"Are Level 0s just defective products? Is it because I gained power through cheating that I ended up being used like a tool, exploited at will? I knew there were huge risks, yet I still charged ahead without a second thought... and in the end, I hurt everyone."
Saten-san knelt on the ground, murmuring these words powerlessly to herself.
Shirai-san wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come out, leaving her with no choice but to remain silent.
"Don't you worry. Leave matters concerning your friend to me. Your task now is to investigate the Level Upper and put an end to this farce as soon as possible."
Heaven Canceller emerged from a corner, comfortingly patting Saten Ruiko's shoulder before speaking.
"There's no need to worry. Even if you used the Level Upper, just think of it as taking a nap. By the time you wake up, your friends will surely have resolved everything smoothly. You have to believe in everyone's efforts."
Heaven Canceller spoke to Saten Ruiko with a serious expression, his face breaking into an encouraging smile.
"That's right, leave it to us."
Natsume Sonoko nodded vigorously, though she suddenly felt an uncomfortable tightness in her chest.
"It's alright. Even if you fall asleep, I'll wake you up right away. I'll wake you, Saten, I'll wake Akemi-san, I'll wake everyone who's fallen asleep. So please, leave everything to me. Shirai-san, Natsume-san, Misaka-senpai—everyone is working hard for the same goal. So Saten-san, you really don't need to worry at all!"
A slightly trembling voice, clearly betraying her inner turmoil, came from Shirai-san's phone; it was Uiharu-san.
"When the time comes, Saten will definitely say something like 'Just five more minutes'."
"Even without abilities, wasn't it Saten who kept pulling me forward?"
"Saten is Saten, my very best friend. So... please don't... talk about such sad things."
Uiharu-san's sobbing voice came through the phone, making everyone's hearts tremble involuntarily.
"Onee-sama, we have the brainwave pattern now. I need to return to Branch 177 immediately to search the library database." The previously silent Shirai-san suddenly spoke up.
"Let me help too. After all, this matter involves Saten-san." Misaka-senpai pressed her lips together, her expression somewhat downcast.
"Understood."
"Leave the AIM Analysis Institute to me. It's another potential lead, after all." Mustering courage from somewhere, Natsume Sonoko spoke up proactively.
"But that place is a ruin now. I heard that Kiyama Harumi is still lurking around there." Shirai-san said hesitantly.
"Don't worry. This is the least I can do for Saten-san."
Natsume Sonoko naturally knew about the existence of the treatment program. So, as long as she could get that program fromKiyama Harumi's hands, there would still be time.
"Alright then, let's split up and set off."
--+--
The AIM Analysis Institute had now become a complete wreck. The main building had collapsed, and the cars parked nearby had suffered collateral damage, most of them crushed into metallic pancakes by falling debris.
From a distance, one could see the Armored Vehicles of the Anti-Skill parked nearby, cordoning off the area with an extremely long yellow tape to prevent anyone from approaching.
"Did something just go past over there?" One of the Anti-Skill officers took off his helmet, rubbed his eyes, and looked strangely towards a corner not far away.
He thought he'd vaguely seen a human silhouette.
"I didn't see anything. Are you sure it wasn't just your imagination?" Another officer also looked around for a moment but found nothing.
Having successfully slipped past the cordon, Natsume Sonoko had nearly reached the interior of the AIM Analysis Institute.
This was her first attempt using optical refraction.
By causing heated air to rise within a certain range, the medium through which light passed was altered.
It was far from achieving perfect mirror-like reflection, but by focusing on a single angle, she could achieve a cloaking effect—though from any other angle, she would remain visible.
The extent of the destruction at the institute surprised Natsume Sonoko.
The building looked as if it had been sliced apart by countless laser-sharp weapons, the ground was pitted and scarred, and even the load-bearing walls were sheared clean through, revealing unnervingly precise cuts.
"It's completely unrecognizable now. There's no way I can find Kiyama Harumi's office like this." A sense of urgency gripped Natsume Sonoko.
What if the treatment program was damaged during the fight with Anti-Skill?
After rummaging through the rubble for a short while, Natsume Sonoko reluctantly gave up on continuing her search. She stood still, feeling utterly lost.
"Are you looking for me?" Suddenly, a hoarse, exhausted voice reached Natsume Sonoko's ears.
She turned around and saw a woman in a white lab coat sitting in a corner of the ruins.
The white coat itself was pristine, seemingly untouched by any battle, but the woman herself radiated an extreme, bone-deep weariness.
"Counting that 'Meltdowner,' the fourth-ranked Level 5 in Academy City, you're the fourth group to come looking for me today." Kiyama Harumi rose from the ground, speaking in a dull monotone.
Her face remained impassive, a blank mask that revealed nothing of her thoughts.
"I already know your purpose perfectly well, so there's no need for you to explain it to me." Kiyama Harumi pointed to her own head, a hint of self-mockery in her tone.
"You have telepathy?" Natsume Sonoko exclaimed in surprise.
"Memory reading and writing, to be precise. I can read and alter memories. Although, against people with particularly strong mental defenses, I can only manage to read recent memories superficially."
"Oh, and you probably want this, right?"Kiyama Harumi pulled a music player and a small chip from her pocket, speaking with detached calm.
"Your guess is correct. I was the one who invented the Level Upper. And just as you suspected, I also created the treatment program. No side effects, everything returns to normal, and no one has to be sacrificed."
"Since you already know everything, please, give me the Level Upper treatment program." Natsume Sonoko pleaded urgently.
"While I'd be happy to hand it over, I can't. Not yet. Using the treatment program now would cause that... monster... to run amok."
Kiyama Harumi suddenly uttered these incomprehensible words, leaving Natsume Sonoko completely bewildered.
"That monster hasn't just absorbed my consciousness. Due to its immense inherent computational power, it has unwittingly become an aggregate of the AIM Diffusion Fields of all Level Upper users, a vessel for the collective subconscious of every single one of them."
"In other words, if the Level Upper network is completely dismantled now, and it escapes my control, it will go completely berserk."
Kiyama Harumi spoke with visible difficulty. Her eyes were bloodshot, the vessels within her pupils tinged with red, as if her brain were under tremendous strain.
"What does that mean?"
Even though it sounded serious, Natsume Sonoko couldn't make heads or tails of it. This didn't seem to match the script she knew at all.
"Never mind. I will do my utmost to destroy its consciousness, to sever the connection to the users' subconsciousness. Then everything will return to normal. It's just a shame... I was so close to success, only to have it ruined by that 'Meltdowner'."
Slumping back onto the ground, a look of deep regret crossed Kiyama Harumi's face.
"I still don't understand. What monster? I just want the treatment program."
Several kilometers away from the AIM Analysis Institute, in a natural park, a figure identical to Kiyama Harumi stood motionless atop a pile of fallen trees, its gaze vacant and dull.
However, this 'Kiyama Harumi' was surrounded on three sides by groups of people, all poised and ready for a confrontation.
Directly in front of the monster was a fully armed squad of powered suits, emblazoned with the letters 'MAR'.
Another group was also heavily armed, though far fewer in number, but they clearly had the look of battle-hardened elites.
These individuals wore armor made of composite polymer, with full-head helmets and night-vision goggles that covered their eyes. Their noses were fitted with olfactory sensors.
"These damn 'Hound Dog' scum." Standing on the ruins of a gazebo, a disheveled and dusty Mugino Shizuri gritted her teeth in fury. Beside her, Takitsubo Rikou clutched a wound on her stomach, leaning weakly against Frenda Seivelun.
--+--
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.