One-way traffic

"--oops?"

Standing outside the door was that familiar petite figure.

"This is more interesting than I expected. Did they actually anticipate my arrival?"

My final work.

However, their ways of speaking are completely different.

Her appearance, physical characteristics, and voice all belong to her, but her tone of voice... no, there may be a deeper change.

"You're not the final work, are you?"

Accelerator looked at her calmly, at the girl before him whose demeanor was completely different from Last Order's.

"But unlike the third manufacturing plan, this isn't some other situation, which means..."

"Based on your guess, Misaka is probably a central individual within this vast network. /return."

Something that exists within the Misaka Network.

It is neither the living nor the dead, but a product in between, even surpassing Last Order's control over the Misaka Network.

That was practically the sole core of this enormous network, practically—

"...Misaka Network's collective consciousness."

Even without being told, Accelerator had already guessed this.

He had always been wearing that black collar-shaped electrode, which had been constantly connecting his brainwaves with the Misaka Network.

Even without computational assistance, he can still connect the electrode to his neck, linking his brain to the Misaka Network. When needed, he can access unparalleled computing power through this vast network, and even use it across worlds.

It was precisely because he was still wearing this electrode that Accelerator was able to detect the abnormality of Last Order immediately.

"But it's very different from what I expected. In my mind, you should have spent your whole life relying on the computational domain of the Misaka Network. But now that your injuries have healed, the computational abilities of the Misakas are just a supplement to you, a dispensable power, right?"

"Well, I know very well that you would never say such a thing, nor would you ever have such a thought."

If we were to name the biggest administrator of the Misaka Network, it wouldn't be Last Order, but rather the girl in front of us who is possessing Last Order's consciousness.

She possesses control far exceeding everything, whether it's granting Accelerator computational control or controlling any of the other sisters—everything is under the highest level of authority.

So, what is the reason that such a magical being has appeared before the number one player?

"Everything that happened today has also been seen by me /return."

Through the final work, the highest collective consciousness spoke thus.

"When you were fighting the second-ranked remnant, you encountered individuals formed from the remaining information of the Misakas in their previous lives. Well, although those were just inferior imitations, this still reflects your perception and attitude towards us."

Faced with the sisters made of unknown matter, Accelerator did not hesitate at all and chose to kill them without any mercy.

On the surface, this simply means that he has never reflected on his actions and has never considered the survival of his sisters.

"But that's precisely why I've come to fully understand your current thoughts."

Unlike the oppressive aura they had exuded earlier, the tone of their collective consciousness suddenly changed.

"From the initial pure evil, it has progressed to using destruction to protect, acting spontaneously regardless of the concepts of good and evil, and now it has even progressed to the point where one can rely on the sins committed in the past to awaken oneself and prevent the tragedies of others from happening in this world? /backspace."

At first glance, it seems as if Accelerator is forcibly doing something to atone for his sins.

But that's not actually the case.

"You truly want to stop the tragedy before your eyes, you truly want to remind yourself of your past sins, and because you committed such great sins in the past, you want to do your best to prevent the world from committing the same sins as yourself... Is that what you're thinking, Accelerator/return?"

At this point, the tone of the overall consciousness began to sound somewhat surprised.

"To be honest, in my opinion, your level of spiritual awareness shouldn't be that high."

"...What do you mean?"

“Originally, you should have been confused by what the second person did, and conflicted about whether or not to kill our inferior products... But you broke through, you went down a completely different path, and directly shattered your original confusion and conflict.

Hearing what the overall consciousness said, Accelerator secretly accepted her statement in his heart.

of course.

If it weren't for all these changes up to now.

"...Because of our connection, even Misaka can see what you've been through /return."

The implication is that the collective consciousness is now aware that Accelerator has traveled to other worlds.

"Oh dear, how should I put it? /backspace. The fact that other worlds actually exist is already unimaginable to Misaka. If the other sisters knew about all this, it would probably cause terrible consequences, right? /backspace."

"However, what I care more about is your current change/return."

She swayed her body and said with a light laugh.

"A path that led us to a completely different place from that of Kogami, but at the same time, a path that gradually converged with his."

"It would be strange to call you a hero... so let's just call you an anti-hero for now /return."

If it were the original Accelerator, it would be impossible for him to develop such a level of mental maturity based solely on his experiences in this world.

But he went to other worlds and saw all sorts of people and things.

Having gained more experience and understood more about everything, Accelerator realized that sins and tragedies like his own actually exist all over the world.

And it is precisely because of this series of tragedies that countless innocent people have suffered misfortune.

Therefore, he is willing to use the blood debts he committed in the past as a memory, precisely because he once knew what it felt like to bring tragedy to others, so he should fight even more to prevent these tragedies from happening.

It's no longer just about fighting for a person or thing; it's more about fighting for a specific concept.

An unbreakable realization.

The fact that Accelerator can achieve this is no longer a realm that can be described by either villains or benefactors.

He was neither a hero nor a villain.

If I had to put it in a way, I'd say he's like an anti-hero standing in the shadows.

As the most vicious and evil anti-hero, he fights across different worlds to dismantle sin and tragedy.

"However, put aside the praise a little. Even so, you still can't be completely compared to Kogami."

"If you want to reach that position, you still need more experience. Well, being able to go to other worlds is a good thing for you. It can actually help your spirit grow. I can't even imagine how many possibilities there are in your future path."

Then, as if having said everything, the collective consciousness sighed with relief.

"I was a little worried that leaving the final work and the side story with you might cause problems... but now it seems there's no need for that anymore. /return."

"Then, you already have someone by your side who can act with you. Take good care of the heart of that blue-haired girl. /return."

Her body fell straight to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.

But before that, Accelerator caught Last Order's body first.

Today, the collective consciousness continues to revolve around self-evaluation.

'...But that's not enough.'

He knew exactly what he should do.

He also knew that he couldn't consider himself a good or kind person just because he received a couple of words of praise.

Accelerator slowly walked out of the room, placed the Last Order back on her bed, and quietly closed the door.

For him, there is still an endless road that has been prepared long ago.

"The road ahead is still long... for us."

The first one, with white hair and red eyes, stood in front of the window, quietly gazing at the moonlight in the night sky.

Chapter 533 Ape Dream

It is 11 p.m. now.

Most people should be asleep by this time, but for night owls, this time is just the beginning.

"Ugh... I'm so tired today."

"The first festival was really amazing! Later on, the various food streets and the light festival activities were so exciting!"

After the festival ended, the two girls returned to their residence.

Yuka Kamishiro and Mikoto Himeno.

Now, the two girls are living together.

The reason is simple: the Kamishiro family is currently under detailed investigation by the security personnel. Although it's not a problem for them to stay, all sorts of things are piled up, and Yuka Kamishiro doesn't want to continue living in a place where... many people have died.

With that in mind, she followed Himeno Mikoto directly to the apartment where he lived.

"But for me, the most spectacular performance was definitely Accelerator's!!"

"grown ups…?"

"Eh? Um, um—I meant sir!"

Although her best friend Yuka had always known that she liked the idol named Accelerator, it was still quite embarrassing to call him "adult" in front of others.

Mikoto Himeno quickly changed the subject and turned her attention to her phone.

"But other than that, there's nothing new or exciting about it."

"That definitely feels like it..."

Both girls looked rather listless, and each of them curled up on the sofa, hugging a pillow.

Large-scale events always arouse great interest among participants. They may be too excited to sleep the night before the event, but after the event, some people may experience a sense of loneliness and emptiness.

This is because excessive expectations lead to a greater sense of disappointment when the reality is not what one expects.

This is basically the current state of the two girls.

Both of them are definitely night owls. Even when they have school, they usually don't go to bed until around midnight. But today, because of the festival, they lost their interest in staying up late.

I want to find something to do but can't think of anything to do; similarly, even if I want to see something else, I don't know what to do.

I've watched all the live recordings of my favorite idols. I have my phone in my hand, but I don't know what to do with it. I can't muster the energy to watch videos or play games, but I still hold onto my phone tightly.

This is probably the reality for most young people today.

"Yuka, I'm a little sleepy."

"That's true..."

Mikoto Himeno yawned slightly, and influenced by her, Yuka Kamishiro also felt her eyes filled with fatigue.

Although I usually go to bed around midnight, today... I really don't know what to do.

It was a rare opportunity for the two of us to live together, but it turned out to be just like this, and we didn't even manage to do anything interesting together.

However, I did manage to create some good memories at the festival.

Reflecting on her day's events, Yuka Kamishiro finally couldn't help but yawn.

"Ugh... I guess I should just go to sleep..."

"Agreed... I have absolutely no idea what to do right now."

It must be said that the two are remarkably harmonious in this respect, and they never quarrel with each other.

After drinking two cups of hot cocoa and then thoroughly washing and brushing their teeth, the two went into the bedroom together.

Because there was only one bedroom, they had no choice but to squeeze together to sleep.

Fortunately, the bed that Mikoto Himeno bought was large enough, so there wasn't much to worry about.

Wearing contrasting pajamas, the two girls lay on the bed, one on each side.

"Well then, Yuka, I'll turn off the lights now."

"Yeah, I have to go to school tomorrow, right?"

Even if all these things have happened, even if we have passed the first festival, life will still go on as usual tomorrow.

With that thought in mind, Mikoto Himeno turned off the desk lamp.

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

what.

Is it... a dream?