In Kuzeha's view, Ayumi's "Collapse" wasn't just a simple ability—it could even be considered a conceptual power.
It operated based on Ayumi's subjective will, meaning as long as she could clearly picture it, she could apply the concept of Collapse onto any material.
The maximum scale she could affect was still uncertain.
But the fact that she had easily collapsed an entire building right after awakening her ability made Kuzeha believe that with training, she could at least level a street…
And if her potential developed further, this ability might well deserve a gold-level trait designation.
Dr. Genus had also confirmed that Ayumi's ability showed infinite growth potential, which was why he had dispatched the Armored Gorilla and Earth Dragon to capture her.
"Ayumi, try using your ability on this stone."
Kuzeha picked up a fist-sized rock and handed it to her.
The girl nodded, balled her fists, and focused. But just before she acted, she suddenly remembered something and widened her eyes.
"Onii-chan, stand behind me. I don't want to hurt you."
Kuzeha chuckled.
"Alright, alright."
To avoid distracting her, he placed the stone on a half-meter-tall boulder and stepped to the side.
Ayumi concentrated hard, her small fists clenched tightly.
Three seconds passed. Her cheeks puffed up red, but the stone remained unchanged.
She started circling her fingers over her temples, muttering,
"Break… break, c'mon break!"
Still nothing. Ayumi looked like she was about to stomp her feet in frustration.
Kuzeha smiled and said, "Ayumi, look down."
She looked down—and saw that the large boulder underneath the small stone had developed a web of deep cracks.
With a light tap from Kuzeha—
Crack!
The entire boulder disintegrated into dust.
Ayumi froze.
"But I was trying to break the little stone!"
Kuzeha stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Not precise enough for something that small, huh…"
He patted her head and said gently, "Just being able to activate your ability is amazing already."
Ayumi's big eyes curved into crescents from the praise.
"Alright, let's try something else…"
Since she couldn't apply Collapse to small targets yet, they'd train on larger ones.
He brought her to a nearby forest.
"Try collapsing this patch of land—bring those trees down too."
"Isn't that… kind of bad?"
Ayumi looked around guiltily.
"What if it's someone else's land? Aren't we just… vandalizing?"
Kuzeha smiled warmly.
"Don't worry. This whole place belongs to me."
"All of it?!"
"Yup."
Ayumi looked impressed, her guilt replaced by a pained expression.
"But this forest must be worth a lot… If we destroy it…"
Clearly, growing up in an orphanage had made Ayumi very thrifty.
That was a good trait—but Kuzeha figured he needed to adjust her thinking.
To him, money was like sand—limitless and irrelevant.
"Go ahead, Ayumi. Right now, the most important thing is mastering your ability."
Hearing that, Ayumi nodded with her cheeks puffed.
She focused on the land before her.
And then—
Crack!
The ground split open.
As if the earth below had been hollowed out, the land caved in with a tremendous rumble.
Trees fell, dust filled the air, Kuzeha waved his hand, summoning a strong gust to clear the debris.
When Ayumi saw the aftermath, her mouth hung open.
A massive pit, dozens of meters wide, lay in front of her.
Fallen trees crisscrossed its base.
"Onii-chan, I did it!"
Ayumi's face was filled with wonder. She could hardly believe she had caused it.
She ran to the edge, peering in with caution and amazement.
Kuzeha estimated that the Collapse covered a forty-meter radius,
And it had followed his "sink the trees" instruction precisely.
The pit was at least three to four meters deep.
"For larger targets with clear instructions… she's pretty accurate."
Kuzeha shook his head.
This power was made for mass destruction.
Then—
"Ah! Onii-chan, there's a hurt puppy!"
Kuzeha turned at her cry and saw her squatting near the fallen trees, examining something.
"It's so pitiful… There's a saw blade stuck in its head…"
Wait. A what stuck in its head?
Orange fur, a chainsaw blade lodged in its skull, a pull cord for a tail…
That wasn't just any dog.
That was Pochita—the Chainsaw Devil!
Kuzeha hurried over.
"Onii-chan, how could someone be so cruel? Who would stab a saw blade into a puppy's head?!"
He resisted the urge to laugh.
That was its head.
Ayumi looked up with her big, pleading eyes.
"Onii-chan, can you save it?"
Kuzeha nodded.
He placed a hand on Pochita's back and activated his Authority of Life and Death.
A moment later, the puppy's wounds vanished, and it blinked open its eyes.
It looked at the two of them curiously.
"Woof!"
It wagged its tail and circled Kuzeha with affection.
Kuzeha lifted it up and touched the chainsaw blade.
Surprisingly, it was soft.
"Woof!"
Pochita licked his cheek.
"Let me hold it too!"
Ayumi eagerly took Pochita and poked its chainsaw.
"It's soft… like it's part of its body… What a weird little dog!"
"Weird" didn't even begin to cover it.
This little guy had once fought its way through hell.
Still, it was cute in this form.
"It's probably a devil. Do you want to keep it?" Kuzeha asked.
Ayumi set it down.
"We can keep a devil?"
"Of course."
She clapped her hands in delight.
"Then let's take it home!"
"What should we name it?"
"Pochita! Let's stick with Pochita!"
Maybe because Kuzeha had shared some of his life force,
Pochita was extremely attached to him.
It wagged its little legs and followed them happily all the way home.
At Shuchi'in Academy's student council room—
A long-haired, straight-haired girl was anxiously organizing the last of the files, muttering to herself.
Beside her, Iino Miko watched curiously.
That girl—Akiko Himenokoji—was in the same class as her and also a fellow student council member.
She was the school beauty: cute, smart, admired by all.
Yet Miko often noticed something odd about her.
She really disliked Shuchi'in.
Every time something went wrong, she would mutter under her breath…
And always end with,
"...Still not as good as Sobu High."
Today, they had to prepare a proposal for a joint charity event with another school.
Everyone else had left, but the two were still stuck in the council room.
Miko once again caught Akiko whispering:
"If this were Sobu High, I'd be with Onii-sama already…"
Onii-sama?
Miko frowned slightly. She didn't catch the full sentence.
"Akiko, are you that interested in Sobu High?"
Akiko froze.
Then her expression turned strangely sorrowful.
"I've always admired Sobu High."
Miko didn't understand.
Sobu was a top-tier academic school, but based on Akiko's grades, she could've easily gotten in.
So why was she here at Shuchi'in?
Akiko went quiet.
She clenched her teeth.
She had dreamed of going to Sobu, being by her beloved brother's side, eating lunch on the rooftop, playing games, and… when the time was right, offering him her long-cherished first time.
But life was cruel.
An accident on the way to the entrance exam caused her to miss one subject.
She failed.
Now, she was stuck at Shuchi'in, far from home, only able to see her brother on weekends.
Finally, she muttered,
"Something happened during the entrance exam… I missed a subject."
"I see… That's a shame," Miko replied.
She liked Shuchi'in—it felt like home to her.
So she wanted Akiko to feel the same.
"If you've got something urgent, Akiko, you can go. I'll finish up the documents."
"But—"
"I got it. Go."
Akiko bowed deeply.
"Thank you, I'll bring you something delicious next week!"
She grabbed her bag and ran off with a wave.
Miko watched her go, thinking, She must really have something important waiting for her… maybe a part-time job?
Miko knew Akiko was an orphan—despite a scholarship, working to support herself was normal.
"What a model student…"
Meanwhile, pink-haired Fujiwara Chika bounced into the room.
"Miko-chan, the school we're collaborating with has been decided!"
"Which school?"
"Sobu High!"
"Sobu…?"
Miko froze.
She immediately thought of Akiko.
What would she feel when she heard this?
Two hours later, Akiko stepped off the train.
She saw the familiar street, the familiar orphanage.
And there, waiting at the gate… That person who haunted her dreams.
Her heart couldn't contain the joy.
She sprinted toward him.
"Onii-sama!"
She leapt into Kuzeha's arms, burying her face in his chest and inhaling deeply.
"Akiko… It's been a few days."
He patted her head gently.
She looked up, her eyes sparkling.
She could feel something had changed.
He seemed… even more divine than before.
"Onii-sama must've missed me so much this week…"
"It's fine now. You can do anything to me today… even if you treat me like your favorite plush—Ow!"
Kuzeha flicked her forehead with a sigh.
This girl was getting bolder every time.
Read advance chapters on: patre on.com/Bored_Mortal