Kurogane Ikki was walking at the subway station together with Stella, to wait for the train headed to the dormitory where they lived. The two of them had just finished dueling against fellow blazers in different districts. In Academy City's who have two million student population, the number of blazers didn't even reach ten percent of the total population, there were only around twenty thousand blazers in Academy City.
And most of those blazers were G level which had the power equivalent to a level 0 esper.
Ikki could be said to be lucky because he is a level F Blazer which is equivalent to a level two Esper. But still he couldn't help but feel jealous of his girlfriend Stella, who was a level A Blazer who had strength that was slightly stronger than a Level four Esper and almost equaled a Level five Esper.
Ikki was probably able to defeat Stella in their first fight because Ikki used Itto Shura to momentarily increase his abilities.
But he knew that there was no way he could continue to rely on tricks like that to defeat enemies stronger than himself, because he knew that using Itto Shura continuously without any breaks would only make him die slowly.
While Ikki was thinking about the best way to increase his Level as a Blazer.
Sherry Cromwell passed right in front of Ikki and Stella while emitting a killing intent that could only be felt by someone who had a lot of experience in fighting in the real world like Ikki.
And Ikki immediately broke into a cold sweat when Sherry passed in front of him, because Ikki could feel that Sherry's strength was far above his. And he wasn't sure that he could win against Sherry even if he used Itto Shura or got a help from Stella.
When Sherry had disappeared from Ikki's sight, he finally felt relieved and he wiped the cold sweat dripping down his forehead.
"Why do you look pale as if you've seen something scary, Ikki?" Asked Stella, confused by her boyfriend's condition. "Is there something at this station that made you like that, or is there an evil blazer trying to attack us both again?"
"No, there are no evil blazers that will attack us, Stella," Answered Ikki, who still felt a bit afraid thanks to Sherry's presence. "It's just that there was a strange girl wearing gothic lolita clothes who was emitting a very scary killing intent, I could feel that that girl was much stronger than me or you even though the strength level I felt from that girl was only equivalent to Esper Level 4. But somehow I feel like I won't be able to beat her no matter how hard I try."
"It's really strange to hear you say that, Ikki. Are you sure you weren't daydreaming when that girl passed bybecause I haven't felt anything since earlier," Stella said, who was a little doubtful about Ikki's words.
"You won't be able to feel it because you've never experienced life-risking combat on the battlefield.
Whereas I had a lot of experiences like that before I arrived in this Academy City," Ikki said who felt a little reluctant to recall his experience as a mercenary right after he was kicked out by his father. Ikki was a mercenary for three years, and during that time he learned many things and killed many people. "The killing intent that the girl released earlier was only directed at someone who had already killed. You who have never shed blood or killed will not be able to feel it."
***
Just when Ikki and Stella were still chatting, Shirai Kuroko ran in the direction where Sherry had disappeared. Before she went to the subway station, Kuroko received a report that several Level 0 Espers were beaten almost to death by a foreign girl whose identity was unknown to Academy City.
And by coincidence Kuroko was close to the location where the girl was last seen.
Kuroko received orders from Kotori to follow the girl secretly without making unnecessary contact. That's why right now Kuroko really doesn't do anything except what Kotori orders her to do.
Kuroko has a lot of experience in stalking people, because she has often stalked Mikoto secretly. Mikoto, who has a very sensitive electromagnetic radar, is completely unable to notice her whereabouts, so she is sure that the foreign girl she is currently stalking will not be able to sense her presence.
When Kuroko saw Sherry entering the subway line. Kuroko kept hier distance between herself and Sherry, because she didn't want to risk her whereabouts being discovered by Sherry. Unfortunately, Sherry already knew that Kuroko was following her thanks to the bird-shaped golem that she used to protect herself if someone tried to attack her from behind.
And Sherry doesn't like it at all when people secretly follow her.
That's why currently, Sherry has started forming golems using concrete from underground tunnel walls plus iron from train tracks. Kuroko's jaw dropped when she saw the golem formed from iron and concrete. Kuroko had never seen an Esper who could do the same thing as Sherry. And after seeing the appearance of the golem, Kuroko immediately realized that Sherry had already known about its existence.
***
.Sherry sat on the shoulders of the golem she made, then she ordered the golem to walk towards Kuroko who was currently hiding behind one of the corners of the underground tunnel.
Kuroko swallowed his saliva, she knew that she was currently in a serious situation. The task she received from Kotori had failed to be carried out and she had to run away as quickly as possible because Kuroko realized that she would not be able to beat Sherry.
It's just that when Kuroko tried to escape using teleport she couldn't do it at all.
"You were trying to teleport, weren't you?" Asked Sherry who was now in front of Kuroko. "But unfortunately you won't be able to escape from me little girl. Because I have installed an anti-teleport barrier, because I can feel the power of space manipulation in you. Now may I know why a teleporter like you is following me secretly?"
The frightening aura emanating from Sherry's body as well as her golem, made Kuroko feel extraordinary fear. Exceeding the fear she felt from Mikoto when Mikoto was angry.
***
About one kilometer from where Kuroko faced Sherry. Kurogane Ikki could feel that there was a frightening aura emanating from the underground train tunnel. And he was sure that currently someone was in danger in that tunnel.
Ikki doesn't want to just leave Stella alone, to help other people who need his help.
But the strong desire to protect others and the high sense of righteousness that exists in him, makes Ikki reflexively run into the subway tunnel right when Stella is busy looking in the other direction.
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