In Academy City, the Paradise Project begins.

Page 133

"of course."

Higashino nodded with a smile, his relaxed demeanor as if he were facing not an enemy capable of threatening a superpowered individual, but a docile sheep.

That's actually true. Even if all the espers in Academy City were combined, they wouldn't pose a threat to him, let alone a mere archer like Ruka.

This is the worst kind of frog in a well!

"Timing begins."

The moment she finished speaking, the bow and arrow moved! Like a drawn blade, she launched her attack!

"Boohoo, boomboo-!"

She nocked, drew her bow, and fired with unprecedented speed! Arrows rained down on Dongye like a storm!

With maximum force and speed, she aimed at various parts of his body, attempting to shake him with the impact!

However, a strange scene happened.

All the arrows seemed to hit an invisible, extremely tough wall when they were about half a meter away from Higashino Yu's body!

The arrow stopped abruptly, its tip slightly dented, hovering in mid-air before losing all momentum and clattering to the ground.

It's as if it was grabbed by an invisible hand and then casually discarded as if it were in the way.

"Varied……?!"

The bow and arrow struck the deer, who stared in disbelief. What kind of defense was this?! A barrier that could affect reality through mental power?

"Hmph, what a trick!"

She decisively abandoned her bow and arrows, and suddenly pulled out the whistle from her waist with both hands.

Since it's a barrier created with mental energy, it must have its limits. She doesn't believe that mental abilities would require little effort or be easy to influence reality.

She blew a whistle, and the sound was instantly amplified and compressed, turning into a condensed beam of sound powerful enough to shatter concrete, which slammed into Higashino Yu!

Om-!

The air distorted violently, and the ground seemed to tremble. But the sound wave, powerful enough to blow a person away or even knock them unconscious, vanished without a trace the moment it reached within half a meter of Higashino, like a mud ox sinking into the sea, without even a ripple.

Higashino didn't even flinch, as if it were just the insignificant chirping of cicadas in the summer.

"How can it be!"

The arrow pierced the deer in disbelief. He never expected that such an attack, with Higashino standing there, could not cause him the slightest harm.

"hateful!"

She looked at Dongye, who was standing there with a smile, with resentment. She took out a flashlight, and the light from the flashlight gathered, compressed, and focused under the powerful wave of energy!

"So you can ignore this too?!"

Under the influence of his abilities, the flashlight seemed to become a beam weapon from the TV series, striking the invisible Higashino fiercely!

Tsk-!

A piercing cutting sound rang out, and the light blade burst into dazzling sparks in front of Dongye!

However, the light blade, which was powerful enough to cut through steel, was like a hot knife cutting into the thickest colloid. Its speed was slowed down infinitely, and it finally stopped, disintegrated, and vanished into specks of light when it was still thirty centimeters away from Higashino Yu's body!

Time ticked by. Bow and Arrow had used almost every attack method she could think of.

Scattered beams of light, impactful sound waves, vibrations attempting to be transmitted from the ground, and even high-frequency cutting waves created using bowstrings... But no matter what kind of attack it was, no matter how powerful it was, when it touched within half a meter of Higashino, it was like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun, instantly disintegrating and melting away.

Higashino remained standing still, without moving a single hair.

His expression remained one of interest and a smile throughout, as if he were watching a spectacular fireworks display.

To her, such a smile was almost like a silent mockery; it looked infuriating, but it also filled her with despair.

Despair, like an icy tide, began to slowly engulf the heart of the man who had just been shot down by the arrow.

Her breathing became heavy, and her forehead was covered in sweat.

Three minutes? That short time felt like an eternity. Her attacks, her pride, her struggles—all seemed so pale and powerless before that man.

"The prism... it's the only one we can use..."

A resolute glint flashed in the deer's eyes as the arrow pierced its eye.

She suddenly ripped open the bangs covering her right eye! The distinctive mechanical prosthetic eye was fully exposed!

The surrounding background light seemed to be forcibly distorted, torn apart, and converged into that tiny prism by some terrifying force!

Countless crimson laser beams, as thin as hair yet containing terrifyingly high temperatures, burst forth from that eye like a rain of needles, weaving a net of death that enveloped Higashino's entire body, leaving him no way to escape!

This is her last resort! A desperate gamble, a bet on everything!

Countless beams of light pierced the air, heading straight for the figure who still stood smiling, unmoved by the battle.

However, just as these lasers were about to pierce Higashino...

The thousands of lasers that were powerful enough to melt through steel and sift through the human body were as if they were thrown into an invisible prism array the moment they touched the invisible domain around Higashino, and were deflected and scattered in an incredible way!

Tsk tsk tsk!

The laser beams, as dense as raindrops, failed to touch Higashino's body!

Centered on him, they scattered in all directions like splashes of water scattered by a naughty child, from all sorts of unbelievable angles!

The light shone brightly, illuminating the ceiling and walls of the entire archery range.

Fortunately, Higashino had anticipated this and gave the archery club a special buff, preventing the aftershocks of the battle from destroying the place.

Students are too impulsive; they act immaturely and without considering the consequences. They need adults like them to clean up the mess.

If the archery club were damaged, he would still be the one to restore it to its original state, so he avoided that possibility in advance.

However, this mistake will still be attributed to her later, and she will be punished accordingly.

time up.

It will end in three minutes.

All the light vanished instantly. A tremendous feeling of exhaustion washed over her, her legs buckled, and she almost collapsed to her knees. She could only barely support herself with the bow, gasping for breath, her face as pale as paper.

Her eyes were fixed intently on what was ahead.

After the smoke cleared, Higashino's figure and his surroundings were revealed to her without reservation.

That man.

The man who didn't move an inch.

The man who was bathed in the "laser rain" formed by her strongest attack, yet not even the hem of his clothes was torn.

Absolute crushing.

A complete and utter defeat, without any suspense.

Even standing still and offering no resistance, despite using all her skills, she couldn't harm him in the slightest. At this moment, she finally understood how naive and laughable her previous thoughts had been.

Higashino slowly lowered his arm, his smile unchanged, and walked step by step toward the nearly exhausted archer, Ruro.

He stood before her, looking down at her as she collapsed to her knees, exhausted and desperate.

"Looks like I've won."

His voice was calm and even, yet it carried an undeniable declaration.

Bow and Arrow Strike opened its mouth, but its throat was so dry that it could not utter a sound.

She wanted to argue, to question, to roar, but all her strength and spirit had been completely drained by that final blow.

The facts before her eyes proved her defeat; she had no room for even the last struggle.

"Then, as agreed."

Higashino bent down and gently lifted the chin of the bow and arrow, forcing her somewhat unfocused gaze to refocus on his face.

His eyes were full of laughter, as if he were looking at a deer that had fallen into a hunter's trap.

"From now on..."

Every word of his voice was clearly imprinted in the heart of the archer who pierced the deer.

"You are mine now, in body and soul."

The moment the words fell, under the gaze of her pupils, which had suddenly contracted as she watched the arrow pierce the deer, Higashino's face rapidly magnified in her field of vision.

"Well……!"

Higashino's arms slipped through the knees and back of the bow and arrow, easily lifting her light body horizontally in his arms.

The exhausted girl couldn't even scream because her hand was blocked. She instinctively tried to struggle, but she didn't even have the strength to lift a finger.

This way of holding her feels very nice. The girl isn't heavy, and even in this position, Higashino can enjoy himself.

“Let me go…!”

As they separated, her weak voice came through.

Higashino looked down at the pale yet slightly rosy cheeks in his arms, pondering how to straighten her up.

I don't know how effective it would be to persuade her directly with words, but let's try it first, and then use our abilities to reverse her distorted thinking.

Instead of heading towards the exit of the archery range, he turned around, picked her up, and carried her to a quieter corner behind the archery range where equipment was piled up.

He walked to a long wooden table used for maintaining bows and arrows and placed her on it.

She tried to sit up, but Dongye pressed down on her shoulder with one hand and easily pushed her back down.

His other hand gently pinched her chin, forcing her to lift her head.

“Iruka-kun,”

Higashino's voice was deep and clear, causing the bow and arrow to instinctively obey his request.

"You care a lot about Junko Hokaze, don't you?"

This information was obtained through her previous reasons for challenging herself, and through the information she inadvertently glimpsed into the girl's inner thoughts during their recent kiss.

"To admire her, to yearn for her, to imitate her... even to envy her?"

He clearly captured the instantaneous contraction of her pupils and the stiffness of her body; this was the girl's greatest secret.

Although she was a lesbian, having her secret revealed so directly still made her extremely nervous.

"You yearn to be as strong as her, as dazzling as her, as recognized by everyone... even, you yearn for her attention, her approval... right?"

His words were like a fruit knife peeling an apple, slowly revealing the inferiority complex and longing she was trying so hard to hide.

"I...didn't..."

Bow and Arrow's Breath quickened. The shame of having her secret exposed and the fear of being seen through made her want to curl up, but he held her firmly to the cold table.

She wanted to argue back, but someone's malicious actions made her words stuck in her throat, leaving her only able to let out meaningless sobs.

"but..."

Higashino's tone suddenly turned cold, carrying a hint of cruel sarcasm.

“You know very well that no matter how hard you try, in her eyes, you will probably always just be that ‘failed product of the talent workshop,’ that junior who needs to be taken care of. Your admiration, your aspirations, your efforts… in her eyes, they may just be trouble, or even… not worth mentioning.”

"No...no! Junko, she..."

Bow and Arrow Strike Deer shook his head violently, his eyes instantly welling up with tears, his voice trembling with sobs.

This is her deepest fear, the wound she least wants to face.

"Isn't it?"

Higashino interrupted her, leaned down, and stared intently at her face with a strong sense of pressure.

"Then tell me, did she really see you? Does she really understand your twisted feelings? Does she know that you would challenge me, the strongest in Academy City, for her happiness?!"

His fingers gently brushed past the bangs stuck to her right eye with sweat, about to touch the mechanical prosthetic eye "Prism" that had just been overloaded and was still emitting a faint residual heat.

“Ooooo…!”

As soon as the arrow struck the deer, he abruptly closed his left eye, his body trembling violently.

That complex and bitter feeling she had for Junko Hokaze, under Higashino's deliberate guidance and cruel analysis, seemed to have turned into thick silt, dragging her down.

Higashino's fingers did not actually touch the prosthetic eye in the end, but slid away at the last moment before touching it, and instead caressed her warm, jade-like, blushing cheek.

"Poor little deer."