"Mental Out"
This is the mental-type ability possessed by Shokuhou Misaki, ranking at the pinnacle of all mental-type abilities, capable of mastering over a thousand different kinds of mental manipulation effects.
Scientists in Academy City have conducted serious and repeated research into the essence of this ability. They once determined that "Mental Out" influenced other entities through bio-electricity, but as research continued, this theory was judged to be incorrect—or rather, not entirely correct.
"Mental Out" actually functions by manipulating the water content within the brains of others to produce various phenomena, primarily by controlling the secretion of substances within the subject's brain, as well as the proportions of fluids like blood and cerebrospinal fluid.
Although it also involves bio-electricity, it is not a direct form of control; rather, it controls the liquids that serve as the medium for the electrical current, thereby altering conduction efficiency. Therefore, when encountering an electrical-type Ability User like Misaka, it is very easily affected and cannot function normally.
Furthermore, in situations where it is not being unleashed indiscriminately in a berserk state, Shokuhou's ability requires precise targeting. Therefore, if an opponent has reliable high-speed maneuvering capabilities, "Mental Out" is difficult to use to solidly control the enemy.
And does Chinatsu have high-speed maneuvering capabilities?
The answer is, not only does she have them, but she is extremely fast!
The moment the phantom of Shokuhou Misaki pressed the remote control and made a "Ding!" sound, Chinatsu stepped forward and vanished from the spot like a ghost.
"What? Where did she go!"
Satan Sen widened her eyes in shock. She and the phantom nervously scanned the surroundings, but still failed to catch a glimpse of Chinatsu.
Cold sweat broke out on her forehead, and she gritted her teeth nervously. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pen.
The phantom of Shokuhou Misaki vanished, replaced by a young girl wearing a Tokiwadai uniform. She was a Level 4 Great Ability User capable of generating and manipulating plants.
"Go!!!"
Satan Sen waved her hand, and several roots made of countless intertwined vines erupted from the floor of the research building, thrashing about in all directions.
The sound of the vines whipping through the air continued to echo, but the tension on Satan Sen's face did not diminish in the slightest.
She still lacked an understanding of just how strong a Level 5 Esper actually was. If she had succeeded with her preemptive strike, it might have been one thing, but right now, she truly lacked the confidence to say she could defeat the formidable enemy before her.
But even if she were to lose, she had to fight!
Satan Sen's resolve was set. Just as she held onto this conviction and swore to defeat the Level 5 Esper, Chinatsu appeared behind her, startling enough to scare someone to death.
Satan Sen's body trembled; she hurriedly turned around and controlled the surrounding roots made of vines to rush toward Chinatsu.
In response, Chinatsu just stood quietly in place. The roots that were rushing toward her with such ferocity stopped the instant they reached her, as if they had been caught by something.
"I just mimicked the style of the Level 5 number one (Accelerator) a little. Although the principle is different, mine can only be considered 'brute force'~"
Chinatsu smiled faintly. As she raised her arm and waved it casually to the right, the vines that had been frozen in front of her instantly showed signs of violent tearing, and in just a few seconds, they turned into wood chips dancing in the air.
Level 5 Esper, number one, Accelerator.
Accelerator's ability is "Accelerator." On the surface, it involves controlling the direction of various energies through skin contact. Its essence is using immense computational ability to reverse-engineer and analyze the phenomena of all things in the world, thereby manipulating them.
Usually, he sets a 24-hour continuous "Reflection" on himself. For example, if someone shoots at him, the moment the bullet touches the reflection layer, it changes direction by 180 degrees and hits the person who fired.
Of course, he can also actively control it to stop bullets in front of him or change their trajectory, turning a bullet that would have originally caused a headshot via reflection into one that hits the opponent's thigh.
What Chinatsu just did was merely using sufficiently powerful gravity to 'brute force' and hold the vines attacking her. However, she could indeed maintain it continuously for 24 hours.
"Do you still want to keep fighting?"
Chinatsu put one hand on her hip and sighed. In her view, the battle between her and Satan Sen didn't meet the conditions for showing off, and she didn't have a habit of bullying the weak.
Satan Sen clenched her fists, which were hanging straight down, and bit her lip, staring at Chinatsu. Her full power had been easily crushed by her opponent, so it would be understandable if her mental state collapsed.
If the person standing in front of Satan Sen right now were Mikoto, she might have extended her palm and offered comforting, gentle words. Unfortunately, Chinatsu couldn't learn that. She mumbled a bunch of words, which ultimately turned into a long sigh.
"If you still want to fight, I'll keep you company."
Just as the second round of battle between Chinatsu and Satan Sen was about to begin, a Researcher who heard the commotion suddenly ran into the battlefield.
"There was a loud noise here just a moment ago. Was it an experimental machine that exploded... You... are you guys fighting... uh..."
The Researcher hadn't even finished speaking when his body suddenly shuddered. He then stood up straight with a blank expression, muttering, "It was an experimental machine that exploded... It was an experimental machine that exploded..." as he turned and walked out of the area.
Chinatsu shifted her gaze from the Researcher back to Satan Sen. It turned out that in that split second, she had used the phantom of Shokuhou Misaki again. The high-intensity and continuous use of her ability had already pushed her mental state to its limit.
"Let's stop here for today."
"I certainly have no objections."
Satan Sen weakly retracted the phantom of Shokuhou Misaki. She gave Chinatsu one last powerless glance, and finally, just as she was known within Tokiwadai Academy as the "Empress of the Infirmary," she walked out of Chinatsu's line of sight, looking frail.
Seriously speaking, is Satan Sen weak?
The answer is that she is definitely not weak. One can tell from the fact that, despite being a Level 4, she could barely manage to create a Level 5 phantom. If she continues to develop it, it is not impossible that she could activate two phantoms at the same time in the future.
And Satan Sen, possessing this power, seems to harbor a considerable grudge against Tokiwadai Academy.
Although it is unknown what this grudge is exactly, considering that everything related to Satan Sen in the story of the first season of A Certain Scientific Railgun has vanished, it is highly likely that she was stopped by Mikoto, expelled from Tokiwadai, or even imprisoned...
Chinatsu, with one hand on her hip, opened her mouth and sighed helplessly. She understood that Satan Sen would definitely not stop here. If she wanted to prevent all of this, she would have to learn about Satan Sen's past.
As Chinatsu watched Satan Sen leave, Satan Sen bit her lip, and drops of blood unknowingly flowed from her bitten lip, though she did not notice.
This desperate gap left her suffocating.