Night came.
"In an open space beneath a large bridge, Tsukasa, Mikoto, and Touma stood. Blue arcs of electricity flickered around Mikoto. Tsukasa, standing across from her, wore a faint smirk and crooked a finger at her, daring her to come at him."
"Touma stood there, looking lost and questioning his life choices."
"Why did I have to come along?" Touma said under his breath.
Tsukasa and Mikoto completely ignored Touma's presence.
"Don't you look down on me, you bastard old man!" Mikoto saw Tsukasa's provocation. The lightning around her flared up. Surging arcs of electricity shot toward Tsukasa.
"To be honest, meeting me is a real stroke of bad luck for you," Tsukasa said. As the electricity rushed in, he calmly raised the tool he held in his hand: the Cursed Tool "Kamutoke."
The lightning hit the Cursed Tool "Kamutoke" head-on. It didn't do anything. The tool in Tsukasa's hand absorbed it completely.
In fact, if Tsukasa wanted to, he could use the Cursed Tool "Kamutoke" to start draining the electricity stored within Mikoto's own body.
Tsukasa had only agreed to this childish game after some thought. He wanted this arrogant brat to see how weak she really was.
He wanted her to stop trying to duel people before she understood the gap in power between them.
"What is that?" Mikoto asked. She noticed all the lightning she released had been absorbed by the strange object in Tsukasa's hand.
"Explaining my technique? Fine. In game terms, you could call this a max-level weapon. Its name is the Cursed Tool 'Kamutoke.' It can absorb lightning and control it—like this." As Tsukasa spoke, he swung his hand down. A violent burst of gathered lightning hit Mikoto.
Mikoto frowned as she took the intense current. She shouted, annoyed.
"What is that? Isn't that just cheating?!"
"Cheating? If that's how you feel, I can put the Cursed Tool 'Kamutoke' away. I don't mind." Tsukasa shrugged, his tone still mocking.
"Tch! I don't need you to do that! Don't think I can't handle you just because my electricity isn't working!" A vein popped on Mikoto's forehead as she shot back.
Then, Mikoto smiled and asked Tsukasa a question.
"Hey, do you know what a Railgun is?"
"Yeah, I know. It's a weapon that uses powerful electromagnets to fire a conductive projectile," Tsukasa said. This made Mikoto's face tense.
She had wanted to show off and explain it, but the other guy already knew the details.
"Ahem, well, that's right. Anyway, this is one of my abilities. Try to take this move!" Mikoto took a game coin out of her pocket and tossed it into the air. As the coin started to fall, a powerful flash of lightning came from her palm.
The sound of a cannon blast suddenly sounded. The coin, shining with brilliant light and carrying enormous force, flew toward Tsukasa.
"Dismantle," Tsukasa whispered as he raised his hand. An invisible Slashing Technique "Dismantle" hit the coin head-on. It cut the coin in half. The two pieces flew off to the sides, making two massive splashes on the surface of the lake.
"The Railgun was cut in half?!" Mikoto said in shock. She never expected her finishing move to be stopped so easily.
"This is getting a bit boring. Do you have any other moves?" Tsukasa yawned. He thought Mikoto's techniques were boring.
"You...!" Mikoto's face turned bright red with anger. Lightning built up around her again. This time, she didn't attack Tsukasa directly. Instead, she used magnetism to pull all the iron sand from the soil within a two-hundred-meter radius. It slowly formed into a pitch-black blade in her hand.
"Iron sand, huh? Interesting. Do you want to fight me up close?" Tsukasa said, interested.
"Humph! Who said a sword is only for close combat? It can be used like this too!" Mikoto huffed. She swung the blade, and it turned into a whip that snapped toward Tsukasa.
As the iron sand whip came in, Tsukasa pressed his palms together. A streak of vivid red light shot out. It cut through the iron sand whip, breaking it apart.
"What?!" Mikoto was stunned. She clearly hadn't expected her ability to be stopped again.
"Where are you looking?" Tsukasa's voice suddenly came from behind her.
Cold sweat ran down the girl's forehead. She quickly looked behind her, but she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. She grabbed her head and shouted.
"That hurts!" A tear slipped from the corner of her eye. With her face flushed red, she looked delicate and cute.
"Hey, brat. Let me ask you a question." Tsukasa ignored her angry glare and spoke casually.
"What?" Mikoto got thrown off by his question and asked back.
"Why are you so weak? I don't get it. Are you really a Level 5?" Tsukasa looked like he couldn't believe it. His voice had no hint of mockery; he sounded like he genuinely wanted an answer. This made both Mikoto and Touma freeze.
However, Touma soon saw Mikoto charging up electricity. Thunder rumbled in the sky as if responding to her.
As the low thunder rolled, cold sweat ran down Touma's forehead. He started to move. No, he started to run. His sixth sense was screaming at him. Even if he wouldn't die, taking a hit from this lightning would definitely be an unpleasant experience.
So, he was getting out of there!
"Heh... You actually think I'm not a Level 5? Hahaha... That's really funny." A curve formed on Mikoto's lips. She stood up straight, her eyes filled with absolute rage.
It was exactly because Tsukasa's question had no mocking intent that Mikoto was so furious. To her, it felt like pure contempt!
"Yeah. If you are, why is this happening?" Tsukasa said with a smile. He raised his hand. In an instant, he grabbed Mikoto's slender neck and lifted her up.
Mikoto, who was about to release her power, couldn't breathe. Intense pain sent alarms through her body.
Her legs, covered in loose socks, kicked wildly. She pressed her hands against Tsukasa's arm, sending constant bursts of electricity as she tried to break free.
"Why is it that I can crush you with one hand?" Tsukasa's expression was no longer casual or lazy. It had turned ice-cold.
The killing intent in his eyes made Mikoto stop thinking. For the first time in her life, she felt death so close to her.
It felt like her neck could be snapped in the next second. A powerful sense of crisis screamed inside her.
Clear drops of liquid started to drip onto the grass. Seeing this, Tsukasa froze. He showed a very complicated expression. He let go of Mikoto's neck and turned his back to her.
He put his hand to his forehead and sighed.
Mikoto came back to herself. She quickly covered her skirt, her face turning incredibly red. Humiliation—it was an unprecedented humiliation. She had been so scared that she peed herself. You've got to be kidding me!