Tokyo: My Superpower Refreshes Every Week

June 5th, Monday.

The alarm on the cell phone by the bed was silenced with a gentle swipe of a finger.

Aozawa stretched languidly, slowly opened his eyes, and new words floated in the air.

Superpower: Marked Detonation.

It sounded like a superpower related to destruction.

Aozawa threw off the covers and looked down. He found the pencil he had enlightened by his leg had transformed from Fujiko Mine into Fujiko Pork.

What in the world is this mess?

He picked it up with one hand; it weighed at least three kilograms. The once well-defined figure had now turned into an ungainly, tank-like form, and even its face had drastically changed.

The duration of his Power of Enlightening hadn't weakened, but its capacity had clearly diminished significantly.

It had gone from delicate to coarse.

Aozawa felt it was too ugly and quickly disengaged the Power of Enlightening, turning Fujiko Pork back into a pencil.

He didn't try to use the Marked Detonation ability on the pencil. The ability sounded destructive. If the blast was too loud, it would easily draw Chitose's attention from outside. Then, he'd have trouble explaining himself.

Aozawa took off his light pajamas and changed into the summer uniform of Brilliant High School. The white short-sleeved shirt paired with silver-gray trousers and a buckled black belt gave him a somewhat white-collar vibe.

He turned and walked outside.

"Good morning, Chitose."

In the living room, by the sofa, Morimoto Chiyoda was, as always, practicing advanced yoga.

The light purple yoga outfit tightly wrapped her body. Her waist bent into a bridge, her legs split and standing, forming a straight line with her waist.

She looked like a steaming hot crab, ready to be savored for its freshness.

Aozawa averted his gaze and quelled his restless heart. He went into the bathroom to brush his teeth, his mind already planning. On the way to school, I'll grab a stone and test the power of Marked Detonation.

After a hearty breakfast, Aozawa left Ayase Apartment and, as usual, ran to school.

The difference was that his eyes were constantly searching the ground for stones.

Normally, when I'm not paying attention, I always find them. But when I actually want to find a stone, it becomes difficult.

After running for a while, he finally spotted a broken stone on the ground. He hurriedly squatted down to pick it up and placed his other hand on the ground.

Aozawa used his Catalyst sensing ability to monitor the roads within a one-kilometer radius.

Scenes flashed in his mind; at this time, not many people were walking this way. Most office workers were heading towards Ayase Station.

Seeing that no one was around, Aozawa used the Marked Detonation ability.

His palm instantly became a bit warm, and a black, flower-like pattern appeared on the stone's surface.

What kind of flower is it? I'm not sure. My knowledge of flowers is limited to their names, and only a few at that—well-known ones like roses and lilies.

He thought for a moment, then dismissed the pattern, focusing on the slight connection established between himself and the stone.

This slight connection made him understand that he had the power to destroy the stone at any moment.

With a mental command from Aozawa, the pattern on the surface suddenly developed cracks, and a faint explosive light could be seen from within.

The next second, with a soft POP, the stone burst into ashes, which then visibly dissipated.

"Oh!"

A hint of excitement appeared on Aozawa's face.

The blast wasn't loud, but its power was significant.

There was no ash on his palm from the explosion; Marked Detonation had obliterated the stone without leaving even a speck of dust. It was completely annihilated.

If this is what happens to a stone, could a building be reduced to the same state? What about people?

The thought that by merely touching someone, he could obliterate them without leaving a single drop of blood in this world was chilling. He immediately realized how convenient Marked Detonation was for destroying evidence and how it could, to an extent, ease Chitose's workload. As long as it can't be proven that Dio did it, the case should be treated as a disappearance. It's tempting to try it out!

With these thoughts in his mind, Aozawa didn't hurry to find someone to test it on. He got up and continued running to school.

His daily exercise wasn't to surpass those gifted beyond ordinary people, such as Shinotori, Hojo, and Sunaga.

It was just to maintain and slowly enhance his current physical condition. Only if my body is strong can I ensure a powerful will and not become weak-minded. For example, I can reward myself, but such a reward must not be driven by a whim that suddenly appears in my mind. It has to be within the time I have set for myself. This would prove that I am rewarding myself, instead of passively sliding into an irredeemable abyss of degeneration. The difference might seem small, but it's actually an indication of a person's willpower. Those with lax willpower allow instincts to dominate their brains. Those with strong willpower overcome and command their instincts.

Running towards school, he decided to find an opportunity during lunchtime to test the Marked Detonation ability outside.

Bright morning light fell on the club building. Ayatsuki Ayaka stood outside, hands clutching a thermos, her mood extremely uneasy.

Kissing Aozawa on the forehead was indeed exhilarating. But upon reflection, how should I face Aozawa now? If Aozawa suddenly asks about what happened on Saturday, how should I respond?

Ayatsuki went through many thoughts and simulated many answers, but they all felt like dreamlike illusions. After waking up, when she tried to recall the details, she couldn't. This made her stand outside, forced to start reminiscing all over again.

Then, she realized that Saeko and the others might have been right after all.

At this moment, when I need to think hard, my mind is blank. I can't recall anything while staring at the sunlight on the ground.

Caught in this predicament, Aozawa stepped out of the club building.

"Good morning, Aozawa." Ayatsuki Ayaka managed to suppress her thoughts, deciding not to mention those things and see if she could muddle through.

Aozawa glanced at her. Her hands are clutching the thermos more tightly than usual, and the way she's swallowing saliva betrays her nervousness.

"Good morning, Iroha. Thanks for the vegetable juice." He smiled, not bringing up the events of Saturday night, and instead, chatted about other things as usual as they walked towards the academic buildings with Ayatsuki Ayaka.

She let out a sigh of relief.

「Kamiya High School.」

Inside the spacious Kendo Arena, over a hundred members of the Kendo club were sweating it out. Sunaga Takashi was there as well, unsurprisingly.

He stood alone in a corner, his gaze fixated ahead, then sweeping to his sides.

It was as if smoky tendrils were swirling around, solidifying into the outlines of three people armed with bamboo swords. They encircled him in a triangular formation, confronting each other, each searching for a fleeting gap.

At this critical moment, the door to the Kendo Arena opened.

Someone called out, "Is there a Mr. Sunaga here? I'd like to ask him about Ruriko Yokoo."

The mention of Ruriko's name distracted Sunaga Takashi. However, the imagined opponents in his mind didn't disappear; instead, they seized this opportunity to charge forward quickly.

Killing intent surged in a flash. Sunaga Takashi reacted, not evading. He stomped on the floor and moved closer to the enemy on his left, his bamboo sword seeming to transform into a real blade in that instant.

He struck the enemy on the left first. Then, pivoting on his right foot, his body turned, and the blade seamlessly cut from left to right, slicing through the throat of the enemy in the middle. Finally, he diagonally cleaved open the heart of the opponent on the right.

Blood spattered wildly.

The fierce momentum made the approaching teacher step back twice, his heart pounding wildly. He couldn't understand why but instinctively felt immense danger.

Sunaga Takashi lowered his stance and looked up. "What's the matter?"

"I wanted to ask, when you and Miss Yokoo parted ways last night, did she say where she was going?" The teacher patted his chest, thinking to himself, He's just a student; there's no need to be so scared.

Sunaga Takashi responded indifferently, "Ruriko said she was going back to the dormitory. Is there something wrong?"

"Haha, no, nothing at all." The teacher smiled.

Sunaga Takashi removed his face mask, his eyes sharp. "Teacher, has something happened to Ruriko?"

"Uh, well, she didn't come back all night yesterday, and she was absent from club activities this morning, so I wanted to ask around." The teacher replied, feeling intimidated by the student's aura. He then asked, "Do you know where Miss Yokoo likes to go?"

"I don't know." Sunaga Takashi couldn't answer the teacher's question.

It was only at this moment that he realized that even after so many years with Ruriko, he truly didn't understand her at all. He didn't know what she liked or where she went when she was upset. He only knew that she would always show up beside him after Sword Dao practice, chattering away, and then they would talk about Kendo club matters at other schools.

"I see. Maybe something came up suddenly." The teacher was troubled. Boarding schools like this dread students suddenly disappearing. The surveillance hasn't shown any anomalies. Reporting this rashly could damage the school's reputation.

"Mr. Sunaga, you needn't worry. Ruriko probably chatted with someone online and then sneaked out to meet them."

"Hmm."

Sunaga Takashi offered no rebuttal, the image of Public Security Section One flashing through his mind.

Logically, since Ruriko has always been on school grounds, she couldn't get involved in troubles outside. Not recently, not in the past month. The only possible involvement could be from yesterday when people from Public Security Section One came asking about Hazama. Did they abduct Ruriko? Unlikely. If they wanted to inquire about such matters, wouldn't kidnapping me be easier? What's the difference between me and Ruriko in this matter? It must be that Ruriko searched for Hazama's name online on her phone. I didn't. Could that be the reason?

Sunaga Takashi could not remain calm. She's been gone for a whole night. I don't know what Ruriko might have encountered. She appears brave, but she's actually timid, only daring to act bossy in front of me. She's afraid of the dark and thunderstorms. If she encountered delinquents on the street, she would hide behind me.

Sunaga Takashi asked the coach for leave, then took off his Kendo Armor and other protective gear, not bringing his bamboo sword.

In this situation, continuing to use a bamboo sword would be unwise.

He changed into his uniform, climbed a tree like a cat, then leaped from a branch. He cleared the nearly three-meter-high wall in a single jump, turning a somersault midair to lessen the impact of his landing.

His feet planted firmly on the ground. He stood up and headed towards a specific place.