Chapter 5: Spoils

  Tegikara forcefully pried open the container door of the transport vehicle.

  "Ha, there we go."

  When he easily opened the door, the scene inside made Mudoji Rin furrow her brow.

  "...You really don't know how to hold back, do you?"

  Inside the container, everything had been flipped upside down, as a result of the vehicle being turned over. Three cases were visible, all of them stuck to what was now the "ceiling."

  "Ceiling? Why?"

  The cases should normally have been fixed to the floor. But now, the place where the floor used to be had become the ceiling...

  "The whole transport... was flipped over?"

  My brain couldn't seem to accept the situation, but the scene in front of me didn't allow for any other explanation.

  "Impossible, this can't be happening!"

  A trembling voice escaped me. This transport vehicle was the size of a medium truck, weighing nearly 8 tons. To flip it over as if it were a toy car—!

  Cold sweat ran down my spine. Something was here—a presence beyond our imagination, here in this place.

  "What the hell is going on?"

  The sound of metal tearing echoed. The container was gradually, but surely, being torn apart by a human hand.

  "Matsumoto! What are you doing, just standing there?!"

  Seigawa's voice snapped me back to my senses.

  "Use it!"

  I finally realized what Seigawa meant. I needed to unlock my power using the CA device. Until now, I'd been stunned by the situation, but now I knew that action was what had been missing.

  —"ROCK ON!"

  —"ROCK ON!"

  We slid the CA devices simultaneously, activating them.

  "Tiger Eye!"

  "Emerald!"

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  Seigawa and I unlocked our respective stones and activated our abilities.

  "Matsumoto! The wall!"

  Seigawa's voice urged me into action. Although we had unlocked our abilities, there was no room to fight inside such a cramped container. We had to get out!

  I smashed through the container wall with my Emerald gauntlets, clearing a path to the outside.

  "Let's go!"

  Seigawa leaped out first, and I followed, bursting out of the container.

  What stood before us was a massive man who appeared to be the one responsible for flipping the truck.

  His presence exuded an overwhelming force. Although we couldn't see what Adept Stone he wielded, his power felt unlike anything I had encountered before in previous missions.

  "Well... you thought you'd be done this easily?"

  The man grinned leisurely, speaking in a casual tone. His demeanor suggested he saw us as nothing more than playthings.

  Seigawa and I exchanged a silent glance, confirming our intentions wordlessly.

  We would take him down together—this was the moment to put our training to the test.

  "Matsumoto, you can use the Emerald's ability, right?"

  Seigawa's question made me realize what I needed to do. Yes, in this situation, my Emerald's future vision ability would be crucial.

  With this ability, I could see 2 seconds to 5 seconds into the future at best.

  But during combat, 2 seconds was my limit. Still, that was more than enough to predict his movements and find a small opening.

  I activated my future vision and saw it.

  I saw his giant fist aiming at me.

  "Damn it...!"

  I ducked just in time, but the shock from his punch crashing into the ground sent me flying.

  "What? I thought I hit you—no way, this won't work!"

  Tegikara's roar hit my ears.

  I stood up, activating my future vision again, but his movements were incredibly fast, and I couldn't keep up.

  While I was distracted, Seigawa's fist collided with Tegikara's jaw.

  A sharp sound echoed.

  It wasn't the sound of bones breaking, but more like the sound of iron being struck.

  "—!"

  Tegikara's head jerked back slightly, and a red line of blood dripped from his mouth.

  "...I see, so you can put up a fight after all."

  Tegikara wiped his mouth lightly and laughed, clearly enjoying the pain rather than being deterred by it.

  "What the hell... his body is as hard as metal!"

  Seigawa muttered, but at that moment, the man grabbed Seigawa's arm and threw him into the air.

  "Matsumoto, run—!"

  Seigawa's shout was cut off.

  Just as I had seen in my future vision, Seigawa crashed to the ground, unmoving.

  "Damn it...!"

  I tried to see the next future, but my vision went black, and I couldn't see the future anymore.

  "It's over, kid."

  The man's fist came crashing down on me.

  As my consciousness faded, a low voice echoed in my ears.

  "Something was off... the motion, the presence... I thought I erased it all..."

  The voice of the massive man—Tegikara.

  "Could it be... you’ve enhanced your intuition or have precognition ability... well, it wasn't a bad ability. But the user... not so much."

  With a dismissive voice, they turned their backs.

  Left behind was only a feeling of helplessness and me, slowly losing consciousness.

  "You all, including these guys, tie up everyone in the transport! Don't forget the CA devices and Adept Stones!"

  The man's voice echoed as his subordinates began moving hurriedly. Each of them grabbed ropes and tools, starting to bind the guards.

  "Well then, time to meet the treasure."

  The man cracked his neck and grinned confidently.

  "Rin. You know what to do, right?"

  The woman beside him gave a faint smile and nodded.

  "Of course. The results of the work we did together will be shared by all. That's the rule of 'Happy Mine,' right?"

  Her voice was calm and steady, but there was an undercurrent of enjoyment in it.

  "Alright. Let’s go."

  Without turning around, the man slowly walked toward the container.

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