Chapter 6: Overwhelming Battle

(Note: Level designations will be simplified to Lv. starting from this chapter.)

Thus began Selene's triangle routine of school life: classroom – library – dormitory.

As the crown jewel of elite middle schools, Tokiwadai boasted excellent faculty. Though they couldn't help much in her ability development, the academic instruction deeply benefited Selene. She absorbed knowledge like a sponge.

In the blink of an eye, over a month passed. At the end of the month, Selene's progress in ability shocked all evaluators once again, prompting the Board of Directors to double her resource allocation. Her monthly scholarship alone made her more than wealthy.

During this period, Academy City saw the emergence of two more Lv.5 Espers:

Second: "Vector Manipulation," Codename: Accelerator

Third: "Dark Matter," Name: Kakine Teitoku

Her teachers, appreciative of her diligence, often gave her pointers on difficult topics, making her studies even more efficient.

Night. School Garden, Dorm 1A101.

Ring~ Ring~ Ring~

"Hello, this is Selene... Hmm? Someone wants to challenge my ranking? Alright, I understand. I'll be there soon."

The call came from a Board of Directors staff member. Someone was challenging her.

Indeed, the upper echelons of Academy City encouraged combat between Espers, believing it could promote growth. The "Level 6 Shift Project" stemmed from such ideology.

"Looks like the chicken to be slaughtered is ready." Sitting at her desk, Selene vanished with a shwip. This time, she planned to go all out—a show of force.

Upon arriving at the duel location, the dark-suited "dark side" operatives nodded and let her through without question.

Beyond the old, abandoned factory stood a tall boy with brown hair, wearing a purple jacket—her opponent, the third-ranked Lv.5, Kakine Teitoku, wielder of Dark Matter.

Seeing her, Kakine smirked arrogantly, his eyes dark and malicious. "You finally showed up. I thought maybe you chickened out."

Ignoring his trash talk, Selene narrowed her eyes and smiled elegantly. She looked up toward the "hovering surveillance drones."

"For the record, I take no responsibility for property damage."

Without further words, she struck first.

Simulate – Repulsion. Instant Cast!

BOOM!!!

The ground shattered instantly as a powerful repulsion blast launched Kakine hundreds of meters away. The shockwave obliterated the abandoned factory.

From above, a massive crater formed with Selene at its center, 30 meters deep. All surrounding structures were pulverized. The destructive repulsion spread outward in concentric waves like a nuclear detonation.

Kakine hadn't even reacted before he was flung away by a brutal impact to the chest.

As the dust cleared, six white angelic wings burst from rubble. Kakine stumbled out, bloody, barely standing, his clothes in tatters.

"Cough… Repulsion?" he muttered, blood trailing from his mouth.

Step. Step. Step.

Selene descended gracefully on floating violet light platforms, walking through the air.

"Coming straight to challenge me—who gave you the courage? Let me show you what society's harsh reality feels like."

"Don't worry, I promised the Board I wouldn't kill you."

Her red diamond-shaped pupils glowed ominously as she looked at Kakine like one might look at an ant.

"Acting like you've already won?! Don't make me laugh!!!"

Kakine roared. Blinding white particles sparked across his body like arcs of electricity. His six white wings extended beyond 20 meters and slammed the ground, launching him into the air. The wings combined into a massive white tornado that surged toward Selene.

The air shrieked from the intense friction.

Selene didn't move. She neither attacked nor dodged.

Seeing Selene stand motionless, Kakine shouted, "Damn it! You looking down on me that much?! Not even dodging..."

The tornado pierced straight through Selene and slammed into the ground, carving a deep trench.

Kakine's face twisted in disbelief. "That's impossible..." Madness flashed through his eyes.

He launched an onslaught—slashing attacks, gales, shockwaves, light blasts—every form of ability he could muster. But none worked. All his attacks passed right through Selene, devastating only the surrounding terrain.

His expression turned blank. He couldn't accept it. "Why is the gap this big?! No... No way..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Selene calmly extended her right hand toward him.

Simulate – Gravity!

The strain from struggling caused his earlier internal injuries to worsen. The pain intensified. "Agh!" Kakine cried out as his body was dragged uncontrollably toward her.

"I can't let her hit me with that repulsion again or I'm finished!" Desperate, he bit his lip and poured all he had into his power. The white Dark Matter behind him coiled inward, forming a protective cocoon around him.

But it was useless.

Selene appeared ghost-like within the closing wings. Smiling gently, she spun mid-air and delivered a whip-kick that launched him back to the ground.

Boom!

Like a meteor, Kakine was slammed into the factory foundation.

"So this is all you've got... Fine, time to end the game."

Having assessed her own strength, Selene lost interest in dragging it out. She floated to where he lay and activated gravity again.

"Hmm?" she muttered. Kakine still had enough strength to resist. But only barely. Her gaze turned icy.

Swish! Swish!

Blood splattered.

Selene used Spatial Severance to slice off Kakine's arms and wings.

"Aaagh!" The pain nearly caused him to pass out. He could no longer resist and was dragged toward her.

Blood dripped from above as Selene grabbed Kakine by the throat with one hand and lifted him off the ground.

"Did you really think you could win? This boring game is over, worm."

Her grip tightened. "Kh… khh..." Kakine's eyes rolled back. His kicking legs slackened and he passed out.

"Tch. You're still useful. It's not your time to die."

A subspace spear materialized beside Selene and stabbed into Kakine's chest. Honkai energy surged in. His veins lit up in eerie purplish-red.

Landing lightly on the broken ground, the nearby "dark side" operatives approached hesitantly.

"D-Did you kill the Third?"

It was an understandable question. From their view, Kakine had been completely obliterated. Even if Selene had promised the Board not to kill, the man was still impaled on her spear.

Selene casually tossed him over. The agents scrambled to catch him.

"I kept him alive. He won't die. You can report back now. I'm heading back to Tokiwadai."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" The operatives quickly responded.

Selene turned and vanished into a glowing violet portal.

...

"Huh? His wounds… they're healing."

"His arms... they grew back on their own."

"Where are the severed limbs?"

"The dark side team said they turned to ash."

"Tch. What a waste. Those were valuable materials."

"But why did the Third's physical stats improve so much?"

"There's a high-density energy source in his chest. It's what's repairing him."

"Energy signature matches the First."

"Report to the Board immediately!"

...

"Last night, an explosion occurred at an old processing plant in District 10 due to a gas leak..."

Selene sat on the couch watching Academy City's news broadcast. Something felt... off.

"They've probably noticed the changes in Kakine Teitoku's body."

Indeed, Selene had deliberately left Kakine half-alive. He was the perfect pawn. Using him created the ideal opportunity to expose Honkai energy and ensure the Board of Directors would take notice.

This served two purposes: one, to provide a future excuse or justification for using Honkai energy.

Two, to demonstrate her increasing value to the city, thereby securing even more advantageous treatment. It was like an ancient frontier general who "raised enemies to elevate his own importance."

"Let's see if you can resist the allure of Honkai-enhanced power."

...

At that moment, in the Windowless Building, District 7—

"We were only able to extract a portion of the energy from the Third. Most of it has already been absorbed by his body."

"Tests show that this energy can be directly converted into other forms of energy. It can generate electricity, power ships, vehicles—it outperforms any known global energy source."

"Based on the changes in the Third's physique, we have reason to believe this energy works on biological organisms, clearly offering physical enhancements. Whether it has side effects is currently unknown."

"Due to lack of samples, the experiment has been reluctantly terminated."

Aleister Crowley listened expressionlessly to the researchers' report. His gaze drifted to the digital projection display in front of him.

The footage paused at the moment Selene's subspace spear injected purplish-red energy into Kakine.

"It seems... it's time to meet her."