"They could attack at any moment? But there are four of us here, and Mugino is with us."
Frenda looked skeptical, casually smoothing down her golden hair that had been tousled by the turbulent air currents.
They were a notorious dark-side organization, not some run-of-the-mill street gang you could find anywhere.
"What if the opponent is the #8? Speaking of which, we're all quite familiar with her profile," Takitsubo Rikou said languidly, her tone still calm as ever.
"The #8? That newly-promoted Tokiwadai ojou-san, right?" Mugino's face showed a flicker of annoyance, followed by an instinctive wariness.
After all, Mugino had encountered Tokiwadai ability users multiple times before, and they always seemed to show up to ruin her plans.
According to the intelligence circulating among the dark side, the #8's profile was quite comprehensive, especially the suspected feat of defeating Accelerator—a record that demanded serious attention.
Anyone capable of defeating the #1 deserved every ounce of caution.
"So it's her, huh? Just thinking about it makes me super annoyed," Kinuhata Saiai suddenly sighed.
She had originally planned to settle the score with that invisible girl after getting out of prison, but when rumors spread that the #8 had defeated Accelerator, Kinuhata was so discouraged she gave up on the idea.
"Mugino, behind you!" Takitsubo Rikou suddenly pointed toward their rear. Several powered suits had leaped high into the air and were now attacking them head-on.
Under the scrutiny of Takitsubo's ability, these machines—whose capabilities were already recorded—were completely exposed.
A few flashes of Meltdowner sliced through them, reducing them to scrap metal.
"That gave me a scare. I thought the #8 had arrived," Frenda muttered, relieved.
"But the enemy hasn't launched an attack yet. Maybe they've given up?" she added.
"Maybe they're just waiting for reinforcements. By the way, the other one is here too—probably Tokiwadai's #3," Takitsubo Rikou shrugged, her tone almost airheaded.
"The #3?!"
"Mugino, let's retreat, now! We might handle one, but two is basically hopeless," Frenda's face paled with panic, and she couldn't help tugging at Mugino's sleeve.
"This time, I agree with Frenda," Takitsubo Rikou nodded in agreement.
"Why are we running into those Tokiwadai ojou-samas here?!" Mugino growled, her voice low with frustration.
"Damn it, I don't want to deal with those privileged girls today. Just thinking about that bogus mission where we got played makes my blood boil," she snapped, her eyes flicking toward the scattered wreckage of the powered suits on the ground.
Lately, everything had been going wrong.
First, they took a mission to stop an arms deal, only to find nothing at the location—instead, they were ambushed by powered suits.
And now, after that fiasco, their superiors wanted them to handle the unreliable client and provided new intel, but they still came up empty-handed.
"Mugino, we have new intel. This 'STUDY' Corporation commissioned several factories to produce machines that mimic Meltdowner. As for where those machines ended up, they're still investigating through backchannels," Takitsuko Rikou picked up her phone, her expression hesitant, as if she could already picture Mugino's explosive reaction.
Outside the factory, electromagnetic waves crackled around the feet of a Tokiwadai girl.
Using magnetism to accelerate, Misaka-senpai leaped onto the rooftop of the unmanned factory in a single bound.
The rooftop was pockmarked with craters, as if someone had punched through it repeatedly. No sooner had she landed than she spotted the members of 'Item' preparing to leave.
"Misaka-senpai, what a coincidence," Natsume-san said softly, landing gracefully beside her and whispering in her ear.
Misaka-senpai's movement speed wasn't particularly fast, so Natsume had arrived slightly earlier.
"Natsume-san, of course I'd come. How could I not be concerned about Febrie?" Misaka-senpai wasn't surprised by Natsume's sudden appearance, though she wore a slightly resigned expression.
After all, Natsume's sudden appearances at least had some warning signs, whereas a certain teleporter's arrivals were purely for ambushes.
Having grown accustomed to such situations, Misaka-senpai had honed her reflexes.
"I didn't expect to run into them here," Misaka-senpai frowned.
"Mm, it seems they were investigating this factory too," Natsume-san nodded, watching Meltdowner and the others depart with a thoughtful expression.
Inside the factory's control room, a gaping hole left by Meltdowner's attack still remained.
The moment Misaka-senpai touched the control room's computer, all the screens began scrolling through information at high speed.
Nearby, Natsume-san waited, tinkering with the wrecked powered suits.
"These powered suits all have this thing too," Natsume-san said, opening a purple container for the first time. Inside each was a strand of human hair.
Just as she had suspected, the one controlling these suits must be an ability user. And this hair color… Could it be Febrie's sister or sibling?
"Natsume-san, I found the formula for Febrie's candy. This is definitely where Febrie was created," Misaka-senpai announced after a while, sounding relieved.
--+--
Meanwhile, in a hidden corner.
A computer on the desk happened to be displaying footage of Misaka-senpai entering the unmanned factory, before the screen dissolved into static.
Nunotaba Shinobu collapsed weakly onto the floor, as seven researchers in white lab coats approached her.
"Nunotaba-san, we've known for a while that you implanted a nano-tracking device on yourself. So don't even think about revealing our location," Aritomi Haruki stepped forward, adjusting his glasses.
"The unmanned factory contains the data for the neutralizing agent. I suppose the #3 and the others have already obtained what they wanted by now," a female researcher remarked quietly.
"What a headache. Nunotaba-san concealed such crucial information. If I hadn't specifically inquired at Tokiwadai Middle School, I wouldn't have known the #3 and the #8 were so close."
"Both of them took leave today—it seems they're truly worried about Febrie," the female researcher lifted her head, revealing a youthful face. She, too, was a student from the School Garden.
"Originally, we thought the risk of involving the #3 in our plan was manageable. Even a Level 5 couldn't stand against twenty thousand powered suits. But now… we'll have to focus solely on our plan and temporarily abandon data collection on the #3," Aritomi Haruki said, his expression grave.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.