Toaru Majutsu no Ind Volume 1, 5: Even If He Does Not Become a Hero. Knight(s)

Volume 1, Chapter 5: Even If He Does Not Become a Hero. Knight(s).

Part 1

Kuroyoru Umidori was standing on the roof of the apartment.

If she used her ability, her movement wouldn’t be affected even if there were no roads. Though she couldn’t fly straight like a plane, it was convenient enough if she was just moving from one roof of a building to another.

She was heading towards her workplace.

The underlings of the Freshmen had tracked down Hamazura and Fremea, and had confirmed that they were hidden inside the abandoned building.

She only stopped midway through because she realized that the phone in her hand was ringing.

With only the hood of her white coat hanging on her head, Kuroyoru Umidori grabbed the phone. She placed the inflatable dolphin doll beside her feet and stepped on it, making squishy sounds.

“Yes, that’s right. Bring over the ‘hidden treasure’ from where Silver Cross is. It’s the critical moment now. That guy is already useless. It’s a waste of money to save that treasure. It’s time for them to show their stuff.”

The one on the other side of the phone was someone working under Silver Cross. The person was in charge of activating the powered suit.

“Under automatic control, the movements will become abnormally simple, it’s extremely easy for the enemy to see through.”

“It’s all right if the enemy does not have enough firepower to pierce armor. We can rely on numbers here...besides, if we don’t use that thing, the treasure will rust.”

“...”

“With science continuing to advance, this is the perfect specimen for a basic standard in cutting-edge technology. This is facing us Freshmen. If you understand that, hurry up and send it in. As for Silver Cross, no need to care about what he likes, just send it.”

“But that model is...”

“I see, that’s the only one without a completely automated AI, right? Is that a unique attribute of a powered suit? It feels like a computer driver that inputs specified algorithm into a human brain to increase the capability.” Kuroyoru thought for a while. “Well, can’t be helped.”

“So are we not firing the Five Over?”

“On the contrary. Stuff the dead Silver Cross inside Five Over. That can act as the algorithm code, we just need a neural code.”

Such cold words.

As if it wanted to crush all rhetoric.

“Then, let’s confirm it. Most of the powered suits are automated. With Silver Cross inside, Five Over will be activated through the pre-installed procedure...since it doesn’t have a consciousness. And under automatic control, the movements of that thing will be extremely simple. Also, we can’t execute the minor adjustments and complex battle operations. In other words...”

“So you can’t guarantee whether Fremea Seivelun will remain alive?” Kuroyoru snorted. “No problem, it’s all right to kill her. The higher ups have already assumed that Hamazura Shiage has some sort of contact with Accelerator, and that there’s a power formed. That brat's mission is complete. Even if we kill her, I won’t be required to bear responsibility...hurry up and settle it so that we can deal with ‘them’.”

She hung up the phone and reached for a chocolate bar from the pocket inside of her coat. It was the kind advertised to be able to replace a breakfast.

(And, so, now, we managed to go all this way for Hamazura and Fremea. The main point is still Accelerator, huh?)

She ate the little chocolate chip snack that was mixed with honey and whipped cream.

(Though that guy’s reflection can resist a nuke’s attack, the principle behind it is just a simple operation of vectors. There was this example of someone in the past that used this attribute to pull his attack back right before the punch connected, and used reflection to attack Accelerator directly...and right now, through the Dark May Project, I can do a bit of that thinking process. In other words, I got the timing in my mind.)

With that thought, Kuroyoru inadvertently looked up.

“Really...this is too sweet. This is already way past the amount of sugar the brain needs for daily activities. Isn’t this making a fool of a health brand?”

As she said that, she deliberately amplified her voice, obviously trying to let someone hear it.

“We seemed to be brushing past each other nowadays. How about trying this? I mean, whether it’s eating or waiting for someone, it’s troubling when no one appears when you need them, isn’t it?”

Smirking, Kuroyoru turned her head around.

“Kinuhata Saiai-chan?”

Hearing her words, Kinuhata wordlessly walked forward.

She was not holding anything in her small two hands, but for her, the most reliable things in a battle were her bare hands. Those slender wrists contained power capable of lifting a car.

“Really, to meet a troublesome person just as I was super looking for Hamazura. I suppose you super understand why I came here.”

“The timing’s not too good, but I’m grateful that you’re able to come here. This explains that complicated work of yours. It’s good to be able to get this ‘Item’ that you, Mugino, and company formed, since you’re related to Accelerator and Hamazura Shiage. We got a famous ‘large group’, and as the higher ups have specially ordered, it’s about time to exterminate.”

“You can super do whatever you want, I—”

“Kinuhata-chan.”

Kuroyoru’s voice of contempt overpowered whatever Kinuhata had to say.

“I’m sorry, but I’m having fun talking to myself. Honestly, you don’t have any privilege to speak up, you know? Privilege. You don’t understand this simple word, do you?”

“Freshmen...” Kinuhata inadvertently muttered. “Are you that happy to join a new group?”

“I said it before already; I don’t expect to talk to you. Well, that’s about it. I’m not really happy or anything, just that I’m back to where I was before. This is where I should exist. So, I want to destroy, I want to kill.”

Kuroyoru wasn’t agitated at all.

There was nothing to hold her back.

“Though I say this, the adjustments that the higher up made seemed to be forced by the situation. Why would ‘they’ take action? Oh yeah, what I'm talking about doesn’t refer to Hamazura Shiage or Accelerator and company. ‘They’ are a threat from outside...in other words, they’re people with different laws from us, so we can’t control them. For this, we reorganized ourselves. However, it’s unlikely for Kinuhata-chan to understand this when she didn’t get called up.”

“...A lousy student who had terrible grades still has the unwarranted problem of exaggerating what never happened.”

“Huh? Are you talking about the Dark May Project?”

Laughing and deriding it, Kuroyoru kicked the inflatable doll.

It was unknown what caused the dolphin to stick onto the back of her white coat.

“I’m an individual closest to the element of attack. Well, since my power was so great that it overflowed, I ended up killing those researchers and caused the project to go bankrupt. To the dogs that want to stay in good condition, those were inferior students, isn’t that right, honor student Kinuhata-chan?”

Suddenly, her tone changed.

With it, an explosion occurred.

Kuroyoru extended her arms out, and Bomber Lances three meters long each shot out from her hands.

When she saw that, Kinuhata slowly closed and opened her eyes.

“...A super weak bastard who can only shoot from her palms, do you think that you can beat me?”

Her tone had also changed.

It was as if Kuroyoru had dragged her hidden, violent side out.

There was no such gorgeous physical phenomenon as with Kuroyoru, but the nitrogen around Kinuhata did form a wall. Her Offense Armor would be able to defend 360 degrees around her, even against rifle bullets.

They had one thing in common.

The Dark May Project.

It was a project that increased an esper’s ability by implanting a portion of the calculation processes possessed by the strongest Level 5 in Academy City.

In a certain sense, the project which trampled on an individual's personality had given these two girls power.

However, though their powers were of a similar kind, they were different.

They formed an idealized version of the #1’s calculation ability. The spiritual nature of "where to cut and where to implant" caused the details of the abilities to be different.

One was aggression.

The other was protection.

They were both Level 4s that manipulated the nitrogen in the air, and there was a clear difference between Kuroyoru Umidori and Kinuhata Saiai.

But was that all?

Or were they already thinking of different things as they licked their wounds, right before their mindsets changed?

These two that had managed to survive through the nightmarish experiment didn’t intend to talk to each other and look for a way to avoid violence.

They just needed to beat the one in front of them.

Each one was an obstacle to the other's goal.

A roaring sound exploded.

This was caused by the compressed nitrogen colliding with each other as Kinuhata and Kuroyoru had a frontal clash.

However, when it came to offense, Kuroyoru had the advantage.

The right hand and the left hand; the Bomber Lances that shot out from both sides passed through the gap in Kinuhata’s wrist and stabbed her chest and abdomen.

The thoroughly directed attack had enough force to pierce through a tank.

But having been hit by the direct attack, Kinuhata just took a deep breath, and smiled.

“...I’m super skilled in defense.”

The Bomber Lances were deflected aside.

They had been deflected by the blocks of nitrogen surrounding Kinuhata’s fists.

After that, it was a torrent of hits.

“Kinuhata-chan!”

Lances on one side, fists on the other. Looking at it like that, it was obvious that Kuroyoru had the advantage. Though Kinuhata’s power was strong, she could only cover about several centimeters around her fists. In contrast, Kuroyoru’s lances were three meters long. If Kinuhata’s fists could be described to rival a close-ranged Gatling gun, then Kuroyoru’s lances were like miniature cruise missiles. The biggest output of the attack wasn’t the piercing ability, but the explosion as it aimed to turn the landscape into a mountain of rubble. However, since she was only in the development phase, it was very hard for Kuroyoru to control it even though she specialized in attack.

However.

"Super pitiful."

Putting down the fists that could crush a car into scrap metal, Kinuhata snorted.

"The winner was already super decided in the first moment where you couldn't kill me. My defense is 360 degrees and it activates automatically without me having to want it to. No matter how much you try, you can't pierce through my armor. No matter what the method or angle is, you won't even hurt my super soft eyeballs...the method of using a large amount of nitrogen to pierce through a target like wet paper can work if it were ordinary steel, but it's super weak when it goes up against my armor, since it's also made of nitrogen." Kinuhata paused. "Even though you are super focused on offense, your defense is lacking. All the power is gathered around your two hands. Your flesh-and-blood body will super get crushed if I land a direct hit. The super question of who has the advantage doesn't exist...I'll show you how super big of a difference there is with my fists."

Kinuhata knew. She did not need to stop.

Even if she got attacked from all directions through different means, she was safe even if she didn't take action, since no hit would be fatal.

Kinuhata Saiai would not stop until she crushed the enemy in front of her.

"Hihahaha, you haven't changed at all, Kinuhata-chan."

"Do you have something super different?"

"I do."

While waving her hands, Kuroyoru however revealed a mocking expression, even though her hands were the only ones strengthened.

"I've changed, I've changed, I've changed, Kinuhata-chan. Actually, I'm more surprised that you're still at this level. You should have changed, there were so many chances for you to do so, so why haven't you changed at all? Why can't you step out of the basic of basics that espers need to use their ability to fight?"

"..."

"Do you think that the secret of an esper is the ability? And figuring out their ability allows you to figure out their attack patterns and weaknesses? Do you really think that understanding that will allow you to control the battle? That is outdated. Let me repeat this, Kinuhata-chan. If you had the heart, you could change any time you want. Just like me."

Immediately, Kinuhata became alert, wary that Kuroyoru had another weapon other than her ability...for example, a handgun or a bomb.

In a certain sense, that was correct, and in another sense, it was wrong.

Suddenly, a change happened.

The inflatable plastic dolphin doll that was stuck on her white coat exploded.

A large number of hands extend out from within.

The hands climbed up Kuroyoru's body, still attached to the upper right side of her body.

Though they were hands, they were as small as a baby's. In a certain sense, they were things that didn't have any balance. But the arms were about a meter in length. The feeling was like polyethylene or a petroleum based product, and these hard and sturdy objects could actually move without ball joints, or that was the feeling that they gave. Skin that was colored like a human, glossy, hard and shiny like a man-made item. These contradicting terms completely collapsed.

The numerous hands with curved tube-like things attached to them seemed to follow Kuroyoru’s will as the palms were aimed at Kinuhata.

Of course, it couldn’t be something learned in biology.

And then at the same time, Kinuhata remembered.

Kuroyoru Umidori was an esper who could fire Bomber Lances from her palms.

A strong impactful explosion rang.

A large number of Bomber Lances were produced, and they all gathered at one spot. The transparent spears had great devastating power, and they sent Kinuhata, who was guarding herself with both arms, flying backwards several meters.

Kinuhata looked at the cuffs of her damaged sweater.

Although it was only slightly, her Offense Armor had been pierced.

“Artificial arms...powered suit...no, this super is not like it. This is...!?”

“A cyborg that goes past a certain level isn’t much different from a powered suit, Kinuhata-chan. The reverse is true as well.”

The numerous slender arms on Kuroyoru’s body were moving about.

They were not complete tubes; there seemed to be several short bones attached, giving people a sick feeling of it being forcefully moved with all those fractures.

“You’re sort of right when you mention that, but right now, they still haven’t found a way to use processed metals to create humans, and they still need to use something organic. It’ll be even more quaint if they use bacteria and other microorganisms to make the detailed parts. It’ll be as scary as making bread without yeast.”

“A man-made...enhanced, super esper... machine...!?”

“The latest model was just updated, you know. The cyborg itself was being researched as usual by the Kiharas, but this is even a step forward from that."

Her mocking tone was present with her words.

Even if it was established, this technology normally didn’t have a reason to appear.

Too twisted.

It was so twisted that the highly corrupted higher ups would hide it for fear of social unrest.

“However, is this really something worth being shocked over? It was already hinted at a long time ago. Like that brain-crippled Accelerator using an external work to help him calculate, Musujime Awaki using a low frequency therapy apparatus to stabilize her mind...there’s no need to stick to just the human body. The technology of transferring power from an external machine to a human body was already established. For me, it’s the opposite. I’m not using an external power, just outputting my power to something artificial.”

Kuroyoru Umidori was an esper who could fire Bomber Lances from her hands.

A human had only two hands, so she could only produce two lances.

Then, it was just a matter of increasing the number of hands.

When she increased the number by ten or twenty and gathered all of them at a single spot, the damage would drastically increase.

“And then.”

A noisy atmosphere surrounded Kinuhata.

This wasn’t created from a machine, but the "presence" that a human had.

“My body can have as many as it wants. These things that are 'me' aren’t just limited to these ones.”

Something happened on the four corners of the roof of the building.

Something crawled out from there. They were all the same "arms" that were attached to Kuroyoru's body. It was like a giant waterfall of slow moving snakes. There were hundreds, if not thousands of them. All those machines attached to Kuroyoru Umidori’s single "body