She looked at the smiling Su Youzi before her.
And... behind Su Youzi stood a woman baring the corners of her mouth at her, revealing a terrifyingly insane smile.
Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi had only one thought left in her mind: MMP.
An explanation?
How could she still dare demand an explanation?
That was a Third Sequence Ability User.
Even her own father... had only recently entered the Third Sequence.
Su Youzi's older sister, the dazzling genius of the Soga Main Family, was only at the Second Sequence.
And yet... a Third Sequence Ability User was standing right in front of her.
How could she still dare ask for anything?
She looked at Su Youzi and Kujo Ryuko, who stood obediently behind her.
Her mind filled with doubts.
Perhaps Su Youzi's position in the Soga Main Family was not as miserable as it appeared.
Otherwise,
why would a Third Sequence Ability User specifically guard a good-for-nothing who had only awakened her ability at seventeen?
Because of several rather subtle coincidences, including Su Youzi's malice that morning,
Kujo Ryuko happened to have changed into a tight miniskirt with no markings or insignia from the Fourth Action Department.
Otherwise... Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi would definitely have recognized her.
The woman before her was not some attendant dispatched by the Soga Main Family to guard Su Youzi.
She was the madwoman from the Investigation Department's Fourth Action Division.
Suppressing her feelings, Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi forced a flattering, ingratiating smile at Su Youzi. "Sister Youzi, you're joking..."
"What I mean is... is... when you beat a dog, you should look at its owner." Her expression became strained. "The Ishikawa family is nothing more than the Main Family's dog."
"How could we possibly tolerate anyone barking viciously at Sister Youzi?"
Behind her, the girls sitting sprawled on the ground felt as though they had fallen into an icy cavern after hearing Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi's words, their backs turning cold.
The young woman was not as gentle and refined as she appeared.
Su Youzi had made her bow so obsequiously and lose face.
After they left the training hall... they would still be the ones to suffer.
Su Youzi watched Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi with interest.
She was quite good at enduring things.
Normally, Su Youzi might have waved her off and let her go.
She was merely a fly buzzing annoyingly by her ear. The farther away it rolled, the better.
But... things were different now.
Everything was completely different.
In Su Youzi's eyes, Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi was a walking treasure chest monster.
The corners of Su Youzi's lips lifted.
She and Soga Toyura were twins.
For a fleeting moment—
Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi even felt that the person standing before her was not an abandoned child of the Soga Main Family, but that lofty Soga Toyura who always looked down upon her peers with the contemptuous gaze of a god surveying ants.
But... she shook her head lightly.
The young woman's lovely figure reminded Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi that
the person standing before her was only Su Youzi.
Not Soga Toyura, who possessed that terrifying, ruler-like mental power.
"Since Sister Kiyomi doesn't want an explanation... why don't we talk about my matter instead?" Su Youzi said, lifting that gleaming katana.
It was Kujo Ryuko's affection-level reward.
[Collectible Katana]
[☆☆☆☆]
It was practically the most precious item among all the affection-level rewards Su Youzi had received.
"Please, Sister Youzi—" Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi had already prepared herself for a tremendous loss.
But... when she looked at Kujo Ryuko behind Su Youzi,
she could only endure it.
"If it's something Kiyomi can do... Kiyomi definitely won't refuse."
The girl's voice fell.
Then she saw Su Youzi's smile suddenly widen.
That smile made her even more uneasy.
But... it also brought her a tiny bit of relief.
After all, the person standing before her was not Soga Toyura.
That girl who seemed as though she would never smile was an inescapable gloom in Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi's heart—a nightmare, a terrifying dream that made her tremble.
"Sister Kiyomi said it herself—"
"I only just awakened my ability." Su Youzi twirled the blade in her hand. "So..."
"How about Sister Kiyomi practice with me?"
"Don't worry."
"I, Su Youzi, am not someone who can't accept losing."
"One-on-one."
"I absolutely won't let a third person interfere."
Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi's eyes suddenly widened. The young woman, already prepared for a tremendous loss, nearly burst out laughing.
What should she call her?
Very stupid and naive?
Wasn't she practically offering her own face to be slapped?
Did she really think that being unmatched with a blade would let her contend with an Ability User?
A martial artist was ultimately still just a martial artist.
"Fine—" Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi agreed immediately, even slightly worried that Su Youzi might regret it.
"Rest assured, Sister Youzi."
"I'll be mindful of my limits."
The young woman raised her chin arrogantly. "I'm a First Sequence Level 14 Mental Type Ability User."
"My ability is Mental Interference."
"Be careful, Sister Youzi."
"No problem." Su Youzi flashed a broad smile.
"Mental Interference," huh? It was a Mental Type ability that affected an opponent's will.
Its simplest manifestation was stunning the opponent for an instant.
At a mild level, it was like motion sickness: the world spun, accompanied by nausea and dry heaving.
At a stronger level... it could make someone lose consciousness on the spot.
However—
Compared with Soga Toyura's Mental Manipulation, it was nowhere close.
Soga Toyura... could even rewrite a person's will.
She gripped the long, narrow katana with both hands, spread her legs slightly, lowered her center of gravity, and slowly pointed the blade at Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi.
"Then let's begin, Sister Kiyomi."
Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi stood in place. Her orange-dyed hair stirred without any wind, and her bright crimson eyes lit up as invisible waves spread outward.
Malice spread through the young woman's heart.
Her ability was of course not merely simple Mental Interference.
To be more precise... her ability should be Area-wide Mental Interference.
Although it was only two words different, the way the abilities manifested was worlds apart.
If the former was merely a single-target attack, giving Su Youzi a chance to escape, then Area-wide Mental Interference was an all-directional attack with no blind spots.
Several girls standing closer to Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi even clutched their heads in pain.
Yet... Su Youzi seemed completely unaffected.
The girl wielding the blade lunged forward. Her thrust was as graceful as a butterfly fluttering across a battlefield.
Even Kujo Ryuko revealed an approving expression.
Then... she felt a little regretful.
It would have been better if Su Youzi's ability were not Telekinetic Ability.
Even the most ordinary physical-type ability could have made Su Youzi a terrifying blade against Altered Users on the battlefield.
And with her sister... the two sisters would have been an existence even more feared by Altered Users than the Seat of Evil had once been.
However... she recalled the Blood Dress fluctuations she had detected in Su Youzi's room last night.
Was the girl's ability really only Telekinetic Ability?
Facing Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi's web of Mental Interference, Su Youzi charged straight through it.
The gleaming tip of the blade lightly... split open the uniform over Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi's chest vertically, leaving a shallow vertical line of blood across the girl's chest.
"How is that possible..."
If this were a game,
Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi's experience would probably be... she stood up, got killed instantly, and the screen went black—yet she did not even know what had happened.
Picking up the scabbard from the ground, Su Youzi slowly sheathed the blade.
Just as expected... exactly as she had thought.
Perhaps she had grown accustomed to being influenced by Soga Toyura.
Even Soga Toyura's Mental Manipulation could only make Su Youzi's head throb unbearably; it could not rewrite her will.
Mental Interference?
What trash was that?
Before you continue