One-way traffic

"You have to decide your own life."

Then, it was just a pause of one second.

Click. The sound of the rear door being opened rang out.

"Oh? This old lady, you..."

"Take me to where Chao An is; I know where he is."

The ship, once again shrouded in darkness, was now in the middle of the river.

"Just as you said, only those who are qualified can fight against the same kind of people... so I'm here."

"I will fight to protect more people, and I will no longer be a coward who dares not face reality!"

"Ha." Accelerator chuckled softly.

"Then let's drive."

"I just hope you won't regret it."

So far.

The overseeing council, Chao An, will face his final judgment.

Chapter 223 Who is the Traitor?

The four members of "Group" reunited once again.

The location was somewhere in the Second School District, which was the shelter that the mother ship had told them about Shio-an.

then.

"Well done, kid! You even managed to bring along someone from the Council of General Affairs!"

Upon seeing that his own ship, Monaka, was also following Accelerator's side, Tsuchimikado Motoharu's face immediately lit up.

"This way we can confront Chao'an head-on, and that guy won't be able to do anything to us anymore."

"That being said, while the political issues have been resolved, what about the issue of force?"

These words were spoken by Kihara Tatsuki, who was standing to the side.

Theoretically speaking, she shouldn't be saying such things. Level 4 espers aren't many in Academy City, and as a space-type esper, Kihara is arguably the strongest space-type esper in the entire city.

If it weren't for psychological reasons, she could have directly advanced to the level of a superhuman (Level 5).

Such words should not be uttered by an entity of such strength, equivalent to a monster.

"I see."

However, Tsuchimikado Motoharu laughed as if he had seen through it all.

"An AIM diffusion field jammer... That guy Chao'an really hasn't forgotten about this thing."

Unlike the ability interference devices used by ordinary thugs, the interference devices under the control of the Council are devices that can truly affect high-level ability users like them.

Even Kihara Aki could sense that although the ability was still usable, it was severely biased, and the effect of using it would not be as she had imagined.

Simply put, if she were to use MovePoint to teleport everyone to the Tide Shore shelter now, she would probably only end up burying them all alive underground.

The restrictions on her abilities are quite unusual for Kihara Aki, who relies solely on her abilities to fight.

"How are things on your end?"

Mitsuki Kaihara turned his attention to Accelerator.

"If it's interference from the AIM diffusion field, then even an ability user of your level would probably be affected..."

If Misaka Mikoto, ranked third, or Mugino Shizuri, ranked fourth, came here, they would probably end up in the same situation as Kihara Ayaki.

However—Accelerator's face simply showed an indifferent expression.

"I heard that this guy's shelter is a nuclear bunker."

"Yes…"

Standing beside him, Shinsenzaburo explained the situation truthfully.

"The shelter where Chao'an is located is a powerful nuclear bunker that can withstand even nuclear bombs. Even if an atomic bomb were to explode directly outside the shelter and all the shockwaves hit it, the shelter would still be able to withstand it."

For modern military purposes, nuclear weapons are extremely powerful weapons of mass destruction. Once used, they are synonymous with the end of the world. Even countries at war must carefully consider the use of such weapons whose destructive power is beyond imagination.

As for the refuge on the shore, it was a refuge that could easily block even such a powerful weapon. I'm afraid even the US military wouldn't be able to break through its defenses.

however.

"what."

That was laughter.

Under everyone's gaze, only one person remained completely unconcerned about all these obstacles, casually walking to the edge of the wall.

You mean a defense that even nuclear weapons can't break through?

The number one esper in Academy City spoke in a low voice with utter contempt.

"—With this level of skill, who are you trying to impress?"

For an instant.

All he did was tap the wall in front of him lightly with his index finger.

Then, the entire wall instantly shattered.

boom----! ! !

The shockwave tore through the air, and the other three immediately assumed a defensive stance. Tsuchimikado Motoharu and Kaihara Mitsuki quickly shielded the middle of the ship, but the storm seemed to deliberately bypass them and tear further back.

The ground was swallowed up in one gulp.

The soldiers from Chao'an who were about to pursue and attack them were instantly blown away by the impact, and the armored vehicles also exploded. The aftershocks alone swept up countless trees, and the walls that directly bore the impact were so badly damaged that not even wreckage could be found.

That's just a simple action, like knocking on a door.

"..."

It was beyond words for everyone.

Even the other members of the "Group," who already knew about the other party's abilities, found it difficult to look at all this directly.

The top-tier nuclear bunker shelter on the shore, which was said to be impervious to even nuclear weapons, was easily destroyed by a single hand.

Is he really still human?

"Hey, let's go."

Soon after, the other party's words came.

"Go ahead and stand there in a daze. If you keep standing there in a daze, I'll shake you off. By then, I might have taken care of those bastards inside all by myself."

Accelerator's words brought the group back to their senses, but even so, they still found it hard to accept this bizarre fact.

There are seven people ranked among the espers in Academy City. Theoretically speaking, although Accelerator, who is at the top, is the strongest, they feel that there shouldn't be much difference between them.

After witnessing all of this, is the number one being in Academy City truly still human in terms of strength?

"Let's go."

Regardless of all that, Tsuchimikado Motoharu touched his glasses and said.

"It's not me who needs to move forward, it's you. I'll stay here and guard the gate."

"You damn slacker, you're safest here, aren't you?"

"No, no, there are many enemies outside too. Well, that attack just now probably blew up almost all of them."

As he himself said, Tsuchimikado Motoharu was responsible for guarding this place, while Accelerator didn't intend to interfere and went inside with the people around him.

Although this place is called a nuclear shelter, its actual size is much larger than that of a typical shelter.

A huge corridor stretched down into the depths of the earth, accessible only by one side. Only Kihara Tsuki and the three of them walked through it.

"...Is everything alright?"

As if out of an abundance of insurance, the person in charge looked at them with concern and said.

Are you sure it's really okay to do this?

"Whether we live or die doesn't matter anymore. We've already fought our way to the enemy's home base, so what's the point of hesitating?"

Accelerator scratched his head and said, but he quickly stopped walking.

Because of what happened next.

That was an iron gate that fell vertically from a great height.

Bang! !

Kyoko Tsurugi was startled. She turned around and found that the main ship was now blocked outside by the same iron gate.

"What--!!"

"It seems the plan is indeed progressing smoothly."

Footsteps echoed through the passageway where only the two of them were.

Kihara Tsurugi looked up and saw a figure walking towards her.

A man wearing a suit and sunglasses.

"You are…?"

"It's Sugitani. Although we've never met, the person next to you should know, right?"

Sugitani took out a lighter from his pocket and looked at Accelerator with a smile.

"We meet again, even though I said I prayed we would never see each other again."

"You bastard, you came looking for us on your own, didn't you?"

"As I've said before, it all depends on your efforts."

Sugaya held the lighter in front of him and lit a cigarette at the same time.

"Then... let's talk about our plans."

"—!!"

Kihara Aki instinctively made a fighting motion.

Although it was impossible to tell whether the man in front of her was a superhuman or what kind of equipment he possessed, the fact that he dared to come here alone, empty-handed, proved that he indeed possessed this level of power.

This man is definitely not someone to be trifled with.

It's necessary to deal with him before that happens!

"Ah, that's true."

However, something beyond Kihara Tsuyoshi's imagination happened.

Accelerator, arguably the strongest fighter on their side, did not attack Sugitani.

Under Kihara Ayaki's gaze, the first white-haired man slowly walked to Sugitani's side and patted him on the shoulder.

"Just as we said, let's proceed according to plan."

"Varied…?!"

Kihara Tsurugi stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"Accelerator! You...you betrayed us?!"

"...That's nonsense."

Accelerator casually turned around and smiled at Kihara Tsuki.

“From the very beginning, we’ve been on the same side.”

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

In the empty yet luxurious conference room, only two people sat facing each other on the sofa.

One was an ordinary old woman who was in the middle of the boat, and the other was someone whose entire body was hidden on the tidal shore under the drive armor.

Both of them hold equal status as members of the Academy City Council.

"We've covered most of the necessary policy topics, haven't we?"