One-way traffic

As a result, even Mikoto Himeno, who was covered by the blanket, couldn't help but scream.

Of course, she realized it was past 1 a.m. and, fearing she might disturb the neighbors, quickly covered her mouth.

"Ahhh, so amazing...! Even the way he talks is so cool, woohoo...!"

If you look closely, you'll discover something.

Inside the bookshelves in the girl's room, there are many places specifically for storing song albums and CDs.

At least three of those albums feature a portrait of Accelerator.

The room also contained many Accelerator dolls dressed in official uniforms, and there were even numerous magazines and photobooks nearby...

It's easy to imagine what kind of interest circle she belongs to.

Accelerator is the number one Level 5 Level 5 esper in Academy City.

She has already gained immense popularity among nearly 70% of the total population of Academy City since her debut, and the majority of them are girls.

Mikoto Himeno is one of her fans.

Although she usually enjoys reading about various idols, Accelerator is probably the only idol she fell in love with at first sight.

Of course, she wasn't the kind of person who would throw all her money into chasing celebrities. Even though she really liked this idol, she would only watch his live performances in her spare time.

despite this.

"Hmph, you lowlifes, your performance today is not bad at all."

After the brief opening song of the live performance ended, Accelerator burst into maniacal laughter on the stage.

"But this is far from enough. My passion goes far beyond this, doesn't it?"

"Those of you who want to keep getting fired up with me, better wait until the Duanlan Festival before you start causing trouble!"

"That's a large-scale cultural festival that Academy City will be holding soon. In theory, the activities will mainly be arranged according to sports-related content, but because of idols, this festival will feature a live performance by all the espers who have registered with idol groups."

"If you want to catch up, then go ahead and try. Anyway, no matter what, I'll be waiting for you at the One-End Festival."

"If you're so capable, try to catch up with me and keep listening to my singing!"

The festival is a must-see... I definitely have to participate!

While thinking this, Mikoto Himeno also looked at the calendar on her phone.

Tomorrow is a day that has been marked as important.

That was the opening day of the Ichiran Festival.

"Tomorrow... I definitely want to go see everyone's live performances with my friends!"

The thought of my favorite idol makes me want to join everyone at the festival.

Just thinking about it made Mikoto Himeno incredibly excited.

"No, no... I have to go to bed early! Otherwise I won't be able to get up tomorrow...!"

With this adorable thought in mind, the girl quickly turned off her phone and pulled the blanket over her head.

wow——

Outside the window, the sound of raindrops falling could be heard.

Speaking of which, it's been raining all day.

From morning till night... it rained all day long, a torrential downpour that blurred the sky and was unimaginably heavy.

"I hope the Ichiban Festival won't be affected tomorrow..."

With her last thought in mind, the girl closed her eyes happily with a smile.

It was late at night, and darkness enveloped everything.

Before long, she slowly drifted off to sleep.

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

Click.

Kaka.

Click, click, click.

I heard the sound of a knife cutting something.

My consciousness was blurred, and everything in front of me appeared as a dark blur.

until a certain moment.

Finally, I can see clearly what the situation is really like.

is a person.

Something that looks like a person, but isn't.

It just stood there, holding a machete, hacking away at the bloody mess on the ground.

What was it that was chopped down?

It's the head.

Whose is it?

…be mine?

My, my head—?!

“Wu——?!”

My heart was pounding violently.

Himeno Mikoto got out of bed, panting heavily, and looked around her room.

Nothing at all.

There was neither a monster attacking him nor his own corpse.

"Was it...a dream?"

She couldn't help but touch the inside of her clothes, which was completely soaked with sweat.

Even though it's such a cold season, I'm still covered in sweat.

It would be bad if I caught a cold...

"Nightmare... I hate it..."

Because I woke up suddenly, I couldn't help but have strong urges to go to the toilet, drink water, and play on my phone.

Simply put, I just can't sleep at all.

Unaware of the time, the girl, feeling a bit lazy, didn't bother to turn on her phone and ran into the living room in her pajamas.

A chilling aura enveloped my entire body.

It's so cold...

Is it because of the rain? It feels even more dazed than usual, and the rain hasn't stopped yet…

Mikoto Himeno glanced timidly at the living room; there was nothing there, only herself.

Oh really, I'm so stupid, how could there be anything there?

"I'll have another hot cocoa," she said softly.

The girl walked slowly to the kitchen and, with the help of the faint light streaming in from the window, poured herself a chocolate drink.

"It's so dark... It's definitely better to turn on the lights."

Mikoto Himeno shook her head and had no choice but to turn on the kitchen lamp.

If I turn on the headlights now, I'll be wide awake. I can't do that; I need to fall asleep as soon as possible.

"…Huh?"

She couldn't help but stop what she was doing.

Through the lamp on the kitchen counter, you can see the sofa on the other side of the living room.

There, one bear plush toy is missing.

"Huh...? How, how could there be less?"

There were supposed to be three dolls, but one is indeed missing.

Mikoto Himeno rushed over to check the sofa, and even after heating up the hot cocoa, she still couldn't find the missing doll.

How could this be...? This is too strange!

"Did I accidentally forget where I put it... Waaah! No! I'll deal with this tomorrow!"

Go to bed early!! Make sure to go to sleep right after drinking your hot cocoa!!!

She patted her cheeks and quickly turned around.

Swish.

—A knife was stuck directly into the kitchen cutting board.

In front of them, the desk lamp cast a faint light.

The bear that he couldn't find was standing in front of the chopping board, almost as tall as himself.

...Huh?

Upon seeing all that, Mikoto Himeno turned pale instantly.

Come on, let's play!

It turned its head to look at itself.

He picked up the knife from the cutting board again.

"Come play, come play, come play, come play, come play, come play, hee ...

"ah--!!"

She was so startled that her eyes narrowed.

As a result, he instinctively stepped back, causing his body to fall to the ground.

Bang! In that instant, the doll's knife failed to strike the spot where Himeno Mikoto was originally, and instead slid down and fell to the ground.

The girl didn't dare to think too much about it.

Although she knew she was too frightened to move, she couldn't even twitch a finger—

"Ah... a knife...?"

It's a knife... Ah!

Yes, I will be killed... No!!

She quickly covered her mouth to stop herself from gagging, and ran as fast as she could towards the bedroom at the back.

“Hahahahahahahahahaha—”

Behind me, the doll's laughter never stopped.

She dared not turn around, nor did she dare to think any further.

They blocked the door without hesitation, but they certainly couldn't hold out for long.

"No... I'm going to be killed... I'm going to be killed...!"

I'm so scared... I'm really scared.

What is that? It's my teddy bear, right? But, but why is it moving?

And why is he holding a knife and even talking?

"Ha...woo...!!"

During this time, she quickly blocked the doorway with the things in the room, and while doing so, she changed into a series of clothes. She also took out what she considered to be her most useful weapon—an umbrella.

Even if you push chairs and even tables to the door, it's still not enough to hold them back.

It's just a puppet... so why does it have such great strength?!