The moment Principal Yaga shoved the mission brief into his hands, Satoru Gojo let out an unfiltered groan.
"Haaah—a team-up with Riley? I'm only a first-year; isn't that overkill? What if I'm so strong she ends up feeling useless?"
Suguru Geto stood beside him, ignoring the rant. "Is it because the site is too complex?" he asked calmly. "Are you worried our techniques will clash?"
Yaga rolled his eyes, his voice steady. "No. The two of you together are too loud and prone to rampaging. With Riley around, you'll actually behave."
"...Wow!" Satoru beamed. "So the senior is our noise-canceling headphones now?"
"She's certainly quieter than you," a voice drifted down the corridor. Riley walked toward them, her face a mask of indifference, her tone as flat as still water.
Satoru raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Hey, Senpai, you've never once shown me a nice smile—"
"You're noisy."
"So blunt."
"Are you only just realizing that?"
"...Wahahaha! I like this senior!"
Suguru turned away, stifling a laugh.
The setting was an abandoned underground mall in the Kanto Region. Cursed energy spiked through the air, the layout was a total labyrinth, and the atmosphere was thick with lingering resentment. Rubble littered the stairwells, and the flickering corridor lights pulsed like an unsteady heartbeat.
Satoru rolled his neck, scanning the area with a breezy air. "Hey, nice place—enclosed, bad sight-lines... perfect for a Limitless demolition show."
"Are we here to clear the area or carpet-bomb it?" Suguru shot him a weary glance.
Riley stood ahead of them, perfectly composed. "If you fire now, you'll vaporize the civilians, too."
"Heh, I have tact, okay?"
She didn't bother replying. Instead, she simply lifted a hand. The air tore like wet paper, and a hair-thin spatial fissure appeared in front of her.
Before Satoru could finish his sentence, Suguru yanked him sideways.
"Wha—!?"
The next instant, several mutated cursed spirits burst through the walls—but they didn't lunge at the sorcerers. They rushed straight for that tiny fissure. The moment a spirit crossed the slit, its body folded like origami—snap—cleaved clean in half. Not even a scream escaped; they were erased in milliseconds.
Satoru's eyes widened, tracking Riley's silhouette. Her steps made almost no sound, yet at every corner, she pre-deployed her technique, sealing off every escape route. Like a grandmaster at a chessboard, every move she made cost the enemy a way out.
It wasn't about overpowering them; it was about denying the enemy any chance to act.
For a moment, Satoru forgot to speak, transfixed by her silent, economical carnage: compress, sever, control, erase.
When the wave was gone, Riley stood atop the rubble without looking back. "Still want to chatter?"
Satoru snapped out of it, then practically exploded with excitement toward Suguru.
"Suguru!! You've known her for ages, right? RIGHT?? Why so secretive? A senior this fun and you didn't introduce me sooner?!"
Suguru lifted a brow. "Weren't you just calling her icy and mute?"
"My bad!" Satoru raised a hand, completely shameless. "She's hilarious! Stone-cold face, razor tongue—"
"Suguru, were you planning to keep her all to yourself?"
Suguru chuckled. "I'm not that brave. She just dislikes noise—like you."
Satoru spun around. "Senpai, were you impressed by my coolness? Seriously, when you moved, I actually got goosebumps—"
Riley replied coolly, "Probably because you were too close to my spatial cut."
"...Geez, this senior is lethal."
Suguru sighed. "Looks like my main job this mission is keeping you two from bickering."
As they moved deeper in, the cursed density spiked. Those freakish spirits had merely been the appetizer. Suguru suddenly lifted a hand. "...Something's off below. Everyone, watch out!"
The ground shuddered. Concrete split open as a grotesque mass—far larger than any Special Grade—hauled itself from the debris. It was an unstable, savage fusion of corpses.
Satoru raised a hand. "Yo, the main course is served."
Riley frowned. "Not an ordinary spirit—looks like an Incomplete Cursed Womb."
"Meaning it's man-made?" Suguru shifted his stance, cursed spirits already circling his palm.
The creature lashed out. Cursed energy detonated radially, moving too fast for a normal reaction.
"Look out—!" Suguru lunged toward Riley.
Thud!
In the space of a heartbeat, Riley triggered Spatial Reversal. She swapped places with Suguru, dodging the strike by a hair's breadth. Satoru, unruffled, simply raised his Limitless barrier at the edge of the pulse and let the shockwave wash over him; not a single silver hair stirred.
"...Hey, Senior, were you just a little worried about me?" He flashed her a cheeky grin over his shoulder.
Riley answered flatly, "You could take it. He couldn't. A battlefield isn't a place for small talk."
"Wow—so cool. I love it."
Without a word, Suguru released a cursed spirit from his hand. It manifested as a rolling black mist that fanned out like a drawn bow, blotting the creature's sight-line and opening a flank in one move.
With a flick of her right wrist, Riley "folded" the entire corridor like a sheet of paper, forcing the creature backward. Satoru flashed forward and slammed a technique straight into the creature's core. The spirit shrieked as if being torn apart, and a second later, the black mist swallowed it whole.
Within seconds, the fight was over.
The three had barely exchanged a word, yet they covered one another's angles so seamlessly it looked choreographed. Riley dismissed her space manipulation and stood quietly at the edge of the half-collapsed floor, gazing at the scorched earth.
"...So this is what your 'Strongest Duo' feels like," she said calmly.
Satoru cocked an eyebrow. "Surprised, Senior?"
"Not surprised," she added softly. "Convinced. Three strong fighters should be hard to coordinate, yet it felt more... natural than I expected."
Suguru gave a small, unreadable smile. "That's because you're a powerhouse, too."
Satoru laughed. "Come on—someone like you slots in perfectly!"
Riley ignored him, glancing back to remark, "I thought you'd lag behind, do nothing useful, and then flatten the whole building."
"Whoa—compliment one second, stab the next!"
"...I'm not wrong."
When Riley stepped back into the office, her uniform was still flecked with soot. Principal Yaga sat behind his desk reading the mission report; he looked up and raised an eyebrow. "...Back already?"
"Mm."
Suguru and Satoru followed her in, flanking her like bodyguards. Satoru looked perfectly relaxed; he dragged over a chair, sat down, crossed his legs, and yawned.
Yaga narrowed his eyes. "Why do I get the feeling you three didn't actually go on a mission?!"
Satoru piped up: "Hey—we crushed it! Senior was precise and brutal, I lobbed a few shots, and Suguru cleaned up with his spirits. Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—total wipe-out!"
Suguru gave a low chuckle. "The anomalous object on site has been eliminated. No civilians were affected, and the residual energy has been sealed. Mission accomplished."
Yaga flipped through the report, then settled his gaze back on Riley. "Looks like I still need you to keep these two problem children in line."
Satoru sprang up in protest. "Hey! I'm the strongest! How am I a problem child?!"
Riley delivered the follow-up without a hint of emotion: "Suguru isn't a problem child. You are."
"...You answered awfully fast, Senior!"
"Because the answer has been ready for a while."
Suguru rubbed his temple, fighting a laugh. "Satoru, I suggest you just accept reality."
After the briefing, the three were dismissed. They stepped out into the nightfall. In the distance, Nanami and Haibara could be seen sparring clumsily in the training grounds.
Riley halted, watching them in silence.
"Senior," Suguru spoke suddenly, his voice gentle. "You really care about the younger students."
"...They're still alive," Riley answered evenly. "That makes them worth teaching."
She said nothing more, but Suguru understood. She wouldn't save the world, yet she would pass on the knowledge of how to survive it to the children who hadn't yet tasted blood.
Suguru looked at her profile and smiled faintly. "I think that part of you is a lot like me."
Riley met his gaze, neither denying nor agreeing. She simply gave a slight nod.
"No-no-no!!" Satoru butted in with a theatrical wail, popping his head between them. "You two are this chummy already?!"
Suguru sighed. "You haven't stopped talking since the day you met her, and now you're acting like it's love at first sight."
Satoru groaned. "But she's so much fun... Senior! Let's spar tomorrow! Fight me once!"
Without looking at him, Riley tossed back, "Not interested."
"Ehhh—don't you like fighting, too?"
"I only fight when it means something."
Ignoring him, she continued toward the dormitory.
THROW SOME POWERSTONE FOR SUPPORT !!!!