A Critical Moment / Accelerator Questions His Entire Life

On the other side, after Misaka Mikoto parted ways with the Misaka Sister, she didn't go back immediately. She had too many questions in her mind and needed to find answers right away, otherwise she definitely wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

Of course, if she knew the answer, she would be even less able to fall asleep.

After Misaka Mikoto asks Uiharu Kazari for the information about that string of codes, she prepares to hack into Academy City's information center to find the truth.

In an empty phone booth, she easily used her ability to access the database and find information on the 'Ability Unlimited'.

After reading the entire experimental plan, Misaka Mikoto trembled all over, suffering a severe mental shock.

She was completely unable to accept this cruel reality and was on the verge of a breakdown.

This inhumane experimental program completely shattered her previous understanding, and its impact on her was immense.

She recalled the time when she donated her genetic map, a time when she was so naive.

"It's all my fault!" Misaka Mikoto was filled with deep self-blame, taking all the responsibility and blame upon herself.

"An absolute esper! Another level 6. Why are so many people obsessed with level 6?" Misaka Mikoto slammed her fist hard against the door frame of the phone booth.

While blaming herself, she was also furious. She had been deceived and hated the researchers who conducted experiment after experiment for the elusive goal of creating an 'Absolute Ability User'.

"Fuwu?"

Fou noticed that Misaka Mikoto was acting strangely, and it let out a soft meow.

"I'm sorry, I have to stop this experiment and can't take you home right away."

Misaka Mikoto found the time and location of tonight's experiment in the database. She quickly glanced at the current time; the experiment was about to start, and she had no time to waste.

She put Fou down and rushed towards the experimental site at full speed. She wanted to stop the experiment and save the Misaka Sister who called her "Big Sister".

"Fou!"

Fou was inexplicably abandoned here, puzzled. It stood there, blinking its little eyes, looking somewhat lost.

It hesitated, wondering whether to go back on its own or wait for Misaka Mikoto to come and take it away.

A moment later, it twitched its pointed ears to make a decision, then suddenly darted forward, its little legs moving incredibly fast as it quickly chased after Misaka Mikoto in the direction she had gone.

Fou was worried about Misaka Mikoto's condition and decided to chase after her to see what had happened.

Fou ran at full speed and soon caught up with Misaka Mikoto, leaping onto her shoulders in a few bounds.

"Why did you come with me? I have something very important to do and don't have time to take care of you."

Misaka Mikoto saw Fou jump onto her shoulder and spoke in a very urgent tone.

She kept walking and reached out to push Fou away, trying to shoo it away.

Upon learning that the test subject was Accelerator, the strongest Level 5 in Academy City, she prepared to fight Accelerator.

If Fou goes with her, she will inevitably encounter danger, and she is unwilling to take Fou with her, as that would bring danger to Fou.

The kind-hearted Misaka Mikoto doesn't want to see anyone else get hurt because of her, not even a pet.

"Fu!"

Fou let out a soft cry, jumped slightly to avoid Misaka Mikoto's shove, and continued to stand on her shoulder.

Her movements were swift, Misaka Mikoto's wish for it to leave was thwarted.

There was no time to waste on anything else, so Misaka Mikoto didn't chase Fou away when she saw that it didn't want to leave.

She planned to shake Fou off as soon as the battle began, to prevent it from getting caught in the crossfire.

The man and the beast quickly headed towards the experimental site for the night.

"We absolutely have to make it!"

Misaka Mikoto was extremely anxious and her movements were very agitated, which contrasted sharply with Fou, who was quietly sitting on her shoulder.

Chapter 23, Section 196: A Close Call

In a dark corner of Academy City.

Misaka Sister kept running away, she was already panting heavily, with many wounds on her body, and bloodstains stained her Tokiwadai school uniform.

"Hey! Is this all there is to it?"

Accelerator strolled leisurely behind the Misaka Sister, a bored expression on his face as he muttered some meaningless words.

Misaka Sister kept changing direction, occasionally turning back to shoot at Accelerator.

However, her attacks failed to inflict any real damage on Accelerator.

Accelerator, who possesses the powerful superpower of Vector Control, is the strongest among the seven Level 5s in Academy City.

Misaka Sister's attacks were nothing more than tickles to him, so it's no wonder he found them boring.

This unequal disparity in strength cannot be called a battle at all; it is simply a one-sided massacre.

Accelerator occasionally controlled objects to attack Misaka Sister, as if he were playing a cat-and-mouse game, not killing them immediately.

Misaka Sister struggled immensely against Accelerator, who seemed to be taking a leisurely stroll. She constantly dodged and ran from one alley to another, trying to find ways to counterattack at every turn.

The battle lines were thus stretched out very far, gradually shifting to other areas.

Unbeknownst to them, Misaka Sister escaped to a container terminal, where huge containers were everywhere.

Using the containers as cover, she continued the standoff with Accelerator.

Of course, this stalemate was just wishful thinking on her part. For Accelerator, this was a game he could end at any time. He was just playing it now, and he would naturally end this boring game when he got tired of it.

"Got you?"

Accelerator encountered Misaka Sister at a corner, and a terrifying smile appeared on his face.

Misaka Sister reacted immediately, rolling away from the opponent.

However, no matter how fast she reacted, she was still knocked to the ground by Accelerator's casual strike.

The pain caused her to arch her body, unable to get up from the ground for a moment.

Accelerator slowly walked towards her, while Misaka Sister crawled on the ground, trying to escape his attack range.

Boom!

Suddenly, an explosion occurred beneath Accelerator's feet.

This was a bomb that Misaka Sister had planted here beforehand. She had planned the location long ago, and this time she finally succeeded.

Just as she was about to show her joy at her success, Accelerator's figure slowly emerged from the smoke of the explosion.

Unharmed.

A bomb of this magnitude would have no effect on Accelerator. His abilities allow him to remain unharmed even under nuclear bombs, so it would be impossible for a mere bomb to hurt him.

Vector Control is the ability to control the direction of all energy. It can freely control the direction of all energy, including kinetic, electrical, and thermal energy, as long as it has a direction.

"Huh? Is it that bad? I thought it would give me more surprises."

Accelerator looked bored; he was tired of it and planned to end today's experiment.

Bang!

The immense kinetic energy lifted Misaka Sister up, throwing her body far away. She landed on the ground and rolled continuously until she came to a stop quite a distance away.

Misaka Sister were already severely injured and covered in blood, so she was no longer able to resist. Today's experiment was over.

"Cut!"

Accelerator spat in boredom, preparing to kill the Misaka Sister and end today's experiment.

He saw the shipping containers in the distance and had already prepared a way for Misaka Sister to die today.

The Misaka Sister had already given up struggling; death was their destiny. They had always referred to themselves as experimental animals and did not resist death.

But when she saw the Gekota badge lying not far away, she began to crawl toward it with all her might.

That was a gift from Misaka Mikoto, the first gift her older sister had ever given her. She wanted to hold it in her hands and didn't want to lose it here.

She moved slowly toward the Gekota badge, leaving a trail of blood beneath her.

Struggle, and struggle again.

I was so close, so very close, to getting my sister's gift.

Misaka Sister reached out with all her might for the Gekota badge, hoping to hold it in her hand; it was her most cherished possession.

"It's time to go back and rest."

Accelerator lightly stomped his foot, and a huge shipping container flew up from a distance, crashing down towards Misaka Sister.

If such a huge container were to hit her, Misaka Sister would be crushed to death without any chance of survival.

She was so close to getting the Gekota Badge, but that distance was still far beyond her reach.

So close yet so far.

Misaka Mikoto finally found the place, and she arrived just in time to witness this scene unfold. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she stared at the impending tragedy with a ferocious expression.

However, she was too far away; she was ultimately too late to stop it all from happening.

She was filled with immense anger, her whole body was enveloped in an electric current, crackling and hissing, her hair standing on end from the shock.

We are powerless! We cannot stop it! We cannot forgive it!

However, before her, there was another figure who reacted even faster.

"Fu!!!"

Fou moved faster than lightning, and its cry was drawn out.

In the blink of an eye, Fou moved from Misaka Mikoto's shoulder to the side of the Misaka Sister.

Before the container could even be lowered, Fou even had time to gently call out to the Misaka Sister.

"Fuwu..."

"A little wildcat?" Accelerator also noticed the sudden appearance of Fou.

Although somewhat surprised, he did not stop the falling container, which continued to fall.

Bang!

Just as it was about to land, the huge container was violently smashed away, and a long gun was stuck in it.

The gleaming spear was very conspicuous in the night, indicating that someone had saved Misaka Sister at this critical moment.

Brush!

The spear flew backwards from the container, returning to its owner's hand, leaving only a deep hole in the container.

A girl wearing a white hooded cape slowly walked out, holding a long spear. She was the one who had stopped the container from falling and saved Misaka Sister and Fou.

She walked over to Fou, squatted down, and tried to pick it up.

With a quick movement, Fou dodged the girl's hands and jumped to the other side of Misaka Sister, gently rubbing against Misaka Sister' dirty face and letting out another soft meow.

"Fuwu..."

The girl in white didn't show any extra expression when she saw that Fou ignored her and instead went to care for the Misaka Sister lying on the ground.

She readily abandoned the idea of picking up Fou and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Chapter 24, Section 197: Accelerator, Questioning Life

Accelerator was momentarily stunned when his experiment was interrupted by the girl in white.

He said to the girl, "Hey, the experiment isn't over yet. Are you in too much of a hurry to clean up now?"

When Accelerator recognized the girl in front of him as someone who had come to collect corpses, Accelerator showed an annoyed expression of being disturbed.

"It cannot die."

The girl's emotionless tone startled Accelerator.

"Can't die? You mean this experimental animal?" Accelerator asked, puzzled.