My Measurement: The Villain Desires a Satisfying Payback

The reason Sophie Asanami didn't contact me until now was because she wasn't sure if I really was who she thought I was.

'Can "Oscar Itou", presumably the Concept of Truth, help me defeat the Concept of Space?'

Her information wasn't solid enough to form a definitive answer to that question, and if she wasn't at least half sure about that, then she didn't even want to consider taking the risk of someone unrelated to the matter being privy to such unnecessary information.

There was also a chance that Saburou himself could find out she was coming for him, after all, and if that fact comes around to make itself known to Professor Kazuki Asanami, which it inevitably would, then her plan would be shut down in a miserable failure at that exact moment.

That's why she waited and, fortunately for her, an opportunity eventually presented itself.

That was, the train station kidnapping event.

Sophie already knew that I was being targeted by another organisation, and thus my own confirmation of the attack when I returned to school consolidated her information about me enough to the point where she thought it adequate to confront me directly.

Of course, just because she thought she had figured me out didn't mean that the impetuousness and carelessness she exhibited in front of me was justifiable.

She might have used the excuse of 'well, all he can do is know stuff, so there's no harm in it'.

Needless to say, such a misconception about me was fatal.

My power may be limited to 'just knowing stuff', but even that alone is enough in the right hands, you know?

Further than that, she most likely thought in the back of her mind that, if anything I did were to threaten her at all, then she could just use her Supernatural Ability to escape or beat me.

However, it is far more difficult than one might think to use a power locked away by one's own subconscious.

Even if you think to yourself 'I am ready', that does not mean you are actually ready, does it? The process of readying yourself mentally is a more arduous challenge than you might expect. Fortunately, however, when it comes to such things...

There are generally ways to accelerate that process.

"Sophie Asanami. That determination of yours..."

That is why.

"―Let's test it, shall we?"

Show me your mettle, Sophie Asanami.

"...!?"

With a single, forceful push, she was no longer in my arms. Carried by the wind, she stayed on my level for a brief moment as her body suddenly lowered, her eyes barely meeting my own for a split-second.

You know what to do, Sophie.

You know the only thing you can do to survive this.

So, show me that you are capable.

A four-storey drop onto concrete isn't something 'absolutely' guaranteed to end your life, but it certainly isn't something you would want to experience the aftermath of. Of course, depending on which area of your body you land on, the fatality will vary.

In this case, however, death was certain.

Due to Sophie's 'unfortunate' position in the air, her back was facing the ground; that was definitely not a part of your body you wanted to land on under any circumstance. Even if it wasn't the case and she could position herself properly, the chances of survival are slim.

Nonetheless, there is an easy way for her to get out unscathed. The only way.

Looking down from the roof of the building, I watched Sophie's body drop as though in slow motion; her hand outstretched towards me and reflective tears pooled at the corners of her eyes.

Dramatically, she fell.

She became aware that she was falling.

She wanted to be saved.

However, I can't do anything to save you now, you know? Only you can do something like that.

Well, even if I could, it's hard to say whether or not I would. The purpose of this is for her own development, after all.

In a flash, Sophie approached the hard ground at a quickly ramping pace, all the memories and experiences of her life appearing like a film before her eyes.

My expectancy peaked alongside my anticipation.

If I blinked now, I thought, I would miss the crucial moment of her death or survival.

So, I kept my eyes peeled.

And then―

Sophie's eyes turned strange. Widened and in a state of shock, but surprisingly not as a result of her impending doom.

The air around her distorted strangely, followed by the rapid decrease of the rate at which her body was falling, as if time was slowing for her and her only. Bizarre and unusual, her image seemed both far away and close at the same time, as if being seen from both ends of a magnifying glass.

That space surrounding her seemed to refract light in an even more peculiar way; I could see all sides of her body with but a glance, appearing as if each side of her was facing me simultaneously.

Of course, I knew that I was only seeing one side of her in reality, and her distance from me had not in fact changed at all, but the sheer intrigue of this almost magical illusion piqued my curiosity.

Proximate Spatial Ordinance.

Sophie Asanami was using her Supernatural Ability.

Before I realised it, 2 seconds had passed, but her body had not hit the ground. Even after 3, 4, or 5 seconds passed, she continued to hover motionlessly, just inches above the cold concrete below.

Gazing upon her miserable face from up here, I could spot a myriad of emotions mixed into her expression―the primary three being fear, relief and confusion. Covering the top half of her face with her arm, she gradually floated the short remainder of the way down and continued to lie on the floor, breathless.

She was alive.

I didn't have to put my ear against her chest to know that her heartbeat was beating far more mightily than even previously, and I didn't have to listen to her repeated heaving and wheezing to know that she was panting as if the air had been forcefully sucked from her lungs, desperately gasping for breath and clutching her chest.

Initially, I thought that I may have taken things a bit too quickly, but everything turned out well in the end, so it didn't matter.

Perhaps it would have been a better idea to give it some more time until this moment, but she passed nevertheless. Next time, I'll give it some more thought.

Well, I don't even know if there will be an opportunity like 'next time', but just in case.

Seeing her safely lower herself and obscure her face from the world with her arm drenched in sweat, I nodded and took something from my pocket. Holding my hand out over the edge of the roof, I unfolded my fist and dropped the item.

Then, I casually left the roof and began making my way home, leaving Sophie to rest as much as she liked on the cold, possibly refreshing concrete outside.

Today was quite the eventful day, I thought... And yet, it wasn't over.

Furthermore, it was still Monday―I had only endured the first day and was tired, but the whole rest of the week was waiting for me like a tiger in the bushes... Perhaps, Monday isn't quite what I first thought it to be... What a tough beast.

In any case, one of the short-term objectives has been completed: Unlock Sophie Asanami's ability to use her Supernatural Ability.

I say that like it was something impressive or that took hard work, but it was an objective I only created at the moment she asked for my assistance.

Even if someone has a power they refuse to use for whatever reason, it isn't hard to meet the conditions for them to use that power. More precisely, I suppose it would be changing the conditions entirely rather than fulfilling them.

You see, the usage of hidden or dormant power primarily revolved around survival instinct and emotions. Adrenaline is one such thing, able to result in feats of unimaginable proportions if the conditions are right.

Haven't you seen those scenes of people showing strength they normally would never be able to wield in any normal circumstance, such as a mother lifting a car off her trapped child?

In Sophie Asanami's case, she was subconsciously restricting the usage of her own Supernatural Ability due to the trauma of what happened to her mother; the daughter's power having been based on that which killed her mother.

Because of that, it isn't at all surprising that Sophie has formed a natural correlation between 'her power' and 'death of her mother'. Deep down, she may even feel that something terrible will happen if she uses it.

Therefore, Proximate Spatial Ordinance had naturally become something forbidden for her to use.

It didn't matter whether or not she was 'okay' with using that power consciously or not―because, subconsciously, she wasn't okay with it.

Although, the story was bound to change when it came to a matter of life or death.

Being pushed to such extremes where your immediate choice will determine your death or survival in a sudden situation, there were limited things a person could do. It wasn't easy nor most of the time even possible to think straight in such a situation, so all one could do was rely on instinct.

It was good that Sophie Asanami's character was one that wanted to live.

If her survival instinct didn't take over at the final moment, she would have perished then and there, and that would be all there was to it.

If she froze, unable to move, she would have died.

If she was too scared to use her Supernatural Ability, she would have died.

If she didn't have a single thought of surviving in her mind, she would have died.

But, she lived.

Ignoring all the opposing odds, that was the outcome, and at the end of the day, that was all there was to it. The fact that she lived was all that mattered.

From now on, the limits and self-imposed restraints on the use of her Supernatural Ability are gone, or at the very least, majorly loosened.

Moving on from that, the matter of Saburou, the Concept of Space, is of slightly more concern.

It's not worthy of my immediate worry since they, the Wardens, don't seem to be plotting anything for the moment, but I never know when that might change.

There are ways for them to hide their plans from me anyway, though not worth the hassle most of the time.

Still, I need to make preparations for the eventuality. To that end, figuring out what the reality of the situation is and understanding it prior to the time they are about to make a move, is vital.

...Tarou Fushigimi. Saburou.

I will uncover the connection between these two.