28 The Daihaseisai

—19th September 9:30a.m.—

In District 7, Accelerator was lying down on a rooftop that overlooked the entire arena and the festivities of the Daihasei Festival. Many students were running around trying the different foods in the food stalls, while others were holding equipment and running into the stadium, probably preparing for the upcoming events.

However, they didn't appear right away. There was only one reason for that.

The opening ceremony.

It's like how first impressions are always key when trying to make friends. However, the #1 esper wasn't interested in something so trivial. He couldn't bother to care about the opening ceremony. After all, he had never planned to do it from the beginning.

In the stadium, crowds of students and parents were seated along the circumference.

For this week, parents from the outside world were allowed inside Academy City. Everything inside Academy City would be broadcasted worldwide by small drones that fly around District 7. Strictly District 7 as the Daihasei Festival would only take place there.

In the middle of the stadium, lines of students from different schools stood behind two big figures in Academy City. These two massive figures stood on top of a small stage each, each stage could only fit one person. In front of these two people was an even bigger stage that was about twenty metres in length, five metres in breadth, and a height of five metres. On that very stage stood important members of Academy City. They were the Board of Directors.

Well, at least some of them were. It seems like there were only three recognizable faces of the Board of Directors. The rest of them were probably presidents of other countries.

Nine people stood on that massive stage, and in front of them was an empty spot. Presumably it was a spot saved for Accelerator. But he isn't there.

The two people who stood on those small stages had people from different schools wield flags representing the schools around them.

The two 'big' people weren't considered big for their size, but for their status. Their status as one of the level 5's.

Meet the other level 5 from Tokiwadai Middle School. The beautiful and busty middle schooler: Shokuhou Misaki. Ranking: 5th.

And the other level 5 on the other side from a school that is less recognized. It was hard to tell which high school he came from, but he was definitely attending school. He had his white uniform collar hung around his neck like some sort of superhero, as he donned a rising sun shirt and black shorts. His spiky, yet free flowing hair was partially blocked by his white headband. A gemstone that cannot be correctly ranked: Sogiita Gunha. Ranking: 7th.

Everyone there couldn't wait for the strongest esper to show up as they were running late on the schedule. So they had to start.

A female voice rang through the dome stadium.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the opening ceremony of the Daihasei Festival!"

The female voice spoke in Japanese, but on the television, it was probably subtitled for the convenience of the people watching from different countries.

"We hope everyone's fired up today for this one week long festival! Make sure you have booked your hotels, and prepared tons of snacks, because this is going to be crazy!!"

She went on to explain the significance of the Daihasei Festival to Academy City which bore the crowd, but soon after, she handed the mic over to the level 5's.

"The sports players' pledge!!"

Then, a female and male voice simultaneously filled the dome stadium. Followed by the background voices of the students behind them.

"We, in accordance with this sportsmanship, wish that this year's Daihaseisai..."

On the rooftop, Accelerator recited the pledge in his mind. He didn't want to be onstage, but he was fine with just watching from afar.

"...changes the hopes, blood, and sweat of youngsters into power."

Basically, as they keep fighting against each other, they would be able to ascend their power to the next level. An upgrade.

"And the unbreakable bonds will..."

That was where everything went downhill. It was just a simple recital. Less than half a page of recital, and Sogiita managed to mess things up. He went solo.

"...the bonds will... the bonds will... gah, what was it? Ah whatever, there was a bunch of stuff about the unbreakable bonds that you'll have to deal with using your overflowing guts!"

Misaki was kind enough to stop her recital to wait for Sogiita. However, it was pretty useless as the latter soon continued off-script.

"Show the results of your everyday training and guts!"

When it should've been: "Show what you have learned from your lessons and training everyday."

"By showing how much you have progressed, show thanks to your parents..."

In Sogiita mode: "Show off that splendor and guts to those without them!!"

Soon, Misaki stopped speaking. Or rather, her voice soon got blocked out by Sogiita's charisma and volume.

Air started to spin around him as the air produced colors of red, yellow, blue, and green.

"The fuck is happening down there?" Accelerator sat up and whispered as he looked down at the dome-shaped stadium to see colors flying around the 7th level 5.

"To make this tournament the best memory ever..."

Sogiita clenched his right hand into a ball...

"...BY OVERCOMING ALL SORTS OF OBSTACLES THROUGH TRIAL AND HARDSHIP AND GETTING UP EVERY TIME YOU FALL DOWN..."

...And he stuck his right arm out.

"...OVERCOME EVERYTHING WITH GUTS!!!!!"

Such a simple action has never been so dangerous before, yet he made it so deadly. That action caused a colorful explosion behind him. The explosive was red, blue, yellow, and green, almost like it was a smoke bomb made to confuse the enemies whether they were a friendly or not.

The flag holders flew through the sky like birds and landed as dead as a rock. As chaotic as that was, the crowd was still hyped up by his charisma. The female voice through the speaker could only awkwardly close the opening ceremony.

"Uhhhh...with this, we end the opening ceremony from the level 5's?"

Accelerator laid back down on the roof as he sighs.

"Well, luckily I'm not part of that failure."

Then he heard the screeching of the metal door to the rooftop. Footsteps could be heard diagonally beside him.

Accelerator was on a platform that held the door upright below it. It was a small platform, being four metres by four metres.

"(Who's this? Ester should be meeting up with her team, and I didn't tell anyone about this spot. Not even the brat. And this building is a building for office workers. Could an employee be coming here to smoke?)" Accelerator thought, but that possibility of smoking was proven wrong by the sound of the footsteps stopping just below him.

And a female voice spoke.

"Accelerator, the #1 esper in Academy City."

Accelerator's eyes opened wide as he sat up. He looked to his left, but he couldn't even see this person's shadow. The sun was shining on him, but the small hut that gave people access to the roof was blocking the sun from hitting this person. He merely thought that it was a coincidence that this lady just called his name, so he brushed it off. However...

"I'll have to leave soon, but I'll make this quick."

The female voice paused for a while before speaking.

"Kill a hero and become the hero to redeem yourself, hm? Sounds about right."

"What do you mean?" Accelerator replied, seeing as how it was pointless to try and hide himself any longer.

"Oh my, I didn't expect you to reply. But guess it doesn't make a difference."

Accelerator was about to destroy the half-wall between them and see who this lady was, but she could tell what his intentions were.

"Don't bother trying to destroy the wall. If you do, your front-row seat will be exposed. You want to watch how that girl will do during the festival, yes?"

Upon hearing that, Accelerator clenched his fist. He slammed the back of his body against the floor and asks her,"What do you want?"

Apparently, when she heard the thud from his back hitting the floor, the same metal screeching could be heard and the door closed. It seems like she wanted to hide her identity well.

"Oh, I don't really need anything. But prepare for the worst. Your suffering has only begun."

"What do you mean?" Accelerator asked as he curls his finger on the concrete floor below him.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just watch your back, who knows what'll happen to those close to you."

That was it for him. He moved his left hand to his neck and went all out.

With minimal force, he launched himself off the roof of the small hut and landed right in front of the door.

He slowly tilted his head, he was not amused by this lady's trick. However, his expression soon relaxed, or rather, it changed to confusion.

In front of that metal door was just a receiver. It was so old fashioned, yet it translated everything clearly. That lady who pulled this 'prank' is not as dumb as he thought.

He walked forward and the lady spoke once more.

"Heh, got you ☆! You thought I would face Academy City's favorite boy head-on? Dream on."

Accelerator clicked his tongue and inspected the hinges of the metal door. They were lubricated. No...They were not only lubricated, but they were also unscrewed just to be lubricated.

"You sure have a lot of time, don't you?!" Accelerator smirked as he gripped the door handle tightly. However, the voice didn't respond. Why so?

"Not talking anymore? Come on, weren't you so full of yourself just now?"

Suddenly, a loud noise filled the roof. The whole area around Accelerator blew up, and the receiver was gone.

"(Tch, that receiver was rigged?!)"

Accelerator hid his left hand behind as he redirected the explosion away from him. Moreover, smoke was starting to fill the whole place.

"When I get my hands on her, I'll kill her!"

The explosion wasn't big, but it had lots of smoke in the aftermath. He couldn't risk it.

He grabbed his cane and jumped down to the first floor of the building. Fortunately for him, there was no one around. He was surrounded by tall buildings and an empty street. Most of the people are probably in the stadium or at the stalls buying the different food served in Academy City.

Seeing as how there was nowhere else for him to go, he decided to go back to the hospital and recharge his battery.

—19th September 10:30a.m—

"...And then Misaka 10042 was surrounded by so many people! Says Misaka as Misaka recalls what happened yesterday! Hey, are you even listening?!"

"Yeah, yeah. She was ambushed by people trying to sell her investments."

"You were not listening! Exclaims Misaka as Misaka insists that another Misaka is making a lot of friends!"

Accelerator was lying down on his bed while waiting for the opening ceremony to finish.

Yes, the opening ceremony was still ongoing. But it soon finished. There were 15 principal talks and more political figures from Academy City talking about their excitement about the festival.

Accelerator was still thinking about his attacker and he came to a conclusion:

This person was on a ground higher than him and she was reading his lips.

But that was all, he couldn't figure out the identity of this person.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this..."

Accelerator got up from his bed and walked out as Last Order continued shouting at him.

—19th September 10:30a.m—

"W-Why is everyone on the ground?!"

Ester walked over to the meeting point designated to her class, located at the sports hall,to find her classmates all sprawled out all over the concrete floor.

The blue haired boy with ear piercings was the first to reply her.

"We all spent so much time yesterday night planning for this event that we lost so much sleep. Plus, the speeches earlier were so boring!!! And we even stood under the sun for so long!! HOW CAN WE NOT BE TIRED?!"

That boy rose up from the ground, alongside the rest of the class. However, their backs went limp as they hung their arms down.

"Nyah Ester, aren't you tired as well?" The boy with spiky golden hair and sunglasses asked her.

"Hm? Not particularly. Why do you ask?"

"Nyahaha...you see. Those things on your chest. Don't they make your shoulders stiff?"

"Not really...?"

The rest of the boys slowly creeped up behind him as they wriggle their fingers. The boy with blue hair and ear piercings continued his sentence.

"Why don't we help you massage them? And while we're at it, you can make us all ener—"

Before he could finish, a loud thud hit the back of the two boys' heads and they fell to the floor.

"Girls, get back up! And boys, stop spouting nonsense to our new classmate!"

"Nyahhh, Fukiyose. We're just showing her how we usually do—"

His face was kicked in by her foot and his sunglasses flew off his face.

"That's enough of your nonsense, Tsuchimikado!! Everyone, get serious! We mustn't let our efforts go to waste!"

"Okayyyyy—"

Everyone responded monotonously to her cheering, which only irritates her even more.

"Ev-ery...one..." Fukiyose said it slowly, and it intimidated them. They all shot up and gave her a salute and stomped their right foot on the ground.

Ester only looked on at her new class and smiled.

"(If only Master was here. He would be happy here...actually, anyone would.)"

She thought back to Hirumi and Hishigata. What if they had attended this school. Would they have been happy as well? Would they have stopped their ambitions of reaching level 6?

"(Maybe so...)" She thought as she continued watching Fukiyose give the class a stern talking-to.

Just then, she heard a man and a woman talking to each other behind the sports hall.

"This will...definitely—"

"What nonsense—Definitely...huh?"

Ester peeked behind a wall to the voices, and saw her home room teacher, Tsukuyomi Komoe. She was 135 centimeters tall. She wore a short white dress accompanied with a light green sleeveless vest, which all made her look like a cheerleader. Facing Komoe was a man probably from another school which Ester had never seen before.

Instead of wearing a sports attire, that man was wearing a full business suit on such a hot day.

"I admit that our school facilities and teaching contents aren't adequate. But that's our fault not the students' fault!"

Komoe was waving her arms around as she spoke, however, the man didn't care.

"Hmph, isn't the inadequacy of the facilities due to your students not performing up to standards? If your students can actually do well for their studies, the Board of Directors might be willing to invest more in your school... Oh! I forgot, there are no standards in your school. I heard that your class did badly for the end-of-semester test,right? Managing so many failures must be tough."

"Th-There is no success or failure when it comes to students! Only their individuality! Everyone is working as hard as they can! How...How can we, as teachers, even think about abandoning them for our own convenience?!"

"Is that an excuse to hide your own incompetence? Ha-ha-ha, what a fanciful viewpoint. Shall I destroy it with facts? The elite class I've been in charge of will beat your dropouts into the dust. Yes, the first event is the pole topple, right? Well, I should advise you as the representative of the opposing school to put in a word with the prep committee so that you can keep the number of wounded to a minimum."

"W-Wha...?"

"In a stadium broadcasting to the whole world, I will beat your trashy failures and embarrass them. I do intend to have mercy, but I hope your garbage can even withstand that. Hahaha!"

That man held his hand to his face as he laughed and walked away.

"...You're wrong...they're not failures..." Ms Komoe dropped her shoulders even further as she looked down with her eyes closed shut.

Ester who watched everything from behind didn't do anything because it all happened so fast, and so sudden. However, with that man gone, she couldn't teach him a proper lesson. She clenched her right hand and slammed the base of it on the wall.

Ester then turned around and faced her classmates.

"Everyone...what do you want to do?"

Despite not knowing her teacher for long, the fact that her students were all smiling and enjoying life told her that they all liked their teacher. Everyone dropped their silly acts and looked at her with determined eyes. With a single nod of their heads, that was their answer.

"Let's do this."

——19th September 11:00a.m——

Accelerator laid on top of the dome-shaped stadium as he stared at his previous resting area.

"But still...this fucking place is so dusty..."

Accelerator couldn't stop messing up his hair as the feeling of webs stuck to his hair and arms. It was way too dusty.

"Tch, how annoying."

But then, he soon looked back down at the battlefield when the announcer stated that all freshmen would be participating in the pole-topple event.

When the announcers spoke the names of the two teams participating in the competition, he looked at the school Ester was in.

A Certain High School, a school made for low level espers. And their opponent was an elite school that was filled with level 3 or higher espers.

"Tch, bunch of third strings." He muttered under his breath when he thought of that school.

When he looked at Ester's school, he could only shake his head and squint his eyes to scrutinize her school. They weren't shaking or crying, they weren't standing around being all nervous. They were standing proud and strong.

This surprised Accelerator. They had their arms folded, and it was like a fire was burning behind their backs.

"Hmph, what the hell happened?" Despite his rough comment, Accelerator was smirking.

Maybe he knew how hopeless their school was, yet they were still ready to fight. It reminded him of the boy who stood up to him.

The only thing separating them was an open field and an eighty meters distance.

The other team were stretching their calves and arms as they prepared. While Ester's team was rallying and hyping each other up.

And when all was done, the countdown began.

"3...2...1"

And so it begins.

————————————

The students from the elite school started putting their hands around an empty space while forming a circle, and a multiple fireballs started appearing from those 'camps'. A few of them created the fire, then the others would apply pressure to the fire and contain it in a sphere.

While they were preparing their 'bullets', the students from A Certain High School wasted no time running to the other side to knock down their pole. However, only a handful of them stayed back. Most of them were girls as they had a smaller body frame and less muscle than the average male, so they could've easily been beaten down.

Ester was no exception.

That's why their plan was for the boys to rush in and create a distraction or wear out the other team and they could all charge in and take the pole down.

But that wasn't all. In the boys' hands were full of sand gathered from outside the stadium. They also have an esper who can use the power of telepathy, so they were all communicating at the same time.

And in order to assure their safety, Ester had a spell up her sleeve. With a few rocks that she gathered from outside in her right hand, she placed her left hand onto a pentagram drawing she made on the floor and casted her spell. The moment the other team shot their fireballs, she would create a wall big enough to block at least one of those shots.

When the impact hit, the rocks would scatter everywhere and dust would cloud the area. And once the rushers for A Certain High School shot past the halfway point, they clenched the sand in their hands and threw it on the ground, creating a wall of dust to impair the enemy's vision.

And once the other side was barely visible...

"Everyone, now!" Fukiyose who stayed in the back lines to administer the assault, gave the command to commence the attack, and the whole class rushed in with sand in their hands as well.

Ester put off her spell and went in as well.

It was a long run, but it was short as well. After ten seconds, they made it into the cloud of dust and that's where the battle began. The boys were pushing each other back man-to-man. While the girls were pulling hairs and scratching each other.

When Ester assessed the whole field, it seems like they were getting pushed back. Tsuchimikado had no problems pushing them back surprisingly. But the blue haired boy was unsurprisingly beaten down. The whole field was not theirs for the taking.

Ester had to pull off a miracle.

"For Ms Komoe...we will definitely win!"

Ester clutched the sand in her hand and flung it straight at one of the girl's face from the other team.

Next, she stepped on top of that girl and there was a boy from the other team rushing at her. She lifted her right leg up and kicked him in the gut horizontally, causing him to bend over. And once the stage was set for her, she stepped on the girl's breast, jumped on the guy's back, plus a step on a guy from the other team's shoulder, she jumped high up into the air to the point everyone could stop and look at her. It was like she was floating in the air.

In front of Ester was the pole and another girl from the other team who was hugging the pole with her butt facing the others on the ground. That girl turned her head back and the look on her face could only be described as "what the hell?!"

Ester landed on someone from the other team's shoulder as she grabbed the girl by the hair and slammed her head against the pole once, leaving her dazed and weak to support the pole any longer.

The other team was desperate as they clung onto their poles. But Ester has already breached their defenses, and she was about to break them from the inside.

She got down from the guy who she was standing on and met the back of his head with her own head, crashing his forehead into the pole while giving him an injury to the back of his head.

At this point, the other team noticed Ester's prominent presence and went to deal with her. Three of the guys holding the pole let go and stretched their arms out wide as if they were trying to catch a dog.

"(Three on one? I don't like my odds.)" Ester thought as she glanced pass the three of them.

The three of them rushed her at the same time, but she knew how to defend herself when it comes to close combat.

She ducked down, placed her hands on the floor beside her and swept the guy on the far-right down with her leg, causing him to stumble and knock his friend next to him down.

The guy on the far-left was still charging towards her and she used his momentum to strengthen her strike. She pulled her right arm back and went below his arms to deliver a clean uppercut to his chin.

As if to declare her victory, she placed her foot on his stomach and looked down at him.

"I've fought people more ferocious than you."

Once the fight was over, so was the competition. Her class took that opportunity and rushed the pole, ignoring their enemies. Once they got a hold of the pole, they all leaned their weights back to pull the pole down with them.

The referee whistled the end of the match, and pointed towards the victors.

A Certain High School.

————————————

At the same time, at the top of the stadium, a certain white haired boy spectated the whole battle, and he was not impressed. Not because of their inferior powers, but because of the poor view he got.

"Seriously? They can't even take a proper spectator's view with those dumb robots?"

Seeing as how pointless it was to continue staying up there, the #1 jumped off from the top of the stadium to the outskirts of it. When he landed, the people around him were surprised that a boy could jump down from that high up and still live.

After turning his battery back to normal, he limped around the stadium to try and meet up with Last Order.

"(If I remember correctly, that brat should be with the Sisters right now preparing for their next race. I can hardly care about what the name of it is, but all I know is that they'll have to complete certain objectives in order to pass through to the next stage."

He had troubles finding the exact location of where the Sisters and Last Order were, and before he could even start looking, he stumbled on to something he didn't expect to see.

Ester stood in front of a man wearing a black business suit. She raised her hand and let gravity do its work.

A loud smack could be heard around the area they were in. That man was at the preparation area for his team, and was just giving them a scolding for losing to an 'inferior' school.

Ester confronted him.

"Your ideals are sickening!"

Ester handled him by the collar roughly, as if she wanted to pull his suit off his body.

"W-What's the meaning of this?!"

That man was the teacher that taunted Ms Komoe. When Ester held him, the entire team stood up on their feet ready to tackle Ester down.

"(The fuck is she doing?)" Accelerator thought as he stood back to observe what Ester's next move was.

"Just because you have a bunch of people who can use amazing powers that you could do that to Ms Komoe?! Don't be ridiculous!" Ester shouted at his face.

"S-Security! This monkey has gone insane! Detain her at once!"

"I don't care what happens to me. For you to speak like you have all the power in the world is not right. Treating students like tools are not right!"

"You don't have any rights to say that. You beat Accelerator, didn't you?! So that makes you a level 5 as well, and quite possibly the new #1! Know your damn place!"

"It wasn't me who defeated him. He was never defeated in the first place. He was just tired after a long fight! I just happened to be there at the right time!"

At that moment, the students from the teacher's school tackled her to the ground and then lifted her up by the arms, with her knees close to touching the floor.

The teacher readjusted his suit as he snickers at Ester.

"Pathetic worm. If that's the case, you're just a weakling with pathetic ideals. In Academy City, we function like the real world. If money means power, then the level in Academy City means power as well. Of course that's a no brainer."

"Who cares about power?! Don't mess with me! What's the point in having power if you have no personality?"

Ester continued to struggle, but the grip on her was too strong for her to overcome.

"Tsk, my point is that we train the students to ascend their levels and raise our reputation. We're aiming to be the #1 school in Academy City. I guess you can call it an ego type of thing."

Suddenly, liquid could be felt at his cheeks, and it was foaming a bit. Ester had spat on the teacher.

When he felt it, he raised his fist high up and then held it in the air.

"Rrrrgghh... I don't plan on losing my role as a teacher in a prestigious school, so I'll let my lawyer handle it. Let's see how well you'll fare by becoming a Skill-Out."

He flicked the saliva off his cheek and turned back.

"Let's go. Leave the sniveling puppy on the ground. We'll get back to preparing for the next event."

Before they could reply their teacher, balls of sand was shot at the two students who were holding Ester.

They landed flat on their backs with blood flowing down from their nose. Ester was set free from her clutches.

"W-What?!"

The teacher turned around when he heard the thud from the impact caused by their bodies.

"Who did this? I'll make you pay, you dumbass!"

The teacher turned to the direction where the balls of sand were thrown, and his eyes opened wide in fear.

*Clak* *Clak* *Clak*

The sound of metal pounding against the sandy-concrete floor was heard. A boy walking with a cane slowly approached them.

"N-No...this can't be! Wh-Why are you here?"

The teacher fell back on his rear as he shivered in fear. He looked at his students and he smiled at them, trying to feint his fear.

"It-It's a simulation. Yes! Prepare your artillery!"

The students looked confused for a second, but they shrugged it off and did as they were told. They placed their hands together around a circle again, and multiple fireballs appeared.

The boy with white hair and red eyes stopped and stared at them.

Wasting no time, they all shot the fireballs at that figure. However, with just one swing of his arm those balls of fire was put out.

"Pathetic. And I thought teachers were supposed to protect their students."

The students looked at him and they were stunned by what had happened. Sweat dripped down from their foreheads as they tried to figure out what had happened.

"A-Again! Shoot again!" The teacher stuttered on his words as he commanded them again. However, he was too slow.

"Don't even bother. Although air has oxygen inside, and oxygen is supposed to fuel the fire, all I have to do is separate the carbon dioxide from the other elements, just like a fire extinguisher."

With a tap of his cane, he sent pressure through the ground to reach the teacher. He was blown off from his sitting spot and past the students, leaving a small crater behind.

The students watched as their teacher gets handled like a rag doll.

"W-What are you all waiting for?! Go get security or Anti-Skill or someone!! Stop standing there doing nothing!!"

The students ran away screaming for help, leaving the teacher all alone with the 'monster'.

"Hey! Don't just leave me alone!!"

Then, a shadow dawned upon him. And he slowly turned his head back.

"A-Accelerator! What brings you here today?"

"Oh nothing, I was just walking around because it's the Daihaseisai, right? I'm here to enjoy the atmosphere."

"E-Enjoy the atmosphere? That's impossi— Uh I mean...yeah! Today is a great day today, isn't it?"

Accelerator nodded his head as he kept his grin up.

"My apologies for what happened to your two students. As you may know, a level 5 has destructive powers and I may not be able to contain it, so I'm hoping that you'll forgive me for what happened."

"O-Of course! It's no problem. As a level 5, you have my utmost respect, and as the #1 of course, you have everyone's respect. I'm sure no one is perfect." As the teacher said this, he was still sweating profusely. Of course, he just spat out whatever seemed appropriate.

"Well then, thank you. I'll be taking her from you now." Accelerator turned his head towards Ester and signaled her to leave using his head.

"Huh? I still have matters to settle with her and her poor ass useless school."

Ester clenched her fist even tighter as she bit down harder using her teeth. She stood up and ran towards him.

"Ahhhh!!!" The teacher screamed in fear as Ester rushed towards him.

She raised her right fist high, and set her sights on his face.

As she was about to land the finishing blow, Accelerator held her right fist back with his right hand. Right now, he was clutching his cane in his left hand.

"Don't bother. Let's go already."

"But...!"

Accelerator tugged her right arm back even harder and walked away with her without saying another word.

"Let go of me, Master! Let go!"

"Just shut up already."

"Why didn't you let me hit him?! He made fun of others! Is it that wrong to stand up for others?!"

With her incessant shouting, onlookers were staring at them. Accelerator tightened his grip and jumped on top of one of the high-rise buildings with her.

At their standpoint, they could see half of the stadium and people, who looked as small as ants, walking below them.

"Hey, answer me, Master! You always stood up for others. Why do you back down now?! Are you that biased to who you protect?!"

"Tch, don't talk as if you're in the right. Think about what would have happened if you did that. I highly doubt someone as egotistical as him would have taken that lightly. If he were to report that to the Board of Directors, they would have a reason to put you out of the Daihaseisai. Trash talking is part of the competitive scene, and if you can't stand it, then you're just not fit enough to compete."

Accelerator turned his battery back to 'normal' and let her wrist go. However, Ester didn't listen to him.

"I don't care. He hurt Ms Komoe's feelings, and I can't stand it. She cared so much about her class, that she bore the pain all by herself. Are you telling me that I should disregard her efforts and feelings?!"

"Isn't one victory enough? You've proved him wrong by defeating his class. What more do you want to prove?"

Ester made sure not to hold him as he was still a handicap. But if he wasn't, she would have held him up by the collar.

"I want to prove that no one is powerless. I want to prove that everyone has a role in this world. No one is to be treated differently!"

"Then that means you'll have to go against Academy City. Can you do that?"

"I can!"

"Even without my help?"

"Of course!"

"Even though you're powerless?"

"I'm not powerless!"

"Then why have you been following me?"

"Because I wanted power!"

"That means you won't have to follow me anymore, is that right?"

"Yes, I won't follow you anymore!!!"

"Are you sure about that?"

"Of course!!!"

Accelerator calmly asked the questions and Ester replied back by shouting at him. Her answers were ferocious. And Accelerator knew it.

He turned his back to her and held his cane in his right hand.

"Ah, finally. I won't have anyone pestering me anymore. I'm so glad." He raised his head up as he said that and left the building.

Ester held her breath all the way as he walked through the door. And when he was out of sight, she exhaled. Her heart was beating fast.

"I...I didn't think I would be able to say it..."

She dropped to her knees and held her right fist close to her chest.

"I...I'll prove it to him. I can be stronger. Much, much stronger."