Side Character Who Became the Pseudo-Protagonist

Chapter 22: [Principle Sight]

"Shit..."

The girl suddenly clicked her tongue and slammed something underneath the table. And out of nowhere, a sudden light flashed.

[Push]

THUD—!

The spell fired, but when I regained my vision, the chair in front of me was already empty. I rushed to the door, only to hear a heavy mechanical lock slide into place from the other side.

’She triggered the emergency lockdown?!’

Gas came out of the air conditioner slowly filled the room, so heavy that I could physically see it.

’Shit...a sleep gas?! How the hell is she so prepared?!’

I covered my mouth and nose immediately, looking for possible exits.

The door was a no-go as it was made from reinforced metal, and I doubt I could force it open.

So there was only one way out: through the window.

But the problem was that we were on the third floor, and jumping out of the window and onto the ground below didn’t sound too good.

Though, it was much more preferable than getting a lung full of gas, so I thew my body right through that window regardless.

CRASH—!

Glass broke as I barreled right through, managing to land safely onto the floor and rolling off most of the impact.

Every day I made sure to thank the gods that Operators were superhumans, or else I definitely would’ve had a broken leg.

Scanning around, I managed to catch a bit of her blonde hair fleeing toward the direction of the student dorms.

’Don’t tell me...is she going after Colette because I said she wasn’t going to show up?!’

I ran after her, pulling up my terminal and dialing someone I knew would be in the area.

"Aidan! You at home right now?!"

"What? Don’t bother me in the middle of my workout."

"Get your ass up! A blonde Astaron girl in a white blazer is heading toward the student dorms from Compassion Tower."

"I need you to stop her at all costs!"

"...How important is it?"

"Very! So hurry up!"

I arrived at the student villas after a minute or two of sprinting. And by the time I got there, Aidan had already pinned one of her sleeves against the wall with his sword in a nearby alleyway.

’Nice going...!’

But she didn’t give up so easily. Her free hand slipped into her blazer, pulling out a slim Wand-type Spell Driver and aiming it in the air.

[Ice Rain]

Icicles manifested above us, hovering there like loaded cannons ready to be let loose at any time.

But before they could be set off, I aimed at each one, already prepared to cast my own countermeasure.

[Firebolt] x3

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Explosions went off against the icicles, breaking them apart and rendering the attack useless.

Yet when our spells collided, I could tell that she was also at a similar level to me. So obviously not some kind of trained spy.

"Why are you helping White Noise?!"

"Because I have no other choice!"

"Look! We can help you out! Stop resisting and cooperate—"

"When have you people ever helped us? You take and you take, but you never give back!"

"What? How does that—"

But before I could finish my sentence, her hand moved into her pocket, pulling out a small white sphere.

"Aidan!"

[Repulse]

Another sword flew at her, pinning her remaining arm against the wall and causing her to drop the sphere.

But even if it was on the ground, she was still able slam her heel into the thing. Suddenly, a cloud of white smoke filled the alleyway we were in.

’Damn it...I can’t see a thing!"

This thing wasn’t normal smoke, that’s for sure. Normal smoke was supposed to rise, but this one stayed in place.

But that was when I realized that the sphere wasn’t a smokebomb, but a one-time Cartridge that was preloaded with the [Smoke Cloud] Spell.

"Urghh, I can’t lose her now. Not when she’s the only lead..."

I tried to pry open my eyes and look through the smoke for any traces of a shadow or some movement, but the effort was futile.

Was I really going to lose her here? After all that?

Then, for some reason, Lohan’s words had resurfaced in my mind unprompted.

"Everything in the world has some kind of set instructions. Figure it out."

If so, this smoke as well.

She can’t possibly have thrown it down without a purpose. How would she escape if she also couldn’t see inside it?

That’s when something in my brain clicked. Thin lines appeared in between the haze, a gap—no, like a path that was made specifically for someone to escape.

[Visual Processing Pathway has recognized a Dormant Perception Synapse]

[Principle Sight — Tier 2 Perception Enhancement Type]

Suddenly, an outline of blue stood out from the white that was covering the entire space. My eyes burned like hell, but I could see her.

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 1 Offensive Ignition Type—]

[Firebolt]

I aimed at the blue outline, and pulled the trigger.

An explosion detonated right next to her, causing the figure I saw to fall over. Something detached from their belt, an outline that looked suspiciously like a lanyard.

But before I could approach, another outline flew into the cloud that wasn’t Aidan, hooking their arm under hers and flying her upward.

"No—!"

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Innate Structural Disruption Type—]

But I cancelled the spell, because by the time [Overload] would come out...both figures were already long gone.

"Damn it..."

The smoke began to thin before fading away completely, no longer obstructing our vision.

Aidan, who had apparently ran into a wall during the smoke, quickly collected himself and approached the lanyard on the ground.

"A student ID...?"

I sighed, putting the gun back into its holster.

"Let me see that real quick."

Aidan handed me the small card, already typing something on his student terminal. "Seems like she’s a real enrolled student at our Academy?"

"Well, I already knew that. What’s more important are her motives."

I turned the card over, finally managing to catch her name.

"What are you hiding—"

"Tina Valentine?"