"...Are you ready for the second half?!"
BOOM!!
The moment Selene's words fell, she stomped hard on the ground. In an instant, her body accelerated with terrifying force, breaking multiple times the speed of sound within a hundred meters. Her leg whipped through the air, landing a devastating kick squarely against Kanzaki Kaori's abdomen.
It was as if she had kicked a football—Kanzaki was sent flying at a speed even faster than Selene's previous blow, smashing brutally into an apartment building further down the street.
BOOM! Kanzaki's body punched straight through the building, the entire structure trembling violently under the impact. Even reinforced concrete couldn't withstand the shock, chunks of debris falling like rain as the walls began to crumble.
Even to an untrained eye, it was obvious the building's foundation had been shattered. With a series of thunderous crashes, the apartment complex collapsed entirely.
Behind it, the district's barrier wall was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, the entire structure swaying ominously as if ready to topple at any moment.
At the center of those cracks was Kanzaki Kaori. Blood trickled from her lips, her clothing torn and scorched from friction—her appearance was utterly wrecked. Selene hadn't held back at all.
Though Kanzaki looked battered, Selene knew she wouldn't stay down for long. Saints were not so easily defeated.
Selene calmly retracted her right leg and stood with her hands behind her back. For some reason, her heart was pounding with excitement, her expression bright with exhilaration. "You're not that easy to take down, right? Come on, get up and fight me again!"
"Cough... cough..." Kanzaki pushed herself free from the wall, wiping the blood from her lips. Her sharp eyes locked onto Selene, and blue particles of light began to radiate from her body. "If that's how it is... then I'll go all out."
With those words, Kanzaki lowered her stance slightly—and in the next instant, her body blurred, turning into a streak of blue light that shot straight toward Selene. The weakened wall behind her crumbled completely under the recoil.
CLANG!
As the sound rang out, seven slashes exploded around Selene, shattering the asphalt beneath her feet. Explosions roared from every direction, and tiny fragments of debris flew like bullets.
THUD!
Their fists and blade collided again and again, each impact tearing the ground apart beneath them.
As their speed continued to climb, their movements became nothing more than flickering afterimages—completely beyond the perception of the naked eye.
Both were moving at nearly a hundred meters per second. Kanzaki's sword left more than seven overlapping trails in the air, while Selene's blows tore through space itself, leaving only devastation in their wake.
BOOM—BOOM—!
Their figures raced wildly through the streets like twin storms of destruction. Everywhere they passed, buildings crumbled and concrete flew.
From the ground to the sky, the two clashed ceaselessly. Their afterimages chased each other up the sides of skyscrapers. Kanzaki sprinted along the glass façade, her movements agile and fluid. Each slash she swung behind her cut through the building's windows like tofu, sending a cascade of shattered glass glittering through the night—a deadly but mesmerizing display.
In truth, Kanzaki had no better option. She was trying to buy time—to wear Selene down. In a direct contest of strength, she was at a disadvantage. Her regular sword strikes couldn't pierce Selene's defense, and her ultimate technique, Nanasen, though powerful, required charge time. But Selene never gave her the chance—her relentless close-quarters fighting offered no openings.
As for Selene, she was like a one-woman demolition crew. Every step she took shattered the ground, every punch detonated like thunder. Glass panels burst apart in her wake, raining shards and twisted metal frames onto the streets below.
"Tch... I should've lifted my own limiter earlier. Pure physical power feels a bit lacking." Selene frowned slightly. She had no specialized martial arts or supernatural movement technique—just raw strength, endurance, and speed. Without proper footing, chasing Kanzaki was proving difficult.
If that's the case, she thought, then I'll just make my own foothold.
She made her decision instantly. Smashing through a window with a single kick, Selene flipped into the building. The next moment, she stomped down hard—each step like an explosion—as she propelled herself upward through floor after floor with blinding speed.
Seeing Selene vanish into the building below her, Kanzaki felt a chill run down her spine. "This is bad..."
The next second—CRACK!
As expected, the glass façade beneath Kanzaki Kaori's feet shattered instantly. With a powerful gust of air, Selene burst through the broken window, her right fist clenched tightly as she struck toward Kanzaki with all her might.
The air itself screamed under the pressure, the sound of rupturing atmosphere filling the sky. The punch roared like a storm, its force surging forward like an unstoppable tidal wave.
Such terrifying power! Kanzaki couldn't help but marvel—this wasn't the strike of a human fist, but a meteor crashing down from the heavens.
"Too late to dodge!"
With the footing beneath her destroyed, Kanzaki had no room to evade. She could only brace herself and meet the attack head-on.
THUD!!
The blow struck squarely against her blade. The long sword bent under the force, curving to an impossible degree—it was hard to believe it wouldn't snap in two.
With a deafening explosion, Kanzaki was sent flying from the collapsing skyscraper.
Standing on the crumbling structure, Selene bent her knees slightly, stockings stretched tight as her toes adjusted against the unstable surface. Preparing to use it one last time, she gave a fierce stomp and launched herself forward, turning into a streak of light as she pursued.
The air clung tightly to her form, whistling violently as she accelerated. Her fist, merciless and unrelenting, slammed down toward Kanzaki once more.
Unable to find stable footing in midair, Kanzaki could only feel an unstoppable meteor descending upon her. The next instant, she was struck and blasted downward again, her body glowing faintly blue as she crashed through the cityscape.
Selene was about to chase after her when she suddenly sensed several familiar presences rapidly approaching. "Hm?"
...
Meanwhile, on the nighttime streets, Kamijou Touma was hurrying toward the battlefield with Index on his back, followed closely by a tall, red-haired magician dressed in a black priest's robe.
After Selene had left him behind earlier—and after receiving a friendly punch or two from a certain spiky-haired boy—Stiyl Magnus had quickly come to his senses. Realizing his mistake, he decided to accompany Touma to stop the fight between the two women.
"No wonder she's that strong. She's Academy City's ultimate trump card..." After some conversation, Stiyl had learned who Selene was—the first-ranked Level 5. He couldn't help but mutter in awe, though his pride forced him to add stiffly, "Still... I believe Kanzaki will..."
Before he could finish, a thunderous explosion erupted from the direction of the skyscraper. A massive plume of smoke and dust rose high into the night sky.
Touma and Stiyl exchanged glances, both shouting in unison, "Oh no!"
Without another word, they sprinted toward the site. To them, this entire battle was nothing more than a tragic misunderstanding.
...
Elsewhere, after Touma and Stiyl had left, the effects of the [People-Clearing Field] suggestion spell finally wore off. Immediately, someone discovered the ruins of Kamijou Touma's dormitory.
Within minutes, a cacophony of sirens filled the air as firetrucks, ambulances, and security vehicles rushed onto the scene, their red lights flashing. Emergency responders poured out, beginning the search-and-rescue operation among the rubble.
Among the gathered crowd stood Misaka Mikoto, gazing dazedly at the collapsed remains of the building. This was... Kamijou's dorm, wasn't it?
Could he be buried inside? The thought flashed through her mind, and to her embarrassment, her cheeks reddened slightly.
"Onee-sama! My dearest Onee-sama!"
"Huh?" Lost in thought, Mikoto was startled by a familiar voice. It had sounded far away at first, but in an instant, its owner appeared right behind her. The next thing she knew, her arm was being tightly hugged by a certain teleporting girl who had seemingly materialized out of nowhere.
"I knew it! There's no way my Onee-sama would actually need to attend supplementary classes. You were just using it as an excuse for a night stroll, weren't you?" Shirai Kuroko chirped sweetly, clinging to Mikoto's arm in her usual overly affectionate way. The syrupy tone made Mikoto's skin crawl with goosebumps.
"I'm telling you, Kuroko," Mikoto sighed helplessly, "do I really look like I'm out here for a midnight stroll?"
"Well, isn't it obvious? You were supposed to head straight back to the dorms, but you came all the way here instead. That's not exactly the short route." Kuroko smirked knowingly. She knew her beloved Onee-sama's daily habits all too well—no flimsy excuse could fool her.
"Ugh... I-I just came here because I had something to do," Mikoto stammered, flustered by the jab. Trying to change the topic quickly, she asked, "Anyway, Kuroko, what are you doing here?—Oh."
Seeing the Judgment armband on Kuroko's sleeve, Mikoto realized immediately how dumb that question had been.
"Yes, Onee-sama," Kuroko replied with a resigned sigh, finally letting go of her. "I'm here for official Judgment duties."
She glanced toward the ruins, her tone turning serious. "From what I can tell... this wasn't a natural disaster. It looks like it was caused by esper powers."
"Esper powers..." Mikoto murmured softly, her expression darkening slightly.
"Oh, right! About the [Level Upper] case—we've made some progress!" Kuroko's voice suddenly grew more animated. "Selene-senpai and I captured one of the distributors!"
"Hmm?" Mikoto's curiosity was piqued. "Did you manage to get any useful information out of them?"
"A little. It's just... Selene-senpai hit him way too hard. The guy's half-dead, so we can't interrogate him properly—"
Before she could finish, a thunderous explosion echoed from the distant skyscraper, followed by an unending series of shockwaves. High above, flashes of swordlight gleamed against the night sky.
"Is that... a terrorist attack?!" someone in the crowd shouted as the upper floors of the building began to collapse.
The sight left everyone frozen in shock. But Mikoto's eyes widened in alarm. Without hesitation, she broke through the panicking crowd and sprinted toward the source of the explosion.
"Onee-sama! This is a job for Judgment—wait!" Kuroko's protest fell on deaf ears as Mikoto disappeared into the distance. Stamping her foot in frustration, Kuroko groaned, "Honestly..." before teleporting after her.