Chapter 15: Inevitably, the Heroine

I Hate Hurting People (1)

This was my first real fight after coming to this world. What I needed now was composure and coolness. Even if what was in front of me was a person, I didn't have the luxury to hesitate.

The moment I took a step, the entire building began to freeze. Considering that the stage for fighting him was the rooftop of this building, it could be seen as a slightly exaggerated action, but...

Aeeeeng-

It was to trigger the villain alarm. An alarm that goes off when a certain level of Ability is used. Now that the alarm was ringing, there was no need to fight quietly. He seemed to realize that too, as the lower part of his black face slightly tore, forming a smile.

"Looks like you weren't planning on fighting quietly?"

"I don't have a quiet Ability."

"I'm... fine with that."

As if that was the signal, the black orb in his hand began to grow even larger. The rooftop would collapse, the building would crumble. His Ability was that dangerous.

Crack-

Before such a powerful Ability, a person's life is helpless. But conversely - a powerful Ability can protect those lives. I froze the outer surface of the collapsing building. People were scrambling to escape. Fortunately, there weren't many of them, and everyone got out in an instant.

And the building collapses. My body fell as if floating, tearing through the air. He was the same, but there was no sign in each other's eyes that we thought this was the end.

...He's tricky. It breaks before my attack reaches him. The ice spikes rising from the ground, the ice arrows scattering in the air, all crumbled upon touching the black orb.

"It's the same as the original."

He absorbs attacks within his sight. What I was concerned about was the slightly torn hem of his clothes. Maybe that was from an attack from behind. Just like in the original, he couldn't absorb what wasn't in his sight.

If so - it would be right to make it invisible. Thinking that, I clenched my fist. A scene from a comic book. I remember the guy who wrote this probably did it with sand.

A pillar of ice rises from the ground. As if trying to stab him, the ferocious spikes rushed towards him, but just as they crumbled against the black orb, an ice sphere instantly swallowed his body. Just a little - a fleeting moment. At the same time as I clenched my fist, hundreds of spikes sprouted from inside the sphere and pierced him.

Thwack-

A transparent bead made of ice, with red blood forming on its surface. But it only formed, neither flowing nor pooling. I frowned at the ambiguous amount.

He's alive.

At the same time as I thought that, I felt a strong suction force from behind. A black orb that had appeared behind me at some point. When did he get out...? Well, I didn't think I could subdue him with that anyway.

"That hurt a little."

"Good."

I retreated, spewing ice. What I saw was his slightly changed appearance from before. His fedora and scarf were tattered, revealing his black face.

"...It's been a while since this happened. That was my favorite hat."

"That's a shame."

Saying it was his favorite hat, he tossed the torn hat to the ground. And then he loosened his scarf. As his face was completely revealed, he took a deep breath as if relieved and opened his mouth.

"I came here to match Xenon, but things got a little twisted. You know that to some extent, right?"

"...I just came because I was told not to go."

"Hmph. Yeah, it's human nature to want to do what you're told not to do. Anyway, since the plan got twisted, can I speed things up a bit?"

Looking around at those words, I saw some faces that weren't there before.

A gang fight? I didn't expect this. A bitter taste spread in my mouth. It's hard enough to subdue one guy who uses black holes, but now I have to fight several people. Thinking that, I stroked my arm. It wasn't freezing yet, but it was still much colder than a normal person's body.

Since my Ability lowers my body temperature the more I use it, I wouldn't be able to use powerful firepower forever. Aisha didn't just use ice-spewing, but... could I use Aisha's method?

I was able to use a big technique once, but...

The hesitation was short. There were about 10 people surrounding me. I could probably take out a few with one big burst, but I wouldn't be able to subdue everyone. I lowered the ice barrier surrounding me and looked at the guy with the black face.

"Have you given up resisting? Well, we'd be happy if we didn't have to fight. In return..."

"I haven't given up."

Crack-

A small ice pillar rose in front of me. Soon, the pillar began to break apart. As if a sculptor was looking at the ice with meticulous eyes, carving it without even the smallest error, the pillar gradually took shape.

What eventually appeared was a sword.

The long blade was transparent. Revealing everything inside, as if absorbing the surrounding scenery. The line drawn in the air was blue, and the sword path contained the night. The villains stared blankly at the sight, which at first glance looked like a work of art.

Aisha called out the name of the sword every time she drew it. I remember a total of seven swords. The name of this first sword was,

*First Sword, Moonlit Night*

Isn't it a name that goes well with this night? Even though I had never held a sword before, the posture of holding the sword was upright as if I had been corrected. And when the tip of the sword was pointed at a villain, my body shot out.

#

Confusion.

That was the emotion the villains were feeling. According to Hera Carmen's instructions - their goal was probably to deal with a male student named Xenon Carmen. The moment a female student appeared, the plan was as good as twisted.

'Isn't the practical exam supposed to be in pairs?'

What came to mind when I thought that was what Hera had said.

-Those guys are completely broken up. They'll probably be walking around separately.

That meant that this girl came alone. Thinking that we should finish this quickly, we gathered our strength, but the opponent's response was unexpected.

Aeeeeng-

She deliberately sets off the alarm. Maybe she's trying to call other heroes, but it seemed like her purpose in setting off the alarm wasn't just that. A kind of groundwork to use such powerful firepower that she could freeze the entire building.

Xenon's Ability is 'to explode what he touches', and my ability is 'black hole'. The sphere I create absorbs everything within the range that my sight recognizes. So it would be advantageous to fight Xenon, but...

'...Shit.'

I couldn't get close. The ice arrows flying in the air, the ice spikes rising from the ground, the ice spears falling from the sky, her intention to confine me to this place was clear. As if she had completely grasped the conditions of my Ability. Gradually, more attacks were coming from behind.

Abilities also had limits. If it was an augmentation-type or heteromorphic-type, it would be their body, and if it was like me, a manifestation-type, it would be their mental strength. But this girl was constantly firing ice of formidable power, as if ignoring even that limit.

'This is the limit.'

Around the time I thought that, a huge sphere of ice enveloped my body. Ding- A warning bell rang in my head. I need to get out of here right now. I can't avoid this attack with just a black hole...!

In a fleeting moment, I succeeded in teleporting by passing my body through the black hole, but I couldn't harm the girl. I couldn't do it alone. Judging that, I called out the villains I had prepared for the moment of emergency.

Including myself, there were 10 of us. Surely - I should be able to handle it with this number. Thinking that, he looked at the girl with a relaxed expression. In the warm weather, her cold breath, which contrasted with it, created steam in the air.

This is the limit.

I couldn't help but think that. She had used her Ability so much, she must be running out of strength soon. As if that thought was right, she removed the ice that had been piled up around her.

I thought things were going well. As I was about to approach her, an ice pillar rose up. Is she still trying to resist? I clicked my tongue. It would have been better if she hadn't resisted. 10 villains and 1 student. Isn't the odds clear?

The female student who grabbed the sword that was created after the ice pillar was carved pointed the tip of the sword at us.

"Haha."

Foolish. Doesn't she even know how to calculate the odds? Thinking that, he squeezed out his last strength and created a black sphere. That sword made of ice, I just need to break it down before it even touches me-

Thud-

Before his thoughts could even be completed, he could see something flying into the air. Gushing blood, and someone's wrist connected to that blood.

It didn't take long for him to realize that the wrist was once his.

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