One-way traffic

"Witness the beginning of your infinite possibilities."

Click.

In that instant, a tearing sound came from deep within Kakine Teitoku's body.

"Coughing ahh ...

boom! ! !

Standing still, the six wings on his back instantly transformed into pure power, spreading out in all directions.

The closest blade-slicing warrior was unable to get close to him and was forcibly blown away by that force.

Followed by.

Under everyone's gaze, the white light twisted into a ball.

"…ha."

A jumbled sound, like a poorly received signal.

As the smoke exploded, a figure stood directly in front.

"Indeed, it's all thanks to your help."

Its body was pure white, its clothes were slightly dark red, and even its hair, skin, brain and nerves had become pure primordial matter.

Those eyes had completely transformed into a pure black and red.

"long time no see."

This is a completely different tone from what Kakine Teitoku has used so far.

No.

Perhaps, that is the true Kakine Teitoku.

Kakine Teitoku, in the original "timeline" without interference from Accelerator.

"Hey, the first one, I wonder if you still remember me?"

"..."

Accelerator frowned and looked at the other person.

Behind this figure, Kakine Teitoku's true form lay there.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. For me now, it doesn't matter what happens to my original body... Well, even though I say that, I don't actually have an original body to rely on anymore."

Emperor Kakine's clone... no.

On the surface, that seems to be the case, but now... the real Kakine Teitoku has lost consciousness, and the only one who can move is this clone in front of him.

But at the end of the day.

His true identity is not as simple as a manipulated clone.

"Please allow me to introduce you."

As the second state of undifferentiated matter, it gently snapped its fingers.

Then, an endless shadow covered the area behind.

One, two, then dozens, hundreds—

Hundreds and thousands of white things turned into an ocean, engulfing the entire square.

Those were all figures with the same appearance, their eyes and mouths completely transformed into dark, empty silhouettes.

"We possess the second-ranking ability in Academy City: Dark Matter..."

"At the same time, you can also call us by other names like Kakine Teitoku."

Along with all the remaining Unreal Matter clones still present, their postures all transformed into the same postures as these black and red-eyed figures.

"What, what is this thing?!"

Surrounded, Misaka Mikoto and the others cried out in alarm, trying to influence each other with their respective abilities.

But it's no use.

The number of Kakine Teitoku's followers suddenly expanded to several kilometers, including the spectators and the other Level 5 espers...

Everyone was surrounded.

"What...what did you do to him?!"

"I didn't do anything."

Faced with the one-sided questioning from the shogi military overlord, the thing now known as "Kakine Teitoku" speaks with ease.

"That's just the simplest reason. I'm telling you, you should understand concepts like dualism, right?"

None of the Kakine Teitoku spoke, except for the one standing at the very front, who opened his mouth.

"It's like that famous urban legend, that if someone encounters a second person who looks exactly like them in real life, that unlucky person will die... or something like that?"

"So what I'm trying to say is that this kind of thing really does exist."

"Something that once possessed the abilities of Kakine Teitoku shouted in a very lighthearted tone."

"I am indeed Kakine Teitoku, but I am merely manifesting as the 'evil' side of Kakine Teitoku... In truth, I've always been inside this guy."

"A person has both good and evil states within them. Don't spout nonsense like 'a person who still cares about good and evil is a child.' First of all, as long as one is human, one will inevitably develop extreme and hostile psychology due to some factor. No matter how outstanding a human being is in the world, no one can avoid this. Conversely, a person will also inevitably develop a relatively opposite psychology, one that is benevolent."

"The desire to destroy something, and the desire to protect something... that's roughly the feeling. In short, what I belong to is the desire to destroy something."

"Anyway, no matter which one it is, it's still something like Kakine Teitoku... However, to be more accurate now, I should be called Dark Matter!"

It's not that the person with the ability is controlling the ability, but rather that the ability has taken over the reins.

Within each person reside both good and evil, destruction and protection. And right now, the mind that represents destruction and evil is the consciousness of Kakine Teitoku before us.

The real Kakine Teitoku had completely lost control over his own abilities... and even lost control over his own personality and character.

"how do you want to do it?"

Accelerator calmly stared at the other person.

"Even if we fight here, you still can't beat me. Winning by sheer numbers isn't the essence of a Level 5 superpower user... Besides, what reason do you have to fight me?"

"Oh my, you've really changed a lot. I never imagined you'd have this kind of personality."

"Darkness," Kakine Teitoku said with a mocking laugh.

"During the Dark Side Wars, you may have changed the path of Kakine Teitoku as he is now."

"But unfortunately, in the midst of infinite possibilities... in one possible development, in that world, Kakine Teitoku could be truly defeated by you."

"It's not death, but something far more brutal. His brain will be split into three pieces, all his internal organs will be crushed, and in the worst case, he will be put into a huge machine that is no different from a refrigerator to prolong his life."

"A life that's no different from barely clinging to life... Hah! Just thinking about it makes me feel a surge of killing intent coursing through my entire body."

This might be hard for most people to understand.

Just as Kakine Teitoku is saying now, if that future... is really calculated by him based on simple deduction, then it is only a possibility, not an existing objective reality.

It's like someone suspecting another person might be a murderer and becoming hostile towards them. But this is just speculation, just a possibility. In reality, the other person did nothing and was just a complete stranger. In this case, the possibility that the other person is a murderer is completely invalid.

But that's all.

The mere existence of this idea is enough to justify Kakine Teitoku standing here.

"I am the embodiment of negative concepts."

As soon as he finished speaking, all the figures began to move.

"Even if this doesn't happen in reality, even if it's just a possibility, even if I've only thought about it."

"That would be enough to justify my fighting."

"So, you should understand that, rather than saying that we, as the second and first place, should do this in the first place."

All the Kakine Teitoku began to change form.

From the human form, it further transformed into some kind of enormous creature.

A white rhinoceros beetle, 15 meters long, with long, thick tentacles at the front like the muzzle of a cannon.

Their eyes all gleamed with an eerie red light.

"Let's fight each other, first one."

There's no reason, but if I had to give one, it's probably just for the sake of revenge in the future where Kakine Teitoku is crippled by Accelerator.

Despite the absurd reasons for the fight, it is precisely because of this that it proves that Kakine Teitoku is truly "evil".

"If it were you now, you would surely be able to display abilities that your future self could never have imagined, but similarly... can you even imagine the possibilities that I'm displaying now?"

Creation and destruction.

One is the pinnacle of creation-type abilities, while the other is the pinnacle of destruction-type abilities.

Regardless of past ideas, today, a large-scale battle is inevitable between the second and first place in Academy City.

"Hey…"

Xiao Banjunba saw what was happening not far away.

Kakine Teitoku's true form, his human body still bearing flesh and blood, is being surrounded by a series of rhinoceros beetles.

Since there is no longer any need for the original body to exist, it doesn't matter if it's killed.

"I have no intention of concerning myself with the lives of ordinary people around me. Whether our relationship leads to the destruction of Academy City, the destruction of Japan, or the sinking of this Japanese island... I don't care."

As they said this, the encirclement of the rhinoceros beetles tightened once again.

Accelerator looked around and confirmed the situation completely.

First, he confirmed one thing.

The mode I am currently in is the "Doomsday Destroyer" time generator mode.

"Do it."

Countless rhinoceros beetles charged forward with the force to shatter the building in a single breath.

Along the way, the cyborg named Liancha seemed to have long since disappeared, but there was no time to care about her now.

Standing in the very center of the square, the pedestrian walkway was surrounded by countless pale white lights.

then.

Even surrounded, the first person still spoke in a calm, low voice.

"ZeroZone".

Then, time stopped all over the world.

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

Except for Accelerator, everything else around it is no longer able to move freely.

Whether it's the second person who surrounds themselves, or the crowd that is surrounded.

In short, do what you can do first.

Accelerator instantly moved from his original position to mid-air.

He raised his hand and, while manipulating space, teleported countless people to a more dispersed and safer area.

"Then came the personnel allocation arrangement..."

First of all, it is certain that even if time were stopped, it would not solve the problem of Kakine Teitoku.

Even if all of these guys were teleported into the universe, or even into a black hole, they could still regenerate infinitely. In fact, as long as Kakine Teitoku's original body still existed, they could still be resurrected infinitely in any place.

The only thing that can solve this kind of thing...

"Only Kakine Teitoku himself could do that."

Accelerator fixed his gaze on Kakine Teitoku, who had fallen unconscious not far away, and on Shogi Gunha.

"In that case."

In that instant, the first person raised their hand again.

He teleported Kakine Teitoku and Shibata Gunha together to the most difficult-to-find area.