Outside the Ninth Research Institute, Frenda Seivelun stood by the vehicle, scanning her surroundings, one hand cautiously resting on her thigh.
The institute was eerily quiet—unsettlingly so.
"Mugino and the others should be fine, right?"
Frenda couldn't believe anyone could overpower Mugino Shizuri's explosive force.
She brimmed with confidence.
Thump, thump, thump…
Uniform footsteps echoed from within the institute. Frenda's expression shifted, her body crouching, hands pressed to her thighs, eyes locked on the breach Mugino had blasted open.
Red glows flickered within, accompanied by synchronized steps, radiating unease.
"Robots?"
Frenda didn't hesitate. She reached under her skirt, pulling out dolls and tossing them like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.
The dolls' tails spewed smoke, soaring toward the institute.
Boom, boom, boom!
Explosions sent gusts roaring from the breach. Frenda squinted against the wind, still vigilant.
"Oh? A Soldier's Dimensional Storage Cloth—Prometheus Group's bestseller, customized into a skirt? And those doll bombs are homemade gadgets? Tsk, the ultimate embarrassment for an arms dealer—caught by my own wares."
It wasn't the Firewall anymore. Samuel's voice rang out, his consciousness having taken over, replacing the Firewall.
The Soldier's Dimensional Storage Cloth, born from Samuel's countless calculations and spatial ability analysis, acted as a coordinate medium. Users could trigger artificial computations to teleport items from another coordinate.
The ultimate humiliation for an arms dealer? Being undone by their own sold weapons.
"Who's there? Stop playing tricks and show yourself!"
Frenda's eyes fixed on the breach, where countless red gazes stared back. Her bombs had done nothing.
"I'm right behind you."
A chilling whisper grazed her ear—not unpleasant, but terrifyingly clear: the enemy held her life.
Frenda's petite frame reacted like a spring, spinning mid-air, her slender leg kicking backward.
Samuel activated one of his myriad abilities, reducing friction to zero, and caught her leg effortlessly.
With no friction, Frenda was unharmed, and so was Samuel.
"Oh, white!"
"Pervert!"
Frenda's face flushed. She twitched her skirt, teleporting bombs from her stored stash.
"Hey, detonating at this range? You're ruthless!"
Samuel smirked at the glowing bombs between them, primed to explode. With a flicker of Teleportation, he sent them skyward.
Boom!
Fireworks bloomed in the night, mirrored by Frenda's despairing expression.
Thud!
Reducing friction slightly, Samuel slammed Frenda against the vehicle, knocking her out.
He cuffed her hands behind her back.
"Hey, miss in the car. Want to come quietly and be gently detained, or resist and spice up my hunt? I might get a bit rough, though."
During his clash with Frenda, a foreign AIM field had tried to shake Samuel's Personal Reality—child's play, laughable against his mastery of AIM fields.
"Cough… I surrender."
Takitsubo Rikou raised her hands, stepping out of the vehicle. Her face was flushed, her body frail, a trickle of blood at her lips—a backlash from overusing Body Crystals and attempting to disrupt Samuel's Personal Reality.
Facing him, she knew she had no chance. Her close-combat skills were negligible, her ability's combat potential limited to Body Crystal-induced Personal Reality rampages, disrupting other espers via AIM fields.
Her only weapon was a pistol in the car, useless against someone like Samuel.
"A wise choice. Follow me."
Samuel hoisted Frenda and headed inside, Takitsubo trailing obediently.
She knew escaping a Level 5 monster was impossible.
He led them to the institute's "prison"—more a dormitory than a cell.
Any place designed to confine was a prison, after all.
There, Takitsubo saw Mugino Shizuri and Kinuhata Saiai, handcuffed to bedposts, ankles secured to the bed's base, completely restrained.
Samuel locked Frenda to another bed.
Takitsubo extended her hands, expecting cuffs.
"No need for you. I don't see you as a threat. Oh, one thing…"
Samuel yanked off Frenda's pleated skirt, revealing black tights and a hint of white beneath.
"Can't let you pull any surprises from there."
He waved the skirt, looking every bit the deviant.
No, with captive girls and a triumphant Samuel, he was a deviant.
"What'll you do with us?"
Strictly speaking, captives shouldn't question victors, but she sensed Samuel wasn't that terrifying.
"That depends. We'll talk when I'm back."
"Back?"
"Yeah, when I'm back."
Samuel's simulated skin began to dissolve, revealing a mechanical frame. His voice turned cold, his eyes devoid of emotion.
"Directive: Guard them until 'I' return."
The Firewall reactivated, casting a cold glance at Takitsubo before exiting.
Takitsubo collapsed onto her bed, her cheeks burning, breath ragged, like a fevered patient.
"Assessment: Treatment required. Optimal option: Heaven Canceller. Rejected. Secondary option: Nanoparticle administration."
***
If you enjoyed this story, don't forget to drop 5 stars and your power stone. And if you want to read more than 70 chapters in advance, feel free to visit: pat reon . com / KangTL