"Hey kid, where's your gang's headquarters?"
The figure in a black cloak leaned forward slightly, staring down the delinquent in front of him, his voice rasping like a middle-aged man's.
This was the turf of 'Chameleon,' a powerless armed gang in School District 18. Amid the ruins left by forced demolitions, this gang had gathered hundreds of delinquents, making it one of the largest such groups in this academically competitive district.
The strange figure was wrapped head-to-toe in a black cloak, with a small bow tied at the neck. Attached to it was a voice modulator that could alter his speech and even be controlled remotely.
"I-It's... in Area Four of this district," the delinquent stammered, trembling from head to toe, his eyes wide with terror.
From his perspective, whenever the wind lifted the cloak slightly, there was no human flesh beneath—just empty space, as if a ghost were draped in fabric.
The head area wasn't transparent, though. Instead, it was pitch black, so dark that not even light could penetrate it.
After using her ability to knock out the delinquent, the cloaked specter began drifting through the area. A careful observer would notice it floating mid-air, leaving a trail of chilly air in its wake.
Not far above the cloaked figure, a certain girl with twin buns hovered, manipulating its movements using air currents.
A thin layer of ice coated various parts of the cloak, forming an exoskeleton-like shell. By controlling where the ice melted or refroze, she could mimic natural movements with the help of airflow.
Natsume Sonoko wasn't actually wearing the cloak herself—that wasn't her style.
Using this nearly two-meter-tall disguise not only distanced her from the actions but also made interactions easier.
She bit the tip of her pen, then promptly crossed off another mark on the map. This map, borrowed from the Judgment branch office, was already covered with over a dozen large X's, spanning nearly half of Academy City.
"This is the last one in District 18. After this, I'm calling it a day."
Natsume Sonoko thought to herself earnestly, unknowingly setting up a classic jinx.
Still, she had some confidence. She'd grown a lot these past few days—handling this should be a piece of cake.
From south to north, crossing three school districts, covering over thirty kilometers, targeting ten powerless gangs, and involving more than three thousand people—that was her record so far today.
The spoils were a small bag in Sonoko's hand. It looked plain but was rumored to hold the power to command respect and fear among the gangs—a truly intimidating little pouch.
It wasn't anything particularly valuable, though. She'd never stoop to stealing money or supplies—it was just a collection of small tokens.
The bag was filled with an assortment of odd items: a flag with a skull emblem, an ultra-miniature ornate cane, and a bronze ring.
These were the symbols of various powerless gangs. Delinquents in Academy City ate this stuff up, treating them like sacred relics of their organizations.
The gangs used such items to boost morale and attract new members.
Take the 'Big Spider' gang's leader, for example—his spider tattoo. The first boss had a large spider on his back, so the second one had to get one too. Thankfully, Big Spider was already wiped out, or Sonoko might've had to figure out how to "collect" a tattoo.
As for this 'Chameleon' armed gang, their symbol was a set of clothes that changed color with the time of day—white in the morning, black by evening. Sonoko had spent some time gathering intel on these powerless gangs.
Honestly, that kind of technology was already possible, but using it for clothing? Sonoko wasn't sure she could get behind that. She preferred to avoid anything too flashy.
Guiding the black cloak toward Area Four, Sonoko wasn't very familiar with the local routes. But from her bird's-eye view, she soon located Chameleon's base—an abandoned factory.
As the black cloak entered Area Four, Chameleon's members finally noticed this uninvited, strange visitor.
"Boss! Bad news!" A delinquent stumbled into the factory headquarters, his face pale with panic.
"Hey! Who said you could come in? Get out!"
The man sitting on an old textile machine looked angry, hurling an empty can at the delinquent.
This man was clearly Chameleon's leader. Several high-ranking members stood around him, all turning to glare at the panicked underling.
"Boss, let him speak. It might be important."
A boy with orange hair, lounging lazily on the floor near the leader, stood up and spoke.
"Fine, talk. Fast," the leader nodded reluctantly.
"There's a weirdo in a black cloak outside."
As soon as the underling finished, the leader shot to his feet and threw another empty can at him.
"Why didn't you say so sooner?!"
Ignoring the underling's hurt expression, the leader hurriedly stripped off his outer garment and stuffed it into a large metal box nearby.
"Quick, hide this box! That guy's finally reached District 18."
"Is it the black cloak that's been appearing since the day before yesterday? From what I've heard, gangs in District 8, District 9, and District 15 have all been attacked by this guy. Their important items were taken," said a bespectacled high-schooler who seemed to be an advisor, trembling slightly—whether from fear or excitement, it wasn't clear.
"I heard those powerless gangs pooled money to hire a Dark Side group to deal with the black cloak," the boy continued.
"Sounds like a tough opponent. We can't be too careful—probably another damn esper from who-knows-where," the leader sneered.
"Boss, should we notify the other armed powerless gangs in District 18?" someone tentatively asked.
"You idiot! I hope that cloak visits every single one of them," the leader snapped, frustration in his eyes.
"Get everyone inside! Seal the factory doors, barricade the windows—don't let that thing in. And call everyone else over. I refuse to believe five hundred people can't handle one guy."
"Distribute all our weapons. We're not some ragtag group like the others," the leader commanded.
At his order, over a hundred members nearby sprang into action. A dozen or so began piling debris to block the main entrance securely.
"Boss, it's completely sealed."
"Good." The leader let out a sigh of relief—but the next second, he suddenly collapsed unconscious.
So did all the other delinquents. Given the large numbers, to avoid complications, Sonoko deliberately applied her ability in several waves, resulting in a neatly patterned distribution of collapsed bodies inside the factory.
She also sped up the unconsciousness process for each individual, leaving no time for reaction or thought.
It was almost like a video game—starting from the innermost part of the factory, the wave of unconsciousness spread outward. In just over ten seconds, everyone was out cold.
"They locked the doors? How annoying."
Standing in front of the abandoned factory, Sonoko frowned at the barricaded entrance. But then she sneakily slipped in through a hole in the roof, leaving the black cloak outside.
Scanning the area, Sonoko quickly spotted Chameleon's symbol—the set of clothes supposedly changing color with time.
Using an icy hand, she opened the metal box. No way she was touching these unknown items directly.
Snap! As the box opened, a huge mousetrap sprang out, clamping onto her icy hand.
Sonoko's expression shifted to one of mild vindication—such a simple trap was no match for her.
"Seriously? I thought it'd be some high-tech gadget. It's just three differently colored outfits."
Even though she couldn't smell, Sonoko instinctively pinched her nose as she stuffed the three heavily sweat-stained garments back into the box.
She gave the box a dissatisfied look but took it anyway—no playing favorites. In that sense, she figured she was being quite respectful to each armed powerless gang.
"Alright, that wraps up today's mission. Tomorrow, it's Districts 10, 11, and 22."
It had been three days since she started this plan. The first two days were busy with Judgment duties, leaving little time for side projects, so progress had been slow.
Well, it wasn't exactly causing trouble—more like playing a treasure hunt with these upperclassmen. And whether she found the items or not, she'd return them eventually.
As for today, Uiharu was back on duty at the Judgment branch, and Banri and the others were about ready to leave Dr. Heaven Canceller's institute.
Even after leaving, though, they might need to stay at another hospital for a while until fully recovered. School would have to wait a bit longer.
As for a certain twin-bunned girl, she was still technically a temporary Judgment member, but she was practically facing unemployment—unless she was willing to patrol all over the city with Shirai, which she clearly had no intention of doing.
Then again, even if Sonoko cleared out every gang marked on her map, it'd only cover ten to twenty thousand delinquents—a drop in the bucket compared to the total.
But the ripple effects could be significant.
In the early stages, it wouldn't amount to much. But once word spread and copycats emerged, other scattered delinquents might flock to District 7 on their own, saving her the trouble later.
Unbeknownst to her, this half-baked plan of hers was about to stir up a massive storm across Academy City.
"Now for the message."
Sonoko walked over to the Chameleon leader and used a sharp ice blade to carve a line of text into the ground, choosing a popular online font style.
[If you want your treasure back, come to School District 7 for clues.]
The ice blade melted away. Sonoko nodded approvingly at her handiwork—her calligraphy skills were improving, almost matching the online font perfectly.
BOOM!
A loud noise came from the direction of the main door, shaking the factory and sending dust flying everywhere.
"Someone's here already?"
Sonoko glanced toward the entrance. Using her thermal vision, she immediately detected a four-person team heading her way, only about fifty meters off.
They seemed to have mistaken the black cloak for the real deal, though, and were currently attacking the empty garment.
"Huh? Are these guys from the Dark Side too?"
Sonoko's mind already formed an image of the newcomers. Their body heat gave away their movements completely. On closer inspection, they looked more like cosplay enthusiasts.
Not the 'Item' group from before—seemed like a different organization. Academy City had an abundance of Dark Side teams, and they really liked recruiting minors.
"Leader, we finally caught up this time!"
A girl with purple shoulder-length hair and a skull tattoo on her face spoke with tearful excitement, wearing a purple maid outfit complete with a rabbit tail accessory.
"Naru, you attacked on your own again! You'll alert the enemy and put us at a disadvantage," the girl referred to as Leader said, narrowing her eyes in displeasure. She wore a mask with a strange pattern and carried a backpack.
"Leader, the black cloak is getting away!" Another teammate pointed at the retreating cloak and urgently spoke up.
"No time to lose, after it!" The leader reacted instantly, and the group sprinted after the black cloak.
A certain Natsume Sonoko slipped out through a hole in the factory wall, staring blankly at the retreating figures of what seemed to be a Dark Side team.
Compared to the 'Item' group she'd encountered before, these girls seemed rather ordinary—they hadn't even realized the cloak was empty.
Just as the black cloak was about to leave Sonoko's ability range, it suddenly vanished. She still needed that cloak—couldn't afford to lose it carelessly.
--+--
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.