One-way traffic

The first ability user slowly landed on the ground.

He gazed at Yakumo Yukari in mid-air, his heart filled with displeasure, but he still had no intention of giving up.

The attack just now was already quite difficult to control.

Because Accelerator knew very well that converting so-called demonic energy into liquid was absolutely impossible.

Melting ice into water requires high temperatures, and similarly, freezing water into ice requires low temperatures. Without certain specific conditions, these processes cannot be successfully completed.

Accelerator had no idea what kind of changes he had made to that demonic power.

Just like when he faced Reimu Hakurei before, his own abilities once again exceeded the limits of his capabilities without his awareness.

This is probably why Yakumo Yukari was able to exploit a weakness in his technique. If it were a perfect move, he would never allow outsiders to interfere with his control over those energies.

This is really troublesome. I might as well just use a regular physical attack to finish it off.

"That being said, I don't think it's necessary to continue this any longer, is it?"

"ah…?"

"Oh dear, haven't you realized it yet?"

The sage-like monster chuckled as he delivered his final conclusion.

"The so-called spell card rules of bullet hell games require one side to be defeated or the spell card to be broken in order to determine the winner. However, in our current situation, neither side can get involved, right?"

Winning means breaking the spell card, but in the end, Yukari Yakumo's spell card was not broken by anyone. Even at the last moment, the demonic energy that was transformed from the bullets into liquid was still under her control.

Yukari Yakumo was not injured by Accelerator's attack, let alone defeated.

Therefore, the conclusion is already quite obvious.

"If you ask me, well... this is probably what they call a draw, right?"

Do you think I can accept such an ambiguous conclusion?

"Isn't it about time to stop? After all, not everything can be solved through fighting?"

"...Who exactly struck first in the first place?"

"The reason they did that was essentially because of their disagreements... The solution should have been quite simple."

Faced with Accelerator's approach, Yukari Yakumo proposed a different idea.

"Even if the Hakurei priestess and I can't send you directly out of the Great Barrier, that doesn't mean others can't, right?"

Chapter 425 The Actions of Those Possessing Power

What Yukari Yakumo and Reimu Hakurei couldn't solve, others might be able to.

To Accelerator, such a statement is essentially nothing but nonsense.

Don't say he didn't actually try to find out; when he asked the white yokai named Kamishirasawa Keine, he did indeed inquire about the main information about Gensokyo.

Judging from the current situation, there is probably no one who can surpass that sage in terms of wisdom and methods.

Even in terms of strength, the conclusion is the same. Excluding the Hakurei Shrine maiden, in this Gensokyo, the Hakurei Shrine maiden herself is an unconventional symbol and naturally cannot be included in formal discussions.

The fact that even two people with such special status couldn't solve the problem, yet someone else could solve it, is like telling a child that "finding the address on a toy treasure map will lead to real treasure"—utter nonsense.

"—I guess that's how you think about it?"

The above content is basically all from Yukari Yakumo's words.

This sage among monsters perfectly guessed what Accelerator was thinking at that moment.

"If you're judging ability based on this kind of positioning theory, then I think you're making a big mistake."

The youkai sage, who theoretically possessed almost omnipotent power in Gensokyo, spoke in such a casual tone.

"Even someone like me, a youkai who can manipulate all realms, is definitely not at 100% absolute strength in this Gensokyo."

"...Does that mean there are stronger beings than you living in this kind of place?"

"It's not really about strength. By the way, why do you humans always bring up strength whenever there's a topic to discuss...? Don't just start by comparing who has more destructive power!"

A person with no class is the very essence of all things.

This is a sentence that Accord did not actually say.

In fact, he was also very curious about what those people Yakumo Yukari was talking about were all about.

“Some people’s abilities, intellect, and strength are in no way inferior to mine, the sage of monsters; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that they are evenly matched.”

"So you mean you want me to go find them again?"

"There's nothing wrong with that, is there? Compared to doing something dangerous that could interfere with the Gensokyo barrier itself, it's safer to seek a more appropriate approach."

"...So you know the locations of those other people you're talking about?"

"Don't know."

Yukari Yakumo responded directly.

"There are so many beings in this Gensokyo, whether youkai or humans. Almost everything here is under my surveillance. Even so, there must still be some truths in this Gensokyo that I cannot find out."

Even this supreme demon sage might not be able to perfectly perceive everything that is happening here.

The opponent may possess power comparable to her own, or perhaps even more bizarre abilities.

In other words.

"If the goal is to stay in Gensokyo and explore further in order to find those people, then I think that's probably feasible, right?"

So they stayed here, waiting for the day when they could directly meet a human, a demon, or some other being who could truly help them pass through.

Since Yukari Yakumo dared to say such things at this time, there must be some truth to it.

"Shit."

Faced with such a statement, the first person merely curled their lip in displeasure.

"You might think that what comes out of your mouth are all incredibly convincing opinions, right? But to me, they're just a bunch of hopeless bullshit."

"oops…?"

"Let me put it this way, the most crucial issue for me right now is figuring out how to get out of this place."

He no longer had time to wander around here.

It's still unclear what happened to Hatsune Miku, who was abandoned in the previous world. What exactly happened there?

more importantly.

If I stay in this kind of place, what will happen to my mission in the last world?

If things go wrong, it won't just be a matter of not being able to meet Hatsune Miku.

I'm afraid they might not even be able to return to their original world.

Accelerator must find a way back to his original world as soon as possible; he cannot afford to take any more risks.

"No matter what, I have to get back to where I started as soon as possible, whether by force or some other means. You want me to start tracing back to that guy whose existence is uncertain from the beginning? Sorry, I don't have time to slowly start from scratch again. I simply can't afford to waste that time! You should understand now, right?"

Perhaps what Yakumo Yukari said was indeed the truth.

However, similarly, Accelerator lacks the patience to explore everything step by step.

The longer we delay, the greater the unknown threats will become.

Even if everything he does might interfere with Gensokyo's great barrier, he must find a way to leave Gensokyo as quickly as possible.

Given that the fastest solution was right in front of him, he had no reason not to choose this most efficient path.

however.

"Do you really think that making this choice directly is the path you want most?"

The sage-like monster before him then uttered words that drew even more attention.

Just as Accelerator was frowning in confusion, Yukari Yakumo chuckled and provided the answer.

"The Hakurei Barrier connects Gensokyo to the outside world."

To use an analogy, it's like the most important part of a house: the roof beam.

The illusory and real barrier constructed by Yukari Yakumo is the material of the house itself, and the roof beams are the Hakurei Great Barrier created by the supreme god.

Once the roof beams are lost, no matter how sturdy the rest of the building is, it will absolutely not be able to continue to support itself.

Let's try to think about it simply.

What would happen if the most important central part of the house—the Hakurei Great Barrier—had a problem?

"In this way, the entire Gensokyo will undergo tremendous changes, and it may even lead to the destruction of the entire Gensokyo."

That alone wouldn't be enough to attract Accelerator's attention.

However, what the other person said next made him widen his eyes.

"At that time, all life in this Gensokyo, whether human, youkai or other beings."

"All of them will lose their original happy, fulfilling, and harmonious lives. In more serious cases, some entities may even face complete extinction due to historical beliefs and differences."

The destruction of Gensokyo was something Accelerator didn't think much of; in fact, it wouldn't have attracted his attention at all.

However, after hearing Yakumo Yukari's explanation, the first person began to seriously consider this issue.

What if, because of my own actions, all the innocent beings in Gensokyo were implicated?

What if someone's desperate desire to leave this place causes everyone here to lose their original lives, or even leads to their destruction?

Even if the youkai of Gensokyo survive, how will the humans be treated?

Because they live among monsters, these humans are naturally categorized as monsters by the outside world.

The worst-case scenario.

These innocent people and monsters might even be captured by the scientific community, and what awaits them is a scene that no one dares to look at.

Human experimentation.

This explanation is probably not entirely accurate, because there's a good chance that some of the monsters will be captured by humans.

Based on the information he obtained from Kamishirasawa Keine, he deduced that both monsters and gods survive and gain power by relying on humans' fear of them and their faith in them.

Meanwhile, humans outside the world have completely lost their fear of any anomalies.

A world that is extremely devoted to scientism is probably similar to the Academy City I live in.

All of this information came from the mouth of the Bai Ze beast, which controls history; in other words, it was genuine and accurate information.

If Accelerator's interference with the barrier truly caused the Great Barrier of Gensokyo to disappear, then...

Only then will the end of Gensokyo truly arrive.

Even so, will you still choose this path?

"..."

Faced with a question that should have been easy to answer, the first person fell completely silent.

For him, the only people he needed to care about were those in his phone contacts; no one else in the world was worth his attention.

Accelerator is not a good person, even after abandoning the realm of so-called villains. He will not become like a villain, but he will never live like someone who hates evil.

but.

If he is truly willing to sacrifice the peaceful and happy lives of countless people, even their lives and deaths, for his own purposes, then is that really the path he wants to take?

A guy who only knows how to do whatever it takes to achieve his own goals, even at the cost of ordinary people's lives, is simply the worst of the worst among the evil parties.

He has abandoned the identities of good and evil, and obviously there is no need for him to dwell on this so-called "evil party aesthetics" anymore.

So, given this situation...

"...The choices I have to make, do I even need to consider them?"

"Like This."

Yukari Yakumo revealed a knowing look on her face.

"So, what is your choice?"

"This should be an obvious answer. Anyone can see which side I would choose, right?"

Accelerator said with a merciless, ferocious smile.