One-way traffic

They are all the same.

"ah…?"

Mugino Shizuri froze on the spot.

In the past, she had seen some information about the First One's past, and that information was—

"The third... clone?"

She murmured uncontrollably.

Those standing in front were all of them.

The third clone of Misaka Mikoto, the younger sisters.

These were the innocent lives that Accelerator slaughtered without hesitation in his quest to evolve from the strongest to invincible.

"When encountering food ramen, the strongest is tonkotsu thin noodles," Misaka said after analysis.

"No, no, no, the soft noodles of salt ramen are the most delicious. I'll beat you up!" Misaka grabbed the other person's chest and said.

"It's confusing to lump salt ramen together with salt cream ramen," Misaka said, joining the debate to settle the matter.

The sisters stood there, reciting these words as if in a rap.

Even her expression is the same as the real thing, expressionless, making her feel like a silent girl from a manga.

…No.

Breathing, spirit, even gaze and tone of voice.

"That second guy... he even brought the dead back to life..."

"Don't get me wrong, even I can't bring something that's already dead back into this world."

Kakine Teitoku, standing before him, denied this.

"If you ask me, it's less about resurrection and more about the principle of a phonograph or record player. In short, I copied and reproduced the thoughts that were left around here. These are all real records, all the things these guys said here in the past... just like a videotape."

That means these sisters are not dolls.

These were all said by them.

"how is everything?"

He grinned maliciously, fully aware of what Accelerator was thinking.

“These aren’t fakes, they’re the real ones you killed, innocent clones.”

If Kakine Teitoku's power, whether mental or physical, cannot break through Accelerator's defenses.

Let Accelerator's true nightmare defeat him.

That's right, it was the sisters, the sisters who shaped Accelerator into this form, who attacked him—not just physically, not just mentally, but even directly on his soul.

To put it simply, it was a million times more painful than rubbing salt into a wound or pricking it with needles.

"Too much..."

"Oh dear, what a pity. Although these guys are talking about the past, this is all I can do. After all, they are just dead people... Oh? Can clones be considered human? Sorry, sorry, I seem to have unintentionally insulted your human race."

"This is outrageous!! No matter what, you can't bring out all these girls who have already been killed—!!"

"Is it acceptable to do something like this in order to disrupt the mental state that the ability user has painstakingly prepared to maintain the calculation formula?"

The second person clearly understood that the more powerful an ability user like them was, the more precise the calculation formulas they needed, and maintaining these formulas required a good mental state.

If the mind is interfered with, even excessive pain can cause a huge malfunction in one's ability calculations.

For Accelerator, these clone girls were the biggest nightmare of his life.

If someone were to suffer this level of psychological trauma, they probably wouldn't even be able to maintain their most basic reflexes.

"So what? I've always known about your stupidity. You seem to be trying to atone for your sins? But unfortunately, you don't really think that doing something so pointless will make these guys forgive you, do you? Besides, no matter what you do, the result will never change."

"You'll always be facing these guys you killed in the past, so what are you going to do? You can't just kill them without any mercy, right? I understand. That's why I know you're number one, Accelerator, and that's why I know exactly what your weakness is!"

"Our greatest weakness as ability users is this very thing. Our minds are being interfered with; you probably can't even maintain reflexes now, right? Or is that mysterious 'wing' about to appear? Well, while I don't know the extent of your control over that power, trying to oppose me with that thing will only lead to your own destruction, given your mental breakdown!"

then.

Without hesitation, the younger sisters rushed towards the first-place winner.

It's done. Kakine Teitoku was too lazy to even look at the scene before him.

Accelerator's reflection would fail, without even refraction, and his body would be directly devoured and his bones broken by these girls with bodies of undifferentiated matter.

—Bang.

The sisters who rushed towards Accelerator were thrown back by the impact.

Then, the first person raised their hand.

A fierce wind swept up, and the girls' bodies instantly turned into nothing but ashes.

"…ah?"

For a moment, it seemed as if time had truly stood still.

Kakine Teitoku stood there stunned, as did Mugino Shizuri, and even Hatsune Miku was in the same boat.

"You got the wrong person."

The voice was completely calm, without even a trace of anxiety.

Standing at the head of the group, he gazed at the dumbfounded Kakine Teitoku ahead and slowly approached him.

Accelerator, who was unable to lift his head because of his past sins and hesitated even when he saw people he had killed in the past being used, is dead.

Boom—flames coiled around his hands.

That is the scythe of karmic fire that never ceases, Nathos.

“I knew all this from the beginning.”

"You...you bastard? Have you forgotten your sins? Do you really think you're above any wrongdoing by killing those clones?!"

"How could I forget, you bastard? I will never forget in this life, nor in the next, and even in the next life after that, I will never forget the blood debt I owed in the past."

The first one knew better than anyone else the sins he carried.

But, but——

"But isn't it precisely because we can't forget our past sins that we should take action to prevent tragedies like this from happening again?"

These were words that even Kakine Teitoku himself could not have imagined.

He considered countless possibilities, including Accelerator's collapse and his rage.

But is Accelerator really in a state of rage right now?

"I did kill more than 10,000 sisters, I did do such an irreparable bastard thing, but that's why I'm even more determined to stop the senseless deaths and injuries from continuing."

“Right now, a bastard like you is trying to create the same large-scale, meaningless death and injury right in front of me. That’s why I have to stop you. Not for any other reason than that I carry the memory of ten thousand bloody deaths.”

It is precisely because we have made mistakes that we should prevent the same tragedies and errors from happening again in the future.

If one's sins lead to new tragedies, it will only compound the error.

and so.

Even if the enemy standing in front of you is someone you once killed and owe someone to.

Even Accelerator could still bring himself to do it.

"How could this be... how could this be?! You—why are you completely different from what I expected?!"

"the reason is simple."

Faced with the almost insane second place, the strongest in the first place simply uttered one sentence.

"Because I hold a real and unwavering conviction in my heart."

He once stood at the pinnacle of darkness as a member of the evil party.

Then, he broke free from the shackles of good and evil and stood in a position of protecting through destruction.

But now it has reached a new level.

Accelerator is very clear about his own position.

"It is precisely because of this bloody history that we should take it as a warning. In the future, I will never allow any tragedy or event like mine to happen in the world again. I will brand my soul with the blood debt of more than 10,000 people. No matter where I am or what world I am in, I will walk my own path without any worries!"

Nothing could break his resolve.

To prevent more tragedies from happening, and to ensure that darkness with blood as thick as our own never appears in this world again.

Marked by their own blood debts, and enlightened by their own past.

This is something that the monster before me, possessing only power but no soul, can never comprehend.

"Damn it... damn it!!!"

"You've already gotten angry, you little thug?!"

The first one raised his eyes coldly.

"That's precisely why there's a decisive gap between you and me, which is why I'm the strongest above you, you bastard!!"

The first and second.

This leads to the point where the real difference between the two is revealed.

That is the existence called enlightenment.

Chapter 530 I truly feel sorrow for you from the bottom of my heart.

Once everything is fully explained, there's nothing left to agonize over.

All newly created entities of the Unreal Matter were constantly defeated, and the same result was achieved even when individual Misaka Sisters were created.

The other party will not hesitate or show mercy; no matter what kind of individual they create, it will be unable to slow him down.

A one-sided situation.

"I think your chances of getting anywhere are pretty much over."

After thoroughly explaining its position, Accelerator held nothing back.

With just a sickle and his own abilities, he easily turned the situation into this state.

Countless particles of undetermined matter scattered in the air. Hatsune Miku and Mugino Shizuri didn't even have to lift a finger, and both women remained unharmed. Even with them present, Accelerator still maintained an overwhelming combat advantage.

Creation and destruction should be equal in intensity.

…No.

Perhaps that's how it was supposed to be, but in any case, that kind of balanced situation can no longer be seen in Kakine Teitoku, who represents destruction.

"Are you kidding...?"

"You still have the energy to talk? That makes sense. You're a creature that transcends humans. No matter how much you fight, you never get tired."

"What a joke!! You... you should be someone I know completely, someone only I can be as an enemy! Only I can be your number one—eternal enemy... No one else can fight me! We should be evenly matched!!"

A great deal of loss and emptiness kept welling up in my mind.

To avoid being overwhelmed by these emotions, Kakine Teitoku unleashed a massive amount of ungenerated matter stored within his body, scattering it in all directions like fragments of a grenade, creating new versions of himself.

But the result was the same as a few minutes ago.

The figure standing before him easily dispatched all the individuals simply by wielding his scythe.

"I told you long ago, you're useless."

There wasn't even a hint of concern in those red eyes that were just like his own.

"I could take you down in less than a second."

Why...whywwwww—?!

I am the second in Academy City… no, that's not right, I've already surpassed it, I've already surpassed that realm! I have reached a world that no one else can reach, even the Holistic Level 5 espers have surpassed me!

I no longer care about this bullshit ranking of first or second place. Accelerator and Academy City itself should no longer be my enemies, right? No… that's not right! It shouldn't be like this… no matter what, we should at least be evenly matched!!

I shouldn't feel pain, or even be able to feel pain at all; I should be an endless being capable of surviving indefinitely.

"Damn it...!! Don't get too cocky, you bastard! The battle isn't over yet! I'm still standing here, and if I wanted to, my Unreal Matter Envelope could instantly cover the entire Academy City and engulf and assimilate everything here! Everyone will become part of my body!!"