Boom—!
"Uiharu, let's go!"
Saten Ruiko immediately turned around. Uiharu Kazari no longer cared about maintaining Judgment's "dignity" either, and the two hurried toward the site of the violent explosion.
The instant they rounded the corner into the passage, they saw several medical workers in white coats sprinting past while carrying a student athlete on a stretcher. The student lay limp, foaming at the mouth.
Because they were in such a hurry, the medical team nearly collided head-on with Saten Ruiko.
"Whoa! What's going on? It's only the first day of competition, and someone's already been injured this badly...?"
Saten Ruiko slapped a current of air against the wall and shifted her body slightly. Like a dancing wind spirit, she narrowly avoided crashing into them by the smallest of margins.
"Sorry, but please clear the passage! This is an emergency. We ask for your understanding!"
Watching the medical workers rapidly disappear into the distance with the stretcher, Saten Ruiko patted her chest in lingering fright and exhaled. "Was there a terrorist attack? During the Daihasei Festival, and at the main venue of all places..."
"That uniform and school emblem belong to Habatobi High School. According to the records in the Bank, they should be competing against Tokiwadai right now... Ah, sir, what happened?"
Standing at the edge of the passage behind Saten Ruiko, Uiharu Kazari withdrew her gaze and muttered to herself. The next instant, she saw several more medical workers rushing over with another stretcher and hurriedly asked them.
After noticing the Judgment armband on Uiharu Kazari's sleeve, the medical worker in the lead gave a brief reply as he ran past.
"It wasn't a terrorist attack. These are injuries from the competition. Although the Director said she knew how to restrain herself, and the students have no obvious external injuries, the school administrators insisted that we send the injured students to the hospital for observation to prevent any possible lasting disabilities."
"As expected, I made the right choice by not participating in such excessively intense competitions..." Apparently quite pleased with her excuse of volunteering to help Judgment while actually slacking off with her best friend, Saten Ruiko nodded.
"But if it's a Director we're talking about... Ah, it must be Selene-senpai!" Her eyes lit up, and Saten Ruiko grabbed Uiharu Kazari before running toward the brilliant white light at the end of the passage.
"Whoa—!"
The instant they entered, their field of vision opened dramatically. In the next moment, overwhelming cheers and shouts pierced the heavens.
"This really is much livelier than the venue at our school." Pressing both hands against her ears, Saten Ruiko narrowed her eyes as the scene before her came into view—
Spent "shell casings" and impact marks covered the ground. Ball-retrieval robots had been overturned and torn apart. Chunks of turf lay scattered everywhere. The flower beds along the edge of the field had been scorched black. The soccer goals had been snapped apart, burned, and left smoking. Dirt and debris had been sprayed across the entire area...
A wave of hot air swept past, carrying the acrid smell of something burned.
The destroyed public facilities and surrounding devastation were a complete mess. Looking at the high school athletes sprawled motionless across the field, Saten Ruiko could not help rubbing her eyes. Was this place bombarded by artillery shells?
"Help them! Hurry!"
Amid the urgent cries for assistance, the school's principal and teachers could be seen anxiously calling for help from the sidelines. Another group of figures in white coats immediately rushed from the preparation area.
It was obvious that Academy City's upper echelon and the Management Committee were fully prepared for minor medical incidents during the Daihasei Festival, from scraped skin to sprains and broken bones.
Every previous Daihasei Festival had been the same.
After all, how much restraint could anyone expect from a group of hot-blooded middle school students wielding superhuman powers? Under the rallying cry of winning honor for their schools, they became even more prone to impulsive behavior. If someone stole your ball and used slightly rougher methods, there was an excellent chance that your blood would rush to your head in retaliation.
During this enormous multisport festival involving supernatural abilities, hospitals throughout Academy City's districts became overcrowded every year. Injuries ranged from simple abrasions to fractures, broken arms, and broken legs. All of it was considered normal.
They had plenty of experience.
The only difference was that previous festivals had required some time before the intensity escalated. This year, however, the level of violence had already soared on the very first day...
"Wow..." Leaning forward against the railing, Saten Ruiko looked toward the half of the field that remained intact. The athletes from Tokiwadai Middle School were leaving in orderly formation.
"Saten-san, look! That's Selene-senpai!"
Hearing Uiharu Kazari's voice, Saten Ruiko followed the direction of her finger.
"Oh! It really is senpai. I never expected someone like her, who usually prefers peace and quiet, to participate in such an energetic athletic event."
On the grass stood a silver-haired beauty with crimson eyes, dressed in a black-and-white athletic top. She had just finished exercising, yet unlike her classmates, whose cheeks were flushed and covered in glistening beads of sweat, Selene looked completely unaffected. Her elegance remained unchanged.
After returning to the seats by the field, Selene raised her long, pale neck and rested her smooth chin against one hand, yawning in boredom.
Tweet—!
Following the shrill sound of the whistle, the referee announced the result of the completely one-sided match. "Dodgeball match, Tokiwadai Middle School versus Habatobi High School. Twenty-four to zero. Tokiwadai Middle School wins!"
Dodgeball had been the first team event Selene had just completed. Their opponent was Habatobi High School. Although it was not as famous as Tokiwadai Middle School, it was still a capable institution that admitted students with either exceptional abilities or outstanding academic talent. Unlike Tokiwadai, it did not impose the extreme requirement that applicants possess at least a Level 3 ability.
Most importantly, the school placed great emphasis on developing its students' physical fitness. Habatobi High School had achieved respectable results in previous Daihasei Festivals, but this was the first time its entire team had been wiped out in the opening match.
Propping up her cheek, Selene sensed a certain indescribably cold gaze coming from the VIP seats and discreetly lowered her crossed leg. Following the example of everyone around her, she picked up the sports drink beside her, leaned back in her chair, and listlessly drank with a series of glugs.
"I'll ask one more time. Do you need me to heal you?"
"N-No, thank you! We were simply too weak! Hiss... Next year, we definitely... definitely won't be shut out again!"
He had only just been placed on the stretcher when the class representative from Habatobi High School, who had issued Selene a challenge not long ago, heard her well-intentioned question. He immediately struggled to turn over on the stretcher. His flushed face twisted in pain as he shouted back in grief, indignation, and determination.
Then the lower ribs that had merely been grazed by the ball began burning with pain, and he could not help curling inward.
He was stubbornly saving face at his own expense, but Selene did not dislike that kind of person.
Seeing this, Selene burst into laughter and raised one hand slightly, signaling the medical workers to hurry and carry him away.
As expected, a person's environment always influenced them, or at the very least their mood. Especially now that Selene had opened herself to fully experience the atmosphere, she felt as though her state of mind had become "younger" again. Back in the Empire, far too many scheming politicians surrounded her. Everything there was simply too serious.
After finishing the individual throwing events in track and field that morning, Selene had immediately rushed into the team dodgeball competition without pause.
That was right. To put it simply, the game involved throwing balls at people. Hitting an opponent's body earned one point, and whichever side held the highest score when time expired won.
When the news spread that Selene would not use any supernatural abilities during the competition, every academy instantly erupted with excitement. It was as though every ambitious school throughout Academy City had been set ablaze!
She had said it herself. She would not use any supernatural ability or any derivative power.
She was merely a mage who controlled spatial abilities, a delicate middle school girl, an elegant noble young lady. No matter how well developed she was, there could not be much muscle on those slender arms. No matter how one looked at it, her basic physical ability could not possibly be that high.
Not everyone knew about Selene's feat of physically overpowering Kanzaki Kaori, a Saint of the magic side. In most people's eyes, this was the closest they would ever come to narrowing the difference in strength between themselves and Selene.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Moreover, the entire event was being broadcast live throughout every district and across every television station. Words spoken could not be taken back. Even if Selene became upset after suffering a defeat, it was unlikely she would retaliate afterward. Most importantly, one could not punish everyone. Surely she could not deal with so many people at once.
The academies had suffered beneath Tokiwadai for far too long!
Even Accelerator was tempted to formally enter on behalf of Nagatenjouki Academy and blast Sele—ahem. Glancing at the miniature Misaka Mikoto beside him, the white-haired old man currently playing babysitter silently corrected himself. He wanted to blast Tokiwadai Middle School.
Machines designed to monitor AIM diffusion fields had even been moved to the sidelines for real-time observation. In an instant, the enormous city became enveloped in the restless, exuberant atmosphere of youth.
Perhaps it was inappropriate to phrase it this way, but who would not want to take a shot at the lofty first-ranked esper? For one thing, everyone had been angered by Selene's seemingly contemptuous attitude. What did she mean by saying she would not use her ability while everyone else could use theirs freely?
Yes, she was the strongest spatial esper, but what was that supposed to mean? She might as well have said it outright—
All of you are trash!
Selene: I didn't say that. I never meant that. Don't slander me. I only wanted to make the games more interesting.
Still, Selene knew she was perfectly capable of attracting hostility. She was not Franklin. It was impossible for everyone to like her.
With that thought in mind, countless schools began rubbing their hands together in anticipation.
Take a gamble, and a bicycle might become a motorcycle!
Habatobi High School had taken the lead. They had even observed proper etiquette before resorting to force, using a simple little scheme against Selene. Only after confirming her promise again and again did they formally issue their challenge, publicly declaring that they wanted an open and honorable contest of strength. At the same time, they asked Selene to fulfill her promise and fight with everything she had.
They had shown a little cunning by indirectly emphasizing, before countless witnesses, that Selene had to keep her word. Very well. Selene had then given them the treatment they deserved.
Unlike during the previous throwing events, where she had gradually increased her performance and politely won by surpassing each opponent by only a small margin, Selene immediately raised the intensity to another level.
The moment she gained possession of the ball, she opened with a devastating spike. Amid a terrifying blast of compressed air, a circular crater large enough to hold a person appeared in the grass, and an entire group of students was hurled into the air.
The Habatobi High School class representative, who stood over one hundred eighty centimeters tall, could at least be considered a tough man.
Even though the muscles in his face twitched with terror and his calves trembled like sieves, he clenched his teeth and refused to surrender. He exhausted every ounce of strength in an attempt to score. The result was obvious. One ball struck his body, sent him spinning uncontrollably through the air, and removed him from the match.
Clap! Clap, clap—!
The spectators rose one after another, offering encouragement and praise to the students of Habatobi High School. They had long since prepared themselves mentally. There was no shame in losing to Tokiwadai. Winning would have been the truly shocking outcome.
Besides, refusing to give up against such a ferocious first-ranked esper and fighting until only one person remained could perhaps be considered a victory in its own right.
The promotional video Tokiwadai had filmed a year earlier for Selene's year-end assessment remained popular even now, and nearly every visitor to Academy City had watched it. Was such a gorgeous and powerful esper not the ultimate boss that all participants were meant to challenge?
"Wow! Senpai, I just watched the recording of your match. I never knew that aside from your incredible control over your ability, you'd also trained your body to be this strong!"
Looking at the adorable flower-crowned girl jogging toward her with a miniature computer in her arms, Selene smiled and waved. "Hello, Uiharu, Saten. Hmm, I can understand Uiharu not participating in her class events because she's a member of Judgment, but as for you, Saten... Did you find another excuse to sneak away?"
"Hehe!"
Following Uiharu Kazari over to Selene, Saten Ruiko stuck out her tongue in embarrassment. She clasped her hands together and muttered in a wheedling tone, "My class doesn't need one more Level 1 anyway. As her friend, I have an unquestionable duty to help a scatterbrain like Uiharu."
"Hmph! What do you mean, scatterbrain? Besides, Saten-san, you've been playing around the entire ti—mmph!"
Before Uiharu Kazari could finish her soft and completely nonthreatening accusation, Saten Ruiko's eyebrow twitched. She yanked Uiharu closer and hurriedly covered her mouth, then immediately changed the subject. "Senpai, how did you throw such a powerful volleyball using only physical strength?"
"Do you want to learn?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" the two replied together.
Selene hooked the volleyball at her feet with the tip of her shoe and rose into a backflip. "Then watch closely."
Improvising on the spot, Selene turned sideways and planted one foot firmly. Her ankle was as smooth as polished white marble. "When you throw a ball, you can't rely only on the strength of your arm. Like this, shift your weight while rotating your waist..."
As she spoke, Selene slowly twisted her waist with the ball in hand. Beneath the rising and falling hem of her skirt, her rounded thighs tightened. The flowing curves of her legs extended upward, outlining a waist without the slightest trace of excess flesh. "Guide the force into your shoulder, and then do this!"
The instant her words ended, Selene thrust the volleyball toward the center of the field. Before the two girls' stunned eyes, the violently erupting air pressure nearly knocked them off their feet.
Boom—!
An even louder blast rang out. Saten Ruiko and Uiharu Kazari stared blankly at each other, both clearly reading the same message in the other's eyes.
Confirmed. We can't learn this!
...
"She's concealing her true strength."
Inside a private room at a hotel, a blonde, blue-eyed woman in a red formal gown folded her arms across her chest. Watching the live broadcast of Selene's competition on the screen, she spoke with certainty.
"Lady Katy is currently seated in the VIP section of the main venue in School District 7. Your Highness, should we find an opportunity to meet and speak with her?"
"There's no hurry. The Vatican should be the one feeling anxious. As for us..." The woman moved her finger toward a commercial street displayed within the magical image on the parchment, where a gray-haired girl and a young blonde boy could be seen.