"Targets: Level 5 Meltdowner, Mugino Shizuri! Level 4 Nitrogen Armor, Kinuhata Saiai! Confirmed! Proceed with retrieval!"
The Firewall's cold, emotionless words echoed from ahead.
As they carried, a chill seemed to sweep through, dropping the corridor's temperature by degrees.
"Retrieval? Hah! Come and try!"
Mugino Shizuri sneered. She'd heard "retrieval" too many times—enough to grow numb. She'd reclaimed countless "items," but she'd never let herself be one.
Green electron beams erupted, bathing the corridor in an oily sheen.
"Analysis: Target's attack manipulates free electrons unattached to atoms, existing in an ambiguous wave-particle state. Assessment: Can be neutralized via electromagnetic program!"
The Firewall raised its right hand, blue currents spreading like a net.
Mugino's beams hit the grid, halting like moths caught in a web, then rapidly dissipating.
"Electromaster? Level 5? You're not the fourth—she's a girl. A hidden Level 5?"
Mugino's Meltdowner, formally Particle-Waveform High-Speed Cannon, manipulated ambiguous electrons in a wave-particle state.
Her ability closely resembled an Electromaster's, sharing a common root, allowing mutual interference through electron control.
The winner depended on computational power.
The Firewall clenched its hand, the grid collapsing into a spherical lightning bolt.
"Hey, Mugino… that looks super bad!"
The surrounding light turned blue-white, electric ions crackling and merging into the bolt.
Kinuhata felt a chill down her spine, death's breath closing in.
At twenty meters, she could've charged for a desperate fight, but at fifty meters, a near-combat specialist like her stood no chance against a Level 5 far stronger than she was.
"Shut it!"
Sweat beaded on Mugino's face as she struggled to control nearby electrons, only for a stronger force to seize them instantly.
The gap was vast. Mugino wielded standard Level 5 computation, but the Firewall's was over five times that. Even with Samuel's patchwork programs, its core quality surpassed a typical Level 5.
With inferior programs and computation, and facing a similar ability type, it was a clear hierarchy of dominance—not of abilities, but of wielders.
"Can you surrender? I'd rather not harm you."
The Firewall spoke calmly, calculating that surrender was optimal: fifty percent chance they'd comply, fifty percent they'd refuse, fifty percent they'd feign surrender for a sneak attack.
Don't question the three fifty-percents—in its calculations, every option was fifty-fifty, chosen or not.
"We surrender! We super surrender!"
"Kinuhata!"
Then she caught Kinuhata's wink.
"…Surrender."
Mugino relented, entrusting her life to Kinuhata. Completely suppressed, she banked on catching the Firewall off-guard with an information gap.
She could only hope Kinuhata's close combat could overpower it.
"Good."
The lightning sphere unraveled in seconds, reverting to scattered electrons—a testament to the Firewall's control, or rather, a third of Samuel's full capacity.
Gulp…
Kinuhata swallowed hard, watching the Firewall approach, her heart pounding. This was a gamble with her life.
Clink!
The Firewall tossed a pair of handcuffs. "Put these on."
"What are they?"
"Ability Suppression Cuffs. They block your powers, no matter how strong."
The cuffs worked by letting Samuel's AIM field interfere with and suppress the wearer's Personal Reality, linked directly to the Firewall for precise control.
The Firewall could suppress their abilities broadly, but the cuffs were more efficient.
"Tch… super cautious!"
Kinuhata thought with her mind racing. A beneficiary of the Dark May Project, her Nitrogen Armor was derived from the second-ranked Level 5, Accelerator. In close combat, she could challenge Level 5s weak in melee, like most Electromasters.
But the fifty-meter distance was dicey. She needed cover.
Kinuhata shot Mugino a look. Instantly, Mugino stood, green electrons coalescing rapidly.
The next second, they disintegrated—the Firewall's suppression kicked in.
Seizing the moment, Kinuhata shot forward like an arrow, nitrogen jets propelling her over ten meters in a second.
"Damn it, I better make it! I'm super trying here!"
She closed the gap, but to her shock, the Firewall didn't retreat or attack—it just stood there.
"What? Think you can take me? Hah, super arrogant! Your arrogance will be your end!"
Kinuhata grinned.
But then…
Thud!
The Firewall's fist slammed into her abdomen, the impact and pain forcing her mouth open, saliva spraying.
Crash!
She smashed into the wall.
"So fast! And my Nitrogen Armor? Why didn't it deploy? It… won't deploy? Impossible!"
Before she could think, the Firewall's next blow came—a sweeping kick to her abdomen. Unlike Samuel, it had no mercy.
For the "item's" integrity, it held back. Otherwise, the robot's spiral structure could've shattered her organs.
Her inability to deploy her armor? The Firewall had preemptively disrupted her Personal Reality.
It wasn't over. Mugino hadn't given up. As Kinuhata took the first hit, she closed in, kicking off her heels. Barefoot, she hurled a shoe at the Firewall.
The Firewall dodged, not retreating but advancing toward her.
Its vast computation predicted Mugino's every move with near-clairvoyant precision. In moments, it exploited a flaw, landing a punch to her abdomen. The shockwave numbed her body, and a hand chop to her neck knocked her out.
"Primary target, Level 5 Meltdowner, retrieved. Next, secure the two bonuses!"
***
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