False Error (Arc 3 Science Side)

“I don't think she'll cause much trouble even if she wakes up. Besides, I think we should deal with this fast enough for her to not have time to do anything anyway so that we avoid attracting attention."

Inwardly, Gina actually had some reservations about just leaving the girl here. She was a member of that side, after all, so the possibility of her escaping somehow if she woke up before they returned was very real. However, the source of the apprehension provided for her did not lie in the idea of her coming to take revenge. She didn’t think for a moment that she would lose to that girl, after all. Especially not after having beaten her twice already.

“Hm, I suppose that’s true. Very well then, I’ll put her out of my mind for now.”

However, in the end she refrained from voicing her thoughts. After all, it was only a possibility, and it would indeed be far more expedient to simply crush the source of all this beforehand. And additionally, she wanted to do whatever she could to avoid any potential conflicts with Keima. They were about to head down to fight with a mad scientist in the middle of her lair, after all. The more they trusted each other, the better.

“Let's split up for a bit. I don't think it'll be good if that woman knows we're both after her especially if she's set something up.”

“Considering how she asked us to let them in, her having something planned is practically a certainty~ I don’t suppose there’s any need to guess at whether or not she has. So with that in mind, I have no objections to that suggestion of yours either. Let’s meet up at the rear entrance.”

She easily acquiesced to this suggestion as well, but her motivations were nowhere near as pure as she let on. After parting with Keima, the first thing she did after confirming he was out of sight was to remove her cell phone and prepare a text message to a certain number. But, even once she’d finished it, she simply stood and stared at the send button without moving.

“...I’ll have them pay their dues first, I suppose.”

Without another word, she turned off the screen of her phone without either pressing the send button or deleting the message, and proceeding once more towards her destination.

---

“…”

Kisue found herself staring at Renavin in utter shock. She’d outright forgotten to feel emotions such as disgust, anger, or even disbelief, and simply stood as if she had never seen a stranger sight in her life. And in a way, she hadn’t. It wasn’t until Natsumi finished her impromptu lecture and addressed her directly that she stopped looking at Renavin as if he was some sort of rare animal.

“There's nothing burning here, is there? This isn't carbon monoxide but natural gas that may be in quantities large enough to... Ahh, well, I guess it's close enough at this point... If that's the case, which of the heart or the brain will fail from lack of oxygen first for each of us, I wonder?"

Sparing one last glance at Renavin, and muttering a half-voiced Can people even be that stupid? Under her breath, she met Natsumi’s gaze and answered her unvoiced, but implied question.

“Exactly what do you take me for? That won’t be happening soon enough for you to have time to worry. It’d be pointless and a waste of time if you all lost consciousness and died before you could answer my questions.”

She had settled back into her usual tenor after her previous unsettlement, and the disdain had returned to her voice.

“There's nothing burning here, is there? This isn't carbon monoxide but natural gas that may be in quantities large enough to... Ahh, well, I guess it's close enough at this point... If that's the case, which of the heart or the brain will fail from lack of oxygen first for each of us, I wonder?"

Renavin blinked a couple times as he tilted his head at Kisue and even looked back awkwardly at Natsumi. It seems he had the wrong idea, although some what on the right track according to his companion. It was like he was given a ribbon for simply participating in speaking his own mind, or at least acting like he was knowledgeable of many subjects.

“Exactly what do you take me for? That won’t be happening soon enough for you to have time to worry. It’d be pointless and a waste of time if you all lost consciousness and died before you could answer my questions.”


Renavin turned around excitingly hoping to redeem himself a bit. "A daughter brought to bring your child to work day~!" Of course he was purposely lying, but in all honesty he wished to by time...while somewhat curious at how such a small and young looking girl could be leading the research of an entire secret facility, under a prestigious academy.

“A pitiful girl who hasn't thought her suicidal attempt at information gathering through.” She openly stated, wondering if after all they had said Kisue truly thought that she was viewed as anything other than the incarnation of desperation itself?

It was rather ironic how Kihara Kisue was a scientist from a renowned family that only bore brilliant, albeit twisted, scientists, but was one who wasn't taken seriously at all for the very simple reason that the name was stranger to the ears of most. One had to dig very deep to hear of the name “Kihara” and truly understand its implications.

"A daughter brought to bring your child to work day~!"

Natsumi wanted to jab at Renavin by pointing out that there was hardly such a thing as “parents” in Academy City but she felt that if she kept correcting him all the time they would be standing there for a lot longer than necessary; she was far more concerned about where this caveman came from and how did Academy City let him in.

Anyway, it was time for things to get back on track because they were being way too friendly on enemy grounds here.

“His stupidity aside, I didn't think Nagatenjouki would be so desperate to catch up to Tokiwadai.” Natsumi calmly stated her school's blatant superiority by Academy City's standards as she faced the possibly suicidal researcher who led those bizarre experiments, slowly smirking as she spoke the next words with her arms crossed.

“I guess they must've put quite the amount of pressure on themselves. But that aside, by all means, show me a scientist's way of extorting information.”

“His stupidity aside, I didn't think Nagatenjouki would be so desperate to catch up to Tokiwada. I guess they must've put quite the amount of pressure on themselves. But that aside, by all means, show me a scientist's way of extorting information.”

Renavin only smiled innocently, as he knew his words were foolish, and it was about time to get down to business. While he didn't like the circumstances, and none of them could properly fight without risking to set themselves on fire, he did recognise that he can't just sit around. There was one way to deal with her, but that would be revealing his power, and he didn't really want to do that, but there was no other way, was there.

"I do wish to see what Kisue-chan has in store for us personally, though it doesn't seem much. I guess I'll have to have my lovely pets have a little jab at her." He smiled ominously as he pulled out four slips of paper, and took his dagger, and made a small slit on his finger. As the crimson liquid of life slowly drew from the cut, he would begin to rub it on the strange pieces of paper, with some sort of runes and images drawn on them "Do you like pets Kisue-chan~? I love them personally, especially once you domesticate them to your will~."

With a swift toss into the air, the papers seemed to scattered in random directions, the four pieces laying in random places around the room. Before anyone was aware what was going on, they seemed to practically explode with fog and smoke, which for one moment started the mercenaries as they thought their death had come much earlier than expected.

"W-what the hell?"
"A smoke grenade? That doesn't make sense..."

However, once all the short panic event had settled as the smoke did, all that was left were four wolves, with dark grey fur, and almost glimmering eyes in the dimmed room. They snarled and growled as they all stared at the only one in the lab coat. "I really don't like dealing with people in this way necessarily. I mean there's no real fun for me~...also it's kinda gross...But I can't think of anything else to do at the moment, so why don't you play nice with them for a bit~!" Two wolves were placed at her sides while the other two seemed to be generally in front of her. From the saliva coating their sharp teeth, to their life like snarls, there was no way to tell if they were fake or some sort of trick. This was not something that could be scientifically explained.

"Do you like pets Kisue-chan~? I love them personally, especially once you domesticate them to your will~."

At these words of Renavin's, Kisue's focus sharpened to a point. There was no doubt that he was alluding to an attack of some sort; the only question was what form it would it take. He seemed to have given a hint that it was something to do with animals, but not only would it be a folly to take his words as gospel, there was no sign of any beasts nor any way to smuggle them in without her noticing.

That was why she was all the more surprised by what happened next. As Renavin smeared his blood on several pieces of paper she became both suspicious and mildly puzzled, but both those emotions gave way to shock as she beheld what happened. The papers released clouds of smoke and fog which obfuscated whatever strange mechanisms they possessed, and a moment later, several wolves strode out as if made to appear by a stage magician's magic trick. And yet, there was no point about them to be put forth as proof of their falseness.

Rapid maturation from cellular samples with his blood as the catalyst? Retrieval from a holding area via the 11^th dimension? An illusion?

Countless possible explanations raced through her mind in but an instant, but there was evidence enough to neither prove nor disprove any of them. This... Was a mystery to her. She couldn't grasp the logic, she could only imagine on what bases it functioned, and there wasn't even any telling if they were real. If she wanted to discern any of it, then her best bet was to get up close and dismantle them. Which, luckily for her, is something she was likely going to have had to do anyway.

Not making the first move, she simply stared the wolves down as she lifted the vials she had previously been stroking from their stands, holding them so that her thumb hovered over the caps. Like this, she could dispense the contents of the vials as she pleased at a moment's notice. And no one but her knew what kind of properties they held.

Renavin smiled as Kisue took the situation much more seriously, as her mind raced with confusion, as she started back and fourth between wolves. It was pretty obvious she was trying to identify whether or not these life-like wolves were real or not. The sound of their breath, the pitter patter of their claws scraping against the floors, and the slight drool dripping from their sharp teeth.

"Right now you're thinking 'How did he make these wolves appear from thin air?', right? But I'll tell you this much." He began to speak, as one wolf tipped over and empty vial, as it shatters on the floor. "First: They are indeed as real as they seem. And so is their bite, if you let them get close enough. Second: However you're trying to explain it to yourself, is most likely wrong~. Let's say that it's not entirely something that science can explain. And thirdy:..."

One of the wolves tried to be more cunning as it slowly sneaked from the back of the room, hiding behind tables and other furniture, in order to attack it's prey from the shadows. It didn't growl, it just stared expectantly at Kisue, whether she'd turn around on time as it suddenly began to sprint.

"-Ren-chan forgot to feed them today...ufufu~."

The wolf would lunge up toward Kisue from behind hoping to pounce ontop of her, whether to bite or simply pin her was unknown, but obviously if Kisue made even one mistake, it was over.

"Right now you're thinking 'How did he make these wolves appear from thin air?', right? But I'll tell you this much. First: They are indeed as real as they seem. And so is their bite, if you let them get close enough. Second: However you're trying to explain it to yourself, is most likely wrong~. Let's say that it's not entirely something that science can explain. And thirdly:... -Ren-chan forgot to feed them today...ufufu~."

Kisue was carefully listening to Renavin's words, not wanting to miss even the smallest hint. But even so, that didn't mean she was neglecting to pay attention to the wolves. Rather, the truth was exactly the opposite. While she made sure to pick up everything he said, every other one of her senses was focused on tracking the four wolves as they prowled around her. Not a single one of their actions were missed.

When one of them knocked a vial on the floor, Kisue's fists clenched. When she thought of their hair and saliva getting everywhere and perhaps contaminating any number of her materials, her teeth clenched. With every clack of their claws on the floor, she imagined how they might be scratching her pristine lab.

If this is an illusion, then it's a sophisticated one.

That was the sole conclusion Kisue could reach with merely this much information. And that meant that she could likely discard the possibility. An illusion so sophisticated that one can't tell the difference between it and reality... If one seriously set that as a possibility, then you would never be able to discard it. There was a reason so many found the brain in a vat thought experiment so fascinating, after all. There was no way to prove or disprove it. Which meant that unless she found further evidence that indicated otherwise, she would have to assume they were real. And if they were real...

"Don't bring such filthy beasts into my lab!"

Shouting such, Kisue removed the cap from one of the vials she held and violently spun around to face the wolf that had come up from behind her. Without losing her momentum, she thrust the open vial toward the wolf's open maw and then let go as the wolf was an instant away from slamming into her outstretched arm, sending the vial and contents flying into the beast's throat as she hurriedly attempted to fall back and to the side to avoid as much of the tackle as she could. The momentum of animal and object would send them flying towards each other and the close proximity would prevent the wolf from avoiding it.

Though it didn't look it, that was a death blow. The vial itself was unlikely to harm the beast much, but the substance within would eat through its organs from within. If the physical damage didn't incapacitate it, the pain would. Now all she could do was hope she avoid being pinned down too long by what she already considered a moving corpse; there were still 3 left, after all.

However, they didn't seem at all accustomed to this environment. In the woods, perhaps the beast might have been able to catch her unawares, but unlike felines, canids were unable to retract their claws. As a result, she could track their every move with just her ears; she didn't even need to bother looking. If they kept this trend, then it was likely that she would be able to deal with them without much trouble.

While the wolf itself was more or less fake, an entity of magic, doesn't mean it was immune to being damage by normal means. Stab it. Shoot it. The animal will go down eventually. The only real advantage is that the wolves may act more in synced then before, and respond to telepathic orders from their master. Though the fact remains, they will take damage like any normal wolf would.

As the wolf lunged for Kisuen and managed to bring her to the ground using it's heavy body weight, but not until the unknown chemical entered it's digestive system. Immediately it would dig it's teeth into her shoulder, blood staining her coat, but it never got too deep as it started to whine and squirm right off of Kisue. Renavin would raise an eyebrow before realising what had happened. It was most likely something acidic, as pain was deriving from the wolf's intestines.

"...." Renavin wasn't one to let his pets suffer if they didn't have to as he snapped his fingers and the puff of fog and smoke would appear once again, except the dying wolf, writhing in absolute torture, suddenly disappeared and was replaced with the same piece of paper that was used to bring forth it's life. "How rude. These wolves are cleaner than you are right now~." Renavin smiled as a he managed to wound Kisue, but not by much. Perhaps she might bleed out eventually, but judging by the wound, it wasn't deep enough to make her bleed out any time soon.

"Just give up peacefully~. I mean I could always bring out more of my pets, but I felt that four was enough to take care of you. Why don't you just lower your head in defeat and cherish what life you may or may not have left~?" Renavin smirked as the three wolves started to circle her again, obviously trying to keep an eye on her movements. She didn't appear to have many weapons but their senses were high that she was indeed dangerous to have taken out one of their kin.

"How rude. These wolves are cleaner than you are right now~. Just give up peacefully~. I mean I could always bring out more of my pets, but I felt that four was enough to take care of you. Why don't you just lower your head in defeat and cherish what life you may or may not have left~?"

When the wolf turned back to a paper slip and its weight vanished from atop her body, Kisue wasted no time in seizing and destroying it before she got back to her feet. She would definitely be studying it later, but she didn't know the conditions for its activation, so keeping it in one piece would be exceedingly dangerous. Even if would be difficult for them to get the jump on her, if one of the wolves suddenly appeared out of nowhere then even she might be caught off guard.

Additionally, if what Renavin had said was true, then she would have to reevaluate the situation. She could destroy as many of these beasts as she wanted, but if he could just summon more, than all the effort she'd expend would merely serve to wear her down. If there was even the slightest sliver of truth in what he said, then there was no point in wasting her time dealing with these beasts any longer. She would have to go straight to their controller.

Popping the cap off of another of the three remaining vials, she splashed it at the wolf standing between her and Renavin with a quick snap of her arm. This one held a dangerous looking green liquid; just a glance would give one the same impression as a predator received from a poison dart frog in the Amazon. Brightly coloured, dangerous; as if it was saying to beware. And the instant if came into contact with the air, it began bubbling and hissing. Everything about it exuded danger.

And like a serpent flying through the sky, it leapt toward the one wolf that stood in between her and her new target, jaws open and venom dripping.

Renavin clucked his tongue as the paper was completely shredded and ruined. It takes some great effort to make the summoning runes and non-lethally capture animals to form a contract with. He wasn't sure if he could repair those scraps of paper, but it wasn't a time to speculate an aspect of his abilities. It seems that the scientist girl was more resilient than he thought.

"Hoho...I see...so this entire lab is actually your weapon, rather than some flimsy gun or tool...You perhaps memorised everything inside, especially what is contained inside those vials." Renavin smiled looking fairly entertained. She didn't need to carry something as big as a sword, or a firearm, but rather made her profession a weapon in itself. That form of adaptability made this fight much more interesting.

Soon after, she would take out another vial, opening it up and attempted to send its contents toward the wolf. However, not even Renavin needed to bother as his familiars were quick learners themselves. As soon as the wolf realised something was being tossed at it, it'd quickly jump to the side to dodge the splash, as the ominous substance collided with the tiles, and the wolf scurried off behind a lab station.

"Now now, just because it worked once doesn't mean it'd work a second time. But I admire that aggressiveness a bit.~. Renavin teased as he cut his hand once more with the dagger, this time with his palm. Soon after, as his blood dripped from his hand, the crimson liquid start to form a shaft of a pole, before it began to widen to actually form some sort of blade. "If you want to come at me yourself, that's fine, but don't think you'll get off easy~." Renavin winked as one of the wolves crept from behind, but not to Kisue, but the test subject panting on the lab bench, lightly nipping at her lab cloth, and gently tugging her out of sight.

"Now now, just because it worked once doesn't mean it'd work a second time. But I admire that aggressiveness a bit.~."

Renavin mocked Kisue's apparent failure, but the girl herself remained completely unfazed. She'd never expected the liquid to make contact, after all. All she had needed was to open a hole in the wolves's formation so that she could break through and go after Renavin. So as soon as she saw that the wolves had dodged the splash, she broke into a dash and ran through the newly made opening, stepping through the supposedly dangerous chemical on the floor without caring for the consequences. However, contrary to what Renavin may have assumed from the substance's outward appearance, it was in reality almost completely harmless. It had been meant from the beginning to serve as a bluff, and as a result she could pass through it without fear.

Her speed was completely different from what one would typically expect of a supposedly frail researcher. It was too swift, and her exertion too little. Lacking in knowledge as he was, Renavin may have been unable to guess at how Kisue, who was indeed as far from a muscle buff as his first impression would likely have lead him to believe, could have such strength but the truth was simple. Kisue's area of specialty was the development of drugs to alter and improve the human form. Due to that, acquiring or creating steroids to bring the effort needed to develop her power to the bare minimum was child's play. Even if she recognized that a healthy body would lead to a healthy mind, she still had no intention to put forth anything but the absolute minimum of effort in that regard, after all.

But beyond that, there was another unnatural point. Though the wound hadn't been deep, having the poweful jaws of a wolf clamp down on one's shoulder would be sure to elicit a cry of pain from even the most hardened of people. And yet, she was completely ignoring it as she ran, as if she didn't feel it's presence at all. Kisue wouldn't allow Renavin to have any time to ponder such things, however. As she ran, she dropped the now empty vial where the green liquid had been and grabbed two more vials from a table that she passed by.

"If you want to come at me yourself, that's fine, but don't think you'll get off easy~."

Once more, Renavin had used a baffling technique that defied logic. And this one only caused the questions she had to multiply, rather than allow even a single one to be resolved. The ability he displayed this time was so fantastically different from the previous that him using an esper power had to be completely ruled out. And that meant that at least one of the strange phenomena was created purely through technology she had never before heard of. There was one she was absolutely sure of, however. The composition of the weapon he had just created.

It was made completely from his own blood. And fortunately, she'd prepared something that matched that quite well. With her right hand that had been free ever since she'd pocketed the antidote, she reached into her lab coat and pulled out a small scalpel. Though razor sharp, there didn't appear to be anything special to note about it. However, once she made it within striking distance of Renavin and his weapon, its unique properties were made abundantly clear.

She slashed out at the crimson blade held by Renavin, and where one would have expected the small blade to be completely blocked by the mass of the larger one, it instead passed cleanly through as the area the scalpel made contact with reverted back to a liquid form. Though one couldn't tell by looking, that scalpel had been coating with an extremely potent anti-coagulant. Due to that, it could be considered a natural predator for the weapons Renavin made. In truth, the scalpel also had another special property, but there was telling for the spectators what it could be at this juncture...

"Are you sure you can afford to be so confident?"

Renavin was fully aware that she aimed to come right at him, hence why he had pulled out his crimson blade. Using the crimson blade would decrease the chances of a spark happening significantly as it was no made of metal and he can always adjust his blade to be more flexible and valuable to absorb impacts rather than cause friction and cause a spark to occur. Though he didn't expect her to throw a fake vial in order to get close. This was child's play, however, as she was coming at him with a mere scalpel.

With surprisingly quick speed, she ran up toward him and slashed her scalpel as he simply raised his blade too block it. "What are you doing...I didn't expect you to be so obvious with your mo-" However, the colliding of his blade with her lab tool never occurred, as it practically slipped through his blade like butter. He had no idea how it happened, but as soon as he realised his blade could not block it, the first thing he could do was suddenly jump back from instinctive danger, as he felt the scalpel tear into his cloak and barely missing his skin.

"Whoa! That was close...I didn't think you had something up your sleeve...I don't know how you got past my crimson blade, but..." Renavin, felt a cold sweat, as his grin seemed to show slight nervousness. Perhaps because he felt if that scalpel had met it's mark, it would've killed him right then and there. With so many chemicals present, and the fact that she had poisoned one of her own test subjects, meant it wasn't impossible for him to suspect she coated his scalpel in a toxic substance that might kill him if he is even cut once. It was safer to believe that than to let her cut his skin even once.

"...Such strength...such speed...I'm curious how you're able to handle all this with a bite on your shoulder, but I don't think it matters, now does it?~" Renavin was very interested now, as he kept his distance this time, no longer being as cocky as he once was before. As two wolves readjusted themselves to proper positions, to keep Kisue's movements as limited as they could, while the third wolf seemed out of sight.

"I guess I'll get serious now, Kisue-san~."

Natsumi went as far as to take a step backwards to analyse the situation from how much she was at a loss, but not because of Kisue. It was because of the person she was supposed to assist.

(...Did he use his own blood to create animals and weapons? No, there's no way a human body would have enough blood to repeatedly support so many various elements without suffering from severe blood loss effects. And that sheet of paper wouldn't be necessary if it were the case.)

It was nonsensical that this girl had far deeper awareness of how this city worked compared to most of its citizens yet couldn't rationalise what was going on in front of her; was this what people from the outside felt when they heard about Espers?

(Is this really...)

It could have been one of those natural Espers she had heard about, but this cloaked man's methods of attack were far too diverse and unrestricted by the laws of logic normal Espers were usually bound to. Then again, Natsumi remembered the rumours she had heard about a Level 5 whose nonsensical ability could not even be explained by scholars, so perhaps this was something similar on a weaker scale?

Though the doubt remained in her mind of whether this city of science could explain what she was witnessing, she decided to settle on this speculation until she could confirm anything.

In any cases, the situation was growing quite urgent as the sole fighter of the group had been found a weak point. It was time to act as proper support and focus on Kihara Kisue, however Natsumi decided to analyse on the effects the scalpel's slash had had on the blade that seemed to be made entirely out of Renavin's blood instead of the scalpel itself due to the very simple fact that she couldn't see it well from where she was standing.

While she didn't understand how that blade worked in the first place, it didn't seem that it was composed out of anything besides blood so the fact that it had completely returned to its unworkable liquid state with no effort meant that it was likely...

"If I were you, unless you want to see your blood pouring out of your body like an upside down bottle, I'd avoid that anticoagulant-coated scalpel." She declared to Renavin with only a minimal amount of doubt: It was the only thing she could think of to explain the sudden shift in consistency the blade went through and Natsumi didn't believe Kihara Kisue was above making her enemies suffer from facilitated blood loss.

However she wasn't much of a scientist; trying to figure out anything Kisue could have as a weapon in the vials she was throwing around would take quite the time she couldn't afford to take for results she couldn't guarantee, so she merely warned Renavin about this particular issue before focusing on the next thing that bothered her.

It was now time to figure out how she could empty the room of the gas that made it a massive bomb so that she could actually put an end to this meaningless struggle by herself.

"What are you doing...I didn't expect you to be so obvious with your mo-Whoa! That was close... I didn't think you had something up your sleeve. ...I don't know how you got past my crimson blade, but... ...Such strength...such speed...I'm curious how you're able to handle all this with a bite on your shoulder, but I don't think it matters, now does it?~ I guess I'll get serious now, Kisue-san~."

"If I were you, unless you want to see your blood pouring out of your body like an upside down bottle, I'd avoid that anticoagulant-coated scalpel."

At Natsumi's revelation, Kisue allowed a small frown to grace her countenance. With her opponent's apparent lack of knowledge it was unlikely that he'd have correctly discerned that property on his own, so that was a potentially valuable advantage lost. If Renavin had remained in the dark about the true nature of that specific capability, then the extra wariness he would have likely had would have made significantly easier to pursue a more aggressive mode of assault.

"So up until now you've just been playing around? Hmph, it's a miracle your head's still attached to your neck."

As she responded to his banter, she pressed forward once more with the intention of closing the distance he had opened as he fled from her initial assault. She had noticed the wolves re-positioning themselves behind her, but she ignored them for the moment. If she took out Renavin, then chances were that they would cease to be threats, after all. Even if they had strength and cunning, without a human intellect to back them up there was simply no way they could pose a threat to her.

The instant she came within range, she ceased all forward motion and extended her arm with the scalpel held outward. Her aim wasn't the weapon or his body, but the wrist that was holding what remained of the weapon outward. She could target it without going in too close, and if she could get even the slightest nick, the arteries there would make it into a debilitating wound. And that was to say nothing of the tendons located there. The motion was not a powerful thrust, but rather a delicate flick of the wrist with perfectly surgical precision. Even if she missed, she would retract her arm the very next moment, not unlike a viper retreating after a bite.

And if she hit... She would also gain another advantage aside from the one granted by the inflicted injury. What her scalpel was infused with was not merely an anti-coagulant. Rather, it was something similar to the saliva of a mosquito. Not only did it prevent the blood from clotting around the afflicted area, it also numbed it so the target wouldn't even notice that she had drawn blood. During that brief period of time after she hit and before he realized he had been hit, she would be able to take full advantage of his disabled wrist to follow up with a second strike. Even in the worst case scenario where he saw the wound immediately, the disconnect between what his senses of sight and touch were telling him would still afford a potentially fatal opening for her to take advantage of.

---

There was no point in waiting for Keima before she descended. If he was late, then he would merely have his own tardiness to resent as the cause. Therefore, Gina entered the elevator she had specified as the one they would meet up at beforehand and entered without hesitation. Pressing the button that lead to the bottom most floor, Gina considered her options on how to break into the laboratory. If Kisue was in the middle of dealing with something related to the intruders, which was likely considering her odd instructions, then chances were good she wouldn't be available to answer a request for entry. That meant an orthodox method of entry wouldn't likely be feasible.

She would have to create a new entrance, then. She had no idea how idea sturdy the floor of this elevator was, but she knew that once she reached the 'bottom floor' Kisue's lab would be immediately below her. So if she loaded the heaviest object she could find into the elevator, and used her ability to increase its weight enough to bring the elevator crashing down or at least break through the floor, she could then just jump down the shaft and bust open the door on the bottom.

Fortunately for all those within that gas-filled room, however, Gina would find that there was no need to enact her plan. When the elevator reached the bottom floor, it continued descending just as it had for Renavin and Natsumi. After a moment of confusion, Gina resolved to simply accept her good fortune for the moment, rather than worry over something that she couldn't influence.

"There's no point in looking a gift horse in the mouth, I suppose..."

When the elevator doors opened, she observed all of the many things going on inside the laboratory at once. She saw Natsumi and the mercenaries standing back, watching. She smelled and recognized the scent that lingered in the air. She saw Renavin, Kisue and his wolves clashing on the opposite side of the room. And... She saw the wolf that slipped away from the fight dragging away a small girl.

"And exactly what do you suppose you're doing?!"

With a wave of her arm, she exerted her ability on the wolf that was dragging the girl away. For an instant, the wolf was merely pinned to the floor, unable to move. But as the seconds ticked by, it was clear that the force was still increasing. Bones began to creak, muscles began to tear. It would only take a few seconds before the wolf's life was snuffed out completely, leaving nothing but a stain on the floor.

"If I were you, unless you want to see your blood pouring out of your body like an upside down bottle, I'd avoid that anticoagulant-coated scalpel." Natsumi for the most part, pointed out the obvious, though the information that wasn't well known, Renavin found useful. It was obvious that he shouldn't try to touch the blade with his blood. The blood in which was cut off fell to the ground with a small splat. He had to put his blade up against the what was separated, in order to retrieve what was lost.

"I see, that makes sense...Such a little detail can nullify my ability. Interesting~!" Renavin smiled as he shorted his blade a bit, letting some blood flow back into his body. He now had a much smaller blade, while he held out his dagger.

"So up until now you've just been playing around? Hmph, it's a miracle your head's still attached to your neck."

"Kisue-san, you're a smart girl, aren't you~? Where's the fun of a boss fight if the boss goes all out at the start~?" He smirked, as he waved a finger at her dismissively, at which this would be the moment she would try to cut that same wrist. She swung it with great strength and confidence, and not even at the blade itself, but his actual flesh. Renavin furrowed his eyes as he instead brought up his dagger to redirect the scalpel, instead of outright blocking it. Trying to block it might risk a spark, so redirecting the swing would be more safe.

"However, I considering how confident you are with that scalpel, you have done something else to it, have you not~?" Renavin assumed the worst that some sort of toxin was on the scalpel, as when he recovered the lost blood, there was a foreign substance that was purposely left behind that he believed wasn't the coating Natsumi referred to. Before Renavin could attack again, he had a moment of weakness in front of Kisue, as he noticed one of his wolves were forced the ground quickly, and it was the one in which guided the child to safety. He would see Gina who suddenly broke into the room, and attempted to crush the wolf to death. Renavin wasn't sure if he could truly trust Gina's assistance, and could've easily saw it as a misunderstanding, but by the off chance she was trying to aid Kisue... "Protect the child!! Don't let her hurt her!!"

Suddenly the wolves would turn on Gina, no longer focusing on Kisue in that instance as one went over to tackle the princess, while the other went over to protect not only the child but it's kin who was whining in pain, like a dog with it's leg caught under a car wheel. It was going to be a victim of a misunderstanding, and surely even the familiars wouldn't allow that to happen, as one lunged toward Gina in hopes to subdue her, but in that instance, their master had been left vulnerable.

"Protect the child!! Don't let her hurt her!!"

As those words echoed throughout the room, Gina glanced over at their speaker and in the process caught sight of the other two wolves rushing towards her. With the speed they were moving at, she would have likely been in trouble if she hadn't looked up and saw them. However, even without the extra disadvantage of being caught off guard, it would only take a second or so longer before they reached her position. That didn't leave enough time for her to finish off the beast that had been in the process of dragging off the girl. It was regrettable, but she'd have to focus on the immediate threat.

"I won't let you!" she yelled as she released the pressure from the first wolf and swatted her hand to the side in a motion as if slapping the wolf rushing towards her. And in tandem with that wave of her arm, a fearsome pressure assaulted the wolf and sent it flying through the air in the same direction in which she had swung her arm. It was if the hand of god had reached from the heavens down and swatted the wolf to the side.

With multiple enemies facing her at once, she was slightly peeved. Normally, these sorts of enemies wouldn't be of any concern to her. All she would have to do was switch her focus to an area instead of using her arms to target, but with the child there that wasn't a feasible option. She would crush her as well. And since she was stuck using this method, she could only target a single wolf at a time. So long as she kept her distance, she didn't think she'd lose, but the level of danger was too high for her liking...

So she decided to remedy that situation. Before the wolves could regroup and come after her again, she made a motion like she was tugging a rope hanging in midair. Though the wolves might have looked in wonder at her action, different from the ones before, the meaning behind was made clear shortly after. The sickly girl, who had been lying on the ground beside the first wolf she'd crushed, suddenly flew through the air towards Gina, attracted by an invisible force.

"Kya!"

She issued a short, girly scream as the young girl flew into her arms, but she recomposed herself a second later. Now that the girl was in her hands, she had no need to worry about harming her. She could force those beasts to their knees without worrying about anything at all. She had begun preparing for the switch the instant she made the initial pull to the girl, so there was only maybe three and a half seconds before she made the switch between targeting methods and ended this farce of a fight. Only three and a half seconds for them to try and take her down.

---

"Protect the child!! Don't let her hurt her!!"

"And exactly what do you suppose you're doing?!"

This was a chance. She recognized it as such the instant the shout left Renavin's throat. She had no idea why whatever Gina was doing with the child behind her aggravated him so much, but for the moment she found that she didn't care. This was an opportunity, plain and simple; and she had to take advantage of it before it vanished from her sight.

Capitalizing on his distraction, she made another attempt to slit his wrist with her scalpel. Before, he had been on full alert so he had been able to deflect it, but with his attention elsewhere, her chances of making a clean hit were significantly higher. That would only be a bonus if it succeeded, however. Her true intent lied elsewhere. Even if his distraction meant he would only notice the strike after it had already begun, the moment when he noticed the strike was yet another opportunity to take advantage.

Where he would normally be able to divide his focus, the surprise of shifting his focus from someplace afar to a deadly assault up close would mean his attention would be focused solely on the scalpel. To put it clearly, his attention would be fully diverted from the vials in her other hand. The moment his eyes turned to see the attack to his wrist, she flick the cap off of one of the two new vials she had grabbed as she penetrated the wolves' line of defense and splash the toxin contained inside on him. Unlike the one she had bluffed with before, this one was completely genuine.

Renavin was mainly focused on Gina and her movements, as the mercenaries quickly situated themselves, pulling out their knives noticing Gina's actions. They were told should any obstacle get in their way, they had permission to terminate it, however. "STOP! Our mission isn't to kill the students-" However, in one quick numbing slice, blood came spurting out of his wrist. It wasn't lethal, but it cut a key vein in his arm in which blood began falling dripping out. He could use his healing magic to mend the wound, but that was only half the danger.

While he was focused on the scalpel, he noticed that Kisue's other hand had bottles of unknown chemicals coming right for him. Undoubtedly it wasn't a bluff of any sort, as this was meant to severely damage him and continue to leave him vulnerable. It would burn his skin, send him on a painful frenzy before she'd have the privilege to finish him off.

Jumping back wouldn't work as he'd still be splashed with the chemical regardless, dodging to the side perhaps, but would be met with the scalpel to possibly a vital organ he required. Left would just be submitting to his defeat as well. What other option can there be?

Having no idea what the best option was, he decided to go for the one the must unpredictable. Forward. He lunged forward in a last ditch effort, grabbing her wrist containing the scalpel with his blood soaked hand, as the toxins started to splash, managing to get a significant portion to splash on the floor, but half of it managed to soak his cloak. Before the liquid might transfer to his shirt and reach his skin, he quickly ditched his cloak by literally cutting the lace around his lower neck and having it fall to the floor.

This was still an opportune time for Kisue to give another slice with her scalpel, but Renavin wasn't going to give her a chance, as he wrapped his arm around hers, forcing her arm to remain stiff and straight. He could easily break her shoulder with a simple forceful lift with his body. He wasn't sure how strong she was, but if she struggled too much she'd possibly break her shoulder or arm.

"Whoooooaaaa, that was close! I seriously thought I was gonna die there!!!" Renavin for once, didn't look confident, as he looked back at his cloak with disbelief. He wasn't sure what was in that vial, but surely if he was hit by it, he wouldn't be able to live through the next hour. None the less he was now fully refocused on Kisue, rather than the events going on with Gina, Kisue losing that window of opportunity but perhaps was able to stop him from reforming that blood weapon he conjured thanks to her scalpel.

In the meantime, the two remaining wolves remained firm on their positions; one protecting their kin and the other growling as it remained up close to Gina. It growled, baring it's teeth, but with the girl in her arms it never took a step closer. It was most likely trying to keep her from doing anymore damage, rather than attempting to attack her. It didn't take a step forward, nor a step back, it just eyed at her hand movements, seeming to have learned how her abilities work just a little bit.

"Whoooooaaaa, that was close! I seriously thought I was gonna die there!!!"

An ugly grimace crossed Kisue's face. She'd already won this fight. She'd severed the veins in his wrist, and the anti-coagulant was already at work. It didn't matter if she'd missed the artery; thanks to the special properties of her scalpel he would continue bleeding until he passed out from blood loss, and then he would bleed even more. He'd bleed until his heart stopped pumping blood. Even now, the sudden loss of blood from that large spurt would have rendered him somewhat dizzy. And the girl he'd entered the lab with had informed him of the scalpel's properties, so he was well aware of all that.

But that meant she had a dead man clinging to her arm, and there were still several enemies left to tackle. If she let herself get injured here, then it would unnecessarily increase the difficulty of what would otherwise be a simple fight after one of their numbers were downed. And it would be unwise to underestimate what a moving corpse would be willing to do. To ensure that scenario doesn't come to pass, she would have to incapacitate him, quickly.

The best way to do that was with intense, sudden, crippling pain. A barrage of brutal attacks targeting the weak points of the human body. She would begin with a kick to the knee. That joint is absolutely crucial for allowing the human body to stand, and yet it is surprisingly fragile. A good kick would be enough to smash it in, and the pain and sudden loss of ability to stand would definitely send him for a loop.

But that would only occupy one of her legs. She still had an arm free that she could use to her advantage. At the same time that she busted his knee in, she would send a powerful straight right into his bladder. It would cause some degree of minor internal bleeding, it wasn't quite as awkward a target as the region directly below it, and most importantly, it would cause excruciating pain enough to drop him to the floor.

---

Gina had left an opening that they could have attempted to take advantage of, but the wolves didn't move. They didn't even attempt to take advantage of it, instead choosing to warily eye her hands. It seemed they held some intelligence, to be able to figure out how she aimed her ability despite just being beasts. However...

"Hmph. I suppose it's not my business if you decide to waste your time."

The preparations had finished. There was no longer any need target. She had switched from a targeted system to one that affected an entire area. All the wolves around her were suddenly pressed to the ground at once. The weight was too heavy; there was no way for them to even crawl. Their own bodies were crushing them.

And with her aggressors incapacitated, she was finally able to calm down and consider the situation. It seemed that the group that broke into the school earlier had broken into two groups, and she and Keima had missed one. Normally, this would have irritated her, but in this situation it was actually a blessing in disguise. Gina didn't think she'd lose to Kihara, but... This was her lab, her home ground. She would have a distinct advantage here, and considering the wide range of options she had here, there was a high potential for danger.

So the idea of having them help her in taking Kihara out wasn't entirely an unwelcome one. They may be just as heavily involved in the dark side as Kihara, or they might be in a similar situation to Gina, but all such things could be inquired about after they defeated their common enemy. So for now, she should try and assist them by removing one of the scientist's distinct advantages.

Namely, that awful smell in the air.

Taking out her phone with a casualness not suited for the volatile environment she was in, she found a certain number and sent off a text with the incredible speed, dexterity, and hand eye coordination unique to the genus of homo sapien JK. The recipient was Keima. And the message, a short explanation of the situation regarding the gas and an order to fix it before he joined her.

Keima let out a surprised voice when his phone suddenly starting vibrating in his pocket. Pulling it out, he raised his eyebrows in confusion as he read on the message that had been sent by an unknown recipient.

“...Ishida, huh.” He easily determined the identity of the person who had sent him a message thanks to the contents. “...That's nice and all but do I look like a mechanic?” He groaned as he flipped his phone shut and put it back down in his pocket; time was of the essence and Keima had to find someone capable of starting the ventilation before he even attempted to head down to Kisue's lair.

His head and feet quickly took him to the one place where he was sure to find someone that could help them; the entrance.

There hadn't been random gunshots after the invasion for no reason, after all.

Though he hadn't expected a pile of collapsed researchers and security guards to be laying near the entrance of the school; in fact, if he could reason the guards' presence, he however hadn't expected researchers to be here in the slightest. This was a school, after all.

“That bitch brought along some slaves?” Keima complained as he started lightly kicking at every other corpse, finding himself somewhat thankful that there weren't any third-parties involved in the shoot-out that had seemingly occurred. “Now what do I–“

“Ugh..”

A corpse reacted, much to Keima's surprise; it was one of the security guards that had been mercilessly assaulted and Keima had kicked them right in a wound. Had it been hiding amidst corpses to make it out alive or had they been forced awake by the pain of the kick?

It didn't matter, Keima thought as he slowly attempted to lift the injured guard up and away from any weapons he could use, cursing as he noted that those men were quite the heavy people once accompanied with utility vests.

Once dragged away from anything used as a potential weapon, Keima just dropped the man to the ground as he grabbed his P.I.R.A.G.

“Look, time is something I don't have so I'll ask you straight away: Where is the control panel for the ventilation system of this school?”

A security guard was more likely to know the layout of the school than a researcher ot a teacher anyway, so Keima for once genuinely thought he was lucky there.

“Uu..gh..”

“...”

At the unresponsiveness, Keima decided to ignore his P.I.R.A.G. and kicked hard at the corpse to have it react again.

**

It had taken a lot of time, and a lot of various kicking that Keima hardly felt apologetic for – he did need to vent out the frustration that had been building up over the past few days – but he finally stood in front of a control panel, holding a small manual that had gathered a fair amount of dust in his hand.

“Um... Then, I should do that...”

Keima carefully read the manual as he noted how unfriendly the control room appeared to be, and flipped a few switches before pressing a button.

Unfortunately, they were currently in Academy City. Things like ventilation systems were precisely made to be as silent as they could so as to not disturb the students, resulting in Keima being very confused as to whether the ventilation finally started working again despite the fact that a LED indicator flashed green next to the buttons he had pressed.

He pulled out his phone and quickly sent a text back to the number that had previously contacted him to check if it was solved, added with a lovely complaint of:

[And don't think I'm going to be your goddamn personal mechanic.]

Tomokota Renavin had barely dodged death thanks to his cloak, but sadly he could no longer protect himself should she spill more chemicals toward him. The mercenaries took note of this as one of them began grabbing random vials around the lab, trying to keep as much as the chemicals away from Kisue as possible. This wasn't just for Renavin's safety, but their own, as if one such chemical was just powerful enough, it could light the whole place on fire. Kisue undoubtedly memorized where everything is, but the possibility of her using a suicidal attack or even making a mistake was a chance they were not willing to take.

While one of the mercenaries were taking care of the chemicals, the other was left by Natsumi, as he was waiting for an opening to come in which he can aid Renavin in his engagement. Renavin was soon met with a kick to the knee, making his leg collapse slightly. "GAK!" With his attention only focused on her arms, he only managed to dodge the one blow aiming for a rather crucial part of his body, but didn't see her leg come up to force his knee to cave in. The bruising pain of her kick sent him to the ground, but with his arm locked with hers, she would be sent down as well due to heavier body weight.

Whether she'd fall close or farther away from Renavin was not of the mercenaries concern, but rather he aimed to cut her off. He would run around behind Kisue before she might get up. He decided it was best to keep her from getting anymore tools or chemicals than what was in about a 5 meter radius, limit what she can grab and use to what was in the immediate area, while the other mercenary practically strips the lab clean of sharp tools and unknown chemicals as the vials she used were unlabeled. The mercenary only had a combat knife to use, not willing to risk using the chemicals themselves.

Renavin would try to get up, but would be slightly slower to do so as his knee was now injured a bit, to make it harder for him to put weight on. "Tch, you really don't want to lose do you...~" Renavin said as he looked to his hand as blood continued to spill out. Well this is great...I can't heal the cut immediately, as it seems to have gone deeper than I thought...I could form crimson blade but her scalpel will just cut it...I can already feel a bit out of it... The only thing he could do at the moment was hold a hand tightly around the afflicted cut, and hold the dagger in the other hand, as he would try to get up before Kisue might take advantage of him being low to the ground.

"Tch, you really don't want to lose do you...~"

As they fell, Kisue was forced to make an instant decision. Her arm was still locked with Renavin's, so she couldn't escape. If she threw herself to the side, she could try and get some distance, but in the end that would have absolutely no advantage for her. If anything it would just give Renavin a chance to recompose himself. So with that in mind, the best course of action was simply to stay close. To keep up the assault.

Rather than fighting the fall, she followed it down. And when they reached the ground, Kisue had mounted him. In this position, she had the advantage. She had her weight on top of him, limiting his range of motion. She was above him and he was on the floor, so she had control of the situation. And from this position, with one of his arms focused on restraining her, her weight on his diaphragm giving him difficulty breathing in addition to the dizziness from his blood loss, his options were incredibly limited. For both attacking, and blocking.

From this close a range, it'd be a danger to her as well if she tried to use the chemicals. However, there was a nice vulnerable spot in full view at the moment. His throat. Quickly stuffing the remaining vials into the closest pocket in her lab coat, she stiffened and held together the index and middle finger of her now free hand, holding the rest of her fingers close to her palm as if in a fist. With her two fingers pointing as if they were a spear tip, she stabbed them towards the base of Renavin's throat. If it hit, then his larynx would collapse, and he would be completely incapable of taking air into his lungs. And from there, she could continue beating into him until he could resist no longer.

Though Natsumi had wondered how the hell would she get the seemingly inactive ventilation to clear the gas permeating the air to put an end to this long-winded fight herself, she found that she was hardly necessary as the gas was slowly clearing itself up on its own.

They were so absorbed in their heated battle that the two fighters didn't seem to notice the fact that the air had gradually become much more breathable.

(Did that pink-haired girl have anything to do with it?)

That mysterious girl was quite the source of worries and interrogations for Natsumi, but she at least deducted that Gina wasn't an enemy for now and found herself somewhat thankful if Gina was indeed the reason she would finally be able to end this.

After all, she could finally use her ability.

And so, she took the deepest breath of longed fresh air she could... “Enough, Kihara.” and simply snapped her fingers, hurling three fireballs arching towards Kisue's hand, seemingly trying to choke Renavin in an oddly precise manner, in an attempt to surround her as much as she could.

“I've had enough of your meaningless struggle and I certainly don't want to spend all night with you.”

“Enough, Kihara. I've had enough of your meaningless struggle and I certainly don't want to spend all night with you.”

At the very instant those flickering balls of burning light registered in the far corner of her vision, Kisue immediately drew back her hand and leaped backwards, gaining distance from both the initial target of the fireballs and Renavin. During the fight, his grip on her arm had loosened, so she was able to avoid having her arm destroyed as she fled. And as she did so, her senses that had become overly focused on her opponent widened their range of awareness once more and she finally noticed the changes to the environment that she had missed while she was distracted.

"Che, someone turned the ventilators on?!"

This was bad. With the ventilators on, the gas that had rendered the use of most conventional weapons suicidal had dispersed. That meant there would be no restriction on blades, that girl could use her esper ability, and most importantly, those mercenaries could use their guns. Up to this point they had been like bonsai trees, just sitting there as decoration, but now they would be an actual threat. The girl was a danger, but... She could dodge fireballs to an extent, unlike bullets.

She set the two mercenaries as her targets. It seemed that they had been grabbing all the chemicals they could while she was battling Renavin, and as a result their arms were fully loaded. They had no leeway to draw their weapons, and if they just dropped the countless chemicals, chances were that the resulting reactions and splashes would kill them on the spot. In conclusion, they were perfectly defenseless. They couldn't even move quickly, weighed down like that and with their center of balance off.

But if they could set aside their burdens, then they would have no restrictions. She had to take care of them before that happened. Removing the vials from her pocket where she had stowed them earlier, she tossed one at each of the mercenaries. These two both contained substances similar to the one she'd used on the wolf at the beginning of the fight; they were powerful acids. And she didn't aim at their bodies or their faces. Rather, she aimed at their feet. The vials would shatter on the floor before them, the acid would splash onto their legs and feet, and they would lose balance and fall. From there, the countless chemicals they were carrying would shatter as well, and that would be the end for them.

With them disposed of, she could turn back to Natsumi. These actions had only taken a few short seconds, but in a fight that was time enough to reverse everything. So even when she turned around to verify her location, she didn't stop moving. She continued stepping backwards, gaining more distance from her and edging ever closer to the area where the lab equipment had yet to be raided.

The sight of those useless mercenaries getting wiped out was truly despairing for her because of how utterly useless they seemed to be, but she merely sighed.

(OST: Fairy Tail - Mahou Taisen)

"Do something about your wound and the kid. I'll kill you if she can reach her.” Natsumi muttered an order to Renavin and lifted an arm to tell him to back off as she approached him and the collapsed mercenaries, kicking their weapons away far from Kisue's reach while still keeping an eye out for the collapsed child.

She knew the woman was sneaky, and therefore she wanted to avoid any leverage held against her.

“Try to avoid them if you can. But they won't stop coming until you fall.”

And so she merely snapped as she called out, taking a step forwards for each step Kisue had taken backwards to avoid her leaving her range of application while making sure she stayed at a safe distance from her vial throwing trick. The sound of restless snapping resounded throughout the room as the fireballs would rain upon the scientist endlessly. Natsumi truly thanked the situation where she had been allowed to witness the scientist's way of fighting before getting involved herself.

Which of their stamina would last the longest, she wondered? In the end, it hardly mattered.

She was finally fed up with that scientist's half-assed suicide attempt.

“Try to avoid them if you can. But they won't stop coming until you fall.”

By the time Natsumi spoke, Kisue had already made it to a table that the mercenaries had yet to touch and achieved her objective. Unlike at the area where the fight had begun, those chemicals had not been sorted so as to prioritize those that could be of benefit when attempting to cause damage to other people. However, that didn't mean there was nothing here that could use. Just the opposite, rather. She recognized every single substance from their visible properties and locations, and she could see several that would be of use. With how many vials were in this lab, it would be stranger if she didn't find any. Placing her scalpel back into the pocket it had sat in before the fight began, Kisue quickly snatched up five of the choicest chemicals. Considering the ability of her new opponent, her scalpel wouldn't have much use, but the chemicals were a different matter.

She held six of them now; one remaining from the very beginning, and five which she had just obtained, three were held in each hand a she began running back towards Natsumi. The fight would begin now. As Kisue had gained distance, Natsumi had controlled it, keeping the scientist in her range but her out of the scientist's. Kisue was a distinct disadvantage as things were, but if she could close the distance then the odds would even nicely. So she ran forward, straight into the barrage of flame.

There were dozens flying with no set pattern, and normally diving into the gaps between would be nearly impossible. In a bullet hell game, you could see all the coming at once, and they moved at a speed slow enough to react to, but Natsumi shared none of the game developers' consideration. But somehow, Kisue managed to do it. It was hardly perfect; she was getting clipped left and right and accumulating burns of various degrees of severity on her extremities. But she was managing to avoid any direct hits, and she was making definite progress towards her opponent. When a fireball scorched away one of her sleeves, the reason behind her prodigiousness became apparent.

Dotting her arm were multiple small wounds that any child who had undergone Academy City's famous Curriculum were intimately familiar with. They were the aftermath of an injection, meant to send drugs into the bloodstream to cause a deviant effect within the human body. Though there was the no telling for Natsumi what kinds of drugs Kisue had used, the effects were apparent enough. Her sense of pain was numbed enough that the wounds she'd accumulated didn't faze her at all, allowing her to continue fighting without fear. And the keenness of her senses had been polished to the extreme, artificially creating a phenomenon similar to one of Hollywood's favorite tropes, where all the world seemed to slow down around the protagonist, allowing her to calmly manage the great barrage. Using her advantages to their fullest, soon came into close enough range to trade an attack of her own. From her left, she tossed one her vials into the air to Natsumi. Holding a substance that would give off poisonous fumes once exposed to the air, even if Natsumi managed to intercept the vial in midair with one her fireballs, she might still be exposed. The concentration of the fumes might not be enough to kill, but if they just afforded a distraction, it would be an opportunity for Kisue to turn the tables.