Chapter 54

SUB.04 Baggage City was formerly an average municipality in Eastern Europe. It mostly consisted of rectangular concrete buildings, and despite being located in Europe, it didn’t come across as very historic. That lack of historical character could be explained by the fact that it was a relatively new city trying to protect itself from cold waves. The military had seized it during World War III, expecting its shipping capabilities—centered around its railroad network—would prove valuable in the conflict. In reality, however, the war ended just after they smashed up the buildings in the urban center to make room for the construction of military facilities, leaving their base of operations forever incomplete. Under normal circumstances, the city would have been turned back over to its original residents. But that didn’t happen. Instead, Baggage City changed hands to the Anti–Academy City Science Guardians in an opaque deal that seemed to involve the interests of the military. The city’s symbol was its four domed sporting facilities. High-rise buildings filled the gaps between them, forming a cross shape. The many goods and barricades brought in during the war gave the cityscape a strange quality, and there were also unmanned weapons all over the place that had been supplied by Academy City. That being said, the original owners of the incredibly valuable city didn’t seem to be complaining much. That, plus the dangerous weapons littering the scenery, gave the environment around Baggage City a disquieting air. It was almost like the place was trying to confront the incomprehensibility of Academy City’s science and technology. …Doesn’t matter to me, thought Saflee Opendays, walking down a tunnellike hallway toward the ring. As long as I can achieve my objective, I don’t care whose power I borrow. Saflee exited the tunnel, stepping into all the lights. Boom!! An explosion of sound—the loud music the tournament was playing, the cheers of spectators filling the seats along the perimeter and the fenced-in outer edge of the ring, and the announcer’s cries coming over the speaker system. The enormous din formed into a massive whirlpool that engulfed the huge arena, exciting the people whether they liked it or not… In Saflee’s opinion, the vibrations in the air were not at all something an athlete, who wanted to remain calm, could ever be grateful for. However, the people creating the vortex of sound probably wanted to see enraged berserkers, not calm competitors. There was enough space in here to fit a baseball or football field, but Saflee and the others would be fighting in a giant cage in the very center. The arena was a circle about thirty meters in diameter. It was quite a bit bigger than a normal fighting arena, but compared to the entire facility, it looked like a birdcage. Several gigantic screens hung from the domed ceiling, which seemed to be showing the matches in progress. The screens were meant to compensate for the distance between the spectators’ seats and the ring, but their presence also undermined the event—what was the point of watching it in person if you still needed a screen to see everything? The edge of the arena was completely blocked off by wire fencing, and the moment Saflee stepped through the entrance, bathed in cheers and light, a thick grated barrier dropped behind her like a guillotine, blocking off any avenue of escape. Contrary to her graceful dress, Saflee planted her feet firmly on the floor, frowning as she evaluated the material underfoot through the soles of her sneakers. …We’re standing on reinforced concrete? Are these people sane? One throw would rip all your organs from your body. The floor itself is a weapon—more lethal than a clumsy knife or gun. In the meantime, the roars of the commentator, who was firmly in a safe area, boomed out across the venue, amplified by huge speakers. “We’ve already reached match thirty-five of the first round, people! And there are still over twenty left to go! Now that’s a tournament for you! We’re currently at the bottom of the bracket, so the first round will be the longest! Let’s move right along to our next bout!” What an awful performance, thought Saflee, knotting her brows in distaste. “And there she is! Our next competitor—Saflee Opendays! The other contestants came equipped with all sorts of freaky stuff that rival Academy City’s own, like ninja weapons, UFOs, and parasites. But this lady’s different! She’s gunning to become the Natural Selector using martial arts and martial arts alone! Is she nothing but a reckless challenger, or does the fact she’s come this far unarmed speak for itself? It’s time to see what she can really do!” The stage was already blinding, but now with all its lights shining on her, Saflee had to narrow her eyes slightly and put a hand to her forehead. Still, the spotlights didn’t hang on her for too long. Instead, they swung over to the other competitor stepping into the circular ring at the same time. “Facing off against her is Orthid Flakehelm! And this one’s your standard freak here at Natural Selector! Not only did he independently shed light on implant technology using aliens, but he also even implanted the stuff in his own brain. Will this champion of electromagnetic wave attacks win the day with his countless antennae?!” While the shirtless man was enormous, close to two meters tall, his weapon would be out of place at both a martial arts tournament and a street fight. In his right hand, he held a silver umbrellalike object, most likely a foldable radar dish. And in his left hand, he clutched several TV antennae, which were easier to understand. He was also wearing a backpack, out of which extended several arms, with strands of what looked like fishing reels attached to them. These metallic wires were probably part of his antennae setup. With both contestants in the ring, the audience exploded into cheers, drowning out individual voices. But Saflee could vividly make out the nuance hidden within the screams. The audience members weren’t just excited—there was a good amount of scorn in there, too. …Can’t blame them, thought Saflee quietly, opening and closing her fists. Soon as you tell someone something wasn’t made in Academy City, they automatically think it’s fishy. And even if someone does accept it, they’ll always reframe it in Academy City terms. Always pushed to the fringes, always viewed as lower beings by people with a standard deviation of fifty who pretend to know everything but aren’t experts in the slightest… Yeah, I can understand them wanting a surefire way to turn the whole world on its head. Orthid started to aim multiple antennae at her, though what this was supposed to mean, she couldn’t tell. So I can take advantage of Natural Selector. By reaching the top of this tournament of freaks, I’ll show everyone there’s more underpinning this world than just Academy City. They drove us to the ends of the earth, but we won’t sit there and watch. I’ll personally rip it from their hands—a global standard for the world. “I hereby declare,” said Orthid, the expert of invisible attacks, barely moving his lips, “that five seconds into this match, the endolymphs inside your semicircular canals will be broiled by microwaves. Not enough that you can’t put up any resistance, but you should be prepared to vomit. Don’t try to keep your head up and endure it. I’ll attempt to knock you out swiftly, but this runs the risk of blocking off your trachea.” “…Surely and swiftly, huh?” Clapping an open hand to her fist, Saflee smiled. “I don’t usually criticize other people’s styles, but isn’t that just dreadfully boring? You can make it sound good—ooh, EM wave attacks—but their effects are plain as hell. And you can’t even see them. There’s power in something being easy to understand, you know. Your fighting style is clearly unintelligible, though. Maybe that’s why people treat you like some kind of fraud.” “I don’t like needless destruction. I thought the world agreed the less collateral damage caused for the sake of a goal, the more praiseworthy the act is.” “Sounds like a stilted worldview to me. At least, common sense like that ain’t gonna work here in our tiny little world—where everyone wants us to duke it out. And you imply all destruction is bad or something. Which is dumb. Treating everything like it has value will only make you a big hoarder.” “Are you telling me to take pleasure in destruction?” asked Orthid, clearly not understanding. Saflee nodded, completely serious. “I am. If you enjoy it, then you start chasing the thrill. Then when you start seeking purer destruction, your whole world changes. You say you hate destruction, but that’s like saying you know the owners of a big restaurant chain after eating some of their frozen pizza from the supermarket. Look, I know you didn’t mean anything by it. But to be honest, it still pisses me off a little.” “What are you talking about?” “What I’m saying is, the essence of destruction changes based on what you’re destroying. Take babies, for example. So annoying with all their crying, right? You could wreck a giant robot or crush an entire mafia family, but if that crying keeps on going, none of that is worth as much… But taken the other way, if you seek the thrill, then no matter what you do, you’ll try to avoid those things. That way, your destruction will be purer and strike people with awe instead of fear.” Saflee paused there. “So I looked into how you threatened the doctor responsible for measuring damage to competitors.” Orthid’s eyebrow twitched slightly. “And I know how your daughter, who’s turning three this year, is being held captive by some profiteers calling themselves men in black, too.” Orthid’s entire body shuddered. That could only mean one thing. “It’s all just such a pain, so I went ahead and knocked around all those profiteers.” Saflee Opendays pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. When Orthid spotted a familiar face among the crowd, he froze up on the spot. “…But why?” “Because this is true destruction. Didn’t I say? Thrill seeking. Destruction in pursuit of thrills can never become such cheap evil. Though I doubt guys who love verbal violence—the kind lumping every sort of destruction into one thing and mixing it together—would ever reach that point, no matter how hard they tried. “Though this is right after I messed up big-time by getting peeped on while changing,” added Saflee, squeezing both her hands back into fists. “I gave you the tutorial. So let’s have some fun, shall we? It’s time to spice things up—with the thrill of destruction on another level entirely.” The gong, in the form of a huge electronic buzzer, rang. The two beasts possessing reason and intelligence were thus unshackled—then collided head-on.