"This is it…"
Accelerator gave a small smile in the Third Resource Recycling Facility's control room.
The small room had no windows and dozens of monitors covered every wall. Everything from the work done in the factories to the security was controlled from here.
The 14 workers had been unable to resist the intruder who was armed with a shotgun. They were cowering down and trembling here and there in the room, but Accelerator was not looking at them. He was staring at one of the monitors. It displayed a list of the cleaning agents kept within the factories.
Accelerator was looking for a cleaning agent that used a chemical reaction to transform the particles of a scent into some other type of matter.
(Found it. They have a few different types. I can escape their olfactory sensor with this.)
He was prepared to fight Kihara Amata and Hound Dog to the very end, but he did not want to have to constantly worry about an attack. He had less than 7 minutes of usage time left for his full power. Kihara himself was one thing, but he wished to avoid wasting that time on the subordinates of Hound Dog. For that reason, he needed to grasp the initiative of the battle.
Of course, what mattered most was not his battle with Kihara and the others; it was rescuing Last Order safely.
(I need to escape Hound Dog's pursuit before I can track down Last Order. In fact, the danger of stray bullets goes way up once I retrieve that brat!)
The difficulty level would shoot up once he rescued the girl. Accelerator's power could only really protect himself and his battery would not last if he had to use his power every time Hound Dog showed up.
That was another reason why he had to be able to make sure he was the one to choose when he would fight and when he would fall back.
(I need to hurry up and erase my scent with one of those cleaning agents and get out of here. I don't have much time before Kihara reaches that brat. I can't waste too much time here. I need to get back to my main objective. Where do they keep the cleaning agents in the facility?)
Suddenly, the monitor shook with static.
One by one, the images on the dozens of monitors in the control room were erased by gray static. Just before they were all wiped out, Accelerator glimpsed someone wearing all black on the security footage of the second northern entrance of the facility.
If they were skilled enough to completely wipe out the alarms for the Third Resource Recycling Facility, they had to know where the cameras were. That meant the man in black had intentionally let himself be seen to lure Accelerator over.
(Goddamn them! I didn't expect them to get here this soon!!)
The facility was already surrounded.
Accelerator could not travel without his cane. That meant he could not move quickly. Even if he could use a cleaning agent to escape the olfactory sensor, he would need to defeat the group that had entered the facility.
He could not escape from them. And…
(I have no intention of escaping. I'll crush those stalkers here.)
Accelerator looked around while supporting his weight with the shotgun he was using in place of a cane.
He gave a warning to the workers who had truly only been wrapped up in this mess.
"A firefight is about to break out here. More of them might come even after the battle ends. You all wait for about 20 minutes after the gunshots end, change out of your work clothes, and leave the facility."
Accelerator could not tell if they were nodding or trembling in response.
(Interesting. What pieces do I have to play with?)
He checked on the situation.
It did not seem he would be able to use his powers. Inside the factory, he was surrounded by concrete, so the accuracy of electromagnetic communications would drop. Also, the conveyer belts, presses, and other machines with large motors were scattering powerful electromagnetic waves. The Misaka Network was an electric information network created by transforming the Sisters' brain waves into electromagnetic waves, so he could not use it at all here.
At any rate, the noise was deafening.
The difference between the good moments and the bad was drastic. In a normal conversation, that would do nothing more than cause a bit of confusion. But if it happened while he was using his powers, it could cause him to lose control.
(And if I use my powers here, I'll never reach Kihara.)
He had never before fought while stripped bare like this.
Without his powers, he had the athletic ability of a boy who needed a cane to walk.
His only weapon was the single shotgun he was using in place of a cane.
The number of bullets in the magazine was likely about 30.
"What should I do?"
He searched for a means of intercepting Hound Dog, a group that specialized in organized combat, with only the equipment he had on hand.
The man in black that had intentionally shown himself on the camera worried him.
(What should I do?)
Accelerator looked away from the monitors, searched for a paper map of the facility, and spread it out.
Would he take them up on their invitation? Or would he refuse them? That decision was where the battle began.