Chapter 6: Resistance

Time flew by quickly.

During that period, Shine didn’t display any notable reactions, and nothing particularly unusual happened.

I tapped on the microphone after turning it on.

Shine’s expression, as always, remained blank, staring at me without a hint of change.

“Is there anything you want to eat?”

I asked the usual meaningless question.

As expected, Shine didn’t respond this time either.

I sat idly, letting time slip away.

Since I hadn’t visited the library today and borrowed any books, I had nothing to do.

I started doodling on a blank sheet of paper left on the table.

No matter how I drew Hebrum’s chubby face, it always ended up looking like a pig.

As I caricatured the research director groveling in a suit, I sighed and crumpled the paper.

Today was the last day.

Once I left this room after work, I could return to my original body.

A slight sense of relief washed over me.

While my work wasn’t over, I had oddly grown attached to this girl’s body, familiar after spending so much time in it.

As I anticipated my return home after a week and the money I’d receive in one lump sum, I considered buying a new sofa and some fresh clothes.

But then, I felt something strange.

A foreign signal flowed through the air.

Being an electrokinetic, I was sensitive to nearby signals.

Faint static noises reached my ears.

A radio transmission?

I got up and turned off the microphone’s power button.

With the frequency from the mic and speaker gone, the mysterious transmission became clearer.

[…Starting!]

“Starting?”

BOOM!

Suddenly, the ground shook violently, as if struck by a powerful impact.

A deafening roar assaulted my ears, and I collapsed.

I looked around dazedly, unable to get back up.

“What…”

My words were cut off.

BANG!

Another explosion shook the room.

The floor beneath me trembled as if an earthquake was tearing through it.

WEEEEE-OOO!

Alarms blared throughout the research facility, red emergency lights flashing as machines powered down one by one.

With a faint “click,” all electricity in the lab went out.

The room plunged into darkness.

Since the facility was underground, there were no windows to provide light.

My ears were ringing from the earlier noise, and I fell to the floor multiple times as I struggled with my skewed sense of direction.

Summoning small sparks onto my hand, I illuminated my surroundings with blue light.

“What the hell is going on?”

The voice that escaped from my lips, now belonging to a young girl, sounded cold and tense.

It didn’t take long to grasp the situation.

Countless scenarios flashed through my mind.

A terrorist attack—or an accident.

Most likely, it was terrorism.

I instinctively realized it.

This was an attack by one of the terror groups frequently featured on television.

“Ramonax!”

I pounded on the door, calling for Ramonax, who should be outside.

There was no response.

Of course.

The room and hallway sounds were completely sealed off from each other.

There was no way my voice could be heard.

Desperately, I raised my hand to the door’s locking mechanism.

It was going to break.

The wires would short-circuit, and the internal mechanisms would be utterly destroyed.

But I had no choice.

In this situation, surely no one would blame me for it.

I had to believe that.

There was no time to hesitate.

Summoning my power, blue sparks flared from my fingertips, and the door’s mechanism began to operate.

ZAP!

A burst of brilliant blue light erupted.

Failing to fine-tune my control, the lock shattered completely.

Rubbing my now-tingling hand, I peeked through the half-open door.

Screams and the sound of collapsing structures filled the air.

The footsteps of dozens of people echoed chaotically.

From the end of the pitch-black hallway, colorful lights flickered faintly.

Cautiously, I slipped into the corridor.

Walking through the darkness was terrifying.

Anyone could attack from anywhere.

I followed the familiar path and arrived at Hebrum’s lab.

My eyes, accustomed to the darkness, could make out faint outlines.

I groped my way inside, avoiding the thick wires scattered on the floor.

“Dr. Hebrum?”

I called for him cautiously.

Since work hours hadn’t ended yet, he was probably inside, enjoying some snacks.

Sniffing the air, I detected a faintly sweet and savory scent of pastries, overlaid by a metallic tang.

A cold sweat trickled down my back.

From the darkness came the sound of labored breathing and the silhouette of a man.

“…?”

Before I could react, a stranger’s voice emerged from the shadows.

Panicked, I turned and ran.

My heart pounded as if it might burst.

“Wait…!”

The voice and the sound of footsteps behind me grew closer.

I couldn’t outrun him.

In the pitch-black corridor, he chased me with unerring precision.

Reaching the door I had exited earlier, I squeezed through the narrow gap.

The partially open door wasn’t wide enough for an adult man to pass through.

“Don’t run!”

His desperate voice echoed as I fled to a corner of the room.

A chair tangled around my legs toppled over, sending me sprawling.

The fallen chair hit the table, scattering papers everywhere.

Through the rustling of paper, a sharp, grating sound reached my ears.

The metal door was being torn apart.

The shriek of bending steel filled the air, accompanied by the clattering of small, detached components.

Every sound was vivid and clear.

“S***…”

This was no ordinary situation.

It was a terrorist.

It had to be one of those terror groups targeting research facilities recently.

In desperation, I raised my hand.

Blue electricity gathered at my fingertips, illuminating the surroundings.

In the glow of the sparks, I saw him.

A man in a white mask, ripping the door apart with his bare hands.

A physical-enhancement ability user.

Simple but immensely powerful.

The fact that he could tear through steel indicated a high-level ability.

Fear clouded my focus.

The electricity at my fingertips scattered chaotically.

“You need to calm—”

Ignoring his words, I unleashed the current.

ZAP!

The electrical shock spread violently through the room.

The scattered papers on the floor ignited, and my clothes caught fire.

I had failed to control my power.

As the heat shrank my ID badge, I quickly tore off my burning clothes and summoned the electricity again.

Blue currents flowed vividly over my entire body, casting the room in bright light.

Despite the sparks, the masked man remained unharmed.

“Stay back!”

“Calm down! I’m not here to hurt you!”

I didn’t believe him.

Pulling every ounce of power I could muster, I felt the sharp crackle of electricity enveloping my body.

“Raaaah!”

The man stumbled, electricity coursing over him and exploding the surrounding equipment.

BOOM! BOOM!

Dazzling lights burst around us.

My control was still off.

The total amount of power hadn’t changed, but it felt misaligned, likely a side effect of inhabiting Shine’s body for so long.

Reining in the scattering electricity, I aimed it entirely at the man.

The faint smell of burning filled the air.

Despite enduring the onslaught, white smoke rose from his body.

“What are you doing?”

A new, unfamiliar voice interrupted.