The air froze in an instant, a roaring silence echoing in their eardrums as their vision was filled with nothing but dazzling light.
Natsume Sonoko's senses continuously monitored the fluctuations in the force field, much like a surgeon treating a critically ill patient—tense yet filled with awe.
Hundreds of Meltdowner formulas were systematically fed into the computer inside Reiko's body, leaving the results for the main body to inherit.
By using her Personal Reality to manipulate probabilities in the microscopic world, she generated a massive, chaotic flow of electrons.
The process was as smooth as an assembly line, requiring no emotional input from Natsume-san—only the mental guidance to direct her Meltdowner to the most suitable locations.
At this moment, Natsume-san's combat style felt mechanical, standardized.
For someone lacking natural combat talent and experience in direct confrontation, the most suitable approach was one that was easy to use and less prone to error.
If an esper was treated merely as a tool for executing formulas, the short-term burst of power could be astonishing.
In an extremely short time, the Meltdowner released in this mode erupted all at once within the AIM diffusion field conglomerate.
Like a flood, it surged through the joints of the mixed force fields, rapidly forming numerous blockaded zones—all at a cost of only a fraction of the normal energy expenditure.
In fact, if one could create devices to replace esper calculations—something like sub-brains, for instance—and make them suitable for mass production…
Combined with standardized, universal ability formulas, even Level 0s and low-level espers could easily utilize their own powers.
After all, even Level 0s possessed Personal Realities.
Not long ago, Saten Ruiko-san had temporarily gained an atmospheric ability after connecting to the Level Upper—what she lacked was sufficient computational power.
These stray thoughts didn't hinder Natsume-san's performance; even the pain in her main body was pushed to the back of her mind.
Watching Misaka-senpai, now completely engulfed in a white shroud, Natsume-san prepared to unleash Meltdowner once more without hesitation.
This isn't enough, nowhere near enough—I need more surgical precision.
The meteor computer inside Reiko was operating at its limit, and the main body's face was flushed bright red.
Though her role was only to output the formula results, the prolonged expenditure had pushed Natsume-san into a perilous state. Her brain could shut down at any moment, and now there was no turning back.
Operating at seventy percent capacity, the meteor computer far exceeded the output of Natsume Sonoko's natural abilities—a victory of unknown technology over the esper herself.
And her Personal Reality proved far more reliable than Natsume-san herself, seamlessly executing every step of the formula's evolution—unlike a certain someone, fragile and lacking endurance.
Before the effects of the previous Meltdowner had fully faded, a new wave was already primed—equal or greater in volume—ready to fill the areas that needed separation.
To ensure the precision of each "scalpel," even beams released in the same wave varied slightly in timing and intensity, tailored to their specific cutting tasks.
In less than a second, the light of Meltdowner once again lit up the sky.
A piercing, pale glare overwhelmed the colors of natural light, leaving only a blazing artificial sun enveloping the area where Misaka-senpai stood.
Feeling unsteady, Natsume-san's head throbbed, her thoughts stuttering to a brief halt.
It wasn't just her main body—even Reiko was reaching her limits. Releasing Meltdowner twice in succession was tormenting both their minds and nerves.
Blocking the dark sphere, severing pathways, eliminating troublesome mixed force fields—
The two Meltdowner strikes proved highly effective. The dark energy mass instantly went berserk.
At the same time, numerous beams formed an intricate, delicate barrier above Misaka-senpai's angelic ring, thin as paper yet completely halting the fusion process.
The air grew increasingly unstable, intense heat saturating the space around Misaka-senpai and encroaching on everything nearby.
The scene grew more chaotic—normal vision could no longer discern what was happening, and even Natsume-san's thermal maps became a tangled mess.
But Natsume-san's new senses suddenly gained clarity: the blended AIM diffusion field bubbles had briefly split apart.
The center had sunken inward, with only a few tenuous connections remaining. Misaka-senpai's position had become ambiguous.
Meanwhile, the field bubbles continuously gathering via the Misaka Network were blocked outside—piling up rapidly against the Meltdowner barrier in an instant.
Reiko's hands clenched slightly, her expression solemn as she made final preparations.
The two force fields—from Misaka-senpai and the Network—still attracted each other. To extract her, re-contact between them had to be prevented.
Moreover, remnants of mixed force fields clung to Misaka-senpai, which could easily facilitate renewed fusion.
Realistically, Natsume-san had few options left—Misaka-senpai could only escape along the path she had cleared.
But given the short duration of Meltdowner and her own movement speed, time was surely insufficient. A third wave of Meltdowner was necessary—
Not only to extend the barrier's duration, but also to carve out a path for Misaka-senpai to traverse.
"I've reached Misaka-senpai."
An air arm, already wavering under the intense heat, suddenly struck the still-glowing Misaka-senpai, yanking her outward from the mass of force fields.
--+--
A blazing pathway flashed across the sky, leading straight out of the dark sphere's area of influence.
This narrow, cylindrical passage—woven from countless beams of light—felt cramped and enclosed, forming an isolated environment that blocked the larger AIM diffusion field outside.
Because the beams were packed so closely, the immense kinetic energy of Meltdowner converted into heat within the confined space, rapidly raising the internal temperature to thousands of degrees.
Inside this slender passage, Misaka-senpai was enveloped in sweltering air currents. A powerful burst of propulsion accelerated her through it.
Multiple thermal layers should handle this heat.
But clearly, one thermal layer adjusted for about a hundred degrees—coping with thousands of degrees would require over ten layers. Misaka-senpai had only three, hastily applied by Natsume-san.
Still, Misaka-senpai wouldn't need to stay long—only until she escaped before the heat breached those three layers and reached her skin.
In reality, the cylinder might not even last that long—the Meltdowner's residual time was too brief.
Though Natsume-san could accelerate to subsonic speeds, she couldn't guarantee getting Misaka-senpai beyond the dark sphere's range in time—not only due to the short duration, but also because of the initial acceleration time.
Fortunately, when she began accelerating, Misaka-senpai's body was still glowing.
With the protection of residual AIM diffusion fields, Natsume-san believed her senpai could withstand the sudden change in acceleration, making the sped up time very brief.
--+--
T/N: The author gave us a photo of what Sonoko looks like, but its just a low quality photo of Daidouji Tomoyo from Cardcaptor Sakura
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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.