NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18 - Hakushirou Misogi
The aurora illuminated the surroundings. Alicia’s delicate body seemed crushed by the light, floating in the air. Her back hit the distant stone wall hard, and for a moment, her vision went completely white.
“…Guh,”
Minor injuries. The battle with the boy who called himself the leader of Collad Bomb, Hakushirou Misogi, had already exceeded five minutes. During that time, Alicia had inflicted several wounds on him, including the recent ice pillar attack. Alicia herself also had light injuries. However, Misogi showed no noticeable external injuries, and the wounds from the ice pillar were gone. It seemed like he had healing abilities, but the various types of attacks he used made it hard to classify his abilities. Alicia couldn’t figure out the type of abilities Misogi possessed.
“…”
A silver-haired girl opened her mouth to say something as she watched Alicia.
Something painful brushed her heart. It seemed the girl in front of her felt the same.
“Um, Misogi…!”
“What is it?”
“It’s about time we escaped. With all this commotion, they’re definitely coming.”
“…You’re right. I don’t want to face Kamishiro Mikoyuki here.”
The girl’s relief at Misogi’s words was evident. Alicia, watching their interaction, struggled to stand up.
“Wait…!”
Alicia’s vision was already blurry. She was losing her sense of balance, and she knew this wasn’t normal. But even so—
“Damn, they came.”
“Whoaaaaa—!?”
At that moment, two figures appeared from above. Genkō and Mikoyuki. It was more of a fall than flight, with Genkō shouting to try to counteract the sensation. Ever since the incident with Mikoyuki, he had developed a fear of falling. Mikoyuki immediately separated from Genkō and landed beside Alicia. Genkō, unable to correct his trajectory, fell between Alicia and Misogi.
“—!”
The girl stepped in front of Misogi to protect him and summoned ice at the point of impact.
“Cold!? What is this, ice!?”
As Genkō hastily stood up, the ice attacked him mercilessly.
Ice crept up from his shoes, bringing unbearable chills and headaches. Something was wrong. But he didn’t even have the strength to stand. It was so cold that his breath turned white. Mikoyuki pulled Genkō up and moved him behind himself.
“Are you okay, Genkō?”
“Ugh…cold! Ever since touching that ice, I can’t stop shivering and feeling fatigued!”
Genkō detailed what had just happened, and Mikoyuki nodded slightly, touching Genkō’s shoulder. Immediately, all the symptoms disappeared. Was this Mikoyuki’s ability?
“That doesn’t matter! Where’s the enemy?”
“Right in front of you. For a first-timer, you sure have guts.”
“What the—!? Huh?”
Genkō’s expression changed rapidly. He then focused on the girl in front of him. She seemed familiar somehow. The temperature of the ice also felt nostalgic.
As Misogi’s right hand twitched, Mikoyuki drew a line with his hand. The tension around them instantly heightened. The wind that had been blowing stopped suddenly.
“You’re the leader of Collad Bomb, right?”
“Oh, to be known by the world’s strongest ability user, I’ve made a name for myself.”
“Idiot. I just assessed the situation. …Can you stand, Alicia?”
Mikoyuki touched Alicia’s shoulder, activating his ability. Having grasped the general situation, Mikoyuki glanced at the jamming device Gabriel had. The device smoked and ceased functioning after Mikoyuki glared at it.
“Let’s go, Gabriel. It’s too early to cause trouble here.”
In the distance, sirens wailed. The police, finally noticing Misogi’s light attack, were rushing to the scene. It would be tough for two people to handle all of them, so Misogi decided to retreat.
“Gabriel…”
Supported by Mikoyuki, Alicia slowly stood up.
A chilling air, unbefitting of summer, hung around.
Two ice blocks, one clear and blue, the other white and cloudy. The shapes were similar, but their essence was different. Alicia’s ice was rounded and could be finely adjusted.
In contrast, the girl in front of her—Gabriel’s ice was spiky.
But that was it. The color and shape were entirely different.
Yet, they felt similar. Genkō, who had experienced both types of ice, thought this as he had a sudden realization.
“That’s why it seemed familiar…”
He had a sense of déjà vu when he first saw it.
“So, they’re sisters.”
The suspicion vanished. But it raised another question.
Alicia and Gabriel’s eyes met, their gazes fierce. Alicia’s red eyes quivered slightly with confusion and shock. Gabriel’s pale blue eyes remained cold and steady.
“No—”
“Stop with the nonsense… I don’t know you.”
A slight tremble betrayed her agitation. She crossed her arms and glared at Alicia. It was clear to even Genkō that their relationship was strained. The wind blew, mingling cold air with warm, creating a pleasant temperature.
“Let’s go, Gabriel.”
The man who had been silent until now spoke and turned his back on them.
But the girl didn’t move. Her right foot tried to step forward, but her left foot stayed planted.
“W-wait! What did you do to my sister!?”
Alicia’s voice was filled with anger and sorrow, making Genkō realize the situation was worse than he thought. Her voice was so filled with pain that the man looked at her with annoyance.
His crimson eyes in the darkness pierced Alicia. His gaze was icy.
“I’ll tell you for the honor I discarded—I’ve done nothing to harm this girl. I found her. She was emaciated and had vacant eyes… If you claim to be her sister, why didn’t you search for her? Why couldn’t you take her hand?”
The man’s words didn’t seem like lies.
On the contrary, he seemed angry. He was furious for the girl’s sake.
“That is…”
But Alicia couldn’t continue.
No matter what words she used, no matter what feelings she conveyed.
The only truth was that ‘the sister didn’t come to save her.’
“W-wait! Gabriel!”
The girl walked away quickly. Alicia tried to follow, but ice appeared at her feet. The ice drained all energy, even life force—a truly devastating ice.
“Please, wait, Gabriel…”
“Stop! If you touch it, you’ll die!”
Knowing the ice’s danger, Genkō grabbed her to stop her. Even through her clothes, her arm felt cold. Alicia’s face was pale. Her lips were slightly blue, and her breath was visible despite the summer heat. It was dangerous… Genkō restrained her with all his strength.
“Shut up! You don’t know anything!”
“I know nothing! I’m a newbie here!”
With a somewhat off reply, Genkō put his full weight into holding her back.
Alicia, resisting with equal force, suddenly went limp.
“Wha!?” Genkō fell to the ground without any support. Pain shot through his lower back, but he quickly looked at Alicia.
“Wait, Gabriel…”
Alicia crawled toward her, extending her hand.
The ice disappeared as Alicia moved forward.
Was it just a matter of range, or—
“Please, wait…”
Alicia’s staggering movement finally stopped.
She collapsed with a thud, still reaching out.
But even then, the girl kept walking without looking back.
“Shut up, shut up, shut up…!”
With each word, a burning heat throbbed in her head.
With her words, unknown memories flashed through her mind.
In a dark, dark world. In a hot, hot world, the only person who stayed by her side.
“My sister… never let go of my hand! She stayed with me!”
She didn’t know what she was saying.
She didn’t know what she had said.
She just—kept holding back the hot ‘something’ overflowing from her eyes as she disappeared from Alicia’s sight.
“…Well then.”
After Gabriel left, Alicia was about to be carried away when Mikoyuki stepped toward Misogi.
“Do you think I’ll let you escape here—?”
“Won’t you let us go? It would be better for you.”
Misogi smiled provocatively.
“Genkō, the gun.”
Mikoyuki held a black knife in his right hand and reached out to Genkō with his other hand.
“Huh…”
“You have it, right? In that bag.”
Indeed, Genkō had a handgun. Surprised at how Mikoyuki knew, he quickly handed the gun to him. Mikoyuki took it and fired at Misogi without hesitation.
“Phew, that’s scary. What if it hits?”
Misogi dodged slightly, still grinning, and approached Mikoyuki.
“It’s a special bullet from the Special Ability Division. It would hurt like hell, but it wouldn’t kill you.”
Mikoyuki reloaded, dropping the empty shell. He had about ten rounds left.
“Take Alicia to the hospital and contact Reese—or rather, Souichi immediately.”
“S-Souichi? You mean Shiroba Souichi?”
“Yes… I trust you with this.”
Misogi’s right hand began to glow faintly. In an instant, Mikoyuki closed the gap between them.
The knife’s blade aimed at Misogi. However, Misogi’s right arm deflected it.
A metallic clang sounded. As Mikoyuki was surprised, Misogi simply said—
“There are too many people here—let’s change locations.”
In that moment, the two boys disappeared before Genkō’s eyes.
What remained were bullet
casings and ice shards.
“Alicia, are you okay?”
“…Yes.”
“I see… I don’t know where he took Mikoyuki, but let’s retreat for now. The police are coming.”
“Yes… thank you.”
Though still in pain, Alicia responded and stood up.
Genkō gently supported her shoulder and led her to the exit.
By now, the police were already coming down.
“This is our only chance to escape…!”
Just before the police reached them, Genkō left the underground world with Alicia in his arms.