My Measurement: The Villain Desires a Satisfying Payback

Saburou's mind ran rampant with inner conflict.

To fight back or to not fight back―His current dilemma was not something so easy that it could be decided just like that.

Stretching her hand out towards him, Sophie began to warp the space in and around his limbs, the will of crushing him in a torrent of twisting space flourishing within her.

But nothing happened.

Whenever she tried, everywhere Sophie targeted would simply reverse, winding in the opposite direction, completely invalidating all of her attempts.

"...What d'ya think you're doin', huh?"

Her previous, scarily blank expression distorting, a look of raw exasperation formed on Sophie's face. "This is retribution... Why're ya resistin' all a sudden...?"

"..."

Saburou didn't reply, simply crawling away from her on the floor as he warily nullified each of her attacks with ease, soon rising back to his feet.

"Say somethin'!" She screamed, yet elicited no response. To no avail, she repeatedly tried to distort Saburou's space and body; to deform him, to bend him, to maim him.

Of course, none of it worked.

A simple wave of his hand being all it took, he counteracted her attacks and cancelled them like they were nothing.

With Sophie's long-desired wish to avenge her mother being halted at the final moment by the killer himself in front of her, it was understandable that her frustration was immeasurable.

Like this, neither of them would be able to win in a fight against the other.

The functions of both Proximate Spatial Ordinance and the Measurement of Space were too similar to have a feasible impact in a fight.  The former, which had been created using the latter as a base, was an inferior imitation of the Measurement in terms of ability range and potential, but the nature, power and versatility remained more or less equal between the two.

At the very least, they were both at a level that was enough to negate the other.

They both interacted and interfered with 'space'―with the fabric of the universe. That fact and the meaning behind it was still there, and that detail was what mattered.

Neither of their powers are able to affect the other person so long as they are aware it is coming.

Eventually, Saburou ended up beside his sister, Atsuko. Crouching down to her level, she wrapped her arm around his waist. Glancing at Tarou, still motionless a few metres away on the ground unconscious, he briefly bit his lips.

Then, moving his gaze to me, he finally opened his mouth to speak, albeit with some hesitation.

"...Truth."

Standing up with Atsuko holding onto him, he called for my attention.

Crackle-!

Riiii~p-!

As if commanding the wrath of God, an ear-shattering sound suddenly resounded, just like when he had first appeared, upon which the space behind the two cracked and tore a crevice in space, spreading like a streak of eerie lightning in the middle of the air.

I don't think I could ever get enough of that sight.

For some reason, it caused a peculiar feeling to bud within me, though I'm not quite sure what. Perhaps, something similar to deja vu?

I don't know what that feeling exactly was, but the unfamiliar familiarity made me increasingly uncomfortable.

"This isn't the last you'll see of me."

The air continued to fissure, and as it did, the thunderous noises also persisted. It was truly as if a hole was rupturing in the dimensional fabric itself, and honestly, that was probably along the lines of what was actually happening.

But, still...

"Mark my words. I will bring you back to the Playground―back where you belong."

Taking a single step backwards, the brother and sister entered the ominous black rift that had opened up. Staring at me as the cracks began to reseal and the whole thing then started to revert to its initial state, Saburou said one last thing.

"Also... Please, take care of my brother... He deserves a rest after all of this."

Leaving that final message, the pained expression on his face was the last thing I saw as the two vanished into what was seemingly the void.

"...So, why didn't you stop him just then?"

I almost immediately turned to Sophie and questioned her.

"...I, uh..."

"You are making this a whole lot more difficult than it needs to be, you know? He would have died already if you didn't needlessly interfere, and yet your selfishness of wanting to kill him yourself got in the way. Now take a look at what's happened."

"..."

"Normally, something like that might've been acceptable. Since it was your dearest wish, I would be willing to forego that, and I don't really care about claiming the finishing blow for myself, but more importantly than that, you let him get away when you could have stopped him. What's that all about, huh?"

She shut her mouth at my words, and the ensuing silence became awkward.

Turning away from her, I waved my hand as if to dismiss the issue.

"...Well, whatever. You did a good job coming when I messaged you. Since you seem so hung up about it, I'll just leave you to deal with Space. You should be the one to clean up the mess you created, anyway."

"Right..."

Sighing, I felt the fatigue of the eventful day about to catch up to me. I wanted to take a minute just to sit down, but I knew I couldn't; there were still some things I needed to do.

First of all, Tarou... Well, I'll just get Sophie to call an ambulance and leave it at that. I doubt they'll be able to do much about his arm being swallowed by the void, but it would besmirch my reputation as a 'friend' and 'classmate' to just leave him like that, so it's better than nothing.

Secondly, I should get home sooner rather than later; not only are the twins waiting, but I need to start preparing for a few things happening next month... No, because of this incident, the schedule may be subject to change, so I'll need to frequently check up on that in case of anything unexpected.

In any case, it should come as a welcome surprise to the viewers who have been waiting.

And then... I should do some investigating.

"Sophie. Get that guy an ambulance and you're free to go. If you need something, you can send me a message. You already have my number, but make sure you only use it when something's urgent."

I didn't care about listening to her unimportant blather, after all, so I emphasised that point explicitly.

Instructing her like so, I turned my gaze back to the spot where the two Fushigimi's "teleported" from, if you could even call it that, and then to the benighted sky that was even gloomier than previously.

"..."

As I stared with my neck craned upwards for a minute, I suddenly felt something touch my face. Wiping my cheek with my hand, I found it had wetted.

Rain.

Within a matter of minutes, the overcast sky became overridden by the countless droplets of water falling from the sky. Sophie was erasing the shower of rain before it even came into contact with her, and was thus completely dry, but I was pelted by it all and soon to be soaked.

Still, I quietly stood and looked at this dismal, drizzling sky.

...That tear in space.

That rift Saburou had created... I don't know why, but it bothered me.

Actually, that's a lie.

I knew why it bothered me; it bothered me because it felt familiar, and yet I had definitely never seen such a thing in my life. When he first appeared, I was too focused on the general situation to notice, but just now, it was different...

No, perhaps it wasn't the sight of it that was familiar, but rather the ominous, almost unreal 'feeling' I got from it, emanating like a kind of aura; that sounds more accurate.

But still, I don't recall ever experiencing something akin to that before, so... No. There is something. I don't remember it, but it could very well be true that I had experienced something of the sort before.

My escape from the Playground.

Upon reaching this realisation, I felt something click in my brain; as if two pieces of a puzzle fit neatly together. This was definitely it.

...I need to figure out what happened back then.

Why I can't remember it, why I locked these answers away and why I sealed the ability to find them out.

I was already curious about it up until this point, but now I'm feeling like something's up.

Unfortunately, Avon Laura didn't seem to know anything about it when I asked her a while ago, and now, Saburou also doesn't appear to have been told much about it; the only thing the two of them seem to know is that people died when I escaped, but aside from that...

The fact that the Wardens haven't informed either of them, who are Concepts, about the truth of the matter... Something didn't sit right with me there.

I fled the Playground at 8 years old; almost ten years ago now.

All I know is that several professors somehow died when it happened. Other than that, I have practically no information about it.

Well, now I'm speculating that there was something similar to Space's ability, or at least the impression it emitted, but that's really just a hypothesis. Still, there's an easy way to confirm the truth: Just ask.

Is that sinister and foreboding feeling I felt related to the incident of my escape from the Wardens' Playground?

Seeing the answer that appeared in front of me, I slowly nodded.

「This information has been sealed」

...I thought as much.