Chapter 37: Fortune in Misfortune

From the start—Misaka Mikoto, upon recognizing the approaching Misaka Sister, unleashed a burst of lightning that blinded everyone nearby, then interfered with the electromagnetic waves the Sister was emitting, launched her straight off the hospital roof, and then launched herself right after her, forcibly relocating both of them—all in under a second. It was a superhuman feat by any measure.

"...There, that should do it. Well, not should, but... Let's just hope Reicia can cover for me... Please be okay..."

Having just finished explaining the situation and asking for support over the phone, Mikoto turned to face the girl in front of her—the Misaka Sister.

"...So? What the hell is going on?"

"At your insane reflexes, Misaka can't help but wonder, is this woman even human? says Misaka, unable to hide her shock."

"SO!? WHAT!? THE HELL!? IS GOING ON!?"

"Now, now, no need to rush, says Misaka, calming her impatient Onee-sama. Easy, easy."

Mikoto was already visibly trembling, but this was just how these girls were at their core. If she let her anger loose now, they'd never get anywhere.

"...What I came to talk about," the Sister said, switching to a serious expression, taking a deep breath, and beginning,

"—is something called 'Personality Ignition Makeup.'"

The term that came from her mouth was unfamiliar—yet somehow had an ominous ring to it.

"In order to carry out that experiment, Misaka #19990 has been kidnapped."

Chapter 3: We Won’t Let You Get Away With That (N)ever_Give_Up.
Episode 30: Fortune in Misfortune – Not-just_Pick_Upper.

"So, how did it go, Reicia?"

"...Are we dropping honorifics now?"

"Well, if you’re gonna call me by name, I don't see why I need to add '-san' to yours."

"...Hmph. Fine, then."

Meanwhile, on Reicia’s side.

Despite her extremely displeased tone—her smile barely concealed at the corners of her mouth—Reicia read the message she’d just received out loud.

"‘My kouhai was about to go berserk, so I made an emergency retreat. Apologize to Shika-san for me. I’m up on the roof now.’ …That’s what it says."

To Reicia, that excuse felt like a total cop-out—but that was probably because she wasn’t knee-deep in the chaos. For those like Shika and the rest of the Tokiwadai crew who had seen Mikoto’s ‘rabid fangirls’ up close, they immediately entered sympathy mode like, "Ah… like that black-and-white one, huh…"

"Kamijou, why don’t you go? If she’s left alone, the conversation might drag on too long. As for the details from Frog-Face, we can manage on our own."

"Yeah, but if I go, then Index’ll be kinda…"

His hesitation stemmed from the awkward in-between state.

Not that he really needed to worry—Index, for all her unpredictability, wasn’t the type to hold a grudge. Still, she was a handful. Without Kamijou acting as a buffer, could middle schoolers like these really keep her in check?

"—You may leave that to me."

Just as Kamijou was thinking that, a voice interrupted him—perfect timing, as if it had been planned.

A woman with a ponytail—Kanzaki Kaori—arrived on the scene.

Yes――――――!

The moment she saw Kanzaki, Reicia mentally pumped her fist.

Reicia had been working to bring Shiren back through the science side, but in truth, she hadn’t held high hopes for a solution from that angle. At best, she figured scientific tech could help prepare the stage.

She’d planned all along to eventually make contact with the magic side—specifically by nudging Kamijou to get Tsuchimikado involved.

After all, this was a matter of recovering Shiren’s soul.

The main restoration would inevitably require magic-side technology.

Of course, by incorporating science-side tech into the magical formula, she planned to create an overkill hybrid resurrection method, just like Gremlin had once done. So it’s not like the science side’s efforts were meaningless.

...A treaty to restrict the use of magic through scientific advancements? Please. As long as her people kept the information buried, it could be handled officially however they pleased. Mixing public and private affairs to get her way was one of the perks of being a villainess.

So Kanzaki joining the team was a huge win for Reicia.

Naturally, she acted immediately.

"I’ve been briefed. If it’s to help that person, then—"

"Perfect, I leave it to you! Kamijou, please hand your phone to Kanzaki-san. Let’s split up and keep each other updated. Index, explain the situation to Kanzaki-san in detail, please!"

"Eh? O-okay!"

"Ah, wait! Reicia-san, I haven’t even explained anything ye—"

"I understand everything already! I’ll leave the rest to you!"

Without letting Kanzaki get another word in, Reicia took off running toward the hospital. The members of GMDW looked a bit bewildered, but swept up in Reicia’s momentum, they let themselves be carried along.

There was a reason Reicia had acted that way. Simply put, she didn’t want the science-side personnel interacting too directly with magic-side ones. The magic side, after all, was effectively the same level of ‘darkness’ as the science side’s underworld. Reicia had already stepped into that darkness, but she couldn’t allow the GMDW crew to do the same.

Hence the aggressive push—and her plan to fabricate Kanzaki’s identity and coordinate their stories over the phone.

(The situation has finally turned in our favor. Heh. Hard to believe I was once flailing, screaming at how nothing ever went my way.)

All that remained was to secure the cooperation of Heaven Canceller. Time was now 3:00 p.m. It was tight, but with a magician on their side, they could still make it.

"...Hm?"

Just then, Reicia’s phone buzzed—it was a message from Mikoto. Not a call—an email.

A sharp twinge of unease pricked Reicia’s heart.

And when she opened it—she cursed her own intuition for being right.

The message read:

"Looks like that experiment isn’t over yet. I’m sorry, but I can’t keep supporting you if I overlook what’s happening. I’ll explain more as I move. For now, I just had to tell you this."

It was written so frantically, the urgency practically oozed from every word.

Apparently... once again, Shiren’s actions had caused a rift in history. That incident alone hadn’t brought the experiment to a perfect end, and as a result, something else had been set into motion.

Due to Mikoto withholding information, the finer details were unclear. But the very fact that she was panicking this much made it obvious: the Sisters were in serious danger.

(...Come to think of it, according to Shiren’s memories, wasn’t that so-called Misaka Worst, a variant model, created as a successor project to the Level 6 Shift for Absolute Power Evolution...? Shiren’s memories on that point are pretty fuzzy, though...)

If something like that was happening on the novel’s side, then with Reicia’s interference, it wouldn’t be unthinkable for a different project to be set into motion.

...No, more than that.

(...Thinking about it now is pointless. It’s certain that Misaka-san will be temporarily stepping away. In that case, sending Kamijou in to resolve the irregularity early might be the most strategic choice... Losing her data-searching capabilities is a blow, but...)

The flow of events that should have been in her hands had somehow half slipped through her fingers. It was never a pleasant sensation, no matter how many times she felt it. Suppressing her irritation, Reicia clenched her fist tightly as if crushing that feeling.

Then, she opened her mouth to share the newly gathered information and her course of action with the others.

"...An irregularity has occurred. It seems Mikoto-san got involved in a separate incident, so it’ll be difficult for her to cooperate for a while. I’m thinking of having Kamijou accompany us to ensure a quick resolution. Any objections?"

"I don’t see a problem with that."

"I—I’m fine with it as well!"

Voices of agreement came from the other faction members. In truth, there was little point in asking, as it was clearly the best option, but the desire to stay aligned with everyone else was a sign of Reicia’s growth.

(...Besides, if we can gain Heaven Canceller’s cooperation...)

Shiren’s notebook had also included the words, “If you’re really in trouble, rely on him.” Honestly speaking, Reicia couldn’t fully place her trust in Heaven Canceller—after all, she knew about his defeat, the memory of Kamijou Touma. Still, there was no denying he was the most promising candidate for cooperation at the moment.

Even if, in the worst-case scenario, his help was all they could count on, it didn’t mean their chances of success had vanished.

(...Now then, Shiren, we’ll be seeing each other very soon...!)

"...Looks like he’s here."

Prompted by Reicia’s words, Mikoto, who was waiting on the rooftop, caught sight of the spiky-haired boy arriving and murmured.

However, her voice didn’t carry its usual tone.

"...? What’s with that face? More importantly, Misaka Imouto, why did you show up over there?"

On the other hand, Kamijou, still unaware of the situation, looked at the two with a wary expression, sensing something was off despite his hardened demeanor.

Mikoto let out a heavy sigh and turned toward the Misaka Sister beside her.

"...Yeah. You wouldn’t understand unless you hear it. Tell him about the Personality Awakening ‘Make-Up’ Plan."

“—Understood, says Misaka, nodding while giving her already-informed Onee-sama a lukewarm look.”

"Hey, cut that out."

Ignoring Mikoto, whose temple was beginning to throb, the Sister began speaking smoothly.

"It all began with voices from researchers opposing the cancellation of the experiment——"

What Misaka Imouto described could only be called a rampage born of sheer desperation.

To summarize, the Level 6 Shift plan for Absolute Power Evolution had been frozen.

The supposedly strongest, Accelerator, had been defeated by someone well beneath his level—a third-ranked, a Level 0 with no powers, and a Level 4 with minor abilities had together overwhelmed a Level 5. A result no one had anticipated.

Even the Tree Diagram was used to simulate the outcome as a precaution, but the defeat was supposed to have had a 0% probability. It should have been impossible. Yet the impossible had occurred.

As a result, it was proposed that there might be a critical error in Tree Diagram’s condition settings, and until that could be investigated, all related projects would be suspended.

It was also discovered that error analysis on Tree Diagram would require massive time and resources. The satellite housing the system was scheduled to shut down soon, be disassembled into pieces, and incinerated upon atmospheric re-entry.

But, back to the point.

In any case, the experiment had been frozen so thoroughly it was practically obliterated—but for the researchers, whose livelihoods were on the line, that was something they simply couldn’t accept. They insisted that the bug had been caused by “unplanned variables,” and that if those were removed, things would return to normal. Or alternatively, if they accelerated the unplanned variables further, like multiplying two negatives into a positive, the original result could be restored—among other bizarre claims.

They began opposing the suspension of the experiment, stacking up an assortment of strange and far-fetched theories.

Among them, the group that had now moved into action was the one asserting the theory that if they generated even more “unplanned variables” and involved them in the experiment, they could cancel out the effects of the current ones—like how matter and antimatter annihilate each other.

According to them, Reicia Blackguard had dramatically increased her ability strength by “awakening” her personality through a special process.

In other words, if they replicated this with the Sisters—awakening their “personalities” in some way, just like Reicia Blackguard—and ran the experiment again, they believed they could eliminate the effects of the “unplanned variables” and obtain the original, intended results.

"...What the hell is that supposed to be?"

“Well, it’s basically a cult. Humans are religious creatures by nature, after all. Even we, who are steeped in science, still resort to divine intervention and can’t fully detach ourselves from the occult. It’s no surprise that people under pressure end up clinging to that kind of thing.”

“Okay, but what does that have to do with the scientists and the kidnapped Misaka #19990!?”

“Emotion, replies Misaka, answering concisely.”

The answer was so abrupt that Kamijou was momentarily taken aback.

“‘Personality awakening’ refers, simply put, to massively amplifying the absolute value of emotions emitted by the brain, and using those to collapse one’s Personal Reality from within, explains Misaka.”

“That would turn someone into a vegetable…!”

“Exactly why the self-collapse needs to be carefully controlled. For example, structured so that abilities conveniently grow as a result, adds Misaka in clarification.”

“…………”

“To achieve that, they inject special function data that amplifies the absolute value of emotion in a calculated way. And for that purpose, Misaka #19990, who had slightly higher emotional capacity than the others due to emotion input from Dr. Nunotaba, was deemed the optimal subject, explains Misaka in summary. However—”

The expressionless Misaka Sister paused there.

This wasn’t just someone else’s problem. With unmistakable emotional depth showing in her eyes, she continued.

“The Misakas no longer have any intention of cooperating with the experiment. We want to live our own lives. We want to save the sister who was taken by a dangerous group that would destroy her Personal Reality through some insane experiment. …But Misaka cannot do it alone. So… please help us, says Misaka, sincerely and earnestly.”

“You got it.”

The reply came without hesitation.

“We were just getting started... And now those worthless bastards want to drag you all into their selfish delusions? No way in hell I’m letting that happen.”

These people were nothing more than obstacles.

Or rather...

Perhaps this experiment on personality might even be a breakthrough that could help them save Shiren.

“We’ll end this fast and get back to Reicia. That’s all there is to it!”