One-way traffic

—Accelerator, the number one ranked strongest esper in Academy City.

"If Komaba hadn't been killed, I wouldn't have had the chance to come to a place like this now."

He lowered his head and uttered words that were hard to decipher, whether they were a sigh or something else entirely.

Life has many facets, but for Hamazura Shigeo, his own lifestyle still seems to be undefined.

boom--! !

Just as he was thinking this, a large-scale noise came from the building next to him.

"Ugh..."

Hamazura Shige walked to the side of the car, squinted, and covered his forehead with his hand to look at it.

The Institute for Subatomic Particle Engineering—that's the name of that square building.

At this moment, obvious scorch marks appeared on the other side of the building, and a kind of luminous green light burst forth from them.

"Is that... Mugino Shizuri's ability?"

The leader of the dark organization he belongs to is a girl with this name, who is the fourth of only seven Level 5 espers in Academy City.

His ability is atomic collapse, and what just happened was probably how Mugino Shizuri used that ability.

"What a terrifying scene."

Witnessing all of this firsthand, even just from the outside, still sent chills down Hamazura Shiage's spine.

"That thing seems to be able to easily melt even steel. If it were to hit a human body directly... well, I'd better not think about something that's too scary."

The more he thought about it, the colder his back became, and he even trembled involuntarily. Hamazura Shiage gave up on investigating everything that was about to happen.

Moreover, the mission this time is to eliminate the enemy who attacked this research institute. With the terrifying strength of the fourth person, even the US military could be easily taken down. The mere attackers should not be a big problem.

With that thought in mind, he relaxed his mind.

then.

"…Huh?"

Hamazura Shiage turned his head and saw the road ahead.

There was no one on the road before, but now there is a figure.

"Uh... what should we do?"

A girl with a light blue dress and twin ponytails wearing a lily-patterned dress walked there.

She was about sixteen years old and noticeably shorter than him, but her beautiful face, flowing blue hair, and perfectly matched outfit made Hamazura Shiage waver for a moment.

Coupled with the worried expression on her face at that moment, it was just too much to arouse a man's protective instincts.

"Hmm, I remember Miss Huang Quanchuan and Miss Fangchuan were talking about that hospital. Could it be that the child has already left the hospital...?"

"that…"

Hatsune Miku stopped in her tracks and couldn't help but blink.

A young man with blond hair had appeared in front of him, seemingly out of nowhere.

"You seem to be in some trouble? Miss, would you like to ask your female companion, Hamazura Shige, to come and help you?"

"Eh?"

"It means exactly what it says! You see, you're all alone in a place like this, it's obvious you're in trouble, right?"

Hamazura Shige mustered up his courage and looked at the other person.

"Although I don't know what it is, I will try my best to help if I can. Don't think that I'm just doing this to strike up a conversation. I really just want to do a good deed every day!"

"Well, that..."

"Please, let me help you!"

Hatsune Miku seemed a little lost.

Looking at the young man in front of her who seemed genuinely sincere in wanting to help her, she couldn't help but feel panicked and surprised, but... more than anything, she felt that this person was very strange.

But she could sense that the other person meant well, and she could easily detect this by relying on her ability to observe other people's minds.

Hatsune Miku's lips twitched, as if she wanted to refuse... but the person in front of her seemed genuinely eager to help her.

Okay, this is really difficult...

'...It should work, right?'

Compared to Hatsune Miku's immense anxiety, Hamazura Shiage was filled with doubt.

Will I be able to succeed? This girl looks like an idol, although... her body proportions are quite good, her chest is a bit average, but she is at least a cute and beautiful girl.

Hmm, if I succeed, I'll finally be able to date super cute girls!

"Hamazome...!!"

Then, such a sound came from behind.

Huh? Hamazura Shiage couldn't help but blink and quickly turned around.

The girl in the overcoat and the girl in the down jacket ran out together from the smoking subatomic particle engineering research institute.

What, what happened?

"Hey Mugino, how's things going?"

"This isn't the time to talk like that, hurry up and get the car!"

Bang! Without a second thought, Mugino Shizuri yanked the car door open, without even using the key.

"What are you standing there for! Stop hitting on girls, haven't you had enough of those cute girls yet?!"

"Okay, okay, I understand. I will obey orders!!"

Startled by Mugino Shizuri's loud voice, he quickly got up, and before leaving, he smiled apologetically at Hatsune Miku behind him.

"Um, I'm sorry, miss, although I really want to help you, my companion seems to need me a lot."

"It doesn't matter…"

"I'll come again next time. I'll remember you like this; I'll even think about you before I go to sleep!"

As for why he would think of her before going to sleep, no one knows.

"wait…!"

Hatsune Miku reached out her hand to ask what was going on, but Hamazura Shiage had already run far away.

Screech! The van sped off and in the blink of an eye, it sped to the other side of the road.

what happened…?

Hatsune Miku stood there in surprise, unable to resist looking towards the end of the road.

"Who are those three people? And the girl was covered in blood..."

Could it be that something dangerous has happened?

Hatsune Miku looked at the subatomic particle engineering research institute behind her, which was now filled with smoke and was basically full of signs of destruction.

Click.

Just then, a sound came from a side alley.

Hatsune Miku quickly looked to the side and ran to the front of the alley to get a clear view.

—In that alley, it seemed as if someone was watching another person.

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

The girl fell to the ground.

A man stood in front of her, blocking her way.

Normally, this kind of situation should be terrible, but it's not like that now.

This was an extremely dangerous scene.

"...So, what's the situation?"

A young man wearing a brown shirt stood there.

He was nearly 180 centimeters tall, and his brown hair looked like it had been dyed. Although he had a smile on his face, it was filled with dark emotions.

He casually put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the girl in front of him.

"Whether you live or die is your choice. This is your own life. I don't care, but I think you should at least care a little bit, right?"

The girl didn't speak.

The girl with long blonde hair and wearing a beret, Frenda Seville, is a member of the dark organization "Item".

Just like the scene before her, she has now been arrested.

"That's it."

The brown-haired youth raised an eyebrow.

"If this is your choice, then I respect it."

then.

He casually lifted his foot and stepped on the girl's face.

"But that means I will never let you go."

At that moment.

—A blue streak of light, like stars, shot straight over.

Chapter 189 The Second Place in Academy City

Academy City has seven Level 5 espers.

Each of them possesses the strength to fight against an army on their own, and any one of the seven is an unparalleled monster.

Then, the person ranked below the first place naturally becomes the second place.

Kakine Teitoku is one of only seven Level 5 espers in Academy City.

At the same time, it is still ranked second.

"...Although I don't like to use my hands."

He stared silently at the blonde girl lying in front of him, showing no mercy.

He ruthlessly raised his foot.

"But there's nothing we can do about it, that's the darkness of this city. Well, I know what you're trying to say, this kind of darkness is just such a piece of shit."

"So, in order to avoid becoming as shitty as this darkness, I'll try to go easy on you."

He nonchalantly lifted his foot, showing no intention of holding back against the fearful Frenda in front of him.

He stomped on the girl's face like that.

boom--! !

In that instant, the stream of light exploded.

The outer layer of the wall was instantly sliced ​​open by the light, and Kakine Teitoku's entire body was enveloped by an unknown force, completely engulfed in smoke and dust.

Frenda, who was lying on the ground, couldn't help but blink.

"What happened—?"

She only saw a flash of light, and then the second strongest person in Academy City was swallowed up.

Frenda was about to get up when she quickly felt something coming from behind her.

Someone is holding me.

"Come here!"

It was a very light and ethereal girl's voice.

Frenda opened her eyes wide in astonishment, and before she could say anything else, she hurriedly followed the figure out of the alley.

The smoke dispersed.