Part 14
Aizono Mio heard that report. Paying no heed to the approaching threat, she silently reflected on the information reaching her through her cell phone and the will of the teacher who had once stood beside her.
“…There was just no helping him,” she muttered
That was all she said, but that slight comment was accompanied by a small change in Aizono Mio’s expression. This expression was different from when she had been seeking revenge and from when she had overcome that and was determined to save Saitou Souta. It was the expression she had in her happiest time.
And then that expression changed to something different yet again.
She blew through it all.
Tossing the cell phone aside, she directly faced the Multiphase Straight Hammer that had been nothing but a symbol of fear and death.
“This isn’t like me, but with the real protagonist down for the count, I have no choice. Even if it’s out of character, I’ll get serious here in place of that prince.”
“What…?”
“I’m saying I’ll kick all of your asses and save you, baby!”
While making an indecent gesture with her middle finger, Aizono Mio made that announcement as Saitou Souta’s student.
Hyoudou Maki’s cheek twitched slightly.
“Are you saying you, a member of White Alligator, will do what Saitou Souta did?”
“I can be pretty strict.”
“That was a miracle that man performed. After all the blood you have soaked up and all the flesh you have consumed while crawling through mud and blood in White Alligator, do you really think you have enough hope to perform that same miracle!?”
“Just let me save you already. We’re actually relying too much on him. Like this, we can’t complain about all those parents. …How about we actually try to give him some rest?”
“I thought you had learned that we do not live in a world where determination and guts will get you anywhere.”
“No, those things have more power than I thought. After all, they are what saved me from that darkness.”
“Kohina, Sayori.”
As if to cut Aizono off, Maki called the names of her comrades.
The one to end a conversation when it seemed overpowering was the one at the disadvantage.
“Let’s wear her down until she sinks into a sea of blood. Continue firing as planned.”
“Understood.”
“Crushing a single irregular is the ideal way to use White Alligator.”
Greater than 10 thick rubber bands strained as they pulled back from where they were connected to the metal tanks, the railings of the midair walkways, and other locations. The straining noise was proof of the overwhelming energy being stored. It looked like a sinister flower. Its destructive power came from the projectile it fired being torn apart in the air and spreading out as a wall-like shockwave.
Maki had control of the device as she announced, “Wherever you try to run, the surface will knock you down. Whatever defenses you put up will be worn down. The surefire tactics of White Alligator leave no room for vague concepts such as hope.”
“What a boring announcement.” With a thin smile, Aizono Mio controlled the black oil around her to create a long whip. “At least say something fun like that you’re going to cut through me with this one attack☆”
“…”
Moments later, a roar great enough to shake the entire facility was mercilessly let loose.
Part 15
In that instant, the air within the facility roared up. The metal objects such as the metal plates of the tanks and the railings of the midair walkways were blown to pieces. The sound seemed to come after the sight.
However…
This was not caused by the Multiphase Straight Hammer’s projectile breaking up in midair and creating a surface from the shockwave.
Aizono Mio had swung the black, whip-like blade to slice apart the tanks, walkways, and floor the thick rubber bands were attached to. Military Oil itself gave greater control to the enemies because of their greater numbers. However, the objects holding the rubber bands in place were normal objects. Even Aizono’s power was enough to slice them apart.
And…
When the rubber bands holding so much power suddenly lost one of their supports, the rubber bands naturally flew in the opposite direction with the heavy metal fragments still attached.
In other words, countless weights flew toward Hyoudou Maki as she held the projectile.
“Eh…?”
It was for just an instant, but she froze.
Immediately afterwards, the weights stabbed in from almost every direction with overwhelming speed. The power was much less than when all the energy was collected in one point, but it was more than enough to crush a human body.
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?” Maki screamed, but that also meant she was still in a state where she could scream.
She had used her Military Oil composite armor dress to avoid a fatal blow.
Meanwhile, Aizono headed forward.
She headed toward the other three girls.
“It seems one means of counteracting Military Oil is to mix other objects such as metal into the oil. Well, my version was a bit more attack oriented.”
“D-damn you…!!”
“It’s true that all members of White Alligator are equally powered Level 4s, so pure numbers will decide the victor. However, I am no longer a member of White Alligator. I did not continue growing in the same direction as you did afterwards.”
In a way, that was the last thing Maki, Kohina, and Sayori wanted to hear.
It started having an effect greater than a simple mental one.
“I’m not stupid enough to boast about it, but I learned a lot over the course of that incident. Now let’s settle this using what we weren’t just given by those filthy adults.”
“!! Kohina, Sayori! We can’t use the Hammer anymore. Let’s overwhelm her with numbers and speed!!”
“Understood!!”
“…!!”
No response came from Sayori.
Maki frantically spun around to find Sayori convulsing while still standing. A thick, severed cable laid at her feet. It was a piece of the instrumentation used as the weight when the thick rubber bands had attacked Maki. The capacitors must have still had some power left in them which was now attacking Sayori.
As the others watched on, Sayori finally collapsed to the floor.
“Even while using the Military Oil composite armor dress, an electric current with a high enough voltage can still get through. I learned that the hard way.”
As she spoke, Aizono took a large step forward.
She made it seem she was headed for Maki, but her real target was Kohina.
A sound like a gas being expelled was heard and a characteristic irritating smell seemed to stab into Kohina’s nose.
“This smell…napalm!?”
Kohina immediately tried to gather up oil to strengthen her defenses, but…
“It was a feint. By the way, did you know that lowers your mobility?”
“!!”
Before Kohina could take another breath, Aizono used the black whip to grab and lift up the severed cable.
“And as I said before, a current with a high enough voltage can penetrate that composite armor!!”
A zapping noise exploded out.
Kohina convulsed before collapsing to the floor. The way her composite armor dress turned back into oil showed that she had lost consciousness.
“Now then.”
“Kh…!!”
With the sound of sliced air, Aizono and Maki formed blades at the same moment. One was an intentional offensive action and the other was a reflexive defensive reaction. Even if it was the same act, their stances were clearly different.
“Three can overwhelm me. But one can only counterbalance me. Wasn’t that it?”
“Yes, but even if you have improved your situation, a draw is still the best option remaining for you.”
“No, what we obtained after White Alligator will decide this. I am proud of what I did during that kind time, but can the same be said for you?”
“…!!”
“You continued to fight in the darkness as you wanted. Even without White Alligator, you gained your own kind of growth. However, that growth was of the worst kind. I will show just what power there lies in being saved by Saitou-sensei. And I hope that you all will also receive the same one day.”
The clash of blade on blade repeated a few times before it came to a quick end.
Part 16
By the time Misaka Mikoto crawled back up from the multipurpose drain while carrying Yuri’s unconscious form over her shoulder, it was already over.
“Did you take care of everything here?”
“There was nothing you need to worry about.”
“Things were pretty close on my end. She tried gathered up all the oil she could and truly almost stripped me nude.”
With a grunt of exertion, Mikoto lowered Yuri to the floor.
Aizono gave a light sigh and said, “It seems the higher ups have decided that Saitou Souta has developed a control manual for the minds of the former White Alligator elites. They were using these four to retrieve that manual. Without taking care of these higher ups, his safety cannot be guaranteed.”
Maki had said they would be “devoured by another portion of the darkness before long”, but that was no guarantee.
“Could you get the higher ups’ identities from your former comrades?”
“That could be difficult. Are who they think the higher ups even really the higher ups? They could be dealing with some middleman or body double for all we know.”
“I see. But it isn’t like we have no hints whatsoever.”
“?”
Mikoto pulled a cell phone out from the half-melted oil dress Yuri was wearing.
“Whoever is in control will have control of the communications network and will have a superiority complex. We just have to send fake emails between the White Alligator members. Maybe have them tell each other to flee because they have no way of winning. When whoever is behind this intercepts the emails, they are sure to do something. And they will be panicked. With a great force like White Alligator gone, the organization will be lacking manpower. Most likely, people who normally would never show themselves will make an appearance.”
“So you’re saying we just have to capture the ones who show up to silence them?”
“That will be my job. You have something you need to do first,” said Mikoto lightly as she gathered the cell phones. “So where’s Saitou-sensei?”
“He’s most likely in that metal tank. From the way Maki was speaking, it seemed to be a safe zone.”
“By the way, what happened here? Most of the tanks have been destroyed and the midair walkways are a complete mess.”
“Just a hellish independent lesson that would shock anyone in an after school special.”
Aizono practically had to drag herself along as she walked step by step up the stairs wrapped around the side of the metal tank. Mikoto followed her. At about three stories up, they reached the top where they found something like a giant hatch. After turning the round handle to unlock it, Aizono used both hands to open the hatch.
The tank was filled almost up to the full line with a clear liquid. A single small inflatable boat was floating on top of the liquid. Close enough to reach out and grab was a man in a hospital gown connected to a life support device. His eyes were closed and he was completely unmoving. However, the monitor display showed that he was indeed alive.
For Misaka Mikoto, it was her first time seeing Saitou Souta.
And for Aizono Mio…
“…”
The black dress she wore changed shape. It became a normal high school uniform. It was the symbol of her connection with the man. Along with her clothes, Aizono Mio’s expression also changed. That expression Mikoto had not seen on her before may have been the greatest thing Saitou Souta had once given her.
What was going on within Aizono in that instant?
What was she thinking now that she had finally acquired the greatest result for her efforts?
Most likely as a means of waterproofing the life support device, something made of clear plastic covered the entire inflatable boat. Aizono Mio’s slender hand timidly touched and stroked Saitou Souta’s cheek trough the plastic. There was a slight change in the readings on the monitor, but that was it. Saitou Souta did not even twitch.
Even so, Aizono Mio gave a satisfied smile.
“I have to say goodbye for a while, sensei.”
Part 17
Saten Ruiko lazed about in her dorm room. Not long before, she had helped resolve a major incident, but as soon as things got dangerous, she was left out completely. Misaka Mikoto was the #3 Level 5, and Shirai Kuroko and Uiharu Kazari were both in Judgment, so she knew it was only natural for them to be the ones in danger. She knew that, but…
“Hmm. But I have a feeling the information I dug up on ‘The Whereabouts of Saitou Souta’ was pretty important.”
Complaining was not going to help.
She puffed out her cheeks and moved the mouse to dig through yet another urban legend site. (Whether she was laughing or crying, her actions did not change much.) Besides stories about an explosion in a sewer facility and a mysterious, bluish-white flash of light half-destroying a counseling facility, she also found one other thing of interest.
She thought it was just a variation of a certain story, but it seemed to be a completely new story.
After Saten read through what was written, she looked back up at the title and her shoulders sank.
“…‘What Happened to Saitou-sensei Afterwards’?”
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