of the vast universe were unfolding within it. The infinite chaos-consuming abyss began to extend toward the world.

This was the beast of the galaxy.

“Haha, but even so, I cannot stop that. I can no longer even distinguish it as an enemy. Can you define an earthquake or typhoon as an enemy?”

Paradox rose from being pinned down, wearing a businesslike smile.

“That is the true nature of the tentacle. Like an assassin who has taken a loved one from God, its essence is loss. Nothing more, nothing less. A living loss, that is its true form. I cannot make such a thing an enemy.”

Such thoughts of how to defeat it crossed her mind, but Han Jae-jung quickly dismissed them.

He once again enveloped his entire body in lightning and rushed towards the scene where the tentacle had been. There were still many people to protect.

“…But, you still intend to make it an enemy.”

Paradox brushed off the dust-covered body and laughed.

“Not just you, I mean.”

A spear was thrown towards the sky. At first glance, it appeared to be an arrow-like spear. In fact, it wasn’t even a spear. Just a wooden stick. A long, thin, worthless wooden stick that a shepherd might carry.

However, the starlight condensed within it contained the life and identity of a villain. Its principle was so enormous that it created a paradox that seemed trivial to the naked eye.

The more fundamental the truth, the simpler it tends to be.

Green Arcturus’s first lesson from her master was how to throw a spear. Always forced into close combat, this was their only way to reach a distant opponent.

Since she had no spear, she chose to throw a staff instead. Although it lacked a sharp spearhead, the staff wrapped in starlight was more effective than a throwing spear. A one-sided attack without the risk of injury.

Protecting her own life while also protecting the lives of others.

This was the first lesson and the essence of human life.

Botis lived to create and protect villains. Therefore, her ability was a solution to increase her people. A miracle of transforming people into villains without any cost.

That miracle was contained in this small wooden stick

This was her identity and the life of a villain.

This tiny wooden stick contained blood that transcended the Eurasian continent. As a human, she had killed numerous villains, and as a villain, she had killed numerous humans.

The irreversible mass slaughter, this blood debt, was her karma.

She was always a slaughterer, and this was life itself.

Karma.

It was time to receive the accumulated price.

The stick, flying high, pierced the center of the tentacle that had become an abyss. As it did, the smoke cleared, and the abyss regained its original form.

A villain. A person with a bizarre appearance. The most ferocious beast, with at least some remnant of human form.

Ominous starlight condensed at the center, but it could not completely retract the chaos it had spread. The chaos imprisoned within the abyss. Storms, rays, flames, ice, lightning, thunder, and thickets spread around

A massive explosion like a nuclear bomb, instantly devastating a 1km radius.

Watcher managed to barely escape with Blue Sirius from the center, but did not see another villain’s form.

***

Ippotranslation

***

She was discovered in a location somewhat far from where the tentacle had returned to its massive combined robot form. It seemed to have been a school, with a classroom blackboard and desks scattered about.

It was an unexpected discovery. While trying to return to battle, he found something that looked like a person within the collapsed building. Wondering if it might be a survivor, he approached.

“Haha….”

“Did you think it was a person?”

“That’s right.”

“The villain’s physical abilities are truly remarkable… To be alive like this.”

“This doesn’t seem like a state of being alive.”

Botis smiled bitterly.

“Yes, I’m dying….”

Now she was growing cold. The medication she had boasted about seemed useless, with empty bottles scattered around carelessly.

“I’ve consumed all the starlight….”

Botis was in her most grotesque form, with horns, goat legs, or four arms – parts that were not human at all – which paradoxically made her seem most human.

“I’m sorry… That villain ultimately became a burden to you all….”

“That was the original plan. Don’t worry about it.”

If she had known the mechanism of separating Paradoxs would lead to such an outbreak, she would never have released it in the first place. Botis smiled bitterly.

Han Jae-jung responded with silence.

“You’re not going to be sad that I died, are you?”

“Of course not.”

“Right, that’s how it should be… Don’t even dream of glorifying the last good deed of a murderer like me.”

“I never intended to. Don’t worry.”

“Just like you. I’m glad.”

Evil is evil, and good is good. Life has always been multifaceted.

Han Jae-jung will remember her as a sacrifice who stopped the worst possible situation at the cost of her life, as a magical girl who gave her life for protection, and as a murderer who committed the worst massacre in Eurasian continent history.

“They say when you’re about to die, you see your entire life pass before your eyes… But I guess as a villain, I don’t have that. I’ve almost forgotten everything. My childhood, my name… My human days are just vaguely remembered. But what I’ve done, I remember very clearly….”

It was an evil life.

At the same time, it was a fragile life.

“The teachings….”

Just as you said, I received my karma. I fought using the skills you taught me. I tried to maintain peace as you willed. Though it didn’t go well.

“My child… I won’t tell my master’s name… To my unfortunate master who became a worse child than me… Please deliver my name….”

The watcher nodded. Botis seemed to smile in relief. As if she didn’t have time to express gratitude, she quickly spoke.

“Amundsen….”

“The origin?”

“It’s from a biography… Isn’t it cute…?”

She whispered her name and slowly began to close her eyes.

“A name with the spirit of adventure… I ask….”

Remembering the memories of reading biographies to her master, the villain died in human form.

Spring blew a chilling wind.

***

Ippotranslation

***

“I’ll fucking kill these bastards….”

The Archer’s vision wavered as he menacingly swung his arrow.

It wasn’t just his vision. The entire Goldilocks Zone itself was wavering.

The landscape of a mountain meadow gradually disappeared, replaced by the scenery of a ruined city.

“What the fuck.”

The Archer was bewildered. Why was the Goldilocks Zone disappearing now?

“Well, isn’t this good?”

With the prison that had confined him now gone, the Archer moved excitedly.

“Wait for me, you dropouts!”

The Archer moved forward to deal with those he deemed unqualified.

Forgetting the critical condition for the forced release of the Goldilocks Zone – a user’s critical injury.

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