The Absolute Speed of a Certain Comic'

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"Is it you two?"

Saikyou Nene turned her head to see Stella and Kurogane Shizuku approaching.

At that moment, Kurogane Shizuku was vigilantly scanning the surroundings, while Stella— disguised with sunglasses and a mask— excitedly joined up with Saikyou Nene.

"It's great to see you here, Sensei! With your abilities, couldn't you just take down all these terrorists in one go?"

Stella's voice carried a tone of eager expectation.

While Stella had the strongest magical power in the world, she was still just a Student Knight. This status imposed many restrictions, and her own combat experience was minimal compared to a seasoned professional knight like Saikyou Nene.

If it came to a fight, Saikyou Nene could easily defeat Stella in an instant.

For example, simply releasing a field of hundredfold gravity using her Jibakujin ability would render Stella immobile. For someone with Saikyou Nene's A-rank magical power, creating such intense gravity was standard procedure.

"My ability is far too destructive and lacks precision. If I make a move, I'll inevitably involve the hostages. It's only an option as a last resort," Saikyou Nene replied, shaking her head to reject the idea.

Stella blinked in realization, recalling the publicly available Blazer profile on Saikyou Nene, known as the Yaksha Princess.

Her stats were exceptional— A-rank in total magical power, attack power, defense power, physical fitness, and luck. However, her magical control stood out as an outlier, rated at a mediocre E.

Magical control refers to the skillful manipulation of magical power. The higher the level, the more efficiently and precisely one can wield their magic.

For example, where most Blazers might need 10 units of magical power to perform a specific action, a Blazer with excellent control could achieve the same result with just 2 or 3 units— often with greater precision and effectiveness.

Magical control was a compulsory subject in knight academies, and most Blazers showed improvement after taking these courses. According to League statistics, the average level of magical control among Blazers was approximately D.

However, Saikyou Nene's E-rank control meant her use of magical power was wasteful and imprecise.

Taking Jibakujin as an example, she couldn't target specific areas with her gravity field. Instead, her ability would encompass a wide area indiscriminately, inevitably affecting everyone within its range.

Saikyou Nene glanced at a visibly distressed pregnant woman among the hostages and sighed softly.

If the hostages were all healthy adults, she would have already deployed Jibakujin. However, with a pregnant woman among them, using her gravity field risked causing fatal harm to an unborn life.

"Besides, the number of terrorists here is too small— only about ten. There must be others hiding. Until every terrorist reveals themselves, I can't act. If even one hostage dies, the League will hold me accountable," Saikyou Nene said, scanning her surroundings with a frown.

As a world-class Blazer, she bore immense responsibility and faced overwhelming expectations.

If there were casualties, public sentiment wouldn't appreciate the lives she had saved. Instead, people would lament, 'How could someone like you let anyone die?'—followed by endless criticism.

This was one of the flaws of a societal structure where Blazers were expected to protect ordinary people.

To make matters worse, Saikyou Nene's specialty lay in destruction, not protection. Tasks involving safeguarding others were far better suited for someone like Kuu-chan. She, herself, was just a straightforward vessel of violence.

"Then leave the task of protecting the hostages to me," Kurogane Shizuku volunteered.

"Right! Shizuku's magical control is A-rank, and she's an expert Hydromancer! Once she sets up a water barrier, not even assault rifle bullets can get through!" Stella exclaimed in a hushed but fervent tone.

"…You know my stats?"

"Well, you are Ikki's little sister. I looked into it."

"Is that so…"

Kurogane Shizuku pouted slightly before returning to the matter at hand.

"To pull this off without alerting the terrorists, I'll need to focus my mind entirely on setting up. During that time, I won't be able to respond to external threats, and I'll need you two to buy me some time," she explained.

"I understand," Stella said, nodding firmly.

"Leave it to me. I won't let anyone lay a finger on you," Saikyou Nene assured her confidently.

The two nodded in agreement, each preparing to fulfill their roles.

"By the way, where are the other two?"

Saikyou Nene suddenly realized that, among the hostages, only these two young girls were present. Kurogane Ikki and Arisuin Nagi were nowhere to be found.

"They went to the restroom before the movie started and weren't with us. They should have noticed the attack by now and are probably hiding somewhere in the mall. But Ryoji seems to be missing too..."

"Him? He has other plans."

The two of them positioned themselves on either side of Kurogane Shizuku, keeping watch over their surroundings.

Kurogane Shizuku closed her eyes, fully concentrating on controlling the magical power within her body. It flowed from her delicate fingertips, transforming into a stream of water that spread out in all directions.

"Next, we just have to wait for Shizuku to set up the barrier, then it will be fine. I hope nothing unexpected happens..."

Stella muttered quietly to herself.

But sometimes, fate loves to play tricks, and the things you fear are the very things that happen.

"Don't bully my mommy!"

As the soldiers shoved the crowd around, a boy, about the age of a primary school student, jumped out angrily and threw his ice cream at one of the soldiers.

"Shinji!"

The woman next to him turned pale and pulled him back, clutching her large belly.

Perhaps it was because he had been raised with the belief that "as a boy, you should protect your mother and younger siblings," which prompted him to step up when his mother was pushed. But this act could only be described as foolish.

Ryoji observed all of this in silence and clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"A mere pig! How dare you dirty my pants!"

Although the man was wearing a gas mask, his furious tone clearly conveyed his rage.

"Yakin, you're an adult now, don't lose control over such a small matter! Bishou Sama has ordered not to kill any hostages casually. If that person gets angry, he won't stop until he's killed at least a dozen people!"

"Shut up! I'm an honorary citizen of the new world. How could I possibly be compared to a pig from the old era? I'll just kill one or two hostages. He won't even notice!"

The burly man named Yakin ignored his comrade's warning and raised his assault rifle, aiming it at the mother and child in front of him.

Dá dá dá dá—

Without a word, a spray of blue flames erupted from the barrel, and after pulling the trigger, several bullets shot out in quick succession.

The terrorists of Rebellion did not see the hostages as people.

Ryoji had planned to immediately summon a Spiritual Item (Device) to intervene, but he quickly halted.

Because, before he could act, someone else had already made a move.

A surge of intense flames appeared in front of the machine gun, and the extreme heat vaporized the incoming bullets, not a single one breaking through the fiery wall, let alone hitting the mother and child.

The crimson flames of the Imperial Princess intervened between them, and the bullets were reduced to ash by the flames powered by magic.

"Good luck."

Saikyou Nene yawned, giving a small wave of encouragement with her hand.

She was just a student after all; it was better for her to lay low and let others take action.

If she intervened now, it might provoke the terrorists into a desperate, all-out attack.

(End of Chapter)