Prologue: A certain distressing change :
She felt the breath knock out of her small body as she was crudely pulled back , while the motion itself wasn't appreciated she was rather thankful for the act as she felt an enormous impact connect with the spot she stood in earlier .
"So negotiations are out of the way ."
The middle school brunette spoke , it was Shirai Kuroko as her entire " This is judgement…" spiel was turned down , she wasn't especially angry as it was a recurring occurrence . If anything , she was afraid , her heart was beating fast as she saw the crushed spot where she stood in earlier.
What crushed it was a 4 or 5 meter stone human… or rather what can be described as a golem , its fingers gave the shape of crosses and its feet had the same design as well , while primarily made out of stone it still was a mix of concrete and metals as well . Needless to say , a direct impact would've turned the girl into a pretzel .
"What were you expecting child of the science side ? If I were to give up then I would've done that at the sight of the firearms those military dogs wielded , a few pins and needles aren't a thing that would scare me right now ."
The one who spoke back was Sherry Cromwell, it was a chocolate colored woman with blonde hair who donned some sort of a gothic outfit , she pointed a piece of chalk to where the girl now stood and swung it to the side , what followed was the massive impact of the fist of the golem who dug that space with nothing but a punch .
But no impact had connected with the girl's small frame as she was standing on the top of one of the many tables that filled the dining area after disappearing from her earlier spot . Or we should say , what used to be the dining area of the underground mall , this place used to be lined with restaurants that numbered by the dozen and that had a shared space lined with many chairs , tables and benches to replace whatever lack an individual restaurant had in terms of surface . Kuroko looked at the remains of one of the many used to be restaurants and clicked her tongue .
"You really came here and wrecked things ONLY after I had picked up the best dinner date spot to share with my Onee-Sama , you even got the entire mall to lock down in the same day where I convinced her to hang out with me and now you reject my proposal of civilly wrapping all of this up , do you really think you'll get away of this easily ?"
Shirai Kuroko made her animosity known to all as she directed her hatred to the terrorist . She obviously wouldn't hold back as she grasped three pikes in between her fingers and scrutinized the battlefield .
A deafening silence hanged in the place as they each were awaiting the others movement , it was always a necessity to keep your enemy in check when fighting and that was what these two demonstrated . But the silence was broken as someone that didn't know much about the way of the battlefield spoke .
"Onee-Sama… That's Misaka-sama isn't it ? Is she here ? Should I call for her ? Maybe she's lost ?...or maybe not since this is Misaka-sama we are talking about . You know since she is an esteemed level 5 I take it she is handling bigger problems right now than what we are doing here ."
A girl with purple ringlets and violet eyes asked many questions , since she didn't know her way through a battlefield she wasn't aware of the danger she was in at the moment , although she looked tired since she was sweating quite a bit , she wasn't particularly injured while holding off the golem in a 1v1 earlier. Shirai Kuroko gave a small sigh as she listened to Hokaze and she then spoke up .
"No we aren't calling her , I cannot involve Onee-Sama …nor any civilian for that matter into these kinds of problems . You included , you have done a magnificent job in holding the fort , that's what I'd expect from the Queen's right hand . Now Hokaze-senpai, you should fall back and let me take care of this problem , Anti-skill should be making their way through the mall so you should let them escort you out of here ."
"I can't do that Shirai-san, if I fall back then I might end up staining the name of the queen as well as the entire clique . And it also looks like you would need some help so I can lend you a hand like a good senpai would ."
Hokaze Junko , the level 4 electromaster rejected Shirai's advice of evacuating in hopes of lending a hand to her underclassman as well as safeguarding the value of the Queen's name . Kuroko heard her loud and clear as she gave a smile and softly spoke .
"Thanks Hokaze-senpai, I really would appreciate a helping hand in this situation. "
Shirai Kuroko felt like she needed the strength of her upperclassman in this situation, the enemy was rather incompatible with her ability to teleport an object that she touches from point A to B . First of all the golem was way outside the margin of weight that she could teleport , second of all the golem will be unfazed no matter how many pikes she shoots through it , and last but not least was the fact that defeating the golem didn't mean defeating the terrorist, nor did holding the terrorist down have any guarantee of stopping the golem .
"Well then , Hokaze-senpai. I will take down the criminal and you keep the golem in check , if it ever gets dangerous then you should run away immediately , no matter what you shouldn't endanger yourself , since after all its my job to protect you ."
Kuroko gave the general idea of their plan as well as a small warning to Hokaze Junko , the later only nodded as she gathered her strength, air crackled as electricity coursed through the middle school girl's body , a moment later she had dashed headlong into the golem leaving nothing but a broken floor where she once stood .
Next a thundering roar echoed as the golem already brandished its fist and swung it down , as Hokaze met the giant fist with her own sound rippled as if an explosion just set off and the golem's hand was blown away , or rather pushed back as it didn'tas much as crack. Kuroko stifled a smile as she brandished her weapon and teleported it right into the clothing of Sherry Cromwell , at first it was just the three she hand on hand but it quickly turned to a twenty as she had reached one of the belts on her thigh .
Suffice to say , Sherry Cromwell couldn't move her body in that situation as her clothing was stuck to the wall behind her , normally an escape was something absurd to even dream of in that situation . But to an abnormal person like Sherry getting out of precarious situations might've been a talent of hers .
She moved her hand that held the chalk and drew some sorts of sigils on the wall , for someone stuck directly to it with no way of even seeing what she was doing the fact that it seemed all too easy to write in that situation was way beyond odd , and when she finished writing the unexpected happened . The wall behind her collapsed to show a large hole , the pins now were holding onto nothing as they plummetedto the ground . Sherry Cromwell casually retreated through the newly made hole leaving the battlefield without care . Although she retreated casually she also didn't forget that she was already at a disadvantage so a new golem was created right in front of the hole to guard it .
To Hokaze Junko's surprise the golem that had been in front of her collapsed as another one formed in front of a hole in the wall . Without hesitation she stepped hard into the ground and dashed to the golem , with a quick jump she performed a flying kick that shattered the entire golem in one strike . As she regained her footing she scrutinized the shattered golem .
"This is odd . Is it just me or have they gotten weaker ? I mean that one just suddenly disappeared and this one just broke with one hit . Although the same one that disappeared was able to regenerate and survive many of my hits from earlier ."
Hokaze Junko truly was puzzled as she was pondering what was happening . From their previous exchanges she couldn't tell if the enemy was strong or weak , neither could she tell what the full extent of their capabilities was .
"Maybe the golems get worn out with time and that was all there was to it ? I mean , as I said before the first one was sturdy enough to withstand many punches before it even broke , and even after it did it just regenerated like nothing had happened. What do you think Shirai-san ?"
As she was asking her question a new golem started to form in front of them , and Hokaze Junko simply swatted it away as if a fly . She looked back at the girl from judgement and was awaiting her answer .
"I believe that she's just trying to waste our time , that she is trying to group back with her teammate and planning an escape , the golems are nothing but a distraction so just being able to take away our focus is a win for her so there is no need to throw a big one at us and waste her energy ."
Shirai Kuroko spoke in a matter of fact way as she explained to Hokaze Junko , the latter tilted her head and asked .
"Teammate? So she's not the only bad guy here ?"
Shirai Kuroko simply nodded as she got closer to the hole and peered through, it showed a giant corridor that would take someone from here to one of the mall's exits , with that Shirai Kuroko was way beyond satisfied as she walked back to her upperclassman from school ..
"Yes , this criminal wasn't the only confirmed one of having infiltrated Academy City and of planning terroristic activities, apparently she was in frequent contacts with an accomplice if the calls we tracked between the two were anything to go by . Although we aren't sure if they have accomplice from Academy City or elsewhere, since somehow while we could track the calls being made we couldn't actually listen in nor could we locate them through any means , all means of public security seems to fail with the exception of the human eyes and ears of Anti-skill and judgement , apparently Anti-skill had frequent run ins with this person and that's what they confirmed. Even now the criminal is unseen in the security cameras even when it's confirmed she's in front of them ."
Shirai explained the situation as she pointed with her index at one of the underground mall's cameras , this entire terrorist group thing seemed to be a bit more complicated than what's generally thought off ,and Hokaze Junko widened her eyes in surprise at the flood of new information and quickly digested it .
"Then shouldn't we stop her right now before she escapes . I mean if she disappears and we can't find her then that's going to be the worst case scenario. "
Hokaze Junko asked while fidgeting a bit , it seemed like she got herself in a mess that she didn't know was that serious up until now . Although Kuroko's reply was nothing but a huff and a few words .
"Don't worry , we've got Anti-skill surrounding the entire place so there is no exit that won't get her and her friend jailed for a lifetime ."
Shirai Kuroko said reassuringly with the handsomest smile of hers that she trained for her Onee-Sama.
"I-I see.. No wait , no …I meann ."
Hokaze started moving about weirdly as she tried to explain to Shirai something that she wasn't sure how to put into words .
"What is it senpai . I'm willing to hear you out ,so just up and about with it I guess ?"
Shirai Kuroko said with a bit of disinterest , she was sure that the entire thing was under wraps and that she will soon head out to find the criminals apprehended. Cameras or not wasn't going to make a difference so she was about to make her way to her prized Onee-Sama.
"D-do you know of the underground p-p-passageways under the mall , there's like many ways out from there… I accidentally went inside one…when I was fighting earlier…"
The sound of Hokaze speaking was quickly turned to the lowest possible parameter .But Shirai Kuroko heard it loud and clear as she gritted her teeth she thought she was finished here , she thought she would go back to her Onee-Sama's side and have a walk together under the night sky , they will find somewhere to eat dinner , have a fun conversation about the many things happening in her job , and later they will book a hotel and * all night long . Or that was how it went in Shirai's mind , results may vary .
But now her job was going to drag on and stop such fantasies from becoming true , she renewed her determination , she jumped through the hole in the wall and quickly started running forward , after picking up a solid pace she started mixing teleportation in each step one after another , even at the sight of a golem forming she just teleported behind it to save time . Hokaze Junko was almost left behind as Kuroko dashed as fast as she could , but she used her Rampage dress and went into a full sprint while ignoring the strain she was accumulating in her body , she would catch up to Shirai Kuroko and uphold the name of her clique and her Queen .
"So how do we escape from here ? There is only concrete as far as the eye could see ."
Sherry Cromwell spoke within the darkness of the underground while making small steps to a figure that stood silently in the dark , she spoke with her accomplice in crime in a distasteful tone .
"It's not like you don't already know the answer, use your magic and remove the wall like you were doing 2 minutes ago ."
The one who spoke back was a woman in glasses with hair tied back into a bun and wearing a red and black jersey. She was peculiar in how her looks didn't suit her style but what Sherry found distasteful was how she was more of a freeloader rather than an accomplice .
"I'm saying that I was fighting over there with espers and soldiers armed to the teeth and you're here leaching off of me , can't you at least be the one to secure an exit ."
"Are we really back to this again ? I wasn't the one to propose this since it was THAT person but we already had an agreement, I will tag along in your attempt to start the war between science and magic to find Etzali , if you ever find yourself in a pinch and are desperate for an escape then I'll cover for you , and by covering I mean taking the role of bait and not digging a hole through a wall .Now get a move on or else I'll have to do just that ."
The woman in the jersey re-explained their deal to Sherry as the other one frowned , she took out her chalk and got closer to the wall as she started writing many symbols, she was also muttering something under her breath that the other woman couldn't quite make out if it was a chant or curses .
As that uncomfortable situation seemed about to finally end when Sherry put her chalk into a pocket that blended in her outfit , something could be heard reverberating through the damp dark hallway.
Next all the jersey woman could feel was the air resistance at over 40mph as she flew through the rest of the endless hallway , after decelerating and meeting the cold hard floor she pushed herself up with her hands and stood with her wobbly legs , she had flew a distance that no normal person ever would in their life, and if not for her peculiar body she'd have been in critical state.
"I-I'm sorry , I must've hit you a bit harder than I thought I did , you flew like a leaf or something. Once again I'm terribly sorry ."
Hokaze Junko spoke as she bowed to the woman in the jersey, although she was fighting a criminal her Ojou-sama'ness was seeping out . It was the obvious reaction to apologize for something like this .
"I'm sorry my destructive urg… No nothing , once again I'm really sorry miss ."
As Hokaze Junko was trying to apologize , she stuttered and then blushed as she once again gave a sincere apology . The bun hair glasses lady got closer to Sherry Cromwell, as the latter brought out her chalk and wrote something in English on the wall of the passageway, a 5 meter concrete golem burst from their side and stood in front of them to protect his master and her teammate . Although the golem's stature was fearsome it was struggling to fit its figure through the passageway, with every move it seemed that the tunnel's wall would get closer to falling apart .
"Go , Golem Ellis , smash that girl to pieces ."
As the golem was about to rush forward and Hokaze Junko was getting ready to fight , something had created an atmosphere where one wouldn't dare move a finger , they both stopped and not even Sherry Cromwell dared move a muscle , or maybe it was the fact that she couldn't move a muscle which had created this atmosphere. An Aztec weapon called a Macuahuitl was pressed next to Sherry's neck , it resembled a sword or maybe it resembled a saw more than a blade with the many sharp stones that lined on the side of a wooden bat . The bun haired glasses wearing woman spoke with a threatening voice to her supposed teammate as she held the weapon in question .
"Are you a traitor Sherry Cromwell? Didn't that Zero bastard tell us not to kill no matter how dire the situation . I don't care about who gives the orders but I will cut any traitor , so Sherry what will you do ? The choice is yours but I would like to avoid cutting you if necessary. "
At that unexpected development Sherry Cromwell nervously chose her words .
"Heh , you can say that Xochitl but you can't kill me , not if you listen to that Zero's garbage orders ."
Sherry Cromwell faced the woman-Xochitl's threat with a nervous smile , she was after all human , she wouldn't want to die and especially not by being backstabbed by her teammate . Xochitl only smiled back as she spoke menacingly.
"Just because I can't kill a traitor doesn't mean I won't punish them , I might not be able to kill you , but wounding you isn't against orders , I can always leave you in the care of these espers afterwards and they will surely take good care of you . Be it you or that bastard Etzali , I will doll out judgement upon you no matter what it takes ."
Sherry Cromwell trembled as Xochitl moved her weapon onto the chest of the brown woman , the Macuahuitl could with a simple sliding action rip both Sherry Cromwell's clothes as well as skin and show a gory scene no one had wanted to see . She could tell that the state she'd end in would be a pitiable one , that's why Sherry spoke as she lifted her piece of chalk slowly .
"Golem Ellis …Smash her legs or something, as long as she can't move then we'd be done with this bullshit ."
"A wise decision. "
Sherry ordered the golem to incapacitate rather than kill her enemy , at that action Xochitl only spared a few words and let the woman leave her grasp .
The golem roared as it charged at Hokaze Junko wielding its giant mass through the deadly movements of its arms , the latter wielded her highly dangerous ability as she forcefully pushed her body past its limits strengthening each and every part of it . The golem swiped its hand at a low angle in hopes of flattening the girl's lower side , but Hokaze jumped to dodge it and ended up right in front of the giant boulder's face .
A punch later and the golem was pushed back , it quickly regained its footing and swiped again at Hokaze's figure , she jumped again as she had no escape routes to the side with how narrow the passageway was , she thankfully dodged the impact but the golem sent a punch right to where she jumped . The golem's fist collided with Hokaze's as they were both pushed back , although she was faster in regaining her footing she still couldn't make her counterattack.
The reason was simple , Xochitl dashed from the small gap between the golem and the wall and now stood with her Macuahuitl right next to Hokaze . She put all her weight in the attack and swung the weapon vertically at the middle school girl , the weapon is dull rather than sharp , it won't cut deep but it will break bones with enough weight and momentum , and since the shoulder was the target it was meant to handicap the fighter .
But rather than the sound of bones and stones scrubbing each other , what had followed the attack was the sound of stone shattering and wood hitting someone's flesh . The Macuahuitl had lost all of the stones that were weaponized and left it as a bare wooden club .
"Hokaze-senpai, you take the golem and leave the rest to me ."
"Roger that , Shirai-san. "
What shattered the stones were pins that teleported right into the various stones , as mass was redistributed it simply shattered the stones from the inside and the weapon was rendered weak, obviously a hit from it would still do much unwanted damage but with Hokaze's superhuman strength and regeneration it amounted next to nothing . The short brunette Tokiwadai student finally made it out from the darker shadows of the tunnel and joined the battle .
Hokaze jumped to the side to face the giant while shielding Shirai from it and the other one dashed at the jersey wearing bespectacled woman .
Shirai Kuroko brandished three pins in between her fingers and got as close as a meter away from the woman , as the latter attacked with her wooden club Shirai was already not there as she delivered a splendid kick to the jaw from the side , teleportation was Shirai's power which rendered her an anti-personnel beast .
The teleporter was an expert at fighting people and she knew that the attack she had delivered would render many fighters unconscious. But that wasn't the case as Xochitl regained her footing , planted her feet hard on the ground and let go of her wooden weapon .
She turned around and swiped with her arms , Shirai had already seen through the attack and planned to counter it , she was about to take the woman's arm pull her closer and then swipe her feet with a motion of her leg . But just as Shirai was about to do just that , she saw white light gather at the woman's palm , alarms were going off in Shirai's head as she crossed her arms in a guarding position . She was trying to use her teleportation but that wasn't as omnipotent a solution could be .
Shirai's ability had a delay of about .4 seconds , in a normal fight that didn't give her any problems as she would've the entire battle in the palm of her hand , their moves were already read through and her counters were already underway . But when faced with a surprise attack from an ability she didn't know at point blank range then that posed a problem , to grasp the dark space around her was pretty hard , to calculate mid battle in a fraction of a second was an unreasonable demand , and to wait for the delay of .4 seconds was the final nail in the coffin .
From Xochitl's hand burst out another Macuahuitl, it smashed into Shirai's right arm and as the dull sound of stone meeting bone reverberated in her body she had finally escaped to the back of Xochitl.
But before the probable Aztecan could turn back something slammed into the back of her head , she fell forward and when she tried to stand up Shirai was in front of her and had kicked the jaw of the enemy and stepped on her face hard . It was a way of fighting unbefitting a member of Judgement but one could only turn the other way in front of Kuroko's injury .
Kuroko reached with her intact arm into the leather belt strapped to her thigh , a .4 seconds later the woman on the ground was fully pinned to the ground through her jersey . Even now the woman didn't face unconsciousness , it was a weird thing as Kuroko was sure she has performed the correct action to get the result but that wasn't something to stress about now .
"Well then , only one left ."
Kuroko spoke weakly as she grasped her wound with her left hand , she moved away from the enemy that she took down and stood a mere 2 meters from the other .
The one in front of her didn't seem to be much in terms of danger , that was why she quickly glanced at her teammates battle before starting hers .
Hokaze Junko was nearing her limit as she fought a prolonged battle with the giant golem . Rampage dress was the ability to bring out one's inner strength and break past the limits of the body by sending an electrical discharge to give orders to all of the users components. From muscles to blood vessels , anything and everything will exponentially increase its effects but will also accumulate stress from the prolonged use of such functions .
That's also without speaking of how one simple mis-input can put one's life in danger , if one ran and had a malfunction then they can dislocate their thigh or permanently damage their muscles, if one neglects to strengthen their cellular activities then the friction from high speed movements can easily shave your skin away and then your muscular tissues . This ability was riddled with setbacks but its effects were strong enough to warrant the risk …
Hokaze Junko was dodging backwards , further and further away . If anything she'd try to see if distance was enough to mellow the unbelievably hard structure of the golem , if she recalled correctly the giants that attacked after the enemy was far away weren't as hard to break as this one . Although the enemy named Sherry wasn't getting any closer the golem still retained its hard structure , even as it was chasing after Hokaze its figure would easily dig through the concrete just through walking .
Her situation is desperate, if the enemy keeps regenerating then Hokaze'll reach her limit very quickly . As she was escaping attack after attack she was backed into a wall , with no way to dodge as neither up , down , left or right where options . She turned with a circular kick and smashed the wall behind her into smithereens , she was lucky that another tunnel was behind and so she retreated into it .
"Let's get this started criminal , I will say this one last time ."
Shirai Kuroko turned to face Sherry Cromwell, she lifted her left hand from the wound on her right arm and stretched a certain green armband as she spoke .
"This is judgement, it might sound absurd but you can still give up now and retreat peacefully . You will definitely be jailed but we can at least lower your sentence. So what will it be? Will you take the easy way out or will you struggle in vain ?"
She declared with her chest held high , this was the last chance for a peaceful solution , and in front of it Sherry Cromwell spread her smile .
"I am Sherry Cromwell, a proud magician and the friend to the one and only Ellis Warrior, I will see to your death little esper . Intimus 115 , this my magic name so be sure to take it with you to the grave ."
Sherry Cromwell declared her killing intent , she brandished her pastel chalk and stepped forward in her highly inconvenient dress . Shirai Kuroko sighed as she saw the woman get close , at that moment she closed her eyes and the dark was illuminated by a stream of light , it wasn't a flash but rather a continuous stream. As for the origin , it was just the phone of Shirai Kuroko hidden inside her uniform , she already had its flashlight lit before engaging in battle and teleported to be used as a flash bomb .
"Eh."
Sherry groaned as she was robbed of her eyesight , she was quickly losing her balance as she mistook the steps she made , and then she fell to her knees as her legs were swiped under her , this was all followed by a dull pain at the back of her head as well as its front when she smacked her forehead into the concrete . Shirai Kuroko waited until the woman regained her bearings , she then spoke in a condescending way .
"To think that we will have to fight people who believe in something as unscientific as the occult . Look , even if you didn't develop your ability in Academy City that doesn't mean that you are working with something completely different from here . We call people like you Gemstones , natural born espers , you are nothing if not an esper yourself so don't look down on us as if you're special ."
Shirai Kuroko was trying to educate the criminal in front of her , she thought that if gemstones from outside followed the same thought pattern of these people then there will be no shortage of these cases , it would honestly be annoying to deal with people like these on a weekly basis.
Sherry Cromwell clicked her tongue as she tried to stand up but Shirai pinned her down quite literally before she'd even be able to move a finger . Those were all of Shirai's pins gone safe for one , if anything happened now she wouldn't be able to rely on her trustworthy arsenal of weapons , and over half of her martial art techniques are sealed due to her wound which she held tightly even now
"Don't lump us magicians with worshippers of science like you . If anything you're the one that doesn't understand, magic is a means to shape the world while ignoring the natural law , we can ignore conservation of mass , we can create as well as turn something to nothingness, we shape mud to create people and we call down the powers from god . WE ARE POLAR OPPOSITES , ESPER ."
Sherry Cromwell shouted at the figure looming on top of her , next thing Shirai could only hear the scraping of chalk on the floor , the sound was followed by visual…or rather the lack of it as a huge cloud of dust and dirt filled the spot where they stood , she stepped back , next a miniature explosion followed as Shirai was pushed to the wall . And another one to her left flank , she was rolling on the ground and as her wound had pressure forcibly applied to it , pain shot through her nervous system.
Shirai didn't have time to gather her thoughts , she stood up and ran away from the cloud of dirt obstructing her sight , if she couldn't see then she couldn't teleport , nor could she do something as basic as throwing a punch, as she stepped out of the cloud another one followed and she continued her dash while holding her limp right arm . At least with whatever sense of reason she had she tried her best to go the opposite way from Hokaze Junko's battlefield, even though she was not sure if that was to protect the girl or herself she still went full speed ahead .
Hokaze Junko smashed another wall from behind to escape another attack , the reason was simple , if she were to return a punch to the giant's fist then slowly she'll wear herself out as she'd be backed into a corner . Matching the giant's strength was a task easier said than done as even when he was made of concrete he was way tougher than what he should be , and hitting back meant fighting the weight and velocity of the attack which easily damages the body of Hokaze Junko . The holes were made to allow Hokaze to escape as well as slow down the golem who needed to tear through the walls and ceiling on his own , and it hand the third benefit of connecting the passageways in a way that Hokaze herself understood, since it felt as if the dark concrete corridors they passed were a maze of their own .
"But this is all just buying more time . I can't defeat this golem no matter how much I break it ."
Hokaze lamented her powerlessness as she was being pushed back . Try as she might , whether it was breaking its head , smashing its arms or legs the golem will just eat through the walls and come back . But when she thought about it a bit more she realized a slight of judgement from her side .
"Wait , a minute this thing regenerates by taking in stones and such from around it…Which means that I simply have to take it somewhere where it can't find any such things ."
Hokaze Junko spoke as she dodged a swift blow from the approaching golem , a second later a new blow was sent towards her so she tore through a new wall and continued her escape , although her situation was dire the girl had a heavy blush on her face as she thought about how much an idiot she was for failing to consider such a thing But this wasn't the time for such an act , right this instant she will fix her mistake , this time she would go up rather than to the sides that only made her prone to more attacks , how was that was answered the moment the golem charged forward as it broke through the torn wall , with a jump to the side she saw the golem plummet at yet another wall .
This time she dashed forward , jumped and landed on the roof upside down , when she jumped downwards the roof shattered and the golem was slammed with the brunt of the attack as Hokaze brandished the momentum in her legs and sprung them on the golem's back , it was pinned hard to the ground and would take time to get out .
In the timeframe where it was regenerating Hokaze jumped once again and this time it was out of the passageway and onto the light filled hallways of the underground mall . She looked through the hole and was awaiting the golem's next move , it roared and swung its arm to the side breaking the wall next to it , it then stepped on its rubble and went in a straight line on top the what once was called a wall while breaking that line and slowly digging its way upwards .
Hokaze smiled nervously as she saw the monstrous figure that oddly resembled a human wreak its way forward . She stood back as it approached her , if she was going to take it somewhere with no materials to regenerate it then she'd have to lure it out of the mall . If she could then Anti-skill should get involved and a proper esper might be dispatched to deal with such a problem , it wasn't the most heroic but it was the correct answer which she found and she was determined to follow …
Or was going to if the lightbulbs over them didn't suddenly explode and if an entire set of a dozen shops didn't slam right into both the golem and Hokaze Junko . As she guarded with her arms crossed the full brunt of what might've been a mini-shopping district slammed into her thin figure , the breath knocked out of her as the speed of which that was thrown was strong enough to shatter the golem entirely , they were pushed hard enough by the rubble and they broke through a wall that was sealed by the same debris that cause its destruction.
Of course it regenerated afterwards but Hokaze's figure was bloodied , her left shoulder was broken and her sight was flickering . The destructive force was too much to compare with her own , she thought an enemy came to intercept her but that wasn't the case .
"They…are fighting…elsewhere ?"
She could distinctly hear explosions reverberate through the entire mall , it seemed to be at a way bigger scale than what she ever saw , even as she wielded highly destructive power she only felt like a speck of dust in front of that .
She had difficulty speaking as she suspected that maybe her jaw was broken , if not for the healing properties of Rampage dress then she'd be done for . She might not have been a perpetual motion machine but she could at least stand back up in situations like these . Although it hurt her how she , the Queen's right hand was easily swatted away as collateral damage from some bigger fight elsewhere , that wouldn't matter much if she didn't win the fight in front of her .
She ran while gasping for her breath , dust and dirt were filling her lungs with each breath and she was forced to cough it out , her eyes were squinting hard in fear of the specs that could damage them which meant that her line of sight was pretty restrained , but even with this handicap she could see the bizarre things on the walls she darted next to .
'Are those eyes ?' She thought to herself without speaking, she was weirded out as this was the first time for her to see an ability this weird . She grasped the last pike in her bloodied left hand and approached the wall next to her , she stabbed one of the many eyes and it exploded into mud that sullied both the ground and Shirai's hand it had also swallowed the last pin that Shirai Kuroko had on her personnel so now she was rendered barehanded , she grasped her wound with her now free hand.
' Did I mistake her ability at first glance . It seemed like she was a Terra-kinessist but this is outside of the realm of mere control of stone and dirt. If these eyes are actually working to relay information then a normal Terra-kinessist could never hope to accomplish that…Which means that I'm dealing with something way more troublesome here.'
Shirai Kuroko mulled everything in her mind as she reached a crossroad, she turned left as she was closer to that passage , a mere second as she turned another cloud of dust came to fill the sight of Shirai Kuroko , she wasn't sure but she also heard the sound of something viscous and assumed the eyes were still trailing her. As for the pursuer , she didn't even hesitate over which direction to pick even though the cloud completely surrounded her , she still continued her game of tag through the left passage as she ran after Kuroko .
' I guess I can't dismiss the eyes as a bluff . If anything their shape might not actually be to intimidate me but rather to confuse me, these eyes are probably made with mud mixed with something else . If I were to guess then her ability is to control large particles , dust , dirt , concrete , if there is something in the mud then maybe some sort of matter that is highly affected by light from the surroundings , she might be able to judge the difference through her ability and that gives her the general direction . If that's it then …"
Shirai Kuroko took something out of her ear and threw it away , it was an earphone used to contact her partner from judgement. Although it wasn't on a call right now it would still light to signal that it still has battery. And if Shirai's hypothesis was correct then at the next crossroad she should be able to lose the woman .
But that thinking didn't help when even through the first and second turns , no sign of stopping or even slowing down was shown as the eyes chased her relentlessly. She was losing her breath fast , she was already wounded and while she was highly athletic , no one could keep at this pace for long , that was a reason for concern , although even if Sherry was worn out of the chase Shirai had no way of figuring it out . She needed a plan and she needed it fast .
' She isn't giving up , I'm not sure if she's following any radiation that my body emits or maybe the matter that's mixed in the eyes is dense enough to carry the sound of my footsteps and identify it but I can't stop now with how risky it'd be.'
Shirai Kuroko was all out of breath as she dragged her feet forward , and with that the chase will come to an end and it would be Sherry Cromwell's win . The cloud of dust caught up with her and enveloped her , here her teleportation was sealed and with the wound in her arm the situation was really dire .
' So it's all or nothing . I will end this and serve you sweet justice .' Shirai Kuroko declared in her mind , she turned back and took off her left hand from the wound . She was inside the enemy's territory and death was eminent, she was sure as hell she couldn't win but she wouldn't lie down in front of death , she gave some goodbyes in her head , first to her father , then her mother , one to Uiharu and one to her senpai at work Konori Mii , to Hokaze Junko for getting her into this entire fiasco and to Kongo Mitsuko for always butting heads with her … And of course a last one to her prized Onee-Sama.
She ran through the cloud of dust while shielding her eyes with her injured right arm , in this dire situation the girl couldn't even feel her messed up arm as she used it without care . Thank goodness it wasn't broken like a twig as the Macuahuitl only and barely reached the bone , if it was a sword then this arm would've been a distant memory .
Following that line of thought Kuroko's sense of the battlefield started to fade . She might've lost consciousness if she didn't hear someone other than her gasping for air , it seemed like the criminal was diligent in chasing her and that had its consequences, although Shirai was at the bigger disadvantage here she couldn't let this chance slip away . But the disadvantage grew more dire and she had especially felt it after she pressed hard into the ground and an explosion of dirt ran right under her , she flew with the impact to the wall at her right as her wounded arm took the full brunt of the attack .
But even as the pain jolted her brain back up , her senses were still growing more dull by the second , she stood up once again and dashed to where the sounds of panting came from , after she got close enough she could finally see with her squinted eyes . No , Kuroko could clearly see even without squinting her eyes , she clicked her tongue as she could clearly see what's in front of her .
"I really am a dumbass…"
Kuroko said after swiftly planting her left fist into the gut of the chocolate colored girl , Sherry held her stomach as she huddled her body from the sharp pain , next a roundhouse kick striked the face of Sherry as she was swung to the ground . Sherry slammed her pastel chalk at the floor and Kuroko stepped to the back before that spot faced the miniature explosion of dust and dirt . It was a miracle how no actual dust explosion happened or else the entire passageway would've went into flames already .
"To think…that I didn't consider how you could hinder yourself…if you covered yourself as well in all this filth…Its simply amazing that it took me until seeing it…to finally figure out that there…is only one safe spot in this entire space…and I thought it was the most dangerous one…damn it , just how tired am I really ?"
Shirai Kuroko spoke with disdain as she fought to get each breath to circle through her body , it wouldn't be funny to faint from lack of oxygen right in front of a terrorist .
"That's the problem with you espers . You think that you're some hot stuff just because you can do complex calculations and think you're smart just because you know a bit of science, but in the end you're a bunch of sheltered brats who won't know what misery is until it hits you , you won't know that you are lab rats until you are disposed of…yes , just like Ellis who lost everything because of the science sides technology , or maybe it was the magic sides fault for forcing that role upon him and then silencing him . Oh , how I desire the death of them all , that's why if war is the only choice then so be it . If one of those sides disappear then that misery won't repeat . THAT'S WHY YOU SHOULD BOTH PERISH , YOU AND THIS GODDAMN CITY HAVE NO PLACE IN THIS WORLD . "
Sherry Cromwell screamed as she firmly stood back up , it was a declaration of all what she believed as she laid it bare to see . Shirai Kuroko looked pitiably at the woman in front of her , even as she spouted some stuff that Kuroko didn't believe nor care to try believing, she could distinctly tell that the woman spoke what she trusted to be the truth , and that's why she carefully picked her words .
"You say that we don't know misery but we do . Many people here face the despair of never amounting to anything , some have lost everything and are forced into positions they wanted anything but to be tormented by it , and some have unexplainable expectations sitting on their back waiting to crush their delicate frames . If you let each and every one of them lash out then someone is bound fo get hurt ."
Shirai Kuroko spoke softly to her opponent, she wasn't obligated to do this but she felt like it was something that one needs to do .
"If you aim your animosity at someone, then you'll be forcing that same misery on them . I doubt you truly believe in what you want to do , that's why…When you get out of jail , how about we work at it together… to actually save someone from that misery ."
That was the last thing Sherry Cromwell heard before she was knocked unconscious, she didn't even know if it was a kick or a punch that put her down but what she wanted to believe was that those words were the reason .
The golem roared as it regained its shape and Hokaze Junko assessed her recovery . Apparently her jaw was already fixed , the shoulder was still broken but whatever cuts she had were already treated .
She finally faced her enemy for real this time , the many lined remains of the shops had sealed the exit , even if she were to try and dig through it all she would be squished before she'd get through a third of the way out .
"Well then . I guess the only way out of this is forward ."
Hokaze whispered to herself as she channeled her power through her body , this will exponentially slow down her recovery but if she didn't then there will be no actual body to treat .
"If I destroy this chalk then I doubt this criminal could pull any calculations for that golem , be it unconscious or conscious. Then if even after that , if the golem is still up and about then I think it should at least lose whatever regeneration ability it has . Just like how a teleporter uses their self as the base of origin for calculations , or like how a flashlight could be used to perfectly grasp the space an object stood in to move it with magnetism or whatever kind of ability of similar effect , if one removed those axes where one's calculations bases stood then the esper might as well be a sitting duck ."
Shirai Kuroko grasped at her wound and got closer to the limp Sherry Cromwell, she focused on the white chalk that laid on the ground, she firmly stepped on it until it shattered under the pressure and made her way to where her companion was fighting . But after a few seconds of thought she headed to where they first encountered the enemy .
"You might be an amazingly powerful esper but if you still use stuff like that then you were in no way a level 5."
Shirai Kuroko finished speaking as she traced back the chase scene's path , she was going to get to her phone that she used earlier as a flash bomb and tell Anti-skill to head inside the passageways , while yes , they were already stationed around its exit after she called them to help with that , part of why she joined the battle late after Hokaze had already engaged the enemy , but still Anti-skill won't get in unless its at least confirmed that they had escaped even deeper underground. Shirai Kuroko wouldn't want to find out that the criminals escaped because Anti-skill wasn't notified .
Bearing these thoughts in mind Kuroko walked wobbly to her destination, the passageway was empty so her footsteps would echo through the long empty corridors, and the same was true to anything else making its way in . Kuroko's blood froze as a cold sweat ran down her spine when she heard footsteps that were not hers echo through the dark space .
It was a relaxed pace of walking so she was terrified, from what she could tell it was only one person which ruled out Anti-skill who wouldn't walk in groups of one In such a dangerous situation , and it wasn't Hokaze since she knew the danger of the situation and wouldn't leisurely waste time taking a walk in such an area .
The golem towered over Hokaze as it swung its arm from over her , she finally noticed that the height advantage she had previously was lost as the room they were in was at least 6 meters tall . She dodged to the left and the golem swiped its arm from the spot where she once stood to her current one .
Fist met fist as Hokaze gave her most in that right punch . The golem's arm fractured as many cracks spread through it , this time and for some reason it did not regenerate . Hokaze would've been happy if blood didn't suddenly gush out of her fist as if cracks had formed in hers as well .
The golem retracted its arm and directed a punch at her ,this time Hokaze Junko dodged the attack by a hair's breath , she was at its side once again and this time she swung her right fist upwards . More cracks spread through it as the giant roared, instead of using its fist this time it swung its entire body at the girl . She jumped back but was met by the extending cracking arm of the golem , she held her right arm forward to guard but it gave nothing in the way of cushioning , this time she was sent flying from one end of the room to the other .
She smashed into a couch followed by what seemed like a desk , she wasn't really sure about the lay out of the room and she didn't care as she pushed her body against the wall to stand up . The motion was hard since she now had lost the functionality of both arms , meanwhile the golem was preparing to dash once again .
This time Hokaze jumped upwards and as the golem smashed into the wall behind her she now was right behind its giant head . With a singular spin where she gathered momentum she swung her leg and shattered the entirety of the golems skull .
But even after that the golem moved once more , it didn't regenerate but its lack of a head proved of no hindrance to it . It simply continued its assault and Hokaze dodged , up , down , left , right , back and forward . With each of these attacks Hokaze would nimbly move her body to escape each and every one of them.
She was dodging but she didn't dare attack , giving a counterattack will just expand what little was left of her energy , and now with her arms out of the game she had to plan where to plant the soles of her feet even more . That was why she was searching , searching for the breakthrough from this desperate situation .
' Why is the shattered head not attacking ?'
It seemed like a dumb question at first but she was following the right track . Why wouldn't the pebbles that left the golem fly and rain pain on the enemy? If a giant was able to ignore the ways of the world with how its balance should be something impossible to achieve , let alone swing its self and regain its bearings easily , then what might stop the pebbles that fell from the golem from attacking ?
' If I remember well , whenever I break its hand it will fix it , but if I tear it apart it will grow it back . But it never grew the body with the arm at its base , the same for the other arm , the legs , the head . It always grew back from the chest area precisely so it should be there…its core .'
If it had a core that defined the golem as the entity, then it was Hokaze's job to break it . And it wasn't that she hadn't already as she was sure she broke its torso many times , but it still regenerated there rather than grow a new one . The motion was more of it fixing its center first and then connecting with the rest , that's why the goal and finish line was in front of her and she was resolved to cross it .
The golem swung its left arm from above Hokaze and she dodged with a backwards jump and was now directly above its swung down arm , she sprung her legs to pin the arm into the hard ground , she then stepped forward trying to get closer to its chest . But as she followed that motion she saw the cracked right arm of the golem headed her way at really high speeds .
At that moment Hokaze gritted her teeth as she tilted her head to the back only to swing it forward at the oncoming attack. The arm finally shattered but that had caused Hokaze serious damage to the head as blood filled her vision , she was straining her mind to keep up the functionality of Rampage dress for as long as she could .
She then dashed forward as she made it from the bridge that was the arm to the chest of the giant beast . She was there in the air , as electricity coursed through her body not leaving a single cell that didn't find its abilities enhanced , although now those functions were rapidly shutting themselves down . Her legs had already lost their boost after the last dash , her left arm was still not fixed at the shoulder so her only option was the bloodied right , she clenched it while ignoring all the pain signals , she swung it ignoring whatever the air resistance did to her skin , and punched ignoring all the fractured bones from the now swung arm that tore through the monster's chest and broke its core .
As the golem fell to the ground one last time , so did Hokaze Junko as her fight barely ended with her win . Now her consciousness faded and the battle against her wounds would start , with Rampage dress inactive she was nothing more than a middle school girl and she now awaited rescue .
Shirai Kuroko swallowed what can only be described as dry saliva , it was also mixed with the dirt from earlier so it left a bad taste in her mouth . Next , she started making out the figure of the approaching threat , it was the figure of a middle school girl , probably the same age as Kuroko herself.
The closer she got the easier it was to identify her appearance, that was due to the light coming off of the many devices strapped to the middle schooler's neck , it ranged from a smartphone to a 1seg TV to a handheld device . She had her black hair made into buns on each side and wore a pink t-shirt, she had torn stockings and white sneakers . She got closer and closer to Shirai Kuroko and with every step Kuroko barely made a half back .
"Yes , yes I get it . This is what a Kihara like Zero-chan would do ."
As she was a few centimeters away from Kuroko she had mumbled these words to herself as she held her 1seg TV in front of her , the TV , the smartphone and the handheld device all showed different graphs changing by the second . And then the girl lowered the TV and looked Shirai Kuroko right in the eyes .
The next moment, the middle school girl from Tokiwadai found herself on the ground . Or maybe that happened way later , since after she opened her eyes she could see the woman in the red and black jersey, the woman dressed in the gothic outfit and the other middle schooler all standing up and talking in front of her .
"Who…are you…lot ?"
Shirai Kuroko was barely able to mutter her question , and although her voice was weak it was still heard by the group in front of her . Each of the groups members looked at each other and the middle school girl walked to her , she crouched to meet Kuroko's eyes and held a simple smartphone that dangled from the many straps on her neck , she took some glances at it and turned back to Kuroko .
"I see , so this is what a Kihara like Zero-chan would say . If you ask for a name then we don't have one , we are the Zero faction a bunch of people united not through our goals but the means to reach them , I might be something like a leader to this mismatched gathering of science and magic so I need to hide my identity . I do like my name which is Kihara Minami so you should call me Zero . I am she who loves science and hates magic and so plans to destroy the science side in favor of the other . Nice to meet you Shirai Kuroko , you should probably hide whatever you learn here so I advise spreading the word about us ."
Kuroko tried to make sense of what's in front of her but the sheer amount of nonsense that she heard and the fact that her head felt light both from fatigue and blood loss didn't help . Soon after Shirai Kuroko lost consciousness once again that day and only woke up to the sounds of sirens and the sight of doctors .
FOOTNOTES:
Well then , this was the prologue and I hope you enjoyed it . And actually, no , neither Kuroko nor Hokaze are part of the main characters of the story since those will be shown in later chapters . This prologue was just here to show just how wacky the timeline can get since this happened at the beginning of June . Summer vacation still didn't happen , Misaka hasn't even met Touma , Etzali shouldn't even be here but I wanted to use Xochitl so you gotta deal with it . Basically I will throw the entire timeline out the window so please do bear with it .
As for OCs , well the only important one is Zero and whoever else is added will be just for fun .
Leave a comment telling me how do you find this and what I should improve next , and tell me if there are characters you'd like to see in future chapters .(Also Sherry was buffed in the making of this chapter , sorry if anyone didn't like that . And yes the little girl is Enshuu .)
If anyone is wondering why a random set of stores smashed into Junko then stay tuned for the next chapter and goodbye .