Chapter 509: Duel of Minds

*Boom*

Smoke billowed on the battlefield. Misaki did her best to shield herself in the golden bubble, but her inexperience in controlling Yuki's power left her vulnerable to Ayu's relentless pressure.

The lions prowled one by one, inflicting heavy losses on both the snakes and Misaki's shield, which began to show cracks...

"I can't keep this up!"

Misaki grasped control, ready to press the button, but before she could react, Ayu, a tough nut to crack, vanished unexpectedly. Misaki searched frantically across the battlefield, but Ayu seemed to have vanished into thin air. Misaki's expression darkened—without aiming with the remote control, controlling someone was impossible.

*Roar...*

Suddenly, an ice lion burst through the destruction, leaping towards Misaki. Panic set in as she recoiled slightly, attempting to command the snakes, fearing an explosion. But it was too late; the ice lion didn't explode. Instead, it attacked with fangs and claws, its expectant eyes boring into her. With incredible force, the ice lion breached her shield...

"!!"

Just as Misaki thought she might lose to the explosion, a girl with striking hair emerged from inside the lion.

"Oh!"

With a bold and strategic move, the crowd cheered. Yuki nodded approvingly. Ayu's imaginative tactics made her highly versatile in combat—Misaki never imagined ice lions could be used like this, not even in her wildest dreams.

Wasting no time, Ayu charged towards Misaki. Athletically superior, Ayu closed the distance before Misaki could react.

"I win~"

With a sweet smile, Ayu pressed her forehead against Misaki's, both hands holding a smartphone against Misaki's temples.

"Huh!"

Misaki resisted, feeling an odd sensation, as if invisible cables were gathering and suddenly yanking from her mind. The more she resisted, the stronger the sensation grew, like someone invading her thoughts.

But this was expected. Unlike Misaki, who lacked information about Ayu's capabilities, Ayu knew her well...

Mental Stinger worked through moisture, while Mental Out used electrical signals. As a Level 5, Misaki was immune to Ayu's control; her mind was superior and more resistant.

Thus, Mental Out and Mental Stinger could cancel each other out, but only if both rejected interference. Ayu intentionally accepted, opening a port and allowing identical format packets to exchange, dragging Misaki's consciousness into her mind using Mental Stinger as an ignition to overpower Mental Out.

Ayu had been mimicking Misaki's brain's micro-electrical signals for a year, making establishing a connection easy. Dragging Misaki into her mind was effortless... (TN: crazy dedication, couldnt be me)

"It's time to take what's mine~"

With these final words, Ayu pulled Misaki into her mental world...

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"Huh?"

Misaki opened her eyes, slightly confused, but after a few seconds, she regained her composure.

"I let my guard down..."

Sighing, Misaki admitted she had underestimated her opponent. If only she had been more careful, Ayu wouldn't have caught her off guard. Her lack of experience in controlling Yuki's sealed power was also a decisive factor...

"What is this?"

There was no use crying over spilled milk, so Misaki focused on the main issue—her location.

It was a strange place of light and darkness, with nothing around except water at her feet reflecting her figure...

"Welcome, Shokuhou, and farewell~"

Suddenly, Ayu's voice echoed. Misaki looked up as Ayu descended like a goddess. As soon as her feet touched the water, ripples spread, and Misaki's consciousness blurred. She clutched her head in pain...

Thousands of memories flashed through her mind as Ayu approached slowly.

"Haaa~ I've been waiting for this. These memories are mine now~"

Placing both hands on Misaki's neck, Ayu smiled cruelly as Misaki's brain's information flowed into hers...

"Why..."

With a weak murmur, Misaki looked at her opponent. Ayu harbored deep resentment towards her, and Misaki had no idea why. They had parted ways a year ago, and Misaki hadn't seen Ayu since. Yet, Ayu seemed to hold a grudge for some time. Misaki could accept losing in this contest, but Ayu was taking something that belonged to her...

Her memories...

Worse still, Misaki couldn't resist. Mental Stinger was linked to her ability, and since she wasn't rejecting Mental Out, she inadvertently shared information, causing an internal failure in Mental Out...

"Why? Hee~ You should know, Misaki Shokuhou, you're a thief... You stole what's mine! I'm just reclaiming what's rightfully mine!"

Ayu's eyes gleamed with anger, her face contorted.

Misaki couldn't comprehend it, but due to Mental Stinger's link with Mental Out, she, like Ayu, was processing and assimilating Ayu's memories...

This conflict and resentment weren't recent; it stemmed from Tree Diagram and Aleister's Esper evolution program...

Years ago, Tree Diagram identified two girls with Level 5 potential, Misaki Shokuhou and Ayu Mitsuari, both possessing nearly identical brain abilities. In the Dolly Laboratory workshop, Misaki's parameters were higher, so scientists focused on enhancing her ability, leaving Ayu as a backup in case Misaki died during surgery.

Fortunately, the experiment went smoothly, and Misaki became a Level 5 Esper. Ayu was forgotten, her ability only reaching Level 3.

Aware of this, Ayu wasn't bitter. She spent her days in the laboratory workshop, making friends. She never had issues with Misaki and considered herself fortunate not to have participated in those experiments, learning that part of Misaki's brain cortex was used to create Exterior...

But everything changed one day.

Misaki Shokuhou, like a queen, expanded her dominion as the leader, captivating all the girls in the laboratory. Alongside her was a clown...

For Ayu, this clown was a glorious light in her life...

Ayu fell in love at first sight that day. The clown was so magical it made her heart race.

What amazed Ayu even more was learning that the Joker was Misaki's imaginary friend, whom she could make others see and interact with using her mental power...

At first, Ayu thought she could do the same and tried to create an imaginary friend. Unfortunately, after many attempts, she failed, which saddened her...

But it wasn't all darkness. Misaki wasn't selfish; she let her imaginary friend talk and play with all the girls, including Ayu...

As time passed, Ayu fell deeper and deeper in love, eventually giving up on creating an imaginary friend. Even if she succeeded, it wouldn't be the Joker, who had stolen her heart...

So, after some time, she decided to appeal to Misaki and establish a mind-link, allowing her to be with her favorite clown all the time...

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TN: Hmm lets continue at this pace I dont wanna get bored before I get to next volume yet