— I didn't ask you to cause such a commotion.
Wizard: "You didn't say they were that strong."
— They were Level 5 and 6. What did you expect? Even at night and without her armor, Sunshield is at least level 5.
Wizard: "The job is done. Where is our payment?"
— Sunshield is still alive.
Wizard: "The job was to steal the special 7-Up."
— And you failed at that too. Sunshield escaped your trap and took the cargo.
Wizard: "That's not possible. My trap was perfect."
— You thought finishing her off would be a waste of mana.
Wizard: "I pierced her heart. Nobody could survive that damage."
— Normal people? Maybe not. Well, you did your best. You're still getting paid.
Wizard: "Then stop lecturing me and pay us without delay."
— No delay? Don't worry, I'm always punctual.
The man punched the wizard in the face. Before the old man could react, the fist accelerated and went through his head in milliseconds, killing him. The man was Hayasa, the white-haired idol from the cosplay incident.
Hayasa: "If it weren't for that knight, I could have stolen more doses. I guess one bottle will have to be enough."
The beast rushed towards him, accelerating faster and faster. The idol stepped aside, leaving the berserker running uncontrollably, until it reached such speed that it left the city and erased everything in its path for hundreds of kilometers.
Ria was in a storage room in the main building of the association. She lit up the room, revealing several boxes of hero equipment. She was holding a thermos, like the one for 7-Up.
Ria: "That damn anti-hero association... They were faster than I predicted."
She opened the bottle cap and drank the mysterious liquid. She clutched her chest tightly for a few seconds, feeling pain, and then threw the empty bottle away to reuse it later.
Ria: "Not that I didn't take precautions, though. Taking that bottle with you was your worst mistake, leader."
At dawn, in a skyscraper under construction.
Hayasa: "You were at that tournament. Chainsycho, right?"
The crazy girl stood up, surprised by his presence.
Hayasa: "Relax, I'm not your enemy. I have a job for you. It pays well."
Katsuragi: "What makes you think we need money?"
The strong woman also from the tournament showed up from the shadows. Hayasa threw a bottle at her, which she catched with ease.
Hayasa: "Your compatibility with 7-Up is off the charts, right? This is a special mix."
Katsuragi: "I'm not your guinea pig."
Hayasa: "Right, how about you drink just a little? I can leave if you want. Then you call me back. Be quick, we have only a few hours."
Katsuragi: "What's the payment?"
Hayasa: "A shit ton more of these. You can join my association if you want. I'll pay you whatever you want, cash, 7-Up, you name it."
Katsuragi: "Such a good offer. Too good to be true."
She looked at her friend.
Katsuragi: "I assume this work is dangerous. Leave her out of it."
Hayasa: "Oh, no, she's a crucial part of my plan. Her power works at distances, right? She doesn't need to be exposed."
Ria got on the building's work elevator. She pressed the button, preparing for the worst. The elevator began to rise.
Ria: "I haven't noticed any difference yet... I hope my compatibility isn't worse than I think."
The elevator came to a halt. She stepped onto one of the floors. There were no walls, just pillars, the floor, and the ceiling. They were gray and made of concrete.
Ria: "The last location of that bottle was on this floor..."
The place was darker than the outside, but it was clear that there was no one inside. Before Ria could realize, someone jumped from another skycraper, aiming for the heroine.
As she was distracted and confident in her barrier, she waited for the threat to arrive. However, a fist passed through her trusted shield. Surprised, she had a few milliseconds to react. She arched back so fast that her hat nearly flew off. She caught it with her hands at the last second.
The flying threat didn't lose speed and left the building Ria was in faster than a fighter jet. Ria looked at the unidentified flying person, which suddenly disappeared, leaving a trail of distorted light behind. She followed the trail with her eyes and the person arrived at her side, landing a punch on her. Ria blocked the attack with her bare hand.
Her white glove shattered and her hand bones nearly broke. The impact destroyed some of the concrete and made the entire building tremble. The windows of nearby skyscrapers were shattered.
Katsuragi: "Impressive... But I'm way stronger now!"
She punched Ria repeatedly, faster and faster. The heroine blocked her attacks with her hands, but they were also getting stronger. She retreated to a pillar. Katsuragi continued to attack her. She blocked the blows with her arms, but they were starting to hurt. She slipped on the wall and rolled to the side. Katsuragi's punch destroyed the pillar, causing the building to collapse.
Ria: "Why isn't my barrier working? I have to fight back."
The woman jumped towards Ria and held her body as they flew out of the building, piercing through the elevator, which fell over the city. The heroine hit her with her elbows hundreds of times. Still, she didn't let go.
Katsuragi: "You're not scary without your barrier. You're actually... cute."
Ria frowned at the provocation. Her hat flew off, and she stared at it as if it were important.
Katsuragi: "Eyes down here, child!"
Ria pierced Katsuragi's eyes with her thumbs and tried to crush her head. She began to writhe in pain, but still laughed and held her body tightly. Ria pulled her hands back and hit her head with a force that could rival that of an atomic bomb. They flew in different directions. The city suffered major damage, considering a heroine was responsible for the explosion.
Ria's body crashed through hundreds of buildings until it finally came to a stop on a street. A figure burst through the city like a bullet and grabbed Ria by the face, dragging her for kilometers. Ria slapped his hand away, freeing herself. The two crashed into a restaurant, killing everyone in their path instantly.
Ria: "You can't surprise a Level 7 twice."
Hayasa: "Depends on your power."
He tried to punch her in the face, but she arched her back and grabbed his arm, pulling him to the ground. She pulled out her revolver and pointed it at his head.
Ria: "Come on, impress me."
Hayasa: "And letting civilians die for no reason? Absolutely."
He instantly stood up and punched her again. She blocked his powerful yet extremely fast attack. He began to accelerate his pace until no eye could comprehend that fight. Each impact destroyed more and more of the building, until an entire block of the city was gone.
Ria fired one of her revolvers at him, which he dodged. She pulled out the other revolver and hit his head with the handle, launching him across the city. He punched the ground to slow his momentum and rushed towards her again.
Simultaneously, she felt a presence behind her. Before she could turn around, Katsuragi punched her face with enough force to destroy a village. Ria's nose bled a single drop. The heroine shot both of her revolvers at her dozens of times, but she didn't stop. Ria backed down.
Hayasa came from the side and tried to grab her body. She anticipated it and kicked him, sending his body flying in a curve. Katsuragi punched her again. Ria blocked it with her arms. Suddenly, Hayasa grabbed her from behind, preventing her from moving.
Ria: "How? There's no way he could return so fast... Also, how is she healed?"
Katsuragi had her eyes completed healed. Her gun wounds were also regenerating. She punched Ria multiple times, until she decided to take it seriously.
She tried to grab Hayasa's face, but he suddenly disappeared. Katsuragi took the chance and punched her in the face hundreds of times stronger than before. Ria felt more pain this time.
Ria: "I have to end this quickly, before it gets worse..."
She aimed her revolver at Katsuragi's face. Before she could shoot, the woman grabbed her revolver and smashed it into pieces. Ria quickly summoned an all-piercing bullet and slapped her head, exploding the cartridge inside her skull. Katsuragi stopped for a second, stunned by the damage. Ria punched her in the stomach, causing her to kneel in pain.
Ria also felt an excruciating pain in her chest. Something seemed wrong. Her senses deteriorated rapidly and she could not see clearly. Hayasa kicked her face, making her fall to the ground.
Ria: "What happened...? Did someone inject me with poison...?"
She put her hand in front of her face, trying to control her body. Hayasa stepped on her hand. She drew her only revolver, but he was faster and kicked it out of her hand. She began to breathe heavily.
Someone appeared in front of her, besides Hayasa. It was a woman wearing a hospital gown. Her hair was messy, long, and light blue. Her skin was full of scars. Her eyes were soulless. She knelt down and held Ria's chin to force eye contact. She was also panting heavily.
Hayasa: "4-S? What are you doing here?"
4-S: "Shut up... I only agreed to this because of her..."
Hayasa: "You're gonna die."
4-S: "Ria... you can't do anything but listen to me..."
Ria: "Who are you...?"
4-S: "Remember me... remember me!"
She looked into those desperate eyes. Her processing speed slowed, but she managed to recall a memory lost in time.
4-S was an experiment to develop a new type of Level 7. An esper focused on space. But not just simple teleportation or distance manipulation. The goal of this project was to access the fourth dimension.
4-S was a little girl when her parents sold her to the laboratory responsible for the experiment. Her health was extremely unstable, so they thought she was not worth their time. However, she was old enough to remember their faces. She did not take it kindly.
All her life, she swore revenge. When she finally escaped the lab and went home, her parents were already dead. Ria had killed them for human trafficking. This spiraled into chaos and her physical and mental health deteriorated even more.
Ria: "You... you were that little girl..."
4-S: "Yes, yes! You remember me! You killed my parents!"
Ria: "What do you want from me...?"
4-S: "You took my chance for revenge... Now you have two choices... either die in their place, or bring them back to life..."
Ria: "I thought you hated them..."
4-S: "It was my job to kill them, not yours! Now, answer me!"
Katsuragi stared at Ria with pure contempt and the desire to kill her right there. 4-S held her own head, feeling a huge headache...
Ria slapped 4-S with a piercing bullet. Her power made Ria's hand phase through her body and land on Hayasa's. The bullet pierced through his stomach, injuring him. Katsuragi was ready to throw a punch, when Ria quickly got up and kicked her upwards, towards the sky.
She then jumped and hit Katsuragi in the face with a propulsion bullet. This was capable of pushing a person or small to medium-sized object an indefinite distance and duration. Katsuragi flew off the planet.
A building came flying at Ria, with increasing speed. Then, a skyscraper. She pushed her own body to the side with the propulsion bullet, avoiding them. They flew out of the planet.
As Ria fell, she aimed at Hayasa, who leapt toward her. She summoned a piercing bullet and clapped her hands, igniting the cartridge with an atomic explosion. A pink and yellow portal appeared between them, and Hayasa flew through.
She continued to fall, now aiming for 4-S. The maniac threw syringes into the air. They tore through space and left a distorted trail of light. They pricked Ria's skin and injected more poison. Also, the space between them began to stretch.
Ria struck her palm with several different backwards bullets, and a forward-propelled bullet, defying the fourth dimension with increasing speed and distance between bodies. Her body began to travel at increasing speed, until it reached... um, I don't know, maybe the speed of light? Either way, there's no way to measure it.
4-S's brain wavered for a moment. Ria stopped behind her for a few dozen meters, which began to extend again. Ria began to run at her maximum speed, firing multiple propulsion bullets. 4-S fell unconscious from overusing her own power. Even so, Ria landed a punch on her cheek.
In prison, she enjoyed punching and abusing the crazy girl like a crazy cop.
In a place that looked like a 5-star hotel...
— Amazing work...
Hayasa: "Who are you?!"
— Look, you would have died if I hadn't saved you in time. Show some gratitude.
Hayasa: "Answer the question!"
— You're always in a position to give orders to others, huh? How about this: I got a job for you.
Hayasa: "Show your face and I'll think about it."
— I do the thinking here. A large object is going to fall on your planet. I want you to increase its speed as much as you can. That's your power, right?
Hayasa: "Then the city would be destroyed."
— Don't worry, I won't let you die.
Hayasa: "What if I refuse?"
— You won't. I can promise you power. Is that what you want?