One-way traffic

The first one in Academy City, a human named Accelerator.

…will face destruction.

This is because it comes from the depths of the soul, the maximum power obtained by completely liberating the soul of "Accelerator," a level from which there is no further advancement.

Now, if we can't control this rampaging power, it's as if even our own souls can't withstand it.

Neither the person, nor the spirit, nor even the soul system within them, can remain in the slightest.

This time.

Even if the enemy in front of you changes their mind, it won't save you.

The being before him clearly understood this, so he stopped attacking.

No matter what kind of power it is, it cannot harm the current number one. Even if I do nothing and leave it alone, he will perish.

Besides, there's nothing I can do about it.

However—once he completely vanishes, I can directly take away his identity as the "protagonist" in this world.

Thus.

He could then take over his identity, overturn the chessboard, and further change the fate of this world.

"Gulp—ahhhhhh!!!"

"You're about to go berserk and die."

Accelerator lay on the ground, his whole body wracked with pain.

"...Stop rambling..."

Even so, he did not choose to give up.

pat.

On the primeval ocean, the first one trembled, ignoring the pain that covered his entire body.

But the more he did this, the more he felt a tremendous sense of separation from the depths of his soul.

Can a person's soul really be that powerful? Of course not.

However, if it were Accelerator, he could do this, precisely because he possessed this unique soul.

Can't do it.

It's uncontrollable.

Let alone using this power, I can't even do the most basic control...

He tried to hold on again, but the result was that he collapsed into the water once more.

The nasal cavity of the one-way passage was completely filled with primal water.

Beyond this lies countless lives and the fate of the world; if he loses, everything will be destroyed.

…Although he himself was not particularly aware of this.

But he was very clear about it.

If I fail, all the people I need to protect will also disappear.

What exactly do you want...?

He slowly reached out his hand, trying to grasp the last glimmer of light.

"How... exactly... should... I... control... this...?"

I can't stand watching.

In that instant, the enemy before them noticed the radiance emanating from the first one.

That is the light that the world has favored.

It is the light called "Protagonist".

Once I get it, my plan can truly be realized.

"Feel sorry."

The enemy spoke in a deep voice as he approached him.

“But it’s a pity.”

"For my sake, and for all the worlds, for all existing selves, you must die."

puff-

Immediately afterwards, those sharp black claws pierced directly into the depths of the first person's soul.

It is its most important identity.

Without any mercy, they took it away.

——————————————————————————————————

The mind has found a brief respite.

Accelerator opened his eyes and awoke from the darkness.

"…I…"

He came here once again.

Black ground, white sky.

And the forces that belong to them, surrounding them.

This is my own spiritual world, and I have been here more than once.

"I never expected that I would end up in such a godforsaken place just before I was about to die..."

Perhaps this is what is known as a revolving lantern?

Bang! As the first thought came to mind, everything around them began to slowly crumble into dust.

Doomsday Destroyer.

Nathos.

Apollo.

And... Academy City's strongest superpower, vector manipulation.

All of these things slowly vanished as the enemy took away their identity.

Soon, even the deepest souls will disappear.

But there was nothing he could do.

"What do you mean by the strongest superpower in Academy City... If you can't even control your own power, what makes you the strongest?"

These words, spoken as if in self-mockery, made him spit in anger.

Perhaps it was a hallucination that occurred before death.

He seemed to see something else slowly emerging from the darkness in the distance.

It's a corpse.

The remains of more than 13,000 people emerged from the dark ocean, along with countless others he had annihilated.

All people, all things.

All of this accumulated and formed a mountain.

That was a blood-red world created by him, a ruthless killer who brought destruction to the world.

Such myself.

Indeed, there's no real reason for it to exist.

Perhaps, as the other party said, everything is fictional, merely the content of a book typed out by someone outside using a keyboard or pen, or perhaps it is just a picture on a poster.

If that's the case, then it must be truly tragic for the people living here.

He lay in the darkness, raised his hand, and soon the surrounding nothingness began to engulf him.

Soon it will all be over.

Even...was my encounter with them predetermined?

What image finally comes to mind?

Is it that petite command tower girl who used everything, even getting hurt, to protect us?

Or is it a miracle after miracle, an idol girl seen in an impossible situation, someone you would never have met otherwise?

No.

What he saw was a different picture.

It's like creating yourself, someone who possesses this ability.

Aresta Crowley.

At the last moment, I said those words to myself.

What is it?

—Maintain your "confidence," the strongest esper in Academy City.

"confidence".

"confidence."

Click.

Something broke.

Darkness and nothingness completely devoured everything he had.

"Confidence...yes, that's how it should be..."

The five fingers slowly clenched together.

Click, click, click, click—!

An incredibly eerie sound emanated from his entire body.

He finally understood something.

It's not something as simple as love and peace, or protecting the world for the sake of hope.

Rather, it's something more suitable for him.

"I am the strongest esper in Academy City... No, it shouldn't just be Academy City, right?"

"With such power and such a status, I should be the 'strongest' in all the worlds."

A destructive blackness emerged from the shadows.

"But I am by no means the strongest who is arrogant and disrespectful. That's right... Since I am the strongest, I should have the demeanor of the strongest."

A balanced white emerged from the shadows.

"These powers were originally mine, and I should have been able to control them from the very beginning."

Then, the gray that balances both also emerges from nothingness.

Chaos was born from this.

"That guy is right..."

Enveloped in three different lights, Accelerator's body floated directly up from the void.

"I... can control my power."

And something transparent fell into his hands.

That's the strongest superpower in Academy City.

just now.

It's time to return it to its rightful owner.

"This isn't arrogance, but rather 'confidence' in oneself, that's right—"