The Magician's Arrival
News of Sten awakening a new ability spread quickly throughout the entire Evils organization. After all, the power he displayed was far too overwhelming for someone who had merely been an E-class hero.
Though suspicions had arisen that Sten might be a spy sent by the Hero Association, those doubts were swiftly cleared. A one-on-one meeting with Regalia had confirmed there were no such secrets.
“This ability appeared suddenly after you joined our organization?”
“Yes. That’s correct!”
“Hmm… If you wish, I could arrange for you to resume hero work right now. I could even ensure no record remains of your affiliation with our organization.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I prefer the villain organization. Rather than living in constant anxiety as a hero whose popularity could plummet at any moment, I’ll live as a salaried employee.”
“Is that so. Very well.”
Having confirmed Sten’s innocence, Regalia immediately promoted him to Z City’s top administrator and quasi-executive. One might have expected jealousy from others over a fresh recruit claiming a position nearly equivalent to an executive, yet surprisingly, there was none.
The reason was simple. Galrm, who had approached Sten in a friendly manner upon learning of his quasi-executive status, had been dragging him to the training grounds every day to test the ability firsthand. As a result, all the combatants had come to personally witness just how extraordinary that power truly was.
“Uwahaha—! Are you just going to keep blocking!?”
“Kugh—!”
Every time Galrm swung his fist, space itself trembled violently. At a glance, it looked as though he were shattering space with his punches. The sheer destructive force was enough to shake heaven and earth.
Yet Sten faced those fists without so much as blinking, even pushing Galrm back in return. The combatants accepted without question that Sten deserved executive-level treatment.
“With power like that, of course he should be an executive.”
“Man, if I had that ability, I’d have gone straight for A-class hero status.”
“Hero? Were you a spy for the Association, you bastard?”
Of course, Sten had his own reasons for remaining in the villain organization rather than becoming a hero. The salary and benefits were secondary. The real reason he hadn’t left was…
Because Sten knew. The reason he had become this strong wasn’t due to his own talent, but overwhelmingly because of the scientist’s help.
‘That candy he gave me back then… I wondered what it was…’
He had only realized it later. It was something that reawakened and evolved one’s abilities. Thanks to that candy, he had survived in Z City and reawakened a superpower that far surpassed his previous strength.
Any decent person, knowing this truth, couldn’t possibly brag about becoming a hero. When one receives a favor, one repays it. That was the proper way of a human being.
‘Thank you, Doctor.’
From now on, he would lay his bones in this villain organization. And if anyone ever stood in the scientist’s way while he lived out that life, Sten would step forward without hesitation. He would protect him, even at the cost of his own life.
“Ah— Sten?”
“—Doctor.”
The scientist appeared before him at that very moment. Sten looked at him with eyes full of loyalty. The scientist lightly brushed off that gaze and spoke with a faint smile.
“I heard you awakened a new ability? Congratulations.”
“It’s nothing special. More than anything, without your help, Doctor…”
“Ahaha— I didn’t do anything. It’s all thanks to your own hard work, Sten.”
After exchanging simple pleasantries that flattered each other, the two men moved straight to the main topic. The scientist spoke.
“—More importantly, Sten. There’s something I’d like to experiment with using your new ability.”
“An experiment?”
“Yes. It’s not dangerous at all. You just need to close your eyes and use your ability for a moment.”
Upon hearing the scientist’s words, Sten swallowed nervously. An experiment proposed by the very man who had granted him this tremendous power.
Even when the scientist had given him the candy, he had said it was “nothing special.” If this was the same as back then, just what kind of experiment was he planning?
Merely imagining it made cold sweat trickle down his back. However—
“I-If it’s your request, Doctor…”
“Great! Let’s head to the lab right away—”
Sten had no right to refuse. Unfortunately.
A strange rumor had been circulating within the organization. One of the newly recruited combatants had awakened a new superpower. Upon hearing that, I realized Sten had finally grasped the true nature of his ability.
‘So he figured it out.’
I had known from the very first meeting that his ability wasn’t something as simple as hardening his body. Turning his body into metal to make it tough? And then claiming his arm was too heavy to move properly?
Gravity doesn’t work that way. Did the four fundamental forces that govern the universe look like a joke to him? If anything, he should have been rolling around while clutching his arm, not floating fixed in midair.
The moment Sten first demonstrated his ability—when he claimed he couldn’t move it at all with his own strength, yet had it perfectly fixed in the air—I had roughly guessed what his power actually was. That was why I had given him one of the gene spheres in the first place.
‘Fortunately, it seems the evolution went well.’
The original gene code extracted from Levitan. In other words, the existing gene sphere had the characteristic of evolving the consumer into the strongest being they could imagine. I had been worried that feeding him the full thing might turn Sten into a lump of scrap metal, so I deliberately modified part of the gene code.
In the direction that would draw out his potential to the fullest. Since Sten had misunderstood his ability as metalization, I had no choice but to make this selection. It had been frustrating watching him flap around with wings meant for flying through the sky.
“Now then, Sten. It’s a simple experiment, so there’s no need to be too nervous.”
“Y-Yes……”
The moment I heard that Sten had figured out his true ability, I immediately sought him out and proposed the experiment. Fortunately, Sten readily agreed.
It really was a simple experiment. How much pressure his ability—Space Fixation—could withstand, and whether his space fixation could go beyond simply fixing space to actually interfering with it.
Experiments to determine whether, beyond simple teleportation-type espers who merely moved coordinates, he possessed power that could truly surpass space-time itself. After conducting these truly unremarkable experiments, I was able to grasp the general scope of Sten’s ability.
“It really is impressive. Just looking at defensive capability alone, it surpasses Vira, doesn’t it?”
“……Did you really have to say that in front of the person herself?”
“Whoa— Doesn’t that mean Vira should retire now? I’d actually prefer a male bodyguard anyway.”
“You bastard.”
“……It was a joke, so don’t cry. Okay?”
“I didn’t cry.”
Sten’s Space Fixation was literally the ability to fix space in place. Once space was fixed, nothing could pass through it except through his ability. Unless it was an ability that surpassed space itself or energy powerful enough to destroy space……
Naturally, it was impossible for any individual to produce that much energy, which meant there was essentially no opponent capable of breaking through Sten’s ability to attack him.
On the other hand, when Sten attacked an opponent? Simply shrinking the fixed space bit by bit was enough. Even an unbreakable shield could crush an opponent if used to press down on them.
‘Truly an invincible shield and an invincible spear…… The only drawbacks are—’
That it consumed more energy than Vira’s barrier and couldn’t be maintained for long. That its actual offensive power wasn’t particularly high. And that its effectiveness varied greatly depending on the user’s application skill.
Well, since it was an ability awakened to protect one’s own body in the first place, and application skill could be solved through rote education, it wasn’t a major issue.
‘Still, it’s a bit disappointing……’
An esper who could directly interfere with space. Since they were a similar type to teleportation espers, I had thought we might be able to figure out a way to return to Earth—but unfortunately, that proved impossible.
He could only interfere with the small space around him, and interference that could leap between planets or worlds was impossible. The fact that there was no connection point to Earth was also a problem.
Whether the Earth I came from existed somewhere in this universe or in an entirely different world altogether—I couldn’t even determine that. It seemed returning to Earth was still a distant prospect.
“The experiment is complete. Thank you for your cooperation, Sten.”
“……You really didn’t do much at all.”
“What? I told you that from the beginning, didn’t I?”
After finishing the experiment, I walked down the hallway chatting with Sten about this and that. With the regular combatants having clocked out, headquarters was literally deserted.
The lively noise of combatants training was nice, but this kind of quiet wasn’t bad either. I enjoyed sitting blankly in the lobby during these hours.
Today was no different. The elevator doors opened, and an unfamiliar woman entered headquarters, dragging a suitcase behind her.
Long hair and striking makeup. An expression that seemed perpetually on the verge of smiling. Though her chest seemed unusually small, she was a stunning beauty who could take one’s breath away.
“……Who are you.”
“Huh? Ah— A new face.”
“You can’t just walk in here.”
“Ahaha—! It’s fine since I’m not just anyone.”
The woman said this while lightly extending her hand. As she snapped her fingers with her empty palm— a single rose burst forth and bloomed in her hand.
While I stared in surprise, the woman offered me the rose and asked.
“A gift for a handsome young man★.”
“Thank you……?”
“So. Who might you be?”
“I’m Eight. A member of the villain organization.”
“Aha— So you’re that scientist……”
Surprisingly, the woman seemed to know my name. In other words, she was connected to the villain organization. That meant she was probably one of the executives I had never met before……
While I was making that deduction, Vira, who had gone to the restroom, returned late. Vira spotted the woman in front of her and called out cheerfully.
“Arima—! Did you finish all your performances before coming?”
“Vira. Your arms and legs really☆ grew back?”
“They really did!”
When I shot Vira a look asking for an introduction, she pointed at the woman called Arima as if she had just remembered.
“Eight? This is our seventh executive. Arima. She’s a magician.”
“A mage♠.”
“Magician or mage, same thing.”
Having learned her name from Vira, I cleared my throat, stood up, and lightly extended my hand.
“I’m Eight. The eighth executive and the organization’s scientist.”
“Scientist★. Yeah. We seem compatible.”
“I never expected such a beautiful person to be part of our organization.”
“……Huh? Sorry. Was that your preference?”
“What? What do you mean……”
As Arima’s expression stiffened and she hesitated, Vira burst into laughter as if she had roughly caught on.
“Eight, don’t tell me you fell for her?”
“Fell for her? It was just a pure compliment.”
“Sorry, but Arima’s a man. Not a woman.”
“……What?”
“Ahaha! Sorry, sorry♣. I do look pretty feminine, don’t I?”
I looked at Arima again at those words. Hair reaching down to the small of her back. Heavy makeup covering her eyes. And a height that was large even for a woman.
Realizing Arima’s true identity, I withdrew my hand with a slightly stiff expression. That damn pretty boy…… I loved him.