Once again, she'd accidentally wrecked Academy City's underground pipe network. Yet, the bun-girl kept her composure, her fair face betraying no panic.
Water gushed noisily from the broken pipe, forming a fountain-like spray that steadily cooled the enormous iron cage surrounding them.
Though things had gotten a little out of hand, maintaining order and public morals in Academy City sometimes meant collateral damage—shattered flower beds, broken pipes, fried circuits—all perfectly normal occurrences.
When espers fought, they didn't sweat the small stuff.
The cage of iron sand trembled as the particles cycled between melting and solidifying. Clear outlines of limbs and faces pressed against its surface.
The flaming creature inside relentlessly assaulted its prison, only to be bound tightly by the magnetic sand. Each time it broke through one layer, a fresh wave of sand rushed in, cooling and hardening once more.
The cage grew larger and denser. In seconds, Misaka-senpai had compressed it into a small hill of iron.
Yet even then, the fire-being continued to shift slowly. An endless tide of iron sand couldn't fully contain it; burning through the mound was only a matter of time.
Water spraying from the broken pipe seeped through gaps in the sand, emerging on the other side as scalding steam.
The narrow rupture amplified the pressure, and the resulting jet of steam shredded nearby leaves, turning those that remained yellow and withered.
The sheer force of the steam alone was enough to keep anyone at bay.
Its surface temperature was terrifyingly high, and its internal energy seemed limitless—showing no signs of exhaustion despite the constant output.
At least the iron sand cocoon was causing the surrounding temperature to drop.
The scene made Natsume Sonoko's eyes widen. If they could harness this creature for power generation, it'd be an incredibly clean energy source—far more efficient than the wind turbines Academy City relied on.
Her mind drifted on its usual tangents, but in reality, Natsume-san's focus remained fixed on the fiery entity.
She couldn't quite recall when it started, but Natsume-san had gradually found herself battling one bizarre creature after another. By now, she'd developed a strong tolerance for the absurd.
Almost unconsciously, Misaka-senpai's movements grew more intense.
The hill of iron sand contorted under immense magnetic pressure.
Its sheer mass temporarily resisted melting, and instead exerted crushing force from all sides, squeezing the fire-being into scattered embers of uniform size before molten iron flooded the space.
It was similar to the approach Natsume-san had used before—slicing a continuously regenerating rock-golem into dust with a water-jet cutter.
But this time was different. The molten iron filling every crevice began to boil, and the flaming humanoid reformed.
Misaka-senpai tried again, her body crackling with even fiercer electricity, but the result remained unchanged.
All they could do was restrain the creature once more within the giant sand mound. But now, neither Natsume-san nor Misaka-senpai had any better ideas.
Even diced into particles, it could still regenerate—what a cheat-like ability.
Instead of looking up, Natsume-san turned her attention to the three magical girls she'd knocked out earlier.
She wasn't sure what had summoned this fire-being, but they were definitely involved.
"Hmm, something's off here."
The bun-girl froze for a second, as if noticing something new.
She could no longer sense any body heat from those three girls.
All living beings unconsciously emitted heat, much like espers gave off AIM diffusion fields—a living person with zero heat emission was impossible.
Natsume-san trusted her abilities completely. A quick self-check confirmed nothing was wrong, meaning something unexpected must have happened.
After only a second's hesitation, Natsume-san swung her arm, summoning a powerful gust from the ground toward the trio.
The wind arrived in an instant—but met no resistance. Like shattered slides, the girls' bodies fragmented into nothing under the gust.
This wasn't the bun-girl trying to cover up her pipe-destroying antics by silencing witnesses. What remained were mere illusions.
Someone had altered air density to refract light and create these false images—a classic mirage.
On that subject, a certain anonymous colleague of hers was quite familiar with the technique, even bending refracted light into near-invisible points to achieve invisibility.
But when had the switch happened?
Natsume Sonoko thought it over. Most likely, it was when the fire creature first appeared—the moment she'd used jet propulsion to put distance between herself and the scene.
A momentary lapse, and the enemy had extracted all three.
"Look—a similar technique."
Staring at the dissolving mirages, Natsume Sonoko felt a surge of astonishment. This was exactly her own go-to method.
Was someone copying her?
No—more like great minds think alike. Natsume-san refused to believe she was the only one who could develop such moves.
While the fire-being was still trapped, Natsume-san scanned a two-hundred-meter radius with her radar.
Her current reasoning was simple: if they couldn't handle the fire creature, they should target the one controlling it.
Her knowledge of magic was patchy at best, and she lacked that certain upperclassman's right hand that could negate illusions. Her options were still limited to brute-force methods.
Since Misaka-senpai's physical attacks were ineffective, it was time to change targets.
If the enemy was after one of those three girls, they were likely still nearby. Basic logic.
But the area was now crowded with students rubbernecking and tourists snapping photos. The commotion had drawn quite a crowd.
Living in Academy City required strong nerves—especially for spectators.
"Seriously, why'd so many people show up all of a sudden?"
Natsume Sonoko scanned the crowd. Had they attracted everyone in the vicinity? Usually, there weren't this many onlookers during fights.
Most people lingered outside the mist produced by evaporating water—just tens of meters from the flaming creature.
At least the fog meant she and Misaka-senpai wouldn't end up as some tabloid headline or urban legend on a gossip site.
"Should we start evacuating the area?"
Misaka-senpai frowned, clearly influenced by a certain teleporter's habitual caution.
But just as she spoke, the fire-being, which had been pounding the cage moments before, suddenly stilled—gentle as a lamb.
A closer look revealed the creature had vanished entirely from its prison.
Vanished?
Natsume-san stared blankly, struggling to process it.
"Behind us—someone's there, right next to Meigo-senpai."
A moment later, the bun-girl's expression shifted. She called out toward Misaka-senpai's position.
A towering, invisible wall of wind surged up, aiming to blast the newcomer away—only to collide abruptly with several spinning tongues of flame.
The impact sent shockwaves rolling to both sides, tearing the thick mist clean in half.
Through the parted fog, they saw him: a tall man dressed like a black-clad priest, with red shoulder-length hair, abruptly standing beside Meigo-senpai—one hand gripping her shoulder firmly.
The man wore thick silver rings on all ten fingers, what looked like earrings, and a barcode-like tattoo beneath his right eye.
Meigo-senpai struggled, but was no match for the tall man's strength. Flustered, she lost her balance and fell to the ground.
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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.