Chapter 111: One Genius in 287,500

"There's no doubt about it—you are an esper."

Yobou-san said this through clenched teeth, as if admitting defeat.
But we, standing before him, knew better than anyone that this wasn’t a declaration of loss. The light in his eyes—that was something no beaten dog could possibly have.

That was the look of someone who, from the depths of their gut, was burning with the flames of rebellion, ready to strike back at any moment.

《Dangerous, isn’t he》

《Ah, so you think so too, Reicia-chan?》

Naturally, we all tightened our guard. The man standing before us now shouldn’t be mistaken for the same person we defeated alongside Sniper-san back then.

"But that alone doesn’t decide the outcome. It doesn’t seal the result of this fight."

There wasn’t some measurable indicator telling us this.
If we went by sheer threat level, you could even say he was weaker this time, with fewer numbers on his side.

《Of course. Because those eyes──》

But that wasn’t it.

《──are the same as mine, once upon a time》

Level 4: High-level esper.

The ability to run 'fractures' through anything he touched.

Reicia = Blackguard.

It was the same reckless, unrelenting force that once characterized her. Selfish, wild, charging straight upward without sparing a thought for anyone else—a force carrying the momentum of a willful girl staring only toward the top.

"Don’t underestimate a lowly Level 4."

Sure, Reicia-chan failed back then. But that didn’t make her harmless. On the contrary, it was exactly that instability—the likelihood of failure—that made her a threat to anyone who stood against her.

Winning meant proving her strength.
And Yobou-san, now facing us with that same resolve, carried the same dangerous disregard for his own safety. That desperation was what gave us the sense that a cornered rat might still bite the cat.

"…………"

We circled in the air around Yobou-san, keeping mindful of the small radios attached to our ears.

This was about gauging distance. If Yobou-san was indeed a master of high-level psychokinesis, then without doubt he would use optical manipulation to conceal himself.

And since he could manipulate air currents, even airflow detection could be thrown off. That’s why we circled around, scanning optically while simultaneously sensing the currents, trying to read his next move.

And, well… it also bought us time.

"……What’s wrong? If you won’t come to me, then I’ll come to you."

The instant he said that, the ground split open.

Bagigogibegibagi!!! With a sound so violent it was like the earth itself was breaking bones—yes, such a bizarre comparison even forced itself into my head—dozens of five-meter-long ‘spears of rock’ burst forth and began to orbit around Yobou-san.

Like moons around a planet, they spun round and round, their rotational speed rising higher and higher.

"True, a Level 4 has output limits. No matter what, I can’t reach Level 5. But that doesn’t mean I can’t strike with the force of a Level 5!"

Even as he spoke, the acceleration of the ‘earth spears’ kept rising.

That speed… it’s breaking the sound barrier!? Impossible! At that velocity, the spears should shatter themselves… no, wait! He’s protecting them with psychokinesis. That’s why they can withstand the strain of that absurd acceleration!

……No, no, no, how does that even work!? Isn’t that way beyond the scope of Level 4!? Isn’t that even faster than Misaka-san’s Railgun!?

…………tch!!

Sensing the danger, we cut open a higher dimension and manifested ‘Residual Matter.’

The next instant, a shock as if the entire atmosphere had been shaken tore through the area.

……If not for the sonic armor we had prepared just in case, our eardrums would’ve been blown out by now. The roar wasn’t just a sound—it hit our skin like waves in the air itself. This was not something an average esper could produce.

And then──

"……He’s gone……!!"

He must have calculated that we would defend against that all-out strike. Since a transparent ‘fracture’ wouldn’t be enough to block it, he baited us into abandoning vision and relying instead on white-and-black ‘fractures’ or ‘Residual Matter’ for defense.

That absurdly long acceleration was all just to force us into that position.

《……A synchrotron, maybe》

《……Most likely. By segmenting psychokinetic control in a circular pattern, he could redirect those resources into pure output. Same principle as particle acceleration》

Reicia-chan added detail to my muttered thought.

A synchrotron—a device for accelerating charged particles. By controlling the electromagnetic field in tandem with the particles’ acceleration, it drives them faster and faster.

The device doesn’t simply ‘move’ particles; it continually ‘applies force’ at the right intervals to accelerate them. If you applied that logic to psychokinesis, then sure, endless acceleration like that would be possible.

Against an ordinary esper, this alone could serve as a trump card. But Yobou-san had used it merely as a smokescreen to hide himself. That alone showed how serious he was.

"……I see."

Reicia-chan was the first to speak.

"Hiding his body from sight with optical manipulation, obscuring his form with airflow manipulation on top of that… aiming for an ‘assassination,’ is he? Such shameless tactics, unbecoming of a high-level esper."

Exactly.

That attack had been meant to steal our focus for just a split second. To use that instant fully for a complete disappearance. That was what that strike had been for.

And in the end, it worked. We had completely lost sight of Yobou-san.

《Even a Level 0, a so-called powerless one, can defeat a Level 5 if they squeeze out every bit of wit they have. Especially in this city, this kind of thing is recognized at the level of law itself. If Yobou-san is standing on that line right now…》

《……Yes. In that case, he truly would be "dangerous." But, Shiren. Haven’t you forgotten?》

Then—

BWAAHH!! The ‘earth spears’ that had shattered into a cloud of dust when they struck our supersonic ‘Residual Matter’ suddenly began to move on their own.
……No, not on their own. That was unmistakably under our control. But it wasn’t airflow we were manipulating.

We were controlling something far finer… sound waves.

《We are not just some final boss who sits quietly waiting to be beaten!!!!》

Reicia-chan’s voice rang in my mind as she used ultrasonic psychokinesis to seize control of the massive dust cloud itself.

I see……! With this, she could ignore interference in the air currents and directly “paint” the space itself. Once the entire area was filled in, any optical distortion would stand out clearly. Then all we had to do was crush it.

"I see you now!!"

Reicia-chan thrust her finger forward as she declared it.

Like a slow-motion tsunami, the wave of dust spread outward, blanketing the area. And within that cloud, one patch—a space roughly the size of a human—warped unnaturally.

That distortion was trying to slip into the nearby bushes, moving at about the speed of a running man.

Reicia-chan grinned sharply.

"Heh, almost clever of you. In the bushes, with all the tangled airflow, even an odd distortion would be hard to spot. Your concealment would have been far more secure. But before me, it seems you were just too slow—"

BOBAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Her words cut off as the ground beneath our feet erupted, exploding at point-blank range like a landmine going off.

Chapter 3: The Worth of a Soul is Worthless — Double(Square)_Faith.
Episode 92: One in 287,500 — Level_5.

"Haa… haa…! How about this…!?"

Covered in dirt, Yobou looked up at the sky from inside the hole.
Even if it couldn’t be helped, he had been using too many layered applications of his ability one after another. The processing unit in his head allowed him to keep the different applications organized, so it was still manageable, but the mental burden was enormous.

At the very least, if this had landed a hit, it would have been worth it…

Thinking that, Yobou swept away the dust cloud with his ability and immediately shifted into escape mode.

"That was a close one. If I had been ‘alone,’ I would have lost."

High above.
Unfurling her black-and-white wings, Reicia looked down at Yobou with a calm, assured expression.
As if to show off to the Yobou crawling beneath the earth.

──In the battle of wits, Yobou had outplayed Reicia.

Yobou’s plan was simple.

First, he used a psychokinetic accelerator collider, modeled after a synchrotron, to fire a “spear of earth” at Reicia.
In terms of raw power, it surpassed even the third-ranked esper’s strikes, though he never once believed that would be enough to take down the “Another Four,” the hidden fourth-ranked esper. Its true value lay in the massive “dust cloud” that erupted as a side effect.

Using the dust cloud as cover, Yobou sank into the ground with his telekinesis.
At the same time, he had calculated that Reicia would exploit the dust herself. By robbing her of both airflow detection and visual tracking, he baited her into “coloring the space” with the dust. That was the true purpose of the dust.

After that, it was easy. Create a decoy force field moving at a decent speed toward the bushes above ground, while carefully tunneling beneath to position himself directly under Reicia. Once she lowered her guard, he would strike from zero distance. That was the plan—

"Shit…! A double persona, Double Face, huh…!!"

Shiren Blackguard.
It was likely her other personality had been keeping up a baseline level of caution the entire time. A ridiculous, theory-breaking constitution for someone with a split personality—but in practice, it had let her defy the “theory” and enhance her ability, reaching recognition as a Level 5.

As Yobou’s superior once said—“Common sense doesn’t apply.”

"No. A squared persona, Square Face."

Before he could flee.
His attack blocked, his expectations shattered, Yobou blanked for a single instant—and in that opening, a blast of wind, so forceful it could be mistaken for a fist, slammed into his exposed flank.

His body bent sharply like a clean-hit body blow.

"—ghh! Gahhh! Kahh! Haah, haah, kahhyuu…!"

Unable to endure it, Yobou rolled across the ground, trying to get distance from Reicia.
But Reicia clearly had no intention of letting him escape.

"Shall we dance, gentleman?"

Dogoohh!!!!

An impact thundered. A kick, far too heavy to have come from a girl, slammed into Yobou’s stomach. His body lifted off the ground with ease and was blown several meters away without even bouncing once.

Had he not instinctively thrown up a telekinetic guard, that blow would have pierced through fat and muscle alike, shredding organs and bones. …Though, most likely, Reicia had struck with just enough force under the assumption that he would block.

"……For the record, I had my telekinetic reactive armor deployed…! How can you keep that calm face after that…?"

"Why, I merely deployed a little ultrasonic armor, that is all. …Or do you truly think I could deliver a kick like that unaided? I am not the Fourth Rank, you know."

"……You’re practically the Fourth Rank anyway. Complicated as hell…"

With a small laugh, Yobou pushed himself back to his feet. Pain burned through his body, yet so far he had managed to block most of the attacks. He could still fight.

In other words—his blows were connecting.

The battle was still tipped in his opponent’s favor. But this time, he had even found chances to go on the offensive. In their last encounter, he had been completely shut down with no room to resist. Now, even if just barely, he was holding his ground.

The gap was closing. Yobou was convinced of that.

"──Yobou, Banka."

That conviction froze for an instant. His enemy had spoken his name—something she should have had no way of knowing.

He rebooted his thoughts at once. No time to regret exposing such a fatal lapse before his foe. Yobou immediately tried to reduce incoming damage by wrapping his body in a forcefield membrane, but—

"Please, don’t look so frightened, Yobou-san."

Reicia giggled like a child delighted with a prank well played as she descended lightly to the ground.

The expression she wore was no longer the fierce smile of a combatant. Instead, it was a gentle, disarming smile—the kind one would never associate with battle. And yet, precisely because she chose to reveal it in this deadly moment, that incongruity pressed down on Yobou even more heavily than her raw power had.

"…………How. How did you extract information on a member of School, one of the most secure organizations in the entire dark side?"

"Now, how indeed? Let’s just say this much—it is not only the privilege of the Fifth Rank to obtain information however they please."

──Then in other words, she possesses some method of peering into people’s minds?

The very thought left Yobou’s throat parched.

Had he not steeled himself for this confrontation, his throat might have seized shut, leaving him unable to breathe.

Still, the Level 5 esper before him showed no signs of pressing her advantage to settle the fight right now. With his own interest lying in buying more time, Yobou opted not to move recklessly, choosing instead to continue the exchange of words.

…Besides, if the battle resumed, unless he uncovered the trick behind her apparent mind-reading, there was no path to victory for him.

"Truth be told, it is rather vulgar, so I had not wished to resort to it… but it seems I can no longer afford such luxuries."

"…What do you mean by that?"

Overwhelmed by the strange atmosphere pressing on him, Yobou demanded clarification. Reicia answered with a smile.

Perhaps it was—a demand for surrender.

"Kakine Teitoku. Your superior, you see—he looks about ready to lose."