Chapter 87: All-Out War -Part 2

A flash of light blazed.

How many of those present could actually follow their "entry" with their eyes?

"Mi… Misaka… is that really you…?"

『Aah, aah. …This feels weird. Can you actually hear my voice properly like this?』

The abrupt stop—like a puppet with its strings cut—lasted only a moment.
In the next instant, Mikoto had moved, placing herself between Reicia and Kamijou. Naturally, her intentions were more than obvious.

But her appearance was far removed from her usual self. Her entire body faintly glowed with lightning, from her forehead stretched out antennae like the twin drums of Raijin. Her eye sockets, blackened yet burning with inner light, looked so far from reason that one could barely believe sanity remained.
And yet, Mikoto still stood here as herself, on this battlefield.

"Miss Mikoto… judging from that state, it seems you’ve freed yourself from Mr. Gensei’s control."

『Thanks to you. …Really, I can’t believe I let myself get caught like that. But I’m fine now. With Shokuhou’s support, I think I can fight while keeping this form.』

"Ho! I figured you didn’t have the guts to stay controlled… guess I’ll take that back! To tear apart those chains and force through your own will… that takes some nerve, girl!!"

『You’re that guy from before, aren’t you… oh, forget it! This isn’t the time! Anyway, what matters is taking down that dragon-like Gensei, right!?』

"Quick on the uptake! That helps a lot!"

Just as the four regrouped in one place—

The "Dragon" released a shockwave, blowing Accelerator and Kakine away with tremendous force.

"Accelerator!?"

"He’ll be fine, Shiren! More importantly, we’ve gotta stop that old man!"

Kamijou declared firmly, then charged straight at the "Dragon."
It was Reicia who was most taken aback. Up until now, Kamijou had managed to twist away the "Dragon’s" attacks with his right hand and contribute to defense. But Imagine Breaker’s specs were nowhere near high enough to turn that into an offensive weapon.

In fact, Gensei had been keeping his distance precisely because he feared his own "distortions" being erased by that right hand—and that strategy had been working.

"Kamijou! Wait! The enemy is in the sky! How are you going to… oh, of course, so that’s your plan!"

Reicia instantly grasped his intent. From right in front of Kamijou, she created a path of "fractures." As a precaution against Gensei reading their movement, she made sure it only manifested beneath his feet.
With this, Kamijou could indeed reach Gensei.
──But naturally, Gensei wouldn’t just stand idly by and watch.

『Kamijou-kun’s strike is a complete unknown to me right now. I’d love to test it… but I’ll keep it simple and interfere!』

『Think you can?』

At the same time that Gensei unleashed a radiant breath with a roar, a pillar of light blasted forth from Mikoto’s outstretched hand.

GOOOONNNNN!!! A tremendous sound rang out as the two beams clashed. Their power was completely equal.

『You used me like a puppet, then that woman interfered with my mind… I’ve had frustration piling up non-stop! Time to vent it all on you!!』

『……? Strange. On the specs sheet, the "Dragon’s" output should completely overwhelm someone at Misaka-kun’s level. An equal clash shouldn’t be possible…?』

"Hah! Scientists really are laughable creatures."

That voice came from Accelerator, who had returned. Even with abrasions all over his body, his steps were still steady.

"Why the hell would you assume you can always fight at your maximum specs?"

He, of all people, knew firsthand—from bitter experience—that there were countless reasons one could never unleash full power all the time.

"Sure, the power you’ve drawn out might be insane. Hell, it even breaks through my reflection. But that just makes it all the harder to handle. No way it compares to some ordinary energy source."

That was why Gensei had relied on his secondary "spare plan" and his primary "main plan" to help control that energy.

But both had been shattered—and the very battery, Misaka Mikoto, had slipped from his grasp. There was no way he could keep operating at full capacity anymore.

"Also, if you let yourself get too distracted by that Level 0 powerless kid, your lifespan’s gonna get cut short, old man."

"Suuuuuuuuuuper… PUUUUUUUNCHHHHH!!!!!"

BOOOOOM!!!
A shockwave erupted as if bursting straight through the "Dragon’s" abdomen from below. Sogiita had circled under it at supersonic speed, then drove his uppercut into its gut.

That single strike alone bent the gigantic "Dragon’s" body into a crude V-shape—

『Hey there, old man. You really had your fun using me however you wanted, didn’t you?』

And in front of them, the girl transformed into a thunder god waved cutely, a gesture almost comically out of place.

A flash.

In an instant, magnetized rubble compressed into an ultra-dense spear, piercing straight through the "Dragon’s" skull.
And Mikoto’s attack didn’t end there. The spear protruding from its head served as a lightning rod, calling down yet another strike.

『And this one… let’s say it’s payback on behalf of that other girl, too.』

Sound vanished.

Light vanished.

When the brilliance finally subsided—so bright that even Kamijou had stopped in his tracks and shielded his eyes—the "Dragon’s" head was buried deep within a massive crater in the ground.

Gensei’s movements stopped.
It seemed that the electricity had reached wherever Gensei was hiding inside the "Dragon’s" body, affecting him as well. Seizing the chance, Kamijou sprinted closer—

"Just a little more────!!!!"

『GUOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!』

──Was it the roar of the "Dragon’s" systems?
Or Gensei’s own cry of anguish?

With a howl that shook the very earth, another change overtook the "Dragon."
Cracks split across its enormous body—and then it shattered into pieces.

"Whoa!? Is it self-destructing!?"

"No, that’s not it! It’s──dividing!!"

Reicia called out, holding back Sogiita’s panic.
Just as she said, the scattered fragments each became a "Dragon" of their own, scattering through the sky.

"Dividing… to try and escape…?"

"No… it’s more than that…!!"

Groaning, Reicia lifted her gaze to the countless small "Dragons" that now filled the heavens.

To her eyes, most of them still carried "distortions." If she interfered, they could be eliminated, regardless of their composition. But those were just the fragments. The true core, Gensei, had separated from them—meaning his "distortion" would not vanish so easily. That possibility gnawed at her.

And if her fears proved true—

Then division was the most effective strategy possible.

After all, the "Dragon’s" power alone had enough raw output to crush even Accelerator or Dark Matter without question.

Before, while it was only one body, they could somehow force it on the defensive. But now that it had multiplied into a swarm, the heroes’ options had dwindled, and attrition would inevitably work against them.

But Gensei’s "malice" didn’t stop there.

KABOOOOOOOMMMM!!!

The divided "Dragons" began tearing apart every building in sight.

"What…!?"

It was, ironically, exactly what Reicia herself had warned earlier.
If you want to crush heroes who have things they must protect—the quickest way is to destroy their surroundings.

With the countless new "hands" gained through division, if Gensei turned them all against the city, the heroes would have no choice but to divert their strength to defense. Of course, that would also mean increased contact with Reicia—risking "equalizing" the distortions—but dividing had diluted that effect.

In Gensei’s calculations, it was faster to wear Reicia and the others down than to let his distortions be completely nullified.

"Hah, pathetic. To think that even now, I’m being treated like some kind of hero."

Among them, there was one person who stood out.

A boy with three pairs of white wings on his back—Kakine Teitoku.

"So you’ve finally lost it, huh. This is the 2nd District, you know? Thanks to the lightning strike you triggered from the #3 going berserk, the whole area has already been evacuated. Besides, there’s no Achilles’ heel of ours here in the first place. Or what, are you planning to pull off some long-range precision sniping from here? With that weakened body of yours after splitting apart?"

『Hyohhoho, the target of this split isn’t something precious to you, Kakine-kun.』

From the "Dragon," the voice of an old man echoed in fragments.

『The 2nd District. It’s where Anti-Skill and Judgment training facilities are, and where explosives and weapons are tested… but did you know this district also has a detention center, one that temporarily houses po-li-ti-cal o-ffen-ders from the out-side who can’t be kept in juvenile halls?』

"Huh? What the hell are you suddenly talking abou—"

『The split was just a distraction. That’s what I’m saying.』

In the distance, an explosion erupted.

However, the blast posed no threat to the heroes. It only chipped away at the side of a completely unrelated building. At most, the outer wall was broken, exposing the inside. Even if there had been people within, it was unlikely to cause instant death… though injuries were possible.

But.

For Reicia = Blackguard, the impact was devastating.

"Ah, that place…!?"

The 2nd District had a detention facility that temporarily housed political offenders from outside.

And of course, Academy City’s true stance was that no such criminals—those deemed dangerous enough to be political prisoners—must ever be allowed to escape. Which meant, naturally, there would be no evacuation orders for them.

Furthermore—

『The policy for such high-level political offenders held here temporarily is: “Better to kill them than let them escape.” If my memory serves, in the event the facility is destroyed, an automatic defense program would be triggered to execute the detainees. Now then… Blackguard-kun—no, Shiren-kun. Will you be able to save him?』

The end of the words didn’t even need to be reached.

Even as he spoke, UAVs—“Six-Wings” and the like—swarmed toward the destroyed building.

Reicia no longer had any choice.

"Kihara… Gensei-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e!!!"

She screamed, but there was only one action left for her to take.

Her white and black wings flared, and she shot forward at supersonic speed toward the building.

"Hey! What are you doing, Reicia = Blackguard!? Who cares about trash like them right now!"

"I most certainly do care!"

Reicia snapped back immediately to Baba’s words. No—this wasn’t Baba’s voice. It was Shiren’s.

"There’s someone in there… Nurikae is. Because of my accusations, he was detained as a political offender."

"Ah… your former fiancé, wasn’t he? So what? I’ve heard that story too, but you don’t have a single reason to save him. Just leave him. Guys like that—you never know what kind of grudge they’ll hold once they’re released after serving their sentence."

"Even so."

Shiren declared quietly.

There was no reason to save him. That much was true. In fact, from Shiren’s—or rather, from Reicia’s—point of view, there were countless reasons to abandon him. Both emotionally and logically, Nurikae Onrei had opposed Reicia = Blackguard to a fatal degree.

"I’ve thought about it constantly. Things turned out this way, and maybe it isn’t my place to say this since I was the one who pulled the trigger… But even so, I kept asking myself if it was really right to let that be the end of it."

Nurikae Onrei’s downfall was his "just deserts."

Had he stayed away from crime and handled things within normal bounds, he would have been the one smiling today.

Yet he chose to commit a crime. Just to scar the life of Reicia = Blackguard, the woman who had humiliated him.

Naturally, he was arrested as a political offender, and now, caught up in this grand conspiracy, he was about to be executed.

To trample over another’s life purely for one’s pride. To then feel satisfaction at witnessing the ruin. However you looked at it, it was evil. Irredeemable. A personality worthy of contempt.

So yes, this was "just deserts."

…Or was it really?

Being arrested for his crimes was inevitable. Responsibility for those actions lay entirely with Nurikae, and denying that would be wrong in its own way.

But does that mean a criminal must never be extended a helping hand? Must they be despised by everyone, broken both socially and spiritually, until nothing remains? Must they be mocked with "just deserts" even as they’re reduced to insects to be crushed by someone’s scheme?

No—that’s wrong.

Hadn’t that already been proven?

Wasn’t the very story of Reicia = Blackguard’s revival proof of that?

A girl whose heart had been shattered by her own mistakes was shown hope once more. That was the story that led to the path the two of them now walked.

And so—no matter who else abandoned Nurikae Onrei, "she" could not choose that path.

The "villain" being forsaken by the entire world—only Reicia = Blackguard could not forsake him.

"I may be scorned as shameless for even daring to face him, but once this is all over, I wanted to speak with him again. It may be nothing more than self-satisfaction… but even so."

That was why—

"Shiren’s naivety is utterly exasperating… but for me too, abandoning this is simply ‘not an option.’ Now then, Baba. Answer me—how many seconds do we have within tolerance?"

"Tch! So in the end you’re both just the same bunch of soft-hearted idiots, huh! One hundred twenty seconds! Any longer than that, and we won’t be able to ignore the battle situation over there!"

"Plenty! And besides, I have an idea!"

The story of Reicia = Blackguard’s "revival" had ended.

But the story of her life after revival was still being written.

If it was for the sake of a "junior" who might walk the same path, then stepping up was only "natural."

Chapter 2 – I Won’t Choose Between Two Options – PHASE-NEXT
Episode 72: All-Out War ② – "Are_You_Sure?"

《Shiren, if I truly were a hopeless, despicable woman... what would you have done?》

《I was saved by you, Shiren. But I also think that’s because I still had enough in me to accept your words. If I had been someone who refused to listen to you—someone truly irredeemable...》

If.

──If there were someone who could never be saved, no matter how far you reached out your hand?