One-way traffic

'Is it because you have too many abilities that your aura has become so chaotic?'

This is probably why Reimu Hakurei is unable to make an accurate conclusion about whether she can safely pass through the Great Barrier.

The reason isn't hard to guess; the extraordinary power we've gained so far has likely led to this outcome.

Even if they went back to the time when they only had Academy City's superpowers, they would probably still have a lot of problems with their aura.

'and.'

There's one more crucial point.

Something that Accelerator is so concerned about right now that he can't even see anything around him.

'What exactly is this so-called divine aura?'

Regardless of the nature of the force, he could always trace its essence and origin.

This is completely different.

What exactly is this so-called divine aura? This question, which had troubled him for so long, was something even the most brilliant minds in Academy City couldn't figure out.

He has encountered far too many extraordinary beings so far.

There are world-class witches born from all kinds of despair, dragon knights who are blessed by the world itself, and demon gods born from the concept of demons, or abyssal demons born under their command.

However, none of these beings should allow Accelerator to be tainted by the so-called divine aura.

Even if he had come into contact with the archangel Gabriel, who possessed celestial power, the other party should not have exhibited the same characteristics in him.

So what was the result?

This is a problem that would be impossible for Accelerator to understand.

That's right.

If it were the original situation...

Think about it carefully.

Everything around seemed to have come to a standstill.

The only person still thinking correctly is himself.

'What I need to investigate might not even be something that happens so far in the future.'

Sometimes, problems that seem complex may actually be quite simple in essence.

The reason why it has remained unsolved for so long may simply be because the way these people approach the problem is too complicated, as if they were using a long and tedious formula to solve the most basic multiplication and division.

The same applies to Accelerator.

He was too concerned with profound questions, constantly comparing himself to other people he had encountered who did not belong to his original world, trying to find the abnormalities they had given him.

That simply won't work.

Because, from the very beginning, the anomaly was not caused by these people.

If that's the case... it can be solved with just the most basic idea.

He should go back to before everything started.

It is not everything that happened before I came into this world, nor everything that I experienced in any previous world.

Rather, it is the past before, in a true sense, even the experience of traveling through different worlds.

Why did Accelerator acquire everything he has now? And why did he encounter all that he has now?

The answer is very simple.

The very beginning was to reach a certain state that he had always dreamed of.

'If that's really the case—'

That was the outcome that was decided long before all the tragedies occurred.

Accelerator is the strongest Level 5 esper in Academy City.

The ultimate realm that only he can reach.

At the same time, that is also the ultimate goal pursued by the entire Academy City, the phenomenon known as superpowers.

"SYSTEM".

Its meaning is to comprehend divine consciousness with a non-divine body.

“Absolute…Ability User (Level 6)”.

That is the root cause of why he encountered all of this.

Humans cannot perform calculations at the same level as gods.

and so.

Only Accelerator, ranked first among the seven Level 5 espers, has the opportunity to steadily reach that ultimate realm that no one can match.

"Hey, what happened to you just now?"

He regained his senses slightly.

Reimu Hakurei and Alice, who were sitting to the side, were both staring at her with surprised looks.

In reality, Accelerator's back and entire body were almost completely soaked with sweat.

In a state of shock that went unnoticed, he even subconsciously shut down his own reflexes to control energy.

"Just now I suddenly looked into the distance as if I had spotted someone hiding somewhere, and now I've suddenly become lost in thought. What's going on?"

"..."

"Don't suddenly act like this! It's scary!"

However, he didn't heed Reimu Hakurei's words. Instead, Accelerator was trying his best to think about everything he had just thought of.

Users with special abilities rely on repeated battles to enhance the impact of their abilities.

Once you've established your own fighting style beforehand, prepared the corresponding battlefield, informed the corresponding enemies, and then trained, your ability development will reach a very high level.

What if you don't know who the enemy is before the battle even begins?

Let me think back a little.

How many powerful enemies, beyond his expectations and imagination, has Accelerator faced so far? And how many powerful enemies, which do not belong to the scientific system, have he encountered?

The number of times they have engaged in direct, life-or-death battles far exceeds everything they have experienced in Academy City.

In some ways, this is even faster than the massacre experiment of 20,000 military clones.

This is probably why Accelerator was recognized by the Hakurei Shrine Maiden as possessing something like a 'divine aura'.

because.

The current number one is very likely already too close to that kind of field.

"What on earth are you thinking?!"

Thus, the thought process was abruptly interrupted.

Coming to his senses, he looked ahead and saw the girl in front of him looking at him with a very dissatisfied expression.

"You've been sitting there all alone, lost in your own thoughts, which is really infuriating! And what was that all about when you suddenly looked into the distance? Is there someone hiding over there?"

Accelerator took a deep breath and fully regained his senses.

"...There's nothing there."

"ha…?"

I thought that after my outburst, the other party would explain why they were so stunned for so long, but I didn't expect such a perfunctory response.

The Hakurei Shrine Maiden's displeasure deepened as she stared intently at him, but Accelerator showed no intention of explaining anything.

"That's about it. Anyway, we can try to find that guy called the Yokai Sage later."

"What do you mean 'almost'? They're completely different! What were you thinking just now? And what exactly happened over there?!"

"What a persistent guy... If you want to figure this out so badly, you should just go and think about it yourself."

"I don't have any weird mind-reading abilities, how could I possibly do such a disgusting thing!"

The priestess beside him continued to complain unhappily.

Accelerator sighed helplessly. He thought that even if he told them everything he was thinking, the two of them would definitely not understand what he was saying.

If that's the case, then it's better to keep quiet about it.

"Oh dear, are you already planning to leave?"

Seeing the other person get up with the cane, Alice also put down her teacup.

"The Hakurei Shrine Maiden is right in front of you, and she's no longer an enemy. If you want to ask her anything, now's the time to do so."

"There's no need for that anymore. Since things have already come to this point, letting that guy continue to get involved won't help at all."

"I can't pretend I didn't hear that, it sounds like you're looking down on me."

Reimu quickly got up, her curiosity making her decide to go back to Accelerator on the other side to ask him about everything that had happened before.

however.

Just as I stepped out of the shrine's gate, fluorescent lights began to fall.

"Huh…?"

The group couldn't help but look around.

Reimu slightly raised her fingertips, and a white dot fell here, and then everything around her was covered in the same color.

"Snow?"

The sky was completely covered by pure white snow.

Everything around us was covered in a blanket of white snow, even though it wasn't like this just a few seconds ago. Although it was cold, it shouldn't have been cold enough for it to snow.

What's more, it's actually May now.

And so, under the influence of this anomaly, May in Gensokyo was completely covered by the season of ice and snow.

After that.

—From the sky not far away, some strange spot of light flashed again.

"Is that snow too? Something feels a little off... Pfft!"

Reimu Hakurei squinted at the horizon, but then couldn't help sneezing.

The girl rubbed her nose and complained.

"Ugh... It suddenly got so cold, so annoying... It's already this time of year, I hope no one's talking about me behind my back..."

"Get out of the way, Reimu! Get out of the way quickly!!"

The hypothesis that had just been proposed was thus ruthlessly shattered.

In front.

The girl, who was hurtling towards her like a rocket, called out her name as she hurtled towards her.

In other words, it rushed towards the shrine at high speed.

"Oh no, I can't stop!!"

"W-what?!"

Everything happens in just one moment.

Just like a plane crashing, someone flying down from high altitude crashed directly into Reimu.

BANG——!!!

After the two figures overlapped, they tumbled into the shrine behind them, causing a series of violent commotions.

The howling hurricane caused Alice's hair to flutter slightly, while Accelerator remained completely unaffected.

Both of them couldn't help but show the same expression on their faces.

Aren't you surprised by this?

"I'm getting used to it. After coming to this place, I've come to realize that there will always be reckless bastards like this, no matter where you go."