Yandere Levelling in Her World

The room was cramped, hot, and humming with the low rumble of machinery. Wires ran across the floor like tangled vines, and the air smelled faintly metallic. Four scientists crowded around a massive cylindrical chamber that dominated the center of the room. Blue light pulsed from within the transparent casing and washed the room in an eerie glow. Inside it lay a small body. A baby. Eyes closed, unmoving, floating in the strange suspension field that made the whole thing look like a gigantic, futuristic battery.

Dr. Kalia wiped sweat off her forehead and leaned closer to the display panel. "Increase the stabilization field by two percent. If it drops again, the whole core will go unstable."

Her colleague Mira adjusted a dial. "Done. But I swear these readings keep changing every time the lights flicker."

As if summoned by her words, the ceiling lights began flickering again. The room dimmed, brightened, dimmed again. Shadows jittered across the walls and the blue glow from the chamber pulsed more violently.

"Oh come on," one of the junior scientists muttered. "Do we have an electricity problem again?"

Mira scoffed. "Obviously not. If we can still pull electricity during this chaos outside, then this hideout is better supplied than half the country. Electricity shouldn't be a problem anymore. Not when electricity is the least of government problems right now."

The lights finally steadied. Silence fell for a moment. Only the hum of the chamber remained.

Kalia exhaled. "Good. Last thing we need is a blackout in the middle of this."

Another scientist, Rina, leaned back against the wall with a tired frown. "Speaking of needing things, did you all hear about the meeting with the Asashi family?"

Everyone stiffened.

Kalia muttered, "Unfortunately."

Mira clicked her tongue. "I still can't believe our acting leader agreed to work with them. The exact people who hate us. It is pathetic."

"She would never betray us," Rina said. Her voice trembled slightly, but she kept her chin raised. "Miranda understands our struggle more than anyone."

The quietest scientist in the room, Nafaka, looked up sharply. "Who is this Miranda? She just appeared out of nowhere. Everyone acts like I am supposed to know her already."

"She didn't appear out of nowhere," Rina replied. "She was part of the movement long before us. She worked with Lady Lan Jia herself. If anyone understands what we fight for, it is her."

Nao crossed her arms. "Then answer me this. Lady Lan Jia is supposed to be one of the most powerful power users alive. Why would someone like her help people like us? People without powers. The weakest of the weak. What does she gain from us?"

Rina shook her head. "That is something I do not understand either. Maybe she has her reasons. Maybe she actually cared." She lowered her voice. "Maybe she still does."

Before anyone else could speak, a voice boomed across the room.

"Are you two working your mouths or your hands?"

Their leader, Dr. Hana, glared at them from the opposite side of the chamber. Her white coat was stained with grease and her black hair was tied up messily. She jabbed a finger toward the console. "If you gossip one more time, I swear I will personally lock you outside with the power freaks."

The two women quickly returned to their tasks. Hana sighed in frustration and walked back toward her own workstation.

But soon, a big explosion happened.

A deafening blast shook the entire hideout as the metal door on the far wall was blown off its hinges. The scientists screamed and ducked as debris flew across the room. Smoke filled the entrance.

Three silhouettes stood in the wreckage.

The first was a tall red-haired woman, her eyes burning with fury that made every scientist instinctively step back. Beside her stood a girl who looked far too young to be carrying such a terrifying expression. And next to them was a woman gripping a massive greatsword with one hand as if it weighed nothing.

The guards stationed near the entrance reacted instantly. "Intruders!" they shouted as they raised their guns.

But the youngest woman was faster.

She dashed forward. The guards barely had time to flinch. A blinding flash of movement, a sound like slicing air, and suddenly their guns clattered to the floor along with something else. The guards screamed and stumbled back, clutching the stumps where their hands had been.

"Selene!" the red-haired woman shouted. "Wait. Do not kill that woman." She pointed at Dr. Hana, who was already trying to flee toward the emergency backdoor.

Selene darted toward the backdoor and blocked it, glaring at Dr. Hana with eyes that promised death. The leader froze in terror.

The red-haired woman strode forward with controlled steps. Her presence seemed to swallow all noise.

Several terrified scientists tried to run toward the main entrance, but before they could reach it, the woman with the greatsword stepped in front of them and rested the blade on her shoulder.

"Do not bother," she muttered with a threatening smile. "I may be injured, but one swing is enough to send all of you to the afterlife. So listen carefully."

The scientists froze.

"Astrid," the woman with greatsword suddenly questioned. "What is that thing in the middle?" She pointed at the battery-like chamber with the glowing blue core.

Astrid's face changed with a knowing look. "Nina, you are not supposed to say my name in front of them."

"Who cares? Let them hear it." Nina stepped forward, glaring at the room full of people. "If any of you tries to hurt Astrid, I will kill you all. Simple."

Astrid's lips curved into a small smile. "Of course. I know you will, my little berserker."

Nina grinned proudly.

Astrid turned to Dr. Hana. "Now. Where is Lan Jia?"

Dr. Hana trembled violently. "I do not know. I swear."

Astrid lifted her by the collar and slammed her into the nearby wall. The impact cracked the brick and dust rained from the ceiling.

"I will not ask twice. Where is she?"

Dr. Hana cried out, coughing as she tried to breathe. "I really do not know. I promise. But she came here last week. She brought us that chamber and ordered us to charge it. That is all I know."

Astrid narrowed her eyes. "Then where did the baby come from? Who is that inside it?"

Dr. Hana shook her head frantically. "It was already inside when she delivered it. We did not put it there. I swear on my life."

Astrid tightened her grip on Dr. Hana's shirt. "So this is what the Traitors have become. Is this what your organization does now? Killing babies for power? For experiments? Tell me, Hana. Is that the glorious cause you all preach?"

Dr. Hana's face twisted in pain. She looked away, refusing to meet Astrid's eyes.

Astrid's voice grew colder. "Answer me. Or I will make you."

Dr. Hana suddenly screamed, her voice cracking. "What else am I supposed to be? The moment I step outside, people look at me with hatred because I have no power. I am powerless. Useless. Trash. I hate them as much as they hate me. I am not a saintess, Leader Astrid!"

The room froze.

Some of the new scientists exchanged confused looks. Leader? Astrid?

Hana continued speaking, tears streaming down her face. "You left us. You abandoned the Traitors even though you were supposd to be dead. We struggled. We suffered. Lan Jia also went into hiding and Miranda took over and we followed her because she cared, because she stayed, because she understood. What do you want from us now?"

Astrid finally loosened her hold, letting Hana drop to her knees. The red-haired woman walked toward the chamber and placed a hand on its surface. The blue glow reflected off her face, painting her expression with conflicted emotion.

"This thing is coming with me," Astrid said quietly. "I am taking it under my protection."

Hana wiped her tears and glared weakly. "So you came to steal it. Just like they said you would."

Astrid looked back at her. "If you want to believe that, fine. But you are coming with me as well."

Nina blinked. "Astrid, what about the others?"

Astrid turned to the rest of the room. Dozens of scientists stared back at her, trembling, confused, afraid.

"You are free to choose," Astrid said. "You all know that the Lan Jia you are serving now is not the Lan Jia I chose to follow. And if you still believe in the original vision of the Traitors, then ask yourselves if this is truly what she wanted."

Nina interrupted, stomping her foot. "She is right. Whoever this Lan Jia is, she was not someone who wanted to harm innocent children from what I heard. And this thing in the chamber is not some weapon. It is a baby."

Several scientists looked down in shame.

Astrid stepped forward and raised her voice. "If you believe in Lan Jia's vision, then follow your hearts. But understand this. What you are doing right now, all of you, is not justice. It is not liberation. It is is revenge, bloodshed. It is only leading you toward ruin."

She pointed at Nina, then at Selene, who still guarded the backdoor. "People with power exist. People without power exist. But this path you are walking will destroy everyone. Including you."

Some scientists lowered their heads. Others backed away from their workstations. A few stared at the chamber, guilt washing over their faces.

Astrid looked around the room. "Make your choice. Because starting today, you will no longer hide behind the excuse of being powerless. You will choose what kind of people you want to be."

The room was painfully quiet.

One by one, scientists began nodding, stepping away from weapons, from terminals, from anything that tied them to the experiment around the glowing chamber.

Astrid turned and motioned to Nina and Selene. "We are leaving."

She placed her hands on the chamber and whispered, "Hang in there, little one. I will get you out of this."

Nina came to her side with a grin. "See? Told you everyone would listen. You just needed to yell."

Astrid sighed. "You are impossible."

Selene walked past, her sword dripping with blood. "Move. Before reinforcements arrive."

Astrid nodded. "Hana. Come here."

The defeated scientist slowly stood, still shaking. She walked toward Astrid with a mixture of fear and reluctant trust.

Astrid grabbed the chamber and gestured toward the exit. "Let's go. All of you who wish to start over, follow. Those who wish to stay, then stay. But understand that the world is changing fast. And choosing nothing is still a choice."

The room trembled slightly as if the entire base felt the shift.

Astrid led the way forward, carrying the glowing chamber.

Behind her, several of the scientists stepped forward, leaving their old world behind.

A new path waited outside, harsh and uncertain, but theirs to choose.

And in the pulsing blue light of the chamber, the baby slept on, unaware of the storm surrounding them.