One-way traffic

It was like a joke, but it didn't make him laugh at all.

"What exactly are you doing all this for? Is this the kind of low-class, despicable job you want...?"

"Even if I said it was the essence of a demon, I think you still wouldn't be able to understand it at all."

"I never intended to understand it either. You demons have really terrible taste."

Facing the only enemy who could fight him, DO Apis did not rush to attack.

In fact, since its resurrection, it has not taken any initiative to make a move.

"For demons, destruction is the ultimate goal. No demon can do without the concept of destruction... except for those so weak that even their demonic nature is created by humans."

Even now, the riots in the sky have never stopped.

"You should be able to understand, right?"

DO Apis slightly raised his head, his scarlet demonic eyes, gleaming beneath his mask, staring at him.

Even so, one can feel a profound and unforgettable sense of desolation.

"When you unfurled those black wings, weren't you also filled with an unparalleled desire for destruction? The essence of those black wings is destruction, and all you did was fully unleash that essence."

"We demons are the same; everything we do is simply fulfilling our essence, which is our job."

That's incredibly arrogant.

Accelerator spat in displeasure, though all that came out was a mixture of blood and saliva.

"Looks like we can't have a conversation today."

"That's true... but you never intended to have a serious discussion with me. Everything you did was just for ulterior motives, wasn't it?"

"Tsk...!"

It's impossible to see the exact expression on that demon's face under the helmet, but the general guess is that this bastard probably doesn't have any emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness.

One-way is different.

What he's saying now is basically all about delaying the demon in front of him, buying himself as much time as possible... all so that the girls of Gensokyo can evacuate to a more distant place as soon as possible.

Although that guy might have seen through his purpose from the beginning, which annoyed him, people like him who were almost emotionless and spoke only based on reason could actually stall for longer.

But a devastating blow was inevitable.

No matter how long the stalemate lasts, the riots that extend from the top of the sky will eventually reduce the entire Gensokyo to nothing.

He could not escape the things he had to do.

And so, the first one raised his arm without hesitation.

——Bang! ! !

A pair of pure white wings shot out with maximum force, carrying his body forward with a powerful thrust.

Reflection is no longer an option, but he can still reduce the force of the attack by manipulating the direction of energy.

And these white wings themselves can provide him with defensive power that is completely equivalent to his attack power, so at least he can launch a proper attack on that guy.

This time, Accelerator's flight speed reached its maximum speed.

—The two collided.

The clash of forces instantly tore apart the clouds in the sky.

"...Don't tell me I haven't thought about what might happen."

The sound emerged from behind the dispersed clouds.

However, that was not the voice of the First One himself.

"Is this all you've managed to do with your full power?"

It raised a finger.

DO Apis's left index finger, in a blocking position, completely pinned Accelerator's body there.

All of White Wing's power and impact bombarded its entire body.

From the front, it seems that DO Apis only has a few scratches on some of the scales on its armor.

Accelerator's White Wings, when used at full power, are capable of intercepting even destructive forces capable of covering the entire surface of the planet.

"If that's all you've got, then I'm going to make my move."

"—!!"

Without hesitation, he stepped back, thus surrounding the six generators in front of him.

The attack just now clearly had no effect, but similarly, Accelerator's body did not suffer any damage.

Even though he is fighting in his worst condition with all his injuries, if he were to take another attack from DO Apis like before, he would not even have a chance to buy time.

He must fight back while he still has the strength to act.

- Om!

And so, the six generators spread out in all directions.

"Doomsday Destroyer! Switching to Psionic Generator mode!"

The generator, which resembled a floating cannon, then transformed into six crystal-like purple beams of light.

"Apocalypse! It's not over yet, switch to time generator mode immediately... Pwahaha—!"

Just after he uttered the name of the move, an indescribable sense of oppression surged out from the deepest part of his brain.

Blood was flowing from his ear.

Blood mixed with some white substance flowed from his ears...that is, from the deepest part of his brain, and at the same time, bloody tears flowed from his eyes.

The world before him turned black and white.

His five senses began to gradually disappear. At the same time, if he used his superpowers in this terrible physical condition, the consequences that awaited him would be even more terrifying than when a superpowered person uses magic.

He even felt as if his brain itself was being stained red with blood.

Instead, a dazzling brilliance arose.

Fifty-four purple-white streams of light slowly coalesced behind him, eventually forming an energy cube with a radius of several tens of meters.

"Stop. If it were you, I wouldn't kill you so quickly."

"Stop rambling..."

"...What is your reason for taking action? I don't quite understand. You think these people would risk their lives for such a reason?"

The demon floating before them seemed to be displaying an extremely confused tone for the first time.

"These life forms in Gensokyo, no matter which one, have only spent a little over a month with you at most... are you willing to fight to this extent and exhaust your own life for people you've only known for about a month?"

"Or have you now completely become the type of person who wants to save everyone?"

"Stop talking nonsense."

Faced with this question, Accelerator did not hesitate to wave his arm.

"I already told you to shut up, can't you understand human language? You piece of shit, you devilish bastard...!"

As he cursed, six generators simultaneously began to swirl around him again.

One super skill is far from enough.

Let alone defeating the enemy in front of them, even holding them back is extremely difficult.

To achieve your goal, you must pay a higher price.

"Cough...drink...ahh ...

Accelerator gripped both hands tightly.

His body was convulsing, his bloodshot eyes were completely bloodshot, and his entire being was radiating a sense of distortion.

"EndOfInfinity—!"

And just like that, a hand materialized on his right arm.

A purplish-black wrist that spans over 100 meters.

He instantly raised his arm and grabbed the transparent wrist onto DO Apis's body.

—A burst of light.

However, the instant the light burst forth, the purplish-black crack had already swallowed up the opponent's body, along with Accelerator's purplish-black arm.

Some say that the Big Bang, the origin of the universe, was the starting point of creation that opened up everything.

The concept of space was born after the Big Bang.

The concept of time was born after the Big Bang.

Spacetime is an integral whole, and all of this was created by the Big Bang.

What that arm created was a technique that perfectly replicated the power of the Big Bang, equivalent to the Big Bang itself creating the concept of spacetime.

not only that.

Once the explosive force is effective, the resulting power will continuously reverberate back, meaning—

The demon before them was being attacked by massive explosions every second, creating a sense of spacetime.

While Accelerator was manipulating his right arm, the Rubik's Cube behind him was not idle either, and a move called Apocalypse instantly appeared in front of it.

The Rubik's Cube expanded into fifty-four cubes, which then surrounded the area.

Boom! This time, Accelerator felt an indescribable tremor throughout his body.

The area where he was located began to distort unnaturally, and even his body kept shifting. His arms moved to the bottom of his feet, and his waist twisted directly above his head.

Once every few seconds, the effect is enough to completely terrify anyone.

This is a side effect, a consequence of overusing the power of spacetime, resulting in the disruption of spacetime's continuity.

Each super skill brings extraordinary power, and similarly, Accelerator must pay a corresponding price to unleash this extraordinary power.

But he did not hesitate.

Just as the abyss demon before him said, the people of Gensokyo should not have any reason for him to fight for them.

This place is at best just a transit point, essentially just a place we happen to pass through during our journey.

The girls here are not Last Order, nor Hatsune Miku, nor anyone familiar to Accelerator. He has only known them for a little over a month.

Theoretically speaking, there is absolutely no reason to go to such lengths.

Yes.

Even Accelerator himself knew that he had no reason to do such a thing.

He was once inclined to evil, but later abandoned his simple concept of good and evil. He fought only to protect the people around him, even at the cost of being an enemy of the whole world. He only wanted to protect the people he wanted to protect, not to fight for the whole world.

…Yes.

He did everything he could to protect those he wanted to protect.

And these people in Gensokyo are the ones he wants to protect.

Can a month really change a person and make them fight for these people they've only known briefly?

The answer is yes.

During this time, he witnessed so much unique to this fantasy world, the unique lives and daily routines of those girls.

Those everyday things might have nothing to do with him; perhaps he was just one of the passersby in these girls' lives, and in Accelerator's past, he never had a life as carefree and happy as theirs.

But it is precisely because he did not experience the same warm and loving life as these people in the past that he wants to protect this warmth that is valuable to these girls.

Even if it has nothing to do with oneself.

Because he didn't want anyone else to go through the same tragic and torturous experience he had gone through.

Of course, none of this could be something Accelerator could say himself.

For him, there might only be one sentence that can express this:

"Because you're blocking my way, I'm just going to get rid of this annoying thing!"

It's that simple and clear.