"Ow ow ow... it hurts..." Misaka Mikoto whimpered.
Seeing her ignore all warnings and unleash a massive lightning attack, Selene couldn't just stand by. After all, she wasn't about to let her entertainment life go down with the city's power grid. In a flash, she darted forward, grabbed Misaka's hand mid-charge, and with a quick twist, dispersed the energy. Without hesitation, she lifted Misaka off the ground and performed a perfect palm strike.
"Were you planning to destroy the entire power system of School District 7!?"
"Uuuu..." Misaka could only groan pitifully.
Selene ignored her teary, pained cries and tossed her into the arms of an overly excited Shirai Kuroko. Her gaze then turned toward the terrified delinquent girl nearby. "You can tell me yourself—or I can beat it out of you. Your choice."
She cracked her knuckles, the sound echoing through the alley.
"M-my iron will won't be shaken...!" the delinquent girl stammered, though her voice trembled. Whether it was Selene's overwhelming aura—so unlike Misaka's—or the memory of how she'd just neutralized the Railgun in one move, she was visibly terrified.
"Hmm?" Selene smiled kindly, her tone deceptively soft. "Sorry, I didn't quite hear that. Could you repeat it?"
"N-no need... [Level Upper] is..."
Having gotten the answer she wanted, Selene nodded approvingly. "Smart girl. Kuroko, did you get that recorded?"
"Ehehe... Ah? Y-yeah, recorded!" Despite being thrilled to have Onee-sama's delicate form in her arms, Kuroko's professionalism as a Judgment officer didn't completely vanish.
"Good. Then I'll thank the lady here for her cooperation." Flashing the trembling girl a polite smile, Selene turned to leave the alley. Behind her, Kuroko hurried after her, still carrying Misaka.
Once the trio disappeared from sight, the delinquent girl slowly pushed herself up, her legs shaking uncontrollably. She gazed up at the night sky, her voice barely above a whisper. "I... I'm still alive...?"
The memory of that overwhelming pressure—the feeling of being stared down like an insect—sent a chill through her. Her whole body shivered uncontrollably. Who the hell was that woman...? Then she remembered Selene's unique, complex pupils and froze. "Wait... those eyes... She's the Number One Level 5? No wonder... that gap is like a canyon..."
...
Meanwhile, on the way back to [jonaGardeN], Misaka began to regain consciousness. Selene hadn't used much force—just a quick application of Honkai energy to stimulate her nervous system, painful but harmless.
"Hey! Why'd you hit me, you jerk?!" Misaka yelled, glaring at Selene as the memories came rushing back.
Selene didn't even look at her, responding only with the kind of look one reserves for idiots. Without a word, she kept walking briskly. "Hurry up. The food'll get cold."
"Wha—what's with that look!? I'm talking to you—ow ow!" Selene didn't even turn, simply raising her hand slightly in a chopping pose. That alone was enough to make Misaka flinch and scurry aside.
"Onee-sama, perhaps it's best if you stay quiet this time... it was your fault, after all," Kuroko said cautiously.
"Wha—Kuroko, not you too?!"
...
Back at their table in [jonaGardeN], their food had already been served. Without hesitation, Selene began eating heartily.
Misaka, half out of spite and half from genuine hunger, joined in the food battle. After all, she hadn't eaten since morning—she'd missed Uiharu's lunch, and now she was starving.
As the three ate, a sudden news broadcast from the restaurant's TV caught their attention.
"Breaking news: The power control hub of School District 7 has suffered a critical malfunction. To prevent further risk to the system, the management has announced that power to the entire district will be shut down in two hours for emergency maintenance. The outage is expected to last between one to—"
"Ugh, seriously? Another power outage? Must be those old systems again..." Misaka grumbled, rolling her eyes. But as she turned back, she noticed both Selene and Kuroko staring straight at her with odd expressions.
"Huh? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You really have no self-awareness, do you? Do you even know why I hit you?" Selene snapped, glaring at Misaka Mikoto as the girl casually complained about Academy City's supposedly 'outdated' power grid. In truth, most of the city's blackouts somehow always traced back to her.
Even though Selene had stopped her third lightning strike just in time, the first two had already caused serious damage to the local power infrastructure.
"How should I know? It's not like you didn't—"
"Sigh... that's exactly why I told you to wait earlier, Onee-sama," Kuroko cut in, taking Selene's side this time.
"Huh?" Misaka blinked in confusion.
After Kuroko explained the situation in detail, Misaka's face turned bright red—whether from embarrassment or shame was anyone's guess.
"I-I'm sorry!" she blurted, bowing deeply with both hands clasped. "I didn't realize the [District 7 Power Supply Center] was right there..."
Just imagining all the people who would have to endure a scorching summer night without air conditioning made her stomach twist. If word ever got out that she was responsible for the blackout... yeah, that'd be a nightmare.
...
The next morning.
"Ugh, it's so hot! Seriously, who the hell cuts the power in the middle of summer?!" Kamijou Touma groaned, sprawled across his bed, sweating profusely. Without electricity, there was no air conditioning, no fan, and no way to cool down.
He tried to take a shower to refresh himself, but there was no water pressure. Tried to grab breakfast, but the fridge had spoiled everything overnight.
Then he remembered how he'd spilled his last emergency cup noodles, snapped his only credit card underfoot while searching for cash, and had his remaining funds obliterated by a certain Tokiwadai girl's lightning attack the other day.
Tears welled up in his eyes. "Such misfortune...!"
Dragging himself to the balcony to air out his futon, he froze. Something white was lying there—a small shape covered in a nun's habit.
He stepped closer. It was a girl. A very young girl.
"What the... why is there a nun sleeping on my balcony?" he muttered, staring in disbelief.
Still, he couldn't just leave her there.
"Hey!" He gave her a gentle shake.
The girl stirred, blinking sleepily. "Hungry..."
"Huh? Uh, hi—"
"I said I'm hungry!" she repeated, her voice suddenly firm.
"What the—wait, don't tell me you're—"
(And thus began Kamijou Touma's fateful encounter with a certain hungry nun...)
...
Due to the mysterious attack on the power control facility the night before, District 7 was plunged into a massive blackout. Many key systems failed—including even the traffic lights.
Though Security Robots were dispatched to direct traffic, Judgment members were still called in for overtime.
"Seriously, which idiot thought it'd be fun to blow up a power plant?! Must've fried their brain doing it!" one exhausted Judgment officer complained bitterly.
Passing by, Misaka Mikoto heard the comment. Instead of snapping back, she could only laugh awkwardly—after all, they weren't exactly wrong.
Just then, Shirai Kuroko appeared behind her, looking deadly serious. "Onee-sama! We have a problem!"
"Kaitabi Hatsuya's fallen into a coma?" Misaka frowned at the news.
The two immediately made their way to Mizuhon Medical Institute in District 7, discussing the situation on the way.
"The details are still unclear. He collapsed suddenly during his interrogation with Anti-Skill officers."
"And the cause?"
"No idea. According to the doctors, there's no physical injury at all. It's as if he simply lost consciousness. And... apparently, more and more cases like this have been showing up recently."
"So it's a psychological issue?" Misaka suggested. The possibility made sense—patients with no physical injuries but deep comas sounded like classic mental overload. Kuroko nodded slightly. "That's what I thought too. But for now, we should check it out. I'll call Selene on the way."
"Good idea."
...
"Kaitabi Hatsuya's in a coma?" Selene sounded more confused than concerned when Kuroko relayed the news. "You mean that walking explosion hazard? Why bother?"
"Please don't sound so heartless, Selene-senpai. According to Anti-Skill, he just collapsed mid-interrogation..." Kuroko's voice over the phone was a little breathless. "Mikoto and I are on our way to the hospital now. There've been a lot of similar cases lately..."
"Let me guess," Selene interrupted. "All of them used [Level Upper], or their abilities don't match the records in the [Bank], right?"
Kuroko blinked, taken aback. "That... seems likely, but how did you—?"
"Isn't it obvious? You don't get something for nothing. Power always comes with a price," Selene said flatly.
Misaka, overhearing the conversation, interjected. "Oh, right—what about that delinquent leader from last night? Did she say anything about [Level Upper]?"
"She only knew it was some kind of audio software that could raise a person's ability quickly. Beyond that, she didn't know much. Ask Kuroko—she has the recording," Selene replied. After a pause, she added, "Kuroko, find me a copy of [Level Upper]."
"Eh? What do you need it for, Selene-senpai?" Kuroko asked curiously. "You're already Level 5—it shouldn't do anything for you."
Selene sighed. "Use it? Please. I just want to analyze its mechanism—and maybe figure out how to break it. So stop overthinking and just get it. Once I finish up here, I'll join you both."