One-way traffic

"—Am I the kind of person who would sacrifice myself for others?"

and so.

"This is really an eyesore. It seems that the only way to leave this place is to find another way."

The first ruthless monster mercilessly crushed one of the chosen paths.

correct.

He directly abandoned the shortcut that would most likely allow him to leave this world.

Its purpose was simply to ensure the peaceful survival of innocent people.

That's how he does it.

Not getting caught up in so-called good and evil, but acting solely according to one's own conscience and social standing.

The actions of those who possess power.

Chapter 426 The Strongest Ice Fairy

This has absolutely nothing to do with the so-called concept of good and evil.

For Accelerator, sacrificing the lives of all the innocent people around him for his own purposes is something he would never do.

Even though he has completely stopped playing the role of a villain, and even though he no longer cares about the so-called concepts of good and evil.

This self-evident truth remains, as fundamentally, rooted in his human soul.

"Laugh if you want to."

He spoke in an extremely flat tone, words that sounded like he had given up on himself.

"I admit that all of this is so out of step with my usual style, and even I think it's incredibly stupid of me to do something like this."

“I did see that.”

The sage of the demon also echoed in agreement.

Rather, it's quite obvious. After all, it's as unbelievable as the sun actually rising in the west and setting in the east that the number one, who exudes a destructive aura, would actually sacrifice himself for the safety of others.

even so.

Even so, you still made this choice, didn't you?

"...You bastard, you knew this would happen from the very beginning, didn't you?"

"Oh? I didn't say anything. You're the one who has to make the choice, right?"

"Bastard." Accelerator cursed the monster in front of him under his breath, clearly annoyed.

"From this perspective, we can consider it a reconciliation between the two sides, right?"

"Don't get me wrong. Even if I compromise for those insignificant ordinary people around me, it doesn't mean I'll bow down to you."

Putting everything else aside, if Accelerator were truly trying to analyze the great barrier of Gensokyo, there shouldn't be anyone here who could stop him.

This is not the basis for Yakumo Yukari's arrogance, but merely a one-sided pity from the first person.

however.

"If it's just about providing information unilaterally, I think you'd be quite willing to accept that, wouldn't you?"

The sage suddenly stated this clearly.

"That happened last night, yes, those monsters you faced with that puppeteer."

"Those guys are not youkai from Gensokyo, nor are they any kind of creature from the outside world."

"And the time when they first appeared was actually in the weeks before you appeared."

Both individuals here are intelligent; they can easily understand information like this after confirming it with each other.

Accelerator wore an expression of utter disbelief.

You mean those guys came because of me?

"That's probably not entirely accurate, but it's really the only factor we can take into account."

This reminded Accelerator of what Shirazawa Keine had told him about yesterday's festival when he was in the Human Village.

The reason for holding the festival should have been something else, but due to the meteorite crater that fell nearby about a few weeks ago, and changes in the crops, the focus of the entire festival became activities centered around this event.

It was indeed a very opportune time.

After the so-called meteorite fell, nothing was found. The surrounding crops and environment became abnormal, and then the same monsters appeared as before.

Then, it was time for Accelerator to arrive directly in this Gensokyo.

When you put all of this together, it looks like a timeline that was arranged in advance.

In that case, it seems that you noticed something unusual during your previous battles with those guys.

Rather than attacking others, it would be more accurate to say that the monsters were mostly targeting Accelerator.

All of this is too unusual.

"I don't have any real impression of monsters that resemble a mythical creature. Even if they did exist, what kind of relationship could such a thing have with me?"

"That's why I said it's just speculation, and the considerations aren't accurate. Nobody knows for sure."

And so it is.

As if reconsidering a certain point, the expression on the sage's face changed once again.

"If you want to start an investigation, using this as a starting point would be a good choice."

"Are you serious?"

"Isn't this where things started to go wrong? Haven't you noticed? Right now, the seasons in Gensokyo are completely out of sync with the current time, aren't they?"

It's impossible for Gensokyo to have snow in May, yet, even now, it's still snowing non-stop all around.

This was undoubtedly an anomaly.

"I've observed it a little."

Slightly folding her umbrella, Yakumo Yukari continued with a smile.

"The actual changes in this anomaly only began recently."

"You intend to ask me to help you resolve this anomaly? I'm not a babysitter who gets paid to do things. If you want to do it, let that red and white shrine maiden do it."

Alice had already told him that Reimu Hakurei's role in this Gensokyo was to be an expert in resolving incidents.

"Ah...right, right, there's another piece of news. The monsters I mentioned earlier seem to be related to this anomaly as well."

"Tsk..."

"So there's no problem now, right? You have enough reasons to drive you to take this action."

She seemed to ignore Accelerator's expression and simply relayed the information unilaterally.

"No matter what, the right to choose is ultimately in your hands."

"Should we give up now, or should we seize the clues and investigate further? The decision is entirely up to you."

When Accelerator looked up, the figure in front of him had completely disappeared.

Even checking the nearby vectors didn't reveal any clear clues, indicating that the other party had left completely, managing to do so in just a short moment.

In the midst of the swirling snow, only the first person remained in the same spot.

"That bastard has left me with so much trouble."

But as Yukari Yakumo said, this is probably the only clue he can use to get closer to the problem.

They will take action based on the anomalies in Gensokyo and the monsters involved.

Perhaps we can find a clue to leave this place.

Even Accelerator himself had this idea. The appearance and timing of those monsters were too coincidental, and they might really be related to him in some way.

Even if it's just for this reason, he still has to choose the path that's currently in front of him.

The first one sighed. Even though there were many things that annoyed him, he could only make this one choice.

If he could stop anyone by sheer violence, he could easily destroy the entire Gensokyo without caring about the lives of anyone there. In that case, he could escape in an instant.

Accelerator would never do something so utterly ridiculous.

"It's really troublesome."

The monster, speaking in a complaining tone, walked straight ahead in a certain direction.

"Let's get rid of this shitty mess as soon as possible."

So the monster simply left.

He might not even know one thing.

Even the current situation was predicted by that sage demon.

She perfectly calculated things like the human heart.

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

Although I was very reluctant, since I had chosen to take on this task, I had to find out the truth as soon as possible.

Accelerator left the land known as the Beast Path directly.

His goal was to find out the true nature of those monsters, and... to figure out what those guys were related to this seasonal anomaly.

But before that, we need to solve one of the most basic things first.

Which direction should we go?

Relying on superhuman strength, the number one's body floated in mid-air as if suspended in mid-air.

He wasn't flying; he was moving back and forth through the forest at an extremely fast speed.

On the one hand, it was to confirm the surrounding situation more accurately, and on the other hand, it was to explore the situation in the atmosphere.

To understand the true nature of this seasonal anomaly, he first needed to grasp the most crucial point.

At the monster's fingertips, the flow of air was directly touched.

It was like a ring-shaped transparent area that directly enveloped the entire land of Gensokyo.

He planned to calculate which aspect of the environment had the greatest temperature difference by understanding the direction of atmospheric flow, which would allow him to find his final destination.

But before he had a chance to do such a thing.

Obstacles had already appeared on their path forward.

'...What is that thing?'

It was suspended in mid-air and looked like a human figure.

However, they seem to possess something resembling wings.

Those human figures were like tiny toys, looking just like the dolls around Alice, but their essence was much more vivid and lifelike.

At the very front of those figures was an ice-blue shadow.

The other party waved their hands wildly, seemingly aware of Accelerator's actions.

"Whoa!! Finally, humans have arrived!"

In that instant, the petite figure shouted out excitedly.

It sounds like a young, innocent little girl's voice.

"Hahaha! That's great! No matter who you are, you have to stop here! This place is no longer a realm that a mere human like you can reach!"

It was clear that the other person was enveloped in an aura like icy mist.

Carrying an icy aura that seemed capable of freezing everything, the petite figure flew toward them at a speed that was fast for her.

"But even if you regret it, it's too late. A formidable enemy—no! A fear that could drive you to despair—is now before you. The best you can hope for is to respectfully crouch down with your head in your hands!"

That was a very threatening tone.

The opponent, carrying a sufficiently dangerous aura and a confident smile, charged forward with an incredibly powerful momentum.

"Let me, Cirno, see clearly what true strength really means!!"

—Bang!