Judgment Branch 177.
Selene gazed at the screen showing the woman with heavy dark circles under her eyes and sighed softly in her heart. Kiyama Harumi was a pitiable person. Everything she did was for those abandoned students left behind by the system.
"The Experiment on the Analysis of the Laws of Induced Explosions on Runaway Espers...?" Reading the project's name and recalling its content, Selene's eyes turned cold. "Hmph, what a meaningless experiment... Using underage children in a high-mortality human experiment just to analyze those things? Ridiculous."
"Kihara Gensei, huh..."
When it came to human experimentation, Selene wasn't against it in principle—but it depended on the method. If the subjects were death row inmates or unforgivable scum, she wouldn't object. But experimenting on children? That was a different story.
"Hm? Senpai, what are you thinking about? Don't tell me you're planning to go after Kiyama Harumi..." After alerting the security officers, Shirai Kuroko, who was about to head out to rescue Uiharu Kazari, froze upon seeing Selene sitting thoughtfully in her chair.
"What, is that not allowed?" Realizing what Kuroko meant, Selene couldn't help but smile faintly at her overreaction.
"Of course not! Senpai, every time you get involved, things get way too chaotic! Leave this to us Judgment members."
Thanks to Selene, the so-called "big nurse," all of Shirai Kuroko's injuries from suppressing the [Level Upper] users earlier had been completely healed. Now she could confidently declare she was in perfect condition for battle.
"Kuroko! Wait for me, I'm coming too..." Misaka Mikoto, realizing a bit late what was happening, quickly called out—but Shirai Kuroko had already disappeared after leaving behind a line: "Onee-sama, don't worry..."
"Let Kuroko handle it. Civilians shouldn't be dragged into such matters anyway." Since Kuroko was uninjured, Konori Mii didn't see the need for backup. In her view, "Kiyama Harumi is just a scholar. Trust Kuroko. Besides, I've already notified the security officers to arrest her."
"That may be true, but sitting here doing nothing doesn't feel right either." Misaka Mikoto, despite Konori's explanation, was restless. "Let me go too! Uiharu is my friend!"
"Ah... honestly. With that look in your eyes, I doubt I could stop you even if I tried." Seeing the firm determination in Misaka's gaze, Konori sighed helplessly and allowed her to go.
"Then I'll—"
"No way!!!" Konori cut her off instantly. In her opinion, sending a Level 5 was already overkill for capturing a mere scholar—but Selene? With her destructive power, Konori would be the one writing a report afterward!
"Ugh..." Selene froze mid-sentence, speechless. She just wanted to help, but they wouldn't even let her.
"Hahaha... Selene, just sit tight for once." Seeing the difference in treatment, Misaka couldn't hide the grin tugging at her lips as she turned and walked cheerfully toward the door. "Leave this one to me."
"Tch, that girl really does enjoy seeing me get snubbed, huh..."
...
On the highway, a blue Lamborghini sped along the road.
Inside, Uiharu Kazari slowly opened her eyes. She tried to move, only to realize her hands were cuffed.
Her head still felt fuzzy. Recalling what had happened before she fainted—she had been snooping through Kiyama Harumi's office and found papers on synesthesia. Then, she was knocked out.
"You're awake?" came a calm voice from the driver's seat. Uiharu flinched and turned to see Kiyama Harumi driving, her expression neutral.
"You..." Uiharu froze for a moment, then fell silent, realizing she was likely being held hostage.
"You're rather composed." Kiyama glanced sideways, noticing Uiharu had woken. Her gaze lingered curiously on the flowers in the girl's hair. "By the way, I've always wondered... those flowers on your head—they look interesting. Are they connected to your ability?"
"I don't need to answer that." Uiharu's tone was firm, her frustration bubbling over. Instead, she fired back, "Forget that—what is [Level Upper]? What are you planning? What will happen to the people who've fallen unconscious?!"
"...Such a barrage of questions." Kiyama Harumi sighed, though she lacked the vicious aura of a typical kidnapper. Instead, her exhaustion deepened visibly across her face. "You haven't even answered my question."
"To develop a program that enhances other people's abilities—do you have some particular purpose for their powers?"
"Hmph, I couldn't care less about anyone else's ability," Kiyama let out a small laugh and continued calmly, "Don't worry, I'm doing this for a far more important reason."
"What reason?"
"...Originally, everything would've gone smoothly if my application to use the Tree Diagram had been approved. But every request was rejected!" She scoffed bitterly, then muttered, "Well, there's no point complaining now... I've gathered enough computational power—over ten thousand people's worth! That'll be sufficient!" As she spoke, a rare glint of resentment flickered in her eyes.
"..." Seeing that look and hearing her tone, Uiharu Kazari couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"No need to look at me like that. I'm not insane. Oh, right... here, take this." Kiyama reached into her pocket and handed Uiharu a small chip. "This is the treatment program to uninstall [Level Upper]."
"Ah?! Uh... why are you giving this to me..." Uiharu stammered in surprise, staring at the chip in disbelief.
Ignoring her reaction, Kiyama continued softly, "Trust me. It'll all be over soon. Everyone will be fine."
"Why..."
At that moment, an alarm suddenly blared inside the car.
"Hoh?" Kiyama raised an eyebrow slightly as the alarm she had set was triggered. Though her tone carried mild surprise, her expression showed none—only calm certainty.
"So they've tracked me down already, huh? If they only acted after losing contact with you, that's a bit too fast. Did they find me through another channel?"
"I programmed the system to trigger the security protocol if the equipment isn't activated in a specific sequence. That means all data related to [Level Upper] has now been deleted. The only remaining means of awakening the other users is..."
Her gaze lingered briefly on the chip in Uiharu's trembling hands. "That chip you're holding is the final copy of the treatment program. You must keep it safe."
With those words, Kiyama fell silent and turned her focus back to the road. Then, pressing her foot down on the accelerator, the blue Lamborghini roared with a low growl and surged forward at high speed.
But it didn't get far. Suddenly, Kiyama slammed on the brakes. Tires screeched violently, leaving long, dark skid marks on the asphalt as the car came to an abrupt halt.
Because—the highway ahead was completely blocked by a heavily armed security force.