Academy City's Weather Report! (Toaru)

Chapter 453: Academy City Weather Report! - 453

Even if it couldn't induce unconsciousness through photosensitive seizures, for someone with acutely sharp senses, that sudden burst of intense light was enough to cause dizziness, even a brief loss of consciousness.

The blinding glare flashing around the room faded rapidly. Having discharged an overwhelming amount of light in an instant, the devices installed around the classroom were quickly drained of power.

A pained shriek instantly tore through the classroom.

Caught completely off guard, the bun-haired girl who had been looking directly at the piercing glare suffered massive damage, losing control over her own vocal cords.

The heat carried by the light was mostly absorbed by the body's surface temperature layer, but the light stabbing directly into her eyes was unavoidable.

It traveled through the optic nerves into her brain, instantly affecting a vast number of photoreceptor cells in her eyes.

It was no different from being hit by multiple flashbangs, just without the deafening high-decibel noise. This non-lethal weapon was capable of paralyzing resistance in an instant.

Even for so-called espers, the fragility of the flesh remained an irreparable flaw. While Natsume Sonoko's physical constitution was slightly better than Shokuhou Misaki's, she was still a perennial fixture near the bottom of the class in physical fitness tests.

An all-around defense like Accelerator's was exceptionally rare.

Moreover, Natsume-san had almost no preparation against this type of attack. Had she preset her body's thermal layer to automatically initiate light refraction upon detecting excessive brightness, she might have been able to simulate a fraction of Accelerator's ability.

Classwork papers lay scattered across the floor. Her black handbag had been knocked down in the panic, spilling out neat textbooks and a small pencil case.

The girl, unable to bear the pain, stood her ground with difficulty. One hand gripped her desk tightly, while the other covered her eyes, struggling to suppress her cries of agony.

Natsume-san's highly developed brain hadn't anticipated such a sudden attack, nor could it imagine that a senior she'd just met would be so decisively ruthless.

She could only passively endure a move potent enough to take down most espers.

An immense wave of dizziness flooded her mind, and the disorienting blindness plunged her into a temporary state of cognitive impairment.

Her reddened eyes wept incessantly. Due to the overly intense light, the black pupils had dilated to their limit, while a web of fierce, angry red veins crawled across the whites of her eyes.

"Do espers scream too?"

"This fragile state is truly pitiable. In the end, you're just a lucky child."

The moment the blinding light subsided, Yumiya Iruka held a laser pointer in her hand, with hesitation attacking the bun-haired girl not far away.

She could freely manipulate 'waves' like light and sound, but she couldn't attack while the intense light was flashing, as controlling that much glare exceeded her ability's limits.

If she interposed herself, she'd only block some of the light that would have otherwise reached the #8's eyes.

So she had to expand her advantage before the other party could react, to bridge the vast gap between herself and an esper.

There was a time she yearned to become an esper, dreaming of that future with her friends, but it ultimately remained an unattainable fantasy.

It had nothing to do with effort or belief. It was decided from the very beginning.

As a remnant of the Clone Dolly, the memory of herself enduring severe side effects for ability development now seemed laughable.

The talented surpass the untalented; the resourceful suppress the resourceless. In the world of espers, it was unfair.

This girl, whose head barely reached her shoulders, was someone she would forever have to look up to.

In this city where espers existed, others were like fireflies, dim and obscure, forever gazing up at their lofty heights.

'The desire to become a Level 5 resides in everyone's heart. But I lost my qualification long ago. Now, I just want to see that person's image again, to make others understand how radiant that person once was, how close they came to being a Level 5.'

'For that thought, what does it matter if I discard everything?'

Obsessive thoughts churned endlessly in her mind. A powerful fixation overrode her reason. The girl named Yumiya Iruka felt no fear facing the powerful and menacing Level 5.

This was her final obsession with Level 5s. Her stalled ability development had already declared her own failure. And now, it wasn't for herself, but for the object of her past worship.

Under the influence of the Indian Poker, this notion was amplified limitlessly, even to the point of madness.

"Senpai."

Natsume-san's voice suddenly rang out, though the suppressed pain within it was evident.

"Does doing this truly excite you?"

"I don't know what exactly happened, but I must ask you to calm down now."

As she spoke, Natsume-san shook her head, trying to clear it.

Bloodshot eyes now surrounded by prominent veins, her vision still a void, the temporarily blinded Natsume-san could no longer rely on her eyes.

A measure of clarity was returning to Natsume-san's chaotic mind, partly sourced from her connection with Reiko, partly from her brain's innate recovery ability.

Combined, they allowed her to quickly recall her 'radar sense', freeing her from the disoriented state of cognitive impairment and allowing her to grasp the changing situation once more.

Connected through their AIM diffusion fields, a part of each girl's consciousness resided within the field, manifesting in the other's mind, achieving this level of mutual perception.

This must be the second time.

Natsume-san used this power to regain her composure swiftly, preventing physical pain from hindering her ability to fight back.

And once one reached the level of a so-called Level 6, able to anchor their consciousness within the AIM field itself, perhaps the body would no longer be a hindrance to an esper of that caliber, instead becoming merely an anchor point to reality.

Leaving no room for further thought—her reserves were limited—Natsume-san's arm lifted subconsciously. The black schoolbag at her feet flew up, blocking the beam fired from the other's laser pointer.

The bag, tough enough to stop bullets, now bore a small dent, not only attesting to its decent quality but also declaring that the attack could have left small, bloody holes in Natsume-san's body.

"To recover the ability to speak so quickly, and to perceive your surroundings without relying on sight..."

"Should I say 'as expected of a Level 5'?"

Yumiya Iruka was instantly startled. This was much faster than she had anticipated.

For espers like Shokuhou Misaki, who relied on a remote, they'd likely be incapacitated instantly.

But for someone like Natsume-san, for whom the body was almost an accessory, as long as her brain could still think, she wouldn't lose her combat ability.

"Because we're in a classroom, using large-area attack methods is ill-advised."

Gritting through the pain, Natsume-san assessed her predicament. She was both shocked that such a thing could happen within the school and aware of the other students gradually gathering around.

Fighting in a confined space was another factor limiting the #8.

However, Natsume-san had no intention of changing locations. She wanted to properly ask the other girl why she was doing this. As expected, Natsume-san was already angry.

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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL