"Is this the location of 'Janie'?"
Natsume asked Febrie, who was strapped to her back. The collar of her school uniform was already soaked through with sweat.
After the long, frantic sprint, she was only slightly winded—this esper girl's physical stamina far surpassed that of an ordinary middle schooler.
Now, she was leaping down from a building nearly a hundred meters tall.
Almost unconsciously, following Febrie's guidance, she had arrived in District 18.
The enemy had activated the 'Diffusion Ghost' ability over ten minutes ago. In her heart, Misaka-san was deeply worried about the situation at the Academic Assembly venue.
Yet, the more worried she felt, the calmer her mind became.
Utilizing the Earth's omnipresent magnetic field, augmented by the countless iron objects within the skyscrapers around her, Misaka-san could momentarily suspend herself in mid-air.
The interaction between her own power and the Earth's magnetic field neutralized the pull of gravity. The moment her feet touched the ground, her posture was already stable.
If she continued improving at this rate, Misaka-san would undoubtedly evolve into a new ace pilot, capable of soaring freely through the skies relying solely on the Earth's magnetic field.
By that time, her maximum speed would surely far surpass that certain girl with the buns, as conventional propulsion simply couldn't compare to electromagnetic launch.
Pressing forward in the direction Febrie indicated, the scene before her couldn't help but be surprising.
Misaka-san's pupils contracted to pinpricks as she stared, astonished, at the unexpected source of the 'Diffusion Ghost' before her.
It was nothing like the heavily guarded research institute she had imagined. In fact, it wasn't a research facility at all.
There weren't even any patrol security robots at the entrance; it seemed completely undefended.
It was just an ordinary-looking, large football stadium, and it appeared to be temporarily closed.
Now that she thought about it, this stadium felt somewhat familiar to Misaka-san. Last year, during the Daihaseisai, it had been selected as the main venue.
This year, the festival's operational committee had designated it as a regular venue, moving the opening ceremony's main stage to District 7.
"Alright, let's charge right in then. Hold on tight, Febrie."
Misaka spoke softly to the girl on her back.
She glanced back at the visibly tense Febrie, took a moment to smooth down the stray hairs sticking up on her head, and then walked up to the football stadium's tightly sealed main gate.
A piercing crackle of electricity tore through the air, brilliant blue light illuminating everything.
Vast currents of electricity shifted and morphed according to the user's will, like several additional arms, gripping the sides of the large gate firmly.
Amidst a sharp, metallic shriek of protest, accompanied by the groaning creak of the gate itself, dust from the ground was stirred up by Misaka's high-voltage current, instantly shrouding the entire area in a cloud of debris.
Boom!
Another deafening roar assaulted their eardrums.
It wasn't a dust explosion—just the complete collapse of the stadium gate, which had been barely operable before, now reduced to tons of recyclable scrap.
From within this dazzling, attention-grabbing commotion, Misaka strode purposefully out of the swirling dust, her aura sharp and formidable, radiating an unstoppable, piercing determination.
Today, she absolutely would not betray everyone's efforts. She wouldn't let slip this chance that everyone had worked together to create.
Exhaling the stale air from her lungs, and under the gaze of hidden surveillance cameras, Misaka-san resolutely stepped onto the path paved with green turf.
--+--
Shifting our view away from Misaka-san, let's rewind the clock by over ten minutes.
Today's luck was just terrible, so bad that it had created a major flaw in the plan they had meticulously prepared for a whole year.
Deep beneath this football stadium found by Misaka lay a massive underground research facility.
It was the day before the Academic Assembly's opening. Members of the dark side organization 'STUDY' had already moved their relevant equipment and personnel here, as this place was to serve as their command base for the Powered Suit assault.
"A call from Saito-san. He says the power outage at the Academic Assembly venue was caused by heavy rain flooding the area."
Aritomi Haruki ended the call, his face clouded and uncertain.
Suddenly, he slammed his phone onto the floor. His hands clenched into fists and hammered the desktop, drawing the attention of all the researchers present.
"We can't stick to the original schedule. I propose we initiate the plan immediately, right now."
Aritomi Haruki seemed deeply agitated, his voice turning hoarse.
"If it's just the venue being flooded, it's not a huge deal. It might just be a coincidence," a researcher sitting at the far end said hesitantly, seemingly not agreeing with Aritomi Haruki's opinion.
Tomorrow was the scheduled day. They had prepared for so long specifically for the Academic Assembly's opening; how could they change the plan on the final day?
"Look here, these are the surveillance feed images from the Academic Assembly venue just before the blackout."
A female researcher among them turned her laptop screen towards the group. It showed a scene of clear, sunny skies.
Just thinking about the actual conditions at the venue made it obvious the feed had been tampered with.
"Furthermore, to cause flooding severe enough to necessitate cutting power, they must have damaged the drainage system under the Assembly grounds. It's all very clear now. Their target is us," the female researcher added.
"So we can't afford to hold onto any wishful thinking. The other side has already declared war on us. If we don't strike back now, our entire year of effort will be wasted."
Aritomi Haruki struggled to calm himself, lifting his head to scan the faces around him.
"Then let's put it to a vote," Aritomi Haruki said without hesitation.
The vote passed without much drama. Even these seemingly refined researchers could summon remarkable decisiveness in moments they deemed critical.
Under these circumstances, perhaps launching the plan early was their only chance to turn the tables.
Nearly everyone raised their hand in agreement—except for Nunotaba Shinobu, who kept her head down and remained silent.
"Nunotaba-san, we need you to do something now. Activate 'Janie'."
Aritomi Haruki stood up, his tone commanding as he looked at Nunotaba Shinobu.
"I understand."
Nunotaba Shinobu nodded slightly, not refusing, though a strange emotion flickered across her face.
Inside this research facility was a cultivation tank emitting a faint purple light.
A glance inside revealed a girl, identical to Febrie, sleeping peacefully within.
The only difference was that this girl had just one stray ahoge sticking up from her head, while Febrie had two.
Dressed in a white lab coat, Nunotaba Shinobu visited the tank.
She took a deep look at the sleeping 'Janie', then followed Aritomi Haruki's orders, taking control of all the Powered Suits equipped with the ability medium.
"Dammit! Over half of them have been destroyed already!"
Relevant data quickly fed back to the facility via the 'Diffusion Ghost' ability. The computer connected to the cultivation tank was filled with dense streams of data.
Of the original 20,000-plus Powered Suits prepared by the dark side organization 'STUDY', only just over 8,000 were still responding, and that number was continuously dropping.
--+--
Meanwhile, back at the chaotic Academic Assembly venue...
With the activation of 'Diffusion Ghost', the AIM diffusion fields generated through the ability medium suddenly mutated, becoming substantial and filling the Powered Suits.
The previously motionless, statue-like armors instantly whirred to life with the grating sound of mechanical gears.
The cockpits, which had been opened by the tool, slammed shut, trapping some of the Judgment members who hadn't managed to get out in time.
"Shizuku-san!"
A girl wearing a Judgment armband cried out in shock, watching her comrade get trapped inside a Powered Suit.
Then, in an extremely short time, these Powered Suits awoke like monsters from slumber. Their drooping heads snapped up, joints throughout their bodies whirring into motion.
Whoosh!
From one point, a powerful gust of air erupted, strong enough to overturn a truck.
Immense pressure built up inside a Powered Suit, blowing the entire cockpit apart. Kongou-senpai emerged, looking somewhat disheveled, from the wrecked machine.
"Are you alright?"
Wannai-san rushed over, breathing a sigh of relief upon seeing Kongou Mitsuko unharmed.
The curtain of rain in the sky had thinned out now. Though it was still somewhat noisy, normal conversation was possible again.
However, at that moment, several activated Powered Suits raised their steel-reinforced hockey sticks and began charging towards them at high speed.
But suddenly, they seemed to lose their gravity. Several armors lost their balance mid-sprint, tumbling collectively into the waterlogged ground, where they were immediately pinned down by Wannai-san's water control.
It was Juufuku-san.
Looking towards the nearby area, a breathless Juufuku Miho was leaning weakly on her knees, a faint, reassuring smile on her face.
"Then allow me to deliver the final, elegant blow."
Kongou-senpai raised her rain-soaked folding fan, formally pronouncing the enemy's death sentence. With several bursts of soaring air currents, the Powered Suits were instantly torn apart in mid-air.
"Is that Natsume-san over there?"
Finally having a moment to catch their breath, Kongou-senpai and the other two suddenly sensed a wave of chilling cold.
Turning abruptly, they saw an area dozens of meters away transformed into a white winter landscape.
Dozens of Powered Suits were frozen solid, completely immobilized.
"I believe Shirai-san is there as well," Wannai Kinuho said, somewhat uncertainly.
Swish!
As imperceptible cracks seemed to form in space itself, two girls landed gently, carried by momentum, surrounded by a horde of menacing Powered Suit monsters.
One of the girls glared sharply, and instantly, countless Powered Suits were encased in ice, becoming statues.
With another wave of her hand, entire rows of Powered Suits disintegrated into scattered parts, incidentally rescuing the 'brave warriors' who had been swallowed by the monstrous machines.
--+--
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.