( Part 16: The Conductor — Part 3: Playful Tests )

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( Part 16: Z-City - 09:34 am )

 

Stopping its destructive march, the Kaiju-sized Ant shrieks upon seeing that same cone-headed woman painfully slowly elevating herself to its height.

 

Floating up, Yukari intended on taking this opportunity to get a good mastery over this new-found flight of hers.

 

Holding one stop sign in each hand, she shifted into an ‘A’ stance which was a close relative of the T-Pose, menacingly holding her weapons.

 

That is if one could call those ‘weapons’. Their sheer size and weight were not something an untrained human could usually maneuver left and right as easily as she made it out to be.

 

There's also the fact that their current purpose served nothing more than to add to the ongoing joke she had forced into Zhu Yuan.

 

Humming seemingly at random, Yukarie analyzes the ant’s body. Her own facial expressions towards the ugliness of the bug hidden inside her cone-hat.

 

Gripping her sign with a bit of extra force, she replicates what she has used earlier to hit the monster.

 

Using the more flat part of the sign that had the ‘stop!’ written in white, said flat surface had gaps open, covering most of both road signs, allowing her to supposedly attack with swings that were just her firing a sign stop at neck-breaking speeds. 

 

 While she wouldn't necessarily have to make physical contact in any shape or form. The projectiles going out would surely get the job done in record time.

 

“ Entertain me for a while, won't you, Mister. Insect~“ - * CLANG! *

 

Swinging one of her signs in an arc while shooting out yet another projectile that she deploys to intersect another incoming giant fist. Consequently, it was yet again blown to pieces, forcing an ear-raping horrendous screeching to burst out from the monster.

 

Although this time it opened a hole in the Ant’s whole arm, the purple blood dripped from what was left of the limb as its remains and blood fell/washed over the ruins of what was left that still stood from the Ant’s rampage.

 

Annoyed at the annoying sound, Yukari flew at full speed towards its head. A good 93mph(ca. 150 km/h) was her current top flight speed, she could reach way beyond sonic speeds by flinging herself like she did with the signs… 

 

But even without flinging herself, her speeds were still seemingly increasing. The Youkai was still unsure what max speeds she could even reach…

 

But if there was something, Yukari was sure of.

 

It was that: This technique of explosive speeds would be left aside until she managed to control her flight to a point where it became as straightforward as walking…

 

She was still clumsy while floating with just these speeds, imagine suddenly going dozens of times above it?

 

Only a Lunatic would do such a thing. To herself, at least.

 

So why not test it on others?

 

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Reaching the monster's head, she twirled sideways, making it look like she was slamming both signs in a downward arc motion right on the ugly ant’s face before two road signs shot off from the gap, tearing chunks off its head and any other body parts that they found in their way.

 

The sign didn't stop there and went further, leaving deep craters on the ground.  

 

Losing her balance for a second as she spiraled around before regaining her sense of equilibrium soon after, Yukari eyes the monster, feeling somewhat joyful her theory was proven correct; its regenerative capabilities were indeed linked to a part she had yet to destroy.

 

“ So unless I shatter your core, that repugnant face of yours is guaranteed to keep regenerating…. Quite the thrilling walking subject I found to myself! There's so much I want to test~ “

 

Hands gripping tightly enough on the metal bars of the signs to leave her fingerprints on them. It could be said that the face Yukari was making under her hat of sorts had the potential to give someone nightmares.

 

And so started the playtim- testing of Yukari's current powers. Right now, she was mostly flying around and figuring out how to dodge the attacks as a way to increase her own flight speeds.

 

Never once did she actually fall in deep danger, given that at any moment she could bring up a gap right in front of the Ant’s attack. Forcing them to hit themselves tens of times harder.

 

As she had already stated, this Ant was her guinea pig test subject. And her true trial was about to begin, a peeping gap she had opened close to the two cops had shown that they were both already driving away from the location she was at.

 

This peeping gap was one of many she had scattered around the perimeter, under that cone it was as if she had monitors everywhere giving a clear view of her surroundings.

 

Usually, this amount of information would be overwhelming at first, but as Yukari adapted more to this body, she realized that there was way more to these traits than she first thought.

 

They weren't simply as they were made out to be, and that was proved even truer given her current situation. After twelve hours in this body, those so-called ‘Traits’ had overwhelmed her older human self in many ways.

 

Body language, way of acting, phrasing, likings. Anthony's self was still evident in the middle of all that, but if only half a day had already deluded himself so much.

 

How much would these traits bite out of her previous self?

 

It sure was a question she would see answered as time went on, but as of right now… She would simply enjoy it.

 

Dropping both stop signs into her gaps' storage, she surveyed the surroundings around the part of the city she was in to make sure Zhu Yuan and Qingyi had made out to a safe distance.

 

“ They appear to be far enough, hmm. Now, I'm curious to test how far would your body regenerate when forced into a constant state of cremation~” - Flying out of the way from yet another incoming attack, she solely lifts her right index finger ever so slightly towards the ant.

 

The moment she does so, an enormous Gap starts to consume the ant’s legs as another gap opens just above his head. With a terrifying grin on her face, Yukari points her index down, causing the ant to just blur into the gaps.

 

Going inside one and exiting in one just above it, the monster was stuck in an infinite cycle of falling faster and faster, this added yet another idea for the Youkai. To build up speed between two gaps before shooting out her projectiles.

 

She would need to find tougher things that can withstand the temperature, but shooting out plasma was also a very interesting concept.

 

 It would take some time as she would need to accelerate the object at unworldly speeds, but surely it was a possibility she kept in mind after she learned more.

 

“ Now… Twenty seconds…. That seems to be your boundary, huh~ “ - Taking off her mask-like cone and tossing it into a gap to her side leisurely, she makes use of the same portal to bring out her fan and umbrella.

 

All while watching the monster become a fiery blur between the two gaps, there was no shriek to be heard as any type of cord it might once have had was toasted to a crisp.

 

Its body at this point was nothing more than cremated bits that soon started to detach from one another. The last part that still persevered for an extra three seconds was a weird black and purple organ that was hidden in the interior of its chest. 

 

Yukari smiled and approached, the gaps closer to one another. It blurred between the gaps for some extra moments trying to regenerate to no use before it also was cremated beyond its healing factor

 

Not seeing anything going by the gaps anymore, Yukari closed them, sighing at how she hoped the monster would have lasted a few seconds longer. 

 

“ Aww~… Perhaps I was expecting far too much from such an insect, to begin with… But that purple tumor of sorts put up quite the fight to keep itself alive… Hmm… Could Dr. Genus have stolen a Monster Cell for research purposes? ‘’

 

Looking around the ground level, she smiles, feeling the breeze wash over herself, choosing to enjoy and leave these thoughts aside for the moment. She even had a few quirky additions who had caught her eye. 

 

A frog and a slug creature weren't far from where the Titan Ant had been strolling through, both were hiding behind a fence and talking to one another.

 

She simply opened a small gap to spy in and see what these two were up to. And their conversation just brightened her mood even more at how silly it was… 

 

“ WHA-! WAHT DO WE DO SLUGEROUSH!?!?!” - The humanoid Zoro cosplayer frog held his head in despair while asking. 

 

His body was shivering uncontrollably after witnessing such a monstrous being as the Titan Ant, considered the second-strongest creation around the House of Evolution, be atomized in less than a minute.

 

By his side holding his sluggish chest, the humanoid pink slug shook trying to come up with something. Then it hits him. - “ We-We gotta report back! I'm sure Dr. Genus will want more data on that hero! It's our chance to maybe get a rank promotion!”

 

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Trying to gain something even in the face of evident destruction, they amused Yukari who listened to their little conversation. She contemplated squashing them to paper thinness using one of the houses close by.

 

But such devilish thoughts were quickly swept away as she heard that they were going back. Interrogation was something she could do… But… As soon as she threatened them, they probably would spew everything in a second.

 

She felt like such things would be boring even, too easy… 

 

“ Hmm-! Oh! That's it! “ - With that in mind, a face of realization washed over the Youkai as she found the solution, this would also add to the fact she already had stated she would lend the other party.

 

“ Why not gently push the problem to her! After all, don't I just happen to have a cheese lover friend who's very adept at such things as interrogations~ Maybe even myself could pick up a thing or two. ” - Chuckling to herself midair, she is quick to open a gap right behind the chattering monsters.

 

Seeing both of them focused on what they could do if they did gain such promotion, the Youkai hovered forward, not touching the ground so as to not scare away her new ‘friends’.

 

“ We could probably get even higher-level mutations- * Tap * - Hu-Huh?” - Having caught himself in the middle of his joyful moment about their attainable achievements, a graceful white-gloved hand grabs both of their shoulders.

 

Both turn their heads slowly to see their new visitor, a closed-eyed smile that promises to drag them to the depths of hell. - “ What a lovely morning, isn't it? “

 

Shivering under the strength those hands had, they couldn't help but almost pass out as tears ran down their faces.

 

“ “ Mama…. Help us…. “ “