Chapter 124: Psychokinesis (Third Bonus Chapter for the Guild Leader)

Just minutes before the Prime Minister declared the state of emergency.

Inside the Yokosuka Naval Base.

John, who had just returned by helicopter and was stationed at the base, stood inside the monitoring station, his brow tightly furrowed as he stared at the radar screen.

The target displayed was only a few dozen nautical miles from Yokosuka Naval Base, already inside Tokyo Bay.

And it was moving with such boldness, completely unhidden.

If this were a warship from any country other than America, John would have no hesitation in ordering a full-scale attack. But this particular target...

After all, it was not only an American warship but the "Lambry," the vessel carrying that "extraordinary potential individual" and the "extraordinary artifact" scheduled to be delivered to a laboratory in Nevada!

Why was it returning?

Why was it turning back?

Every line of doubt was etched deeply across John's face.

Without looking away from the radar display, he asked the technician beside him.

"Still no response?"

"Yes," the technician replied, equally puzzled. "We've been sending communication signals to the Southbury for over ten minutes now, but they haven't replied."

John's hooked nose lifted sharply, his eyes flickering with suspicion. He made a decisive downward gesture with his hand—

"Contact them again, and tell them that if the Southbury continues to ignore us, we'll dispatch warships to intercept and will not rule out using force."

The technician complied.

Minutes later, the "Lambry" finally responded.

"...Hello?"

A voice carrying a faint, bitter smile came through the channel.

Upon hearing it, John squinted, feeling a twinge of surprise.

"...Fangs? Is that you?"

"Colonel John..." Fangs paused—a moment John could easily imagine him shrugging during.

"The Southbury suffered an accident and needs to return to port for repairs. We've been dealing with some matters and can only communicate with you now."

"Oh? What kind of accident? Can you be specific?"

John's voice was thick with suspicion.

"Uh... the kind you can imagine—typhoons, tsunamis, that sort of thing... Colonel John, I can give you a detailed report once we dock. Please allow us to return for maintenance as soon as possible."

"Oh~"

John deliberately dragged out the tone.

"Fangs, besides you, is there anyone else who can report back? Like the chief technician?"

"You mean Kalevit? He passed out during the incident."

"What about the logistics officer?"

"Hans has injured his vocal cords."

"And Lieutenant Colonel Darcy?"

"Uh... he's dead..."

"Regardless of rank, besides you, is there anyone else who can respond?"

John's patience was wearing thin.

Yet, the bitterness in Fangs’ voice only deepened.

"Well... Colonel John, these requests are difficult. We're in a tough spot right now. Can other matters wait until after we return to port?"

The suspicion in John's eyes sharpened until a razor edge.

"Listen, Fangs... what about that 'extraordinary potential individual' and the 'extraordinary artifact'? What's their status?"

Fangs answered in a feigned casual tone:

"No problems. The recent accident didn’t affect them."

"Is that so..."

John’s gaze turned colder.

He was now certain something had happened onboard, something involving that "extraordinary potential individual."

But what exactly?

Could it be that another country secretly seized the cruiser, took control of the vessel, and abducted the girl and the pendant?

Only three nations on Earth were capable of such an operation.

And none would allow the warship to return.

So...

As John hesitated, he thought it best to send warships to block the Southbury and announce an inspection boarding.

But at that moment, a hoarse, desperate voice burst through the communication channel.

"Mission failed! The girl became an extraordinary being and took over here! We cannot let her return. She must be eliminated, or else—"

It was Lieutenant Colonel Darcy’s voice!

But right after that sentence, as if dragged away, the signal was lost.

Cold sweat broke out all over John.

The channel returned to Fangs’ voice:

"Colonel John, um..."

John immediately cut the communication, his expression darkening as if encountering a plague.

He glanced at the technicians around him, their eyes wide with terror, and took a deep breath.

"...It seems sacrifices will have to be made."

...

Aboard the "Lambry."

Manami Mizuhara stood rigidly in the control room, looking at the man who had been resecured before her, her expression stiff.

She hadn’t expected that, despite having fully bound him and taped his mouth, the man could secretly break free of his bonds and send a warning to the American command at such a critical moment.

"You..."

She wanted to say something but found herself speechless.

Lieutenant Colonel Darcy met her gaze with a rock-hard expression.

"...See? This is the price of sparing an enemy. You are destined to stand against America, so I will do everything to deal with you."

"...I still will not kill you. Not yet, at least."

Manami averted her eyes, but her voice was resolute.

"...I will not walk the same path as my senior sister."

She whispered this quietly in her heart.

Darcy sneered, as if about to retort, but then Fangs suddenly cried out in alarm.

"OH, shit!!!"

Manami immediately looked toward him.

"What happened?"

Fangs appeared distraught, terror filling his eyes as he stared at Manami.

"...Fuck, the 'Lambry’s' monitoring system shows that those bastards at Yokosuka have launched four Tomahawk missiles, suspected to be equipped with miniature nuclear warheads!!"

In an instant, not only Stephanie but the other bound soldiers all stopped breathing.

"He—"

Stephanie shouted in fury.

"Ahhh—they want us to perish together!!"

Even the other officers and soldiers onboard, though gagged and unable to speak, turned their furious, shocked gazes toward Lieutenant Colonel Darcy.

Yet he remained unmoved, his expression as composed as ever, seemingly unaffected by the news.

"Nuclear-armed Tomahawk missiles?"

Manami's face remained calm.

"Can we dodge them?"

Fangs looked at her bitterly and shook his head.

"...The missiles will arrive in under a hundred seconds. Our ship’s course is fixed; there’s no way to avoid them."

Hearing this, everyone's breathing grew more rapid.

Manami glanced around; the others’ faces were blank, unable to fully grasp the impending missile strike.

...To be honest, she was not afraid.

Because in a hundred seconds, if she ran with all her might, she could put tens of kilometers between herself and the ship, reaching distant waters and escaping the blast radius.

But if she did that...

She wouldn’t be able to bring her parents’ bodies back ashore.

...And

...she couldn’t save these people’s lives.

She looked into their eyes—eyes brimming with the desire to live.

...It was somewhat laughable.

...These were the very people who had killed her parents.

...Yet she still wanted to save them.

"I have always believed that supernatural beings exist to make this world more wondrous and mysterious, not to take lives."

"So... I cannot bear to kill, nor even see death."

"Therefore... I want my senior sister to know that there is more than one path to salvation... I want to pull her back from that 'wrong path.'"

A strange feeling subtly blossomed in her mind.

It was a possibility rooted deep within her soul.

In that moment, a fierce resolve to save others took root and blossomed within Manami’s being, awakening powerfully.

She stepped forward, passed Fangs, and stood before the monitoring screen, eyes closed as she observed the missile trajectories.

"No...

...there is still hope. As long as we live, there is hope."

Manami’s whispered voice was faint but seemed to echo through everyone aboard, compelling them to look up involuntarily—even those outside the control room, across the hallway and walls, glanced toward her direction.

Simultaneously, Manami felt her perception rise in a strange way.

Her invisible thoughts transformed into tangible force, her mind becoming limbs in the void, soaring upward to meet the incoming "unwelcome guests."

The first missile approached.

Her "limb" swept along the missile’s path, using the most energy-efficient method to divert it at an angle, sending it thousands of meters out to sea.

The second and third missiles followed.

The "limb" repeated the maneuver, redirecting them farther away.

The fourth missile came—but there was no room left for redirection.

So the "limb" explored along the missile’s edge, entering it and triggering the detonation mechanism high in the sky, thousands of meters from the cruiser.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Four explosions erupted in succession!

Though massive tidal waves surged, a giant fireball blossomed in the air, and the entire "Lambry" trembled violently, all signals cut off instantly—

But in the end, the ship remained stable.

Manami reopened her eyes.

Exhausted beyond measure, yet filled with a joyous sense of rebirth.

"It’s alright."

She looked at those around her—Fangs, Stephanie, and the others—who gazed at her as if she were a deity, their eyes aflame with ecstatic disbelief.

Manami forced a weak smile.

"—I have taken care of it."

With a wave of her hand, the invisible "limbs" released the bindings and tape from the crew and soldiers.

They rose from the floor, exchanging glances, wanting to act but hesitating, until finally, joy overcame them, and the entire ship shook with fervent cheers.

"Ohhhh!"

"Miss Manami—"

Fangs looked at her with eyes nearly brimming with tears.

"—Even if you want to overthrow America and turn it into an empire, I will follow you to the death—just make Ohio the new capital, because that’s my hometown..."

Manami shook her head, turned away, and staggered past Fangs’ mad ramblings, leaving them behind.

At the edge of the sea of cheers, she stood before the only man still bound, without a hint of psychological burden or self-doubt this time.

"...See? There are ways to achieve goals without killing others. I don’t know about others... but I will always fight to help people."

Manami said calmly to Lieutenant Colonel Darcy, her eyes filled with unwavering resolve.

Darcy stared at her, unmoving.

Yet he neither panicked nor showed remorse.

On the contrary, his face was blank, utterly indifferent.

"Manami, your determination—I feel it.

"...This power must be telekinesis, right?"

Manami suddenly found his expression and tone oddly familiar.

Then, in the next second, she recalled whose face bore that expression, whose words she had heard spoken in such a way.

And in an instant,

A great shadow of despair crept into her heart.

That was the color of hopelessness.

All her doubts were resolved.

The many mysteries surrounding "Lieutenant Colonel Darcy" were finally revealed.

Darcy rose from the floor.

Though bound, his body flowed like liquid, slipping through the ropes.

As Manami came to her senses, she realized she was surrounded by a chilling crimson hue.

Her consciousness blurred, her body weakened.

"So it was you, senior sister..."

She asked mournfully.

"It has always been me, Manami—from the very start."

Mio Ito answered gently.

"Congratulations, Manami. You have not disappointed my expectations.

"...Now, you have finally grown into the sweetest 'fruit,' just like your name."

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Two new patrons have joined—thanks to “Masked Weakling” and “Watglthhml” for their support. Today, one patron receives an extra three chapters totaling 8,000 words, with another patron’s bonus chapters scheduled within this week.

(End of chapter)