"Huff! Huff!" Ed breathed heavily as he looked for an escape route. His back was against the wall of a building. 'Should I melt a hole in the wall and run through the building again? No. It'll just keep chasing me. I won't win a battle of endurance.' His eyes sharpened with resolve. 'It's immune to my flames. I'll have to use my power on it!'
He lowered himself into a running stance and positioned his arms behind him facing the wall. He injected mana into only the wind mana-core batteries within his arms. A large burst of green wind shot from his hands as he ran towards the fox mutant. The wind increased his speed significantly. The fox shot three fireballs from its tails. Ed poured mana into his legs and jumped as a large burst of wind boosted him upwards. The three fireballs exploded beneath him and spread flames to the surrounding area. He landed on the ground and rolled forward near the mutant. He was now within 3 meters of the fox and could use his powers!
He hurriedly aimed for one of the mutant's legs and attempted melting it with his mana. The skin on the fox slowly started to melt. 'It's not melting fast enough! Is it because it's so much stronger than me?!'
The fox felt its leg burning and roared in pain. It jumped to the side and breathed flames towards him. He hurriedly covered his head with his arms. The flames shot past him and singed his clothes. 'It's not as hot as I thought it would be? The mutants I killed to make these clothes were pretty fire-resistant… lucky me.' The man and beast continued to exchange blows. Ed would occasionally get close and manage to melt a small amount of skin and flesh on one of the mutant's legs. The fox managed to burn him once every few tries.
'This isn't working. We're just tiring each other out… Let's try that!' He pulled the belt of potions he got from Luny off his waist. He got close and threw them at the fox. They exploded right near its leg! A mix of lighting, fire, light, acid, and other powers caused a loud explosion! The smoke blocked his view for a moment. When it cleared he saw the fox missing an entire leg! He saw no sign of it on the ground. Some ash in the wind was the only thing remaining from it.
The fox growled towards him and opened its mouth to shoot another stream of fire. Ed prepared himself for it when the fox suddenly turned around and ran away on its three remaining limbs. 'It's too fast. I can't catch up. Tsk, what a waste!' He looked around the area and saw the flames slowly burning all over the ground. He decided to leave the area before he got trapped.
'Mm. The new limbs are pretty good. The steel was much better quality than the crap World Walker had given me. The flames work great against non-fire type mutants.' He began to walk towards the railroad once more. On the way he saw some scorched bodies lying on the ground. He searched them and found a small bag that must have been fire-resistant. It was completely fine. He opened it and found several hundred flyers.
He read a flyer. 'Join the Sinless today! Espers take everything valuable from us. Our wealth, our land, our loved ones! The evil ones resort to crime. The kinder ones become corrupted government slaves that receive special treatment. We say no more! The Sinless group has members in almost every city in the world! Join the growing movement to resist the espers! Together, we'll take back what is rightfully ours and restore balance to the world!'
"Heh." Ed chuckled. "What a bunch of nut-jobs. How can ordinary people beat espers?" As he continued walking towards the railroads he thought back to his father. 'Would dad have wanted to join the Sinless? He always thought espers were overrated and technology was king…' He soon reached the railroad and prepared to make a simple steam engine cart to travel towards Miami. 'I should get back to Steam Work city. Then I can get some mana-cores from World Walker and start focusing on my research… Wait! Why am I even going back? No one can threaten me with my father anymore… World Walker couldn't protect me or my father like he promised. He also betrayed Jarrod.'
He hesitated a moment before turning around and heading towards a nearby railroad station. He walked across the concrete platform until he found the abandoned manager's office. He broke in and sealed the entrance. 'I'll sleep on it and make a decision tomorrow.'
…
Steam Work City. Steam Work Academy.
Nearly seven weeks had passed since Ed and Mordy left the academy.
"Die!" Jake yelled as his body was covered in flames. His body slowly grew larger until he stood 4 meters tall. He swung his fist towards Mr. Sai, who easily blocked it while yawning.
"Mm. You've steadily improved. It's uncanny how similar your power is to the Flame Nightmare. Okay. Next!" Mr. Sai yelled.
"Bastard!" Jake muttered as he shrunk to his original size and walked away.
Relm walked up onto the small stage to spar. "I hereby declare that gravity will increase by 10 times!" A purple light spread out to form her domain. Anything within it was subject to her rules.
Mr. Sai stood there completely unaffected. "Hmm. It only feels like 8 times at most? There is a limit to your mana. You should try to stack different effects instead of making a single powerful one. Your power to manipulate the laws of physics within your domain has the most potential out of any esper I've ever met."
"I think you exaggerate too much" She shook her head in disappointment. "It's only effective within 10 meters. I'm also not good at close combat."
"Haha. Give it time. You'll improve the size of your domain and your combat abilities steadily."
"Okay…" She nodded.
Dexter stepped on stage next. Well, stepped isn't entirely accurate. He controlled a large steel mech! It was 10 meters tall. It didn't look like ordinary mechs. It resembled a human! Each hand had five flexible fingers and it wielded a large spear. A steam core spun rapidly within its chest and steam poured from small holes all over its body.
"Oh?" Mr. Sai smiled. "It seems Mr. Ardy really likes you to let you pilot his toy?"
"Wrong! I built it myself! I had to use my powers to add artificial intelligence to Mr. Ardy's mech before I could get funding for my own. The military has already made a contract with Mr. Ardy and me! I'm going to be rich! Hahaha!"
"Okay, okay. Let's get this over with. The proper path of an esper is to train the body. Not rely on hunks of junk."
"Don't insult mechs!" Steam covered the mech in a shroud as Dexter piloted it forward. He stabbed the large spear towards his teacher. Mr. Sai stopped the spear with a single finger. He flicked it and the mech took three steps back!
"Damn!" Dexter ground his teeth. He pulled a lever and the mech's fist took aim. A large cable fired from it towards his teacher's head! Mr. Sai titled his head to the side and the cable flew past him. The cable struck into the ground and locked into place. The mech began to retract the cable as it charged forward using wheels on its feet. The spear was lifted high in the air as it swung down from above!
"Boring." Mr. Sai grabbed the spear with his hand and tossed it aside. "Next time just spar with your body. Keep the mech for your invention class."
The students continued to go up one by one and fought with the teacher. Most had improved significantly compared to when they had first arrived. "Good job everyone. We should be putting you out in the field starting next week. We'll start you off with killing mutants. Then you'll begin helping the police deal with local Sinner groups." Mr. Sai finished his speech and left. He went inside the school building.
Ms. Willow, Mr. Sai and a student were sitting together in the headmaster's office. Ms. Willow smiled while pouring some tea, "So tell us, Dupe. How are things going at Blood-Lust?"
"Chaotic!" He complained. "Ever since World Walker took students from Steam Work Academy, things just keep getting worse. We're missing members, rival sinner groups are moving in on our territory, and there's even a Sinless branch that has started causing minor issues."
"Good!" She nodded. "It seems things are going according to plan. It's almost time to make our move. Have you heard any news about Ed, Jarrod, or Mordy yet?"
"Yes. I heard from Tracker about it. Jarrod and Mordy are both dead. Ed should still be alive in Reef city."
"I see. I was hoping we could bring them back on the right path. What a pity… Is World Walker still unable to pick him up?"
"He should be able to now, but I don't think he trusts him. Too much is happening all at once. He'll probably wait until things calm down before capturing Ed. He'll question him before deciding what to do. He's not the type to attack first and ask questions later."
"Is that so? Perhaps we can try recruiting Ed again then. We could always use more espers against the sinner groups. He hasn't gotten too deeply involved with them yet."
"I don't understand why you didn't just let me go destroy Blood-Lust and take them back!" Mr. Sai complained. "I could flatten them in seconds!"
"No!" Ms. Willow shook her head. "If you start attacking Sinner groups then we'll have riots on our hands all over the world. They formed a special alliance against you for a reason. If you attack a single Sinner group there will likely be millions of deaths worldwide in the aftermath of the chaos they'll cause. You can't be everywhere at once to stop them either, so stop bringing it up."
"Tsk! Whatever."
"Haha!" Dupe laughed. "Is the meeting over? If so, then I need to go report to Blood-Lust what we discussed."
"Mm. It's over." She nodded. "Tell me, Dupe. What do you hope to gain by playing both sides like this? I don't understand your motives."
"It's a secret! For now, let's just say I like experiencing both sides and comparing them. I haven't committed any crimes and both sides are fully aware I'm playing on both teams. I'll pick a side someday! Now, if you'll excuse me…" He smiled as he lifted a steam pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. Blood splattered everywhere as his head exploded.
"I thought I told that bastard to do it outside next time!" Mr. Sai yelled in anger.
"He's hard to control." Ms. Willow sighed.
…
Reef city. Sunrise.
Ed slowly awoke within the manager's office. He stretched his body and yawned. "Hmm. Still feels weird stretching with metal limbs. It's like an itch I can't quite scratch…" He left the office and headed out onto the streets. He looked at the flyer in his hands for the Sinless group. There was a map on the back of it which led to a base. 'I don't want to work for the shitty government. I don't want to be controlled by some bullshit Sinner group either. I need to make my own power. My own group. They'll gather the resources I want and provide me with the bargaining force I need to remain independent.'
He followed the map on the flyer until he reached a base that took up an entire neighborhood. A mix of wooden planks and chain-link fence blocked off the streets and buildings. Scrap iron was clumsily welded to the 5-meter tall fences to provide extra defense. The buildings included a grocery store and several large skyscrapers. He could see guards holding steam rifles keeping watch from several wooden guard towers. A large red flag with a black fist fluttered in the wind.
'This should the place.' He looked down at the flyer in his hands which showed a symbol that matched the flag. 'First, I'll take some precautions.' He turned around and left. It took him several hours to find a mutant with the appropriate type of flesh and skin color. 'This should do it!' He took off his clothes and melted the flesh of the mutant. He covered his metal limbs with the flesh like it was paste. Then he solidified it. 'Hmm… The color is a bit off. It looks a little weird too, but I can just claim it's part of my injuries or something.' He put his clothes back on and left in search of a clothing store.
Ed entered an abandoned clothing store and found a mirror. He removed his clothing again and looked at himself in a mirror. His four metal limbs covered in flesh looked almost like an ordinary human's limbs again. 'Wait, they don't match the scars and burns on my body.' He controlled his powers to create fake scars on the limbs. Then he lightly burned the flesh with his hands. 'That'll work.' He searched for ordinary clothes to wear. He wore a jacket with a hood, jeans, gloves and boots. All the clothing was black. He put his old clothes in his backpack and melted a hole in the floor. Then he threw the backpack inside and covered the hole. 'That should do it. They'd get suspicious if I wore clothes covered in scales and carried a bunch of mana-cores.'
He left the store and returned to the base he found earlier. He approached with his head covered by the hoody. Nothing on his body was visible.
"Halt!" A loud voice rang out. Guards on several different towers aimed at him. "Who are you? Speak your business."
He reached up with his hands and took off the hoody. His face contorted in anger as he screamed, "Look what the espers did to my face! Is this the Sinless group the flyer advertised?! I want to join!"
"Huff! Huff!" Ed breathed heavily as he looked for an escape route. His back was against the wall of a building. 'Should I melt a hole in the wall and run through the building again? No. It'll just keep chasing me. I won't win a battle of endurance.' His eyes sharpened with resolve. 'It's immune to my flames. I'll have to use my power on it!'
He lowered himself into a running stance and positioned his arms behind him facing the wall. He injected mana into only the wind mana-core batteries within his arms. A large burst of green wind shot from his hands as he ran towards the fox mutant. The wind increased his speed significantly. The fox shot three fireballs from its tails. Ed poured mana into his legs and jumped as a large burst of wind boosted him upwards. The three fireballs exploded beneath him and spread flames to the surrounding area. He landed on the ground and rolled forward near the mutant. He was now within 3 meters of the fox and could use his powers!
He hurriedly aimed for one of the mutant's legs and attempted melting it with his mana. The skin on the fox slowly started to melt. 'It's not melting fast enough! Is it because it's so much stronger than me?!'
The fox felt its leg burning and roared in pain. It jumped to the side and breathed flames towards him. He hurriedly covered his head with his arms. The flames shot past him and singed his clothes. 'It's not as hot as I thought it would be? The mutants I killed to make these clothes were pretty fire-resistant… lucky me.' The man and beast continued to exchange blows. Ed would occasionally get close and manage to melt a small amount of skin and flesh on one of the mutant's legs. The fox managed to burn him once every few tries.
'This isn't working. We're just tiring each other out… Let's try that!' He pulled the belt of potions he got from Luny off his waist. He got close and threw them at the fox. They exploded right near its leg! A mix of lighting, fire, light, acid, and other powers caused a loud explosion! The smoke blocked his view for a moment. When it cleared he saw the fox missing an entire leg! He saw no sign of it on the ground. Some ash in the wind was the only thing remaining from it.
The fox growled towards him and opened its mouth to shoot another stream of fire. Ed prepared himself for it when the fox suddenly turned around and ran away on its three remaining limbs. 'It's too fast. I can't catch up. Tsk, what a waste!' He looked around the area and saw the flames slowly burning all over the ground. He decided to leave the area before he got trapped.
'Mm. The new limbs are pretty good. The steel was much better quality than the crap World Walker had given me. The flames work great against non-fire type mutants.' He began to walk towards the railroad once more. On the way he saw some scorched bodies lying on the ground. He searched them and found a small bag that must have been fire-resistant. It was completely fine. He opened it and found several hundred flyers.
He read a flyer. 'Join the Sinless today! Espers take everything valuable from us. Our wealth, our land, our loved ones! The evil ones resort to crime. The kinder ones become corrupted government slaves that receive special treatment. We say no more! The Sinless group has members in almost every city in the world! Join the growing movement to resist the espers! Together, we'll take back what is rightfully ours and restore balance to the world!'
"Heh." Ed chuckled. "What a bunch of nut-jobs. How can ordinary people beat espers?" As he continued walking towards the railroads he thought back to his father. 'Would dad have wanted to join the Sinless? He always thought espers were overrated and technology was king…' He soon reached the railroad and prepared to make a simple steam engine cart to travel towards Miami. 'I should get back to Steam Work city. Then I can get some mana-cores from World Walker and start focusing on my research… Wait! Why am I even going back? No one can threaten me with my father anymore… World Walker couldn't protect me or my father like he promised. He also betrayed Jarrod.'
He hesitated a moment before turning around and heading towards a nearby railroad station. He walked across the concrete platform until he found the abandoned manager's office. He broke in and sealed the entrance. 'I'll sleep on it and make a decision tomorrow.'
…
Steam Work City. Steam Work Academy.
Nearly seven weeks had passed since Ed and Mordy left the academy.
"Die!" Jake yelled as his body was covered in flames. His body slowly grew larger until he stood 4 meters tall. He swung his fist towards Mr. Sai, who easily blocked it while yawning.
"Mm. You've steadily improved. It's uncanny how similar your power is to the Flame Nightmare. Okay. Next!" Mr. Sai yelled.
"Bastard!" Jake muttered as he shrunk to his original size and walked away.
Relm walked up onto the small stage to spar. "I hereby declare that gravity will increase by 10 times!" A purple light spread out to form her domain. Anything within it was subject to her rules.
Mr. Sai stood there completely unaffected. "Hmm. It only feels like 8 times at most? There is a limit to your mana. You should try to stack different effects instead of making a single powerful one. Your power to manipulate the laws of physics within your domain has the most potential out of any esper I've ever met."
"I think you exaggerate too much" She shook her head in disappointment. "It's only effective within 10 meters. I'm also not good at close combat."
"Haha. Give it time. You'll improve the size of your domain and your combat abilities steadily."
"Okay…" She nodded.
Dexter stepped on stage next. Well, stepped isn't entirely accurate. He controlled a large steel mech! It was 10 meters tall. It didn't look like ordinary mechs. It resembled a human! Each hand had five flexible fingers and it wielded a large spear. A steam core spun rapidly within its chest and steam poured from small holes all over its body.
"Oh?" Mr. Sai smiled. "It seems Mr. Ardy really likes you to let you pilot his toy?"
"Wrong! I built it myself! I had to use my powers to add artificial intelligence to Mr. Ardy's mech before I could get funding for my own. The military has already made a contract with Mr. Ardy and me! I'm going to be rich! Hahaha!"
"Okay, okay. Let's get this over with. The proper path of an esper is to train the body. Not rely on hunks of junk."
"Don't insult mechs!" Steam covered the mech in a shroud as Dexter piloted it forward. He stabbed the large spear towards his teacher. Mr. Sai stopped the spear with a single finger. He flicked it and the mech took three steps back!
"Damn!" Dexter ground his teeth. He pulled a lever and the mech's fist took aim. A large cable fired from it towards his teacher's head! Mr. Sai titled his head to the side and the cable flew past him. The cable struck into the ground and locked into place. The mech began to retract the cable as it charged forward using wheels on its feet. The spear was lifted high in the air as it swung down from above!
"Boring." Mr. Sai grabbed the spear with his hand and tossed it aside. "Next time just spar with your body. Keep the mech for your invention class."
The students continued to go up one by one and fought with the teacher. Most had improved significantly compared to when they had first arrived. "Good job everyone. We should be putting you out in the field starting next week. We'll start you off with killing mutants. Then you'll begin helping the police deal with local Sinner groups." Mr. Sai finished his speech and left. He went inside the school building.
Ms. Willow, Mr. Sai and a student were sitting together in the headmaster's office. Ms. Willow smiled while pouring some tea, "So tell us, Dupe. How are things going at Blood-Lust?"
"Chaotic!" He complained. "Ever since World Walker took students from Steam Work Academy, things just keep getting worse. We're missing members, rival sinner groups are moving in on our territory, and there's even a Sinless branch that has started causing minor issues."
"Good!" She nodded. "It seems things are going according to plan. It's almost time to make our move. Have you heard any news about Ed, Jarrod, or Mordy yet?"
"Yes. I heard from Tracker about it. Jarrod and Mordy are both dead. Ed should still be alive in Reef city."
"I see. I was hoping we could bring them back on the right path. What a pity… Is World Walker still unable to pick him up?"
"He should be able to now, but I don't think he trusts him. Too much is happening all at once. He'll probably wait until things calm down before capturing Ed. He'll question him before deciding what to do. He's not the type to attack first and ask questions later."
"Is that so? Perhaps we can try recruiting Ed again then. We could always use more espers against the sinner groups. He hasn't gotten too deeply involved with them yet."
"I don't understand why you didn't just let me go destroy Blood-Lust and take them back!" Mr. Sai complained. "I could flatten them in seconds!"
"No!" Ms. Willow shook her head. "If you start attacking Sinner groups then we'll have riots on our hands all over the world. They formed a special alliance against you for a reason. If you attack a single Sinner group there will likely be millions of deaths worldwide in the aftermath of the chaos they'll cause. You can't be everywhere at once to stop them either, so stop bringing it up."
"Tsk! Whatever."
"Haha!" Dupe laughed. "Is the meeting over? If so, then I need to go report to Blood-Lust what we discussed."
"Mm. It's over." She nodded. "Tell me, Dupe. What do you hope to gain by playing both sides like this? I don't understand your motives."
"It's a secret! For now, let's just say I like experiencing both sides and comparing them. I haven't committed any crimes and both sides are fully aware I'm playing on both teams. I'll pick a side someday! Now, if you'll excuse me…" He smiled as he lifted a steam pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. Blood splattered everywhere as his head exploded.
"I thought I told that bastard to do it outside next time!" Mr. Sai yelled in anger.
"He's hard to control." Ms. Willow sighed.
…
Reef city. Sunrise.
Ed slowly awoke within the manager's office. He stretched his body and yawned. "Hmm. Still feels weird stretching with metal limbs. It's like an itch I can't quite scratch…" He left the office and headed out onto the streets. He looked at the flyer in his hands for the Sinless group. There was a map on the back of it which led to a base. 'I don't want to work for the shitty government. I don't want to be controlled by some bullshit Sinner group either. I need to make my own power. My own group. They'll gather the resources I want and provide me with the bargaining force I need to remain independent.'
He followed the map on the flyer until he reached a base that took up an entire neighborhood. A mix of wooden planks and chain-link fence blocked off the streets and buildings. Scrap iron was clumsily welded to the 5-meter tall fences to provide extra defense. The buildings included a grocery store and several large skyscrapers. He could see guards holding steam rifles keeping watch from several wooden guard towers. A large red flag with a black fist fluttered in the wind.
'This should the place.' He looked down at the flyer in his hands which showed a symbol that matched the flag. 'First, I'll take some precautions.' He turned around and left. It took him several hours to find a mutant with the appropriate type of flesh and skin color. 'This should do it!' He took off his clothes and melted the flesh of the mutant. He covered his metal limbs with the flesh like it was paste. Then he solidified it. 'Hmm… The color is a bit off. It looks a little weird too, but I can just claim it's part of my injuries or something.' He put his clothes back on and left in search of a clothing store.
Ed entered an abandoned clothing store and found a mirror. He removed his clothing again and looked at himself in a mirror. His four metal limbs covered in flesh looked almost like an ordinary human's limbs again. 'Wait, they don't match the scars and burns on my body.' He controlled his powers to create fake scars on the limbs. Then he lightly burned the flesh with his hands. 'That'll work.' He searched for ordinary clothes to wear. He wore a jacket with a hood, jeans, gloves and boots. All the clothing was black. He put his old clothes in his backpack and melted a hole in the floor. Then he threw the backpack inside and covered the hole. 'That should do it. They'd get suspicious if I wore clothes covered in scales and carried a bunch of mana-cores.'
He left the store and returned to the base he found earlier. He approached with his head covered by the hoody. Nothing on his body was visible.
"Halt!" A loud voice rang out. Guards on several different towers aimed at him. "Who are you? Speak your business."
He reached up with his hands and took off the hoody. His face contorted in anger as he screamed, "Look what the espers did to my face! Is this the Sinless group the flyer advertised?! I want to join!"
