Chapter 212
Chapter 212
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 212
Chapter Title: Yuria and the Two Espers (9)
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Rewinding time slightly, to a few dozen minutes ago.
The first basement floor of the Tempest Stadium, an area restricted to authorized personnel.
There, a pure-white girl in a cute, sleeveless one-piece dress sighed in frustration.
“Mmmph…”
She was Yuria, holder of the title of humanity’s only esper.
The masked beauty’s small head was so full of worries it ached.
Yuria was hiding her body to avoid being seen by the surveillance cameras scattered everywhere.
Leaning her back against a wall and clutching her head, she thought quietly, her expression full of concern.
They must all have fragments of the Invader on them.
So why were only the metahumans in the staff area losing their minds and rampaging?
‘Come to think of it, the fragment from the bracelet and the fragments embedded in the rampaging people are slightly different in shape. The former is blunt like a stone, while the latter is spiky like a sea urchin… Hmm, maybe some kind of interference is needed to change the former into the latter?’
Wait, what if the properties of the fragments also change as their shape transforms?
And if a certain process is required for that to happen, then perhaps it wasn't too late.
Having reached this conclusion, Yuria snapped her head up and looked at the ceiling.
She then reached a hand up, spread her psychokinesis, and checked if there was a space beyond it.
Perhaps to bear the structural load and secure space for facilities, the large stadium had a considerable gap between the ceiling of the lower floor and the floor of the one above.
It was spacious enough for a small girl like her… to fit inside with room to spare.
‘Alright, I’ve got a rough idea. Let’s gather more information based on this.’
Yuria forcefully tore open the seamlessly finished ceiling and leaped up into the space beyond.
Crouched in the narrow space, she used her psychokinesis to move swiftly through the staff area.
How long had she been scurrying through the dusty crawlspace, a place structurally impossible to clean?
Peeking down through a tiny crack in the ceiling, she was finally able to spot Ren.
‘Found her. It’s Ren! And the one she’s using as a chair… is that her servant, Meline? Hmm, it seems their relationship is just like in the original story.’
If so, where on earth was this place?
Wriggling around, Yuria took out her Echo and realized this was the control room.
It seemed this was where they handled the stadium's audio and video transmissions…
Why, out of all the facilities available, did those two specifically attack and occupy this one?
As Yuria clutched her head, groaning with the feeling that she was on the verge of a breakthrough, the situation below revealed the whole story.
“Young Lady, I will now perform a test using Nidhogg.”
“Go ahead. I’m sure there’s plenty of power left.”
“Kuaaaargh!”
“...!”
*Screeeech!*
A bizarre sound emanated from the small horseshoe-shaped object in Meline’s hand.
It was a chilling melody, like countless screams layered on top of one another—horrific enough to haunt one’s dreams.
But it was not merely an unpleasant noise.
The sound spreading from the object was worsening the condition of the fallen people!
A sound that made people lose their sanity and become enraged.
Yuria instinctively understood that it was an object like a Tesseract or an Echo.
‘That’s not its only effect. The fragment I had in my pocket has changed shape. I see. The sound from that thing is a kind of trigger. They holed up in the control room specifically… to spread this sound throughout the stadium!’
Now that she thought about it, it had been strange.
The Invader fragments themselves were simple masses of power that didn't affect people on their own.
After all, one had been in Raven's trouser pocket before without issue.
There must have been some other means required to affect people.
If that’s the case… then what I need to do is extremely simple.
Yuria quietly left the area and, holding her Echo, conveyed her thoughts with grim determination.
‘The solution is simple. I just need to cut off the sound they’re trying to broadcast to the audience. Echo, tell me the location of the wires leading from the control room to the stadium’s speakers.’
[ Understood. ]
What followed was an exceedingly simple task.
Cut the wires while continuously feeding false information to the control room so they wouldn’t notice anything amiss.
The physical connection would naturally be severed, and the bizarre noise that served as the trigger for the rampage wouldn’t be transmitted upstairs…
The audience would simply be confused about the halt in the tournament's proceedings!
This should be enough. Just as Yuria made that judgment and descended back into the control room.
She saw Raven facing a life-or-death crisis and, without a moment’s hesitation, leaped down from the ceiling.
And that was the story of how Yuria, after calling for Raven, had suddenly vanished.
“What in the world is…”
“Young Lady, this is…!”
While Yuria and Raven were sharing their joy in a happy reunion, Ren and Meline across from them expressed their surprise at the sudden intrusion of a third party.
Ren’s servant, Meline, in particular, looked almost horrified, his eyes wide open.
As a trusted subordinate who had received the power of the Great One—known to the outside world as the Invader—he had realized that Yuria wielded psychokinesis, just like Ren.
But in his common sense, this was impossible.
Espers were inherently unstable beings who required delicate physical adjustments periodically.
Therefore, the existence of a mysterious esper unknown to him and his organization… was simply not possible!
‘W-Wait… but, nothing happened upstairs? Impossible! Our control of the room was perfect! The stands should be a pandemonium, a living hell by now!’
Amidst his confusion, Meline heard the unbelievable news and hurriedly operated the computer.
As soon as he brought up the camera feed of the stands on the monitor, the real situation, free from Echo's manipulations, appeared on the screen.
All it showed were people looking bored and tired of waiting.
The horrific scene of blood and screams he had desired was nowhere to be found, no matter how hard he looked.
Faced with this unbelievable reality, Meline clutched his face and let out a scream.
“Impossible! Our noble plan for the Great Oneeee!”
How long had they waited for this moment!
His mind felt like it was crumbling as his plans turned to dust in an instant.
But to Raven, he just looked ridiculous.
Stroking the head of Yuria, who was looking up at him with concern, he spoke with a mocking tone.
“Hah, a noble plan from a terrorist? This is the ending you people deserve.”
“Shut your mouth, commoner! You, a piece of trash who wasn't even granted the great power!”
Before Meline’s raw-nerved scream could even fade, a pitch-black snake, sharp as an arrow, shot toward Raven.
Raven immediately recognized it as the thing that had pierced his shoulder earlier.
A direct hit would be nothing short of a fatal wound, but he didn’t tense up. He simply looked at Meline with a smirk.
A moment ago, he would have had to roll across the floor like he was cleaning it to dodge, but now?
With the most dependable bodyguard in the world right in front of him, why would he need to?
“Hmph…!”
*Crack!*
Yuria, who had put her mask back on, spun around and flicked her hand lightly through the air.
The arrow-snake’s neck twisted with a sickening crack, and it embedded itself into a nearby wall.
Such was the force behind it that the wall cracked and began to crumble from the impact.
Meline's face turned beet red with rage as his attack was so easily nullified.
“Damn youuuu!”
“Meline. You stay out of this.”
“Kh, khk… Yes, Young Lady…!”
But was the difference in their standing just that absolute?
Despite being emotionally shaken, he obediently stepped back at Ren’s command.
And so, Ren and Yuria finally faced each other.
Perhaps because they were of similar height, their gazes met directly. The color contrast between the two girls was stark.
In the silence that fell, it was Ren who spoke first, her face twisted in displeasure.
“Who are you? Why are you so close to my brother? I’ll kill you.”
“What are you—!”
“...!”
*Thrust.*
Yuria raised a hand, stopping Raven before he could interject.
Of course, she would be happy if he took her side, as it would feel like their bond had deepened.
But if he were to directly deny Ren or show feelings of contempt toward her here…
It wouldn’t be very helpful, as it could lead to a situation that would be difficult to handle.
Moreover, Yuria knew Ren’s identity better than anyone from the original story.
She didn’t want their relationship to deteriorate any further.
But did Yuria’s consideration end up being poison?
Ren let out a hollow laugh at the pair’s unmistakably familiar atmosphere.
She clenched her fists so tightly that they bled and muttered in a trembling voice.
“…Ah, I get it. It’s you, isn’t it? The little sister who replaced me. It was because of you. The reason my brother gave up on me… it was all your fault…!”
“…”
“Haha, ahaha! Then it’s simple. I just have to get rid of you. Then, my brother will surely dote on me like he used to!”
“That will never…”
“Nn-nn!”
I told you not to interfere!
Yuria even turned around to look at Raven, her gaze imploring him to stop.
Leave this to me. Her expression was nothing short of resolute.
In the end, it was Raven who relented first.
It was Yuria who had to fight Ren, anyway. He decided to trust her judgment.
And so, facing a mentally deteriorating Ren, Yuria stepped forward alone.
*I’m not the least bit concerned about you.*
At her confident stride, Ren trembled and opened her mouth.
“You, what’s your name?”
“…Yuria.”
“A cute name. As I thought, I don’t like it.”
The calm, settled white and the frenzied, maddened black.
The two espers faced each other and drew upon the mighty power that resided within them…
What immediately followed was, in a word, the clash of explosive disasters.