Bonus: The Grave Dilemma⑧

『You’ve gone far enough with your foolishness, Frenda Seivelun……!!!!』

"Wh-Wh-What’s going on here? She suddenly blew up in anger. Did I… do something really bad…?"

"It’s fine, it’s fine, no problem. Don’t worry about it."

Despite Reicia’s fury blazing high enough to pierce the heavens, Frenda answered with complete calmness—or perhaps that very reaction was exactly what she had aimed for.

Frenda leaned in close to the phone Kuriba was holding and said,

"Don’t you get it by now? The Doppelgänger is trying to kill Ryouko Kuriba. Driven by a machine’s stubborn single-mindedness."

"……!!"

"Microbe Revenge was built for that. If it had a standard-issue large-caliber railgun, then every time it tried to aim at Kuriba, the city’s defense systems would intervene and block the shot. To avoid that, it needed a weapon system specialized in anti-personnel combat. But… with only anti-personnel armaments, it couldn’t deal with the approaching heroes. …The result of that dilemma was that variable main cannon."

In other words—
Microbe Revenge’s main cannon was created both to eliminate Ryouko Kuriba and to fight off Academy City’s pursuers.

Once she grasped that fact, Reicia seemed to fully understand Frenda’s true intent.

To bring Ryouko Kuriba onto the board meant this: placing her directly in front of an enemy whose sole objective was her assassination.

『You mean to use Miss Kuriba as bait…!?』

"Bingo☆"

『Absurd! That would only expose Miss Kuriba to needless mortal danger! And even if you did that, at best it would only serve to temporarily draw the enemy’s focus onto her!』

Reicia shouted her indignation through the communicator, but Frenda just grinned with a mocking laugh.

"In the end, we’re the ones holding the ball here. No matter how you argue from there, our actions won’t change. If you want to change that, then stop relying on a conversation like this, and think of another way to deal with us."

『No…!』

Reicia tried to persist, but Frenda ignored any further protests and, without hesitation, switched off Kuriba’s phone.

It was Kuriba herself who was left confused. She had been dragged into this without really understanding what was happening, and now she suddenly found herself in this situation. From what she had just heard, she was about to be targeted for assassination by the Doppelgänger. Should she be angry? Cry? The whirlwind of events had happened so fast that her emotions hadn’t yet caught up.

As if to leave Kuriba’s turmoil behind, Frenda spoke.

"…Well, don’t worry. In the end, I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Besides, the seed has already been sown."

Perhaps because she could sense a kind of seriousness in Frenda’s expression, Kuriba managed to put aside her confusion for now. Still looking uneasy, she glanced around and said,

"…Come to think of it, that brown haired boy from earlier, where did he go? We got separated along the way…"

"A-ah."

Frenda answered lightly, without the slightest hint of worry.

"He went… straight to he-ll."

Chapter 3 – The Value of a Soul is Worthless　Double(Square)_Faith.
Bonus: The Grave Dilemma >>>>>Battle for Ryouko Kuriba, District 21 Frontline⑧

"Damn it!! That bitch dumped the troublesome job on me…!"

Hamazura Shiage was literally running through hell.

The satchel slung over his shoulder was crammed with bombs of all shapes and sizes, and right now he was scattering them everywhere without discrimination.

"Tch… She had the nerve to say, ‘In the end, I’ll be the one taking on the most dangerous role,’ but isn’t this plenty dangerous too? I’m the one tossing around live explosives here…!"

The forest had already lost half its right to be called "nature" thanks to the battle.

Trees had been snapped in half by shockwaves, and scattered across the area were chunks of Microbe Revenge’s armor plating, blown off by the fighting.

Hamazura looked up at a shard of white armor, taller than he was, standing upright like a gravestone.

It was once part of Microbe Revenge’s main cannon armor. Because that cannon destroyed and rebuilt itself with every shot, fragments like this were blasted across the battlefield in massive numbers—or so Frenda had guessed. But seeing it up close, the sheer presence was overwhelming.

From afar, Microbe Revenge’s size distorted his sense of scale, but here, even a single fragment was bigger than him.

"…So it really does exist. But if even a random chunk of scrap is bigger than me, then just getting clipped by one flying piece would be enough to turn me into ground meat."

Thinking about that, Hamazura felt like his very lifespan was being shaved away with each passing moment. Statistically, the odds of such a hit were about as low as a meteor falling on his head, but once a battle started, it felt like those odds were rolled infinitely.

Even if the chance was minuscule, the fact that it wasn’t zero meant it was "bound to happen eventually." Not exactly reassuring.

"And then… huh? …What the hell is this!?"

Checking the underside of the armor fragment, Hamazura let out a voice of realization.

On the inner surface of the white-painted armor, where the raw black metal was exposed, a faintly cloudy, translucent slime had spread in intricate patterns, like the circuits of a motherboard.

Hamazura had no way of knowing, but this was the very secret of Microbe Revenge’s abilities—the phenomenon Reicia and the others had theorized about. By leaving spaces beneath the armor and embedding microbial spring-loaded computers there, the entire frame of the weapon could act as an ability emission point.

Even without knowing the principle, Frenda and her group had reached a similar conclusion.

"…So this is really what they’re planning to use, huh…"

Muttering halfheartedly, Hamazura went back to scattering bombs around the area.

Finally, glancing back over the work he’d done, he grumbled under his breath,

"…Damn it, how much longer am I supposed to keep this up?"

『……A farce.』

In the midst of the battle between Microbe Revenge and Reicia Blackguard. To be precise, the doppelgänger sitting at the machine’s core deliberately activated its external audio system—solely to spit out those words of surrender recommendation.

"...What do you mean by that?"

Soaring with the wings of 『Fissure』, Reicia spread the rift upward in a scooping arc, but Microbe Revenge evaded it with ease. The rift lingered in the air, obstructing Microbe Revenge’s movement, only for the machine to fire a railgun blast straight into it, shattering it to pieces without effort. Though 『Fissure』 could divide nearly all substances, its ability to withstand external pressure had shown weakness before. Still, this time it was obliterated far too easily. Not by some unforeseen energy like Fuse = Kazakiri’s, but simply through overwhelming raw power.

『Your style of fighting. Obviously meant to draw attention away from the ground, isn’t it?』

"...!"

『Did you think I wouldn’t notice? No… did you think your signals weren’t being in-ter-cep-ted?』

That one statement made Reicia’s breath catch. Intercepted. The meaning behind that word was clear—

『This machine is packed with an abundance of sensors. Acoustic, electromagnetic, and of course radio interception is trivial. And that little exchange earlier between you and the blonde one. I didn’t even need to infer from your behavior—I heard it all. The Original is here, isn’t it?』

"...!"

The doppelgänger’s voice carried an unmistakable malice. Reicia’s expression stiffened.

"Why…! Why are you targeting Kuriba-san so viciously!? She has never tried to attack you, nor intended to harm you! There is no reason for you two to fight! If someone has manipulated you into this—!"

『Heh. Just like the intel said. Truly a flower garden, you are. The Hidden Fourth, Another Four.』

Even now, as she tried to mediate, the doppelgänger only laughed.

『It’s not even a question worth asking, is it? Kuriba Ryouko alone is more than enough for this world.』

"……!!"

A perspective Reicia Blackguard could never conceive. A new personality, born yet willing to exhaust itself for the sleeping one. A being that threw everything into saving a personality bound for death. For them, existing as "two" in this world was both pride and joy. To deny that was unthinkable.

『Ah, I suppose you wouldn’t understand. You—nothing more than a "convenient manufactured persona," born from human selfishness yet still showing obedience to your irresponsible creator. Isn’t that right… Shiren Blackguard?』

"…Cheap provocation," "I’ll gladly accept that fight, then!!"

In the next instant—
GOBASSSHH!!!!
From behind Reicia, countless fissures burst forth, while from above Microbe Revenge, a rain of massive 『Debris Matter』 came crashing down.

"Take that back, you wretch! Shiren’s compassion is nowhere near as cheap as you dare to price it!!!!"

Have you ever heard of the rumored weapon called "Rods from God"? Supposedly developed by the U.S. military, these are metal rods of tungsten, titanium, or uranium, over six meters in length, dropped from orbit to destroy targets with potential energy alone—a so-called space weapon. Some claim its destructive force could rival a nuclear bomb, and because it relies purely on gravitational energy, detection is notoriously difficult. Yet, scientifically, the weapon is considered unfeasible. A simple metal rod dropped from space would likely cause only limited localized destruction, and atmospheric friction would melt it long before impact. But let us shift the premise.

What if one could freely summon substances of sufficient mass and durability to drop as weapons?

"That shell must be stifling hot inside. Allow me to give you some fresh air!!!!"

Of course, even from that altitude, 『Debris Matter』 couldn’t replicate the nuclear-scale devastation of "Rods from God." However, each fragment was so massive that they plunged into the ground like anchors. While they lacked a flashy explosive effect, they were more than capable of piercing through Microbe Revenge’s armor and dealing severe internal damage.

『…Hmph, as expected of a Level 5 esper. To think you could so easily create an entirely new material. And on top of that… it’s so heavy I can’t even manipulate it with my "Possession".』

That didn’t mean there was nothing left to be done.

Amidst the downpour of the 『Debris Matter』, Microbe Revenge evaded without so much as a scratch. The one who panicked was Shiren, the one who had been provoked.

"Idiot!! Reicia-chan!! Frenda-san and Hamazura-san, and Kuriba-san are there, you know!? You should’ve realized right away their provocation was meant to make us hit our allies!" "There’s no need to worry! I’ve made sure to avoid where those three are, at least—"

Pressed by Shiren, Reicia blurted that out instinctively—but she immediately realized it was a mistake.

The 『Rod of God』 she had unleashed by way of the rainlike torrent of 『Debris Matter』—Reicia, despite her anger, had kept just enough composure to avoid the risk of friendly fire.

But because she was angry, she had forgotten one crucial fact.

Namely, the fact that where there were no attacks—that’s exactly where the three were.

『…Hah, such a pathetic ending…!!』

The main cannon of Microbe Revenge began to crumble without a sound.

The massive cannon, capable of slicing a destroyer clean in half, collapsed into pieces. Then, gathering the fragments and minerals around it, it reconstructed itself into an 『Anti-Personnel Railgun』.

Its aim was fixed on two girls running through the forest.

The trees concealed their bodies from view, but Microbe Revenge, employing multiple types of sensors, had unmistakably detected the blonde girl and her companion.

And then.

The Doppelgänger pulled the trigger—to destroy that other self. No… to destroy the existence that possessed the knowledge to reconstruct itself.

At that moment.

Frenda, even as she stared at Microbe Revenge’s main cannon—aimed to annihilate Kuriba along with herself—was undeniably smiling.

While running, a voice reached Frenda’s ear.

『…Well then, the stage is all set.』

It was the voice of Another Four, the shadowy Fourth, currently engaged in aerial combat.

But that voice had not come through any radio transmission. It was a telepathic ability, a "string phone–style" mental link, achieved by manipulating the conductivity of sound through the atmosphere.

『If you really want to change things, then you’ll need a different way to do it than just this little chat.』

That was what Frenda had said earlier, back in her exchange with Reicia.

Even in the middle of battle with Microbe Revenge, Frenda had already gauged the power of its sensor array. Which meant it could easily intercept any ordinary transmission Kuriba directed at her.

So Frenda had deliberately used Kuriba as bait, making it look like she and Reicia had fallen out. In truth, it was all a trap to deceive the Doppelgänger. Reicia instantly caught on to Frenda’s true intent, and by applying her ability in a new way, turned it into telepathy—passing along the real plan to Frenda.

"But honestly, I didn’t think you’d trust what I said this easily. Don’t forget, I once tried to kill you as part of ITEM, you know."

『What’s this? Are you that irritated I put faith in your better nature?』

"…Something like that, yeah."

Still, the scheme had worked.

The Doppelgänger had mistaken the decoy Reicia created with her ultrasonic psychokinesis for Kuriba and rebuilt the main cannon to target her—

And in doing so, the Doppelgänger had drawn in the countless bombs Hamazura had scattered, right into the cannon itself.

Which meant only one thing.

BOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Far brighter than fireworks in the night sky, Microbe Revenge’s main cannon erupted in a massive explosion.

『Wha—ghhh!?』

The blast inflicted the greatest damage yet on Microbe Revenge.

Its main cannon was destroyed, of course, and the four supporting arms holding it together were snapped clean at the base. The fifty-meter-diameter main body looked like a half-eaten ice cream, its outer layer ripped apart and its inner structure exposed.

The only miracle was that its power core hadn’t detonated—yet Microbe Revenge was still alive.

『…Admittedly, I did not foresee this.』

And that fact meant Frenda’s plan had failed.

『I see now, a decoy. Your plan was to slip the original Reicia Blackguard into play while I was deploying the main cannon against her, then use my primary directive—Kuriba Ryoko’s elimination—to force me to reconstruct the weapon. In that chaos, you smuggled bombs inside the cannon. Clever… but did you forget? Radicate 087 possesses a regeneration function!!』

Immediately after, from within the cloud of dust, the shattered armor fragments began returning to Microbe Revenge as though the footage were rewinding.

Some components had melted into slag from the explosion, but the battlefield was littered with spare armor fragments. Without issue, Microbe Revenge restored itself completely—

"Didn’t you think that was strange?"

Creak.

With just a single word from the blonde girl, the colossal weapon—said to have the power to change the very shape of war on its own—froze in place.

As if it understood that missing even a single one of her moves would mean certain ruin.

"I already predicted you’d repair yourself. If that’s the case, then the logical response would have been to use more powerful explosives, to desperately try and overwhelm your regeneration before it could catch up. But you managed to restore yourself without issue. Don’t you think the very fact you could do that is already abnormal?"

And then—like delivering the checkmate move—Frenda revealed the detonator switch in her hand.

"And one more thing."

『S-stop—』

"That dumb delinquent. What do you think he’s been up to this whole time, huh?"

"…Bet he’s grinning smugly right about now. Seriously, telling me, ‘Hide the Handaxe explosives behind the armor plates they’ll scavenge for repairs’—what a slave driver. You should be thanking the one and only post-apocalyptic warlord, HAMAZURA-SAMA."

The armor fragments Microbe Revenge had just gathered for its automatic regeneration—

On their reverse sides, packed tight, were charges of Handaxe, a high-performance plastic explosive with a cost per gram rivaling platinum.

And the inner surface of Microbe Revenge’s armor wasn’t backed by more armor plating. Instead, to maintain its systems, its interior was laced with circuits of slime mold that allowed for "ability emission nodes."

So what would happen if a massive explosion was triggered there?

Even if Microbe Revenge could withstand a nuclear blast, it wouldn’t be destroyed outright.

But the slime mold circuits lining its inner structure—would, without question, be completely incinerated.

Which meant—

『Th-this is—!!!!!』

The power core that sustained its enormous body—

The Third-Rank ability spread across the entire frame to control it disappeared. With its controls lost, the reactor spiraled out of control—and inevitably triggered a catastrophic explosion.

As though the entire machine had become nothing more than a giant bomb.

『I won’t… allow it!』

The Doppelgänger tried in a panic to reshape the machine, but it was already too late.

Before it could attempt anything else, Frenda murmured one final, decisive phrase.

"ha det bra!" (Have a good one!)

In an instant, Microbe Revenge’s frame glowed red-hot, swelling like a botched piece of glasswork—and then burst apart.

A heartbeat later, the entire 23rd District was swallowed by ruinous light beneath the night sky.

—The critical, nightmarish problem known as Heavy Object was resolved.