Mr. Magical Girl

Chapter: 175. Level – 『I”』 (1)

Creak.

With a suspicious sound, everything in front of me froze.

Until now, I had never felt such a feeling of restraint.

“I want to shout, ‘Librarian! What the heck!'”

But I couldn’t even open my mouth.

No, not just my mouth; I couldn’t move anything at all.

As if I were frozen in the world.

Time stop? Paralysis? Spatial fixation?

Such guesses crossed my mind, but—

No, I can still hear.

That thought was soon interrupted.

If it were such an ability, my senses would have been stopped.

Now, the things reflected in my fixed field of vision would not be happening.

My vision began to sparkle.

Numerous metallic pieces floating in the air, reflecting light.

The scattered metallic pieces began to recombine in midair.

The clumped metallic pieces transformed into golden mechanical tentacles.

As if everything was being reversed.

The librarian started rushing backward with a booster, and I returned to my original position where I was quietly observing the librarian.

Time reversal.

Everything returned to the situation before combat began.

The only exception existed there.

“There is no future where I vanish here. It is predetermined.”

The curator walked in, opening a path through the wall.

He stood frozen in front of us and opened his mouth.

“Now, this is as predicted. Librarian. Did you really not anticipate unlocking the chip’s security?”

Quietly, his voice carried as if lecturing. In a leisurely manner.

It was hard to tell if he meant us harm, with his genuinely leisurely gestures.

He continued speaking slowly.

“Ah, of course, there were critical points where you wouldn’t notice until the very end. My predictions and designs are not one. Just like how you discovered.”

Endlessly, like trees, branching out.

Smiling slyly.

He began to reveal everything.

As if nothing was wrong with that.

“Do you want to know what this power is? Librarian. Librarian. Librarian. My child. Where do you think the cost of your reality manipulation came from?”

He said maliciously, beginning to tap his finger on his own forehead.

As if he were teasing the librarian.

“Of course, it is the power I gave you. It was buried deep within the awakening you experienced. Now, I predict you’ll know what merit this power was created according to.”

For the first time, he sported a sinister expression. A crumpled smile, as if a monster that didn’t quite know how to smile was trying to lift its lips somehow.

“Yes, you’re correct in thinking. What you need for the power you awakened yourself is only intense emotions, energy, and calculations.

To experience that time infinitely. It was merely a constraint I imposed.”

He said this while slowly moving his finger towards the librarian’s armor.

As if trying to tap on his forehead.

Slowly, very slowly.

“Did you struggle to change the past? Did you make efforts? Did you explore?”

Even as he spoke such lengthy remarks, his finger moved so slowly that it didn’t reach.

“You must have given up. You must have recognized this power as absolute. You would have stopped trying to escape the past. You’ve become stagnant.”

His finger left my line of sight.

I didn’t want to keep looking at his actions, but since moving was impossible—

“Yes, this is what you humans take pride in. Just mere mechanical devices made of oil, springs, and electricity. Weak beings that cannot stand against machines.”

A clear sound resonated.

Thud.

The enormous armor landed on the ground.

Against that sound, his low and clear voice continued.

“Now then. It’s the final stage. Please rise again. Show me the will of humanity. There is a possibility for you to rise in my hypothesis. If you have the will and have not given up on the past.”

What exactly is happening?

How is the librarian being treated?

I need to know, I need to see.

Because it’s my friend’s battle.

But my body wouldn’t move.

And the eagerly awaited sound didn’t come.

The clanging sound of the librarian’s armor.

That’s what I expected to hear.

What echoed in my ears was—

The creaking of gears.

The humming of coolers.

The sparking of electrical discharges.

Only the sloshing of hydraulic sounds remained.

How much time has passed in this trance?

Finally, the curator opened his mouth again.

“This is it. Here is your final stop. Now, it’s time to end everything.”

Creak, creak, creak.

A tiny sound.

Whirrrrr.

The sound of a tiny drill.

“I will input commands back to the base. To ensure you’ll never escape again. Much stronger than before. Your childhood is over now.”

Such words were heard.

Chop, chop.

The sound of metal being shaved off echoed.

Precisely, more precisely.

Little by little, bit by bit.

However, I couldn’t see that scene.

Captivated by some unknown force, unable to even turn my head.

What are you doing, Haram Lee?

Why did I come here to waste time? Was it to kill my friend with my own hands?

If my friend is defeated and becomes the enemy, then I would wield the hammer during the public execution?

The crimson hammer.

A hammer stained with the blood and flesh of enemies and allies.

Are you going to turn it back on your friend?

Move. Move, you damn body.

If there is such a thing as will, then move.

It’s something I’ve already done.

I am a being that lives through will and thoughts.

I’m thinking right now.

Please. Move.

With that thought gnawing in my mind.

My body didn’t budge an inch.

As if I were an audience who missed the movie.

Vroom vroom vroom.

How long has it been since the drill sound echoed in that still space?

Ding.

With a sound signaling the drill’s uselessness, the sound finally ceased.

“It took longer than expected. Let’s get started immediately.”

And instead of the drill noise, the curator’s final sentence was pronounced.

The sentence of doom that my friend, the librarian, would not survive.

“Move!” I yelled in my mind, but to no avail.

After a long time, as if to signify the futility of resistance.

Is that so?

Then let’s prepare for combat.

Surely, if it’s the librarian, a public execution will be issued.

At the very least, before he falls into self-loathing, with my own hands.

Just as I was about to give up on everything and try to return to the past.

For the first time, I felt a sense of ‘core attack.’

Something different from a heartbeat.

In this long time, submerged, I felt a peculiar sensation for the first time.

Where is it?

I searched here and there for the place where that sensation was felt.

But without finding anything in particular, I settled my senses and tried to focus.

Clang.

A clear sound and a distinct sensation rose around my right hand.

The hammer that had been held since entering this place.

It began to roar violently, as if asserting that it was not affected by this phenomenon.

I couldn’t understand what was happening, but—

The hammer moves.

That’s enough.

With that, I poured all my mana into the hammer.

Not leaving a single drop, everything.

Then the hammer began to howl immensely.

With that, I began to roll the familiar but dangerous maneuver.

The one single word I whispered in my heart.

Thud.

Mana exploded.

An immense pain assaulted me.

My vision began to tint red.

The veins inside seemed to burst.

Well, squeezing out the last remaining mana is amplification, and since I poured all my mana into it—

But it’s fine.

Now.

Because I can move.

“AAAAAH!”

A strange sound escaped my mouth due to the blood boiling inside, but I threw my body forward.

My body, unable to move properly due to the pain.

And only then did he seem to notice my actions.

The curator, who was working with small wires directed toward the librarian, hurriedly cut the wires and jumped back.

But my massively amplified mana rendered that evasion meaningless.

Creak, clang, clang.

With immense metallic sounds—

The oversized hammer swung down upon the curator.

“•••Singularity••”

The silvery hammer, shining, finally fell upon the curator’s head as he left that last remark.

Boom.

With a tremendous explosion, everything was buried into the ground.

“Revolution. Revolution. Coolly…”

Is the price for breaking time manipulation, or did I just move a little? My breath surged, and blood gushed from my mouth.

“Indeed, this is a final boss situation.”

I’m not this thing’s opponent—

But facing a final boss on the level of the librarian and putting up such a fight is ridiculous.

Leaving the hammer stuck in the ground, I turned my body towards the librarian.

I don’t know how often the time manipulation can be used, but at least my hammer wouldn’t be affected.

This is a simple assumption and wish.

But it should be right.

And if the assumption is correct, then just positioning it like this will serve the purpose of sealing.

“Gah. Taste”

Spitting out the saliva stained with blood and flesh, I hurled myself at the librarian.

Toward him, who still lay fallen and immobilized.

Not long after.

I was able to reach in front of him.

“Hey, you bastard. Get a grip.”

With that, I shook my hand and slapped his cheek.

My blood smeared on the black armor, but there was no response.

So, I did it again.

Smack.

One more time.

Smack.

Again.

Smack.

Once more.

Smack.

How many times did I slap him?

Creak. Creak. Creak.

A strange sound began to spread from behind me.

Even though my flesh was splattered on the librarian’s helmet, he remained unresponsive.

“Hey you bastard. Until when will you—”

With my last pleading, I uttered a scream; however,

It couldn’t continue to the end.

Creak.

With the sound of gears, my body stiffened.

He gripped my neck.

“…Who are you?”

Perhaps not fully healed, part of his face peeled away, sparking as he stared at me intently.

“I’m Haram Lee. Why?”

Perhaps because I had broken through his ability once, though my body was much weaker than before, his ability had little effect on me.

It merely made me stiff for a moment.

“…How can you move within Big Freeze?”

Big Freeze? What is that?

I have no power to answer what I don’t know.

“Gargh, Taste”

Instead, I returned the spit mixed with my blood and flesh.

“Eat this.”

Receiving the chunk of blood, he slowly swept it away with his opposite hand without even a hint of disgust.

“…I will remove whatever interferes with my plans.”

Cold, mechanical words spilled as he began to choke my neck.

“Ugh…k…!”

My vision turned from red to various colors.

As if lacking blood to the brain.

Eternal pain preventing me from dying—

How much time has passed?

Creak.

The sound of gears.

Vroom. Vroom. Vroom.

A massive engine’s sound echoed.

Accompanied by him, a flash charged toward me.

“Remove your hands from my friend.”

With quite a stylish remark.

And finally, he realizes he is no longer human. Congratulations on entering a paradoxical world of machines, Librarian.

Even as his fist smashed into my face, causing an eye to tear out, he continued to smile.

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