"Hmm? There's a [People-Clearing Field] spell used there too?" Feeling that aside from the life signs on the rooftop, the entire building was eerily silent, Selene couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement. "Then I won't hold back. I hope you won't disappoint me..."
With those words, Selene bent her knees and suddenly leapt upward.
BOOM!!!
Although she hadn't used her esper ability, this was the first time Selene fully unleashed her physical strength.
Using the reactionary force, Selene propelled herself forward with overwhelming might. In just around 500 meters of straight-line distance, she accelerated from stillness, broke through the sound barrier, and continued to increase speed, reaching several times the speed of sound.
Without a doubt, Kamijou Touma's dormitory was completely demolished this time. From his perspective, Selene had literally kicked down the entire building.
Watching as Selene vanished with the sonic boom, Kamijou stared blankly at the collapsed remains of his dormitory. His brain had already shut down. Holding Index tightly in his arms, he stood frozen, eyes wide and vacant as he muttered in disbelief, "Th-this... is she even human...?"
At that moment, the power contained in Selene's body approached tens of thousands of tons. The intense air friction generated enormous heat, enveloping her body like a blazing projectile as she shot toward the skyscraper where Kanzaki Kaori stood.
Atop that building stood a woman over one meter seventy-five tall. Her long black hair was tied into a ponytail that reached her waist. Her figure was graceful, her skin fair.
She wore a short-sleeved white T-shirt, its excess fabric tied around her waist, revealing her navel. Her lower half was clad in worn jeans, though for some reason, one pant leg had been cleanly cut away, exposing her shapely thigh. On her feet were long cowboy boots straight out of a Western film.
At her waist, in addition to a regular belt, hung a thick leather strap carrying a special Japanese katana—over two meters long. Combined with her ponytail and confident stance, she looked just like a samurai from the Bakumatsu era.
In short, her image was both alluring and imposing—but she was none other than Kanzaki Kaori, one of the world's fewer than twenty Saints.
Sensing the white-haired, red-eyed girl locking onto her, Kanzaki slowly exhaled. Her expression hardened as she drew the sheathed blade from her waist.
Kanzaki Kaori knew very well that the white-haired girl wouldn't let her go. Ever since Selene had fixed her gaze upon her, she knew an unavoidable battle was coming.
And the sense of danger radiating from that girl was overwhelming.
But Kanzaki did not dodge. As a Saint of the magic side, her pride did not allow her to evade any challenge.
Gripping her long sword with both hands, she dropped into a horse stance, preparing to face the incoming impact head-on.
BOOOOM—!
As her blade clashed with Selene's fist, a thunderous explosion echoed through the rooftop. Equipment scattered, the top third of the building's windows shattered instantly.
"So heavy!" Kanzaki gritted her teeth as her sword screeched under the pressure of Selene's gauntleted punch. Both of Kanzaki's arms trembled violently—was this strength even humanly possible?
Feeling Kanzaki's struggle, Selene grinned. Though she appeared relaxed, a flicker of seriousness passed through her crimson eyes. She dared not underestimate her opponent. If I mess up here, that'd be ridiculous, she thought. "So this is the power of a Saint?"
No esper ability this time—she was relying purely on her own flesh. Today was the domain of "Iron Fist" Selene, not that of spellcasters. Still, Kanzaki Kaori was a Saint of the magic side—one of less than twenty in the entire world. She could not be underestimated.
If one were to compare Saints to the scientific side's Level 5s, Kanzaki would easily rank among the top three. Selene didn't know who the strongest Saints were, but Kanzaki's rank certainly wasn't low.
Selene tightened her stance, channeling her other muscle groups to reinforce her arm, stacking immense power onto her already dominant punch.
"What—?!" The sudden increase in strength caught Kanzaki off guard. In the blink of an eye, her sword was completely overpowered.
Selene's fist pressed down against the sheathed blade and drove it straight into Kanzaki's chest. The Saint was sent flying dozens of meters into the air.
"Cough... cough..." Hit squarely in the chest, Kanzaki's body stiffened in pain. Even a Saint couldn't completely shrug off such a blow.
Before Kanzaki Kaori could regain her composure, Selene stomped her foot and shot skyward again with a thunderous boom. Twisting midair, she swung her leg in a sweeping kick.
"Not good!" Kanzaki snapped out of her daze and quickly crossed her arms to defend.
THUD—BOOM!
Once again, Kanzaki was struck and sent flying—this time downward, like a meteor crashing to earth.
Accelerating under hundreds of meters of gravity, she slammed into the ground, sliding back several dozen meters before stopping, half her body embedded in the asphalt.
Her arms, which had taken the brunt of Selene's sweeping kick, were severely damaged. Her trembling hands could barely maintain their grip, and the muscles in her forearms were visibly bent out of shape.
"As expected... you're strong. It's been so many years since someone's pushed me this far... Breaker of God!"
As Kanzaki entered her Breaker of God state, the wounds on her arms visibly began to heal. Internal injuries mended rapidly, her entire body strengthening at an accelerated rate.
Yes—strengthening. Breaker of God allowed Kanzaki to temporarily transcend human limits. Her blood vessels, muscles, nerves, organs, and bones were all amplified geometrically through the enchantment.
"So that's the physique of a Saint? Interesting..." With a loud boom, Selene landed heavily, stepping out of the crater she had made. Seeing Kanzaki finally getting serious, Selene's excitement surged. "Well then... are you ready to keep fighting?!"
"Nanasen!" Kanzaki didn't respond verbally, but the flash of her sword spoke for her.
Seven blinding arcs of light tore through the air, roaring toward Selene.
Selene casually deflected one of the slashes, then slipped sideways through the narrow gap between the rest. The remaining six streaks of "sword aura" grazed past her ears.
Glancing back, Selene saw the devastation left behind—everything the sword strikes touched was cleanly cut in two. The asphalt, lampposts, even the blades of a distant wind turbine were sliced perfectly in half.
"Don't try to fool me with these little tricks. That blade of yours isn't just for show, is it?" Selene said coldly, turning back to face Kanzaki.
At her words, Kanzaki's expression didn't change, but her gaze hardened. The result of her test matched her expectations. "As I thought, that won't work on you."
With that, Kanzaki slowly unsheathed her sword. No one knew how she did it, but in an instant, the two-meter blade materialized in her right hand.
A sharp metallic clang rang through the air, followed by a thunderous boom as if the sky itself were being torn apart. The ground split open, shattered rocks and dust bursting outward as if space itself had been severed. The devastating force raced straight toward Selene!
"Now that's more like it." Selene crouched low, then shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. The already-ruined ground suffered further destruction, wind howling in her wake. Her right hand formed a knife-hand strike, and she swung it sharply against the oncoming blade of energy.
Crack! The sword light shattered instantly. In the next second, Selene closed in on Kanzaki and threw a punch without an ounce of restraint.
Facing Selene's relentless close-range assault, Kanzaki's expression remained calm. Her right hand vanished in a blur of speed, moving faster than the eye could follow as she met Selene's gauntleted fist head-on. Sparks exploded from the collision.
BOOM! The dust in the air trembled and froze for a split second before the ground beneath them sank inward for several meters. The surrounding debris was blasted into the air by the shockwave.
Selene narrowed her eyes. Her right leg pivoted as she spun a full 360 degrees, delivering another sweeping kick toward Kanzaki—but Kanzaki had already moved.
BANG! The two were forced apart by the impact, only for Selene to rush forward again, this time even faster. Her punches came like a storm, and Kanzaki's sword strikes quickened in response. She had noticed Selene's sudden increase in speed and grew more alert, yet she too charged forward fearlessly.
They collided again with a deafening crash.
With the advantage of initiative, Selene could strike wherever she pleased, her attacks carrying overwhelming power. Kanzaki, however, perfectly targeted Selene's points of force with each counter. Though she couldn't break through Selene's defense, her precision allowed her to minimize effort and maximize effect.
CLANG!
BOOM!
THUD!
Their fists and blade clashed faster than the eye could track, their strikes rippling through the air. The asphalt beneath them began to crack and crumble from the pressure.
Selene, unconcerned, continued attacking relentlessly. If I break it, I'll just fix it later, she thought. Besides, I'm fighting the magic side here. Aleister won't punish me for that—he should be giving me a medal instead.
Noticing Selene's brief distraction, anger flashed in Kanzaki's eyes. "Are you looking down on me?!"
CLAAANG!!!
With a furious roar, Kanzaki swung her sword down. For an instant, the entire world seemed to fall silent. A single blade of light stretched across the night sky, cleaving heaven and earth in two.
Reacting just in time, Selene crossed her arms before her.
In the next moment, the sword light struck her directly. A violent shockwave burst outward from her forearms.
BOOOOOOM!!!
Dirt and debris exploded skyward like the detonation of a heavy aerial bomb. The shockwave continued, flinging chunks of asphalt and soil across the battlefield, carving a trench nearly a hundred meters long.
Although she wasn't injured, Selene's appearance was far from dignified. Her uniform was torn in multiple places, her shoes destroyed completely. She landed barefoot, the sheer black of her stockings clinging tight over her legs and feet, the fabric flawless and almost inviting in contrast to the wreckage around her. It seemed her claim to Misaka that they were durable hadn't been a bluff.
Then, with a sound like distant thunder, the earth around her erupted. Soil blasted away as Selene leapt from the crater, her eyes glowing with a sinister crimson light. A wild grin spread across her face.
"Not showing proper respect to an opponent—that's my mistake. I apologize... but tell me, are you ready for the second half?!"