One-way traffic

But before that.

Kakine Teitoku turned his head subtly; he heard someone calling his name.

Then I felt my vision blurring away as if flying.

"Come here for a moment."

————————————————————————————————————

Boom——! !

The two were separated by several kilometers, and then his body was thrown directly onto the upper floor of a building.

On the deserted rooftop, Kakine Teitoku's body landed directly on the ground, damaging the moss-covered ground and leaving many stains on his magnificent clothes.

Footsteps were heard.

"Stand up! Do you even deserve to be called the second strongest?"

It is a one-way street.

He just stood there in front of him, casually looking at him, and that alone was enough to infuriate Kakine Teitoku.

He wasn't angry about what Accelerator had done to him.

That's right.

"...Do you even have any self-awareness?"

pat.

The second person in Academy City reached out and gripped the railing to get up. His movements were slow and trembling, but they possessed an indescribable strength.

It was like a roar from the bottom of one's heart.

"You should know better than anyone what kind of world we live in and what our situation is like."

"If that's the case, why yearn for a world of light? This is our world! In this academy city filled with darkness and despair, tragedy and destruction, what are you trying to prove by pretending to be so high and mighty?!"

Perhaps due to anger, Kakine Teitoku's voice could be heard trembling.

He finally managed to stand up straight.

"While spouting nonsense, you're busy with your own so-called redemption. Is this the evil party aesthetics you keep talking about? Accelerator, you don't deserve to be a villain!"

"People like us, just by staying in that bright world, are enough to cause irreparable tragedy. In the end, you and I are the same. We can't protect anyone. We can't protect anyone. From now on, we will continue to hurt everyone like this... Is that how it is?"

"We're the hopeless villains, aren't we?! Accelerator!!!"

The voice was distorted by pure rage.

Kakine Teitoku was facing Accelerator, but the sunlight was behind him, completely obscuring his face, which was contorted with rage, in shadow.

For an instant.

One-way understood one thing completely.

"You're the same way, aren't you?"

His tone, however, became calm.

"A person who has been completely twisted into this state because of some unknown tragedy."

Perhaps, in the past, Kakine Teitoku was a talkative and cheerful guy who could find joy in the things around him.

However, this is Academy City, where tragedies are as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Even if one were to break down after encountering one of these tragedies, it wouldn't be a complicated matter at all. For Accelerator, the second person in front of him would probably be in that situation.

and so.

Faced with a series of questions from Kakine Teitoku, he finally spoke.

"That's too superficial."

"……what?"

These words, which sounded like they were meant to shatter all auras with a single punch, completely stunned Kakine Teitoku.

"To drag everyone around you into this? Just standing here will lead to the deaths of innocent people? Is there no way you can live in the deepest darkness?"

then.

"Haha ...

Kakine Teitoku was so startled that he took a step back.

Because the monster in front of him stood up, holding his forehead and laughing loudly.

"I admit that you and I have indeed experienced unimaginable tragedies, and there is a high possibility that I might have been twisted into someone like you because of pure tragedy."

"But... don't get me wrong."

He opened his arms.

"Could it be—?"

Just then, Kakine Teitoku finally remembered something.

During their previous fight, the two kicked up buildings and tore through the wind; any one of their attacks was enough to cause unimaginable damage to onlookers.

However, the actual situation is not like that.

None of the ordinary people who were watching nearby were injured.

"You bastard, while fighting me, you also protected all the innocent people?!"

He widened his eyes and roared.

"This is impossible! We should be the same darkness, we should cause irreparable harm to everyone around us!!"

"fart."

Accelerator looked at Kakine Teitoku with a cold smile.

"You and I are indeed bad people, but there's one difference."

"I am destined to stand above the darkness, to be the one who controls evil."

"…What?"

Kakine Teitoku couldn't help but stop breathing.

"I know this sounds a bit like chuunibyou (middle school syndrome), but... it doesn't mean anything at all."

Accelerator explained his thoughts word by word.

"After witnessing deeper darkness, I realized that it is meaningless to sink deeper into the darkness. What can we do even if we are obsessed with our identity as an evil party member? We can do nothing."

"So... I don't intend to delve any deeper into the darkness, but rather to stand above it and drag all those insignificant fellows out of it."

This is Accelerator's idea.

That was something Kakine Teitoku had never considered.

"You intend to break free from the darkness and stand completely above it?!"

"Fool, don't you understand?"

Accelerator walked towards him as he spoke.

"Whether we are entangled in good or evil, it doesn't matter how we are. Even if we are at the end of the road of evil, there will always be things that we cannot solve."

"I want to stand atop that darkness and drag all those who are irrelevant to the darkness out of this shit-like darkness. It has nothing to do with good or evil; it's just the simplest of actions."

correct.

After traversing several worlds and witnessing more and deeper things.

Accelerator, that's when he said those words.

"Whether it's good or evil, there is only one path I pursue."

Those were just the simplest words.

"I can go wherever I want, no matter which path I choose."

"As long as it's to save the lives I want to save, no matter what the path is, I will move forward in the direction I believe in."

This is the path to first place.

That is the meaning behind the existence of his name.

"Accelerator...Accelerator."

Kakine Teitoku read out the name of that road.

What followed was—

“A guy like you isn’t even a basic villain.”

Accelerator clenched his fist, regardless of his abilities or whether he was strong or weak; it was a punch of pure simplicity.

Bang——! !

Clenching his left fist, he slammed it hard into Kakine Teitoku's chin, sending him flying with a single upward punch.

"Anything said now is just nonsense. Those scoundrels who are influenced by anger and tragedy are nothing more than this level of trash."

"The second person I consider to be is not so cowardly as to be swallowed up by mere darkness."

He slammed hard into the railing behind him.

Kakine Teitoku's body plummeted towards the bottom of the building, falling straight down, and Accelerator heard a crisp sound as a result.

The first person waved casually and exhaled.

When facing Kakine Teitoku, he seemed to see his own reflection.

There may indeed be some kind of connection between the first and second people; perhaps they are only one step away from changing each other's identities.

Accelerator may follow the path of Kakine Teitoku, and Kakine Teitoku may follow the path of Accelerator.

But now it's completely different.

The number one in Academy City has embarked on his own path.

That is, one-way traffic.

He walked away into the distance without looking back, uttering only one sentence in the end.

"What a tasteless idiot, a fairy tale bastard."

————————————————————————————————————

He collapsed here, located at the foot of the tall building.

Kakine Teitoku was hit by debris from the surrounding area and fell near a trash can.

He deeply recalled the words that the first person had said to him.

Find the path you are looking for.

Only when he finds the path he truly wants to take can he be considered a true being.

"I……"

He had lost all his strength and couldn't get up.

Both of them understood one thing: Accelerator's boxing style had no added abilities; it was just a simple punch.

Tick.

Raindrops fell and landed on Kakine Teitoku's face.

He thus hid in the alley, bathed in the torrential rain.

Chapter 203 'Dragon'

Let's consider this the end.

Upon returning to his original location, Accelerator discovered that all the security personnel surrounding him had dispersed, leaving only those responsible for investigating the original area.

Yomi Kawa and Hatsune Miku remained where they were.

"You left without a word and then came back on your own. You really are extremely willful."

Accelerator walked up to the two of them and looked at Yomikawa Aiho.