Pendragon's Infinity Gauntlet

Page 163

The same thing probably happened with Sheryl Cromwell.

Even without intervention, the "process" will eventually be completed.

"Just for something so trivial?"

"Given the city's military strength and influence, this is no small matter. It's like a wild horse capable of tearing the world apart; for safety's sake, it's best to put it on the reins as soon as possible."

Aleister smiled faintly. His smile was utterly devoid of emotion; it looked like a mixture of joy and mockery.

It was like both sorrow and joy. All emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness—were mixed together.

How could such an absurd thing happen? Tsuchimikado clicked his tongue in thought. If he could, Tsuchimikado would want to ignore Aleister's orders and go to defeat Shirley himself. But he just couldn't...

In fact, Tsuchimikado was not able to leave the building on his own.

Because there is no outlet.

There are no doors, windows, corridors, or stairs.

The air needed for living can be produced inside the building, so there are no ventilation vents. Moreover, the building can withstand a nuclear attack and remain standing.

To put it another way, this situation is worse than being locked in a bank vault or a nuclear shelter.

In terms of sheer despair, it's roughly equivalent to being trapped inside a spaceship outside the atmosphere without even a spacesuit.

"Completely unable to contact the outside world? Hey, Aleister! Immediately use your wired communicator to call in the teleporter, or I'll unplug all the cables here!"

"Whatever you want, if doing this helps relieve your stress."

Tsuchimikado wore a bitter expression.

In fact, she had a hunch that all the pipes, cables and machinery in the room were actually a decoy.

If the machines in this room alone could sustain Aleister's life, there would be no need to build such a massive building.

Even that cylinder is probably just a bluff; the figures inside might just be a 3D image.

Tsuchimikado, leaning against the cylindrical wall where Aleister was suspended, couldn't help but ask:

Are you really confident you can prevent war?

"You should be the one with confidence. You're in charge of the work behind the scenes. Don't worry too much. If you work hard enough, you might be able to end this undercover struggle without anyone losing their life."

"hateful."

"I said bitterly."

In the end, this kind of job always ended up falling on his shoulders.

-

The main road in front of the station was crowded with junior high and high school students.

Today is the first day of school, and every school held an opening ceremony, so after noon, the liberated students all ran out to play in the streets.

In particular, a corner in front of the station, where large department stores are clustered, was packed with people.

Shirai Kuroko walked through the crowded streets.

He was taller than the average junior high school boy and had a neat head of short brown hair.

Unlike the androgynous cuteness of Misaka Mikoto, who appeals to both men, Shirai Kuroko here has developed a powerful and muscular physique through long-term training, which is comparable to that of a professional bodybuilder. The eyes of the boys passing by can't help but be drawn to him.

In this world, a boy's muscles are like a boy's chest size. Kuroko is wearing the largest size of Tokiwadai Middle School's summer uniform, but it is still filled with strong and powerful muscles, as if it is about to burst at any time. In the eyes of boys, it is like a boy in the normal world encountering a top-notch busty woman on the street, and his eyes would almost pop out.

He wore an armband on his muscular right arm.

The armband reads "Disciplinary Committee Member".

The so-called "Disciplinary Committee" is a security force specifically designed to combat individuals with superpowers, somewhat similar to a police SWAT team. All Disciplinary Committee members are individuals with superpowers. In contrast to the "Disciplinary Committee," the security force composed of teachers equipped with next-generation weapons is called the "Guards."

The forces maintaining order are divided into two systems to monitor each other and prevent internal corruption.

After all, these people are essentially just "students" and "teachers," and no one can guarantee that there won't be any corrupt police officers among them who abuse their power.

"Seriously, why not spread out the entertainment facilities a bit? Didn't the city developers study traffic psychology and environmental psychology?"

Shirai, also a "student," complained in this way, seemingly completely ignoring the issues of land prices and customer cohesion.

Like many people, Shirai disliked crowded places. Although summer was nearing its end, the weather remained hot. He had a particular reason for coming to this crowded, sweltering station.

"found it!"

Shirai looked at the figure ten meters in front of him, took out his phone, and compared it with the photo on the screen. The man, who looked like a foreigner, seemed unaware of Shirai's presence, as if he had forgotten he was being chased, walking openly among the crowd.

Before 7:00 AM this morning, two sections of the outer walls of Academy City were simultaneously invaded by unknown individuals.

One of the intruders was located within the "Guards'" jurisdiction, so Shirai, a "Disciplinary Committee member," was unaware of their identity, only knowing that it appeared to be a student who had logged into Academy City's database. Perhaps an industrial spy?

Shirai was responsible for tracking someone else.

The image on the phone screen was a magnified version of the surveillance footage. The blond man in the image had launched a frontal attack on the "gate" of Academy City, forcibly entering the city and injuring fifteen people, three of whom were seriously injured.

Chapter 283 Emergency Evacuation

Chapter 283

At this time, Academy City issued a "Special Alert Declaration" specifically for combating terrorists, also known as "Red Alert".

Access to and from Academy City was completely blocked, and all the "Disciplinary Committee members" took leave to carry out search operations against the intruders.

And so, Shirai Kuroko didn't even attend the opening ceremony, instead patrolling the streets for several hours.

“At this point, the normal procedure would be to request reinforcements and evacuate the crowd before making the arrest. But doing so would take too much time and might cause us to miss the best opportunity to make the arrest.”

As Shirai walked through the crowd, his eyes fixed on the person he was targeting, he muttered to himself.

Although the security forces are divided into two systems, generally speaking, those standing at the front line are not "disciplinary committee members" but "guards".

This makes perfect sense, since the members of the "Disciplinary Committee" are all students. Shirai's orders were only to "find the intruder," so the next step should have been the work of the "guards."

but……

"We can't leave this task to the guards. Given the current situation, the fighting at the gate has already resulted in so many injuries. Those who aren't capable should just go and seek refuge."

Shirai's thoughts stemmed from his confidence as a Level 4 esper. In his eyes, those teachers who needed to be fully equipped with next-generation weapons to go to the front lines were simply too weak.

Bai didn't want to force guards to do tasks they couldn't handle. If the guards coming to relieve him were injured during the arrest, he'd probably have nightmares. It was much easier to participate himself.

He put his hand into his pocket.

What was taken out was something resembling a small pistol. However, the diameter of the barrel exceeded three centimeters. This was a special gun used to fire special bullets such as signal flares.

"I really don't want to use this thing; every time I do, I have to write a report."

Shirai pointed the gun directly upwards and pulled the trigger in one swift motion.

With a laughable "bang," a metal cylinder about the size of a lipstick slowly rose into the air to a height of about seven meters.

Then, suddenly, a deafening roar erupted, and a blinding flash of light spread outward from the metal cylinder. All the people nearby were so frightened by the sudden burst of light that they covered their eyes and were unable to move.

But in that instant, everyone moved with lightning speed. Screams and roars erupted as everyone fled into nearby buildings. Even university students and teachers in cars abandoned their vehicles and ran inside.

Everyone who lives in this city knows this very well.

This is an evacuation order issued by the security forces. It means, "Fighting is about to break out here; please be careful not to get hit by stray bullets."

Within just thirty seconds, the once bustling main road in front of the station was deserted.

Only Shirai Kuroko and the man she was targeting remained.

-

The bald man, who was strolling down the street, noticed the commotion. He inquired with someone in the know and learned that an evacuation order had been issued in the commercial district a few blocks away. He immediately became excited.

After finding out the exact location, Fangcun began his classic Japanese drama run.

-

The man at the center of the flash neither ran away nor made a sound; he simply stood there leisurely.

The distance between the two is about ten meters.

Shirai stared at the man.

He was a man who looked suspicious at first glance. He was wearing a black tuxedo decorated with white lace and bows, which could perhaps be described as a gothic boyish style.

It would probably suit a blond, blue-eyed boy very well.

The man did have long blond hair, but his skin was quite rough, and he looked to be over twenty-five years old.

His hair seemed unkempt, sticking up everywhere like a wild animal's mane. His skin was brown, but a brown that didn't suit the sunlight at all.

The suit looked quite worn; the fabric was frayed, and the white lace had yellowed. Overall, while he couldn't be described as unattractive, he possessed a wildness that completely shattered the delicate, luxurious illusion of a gothic young man.

"Please don't move. I am Shirai Kuroko, an officer responsible for maintaining order in the city. I believe I don't need to explain why you have been arrested, do I?"

However, the man with messy blond hair did not react to Shirai's words at all.

The man, looking utterly dejected and devoid of emotion, merely swayed his neck slightly and glanced left and right.

It seems that the sudden disappearance of residents was more interesting to her than Shirai.

After a full five seconds, the man finally turned his gaze toward Shirai.

"The suspension of exploration will really cause me trouble."

The man's voice was clearly contemptuous, and he showed no intention of waiting for a response from his opponent.

Before Shirai could even raise an eyebrow, the man had already reached into the tattered sleeve of his old black tuxedo and swiftly pulled out something...

In that instant, Shirai Kuroko was pressed tightly against the man's face.

There was originally a distance of more than ten meters between them, but Shirai instantly reduced the distance to zero.

A hint of surprise flickered across the man's relaxed expression.

However, Shirai did not intend to explain this. There was no need to tell her opponent that this was the "spatial movement" ability of Level 4.

Shirai Kuroko reached out her large hand and grabbed the wrist of the man covered by tattered lace.

Next, the brown-haired man unknowingly collapsed to the ground.

There was no pain, no impact, and most importantly, no memory of being fallen.

In reality, Shirai simply used her spatial teleportation ability to move herself to the ground the moment she touched the man. But to the man who was unaware of the secret, it might seem like a grappling technique from some mysterious martial art.

Even so, the man's evasive movements were still filled with weariness. He rolled over on the ground, and just as he was about to stand up—

"I already said that."

Ding ding ding ding ding!

A high-speed impact sound, like the striking of a sewing machine needle, rang out.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the man's dress sleeves and the excess fabric on his skirt had been pierced by a total of twelve metal arrows, pinning him to the asphalt road.

"Don't move. Don't you understand Japanese?"

Shirai Kuroko said quietly.

This is also an attack method that utilizes spatial teleportation. The arrow and iron nail hidden in the sleeve are instantly moved to the coordinates specified in the mind.

Not only does it possess the power and rapid-fire capability of a machine gun, but because it moves between spaces, it is not blocked by cover, and there is no need to worry about anyone being injured by stray bullets. It can be said to be a rather terrifying attack method.

P.S.: The power wasn't cut off today, but the water was. Luckily I took a shower at noon...emmmmm

Chapter 284 A Familiar Back View

Chapter 284

However, even after witnessing such ability, the man's expression remained unmoved.

Only the corners of his mouth, on his mask-like face, slowly and quietly extended to both sides, forming a long, thin smile, reminiscent of the legendary yokai, the Slit-Mouthed Man.

"What?"

Instead, Shirai Kuroko frowned in surprise.

Suddenly, a huge explosion occurred on the ground directly behind him.

"what happened?"

Shirai was extremely surprised, but there was no time to look back. The asphalt road suddenly bulged, throwing Shirai into the air. Only after his back hit the hard ground did Shirai finally glance back.