Toaru Majutsu no Index

Volume 5, Chapter 1: A Certain Scientific One-Way Road. Last_Order.

Part 1

August 31, 12:00AM.

In an alley during midnight, the roars, shrieks, cries and sounds of things being devastated could be heard.

It was a long narrow straight alley, with both sides blocked by concrete walls. The buildings on both sides should be student dormitories.

In the alley, seven youths were panting heavily, and three were already down on the ground, bleeding.

The seven youths were holding onto things like switchblades, batons, and tear gas canisters. Though those were all devastating weapons, the people holding them didn\'t seem to be proficient enough to use them, giving one the feeling that they just took them out from a plastic bag or something. Since those things were weapons, no, maybe it was because amateurs were wielding them that those things were extremely dangerous.

The seven youths surrounded the one boy.

Their eyes were bloodshot.

However, the boy who was being surrounded didn\'t do anything.

To the boy, the seven armed people surrounding him didn\'t seem to exist in his sight. He just looked up at the night sky that was cut into a long strip as he stood around looking like he was pondering about something.

The boy seemed to have come back from a convenience store, as he was holding onto a plastic bag with a shop brand on it. The plastic bag was swaying about, and there were more than ten cans of something like coffee in that fully filled bag.

The impression that the boy gave was white, white, white.

But what gave a larger impression was the title of being the strongest Level 5 in Academy City.

The boy named Accelerator casually thought.

What was the significance of him fighting against that Level 0?

“HAAAHH!!”

Another delinquent rolled onto the floor, crying in pain.

One of the delinquents surrounding Accelerator thrust a knife at his back, but Accelerator didn\'t even give a look back. The delinquent exerted all his weight onto the sharp point of the knife as he attacked at that seemingly defenseless, weak back. He had taken part in the experiment that had used the twenty thousand Sisters to evolve himself into a Level 6, and this was the result.

How did this defeat change the world?

BAM!

The sound of a bone breaking could be heard from behind Accelerator.

Of course, that devastation didn\'t come from Accelerator\'s body. The delinquent who charged at his back with a knife had his wrist broken. The redirection ability that was exerted onto the blade of the knife had caused the slender wrist holding it to break, as it had been unable to withstand that force.

“AAAHHHHH!!!”

Another delinquent\'s cry could be heard.

The delinquent grabbed his hand as he rolled about on the dirty ground. It looked almost comical.

Seemed like from that moment, the boy was no longer considered the strongest in Academy City.

He was one of the seven Level 5s in Academy City, with the ability to redirect all sorts of vectors, whether they be kinetic energy on the skin, heat energy, electrical energy or anything else, and that hadn\'t changed at all.

Their comrade\'s voice seemed to have become a trigger and the six remaining youths charged forward.

But was there really anyone amongst them who thought that they could win?

Their eyes were bloodshot.

But that seemed to be due to extreme nervousness, insecurity, fear and anxiousness.

Ever since that battle, Accelerator had been attacked from all directions, whether day or night.

The legend that he was the strongest in Academy City was broken, that was what everyone who attacked him believed.

Amongst the roars, the knives and batons started to swing, but Accelerator ignored them.

He lazily let his arms drop, not doing anything, just waiting for the enemy to defeat themselves.

All the forces of the savage youths attacks would be redirected and concentrated on their complicated but weak wrist bones.

But like the rest, those people seemed to realise something.

The moment they had failed the first time, they realised that the legend of Academy City\'s strongest still existed.

The sounds of the savage youths breaking their bones could be heard. They let out cries of agony and rolled onto the floor, but Accelerator continued to ignore them.

At that moment, one of the youths used a psychic power at Accelerator. Why had he waited until now to use it? Maybe he realised that it was too dangerous to use normal physical attacks, or maybe his own remaining bit of conscience had caused him not to use it until the end.

But the number of attacks never decreased.

No matter how many times he beat the enemies, no matter how many times he proved his power, he couldn\'t break the label those idiots had stuck on him.

Accelerator didn\'t know what kind of power it was that the savage youth just let out, but naturally it was redirected; it was just that simple.

The youth who had his attack redirected seemed shocked, and the next second, he took the full brunt of the attack he had been so confident in and rolled away on the ground. However, since he was not dead, it seemed like he was somewhere around a Level 2.

Accelerator pondered.

After that battle with the Sisters and the Railgun, how had Accelerator changed?

Had Accelerator gotten weaker, or stronger? Or rather, that nameless Level 0, had he gotten weaker, or stronger?

“Hm?”

Accelerator suddenly noticed the commotion surrounding him had disappeared.

At that moment, he turned his eyes away from the long stretch of the night sky and looked around. The people who had stubbornly surrounded Accelerator had defeated themselves, and they were lying peacefully on the dirty ground.

With the blood splatters, maybe the word \'sleeping\' was too much of an understatement, but at least no one had died. To have fought Accelerator head on and still be able to remain alive could be considered a miracle in itself.

Looking back, the ten youths who had attacked Accelerator were on the ground, but Accelerator hadn\'t done anything, let alone fight.

To him, the scenario was such that he just went to a convenience store to buy canned coffee and wanted to go home—that was how it was to him. He didn\'t intend to deal the finishing blow to them as well. He could kill those he could kill tomorrow, and those he could kill tomorrow, he could kill them one year later. It was stupid to be serious with those people. This was different from that experiment, no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn\'t be able to reach the end. How was swimming endlessly different from drowning?

“Eh...that\'s not right. If it were the old me, I wouldn\'t have let off those people who challenged me so easily. I really have changed, but how? What\'s the situation now? What happened?”

Accelerator tilted his head and pondered.

After experiencing battles where he won and lost, a one-sided victory was no longer able to satisfy him—such a conclusion was way too idealistic. Anyone who could recall being beaten up happily was most definitely a masochist.

“Hm...”

Accelerator folded his arms in front of his chest. The canned coffee in the bag started to sway about. There were more than ten of them, and they were all of the same brand. Whenever he found a coffee brand he liked, Accelerator would continue to drink it until he got sick of it less than a week later. The he\'d switch brands and continue the pattern.

(What\'s going on? Why am I so unmotivated?)

He again looked up at the long stretch of the night sky. At this moment, around seven or eight levels above him, he heard an angry girl\'s shouts.

“CAN’T POSSIBLY...AT ALL!? I’M STILL A GIRL...THOSE KINDS OF THOUGHTS...I STILL HAVE... PRIDE AS A GIRL!!”

As it was midnight, that voice could be heard very loudly.

What the heck, a lovers\' squabble? Accelerator thus redirected that excessive noise, the air vibrations away from his ears. If he had done that a few seconds later, he would have heard the familiar painful cry of that Level 0.

The redirection ability could be done unconsciously through some simple calculations. He just needed to calculate the minimum required forces (gravity, air pressure, light, oxygen, heat, sound wavelength, etc.) and redirect everything else. If he really redirected all forces, he would be tossed out of the atmosphere because gravity was redirected.

After Accelerator re-calibrated the noise that was transmitted to him, he walked out of the alley and arrived at the road. He continued to look up at the sky; there was no need to look forward because he didn\'t need to notice any obstacles. With the redirection ability of his, his body wouldn\'t be hurt at all.

But it was because of this that Accelerator failed to notice something.

Someone was following Accelerator closely from behind, shouting their vocal chords out.

“Ah?”

Accelerator continued to walk forward as he turned to look behind.

It was a strange person. First, their attire was very weird. The person was completely covered in a dirty towel. The light blue towel, which looked like the cloak of a mysterious organization, covered this person\'s body and face completely. Of course, Accelerator couldn\'t tell what the person was wearing inside.

Also, the person was extremely short. Accelerator couldn\'t be considered tall, but this person was only as tall as his stomach. This person looked like they were a ten-year-old boy or girl. Considering the average age for a vagrant, this person was a little too young. However, 80% of the city inhabitants were students, so it was not completely true that there were no vagrants around.

The little towel monster seemed to be shouting something at Accelerator.

“—!.....——, ———..................!?”

But since their voice was redirected, Accelerator couldn\'t hear anything. He casually looked up at the sky and tried to shut the redirection down.

A high-pitched yet calm sounding voice of a girl reached Accelerator\'s ears.

“—Ara ara, it\'s somewhat refreshing too even though Misaka is ignored. Speaking of which, if it was deliberate, why are you walking so naturally? Is this person someone really dense? ponders Misaka as Misaka tilts her head.”

This girl was standing only about ten centimetres from Accelerator. Anyone who understood Accelerator and saw this would have desperately pulled the girl away from him, or would have abandoned the girl\'s life, thinking that it was useless to try to save her now.

That boy could kill people with just a single finger. The girl, who was only ten centimetres away from him, was no different from someone who put her head into a lion\'s mouth.

But even after a few moments, there was no bloodbath.

The girl was still standing around carefully.

Accelerator frowned slightly. His power was able to change the vector of anything he touched, which in other words meant that he wouldn\'t hurt anyone no matter how close they were, as long as they didn\'t touch him.

Redirection was merely redirection, it could only hurt people with ill intent.

Anyone who didn\'t mean ill wouldn\'t be hurt.

“...How boring.”

“Though he\'s muttering, the distance between us continue to increase. Can\'t this person see Misaka? Or did he treat Misaka as a pixie? Hello, Misaka is here! exclaims Misaka as Misaka tries her best to emphasize her existence but was completely ignored!?”

Accelerator tilted his stiff neck left and right as he headed towards his house.

The girl who was being ignored seemed somewhat panicky as she exclaimed, “Hello! Misaka is here—eh? Does this person treat Misaka as something invisible? says Misaka as Misaka tilts her head and tries to fulfill the Misaka style...hm? How many Misaka did Misaka just say? wonders Misaka as Misaka\'s brain is all confused now.”

“Hold on...did you just call yourself Misaka?”

Accelerator suddenly stopped. The girl in the towel seemed rather happy as she walked forward in small steps. However, Accelerator couldn\'t see her expression, so he couldn\'t confirm her feeling.

“Oohh! This person finally acknowledged Misaka\'s existence, says Misaka as Misaka\'s feeling proud of it. So the saying \'I think, therefore I am\' is a lie, since there\'s somebody else acknowledging Misaka\'s own existence besides Misaka\'s own view, says Misaka as Misaka completely denies her half-understanding of the saying \'I think, therefore I am\'.”[1]

“That\'s enough, shut up and take off that towel that\'s covering you entirely. Show me your face.”

“Eh? Eh...erm...erm...isn\'t it too bold for a girl to take off her clothes in the middle of the streets? This is a little too crazy—that—says Misaka as Misaka confirms it again, are you for real?”

“...”

“Wah, he\'s not saying anything at all! This person is looking extremely serious! Please don\'t take off this towel because what\'s underneath isn\'t suitable to be seen woahhhh...”

The girl was no longer speaking calmly at the last moment, but it was too late. The towel that was covering her head was pulled down and away.

—Accelerator first saw her face.

She had a similar face as the Radio Noise Sisters Accelerator was familiar with. However, the Sisters were all designated at fourteen years old, and this girl looked about ten. The girl seemed shocked as her eyes widened. This expression was also completely different from the Sisters.

—Then, her shoulders.

The girl\'s clothes had a rather exposed design. Her body was also like a ten year old, as her collarbones were extremely slender, looking like they would break anytime.

—He then saw her exposed chest.

—And then her exposed abdomen.

—And finally her exposed legs.

“Ah? What\'s this?—What\'s the situation now?”

Holding onto the towel, Accelerator inadvertently froze. If anyone who was familiar with him saw this, they would have frozen for a moment and then started rolling on the floor laughing.

Basically, the girl wasn\'t wearing anything underneath.

Maybe the girl couldn\'t grasp the situation quickly as she was unable to react, and she stood around blankly.

Basically, there was a completely naked girl in front of Accelerator.

Part 2

August 31st 12:25AM.

The girl cried as she demanded her towel back, and Accelerator finally threw the dirty towel back to her. The girl grabbed the towel and immediately wrapped herself up in the towel discreetly. She then started to mention the request nobody had asked to hear.

“Misaka\'s serial number is 20001, the last Sister that was created, says Misaka as Misaka explains everything. Misaka\'s code name is the easy-to-understand Last Order, and Misaka was used in the experiment, says Misaka as Misaka grumbles.”

“Oh.”

Accelerator completely ignored her as he continued to increase the distance between them.

Last Order finally caught up to him and said, “But like everyone knows, the experiment ended midway through, and Misaka didn\'t even finish her body adjustments, says Misaka as Misaka continues to explain. The Misaka that was created midway through and thrown out of the incubator looks a lot smaller than a normal Misaka, so says Misaka as Misaka...are you listening?”

“And what do you want me to do?”

Accelerator asked as he walked on.

According to reports, the Sisters had been sent to other organizations after the experiment had ended, but since there were almost ten thousand of them, it was likely that a few Sisters may have been ignored. If so, she was wandering on the streets because of management lapses and had no place to go?

At that moment, the homeless girl with a ten-year-old appearance dragged her towel and said, “You\'re a key person to the experiment, so you should have some sort of link with the researchers. If possible, I hope that you can help me contact these researchers, says Misaka as Misaka thinks. Right now, Misaka\'s body and personality is incomplete, so she\'s really unstable. If possible, Misaka hopes that Misaka can enter the incubator again and complete the process, explains Misaka as Misaka puts two hands together, tilts her head and gives a cute look as she begs you.”

“Find someone else.”

“WAH! A QUICK REFUSAL! exclaims Misaka as Misaka gives up. But Misaka has no other people to rely on, so Misaka will never give up.”

“...”

Accelerator sighed.

(What\'s with her?)

He was a killing monster. He had killed over ten thousand Sister clones that had been created from Misaka Mikoto\'s genes. The Sisters could share a common memory through their brains, so this \'Last Order\' should have been aware of that.

Maybe Last Order didn\'t have any neural link functions because she was incomplete? Besides, there was another suspicious point. The Sisters personalities were of a learning type, but Last Order\'s personality was a whole lot different from the Sisters. However, looking at the Sisters personalities, it was hard to tell which were incomplete.

Accelerator was feeling irritated by the girl in front of him who was trying to act all familiar with him, thinking that since the Sisters in the experiment had nothing to do with his safety, the girl in front of him should be like them.

Part 3

August 31st 12:51AM

Through an alley off the road and down a few narrow lanes, they finally arrived at a five-storey student dorm. The surrounding buildings were more than ten levels tall, and in contrast, this student dormitory had a dark and damp feeling. It seemed like the damp air had sunk deeply into the concrete of the entire building.

“Wah! Your place is really good, says Misaka as Misaka can\'t help but praise.”

“Are you mocking me?”

“It\'s a good thing to have your own room and a place that belongs to you, explains Misaka as Misaka\'s eyes widen.”

The barefooted brat that continued to follow Accelerator, Last Order, didn\'t have any ill intent on her face. Accelerator ignored her as he walked into the building and climbed the concrete stairs that were in disrepair.

At that moment, there was the sound of a towel being dragged.

Accelerator, while climbing up the stairs and without turning back, said, “Oi, how long are you going to follow me...”

“Sorry to bother you! says Misaka as Misaka takes the first move.”

“...”

“Thank you for your hospitality! says Misaka as Misaka hopes for three meals and snacks and nap time!”

Anyway, she probably wished that Accelerator would provide her with lodging and food before they contacted the researchers of the experiment.

“Sigh...” Accelerator shook his head as he sighed.

“Choose, take the stairs down or be chucked off the handrail.”

“WAH! Misaka is an idiot for thinking that you softened your stance! says Misaka as Misaka uses her fist to knock her head gently. But if Misaka leaves you now, Misaka may be unable to contact you. And it\'s dangerous for a girl to live on the streets, so Misaka can\'t back away, says Misaka as Misaka tries to explain what she meant.”

After reaching the third level, Accelerator moved away from the stairs and arrived at the corridor. At that moment, Last Order ran in front of Accelerator and turned to face him, stretching her arms out to block him.

“Which is your room? asks Misaka as Misaka tries to ask.”

“None of your business.”

“Which room? Which room? asks Misaka as Misaka completely ignores other people and continues to ask you who has zero communication skills.”

“...Seems like you\'re an idiot who won\'t shut up until you meet the coffin, huh?”

Hearing Accelerator mock her, Last Order didn\'t reply. However, she was not lacking words, but deliberately shutting her mouth to create a small space in the conversation, causing both sides to remain silent.

After a while, Last Order finally said something.

She narrowed her eyes and said, calmly and slowly, “Electromagnetic sounds detected. Wavelength at 3100 Hertz. Detecting situation, at this moment, there are five people armed with unknown dangerous objects, says Misaka as Misaka honestly reports. That may be your room, says Misaka as Misaka gives a warning.”

“...What?”

Accelerator narrowed his eyes. Like what had happened in the alley, Accelerator had been attacked by countless delinquents. There was still a possibility that the enemy may be lying in ambush in his room.

“Hurry up and say it, hurry up and say it, what number is your room? asks Misaka as Misaka tries to ask.”

Accelerator pondered for a while, and said, “Room 304.”

“Ah, seems like that\'s the one, says Misaka as Misaka points her finger at the door. Misaka will go look! Excuse me! says Misaka as Misaka doesn\'t forget her manners.”

Last Order continued to rattle off as she walked towards room 304. She had just said that there were intruders, and yet she didn\'t look wary at all.

She reached her hand out to grab the handle in front of her, and opened the door. The electric lock seemed to be opened by her ability. Last Order seemed rather satisfied with her skills as she happily entered the room. Accelerator glanced at her, and then ignored her as he headed to his own room door.

After a while, from the room behind Accelerator, there was the sound of the TV airing a late night show, the angry growls of the room\'s owner and Last Order sounding rather calm as she apologized.

After that, Accelerator heard the sound of a loud \'BAM\' as the door closed, and Last Order took huge strides as she caught up to Accelerator.

“That completely looked like someone else\'s room, says Misaka as Misaka remains extremely angry. So you\'re someone who likes to play such pranks, protests Misaka as Misaka\'s eyes wells up with tears. But it seems like you aren\'t listening to Misaka at all, right?”

“Shut up. It\'s not easy to trick me. What 3100 MHz? That\'s a microwave unit, right?”

“Uu...the microwaves can also be used on radar and many communication signals, so your reply is meaningless, says Misaka as Misaka tries her luck as she retorts.”

As for whether that was a lie, Last Order didn\'t deny it. Accelerator snorted impatiently.

“How can my room be room 304? Can\'t you tell from the door sign?”

“Misaka also doesn\'t know your real name, says Misaka as Misaka tries to retort.”

“Same here.”

“Ah, we actually had a common idea, that\'s a miracle, says Misaka as Misaka tries to use this to ask, what is your room number? asks Misaka as Misaka opens her mouth to ask.”

“Room 307.”

“Yay!”

Last Order sounded rather calm as she forcefully opened the door. Ten seconds later, she found that she had walked into someone else\'s room again, and could only lower her head dejectedly as she followed behind Accelerator.

“Uu, why must you be such a meanie? asks Misaka as Misaka remains dejected. Even if your room is messy, Misaka won\'t mind at all, says Misaka as Misaka explains.”

Accelerator ignored her as he walked to his own room, room 311. But then he stopped.

Something was not right.

“Oi oi, what\'s going on?”

First, the door was missing.

Looking inside the ajar door, the room was in complete disarray.

There were not just a large number of footprints on the floor, everything in the room was thoroughly decimated. The wallpaper and floor were peeled, the shoe shelf was shattered, there were burn marks left in the kitchen, indicating that someone had set fire to it, the TV was hacked in half, the bed was broken, the cotton in the sofa was ripped out.

It seemed like the room had been attacked while Accelerator went out. Since the attackers found that their target wasn\'t at home, they had vented their frustrations on the room, causing it to become like this.

“Wah! Seems like something big and bad happened, says Misaka as Misaka is rendered speechless.”

Hearing Last Order say that no-brainer, Accelerator smirked.

“Seems like your lie became true.”

Seeing the scene in front of him, for a moment, just a moment, Accelerator inadvertently stopped breathing.

Basically, this was his limit.

Though his power could defend himself thoroughly, he couldn\'t protect anything else.

“...Such stupidity.”

Accelerator didn\'t even take off his shoes as he walked into his own house. His soles seemed to crush some plastic scrap of a household appliance. Accelerator didn\'t really feel anything about his home becoming like this, as he walked towards the sofa with cotton spilled out all over it and lay down.

“Eh...eh...eh...about...this...is there no need to notify Anti-Skill or Judgment? asks Misaka as Misaka nags.”

“So what if we notify them?”

Accelerator sighed. Maybe the culprits who did this would be caught, but that wouldn\'t prevent Accelerator from being attacked. Tomorrow, two days later, more people would come looking for him.

“Then what do you intend to do? You can stay if you don\'t mind living with the remains of the TV and the fridge, but to be honest, this isn\'t much different from lying down in a slum to sleep.”

He casually concluded that about his own home.

“And there are many broken pieces of glass here, I don\'t think your feet can handle stepping on them, right? Ha, may be safer to sleep on the roads than here.”

“Um...but Misaka still wishes to bother you, says Misaka as Misaka makes this request.”

“Ah? Why?”

“Because I hope to have someone accompany me, says Misaka as Misaka answered without thinking.”

“...”

Accelerator just remained silent and didn\'t say anything else.

He looked dumbfounded as he stared at the ceiling.

“Then I\'ll be intruding! Ah, that table actually remained unscathed despite all this, says Misaka as Misaka points at the table. Misaka decides to sleep on that table...ah...em...for safety reasons, attacking Misaka when Misaka is sleeping is unacceptable, says Misaka as Misaka...”

“Just sleep.”

“Ah! Though Misaka got assured of safety, Misaka still feels some agony, says Misaka as Misaka says this.”

Accelerator shut his eyes. In the darkness, he could hear Last Order treading about. Maybe she wasn\'t used to the dusty air in the room, as Last Order coughed a few times.

Last Order felt abnormally tired.

Thinking about it, he finally concluded.

(What the heck—)

In that gentle darkness, Accelerator was like a child who couldn\'t resist the sleep monster as he casually thought.

(—Thinking about it, how many years has it been since I last heard this kind of innocent voice?)

He pondered.

Part 4

August 31st 11:35AM

The light that shone into the room caused Accelerator to wake up.

This student dormitory was surrounded by tall buildings, so the amount of sunlight his room could receive in a day was limited. It was about noon now, Accelerator pondered. At this moment, he found a face staring at him.

A curious-looking Last Order.

“Ohh! So y\'all people will become direct when y\'all sleep—says Misaka as Misaka tries to talk in a fake Kyoto-ben. Hm, you always looked like that, so you look very different from a kid when you sleep. But this is especially charismatic, says Misaka as Misaka—”

“...”

Accelerator sleepily reflected all the voices around his ears.

“—reveals a SMILE WOOAAHHH!!? EXCLAIMS MISAKA AS MISAKA\'S VOICE GOT LOUDER!!!”

It was as if someone just stood right beside her and roared into a loudspeaker and Last Order inadvertently fell back. She covered her ears and shook her head about as she continued to try and talk to Accelerator with much enthusiasm.

“...”

Accelerator slowly reached his arms out and rubbed his eyes, slowly and weakly.

He stared blankly at Last Order for a while, and then said, “Blanket, blanket.”

“Eh? Are you dazed? asks Misaka as Misaka...KYAAAHHH! HOLD IT, DON\'T TAKE THIS TOWEL! MISAKA SAID BEFORE THAT THIS IS MISAKA\'S TREASURE...!”

“I\'m so sleepy.”

Having grabbed a sleeping item, Accelerator snuggled under the towel like a bedworm as he again sunk into dreamland.

Part 5

August 31st 2:05PM.

Hungry, Accelerator woke up.

Looking up at the clock that was swaying about, he found that it was already past 2. It was already past lunchtime, and just as Accelerator intended to get up and look for something to eat, he found a dirty towel wrapped around his body.

“W-what is...so you\'re still around...? Why are you wrapped in a tablecloth and looking so depressed?”

“...You were sleeping as if you were dead, Misaka couldn\'t wake you up no matter what Misaka did, says Misaka as Misaka feels really depressed about her own uselessness.”

Last Order was using a tattered tablecloth to wrap around her body as she sat down weakly on the floor. She looked like a pitiful person who wasted her entire fortune on lottery tickets, yet didn\'t win at all.

Accelerator\'s redirection wouldn\'t be interrupted even when sleeping. Sometimes, he would even redirect the sound to sleep better, and then nothing would wake Accelerator.

“Uu...uuu...Misaka tried to ask that you return the towel to Misaka. That blue towel lived together with Misaka, it\'s Misaka\'s good companion, and nothing can replace it, says Misaka as Misaka tries to let out a crying attack.”

Of course, Accelerator didn\'t want the dirty and tattered cloth. He tossed it onto Last Order\'s head, who was sitting on the floor, and then casually glanced at the kitchen.

Accelerator wasn\'t in the habit of cooking his own food, but there should be some frozen food in the freezer. However, looking through the entrance to the kitchen, Accelerator, who was sitting on the sofa, gave up and lay down. The freezer had already been tossed out, and the packaging of the frozen food was damaged and scattered all over the floor.

At that moment, Last Order, who switched from the tablecloth to the towel, seemed to recover and she said, “Good morning, though the time should be good afternoon, says Misaka as Misaka lowers her volume to say hello. Misaka is hungry, so if you can cook some food for Misaka, Misaka\'s happiness index will increase by thirty points...”

“Go and sleep.”

“Wah, the intimacy value and calories intake are both zero, says Misaka as Misaka raises her arms high. But this isn\'t to cheer but to surrender, I hope you can understand, says Misaka as Misaka earnestly and politely adds on. It\'s morning now, MORNING, MORNING!”

“...What morning, it\'s already 2PM now.”

Having just woken up, Accelerator had to open his eyes. He was hungry, but what made it harder for him to sleep was this Last Order in front of him. Though he could redirect the sound, it was like putting on an eye patch when bugs were flying around, the uncomfortable feeling couldn\'t be removed. Accelerator got off the sofa and stood up, intending to get rid of the kid as soon as he filled her slightly hungry stomach. Thus, he headed to the door.

“Eh? Isn\'t the kitchen over there? asks Misaka as Misaka points at the correct direction.”

“Why must I cook for you? Do I look like someone who\'ll do something like that?”

“Eh? But Misaka was really looking forward to seeing Accelerator unexpectedly put on an apron and put on a domestic man side, says Misaka as Misaka is really disappointed. Ah? Wait up, you didn\'t even reply to what I said! Are you completely ignoring Misaka now? says Misaka as Misaka can\'t help but start to snivel, but you still continue to ignore Misaka.”

Accelerator wordlessly left the door as Last Order continued to rattle on and follow him.

Part 6

Aug 31st 2:35pm

On August 31st, there was almost no one on the roads.

As 80% of the population were students, most of the people were holed up in their dorms, frantically trying to wrestle with their holiday homework. However, Accelerator and Last Order didn\'t have those issues to deal with.

He brought the young girl down the almost empty streets.

The girl was dragging the light blue towel along as she walked beside the white haired boy.

“Is your hair colour natural? asks Misaka as Misaka tries to ask.”

Last Order asked Accelerator that just as they approached a certain restaurant-chain shop.

“What?”

“Your hair, Misaka points her finger at the hair. A normal person\'s hair can\'t be purely white, says Misaka as Misaka raises her suspicions. And your red eyes don\'t seem normal in a biological sense, says Misaka as Misaka tilts her head, feeling extremely puzzled.”

Though he could just ignore her question, she may continue to rattle on if he did that, so Accelerator decided to answer her question. After eating, he could just send that girl to the researchers or leave her on the streets. Thinking that he only needed to endure for a little longer, he could at least endure that trivial thing.

“This isn\'t natural. Maybe this is a side effect of my powers. I don\'t really understand it though. Whether it\'s my skin, hair or eyes, all the pigments on my body exist to protect my body from UV rays, but my powers can redirect any unwanted UV rays, so my body itself doesn\'t need pigments.”

Even Accelerator was feeling rather surprised that he could be so talkative. He often said some mocking words in the experiment; seemed like he could really be quite talkative.

“Oh, I see. So Misaka finds that Accelerator can still be talked with, says Misaka as Misaka is somewhat surprised.”

“What in the world do you mean by that? Speaking of which, it\'s not a good thing to have powers that are too strong. The outside influence is too little, it seems to cause a loss of balance in the hormones, causing me to have this androgynous appearance.”

“So are you a guy or a girl? asks Misaka as Misaka tries to uncover the truth.”

“Can\'t you tell?”

As Accelerator said that, he started to feel disbelief in regards to his own actions.

Looking at his past thought process now, the conversation he was having with Last Order was already an anomaly in itself. Of course, Accelerator was a member of this society, and he was not so savage that he would kill everyone he met, but he never had the experience of talking to the Sisters so successfully.

Normally, a conversation in the experiment often went like this:

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

“—It is difficult to understand what you mean when you use vague terms such as ‘anything’, replies Misaka. The experiment begins in three minutes and twenty seconds. Are you prepared? asks Misaka to make sure.”

That couldn\'t be a conversation with an ordinary person. It was like they were emotionless robots who were just answering the questions. And Accelerator himself just said this:

“—Dammit, after ten thousand times, this is getting really fucking old. I was hoping to kill some time, but no. There’s just no having a conversation with any of you.”

From the beginning, he never felt that he could communicate successfully with the Sisters. Even up to the end, he really never managed to do so.

However...

It seemed like that battle did really change him, Accelerator thought.

The problem was, what changed?

Why?

What did it change?

“Hello? Hello hello hello? asks Misaka as Misaka tries to say hello to you. Your eyes are blank, are you thinking of anything? asks Misaka as Misaka stares intently at your face.”

“AH? I\'m just wondering whether you could enter the restaurant with just a towel around you.”

“...Uuu, if Misaka\'s the only one left outside, what should Misaka do? asks Misaka as Misaka feels extremely worried.”

“GO sleep.”

“Wah! That almost became your catchphrase, exclaims Misaka as Misaka starts to feel like she should give up.”

Last Order raised her arms and swung them around wildly while remaining expressionless, and Accelerator ignored her as he lifted his head up to look at the afternoon sky.

He finally managed to communicate.

Something invisible was changing.

Part 7

“Welcome, is it just the two of you?”

In the end, the waitress smiled as she invited the towel girl in. Of course, there was a somewhat stiff look on her smiling face. It seemed like this person was a part-time worker, and she couldn\'t handle something that wasn\'t mentioned in the manual.

Accelerator and Last Order chose to sit near the window. In Academy City, 80% of the population were students, and normally, August 31st was a day where people were normally stuck in their houses finishing up their holiday homework. There might have been crowds during lunchtime, but it was already past lunchtime now.

Accelerator casually looked outside a window. At that moment, he saw a white-cloaked person keeping his body down as he walked on the road.

“Ah?”

The moment the man noticed Accelerator looking at him, he acted like he had gotten an electric shock, and he scurried into a parked sports-car in the parking lot.

“That guy...isn\'t that Amai Ao?”

Accelerator muttered. Last Order looked puzzled as she lifted her eyes away from the menu.

Amai Ao was a researcher who was about thirty years old. He was a long-term assistant in the Level 6 research. The experiment that had been calculated and simulated through a supercomputer was deemed to be flawed, and was now in temporary limbo. The researchers of the experiment should be going through the vast amount of information now, trying to find out where the problem occurred...

“That guy...what\'s he doing here...?”

“What are you looking at? What are you thinking of? What are you talking about? asks Misaka as Misaka tries to inquire.”

“Stop spouting nonsense. Think of it, what is the most important thing to you now?”

“Eh? Eating, replies Misaka as Misaka doesn\'t even think about it. Ah, are you saying that Misaka can order anything today no matter what? says Misaka as Misaka feels really excited about it.”

“Hm, I don\'t really care about it all of a sudden.”

What happened to the initial idea of contacting the researchers? Accelerator couldn\'t help but lament. Right now, Amai\'s sports-car had already vanished onto the roads, and Last Order hadn\'t noticed this at all as she rubbed below her eyes, her body swaying about.

“Uuu...no matter what I do recently, Misaka feels rather tired.”

“Not my problem.”

Accelerator randomly ordered some food from the waitress who served some plain water, only to find that Last Order, who was sitting directly opposite him, was staring at him strangely.

“Ah...says Misaka as Misaka is carefully trying to choose how Misaka should say it...what should I say...so you can order food and pay like an ordinary person. This really makes Misaka feel touched.”

“What?”

“Hm, Misaka originally felt that you\'re the kind that will kick the restaurant door down, finish up a king\'s meal and then break the windows to casually escape, trembles Misaka as Misaka says this honestly.”

“Oh, so you\'re talking about that.”

Accelerator nodded away lethargically.

“It\'s not that I can\'t do that, but now that the experiment is halted, I don\'t have any groups supporting me from behind, and I\'ll warrant too much unwanted attention if I exaggerate my movements.”

“Misaka already feels weird when you say it, says Misaka as Misaka can\'t help but butt in. Including Anti-Skill and Judgment, nobody can beat you, says Misaka as Misaka honestly says her thoughts. Speaking of which, it\'s really unbelievable that you would follow the orders of the researchers in the experiment, says Misaka as Misaka tilts her head.”

“I say...”

Accelerator sighed, and then continued.

“Do I need to explain it? Okay, let\'s assume that I create a ruckus in this restaurant. Okay, let\'s assume that I ate a king\'s meal. Now, who\'s my first enemy?”

“Eh, should be the worker, says Misaka as Misaka tries to answer.”

“That\'s right, so I killed the worker instantly. Just an instant. Who\'s next? The boss? I only need a moment just to kill him. Anti-Skill next? Or Judgment? Those people are easier to handle; the more powerful the enemy\'s equipment, the stronger the redirection. Then...what next? It\'ll become something that Academy City can\'t handle, so they will ask for help from outside? But that\'s nothing, just some police, assault squads or armored squads. Thus, Japan couldn\'t handle it, foreign forces, special forces, assassination squads appear, and they couldn\'t handle me. Will it be an air raid? Will it end up with nuclear missiles all over the place?”

Accelerator then continued.

“How does that benefit me?”

Even if he won in a world war with nuclear missiles flying everywhere, if all the humans in the world died, Accelerator could only live on like a primitive person. If he wanted to live like a human, he had to live among humans.

That was the problem for a person with the power to destroy. Accelerator thought, maybe it was the same feeling as a president with his hand on a nuclear missile launch button.

“UU...do you normally talk like a machine gun? asks Misaka as Misaka is surprised.”

“Same as you.”

“No no, according to the information that was forced into my head, the world should have some sort of place like school, says Misaka as Misaka tilts her head and ponders. Can someone like you who has zero communication skills mix around in a class? says Misaka as Misaka again tries to ask.”

“Oh, that isn\'t a problem, I don\'t have classmates anyway.”

“?”

“I\'m a student in a special class, even though I don\'t know if it\'s a good thing or a bad thing,” Accelerator casually said.

Ever since the power development course had caused his ability to awaken, he was drafted into a special class. He was the only one in the class. He didn\'t need to attend a sports meet, nor did he need to attend a culture festival. Though there were almost two thousand students in his school, the cramped class he attended had only a table.

Accelerator wasn\'t really unhappy about it.

A long time ago, a researcher said this to Accelerator: because you\'re the strongest Level 5, this class is a special class for you to evolve into a Level 6. At that moment, Accelerator wondered: What will change when I\'m no longer just the strongest? Will anything change after I evolve into an invincible person?

“Are you lonely? asks Misaka as Misaka wonders.”

“Ah?”

“Misaka is definitely unable to understand the loneliness of a strong person, and other people will definitely be unable to understand that, says Misaka as Misaka guesses, so—”

“Such a ridiculous question. What if I say yes? Are you going to pat my head and comfort me?”

Accelerator casually said that, and after he finished, what was left was an icy silence.

Accelerator was a killer who massacred more than ten thousand people, this was a fact that wouldn\'t change. Since he already made it till here, what \'nobody can understand his loneliness\', what darkness, what comforting words, these didn\'t hold any meaning. Besides, his motive for participating in the experiment was probably that he wanted to find a way to vent his stress.

“—”

Was that so?

Accelerator frowned and tried to recall, was that really so?

If that were the case, it would have been too illogical, Accelerator thought. Something was not right, but Accelerator couldn\'t understand what was wrong. He recalled the events related to that experiment, and finally remembered the reason why he felt that something was wrong.

“—Dammit, after ten thousand times, this is getting really fucking old. I was hoping to kill some time, but no. There’s just no having a conversation with any of you.”

Yes, that was where it felt wrong.

If he really wanted to vent, if he really had wanted to massacre the Sisters like a punching bag, why had he tried to communicate with the Sisters?

In that experiment, the one who had continued to do such unnecessary things was Accelerator.

Though he hadn\'t been able to get through to them, it didn\'t mean that the Sisters weren\'t following their orders. The Sisters had just been flawlessly carrying out the experiment that was predicted, simulated and planned by the supercomputer.

If one viewed it from an experimental standpoint, Accelerator, who had gone against the rules to talk to the Sisters, was the one who had gone out of hand. In fact, during the experiment, no matter whether it was the Sisters or the researchers, none of them had talked with others.

If so, why had Accelerator done such a needless thing?

This was where it was illogical. If Accelerator and the Sisters\' relationship was just to kill and to vent stress, why had he tried to talk to them?

The reason one communicated with others was because they normally wanted to become friends with someone. Accelerator thought that this wasn\'t logical. He was the one who had mocked, hurt, and massacred the Sisters.

“Ah, it\'s here, finally here, Misaka points at the waitress with her finger. Wah, says Misaka as Misaka\'s food is here.”

The waitress placed the food in front of Last Order; Accelerator\'s food seemed like it needed a longer time to prepare.

“Ohh, this is the first time Misaka\'s eating such a hot meal, says Misaka as Misaka feels really excited. This is great, the entire plate is giving off hot air, says Misaka as Misaka continues to stare at it.”

It had been several days since the experiment had been interrupted. If Last Order had left the research facility immediately after the experiment ended, during this time, her life...

“...Whatever.”

Accelerator casually said, not bothered at all.

He turned away from Last Order, who was in front of him, to outside the window. After a while, he couldn\'t hear Last Order eating at all. Accelerator started to feel puzzled and turned back to look. He saw Last Order sitting upright in front of the piping hot dish, looking back at his face, and not looking like she was intending to eat anytime soon. However, Last Order was just faking her calmness; anyone could see that she was ready to gobble up the food.

“What are you doing? Didn\'t you say that this is the first time you\'re eating hot food?”

“But it\'s Misaka\'s first time to be eating with someone, says Misaka as Misaka answers. Misaka recalls that everyone should say \'itadakimasu\' before everyone starts eating, and Misaka wants to try that, says Misaka as Misaka tries to mention what she wishes for.”

Fifteen minutes later, Accelerator\'s food arrived.

The food in front of Last Order was no longer giving off hot air.

But the girl was still smiling.

Smiling really happily.

Part 8

August 31st 3:43pm.

It had been a while since they walked into the restaurant, but Accelerator and Last Order finally started to eat.

Last Order couldn\'t even use the spoon and chopsticks well, let alone a fork and knife. For some reason, she stabbed the fork into the rice, tilting her head as she wondered.

Accelerator ordered meat, but as the meat was tough, and as the small metal board that was used to hold the meat didn\'t seem to fit the wooden plate holding it, it started to move about, and he couldn\'t cut the meat properly. He paused for a while, and then reached his hand out to grab the metal board properly, terrifying the waitress who just so happened to be walking by.

Accelerator could reflect all the heat, and so he wouldn\'t be scalded at all.

To everyone else who was watching, it was an incredible scene.

“Delicious delicious, says Misaka as Misaka gives this conclusion.”

“This is just frozen food; who knows how many weeks they stuffed those things in the storage.”

“But delicious food is still delicious, says Misaka as Misaka feels really contented.”

“...I say.”

Accelerator released the sizzling hot metal plate.

“I wanted to say something since yesterday. Do you have a screw loose or something? Don\'t you remember what I did to you people? Don\'t you feel painful, unbearable, tormented, and spiteful about this?”

Right before the experiment ended, when that Level 0 had rushed into the depot, the Sister (that Level 0 called her Misaka Imouto) had glared at Accelerator, seemingly giving him an antagonistic look.

Maybe the Sisters finally got that personality at that moment. And maybe that was just something that occurred in that Misaka Imouto.

“Hm...Misaka can use brainwaves to connect all 9969 Misaka\'s personalities together.”

“Ah? So what?”

“The connected brainwaves will form a mental network, says Misaka as Misaka tries to explain.”

“Like how humans can have a collective consciousness or something like that?”

“Hm...it\'s a little different, says Misaka as Misaka denies it. The brainwaves linking the Misaka units are like brain cells that have nerves being touched suddenly, says Misaka as Misaka gives an example. More accurately, the Misaka Network is like a huge computer that can control all the Misaka\'s, says Misaka as Misaka explains.”

Accelerator remained silent.

During this time, Last Order continued to explain.

“The death of a Misaka unit won\'t cause the Misaka Network to vanish, says Misaka as Misaka tries to explain. Using the human brain as an example, a Misaka is a brain cell. The brainwaves link is the nerves that link all the brain cells. When a brain cell vanish, the data of the memories and experience will vanish, which of course is a pity, but this doesn\'t mean that the Misaka Network will completely vanish, unless every Misaka is eliminated...”

Accelerator suddenly felt disgusted, as if he was being stared at by a large spider.

Of course, that didn\'t mean that Accelerator was afraid of the person in front of him. He could kill this Last Order instantly. There were only ten thousand Sisters; if he was willing to spend the time, he could kill them all.

But that was another thing altogether.

The fear lay deeper. That girl, who was trying her best to savagely fight against the food in front of her, now seemed like an alien that was of a completely different build from a human...

“—At least that was what Misaka thought, but Misaka seemed to change Misaka\'s mind.”

“?”

“Misaka learned something new, and that\'s a Misaka\'s value, says Misaka as Misaka is confident. It\'s not just Misaka as a whole, every Misaka unit\'s life is valuable. Nobody can replace a Misaka. If someone dies, someone will be crying, says Misaka as Misaka proudly declares what Misaka learnt. So Misaka won\'t die, Misaka won\'t let another Misaka die, says Misaka as Misaka thinks.”

The girl said.

She was staring at Accelerator with an ordinary and human look.

That was a declaration.

A declaration that she would not forgive Accelerator for whatever he did.

A vengeful declaration that Last Order would never forget about this.

“Ha...”

Accelerator inadvertently let his back sink into the chair. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

That was the first time he actually felt like this.

He did have a vague feeling about it in the past, but he had never heard the person involved complain about it. Thus, this was the first time Accelerator felt such pain. And it wasn\'t until everything had ended, that he found out that the Sisters he had treated as toys were humans who could bring pain to others like this.

“—”

Accelerator opened his mouth and moved his lips, but he was unable to say anything.

He couldn\'t say a word.

"But Misaka is really grateful to you, says Misaka as Misaka explains. If it\'s not for you, the experiment wouldn\'t have started. The bottlenecked Radio Noise plan wouldn\'t have so much attention on it, says Misaka as Misaka continues. You\'re a saviour and a killer, you\'re Eros and Thanatos, you\'re life and death—says Misaka as Misaka is grateful, because you helped give life to the Misakas who didn\'t have any life."

Last Order said that.

With a gentle voice that accepted Accelerator.

However, that made it even more unbearable.

For some reason, he couldn\'t stand it.

“What is this?”

Accelerator muttered.

“This is completely illogical. Giving life to people and killing them, what kind of credit do I get? What are you thinking, why are you thanking me? No matter what, I voluntarily became a killing monster that enjoyed killing you people.”

“You\'re lying, says Misaka as Misaka concludes. You didn\'t want to join in the experiment, says Misaka as Misaka makes the hypothesis.”

That made Accelerator even more confused.

At this moment, it wouldn\'t have been strange if Last Order was crying and shouting. But she chose to speak to Accelerator, and that was completely illogical.

That inexplicable situation caused Accelerator to feel frustrated.

“Hold on, are you trying to casually rewrite your memories just to prove your point? No matter what you do, you can\'t possibly have this conclusion. Do I look like I was forced to do that? Since I continued to follow the directives of the experiment, it means that I don\'t give a damn about your lives, it\'s just that simple.”

Accelerator sounded like he was lecturing Last Order.

Why must he try so hard to lower himself? Accelerator started to wonder.

“It\'s not that, says Misaka as Misaka tries to retort. If that were the case, why did you try to talk to Misaka throughout the experiment? asks Misaka as Misaka inquires.”

Last Order didn\'t sound panicky, remaining as calm as ever.

She sounded just like a gentle elder sister.

“Remember what you did, the situation you went through, says Misaka as Misaka tries to beg. You tried to talk to Misaka a few times, why is it so? says Misaka as Misaka asks a question that has such a clear answer.”

Accelerator sunk into silence.

He didn\'t even know the reason why he had wanted to talk to the Sisters.

“—Ha ha! What’s with those fleeing hips? Why are you shaking your ass like that!? You’re just asking for it!!”

“—Well, I may have no right to say this as someone forcing you to take part in this experiment to make me stronger, but you sure are calm. Don’t you feel anything about this situation?”

“—Dammit, after ten thousand times, this is getting really fucking old. I was hoping to kill some time, but no. There’s just no having a conversation with any of you.”

“—Hah. What!? Are you just walking around casually without a plan? If you like pain that much, I’ll make you cry so much you might as well take a cough drop now!”

“—Now for a question. How many times have you been killed!?”

“Think about it calmly, you words aren\'t too natural, says Misaka as Misaka analyses further. The basis behind talking between people is to understand others and to make others understand oneself—which also means forming a relationship with others. In this experiment that only emphasises killing, if you wanted to just let the experiment succeed, there\'s no need to have a conversation, says Misaka as Misaka makes her point.”

“...Ah? Those rough words don\'t sound like what one will say when someone wants to create a relationship with others.”

“That\'s right, and that is the second point, says Misaka as Misaka raises two fingers. What you said are crude words that thoroughly despise Misaka, and those don\'t relate to building a relationship with others, says Misaka as Misaka continues on.”

Last Order finally said the most important point.

“But maybe you said those words because you wished to be refused?”

“Ah?”

Accelerator was stunned.

“Before the battles in the experiment started...you always said those words, says Misaka as Misaka recalls. It\'s as if you wanted to make Misaka afraid, to make Misaka unwilling to battle, says Misaka as Misaka depicts.”

“What?”

Accelerator gasped.

“But the Misakas couldn\'t understand what you were trying to say at all. Not even once, says Misaka as Misaka feels really regretful about it. If, just if that day, what would you do if Misaka said that she didn\'t want to fight? says Misaka as Misaka asks in regards to a choice that can\'t possibly be taken back again.”

“...”

At that moment, Accelerator felt like even his heart stopped.

That\'s right, if...

On that day, at that time, if the Sisters had said that they didn\'t want to continue the experiment, didn\'t want to be killed, what would Accelerator have done? Could he have done anything?

Of course he could.

There were no such problems. The experiment was aimed to evolve Accelerator into a Level 6, so Accelerator himself was the main cog in the experiment. He just needed to say something like \'I don\'t want to cooperate\', and they would stop the experiment. Nobody could replace him. Even if the researchers tried to force him by capturing him, they would be wasting their time.

Because he was the strongest esper in Academy City.

Because he was invincible, he could be called the strongest in Academy City.

If...

Just if, if he took action right at the beginning of the experiment.

At the initial stage, when no Sister had been sacrificed.

If twenty thousand Sisters had stood in front of him, looking fearful as they begged him not to do this...

What would he have done?

That was his wish.

That was why he had continued, and continued, and continued to ask. But no matter what, he couldn\'t get a response. In the long run, the way he had questioned became even more radical, until he had lost all sense and became a bloodthirsty murderer.

He had wanted someone to stop him.

He had wanted someone to have a reason to stand up against him.

Accelerator always wondered, after that experiment, after that battle at the depot, after that fight he had against that Level 0, what had changed? That question had troubled him for a long time, but maybe he could get the answer here.

He recalled that fight at the depot, that Level 0 who overcame all odds. In regards to that, he must have exaggerated it as much as he could. But even so, Accelerator still wondered.

What was he thinking about?

About what?

"...Damn it."

Just like that, he closed his eyes and lifted his head as he said that.

He just said that.

Right now, no sugar-coated words were going to convert him into a good guy. That had already been proven in the fight at the depot. At that moment, the Sisters who had been saved by the Level 0 had already understood that they should refuse to sacrifice themselves for the experiment, but Accelerator continued to insist on killing them. That was a cold, hard fact that wouldn\'t change.

Last Order remained silent. Accelerators wondered what expression was she showing now. Right now, he continued to close his eyes, close his eyes, close his eyes...after a while, he suddenly realised that something was not right.

It had been so long, and yet Last Order hadn\'t said anything.

Accelerator opened his eyes suspiciously. At this moment, he heard a heavy \'dong\' sound. Last Order collapsed onto the table. Her head didn\'t hit the table though, as a spoon was stuck between the table and her neck.

Anyone could tell that she hadn\'t collapsed just because she wanted to sleep or was feeling tired. She didn\'t even have an ounce of strength in her. Though she was trying to suppress her breathing volume, she was panting as loud as a dog. It was as if she had a fever.

"Oi."

"Ah...haa."

Last Order had a thoroughly tired voice.

"Misaka wanted to contact the researchers before Misaka became like this, says Misaka as Misaka is dizzy and lets out a bitter smile."

"..."

"Misaka\'s serial number is 20,001, which is the last number, says Misaka as Misaka adds on. Misaka\'s body is still incomplete, so Misaka shouldn\'t be outside the incubator, says Misaka as Misaka sighs. But since Misaka managed to hang on, Misaka thought that it would be alright, but now..."

Last Order was talking very slowly now, maybe because her consciousness was wavering.

It was possible that if she lost consciousness, then she wouldn\'t be able to wake up again.

"Oi."

"—Hm? What is it what is it? asks Misaka as Misaka wonders."

Last Order responded three seconds later.

Even so, the girl was still smiling.

Accelerator\'s face gradually lost all expression, as if he had lost all emotions.

In that situation, he couldn\'t do anything. Even with the strongest power in Academy City, Accelerator was just the strongest esper in the city. His power couldn\'t save others. Even if someone asked him for help, he could only hide inside a power that was like a nuclear shelter. That was his power. He couldn\'t protect others, he couldn\'t save others, he could only live on alone, watching everything get destroyed silently. It was like this when his room was ransacked, and it was now like this when the girl collapsed in front of him.

"..."

Accelerator silently stood up. Last Order remained sprawled on the table, only looking at him.

"Eh? Where are you going? asks Misaka as Misaka questions. You haven\'t finished eating."

"Not hungry."

"Oh...Misaka wanted to try saying \'Gochisou-sama\', says Misaka as Misaka sighs."

"Really? That\'s a pity."

With a cold expression, Accelerator took the bill to the counter.

Leaving Last Order alone.

Part 9

August 31st 4:11 pm.

Accelerator was walking alone on the road.

He was still thinking about Last Order, who he left at the restaurant. But in that situation, there was nothing he could do to help. He was not some omnipotent saviour, and he was not a detective in a novel. He had never lived a life where he could take care of any problem that came at him, and he couldn\'t solve every problem that happened just by thinking for a few seconds.

He couldn\'t do anything.

That was why he chose to leave, and not do anything.

Just like that.

Accelerator walked onto the road as he thought. Besides, no matter what, his personality wasn\'t suited to help others. The world he existed in wasn\'t like that. That Level 0 who fought against Accelerator at the depot should be suited for something like that.

“—Ohh, this is the first time Misaka\'s eating such a hot meal, says Misaka as Misaka feels really excited. This is great, the entire plate is giving off hot air, says Misaka as Misaka continues to stare at it.”

Besides, what could he do now? Did he have the right to do anything? He was the one who had dragged the Sisters into hell; he was also the one who caused the experiment to be abandoned and caused Last Order to be thrown out of the research facility. No matter what he did, what he chose, he would always end up hurting others. Such a person helping others would defy all logic.

“—But it\'s Misaka\'s first time to be eating with someone, says Misaka as Misaka answers. Misaka as Misaka recalls that everyone should say \'itadakimasu\' before everyone starts eating, and Misaka wants to try that, says Misaka as Misaka tries to mention what she wishes for.”

He continued to walk on the road, through the zebra crossing, past the convenience store, into an alley near a shopping mall, through the alley, past a student dorm, and he continued to walk on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on.

"—Oh...Misaka wanted to try saying \'Gochisou-sama\', says Misaka as Misaka sighs."

Suddenly, he stopped.

Accelerator lifted his head up.

In front of him was a research facility.

The research facility that had started the experiment and mass-produced the Sisters. If this was the place, at least there should be incubators left for espers that were produced. Maybe he could adjust Last Order\'s incomplete body through those incubators.

He couldn\'t do anything to help at that place, which was why he had chosen to leave that place.

He came here to find something he could do.

Accelerator stepped into the research facility.

He knew that for someone like him to do such a thing was illogical. But even so, he wanted to save that girl.

August 31, 5:15 PM.

END

Notes

1. ↑ "I think, therefore I am" is a saying by French philosopher and writer Rene Descartes which claims that someone wondering whether or not he exists is, in and of itself, proof that he does exist.