Spiritual Sucessor

Why are the rich and powerful never punished for their crimes? Is it because they don't deserve it?

"But he did get punished!" With a quick and almost painless death. I'd say that was more of a reward.

The damage he caused was already done. Even after his death, the world carried his image imprinted on it. It's almost as if he deserved to be recognized, but not in a negative way.

Where did he go wrong? His favorite number was 7, so he built an association entirely based on that singular number. He waited until his 77th birthday, on July 7th. He thought he was blessed.

And he was right. Because he lived an entire life before being "punished." That's not enough. It doesn't matter if there's life after death; he needed to be punished where he committed his crimes, the sooner the better.

But that never happened. Why? Because he was blessed. Not because he deserved it. I am blessed too, but the cycle ends with me. I will end all the injustices of this world, forever.

His plan failed because there was a limited amount of number 7s. On October 11th, at 9:20 PM, there will be an unlimited number. 7 was his lucky number; I'm going to make it mine.

In the morning, Mitone woke up in a hospital bed. He looked at his chest; he was completely healed.

"Howdy!" a female voice called out. Mitone looked at her; it was Kiseki.

Yuna and Eraser were hidden by the bed curtains, but their silhouettes were visible.

"Mitone?" Yuna murmured. She stood up and walked over to him.

"I see..." he said. "You saved me, right?"

"It wasn't me," she replied.

"No? Then... Stalor?"

"He definitely saved us," Eraser commented from his bed.

"Stalor...?" Kiseki muttered thoughtfully, freezing in place.

"I'm sorry..." Mitone said. "I thought I could take out at least one of them."

"We all thought so," replied Eraser. "Ria sent us anyway, it's her fault."

"Has he already left?"

"He didn't follow me here."

"Wait... So you're the one who brought us here?"

"He said I could still move, so he left me to bring you."

"Are you serious...?" Mitone asked with a disappointed expression.

"It was the best choice," Yuna commented. "He specified that he would only help us if we were on the verge of death. I unlocked a new ability precisely because we couldn't rely on him too much."

"We could have died..." Mitone replied, still disappointed.

"We wouldn't have died instantly anyway; Kiseki would have been able to save us in time."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"They wouldn't have killed us instantly," Eraser added. "Didn't you realize? The girl wanted to torture us. Ria knew that, of course. If we understand how our enemies think, we'll have an advantage."

"Stalor..." Kiseki knelt down, holding her head. "Stalor..."

"Kiseki?" asked Mitone, in shock. "What happened?"

"Stalor... Power... ia..." she murmured softly, her eyes widening.

"Kiseki, are you okay?"

"Vivar... Telef... Kiseki..."

Everyone felt an intimidating aura emanating from Kiseki. Mitone hugged her and stroked her head. "It's alright, Kiseki. Breathe slowly, we're here for you."

She gradually calmed down. "Eh?" she murmured, confused. "What was I doing?"

"Nothing," Mitone replied with a friendly smile. "Anyway, thank you for saving us."

"Saving you?" She asked, dismissing his gratitude with a smile. "It's my job, after all. I only did the easy part; Eraser brought you here."

"She's right," Eraser added, "you guys are heavier than I thought."

"Heavy?!" Yuna asked, incredulous. "You're a piece of metal, scumbag! And I'm not fat at all!"

"I never said your weight came from fat."

"Are you calling me buff?! Oh, wait... that sounds better than calling me cute..."

"Why not cute and strong?" Mitone asked with a smirk.

"H-How in the hell would that work?!"

"See? She's cute, isn't she, Eraser?"

"That's entirely up to you," he answered. "I'm a robot, remember?"

"Robots can have feelings too... You're just trying not to annoy her, right?"

Eraser grinned from behind the curtain.

"You guys!" Yuna shouted. "I'm going to dismantle you both!"

After a few hours, Ria called them to her office. "Congratulations to the three of you," she said. "You managed to survive."

Yuna rolled her eyes.

"With all due respect, Ria," said Mitone, "is this really necessary?"

"What? Fight for your own life?" she replied. "How else would you survive in this world?"

"I heard there's an easier way to get stronger..."

"Causing and suffering damage. That's not enough. You need skills, not just raw power."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Yuna replied dismissively. "Why did you call us here?"

"Eraser wanted my permission for something."

Eraser? What is he up to?

"Thank you for your time, Ria," Eraser said. "As you already know, there's a mysterious white spot flying around the city."

"White spot?" Yuna asked. "The one who pretended to be Gomi?"

"Exactly. I searched the city's security cameras and went after it."

"Wait a minute, you searched the cameras? How?"

"Hacking, of course. It's an easy task for an advanced android like me."

"It's not a matter of whether it's easy or not!"

"It's not a big deal," Ria reassured her. "If it's for the greater good, evil must happen. So, did you find it, Eraser?"

Yuna crossed her arms and scoffed at Ria's ideal of justice.

"Yes," Eraser confirmed, "I found its hideout."

"You want my permission to kill it? Go ahead."

"Not necessarily. How about researching it?"

"Too risky. Unless..." She picked up her phone and called someone. "Mifuyu, are you free?"

Eraser smiled, sensing that his plan might work.

Mifuyu, the scientist, met with them outside the building. "Greetings, I'm Mifuyu..." she said casually, shaking their hands without much effort.

"Thank you for your support, Mifuyu," said Eraser. "We're going to capture a white spot."

"Ria told me that... A white spot, huh? The last time I saw a black one, things went very wrong..."

"So you know what that could be?" Yuna asked, curiously.

"I have a hunch... that thing probably isn't from this world..."

"Not from this world...?" asked Mitone.

"I mean, literally... They came from another dimension, another planet... But I only saw a black one, I'm not sure if the white one is the same..."

"I thought you were a scientist..." Yuna commented.

"Scientists can also research other worlds... things that cannot exist naturally here..."

"You sound regretful..." said Mitone.

"One day I will be punished for my crimes... perhaps in the afterlife..."

Yuna narrowed her eyes, suspicious. What is she talking about?

"So?" Mifuyu nudged. "I have a busy schedule..."

"Right, I can fly you all at once if you want," Eraser suggested. "It's kind of far from here."

"How far? Where?"

"The port."

"Not so far." She grabbed them by the back of their shirts, spun them around, and threw them high into the sky with brute force. Then they fell onto an icy path that led to the harbor. She jumped and skated alongside them.

"Are you fucking crazy?!" shouted Yuna, trying to keep her balance on the ice track.

"Practical, quick and fun..." she said with a slight smile.

"I thought we were supposed to be stealthy!"

"Really? The white spirit wasn't trying to hide at all..."

"Spirit? So it was a spirit this whole time?"

"Probably... if it's like the black spirit..."

Mitone laughed nervously, trying not to lose his balance. "I never imagined a scientist could be so strong!"

"I'm not the top scientist for nothing... I'm a Level 6, although I'm no stronger than a 5... and I'm getting a little rusty..."

They arrived a little way from the port, so that their target wouldn't notice them. Eraser pointed to a warehouse. "The spirit usually goes there," he said.

"Do you think he's meeting someone?" Mitone suggested.

"Probably." Eraser surveyed the surroundings. "I'll transmit it to your cell phone, Yuna. You can wait here."

"I'll cool down the port to freeze our target more quickly," Mifuyu suggested.

Eraser nodded and went ahead. Avoiding the guards, he managed to get as close as possible to the warehouse. He leaned against the building, sharpening his hearing. There didn't seem to be anyone inside, until...

"Where the hell is he?" asked a familiar female voice. Eraser had heard that voice before and stored that kind of information more easily than a human.

That voice... Is that the girl from the factory?

"I hope he's not drawing too much attention...", another female voice sounded, this time an unknown one.

"The way he keeps flying around the city, I doubt it," the other girl replied. "Why did we agree to have him on our team? I'm starting to regret it..."

"Don't worry, Yanagi, I'm here for you. If he tries anything funny, I won't let anyone touch you."

"Are you listening, Yuna?" Eraser asked telepathically. "One of those voices is that of the girl who kidnapped you."

"Wait, seriously?" she replied. "I wasn't paying much attention while Rikoche was shooting at me..."

"Rikoche?" Mitone asked.

"A scientist from my lab."

"Rikoche?" said Mifuyu. "I've heard that name before..."

"Do you think they're all working together?" Eraser suggested.

"Maybe... They're talking about someone, right? It's probably him."

"And the other girl? Do you have any idea who she might be?"

"I have a hunch... Rikoche and two girls were talking to me after I woke up. One of them was blonde, the other had brown hair."

"The one I met when we rescued you had brown hair."

"So they're probably a team of three, plus the white spirit... I don't know her power yet."

"She pushed me against the wall, so it's probably something to do with telekinesis. Did the blond girl use her power?"

"They teleported after Rikoche used his, so it was probably hers."

"Teleportation...? That's rather bothersome... Should we kill her first?"

"Wait a minute," interrupted Mitone, "what if the teleportation power comes from the white spirit?"

"That's highly unlikely," Mifuyu said, "since they didn't use any other powers... Right, Yuna?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Rikoche's power was bullets, the brown-haired girl's was telekinesis. So, the only one missing is teleportation."

"So, should we target her first?" Eraser suggested again. "If she reacts in time, our suprise attack won't work."

"Yeah, good idea..." Mifuyu confirmed. "However, we have a visitor." She pointed to the sky. The white spirit was flying towards the warehouse. "He hasn't noticed you yet, Eraser... but I would advise you to hide."

"Shit!" he muttered. "I studied his schedule, he was supposed to be inside..."

"Maybe he doesn't have a schedule," Mitone commented, "just like us."

"We do have a schedule, dumbass!" Yuna shouted.

Eraser hid where the spirit couldn't see. Even if his vision might work differently, it was worth a try. The spirit descended to the ground and floated into the warehouse. The entire port was a few degrees colder than usual, but nobody seemed to notice.

"Where the hell have you been?!" exclaimed one of the girls. "It won't be long before someone follows you and finds our hideout!"

The spirit did not answer, probably because it had no voice.

"Yanagi, please don't scream," said the other girl. "I don't want to have to deal with nosy guards again."

Yanagi clicked her tongue, annoyed but defeated. "Listen here, outsider. If you leave the warehouse again, I'll kill you. You know I have the power to do it."

"But what if your father finds you?" the other girl suggested.

"What's the point of sparing anyone other than the two of us? If our plan works, we won't need anyone else ever again."

"And what if it doesn't work?"

"Then... I'm going to put an end to this cycle, regardless."

"Do you think simply following an endless number of 7s is going to work? The boss probably had something more that we don't have... besides the money, of course."

"Mihara, you're missing the point. I don't want to become a goddess or a dictator; my mission is to end everything and everyone, including ourselves. Nothing else matters. Only the extinction of life."

"Are you sure about that...? The world isn't as bad as you think..."

"You're right, it's much worse. Just because you've experienced some good things out there doesn't mean someone deserves redemption. I'm the one who decides that, not a god or a demon."

"Yanagi... you're being more ruthless than usual. Did something happen?"

"The answer is floating around in this very room! If that stupid white thing were more careful, waiting until the fateful day would be much easier!"

"I'll support you to the end, but... I'm scared."

"Don't be afraid, Mihara." Yanagi hugged her friend. "I have the power to protect us. Besides, if we survive extinction, we'll attract the attention of whatever god is watching us suffer. And then I'll kill them."

"Why can't we live like this...? It's too dangerous..."

"It's not, trust me. Blessings also bring curses and responsibilities. I need to make my plan work. But I won't let you die, I promise."

For no apparent reason, Mihara's body was cut in half. It was silent and precise. The cut was hot, burning her insides. Yanagi only realized it when she felt the heat, while hugging her friend until the end.

She paused for a moment to process what had just happened. "Mihara?" she murmured. Her friend's head was split in two halves, both equally and certainly dead.

Yanagi looked around slowly, trying to understand the cause of all that. Finally, she realized that the room was much colder than usual and that she was beginning to freeze. The white spirit was completely frozen.

Yuna, Mifuyu, and Mitone went to meet Eraser after he made sure it was safe. Their plan was to eliminate Mihara first.

Yuna could now create clones of other people, but the redirected damage was divided by the number of replicas created plus the original. There was a way to circumvent this damage reduction, which was to inflict infinite damage. The area would be reduced, but if it were large enough, it could easily kill any normal human.

That's because cloning other people was much more difficult than cloning herself, especially when the target had a more complex body, like a Level 7. 7-Up constantly altered body composition, making it harder to keep the replica as close as possible to the original. If the difference was too great, it would simply be considered a life-size doll.

Yuna was only able to clone Shinji and Kara due to her 7-Ex, which considerably, albeit temporarily, amplified her adaptability. This time, she needed more time and concentration to replicate even ordinary powerful people.

"Are you sure we should kill them?" Mitone asked hesitantly. "What if there's a way to convince them to join our team?"

"They kidnapped me!" Yuna murmured indignantly. "Didn't you just hear about her plan to exterminate humanity? We can't convince them otherwise."

"I don't know, she sounded a little desperate... She's trying to convince herself that she's doing the right thing. People like her need help."

"In an ideal world," Eraser commented. "I tried to convince her that she needed help at the factory. She retaliated with violence. We don't know the full extent of her power; we can't risk it."

"Yeah, but how can we be sure she won't freak out after her closest friend dies?"

"I won't let that happen," Mifuyu assured.

Due to the heat emanating from Mihara's corpse, Yanagi took a little longer to freeze. This meant nothing to a Level 6 like Mifuyu, so she simply froze the entire warehouse instantly.

However, a powerful force pushed them away, destroying the building. They were hurled across the city at speeds far exceeding the speed of sound. Eraser didn't have time to think twice; he made himself and his friends disappear to avoid the imminent impact.

His power could negate the momentum if used correctly. After a while, they reappeared in the same place, in the sky, without the speed they had acquired. However, they were suddenly pushed away again by the same force. Eraser made them disappear once more for a longer period.

Yanagi possessed a blessing. Most powers caused exhaustion and could not be used without a minimum of concentration. Yuto had trained to use his power while sleeping; Yanagi had not. Even frozen, she could use her power automatically. Her body wasn't particularly resilient; in fact, she had fallen ill several times due to the lifestyle she had chosen.

But something had broken that limit. Besides exhaustion, most powers had an upper limit that couldn't be surpassed by willpower alone. Yanagi and a certain ninja master were able to surpass this limit before exhaustion could hit them. However, the final result was quite reduced due to the limitations of the human body.

So, they could not die by exceeding this limit, unless they brought their own bodies to an irreparable state. Permanent collateral damage was possible, but their bodies generally suffered reversible damage, such as incapacitation for a few days or months, varying according to the power output.

After pushing the moon away, Yanagi fell into a coma. Since waking up, however, her legs have been permanently weak. Hence the need for Relocator to transport her and perform most of her tasks. Yanagi needed Mihara not only for emotional support, but her other needs didn't bother her as much as the loss of her best friend, which drove her to madness.

Strong emotions also amplified powers, some more than others. When the body was weak, the brain played a greater role, especially when the person had a fragile and unstable mind.

Eraser caused him and his friends to reappear several times, but the force never stopped pushing them. In extreme moments, some powers could target someone even if the user couldn't see or sense them. Yanagi swore to avenge her friend, which caused her power to automatically activate on her targets, regardless of distance.

When they were too close to hit a wall, Eraser made a risky choice: he programmed his reappearance for after Yanagi was thawed, since that was likely the cause of her rampage. The chance of her fragile body surviving the freezing was slim.

However, Mifuyu's ice was much colder than normal, so it would take hours for her to thaw completely. Her ice was usually not lethal, as she needed to freeze test subjects for later experiments, so she made sure they would survive after thawing.

After hours, Yanagi finally managed to move. Crawling, though, as she was shivering with cold. Eraser's power caused them to reappear in completely different locations, since long periods of time made it much more difficult to pinpoint their original location.

This distortion caused a malfunction in his power, scattering them across the sky to different locations in the city. Eraser and Mifuyu landed easily, but Yuna and Mitone fell brutally, suffering considerable damage. They regrouped at the port after a few minutes. Yanagi and the white spirit were not there.

"Shit!" exclaimed Eraser. "I should have set the timer earlier..."

"You did great," Mifuyu assured him. "It was my fault for freezing her..."

"But how did she use her powers while she was unconscious?" Mitone asked.

""Could she have taken a 7-Ex...?" Yuna muttered. "That's really bothersome..."

"7-Ex?" replied the scientist, curious. "That illegal potion?"

"Yeah, the one that Kagame and Rikoche developed..."

"Kagame? The scientist?"

"You know him?"

"Of course I do... We studied together."

"Wait, what?!" Yuna was thunderstruck. "And you turned a blind eye this whole time?!"

"I didn't know about his illegal lab, actually... I think he's still jealous of me for being the Boss's favorite..."

"The Boss?"

"It's a long story... I never imagined I'd find an experiment by a former classmate... I'll probably be punished later for not knowing about it..."

"Hey, if you really didn't know, that's okay. It's all in the past."

"Guys," Eraser called, "we shouldn't waste any more time."

"Do you know where they are?" Mitone asked.

"No. That's exactly why."

"But how are we going to find them? This city is huge! And that white thing can fly, so they're probably far away. Shouldn't we contact Ria?"

"She'll probably refuse any help," Yuna retorted. "After all, we already have a Level 6 with us."

"But none of us have any tracking abilities, do we?"

"Wait, I've got an idea," Eraser said. "Mifuyu, can you freeze all the water neaby?"

"Sure thing..." she replied as she cooled the surrounding area. A trail of ice formed.

"Yanagi and the white spirit were still thawing when they left, so a lot of water dripped."

"Oh, that's genius!" Mitone commented.

"Mifuyu, can you stay here? Yanagi said something about ending the world. Maybe she wants us to follow her, so we need someone here in case it's a trap."

"You think a meteor is going to fall or something?" she asked nonchalantly. "Sure thing, I'll stay here and notify Ria in case anything big happens..."

"Thank you, Mifuyu." Eraser smiled at her. She returned the smile with a slight, discreet one.

Eraser hugged Mitone. "Yuna, can you hug me from behind so we can fly together?"

"H-Hug you?" she said reluctantly. "Is that really necessary?"

"Come on, I already carried you two after the last fight."

"The difference is that we were unconscious!"

"You can hug me from the front if you want. But Mitone would have to stay behind me, and I don't like the idea."

"I wouldn't mind!" said Mitone. "Seriously, we don't have much time. Please, Yuna."

She hugged Eraser from behind, a little flustered. They flew into the sky, Eraser examining the trail of ice, which grew longer with time. He nodded to Mifuyu, who was still freezing the path to make it more visible to them.

They arrived at a helipad on top of a tall building. The trail ended there. "Were they already dry by this point?" Mitone asked.

"No, I think they took a helicopter," said Eraser, looking at the horizon. The helicopter's lights were off for discretion, but since he was an android and had night vision, he managed to spot it from afar. "Let's go, climb on me!"

He increased his thruster speed to maximum, following the helicopter. After a few kilometers, they were finally caughting up. The helicopter accelerated, and they were pushed away by Yanagi's power. Eraser made himself and his friends disappear and reappear in a second, negating the momentum.

"Wait a second, can't you make them disappear instead?" Mitone suggested.

"And risk her pushing everything away after she reappears?" Eraser replied. "She's on a rampage, she won't let us get close so easily."

"I can put my axe in the air and wait for her to reappear."

"My point still stands; she's going to unleash all her power at once, and I won't have time to save us. Besides, I can't just float in one place holding you both."

The white spirit emerged from the helicopter and flew towards them like a bullet. Mitone spun his war axe ahead like a propeller, forcing the spirit to veer off course.

"Do they really need that helicopter?!" exclaimed Mitone. "Couldn't that thing just fly the girl away at that speed?"

"They're probably trying to save stamina," Eraser replied.

The spirit stopped in mid-air and returned at absurd speeds. Mitone couldn't spin his axe back, so he threw his red hatchet back, trying to hit the spirit, who easily dodged.

"Mitone, give me the orange axe!" Yuna exclaimed. He quickly threw it to her. She tossed it upwards and created a clone of herself, which grabbed the axe and brandished it forward as a shield. Then, she transferred her consciousness back when the spirit was already well ahead.

"Brace yourselves," Eraser warned. They were confused at first, but then he started spinning very fast. They felt a little dizzy, but their 7-Up eased the effects. Cutting through the air, their speed increased considerably.

The spirit extended his white matter into the air like sharp tentacles, attempting to strike them. Eraser dodged most of them. Mitone swung his battle axe; as they were spinning, the axe perfectly defended them, erasing the tentacles.

The spirit retreated to the helicopter and carried Yanagi out, flying with her even faster. Before departing, however, he destroyed the helicopter's propeller, causing it to fall.

"Yuna, create a clone of me, quick!" Eraser yelled as he dove to save the pilot. Yuna cloned her friend. Mitone and she clung tightly to the rotating mannequin. Eraser flew as fast as he could, yelling for the pilot to jump, which he did.

After grabbing the hostage and landing safely on the ground, he fired a flare into the sky, alerting Yuna to transfer his consciousness into the clone. The helicopter crashed, setting the forest on fire.

He was now holding his friends again, so he accelerated, trying not to lose sight of the white spirit. His fuel, however, was beginning to run out. "Yuna, can you make another clone, but with more fuel?"

"It's too much for me..." she replied.

He lowered their altitude, bringing them closer to the ground.

"Just make a doll as far forward as you can on the ground; I'll do the rest," he assured her.

She created a clone of him. Eraser concentrated, still flying. "Make this one disappear in a few seconds," he said after about a minute. The original body disappeared, and the new one grabbed them in mid-air and continued flying upward.

"What?" Yuna muttered. "But I didn't swap your consciousness!"

"I'm an android, remember? I sent my data to the clone. It took a little longer than I expected, but it worked."

"Can't you form an army then?" Mitone suggested.

"Nah, androids are still considered living beings; I can't divide my consciousness into multiple bodies without losing control or precision. Yuna will be able to do that if she continues training."

"Seriously?" she asked, intrigued. "I don't think it's going to be that easy..."

"I never said it would be easy."

With his fuel replenished, he accelerated, catching up with the spirit. After a few kilometers, they were finally arriving at a space station. It was an older station, as it used rockets instead of space shuttles.

"A space station?" asked Mitone.

"They want to leave the planet..." replied Yuna.

"We can't let that happen," said Eraser.

As they were now closer, he accelerated even more, nearly reaching the spirit, who stopped and stretched into spiky tentacles.

Eraser tried something new this time: instead of erasing momentum, he kept their intertia intact, so they could phase through the tentacles and reappear behind the spirit.

The entity, however, dove down. After reappearing, Eraser and his friends were in the sky; the spirit was closer to the ground. He left Yanagi there and guarded the entrance.

"It's a trap," Mitone suggested.

"We can't let them get away!" Yuna shouted. "Let's destroy the rocket!"

"Even if we had the firepower to do that in seconds, there would still be casualties..." Eraser said.

"Who cares?! We're saving billions here!"

"No, Eraser's right," Mitone agreed. "We can't be called heroes if we sacrifice people unnecessarily."

"What's necessary for you? We're not even heroes!"

"You still want to save the human race."

"Because I'm part of it!"

"Yuna, your power is the best against Yanagi," said Eraser, "We're going to clear a path for you."

"Why me?" she asked.

"Technically, I could kill her, but my attacks are too destructive for the rocket. Yanagi probably doesn't want to damage it either, so she won't use her power mercilessly."

"Then why me?"

"You can create clones to fill up the room and avoid her power."

Yanagi walked through the corridors, her legs still trembling. Her power didn't work as a means of transportation, because pushing her clothes forward, for example, would create another force that would push her backward, negating the vector. It was like someone trying to lift a chair into the air while sitting in it.

Screw the promised date... The number 7 can go to hell.

So she had to walk to the rocket's entrance. She easily killed anyone who tried to stop her, even bullets, pushing them away.

Eraser flew toward the facility and disappeared, phasing through the walls and reappearing in the corridors. The white spirit reacted swiftly, extending his tentacles toward them. Yuna ran after Yanagi.

The girl kept pushing her pursuer away, but Yuna created clones throughout the station, attempting to strike her target through blind spots. Yanagi's reaction time was excellent, so she repelled anything that even remotely approached her.

Upon reaching the bridge where the operators were working, she pulled one of their necks towards her hand, squeezed for a few seconds, then pushed him away, causing his body to explode in a pool of blood as it slammed against the wall. "Open the bridge for the rocket," she said indifferently. "I'll kill an operator every ten seconds you make me waste time."

"Wait, please, spare me!" one of them pleaded. She pulled their neck. "9, 8, 7..."

"What the hell are you doing, Yanagi?!" Yuna shouted. She was pushed against the wall and transferred her consciousness to another clone.

"How do you know my name?"

"Is it really necessary to kill civilians?" She was pushed again.

"I'm saving this world. I'm only doing what's necessary." She pushed the operator against the wall, killing them.

"Stop! You're not saving, you're destroying!" Pushed again.

"Shut up! What's the point of sparing anyone if humanity is going to be extinct in a few minutes? You'll thank me when this is over." She pulled another neck.

Guards arrived and shot at her; she deflected the bullets, killing them. The operator cried, making her hesitate for a moment. "It's open!" shouted another. "That's all, right?" The others stared at them, surprised. "What the hell are you doing?! We don't negotiate with criminals!"

Yanagi tossed the operator she was holding away. "When I get in, launch the rocket immediately. Otherwise, I'll come back and kill every single one of you."

"But, young lady, you're going to need special equipment! And we need to prepare in advance to ensure everything is safe!"

One of them was contacting someone on the phone, muttering, "Send a Level 6 or 7 hero immediately!" Yanagi pushed the phone away, destroying it.

"Do it, now," she commanded, leaving the room. Upon reaching the access bridge to the rocket, she entered and the door closed immediately. She climbed to the top floor of the rocket. After lying on the ground, she used all her power at once, coughing up blood. Everyone around could sense an absurd surge of power.

Eraser and Mitone fought together against the white spirit. Mitone used his two axes to erase the tentacles that kept flying towards them. "Do these things never end?!" he asked, outraged.

"Even if they don't, we need to buy Yuna time," Eraser replied.

The spirit extended its tentacles and attacked Eraser. Before disappearing, however, the entity stopped abruptly. After reappearing, it was close enough to Eraser to stab him with a thorn. Mitone hurled his axes at them, making sure to hit the spirit, but destroying the axes before they could strike his friend. The spirit retreated.

A strange white liquid tried to enter Eraser's body, so he raised his body temperature, repelling it. "Are you okay?" his friend asked as he threw his axes at the spirit.

"Yeah, I'm good..." Eraser fired a ball of plasma at the liquid on the ground, setting it ablaze. Then, he targeted the spirit and fired several projectiles, testing his weakness.

"Why are you doing this...?" Yuna asked from a floor below Yanagi, trying to avoid being seen.

"You're here too? What a nuisance..."

"I need to understand... I still don't have enough experience with human nature..."

"Me neither... That's why I need to finish this before I change my mind."

Yuna was the one who felt the wave of power more intensely than anyone else, except Yanagi. She was trying to make a clone of her enemy, but her body was extremely complex for some reason.

Is she even human...?

"I have been an experiment my whole life..." Yuna stalled for time. "I thought all humans were like the scientists who held me captive, but when the heroes rescued me... I realized my hope was right. I knew that tiny space wasn't the whole world."

"The heroes? Those who let my father do whatever he wants and get away with it? Those who don't even try to change the world for the better?"

"The world is just too big, but they're trying their best... not all of them, of course."

"A few good people can't save the rest."

"Not yet... but you have the power to change that, so do I."

The rocket began to fly. They felt very nauseous at first, but their symptoms stabilized after a while, even without training or spacesuits.

"I'm also doing my best to change the world..." Yanagi said hesitantly. "Only I can destroy this planet alone."

"Our worldviews are the same, but our interpretations are different..."

"That's right. That's why you can't change my mind."

She cloned herself on the floor where Yanagi was.

"Doesn't hurt to try."

"Wait, you don't need to try to stop me. You killed my best friend, but it doesn't matter anymore if it all ends. We can live together and watch the armageddon."

"Live together? How? Humans can't live in space."

"I mean for the next few minutes..."

"What did you do?"

"You'll see soon enough..."

Yuna cloned herself on the floor where Yanagi was, finding her body on the ground, bleeding profusely. "What did you do?!"

"A certain someone pulled the moon a while ago... I thought I could do the same, but with the 7th planet instead..."

7th planet? Uranus?!

"Are you fucking crazy?!"

"I said I would cause an extinction event... and I did... now it's not my problem anymore..."

"Hey, you can push it away, right?"

"..." Yanagi's eyes were almost lifeless. "Good... luck..."

"Hey! Don't leave me here!" Yuna shook the corpse, trying to find an answer. If she's dead, her power will stop working, right? There's no need to panic...

She stood up, looking around, her eyes wide and her hands trembling. I stopped her, didn't I?

She felt something was off. There was no way to check if Uranus was approaching Earth, as it was too far away. "Shit... I messed up badly, really badly..."

She punched the wall and jumped off the rocket. I need to warn Mifuyu! But my phone doesn't work here...

She threw herself into freefall, afraid of dying in the fall. There's no other way!

The white spirit suddenly flew upwards, destroying the ceiling and ascending into the sky as fast as it could. Eraser and Mitone left the building, trying to figure out what it wanted. They saw Yuna, but the spirit ignored her.

Eraser flew toward her, grabbed her, and landed safely on the ground. She was very hot and injured from the fall, but still alive.

"Eraser, contact Mifuyu, quickly!" she exclaimed. "Yanagi said that Uranus is going to collide with Earth!"

"What?!" Mitone shouted. "It's a bluff, obviously!"

"We can't risk it! We need a specialist to check the solar system, now! Mifuyu and Ria must have connections."

"Understood," Eraser confirmed.

They went to a space observatory.

"Thank you for letting us know, Yuna and Eraser," said Mifuyu. "You were right, something is wrong with Uranus."

"How wrong?" asked Mitone, worried.

"Besides the recently discovered debris and gases..." Mifuyu trailed off, puzzled, "We couldn't find anything."

"You couldn't find anything...?" Yuna asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"The equipment may be faulty, but... Uranus can no longer be found. However, some fragments of what we believe to have been the planet are floating through the solar system."

"Defying the laws of nature, huh?" a mysterious female voice echoed in the empty, lifeless space. Her figure was incomprehensible to the human eye. Her silhouette, white and filled with black, flowed inconsistently. She stared intently at the planet, which was getting closer and closer to Earth.

"Trying to save the world, attract divine attention? Don't make me fucking laugh. You won't fall until I say so." She punched the planet, shattering it into millions of pieces. "Ouch... my precious fists weren't made for this..."