You’re Right, They’ll Expel Me if I Run into the Store with a Weapon!! - Chapter 97

“What… is that? No, more importantly, how did you…”

“What do you mean, ‘how’?”

“You just used that weapon to deflect all the bullets… There was no time for human enhancement.”

Suzuko, her face betraying her agitation, trembled as she spoke about the bullets she had fired.

“These bullets are powerful. Even if the weapon didn’t break, the hands holding it should not have remained unscathed… yet,”

Some bullets ricocheted with reduced force, but others were fresh from being fired.

Deflecting all those bullets—over a dozen of them—without showing any pain was too contradictory.

Shiori did not react as if her hands were hurt, maintaining a ready combat stance, which was proof enough.

“Even if you disabled your power and then enhanced your body immediately, there wouldn’t be enough time… Besides, both hands were nearly destroyed,”

“It’s because you rushed, they aren’t fully healed,”

“!? …Enhancing healing abilities while a power is active… That’s not possible,”

“It is possible──the simultaneous activation of Black Appearance and human enhancement,”

“!?”

While saying this, Shiori glanced sideways at the weapon in her right hand.

Attracted by it, Suzuko’s gaze also pierced through it.

“What does this look like to you?”

“…A sword or a blade?”

“You got the appearance right. But its essence is completely different,”

The blade shone jet-black.

A long groove carved with blood-red patterns.

It had an ominous look.

“I still can’t believe it myself… but yes, I’ve created a copy of me,”

“A copy…!?”

“It seems you understand,”

Realizing the true nature of the weapon in her hand, Suzuko choked up.

But Shiori’s words turned that into conviction.

“Armed ‘Black Scale’. A pseudo-recreation of my power. My friend created a masterpiece that could impress any adult,”

Haruna had created the masterpiece, “Black Scale.”

The first appearance of the black thorn was undoubtedly an ability generated by Shiori.

Inside it, Black Scale created another layer of black thorns.

And the first thing Suzuko shattered was the thin outer layer.

Thus, when only the inner layer remained after the attack, human enhancement became possible, and she executed healing and enhancement.

“So… it’s an armed device equipped with a mechanism for Black Appearance…”

Accepting the fact, Suzuko braced herself with a sharp expression.

“Then, no problem…”

“Ha, I can enhance my body while using the powers I know well. Can you still say there’s no problem?”

“Yes, it’s not a problem. Because──”

Suzuko pulled a small device from her pouch and attached it to the ear opposite the comm link connected to the management.

“It was scary not knowing, but if that’s all, it has no effect on me being here.”

Her agitation completely faded, and she calmly re-aimed her gun at Shiori.

Click! Click!

And two bullets were fired in succession.

The first bullet missed Shiori, making a wide turn.

And the second bullet took an opposite curve.

Eventually, as if timed simultaneously, two bullets hit at the speed of sound on either side of Shiori.

But…

“It’s useless.”

As she swung the Black Scale horizontally with great force, Shiori rotated her body. Then, as the Black Scale passed, black thorns suddenly emerged from the floor, deflecting the bullets.

“Deflection, defense, evasion. I can fully utilize these three tactics now.”

“But, I’ve discerned the conditions needed to activate your ability.”

“!”

“If it had the same performance specs as Black Appearance, you would definitely have used a certain move.”

Saying this, she tapped the floor with the tip of her toe.

“Why don’t you use your ability at my feet?”

“…”

“If I were attacked intensively, I’d have to resort to using my abilities. That might have created an opening.”

The best strategy for her own victory.

Distract even a little, make her waste her abilities unnecessarily, and exploit any opening with enhanced physical abilities. However, Shiori did not take the approach Suzuko was expecting.

“I didn’t do it because I couldn’t. That weapon must have a different activation condition from the tenth-ranked one… This is my prediction.”

Shiori’s own activation condition was “to create black protrusions within five meters that have the strength of iron, either around herself or within her field of vision.”

Comparing this, Suzuko analyzed and made predictions about the Black Appearance produced by Black Scale.

“That weapon is just a copy made to resemble Black Appearance… So, the Black Appearance of the tenth rank and the Black Appearance by Black Scale are similar but different…”

The conclusion drawn from the analysis and predictions highlights the difference between the original and the copy.

“The performance specs of Black Scale are lower than those of the tenth-ranked Black Appearance… Isn’t that right?”

With an explanation that hit the mark, Shiori displayed a hateful smile.

“You can’t eat it, can you, Suzuko?”

“It’s the same for both of us… Shiori, you also kept your trump card hidden until the end.”

“The main body is just the grip. That’s also an advantage of this weapon, and I will use it effectively.”

Then Shiori shifted her gaze to Suzuko’s ear.

“So, what exactly is that?”

“You’ll find out soon.”

Suzuko reached her right hand to her ear and turned on the device.