Traitor Amongst the Heroes

[The Devil System is currently idle]

[Waiting for conditions to fully activate...]

[Calculating...]

[...]

[Progress Towards Activation: 11%]

...

The silence was quickly broken by the sound of the 7th regiment running towards the entrance of the hideout. The street was flooded by our troops charging towards the entrance of the building. Suddenly, the street was filled with the sound of gunshots. It appeared that Rework had noticed us and began firing.

Aiko was carefully watching the entrance—one by one, the Reword defenders were sniped by her. Her technique was that of an amateur, but her gravity manipulation allowed every single one of her bullets to hit their target spot on. Our members in the adjacent rooms also seemed to be wielding sniper rifles. Before long, the entrance was practically cleared, and the 7th regiment made their way into the building. Aiko continued staring into the windows of the other buildings, killing anyone who showed their head.

After a few minutes, the entire 7th regiment was inside, and the younger 11th regiment now stood in the streets, patrolling the area.

"There's not a lot of noise inside. I'm assuming they've got Disrupters," Aiko informed me.

From what I knew, Disrupters stopped communication from the brain to Realisers and Interceptors, which basically made Espers unable to use their abilities. However, Disrupters need to be pointed directly at the opponent, meaning they're sitting ducks whilst they're holding a Disrupter.

I assumed that there were Espers inside who were fighting whilst people behind were holding Disrupters.

Several minutes went by without any visible changes occurring on the outside. Aside from a few explosions and gunshots, it was basically eventless outside.

"I've been alerted of three white-level threats and one orange-level threat. The orange-level threat seems to be the one stopping our attempt to remove the Disrupters."

"What are we going to do?"

"Well, we still can't enter since there are Disrupters inside; the best thing they can do is to lead the threats outside so either we can snipe them, or if they are led out far enough, we might be able to engage them."

The National Police Organisation should be arriving soon.

During Aiko's use of the sniper, I was able to decode some of the calculations necessary for her gravity manipulation ability. I still didn't have enough information to be able to effectively use my Interceptor, and I likely wouldn't be able to gather the info until we engaged in combat.

Suddenly, there was a large explosion, and several people poured outside.

Through the crystal-clear window of the motel, I could see four members of the 7th regiment in combat with three members of Rework. The 11th regiment quickly joined in, and a big street fight ensued.

Aiko instantly aimed with her sniper and tried to hit one of them, but for some reason, just as the bullet was about to hit them, it turned and dug into the ground with a thump.

Just as this was happening, troops from the National Police Organisation began arriving at the scene. Suddenly, a stream of bullets sprayed into the battle and formed a gigantic cloud of smoke.

"Goddammit, the police are going to kill our people!" Screamed Aiko.

With no hesitation, she punched through the window of the motel, shattering the glass. I ducked back a little to avoid the damage and noticed that the police were all falling to the ground.

This was Aiko's full strength.

With her outstretched arm, she forced every single person on the street onto their knees. Her hair swayed in the wind as the intense pressure of her power emanated through the area.

At that moment, I was able to complete my calculations and transmute them into my Interceptor.

Sorry, Aiko.

In an instant, all of the pressure was relieved. Everyone began getting back onto their feet.

"What the heck is going on? How can Disrupters reach so far?" She exclaimed.

I'm afraid it wasn't a Disrupter.

It was my Interceptor.

At this moment, Aiko issued a retreat to every member of Spectrum-Judgement who was on this mission. Through the hail of bullets from the National Police Organisation and the abilities of Rework, the remainder of our forces retreated.

Aiko continued firing the sniper rifle into the madness.

It was actually possible for Aiko to recalculate and override my Interceptor. However, at this moment, she still had no idea that I was the one disabling her abilities.

Wounded teenagers in bloodied school uniforms came back into our motel. This was the remainder of the 7th and 11th regiments. Aiko put down her sniper rifle and ran down to meet them.

Without Spectrum-Judgement, the National Police Organisation appeared to be struggling against the remainder of Rework. However, Rework also suffered an extremely large amount of casualties in the engagement. There looked to be about only three Espers left in their arsenal—before long. They also began their retreat.

The Spectrum-Judgement forces regrouped in the main reception area of the motel. Aiko was looking down with a distraught look on her face.

"I'm sorry... everyone..." she apologised to the pained faces which looked at her.

"It's okay, Aiko, it wasn't your fault," one of the other members tried to console her.

I looked around the room. It appeared that we lost around five people, and most of the others were injured. I didn't mean to get them killed, but I had to do what was necessary.

"So what do we do now?"

The members of the 21st regiment took out their first-aid kits and began trying to heal the wounds of many of the 11th and 7th regiment members.

"We're going to pull back for today. We'll leave the rest of the clean-up for the NPO. Also, I'm going to speak to the committee about this incident. The police are way too inconsiderate!"

"Thank you, Chinami. I'm also going to file a complaint," added Aiko.

The streets were practically silent. Fighting had all but stopped, and the NPO was entering the hideout. We decided to call it a day, and I made my way back to my dorm.

*

Ah, I didn't even have to draw my sword today.

The headmaster had sent me a message congratulating me on my job. I didn't really care about it all that much. I was just going to do the bare minimum of what was necessary anyways.

I slowly made my way towards my room. The atmosphere was magical, the bright green trees swaying in the wind, the puffy purple flowers scattered along the short, well-kept grass.

I turned the doorknob leading into my room. It seemed tighter and clunkier than usual. It was probably the wear and tear of the handle. Maybe it was someone breaking in? I should probably go out and purchase some industrial oil to smoothen the doorknob.

I entered my room and walked through the small corner kitchen. I placed my heavy bag next to my wooden bedside table. I decided to make some instant noodles for dinner because I couldn't be bothered walking all the way to the cafeteria. I poured some water into my kettle, placed it onto its base, turned it on, and got a bag of noodles from the cupboard.

When I opened my cupboard, I noticed a neatly folded envelope stuck to the inside.

The envelope was blank with nothing on it. I had a few ideas of who may have delivered this letter. This looked like it was going to be a hassle.

I put it to the side for a moment as I poured the noodle flavouring into a bowl. After that, I grabbed my kettle off its stand and poured the boiling hot water in it as well, forming a little cloud of vapour.

Delicious.

As I prepared to eat my meal, I pulled the letter out of the envelope and read its contents.

—Have you forgotten about me?

Well, that was a little eerie.

I cleaned up my room a little and packed my bag for school the next day. We were given some homework, but it wasn't going to take very long. I spread the work out on my table and finished it in just under twenty minutes.

I was pretty tired after everything that happened today. However, I needed to get some more snacks since my supply was getting depleted. It was around 9:00 pm, and the closest convenience store would continue to be open for at least a few more hours, so I definitely had enough time to grab some snacks.

I got up from my seat and put on my shoes once again. The night sky greeted me as I made my way out of the dormitory. A scarce stream of cars passed by on the street, and the general area was pretty well-lit by all the street lights.

I made my way to the convenience store and picked out a few bags of lollies and some more instant noodles. Just as I was about to pay, I noticed some doughnuts on display and decided to grab them along with a can of hot chocolate.

"Is that all for today?" Asked the cashier.

"Yeah."

I made my way back to the dorm and settled down for the day.