As Satan Sen activated her ability, the dinosaur fossil in her hand transformed into a juvenile dinosaur that matched it.
It could be seen waving its short arms and claws, and after letting out a few angry roars, its body gradually began to collapse.
"Did you get it?!"
"Not only did we get the shot, but we also recorded it!"
The Researchers were excitedly discussing it among themselves; no matter how cutting-edge science and technology might be, that only applied to the [Future] level, while the various aspects of the [Past] could only be studied through slow, inferential methods like archaeology.
However, Satan Sen's ability broke this phenomenon. She could perform divination and projection using relics in her possession. The juvenile dinosaur just now was projected and recreated by her extracting the residual pheromones from the dinosaur fossil at the dinosaur level. In the archaeological world, this ability was enough to trigger a revolution.
"I am truly sorry; my ability can only maintain itself for such a short time, and because of that, I ended up breaking the precious fossil." Satan Sen said, bowing to apologize.
Seeing this, the Researcher hurriedly waved his hands to respond, indicating that Satan Sen need not worry about it. Although the time for the projected recreation was indeed very short, the information obtained in those few brief seconds far exceeded the value of the fossil itself.
After speaking, he turned and joined the discussion among the many Researchers. Satan Sen stood to the side, quietly watching this scene, while Chinatsu silently came to her side.
"Projected recreation... that's quite an impressive ability."
"I am very happy to be able to contribute to the archaeological world, but if I could, I would still prefer my ability to have combat applications; it's a bit of a pity~"
Satan Sen responded quietly to Chinatsu's inquiry, her appearance looking as if she were truly lamenting the fact that her ability lacked combat power.
Wanting to become the queen who reigns over Tokiwadai did not necessarily require possessing a powerful ability, but having a powerful ability capable of shocking others was certainly beneficial.
Uh, except for Mizukagami's weight-loss ability.
Listening to Satan Sen's eloquent talk, an ordinary person might have been fooled by the sense of protection and pity she displayed, but Chinatsu felt that this sense of protection was nothing compared to little Mikoto.
And besides...
"Your ability should actually have combat power, right?" Chinatsu spoke up suddenly without warning. Satan Sen, who had been displaying a pure smile, instantly stiffened, and cold sweat involuntarily gathered on her cheeks.
Whether it was the Research Institute or her friends, they only knew the most superficial form of her [Relic Projection]. She did not think that Chinatsu, whom she didn't know very well, could discern her deepest secrets, but reality seemed to be exactly that.
"Is this... what a [Gemstone] is?"
"No... this is [Intuition]."
Although that was the case, there wasn't a hint of uncertainty in Chinatsu's tone. Satan Sen did not believe that human intuition could be that powerful; even if it really was intuition, it must have been granted by the status of being a Gemstone.
Satan Sen bowed her head slightly; the glasses she wore were partially obscured by the reflection of the lights inside the Research Institute, and her entire aura underwent a slight change.
"Chinatsu, could you come outside with me for a moment?"
Satan Sen's low, deep tone was unlike her usual weak self. If any members of her faction were present, they would definitely be whispering about it, and Chinatsu naturally noticed this change, though she didn't really care.
"Sure~"
Chinatsu replied indifferently, then followed Satan Sen, who had turned and was walking toward the outside of the Research Institute. Compared to her, Chinatsu knew nothing about the internal structure of this Research Institute, such as where this corridor led.
Amidst the silence between the two, they passed through several turning corridors. Satan Sen brought Chinatsu to one of the few areas in the vast Research Institute that was not monitored by cameras and stopped moving.
"Hey~ Chinatsu, for you Espers, Tokiwadai is just a small stepping stone in your rise to power. Consider me owing you a favor; if something happens to Tokiwadai in the future, can you just not get involved?"
Satan Sen didn't turn around, still speaking to Chinatsu with her back turned; her tone was filled with seriousness and gravity, and even carried a hint of self-mockery.
Listening to Satan Sen's statement, Chinatsu indifferently raised a hand and waved it, smiling as she said: "I won't speak for myself, but little Mikoto is a very loyal child. She's been enrolled for a while now, and if something happened at Tokiwadai, she definitely wouldn't just sit by and watch~"
If this had happened before Mikoto enrolled, it would be one thing; if she had seen news about an incident at Tokiwadai, Mikoto would at most feel puzzled and complain to Chinatsu about it. But now that she was enrolled, Mikoto had already made many friends.
As an Esper, Mikoto wouldn't sit idly by, and as her older sister, Chinatsu would naturally walk the same path.
[An Unavoidable Obstacle]
Satan Sen, with her back to Chinatsu, couldn't help but part her lips, revealing her clenched teeth inside.
[Destroy Tokiwadai School]
This was her goal. For this purpose, she had made extensive preparations. She had thought everything would proceed according to her plans, but unexpectedly, three Level 5 Espers had enrolled within a single year.
Although she was well aware of the strength gap between Level 4 and Level 5, even so, she couldn't cleanly sever the seed of obsession in Satan Sen's heart.
"Really... can't you... pretend you didn't see it?"
Satan Sen asked once more, and for the last time, but the response she received was the same result. Chinatsu nodded indifferently, leaving no room for being persuaded.
"Fine... fine... if that's the case!"
Satan Sen changed the subject; she pulled a hand out of her pocket, holding the same remote control that Shokuhou Misaki used to activate Mental Out, and aimed it at Chinatsu.
[Relic Projection]
On the surface, this ability could only be used for archaeological research, using dinosaur fossils as a medium to project a phantom of the dinosaur's appearance while it was alive for an extremely short time. Although the ability was highly valuable, it had no combat capabilities.
But in reality, the scope of this ability was not limited to that. It could project dinosaurs by extracting residual pheromones from fossils, and it could also extract objects previously carried by Ability Users to extract residual pheromones from them, thereby projecting phantoms of the Ability Users for a short time.
She was currently a Level 4, and even for a Level 5, she could barely project a portion of their strength...
As Satan Sen activated her ability, she successfully extracted the portion of pheromones from within the remote control that had once belonged to Shokuhou Misaki and projected them into reality.
A blurry figure of Shokuhou Misaki appeared beside Satan Sen. Just like Satan Sen, who was aiming the remote at Chinatsu, the phantom Shokuhou also held the remote and pressed the button toward Chinatsu.
Ding!!!