What was once an unremarkable reinforced concrete building was transformed under Misaka-senpai's control into an electromagnet of staggering power.
Under the pull of this immense magnetic force, the fine iron sand swirling around the imitation Meltdowner cannons was instantly snatched away.
Some of the iron sand had even managed to slip into the barrels the moment the beams ceased.
In a flash, these fine particles nearly bored straight through the muzzles, pitting them with countless craters and dents.
Even if these cannons landed back on the ground, they could no longer fire their counterfeit beams properly.
Their debut hadn't even lasted ten minutes.
They hadn't even managed to make a certain Railgun feel a shred of fear before their mundane end.
It all felt rather anticlimactic, a classic case of 'much cry and little wool'.
Aritomi Haruki, rocked to his core by this turn of events and barely able to stand, stared in disbelief at the captured and now imprisoned imitation weapons suspended in the air. A profound sense of bewilderment instantly swelled within him.
'Is the power of intellect truly no match for the Espers in this Academy City?' he thought, despair creeping in.
"Aritomi, all signals from our arrangements at the Research Exhibition have been lost. The remaining eight thousand Powered Suits have been annihilated. There are suspicions of official Academy City intervention," a female researcher reported, her voice trembling slightly.
She could already foresee the bleak future that awaited them.
After a year of meticulous planning, their entire operation had been dismantled in a single day. Now, even this hidden base, which should have remained undiscovered, had been breached.
"Impossible! We haven't lost yet! We still have the Final Program!" Haruki slammed his hands on the console, a far cry from his former confident self.
His mental state was highly unstable; the high school boy named Aritomi Haruki now had bloodshot eyes.
Just as Haruki moved to act, several researchers beside him suddenly pounced, pinning him to the floor. Only a few slower-reacting researchers remained frozen in place.
"Stop him!"
"You madman, stop this right now!"
The clandestine organization descended into chaos as the two factions turned on each other. Everyone knew the purpose of that program—they had designed it together.
But participating in its design was one thing; actually using it was another. Not everyone was willing to make a decision that amounted to mutual destruction.
It was like holding the key to a nuclear missile—what mattered wasn't the missile itself, but the person with the key.
These members of the dark side merely wanted to gain the attention of Academy City's authorities, even fantasizing about sparking a new 'revolution'.
The existence of a final measure was meant for deterrence, not actual use. It was a bargaining chip they had prepared for future negotiations with Academy City.
Someone had realized the danger in an instant, but it seemed they were a step too late. Aritomi Haruki had already initiated the Final Program.
"It's useless. I've already given the launch order," Haruki said expressionlessly, leaning weakly against the console, surrounded by several researchers whose faces had turned ashen.
The so-called Final Program involved dispersing over five thousand silk conductors—Janie's hair—into the skies above Academy City and using a program to send the 'Diffusion Ghost' ability completely out of control.
Since this ability belonged to the AIM Diffusion Field system, and given that Janie, who could control twenty thousand Powered Suits, effectively possessed Level 5 capabilities, the chain reaction would directly affect the AIM Diffusion Fields across all districts of Academy City.
It bore some similarity to the previous 'Poltergeist' incident, but the potential damage was far greater.
This wouldn't be a mere earthquake. It would be like detonating a gigantic bomb right in the heart of Academy City, one powerful enough to blast the entire city sky-high.
As the command was input, a construction machine deployed in geostationary orbit, 35,000 kilometers above the Earth, launched a missile carrying the conductors. Its velocity reached seven kilometers per second.
"Now, the only way to stop this is to kill Janie," one of the researchers said.
At this point, several researchers exchanged glances and began moving towards the incubation tank containing Janie.
Nunotaba Shinobu, who was nearby, tried to intervene but was shoved to the ground.
Their steps faltered, however, as a panting Railgun blocked their path.
"Tell me, what is this Final Program?" demanded Misaka-senpai, her Tokiwadai uniform damp with sweat as she lifted her head to stare them down.
Behind her, Febrie widened her eyes, curiously observing Janie asleep in the incubation tank.
"Onee-sama~~" Febrie mumbled around her lollipop, giving a small wave towards the tank.
After a moment, she turned her blank gaze towards Nunotaba Shinobu on the floor. "Shinobu."
--+--
"A missile heading for Academy City?"
"How could this happen?"
A cacophony of voices filled the room. Ever since a certain Railgun had successfully stormed this stronghold, all members of the dark side had been subdued.
"Misaka-senpai, I think I understand the situation now. Send me the missile's specifications and trajectory data. I'll try to find a solution," Uiharu Kazari's face appeared in a video window on the dark side's control console.
Newcomers, successfully connected, were constantly joining the call around her.
Natsume Sonoko and Shirai Kuroko, who were en route to the stronghold, had to stop somewhere after receiving Misaka-senpai's video call.
"I see," Natsume Sonoko murmured, her memory of the second season of A Certain Scientific Railgun finally clicking into place.
But it was far too late for those memories to be of any use now.
"Based on the available intelligence, we can infer that once the missile reaches an altitude of approximately thirty thousand meters, it will release five thousand small warheads. At that point, it will be unstoppable," Nunotaba Shinobu joined the conversation, her tone carrying a note of certainty.
"Our only options now are to attempt to intercept the missile's descent or to snap Janie out of her ability lapse state," Nunotaba Shinobu took a deep breath.
She had no means to stop the missile; her only recourse was to try and wake Janie, to prevent the ability from running wild.
"If it's thirty thousand meters, I should be able to reach it. Just get me some explosives..."
The screen shifted as Shirai Kuroko squeezed in front of Natsume Sonoko's phone, speaking up abruptly.
"Let's not even mention whether Shirai-san in her current state can reach an altitude of thirty thousand meters. At the missile's incredible speed, even getting close enough to attach explosives would be a problem, let alone actually doing it," Natsume Sonoko retorted bluntly, tilting her head.
The high-speed movement of the missile would generate intense heat, something only she could possibly withstand, and even that was pushing it.
But there was a major problem.
Seven kilometers per second was several dozen times the speed of sound. Even if atmospheric drag continuously slowed it, Earth's gravity would simultaneously accelerate it.
At such an absurd velocity, Natsume Sonoko wasn't at all confident she could stop it.
Furthermore, the missile's construction could likely withstand atmospheric re-entry friction, making it particularly troublesome for a mage of Natsume Sonoko's style.
She couldn't even handle the meat-headed, two-times-supersonic Accelerator, that white-haired monster, or someone like him.
"It's no use. The Judgment computer system simply can't calculate a solution in such a short time. We can't even compute the missile's trajectory in time," the girl with flowers in her hair suddenly realized, her own computer's processing power already maxed out.
To complete the necessary calculations in an extremely short timeframe, the instantaneous computational power required would need to be at least one-third of the Tree Diagram's normal capacity.
"But even if we wanted to borrow a computer with sufficient processing power, there's no time now," Saten Ruiko said from the other side, her voice filled with frustration.
"I have an idea," Misaka-senpai suddenly announced, hurriedly pulling out her phone to call someone.
The brainwaves of the Misaka Sisters were converted into electronic signals, creating the ever-present Misaka Network within the atmosphere.
The collective brains of over ten thousand Level 2 ability users, through sheer quantity, achieved a qualitative change, forming a massive computer analogous to the Tree Diagram.
After only a moment's hesitation, Misaka-senpai made the call. It was answered by Misaka 9982, who had just finished her cell adjustment.
"No problem. It seems it's finally my time to shine. Misaka puts on the Gekota mask and prepares to save the world," declared the strange girl standing on the crowded street, wearing both goggles and a Gekota mask on her head.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.