Once collapse begins, it's as unstoppable as falling dominoes.
Kihara Gensei had never learned something like the "Kihara Style Fist" used to suppress Accelerator—that was a unique method belonging to a certain brutal individual—so naturally, he couldn't turn the tables with his fists either.
A cold, piercing gaze felt like a sharp blade digging into Kihara Gensei's body. Accelerator held no hesitation or mercy toward this mastermind.
Once stripped of his many trump cards, the vast gap in absolute power and inherent compatibility laid bare just how fragile Kihara Gensei truly was.
By the way, the principle behind the Kihara Style Fist wasn't actually hard to grasp.
The real challenge lay in the profound, almost instinctual understanding of Accelerator—knowing how he thinks and how his ability operates.
Of course, the Kihara Style Fist probably wasn't designed solely for Accelerator. It could be seen as a combat method that reads the flow of a psychic's power and strikes at its gaps.
This fighting style was likely only passed among the very few who bore the name "Kihara."
Besides the deep understanding mentioned earlier, it was also possible to predict a psychic's moves by observing changes in their AIM diffusion field. The potential applications were staggering, but the learning requirements were equally daunting.
"Even though Accelerator is terrifyingly strong, he's far less of a threat to me than Kihara Gensei is right now."
"But this one-sided fight is still frightening—it's like a natural enemy to high-tech warfare."
Silently holding Last Order in her arms, Natsume-san fully utilized her own ability, forming numerous prisms around her to refract light, guiding Accelerator's attacks from a distance.
This safe, supportive combat style was undoubtedly Natsume-san's favorite.
All she had to do was act as the team's eyes. It might not seem like much, but no one could overlook her presence.
It really showed that the three-member esper team at Tokiwadai was still incomplete—they sorely needed a sturdy character who could both fight and tank.
Natsume-san felt a wave of relief seeing how the situation was now tilted heavily in their favor—a stark contrast to their desperate escape not long ago.
"I wonder how Misaka-senpai is doing on her end." Though her eyes remained fixed on the battle, Natsume-san's thoughts drifted.
"But once the Kihara Gensei problem is solved, the rest should be much easier."
The actual fighting was as dull as a routine class. Espers only brought out the flashy special effects when their opponents were tough enough to warrant it.
There was no thrilling, back-and-forth brawl here either—just a straightforward beating.
A villain pummeling a mad scientist, plain and simple.
The fight lasted less than three minutes before the calculation suit on Kihara Gensei's body retracted from its deployed state, reverting to its normal, wearable form.
In the next moment, a deathly pale hand clamped around Kihara Gensei's throat, radiating unmistakable malice.
"Open your eyes wide, and grit your teeth."
"Even scum like me have things we refuse to throw away. Even if I killed ten thousand Sisters, that doesn't mean I'll turn a blind eye to the ten thousand that remain. You keep saying I'm drenched in blood, that I shouldn't dream of saving anyone. Well, here I stand before you—this is my answer, screamed with everything I have. Do you hear me, Kihara Gensei?"
A crazed light shone in Accelerator's eyes, as if directly responding to the words Kihara Gensei had spoken earlier through Natsume-san's controlled body.
His fist smashed into the wall behind them, spiderweb cracks spreading like a backdrop, while Kihara Gensei's body went limp, held up only by the grip on his neck, his lower half slumped uselessly on the ground.
"Eighth, are you going to keep wasting time?"
Accelerator snapped his head around, crushed the remote on Kihara Gensei's body, and glared toward the sky as if searching for a certain figure.
In the end, his furious fist didn't come down on Kihara Gensei's head, but struck the ground beside him instead, as Accelerator forcibly suppressed the killing intent raging inside him.
A Multi-Skill user combined with Mental Out, augmented by a vector-control calculation suit—even an enemy this powerful was little more than a slightly larger obstacle to Accelerator.
"Understood."
Natsume-san's shimmering form slowly descended beside Accelerator, a look of surprise crossing her features.
She had heard what Accelerator said, and it gave her a new perspective on him. Beyond the labels of scum and villain, there might be a thread of redemption there after all.
"If that's the case, why did you do those things back then?"
Natsume Sonoko couldn't fathom the complexities of human nature. It all felt elusive and perplexing to her, and she murmured the question under her breath.
But she didn't really expect an answer from Accelerator. Their relationship was still frozen near rock bottom, though the outright hostility had faded somewhat.
Sticking to the original plan, Natsume-san once again manipulated heated air, forcing it into Kihara Gensei's five orifices.
This time, it went surprisingly smoothly. It turned out Kihara Gensei wasn't entirely mechanical, as Natsume-san had half-feared—his brain was still in a relatively normal biological state.
The earlier interference that had kept her from approaching Kihara Gensei had vanished, and Natsume-san guessed it must have been due to that strange suit.
With large amounts of hot air violently forced into his body, Kihara Gensei's aged face turned an alarming shade of red. Unable to struggle, he quickly fell into a state of shock.
Meanwhile, on the other front, things had gone much more smoothly.
By the time Natsume-san finally got back in touch with Uiharu-san and the others, the situation with Shokuhou-senpai had already been resolved.
On her way to trace the source of the nanomachine signal, Misaka-senpai never encountered Kouzaku Mitori as expected. Instead, she only found Shokuhou Misaki lying slumped against a wall.
Shokuhou-senpai had sustained some moderate injuries—a minor fracture in her right arm and multiple soft-tissue contusions—but fortunately, someone had provided initial treatment, so she was stable.
The imminent confrontation never happened.
Whatever reason Kouzaku Mitori had for abandoning Shokuhou Misaki, it seemed she had accepted the failure of her experiment.
Since destroying the windowless building was no longer possible, staying behind to stop Misaka Mikoto had become pointless.
The desire for revenge still smoldered within her, but that girl apparently possessed an unexpected kindness.
In fact, once the pain from her arm injury subsided, Shokuhou-senpai could have used her ability again to break free from the control and resist the pressure from the Exterior.
But with Kouzaku Mitori suppressing her cognitive functions, she had remained trapped in a comatose state.
Only when Kihara Gensei fell into shock and Kouzaku Mitori departed did the Mental Hold on Shokuhou-senpai finally lift, allowing the fellow esper of the same system to awaken from her forced slumber.
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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!
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If you guys wanna check it out.