One-way traffic

"The only option is... to escape outside..."

If you keep hiding at home, you'll be killed by its knife sooner or later.

We need to find a way to get outside. The living room door has a key card, so we can just swipe the card to leave…!

Thump—thump-bang!

The door was completely kicked open.

At that very moment, the doll also rushed in like lightning.

"No, no...!!!"

Mikoto Himeno used all her strength to grab the umbrella and hit it.

Of course, an umbrella can't compare to the sharpness of a knife, but even so, the other party is ultimately just a teddy bear.

Even though it grew to be as large as a girl's body, she still smashed it to the side.

Taking advantage of that moment, Himeno Mikoto ran into the living room without hesitation.

Closing the door would trap the doll inside, but the girl was too terrified to even think about it.

She didn't dare look back, and without hesitation, she scanned the room card and ran out, not caring whether she had changed her shoes or whether it was pouring rain outside.

So, Mikoto Himeno went outdoors.

It rained heavily.

Even after immediately opening an umbrella, her entire body was still covered in rainwater, followed by an overwhelming gale.

She ran through the streets all by herself, doing her best.

Thinking that if I went to a friend's house, or to the nearest police station, I could probably escape this predicament.

—Thinking this way.

But in the rain and mist ahead, I saw something.

"what…"

Mikoto Himeno stopped.

What is it that is gradually approaching you step by step?

Isn't that the doll I've been running away from all along?

The girl's eyes trembled, and she couldn't help but back away.

pat.

But when she turned around to look behind her, she was stunned again.

One, two.

The toys that were previously in her living room also came out.

They all grew to their own size, wielding sharp wooden spikes or steel thorns...

"Alas--!"

What is that...?

What exactly happened?

Why...why did this kind of thing happen to me?

Can't understand it at all.

"That's...that's enough..."

She sat weakly on the ground, her legs giving way.

The skirt was soaked by the rain, and the umbrella fell to the side.

Come play!

Come play!

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

A continuous stream of sounds, the source of which was indistinguishable, surrounded the girl.

Himeno Mikoto trembled, her petite body shaking, and covered her ears, but it was no use.

He's going to be killed.

There's no use in trying to escape. In the dead of night, no one will be able to find you, and you'll probably be on the news the next day.

"Save... help me..."

She was so scared that she cried, trembling, and whispered for help to someone who was nowhere to be found.

So the puppets rushed forward, wielding sharp weapons.

——Bang! ! !

In that instant, a purplish-black spatial rift exploded beside the girl.

wow——

It was still the sound of rain.

There was just another voice.

"…interesting."

A familiar, yet chilling voice.

She trembled, looking ahead without wiping away her tears.

Amidst the raging wind and rain, a white-clad figure stood there fearlessly.

"Even murderers like to act like this now? Academy City is getting more and more tasteless, you bastards."

Under the gloomy, dark night and torrential rain, only those deep red eyes and white hair stood out.

Chapter 517 The Supernatural in Academy City

The raindrops fell in a loud patter.

The asphalt road and roof beams were constantly being hit, and the clattering sound could be heard from not far away. Coupled with the thick fog and the almost dim streetlights, the entire street, and even the entire Academy City, looked like a ghost town from a ghost story.

Under the raging wind and rain.

He was wearing only a plain gray-white shirt and gray trousers.

But the iconic green that shone like a light at the neck, and the pair of scarlet hues that were striking even in the dark.

And that pale white that even the rainy night couldn't swallow.

“Ah… ow…”

At this moment, Mikoto Himeno was already out of breath, and her body was trembling uncontrollably.

The girl's eyes were already wet with tears, and she couldn't help but cover her mouth with her hand, no longer caring who the person in front of her was.

No matter who it was, at this moment, everyone seemed like a straw to her grasp at.

The girl just wanted to rush into the other person's arms and burst into tears.

however.

The dolls wielding knives and steel spikes began to move again.

"Alas--!!"

Mikoto Himeno was so frightened that she couldn't stop crying, and even covered her mouth and sat on the spot screaming.

The nightmare-like dolls had no intention of letting her go.

They charged towards them at breakneck speed, brandishing their knives and steel spikes in an irregular and irrational manner, with exaggerated gestures.

Bang.

Then, all those things were crushed into a twisted mass.

Including the arms of these dolls.

—?!

Himeno Mikoto stood there, stunned, staring wide-eyed at the scene before her.

A figure suddenly appeared and blocked his way.

The other party did nothing, and logically speaking, his physique didn't seem particularly strong. He would probably be seriously injured if hit by a weapon like a spiked club.

But all the weapons that tried to strike him returned the force they had traveled.

No, it might not be that simple.

The rebounding force was perfectly controlled at a precise point, not just rebounding across the entire range, but targeting a very precise point—for example, it could twist the blade beyond recognition while simultaneously causing the opponent's arm to twist into a knot.

Like maltose that bends when roasted, the dolls' bodies all began to twist.

When they came to their senses, all the dolls had been blasted away by some unseen force.

"what?"

The voice came from that person's mouth.

He seemed somewhat surprised, ignoring the toys being trampled underfoot, and instead walked up to the teddy bear that had initially attacked him.

He reached out and easily pulled the life-sized doll that had fallen to the ground up.

Then—some kind of pitch-black substance began to continuously fly out of the doll's body.

"That's true. Even street thugs wouldn't dress like that. Those who can afford to dress like that are mostly people who have no choice but to rely on these things to possess others."

Words of unclear meaning.

However, Mikoto Himeno saw at least one thing.

After the other party pulled out something that was pitch black, he held that human-shaped thing in his hand.

Bang! ! !

The other person gently clenched their fingers, and a sound like a scream followed.

All the dolls around them completely returned to their original state.

The sound of the knife falling to the ground jolted Mikoto Himeno back to reality.

it's over.

Without realizing it, this thought began to sprout in my mind.

Although I don't know exactly what happened or what went on, it's over...

He suddenly came to the conclusion that he was no longer being hunted down, that the dolls had all turned back into ordinary dolls, and that he was completely safe.

And all of this was done by the person in front of me.

He saved him, he saved his life.

Now, let's change the subject.

Even Accelerator was unaware of what had happened.

…After he left the universe of Gensokyo, the system hidden within him resumed operation, and then, following a reasonable method, he returned directly to the world where Academy City is located.

When he returned here, this was the scene before him.

Dolls that suddenly started moving, and a girl who was attacked by those dolls.

At first, he thought these dolls were dressed up by a weirdo killer with peculiar interests, but now it seems that it's not that simple.

Having experienced various supernatural events firsthand, Accelerator knew very well that these things couldn't be explained simply by magic or superpowers.

and--

'What's inside this girl's body...?'

Although she herself may not have realized it at all, Accelerator saw it clearly through his own abilities.

Within the body of the attacked girl before us lies a vast amount of energy.

The nature of this energy is unknown, but combined with other factors, it may be something like the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. This energy has even connected with the earth's veins in this academy city, which is why the myriad mascots were attracted to her.