Chapter 12: Accelerator's Challenge
District 10.
Today was supposed to be a sunny day, but Accelerator was in a bad mood.
Not long ago, Accelerator was invited to participate in the Absolute Power Evolution Project, during which he unknowingly killed the first Misaka Sister. He no longer remembers how many identical clones he has killed by now.
Hmm, Accelerator feels very lost at the moment. Despite his desire for power, he has gained little strength from a week of killing.
He couldn't help but think of Kakine Teitoku. It is said that he fought with the number one. Although he was beaten nearly to death, he gained immensely and experienced a rapid increase in strength during later ability tests.
This made Accelerator realize that the essence of the Absolute Power Evolution Project is to have him fight other Level 5s to gain power, but because the clones can't match the original's strength, he has to kill 20,000 sisters to become an absolute power user.
This method makes Accelerator very frustrated. Killing a few clones is too boring. If he is going to fight, he wants to fight someone strong.
Once this idea emerged, he couldn't forget it. "The first one, huh."
...
At this moment, Selene did not know she had caught Accelerator's attention.
Selene was currently visiting the rival Nagatenjouki Academy in District 18.
Nagatenjouki Academy is one of the five prestigious schools in Academy City. Unlike Tokiwadai, which focuses solely on ability development, it considers talents beyond abilities when admitting students. In the storyline, it twice defeated Tokiwadai Middle School to win the Daihaseisai. Many of its researchers were involved in the Absolute Power Evolution Project, with deep connections to the Board of Directors and the dark side.
Moreover, in addition to Nagatenjouki Academy, District 18 is home to many other scientific research schools, making it the biggest competitor of the "School Garden" with numerous researchers.
Due to the establishment of multiple projects, the Destiny Institute is now in desperate need of a large number of researchers, naturally turning its attention to District 18.
To fill the gap of researchers at the institute, Shuji Matsuzaki spared no effort, besides regular and campus recruitment, with Selene's ample financial support, he wielded his "shovel" and "dug" everywhere.
This time, Selene also tagged along, with no other purpose than to observe the educational style of her old rival, Nagatenjouki Academy.
As night fell, Selene sat on a park bench by the river, easing the day's fatigue.
"Hey, Number One, how about a fight with me."
Suddenly, a hoarse voice emerged from the darkness.
Hearing this, Selene looked over, and a figure slowly walked into the range of the lamplight. With white hair, red pupils, a thin build, wearing a black T-shirt with white stripes, exuding a sense of hysterical madness, giving off a bad boy vibe.
"Number Two, Accelerator?"
The boy slightly raised his head, looking at the white-haired girl with delicate features in front of him, revealing a somewhat sick smile, "Let's have a fight!"
Whether Selene agreed or not, Accelerator slowly lifted a foot and lightly tapped the ground.
Boom!
A huge sound came from under his feet, with the shockwave spreading visibly in all directions, cracking the entire park ground, shattering lawns, flower beds, potted plants, and trees, kicking up a large amount of dust.
"Is our fight allowed by the academy?" Selene walked out of the smoke unscathed and asked.
"Hahahaha, you're really strong." Accelerator did not answer, and after a burst of wild laughter, launched another attack.
With a loud bang, cracks appeared in the ground where Selene was standing, and it instantly collapsed.
"Are you sure you want to go all out?" Not retaliating when attacked is not Selene's style, and she was getting a bit annoyed.
In the smoke, a series of steel bars and debris traced residual shadows, shooting toward Selene under the influence of vector manipulation.
Seeing Accelerator's choice, Selene had nothing more to say. A pitch-black space directly swallowed Accelerator's attack and shot it back at even faster speeds through the spatial portal.
With a clang and a burst of sparks, the steel bars were pulverized by Accelerator's reflection ability.
Amidst a burst of frenzied laughter, Accelerator's attacks became more and more intense. The entire park was completely destroyed, the ground cracked inch by inch, turning into blocks of cement-covered dirt and plants hurling toward Selene.
But under Selene's spatial abilities, all attacks were reflected back through the teleportation portal.
Currently, neither Selene nor Accelerator could do anything to the other.
Generally speaking, "Dark Matter" is a more troublesome ability than "Vector Manipulation." No matter how it is described, "Vector Manipulation" has some rules to follow, while "Dark Matter" is entirely the creation of something out of nothing.
Dark Matter can generate and control "fundamental particles that do not originally exist in this world," as well as alter their physical properties.
Accelerator can suppress Kakine Teitoku, not by relying on "Vector Manipulation." His strength is not just his ability, but himself. Accelerator's brain computing power is terrifying.
"Interesting! Tonight is really interesting!" Accelerator seemed to find amusement and became more and more excited.
For some reason, Selene's mood got worse and worse, and a flash of scarlet passed through her eyes.
The violent energy in her heart was also growing stronger and stronger.
Swish!
"What!" Instantly, a black strip appeared out of thin air, like a whip, directly lashing at Accelerator. Accompanied by the sound of air being sliced open, Accelerator's pupils shrank, and with a boom.
With an earth-shattering explosion, the ground where Accelerator was standing directly exploded, and a large amount of soil flew into the sky, pouring down like a torrential rain, resulting in a "sandstorm."
Although it did not break through Accelerator's skin reflection, under the immense force, Accelerator was sent flying, crashing straight into a nearby bridge over the river.
Boom!!!
Amidst flying steel and concrete, the entire bridge broke apart in the middle and collapsed instantly.
Among the rubble, Accelerator held his head, using reflection to stand on the water's surface.
Before he could recover, with a loud boom, Selene, accompanied by a flash of lightning like a meteor crashing down, landed directly in front of Accelerator. With the pouring power, the nearby bridge pier was pulverized, and the surrounding river water was entirely evaporated.
Boom!!!
Before the evaporated water vapor could disperse, an immense repulsion came rushing, repelling the water that was about to backfill. Accompanied by Selene's full-force attack fueled by anger, the scale of this repulsion far exceeded the previous one. Within a radius of several kilometers, deafening explosions took over all hearing. The bridge's existence was directly erased, and the riverbank's embankment shattered instantly.
The horrific vibrations began to spread, with buildings on both sides trembling madly, an invincible force causing houses to collapse and uprooting trees. The ground within several kilometers seemed soft as feathers, rising and sinking, making it difficult for people to stand.
The entire Academy City seemed awakened by this massive sound.
Accompanied by smoke reaching the sky, the riverbed turned into a kilometer-wide barren pit!
"Cough, cough!" Accelerator was half-kneeling at the bottom of the pit, bleeding from his seven orifices, his eyes bloodshot, breathing heavily like a broken bellows, looking like he had reached the limits of his computational power.
Crackle!
Thumb-thick lightning threads leaked from Selene's skin, crackling in the air. Her eyes glowed sky blue under the influence of the lightning as she slowly approached Accelerator.
"Your computational power has reached its limit, hasn't it?"
Selene said expressionlessly and then unleashed a thunderous kick.
Boom!
Dazzling blue lightning enlarged in Accelerator's eyes, enveloping a large area around him, and then exploded violently!
"Wow!" Amidst fresh blood, Accelerator was directly embedded in the rock formed by high pressure.
Accelerator let out a painful groan, and Selene's second attack followed.
A black crescent cut through the air, making terrifying whimpering sounds as the air split open in its fearsome cutting power.
"Splurt." Accelerator's reflection, which had reached its limit, ultimately failed to resist the cut, and his entire arm flew off, with the ground's opening stretching nearly a hundred meters forward. Before he could scream.
Selene appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Accelerator's head, and slammed it into the ground repeatedly, with blood gradually spreading among the rubble...
At this moment, Musujime Awaki, who had been observing in the shadows, sighed deeply and finally stepped out, slowly pleading, "Miss Selene, he can't be killed just yet."
Although Musujime Awaki was internally panicking, fearing that Selene might chop him up, Accelerator was the key figure in the Absolute Power Evolution Project, and under Aleister's orders, he had no choice but to rescue him.
Upon hearing this, Selene threw Accelerator away, and with a snap of her fingers, a spear from the void appeared, pinning Accelerator to the ground.
Sensing Selene's menacing gaze, Musujime Awaki's body stiffened slightly, staring at Selene without daring to look away.
"All damages will be attributed to Accelerator, and the Board of Directors will not skimp on your compensation..."
Selene's murderous demeanor caused Musujime Awaki to step back two steps. The leader of the dark organization "Hound Dogs," now appeared somewhat obsequious.
Currently, Selene's face and hands were covered in blood, and beside her was the "victim" pinned to the ground, while Musujime Awaki now seemed like a righteous savior who had come to rescue him.
"Fine, but you'd better make sure I'm satisfied with the compensation. Otherwise..." Selene said, unleashing five crescent "slashes" in front of Musujime Awaki, leaving five new "gashes" on the ground before disappearing.
Watching Selene's disappearing figure and noticing the black spear on Accelerator gradually vanishing, Musujime Awaki knew she had agreed to the proposal and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"What are you waiting for? Quickly bring Accelerator back for treatment, and don't forget to take the severed arm. It might still be reattached." Looking at the severed arm, Musujime Awaki was a bit puzzled. Last time, Kakine Teitoku's severed limbs were disintegrated. "Strange, this time the severed arm didn't turn to ash. Did she hold back?"
As he left, Musujime Awaki, on the helicopter, looked at the kilometer-wide crater and sighed, "No matter how you look at it, she's incredibly strong... Is she even human?"
"Pass on my orders, from now on, the 'Hound Dog' must not provoke Number One..."