One-way traffic

The ground itself then cracked into a spider web-like shape, spreading out instantly from one passageway, looking like some huge monster venting its emotions.

It was such a casual strike.

Looking at the enormous crack in the ground, it would be hard to believe that it was caused by a human foot.

No matter how powerful it is, it's meaningless if it misses.

But that's okay.

Accelerator calmly turned around and looked behind him.

On that purplish-black object that resembled a crack, an even more unusual figure appeared directly.

A more accurate way to put it would be to say that he was sitting on something that resembled a spatial rift.

"...I see."

The sound came from ahead.

"The first thing we know is that they are absolutely not to be underestimated in terms of strength alone?"

It was a magnetic and alluring female voice.

The other person was holding a parasol that was clearly pinkish-purple.

As for the clothing, although it looks like a Western-style long dress, the middle of the dress actually presents a style similar to that of an Eastern Taoist priest.

If Marisa wears a witch's hat and Reimu Hakurei wears a red and white bow, then this woman is wearing a white hat with a distinctly Western style.

The hat also features a red bow at the front, giving it a unique style.

And her long, golden hair swaying in the wind and snow, and her stunningly beautiful face that seemed almost inhuman.

Everything shows that, judging solely from appearance, the other party is definitely a top-tier, stunningly beautiful young woman.

Just a little bit.

Judging from both his demeanor and the expression on his face, Accelerator did not believe that the other party was just a simple girl.

The aura emanating from him was too mysterious.

Even doing nothing can evoke a feeling of facing an abyss.

That's the kind of girl she is.

The smile he showed was also full of mystery.

"Its power is truly formidable. In a sense, it's probably only among the Oni clan that it can rival it. Well, its characteristics alone are quite astonishing."

"In the end, the fact that they can even perceive my existence is already quite astonishing."

Mysterious and alluring.

These words seemed to appear in Accelerator's mind.

The woman in front of him, who seemed like a goddess, was the kind of person who gave Accelerator the same feeling. Based on everything she showed, it was enough to determine that she could not possibly be human.

But it was this mysterious girl who was the problem.

One-way, however, spoke very fluently in the local area.

"That's you, right?"

He took a step forward.

As if to balance with that eerie aura, an aura of destruction and oppression swept in instantly.

"The one who controls the great barrier of Gensokyo, a figure shrouded in mystery even in legends... the Sage of Youkai, that's you, isn't it?"

"…Huh?"

The other person blinked, seemingly slightly taken aback.

"That really intrigues me. How did you know that?"

"Is it based on my manner of action? Or is it simply because of the aura I exude that I've been identified as the legendary sage of monsters...?"

"What a load of rubbish! Stop spouting this garbage to me."

The first person ruthlessly interrupted the other person's guess.

He pursed his lips, as if recalling something unpleasant.

"I noticed it from the very beginning; that gaze was enough to make anyone very uncomfortable."

"Could it be that…"

"You know it yourself, don't you? How long were you monitoring me before I entered that shrine?"

The exact time can even be traced back to before last night.

Long before entering Alice's mansion, long before the banquet in the human village, even earlier, Accelerator had already sensed all of this.

The moment he woke up in Alice's room, she had probably already begun to monitor him unseen.

"One of the effects of your ability is probably the ability to create these rifts on a spatial level? I don't understand the specific nature of it, but in terms of the strength of the ability alone, it is definitely far stronger than any Level 4 ability user I know... But you don't think that things you can't see won't be detected by me, do you?"

Even the power of space cannot escape the domain of his abilities.

He already had experience with this back in Academy City, and now that he has a complete grasp of both time and space, Accelerator is even less likely to ignore it.

He is constantly observing the vectors of everything around him, that is to say...

"No matter what you're planning to do, I'll always be able to catch you in the most trivial ways."

"Wow...that's really amazing."

This certainly seemed to be beyond the girl's expectations.

She chuckled softly, looking in their direction with an almost mysterious smile.

“Interesting. You’re quite an incredible human being.”

"Since you've gone this far, you really are a sage of monsters, aren't you?"

"Haven't you been looking for me all this time? I guess there's no need to confirm this pointless thing."

The other person maintained an elegant, silent smile.

Then, she slowly emerged from the crack-like thing.

Although both Accelerator and Tsukihime's power effects manifested at the spatial level, Accelerator was well aware of one aspect of reality.

The opponent's power level far surpasses that of countless Kyoto Danshi.

The only comparable figure is the son of a demon who wields a blade called Yamato, whom I had met once before.

"I am a youkai of the boundary, Yukari Yakumo."

The girl gracefully bent down slightly in mid-air.

"Your identity is just as you guessed; you are the youkai sage of this Gensokyo... and also one of the creators of Gensokyo."

Even among all the legends, she is the most mysterious yokai sage, a yokai named Yakumo Yukari.

Having always been at the center of discussion, she now appeared before Accelerator in her own presence.

"So."

The girl, who called herself a boundary youkai, still smiled as she faced Accelerator below.

"Why go to such lengths to find me? What exactly are you planning to do?"

Chapter 421 The Transformation That Happened in That Instant

We've finally gotten to the real issue at hand.

Now, for Accelerator, the biggest problem has finally come to the fore.

Will the youkai named Yakumo Yukari be able to help me solve the problem of leaving Gensokyo?

Or.

Even if the other party can solve this problem, is she really willing to help me?

"Hey, if you're going to talk about something, you should at least use your mouth. What's the point of just standing there without saying a word?"

"It doesn't matter, the situation should be the same whether you say it or not."

"what?"

This inexplicable statement left even the sage-like monster before him bewildered.

"There's no need to keep pretending."

Accelerator simply and clearly stated a certain fact.

"Even if I didn't tell you, you already knew what I've been pursuing all along."

The sage of the demons had been watching his every move.

This process began long before anything happened, so whatever one party's purpose and actions may have been, however private they may have been, the other party should have already been aware of them.

However, this was something Accelerator deliberately made her see and think about.

Rather than repeating everything when you actually meet them, it's better to have the other party monitor you from the beginning so they can fully understand the purpose of your actions.

This made it much easier for him to come, which was also the reason why he deliberately allowed himself to be constantly monitored by the other party.

"It's hard to believe that a human could be so clever and cunning as to outmaneuver a monster like me."

"Let's skip the unnecessary nonsense. All I need now is a satisfactory answer."

He looked directly at the demon of the realm in mid-air.

The sage, who also stood at the pinnacle, smiled helplessly.

It seems this human is focused on getting the answer to the question, so nothing I say will attract his attention.

In that case, there's no need to use any pretense anymore.

So, quite decisively.

The sage of monsters then stated his conclusion directly.

"I'm sorry, I can't help you."

"..."

"However, please don't misunderstand me. From my personal perspective, I do want to help you, but... that's only from my personal perspective."

Now that things have come to this, the meaning that this sage-like monster wanted to express is actually quite clear.

It wasn't that she didn't want to help, but that she was powerless to do so.

Accelerator had already made further predictions about this point in his mind long ago.

but.

"Tell me your reasons first."

"Well, yes, it's possible, but..."

Yukari Yakumo revealed her enigmatic smile once more.

"Just as you suspected, I was indeed watching you. I sensed your presence the moment you arrived in Gensokyo, so..."

"I also know that you are not actually from outside the world."

They were not people from outside.

What does this sentence really mean? Perhaps it's something the people of Gensokyo can't understand.

In people's minds, the outside world is the outside world, belonging to the society of other humans. What else could there be?

That is certainly true on the surface of this world.

"You are from another world, aren't you?"

As soon as these words were spoken, even Accelerator himself couldn't help but feel a sense of unreality.

It's likely that no one knows his true identity.

The people in this Gensokyo simply consider themselves to be from the outside human society, merely humans with slightly special powers.

This lie was completely exposed by the demon of the realm before them.

"You're neither from the outside world nor from any other place. If I'm not mistaken, you might not even belong to this world at all, right?"