Shirai thought, basically, the condition now is extremely simple.
Both Shirai and Musujime were injured rather badly. Even if they stopped the bleeding, they couldn't possibly recover their strength so quickly. Should she attack the enemy first? Even if it was just a gentle push, it could potentially end the battle.
(If we seriously battle…I think I can only last for 10 seconds.)
Even if she didn't get hit, she would reopen her wounds if she moved her limbs with all her might. Especially now that Shirai didn't have much strength left. Once she lost any more blood, she would immediately lose consciousness.
Musujime's power was terrifying. If it wasn't for the limitation that 'a teleporter couldn't move someone else with a similar power', she could have slammed Shirai into a wall or the floor.
Shirai and Musujime glared at each other.
There was a 10 meters distance between them.
A loud noise could be heard outside.
A part of the steel tower that Mikoto had attacked collapsed, making a large impact sounding like a bell ringing.
The sound signaled the start of the battle.
Shirai raised her fist and quickly slammed it onto the table that she was sitting on. The skin on her palm cracked, and the surface of the table broke into pieces. Shirai grabbed a sharp fragment and prepared to teleport it. A teleport attack could tear anything apart from within, so it could be considered a sure kill technique. Also, as it was a point-to-point attack, anything that was in a direct line couldn't block it.
At that moment, Musujime used her Move Point.
She swung her military flashlight, wanting to stuff a silver tray inside Shirai's body. Though it was an ordinary tray, the Move Point could easily pass through a human body. Once it hit, death was inevitable.
However, Shirai was faster by a bit.
She sidestepped. The silver tray appeared in mid air like a guillotine, falling onto the ground.
Though Musujime's power was great, maybe she needed a sense of rhythm, as she had a habit of swinging the military flashlight first.
It was hard to grab a chance to counterattack and not cause a lose-lose situation, but it was not so hard if it was just dodging.
"Cheh!"
Musujime inadvertently frowned. She swung the military flashlight around in a circle, and 5–6 tables beside her vanished into thin air before appearing before Musujime. These tables were packed together, forming a huge shield which blocked Musujime's body.
(A mistake in sending…? No! it's a shield to block my sight…!)
Shirai had already experienced this before. As teleportation was also a point-to-point attack, as long as one slightly deviated from the original position, the person could dodge it. In order to make Shirai think that she had already teleported away, Musujime purposely created a wall.
(If so…)
Shirai used her teleport.
She grabbed a fragment of the plate, and teleported it together with her own body.
After appearing on the other side of the restaurant table shields, Shirai raised the fragment again.
(…Then I'll use myself to guess the location!)
Since her vision was blocked by the obstacles in front, she just needed to get to the other side of the obstacles. She wouldn't miss if she could clearly sees where Musujime was standing before she teleported the fragment.
This was because Musujime Awaki was unable to teleport her own body instantly.
Shirai hoped to use the sharp fragment to aim at the enemy and get the victory.
Shua!
Shirai Kuroko heard the sound of air being ripped.
Musujime was standing one step in front of Shirai, but she was holding the heavy luggage bag with both hands, using all the strength in her hips to smack the luggage bag at Shirai's face. As she was holding the luggage bag with both hands, she had the military flashlight between her teeth.
From Musujime's expression, it seemed that she hadn't really predicted Shirai's method of attack.
(From that comfortable expression, she seems to be relieved that she was prepared for that attack. It's really working, huh…!)
The hard side of the luggage bag came swinging at Shirai's face, so Shirai quickly teleported the sharp fragment and cut the 'n' shaped handle of the luggage bag.
The luggage bag went flying in a completely wrong direction.
Musujime, who was only holding onto the handle, revealed a surprised look.
(Now…here's the chance…!!)
Shirai infused all her strength into her injured right hand and clenched her tiny fist.
The distance was so close. Instead of doing the calculations and using her ability, she might as well send a punch.
However,
Musujime, who was biting on her military flashlight, moved backwards slightly.
"!!"
Shirai panicked. Musujime's unexpected movement of made Shirai unable to counter with her ability.
She moved back by one step. At that moment, everything in front turned white. That was the color of the luggage bag. After her brain processed what was going on, Shirai couldn't help but feel that her back had gone numb. What had happened was that the luggage bag that flew out of Musujime hands had been teleported by Musujime using the Move Point in front of Shirai's eyes. The bag hadn't decreased in speed as it flew, but the path got adjusted, which caused it to fly towards Shirai's face.
If Shirai hadn't taken a step back just now, her head would have been blown off by the luggage bag that had appeared out of nowhere.
However, even though she dodged the fatal blow, she was going to be hit by the heavy luggage bag.
It was too late for her even if she wanted to react.
BAM!
The luggage bag slammed hard into Shirai's face, and the huge impact sent Shirai flying backward. Shirai was unable to maintain her balance. Her skin retracted during the process.
It seemed that some hot liquid gushed out from the wounds on her shoulder and her flank, and her fist that had been clenched tightly was released. Shirai tried her best to stand upright, but her feet still left the ground.
Just as she was about to be knocked down, Shirai teleported again.
Shirai's body vanished. She maintained this falling position and appeared behind Musujime, facing her back with her own back.
The momentum of the fall hadn't decreased. Shirai extended her elbow backwards and landed directly on Musujime's back. Being hit like this, Musujime fell forward into the tables that were stacked up. Before Shirai could confirm that Musujime had fallen, she landed on the ground. The impact from the fall caused her wounds to reopen.
(Gack…ah…!)
In order to give the final blow, Shirai squeezed out all her remaining strength and grabbed an item beside her. It was the handle that had been cut off the luggage bag. Shirai's teleport attack could be used on any item, not just a sharp one.
(It's—my win!)
Shirai cried out in her heart as she aimed at the enemy. She calculated and tried to move the handle in her hand over.
(…!?)
However, her ability couldn't activate.
The handle in her hand didn't move at all.
The sharp pain and strong anxiety robbed her of her concentration, causing her to be unable to use her ability.
"Oh no—!!"
This predicament made Shirai even more anxious. She carried her last ounce of hope and looked at Musujime Awaki, hoping that she would be in similar pain and unable to use her ability.
Shirai heard a light 'shua!' sound.
The stack of tables around Musujime had disappeared.
After that, in a manner similar to that of eating a kebab, she pulled out the military flashlight that she was biting.
Shirai sensed a chill.
She quickly rolled on floor, wanting to get away.
But the tables were above her, and they then fell due to gravity.
"…!"
Shirai got onto the floor, covering the back of her head with both hands. The heavy attack landed on her like a blunt weapon, increasing the depth of her wounds. She was hurting so badly that she wanted to roll on the floor, but the large number of tables left her unable to move away.
In this narrow vision, she could only see Musujime, who was on the floor, kick the floor and move her body to prevent being hit by the falling table. The needles in her limbs tore Musujime's wounds wide open, hurting her so badly that she cried out in pain. However, she immediately used Move Point to teleport the luggage bag that didn't have a handle beside her, and leaned on it, looking at Shirai.
Musujime pointed at the chairs nearby with the military flashlight.
The movement was extremely slow.
"Shirai-san, you'll lose your life if you don't dodge this."
Musujime gave a mocking smile as she slid the front tip of the military flashlight from the back of the chair to Shirai. The circular front side of the military flashlight stopped in front of Shirai.
"!!"
Shirai inadvertently turned pale, but she still couldn't use her Teleport ability.
Shirai couldn't help but tremble, however, the chairs teleported by Move Point landed beside her. The large number of tables stacked on Shirai were pushed by the chairs, causing them to collapse, like a pyramid of poker cards. However, only the shape had changed, the fact that Shirai was being pinned down hadn't changed.
"Oh, you still can't escape even in this condition? Seems like you can't do your teleportation calculations."
Musujime's face had no more sign of nervousness.
She laughed.
The fresh blood seeped through from the wounds, dying Musujime Awaki's face red, but she still laughed.
"Shirai-san, oh Shirai-san. Do you know? You can hear a lot of things if you're beside 'that person'. One of them, hm…I wonder if you've heard of it before?"
Musujime said as if she was humming to a tune.
After confirming the locations of the needles and the corkscrew, she breathed heavily and swung the military flashlight around. All the strange items disappeared and then appeared before her. Under the influence of gravity, the metal needles and the corkscrew dropped to the floor, making a sharp sound.
"In the beginning, there was a group full of powerful espers."
To Musujime, treating these wounds that were causing her pain seemed to be more important than maintaining her distance from Shirai. She looked around for tools to treat her wounds. The tube of blood-clotting paste that Shirai had thrown was beside her feet, but maybe to maintain her pride, she kicked it far away.
(She wants to…treat her wounds here? To do this without any worry in front of me? What's she planning? Onee-sama could be here any minute…)
Shirai's heart was filled with suspicion, but Musujime still maintained a leisurely look.
The wounds, with the needles removed, were oozing blood.
But the smile on Musujime's face didn't disappear, the look made it terrifying.
"But there were very few people with great powers, so in order to increase their capability, they decided to use a method to increase the number of espers. That method was to clone them. Do you know what the result was?"
Shirai couldn't move.
The hand that was extended out from the gap between the tables could only swing about in midair. She could neither move the tables away, nor could she even hit the enemy in front of her.
From the looks of it, Musujime seemed rather satisfied. She tore her own skirt and tied it on her thigh to stop the bleeding.
Misaka Mikoto still hadn't arrived.
Because such fierce fighting took place, the customers and staff members should have escaped, and the ruckus should have spread outside. Maybe the noise hadn't reached Mikoto's ears? Or did Mikoto think that this incident had nothing to with the 'remnant'?
Shirai didn't wish for Mikoto to be there, but she didn't feel safe when she was not there. Maybe Mikoto was bothered by Musujime's other companions?
And what was more unbelievable was…
(Musujime's expression…why is she so confident…? Does she think that she can win against Onee-sama even in that condition…?)
Shirai felt very puzzled, while Musujime said rather unhurriedly,
"I can only describe it as appalling. Those scapegoats that were created didn't even have 1% of the power. Even though this less than 1% was rather impressive for this world's standard, if they were to battle against a powerful esper, not even 10,000 or 20,000 of them would be a match."
Musujime Awaki, who was drenched in blood, continued to tear her skirt and wrap it around the wound on her shin.
Shirai guessed, maybe she had hurt Musujime's pride too much, and Musujime was pursuing this 'decisive victorious situation', thus she was rattling on and on.
Musujime's skirt was already very short, and not only was her underwear almost exposed, but she didn't seem to mind. Instead, she just smiled slightly.
"Shirai-san, the children that were created from the cloning technique had the exact same genes as the original, and even the structure of their brain was the same. Yet their ability was so different, why do you think this is so?"
The overconfidence that was flowing from Musujime's words made Shirai want to puke, but if she didn't care about her, Musujime would lose interest and leave the scene with the luggage bag.
"Such…such a stupid question. Don't you know how the schools in Academy City are ranked…?"
Even if both were of the same quality, as long as the method of nurturing was different, the results would be different. Thus, there were many ways to develop the espers' powers, thus the difference in school standards.
However, Musujime was still calm.
"Nope, those clones were trained in an environment where they should have ended up with the same power. However, the results were very disappointing. They had the same brain, yet they could not achieve the same results. Don't you think that there are other factors other than the brain that affect the quality? Then, if we could find this condition, could we use powers without a calculating source like the human brain?"
Musujime Awaki was unconcerned with the blood that was splattering on her face. She stopped doing her emergency first aid and said,
"In other words, is the human brain required in the development of powers in the first place?"
Shirai couldn't help but breathe out some cold air.
The powers developed by Academy City were a major breakthrough in quantum mechanics. Using Personal Realities, which was a reality that was observed by deliberately distorting the mental calculations and decision making ability, caused an unnatural change in a radical microscopic world to create some sort of phenomena.
"What…are you saying?"
Shirai couldn't help but retort.
"Academy City's lessons…involve the most advanced neuro-science."
"That's right. However, the dealing with phenomenon…which is to observe and analyze a target, can only humans do that?"
Musujime said happily,
"For example, plants can detect sunlight. Some plants will close their flowers and leaves up at night. Don't tell me that these plants aren't observing the world?"
Musujime wanted to stop the bleeding of the wound on her shoulder, but she couldn't tear her skirt any more. She could only tear down the shoulder line of her winter Western-style jacket and use it as a bandage.
Shirai felt that this wasn't good.
Once Musujime completed her first-aid, she would head on to the next thing. As the current situation stood, the only thing that could stop Musujime was her own mouth.
"Too…this is too stupid. Such a ridiculous idea. If you can count reacting to sunlight as an observation, then would the posters and photographs that react to ultraviolet rays have some form of observation ability? The main thing about creating powers should be about how they view it, right? So, the lessons that Academy City provides is to help each student find a Personal Reality that no one else has. What powers need aren't special senses, but special processing capabilities."
But Shirai's words didn't cause any emotional response from Musujime.
Right now, Musujime had only the wound on the side of her abdomen to treat. She originally intended to use the belt that was holding the military flashlight to stop the bleeding, but that belt made of metallic plates didn't seem able to do the job.
Thus, she could only use the pink cloth that was wrapped around her chest to wrap her waist. To her, it seemed like as long as they were of the same gender, it was alright for her to be naked in front of outsiders. She pulled the winter jacket that had only one sleeve left and covered her exposed breasts, but this action was rather muddled up.
"You mean that without a high level of mental activity, there's no way to develop powers?"
"That's right."
Shirai replied, but deep inside, she was rather insecure, as it seemed like Musujime was luring her to argue back. The best evidence was that Musujime didn't seem to be bothered by her own arguments.
"Then what about ants? Ants know how to work in teams, to circle around and build their hive, and even look for food. Also, ants know how to do some form of contracts. They can help weird insects like aphids to chase away ladybugs and get the 'forest honey' from them. In other words, they have the most original rationale…if you deny their mental makeup, it's the same as denying thought processes that are different from humans, yet similar."
Musujime adjusted the tightness of her bandage replacement.
"You're basically unreasonable."
"Why is this unreasonable? Ants are classified according to their physical characteristics, there are male ants, queen ants and worker ants, which means they know how to have a social division of labor. They can use their antennas to communicate through signals, and some of them even have light emitting organs. On what basis do you think that their mental activity is of a low level? What is the high level of human mental activity to you? Even insects have their logic and morals too. Even ants know that they have to protect their larvae."
Musujime Awaki gave a slight smile.
"Even ants can observe the surroundings."
She paused for a while, then continued,
"On what basis do you have to decide that between ants and us, which side has the correct view on the surroundings? On what basis can you say that ants will never be able to use powers?"
Shirai Kuroko shuddered.
The fact that the basic idea of superpowers was denied made her tremble.
She stared at the 'thing' beside Musujime Awaki.
"There are many lives of equal footing—no, maybe of a higher class than human life. If you can't agree with that, it's just your arrogance as a human."
Musujime smiled calmly, feeling up the surface of the luggage bag with her fingertips.
"By switching the thinking in another direction, you'll see that the 'answer' is very close to us. That's right, it's right beside us."
The surface of the luggage bag was glowing under the lights.
'Remnant'.
'Silicorandum'.
'Tree Diagram'.
A higher class, huge, complicated…an artificial brain that just lacked a little bit of flexibility compared to humans.
"Shirai Kuroko-san, this term called the 'brain', can't it be used on certain terms other than humans? If you are a human supremacist that can't even accept such a simple truth, I might be a little disappointed."
Even ants could observe their surroundings.
As long as there was a brain, powers could be created.
It need not be humans.
If so…if so…if so…Shirai Kuroko stared at the luggage bag beside Musujime Awaki.
"Don't tell me…you think that the core of that thing…can create powers just like us? Are you serious? This thought is as ridiculous as a robot having a soul!"
However,
Going deeper, was a high level system like the 'human soul' required for 'observing reality and analyzing it'? Shirai started to lose confidence.
In contrast, Musujime looked rather poised.
"That's right, that level of progress can't be achieved. A machine is a machine after all. Once the anti-shake and auto-adjust AI of a digital camera is facing a phenomenon, what the calculating chip does is to arrange the pixels on the image according to the information. In terms of dealing with information, this is completely different from observing a phenomenon."
She looked rather confident.
"Also, we have confirmed that we can't find any plants and animals other than humans that can use superpowers. Whether my point is valid is a big question."
She stroked the surface of the luggage bag, and continued,
"But with this thing, we can proceed on with the predictions. As long as we have this super simulator that can simulate anything faithfully, it's not a problem to find what the entire world hasn't discovered now, or even any changes in biological evolution 10,000 years later. Thus, I must have the 'remnant' to repair the Tree Diagram. I want it to decide, with all the possibilities, whether there are organisms other than humans that can develop superpowers."
A strange glint appeared in Musujime's eyes.
Shirai thought, this glint was called paranoia.
"For this purpose…you're willing to work secretly with outside organizations…?"
"That's right. Even if I get the precious 'remnant', I can't repair it by myself. Thus, I need to work with an organization that has the technology, knowledge and motivation."
Musujime Awaki laughed.
That organization was most probably uninterested in Musujime's thoughts. They probably had other motives. The capability of the Tree Diagram was too strong, the number of organizations that wanted it was probably more than the hairs on a cow.
"Shirai-san, how did you feel when you had powers for the first time?"
Shirai couldn't move her body at all, so she could only move her mouth.
She lay prone underneath the table, saying nonchalantly,
"Not…nothing much. The adults around me were shocked, but I wasn't too surprised myself. To me, it's no big deal."
"Really…? To be honest, I was really scared."
Musujime reminisced her childhood and said,
"Once I thought of what this ability can do, I was really scared. I was even more scared when I actually did it. Shirai-san, in this world, the thing I'm most fearful of is this sort of ability. This ability that can kill people with little imagination."
Right now, the girl was no longer trembling in fear,
"However, I have always accepted that this is my fate. Only humans have this power. Humans have researched in some specific area and discovered this power, and use it for specific uses. In other words, I have to have this power. Since I can't avoid it, I can only endure it. However, a doubt crept inside me."
Musujime smiled.
Her mouth was becoming a thin and long crack like a melting ice-cream.
"If I'm not the only one with this sort of power, why must I have it? If it's not just a power that only humans have, why must humans have it? If it need not be me, why must it be me? Shirai-san, oh so gullible, and yet never thought a thing about it. Shirai-san, let me tell you, those esper children that were with me just now have similar thoughts. Of course, that's not including the adults. In that building, I did indeed use them as shields, but I did that on their suggestion. Before they were unconscious, they even smiled, saying…'We'll leave it to you.'"
There were many cases of Level 0s who couldn't get powers and began to turn bad.
However, there were two sides to every event.
Occasionally, there were people with powers so strong that they couldn't adjust to it.
The thing called powers was like a monster in a monster movie.
If they wanted to live peacefully with normal humans, they had to be wary whenever they walked on the streets. Once they exerted too much strength, they could destroy the constructs around them. In actuality, espers with powers on the Railgun's level normally wouldn't be able to get a chance to go all out, instead, they had to suppress their powers. In a certain sense, it was like living a life with shackles on their limbs.
"Do we really need to have this sort of power? Don't you want to know the answer? No matter whether there is a need, at least we should confirm it, shouldn't we?"
Musujime Awaki slowly opened her arms wide.
As if she was inviting Shirai Kuroko.
"I believe you have hurt others with that ability of yours, right? You must have thought before: why do you have such a power?"
As if she wanted to hug Shirai Kuroko, bringing her over.
The reason why Musujime hadn't given Shirai the final blow was because she wanted Shirai to listen to these words.
"I'm clear of this, because you're like me. I can close my eyes and imagine how you have hurt others. So…"
As if she was singing to her lover,
Musujime Awaki was giving the signal 'I never intended to kill you from the beginning'.
"I understand this pain of yours more than anyone else. Because I understand your pain, I know how to get rid of it. So, how about it, Shirai-san? If you're interested in finding out about the truth, I can let you join our ranks."
From Musujime Awaki's expression, one could tell that she would rather risk Misaka Mikoto arriving and say so many words just to elaborate on this conclusion.
No esper would be able to ignore these words.
Any esper in this city, and those who had fought before would have faced a similar problem.
That was 'how to use one's own powers to cause more damage to the opponent?'
And 'how big was the damage?'
How painful was it? How unbearable was it? Could it destroy everything? Would it be interrupted? Could it defeat or even destroy the enemy?
And once everything was over, they would be trembling in fear.
Why do I have this power?
Do I need to have this power in the first place?
The basic values that she had were being shaken.
"I refuse."
Being pinned underneath the tables, Shirai glared at Musujime with a sharp expression and said in a deep, scary voice,
"I thought that it was some ideal that made you want to do this that made you create this huge trouble, but it's just this petty idea, huh? Onee-sama was correct, a villain really has small noses and eyes."
"What…did…you say…?"
"My reaction should be normal, right? Why are you so shocked? Can that stupid, narcissistic nonsense of yours move me, Shirai Kuroko? Seeing that confident look of yours, were you thinking that after convincing me, I'll help to convince Onee-sama? Or were you abused enough and love to listen to my sarcastic remarks?"
Shirai paused for a while, and continued,
"Besides, what animals? What evolution? What possibility? Ha! What's the point of saying these things now? Even if we are to give different varieties of ants improvements and superpowers, how can we benefit?"
"What benefit…? Don't you understand yet? If things other than humans can use powers, we don't have to be monsters like 'teleporters'. We don't need such dangerous powers in the first place…"
"Such stupidity. What I'm trying to say is, even if we find any possibility, what changes can it bring to us when we're already espers?"
"…"
"If you're doing this for the future generations, I might be touched and even cry. However, to us who are already espers, what's the point of raising such a possibility?"
Shirai paused.
The arm that was stretched in mid-air between the gaps of the table was now resting firmly on the floor.
"Besides, the idea of 'superpowers hurting others', really, there's not much ambition to it. Before a collapsed bridge is repaired, I can use my powers to help others to cross the river. If there are people trapped in the underground streets, I can help them escape to the surface. If the use is correct, what's so bad about using powers?"
The tables that were stacked up were shaking slightly, creating a rattling sound.
Shirai Kuroko gritted her teeth, exerting all her strength from her tired and battered body.
"To me, those dreamy words of yours are way beyond lame. Scared of your power? You don't want to hurt others so you don't want the power? It's nice when you say it, but who was the one who hurt me to such an extent? If you want to know whether your actions are correct, just look at my wounds! THIS IS THE ANSWER!"
The large number of tables pressing on the girl continued to shake.
The girl pressed her hands and feet onto the ground. She exerted all her strength into the muscles, not caring even when blood was gushing out of her wounds.
"With that dangerous power, we'll become dangerous people? With that power, we become important people? You're thinking too simple, IDIOT! Onee-sama and my lives aren't so smooth sailing either! We worked hard to think of ways to help everyone so that we can get everyone's recognition and establish our footing in society!"
The hill of tables was starting to shake violently.
In order to escape from this heavy pressure, Shirai Kuroko exerted even more force.
"You just look at Onee-sama, who's running around! As long as she seriously releases her Railgun, she could have settled all her problems in a minute! But she doesn't wish for everything to end in a bloody mess, so she gave up on the easiest way to settle it and is even willing to put herself in danger! Not just me, even you, as an enemy, she wants to save you! BECAUSE OF THIS, SHE HAS THE RIGHT TO BE CALLED MY 'ONEE-SAMA'!!"
The shaking sound was now a crashing sound.
The hill of tables was starting to collapse.
The terrifying weight pressing on the girl was starting to collapse.
"BASICALLY, YOUR REASONING ONLY SHOWED YOUR ARROGANCE AND CONTEMPT OF OTHER MORTALS! I'M GOING TO TWIST THAT ROTTEN PERSONALITY OF YOURS AROUND! ONCE YOU'RE DEFEATED BY AN ORDINARY PERSON LIKE ME, YOU'LL KNOW THAT YOU'RE AN ORDINARY PERSON YOURSELF! THEN I'M GOING TO BRING YOU, AS AN ORDINARY PERSON, BACK INTO THE ORDINARY WORLD!!"
Shirai Kuroko stood up.
Blood continued to gush from her wounds, staining her clothes and body. She grabbed a floor lamp and lowered her hands. She didn't have any more strength to teleport.
However,
So what?
Shirai's expression was saying: even without powers, I can beat you.
Shirai wanted to prove through her actions that there was no need for any special ability to beat the enemy.
As long as there was a firm belief.
Shirai Kuroko moved forward fearlessly.
Forward.
1 step, 2 steps, 3 steps.
She faltered, unable to maintain her balance. She couldn't even lift the lamp, and could only drag it
However, that terrifying momentum of hers made Musujime back away.
Musujime let out a cry of shock.
Shirai was a terrifying person.
It didn't matter whether she had powers or not. Regardless, Shirai was a terrifying person.
Musujime Awaki shielded her chest with the jacket that had only one sleeve left, sitting on the floor and backing away. She could have escaped quickly with Move Point, but she forgot about it. The fear and anxiety made her unable to calculate the coordinates. Her eyes could no longer see anything other than the slowly advancing Shirai Kuroko.
―I will lose.
Musujime Awaki made a baseless conclusion.
―I will lose. There is no reason, but I will definitely lose…
Shirai Kuroko was already right in front of her. Musujime, who was sitting on the ground, looked up, exchanging looks with Shirai, who was looking down.
Shirai slowly lifted her hand.
The lamp was slowly lifted past the head with twin-pigtailed hair like a baseball bat.
A terrifying weapon.
Though Musujime had the Move Point ability, she was still an ordinary high school student.
Clank. A light collision sound was heard. The military flashlight in Musujime's hand dropped onto the floor.
I will lose, Musujime concluded.
This Move Point user, Musujime Awaki, would definitely be unable to beat the Teleport user, Shirai Kuroko.
But…
But…
But.
Strictly speaking, Shirai Kuroko was wary of it right from the beginning.
Espers didn't really need to use their powers as weapons.
Since Musujime had been working with outside organizations, Shirai should have thought of it.
That was, had Musujime gotten any weapons from her allies?
BAM! An explosion could be heard.
At this moment, Shirai Kuroko had already raised both hands up in the air—completely unguarded against the enemy's attack—she slowly turned to look at her abdomen.
At her abdomen, a deep red hole appeared in her uniform, and the magical-colored fluid was flowing out from the hole. Half a second later, one could see the glass window behind shattering into pieces.
The effect of the air-conditioning was weakening. The calm wind of the night was flowing in.
Shirai's body wobbled backwards.
Under the influence of the heavy weight of the lamp, she fell back onto the floor.
"Ha…"
Musujime Awaki laughed, but her right hand was trembling.
A trail of white smoke was floating upwards from the muzzle of her pistol.
"Ha…ha…"
Musujime Awaki had beaten the slowly approaching Shirai Kuroko.
But at the same time, she admitted something.
That having powers wasn't the main problem.
She had always blamed the act of hurting others on superpowers, but now, she hadn't used the power of her Move Point. Even without powers, she still ended up hurting others. In the end, the one who had to take responsibility wasn't her powers, but herself, who controlled the powers.
(In the end…it's all…)
Musujime felt that her lips, tongue and throat were incomparably dry, so dry that she couldn't hear anything.
Thus, she could only conclude silently.
The one responsible for all these.
Up till now, the reason why the people around her got hurt was…
The reason why there was red fluid in front of her was…
That weakness of hers to use powers as an excuse.
Musujime Awaki recalled,
Those espers with similar ideals. Those that were afraid of their own powers, suspecting the necessity of them, those who jumped into battle in search for the answer. Those people who had willingly became shields in order to protect Musujime from getting hit by Misaka Mikoto's electricity strikes in the building that was under construction.
Musujime always thought that she was one of them as well.
But the truth was so different.
She was just…
A liar who stood beside them. She lied to them.
Even if they used the 'remnant' to repair the Tree Diagram, getting the possibility of powers that no one had thought about before, and developing according to her plan.
Musujime Awaki's nature would not change.
Musujime Awaki—a girl who would always hurt others.
"HA…AH…GYA…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!"
Musujime cupped her hands on her head, looked up and shouted.
She tossed the jacket in her hands away. Musujime did not care whether her torso was naked anymore.
Her index finger was still on the trigger of the pistol, and it could fire off anytime accidentally, but she didn't care as she pulled her hair, seemingly not aware about this simple fact. She screamed and roared, the muscles on her face being completely distorted, as if all the things inside her body were about to erupt.
BAM! An explosion could be heard.
Musujime, who was sitting on the floor and pulling her hair, accidentally squeezed the trigger. The muzzle that just so happened to be pointing upwards shot out sparks. The bullet flew towards the ceiling, but it didn't stick into the ceiling. Instead, it ricocheted down, coincidentally hitting the center of the military flashlight on the ground. The military flashlight bent into a '<' shape and flew far away. However, Musujime didn't care about such a trivial matter.
"GYA…AAAAHH! AH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"
Like a rampant beast, Musujime pointed the pistol at Shirai.
She squeezed the trigger. However, she couldn't feel the special vibration of the spring hitting inside the pistol.
An empty, laughable feeling was left on the finger.
"Uu…ah…AH…?"
Musujime became suspicious.
Lowering her head, though her right hand still maintained the posture of holding a pistol, the pistol had already disappeared.
POW! A light colliding sound could be heard from afar.
The pistol suddenly landed on the floor, 15 meters away.
Move Point.
Of course, Musujime Awaki hadn't intended to teleport the pistol. But what she hadn't intended had happened. Musujime pondered on what this meant, but at that moment…
She completely lost control of her powers…
BRRROOOOOM!!
With Musujime as the center, everything in a 5 meter radius—chairs, tables, knives, forks, spoons, ornamental plants, plates, luggage bags—vanished. As if a perfect circle was drawn around Musujime, everything inside the circle vanished. Those tables and chairs on the circumference were squashed and ripped apart by the objects that suddenly appeared, creating a huge sound. If it was not for the fact that a teleporter couldn't teleport another teleporter, even Shirai would have been sent to the circumference.
"…"
Musujime looked extremely cold. She raised her index finger and gently hooked it.
In an instant, the pistol returned to her hand. However, a spoon was stuck in the middle of it. Seemed like after she teleported the pistol, she teleported the spoon back to where the pistol was. Any amateur could see that this pistol couldn't be used anymore.
Looking closely, the items on the circumference around her continued to move about, creating a phenomenon similar to that of a tornado. A tornado caused by different items squeezing each other, ripping and destroying each other and forming debris.
It was useless to take something she couldn't use. Musujime impatiently tossed the pistol away. The safety of the pistol wasn't closed, thus, it exploded, the debris landing all over the place, but Musujime didn't mind.
The circular tornado surrounding Musujime suddenly stopped.
The items and debris that had continued to appear and vanish suddenly stopped and drop onto the ground.
"I'm going to kill you…"
Musujime growled.
Sweat continued to roll down her chest like fat forced out of barbequed meat by intense heat.
"I MUST KILL YOU!! I WILL DEFINITELY NOT FORGIVE YOU!! YOU DARE TO DESTROY MY EVERYTHING!! WITHOUT YOU, MY LIFE WOULDN'T BE SO PITIFUL!!!"
These outrageous and angry words made Shirai, who was lying on the floor, laugh weakly.
Musujime gave a sinister look at Shirai, like she wanted to suffocate Shirai with her own two hands. However, she suddenly looked up.
"Ha…hahaha! Isn't this too coincidental, Shirai-san?"
The sound of a police car could be heard. It seemed like Anti-Skill had been alerted by the commotion.
"But I'm not going to let this little obstacle obstruct me! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! EVEN IF YOU'RE FAR AWAY, I CAN END YOUR LIFE. I'M DIFFERENT FROM YOU; I'M SPECIAL!!"
Musujime slackened her jaw, staggering as she stood up,
"…The trainers told me that I'll damage my body if I move anything more than 1,000kg, but I don't care anymore. The maximum limit of my Move Point is 4,520kg. I can escape and attack this place. I can destroy this place with you in it."
Musujime said in a low voice,
"Hohoho, I'm going to destroy you. Since you destroyed me, I definitely want revenge. I wonder how your body will end up after the building collapses on you, eh, Shirai-san?"
On hearing Musujime's words, Shirai didn't say anything. She could only look at the ceiling like a corpse.
Musujime spit onto the floor and looked around, picking up the one-sleeve jacket. She put it on and looked for the luggage bag with the broken handle.
"Ah…you still need such a thing?"
"!"
On hearing these words, Musujime turned around and saw Shirai Kuroko smiling at her.
Even when her body was devastated, Shirai's will didn't allow her to give up. Her lips curled up, revealing a sarcastic smile.
Musujime gave a hard kick to Shirai's abdomen. Shirai rolled back onto the ground, blood spurting out. However, Musujime's eyes were bloodshot as she ignored Shirai, turning and grabbing the luggage bag. Right now, Musujime's aims and methods were no longer in sync. The outcome of the situation and the plans for the future were no longer important to her.
With a distorted look, Musujime carried the luggage bag and disappeared into thin air.
In contrast, Shirai Kuroko was unable to use her Teleport ability now.
If she stayed, she would be attacked by Musujime.
A maximum limit of 4,520kg.
If she exerted full power, Musujime's body would be damaged as well. But she didn't care. She would rather endure some pain and destroy the entire level together with Shirai's body. No, not just the level. If the level collapses, the domino effect would cause the entire building to collapse completely.
She had to run away.
Even a stupid person could understand this. However, Shirai couldn't even move a finger.
(Onee…sama…)
This soft voice escaped the girl's lips.
But this heartfelt thought was ruthlessly blocked by the long distance.