Chapter Fifteen – The Shifting Scales of Fate
(From the bushes, moments after the flashbang)
"What should we do now?"
(Kanami) didn't say these words aloud. But his look at (Tokito) for one second—a single, intense, green-eyed glance—was enough.
That second was sufficient for (Tokito) to return to consciousness after being absent for parts of a second.
The paralyzing shock of seeing the protagonist about to die had short-circuited his brain. Kanami's look was a cold splash of water, a silent demand for the plan, for leadership he had falsely claimed to possess.
My mind, a frantic animal, scrambled for purchase.
"Prepare the flash grenades. We will attack now."
The words left my lips in a hissed whisper, more reflex than thought. It was the only move. Distraction. Create chaos.
Kanami took out the flash grenades in one moment from his bag.
His hand dipped into his backpack without a sound, his movements smooth and practiced. He produced two small, cylindrical devices.
And looked in the direction. Throw the flash grenade in the air.
I pointed a pale finger, not at (The First Hand), but at a spot in the air above and slightly behind him, a space between the trees.
The grenade moved at great speed and reached the area above (The First Hand), in addition to (Sasuke), who was frozen.
Kanami's arm drew back and snapped forward. There was no throw; the grenade simply appeared in the designated spot five meters above the clearing, teleported by his Thief ability.
Fwip.
A sound of boom with a large light explosion launched at the same moment.
CRACK-BANG!
A deafening report echoed through the forest, followed by a searing, actinic white light that flooded the clearing, bleaching the colors from the trees, the leaves, the torn suit, the pale mask. It was a miniature sun igniting for a fraction of a second.
(The First Hand) moved in the opposite direction. He did not look towards the light.
Even before the grenade fully materialized, he was moving. He didn't turn to see the source; he reacted to the faint fwip of displacement, to the sudden change in air pressure. He threw himself backwards in a blur of motion, not away from the light, but towards the deepest shadow of a massive oak tree.
He lunged backwards and hid behind one of the trees.
He was a ghost, melting into the trunk's shadow just as the world turned white and loud.
(Sasuke), who was unable to move, was freed from (The First Hand)'s ability and became able to move.
The stasis field, dependent on the villain's focused gaze, broke the instant his attention was violently diverted. (Sasuke)'s body, flooded with adrenaline and survival instinct, obeyed him again.
He lunged quickly, even with his painful body, and hid behind a tree.
He didn't think. He rolled, a pained, graceless motion, scrambling behind the nearest thick pine trunk, clutching his stomach and his hatchet.
Thud. Rustle. Gasp.
---
"Wonderful. Are there more students? I'm sure your number must be small, isn't that right?"
(The First Hand)'s voice came from behind his oak tree, calm, almost amused. He was comfortable behind the tree, leaning on it, holding his two sharp knives in a predatory way.
At the same time, he said that while looking at the knife as if imagining a scene.
His tone was that of a gourmet presented with an unexpected but intriguing side dish.
…
(Tokito) did not speak. He and Kanami were beside each other.
The silence in our thicket was absolute, strained. The smell of ozone and burnt leaves from the flashbang hung in the air.
"This man is certainly not ordinary. He is very fast. I timed that throw directly above him to hit a blind spot, but he reacted to it quickly."
Kanami's analysis was delivered in a whisper so soft it was almost lip-reading. His green eyes were narrowed, calculating.
(The First Hand)'s movement, for Kanami, consisted of small moments.
His supercomputer mind replayed it: (The First Hand) was about to use the knife on the black-haired student, and the next second he was behind the tree and managed to evade the flash grenade explosion. The reaction time was superhuman.
(Tokito) says in a weak voice but with firmness:
"Be ready. This will be a difficult fight. I will be the one who distracts him, while you will be the one who strikes."
I didn't look at Kanami while saying these words. I kept my red eyes fixed on the oak tree where the villain hid.
My heart was trying to hammer its way out of my chest. Distract him? With what? A cloud? A sternly worded critique of his fashion choices?
– Does he want me to be the one who attacks this monster?
Kanami didn't know where (Tokito)'s confidence came from. In the end, even he thought it was better to withdraw at this moment.
The ability he read in the file that was delivered to him was their opponent's ability, which should be just freezing the person he looks at in place.
But now, it seemed as if he possessed superhuman abilities and enhanced reactions that allow him to interact quickly with movements, even from blind spots.
He had been interacting with criminals since he was 11. He had strong instincts for opponents who were much stronger than him, and he knew very well that it was impossible to defeat the person in front of them because he seemed very different from the information.
And at the same time, he began to doubt (Tokito)'s words.
– It seems he does not have large and precise information, because he did not mention that the opponent possesses this physical strength. Or is there an error in the ability information?
But after that, Kanami's mind analyzed the data of the things that happened with the black-haired student whose name he did not know.
That student was frozen. He was confident in his ability to read faces. That student's face was not full of fear, but of helplessness. He seemed as if he was unable to move or escape while that man called (The First Hand) approached.
Therefore, regarding his special ability, it should be correct. This man's ability allows him to freeze the people he looks at.
But this is not logical. How then can he possess this physical strength?
– I can deduce two possibilities: either he possesses a multi-faceted ability that has several abilities at the same time, or he is inherently very strong, which I largely dismiss and accept the first conclusion.
All he analyzed could be correct, and it could be wrong.
After that, he took out his own knife.
Shink. The blade caught a sliver of light.
– Whatever he is, I cannot escape at this time. It seems this man is too strong. It is impossible that he will let us go. And even if I wanted to leave (Tokito) and escape by myself, that would be difficult. The amount of information he knows about me, in addition to the Phantom Organization… all this information I need. And I cannot let him die before I know this information.
The calculation was cold, transactional, and binding. (Tokito) was his best lead. He had to be protected, for now.
---
On the other side, behind a tree, (Sasuke)'s breathing was very low, and he was trying to calm his nerves, which were trembling.
He was going to die a moment ago. He had felt it. That man was not going to joke with him. That knife getting closer… he was about to hit him.
For the first time, his thought was that he was going to die. Even the abilities he had copied were not enough.
The strength of the other party was too great.
At the same time, he could only curse:
"How can there be a criminal in this secluded place, for hell's sake?"
After cursing in a low voice, he could only sigh and thank those people who launched that flash grenade.
Fortunately, he had closed his eyes a little, and at the moment he heard the sound of the grenade, he ran directly behind a tree to hide.
All of that had happened in a short period, but nevertheless, he was thankful to them, even if he didn't know who they were.
At the same time, he could only think about the man who was wearing the mask that resembled a human hand.
"That lunatic's strength is very intense. He must be at least a super villain of Rank B. I'm sure of that. With his strength, not even a hero of the same level could defeat him easily. How did I manage to find such a lunatic, for hell's sake?"
But while thinking that, he was still sensing the aura that criminal possessed and his special ability.
He was able to vaguely recognize its name. He didn't know yet how he could imitate or copy it because he had not been exposed to it for a sufficient period, and at the same time, he was not able to evaluate it in those small moments.
Nevertheless, he understood the essence of its operation.
– That man needs to look at his opponent to be able to freeze him in place, and all of that happens while looking only.
Why did he analyze it this way? The criminal did not raise his hand or say a distinctive word to launch the ability. He just looked in the directions I was in, and then I couldn't move my body.
– Therefore, the trigger for this ability is eye contact, or just the criminal's eyes are what interact with his ability.
The analysis was a flicker of hope. Knowledge was power. If he could avoid the gaze…
---
"So… are you going to stay quiet?"
(The First Hand)'s voice was loud enough to be heard by the three students who were hiding behind the trees.
He had emerged from the place where he had hidden moments ago and looked at the forest in a circular manner.
And after that, he sighed.
Sigh…
A theatrical, disappointed sound.
"I thought a hero would come to me. I didn't expect students to be this crazy. Perhaps the world we live in has become insane to send this stupid, weak group to me in this way."
He seemed depressed while saying that, but the smile behind his face revealed that he was joking.
Even while wearing the mask that resembled a human hand, he seemed smiling and very happy while saying that.
"You two."
(Tokito) froze, in addition to (Kanami), upon hearing this word.
The two wondered – how does he know there are two?
But (The First Hand) continued his speech:
"I know that both of you wanted to help that black-haired student. But this help is a very stupid thing, especially since it revealed to me that you are here. So, what do you think about doing a good thing?"
After that, (The First Hand) smiled a more cunning smile, pointing to the place where the two were hiding.
At the same time, his other hand pointed to the place where (Sasuke) was hiding.
"Capture that black-haired student for me, and I will let you both live and allow you to leave. Because I love the heroic act you just performed."
His voice took on a tone of mock generosity.
Then, in a voice that froze the forest, where the aura of (The First Hand) spread in the place:
"If you don't agree, I will kill all three of you on this beautiful day while I take a stroll in this beautiful forest. What do you think?"
The aura wasn't physical, but it was a palpable wave of malevolent intent, a psychic chill that made the hairs on the back of (Tokito)'s neck stand on end.
After that, he raised his hand with three fingers.
"I will give you, since you are three people, three minutes to choose. After that, either I will watch a wonderful show of three students fighting each other to capture one student, or the scene will be different, and I will have to move and kill three very wonderful and beautiful students trying to act heroically."
That was all he said before he went towards a tree and leaned on it and sat down and looked with a smile at the three places, as if watching a wonderful scene.
He crossed his legs, a picture of relaxed anticipation. The ceramic hand-mask seemed to grin.
Tick. Tock.
The countdown began in the suffocating silence of the forest.
---
(Tokito's Perspective)
I must be dreaming, isn't that right?
The thought was a desperate plea.
What is going on? Why is everything off-script? This is not what happened in the manga. Everything is going outside the rhythm and scenario that it was supposed to follow. What is going on with every person here?
My internal monologue was a scream of existential terror.
"The protagonist was supposed to win now, isn't that right? How can he be the one who was going to die at such a great speed?"
The foundational premise of my survival strategy—the predictability of the narrative—was crumbling.
"In addition, what's wrong with this man? His personality is very different from the manga."
(The First Hand) I knew was a weak criminal with a very weak body, but he possessed a strong ability capable of making others frozen in their places.
"Why has everything become so different from the true rhythm?"
I wanted to reach a conclusion that could explain the situation in front of me, but of course, there was no answer.
Therefore, he tried to think of a logical answer.
– Could my arrival to this world have changed the rhythm of the world itself?
The butterfly effect. A terrifying possibility.
– But this is impossible. I haven't done anything. All I did was register at the academy. After that, I didn't do anything except talk to Kanami, who is not a main character but a secondary character. So I never changed the framework of the world.
The logic was shaky but comforting. I was a ghost, a non-entity. How could I affect the plot?
– Then this is the beginning of the manga, the beginning of the first chapters, and this is the first criminal the protagonist caught in a somewhat easy way. I expected that I would be able to do that since I know his ability, in addition to knowing that he is physically weak.
But is that man really physically weak?
(Tokito) remembered the scene and the man's speed in addition to his reactions. They were certainly very fast reactions.
In addition, his physical strength was terrifying.
And such strength… it is impossible for a student who has just begun discovering his abilities to defeat him, let alone that most students do not know what Spiritual Enhancement is.
But I know it well. It is the path to using spiritual energy, which works as fuel for abilities in a different way, which is enhancing physical strength or greatly enhancing the senses.
And it is certain that (The First Hand) possesses this ability. In fact, he has mastered it to a level that could be called Excellent.
– If the Spiritual Enhancement ability is divided for each person, it can be divided into six levels only, at least this is what I know.
The knowledge came from late-game manga lore dumps, power-level discussions in forums I'd skimmed.
– Beginner, Intermediate, Excellent, Expert, Exceptional, and Grand Master.
These are the levels of Spiritual Enhancement that a person can obtain if he is proficient in it.
But with his reactions and my knowledge from the manga, I am sure this man has reached at least the Excellent level.
My blood ran cold.
What does that mean? It means that at the very least, he is now a criminal of Rank B.
The villain had leveled up. The tutorial boss had read the strategy guide and grinded for months before the player arrived.
He wasn't the weak, one-trick pony (Sasuke) was supposed to farm for early points. He was a mid-game mini-boss that had somehow wandered into the starting zone.
And we—a cloud-maker, a thief, and a battered, inexperienced replicator—were supposed to either fight him or betray the protagonist to him.
The three-minute timer ticked away in the silent, sun-dappled, terrifyingly beautiful forest.
---
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End of Chapter.
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Author's Note:
Thank you for reading as the predictable manga plot dissolves into chaotic,terrifying reality. Your readership is the only stable narrative constant in this rapidly derailing world. ❤️ :)
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