One-way traffic

"Then do everything in your power to suppress this news! No one can be allowed to know that it was the idol Kakine Teitoku who caused this indiscriminate destruction, not even a single person!"

It's like a scandal. If one person exposes it, then ten people will expose it, and then hundreds or thousands of people will... and then it's all over.

The idols of Level 5 espers are completely different from ordinary idols. If Kakine Teitoku were to be involved in such a scandal, it would inevitably implicate all other Level 5 espers.

"Damn it...why did this have to happen?!"

The manager's glasses were soaked with sweat.

He wiped the sweat off his glasses with the bag provided beside him and then looked at the person responsible for providing the information again.

"If what you're saying is true, and everything outside is made up of unformed matter, then where did the real Kakine Teitoku go?"

"…if you can."

The person standing in front of the manager also sighed.

"If possible, we would also like to know the answer to this question."

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

bang——

Gravel kept falling from the ceiling area.

Some of the falling pebbles hit the young man's face, which woke him up.

"Cough... Ah..."

A suffocating pain surged from the depths of my brain.

The brown-haired youth gritted his teeth, and when he opened his eyes, it seemed as if the world had turned blood red.

"Where...am I?"

My last memory is a blank.

When Kakine Teitoku recalled everything, he held his breath in disbelief.

"She's finally awake."

"ah…?"

The second person frowned, only then realizing that there were other people in the dimly lit tunnel.

*Snap.* The light shone down.

A person carrying a flashlight walked towards them. They were wearing a white coat, and…

That iconic, national flag-like clothing.

"I thought it would take you at least a few hours to wake up, but you woke up in just thirty minutes."

"Seventh place..."

The man standing in front of her was known as the most incredible man.

Among the seven Level 5 superpowered individuals, he is the only one who is completely different from the other six.

The ability users in Academy City are developed through various scientific methods, such as electroconvulsive therapy and brain development techniques... but this man in front of me is different.

His abilities were not acquired from the development project of Academy City.

Rather, it is the power that this man was born with.

In other words, the so-called raw stone.

There are approximately fifty people worldwide who are known as "Original Stone" ability users. The biggest difference between them and ordinary ability users is that they do not need to rely on complex calculation formulas to exert their abilities. They can manipulate their power at will, just like using their hands and feet.

Among them, the greatest Primal Stone user was the man standing in front of him.

"That's it."

The two learned the full details of the matter.

After communicating with the shakuhachi about everything that happened during his coma, Kakine Teitoku revealed a complicated expression.

He raised his hand.

In the past, as long as one was willing, with the aid of computational abilities, one could directly pull out something that seemed to exist only in another world and use it in various forms at will. This was the Unreal Matter.

However, there was nothing on that hand.

The ability was ineffective.

"I'm no longer even qualified to use my abilities."

The control over the undifferentiated matter has been completely taken away.

Once Kakine Teitoku's abilities completely transformed into a vast, network-like whole, his original consciousness was forcibly blocked. Subsequently, one of the two opposing consciousnesses—one good and one evil—would seize control of its own abilities.

But whether it's the benevolent Kakine Teitoku or the evil Kakine Teitoku, his ultimate power will ultimately have no connection to his original self.

The current Kakine Teitoku serves no purpose other than as a generator of Unreal Matter abilities.

He is no longer the second-ranked in Academy City. Strictly speaking, he is now unable to use his abilities and cannot even be considered a Level 0 powerless being.

"Ha, that's really ridiculous."

Faced with this situation, he laughed out loud despite losing his second-place position.

It was a mocking laugh.

"After doing so much so far, I tried to end up living the life of an idol, but I ended up losing all my abilities... This must be karma."

In the end, nothing was accomplished.

Nothing can be changed; whether or not someone has the second-highest superpower in Academy City, it won't change anything.

When you have the ability, you are unable to save the people you want to save.

Even after losing his abilities, he still couldn't change anything.

Right now, the entire Academy City is probably surrounded by the terrifying attacks of the Unknown Matter. Even if those people don't recognize that the true form of these rhinoceros beetles is Kakine Teitoku's power, it probably won't be long before the fact that Kakine Teitoku is the culprit is completely exposed.

At that time, his idol career will come to an end, and he will completely revert to his old image.

…No.

Because he had lost all his abilities, even the research institutes he had previously collaborated with would no longer employ him.

Such a person would completely become an ordinary person, even worse than a petty thug.

After going through so much and thinking it over, the final result is actually like this.

"Haha."

The young man sat astride the ground, letting his hair cover his face.

"So, that's it, isn't it?"

In the end, he still couldn't protect anyone.

It's useless to try to walk the bright and righteous path, and it's equally meaningless to walk the dark path of the past.

No matter which path he chooses, the tragedy will continue to unfold. From now on, there will be countless others like those he has encountered in the past, dying meaninglessly.

The girl's face appeared before me.

Her last words still echoed in my ears.

even so.

I still couldn't help them to the very end—

Sizzle—!

Then, the sound of a soda can being opened interrupted my train of thought.

"Take this and drink it."

"Well…?"

Completely unaware of where he found it, Kōbō Junha threw the opened soda can over, leaving Kakine Teitoku helplessly catching it.

Of course, because it was open, the soda spilled all over him.

"Hey!"

"Getting a little wet should be enough to wake you up, right?"

The young man wearing a headscarf smiled and downed another can of soda in one gulp.

"But even if the soda is spilled, it's still soda, right?"

"These things will not change their essence because of how much they are lost. Even if only a single drop is left after being sprinkled, it will still be what it is meant to be and will not change its essence because of external influences."

"In my opinion, integrity is the same."

"..."

Kakine Teitoku stared at him in surprise.

"You think you're nothing without your abilities? Hey, that's not a good idea. Before you're an ability user, you should first and foremost be yourself, right?"

"I…"

I developed my abilities, not the other way around.

The second most powerful superpower in Academy City: Unreal Matter.

That kind of power, no matter how strong, is still just a kind of power.

Since it is a power, it must have a decent user.

"You mean you're trying to lecture me, right?"

He laughed self-deprecatingly and looked at the other person.

"For someone like me who's useless once I lose my abilities, no amount of encouragement would make a difference, would it?"

"It's not that it's completely useless."

Thump, thump. He gently patted his chest.

"Isn't there still something inside you?"

"You still have backbone."

"As long as you have your last breath, as long as you are still yourself, you will never change."

"It has nothing to do with superpowers or anything like that. Or rather, what truly determines those things... isn't it yourself?"

Bang.

As the young man rose from the ground, the ceiling above distorted.

It is impossible to determine what force caused it.

but.

"...Even so, I still have the opportunity to slightly interfere with and sense the vast information network of the primordial matter."

"Then let's give it a try."

"If things go wrong, it could lead to my consciousness being completely swallowed up, and then the aggregate of primordial matter turning into a monster with no upper limit?"

"That's ultimately your own business."

Although Kōbakō Gunha was saying such things, he still looked at Kakine Teitoku with an encouraging expression.

“If it were anything else, I would definitely help you without hesitation... but this is different.”

"Only you can decide your own destiny, right?"

"Hmph." Kakine Teitoku chuckled softly.

Boom!! Just like that, with one hand holding onto Kakine Teitoku, the shodaki Gunha tore the ceiling open again with the other.

The two of them flew directly from the underground tunnel to the ground.

Naturally, the area is teeming with countless white rhinoceros beetles.

They circled around this area and locked onto the direction of Kakine Teitoku.

"Ha! You bunch of oddballs, I'm the real opponent now—!!!"

But another man will not allow this to happen.