A Pure Scumbag

Saten Ruiko walked aimlessly down the street. Although her face was expressionless, her furrowed brows revealed her inner turmoil. "Can it really make me an esper too? But..."

She took out her phone, staring at it with deep conflict. The cause of her indecision was a seemingly ordinary device that held a fantastical tool capable of enhancing esper abilities: [Level Upper]. This small audio file held the potential to change her life forever.

"Aren't you going to give me [Level Upper]?!" Suddenly, a voice from afar caught Saten's attention.

Out of curiosity about anything related to [Level Upper], Saten couldn't help but walk over to see what was happening.

"Sorry, but the price just went up. If you want it, bring another 100,000 yen!" Two menacing delinquents had a slightly chubby boy cornered against a wall. They were grinning as they tossed a portable music player between them.

"Then give me back the money I already paid!" The boy was clearly furious at the price hike and shouted in anger.

"You dare talk back?!" One of the delinquents kicked the boy hard in the stomach, knocking him to the ground, where he curled up in pain.

"Is that all you've got?" After easily taking him down, the two laughed and began to beat him up, yelling at him to hand over the money.

At that moment, a blond-haired guy approached, seemingly the leader of the group, and asked as he walked, "How much has your ability level improved? Want to test it on this guy?"

As he said this, he suddenly turned to look at a corner of the nearby building but saw no one.

"A mistake?" The blond turned back to focus on the boy before him.

Seeing this, Saten felt hesitant. What should she do? Should she call Selene? With her skills, she could easily handle them. But... Does it show that I'm useless, always relying on others?

After struggling with herself for a moment, Saten made a decision. "I'll report it to Judgment or Anti-Skill first."

She took out her phone to report it to Judgment but found it was out of power. Her eye twitched in disbelief. "What timing..."

Hearing the boy's painful groans behind her, Saten's eyes filled with indecision. Should she just leave? She couldn't possibly fight those three alone, but...

If she just walked away, she wouldn't be Saten Ruiko. Her conscience wouldn't allow it.

"Stop it!" Saten stepped forward, forcing herself to speak up. "That person's already hurt, and Anti-Skill is on the way."

"Huh?" The blond leader turned around in surprise, seeing Saten and smirking. He walked over and kicked the wall behind her, leaving a dent. "What did you just say? Say it again!"

His missing teeth and uneven eyes made the blond look even more menacing and ugly.

Saten was instinctively terrified, covering her head with her hands. Before she could speak, the blond grabbed her hair and pulled her over. "Another brat. So cocky! You're powerless, yet you dare to yap and boss us around?"

Suddenly, a can was kicked over, followed by Shirai Kuroko's angry voice. "You who think borrowed power is your own have no right to boss her around!"

"I'm with Judgment. I'm arresting you for [assault and battery in progress]!" Kuroko's face was icy, pausing before she added, "Surrender quietly!"

"Clang!" One of the delinquents crushed the can underfoot and swaggered toward Kuroko, sneering, "Hah! Who do you think you are? Just another kid?" He even put a hand on her shoulder.

"You should know better. I've been chasing you down for so long, and now I find you assaulting my friend..."

"What nonsense!" The delinquent interrupted impatiently, raising a hand to strike Kuroko.

Kuroko acted first, placing her left hand on his chest and activating her ability. He was teleported headfirst into the ground, instantly knocked out.

"Kuroko is quite dangerous today!" Kuroko continued, her expression remaining calm and neutral. But those who knew her understood that this was a sign of her deep anger.

Another delinquent charged at Kuroko, throwing metal objects at her.

Kuroko teleported away and then reappeared in front of him, hitting him hard on the nose with her handbag, knocking him out cold.

With a few soft clangs, the two delinquents' clothes were pinned firmly to the ground.

"Interesting ability!" The blond leader watched his subordinates' defeat without fear, smirking. "So this is spatial teleportation? First time seeing it up close."

"You seem detached. You're next!" Kuroko warned.

The blond leader threw Saten aside and charged at Kuroko, trying to grab her. "Let's see what you're made of!"

"Hmph, you'll end up failing and..." Kuroko sneered, teleporting to dodge. As she turned to attack, the blond was gone.

Disappeared?

As she thought, she heard footsteps. Kuroko raised her bag defensively, blocking his kick. "From behind... It's like he circled around..."

Kuroko quickly drew pins to strike, but... Why did they seem to pass through him? "Missed? Why did my attack miss?"

As the blond attacked again, Kuroko couldn't ponder further. She braced for defense when suddenly, he shifted, kicking her in the stomach and sending her flying!

She crashed into a nearby wall with a thud.

"Judgment?" Seeing his attack land, the blond licked his knife, grinning wickedly. "Before my enhanced power, you're nothing!"

As he prepared to follow up, he was shocked to see Kuroko standing up unscathed. "How? I hit her hard..."

"Ugh... Why doesn't it hurt? This..." Kuroko, confused, noticed the crystal in her pocket glowing brightly. "It's Selene..."

The crystal slowly floated out of Kuroko's hand, and with a twist of time and space, a purple glowing door appeared out of thin air.

In a daze, the blond watched as a massive knight, standing nearly four meters tall in silver armor with four translucent wings, emerged from the door.

The air was filled with a whistling sound as the silver knight swung its massive hammer down on the blond delinquent.

The scene felt familiar, and Kuroko yelled, "Wait... Don't kill him!"

Though Kuroko found the blond disgusting, she couldn't condone taking his life. It went against her principles.

The hammer struck the ground with a thunderous crash!

The nearby building groaned, and its glass shattered.

Centered on the impact, a shockwave rolled outward like a tidal wave, cracking the ground and throwing debris into the air, filling the area with dust.

Caught in the wave, Saten shielded her eyes and mouth, protecting herself from the dust and debris.

Kuroko was at a loss. What now? With three others knocked out (the chubby boy and two delinquents), she couldn't protect them all. "I knew Selene's attacks wouldn't be subtle!"

Suddenly, an invisible wall appeared, blocking the oncoming shockwave. Kuroko sighed in relief, certain of who had arrived. "Selene, you're here!"

"Yeah, how'd you guess? Smart, Kuroko." A cool, slightly angry voice came from the center of the storm. A tall figure emerged, followed by the massive silver knight carrying the limp blond.

At the last moment, hearing Kuroko's plea, Selene pulled back, letting the hammer strike near the delinquent instead. Though it didn't kill him, the shockwave was enough to make him suffer.

Selene ordered the knight to toss the blond at Kuroko's feet, shaking her head, "Kuroko, you're too kind. Why spare this scum? Better to crush him."

"No!!!" ×3 (Kuroko, Saten, Chubby Boy) (?OдO)b w(?Д?)w┌(.Д.)┐

Realizing Selene was teasing, Kuroko ignored the terrified chubby boy, sighing helplessly. "Please, Selene, don't think such scary thoughts. It's wrong..."

"Fine, fine, I get it... What now?"

"Fortunately, that building was set for demolition. You always go overboard, Selene. That guy's barely hanging on..."