"You're right," Kobayashi said, shaking his head. "I'm not some great, extraordinary figure. Solving things at the root—changing the world itself—that's not something a person like me should be worrying about."
He gave a self-mocking smile.
"A small fry like me—just a Level 3—only needs to deal with what's right in front of him."
Objectively speaking, under the massive framework that was Academy City, illegal experiments would continue to emerge without end—and so would the researchers who carried them out.
Kobayashi alone was never going to be able to stop that tide.
Even with Toumi at his side, it wouldn't be enough.
Since that was the case, all they could do was take responsibility for what lay before them now.
—At the very least, they could stop these researchers from harming any more children.
"This is all I can do," Kobayashi murmured, almost to himself.
The researchers, who had overheard the conversation and sensed impending doom, soon realized there was nowhere left to run. Any thought of activating the training arena's suppression systems—of taking these two "male–female demons" down with them—came far too late.
Multifunctional combat knives stripped from the armed guards floated up into the air.
Guided by psychic force, they plunged straight into the crowd.
The researchers' actual combat capability was effectively zero. There was no resistance to speak of—this could hardly even be called a battle.
It was a one-sided massacre.
Torahachi Toumi was already used to scenes like this, but she still thoughtfully covered Rin's eyes, shielding her from the bloodshed.
Watching Kobayashi's face, tense to the point of looking almost necrotic, Toumi suddenly felt a twinge of regret.
Did I push him too hard?
Even if Kobayashi was a bit older, he had grown up in a relatively peaceful environment. It was only natural that he couldn't accept her methods and way of life so easily.
Noticing her gaze, Kobayashi said calmly,
"Don't worry. I was a bit clumsy at first. I've got the hang of it now—it'll be over soon."
Toumi blinked, then patted his shoulder.
"Nana-kun… you're even crazier than I thought."
"Once you start, you finish it," Kobayashi replied.
"After we get out, I'm burning the database and destroying this project. You should take Gang Rin and Kōru Jihō to the hospital first."
"I'll make the explosives," Toumi said with a grin.
"I'm coming with you—we're partners now, aren't we?"
"More like accomplices," Kobayashi muttered.
Murder. Arson. Manufacturing explosives.
He couldn't help but wonder how Academy City's laws would deal with minors responsible for crimes of this magnitude.
—Probably juvenile detention?
But even then, wasn't there still a chance of being sold off to some research institute and turned back into an experimental subject?
A shadow crossed Kobayashi's heart, a flicker of unease rising within him.
But as always, it was too late for regrets.
He had already killed so many people. At this point, stopping halfway would only make it worse. Better to see it through in one decisive push and end everything.
"Let's go," he said. "If we move fast, we should still be able to catch up with the other kids outside."
After the "cleanup" was complete, Kobayashi's expression remained flat—as though he had done nothing more than some trivial, everyday task.
After several tries, he finally managed to use psychic force to detach the tabletop from a nearby equipment stand. Using it as a makeshift stretcher, they laid Kōru Jihō and Gang Rin on top and quickly left the space, where the stench of blood was growing heavier by the second.
In the end, Gang Rin still caught sight of the researchers' gruesome corpses.
Even though she despised—no, hated them—seeing such a scene left her terrified, her legs going weak beneath her.
"I told you not to look back," Toumi muttered, then said gently,
"This has nothing to do with you. You're just a victim. Don't think about it too much."
As she spoke, she moved behind Kobayashi, took hold of the wheelchair handles, carefully maneuvered around the guards' bodies on the floor, and headed for the exit.
"That girl's been badly shaken," Toumi said quietly.
"When we get out, we'll need to find her a psychologist."
"That makes sense," Kobayashi nodded.
"I'll mention it to the security forces… when I get arrested."
"This isn't the time for jokes!"
"I'm not joking," Kobayashi said with a bitter smile.
"After what we've done, unless we run for it, getting arrested by the security forces is actually the best possible outcome."
"We're doing the right thing," Torahachi Toumi said firmly.
"No," Kobayashi shook his head.
"What we're doing is just—but that doesn't mean it's right."
As they left the nightmare-like training arena behind, Gang Rin gradually began to calm down.
"Th-thank you, Big Brother Nana!" she said. Then, realizing she didn't know the name of the girl beside him, she added,
"Um… and thank you too, Onee-san."
Toumi gave a soft snort and nodded.
In truth, judging by age alone, Toumi was probably the same age as Gang Ringo and the others. She only seemed older because her physique was more developed—and because the girls raised in research facilities were often malnourished and frail, making the difference appear more pronounced.
That, and Torahachi Toumi's personality and mental maturity, far exceeded her peers'. Being seen as a reliable big sister was hardly strange.
The return trip was completely unobstructed. The group of four quickly exited the passageway, returned to the residential area, and then continued upward.
Since there was only one elevator leading to the surface, when Kobayashi and the others arrived, more than twenty children were already lined up in the corridor waiting.
When they saw Kobayashi return with Rin and Kōru Jihō, cheers erupted instantly.
Seeing that Kōru Jihō was badly injured and needed urgent treatment, the children thoughtfully gave up the next elevator ride for them.
"Nana-kun, you take them up first," Toumi said.
"I'll stay behind and cover the rear."
When the elevator reached the upper underground level, Kobayashi saw the children who had gone up earlier clustered densely around the doors. The moment they realized it was Kobayashi—along with Rin and Kōru Jihō—an explosion of cheers broke out.
As she squeezed her way through the crowd to his side.
"Big Brother Nana! You saved them!"
Kobayashi nodded.
"Don't worry. No one will ever hurt you again."
He didn't explain what had become of the researchers in the training arena. But at this moment, the children's admiration for him had already reached its peak. Even such a simple, almost hollow promise was enough to ignite their cheers as they excitedly swarmed toward him.
The scene immediately grew noisy and chaotic.
Seeing this, Kobayashi quickly raised a gentle psychic barrier and maneuvered his wheelchair outward.
There were still Toumi and ten more children below.
They needed to leave the elevator free for them.
(End of Chapter)
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