One-way traffic

"Thank you for your hard work, Black Ace... and Red Joker."

The sound faded away completely.

Along with it disappeared, the dark crack in mid-air also vanished.

"What...what was that just now?"

Even if one were to observe the internal spatial vectors, only one conclusion could be drawn.

The world within those pitch-black cracks—that was the world I had seen above this world back then, a world like a black hole.

That is precisely where the evil eye is located.

——————————————————————————————————

boom--

The two streaks of light then returned to the world that was like flesh and blood.

Seated on the throne was a figure with an appearance almost identical to Accelerator. He raised his head and looked ahead.

Black Ace.

Red Joker.

The two figures, addressed in this way, knelt before each other.

"As expected of the master... The subordinates he created already possess such formidable power, not to mention the fact that he intends to assimilate everything into his own possession."

The girl, Butterfly, dressed in a purple dress, walked out directly from behind.

"However, the time is almost up. I think, sir... shouldn't the plan begin?"

The figure on the throne remained silent.

He slightly raised his head and glanced at the butterfly's position.

—Huh?!

It was just for a fleeting moment.

Butterfly felt a twisting sensation all over her body, as if she were about to collapse.

"Ugh—?! Pfft...cough! Yes, I'm sorry...sir! I shouldn't have...spoke up!"

Butterfly, who had always been calm and composed in the face of anything, panicked and begged for mercy at this moment.

The figure remained silent.

He raised his left hand, and two streams of light, one white and one black, appeared.

The white glow looked like a spherical angel.

The black glow resembled a spherical demon.

Two beams of light accompanied the figure's gaze, seemingly making a nodding gesture.

Then, they simply disappeared from this world.

"...I understand. Well then, please excuse me for leaving for now..."

Butterfly nodded quickly and left the space almost as if she were slipping away.

In the end, only the two figures in front of us remained.

And the being sitting on the throne.

————————————————————————————————————

"So why did you leave these two people in my house?!"

When he returned, Touma Kamijou was looking at Accelerator with a look of utter despair.

"The food in the fridge was already running low because Index's appetite has increased recently, and now two more have arrived! Although they're just last-minute additions, a creature as big as Rear Water will definitely need a lot of food! Mr. Kamijou's wallet is going to be in for a rough time—"

"Touma, are you implying that I eat too much?"

“…Huh?”

Amidst a series of agonizing cries, Touma Kamijou was once again subjected to a violent head bite.

"Don't worry about it."

After bandaging herself up, Houfang Zhishui sat down at the table and took a deep breath.

"My injuries have mostly healed. This Japanese saint and I will leave immediately and will do our utmost to deal with that guy—"

"You don't need to worry about it, that guy has already been defeated."

Sipping a canned coffee he bought from a roadside vending machine, Accelerator leaned against the wall and spoke to the water behind him.

"...However, it can't be said that we've completely defeated them."

"What did you say... what does that mean?"

“That’s just what it means.”

Click, the door opened, and the other two people entered.

"We've exhausted all means. Although we managed to take care of that guy and the other guy, they actually came back to life at the last minute? It's disgusting."

"you…?!"

The water behind looked at the newcomer in shock.

He almost stood up for a moment, but the person who came casually waved his hand, signaling him to calm down.

"You've only been away from old friends for a while, and you're already this excited?"

"...The fire on the right."

Looking at the red-haired youth in front of him, the tone of the voice from behind was filled with a certain emotion.

That would certainly not be the joy of a reunion.

Rather, it was a tone that sounded like hostility.

"Just relax, he's not the enemy you should be facing right now."

“I remember…you seem to be that one—”

"Keep a low profile. Everyone knows me, so there's no need to reveal my name."

Orelus also entered the room, and Kanzaki Kaori and the water behind her both looked at each other in surprise.

"So what should we do next?"

"Who knows."

Accelerator scoffed and tossed the empty coffee can into the trash can.

"However, there is someone who definitely knows more than we do."

He slowly walked out of Touma Kamijou's apartment.

Then, he looked into the distance.

—That huge, windowless building not far from the Seventh School District.

Chapter 815 The World's...Transit Station?

"…hateful."

The extent of the damage has been contained, at least for now.

However, this does not mean that refugees can now comfortably return to their homes.

In most of the apartment buildings in District 7, people generally followed the advice of the Academy City's upper echelons and evacuated.

In this situation, the entire urban residential area should have been forcibly evacuated, but due to some other reason, some residences could not be taken care of.

This has resulted in a situation where, although there are still pedestrians in the residential area, they have become very few and lifeless.

then.

Stiyl Magnus.

He was one of the people sent by the Church of Necessary Evil of the British Puritans to handle this incident.

He could only stand alone on this deserted street, accompanied only by the cold wind.

"The disaster has spread so widely, it's going to be really troublesome to deal with now."

With a snap, a flame ignited slightly in Stiyl's hand.

He took out a cigarette he carried with him, lit it with the flame at his fingertips, and took a deep drag of tobacco.

In that instant, he could finally feel the tension in his mind and body ease.

"I wonder how Kanzaki is doing..."

Half an hour had passed since Kanzaki Kaori left to go to the 23rd school district to stop the invader who had come directly from England to Japan.

At first, Stiyl planned to go with Kanzaki, but they discovered that the 23rd school district was shrouded in a huge barrier of unknown origin.

Under these circumstances, Kanzaki also left herself behind to evacuate unrelated personnel, while she left alone to fight the enemy.

So much time has passed, and we still haven't received any new feedback.

Although, during this time, we have seen many lights of various colors flashing across the sky.

"Why did this happen? And where did that guy come from?"

At first, the British suspected that the invaders might have come from Academy City, but this conclusion was quickly disproven.

If it were one of their own, they would never cause any damage to the interior of Academy City.

Stiyl exhaled a cloud of smoke in frustration.

He continued to wait for Kanzaki's movements, casually glancing into the distance.

Just at this moment.

He then noticed something else.

"That is…?"

Stiyl slightly widened his eyes and looked towards the horizon.

To be precise, it should be a very special building in the distance.

It was a building without doors or windows.

At the very top of that building, a strange, purplish-black light seemed to slowly appear.

It was the same shade of purple-black as the barrier that enveloped the entire area of ​​the 23rd school district.

"Why is there this kind of light in that place? And if I remember correctly, that place should be—"

I recall the place I secretly entered after arriving in Academy City.

Stiyl immediately felt a chill run down his spine, completely unaware of the ash buildup on the cigarette butt in his hand.

"No way...!"

He uttered those words in shock and looked at the building in disbelief.

That building is where the highest-ranking administrators of Academy City reside.

————————————————————————————————————

This is a space free from any noise.

It was completely silent. No matter what happened outside, it wouldn't reach inside. Even if a nuclear war broke out immediately, it wouldn't be able to disturb the building in the slightest.

A faint yellow light flickered in the room on the top floor of the building.

In the very center, there is a huge culture tank.

Inside, countless golden liquids of the same color flow.

"..."

One of the humans is floating in this space.

He was completely upside down in the liquid, and when there was nothing to do, he would always keep his eyes closed or casually keep them open while doing his work.

During his many years living here, very few things could arouse his temper.