Chapter 47: Growing Desperate
Dust Explosion! The last of the Lone Rangers and also the latest member of the city’s pride... the Calamity Club.
Relax, Miles. In reality, there’s no such organization, and the top-tier psychics don’t gather monthly in underground bars. That was just a little metaphor to help you unwind.
(A burst of good-natured laughter.)
Back to the point. Dust Explosion is a newcomer among psychics, having made her name known two years ago. A laboratory at Verita Polytechnic University took an interest in her abilities, and the white coats prepared a contract to entice her. But that contract proved useless because those scientists never expected this rookie’s temper to be as explosive as her powers.
Dust Explosion single-handedly destroyed that laboratory and all its test subjects. If the authorities hadn’t intervened in time, she might have gone on a rampage and blown up the entire university.
This incident earned her the nickname Dust Explosion, and supposedly connected her with another group of white coats. You can already sense her personality, can’t you? Undoubtedly, she belongs among the most dangerous. Arrogant and lawless, she looks down on ordinary psychics like us, believing only the very elite are her true peers.
(Louder laughter.)
Hey guys! Don’t sabotage my explanation—I’m just introducing this to the junior here!
Yes, yes, she’s a newcomer... I know, I’ll get to it, don’t rush me...
Where were we? Oh right, she’s the new girl.
Listen carefully, Miles. For you and most people in this city, Dust Explosion is scarier than any other calamity. Because she arrived too late.
She only came to Sky City after the three major demon factions fought each other. Do you know what that means? She never experienced the city’s craziest times; she hasn’t even seen a hero with her own eyes. So naturally—this woman thinks she’s invincible, fearless, and blows up anyone she dislikes.
I think she’s the only calamity who attacks simply out of personal dislike. Deadly dangerous—stay far away.
Her look is striking: purple hair, baseball cap, white coat draped over her shoulders. As for her power...
Purple smoke that explodes.
Endless. Omnipresent. Relentless.
·
Miles ran through his senior’s advice in his mind and wasn’t surprised to find little useful information in it.
If given a choice, he would have long since fled far from the calamities’ battlefield... but unfortunately, he was already caught up in it. A middle schooler who couldn’t escape the vortex or influence the situation, he could only watch the fierce psychic battle as a spectator.
He pondered hard over both combatants’ performances since the fight began, murmuring, “How does that purple smoke appear?”
Kira found the question odd.
“Why ask? The purple smoke, like Gongsun Ce’s telekinesis, is generated automatically.”
“No, I saw it. Dust Explosion fires her gun every time before she attacks!”
Kira protested stubbornly.
“But she doesn’t fire when she moves by explosion!”
Miles was momentarily stumped. He recalled the pistol never seemed to actually shoot bullets... Was Dust Explosion’s gun merely a trick to confuse opponents? He couldn’t grasp the key point, his gaze toward the battlefield tinged with worry.
He watched closely: though the demon was dominating the fight, the upper hand was not guaranteed. Dust Explosion, so far, hadn’t sustained any injuries.
·
The middle schooler’s assessment wasn’t far off; Gongsun Ce’s actual condition was far worse than he appeared.
The white armor protected his body from being shattered by blasts, and the telekinesis attached to his exterior further enhanced his durability. Yet despite all this...
A psychic caught in an explosion at close range cannot completely block the shockwave.
To imagine Gongsun Ce’s current sensation, here’s a somewhat imperfect but vivid analogy:
Suppose a knight clad in invincible armor stands before a speeding train. The armor is so tough it remains intact after the collision. Thanks to the armor, the knight isn’t pulverized into mush—only thrown aside.
Thank heavens, not crushed to bits! But would the knight be unharmed after being thrown?
Probably not.
If the knight were just flesh and blood, he might have been pulverized inside the invincible armor, becoming a true “tin can.” And if he had a strong body, being thrown would still be extremely, extremely, extremely...
Painful.
The shockwave from a grenade blast and the impact of a heavy object moving at high speed are different phenomena. But Gongsun Ce, just blasted by the purple smoke, and the tin-can knight thrown by a train, might share a common experience.
“Looks like my little cleverness actually helped a bit.”
On the surface, the young man appeared calm and composed, but inside he thought:
—Ouch, ouch, ouch, this hurts so much.
Fortunately, he had improvised a helmet to cover his face; if Dust Explosion saw his expression now, it would be trouble.
Gongsun Ce originally planned to disperse the purple smoke, but the dust generated by Dust Explosion’s ability had a strange property: a powerful whirlwind blew through, yet the purple smoke only thickened. The scale of the explosions far exceeded his expectations, forcing him to resort to his white armor in desperation.
Upon seeing her opponent effortlessly nullify her offense, Dust Explosion responded with...
“BOOM!”
Explosion! Explosion! Explosion! This time, the purple-haired woman didn’t even bother to retort. Purple flashes flickered wildly as she fired in a near frenzy. If one blast wasn’t enough, she used ten; if ten failed, she unleashed a hundred purple explosions!
No psychic has unlimited stamina—not even the top calamities. As an energy-output type, Dust Explosion was confident in her endurance. She wanted to turn the fight into a pure energy consumption battle and crush the demon with overwhelming force!
The white silhouette was engulfed in the blast smoke. Dust Explosion flipped the brim of her baseball cap forward, feeling exhilarated.
“Hey, hey, hey. No sound? Could it be that the famous Mr. Demon can’t even deliver a witty line? Looks like your mutant telekinesis is just all talk!”
When the deafening blasts finally ceased, the purple smoke on the street was even thicker than before. How outrageous! This meant that when Dust Explosion pulled the trigger again, an even fiercer explosion would erupt!
“Hey, hey, hey. After all, I’m only wearing glasses, not a mask. Getting choked by smoke would be a real nuisance.”
The gray-haired young man purposely mocked her, frowning Dust Explosion. She twirled the white pistol in one hand, not rushing to shoot toward the voice.
“Besides, I’m not used to talking so much in situations like this. Doing nothing but venting anger by randomly striking and then smugly taunting—how should I put it...”
The youth shrugged amid the purple smoke.
“Looks just like a small fry.”
In an instant, Dust Explosion pulled the trigger, and a second round of purple blasts erupted. The swirling smoke was blasted open into a clear path, with a white figure running through it.
She laughed proudly. The demon’s temperament was indeed impatient; the fight had barely begun, and the man was already charging in for close combat. She shot downward and launched herself into the air with explosive force!
The ground beneath the purple-haired woman was swallowed by a flash, and Dust Explosion’s sharp laughter echoed from above.
“Too impatient, demon!”
“Impatient? Who’s impatient? Me? Or you?”
The cool voice sounded behind her, plunging Dust Explosion into despair! When the light vanished, the truth beneath was revealed: the “human shape” running through the smoke was only a shell made of white material!
In normal combat, such a crude substitute would never fool an enemy... but Dust Explosion’s large-scale explosions also obscured her own vision. Relying only on glimpses through the smoke, she couldn’t discern the figure’s true nature!
At this moment, Dust Explosion had no strength left to speak. Purple smoke suddenly erupted behind her, followed by a blinding flash—the real Dust Explosion shot through the air using her purple explosions!
“Why no reply? That means you’re the impatient one. Rare to see someone even more irritable than me.”
Dust Explosion’s reaction was too slow; Gongsun Ce had already launched his attack. She barely broke free from the telekinetic grip, but the invisible spear and white giant fist still slammed toward her. She struggled in midair, purple smoke rising again, explosions regenerating!
[Center Guard Here]
Boom! Boom! Boom! Using the blast winds, Dust Explosion changed direction three times in midair, finally landing atop a high school building. Agile and quick-witted, she escaped the battlefield with only her right arm pierced.
...Or did she?
Just look at Dust Explosion now. The purple-haired woman clutched her right arm, face darkened. Something that should have been in her hand was nowhere to be found!
Gongsun Ce stood at the rooftop edge, holding a white object—Dust Explosion’s pistol, seized during his sudden assault.
He flaunted his right hand, spinning the pistol repeatedly as if to provoke his opponent.
“So, Miss Dust Explosion,” he aimed the gun at her, “what do you think will happen if I pull this trigger?”
Dust Explosion shrugged, revealing a shameless smile.
“Try it and find out. Maybe you can shoot purple explosions too, or maybe the gun will just blow up in your face?”
“This kind of vague multiple-choice question is hard to deal with. What should I do...”
Gongsun Ce toyed with the gun but didn’t attack.
“I’m in trouble—I’ve never fired a gun before.”
Dust Explosion narrowed her eyes, readying herself.
“Show a bit of veteran courage and try it for the first time.”
“Forget it. Guns really aren’t for me. I’d rather—”
Suddenly, the white pistol in Gongsun Ce’s hand shattered with a screech. Telekinesis crushed it into a heap of scrap metal!
“I’ll beat you with my fists, like always!”
Dust Explosion smiled brightly, pointing a finger at the gray-haired youth.
Though there should have been nothing beside him, purple smoke suddenly wrapped around him without warning!
“BOOM.”
In an instant, Gongsun Ce’s true body was swallowed by an explosion!