The scene shifted to the doctor's office, where a slightly chubby, middle-aged man with a frog-like face was focused on his work. Confirming her target, Selene was about to knock on the door when Misaka Mikoto suddenly pressed herself against it, her eyes narrowing into straight lines as she stared through the window, muttering excitedly, "A real-life gekota!"
"Hm?" Hearing the commotion outside, Heaven Canceller raised an eyebrow in confusion. When he caught the words of the chestnut-haired girl referring to him like that, he sighed, rubbing the few remaining hairs on his head.
"Sigh... what brings you all here today?" Heaven Canceller asked helplessly, choosing to ignore the muttering "real gekota" fan as he turned his gaze toward Selene, who seemed to be leading the group.
"Yes, Doctor Heaven Canceller, we do have something to ask of you," Selene said with a polite smile. "We've heard that your medical skill is the best in all of Academy City, so we came seeking your help."
"It's really not that exaggerated," he replied humbly with a faint smile. "I'm just an ordinary doctor. So, what exactly do you need from me?"
After listening to Shirai Kuroko's explanation, Heaven Canceller went quiet for a moment before standing up. Leading them toward the brainwave analysis room, he said, "Regarding the recent uproar over the [Level Upper] incidents, this hospital has received quite a few patients as well."
"Here we are... take a look at this." Arriving at the brainwave monitoring control room, Heaven Canceller pulled several files from a drawer. "These are the complete brainwave charts of the [Level Upper] users."
As they studied the data, Shirai Kuroko's face grew tense—the similarities were alarming.
"Normally, brainwave patterns differ drastically from person to person. It's nearly impossible for two individuals to have identical readings. But I discovered that all [Level Upper] users share one identical brainwave pattern."
"What does that mean?" Kuroko asked immediately, unwilling to let go of a potential clue.
"In simple terms," Heaven Canceller explained, "forcing the brain to operate under another person's brainwave pattern will cause severe effects on bodily function."
Finally snapping out of her "real Gekota" trance, Misaka Mikoto got serious. "So you're saying they fell into comas because [Level Upper] overwrote their brainwave patterns—basically forcing their brains to function under someone else's control?"
"Exactly." Heaven Canceller nodded.
"Then who's behind this? And for what purpose?" Kuroko asked sharply, her eyes narrowing.
"That's not something I can answer," he said calmly. "I'm a doctor, not an investigator. Uncovering the truth... that's your job." He turned slightly, glancing at the silent Selene.
Heaven Canceller wasn't an ordinary doctor. As an old friend of Chairman Aleister and one of Academy City's co-founders, there was little he didn't know. And he was certainly aware of who Selene was—the most powerful visible asset under Aleister's command. There was no way she was completely ignorant about this affair.
Still, he didn't care to involve himself further. As long as Selene wasn't planning to blow up Academy City, anything else—even aiming for Aleister's seat—wasn't his concern.
...
"Since we've already pinpointed a specific brainwave pattern," Selene said, "we just need to check the [Bank] to find out who it belongs to."
"Do you even have authorization for that?" Misaka asked quickly. "And what if the [Bank] doesn't have the data?"
"Hehe, Onee-sama, you underestimate Judgment far too much," Kuroko said with a confident grin. "Of course we have [Bank] access. Besides..."
"The [Bank] doesn't just contain student data—it stores the profiles of all 2.3 million residents of Academy City. That includes anyone who's ever been treated in its hospitals or undergone a vocational aptitude test. So there's no need to worry about missing records. We just need Uiharu..."
"Wait—Uiharu! Ah, right... she's not here right now." The moment they received the critical breakthrough, Shirai Kuroko and Misaka Mikoto had charged back to Judgment's 177th Branch, only to realize—just as they were about to act—that their most crucial member wasn't even there. Their excitement instantly plummeted.
"I swear, you two really underestimate me," Selene sighed, watching them complain in frustration. "Why don't you ask whether I can handle it?"
"Huh? You can do that?" Misaka asked, eyes wide. In her mind, Selene was all about brute force and smashing through obstacles—technical precision just didn't fit her image.
Shoving Kuroko aside, who had been sitting idly in front of the terminal, Selene sat down confidently. "Enough chatter, time to get serious."
Her fingers flew across the keyboard in a blur of movement, executing a series of commands so swiftly that Misaka and Kuroko could only stare in stunned disbelief.
"Wha—Senpai, how do you have this much access authority?" Kuroko asked in shock. "This is way above Uiharu's clearance! Onee-sama, do Level 5s really get permissions like this?"
"How would I know?!" Misaka snapped back, equally dumbfounded.
Just then, a familiar female voice called from the doorway. "What's all this noise about? Are you turning the Judgment Branch into your personal hangout?"
The three turned to see a woman with dark, medium-length hair, sharp blue eyes behind glasses, and an impressive figure standing there.
"K-Konori-senpai..." Kuroko blinked. "Weren't you in a meeting?"
"The meeting's over," Konori Mii replied, sighing. "Anyway—what are you all doing now?"
After hearing Misaka and Kuroko's explanation, even Konori's expression brightened with excitement. She'd been overwhelmed recently by the [Level Upper] chaos—meetings, reports, escorting victims to hospitals. It had been exhausting. "So you're saying you've found a lead on [Level Upper]?!"
"Exactly!" Kuroko said proudly. "Once we identify whose brainwave matches this pattern, we'll know who's behind it."
"But... why would using [Level Upper] synchronize everyone's brainwaves with the same individual? And how could that cause a rise in ability levels?" Misaka mused aloud.
"Indeed," Konori said, frowning thoughtfully. "Even a computer can't suddenly improve its performance that drastically just by installing new software. But if it's through a network connection... then the situation might be different. If it only boosts computational ability rather than overall performance, linking them could make sense."
"That's it!" Misaka exclaimed. "What if the developer used [Level Upper] as a medium to build a brainwave network between users?"
Konori hesitated, brow furrowing. "That's an interesting theory... but what's the purpose? In Academy City, what could possibly need human brain computation power? Computers would be far more efficient."
"Then why would users fall into comas?" Kuroko added. "That doesn't make sense either."
"This is giving me a headache..." Kuroko muttered, gripping her twin tails tightly. "Whatever—what matters most right now is finding the developer's brainwave pattern!"
"Exactly," Selene said, scanning through the data rapidly. "Once we find the developer, everything else will fall into place." Her eyes suddenly locked on one result. With a sharp keystroke, she hit Enter. "Aha—found it."
"Where?!" all three shouted in unison, rushing to her side.
"Brainwave match: 99% identical," Selene announced calmly.
"99%!? Then this has to be the one!" Kuroko slammed her hand on the table.
When the file opened, Misaka and Kuroko froze—staring in disbelief at the photo displayed on the screen.
A white lab coat over a collared shirt, long wavy brown hair, and a pale, tired face framed by dark circles under her eyes...
The matching brainwave belonged to none other than the neuroscientist they had spoken with earlier—Kiyama Harumi.
For a brief moment, silence filled the room before both girls cried out together:
"UIHARU!!"