September 14, shortly before the Daihasei Festival officially began in the latter half of the year.
Heaven Canceller's Hospital.
"Your wounds are healing well. Your recovery is progressing nicely."
The frog-faced doctor leaned forward and looked with satisfaction at the frail white-haired boy sitting before him. As he wrapped fresh bandages over the newly treated wounds, he said, "Although you still need the bandages for now, you should already be able to move around with crutches. However, you absolutely must not engage in strenuous activity, or the wounds may split open again."
"Next, allow me to conduct a brief consultation."
"How annoying. There's no need for that at all!"
Accelerator rose impatiently and spoke with complete indifference.
"You once suffered a gunshot wound to the head, which damaged your brain. The primary effects were impairments to part of your language, calculation, and motor functions. However, there are still many unknowns regarding the human brain. Depending on the exact circumstances, this could very well become a fatal weakness."
As he spoke, the frog-faced doctor closed his eyes. After a brief pause, he opened them again and said calmly, "This was far more dangerous than the injuries you suffered after your fight with the first-ranked esper."
"Am I supposed to take that as a threat?" Leaning on his crutch, Accelerator glanced at the left arm Selene had once severed, then turned his head toward the doctor with murderous hostility in his eyes.
"I merely wish to ensure that my patient receives flawless care. Nothing more. That is a doctor's duty." The frog-faced doctor simply met his gaze calmly.
"..."
Accelerator glanced sideways at the miniature "Misaka Mikoto" sitting nearby and muttering endlessly to herself. He clicked his tongue, but obediently sat back down.
"Please clearly and coherently recount your name and experiences in full," the frog-faced doctor said in a routine, businesslike manner.
"My name is Accelerator. Among all eight Level 5 espers in Academy City, I rank second. My ability is Vector Manipulation, which allows me to control every vector, including kinetic, thermal, electrical, and other forms of internal energy. I once participated in the Level 6 Shift Project. And then..."
"Heh..." Accelerator let out a self-mocking chuckle. He raised two fingers and pinched the black headphone-like data cable connecting the collar-shaped electrode around his neck to both ears.
"Then I ended up like this, a worthless cripple who can't walk or speak without relying on this thing."
"It's hard to imagine how that vain first-ranked esper will react when she learns about my current condition. Maybe she'll decide a brain-damaged cripple like me isn't worthy of standing beside her and send her dog to challenge me and knock me down the rankings."
Originally, Academy City's Level 5 rankings had been determined according to research value, just as the developers intended when the rankings were first announced. However, after Selene—hailed as the world's most powerful spatial Gemstone—was discovered, the rankings seemed to veer in a different direction.
The first-ranked esper had successively fought the third- and second-ranked espers, while the second- and third-ranked espers had also clashed. The battles that erupted between these monsters over their rankings gave the list the air of a combat-power leaderboard.
"Is there any way to restore my language functions quickly?"
"Not for the time being." The frog-faced doctor sighed helplessly. "In fact, considering that you were shot in the brain and suffered damage to your frontal lobe, this is already the best possible outcome."
"However, if you truly wish to recover quickly, she may be your only option. The first-ranked esper... Honkai energy truly is a form of energy that makes one irresistibly eager to study it."
"..."
At those words, Accelerator fell silent.
Ask Selene for help? That high-and-mighty member of the ruling class who colluded with Academy City's upper echelon and the Kihara family—or so he believed—and knew nothing of those living at the bottom? He would sooner jump from this building and lie there waiting to die than ask her for help!
He was not the third-ranked Dark Matter!
...
Meanwhile, at Selene's residence.
Apart from her dormitory at Tokiwadai Middle School, this was Selene's other property. It was located in School District 7, the largest of Academy City's twenty-three school districts. Chairman Aleister Crowley's residence, the Windowless Building, was also located in this district.
Although it was called a residence, it resembled an estate far more closely. It consisted of multiple clusters of Rococo, multistage Gothic, and Baroque buildings. Even during the period when Selene's primary consciousness had been absent from this world, renovations had never stopped. There was a private park, an artificial mountain garden, a fountain garden, a conservatory...
It possessed a faint air of finding seclusion within the city, seeking a reclusive life close to nature amid the prosperity of the metropolis.
However, the level on which Selene lived was admittedly rather ostentatious.
Building such a place in a high-tech metropolis filled with skyscrapers was genuinely difficult to conceal. Then again, perhaps Selene had never intended to hide it. After all, the urban legends claiming that the first-ranked Level 5 loved luxury and "indulged in extravagant palaces and excessive opulence" were practically common knowledge.
People were not afraid of someone possessing various "undesirable" hobbies. They were afraid of someone who was flawless and left no openings. A person with preferences could at least be negotiated with. That was how Academy City's Board of Directors, its various research institutions, and the Dark Side viewed Selene.
Exactly. One had to stroke the first-ranked esper's fur in the right direction. She responded to softness, not force.
Thomas Platinaburg, a former member of Academy City's Board of Directors, had taught everyone a vivid lesson. The Board unanimously determined that because he had entered a room with his left foot first, thereby displaying a lack of etiquette, he was overcome with shame, shot himself dozens of times in the back, and then committed suicide by blowing up his own residence.
Ahem, ahem, ahem... Although that explanation was not entirely accurate, it was roughly the kind of absurd excuse they had used. One could imagine just how pale and feeble Academy City's upper echelon had sounded when explaining Thomas Platinaburg's death.
There had been no helping it. They had originally sent people into Selene's Schicksal Research Institute merely to steal information. Unfortunately, Thomas had probably grown accustomed to everything going his way and become overconfident. Not only had his people stolen from her, but they had also murdered and committed arson. That was simply dishonorable. He had broken the rules, so who else was supposed to die?
In any case, after a series of gifts, exchanges of money and authority, and other dealings that could not be discussed with outsiders, everyone ultimately obtained what they wanted once the incident ended.
Selene replaced Thomas Platinaburg and gradually secured one of the Board of Directors' mere twelve seats.
Later, one after another, various T-R series specialized medicines for treating illnesses, potential-stimulation drugs—the original effects had been deliberately weakened, while Selene had used her Honkai authority to restrict the effective range of every dose and classify them according to the disease they treated—as well as military and public-security robots were provided to the other directors' private doctors and guards.
Even Honkai Cubes, which required Selene to personally condense and create, began appearing in small quantities within the other directors' research institutions.
They should have said so from the beginning. Why resort to fighting and killing? They could negotiate, purchase, trade, and receive plenty of discounts... How wonderful.
Naturally, Selene did not believe a single punctuation mark of anything those directors said. The integrity of capitalists? Heh...
Had it been someone else—had Selene been a Level 4, or merely an ordinary Level 5 with a single ability, obvious flaws, and easily devised counters—they would never have been so agreeable.
Chairman Aleister, who received the news immediately, came straight to her door. Naturally, he knew Selene's claim that the quantity of Honkai Cubes she could create was limited was merely an excuse. However, since she had voluntarily exposed the secret and was even willing to share them with others, surely it was not unreasonable for him to demand a little more.
Aleister then swindled several kilograms of Honkai Cubes out of Selene in a single transaction. As time passed, the quotas assigned to Selene changed from monthly to weekly, while the amount required each time continued to increase.
This continued even after her primary consciousness left.
Selene said nothing and provided them generously.
This was the unspoken understanding between Selene and Aleister.
Aleister's position was simple. Selene's uncontrollable nature meant that although she was an extremely important part of his plan, she was not indispensable to its execution. With her assistance, however, matters would become considerably easier and his chances of success much greater.
He knew the strength she displayed publicly was merely the tip of the iceberg. However, if she kept pretending to be weak, she might genuinely become weak. Thus, he decided to help Selene slowly peel away her concealed layers one by one. After all, a steadily increasing quota was perfectly reasonable. Remaining stagnant would hardly suit the identity of the first-ranked esper.
The results astonished Aleister. No matter how abruptly he increased the quota, Selene always handled it with ease. She never displayed the slightest fatigue from excessive expenditure, making it impossible to probe her limits. It was as though her growth possessed no bottleneck and no end.
Yet on multiple occasions, he had also observed Selene returning home to sleep only after exhausting herself from eating and playing games... This...
So the quota I assigned isn't even as tiring as eating and playing games?
At the same time, tests revealed that even the first Honkai Cube Selene had supplied could, after energy conversion, power a small city for more than a week. Its efficiency far surpassed that of a nuclear power plant.
Moreover, the Honkai Cubes Selene later provided were not only larger each time, but also increasingly absurd in concentration and quality.
According to the estimates of Aleister's technicians, if a later-stage Honkai Cube of that magnitude were converted into pure energy and released, it would pack far more force than the Tsar Bomba.
A Honkai Cube was, in essence, an extremely dangerous body of high-energy power, energy forcibly compressed, solidified, and shaped. Many of its indescribable negative effects appeared to have been suppressed. Should it rupture and erupt, Japan would fall silent, while the entire western Pacific coastline would be struck by unprecedented tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.
Selene's position was equally straightforward. She did not know how Aleister intended to use Honkai energy or incorporate it into his century-long plan as an advantage. It was enough that she knew his objective was pure—to eliminate the Magic Gods, erase the friction between Phases, and destroy all magic and mysticism.
Mm. No matter what you do, I am willing to offer every form of support except taking actual action.
You charge ahead first. I will follow after seeing how things develop.
Selene had only just finished another routine and cordial exchange with Aleister. By now, returning to the Windowless Building felt almost like returning to her own home.
Tap...
Wearing Tokiwadai Middle School's standard leather shoes, Selene walked through the conservatory corridor of her estate.
The autumn temperature had begun to cool, making it possible to bask comfortably in the sunlight. Flowers surrounded the exterior, while the interior was decorated with many green plants supposedly trimmed by Selene herself. Well, in truth, Selene had hired a professional gardener to trim them in preparation for her mother's arrival. This was also the preferred location for afternoon tea and conversation with friends.
The conservatory was enormous, divided into several sections and connected to the garden's main building. It was insulated as well. With enough luck, one might even sit inside during winter and admire the snow.
"Ahem, ahem..."
Who is talking about me behind my back?!
Inside the conservatory.
"So the captain's boss is basically the final boss, right? As expected of Tokiwadai's young lady and the strongest first-ranked esper. Even the things she uses are top quality."
The blonde girl patted the armrest of the sofa, which was so soft that her entire body sank into the cushions. Warm sunlight, gentle rather than scorching, streamed through the transparent glass and bathed her body. A housekeeping robot placed freshly peeled fruit and vegetables on the low table beside her. They released a faint, refreshing fragrance unique to fresh produce, soothing the mind.
"Gokusai Kaibi, we do not know what kind of personality the first-ranked esper possesses. According to the rumors, her temperament..."
Gokusai Kaibi was a member of SCHOOL, the Dark Side organization led by Kakine Teitoku. She was a Level 4 esper whose ability, Measure Heart, allowed her to measure and adjust the psychological distance between people, thereby rendering others unable to attack her.
She was petite and beautiful, with yellow curls. She wore an exquisite short dress resembling something meant for a formal ball, its entire back cut away, along with bracelets and a jeweled necklace.
Standing beside the girl in the dress was a black-haired boy who frowned slightly as he warned her. There were many urban legends surrounding the first-ranked esper, covering every conceivable subject, but they all shared one common point—she was rather irritable.
"We should still act cautiously... Do not drag the rest of us into trouble."
He wore plain casual clothing and possessed the kind of ordinary face that no one would notice in a crowd.
However, a metallic mechanical ring resembling Saturn's rings covered the black-haired boy's entire head. Plugs had been inserted around all three hundred and sixty degrees of the ring, with countless cables connecting it to his waist.
Yobou Banka was likewise a member of the Dark Side organization SCHOOL. He served as its intelligence officer and was a Level 4 psychokinetic esper. His ability could perform numerous functions, including analysis, scent extraction, and invisibility.
"But when I think about meeting the legendary first-ranked esper at such close range, I get so excited!"
On the other side, Yumiya Rakko cupped her cheeks and spoke with immense delight. She wore a dark school uniform, had long dark hair, and kept two braided locks.
Unlike when she entered mission mode and switched into a hunter's mindset, carrying out operations with a hunter's instincts and way of thinking, she was ordinarily a student and young lady attending Private Shidarezakura Academy, one of School Garden's five elite girls' schools. Her outward personality was gentle, and she naturally possessed an extremely weak presence.
"..."
The brown-haired man still wore the same expensive suit he always did, and his gaze remained as gloomy as ever. As the members of his Dark Side organization discussed matters around him, he merely sat there with his head lowered. His eyes were filled with intense gloom and confusion, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. Yet a faint trace of absolute resolve surrounded him.
Creak...
The sound of the door opening was immediately followed by Selene's calm, placid voice.
"Kakine Teitoku. You contacted me on your own initiative, so what problem have you come to report?"