When my vision stopped flickering, our location had already changed from the desolate building to a... park? That was the only way I could describe the location, as it had wide grassy patches where someone with a pet dog could play along.
In the middle of it stood a three-faced manual clock, showing the current time of 10:33 a.m. And right below it...
"That's our target." Koori said in a low voice, staring at the figure ahead. "I'm sending the target's portfolio; read through it."
Just as she finished her words, I saw a short notification on my phone once again. I quickly checked it to see the image of a timid-looking girl.
[
Name: Emily Kunnit
Age: 16
Observed type: Teleportation, Pyrokinesis
]
And after seeing her face and name... it made me gasp.
"Kunnit...?"
I raised my eyes, staring at the figure ahead.
She... no longer looked anywhere close to her portfolio image.
Her hair was waving around, as if she bore a powerful aura that moved the air around her. Her pale-green eyes were now bloodshot, and her slender body was presently bulging lightly with powerful muscles, making her look like a fearsome beast.
But most of all, I couldn't help but frown. A single line from her portfolio made me realize how fate could be so cruel.
This girl was... Henry Kunnit's little sister.
WHOOSH!
"...!"
A flash of flame rushed toward my face, making me flinch—but I still managed to dodge it in time, tilting my head away. That was a fast, non-telegraphed, 100% lethal attack!
"Focus!" Koori shouted as she ran forward. "You'll die if you don't!"
With one wave of her hand, the water present in the air and from all the nearby drinking fountains and faucets began to gather. She then threw the large mass of water toward the target, but...
PSHHH!
A single fireball hit the incoming wave, causing all the water to evaporate instantly.
Alex, who was nearby, scoffed lightly. "Heh, the situation is troublesome. She's hot..." He said, before correcting himself. "I mean, her flame's hotter than mine!"
"..."
As a man, I couldn't help but nod along with his former statement. The target, after all, due to her muscles' expansion, was now wearing tattered clothes. One could catch glimpses of her barely ripe fruits... but compared to Koori or Ophelia, she's still too immature.
"Woah!"
Another fireball shot towards my face, as if the enemy could tell that I was thinking something rude. Thankfully, I dodged it again by ducking down quickly, letting the flame dissipate a few meters behind.
"...!"
Right then, I found a clue. I realized one of her weaknesses immediately.
"She's got a short range of control! About 9.81 meters!" I shouted. "Keep your distance and attack from range!"
"Damn! Even her range is longer than mine!" Alex cursed again but quickly jumped back, gaining some additional distance.
Ophelia, who was standing next to Alex, commented. "Don't worry, hun, you're not short; you're perfect the way you are~!" She placed a hand around her navel while speaking.
"Wasn't talking about that sort of long right now!"
"..."
These two definitely...
"Stop chatting and help out!" Koori shouted, sounding impatient. "She's too difficult to contain!"
"Got it~!" Ophelia replied fast, lowering her posture and dashing forward. "Guess we should wrap this up really fast and rest somewhere cozy, right, dear~?"
"Ugh..."
Alex groaned, but as if to match Ophelia's movements, he fired a few fireballs the same way the target did. His attacks lacked the range to reach the other side... but it was enough to counteract the ones heading straight at Ophelia, at least.
Ophelia didn't even bat an eye and didn't try to dodge. It was as if she trusted that Alex would prevent any attack from hitting her. And her trust was completely reciprocated. Alex truly shot down all attacks coming at her, leaving her unscathed.
"Ahahaha~! I love you, Alex~!"
She shouted as she practically reached an arm's length away from the enemy. Then, she tried to grab the neurodivergent's arm...
"Don't...! Step back!"
But I noticed one thing. The opponent... seemed to have anticipated Ophelia's actions. Flames of extreme power now covered the part she was about to touch. I doubt Ophelia would escape unscathed if she touched it!
"Petty~!" But Ophelia didn't step back... she didn't even stop her approach.
Her hand came close to the target's blazing arm and, a split second later, came to a full stop.
THUD!
Instead, she swept a leg, trying to get the target off-balance. It was a perfectly initiated "surprise" attack! Though her attack did connect, the target managed to regain balance almost instantly... It failed...? No. Her aim wasn't to make the enemy fall but rather to initiate contact with it in the first place.
"Alright, I've got you in the bag now~; don't struggle anymore, as it's pointless~!"
Ophelia's ability, Mind Reading, is a bit too OP... but is hard to trigger.
It was, after all, a contact-triggered ability. She first needed to establish some form of physical contact with the target before she could "read" the target's mind as if two particles were quantumly entangled, sharing information with no time lag.
If she was also given any "offensive" abilities, like pyrokinesis or hydrokinesis like the other two, then she'd definitely be the strongest of all.
The enemy fired attacks at Ophelia, but as if she were playing with a neighbor's kid, she simply smiled and dodged everything with ease. She could literally tell where the attack was going before it even arrived, after all.
"AAAAAAAAAH!"
But when the target realized this, she changed tactics quickly.
Instead of firing small balls of flame, she sent out a powerful wave. A wall of flames that couldn't be evaded. Ophelia, who couldn't run faster than the coming flames, was in danger... only if she was alone.
"Good distraction." Koori, who had been killing her presence since earlier, finally moved. "Now, freeze."
With that as the signal, a wave of absolute zero temperature washed over the target. The enemy's entire body froze over, wrapped in a cold fog... but the wave of flames didn't stop.
"Hup!" With perfect timing, Alex stepped in.
He parted the flames that lost control, leaving Ophelia unscathed—like some firebender.
In less than a minute, the three of them neutralized the target perfectly. They managed to neutralize the target while wearing casual clothes. No powered suits or any tools.
"... Am I even needed here?" I couldn't help but wonder.
We were convinced that the matter was over... but... it wasn't.
CRACK!
The ice that Koori made from her last attack, sealing the target in the middle of it... cracked. But not because it was hit by a powerful wave of heat from within. But rather, because… it was empty.
"Koori...!"
A warning echoed in my head. The voice of my NSC.
{It wasn't caught. It teleported away at the last moment!}
To make things worse, the place it teleported to was right behind our captain!
A flaming hand—hot enough to melt anything it touches—was rushing forward, about to touch Koori's back...