"Boss… she actually lost."
Frenda stared at the unconscious Mugino, disbelief written across her face as she tightened a bandage around Kinuhata's arm. None of them could accept what they'd just seen. A Level Four clone had defeated the fourth-ranked esper in Academy City. On paper alone, it made no sense.
Misaka Mikoto felt the same shock. Even after catching her breath, she knew the truth. At her peak, she wasn't sure she could have beaten Mugino head-on either.
Rowan stepped forward and raised his voice toward the sky.
"I know you're watching," he said calmly. "Accelerator is down. The Level Five you sent after me is down too. I want the experiment terminated. All of us clones deserve to live as normal people."
His gaze was steady, unflinching.
"I doubt you want two individuals with Level Five combat power tearing Academy City apart. And I happen to carry a great deal of information about your experiments. If that data goes public, the world will see exactly how you butchered human lives in the name of research. Ask yourselves how many parents would still send their children here after that. Ask how the rest of the world would judge this city."
He'd noticed the hidden surveillance long ago. This time, he let it watch.
A Level Five was defined as someone capable of standing against an army. Publicly, Academy City had seven. Rowan had just defeated the fourth-ranked one in direct combat. And together with Misaka, he had brought down Accelerator. The upper administration understood exactly what that meant.
More importantly, their Level Fives were not obedient weapons. They were students, individuals with wills of their own. If pushed too far, they would not stay under control.
If the city refused to yield, Rowan was prepared to escalate. And if escalation meant revealing magic, he would not hesitate. The city could survive without its secrets. It could not survive a total collapse.
High above, within a sealed life-support chamber, Aleister Crowley watched in silence.
"Interesting," he murmured at last. "Leave him be. He may prove useful."
Forcing a capture now would cost too much and disrupt plans that had taken decades to arrange. The anomaly remained within acceptable margins. Academy City gaining another individual with Level Five combat potential was not necessarily a loss.
A moment later, Takitsubo's phone rang.
She listened, then looked up. "Our employer has transferred the payment. The Absolute Ability Evolution project is officially terminated. All clones are to be released and granted legal human status."
Misaka finally exhaled. The tension left her shoulders all at once.
Rowan smiled. The city had backed down. At least for now.
Sirens approached as emergency crews arrived to take Accelerator and the wounded away. Nearby, Misaka 9982 stiffened suddenly and turned.
"They've moved the remaining 10,018 of us to a hospital in District Seven," she reported. "Control systems have been disabled. There are no restrictions on our freedom going forward."
Rowan reconnected to the Misaka Network. Images and confirmations flooded in from across the city. He left his own memories sealed, maintaining layers of isolation, but the shared processing alone was useful.
"It's over," he said quietly.
Misaka grabbed his hand without thinking. "Let's go. We should see them."
They climbed into an ambulance together, heading toward District Seven. Misaka's relief quickly gave way to worry as the practical reality set in.
Over ten thousand lives needed homes, education, and work.
Rowan noticed her expression and chuckled softly. "Relax. The city isn't stupid. Over ten thousand trained Level Two espers who can share information in real time aren't something the administration will abandon. Even without experiments, they're an invaluable asset."
He was right. Academy City didn't discard investments of that scale.
All that truly mattered was that the killing had stopped.
The rest could be solved in time.