Chapter 95: Darkness Lies Just Ahead

Anyway, since we ended up temporarily moving together with Frenda-san and Saten-san, we decided to return to our base. We didn’t know who the people were that attacked Saten-san, but whoever they were, if we went back to the Dark Side organization’s headquarters, the advantage would overwhelmingly be on our side. With that in mind, we rode in a car arranged for us by Baba-san.

Honestly, I was planning to just fly back like we did on the way here, but Baba-san suggested otherwise. By this time of day, there would be more people around, and flying would draw too much attention. True enough—if we stood out too much, the risk of being attacked would rise as well.

"So. Who exactly are you? It seemed as though you knew about me."

"B-basicallyyy... I’m just a normal high school girl, y’know?"

Frenda-san dodged my question with something vague, averting her eyes to the window. Yeah, right... you don’t even go to school, do you, Frenda-san? Probably not. Still, unless it’s absolutely necessary, she doesn’t seem willing to spill anything about her people. I thought she’d be more loose-lipped since she once got executed for betraying her team’s secrets, but maybe I misjudged.

"Well... since you did seem to help Saten-san, it doesn’t look like you’re a bad person at least."

"........."

Ah, she just made a sour face. That’s such a typical Dark Side reaction. Baba-san was the same way. They don’t like being suspected, but they hate being labeled a “good person” even more. Reisia-chan calls it “pretending to be bad,” but I think it’s more like they all carry this weirdly high threshold toward the very idea of ‘goodness.’ Kakine-san was the same—he once said my casual comments threw him off his rhythm.

"...Ugh."

At that moment, Baba-san, who was handling the equipment, let out a strange sound. By the way, this car doesn’t have a driver. Baba-san is the one driving—or rather, operating it. He isn’t holding a steering wheel, but instead controlling it with his mobile device, almost like piloting a robot. Basically, it’s self-driving.

"What is it? ...Ah."

Looking ahead, I quickly understood. Traffic was backed up in front of us. We’d gotten off the highway and figured this school district area would have fewer cars, but we were unlucky. And with enemies who could attack at any moment, this wasn’t a good sign at all.

"It can’t be helped, then..."

If we stayed stuck here and got hit while still inside the car, it would be disastrous. It might be better to move everyone using our abilities.

"Baba-san. We should get out, and I’ll use my power. I don’t think staying trapped in traffic like this is safe."

"No, like I said before, that would draw too much attention. Even if no one attacks, how do you think it’ll look if a Level 5 Esper is flying around in broad daylight?"

"...Hmmm. Is that really such a problem?"

He had a point... but still, I felt like we couldn’t afford to worry about that right now. If we got attacked while inside the car, I wouldn’t be able to protect everyone. This felt like a time when we should take the risk. But then again, Baba-san’s a professional, so maybe I should defer to his judgment. As for Adabana-san... ah, she didn’t look like she planned to weigh in. Strategy was more Baba-san’s specialty anyway.

"Ehh~? In the end, I’m with Jagged Edge White-Black Sawblade’s opinion, y’know. In this cramped car I can’t even use my traps. Right, Saten? If we stay in here, we’ll be defenseless and then boom! That’s how it’ll go, y’know."

"H-hiii! I-I think I’d rather be carried by Reisia-san’s ability too..."

"....Ugh."

Saten-san’s words made Baba-san grimace awkwardly. Saten-san’s memory had been tampered with, so she didn’t remember Baba-san’s misdeeds. But Baba-san hadn’t forgotten—and because of that, he carried this strange sense of guilt toward her. The fact that he could still recognize it as guilt just proved that, deep down, he was a decent person.

"F-fine. Then we’ll go with Miss Blackguard—er, Black Gurard’s ability, for moving. The car can still run on autopilot, so it’ll be fine. In fact, it could even serve as a decoy..."

In the end, Baba-san gave in. Honestly, I would’ve been fine following his professional advice, but I guess this works too.

"That said, we’re still stuck in traffic... Baba-san, could you open the sunroof? We’ll go out that way. It’ll be a little conspicuous, but there’s no helping it now."

"Got it. Give me a second."

With a tap on his device, the roof of the car opened with a noise, creating an exit just wide enough for a person to climb through. Apparently, that feature is called a sunroof—I hadn’t known that. I unbuckled my seatbelt, reached up through the opening, gripped the roof, and hauled myself up in one motion. Honestly, it felt like an instant taste of Hollywood action. Naturally, I could feel eyes on me from behind, but people didn’t really care much about others, so it didn’t feel like I was drawing too much attention.

Alright, once I pull everyone up, I’ll wrap them in a ‘fracture’ and we’ll take to the sky—

Chapter 3: The Worth of a Soul Is Worthless – Double(Square)_Faith.
Episode 80: Darkness Lies Just Ahead – Sudden_Death.

It happened without warning.

DOOOOM!!!! At the very same moment she had just climbed onto the roof, Reisia = Blackguard’s body was suddenly blasted sideways.

There was no way any ordinary human could have reacted in time, much less defended themselves. Reisia, in fact, was hurled dozens of meters without even bouncing once, crashing straight into a building. ──Her survival, given that sight, was all but impossible.

"No way…!? That bastard got killed first!?"

Baba’s scream was only natural. Reisia = Blackguard was not only their escort but also their strongest asset. For her to be taken out right at the start—there was nothing but despair left. Of course, part of him was deliberately choosing words that ignored her condition, consciously sealing off his own emotions... but that shout was enough to plunge the car’s interior into panic.

"…Tch! An ambush!? From behind!? Get out of the car, now! We can’t escape if we stay here!"

"Reisia-san, wh-what happened to her!? She didn’t… die… right? Please tell me you’re kidding!?"

"Damn it…! They’re already here!? That was way too fast!"

The first to move was Frenda. Having seen Reisia blown away from behind the car, she smashed through the front windshield—considered the safest exit—and rolled outside. Baba tried to follow, but Xochitl held him back while grabbing Saten by the scruff of her neck and leaping out of the vehicle. Baba scrambled after them, crawling away from the car just as a mass of rubble came crashing down from above, flattening the vehicle into scrap.

Naturally, panic followed.

"Damn it… if we don’t move fast, panicked drivers are going to pour out and we’ll get swallowed up in the chaos! We have to run—now!"

"Run where!? The enemy can smash us from a distance—hell, they’ve got someone who can one-shot Jagged Edge White-Black Sawblade! How do we deal with that!?"

"Into the department store."

That was all Xochitl said before swiftly carrying Saten into a nearby department store.

In truth—even for people in the Dark Side, causing civilian casualties meant certain organizational purges. There was a limit to what could be covered up “from the shadows.” So, if they moved into a crowded area, they could limit the enemy’s options under the guise of “defense.” And considering the enemy’s actions so far—blasting Reisia = Blackguard away, crushing a car with rubble—they clearly weren’t skilled at threading pinpoint attacks through a crowd. In that sense, Xochitl’s judgment was the optimal solution at that moment.

──Yes, at that moment.

Pshht!

Until the instant Frenda, the last one rushing into the department store, had her shoulder shot through by “something.”

"…Gahh…!?"

"What!? Blondie, when did you—damn it all!!!"

Baba’s eyes widened as he saw Frenda stumble, clutching her shoulder. Without hesitation, he grabbed her arm and dragged her into the department store, rolling behind a row of shelves.

Sitting against the shelves, Baba frantically operated his device, cursing under his breath.

"Shit… shitshitshitshitshit! Why the hell is that idiot dead…!? She wasn’t the type to die so easily…! Always spouting big words, but in the end it was just talk, huh…!?"

"What are you doing!?"

"I’m summoning backup robots I had waiting nearby! The T:KR-type Kangaroo I had hidden in the car is useless now. Against someone who could kill Reisia = Blackguard in an instant, I’ll need at least a T:MT…! While that heavy unit draws attention as a decoy, I’ll send in a T:MQ to neutralize them…!!"

"…I see. So in other words, you’re still gathering soldiers. But…"

BZZT!!!!

A neat, round hole appeared in the device Baba was operating.

"Hiii… Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!?!?"

Letting out a pitiful scream, Baba tossed the broken device aside and fell on his backside.

Meanwhile, Frenda, hand shoved into her pocket, kept a sharp eye on her surroundings.

"Just as I thought! That confirms it—the enemy has two people! Hey, do you have anything else besides those robots?"

"N… none!"

"Useless… Seriously. Haa, fine. Here, take this."

What Frenda handed over looked like a bottle of correction tape and a sparking pen-like device.

In the original timeline, she had used this during the research facility defense against Misaka. The correction-tape tool drew a line, and when the sparking pen touched it, the line would ignite and burn through whatever it was drawn on.

It could be used as a direct attack—or as the fuse for an explosive. This was the foundation of Frenda’s traps.

And now, she shoved that into Baba’s hands.

"I could use you as a meat shield, but facing a sniper and an esper with just that maid, me, and a meat shield puts us way too far at a disadvantage. So you’re gonna pull your weight… at least until you die."

"Goddamn it…!!"

Cursing as he spat the words back, the two pressed on deeper into the department store, using the shelves as cover.

It didn’t take long before they linked up with Xochitl and Saten, who had already gotten inside.

"Frenda-san!? Thank goodness, you’re okay… And, um, you must be Reisia-san’s friend."

"…Baba. Not that you need to remember for long."

Baba muttered, glancing nervously behind them. Luckily, there was no follow-up attack just yet. Whether this was because there wasn’t a clear angle, or because the enemy was waiting for an opening to finish them off—it was impossible to tell.

BZZT!! This time, Xochitl’s right thigh was shot clean through.

"Ghhhaaa!?!?"

Even so, her battle instincts showed through. She immediately gouged into the floor with her macuahuitl, hurling rubble back toward the direction of the shot. But the rubble froze in midair—blocked. A follow-up bullet slammed into her side.

"Tch!!"

Just as the finishing shot was about to come, Frenda’s explosives went off. A beat late, but her bomb detonated between Xochitl and the floating rubble, spraying a cloud of smoke that completely engulfed all four of them.

Now, no matter where they hid, the enemy couldn’t take aim. ──It was a flawless escape.

Acknowledging that, the two attackers finally revealed themselves from the void.

"…Damn it. Why didn’t you finish it in one shot? If I hadn’t stepped in, that rubble counterattack would’ve nailed you completely."

"I wasn’t expecting that, you know. For someone who just had their right leg blown through to still go for a suicidal counterattack? Who could predict that~?"

The boy with the headgear—Yobou Banka
The twin-tailed girl—Yumiya Rakko

Both were full members of the underground organization School.

They were the culprits.

The reason Xochitl had been shot so cleanly despite cover was simple: Yumiya had bent light to turn herself invisible with Yobou’s ability. She could sneak into position unseen, then fire openly from the front with her pneumatic sniper rifle hidden under her clothes.

And when Xochitl’s rubble counterattack had been stopped—that was Yobou's own telekinesis at work.

Of course—if Yumiya had actually intended to kill, Frenda, Baba, and Xochitl would all have bullets in their skulls by now.

"Don’t forget the mission. Our goal is to secure the middle schooler. That’s all we need to accomplish."

"Ehh. Fine, fine. …But like, whenever it’s you giving the orders, I just can’t get motivated~."

"What the hell do you take me for!?"

Despite being assassins, their tone was anything but tense as they slowly stalked their prey.

(They might seem relaxed… but I guess it makes sense.)

Yobou thought as he walked.

After all, the enemy’s strongest asset—Reisia = Blackguard—had already fallen.

Even a Level 5 esper, if they get careless, can be swallowed by darkness just a step ahead. A Fourth Rank? Someone like that, he could crush with ease. Truthfully, he would’ve preferred to defeat her head-on, but… Yobou smirked.

And then, by treating the smoke cloud as an “aerosol” and manipulating it, he tried to use it to pinpoint the enemy’s exact position—

BOOOOOM!!!!

And suddenly, the next step ahead turned pitch-black with darkness.

──I let my guard down.

After spreading a "Fissure" to shield Xochitl-san and the others from the two attackers, I quietly reflected on my mistake.

I never thought… never thought they would come at us with such sheer murderous intent. I assumed that since Aleister was protecting us, the people from the dark side wouldn’t go too far with their attacks against us. But I was dead wrong. Aleister’s authority doesn’t mean much in the underworld of this city. After all, they’re the kind who would seize any chance to rebel against him. …That’s probably exactly why that great dark side war broke out in the first place.

"…………Impossible."

The boy with the headgear muttered as if he were staring at a corpse. …Impossible? What’s so impossible? That I was able to return this quickly?

"I definitely landed that hit!! There was no way you could have blocked with a ‘Fissure’ in time! You should’ve failed to guard, and with the inertia of your movement, you should have crashed into that building hard enough to die!!"

"……………………Are you seriously saying that?"

…He’s lost his composure. Perfect. I’ll let Reicia-chan explain while I use the time to prepare myself.

"Not enough time to defend? That’s just your standard, isn’t it? Don’t underestimate a Level 5 Esper. Even a perfect surprise attack is nothing—I can instantly deploy a shield of ‘Fissure’ without trouble."

"B-but…! Then why were you blown away…!?"

"That’s simply because I didn’t fix the coordinates. My ‘Fissure’ comes in two types: one that fixes its coordinates in space, and one that fixes them relative to me as the center. With the former, I can block almost any attack, but the aftershock spreads all around. That would endanger others nearby. So I chose the latter type, deliberately letting myself be blown away to minimize the collateral impact."

Reicia-chan rattled all that off in a single breath before curling her lips into a nasty little grin.

"What’s this? Could it be that you actually thought you could beat me… with just thaaaat little?"

"…………Bring it on."

Ah, hooked.

As the twin-tailed girl fired off a few shots and the headgear boy stepped forward, I braced myself.

Then, I triggered the ability I had prepared.

BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!

With a colossal blast of wind, the store shelves were blown away, sandwiching the two attackers. If they really got caught in between, they’d be finished.

The boy—who probably has telekinesis—managed to block with a force field, but this was a true Level 5 Esper strike. No way he could deflect it halfheartedly. He had to put everything into it. And—

"So. Do you have anything else to say?"

—that left him wide open.

I extended a "Fissure" in an instant, pressing it to both their throats. The two attackers fell silent, raising their hands in surrender.

Good.

Nodding, I shredded and neutralized the rigged booby-trap they’d planted among the shelves behind me.

"……………………!!!!"

Only now did the color drain from the headgear boy’s face.

As for the twin-tailed girl, she hung her head, her expression hidden. From her fighting style, she’s probably a Level 0, a powerless one. She must have resigned herself.

And from this position… no matter what attack they tried, we could counter it and finish them off without fail. A Level 5 Esper isn’t so weak that the tables could be turned.

Sensing the headgear boy trying to throw up a defensive barrier around them, I immediately—

"Checkmate."

—I released the concealed "Fissure" and blasted them with a storm from all directions, knocking both assailants out.

It was a double strike: atmospheric impact and sudden pressure change. Adjusted so they wouldn’t die, of course.

"What!? Black-and-White Serrated Jagged Edge!? You weren’t dead!?"

"Hah!? You’re alive!? Those idiots!?"

And then.

Perhaps drawn by the commotion, Frenda-san, Baba-san, Adabana-san, and even Saten-san came to check on us.

Frenda-san and Adabana-san both looked injured, but it seemed their wounds had already been treated. Thank goodness they were safe…

"A mere trifle like that could never bring me down. Don’t underestimate the White-and-Black Sawblade, Jagged Edge."

"Th-that’s such a relief…! You went flying like that, I really thought… ahhh, I’m so glad you’re okay…"

Looking over, I saw that Saten had collapsed to the ground in relief. …I must have really scared her.

"Saten-san, are you all right? The attackers have already been dealt with, so all that’s left is to hand these two over to Anti-Skill and the incident will be resolved."

"Ah, yes, thank you so much… Frenda-san and Adabana-san protected me, so… I’m fine."

…Oh? Those two?

Adabana-san already had that tsundere vibe going on, so it wasn’t that surprising. But Frenda-san… she never struck me as the type to protect others. Then again, when we first met, I recall she did move to shield Saten-san. Maybe Frenda-san actually has a side to her that’s… unexpectedly kind?

…Well, considering she has a little sister she dotes on, maybe she’s got a protective switch that flips when she sees someone resembling her.

"It’s not like I was trying to protect her or anything…"

Even as she said that, Frenda-san came over and whispered in my ear.

"(Hey, are you seriously planning to hand them over to Anti-Skill? They’ll just cut some backroom deal and walk free. If you don’t finish them here and now…)"

"(……I have no intention of killing them. Even if they come at us again, I’ll just crush them with such overwhelming force that their spirits will break completely.)"

For example—

"Like this."

ZONZANBANGANZANZON!!!!!!

As casually as if making small talk, Reicia pointed at the headgear boy. In the next instant, black-and-white "Fissures" erupted around him, stabbing into the ground like the bars of a prison.

But it wasn’t just for show. The "Fissures" had been calculated to slice apart the force field the boy had been trying to generate as he regained consciousness.

"………………Is there a problem?"

"Ugh… guh…"

That was the end of it. The headgear boy fell completely silent.

The Anti-Skill officers we had called showed up with surprising speed—as if the usual traffic jams were a lie—and carted the two attackers off to the holding cells.

…That should mean a brief respite from assaults, for now. Given that their fighting power was on par with Level 4 Espers, their group had likely expended a considerable resource—practically executive-class manpower. They couldn’t possibly deploy such forces one after another.

"…Now then. Shall we talk a little?"

As for us, since Saten-san and I were the ones who made the report, we had to undergo questioning by Judgment. We waited together with Frenda-san and Adabana-san.

Frenda-san put up quite a fuss about staying behind for the questioning, but since I asked her and she hadn’t gone too wild this time, she still had some plausible deniability. Reluctantly, she agreed to stick with us.

Honestly… it wouldn’t cause any procedural problems if Frenda-san wasn’t here. But the truth is—I needed her here. For safety.

Because, let’s be real.

The people who attacked us this time… probably belong to “SCHOOL”, don’t they?

I don’t know about the twin-tailed girl, but the boy with the headgear definitely rang a bell. Those dull, lifeless eyes—I remembered seeing him before. He was one of the bit players who appeared with SCHOOL.

As for the girl… who knows? Maybe someone from a sub-branch? Wait—wasn’t Sunazara Chimitsu-san the latest recruit to SCHOOL? In that case, she might be a predecessor, like the sniper who came before her. I don’t really remember if SCHOOL even had "former members," though.

Anyway.

The fact remains, we ended up fighting with full-fledged SCHOOL members. We didn’t kill them, and since I once fought alongside Kakine-san, I’d like to believe we won’t be branded as sworn enemies… but still, I definitely don’t want it to look like I went out of my way to "oppose SCHOOL alone."

So, I started thinking: what’s the best way to handle this?

《So, how’s that? My “Grand Plan to Involve ‘Item’ Members and Push Responsibility Over There Little by Little”》

《I’m worried Mugino-san might hold a grudge…》

《Better than Shiren, who clings to wishful thinking that Second Place won’t seriously consider you an enemy》

《Ugh…》

C-can’t really argue with that…

"But hey—why did those guys attack you? Don’t you have any idea what triggered it?"

"That’s the thing… I have no clue at all. Lately, I’ve just been hooked on Indian Poker. Frenda-san knows that too, right?"

…Huh? Indian Poker?

Even someone like Frenda-san, from the dark side, plays it? Looks like it’s pretty widespread, even in the shadowy corners of the city… But… if that’s the case, hmm.

"Well… hmm,"

"Saten-san, have you recently obtained any ‘unusual dreams’?"

The concern I had when Indian Poker first came up resurfaced.

…‘Information leakage through dreams.’ Even if the information is trivial to the person experiencing it, for a third party, it could be highly valuable. If the dark side had set up a network hoping to exploit such leaks…

…the source of these ‘dreams’ could even become a target for those in the dark. In that case, it wouldn’t be surprising if researchers accidentally leaked ‘dreams’ through Indian Poker, and it’s entirely possible Saten-san just happened to get her hands on one of those dreams.

Saten-san, questioned, looked completely baffled, clearly not understanding the intent behind my question.

"Unusual dreams? Hmm… let’s see…"

Suddenly, her expression brightened, as if a thought had just struck her.

In a casual, almost chatty tone, she revealed something surprisingly significant.

"…Ah! That’s right! Remember the card I got the other day? It’s a card that lets you learn how to double your fun feelings! I got that card!"

…Double your fun feelings?

……A technique to amplify emotions?

……………………Personality Excitation Makeup……?