One-way traffic

Is this guy made of iron?

"It's time."

"Um…!"

Upon their response, a dazzling light immediately shone forth.

Their figures vanished completely from this world.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Chapter Ninety-One: The City's Deception on the Surface

This is a story that takes place in a certain city.

It resembles a large-scale fluctuation caused by a momentary wavering, or a city created by the very act of hesitation.

The world was shrouded in darkness.

That's true, because it's nighttime now.

The buildings of the modern city are enveloped by the black night sky, and the city looks as tranquil as its surface.

That's how it seems, at least on the surface.

pat.

The sound of rain came from the ground.

It seems there was a heavy rain last night, and even after a day and an afternoon, the ground is still flooded, and the drainage ditches don't seem to be responding to the situation in time.

then.

— Flesh and blood, along with indistinct objects, were entangled in a mixture of rainwater and mud.

A tiny object slid to the ground to one side; it was a spent cartridge case. What ejected it was a small, dark black pistol with smoke still rising from its muzzle.

Beretta 92 series.

A handgun that would be perfectly acceptable even for military use appeared in this city that should have been a harmonious place.

It's unimaginable how many shots that pistol would have taken to create something that wasn't even a chunk of flesh.

The figure holding the pistol stared at the puddle on the ground, which was barely a lump of flesh, without feeling nauseous at all; he had almost gotten used to it physically.

She waved her hand and put the pistol back into her pocket.

“…it’s started again.”

A young girl stood in the rain-soaked street.

Although it has stopped raining, there is still a lot of water on the ground, and you can clearly see the waist-length hair reflected in the blood-stained ditch.

She was very young, but she still wielded weapons that were not appropriate for her age.

Despite this, her expression remained completely unchanged.

With a cold expression, the girl walked lightly into the distance, completely ignoring the corpse behind her that had turned into a complete monstrosity.

She glanced at the bushes to the side, her beautiful eyebrows twitching slightly.

"It actually happened at a time like this."

Unaware of what she was saying, she shook her head and gently tossed her long black hair, which had been draped over her shoulder, behind her.

This has been done so many times, so many times, to the point of being nauseating.

However, this will not be the last time.

She knew this very well.

Like a plant sprouting, something gradually began to grow in the girl's heart.

"It doesn't matter what happens."

For example, a phrase that expresses self-abandonment.

At least, she still has her own goals.

The girl started moving, heading towards a place that only she could solve.

——————————————————————————————————————————

He regained consciousness.

A shadow managed to descend upon this place.

He opened his eyes immediately.

"...Finally, we can catch our breath."

What comes into view is a vast city, filled with modern skyscrapers.

He has successfully traveled between worlds, meaning that this so-called new world is still a modern social environment.

This place is definitely much better than that other world I came from.

Accelerator looked around, but froze in place.

His palms lacked a certain tactile sensation.

When he arrived, he should have been holding someone's hand.

Where is Hatsune Miku?

I couldn't find her anywhere. Even if I searched every inch of the place around me, I couldn't find any trace of that girl.

Accelerator immediately curled his lip. He turned on his phone and tried to use the system's location function to find the other party's location.

Even if he successfully turned on the phone, nothing was displayed, and the signal on the map that marked Hatsune Miku's location was completely off.

"That damn thing, he actually got lost?"

Logically, they should have been holding hands when they came into this world, but even so, they seem to have separated.

This made Accelerator extremely unhappy.

"Is Hatsune Miku even here? What exactly is going on?"

"System notification: There seems to be an unexplained error in the communication between the host and teammates. However, this is only a slight time difference effect. Please do not worry too much. The system has adjusted everything and will be able to detect the other party's location in five minutes."

"You actually called it an error? You bastard, aren't you being incredibly irresponsible about safety?"

"Please rest assured, host, this kind of mistake will never happen again, not even once."

"The system content is structured as above. We hope you have a pleasant time using it."

"Tsk... what a bastard."

The first one cursed mercilessly.

If that thing called the system had a human form, he would unhesitatingly punch it millions of times with a fist capable of shaking the opponent's ancestors for eight generations.

He would have to act alone for the time being.

While I'm more concerned about what happened to Hatsune Miku and where she went, what's more important right now is to find out what kind of world this is.

Let me make it clear beforehand that this is only because it is necessary for the mission; he is absolutely not thinking about these trivial matters out of concern, absolutely not.

He waved his hand, turned around, and looked ahead.

He walked along a street close to the building, with food shops on both sides and very few people walking on the wide road in the middle.

Because of the puddles on the ground, there were very few people here. They were all busy with their own things and no one would have noticed the sudden appearance of Accelerator.

The first person with white hair glanced at the roadside stalls. The change the shopkeepers were using seemed to be different from the simple Japanese yen. He wondered if it was actually interchangeable.

If that's not possible, he'll need to exchange currency elsewhere. Of course, he could also rob a bank, but that's a pointless act, even though probably no one in the world could stop him from doing it.

Before the system notification arrives, and before he reunites with Hatsune Miku, let him explore the city in his own way.

"welcome!"

The first person to choose was a supermarket.

He casually walked to the counter, where a sixteen-year-old girl with black hair stood and spoke.

The other person looked like a high school girl, probably someone who worked part-time.

Ignoring the welcoming smile on the face of the high school girl waitress in front of him, he simply picked out a coffee from the shelf that he didn't recognize the brand.

It seems quite different from regular coffee.

"what is this?"

"It's the latest coconut milk coffee! It tastes really good, and both boys and girls love buying it lately!"

He took some change from his pocket; it was the exact price.

The waiter in front of him was taken aback for a moment.

Is the currency not universally accepted?

As expected, it didn't work out, but that was something I had anticipated.

"No, this is a regular Japanese yen note, of course it's accepted."

"what?"

"Well, um... it's a rather old design, so it's a bit surprising. I didn't expect anyone to still use this kind of currency these days..."

The waiter in front of him trembled slightly, and the smile on his face froze.

Because the other party's aura was too frightening.

Even just looking at him exudes a kingly aura, which is not the result Accelerator wanted, but he can no longer change the terrifying aura that he is emanating from the moment he stands there.

Moreover, the guest in front of me is truly amazing.

His clothes were unique; they should have been the kind of messy, disorganized attire, but with his pure white hair and blood-red eyes, they looked exactly like cosplay... yet they didn't look out of place at all.

Accelerator had changed out of his gray and white outfit.

Whether it was to cater to Hatsune Miku's previous requests or simply because he was tired of wearing the same clothes, he was now dressed in a completely new outfit.

His winter coat was pure white, with even deeper white lines etched all over his body. The back was covered in fur like that of a polar bear. His lower body and shoes were also changed to matching white designer shoes and trousers.

It was entirely white.

No, there were also those red eyes that seemed to radiate a sharp, dagger-like aura.

His hair has grown quite a bit due to the brain damage he suffered before. This kind of decoration, which makes it impossible to tell his actual gender and is full of domineering presence, is what Accelerator is all about now.

He intended to take the can of coffee from the somewhat startled shop assistant.

This is the latest version of the Japanese yen.

If even this is considered an old model, then is this world actually a future generation?

Accelerator thought to himself, rather bored.

Then, the sound of a coffee can falling to the ground came from behind.

what?

He snapped out of his daze and looked ahead.

He had originally intended to hand the coffee to the barista, but he just stood there, stunned.

"What are you planning?"

The waiter ignored the issue of one-way passage.

She pushed open the counter door and, under his astonished gaze, left the shop.

He didn't say a word.

No, that's not right—

Accelerator saw it.

There seemed to be some other mark on the front of the shop assistant's neck, like a totem.

That's definitely not how a normal person looks.

Realizing this, Accelerator grabbed a coffee can without hesitation and walked out of the supermarket.

The figure was just around the corner in the distance, and ran inside at an extremely fast speed.