Chapter 82

1.

People must always look back at the past and learn from it. That was why I, too, reviewed every battle I fought and the knowledge from my past at every moment.

Similarly, the things I had already changed and the things I had to change were also part of the process of retrospection I had to conduct myself.

Therefore, I had to contemplate.

The phenomenon of ‘genre shift’ centered around myself.

Its cause, and its fundamental origin.

Exactly, what is this ‘genre shift’?

Exactly, can a single person change the world?

2.

There is a term called the ‘Butterfly Effect.’

It is both a scientific theory and a sociological term that explains how small changes, minor differences, and trivial events like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings can lead to unforeseen consequences and ripples.

In the past, I used to fear this Butterfly Effect.

Because on Earth, people like me who had taken over another’s body always feared the future changing.

However, at some point, I stopped trying to keep the flow of this world aligned with the original storyline.

When was that?

‘Was it after I had a conversation with Gematria?’

Or was it when I directly experienced this ‘genre shift’?

Or maybe when I first started my hero activities?

No, perhaps it was right after I took over this body.

The moment I resolved to change something, the moment I decided to become a hero, the moment I thought of preventing the world’s destruction—undoubtedly, that was the trigger.

That must be the reason—the ‘genre shift,’ this mysterious and extraordinary phenomenon, occurred.

In this world, there exists the concept of ‘mysteries.’

Not the mystery of the students of Kiburatos as commonly assumed, but mystery in a broader sense. Things that are incomprehensible, inexplicable, and defy principles.

Such phenomena exist that even the smartest scholars in this world cannot fully comprehend or explain.

Although people reach different conclusions regarding these mysteries, they all agree on certain common principles.

Things that cannot be understood.

Things that cannot be explained.

And things that cannot be established.

The halos above students’ heads, the halos of Sentum Tower, human bodies that can stop bullets, the astonishing abilities students wield, the invisible man, and the cycle.

‘Objectively speaking, this is an unnatural world.’

It is completely nonsensical and unrealistic, yet these things are the common sense and reality of Kiburatos.

Why?

Because I knew the common sense of the outside world, the outside of Kiburatos, and the common sense of Earth, I could perceive these things as ‘abnormal.’

If I were a resident of Kiburatos, I would have thought of these things as regular common sense, and likely wouldn’t have experienced such changes.

In that sense, Blue Archive was a world that disrupted the common sense I had known and expanded the realm of ‘possibilities.’

Simply put, it was something that took what I thought was common sense and turned it into ‘what was,’ layering possibilities upon it.

– What if a human body can withstand being hit by a bullet?

– What if the human race isn’t limited to just humans?

– What if the only observably active individuals are females?

The concepts and phenomena that blossomed under the premise of ‘IF?’ became the accepted common sense in Blue Archive.

This became common sense but remained mysterious because it could not be fully understood. The features and designs were known, but the fundamental cause of occurrence remained undiscovered.

Just as humanity cannot understand the origin of life or the cause of the Big Bang.

Under the name of common sense, concepts were engraved. The concept of mystery was similar, but among all concepts, mystery alone remained in a state of chaos.

As it could not be explained through any concept, it was simply named and no further explanations were added.

Thus, mystery remained as ‘the undecided,’ and it could also be described as ‘the unobserved.’

‘So─.’

Mystery was possibility. Simultaneously a phenomenon and a power.

A power in the state of possibility, capable of changing something. Perhaps it was a phenomenon that layered such possibilities.

Simply put, mystery was the concept that explained the phenomenon where ‘someone’s assumptions’ became reality.

– It’s common sense that halos float above the students’ heads.

– It’s common sense that D.U’s Sentum Tower controls the city’s infrastructure.

– It’s common sense that people use guns in everyday life.

Thus, mystery was the ‘power to change’ and, in Earth-like terminology from my past life, it could be likened to ‘quantum mechanics.’

The difference being that while quantum mechanics is one field of study, mystery is an object established outside the realm of academia.

If all incomprehensible phenomena are called mysteries, and magical phenomena outside the realms of common sense and principles are also labeled mysteries, then—what about the ‘genre shift’?

Should the appearance of entities that only I know of in this world also be classified as a ‘mystery’?

If so, what is the cause of this mystery, and why has it brought about the phenomenon of genre shift? Why has Rhino appeared, why has Valtor appeared, and why does Kaiser resemble Oscorp?

… One hypothesis I’ve come up with regarding this.

If this world is filled with mysteries, possibilities, and chaos.

Isn’t it possible that the mystery of a person who has greatly influenced this world and the possibilities of the world itself overlap, causing these two to grow more alike?

‘If genre is something determined by someone.’

Just like how the world line of ‘defeated teacher’ shown by Blue Archive represented the dark apocalyptic genre.

And how the current world represents the youth school genre.

If the genre of a world is determined by a major influencing presence within the world—what we call the ‘main character’—then this phenomenon wouldn’t be illogical.

In other words, it meant that the genre of this world was being colored by my influence because I’ve decided to live as a hero in this world, and I’m actually doing it.

But… there’s no need to worry.

Genre, at its core, is the image the world outwardly displays.

Thus, genre can always change.

Every work can shift genres based on the narrator’s feelings.

If a meteor suddenly fell, the genre would become disaster. If Kiburatos were to fall, it would shift to the apocalyptic genre. And if I were to go insane from seeing colors and kill everyone, it would become a thriller.

Therefore, the conclusion I’ve reached was simple.

The genre shift is not something to overly concern myself with. Rather, it’s more important to recognize and prepare for any changes that have occurred.

So.

There was one fact I had realized, but in the end, nothing would change.

Punish the villain. Save the citizens.

That was enough.

It was a simple story.

3.

In principle, Spider-Man’s fight with Vulture is unreasonable.

Between Vulture who can fly and Spider-Man who moves using his webs, or Vulture who feels no remorse in harming others and Spider-Man who rescues people and hesitates to kill.

Though hero-villain fights are generally seen as unreasonable, Spider-Man particularly struggles in his fights with Vulture.

Partly because Vulture will later join the powerful villain group ‘Sinister Six,’ but the major reason is that this was Spider-Man’s first aerial combat.

For Spider-Man, who always fought on the ground, or at most in the air where there was still somewhere to stand, Vulture delivered a new battlefield experience, along with some shock.

Thus, normally, the fight with Vulture would show Spider-Man struggling against them.

“Normally, yeah.”

But at this point, I had changed significantly from what one would traditionally call ‘Spider-Man.’

“This bastard!!!!”

“You’re going down!!!”

I smiled watching Vulture 2 and 3 rushing angrily toward me after the crash of Vulture 1.

The sharp wings fully spread, claws reminiscent of Wolverine, and the gun muzzles of Gatling guns mounted on the shoulders aimed at me.

“What’s this? Some kind of ramen?”

Is this some mashup of Vulture, Wolverine, and War Machine?

The sight was genuinely laughable.

But, regardless of their comical appearance, the weapons equipped on the Vultures exhibited fearsome performance.

As Vulture 2 dove in at a fast speed, swinging the claws, the concrete floor was gouged out and fragments flew everywhere.

I immediately dodged as the claws targeting my neck lunged at me.

“Damn!”

Regretting the attack’s failure, Vulture 2 swiftly took to the skies using its wings, then prepared for another aerial dive, aiming straight at me with its Gatling guns, which began rotating slowly, ready to unleash a hail of bullets.

“Hm.”

“Right now!”

While chuckling at Vulture’s unexpectedly strong combat capability, Vulture 3 suddenly rushed in and delivered a powerful kick.

The weighty kick with wings fully spread slammed directly into my body, with an impact that felt like being hit by a dump truck.

“Ughhh…!”

I blocked Vulture 3’s kick with crossed arms, but the sheer weight pushed my body backward little by little.

And it didn’t stop there. Vulture 3 aimed the knife part on its wing at my right shoulder and began swinging its claws at my thigh.

Meanwhile, Vulture 2’s Gatling gun emitted a sound — “Keeying!” — suggesting that it was about to unleash its bullets.

“It’s all over-!!”

“Die, you bastard!!!”

This was a precarious situation. Gatling guns were firing from a distance, while up close, claws and wing blades were aiming to pierce my body.

What would be the best approach to resolve this situation?

—Thinking in a flow of perception slowed by my heightened senses, I came to a conclusion.

“—If I can’t resolve the situation, it’s because my power is lacking.”

Just charge forward brutally.

My heightened senses were telling me that I’m safe in this exact moment.

So I trusted my heightened senses and extended my fist toward Vulture 3.

“—Wham!”

I grabbed the wing with one hand and hit Vulture 3’s face with the other.

In the end, though the claws swung toward my thigh —

“Riip—!”

— only a small amount of blood was drawn from it.

It was not a fatal wound. This was enough.

And the next step is ….

“Come down now.”

I shook off the hand holding Vulture 3 and immediately fired the web shooter toward Vulture 2.

“Zap—!”

“Ehh, eh?”

“Let’s fight fairly on the ground!”

“Aaaaah…!”

One of my webs blocked the Gatling gun, and the other attached to Vulture 2’s wing, pulling them down.

Vulture 2 wasn’t as strong as Vulture 3 and was easily dragged down. Even though they tried to resist with wings, I ignored it.

“If you won’t come down, I’ll go to you.”

Saying so, I pulled the web and leaped toward them.

“Silk—Jet Kick! Son of a—!”

I quickly accelerated and drove my foot forward, placing weight behind it and delivered a powerful kick to Vulture 2’s helmet.

“—Crack!”

The glass portion of the helmet shattered completely, and the aluminum helmet crumpled. The unconscious student inside showed a painful expression.

I caught him and lowered them to the ground.

And then,

“Time to wake up yet? Your subordinates are all down.”

I said to Vulture 1 who was still pretending to be unconscious.

Vulture 1 twitched their body at my words but then smiled as if enjoying being found out.

“Heheh. Indeed, Silk. Your reputation isn’t exaggerated.”

“Huh. Whatever. Can I ask you one question?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

I looked at Vulture 1 — probably the ‘real Vulture’ — with a grin and exuded a menacing aura.

“Where did you get that gear?”

At my question, Vulture erupted in laughter.

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