Chapter 22 - Red + Blue

(Nero POV)

My body, which had been in the air, was suddenly thrown to the ground. I adjusted my position and landed softly on my feet, but the impact nearly knocked me off balance.

My eyes quickly swept around me, and I saw that I was in an urban environment engulfed in flames—a replica of a burning city.

I wiped the sweat dripping from my face, the heat was intense, and my mind fixated on that woman.

Her speed was frightening; she didn't give me a moment to react.

I thought, activating [Infinity] to avoid being caught off guard again.

I can't stay here.

Just as I was about to use [Mercury], I heard a voice repeatedly.

"I strongly advise you not to leave."

Hearing that beautiful voice, I quickly turned to the side.

Standing with her back propped up against a huge piece of rock, she was a beautiful woman.

This woman had long, white hair cascading down her back. Her eyes were a striking, piercing crimson red, with irises shaped like bluish-green boxes.

On her slender body, she wore a Spanish-style double-breasted military uniform. Her forearms were encased in sturdy cufflinks, and her skirt bore a symbol resembling a golden eagle. On her head, she wore a dark navy blue military hat.

Seeing this beautiful woman evoked a single emotion in me.

Fear!

For the first time in my life, I felt fear—not the kind you feel when you break your parents' favorite vase, but a primordial, human fear.

It was as if a predator stood before me, and I was the prey in its sights.

I pushed this fear to the back of my mind.

Fear is something inherent to human beings, but it's pure stupidity to let it show.

"Oh! A lady looks even more beautiful in a military uniform," I said with a smile, though my hand was clenched tightly.

"Hahaha! She had the same opinion; you really are alike." The woman let out a laugh, and it seemed sincere.

She?

Wait!

When she appeared, she said, "You've grown up; let's see if you deserve to be her son."

"Who are you?" I asked in a more serious tone.

Upon hearing my question, she stopped laughing and stepped forward.

(Altair Image)

"My name was discarded long ago, but your mother gave me the name Altair. It's the brightest star in the Eagle constellation. In Greek mythology, it is also..."

"The eagle that carried the rays of Zeus. Additionally, in Chinese mythology, Altair is identified with Zhi Nu, a princess who fell in love with a cowherd," I said naturally.

"Exactly. It seems you inherited your mother's love of mythology," Altair said, tilting her head to the side.

A slight smile formed on my lips, but I quickly suppressed it.

"How did you meet my mother?" I asked, puzzled. As far as I knew, my mother was just a normal woman with a little political power who loved myths and legends.

"That's none of your business," she replied, showing little reaction. Then she moved her finger to point at me. "By the way, if you dare leave this area without my permission, I will kill those two girls, the brown-haired one and the blonde one." Her neutral expression turned threatening.

I instinctively knew she was telling the truth. The worst part was that this woman seemed fully capable of carrying out her threat.

With that thought, I raised my hand toward her.

"So from now on, you will..."

Before she could finish, a space explosion erupted in front of her.

…

The explosion sent smoke rising into the air, obscuring my vision.

Suddenly, I felt pressure next to me.

"Good." Altair had simply appeared by my side.

Without hesitation, I twisted my waist and threw a punch at her.

Altair calmly moved her hand, catching my punch.

"Hmm! Roberta did a good job," she said, holding my hand effortlessly as she flexed her arm.

She threw a punch toward my face, but it stopped just before hitting me, thanks to [infinity].

Altair raised an eyebrow.

"It seems like you don't know much about me," I said, jumping up and kicking her in the stomach while pushing myself back.

In the air, I noticed her expression didn't change at all when she received the kick.

"Y'know, I've received more severe kicks from wheelchair users," she said stoically, patting her uniform.

Still in the air, I pointed my finger at her, and space began to distort, forming a red sphere at my fingertip.

"[Red Reversal]," I fired the red sphere at her.

My feet touched the ground just as the red sphere hit her, creating a large cloud of dust that covered a significant area.

I straightened up, watching the dust cloud closely.

"Did it hit her?" Her voice rang out beside me.

Altair's voice cut through the dust beside me. "Did you think that would work?"

Surprised, I quickly raised my hand and used [Blue Lapse], causing her body to be thrown back.

Altair spun in the air and effortlessly left the gravitational field, landing gracefully a few meters away from me.

What is this woman?!

Her physical attributes are far superior to mine.

Also, I have no idea what her quirk is.

Maybe a space quirk like mine? After all, she moved me here.

"I admit, you are a little above average," she said, patting her clothes to remove the dirt. "But you should feel ashamed for having that level of power." She raised her hand, making countless blades appear in the air.

She snapped her fingers, and the blades descended rapidly toward me.

The rain of blades hit [Infinity], all exploding and creating a huge crater.

I looked at all of this with a Stoic expression, waving my hand to dissipate the accumulated dust.

"Now who should feel ashamed?" I asked, jumping across the crater and landing softly on the other side.

"You!" Altair exclaimed with a cold expression, raising her hand. "Nero, you are so mediocre that you rely completely on that barrier of yours, but you should know that there is no technique without a weakness." A sword appeared in her palm.

This sword was different. It possessed a silvery glow and invoked a feeling of fear.

Without thinking twice, I moved my hand, creating a spatial explosion, but Altair disappeared and reappeared in front of me.

She swung the blade toward me, and it collided with [Infinity]...

Pain surged through my body, and my blood dripped onto the floor.

"…" For a few seconds, I was in shock, but I quickly jumped back, bringing my hand to my left eye that had been cut.

I lost my left vision.

I thought in panic, pressing my hand to my bleeding eye.

What is happening?!

How did she manage to penetrate [Infinity]? That should have been impossible.

With that thought, my feet touched the floor.

My mind was in a state of chaos.

For the first time in my life, I was injured while [Infinity] was active.

"Oh! So it worked," Altair said, placing the tip of the blade on her finger.

I didn't need to be an Einstein to understand that it was the blade that bypassed my [Infinity].

"How?!" I asked, pressing my eye that was dripping with blood, still with [Infinity] active.

Upon hearing my question, she smiled and raised her face.

"That's simple. I created a sword with the concept of 'cutting.' No matter what or why, this sword will always hit the target as long as it is in the direction of the cut."

How the hell is this simple?!

But at least it gives me a hint of what her quirk is.

I thought in pain, removing my hand from my left eye.

I took a deep breath.

OK! I admit I'm scared. But I won't let this feeling dominate me.

With a single eye, I looked seriously at her.

"Oh! Finally, a firm look." Altair didn't say it sarcastically or to make fun of me.

Without saying a single word, I advanced toward her, creating a spatial explosion beside her.

Altair jumped to the side. The moment she jumped, I used [Mercury].

Her foot landed on the floor, and I appeared in front of her, placing my finger near her stomach.

Altair pulled her blade back and stabbed me. I moved my left hand, placing it in front of the blade.

The blade pierced [Infinity], piercing my hand.

Feeling a sharp pain, I smiled, pushing my hand across the blade. My hand slid down the blade, cutting several of her nerves.

I held the blade handle tightly.

"Red Reversal," I said, firing the red sphere at point-blank range into her belly.

The red hit her body, making her spit out blood. Her body began to be dragged by the red.

Her body hit the building, breaking it and burying her in it.

Ignoring the sword stuck in my left hand, I raised my other hand.

"[Maximum: Blue Lapse]." Creating a negative space, a blue sphere formed in my hand. I shot towards the building, and the blue sphere began to attract everything towards it.

I raised my hand, and the sphere rose, taking the entire building with it, destroyed by gravitational pressure.

I saw Altair's body being swallowed by the blue. Closing my hand, the blue exploded.

Altair's body was thrown into the air with a trail of blood.

It's still not enough.

Using [Mercury], I disappeared from my place, appearing in front of Altair, who had a disfigured body.

"[Red Reversal]." I put my finger close to her face and fired the red sphere.

The red hit her hard, and her body descended at an impressive speed.

Her body hit the ground, generating a crimson explosion.

I teleported to the ground, breathing heavily as I pulled the blade out of my hand.

It's impossible for her to come out of this unscathed.

I examined the sword with my good hand.

In addition to not having vision in one eye, I would also have problems with my left hand. Several nerves in that hand were damaged.

I tried to open and close my left hand, but it didn't respond well.

But at least that's over. Not even this woman would be functional after receiving one [Maximum: Blue Lapse] and two [Red Reversals], especially because I went with everything I had.

The moment I had that thought, a hand reached out of the crater. The hand was raw.

The hand began to pull a body out, little by little revealing itself until it was completely exposed.

Altair was in a deplorable state. Her body was naked, raw, and completely deformed. Blood oozed from her countless deep wounds and dripped onto the floor.

This is shocking.

The simple fact that she can stand is shocking, but on top of that, she is standing without any difficulty.

"Finally, you're starting to show some potential," she said, blood dripping from her mouth.

"Now, acting tough is not a good idea. You need to see a doctor or something, but first tell me what your relationship is with my mother," I asked seriously.

As I was about to use [Mercury], Altair exclaimed, "You think you defeated me?!"

She placed her hand over her face. "Look at your condition!" I retorted.

"What condition? [The Third Movement of the Cosmos: Representation Exposition]," she exclaimed, bringing her hand down from her face, revealing soft, snow-white skin. Not only was the skin on her face restored, but her entire body showed no signs of the damage she had just taken.

It was as if all the damage she had received never existed.

I couldn't react. I had used everything I had, and even so, she healed everything like it was nothing.

I thought, gripping the hilt of the sword tightly.

Even though a beautiful naked woman stood before me, at this moment, her beauty was no different from that of a monster.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, looking down and seeing that she was naked. "You are quite lucky; after your mother, you are the only person who has seen me naked." She snapped her fingers, and her military uniform reappeared on her body.

Altair adjusted the cap on her head. "So, shall we continue?" With her words, the sword in my hand disappeared and reappeared in hers.

"What exactly are you?" I couldn't help but ask.

"A simple human, but my quirk is a little special," she said, placing her hand on her waist. "The name of my quirk is [Holopsicon]. Basically, it is an ability that possesses the infinite power of all creation, capable of even going against the world itself."

"That's kind of abstract," I said with a desperate smile, realizing that I couldn't go against her. But hearing her talk about her quirk, I could imagine that it must have something to do with reality-warping or something close to that.

"A little," she admitted. "Let's continue?" With those words, she lunged towards me, creating another blade in her hand.

In the blink of an eye, she was already in front of me, swinging the blade.

I took a few steps back, dodging the blow, but even so, a cut formed on my chest.

With each swing of her blade, a new cut appeared. Using Blue, I sent her away.

At the same moment, I fired a Red, which she deflected with the blade.

The red collided with the blade, dragging it across the ground.

The blade seemed to resist the red, but small cracks formed on the blade.

Altair smiled, flexing her feet.

With her blade, she redirected the red to the side, and it disappeared, reappearing in front of me.

I turned my body, throwing a punch that she blocked with her arm.

Without wasting time, I gained distance using [Mercury].

Some distance from her, I felt my mind collapsing in pain. I was using my quirk a lot and I had already reached my limit.

But without giving me time to breathe, Altair appeared at my side, and we resumed our confrontation.

Several cuts started to appear on my body, and blood ran down my clothes. Worst of all, if I wanted to survive, I couldn't stop using [Blue Lapse], [Red Reversal], and [Mercury] for a single second.

Altair dodged the red and appeared behind me, stabbing her blade into my back.

Hahaha! I could only laugh.

My mind felt like it was in the clouds, totally overloaded by my quirk.

She pulled out the blade and kicked me in the same place the blade had pierced.

My body hit the ground like a pebble thrown into a lake.

Attract and repel.

Two energy sources would account for themselves.

I thought with a smile, feeling as light as a feather.

My body collided with a scalding rock, burning my flesh.

Thank God, my brain is overloaded; the pain I should have felt was nothing.

Red repels while blue attracts—the two forces of nature brought to reality by the distortion of space.

Negative energy and positive energy.

Red represents the very essence of convergence and divergence brought into reality.

While blue brings to reality the concepts of "negative numbers" and "negative distance."

Two powerful skills, right?

But what if…

"A little disappointing; that's all you can do, kid," Altair said, slowly approaching me.

"Hahahahahahahaha." I raised my body, laughing. For some reason, the world seemed funny to me, and with my only eye, I could see everything.

The space is so beautiful.

She raised her eyebrow at me, finding my action strange.

"Apparently, I broke you..."

"No, you are wrong, big sister. At this moment, I have never been so sane," I said, opening my arms and looking up. For some reason, Altair looked at me in surprise.

"Big sister, what would happen if the concept of attraction and reversal was brought into reality through space?" I asked, tapping my finger on my forehead while my golden eye stared at her. For some reason, I could see her every micro-movement at this point.

"The answer to that is a beautiful purple, big sister."