Chapter 11: Accelerator's Challenge

Tenth District.

Today should've been a bright and sunny day, but Accelerator wasn't in a good mood.

Recently, he had been invited to participate in the Level 6 Shift Project. Without realizing it, he had killed the first Misaka clone. By now, he had lost count of how many identical clones he'd already killed.

Accelerator felt lost. Despite his desire for power, a week of killing had brought him barely any improvement.

He thought of Kakine Teitoku. Rumor had it the third-ranked had fought the first-ranked and, though beaten half to death, had gained significant growth—his power increasing rapidly afterward.

This made Accelerator consider that the true aim of the Level 6 Shift Project was to have him fight other Level 5s to gain strength. But since the clones couldn't match the power of the original, he had to kill 20,000 Sisters to reach Level 6.

He found this method irritating. Killing a few clones was boring. If he wanted to fight, he should fight someone strong.

Once that idea took root, he couldn't shake it. "Number One…"

...

At the time, Selene had no idea she'd caught Accelerator's attention.

She was visiting Nagatenjouki Academy, Tokiwadai's long-time rival, in the Eighteenth District.

Nagatenjouki Academy was also one of Academy City's five top schools. Unlike Tokiwadai, which focused solely on ability development, Nagatenjouki also valued talents beyond abilities. In the storyline, it had twice beaten Tokiwadai during the Daihasei Festival. Many of its researchers were involved in the Level 6 Shift Project and had deep ties with the Board of Directors and the Dark Side.

Moreover, the Eighteenth District housed numerous research schools, making it the main competitor to the School Garden and home to many scientists.

Due to several project launches, the Schicksal Research Institute urgently needed scientific personnel, naturally drawing attention to the Eighteenth District.

Shuji Matsuzaki, tasked with recruitment, was working tirelessly to fill the research staff shortage. With Selene's generous funding, Shuji was digging deep—poaching talent left and right.

This time, Selene had come along not for recruiting but simply out of curiosity to see how Nagatenjouki's educational style differed from Tokiwadai's.

As night fell, Selene sat on a park bench by the river, unwinding after a long day.

"Hey, Number One—wanna fight me?"

Suddenly, a hoarse voice spoke from the shadows.

Selene turned to look. A figure stepped slowly into the light. White-haired, red-eyed, thin build, wearing a black T-shirt with white patterns. The air around him screamed of manic instability—a classic delinquent vibe.

"Number Two… Accelerator?"

The boy lifted his head slightly. Staring at the delicate white-haired girl before him, he grinned, his smile unhinged. "Fight me!"

Not waiting for a reply, Accelerator raised one foot and lightly tapped the ground.

BOOM!

A massive shockwave exploded outward, visibly rippling through the park. The ground cracked, grass, flower beds, planters, and trees were all blasted apart in a storm of debris and dust.

"Is our battle sanctioned by the school?" Selene asked, stepping unscathed from the smoke.

"Hahahaha! I knew you'd be strong!" Accelerator didn't respond, just laughed wildly and launched another attack.

Boom! The ground beneath Selene cracked and collapsed.

"You really wanna do this?" Selene asked, her tone annoyed. She wasn't the type to take a beating without hitting back, and her patience was wearing thin.

From within the smoke, a swarm of steel bars and rubble shot toward her, distorted by Accelerator's vector control.

Seeing him make his move, Selene had nothing more to say. A pitch-black spatial portal swallowed his attack and, with added speed, launched it back at him.

Clang! Sparks flew as the steel rods hit Accelerator's reflection field and disintegrated into dust.

His crazed laughter only grew louder. His attacks became even more frenzied. The entire park was destroyed—ground splitting, chunks of cement mixed with soil and grass hurled at Selene.

But under Selene's spatial manipulation, every attack was reflected right back through portals.

At the moment, it seemed neither Selene nor Accelerator could get the upper hand.

Normally, "Dark Matter" was even more troublesome than "Vector Control." Vectors still had rules. Dark Matter allowed for the creation and manipulation of particles not found in this world, altering their physical properties.

Accelerator didn't dominate Kakine because of his vector powers alone. His true strength came from his terrifying brain—his unparalleled calculation ability.

"How interesting! Tonight's turning out to be so much fun!" Accelerator's mood grew more and more manic.

Selene, however, was feeling worse. A flash of red flared in her eyes.

The violent energy inside her swelled.

Shhh!

"What!" In an instant, a black ribbon appeared out of thin air, lashing toward Accelerator like a whip. Accompanied by the sharp crack of air being torn apart, Accelerator's pupils contracted.

BOOM!

With a deafening explosion, the ground beneath Accelerator erupted. Earth and stone shot skyward like a torrential downpour, raining down as a "storm of debris."

Though his skin's reflection field prevented direct damage, the sheer force sent Accelerator flying, crashing into a nearby bridge.

CRASH!

Concrete and steel shattered as the bridge split and collapsed.

Among the rubble, Accelerator held his head, using reflection to stand atop the river's surface.

Before he could recover, BOOM!—Selene descended like a thunderous meteor, lightning crackling around her, smashing down in front of him. The nearby bridge pillar instantly turned to dust, and the river water around them vaporized in a flash.

BOOM!

Before the steam had cleared, a massive shockwave blasted out. The receding river was once again repelled. Fueled by Selene's fury, this blast far exceeded the last. Thunderous crashes overwhelmed all sound as the remains of the bridge were completely erased, and the riverbanks crumbled.

Violent tremors spread, shaking buildings on both shores. Homes collapsed, street trees were uprooted, and the very earth undulated like a trembling sheet. It became impossible to even stand upright.

The entirety of Academy City seemed to awaken in alarm from the massive blast.

Where the riverbed once was, a crater nearly a kilometer wide had formed—barren and lifeless.

Cough, cough! At the center of the crater, Accelerator knelt, blood seeping from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. His eyes were bloodshot, and his breathing harsh—his calculation power clearly at its limit.

Crack!

Thumb-thick bolts of lightning flickered from Selene's skin, each one bursting the air as they sparked. Her eyes glowed sky-blue under the lightning's influence as she slowly approached Accelerator.

"Your calculations are maxed out, aren't they."

Selene spoke expressionlessly and then delivered a thunder-infused kick.

BOOM!

A brilliant flash of blue lightning filled Accelerator's vision, engulfing the area around him before violently exploding.

ARGH! With a spray of blood, Accelerator was embedded into a pressure-hardened rock wall.

As he groaned in pain, Selene's second strike arrived.

A black crescent slash sliced through the air with a terrifying wail, its sheer sharpness tearing the atmosphere into shockwaves.

Schlick. Accelerator's overloaded reflection finally failed to withstand the cut. His arm flew off, and the gouge in the ground extended nearly a hundred meters. Before he could even scream—

Selene appeared out of thin air, grabbed his head, and slammed it into the ground—again and again. Blood pooled among the rubble.

At that moment, observing from the shadows, Kihara Amata let out a deep sigh and finally stepped forward. He spoke slowly and carefully, "Miss Selene, you can't kill him. Not yet."

Despite his inner panic—terrified that Selene might off him too—Accelerator was still the key executor of the Level 6 Shift Project. On Aleister's orders, Amata had no choice but to intervene.

At his words, Selene flung Accelerator's body aside. With a snap of her fingers, a spear of vacuum appeared, pinning him firmly to the ground.

Feeling Selene's murderous gaze, Kihara Amata stiffened. He stared at her without blinking, not daring to look away.

"He'll be held responsible for all the damage. The Board will also compensate you accordingly..."

Seeing Selene covered in blood, with her "victim" nailed to the ground nearby, Amata—leader of the Hound Dog organization—actually looked... sycophantic.

In this scene, Selene looked every bit the villain tormenting the "helpless."

"Fine. But the compensation had better satisfy me. Or else..."

With a wave of her hand, five black crescent slashes sliced through the air, carving five deep trenches in front of Amata. Then—Selene vanished.

As her figure disappeared and the black spear pinning Accelerator faded away, Amata finally exhaled.

"What are you standing around for? Get Accelerator out of here and start emergency treatment. And don't forget the severed arm—it might still be reattached."

Looking at the arm on the ground, Amata frowned. Kakine's had been reduced to ash, but this one... still intact?

"Strange... Did she hold back?"

As his helicopter lifted off, Amata stared down at the massive kilometer-wide crater and muttered,

"No matter how you look at it—she's terrifying. Is she even human...?"

"Pass on my order: from now on, Hound Dog is not to provoke Number One under any circumstances."