Chapter 16
Chapter 16
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: I Don't Like Hurting People (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The emotions readable in the eyes of the villains scattered everywhere were probably surprise.
Even I, the one wielding this sword, had thought the same. Ten villains—honestly, it was a fight about how many I could take down. Suppressing every last one of them? Even with Aisha's ability, I figured it would still be too much right now.
And on top of that, one more thing. Aisha's original fighting style, combat using her 'sword.' The course of this battle—which had begun without any confidence—turned out to be something that far surpassed my expectations.
Slash—
The guy who'd called in another villain to face me—I figured his ability had hit its limit, so he became my first target. His ability, 'Black Hole,' wasn't just tricky to deal with; from the earlier fight, I'd also clocked that his physical prowess wasn't anything special.
An ability alone can't make you a complete hero. No matter how insanely powerful it is, you need physical techniques to respond actively to any situation. The martial foundation I'd built up to become a hero, combined with Aisha's body techniques, flowed like a single elegant dance.
My body remembered it all, even if my mind couldn't recall a single fragment—a bit awkward at first, my movements creaking like rusty hinges—but before long, my arm was naturally tracing lines through the air. Like snowflakes drifting in winter, melting the instant they touched the ground... my sword vanished the moment it reached the enemy.
Slash—
The blade rose in a right diagonal arc, carefully avoiding the black sphere, and severed the villain's wrist.
"...!"
Bile surged up from my stomach, clawing at my throat. My mind, refusing to adapt to this gruesome scene, screamed in protest.
...It's fine. I've seen plenty of this before.
I soothed myself like that. Feeling disgust at cutting someone down or terror at the sight of spurting blood—those were luxuries for another time. Right now, I needed nothing but cold rationality.
My pounding heart cooled to ice.
When one person faces a crowd, the most effective tactic is to overwhelmingly crush a single target and demonstrate your dominance. And it had worked beautifully.
No one dared approach me easily anymore. They all stayed beyond the sweep of my sword, flinching and stumbling back at my slightest step. It was hard to tell who the real villains even were anymore. Bloodstained ice... and one lone figure staring down the masses.
No matter how you sliced it, I looked like the villain.
I glanced down at the guy clutching his wrist and groaning. I hadn't meant to cut his wrist off... but oh well, he'd understand. I had no intention of killing anyone—this was purely for suppression.
"Ha."
A dry chuckle escaped me despite myself. Heroes really had it rough, didn't they? No matter how dire the situation, you always had to fight with the goal of subduing rather than killing. I had plenty of gripes about it, but my ability was specialized for suppression anyway.
I didn't even need to use it anymore. Against villains gripped by fear, simply swinging what I had was enough. An ability mismatched to the season... but that very fact made it all the more threatening. A blizzard raging down a street where flowers should be blooming—it was a paradoxical sight.
Blizzard.
Now that I'd seized the momentum, there was no need to yield it to their numbers. Time to press the advantage. Even if the villains ended up more injured than necessary, it was the only way for me to claim victory.
Ice plummeted vertically from the sky, capturing the stars within it. Along the lines I carved, it whipped into a frenzy. The flames flickering from a villain's hand, a body forged from rock-hard stone—they were all chipped away, crumbling to nothing in the end.
With every step, every precise stance, villains collapsed. And when only the last one remained—
One of them let out a scream.
Aaaah—
"No one's coming, and you know it."
"D-don't come!"
"You guys showed up first."
One thing I'd felt while dealing with them: this eerie silence. It had to be a planned terrorist attack. In the original story, the full truth of this incident never came to light. Zenon hadn't been able to handle that initial Black Hole villain properly. Surrounding villains had brought down buildings, badly injuring civilians who couldn't evacuate.
...And no hero had shown up during the fight.
No matter how I looked at it, something was off about this situation. If it was just to get at Zenon, the scale felt way too big. What were they really after? No matter how much I racked my brain, I didn't have enough clues to piece it together.
In the original, it was written off as a simple villain raid, and Hera Carmen's name only surfaced much later.
When I finally subdued the last one, my expression had hardened.
...The fact that I couldn't figure out a single thing right now was incredibly frustrating.
"...Haa."
A plume of cold breath escaped my lips. I'd pushed my body midway through and used my ability against ten foes, so some strain was inevitable. It had been a bad matchup for Zenon, but not so much for me—I'd wrapped it up more easily than expected.
"Dizzy..."
Still, rest was definitely in order. I sheathed Moonlit Night Sword and tugged my uniform blouse tight around me. So cold... all I wanted was to crawl under the covers and roll around. But wrapping up meant dealing with these scattered villains too.
That indescribable feeling creeping in from the memory of slicing off that wrist was churning up my insides, making me want to zone out and rest without a thought.
But... I couldn't do that. Leaving things like this would just cause trouble for me and the heroes alike.
At least there were gains: I'd neatly resolved a major incident Zenon was supposed to face... and my practical exam score had probably skyrocketed. I was still a student, after all. The thought made the corners of my mouth twitch upward.
Clatter—
I stretched as I moved to round up the villains when footsteps echoed from the distance.
"Hold on, wait!"
"...What is it."
"Jayce, hero from A District. Where are the others?"
"Didn't see them."
That single line made the hero who'd introduced himself as Jayce's eyes widen.
"What? It's been twenty minutes since the alarm. I rushed over because no suppression report came in—no way no one else showed."
"It's true."
"...Then what about those lying there?"
"Villains. I'm a student from the academy here for the practical exam."
"...I heard there was a student taking the practical. You took down all ten alone?"
Staring incredulously at the villains' faces, Jayce nodded and contacted someone somewhere.
"...This is A District. No need for backup. All villains suppressed."
As he fiddled with his communicator, he narrowed his eyes and muttered something under his breath before turning to me with a slight smile.
"Some of these faces I recognize. You have my thanks. Not even an official hero, and you soloed ten villains. Debut as a Top Hero someday, maybe."
"...Thank you."
"Even with the practical exam excuse, you probably can't continue now. We'll need testimony about the incident, and site recovery's about to start. I'll inform the school. But you came alone?"
"One other was with me, but..."
I added that I didn't know where he was and followed Jayce toward A District.
"...You okay?"
"Just stings a bit, otherwise fine."
When did I get hurt? I wiped the blood trickling from my neck and answered nonchalantly. A chaotic brawl against nine villains—I'd subdued them relatively easily, but apparently I'd caught a scratch on my neck sometime during it. A little deeper, and it would've been serious.
"Sorry about that. If we'd arrived even a little sooner—"
"It's fine. Can't blame the heroes."
Hera Carmen must've blocked their dispatch. Proving my hunch, the TV was running breaking news about the B District hero office being sealed off due to a building collapse.
"Doesn't sit right. The timing's too perfect for coincidence."
"...Yeah."
"Well... you're a student. Leave the rest to the adults. I contacted your friend—they should be here soon."
I nodded absently. Where the heck was he? Recalling that dazed look from earlier made my head spin for no reason. I'd handled the situation fine, but our relationship taking a nosedive left a slight pang of regret.
I'd wanted it that way, sure. But what should I call this nagging unease?
Phew—
I pursed my lips and sighed. Maybe catch a quick nap? As I leaned my head back against the chair, a noise came from one side.
Ssssk—
"...What was that?"
Jayce muttered as he headed to the office door. Probably nothing. I leaned back again, and after it went quiet, I closed my eyes.
So quiet.
It was dawn by now, leaving just me and Jayce in the office. Even he'd stepped out, so I was completely alone. Savoring the silence, I rested my head on the cold cushion.
...Cold?
Ding— An alarm blared in my mind. I jerked my head up and scattered ice in all directions. Splash— That wasn't the sound of hitting the office's sturdy walls. More like slicing through water. Water—my thoughts reached that far when I realized what the presence in front of me was.
"...You."
"Puhe, hi?"
Her—the one who'd once been a hero, the same one I'd just been talking to. Dragging Jayce's limp body along.
I faced Hera Carmen once more.