When you got down to it, a "Railgun" was just a method of propelling a projectile. You could do it with electromagnetic force, or you could do it with psychokinesis. And psychokinetic power was unbelievably fast.
Kobayashi had tested it himself. Pure psychokinesis was an extension of his own will. A single thought, and the power manifested instantly, with almost zero perceptible delay. In a sense, it was a thoroughly "idealist" ability that ignored the laws of the physical world.
From a practical perspective, psychokinesis was still a type of "force." Without a load to carry, the concept of "speed" didn't even exist for the power itself.
In theory, as long as he had enough distance to accelerate a projectile, Kobayashi could launch something at speeds approaching the limit of light using nothing but his mind.
Currently, his operational range is only fifty meters. But if the projectile was small enough, that was more than enough distance to achieve extreme acceleration.
A tiny steel ball, less than a centimeter in diameter, was the perfect choice.
Kobayashi used his psychokinesis to lay down a fifty-meter "barrel" for acceleration, aiming it directly at the reinforced doors of the research facility.
Then, he fired a Psychokinetic Acceleration Shot!
Within that mere fifty-meter span, the acceleration was violent. The tiny steel ball reached a terrifying Mach 30 the moment it left the "muzzle." By then, it was essentially a molten streak of metal.
Boom! The reinforced door didn't just break; it exploded.
Kobayashi didn't have any professional equipment or ballistic experience, so he had no way of knowing the exact power level of his "Psychokinetic Cannon." All he could do was push the projectile to its absolute limits to maximize the destructive effect.
A second steel ball was already hovering in standby. The mental strain was considerable, but if he gritted his teeth, he could maintain a firing rate similar to a handgun.
I can probably manage about ten more shots. That would be more than enough to handle a door.
To his surprise, the first shot had been plenty; it had blown a half-meter hole straight through the reinforced plating.
Using the hole as leverage, Kobayashi used his psychokinesis to pry the rest of the door open like a piece of scrap metal.
"That shot was amazing!" Torahachi Toumi exclaimed. "That power...It's like an anti-tank missile!"
Kobayashi did a quick mental calculation based on the thickness of the door's armor. Her estimate was actually pretty close.
"Anyway, let's get inside," he said, driving his wheelchair forward. "That noise probably just alerted everyone in the building."
Tōumi's expression turned serious. She licked her lips, a spark of excitement in her eyes. "Time to fight!"
Kobayashi moved ahead, giving her a warning. "The enemies have guns. Stay behind me; I can handle bullets."
Tōumi raised an eyebrow, but remembering their previous encounter with the armed guards in Black Moon Technology's underground training facility, she didn't argue. She lowered her body, hiding herself completely behind the wheelchair.
Kobayashi took a deep breath and entered the facility.
Inside, the scene was pure chaos. Researchers loyal to Torahachi Toumi were clashing with those intent on killing her, dragging the armed security guards into the mess as well. Conflicting orders had created a total breakdown in command; in some places, guards were even firing on each other.
Some were searching the facility for escaping test subjects at that single point; at least, both sides were still aligned.
Meanwhile, the Koga ninja, Tsuzuri Tessou, was secretly sabotaging the guards from the shadows, stirring up fights and assassinating key targets, efficiently thinning out the enemy's numbers.
In the midst of all this madness, no one even noticed the two intruders.
Growing bored after a few moments of tension, Tōumi deactivated her ability. "What's going on? There's basically no one to fight... how boring."
Kobayashi pulled out his phone, hesitating whether or not to call Ega Kawaraisu.
The sprawling facility had become a chaotic battlefield. Finding a few girls in this turmoil was no easy task. However, he couldn't risk the noise;e he didn't know what Ega Kawaraisu's current situation was.
"Are these people crazy?" Tōumi muttered. "It looks like they're just killing each other!"
"There's probably a reason for it," Kobayashi said. "Let's move toward the heaviest gunfire. We'll find something there."
Tōumi nodded. Just then, the roar of an explosion echoed from above.
"Hand grenades. One floor up." Tōumi's eyes narrowed. "Damn, they really turned this place into a warzone, didn't they?"
Kobayashi wondered how they had even gained access to that kind of weaponry.
They moved toward the source of the blast, but found nothing but wreckage.
The explosion seemed to have jolted the brawling researchers out of their frenzy. A tense, eerie silence fell over the facility, an unsettling calm that felt even worse than the noise.
"Be careful," Kobayashi warned, alert to the strange stillness.
"I know." Tōumi's eyes narrowed as she activated her senses, scanning their surroundings.
Rat-a-tat-tat...
In the middle of the quiet, the sharp sound of gunfire rang out.
Kobayashi looked up. "Up there!"
The shots were clearly being directed at fleeing children.
The gunfire acted like a beacon, drawing not only Kobayashi and Tōumi but also the remaining security personnel toward it.
Finally, in a long corridor, Kobayashi confronted a group of armed guards for the first time.
The enemies raised their guns reflexively, but Kobayashi acted first. He pulled a storage box off the wall and sent ten steel balls flying with a series of piercing whistles.
The guards collapsed under the impact, their bullets flying wildly into the walls.
Closing the distance, Kobayashi seized one of the guards with his psychokinesis, using the body itself as a blunt weapon to smash the others aside.
A few seconds later, he had cleared the group and continued.
Rounding a corner, they ran into several researchers in lab coats leading another squad of armed guards.
With the experience from the previous fight fresh in his mind, Kobayashi fired another dozen steel balls, eliminating the threat with clinical efficiency.
They pressed forward, never pausing for a second...
(End of Chapter)
Special Thanks to:
• Sapnil
• Kratos2015
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