"Misaka remains skeptical of your statement. The previous response was based solely on our brief acquaintance. Why would you go to such lengths for someone as unfamiliar as Misaka?"
The Misaka Sister stared blankly at the unfamiliar stranger and spoke in her usual emotionless tone.
Although her voice carried no obvious questioning inflection, her words were filled with doubt.
She searched the Misaka Network, yet could not retrieve any relevant information about this individual.
"Does saving someone require you to know them first? Idiot. As long as I know you, that's enough. Besides, saving someone doesn't require a reason.
Arata spoke candidly, grinning as he leaned closer to the girl who had existed in this world for barely over ten days.
"Saving people does not require a reason? Do. Misaka finds your statement questionable, sir. Misaka's designated function is solely for the Level 6 Shift Project…"
Before the Misaka Sister could finish her sentence, Arata covered her lips with his hand.
"No need to repeat that nonsense. Don't waste the results of my efforts to save you. From now on, I'll take responsibility for you"
Arata smiled, refusing to give the clueless girl another opportunity to speak. No matter how she struggled to free herself from his grasp, she lacked the strength to do so.
The dust and smoke over the freight platform gradually dispersed in the night breeze. Accelerator stood with his hands in his pockets, a grin on his face, madness and killing intent swirling in his eyes as he slowly walked toward the spot where the Misaka Sister had originally stood.
He looked at the unrecognizable ground and the shattered buildings. The frenzy in his eyes dimmed slightly.
"So she's already been crushed into mud and concrete paste? Disgusting. Tsk. In theory, killing people shouldn't be any different from killing these dolls."
Thinking of the various methods he had used to kill the clones, a wave of nausea rose within him, and he covered his mouth with one hand.
He had never killed an ordinary civilian. At most, those thugs who provoked him ended up with broken limbs or shattered ribs. Yet now, despite having slaughtered nearly ten thousand clones, he felt an unfamiliar discomfort.
"Tsk."
Accelerator glanced once more at the location where Arata and the Misaka Sister had stood, clicked his tongue, and turned to leave. Just as he was about to walk away, a voice echoed through the area, causing his pupils to contract sharply.
"Accelerator, this was just a greeting. From now on, we'll be seeing each other every day. It won't be just this one. I'll take every Misaka with me."
The voice reverberated from all directions, making it impossible to pinpoint its origin.
Upon hearing it, Accelerator scanned his surroundings. His fists tightened. The calmness in his eyes shattered, replaced instantly by surging killing intent. An inexplicable fury ignited within him.
He felt as though he had been toyed with. After provoking him and speaking arrogantly, the other party left without a trace and even mocked him again. His fragile pride suffered an unprecedented blow.
When had anyone dared to mock him like this?
Even the delinquents who challenged him trembled in fear as they rushed forward.
"Interesting. Very interesting. Vanishing suddenly… a high level spatial esper? Planning to show up at every experiment? Hehehe. Hahaha. You dare to speak so boldly. Why don't you come and try it yourself?"
Accelerator's laughter was tinged with madness and bloodlust, as though something dangerous had been unleashed.
"I'll let you be arrogant this time. Next time, I'll tear you apart just like those dolls. Hehehehehe…"
With a furious shout, he stomped his foot down. The already damaged storage building collapsed instantly with a thunderous crash.
"That sounded frightening. But I left you a small gift. Make sure you accept it properly."
The voice reached Accelerator's ears again. His crazed eyes narrowed as he instinctively lowered his head.
A white light suddenly erupted beneath his feet. The instant it faded, the area around him was swallowed by a massive shadow.
He looked up at once.
Half of an abandoned building loomed directly above him. His pupils shrank, yet the corners of his lips slowly curved upward into a smile filled with contempt for the world.
"This level of spatial teleportation. That lowlife… a newly advanced Level 5? Heh. Ha ha ha. After killing ten thousand dolls, something new finally appears."
Boom.
A deafening explosion resounded across the area. Even the entire school district felt a faint tremor.
Meanwhile, everything that had transpired from the Misaka Sister entering the experimental site to the moment the building fell was being observed in real time by the project's personnel through live monitoring.
...
"What? An incident during the very first outdoor trial? Who is that esper? How could someone snatch the experimental subject away from Accelerator?"
The project leader stared at the screen in shock, teeth clenched.
"When was the plan leaked?"
"Report. Data analysis complete. Based on observed phenomena, the ability involved is undoubtedly teleportation. However, the mass of the displaced object exceeds one thousand tons. This confirms the ability user is unquestionably a Level 5."
A researcher stared at the calculated figures in disbelief, his hands trembling slightly over the keyboard.
"That's obvious even without the calculations. Damn it. Has Academy City been concealing a spatial Level 5 all this time, or has someone just recently advanced? Interfering with the experiment at this stage is extremely troublesome."
They might have contingency plans to deal with interference from known Level 5 espers. But when it came to an unregistered Level 5 specializing in spatial movement, they were effectively powerless.
"This matter must be reported to the upper management immediately. Identify the hidden spatial teleportation ability user. Also, use the Misaka Network to locate the missing unit."
"Level 5 from the Space Department has intervened in the experiment."
The girl , wearing a white lab coat over her Nagatenjouki Academy uniform, silently observed everything. A faint flicker passed through her gloomy eyes before she resumed organizing the data.
"Perhaps there is something I can do…"
"My God. I only wanted to test how high I could push it, and I nearly drained myself dry."
At this moment, Arata leaned weakly against the Misaka Sister. His lips twitched as she supported him without expression.
Although the Teigu required only minimal stamina to teleport objects comparable to its own mass, relocating half of an abandoned building had consumed nearly ninety percent of his energy.
"Come on. I'll take you somewhere. Don't resist, or I'll have to get rough."
Arata chuckled and used the last of his strength to activate another spatial teleport.
...
At the same time, inside the windowless building in the Seventh School District.
"An esper utilizing a mystical artifact through physical activation? The internal structure of that artifact is unlike anything I have observed before. It does not resemble any thaumaturgical relic from the Celestial Empire. It is a completely foreign system."
"It appears that the descent of that power has indeed introduced unpredictable variables into this world."
A voice spoke calmly within the darkness.
...
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