The town was still smoldering.
Charred rooftops.
Scorched earth.
Lightning scrawled across the blackened stone like graffiti from a forgotten god:
> "COME FIND ME, BIJI."
OTG's heart skipped a beat.
Yukie instinctively reached for her sword.
Wave tensed, reading the frequency of the residual magic.
> "That's her name," OTG whispered. "Someone's calling her out."
> "This wasn't regular lightning," Wave muttered. "It was shaped. Personalized."
Yukie stepped forward, narrowing her eyes.
> "It's not just a threat… it's a challenge."
---
They searched the town for survivors.
Nothing. Not a soul. Just ashes and symbols, all pointing toward Biji.
Wave's expression turned grave.
> "There's power buried in this. Whoever did this knows how to bend lightning with thought."
> "But…" OTG squinted. "Why does this pattern look familiar…?"
He snapped his fingers.
Pulled out a small notepad.
Flipped to a sketch from two years ago.
Yukie peeked.
> "Wait… isn't that…?"
They turned to Biji.
Who was suspiciously silent.
---
> "...Biji?" Yukie asked.
"You're quiet. You're never quiet."
Biji blinked.
Smirked.
And said:
> "Gotcha."
---
The town?
Illusion.
The "lightning"? A projection made of condensed static belief.
The ruins? A visual trick created using a combined technique Biji accidentally learned by touching a belief crystal six months ago.
> "Wait, YOU did this?" Wave half-snarled, half-laughed.
> "Why?" OTG asked, jaw-dropped.
Biji shrugged.
> "Training got boring. Wanted to see how you all react."
Yukie threw a muffin at her.
It bounced harmlessly off Biji's head.
> "You absolute menace," Yukie groaned.
> "You had us thinking some demonic ancient lightning entity was challenging you!" Wave added.
Biji chuckled.
> "Isn't that what this world is for? Belief. Imagination. A bit of chaos?"
---
Later that evening, OTG was still muttering:
> "She pranked us with an entire ruined village… who even does that..."
> "Someone dangerously powerful," Wave muttered.
"Or dangerously bored."
But even Numbers, watching from afar, cracked a rare smile when she heard.
---
Sometimes, being the strongest didn't mean destroying things.
Sometimes, it meant making your overpowered squad panic with god-tier mischief.
---