If one were to speak of candidates for reaching Level 6, the obvious choice would be that man—the strongest esper standing at the apex of Academy City.
But Izumi wasn't particularly interested in walking a path that had already been paved.
Instead—
He preferred to create something from nothing.
Leaning back slightly, Izumi closed his eyes, letting countless figures from this world flash through his mind like data streams scrolling across a screen.
Then, abruptly—
He stopped.
A single girl surfaced from that sea of information.
Takitsubo Rikou.
A member of the Dark Side group ITEM.
A girl with latent Level 5 potential.
"…Found you."
Izumi's lips curled upward.
Her ability—AIM Stalker—was absurdly powerful.
By perceiving and interacting with the AIM Diffusion Fields, she could interfere with the very foundation of esper abilities—Personal Reality.
Enhance it.
Suppress it.
Rewrite it.
Even redistribute abilities between individuals.
In extreme cases… she could even enable something akin to multi-skill usage.
In Academy City, such a power stood dangerously close to the top.
"…How did I forget about her until now?"
Muttering to himself, Izumi immediately pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
The line connected almost instantly.
"—Izumi-kun. What can I do for you?"
The voice of Aleister Crowley came through, calm as ever.
Despite the existence of the city's omnipresent surveillance network, Izumi had already completely blocked off everything within his facility.
Even Aleister couldn't peek inside.
Izumi didn't bother with pleasantries.
"I want ITEM."
A pause.
Then—
"Send them to me."
A beat passed.
"Understood."
The call ended just like that.
No hesitation. No negotiation.
The Order Is Given
Far away, within the shadows of Academy City—
A message was delivered.
A simple command:
Report to Izumi immediately.
...
Meanwhile — ITEM's Base
The atmosphere was tense.
A phone slammed violently against the table.
"Are they kidding me!?"
The one who had thrown it—Mugino Shizuri—looked furious.
"They think we're disposable?! Just tossing us around like trash?!"
Across from her, Takitsubo Rikou and Kinuhata Saiai exchanged uncertain glances.
Orders from above were absolute.
They had no right to refuse.
At that moment—
The door burst open.
"Tadaima~!"
A cheerful voice rang out as Frenda Seivelun stepped in, humming happily.
She blinked when she saw the heavy atmosphere.
"Huh? What's going on? Why's everyone gathered like this?"
Mugino's gaze snapped toward her.
"Frenda."
Her voice was low.
"What about that job you took?"
"The one investigating that research facility."
"…What did you find?"
Frenda froze for a second.
Then, without thinking too much about it, she shrugged.
"I dropped the mission."
A beat.
"But I got something way better instead!"
She puffed out her chest proudly.
"I learned magic—nanoyo!"
"…And now I'm not useless in combat anymore!"
She grinned, spinning lightly on her heel.
"Oh, and get this—just by mentioning it, that guy said he'd take in all of ITEM."
"That means you guys can learn it too!"
"Super good deal, right~?"
"..."
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Mugino's face slowly darkened.
"…I see."
Her voice dropped into something dangerous.
"So this is all your fault."
Frenda blinked.
"…Eh?"
"Get over here."
"Wait—"
"DIE!"
A flash of emerald light erupted.
A beam shot straight toward Frenda's legs.
"W-WAIT A SECOND!!"
Frenda shrieked, panic exploding across her face.
Her precious legs—absolutely untouchable territory!
Without thinking, she activated the device on her wrist—
A CAD.
Magic formula deployed.
A burst of force propelled her backward.
WHOOSH—
The beam struck the ground where she had been standing just moments ago.
Mugino raised an eyebrow.
"…So that's it."
Her gaze sharpened.
"The thing you got from that lab."
"What exactly is that?"
On the side, Takitsubo narrowed her eyes, focusing.
"…There's no AIM Diffusion Field."
Her voice was quiet, analytical.
"It feels similar… but it's not the same."
Her gaze shifted to Frenda's wrist.
"The power came from that device."
"…Not from her."
Kinuhata's expression turned serious as well.
"…So it's not an esper ability?"
Frenda placed her hands on her hips, beaming with pride.
"Hehe~"
Satisfied with their shock, she lifted her chin.
"This is what I brought back."
"Modern Magic.**"
"And trust me—"
"You guys are gonna love it."
Her smile widened.
After all—
This was only the beginning.