II

Chapter 10: The Finishing Line is the First Step

Case_Closed

Part 1

Hishiro nervously faced the man in front of him. He did not know his ability. He did not know what his level was now that the man had used the Level Upper. He did not know how much time there was left before the whole building crumbled to the ground.

Hideaki seemed pleased by the uneasiness of his enemy. "What's wrong? Is the murderer really freezing in fear when in front of death? Pathetic..."

"Shut the fuck up. A suicidal maniac has no right to say nothing about me."

"Oh… did I make you angry?" Hishiro clicked his tongue in annoyance. It was true that the comment pissed him off, Mugino had told the same to him a few days ago, but the truth is that he did not know how to approach his enemy. "If you won't do the first move… then allow me to do so." After announcing that, Hideaki took out several black stones from inside his suit. At first glance, it seemed to be some kind of coal, but it had an unique metallic feel to it. He then threw two of them high in the air. Hishiro braced himself, ready to stop them if anything happened - but it didn't. When he noticed that it was a feint, Hideaki was already close enough to hit him.

In a desperate attempt to get distance, he tried to run to the left which had more space if he needed to dodge, but as soon as he did, he felt a sharp pain on his cheek. Ugh - What? Did I just… got cut? How?! Wiping the blood, he took a quick glance on the two stones that were already on the floor. There was nothing special about them… but the others that Hideaki was holding were nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was something else on his hand. It had the shape of a long dagger and had the same color as those stones. "Don't tell me… your ability is..."

"Figured it out already?" Swinging the weapon forward, the two stones lying on the floor shapeshifted and attached themselves to the tip of the blade, turning it into a long and flexible whip that swung into the boy's direction.

Hishiro saw it coming and used more adequate movements to dodge the attack, but against his expectations, the black hope ignored the laws of physics and pursued him, striking the center of his chest. "Gwaaah!" His body was sent flying and hit the window behind. Luckily the glass didn't shattered, but the impact made him cough out a worrisome amount of blood.

Hideaki lowered his hand and the whip turned back into the several black stones from before. "AHAHAHAHAHA! The Level Upper is surely amazing! It would usually take way more time to manipulate this much mass to the molecular level." He toyed with the stones, turning them into several different things from each other at irregular intervals, amused by the results. "At this point, I may even be able to manipulate it to the atomic level! I can hardly blame those poor children for falling victim of this temptation!"

Still testing his powers, the man gathered a few of the stones to the center of his palms and smashed them together. When he opened his hands, three spikes made of yellowish transparent crystals were sent flying towards Hishiro, who was forced to roll on the floor to avoid the deadly attack.

That just now… did he really transformed matter by manipulating molecules?! The idea sounded ridiculous, but given the circumstances it wasn't impossible. Did this man really reached the power of a level 5? In any case, Hishiro now had an idea of his opponent's attack options and was ready to counter attack.

The cries of the creature outside served as a signal for him to close in. Hideaki tried to intercept his approach using the whip once again, but Hishiro managed to get past it unharmed by moving in an unpredictable way. Instead of running in a straight line and dodging, he turned to the left and used the wooden table as a platform to jump over the black rope.

Hideaki ducked down to avoid the incoming flying kick, but that was a feint. Once Hishiro landed behind Hideaki, he spun 180 degrees aiming a low kick at his legs, sending the man head on to the floor.

He shot with his revolver twice, but the black mass moved and formed a wall to shield the older male. Before he could aim his cannon pistol to shoot through the cover, countless black spikes grew from the wall towards him, forcing him to step back.

Hideaki took the chance to stand up and tried to slash Hishiro's neck with the new formed knife on his hand. The boy ducked in time to dodge, but Hideaki followed up with a knee into his face that sent him crashing to the wall.

Hishiro didn't had time to recover as the whip came at him once again. This time he swung his arm horizontally and stopped the deadly snakelike object halfway through. He shot three more times, but Hideaki still had one of the black stones with him and managed to protect himself with them. Hishiro's irritation was shown all over his face, while Hideaki kept mocking him. "Your ability is really interesting. But there isn't much you can do against me using it."

Hishiro clicked his tongue and took out his cannon pistol. He could try to shoot on the blind spots of the improvised shield protecting his enemy, but he desired to overpower him in some way, so he aimed for the black barrier. The bullets from this weapon should be enough to pierce through the obstacle no matter how resistant it was. But that proved to be a mistake in many ways. First, the projectile hit the black wall sending sparks all over the place with a extremely loud noise, but got deflected and struck the wall behind Hishiro, missing him for a few dozens of centimeters. "What the f- WHOA!"

Second, the black whip that was supposed to be immobilized by Null Inertia was moving again. It wrapped itself around Hishiro's right ankle and sent him flying one more time.

Dammit... the moment I used my ability to reduce the recoil, the other field disappeared and I didn't even noticed. I can't even keep two fields active at the same time anymore. Just great. He struggled to get up and focused his attention on the black stones. How in the world was it able to withstand a shot from the AMCP? Just what was that thing anyway? There was no time to think, two whips were coming for him in a pincer shaped attack. Hishiro jumped back to dodge it, but the whips collided with each other sending several fragments flying all around. Some managed to reach him, worsening the pain of his previous wounds.

Screw the mission. I'm gonna kill this guy and get the heck out of here somehow! He made the basic calculations to stop the man's heart and was ready to do it when Hideaki started talking once again.

"Looks like you decided to kill me instead of taking me to your superiors. Very well... you're free to do so, but let me warn you: even if you kill me, there is no way to escape this room. And also..." He then pointed to the monster going berserk outside. "... you'll never know the truth about that thing."

The last statement made Hishiro hesitate. "What are you talking about? What do you know?"

"Everything." Hishiro clicked his tongue. The way the older male was being vague made it obvious that he was only trying to buy time. "The Level Upper... isn't a tool for increasing an Esper's level. That's nothing but a side effect. Its real purpose is to synchronize the brainwaves of all its users in order to create the massive biological network that I mentioned earlier."

"I got it already, but why would someone want that?"

"Oh, there are many benefits. These networks had already been in use for a while, but no one never put its full possible uses in test like Gensei and Harumi are doing right now. If you want some concrete examples… two of them are enough. First, it's the possibility of the creation of the ultimate esper."

"You mean… a Level 6?!"

"Yes. Increasing the calculation ability of an individual by connecting them to a network made of several brains at their disposal will lead to an intensive increase in power… you are already witnessing it first hand. This, however, is nothing but an illusion of power. If I disconnect from the network right now, I'll turn back to normal as if nothing happened."

A sad and evil grin appeared on Hideaki's face before he continued. "Part of the limit of our esper skills is because the brain structure. Some have one side more easily developed than others, but none is perfect. But, with all this calculation ability… all this data available on several brains… what if someone tried to analyze it all and use them as blueprints to create one unique and perfect brain?"

"You're suggesting that we copy the good parts of other espers brains into ours to improve our own ability? That's just ridiculous! I've seen what happens to people that have other's personal realities forced into them and not only the chances of success are slim, but the side effects are unavoidable. Do you really believe something on that level is possible?"

"Me? No. But the scientists… as long as they believes it is, these experiments will continue, no matter how many sacrifices are made."

Just what's up with this guy? I can't grasp his motives at all from what he's saying!

Hideaki pointed to the window once again. "And the other benefit… is standing right there. That horrendous thing is the treasure everyone's been seeking all this time: the key to the imaginary number district."

Hishiro's eyes opened wide, he couldn't believe what he just heard. Hideaki found his reaction amusing and continued. "Funny, right? If everyone knew that this is what they were after, more than half would probably give up."

"This can't be… what in the world is the Imaginary Number District anyway? I don't understand… how that thing works as a key?"

"Not even I know the details. All I learned is that it the key is not supposed to allow people inside it. Instead, it's to release what's inside the Five Elements institute." It was too much for his mind to process at once. Specially because his unit was supposed to stop experiments that were harmful to the peace of the city. This thing definitely fell into that category, and yet he and Asuka were kicked out of the Level Upper case. If that was the single weird thing going on... but there was the British girl and her pursuers as well. Just what was happening in this city?

"If you're trying to find any logic in all that, you better give up. It will only twist your mind." Warned Hideaki. "Kihara Gensei isn't a sane man. Probably no Kihara is, but he is on a whole other level. I have been working to avoid things to come this far, but it was all in vain. I failed to stop the rumors. I failed to obtain the device containing the restricted information. I failed to recover the case with files that could put the higher ups in check and delay their progress. And in turn, they found us and now our fate is settled. All I can do now is kill their lapdog and hope they get the message. That the people of this city won't sit around and let them do whatever they want with us!"

Hishiro didn't answered right away. He was completely silent with his head lowered. After several seconds, his shoulder started to shake, followed by a low sound. It was the sound… of a laugh. "You're funny. You talk so highly of yourself and your group as if you're the good guys, but your words are just as empty as of a politician."

"What?"

"After all, you only made things worse."

"How can you say that?"

"How exactly were you trying to stop the rumors? Just so you know, spreading around that it is fake only helps to make even more people to know about it. No one will believe on the spot that it's fake, just like no one will believe that the rumor is true when they first hear of it. All that just makes people curious and interested."

The expression on the face of the older male hinted that he had hit the head of the nail. He continued without leaving enough time for the man to answer. "That device… we were working securing it to minimize the damage that was already spreading. The more people were after it, the harder it was to avoid letting it fall in the wrong hands. And even if I have no idea what's that case you mentioned is, I bet that you just got in the way too."

Hideaki finally lost his temper and yelled. "You're saying that the ones in charge were trying to stop it too? Ridiculous! I don't have to believe a slave like you! Your actions didn't helped either! All you did was dye everything that crossed your path in blood!"

"Yeah… maybe that's true. But unlike you, I'm aware of what I did and what were the consequences. And honestly, I wouldn't have done differently even if I was given the chance. I may be among the villains, but the only hypocrite here is you."

Hishiro grabbed the fragments of the black stones lying around and threw them at Hideaki. The attack was to serve just as a distraction, but something unexpected happened.

Hideaki changed the direction of the stones in mid air, merging them with the ones he was already holding, but something actually hit his face, surprising both of them. The object in question wasn't a black stone. It was transparent and shaped like a spike. Namely, one of the crystals he had used to attack Hishiro earlier. He made it himself, how come he couldn't merge it back like he did with the rest? Was it just a mistake? Before that, why did he left it behind this whole time while he made sure to get back all the materials he used to attack? Wait, more importantly… why he didn't used these crystals again in the first place? One hit from that thing would take me out unlike his other attack methods.

While he wondered about that, Hideaki formed the dagger on his hand once again and charged at him at full speed. I see… so that's how it is…

Hishiro didn't dodge. Instead, he ran forward, ready to take the incoming slash head on. Hideaki went for a stab on the stomach, moving the dagger forward with all his strength, but the blade never reached its target.

"What? Are you crazy? What are you doing?"

"Just like I suspected… He he, I understand your trick now!"

Hishiro had reached out and grabbed the blade with his bare hands before the tip could pierce him. Blood dripped down from his fingers, but the wound wasn't as painful as one would suspect. In fact, the cut was surprisingly shallow. "Maybe this thing could kill me with the tip, but the edges aren't that sharp. Actually, this whole thing is kinda soft. It feels like I could bend it if I grasped hard enough."

The older male shook Hishiro's hand off the weapon and stepped back. Besides the red of the blood, the hand was also slightly black. "This thing… is graphite, isn't it?"

"Grrr!"

"No, that's not right. It was originally graphite, but when you change its shape, the alloy becomes weaker and less resistant. That's why you always change it back to its original form, am I right?"

Hideaki was getting more nervous by the second. "But that's not a problem for you, because no external force can interfere while the molecules are being manipulated . That's how you was able to stop my bullets, and why you could hit me with the whip without breaking it. In comparison to these two, using that weak dagger is really stupid. Since you manipulate it only to change the shape and stops once it's done. You should keep your power active to make it effective, you know?"

"I… I can't move while I use it… so it's impossible."

"Figured as much." Hishiro answered in a mocking way. "Your power is actually pretty weak for a Level 4. I guess the scientists got over excited to see someone manipulating molecules and toying with elements to classify you so high. I wonder if they were expecting you to get close to the #2 at some point? But you can't even control the molecules anymore if you change the structures too much. That's why you didn't keep making those quartz crystals. Your ability is limited to certain carbon based materials, even with the help of the level upper! HA! Level 5 my ass, you're nothing but a joke!"

Out of rage, Hideaki started to shapeshift all the stones at once. But before they could turn into anything, the area around them became distorted. "Though your toy can't be messed with while the molecules are under your control, I wonder what happens if it becomes impossible for the molecules to move at all?"

"No..." The older male panicked as his reliable toll became dust and sprayed on the floor. He tried to gather it all back but it was useless. The structure was changed beyond the range he could use.

Hishiro displayed a sick grin and cracked his knuckles as he approached his defenseless victim. "Well then… What should I do with you?" Hideaki didn't show any fear though, and started to chuckle, making Hishiro confused. "What, did you lost your mind in the face of despair?"

"You are the one being an hypocrite now. Or did you forget that you will die even if you defeat me? You won't be able to break the walls or the doors no matter what you use! The result of this battle does not matters, I am the victorious one!"

Hishiro gritted his teeth at that. He still had not thought in a way to escape the room, let alone exiting the building. And the clock was ticking against him. No, I'm not going to die here! I can't die until I find what I am searching for!

At that moment... something fell down the ventilation duct, breaking trough the grid cover "You're sure about that?"

"?"

"!"

The voice came from the spherical white object that had just appeared and resembled both a microphone and a speaker. Hishiro recognized both the tone of the voice and the object in question. "... Asuka!? Is that You?!"

"Yup Yup, sorry for the wait! Asuka Mayu on the rescue! By the way Shiro, you better cover your ears pretty fast."

"?!" He didn't think twice before covering his ears and he was glad he did. In a second, a terribly loud and high pitched sound came from the weird communicator, knocking Hideaki unconscious and shattering the glass of the majestic window almost instantly. Hishiro got dizzy even though he followed her instructions. "What the heck!"

"Sorry sorry, I may have overdone it a bit. Anyway, your carriage is waiting for you, so pick me and that man up and get ready to jump! This thing will blow up any second now~*!"

Another shiver ran through his body as an helicopter descended and stopped as close as possible to the window. He quickly pocketed the white ball, picked Hideaki (with some difficult) and jumped out, almost missing the door of the vehicle. "Well, that didn't go as I expected, but I guess it was satisfying. Anyway Asuka, what took you so long?"

"Sorry for that. I was too busy dealing with something else."

"With what?"

"That's a secret~*! If you want to blame someone, blame Seria for giving me the most troublesome job. Actually, it was pretty hard to convince those stubborn people to come get you. Helicopters aren't cheap after all. And you were lucky that the pilot managed to throw 'me' perfectly inside the exhaust, otherwise we would have to assault the window with bullets until it fell apart." Hearing that, the pilot wearing sunglasses sent a thumbs up with a smile at Hishiro. He could only smile wryly in return.

Part 2

July 24, 5:10 pm

Hishiro was back to his room in the hospital on District 7. He wasn't sure if anyone noticed his absence. The frog faced doctor took care of his new wounds as if they were the old ones that reopened, but the look on his face was full of pity. As the level upper users started to wake up, no one came to check on him anymore for hours, giving just the opening he needed to settle the last remaining thing.

"Wha-what are you saying Shiro?! I did so much for you and you treat me like this! Aunt Asuka is going to cryyyy!"

"AS. IF! I can hear you laughing loud and clear from here! What the heck were you thinking when you sent Hinata after me?! HINATA OUT OF ALL PEOPLE?!"

"O-okay okay, I got it, sorry! No need to shout! I won't do this anymore! Next time I'll make sure to call Kai..."

"DON'T YOU DARE! If you even think of doing this, I swear I'll kill you even if I have to burn this whole city to the ground!"

Asuka stop pretending and laughed even harder at his reaction, pissing him off even further. "Damn Shiro, you're so mean. Hina-chan was really, reaaaaaally happy to see you again! Maybe this kind of attitude is what keeps you from getting a girlfriend, you know?"

"Tha-that has nothing to do with this!"

"I wonder about that~~*" She started laughing once again, making Hishiro growl loudly. "Well, if you don't like my methods of saving you, all you have to do is to avoid needing to be saved, isn't that right?"

"You know what, Asuka? Sometimes I think I would prefer to face all 7 level fives at once instead of hearing your crap."

"Oh my, that's a difficult request. It's hard for me to get in touch with the numbers 1 and 6, but I may be able to arrange a date with the number four-"

"Just forget I said anything." He let out a heavy sigh and gave up. After all, she was right about one thing: this whole situation was his own fault to begin with. He was the one that nearly got killed. Asuka saved his life twice, and looks like she just got her payment from him against his will. Even though he was irritated at all that, he felt at ease for some reason. "Anyway, I have to tell you what I heard from fake Kihara said."

"If you're talking about the Level Upper and the Breakdown, I already know everything." Hishiro didn't even bothered to ask how. He hadn't talked to her for a few days, and he was sure she wasn't just waiting for him in the meantime. "They really used us as puppets this time, making us cut only the threads they wanted and without telling us a single thing until it was over. A lack of professionalism if you ask me. It's not like we would betray them or anything if they explained it from the start."

"Except it isn't over yet."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"First of all, Seria was either wrong or lying to me today. That man and his group's objectives had nothing to do with the Breakdown or taking the city. All they wanted to do was to stop the experiment from happening, and the higher ups saw them as a menace."

"..."

"Also, something else got involved in this whole incident that we have yet to understand."

"You're talking about the nun and the sword woman?"

Hishiro kept silent, but Asuka understood that it was it. Indeed, it all begun while they were trying to stop the Breakdown from getting even worse, but it turned out to be a fake alarm that led them into another incident. And then the invasion and the mission. Hishiro was sure it was all connected somehow.

"But what are we going to do about that, Shiro? If Seira did lie to you, we can't trust her on that, even if she is our only link with the directors. We can't confront those people either, since that woman showed to be beyond your league. We don't even know if the nun is still alive… and there is the Grim Reaper's warning, we can't ignore that either."

He hated to admit it but she was right, they were out of options. But it wasn't something they could ignore either. One of the directors tricked them once, and the next time it happened could be the last for them. They both thought on the matter as the sky slowly became darker, but they found no answer in the end.

Between the Lines

8:00 pm

The man in gray robe simply walked past the gate guards naturally without being seen. No, it's not like he sneaked his way through, or used some trick to be temporarily invisible. It's just that the guards felt that it was just normal for him to do so, even though it wasn't.

Just to be clear, the gates in question were the east gates of Academy City. Under normal circumstances, no one should be able to cross them without going through the procedures, but no one paid any heed to the man leaving the city like someone leaving an amusement park.

After getting far enough from the guards, the man grabbed a cellphone and called the first registered number. It took thirty seconds for someone to pick up. "I've been waiting for you to get in contact, Rázval."

"... Myrin, is that you? Oh my, oh my, it's been a long time! I was expecting your sister to answer the phone instead of you."

"She is travelling right now. I think she went to Portugal this time. Haven't you heard of it?"

"Oh, that is true. She told me that she wanted to visit Lisboa. It completely slipped my mind."

"Anyway… why are you calling instead of using a more safe method?"

"Are you referring to the communication spell? If I used magic, Crowley would notice the disturbance instantly. Just as they say, when in Rome, do like the Romans do."

"I'll take your word on that..." The male named Myrin didn't sound satisfied with the answer, but he didn't press any further. "So, what are the results?"

"Beyond our expectations. I planted 162 seeds of doubt across Academy City, and about five nurtured fruits. One in particular has high chances to get involved with the Imagine Breaker."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because he personally met the Grimoire Library sent by the Anglican Church."

"Hmm…" Myrin made a long pause. It was a habit of his to not move important discussions forward without pondering about the complicated details, even if he had to make the other party wait for several minutes. "It's hard to tell if Aleister is completely unaware of us yet or if he is daring us to keep acting. After all, he isn't the kind of man to allow this to happen by accident."

"If you want my honest opinion, he might have felt something unusual is happening, but it is absolutely impossible for him to deduce what it is."

"Let's leave it at that for now." Rázval kept hearing as he arrived at a bus stop. "About that other matter…"

"Just as we were suspecting, there is another plane within Academy City similar to heaven. And there is more to it than that. Using a miniature version of that plane, they successfully managed to summon an artificial angel into the city."

"What?!"

"I can not tell if it was really intentional though. However… there might be a way to find out."

"How?"

"By running an experiment, but it will not be simple. Since we do not have a small scale replica like Academy City, it will be a worldwide scale spell. We will also need another spell to correct any disturbances that might occur in the process… in summary, we will need an unreasonable amount of Telesma for that. And finally… our existence will probably come to light afterwards. But we will also gain knowledge and several other benefits from it. What do you think?"

"Hmmmm…" Another pause, longer than the last one. The robbed man didn't seem bothered by it though. "Honestly… you should do it. It's about time we leave the shadows and start putting our plans into practice."

"I do agree with that."

"But can you actually pull that off?"

Rázval couldn't help but laugh. "Myrin, have you perhaps forgotten what I was in the past?"

"Well… you sound confident, and my sister trusts you, so feel free to try whatever you want. What should we do to keep things in Academy City running on our favor in the meantime?"

"The gears are already spinning on their own, so nothing is needed. However, one or two rogue magicians causing trouble on the city right now would work as a trigger to speed up the process."

"Very well, we will be dispatching someone as soon as possible. Call us again once your preparations are complete."

Rázval pocketed his phone and grinned to the night sky. "Fufufufu… It is time to have some fun." The serene atmosphere around his body that prevented people to notice and doubt him was gone in a second, replaced by a sinister aura so filled of dread that not even the animals and bugs dared to get close to him.

…

In a certain apartment, Kumokawa Seria lied on the sofa wearing nothing but a white shirt over her underwear. She didn't bothered to turn on the lights. Right now, the darkness was comforting to her.

Her cellphone was placed on the table right beside the sofa, where it was possible to use it without picking it up. "Really… that last one left a bad taste in my mouth. I hope we don't have to recur to that forceful method ever again. Anyway, have you done what I asked?"

The person that answered was Kaizumi Tsugutoshi, the member of the Board of Directors that Seria worked for. "Yes, but just as you expected, she wasn't responsible for giving that order either. She is actually pretty worried about the situation right now. I feel bad for her."

"If it wasn't Oyafune, then there's no mistake: someone among the other ten is hijacking our team."

"Are you sure? We have no idea if Mayu told us the truth."

Seria closed her eyes and remembered what the two members of New Pointer had told her. "No, she certainly did. That woman is bothersome but she isn't stupid. Also, the boy seemed ready to receive punishment when I talked to him earlier today. In fact, the situation may be more serious than we can grasp."

Tsugutoshi sighed and said in a tiresome voice. "What should we do then? Disband the team to avoid it from happening again?"

"That is our most safe option… but let's leave that as a last resource. It is true that we don't need them as much as we needed in the past, but they are still our last trump card up our sleeve. We could use this opportunity to check who are our enemies and get rid of them before they try anything funny again."

"You're suggesting… to use them as a bait?"

"Just for now, yes. If things gets dangerous, then we can take a more proactive action."

Still… I don't like that. It feels like we're falling into a trap. The two of them are too defenseless alone, and whoever is behind this could use them to get to us. As she thought on what else she could do, her eyes landed on the pile of papers scattered on the dinner table. Those were countless files regarding the Radio Noise and the Level 6 Shift project.

Hello everyone. First of all, happy new year! I got lazy during my vacation, but not too lazy to wait for it to end before releasing the chapter. An not any chapter, this one is the end of the second arc, and the end of the Breakdown. And unfortunately, the main character ends the arc on a hospital bed. Such misfortune! I'll keep myself in check to not use this trope too much. After all, that throne belongs to Touma and Touma alone.

I can't comment too much on what happened without giving spoilers, so I'll keep this one short. Please leave your review if you can spare the time and thanks for the support. See you all later!