Okay, here is the C1-level English translation of the second part of the story, continuing from where the previous section left off:
After changing, I quickly and silently crept downstairs. Since my dad and sister usually work the night shift, typically it's just me, Illya, and my brother Arden at home. I slowly opened the door and slipped outside. Right, mega-genius, you're outside, great, but how exactly do you plan to find this girl?! I imagine you saying. After all, I'm only human, not a damn psychic. But if there's one thing I know and do as a hobby, it's analyzing people's phone signals. Yes, yes… It might sound like a very creepy and peculiar hobby to you, but it's also a lifesaver.
In my software program, I entered Lisa's phone number and a few characteristics I knew. A few minutes later, the software drew a map encompassing a large area with hangars near the seafront. I started thinking. Now, if I were a stunning 21-year-old woman and went to a hangar in the dead of night, why the hell would I go?! She must have been kidnapped. Ah, ah, I've really gotten rusty in these 16 years… So, if I were to kidnap a stunning woman like her, what kind of place would I take her to, and to which specific spot? I began to ponder. I'd probably take her to a place older and more minimalist compared to the other hangars. It seemed there was a hangar matching that description on the map. I immediately hopped on my scooter; it takes about 20 minutes by scooter from here. At least, that's what the GPS says, not me.
As I rode the scooter, I tried to maintain my composure. I hope she's there and nothing has happened to her.
After 20 minutes, I reached the hangar area. Silently checking the hangars one by one, I finally arrived next to the small, old one. While wondering how to get in, a hole about two meters up caught my attention. After a few attempts, I managed to get inside. After crawling a bit, I gently pushed open the cover in front of me and entered the hangar proper. Hiding behind the materials inside, I began moving stealthily. I reached a position where I could see the center of the hangar.
Whispering "Just as I thought..."
Yes, just as I'd suspected, Lisa was here. She was tied to a chair in the middle, and her clothes were gone. The floor was covered in circular symbols resembling strange ritual markings. It clearly reminded me of some kind of sadistic rite. Suddenly, two people entered. I crouched lower so they wouldn't see me. They were talking about something.
"I don't know how much longer the girl's body can resist. At this rate, we'll lose her along with 'It' before we can take it!"
The burly man looked at the scrawny one. "She'll stop resisting eventually. Just keep doing what I told you."
The scrawny one nervously entered the circle, holding an old antique book. He slowly opened the book and started flipping through the pages. It looked like they were about to begin the ritual. I had to do something immediately, or we could lose Lisa. As the man began the ritual, Lisa let out agonizing screams.
Rage completely clouded my vision. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, YOU PSYCHOTIC FREAKS!!!!"
Without hesitation, I charged towards them. Even though I was rusty and still not fully accustomed to this body, I wasn't completely helpless either. The burly guy started throwing punches at me. I dodged them all. As I ran towards him, I grabbed a metal pipe lying on the ground and slammed it against his head.
I smirked. "Ha ha!"
But my laughter turned to fear in an instant. He looked at me with threatening eyes, as if the blow hadn't fazed him at all. He slowly turned his head towards me.
"Shit-" Before I could react, he landed a solid punch on me. How powerful could one punch be, you ask? I mean, I should have flown maybe two or three meters at most, right? No… The guy's punch sent me flying first towards the hangar wall. I smashed through it, then pierced through several containers outside, and finally found myself crashing inward through the outer wall of the next hangar, pinned amidst the debris. My life literally flashed before my eyes. Was I dying again? Was I going to lose someone right before my eyes, unable to do anything, again? NO! I won't let that happen! I struggled for breath, freed myself from the wreckage, and fell to my knees.
The burly man looked at me from a distance and started shouting. "Heh, you're tougher than I expected, kid! Is your father Hercules or something?!"
When I checked my body, there was nothing wrong! Only the part of my clothes where he'd punched me was shredded. That was it. Slowly, trying to maintain my balance, I stood up. Even though I hadn't taken damage, I had felt the power of that punch.
"Huff… Let… Her… Go…" I pointed at the girl, initially stumbling, then regaining my composure, and quickly charged at him again. "I SAID LET HER GO, YOU PSYCHOTIC BASTARDS!!!!!"
"WHAT AN INCORRIGIBLE KID YOU ARE! PREPARE TO DIE!"
The man picked up a large iron pipe from the ground and swung it like a baseball bat. But I had already ducked before the swing and was right next to him.
"HOW COUL-" Without hesitation, I headbutted him in the stomach like a battering ram and wrapped my arms around his body from behind. With that momentum, without stopping, we flew together towards the other wall of the hangar, and I slammed him into it. Then, I started running towards the man performing the ritual.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!!! LISAAAAAAAAAAAA!!" The ritual must have been completed. Suddenly, beams of light enveloped the area, and all of us, including the ritualist, were knocked to the ground. An elegant, talisman-like necklace slowly emerged from Lisa's chest… I had failed… As the ritualist grabbed the necklace, a portal resembling a blue star opened at the hangar entrance… And someone emerged from within whose presence my body could barely withstand; I felt like I was going to vomit. Who the hell are these people? He was dressed entirely in black, wearing an owl-like mask.
The ritualist approached the masked figure, bowed in greeting, and presented the necklace. "As you wished, sir. The ritual was successful, and we were able to extract the Holy Rune."
The Masked Leader took the necklace. It occasionally emitted very soft, colorful, shimmering lights. After nodding, he looked at me, struggling to control myself on the ground. At that moment, I began to feel fear, but if you ask whether my anger or fear was dominant right now, I can say it was entirely anger! He slowly approached me and crouched down. Then he looked at the man plastered against the wall, trying to free himself.
"Did you do this, brat?"
I remained silent. And I glared at his face with fury. Seriously, I was so angry I wanted to kill them all.
"I didn't get my answer. Did you do this?"
I took a deep breath and started to smirk. The Leader sighed deeply. "Ah… What a pity… And I really dislike using force against the weak…"
As he said this, he grabbed me by the throat and lifted me into the air. I couldn't breathe; in fact, if he kept squeezing like this, my head would pop off!
"Don't make me repeat myself, brat!! It seems you did do this! Nobody attacks my employees without my permission!"
I grabbed his hands, trying to pull them away, and struggled a bit. My anger hadn't subsided; my eyes were overflowing with rage. The masked man must have realized this, as he immediately threw me to the ground. My vision started to blur. I looked towards Lisa, unconscious in the chair, and slowly started crawling towards her. Suddenly, the masked man grabbed me by the leg and threw me into a container inside the hangar. As I hit it, the container's outer metal panel caved in, and I collapsed onto the floor.
'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!! Not only will I fail to save Lisa, but I've dragged myself to death's door too… I can't die here…'
As I thought this, the masked man began walking slowly towards me with a metal pipe he had sharpened at the end. "Having someone who saw things here works against us. Sorry kid, absolutely no witnesses-" He raised the pipe… "MUST REMAIN!!!!" And just as he was about to strike, there was the sound of metal clashing against metal. When I opened my eyes, I saw someone in dark green clothes in front of me, holding a silver sword, protecting me.
The masked man spoke, seemingly surprised. "Impressed… So the Guardians are already here, huh?"
The person protecting me began to speak; the voice sounded very familiar. "Heh… Won't you lot ever learn that nothing escapes us, huh?!" He swung his sword, pushing the masked man back several meters.
"What are you looking at?! Why do I keep you people around? Attack!!!" The other two men got up and charged full speed at the dark green Guardian. But just as they were about to attack, the surroundings began to fill with fog and ice, freezing them solid, including themselves, rendering them immobile. This time, a Guardian in purple entered. In the dark environment, I couldn't see either of their faces, but their voices were very familiar. I was sure the one in purple was female.
"Oh my… Looks like you're the only one left. We've been looking for you for a long time, haven't we, little owl? Or should we say little rat? Fufu~"
As the dark green figure slowly bent down towards me, I couldn't believe my eyes. At that moment, I seriously began to question my life and everything. No, this has to be a joke, I thought, even biting my lip, but no! This was real. My brother Arden was right in front of me, looking at me. He must have been shocked too, as he immediately helped me up and tended to my wounds. And when I stood up, I realized the Guardian in purple was my sister, Yukari. HOW THE HELL IS THIS POSSIBLE!?
"HOW CAN YOU-" My brother silenced me. "Shh… We'll explain everything later. I promise, little brother, we'll tell you everything, but not now." He looked at the unconscious Lisa in the chair. "Take her and get out of here, okay? We'll handle it from h-"
"ARDEN, NOOOOO!!!!! " My brother's eyes widened like saucers… I didn't understand either, but slowly, both of us started looking down at my brother's stomach. A large, bloody sword had already pierced through him. As the masked man pulled the sword out, the amount of blood was immense. Reflexively, I hugged my brother, and we both collapsed to our knees.
"No… NO NO NO NO NO NO…" My sister, losing her mind, started fighting the masked man furiously. I was still in shock. With his last remaining strength, my brother hugged me and started speaking, whispering in my ear. "Sorry, this is all the voice… I can manage… Berwick, get out of here… We…" He started coughing blood but continued speaking. "We're fi-"
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! SHOULD I JUST LEAVE YOU HERE?! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?" My eyes had already started to fill with tears; my throat tightened as I spoke. Every word my brother said caused me immense pain. My sister was barely holding off the masked man, fighting a fierce battle behind us. The roof of the hangar was already gone, and the surroundings had turned into a battlefield.
"Don't be stupid… Nothing will happen to us… Berwick… Cough" He stopped and held my face with both hands. "Promise me, no matter what happens… whatever you experience, don't ever lose… yourself… Just like when you were a kid…"
I couldn't stop crying. My brother was hugging me tightly, but his body was growing colder and colder. "Okay… Okay, I won't lose it… I promise…"
I heard my brother's faint smile. He seemed to be holding back tears too. "Well done, little Wick… Having a brother like you… I'm… so… pr..ou..d…"
My brother's arms went limp… His skin was ice-cold. When I looked at his face, he was smiling. My hands and feet were trembling from fear and anger. Memories of times spent with him flashed before my eyes.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARDENNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!" Hearing my cry, my sister became even more enraged, seemingly pushing the masked man to his limits.
"Oh… someone looks angry… In that case… I'll get a little more serious." As he said this, I suddenly heard a sound and felt a tremor so violent it nearly burst my eardrums. When I opened my eyes, the hangars were almost completely gone, and craters filled the place where the city's coastal buildings once stood. My eyes searched for my sister… When I looked up at the sky, I suffered a second shock.
"NOOO!!! IT CAN'T BE!!! YUKARI SIS!!!!"
In the air, only the upper half of my sister's body remained, held by the throat by the Masked Leader. He threw her corpse right next to me. At that moment, I couldn't think of anything. Happy and cheerful memories with my brother and sister, their laughter, the fun and games we had, all flashed through my mind.
"Guess I destroyed someone's family, huh? Though, once I kill you, there won't be anything left of that family anyway."
Suddenly, holy light began to descend from above. The masked man was surprised by this and, before he could even realize it, was blasted at least a kilometer away into the dam. His impact created a massive crater in the dam wall. From above, an older man with slightly long hair descended, wearing red clothes, possessing an aura that was even more dominant than the masked man's but also strangely comforting. I wasn't surprised anymore. The man in red wasn't looking at me, but I knew who he was.
"Berwick. You need to get away from here. I'll bring your sister and brother. The girl over there, she's still alive. I don't know her condition, but she's alive. You must take her from here, son! The dead are sacrificed to protect the living, Berwick! NOW GET UP AND LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER!" When he turned his face, I saw my father, flushed with anger, his normally black eyes replaced with neon blue ones, looking at me. I pulled myself together for just a few seconds, gently laid my brother's body on the ground, picked up Lisa, and started running in the opposite direction his father was heading, screaming at the top of my lungs. I was crying. I was running. And I was clinging tightly to Lisa's body. I occasionally looked back; thousands of blue and purple flashes lit up the sky. At first, I thought it was lightning, but no, my father and the masked man were moving so fast that they looked like lightning to my eyes.
'8 MONTHS LATER'
Inside the Animos market.
"Goodbye, please come again." After saying this to the customer, the energetic-looking cashier with glasses looked at his depressed and tired colleague. "Hey hey, handsome, looking a bit better today, huh?"
The depressed young man slowly looked at his friend, seeming focused on his work. He was scanning defective goods with the barcode reader in his hand. When the bespectacled guy didn't get an answer, he started pestering him. "Ughh… don't make that face. Hey, listen to me, hey, Berwick."
"I'm doing my job, Touga, if you'll excuse me…"
"Nope! I won't excuse you, buddy. Besides, we're closing the shop soon anyway. How about we go up to the roof and have a few drinks?"
"That's why I'm checking the defective goods, you know? Don't put off today's work till tomorrow, as they say. As for your offer, you already know I can't say no."
Touga cheered happily to himself with his hands. "Alright! Awesome, buddy. In that case, I'll just-" He took off his cashier's apron, grabbed a few beers from the fridge, and headed towards the stairs. "I'm going upstairs. See you there."
Berwick nodded, and 10 minutes later, he went up to the roof of the single-story market to join his friend Touga. He slowly sat down and opened one of the cold beers.
Touga looked at Berwick, and they clinked their beers together. Then Touga broke the silence, looking up at the sky. "The stars are beautiful, aren't they?" Berwick remained silent. "Hey, aren't you going to talk at all? We've been working together for months. You were doing better the last two months. Why have you become even more depressed this past week?"
Berwick chose to break his silence. "My birthday is approaching."
"Huh? Why would someone get depressed because their birthday is coming? I mean, okay, I admit, after everything you've been through, celebrating it might not feel right to you, but that's life, it's cruel…" Touga finished his beer.
Yes, I became so depressed that I no longer had the strength to even talk to you all. Learning my family were Guardians, losing my brother, my sister, half my family, finding out my father, supposedly an ordinary accountant, was actually hailed as a 'LEGEND' among the Guardians, and losing him too in that battle – which, from what I saw on the news, was so fierce it literally wiped the city area off the map. Lisa falling into a coma, her family never wanting to see my face again, Illya wanting to stay with my Aunt, our house just sitting there empty, dropping out of school and starting to live my own life… It all feels like it happened over ten years, but these things all happened in just one month… What difference is there now, from my previous life?
"You're right… Life is cruel…" I downed the cold beer in my hand in one go and just got lost watching the spectacle of the stars…