Academy city.

With over a million inhabitants, it has proven to be the strongest city of the science side.

Because of its study of espers, scientists from all around the world gather to this artificial island and study about power development.

"...is the general idea," said the man.

He looked around. There were innocent lives anywhere. Young, unintelligent.

Vulnerable.

The man—he looked around his teens, in fact—smiled at the security and took his earplugs off.

"Pretty smart way of putting it, if you ask me."

The man slowly walked towards the Academy City.

The one place he didn't want to come back to.

The one place that he belonged.

Yet still the one place that he didn't want to come back.

"I'm coming for you, Alex," said the man with a smirk.

"Such misfortune..." said a spiky black-haired Asian.

He was just out of hospital after fighting the Almighty Thor, the second strongest magician in GREMLIN. The GREMLIN was going to fight him and he had to stop them. He had to not only defeat Thor, but also Othinus, the Magic God beyond the power of Thor.

However, that was least of his worries right now.

On his way home, he met Misaka Mikoto, number 3 esper in the city, and got attacked without any foreshadowing. She did say something about intruding into a girl's school and kept calling him pervert, but Kamijou Touma was not someone who was going to sit and apologize when bolts not good for human heart attacked him continuously.

When he finally evaded the electromaster, Himegami Aisa came out of nowhere asking him to go with her. Touma guided her and met Index, who was waiting for her breakfast to come. Instead, she ferociously chewed on the flesh and bone of the black-haired boy who was forgetting about her and was accompanying someone else to a lingerie shop.

Why she took him to a lingerie shop is a question unanswered.

When Touma finally got out of those two's hands, he found himself out of cash and out of idea on where he was.

So now, he was walking his way home.

He did ask around and found out that he ran to the border of Academy City. He had to walk all the way back to his dorm, where the nun will be waiting for him with teeth sharper than the Stab Sword.

"Such misfortune…" repeated Touma.

However, his fortune was about to get unluckier.

"Excuse me,"

Touma stopped. It was the most fearful thing he has ever heard that day—more than the strongest electromaster or a head-biting nun.

A foreigner speaking English.

'Should I turn around? What if he's lost? He might start asking directions! Then how do I answer? How do I speak English to a foreigner? Idontevenknowwhattodoshouldiignotehimbutwaitthatsnotbeingsonicewhatifheisalsooutofcashwellheisafeignerbuthowcanihelphimthereareplentyofotherswhocanspeakenglishandisnotoutofcash...'

Cold sweat flowed from Kamijou's back. With great courage, he turned around.

"Ha...hallow! Can ai helpu yuu?"

The gray-hooded man stared at Touma from inside his hoodie.

'Damn! Did he not understand me? What should I do...'

Touma clenched his fist and gulped down his saliva, when...

"Ah, I thought you were a foreigner because you looked lost...well, that makes things easier."

Did he speak Japanese?

Yes he did.

Did Kamijou Touma sweat cold for nothing?

Yes.

"Is something wrong?"

"...No, just let me be a second."

Kamijou covered his face and tried to see if he could negate his memories too.

Not.

"Uh...if it's not too much trouble..."

Kamijou looked up. The hooded guy smiled good-naturedly. "Do you know which bus I should take to go to Nagatenjouki high school?"

Touma twitched. That place was pretty far away, and if he accompanied this hoodie to that place, it'll be nightfall by the time he gets home, where Index would be clenching her teeth.

"Haah...it's quite complicated, so let me go with you."

"Oh, well, that makes things easier."

Touma turned to walk towards the bus station, and thoughtlessly muttered his renown phrase.

"Such misfortune..."

The hoodie's eyes widened. He quickly ran towards Kamijou and grabbed his collar, making Touma slip and fall on the floor.

"I knew I heard you from somewhere!"

Kamijou was speechless. Right now the first thing he wanted to do was punch the guy who so randomly punched him, but Touma tried to calm down and made a crooked smile.

"A-ah! It's been a while!"

The hoodie's face wrinkled. "Do you know me?"

Silence fell.

"Ah…aren't you someone I know?"

"I..don't think so? We haven't met yet. Rather, we are not supposed to meet yet."

That sounded wrong in many layers.

"Do you have a name?" asked Touma. The hoodie smirked in an evil way.

"Wait a second; you really don't know me, don't you? I doubted until now, but seems like you really did lose your memories!"

Touma twitched.

"…Who are you?"

"Thought so. You really don't remember me."

Touma smiled, but for some reason, he started to boil in anger.

He was mocking Kamijou.

Kamijou Touma was a level 0, the weakest of the Academy City ranking, but his right hand could negate all other powers. Thanks to that, he fought several of the level fives and survived. He even fought the Godlike existence, Fiamma of the Right, and returned. He stopped World Wars several times over.

And now, some foreigner-looking hooded guy was taunting him.

On top of that, there was something about the smirking face this hoodie had that just made Touma want to punch his gut out. He was a second away from clenching his fist and beating the crap out of the hoodie until his gray hoodie became red.

After breathing in slowly and exhaling for a long time, Touma looked at the hoodie with a serious face.

"Who are you?"

The hoodie's smile died down a little. "Come here, I'll show you who I am."

The hoodie passed by Touma and started walking towards the bus station.

Kamijou stared at the hoodie's back, hesitated, and followed him.

"Today is Thursday, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

That was random. Kamijou looked outside the window. They were almost at Nagatenjouki High School. Kamijou took out his cellphone and checked that it was Thursday.

"Yeah, it is."

"I see. So the fifth for today? No, maybe I should take zero because of you." The hoodie smiled.

The bus stopped.

"We're here. Get off."

Touma's brows knitted. "You knew your way around Academy City, but you still stopped me for directions. Why?"

"Why, huh?" said the hoodie. "Well, I thought I might play with the fate today. Anyhow, you won't remember anything about all that happened."

The hoodie grabbed the infamous right hand of Touma—no, to be precise, he grabbed the wrist and ran out of the bus.

"O-oi! Wait! Why are we here again?"

The hoodie smirked.

"To talk to Nunotaba!"

"Who the hell is Nunotabaaaaaaaa!"

The rest of the words Kamijou spit out were no longer heard, because the hoodie ran into the school without any chance to let Kamijou speak.

Aleister was restless.

He didn't expect the one guy he didn't want to meet to appear right in his territory.

Moreover, the intruder didn't even use his power. He simply presented his passport. All he did was keep Aleister from interrupting the airport security system.

"This is a trouble beyond expectation," growled Aleister, the real leader of the Academy City.

This real leader of Academy City was afraid.

Afraid of one teenager.

Aleister brought up several monitors. Streets of every corners and sidewalks and alleys of Academy City flashed before his eyes. Aleister twitched. All monitors but one appeared.

The gray hoodie walking to Nagatenjouki High School.

Aleister's eyes widened. No matter what happened, he couldn't allow Accelerator to meet up with this man.

It won't just end as an hindrance of the plan—the entire plan might get stalled. Perhaps, even indefinitely.

His long years of preparations were about to become obsolete.

"Like hell I can do that!" yelled Aleister—as in he thought it out loud in his head, because he doesn't talk to himself when he's alone.

He brought up the Anti-Skill and Judgment. The nearest branches were still active. If Aleister could send them to where this man was…

Aleister smirked. He blinked.

But, at the same time, the hoodie turned and faced the camera Aleister was looking him from.

And, again, there was his usual mocking-like smirk. He stomped.

Instantly, all the systems but life-support went off.

Aleister started to rustle. His power had to be out of this hoodie's reach. He couldn't understand. How could he instantly shut all his interference magic?

Aleister twitched.

The AIM method.

He was a friend of the researcher who developed the method.

If he limited the AIM diffusion in the windowless building, there was not much Aleister could do.

With a single whim, the enemy has made Aleister, the one man who could challenge and take over the world, powerless human inside a life vessel.

Aleister's face crumbled, perhaps for the first time. The air and water around him began to shiver, and the entire building started to rumble.

"THAT SON OF A BITCH!"

"That's very nice," murmured the hoodie.

"I'm sorry?" said the guard.

"Oh, nothing," said the hoodie. "So, does it say anything?"

"No, the record says that he was absent for quite some time now. He's still registered technically, but I don't think you'll meet him here."

"I see," said the man in a grim voice. "Then could I at least have his address?"

"I can try," said the guard. "What's your relationship to the boy?"

"I'm his guardian," said the man. "I'm his legal father."

The guard took the ID the hoodie offered and typed some things on the computer. He looked at the monitor with an unsurprised expression and handed the card back to the hoodie.

"It all checks out, but…Well, he's not exactly the type to leave traces, so… I mean, he didn't come to school for at least a year."

"That's a depressing thought."

"Sorry, kid. Guess I can't help you."

The hoodie sighed and walked out of the room."

"So, in the end, who were you looking for?" asked Touma, who was waiting in the corridor.

"Accelerator."

It was a simple answer.

Touma's right hand twitched. The hoodie mentioned Accelerator's name like he was the hoodie's neighbor. He was the Accelerator, who nearly turned Touma into blood pudding. Twice. It was true that Accelerator has gotten more friendly with Touma (with the worst possible definition of friendly), but that wasn't the issue.

"Accelerator? You mean the Accelerator?"

"Yeah. I don't know his first name, but I used to call him Nunotaba."

"Nunotaba…?"

"Both he and his sister seem to have disappeared some time ago. Guess I'll have to go to the next best place then…" murmured the hoodie, inaudible enough to make Touma agitated.

"Woah, woah, wait!" yelled Touma. "If you are going somewhere else, then go! Why do I have to go with you? I'm not going to go to the number 1 esper of Academy for nothing!"

Although Touma didn't think that Accelerator was going to kill him the first time Accelerator sees him, Touma didn't like the idea of being with this hoodie when he was going to go to Accelerator. If Touma gets caught up between him and Accelerator, things might get ugly.

"So?" said the hoodie. "What about his being number 1?"

"Why are you so calm…"

Touma cleared his throat.

"Listen, hoodie. I'm not related with you in this situation. At all. I don't have to help you because you already know your way around Academy City. I don't have to meet up with number 1. Most of all, it's already nightfall and I have to return home before my roommate gets any fiercer."

"If you're talking about Index-chan, she met up with Tsukuyomi sensei and went to sukiyaki place."

"Eh…?"

Normally, Kamijou would have been angry of the fact that Index went to sukiyaki place without him, but right now, Kamijou's concern was in the fact that this boy, although Touma was with him this entire time, knew about Index and her whereabouts.

Rather, to begin with, the fact that this hoodie knew Index was curious enough.

Touma clenched his right hand. "Are you a magician?"

The hoodie smiled, and laughed his heart out. Touma twitched and loosened up his fist. Did Touma say something funny? He didn't think so. He was in fact very serious. But this reaction meant one of two things: either the hoodie was just making fun of Touma again, or the hoodie didn't know of magicians' existence.

"Ah-ahahahahaha, I say that now and then. I'm a little weird, as you can see. When I was young—"

"I'm not a magician. I'm an esper, and espers cannot use magic, remember?"

Touma's smile stopped. His eyes widened. He looked at the hoodie with a serious face—again. "Who the hell are you?"

The hoodie smirked. "I said, if you come with me, I'll tell you."

"You were coming here?!" yelled Touma.

"Yep. Your house. I have someone I want to meet here."

If you were coming to my house, just tell me sooner! I would've saved a lot of time that way—was what Touma wanted to say, but before he could speak, the hoodie rushed to the apartment.

"Hey, I'm not letting a stranger into my apartment!" yelled Touma, who then remembered that he was letting a stranger be a freeloader in his place for nearly half a year now.

"Yeah, I might let strangers in, but I'm not taking you in!"

"Whatever, kid," said the hoodie. "Just get here. I'm not even going to your room."

"Then where are you going?" asked Touma.

"I'm not telling ya!" said the hoodie, not waiting for the elevator and jumping up the stairs like a marathon runner.

"WHY!" yelled Touma, who followed slowly from behind.

"Because you're a stranger!" yelled the hoodie back.

Touma stopped climbing the stairs. He got off at the second floor and pressed the elevator's button.

"I really don't like him," murmured Touma.

"You're early," said the hoodie.

Touma grumbled. "The elevator was stopped three times on its way down and up…"

"Yeah, sure, sure, sure. Now let's go!"

Touma sighed. "Like I said, I'm not letting you in my room."

"And I said, I'm not going to your harem nest."

"HAR—"started Touma, who sighed and shook his head. "Never mind. Then where are you going?"

"Here," said the hoodie, stopping on the door to Touma's room's left. He knocked lightly and turned to smile at Touma.

"Ah? What is it nyah?" said a familiar voice from within.

"Open up, Tsuchimikado," said the hoodie.

"Okay, I'm not even going to ask how you knew his name," said Touma. "I'm literally tired of surprises."

The hoodie smiled. "You're right. I'd be tired too."

Touma shrugged.

In fact, he wasn't very curious. If he knew everything in Academy City, and if he even knew about magic, he must be someone like Tsuchimikado, just finishing a job in Academy City.

But then again, he was carrying his luggage which still had a tag on. He just arrived to Academy City. He was clearly not from inside.

"Nyaah…. Coming!"

"That sounded wrong, didn't it?" said John with a smirk.

"Shut up."

The door swung open, and the yellow-haired man with sunglasses and Hawaiian costume showed up.

"Hello," said the hoodie.

Tsuchimikado froze. "You…"

"Shh. Just tell me where Nunotaba is, and I'll get out of here."

However, Tsuchimikado was not listening.

"But…how? How can you be here? I thought…"

"WAIT A DAMN SECOND."

Touma's deep and serious voice stopped everyone from any other conversation.

"Is something wrong?" asked the hoodie.

"IS SOMETHING NOT WRONG IS THE QUESTION! YOU'VE BEEN DRAGGING ME FOR HOURS NOW AND WEIRD THINGS JUST KEEP HAPPENING? HOW DOES TSUCHIMIKADO KNOW YOU? WHO ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU HERE? WHAT DO YOU WANT? WHY DO YOU EVEN NEED MY HELP TO BEGIN WITH! SPILL YOUR GUTS OUT! RIGHT NOW!"

Touma didn't realize that he was shaking the hoodie's neck until he said 'right now!' Touma came back to his senses and released the boy, but the boy laughed his heart out and entered Tsuchimikado's room.

"Come in, I'll explain."

"So, who are you?"

Tsuchimikado was cross-armed and leaning against a wall, while Kamijou and the hoodie were facing one another in the center of the room.

"Right…first of all, my name is John. Let's just say I'm John Smith for convenience' sake."

Touma was ready to throw the being in front of him outside the window.

"If you don't explain who you are in ten seconds, Kamijou-san today will be a little violent," said Touma with a crooked smile.

The hoodie sighed.

"Right. Let's see…where should I start…"

John Smith brought out a notebook from inside his hoodie and flipped through it. "Ah, that's a nice starting point."

The hoodie closed his notebook and smirked. "Have you ever wondered some things about espers?"

That was a dumb question.

"Do I ever wonder about some things? Well, it's not like spitting electric bolts and changing vectors and all that is very normal, right?"

"No, no, not of their existence. Their being esper is quite explainable. I mean about espers' locations. Have you ever wondered why all espers are in Academy City?"

Touma listened. John went on.

"The espers' powers come from their DNA maps. In other words, some people just don't have what it takes to become an esper. There has been no reported case of a level 0 becoming an esper…well, aside from level upper, but that's utilizing the AIM diffusion field and making it look like one acquired power. Well, there's also the case of a very weak esper who is recorded as level 0 becoming a full-fledged esper but—"

"Get to the point."

John sighed. "You're dumb, aren't you."

Without letting Kamijou talk back, John continued. "I'm saying that people are born to be decided whether they are espers or not. It's not related to their presence in Academy City or not."

"You know, that really doesn't mean any…"

Touma stopped.

"You're getting it now," said John, as he took off the hat of the hoodie, revealing his grayish hair. "Don't you get it? This means that the fact that Academy City exist doesn't have anything to do with power presence. Put simply…"

"…Espers can exist outside Academy City."

Why hasn't he realized? It was all there for Touma to see. It was so obvious. Academy City is just an island-sized facility where espers learn how to properly use their powers.

John continued, leaving Touma in despair. "Also, haven't you realized it yet? Only youngsters have abilities. Why do adults have no power at all? After all, ESP study came long before the birth of Academy City. Doesn't this seem illogical?"

Touma twitched at the second epiphany.

"Meaning, there are adult espers too. They're just not there for you to see because their personal realities changed as they grew up. They began to think that they were no longer espers, and the body responded to that reality. However, not all adult espers thought that way. They trained harder and harder, becoming stronger than ever."

Touma looked at John, swallowing his saliva and clenching his fist.

John smirked at Touma's serious face.

He was falling for the lie. John glanced at Tsuchimikado as well. He looked at John with suspicious eyes, but he was listening carefully.

This either meant he was taking his word although he was a little eerie or he wasn't taking his word and just observing what he was doing here.

John sighed. I just have to trick the boy, then, thought John. After all, tricking Touma also got him some benefits.

"Hello?" said Touma. "Usually not a good time to pause on a revelation like that."

John snorted. He looked straight—almost to the point that Touma was uncomfortable—at Touma's eyes and continued.

"Simply put, I'm one of those adult espers outside the Academy City. Moreover, I'm pretty strong, so Alex doesn't want me to come in."

"Alex…?"

"Ah, right. He goes by Aleister Crowley now, doesn't he?"

Tsuchimikado twitched.

John glanced at Tsuchimikado. He stretched his arms towards the ceiling ant continued. "If I'm not wrong, he's a level 5. Hey, kid, is there a level five whose name wasn't mentioned yet?"

Touma looked at John with disbelief. "You mean…number six is Aleister Crowley?"

"Oh, so you know him too? Funny. I though he wasn't the type to spread his name cards around."

"I don't know him. You just told me."

"Oh, right," said John. He scratched his neck and sighed.

"If you're so powerful that you can threaten the number six level five, that means you are a level five yourself, right?" asked Touma.

Tsuchimikado sighed. "No, he's not."

Touma looked at Tsuchimikado. "He's not?"

John smirked. Tsuchimikado knew about this.

This saved him the trouble of reading through his memories.

But for the time being, he had to explain this black-haired Asian what was going on.

"Hey, kid," said John. Touma turned back to him. "Have you heard of level 6 shift project?"

Touma shivered. That was the project involving the death of over ten thousand lives of Sisters. There's no way he could ever forget about it.

"…Yeah, I know."

"It seems like that was a project meant to create a weapon that could stand toe-to-toe with me. Well, you stopped it in the end, so nothing went on place though."

"…What do you mean?"

"He is where Aleister got the idea of achieving level six came from," said Tsuchimikado. "After all, he was the first to achieve level six. Tree Diagram couldn't find him, so he was not put into its calculation, but he has already achieved level six."

Touma's eyes narrowed. "Him? Level six?"

"Nope," said John with a smirk. "I'm level seven."