Chapter 78: Descent

"Le… Let go of me! I'm in charge of brainwork! Sending someone like me to the frontlines is the same as sending me to my death! Doesn't your conscience hurt!?"

"You do realize you charged to the frontlines on your own, right?"

"Ugh…"

Flying through the sky, Baba-san had finally gotten relaxed enough to hold casual conversations like this.
Well, I guess that's expected from someone from the Dark Side. He adapts fast. Though… he's got this lingering aura of being small-time, a kind of hopeless vibe to him, but still, since he's from the Dark Side, his base specs are actually pretty high.

"Th-That was only because I had a robot on loan from the Doctor…"

"Baba-san, which do you think is stronger: a robot or a Level 5 esper?"

If I left it to Reicia-chan, the two of them would keep bickering forever, so I stepped in to cut the conversation short before it escalated.
I mean, I don’t mind this kind of noisy back-and-forth, but we have things to do.

"I will become one of your cards to play. A Joker card — a massive trump card, a Level 5 esper. Surely… you're not going to fold when you've been dealt such a fortunate hand?"

"…………wha—"

That was when Baba-san, who had been weaving his words so smoothly up until now, suddenly choked.

《Shiren, sometimes you throw in harsher taunts than even I do, you know》

《Reicia-chan, this isn’t “taunting.” It’s called “lighting a fire under someone’s ass.”》

…Don’t make it sound like I’m enjoying cornering Baba-san here. I’m not. I actually value his contribution to our fighting strength. Quite a lot, actually.

"You may not believe it, but I hold your abilities in fairly high regard, Baba-san."

Riding the creaking ‘Fissures’ through the sky, I gave Baba-san a smile.

"At first, yes, I had quite a poor impression of you — after all, I saw you kicking around my fellow students. But… the way you completely shut down a Level 4 esper through strategy alone was impressive."

"O-Oh…"

"On top of that, even though the secrecy level has dropped, you still managed to secure valuable intel on 'Kihara' and even prepared this pathway forward for me."

Baba-san’s personality tends to overshadow his achievements, but honestly… he’s surprisingly competent. Convenient, even.
If he had someone nearby who could give him consistent emotional support, he could probably function as a proper tactician.

Also, this is knowledge I only have because I know the "true history," but… as a full-fledged member of 'Member,' his standing is supposed to be on par with future heavyweights like Accelerator-san and Tsuchimikado-san, right?
There's no way someone in that position could actually be as weak as they seem.

"…Hah! That’s thin as paper! Trying to win me over with honeyed words won’t work on me! Do you take me for some lightweight fool whose tiny brain can be swayed by cheap lies and forced camarader—"

"I’m counting on you, Baba-san."

I already know he’s hopeless as a human being, so I’m not expecting him to trust me because of this.
But even if we can’t connect as people, we can at least become comrades who trust each other on the battlefield… probably.

《…I feel like I’m watching my past self from a third-person perspective, and it’s giving me the absolute worst feeling. It’s not too late — why don’t we just toss him out now?》

《That’s way too cruel, Reicia-chan!!》

"Uwah… what the hell is this!?"

The moment we arrived at the scene, Baba-kun practically screamed.
Honestly, though, I can’t blame him for that.

Because what spread out before us was devastation so severe, you could mistake it for the aftermath of a battlefield.

To put it simply, it looked like a "disaster site."
The ground was shattered, fractured into pieces like a crushed biscuit, with deep fissures spreading like spiderwebs, wide enough to swallow a person whole.

Many of the surrounding buildings had been caught up in the destruction as well, left half-collapsed by the shockwaves. …The fact that there weren’t any visible casualties was a miracle in itself. There must’ve been some kind of evacuation warning beforehand.

…Speaking of which, I don’t see the two "Kiharas" who were said to have gone down earlier either. Maybe they managed to escape somewhere.

But more than the destruction itself, the strangest thing of all was this —
— the existence of something that stood unscathed amid the wreckage and chaos.

"…This is far too blatant."

The building we were looking up at.
Only the area surrounding it remained perfectly intact, untouched by the disaster, as though the surrounding destruction was nothing but an illusion.

There was no doubt about it — Gensei-san had to be inside that building.

"Baba-san."

"Alright, alright… I get it! But don’t go inside the building! This place is supposed to be storing something connected to the Fifth Ranked, isn’t it? That means there’s a high chance it’s packed with defensive traps designed for the Fifth’s ability. You’ve got flight — there’s no reason not to take advantage of it, right?"

…He has a point.
Right, I may be allied with Shokuhou-san, but there’s no way the facility would have a system to distinguish that. And Baba-san’s from the Dark Side. In fact, triggering defensive measures nonstop would be the natural outcome.

『Perfect timing. Baba-kun, you showed up right where I needed you.』

Then, out of nowhere, an elderly voice came from Baba-san’s handheld device.

"! Doctor! What are you—"

『Ah, forgive me. I thought something about this request seemed off, so I did a little digging… and it turns out, we’ve been played. …"Another Four," you’re there too, aren’t you? You should hear this as well.』

…Huh?
Another Four? Who the hell is that supposed to be?

《Oh my, I’m the Fourth now? …Below Mikoto? Somehow, that doesn’t sit right with me.》

…Wait, excuse me? Fourth? Us?

…………

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!! First I’ve heard of this!!! What the hell do you mean "Another Four"!? Does that mean there are two Fourths now!? Are we tied for fourth place!?

"A-About that, what are you talking about…?"

『You can investigate the ranking later using your information network. What matters now is "Kihara Gensei’s" goal.』

Aah… he brushed it off instantly…
Wait, this "Doctor" guy — isn’t he basically the boss of "Member"? There’s been so much going on, I haven’t even had time to react properly…

『Kihara Gensei intends to use the Misaka Sisters in order to carry out the Absolute Ability Evolution Project — the Level 6 Shift.』

"…!"

『That much you already know, of course. However, what you don’t know is that the entire concept is impossible. At this point, the only person capable of achieving a stable Level 6 is Accelerator, and only Accelerator. But… this is Kihara we’re talking about. He must have some insane method to force the evolution into Level 6. …Clones or not, they share the same genetic structure. He’s probably attempting to use their network to artificially enhance the Third Ranked’s calculation capacity… or something along those lines.』

The Doctor paused for a moment.

『The exact methodology isn’t the main issue. What matters is this: the reason he infiltrated this facility is likely because he wants to support that unreasonable Third Ranked enhancement by leveraging the Fifth Ranked’s ability. Which means the real focal point here isn’t the "Fifth-related something" hidden in the facility… but rather the "Misaka Network" itself.』

I see…

Up until now, I’d been stuck on thinking about what exactly was connected to Fifth Rank… to Shokuhou-san. But really, if I think about it properly, that’s not something I need to figure out.

…Still, how are we supposed to interfere with the Misaka Network…?

"…Ah. I see."

『Seems like you understand now, Baba-kun.』

"We’ll use the white-and-black ‘Fissure’ of Jagged Edge, right?"

Eh? Our ‘Fissure’ here? …Ah, of course!!

The white-and-black ‘Fissure’ can sever even light and electromagnetic waves. Since the Misaka Network is built from Misaka-san and her sisters’ AIM diffusion fields—in other words, an electronic network—if we cover the building with a ‘Fissure,’ then Gensei will be cut off from the Misaka Network!

With a high-rise like this… with our ability, enclosing it is no problem at all!

"Then it’s settled…!"

『Yes. Once the ‘Fissure’ is deployed, even my communication will be cut. …As someone who lives in the shadows of this city, I don’t intend to keep being used without giving anything back. I’m counting on you, Baba-kun.』

"…Yeah. We’ve got our ‘pieces’ to play with here, after all."

"Oh my, you mean ‘pieces,’ but you actually read it as ‘comrades,’ didn’t you? I understand now."

"Don’t just decide that on your own!!"

And with that said—

Zwoosh!!

The white-and-black ‘Fissure’ spread out from behind me, completely wrapping around the building.

Before long, the world was swallowed in darkness, save only for the faint glow spilling from the building’s windows.

"Well then… with this, Phantom Soul’s scheme has been thwarted. All that remains is to capture him inside the building, and it’s over."
"That’s actually the hardest part, though… Baba-san, I’ll leave it to you."

"…Well, we’ve come this far. I still have my pride as a member of the Dark Side. I won’t just throw in the towel."

Baba-kun switched on his phone’s flashlight and swept it across the area.

It wasn’t as bright as daytime, but at least visibility had improved to the level of dusk. Good… honestly, I was really worried about Phantom Soul attacking us from the darkness.

"Ohhh? Looks like you’ve found me already."

Wait—he’s right there!!!!

He just walked right out the front entrance!! Not even trying to run or hide!!

"You… you’re awfully calm, aren’t you? Don’t forget, we’ve got an esper Level 5 on our side. Normally, even if you have some plan, the obvious strategy is to avoid a head-on clash. Otherwise, no matter what tricks you’ve prepared, it’s the same as having no plan at all…!"

"Hmm, well, that’s just not my style, you see~"

Gensei rested his fingers on his chin, speaking with carefree ease.

"(…Hey, Jagged Edge. Manipulate the airflow and rob him of the air around him. That’s the quickest way to incapacitate a human body.)"

Eh, I’ve never tried that before…

…Well, guess I’ll give it a shot.

………

…Whoa, it worked!? Without making a storm or anything, I can actually manipulate the air currents directly! And look—the air pressure around Gensei is dropping steadily…!

《So, we can do something like this too, huh…》

《Well, considering we can output energy strong enough to surpass the greatest storms in history, if we redirect that output into precision control, this kind of application is only natural…》

Man… it’s all about creativity, isn’t it.

Come to think of it, when we fought Souji-san, we even managed to generate ultrasonic waves. If I think about it that way, maybe we really can manipulate air however we like now.

Yeah, siding with Baba-san was the right call. Neither I nor Reicia-chan would’ve come up with something like this on our own.

"…Hmm? Airflow manipulation, is it…! I’d already observed your power’s growth, but I didn’t realize the adaptability—the computational refinement—had advanced this far! Reicia-kun’s physiology certainly makes for troublesome versatility. Without that limitation, you might’ve stood as the most stable candidate for Level 6 after Accelerator himself…!"

…He’s getting all fired up about this…

…………Maybe this’ll just end on its own? Feels like the oxygen levels around him are already about as low as a high mountain…

"But you know—"

And then, Gensei’s eyes slowly opened, fixing on us.

Those eyes, glowing red… if I recall, that was from the Level Upper, the Fantasy Hand…

"Sorry, but I don’t have time to waste on you right now."

In the next instant—ZGAAN!!!!!!!! With a deafening roar, our ‘Fissure’ was suddenly smashed apart.

"Even if Misaka-kun and Shokuhou-kun are essentially down, taking on three Level 5 espers at once is a bit much, you know. So, I’ll leave the rest to you."

Before us, an ‘angel’ descended from the sky.

"Kazakiri—no, perhaps I should call you ‘Fuse=Kazakiri’ now?"

Chapter 2: I Won’t Choose Between Two Options — PHASE-NEXT.
Episode 66: Descent — Fuze-"K".

"Haa… haa…!"

Most of Kihara Nayuta’s body had already been replaced with mechanical parts. Once upon a time, in a certain experiment, a different kind of "power" — separate from Academy City’s esper abilities — had been forced into her body. As a result, she had exploded into pieces. Since then, she had made use of various human replacement cyborg technologies to keep functioning.

This, in a way, was the distortion born from being taught science under none other than Kihara Gensei…

In any case, since most of Kihara Nayuta’s body was cybernetic, even if she took a blow with energy equivalent to an earthquake and her entire body was torn apart, she could just use replacement parts to repair herself and continue moving.

That being said—

"…Don’t screw with me…! If it were just you, you could’ve dodged it! Acting like some big shot for shielding me, huh?!"

If it weren’t for Therestina, barking beside her, Nayuta’s scattered body parts might have simply shut down like a mere machine.

The two of them were now running through a hallway of a certain hospital in the 7th District. Not, however, to get treatment for wounds from some defeat.

"…"

Nayuta cast her gaze out the window and up at the sky. From the direction of the 2nd District, ominous black lightning was striking down, converging upon a particular building. Most likely, the "fracture" that had been blocking the Misaka Network for some reason had been destroyed, and Gensei’s plan had finally entered full swing.

"…Looks like we didn’t make it in time."

"Don’t go losing heart on your own. I ran into that old bastard’s AIM and analyzed it, and then you ‘grabbed’ it and forced open the distortion in the Misaka Network to pinpoint the location of the higher-level unit, Last Order—no, the location of Accelerator. The second plan has already succeeded, got it?"

"I understand, Teresa-onee-san."

Clack.

Their footsteps stopped.

They carelessly opened the door to a hospital room, where atop the bed writhed the strongest of them all, white hair thrashing like a caterpillar.

"…That bastard probably thinks he’s already won."

Therestina sneered, her eyes turned skyward.

"Our goal from the start has been to use this ability of ours—to see AIM, to seize it—and create a ‘window’ into Gensei-ojii-san’s AIM."

Saying that, Nayuta placed her hand on the white-haired esper.

Those crimson eyes glared at the girl sharply, as if piercing her.

"…I know that you use your power with external calculation assistance. If I grant you access rights through the ‘window’ I created… it’s limited, but I can give you freedom of action."

As she said this, Nayuta furrowed her brows slightly.

This wasn’t what she had truly wanted to do.

What she had wanted was to become a Level 5 esper. To prove that those who had been test subjects weren’t just sacrifices. To become the guinea pig herself for the technologies born from the experiments forced on them, and to stand at the top of this city. And with that power, protect the city.

—Become a Level 5 esper, join Judgment, and protect this city!

…If one knew the truth of this city, they would surely laugh.

And yet, such words were spoken by the very children who were its greatest victims — the abandoned Child Errors.

If the adults of this city were to hear it, they would surely dismiss it as nothing more than ridiculous delusion, worthy only of scornful laughter.

But Nayuta could not bring herself to laugh at those words.

Even though she was of the Kihara lineage, Nayuta had completed a "perfect" experiment, one that had even accounted for the safety of the test subjects.

And still, she too had been branded as worthless, a "defective product," just like the abandoned Child Errors.

That was why she wanted to believe — that her friends’ earnest wishes could one day come true.

However… the deepest darkness of this city was still far beyond her reach, impossible to see through or defy.

"…Please, Strongest."

Without realizing it, Nayuta was clinging to the bed, tears spilling down her cheeks.

Behind her, Therestina stood in silence, simply watching.

"Protect this city… protect everyone…!!"

"You’re askin’ the wrong guy."

When Nayuta raised her head, she saw him — somehow, the white-haired Strongest had already regained function, and was standing with one foot set on the window frame.

To Accelerator, who had lost the ability to speak — no, even to anyone who didn’t know her life — her plea was surely meaningless.

And yet, dressed in hospital clothes, the pale-haired boy continued, without ever once looking her way.

"I’m gonna crush the bastard who created this mess. As for protecting…"

Tap.

Like taking a step in a dance, Accelerator leapt from the window, leaving behind just one final line:

"That’s a hero’s job, ain’t it?"