"Hahaha!!!"
"It's a success! Such powerful strength! Is this the power of a Level One Esper? No, I feel like I'm nowhere near my limit!"
The Scarred Man felt the power surging within him like a wild tide, flowing recklessly. He was instantly ignited like explosives, laughing toward the sky in excitement. His laughter boomed like thunder, carrying endless ecstasy.
This was the purpose of the ritual: to gain unimaginable power by sacrificing lives! After that long wait, he had finally obtained the dream-like power he desired as he wished. Now, he felt as if the entire world would tremble beneath his feet.
"Hmm, the experimental results are a bit worse than imagined. His strength can probably only barely be considered Special Grade."
The Man in Black, standing to the side, faced this powerful aura and couldn't help but take a few steps back. However, he did not feel afraid; he simply checked the experimental results calmly.
This scene made the Scarred Man very annoyed. 'In the face of my mountain-like power, this guy actually looks down on me so much.'
So, he deliberately controlled his psionic energy to surge toward the man's body. At this, the Man in Black was instantly thrown into a pathetic state. His knees weakened uncontrollably, and he hit the ground heavily on one knee as if struck by a heavy hammer. However, his body beneath the cloak did not seem to fear because of this.
"Does your Black Tiger Society intend to go back on its word?" The Man in Black's tone seemed cold, but the Scarred Man could subtly hear the wariness within it.
This fear was very gratifying to him. This was the satisfaction brought by great strength! That being said, he wasn't prepared to completely fall out with them yet.
"How could that be? I'm just not quite used to it after just obtaining this power." The Scarred Man answered composedly while beginning to withdraw his rampaging psionic energy.
As the former withdrew his pressure, the Man in Black barely managed to stand up. He looked at the Scarred Man with burning eyes, seemingly wanting to say something. The Scarred Man naturally noticed this and said with a smile on his face.
"Sigh, you won't misunderstand me because of this, will you? This is the first time I've possessed such great strength; you can't blame me for not being able to control it well for a moment."
Seeing the Scarred Man shut him down directly, the Man in Black didn't bother to dwell on it further. The Scarred Man only gave a kind smile, even though he could easily kill the other party now. But they would have no more dealings in the future, so it was better not to break off the relationship now.
But just then, a voice suddenly broke the atmosphere.
"Oh my, what a pity. I thought I'd get to see a wonderful and ridiculous dog-eat-dog show~"
The two were instantly startled, their gazes searching for the speaker. Soon, they discovered that an extra person had appeared on the rooftop at some point.
"Who are you?"
Before them was a little girl in strange red clothing. Neither of them had noticed when the other party appeared, and for a moment, they were somewhat uncertain. But in the next second, the Scarred Man seemed to suddenly discover something and instead revealed a mocking expression.
"Hmph, I thought it was some expert, but it's just a brat without any Supernatural Ability. No wonder I didn't notice you."
When an Ability User's rank reaches Level Three, even if they aren't a Mental-type, they can perceive the existence of Supernatural Abilities to a certain extent. Although the Scarred Man, who had just improved his strength, was unskilled, he clearly discovered that the girl in front of him had no Supernatural Ability at all. This made him, who was already incredibly arrogant after gaining power, suddenly become reckless.
Sparkle seemed completely unaware of the two men's undisguisedly curious, greedy, and filthy gazes. She said to herself.
"Hello! How are you all? My name is Sparkle..."
However, halfway through her self-introduction, Sparkle's expression suddenly became dull, and her eyes became hollow. Her whole person was like a puppet. To this, the Scarred Man said disdainfully, "Hmph, probably just a lucky survivor who happened to be fortunate."
"So it really was just a bluff."
It turned out that all of this was the Man in Black using his own Supernatural Ability to control Sparkle. Now the Scarred Man was completely fearless.
The Scarred Man unhesitatingly reached out.
Bang!
However, the reality was completely different from what he expected. His outstretched palm was actually pierced through by a bullet.
"Oh dear, although I am indeed very cute, Sparkle doesn't like being touched by trash like you~"
A familiar voice rang out from the side. The Man in Black was surprised to find another identical Sparkle had popped up at some point, holding a beautiful revolver in her hand. And the Sparkle he was controlling still stood there with a dull expression.
"Is this a clone?"
Before the Man in Black could figure it out, the Scarred Man, feeling the burning pain in his palm, was completely enraged. Such an injury was no big deal to him, but this blatant insult was hard for him to accept. He activated his Supernatural Ability without hesitation.
The Scarred Man's body expanded rapidly at a visible rate. Layers of thick, coarse hair instantly sprouted on his skin, as if covered by a layer of black armor. His teeth gradually became sharp and keen during the transformation, like daggers flashing with cold light. In the blink of an eye, a werewolf over two meters tall appeared before everyone, with that prominent and hideous scar still on his face.
This was his Supernatural Ability: the ability to freely switch into a werewolf form, releasing endless wildness and power.
"Little girl, I'll give you a chance to live—kneel!" The Scarred Man's threat was undisguised, his words filled with the confidence of a superior. The aura he emitted just by transforming now was not something the past could compare to. In terms of strength, he was confident he could be ranked in the entire Dragon Country!
Just as he thought the girl would kneel and beg for mercy on the spot...
"Whoa! A transformation? Although it's very ugly, it's quite interesting."
The latter did not do as he expected. Sparkle was sizing him up curiously, as if observing a rare item. This series of contemptuous gazes made him extremely dissatisfied. 'I am now a Special Grade Esper, yet I'm being looked down upon by this kind of little girl?'
"Hmph, even if you are an Ability User, you won't escape the fate of being completely crushed by me."
With that, the Scarred Man's claws sliced through the air like lightning, accurately slashing toward Sparkle's waist. With a crisp "crack," Sparkle's body was instantly torn into two pieces. Bright red blood gushed out like a fountain, splashing into a crimson sea of flowers under the moonlight. The ground was instantly stained a shocking dark red.
Only, before he could be excited for long...
"Sigh, as expected, a beast is just a beast. Simple-minded and all brawn—this is really boring."
The familiar voice and the familiar Sparkle appeared in their sight again. Seeing this, the Scarred Man's face was filled with confusion. 'The feeling just now was very real, not at all like an illusion. This girl...'
His expression turned fierce, prepared to tear her apart again.
"That's why I said you're simple-minded; you actually still don't believe it?" Another Sparkle walked out from the other side.
But it didn't end there.
"Right, right, especially since Lord Sparkle is so honest." A fifth Sparkle appeared. Following closely were countless Sparkles, completely flooding the entire rooftop.
"Come, come, come! Count and see exactly how many Sparkles there are!"
Now even the Man in Black couldn't sit still. As a Mental-type Esper, he had actually been unable to see through the clues of this little girl's Supernatural Ability until now. He couldn't even perceive her Supernatural Ability at all.
The two stared in utter terror at the crowd of Sparkles before them. One of the Sparkles took the initiative to come before the two of them, a pair of beautiful cherry blossom eyes staring fixedly at them. A wicked smile curled at the corners of her mouth, making one feel a bone-chilling shiver.
"Hey, hey! Why don't you guess... who is the real Sparkle?"