Gokusai Kaibi felt numb. She didn't even understand what she had just seen.
Before she could process anything, the robots had already collapsed, then exploded and were completely destroyed.
"Unable to analyze. Brother Ren is very powerful. Misaka feels relieved," Misaka said, then carried Gokusai Kaibi and followed after him.
Being carried by a girl about her own age felt extremely awkward to Gokusai Kaibi, but she had no choice. Her physical condition was terrible. That said, was Misaka Mikoto supposed to be only Lv2? Something felt off. Even the way she spoke was strange.
"All robots have been destroyed. Misaka can safely continue upward," Misaka said as she quickly kept pace with Ren.
This was a nine-story building, with each floor at least five meters tall. It was almost as if the place had been designed specifically for Ren, and just as expected, he went all out.
After all, the hostages were in the enemy's hands. Negotiating on his own terms was clearly unrealistic.
"Next, I have something to take care of," Ren said with a cold laugh. He would never forgive what they had done. No matter what, he intended to completely erase them.
He broke through every floor straight to the top. His strength, speed, and even some of his magic had likely already been exposed to Kihara Gensei, but it no longer mattered.
"Who's there?"
Shokuhou Misaki's voice came from inside. Ren directly smashed the door open with his hand.
Light poured into the room. The moment she saw the familiar figure, Shokuhou Misaki could no longer hold back and rushed straight into his arms.
"Seriously, you know. Why didn't you say anything before going out?"
"Yeah. It's all my fault."
"Brother Ren, please save Misaka. She's badly hurt," Dolly said through sobs.
"Alright."
Ren quickly released Shokuhou Misaki and crouched in front of Misaka No. 8790, immediately using healing magic. The later the treatment, the lower her chances of survival. At the same time, his thoughts turned to Kihara Gensei.
Academy City was full of hidden monsters. Even with his strength, dealing with them wasn't easy. From start to finish, he had never actually met the man, and what he hadn't expected was that the other side would use "Number Two" and a group of researchers just to test him.
Because the enemy wanted to test him, much of the information hadn't been destroyed. To avoid suspicion, the Misaka Network had only been symbolically isolated, and that very isolation had become the key to locating them.
Misaka No. 8790's injuries rapidly healed, and color returned to her face.
"What's going on?" Gokusai Kaibi asked, stunned when she saw three more Misakas appear. She quickly realized that they must be clones of Number Three esper.
"Misaka thanks you for your assistance. Misaka expresses gratitude to herself," Misaka No. 8790 said to the newly arrived Misaka.
"Helping myself is only natural. Misaka says there's no need to thank me," Misaka No. 5303 replied as she gently put Gokusai Kaibi down.
"Let's leave first. This place can release poison gas," Ren said. He had no intention of entrusting their lives to a researcher.
"Okay."
Shokuhou Misaki didn't waste words and immediately headed outside. In the end, she was the slowest among them.
With no other choice, Ren picked her up and prepared to leave as quickly as possible.
On the way back, Shokuhou Misaki was filled with shock. The battlefield was littered with wreckage everywhere.
Thick smoke and raging flames still lingered, silently proving how brutal the battle had been just moments ago.
Because Misaka No. 8790 could share information through the network, she already understood what had happened. The other Misakas, however, could only stare in disbelief. This was already on the level of a humanoid nuclear bomb.
"Ren… thank you," Misaki whispered softly.
"Why are you thanking me?" Ren replied calmly. "But I promise you this. I won't let you experience something like this ever again."
"Mm. It's a promise," Misaki said quietly as she leaned into Ren's chest, planning to rest for a while.
Just earlier, inside that small room, she had been drowning in despair. Misaka No. 8790 was growing weaker by the second. Dolly was crying in heartbreak. And she herself had been completely helpless.
Under those circumstances, everyone's mental state had been pushed to the limit. She had been forced to continuously use psychological suggestion on everyone present, desperately trying to ease their suffering.
Now that Ren had arrived, saving them like a hero, the tension she had been holding onto finally eased. And once it faded, overwhelming exhaustion rushed in to replace it.
At the same time, Ren's thoughts drifted elsewhere. Since Kihara Gensei was willing to exploit things this way, would Aleister Crowley really be any different? He didn't believe it for a second. Especially now that more and more of the truth was being exposed.
…
"Hahaha. What was that? A Multi-Skill Esper?" Kihara Gensei burst into laughter. That small room had been under surveillance, allowing him to personally witness Ren restoring a critically injured girl back to perfect health.
It was unbelievable. Completely beyond scientific explanation. But the unknown was precisely what made it so fascinating. He had to research Ren thoroughly, even if it meant dragging himself into eternal damnation.
He began organizing the precious data he had gathered on Ren. This experiment had cost far too much. The loss of Number Two, numerous elite researchers, an entire building, and countless robots made this data unimaginably valuable.
At that moment, someone entered the room holding a stack of documents.
"Kihara's funding has been restricted?" Kihara Gensei narrowed his eyes as he read through them. It seemed Ren had already made contact with that person. Was he another existence like Kamijou Touma?
Either way, the data was already in his hands. Nothing else mattered now. He also needed to avoid Ren from this point on. A being like that was not someone easily dealt with.
The return journey was much calmer. Fortunately, Ren was driving a seven-seater. Otherwise, there would have been no way for everyone to fit.
Thinking back to the reckless dash on the way here, this peaceful drive felt unreal. Gokusai Kaibi was so moved she was on the verge of tears.
Arriving at the Artificial Room, Ren looked at Gokusai Kaibi. "Come in. Number Two one should still be alive, but compared to me, he hates you more. After all, you betrayed him."
Gokusai Kaibi nodded. At that moment, Kakine Teitoku was staring at her with a face full of anger. Even if he had to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair or something similar, his abilities were still far beyond what she could handle.
Staying in the Artificial Room was very safe. With Ren's protection, threats from other ability users weren't a concern at all.
"We'll also be forming a secret unit soon, and you'll be part of it. The unit will be called 'Psychology,'" Ren said casually.
"That's not very good. It openly tells everyone that the members are mental-type ability users," Gokusai Kaibi said. She didn't want to draw so much attention to herself.
"It's just a codename. Besides, I'll be active too. You've got plenty of abilities, right? Let's use them to build our reputation first," Ren said with a smile. Once he settled down, the tension that had been gripping him began to ease.
Although he deeply hated Kihara Gensei, he knew how cunning his opponent was. It would take time to find him, and in the short term, Kihara Gensei probably wouldn't come after him.
That left only one way to track him down: using the shadows of Academy City. There were many things researchers couldn't handle conveniently, so they left them to the secret unit.
Psychology was exactly for this purpose—finding the target. No matter how careful Kihara Gensei was, his subordinates would slip up eventually. When that day came, Ren swore that he would make Kihara Gensei feel his terror.
"Alright then," Gokusai Kaibi said, pulling out her phone and sending messages to her subordinates. Psychology was extremely powerful. As long as no one could resist brainwashing, there were basically no enemies—after all, every former enemy would end up as a friend who could share anything.