Is it so bad to use power given by others?
Is it bad to use the "Level Upper" to get power? Is it cheating? Should I feel guilty?
At least I don't think so.
The AIM Burst that was torn to shreds began to leak its contents like a balloon with a hole in it.
"I've been working hard... but thousands upon thousands of hours of effort are crushed by a single ability! That's the reality!"
"Real superpowers, magic, and sorcery. They're ridiculously unreasonable, absurd powers that seem like a bad joke. It became stupid to frantically point a pistol at a target or study so hard... Anyone who saw that would feel the same way! That they're just a tiny speck...!"
These were the cries from the hearts of the boys and girls who entrusted their last hope to the Level Upper and were now suffering in a hospital bed.
And of course, among them was a voice he had heard often.
"...Am I defective?"
The information from Kiyama was not that difficult. She explained that the AIM Burst had something that could be called a core, and it would not disappear unless that core was destroyed. The Dendrobium's cannon fire could cause it to disappear if it hit an unprotected spot, but if the creature sensed the shot and activated its defensive abilities, the attack would fall just short.
Based on that, they decided to attack in a coordinated effort this time.
"Then, let's go according to the plan."
"Roger!"
"Yes."
"Got it."
The two on the other end of the intercom also agreed.
The plan was already decided. Kiyama watched as each of them readied their weapons, but then she was told something unexpected.
"Then, Professor Kiyama, please stand back. You'll get caught in the blast."
"Eh... no, I am responsible for creating that. If I don't do this, I won't be able to face those children—"
Kiyama, who had intended to stay on the sidelines, let out a silly sound for a moment, but managed to compose herself.
"Ah, no, what I meant was, please stand back so you don't get caught in our attack..."
Yukina said with an apologetic, wry smile.
"What..."
"If we get you hurt, the sleeping children will get mad at us."
Asuna's words made Kiyama's eyes widen.
"So. What you should do isn't to put your life on the line here. It's to atone for your sins, look forward, and live."
Finally, Mikoto looked Kiyama straight in the eye and told her that.
The AIM Burst, oblivious to their conversation, extended its tentacles.
"Let's go, Yukina!"
"Yes!"
The two of them readied their weapons and leaped forward with superhuman leg strength.
They swept away the approaching tentacles with a single swing. They ran around without losing momentum, slashing one after another. Still, the AIM Burst, putting up a last resistance, directed countless abilities at the intruders.
"I can provide this much support... First Bullet: Aleph!"
The two's bodies disappeared—no, that wasn't it. It was the benefit of one of Kurumi's Zafkiel's bullet abilities, the First Bullet: Aleph, which accelerates the time of a shot target.
The empty attacks disappeared.
"Charge complete! Tina, shoot!"
"Artillery support, Special Ops rounds, napalm incendiary rounds, firing. Impact in 3 seconds."
Tina's secret weapon, fired from far away. Its destructive power was too great for a handgun bullet. Upon impact with the AIM Burst, it caused a massive explosion.
"aaaaaaaaaaa―――――――――"
The gigantic body swayed, shaking the ground.
"Well then, I'll leave the rest to you, Misaka-san."
"Yeah!"
Kurumi held Kiyama and escaped from the spot.
"Get back!"
At the same time, the Dendrobium, with Aria aboard, appeared right above them again.
"Fire!!!"
The Mega Beam Cannon attack enveloped the AIM Burst. Perhaps because it had already been damaged, the damage was more severe than with the first shot.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize... But you know, if you're going to use superpowers, you can't leave your Personal Reality to someone else. Because it's a reality that's all your own. It's your own, your special ability. Your strong will, your 'Personal Reality', will become your own special power. It should have already become that."
Finally, the core was exposed.
Mikoto's right hand flicked a coin.
The muzzle of another superweapon-like cannon, different from the Dendrobium's main cannon, was aimed at the AIM Burst.
"So hurry up and go home. Everyone's worried about you."
An orange flash of light shot straight toward the core. It was the trajectory of a coin accelerated to three times the speed of sound.
Mikoto's Railgun shot through the core.
"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa―――――..."
The AIM Burst, with its core destroyed, could no longer maintain its body and began to dissipate. The monster that had been scattering destruction around completely vanished.
Mikoto stretched her body, and with a refreshed, bright expression, she said,
"Ugh! It's over!"
Of course, she still had to face Saten and handle the aftermath of the incident, but it was understandable that she would want to express it as "over."
(Misaka Mikoto, one of the few Level 5 espers here. She can not only emit electricity but also use it to manipulate magnetism. And what I just saw was her signature Railgun.)
Kurumi reviewed the information she had gathered in her mind.
(It must be tough to have this level of ability. It must attract all sorts of troublesome things, like bugs flocking to a streetlamp in the summer.)
Just then, Misaka suddenly swayed.
"Oh, are you all right?"
Kurumi caught the collapsing Misaka.
"Huh? You, weren't you supposed to have left with Professor Kiyama—"
"Hehe, it was a 'bunshin no jutsu' (cloning technique)."
"Seriously, your limits are unknown."
Misaka had long since understood the abnormality of Kurumi's ability. She didn't go into detail, out of politeness.
Completely drained after unleashing a refined and sharpened attack to her limit, Misaka obediently leaned on Kurumi's shoulder.
---------
"It seems the authorities will be here soon... What shall we do?"
"What do you mean? Now that the network is destroyed, I'm just a scientist. I can't escape. And I have no intention of doing so."
Kiyama continued with a faint smile.
"I will settle 'this situation.' But I won't give up. I will start over... again and again. Whether I'm in prison or at the ends of the earth, my brain will always be my own."
The sound of a siren could be heard. The slightly late reinforcements were arriving.
"I won't be picky about the means. If you don't like it—"
"Then, someone else will stand in your way again. Although we don't know if it will be us."
Kurumi felt strange saying this, as if she had become a hero of justice herself.
"I see. That would be a wonderful thing."
What she felt from Kurumi's words, she didn't say, leaving behind that last remark as she was led away.
---------
The hospital, which had been as busy as a hornet's nest a little while ago, was still bustling but was beginning to return to calm.
Saten, who had woken up and completed a simple checkup, was on the rooftop.
The sun was setting, and the sky was dyed red.
In the end, Saten's time in a coma was less than half a day, and the time she could use her ability was even shorter. Once it was all over, it was like,
"It really felt like a dream..."
She muttered to herself, looking at the red-dyed clouds.
No breeze came from her open palm. She had returned to her original body, with no special power, as it was before she used the Level Upper. To the way she was supposed to be.
So many things had happened in one day that she couldn't process them all. She had realized her powerlessness, rejoiced at getting an ability, involved her friends, and then shed tears for betraying them.
"...Ugh, now that I think about it, I said something so embarrassing to Haru-chan..."
Saten's face turned red as she remembered her past words.
Because of this, she reacted excessively when the rooftop door opened with a sound.
The person who came in was a slightly older boy in a hospital gown.
"—You are."
"Hello, did you use it too?"
She didn't specify "what." The checkups were being completed one after another. It wasn't strange for a person with nothing to do to come here.
"Ah, yeah, I guess so. Yeah, that's right."
The male student understood everything from Saten's words. Although he was a bit hesitant, he honestly admitted it.
"I finally got to be free. When I left the hospital room, it was all over."
"Is that so? Me too. Actually, this is all thanks to my friends."
She said proudly, with a hint of jealousy, that her friends of the same age had contributed to solving this big incident.
It seemed she still couldn't completely get rid of the jealousy in her heart. But even so,
"Don't you want that kind of power anymore?"
"No, no, that's not it. If I could get it, I'd be happy... Well, but—"
Saten turned her back to the male student.
"—For now, I'm going to try to think about what I can do with who I am."
---------
"...Saten-san is back to normal. She's doing well, looking forward, and using this experience as a stepping stone, huh?"
Saten Ruiko. A girl who, by chance, fell into a similar situation as me. An ordinary person who got the opportunity to gain the power she had always wanted.
The smile I saw when she disappeared from the rooftop. Even if her complexes hadn't disappeared, she could face them a little more now.
I thought things might be different in this world, but there were no major changes, and it ended up with the same result as the original. Maybe that's for the best.
...Come to think of it, Professor Kiyama is a specialist in the brain and senses, isn't she?
"Nah, that's impossible."
It's insane to provide Psycho-Frame technology to someone you don't know if they're an ally or an enemy.
I enjoyed the setting sun for a little while and then turned my back on the reddening sky.
Is it so bad to use power given by others?
Is it bad to use the Level Upper to get power? Is it cheating? Should I feel guilty?
At least I don't think so.
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