Chapter 37

CHAPTER 21 Those Whose Identities Cannot Be Discerned
Second Friday of October It was a strange sight to behold. School District 11: The district where all the shipping containers were held. Nothing but giant boxes made of metal lined these streets—and among them lay about nine girls, all defeated. Everything about them was identical, from their clothing to their hair, from their heights to their builds, even right down to the composition of their faces. They were the Sisters, created from a certain Level Five’s somatic cells. Strewn about were rifles, scattered bullet casings, and the girls themselves, limp and unconscious. In the middle of them all stood a single man. Unharmed. The man who should have become a magic god, Ollerus, narrowed his eyes as the night breeze blew over him. He was on the run from the entire sorcery world due to his power and had taken out every single pursuer who came after him—but even in Academy City, the headquarters of the science world, he remained undefeated. Suddenly, a voice called out. “This is… This is crazy. Freaking crazy.” A short distance away from the encirclement of crumpled girls stood another person, a young man. Gunha Sogiita—number seven. Academy City’s seventh-ranked Level Five and a man with more than an appreciation for passion and guts. He made a disgusted face at the scene before him. But not at the fact that nine girls existed who all had the same face. Sogiita didn’t care one bit about trivial mysteries like that. “…Standing there like you’re delighted to have beaten these delicate little, er… nonuplets, I guess, to a pulp? You’re crazy. This is the first time I’ve seen such an insane lack of guts.” “There’s a good reason for this, you know,” said Ollerus with a chuckle. Slowly, he brought his head around to look at Number Seven. “If Academy City wishes to recover the fifty or so Uncut Gems throughout the world,” he continued, “then I will not stop that. But I cannot ignore the risk that they might simply become the subjects of who knows what research right here within the city walls.” As the city was gathering them here using irregular methods, they—the Uncut Gems—would naturally catch the attention of the local scientists as uniquely rare and valuable resources. There was a nonzero possibility they’d wind up stuffed into some dark institution. “That’s why I’ve come to give them a warning,” said Ollerus. “Acting as a check—or perhaps that’s too vague. This is more like a negotiation using martial force. Defeating you, who is number seven in Academy City as well as the world’s greatest Uncut Gem, should be enough. That will communicate my intentions to him should the Uncut Gems entrusted to the city be treated as disposable.” “Really?” Number Seven grinned. “That’s nice. That sentiment has guts behind it. Coming to pick a fight with Academy City’s dark underbelly in order to negotiate for just fifty kids? And to do that, you’d physically confront a Level Five? That’s pretty great—definitely the kind of mindset that takes a lot of guts. “But!” finished Sogiita with a raised finger. “You don’t know who those kids are or where they’re from. And yet you’ve still rallied your manly self and tried desperately to protect them anyway. And maybe one of those people was a complete stranger: a certain Number Seven, whom you’ve never even talked to in your life.” “……” “I don’t have a responsibility to risk my life or anything, but I’ll use a bit of my guts here. Anyway, long story short… This is for real.” A moment later, Number Seven did something very simple: He took a determined step toward Ollerus, grabbed him by the head, and smashed him into the side of a nearby container. But… …what would happen if you performed those actions at twice the speed of sound? There was a mind-boggling bang!! The metal container easily crumpled, and Ollerus, after slipping out of Sogiita’s hand, crashed through it and flew dozens of meters away. A cluster of containers collapsed like a house of cards. Some of them threatened to rain down on Sogiita and the fallen girls as well, but he raised a hand overhead and blew away the airborne containers like a volcano. Thick clouds of dust shrouded them. The only sound was the constant, irregular, eerie clattering of metal. And then Number Seven narrowed his eyes and tsked. “For someone so depraved, you sure do have a lot of guts, though it’s still real twisted.” “No, you were right the first time—I’m a gutless person.” The voice rose from the dust. Its source formed a silhouette as Ollerus slowly walked toward him. He hadn’t changed a bit. Not even a hair on his head was out of place. “But, well… I do have a reason. A reason to fight. Unlike you.” “……” Number Seven couldn’t rightly respond.