Became a Failed Experimental Subject Novel - Chapter 35

“Kyaaaah~!!”

“Waaaah!”

Boom, boom, boom. The citizens, who had been swaying to the music from the outdoor club, cheered excitedly at the massive shockwave. Pink, purple, and green lasers flickered, reflected in the smoke of gunpowder scattered across the sky. Beneath the diagonal roof formed by the pulsating lights, Yoo Anna, crouched, gasped for breath and amplified her power.

A heatwave. The storm caused by the high-temperature flames enveloping Yoo Anna’s body made rusted iron shrapnel fall to the ground, and Yoo Anna, with red marks on her skin, crack, crack, cracked her neck, glaring at the opposite rooftop.

“Hoo, this, this bitch…”

“Aha, as expected of an S-rank Esper! What a monster~ Even more than a monster!”

CRASH! Goo Seoryong, who leaped from the opposite rooftop, kicking off the ground, raised her head in mid-air and whoosh, inhaled deeply. Then, bang, bang, bang, seeing the fireballs shooting from her mouth, Yoo Anna frowned and swatted them away with her hand. At that, sticky venom, hidden by the flames, covered Yoo Anna’s skin.

“Ugh! How dirty!”

“Ahahaha! What’s dirty in a fight!”

Whoosh! Goo Seoryong, landing in front of Yoo Anna, unleashed a kick with sharpened claws, then spun her body and delivered a rapid combo with her thick tail and the claws on both hands. Yoo Anna, seeing the venom on her fingertips and toes, moved quickly to dodge the attacks, and Goo Seoryong, on all fours, glared at Yoo Anna with sharp eyes and flicked her tongue inside her mouth.

Snap… snap… snap… The sound spread, and the power of Confusion engulfed Yoo Anna. In front of Yoo Anna’s eyes, who had been glaring at the motionless Goo Seoryong, increasing her wariness, Goo Seoryong’s claws suddenly appeared.

“Guh?!”

Goo Seoryong’s foot immediately plunged into Yoo Anna’s stomach, who had quickly dodged the attack by tilting her head back. The claws that appeared in front of her eyes were an illusion; the real attack was a low kick from the ground. Yoo Anna, launched into the sky, curled up as the surrounding air suddenly turned cold. The moment Yoo Anna was pushed into the already prepared ice mist, pop, the second energy-storage bullet was fired.

BOOM! Rumble! The second thunderbolt pierced Yoo Anna’s body.

“Are you very clumsy against humans? Your vital points are wide open?”

“Ugh…! Haa, haah…!”

“Seeing that you’re still alone, you really came by yourself, didn’t you? Well, I thought you would. Even though Starlight seems calm, she’s quite hot-blooded and very compassionate. Unlike you, an S-rank, other Espers find it hard to ignore pressure from above. She has no choice but to handle things alone to prevent her fellow Espers from getting hurt.”

Burning pain piercing her entire body, crack, crack, in her flickering vision, Goo Seoryong walked towards her, hanging upside down in the sky. Goo Seoryong, casually swaying her tail, shimmered as if in water, slowly suffocating Yoo Anna’s senses.

“Starlight’s power is flame and light with destructive power, or perhaps plasma? Both speed and destructive power are excellent. It’s difficult to land an attack, and not many attacks work, but… if you can pin her down in one place, or if the attack is as fast as light, you can hit her anytime. Even with flames that block most attacks, it’s impossible to block internal shock. Like Cage, the S-rank Esper of City A, she has almost no resistance to illusions.”

“Hmph…! Hoo…! You know quite a lot about me, don’t you?”

“Of course, you’re the most dangerous enemy in City W, after all? Hehe, how about it? Our thunderclap bomb? Even for an S-rank Esper, the shock is considerable, isn’t it?”

As she said, Yoo Anna’s hands and feet tingled from just two lightning strikes. The pain, burning her entire body from the inside, was an agony she had never felt before.

“The pain is considerable, but it’s definitely not fatal, is it?”

“Of course not. Despair-Class is called ‘despair’ because there’s no way to deal with it using conventional means, right?”

“Dieee! Starlight!”

Truuuurururu! Three villains positioned at an anti-aircraft autocannon on one side of the rooftop fired three machine guns at Yoo Anna. Kagagagang! Bullets hit Yoo Anna’s side, who was bracing herself, sticking to her and creating a crumpled metal plate. Another bullet hit it, sending sparks flying. Goo Seoryong crouched next to Yoo Anna, who was hiding behind a concrete structure on the rooftop from the heavy impact, different from a sniper rifle, and cupped her face with both hands.

“An S-rank is a human who brings despair to monsters. If you die from just lightning, you’re not a Despair-rank, are you?”

“Get lost!”

Whoosh. Yoo Anna swung her arm, and Goo Seoryong’s illusion distorted and vanished, sinking into the shadows. Hundreds of tiny Goo Seoryongs bubbled up from the black, oil-like shadows, positioning themselves around Yoo Anna’s feet and chanting in unison, “””Are you tired?”””

“What a truly annoying ability!”

“Aha! Thanks for the compliment!”

Ting, ting, ting… Immediately after the sound of metal rolling, light burst from beneath the clustered Goo Seoryongs. A modified flashbang. Yoo Anna suffered from tinnitus, albeit briefly, from the intense light explosion. Goo Seoryong, who had squeezed into the gap just long enough to take a breath, plunged into the barrage and attacked Yoo Anna.

“Guh!”

“Yes, another miss~♥”

The moment Yoo Anna threw a punch at that Goo Seoryong, another Goo Seoryong appeared behind her, plunging claws into her neck. Whoosh. Goo Seoryong’s finger joints melted off and fell at Yoo Anna’s fingertips, who immediately swatted her away. But gulp, gulp, the remaining fingers in her neck continued to move, injecting venom. Was this an illusion? No, it was a real finger. Yoo Anna’s power reacted strongly to the rapidly absorbed venom, beginning to burn away the toxicity. However, Goo Seoryong’s venom spread faster than Yoo Anna could burn it.

“Looks like you don’t have much experience fighting humans, just as the rumors say! It’s even cute how you fall for all my tricks!”

“What is this…!”

“Aha~? Well, what should I call it? Stimulant, sensory amplifier, excitant, call it whatever you like. The important thing is… important… important… important…”

“That you, me, you.”

“Dealing with you will become increasingly difficult.”

“Is that it?”

Thump, thump. Her heartbeat dissolved into the noisy music. Light, extending towards the sky but losing its sense of direction, bent and scattered, intertwining with Yoo Anna’s flames. The light beams intertwined, beautifully depicting a human form. Her pristine white hair swayed, pushing Yoo Anna away. In the floundering sensation, Yoo Anna was pushed down onto the rooftop below. The dazzling laser lights filling the night sky embraced Yoo Anna. Slowly, sharply, she was enveloped in soft clouds, and the moment gravity like ice shards pierced her, the laser lights intertwined, forming a giant snake, and charged.

“Guh, haaah…!”

Crunch. With the sound of steel girders twisting, Yoo Anna, who opened her eyes on the ground, saw Goo Seoryong, silhouetted against the moonlight, her eyes gleaming. Her pupils, vertically slit like a beast’s, and Goo Seoryong’s feet, descending with a joyful expression, bared their claws. CRUNCH! The moment Goo Seoryong’s foot plunged into Yoo Anna’s stomach, the twisted steel girders melted, shattered, and broke through, embracing Yoo Anna within the iron cage.

“Waaaaah! Waaaaah!”

“Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!”

Kagag, kang. With the sound of falling steel girders hitting the ground, gulp, gulp, venom continued to be injected through Goo Seoryong’s claws, which were standing on Yoo Anna. Yoo Anna felt dizzy, as if she were standing despite being on the ground. Above her, Goo Seoryong, who had been receiving cheers from the audience with outstretched arms, crouched on Yoo Anna and said, “Snap out of it, Starlight! You’ll lose at this rate!”

“Don’t, provoke, me!”

“Kyaaaah!”

Whoosh! Yoo Anna, who had been lying down, extended her fist towards the moon, and a massive pillar of fire shot into the sky. Goo Seoryong, tilting her head back and leaping away, clutched one scorched arm and her gaping stomach, letting out a pained scream.

“My arm! My stomach! Aaaah!”

And then, Goo Seoryong, smiling playfully, snap, extended her hand again and peeled off her skin with her claws as if shedding a skin. Goo Seoryong, pulling out a pristine white hand from within, also removed the hand covering her stomach, stroking her firm, full abdomen.

“It’s perfectly fine~? Aha!”

“Ahahahahaha!”

“Goo Seoryong! Goo Seoryong! Goo Seoryong!”

“Haaah… haaah… haaah…”

“That last one worked a bit! Or should I say it didn’t work at all? Ahahaha!”

Where exactly does the illusion begin and end? Goo Seoryong’s overflowing composure, the villains aiming their guns and powers, the citizens drunk on alcohol and drugs, cheering happily, the moans of prostitutes, the loud club music tickling her expanded senses. Yoo Anna, resting her hands on her knees, tried to calm her overly expanded senses.

“Alright! Esper-nim? If you don’t fly again soon, lightning will explode among the citizens this time!”

“Wooooooah! Ahahahahaha!”

“Fly quickly! You bitch! Quickly!”

“You dog-like bitch…!”

But Goo Seoryong didn’t give her the chance and sprayed mist over the citizens. Sizzzle. People, excited by the mist sprayed with the sound and the lasers passing through it, cheered. As Yoo Anna flew into the sky, piercing through the hazy mist to avoid the citizens, the concentrated fire of sniper rifles began again.

At that moment, ice mist suddenly appeared around Yoo Anna. The mist that had landed on the ground a moment ago wasn’t ice mist, but a stimulant sprayed in mist form. The villains with sniper rifles succeeded in luring Yoo Anna into the mist, which was obscured by Goo Seoryong’s power.

“Jackpot♥”

Bang. Goo Seoryong made a gesture of firing a gun, and a psychic mixed among the people fired an energy-storage bullet. And BOOOOM! With a massive explosion, nearby people were blown away by the shock. The flying citizens rolled on the ground, bleeding or fainting. Those who didn’t lose consciousness crawled on the ground, laughing, and some, who were only lightly pushed, screamed and cheered with laughter.

“Kyaaaaaah! Ahahahahaha!”

“Kyaaaaaah!”

“Ugh, haaah… guh, ugh…”

The third lightning strike. Yoo Anna, barely standing amidst the maddened citizens, gritted her teeth. Next to her, Goo Seoryong, who had landed on a lamppost with a thud and was now squatting on it, swayed her tail, which hung limply below the crumpled, crackling lamppost, and said, “That’s amazing~? How did you do that just now?”

“Haaah… haaah… haaah…”

“Did you swallow the lightning? I’m curious. What did you do?”

“You, you damn, bitch… haaah…”

The moment the energy-storage bullet exploded, Yoo Anna suppressed the flames enveloping her skin. As a result of channeling her power as deeply as possible into her body, burning the lightning at high speed, the lightning, instead of being blocked, was drawn deep into Yoo Anna’s body. Only a very small amount of electricity extended to nearby people, resulting in mere electric shocks. Despite this, people were injured by the unblocked shockwave, but it could be said that the damage was minimal considering a thunderbolt exploded right in front of them.

“Hey, but isn’t that a bit foolish? Why do you try to protect people so much~?”

WHOOSH! Goo Seoryong swung her tail, making a whip-like sound with its tip. Behind the squatting Goo Seoryong on the lamppost, blurry afterimages of Goo Seoryong began to fall and disappear. One, two, three. More and more afterimages of Goo Seoryong fell, glowing purple, red, and green in sync with the club lights.

“This tactic won’t work at all if you don’t care about humans, you know? It’s an Esper-exclusive tactic, using people as shields to attack unilaterally. So, if you were to just use that eraser or whatever it is and charge in with the intention of killing some humans, I was even considering abandoning Kuryong Fortress and running away. But it’s so effective that it feels almost hollow, doesn’t it?”

“Ha, so just as there are monster-exclusive tactics, you’ve created Esper-exclusive tactics?”

“Because for us, there’s not much difference between Esperes and monsters, you know? They just show up and annoyingly interfere when we’re having fun.”

“That’s a very relatable statement. To me, you villains look no different from monsters.”

Thump, thump. The descending afterimages of Goo Seoryong gradually accumulated among the people, creating the illusion that the ground was rising. Yoo Anna tightened her grip on her tingling arm, and Goo Seoryong, who continued to fill the surroundings with afterimages, curled the corners of her lips and said gently, “Wouldn’t Starlight feel unfairly defeated if she lost so hollowly? How about it? Won’t you fight seriously now? Let the people die or whatever, and just fight, smashing everything. Like when you fight monsters.”

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

“Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!”

“This right now, this isn’t your real power, is it~?”

Yoo Anna sighed internally at the maddened voices of the drugged citizens. These things, not even like humans. If she had her way, Yoo Anna wanted to do just that. But Yoo Anna didn’t. She wouldn’t.

“The Esper I know, no matter how annoying citizens are, just silently saves people, striving to save even one more person.”

The one who appears in the most fearful moments, stops the monster that burns everything, wipes away dry tears, a light appearing in the dark smoke. No matter how much they are ignored by citizens, an Esper is an Esper.

“So, will you please take your nonsense to the doghouse?”

“Hmm~ That’s quite a foolish person.”

Snap. Goo Seoryong snapped her fingers, and all the accumulated afterimages of Goo Seoryong simultaneously floated up like balloons, obscuring Yoo Anna’s vision. At that moment, Yoo Anna threw a punch behind her.

“I’m saying you’re cool, you idiot!”

“Kyaaaah!”

CRASH! Both of Goo Seoryong’s arms, which were right behind her, melted and flew away. The dense illusion shattered and vanished, and reality appeared before her eyes. Yoo Anna, who had been floating in the air, was now on the ground, and Goo Seoryong had approached right behind her. The afterimages filling the area under the lamppost and the sensory confusion were tricks to make Yoo Anna gradually descend to the ground, but even in the midst of confusion, she was aware that her feet were touching the ground. Yoo Anna, convinced that this was not an illusion by the sensory feedback of clear reality, clenched her fist, which shimmered with flames.

“H-how?! My, my arms! My arms! A-aaaaah!”

“L-Lady!”

“Hoo…”

Goo Seoryong, whose arms below the elbow had completely vanished, screamed and burst into tears. Yoo Anna, feeling her confused senses return to normal as Goo Seoryong’s power stopped, sighed in relief and extended her hand towards Goo Seoryong. It was the moment she thought she would beat her until she fainted, incapacitate her, and arrest her.

“Here it is?”

“…Guh, ah…?”

Goo Seoryong, whose arms instantly regrew, plunged both hands under Yoo Anna’s chest.