At night, they did a DIY barbecue. This was on the private beach he had paid to reserve. Anyway, any activity that could bring them closer together, Ren would organize.
Dolly stared at the blackened meat in her hands, then looked at Ren with pitiful eyes. Misaka 8790, on the other hand, was enthusiastically grilling. With the Misaka Network, she had everything under control.
Ren handed her the cooked meat, naturally earning her thanks. Dolly's smile didn't fade all day; she was clearly enjoying herself.
"Mi-chan, Ren, how many more days are we going to play?" Dolly asked, her eyes hopeful as she looked at the two of them. After all, they had planned all this fun.
"Two more days. Summer break is long, and we'll go to other places too," Ren said with a smile. He could easily tell Dolly wasn't fully satisfied yet.
"Mm-hmm," Misaki wiped her mouth.
"Does my lady want to join us?" Misaka 8790 asked, glancing at Misaka Mikoto.
"I'll pass. Just knowing you're having a good time is enough for me. I'll go back tomorrow," Misaka Mikoto said, smiling sincerely.
"Why not come back with us? You don't really have anything to do at home anyway," Ren urged.
"Uh…" Misaka Mikoto didn't really have anything pressing. Thinking about the activities in the next few days, she agreed.
For the next few days, Ren took them out everywhere. The aquarium, the zoo, the amusement park—wherever there was fun to be had, he brought them there. Misaki became slightly more cheerful, though she was growing increasingly irritated by the Misakas.
The Misakas, whether originals or clones, were physically top-notch, which for Misaki felt like a dimensional downgrade.
Despite that, their relationship had eased somewhat. On the way back to Academy City, most of the girls had fallen asleep, while the four identical Misaka girls drew all eyes.
Back in Academy City, Misaka Mikoto bid everyone farewell. The others planned to go home first. After being away for several days, Ren felt a wave of relief.
Dolly and Misaka were tanned from the sun. When they opened the door, they shouted, "I'm back!" and immediately began bouncing around energetically inside. Misaki, by contrast, collapsed onto the sofa, looking gloomy.
"Damn it… that man next to Number Five," Kakine Teitoku muttered, holding his forehead in frustration. He was angry because Number Five had used her ability while Kakine was knocked out.
But when he awoke, he sensed something was wrong and immediately activated his ability to neutralize it, also using it on his two subordinates.
Thinking back to everything that had happened earlier, he was furious. There was one thing he absolutely could not tolerate: being treated as a replacement for Number One. He would have his revenge. Yet recalling the whole situation…
His attacks seemed fierce, yet they didn't even graze a single hair of his opponent, and this was while Number Five was being protected.
A while back, he had sent a group of powerless soldiers to test the waters, and the result had been exactly the same.
"Do we really have to fight him?" Gokusai Kaibi- swallowed hard. She knew all too well how terrifying her opponent was. Her abilities were completely useless against him, and with a Level 5 psychic on the opposing side, going head-to-head would be disastrous for her.
"Of course," Kagane Teitoku snorted lightly. "That guy is trampling on my pride. Besides, don't forget why he hypnotized all of you."
Kaibi recalled Ren's words before the hypnosis. To be honest, a thread of fear had already woven itself into her heart.
"Are we still going to hunt powerless people? I doubt it will help." Yobou Banka interjected. He couldn't forgive the other party either.
Once someone made a promise, they wouldn't betray it, and yet the opponent didn't trust him. Even if they shared the same ideals, that was unforgivable.
"No need. I heard that a clone of Number Three recently appeared?" Kagane Teitoku glanced at Kaibi.
"Mm. Some people claim to have seen four identical Number Three clones."
"Urban legends aren't worth repeating," Teitoku muttered, massaging his forehead. He already had enough on his mind and didn't have time to verify every rumor.
"That's not necessarily a rumor. This is footage from the mall cameras during summer vacation," Yobou Banka said, pulling up the video feed.
"Huh? Interesting." Teitoku's eyes lit up as he watched the footage.
Then a thought struck him. Previously, a group dressed in black had approached him—something called the Level 6 Shift. He had heard bits and pieces about it.
Apparently, by defeating a certain number of Number Three clones in battle, one could ascend to Level 6.
The plan had been suspended, but if they were seeking him out, he understood Ren's goal: to stop the Level 6 Shift. If he could become Level 6, no other Level 5 could match him.
As for hunting clones scattered across the world? That held no interest for him. He could simply find the responsible researchers and restart the plan.
He would never let the opportunity for first place slip away. He had to become the strongest, take revenge on Ren, and defeat Accelerator.
Watching Teitoku revel in his own determination, Kaibi pursed her lips. The cameras captured all of his actions perfectly, but Ren's presence remained invisible. The gap between them felt enormous.
"So, what's the plan?" Yobou Banka asked.
"Find the researchers behind the Level 6 Shift. They were forced to cancel it, so they're bound to be unwilling. We'll restart the plan ourselves," Teitoku said without hesitation.
Kaibi let out a sigh. Throwing a party on a grave like this… was that really okay? She had no intention of joining, and deep down, she already believed Teitoku would fail.
This was something even his abilities couldn't overcome. Though there was a significant gap between second place and the rest, it wasn't impossible to resist. Kaibi decided she would send a warning.
Yobou Banka focused intently on tracking down the researchers. His resentment toward Ren was palpable, so much so that he even suppressed Misaki's abilities.
Naturally, the researchers of this experiment were displeased as well. Ren's interference had rendered all their efforts meaningless. Of course, the equipment still existed, and they could restart, but funding had run dry.
Among them, though, was an unusual case. Kiyama Harumi kept dreaming of one scene: a mountain of corpses, all Misaka clones. They begged him to survive, to let them live.
Kiyama Harumi woke with a start and glanced at the clock. It was only two in the morning. Years of insomnia had sharpened her gaze, giving her a fiercer look than usual.
She hadn't expected that implanting the fear of death into Misaka—just because of Ren's words—would affect her so deeply. Even at night, her dreams were haunted.
Realizing sleep wasn't coming, Kiyama Harumi threw on some clothes and stepped outside, planning to buy a can of coffee.
"Researcher Kiyama, we're planning to restart the Level 6 Shift Project. Do you want to participate?" a former researcher approached her.
"Sure." Kiyama Harumi agreed without a second thought.
"Haha, we'll assign a new base to you when the time comes," the former researcher said before leaving.
Kiyama Harumi quickly drafted a string of messages and sent them off. Once the confirmation arrived, she deleted all traces. Her eyes sparkled like stars. She had long been manipulated by Misaki's ability.
It would activate at a crucial moment. She had originally planned to use her control over the researchers to end the experiment, but now it seemed there was another purpose.