CHAPTER 8

God’s Right Seat and the Imaginary Number District

Fuse_KAZAKIRI.

1

“Aiho!!”

At last, Kikyou Yoshikawa found her old friend in the downpour.

All around her in the city this night, it was eerily silent.

Yomikawa was leaning limply on the steering wheel of her domestic sports car, parked on the shoulder strip. It looked like a painful position, with the wheel pushing into her chest, but it didn’t even make her flinch. She was unconscious.

When Yoshikawa put her hand on the door, she found it wasn’t locked.

As soon as she opened it, Yomikawa’s upper body swayed to the side and slid out of the seat.

“!” Yoshikawa managed to get her arms around her and push her back into the driver’s seat.

…What happened here? she thought, putting a palm to the woman’s mouth to check her breathing and a hand to her neck to check her pulse. She seemed to be alive for the moment, but even so, she showed no signs whatsoever of waking. This didn’t seem like regular sleep.

“…” Yoshikawa looked from the car to her surroundings, worried about the rain as well. The car was parked on a main road, but not far away was a back road where a bunch of delinquents hung out.

Maybe they attacked her, she thought—but Yomikawa didn’t have a scratch on her. Even coming from another woman, Aiho Yomikawa was a beauty. Plus, she was an Anti-Skill officer. If she’d been attacked, the situation would have been unimaginably bad. The delinquents probably would have also taken pieces of the car and sold them for pocket change.

Which means it was someone else…?

Yoshikawa frowned. If it wasn’t a band of ruffians, who on earth had done this to her?

Anyway, hospital…They have an emergency room; it would be quicker than calling an ambulance! she thought, scatterbrained, before hearing a low brrrr.

In the car, the small printer attached to the radio was operating. It had spit out a piece of paper the size of a postcard.

“Ngh…” Yoshikawa reached over Yomikawa, who was spread over the driver’s sheet, and took the paper.

And then she froze.

It read:

“Report from Ryouta Saikou, Anti-Skill Branch 84, Suzuyama High School.

“Comparison performed with city data banks in accordance with evidence found at the scene of the crime in School District 5.

“Name: Accelerator. Wanted as a suspect in an attempted murder.”

On another paper that came out at the same time was the mug shot of a person she knew well.

It couldn’t possibly have been anyone else.

2

Accelerator stood in a filthy back alley.

He had returned to School District 7, but that wasn’t likely to put him at ease.

In the continuing sounds of rainfall came a heavy, metallic bang.

It was the sound of his throwing a Hound Dog member, now an old rag, into a giant dumpster and shutting the lid. Drops of red fluid leaked from the gap between the lid and the container like the drool of a glutton.

Accelerator put his hands on the dumpster, which was about up to his waist, then leaned back on it, finally letting his legs give out and sliding to the ground. He thought he felt an oily puddle seeping into his clothing and skin.

“Ha-ha,” he laughed.

He hadn’t crushed meat in a while.

It felt like he was gulping down coffee after going without it for a long time. It should have felt good, but he was despondent. It should have excited him, but somehow, it gave him this insurmountable resignation. He’d drunk it for so long, and how delicious it was—but now he was in a strange mental state where he was confused. Had this been all coffee was?

One way or another, he’d found out.

Right now, Accelerator didn’t consider it a good thing to kill someone. Actually, it might have been more accurate to say he’d realized it on August 31. Somehow or other, his meeting with Last Order had been that big a turning point for him.

He didn’t want to kill people like Last Order. And it was possible for him to feel the same way about others, like Yomikawa and Yoshikawa, who lived in the same world as her. It was wrong for sentimental people who walked in the light to end up victim to those lurking in the dark like Accelerator. To put a stop to that, Accelerator wouldn’t quit fighting on his own.

That might seem like what a normal human would think.

But there was a hole in this logic.

For example, if a rotten piece of shit who didn’t have the slightest resemblance to Last Order showed up. If someone un-savable tried to take away someone who could be saved. In that case, Accelerator’s shackles that asserted “killing is wrong” would come undone. His fear was someone who lived in the light falling prey to someone who lived in the dark. He hated himself for being part of that world already—he couldn’t ever accept another entering that same place.

Therefore, in specific, special circumstances, he wouldn’t hesitate to tear someone’s flesh apart. Every drop of what he held inside would burst out until he was left with nothing.

Like how he was now.

“…” Accelerator hung his head in the torrential rainfall.

In the end, it hadn’t been enough—the turning point on August 31 hadn’t fully wiped away those dark, ingrained properties. That wasn’t enough. Something—something was missing. There were more pieces to the puzzle for him to go back to being human.

Having thought that far, he smiled—a somehow resigned, relinquishing smile.

Loneliness overwhelmed him.

He’d returned to how he was before meeting Last Order.

“Ha-ha…”

His back against the dumpster, he looked up at the sky.

Raindrops hit his skin. The clouds were thick, and so black he felt his soul darken as he watched them.

Only four minutes left of ability mode…, Accelerator thought, sick of this, reviewing the situation. Anti-Skill’s on my tail, too. My mug shot’s probably all over the city by now. Even if I do kill Kihara and rescue the brat, I can’t go back.

His time with Last Order was already at an end. Even if he rescued her unharmed, they couldn’t walk the same path. What he needed right now wasn’t the effort to accomplish that goal—it was the strength to accept the truth right in front of him. The strength to act only to save her despite what he knew, not caring about that.

He clicked his tongue in frustration. It hadn’t been very long, but now that he’d lost it, he felt a hole in his chest.

But that wasn’t enough to make his red eyes waver.

I’ll admit it. So fucking what?

He grabbed his shotgun from the puddle with one hand.

I’ll bring that brat out of the darkness, even if she’s the only one. That should have been my only objective anyway. Let’s cut out the flab. I’ll do what I need to, and that’s making sure the little shit is safe.

He used the weapon as a cane to wobble up to his feet.

Amata Kihara, the Hound Dogs, Anti-Skill, what happened after this was all over—none of it mattered now. He needed only one goal.

That made it easier to think. He felt like he’d thrown away all the weight on his shoulders. Now he could selfishly think he would accomplish any objective, no matter what.

The final chain had been broken. Accelerator, who had regained the title of strongest in exchange for something important, let his cane lead him into the rainy streets.

Everything to crush his next target.

To settle the problem, even if he came out hands drenched with blood.

And he had an idea of where to find the flesh of his prey.

3

“All facilities clear,” reported Hound Dogs member Dennis on the radio, giving the information he’d gathered to the team on standby. “Nobody’s around.”

“I see,” came back a curt response from a colleague.

He and the others in his group were in a hospital, currently in the big reception lobby on the first floor. With the huge glass panes on the walls, it was designed to let in a lot of sunlight—but it was night right now, and all the overhead lighting was off. In a word, the pitch-black hospital was creepy.

The group of fourteen had orders to dispose of Orson, former member of the Hound Dogs who had deserted in the face of the enemy. In addition, they were to make sure the sister in white who’d witnessed their operation wouldn’t talk. They were even instructed that in the worst case, they had permission to plant bombs in the facility and blow up the entire hospital.

Dennis continued his report. “Used smoke bombs located in the third-floor hallway. It doesn’t look like they’ve been gone long.”

“The report they gave stated that there was a danger of terrorist activity, and since they’re possibly still hiding suspicious items inside, they evacuated all the staff and patients outside the building temporarily,” answered his colleague Mike, who was getting said information from his portable computer.

Dennis took his ear away from the radio. “…They noticed us.”

“Probably,” Mike said dully. “Personally, I feel like it’s better that way.”

“But wouldn’t the hospital have had patients needing large equipment?”

“They probably used hospital vehicles,” said Mike offhandedly. “Special ambulances, about thirty meters long. ’Bout the size of a sightseeing bus. Apparently, they can speed to the scene and do basic surgery on the spot.”

“I’ve never heard of that.”

“Wouldn’t think so. It was a failure—the large size was actually its biggest flaw. It couldn’t make tight turns, so it would never get to the scenes in time. It might have worked if it wasn’t Japan. Or if they could coordinate somehow with smaller ambulances, like the ships in a fleet.”

“You’re saying this hospital had some of them?”

“Yeah, probably in the underground parking lot. Nothing surprises me when it comes to this hospital. You could tell me they had ten of the behemoths, and I’d just be like, yep, that makes sense. They must have moved the patients requiring complete bed rest to them and had everyone who could walk evacuate on foot.” As Mike spoke, tone facetious, he shut down the portable computer. “It’s been a while since we lost contact with the Accelerator suppression team.”

“He must have gotten them.”

“We’ll need to assign some people to chase him, so we can’t rest here. We’re pulling out. If everyone related to this hospital fled, everywhere that might have been their destination will have been dealt with anyway.”

“Kihara won’t be happy.”

“It doesn’t matter how much time we take—he won’t be happy anyway if we tell him we didn’t find any clues. Difference in priority. We should deal with Accelerator, then wash away the hospital people after that. If we try to cover each mistake with an achievement, it’ll soften his anger. We probably won’t all be executed.

“Call everyone here,” said Mike in a monotonous voice.

In reply, Dennis hit the switch on the radio—but something happened.

Beep-beep-beep, went a cell phone’s call sound.

“…”

“…”

Dennis and Mike turned to look around.

The source was coming from behind the reception desk. It was precise, like they’d not only predicted where they’d be but called a specific phone as well.

“Any chance it’s a trap?”

“I’m not picking up any wires or infrared rays,” said Dennis.

Mike, attentive to his surroundings, jumped over the desk. After staring for a moment at the blinking red call light, he took the receiver.

“Oh, you’re late.”

It wasn’t a normal, everyday voice.

Mike frowned. If not for the black mask, others might have taken it as a sour face. A doctor he was used to hearing had spoken the words on the phone. The doctor had saved his life once before.

“Heaven Canceler…”

“One of my pleasures as a doctor is talking to former patients, but I don’t really have much time, so I’d like to make this short. Is that fine with you?”

The doctor seemed to have identified him. Apparently, he was one of those people who never forgot a patient’s name or voice.

…Where is he watching us from?

He thought they’d gotten rid of all the facility’s security before breaking in. Given the frog-face doctor’s pinpoint timing with the call to Mike, though, it was better to assume there was another security system running.

“You sound calm. Basic tactic when hiding out is to not take provocative action like this and stay silent. You want to get traced or something?” Mike said.

“I’m not a child—I wouldn’t make such a basic mistake, hmm? Besides, sometimes you need to take a few risks to do what needs to be done.”

“And what’s that?”

“I am an ally to patients. Even if you were the type to involve immobilized bedridden patients in fighting, if it were your life on the line, I’d have to save you. A doctor’s words are important, hmm? I’m asking you to please listen to me.”

The doctor spoke smoothly. There were still a few thorns in his voice, though.

“Leave Kihara and flee. If you don’t, your lives will be in danger.”

“Are you serious?”

“Accelerator will kill you.”

“That coward?”

“You seem to be misunderstanding something.” The doctor wasn’t ruffled. “Accelerator is by no means a do-gooder. In black-and-white terms, he’s certainly not white. I believe he got a little light, got a bit of white goodness from it—but in general, he’s black, evil. Until now he was…a gray so incredibly dark it was almost black, let’s say. He’s dangerous—one of those unstable people who could fall either way, hmm?”

“…”

“You understand, don’t you? He finally got a tiny bit of white, and who was the one who painted over that with black again? It was all of you—so don’t expect moderation. Not mercy—it’s moderation he’ll lack. If he wants to prevent that small light from being buried in the dark, he’ll get as much blood on his hands as he needs. You must not meet Accelerator. That’s all I can say to my patient. I repeat, you must not meet Accelerator. He’s not the child you saw before.”

“This is nonsense.”

“I see. It’s a shame I couldn’t get through to you.”

The doctor paused, then continued. “By the way, who do you think informed us of the danger?”

“What?” Mike frowned—and a terrible feeling dropped into his chest. Could it have…been him…?

That thought snapped him awake. If he was the one to tell them it was dangerous, then of course they predicted the Hound Dogs would come here. Mike was about to gesture to Dennis to get him to redo their guard layout, but the doctor spoke first.

“Don’t die. As long as you don’t die, I’ll save you.”

Gyaaaahhhhh!!

A building-shaking scream burst out from the direction of the ceiling.

Series of gunshots broke out in various places on the premises. But each quieted just as surely, as though being picked off one by one.

Something was closing in.

Mike tossed the receiver away. He and Dennis readied their submachine guns. They hid in the shadows, focused on what was past the darkness, trying to get at least a little preemptive information.

And then.

Fear itself appeared before their eyes.

The Hound Dogs team, including Dennis and Mike, were wiped out in about ten minutes.

4

Vento was on a street, standing in the rain.

Shit…

Her movements were slow. Thick blood spilled out of her fingers pressed against her mouth. Sometimes her back would lurch, and a moment later she’d cough up red chunks onto the ground.

…What is this? Am I under attack…? Bastard. Just a little more and I could have killed my target.

An artificial light shone on her as she suffered.

The light was moving.

On the side of a department store hung a spacious screen, which was showing the news. The reporter’s urgent voice pounded in her ears. It seemed to be a government broadcast.

“Yes. We’re receiving reports from throughout the nation of people suddenly losing consciousness. The police are rushing to identify the cause, but—”

“Gah…ah…”

With the pain and coldness inside her, she couldn’t pay attention to that.

But she worked her bloody lips anyway. “…It spread there, too. It’s just…hard to aim this attack. If only…we could have taken control of Academy City…”

“We appear to have reports of this damage from abroad as well, not just Japan. It has started to take effect on the schedules of airports, boats, and other transportation services—”

“Ha…” Vento let out a long breath. “I do hope it didn’t spread to the Vatican.”

Her voice didn’t sound all that concerned. The chaos seemed to be continuing on the news, but the program was on a schedule, too. After swapping reporters, the new one began to read from the next sheet.

“Now on to economics. The other day, there was an autumn dessert fair at Parallel Sweets Park in Tokyo, featuring confections from around the world. As they start business—”

“…” Vento’s eyeballs rolled over to watch the big screen.

“The estimated number of visitors exceeded two hundred thousand over the week of the park’s opening. The park is expected to coordinate with small to medium companies for goods manufacturing, affecting not only the theme park attraction industry but the region’s economy as a whole—”

With a bang and a shower of sparks, the big screen blew away.

Vento hoisted her hammer onto her shoulder.

She began to walk again down the rain-drenched street.

5

Kamijou dragged the unconscious patrons and employees from the restaurant, which seemed ready to collapse at any second. He didn’t want anyone to be flattened into pancakes. Next, he began first aid on the wounded. Only the black-suits were missing limbs. He stopped the blood by tightening a rope on their stumps as a tourniquet. Maybe the sensation hadn’t caught up with him yet, because seeing the wounds didn’t make him panic—which was actually a scary thing.

Then he called emergency services, but taking into account the city’s current status, an ambulance actually getting there had maybe a fifty-fifty chance.

Right. Where’s Last Order…?

He looked around, but of course, she wasn’t there. He ran through the rain and into a nearby Anti-Skill station, figuring that if she was looking for help, she probably would’ve gone there. Unfortunately, it was dead quiet inside, with an Anti-Skill officer slumped over a table.

Same situation as the restaurant. Kamijou stopped by a few more stations farther out, but all of them yielded similar results. The stations wouldn’t be safe, so where on earth had Last Order run to?

As he searched around, the only thing that happened was time passing.

Then Kamijou noticed something was in his pocket.

It was a cute-looking phone designed for children. Last Order had dropped it in the restaurant when she ran away. Now she couldn’t get in touch with anyone.

Those black-suits, and that Roman Orthodox woman calling herself Vento…If both of them are after her, I can’t be slow about this anymore.

Vento seemed to be after Kamijou, but that didn’t mean she’d smile and be friends with Last Order if she ran into her. The girl may not have been her target, but she didn’t seem the type to care about others.

“…”

Kamijou looked at Last Order’s phone again. He felt guilty, but he turned it on and looked at her address list.

He didn’t know whether Last Order would run away on her own or ask someone she knew for help. But if she asked someone she knew, he might find her if he went to those addresses. Even if he didn’t, it would be good to alert those people about the danger. They could tell him where she might have gone, too.

There were extremely few entries in the list.

He didn’t even have to scroll down to see them—only four were there. It really had only phone numbers, and not even names for them. They’d been left as the cold default text: “Entry 1,” “Entry 2,” and so on. Maybe her guardian was just making her hold on to it, and she didn’t actually use it at all.

He called each of the numbers, one at a time.

But all he got was the call tone; nobody seemed to pick up. Maybe Vento’s strange attack had more far-reaching effects than he thought.

The third number came back silent.

If the last one was the same, he was out of ideas.

Praying, he pushed the button.

He put the phone to his ear.

The monotone call sound began to ring in the hard rainfall.

6

Accelerator glanced around the dark hospital.

He’d rolled the sloppy mess of gasping enemies to the side. None of them had guns that fired the same bullets as the shotgun he was using as a cane, so he couldn’t resupply. The option of picking up a different weapon existed, but he avoided doing so. He didn’t want them to think he was relying on firearms too much.

That makes two teams I’ve crushed now, he said to himself, staring out the window, raindrops pelting the glass. Now even that shithead Kihara’s gonna have to change up his plan a bit. He’ll want to kill me way more than before, and that’s the plan—put the stupid brat in a less risky spot.

The situation was seemingly in his favor, but his inferior position hadn’t actually changed. He could kill as many regular Hound Dogs as he wanted—it might make Kihara impatient, but it wouldn’t scare him. The man had a special martial art he could use to take down Accelerator barehanded.

Plus, he didn’t have a clue as to where either Amata Kihara or Last Order were in the city. He couldn’t take any decisive action right now. Waiting for the enemy to make a mistake was all he could do.

If they hadn’t captured Last Order yet, the tactics he’d been using would be effective. Kihara would change his plan, send more killers after him—and the more he did that, the less would be following Last Order.

But if Kihara had already caught her, Accelerator’s efforts would be in vain. He couldn’t go rescue her now, since he didn’t know where Kihara was, and then there would be no chance whatsoever for Kihara to make a mistake. Last Order was their prize, not Accelerator. He didn’t need to keep moving on Accelerator at his own expense.

One of the two, and they’re mutually exclusive? This is some serious bull.

Accelerator sucked his teeth in anger and looked down to where one of the Hound Dogs’ radios lay. He’d crushed it underfoot in his irritation. Kihara seemed to know he’d gotten his hands on a radio. They hadn’t been talking about anything important for a while. He couldn’t use it anymore.

But why pick now to go after that brat? He leaned against the wall and thought. If they want her for research or something, then it’s the Sisters he wants after all. But he said himself—they ain’t much in the way of a combat force. Kihara’s the idiot who developed me, after all. If he really wanted to use espers for the military, I’d think he’d use my DNA map or make an even better one.

When Kihara was about to kill him outside the underground mall, he’d said something strange. Something along the lines of the Radio Noise project’s goal not being military use, and that if they really wanted to do that, they’d use Accelerator’s DNA instead of Railgun’s.

The Radio Noise project—and the Level Six shift experiment that followed. His eyes wandered idly…What have that brat and I been tangled up in all this time?

He thought he was onto something, but his thoughts didn’t continue for long—his cell phone started vibrating.

“…”

Accelerator held his breath, then took the small communication device out of his pocket.

The screen showed Last Order’s number.

He thought, Either it’s actually her or the shithead Kihara. Both extremes on the spectrum.

He pushed the call button.

He pressed the phone to his ear.

“Thank God I finally got through to you!”

The voice wasn’t Last Order’s—but it wasn’t Amata Kihara’s, either.

For a moment, he thought one of Kihara’s underlings was using her phone. But wait, this voice…

He felt like he’d heard it before somewhere, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. The waves were bad right now anyway, and there was the sound of violent rain in the background as though the person was outside.

“I’ve been calling every number in Last Order’s cell phone. You’re the only one who picked up. You may not know the situation, but I need your help. She’s in danger!”

It was entirely possible this was a trap.

Unfortunately, Accelerator’s only means of survival was to walk into it.

“What’s the situation?” he asked, focusing in order to glean as much information as he could.

The voice on the phone spoke quickly.

A little after the final school closing, he’d met Last Order in the city. She’d asked him to help someone she knew, who was being attacked by a group of unknown origin. When he went there, he found men in black suits collapsed on the ground but not that person. Then, black-suits—probably friends of the ones on the ground—chased them, and Last Order fled before he did. He didn’t know if she was safe, nor could he contact her. He couldn’t even tell if people were targeting her, so he wanted to get her to safety quickly.

The black-suits’ movements and Last Order’s location—the Hound Dogs would have an easy time figuring out both.

The possibility of this being a trap was increasing, but at the same time…

That sounds like exactly what the brat would do, doesn’t it?

“Hey, you…wouldn’t happen to be the ‘acquaintance’ she mentioned, would you?”

“Probably am.”

“Great. You’re safe. With what’s going on with Last Order, if you see her, take her and hide somewhere.”

The discussion was getting off topic, so Accelerator reined it back in. “Where did you last see her?”

“School District 7, near the Fight Street—er, you wouldn’t know that name. It’s an inside thing. Actually, I wonder if this road has a real name.”

There was silence for a short while—maybe he was looking for a street sign or something.

“There it is. It says it’s the corner of Route 39 and Konoha Street. There’s a Spanish family restaurant called Olla Podrida.”

Accelerator had an idea where that was.

That neighborhood was generally lively, but away from the main roads were shadowy alleys out of everyone’s sight. A place with lots of connections between the civilian world and the underworld—and plenty of people getting dragged in.

“Which direction did she run?”

“Don’t know. I had my hands full just getting her out of the building. I think she’ll follow the roads. It’s been a while since I saw her, so we honestly can’t guess where she is now.”

Not true, thought Accelerator.

With final school closing time past and no buses or trains, there were no vehicles for her to ride in the city. Even if she tried to call a taxi, none of the drivers would be polite enough to stop for a soaking-wet brat who clearly didn’t have any money.

Last Order had to walk.

To make things worse—though he was the perpetrator—she’d been dropped into water from a high place to get away from Kihara, which had worn her down. Even if she wasn’t tired, it was raining cats and dogs out. The person on the phone said it had been a while, but Last Order probably hadn’t moved very far—she’d be in a building recovering her stamina.

If the caller was right, Accelerator might manage to save her if he acted now.

Even if it was a trap, it could still lead somewhere.

“All right. I’ll pick her up. You get rid of that phone and go right back to being a civilian.”

“What are you talking about?! I’m obviously gonna help, too!”

It was actually easier to move by himself, and, well, he didn’t want an amateur throwing any wrenches into the situation—but he was being surprisingly persistent. Trap or not, this guy was an idiot.

Fed up, he said, “Right. You go to the big iron bridge in School District 7. We made that our emergency meet-up spot. If she’s on the run, she’ll go there.”

“Got it,” came the weirdly enthusiastic response.

Accelerator lied, of course.

“Be careful,” the voice said. “Something’s going on with Academy City today. Some weirdo infiltrated, and there’s Anti-Skill officers and regular people collapsed all over the place.”

“What?” Accelerator frowned. This was news to him—both the intruder to the city and many people knocked out.

“The intruder is one thing, but you didn’t know about what’s going on in the city, either? It looks like Anti-Skill and, uh, these guys in black clothes got hit by something. The guests in the restaurant were all down, too. Nobody directly punched them and knocked them unconscious, either. They were just walking along and then dropped to the ground suddenly. I didn’t check everywhere, but doesn’t it seem strangely quiet to you?”

“…” What’s going on? thought Accelerator.

Would Kihara go that far? Even his Hound Dogs had gone down. That made him wonder, but maybe Kihara wouldn’t hesitate to discard people like that.

He had a bad feeling about it, but that was for later. Getting Last Order back was his top priority.

“The attacks look pretty indiscriminate, so you be careful, too.”

“What a pain…”

The two of them fell silent for a moment after that.

Eventually the voice on the phone spoke.

“Sorry. I really shouldn’t have left her by herself.”

“…Goes for both of us. I left her alone, too.”

He hung up.

After looking at his cell phone for just a bit, he shoved it back in his pocket.

On his shotgun cane, he headed for the hospital exit.

This was the moment of truth.

7

Amata Kihara was in a dark room.

It was an office not currently in use. Most of the equipment used for the job was gone, leaving only a bunch of work desks and chairs. Kihara sat in one of them, relaxing with his feet up on a dusty desk.

All around him stood men clad in combat gear.

Compared to before, there weren’t many. Maybe five or six at most.

Still, it didn’t erase the relaxation from Kihara’s expression.

The higher-ups would send him as many Hound Dogs as he needed. Human trash was lying around everywhere, basically. Others would probably look at Kihara and call him the perfect example of an evil person. But at the very moment they made that criticism in calmness, they were no more than trash who didn’t understand human pain.

Erase them all you wanted—they never ran out. He wasn’t worried.

“We’ve lost contact with multiple teams, sir. More than likely…”

He heard the nervous voice of a subordinate.

Kihara shrugged it off, his voice relaxed. “…They fled or died. Either way, we’ll have to harvest their hearts later.”

Death wasn’t enough to punish failure. Kihara always made them pay—even if it meant tearing parts from their dead bodies.

“But which one was responsible?”

“Doesn’t really matter. Accelerator’s nothing right now. He’s so weak it almost breaks my heart when I’m punching him…The problem is that woman.”

Kihara, too, had information that Academy City’s functions were on the verge of total paralysis.

His own subordinates had come under the exact same attack, too.

Which would mean “that woman” was the one attacking the city now.

…That was an interesting trick she had.

He felt like it wasn’t some invisible, physical effect, like nanotechnology or electromagnetic waves. Normally if someone used those sorts of weapons, they’d equip special masks or suits for it. That woman had no defensive measures whatsoever.

Kihara spoke to another subordinate, standing right next to him. “Remember the woman who got in the way right when we were about to fire the missile at Accelerator’s minivan? Did you pick up the guys we used as decoys?”

“Yes, sir,” said the man in the black suit, gleaning just from that what Kihara was really trying to ask. “We’re currently investigating the wounded using the gear we have on hand.”

“They all turn out the same?”

“No, sir. By our observations, there are three groups. Some are just unconscious, like they’re asleep, but others are petrified like statues.”

“What determines how they turned out? Where they fell?”

“Even people down in the same spot fall into different groups, sir. We don’t know how quite yet. The biggest group, though…we haven’t sent them to a research agency, so we don’t know the exact values for this, but it seems like the decoys’ bodies have an extreme lack of oxygen. There’s been no necrosis to the bodies as far as we can tell, so we believe their brains and organs are still receiving the bare minimum oxygen they need to function.”

“…Inducing apparent death through artificial means.”

Most animals, not just humans, had a defensive instinct that lowered their level of body functions the more they lacked what they needed to sustain life activities. An animal hibernating in the winter was an easily understood example.

The subordinate continued. “But nothing happened when we supplied them with a fixed amount of oxygen from a tank, so I believe we should consider some kind of ‘power’ at work…Just who is that woman? Shit. Our plan’s success rate is going down because of her, and now Olaf and Lulu are—”

Just as the man’s voice was cut off, he crumpled to the floor. The heavy thud rang clearly in Kihara’s ears, much to his annoyance.

“…”

Kihara, sitting in his chair with his feet up, looked around carefully. Nothing else happened.

They waited for a short while but saw no signs of a second shot.

He thought it was some kind of sniping ability, but if she’d had something like that, she’d have used it to pump Kihara full of holes, too. Not attacking Kihara first, and the timing of his subordinate going down—both bothered him.

Hell…How in the world is she aiming that…?

This abandoned office had windows on one wall, but if she was targeting them through one of them, Kihara would have to be the first one in her sights. Was she using some unique aiming method besides eyesight? Something that would miss its aim, instead hitting his subordinate?

Kihara mulled it over. The unusual phenomenon assaulting the Hound Dogs right now—this string of attacks—could a supernatural ability be enough to pull it off?

Wouldn’t be easy.

Going for one or two people was possible. But from earlier reports, many more of his subordinates had gone down. It was hard enough to maintain a fixed oxygen amount in individuals, but if many people in many different places were totally under this phenomenon’s control, it would be far beyond what mere skill could accomplish.

Moreover, his subordinates reported there were people with differing symptoms, too.

If you gathered as many espers to attack as there were victims, it’d be possible…but that would take way too many resources. And having one soldier to take out one grunt each wouldn’t make any sense, either.

He was the one who had directly developed Accelerator. If a supernatural ability development expert said so, it could basically be accepted as truth. Then what the hell kind of laws could have caused the bizarre occurrences he was seeing?

Powers other than supernatural abilities could be any number of scientific technologies, like nanotech or electromagnetic waves. But in that case, Kihara would have no reason to be okay. And besides, knocking someone unconscious with tech like that was one thing, but was it even possible to control the amount of oxygen in someone’s blood?

Neither Academy City–made abilities nor high technology could do that.

But if that was true, then everything pointed to a more occult world.

Could the woman Kihara saw really be someone who used a power other than a supernatural ability?

Something “unscientific”…

Kihara narrowed his eyes. He wouldn’t reject that word.

Because he was at the forefront of science, the boundaries of the word unscientific were actually very clear to him. Do a few thousand experiments and you’d get a few oddball values that theory alone couldn’t calculate. Ever since developing Accelerator, Kihara had been bothered by something vague, something murky. It felt like there were invisible holes somewhere in the perfect world of theory he believed in.

He sucked his teeth in irritation and took his legs off the office desk. “Whatever. We know what we need to do. That Aleister bastard is always strict, so let’s get a move on and end this quickly.”

Kihara hadn’t gotten an explanation on what Aleister’s final goal for capturing Last Order was. But they’d been told what they needed to do. All they had to do was carry it out.

“Is the Testament ready?”

“Right here, sir.”

A different subordinate than the one who’d collapsed placed a silver attaché case on the desk. The electronic brainwashing devices were usually pretty big, but if you cut out everything but the parts you absolutely needed, you could get it down to this size.

Of course, the more “extra bits” you removed, the less safe the subject would be.

Accelerator…

He watched the man undo the case’s locks and click together the device, then suddenly said to himself, “Controls every vector, hmm. What about irregular shit like that?”

“Sir?”

“Nothing,” said Kihara.

8

Accelerator came to the corner of Konoha Street and Route 39 in School District 7.

He immediately found the restaurant the “man on the phone” mentioned. The thing was destroyed to the point where concrete iron bars in the structure showed, like a bombed-out war-torn building. Kihara’s Hound Dogs were all down, having received very rough first aid. Nobody had tried to conceal them at all.

“…”

Maybe the “man on the phone” wasn’t a trap.

If he wasn’t, then he was the real deal—letting at least Last Order escape, despite being wrapped up in a disaster like this.

Shit. I have to find her quick. Where the hell did she go?

He hoped she’d left some kind of sign, but she probably hadn’t had the time to be that considerate. Even if she had, the rain would have more than likely washed it away.

She should be fleeing according to the evidence erasure manual they used for the experiment by going through the Sisters’ network. Just like with Ao Amai on August 31.

Just thinking about the “experiment” made him feel shitty, but that was where her escape route was.

…She’d slip by satellite images and around the security robots’ patrol routes.

The “man on the phone” had searched for her in Anti-Skill stations on the main street, but he was probably barking up the wrong tree. If she was basing her route on the evidence erasure manual, she was more likely to be on back roads.

Using the shotgun as a cane, he entered the alley. The hard rain pelted him as he dragged his hard-to-move body through it. On the way, he checked each of the buildings’ back entrances, looking for signs that she’d used her electric ability to force any of them open.

No results.

There was more than one road, and she could have hidden in a building somewhere.

He simply had too few clues.

She was fleeing the enemy, so it wasn’t her fault, but he had no way to search for her.

“Piece of shit…”

Last Order should be around here. That much was certain. Maybe if Accelerator was the one to leave a sign instead, Last Order would come out. What would that sign be? She didn’t have her cell phone anymore. If he couldn’t contact her like that, then maybe unlocking his electrode switch and raging around would work.

But then he hit upon a different way. It was a stupid, idiotic method, but the idea hadn’t occurred to him until now.

He should just yell her name really loud.

If she knew it was his voice, she would come out.

Unfortunately, walking around calling the name of a child he couldn’t find would make him look like a dad searching for his lost kid. He felt like that was at the exact opposite end of the spectrum of his character.

It was laughable, but it was the only way. He clicked his tongue in bitterness and took a deep breath.

But his voice didn’t make a sound.

Because he found what he was looking for right then.

In a dirty puddle created by the downpour falling onto the ground, he noticed something. It was a torn scrap of fabric, about the size of a handkerchief. He drew near and examined it closer—finding a men’s button-down shirtsleeve. Accelerator recognized the cuff design. It was from the one Last Order wore over her sky-blue camisole.

His mind went blank. The blood started to drain from his face.

This is…

Could it be…?

No…

As though timed, his cell phone vibrated. Accelerator sluggishly took it out of his pocket. An unfamiliar number was on the screen.

No, he thought.

If this was him, he’d have no reason to contact him. He wouldn’t use such an easy-to-understand method. It was fine. This wasn’t what he thought it was, Accelerator told himself.

He pushed the call button.

A really loud voice hit his ear before he could bring the phone up to it.

“Heeey, Accelerator, how ya doooin’? Gya-ha-ha-ha-ha!!”

He heard the phone creak in his hand.

It was so predictable he thought he was about to burst a blood vessel in his brain.

Accelerator’s pupils swayed. A vortex of a noisy emotion began to scatter from his center to everything around it. “Heeey, what’s the deal, Kiharaaa?”

“Just havin’ some fun. In both shogi and chess, you gotta declare you’ve won before the game ends, right? Whoever made those rules really knew how to have fun. They knew how to get the most out of seeing some shithead, one who had pissed them off for way too long, the moment they were stricken with defeat. Is there any better way to enjoy the true taste of victory?”

“Declare what? You fuckin’ serious?”

“Sure, you don’t have to believe me. But did you see a piece of the brat’s shirt lying around? Figured you’d still be looking for her, so I left it there on purpose.”

“…”

“Testament’s a crazy thing. Injecting a virus into a human brain? It’s fucked up! Ha-ha! I’ll make this brat’s body tremble in fear!! Hey, man, gimme your address! I’ll send you a video in the mail!!”

His blood curdled.

That’s why they kidnapped the brat…?!

Kihara was doing almost the same thing Ao Amai had on August 31. He was trying to use a brainwashing machine to directly overwrite Last Order’s brain. He didn’t know what sort of command he’d add in there, but nobody with any sensitivity could ever do this. It was more profane than rubbing all the semen you could muster into her brain.

“You really don’t get it, do you? Not killing the enemy can be real effective. Ever heard of a ‘living hell’? People fool themselves into thinking dying is the scariest thing in the world, and if you pressure ’em with this, they puncture like a flat tire. Like my guys did. But, see…”

Kihara let out a dry breath, like a teacher disappointed with how incompetent a student was.

“I know all about it, so it doesn’t work on me. I see right through your cheap act, you little shit. Listen up, ’cause it’s time little shits like you got a review lesson. Corpses are meant to be killed. Making them stop breathing is just touching up the face on a statue. Your dead body wouldn’t be good enough to hang in a gallery. Who the hell would carve up a rock blindfolded and toss it away? It’s not polite to the chunk of meat!”

Accelerator didn’t engage him. He began analyzing the current situation.

“So I thought I’d show you a good example. I’ll teach you how to make meat real pretty. Just be sure you don’t pass out after seein’ what’s left over of the brat!!”

He continued to laugh loud enough to break the speaker.

Accelerator listened to it for a little bit, then eventually spoke into the phone. “So, uh, what reaction was I supposed to have?”

“Eh?”

“Doubling over laughing is the right one, yeah, Mister Masochist?”

“Hey now. Your ability to judge the situation busted now, too?”

“Are you even trying anymore? If this was just to make me mad, you wouldn’t have grabbed the brat. You’d just make her a corpse and send her over to me. Testament? You a fuckin’ idiot? How would I even tell what happened to her?” Accelerator laughed. “Those punks hanging around seem to think getting into the world’s darkness will grant them freedom, but it’s actually the opposite. The further down you go, the stronger the hierarchies are. Right? Mr. Kihara, little puppy slave?”

“Oh, I see. You get your kicks from her screams, don’t you?”

“Yeah, could you let me hear them, actually? This is all so simple I’m bored of it. I want to see if she’s alive. I mean, you could cut off her nose and send that to me, and that would be fine.”

“Is that your order, sir? If you act now, I’ll send her ears as a bonus.”

“Don’t try to scare me, you greenhorn. Someone employed you, too, yeah? Wouldn’t make sense to use the brat for your personal research. Somebody’s getting a kick out of using you. They didn’t give you some tear-jerking order like ‘bring her back unharmed,’ did they? They just wanted the brain and heart to be okay and didn’t care about the rest. And now you’re too fucking scared to lay a finger on her? What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Got it, got it.”

“You’re pathetic, Mr. Kihara. Who’re you playing delivery boy to? Were you all panicked like that before ’cause if you don’t make the delivery in thirty minutes someone’s gonna be mad at you?”

“You’re dead.”

Beep. The call ended abruptly.

He suddenly felt like the sounds of the downpour got closer.

Twirling the cell phone in his hand, Accelerator went over the conversation.

With his personality, after I said all that to him, he’d at least have crushed one of the brat’s eyeballs while on the phone. But he didn’t, so…My, my. Are you telling me he really is just a gofer?

It was a dangerous tactic, but he couldn’t compete with Kihara unless he took risks like this.

“…Which means…”

On the other hand, someone important enough to stop Kihara in his tracks.

In light of the gear the Hound Dogs had, the biggest possibility…

No…Academy City itself?

Then it was probably the General Board, who directly oversaw everything. This was no different from the “experiment” with the Sisters. Or maybe this was actually all related.

I don’t know where Kihara is. But the General Board is easy. If I investigate them, I might get more info on this “plan” than Kihara has. Hmm? …Hey, wait, this is crazy. This is ballooning out of control. Are we gonna be okay at this rate? thought Accelerator, laughing and banging on the wall.

He clicked the phone closed and put it in his pocket and screamed.

“Don’t fuck with me, you bastaaaaaaaaards!!”

He flicked the electrode choker switch.

His vast calculation abilities returned.

All around him in the narrow alley was concrete wall, everywhere he looked.

It didn’t matter.

He obtained his target’s exact position from his absolute coordinates. His eyes rolled around to look. He knew of it—because he had been deep in the dark. He knew what stood in that direction.

The enemy is Academy City! And the General Board chairperson is in charge of it!!

A building with no windows.

The shelter of Academy City’s General Board chairperson.

“Gah, aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Accelerator stuck his hand into one of the nearby concrete walls. By manipulating vectors, his arm sunk into it like tofu. As he screamed loud enough for blood to come up from his throat, he violently swung around the arm inside the wall.

He had total control over every vector.

A thunderous slam rang out.

That very moment, the earth, on September 30, had its rotation delayed by five minutes.

His arm had stolen the planet’s immense rotational energy and transformed it into a demonic strike through vector manipulation.

He gouged out the concrete wall and hurled it at a terrifying speed. All around him were corners of the alley surrounded by buildings, but the multitude of structures in the way of his “target” came down like scrap paper.

Consideration for his surroundings, worrying about involving civilians—all those concerns had disappeared instantly.

By the time he realized, he’d already thrown it.

Over two kilometers separated him and his “target.”

The windowless building.

The world’s strongest shelter, called the castle of the Academy City General Board chairperson, Aleister.

The giant structure said to be able to ward off nuclear weapon impacts without a problem.

The wall shot toward it with immense velocity.

A terrible vortex of sound exploded. It was over two kilometers away, but it didn’t matter at all. The wall blew through a few buildings—unmanned banks, offices, etc.—and pierced through the gap between buildings on the other side of the road. It tore away electric signboards attached to the sides of high-rise structures as it shot straight toward the target. It was nothing less than a miracle that no human casualties occurred on its path. Accelerator hadn’t given an ounce of thought to it.

Gray dust scattered. For a moment, he couldn’t see anything.

The dense fog enshrouded him and stayed there for a short while.

Eventually, his vision slowly began to return.

The world spread out before Accelerator.

“…”

And the world hadn’t changed at all.

He had used all the power of the strongest esper in Academy City, even sapping the very planet’s rotational energy for his attack. All that hadn’t even made a dent in the windowless building.

The result was clear.

The wall before him was just too big.

“Kuh, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Accelerator crumpled to the ground and slammed his fist into a dirty puddle. No matter how much he power he used, it never reached Aleister. Some unknown technology dispersed any impact—and there was no proof he was even in there at the moment. It could have all been a dummy. It didn’t matter. It really, really didn’t matter right now.

Last Order had been taken.

It was the worst situation he could think of.

Everything he’d wanted to protect had been torn to shreds, leaving nothing left.

I’ll kill him, he thought in silence, clicking the electrode’s switch back. The idea of trying to get in touch with Yomikawa or Yoshikawa had fled his mind completely.

I’ll kill Amata Kihara. I’ll kill him for sure. A hundred deaths aren’t enough for that shithead. I’ll compress them all down to one time and fucking kill him. Anything less is out of the question.

Using the shotgun as a cane, he wobbled up to his feet.

He focused on the cell phone in his pocket.

Kihara’s number was on it now. Even if it was a dummy, it was worth checking out. If he couldn’t do so in a normal way, he’d do so in a not-so-normal way. Accelerator had no future, and if Last Order’s was being stolen from her, what did he have to hold back for? If the databases at Anti-Skill and Judgment stations didn’t work out, he’d gain complete access to the data banks even if he had to destroy the General Board’s hideouts one by one. Who cared about twelve important people? He’d crush their faces or their hearts if need be.

He’d bring them into the streets if he had to light a fire to do it and slaughter them all down to the last cell in their bodies.

Muttering in a singsong tone, he began to walk slowly through the alley.

His back disappeared even farther into the darkness.

9

Aleister was in the windowless building.

Despite the scale of the impact, none of the interior furnishings budged. He was floating upside down in a cylinder filled with red liquid in the middle of a wide room, but all that happened inside was the slight quivering of the liquid.

It would seem things are occurring outside.

He didn’t focus on the cause.

As though saying something so trivial wasn’t worth his time.

Aleister’s eyes were on the sky.

By some technology, several square windows were floating in dead space. They changed what they displayed in line with the movements of Aleister’s eyeballs and registered command inputs in line with his fingers.

These commands were nothing he had to move his body for; he could compensate by brain-wave detection.

But, heh…I must exercise once in a while.

Aleister, who left most of his bodily functions to a life-support machine, strictly speaking didn’t even have to blink his eyes. He was always submerged in a regulated solution, so his eyes didn’t need to be moistened. Even moving his fingers was registered as an “event.” It picked out value in that slight movement, analyzed the signals being sent from his nerves to his brain, and just that one motion induced divine inspiration.

He had no internal concept of “training his body.”

Electrically contracting his muscles and controlling his organs—it was all nothing but miscellaneous tasks that the machine handled. If you heard he hadn’t walked in decades, it might sound unhealthy, but Aleister preserved his own health in a more ideal state than anyone else in the world.

This went for intellectual activities, too.

For Aleister, the brain was nothing more than a single part. It existed in detachment from a soul or life, and there were plenty of replacements. His inspiration was drawn outside his body via cables, brewed in the computer standing there, and returned to Aleister’s brain as an individual thought. The life-support machine was his skin, his organs, and his brain. Perhaps the cluster of huge devices was itself alive at this moment. Just like organ transplants taking hold in a patient’s body, the metallic heap, which had drawn far too close to being human, was so advanced that one might not be able to figure out whether to call it a machine or a person.

Put an ear to those hard metal clumps and you might have even heard a pulse—and surrounded by them, Aleister smiled comfortably.

Several pieces of data were displayed on the images he stared at.

On the first was a map of the Sisters’ worldwide distribution and a graph representing their brain-wave patterns.

On the second was the organic data for that which was coming into existence in the city now.

On the third was an image of Vento leaning on a railing and coughing, captured via super-magnification.

And it would seem Kihara has successfully recovered Last Order, the final command. Change is already taking root in the “place” of Academy City during the preparation phase after injecting the target code.

There was a relaxation to Aleister’s thoughts. As this was an emergency, the output was far lower than he’d predicted, but this much would be quite enough.

Using the involuntary diffusion fields, the Imaginary Number District, the Five Elements Society has been fully deployed. If one uses magic inside Academy City, no matter who the sorcerer is, they will lose control and self-destruct. Vento of the Front, was it? Even your body is no exception.

His inspiration created thoughts and his thoughts created inspiration, the repetition continuing to create a massive intellectual torrent that would soon change history.

With the current output, it cannot spread over the world, of course. Even the magical pressure is at just barely tolerable levels, but…This isn’t everything. I still haven’t truly activated the code. With the appearance of Fuse Kazakiri, I will turn the tides of the situation.

A new window appeared in the air.

It displayed Hyouka Kazakiri, confused at the change in the city as she uneasily walked through the rain.

10

Vento stood on an iron bridge.

The bridge spanned a large river. The iron and asphalt construction was single-mindedly dreary. Perhaps because of the downpour, the dark river below had risen, the dirty water making muffled noises.

She coughed a few more times—wet, violent coughs. Heavy blood was leaking between the gaps in the fingers with which she was holding her mouth. She looked at her blood-covered hand. It was trembling fiercely.

What…could this possibly be…?

It was natural that even she wouldn’t understand the cause. What happened to her body? How damaging was it? Would it be all right, or was it done for?

…My body…might be specially made…but this has never…happened before. This isn’t its fault…

The coarse sounds of coughing continued.

A new color red began to spread on the rain-soaked road.

Stricken by the torrential rain, the makeup on her eyes was running somewhat. The gimp on the cloth covering her hair was disheveled, and frayed hairs were poking out onto her forehead.

Which means it’s a new…magic-based attack…? No, that isn’t right, either. This…this is Academy City. It can’t possibly be a magic-based attack. I don’t see any signs…of spells being used. Besides, I would intercept all such things anyway…

“…!!” She shuddered.

The pain began to withdraw from her body.

Her condition hadn’t recovered, though.

It was the opposite. Something else had happened that needed more attention.

She felt an oppression. Not merely something pressed against her body. It was squeezing her, every part of her, from her skin’s surface to her organs’ insides, leaving not a single blood vessel untouched.

It was a “presence.”

An unbelievably enormous presence had shaken the very city itself. She felt no hostility from it. It wasn’t looking at the weakened Vento. It was more like a panther or lion yawning right in front of her. It may not have been hostile—but a meager human couldn’t help but start to sweat and tremble.

She couldn’t tell in what direction the presence was.

The unit of scaling was far too different. It was almost like the presence was covering up the entire city. She supposed a person swallowed by a beast attempting to learn the identity from inside it would be pointless. It was so intense, but she couldn’t even see its outline. If this was an enemy, it was the worst kind.

On top of that…

This unknown presence…It’s still expanding…?!

That was the most shocking part. Something gigantic had shaken the world, bent the numerous “layers” within it, and laid itself down in that space instead, seeming to blow out the laws of sorcery like a candle—and yet its pressure was still increasing as though that were only the beginning. Not even a Crossist “saint” could do this much. But then how should she interpret this?

This is…Academy City’s final line…against the occult…

Was this the reason for Aleister sounding so relaxed?

This wasn’t good, certainly. Vento had put almost 90 percent of the city’s functions to rest, and this trick up his sleeve could turn those tables. But on the other hand, it seemed like it had been too easy thus far. If the city couldn’t do at least this, nobody would be calling it a force to rival the sorcery side.

“…It doesn’t…matter. Come what may, I will accomplish my goal.”

Vento then said a brief word to herself.

It was the name of her younger brother.

With just that, much of the shivering tormenting her vanished. The fear of not knowing why she was coughing up blood relaxed as well. A sense of calmness washed over her, and her shocked and shaken mind focused.

I stole 90 percent of the city’s functions—that’s a fact. I still have the advantage here. This just means Aleister was so pressured he had to use his trump card.

Which meant she could win, she concluded, wiping the blood from her lips.

The aid from the shadows—I can’t use it anymore. I don’t know how important Touma Kamijou’s position is to this city, but even Aleister can’t stop him from dying…

The ones from Anti-Skill and Judgment, who protected the city, were annihilated. Because those kinds of people were easiest for her attack to affect directly. She’d almost forgotten due to the giant newcomer’s appearance, but Vento was steadily progressing with her task.

She just had to kill.

Kill her target, Touma Kamijou.

Science…how I hate you.

Vento thought to herself, both hands gripping the railing.

Science…how I detest you.

She despised science for making her like this. For not saving her brother’s life.

Wiping her mouth with her arm, she took a slow, deep breath.

She reinvigorated her damaged body.

Just as she thought to herself that she would go and kill her target, Touma Kamijou, and left the iron bridge…

…suddenly, there was a tremendous roar.

It seemed to be some kind of long-range attack. Several buildings near the discharge site collapsed, the “bullet” flying close to ten kilometers over and upward before appearing to collide with another building.

What was that…?

The act was unrelated to God’s Right Seat and the Roman Orthodox Church. She thought that the invasion force should still be on the outskirts of the city.

Did that mean Academy City was in the middle of some trouble aside from her?

Vento frowned, but she didn’t have the time to pursue the question deeply.

“…”

From out of thin air she produced a hammer wrapped in barbed wire and grabbed it.

The piercings in her face held an association of “piercing the body with metal” and possessed the attribute of “nails,” symbolizing the stakes that nailed the Son of God to the cross. The hammer didn’t need explanation—a hammer had been the execution tool.

What spurred her to prepare for combat was a particular sound:

Footsteps.

11

Touma Kamijou, following the advice of the “voice on the phone,” ran to the nighttime iron bridge.

But Last Order wasn’t the one he found there.

God’s Right Seat.

Vento of the Front.

“What…? You!!”

No sooner had Kamijou roared than Vento swung her giant hammer over her shoulder.

A wind club tore through the rain, and Kamijou flicked it away with his right hand.

An invisible tension dominated the space between them.

“Why the hell are you here? Where did you take Last Order?!” he shouted.

Vento frowned slightly, then answered. “You came all the way here to get killed?”

“I asked what the hell you did with the girl!!”

“Last Order? I don’t have a damn clue what you’re talking about!!”

Once again, their shouting clashed.

But the two of them didn’t.

Bang!!

An incredible flash assaulted their eyes.

Kamijou’s vision whited out. He guarded himself, thinking this was another of Vento’s ploys, but then he heard Vento grind her teeth as well.

Before they knew what was happening, a lightning strike hit, the sound and impact coming a moment later.

His joints cried out in pain.

“Guahhh!!”

Kamijou fell to the ground. This large bridge was supposedly made of iron, but it rocked like a rope bridge. He heard several bolts bouncing out, unable to stand the movement.

…Argh. What was…? Kamijou shook his head, getting himself into a leaning position. If the light and sound arrived at different times, did that mean it happened far away?

Where’s Vento…?!

The flash hadn’t been bright enough to blind him for very long. Panicking, he stood up and looked around.

…What?

The woman wasn’t even looking at him. She had her hands on the bridge’s railing, her hammer set aside on the road, glaring into the distance at something with intense concentration.

“That bastard…Aleister!!”

Her wrathful scream rang out. It was clearly hundreds, thousands of times angrier than how she’d acted toward Kamijou.

Vento turned around to him. “I’ll leave the small fry like you for later…I’ll kill him. I see. This is the whole story—the Imaginary Number District—the Five Elements mechanism! Screw that—do you look down on me that much, you bastaaaaaaaaard?!”

She grabbed her hammer and smashed it into the ground at her feet.

Craaash!! Fragments of asphalt scattered everywhere.

“!!”

By the time Kamijou guarded his face with his hands, Vento was nowhere to be found.

…She disappeared? Did she—?!

He quickly ran over to the railing. But all he could see below was a flowing, roaring black river far underneath. The water level had risen quite a bit because of the rain. Had she fallen in? Or had she used some kind of sorcery?

What the hell…? What was she looking at before?

Vento had attacked Academy City to kill him, hadn’t she?

She’d completely abandoned her biggest target.

Kamijou’s eyes moved off the river and ahead of him…

…to see what it was Vento was staring at.

“…It can’t be.”

12

Commencing partial deployment of Imaginary Number District Five Elements Mechanism.

Suitable target found: Academy City, center of School District 7.

Overwriting additional module using the theoretical model Hyouka Kazakiri as a base.

Confirmed outer and inner transformation of theoretical model.

Host individual Last Order, controller of the Sisters…additional code authenticated.

Successful artificial induction of all involuntary diffusion fields in Academy City via takeover of Misaka network confirmed.

First phase complete.

Confirmed alteration of physical rules.

Fuse Kazakiri will now appear in Academy City.

To whom it may concern, please brace for sudden impact.

13

Rain enveloped nighttime Academy City.

There was extremely little traffic compared to normal times, and there wasn’t much light, either. The buildings were the same. It was like everyone in the city had gone out, with some unlit and others left on as though forgotten, leaving behind something of a nightscape without any uniformity to it.

And one corner of the city overflowed with brilliant light.

Boom!! Feather-like objects blew violently around the light’s central point. They were sharp like blades, and there were dozens of them. Each one ranged from ten to one hundred meters long, spreading higher and higher as if to oppose the heavens themselves.

Buildings were nearby, but they didn’t seem to care.

They tore through one after another like wet paper. As they devoured the frail structures built by man, the wings flapped slowly—as if telling the world that their master was no human.

They were like the feathers of a giant crystalline peacock.

“Is that…?”

Touma Kamijou watched them from the bridge.

He knew.

He knew exactly what the completely and totally unscientific thing far in front of him was.

There was the same terrible presence he’d felt when it had appeared under the name Misha Kreutzev.

A being with a spell that could wipe out humanity without moving a fingertip, and one that had nearly killed a saint with one hand.

It was…

“…An angel?!”

Though he said the word, his head couldn’t keep up with the sheer absurdity.

G-give me a break here! We’re already in trouble up to our eyeballs!! What the hell’s been going on in this city today?!

Vento had paled at the sight—did that mean it wasn’t something the Roman Orthodox Church had brought along?

But how else could it be explained?

Why was angel even a word being spoken in Academy City?

Had an even more dangerous sorcerer’s society than God’s Right Seat or the Roman Orthodox Church snuck into the city?

Or…

Had Academy City called down that angel, despite being in the science faction?

The distant angelic wings paid no heed to the unknowing Kamijou as they moved slowly.

Between the remarkably large wings flashed a strange light, as if from an electrical discharge.

A moment later…

Boom!!

It unleashed destruction.

The magnificent lightning it created flew through the air, writhing like a snake, outside Academy City. Kamijou followed its afterimage. When the fierce light struck the ground, it sent forests, earth, trees, and people flying into the air like the entire place had just been thoroughly carpet-bombed. The exit to the city was almost beyond the horizon, but even Kamijou saw something, something like a wave, moving up and down. That was how colossal the amount of matter sprayed into the air had been.

A few seconds later, the sound of an explosion rattled him.

It was just the shock wave at this point, but it packed an awful punch and almost sent Kamijou to the ground. The entire bridge started to sway and creak eerily again, just like it had when the angel first appeared. He could feel he was in danger here.

“…!!”

All sorts of problems were happening today, what with Last Order, Vento, and those guys in the black suits. But this was on another level. If something like that just started moving around, it would be enough to bring Academy City down to its foundations.

And the damage wouldn’t be confined to within the city, either.

But what do I do about Last Order?!

He also needed to make sure she was safe. The “voice on the phone” said this iron bridge was their meeting point, but Last Order was nowhere in sight. Had she ever actually been here? Or had she run away upon seeing Vento?

Damn it!!

He took out the children’s cell phone Last Order had been carrying and called the number registered in it. It connected immediately.

“Hey! I’m at the iron bridge, but Last Order’s nowhere in sight! Did you find—?”

“Are you a fucking idiot? You actually believed me?!”

Before he could finish speaking, the voice yelled at him.

Surprised, Kamijou listened as the irritated voice continued.

“I’ve almost got a read on where the brat is. At least, she ain’t anywhere you’d find her blindly running around the city. I’ll handle the rest—now go home already!!”

“…” Shit, he swore to himself. The fact that he couldn’t help was like a thorn in his chest. “Sorry. Did you see that thing before? I definitely saw, like, dozens of wings sprout up in a corner of the city and make this huge light show.”

“…The one that shot at something outside Academy City, right?”

“I need to stop that angel. I really don’t think I’ll be able to help you out.”

“I don’t care,” said the voice without hesitation.

“Sorry,” said Kamijou. “Don’t die.”

“Same to you.”

He ended the call, put the phone in his pocket, and looked up.

The angel that had mowed down numerous buildings had clearly shown its majestic appearance.

INTERLUDE EIGHT

He thought his eardrums would blow out.

Motoharu Tsuchimikado, covered in blood, lay in a puddle of muddy water. He’d been in the abandoned bus service facility in the forest, but not a trace of the building was left now. Everything was torn up, blown away, or otherwise smashed to atoms and poured onto the ground again. With syrupy, crumbled earth all around like the aftermath of a large-scale landslide, most of the trees had simply been buried.

Not a trace of any enemies now, either. Either they’d been buried in the dirt or smashed into atoms.

Tsuchimikado, personally, was thankful it was raining today.

His best spells were Black Style—which meant he specialized in water.

Motoharu Tsuchimikado boasted the pinnacle of an Onmyou expert’s strength, and though he’d used the defensive spell reactively, he’d poured every fiber of his being into it for protection. It had allowed him to narrowly survive.

“Gh…urgh?!”

But chunks of blood still made their way out of his mouth.

His body wasn’t supposed to be able to use sorcery, but that recoil wasn’t the only thing at work. An outside impact had clearly ripped through his defensive spell and torn up his body.

Not a single wooden stake was left, either.

Rather than destroying the actual spell, he’d just taken out the entire plot of land they were on.

What…?

His own body half-buried by dirt, he thought hard.

What…the hell happened…?

A long-range attack seemed to have hit him, but he had absolutely no clue what kind of spell it actually was. On top of that, the blow had come from Academy City. The situation was clearly too unnatural to simply decide that a magical attack equated to the Roman Orthodox Church.

Unable to stand, he turned his head to look.

It…can’t be…

Far in the distance, he saw innumerable unfurled wings inside Academy City.

It was only a tiny figure from here. He couldn’t see where the wings came from due to the walls and tall buildings on the outskirts, but just catching sight of those wings made him stop breathing.

An angel.

Its appearance was similar to Misha Kreutzev, but its nature was completely different. The archangel, the POWER OF GOD, had a piercing coldness to it. But this was incredibly uncomfortable, like the thick smell of glue in a steaming-hot room.

Yes—that was an angel created by man.

The attack had been precisely aimed at the sorcerers opposing the city.

A…lei…ster…, Tsuchimikado thought, unconsciously moving his lips.

The Imaginary Number District’s Five Elements Mechanism. It was a man-made “plane” of existence centered on Academy City, born of controlling the involuntary diffusion fields of the Sisters scattered all about the world.

“That bastard…He really used it…”

The angel’s appearance must have let hell loose inside the city.

But by Tsuchimikado’s prediction, the completion of this “plane” would destroy everything occult, cause sorcerers to die, and destroy all magical facilities. Tsuchimikado, though, was still alive—and didn’t feel anything unnatural about the spell’s construction.

That Imaginary Number District was likely incomplete.

If it were, Tsuchimikado would have been eliminated along with all the magic in the world.

If Aleister had needed to drag out something so imperfect…

God’s Right Seat…So even Academy City is at a loss for what to do…

Or perhaps this was all just one of his “plans,” too.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the time to think about it.

He had to stand up and get out of here before the next attack came. If Aleister brought out something this devastating, then he was actually planning on the enemy’s total annihilation. It wasn’t resistance—it was a counterattack, meant to wipe out every assassin the Roman Orthodox Church had sent. And Tsuchimikado was about to get caught in it.

“Guh…” Tsuchimikado willed his legs to move, but they didn’t do what he wanted. With the previous shock wave, his body had accumulated damage to its very core.

“Gheh…aaagh…”

He gasped for breath, movements sluggish, trying somehow to stand up.

His body wasn’t moving.

The angel in Academy City once again began to fire a devastating light.

The second shot was on its way.

Tsuchimikado knew that, but his legs wouldn’t move according to his will.

He gritted his teeth.

Then he looked ahead.

There was a reason he couldn’t die here—and so he still wouldn’t give up.