1 Accelerator:The Fateful Night

-------August 21 8:20p.m.-------

It was a quiet, full moon night, and two individuals were at Academy City's Iron Railway Bridge. They weren't doing anything special. In fact, they were just having a chat. A quiet, intimate chat with each other.

"What are you doing?" said a girl's voice from very close by above his head.

The boy suddenly realized that there was an oddly soft feeling on his cheek as he laid on his side.

It seems like his head was lying on the girl's lap.

The esper level of those two individuals were so significant, it was as clear as day who would be the victor in a fight. However, those two seemed to not care about their rankings.

The girl was a level 5 named, Misaka Mikoto. And the boy on her lap was a level 0 named Kamijou Touma.

Before Kamijou was lying in the graces of the girl's lap, they had a small argument that led him to take a bit of damage. This wasn't a lover's quarrel, it was just a small warning.

A warning that will save his life.

It was about the strongest esper in Academy City, Accelerator.

Kamijou wanted to fight Accelerator, to save over 9000 mass-produced clones, called 'Sisters'. These Sisters were cloned from the 3rd strongest esper, Misaka. Although they are not identical to the original in terms of power, having their power only classified as level 3.

Kamijou had a special power despite being a level 0. In his right hand, he had a power to negate anything supernatural. He calls it 'Imagine Breaker'. But that was all.

And he still wanted to fight the strongest esper. Since it was quite a crazy idea, Misaka wanted to stop him. So she went all out and tried to electrocute him to the point where he wouldn't even think about going there.

He didn't have any qualms about punching girls. But it was just that, there was no need to.

Because he didn't block it, he suffered heavy damages. His head was throbbing and he could barely breathe. But he could still hear Misaka.

"You're that beaten up, you're lying on the filthy ground, and your heart may have even stopped for a short time. So..."

Her voice trembled.

"...How can you smile like that?"

Transparent drops of liquid fell on Kamijou's cheek.

"I've figured out how to stop the experiment. If you think about it, it's quite simple."

Misaka wiped her own tears using her fingertips as she listened.

"I'm sure the Tree Diagram took the fact that Accelerator is the strongest in Academy City into account for its calculations. Then we just have to make the researchers think that this Accelerator guy they insist is the strongest is actually really weak."

If Accelerator was easily beaten in a simple street fight, would the researchers still believe that he was still the strongest?

"That's not possible, the experiment can't be stopped so easily. If another Level 5 defeats him, I'm sure they'll just accept it as within the accepted margin of error. They won't think that he is actually weak." Misaka replied as she grit her teeth.

"Even if we ganged up on him, we can't beat him. I've only met him once, but that was enough. I hacked into the Bank and did a search on his power and it gave me goosebumps. A fight with him is not something he might win or lose. When he fights, it is a completely one-sided slaughter."

Tree Diagram had already determined that Misaka would be killed in 185 moves, even if she focused on dodging everything. That's why she could only conclude that the only way the experiment will stop if she was killed, messing up the precise calculations that the Tree Diagram did.

"That just means I have to fight."

Now that he knew what he had to do, the rest was simple.

He tried to lift his head from Misaka's thighs and stand up, but his body would not move as he wanted it to. He felt a slight scraping feeling and his head slid from her thighs down to the hard ground. Even so, he gritted his teeth and moved his trembling fingers like caterpillars. He slowly got his fingers gripped on the uneven asphalt and then gathered all his strength to lift himself up from the ground.

Upon seeing what he was doing, Misaka let out a trembling voice.

"W-What are you doing?"

Kamijou said nothing as he looked at her. It was obvious what he was going to do.

"You can't! You're only saying that because you don't know what Accelerator's power is! It's crazy to even think of taking him on. He's way too overpowered! He's the kind of person who would just cackle at the fact that every army in the world was after him!"

Kamijou still haven't said a single word to her.

"Accelerator's power is the ability to freely control all kinds of vectors such as motion, heat and electricity as long as they are touching his skin. You can't find an opening in an overpowered ability like that. All of his attacks will reach you, but none of yours will reach him. In fact, everything you fire at him is reflected right back at you. No human can stand up to an absolute one-way road like that!"

"Please! Why do you insist on going?! This was none of your business from the beginning! Moreover, in your beat up state, what can you possibly do?!"

Misaka was about to burst into tears.

"Why?"

"I just want a world where everyone can be happy." He said that with a smile that made the moon look like a sun.

"And in order for that to happen, I need you to tell me where the experiment will start."

Misaka hesitated to tell him where the experiment was going to be held.

It was too dangerous.

But then he placed his hands on her shoulder, and looked at her with a stern face.

"Misaka please!" He said as he bowed his head down.

Misaka's face immediately turned red as she looked away from him. For the first time, he had called her name properly. Her nickname was Biribiri, but now he was calling her by her first name.

"Please Misaka! Where will the experiment start?"

"I-If you put it like that...fine!"

Then Misaka loses her flustered face and looks at him with a straight face.

"The industrial area in the western outskirts. The train switchyard is the location of the 10032nd experiment."

"I see. Thank you, Biribiri. If you want me to save your sister, just leave it to me, I will return with her. But you must not come. If you do, the researchers will think that I had help from another Level 5."

"You're unbelievable..."

"It's the only way."

After saying that, he turned his back to her and ran off into the night.

"My name is not Biribiri..." Misaka whispered under her breath.

-------------------------------------------------

In a certain train switchyard, two figures stood under the moonlight. A pale, thin figure and a girl who looked exactly like the 3rd ranked Level 5, Misaka Mikoto. That was Misaka 10032.

"So it's 8:25. I take it you're the next doll to be targeted in this experiment?"

But the expression of Misaka's sister did not change one bit.

"Yes, Misaka is Serial Number 10032, responds Misaka. However, shouldn't you check using the passcode to ensure that Misaka is part of the experiment? suggests Misaka."

"Tch, you're fucking insane. Well, I may not have the right to say this as someone forcing you to take part in this experiment to make me stronger, but you sure are calm. Don't you feel anything about this situation."

"It is difficult to understand what you mean when you use vague terms such as 'anything', replies Misaka. The experiment begins in 3 minutes and 20 seconds. Are you prepared? Asks Misaka to make sure."

Accelerator was chewing on something with a look like he was fed up with something.

"Are you eating something? Asks Misaka."

"Yeah, a finger." Accelerator said casually as he spat the object in his mouth out to the side. The piece of meat was all chewed up and had saliva all over it, but the general shape of a girl's narrow fingertip could just barely still be seen.

"Since I had the chance, I thought I'd borrow it, but human flesh isn't all that great. I'd heard that fingers didn't have much fat and that it tasted sour, but it's not even that. You bite into it and you can feel all those narrow bundles being torn apart. It's fucking horrible. I guess we just didn't evolve to be eaten like pigs or cows."

Accelerator wiped his lips with his arm as if to wipe away the flavor in his mouth.

But the expression on Misaka's sister did not change even the slightest bit.

"Normally, pork or beef has the blood removed and the flavor improved with salt and other spices, advises Misaka. Is the distinction between raw meat and cooked meat due to the changes in the proteins created by heating bringing an error into your testing? Asks Misaka giving her view on the situation."

"Is that so?" Accelerator said as he deeply inhaled the air and rolled his eyes.

Misaka's sister was confused by why Acceleartor had asked her that question.

"Dammit, after ten thousand times, this is getting really fucking old. I was hoping to kill some time, but no. There's just no having a conversation with any of you." Accelerator leisurely said. "I can't understand why you would throw away your lives like that. To me, my own life takes top priority and I think of my own body as the best. That's why there's no limit to the amount of power I want and that's why I can just laugh scornfully as I kill over thousands of you."

"There are parts of what you said that Misaka does not understand, replies Misaka. You are already Academy City's strongest Level 5, are you not? If you are already at a point where no one else can reach you, there should be no need to head even higher, predicts Misaka."

"The strongest, hm?" Accelerator bore a bored tone as he responded.

"Strongest? Strongest?! Strongest?!! True enough, I am the strongest esper in this city and therefore the strongest esper in the entire world. But, in the end, I am only the strongest. How does everyone know that I'm the strongest esper in Academy City? It's because they've fought me and lost. In other words, my strength is only at the level where they try to pick a fight with me because it sounds like fun."

His red eyes gazed at her under the moonlight, as if he was a hungry vampire who hasn't drank blood in a thousand years.

"That's not enough. That's nowhere near enough. Level 5 - strongest - is boring. I'm after something beyond that, I want absolute strength that makes the thought of taking me on sound like a fucking joke and doesn't even allow anyone to even think about fighting me. I yearn for that invincibility known as Level 6."

As that boy spoke of his own dream, he reached his hand out to the moon and tightly grasped onto it with a smile on his face.

An unpleasant one at that.

"So are you ready? It's time to die, you overproduced failure."

The white boy smiled mockingly, but her face showed no signs of emotions as she replied unconcernedly.

"8:29p.m. and 45 seconds, 46 seconds, 47 seconds...Experiment #10032 will begin shortly. Test Subject Accelerator, please wait at the designated spot, informs Misaka."

And the unavoidable experiment began at 8:30p.m.

To start the battle, Accelerator launched himself off the ground, and once he did that, the distance between them shortened from 10 meters to 2 meters in a snap of a finger.

She saw through that attack and dodged right. Of course, Accelerator let her get away. He wanted to enjoy his time tormenting her.

So then he kicked the gravel underneath his feet to send bits of it flying towards the girl. She used her rifle, the F2000R Toy Soldier to block the trajectories flying at her, and with a steady posture, she landed back on her feet.

Immediately after landing on her feet, she used her bluish-white flashes of electricity, a power which she inherited from the Original, and zapped the air around Accelerator.

He could've redirected the electric sparks back at her, but that would ruin his fun too quickly.

To him, this wasn't even a battle. It was just like a 'jogging' exercise. Although he could make himself move at the speed of light, he preferred the more traditional way.

Misaka's sister did not even fire the gun at her disposal, she simply kept using her esper abilities as she ran around the train switchyard, jumping from containers to containers, then back to the ground to keep running.

Accelerator kept kicking the gravel towards her, but each time she kept blocking it using her rifle.

"Oi oi oi! Are you just gonna keep running without a plan?"

Accelerator chased her around with his back bent and his arms stretched out towards her like a carnivorous beast. But she only kept dodging him.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! That's pathetic! What the hell are you hoping for?! No matter how much time you buy for yourself, there isn't gonna be a miracle!" Accelerator said mockingly, but he could feel the blood vessels in his head were ready to burst.

"I'm on the edge of losing my patience if you don't do something already!"

Misaka's sister did not listen to him as she continued distancing herself from him while keeping him in check.

"(Tch, what's with her?)"

Accelerator gritted his teeth, but then he noticed that he was short of breath. At first he thought that he had used up too much oxygen by talking while running around, but it was too odd for that. He had been talking as he chased the clones during every single experiment.

Suddenly, a sharp stench sent off alarm bells in his head as he sniffed it.

"Tonight is a windless night. As such, Misaka may have a chance of winning, calls out Misaka."

"I see. Ozone, huh? By breaking apart the air with electricity, the oxygen molecules would fall apart and reform as ozone huh?" Accelerator couldn't help but smile at her idea.

It was brilliant.

"Good, good, excellent! I take it back, you are a worthy enemy after all! Ha ha!! Now this is an excellent change of pace! After killing 10,000 of you, you've finally come up with a good idea!"

Despite the fact that she was still running while doing the same tricks, Accelerator was still chasing her the same way. He was enjoying himself from the bottom of his heart.

"But! There's one weak point!"

The shoulder of Misaka's sister shook out of surprise.

"Your plan fails if I catch up to you!!"

Accelerator stuck his tongue out as if he was taunting her as his foot caused the gravel behind him to explode. He shot 7 meters forward like a bullet in one step.

"You look surprised that I caught up to you. It was simple. All I had to do was alter the vector for the motion of my foot."

Accelerator clenched his fist before striking her in the cheek. Although he had been holding back his attack, that strike caused her neck to make a cracking noise. Her vision spun around with her entire body before landing on the ground.

If he went serious on that attack, her body would have exploded upon impact.

"Now for a few questions. Do you know about a method of beating your opponents without hurting your own knuckles? Here's the answer."

Accelerator walked forward and gave her one small kick. He barely placed any force into that one kick, yet a loud thud could be heard.

"The second you touch your opponent's body, change the vector of the opposing momentum back to him or her. Well, your opponent receives twice the damage, but... I can hardly care!! Heh heh."

He continues kicking her for a bit as he stopped talking before throwing her another question.

"Next question, how many times have you been killed?"

Accelerator asked as he gave a broken-looking smile, darkness was all that covered that white boy. The smile splitting across his face filled her vision.

With her balled up on the ground, Accelerator continued the 'one-sided slaughter'. The tip of his shoe weaved through the gaps in her defenses and stabbed into her. With each strike, he held back enough so that her body would not be destroyed.

The pain was excruciating. It was like a sledgehammer had been consistently slammed into her stomach.

She was having trouble even remaining balled up and she finally lost to the force of a kick to the gut. She collapsed face up on the ground, her forehead must have been cut because she could not see out of one eye due to the blood flowing out of that cut.

The only thing she could see was Accelerator erratically breathing in her blurry vision.

And even after all that, she did not resent Accelerator. She didn't feel any hatred for him. That was because she saw no value in her own life. Once the experiment, in which her 180,000 yen life was being used, was done, she would no longer have to endure any of that.

That was all there was to it.

"Now, how should I dispose of...you..." Accelerator's words slowed down as he looked around him. And then he placed his foot on her chest and froze.

With a smile on his face, Accelerator looked at her and asked, "Hey, what happens to the experiment if this happens?"

She felt that it was such an odd thing to ask just as he was about to kill her. Then, she looked in the direction which he had looked at and saw someone standing in a gap between the piles of containers circling the switchyard.

Standing there was a normal person who had nothing to do with the experiment.

Standing there was Kamijou Touma.

Accelerator did not know what the procedure was when a normal person entered the experiment, since all the spots that the researchers picked out were places owned by them, or places which were isolated.

"...Get away from her," Kamijou said as if he was stabbing Accelerator.

His entire body looked like it was wrapped in a furious aura, as if it was ready to devour the strongest esper.

"Huh?"

"I said get the hell away from Misaka's sister. Can you not hear me?" Kamijou was panting very hard, presumably from all the running he had to do. Even the muscles in his leg were slowly starting to give out as he stood still.

Accelerator frowned at Kamijou's words. He then turned back towards the clone.

"Hey, Misaka's the name of your original, right? If he knows that, then he must know you. C'mon now, don't bring unrelated people to the experimental grounds."

Accelerator's expression made it clear that Kamijou had ruined his fun.

"I mean fucking come on. What am I supposed to do now? I guess the standard thing would be to silence the person who knows about this secret experiment, but that just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. He's not some disposable doll. He's just a normal..."

"Shut the hell up and get away from her, you lowly thug!!"

Kamijou cut off Accelerator's words.

Accelerator looked over at him as if he was looking at something he truly could not believe. It was like a child who had never once been yelled at before.

"Who are you? Do you know who you're talking to here? Not only am I one of the seven Level 5s. but I'm the one who stands above all of them. And you call me a lowly thug? What the fuck? Do you think you're a god or something? Don't make me laugh."

His low, quiet voice was accompanied by killer intent leaking into the air around him like static electricity. That massive killer intent felt like billions of eyeballs staring at Kamijou from the darkness of the night.

Even so, it did not faze Kamijou.

In order to give that boy a scare and show his 'pussy' side, Accelerator lightly kicked a stone on the ground, making it fly past Kamijou's head and landing into the container beside him, causing a loud clank sound.

But even that did not faze him.

"Heh, now this is interesting."

Strongest and invincible were different. When someone was invincible, the victor was clear before the battle began. But when someone was the strongest, their strength was only discovered once the fight began. In other words, the fact that Accelerator was the strongest meant that he was only at a level where people would still try to pick a fight with him.

"You truly are amazing."

Accelerator put the experiment aside to focus on breaking Kamijou's gaze. Accelerator kicked Misaka's sister back with the back of his foot, sending her flying 3 meters back.

"You bastard!!"

Kamijou gritted his teeth as he saw the abuse from Accelerator.

The both of them took a step forward.

The clone laid down in prone position as she turned her head to face the two of them.

"What...are you doing...? Misaka can be automatically produced at the press of a button as long as the proper machinery and chemicals are prepared. Misaka has an artificially made body and a borrowed mind. Her value is 180,000 yen and there are 9968 more in reserve, so stopping the experiment just for her is..."

"Shut up." The boy muttered.

"What?"

"I said shut up. None of that matters. You have an artificially constructed body? You have a borrowed mind? You can be automatically produced at the press of a button as long as the proper requirements are met? Your value is 180,000 yen? Well, I don't care about that! None of that matters! I'm standing here to save you! I'm not here for anyone else. I'm fighting to save you! None of that insignificant shit matters!"

There was not a single lie that she had said. Once one of them dies, another one will replace her. So...

Why was that boy so angry?

"There is only one of you in the world! Why can't you figure out something that simple!?"

But for some reason, the boy's yelling reached her.

It was not that she believed what he was saying.

The clones didn't care about how many of their lives were lost.

However, there was still one person who was yelling that did not want to lose that tiny existence.

There was no way that boy possessed anything that made him equal to the strongest esper. Yet...

"Don't go off and die. I still have plenty more to tell you."

She felt that boy was strong.

"I'm going to save you now, so just stay quiet and watch."

"Geez, saying all those heroic lines. Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"And you. How about you just shut up. I don't care about being a hero. All I want to do is bring happiness to others, and to start off, I'll give you a beating of a lifetime!!"

Kamijou lowered his entire body like a spring and explosively started running towards Accelerator.

However, Accelerator did not move from that spot. In fact, he did not even clench either fist. He kept his arms dangling at his sides, he did not use his legs to shift his centre of gravity, and a smile split across his face.

Accelerator tapped the sole of his shoe on the gravel, and the gravel below his feet exploded which sent a bunch of gravel scattering in every direction.

Since Kamijou was close to him, a dozen small stones of various sizes struck Kamijou's body. In order to minimize the damage taken, he brought his arms up to cover his face. His body flew up due the the large shock and he was forcefully blown back.

Kamijou rolled along the ground before coming to a stop a few meters back.

"Too slow..." Accelerator said as he looked down at Kamijou.

"Seriously...it's only the first attack and you're already on the ground? Heh, what more should I expect from a 'lowly thug' like you."

Kamijou stood back up, though his movements were a bit sloppy, he still managed to get up with his head down. The adrenaline and fatigue was catching up to him.

Kamijou had ran full speed to the experiment site without caring about saving his stamina.

Accelerator slowly approached him with his hands in his pockets and once he was 5 meters apart from him, he dug his shoe under the gravel and kicked it upwards. Kamjou put his arms up again to block the bullets approaching him as he was pushed back.

And Accelerator exploded from the ground as he approached Kamijou with his right arm stretched out, ready to grip on Kamijou's neck.

Out of pure instinct, Kamijou tilted his head up to see Accelerator eye-to-eye as he pulled his right arm back. Just as he had managed to form a fist, he slammed it into Accelerator's fingers.

The sound of cracking could be heard as Accelerator's fingers slowly curled up and cracked against Kamijou's knuckles.

Both of their eyes couldn't believe what had just happened.

Even though Kamijou knew his right hand could destroy all supernatural powers, he had never expected it to work on someone else's AIM diffusion field.

"Kh...agh!?" Accelerator groaned in pain as he rubbed his right fingers with his left hand.

"(What the fuck was that?! Did I forget to calculate something?!)"

Accelerator had to think about what just happened. He could redirect any form of attacks that came his way so why could he not redirect that boy's punch?

"Sorry, I must have dozed off. Let me try again."

As Kamijou listened to Accelerator, he looked at his own right hand.

At that moment he could only think...

"(I can do this!)"

Kamijou stepped forward with his newfound confidence and left himself wide open.

"(I need to be careful when attacking...If I throw my right hand out and he catches it, I'll be done for. I need to focus on weakening him.)"

Without giving time for Accelerator to restart, Kamijou charged at Accelerator again.

"Oh?! You're on the offensive this time? Okay! Show me what you got!"

Accelerator stood still as he stuck his face out.

He was going to redirect Kamijou's right arm and break his bones. And once he had broken his right hand, he would be squirming around in pain, then he would beg for forgiveness.

That was what he expected.

But he didn't know it would go against his expectations.

Kamijou swung his right hand with the assistance of his hips and weight to deliver the hardest punch he would ever throw.

Accelerator faced it and had an up-close view of what Kamijou's fist looked like.

A loud thud could be heard throughout the entire switchyard, and Accelerator's body was sent flying 3 meters backwards.

His body went limp as he faced the sky.

For a few seconds, the sky was completely black. But he soon realized that he had been knocked out.

His body squirmed around like a cockroach as he got up.

"Hah...what the fuck?! I was hit?! Heheh... You're really interesting. You're really fucking interesting."

Kamijou was sweating profusely as he charged once more, without giving Accelerator a break. He wanted to end it quick because his legs were aching from all the running he did.

Accelerator quickly got back up.

Although he did not have a proper fighting posture, why would he even need it?

He could kill anyone with a single touch of his hands. What's the point of learning how to take down others?

Kamijou stretched his right arm in to punch Accelerator's face, and Accelerator did the same with his right arm. He swung his right arm upwards like an uppercut, to try and get a hit off on Kamijou, but the boy tilted his body while still trying to connect his right hand with Accelerator's face.

And he succeeded.

"(Come on!!)" Kamijou's mind was running rampant as he continued his assault.

He focused on jabbing with his right hand because his left hand couldn't protect him, so he needed to be on guard if Accelerator did counterattack.

But, he didn't.

Kamijou kept landing jabs after jabs while pushing Accelerator back until the slender boy's back had hit a container.

Kamijou stood back as he looked at Accelerator.

All this time while he had been on the offensive, Accelerator never countered him.

He found it strange because he had been in a lot of fights. From 1 on 1's to 2 on 1's, and every fight, his opponents would find some way to counter him. But Accelerator didn't.

Accelerator looked back at Kamijou as blood ran down his mouth like drool.

"Fuck! What the fuck is up with your right hand?!"

"The Sisters were living with everything they had. They gathered all their strength and lived. They worked with everything they had. Why do people like that need to act as your prey!?"

Kamijou clenched his right fist as he slowly approached Accelerator.

"Fuck!! Don't you dare spew that nonsense at me!"

Accelerator tapped the sole of his shoe on the ground again, and it sent a bunch of small stones at Kamijou.

Seeing no chance for an opening, he could only defend.

If his stamina was at it's peak, he would've powered through it to land the final hit.

With his arms covering his vision, Kamijou couldn't see what Accelerator was doing.

But it had only been for a few seconds.

The next thing he knew, Accelerator was in the sky holding one of the many cargo containers in the switchyard.

Kamijou's eyes widened as Accelerator threw the container like a spear.

"HEHAHAHAHAH!! Let's see you run from this!!"

And he did run for it. Kamijou couldn't do anything if Accelerator was in the sky. He could win in a fight on the ground. But when there's no fight on the ground, he's completely open.

The cargo container smashed into the ground, releasing a dust of cloud.

"(Shit!)" Kamijou cursed as he thought about what Accelerator could use the dust of cloud for. If Kamijou did not escape, Accelerator would know that he's inside and send another one flying inside.

After a few seconds, Kamijou's assumptions were right. After he had escaped the cloud of dust, 2 more containers were launched in.

Kamijou was covered by dust particles everywhere.

Then, Accelerator's voice could be heard again.

"It looks like these containers held flour. How surprising. This nice windless night might make this a very dangerous situation."

Kamijou did not know what he meant when he said that.

Could he be talking about how oxygen would be hard to take in due to the fine particles of dust taking up the space?

"If there is powder floating in the air, it can be ignited. The combustion rate of oxygen is ridiculously fast, so it seems like all the air in the place becomes one giant bomb."

When Kamijou realized what Accelerator was planning, it was already too late.

"Surely you've at least heard of a dust explosion."

All sound was blown away. A 15 meter radius in which the flour had been scattered became a giant bomb. The entire area was wrapped in flames and heat as if gasoline vaporized into the air had been ignited.

Kamijou was blown away in the explosion. His body flew forward as his white shirt almost caught on fire. Kamijou's body rolled on the ground as he started panting.

He was starting to become tired.

"(Fuck...My body...Get up!!)" Kamijou told himself. The adrenaline was slowly starting to wear off since his body was resting on the ground.

His eyes slowly pried open as he looked at the sea of flames to see a white figure casually walking out.

"God damn it. I'm sure you just experienced it yourself, but the lack of oxygen was tough on me too. Fuck, I thought I was gonna die. You be glad. I think you're the first person in the world to make me, Accelerator, think he was gonna die!"

Accelerator sounded very calm now.

Was it due to the fact that his enemy was now lying on the ground?

"Heh heh, guess I can't use my tagline about being fine even in a nuclear explosion anymore, can I? Well, I can just bring an oxygen tank with me. They make ones about the size of a can of hairspray, right? Do you know how much one of those costs?"

Accelerator's light and cheerful voice annoyed Kamijou as he clenched his right fist once more.

But his body wouldn't listen to him.

Accelerator could see that Kamijou was enraged as he gritted his teeth while still lying on the ground.

"Heh, I think you've fought long enough. Be happy, you're the first person who has ever brought me to the edge of losing! I think you deserve a good, long rest."

Accelerator's feet scrapped against the gravel floor as he slowly approached the fallen boy.

"(Get up...)"

Kamijou's thoughts were only focused on getting back up to his feet. Once he could stand up, he would fight the strongest esper again.

But as Accelerator took each step to close the gap, Kamijou's thoughts grew louder.

"(Get up...!)"

4 meters.

"(Get...uuuuuppp!!)"

The palms of Kamijou Touma pressed down on the stony surface as he pushed himself up. He didn't care if his palms were being stabbed by the small stones on the ground. His only objective was to stop Accelerator.

3 meters.

"Stop right there, Accelerator."

A girl's voice sounded out from 30 meters away.

This girl had a coin laid on the thumb of her clenched fist. Purple electricity was overflowing from her entire body. With just a light flick of her thumb, this girl could fire her signature move dubbed 'Railgun'.

This girl was the 3rd ranked Level 5 in Academy City.

Her name was Misaka Mikoto.

"Oh, it's you. What have you come here for now?" Accelerator asked as if she was no big deal.

"Leave him alone."

"Oh, I see. You've come to save him! Hahaha!! Everyone's saving one another now! How touching. Am I supposed to be crying right now?"

"Misaka...stop..."

Misaka had realized at that moment that someone was calling for her name.

Though it was soft, it was audible in that quiet night. With the only background noise being the everlasting fire behind Accelerator.

"Stop it, Misaka!!"

Kamijou Touma's sorrowful cry caused Misaka's hand to freeze.

In Kamijou's plan, he had to defeat Accelerator by himself in order to fool the researchers. Once Misaka interfered, that whole plan would fail.

If Misaka did not interfere, Accelerator would kill Kamijou with his own hands.

If Misaka interfered, Kamijou would be allowing 10,000 Sisters to be killed.

She did not want to sit back while the lives of the Sisters were being reduced.

But there was no other option.

"I'm sorry. I know it's a selfish decision, but I want you to live."

"Stop!!" Kamijou yelled.

All it takes is one flick, and she would be killed. The moment he kills her would be the moment when everything would change.

The experiment would stop and the Sisters will be able to lead normal lives.

Then, it was released.

Those bluish-purple sparks accumulated in her hand and she fired the coin.

The Railgun pierced the winds and the only noise was the electricity as it crackled around them.

Accelerator did not even blink. It was a simple decision.

That Railgun was aimed at his head, but he just stared at it as if a train was just about to hit him. The moment that railgun connected with his AIM field, everything will come to an end.

All Accelerator did was grin as he stood there.

The railgun hit, and it was redirected somewhere, no one had expected.

It was redirected to the boy who was about to get up.

That streak of electricity travelled from Accelerator's forehead all the way to the back of Kamijou's head.

The sound of electricity buzzed around Kamijou as his body started to shake uncontrollably.

"NOO!!" Misaka yelled as she stopped the flow of electricity from her hands.

For the second time, Kamijou took another shock with no protection. He felt the full effects of her shock.

Moreover, Accelerator redirected the coin to Kamijou's temple. Making that simple shock attack more fatal.

Kamijou fell back to the floor with his eyes rolled back. The shock did so much damage to him that he had lost all the senses in his body.

"Oh, is he dead?" Accelerator asked as he walks towards his body.

"Don't touch him!!"

Accelerator stops just one foot away from Kamijou's body and then he looks at her.

"HAHAHAHA!! What right do you have to say that? You were the one who shocked him!!"

"No, you...you did it!!"

Misaka wanted to use her full power on him, she wanted to zap him with all she had. But with Kamijou next to him, she didn't want to repeat the same tragedy.

She gritted her teeth so hard that blood almost seeped out from the corner of her mouth.

"Well, I'll have to finish the experiment now. Or maybe I should finish the 'hero' off."

Accelerator placed his foot on Kamijou's back as he looked down at him.

Suddenly, a loud bang could be heard.

But that still did not faze him.

He looked up at the cargo container in front of him and saw the Sister holding her rifle in her hands. Her face was still expressionless as always.

But on her forehead there was a hole.

A hole small enough to fit a bullet.

She stared at him for a brief moment before her body finally gave in and dropped down the cargo container.

Misaka could only stare at the despair in front of her.

"W-What...w-why..." Her voice trembled as she hugged her own body.

She felt herself breaking from within.

What was she supposed to do?

If she attacked him, he would redirect it to Kamijou Touma.

She stood no chance of beating him.

"Please stop it... someone please save me..."

Accelerator took his time to approach the original. He was about to put the final nail in the coffin.

He was about to end it all.

-------------------------------------------------

The only thing this person could see was black.

"What is this...? Where am I?" This person had so many questions.

"What was I doing...?"

Then, a female's voice rang out to him.

"Please stop it..."

"Who is that?"

Then, he could slowly see the light.

The slits of his eyes slowly opened. He did not expect to see something so disturbing as he opened his eyes.

"(No way...)"

The dead body of that Sister he wanted to save was in his vision.

"Someone please save me..."

"(That's right...I was going to stop Accelerator...)"

That boy rose up from the ground again. He punched his right hand into the gravel as hard as he could and he roared.

"Acceleratooooorrr!!"

Kamijou stood up from the ground with his body tilted sideways as one arm hung lower than the other.

Accelerator was shocked to see him stand back up, but he was also excited to see that sight.

"Get ready for round two."

Kamijou tilted his head up to meet Accelerator in the eyes, and Accelerator did the same.

"You're amazing, kid! Truly amazing! To stand back up after all that. You really do see yourself as a hero, don't you?!"

"Are you crazy?! Fuck the 'hero' title!! I'm only doing this because I want to make others happy! This is the sake for their happiness!"

"..."

With blood coming out from his nose and mouth, he continued to speak.

"You have such a strong power. Why don't you use it to help others?! Why do you use it to cause destruction?! Is this really worth it?!" Kamijou's words were audible throughout the whole shipyard.

Everyone inside could hear it.

"Don't talk as if you know me. If you had my power, I'd like to see you handle it!" Accelerator grinned as he dashed towards Kamijou.

They had their arena set up already. Behind and beside them were cargo containers and a large fire with Misaka standing by the side.

This was a fight to the death.

Kamijou clenched his right fist as he dove straight in to combat.

With Accelerator dashing straight towards him, he only had to position his arm.

"(Good...now come to me!!)"

But Accelerator didn't approach him the way he wanted him to. Accelerator stopped just 2 meters in front of him and tapped the ground with his heel.

"I've been feeling this for a while now...But the wind's starting to really blow, isn't it?!"

Kamijou looked under his feet as a gust of wind pushed him upwards.

Accelerator looked up as he curled his middle finger and held it back with his thumb. With a single flick, the air in front of his middle finger shot up like a bullet towards Kamijou.

Kamijou saw the air coming at him like a torpedo so he placed his right hand in front of him to block it. When he did, his hand was pushed back by the force, and cracking in his bones could be heard.

Kamijou was held up in the air for a bit due to the impact, and Accelerator took that opportunity to catch his prey off guard.

The boy in the air was too distracted with the damages on his hand that he did not realize that the white boy was right in front of him.

He had never expected Accelerator to come to him to do such a fancy move.

Accelerator burst up from the ground and he clenched his right hand.

"Say goodnight!!"

Accelerator let gravity do it's work and he swung it down onto the top of Kamijou's head, sending him flying straight down. Kamijou's luck had run dry, and he landed head first into the ground. His forehead met the spiky rock, and another crack could be heard.

Accelerator didn't want any moves to go to waste, so he landed his feet right onto Kamijou's head, slamming it back onto the rocky surface.

All this time, Accelerator had this maniacal grin on his face. And at the end, he had the final laugh.

"GYAHAHAHAHA!! So much for all that talk. Rejoice, dumbass. You're the first person to make me, the strongest esper, excited after so long."

"Touma!!"

Misaka screamed as she rushed to his aid.

"Hm?" Accelerator turned his head as she ran towards them.

"Not--gonna--happen!!" Accelerator said as if he was singing a tune. With a single step on the ground, the gravel around his foot shot up and pierced the middle schooler, Misaka Mikoto.

She groaned as she fell back on her rear.

"Tch, is that all you can do for a Level 5? I'm disappointed. Even that idiot did better than you. I'm embarrassed to even be on the same level as you. If possible, I'd love to be placed in a different level than you. Unfortunately, the maximum level that Academy City has is only Level 5. But be glad that I'll be reaching Level 6 soon. Once I reach Level 6, I'll be invincible, and no one will be able to come near to me ever again."

Misaka had sparks crackling in front of her bangs.

"I'll stop you! I swear, I will stop you!"

"You're free to try." Accelerator warmly welcomed her with a smile on his face because he knew that she couldn't.

"I'll take my chances..."

That voice wasn't from the two Level 5's.

The hairs on Accelerator's back stood up as he stared back.

"You gotta be kidding me."

Accelerator's cocky grin was wiped off his face.

He couldn't believe it.

That boy just went through hell and he still managed to get up.

He's like a final boss with different stages of growth as his health decreases.

That boy stood back up even though he was a bit wobbly. The blood from his forehead covered his left eye, and he could only see through his right eye.

His whole face was red. But not in an embarrassing or angry way. He was just covered in his own blood.

"Heh, and I thought I was the monster."

"No, you're the true monster here...you killed these innocent lives for your own benefit. How could you say that you're not a monster?" Though his voice was soft, they could all hear it.

"Touma...please just stop already...you're so hurt..." Misaka was crying again. The tears that had rusted up a long time ago were coming out again.

But Kamijou ignored her.

He couldn't think about her right now.

Saving the Sisters comes first.

With a slow step forward, Kamijou dragged his body with his leg.

His right hand was so numb already.

"Tch, this is getting boring."

Accelerator simply walked towards him with his hands in his pocket and kicked Kamijou's uppper body, sending him tumbling backwards.

"Stop it..." Misaka muttered as she looked at them through her teary eyes.

Accelerator continued approaching Kamijou.

"Stop it..."

And once he was in front of him, he slowly reached his hand out for him.

"STOP IT!!" Misaka screeched, and bolts of lightning appeared around her as it slowly turned into a sphere around her.

In that sphere of electricity there was probably about over a billion volts of electricity. It had sufficient amount of power to kill anyone.

"Heh, even if you scream, you still won't be able to beat me." Accelerator slowly walked to her, even as he was covered by the bluish-sparks of the 3rd ranked Level 5.

Once he was right in front of her, her sparks immediately stopped as she cowered away. It was like her nightmare had come to life.

"G-Go away..."

Tears flowed down her eyes as she crawled all the way to Kamijou. She desperately nudged his body to try and find a response, but she couldn't.

"Please wake up..." Her tears were practically pouring down on him, every nudge she gave him got harder.

"Oh? I think he's just asleep. Why don't you give him a shock? I bet a defibrillator would work right now. Oh wait, you've already given him one! HAHAHAHA!!"

Accelerator laughed as if he was howling at the moon.

"Next time, don't bring others into the experiment." This time, the white haired boy had a serious look on his face. He wasn't smiling, and he wasn't kidding around.

"I..."

"In the first place, you're not supposed to let others know about this. But since that guy knew, I'm guessing you told him about it. Well, it's whatever. Make sure this doesn't happen again unless you want someone to get hurt."

Accelerator turned his back, and got ready to leave.

Suddenly, he heard the noises of buzzing behind him again.

He turned his head slightly to the left to confirm his suspicions, and he was right.

Misaka wanted to electrocute him from the back. Unfortunately for her, it did not work.

The gap between them was connected by a beam of bluish sparks.

The strongest esper only sighs as he walks up to her.

"Like I said, it won't work!"

Accelerator tried to smash her whole body into the ground, and normally his victims would be blasted into the ground.

However, nothing happened.

The only thing that came out was the sound of glass shattering as his left hand touched her head lightly almost like he was patting her head. Misaka's electric attacks stopped after that.

Both of them looked at each other with a shocked expression. Each of them were equally as shocked as the other.

"(Did I miscalculate again? How can I be so careless?)"

Then he thought about it for a while more and he realized something.

Kamijou Touma's right hand.

When he looked down, Kamijou's right hand was not touching Misaka at all.

"(Could it be that... No, he's a Level 0. There's no way he would have any power.)"

Then with his left hand, he tried to fling Misaka across the gravel floor, but he couldn't.

He gripped her hair tight and tried his best to throw her but he couldn't.

Misaka was also frustrated by the action of him just pulling her hair.

"If you're trying to kill me, do it quick."

Accelerator did not bother responding to her.

"(What the fuck happened to my power?!)"

He slammed his foot on the gravel floor to see if his power was still usable. Immediately, the gravel floor exploded like an egg in the oven. Since the explosion was so strong, it knocked Misaka and Kamijou's body back.

He did not expect his grip on Misaka's hair to be loose as well. It was as if the left side of his body was normal again.

"What the fuck is this?" Accelerator questioned himself.

While Accelerator was thinking about what happened to his left hand, Misaka fell on the gravel floor with such impact, that she got knocked out cold.

With the experiment having concluded, Accelerator's only choice was to head home and rest up for the next experiment.

Little did he know, his whole life would change from here.