1089. Misaka Mikoto and the Blue-Haired Man / 1090. The Crimson Lord

"Ah, so you're not suited for cosplay, so you lied to your sister and molded her into that kind of person. I get you! You're pretty clever."

'No, no... could you please stop making things up for me without my knowledge? There's absolutely nothing like what you're saying.'

Shirou thought to himself, then smiled and nodded.

Seeing that Shirou was easy to talk to, other cosplay enthusiasts also came up to chat with him.

"Your sister's cosplay is so well done! Did she make the costume herself, or was it custom-made? What kind of material did she use?"

"That's exactly right. It's even more perfect than I imagined. In fact, the level of perfection in the details is just too high."

"Huh? Shirou, what are they all talking about?" Mikoto Misaka asked, looking at the group that had gathered around her.

Does it seem she really has no way to adapt to this world?

"Well, it's okay if you don't understand," Shirou said softly.

Although this is the real world, not a scene from a light novel or manga, the atmosphere remains the same. Mikoto Misaka, standing here, is instantly recognizable, and every move and every glance perfectly matches the character from the work.

Moreover, this isn't a staged cosplay photo; it's a natural action, more like a complement to real life. People can feel even more by looking at Mikoto Misaka.

In fact, even if Mikoto Misaka changed into completely different clothes, as long as you get to know her better, you can still find many familiar traits in her, because she is the same person she is.

The cosplay enthusiasts continued their discussion.

"Speaking of which, I saw an amazing cosplay of Shirai Kuroko this morning, and then I saw an amazing cosplay of Mikoto Misaka here. If they stood together, the scene would be absolutely divine!"

"Wait! What did you just say! Kuroko, where did you see her?" Mikoto Misaka quickly stepped forward and said to the man.

"Huh?"

Tell me quickly!

"Yes, on the streets near Ikebukuro West Exit Park."

"Shirou! Take me there!" Mikoto Misaka said, looking at Shirou.

"I see!"

Shirou led Mikoto Misaka to the vicinity of Ikebukuro West Exit Park, a bustling downtown area. Because it is located at the intersection of subway stations, all kinds of people come and go from here every day.

Mikoto Misaka's hair stood on end with a single ahoge (antenna-like strand) emitting a crackling electrical current, scanning the crowd like a radar. She said, "Kuroko is over there in the crowd."

"Really? Great! Let's go find them." Shirou nodded and chuckled. If they found that spatial ability user, they might be able to find out the truth behind everything.

Just then, a mournful animal cry rang out from a nearby alley.

Mikoto Misaka rushed forward immediately, and Shirou quickly followed.

The alleyway had somehow lost its color, turning a grayish-white expanse, as if time had stood still. Dozens of small animal corpses lay forlornly on the ground.

Standing there was a handsome blue-haired man dressed in a white suit and tuxedo, as if he were going to a wedding, wearing white gloves. However, his demeanor was extremely strange—cruel, indifferent, and morbid, unlike that of a human.

"Seriously... I've become so destitute just to survive that it makes you want to cry."

The corpses of small animals on the ground floated up with pale white phosphorescent flames, like souls, before being absorbed into the man's body.

"Damn it! What did you do?!" Mikoto Misaka unleashed an electric shock at the other person.

Pale white flames appeared out of nowhere, forming a wall of fire that protected the man from the electric shock.

"Oh dear, I didn't expect to encounter such special guests so soon. The ability to move freely within this sealed-off area, and this electric current... Could they also be strangers who have fallen into this predicament? Shouldn't we be more considerate and polite to each other?"

"Who wants to be polite to a bastard like you who tortures and kills small animals!" Mikoto Misaka roared.

"That's a real shame," the man said with a smile, then turned his gaze to Shirou.

"Hmm? You seem to be a native of this place, right? This kind of Power of Existence... could you be a sublime person? I'm just lucky."

"So you're not just a psychopath, you're a man-eating monster? That's enough, the worst-case scenario has occurred," Shirou asked, glaring at the man.

"Well, for safety's sake, I've never laid a hand on a human. But if I could absorb your Power of Existence, it seems I could regain my original strength, hehehe."

"That's an honor, I am Shirou Emiya! Bring it on if you dare!" Shirou said calmly, staring at the man.

"I've already remembered your taste. Let's meet again next time."

The strange man, dressed in a tuxedo, floated in mid-air as if he had spread his bat-like wings. After absorbing all the phosphorescent light in his hands, he turned and flew away.

"Damn it! Don't go!" Mikoto Misaka unleashed an electric current, stepped onto the wall, and chased after the Black Shadow.

Due to the impact, Mikoto Misaka's handkerchief fell out of her pocket.

"Misaka!" Shirou called out, but the girl had already chased after him and run far away.

With his current average walking speed, he couldn't catch up with the girl.

Shirou picked up the handkerchief, gritted his teeth, glanced around, and saw that a building's door was not closed. He quickly rushed up to it.

"Shirai Kuroko! Look up at the sky!!!" Shirou ran up to the rooftop of the building, threw Mikoto Misaka's body pillow into the air, and shouted loudly into the crowd.

"Huh?" The passersby all looked up in surprise.

"Um! Could it be a cartoon Elder Sister?!"

Suddenly, a very peculiar scream rang out from within the crowd.

Then a girl with curly twin ponytails appeared out of thin air in the sky, pounced on it, and hugged the pillow in mid-air. She held it with both hands and her legs, clinging to it like a koala, twisting and turning in the air.

"Shirai! Stop it! Mikoto Misaka is in danger, come help!" Shirou shouted loudly at the girl who was lost in the air.

Chapter 1089 Mikoto Misaka and the Blue-haired Man

"What! What Elder Sister?!"

Upon hearing Shirou's words, Kuroko dropped her infatuated act, her eyes widening in serious anger, and instantly teleported to the balcony of the high-rise building where Shirou had spoken.

"What's going on! Explain yourself!" Kuroko said warily, looking at Shirou.

"No time for nonsense, teleport me there first! We'll talk as we go!" Shirou handed Mikoto Misaka's Gekota handkerchief to Kuroko!

Kuroko picked up the handkerchief, placed it on her nose, and inhaled deeply.

"Sniff! It really is my Elder Sister's scent!"

"Just take me flying! There's no time to waste!" Shirou shouted.

Kuroko grabbed Shirou's hand and placed it on his shoulder, then teleported away while shouting:

"I understand! You hentai-san who found my Elder Sister's handkerchief and is carrying my Elder Sister pillow, if I find out you're lying, I won't let you off the hook."

"It's not my place to talk about me!" Shirou retorted.

"You're just a hentai! Your male gorilla scent mixed with my Elder Sister's body fragrance is disgusting! Sniff!!!" Kuroko said disgustedly, then took a deep sniff of Mikoto Misaka's handkerchief.

"Then don't smell it!!"

"Hmph! My sister's precious things will be kept by me, Kuroko. They must not be entrusted to a dangerous person like you," Kuroko said sarcastically.

"Alright, the body pillow is yours now, hurry up and fly!" Shirou pointed in a direction and said irritably.

"Keep your hands on Kuroko's shoulders. If you move around and fall to your Kuroko, I won't be responsible!" Kuroko listened to Shirou's instructions and quickly moved forward.

To effectively utilize scientific superpowers, in addition to developing physical adaptability, a great deal of physics knowledge is often required, which can be achieved through precise calculations.

This is especially true for teleportation, a ability to move spatial coordinates. A careless mistake could even result in disastrous consequences like getting one's body stuck to a wall.

Fortunately, the differences in this world weren't too great; at least the basic physical attributes weren't off. Kuroko's abilities functioned without too many errors.

For Kuroko, teleporting instantly with just one person in tow in the air without any obstacles was not a burden.

Shirou placed his hands on the girl's shoulders, thus escaping the ground. Every time gravity tried to pull him back down, the girl would perform a new teleportation, making the whole process as thrilling as riding an elevator.

Although flying around in the air is a bit too conspicuous, I can't worry about that now.

With Kuroko's teleportation mount as a help, there was finally hope of catching up with the opponent.

Misaka, please don't act rashly! You don't like the other person at all!

Based on their previous conversation, Shirou had more or less guessed the identity of the Blue-haired Man.

At this moment, lightning flashed on Mikoto Misaka's side, who was chasing hard ahead.

A long spear of lightning shot straight towards the floating man in front of him.

Lightning Strike Gun--!!

The Blue-haired Man could fly, gracefully circling to the side; the straight current of electricity had little effect on him.

Mikoto Misaka gritted her teeth and unleashed a series of lightning spear strikes.

"It's no use, you should just give up," the Blue-haired Man said with an elegant and leisurely air.

At that moment, Mikoto Misaka smiled, and the lightning spears she had fired suddenly dispersed in front of her, connecting together to form an electric net that blocked the Blue-haired Man's path.

"Hmm!"

The girl threw a ball of lightning, which hit the Blue-haired Man squarely.

"Hmph! How about that move?!" Mikoto Misaka said with a smug smile.

The lightning burned several holes in the Blue-haired Man's white suit, revealing the once-refined nobleman in a disheveled state.

The Blue-haired Man's face turned cold, and he spoke in a deep voice.

"Is that so? I was originally thinking of not being too conspicuous for now, lest I attract the attention of troublesome guys, but I imagine there will be quite a few naive individuals like this little girl coming here. Well then, I guess I'll absorb your phosphorescent fire."

"Huh? A soul? I don't believe in such ambiguous things, but even if I did, I would never give it to you!" Mikoto Misaka glared at the man and said decisively.

She didn't know the man's identity; perhaps he was a character mentioned in some novel. Following the ground, she only knew that she absolutely couldn't let a guy like the Blue-haired Man wander around here. Otherwise, who knew what kind of bad things he might do.

Just as Shirou said, the humans in this world have no power, no superpowers, no True Magic, and a bunch of strange people. But it is precisely because of this that Mikoto Misaka wants to protect this world even more, because it is much better than the chaotic Academy City.

Although she was just a passerby, she would never let anyone who wanted to destroy this world get away with it.

White flames erupted from the Blue-haired Man's body, and the burning areas miraculously restored his suit to its original condition. This level of damage had no effect on him.

The Blue-haired Man tossed a gold coin, and the afterimage left by the coin as it tumbled transformed into a long chain that swept towards the girl.

Snap!!

The chain was struck and flew away.

A sword made of black iron sand appeared in Mikoto Misaka's hand. The surface of the blade trembled, and it seemed as if there were serrated edges spinning at high speed.

"So your ability isn't just about unleashing lightning?" the Blue-haired Man asked, examining the iron sand sword in Mikoto Misaka's hand with great interest.

"Does your world have no science? This is just a simple application. How barbaric! Did you not receive the compulsory education you were supposed to have?" Mikoto Misaka said sarcastically.

"Oh, I see. So the world isn't that different for you. That's why you're so lively and energetic," the Blue-haired Man thought to himself, resting his chin on his hand.

'If the closer a world is to this world, the more power it retains, then even if my arch- Flame Haze Warrior, came here, they would probably be in the same boat as me. If that's the case...'

"There's a big difference, but I'm not some alien relic like you. At least I'm human!" Mikoto Misaka declared loudly, proud of her identity.

"Yes, you're human too. Let me absorb your Power of Existence! Who knows, you might even possess some rare Noble Phantasm within you." Fariagani's eyes flashed with a fierce light.

Since the Flame Haze Warrior poses no threat, there's no point in hiding anymore!

Chapter 1090 Crimson Realm Demon King

"Kuroko! Hurry up!" Shirou urged.

"I'm already going at top speed!" Kuroko shouted.

Suddenly, dark clouds gathered in the sky, a huge thunderclap erupted in front, and a white light shone beneath the clouds as a powerful bolt of lightning suddenly descended from the sky.

"Elder Sister!" Kuroko was startled and rushed towards the place where the lightning had struck.

The girl knew that her Elder Sister, Mikoto Misaka, wouldn't have used this technique unless she was forced into a corner.

Shirou had a bad feeling. His opponent was not only powerful but also cunning and possessed a variety of Noble Phantasm with different abilities, making him virtually impossible to defend against.

Mikoto Misaka is very strong, but her opponent is no pushover either.

At this moment, Mikoto Misaka unleashed her ultimate move, summoning lightning.

A powerful bolt of lightning transformed into a pillar of light, striking the Blue-haired Man and engulfing him within it.

"How was it this time!" Mikoto Misaka knew that the man's defensive capabilities were amazing; ordinary electric shocks couldn't harm him, but if it were a lightning strike, the power of nature was not something that could be easily withstood.

At that moment, in the blind spot of the girl's vision, a deck of cards appeared, scattered into fifty-four cards, and each of the fifty-four cards was further divided into several smaller cards. Each card was imbued with some kind of power, emitting a cold light like a blade.

Then she plunged down towards Mikoto Misaka.

Caught off guard, Mikoto Misaka abruptly looked up and unleashed a thunderstorm that struck overhead. The electric current hit the playing cards as heavily as if they had hit a rock, and thick white smoke billowed up with the explosion.

However, dozens of sharp, blade-like playing cards still managed to reach her without being blocked.