Another perfectly peaceful day in Academy City.
A delivery truck driver, whistling a lazy tune as he cruised down the main road, rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
At the far end of his vision, confusing, overlapping layers of light and shadow suddenly appeared, followed by an overwhelming, ear-splitting roar.
Not daring to waste a second, the driver slammed his foot on the accelerator and sped away from the scene.
District 10 was home to the city's only cemetery. Even in a city of science, the place gave him the creeps.
Inside this world of illusory images, Awaki Musujima set the case containing the remains of the Tree Diagram down behind her.
One hand gripped a military-grade flashlight, while the other trembled slightly.
Her companions exchanged glances, then gave Awaki a firm nod.
In an instant, the eight of them scattered. Their goal was twofold: to determine the reality of their surroundings for Awaki, and to divert the attention of their attacker.
They'd already figured it out—this Judgment member who'd appeared out of nowhere was a hard counter for Musujima-san's abilities.
However, their almost suicidal charge didn't achieve much.
Barely a moment after they rushed out, they met with a fierce counterattack. To be precise, all eight of them ran head-first into a solid wall.
At the same time, a large hole abruptly opened in the ground.
If she couldn't determine the coordinates of the surrounding objects, the simplest solution was to use the earth beneath her feet.
Moving other objects was far faster and carried none of the psychological hurdles that moving herself did for Musujima-san.
The chunk of earth vanished from underfoot, only to reappear moments later like a falling curtain, blocking Natsume-san's line of sight.
But the dirt wasn't the main weapon. A corkscrew from Musujima-san's uniform pocket, its sharp, barbed point aimed true, was teleported directly into Natsume-san's abdomen.
Not the real person. Just a phantom, like all the buildings.
Her eyes caught the corkscrew clattering to the ground, and Musujima-san's mind instantly processed the truth.
Seizing the moment as the dirt curtain fell, she broke into a sprint, heading in a direction her companions hadn't chosen. Yet, she too smashed into a solid, unseen object, the impact sending the briefcase flying from her grip to land nearby.
Rubbing her forehead, Musujima-san gritted her teeth, the trembling in her hand intensifying.
Not a single exit. It seems I have no choice but to use Move Point after all.
But in this situation, even running the calculations a hundred times wouldn't guarantee the safety of the coordinates. A sickly pallor washed over Musujima-san's face.
"Thinking of using your teleportation? But it's not just buildings around here. I've set up several ice walls as well. The area full of obstacles is much larger than you think," the phantom of the bun-haired girl wearing the magical girl Kanamin mask quietly reminded her.
While Natsume-san appeared to be right there, her actual location was anyone's guess.
Manipulated by Sonoko Natsume's light, the moisture in the air wasn't enough to create a vast fog bank, but it was sufficient to augment the environment of this abandoned apartment block.
To lure these people into the prepared area, Natsume-san had even ridden on their car roof for a while, only choosing to strike once everything was ready.
Having learned about this girl's weaknesses from Uiharu-san beforehand, Natsume-san had made preparations accordingly.
If it was labeled a 'psychological trauma' in the records, it certainly wouldn't be easy to overcome.
By focusing her efforts there, Natsume-san could increase her chances of capturing this girl.
"Your turn to attack is over. Now it's my turn," Sonoko Natsume's voice was transmitted to the girl across from her, devoid of its usual cheerfulness and carrying a distinct note of anger.
This girl, named Awaki Musujima, was practically the polar opposite of Sonoko Natsume.
Someone who could mercilessly teleport sharp weapons into people's bodies was just a violent brute who abused her power.
In Natsume-san's mind, she had already placed this girl on the same level as the members of the Dark Side, her dislike for her second only to that white-haired villain.
Towards such a person, Natsume-san didn't dare let her guard down for a second, nor did she want anything to do with her.
A possible exception was probably Yumiya Rakko-senpai. She'd run into her several times in the School Garden since they'd last parted; Shidarezakura Academy wasn't too far from Tokiwadai.
It did bother Natsume-san a little, though. That Senpai seemed to be actively avoiding her lately, even though she hadn't done anything wrong.
The thought made Natsume-san feel a bit gloomy.
"I don't care what you want with the Tree Diagram's remains. If you had just left Academy City quietly, I might have actually been fooled by Misaka-senpai and stayed out of this."
"But you did something in District 7 that made me very angry. That's the reason I'm here now. I'm going to send you to where you belong."
Natsume-san's phantom continued speaking, her face still wearing that typically vacant expression.
"District 7? That teleporting Judgment member?"
Musujima-san took a few steps back, her body pressing against the unseen wall.
As she spoke, a fierce battle raged in her mind—should she teleport herself or not?
The inability to decide only made her mental state more chaotic.
That psychological trauma, so severe it could affect her very will. Just the thought of the gruesome results of a miscalculation made her stomach churn with acid.
"So you're the #8."
Back when she attended Kirigaoka Girls' Academy, she'd heard from a Judgment member there that the newly-ranked #8 had joined Judgment.
And this #8 was rumored to have a record of defeating that terrifying monster.
That's why her emergence had immediately overshadowed several other low-profile Level 5s, even surpassing Tokiwadai's Mental Out and Railgun.
Musujima-san's pupils contracted sharply.
Her hands trembled even more violently, a sudden wave of panic welling up inside her—a feeling she hadn't even experienced facing the Railgun.
This is a joke. I just took down one Judgment member, and I attracted a monster like this?
Natsume-san didn't bother answering further. She rarely spoke this much. Whether it was to distract the girl or for some other reason, it had served its purpose.
Meanwhile, the real Sonoko Natsume, still standing motionless in the corner, seemed to split apart. The originally small area was now densely packed with phantoms of a certain bun-haired girl.
It was a startling sight, enough to make one think they'd seen a ghost.
This move hadn't been very effective against Accelerator; she remembered him breaking through it almost instantly.
But against someone like Musujima-san, who needed to lock onto a target to attack, it was extremely potent.
The invisible wall behind her was touched by Musujima-san, then ripped from its foundation and hurled towards the countless phantoms in the air.
If her vision couldn't distinguish reality from illusion, she'd use the simplest sense of touch to confirm coordinates.
At that moment, her fallen companions also struggled to their feet, pressing their bodies firmly against the unseen walls to help Musujima-san confirm the coordinates.
The wall shattered into pieces mid-air, smashing through a large number of phantoms.
Only a small portion vanished as their prismatic forms fractured, but more and more phantoms were already closing in around Musujima-san.
Bzzzt— Bzzzt—
The sound of crackling electricity reached Musujima-san's ears. Her eyes widened in shock, to the point of nearly tearing.
A pale, small hand emerged from the sea of phantoms, clutching a high-voltage stun gun.
Before setting out, Sonoko Natsume had specifically borrowed this stun gun from Juufuku Miho-san.
Even with the target's psychological barriers, Natsume-san was still worried the girl might desperately use her teleportation to escape. A one-hit takedown was the safest bet.
Using the stun gun was far quicker and simpler than any of Natsume-san's other methods.
Besides, wearing a magical girl mask and using a flat, wand-like object didn't seem too out of place.
Though Juufuku-san had been rather hesitant and blushed a lot at the time, seeing Natsume-san's determined expression, she'd eventually dug it out from a corner.
That stun gun actually had quite a story behind it. Juufuku-san's ex-boyfriend, the one Natsume-san had tossed into a garbage bin, could probably attest to that.
As the electric current coursed through her body, Musujima-san was instantly paralyzed. Her vision went dark, and she lost consciousness. Only then did the bun-haired girl release the stun gun.
A pale fist followed, punching Musujima-san squarely in the face, though it didn't seem to do much damage. A slightly annoyed expression finally appeared on the faces of all the phantoms.
Seemingly still dissatisfied, the small hand holding the stun gun proceeded to administer a 'supplementary treatment' to each of Musujima-san's accomplices. By the time she was done, the only ones left standing in the area were several hundred versions of Natsume-san.
--+--
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.