NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19 - A Sense of Unease
The first thing Mikoyuki felt was unease.
Two minutes had passed since the battle with Misogi began, and Mikoyuki had yet to use his ability for an attack.
In battles with other ability users, the most important thing is to understand the opponent’s ability. No matter what ability it is, there is always a flaw, and the ability user fights by concealing it as much as possible.
When it comes to identifying abilities, Mikoyuki’s ability surpasses others. He uses his ability to detect subtle changes in the surrounding temperature and humidity, calmly reads the opponent’s behavior, and interprets the hidden intentions behind each move. His title as the world’s strongest is not due to the strength of his ability alone.
However, Mikoyuki still couldn’t determine Misogi’s ability.
“I’ve faced many S-rank and SS-rank opponents before, but… you’re stronger than any of them.”
A black knife traced through the air toward Misogi’s throat. However, Misogi evaded it with minimal movement, lowered his stance, and swung his long leg.
“I’m honored by your compliment…!”
Blocking the attack with his right arm, Mikoyuki pulled the trigger of the gun in his left hand twice.
“In your perception, a moment in time—Time Lapse—Triple Boost!”
In that instant, Misogi’s body leaped, delivering two or three unseen punches to Mikoyuki’s body.
“Gah—”
Mikoyuki, not understanding what had happened, was slammed onto the hard rooftop of the building. Something inside him burst. Unbearable pain attacked him, but without a moment to spare, Mikoyuki touched his abdomen and activated his ability.
“It wasn’t just increased speed… Did you accelerate your subjective experience of time?”
“Correct. An S-rank enhancement ability that speeds up one’s subjective experience of time, ‘In Your Perception, a Moment in Time Lapse.’ Since we’re at it, let me summarize everything for you.”
Misogi’s attack pierced Mikoyuki’s abdomen. Through his hard muscles and bones, it violated his internal organs gently but cruelly.
“As you saw earlier, that light was not just any light. It was an S-rank projection ability that focuses sunlight into a single point, ‘Woven Light Guide: Gilles de Nîmes.’ And the ability that transferred you here, ‘The Road to Memory’ is an SS-rank enhancement ability that takes you down the path of your memories. Well, there are about three of these abilities. I used about two more on Alicia, but I forgot them…”
The gun was already empty. Mikoyuki now faced Misogi with only a knife. His internal organs were already ruptured. The ability that had been continuously rotating within the scope of self-completion could not heal the ruptured organs. But it was unlikely that the opponent would expose a gap.
This rooftop was where he had fought the “Dark Division” members just three days ago. Whether Misogi had read his memory or not, that was beside the point—
“Do you… perhaps have multiple abilities?”
With broken thoughts, Mikoyuki reflected on his words and came to a conclusion. But that was fundamentally impossible. An ability user could only have one ability—this had been the rule since the dawn of ability users a hundred years ago. There had never been an exception.
“I possess only one ability—yet, I can wield multiple abilities.”
Misogi gave an ambiguous response to Mikoyuki’s answer.
“Did you derive multiple abilities from a single one? No, but even so, the variety is too vast.”
Then, what was it? What was the nature of this man’s ability?
But without time to find the answer, Mikoyuki’s body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Without the strength to get up, the heat overflowing from his abdomen seemed as if it would devour him.
“…It was more anticlimactic than I thought.”
“Gah—”
Muttering something, a lump of blood welled up in Mikoyuki’s throat and choked him. His consciousness darkened. Footsteps approached, growing louder—
“Don’t come any closer to my friend—Hakushirou Misogi.”
Far above, against the backdrop of the setting sun, stood a young man. With golden hair fluttering, and pale blue eyes, a handsome youth—Shiroba Souichi.
While Mikoyuki is said to be the strongest in the Paranormal Division, Souichi is the last bastion. The Paranormal Division scouts those who Mari deems suitable, and the first person she visited when the division was founded was Souichi.
At Souichi’s sudden appearance, Misogi clicked his tongue and spoke in shock.
“It’s been ten years, hasn’t it?”
At those words, the faint remnants of Mikoyuki’s consciousness finally blacked out completely. Souichi lifted Mikoyuki easily and glared at Misogi.
“I see… I understand most of it… So, will I be fighting here too?”
In that moment, a crushing aura filled the space between the two. Misogi faced it without flinching. Seconds felt long, and it seemed like they could start fighting at any moment—
“No… I’ll stop.”
Misogi raised his hands, dispersing the aura.
“I need to heal the wounds inflicted by Mikoyuki, and more importantly—”
Dusting himself off, Misogi looked at the sunset and said,
“If ‘we, the SSS-rank ability users’ clash, this country will be destroyed—neither of us wants that.”
“Heh, you’ve become quite reasonable. Did you meet someone good?”
“I’m telling you I’m letting you off. You, the former top-ranked member of the ‘Ten Greats,’ now a second-rate writer and a public safety officer, have no chance of beating me.”
“Haha, that’s harsh. That’s why I hate the truth.”
But—Souichi continued,
“If a friend is in trouble, I’ll throw everything away to help—of course, you too.”
“I’ve thought this for a while, but can you stop declaring friendship the moment we meet?”
“Hmm… Guhah!”
In the end, Misogi put a venomous bite on Souichi’s cool demeanor.