One-way traffic

It's as if he should have had the capacity to withstand this overwhelming feeling from the very beginning.

"wrong."

However, the number one in Academy City never focused on such matters from the beginning.

He looked up, shifting his gaze away from the lightning flashing with an unusual light.

"These things are not what really attract me."

Although the power of those colorful lightning bolts surprised and astonished him, no one understood his own heart better than Accelerator.

He was definitely not drawn to that power.

The first one slowly raised his head, focusing his gaze behind the lightning bolts—

That is the realm where black and white meet.

Right in that very central area.

Black and white were mixed together.

They construct an extremely chaotic and extreme color that the surrounding world cannot contain, and even the spiritual world itself begins to distort.

grey.

It is neither extreme black nor pure white, but rather a color that perfectly combines the characteristics of both, yet never ventures into either of them, presenting a chaotic appearance.

Upon seeing that color, Accelerator, whose mind should be considered the most powerful, completely lost his ability to think.

He didn't know how to understand this kind of thing.

He is the strongest esper in Academy City, and also the smartest student in the entire city. His mind is filled with countless vast amounts of knowledge. Combined with the characteristics of his own abilities and his supremely developed mind, his comprehension and calculation abilities are unmatched by any other esper.

But even with such a straightforward approach, it's impossible to understand the meaning behind that grayness.

The moment you see it, abilities, thinking, or even the vast computing power and inexhaustible knowledge reserves—all of them lose their due meaning.

The comparison between humans and cells is so insignificant.

The strongest at the pinnacle of Academy City is nothing compared to that chaotic grayness.

Including all the people he has known so far, all the existence in all the worlds, all of them, none can compare to one immeasurable fraction of it.

That was a realm beyond anything he had ever known before, a realm that neither the infinite nor the finite could ever touch, nor reach.

but.

This incomparably significant shade of gray appeared directly in Accelerator's spiritual world.

When he came to his senses and finally remembered to move his body...

The world collapsed from that moment on.

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

"—!!"

The first person suddenly jumped up from the bed.

He gasped for breath, his heart pounding in his chest.

—What did I just see?!

"Whoa?! Little brother?"

"Hmm...it's you...?"

He turned his head and saw the person squatting next to him.

This is a typical Japanese-style room. The walls and floors are mostly made of some kind of ancient wood, and he can see the view of the azure sky outside the window.

This is the Hakurei Shrine, and by the time he realized it, the girl in front of him had already walked right up to him.

"Phew...you scared me! You actually woke up suddenly, that's quite an unusual turn of events, DaZe!"

There can only be one girl with such a unique verbal tic.

Marisa Kirisame, the black and white magician.

She looked at him with a cheerful expression, acting as if they were old friends, which made Accelerator sigh inwardly.

I'm really not good at dealing with guys with this kind of personality.

"What are you doing here? Isn't this Hakurei Shrine?"

"That's alright, Reimu and I are old friends. Even when she's not around, I often come to the shrine to hang out!"

"...Oh, that's how it is."

Leaving aside Marisa in front of him, Accelerator stood up and picked up the silver cane that was lying on the ground.

The pain in my hand has eased a bit... I should be able to put away my crutches in a few more days.

'strangeness…?'

But when Accelerator stood up and stood still, he felt a sense of unease.

That's a sensation that comes from the inside of the brain.

It felt as if something had been torn open, yet there was no pain whatsoever.

He immediately used his abilities to thoroughly examine his brain structure and found no internal bleeding. The strongest mind was intact, even healthier than the average person's.

This series of unusual phenomena immediately reminded him of the scenes he had witnessed in that spiritual world before.

What exactly have I been through...?

"Huh? What happened? Did you get injured in the previous battle?"

"No, nothing."

Accelerator simply shook his head.

"It's beyond our expectations that you woke up so quickly. Alice and Reimu generally thought it would take you at least a few days to wake up, but you woke up in just a few hours. Your recovery ability is truly amazing!"

"Since you can say such a thing, does that mean everything that happened in the underworld is over?"

Accelerator turned around and looked towards the door.

"In that case, I'll have to go and have a good talk with some of these guys."

"What...what does this mean? Ah! Wait a minute! You've only just recovered, you're even using crutches, don't walk so fast, DaZe!"

Under Marisa's watchful gaze, Accelerator swiftly walked out the door, leaning on his cane.

He flung open the door, only to be met with a completely unexpected scene.

In the living room in front of me, there were several figures sitting there.

"Mmm... This little cookie is so delicious!"

"Lady Yuyuko, well, while I do know those cookies were delicious, but... this is someone else's place, so please be a little more mindful of your image, okay...?"

"Oh? Is that so... But I don't think I did anything too outrageous?"

"This, this..."

Sitting to one side, Youmu looked at the stack of plates on the table with some difficulty—almost like a small mountain.

"It's not really absurd for you; it's just everyday behavior..."

Nodding happily, Yuyuko was about to put the next cookie made by Youmu into her mouth when she saw the person coming out of the room.

"Oh my, she's already awake? That was fast!"

"...And what's with the culprit eating snacks in a place like this? What's the deal with that?"

Accelerator's lips twitched slightly, but Yuyuko, while watching him, actually started eating the cookies on the table again.

"That, that!"

At the same time, Youmu excitedly ran over as soon as she saw Accelerator leave the room.

"what?"

"I am truly sorry! Lady Yuyuko and I treated you so badly before, yet you still went to great lengths to rescue us from the fusion of the Saigyou Ayakashi. I am so sorry! And I am very grateful for your rescue!"

So the half-spirit girl immediately thanked the first person with the most precious etiquette.

As Accelerator watched the girl in front of him perform the dogeza (a traditional Chinese kneeling posture) without hesitation, his gaze towards her changed.

This guy's personality is really honest... no, I should say straightforward.

In such an unusual and chaotic Gensokyo, the existence of such an honest and straightforward person means that she's very likely to be teased by various people in the future...

"Stand up and say what you have to say first. I have no interest in talking to someone who is kneeling."

"Huh? Okay, okay..."

Upon hearing this, Youmu quickly stood up and glanced tentatively at the human with the same hair color as her.

"Um...aren't you annoyed by what we did?"

"Huh? That's not something I need to consider at all. Who are you talking to?"

"Huh? Eh?! No, isn't that right? I thought you went to so much trouble to get involved in this incident because it was related to you..."

The fact that she spoke her mind without hesitation shows that this half-spirit girl is indeed quite straightforward.

"That's enough, isn't it? Youmu, if you keep going, you'll only bother me."

"I understand, Lady Yuyuko..."

Although the result was somewhat surprising, Youmu glanced at Accelerator's emotionless face and dared not continue speaking.

Accelerator didn't say anything more and went straight to the table, but didn't sit down.

"So, what are your thoughts?"

"What's the point of having any thoughts about something so trivial?"

"Of course there are."

So Yuyuko stopped eating the cookies.

"To completely defeat the Saigyu Ayakashi, who has been luring people toward death."

It's like reminiscing.

The pink-haired girl suddenly looked up and silently gazed at the scenery outside the window.

"In the past, I always felt that the Saigyou Ayakashi gave me a sense of familiarity. Not long ago, I even found a story about the Saigyou Ayakashi that was recorded a long time ago in the Hakugyokurou."

"It is said that if this demon tree is allowed to blossom and bear fruit, it might just bring someone who has died back to life."

"Is this why you planned all this? Tsk, what a ridiculous reason."

"The meaning of reasons varies from person to person."

Ignoring Yuyuko's words, Accelerator pursed his lips and stopped looking at her.

"Do whatever you like, but don't even think about doing such tasteless and boring things again."

"Speaking of which, your real purpose wasn't to stop the Western Journey Demon, was it?"

Just as Accelerator was about to leave the room, Yuyuko spoke further from behind him.

"Although you may feel that you have not gained the corresponding benefits, in my opinion, you have actually found it."

"What you need is the clue that will be most helpful to you."

The first person did not respond to her words.

After a silence of about two seconds, he walked out of the shrine gate without hesitation.

"Ah... I've finished the cookies."

Yuyuko blinked, staring blankly at the empty plate on the table.

Chapter 446 Factors Beyond the Anomaly

Gensokyo in May is a world filled with the rich atmosphere of spring.

When the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, it's as if the world itself is enveloped in that cherry-colored realm, an unexpected color that nourishes this fantastical world.

This is the kind of world that unfolds before Accelerator's eyes.

Outside the Hakurei Shrine, pure cherry blossoms covered the ground, and raindrops of cherry blossom petals continued to fall from the sky.