Fine dust and gravel still drifted through the air. The ruins of the collapsed hotel creaked in the silence, while the cold night wind blew through the streets, making every fragment of debris stand out clearly beneath the streetlights.
Tap, tap...
Amid the mingled sounds of reinforced concrete crashing down and police sirens approaching from afar, crisp footsteps drew steadily closer.
Stumbling as she fell to the ground, Musujime Awaki ignored everything else and raised her head. The first thing to enter her vision was a pair of black high heels with orange trim standing atop "purple crystal plates."
"Please do not confuse what is important and what is secondary, Miss Musujime Awaki, the 'guide.'"
It was a silver-haired beauty.
She wore Tokiwadai Middle School's winter uniform, consisting of a beige blazer and a dark blue finely checkered pleated skirt, with black stockings sheathing her legs and rising above her knees. A narrow band of bare thigh remained between their upper edges and the skirt's hem, forming a striking absolute territory against the dark fabric.
Her snow-white hair fell all the way to her waist, shining beneath the moon with radiant brilliance. Draped across her shoulders, it outlined a magnificent sight that was both breathtaking and terrifying.
A trace of curiosity flickered within the crimson eyes set upon her beautiful face. Shirai Kuroko and Musujime Awaki were reflected in those clear pupils, while one slender hand held a silver-white suitcase.
Looking at the school district emblem on the suitcase, Musujime Awaki murmured, That's the suitcase containing Tree Diagram's new-generation central data processor...
Wait. Wasn't that supposed to be inside the suitcase in my hand?
Musujime Awaki instinctively looked toward the suitcase she was carrying. Only then did she realize it had grown lighter. When did that happen?!
As a Level 4 spatial esper, sensitivity to weight was essential. Yet she had failed to notice just now.
"Selene... Why? Why are you here? Could it be... You actually want to prevent the Level 6 Shift Project from being restarted?!" Musujime Awaki glared fixedly at the white figure before her, her face twisting into an expression caught somewhere between laughter and tears.
"As a business partner of more than sixty percent of Academy City's research institutions, shouldn't restarting that project benefit you even more? No, that's impossible. Does the fourth-ranked Railgun truly have enough value for you to go this far? To protect this... world Railgun has so willfully imagined?"
"You speak as though you understand me. Protect? Heh..."
"No. Rather than protecting it, I suppose I am watching. Observing. I want to see what kind of fruit the world she has so willfully imagined will ultimately bear."
Selene shook her head and spoke in a voice that sounded less calm than barely restrained amusement. She had secretly watched Shirai Kuroko and Musujime Awaki's battle and conversation from beginning to end.
As for Musujime Awaki's beliefs, Selene was a civilized person. She would not declare with absolute certainty that the other girl was wrong. However, while Musujime Awaki had every right to speak, Selene disagreed with every single word she said.
She found Musujime Awaki utterly ridiculous. Contempt, disdain, and disgust were only natural.
Selene paused. Her tone seemed slightly more serious than before, as though she had finally suppressed her laughter. "If she is 'white,' then I suppose I will consider myself 'black' in your eyes."
"Where there is white, there is black. Together, they dye the world an exquisite shade of gray." Selene hovered in midair, a soul-stirring smile blooming across her beautiful face.
"As for the Level 6 Shift Project, why continue with something already proven impossible? Besides, hasn't the purpose the project was meant to achieve already been accomplished?"
On the surface, the Level 6 Shift Project was intended to artificially cultivate Accelerator into a Level 6 Absolute Esper. In truth, however, Chairman Aleister Crowley had never believed the project had much chance of success.
To a certain extent, Aleister had been pleased to see the project fail.
At the time, the immense pressure exerted upon Accelerator by Selene and Kakine Teitoku had made him considerably stronger than he had been at the same point in the original course of events.
Even with Kamijou Touma's intervention and the desperate efforts of Misaka Mikoto and the Sisters, the battle that ultimately ended the Level 6 Shift Project had remained bitterly contested and perilous beyond measure.
Watching the fight unfold in real time through UNDER_LINE, even Aleister had wondered whether he should contact Selene and have her cripple Accelerator once again.
Fortunately, Kamijou Touma had lived up to his reputation as the boy most capable of producing the unexpected. He defeated the Level 5 Accelerator, becoming the first Level 0 esper in history to defeat a Level 5. With that, the Level 6 Shift Project was completely frozen.
After the project ended, the surviving Sisters were sent to Academy City-affiliated institutions across the world for rehabilitation and adjustment because their remaining lifespans might not be long. Yet this had been Aleister's objective all along. One could even say he had personally arranged it.
The project's failure gave Aleister a perfectly reasonable excuse to send the Sisters all over the world.
To outsiders, Selene's intervention made perfect sense. The first person to reach Level 6 could only be her. Suppressing Accelerator, the second-ranked esper beginning to rise, was entirely natural. Was that not precisely the sort of domineering thing her personality would drive her to do?
The justification was readily available as well. Selene's protectiveness and generous treatment of her own people were universally recognized throughout Academy City's various industries. She and Misaka Mikoto were both students of Tokiwadai Middle School, and alumni culture was especially prominent throughout Europe and America. Was it not perfectly natural for her to help a fellow student through a crisis?
In this matter, Selene and Aleister shared the same objective. Had Kamijou Touma and Misaka Mikoto failed to defeat Accelerator, Selene would have acted to ensure that the Level 6 Shift Project ended in failure.
The Misaka Sisters would exist as antennas for the AIM Diffusion Field of the Imaginary Number District. According to Aleister's plan, the world would ultimately be completely enveloped by the AIM Diffusion Field and transformed into an artificial heaven.
It would be a realm created purely through scientific power, representing the destruction of all magic.
In a world where the foundational rules had been altered in such a manner, temples and cathedrals sustained by magical power would collapse after losing the force supporting them. The same phenomenon would occur across every religion, bringing magical activity throughout the entire world to an abrupt halt.
Selene intended to push matters even further. She would do everything within her power to expand the artificial heaven's range and strengthen its suppressive force. It would no longer be an artificial heaven encompassing only Earth, but one covering the entire universe, reinforced with several particularly potent additions.
Provided the conditions allow it, I wonder what a Magic God tastes like?
That was right. Selene's bottom line of preserving the existence and peace of this world would not change.
She would not annex it, destroy it, or establish direct rule over it. She did not care whether the Magic Gods continued to exist. However, if the temptation was great enough and the chances of success sufficiently high, all without affecting the solar system, Selene would not mind devouring a Magic God.
Aleister might not know the details of Selene's private intentions, but he had certainly realized that she was plotting something. He did not care. As long as they remained united by a common objective, that was enough.
Having survived until this day, the sole meaning behind Aleister's continued existence was to shatter every phase, end every mystery, and restore a world in which anyone could live as a matter of course.
Academy City and everything he left behind could be given to Selene should she desire it. He wanted nothing more.
"You said... it was... accomplished..." Musujime Awaki's pupils abruptly dilated when she heard those words, and her entire body trembled even more violently.
"Aaaaah—!"
Musujime Awaki suddenly clutched her head and screamed in agony, her features twisting as she frantically shook her head.
The atmosphere within a radius of several meters around her began to tremble. However, because of Selene's Spatial Lockdown, the disturbance amounted to nothing more than a slight quiver in the air and the faint radiance of the AIM Diffusion Field.
"Your ability is already running wild? How noisy."
Selene landed on the ground, her brows drawing together slightly. She raised her right index finger, and a beam of purplish-red laser light began to glow at its tip.
"Ah! Stop, stop, stop! Selene-senpai, you can't expand the area of damaged public property any further! You can't kill anyone either!"
At the sight, Shirai Kuroko blinked several times before snapping out of her dazed observation. Like a frog leaping forward, she hurled herself toward Selene.
The next instant, boom—!
A heaven-shaking explosion erupted. The purplish-red laser instantly melted through the suitcase beside Musujime Awaki, swept across the street, and struck the collapsed hotel. The ruins of brick and stone were vaporized in an instant, leaving a crater more than ten meters in radius blasted into the foundation.
An overwhelmingly powerful shockwave erupted together with fragments of masonry, building debris, and curling smoke. A violent gale swept across the nearby streets and knocked the screaming Musujime Awaki flat onto the ground.
"Relax. I know my limits."
Selene pressed one hand atop Shirai Kuroko's head. Seeing the sorrowful expression on her face, Selene flicked her forehead and said irritably, "In your eyes, am I some violent maniac incapable of restraint?"
"Mm... Uh, I mean, no!" Shirai Kuroko instinctively started to nod, but when she saw Selene's half-smiling gaze, she hurriedly shook her head instead.
"You had already reduced the place to ruins anyway. Cleaning up the debris would have been such a nuisance. Isn't melting it all down more convenient for reconstruction?"
"Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm!"
Whatever you say is right, Senpai. I surrender!
Clatter...
The military flashlight the girl used as an assistive device for her ability silently slipped from Musujime Awaki's hand and struck the ground with a sharp crack. The front glass fell loose and shattered into several rippling fractures, reflecting the girl's dust-covered, vacant face as she lay sprawled on the ground.
"Why? Why..."
What shattered together with the glass were the few fragments remaining of Musujime Awaki's heart. She seemed to have lost her goal and the pillar supporting her. Even though Selene had not aimed at her body, she remained collapsed on the ground without moving.
What do I do... What am I supposed to do?
Every contingency I prepared has failed. Is there nowhere left for me to go?
"I'm not here to answer your questions. Since you belong to Aleister, I won't kill you. You can take your doubts to prison and think about them there."
Selene spoke indifferently as she looked down at Musujime Awaki, who resembled a salted fish that had lost all its dreams.
At the same time, footsteps approached. "Kuroko!"
A girl's pretty, shoulder-length chestnut hair bounced with every step as she ran. She wore Tokiwadai's uniform, and beneath her short skirt, the corner of her safety shorts occasionally peeked into view. Her similarly chestnut eyes appeared strong and lively, and her youthful face was beautiful even without makeup.
Misaka Mikoto's anxious voice rang out.
"Onee-sama!"
Upon seeing the newcomer, Shirai Kuroko instantly cast off her listless state and sprang to her feet. Wriggling like a spinning top, she prepared to throw herself into Misaka Mikoto's arms. Then...
"Yo!" The greeting from a certain black-haired, spiky-haired boy caused Shirai Kuroko's movements to freeze abruptly.
"..."
The light seemed to vanish from Shirai Kuroko's eyes as she stared blankly at Kamijou Touma, who was running alongside Misaka Mikoto.
"Onee-sama, y-you-you... Could it be that you and this ape-like creature—?!"
"Waaaaah! Kuroko is heartbroken! No wonder you were distracted while shopping for underwear with Kuroko today and kept making such an innocent expression! Onee-sama, why can't you learn from Selene-senpai and preserve your purity?!"
Pointing at the two of them, Shirai Kuroko clutched her chest and staggered backward, trembling as though overwhelmed by grief.
"N-No, that's not... Huh? Selene?" Misaka Mikoto had been about to explain, but the moment she saw Selene standing behind Shirai Kuroko with the suitcase in hand, she immediately laughed awkwardly and changed the subject.
"Since you're here, that means everything must have been resolved, right?"
"Naturally. There are fewer than sixty spatial espers in Academy City. Isolating the AIM Diffusion Field belonging to Musujime Awaki was not difficult." Selene calmly pointed toward the miserable girl at her feet.
"Biri-Biri, so you called Lady Selene too."
Kamijou Touma walked over to Selene and scratched the back of his head. Upon seeing Musujime Awaki collapsed on the ground, his right hand unconsciously clenched into a fist. He raised his head and looked at Selene and Misaka Mikoto. "That horrifying project absolutely cannot be restarted..."
Remembering the horrific scenes in which tens of thousands of Misaka Sisters had been brutally murdered, Kamijou Touma tightened his fist. "That's the thing, isn't it?"
"Tree Diagram's new-generation central data processor? Don't tell me you intend to destroy it." Selene raised the suitcase and tapped its shell while looking at the murderous intent in Kamijou Touma and Misaka Mikoto's eyes.
"You're afraid that once Tree Diagram receives a new processor and gains even greater predictive calculation capability for research, the Level 6 Shift Project will restart. That's why you want to destroy it. But do you know how valuable this is? To a certain extent, part of it belongs to me."
"Selene, you..." Upon hearing that the device belonged to Selene, Misaka Mikoto's expression turned troubled. Should they still destroy it or not?
Just as Selene said, that concern was precisely why Misaka Mikoto had pursued Musujime Awaki. The Level 6 Shift Project had only been frozen because it failed. But that had been with the old processor. What if Tree Diagram gained a new processor with even greater predictive calculation capability for research?
Like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring, Misaka Mikoto was genuinely terrified that the project might restart.
But if the opponent was Selene, the strongest first-ranked esper, what could she possibly do?
"You don't need to look so miserable."
Seeing moisture gradually gather in Misaka Mikoto's eyes, Selene smiled beautifully, stepped forward, and patted her shoulder. Then, under Misaka Mikoto's incredulous gaze, Selene pushed the suitcase into her arms.
"A failed project will not be restarted. Accelerator has already found a new path as well."
"R-Really?" Holding the suitcase, Misaka Mikoto stared fixedly at Selene. A trace of hesitation and shyness suddenly appeared on her beautiful face, and she seemed to want to speak but stopped herself.
"Really."
As though teasing a cat, Selene seized the opportunity to ruffle Misaka Mikoto's hair several times while she looked so pitiful. An imperceptible flicker passed through Selene's crimson eyes.
Mm. A remarkably clear angle. Once you've calmed down, I'll find a chance to show it to you, Misaka.
Just as Selene had said, she wanted to see what kind of fruit the world Misaka Mikoto so willfully imagined would bear. At the same time, however, this was also a performance, one meant to continuously deepen the bonds between them.
Kamijou Touma.
Selene looked toward the black-haired, spiky-haired boy standing behind Misaka Mikoto with a foolish grin now that the crisis had been resolved.
Should something happen, and should I choose not to break through with the overwhelming power of my true body, I will be counting on you to perform, boy.
As though sensing Selene's gaze, Kamijou Touma returned a bright smile, revealing a mouthful of white teeth as he raised his thumb. "As expected of the strongest first-ranked esper. You solved the problem immediately, Lady Selene."
"The same goes for you, Kamijou. The first Level 0 esper to defeat a Level 5. Your reputation precedes you. Accelerator is no weakling. Even I'm tempted to spar with you." Selene teased him.
"Please don't!"
Kamijou Touma immediately began pouring out his grievances to Selene. After defeating the second-ranked Accelerator, his name had spread far and wide, causing countless delinquents eager to make a name for themselves to hunt him down.
"Hahaha... Still, thank you for helping the reckless Misaka Mikoto." Selene extended her hand with a smile.
Kamijou Touma reached out and shook it, his expression sincere. "Of course. We're friends, aren't we?"