Thus, Selene began her triangle-shaped campus routine—classroom, library, dormitory.
After all, Tokiwadai was the crown jewel among schools. Its teaching staff were second to none. While they couldn't offer much help in developing her esper ability, their guidance in various academic fields benefited Selene immensely.
Like a sponge absorbing water, Selene continued to soak up knowledge.
In the blink of an eye, more than a month passed. By the end of the month, as the midterm exams concluded, Selene's rapid progress in ability control once again astonished all examiners. The Board of Directors doubled her resource allocation once more. Even her monthly scholarship allowance now made her a veritable rich lady.
During this time, Academy City announced two new Level 5 espers.
The second: "Vector Manipulation," codename Accelerator.
The third: "Dark Matter," name Kakine Teitoku.
Selene's diligence in her studies also earned her teachers' appreciation, and they often offered her additional guidance, allowing her to advance twice as fast with half the effort.
...
Night, within the School Garden—Dorm 1A101.
Ding~ Ding~ Ding~
"Hello, this is Selene... Hm? Someone's dissatisfied with the ranking and wants to challenge me? Alright, I understand. I'll be there soon."
The call came from a member of the Board of Directors' staff—someone wanted to challenge her?
Indeed, Academy City's upper echelon encouraged battles between espers. They believed combat stimulated growth in ability levels. The so-called "Level 6 Shift Project" was based on this ideology.
"It seems the chicken to be slaughtered is ready."
Selene sat upright at her desk, and with a whoosh, she vanished. This time, she intended to go all out—to kill one as a warning to the rest.
Arriving at the designated battle site, several Dark Side operatives stationed nearby gave her a brief nod of acknowledgment and let her pass without interference.
After walking through a stretch of abandoned factories, Selene finally saw him—a brown-haired young man nearly 180 cm tall, wearing a purple top. This was her opponent, the wielder of Dark Matter—Kakine Teitoku.
Seeing Selene's figure appear, Kakine's face twisted into a proud grin, his eyes dark. "So you finally showed up. I thought you were too scared to come."
Selene narrowed her eyes and smiled gracefully, unfazed by his taunts. Turning her gaze toward the floating UNDER_LINE surveillance units, she calmly said, "Let me make this clear in advance—I'm not responsible for any collateral damage."
Without another word, she acted.
Simulation—Repulsion Force, instant cast!
BOOM!!!
The ground cracked apart instantly. The force of repulsion sent Kakine flying hundreds of meters away. The visible shockwave obliterated the entire abandoned factory.
From above, the scene was cataclysmic—centered on Selene, a massive crater had formed, with a terrifying depth of over thirty meters. Everything within the area had been pulverized. From that center, a circular wave of devastating force spread outward like the aftermath of a nuclear blast.
Kakine hadn't even reacted before he stumbled back, a tremendous force slamming into his chest and hurling him away.
As the smoke cleared, six white, angelic wings burst through the rubble, spreading over ten meters wide. From beneath the debris, Kakine emerged, bloodied and staggering, his clothes in tatters.
"Cough... Repulsion?" he gasped, clutching his chest.
Step... step... step...
From the sky, Selene descended gracefully, stepping down on floating purple light panels as if strolling through the air. "You came straight to challenge me—who gave you the courage? Let me show you what it means to be beaten down by reality."
"Relax. I promised the Board I wouldn't kill you."
Her red, diamond-shaped pupils glowed with a demonic light as she looked at Kakine with the indifference one would reserve for an insect.
"You talk like you've already won! Don't make me laugh!!!"
Kakine roared. Countless white particles sparked like arcs of electricity around him. The six wings on his back extended rapidly, surpassing twenty meters in length. With a single powerful flap, the ground exploded beneath him as he shot past Selene's head. The six wings converged into a massive white tornado and launched straight toward her.
The air screamed under the pressure of friction.
Yet, facing Kakine's onslaught, Selene remained motionless—neither attacking nor dodging.
Seeing her stand still, Kakine growled, "You arrogant fool! You're not even trying to dodge—!"
The storm passed straight through Selene and slammed into the ground, carving a long, narrow trench.
Kakine Teitoku's face twisted in disbelief. "That's impossible..." His eyes then flared with madness.
Immediately, he unleashed a barrage of abilities—slashes, gales, shockwaves, beams of light—but none had any effect. Every attack passed harmlessly through Selene, leaving only the ground beneath them increasingly scarred and shattered.
Kakine stared blankly. He couldn't accept what he was seeing. "The difference... how can it be this huge?! No... impossible..."
Before he could finish speaking, Selene calmly extended her right hand toward him.
Simulation—Gravity!
The strain widened the earlier tears in his flesh, intensifying the pain. "Aahhh!" Kakine screamed as his body was dragged helplessly toward Selene.
"I can't take another repulsion hit—if I do, it's over!" he thought, clenching his teeth hard. He immediately went all out, forcing his ability to the limit. The white Dark Matter behind him folded inward, condensing into a cocoon that wrapped around his body completely.
But how could that possibly stop her?
Selene appeared like a ghost inside the closing cocoon of white wings. With a serene smile, she twisted her body midair—in a motion defying all logic—and delivered a whip kick that sent Kakine crashing back to the ground.
Boom!
Like a meteor strike, Kakine's body was driven deep into the foundation of the ruined factory.
"Is this really all you've got...? Never mind, playtime's over."
Now that Selene had a general sense of her power level, her interest in the fight waned. She floated beside Kakine's cratered form and activated gravity once again.
"Hm?" Selene raised an eyebrow—Kakine still had enough strength to resist her pull. But only barely. Her eyes grew cold...
Slash! Slash!
Blood sprayed into the air.
Kakine's arms and six white wings were severed cleanly from his body under Selene's Spatial Severance.
"AAAHHHH!" The agony of losing his limbs nearly sent Kakine into shock. He could no longer resist the pull of gravity and was dragged helplessly toward Selene.
Blood dripped from the sky as Selene caught him by the throat with one hand, lifting him effortlessly. "Did you really think you could win against me? What a boring game... Time to end it, insect."
Her grip tightened. "Cough—cough..." Kakine's eyes rolled back. His legs went limp, dangling lifelessly as he lost consciousness.
"Tch. You're still useful—it's not time for you to die yet."
At her words, a Subspace Lance materialized beside her and drove into Kakine's chest. As Honkai energy poured into his body, his veins lit up in a glowing network of crimson-violet light.
Landing softly on the shattered ground, Selene was approached by trembling Dark Side operatives. "You... didn't you just kill the Third?"
Their assumption wasn't unreasonable. From their perspective, Kakine had been completely annihilated—crushed from start to finish—and now hung impaled on Selene's spear. Even though she had promised the Board she wouldn't kill anyone, it looked like he was beyond saving.
Selene flicked her hand casually. Kakine's limp body was tossed toward them. "He's still alive—I left him a thread of life. He won't die. You can report back now; I'm heading back to Tokiwadai."
"Y-yes, ma'am!" The Dark Side agents responded hastily.
Selene turned and stepped into a glowing black circle of violet light, vanishing.
...
"Unbelievable—his wounds are healing."
"The Third's arms are regenerating on their own..."
"What about the severed limbs?"
"The Dark Side reports they disintegrated into ash."
"Tsk... a pity. That would've been premium research material."
"But why has the Third's physical strength improved so drastically?"
"There's a dense energy source in his chest—it's what's repairing the damage to his body."
"The energy signature matches that of the First."
"Report this to the Board immediately!"
...
"Last night, an explosion occurred at an old processing plant in District 10 due to a gas leak..."
Sitting on her sofa, Selene watched the Academy City news broadcast with a faint sense of dissonance.
"They must have noticed the anomaly in Kakine Teitoku's body."
Indeed—Selene had deliberately left him half-dead. To her, Kakine was the perfect pawn—a tool that gave her room to expose Honkai energy under controlled conditions, ensuring the Board discovered its existence.
This served two purposes: it gave her a legitimate excuse for future use of Honkai energy, and it also increased her perceived value, securing her better leverage in Academy City's power games. It was no different from ancient frontier generals who "raised enemies to strengthen their own standing."
"Let's see if you can resist the temptation of Honkai energy."
...
At that moment, in the center of District 7—the Windowless Building.
"We only managed to extract part of the energy from the Third's body. Most of it has already been absorbed by him."
"Testing confirms the energy can be converted into other power forms—electricity, propulsion for ships or vehicles. Its efficiency surpasses any known source on Earth."
"Based on the Third's enhanced physiology, we believe the energy can affect living organisms and grants significant reinforcement effects. Possible side effects remain unknown."
"With the sample depleted, further experiments have been suspended."
Aleister, expressionless as ever, reviewed the report while gazing at the holographic display before him.
The screen paused on the image of Selene's Subspace Lance injecting crimson-violet energy into Kakine Teitoku's body.
"It seems... it's time we met in person."