Chapter 161 – The Strange Super-Grade Disaster

By the time Misaka Shirai and Su Tang arrived, Lin Xi and the others were long gone.

“You’re not hurt, are you?” Su Tang asked gravely.

She had rushed over from District 1 using Spatial Displacement, consuming a considerable amount of energy in the process.

Misaka Shirai was no better. The moment she received word, she had raced over from District 2 like a bolt of lightning.

Xia Xun, meanwhile, had expended a great deal of energy in the fight, leaving her face deathly pale.

The three Magical Girl fighters gathered together, all looking rather worse for wear. This was a first for them.

“I’m fine,” Xia Xun said.

Su Tang found that hard to believe. “Weren’t there two Special-Grade Disasters? You fought them both alone and came out without a scratch. Xia Xun, you’ve gotten stronger.”

“That’s not it,” Xia Xun explained. “For some reason, that Super-Grade Disaster only trapped me so it could escape. It didn’t seem to have any intention of hurting me.”

“What?!” Misaka Shirai and Su Tang exclaimed at the same time. “A Super-Grade Disaster?!”

When Zhao Xing contacted them, he had said there were two Special-Grade Disasters.

“Yes.” Xia Xun turned to Misaka Shirai. “That dragon was definitely a Special-Grade Disaster, but we underestimated the Dark Realm Disaster that likes setting buildings on fire.

“It’s definitely beyond Special Grade. It could neutralize every one of my attacks and even trap me. I hate to admit it, but if I fought it head-on, I would have almost no chance of winning.”

Misaka Shirai knew a little about this Dark Realm Disaster, but Su Tang knew nothing about it. She asked Xia Xun and Misaka Shirai to pool their information.

Xia Xun began, “We first discovered it in District 3.

“Back then, it set a building on fire.

“There were no casualties, because a Third-Grade Disaster called the Lava Explosion Bear had appeared at the time, and everyone had already evacuated to the shelters.

“This Special-Grade Disaster burned straight through both the building and the Lava Explosion Bear.

“After that, it never caused any more incidents in District 3.

“Based on the residual energy at the scene, I assessed it as Special Grade.

“I never expected it to grow at such an astonishing rate. It’s already become a Super-Grade Disaster!”

Misaka Shirai continued, “That thing also came to District 2.

“The first time we found any trace of it, Captain and I discovered the corpse of a Mingwing Clan member on the roof of a commercial building.

“It had roasted and eaten that First-Grade Dark Realm Disaster.

“The next day, it burned straight through a building in District 2 and wiped out a criminal organization called the Shock Shark Gang.

“Taken as a whole…” Misaka Shirai analyzed, “I guess it hasn’t harmed any innocent people?”

She looked at Su Tang. “Think carefully. Maybe it has been to District 1 as well.”

Su Tang pondered for a moment. “Now that you mention it, I remember something.

“The last time my younger sister came home, she went to an amusement park with her friends. More than a dozen flying monsters were about to attack the park, so she contacted me. By the time I arrived, every last one of them had been wiped out.

“My sister and all her friends saw it happen. A massive Fireball destroyed every one of the monsters.”

“It was definitely this thing! There’s no doubt about it!” Xia Xun and Misaka Shirai declared in unison.

“Fireball attacks must be this Super-Grade Disaster’s primary means of attack.” Xia Xun knew that all too well after tonight.

The dozen or so attacks she had unleashed had each been neutralized by a Fireball of varying power. “I can’t believe this thing has visited all three districts of Z City.”

“What a strange Super-Grade Disaster…” Su Tang couldn’t understand it. “Not only does it avoid harming innocent people or causing destruction, but it even goes around doing good deeds?”

“What it did today counts as a good deed too, right?”

Xia Xun nodded. “I’d say so. There was a batch of artificial monsters inside Shuguang Technology’s secret laboratory, and the core of every one had been burned out. This Super-Grade Disaster was definitely responsible.”

What was this, some kind of Good Samaritan among Dark Realm Disasters???

“What surprised me just as much,” Xia Xun added, “is that it’s working with that dragon and the bank robbers.”

Misaka Shirai knew the Giant Dragon she was talking about. She and Xia Xun had joined forces against it and nearly killed it.

“That day, we must have fallen for this Super-Grade Disaster’s Lure the Tiger out of the Mountains stratagem. It was the one that rescued the dragon.”

“But Xia Xun, how can you be sure the other people on the dragon’s back were the bank robbers?”

Xia Xun replied, “Jinrui Bank and this secret laboratory are both owned by Shuguang Technology. Besides, those people in black hoods had builds very similar to the robbers. I doubt I’m mistaken.”

“From what we know now, this group has been targeting Shuguang Technology because the company has been secretly conducting illegal artificial superpower user experiments.”

“So… they’re actually doing good deeds too???”

Faced with such a strange group, Xia Xun, Misaka Shirai, and Su Tang all thought of the same organization: ZERO.

ZERO was a bizarre organization made up of all sorts of oddballs.

Its members included just about anyone, even a Dark Realm Disaster.

To date, the Countermeasures Bureau had yet to successfully capture a single member of ZERO.

“Judging by their actions…” Xia Xun said, “Captain and I had already suspected this before.”

“Now that we’ve pooled our intelligence, we can finally say for certain that they’re with ZERO.”

Misaka Shirai agreed with Xia Xun’s assessment, and Su Tang thought the same. “ZERO really is an incomprehensible organization…”

At the same time, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“If this Super-Grade Disaster is a member of ZERO, then it isn’t as dangerous as we imagined.”

“Even so,” Xia Xun said through gritted teeth, “I still want to catch that bastard!”

“How dare it look down on me!”

“Starting today, I’m stepping up my training. I have to get stronger!”

“Next time we meet, I’ll teach it a lesson!”

The Super-Grade Disaster’s attack had done Xia Xun no actual harm, but the humiliation had been immense.

The Countermeasures Bureau leadership had classified ZERO’s members as terrorists of the new era, so there was nothing wrong with arresting them.

Su Tang said, “To prepare for emergencies like this, Dr. Vanessa from our District 1 will combine her expertise with my spatial ability to build a Teleportation Array. That will allow the Magical Girl forces from all three districts to join forces without delay.”

“You mean Dr. Vanessa Hozia?” Misaka Shirai asked. “Z City’s beautiful young genius doctor and District 1’s second ace?”

Without question, District 1’s top ace was Su Tang.

Su Tang nodded. “The Teleportation Array requires tremendous power to activate, but naturally, that won’t be a problem for the three of us. Some of the more powerful members of the Countermeasures Bureau’s superpower user ranks should also be able to use it.”

“With that, Z City’s three districts can essentially function as a unified offensive and defensive force.”

“Great,” Xia Xun said. “The next time that Super-Grade Disaster appears, all three of us will take it on. There’s no way we won’t catch it then!”

After compiling all their intelligence and dealing with the aftermath at the Shuguang Technology Secret Laboratory, Xia Xun remained busy until the early hours of the morning before finally dragging her exhausted body home.

Her home was cold and empty.

“I’m still far too weak…” Xia Xun collapsed onto the couch. “If I’m this weak, how am I supposed to protect Z City, let alone the person I love…?”

Feeling down, Xia Xun wanted to call the person she loved and ease her troubled heart.