"Getting Accelerator to join is actually the easiest part. I just have to tell him the 'Truth.'"
Yuuya walked through the streets, analyzing his list.
Accelerator wasn't inherently evil. He was a broken child who longed for the "World of Light." Aleister had manipulated that desire, twisting his camouflage of cruelty into genuine madness.
"He was never strong. Inside, he's fragile. The Level 6 Shift forced him to kill 10,000 Sisters. That would break anyone."
"But that doesn't absolve him. He made the choice to kill. Now, he needs a way to atone. HARMONY will give him that path."
"As for Tsuchimikado Motoharu... that's even simpler. One order from Aleister, and the Sis-Con Sergeant will fall in line."
"Then... there is Shokuhou Misaki."
Thinking of the girl with honey-colored hair and starry eyes, a slight smile touched Yuuya's lips.
Memories drifted back to two months ago. Before the System fully awakened, this was the only "Protagonist" moment he had seized.
Winter Break. District 8 Amusement Park.
He had run into the Queen of Tokiwadai sitting alone under a tree, hugging her knees. She looked fragile.
He had simply glanced at her. But Shokuhou, paranoid about her secrets, tried to use Mental Out to erase his memory of seeing her vulnerable.
It failed.
She pointed her remote at him. She pressed the button. Nothing happened.
The System—even in its dormant state—had protected his mind. His "existence" was already shielding him from mental interference.
Panicked that her remote didn't work, she tried to control the crowd to stop him.
Yuuya, realizing he was immune, decided to turn the tables. He captured her.
Recalling how scared the "Queen" was back then gave him a sadistic sense of pleasure. He had taken a selfie with her—cheek to cheek, looking like a couple—and sent it to her email.
"If you try to mess with me, I'll spread this photo and tell everyone the Queen has a secret boyfriend. Your clique will implode."
It was a bluff. But it worked.
Later, before letting her go, he gave her a piece of paper.
"There is a frog-faced doctor in District 7. He can save anyone who isn't dead. Go to him. Ask about 'Dolly.'"
He didn't know if she would listen. But two weeks later, she found him again. She didn't attack. She thanked him, tears in her eyes.
Dolly—the prototype clone—was alive.
"Because I saved Dolly, Misaki and her partner, Kozaku Mitori, are indebted to me. They will join HARMONY to prevent more tragedies like Dolly's."
...
District 7. Seventh Pharmaceutical Research Center.
Yuuya arrived at the massive facility.
This was the heart of the darkness. The factory where the Misaka Sisters were produced.
"The real lab is underground. The space below is bigger than the surface building."
He stood outside the perimeter fence.
"I don't have X-Ray vision or sonar... Teleporting blind is risky."
In the world of spatial users, teleporting into coordinates you couldn't see was a death sentence. You could materialize inside a wall, fusing your body with concrete.
"But I have calculations."
He analyzed the architectural blueprints he had memorized from the System. He estimated the depth.
"Here goes nothing."
Snap.
[Move Point]
Vision went black. A sensation of falling.
Thud.
His feet hit solid ground. The air was cool and smelled of chemicals.
Yuuya opened his eyes. He was in a dimly lit metal corridor. Blue emergency lights hummed overhead.
"Success."
Step. Step.
Footsteps approached. Yuuya quickly teleported himself into the shadows of a ceiling vent alcove.
Two researchers in white coats walked past, carrying trays of vials.
"I didn't expect the Higher-Ups to care this much. They even realigned the satellites to cover this sector."
"True. I heard the purge mission was originally offered to SCHOOL, but Kakine Teitoku turned it down."
"Who refuses the Board? Crazy. But I heard the intruder has an 'Encrypted Identity.' Even the Project Leader is worried."
"That intruder... Takahashi Yuuya? No wonder he knocked out Accelerator. He must be a Board Member's black ops agent. This is just infighting."
"Hmph. Politics. I just want to finish the Level 6 Shift. But... I heard Kihara-sensei is interested in this Takahashi."
"Kihara-sensei? The old man?"
"Yes. Kihara Gensei. He thinks Takahashi might be a 'Dual Skill' user. He wants a sample."
"Kihara is getting senile. He's still the authority on AIM fields, but he sees potential test subjects everywhere."
The voices faded down the hall.
Yuuya dropped from the ceiling, his eyes cold.
"Kihara Gensei..."
A hint of malice flashed in his eyes.
The Kihara Family. The mad scientists who built the Dark Side of Academy City alongside Aleister. They were responsible for the worst atrocities in this city. They viewed Espers not as humans, but as meat for the grinder.
"To think I've been targeted by the Old Man of the Kiharas... That's quite an honor."
Yuuya's grin was terrifying.
"If the Kiharas want a sample... I'll give them one. I'll show them what it feels like to have a scalpel turned against them."
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