Every muscle fiber in his body fired in perfect unison.
Utilizing the Xiao-Li technique, Yuuya achieved an acceleration that would put an Olympic sprinter to shame. He didn't just run; he launched himself forward.
"So fast!"
Mikoto's eyes widened. Yuuya seemed to leave afterimages in his wake.
But she was the third-ranked Level 5. Her reaction was instantaneous. Blue electric arcs danced wildly across her bangs.
"You're charging straight at me?! Do you think you can outrun lightning? Take this!"
Crack-BOOM!
A finger-thick bolt of blue-white electricity erupted from her forehead. It was a Lightning Spear—a concentrated high-voltage strike that traveled at the speed of light, scorching the air in its path.
'It's over!' Mikoto thought the moment she fired.
Although the attack looked terrifying, she had subconsciously adjusted the output. High voltage, low current. It would hurt like hell and knock him unconscious, but it wouldn't kill him.
But then... the impossible happened.
Yuuya didn't dodge. He ran straight into the beam.
Sizzle.
The blue lightning washed over his body. His school uniform smoked, emitting the smell of burnt fabric, but his momentum didn't drop by a single percent.
He tore through the lightning like it was a spiderweb.
"No way!"
Mikoto's jaw dropped. A competitive, excited grin replaced her shock.
"You took that head-on?! No wonder you dared to challenge me! So you have electricity resistance? That makes things interesting!"
Her fighting spirit ignited. She prepared to engage in hand-to-hand combat.
Yuuya reached out to grab her arm, but Mikoto seemed to anticipate the move before he even made it, dodging to the side with unnatural grace.
"Don't think you can grab me just because you're fast!" she shouted with absolute confidence.
She was a human radar. Within a hundred meters, she could sense the electromagnetic waves generated by every movement. She knew he was coming before his muscles even finished contracting.
"Your EM Radar, right? Of course I know about it. Every move I make is under your surveillance."
Yuuya grinned, pivoting his foot.
"But knowing isn't the same as reacting. That was just a warm-up. Now I'm getting serious."
BANG.
The ground beneath Yuuya's feet exploded.
By perfectly synchronizing his muscle fibers again, he unleashed 25 tons of force directly into the earth. His speed doubled instantly.
He vanished from Mikoto's field of vision.
"Don't even think about it!"
Mikoto panicked. He was too fast. Her radar picked him up, but her body couldn't keep up with the signal.
Reflexively, she released a 360-degree burst of electricity, forming a dense, high-voltage net around her body.
But Yuuya didn't stop. He dove straight into the electric net.
Zzzzt.
The moment the electricity touched his skin, it vanished into nothingness. The Star Grail's passive immunity negated the concept of "harm."
"What on earth is wrong with this guy?!"
The figure tearing through her defenses grew larger in her pupils.
'He's moving so fast! My body can't—'
Before she could finish the thought, an arm wrapped around her waist.
Her vision blurred. The world spun.
Thud.
She felt the grass press against her back.
Yuuya had tackled her, pinning her to the riverbank with his weight.
"Looks like I win. Level 5 isn't all that great in close quarters, is it?"
Yuuya hovered over her, his hands pinning her shoulders to the ground. He smiled down at her bewildered expression.
"Eh...?"
Mikoto's mind went blank.
'I... I was tackled?'
'A boy... is on top of me?'
Steam practically erupted from her ears. Her cheeks turned crimson at a visible speed. Looking at his handsome face so close to hers, the "Ace of Tokiwadai" malfunctioned completely.
"Ah... Ahhh... AHHHHHHH!"
BZZZZZTTTTT!
She lost control.
Like a breaking dam, her emotional panic triggered a massive discharge.
1 Billion Volts.
Thick, arm-width bolts of lightning erupted from her body, thrashing wildly like dragons. The nearby wind turbines began to spin erratically, buzzing with induced current. The grass around them turned to ash instantly.
But in the center of the storm...
Yuuya remained motionless.
"You... you... you..."
Mikoto stopped screaming, staring in horror.
He was fine.
He was sitting in the middle of a 1 billion volt storm, and his hair wasn't even standing on end.
"W-what are you?" she stammered, her eyes spinning in circles. "Why aren't you ash?"
She had lost the will to fight. If her max output couldn't even tickle him, what could she do?
"Misaka-san, I have a question for you."
Yuuya looked down at the panicked girl. Her current flustered state was a far cry from her cool demeanor earlier. To be honest... she was adorable.
"Wh-what?" Mikoto stuttered, pressing herself into the dirt, trying to shrink away.
"The condition was to make a lasting impression," Yuuya muttered to himself, then looked her in the eyes. "How can I make you remember me so clearly that you'll never forget this moment?"
"Huh?"
Mikoto blinked, confused.
Then, his face came closer.
Chu.
She felt a warm, soft sensation on her cheek.
Time seemed to freeze. The electricity around them dissipated instantly.
"That should do it. Goodbye, Misaka-san! Haha!"
Yuuya pushed off the ground, launching himself into the air. He turned and sprinted away at full speed, his laughter echoing across the riverbank.
Leaving Misaka Mikoto lying on the grass, stone-still, her hand slowly raising to touch her cheek.
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