Chapter 116: That Which I Seize in These Hands

"Finally."

The word “woman”──even using that expression felt inappropriate.

With chestnut hair streaming in the night wind, the figure standing there bore a grotesque aura, no different from a monster writhing with incomprehensible tentacles. It was as if her terrifying exterior reflected the kaleidoscope of chaos inside her.

The Meltdowner.

Academy City’s Number Four.

Mugino Shizuri.

The sixteen-year-old girl curved her lips into a thin smile and clenched her fist before her face.
A sharp crack resounded from her knuckles.

The battle began the very next instant.

The blonde noblewoman before her──Reicia Blackguard──vanished from sight.

From the unfolding of the “Crack” wings to her flight into the sky, there had not even been a tenth of a second’s delay. Yet Mugino, too, matched her in that realm of speed.

In their battle, the five senses were meaningless. What mattered was computation. The ability to perceive through one’s power and to run precise calculations became a clairvoyant vision that pierced the present and foresaw the future. That was the very essence of combat at the peak of esper abilities.

Two colossal arms erupted behind Mugino, gleaming with a brilliance filled with ruin and ill omen. Raised like a martial artist’s fighting stance, they lay in wait for Reicia without a shred of carelessness.

On the tense battlefield, only two lines were exchanged.

"At last, I get to smash you to pieces."

"After rolling in the dirt once already, you certainly have the nerve to say that."

And then, leaving her words in the void, Reicia vanished once more.

(...A charge clad in ultrasonic armor! If that hits, even I’ll be knocked out in one blow! …But!!)

The variety of attacks. The abundance of options.

That was the greatest wall dividing the Number Four from the “Another Four” of the dark side, and it was precisely why Mugino had lost to Reicia in their previous fight.

But then──what if she flipped that idea on its head?

"If you’ve got a mountain of tricks, then I’ll just blast them all away!!"

ZUGAGAGAGAGAGAGA!!

A giant threw a tantrum.

Arms of destruction lashed out wildly in every direction.

At first, Reicia dismissed it as a crude attempt at suppression aimed at her and almost sneered at its clumsiness──but another persona lurking inside her stopped her short.

《No, Reicia-chan! That’s not suppression!》

For Reicia Blackguard, roles in combat were fluid. Depending on the flow of battle or her compatibility with the opponent, the switch between personas happened naturally, without a word. At times, both would devise strategies or share computational duties in parallel, even adopting such irregular methods.

In this battle, Reicia controlled the body, while Shiren handled the calculations of her ability──and that was why Shiren realized it.

《She’s destroying it! The “Cocoon”!》

──The “Crack” cocoon, deployed from the very start of battle to trigger the storm.

It had been shattered by that strike.

"I already know your ability, Another Four! Your power is nothing more than interfering with intermolecular bonds, severing everything with your ‘Crack’! Airflow manipulation is just an application, nothing more! By breaking apart the stacked ‘Cracks’ that created your so-called vacuum zone──!"

With a triumphant grin, Mugino roared:

"So all I gotta do is smash it before you release it! If I do that, your damn airflow tricks won’t work! That alone cuts your countless options down to a single card──‘Crack’ itself!!"

Once the “Crack” cocoon was destroyed, ultrasonic armor was naturally unusable.

If she could limit the countless techniques Meltdowner couldn’t cope with, then the advantage of the White-Black Sawblade Jagged Edge would practically vanish.

Of course, swinging Meltdowner’s giant arms at random wouldn’t guarantee the destruction of every “cocoon.” Yet in a situation where Reicia could not know which applications had been eliminated, she had no choice but to factor that uncertainty into her calculations.

(Flight itself is still possible, as long as the “Crack” wings aren’t destroyed… so I’m not crippled yet. But…! Any storm-based applications are definitely sealed…! From here… what’s the move…!?)

Reicia and Shiren shuddered, unable to strike back immediately.

Looking up at the noblewoman soaring high, the demoness with her radiant twin arms gazed down coldly, slowly, at the board before her.

────Her enemy, too, was a Level 5 esper.

And in the skies above, the one who spread their wings was not hers alone.

---

Chapter 3: The Worth of a Soul is Useless – Double(Square)_Faith
Episode 96: That Which I Seize in These Hands – "ZERO"_or_Pride

---

Five minutes into the battle.

The fight between Reicia and Mugino had begun to resemble a deadly game of tag.

That was because—

"Come on!! You can’t beat me by running away all the time!!"

"...! Oh, and since when are you and I even in an equal match? Shouldn’t you at least consider the possibility that I’m just stalling for time!?"

Acceleration from the radiation of the Meltdowner.

Using that, Mugino challenged Reicia to high-speed close-quarters combat. Destroying the “cocoon” had removed the need to worry about ultrasonic armor, which was a major factor in this strategy.

In pure hand-to-hand combat, there was no way Reicia could win against Mugino. So Reicia intentionally deployed a black-and-white “Crack” cocoon between herself and Mugino. It wasn’t calculated with wind direction or anything; it was barely more than a harmless air explosion.

Yet even so, Mugino could not ignore obstacles along the straight-line path. Acceleration via Meltdowner radiation allowed only linear motion, and trying to dodge obstacles while moving at high speed placed a cumulative burden on her body.

More importantly──leaving the cocoon intact gave the opponent more options.

Therefore—

"Pathetic bluff!! You can think about that after I smash you to pieces!!!! All you need to do is worry about surviving one more second!!"

A swing of her massive arm.

With the sweep of her radiant giant arm, the “Crack” cocoon was effortlessly destroyed. At the same time, she remained alert to the possibility that Reicia might be secretly preparing something using invisible “Cracks” while distracting Mugino with visible ones, regularly clearing the battlefield with the other giant arm.

As a result, the mountaintop was stripped bare of trees, but in battles between Level 5 espers, terrain remaining intact was the rarity, not the norm.

Mugino thought the same.

"...What’s wrong?"

And──for that reason, she was furious.

"How long are you going to cling to ‘Storm’!? Your ability is wind!? Huh!? No, it isn’t!! Your power is ‘Crack’, which severs all things! Then shouldn’t the proper use be to aim that directly at me!!!!"

If Reicia had fully utilized her ability, she would have directed numerous “Cracks” at Mugino during this escape. Visible ones could be swatted away by Meltdowner’s twin arms, but if she had used invisible “Cracks,” Mugino would have been forced to fight more cautiously—or might have already lost a limb.

Yet the “Another Four” of the dark side did not do that.

She couldn’t.

She considered inflicting irreparable injuries, such as severing an opponent’s limbs, to be a line no one should cross. Even knowing the opponent sought her life, she would not breach that line—and still expected to defeat the Number Four.

"Quit underestimating me, little girl!! You think you can face the darkness of this city with your clean little hands and get away with it!!"

Mugino took that as a genuine insult.

This was a battle between espers, a duel of pride.

Yet the “Another Four” before her refused to fully engage. She was conserving her options, enjoying a safe-spot hero game. Mugino saw that very way of living as an insult directed at her.

"If you intend to block me, then come with the intent to kill!! If you’re not going to kill, then don’t stand in my way!!!! Don’t even think about facing the darkness without that resolve!!!!"

Rage.

Shouting, Mugino slammed her twin arms into the mountaintop—a dangerous gamble that could have collided with Reicia’s deployed “Cocoon.”

But she won the gamble. The cocoon did not appear at that moment, and the explosion from below caused Reicia to momentarily lose balance, slowing her flight.

In less than a heartbeat, Mugino saw Reicia’s expression twist with genuine panic.

By then, the radiation from the Meltdowner had brought her within striking distance.

──Choosing a kick as the first strike was not an act of mercy.

Using “Circulation” twice to disrupt Reicia’s balance left only “Radiation” available for the attack. But “Radiation” had a time lag for aiming, making it unusable at supersonic speeds.

Thus, striking Reicia’s abdomen with her body’s momentum was the most logical and effective decision.

"Guah…!?"

A pointed heel sank into Reicia’s stomach, and she let out a pained exhale along with a gush of stomach acid.

Following Mugino’s leg swing, Reicia’s body was sent flying downward like a bullet.

She could have followed up with Meltdowner, but she chose not to. The dust created by “Radiation” could give Reicia just enough time to recover and retaliate—too risky.

(...This isn’t to toy with her. I’m using only what’s needed to end this quickly.)

Raging yet calculating, Mugino maintained complete control of the battlefield.

Yet this was not unexpected for Reicia.

《As I thought…! Mugino-san has switched to close combat!》

《Naturally. Meltdowner cannot handle high-speed combat. It’s obvious that the muscle-bound gorilla would choose this next move!》

Engaging in high-speed battle and forcing Mugino into hand-to-hand combat was exactly what they had predicted.

Until now, the fight had been a setup to create a misjudgment in Mugino’s mind.

In other words──

《Mugino must be thinking: If I suppress the Storm, Reicia Blackguard can’t do anything to me!》

And that was exactly Reicia’s strategy.

If she could not find an effective counter to close combat, Mugino would naturally judge it as effective. With each exchange, that confidence would grow──dividing her focus toward offense, closing in for hand-to-hand combat.

After several exchanges, Mugino once again closed in on Reicia. At the last moment, Reicia deployed a “Crack” wall to defend against the physical attack.

Mugino’s radiant arm tore through it effortlessly, bringing Reicia under her control.

Seeing the “Crack” wall destroyed as easily as paper, Reicia’s thoughts momentarily blanked.

Watching that, Mugino smoothly raised her leg.

"Why would you think a mere ‘Crack’ could stop my assault?"

And that was exactly the outcome Reicia had hoped for.

"──Only the Storm… Why did you think that’s all I had?"

Immediately after, Mugino’s body, aiming for a heel drop, was struck sideways by material debris, sending her off course.

"If you cut a three-dimensional block of tofu, the cut surface becomes two-dimensional. If you cut ‘something’ of a higher dimension than three, the ‘cross-section’ manifests in our world. Did you think you could win by suppressing the Storm alone? …Even without it, a ‘lower-class’ like you can’t do anything. Know your place."

Spitting the words out, Reicia had no intention of halting her high-speed flight using the “Crack” wings.

Her taunt was merely a verbal gambit, designed to unsettle Mugino’s composure. Reicia never considered that she could take Mugino down with the “Debris Matter,” whose effectiveness against Meltdowner was uncertain at best.

"…No wonder."

A muttered remark slipped past.

Mugino, who had been sent sprawling to the ground, rose smoothly and looked up at Reicia.

Bathed in moonlight, she had blood streaming from her head, but otherwise showed no significant injuries. Her gaze, though filled with anger, was not tainted with madness.

"After all, an esper placed above me in this city… I never thought crushing the Storm alone would be enough to finish this. That’s why I stayed alert."

The direct hit from the “Debris Matter” carried the force of a car collision. Even someone like Mugino would have been incapacitated if struck mid-attack.

So why was she still conscious? Simple—at the moment of impact, she had anticipated and defended using the twin arms created by “Circulation.”

"But… what a tough substance. I didn’t think my Meltdowner could fail to destroy it completely."

The surface of the “Debris Matter” sank into the ground, melting and breaking apart.

Meltdowner could destroy it. But the strength and destructive power were nearly balanced, and Mugino was blown back simply due to the debris’s movement speed.

Instantly, both combatants accounted for this fact and began calculating future battle scenarios.

"If that one’s ability produces something ‘I can’t make sense of,’ that thing becomes a target."

A man’s voice echoed in Mugino’s mind.

In reality, the “Debris Matter” had not been a random factor. That was why Mugino could instinctively choose a defensive response against the suddenly appearing ambush.

──The advice came from this man.

Blond-haired, with a tattoo covering half his face, he looked like a gangster-scientist—Amata Kihara.

He was the one who hired the “Items” and had given Mugino advice just before this battle.

"Matter drops a dimension when sliced. A 3D object becomes 2D, a 2D object becomes 1D… and a line becomes an extreme point."

In one history, this knowledge had led the world to ruin.

"Your Meltdowner manipulates electrons in a state that’s neither particle nor waveform. It’s ideal for treating an infinitesimal point as a single unit while maintaining its entirety."

Normally, achieving this mastery required dedicated equipment and countless battles to calibrate parameters. One could not attain it in a single fight. But—

"…And the Another Four of the dark side… has the ability to sever absolutely anything."

With a devilish grin:

"I’ve seen her actually cut through ‘dimensions.’ Normally, you should be able to observe her cutting through a 1D space entirely. If you use that parameter, you could reach it too… Become the ‘extreme point of X dimensions.’"

The scientist tempted the girl, like Satan whispering to Eve.

"Use her as a stepping stone. That annoying little girl who surpasses you… If you do, you might truly claim the Number Four—or maybe even more."

The extreme point of X dimensions.

It was the aggregation of the world. A single infinitesimal point, yet also the entirety of existence. By passing through this point, an esper could send any matter anywhere.

Everything desired could be brought to hand.
Everything unwanted could be sent to the ends of the galaxy.

That was the true power of the extreme point of X dimensions.

And Mugino had the right to wield it.

(One more time.)

Closing the distance to Reicia with high-speed “Radiation” propulsion, Mugino grinned inwardly.

(Her ‘Debris Matter’… must have severed several dimensions at once. Almost certainly including the 1D plane. All I need is to observe it up close… Then the extreme point victory falls into my hands.)

Reicia, fleeing, tried to deploy a cocoon to use her “Storm.” Mugino swept it away with her “Arms of Light.” As this continued, Reicia was caught up and nearly struck—

"Persistent… aren’t you! You gorilla!!"

(──Here it comes!!!)

Mugino focused all her senses on the unknown sensation emerging from the side.

She felt the threads unravel. The single structure of the world began to unwind—and in the very core, she sensed her hand reaching ‘something.’

With a rapture that could only be called ecstatic, Mugino touched it────

"Thanks for your trouble, you little brat. Thanks to you, I’ve safely ‘harvested’ it."

In her hand, a sphere of light was born.

It was not electrons in the ambiguous state between particle and waveform that Meltdowner manipulated.

It was something more fundamental. A light that seemed to gather the radiance of distant stars right into her palm.

The “Debris Matter” had vanished.

No. Mugino had blown it away to some distant galaxy.

This was Mugino at her true strength. The end of Meltdowner. Even a unidirectional accelerator could not counter forces acting directly through reflection. Space traversed via the extreme point was treated as the same coordinate—there was no vector to oppose.

In other words, invincible.

At this moment, Mugino Shizuri stood at the pinnacle of Level 5 espers.

"Alright then, how about I start by blasting your ass all the way to the edge of the galaxy? Don't worry. I'll make sure no one has to see your ugly dying face!!!"

──Or at least, that was the plan.

"…Huh?"

Suddenly, Mugino noticed something odd. A single fissure had crept into the pole of her ability, right there in her hand. A black-and-white rift. It was Reisia Blackguard’s power.

"…What the hell is this? That thing… the second I touch it, I should be able to blast it to the far edge of the galaxy and—"

It should’ve vanished. Mugino’s control over her power was absolute. Yet, the fissure didn’t disappear. On the contrary, an unpleasant cracking sound echoed from her hand, as though the pole itself was starting to fracture.

"What the hell is going on!? The pole’s supposed to be—right here! In my hand! I’m using your damn ability as a springboard, so why the hell—!?"

"I don’t know what exactly you’ve obtained," Reisia said softly, her tone calm and composed despite Mugino’s panic.

"But if that thing is something you’ve created based on my ability, isn’t it only natural that I can interfere with it using my power?"

In other words—

There were now two "Rulers of the Pole" present in this space.

It was unlikely that Reisia could fully control a Dimensional Pole. Her ability was fundamentally about severing; she could create poles, but controlling them was beyond her. However, creating one was still possible.

So if Reisia continuously generated new poles separate from Mugino’s, the existence of multiple reference points in the world would inevitably cause Mugino’s calculations to throw an error, preventing her power from functioning properly.

At that moment, Mugino understood.

The girl before her was an irreconcilable enemy.

"Looks like I’ll definitely have to kill you."

"Then I suppose I’ll just have to punish you first!"

The pole was useless now.

Realizing that, Mugino discarded the entire miniature world she had condensed in her palm, then unleashed her luminous twin arms once again, swinging them down to slice Reisia apart.

Reisia darted high into the sky, moving at high speed—but she had already gained more than enough time. Proof of that hovered above her head.

A radiant sun.

But it wasn’t truly the sun.

By converging the surrounding air currents, she had compressed the atmosphere to the extreme—forming a colossal plasma sphere reaching one hundred million degrees Celsius (180M +8°F).

"…Mugino-san."

Reisia’s voice carried a mocking lilt as she looked down on her opponent.

"Do you think you can surpass this?"

Mugino’s reply was instant.

"Like hell I can’t!! You little shitttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!!!!"

The plasma descended, pushed downward by the intense pressure of the air currents.

Mugino didn’t need Reisia to tell her what it was. This was Reisia Blackguard’s ultimate technique—the secret art of the Jagged Edge. Her maximum firepower. If Mugino could surpass this, she’d have completely conquered the entire hand of the secret Fourth Rank, the Another Four.

And when it came to pure destructive power—there was no reason why the Atomic Breaker, Meltdowner, would ever lose.

"Aaah… AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Plasma and Meltdowner’s twin arms collided.

The plasma, created by compressing air to one hundred million degrees, was undeniably monstrous. Its sheer force was enough to make even Meltdowner’s output falter for an instant. But ultimately—it was still gas.

In contrast, the electrons Mugino fired had been accelerated to such extremes that, when launched at high velocity, they simulated the resistance and durability of a solid.

Before such pseudo-solid electrons, Reisia’s plasma proved far too fragile.

In the end, Mugino’s Meltdowner tore through Reisia’s maximum firepower and shattered it completely.

──And in that very instant, Reisia vanished from sight, repositioning herself into Mugino’s blind spot at extreme speed.

The plasma had only been a decoy.

Reisia knew Mugino. If someone challenged her to a contest of destructive power—even if it was an obvious trap—Mugino Shizuri would always accept. There was no other option.

Refusing would mean abandoning her pride, and that was something Mugino would never do.

Especially when the opponent was someone like Reisia, who dared to fight without even intending to kill her. That only enraged Mugino further.

It was precisely because Reisia understood this twisted side of Mugino’s personality that she had chosen this risky, razor-thin tactic.

(…!)

But even though Reisia had outplayed her opponent, her expression was far from relaxed.

The plasma’s generation required enormous computational resources, and on top of that, she had executed an instantaneous high-speed maneuver. The relentless, unbroken chain of combat calculations was taking its toll—her brain was screaming from the strain.

And worse—her airflow detection told her that Mugino was already deploying a Meltdowner Shield directly in front of her.

The plasma’s distraction would only last for an instant longer. There wasn’t nearly enough time left to bypass Mugino’s shield with another high-speed strike and hit her with the ultrasonic-armored charge she had prepared.

──Then, both of them thought of the same option.

『If you’re gonna stand in my way, then come at me ready to die!! If you don’t have the guts to kill me, then get the hell outta my way!!! Don’t you dare think you can challenge me without that resolve!!!』

Direct offense using the fissure.

If she were to sever Mugino’s left arm entirely, the pain alone would instantly crash her calculations. That would open a window for Reisia to land a finishing blow and knock her out cold.

It wouldn’t be fatal.

In the proper course of events, Mugino would end up injured to about this degree anyway.

Even if Reisia did it here and now, the overall timeline wouldn’t be significantly affected.

…Reisia’s right eye locked onto Mugino, and the unstable blur in her movements began to settle.

And thus, the countless diverging futures began to converge again—

Like an overstretched rubber band snapping back into place.

The oscillation stilled completely, until—

《No… I can’t》《No… this won’t do》

──And then, the flow diverged once more.

The distortion of the world would not collapse into such a simple conclusion.

Because the right to decide convergence… lay within her hands.

That was—the difference in true power.

Between the Dimensional Pole… and the Divine Contract: Near-Death Promise.

《So, what now? The shortest path is blocked by the Meltdowner Shield. But if we try to go around, we’ll get counterattacked by Mugino once she clears away the plasma distraction.》

《Then we just go straight through. As for how to handle the shield──》

As she soared through the sky, Reisia declared it without hesitation.

《──Shiren, I’m leaving this to you!!!!》

《You’re seriously dumping everything on me!?》

Despite sounding exasperated, Shiren had already found the answer.

It was true: at this distance, even if they initiated high-speed maneuvers, any attempt to bypass Mugino’s shield would just get countered the moment they broke through the plasma barrier.

But… what if they could shorten that distance even further?

《I’ve already released control of the plasma. My current computational tasks are focused only on high-speed movement. That means… I have room! Using ultrasonic telekinetic displacement… I have enough capacity to move Mugino-san directly!!!!》

Zsshh—

A sudden sensation of floating seized Mugino, catching her completely off guard. And then she realized it—beyond the shredded remnants of the plasma, Reisia=Blackguard was nowhere to be seen.

"…Tch, damn it, that was just a decoy…!? But if that’s the case, I still have plenty of time to counter—!?"

"You do not have time, dear. After all, you’re moving straight toward us!!"

The shock of realizing she herself was being forcibly moved…

That tiny delay in recognition became the deciding factor between victory and defeat.

Sliding past Mugino’s Meltdowner Shield, Reisia closed the gap until her fists could nearly graze her opponent. Her right hand drew back in a smooth, deliberate motion.

Meanwhile, Mugino, still being dragged forward by ultrasonic telekinesis, attempted to counter with raw close-quarters force—

"You kept rambling on about ‘resolve’ this and ‘resolve’ that, didn’t you?"

Reisia’s right fist clenched tight. And then—she swung.

"Our resolve is this: we will kill no one. We will let no one die. That is our conviction!!!!"

GOGANNN!!!!

The sound of a single, decisive impact thundered through the twilight.

---

──After the battle with Mugino-san was over.

Holding my head, which felt heavier than usual from overloading my calculations, we started making our way toward the other battlefield — the one where Mikoto-san and Kinuata-san were fighting.

Mikoto-san didn’t seem to be at her best today… She’s probably struggling quite a bit, but… I really hope she’s okay…

That’s what I was thinking. I was worried, but then—

"…Finally caught you. It’s over now, just give it up."

"…Super looks like it’s over, yeah. Seems like Mugino’s been defeated too."

We arrived just in time to see Kinuata-san restrained, bound tightly by an overwhelming amount of iron sand.

…Man, even if Mikoto-san wasn’t in peak condition, she still handled a Level 4 like it was nothing. Well… actually, on closer look, she’s got quite a few scratches on her. Guess she must’ve taken more hits than I thought, even if none of them were direct. That’s Kinuata-san for you, though — she didn’t go down easy.

"Eh? …Ah! Reisia! Shiren-san!"

Only after a moment did Mikoto-san notice us.

And that single moment of distraction… proved costly.

"Even if I’m restrained, you really shouldn’t be looking away in the middle of a super intense battle, you know?"

BOBAM!!!

Probably detonating a compressed nitrogen canister or something similar, Kinuata-san blew apart the iron sand restraining her and bolted at full speed, making a clean escape from the battlefield.

"Well, if fate brings us together again, we might meet once more. …Personally, though, I’d really prefer not to super be your enemy if I can avoid it."

…Judging by that, Mugino-san has probably been retrieved too. Honestly, trying to hold onto Mugino-san right now would’ve been suicide — if she woke up halfway through transport and went berserk, we’d be dead. Better to let her go for now… Though knowing my luck, this probably won’t be the last time we have to fight her. What kind of upgrades will she have next time, I wonder…

And then there’s that weird light earlier… I’m guessing it’s something that can’t be reproduced unless we trigger it somehow, but I don’t really know. We’ll probably have to do some proper research on that later.

"So, what do you think? Should we chase them down?"

"No. We’ve already beaten them so thoroughly they won’t be back on their feet tonight, at the very least. Right now, rescuing Nurikae is our highest priority."

"Got it… That said, though, I don’t know why, but I feel like my battery’s about to run out any second now…"

"I believe I know the cause of that, actually."

Most likely—it’s that large flower-like antenna blooming from the back of the other Kuriba-san.

That thing’s been hijacking Railgun’s electromagnetic output. Meaning, if we can destroy it, Mikoto-san won’t have to keep draining herself like this anymore.

But more importantly—we need to get to Tohma-san and the others right away and back them up!

"I’ll head to suppress the other Saishi-san. Mikoto-san, could you back up Hokaze-san and the others?"

"Ugh, fine, I get it. Guess I’ll stick around till the very end, then!"

Nodding in unison, we started heading down the mountain, toward the battlefield where Tohma-san and the others were fighting.

From ahead, carried on the wind, came the deep, rolling rumble of thunder — like a crawling stormcloud drawing ever closer.