2 Regrets

————22nd August 3:26p.m.————

When Misaka woke up, she felt a soft and comfortable sensation on her back. All she could see in front of her was the color white. Her head was resting on something soft, and when she turned her head to the side, she could see the bright sky outside with plentiful trees.

"Where...am I? What was I..."

Before she could compile all the information in her head, a familiar face appeared in front of her.

A brunette who tied her hair into pigtails, held by a red bow each. The rest of her hair hung down as her fringe divides into two. She was neatly dressed in a uniform Misaka was all too familiar with.

It was the Tokiwadai Uniform.

The girl in front of her was about 152 centimeters tall, and this girl was someone close to Misaka.

Her name was Kuroko Shirai.

"Onee-sama!! How are you feeling?"

"Urgh... Don't scream in my ear, Kuroko."

Misaka got up from the bed as she pressed her palms onto her ears and pulls it back. When she looked at where Kuroko was standing, she saw two other familiar faces.

Firstly, the girl on Kuroko's left had long black hair with a small white flower on the left side of her head. She was also in her white sailor uniform with a blue skirt to go along. The logo on her uniform belongs to Sakugawa Middle School.

Her name is Saten Ruiko.

And on Kuroko's left, there was a small girl with short black hair and two brown eyes. She has a headband of flowers around her head, and her uniform was the same as Saten.

"Onee-sama...can you tell us what happened? When Anti-Skill found you, you were in dire need of medical assistance."

Misaka rubbed the back of her head, as if it was itching there.

"I...I don't remember much..."

Kuroko, Saten and Uiharu exchanged looks before nodding their heads in unison.

"Onee...sama... when the paramedics came, there was someone else with you. Do you remember who it was?"

Misaka scratched the side of her head as she thought about her question.

"Some...one..."

Then it all came rushing back to her.

"Tou...Touma..." She took a few seconds to recite that name.

And just like a ticking bomb, she had exploded.

"How is he?! Is...Is he fine?!"

Kuroko did not even want to respond her question because there was something more important at hand.

"Onee-sama, there's something more important. I want to believe that it was not you, so I want you to answer me truthfully."

Kuroko spoke slowly just so Misaka could answer her question.

"What happened last night?"

The moment she had asked that, Misaka's heart froze.

She did not want to answer that.

Answering it meant that she would involve her friends in it. She didn't want more people to get hurt.

"..."

"Onee-sama... Anti-Skill found this near that boy's body."

From her pocket, Kuroko pulled out an arcade coin. The same coin which Misaka always uses to shoot her railgun.

The coin was slightly black, so it meant that Misaka had actually fired it.

"Onee-sama, there was no one else at the Switchyard except for the two of you. And you barely had any injuries, so Anti-Skill is forced to believe that you're the only culprit since there are no cameras there for them to find the culprit."

Kuroko then went closer to her, not because she wanted to have an intimate time with Misaka, but because Misaka was avoiding eye contact with all three of them.

"Onee-sama...please!"

"That's right, Misaka-san!! Shirai-san is only doing this for your sake!! We'll always be willing to help you, so please tell us what's going on!" Saten supported Kuroko from the back.

"I...I have nothing to say..."

"Onee-sama!! You are obviously suffering! Are we not friends that you can rely on?! We've been through so much and you're still doubting us?!"

Kuroko pulled on the collar of hospital gown that Misaka was wearing, forcing Misaka closer to her face.

Misaka still didn't even look at her.

Suddenly, the frog-faced doctor showed up with a clipboard in his hand. His name is Heaven Canceller.

It was probably so heated that no one heard the door opening.

"Girls, give her some space to rest. After all, she had been through a lot."

"But...!"

"I'm sorry, but she needs some rest. Putting her up like this will stress her body out. I'm sure as her friends you would want what's best for her, no?"

Kuroko hesitantly lets go of Misaka's collar as she looked down. Now, even she couldn't look at Misaka.

The three of them left the ward, leaving Heaven Canceller alone with Misaka. Once they were gone, Misaka immediately started throwing out questions for the doctor.

"Doctor, what happened to Touma?! He's fine, right?"

"Before I can give you an answer, I need to check if you're mentally stable since you had an injury at the back of your head."

"I'm fine! I'm really fine! Just tell me how he's doing!!"

"What's your name?"

"Misaka Mikoto."

"How old are you?"

"14."

"What school are you from?"

"Tokiwadai Middle School."

Heaven Canceller nods his head as he looks at the clipboard. Once he had everything checked out, Misaka resumed with the questions.

"What about Touma?"

"The boy... he's not in the best condition, considering the fact that he had multiple injuries around his skull, and body. He'd be lucky to even have his skull spine connected to his skull."

"...Is it still possible to save him?"

"...There's no guarantee that he will be saved. But I will try my best. As a doctor, I wish for every patient to live."

"Thank you so much, doctor."

"But don't get your hopes too high. I can't save every patient by myself."

The doctor left following that sentence.

And now, Misaka was all alone as she sat on her bed staring at the beautiful scenery outside the hospital.

She clicked her tongue just thinking about how bright it was.

"It's all...so fake."

——22nd August 2:34p.m.———

Accelerator was walking to the convenience store to buy a few cans of coffee before starting the next experiment at a nearby alleyway. It was a norm for him to go to the convenience store to buy several cans of coffee cans at once.

Moreover, it was unsweetened, black coffee.

Although he was doing something he did practically everyday, something felt off about today.

He scratched the back of his head uncontrollably as he rummages through his thoughts.

"(That damn boy...)" Accelerator recalled the words that Kamijou told him.

'All I want to do is bring happiness to others'

"(Who the hell does he think he is?)"

When Accelerator entered the convenience store, he went straight for the fridges with the drinks.

To his dismay however, he was greeted with a row of air at the section where the black coffee cans normally were.

He raised one eyebrow as he had not expected the cans of coffee to run out.

He went over to the other fridges to check if the cashier on duty today had placed them in a different row because he assumed that the store had a newbie today.

But there was actually no black coffee today.

"(Tch, what the hell?)"

Accelerator went out of the store with disappointment written all over his face. Truly, he did not expect it.

"(What the hell do I do now?)"

Accelerator looked up as he walked towards the next experiment site. The next experiment would start at 3 in the afternoon.

He had plenty of time.

It was as if fate gave him this time to reflect on yesterday's events because the only thing running through his mind was that boy.

Kamijou's punches were hard, he was also very skilled and strong. To be able to survive attacks from him and Misaka, Kamijou was strong. If Misaka didn't interfere, he might have lost that altercation.

'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!?'

"(It's so fucking pathetic...)"

After taking a right turn into a quiet alleyway, followed by a few more turns, Accelerator was at the next experiment site.

"(Yoshikawa will probably scold me for the mess that happened yesterday. God dammit, they brought so much trouble to me.)"

Accelerator leaned against the wall, waiting for the clone to arrive at the experiment site.

The clones usually come 15 minutes earlier, and Accelerator would be there much earlier just because he had nothing to do.

Could it be said that he was excited to reach a new phase of the System? After all, reaching Level 6 was like a dream and the only person who could achieve that dream was Accelerator.

His progress was at the halfway point in less than two years.

Misaka 10033 showed herself in her normal 'battle gear' with her trusty rifle, the F2000R Toy Soldier. The features of her face barely went through any changes since yesterday's experiment.

Barely.

"Hey, how would you like to die today? After what happened yesterday, who knows if someone else might interrupt us again. Yet again, it was the Original that snitched out on us."

The clone said nothing. She merely stared at him with the same expressionless face that she always wear.

"..."

Silence lingered in the air for a while, as Accelerator was expecting a dumb response from them as always.

But nothing came.

"...You know, you're kinda killing the mood right now. Even right now, I'm losing my patience."

Then he looks at her straight in the face as he loses all emotions.

"Maybe I should end you right where you stand."

His words were so cold and spoken softly, but it rode through the wind and into her ears. However, she didn't budge.

"Oh? Are you feeling scared right now? Did my words make you shiver? Is that why you're not talking?"

Accelerator raised one of his eyebrows as his smile widens up.

But she continued staring at him with an emotionless face.

Accelerator sat around, waiting for her to countdown like she always did whenever they met face to face. So naturally, he wasn't even paying attention to her.

Suddenly, the buzzing of electricity surrounded him.

"Huh?"

He looked at her direction with a puzzled face, but then he quickly wiped it off and started laughing.

"HAHAHA!! You're seriously trying to do a sneak attack on me again?! It won't work! I have my barrier up subconsciously. Hell, I could be sleeping and still have it on. Do you think that would work?"

But this time, he felt the oxygen burning out fast.

"(Tch, what the fuck? Why is she more aggressive this time?!)"

Accelerator took his back off the wall and lunged at her once more as he pushes his feet off the ground.

When he reached for her neck with his left hand, she aimed her Toy Soldier at the palm of his hands. Of course, Accelerator didn't fear the bullet which came out of that devastating rifle because he had his redirection on.

Or so he thought.

Instead of redirecting the bullet and sending it back into the muzzle of that rifle, the bullet instead pierced through the palm of his left hand as he rested it on the muzzle.

Both Accelerator and the clone had a look of surprise on their faces.

Accelerator saw the bullet approaching him. Just like a small child, he closed his eyes as his mouth curled with hesitation.

For the first time, the strongest esper was scared of death.

When someone shot him, he would just stare at the approaching bullet, even if he could not see it, and watch as the bullet went back to the wielder of the gun. But this time, since his redirection did not work as he would like it to, he was afraid that it would go through his skull.

However, an explosion soon occurred right where his left hand was.

Both Accelerator and the clone fell backwards.

"Ah fuck!!"

His left hand was missing a few fingers, and he was bleeding profusely from that injury. He did not know what happened since he had his eyes closed.

But he was certain of something.

His left hand was 'dysfunctional'.

The zapping around him stopped the moment they both fell back, and he took the opportunity to regain his breath.

The both of them stood back up, with Accelerator the one panting for air.

Once more, he was pushed into a corner.

He wiped his mouth which was drooling on one side and they both exchanged a quick look before continuing.

Accelerator dashed in front of her and tried to get his hands on her. However, she swiftly dodged to one side as she started zapping his surroundings yet again.

"(Tch! She's doing what that boy did yesterday! This damn bitch!!)"

Accelerator stomped on the concrete floor which made the ground rumble a bit before cracking from the pressure. The ground became a floor of spikes as the sharp concrete pointed to the sky. Unfortunately for Misaka 10033, her foot couldn't balance on one of the spikes and her ankle twisted as she fell leg-first onto the ground.

A spike adjacent to the one which she fell on pierced her ankle joint and she landed with her body on a bed of spikes.

She couldn't even move.

If she tried to get up in a prone position, her forearms would just be pierced by the spikes due to the pressure.

It was like one of those talent shows that had this one crazy fella trying to sleep on a bed of metal spikes.

But she wouldn't be surviving this one.

She could only watch as the white monster slowly approached her with his blood dripping from his left hand. She continued to zap the air around him, but he didn't care anymore.

He got to her side and stepped on her stomach. With a gleeful smile on his face, he slowly pushed her body down onto the spikes. She screamed at the top of her lungs as her bones started cracking, muscle tendons obviously being stretched so much it could be on par with a ballerina.

"Good job today!! You did a damn fine job of hurting me! Really, you're seriously trying to kill me now, aren't ya? Remember this like your life depended on it, because it will really depend on it."

Then he bent his back closer to her and grinned at her.

"As long as you keep coming up with new ideas, I'll keep shooting every single one of them down!"

He lifts his leg up and delivers the final stomp to her body. Her body broke like a toy as her limbs separated from their joints, her bones poked out through her skin and redness splattered all over the walls of the alleyway and on his left hand.

Accelerator stayed silent as he stared at his piece of 'artwork'.

"Guess that's the end huh?"

Accelerator turned his back on his 'artwork' and slowly walked away.

"(Did I overdo it? Maybe. But it's whatever. It's none of my business anyway. Why should I clean up after myself?)"

"I can't believe I'm back here again in this miserable city."

Suddenly, Accelerator heard a male's voice behind him. His eyes widened as he wondered whether that person saw what happened to the clone. There were two ways one could go if they walked through the alleyway. He was just hoping that person came from the opposite way.

Accelerator decided to ignore him because even if that man did see it, what could he do? Surely there wouldn't be two people who could bypass his redirection field.

"I wish you would at least turn your head to see me." The man spoke again.

"Well, it's fine. I'd rather kill you with your back turned. It saves me the trouble."

"...?"Accelerator slowly turned his head back to look at the man.

That white man was over two meters tall, he was most likely a foreigner with that height. His clothes were a pure black version of the habits worn by priests in the church. He had shoulder-length red hair that was most likely dyed. The decorations on him made him look gothic.

He had silver rings glittering on all ten of his fingers, poisonous earrings on his earlobes, a cell phone strap could be seen sticking out of his pocket, a lit cigarette moved at the edge of his mouth and to finish it off, he had a barcode-like tattoo underneath his right eye.

"This is the least we can do to repay him for saving our friend."

Then, he heard another voice behind him.

This time it was a female's voice.

When he looked back, he saw a woman who was about 170 centimeters tall. The both of them could tower over him if they went a bit closer to him. Currently, they were both standing 15 meters away from him.

The woman's waist-long black hair was tied in a ponytail. At her waist level there was a sheathed Japanese sword that was over two meters long. She wore used jeans and a white shirt. For some reason, the left leg of her jeans were completely cut off up to the base of her thigh, the extra cloth at the bottom of her T-shirt was tied off so her midriff was visible, she wore knee high boots and her Japanese sword was hanging down in a leather holster like it was a pistol.

She was like a western cowboy who had traded his pistol for a Japanese sword.

"What the hell do the two of you want? You trynna pick a fight with me?"

Accelerator didn't see the two of them as a challenge as he could easily defend himself against a whole army all while he continues with his daily life.

"We have our reasons to hate you, but don't take it too personal. It's not like we enjoy hurting you. But we know that she'll feel sad once she finds out that he's gone."

The woman spoke calmly as she explained their purpose.

"So that's why we must eliminate you. My name is Kanzaki Kaori, and my magic name is..."

She touched the hilt of her blade, and closed both of her eyes.

"...Salvare 000. Be the salvation of those who cannot be saved."

On the other side, the tall priest also introduced himself.

"My name is Stiyl Magnus, but even introducing myself to you would be a waste of time since you're about to get killed. But, you are supposedly the strongest in Academy City and my magic name in Japanese means 'the strong', so..."

He spat the lit cigarette out of his mouth and looked at Accelerator's back.

"...My magic name is Fortis931. I prove why my name is the strongest here."

Accelerator took a moment to process the information before laughing like a maniac.

"HAHAHAHA!! Magic?! Don't tell me you came here just to roleplay with me?!"

Kanzaki and Stiyl stayed quiet as they listened closely to him.

"And here I thought I actually found some pretty strong opponents."

Accelerator closed his eyes as he shrugs his shoulders.

"Guess I was wrong. Now let's do ourselves a favor and go home before I change my mind."

"Nanasen!!"

At that instant, Accelerator felt something touch his redirection field. He opened his eyes, but couldn't see anything.

What had just attacked him?

Kanzaki's right hand was on the hilt of her blade.

Suddenly, the walls at the side were sliced with such ferocity, a cut would be a very big understatement.

Obviously something had sliced through the brick walls horizontally to carve out a 'C'. But he didn't know what it was.

Then, Stiyl started chanting something.

"One of the five great elements from which the world is constructed. (MTWOTFFTO). The great flame of the beginning. (IIGOIIOF)."

Accelerator didn't even bother with him because he wanted to see what would happen. He didn't believe in such nonsense called magic.

Magic was something that one would find in a game or a manga, not in real life.

The only thing that went through his mind was...

'Esper powers'

But for one to use their powers, they only had to use their brain, and not words, unless they're abilities were associated with the brain.

"It is a light of blessing that raises life and a light of judgment that punishes evil. (IIBOLAIIAOE). It is overflowing with calm blessings and with freezing misfortune that destroys the cold darkness.(IIMHAIIBOD). Its name is fire and its role is the sword. (IINFIIMS). Be manifested and become the power that eats into my body! (ICRMMBGP)."

The chest of Stiyl's priest's habit swelled out and the power from within popped the buttons off.

With the roar of flames sucking in oxygen, a giant mass of flames shot out from within his clothes. It was not merely a mass of flames. The crimson burning flames had something black and dripping like fuel oil at its core. It was in the form of a human. The thing was reminiscent of the seabirds dripping with black fuel oil after a tanker accident and it was eternally burning.

"Its name is 'Innocentius'. It means...I will surely kill you."

The only thing that went through Accelerator's mind when he saw that was...

"(Pyrokinesis...a level 4 at best...No, definitely a level 4 to create something that massive.)"

That flaming beast had no legs, its flames were connected to the ground as if it was a snake. The size of that beast was twice the size of Stiyl or maybe even bigger.

To say the least, it was so big that it blocked his vision from seeing the red haired magician.

"Innocentius, kill."

The fuel oil within the flames writhed, changed form, and a large cross over two meters long appeared in its right hand.

Without hesitation, that flaming beast charged at Accelerator as it held its cross up with two hands. Accelerator didn't move a single muscle as he stared the beast down. He was going to put that flame out and crush both of their hopes of beating him.

At the same time, the woman also made her move.

"Nanasen!!"

Accelerator didn't bat an eye.

Of course, Accelerator knew what was going to happen. He didn't know how that woman was attacking him, but from the attacks, it either seemed like she swung her sword so hard and swiftly, that she managed to use the wind as her weapon, or she was using psychokinesis to try and cut him down using small objects.

So just for the fun of it, he redirected whatever weapon she was using to the flaming beast and he got quite a shock.

The flaming beast was cut into eight parts horizontally. But just like a phoenix, the flaming beast reformed itself.

"(As expected of a Level 4 pyrokinesis.)"

Innocentius continued charging at him. It swung the cross at him horizontally, and he just stood still.

He could redirect any vector in the world.

So why should he not be able to redirect a simple flame?

The flames of that beast smashed into Accelerator and he was immediately sent flying to the wall.

Since he has his redirection subconsciously turned on at all times, his back merely floated against the wall. But the impact of those black charcoal fuel from the beast still got him.

"(Gugh?! What the fuck's up with all these fucking opponents who can pierce my redirection field?!)"

Accelerator pushed against the wall to get his footing back on the ground and once he did, he stared at Innocentius.

Using his right hand, Accelerator was about to redirect the flames outwards so he could extinguish it. But his plan didn't work the way he wanted it to.

He sunk his hand into that flaming beast, only to have it burn inside.

"What the fuck?!"

"The strongest esper in Academy City, Accelerator. You are but a mere esper, the laws of our worlds work differently. You have your brain hypnotized, and drugs injected into you to make your powers. While we magicians do it the old-fashion way with chants and runes. Did you really think your powers would work against us?"

The red-haired magician merely continued smoking a stick of cigarette as he taunted Accelerator.

With a final command, he was about to put the strongest esper to sleep.

"Innocentius, finish it."

Innocentius raised the cross in it's right hand and swung it diagonally towards Accelerator.

Accelerator looked up as his impending doom slowly came at him. He pulled out his right hand from the beast and out of pure conveniency, he wanted to use his left hand to try and block it.

But yet again, he was pushed into the same wall again.

"(FUCK!!)"

Accelerator was thinking of ways he could defeat that monster.

But then he thought about something.

Why was he so focused on the monster, when his opponents were supposed to be Stiyl and Kanzaki.

Stiyl wasn't fighting. He was merely standing there as he slowly whittled his life away after every puff.

That was when Accelerator grinned as he now had the upper hand.

He used his feet to push himself off the wall like before, but this time he pushed himself diagonally upwards. Stiyl and him had a stare down before Accelerator spun his body, 'gripped' the wall with one of his legs and launched himself towards Stiyl.

He moved faster than that flaming beast, so Stiyl couldn't be protected, so he knew he had the upper hand.

He pulled his right hand back to prepare a devastating punch, all while Stiyl continued smoking. A slit that curved upwards appeared at the other side of the cigarette, and he whispered...

"Ash to ash..."

Accelerator's fist was slowly reaching his face.

They were about 5 meters apart.

Suddenly, the wind beside him brushed past his hair.

The girl wielding a sword longer than two meters stood in front of Stiyl with her hand on her hilt.

"USELESS!!" Accelerator shouted as he got closer to them.

In a single flash, Accelerator's redirection field had hit something.

Without even blinking, he stopped in place as her sword, still sheathed, flew behind Stiyl and her.

He stared in amazement at how fast she managed to draw her sword.

"(What the fuck?!)"

However, Stiyl continued chanting.

"...Dust to dust..."

When the realization hit him, it was too late. Innocentius snuck up behind him as Stiyl finished his chant.

"...Squeamish Bloody Rood!"

A flame sword had appeared in Stiyl's right hand while a blueish-white burning flame sword extended out from his left hand.

Kanzaki spun past Stiyl as he charged at Accelerator with both flaming swords.

"Say goodbye, Accelerator!!"

Accelerator clicked his tongue as he used the sole of his shoe and stomped the ground. Stiyl was pushed back from the air that was created by that stomp.

Innocentius remained in place as it held its weapon with both of its hands.

The burning cross swung down on Accelerator, but he ignored it and continued his assault on Stiyl.

He pushed himself off the ground and clenched his right fist.

The only thing that went through his mind was not about whether it would finish the magician or not. It was...

"(I can punch harder than that boy as well!!)"

Accelerator was still frustrated that Kamijou knocked him out cold just for a few seconds with one punch. And so, he wanted to try it as well.

His fist swung down hard, he held back a bit so that Stiyl's body would not explode upon impact, but he made sure that he would explode inside at the same time.

This time, his hit connected with Stiyl's solar plexus.

Stiyl was sent flying around 30 meters backwards with his body spinning uncontrollably. Blood came out from his mouth as he spun, and though it looked very comical, it wasn't very funny.

Stiyl's breathing stopped as he laid on the ground with blood flowing out of his mouth. Innocentius was still there, however, it did not move.

It couldn't move without orders from its magician.

"And now that that's dealt with... I guess it's your turn?"

Accelerator tilted his head to the side as he looked at Kanzaki as she stared in disbelief at what happened to her comrade.

"Not again..." She muttered.

"Oh? Why the sad face? Is it because you're about to get crushed? Or is it because you've lost all hope? Well, either way both are pretty shit options. I reckon you piss off and entertain someone else rather than waste my time. I have things to do as well, you know?" Accelerator smirked at her as his victory was surely granted to him already.

The only person who was actually bothering him was now down. Kanzaki hadn't made a single proper cut on him using her 2 meter long nodachi sword.

Kanzaki's eyes narrowed as she looked at her fallen comrade. She picked up her sword and got ready for round two.

Without a single word, Accelerator could see shiny things flying around him.

"(Light reflection on a metal object? I guess that's how she's been attacking me without walking to me. But still...)"

Accelerator found something very suspicious. Clearly her attacks had not been working on him, so why bother continuing the assault? But at the same time, her wires weren't trying to aim him.

Suddenly, a red lotus flame enveloped him.

Accelerator was in shock.

"(What the fuck?!)"

But he wasn't panicking because he was suddenly on fire. Being on fire was normal for him. He had fought different espers over the time of his stay in Academy City. However, that flame that wrapped him up was ACTUALLY burning him.

He quickly jumped back to escape the fire, but the damage was already done.

His body was charred in some areas. Especially his naturally white hair had small patches of black on it.

"Oh, interesting. I guess you did have some tricks after...all...?"

Accelerator looked forward, expecting Kanzaki to be ready with another attack but there wasn't.

She was gone, along with Stiyl.

Accelerator stood alone in that alleyway as he inhaled and exhaled deeply.

"(Magic, huh? What a pathetic joke.)"

With that, Accelerator heads home.

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

Kanzaki flew past a myriad of apartments, schools and research facilities before landing on an apartment in District 7. She had Stiyl on her back as she thought about her encounter with the strongest esper.

She couldn't wipe the frown off her face. There was seriously something about him that pissed her off.

"For him to withstand my Yuisen... what is he?"

Kanzaki's Yuisen was the strongest move in her arsenal that would usually confirm a kill. But in this case, Accelerator managed to survive it despite being a teenager.

Though she rarely uses it, it doesn't mean her grasp on that attack would deteriorate.

But as much as Accelerator pissed her off, her own fortune pissed her off even more.

"Why am I the only one who is unharmed..."

She brushes Stiyl's long hair as she knelt down next to him. Below her, she could hear a cute nun's voice in a certain dorm.

"Unghhh...When's Touma coming back!? I'm hungry!!"

"Now, now, Index. You'll have to be patient okay? Maybe he's being held back in school like my brother again."

"Hnghhh...That Touma is always getting into trouble!"

"How about this. Since you're hungry, I'll make you something good, okay?"

"Really? Really?"

"Of course! You are my neighbour after all."

"Yayyyy!! Thanks, Maika!"

Hearing the conversation below, Kanzaki's face lightened up a little.

"(For her to enjoy such a happy life now. Why should it be taken away from her?)"

Kanzaki gripped her 2 meter long nodachi by the hilt with her right hand as she looks up into the bright sky.

"(I'll do it with my Shichiten Shichitou. I'll bring her happiness with my power. That's what Kamijou taught me. That's why I have power.)"

-------22nd August 8:30p.m.---------

Accelerator was on his way to the convenience store to buy a few cans of black coffee again, since he didn't manage to buy any cans earlier. He was hoping that the convenience stores along the way would have some stocked up.

But to his dismay...

"Not here..."

Next one...

"Not here..."

Next one...

"Not here either..."

The last one...

"..."

Accelerator walks up to the cashier and slams his fist on the counter, but he made sure not to break anything on the counter.

"What the hell happened to all the black coffee?! Surely it must not be a coincidence that all the stores are also out of black coffee!"

The cashier was startled as no one in this world had ever complained about a convenience store not having any stock left for an item.

"It's not like a fruit that depends on the season to grow!"

"W-Well...the companies who manufactured those black coffee had went bankrupt and now they can't supply us anymore..."

The cashier was also afraid that the esper might attack him. He didn't know who he was talking to, but he knew that an esper can be dangerous.

Accelerator clicks his tongue as he walks out of the convenience store feeling annoyed. But he didn't care as he headed straight to the next experiment site.

Accelerator's stomach grumbled due to the absence of carbohydrates in his body.

After he had bathed, he went to a restaurant to eat, only having to wait 1 hour just to be told that they had ran out of ingredients to cook with.

Next, he tripped over many small rocks and people laughed at him.

"Can this day get any worse?"

Accelerator walks down a pavement with his hands inside his pocket.

Truly, it had not been a fortunate day for him.

———22nd August 8:50p.m.———

In A Certain Hospital, a short brown haired girl was leaving her ward through the window.

It was easy for patients to get out, especially if they were mobile. No cameras were placed in the room, and Misaka was situated on the second floor. Jumping down would at most sprain her ankle or twist her knee.

When she landed with a thud, a familiar voice called out to her.

"Leaving so soon, Onee-sama?"

Misaka turned her head back, startled that her junior wasn't back in the dorms.

"W-What are you doing here, Kuroko?"

Misaka was stuttering from the fear that Kuroko would try to find out what she was doing.

"I came to check on you since I knew you would do something stupid. But to go to this extent..."

Kuroko folded her arms and looked at her with one eye.

"Just what are you hiding from me, Onee-sama?"

Fear filled Misaka, but she didn't want to spill the beans.

"I-I just thought that I might just be going for a walk. Heh heh, yeah you know because I don't like to stay in one spot."

Misaka put up such an obvious fake smile that even an elementary grader could tell that she was faking it.

Kuroko just let out an exasperated sigh.

"Onee-sama...yesterday a boy came to our room looking for you. I hid him under your bed, but when I came back he was gone. The next thing I knew, he was in the hospital, practically almost burnt to a crisp. Onee-sama, there's obviously something you're not telling me."

Kuroko slowly walked up to Misaka with her arms beside her.

Misaka curled her lips as she hesitated to tell her.

"I...I..."

Misaka clenched her fists. The way Kuroko walked and the way she was speaking, it reminded her of that boy who risked his life to save her but failed.

It was like reliving a nightmare all over again.

When Kuroko was just 1 meter away from her, Misaka placed her hand on Kuroko's shoulder and smiled. This time, it was a genuine smile.

"Thank you so much, Kuroko..."

"See? You can trust me, Onee-samaaaaablurhghgegehehge--"

Misaka tased Kuroko to the point where she started foaming and passed out.

No emotions passed Misaka's face as she looked at her junior.

It was time to finish it.

———22nd August 9:01p.m———

In A Certain Multilevel Overpass at District 7, the 10034th experiment was conducted at the bottom floor. There was nowhere for the clone to run other than upwards and forward. So the battle was pretty much lost.

However, as simple as it was, Accelerator was still having difficulties.

He wasn't giving any chances.

It was just his own incompetence that caused his demise.

"For fuck sake! Stop wiggling around like a little worm!"

Accelerator struggled to catch the clone because she kept dodging him. All while she electrocuted the air around them.

That was the only strategy she could come up with. The only thing to do was observe his movements and dodge accordingly.

Accelerator then stopped in place to catch his breath. He was panting very hard. That was when the clone decided to continue her assault.

This time, the hunter became the hunted.

Accelerator narrowed his eyes as he looks at her, and in a moment, his grin appeared bigger than ever.

"Say...you know what's compressed air, right?"

The clone tilted her head to one side, as if she was questioning him.

"It's nothing complicated, really. All I have to do is increase the pressure and from there, it's all on you. Although it takes quite a while to compress the air, I want you to think."

Then he brings his right palm up.

"How long have we been talking for?"

In a second, Accelerator extended his right palm forward. A beam of air shot forward and pierced her in the middle of her chest.

A hole formed at the place she was shot at and she fell knee first onto the floor.

However, she wasn't dead yet.

Her fingers clung onto the floor as if she was trying to get up.

But Accelerator stomped on her fingers, which broke every single bone in her right hand.

"Just give it up. You've lost!! Just go to hell. GYAHAHAHAHA!!"

She stretched her left hand out to reach for his leg,

But he merely kicked it back.

"Bad girl. Someone's been very naughty. It's time for your punishment."

Accelerator stepped on her head and rubbed his shoe against her head.

It was such an inhumane thing to do.

But this was the strongest esper in Academy City.

He had the rights to step on others as he pleases because he was at the very top.

Accelerator stepped back to view her from afar and then he gives the empty crowd an announcement.

"Now! How shall I kill you? With the wind all around us, I think I can find a nice way to kill you. Should I mince your meat using compressed air? Or should I throw a plasma bomb at you? Heheheh, or maybe I should do both?"

Accelerator licked his lips as he considered the many options he could use to dispose of her.

Soon, the smile on Accelerator's face faded as he put both of his hands up by the side.

"Time to end this."

He swung both of his arms down and a gust of wind surrounded the clone. Cuts slowly appeared all over her body and blood seeped out through the openings.

After a while, he stopped the gust of wind, and turned his back to her.

"Be thankful, I'm giving you your last few moments to say goodbye to the rest of your overproduced failures."

Out of the blue, a bluish-white light flew towards him at the speed of light.

Knowing who it was, he redirected it off to the side. The wall beside him exploded, and the debris fell on the half-dead clone.

Accelerator briefly glanced back at the debris and brushed his hair up.

"Ah...look! You killed someone again!"

However, she didn't react.

"Come on, you gotta at least show some sympathy."

"She was already dead."

That made his grin grow even wider.

"Wow how cold."

The gap between them gradually shortened.

5 meters.

4 meters.

3 meters.

"Let's settle this, Accelerator."

"What...do you mean by 'settle'? I'm not even allowed to kill ya!"

"...Then I'll make you."

She lifts her arm up and tries to slap him, but he just moves his body backwards.

Electric attacks wouldn't work against her since she is an electromaster. So she could only be physical with him.

She pulls her right leg back and using her hips to support her, she swings her right leg, kicking as hard as she possibly could towards him.

But again, he stepped back.

She runs towards him, this time expecting him to repel her body back and breaking all her bones. However, he extends his right arm out and holds her in place. A single gap separated his hand from her head.

That was most likely his AIM diffusion field doing its work.

"Fight me, you bastard!!"

Accelerator releases her head from his grasp and swung his right leg upwards.

The moment his sole touched her stomach, all air left her lungs and she flies to the ground.

When she landed, she was immediately gasping for air. Drool flowed down the side of her mouth as despair was written all over her face.

That kick was so powerful that it was like kicking the spirit out of her. Of course, he was holding back still.

"That's it? Heh, and you're supposed to be the original. What a joke! Those overproduced failures can endure much more than you can!"

Misaka was still catching her breath as she crawled away. Although it wasn't her plan to run, her body was shaken up by that attack.

She met the only person who had ever overpowered her. Nothing she did would ever reach him. Even if there was a miracle that her attack landed, it would probably be a weak attack that he lets through just to give her a bit of hope before dominating her again.

As she slowly crawled away pathetically, Accelerator continued taunting her.

"Running away after that heroic speech? HAHAHAHA!! You're not goin' anywhere!"

Accelerator grips her leg and pulls her closer to him.

"Le-Let me go!!"

"How 'bout 'no'."

Accelerator grinned as he slowly went closer to her. He sat on her back and pressed his right hand on her head.

Accelerator controlled the flow of the 'battle'. Her defeat was utterly clear to all.

"It's time you forget everything!"

"W-What do you mean?"

"Here's a little fun fact. Do you know that some parts of our brain process information differently? Like our basic needs, our natural instincts to run from someone dangerous to us and of course, the emotional attachment we have towards others and certain memories. All these are stored in different parts of our brain."

When Misaka realized what he meant by that, her eyes opened wide in fear.

In fear of losing her precious memories with her friends.

The precious memories that she made with all her friends, be it happy or sad.

"Y-You can't!!"

"Too bad, I can because I have the power to do so. So sleep tight, third string. Don't worry, I won't erase everything. I'll just leave you with nothing."

Accelerator pushed her head down onto the ground and located his way around her brain.

"(Find the hippocampus, amygdala...do I want to erase that?)"

The amygdala contains the emotional attachment to memories, and is also the cause of remembering something fearful more easily than an enjoyable situation.

"(If I erase that, she'll still try to bother me.)"

Accelerator thought for a while as Misaka continued struggling beneath him.

Then, he came to a conclusion.

"(Fuck it. Then next one is the neocortex...)"

Once he located the parts of the brain which contained her memories, he simply destroyed the neurons which formed them. Of course, doing this left him very vulnerable as he needed to do a lot of calculating to process that much information.

It was the deletion of 14 years worth of memory.

"With this, the operation is done!"

Accelerator got off her back as she laid down in a prone position. Misaka was unconscious the whole time during that procedure, but tears could be seen flowing down from her eyes.

"Be glad that you managed to escape the dark side."

Accelerator turned around and started walking back to his apartment, but something tugged on his shirt and he immediately jumped.

"What the?"

When he turned back to look at Misaka, she had already woken up and was grabbing onto his shirt.

"?!"

But instead of sensing murderous intent and hate, it felt kind and warm. The only person who would've given him that feeling was Yoshikawa.

"Pa...pa...?"

Accelerator took a while to process that word.

His only response was...

"Ha?"