Chapter 22: The Twins' Debut (2)

The instant Avon Laura's sword made contact with Sona's neck, the unexpected occurred.

Rather than a fountain of blood spurting, following a head sent flying through the air, something entirely different could be heard.

A single noise resonated throughout the arena.

Clang~!

The familiar sound of metal-on-metal. One that could be heard countless times until this point, and yet one that no one expected to hear.

"--!?"

The future had changed.

Widening her eyes for a moment, Avon Laura faltered briefly before belatedly going for a second strike on the young girl before her.

―However, that small gap was enough.

Sona side-stepped, barely dodging the attack, and lunged for the blade.

Avon Laura withdrew the weapon out of Sona's reach, whirling around to counter with a whip-like slash, blocked by the girl halting to raise her arms.

Clang~!

Yet again, her skin seemed forged from the strongest of steels.

Watching the astonishing abilities of the girl with the eyes of a hawk, Avon Laura took a step back to assess the situation.

...How?

Her movements were not that of a ten-year-old girl; that speed in particular was in fact comparable to Avon's own.

She knew they were taken from a facility that conducted human experiments for the purpose of testing Supernatural Abilities, but not to mention her speed; the fact that a small girl could block the blade of a swordmaster such as herself, with nothing but her bare neck, was clearly strange.

...Physical enhancement of some kind?

Only some kind of ability that could strengthen her body would be capable of such feats, and that magical lustre that coated her body seemed an apt fit for the case.

The girl should be nearing the limits of her ability just to keep up with Avon Laura in the current situation, so there shouldn't be a need to worry about further growth of her enhancement, but a close eye should be kept on that other girl staying in the rear.

Since she was hiding away, it wouldn't be illogical to assume that the only one of the two girls with any amount of physical ability was the one confronting her right now. On the other hand, that should also mean that the girl has a different ability equal to it in terms of power.

She witnessed the two float with her own eyes, so could that be it?

A power over gravity, or some kind of telekinetic power perhaps?

Comparing it to the volunteering subjects that are looked after in the Wardens' facilities, the progress of the Order's Supernatural Ability experimentation has far surpassed their own, but that isn't surprising given their inhuman readiness to resort to underhanded methods.

If things continue as they are, the Measurement of Destiny shows nothing more than a vision of a terribly heated battle that stood at a stalemate; she would be fighting ceaselessly with sweat constricting her body and the possibility of falling from exertion ever-rising.

...In that case, it is better to get things over with quickly.

Avon Laura dashed forward, taking care to manage the distance between her and Sona.

Seeing a mirage of the girl coming to grab her sword, she elegantly waved her arm like a snake to narrowly avoid getting caught in the opponent's grasp.

Then, landing a foot just beside Sona, she placed a hand on her back and pushed hard before jumping away as quickly as she arrived.

Not turning back to look at the girl shoved to the floor behind her, Avon Laura increased her speed towards the real target―the twin standing at the back of the arena.

With nothing in between her and her target, Avon Laura reached the girl in the blink of an eye and unsheathed her sword when...

SLAM-!!

―A heavy noise resounded.

Following that, Avon Laura felt her vision blur.

"Kuhgh-!?"

A moment later, she let out an unsuppressed sound from within as a hefty impact was felt on her lower back.

All of a sudden, she found herself soaring through the air in an awkward position and left wondering just what the hell had occurred. Rotating her body in the air, she managed to land somewhat safely, but reflexively groaned when rising to her feet.

Zoning her disordered gaze on her opponents, she soon found that they were already back together.

My push was supposed to take at least a few seconds to come back from, but just when did she have the time to recover and travel all that distance...? Furthermore, just what was it that hit me?

Whatever it was, it was far stronger in raw force than any other blow dealt to her today, and even more than she could remember.

Examining the two girls carefully before making a move, Avon Laura realised that they had more to them than she initially thought. Then, something questionable happened.

Taking what looked like a small vial of red liquid out of her pocket, Sona handed it to the other girl, Sana, who downed it in an instant.

What is that...?

There was no immediate effect that followed, or at least it seemed so, but even the Measurement of Destiny didn't make deducing such a thing easy.

The situation has deviated too far from the original plan, and Avon Laura deeply contemplated whether the right move here was to simply back off for now and come back later with more preparedness.

She really did not want to have to do it if possible, but it was getting more and more doubtful whether she could feasibly win in a one versus two against these girls.

Sneaking a glance at the man wearing a mask, she wondered.

...Was this your plan from the beginning? To fool my foresight, show off your newfound power in the form of these girls, and terrorise these innocent people?

Not even the Measurement of Destiny was enough to foresee what that man's end goal was.

She began to doubt whether the Wardens could truly take him back to where he belongs.

Even if it was the best case scenario for the world, would he allow it? The answer was undeniably 'no', but it was something they needed to do even if it was close to impossible.

...Someone like him-- No, there exists no person like him on the planet.

A being of such unequivocal peril, whose very existence is a hazard to the world.

What it would take to convince him to return to the 'Playground'―Avon Laura wasn't even sure if there existed a condition that could be satisfied to strike such a deal.

That person was wildly unpredictable and cared for nothing but himself.

He seemed to enjoy putting on the act of an entertainer at the moment, but once that got tiring he would switch in an instant. All those people from around the world that are beginning to idolise him―I wonder how long their disillusionment will last.

The crowd around us... Even they appear to be gradually calming from the panic of the bomb threat this man had previously announced.

Did they think it was fake? Maybe.

But I knew. Even without seeing the future of body parts soaring all over the place and bloody explosions erupting, I knew well about that man's character.

The bombs were very much there, and they were very much active.

...I cannot retreat here.

One might think that a couple hundred thousand lives being sacrificed was nothing in comparison to the billions of lives that may be saved as a result.

But I disagree.

These civilians deserve to live just as much as any other.

That's why I can't back down here. If I do, that man will get bored, and as a result, hundreds of thousands of innocent lives will be lost like nothing.

He is evil.

An evil worse than any demon, one that will mercilessly extinguish countless lives with but a snap of his fingers and not even as much guilt as tearing the leaf off a branch.

Such evil must be stopped.

Enduring the harsh pain around her liver to get into a proper posture, Avon Laura tightened the grip on her sword, and muttered.

"...Unravel the congested ball of yarn. Out of these myriad timelines, reveal to me the path in which I must take to succeed and a fate most sealed..."

Even if they were a couple of kids, they were opponents that required her utmost attention.

"―I follow thee; Fate's Cherished Red Thread."

Now was not the time to hold back.