Chapter 101: Ordeal

──The account Misaka Mikoto gave was more than enough to make Shiren clutch his head in despair.

One day.
Mikoto was approached by Shokuhou Misaki, who asked her to investigate an experiment conducted at a research lab where Kuriba Ryouko had once belonged.

The experiment was to "divide" a human body and, using cyborg technology, "create two humans." That much had gone off without a hitch, and the separated body had even been restored into one piece again. But──in the process, a byproduct was produced.

That byproduct was "another person’s worth" of cyborg, the so-called "Doppelgänger"──a being who continued to function as if she were still Kuriba Ryouko, perceiving herself as such.

An experiment like this, one wrong step away from plunging into the "darkness" of the underworld, was not the kind of thing you could easily find human test subjects for. Once its usefulness was confirmed, then innocent children──or perhaps clones──would be next in line. Persuaded by Shokuhou’s rhetoric, Mikoto had infiltrated the facility that night, only to stumble right into the scene of the Doppelgänger’s escape.

"...So after that, I freed Kuriba-san, then got the real story out of her thanks to Shokuhou reading her mind from a distance, then since I was curious I followed after her, found her getting attacked by some weirdo, then those blonde and brown-haired guys barged in... so I just zapped them a little with electricity."

"……"

Even just the existence of a "Doppelgänger" was enough to give Shiren a headache.

According to Kuriba, the "other soul" said to reside within the Doppelgänger had the potential to scatter throughout all of Academy City if its vessel were destroyed. Destroy it the wrong way, and it would all be over. Supposedly, it couldn’t self-terminate because of a built-in safeguard as a cyborg, but still.

And it wasn’t just that this time: it was obvious that people from the dark side were involved as well.

Reports of occult-like phenomena were troubling enough on their own. Adding in the tangled interests of the underworld made it clear that this was far beyond what Shiren and Reicia could handle alone.

《……So the whole of Academy City could end up flooded with a soul, huh.》

《Well, I don’t think it would actually come to that.》

Reicia brushed aside Shiren’s heavy tone with an airy remark.

《…? Why not? Sounds like a pretty plausible outcome to me.》

《Why not…? Well, say that a soul really did scatter when its vessel was destroyed, yes?》

Reicia leaned in, as if spoon-feeding the point.

《Then tell me this: why was it that you, Shiren, managed to properly possess my body?》

《…Ah.》

At her words, Shiren realized it too.

The exact process by which he had possessed Reicia’s body was unclear, but surely it hadn’t been that he suddenly manifested inside her and possessed her on the spot. More likely, he had first manifested elsewhere──and then drifted, drawn toward her body until he anchored within. That explanation made sense.

And when that happened, Shiren’s soul had essentially been in the very same "scattered" state currently being hypothesized about the Doppelgänger.

Yet he hadn’t ended up possessing all of Academy City indiscriminately.

Which meant that the "soul scattering" theory was, in fact, incorrect.

"Still, Shiren-san, you’re quite the troublesome case yourself."

That deduction, however, was one only Shiren and Reicia could make, thanks to their unique circumstances. They couldn’t exactly explain it to Mikoto. Just as Shiren was thinking that, Mikoto gave a wry smile and spoke up.

"...I never thought Indian Poker came with risks like that. When you think about it, it’s actually a pretty chilling story."

"Well, in my case, I do have reasons to be more cautious, given that I’m aiming to be the public face of Academy City…"

Not that Shiren would ever lecture her with something like, Shouldn’t you be more careful too? You’re one of Academy City’s icons, after all. That would be too preachy, even for him.

But Mikoto, oblivious, just kept charging straight ahead.

"Public face? That doesn’t sound like anything good. It just makes you busier."

"What? I just told you I’m working toward that. You trying to be sarcastic?"
"Come on, come on, Reicia-chan, I think Mikoto-san just meant it kindly…"

Reicia snapped, and Shiren soothed her.

Mikoto had seen this double act countless times before, and still she could never get used to it. If it were only Reicia, fine—her prickly attitude was easy to handle. If it were only Shiren, also fine—he wasn’t forceful, and his calm presence made conversation easy.

But when they both came at her at once, her sense of distance glitched out. She’d lose her footing, if only for a moment. At the very least, Mikoto wished they wouldn’t ambush her like this.

"…S-sorry, okay? Anyway. Let’s get moving. There are some shady people snooping around Kuriba-san, and I can’t shake a bad feeling about it…"

"………Mikoto-san."

Mikoto tossed out her excuse, trying to steer the conversation away from her awkward apology.

Shiren’s face twisted with clear distaste as he replied:

"………Could you not say things that sound like a death flag?"

Chapter 3 – The Worth of a Soul Is Worthless  Double(Square)_Faith.
Episode 85 – Ordeal  Unlucky_Day.

──At the same time.

Scavenger, the corpse-eating squad, had found themselves in dire straits.

In the original history, they had engaged the "Doppelgänger," only to be utterly helpless against the unknown phenomenon of "possession." They had managed to damage part of her, but in doing so had instead drawn out her "true power" and were forced to retreat in disgrace. But this time, their "crisis" was of a very different nature.

"…Seriously. Why do ultra troublesome jobs like this get passed down to Item, anyway?"

Kinuhata Saiai.

On her own, this one girl had casually knocked out all three of the dark side pros. And──without so much as a scratch on herself.

"Still, even though I wound up taking them all out, their job seemed to be more of an ultra capture mission. Though, for a capture, they were pretty gung-ho about destroying things… what the hell was that about?"

Kinuhata had already completely shifted her attention away from Scavenger. It could fairly be called carelessness──but even with that carelessness, the overwhelming gap in power meant there was no contest.

Paper, chemicals, tricks──none of it meant a thing before the flawless barrier of nitrogen. Their defeat had been inevitable.

…Not that Kinuhata herself hadn’t let the "Doppelgänger" slip away while she was distracted fighting. But since subordinates were still chasing the Doppelgänger, that wasn’t much of a problem.

However──the goddess of fate tests everyone equally.

Just as Kinuhata chose her path to pursue the Doppelgänger, it happened.

Zaza──two pairs of footsteps reached her ears.

"……You."

From the tone in the voice she heard, Kinuhata instantly grasped that the situation was a hair’s breadth from erupting.

She turned, and there they were: one blonde girl, and one brown-haired girl.

More precisely──the city’s Number Three and Number Four.

(Though, of course, Mugino would flip out if you didn’t call her the Underground Number Four…)

"…What are you doing? These people… what happened to them?"

"Haah… I ultra doubt you’d believe me even if I explained."

The "Railgun" and the "Jagged Edge."

In this situation, anyone being glared at by both of them would normally only survive if they were of the same level──or if they had some teleportation-type ability.

And no wonder. Railgun’s attack speed was essentially the speed of light, and Jagged Edge could isolate her target at supersonic speed.

But Kinuhata understood something: both were, at the end of the day, still just middle school girls.

"For example──what if I were a member of a private security company, working to safely secure the Do-pp-el-gä-nger, or something like that──"

But before she could finish that line.

Kinuhata kicked up one of the fallen girls at her feet, sending her flying toward the two. That single move was enough to pull the full attention of two upstanding Level 5 espers onto the poor girl sent tumbling toward them.

Then, scooping the girl up in one hand, Kinuhata charged straight at a building──

"Wait, Mikoto! That girl’s a decoy! Aim at the other one, quickly!"

"No! She’s holding another girl! If I fire from here, it might hit her too!"

With Reicia and Mikoto’s voices at her back, Kinuhata smashed through the building wall, gently placed the girl inside, and slipped away.

──Good thing I had the sense to use her as a shield, Kinuhata thought.

Any ordinary "surface" person would, naturally, focus all their attention on a girl suddenly being kicked through the air. And indeed, Mikoto and Reicia had been distracted for just that instant.

But──Kinuhata knew. She knew that Reicia = Blackguard had a split personality. Even if one side was caught off guard, the other might stay calm and analytical.

She had prepared for that risk, and it had paid off.

"More importantly… I need to hurry up and capture the Doppelgänger."

Casting a light glance down at the masked girl she’d carried, Kinuhata bounded off into the night city.

…Incidentally.

The masked girl, Rita Iisui, who had been playing possum, silently added yet another dishonorable achievement to her record, born of the sheer terror she had just endured.

──Seventh District, a certain student dormitory.

Kamijou Touma was spending yet another ordinary day as usual. After finishing his studies, he returned home, prepared dinner for Index, chatted while watching TV──and that, too, was supposed to be the end of the day.

"See, Touma! The best pairing for this grilled saury isn’t ponzu, it might actually be soy sauce. Because soy sauce is the ultimate Japanese rice companion──"

"Yeah, yeah, got it. But Kamijou-san’s on Team Ponzu! I don’t take orders from you! Blam!"

"Ahh!? T-Touma…! How could you…! Oh Lord, forgive this foolish Touma…"

"Quit acting all pious, you gluttonous sister! How many of these saury have you eaten already?"

"What!? Only… three, so far…"

Ding-dong.

The lively dinner was abruptly interrupted.

Touma’s eyes shifted toward the hallway, and he let out a long, questioning hum.

"…What now? A delivery or something? Index, did you order something?"

"Hmm? I don’t think so. Maybe you forgot something, Touma?"

"Well… it’s not impossible that some girl got shipped here by accident… but I guess I better go see."

"If that’s the case, I might not forgive you."

"Even though I’m completely innocent!?"

Bickering lightly, Touma jogged down the hallway.

"Okay, okay, coming right up!"

Calling out ahead, he turned the doorknob and opened the door. Standing before him was──

"Hey. Long time no see… remember me? It’s me, you know."

Brown hair.

A smile that seemed to radiate warmth, set against piercing, sharp eyes.

A wine-red knit shirt under a loosely worn dress shirt and blazer. Overall, he looked like a host, or perhaps a flashy delinquent. Not the kind of “evil” that inspires fear like a yakuza or gang member──but a creeping, approachable “evil” that somehow made people feel drawn in.

Level 5 esper.

Academy City, Number Two.

The leader who commands the School.

His name──

"Kakine Teitoku. …Oh, I didn’t introduce myself, did I?"

────When wings that create illusions intersect with the right hand that kills them, the story begins.