One-way traffic

Is this the real purpose of the "Gremlin"?

…No, it shouldn't be that simple.

If this incident had occurred within the Hawaiian Islands, which are under U.S. jurisdiction, and resulted in the deaths of so many tourists, it would have severely distorted the reputation of the entire United States.

As far as the world is concerned, aside from Academy City, which is a monster-level city that is far ahead of the outside world, the United States can be considered the literal embodiment of technology.

This may be the purpose of the "Gremlin".

No.

This could very well be a world-shaking event, and for those magicians it would simply be a 'chance'.

The value standards of human civilization on this tiny planet Earth are utterly useless to these magicians who transcend the laws of physics.

After thinking for a moment, Accelerator finally took his phone out of his pocket.

"It looks like you have other companions."

"I should at least let others know; I'm not going to just stand by and do nothing about something of this scale."

Subsequently, Accelerator relayed all the information about the detonator and the purpose of Gremlin and others to Badway and Touma via telephone.

"That should make things pretty clear."

"...They want to bring misfortune upon approximately half a million people? What are those guys thinking?!"

"Hmph, if it were so easy to come up with, it wouldn't be called 'Gremlin'. Anyway, we have a clear motive for our actions, and now we have a direction for our attack."

For humans, once the direction of their action goal is clear, the simplest thing is to act accordingly. After that, no matter how difficult or easy the situation is, it is enough to act single-mindedly towards that goal.

Accelerator remained silent for a moment.

After the exchange of intelligence was completed, the phone was transferred to another person.

"One side..."

That was a familiar girl's voice.

Hatsune Miku's voice, filled with worry and lingering fear, was conveyed without reservation.

The first person, as if he had expected it, couldn't help but sigh.

"No need to worry about me. Who do you think I am?"

"But... if they succeed, what about the innocent people...?"

"Listen carefully, even if something like that happens, it's not your business to worry about it, understand what I mean?"

The first monster spoke in a very low voice.

"I will protect you well."

"Eh…?"

"So, don't worry about it all by yourself. It's just a matter of us guys handling things properly, you silly young lady."

“Ah… ow…”

At this moment, Accelerator had no idea that the phone on the other end was actually Touma Kamijou's cell phone.

At that moment, he had turned his phone's microphone to speaker mode.

In other words, everyone present heard these words.

"Pfft...!! This, this is really something Accelerator would say?!"

"Oh dear, it seems my premonition was right after all."

"...That guy who's number one...can he really be like this...?"

Naturally, with everyone talking at once, the girl with twin tails found herself in a completely helpless situation.

Her face flushed with embarrassment, and she quickly raised her phone.

"Yes, I'm sorry! I'll hang up now!"

click-

Listening to the endless dripping sound from the other side, Accelerator couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

"...What's going on?"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"No, nothing."

Accelerator waved to the US president beside him and then put away his phone.

"So, where should we go next?"

"It's actually a place that everyone knows. Although it's called a military base, you should all be clear about its true nature."

"Get to the point."

Faced with Accelerator's merciless tone, Robert Catcher could only sigh.

"That's Pearl Harbor."

Chapter 319 The method to enter Pearl Harbor is—

The roar of sports cars echoed all around.

This place looks like an airplane parking area, but it is actually fundamentally different.

Accelerator, piloting the Nathos with the US president in the co-pilot's seat, arrived in this area.

However, some strange things happened along the way.

"...No security check?"

Logically speaking, a sports car like this driving directly into such a base should have attracted great attention from the military.

Forget about getting any attention, not even a single soldier came out from the surrounding area.

"Sigh, these are special times now."

"What are you doing?"

"The number of soldiers that the United States can mobilize is decreasing, and the situation inside the White House alone is quite unusual."

As he said this, the president opened the window, and his tone immediately became displeased.

"Many of our soldiers have been captured by that mind-manipulating sorcerer. The scale of thousands or even tens of thousands is no longer so easy to deal with, and the number we can use to adjust is getting smaller and smaller."

"What nonsense are you talking about? A country as big as the United States can't even afford to station a few soldiers?"

"No, it's just a problem on my end."

"what?"

"That's exactly what happened. As you can see, I, the President, am currently wandering around outside, while the White House is in complete chaos."

...Is it really such a trivial matter?

Accelerator clicked his tongue casually and stopped caring about these irrelevant issues, focusing instead on the situation at hand.

As mentioned before, this is not an airport.

It's the Marine Corps Pearl Harbor Third Base area on Oahu.

Upon entering the interior, Accelerator immediately saw several familiar figures appear before it.

It was a group of one man and three women.

"Ah, we can see it now."

"What do you see? I can't find anyone."

"...Wait, Hatsune Miku, you're not saying the person in this car is Accelerator—?!"

Before Touma could even finish his surprise, the car door opened directly.

Naturally, the person who emerged from it was One Piece, and the contemporary U.S. president named Robert Kacter.

"One party...!"

Hatsune Miku was the first person to be called out.

Upon seeing Accelerator, the girl's face lit up with a natural, relieved, and excited smile. Even though this had happened countless times before, and she knew for sure that such a short separation wouldn't be a problem, she still couldn't hide the joy of reuniting with him.

However, the other person was completely different.

The moment Misaka Mikoto saw Hatsune Miku run directly to the white figure, her eyes widened instinctively.

"No, don't go near him!"

“…Huh?”

Hatsune Miku, who had run halfway, couldn't help but freeze in place.

Not only her, but Robert and Touma Kamijou also couldn't help but look at Misaka Mikoto, while Budwei, who was standing to the side, didn't show much change in expression.

Upon realizing this, Misaka Mikoto's face immediately showed a surprised expression.

"Yes, I'm sorry... I accidentally said that..."

That was a completely subconscious action.

The moment she saw that white figure, a lingering shadow instantly welled up in Misaka Mikoto's heart.

For her, that white demonic figure had become an inescapable nightmare.

Upon seeing the other person, one immediately associates it with killing.

It has already become such a subconscious, even instinctive, situation.

However, Accelerator did not say a word about it.

"The detonator you mentioned, it's right over there, isn't it?"

"Ah...of course, I told you before, didn't I?"

The US president, who was also good at reading the atmosphere, quickly replied to Accelerator's words.

"Although the explosive needs to be released into the Kilauea volcano to be effective, no one wants such a dangerous thing to stay in the volcano year-round. It is usually kept in a base like this."

"So, does that mean we can successfully stop the 'Gremlin' as long as we climb over this fence?"

Having grasped this point, Touma Kamijou couldn't help but say something.

But Robert waved his hand.

"You're thinking too simply, boy. While it's true that this is the headquarters of the world's Marine Corps, you know? Trying to get through here with just a mortal body would be a miracle if you didn't get riddled with bullets."

Neither Accelerator nor Misaka Mikoto spoke.

In terms of force alone, the two of them could definitely accomplish this.

Regardless of whether they are the world's strongest marines or war-making powerhouses like cruisers, the third and first ranked members of Academy City are not to be underestimated.

Leaving aside Accelerator, just considering Misaka Mikoto alone, her strength is already enough to rival a cruiser fleet.

"Aren't you the president? Can't you just make a phone call and let us in?"

"That was indeed the case, but don't think that the president can really accomplish everything with just a single command like in the movies."

Robert Catcher couldn't help but smile wryly at Touma Kamijou's suggestion.

"Besides, the current situation is not optimistic. More than half of the people in the White House have been controlled by that damned magician. Even if I really wanted to call the people inside, nine times out of ten they would be controlled as well."

Both Touma Kamijou and Robert Kattie are caught in some kind of predicament.

In the present situation, the president's status is not enough, and relying solely on force to break in could potentially cause unforeseen consequences.

"…that."

But Hatsune Miku, who was standing to the side, spoke directly.

"If it's just about getting inside, I think I can manage that."

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

An American soldier named Nick stood in front of the gate.

Normally, no one would dare to break into such a heavily guarded place, so Nick usually chooses to read magazines to pass the time.

But it doesn't seem to be working today.