Riley Ross
Chapter 88: The Answer

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: The Answer

"Above... me?"

There it was, the answer he had been looking for. The answer that had been quietly nagging his brain. The answer he had been refusing ever since it came into question.

He had been trying to come up with all sorts of explanations as to why he couldn’t detect or sense Riley at all. Mr. Monday always prided himself on being a great mind mover. He had already admitted to himself that he wasn’t the strongest in terms of raw power; there are a lot of telekinetics better than him in that regard.

But a twelve-year-old who had just woken up to his abilities? What sort of sorcery was this?

No. He refused to believe it.

"You think a little child like you is above me?" Mr. Monday slowly stood up, a smirk creeping onto his face as he stared at Riley.

"Just because you managed to get the upper hand on me once doesn’t mean that you’re above me."

"I am not a little child, Mr. Monday. That definition would have been true six years ago, but that does not apply to me now." Riley shrugged, his arm once again picking up the sodium-ion battery he placed on the box beside him as he approached Mr. Monday.

"And yes, I am above you. If that is not obvious to you yet, then I fear that you might be far deeper than I on the spectrum. Because Mr. Monday, you were clearly outclassed in our earlier exchange."

"I told you that you just got the upper hand!" Mr. Monday waved his hand, throwing the box that was next to Riley toward him and pinning him to the wall, or so that was what he thought happened. In the end, the box only got squished, compressed to the point that it was almost flat, and stopped an inch short of slamming onto Riley.

"Of course, I would get the upper hand, Mr. Monday—as I told you, I am above you. It would not make sense for me to have the lower hand."

Riley sighed. He held the sodium-ion battery with the other hand, while spreading out his palm with the other and placing it on the now compressed and flat box. And without even any warning, the flat box suddenly shot toward Mr. Monday at blinding speed—it didn’t quite create a boom, but it almost did.

It didn’t matter whether it traveled at the speed of sound or not, however, as it missed Mr. Monday completely. Brushing across his arm and shaving off a millimeter of skin.

"Tss!" Mr. Monday quickly stepped to the side, gritting his teeth as he grabbed his arm that felt like a hot pan had just pressed on it. The pain lingered, but his focus was completely placed elsewhere.

He... didn’t even feel or sense it move. He made sure to spread his telekinetic aura so that Riley would telegraph all of his moves against him, but he didn’t even feel it. It almost seemed as if Riley’s telekinesis traveled instantly, without form or reason, it just... existed.

"That was very fortunate for you, Mr. Monday." Riley nodded to himself, "If I were just a tiny bit flimsy with my control, that would have hit you, but it landed perfectly. I have been practicing my power, you see—ever since Tomoe explained it to me that my telekinesis was growing by the second, I started training and using it by the second."

"I... didn’t take you for someone talkative," Mr. Monday subconsciously glanced at the door. But as soon as he realized what he had just done, he quickly shook his head and turned his focus back to Riley.

There was no way he was actually scared... right?

"Why would you think I am not talkative, Mr. Monday?" Riley tilted his head, "I always prided myself on that since Sister always said that I was the most talkative person she had ever met. I have also prided myself on using my powers without pause for even a single second for almost forty-eight hours now."

"What...?"

"Yes," Riley nodded, "Not only have I scattered a field of aura around me and surrounded myself with an armor like you have, but I am also using my telekinetic abilities to do strength training—I have to say, it has given me more time as I no longer have to train my body conventionally. Even now, I am weighing myself down. Can you not feel it, Mr. Monday?"

"If you want to fight, then let’s just fight!" Mr. Monday raised his voice before pulling one of the boxes from the top shelves and dropping it straight down onto Riley’s head. But once again, the box stopped short of hitting Riley.

This time, however, Riley sighed as he gently pushed the box away, letting it float aimlessly in the air before he stepped closer to Mr. Monday.

"We have established that I completely outclass you in terms of telekinetic power, Mr. Monday—but since I do not want this to be over so quickly, let us do it this way; I will only use my power to defend myself."

"What do you—"

And before Mr. Monday could finish his words, Riley suddenly disappeared from his vision—no. Not really, he merely ducked out of his sight for a moment, rushing toward him while low on the ground... almost like an animal... a white wolf.

Mr. Monday quickly let out a telekinetic wave which blasted away all the boxes around Riley, but like stone in a river, his telekinetic wave was cleaved into two as soon as it hit Riley—it didn’t even slow him down at all.

Mr. Monday then waved his arm, throwing the compressed metal box that was stuck on the wall beside him toward Riley. Riley spun in the air to avoid the metal box, but he didn’t just dodge. He placed his palm on the disc as soon as it was beside him, and he didn’t let it pass through, not at all.

Instead, the metal box suddenly wrapped around Riley’s arm almost instantly. And when his feet landed on the ground, he lunged toward Mr. Monday and swung his leg toward his feet. He didn’t even wait for him to fall. Riley stood up using his hands and then once again swung his feet, this time downward straight onto Mr. Monday’s stomach.

He then pinned him down with his knee and, without mercy, started clobbering Mr. Monday’s face with his metal-clad arm.

Perhaps anyone watching would wonder why Mr. Monday wasn’t defending himself at all. Well, he was.

Even before the moment Riley swept him off his feet, he had been using his powers to defend himself and push Riley away... but none of it worked at all. It felt like he was trying to strike something that didn’t exist.

Like... he was trying to hit nothing.

And so, the only thing Mr. Monday could do now was use his hands and feet instead. He raised his hand to defend, but Riley quickly stood up and grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him up before moving behind him and kicking him by the knee, causing him to fall onto his knees. He then pushed him back to the floor, and with him now facing the ground... he couldn’t even use his hands to defend at all.

Riley hit him on the back of the head several times, and he could feel his consciousness slowly leave him. But before it actually could, he felt a weight fade from his shoulders, literally.

Riley moved away from him.

Mr. Monday took this chance to collect himself, using his telekinesis to lift himself up and stand on his feet. He quickly faced Riley, only to see him calling the sodium-ion battery back to his now bare hands.

"I will now repeat my question, Mr. Monday. Do you know what happens if you mix the metal in this with water?" Riley let the battery hover on top of his palm before it suddenly bloomed into pieces, revealing the silver metal inside. He casually grabbed the metal with his fingers, lightly pinching it and letting the other pieces fall.

"I suppose you are too stunned to answer that question, I did hit you several times—I am even surprised you are even conscious. Well done, Mr. Monday... but you truly should have fainted instead."

Riley raised his other hand, and as soon as he did so, something started to gather above his finger.

Smoke—no. Vapor.

The very same vapor that Mr. Monday thought he had already completely dispersed.

The vapor started to clump above Riley’s finger, like a sphere at first. But soon, the cloud started to fade away... replaced by a drop of water.

"You should be running or screaming for help right about now, Mr. Monday."

Riley sighed as he once again let the sodium metal hover. He tilted his head, and the sodium metal started to compress, thinning to the point that it almost looked like a needle—no, like a strand of hair.

The drop of water also became a strand, and he let the two elements dance on top of his palm for a moment before it just unceremoniously shot toward Mr. Monday’s wrist... piercing through his skin.

"I have just inserted both into your cephalic vein, Mr. Monday. They are not touching each other yet, or anything else for that matter—but once they mix, well...

...Shall we now find out the answer?"