Chapter 86: All-Out War -Part 1

Gensei’s mad laughter echoed across the sky.

It was a wicked dragon.

With colossal wings that seemed enough to blanket the heavens, the platinum-like beast, glowing with a pale radiance, silently surveyed the world below.

The outcome was decided.

Having seized both the first and second ranked abilities, and with the maiden who had become a thunder god as his subordinate—standing against him were merely six boys and girls.

The adults had already fallen, and the shadows of the city no longer had the power to stop him.

『Now then… once I’ve cleared away the obstacles before me, I’ll take my time savoring this city—this so-called creation of Aleister Crowley,』

"What makes you think it’s already over?"

—The interruption came instantly.

Before the evil dragon’s laughter had even faded, a blade of black and white flashed. It streaked like lightning, only to be naturally deflected by an unseen "incomprehensible force"—

『………………』

Gensei’s laughter ceased.

"I can see it, you know."

Reicia=Blackguard stood there.

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed noble girl calmly observed the old man before her, her right eye dyed emerald green.

"No matter how much power you’ve amassed, your deeds remain unchanged. You ran. You avoided a direct fight with me, choosing instead to wear us down in a battle of attrition. And why was that, I wonder?"

Reicia=Blackguard was not a saint.

That would be misleading, but in truth, her nature was that of a villainess. The reason she was who she was now was because she had met Shiren, had witnessed the path he had walked.

By default, her mindset leaned heavily toward the villainous. This was something that revealed itself plainly in her everyday exchanges with Shiren. The only reason she could now walk a righteous path was because she had grown, had learned to discipline herself, and had gained the conviction to move forward along the right road.

It was precisely because she was who she was that this struck her as odd.

"Wouldn’t it have been much faster… to drag innocent civilians into the fight instead of wasting time with something so roundabout?"

Those gathered here, with minor differences aside, were all what one might call "heroes."

Kamijou Touma and Sogiita Gunha went without saying, but even Kakine Teitoku, a man of the darkness, stood against Kihara Gensei’s schemes "to protect someone."

So, what was the most rational choice when striking down such people? The answer was obvious—"target that someone."

It was cruel, merciless. So much so that it would unravel the very foundation of the story itself. But indeed, if Kihara Gensei had wanted to eliminate them in the most rational way possible, that was precisely what he should have done first.

"And yet, you didn’t. Or rather—should I say, you couldn’t?"

Before her words even finished, Gensei shifted his target.

The girl before him—her deductions could not be allowed to gain certainty.

"Because that’s the truth, isn’t it? If you tried to expand the distortion carelessly… my hand would reach you, wouldn’t it?"

Through Reicia=Blackguard’s eyes, she could see a layer entirely separate from the three-dimensional concept of the world.

Just as even the most beautiful scenery would be stained with blood if viewed through a blood-smeared window—so too could the world transform completely with just a certain filter laid over it.

This was the same.

But—it was not perfect. Kihara Gensei was indeed laying some kind of filter over the world, but it wasn’t the entire world. Instead, he cleverly exploited this, extending it into regions beyond the interference of Reicia or Kamijou, in order to seize control of the battlefield.

Reicia had merely stretched her ability to brush against that boundary.

Crack.

A fissure ran across the evil dragon’s body.

Even though the "cracks" should have been perfectly defended, it was as if the damage from an earlier strike was only now surfacing—chunks of "power" flaking away from its edges.

Gensei hastily poured power back into the gaps to halt the collapse—but this was abnormal.

Because Gensei’s plan was supposed to be flawless.

By wielding the powers of both the first and second ranked, he would control the "dragon." That goal had been achieved without a single hitch, and there should not have been even a one-in-ten-thousand chance of him failing to maintain control—

While Gensei fell into sudden confusion, the strongest of the white murk gave a bored snort.

"…Took you long enough. ’Bout damn time. Didn’t I tell you already? Protecting the city’s your damn job."

──Accelerator had, in truth, been guarding "something" from the very beginning of the battle.

It was buried beneath the rubble.

It was a piece—part of what had once formed a certain girl.

It was—the machine component that Kihara Nayuta had left behind in the midst of combat.

"Whose research was this again…? Cyborgs, was it? Even when separated, they’re still treated as part of the esper’s body, still functioning as an ‘ability emission point’? This is your damn research, ain’t it?"

──The ability to see and touch the AIM diffusion field.

The ultimate extension of that power—"the triggering of runaway states."

And what would happen… if that was applied to the first and second-ranked abilities controlling the "dragon"?

"Ability Unlock—AIM Violator, activation confirmed. …Honestly, the crap you come up with. Using a unit you lost in combat as an ability emission point? Seriously."

"…Ahaha. Sorry for making you do something you’re not used to, Theresa-onee-san."

"You mocking me, brat? This much is nothing."

"But you know… I’ve got my own pride, too."

The hospital room.

Who had arranged it, no one knew—but the space was filled with imposing equipment, like the headquarters of a special operations unit. Amidst it all, the blonde-haired girl smiled softly.

Lowering her gaze to the fist she clenched, she continued. As though savoring the worth of a treasure she had received.

"Protecting this city is my job. No… it’s our dream. Even if, for now, I can’t yet reach the summit I aim for."

"……Tch. I take that back. Doing things I’m not used to doesn’t suit me after all."

Chapter 2 – I Won’t Choose Between Two Options – PHASE-NEXT.
Episode 72: All-Out War (1) – Side: Inherit_And_5th.

『Impossible…!? You mean to tell me you’ve been fighting all this time just to protect “that”…!?』

"That’s about the size of it."

Accelerator lazily tilted his head. Electrodes were fixed to his skin, and thanks to external computation he had finally regained his ability to speak. The state of his body was, to be blunt, pitiful. Yet even so, he stood on his two feet, facing the evil dragon.

"I’m already a wreck. Thanks to your little schemes, I don’t have the backup of those twenty-thousand clones, and the only computation support I’ve got is that pathetic scrap from ‘Kihara’. At best, I’m running on fifty percent of my full power. Honestly, it’s laughable just how miserable I look."

He chuckled darkly. Even so, Accelerator’s eyes were far from dead.

"But… fighting while protecting someone against the likes of you wasn’t all that hard for someone like me, who sure as hell ain’t no hero."

It was, in the end, an inevitable conclusion.

From the very beginning, Accelerator had anticipated Kihara Nayuta’s involvement, and fought while controlling the battlefield to ensure things would unfold that way.

There was no irregular factor, no unknown technology at play—everything could be explained as nothing more than the “natural flow of events.”

『……Aleister.』

That was why—it inflicted all the deeper humiliation upon Kihara Gensei’s heart.

The moment he was touched by Reicia = Blackguard, the flow shifted drastically. It was as if the very script of the story had been rewritten—not by coincidence, nor by accident, but by something far greater. The flow of the entire “world” itself had been evened out.

Back into its rightful form—like the vibrations of a struck rubber band… slowly coming to rest.

『So this too was in your palm, was it… Aleister = Crowleyyyyyyy!!!!』

"You’re barking up the wrong tree, old man."

And then.

With that voice, everyone present finally noticed.

Perched atop the evil dragon’s massive head—stood a man.

He was a blond-haired thug with spiked hair and tattoos. Over his black shirt, he wore a white lab coat. His appearance was, to put it generously, that of a street punk—at best, if one were to be very charitable, he looked like some mad scientist.

And yet.

Despite that.

"Hell of a sight, ain’t it? The kids in the family are busting their asses trying to protect the city, and here the old man is, doing his damnedest to ruin it all."

Facing the evil dragon alone, that figure carried with it a strange air of a hero.

"Now then, riddle me this. Kihara Amata—facing off against a monster that takes a whole pack of Level 5 espers just to keep at bay—what possible winning hand did he bring to the table when he came charging in!? You’ve got three seconds!! Three, two, one—time’s up!"

Zozan!!

The dragon’s head suddenly lurched to the side, struck hard by something.

『I see… An AIM jammer… You took the science left behind by Souji, twisted it with pathological science, and… replicated Nayuta’s work. That’s it, isn’t it.』

Kihara Amata’s combat ability is often thought to stand out for its precision.

Kihara Enshuu once described his science as "the destructive power of a hammer, controlled with the accuracy of an electron microscope." Indeed, Amata once neutralized Accelerator’s vector manipulation with nothing more than a whistle, and became the sole person to break through that impregnable reflection using nothing but “human strength.”

The belief that precision is his greatest strength is not incorrect as an analysis.

But—to think that is his true essence would be a mistake.

The greatest trophy he had earned as a scientist—it wasn’t the subjugation of Accelerator.

It was the development of Accelerator’s ability—in other words, his education. Without a doubt, that was Kihara Amata’s greatest achievement.

In the first place, the method of breaking through reflection that he had wielded was nothing more than a dead copy of the combat technique once used by Kihara Yuiitsu.

—This may come as a surprise, but Kihara Amata was one of the clan members who most frequently involved himself with his kin.

Not only Kihara Souji.

Kihara Nayuta honed her combat skills under his tutelage.

Kihara Ransuu’s entire appearance bore his influence blatantly.

Kihara Enshuu often employed his patterns of thought more than anyone else.

It was the result of him never hesitating to pass on his techniques to others.

That doesn’t mean he was secretly a kind-hearted man, or that he associated with others out of charity. Rather—it is only natural to conclude that this was the very essence of his “Kihara” nature.

He mimicked the techniques of Kihara Yuiitsu.

He developed Accelerator’s ability.

He spread knowledge throughout the Kihara clan.

That was his essence.

It was—

"Souji. Nayuta. …I made sure to inherit everything properly."

The “Kihara” who governs “inheritance.”

That is the true essence of Kihara Amata.

『But tell me… do you really think an AIM jammer could still work on me? Nayuta’s ability disrupted it earlier, true—but I’ve already finished my countermeasures. At best, this thing can interfere with a single ability. There’s no way it could bring down the “Dragon.”』

"Who the hell said I was trying to slay the dragon?"

Leaping off the “Dragon” without hesitation, Kihara Amata exhaled as though his work here was already done.

He tapped his head twice with his knuckle. In his right eye, for just an instant, a cross-shaped glimmer flashed—and vanished.

"You still don’t get it, you old relic. I wasn’t aiming for the multi-skill network as a whole. …What I was targeting was the control of the Mental Out ability you were using."

"Very well done☆ …Honestly, I never wanted to peek into a Kihara’s head—it’s terrifying—but I gambled that he’d go along with the suggestion… looks like it worked out somehow."

『I–Impossible…!? Shokuhou-kun!? She was supposed to have clashed with me and been taken out so easily—』

"That’s merely part of the elaborate ruse she laid out to make you think so, is it not? It’s exactly the sort of scheme that woman would devise."

Reicia spat the words out like venom.

None of those present could know this, but in the true timeline, Shokuhou Misaki had already established a track record of weaving even her own “defeat” into her stratagems.

Indeed, her overreliance on her ability for mind games meant that, in terms of pure combat skill, she was undeniably one step behind the other Level 5 espers.

But that alone did not define her strength.

She knew her own weakness.

And because of that—she could trip the feet of those who thought only of victory.

"If you’ve lost control of the Mental Out ability, then Misaka Mikoto’s control now depends entirely on whichever collaborator of yours is hiding out there, does it not? Though of course—"

Gagun!!

In that instant, Mikoto’s movements stopped.

Like a marionette with its strings suddenly cut.

"On that point, however, Mikoto happens to have a partner so exceptional it’s almost infuriating. So there’s no need to worry."

—It was like being trapped in a swamp.

If Misaka Mikoto were to describe the sensation she had just become aware of, that would be the most fitting expression.

Some kind of control had apparently been lifted, allowing her to think clearly again… but even so, the “something” that enveloped her did not disappear. Unless she shut off the source entirely—like turning the valve of a power supply—it would not go away.

Worse still, though the primary control seemed to have been broken, some smaller subsidiary manipulations still clung to her like grime, continuing to move within her.

『Hey, hey. This city. Let’s destroy it. You’ve seen plenty of painful, infuriating things here, haven’t you?』

A voice.

It came from a girl dressed in a grotesquely colored nurse cosplay. She looked about high-school age, perhaps a little older than Mikoto. Her eyes, as if reflecting the city’s darkness itself, were filled with pitch-black stagnation.

Strangely, Mikoto felt herself begin to think it might not be so bad to follow that voice. The self-awareness she had regained began to drift away, when suddenly—

『Haaahn? You’re awfully easy to sway, aren’t you, Misaka-san?』

Her consciousness.
It was yanked back.

She turned, and there stood a girl with honey-colored hair, wearing a mocking smile.

In her eyes, a cross-shaped brilliance flickered.

"…What do you want? I don’t exactly have time for this right now."

『Oh, you don’t have time? So you were just going to pretend you didn’t notice the gaping holes in that suggestion and go along with it anyway, just to justify throwing a tantrum? Haaah. Honestly, Misaka-san, you’ve gotten way too soft-headed since the last time I saw you. At this rate—』

Pishiri!

A crack ran across the pitch-black space.

On the other side, visible through the fracture, a spiky-haired boy stood shoulder to shoulder with a girl wielding a black-and-white blade.

『That sly little fox is going to snatch away your precious “someone,” you know?』

"Wha—sh-shut up!! It’s not like I—It’s not like I care about him or anything…!!"

『Heh? Hehh…? More importantly, shouldn’t you be focusing on hating this city and—』

"Just shut up! I don’t have time for this crap right now!!"

Mikoto blasted away the nurse-uniformed girl, who was still trying to drag her down into the muck, with a burst of electricity and finally let out a long breath.

For some reason, the darkness that had covered her heart was now almost entirely gone.

『(…Hmph. “Level Upper,” “Fantasy Hand,” whatever—if it weren’t for that wrinkled monster of a geezer, there’s no way I’d lose out in handling abilities to anyone.)』

"But what now? I managed to shake off the control, but unless the root cause is undone, I’ll stay like this. Worse, if I move carelessly, I feel like I might lose control altogether…"

『On that point—you don’t need to worry.』

Answering Mikoto’s perfectly reasonable concern with an unshakable grin, Shokuhou raised a slim white finger covered in her dress gloves and spoke words Mikoto could scarcely believe.

『I・will control・it・for・you・☆』

Kihara Gensei.

A mad scientist’s plan had gifted Mikoto a power she was never meant to obtain.

A power she should have discarded the moment she regained control of her own body.

Yet Shokuhou declared she would use it instead.

"I’m in."

Mikoto did not hesitate for even an instant.

By nature, she was always hungry for strength. If it could be used to slay the “Dragon” looming beyond the crack—if it could be used to strike back at the mastermind who had orchestrated this entire situation—then she would take it.

"I don’t like you—but honestly, getting pushed around without hitting back just isn’t in my nature."

『I know that already☆』

In the world of the mind, two Level 5 espers stood together.

『Now then, sly little fox. Your one-woman show ends here. From this point forward—』

"We’re joining the fight!!"