Chapter Seventy: Awakening II
For Ashley and Maya, on the other hand:
"Gah! This is frustrating!"
Ashley thought as her fist landed against thin air again.
The girl in front of her casually dodged and countered with precision.
If it weren't for Maya constantly covering her, Ashley would have been knocked out long ago.
Yet she still couldn't find an opening.
Like Ashley, Maya too was deep in thought.
However, more calm than the other girl.
'My interference abilities are not working; she's just… ignoring them.'
It was one of the side effects of her fear-inducement powers, designed to disrupt other brainwaves.
Against someone whose brainwaves were off the charts, however, it was virtually useless.
"You two are far off. Your coordination is decent, but you're not taking this seriously."
Artemisia stopped Ashley's fist with her left hand, then drove her right palm toward Ashley's figure.
She folded and compressed the air, then—
Whoosh!
"Ack!"
Both Ashley and Maya were sent flying, while Artemisia let out a quiet sigh.
Not to mention, Leo was making many blunders of her own.
"Leo…"
Artemisia muttered under her breath.
What should she do?
She could use their link to telepathically call for help from Morgan.
But she didn't.
No, she wanted to stand beside him, to contribute, to accomplish something on her own.
It wasn't to burden him.
'…I have all these powers. There has to be something I can do to help.'
What can I do to help them?
At this point, everyone was searching for their own answer.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room…
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Steel rang out as sparks flew between two figures clearly enjoying themselves.
Cecile raised one of Avalon's dual swords, and Morgan countered with a sweeping downward-to-upward strike.
"Was this why you pitted them against each other?"
Morgan asked, as he moved closer to Cecile's wide-open figure.
But the female easily slid her other hand in front, casting a protective territory.
"Those three, especially Leo, need to grow if they want to follow you."
Cecile replied, tracking the lance as it slipped past her boundary of omnipotence.
'Of course… he can also do this.'
She thought wryly.
While she could have still made a move, he was naturally faster and would catch up.
Not to mention, she had computed every other action she could make.
Whenever she factored the
"You're right. They should be able to make a judgment of their own."
Morgan paused, lance stopping just an inch from her neck.
"Precisely."
Morgan almost sighed watching her.
She had effectively set them up, and it was working.
Even Maya was beginning to doubt herself.
"Tch, all this thinking… not my style."
"Ash, wait—!"
Before Maya could stop her, Ashley blitzed toward Artemisia.
Ashley's hand balled into a fist, shot out before her in a strike.
The blonde-haired Artemisia blinked as the platinum-blonde closed in.
Ash?
The small, blur-like circle housing the reactor on Ashley's chest spun.
Crystal-like wings unfurled behind her, casting a blue glow.
Seeing the immediate gap closing, Artemisia pressed her fingers together.
"I won't let you."
Before Sia could snap her fingers.
Ashley released her clenched fist, forming a wide palm towards Artemisia's fingers, and—
Silence.
The sound of her fingers snapping didn't resound; instead..
Artemisia's finger froze; she couldn't bring her fingers close.
"...how?"
Her eyes widened in genuine surprise, and then she saw it.
…Her body was encased in a sub-territory.
While she wasn't going all out or using every function of her Advanced Calculation Powers.
It was baffling.
Though it ended within the next second, Artemisia was still taken aback by what Ashley had done.
"Y—you idiot!"
Wham!
"Ouch!"
A heavy whack struck Ashley on the head, making her buckle to the ground, clutching her skull.
"What the hell did I do?"
"The hell didn't you do?!"
Maya shouted back at her.
"Do you want your brain to explode?"
Those words finally made Ashley calm down, her mouth hanging open.
She had been dangerously close to frying her own brain.
That was… terrifying.
It was finally then—
'Ahhh! So that's it..!'
Artemisia's gaze sparked, as a smile spread across her face.
She promptly walked towards Ashley patting her head.
"Do that again when you have the chance, Ash; you are close."
Maya and Ashley froze.
Both blinked in surprise.
However, hearing that she was close, Ashley smiled and pushed herself up from the ground.
Then, her hands rested on her hips, raising her head, with her nose pointing high.
"I knew it; just heading straight for your goal is the only way."
Maya simply stared, dumbfounded, as she processed those words.
Nothing made sense.
Ashley's brain had nearly short-circuited, yet she spoke as if she knew exactly what to do.
Her thoughts trailed off.
Maya's thoughts slowly began to spiral deep down into a particular topic.
A particular work of Lysandra Sinclair's.
But it wasn't just her.
Those words resonated with Leonora Sears, who was using Territory to camouflage herself.
No matter what angle she shot from, nothing worked on Artemisia.
She felt utterly useless.
But Ashley's words... they moved something within her.
Something she couldn't explain.
For as long as she could remember, she had been called names…
Most often, a boy, because of her looks.
Artemisia, Ashley, and Cecile had accepted her, not just as a friend, but as family.
Now, Morgan, the brother of her friend, had accepted her and given her a new place free from uncertainty.
She couldn't disappoint them.
His trust and this chance.
Leonora Sears adjusted
Her murky eyes, despite being darkened, were clearer than ever.
And then, her gaze squared down at Artemisia.
'...thank you, Ash, for those words.'
In front of her, Artemisia sensed the surge of emotion from Leo, visible as an increase in brainwave activity.
She smiled.
In the end, it was Ashley's words that helped you.
Finally, Artemisia resolved the situation herself.
"You three, as long as your emotions are strong enough, I shall grant you what you seek."
She stepped forward.
Clenching her right hand against her chest, she looked straight ahead with unwavering eyes.
Strong emotions.
One of the factors that can increase brainwave activity.
Intense anger, deep sadness, passionate love, and countless others.
When such emotions surged.
The brain secretes a special fluid that coursed through the body, allowing one to feel the emotion entirely.
Most commonly, anger.
But none of these were what the girls were experiencing.
But none of these emotions were what these girls were experiencing.
For Ashley, it was excitement; she finally stopped Artemisia, the world's strongest.
Someone close to her omnipotent brother.
For Maya, it was fondness, anchored in a cherished memory she held so dear.
And, lastly, for Leo, it was courage.
Even so, these feelings alone wouldn't have been enough to push their brainwaves to such heights.
"It's Sia."
Morgan muttered, leaning at the edge of the room, watching this unfold with Cecile.
"During my first awakening, it was my resolve in the face of death."
His hand brushed the back of his neck.
Elric had warned there was a chance he might die during the surgery.
Yet perhaps, driven by his lust for power, he had overcome it.
"And again… this new power of mine is also thanks to her."
Morgan finally muttered, smiling as the golden circle of light expanded across the room.
"Stop putting yourself down; you both gained the powers you have now because it was you both."
"She herself wouldn't have awakened these powers if not for you. And besides…"
Artemisia would still be a subject of experimentation if he hadn't saved her.
"If you put it like that… then, I guess you're right."
While that was happening, another event was unfolding in the center.
Despite the golden circle beneath their feet, the three girls were preparing to fight.
'This time, screw calculations, coordination, and rationality. Go crazy, Maya.'
Maya psyched herself up, glancing at Ashley, who returned a confident nod.
Her family had never been the type to care about anything.
Now, she too abandoned restraint.
"This is the last straw! Let's go all out!"
Ashley shouted the signal for the final assault, and everyone sprang into motion.
Leo was the first to leap from her hiding spot.
Her icy eyes locked onto Artemisia.
Golden spikes slowly sprouted from beneath her, but Leo flipped over them effortlessly.
In midair, without proper footing, she pointed the rifle towards Artemisia.
Slowly, her hand pulled the trigger.
"Hit."
Bang!
A shot echoed as she fired the first round, and immediately after she did,
…she dropped to the ground rolling before coming to a stop.
Planting her other foot onto the ground, she lowered her rifle once more.
"Here's another."
Bang!
Before the second shot had been fired. Ashley was already in front of Artemisia.
This time, not with a strike, but in defensive-like form.
Both hands were crossed in front of her in an X-shaped manner.
"Eat my EX–Special: Howling Roar."
Airflow coalesced around Ashley's fists, sucked inward like a vacuum.
Then, with a sudden release of her, she engulfed Artemisia within the vacuum.
Crick—!
However, It was too late.
The girl had formed a protective Territory around herself, yet…
"Exactly what I'm waiting for."
Maya slammed her hand onto the ground.
"This is your domain, right? And right now, this—this thing also counts as a wave, correct?"
Note: Maya Upscale.
All phenomena can be described as waves or signals.
Neural signals, electromagnetic fields, kinetic vibrations, even probability amplitudes.
By introducing a second, precisely tuned signal, one could create constructive or destructive interference.
Maya's abilities were originally based on this principle.
But using it came at great cost.
Her brain hadn't yet reached the stage where she could fully manipulate the flow of Artemisia's waves.
However—
Wrrr~
Though just for an instant, Artemisia felt a slight interference.
It was enough to open a tiny gap in her protective Territory.
At that precise moment, where that tiny gap opened, the second shot was fired from Leo.
But in the end, Leo's attack didn't hit.
Still, the surge of heightened emotion caused a natural amplification to flow through them.
And towards the end,
Maya had synced with Artemisia, pushing her own brainwaves to the threshold.
And with that… she awakened.
«Motion Interference»
Now capable of significantly disrupting an action, even up to kinetic forces.
It was more similar to Morgan's original concept for [Divine Vibrations].
Using another exact matching frequency to cancel out another frequency.
Ashley, on the other hand, gained,
«Telekinesis/Spatial Domain»
through upgraded Territory manipulation.
By establishing a smaller, controlled spatial domain around herself, she could influence everything within it.
Essentially, it was a form of advanced Territory.
Similar to what Wizards use, but without requiring a CR Unit or causing conflict with other Territories.
It was localized spatial manipulation centered on the user.
Naturally, like normal territories… it had limits.
Fixed ranges, and stronger Territories could overpower it.
To add on top of not being able to influence anything outside her range.
Regardless, it was still overpowered in its own right.
Finally, Leo awakened…
«Laplace Demon»
Before the second shot, it was completely calculated.
It wasn't that she had known Maya would interfere.
She shot it simply knowing there would be a chance there.
Leo had subconsciously calculated the future, but even she didn't know.
Morgan, realizing everything that had just happened,
..allowed a look of awe to cross his face.
They themselves might not have realized what they have awakened.
But when they realize, even they themselves would marvel.
And naturally, all this was even a Morgan Upscale.
Since all roads lead to Wizardry.