Genesis returned to Yuto's house. Concerned, he asked:

— Genesis, your trip took longer than I expected... Did something happen?

Genesis forced a smile. She didn't want to worry him, so she said:

— Sorry, Ishikawa-san, I couldn't fulfill the mission you gave me. I lost my shopping bag when I ran into some troublemakers.

— That's the least of it, those groceries were worthless compared to your life! Did you get hurt?

Genesis was surprised. He seemed to care about her even though they had met that day. She responded:

— N-No… I called Exwind to help me, so everything went well…

— Exwind? If the battle was of his level, you were badly hurt. You could have called me, I would have beaten them up.

Genesis felt more comfortable. Even her master had never shown her such affection.

Exwind had been the first person to care so much about her. But he had known her for years, and Yuto less than a day.

She chuckled, saying:

— I knew you were trustworthy, Ishikawa-san.

— You can call me Yuto. I'm your friend, aren't I?

— Are you sure? Thank you so much, Yuto!

In the morning of the next day, Yuto woke up to an incessant ringing. He thought it was Genesis again, but she was sleeping at his house.

He went to the door, irritated again. He opened it and got a surprise: it was Ria. He didn't know what she was doing in his house, so he asked:

— Ria? What are you doing here-

Before he could finish the sentence, Ria entered the house. Outraged, Yuto rebuked her:

— What are you doing, Ria? You should ask for permission before entering other people's homes.

— Is there anyone else here?

— You ignored what I just said. Haji and Genesis are sleeping in their rooms.

— Genesis? What is she doing here?

— What? Do you know her?

— Unfortunately. She used to visit Exwind when she was a maid of the association. Why is she here?

— I don't know for sure either. She said she is watching me because of her master Wisedroid.

— Wisedroid, for real? I knew he was up to something. I came here precisely to discuss this. Come with me.

Ria pulled Yuto's arm and led him out of the house.

— Where are you taking me?

— Just shut up and follow me.

Yuto was forcibly pulled to a building far away from where his house was, but within the city. Ria pressed him against the wall, saying:

— You know I do not trust you, but we have the same interests: taking down the association, right?

— Y-Yes…

— You would have to start by defeating all the level 7's. And the most difficult one to defeat alone is the seventh of them, Wisedroid. And that's where you come in.

— Wait, you want me to defeat him?

— Are you serious? If I can't do it myself, you don't stand a chance. I just want your help.

— My help? I thought you didn't trust me...

— That's why I hate the idea. But I have no choice.

— How about we discuss it in a more appropriate place?

Ria and Yuto went to a bar inside that building to talk. They sat on the benches, but asked only for water. Yuto started the conversation:

— What is the plan?

— I can't tell you all the details, because you would spoil everything.

— I think you're underestimating me…

— This one time, I'm not insulting you. Wisedroid's power predicts your thoughts. If you think about this conversation we're having right now anytime near him, he'll read your mind.

— So his power is to read minds?

— Not exactly, but that's a part of it. He wouldn't reach the level 7 with a simple power like that. He can predict everything that happens within a radius of more than 7 kilometers around him in up to 7 seconds.

— Damn, doesn't that make him invincible?

— Not really, he has a weakness. That's why we're so far away from him right now, his power does not reach us here.

— So you want to use his reach to your advantage?

— Yes. Since I have the most powerful carbine in the world, I can shoot tens of kilometers away with precision.

— Are you sure you can hit someone that far?

— Do not underestimate me, I train my aim every day.

— Alright, and what do I need to do?

— Just fight him with everything you have.

— What? Are you sure? We're going to end up destroying the city like this.

— No problem. The more you can distract him, the better.

— I don't think destruction is the best kind of distraction…

— That's everything I can tell you about the plan. And don't forget that he's the most advanced android in the world. In addition to being extremely intelligent, he is very strong.

— I'll try to remember that.

— Actually, do not. If you remember this conversation, the plan goes down the drain. Think as little as possible while fighting.

— Easier said than done…

— Not really. Your airhead is way less capable than you think.

Ria gave a little punch in his head. She stood up, as if to leave. Without turning to Yuto, she gave one more warning:

— Level 7 is the biggest problem. But there are other very strong people who can attack you someday. Catherine, the Prime Minister of France; Elizabeth III, from England; Juma, from Kenya… You might come across one of them, so be careful.

Ria waved with her hand, facing away from Yuto. For someone who didn't trust him, she seemed to care more than she should, and Yuto liked that concern.

— If you showed your positive thoughts more than the others...

Yuto returned home. It was almost noon, Genesis and Haji were already awake. Yuto, confused, asked:

— Genesis, now that I stop to think about it: do you need to sleep?

— Yes, yes! This helps me save the data I've collected throughout the day, and replenishes my much-needed energy! My master Wisedroid-sama thought of everything when he created me!

Yuto thought about Ria's plan. His role was only to distract the seventh hero, not kill him. But he didn't know what his reaction would be against the danger of death. He might really need to use everything he had.

But there was no point in thinking about that now. When Ria was ready for the plan, she would let him know. What he needed most now was to relax. Getting nervous just before the decisive battle would arouse suspicion, even more so for someone who can read anyone's future of mind.

— Genesis, Haji, what do you think about going to the mall?

Genesis immediately accepted, but Haji was shocked:

— To the mall? Since when do you like to hang out?

— I always liked it, I just didn't see any reason to do that. It's good for calming the mind.

Haji was suspicious. It wasn't like him to suggest a sudden outing, but she liked the idea.

They arrived at the main mall, the closest to the center. It was huge, with 7 floors beyond the ground floor. Genesis became interested in a clothing store and called the other two to go with her.

As it was a women's clothing store, Genesis and Haji tried out several different combinations. Haji only tried on cute clothes, which matched her petite stature.

Genesis, on the other hand, tried on what was most revealing and daring: bikinis. Yuto tried not to look, but he gave in to the temptation. After all, it was her intention for him to notice.

Haji didn't notice Yuto's perverted look, but scolded Genesis:

— Stop wearing those clothes! It's indecent!

— Do you happen to be jealous of these?

Genesis showed her privileged parts, teasing Haji.

— O-Of course not! I'm still in my growth phase, so I'll get over you someday!

Both kept "fighting", but in the end they didn't buy anything. Genesis was the one who suggested it, so her intention was clearly to seduce Yuto. And it worked, but he pretended it didn't.

They walked on, distracted. Suddenly, Genesis bumped into another distracted person. She wore ninja clothes and a mask that covered her nose and mouth, and had black hair tied back. She was Revon, one of the participants in the tournament.

Startled, the two jumped back. Revon said:

— What do you want? Are you going to mock me for losing to that whore?

— That's my line! Have you come to attack us?

Both calmed down, realizing the misunderstanding. Yuto recognized her:

— Wait, you were in that semifinal, weren't you? Your partner was that scientist, who looked familiar to me for some reason.

— Yes. We lost very badly.

— Wasn't Caliel scolded by Ria and Exwind?

— Unfortunately, she didn't break any rules. She and Kiseki made it to the finals.

— Are they going to fight each other? Kiseki won't stand a chance against someone like her.

— That's what I'm afraid of. Kiseki is too innocent to hurt anyone. It will be a one-sided battle.

— But you don't have to feel bad about losing that battle, you did really well against Caliel. You could even beat her, if she wasn't... like that.

— Thanks, but it's all thanks to my master. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must lament my failure.

Yuto felt that his praise had no effect. Revon was too disappointed in herself to forgive her mistake.

The three continued to walk through the mall, until an extremely strong light hit their eyes. They didn't know where it came from, but it was so strong that it blinded them for minutes.

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They couldn't see, but they could hear everything around them. An emergency alarm sounded. All doors and windows in the mall closed with reinforced metal. It was a level 7 alert.

They stayed close. Yuto used his gravity sensor, but found nothing around. However, he noticed an anomaly far from where they were: a huge hole in the ground.

When their vision returned, they ran to the place, and were surprised. There was a crowd surrounding the hole. More people trickled in, probably because they were slowly regaining their sight.

They cut through the crowd to see the hole up close. It obviously wasn't there until a few minutes ago. It had a peculiar shape: crescent downwards.

That is, the deeper, the greater the radius of the circumference, looking like a cone without the tip. Yuto used his sensor and increased the search area hundreds of times, but couldn't find the bottom. If anyone fell there, they would surely die.

He saw the nearest exit, which was broken. The molten reinforced metal was shaped close to a human, which meant someone had created that hole and immediately fled through the exit.

If the level 7 alert sounded, that meant only 7 people could have done that. As the threat had already fled, the mall's security system was disabled and the exits were reopened.

Some witnesses commented:

— I saw a boy on top of Caliel, and out of nowhere a flash blinded me. When my vision returned, that hole was already there.

— But who could he be? If he was strong enough to outpower a level 6, he could only be one of the 7.

— Is he the mysterious #1? Or #3, since no one knows who they are.

— It's probably #1. One of his powers is light, and that's what blinded us.

Yuto, Genesis and Haji listened to the conversation, scared. They returned home, thoughtful. The tour had been interrupted by an unexpected threat.

The three of them were at home, watching TV. The event was attention-grabbing enough to attract journalists' attention in less than an hour. The place was already packed, full of witnesses being interviewed.

The reporter said:

— Witnesses say Caliel was last seen in this mall less than an hour ago. Her body has yet to be found, and it is believed she was killed by a level 7.

The three watched without commenting. They were still shocked by the event, so they didn't know how to react. Genesis rose from the couch, announcing decisively:

— Yuto, I'm going to find out who the seven are and the powers of each one.

— No need to do that, Genesis. It's very dangerous, and the app already has almost everything.

— No, Yuto, that app hides a lot. No one knows yet who #1 and #3 are. We only know that their nicknames are Hakkiri and Stopwatch. The powers in their profiles may not even be the real ones. If they care so much about hiding, why would they reveal their powers?

— I don't know, perhaps to cause fear. If no one knows their identity, they could be anywhere. This decreases the chance of people committing crimes in a very exposed way.

Yuto realized something:

— Wait, I still haven't seen who the level 7's are currently.

Yuto took out his cell phone and opened the association's application. On the level 7 page were:

1. Hakkiri: Electricity and Light

2. Slade: Shadow

3. Stopwatch: Time

4. Zenith: ???

5. Distortion: Black Hole and Portal

6. Unizard: Universal Magic

7. Wisedroid: Premonition

When he saw the second ranked, he paled.

— Wait...

Haji, worried, asked:

— Yuto, what happened?

— Haji, did you ever see Slade after the invasion?

— Who is Slade?

— So you never got to meet her. She was my best friend until she was part of an experiment. This happened just before I found you imprisoned.

— Why didn't you ever tell me about her?

— I wanted to forget the past… I thought she was dead, and I just moved on.

Genesis, bothered, asked:

— Wait, Yuto, was she your friend? How long has it been since this happened?

— It's been over five years… I never thought she was still alive.

— Yuto, I'm sorry to inform you, but she's not the same one you knew.

— What happened to her?

— Well, that experiment changed her forever. Maybe she will never go back to who you used to know.

— It's not possible… If she sees me, she'll remind me, won't she?

— I don't think it'll be that easy, unfortunately. But, Yuto, if you want to save her, I will support you with everything I have.

Haji, agreeing with Genesis, stated:

— Me too, Yuto. I know you can bring her back. We will be helping you until the end.

Yuto, more hopeful, said:

— Thank you two. I'm going to get her back to who she was, no matter what.

Genesis made up her mind: she would infiltrate the association's central building. Since she had connections with Exwind and Ria, she could know when the level 7 meetings would take place. That day there would be a meeting between them.

Genesis was still known in the association as a maid, and they wouldn't be surprised if she went to the front of the room cleaning the hallway. Also, Wisedroid was her master and would be at the meeting. If she was caught, he would protect her.

He was waiting near the meeting room. Wisedroid was already there, and noticed the unexpected presence of Genesis, but ignored it. Maybe that was part of her mission of spying Yuto, so he let her have her way.

Hakkiri and Stopwatch never showed up for meetings. Their identities were kept hidden by the Boss, so even the level 7's themselves didn't know who they were or looked like. Perhaps they wanted to live a normal life and not be recognized wherever they went.

But one other person would miss the meeting. In fact, she didn't even know there was one going on. That person was Slade. The Boss kept her out on purpose.

She was now the Boss's personal guard, and the subject of the meeting would affect her drastically. They were going to talk about Yuto, who had appeared in the city a few days ago, after so many years as a recluse.

The first to arrive had been Wisedroid, who was always punctual. Afterwards, Zenith appeared with an irritated expression, as if she didn't want to be there. Lastly, the Boss's twin sons: Distortion and Unizard. Both didn't seem to take any of it seriously, they were just there because the Boss said it was important.

Wisedroid was a tall and buff android with black color covering most of his body except for his core, which was light blue. He wore a mask that covered his nose and mouth, also black. He had blue eyes and white hair.

Zenith was a tall woman, compared to the average japanese, and had short dark blue hair. She wore a white suit and top hat, in addition to a red cape, like a magic. She wore black glasses with light blue lights. These lights projected her eyes, which for some reason were always covered by the glasses.

Distortion was a very tall, muscular man with short black hair and purple eyes. He wore black military clothing. Unizard was about the same height and wore a purple wizard uniform and hat. She had long and messy orange hair and yellow eyes.

Genesis saw the three of them coming in and the door closed. Since she could record their voices, she was able to recognize who was speaking inside.

To collect as much information as possible, Genesis created thousands of nanocameras and spread them around the room. Wisedroid noticed, but did nothing.

One more person was inside, but Genesis didn't see her come in or recognize her voice. How could they have appeared there if she was watching the corridor that had the only entrance to the room?

That person's voice was that of an old man. The only one who could have contact with the level 7's in an important meeting like that was the Boss, and Genesis accepted that hypothesis.

The first to speak was the old man:

— My dear heroes, thank you for coming to this meeting.

Zenith, impatient, lit a cigarette and cut off his speech:

— Just say what you want, old shit. I have much better things to do.

— I should have expected that kind of reception. Today's subject is Ishigawa Yuto.

— Wait, where's that bitch that follows you everywhere you go, that Slade?

— This is something that must be emphasized: do not tell her about this meeting or today's business.

— Who do you think you are to boss me around? What happens if I tell her?

Unizard, angered by the lack of respect, exclaimed:

— Stop it, Zenith! Can't you be a reasonable person for once in your life?

Zenith looked with contempt at Unizard, spitting on the ground and saying:

— You are two ranks below me. Do you really think you can talk to me like that?

— Of course I can! I am much stronger than you, and I could defeat you here and now.

— Very realistic coming from an ogre that keeps fucking her brother day after day.

Distortion, who had not stopped smirking ever since he arrived, said serenely:

— Calm down, girls. This is not a fighting environment, and our dear Boss hasn't even managed to say what he wanted yet.

Irritated by Distotion's calmness, Zenith rose from her chair. At the same time, Wisedroid stood up. Zenith shuddered and stopped.

Whenever Wisedroid moved, even a little, it meant he was about to do something. He and the Boss were the only ones who knew of Zenith's powers, besides herself.

In a one on one battle, he was invincible. Everyone knew it and feared him. Furthermore, he was the most advanced android in the association. He had more destructive power than any weapon other than nuclear bombs.

Wisedroid moved only in order to stop the fight. They both sat down again. Zenith, calmer now, fell silent. A photo of Yuto and his informations appeared on a big screen. The Boss continued:

— Well, as I was saying, Yuto is a threat that must be neutralized immediately. I will give anything as a reward to whoever kills him.

Zenith seemed to remember something important. That face and purple hair looked familiar. When she heard the word "reward", she remembered an unfinished quest she had started years ago.

The first part of that quest was to kill the association's strongest heroine: Phy, or Ishikawa Kanata. The second was to kill her younger brother.

She had gotten the first part, but Yuto blinded her with his fingers. That's why she was blind and needed her glasses to see.

When she realized who she was dealing with, she began to laugh uncontrollably and said:

— I can't believe it, this must be fate! I can finally get my revenge on that motherfucking brat for ruining my beautiful eyes.

She got up and left the room. Unizard tried to stop her:

— Hey, where are you going? The meeting isn't over yet!

The Boss, however, agreed with the attitude:

— Let her go. Nothing will stop her now.

— Okay, father. What do you want the two of us to do?

— Forget everything I've said at this meeting so far. That was just a reason to make her fight Yuto.

— What? You know that Yuto is much stronger than he looks, right?

— Of course I know.

—So you sent Zenith to die?

— Exactly.

— But why?

— Well, level 7's are too strong for me to control, especially people like her, who don't follow orders.

— Does this mean that we and Wisedroid are your trust?

— No, only Wisedroid is. But you two are my children, and I cannot discard you.

— Tch…

Unizard looked away, embarrassed and irritated at the same time. Distortion added:

— He's right, little sister. No matter what we do, he will never hate us. Therefore, we must enjoy our lives to the fullest.

Distortion said that while smirking. That didn't sound like words of comfort or encouragement, but like justification for crimes. The Boss, taking leave, said:

— Well, that's it, thank you for coming here. You can do whatever you want now.

Before they could say anything, he quickly disappeared. It was actually a hologram, not his real body. Unizard complained:

— Wait! You still have a lot to tell us…

Her brother comforted her:

— It's okay, sister. We don't need to get involved in his personal life. As long as we're having fun, it's okay, right?

— Right…

— Then let's go to our room to play naughty things.

Distortion created a portal that they both entered and teleported somewhere. The portal soon closed.

Wisedroid, who was sitting alone in the room, got up and went to the door. Genesis got scared and tried to run away, but Wisedroid caught her by her maid outfit. He asked:

— This has been bothering me for a while now. What are you doing here?

— Oh, Wisedroid-sama, how long has it been! It's just… that's part of Yuto's spying!

— How would listening to a confidential conversation help you spy on a criminal?

— Sorry, master, but he doesn't look like a criminal to me.

— Appearances are deceiving. If he forced you to do this, it means he's not a good person. He's actually planning another invasion.

— Master, this was my choice. He's a great person, and he couldn't force me to do something dangerous.

— Didn't you almost die last night because you went shopping?

— How do you know that?

— I made sure to stay close to you all day. I anticipated your every move, but I didn't intervene because I wanted to see how you would react, and it was a failure. You cannot protect yourself.

— M-Master, I was trying to-

— Protect a child? That boy could have easily saved himself. Don't you know who he is?

Wisedroid realized that he had already said too much and fell silent. He left, saying:

— Anyway, if Yuto planned to kill you, you would accept his death with open arms. It's a lot of submissiveness for a creation of mine. The spying is over, so you can do whatever you want now, you're free.

Normally, an android could not separate from the association. Wisedroid and the Boss were among the only ones who could grant freedom to anyone they wanted.

Wisedroid freed Genesis from her maid status to spy on Yuto. But once that mission was over, she would be free to live her life as she chose.

Genesis, outraged by her master's neglect, asked:

— What will you do?

— Is it not clear? Kill Yuto, he is a traitor. I don't want to put you in danger, my daughter. I know you're on his side, but I've already put you in too much danger. Stay out of it.

Genesis didn't know how to respond. She stood in the middle of the corridor, watching her master leave.

Genesis transmitted everything she saw to Yuto and Haji, who were watching on a laptop. Wisedroid knew that, and the message he said was mostly meant for Yuto. It was a declaration of war.

Ria sent a message to Yuto, saying that he should be ready by the time she called him. She was on the roof of a building eight kilometers from the mall where Caliel disappeared.

Yuto was supposed to go to that mall, where the battle would take place. Ria knew that Wisedroid would investigate the cone-shaped hole at one time or another. She just had to wait for him to show up.

She was watching her target day and night with the telescopic sight attached to her carbine. Obviously, it wasn't a normal scope. It could magnify the image millions of times with high definition.

Her carbine was also modified. It could fire its projectiles at speeds four thousands times faster than a normal gun, even though the ammunition was heavy. Its ammunition could pass through armor up to a kilometer thick with ease.

The weapon had such high recoil that the user was pushed back a few meters every time they fired, even if they held as steady as possible. Therefore, it was not a suitable weapon for any level below 4. It could break the collarbone of whoever used it.

Ria didn't tell the main details of the plan, as Yuto could think of them and Wisedroid would read the future of his mind.