The following morning, Saturday, at 9:50 AM.
Nene arrives at Reiji's apartment. As she enters, she makes herself at home, opening the refrigerator and pouring herself a glass of water.
Nene was cheerful and relaxed, her face always radiant; she wore a pastel yellow blouse with a heart design on the front and long sleeves that fell slightly off her shoulder, giving her a casual and comfortable look.
Reiji looks at her and sighs. Indeed, it was the fifth time he had seen her that day...
Earlier, around 6 AM, Reiji finally managed to earn the 100 action points necessary to purchase the ability: [Muscle Expansion - Brutal Enlargement].
So far, so good. However, the moment he used it, his muscles began to expand like Hulk from the movies, but his growth showed no signs of stopping and, unlike Bruce Banner, though he was at least twice as strong as ordinary humans, the result was:
As his muscles continued to expand beyond human limits, Reiji's skin began to stretch to the utmost, marked by prominent veins and a reddish hue due to extreme exertion. His eyes reflected panic and pain as he felt every muscle fiber tensing and growing, straining his joints and pressing against his bones. The internal pressure increased, causing an unbearable burning sensation throughout his body.
Breathing became difficult, each breath a titanic effort, as if he was being crushed under the weight of his own growth. He heard the subtle yet horrifying sound of tissues tearing, a symphony of micro muscle tears signaling the imminent danger of his condition. Fighting against dizziness and sharp pain, Reiji realized the folly of invoking forces that exceeded the human capacity to endure, each second of muscle expansion bringing him closer to the limit of his endurance.
His screams alarmed even the neighbors and the landlady, Nozomi Uehara. Emergency services were called, and they broke down his door.
In the end, Reiji struggled to click the save file, returning to one minute before using the ability, right after he had purchased it.
However, even after returning, the pain did not subside; he screamed and moaned in pain until he had to return several times, meeting Nene five times in the process. Yet, the agony of persistent pain in his soul was still there, forcing him to return again, until, for the first time, he stopped feeling pain, just a slight discomfort from the memories, but it was at a level he could endure.
'This ability is definitely a trap!' Just thinking about it made him angry. Certainly, he must seal this ability. At least for now, while he does not have a body strong enough to withstand the use of this uncontrollable ability.
Before Nene arrived, even without pain, he crouched in the corner of the room with his index finger "crushing" imaginary ants as he reflected on the many good things he could do with those points, instead of exchanging them for this ability he couldn't use anytime soon. 'If only I could control the percentage increase in muscle expansion, it would be a fantastic ability...' These were his most sincere thoughts.
However, he could not lament forever. After pulling himself together, Reiji clicked the option to exercise at home, then took a shower, and it was when he came out of the shower that Nene appeared.
Which brings us back to the moment when Nene finished her water and said, "Reiji-senpai, have you had your breakfast yet? No? Then, let me make something~"
Nene wore a pink apron with a heart in the middle that she had brought herself, and quickly got busy in the kitchen.
"Alright, I'll make something delicious~!" she murmured, hands clasped upwards, motivating herself in a way that conveyed a youthful and earnest energy.
Reiji smiled at her pose and speech. It was quite adorable.
"Huh?" Seeing his cell phone ring, Reiji picked it up and saw that it was a call from Kanade.
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Upon answering, he heard her say, "Reiji, can you come here quickly, something happened to my neighbor... I'm afraid that..."
"I'm on my way!" Reiji interrupted what she was about to say.
Then, he grabbed his coat and quickly told Nene, "I'm sorry, Nene-chan, something came up at Kanade's place and I need to go there."
Seeing that he seemed a bit anxious, Nene became worried: "Is she okay?"
"Yes, but well, I don't know the situation exactly, anyway, I'll explain it to you later, I'm heading there now!" Saying this, he quickly changed his shoes, then rushed out the door, and instead of going down the stairs, he jumped the railing to the first floor and started running.
Reiji had never run as fast as he was now, his speed reaching at least 60 km/h.
People who saw him pass by were stunned, almost dropping their jaws to the ground.
Kanade's house was about 3 kilometers away from his apartment.
///
[Nagata Residence]
Around a table, there was a boy in his late teens in his second year of high school (kōkō), 17 years old, and two other children, a boy in his first year of junior high school (chūgakkō) 12 years old, and a little girl in elementary school (shōgakkō), 10-11 years old.
Suddenly, the older boy with brown hair yelled angrily for no apparent reason as he slammed his hands down on the table: "Are you kidding me?"
The younger boy who was grabbed by the collar and forced to stand up by the teenager stammered, "I-I didn't mean that."
Without mercy, the brown-haired teenager smirked as he said with a face twisted in cruelty, "Then what did you mean by that?"
Standing up and looking at the boy with black hair, he clenched his right hand into a fist and shouted with conviction, "You're mocking me, right?"
The boy who received a punch said fearfully, "You're mistaken!"
Pulling a blue jump rope from his pocket, the teenager lunged at the younger boy.
The younger boy screamed, "What are you doing? Please stop!"
The teenager yelled, "Stay still!"
Meanwhile, the girl was trembling in her chair with her hands over her ears. Her fear was apparent from the way her body shook uncontrollably.
After successfully tying up the younger boy with the blue jump rope, slightly out of breath, the teenager stood up and looked towards the little girl trembling in her chair with her hands over her ears.
"Untie me!" shouted the boy with black hair: "Help me, please!"
"If you tell Asuka about this, I'll kill you!" With sweat dripping all over his face, the teenager said coldly.
The little girl finally reacted when she saw her older brother tied up, she exclaimed in an alarmed voice, "Big brother!"
As the teenager fixed his gaze on the little girl, he let out a strange chuckle, "Hehehehe~"
At that moment, the little girl panicked, standing up and letting her chair fall, she ran screaming, fearing the worst.
"Stop! Stop now!" The little boy with black hair screamed. He seemed to understand the teenager's intentions and went into complete panic, struggling with all his might, but he was unable to free himself, causing his fear and panic to increase along with his cries pleading for the teenager to stop.
The little girl ran upstairs with a look of panic, but suddenly, her foot was grabbed and she fell face-first on the stairs. Looking back, she saw the brown-haired teenager holding her foot.
"Do not try to fight me!" he exclaimed with a hint of joy in his voice. "If you do, I will get upset. And if you upset me, who knows what I'm capable of!"
In panic, the girl screamed and used all the strength in her body to kick with her free foot while yelling loudly, "Stop!!"
*POW!*
It seemed that luck had not completely abandoned her, because even without looking as she kicked back like a mule, she hit the teenager squarely in the face.
The moment the teenager screamed from the blow, drooling in the process and falling backwards, the little girl did not pause in her misfortune and continued to ascend the stairs with all her might.
However, the little girl stopped at the top of the stairs and looked back, only to see the teenager lying on the floor with blood flowing from his nose, but when the teenager opened his eyes, his expression was as terrifying as the devil reincarnated.
Seeing this, the little girl's panic only increased. When she reached the second floor, she opened the door to a bathroom used only for the most basic needs and, nearly locking it, the teenager caught up. However, she was quicker and managed to lock the door with the latch from the inside.
///
When he was close to Kanade's house, he saw her in front of a house. Even from a distance, he could hear the screams of a boy in early adolescence.
"Stop, please stop!!"
Reiji created a save at the location and approached Kanade.
"Reiji!!" Kanade threw herself into his arms. She appeared panicked, very frightened. Yet, she still stood in front of the house from which the sounds were echoing, a bit too brave for her own good.
"I'm here, I'm here." For now, Reiji didn't want to scold her for waiting outside her neighbor's house, now was not the time for that: "Tell me quickly, what's happening?"
"I'm not entirely sure either, but I think the two younger Nagata siblings might be alone with some burglar?" she said uncertainly.
Pushing her aside, Reiji quickly grabbed his smartphone and swiftly opened the live streaming feature on his account, naming the live stream "Are They Burglars?" He then handed the phone to Kanade as the stream went live and was simultaneously saved to the cloud. He said, "Follow me closely, I'm going to force entry, but since we don't know what we might find inside and I'm breaking into someone's house, I need this as evidence in case I have to prove my innocence."
"I-I understand." Kanade held the smartphone with her trembling hands but continued to film.
Reiji climbed the side stairs and tried to open the door, but as expected, it was locked.
Applying some force, the sound of cracking echoed, and he managed to break the door's lock to enter.
As soon as he entered, Kanade followed him recording.
"Ahhhhh, save me, Arina!!!" The scream of a boy grew louder as they entered.
Reiji and Kanade moved through the hallway, and there in the dining room, near the table, was the boy who was screaming while tied face down with his hands and feet bound behind him.
"Hey, are you Kanade-oneechan?" Seeing her and then seeing Reiji, who was even larger than his cousin who was chasing his little sister, the little boy, who must be no older than 13, shouted: "Please, save my little sister quickly, he's going to R*** her!! Please, please!!" He was crying heavily as he struggled, wanting to free himself.
"Don't worry, Akira-kun, my b... Reiji will help your little sister!" Kanade responded.
At the same time, from upstairs, the sound of fumbling with a latch and banging on a door followed, soon accompanied by the hateful voice of a young man saying, "Open it! Open the door! Why are you trying to fight this? If you let me do what I want, it will be over quickly! Open it now!"
Thumping, behind thumping of a hand on a door echoed as he repeated rhythmically: "Open it now...! Open it now...! Open this door!"