"You can't go any further. It's genuinely dangerous up ahead."
Tsuzuri-sensei's persistence was admirable, though a bit reckless. She'd only taken a few steps forward before tripping over some broken rebar on the roadside.
Rubbing her head as she tried to stand up, she saw the students who had just passed were already far away.
'What should I do?! Right, I need to contact Yomikawa immediately... Ah, the walkie-talkie's broken.'
Frantically reaching for her walkie-talkie, Tsuzuri-sensei's heart sank when she found the device damaged beyond use.
"The Anti-Skill corps sure has gotten lax, letting such a scatterbrained person join," Kiyama Harumi murmured to herself, a note of surprise in her voice.
"But I think Tsuzuri-sensei is quite good! She's very earnest and responsible," Natsume Sonoko immediately refuted, clearly disagreeing.
"Still, we owe her one. If not for her, we would've been discovered by those guys back there."
Kiyama Harumi leaned her head against the ruined wall, her eyes shimmering with some unreadable emotion.
"Were those the people chasing you, Kiyama-sensei?"
Natsume Sonoko asked curiously. From her angle, however, she hadn't gotten a clear look at the group.
"You seem quite interested. They're dangerous individuals. It's better you don't know too much."
With that, Kiyama Harumi closed her eyes, settling in to rest. But her peace lasted only seconds before Natsume Sonoko's voice disturbed her again.
"Kiyama-sensei, the advice you gave me earlier was really helpful. Could I ask you a bit more? There are some things I still don't quite understand."
Natsume Sonoko spoke hesitantly, a touch of seriousness coloring her expression.
Since she couldn't help Misaka-senpai from afar, the next best thing was to seek this teacher's guidance on her own abilities.
"I'm not a dedicated ability development instructor. My help to you would be limited," Kiyama-sensei said, her eyes still closed, her tone carrying a strange note.
"But your earlier advice was incredibly useful?" Natsume Sonoko pressed, unconvinced.
The distant battle had intensified into a fierce conflagration. Even from this distance, Natsume Sonoko could glean clues from the colossal monster's movements.
--+--
Misaka-senpai's Railgun hadn't ended the fight directly; instead, she seemed locked in a desperate struggle again. Sparks of electricity flickered in the air, soon spreading further into the distance.
"Kuroko, get me into the air!"
Almost as soon as Misaka-senpai called out Shirai's name, Shirai appeared behind her as if reading her mind, wrapping her arms around her senpai.
With a ripple in space, the two vanished instantly, narrowly dodging a swarm of attacking tentacles.
"Onee-sama, we're high enough now to be clear of those annoying tentacles." After two more spatial jumps, they finally arrived directly above the monster.
A blissful flush warmed Shirai's cheeks, yet her focus remained sharp, her gaze fixed on the creature below.
"This is enough. The magnetic interference around here is weaker too. Now, let's give it a spectacular send-off."
Misaka-senpai's expression grew stern. Four coins appeared in her hand, spinning rapidly, their rotation accelerating as the magnetic force around her hand intensified.
Perhaps because this technique was particularly difficult to execute, the 'wind-up' was noticeably longer.
"Scatter Shot Railgun!"
Four orange-red beams erupted from Misaka-senpai's hand, instantly shooting towards the monster below from four different angles. An immense brilliance illuminated the surrounding hundreds of meters.
The four beams carved through the monster like ploughs, instantly gouging four massive wounds into its body and severing the dense mass of tentacles trying to protect it.
The immense heat generated by the coins friction with the air scorched and shattered large portions of the monster's form.
Now severed from the Level Upper network, the giant monster lacked its endless supply of AIM diffusion field support.
Its regeneration speed had drastically slowed, and the multiple abilities granted by the network were gone.
Even with the meteor fragment computer inside, it couldn't fully apply its restorative power to the vast shell composed of the AIM diffusion field. Only the tentacles derived from the original 'Kiyama Harumi's body continued regenerating unaffected.
Yet, under the assault of the four Railgun shots, fired like a scattergun blast, its body immediately began to split apart.
Surprisingly, the massive creature still retained vitality; the four Railgun shots hadn't killed it.
"What a feeble attack. I don't know how she ranked above me."
Standing on the ground ravaged by the monster, watching the Railgun assault, Mugino's face showed a trace of disdain.
'I actually think it's ultra impressive,' thought Kinuhata privately. Her own Nitrogen Armor would be utterly useless against that Railgun.
Frenda and Takitsubo had already withdrawn. By the time Kinuhata arrived at the scene, only two people remained.
Wasting no time on thought, and driven by a desire to show this middle school junior what a real attack looked like, pure white beams of light blossomed around Mugino.
As always, the pristine glow of Meltdowner was like countless sharp blades, instantly slicing apart the monster's remaining form.
"Haven't you figured it out yet? That grotesque face and the core within its body are the keys to defeating this thing," Mugino declared triumphantly.
She had spotted the monster's weakness long ago.
The relentless glare of Meltdowner flashed continuously. Under Mugino's control, it bombarded the monster's vital points in an unending assault.
The monster's regeneration couldn't keep up. Meltdowner's power carved its body into countless pieces. The core stabilizing the AIM diffusion field was shattered inside the monster's body, and even that face of Kiyama Harumi was instantly obliterated.
The moment that core, which anchored the AIM diffusion field, was destroyed, the already fragmented monster began to dissolve.
Its remnants started vanishing inch by inch, turning into some imperceptible substance.
Only the various severed tentacles on the ground remained, but they too had lost all vitality, beginning to shrivel and wither.
Misaka-senpai landed on the ground, glaring angrily at the uninvited guest before her.
"What are you doing here?" Misaka-senpai's eyes flashed with clear displeasure; she obviously recognized Meltdowner.
"Hey, watch your manners. No matter what, I'm your senior here," Mugino Shizuri shot back, hands on her hips, not holding back at all. She was a high school senior; how dare this middle schooler speak to her like that?
The atmosphere between the two was far from friendly, though it hadn't quite reached the point of drawing swords.
"I could handle this. I didn't need you interfering," Misaka-senpai said, frowning.
"You're the one who interfered. I've been tracking this monster for a long time. Don't get in my way, or I won't hold back."
Mugino Shizuri continued, leveling a threatening look at Misaka-senpai. With that, she turned and strode off towards where the monster had vanished.
"There's nothing here?!" After searching the area fruitlessly, Mugino Shizuri's voice rose again, tinged with frustration.
"Mugino, there are lots of holes here. Could it have fallen into one?" Kinuhata Saiai pointed at the numerous pits in the ground, speaking thoughtfully.
"What are they doing?"
Shirai Kuroko watched, puzzled, as Mugino Shizuri and her companion searched the area for something.
"Don't mind them. Let's go find Natsume," Misaka-senpai said.
Sitting silently on the ground, her face smudged with dirt, Natsume Sonoko looked rather disheveled, yet she was listening to Kiyama-sensei's lecture with rapt attention.
Through the Level Upper network, Kiyama-sensei had possessed numerous abilities and had insights into the development of many powers. Natsume Sonoko felt she was gaining immensely.
"I should be going now. Thank you for everything, Natsume-san," Kiyama-sensei said as her bleeding eyes began to miraculously heal. She suddenly stood up.
"Going where?" Natsume Sonoko looked up, confused.
Just then, a tentacle surged from beside Kiyama-sensei. Before Natsume Sonoko's horrified eyes, it coiled around Kiyama Harumi and dragged her down into the earth.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.