A Certain Unknown Level 0

by MrQuestionMark

Accelerator and the Railgun. Two level 5's that have been subjected to the same rumour: they have been defeated by a Level 0. But who is this mysterious esper? These are the numerous investigations made by characters in the ToAru universe into this Level 0. People who don't know him will learn the truth and those who do know him will catch a glimpse into his life. Will have action.

39. Shirai Kuroko: Part 5

Battle Royale, Battle Royale, Battle Royale! I have an idea of what to write here however I have no idea just how long this chapter will be. However I suppose everyone else that reads this will know due to the little scroll button on the right. You know the one. Is it large or small? That will show you how much battle scenes are in this chapter.

Maybe we'll even have some more epicness that the 7500 heroes or the battles that occurred during the Ichihanaransai. Doubt it though.

Anyway as you've already noticed, this is the climax of the Shirai Kuroko arc. The Tsuchimikado one was about as long so I think that in turn the information in all of them will be so large that it will overload your brain!

Well this whole arc was practically up to this point. And everything is important. Mikoto and Shirai's battle, Kamijou's battle and finally the combination of the two of them at the end. And everyone enjoyed Endo's bashing last chapter. But in the end, he is the cocky character that gets twisted when he gets given the supremacy in a situation.

But I just hope you enjoy this chapter.

And thank you to everyone that has slowly supported this series from start to finish. I hope that every chapter is worth the wait and that you await each one. Thank you to PokeRescue18 for fixing up each and every chapter.

And from me I hope that you enjoy each chapter as much as I do writing them. That and the disclaimer still applies.

-Mr Question Mark

---

Shirai Kuroko stepped out of the elevator and covered her eyes with her hand. The floor that she was on received the full blast of sunlight from the sunset and she had to cover her eyes so that it was not fully blinding. Still she had a job to do. She lowered her hand and looked to her left and right, seeing nothing but a corridor going down both sides.

On both sides there were a number of doors that must have led to classrooms and judging from what she remembered from the school layout, apart from the Principal's Office that was on the Northern Block and had its own level all to itself. Apart from that, Shirai knew that most of the other floors were similar in design, namely corridors that went around the building with each of them leading to different sections through different rooms and the like.

Shirai had no idea where to even start. Each and every classroom had to be investigated and she now regretted her decision to start from the 5th floor rather than the bottom working her way up or from the top and working her way down.

She sighed and walked to her left, opening the first classroom that she came into. It was a standard classroom, blackboard nearest to where she was and a number of class seats that went to her right as she entered the room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Although the school had closed down, some chalk and stationary were still here, something that could have been used in other places. Shirai shrugged and went into the classroom, going to the teacher's desk, opening all of the drawers that it had and having a look inside. Of course she found nothing. But then again, she wasn't sure what she was going to find in the first place.

Sighing again, she sat on the teacher's desk and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Each desk was the size to hide a gun inside it and if there was even going to be a weapon that MINUS left behind, it would be impossible to deal with all by herself.

Realising the impossible, she went to reach for her phone that would call her. The phone itself looked like a small piece of lipstick and she pulled out the main body of the phone from the side and put it to her ear, calling the number of her own Judgment branch.

It rang once but then suddenly cut short, giving off a large amount of static and in surprise, Shirai pulled the phone away from her ear. She looked at it in confusion. At this height when she was so near a window, why was there feedback?

The only way that something like that would occur in a normal situation would be….

Jamming. That was the only thing that came into her mind. It was no accident that her phone was not working. There was no one in the building that would be able to cause such an accident. Thus it was on purpose.

Shirai Kuroko frowned and stood up from the teacher's desk. Whoever was out there, they had drawn Shirai into this building. It was easy to escape however as a member of Judgment, Shirai's core told her that fleeing was not an option. But how was she going to get whoever was in here towards her?

She thought of something immediately, stepping out of the classroom and closing the door behind her, the door sliding. She waited and then teleported back inside the room. She stood and pressed her ear against the door as quietly as she could and then heard footsteps approaching the door.

"What the fuck?!" came a voice from the other end, one of a boy. "Where the hell did she go?!"

"Shit. I knew that we should have ended things quickly!" another voice, another boy, entered her ears. So….they had led her here. Shirai frowned. So then…what did that make the information that that boy who had fallen through the window had given her? Was it fake? Or had MINUS decided to stay behind?

Still, the only thing to do was to make absolutely sure of it wither way. In a quick motion, Shirai opened the door, seeing surprised faces as they turned to look at her, her hands reaching out towards them. She touched their bodies and they disappeared in an instant, reappearing later on the floor of the classroom, knocking tables and chairs over as they did so. They groaned but soon found that they could not move, sharp metal spikes coming and pinning them to the floor.

Shirai appeared moments later and looked at both of the boys, rather plain in appearance as she appeared on a table that had not been knocked over.

Both of the boys looked at in surprise and tried to move however they found that they could not. Figuring that it was checkmate, they spoke.

"Hahahaha. Fuck, fuck, fuck." Said the first boy who had spoken. "To think that we were already taken out." Shirai frowned at the comment and upon seeing it the boy grinned and laughed. "Wow! To think that you were duped to this extent! The others are going to have a ball!"

"Shut the hell up!" said the second boy. "What are you doing? You'll screw everything up!"

"It doesn't matter. People can only get in, not out. She's stuck here."

Shirai processed what the boy was saying, refraining from making the remark that she could simply teleport out and made a conclusion based on the facts and the evidence that she was given, along with some speculation.

"So…it was all a trap? Julian restaurant? What do you want with me? I'll have you know that I have all of Judgment behind me."

The second boy let out a sigh. "Of course it was a trap you half-wit. And Judgment doesn't matter. There's no-one coming to help you now. And you better be ready to kill. It's because we are. Welcome to hell."

The boy raised his hand and a shiny object appeared in his hand, something that Shirai did not know was a weapon or not. In retaliation she teleported out of the way behind the boy and that shiny object was fired into the air and hit one of the windows of the classroom, continuing on its way and breaking the window of the exterior of the Cram School.

Shirai had teleported on top of the boy and landed her feet onto the boy's face putting all of her weight behind the attack and the boy let out a "gack!" before falling limp.

She teleported once again as the other boy began to move, touching a desk that was off to the side and teleporting it with her ability making it appear on top of the other boy where it landed, gravity taking effect as he too was knocked unconscious.

She looked at her two enemies that were unconscious frowning. So…it was a trap. Her whole reason for being here was shattered and a new one took its place. As a Judgment member, it was her job to ensure the peace within Academy City. As MINUS was such a force, she was ready.

She tightened the Judgment armband on her Tokiwadai uniform, retrieved her spikes from those boys and walked out of the room.

This was her battlefield. No-one would come. Although it troubled her, if she used her normal tactics, she would be able to pull through this and get back to her normal life. What was one more delinquent?

"Don't mess with Judgment." She said as if she was announcing her very reason for fighting.

---

"Come on!" Kamijou Touma cried as he tried the elevator. However it was not working. Whether it was because MINUS had interfered or because of his misfortune, in the end if Kamijou did not get somewhere fast, the lack of protection that the areas provided him would mean that he was in some major trouble!

There was a crash up above and Kamijou looked above, and outside as he saw some pieces of glass fall to the ground. What was going on?! He approached the door that he had come in, waiting for the automatic doors to open however they did not. He kicked the door however it did not open and Kamijou ran a hand through his hair.

His back was still throbbing however he did not notice it, that fact revealing just how miniscule the pain was. Still, he felt that he looked extremely out of place, with his winter high school uniform of A Certain High School clearly showing that he was not a part of MINUS.

Well that in itself was alright as long as-

"What the-?!"

Kamijou turned and looked in surprise and one person that he had expected to be here in the first place. The boy that had fallen through the window of the Julian restaurant looked at Kamijou with the same surprised expression and immediately reached behind him for what Kamijou would only assume was a weapon of some sort.

Immediately, he dived for the nearest concrete pole that he could find and hid behind it, waiting for whatever was coming next. However nothing did come. There was some grunting from where that boy was and Kamijou slowly poked his head out.

A strange clicking sound came from the direction where the other boy was and a *chk chk* sound. Kamijou frowned before he saw a large chunk of the concrete pool above his head blown to bits, parts of it gouging out.

Kamijou hid behind the pole and looked at the remains of the pole, sweating somewhat. What the hell? Was that a shotgun?! Kamijou looked at the whole. Shotguns were like a massive form of cheating! It was now reinforced into Kamijou Touma's mind! Guns were dangerous!

"Come out come out!" came a voice. "It took a while to assemble however I'm readyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" The clicking sound before the gunshot now made sense to Kamijou; it must have been the action of whatever bits of the gun fitting together. Did guns even work like that? Such was the technology of Academy City, turning what seemed to be impossible possible.

Kamijou poked his head once again and saw the boy approaching before another shot was let out. However the pump action that the boy did before firing made it clear that he was going to fire giving Kamijou time to dodge. He did so and breathed as more concrete was blasted from the pole.

"What w-what are you even doing here?!" said the boy. "This was not something that you were supposed to be involved in!"

"How could I let you do what you intend to do to Shirai?" blurted Kamijou. He edged around the pole. If he managed to go all the way around it while the other guy was waiting to get Kamijou where he thought he was, then Kamijou would be able to get the guy when he was low on his guard.

"Easily! Just ignore everything!" replied the boy. "Man oh man. Were you the one that took my phone? I seriously was shitting myself when I found out it was gone." Kamijou rounded the pole so that his back was now against the pole, making him face the elevator. "In any regard there's not much left for you now. This is the end of your life. Be glad that it was by the hands of me and not some other guy."

Kamijou poked his head as he saw that boy walk out of his vision as he went behind the pole, Kamijou following him, hearing the sound of a blast of the shotgun. It was then that Kamijou acted. He quickly ran around the pole, hearing the sound of the pump action shotgun however Kamijou was faster.

He rounded the corner and drove his fist into the face of the boy, throwing him back just as the shot gun went off, the round flying past Kamijou's ear and momentarily throwing him into a state of complete shock.

The other boy stumbled back and swung the shot gun as he did so, Kamijou snapping out of his shock and ducking, using the time in which he was ducking to jump and ram his shoulder into the mouth of the boy. He dropped the shot gun and looked with hate at Kamijou.

"What the hell?! Don't tell me that chick is your girlfriend or something!?" said the boy.

Kamijou shook his head. "Then why are you fighting so hard to protect her?! You will die here man; I'm telling you that now."

Kamijou Touma clenched his fist. "Then that is something that I will deal with. I don't need a reason to save someone. So that's why I simply want to make sure that you stay out of this fight for now."

Kamijou raced forward and ducked under the right hook that the boy threw, stepping on the boy's foot to prevent him from stepping back, similar to what Tsuchimikado had done to him, and slammed his own hand into the boy's face. He was thrown back and due to the fact that Kamijou was stepping on his foot, his body arched backwards in an odd manner and the only option for the boy was to reposition himself straight.

That in turn resulted in Kamijou head-butting the boy in the nose, finishing the combo with an elbow to the stomach. The boy coughed and fell to his knees, Kamijou finishing it with a kick to the face and the boy fell, not moving. Kamijou did not even need to check if he was alive. It was clear that he was, the fact that Kamijou was an amateur when it came to professional fighting evident as he knew that the boy was alive.

Kamijou looked at the shot gun that was on the ground and carefully picked it up. Being an amateur to guns he had no idea how to handle it. He knew that maybe Accelerator or Hamazura would have a better knowledge of such things however he had seen how the boy had used it before.

Of course, Kamijou was not going to kill someone. Shirai Kuroko could be saved without anyone dying. As such, the path that Kamijou Touma had taken of his own will told him that killing someone here would be straying off this path. So no matter what, Kamijou wanted to make sure that he stuck to his path.

It did not matter what anyone led him to believe, killing someone was not the answer to this conflict. Yet even despite this, this shot gun could be used as a weapon besides something to shoot.

Intimidation was just a powerful weapon. So Kamijou Touma picked up the weapon, feeling a weight that it did not have in his hand. Suddenly the feeling of the power to kill someone made it feel heavier.

In the eyes of a high school student like Kamijou, not unlike someone like Hamazura who had been in Skill-Out who had been willing to kill, Kamijou completely understood the power he had in his hands right now.

However gun fights were not his way of doing things. He preferred getting up and close, dealing with his enemies through one way and one way only: Through his right fist. Many people might not think much of it however Kamijou believed in the power of his right hand.

He turned with the shot gun in hand, not putting the finger of the trigger in case something bad happened, and looked where the boy had come from.

And he nearly cried out in shock at the scene that was in front of him. Two boys were looking at him, holding up some assault rifles as they looked at Kamijou. They were in Anti-Skill uniforms and Kamijou guessed that they were the ones that had pretended to intercept the ambulance on the security recording that he had seen. He had no idea how long they had been there however his first instinct was to drop the gun. Any unnecessary action would mean certain death for sure.

He held up his hands, mind going through every option that he could take at this one point.

However before he could do anything one of the boys said something. "See?" he said. "He told you that you would die here."

If Kamijou moved, he would be dead. If he didn't he would be dead. So all Kamijou Touma could do in this situation was try to avoid the gunshot at all costs. He hoped that somehow the gunshot would miss or that he would be shot somewhere where the wound would not be fatal.

*Bang* The sound echoed in the room however Kamijou did not recognise it. It was not the sound of a gunshot. The two of the MINUS members that had been pointing the guns at him were on the ground, unconscious and Kamijou noticed one thing.

The large light that hung over their bodies was broken in two and it was obvious that they had been directly under it when it had fallen. Kamijou looked up. In the spot where the light had been he noticed the fact that a large hole was near one of the supports that it had.

Was it from the gunshot that had missed Kamijou before from the other boy? He had no idea however whatever it was it had saved his life. Kamijou rubbed the back of his head and looked at the 3 boys that were unconscious.

"Seriously? I can't be that lucky!"

And almost as if to answer his cry of his own fortune, a face appeared around the corner, looked at Kamijou and the other espers that had fallen. Her eyes went wide and she raised one of her hands, looking at Kamijou with something that was only fear in her eyes.

"Y-You stop right there you esper!" she said as she looked at the destruction. She was clearly MINUS however it was clear that she did not possess the same radical attitude that the others had. Kamijou was somewhat glad at that. It meant that he could calmly discuss-

A piece of wood flew past his ear and hit the wall behind him, Kamijou turning to see the wall slowly crumble with the wood at the centre of the source of the crumbling.

In surprise, Kamijou picked up the gun and ran up the stairs on the other side, ducking under all of the attacks that the girl sent his way.

He really did know that it was always too good to be true with his luck!

---

Shirai Kuroko had gone back towards the boys from before and had taken one of their walkie-talkies, something that she had found useful in finding out where everyone was. Somehow, the force that they had had been reduced to 15 and although Shirai remembered taking out two guys, it was a mystery to her how the other 3 had been taken out as well.

In the end it did not matter. Whoever was going around taking these guys out, she was glad that they were doing so. In the end, they were probably a part of MINUS as well.

She had gone up to the 7th floor where she currently was, teleporting every now and then so that she would not be susceptible to any attacks that might be sent her way in a surprise one. When it was clear that nothing was going to happen she stopped teleporting and looked around.

She listened to the walkie-talkie however she could not talk into it for if she did then she would be revealing her location to the enemy. However if she really was the true target then wouldn't the MINUS members know where she-

She felt a pain in her leg and turned around to see someone poking their head outside one of the classrooms with a small rifle in their hand. Shirai looked down to see a small dart coming from her leg and she picked it up, suppressing the pain and moved her pain towards her thigh where her spikes were.

She teleported one of them towards the person down the hall, who were near the stairs and they let out a cry of pain, something that echoed in the hall. Shirai stood up and headed towards the person, hearing the cry of someone on the radio telling the others about an intruder that was heading up to the fourth floor.

She came over and bent down to look at the person, a girl that had fired the weapon. She kicked out the weapon out of the way and looked at her.

"What did you shoot me with?!" she asked with a tone of threat in her voice.

The girl let out a pained gasp. "Heh. Something simple. An anaesthetic to slow down your ability. I was just the distraction."

"Dis…traction?" said Shirai and then she felt a drop kick to her head. Her skull rattled as she was thrown towards the wall and a large hole appearing where it. Dazed, Shirai looked in the direction where the attack had come from and saw a girl with a cigarette in her mouth.

Her brown hair was tied up in a pony-tail and she had a piercing in her ear. Her causal pink clothes and tank top along with hot pants didn't seem fitting in comparison to Shirai. She clicked her tongue and spat out the cigarette, Shirai standing up.

The other girl reacted almost immediately. She disappeared and Shirai recognised the ability. Teleport. It was exactly the same as her own. She looked around frantically for the place where she would reappear and did so, swinging a weapon that Shirai had seen only in Judgment training.

The ultrasonic weapon collided with her head and threw Shirai back however she did manage to get in her own strike. At the last second, Shirai had managed to swipe at the girl's wrist with her own spike and it cut her, the girl swearing.

Shirai stood up, using the wall for support as she glared at the girl. "Who…are you?" she asked.

"Nemoto Toshiko. However that is irrelevant. The point is that everything ends here." The girl pointed the weapon at Shirai. "Since our abilities are the same I know just how pain can interfere in your calculations. That in turn can make me use this ultrasonic weapon." Nemoto gave a sick smile as she looked at Shirai. "And it will hurt."

She pointed the weapon at Shirai. It was most likely a weapon that favoured small distances rather than long ones and that in itself gave Shirai some information about how she could manage to avoid the blow altogether.

Nemoto looked at Shirai and put her finger on the trigger. The girl that had been hit with Shirai's spike had slowly recovered and backed away, understanding that Nemoto was the only one that could immediately escape after firing due to her ability. The same could not be said for her and as such she decided that fleeing was the only option that was open to her at this moment.

Shirai Kuroko went through every single calculation inside her head however the blow to the head had thrown off her thinking processes and made her slower in doing them. She would not be able to escape in time. That much was certain. However the situation was not lost altogether. Since Nemoto was standing too far for Shirai to reach, if she managed to reach for the spikes on her thigh and distract her….

Nemoto's finger tightened on the trigger and a bang echoed inside Shirai's ears, she moving to the side and throwing a spike. She knew that avoiding an ultrasonic blast at such a close distance was practically impossible however if she could be able to divert the range in some way then Shirai would be able to survive.

However that was not happened. The ground in front of her burst open and something hit the weapon, kicking it up and the shock setting the weapon off. It launched the ultrasonic sound through the air, smashing all of the windows, sending glass flying towards both of the teleporters.

They cut into Nemoto and Shirai's skin, both of them covering their ears in response to avoid the weapon directly hurting them. Still, Shirai could still feel the effects of it from being at such a close range.

She felt something blocking her throat and she coughed, blood spurting onto the ground. She clutched her chest and looked at the other teleporter. The effects of the weapon had already started to affect her lungs. Any closer and she would have definitely been subject to the full force of the weapon and be dead.

Nemoto coughed up blood as well, staining her pink tank top as she glared at Shirai. It seemed that she did not have any weapons on her and that in itself was something that Shirai managed to utilise. She leaped forward towards the girl, the movement shaky as she slowly regained her balance, grabbing her front.

Then, she utilised one weapon that she carried at all times, using martial arts that she had learned to thrown Nemoto backwards towards one thing that she could use to her advantage.

Nemoto cried out as she fell through the hole that had been the cause of whatever had thrown the ultrasonic weapon up, Nemoto's head bumping against the floor of the Misawa Cram School 7th floor as Shirai let go and Nemoto fell to the 6th floor, angling her body so that she landed on her side rather than her head.

She groaned in pain and glared hatefully at Shirai through the floor. They both knew that she would not teleport. Thus they both knew that Nemoto had an opportunity to escape the scene. It was unclear whether or not she would jump down however as both of them were slowly recovering their balance it seemed unlikely.

"Come and get me….bitch." said Nemoto as she slowly hobbled away, using the wall for support as she wiped the blood from her forehead.

Shirai Kuroko merely watched and then noticed the hole in the floor was angled at a strange way. She knelt down to see the trajectory and noticed that the object, whatever it was had flown from the staircase from the fifth floor. Just what had caused it?

Shirai shook her head and headed towards the nearest staircase, ready to take on her enemy. She had no idea how many espers were or what her enemy was but it was her job to ensure the peace of Academy City.

She walked up to the ultrasonic weapon and kicked it over the edge, watching it sail down all 7 floors where it landed, some people below screaming in surprise at it. That in turn would attract some attention. Those people would most likely call Anti-Skill or the like which meant that Shirai was not alone. At least not for now. That was consolation for her right at this moment.

Yet she did not stop. She walked forward. She still had a job to do.

So she headed in the direction that the girl that had shot her with the anaesthetic had gone.

…Just how many arrests was she going to make today?

---

Nemoto Toshiko growled as she picked up her phone and dialled the number that belonged to her boss. She had no idea who else was in the building however the reports that had been sent to her phone radio told her that someone else had managed to infiltrate the building.

However they were, in any case, she needed to know one thing. Would she get a bonus for taking them out?

She called the number and waited for the response.

"Oi. Are you monitoring the situation?" she asked.

There was silence on the other end which she took to be an affirmative.

"What do you want me to do with them? Hell, how did they even get in here? What aren't you telling me?"

There was a slight pause before there was an answer. "Unfortunately things have left my expectations. In the end I have to leave everything up to your own judgment. I have no idea what any action will do. So this is all on your plate. But the objective is the same. Your target is still the same." Then there was a click and the sound of a disconnected phone.

Nemoto looked at the phone in surprise. What….the hell? Had she just been cut off? What the hell? However it was that had entered Misawa, how would they be able to incite this change within someone that had the ability to kill someone with just a word? What kind of power did they hold in order to make their boss fear that much? And also…..

Just how much of a bonus would she get if she killed them?

Unfortunately, she had no weapon on her and she had someone chasing her. If she managed to make things change to her advantage, she would be able to take out both of the targets. Unfortunately she had read Shirai Kuroko's file and noticed the large difference between her, a Level 3 and Shirai who was a Level 4.

However if she managed to beat her…..

Nemoto clenched her own fist. Then it would be clear to her that the weak could conquer the strong. A Certain Unknown Level 0 had done it. So why couldn't she? She stepped forward, heading towards the staircase and stopped.

Panting and covered in blood, in front of her stepped a boy. He was wearing dark blue pants and the same coloured jacket however it was hard to see among the spots of red that dripped everywhere. Under it, his orange shirt was the same red colour and a small yellow symbol of his lapel was hard to identify.

"Holy…..crap." he said. He was too energetic for someone that had been wounded to that extent so Nemoto assumed that the blood, well not all of it, was the boy's. He didn't notice her yet and Nemoto grinned.

She did not recognise the boy. That in itself told her that he was not a part of MINUS. Somehow fate favoured her. In the end, a fall down the stairs was an easy kill, something that was downplayed in many movies.

Although if one was prepared for it, harm was easily avoided but on the other hand…

Nemoto broke into a run.

---

Aleister Crowley simply had hung up from the conversation and stayed in the position that he always stayed in. His facial expression did not change. He certainly had emotions, one such as pleasure and disappointment and definitely ones of rage.

As of now, something inside of him was different. There was nothing external however his thoughts were ones in conflict. And there was only one thing that was the source of that.

Kamijou Touma.

The linchpin of all of his plans. Accelerator was someone who stood at the centre of some of his plans as well however it was that one boy that was the danger. The boy was both a danger and the centre of his plans. A double edged sword to the largest degree.

The Imagine Breaker ability and the possessor of it could affect 97-98% of his plans. In the larger picture, his plan for the future was something that would ultimately be decided by that boy. Would he act in accordance with it? Would he not?

It was hard to say and even if Aleister could, that was using the old rules. However the rules had changed. Kamijou Touma had become knowledgeable. He knew of the thing that lay under the Imagine Breaker. He knew what it sealed. However that was not all.

He understood the power that was in his right hand. And he swung it around like a maniac. Personally, Aleister had used that to his ability however Kamijou Touma was a boy that had incidents circulating around him. Definitely, for an instant, the world really did revolve around him and his own choices.

However Kamijou did not see it that way. In a way, Aleister wanted to keep him like that, to prevent him from looking too far into his own actions. But for now, each and every action had a number of consequences.

And Aleister Crowley did not know what to do about them. So, when Kamijou had appeared in front of Misawa Cram School, there had only been one reason for him to do so. And such, rage entered Aleister's mind.

His plan was in tatters. He had no idea how to correct it. He did not know if Kamijou knew that one of the higher ups was backing MINUS however there was always the chance that he did. As such, if Shirai managed to survive and then she died at the hands of MINUS in an incident that was not this one, Kamijou would know who his enemy was.

As such, Aleister could not act. And that made him angry.

Kamijou Touma was someone that he did not want to push intentionally. After all, pushes came to shoves. And shoves turned to fights. And when it came to fighting, it would not simply be Kamijou Touma vs. Academy City.

After all, he had built up his own force.

And Aleister did not know what he could do against the Kamijou Faction.

"….." So all Aleister did was simply hang where he was. He would simply do what he did what he always would.

Observe the situation and decide later.

---

Now to fully understand what happened to our protagonist and the reason why he was in the situation that he was in, we must go back a bit….

Kamijou Touma panted as he reached the staircase on the fourth floor. He looked behind him, noticing that the girl that had been chasing him from the first floor had abandoned him. He rested against the door of the fourth floor, still feeling the shot gun in his hand.

He let it drop to the floor and caught his breath. Where was Shirai among all of this mess? Where was he going to find her?

He had come across some reinforcements of MINUS that had appeared however he had dealt with them using his shot gun in a lariat motion which had taken them both out. He had not seen what had happened to them after that so all he could do was assume.

He slowly got up and proceeded to the fifth floor, the floor that he was planning to get off on. He had seen on the elevator panel that it was the floor that Shirai had gotten off on however he had no idea if she was there any longer.

However there was one thing that troubled him. He held up the shot gun. Instinctively when he was being chased he had pumped it in an action of intimidation however now that he was no longer being chased what was the point of holding a weapon that no longer had the ability to fire anymore?

He held it up while walking. Would he fire it? Should he shoot off that damn handcuff that was still strapped to his left wrist? He immediately rejected the idea. But what if he just simply fired the gun? Then that way he would eject the bullet that was already loaded in and everything would be fine. However if he did that then someone might find him. But if he didn't then he might fire it by accident and then who knows what would happen after that?

Kamijou chose the latter and aimed the gun up however a movement behind him made him turn around in surprise.

And he saw two espers, one with a hand full of purple energy and another with a gun in his hand standing right behind him. One of them cocked the gun and Kamijou tensed up. The staircase was narrow, barely room for three people if they stood side by side and Kamijou was sure that if he leaped over the railings then he would be able to reach another staircase without any difficulty.

However the question was would he make it? Or would he be shot in the process? By instinct, Kamijou took a step back and movement from behind him made him turn around in that direction as well.

Three espers were there and they all had malicious smiles, holding up their left or right hands with small bits of energy, one fire, another one a small bit of air and the last holding up a pistol. Kamijou's heart raced with fear as he watched all of them, hearing some more movements from behind him, three more members coming from downstairs came up and joined the other two.

8 of them?! Kamijou could handle 2 on one but 8?! Even in this small space and the weapons that they held in comparison to Kamijou, it was clear who held the advantage. But it was not over.

More footsteps and voices came from behind him again and Kamijou Touma feared as he turned, seeing another three espers come from upstairs. Six of them stared at Kamijou from the fifth floor and another 5 of them stared at him from the middle staircase of the fourth.

"Finally…..we were hoping for something more based upon what Hisamatsu said. However we are going to enjoy this." One of the espers spoke from above him and cracked his knuckles as he headed for Kamijou.

Kamijou's mind raced. What the hell was he supposed to do? He would not even be able to hit one person in the state that he was in. How was he supposed to take on everyone when he had a special right hand and one shot?!

"Yeah and the boss said that she was on the….sixth? Seventh floor? Which was it guys? Meh. Who cares?" that boy that had spoken stepped forward and Kamijou held up the shot gun at him.

He laughed. "You won't shoot. After all, you didn't with Hisamatsu. So you won't hurt me." Kamijou gritted his teeth. The boy was right. However if he could just get off a warning shot or something…..

Kamijou still held the shot gun and took a step to the side, heading for the railing that he was ready to leap down from. He did so in a fast motion and the espers on the lower level reacting in turn.

One of them fired their gun, the shot resonating in the small space and Kamijou felt a searing pain in his left shoulder. He let out a pained cry and lost his footing, falling back as he slipped on the stairs.

In turn, the surprise from the attack made all of his muscles tense up, Kamijou feeling his finger on the trigger twitch. The gunshot that came out of it was louder than the others and Kamijou felt the pain in his left hand increase as the recoil made him fully lose his balance.

He rolled down the stairs and collided with the 5 espers on the bottom, all of them shouting out in surprise. The shot gun fell down as well and then something else happened.

The sound of glass smashing came from the upper floors, making everyone look up in surprise and momentarily forget Kamijou. Something that he used to his fullest extent.

Everyone who had been on the lower floor had all collapsed under Kamijou and he tried to stand up in the commotion. He felt something soft under his foot and a cry of pain followed by a loud bang from under his foot that made Kamijou jump in surprise.

Had he stepped on someone's hand, causing them to fire their gun in response?! Kamijou's thoughts were interrupted by a scream from above and he diverted his eyes towards that location.

One esper was holding his arm in pain however it was one of the espers that had built up all of the energy in his hand in order to threaten Kamijou. Whether the pain merely threw off his thoughts or the mere pain of the shot caused the boy to miscalculate on his ability, the result was the same.

A purple light erupted from his hand and screams came from up the stairs as the entire group of 6 espers were enveloped. There was a crash and Kamijou thought he saw one of the few espers actually being thrown to the side from the mere force of the blow that had come to follow from the esper ability.

There was a sizzling sound and smoke came from where all of the espers had been, Kamijou breathing silently as he waited for something else to happen. It did and Kamijou saw the body of an esper fall down the stairs, colliding a few times on them before landing in front of Kamijou. His eyes went to where the espers had all been with the smoke clearing.

There were four of them left, all on their knees while some of them gave into the pain and collapsed, clearly unconscious. Kamijou stood stunned at the scene in front of him. What the hell? Had they really just taken themselves out?

There was movement from under Kamijou and he regained his thoughts. There were still more of them! Kamijou had no time to react as the people from underneath him lifted themselves up and Kamijou fell onto the staircase, hitting an object from the esper that had fallen down the stairs.

Kamijou spun around and saw what looked to be some kind of stone in front of his eyes. It was perfectly chiselled and shone in the faint light that came from the source from the window. It was formed with an esper ability that much was obvious and that gave Kamijou some conciliation as he could negate it with his right hand.

"Die you fucker." Said the boy that was holding the stone object and pulled it behind his ear before striking. And before that, Kamijou moved. His right hand moved in front of his face, hearing a clicking sound from next to him. He had no idea what it was however something else entered his vision.

By his foot dropped a small object that seemed to look like a small bottle or rather a canteen. However even calling it that was not enough. It was too small for that and the mere presence of the object confused Kamijou. What was he supposed to do with that? In fact what…..was….it…

Kamijou's thoughts went into a frantic rush. He knew what that object was. He had seen one after Accelerator's apartment had been attacked. He knew the weapons that many different people in Academy City held.

And it seemed the members of MINUS did as well.

"Shit!" cried one of the espers as he looked at the ground in front of Kamijou. "You insane bastard!" he cried as he turned his back. Kamijou Touma looked the grenade, his choice obvious. There was no way that he was going to get blown up here! Nor did he have any intention of taking others with him when it actually blew up itself.

He quickly reached down for it while the other espers had begun to leg it. He had no idea how long the fuse was however it must have been something that was long enough to keep him alive for this one moment. That in itself told him that it at least had a fuse that was longer than 1 second.

But how many did he have left? There was no time to simply choose a location and then throw it! The areas that he could see were full of people and Kamijou wanted to prevent as much injury from the device as he could.

He thought about dropping it between the staircases however what if it exploded when those other espers were near it? Kamijou would not have that. In that case, what was left when he rejected below?

Kamijou, ignoring the pain in his left arm threw the grenade over his head, so that it went in an arc shape and landed on the staircase just above him, covering his ears and bending down so that he would not be forced to be at the forefront of the explosion.

He did not have to wait long. The was a giant booming sound and Kamijou felt the very staircase that he was on shake as if it was not made out of stone but rather a fragile material. There was a cracking sound and screams from among the noise and a crash however Kamijou did not open his eyes to actually check what had happened.

Dust and smoke entered this nose and he coughed, struggling to breath among all of it. He covered his mouth used his spare hand to wave the air in front of him, the handcuff dangling from his hand, something that irritated him to a large extreme.

He looked up at where he had thrown the grenade and noticed the staircase. Or lack thereof. Kamijou did not have to see where it had gone. The blast had completely destroyed it, throwing bits of plaster and concrete on what had been below it.

The rest of the espers lay there under the rubble and Kamijou swore, standing up and tried to regain his balance before he went to the boys, lifting the rubble off them and checking whether or not they were actually alive. Finding that they were, Kamijou gave a sigh and had a look at his clothes, noticing that there was a lot of blood and dust covering them.

Kamijou beat off the dust and checked the other espers, finding that the ones near him were all alive however one of the espers who had been above him had been blast a long way, thus making Kamijou have to go and seek them out to check their pulse.

But seriously…..? Just what had happened? There was only one word that he could use to describe what had happened to all of the espers who had decided to gang up on him. He looked at his right hand.

"Can….I really use my misfortune as a weapon?" he asked out loud and a squeal from above him made him look up. He looked at the girl in front of him and remembered her; she was the pone that had chased him all the way up here.

Had she just discovered the commotion and come up now? Kamijou felt her concern in her expression as she was looking at him over her colleague's body, a look that was of fear however he mistook it.

"Don't worry." He said. "Everyone else is alright. Unconscious though."

"E-everyone!?" blurted the girl as she backed away from then boy in front of her. Then…all of that blood was?!

Kamijou scratched his head. "Yeah. I didn't really think things would go this- Oi!" he shouted at the girl. And it wasn't because she had attacked him in some way or anything like that. In fact it was the opposite. She had actually started to fall backwards, her head hitting the floor.

Kamijou raced over to her and noticed that her eyes were half open as if she had experienced a large shock that had caused her to faint. What was the cause of that exactly? Kamijou did not know however she was still alive. Kamijou frowned and looked around, looking for the nearest staircase that he could climb.

It took sometime however he managed to reach sixth floor where he reviewed everything that he went through. His left arm hurt however it was not excruciating and he knew that he would be able to go on despite the pain.

"Holy…..crap." he said. Just what the hell had happened? Although the adrenaline had been surging through his body now that the threat was over, there was nothing to stop Kamijou from feeling nothing but surprise in regards to his actions when it came to what he had just done.

Seriously what was up with MINUS? It seemed to Kamijou that as time went on they got more and more serious. Kamijou realised that this was a problem that he would have to deal with. He had no idea how or when he would do it however on his watch, he would not have any people hurt by them if he could stop it.

He would-

His thoughts stopped as he felt something ram into his side and thrown off his balance. Just before he fell down the steps he thought that he saw the face of someone with brown hair and pink clothes looking up at him with a triumphant smile.

He rolled down the stairs and his head collided with the floor, throwing off his vision completely as he hit head and finally he closed his eyes.

---

Nemoto Toshiko looked at the boy that she had just pushed. His head had collided with the floor with so much force that she doubted that he would get up any time soon, if not at all. Either way it did not matter to her. Either way, she was able to continue her job without interruption whatsoever. But first she needed something more than just her ability to teleport.

She brought out the walkie-talkie that she had hidden in her clothes and pressed the button that allowed her to communicate with the others.

"Come on everyone." There was no answer. Nemoto frowned and repeated the command however no matter what she did, she never got a response. She tried again and again however found that nothing happened no matter what she did.

She stared in silence at the communication device, then at the boy on the floor. What had he done? Why was there no-one answering her calls for assistance? What exactly had that boy done to all them while he was here?

She shook her head. It was impossible for one person that had been so easily taken out to be defeated so easily. But then again….was this the person that her boss had been so afraid of? Had they pulled out because of this boy?

Nemoto shook her head. There was no way. There was absolutely no way. Still the thought troubled her. What exactly was she going to do right now?

She clenched the walkie-talkie in her hand, gritting her teeth as she went through the choices that were ahead of her right now. What were her avenues? What did she have left?

"Well, it seems that you're all alone. Seems we have something more in common than our abilities after all." Said the voice on the other end of the walkie-talkie.

Nemoto looked in surprise at the device. The voice sounded familiar but how….? How had their enemy managed to get a hold of the device?

Regardless, Nemoto answered. "I take that as an offer to surrender?"

There was a laugh on the other end. "Just what do you think Judgment does?" came the answer to which Nemoto seriously felt like exploding with all of the rage that she had built up within herself.

"Then you leave me no choice. A painless death is out of the question." Came the response Nemoto found coming from her mouth.

"Then how about we meet on our own ground?"

Nemoto understood exactly what Shirai Kuroko was saying on the other end. She knew exactly which of them had the more power and ability in regards to their teleport. In that case, Shirai had decided that Nemoto be the one to choose their next battlefield.

"The Principal's office on the Northern Block bitch." Spat out Nemoto. "Get your will ready." Nemoto dropped then walkie-talkie and crushed it with her foot. She smiled to herself as she considered the advantage that she had.

It was in the Principal's office that she had done most of her training in regards to her ability. As such, she knew exactly what places and combination of places led her to the most effective placing of her battle moves.

She cracked her knuckles.

There was more to this Teleporter than met the eye. It was time that Shirai Kuroko figured that out.

---

"Ou…..ch." said Kamijou as he lifted his head up. His eyesight was blurry however it was still within his ability to view what was in front of him. That in itself allowed him some conciliation in the fact that his ability to go on was not hindered in any way. He could swear that he was going to have a bruise form on his head and he suddenly knew what Mikoto had felt after he had pushed her.

He slowly got up and wobbled as he got up, thinking. What had happened? He did not know the person that had pushed him down so that in itself told him that they were a part of MINUS. Slowly and using the wall for support, he dragged his body up until he reached the top of the stairs and looked around.

There was no-one around and that was both good and bad. The positive of such was obvious however the negative of such was much worse. If the person was not here, then where were they?

Kamijou did not know however he had a feeling. There was nothing to support it however his past memory of this building and the conflict that happened in it told him that the first place to check out was one location.

Kamijou hobbled all the way over to the elevator and saw that his hunch was correct. He pressed the down button on the elevator.

After all, the Principal's office was the only thing that was on the top floor, the location where the elevator was coming from.

---

Shirai Kuroko stood in front of the door of the Principal's office. She did not even bother knocking, only checking two things; the handcuffs that she always had-she only had one pair out of the two that she usually carried and wondered why-and the metal spikes that she always carried.

There was nothing else that she needed. She had already managed to pursue the other MINUS member and that had resulted in a successful arrest, something that Shirai thankful for. Overall though, she had an idea of just who was left.

She had no idea who had taken out the espers that she herself had not dealt with and that was none of her concern. In the end, it was her duty as a Judgment member to deal with everything that threatened Academy City.

On the off chance there was something large on, she was to call Anti-Skill however in this case, that was something that could not be done. In the end, it was all up to her in this situation.

Shirai realised the pressure that was on her in this situation. There was only one thing available to her. Victory. Anything else was not an option. Anything else would result in one thing and one thing only, something that Shirai Kuroko knew exactly the consequences of such.

Shirai opened the doors and stepped inside the Principal's office.

Each wall was covered with plaster and as one looked down it the extravagance of the items displayed on the walls and it seemed to Shirai that whoever was here last had simply not cleaned up after themselves. From the outside, it was clear that Misawa was abandoned however it was hard to say that now that she saw the Principal's office.

A large desk stood in the far end of the room and in it a girl wearing causal pink clothes sat, smoking a cigarette. She breathed out some smoke as Shirai stepped into the room and closed the door, not wanting any interruptions of avenues of escape should there be some. The sunlight from the setting sun was in the distant however it was clear by the darkening sky that it was twilight.

She leaned against the closed door, subconsciously resting her hand against her leg where her spikes were.

"Wow." Said Nemoto. "You actually came."

Shirai frowned. "Of course. It is the job of someone from Judgment to deal with people like you. I'm sorry to say but these actions of yours will be met with the most severe response from the law."

Nemoto sighed and stood up from the desk, the chair rolling behind her. "Yes, yes. I suppose I have the right to remain silent and all that crap?"

Shirai frowned. "I see. If you know everything then….I suppose there's only one avenue left for us."

Nemoto did not respond however it was clear that she understood. In fact, Shirai did not even check if she did.

She Teleported right in front of her and sent a punch as she was doing so however Nemoto had already disappeared. Shirai knew the tactics of a teleporter; she was one herself and had applied them constantly. And as such in this situation….

Shirai teleported so that she would be standing a few metres from where she currently was and saw the back of Nemoto. She was obviously aiming for the back of Shirai in order to stun her however it was clear that Shirai had already guessed as much.

Shirai reached for her spikes and sent them heading for where Nemoto was however she had already reacted. She teleported to the side to avoid the spikes and did a right hook to Shirai's face. She blocked it and sent a kick towards Nemoto's stomach, something that was avoided by dodging.

Shirai teleported as well, heading for the wall where she reappeared, hovering there for an instant as she looked down at the room where she was. Nemoto had teleported to the back of the room and was looking around and Shirai took the chance to teleport over towards her, sending a drop kick towards her side.

The blow never connected as Shirai flew through the air, Nemoto disappearing in an instant before Shirai hit, Shirai taking note of that and quickly looking where she was before teleporting to that same location, the blow landing to her side.

Nemoto cried out but she retaliated. She had teleported to the middle of the room, where the used spikes of Shirai lay and she spun around, driving the spike into Shirai's ankle however she only managed to graze her as the blow of Shirai forced her body forward, sending Nemoto to the desk and Shirai holding her ankle.

Both of the espers looked at each other and made their next move. Shirai reached for her spikes and Nemoto managed to lower her body as to avoid them, taking something from the bottom of the desk and pointing it at Shirai. She knew exactly what it was and just managed to escape using her teleportation to avoid the bullet.

It sunk into the wall and Shirai glared at the girl. Nemoto rubbed her side.

"What did you expect? I chose this location bitch. Of course I would have a fail safe."

"Is that so?" asked Shirai. "And you didn't think that I would because I let you choose it?"

Nemoto frowned however what Shirai said became clear in the next move as she reached for her spikes faster than Nemoto could blink and teleported them. There were clangs from the roof and Nemoto looked up to see the skylight above her head.

Per se, there wasn't a roof however the glass coverage instead let her see the open light of the setting sun and the darkening sky. However what she also noticed were the small spikes that were sticking out of the frame of the glass in numerous places.

There was a cracking sound right before the glass roof above her head fell down as it parted from the frame. Nemoto covered her head, to avoid the glass hitting her however she never got the chance as she felt something ram into her head and onto the ground. She let out a cry and discharged the gun however she never heard the scream from a girl that was her opponent.

Glass fell all around her and Shirai Kuroko moved out of the way just in time, teleporting herself into the air above the glass so that it would not affect her. Nemoto let out a cry and Shirai landed near where she had entered and looked at the girl.

She breathed heavily and her eyes were full of hate towards the teleporter in front of her. Shirai reached for the spikes however never got there. She moved her hand and winced as she looked at it, a drop of blood going on it. Had she cut herself when she had teleported?

In the end, it did not matter. There was only one thing that she could do in this situation and that was her job. Shirai, still keeping her guard up spoke from where she stood.

"I suggest that you come quietly. This is the end."

Nemoto Toshiko spat out the next few words. "Shut up bitch. This is over….when I say it is." And with that one action, Nemoto pointed the gun towards Shirai and fired. It was a sure fire hit however Shirai still managed to dodge, teleporting out of the way from the bullet as soon as Nemoto had held up the gun.

She appeared to the side and reached for her spikes, sending one into Nemoto's arm, where it pierced the skin however not actually entering the arm, only grazing it. But in the current state that she was in, that was enough to make Nemoto cry out. The numerous cuts that the glass had made on her body were bleeding however it was clear that she was going to be OK regardless of that fact. She was still conscious and medical attention was the best thing for her however she would not have any damaging effects from her wounds.

Nemoto groaned as she used the desk to lift herself up, breathing heavily. It was clear to both Shirai and Nemoto what her state in regards to her esper power was. After all, with the same ability, they both knew the effect pain had on their calculations.

Still Nemoto looked at Shirai.

"You should give up. There is nothing left you now. There is only one thing left for you in regards to the path that you have chosen."

"Shut the fuck up. This is my path. And I'm not going to have you trampling all over it just because you are STRONGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR !" Nemoto let out that yell and pulled the trigger of the gun in her hand, Shirai dodging it however something that she had not expected through off her calculations.

In front of her….Nemoto Toshiko had another gun. Due to the location that she was in, it must have been in one of the drawers in the desk and there was nothing Shirai could do in regards to dodging it.

There was a loud bang and Shirai felt something pass through her arm, a sharp pain that ran down her entire body. She screamed in pain, holding her arm and glaring at Nemoto. As they were, this was no longer an esper battle.

Both of the teleporters had experienced too much pain, something that could not simply be covered up by self-suggestion as they were amateurs. As such, they were no longer simple 'students' of the Power Curriculum program.

They were simply 'human'. People moving towards an objective and wishing for survival. Shirai Kuroko's objective was the arrest of Nemoto Toshiko and Nemoto's objective was the death of Shirai Kuroko.

Both of them wanted to survive. And both viewed the other teleporter as a threat. As such, Nemoto felt nothing as she pulled the trigger once again, Shirai closing her eyes in shock and tensing up all of her muscles in order to prevent too much pain from coursing through her body.

There was no bang. Shirai opened her eyes and looked at Nemoto seeing her look back at her with a strange glance. They both knew what that sound was. It was the sound of an empty clip. The sound of someone without a weapon.

Nemoto swore and dropped the gun, Shirai taking the chance that she saw in order to stand up and run towards the door that she had closed behind her.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going bitch?!" Nemoto held up the second gun that she had used throughout most of the entire battle and Shirai looked back. She was just in front of the door, so far from her goal although it was right in front of her.

Nemoto pulled the trigger and Shirai heard the bang, feeling something press into her side. However it was not the pain that she had experienced from the first gunshot that she had faced. It was as if something was pushing her from the side and she complied, moving with the object that pushed her.

There was a sound right where her head had been and Shirai let out a gasp in pain as bits of wood came from whatever had pushed her, covering her head in order to prevent any other bits of wood grazing her head.

She looked towards the object that had pushed her, noticing the pattern of the door that she had opened originally to get into the building. Who had opened it? Why had they entered into this battle?

"What the hell!? Why are you here?" shouted Nemoto towards the person that was there before raising her gun and pulling the trigger. It clicked again, Nemoto now faced with a situation that had two useless guns.

She dropped them and reached into her hot pants for something, doing so too quickly and causing her to wince as she dealt with the pain. Shirai looked up however did not see anything, feeling hands move around her body, under her legs and towards the back of her head.

Was this another enemy? That didn't make sense. Why would Nemoto shoot her own allies? In that regard, the situation did not make sense however was the person who was touching Shirai currently her enemy or not?

"Thank goodness." Said the voice and Shirai looked up at the mouth that said it, her eyes widening as she looked at the boy that held her.

Kamijou Touma held her in the exact same way that he had done so when he had saved her from the 4,520kg threat of Musujime Awaki. She blinked as she looked at him, her mouth opening and closing in shock as she looked at him.

He seemed in worse shape than she did, and that was saying something. His head had blots of red in it and so did his uniform. Bits of dust and what looked to be rubble came off it as well and overall his situation was not one that could be called pleasant.

When had he been here? Had he been the one to take the other espers out? Why had he done so? What was his reason?

"I'm glad I found you. Come on. We've got to get out of here." He stepped back and headed for the door, moving slowly as he grimaced when he saw Shirai's arm however stopped as someone else called out to him.

"Stop right there you bastard!" Nemoto Toshiko lifted herself off the table, finding movement in her limbs as she glared at Kamijou. He looked back at her.

"I don't want to have to fight you in that condition." He said. "Doing so will only be bad for both me and you. I'm hardly in the best state myself."

"You think you can simply reject the will to fight?! Do you think it is that simple!? The only thing left for both me and you is a standoff to determine who takes Shirai Kuroko." Nemoto raised the gun that she had probably fixed and pointed it at Kamijou. He tensed as he looked at it and his gaze darkened. "You don't have a choice."

Kamijou gulped, looked at Shirai before setting her down and moving forward. Indeed, he was not in the best state. After falling down the stairs and the whole incident during his time in Misawa Cram School it was a miracle in itself that he could find the energy to stand up at all. However he had done so all to save one girl.

Kamijou clenched his right fist as he looked at Nemoto Toshiko. "I don't want to have to fight you when you are like that! Why do I have to draw out this conflict when you are like this?!" He demanded.

"Don't….bother." said Shirai as she tried to stand up. "She….planned out the battle before-hand. This….is mostly likely a rigged battlefield." She looked at Kamijou and noted the handcuff on his wrist, reminded of where it had gone after she had lost it.

"Rigged?" he asked however he never got another word out as something appeared before him and punched him in the stomach. He gagged and fell forward, clutching it as he stepped back, looking at the girl in front of him.

Nemoto Toshiko, despite all of the pain, cracked her knuckles as she looked at Kamijou. On her forehead was a small device around the size of a pebble, blinking alternatively green and red. She pointed to it.

"Did you really think that I would count on pain to draw me down? This type of technology helps me block it out. All of it. So bring it on you bastard!"

"You…idiot!" blurted Kamijou. "You're pushing yourself past your body's limit! If you keep an adding more and more pain towards yourself….!"

"What does that matter? This is MINUS faggot!"

Kamijou regained his footing and glared at the girl. If he stopped her, she would need immediate medical attention. If he didn't Shirai Kuroko would never get medical attention again. And if it came down to the possibility of maybe and definite…

"So, the only thing left for you is to bring pain upon yourself and Shirai in order to achieve this one goal? This one goal where the only person happy is some mysterious figure!?" Kamijou Touma wiped his face with the back of his hand. "Why can't you guys in MINUS learn to live for yourself!? Trying to imitate what someone did will only lead to that person's work being repeated! It will not be an achievement that you can call an original of your own! If you think that your current mindset…no your current path is the correct one for you….."

Kamijou took a step forward and raised his right hand.

"Then I will use my own original against your 'copy' of my own actions! I will use this right hand to destroy those illusions that you hold!"

---

Kamijou Touma took that step forward and pushed forward. Nemoto didn't even make a facial expression in regards to it, teleporting away in the blink of an eye.

Kamijou tried to guess where she would reappear, circling around in quick action however didn't get far, feeling something collide with his head. He let out a gasp of pain and clutched his head with his left hand, throwing his right hand in the direction that the pain had come from.

There was nothing there when his hand made the connection where he thought the person was and Kamijou felt more pain run through his body as the Teleporter appeared in front of him, sending a right hook to his face that collided and sent Kamijou to the floor.

He quickly got up, roaring as he raced forward towards Nemoto ready to send her to the floor with a tackle. However it was clear how she was going to avoid the blow.

She disappeared and Kamijou ran through mid-air stumbling as he did so, protecting his head as a defensive measure for an attack that might be headed there. Sure enough he felt something collide with his hands and he took the timing to attack his opponent, sending a fist towards their leg. He had no idea whether or not what position it took to cause the greatest amount of pain so all he could do was blindly attack.

He hit the leg however that did not stop Nemoto. She teleported again, this time sending another kick towards Kamijou's side, Kamijou losing his footing on the ground and flying through the air before landing on the ground, coughing up blood.

He looked at Nemoto and she gave a bored sigh, pointing to the small device on her head. "Did you forget about this? With this, ANY PAIN THAT IS EXPERIENCED BY MY BODY IS NOT REGISTERED!"

She ran forward this time and Kamijou stood up, clenching both of his fists. With each step he saw more and more blood squirt out of the wounds that Nemoto had. Due to the fact that she was not listening to the pain that must have been coursing through her body, she was pushing it past her limits. Who knew how much energy her body had left? She was so focused on her goal that she had lost sight of what she needed to accomplish that.

Her life.

Yet Kamijou stood up. Through his head he debated what he could do in the situation, what move would bypass her ability and allow him to strike that device? He looked to the direction of the person that he had come here for, their eyes meeting.

Shirai Kuroko was observing the scene in what could only be called amazement. Of course, here was a boy, probably the dumbest esper in the entire city, no most definitely, standing up and fighting for someone that he barely knew. Judging by the wounds that he had accumulated, it was surprising that he had chosen to come up here, towards this battlefield.

And yet he had. Shirai did not know what he planned to do however her pain was strained beyond its limits, fatigue and pain preventing her from moving. Yet that boy, who had been through more than her was standing up for her sake. Was standing up to protect someone that did not call out for help.

Shirai wanted to say anything however nothing came to her mind when she opened her mouth. What would she say? What was there to say?

"Don't worry." Said Kamijou as he stood up and glared at Nemoto. "We'll all get out of this." Shirai felt that those words were not only directed towards her.

They were directed towards everyone in the building, everyone that had caused him harm. In the end, Kamijou Touma did not hold grudges against someone who he had fought. When an incident was over, there was no longer a reason to be angry.

Shirai Kuroko could not be like the boy. She knew that much about her own personality. Those people that hurt her or her friends would always be classified in the 'bad' category of her mind. But did that boy hold the concepts of 'bad' or 'good' in the long term?

"Hah. In that condition? You're fooling yourself." Said Nemoto. She bent down and picked up something that was on the floor, a glass shard that had fallen previously. "There are plenty of other fail safes that I have set up. What did you really think you could have done against MINUS?" Her tone obviously held derision towards Kamijou and his ideals. "Do you think that you are a hero or something that can overcome any villain in this way?"

"Hero?" said Kamijou. He shook his head. "There are people who are better fitting for that role than me. I know what I can do as a whole and that is very little. But…..In the end, do you think that I'm going to let someone's life slip through my fingers!?"

"And what? Shirai Kuroko is going to die regardless of your actions here today! Everyone dies! Why do you want to prevent the inevitable?"

"…Who said that I was going to save just Shirai?" countered Kamijou.

The silence that filled the air was almost piercing. No one said anything as Kamijou looked directly at his opponent, Nemoto Toshiko. She gazed back at him before smiling and covering her mouth.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA! What the hell? Are you serious? Are you saying that you want to save me as well? From what? Like I already said, this is my own path! There is nothing you can do in order to change it!" Nemoto chose the time to teleport away, disappearing from both Kamijou's and Shirai's view. They both knew of the weapon that she had in her grasp.

The piece of glass was similar to the metal dart that had once been used by Saten Ruiko. With the right movements and the right target, anyone could be a potential killer. Yet Kamijou stood in the middle of the Principal's office, not twitching at all.

"Nothing huh? We'll just have to…SEE ABOUT THAT!"

Kamijou Touma moved as fast as he ever done so in the battle. He turned and shoved his right hand into the air behind him, the location that Shirai had guessed that Nemoto would have appeared in regards to her calculations.

Being a fellow teleporter herself, she knew exactly what tactics were good against her opponents. That as well as the fact meant that Nemoto could take any damage from Kamijou and come out on top.

Thus it was probably why she had used the psychological tactic of taking her time before attacking. However Kamijou had moved and tried to intercept her attack. Shirai knew that it was practically pointless. Even if he managed to intercept her attack and hit her just after she appeared, the pain reliever would take into effect.

It would be a fluke for him to actually manage to hit the device on his first go. What he would need would be a proper chance to do so. But how was he going to do that?

An instant later, her questions were answered. In a way that she would have never thought possible.

The air around the boy's fist distorted. The air seemed to simply be an illusion and cracks of purple and white came from it, something that covered the half of the room that the boy was in. Like a screen, the cracks grew and grew until it was almost as if the purple and white 'screen' was of his own creation.

Even if it was only for a moment, Shirai Kuroko knew the scene in front of her. She knew the colours and the movement of the light. As a teleporter, not knowing the scene in front of her would be impossible.

But how had he…..?

However Kamijou Touma did not care what he was doing to the space around him. His hand moved faster than he knew and in the next second….no not even that, it touched something in that 'space'.

A scream came from where Kamijou's hand was and the 'space' shattered and like glass, white and purple light flew around the room, causing Shirai to cover her eyes. She shakily opened them, observing the scene in front of her.

The room looked exactly the same as it had a moment ago. Yet what that boy had done still stuck in her mind. She did not understand it. What happened was impossible, under the laws of reality, under the laws of physics….hell, even under the laws of the world as it was!

Yet that boy had done it. He had actually managed to touch something that he should not have.

There was the same scream and Shirai looked towards Kamijou seeing something collapse at his feet.

Nemoto Toshiko scrambled back where she hit the coffee table, her eyes wide in fear. Shirai's eyes were the same as they both looked at the boy in front of them. Of course, there was a reason why Nemoto looked as though she was going to have her heart ripped out by the boy in front of her.

"W-W-What the hell did you do!? As a teleporter, we both know that that was impossible! Is this why you are so feared from the higher ups?! What is your ability? What kind of fucked up ability allows one to actually interfere with my calculations and interfere with the 11th dimension's spatial axis?!"

That was exactly what had happened. Kamijou Touma had known where the teleporter was going to appear. And as such, he moved his hand in the spot that he knew she was going to teleport. And as he moved his right hand towards that space, he effectively reached into the 11th dimension to pull out the opponent that was going to harm him.

Not only was the scene absolutely ridiculous but to have someone forcibly interrupt one's calculations when one was moving through the 11th dimension…..

The effects would not be pretty.

Shirai looked at Nemoto as she paused before throwing up, blood squirting all over the floor. The device on her forehead went between green and red so fast that colours were hard to see.

Naturally the strain that what the boy had done would have damaged Nemoto's brain, not in the least to say what it would have done to her Personal Reality.

"I'm sorry about that." Said Kamijou Touma as if what he had done was something short of blowing his nose. "But that's what my Imagine Breaker does. And this ends now!"

Indeed that was what it was. Unknown to even the owner itself, it was an ability that destroyed abilities, magic and illusions. In the end, it truly was one ability that destroyed the rules of the world. And he used it again and again to his own benefit. Something that he was going to do today.

However, despite the fact that Nemoto was going to face a crushing defeat, she just laughed. Kamijou stopped moving and saw her reach towards her back, pulling something off it with a sound of ripping tape as she ripped off something from her back.

She held it out in front of her, both Kamijou and Shirai getting a good look at it, seeing that it was a small remote.

"Like I said, fail safes!" she cried as she clenched her fist, trying not to think of the trauma of what had just happened before teleporting away. Kamijou shouted away and tried to grab her to no avail, swearing to himself before looking around to see what was going to happen.

It did a moment later.

The entire floor shook as a large bang echoed through the air. The remaining glass in the Principal's office shattered from the explosion, sending a rush of cold air from the sunset from Academy City into the room.

Kamijou covered his face as he felt his feet slipping. Was the entire building collapsing!? Kamijou did not know however he wasted no time.

Running as fast as he could, he ran towards the reason that he was here.

He bent down, picking up Shirai Kuroko who was still stunned before running through the collapsing Misawa Cram School.

---

Nemoto Toshiko threw up once again as she managed to teleport to the bottom of the Misawa cram school. She looked up and smiled to herself, noticing that the entire North building was slowly collapsing due to the explosives that she had made sure were-

She didn't continue her thoughts as the pain receiver on her head short circuited, whether from the strain of moving through the 11th dimension, after all she had been through, and she collapsed to the ground. Pain resounded in her body so much that her eyelids drooped, the last thing she remembered being the sounds of footsteps coming from in front of her.

"KUROKO!" said a voice as the entire building finished its slow descent, all of the floors coming down to the ground with a large crash.

---

"SHIT!" cried Kamijou Touma as he fell from the window of the Misawa Cram School. The building was no longer upright anymore and the only thing left for him to do was fall to the ground from the height that he was on. He was about 6 stories from the ground and he knew that no matter where on his body he landed, there would be major damage to whatever limb he landed on. Perhaps even bone damage.

So he did the only thing that came to mind.

He pressed Shirai's body against his own, using his arms to wrap around Shirai pulling her towards him as close as he could.

He looked down, noticing the bits of classroom, cafeteria and the Misawa Cram School's North building in general collapsing to the ground around him. Even among all of the damage that was falling, there was nothing that he could do to slow the descent.

Shirai looked down however it seemed that she could not even consider the calculations of teleporting at the instant right now.

And with both of their states, it was clear what the result was going to be, at least for one of them.

Shirai Kuroko was a realist in the fact that she knew when she faced a situation where she was going to die.

"I'm sorry." She said towards the boy that was holding her tightly against his chest.

She did not even need to check his facial expression or if he had even heard them in the first place. Those words finalised her will. She did not even want to say them to him in any regard.

She had so much that she had wanted to do, so many opportunities lost, so many of Onee-sama's bed sheets not being smelt, so many more occasions to chat with her friends.

Yet despite being strangers, that boy had come to her aid in order to protect her and all of that. That in itself earned her apology for what was going to happen to them. And it was the last words that she was going to speak.

"Fuck that!" said Kamijou Touma as he pressed her closer to his own body. "Continue living! There are so many opportunities so…! Don't let it end here! I won't let it!"

She felt the boy's hands move towards her head and cover it, Shirai closing her eyes in order to not see the event that was about to happen. She didn't want to die. She did not want it to let it end here. She wanted…..she wanted…..SHE WANTED…..!

"O-Onee-sama!" she shouted into the air, knowing that the only person that would hear it was the boy in front of her.

There were crashes from below them and in the instant that they hit the ground, Shirai could have sworn that she heard one voice, shouting one name.

"KUROKO!"

Did Shirai Kuroko get what she wanted in the end? Both she and that one boy managed to hear that cry, something that fuelled something inside of them.

Shirai Kuroko wanted to live.

And Kamijou Touma was going to make sure that she did that. In order to protect her life and the world that A Certain Known Level 5 had built up around her.

Both of them blacked out.

---

"Oh my god….." said Yomikawa Aiho as she looked at the scene in front of her.

"What…happened here?" said a person next to her, a green haired member of Anti-Skill waving her hand in front of her face in order to make sure no dust got on them however it did not work for her glasses.

"Officer Tessou!" came a voice from behind her and the woman turned around to see the Anti-Skill member approaching her. "Lieutenant Yomikawa! We have the chief of the Judgment member that came here with us!"

Tessou Tsuzuri and Yomikawa Aiho turned around to see the tell-tale armband of Judgment on a sleeve as Konori Mii approached the two of them. The darkening sky was above them as all three of them looked as frantic as the next.

Although they had all managed to get inside the building and find 20 espers in parts of the building that had collapsed, there was still someone that was unaccounted for.

Shirai Kuroko seemingly had disappeared and there was only one location that had to be checked. Among all of the rubble and the fact that not all of it was metal made it hard to find someone under it and even though they had a Level 5 with them, Anti-Skill could do nothing unless they knew where she was. Blindly looking through the rubble could make things worse.

"Get to work." Said Yomikawa in a blunt voice and Konori made no intention to argue.

She stepped forward towards the rubble and used her Clairvoyance. Her ability to see through objects was an ability that came in handy, especially in this case. She frowned when she spotted what looked to be a body under the rubble, pointing towards it and telling everyone around the area to dig up that one bit. However the shape was too distorted to be a body. In fact it was hard to call it a shape at all. There wasn't a body per se but rather a distortion that rubble had not managed to cover.

It seemed almost like…..

Misaka Mikoto moved like lightning when Konori had pointed where she had seen, gripping all of the metal and moving it at a faster rate than people could move and within 14 seconds, all of the metal had been removed, only pieces of wood left. When they saw something that seemed to look like a person among the rubble, Yomikawa had requested that Mikoto and anyone other than Anti-Skill be removed, even if for a short while and she was pulled back against her wishes. And it was then that people actually got a look at the person under the rubble, sighs of relief and gasps of shock coming from the mouths of Anti-Skill that looked at the sight in front of them.

Her back was in a far worse shape than people had expected. Bits of wood stuck out of it however that was nothing compared to what lay underneath her. The rough arms of a boy covered her and the wood and other pieces of rubble and concrete underneath him were covered with red that soaked between other pieces.

His face could clearly be seen from past Shirai's head, eyes dead and lifeless as he looked up at the people that appeared in front of him.

Yomikawa Aiho and Tessou Tsuzuri looked in shock at the scene in front of them. The boy was clearly conscious, at least for the moment. How much willpower had that taken just to make sure one person was safe? And why had he done so? What was the point? How long had he been so, hanging onto the small thread of hope that someone would come?

"Out of the way! Kuroko! KUROKO!" came a voice from behind the officers that were holding Mikoto back however the officers that were with the boy simply looked at him and his lips as they formed words that seemed to be forced from his mouth.

"Y-Y…..your…..turn….."mouthed the boy before his eyelids dropped, his arms going limp as his head lolled back.

"KUROKO!" came a voice and Misaka Mikoto shoved her face past Tessou and looked into the spot where Shirai was. Her eyes widened as she saw the scene, her mouth opening and closing as her thoughts went frantic.

She averted her eyes, not wanting to see to sight in front of her eyes any longer, turning to try and find the nearest ambulance. She raced off, two people watching her go; Uiharu Kazari and Saten Ruiko.

They had received calls from Mikoto and had raced towards where Shirai was without hesitation, watching her as she literally used her magnetism to move an ambulance, removing its current passenger, an esper with a slight concussion, before bringing the ambulance closer towards the site.

They ran over as well to see Shirai brought out, the numerous wounds that had been created in the battle against Nemoto showing. Paramedics went over and treated her immediately, assessing the wounds that she had.

"H-How is she?!" demanded Uiharu.

One of the paramedics looked up at her before nodding. "She'll be fine. Mostly shock however if we don't get these wounds treated to, they could become infected. Do any of you want to come with us to the hospital?" he asked them.

Uiharu looked at both Saten and Mikoto wondering what they were going to do however they shook their heads. Uiharu did not know what their motives were in that regard however although she wanted to stay with them, both of them begged her to stay with Shirai.

She did so, being joined by Konori as well as the two of them waited for the paramedics to finish patching up all of the wounds that they could before loading her into the ambulance and racing away, Uiharu and Konori sitting right next to Shirai, watching over her.

Mikoto and Saten watched the ambulance go however the reason for their staying behind was clear. Although they had not known the situation, Mikoto had simply gone back to the dorm after she had been questioned, the Dorm Manager telling her what had happened with the Judgment member.

However when she had arrived here it was too late to do anything. She had no idea what had happened however she did not need to know anything when it came to her friends in danger.

All of the running that she had done in order to get here had made the bruise on the back of her head throb in pain however that was not on the forefront of her worries.

Both Saten and Mikoto looked over towards the last ambulance that was at the scene, everyone already being taken away. In the end there was only one person let on the site, one person that had received the most damage.

Paramedics stepped over the rubble, looking at the person that lay at the middle of the small crater that was created by the people moving all of the rubble.

Their faces turned green as they looked at him, four of them stepping into the crater with a stretcher however they decided that making a smoother path would be better. And safer.

Anti-Skill members walked around the scene as did the remaining Judgment members, the only two civilians there being a Level 0 and Level 5 as the paramedics moved as carefully as they could to try and make a path that was safe enough. And when they did-

"Alright! Everyone lift!" shouted one of the paramedics from inside the 'path', the sound of moving flesh coming from inside. Everyone that was around the area visibly tensed up at the sound, the paramedics moving towards a flat surface where they placed the boy on his back.

That was the first time that Mikoto and Saten got a good look at him since the incident. An actual look at his entire body was a long moment. His clothes were ripped in numerous places, his black spiky hair covered with dust, rubble and blood. His pants were ripped as so was his face. The damage was not that severe judging by what they could see.

And all the while he was protecting one person. Had stayed conscious up until that one point where he was positive that she was saved.

However the one thing that stuck out as odd to Saten and Mikoto, as well as the other people observing the scene was that the boy was not put on the stretcher immediately. It lay next to him and the paramedics went over to his side, ready to roll him over to it.

It seemed careless to Saten and Mikoto. After all, with everything that he had been through, what other damage could there be to his body? That was the worst of it. …Right?

"Ready…?" said one of the paramedics and the others nodded their heads, moving the body, one of them actually letting go of it in pure shock.

Everyone stared at the boy's back, their shock displayed in different ways. Mouths open, gasps, turning away of the head to avoid looking straight at the scene, covering the mouth, closing eyes and simple silence.

Saten Ruiko and Misaka Mikoto watched the boy's back in that silence, their minds blank as they looked at the boy's back. If it could even be called that. It now made sense. That boy had taken the damage to his back, using it to take all mostly all of the damage. And it showed.

Numerous bits of wood and rubble stuck out of it in too many places that it was hard to determine whether or not there was more wood in his back than actual bone. In fact, one of his bones could be seen, his arm coming from his socket in a grotesque manner that could have only be seen from that one angle.

There was a large bruise on his left wrist as something had been there however it was clear that in the pure destruction that had just been occurring, it was no longer on his wrist.

His clothes were ripped worse than in the front and blood stained all of his uniform, making it had to determine what's its original colour had been. Yet despite this there was an even pressing wound that had to be addressed.

"Jesus! Hold that one in! He was conscious while that thing was in there?! Everyone move!" shouted one of the paramedics as they lifted up the stretcher, everyone having a look at the wound that could potentially end his life.

Although it was small, one piece of wood stuck out from the back of his skull. No one knew how long the piece was or if it had penetrate the brain. However one thing was clear.

Unlike Shirai Kuroko, if this boy did not get medical attention he would die. If was almost poetic in how he had taken all of the damage that would have been received by Shirai Kuroko by protecting her to the extent that he did.

The two girl's eyes were blank as they watched the ambulance whiz away, sirens blaring. Everyone who had seen the body of the boy stood in mere shock and surprise at the sight that they eyes had observed.

Mikoto fell to her knees, looking at the ground in pure shock. That boy had protected her kouhai. Protected someone that she should have. He had tried to get in touch with her. Saten as well realised that Mikoto must have been contacted by him, the same expression that covered Mikoto's face on her own.

Kamijou Touma had done what they could not have. He had managed to act as a shield for someone that he barely known. But in the end, what was the sacrifice? Was it worth it? If that boy died, what would those around him say? No…would he accept that?

Why had he done so? Why had he pushed himself to that limit? Why? Whywhywhywhywhy…

"You…..IDIOT!" screamed Misaka Mikoto as she thrust a hand into the ground. Tears rolled down her face and onto the ground as she beat her fist constantly on the concrete, blood coming from her wrist as she continued to beat again and again and again.

She felt a hand cover her fist before she thrust it down again, turning to see the only person that felt the exact same things that she did at that moment.

Saten Ruiko fell to her knees as well, bringing her friend into a hug, Mikoto realising that there was only one thing that the both of them were doing at that one moment.

And in the end, Misaka Mikoto's and Saten Ruiko's tears and emotions at that one moment was something that brought the reality to the true horror of the battlefield that one boy had tried to conquer with all his might.

---

Holy crap. I suppose that this really was a Royale after all from my word count. Anyway, the hardest part for me was probably the ending and how I was going to make Kamijou deal with all those other espers. I decided on misfortune as he isn't really a 'shoot 'em up' kind of guy. Eh, misfortune. Even now it is deadly.

And speaking of my word count…what number is that? Double checks…Can I even count that far…..? Of course this is my longest chapter by far but you should have seen it beforehand! I thought that maybe I would include the last two chapters together however that didn't really turn out great as I thought that the climax should be reached at the true end.

So although there are no 'FALCON PUNCH!' scenes in the next chapter, we'll just see if any illusions are destroyed shall we? The story hasn't ended after all.

And what did you think of Kamijou entering the 11th dimension? I was thinking that in the time between the teleporter calculating the location and actually arriving there there would be a chance for imagine Breaker to take effect which is what happened here.

As already seen it cannot be teleported in Volume 3. However what would happen when it interferes when something is teleporting? That was what I had going. I hope that some people don't start saying "Oh but it wouldn't work like but rather like this." Or "Oh I'm confused." Similarly for Konori's power, Kamijou's whole body is not 'seen' by her ability, due to Imagine Breaker negating the 'vision' of him and Shirai who was toiuched by that hand. Again, if you object I'm sorry for any inaccuracies that it might cause. But please still support.

In the end, it's just an idea. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill please.

Anyway I hope that you look for the finale next chapter.

What kind of damage should there be for Shirai and Kamijou? Also just so you guys are informed, there is an SS chapter in the works that will probably rival this one in length. So make sure to keep on reading and supporting this project please!

And as always, Review if you please

And I'll see you when I see you and I won't if I don't.

Man, you guys should have seen the 'before editing' last chapter. So much space on my 1GB USB. I really need to get a larger one.