Chapter 192
Chapter 192
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 192
Chapter Title: Fixer vs. Charismatic Phantom Thief vs. Just Yuria (6)
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The night air in Nighthaven was milder than I expected.
My arms were bare, yet I didn't feel cold at all.
If anything, it was a liberating sensation, as if a weight had been lifted from my chest.
Especially feeling this way high up on a windy skyscraper.
It truly felt like the height of spring, winter having vanished without a trace.
‘Ugh… Where on earth did he go? He doesn't even have a terminal, so I can't track him with Echo!’
But despite the pleasant coolness, I had no time for such sentiments.
I was too busy frantically scanning my surroundings, searching for the fake Raven I'd lost.
To think he didn't even have a terminal, something everyone carries, leaving no trace behind.
At this point, I was going crazy with curiosity about the fake's true identity.
No… actually, I already had a pretty good guess.
This just hammered the nail into the coffin of my suspicions.
‘Magic that mimics another's appearance exists. But… magic that mimics their power? That doesn't exist. No, it can't. If it did, every mage would be running around imitating Tempest.’
This phenomenon, unexplainable by magic, was even less explainable by science.
The only other rational possibility was that my brain had been addled by some drug.
But the throbbing pain in my side screamed that this was no dream or hallucination.
So, if the fake I encountered was neither science nor magic…
By process of elimination, only one possibility remained.
The power that destroyed a world, a force that transcended laws. Psychic power.
‘Could this be the Invaders' doing? No, I've never heard of an Invader that could perfectly mimic a human, not even in the original story. That means this is a change not present in the original. Hmm, in that case…’
The crescent-shaped object flashed through my mind.
In the original story, Echo had gone berserk on its own and become a sort of haunted terminal.
Perhaps it had run rampant without my knowledge, causing this incident.
If so… I had a responsibility to retrieve that object, no matter what.
What if the Invaders got their hands on an object that could mimic people?
The consequences would be nothing short of catastrophic.
The terrifying monsters on Earth could be perfectly replicated, becoming a part of the Invaders' forces.
The already formidable Invader forces would become twice as difficult to deal with.
‘*Phew*, okay, calm down… If I can't rely on Echo's power, I'll have to predict the fake's behavior. I just need to wrack my brain.’
But this wasn't a problem someone else would solve for me, no matter how anxiously I paced.
I had to find a way through this difficult situation myself.
So, clinging to the side of a tall building, I forced myself to think as rationally as possible.
First, I had to assume the fake Raven, who had now vanished, possessed the ability to think.
Considering the fake Silvercat's actions, she had shown affection for her partner, the hacker.
It was highly likely that even a fake Raven would think quite similarly to the original.
In other words, where would Raven go in this situation?
If I could predict that, I might be able to find the fake!
‘That would mean the fake Raven attacked me even after recognizing me… B-but that's not what's important right now!’
A thought suddenly popped into my head, and I shook it away, clearing my mind of distractions.
Then I thought of places the fake Raven might find interesting, like the Dragon Mayor's residence or the Crowley Fixer Agency.
Well… I couldn't be certain the fake Raven was actually there.
But for now, narrowing down the options like this was the best I could do.
Just as I was mapping out the city in my head and preparing to move,
a concerned voice suddenly came from the Echo I was holding in one hand.
[ Lady Yuria. It seems someone is watching this area through a camera. ]
‘A c-camera? A surveillance camera nearby? …Hmm, Echo. Can you erase my presence as naturally as possible? If that's too difficult, you can just destroy any photos or videos of me.’
[ No, it's not a difficult request. I will edit the footage in real-time so that you do not appear on video, Lady Yuria. ]
Real-time video manipulation, huh?
Having made the request cautiously, I was a bit dazed by Echo's reply.
I knew Echo was powerful when it came to data manipulation.
But I never imagined it could perform stealth by hacking cameras in real-time to erase my presence.
In that case, as long as I didn't blatantly use my psychic powers in front of a huge crowd, I wouldn't have to worry about leaving video evidence.
Even if someone happened to spot me and claim they saw a psychic,
it would just end up as an unsubstantiated rumor with no video proof.
‘...Judging by Echo's unusual energy consumption, this can't last long. But for a short while, I don't have to hold back.’
I was getting really tired of holding myself back, so this was a relief.
Taking a small, deep breath to calm my excitement, I immediately threw myself off the building as if diving.
Using psychokinesis to levitate, I moved swiftly forward, darting between the outer walls of buildings.
It felt like it had been a long time since I'd used my psychokinesis so freely in the city without worrying about being seen.
Feeling the wind brush against my cheeks, I savored the freedom from the pressure that had been holding me down.
From one building wall to another, higher and higher, above the glittering neon signs!
I don't know how long I soared recklessly through the city of Nighthaven.
Echo's energy had already dropped by half from erasing my presence.
Just as I was starting to think the fake might have gone to the real Raven and began to head in his direction,
I witnessed a cloud of dust rising from a mansion, accompanied by a loud roar.
‘What's that…?’
An unusual incident, one that anyone with a bit of sense would notice.
I instinctively knew it was the fake Raven causing the commotion.
Of course, for me, this was the worst-case scenario.
Now that he'd drawn so much attention, my plan to handle this secretly was ruined.
But as they say, the best time to solve a problem is when you think it's too late.
Determined to resolve this before it escalated further, I flew toward the disturbance at full speed.
“Ah…!”
Arriving at the scene, I couldn't help but cry out.
Raven and Silvercat were already there, fighting the fake Raven together.
It seemed the real Raven's side had the upper hand due to their weapons and numbers,
but as expected of a fake Raven, his skills were the real deal. He was tenaciously holding on despite the disadvantage.
So… how was I supposed to handle this?
Breaking out in a cold sweat, I frantically looked around and spotted one piece of good news.
‘Alice and David aren't here… They must have split up to handle a request! Th-then now's my chance!’
I have to end this before they get back.
Clinging to the wall of a nearby building, I made my decision and leaped down with all my might.
I wrapped one hand in a highly condensed field of psychokinesis.
And brought it down hard on the fake Raven from above!
“…!”
But had he noticed, even though I'd suppressed my presence as much as possible?
The tattered, wounded fake Raven glanced up at me and quickly rolled away to dodge the surprise attack.
Seriously, just like Raven…
As my attack hit nothing but the empty ground, I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.
“Eh, huh? Where did that kid come from…”
“Yuria…?”
The two, who had been in the middle of fighting the fake Raven, looked bewildered by my sudden appearance.
Raven, who had been about to fire his gun, had an expression that seemed to ask how he was supposed to process this.
I avoided his gaze and glared at the fake Raven, who had already righted his stance.
I had no excuse for breaking the rule about not using my powers recklessly outside.
And besides, I had already anticipated the fake Raven dodging my first attack and had launched my second!
“Kugh?! Kraaaaargh!”
*CRUUUUNCH!*
A violent wind, like a waterfall crashing down, pressed down on the fake Raven with immense force.
I had used psychokinesis to artificially create an extreme difference in air pressure, generating a powerful storm that poured down on a specific area.
No matter how agile he was, there was no escaping a merciless bombardment covering a several-meter radius.
I had no intention of letting my guard down against an opponent I'd already lost once right under my nose.
“Raven!”
“Yeah, I know. We'll talk after this is over. Be ready.”
“…”
I-I don't want to be ready…
Whether I was rolling my eyes at his chilling words or not,
he took out his Mimic Shadow, preparing to continue his assault on the immobilized fake.
“Form Change. Sniper Mode.”
The Mimic Shadow transformed not into his usual pistol, but into a long sniper rifle.
He aimed at the fake Raven, who was twisting and contorting his body, trying to escape the pressure.
Then, Raven pulled a thick bullet from his coat, one that was clearly not for a pistol.
I immediately recognized the long, sharp round, which was bigger than a knuckle.
‘That's… a Penetrator Round!’
The special bullet Lily created exclusively for the Mimic Shadow. A finishing move that could only be used once a day to prevent overloading the artifact.
Did the fake Raven instinctively realize he'd be finished if that hit him?
He thrashed violently, twisting his body as if trying to break free from the wind.
I had no intention of letting him go. Not after finally getting this chance!
Gritting my teeth, I cranked up the output—two, three times, pushing it to the absolute maximum.
“Graaaaargh!”
“Eek!”
“Wh-what is that… Its form…!”
Then, as if in a final, desperate struggle, the fake Raven's appearance began to shift rapidly.
Alice, David, Greg, Victor, Lexi… even a horned Tempest!
The fake, which had been changing its appearance to people of all ages and genders, eventually morphed into a formless, shadow-like figure.
An utterly unstable form, like something straight out of a nightmare.
But even then, Raven remained incredibly calm, merely looking down at the aberrant being and muttering softly.
“Stop resisting… and fall, monster.”
*Ping!*
The moment his words ended, a thin, faint line of light shot out.
It was a very faint light, one you would miss if you weren't paying close attention.
But almost at the same instant my mind registered that tiny gleam, a powerful flash pierced straight through the shadow monster's body.
A finishing blow that unleashed all the energy stored in the Mimic Shadow and the magic within the special round in a single shot!
It seemed even its tenacious life force couldn't withstand that.
With a hole blown through its body, the creature let out a weak sound.
“G-giiiiiihk…”
*Thud.*
The mimic monster collapsed weakly to the ground and stopped moving. Then, starting from its head, it slowly began to crumble away into ash.
And when the disintegration was complete, a crescent-shaped object lay alone on the ground.
One way or another, it seemed the problem was finally solved.