NOVEL NEXT Chapter 11
Chapter 11. Saw It
The battle involving Hayato concluded, and as he turned to leave, far above in the sky, a single airship hovered. Onboard were five people—three operating the ship, and two others.
Both of these two wore expressions of astonishment.
“Senpai, senpai! Did you see that just now? He took it down all by himself!”
“Yes, I saw. To think he could defeat an A-rank variant all on his own—it’s astonishing.”
A girl with green hair tied in a side ponytail, her excitement uncontained, and a composed, black-haired beauty responded calmly. Both bore a small patch in the shape of a dragon on their chests. This emblem marked them as members of a Special Ability Unit.
The green-haired girl was named Hattori Suzuna. A prodigy who joined the special ability unit at age 10, she was now 17, one year older than Hayato.
The black-haired beauty was named Kirasaka Ryoko. Her cold, piercing gaze was enough to make anyone shrink back. If Hayato were present, he might have mistaken her for a relative of Medusa.
They had come to the scene because an A-rank monster had appeared. However, before they could engage, a lone boy had already begun fighting it. Initially, they planned to join the battle immediately, but upon seeing the boy evenly matched with the monster, they stopped in their tracks.
Their interest was piqued by the boy’s power. The boy kicked the monster high into the air, took a stance, and delivered a devastating blow. The monster’s upper body was obliterated, leading to its death. Suzuna was utterly thrilled by this, to the point where her excitement became deafening.
But unfortunately, it wasn’t over yet. The A-rank monster regenerated from its wounds and revived, this time clearly at a higher level than before.
The boy began to be overpowered. Deciding it was time to intervene, the two prepared to descend to the scene—
But then the boy changed. A faintly glowing aura emanated from him as he stood with a calm, commanding presence.
The reason they didn’t move was that they were momentarily captivated by his extraordinary aura, unable to take their eyes off him.
From there, the tide of battle turned completely. The boy overwhelmed the monster—or rather, “overwhelmed” wasn’t the right word. It was more akin to “domination”. Not a single one of the monster’s attacks could reach the boy. Instead, with a casual swipe of his hand, as if brushing away a fly, the monster’s body was torn apart.
After dispatching the monster several times, the boy, still cloaked in that aura, finally assumed a stance. He delivered a punch to the charging monster.
The result was as seen. Complete annihilation. Not a shred of flesh was left; the monster vanished entirely from this world.
Ryoko brought a hand to her chin, deep in thought.
“Why hasn’t someone with power like that joined us?”
“It’s definitely strange, right? He has more than enough ability to be recruited. Actually, we don’t even have any information about him!”
People with certain levels of ability automatically had their data transmitted to the special ability unit for recruitment. Yet, no information about him had ever been received.
“Is he not from this country? Or perhaps his abilities only recently surged dramatically?”
Ryoko considered these possibilities but dismissed them herself. The boy looked Japanese, and his mouth movements indicated he spoke Japanese. Above all, even if someone’s abilities surged suddenly, it was hard to imagine them mastering them so quickly in actual combat.
“Suzuna-chan, would you like to recruit him?”
Ryoko asked her adorable junior.
“Of course! With power like that, our survival rates would definitely improve!”
Ryoko agreed. The special ability unit was undoubtedly a formidable force, but the missions they were assigned were equally challenging. Their survival rate was around 70 percent. While that might seem high, it meant 30 out of 100 missions resulted in death. Given that, the boy’s strength was something they desperately wanted.
Ryoko organized her thoughts and decided to investigate the boy after returning.
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“What’s going on?”
Back at their base, Ryoko investigated the boy, only to uncover information that seemed impossible.
“Ability value: 0? That’s impossible. There’s no way to explain that level of power.”
No matter how many times she checked, the value remained ‘0’. She turned to Suzuna, who was munching on snacks nearby.
“Hey, Suzuna-chan? He’s the one, right?”
She showed the computer screen.
“Yes, no mistake! …Wait, what?! Ability value: ‘0’?! There’s no way! Is it a bug or something?”
Suzuna, too, was shocked. Naturally, an ability value of “0” would make even defeating the weakest F-rank monster miraculous.
“Exactly, it has to be wrong. Also, it seems he’s at a police station right now.”
“Eh? Is he a criminal?”
“No, but the situation seems odd. There’s no detailed information at all.”
“Could it be a setup?”
Suzuna’s tone dropped. Considering how people with low ability values were treated, false accusations were a real possibility.
“It’s not confirmed yet, but I’ll investigate.”
“Hey, Suzuna and Ryoko, why the scary faces? What’s up?”
A carefree voice called out, and they turned to see a blonde, ponytailed girl who looked like a gal. She, too, had a dragon-shaped patch on her chest, identifying her as a member of the special ability unit.
“Sigh… Reika-chan, how many times have I told you to fix the way you wear your uniform?”
“Ugh, who cares! Clothes are about freedom! Anyway, what’re you looking into?”
“Something about a strange boy.”
Ryoko explained the situation to Reika, including the possibility that the boy was caught up in some trouble.
“Hmm, I see. Well, if you find evidence that he’s being framed, let me know.”
“What would you do?”
“Eh? I’d take care of the people responsible, of course.”
Reika made a slicing gesture across her neck, smiling, though her eyes weren’t smiling at all.
Despite her lighthearted demeanor, she despised injustice and bullying more than anyone. That was Reika.
Seeing her teammate, Ryoko felt a sense of warmth and smiled.
She then resumed typing, determined to uncover the truth.