Chapter 61: Enemies Of Enemies
"So what is it you have to offer SCHOOL?" Kakine asked as he faced the computer right in front of him.
"Ohhh Kaibi-chan would love this offer..." The deep voice answered as he turned on his camera to reveal two girls sitting in wooden chairs.
His face wasn't revealed, it was only the faces of the two girls who had pink dresses on.
Their dresses were torn and tattered as a blindfold was placed over their eyes. The both of them looked like twins, but the one on the right side of the camera looked mature and older than the other one on the left. Their curly ponytails looked the same as the one behind the screen at the moment.
"Kaibi-chan, do you recognize these two people here?" The deep voice asked as he placed a knife underneath the older girl's chin as he lifted up her head.
Kaibi immediately stood up from her seat as she dropped her pedicure set. The nail polish and red nail varnish fell to the floor as the pungent liquid spread all across the carpet floor.
"You--! What did you do to them?!" Kaibi gritted her teeth as she tried to find the words to talk back to this person.
Whoever he was, she didn't want to cross him. It was her sisters on the line.
Although they were blindfolded, only the matured woman's mouth was stuffed with a cloth around her mouth.
"Amazora!! Can you hear me?!" Kaibi shouted over the phone as she looked at her younger sister.
"K-Kai onee chan...H-Help...I-I'm scared...." Amazora, the younger sister trembled in the chair as she communicated with her older sister through the phone.
"Don't worry, I'll be there soon!"
However, just as Kaibi announced it, the place went dark.
"Oh no you don't." The deep voice answered. "Remember whose spot I have now, Kai chan~ Make one move against me, both of them will die. Oh, come to think about it, your big sister, Rikuri Onee chan is an expert of deadly poisons, am I right?"
As he said that, the rattling of glass bottles could be heard in the darkness.
"Ohhhh I wonder what this does?" At the same time, the sound of glass breaking could be heard.
"Don't you dare!"
"Oh but I do. Oh no, I've dropped a flask and now a foul stench is emanating from it. I wonder what that does to the human body. Thankfully, I have a gas mask on. But I wonder what will happen to your precious sisters if I expose them to this even more~"
*CRASH*
The table which was supporting the laptop had exploded, but the laptop itself was still safe.
"Stop fucking mocking us, you bitch." Kakine had used one of his white wings to stab the table as he manipulated the wing's properties to make it more explosive on impact. "Are you trying to threaten us?"
Even though Kakine knew he would never be able to see the person behind the voice, all that mattered was he himself could be seen by the person behind the phone.
"Threaten? Oh noooo...that wasn't my intention in the least bit! I'm merely showing off my winnings. I just so happened to stumble upon them when I was retaining control over the phone." The chuckling behind the deep voice was creepy as it didn't fit the tone of what they were conveying.
"Anyway, I'm here to cut you a deal, Dark Matter." The voice said it seriously this time. Whatever he was going to say made everything seem like a joke. Which is why Kakine raised his eyebrow in response.
"I know what you want. And I have come up with the perfect plan to get what you want."
"Don't need it, don't want it. We already have a plan to get what we want."
"Oh? And can you be so kind as to fill me in on what that plan is?" The deep voice asked amusingly.
"The Tweezers." After Kakine said that, the whole room went quiet. "It is said to hold the secrets hidden inside this fucking cursed city. Most importantly, UNDER_LINE."
The silence in the air was heavy as Kakine explained, but soon the voice answered back enthusiastically.
"The Tweezers? That thing that looks like a claw? That thing that can supposedly grab microscopic objects? You mean this?" That voice placed his hand in front of the camera as he showed a metal glove in his hands. The index finger and the middle finger each had a long glass claw coming from them and the glass claws had what looked like even thinner metal stakes in them. On the back of the hand was a small monitor that looked like a cell phone.
"You...?! Tch, so you already knew about our plans."
"Of course. Otherwise, how could I be the one in charge?"
"Seems like you've been preparing for this moment. Just what the fuck are you after?"
The voice paused for a moment as he inspected the glove in his hands.
"What I'm after does not concern you, Kakine Teitoku. As long as you follow my direction and commands, I assure you, you'll be able to reach the top without any problem."
"Then what about the sisters?"
The deep voice gradually became lighter as if he was hiding his smirk from the camera (Although technically he was).
"Like I said, I'm not here to threaten you. If you help me accomplish my goals, I'll reward you handsomely for it."
"...Then what's the plan?"
---------------------------------
ITEM continued to chase the station wagon at every turn.
"Hamazura control the fucking car before I blast your head instead!"
"Damnnit!! Do you know how hard it is to drive while avoiding collateral damage?!"
Hamazura was the unfortunate driver for ITEM. Hamazura and the station wagon were skillfully dodging the oncoming traffic. He struggled to swerve left and right as their family vehicle didn't have the horsepower to keep up after every swerve. It decelerated after every swerve.
The cars behind and beside them were honking at them as they drove past each and every one of them.
The noonday of the sun reflected of the surfaces of the other cars as pedestrians watched in awe as Hamazura tried to chase the station wagon. But the driver in the station was good.
Too good.
Despite using a rundown car like that, it was still executing hairpin turns and sudden lane changes. The cacophony of screeching tires and blaring horns echoed off the concrete canyons, creating a symphony of chaos that reverberated through the crowded thoroughfares.
"Hamazura, steady the car. I'm gonna try and shoot it down." As Mugino poked her body through the door, a sudden right turn into the lane forced her back into the car. The door that was opened was smashed apart by another vehicle they had passed.
"Damnit Hamazura!"
"I'm sorry!! But there was no other choice!"
"Just shut up and keep the car steady!" Mugino shouted so loud that it could almost blow apart his eardrums.
"(Damn you, if it was so easy to drive, how about you take the wheel instead huh?!)" Hamazura made sure that he was speaking into his own mind before he shouted at her in his mind.
Suddenly, he could feel a hot burning sensation behind his ear and when he turned away for a split second to see what it was, he saw a bright green sphere staring at him.
"Did I hear a complaint? Haaaa...maaa...zuuuu...raaaaa?" Mugino spoke in a low voice as she pointed her Meltdowner at him.
"N-Not at all ma'am! It's dangerous to point that at someone as weak as me, so please put that away!" Hamazura shrieked as he continued to handle the steering wheel with more force.
The wheels on the station wagon screeched as it drifted into a sharp right and Hamazura followed suit. But whoever was driving that station wagon was seriously good that it was terrifying. The sharp turn that it made was so perfect that it barely avoided touching the sidewalk.
Hamazura on the other hand struggled to turn with the family vehicle they were driving as the vehicle intercepted on the sidewalk, blocking the way for the people walking through as it almost hit a lady.
"I'M SO SORRY!!!" Hamazura shouted as he continued driving without looking at the woman.
The car jumped slightly as it continued to pursue the station wagon.
"Damnit...! Is this the tofu driver or what? He's seriously good at drifting."
"If you don't catch the car in time, I'll turn you into tofu instead." Mugino threatened him from the back yet again as he felt tears coming out of his eyes.
"I was supposed to be the leader of a Skill-Out group, so how did this happennnnn?!?!?!?! And Frenda!! Can't you use your bombs to propel this car forward?!" Hamazura tilted his head back to look at the blonde girl in the backseat, but Frenda just gave him a casual shrug.
"Hamazura are you stupid? Bombs can't be used as a nitro booster unlike what they show in the movies. I need nitrous oxide to actually boost this car, although I do have it on me, it's just too small to actually boost this car."
"You're super stupid, Hamazura."
"It's okay, Hamazura. Even if you're stupid, I'll still support you."
The three other girls in the car calmly embarrassed him as they continued to lay back in their seats.
"Damnnit!!! Why am I being verbally abused even now?!"
The station wagon pulled ahead a few meters more, but at this point, the traffic was starting to die down, and it was just a straight path ahead.
"Alright, this is it Hamazura. Steady the car. Fuck this up and I'm really turning you into tofu."
"(Alright, focus Hamazura.)" Hamazura talked to himself in his head as his grip on the steering wheel tightened even more.
The station wagon drifted left and right continuously without losing momentum as it kept pushing forward as if it was anticipating an attack from Mugino.
The Meltdowner poked her body out of the vehicle yet again as multiple bright green spheres floated around her.
"Don't think you can escape the Meltdowner."
It was just a brief second when multiple green beams burnt through the air and flew straight to the station wagon. Despite the car's maneuvers, it was all futile as the beams of light were aimed straight at it's engines from the back, followed by the wheels.
The car blew up as it capsized on its back while still squealing across the asphalt road and soon it came to a burning halt.
Mugino went back inside the family vehicle as she calmly pointed at the burning car ahead.
"This should be easy for you now right, Hamazura?"
"Yes..." Hamazura breathed a sigh of relief as he loosened his grip on the steering wheel. The torment was finally over.
He slowly pulled up beside the burnt car as his head dropped on the steering wheel as he took a minute to catch his breath. While he was composing himself, three of the four girls at the back hopped out of the vehicle as they went over to inspect the wreckage.
"Now then, let's see where the goods are." Frenda exclaimed as she pranced around the wreckage.
"I'm super not going in there. My Offense Armor won't hold."
"..." Mugino calmly inspected the wreckage as she walked around it, but she couldn't find anything.
There was nothing but burnt scraps inside.
She looked back to see if there was anything she had missed, but there was nothing.
No remains of a human, no remains of other metals beside the station wagon.
She looked back at the vehicle to double check as she crouched down to look into the back of the burning vehicle, but there was seriously nothing but air.
"Hmm Mugino, I don't think there's a body in here either."
"...Something's off."
No matter how hard she squinted her eyes and no matter how low she looked, she could not overlook the fact that there was only air in the back of the station wagon.
She quickly glanced around to check if it was an ambush, but there was no one and nothing but office buildings surrounding them.
"Tch! This was a fluke. There was no driver in the first place."
Hamazura could hear that from the destroyed side of the family vehicle as he grabbed the passenger seat and looked at the burning car as well.
"Wait! So I've been racing against nobody?!" Hamazura shouted while still leaning against the passenger side window.
"No, there was definitely someone driving it. However, it wasn't being driven by a human but an AI instead." Mugino explained as she hopped back into the vehicle where Takitsubo was sitting with her legs still sprawled out. "If it wasn't a plan to drag us out here for an ambush attack, nor was it an attempt to escape with the Tweezers, then they must have escaped with it a long time ago."
Frenda and Kinuhata entered the vehicle as they closed the single remaining door on the vehicle.
"So you're telling me poor Hamazura went through all that for nothing?" Frenda asked empathetically as she patted Hamazura on the back while he tiredly leaned back onto the driver seat.
"Yeah, in any case. SCHOOL was probably using that station wagon as a distraction than a courier. Hamazura!"
"Y-Yes?!" In that instant, Hamazura's body immediately jumped up as he answered her.
"Head back to the particle engineering lab. We're gonna see if we can find any clues there."
Without another question or answer, Hamazura immediately started the engine as they took off from there.
--------------------
"What's the point of dragging ITEM all the way out there just for them to chase an empty courier?"
This was SCHOOL's hideout as the Voice on the Phone continued to explain his plan.
"It's simple. ITEM is something like a 'dark hero' in Academy City's Dark Side. If anyone goes out of hand in the Dark Side, ITEM will be there for cleanup. I want them out of the equation." The Voice explained as he turned off his webcam.
"Ha! Dark heroes? What a joke. I could easily wipe them out if I wanted to, you know? All that work just for a little kill?" Kakine mocked the voice as Kaibi frowned at the screen.
"No no, that'll lead you to death."
The Voice on the Phone shared his screen and it showed a woman with dark long hair wearing an Anti-Skill uniform as a long list of text appeared beside her portrait.
"Yomikawa Aiho..." The Voice started his explanation as the list of texts continued downwards. "One of the most trusted and most proficient Anti-Skill officer. I wouldn't exactly call her the leader of Anti-Skill, but she has been the in-charge for most of the operations when a major threat appears."
"..."
"You may be wondering, 'why are we attacking someone from Anti-Skill?' well it's pretty simple actually. Once the sniping on Oyafune Monaka commences, ITEM will try to find a breach on the particle engineering lab that holds the Tweezers. Specific Anti-Skill officers have been assigned a place to protect. In her case, she's mostly responsible for Kirigaoka Girls Academy and the particle engineering lab. They don't allow male officers to patrol that area strictly for the protection of those girls, and since her achievements have been spectacular, it's no wonder why she would be the one defending it."
Kakine continued to read the text as it continued scrolling and he saw the achievements that she had gotten.
Special Esper Dual Modification Technology Research Institute - Lead the sting operation against a bunch of researchers who used Child Errors for inhumane experimentation on dual wielding abilities.
District 7 Underground Shopping Mall Incident - Lead a group of Anti-Skill officers to fend off against a golem that was controlled by a out of hand esper.
Science Association - Lead the charge on a group outside of Academy City who were planning to steal the Tree Diagram Remnants.
Level Upper - Captured the mastermind behind the Level Upper incident, where the user would become unconscious after use of the Level Upper.
Scavenger Hunt - Lead the charge against a group called 'Scavengers', although the operation costed the lives of many, was one of the sole survivors of the horrifying incident.
Cannibalism - Went undercover at an unnamed ship on her own where people were being used for meal preparation. Despite being out of line, was still able to put a stop against Nakimoto Rizou's strange addiction.
"Her achievements precedes her reputation, don't you agree?" The Voice on the Phone asked as the list of words stopped. "So, once we take her out, it'll be smooth sailing from there. They'll be too preoccupied with her death, as well as the attack on Oyafune Monaka."
"And then what? Seems like you're just trying to use us for your own sake. I don't see how we'll profit from this. If I wanted to, we can track where you are right now, and everything will be settled for us." Kakine said as he glared at the camera.
"Haha, and then you'll see where things go. Oh, and if that was a threat, don't forget." The Voice on the Phone turned his camera on again as the two sisters were still seated there. "I have them under my control. You wouldn't want to lose a member while we're negotiating now, would you?"
"...Tch. Fine. Is that all?"
"Oh wait, before I forget. We'll be using my sniper."
"?" Kakine raised his eyebrow as he continued looking at the screen.
A body was tossed in front of the Gokusai sisters as it dropped with a loud thud. However, only Amazora shook in her seat.
The body belonged to the sniper SCHOOL had hired.
It was Sunazara Chimitsu as his body was riddled with bullets and his face beaten to a bloody pulp.
"Eek! K-Kai onee-chan...what was that..."
"Shhhh...hush now little one." The Voice on the Phone caressed Amazora's face as if it was a statue as she shivered with fear.
"Leave her alone!" Kaibi shouted through the computer.
"Oh I will. Just make sure not to cross me and they'll be fine. Oh, and if I find out that any of you try to trace my location, just know this will happen to them."
A bottle was thrown across the room as it hit the older sister in the head, causing her to fall backwards with the chair.
"Ohhhh I managed to hit it for once! Go me." The Voice on the Phone sarcastically cheered as only his foot could be seen stepping on Rikuri's head.
"You fucking bitch!! I'll fucking kill you...!" For once, Kaibi cursed in front of her little sister. She took out her lady pistol from her thigh and blasted the screen with a few gunshots.
However, although the screen became static, the audio still remained.
"Haha, don't worry about the sniper. Sunazara Chimitsu is dead. I'll handle the sniping on Oyafune Monaka, you guys just get familiar with the particle engineering lab and it's surroundings and make sure this Yomikawa is disposed of. I'm sure you can handle the logistics on your own, seeing as how you managed to hire Sunazara Chimitsu. Although I wouldn't be able to process the refund, I think the reward can more than make up for that, right?"
----9th October 12:45p.m.----
A limbless body was thrown towards the antenna as the sounds of explosions rang out.
At the very bottom of the antenna which gave directions to the Hikoboshi II was a white haired individual with a cane in his left hand.
"Well, I got everything out of him." Accelerator muttered to himself as he looked at the destroyed antenna overhead.
From what he had gathered from that poor bastard, there was a group called 'Block' who were going to use the antenna to drive out 5,000 mercenaries into Academy City.
And the group he was from, called 'Member' was a group consisting of four members as well just like GROUP. Their plan was to rise out on top in this battlefield by staying as low as possible until the time to strike was right. Thereby, conquering the Level 5's as even the leveling system in Academy City.
But with one of them dead, their plan won't go as smoothly as possible.
"(What a bore.)" Accelerator thought as he turned off his electrode. What he found strange most of all was the lack of security and Anti-Skill members patrolling the area around District 23.
"(Is Anti-Skill really that outnumbered right now?)"
Accelerator furrowed his eyebrows as he thought of the possibilities, but nothing came to mind. Other than the fact that other areas of Academy City was being destroyed.
"(Well, I could kill some time with those 5,000 mercenaries.)"
However, at the same time.....
-----------------------
District 11, Academy City did not border the ocean in order for materials to only be brought in and taken out via either land or air. District 11 shared a border with the outer wall and functioned as the entrance for the land route.
The members of Block and Unabara Mitsuki were there.
Rectangular buildings were lined up in the area. Unlike normal buildings, these buildings lacked walls and looked like parking garages. Academy City-made electric cars were parked in them in preparation to be shipped out.
"(That's the outer wall...)" Unabara moved his gaze in the direction of the massive wall bordering Academy City.
Even though he was easily more than five hundred meters away, the wall looked almost majestic in its great size. There was a pathway on top of the Great Wall of China-like wall and using binoculars they could tell that drum-shaped security bots were going to and fro on top of it.
Some magicians had made it across the outer wall, but that was because the wall was protected by "scientific" sensors making it susceptible to "magical" tactics.
"(That's what I think anyway, I hope Aleister didn't plan that far out and just let us in like that...)"
Due to the surveillance from the satellite being out, the strength of the security had fallen greatly. Now normal people who couldn't use magical methods had a chance as well.
On the other side were 5,000 mercenaries waiting to storm in on Academy City and for what purpose was up to Unabara's imagination.
"Are you worried, Yamate?" said Teshio Megumi suddenly as she stood nearby.
Yamate was the name of the man who Unabara was disguised as.
"Not really." was Unabara's short reply. Normally, he would follow the person he wanted to disguise as for at least a week examining them. If he didn't have a good grasp of the person, it was best not to speak carelessly.
However, Teshio did not seem to be worried about how Unabara was acting which meant he had played his character well. A soft spoken yet serious individual with little words.
"We took out the satellite, but those damn security robots are still wandering around," said Saku Tatsuhiko.
Teshio turned her head towards the large-bear like man.
"Is that a problem?"
"No. Robots aren't equipped with guns due to various reasons. They are just there to secure the perimeter. If someone were to breakthrough the wall, the security robots will sound an alarm to District 23 and the unmanned helicopters are sent in. It would most likely be 'Six Wings', the latest model that was shown off at the Interceptor Weapon Show. Things won't be easy if we're spotted."
"..." Unabara thought of using something to cause that distraction and alarm that could bring in something so dangerous that it could scare the whole group.
Saku looked down at the watch wrapped around his thick arm.
"In ten minutes, the security robots will change rotation. They're powered by electricity, so they can't be moving for 24 hours. They have to recharge somewhere. That's why they're split up between the active group and the recharging group."
Apparently, due to this switching out, there was a twenty to thirty minute gap in the security. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem because Academy City's satellite would still be watching over the city and the area around it.
But that was eliminated by the strongest esper, Accelerator.
"Prepare as many vehicles as possible. Don't forget to change out the license plates." Saku Tatsuhiko instructed one of the men from Block's subordinate organization. "Use the electric cars scheduled to be shipped out that are parked in the parking garages. We need to use them to transport 5,000 people."
-----9th October 1:05p.m.------
The twenty minute gap began as Saku Tatsuhiko started to issue out commands to his troops on crossing the border.
"You all should be clear now. Quickly move in before---"
Suddenly, a loud explosion could be heard through the radio as the screaming of men echoed through the radio with static.
"AHHHHH!!! AHH!! Help!! There's a...there's a monster here...!!"
The next thing that came over the radio was the sound of squishing noises. Even then, the explosions could be heard within the walls of District 11.
"(Accelerator?)" Unabara couldn't help but smirk in his head as he thought of that monster.
He was probably wreaking havoc right now behind those walls. But how'd he even knew what Block was doing was a mystery to him.
"Squad 5, Squad 6, report in!" Saku Tatsuhiko shouted as saliva flew out of his mouth and onto the radio. But he received nothing in response.
"Tch!"
"So what are we going to do now?" Teshio asked as she looked at Saku Tatsuhiko once more.
"...We'll wait for any survivors to come out of there. Most likely, it's that new person with white hair who recently joined the Dark Side."
"Are you sure there'll even be any survivors? I heard Accelerator can be pretty ruthless especially against those in the Dark Side." Teshio protested, but Saku was persistent in his belief.
"I believe in them. We all have one goal, and that is to reach Aleister."
But his beliefs would be crushed when an armored truck was crashing into the wall.
"(Shit!! What the fuck is Accelerator thinking?!)" Unabara thought as the idea of having the 'Six Wings' appear out of nowhere would just mean death to himself as well.
"Damn it...he's really taking this into the next level."
The helicopters which were supposed to fly in during that twenty minute gap were smashed up and thrown through the wide opened wall.
"Tch!! Everyone, ready your weapons! We could be facing this monster at any time right now!" Saku Tatsuhiko ordered his men as he pulled out his pistol.
"(Dumbasses. That won't work. In any case, I gotta make my way out now. But how...?)" Unabara looked around and saw the nearby parking garage where their supposed electric cars were supposed to be. "Bingo."
He pulled out his obsidian knife, The Spear of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, which was a projectile-like spell that reflected the light of Venus and disassembled whatever the reflected light hit. Whatever the light hit would be disassembled, but it could not attack multiple targets at once.
He aimed the light of Venus towards the parking garage, a loud dull noise was heard.
Teshio and Saku who were originally staring at the wide opened wall now looked towards the collapsing parking garage.
Unabara immediately made a sprint towards the slowly collapsing parking garage as the two of them stared at Unabara.
"Wha---?! YAMATEEEE!!!"
The building materials struck the ground as they smashed the asphalt, sending dust into the air.
Shortly thereafter, he heard the metallic noise of multiple guns being aimed.
Unabara ignored it as he continued sprinting with full force towards the debris. With a clattering noise, the giant pieces of concrete rained down like in a cave-in. Those pieces protected Unabara's back from the rain of bullets. The electric cars were crushed in midair and sharp edges struck the ground.
Fortunately for him, the cars didn't use gasoline thus it didn't explode. Unabara aimed the obsidian knife down lower.
He destroyed the ground using the light of Venus and jumped into the sewer in order to protect himself from the falling concrete.
However, the amount of debris coming down was simply too great and they started flattening the sewer itself down towards Unabara.
He tripped and fell to the ground, but he continued to crawl forward, until the collapse of the parking garage was finally over.
The shock must have damaged the sewer all over, because it had caved-in making it impassable both behind him and in front of him.
The roof above him had been destroyed letting some bright rays of light in.
It was then that the Six Wings had shown themselves.
"Damn it, Yamate!"
With a metallic noise, the wings on either side of the crafts split into three. They now truly had "six wings". The thin wings even had joints and moved almost like human arms as they aimed their various weapons.
"Retreat!" However, the one issuing that command wasn't Saku but Teshio Megumi herself as the roar of the attack helicopters' machine guns began.
It was less like strafing and more like an explosion.
The bullets the Six Wings were firing expanded upon contact with the ground. It exploded and was devoured by an orange light as it continued to fire.
"Shit, they're using Flame Crash bullets...!"
The blast from the Six Wings had knocked them off their feet, but those who were fortunate to survive like Teshio and Saku quickly got back up on their feet as they pulled whoever that was closest to them to safety.
The bullets were made of extremely heat resistant metal and had special grooves carved in them so that air friction heated them up to 2,500 degrees. When those bullets pierced armor, they would burn away the electrical circuits and the fuel tank inside.
The color of red stained the ground as the smell of iron filled the entire road.
To put it simply, it was a bloodbath.
Fortunately for those who were still alive, they had the vehicles which they were originally going to use for themselves.
At that point, only about 50 soldiers remained in Block.
------------------------
ITEM was back outside the particle engineering lab, but there was something strange about the outside of the premise.
"Y-Yomikawa?"
"You know this woman, Hamazura?" Frenda asked as the whole group of ITEM surrounded the dead body that was on the ground.
More specifically, the body of Yomikawa Aiho, the Anti-Skill officer who had brought justice to Academy City countless times.
But now she laid there, her body as cold as a popsicle stick.
"Yeah, I know her. She's the bitch that placed me behind bars multiple times. But..." Hamazura clenched his fists as he stared at the detestable woman in front of him. "...Although I hated her, even I'm not so cruel as to bring such a fate to her."
Her body was laid upright as they examined her wound.
"This was recent." Hamazura said as he placed his hand over her stomach. Her blood had gone cold indeed, but he the only reason he knew this wound was fresh was because he had seen her outside the particle engineering lab before they had driven off.
He thought his hiding skills were so good that she didn't notice him, but it was strange as she saw him, yet had said nothing to him like he was a stranger.
"Whatever the case is, she's probably just a casualty of what SCHOOL was after." Mugino coldly concluded as she walked back into the particle engineering lab.
"(...Could SCHOOL be a bunch of Skill-Outs or some random thugs who wanted revenge on her?)" Hamazura was genuinely worried about her. Although she had stopped his plans many times already, he had never resented her as she always cared about his safety even if he was a bad guy.
"(A blade...)"
"Hamazura."
That single voice alone was enough to bring him back to his senses as he looked up to see Takitsubo staring at him.
"It's time to go."
"...Yeah."
He slowly pushed her eyelids down as he stood up.
Her skin felt rough. Whoever killed her, did they manipulate her skin condition as well?
It was an unusual feeling.
When Hamazura and Takitsubo entered the building, they found Mugino, Frenda and Kinuhata on the surveillance cams already.
Mugino showed an expression of annoyance as she went through the surveillance cams.
"Tch, it's all corrupted. Nothing but static. Seems like SCHOOL managed to destroy the cams right after we left."
"We can still recover the footage if we just spent a bit of time, right?" Frenda suggested as she took out the memory disk on the computer.
"This is super annoying. We came all this way for some super lame car chase and this is all we can find." Although Kinuhata was expressing her dissatisfaction, her emotionless face was telling another story. It was as if she was uninterested in whatever was happening.
Mugino only signaled them to leave, but Takitsubo was inspecting the bodies of the researchers and she realized something.
"Mugino." She called out.
"?"
Even though Takitsubo only called for Mugino, the rest of them turned to look in her direction.
"Their wounds."
Takitsubo was the most observant in the group, to be fair she was the eye of ITEM so she had to be observant if she wanted to make herself useful.
She pointed to the bullet hole in the neck of one of the researchers as she looked at all of the others.
Most of them were killed with one shot to the head and some to the necks, but the main point is that: it was one bullet.
At the far end below the stairs, three of the researchers had bullet holes all across their bodies (which she assumed) targeted their non-vital organs.
"Hm...yeah, nice findings Takitsubo. Now that you mention it, whoever did this must have been a real sadist." Hamazura stood behind as he thought of how shockingly kind the 4th ranked Level 5 was towards the other members of ITEM.
"And look at the color." Takitsubo pointed out once more.
Most noticeably, all of their bodies were really pale compared to the body laying outside.
These bodies laying out here weren't recent. It was as if it had been done a few days ago.
Which meant....
"Tch, so they had the Tweezers all along. But why send in a member if they already had the Tweezers?"
"Hm, could it be another group?" Frenda asked, but Mugino shook her head.
"That can't be. They sent out a decoy with that member. I doubt they're that stupid to pull off something as meaningless as that if they were planning to divert our attention." Mugino pressed her finger to her chin but Kinuhata lit the bulb up for her.
"It could super be something related to that woman outside."
"Y-Yomikawa? Wait, but didn't you say they had an esper? I doubt any esper of this caliber would want her dead though. Even we Level 0's don't take pride in killing someone as cruel of a manner as that."
"...Tch. Let's head back and try to extract whatever footage is left in these cams. We're wasting time by talking here." Mugino calmly said as ITEM walked out of the destroyed lab.
They were still on the job.
---------------------
Accelerator had moved in on the situation.
He was about to take down the three helicopters with six wings staring at him.
Each of those Six Wings costed 24 billion yen to manufacture and they were deadly to most espers, let alone humans who stood in their path.
They were demolishing anything that had a heat signature.
But the white haired boy didn't back down.
His power was just too broken.
And he knew it.
It only took a single step as a loud crash was heard. Those bullets that could cause tremendous damage to it's surroundings with just one bullet were flying towards him, but it only took him one swipe with his arm to knock one of it away and send it flying to the rest of the bullets, causing a chain explosion in front of him.
Orange sparks covered his view as the single attack he did with just one step activated.
He sent a force flying through the ground so precisely that it broke the floor beneath the Six Wings and created three pillars that stabbed the underside of the Six Wings.
All three of those unmanned helicopters exploded simultaneously as they flew past him.
"God, what a letdown." Accelerator sighed as he looked around for any surviving Block members. But the only one that came out to greet him was none other than Unabara himself.
"Well done, Accelerator-kun. As expected of the strongest in Academy City." Unabara announced his presence as if nothing had happened and that it was all planned.
"Tch, where's Block?"
"They managed to escape, but their numbers have been significantly reduced...thanks to you."
"?"
Accelerator gave him a confused eyebrow tilt as he continued walking forward towards him.
"Whatever, where's Awaki-san?"
"She went to the External Connection Terminal. Dunno whether she's dead or alive. Couldn't care less." Accelerator shrugged as he switched his electrode back to 'normal' mode.
"What's that?"
"...Just a distraction that Block pulled or was it Member? Well, anyway it's about to be destroyed so no point talking about it. Did you gather anything useful about Block's plan?"
Unabara groaned as Accelerator asked that question. His plan of infiltration had indeed worked, but he had only gathered data up to the point before Accelerator arrived.
"So in other words, you're useless." Accelerator sighed once more as he continued limping away.
"Where are you going?"
"Do you at least know where their hideout is? We can probably find some clue relating to whatever shitty plan they have. I doubt they would be able to collect anyone if they were in a rush to retreat."
"Hmm..." Unabara thought about it for a while and finally nodded. "They have a base back in District 10. We could go there first."
Accelerator waved his hand as he signaled Unabara to follow. Wherever he was bringing Unabara to, Unabara felt uneasy about it.
"Aren't you going to use your power?"
"Nah, if I did that, and this whole shit happens to be a long day, I'd die before I even get the chance to press my switch."
"Then where are we going?" Still confused, Unabara continued assaulting him with questions and eventually Accelerator just kept his mouth shut while they continued walking.
----9th October 1:30p.m.----
SCHOOL was originally a group made out of four members, but now...
"It's just you and I, Kaibi."
"...This is the place he promised right?"
"If he keeps his word."
The both of them were staring at an apartment building with security measures all around the entrance and walls.
Well, to call them security measures would be an overstatement as the only thing blocking them from entering is a glass door that needed an access card.
There wasn't even any proper security personnel or turrets.
Was this even a proper hideout?
That was what they were both thinking as they continued staring at the apartment building.
Maybe there were cameras, but they were probably beyond the doors, or hidden somewhere where the naked eye can't see.
It was supposedly enough to keep any of those pesky level 0's or espers from breaking in.
If they had Yobou still, it would have been a simple break in where he could just hack the gates and they would have gotten in without any problem.
But they had to obey the voice's command.
He had wanted Yobou to be the bait so that ITEM would have been convinced that they had actually tried going for something there. It was to waste and buy enough time for Yomikawa to arrive to kill her.
But
He also knew Yobou could have tracked his location down once everything was over. He was a danger to the voice's existence. So he had specifically sent out Yobou in hopes of having him killed, otherwise have ITEM killed and have the rest of his plan sail smoothly.
SCHOOL knew all this, but they could not do anything.
Especially Kaibi.
She was an important asset to SCHOOL and knew more about the Dark Side than anyone possibly could.
The safest way of living and the most profitable way to live.
Kakine could not afford to lose her more than the Yobou who once challenged him for the title of Level 5.
That was all there was to it.
In front of them stood the glass door that once triggered, would have probably attracted an entire group of Anti-Skills towards them.
But for the #2 in Academy City, it was nothing more than a bump on the road.
All he had to do was grab Kaibi by the hips and spread his wings. Her small hands grabbed his maroon colored blazer as she anticipated whatever could happen next.
-----------------
In a dark room, Amazora was sat steady on a chair as a single hand swept down the straps of her dress.
In front of her was a small screen that displayed the very place that SCHOOL was about to head in.
It was going to be the place where she and the Tweezers were yet the Voice showed no concern at all.
"Isn't nice to see your onee-chan saving you like the hero she is?"
The voice had stuck his tongue out and licked her face as he caressed her round chin.
"Ahhh...such a lovely taste you have."
"P-Please...stop..." Her voice shook as he continued to stroke her face.
"Oh but how can I? Such an adorable face like you deserve this type of treatment. A face like yours is attracting a lot of heroes." The Voice said as he continued to lick her cheek.
"A hero like the #2."
Amazora still had not been scratched once by the Voice. There was no taste to her. Only the taste of dust and dirt were on her face.
The perfect complexion that the sisters had were impeccable as their skin glistened in the sun.
But now it was piled up in this dirt that the Voice had made.
"Oh, look! An angel, Amazora-chan~~ I think he's coming to save you!" Even though the Voice knew Kakine would arrive any second now, he still didn't budge. He wasn't scared at all that the #2 would burst in any second now.
"Haha...such a precious thing you are, Amazora-chan. I'm going to miss you★" The Voice smooched her cheeks once as he started to back away.
All the while Amazora had her eyes closed as she anticipated the crash that would follow suit.
She was going to be saved.
She was going to see the light again.
She was going to see her big sister again.
She was going to be out of this hellhole soon.
The footsteps got quieter...
And quieter...
Until it finally stopped.
The door handle could be heard opening.
And a small creaking sound followed it...
Before it finally closed.
A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she continued to watch the screen.
The camera probably detected movement as the camera immediately switched.
"(This was it.)"
She thought.
She would finally be free.
And once she was free, she would carry that 70kg machinegun and lay waste to that bitch who had humiliated her and her sisters. She was going to spray him down with bullets until he was unrecognizable. Until he was nothing but a pile of flesh on the ground.
A loud crash shook the building and the room she was in.
Her eyes closed and it was finally 'time'.
She opened her eyes to see the bright light of the #2 and the sparkling dress her older sister wore.
She was going to be saved.
----------------------
Kakine tore through the walls of the apartment.
6 of his white wings were still flapping lightly behind his back. He was ready to confront whoever the Voice was.
But there was no one.
It was so dark that they could barely see anything. The only way they were able to see was due to the afternoon light from the sun shining into the darkness of the room.
The room itself had nothing so special.
Well to them that was.
To the normal resident of Academy City, it could be classified as luxurious.
There was a large TV, a kitchen counter with nothing but utensils and an electric stove. A living room with two sofas lined perpendicular to each other and a dining room. It was an apartment made for families.
But no sign of Amazora could be seen.
But, all of a sudden...
"Help me!!"
A little girl's voice could be heard from the other side of the wall beside them. It was relatively soft, but since it was so quiet that it made the chirping of birds outside sound like a concert, they had to assume she was probably a few rooms far.
"Amazora!!" Kaibi shouted as she ran towards the sound of her little sister.
Next to the TV screen, there was a wall, but when they closely inspected it, they realized it was a secret wall.
It was a type of wall generally seen in Roman and Greek history where a single push of that wall would cause it to turn, sending them pass the hidden wall.
It was a trick that helped them to escape attacks, or to help them hide a place where they didn't want others to see.
Kakine pushed through the door alongside Kaibi as they entered yet another dark room.
Kakine glared into the abyss as the cries of help was distinctly louder than what they had originally thought it was.
It was as if she was in front of them.
Kakine's white wings shone the brightest in that darkness, so he stretched his wings around the cries.
-------------------
Amazora couldn't believe it. She was staring at the screen in front of her still.
When she had truly opened her eyes, the the darkness was still in front of her.
"W-What?"
Her heart started racing as she stared into the screen.
It was undeniable.
They should have been standing in the same room as her.
But they were nowhere to be seen or found.
"H-Help!!! Kai onee-chan!!"
Tears started to flow right down her cheeks as she started crying for help. Her heart felt extremely heavy.
Her small chest also felt tight.
The loose dress around her simply lost all feeling on her body.
"I'm right here!!"
But they stood still.
Most likely...
------------------------
"Tch, we've been deceived." Kakine cursed as he looked around the room.
The voice who they originally thought belonged to Amazora, was nothing more than a prerecorded voice inside a mix tape. A single dress laid on top of the chair that was hiding the mix tape.
"Ah hahahahaha!! Hahaahahahahaha!! Did you like what I did Kakine Teitoku?" The Voice could be heard all around him.
Most likely, he had speakers on all four corners of the room set to max volume.
He was watching them from somewhere else.
"You...I thought we had a deal." Kakine said in a low voice with his head tilted downwards.
"Oh we had a deal alright. In exchange for your help, I give you a picture of your cute little sister, Amazora and a picture of the Tweezers★" The Voice sounded like he was smiling.
"Are you fucking with me right now?" Kakine's smile split across his face as his teeth were grit together like they had rubber bands holding them together.
"Hey hey, don't disrespect me. I gave you what you wanted. You never specified how you wanted it...bfftt hahahahahah!!!" The deep Voice tried to hold back his laughter but failed in the end as his laughter surrounded Kakine's ears.
Kakine could feel something deep within him rising out.
He could feel the tension within him growing.
He felt like exploding.
No, he was on the verge of exploding.
As the Voice slowly quietened down on his laughter as he sounded like he was wiping away a tear, he continued.
"Ah...that felt good. Imagine playing with the #2 on such a scale that made him look like a fool. I'm surprised you would even follow such a boy like him, Kaibi-chan★"
"..." "..."
Both Kaibi and Kakine were left speechless as the Voice continued to blast them with his voice.
"If it was the Accelerator, even he would not have fallen for such an obvious trap."
That was the final straw.
Small clunks could be heard around him as invisible particles slowly poured into the room.
It was most likely those thick, soundproof walls were hiding something within them.
Kaibi didn't know what they were, but Kakine didn't care what they were.
"I gathered these from a certain girl who specializes in bombs from ITEM. Haha, though she is a Level 0, her knowledge of bombs are certainly scary."
"You had never planned to help us, did you?" Kaibi shouted as she tried to press the wall behind them again, but it wouldn't budge.
Most probably, it was a one way door to the other side only.
"Come on dumbass, this is the Dark Side. There's no such thing as cutting deals and playing fair. On the battlefield, everything is fair game. Even misleading is fair play in it's own right. You were simply too soft, Kakine-kun."
"..."
"Now do you understand why you're a spare plan and why..."
It had only lasted a small moment, but it felt like eternal pain for Kakine Teitoku.
He was going to kill this fucking dog behind the Voice.
"...you can never beat Accelerator?"
Something had broken within him. He pulled his arms down beside him as his fingers formed what looked like claws.
And the next thing he knew, the whole building was shaking.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
-------------------
"K-Kai onee-chan..." The whole room rumbled around them. There was no doubt in Amazora's mind that they were in the right building.
But why could they not find her, or even hear her?
Suddenly, the sound of multiple footsteps rushing her could be heard from behind her. Because she was still being strapped to the chair, she couldn't even turn to see who it was.
But the feeling was terrifying.
It was almost as if a four legged monster was running right up to her.
But it wasn't.
"Amazora-chan~~ I've come to play with you again~~ Heheheheh hahahahahahaha!!!"
The feeling of 2 sharp claws ran across her tiny neck. Although there wasn't much pressure being put in, it had made a small scratch on her neck.
She continued to tremble in her seat as the Voice had his way with her.
She was nothing but a toy to him. To be used as a bribe.
"Now then, Kakine-kun."
He held a small device near his lips as he spoke into it.
"Break."
-----------------------------
The Family Side apartment complex had exploded at 1:45p.m. on October 9th.
The last thing anyone could ever see were the white wings that sprouted high into the sky during that time.
The next few hours commenced the chaos that would later be filled with blood, sweat and tears.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
dontouchme
dontouchme Hello guys, shameless author here back with another chapter. This time focusing more on the attack against the Dark Matter, Kakine Teitoku!
Thanks for everyone who is supporting me, and everyone who has waited for this chapter.
I'm sorry I released this chapter late. I've been busy with my work these past few days, damn my supervisor doesn't give me any breaks. But I still use this time to write up a storyboard. I want to give you guys an amazing experience that differs from the main story juuuust a little bit.
Who do you guys think this mysterious voice is?
And what do you guys think of this chapter?
Let me know in the comments, I'd like to hear you guys' opinions.
As always, thank you everyone yet again for following me on this journey and thank you for supporting me although I don't post regularly.
Until the next chapter!
Who will come out on top of this battle royale for power?!
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