A large amount of unknown white smoke instantly enveloped the shattered street. Ordinary people, fleeing this inexplicable disaster, screamed and crouched down, covering their heads.
Suzushina Yuriko clicked her tongue. She stirred the vectors of the air, generating a strong, localized wind that dispersed the thick smoke.
As the air cleared, Kakine Teitoku was nowhere to be seen. The only things left in his original location were a pool of bright red blood and some crumbling, white metallic-like substances—the remains of his shattered Dark Matter wings.
"Tch! Did he slink away like a defeated dog?"
Yuriko's face was gloomy.
"I really overestimated that scumbag. I thought he'd fight desperately to the end, but it seems his precious Dark Matter is only worth this much."
She had originally intended to kill him outright, but the smokescreen had made her hesitate for a fraction of a second to ensure she didn't accidentally redirect the attack into the fleeing civilians. She was no saint; if you tried to kill her, you had better be prepared to be killed yourself. Therefore, before he fled, she had injected a massive amount of chaotic, conflicting vectors into his wings. Even if he survived, his internal organs were going to give him absolute hell.
"I'll kill you next time we meet, you piece of trash," she muttered.
Just as Yuriko was about to leave the ruined street, she stopped in her tracks.
Clank. Clank. Clank.
A dozen barrel-shaped Security Bots rolled out from the alleys, quickly surrounding her. Behind them, more than twenty fully armed Anti-Skill officers raised their assault rifles, trapping her in the middle of the intersection.
"Don't move! Stay exactly where you are!" a guard shouted, his voice trembling slightly. Judging from his shaking fingers, he was terrified enough to fire at the slightest provocation.
"Tch!" Yuriko clicked her tongue, her red eyes sweeping over the trembling adults.
"Put on the handcuffs yourself, or we'll shoot!"
A pair of heavy, specially-made steel handcuffs was tossed at Yuriko's feet.
"Everyone, lower your weapons."
A woman wearing a green tracksuit, with her long black hair tied up to her waist, stepped out from behind the riot shields. Yomikawa Aiho gripped her baton and shouted sternly at her own men.
"Captain, but she's a Level 5! It's Accelerator! She's incredibly dangerous!" an officer protested, sweating profusely.
"I said put the guns down. Even if she's a Level 5, she's still just a student," Yomikawa ordered coldly.
She stepped past the barricade, walking directly toward the Number One without a shield or a gun.
"Accelerator," Yomikawa said, stopping a few feet away. "Given the massive impact you've caused, and the unprecedented damage and disturbance to Academy City, you must accept our detention and cooperate with the investigation."
Yuriko watched the Anti-Skill captain approach.
'She's clearly worried that I might suddenly snap and kill her men, yet she walks toward me anyway without a weapon,' Yuriko thought, clicking her tongue. 'This is exactly the kind of person I find the hardest to deal with.'
"I understand."
Yuriko sighed, her shoulders slumping. She obediently held out her wrists.
'This mess has nothing to do with these Anti-Skill grunts. They're just trying to maintain order. There is no need to clash with them, and if I do, things will escalate from a riot to an act of terrorism.'
'It's gotten to this point already. The message has been sent. That's enough. Besides, since Aleister considers me the core of his "Main Plan," the Board won't actually do anything to me. According to that despicable bastard Yuuya, I should make good use of the privileges this cursed status brings me. Ha... In the end, I really am acting like a complete villain.'
The Anti-Skill officers collectively breathed a massive sigh of relief and lowered their rifles. Their backs were soaked with cold sweat. Yomikawa took a steady breath, picked up the heavy cuffs, and clamped them around Yuriko's pale wrists.
"Get in the car with me," Yomikawa said, her voice softer now.
Yuriko was calmly escorted into the back of an armored police transport. She knew, and Yomikawa knew, that the handcuffs were entirely useless against Vector Manipulation; they were merely psychological props to reassure the terrified police officers outside.
That's how most people were; they were satisfied as long as they believed they were safe.
"Accelerator," Yomikawa asked seriously as she sat across from her. "Why did you cause a riot in Academy City today?"
"No comment," Yuriko said, turning her red eyes to look out the reinforced window.
...
The Medical Triage Zone.
Numerous ambulances were on standby a kilometer away from the stadium, acting as a massive triage center for the unconscious and injured challengers Yuuya had teleported away.
Those who were still conscious sat on the curb, clutching their heads, filled with immense fear. 'Is that exaggerated, god-like power truly the Strongest?' they wondered. 'She rendered a thousand of us powerless without even lifting a finger.'
"There are 2,341 people injured or unconscious! These numbers are too high!" a hospital director yelled angrily into a radio. "Why have these students gone completely mad?!"
RUMBLE—!
The ground trembled violently, like a magnitude five earthquake. A colorful, electrically-charged mushroom cloud rose from the distant ruins of the stadium. A strong shockwave swept over the triage zone, instantly knocking several medics to the ground.
"Damn it! They should all be locked in isolation cells!" the hospital director cursed, his face flushed with panic.
Even the Anti-Skill tactical units preparing to move in on the stadium froze, terrified to approach the epicenter of the explosion.
"Oh no... I can't see Onee-sama!"
Shirai Kuroko's expression changed drastically as she watched a massive surge of blue electricity shoot into the sky above the stadium, followed instantly by a blinding, orange-red laser.
"A Railgun! That's... Onee-sama's signature move! Onee-sama has really gotten involved in the fight!"
Kuroko was sweating profusely. This was utterly disastrous. If Mikoto was caught fighting the military, she would be sent to a black site.
"As a member of Judgment, I can't let her do this!"
Snap.
Kuroko instantly began teleporting toward the stadium ruins, desperate to extract her sister.
...
Inside the Stadium Ruins.
A beam of orange-red light, as thick as a human arm, shot toward Sogiita Gunha like a hyper-sonic sword. The extreme frictional heat instantly melted the shattered concrete beneath the projectile's path, turning it into glowing, crimson lava.
"SUPER INVINCIBLE POWERFUL PUNCH!"
With a roaring swing of his fist, Gunha managed to deflect the orange-red beam off its trajectory. The deflected Railgun struck the exposed steel skeleton of the stadium, instantly shearing through the thick metal and melting it with a loud, sizzling sound.
"A Railgun?!"
Gunha stopped his advance, panting heavily. He looked at Yuuya with a deeply serious expression.
"Just who the hell are you?! First, you use Spatial Teleportation! Then you display extreme physical enhancement! Then you have some unknown power that negates my psychokinesis... and now you can fire a Railgun?!"
'Who is this guy?' Gunha thought, his mind racing. 'I've already used all my raw strength, and I still haven't been able to leave a scratch on him! This is getting bad. Although my Guts will never surrender... it's also foolish to continue fighting a meaningless battle against an impenetrable wall.'
"Let's stop fighting!" Gunha declared, shaking out his bruised arm.
"Oh~? You're giving up?" Yuuya smiled playfully.
"No! My Guts haven't given up!" Gunha corrected him, resting a hand on his hip. "But although I don't understand why you orchestrated this mess, judging from our exchange just now... you are not a spineless villain. Perhaps you have some complicated, heroic reasons for doing this."
'This guy isn't some twisted, evil character. There's no need to fight to the death. And honestly... I can't beat him right now. This is the first time I've ever encountered someone I couldn't punch through.'
"Wait a moment!"
At that moment, a sharp, angry voice rang out across the crater.
Both Yuuya and Gunha looked over. A familiar girl with chestnut hair and a Tokiwadai middle school uniform marched out of the dust, blue electricity crackling violently across her forehead.
Misaka Mikoto stared coldly at Yuuya.
"Why do you know how to fire my Railgun? And who exactly are you?!"
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