GROUP

---3rd October 4:16p.m.---

Because there were variously colored plastic sheets spread from building to building above her, the sunlight was tinted in various colors such as blue, red, and yellow. The flow of air was stagnated and the smell of trash and dirt permeated the area. The walls were covered in crude graffiti and a rusted remnant of an ATM that had been brought in from somewhere was lying on the ground with its cover pried open. The area must have had no shortage of activity because there were things like a saw with broken teeth and broken lumber lying around.

And as she walked through that area, Musujime was wearing a piece of cloth wrapped over her bare breasts as innerwear and a blazer that looked like it was part of a school uniform worn over her shoulders. That and her incredibly short skirt made it look like she was asking for something to happen.

The large man who had tried to swing a metal pipe at her and the skinny woman who had tried to shoot her with a bow from a window had been dealt with the same way. Musujime used her Move Point power to take things like rusted broken down cars and metal dumpsters that were in the area and forcibly move them in front of her as shields.

After defending against the attack, she would take the corkscrews she had and directly stick them into her opponent's arms and legs. It always ended with that same pattern. Spinning in her hand was a military flashlight that could also be used as a baton. She used it to assist with her power by aligning her aim with it. Because her power had too high a level of freedom, if she didn't establish her own point of reference, her aim was too vague.

"So predictable." Musujime arrogantly added as she spun her signature flashlight around.

In contrast to her calm, the area erupted into a roaring storm.

To defend against attacks from all directions, Musujime had created a tiny tornado with herself at the center. It was formed from a number of thick metal objects like a manhole lid and an iron plate. Her Move Point made no noise, but the number of projectiles hitting those shields made quite a din. Musujime pulled the pin out of a grenade with her mouth and threw it towards the now lidless manhole.

A muffled explosion could be heard coming from the sewer.

From the information they had gathered, a safe about the size of a handbag was hidden down there.

"That's #9. This just isn't satisfying enough."

She had electrodes stuck on her shoulders and her back that looked like compresses. It was a small low-frequency vibration therapy device. Simply put, it was a massage machine that sent electric currents into her body. The machine measured the disturbances in her brain waves and created the most effective pulse pattern based on that.

It wasn't perfect, but it certainly helped keep her stress down to a certain level.

"(On the other hand, walking around with compresses all over your body isn't exactly how a girl wants to live her life.)"

Musujime threw a grenade into a crack on a large outdoor air conditioning unit and the bundle of bills hidden inside was blown to pieces. And she continued further into the alley.

"(Cash, gold bars, an access card to an IT Bank under a fake corporate name...This really is quite spread out. How did they gather all this money?)"

Apparently, Komaba Ritoku the leader running everything in the area had banned the prostitution of girls. Since he had sealed off one of the quickest methods of gathering funds, he must have had some other method.

"(I suppose it doesn't really matter. I'm just here to make sure it's all destroyed. Just another fourteen areas and I can leave.)"

As she thought cheerfully, she slowly spun the flashlight around in her hand.

"Accelerator should be dealing with these thugs, but it seems like even he's not enough to draw their attention."

"Of course, who would want to fight a dog? A pitbull especially."

About ten meters in front of her in the straight, narrow alley, a large gorilla-like man was standing. He must have come from one of the buildings' back entrances. His hard muscles were covered by a cheap jacket, but it looked like it was going to rip apart if he flexed his muscles even slightly.

He looked like an incarnation of destruction, but his voice was quite melancholy in comparison.

His voice sounded like he had copy paper coming from his mouth as he spoke.

"We distributed our money like this to prevent it from all being lost at once. You could say it's like how a coward afraid of being mugged carries several wallets. Having all of your possessions stolen at once isn't a very popular option."

"Haha, it looks like I bumped into our target first. Try not to get jealous, Accelerator." Musujime humored herself.

"I was surprised to find out that he would join you guys, I always thought he was neutral."

It may have been a characteristic trait of members of the Level 0 group Skill-Out, but Komaba's copy paper-like words had dark emotions mixed in.

It was a more impressive feat that Musujime wasn't shaking in fear.

"I thought he was neutral too. Until he gave me a taste of trauma."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you have the full experience."

At that remark, Musujime immediately sniggered.

"Hahahahahaha!! You think you can keep up with Move Point? Don't overestimate yourself. Size doesn't mean a thing."

"...I guess words, doesn't mean shit unless I prove it, huh?"

He was ten meters away on a straight, narrow path. She would use her corkscrews on him. No matter how strong Komaba was, he would fall to the ground before he could take three steps. And even if he was hiding a handgun or other long-distance weapon, Musujime could just call in a "shield".

In that instant, Musujime swung her flashlight and sent a command to a corkscrew in her pocket. Ignoring the visible three dimensional vectors, the corkscrew flew through space using the theoretical values of the eleventh dimension and headed right towards Komaba Ritoku's forehead.

"I'll hit you right in the eye and end this quick!!!"

But it missed.

Seeing the corkscrew appear in empty space, Musujime's eyes widened in shock. She felt a slight pain in her back. In response to her tension, the stress-lowering low frequency vibration treatment device had sent out a stronger pulse.

It wasn't that Musujime Awaki had aimed incorrectly.

Komaba had suddenly disappeared.

"?!"

Before she could even process what happened to him, she felt a hard knock against her skull. The impact felt like it was going to bust her eyeballs out as her saliva flew out of her mouth.

An electric current ran through her shoulders and back.

Up until now, the device had helped her, but now it was just being a bother.

For a moment, she blacked out, but quickly regained consciousness as she teleported herself all the way to the beginning of the alleyway.

When she landed, she immediately leaned against the wall as she looked ahead.

Ritoku was making his next move already.

He wasn't giving her any space to move and pull any moves.

But her ability never needed space in the first place. As long as there was an object within her radius, anything was still possible. But even with her assistive device behind her neck, she still felt the effects of teleporting herself be it very slightly. She felt the need to puke, but she had to fight on otherwise she'd die here.

"You fucking bastard!"

She teleported a signboard attached to one of the buildings on top of him but he simply jumped up to dodge it.

"Cheh!!"

Ritoku kicked a mounted outdoor air conditioner so hard that the bricks that were attached to it burst out as well, sending the whole brick debris down on her.

With a swish of her flashlight, a car teleported right in front of her, to block the debris in front of her.

But even she could not pinpoint his top speed.

Because he was right behind her again.

She only saw a glimpse of him move past her. Before the wind could even blow against her, she teleported walls of bricks behind her.

But he simply tore through four layers of bricks with ease as his fist smashed against her spine. It was a miracle that her back hadn't broke yet.

But the impact of the punch hit her forward to such an extent that she collided with the car in front of her.

And the weight in front of her started to tilt backwards. The weight of the car along with the air conditioner and the many bricks were about to crush her.

But letting her die like that was too merciful for Ritoku and he didn't want to risk her running away with a single teleportation. So he took the initiative to finish her off using his bare hands.

He dashed in with a blink of the eye and grabbed the entirety of her head with his massive palm, dragged her face across the steel surface of the car and swung the side of her face into the concrete floor as the debris crashed against his body.

"So? Where is your arrogance now?"

Musujime side-eyed him as she struggles to open her mouth. His crushing force was too much for her, and she slowly readjusted her eyes forward as he slowly increased the pressure.

She slowly felt her eyes bulging out, but before she could even teleport herself away, he plucked the electrodes on her neck which were her assistive device. But she had no choice and she teleported herself away from his grasp.

She teleported herself behind the wall from the corner she came from, but because of her trauma, she immediately vomited, which made hiding pointless. So she stepped out of that wall.

But even with that, she still had to find a plan to stall for time.

Stall until the Accelerator gets there.

So she decided to talk her way to time.

"You've got some hard taping under your clothes, don't you? That's why you're moving faster than a regular human."

Ritoku gave a calm smile as he stood dominantly tall before her.

"I'm glad you noticed, in my case, I have six ligaments in my knee protected and the muscles in my leg that are connected to my femur, my tibia, and my fibula reinforced from the outside. I also have metal plates in my shoes to keep my foot from being destroyed... Getting a hold of this special military-use ultrasonic wave elastic taping wasn't easy."

The taping was mainly on his legs, but he must have had it lightly reinforcing his entire body as well. You couldn't balance with just your legs and, if you lost your balance while moving at high speed, you would collapse spectacularly.

"You could say this is just the portion of a powered suit that gives it its mobility taken out and isolated. If you want to kill me, you should have brought something with enough firepower to take out an armored weapon... Of course it would never work against the Accelerator, but I already have a backup plan installed."

"Ho? And what is that supposed to be?" Musujime gives him a smug look as she continues to think about her next plan of action.

"Sorry, but that shall be a surprise."

"Hahaha! Hard taping isn't all that convenient you know? It may perform like those powered suits that Anti-Skill is currently using, but it doesn't have any layer of protection and if you keep using that..."

"I already know the consequences of utilizing these tapes. But a bit of sacrifice to stop you overpowered maniacs is worth more than my body."

He lowers his centre of gravity as he gets ready to charge at her and the moment he launches off the ground, he was almost like a shadow floating in the air, but Musujime pulled a grenade which had it's pin already removed and teleported it right beside her.

"Useless!!"

He slammed the back of his fist against her throat, and the feeling was intense. It was like a whole brick had crushed the side of her neck. And as she was knocked sideways, Ritoku appeared beside her and gave her a solid right fist against her temporal.

Her body flew across the floor as every impact felt like forever until she landed against a wall, but even then, the strong impact caused a dent to appear on the wall.

"Espers like you are very tough. I have to commend you for surviving this long against me. But your time's up." Komaba pulled a handgun of his own from his belt. It was a large handgun with an odd form that had two thick magazines sticking into it just in front of the trigger.

He aimed the barrel of the gun at Musujime, not even at her head. Just her general torso area. Her vision was slowly faltering, but she could still see the barrel of the gun.

"(Damnit, guess it didn't work huh?)"

A gunshot rang out in that empty space.

-----------------------

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Komaba Ritoku was not in front of Musujime anymore.
Instead, he was far from her.
To be specific.

He was.

Facing Accelerator.

"Tch, I thought what was all the commotion about just for bombing one safe, but this is what I find. If you're gonna do underground work, the LEAST you could do was at least put some effort into it."

Accelerator had his FNX-45 pointed at Ritoku.

"Cheh, I didn't...need your help." whimpered Musujime as glimpses of that iconic white hair and intricate white shirt with those glaring red eyes appeared in front of her.

"Say that when you're not lying down there like trash."

Accelerator didn't pay any attention to Ritoku as he stood there, inspecting the damages caused to Musujime.

"But I have to say, for a Level 0, that reaction and speed was quite fast. Komaba Ritoku. Reminds me of a certain someone."

"Of course, it's a common trick used by Level 0's. Taping on the body-"

"I don't care about what you used. For all I care, you're just another one of those Level 0's who think they're some shit picking fights with everyone and causing mayhem."

"Your reasoning really disappoints me, Accelerator. After being in the light for some time, have you forgotten what Level 0's are to those with power?"

"I'm sorry but you guys are not significant enough to be under my radar." A sadistic smile spread across his face as he throws his cane away and jumps forward with his right hand out.

But Ritoku showed no signs of fear, he didn't even display the level of speed which he used to dodge the bullet he fired.

That was when he realized it might have been a trap.

Just as he stopped himself from charging forward, Ritoku jumped above him and threw a small harmless metal can. The contents were thin sheets of metal about the size of the lead to a mechanical pencil. They glittered in the dim back alley. They were composed of two thin wings so they looked like tiny helicopter rotors.

Hundreds of these thin sheets of metal stopped in midair while slowly rotating like bamboo copters.

"...These are a type of radio jamming weapon called Chaff Seeds. ...They use a micro motor to float in the air using the structure of the seeds of plants in the Dipterocarpaceae family..."

Komaba's expression remained unchanged as he spoke.

"I originally had this to knock out Anti-Skill radios."

"!!!"

That was when Accelerator realized he had lost his powers.

Again.

"Not this again!"

Accelerator took a singular punch to the face, followed by another, the punches he was receiving felt worse than the ones Amata gave to him. They were literal exploding mini trucks flying to his face.

The sounds of dull thuds spread across the area. What was once an alleyway transformed into a large hexagonal arena.

As Accelerator tried to defend the vicious attacks that were being thrown at him, his scrawny arms couldn't block any of it. Instead, he felt his arms breaking under pressure.

But there was one thing that kept him going.

Those helicopter rotors were slowly disappearing as they drew further away from them.

"(If I hold on long enough...)"

"You'll get your powers, is what you're thinking right?" Ritoku cut his thoughts off with his words, it seems the leader of Skill-Out wasn't as simple as Accelerator thought he was.

He smashed Accelerator's small frame with his massive palms like a father picking up a child and effortlessly flung him across to where they were earlier.

Accelerator flew through the air and tumbled around on the concrete.

But he got back up immediately.

"(Shit…! What the fuck can I do?)"

Accelerator frantically looked around for any advantage he could get.

Then he looked at the ceiling.

Located at the top of the buildings were the plastic sheets that covered the sky.

"(An escape.)"

Accelerator pointed his pistol at the framework, but Ritoku fired his own personalized gun at Accelerator.

The power of the bullet was much greater than a normal one. It pierced a steel frame partway down and the thick piece of metal exploded from the inside. The frame was transformed into a large number of small metal pieces and they rained down on Accelerator and it left his left hand bleeding.

"How does it feel to be powerless, Accelerator?"

"Tch!"

Ritoku launched himself at Accelerator again but this time Accelerator was prepared. This wasn't his first time dealing with a super fast attacker, nor was it his first time seeing someone power up themselves.

When he saw where his fist was about to strike, he did a simple head tilt and the attack flew past his face.

"I know of an esper who can strengthen certain parts of her body, and she proved it to me that power without technique is meaningless."

Accelerator hopped back to give himself more distancing against Ritoku.

Suddenly, a corkscrew was lodged into Ritoku's shoulder, but he didn't flinch. Instead, he turned around to see a half beaten Musujime. Her body was tilting sideways and her face was starting to droop to one side as she placed a hand on her right arm.

"I knew I should have killed you quicker." Ritoku remarks.

"Too bad for you." She replies.

As Ritoku looked at Accelerator and Musujime, he lets out a small chuckle before commenting, "A 2v1 huh? I like those odds."

Immediately after that, Ritoku launched himself towards Musujime first. But she simply used her left hand to spin her signature flashlight, but he simply ignored it as he grabbed Musujime by her whole head and flung her to Accelerator.

A loud sound was heard. But it wasn't Musujime crashing into a wall or Accelerator.

It was the sound of a gunshot fired from the gun that Accelerator was holding.

The moment Musujime flew to him, he simply caught her with his right arm. It was like he was hugging her with one side of his body as he looked straight at Ritoku.

"Was that supposed to be a warning shot?" Ritoku asked.

"I guess you could call it that. Buuuuuut truthfully speaking..."

A wide grin formed on Accelerator's face as his eyes widened with insanity.

"It's not, is it?!"

Accelerator threw Musujime and the gun on the ground as he pushed his feet off the ground. He was in the air.

"What?! No...don't tell me..."

"That's right! I ripped the shades from the ceiling to let those thin sheets of metal out so I can use my ability again. But of course you already knew that."

"Shit...!!"

Accelerator flicked his middle finger in the air and a bullet formed by wind pressed Ritoku on the back before he could get away.

Blood immediately left his mouth as he struggled to get away.

His body was slowly convulsing and blood was popping out of his arteries.

"Elastic taping really isn't all that convenient, is it."

The tight taping had finally caught up to him. He was bleeding profusely from the torso down.

Accelerator slowly descended to the ground as Ritoku backed himself up onto a wall to support himself.

"Game over." Accelerator calmly said as he pressed his hand on Ritoku's head.

Ritoku could only look at him with scornful eyes as he narrowed his brows.

"It's true Level 0s are weak, but being weak doesn't make you evil."

Accelerator was enjoying disgracing this man who was on the verge of death.

"People like that are treated like nuisances because it's always people like you in Skill-Out causing the problems. Give you rights? A guarantee of safety? Fucking ridiculous. Can't you tell you're strangling yourself by doing things like that?"

"...Heh."

All his teeth were stained red, but Komaba still laughed.

"Here's a...hypothetical question..." he said in his voice that sounded like copy paper was coming from his mouth. "These 'harmless Level 0s' you're talking about... If attacking them for no reason became popular among you rotten espers...what would you do?" Accelerator's eyelids closed slightly out of disinterest.

"Problems with a person's personality aren't taken into account when it comes to whether they get powers or not... There are some people who have powerful abilities but are weak people. These horrible people can do nothing but gloat about it. ...I have seen dozens of espers like that who are nothing beyond their powers."

Komaba Ritoku didn't beg for his life; he merely looked Accelerator in the eye as he spoke.

Skill-Out.

That group was originally created in order to protect themselves from powerful espers.

"And if...it became popular among those people to play a game where they hunted down Level 0s who weren't part of an organization like Skill-Out...what would you do?"

"..."

"We're in a world where power defines your character. And someone like you who's at the top of the food chain, will never understand people like us who are at the bottom."

"..."

"You simply have no sympathy and empathy. People look to you for your power while people look to us for fun. We are simply not the same people. However, I will say this. You and I are living under the same circumstances."

At the same time, his flip phone fell out and it revealed a wallpaper of him with a small little girl at a park taking a normal and fun picture.

Komaba Ritoku juggled between the light and dark just to spend time with the things he found precious to him.

With slow motions, Komaba pointed his gun right between Accelerator's eyes.

"Remember this feeling, Accelerator. And welcome to the dark side."

A gunshot shook the area.

Accelerator's reflection made no exceptions. The bullet bounced back and flew back into the Smart Weapon's barrel. The iron weapon was smashed to pieces from the inside and the bullet continued on its path and hit Komaba's face. And with that Komaba Ritoku's face was gone. There was a raw noise. The torn pieces looked like a bowl with chipped edges. It looked like a crude container with skin and hair on it that had only brains inside.

Accelerator saw it from point-blank range.

He saw it from closer than anyone else.

"..."

He let go.

The body fell to the ground and the arms and legs bent limply and remained stuck where they were. Komaba wasn't going to say anything more. He had been a troublesome enemy when he stood in Accelerator's path, but all resistance had left him.

And Accelerator's job was over.

His first job had been completed without a hitch.

---3rd October 4:45p.m.---

"What am I doing..."

Accelerator was done with the cleanup of the place and was just waiting around for Musujime to finish her task as well.

He sat down on a staircase as he thought about the words that Ritoku said.

Was he really that out of touch with the dark side?

How far did he actually go?

Was he only a foot in?

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

Accelerator's thoughts were cut off by Musujime who was in bent over in front of him, her cleavage showing off quite a lot even with the bandages covering her chest.

Accelerator took the phone out from earlier as he inspected it's contents.

"You gonna hand that over to GROUP? It's still counted as evidence."

"I highly doubt they would want the phone of a dead person, much less the leader of the whole group. The Skill-Outs are done for and their reign is over. There's nothing else left for them to do now."

"You sure sound confident."

There was a small lingering silence between them until Accelerator spoke up again.

"Anyway how are your wounds?"

When he asked that question, Musujime was shocked as she flinched at his question.

"W-What? What's with the sudden question?"

"If you can react that spontaneously then I guess it's fine."

"Well, it's still not as bad as the injury you gave me on that night when we first met."

"You're still on about that?"

"Did you forget? The only reason I'm here is because you interfered with my fight on that day. If it weren't for you, I could have hidden and gotten more people to help me. Then I could have attacked the facility my comrades are restrained in and rescued them."

The smile on her face looked like it was slicing her head in two as she slowly spoke.

"Heh. Heh heh. If you use your powers to help me with my work in Group and my comrades are released as a result, I'll forgive you. But if you get in my way, you're dead. Make sure your value to me doesn't fall any farther. If you don't you'll have corkscrews all over your body."

"Shut the fuck up, Move Point." Accelerator cracked his neck as he responded. "You're the one that doesn't understand. You're the one that got so upset just because I smashed some of your luggage. Try and get this in that defective brain of yours. If you waste even a second of my life, you're going to be nothing more than a stain in a back alley."

"..."

"..."

The two stared at each other for a bit, but then a car horn sounded multiple times with short intervals between. It seemed the black garbage truck had arrived at the entrance to the alley.

And soon, Accelerator had to make a move.

"I don't care what your reason is, just help me tell the leader that I'll be back after a while."

"Hm? Where are you going?"

"Nowhere important. Just making my rounds around the city."

----3rd October 5:25p.m.----

"Yeah, no. The task is already finished, I told that annoying teleporter to report back to you guys."

"..."

"What do you mean she's not back yet?"

"..."

"Tch, I'll deal with it. Anyway, I've already left the site so transport is unnecessary."

"..."

"Yeah, I'll be careful not to get noticed on the way back."

Accelerator ended the phone call as he slid his smartphone back into his pocket. The second after, he tilted his head back as he stared at one of the abandoned buildings behind him and he noticed a red haired girl on one of the buildings. She wasn't very difficult to find seeing her hair stand out from the greyish abandoned buildings.

He was currently in District 10.

Inside the cemetery to be exact.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Accelerator looked at her with the utmost disgust. As if she wasn't even human at all. His mouth crooked to the side.

Even if she couldn't hear him from that range, he knew she could understand that he was looking at her. The moment they made eye contact, she shrugged her shoulders as she tried to laugh it off.

A single beep from his choker was all it took for him to fly up to her level to 'greet' her.

The wings of wind propelled him all the way to the 5 storey building where they both met eye to eye.

"Why the hell are you following me..."

"No reason really. Just curious to see what 'important' things you're up to. Since you ruined my important thing as well."

"Tch, you must either be asking for a death wish or you just really wanna die ha?"

"It doesn't hurt to get to know more about the person I'm working with, right?"

"Trust is something to be earned, not given. And we've only done one mission together."

Musujime clicked her tongue as she tried her best to fold her arms, but because of the injuries she sustained, she found it difficult to complete that one action.

And she grit her teeth as she tried.

"Is knowing what I'm going to do really more important than your injury? I don't know if your brain is fucking rotten or you're just braindead."

"Anyone ever told you how much of an asshole you are?"

"Don't worry, I hear it all the time."

Accelerator proceeded to hold her by the back of her neck which prompted her to complain.

"H-Hey! What are you doing?! You're going to mess up my assistance device!!"

Accelerator did not respond to her, but he simply lowered her to the ground level. Where he pressed his battery to put him back to 'human' mode.

"You don't have your assistance device, do you?"

"U-Uhhmm...I could've taken the stairs you know?"

"Ha! In your state, I doubt you climbed your way up in the first place. Where did you puke this time?"

"I am going to stab your heart with buildings...!!" Musujime said as she clenched her fists into a ball while gritting her teeth.

Accelerator ignored her remarks as he continued on his way to the cemetery .

Musujime was still tailing him, as she looked at the scenery which District 10 had to offer and being an abandoned place, there was really nothing to look at other than the slum rats which inhabit the place.

"I wonder how many times I'll have to come here." Accelerator muttered as he walked to the entrance of the cemetery.

Only a couple of steps in did he finally see the grave of his once beloved.

A bouquet of flowers, followed by a couple more dandelions.

All for Ester Rosenthal and beside hers was a tombstone for Yoshikawa.

The single bouquet of flowers on Yoshikawa's tombstone had long withered away while Ester's one were still fresh.

Accelerator knelt down as he touched the soil in which she was buried under.

Musujime watched from the back with her injuries still apparent.

"(I made it...Damnit, I feel so stupid just talking to myself like that, like you would even be listening right now...)" Accelerator thought in his head. There was a five second pause before he continued on. "(Ahhh fuck it. I've put myself in danger again, and I know you probably wouldn't like what I'm going to do from here on out, but I just want to let you know that I'm going to--)"

Before he could finish his thoughts, he felt a small tap on his shoulder.

"Oi, can't you see I'm busy?"

"It's only been a few days and this is how you speak to Nee-chan~~"

When he heard that mature tone and voice, his eyebrows immediately sunk downwards in annoyance.

"What are you doing here?"

"Nee-chan felt lonely at home taking care of Misaka-chan that she came to visit you~~"

It was Oriana Thomson.

At this point, Accelerator was close to fuming as he smashed his rows of teeth together.

"Make your point clear, otherwise I'll break your leg again..."

"Haha, I'm just kidding. I knew you'd come around. After all, she WAS a very nice companion wasn't she?"

Accelerator stood up and leaned his weight on his cane as he talked to her.

"What does it matter?"

"I heard from Ayu-chan...about that night."

"...How much did you hear?" Accelerator glared at her with his reddish eyes as his sadistic smile was slowly stretching across his face.

"Nee-chan heard so much~ She heard that you even cried that night~~" Oriana immediately grabbed his head and pushed his face into her breasts teasingly as she shook her body left and right.

Musujime watched in horror at how dangerous that foreign woman was. In fact, she was even surprised that he managed to make a friend like her.

Then Oriana stopped and turned to her.

"So, Nee-chan leaves you alone for a few nights and you're already out playing with another woman? And very rough at that?"

"Tch!!"

Accelerator clicked his tongue as he tried to push her away, but her grip was way too strong for him to overcome. So he gave up and sunk in.

"She's just an acquaintance."

"That's what they all say, until something happens and you both wind up waking up in the same bed the next day."

"Get your head out of the gutter!" Accelerator shouted as he tried to punch her face, but his punch was so weak that it barely even had any effect on her.

"He's not my type!!! I'm only into little boys wearing thigh high shorts-!" The moment Musujime spouted that, she immediately covered her mouth as the both of them stared at her with uneven brows.

"You really make the weirdest friends, Accelerator." Oriana commented.

"Ha...I give up..." Accelerator lowered his head further into her bosom as he sunk in defeat like a battleship.

"Anyway, Yomikawa told me that you had to attend school now. But that's not true, is it?"

"Yeah. I'll be going further into the dark side of Academy City."

"How far are you willing to go?" Oriana finally lets him go to explain himself.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. Until I reach the core of the dark side, until I can find peace for that damn brat, I'll keep going." Accelerator casually said as he dusted himself off.

"Then what about the magicians?"

"That job is up to you. If you find anything happening in the magic side that overlaps with Academy City, let me know. If I get any information, I'll let you know as well."

Oriana had a look of uncertainty as she bit her fingernail.

"What's wrong?"

"This plan of yours, this path, won't it be a tough journey?"

"Of course, it will, but if it means giving that brat freedom and happiness, nothing else matters."

----3rd October 10:00p.m.----

In Academy City, ten at night was relatively late.

This was because the city's trains and buses stopped running after all of the students were supposed to have left school. In some places, stores would close at that time too, so it seemed that the only stores open were ones geared towards adults.

Because members of Anti-Skill who functioned as both teachers and the security forces were patrolling the city, students who weren't prepared to get scolded would stay in their dorms.

For that same reason, Academy City was full of delinquents at night so a normal student could easily get caught up in some small bit of trouble if he went walking around then.

In one of those streets, the sound of a cane tapping against the ground could be heard.

It was Accelerator.

Accelerator saw Oriana off before bringing Musujime back her own place. Apparently, she had been freeloading with some nosy woman teacher.

He didn't catch her reaction, but he could hear the sounds of concern from outside.

But of course, Accelerator didn't have a home like that anymore. Instead, he was heading for a building that was referred to within Group as the "Nap Room".

It had been a very long time since he had some black coffee so he was thinking of grabbing some by the convenience store, if his luck would allow him.

He headed towards the convenience store on the first floor of a nearby building as if he was being attracted by the various fluorescent lights that made up the scenery of Academy City at night.

"Uhh...Uhhhhnnn..."

A voice that sounded like someone talking in their sleep came from next to him.

But there shouldn't have been anyone there. After all, there was only a red mailbox there. And that metal mailbox that made one question its usefulness in that age of email was clearly not a bed.

And yet...

"U-ugyahh...I don't feel so gooood..."

A strange drunk woman was clinging to the mailbox's support post like it was a dakimakura and rubbing her cheek against it.

She looked like she was a college student. She was wearing a simple shirt and slender black slacks, but they were probably some expensive brand. Also, a small handbag that couldn't have held anything more than a wallet had fallen to the ground a little bit away from her. Everything about her was screaming "Attack me, dumbass!". She seemed so "welcoming" in that way that it made you not want to try to help her.

Accelerator was about to ignore her and head into the convenience store, but..

"(Hm? Her face looks familiar...?)"

He suddenly stopped.

He looked closer at that drunk college student's face. He looked at her shoulder-length light brown hair and the well-proportioned lines of her face. Her eyes were closed so he couldn't tell, but he easily guessed that her eyes would be filled with excess energy. Her height and proportions were completely different, but oddly enough that girl still came to mind.

"(...Who is she? Don't tell me this is just a coincidence...)"

Accelerator couldn't help but be curious and he was staring at the woman's face from close by.

"Yaaawwn... Yes, yes. I'm Misaka Misuzu-saaan..."

"Misaka? Don't tell me..."

Her eyes suddenly open, the drunk grabbed onto him. She moved slowly, but Accelerator used a cane.

They both fell down onto the dirty road.

The woman was grabbing him around the waist, but she didn't seem to notice.

"My hobbies are number theory and studying. My special skill is swimming and my boobs are 91 centimeters... Oh, whoops. I'm married. C'mooon, don't touch me so familiarly, it's rude to papa."

"(Tch, she speaks like her too.)"

As she spoke, she pushed Accelerator to the side and sat on the ground a bit away. For a second, he felt the urge to shoot her in the head, but...

"Huh...? Where's the Dangai University database center? Hey, white guuuy. Do you know?"

She was completely drunk.

She probably would have said the same thing to anyone, be it the Chairman of the Board of Directors or the President of the United States.

"(Th-this is so fucking stupid that I'd be an idiot to pay her any heed. I just need to go and buy my coffee. Fuck dealing with that woman.)"

Accelerator stood up while supporting his weight on his cane and wiped the dirt of off his pants with one hand. He then sighed and started to leave.

"Heeey, don't be like that. Don't ignore me, white guuuy..."

The drunk grabbed on to his ankles.

Accelerator fell again with a yell.

The strange drunk climbed on top of him and spoke.

"Hey, white guuuy. I'm the kinda person that'll kiss anyone – boy or girl – if they're younger than meee."

"Quit blathering on about meaningless shit!!" Accelerator yelled back without thinking, but then realized what he had done.

Now that he had actually acknowledged that lonely drunk's existence, he saw a most unpleasant smile appear on her face.

"Like I said... Do you know where the Dangai University database center is? Misuzu-san has to do some studying theeere. I've got reports piling up after allll. Bwaaah..."

The strong stench of alcohol slowly surrounded Accelerator.

"Why the fuck would I know that!? Go call a taxi or something!!"

"Ahhn. How do I do thaaat?"

Luckily, a taxi happened to be coming by. Accelerator had been pushed to the ground and had someone clinging to him, but he still managed to get his hand in the air and wave it vigorously.

Unfortunately, the taxi driver didn't stop to answer him but continued driving on.

"OIIII!!! DON'T LEAVE ME WITH THIS DRUNK!! FUUUUCK!!!"

"Come oooonnn...what's wrong with helping Misuzu-sannn..."

"Goddamnniitttt!!!"

"You don't find a mother who stinks of alcohol and has drunk eyes sexyyy?"

"Not at all. Now get the fuck off me!!"

"Come on...just help Misuzu-san get to the Dangai University database center... you know, the storage facility that has a whole buncha information on programs dealing with AI and operational software..."

"Haaaa...fine!!" Accelerator could not muster up anymore strength to deal with troublesome women like her anymore so he gave in to her.

It would have been easy for him to just use his vector manipulation to get her there, but it was not so simple. He could not just show other people his esper ability like that. Especially not to an outsider.

But he could not simply ignore her as well, as he had taken someone from her.

Misaka Mikoto.

Even through that chaos, he understood one thing. She was most definitely either her mother or her older sister.

His lips curled downwards in displeasure.

Soon after, another taxi was driving by and when Accelerator waved his hands desperately to get the taxi driver's attention but got no signs of slowing down, he pressed the button on his electrode and stood in front of the taxi while Misuzu was still clinging on to him.

"You're not running away this time!" Accelerator said in a cold voice with a low tone as his lips spread apart to reveal his sinister smile. He pressed the front of the taxi with as minimal strength as possible so as to not destroy it's engines while still being enough to stop the momentum of the wheels.

Only the driver could see it as Accelerator was getting closer to the front windscreen. The driver shrieked as he slowly smiled at him.

Accelerator slowly walked to the passenger seat as he opened the door and flung Misuzu in.

"Hey hey...let's exchange numbers just in case I get lost again..."

"Fuck no!!"

Unfortunately for Accelerator, whether he liked to or not, Misuzu forced her hands into his pockets. Even if it meant half her body was out of the taxi. Her hands were fumbling around in his pocket, and since she was drunk, she was having difficulties trying to find his phone.

Meaning she went even deeper until she felt something soft.

"Oh? What's thiiiis?"

"Oi! Watch where you're touching!!"

"Ohhh is that what I think it is?"

And then she squished it even more while still fumbling around in his pockets.

"Woiii!!!"

Accelerator tried to push her away, but she was way too heavy for him to move.

"Have you ever thought of losing weight?!"

"Geez, you don't have to be so mean to Misuzu-chaaan!! I work haaaard to stay like this. I swim around in an indoor pool each week and put on a moisturizing cream after taking a bath. And if I slack off even a bit, it all falls apart. Kwaah! I hate you teenagers with perfect skin even though you don't do anything!!"

"I don't care about you or your fucking skin!! Now get off!"

Since Accelerator was as thin as a stick compared to the elephant that was Misuzu, she casually pulled him forward, only to nudge him but he was sent falling forward immediately which left him in a very awkward position with his crotch right in her face and him staring at her back.

"Ara ara, Misuzu-chan is married, you know? You can't just do something like this."

"It's not what you think it is!!"

As Accelerator tried to get out of that awkward position, he looked at the driver who was sweating profusely as he watched the both of them.

---3rd October 10:15p.m.---

Accelerator was now in the taxi with the drunkard after getting out of that awkward situation. The only reason he decided to follow her was due to how vulnerable she was and if something bad were to happen to her, he could never forgive himself for it.

While looking out the window, there was one thing he found odd.

"(Her clothes. Elmo, Az, Scale, Losib, and her perfume is a new Zero Plus product...Wait, aren't those all for teens? Well, she was still covered in brand name clothes and all from companies outside of Academy City. The fact that not a single thing came from here is odd.)"

It was conceivable that someone would order an entire outfit from a brand they really, really liked, but that drunk's clothes were all from different brands. The shirt, the slacks, the belt, the shoes, and the handbag were all different as if she had thrown a bunch of things she liked together. It didn't look like she was particularly picky about the brands she wore.

But then one would expect for there to be at least one thing from within Academy City.

Since there weren't any...

"(It's possible she came from outside.)"

Accelerator turned his attention from the window to Misaka Misuzu who was now lying on his shoulder, sleeping as a drool of saliva slipped out of the side of her mouth.

"(But why is she here? She said something about needing to go to the Dangai University database center, but would they really let someone in for that while preparing for a war? They're not only thoroughly checking the background of any guests, but they're doing it to the delivery workers too. So does that woman have some other reason to be here?)"

A reason.

A reason for someone in the Misaka family to be here at this time.

It could very well have to do with the original, Misaka Mikoto. Or...

"(...It could have to do with that kid.)"

"Tch," Accelerator clicked his tongue and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.

He opened the address book and moved the cursor to the entry only labeled as "Entry 3" and pressed the call button.

It was the number of his fellow Group member, Tsuchimikado Motoharu.

He put the phone to his ear and it connected without even ringing.

"Accelerator. Do you need something?"

A polite male voice answered. But Accelerator's eyes widened when he heard it. It wasn't Tsuchimikado Motoharu's voice and the speech pattern was completely different.

"(So they cut in on the call.) You bastard. I'm assuming you're the guy in charge of Group."

"I can answer any questions you might have."

"Tch...I've got nothing to ask you. I can handle my own problems. So quit commanding us like you're our fucking guardian. You're gonna get your eyes gouged out."

"Oh, I see. Well, that's too bad. There was a matter I was hoping I could inform you of if you weren't busy."

"Ah?"

"It's about Misaka Misuzu-sama. Although, I suppose you would need more than just a name."

The moment he heard that name, he immediately looked at her, who was fortunately still sleeping.

"(Fuck, are they watching me?)"

He had to bait that person on the call out. He had to make sure they were not watching him.

"So? What is it about? And who is this Misaka Misuzu? Is she related to Railgun?"

"Yes she is. And she applied for permission to use the Dangai University database center, so we are preparing to attack it. She is the only one using it and a few private guards have been confirmed to be there, but, well, it's within what we're allowed to do. All of the main data is backed up over the network, so there is no need to worry about any losses there."

"Attack?"

"Yes."

"She isn't some professional agent, is she?"

"As you may have guessed, Misaka Misuzu-sama is Miss Misaka Mikoto's mother. Her background check was clean. So you need not worry about that."

"(Her mother?)"

But what bothered him more was...

"Why are you attacking her mother? And her background check was clean? What the hell are you doing?"

"An ordinary person can be dangerous in her own way. Now I'm getting to the heart of the matter I mentioned before that I wanted to inform you of." The voice on the phone spoke quietly. "Do you know what a recovery exercise is?"

"It's that thing that's been happening a lot lately. Academy City might be becoming a battlefield, so parents are coming to take their kids somewhere safe."

"That reasoning itself is nothing more than foolishness brought about by a complete lack of understanding of the situation of this country's defenses, but it is still a problem. Having a great number of students leave Academy City is a problem for a number of reasons."

"..."

Why was that a problem?

Did they not want to let go of the students who could fight a war for them?

Did they not want their research samples to be leaked outside of the city?

"(That isn't it.)"

"Anyway, when you get to the Dangai University database center, be sure to kill her on sight. We hired a few Skill-Outs to do this mission, but they don't really cut it. Haha, even when threatened they still can't seem to do a good job." The voice on the other side calmly spoke as if human life meant nothing.

"And if you take on this mission, it'll lighten the debt you owe us and Academy City. Think of it as repayment."

"No, thanks." He responded. "Skill-Out? You really want me to do odd jobs along with those Level 0 fuckers? And I don't need to bow down to accommodate someone like you. I'm not here because of that debt."

As he spoke, he checked the choker-style electrode on his neck.

He had had a bit of fun earlier, but the battery still had plenty of time left.

It was more than enough to take care of one little Skill-Out group.

He was going to protect her from the darkness. He was going to give her daughter back to her.

"Someone like you may not understand, but my life is my own. I don't give a fuck what you expect me to do. I decide what I do. I'm not your tool. Got it?"

"Is that so? If you aren't going to do the job, then just come on home." The voice on the phone sounded a bit discouraged. "I'll take care of your power until you make it back."

The electrode on his neck gave a strange beep.

"(Wha...t!?)"

Accelerator hurriedly put his hand up to the switch, but there was no reaction. There was nothing more than a clicking noise. He couldn't switch between normal mode and powered mode.

"You put something in my electrode!!" Accelerator whispered angrily.

"Oh, is there something you need your powers for?"

"Tch," he clicked his tongue.

In order for Group's technical team to improve the battery, his choker-style electrode had been confiscated temporarily, but they must have messed with its internal workings in that time. The person over the phone most likely had a safety device that he could freely operate remotely.

"If you have no more questions, I'll be going. Good night, Accelerator."

The connection ended.

"Hmph," Accelerator made an uninterested noise.

"(Excellent. Now I feel like doing this even more.)"

There was a villainous look in his eyes.

Accelerator put his phone back in his pocket and gritted his teeth.

"(...All I can use is my handgun and I have about fifty shots left. I have no idea what Skill-Out has in regards to numbers or equipment, but I bet I can get that drunk out of this mess.)"

---3rd October 10:45p.m.---

The database center had a fifty-meter dome-shaped building at its center and a number of rectangular structures around that. At first, Misuzu was in the domed building looking something up on a computer, but she was currently in one of the adjoining buildings.

Accelerator had kept her there for her safety.

The room seemed to store the substitute processors; it was lined with metal shelves almost like a library. But instead of thick books, the shelves had a large number of motherboards in clear cases on them. The CPU's were liquid-cooled instead of air-cooled, so there was no sound of fans.

Instead, blood vessel-like tubes were running all over the room.

In the room darkened due to the fluorescent lights being out, the red and green access lights flickered.

But she was most definitely alone in that room.

The sound of gunfire could be heard outside the room.

The sounds of middle and high school boys screaming in fear could be heard.

"AHHHH!!! Please don't kill me!"

"Wait...wha-what are you doing here?!"

"No one told me the security included you!"

Gunshots continued ringing out through the dome building but Misuzu couldn't see what was happening and when she tried to contact Anti-Skill, it seemed like they hadn't arrived yet.

"What is happening?! And where is that boy still?!"

Suddenly, she heard the sounds of explosions and fireworks burning through the building and the rooms beside her.

It was practically chaos.

And Accelerator was there for it.

-----------------

The thunderous roars and shockwaves of gunshots rang through the building and at the back of those shots was the pale boy with white hair.

Accelerator.

"My god. It's like target practice. They just stand there and die!!"

Numerous gunshots were fired and bodies were dropping in front of him. The smell of iron, the color of dark red blood all around him. But he knew his bullets wouldn't kill them entirely.

He specifically aimed for their non vital spots and especially at their legs where they would be incapacitated. If they were lucky, they could still live their life with a few health complications.

Footsteps were stomping all around him, and when he heard them near a corner, he would simply prefire that spot and kill that one person.

Because they were holding guns as well, once he killed them, he simply had to pick it up instead of reloading. Life was really easy for him.

"Come on! Is that all? Even with your superior numbers, you guys are really pathetic!"

Even more gunshots rang out.

It was all smooth sailing until the sound of footsteps could not be heard. Bodies were all on the floor.

"That should be all of them."

It should have been over, but a blood curdling scream could be heard from a distance.

And it was from a woman.

Somehow one of them managed to get to her.

"Fuck!! I traveled too far!"

Accelerator limped as fast as he could to the Substitute Processor Storage Room where she was hiding in but when he got there, she was gone.

"Fuck..."

He looked around for clues, but the only thing he saw was a singular gun on the ground. If it was a singular gun it was definitely the work of a single person trying to carry her away. She may have tried fighting him off even. But he knew he couldn't take the chance that it might have been a bait.

He had to think where he would take her.

He had to think like a Level 0.

He had to think like a coward.

---3rd October 10:55p.m.---

Hamazura Shiage.

He was just a normal Skill-Out member who wanted to be like Komaba Ritoku. He took on the oddest jobs and every responsibility was pushed to him. He hadn't established himself as the leader of the gang, but he was determined to lead them.

However, the arrival of Accelerator was their immediate downfall.

"Fuck!! Why did he have to appear now?! Of all missions and days!!"

He recently had a piercing at his nose so whenever he was stressed, he would touch it, although it was still sensitive and only stressed him out even more.

"Who are you to him?!"

Hamazura looked at the passed out woman in front of him. He had originally wanted to threaten her to follow him, but she resisted by tackling him over, which prompted him to use his pistol to hit her on the head to make her pass out.

He carried her body all the way to the emergency exit but her body was so heavy that he didn't even notice his gun falling out of his pocket.

And when he made it out, he just sat there panting in exhaustion and despair.

His allies were all dead.

There was nothing waiting at the end for him. He had to bribe and talk his way into an agreement with the operators of the dark side.

He was forced into this situation. He had suffered his whole life following the orders of others.

"Ahh...where is Hanzou when I need him..."

Just then, he heard a couple of quiet footsteps in front of him along with the sound of a tapping cane.

And then, it stopped in front of him.

It was pitch black in front of him and he could see nothing but the darkness.

Suddenly, a spark lit up within the darkness, and he could smell smoke right in front of him, followed by a sharp pain in his shoulders.

"Kh!! Why are you even doing this to us?! We did exactly as you guys asked. We had control over this situation, we made a damn deal! Shit, you were planning on using us and taking us out afterwards this whole time, weren't you!!"

Another gunshot could be heard and this time it was aimed at his leg.

"Fuck!!"

There was nowhere he could run. His back was to a wall, and he only had one option left.

"Don't you dare fucking come any closer!! Or else, I'll fucking snap her fucking neck!! You hear me?!"

Hamazura held Misuzu in a chokehold. He actually didn't know how to snap someone's neck, but he knew how it should look like.

But then, he heard the sound of the hammer's pistol beside his ear and that was when he knew he lost.

"Goddamn it...Screw everything to hell!! Why is it us Level 0's that have to suffer every single goddamn time! I don't fucking get it."

His spirit was broken as he let Misuzu go and he drops to his knees with his hands in his face.

"We Level 0's have to work so goddamn hard to strengthen our bodies like an athlete's just so we can stand a chance against the espers who always pick on us. But wherever we go, we just get mocked, laughed at, and when we finally found a home we belong to, it gets destroyed for the happiness of others. What's the fucking point?! Everything we Skill-Out's built always gets destroyed, we can never find happiness unless we solidify ourselves as a force to others."

Hamazura had tears flowing down his cheeks and the more he tried to get rid of it, the more it continued flowing.

But Accelerator didn't care about his feelings.

He was ready to go in on him.

"Is that it? Is that your reason for causing so much destruction?"

"Huh?"

"Look at you guys. You would take an innocent life just to benefit yourselves. Do you even know what true villainy is? Taking the life of an innocent person isn't true villainy, it's just called being a total dickhead. And that's what you are right now."

"W-What? Are you looking down on me?!"

Hamazura tried to get back up but Accelerator simply pressed the barrel of the gun at his forehead yet again.

"I killed your previous leader, Komaba Ritoku and even though what he was doing was wrong, he was still doing it for you guys' benefits. But I had to kill him because he went too far. He was going to endanger every single esper in Academy City, and he was just going to add fuel to the war with the Roman Catholic Church. Who the fuck do you think is cleaning up Academy City's shit? That's right, it's me and I don't like to do it, but I have no choice. I have to protect my family."

"...But you're the fucking strongest, what do you know about being a Level 0?!"

"Strongest? The title of strongest? Haha, you're so fucking naïve I can almost pinch you to death. It's a dream to be the strongest, isn't it? Even stronger than the Board Of Directors. So strong that they'll use whatever tricks they have to control you like a fucking dog. They'll even hold your family hostage just to control you. And you think it's that simple, HA?!"

Accelerator fired a bullet out of frustration beside Hamazura's face, and for a second, Hamazura went deaf but when he recovered his hearing, Accelerator continued.

"Originally, I was supposed to kill that woman with my own hands, but when I found out she held no bad intentions, I went against my orders. That is villainy. And that is called an honest living. Living like a fucking dog is boring, harming innocent people because you were ordered to, is a fucking scummy move."

Soon after, multiple footsteps could be heard. However, it wasn't Skill-Out. It was Anti-Skill as they made their presence known.

"If anyone is still in the building, please call out for help!"

Accelerator turned to the noise inside the dome shaped building before clicking his tongue and looking back at Hamazura.

"I've seen a Level 0 who still attends school and she's still living life normally. She still has dreams of becoming an esper even if her power was insignificant, she just wants that power because it's cool. A fucking dumb reason like that can still motivate her to continue studying. Now look at you bunch of fuckwits. Playing around with rockets and blowing up the city. Do you really think people will respect you for that?"

"..."

"Open your fucking eyes, your life doesn't have to be black and white. When you finally find your reason for living, make sure you avoid me at all cost."

Another gunshot was fired.

The night ended with Hamazura falling to the ground.

---3rd October 11:00p.m.---

Accelerator was carrying Misuzu away from Dangai University. He felt like a camel trying to carry her on his back but thanks to her cooperation, he was managing well.

The smell of alcohol on her had disappeared and he finally made it onto the main road. When he got far enough to the point where the sirens of Anti-Skill vehicles were gone, he set her down to check on her.

Firstly, he placed the back of his hand on her carotid pulse and fortunately, she was still breathing well.

"Geez, Misuzu-chan was passed out, but you are still taking advantage of her?"

"Fuck off."

"Heh heh, I heard what you said earlier. It was pretty admirable."

Accelerator clicked his tongue.

"My original plan was to take Mikoto-chan back because of the war that is ongoing between Academy City and the Roman Catholic Church, but after you've said all that, I think I can rest assured knowing that the strongest in Academy City is actually a decent man after all. I hope one day Mikoto-chan gets the chance to meet a wonderful person like you."

"You're spouting nonsense. I'm not a good person. I'm just a piece of shit villain. A villain who bloodies his hand for people."

With that, Accelerator had left her on the streets for her to return alone. With the whole Skill-Out group wiped out, he can only hope that there was no one else hired to target her.

And he didn't have to worry about GROUP going after her, because they were already in front of him.

"I had heard you were here. From the look in your face, I assume it went well."

"Unabara," muttered Accelerator as if he didn't care and he looked over towards him. The darkness didn't suit that silky brown hair or that agreeable and youthful face. And as he approached, Accelerator began feeling an odd pressure in his chest.

He didn't allow it to show on his face and casually kept his distance from Unabara.

Unabara who seemed out of place spoke to Accelerator who made the darkness his own.

"So was this another leftover job? You shouldn't overwork yourself when you aren't even getting paid."

"I didn't ask for your opinion," Accelerator said rejecting the comment. Looking closer, he could see Tsuchimikado Motoharu and Musujime Awaki standing near Unabara. That meant all four members of Group were here.

"...What do you want? Did the higher ups send you here to punish me?"

"Of course not. We're just here to confirm a few things." Tsuchimikado stared at Accelerator from behind his sunglasses as he spoke.

"First on the list is about Misaka Misuzu. From what I could hear at a distance, she has decided against taking her daughter from Academy City. So her death has been called off."

"Will the higher ups really accept a vague conclusion like that? That's just what she said. She could easily change her mind at any time."

"It'll be accepted...That idiot Unabara worked pretty hard in that regard." Tsuchimikado muttered as if he was almost surprised about it.

Accelerator looked towards Unabara with a dubious expression on his face, but Unabara merely smiled in the darkness and spoke.

"Well, you ARE trying your best to keep your end of the promise with me. So I thought I might try a bit harder as well."

"...Damn pretty boy. He's been saying things like that without giving us a straight answer this whole time. He must have used a fairly unsightly method." Musujime brought her hand to her forehead and shook her head.

Tsuchimikado relaxed his shoulders.

"Anyway. Misaka Misuzu is fine. Good work on your first job + extras, Accelerator. How'd you like your first Group job? Basically these jobs are cleaning up after the messes other people make, but there are plenty of ways to find them worthwhile."

"God damn it. Today was just violence, betrayal, and killing on parade."

Tsuchimikado nodded in response to the words Accelerator spat out.

"Exactly. But we have to protect our own weak points amongst it all. Our lives may be easier if we abandon those weak points, but we just can't make ourselves do it... They're our worthless treasures."

"..."

"I have my step sister, Unabara has the person he has feelings for, Musujime has her comrades who once worked with her, and you have the clones."

Tsuchimikado's lips twisted up in a cynical smile.

"To protect those important things, we can't use normal methods. The higher ups lined things up for their victory from the very beginning, but that's basically a lie. It's like making a rigged bet. It's made so you can't win and you lose your money. There's no way to get out of here by following the rules. We can try to win by the rules anyway, we can try to find a loophole in the rules, or we can throw the chess board to the ground and go on a rampage. Those are our options."

"Why are you telling me this? I doubt you're suggesting we all get along and work together."

"Because you could become a card we could use," replied Tsuchimikado lightly. "I don't know what they're planning, but you seem to be quite important to the higher ups. For now, they seem content with only having messed with your electrode, but that means you have a chance. Let's work together, Accelerator. We'll teach you how to live in this world, so you won't die easily."

"..."

Accelerator looked at the other members of Group.

Tsuchimikado Motoharu, Unabara Mitsuki, Musujime Awaki.

All three of them were peculiar people and he had no idea what any of them were actually thinking. But he was the same. He would have no problem using them in order to save Last Order.

"Interesting," he said. "But if you get in my way, I won't hesitate to cast you aside. This only lasts as long as you have value to me. If you want anything more than that, you're out of luck."

"Hah. Excellent attitude."

Tsuchimikado laughed and turned his back on Accelerator.

He waved his hand urging the others on as if he was inviting them out to karaoke.

"Come on. The higher ups are going to counterattack before long."

The biggest restraint on Accelerator was the safety device for his electrode that the higher ups could operate remotely.

As he couldn't use the Sisters' substitute operations when in an area where electromagnetic waves couldn't reach him, he had no way to block the remote safety device. Anything that would block it would block his connection with the Sisters as well.

At first glance, it seemed to be a perfect method of control, but, if he only managed to get past that, he had a good chance of escaping them.

"(First I need the blueprint.)"

He would go to the frog-faced doctor and get the blueprint for the choker-style electrode. He could figure out how the safety works from there. And if that took too long, he may be able to make a second one.

A smile naturally came to his face.

From a distance, they might have looked like friends chatting as they walked along the street at night.

But Accelerator only felt something hot squirming around inside him.

There was that "man" that had talked with him on the phone right before his electrode had been cut off remotely.

He could be relaxing at his home on a couch or he could be walking around in the very same area Accelerator was. A voice over the phone could be artificially altered, so he couldn't even be sure it had really been a man. From what that bastard had said, there was someone behind all this.

Someone behind all this misfortune.