Toaru Majutsu no Index

Volume 8, Chapter 3: Hiding Lit Debris. "Remnant"

Part 1

Tokiwadai Middle School had a dormitory both inside and outside ‘School Garden’.

Shirai Kuroko and Misaka Mikoto’s room was in the dormitory ‘outside’.

“Gack...ah...”

Dragging herself to the back of the dormitory, Shirai nearly vomited blood. She was trying to force herself to swallow the remaining blood in her mouth and move forward. She had to bandage herself up first, but her body didn’t obey her commands. Her teleport ability couldn’t be controlled well due to the pain, making it almost impossible to use.

Her right shoulder, left flank, right thigh, right shin.

The many sharp metal needles stabbed into several parts of her body continued to tear the cloth on the clothes into the wounds. For every step she took, the magical feeling of the skin and clothes rubbing against each other would be ingrained into her mind with the pain.

The shriveled schoolbag now felt like it weighed as much as a dumbbell.

Shirai understood that she had lost much strength and felt rather uncomfortable about it; a chill flowed down her abdomen.

Arriving at the back of the dormitory, Shirai noticed a set of windows, confirming that the lights in her room weren’t on.

(That’s good...Onee-sama...isn’t back...yet...)

Shirai weakly smiled and again regained her concentration.

In such a pathetic state, she definitely couldn’t go through the front door. Shirai Kuroko endured the pain strongly, trembling and anxious, trying to make her mental calculations and teleport directly into her room.

In an instant, she couldn’t feel any gravity.

The feeling of using ‘instant teleportation’, to put it nicely, was to float lightly in the air; to put it bluntly, it was a feeling of no reliance, being on one’s own. It was like taking a roller coaster ride, the intense sense of nervousness was moving up her stomach.

“...Ugh!”

Shirai safely landed inside a pitch black room. She didn’t turn on the lights, just wandered around the room, looking for a first-aid box and a spare set of clothes. As for undergarments, she would just wear the one that she was wore; it would save some time. She opened her bag and pulled out the paper bag that she had gotten from the lingerie shop.

Shirai held onto this pile of things as she moved into the bathroom. The bathroom had no windows, and there was not even a single sight of light; the place was in complete darkness. Shirai closed the door, feeling for the buttons. Pow, the white light of the sunlight illuminated the narrow bathroom.

“Ah...ugh...!”

Her two hands being weak, all the stuff in her hands tumbled out. Shirai inadvertently leaned her back against the wall, the needle pierced against the side of her abdomen, slammed into the wall, sending Shirai in shock as if she was electrocuted, losing her balance and falling onto the ground. She felt all sorts of pain all over.

(August...21st...)

Though her mind was still in chaos due to confusion, Shirai still continued to sit on the floor, rummaging through her brain. Why must that woman ask me if there was anything unusual that happened on the 21st of August?

(It’s true...that Onee-sama...came back very late...and...it was the day when ‘that mister’ suddenly came to our dorm...)

Thinking about it, other memories continued to swell up in her brain.

(That mister...he left after some time...that’s right, Onee-sama’s stuffed bear toy was taken away from under her bed. Also, there was a strong gust of wind that blew on the streets for no apparent reason, and there were even witnesses outside the train carriage park who said that there was a huge explosion and blinding flash...)

Finally, Shirai remembered the rumour that had circulated around after that day.

Shirai lifted her head.

(According to an unconfirmed report, the strongest Level 5 esper in Academy City was beaten by someone...)

In order to prevent any unnecessary commotion from taking place, the General Director of Academy City had immediately ordered that information regarding this incident be controlled. Thus, Shirai didn't know who had defeated the strongest Level 5 esper.

The huge explosion, flash, the wind level that exceeded an M7, the carriage park that people assumed was a stage, it was like a baptism of explosion. Anti-Skill had been in charge of the repairs, but Shirai once assisted as a member of Judgement. At that moment, everyone had said the same thing.

The destruction had been truly unbelievable.

The one said to be the strongest Level 5 esper in Academy City was definitely not a bluff.

However,

For the opponent to still stand upright even after facing the attack of a Level 5, it was really unbelievable.

(Also...)

Shirai herself had privately gotten another set of information.

(...Maybe, when those two espers fought, Onee-sama was around.)

Because Shirai Kuroko had seen something.

At the carriage park, where a large number of crates had been destroyed, with all sorts of stuff scattered all over the place, in such a messy place, no one would especially notice a coin. Well, besides Shirai.

Picking it up, Shirai had believed it even more.

It had been a rough metal game coin.

It had also been the same game coin used by a certain girl when she used her railgun. At that moment, Shirai’s thought process was interrupted due to tremendous pain. The 21st of August was definitely not an ordinary day, but Shirai didn’t understand what that had to do with this incident?

Anyway, let’s settle the wounds first, Shirai concluded.

She used her fingertips to gently touch the corkscrew that was stabbed into her right shoulder. A large spiral metal thing would definitely rip her muscles apart if she pulled it.

“Such irony...my ability would be useful in this situation.”

Using her instant teleportation ability, the corkscrew drilled into her right shoulder vanished into thin air and appeared before Shirai. The weapon that lost its support landed on the floor, creating a crisp sound.

Blood gushed out from the wound.

The object blocking the wound had been removed, thus there was even more blood loss.

The reason why Shirai hadn’t dared to pull out the metal needles and corkscrew was because she couldn’t stop the blood loss.

“...!”

In an instant, her vision became blurry, and everything became giddy. Shirai immediately shook her head, regaining her concentration. She stared at the corkscrew on the floor that was stained with blood, and her jaw dropped.

(A corkscrew from Sheffield (Note: Sheffield is a famous metalwork city in England), and a Majolica handle (Note: Majolica, a famous Italian ceramic)...ignoring where this was created, the history, the traditions, the thoughts and the beliefs completely, this is really messy. Seems like I’ve really met a dangerous client.)

Shirai again used the same teleport method to teleport away the metal needles that were stuck in the side of her abdomen and heel, and at the same time, used the phone to call Uiharu Kazari.

“Hello, hello, this is Uiharu. Shirai-san, I’ve already done what you instructed...WAH! You’re in pain! I can hear from your breathing!”

In actual fact, Shirai had called Uiharu before she headed back to the dormitory. Besides notifying her that she had lost and the luggage bag had been stolen, she requested Uiharu to check up on information regarding the ‘Tree Diagram’, the identity of the teleporter, and to predict the escape route. However, it was really difficult to trace where a teleporter moves, so the last part was just up to whether they could do it.

At the same time, Shirai had requested that Uiharu not mention the fact that she was injured. If she didn’t do this, she would likely be obstructed.

Judgement members were all students, and Anti-Skill were all teaching staff members. So the important jobs were handled by Anti-Skill. There were two reasons for this. The first was that they couldn’t allow children to be endangered. The second was that they didn’t want the children to have the immense power that could solve these dangerous situations.

Once the higher-ups knew that Shirai was injured to such an extent, they would likely prevent her from taking further action. But the teleporter had mentioned the words ‘Ace of Tokiwadai’, ‘Misaka Mikoto’, which bothered Shirai.

Thus, Shirai definitely could not back off and just ignore this.

“Are you really alright? Having hot-blooded women fighting is not a trendy thing now, you know.”

“Forget...about that...what have you discovered?”

Shirai tossed the blood-stained metal needles onto the floor, twisting her thoroughly injured body, removing every single piece of clothing. The thin wool jacket used in the summer, her short-sleeved shirt. She then unhooked her skirt, removing it. At this moment, Shirai saw that her underwear was also covered in blood, her jaw dropping in shock. She then removed the underwear and tossed it onto the floor. When she had first gotten into her room, she hadn’t removed her shoes, and at this moment, she removed both her socks and shoes at the same time. She even removed the leather straps wrapped around her thighs that contained the metal needles, revealing a naked body. Shirai investigated her wounds one by one.

“First, regarding the teleporter. Searching through the records, including you, there are 58 such espers in Academy City. As expected of an ability which requires the calculation and manipulation of the 11th dimension, there aren’t a lot of people who know how to use it.”

“Is there anyone similar to what I described?”

Shirai used her blood-stained hand to reach for the rectangular first-aid box.

“There are 19 people who can move multiple things in one go, including you.”

Uiharu paused before continuing.

“According to what you described, there are three people who fit the criteria, but only one of them doesn’t have an alibi. I can trace the other two people through the surveillance cameras here.”

Without hesitation, Uiharu concluded,

“Second year at Kirigaoka Girls' Academy, Musujime Awaki. Like you, she’s a teleporter, but the conditions are a bit different.”

“It’s definitely somewhat different...she can teleport 10 men and use them as her shield. So the total mass should be about 700kg. it’s really different from my own ability.”

Shirai didn’t deny that she was at a disadvantage. It was because she believed that she could find an escape route through it.

Opening the first-aid box, Shirai took out a soft tube that looked like toothpaste. She unscrewed the cap, squeezed out the paste-like substance inside and applied it over her wound. It was first-aid medication used for treating external wounds, and at the same time, it had the abilities to disinfect, clot blood, and heal the wound. The inventor was an amazing medical researcher called 'Heaven Canceller', but it was hard for ordinary folks to get it. Most external wounds could be treated by it, but in some rare and special circumstances, it wouldn’t work. If it doesn’t work, the it was time for the doctor.

“Besides this point, there are also other notable differences. Your ability is to ‘send those things that you touch to another place, which is, using your own body as point 0, and teleporting the item to location A’, but Musujime’s ability is to ‘shift an item far away from one point to another, which is to move the item from point A to point B’. In other words, the start point of her ability isn’t fixed, different from you.

“No wonder...that woman declared herself to be a ‘move teleporter’...”

Shirai gently bit onto her lips, thinking through in her head.

At first, Musujime had really moved many things that she had not touched with her own two hands. However, she had not teleported Shirai Kuroko herself. If she could have done this, there would have been no need to fire anything. She would have just needed to stuff Shirai Kuroko’s body into the earth in order to beat her once and for all.

“I have an interesting report over here as well. On this report, Musujime seems to be unable to teleport anyone with a similar power. This may be because a similar type of AIM field will affect Musujime’s ability, but regarding this AIM diffusion ability, there is only a limited amount of research done on it, so the information has to be validated...according to this report, this phenomenon isn’t limited to just Musujime. No teleporter can teleport one with a similar ability. Shirai-san, is this true?”

“No idea. This is the first time I’ve met an esper with the same type of power.”

Then, Shirai gave a humph.

Though it was not practically tested, it was not hard to imagine it. The teleporter had to calculate his or her own absolute co-ordinates on the 11th dimension, and not the ‘surface location’ on the third dimension. So once other teleporters wanted to change their own co-ordinates, the ‘co-ordinate information’ in his brain would be interfered with.

“And on a non-urgent note, according to an experiment report, Musujime Awaki was injured severely in a lesson two years ago because she lost control of her power.”

“...It really isn’t an important report. Also, it doesn’t even help us find her weakness. Really, how can a monster like her be only a Level 4?”

Shirai thought as she pulled out a tissue paper from her torn skirt, trying to wipe away the blood around her wounds. The skin that had a delicate elasticity became somewhat cooler all of a sudden.

“By just using the right techniques, her technique might not even lose to a Level 5 esper. Maybe she might even know of some weaknesses that we don’t know about.”

On the other side of the phone, Uiharu casually said.

“Next, regarding the ‘Tree Diagram’...”

“I really wished that this is just a big fat lie that Musujime made up, but it seems like it’s just a fantasy.”

After applying the rubber-like paste to her wounds, Shirai bandaged the wounds. Once the bandages touched her skin, Shirai again felt herself sweating a bit.

“No, I can’t find any important information regarding the ‘Tree Diagram’ being destroyed. In name, the ‘Tree Diagram’ is still floating in satellite orbit. Academy City did actually fire a space shuttle last month, but the space shuttle’s mission had nothing to do with the ‘Tree Diagram’.”

“What’s going on?”

Shirai frowned and stopped bandaging.

She remembered the photo that Musujime had shown her when she fell in the alley.

The satellite that had broken into several fragments.

Uiharu’s voice sounded a bit distressed as well.

“I don’t know whether this seems like good news...another group of our colleagues found the victim who stole that luggage bag. He is a smuggler, and only knows that the client is from the 23rd district, but he didn't know about the satellite thing. We have already used a telepath to confirm his memories; he wasn’t lying.”

A smuggler.

Maybe he’s an expert in the trade, Shirai considered. After the luggage bag had been stolen, he had tried to chase down the group of robbers, so it could be seen that he had some determination in his job...

“In other words, the 23rd school district wants to send the item inside this luggage bag to some research institute in Academy City, so they hired a smuggler for the job. However, the luggage bag was stolen by Musujime and her gang. Though the group that was robbed wants to get the item back, this is classified information, so they can’t disclose it so easily, and can only get it back through the best of their ability...is that what happened?”

Shirai slowly swung her bandaged limbs, checking if there was any blood that was flowing out of them. The quick-dry rubber-like medicinal paste seemed to have completely healed the wounds.

“Though it’s rather interesting to see where the 23rd school district is sending this thing to, the main problem is the identities of those robbers. I guess that the culprit behind this is an external organisation that’s antagonistic to Academy City. Of course, excluding what you described, I guess that the internal strife within different groups of Academy City would require such a crude method as ‘stealing’.”

“...An antagonistic external organisation. How did Musujime get involved with those kind of people? Who the heck is she?”

“Musujime normally applies for leave in Kirigaoka High school, but all her leaves are ‘special leaves’. Weird, isn’t it? She’s not even a member of Judgement.”

“In other words, her work may be antagonistic to our Judgement duties?”

Uiharu lowered her volume and said,

“According to an unidentified report, she’s the ‘guide’ to that windowless building.”

“...The main base of the General Director of Academy City?”

It was a movie-like rumour, but the highest leader of Academy City was living in a special building that could even absorb and withstand a nuclear bomb attack. There were no windows or even entrances to the building, and they could only teleport in through the help of a ‘guide’.

If the rumour was true (or even more exaggerating than what the rumours suggested), that meant that Musujime may know about things that ordinary people didn’t know about, and had the opportunity to meet people of all sorts of unique backgrounds. Maybe this was why she had been chosen by the outside world.

“Though we don’t know why Musujime wants to do this, let’s assume that she linked up secretly with the external organisation and planned this robbery. The thing inside the luggage bag...she called it the ‘remnant’. And now she has it...”

“After this, she’ll hand this thing over to the people from this external organisation.”

“Can you check out where she’s moving?”

Shirai reached out her hand and wanted to grab hold of the underwear that she wanted to change into, only to realise that her hands were stained in blood. Thus, she first headed towards the sink, washed her hands and thought calmly. A girl with twin pigtails putting a phone between her face and her shoulder, fully naked, and washing her hands in the bathroom. Such a sight was truly laughable.

“That's hard. There’s no need for a person to move down the roads when he or she teleports. You also know that the security camera system in Academy City has blind spots.”

Uiharu paused for a while, then continued,

“Ah, though she wasn’t caught on camera at all, this might be a clue as well.”

“What do you mean?”

Shirai wiped her hands dry with a towel, put on her underwear and asked. With both hands, she pulled her panties up to her waist...only to feel that she had pulled it a bit too much, and pulled the underwear down a bit.

“Since she’s travelling around in blind spots, we just need to investigate all the blind corners. Compared to the whole of Academy City, the total area of all the blind spots is rather small.”

“...You’re saying this rather calmly, you know. I’m now a critically injured person here...IT HURTS!”

Shirai now used both hands to hook the back of her bra, but this action seemed to stretch her muscles, as she could feel a sharp pain on the side of her abdomen immediately. Shirai thought, I should have worn a front-hook type bra or just an undershirt instead. She frowned as she felt her face. Luckily, the wound hadn’t reopened.

Shirai Kuroko checked how she looked now that she was wearing her undergarments.

The design was thought to be ‘sleazy’ by Misaka Mikoto, and in fact, Shirai was really distraught. However, Shirai herself didn’t care about the design of the undergarments because to her, these undergarments weren’t meant to be shown off, but were things meant to be worn on her own body. To her, the first condition of choosing undergarments was how comfortable it was. The cute and childish designs were normally thicker and had inferior quality, and the rubbing of a sports bra against her skin while she was exercising would distract her. She even felt that instead of wearing such lingerie, she might as well not wear anything at all (Maybe this was why Shirai herself needed to concentrate fully when she used her ability.) Having a different opinion from Mikoto on this matter, this caused Shirai Kuroko to feel rather sad.

After putting on her undergarments, Shirai strapped the leather straps full of needles back onto her thighs. As there was no set of pre-prepared needles, she could only use the disinfecting alcohol to wipe the needles that had pierced her, and place them back into the leather strap.

“Shirai-san. If she wants to use the blind spots to get outside Academy City, including the surface and the underground streets, there are only several streets for her to choose. So once we check through all these routes...”

“...Shhh!”

Shirai felt that someone else seemed to be close by and immediately cut the phone. At that moment, outside the thin bathroom door, someone walked into the room.

She stared at the entrance of the bathroom and realised that she had forgot to lock the door, and immediately moved to lock it. With a click sound, the sound of metal pieces hammering each other could be heard rather audibly.

“...Kuroko?”

The moment Shirai heard this, she knew who the voice belonged to. Though it was just a rough and short voice that came from behind the door, Shirai was certain that the person speaking was Misaka Mikoto. Even if Misaka Mikoto was just breathing, Shirai believed that she could tell it was Mikoto just by hearing it.

“Are you bathing? Since you came back, why didn’t you turn on the lights? Why are you hiding inside a dark room?”

The voice came from beside the door, scaring Shirai. She definitely could not let Mikoto see her like this, not even a trace of suspicion. Misaka Mikoto’s overprotective nature may be even more severe than what she herself expected.

“Sav...saving electricity, Onee-sama. O’ gentle Kuroko wants to reduce the effect of global warming.”

“Oh...but Academy City’s main source of electricity are wind generators, aren’t they unrelated to carbon dioxide? Our secondary source of power is solar power, so for electricity, we don’t have such a problem, do we? Unless we’re talking about turning on the air-con, right?”

“Ah, I forgot about it. I thought that I could use it as an excuse to lure Onee-sama into the atmosphere of this dark room...oh my, Onee-sama. As a posh lady, how can you let out a ‘ugh!’ sound?”

Shirai laughed weakly as she leaned her back against the door of the bathroom.

Through the thin door, a vibration could be felt. The person outside seemed to have done the same thing.

Shirai felt the vibration and started to recall.

“Don’t you think that this is too coincidental? After stealing the luggage bag, these men were caught in a traffic jam, it’s like it was pre-planned. The electricity flow to the traffic lights was lost...haven’t you thought of the reason? Don’t you know what kind of power the Ace of Tokiwadai has?”

―Shirai Kuroko knew very well that something was happening.

“Misaka Mikoto is so pitiful. Her nightmare was finally ended with much difficulty because someone destroyed the ‘Tree Diagram’.

―Shirai Kuroko also knew that Misaka Mikoto was heavily involved in this.

“And now everyone else wants to repair it. Once this gimmick is repaired, the ‘experiment’ will likely continue. Hm, I can’t really say that I don’t understand her feelings.”

―Shirai also understood that though Mikoto was involved in this troublesome situation, she would never ever want to show herself being troubled or frustrated in front of Shirai.

By linking all the events together, Shirai could see it. Mikoto was clearly troubled by some issues, but she was unwilling to admit them to Shirai, and yet accepted someone else’s help. For whatever reason, Mikoto just wanted Shirai to not get involved in this. It was like a circular perimeter being set up to keep Shirai out.

No matter how much Shirai worked, how much she struggled, Misaka Mikoto wouldn’t be happy about it.

If Misaka Mikoto was to see that Shirai was to be involved in her own personal matter, she would definitely be displeased.

Even so...

Shirai still hoped that she could help Mikoto, to ease Mikoto’s burdens. Even if Mikoto was to be completely ignorant of this, it was alright. Even if all the credit went to someone else, it was alright. Shirai prayed. With her thoroughly injured body, looking at the blood-stained clothes, she prayed.

Shirai was completely unaware of what was going on inside.

Mikoto was hiding everything from Shirai like a sealed bottle, thus Shirai was unable to guess what was going on.

However, Shirai wanted to solve the problem.

Shirai wanted to pull Mikoto out from the bloody all-for-grabs world.

Once all the problems were settled, Shirai wanted to smile together and have fun together with Mikoto like today after school.

Shirai Kuroko silently made this resolution.

In order to accomplish this wish...

(I won’t care even if I have to lie to you seriously, Onee-sama. No matter whether you wish for me to do this or not.)

“Onee-sama, where did you go just now?”

“Hn? I went to look for this little decoration that I didn’t buy before. I've looked for it quite a bit recently, but I haven’t seen one that suits me. Right now, I just came back to get something, so I’m going out again. Oh yeah, don’t expect me to bring whatever gifts back to you, Kuroko.”

Shirai thought, this is a stupid excuse. If she made a ruckus and said that she wanted to go, how would Mikoto react?

(Onee-sama just said ‘recently’...this means that she had been planning this for quite some time. ‘Look for this little decoration...a precision instrument aid can be considered a ‘decoration’...too easy for me to see through it.)

Shirai weakly laughed, but that didn’t stop her. She just said a sentence. The words that Mikoto had said at evening, Shirai digested it and returned it back to Mikoto.

“But let’s hope that it doesn’t rain. The weather report nowadays is rather inaccurate.”

“...”

In an instant, Mikoto seemed to have taken a deep sigh. After maintaining this silence for a while, she seemed to have lowered down her guard, her tone sounding somewhat softer.

“Yeah. Thanks for your concern. I’ll try and get back as soon as possible.”

After these words, the presence outside the door vanished. The girl outside the door had already left the door and the room.

PAM! The shutting of the door could be heard.

“Now then...”

Shirai rested for a while, not waiting to even put on her own clothes. She just hastily grabbed her change of summer uniform and redials the number. There was still something that she needed to ask Uiharu about.

“Hello? That’s right. Can you tell me where that woman ran off to?”

Part 2

After cleaning the blood stains in the bathroom, and taking care of the tattered clothes, Shirai again used her teleport ability to get to the back alley behind the girls’ dormitory.

The time was 8:30 PM.

It had only been 2 hours from the time when she had separated from Mikoto after the shopping trip. Shirai was rather surprised by it.

At this time, almost all modes of transport in Academy City had ceased operations. In order to prevent students from venturing outside, all the buses and trams were co-ordinated with the last school’s leaving time. Right now, there were only private vehicles belonging to those of teachers, university students, taxis, lorries, and other forms of industrial vehicles.

The scene of a traffic jam had completely vanished.

As there were already very few vehicles on the road, the roads were empty.

Shirai took a deep breath. The air already had the scent of night.

“Ah, Shirai-san, there is something important you need to note.”

A voice came from the phone,

“Musujime Awaki doesn’t seem to be able to teleport her own body continuously. I found some records in the library. Shirai-san, I said before that Musujime lost control of her powers during a lesson two years ago and was severely injured, didn’t I?”

“So what?”

“After that, Musujime went for several counseling sessions in school. That incident seemed to have caused some sort of trauma in her. After that, as long as it’s a test that involves ‘teleporting one’s own body’, she is always unable to get good marks on it, and there are even cases when she fell sick from overexerting herself. It’s like every time she teleports, it’s a gamble of her own life. In other words...”

“Her mental condition will immediately worsen if she teleports continuously, right?”

Shirai bite her lips and said,

“Now that I think about it, Musujime didn’t teleport her own body at all during the battle. In fact, if she could teleport around on her own, there would be no need to ask for any special help from the outside world; it’d be faster for her to do it on her own. Teleporters can move fast and ignore any walls, paths or distances, so it’s impossible to catch us using ordinary means.”

The strength of Shirai’s own ability would differ according to her mood each day. If Musujime was affected by her own emotional scar, her control over her own ability would very likely decrease.

Shirai then thought,

(Come to think of it, her ability is so powerful. Maybe it’s because of that emotional scar that she’s stuck on the same Level as me...?)

Shirai carried some mixed feelings as she teleported. Every 80 metres she moved, her feet would land on the floor, she would aim at the next point and continue to teleport.

Since Shirai was already covered in wounds, and it was difficult for her to even walk, the ability to quickly teleport around at will was at its most useful.

“Musujime is stronger than me. She can move things ‘far away’. But on the downside, her methods of calculations are even more troublesome than mine. Though I can only move ‘things that are beside me’, I don’t have to calculate the ‘original co-ordinates’ before moving.”

“That’s...right. So...your calculation time...is shorter. Oh yeah...if Musujime doesn’t use...Move Point...then she’ll move...”

Because of teleportation, the content of the phone call was interrupted. Shirai was listening carefully, but before Uiharu even finished speaking, Shirai knew where to go.

BOOM!

The sound of thunder could be heard from afar.

Shirai Kuroko looked up at the sky.

“Don’t tell me it’s...”

The time when the shops and transportation operated in Academy City was co-ordinated with the schools’ timing. Once it was slightly dark, the lights on the roads would vanish one by one, so compared to the metropolis in other major cities in the outside world, the light intensity was a lot less. Right now, the stars were covering the sky, and the weather looked good; there were no thunderclouds that could possibly cause thunder.

If so, what was with that high voltage roar?

“Shirai-san, I got a new report that there is a large-scale esper battle somewhere in district 7, and it’s right on the path where Musujime’s predicted escape route is!”

Another thunder roared, covering Uiharu’s voice, and it also interrupted the phone’s reception.

Shirai would definitely not mistake that voice.

“ONEE-SAMA!!”

Shirai shouted and changed her direction. Though her appearing in front of Mikoto would basically be against what she had intended, but on thinking that Mikoto may be attacked, Shirai didn’t have a second option.

She continued to teleport, jumping around spaces.

The sparks that could terrify anyone continued to rumble about in the air like an air raid.

On the roads in the night, all the people, who were older than Shirai, stared at her in surprise.

Everything of everything seems to be pushing Shirai forward. Just as she was about to reach her destination, Shirai stopped her teleport. Following a deafening thunder roar, Shirai moved to the back of a building through blind corners.

Like a murder detective, Shirai poked her head out of the building.

At that moment, she witnessed something amazing.

Part 3

It was a battlefield.

It was a battlefield created by a single girl.

The location was right beside a certain building. If Shirai remembered correctly...on the 31st of August, there was an accident where some steel pillars collapsed. The steel pillars had been removed, and the remaining parts had been investigated thoroughly; now they were on the process of reconstruction.

A small bus was lying sideways in front of the entrance of the building.

The glass was shattered, and all the items in the bus were scattered. But there was no one inside.

The people who were originally sitting inside the bus had all escaped into the building. It seemed that they wanted to look for some form of protection from the metal pillars.

There were about 30 men and women. Some were armed with guns, and some were espers of Academy City.

(That gun...I remember clearly! Those guys that I knocked unconscious were also using those guns...!)

Looking out from a shadowy area, Shirai couldn’t help but feel surprised. Not only were the guns that they were using the same, even their posture was the same.

In contrast, Misaka Mikoto was just standing openly beside the flipped bus.

(That woman mentioned that Onee-sama has a deep connection with that briefcase, and now Onee-sama is going to fight with that organisation full of people holding those kind of guns. This means...)

According to the situation, these people should belong to the organisation that wanted to export the ‘remnant’ out. As for why espers would betray Academy City, well, no one knew.

At this moment, Shirai saw another familiar face.

Musujime Awaki.

There were no obstacles in front of Mikoto at all. There was clearly a small bus flipped beside her, but Mikoto didn’t intend to hide behind it. Based on common sense, facing several men armed with long range weapons with this attitude would be too daring.

But the Railgun’s power could defy any common sense.

A flash was emitted from Misaka Mikoto’s fingertip.

A small coin was shot out at 3 times the speed of sound, cutting the thick and heavy pillars. The armed men were terrified by the shrapnel that was falling due to the pillars being shot. The espers who were standing in a higher storey were aiming at Mikoto’s head, but lost footing due to the pillars breaking and fell down. The railgun slammed into 20 steel pillars before slamming into another building, causing a crack in the wall before the energy was completely lost.

Some of the flabbergasted men tried to back away, but Mikoto’s lightning wouldn’t let them off so easily. The blue and white sparks that were emitting from her forehead hit a steel pillar, and the electricity instantly flowed through the entire building. All the men who touched the pillars jumped in shock. The tower had seemingly become a steel cage, as some of the electricity shoot inwards from every steel pillar, electrocuting some people who weren’t touching the pillars as well and causing them to collapse to the ground.

The remaining espers who survived due to various reasons tried to counterattack, but it was too late. The distance between them was too great. The vacuum blades that the wind esper shot out vanished upon contact with the railgun. The numerous wooden sticks that the psychic fired explode under the high voltage. And the esper who had a similar type of electrical power to Mikoto fainted in fear.

An overwhelming victory.

This one-sided battle seemed to only prove why a Level 5 had the right to be called a Level 5.

This was the power of only 7 people in Academy City.

In Shirai’s eyes, the most unbelievable thing was that such destructive power still didn’t kill anyone. If she didn’t consider her own attack, the enemy’s movements and the consequences of the destruction, she wouldn’t be able to hold back like this. Though she held back very hard, the rag tag group of several people were completely defeated.

Shirai recalled that once she had finished treating her wounds and had returned back to the room, she had noticed that the coin box on the short cupboard at the bed was open. That coin box was shaped like a safety deposit box, and there were arcade coins inside which could be used as railgun bullets.

“Come out, you coward. It’s despicable of you to use your own comrades as a shield.”

From the beginning till now, Mikoto hadn’t moved one step. She just stood there, looked at the remains of the battlefield, and spoke in a contemptuous tone.

“Why say it in such a disgusting manner? This is what I call not letting my comrades sacrifice themselves without any meaning.”

The voice that replied to Mikoto was also rather still.

Musujime Awaki. She was holding onto a white luggage bag with one hand, smiling, appearing at the third level formed by the steel pillars. There were several men who were electrocuted and unconscious, and these people were instantly teleported to her, blocking the electrical voltage. Her right hand continued to swing a military torchlight.

“You’re really naïve. Do you think that you have beaten the Railgun just because you avoided 40 seconds of attack?”

“Nope, I’m not so naïve, you know. You can level this place to dust if you’re serious, but so what?”

Musujime secured the luggage bag on the steel structure and then sat on it.

“Come to think of it, you’re rather impatient. Last time, you used to just play the role of a spy. Though you have immense power, you never used the power of the Railgun and violence to interfere with the ‘experiment’. Are you that afraid that the ‘remnant’ would be rebuilt? Are you afraid that the ‘Tree Diagram’ will be successfully rebuilt and working throughout the entire world? Are you afraid that a few facilities will restart the experiment?”

“...Shut your mouth up. You can’t even back your claims.”

PAM! Mikoto let out some sparks from her fringe.

Musujime was still sitting on the luggage bag, swinging the military torchlight around as if she was waving hello.

(...)

Shirai was standing inside the building, turning her head around and peeking outside, confirming again that the enemy that Mikoto was facing was Musujime. Though she didn’t know what was going on, both of them looked like they were going to draw swords anytime.

Shirai remembered what Musujime had said a while back,

“Didn’t you know? To be used like this while not knowing anything...no way? Tokiwadai’s Railgun shouldn’t be that sort of person.”

(Seems like...this isn’t the first time that they met...)

From the way both of them were speaking, it didn’t seem like they were only meeting for the first time. Maybe they had been enemies for quite some time, and it was only now that Shirai met both of them together.

(To face off against Onee-sama that long, and yet she isn’t knocked out?)

Though it was a face-off, it didn’t seem like it was a direct conflict. With Musujime’s personality, she would try and attack from a blind spot (Of course, Shirai’s knowledge on Musujime’s personality was limited).

But no matter what, to go against the Railgun and still stand unscathed, it was mystifying.

Shirai was speculating over what action she should take. Her ability couldn’t match Musujime, so she couldn’t just rush into battle recklessly. No matter what, she couldn’t let Mikoto get hurt because of her.

“Hoho, why do you care so much about the weak? ‘Those things’ that you treated as your babies were originally created for the ‘experiment’, so what’s wrong with them being destroyed according to the plan?”

“Are you joking? Or do you really think that way?”

“What am I joking about? Anyway, you are fighting for yourself regardless, so you’re like me, huh? For your own benefit, using your own power to hurt others in your favorite way. What’s wrong with that? Not using the things that you have is a weird thing, isn’t it?”

The woman who had used her companions as a shield and continued to laugh like nothing had happened said this in a mocking tone.

Basically, everyone was using violence for their own benefit.

Since both of them were of the same type, what did one side have that allowed her to rebuke another?

“That’s right.”

In contrast, Mikoto just slightly raised her jaw.

Not just her fringe, her entire body was emitting blue and white sparks.

“I am mad. I’m so mad that the blood vessels in my brain are going to explode. That’s right, I’m angry that the remnants of the ‘Tree Diagram’ were found, and some people are trying to steal it for selfish reasons, and the possibility that the ‘experiment’ that everyone worked so hard to stop may be restarted. I’m really angry about these, so angry that I want to sneak around and destroy all these groups thoroughly.”

Mikoto continued to glare at Musujime Awaki intently.

“However, I’m more angry about something else.”

At this moment, Shirai was thinking of how she could avoid hindering Mikoto and assist her. But on hearing Mikoto’s words, Shirai’s thoughts were attracted.

“...That idiot, she thought that I wouldn’t discover it? Her name’s not in the ‘returned’ registry, the room’s in a mess, the first-aid box is missing, the sound of someone moaning in agony from behind the bathroom...the conditions are so obvious, how can I miss them...?”

Shirai took a deep breath.

She understood the reason why Mikoto was so angry.

“Getting my kouhais involved is the one thing that’ll get me really agitated. That idiot didn’t think of finding a doctor, and even when she’s injured, she isn’t willing to retreat, not caring about her own safety, and even saying those words that’ll make me worried! How can I have such a stupid kouhai, this makes me really angry!”

Deep inside, Shirai’s heart trembled.

Mikoto’s words would probably confuse Musujime. And Tokiwadai’s Railgun didn’t know that Shirai was beside her.

Then, who on earth was Mikoto trying to talk to? Mikoto hadn’t told Shirai anything about this.

She just wanted to stall by using a stupid reason like ‘finding a little decoration’.

She used ambiguous words like ‘the weather may turn bad’ several times to warn Shirai.

She normally acted alone.

The old Misaka Mikoto, and the current Misaka Mikoto standing here, what sort of beliefs did they have?

“That’s right! I’m angry because of my selfishness! I’m angry that this perfectly stupid kouhai, and the damned woman in front of me who hurt that kouhai, and myself, who got involved in this!!”

Mikoto roared in agony, the voice sounding as if someone had stabbed her in her own chest.

Mikoto’s only wish was to prevent both sides from fighting because of the ‘Tree Diagram’.

“Since the trigger of this incident was that ‘experiment’, I have some responsibilities. If it wasn’t for me, that stupid kouhai wouldn’t be hurt, and YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO HURT THAT STUPID KOUHAI! IF SO, I HAVE THE DUTY AND RIGHT TO STOP YOU!!”

Shirai understood now.

Why after Shirai and Musujime had their battle, that Mikoto would choose to settle the problem alone.

Because she wasn’t Shirai’s ally, nor was she Musujime’s enemy.

In order to prevent the people involved in this from taking action, Misaka Mikoto could only choose not to work with anyone.

She could only settle this alone.

She could only face this nightmare of hers.

“I want to settle all these. You people shouldn’t have gotten involved because of my ‘experiment’.”

Dangling her leg and sitting on the luggage bag, Musujime Awaki laughed.

“You’re too kind. You didn’t create these ‘Calculations’. You have no need to get into battle, you just need to stay put and be a victim.”

“No, it’s our ‘experiment’ that led you to the battlefield. No matter whether it’s an absolute esper development experiment, or an earlier esper development experiment, if this is the case, I won’t sit around and do nothing.”

(An absolute esper development experiment? An earlier esper development experiment?)

These two mysterious terms confused Shirai as if she was in some sort of white fog.

However, Musujime understood what she was saying.

“It’s not your ‘experiment’, but the ‘experiment’ about the SISTERS and the strongest esper, right? Of course...those ‘comrades’ of mine who were taken out have already told you the ‘reason’ why I’m involved in this battle. If so, you’re an esper, and you understand...that I can’t fail here. No matter who I sacrifice, no matter the means, I have to escape.”

Musujime’s last words sounded very serious.

Shirai hid behind the corner of the building, mentally calculating ‘the largest movable distance’ that Musujime could do.

Mikoto slightly narrowed her eyes and said,

“...Can you really use that weak Level 4 ability of yours to escape my lightning strike?”

“Oh my, the speed of lightning is as fast as light, so it’s true that I can’t avoid it on sight, but so what? Once I see the signs and move quickly...”

“It’s not possible.”

Mikoto firmly interrupted her words.

“This isn’t the first time I’m fighting you. I’m sure you know that your ability has a weakness. Though you can move several items, you can’t move your own body. I can understand that. If for some reason, you accidentally teleported yourself into a dangerous area like the wall of a building or the middle of a road, everything would be over. For someone like you who would even sacrifice others to protect yourself, even if it’s the slightest hint of danger, you might exclude the thought, right?”

“...”

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Did you think that I didn’t discover it? You normally use your Move Point to teleport your companions’ bodies or various blockades in front of me to block my sight, yet you would escape on foot. No matter how slow I can be, I can tell that something isn’t right.”

Mikoto coldly sighed.

“Also, the situation is already disadvantageous to you, so normally, you would be running away, right? Don’t tell me you have some tricks that you haven’t used yet? Anyone can tell that you are at your wits’ end.”

Musujime Awaki calmly laughed.

But anyone with good eyesight could tell that all the fingers on her hands were trembling unnaturally.

“Maybe the recorded incident in the library is one of the reasons, huh? You can teleport anyone or anything else, but you can’t do the same thing to your own body with the same attitude, huh? For instance, when you’re teleporting your own body, you would re-check your calculations several times over, causing a 2 to 3 seconds delay in your actions.”

Mikoto paused for a while, then continued,

“How many lightning strikes can I fire in 3 seconds?”

“...You can even check this sort of thing in the library catalogue?”

“Don’t make me repeat the same thing over again. Maybe the library isn’t that clear, but I can guess it through your expression and your battle style.”

On hearing this, Musujime Awaki revealed a radiant smile.

She stood on the steel structure with both feet, her body leaving the luggage bag that she was sitting on, gracefully standing up. The front of the military torchlight that she was waving slightly was now fixated on a point.

“But...”

―Teleporting something else beside my own body won’t make me hesitate one bit.

After saying this, about ten bodies appeared before Musujime. These were all people who could be rendered unconscious by Mikoto’s attack. There were adults and children. There were people from inside Academy City and outside.

The ten bodies formed a human shield.

However...

“That shield is full of holes!”

Mikoto’s fringe let loose those sparks without mercy. The human body wasn’t flat like a metal plate, so no matter how they were packed up, there would be holes between them. Mikoto’s electricity could accurately pass through those holes.

A shot of 100 million high power voltages.

Just as the electricity was about to shoot out from Mikoto’s fringe, Musujime, who was standing on the other side of the shield, laughed and said,

“Guess!”

Her tone was unusually cheerful.

“Among these people, how many of them are ordinary citizens who are completely unrelated to us?”

“What?”

Mikoto panicked and hurriedly held back her power.

Mikoto hesitated and didn’t fire, 3 seconds passed.

After that, Musujime Awaki disappeared together with the luggage bag.

The people who were floating in mid-air collapsed onto the ground, and every one of them was unconscious. They were all the people that Mikoto had taken down. Musujime hadn’t used a single ordinary citizen as a shield.

“Cheh!”

Mikoto’s jaw dropped as she frantically looked around. As one might expect, Musujime hadn’t teleported to a place she could see. As it was point-to-point movement, there were no traceable paths. This was the toughest thing about a teleporter.

In an instant, Shirai saw Mikoto’s expression.

Mikoto most probably didn’t expect anyone to be looking at her. If not, she wouldn’t be looking so distraught that she was about to cry.

Shirai Kuroko was hiding behind the building, leaning her back against the wall, staring at the empty front.

(It’s my turn now, Onee-sama.)

As a fellow teleporter, Shirai knew where she could teleport to avoid Misaka Mikoto’s attack.

At the same time...

Shirai knew that, after escaping the Railgun’s attack, the enemy would be extremely happy and relaxed.

(Sorry, Onee-sama. After your stupid kouhai heard your words, though I know how worried you are, my will to fight on to the bitter end hasn’t wavered one bit.)

To be able to teleport around freely, a person able to ignore the roads and the thickness of the walls.

Only a person with similar abilities could catch her.

“Got to go, Shirai Kuroko. In order to survive, you have to go to the deepest part of the battlefield.”

She took the Judgement armband and wrapped it around the sleeve of her uniform.

The next second, after reaffirming her mission, she vanished into thin air.

Between the lines 3

―Got to hurry.

Inside the pitch black room, a girl leapt up from her bed.

―Got to hurry, Misaka continues to remind herself of this situation of high priority.

She looked like Misaka Mikoto, but was somewhat different. She was a clone created from Mikoto’s genes, serial number 10032, known as Misaka Imouto.

Basically, her power was to control electricity, and could use electricity to telepathise with people of similar wavelengths.

After a certain incident, she had been sent to a hospital to rehabilitate her body, and most of the other Sisters had been sent to organisations outside Academy City. There were only a few of these imoutos who had stayed in Academy City with her.

Right now, the information that the other Sisters were sending, together with the conclusion of the governing serial number 20001 ‘Last Order’, made Misaka Imouto very worried.

The Sisters all over the world had gathered several fragments of information. Now, with the information assembled, a startling truth was discovered.

(‘It needs confirmation’, Misaka 10032 searches through the network and settles these memories of information in the best way possible.)

Misaka Imouto looked around before grabbing her special goggles with her right hand.

(‘Right now, 8 countries in the world and 19 organisations have fired space shuttles into the air to get the remains of the orbiting ‘Tree Diagram’, is this information accurate?’, Misaka 10032 asks a question to an unspecified number of people.)

If this information was true, it could be seen how many people wanted the ‘Tree Diagram’ to be repaired.

A race had already started for the ‘remnant’ of the ‘Tree Diagram’, an essential item.

Once the world’s most powerful supercomputer was repaired, the ‘experiment’ may be restarted.

Before, a certain boy and a certain girl had risked their lives to stop that ‘experiment’.

(‘The same thing is happening in Sevilla [1]’, Misaka 10854 gives an affirmative reply.)

(‘They have confirmed plans to launch in Schleswig [2]’, Misaka 18770 reports.)

(‘It’s said that Novosibirsk[3] has already obtained parts of it’, Misaka 19999 also reports.)

(‘Also from Novosibirsk, according to reports, they are trying to get and repair the essential ‘core’, the calculator, that’s in Academy City. If there is no ‘core’, they can’t repair the ‘Tree Diagram’’, Misaka 20000 adds.)

Misaka Imouto extended her legs and touched the ground. Several noises, emotions and images appeared in her head. These were all the voices of the Sisters that had been sent to friendly organisations all over the world. They could use the network caused by linked telepathy to get information from 9,969 places.

(‘Right now, only Academy City has the ‘remnant’ that can be used to repair the ‘Tree Diagram’’, Misaka 10044 concludes.)

(‘The ‘fragments’ that the other organisations got and the ones orbiting around are useless, so Academy City ignored them’, Misaka 14002 infers.)

(‘Cape Kennedy [4] is thinking of the same thing, and now planning to send people to invade into Academy City to steal the ‘remnant’’, Misaka 18820 reports.)

(‘The group planning this operation seems to be called a ‘Science Association’’Asociacion de cienia, says Misaka as Misaka adds on. ‘Ah, at this moment, should I call myself Misaka 20001?’, asks Misaka as Misaka tilts her head in confusion.)

Misaka Imouto couldn’t help but grit her teeth on hearing the numerous feedback and suggestions.

All the reports were pointing to a terrifying truth.

She confirmed the same report over and over again; actually, she was hoping, no matter how small the chance may be, that it was just a misunderstanding. However, she herself didn’t notice this.

“‘Though it’s past the allowed time, it’s not time to worry about this’, Misaka uses an emergency excuse to assure herself.”

Misaka Imouto herself wasn’t wearing any pajamas or even a shirt, she was just wearing a surgical coat. She unhooked the buttons in front of her chest, revealing the white skin that didn’t have any underwear covering it. The coat slipped and landed on the floor. The scene was like a girl removing her bathrobe in front of her lover. After that, she grabbed a towel and wiped her sweat away. The towel felt a bit hot as compared to normal, and it was because she was not feeling well, her body was a bit feverish, and even her skin was a bit reddish.

She quickly put on her underwear, reached back with both hands to hook her bra, buttoned up the buttons of her white short-sleeved shirt, pulled up the zipper on the side of her skirt, and stuffed her head and hands into the thin woolen summer jacket.

After that, she put on her goggles, her shoes, hastily picked up the surgical coat, folded it, put it on the bed, and did the minimal warm-up exercises. She looked at the door, shook her head, walked to the window, opened the window frame and pushed it open.

She lowered her head and looked down. It was the second level.

However, Misaka Imouto didn’t care.

(‘Anyway, settling the ‘remnant’ inside Academy City remains top priority’, Misaka 10032 concludes. ‘That’s right, no matter what, Misaka has to prevent the reparation of ‘Tree Diagram’’, as Misaka thinks of the boy and the girl again. Misaka doesn’t want to see their sad faces.)

Though Misaka Imouto decided it, her icy face was indicative of her helplessness.

The boy who had went out to the train yard in the middle of the night to save Misaka Imouto, who had been on the brink of death.

The boy had ignored the threats of the strongest esper in Academy City and had said those words to Misaka Imouto.

Misaka Imouto still remembered them, clearly.

Misaka Imouto shook her head that was becoming blurry due to her fever, dragging her thoughts back to reality.

Right now, every minute, every second, the situation was changing. Though the Sisters were on the sidelines, they could roughly understand the whole situation by gathering intelligence from all over the world.

She knew the situation clearly.

But Misaka Imouto and her sisters were helpless.

―Right now, including Misaka Imouto, the number of Sisters in Academy City was less than 10.

And most of the Sisters were affected by the side effects of excessive gene manipulation and aging acceleration, and were currently undergoing treatment, so they couldn’t handle this emergency, let alone battle.

But Misaka Imouto knew.

She knew the name of the person who had helped her when her life was threatened.

The boy who had come alone to the train yard in the middle of the night, who had used only his bare fist to beat the strongest esper in Academy City.

The boy who, no matter how many times he was beaten down, no matter what kind of attack he took, would always grit his teeth and stand back up.

At this moment, the first thing that Misaka Imouto thought of was that boy’s face.

The expression of the boy’s face that showed that he would never give up.

Of course, Misaka Imouto would really like to not get him involved.

However, Misaka Imouto couldn’t find any other source of aid.

Misaka Imouto felt that she was useless.

To be unable to settle the problem with her own power, Misaka Imouto nibbled her lips unhappily. To let other people bear the problem that she herself couldn’t handle made Misaka Imouto even more uncomfortable.

But she hadn’t realised it. They hadn’t realised it.

Right now, the frustration to them a while back was just an unnecessary thing. And this frustration was the best proof of their ability to think for others.

The Sisters knew the location of that dormitory. Misaka Imouto had helped to bring the drinks back to the dormitory. And right now, she was the closest one of all the Sisters to the dormitory. Though serial number 20001, ‘Last Order’ was in the same hospital herself, the development of her own body wasn’t complete, so her physical capability was limited.

Misaka Imouto opened the window, and after that, stepped onto the ledge of the window.

(‘Now doing the final confirmation’, Misaka 10032 announces. ‘All the Sisters in Academy City are to follow 11118’s plan and assist in retrieving the ‘Remnant’’.)

(‘10032, the damage in your body is greater than the others; maybe you should take your treatment’, Misaka 10774 suggests worriedly.)

As these words entered her brain, Misaka Imouto’s body trembled slightly.

The Sisters were originally clones with a shorter lifespan. And to help them grow through puberty in this stage, they had done a lot of things, so the Sisters had to be treated to allow their bodies to regain balance.

Of all the Sisters, this Misaka Imouto’s situation was the worst off. While the ‘experiment’ was being conducted, Misaka Imouto had been continually attacked by Accelerator, thus she was now a lot weaker than the other SISTERS. Right now, she could only walk about in the hospital. Even the Heaven Canceller had already forbidden her from doing any combat activity.

Her body was still hot. She couldn’t maintain her balance; it was like she was on soft ground.

But this was nothing.

Once she exceeded a certain level of activity, the heat in her body would shoot up, causing Misaka Imouto to spit out blood and fall unconscious.

(‘It's no problem’, Misaka 10032 replies.)

Even so, Misaka Imouto made this decision.

She looked out at the darkness beyond the window, her eyes not wavering.

(‘What’s so worrying about this level of damage?’, Misaka 10032 retorts. ‘Before fulfilling the promise with that boy, Misaka must not stop’, Misaka 10032 says firmly.)

Her words made the information travelling around the network become silent for a few seconds.

After that, a large amount of information moved in like waves.

(‘Understood, we’ll let you handle it’, Misaka 14458 nods in agreement.)

(‘We’ll leave it to you’, Misaka 19002 agrees.)

(‘Misaka would also like to thank you’, says Misaka as Misaka requests. ‘Though Misaka also wants to do something’, says Misaka as Misaka can’t stand being here. ‘Also, ‘that person’ hasn’t come back yet after leaving’, says Misaka as Misaka shakes her hands and feet while grumbling.)

Misaka Imouto frowned slightly.

She then replied,

(‘Misaka 20001, your role in 11118’s plan is to remain behind and process the information and network’, Misaka 10032 warns. ‘Also, who’s that ‘person’ you’re talking about?... Misaka 20001? Answer me, Misaka 20001’, Misaka 10032 asks and yet can’t expect to get a reply.)

After serial number 20001 ‘Last Order’ finished saying what she wanted to say, she cut off the line, refusing to answer Misaka Imouto’s calls. Misaka Imouto gathered, this is bad. The reason Last Order existed was to give an emergency shutdown signal when the Sisters lost control, thus she was ranked higher than an ordinary Sister.)

(‘Anyway, Misaka is going to take action’, as Misaka 10032 cuts the telepathic link.)

Misaka Imouto jumped out from the window, completely ignoring the fact that her underwear was exposed. The Tokiwadai Middle School summer uniform danced in the night wind. The moment she landed, Misaka Imouto bent her knees to absorb the impact. Before, in order to increase her fighting capability, the process of absorbing recoil when sniping a tank had been introduced into her head, thus absorbing the impact after jumping down from the second level was nothing to her. Of course, if it was unexpected, like sudden damage in battle, she wouldn’t be able to absorb it because she couldn’t anticipate it.

Misaka Imouto used all her strength to run out of the hospital. She jumped over the wall, onto the pavement, and advanced down the maze-like streets.

While she ran, Misaka Imouto continued to sweat. If it was a very emotional person, that person would have felt that the sweat was rather uncomfortable. The frog-faced doctor had only treated her halfway, and because she had battled with Accelerator before, her body was a lot weaker than the other Sisters.

However, Misaka Imouto continued to run forward.

If the information from serial number 20001 ‘Last Order’ was correct, then the ‘remnant’ may have been retrieved, the ‘Tree Diagram’ may be under repair or even mass produced, which could result in the ‘experiment’ being restarted. This situation would likely endanger the lives of the remaining 10,000 ‘Sisters’.

Danger and...the safety of her life.

Misaka Imouto had learnt how to view her body like this, saying as she continued to run,

“‘Misaka has a reason to not die so easily’, Misaka concludes. ‘Basically, Misaka doesn’t want to die in a worthless way’, Misaka clearly says.”

That was right, because she had made a promise with a certain boy.

Once her body was treated, she wanted to walk on the streets like it was a normal day.

It was a promise that made her feel good.

If she couldn’t fulfill that, she would be very disappointed.

Misaka Imouto dashed from the lane to the road and into another lane. Kicking rubbish bins over, scaring stray cats away. Misaka Imouto narrowed her eyes, wanting to stop and apologize to the cats, but she dared not waste time.

When something happened, Misaka Imouto knew that there was someone who could help.

She was not basing it on theory, but experience.

So Misaka Imouto wanted to pass the danger that she was experiencing to that boy.

“‘But...’”

Misaka Imouto muttered. Once she asked that boy, it was the equivalent to bringing that boy back into the battlefield. However, Misaka Imouto thought differently; if she wanted to avoid bringing trouble and not tell him anything, once the boy knew that the ‘experiment’ continued, he would still rush in head on without hesitation.

That was right. Misaka Imouto was rather confident about this.

That boy would appear.

Once the ‘experiment’ continued, the Sisters would be killed one by one according to plan. The boy would definitely clench his fist and rush into battle without caring for his own life.

“‘Since he’ll be involved in this, might as well explain the situation to him clearly before things go bad. Maybe it might reduce the pain that he feels’, Misaka concludes. ‘Of course, Misaka really hopes that Misaka’s own problem won’t trouble others, but Misaka can’t help it’, Misaka feels frustrated as she continues to run.”

From the alley to the road, her soles rubbed against the ground as she did a quick turn, passing through the crowds, and sprinting even faster.

Suddenly *POW!* Misaka Imouto felt a sharp pain from her temples.

(...!)

Suddenly, Misaka Imouto felt the world swirling around her. It was the interference caused by the electrical flow of the neural signals of the Sisters being jammed together. This occurrence was rather rare, as Misaka Imouto sent out a warning signal regarding her abnormal status, and pulled the goggles on her forehead down, concentrating, and trying to find the reason.

(‘This is an electronic interference caused by extremely powerful electricity... only Onee-samaThe Original...should be able to release such large voltage’, Misaka makes an unconfirmed guess. ‘The location should be within a 500 metres radius...’)

Such high power voltage couldn’t possibly be used other than for combat. Though Misaka Imouto seemed rather worried, she still decided to head to the dormitory first. She put the goggles back up and continued to sprint.

Not long after, Misaka Imouto arrived at the entrance of the dormitory.

She rushed into the elevator, pressed the 7th level button, and the elevator gradually moved upwards. She was compiling and editing the information that she would be giving the boy. Anyway, it was a fight for every second; she had to tell the boy the most accurate information and the seriousness of the situation in the shortest time possible.

Misaka Imouto pondered, to run down at this time, would he be happy? She really wanted to confirm the time now, but she had no watch, so she could only send a signal through the network to ask all the Sisters around the world what time it was before compiling and calculating the time in Japan.

An electronic sound rang from the elevator.

The elevator door swayed open, and Misaka Imouto dashed out again. Though there was an entire row of similar doors, only the door which had a seemingly new handle for some reason was her real destination.

Misaka Imouto quickly stopped in front of the door, politely pressed the doorbell, and without waiting for a reply, opened the door. Unexpectedly, the door wasn’t locked. Maybe to the person living there, it wasn’t rude to come over at this time, Misaka Imouto randomly made this conclusion and opened the door.

She saw Kamijou Touma.

And she saw the girl called Index.

Both of them were wearing pajamas. For some reason, the girl was on the boy’s head, biting on his head. The calico cat noticed the killer look on the girl’s face, and maybe its animal instincts caused it to hide in the corner. They were all stunned by the sudden opening of the door, and at the same time, turned to Misaka Imouto, who was at the door.

Misaka Imouto was thinking.

How could she quickly let this person understand the seriousness of the situation in a single sentence?

Misaka Imouto gave up on theory and took action based on her previous experience.

She said,

“‘There’s something Misaka wants you to do’, Misaka says what’s in her heart while looking at your face.”

To be able to say this, it shows that she herself has really changed, Misaka Imouto concluded.

“‘Please save Misaka and Misaka’s Sisters, Misaka lowers her head to you sincerely.”

The boy didn’t ask anything.

He just prompted her to carry on.

References

1. ↑ A southwest city in Spain.

2. ↑ A northern duchy in Germany.

3. ↑ A Russian City.

4. ↑ A space base in Nevada, U.S.A.

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