Perhaps the Hero Association's training room hadn't received as much funding as the House of Evolution's laboratory, or maybe Tatsumaki's attack was simply leagues more powerful than Carnage Kabuto's. Either way, Alice's body effortlessly smashed a massive crater into the training room wall.
Her body, which hadn't felt a hint of numbness even after being battered countless times by Carnage Kabuto, actually throbbed with pain from that single impact.
Though the sensation vanished as quickly as it came—feeling like nothing more than a funny bone bumped against a school desk—it was still more than enough to prove the terrifying sheer force of the assault.
Shaking her head to clear the cobwebs, Alice finally pushed herself up from the floor.
She didn't look injured at all; her clothes were merely a bit disheveled from the high-speed impact.
"Why did you suddenly attack Alice?!"
Coming to her senses, the young girl looked at the expressionless Tatsumaki with a mix of shock and grievance.
"For a machine, you look surprisingly well-made." Tatsumaki could easily see the confusion and hurt written all over the girl's face.
To her, however, this was nothing but an illusion woven from cold steel and lines of code.
"I'll put it simply. That pathetic little club you're hanging around with is something my sister put together. I am her older sister, Tornado of Terror, Rank 2 of the S-Class. All you need to know is that after today, you are to stay far away from her."
She delivered her demands and warnings as though they were absolute law.
"I can't exactly turn you into scrap metal right here, but I'll track down your creator and teach them a proper lesson. Do you understand?"
"Alice does not understand!"
Yet, the young girl didn't simply comply with her demands. Instead, her face hardened into a serious expression.
"Staying with Fubuki and everyone else was Alice's choice, and it was Fubuki and everyone else's choice too. Even if you are Fubuki's sister, you can't just ignore her choices!"
"Huh?"
The veins on Tatsumaki's forehead bulged, shattering her cold facade. Her eyes widened slightly as she radiated sharp, venomous hostility.
"If it didn't sink in the first time, let me say it again. I refuse to tolerate a suspicious piece of junk with no clear origin or purpose loitering around Fubuki every single day."
If this machine had been some weak little trinket, Tatsumaki might have let it slide. She could have tolerated Fubuki keeping it around as another prop for her little game of playing hero.
But this robot was clearly far stronger than her sister. If its creator had sent it to Fubuki's side with some ulterior motive, using her sister as a hostage at a critical moment to blackmail her, things would get incredibly messy.
Tatsumaki would never allow such an unpredictable hazard to endanger her sister.
"...Alice is not a suspicious person!"
"..."
The air fell completely silent. Neither side had any intention of backing down from their convictions.
Tatsumaki felt like she had just been wasting her breath; how could a robot bound by its creator's programming ever listen to reason?
A robot that blindly followed orders was nothing but a defective piece of junk, wasn't it?
But this did make things a bit troublesome... No matter how you looked at it, this machine was an S-Class hero who had done her fair share of decent work.
Dropping the hammer on her without a shred of evidence...
No... If she waited until there was evidence, it would already be too late.
You can't just wish for someone to swoop in and save you when danger strikes. Tatsumaki knew she would always fly to Fubuki's rescue, but as acutely aware as she was of her own strength, she knew exactly how fragile her little sister was.
If real danger struck, could Fubuki even hold out until she arrived?
At that thought, a flicker of madness flared in Tatsumaki's eyes.
Alice caught that subtle shift with perfect precision. Dropping into a defensive stance, she spoke up, "Alice does not want to fight you. Alice does not want to hurt you, and Alice does not want to be hurt by you!"
"What's this? Do machine brains beg for mercy too?" Tatsumaki sneered.
"Alice just doesn't want Fubuki to be sad!"
"...!"
The contemptuous smirk vanished instantly, swallowed by a wave of pure fury.
Hovering in mid-air, cloaked in a faint green aura, the green-haired girl erupted. "Ha?! Who do you think you are to say something like that?! What right do you have?!"
"I am Alice!"
"Who asked for your name?!"
The tempest of emotions churning in her chest was impossible to suppress. Burning with a desperate need to vent, Tatsumaki snapped and pointed a sharp finger directly at the black-haired girl on the ground.
"I might as well just scrap you and send you back to the factory! You stupid machine, you can't even understand plain English!"
"Hold on!!"
The explosive tension was suddenly cut short by a voice both of them knew intimately, forcing their gazes toward the entrance of the training room.
Standing at the door was a trembling, overly cautious middle-aged man, and right beside him stood a woman clad in a plush coat and a dark green dress.
It was Fubuki.
"What are you doing here?" The words caught in Tatsumaki's throat, leaving her with an incredibly stifling, suffocating feeling.
Frowning, she stared at Fubuki before a realization dawned on her, and she shot a freezing glare at the middle-aged staff member.
The man didn't dare utter a word, ducking his head to make himself as invisible as possible.
"Is there a problem with me being here? After all, you're about to lay a hand on my subordinate." Fubuki had rushed over the second she received the call. Worried a car wouldn't be fast enough, she had directly channeled the power of the Sephira Crystal.
This desperate dash had finally shown her just how fast she could go when pushing her limits. It had taken a mere three minutes to cross over a hundred kilometers, easily shattering the sound barrier.
However, the sheer exhaustion that came with it was nothing to scoff at...
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Fubuki spoke as she walked directly between Alice and Tatsumaki.
Looking at the massive crater carved into the training room wall, she knew instantly that her older sister had crossed the line with Alice yet again.
It had always been like this, from childhood until now. Everyone who ever got close to her would inevitably end up hurt by her sister.
But this time was different!
Feeling the residual power of the Sephira Crystal humming inside her, even if that girl in the pointed hat had claimed it was only a half-finished prototype, the sheer strength it provided gave Fubuki an intoxicating sense of omnipotence—as if she could achieve absolutely anything.
Though Fubuki rationally knew it was just an illusion born of newfound power, it still gave her something she desperately needed.
The backbone to look her sister in the eye and say "no."
"I won't let you hurt Alice."
The tall, elegant Fubuki stepped forward, completely shielding Alice behind her.
Though she had to look up at her hovering sister, the aura and resolve radiating from her were stronger and more genuine than they had ever been before.
This stance cut Tatsumaki straight to the quick.
The very person she was trying to protect was stepping in front of the threat, telling her to stop, and even looking ready to fight her?
What a ridiculous joke. The person standing in her shoes right now had to look like a complete and utter clown, right?
Except that person was her!
Tatsumaki ground her teeth so hard they nearly shattered. How could a nightmare scenario she had never even conceptualized manifest into reality?
"You...! How long are you going to keep playing these childish clique games?! Do you even know where this machine came from? Do you have any idea what she actually..."
"I know."
"If you don't know, then—wait, what?"
'You know?'
How could you possibly know something even the Hero Association hasn't managed to dig up?
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL