A few minutes earlier.
"Kiyama... sensei." Uiharu Kazari's voice trembled slightly as she looked at Kiyama Harumi, who had just been carried over by Shirai Kuroko. Her expression was conflicted as she softly called out.
"Where... am I..." As if hearing Uiharu's voice, Kiyama weakly opened her eyes. She tried to sit up, but her body refused to move. "So... my body has already reached its limit..."
With a sigh, she gave up trying. Her eyes—now back to their normal color—drifted toward the colossal figure rampaging in the distance. Her expression was weary, her empty gaze filled with sorrow. "...It's lost control, hasn't it? In the end... I still failed."
"That mindless, monstrous form... calling it an 'AIM Burst' really is fitting," she murmured, leaning against a section of railing that hadn't collapsed. "Everyone has something in their heart that brings them sorrow. When that sorrow reaches its peak... it becomes a beast that lashes out at the world."
Her voice lowered to a whisper. "It's all over..."
"Please don't give up hope!" Uiharu Kazari suddenly shouted, breaking her usual timid tone. "If you give up now, your students will never be saved!"
"Even the saddest beast will retract its claws when it remembers the gentlest part of its heart!"
"..." Kiyama's eyes lifted slightly, a faint light flickering within them. For the first time, there was a hint of emotion. "Even if I'm a criminal... you still believe me?"
Uiharu looked straight at her, her small face full of conviction. "I don't know exactly why you did all this, but... you were the one who unlocked my handcuffs, right? You were also the one who gave me the healing program. That's why... I believe you're a good person, Kiyama-sensei. You must have had no other choice."
She paused, her tone growing firmer. "And I believe that someone who'd go this far to save her students... would never lie. I believe in you!"
At that moment, looking at Uiharu's innocent yet determined face, Kiyama saw the reflection of her own students. Her once-empty expression softened, and for the first time, her eyes held a glimmer of life.
"The 'AIM Burst' was born from the [Level Upper] network going out of control. If the network could be destroyed, it might stop her. But..."
Her gaze turned toward Misaka Mikoto, who was still fighting desperately under the creature's assault. A sigh escaped her lips. "...You don't have the means to destroy it. That thing was created by the fusion of over ten thousand AIM fields..."
Hearing that, Shirai Kuroko's eyes widened as a thought struck her. Right—she needed to contact Selene for backup! Cutting Kiyama off, she quickly spoke up. To her, Kiyama was still a criminal—she didn't know the full story.
"You don't need to worry about that... huh? Where's my phone... ah! No! I left it back at the office!"
As she reached into her pockets, Kuroko realized with dismay that her phone was gone. "Uiharu! Do you have your phone?"
"Eh? My phone?"
...
Meanwhile, at Judgment Branch 177.
"Why are all the surveillance cameras down?!" Konori Mii's voice trembled as she frantically tapped at her keyboard. The widespread loss of visuals could only mean one thing—Kiyama Harumi wasn't someone easy to handle.
Selene, however, seemed entirely unconcerned. Watching Konori panic, she leisurely took a sip of black tea. "What's there to panic about? Misaka's there, isn't she? She's a Level 5. You really think she can't handle it?"
Selene looked calm—almost too calm. After all, she had marked their locations with tracking beacons. Since the signal hadn't vanished, it meant they were all still alive.
"Well, yes, but still—"
Ring ring ring—
Just as Selene was about to pour Konori another cup of tea to calm her down, the phone rang sharply, cutting through the tension.
Selene picked it up. "Hello, moshi moshi?"
BOOM!
A deafening explosion roared through the speaker. After a moment of static and silence, Uiharu's frantic voice came through. "Selene-senpai! Is that you?!"
"What's wrong, Uiharu?" Selene asked, still calm despite the loudspeaker being on. The explosion that had just echoed through the phone barely fazed her, though Konori Mii nearly dropped her teacup in shock.
"Senpai! Thank goodness, I finally reached you!" Uiharu Kazari's voice was trembling, almost on the verge of tears. After searching for a working phone for what felt like forever, she had finally managed to contact Selene using Kiyama Harumi's device. Meanwhile, Misaka-senpai had been struggling in battle for quite some time now.
"Easy, Uiharu. Take a breath and tell me slowly. What about Misaka? She should've been there already, right?" From the moment the call came in, Selene already suspected what had happened. Misaka Mikoto must have gotten in over her head—otherwise, that prideful girl would've been boasting by now instead of calling for help.
Granted, part of Misaka's predicament might have been Selene's fault... but, well, details.
"Senpai, we're under attack by a giant monster! Misaka-senpai is fighting it right now!"
"A monster? The Level Upper network?" Selene's mind worked quickly. Don't tell me the enhancement serum I sold to Kiyama was that effective... or maybe it reacted with [Level Upper] somehow?
"Senpai? ...zzz... Selene-senpai?" Uiharu's voice began to distort from interference. Realizing she didn't have time to explain further, she quickly sent Selene their location coordinates.
Selene's eyes narrowed as she read the data. "This location... hmm? Isn't that the nuclear Honkai reactor facility—the one gifted to me by the Kiharas?"
"I see. Got it. I'm heading there now." She stood, giving Konori a brief nod before vanishing without another word.
...
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... Misaka, looking this messy?"
The teasing tone made Misaka's face flush bright red. She quickly snapped back, "These are just... accidents!" But the more she tried to defend herself, the more her voice faltered under Selene's amused, knowing smirk.
Selene's gaze then turned toward the enormous Templar-class Honkai Beast before them. Her brow twitched slightly. "This doesn't look anything like the 'AIM Burst' I know."
She was well-acquainted with the creature's nature—an uncontrollable fusion of over ten thousand [Level Upper] users' AIM fields. In essence, it was a being formed from their collective consciousness and subconscious impulses.
But now, seeing how it had mutated from an embryo-like form into this massive Honkai-corrupted abomination, Selene's expression darkened. "You've really gone off-script, haven't you?"
From within its body, she could feel it clearly—the silicon-based Honkai energy signatures pulsing chaotically. Her eyes narrowed, a sharp glint of killing intent flashing through them.
"This won't do," she muttered coldly. "I can't allow Honkai energy to manifest in this world—not yet. Not even a low-tier silicon-based Honkai Beast."
Even though she could feel a trace of subservience from the creature—an instinctive recognition of her dominance—Selene had already made her decision. It had to be destroyed. Its existence was a mistake, born of coincidence and amplified through the network of ten thousand connected minds.
Reaching out casually, Selene gripped the Honkai Beast's massive spear—tens of meters long—with a single hand. Her waist twisted slightly.
Then—
Whoooosh!!
A collective gasp echoed through the battlefield. To the stunned onlookers, it was as if they were watching a humanoid dragon unleash its fury. The sheer force of it shattered their sense of reality.
A delicate-looking girl... had overpowered a fifty-meter giant.
Before anyone could comprehend it, Selene had thrown the entire Templar-class Honkai Beast across the battlefield.
The massive shadow hadn't even hit the ground yet when the shockwave it produced swept through the entire area. The overpass groaned and shuddered violently, like a drunken giant staggering on its last legs.
The earth itself trembled under the pressure. Concrete fragments rained down, the air thick with dust and shock.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!!!
A blinding impact. Gravel flew, dust erupted, and the ground itself convulsed as the giant creature slammed into the earth with apocalyptic force.