It's our time to shine. My name is Saiai Kinuhata. And I'm Frenda Frenda Seivelun. Our fights are over and now it's time for Mugino to super show everything she's got. It's sure to be a bloody battle. Oh, the author's dead so not sure what we are going to do for future chapters, but let's move on. Basically, we have a lot of questions and need to get started. I'm super going to embarrass you. Don't you even think about it.
naruhinasakufan1: Hmm, they would certainly make a lot of the missions easier, but they probably wouldn't be on the same ones unless it's a super big one. Basically, if we are fighting ability users, Kamijou would be really beneficial and if we were fighting science and normal thieves, Accelerator would crush them.
wildarms13: I may have the ability of Dimensional Transcendentalism, where I can make a space larger on the inside than the outside. Lots of limitations, has to be close to me and a very limited space. Huh, basically, what are you suggesting? She would prefer not to have her skirt at all. SHUT UP! I'm not a masochist, I'm just attracted to strong guys. Lies, she totally is.
Handsomistic1: Season Four probably, since this one is probably going to end soon once Kakine is gone. It would happen when it super happens. She's trying to break his shell. Why don't you try to break Kamijou's shell?
Guest: WHAT! When did this happen? How do you even know about her? I would be more worried about her being with Accelerator, he's into little girls. Surprisingly, I've been working too much to worry about what's a good date spot. It doesn't taste good. Sure. It's the guys' job to decide on date spots. There are also tons of organizations that form and we take them down if needed. Kamijou would own Kakine in a fight. Basically, he can knock Mugino's attack away like it's nothing. We will never tell Hamazura. It's super fun to keep him in the dark.
Guest: I don't know, I'm still really young. I-I'm not trying to seduce him. I think Mugino wants him to close because he's really useful, so I would have to share him with her, if I was interested in him. Neither. He always super rejects my advances, stupid little girl next to him keeps him occupied. It super depends on the ammunition. If it's one that explodes on impact, I might be able to. Well, I already did and lost badly.
Hilem: Because it's super fun. Definitely. It annoys him so much which just adds to the fun. It's also a way to relax from the stress of our missions.
Geust's Account: Lots of explosions might be nice, maybe a collapsing building. What video? Basically, when he does something really stupid. U-umm, you mean demonstrate how amazing I am with weapons? I'm super going to find you and rip off your arm and beat you with it for that question. Just for that, I'm not answering anymore of your questions. Didn't you always say your body was perfect for your age? Why don't you and Kamijou go participate in a B-movie or something? Hey, don't take your frustration out on me. Let's find Hamazura after this. I guess that's okay.
Salishious: Charmander, fire types are the best. I super did the Easter egg and got Pikachu.
321jaz: We live together when I'm not out with the others.She can't meet him because he seems to have a way with girls. It's super part of the Dark May project when part of Accelerator's personality was implanted into me. It's a tick I can't really control so it just slips out.
Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.
"How anticlimactic," Teitoku said, shaking his head, as he slowly lowered himself down to the ground. "The great level 5, Meltdowner, killed by her own desire for power. She even took an illegal drug to boost her ability, only to have it overload and then dies like a pathetic dog." He laughed and his feet touched the street. "Seriously, I couldn't imagine a better fate for you. I should have brought some popcorn to enjoy the show."
"…Fuck… you…," Shizuri gasped, as she collapsed on all fours. It was taking all her concentration to barely stay conscious, let alone stand up and fight. She was trying to last long enough for Rikou to wake up but, if Teitoku decided to attack Rikou, all chance of victory would be gone. In fact, if he got bored and decided to attack Shizuri while she was incapacitated, nothing else would matter either. "…will… kill… you…"
"You, kill me?" Teitoku threw back his head and roared with laughter. "Even if you were at full power, I could easily deflect your attacks. That one attack of yours only happened to get through because your power overloaded, and look what the consequences of that were. Overusing your power like that crippled you so badly, you are about to die. I've seen it before countless times during our test runs. The subject's brain can't handle their increase in AIM field strength and their brain goes into overdrive, before breaking down. Your body then starts taking the backlash and pain overwhelms your senses." He paused and looked at her. "I'm surprised you can still talk at all. Maybe you can answer a question for me, for my amusement"
Shizuri looked up and glared at him in response. She didn't want to admit it but, everything he said she felt like it was happening to her. She wouldn't be surprised if it was exactly what Teitoku thought. Her brain felt like it was exploding and her body was on fire.
"You see," Teitoku said, pacing back and forth in front of her. "Your situation raises an important question for me. My research was supposed to be secret and carefully monitored. I personally oversaw everyone who was administering the drug and how many doses they were given. Everyone was accounted for and used, besides the ones I have hidden. So, how did you get your hands on a sample of the drug? I would have known if someone was killed, captured, or just disappeared. You had to get it from somebody. If you tell me who the traitor is, I won't kill you, and there's a chance you 'might' survive. Though, in your condition, you will probably be a level 0 again if that happens."
"Heh," Shizuri snickered. Even on the verge of death, while in mind wracking pain, it was worth laughing at him. His face contorted with anger and she felt a sliver of satisfaction. The pain kept her from fulling enjoying it though. Teitoku stared at her for a moment, before walking over and stopping right in front of her. He reached down and grabbed her hair. He yanked her up until she was on her knees, supported by his vicelike grip. He leaned his head down and stared straight into her eyes. His face was blurry to her, but she tried to focus.
"Tell me," he hissed coldly. "Before I'm forced to break your neck to relieve my irritation. I swear, if you don't tell me, the sweet embrace of death will be all you can hope for. You might have a chance to live if you throw away your pride and tell me. Now, one last time, WHO THE FUCK GAVE YOU THE DRUG!?"
Shizuri spat and hit him directly in the eye.
"I see," Teitoku said, his voice calm, but obviously hiding the endless abyss of rage within him. He wiped his face with his free hand, and then slapped her across the face. He then threw her with the hand holding onto her hair and she flew backwards, rolling on the street. She stopped, sprawled out on the street, only able to move her head slightly and look up. While she felt the pain for being thrown, it was insignificant to the pain already destroying her body. "You want to die that badly, fine. I'll find out for myself. Someone as weak as you deserves to die on the ground, alone. Maybe, I'll go and find Accelerator, he should give me a tough enough fight to be worthy of my magic. Shoot, even the Railgun would be a better fight than you. Oh that's right," he turned back to look at Shizuri. "Even Mental Out has surpassed you too. No wonder you stole that drug."
That bastard, Shizuri fumed silently, unable to speak. Her body refused to listen to anything her mind told it to do. She could hear every word Teitoku spoke, but her mind was barely processing them. It was completely true that she only took the drug to increase her power. She had felt stuck at her current position in the ability development curriculum while the others kept passing her one by one. Accelerator, Teitoku, Mikoto, and now even Misaki. She had been given an opportunity to rectify the situation and she took it, knowing full well of the risks. While the odds were low she was going to run into Teitoku¸ it had always been a possible risk and she had willing accepted it. With Takitsubo still unconscious, this is the worst possibly outcome.
"The rest of your group is being killed as we speak," Teitoku continued turning around, his back to her. "Soon, Academy City will be an ITEM free zone." He took a couple steps away from her, when he suddenly stepped. "You know, there was an interesting rumor you were seeing a guy. Your group disappeared for a week and it was believed you went somewhere with him. I didn't think much of it, as no guy would want to go out with a psychopath like you, but if it's true, maybe I should find and kill him too. Yea, I think that would be good punishment for not answering me."
Anger was building up within Shizuri, blocking out part of the pain. It allowed her to think slightly more clearly. The others should be fine, they know what to do in these kinds of situations, but that idiot is too naive. He would walk right into Kakine's trap and have no clue. Normally, she wouldn't be so pissed, it was common for the dark side to draw unrelated people into it if it meant hurting the competition, but this time was different. When Teitoku threaten to kill Touma, she became furious. His face from when she last met him flashed through her mind. His face had been full of concern for her, with no trace of disappointment or pity about her demotion. He was probably the first guy who generally cared about her, not as a level five, but as an actual person. Her hands turned into fist and the pain seemed to be lessening. I'm going to kill him, even if I die. No one threatens him, except for me.
"Well," Teitoku continued, without turning around. "I can't say it's been fun, but it has been enlightening. Your death marks one of the last hindrances to my plans. Without your interference, I can…" He stopped talking and slowly turned his head around. He felt something… ominous… from behind him. It was a dark aura, full of hatred and killing intent, but there was something else. His eyes widened when he realized the feeling.
It was fear.
While hatred and killing intent wasn't unusual for him, he saw that all the time from people and felt it often. It was the fear which was unnerving him. With his power, only Accelerator should be able to have a chance to defeat him. Someone like Shizuri would never stand a chance. Besides, her AIM field was running out of control, so her ability would be useless. Her body was destroying itself and she would be dead soon. His eyes widened and he could only watch as Shizuri pushed herself up with her arms and then slowly rose to her feet. She looked up and her eyes showed nothing but hatred. "How are you standing?" Teitoku asked, stunned. "None of the others had this much motor function."
"Wouldn't you like to know," Shizuri answered, unable to stop herself from grinning. Seeing Teitoku's stunned face was a reward in itself. "I suppose the person who helped me knows more about abilities than you do." She wasn't entirely sure why she was able to stand. Even with her barely contained rage, it shouldn't be enough to lessen the intense pain coursing through her body. The only thing she could think of was what Jason had told her.
We are going to determine the exact minimum dose needed to overload your ability right above the cap your body can handle
If this was true, her power should be overloading at a specific rate to barely surpass her limits. Teitoku most likely tried to overload his test subjects with no regard to the individuals limit. Their power would spiral out of control and burst through the limit causing death if they couldn't adapt. Shizuri's ability was most likely slowly pushing her limits and the most recent burst of pain was a warning the wall was breaking. At least I can still fight, but for how long? She took a step forward, her eyes flashing red as she remembered his words. "Threatening my group is a good way to get yourself killed. I don't care if you are the number two." An orb appeared on either side of her.
"So you stabilized?" Teitoku said, raising an eyebrow. "Well, that's unexpected, but actually works better for me." His six large white wings, made of matter that did not exist in the world, spread out from behind him. "Let's see what you got. I don't feel this fight will last long. I can see your legs shaking under just your weight."
"Shaking from excitement in seeing your bloody corpse," Shizuri lied, but knowing he was right. It took most of her concentration to just stay standing. Adding the additional effort of maintaining two orbs was causing her head to start pounding again. I can't let him know my condition, but I probably can't use more than two beams or I'll collapse again. Dodging is also out of the question. His wings can just be regenerated, so I need to hit his body directly. Her eyes narrowed as she looked him in the eye. His eyes were cold and cruel, with just a hint of amusement, which meant he was still underestimating her. Perfect.
The silence lengthened as they stared at each other, unmoving.
Boom!
The sound of air displacing was heard when Teitoku extended his white wings. Simultaneously, Shizuri fired her bright green energy beams. They collided and an explosion of light and smoke blocked each other from view. Teitoku's wings were in tatters, but hadn't been completely disintegrated. It seemed like Shizuri's attacks were stronger than normal, but not nearly as powerful as the one blast she released earlier. It looks like she managed to get a boost to her ability, but it's nowhere near enough. He saw another light through the smoke and shielded himself with his other wings, as another blast flew through the smoke right at his body. Another explosion occurred and he was pushed back a foot.
"How was that asshole?" Shizuri asked triumphantly. When the smoke cleared she made an annoyed sound with her tongue. "Tsk, still alive, damn it. Your wings look like they have seen better days though." She was referring to how they looked like shredded curtains. Teitoku's eyes flashed with hated behind his wings, as they opened up away from his body. Shizuri instinctively looked at Rikou, who was still laying on the ground.
"You really want to die, don't you?" Teitoku shook his wings in the air and they returned to their former glory. "Come on now, you're smarter than that. You know these wings are just an extension of my ability. Blast them all day and they just regenerate." His eyes widen slightly in surprise when another green beam flew right at his body, the moment he spread his wings and started his lecture.
"And you talk too much," Shizuri added, when her Meltdowner hit him in the chest. Did I finally get him? He couldn't move his wings back in time. The dust cleared and she scowled. Damn it. It's like I'm fighting Accelerator all over again. Teitoku was standing there, smirking with an air of superiority, basking in the pleasure of her stunned silence. Shizuri was painfully reminded of how one sided her fight was when Accelerator kept reflecting everything without batting an eye. Teitoku was beginning to feel like he existed in the same dimension. I thought if I could destroy his damn wings, I could actually injure him.
"Nice try," Teitoku laughed. "But my Dark Matter ability can create over 25,000 different kinds of matter and energy. These wings are just one type, unless I decide to modify them." He shrugged. "You only create one type of energy, admittingly, quite a destructive one. All I had to do was create enough energy to block yours. A simple task, for one as powerful as myself."
"You must also be able to create an ego, because it's even bigger than Accelerators."
"I bet you think you're funny," Teitoku said, frowning slightly. He hated when someone compared him to Accelerator. His wings extended outwards from either side of him, until they blocked most of the street. They pulled back slightly, before pushing forward. All the air in front of him was gathered and became a gust of wind, lifting Shizuri off her feet. As she was flying backwards through the air, Shizuri tried to fire one of her beam attacks, but her body started spinning in midair and the attack missed. It hit the street next to Teitoku, causing an explosion, while sending pieces of asphalt, dirt, and concreate in all directions. The shards hit Teitoku and bounced off, as if he had an invisible force field.
"Gah!" Shizuri gasped, as she landed hard on her back and rolled several times. Her vision blurred for a second from the sudden jolt, but she rolled over on her front and pushed herself up. How should I proceed? Direct attacks aren't working, and it's not like my ability is all that versatile. It's why they promoted the Railgun ahead of me, or that's what they original said. If he was right about how they ranked us, there's a lot more going on. She stood up, and her knees almost buckled under the strain. Hitting the ground caused more damage to her already damaged body.
Teitoku smirked at her condition and walked over to the sidewalk. He reached out with his hand and ripped a mailbox out of the ground. Shizuri made a mental note that his ability also gave him super strength. He turned and looked at her, holding the mail box out to his side. "Catch." He threw it like a baseball and Shizuri was barely able to make her shield. The green orb finished spiraling in front of her as the mailbox hit. There was a tiny bit of smoke while the mailbox dissolved into nothing. The shield then disappeared in a spiral from the center.
"Now I know you are just playing with me," Shizuri growled. "What is your game?" She grabbed her head as a wave of pain engulfed her, followed by nausea.
"If I ended this too fast," Teitoku explained. "I could hardly enjoy my revenge. Plus, I'm interested in seeing how your body is reacting to the drug. You seemed to have survived, but you're still showing signs of slowly breaking apart. I'm interested in seeing if a level 5 can truly evolve with this drug." He sneered. "After all, I rather not risk my own health. You, on the other hand, can die and it would have no real consequence." He flapped his wings again and another gust flew at Shizuri.
"Not this time," Shizuri growled, crouching down slightly and forming another shield. She didn't block the entire gust of wind, but enough collided and dissolved against her shield that she wasn't pushed backwards. The shield disappeared and she took a step forward. Her eyes darted backwards for a fraction of a second to see if Rikou was moving. Damn, she's still unconscious. "Your attacks are getting predictable. Don't you have any…" She stopped talking and stumbled. Not again. She held out her hand to stabilize herself and pressed it up against the building next to her. Her vision blurred and the nausea intensified. Before realizing it, she had fallen to her knees and threw up in the grass.
"Can't you even speak properly anymore?" Teitoku sighed. "This is getting boring and I've lost interest. I was interested in that one attack that managed to blow away my Dark Matter, but it doesn't look like you can do something like that again." He turned his head and looked at the unconscious form of Rikou. "You keep looking at her. Why is that?" Shizuri didn't s say anything. She wasn't stupid enough to give out an important piece of information like that. "Are you expecting her to wake up and save you in some way? You shouldn't have such childish daydreams."
"None of your business," Shizuri growled, wiping her mouth with her free hand. She forced herself to her feet, barely taking in her surroundings, and leaned up against the wall of the building. She was once again wracked with pain, as if millions of flaming needles were stabbing every inch of her.
"I suppose it wouldn't be proper to kill you when you still have some shred of hope," Teitoku said with a grin. "I don't know what you expect her to do, but I think I'll kill her, just to be safe." One of his white wings started to extend slowly. He was watching Shizuri with cold dark eyes, enjoying her disbelief and savoring every second of it.
"Don't do it you bastard."
"You have a chance to save her and yourself. Tell me who gave you the ability boosting drug."
"Bite me."
"I guess she dies then," Teitoku shrugged. "You turned away my last act of goodwill." He raised his wing high, preparing to bring it down.
"STOP!" Shizuri roared with anger. If she dies, I'm going to die too. Even if I survive, ITEM would fall apart. She's the lynch pin that holds us together. She held out a hand and a small green orb appeared in front of her. It was much smaller than her previous ones, less than half the size of one of her normal attacks. Teitoku bust out laughing at the sight of it.
"It's like a peashooter," he pointed out. "Is this your last desperate attack?"
Damn it, Shizuri thought with a combination of anger and desperation. My ability is still fluctuating too much. She poured all her concentration into firing her ability, ignoring the pain that was on the verge of incapacitating her again. The orb grew slightly and seemed to be pulsing, something she had never seen before. "If you don't want to die," she sneered, pretending to confident. It might have been a lot more impressive her voice didn't sound so weak. "I suggest you back up."
"You really are trying," Teitoku snickered. "But it's all pointless. You know even being the same level, doesn't mean we are equals. Now, enjoy watching your friend die." He brought the single wing down, like an axe, at Rikou, and Shizuri fired in response. The beam definitely wasn't an impressive sight, as it was just a thin green line. She aimed it perfectly and it collided with Teitoku's wing several meters above Rikou.
The explosion was a lot larger than it should have been.
The chain reaction of explosions cause by the impact completely annihilated the wing. The beam continued forward and set off another explosion, when it hit the wall of a nearby building. The force of the explosion also sent out a shockwave, causing Rikou to roll on the ground several times. She stirred for a moment, before going still once again. At least she's alive, Shizuri thought relived. Finally, a shred of hope. I need to go over there and wake her up without Kakine realizing she's really importan… Another wave of pain caused her to lose her train of thoughts.
"I see now," Teitoku said, sounding amused. "You concentrated all your energy into a single point, increasing the piercing power. That must have been quite a strain on your mind." He noticed she staggered slightly after firing the last attack. His wing, on the other hand, regenerated back to normal. "I guess you other level 5s aren't complete trash. In exchange for showing me something so amusing, let me show you something."
"Oh?" Shizuri asked, raising any eyebrow. "What would that be?"
"Magic more destructive than your Meltdowner."
"Bullshit!"
"I recently learned a highly destructive spell and am eager to test out its capabilities," Teitoku said. "Weather you believe it is magic or not, remains to be seen."
"This should be good," Shizuri sneered through the pain. It's not like I can defeat him as I am right now. My attacks are inconsistent and Rikou is still unconscious. Let's let him talk and see if there's an opening. "Show me this 'magic' of yours." He said he used a 'people clearing field' before, but that could have been a lie. I still have my doubts he can use real magic.
"Let me introduce yourself to someone important," Teitoku said, with a mocking smile. He pointed to the roof of a nearby building and Shizuri turned to look. A pair of white wrings extended into view and another Teitoku Kakine descended down the street to join them. "I'm sure you are familiar with him."
"Another one of your dark matter clones?"
"Precisely," Teitoku replied. "My body is not quite ready to use magic, even if I can refine mana, the very essence that allows one to use magic. You may not be aware, but magic and science can't normally coexist in the same person or they conflict with each other. The results are pretty similar what happens when someone gets their ability over loaded." His eyes darted up and down Shizuri for a moment and he smirked. "So I found a way around that particularly annoying law."
"You created a separate body to cast your magic for you," Shizuri said slowly, her eyes widening in realization. "That's… actually really impressive." Damn, he actually might actually be able to use magic. She leaned up against a lamp post to stabilize herself, the pain preventing her from being able to concentrate on the calculations for her ability, so she had no choice but to let them continue.
"I knew you were smart enough to realize my genius," Teitoku continued. "I have to say, the early results were quite… disappointing. The earliest clones kept dying from casting a single spell, not even worthy of being called a level 2 ability. After trial and error, I finally found the combination of dark matter required for individuals to use magic with an ability."
"So this clone is going to cast the magic?" Shizuri asked, gesturing to the clone next to him. Her hand was shaking and it fell down by her side. Teitoku nodded slightly for the clone to take over.
"Yes and know," the Teitoku clone said. "While I am part of the ritual, I am not the one actually casting the core of the spell. I am acting as the trigger and guide." He grinned and, if Shizuri didn't know he was a dark matter clone, she wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between him and the real Teitoku. Shizuri's eyes darted to a sword that she didn't notice in his hand before. It looked just like a basic long sword, except maybe slightly thinner.
Did he just create that?
"It would be easy to annihilate you right now," the real Teitoku said. "Especially in your condition. However, I really want to test out the limits of this spell, so you will have a few more minutes of life." He turned to his clone. "Go ahead." The clone raised the sword straight up, high above his head.
"Revelation 8:7, the first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down onto the earth!" The clone's sword started to glow with an eerie dark red light.
Shizuri's blood froze as the feeling of dread overwhelmed even the pain. It almost looked like the sword was acting as an antenna for the spell Teitoku's clone was casting. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped slightly. The color of her surroundings began to change, as they started to have a slight red hue. Shizuri instinctively looked up and her mouth fell open. Dark red clouds began to swirl above them, accompanied with bright red lightning. She shivered involuntarily as she felt goosebumps. "What the hell is that?!" she yelled at Teitoku.
"The Gregorian Chant."
Before he could explain or she could ask any follow up questions, the red lightning flashed violently in the sky. A loud boom echoed all around them as the lightning clashed together. A single bolt appeared, like a spear, and it descended upon the building across the street from Shizuri. Every glass window was shattered and fell upon the ground like razor hail. A gust of wind hit Shizuri and she crossed her arms to protect her face. The attack didn't stop there. The building started to tip on its axis and push up against the building next to it. The ground floors started to get crushed under its weight, now that its support was thrown off balance, and dust and debris started to fly everywhere.
Shit, Shizuri thought to herself, when she realized the immediate problem. She was astounded by the power of Teitoku's attack, but a more pressing matter required her attention. While she was outside the radius the debris was falling, Rikou was on the edge. If Shizuri left her along, there was little doubt Rikou would get crushed by a stray piece of debris. Shizuri pushed off the pole and staggered toward Rikou, ignoring the dust and gusts of wind. Why is everyone causing me such problems today?
"Walking to your doom?" Teitoku called out in a mocking tone, as he and his clone spread their wings to evacuate the blast radius. "Did you give up on life after seeing my power?" Shizuri ignored him. She made her way as fast as her pain laden body would let her and, even then, pushing herself to her limits. She fell to her knees next to Rikou and looked up. The dust was too thick to make out more than dark shapes, but a large one seemed to be coming right at her.
Fuck, she thought, as she knew she only had one option. With her body in the condition that it was in, she had about a fifty percent chance, maybe less, to use her ability the way she wanted. She grimaced and coughed, as the dust flowed into her mouth. She held out a hand and concentrated as hard as she could. A green orb appeared in front of her and began to spiral out as a shield, right when a large chunk of metal descended upon them.
While Shizuri was trying to save herself and Rikou, Teitoku and his clone took off into the air and flew down the street, away from the collapsing building. They landed and watched the dust and smoke begin to settle. The clouds above them disappeared and then sun came out, allowing them a perfect view of the destruction. The building struck by the Gregorian Chant was completely decimated. The building used to be four stories, but was now a pile of rubble. The two nearby buildings had partially collapsed when the flying debris collided with them. They would have to be torn down and completely rebuilt to be used anymore.
"Heh," Teitoku snickered, before throwing his head back and laughing loudly. "Ricane was right. That attack was more destructive than her attacks. An entire building was wiped off the map instantly. Though, the preparations were kind of a pain." He turned his head to the clone. "What's the status on another strike?"
"They are recouping as we speak," his clone told him. "We should be able to proceed again on your signal."
"That's what I like to here," Teitoku said. "Sometimes it feels like I can only rely on myself." He laughed slightly at his words. "The spell seems more attuned to taking out large groups or bunkers. The way the building fell was a clear indicator. It actually lifted into the air and rotated on its axis before crumbling. I'm really interested in seeing how it will affect an individual. If she survives, she's going to be the next target. That's how I want her to die." His clone nodded in understanding.
The minutes passed and the dust was finally settling. The aftereffect of a building collapsing wasn't an instantaneous event. Teitoku was getting bored, but crossed his arms and waited. If Shizuri died, he would leave and Anti-Skill would arrive to find the two girl's corpses. If she didn't die, there was always the chance she was hiding in hopes he would leave. He didn't want to give her that chance. He was debating using his wings to blow the dust away, but a lot of the dust had already settled and he might have blown in into the air again. When he could finally see, he laughed loudly. There was a large pile of steel and concreate all over the area Shizuri and Rikou had been at.
"Shame," mumbled Teitoku, as he turned around, but he stopped. "I should probably be sure. Trash likes to play dead to try to escape their inevitable death." He took a deep breath and opened his mouth. "Trash!" he yelled loudly. "If you are still alive, you have five seconds to get out!" He waited but nothing happened. "Fine, if you are already dead, then I'm sorry your corpse is getting desecrated, but my revenge won't be satisfied unless you are truly dead. I'm going to fire another attack on your location, unless you come out." Still nothing and he was wondering if she was really dead. "Fine!" he called out. "Just die…"
A green glow under the ruble caught his attention and he smiled.
The rubble was blown away in a chain of explosions, as three beams fire out from a single location. Shizuri stood up through the dust and flames, with a look of sheer anger on her face. Rikou was lying on the ground behind her. Shizuri had managed to get her shield up in time to disintegrate all the rubble that would have fallen directly on them, but there was a gash on Shizuri's arm. Apparently, a piece of rubble flew under her shield and hit her. The blood was slowly soaking her shirt. "How the hell could you do something like that?!" she demanded.
"You interested?" Teitoku asked. "There's no use worrying about it though, because you wouldn't be able to. Even if you could use magic, this spell can't be cast by a single person. It takes 3,333 individuals to chant a certain incantation simultaneously. Their mana is magnified and concentrated together to cause a tactical strike at a single location given by a leader." He indicated the clone next to him. "Tell you what, as a final gift to you, I'll give you one final desperate chance. You get one more attack before I unleash another magical strike."
"You're to kind," Shizuri said, feeling another wave of nausea. Her head felt like someone was drilling into it. "What's with the change of heart?"
"I just want to enjoy your despair," Teitoku commented. "This way, when you see if something is on the other side, you won't have any thoughts like, if I only had one more attack."
'I hope you don't regret it," Shizuri said, holding out her hand. If I can generate another over charged blast like one of the ones at the beginning, I might be able to kill him. Her vision doubled so now she was seeing four Teitoku's bodies. She shook her head and focused, trying to ignore all the pain in her body. She felt blood run from her nose again and wiped it away with her free hand. There's more than before, shit. She move her eyes back to Teitoku, who was standing motionless down the street, a smug look on his face, as if he knew what she was thinking. She pushed all those unnecessary thoughts out of her mind and focused on her ability to materialize at the end of her outstretched hand.
Nothing happened.
Her eyes widened in surprise. What the hell? She focused again but, again, nothing happened, except her headache doubled, threatening to make her pass out. Why isn't my ability working? It's not even acting weird with its power output, but completely gone. Why is this happening? Is it because I used three beams to knock away the rubble when I knew I should have kept it to two? She turned and nudged Rikou with her foot and she began to stir. "Get up!" Shizuri told her, slightly desperately, but Rikou didn't seem to register her words. Shizuri's face paled slightly as her last option disappeared.
"You won't take my goodwill?" Teitoku asked. "Well, I respect the fact you haven't tried to run. Most pieces of trash would flee if they found themselves in your position. You can be a lowly worm in my eyes now, slightly above trash. Say your last words." He nodded slightly toward his clone, who stepped forward and raised his sword. "You can die a pathetic death.
Shizuri stood up straight and looked directly at him.
She was not going to die a pathetic death, trying to plead for her life or flee like a coward. She had killed countless people during her time in the dark side of Academy City and saw all types of people. You could tell a lot about someone by how they acted when they were about to die. Some would try to run, some would plea for their life, others would betray their teammates, but few would stare death in the face. She had met that kind of person only once. Right before she obliterated an assassin, he stared her straight in the eye and laughed. Shizuri was not going to die one of the pathetic deaths.
She was Shizuri Mugino.
She was the level 5, Meltdowner.
She was not going to beg for her life.
"I won't cower," Shizuri declared loudly. "Since I joined the dark side, I knew this ending would be a possibility." She glared at Teitoku with white hot fury, even as the pain in her body tried to render her unconscious. So, this is where it all ends. Another level 5 takes me down.
"Yawn," Teitoku said, faking the motions, but there was just a tiny sliver of respect in his eye.
"…and it was hurled down onto the earth!" the clone finished chanting. The sky above them once again was filled with blood red clouds. The lightning crackled dangerously inside of them. The sound of thunder was louder and the crackling lightning began to become more frequent. They began to join and consolidate above her. Shizuri took a deep breath and looked up. It's not like she wanted to die, but she knew there was no escape from the inevitable. She closed her eyes and waited for the embrace of death.
The lightning above her flashed strong enough she could see it through her closed eyes.
Something pressed down on her shoulder, as the red lightning flew down at her.
She fell to her hands and knees and looked up instinctively to see what hit her. Her mouth fell open in shock at what she was seeing. "You!" she gasped in surprise, but her voice was probably not heard by anyone. The red lightning had descended right when she had spoken. It was coming down straight toward her and Rikou with perfect accuracy. However, when she realized what happened, relief coursed through her veins as she saw him. A high school boy with spikey black hair had pushed her down with his left hand and was standing above her with his right hand held up in the air.
Touma Kamijou's right hand was blocking the lightning from Teitoku's magic.
The sound of breaking glass was heard from his hand negating most of the attack, but it wasn't a perfect defense against such a powerful strike. Some of the red lightning was bouncing off his hand and hitting the area surrounding them. It was like they were protected under an umbrella. The rubble around them was being blown away, the street was being shredded apart, nearby buildings were collapsing, but Touma was still holding strong. He had gripped his right wrist with his left hand to stabilize himself under the weight of the attack. After what seemed like ages, the attack subsided and the clouds dispersed.
"Are you okay?" Touma gasped, grabbing his side and panting. It sounded like blocking the attack took a huge toll on him, or he had run a short marathon before reaching her.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Shizuri fumed, anger welling up from within her. Touma looked confused at her response. "Actually, scratch that, how the hell did you know we were here?" She knew why he would be there. He is always trying to save people.
"I saw the first strike," Touma explained quickly, looking over at Teitoku. "I take it he's the enemy?"
"His name is Teitoku Kakine," Shizuri spat out. "He's the number two known as Dark Matter."
"The number two?" Touma repeated, bewildered. "Why is he here?" He reached down a hand to help Shizuri up, but she slapped it away. However, she didn't touch his hand, she hit him in the arm.
"Don't touch me!" she said quickly. Shizuri had realized the danger instantly. Touma's hand could negate abilities, which meant if he negated her ability while it was running out of control, the experiment might fail. It would make everything she had just experienced worthless. She had no idea if his hand could remove the problems with her ability, just temporarily remove the side effects, or even if it would reset it back to normal. There was too much left up to chance to risk it. If she could wake up Rikou to examine her AIM field, there was still a chance of salvaging everything.
"Can you take Takitsubo-san and leave then?" Touma asked. "I'll hold him off." Damn, I was too late. Takitsubo-san was knocked out and Mugino looks a mess. There's blood, dirt, and bruises everywhere on her. The entire street looks like a warzone.
"I'll wake her up," Shizuri said. "But then I'm joining you to kick this guy's ass!" There was no way her pride would let her run away with her tail between her legs. She was far too proud to do that. She also didn't want anything happening to the boy in front of her, which was a rather unknown concept to her. She normally would use people as tools and then disregard them if the situation required it.
"But…," Touma tried to reason. He was under the impression her injury and fatigue was from her fight with Teitoku. However, most of the damage was from her ability beginning to overload, something he knew nothing about. "Your condition…"
"My condition is none of your fucking concern," Shizuri snapped. "If you want to play the hero fine, but I have things I need to do before I can leave." She wasn't going to mention how relived she was to see him. Maybe after this is all settled I will say thanks. Touma looked like he was about to argue, but Shizuri intensified the strength of her glare. He knew her long enough to know her stubbornness could even dwarf Mikoto's. She watched his face show concern and his eyes looked at her like he was wrestling with the dilemma internally, but he finally turned and started walking to Teitoku. Shizuri knelt down next to Rikou and started shaking her, while smacking her on the cheek. "Wake up! Come on! Now is not the time to be sleeping!"
Teitoku had watched their conversation in stunned silence. He was too far away to hear all the details, but he was certain of one thing. That guy stopped my Gregorian Chant with a single hand. What the hell is he? He turned to his clone. "Time on next attack?"
"Should only be a ….," he clone started to respond, when he stopped. "None of the other clones are performing on their end. I'm not detecting any mana flowing."
"What?!" Teitoku snapped. He reached up to his ear and hit a wireless communicator. "Ricane," he hissed under his breath. "What is going on at your end?"
"It seems like someone stumbled into our warehouse and discovered your underground area."
"What the hell?" Teitoku said, anger permeating his voice while he tried to keep a calm demeanor. "You said you could take care of any uninvited guests."
"Normally yes," Ricane agreed. "However, I was far from prepared for Accelerator to waltz in. He obviously knew what we were doing there. He has to have someone feeding him the information, I need to discover who. Anyway, I did my best to slow him down, but he then discovered the door leading downstairs. He has just engaged all of your clones." Teitoku paused for a moment, letting the information sink in.
"Why the fuck does he keep getting in my way?" Teitoku fumed, disconnecting from Ricane. Now I have this boy who interrupted my fun. The day was going so well too.
"Is it my birthday?" Accelerator asked, glancing across the underground room. The hidden room was large, almost like a cathedral, supported by metal beams and arches. They didn't look like they were made of steel and Accelerator considered the possibility they were made of Teitoku's dark matter to avoid the attention of shipping supplies to the warehouse. Standing in rows in the middle of the room were thousands of Teitoku clones. Each one looked exactly like him, so Accelerator wasn't entirely sure if the real one was there, but he would find out soon enough. "I get to beat you over and over again."
"Look around you," one of them said, stepping up to meet him. "You had trouble dealing with one, but now you face an army."
"I know how to crush your pathetic dark matter now," Accelerator said, waving his hand dismissively. "One or ten thousand, it won't make a difference." He glanced at the Teitoku who actually talked to him. "Are you the original? The rest of the ones behind you seem to be silent like puppets."
"I could be," he acknowledged. "Or maybe the real one is watching you. It's also possible none of us are the original."
"I guess I will have to find out," Accelerator said, a slight smirk on his face.
"Kill him…." Before he could finish his sentence, Accelerator flew forward with a soft boom. He reached out a hand and grabbed the talkative Teitoku by the face. With a single fluid motion, he brought him down and smashed him into the ground. A split second later, half a dozen white wings flew and stabbed at his back. His reflection sent them back at the clones without trouble and they were speared by their own attack. A red blood like substance flowed from their wounds, but Accelerator didn't care. First, he wasn't concerned about a little bloodshed. Second, since these were dark matter clones, it probably wasn't even blood.
"Looks like even with an army," Accelerator sneered. "Garbage is still garbage." A bright flame suddenly engulfed him and the clone he had pinned on the ground. The fire wasn't normal and caused the clone to dissolve into a black burnt substance. Accelerator was fine, but he suddenly felt disconcerted. Damn it. Those flames had the same kind of unusual vectors as magic. That means he wasn't bull shitting when he said he could use magic. He turned around and stood up straight.
Several of the clones were chanting while others leaped forward to replace their fallen brethren. They seemed to realize normal attacks were doing nothing against Accelerator. The white wings of the first rank of Teitoku clones burst into flames. No longer did they resemble the pure white wings of an angel. They had become flaming wings of vengeance and hatred, as the substance that did not exist naturally in this world fused with the unknown force known as magic. The dark matter that made up the wings appeared to turn red under the flames, as if they were soaked in blood.
Bastard actually combined them, Accelerator thought grimly, as he pushed himself off the floor into the air to dodge a couple of the flaming wings. It wasn't like he was scared, he just would rather learn how the vectors operated before he got completely surrounded by them. Dark matter had its own types of vector where one substance acted like another, and magic vectors always traveled in weird directions, instead of the direction of the attack. Accelerator had enough experience with the unknown to realize there was a good possibility the vectors would again act strangely. One of the flaming wings came from his side and he reached out with his hand.
He had been right.
The vectors from magic infused dark matter acted in several unexplained ways. First, it took the combination of the two types of vectors, the material acted like another type of material while still moving in all sorts of direction, which shouldn't be possible with ordinary physics. The second was another unknown variable. It was as if the vectors were flicking between existing and being non-existent. The vectors seemed like they were disappearing and reappearing in other locations. If he wasn't careful, they would bypass his surface area automatic reflection. He focused all his attention and managed to divert it away from him body. The wing flew back forcefully and stabbed two other clones, causing them to get ripped in half and consumed by flames.
Arg, Accelerator thought, feeling his mind ache slightly, as he landed on the ground. Even with the Misaka network, his calculation ability was severely reduced. Performing three sets of calculations simultaneously was putting a severe strain on his mind. He felt anger well up from within him for no reason as his mind began to feet cloudy. It's that feeling again. Each time it comes out easier than before. I suppose this time it's actually warranted. He leaped backwards to dodge another half dozen wings and knocked another one away from him.
"Looks like even the great Accelerator can't defeat magic and dark matter," one of the clones said, stepping forward. They must have had a hierarchy of some kind, maybe the order they were created. "Why don't you get on all fours and squeal like the pig you are." He gestured to the other clones with the flaming wings. "When we dice you up into pieces, we could believe we are just making bacon."
"You aren't the only one who can make wings," Accelerator sneered, his head pounding slightly. Control it, don't let the rage consume you.
"What shit are you spewing?" the clone asked, raising an eyebrow.
"This."
Two wings exploded from Accelerator's back. Unlike Teitoku's pure white wings which resembled an angel, these were the exact opposite. His wings were pure black and full of madness and hatred, as if a demon had descended. The fury was so intense, the entire front row of clones stepped back instinctively. Accelerator stood up straight and his sneered intensified. His face was slightly contorted, and his eyes had a dangerous gleam.
"I don't believe it," the clone said, before laughing. "You actually managed to manipulate dark matter? Do you think some second rate manipulation is going to save you? We perfected the art and even added magic to it. What makes you think your haphazardly thrown together wings are going to save you?"
"There's only one way to see," Accelerator said coldly. His vision was turning red. Before, something had to have happened to cause him to be overcome with anger. Now, he could summon the wings on his own. They still threatened to overwhelm his mind if he relaxed for a moment, but it was becoming easier. I'm glad the others aren't here to see this. He frowned for a second at the thoughts. He could understand the Misaka brats he lived with and Touma popping in his mind, but his classmates and the other brats he got to know quite of a bit about in England also appeared. I'm going soft.
"There is," the clone agreed and raised his hand. Ten clones jumped and flew into the air, forming a semicircle around Accelerator. "Kill him." Twenty flaming wings flew at him from all directions, and Accelerator's wings extended in response.
Blood went everywhere.
More precisely, the blood red substance the clones released before their dark matter bodies broke apart. Accelerator's black wings passed through the flaming wings like paper and sliced the clones in half. He didn't stop there, and extended one of the black wings toward the clone currently in charge. The ends sharped into dagger like points and speared straight through the clone. He gasped and coughed up blood, before being thrown down to the ground. Accelerator's grin turned murderous as he took a step forward.
Another massacre had begun.
"Who the hell are you?" Teitoku demanded, as he watched Touma walk toward him and his clone.
"I'm just a normal high school student," Touma replied calmly, but his face was displaying his anger. "What the hell were you doing? Firing off a magical attack like that in the middle of the city. Look at how much damage you caused and you nearly killed my friends. What is wrong with you?" He squinted when he realized the other person was a second Teitoku Kakine. Is he a twin?
"Friends?" Teitoku asked, before bursting out laughing. "She doesn't have friends. She only has tools she keeps until they no longer are useful, and then she discards them. She and I both know how the dark side of Academy City works, unlike you. Now," he paused and his eyes narrowed. "I don't know who you are, but you are hardly 'normal.' You know about magic, intercepted a magical assault capable of turning a building into rubble, and now stand before me. Normal hardly covers this."
"Mugino may be a little… rough around the edges," Touma admitted. "But she's not the monster you try to make her out to be." He thought he felt Shizuri's eyes on him and sweat formed on the back of his neck. "What did she do to force you to cause so much destruction?"
"She interfered in my business," Teitoku explained. "I was simply acquiring some research related to ability development and she and her group stopped me. One of my clones was killed in the process."
"Acquire…" Touma said slowly. Clones? Did he have Academy City make clones again and did Mugino really kill one? "You mean steal, right?" His eyes widened. "You were the one who was stealing all he research information on abilities. I heard labs were being broken into."
"So you have some knowledge of this," Teitoku said, his face showing slight amusement now that his surprise was gone. "I thought you might have been some random pedestrian at first, and just happen to know the Meltdowner. I see now you actually have some part in our world, so I think I can play with you a bit. Yes, my group was responsible for the recent thefts."
"Was your group part of the two recent break-ins while the large scale riot was going on?" Touma asked, wanting to confirm something.
"How did you know about that?" Teitoku hissed, his amusement changing to suspicion and anger.
"I happen to overhear a member of Judgement talking about it," Touma said. This wasn't exactly a lie, but he didn't want to get Teitoku the entire truth. "Your teammates are going to get arrested."
"Oh I doubt that," Teitoku laughed. "They are quite capable of killing a couple members of Anti-Skill or any of the trash that joins Judgement. Then they will regroup and all those deaths will disappear. The city wouldn't let this get out. They hide the dark side well." The thought of the experiment with Accelerator killing the Misaka clones crossed through Touma's mind. The city had never let that information leak out to the general public. Touma was sick to think more problems like that were still happening. "I bored of our conversation. You can kill him now." He said the last line to his clone.
"Understood," the Teitoku said next to him. He raised the sword in his right hand and his wings lifted him up into the air. He hovered about twenty meters in the air for a moment, before descending directly at Touma. He held the sword out in front of him and his entire body became a missile. Made of dark matter, his body was stronger than a normal person and, even if this strange boy could block a magical range attack, he couldn't have the physical strength to stop from being impaled.
Touma watched the second Teitoku slowly rise. He didn't know all the powers of Dark Matter and he didn't have time to learn from Shizuri. His eyes never left the sword and he somehow knew what was coming. It could have been all his experience from fighting, or the fact his opponents were underestimating him, but he knew the one flying would try to impale him with that sword. His wings are part of his ability, so if I grab them, they should disappear. He bent his knees as Teitoku flew at him.
The attack was so obvious, Touma was in shock. It was like his opponent never fought someone with strategy. His attack was fast, there was no contesting that, but it was just a straight forward charge at high speeds. It didn't look like he was going to change direction at the last second or suddenly appear behind him. In fact, Touma felt a sense of déjà vu. It was as if he was facing the old Accelerator again. Teitoku seemed to overwhelmingly rely on his ability during a fight and never bothered to learn basic fighting skills. It was how Touma was able to defeat Accelerator so long ago. Right when the blade was about to impale his chest, he shifted his body to the side, causing it to just miss him. Touma balled his hand into a fist and swung it at Teitoku's face.
Touma felt his hand collide and then heard the sound of breaking glass.
Teitoku's entire body disappeared instantly.
It wasn't blown away, or disintegrated, or destroyed in anyway. It just disappeared. There was not a single trace left, except for the sword that fell down next to Touma. It fell point down into the street and stood straight up. Touma's eyes widened in horror. Did I just accidently kill him?! I was just defending myself and punched him in the face. How is this possible? He accidently hit the sword with his right hand and it disappeared with a similar sound. The sword too? He scratched his head with his left hand before making the connection. The sword must be part of his ability like his wings. Could he have created them? If so, was it possible he created clones of himself? He turned and looked at the other Teitoku.
Teitoku eyes were wide and his mouth hung slightly open. He couldn't believe his eyes. This was something he never imagined could happen. With a single punch, his clone was completely vaporized. There wasn't a trace of his dark matter left. This was completely outside anything he could have imagine happening. While it was true powerful abilities could blow away dark matter, there was nothing special about his punch. There was no air displacement from power like the Number 7 nor was there flash of energy, like with the Railgun or Meltdowner. The closest ability he could think of that didn't show itself off, that could still defeat his dark matter, was Accelerator's vector manipulation. All that does is deflect it though. What the hell is he?
While the two young men were both processing everything they saw, Shizuri was busy trying to wake up Rikou. However, when she heard Teitoku tell his clone to attack, she had to turn around. I should have explained Kakine's ability to him, Shizuri thought as she saw the clone begin his attack. It was too late, but she felt a wave of relief when Touma dodged, and then the most satisfaction she had felt all day. She watched Teitoku's clone disappear with a single touch and then enjoyed the stunned look on Teitoku's face. She would have given millions of yen to see that expression again. She couldn't see Touma's face from her angle, but she believed he was probably feeling confused. However, something distracted her from watching their fight.
"…Mugino?"
"Finally you're awake," Shizuri said. "My powers going out of control and isn't working. Kakine unleashed some devastating attacks and Kamijou is holding him off. Listen, I need you to use your ability and take control of my AIM field. Understand?"
"…Yes," Rikou replied, understanding the situation. She sat up to quick and felt dizzy, but rubbed her head and concentrated on Shizuri. It only took a quick glance to notice how bad she looked. Shizuri's was bleeding, bruised, covered in dirt, and her eyes were completely bloodshot. Rikou could see the outlines of veins in her skin and shivered slightly. She must be in excruciating pain. "Give me a moment or I can't concentrate."
"You have one minute," Shizuri declared, turning her attention back to the guys. They had finally found their voice.
"What are you?!" Teitoku roared.
"I'm a guy who stands up to people like you," Touma said. "Just because you have a little power, you trample over everyone who stands in your way. If you think I'm just going to sit by and watch you murder people, I'm going to shatter that illusion of yours." He bent his knees and charged at Teitoku.
"Foolish," Teitoku sneered, as he waved his hand and create a devastating pressure of energy against Touma. Normally, the pressure would make his opponents feel as if gravity had multiple, forcing them onto the ground as their legs would be unable to withstand their weight, but Touma didn't slow down at all. For a brief moment he felt the pressure, but his hand immediately negated the attack. Teitoku was baffled as Touma kept charging and quickly closing the distance between them. "Why won't you just die?" All six of his wings extended and reached out towards Touma. Each one was much faster than he was and they were coming at him from every direction.
Shit, Touma thought, as he sensed the incoming attack. However, he knew he couldn't slow down or Teitoku could take off into the air. Right now, he was planted firmly on the ground where Touma could reach. I have to time this perfectly. Right before the razor sharp wings turned him into a shish kabob, he concentrated on his hand. A white light engulfed him and Teitoku's wings.
The wings disappeared in an instant and Teitoku was once again stunned. "How are you doing this you bastard? You completely neutralized…" His eyes widened when it dawned on him who he was fighting, as Touma rapidly approached. He actually felt fear. Reason told him he would be fine. His dark matter energy protected him from physical and most energy attacks. However, the person in front of him was a completely unknown anomaly. I should retreat but, damn, I hate being so pathetic. His mental arguing delayed his reaction for two seconds, just two short seconds. That was enough for Touma, who managed to cover the distance.
"This is going to hurt," Touma warned, pulling his hand back and delivering a powerful right hook at Teitoku. The sound of breaking glass was heard as his fist connected squarely with Teitoku's face. The blow knocked Teitoku back into the air and landed on his back with a dull thud. Touma stood over him, panting slightly and rubbing his hand. Shizuri on the other hand felt pleasure well up from deep within her watching Teitoku get punched in the face. Teitoku, however, only had one thought in his mind.
He punched me in the face.
HE FUCKING PUNCHED ME IN THE FACE!
"YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Teitoku roared, as his wings exploded from under him, pushing him high into the air. His face was now contorted with rage. He no longer cared about Touma's ability and how it bypassed all of his dark matter and energy. Only one thought was coursing through his mind. I'm going to kill him! His wings flapped and powerful gusts of wind blew down the street. Touma covered his face to prevent the small scraps of shrapnel and dust from hitting his eyes. "I didn't expect the one known as Kami to show up. I never dreamed you could negate my dark matter, but that doesn't matter. I'll kill you in another way." His wings stretched out and ripped several light posts from the ground.
"Damn it," Touma muttered, as he ran in a zigzag pattern to dodge. Teitoku was throwing each one of the light poles like spears at him. They were traveling so fast, if he stopped moving for even an instant, he would be hit. Touma gulped when he noticed the light poles sunk about halfway into the street. If they hit me, it won't be pretty. How am I supposed to get him to come at me? I can't reach him in the air.
"Quit skirting around you pesky little insect!" Teitoku called down at him. His wings were each easily over twenty meters and he flapped them all at once.
"AHH!" Touma yelled, as he was lifted into the air and thrown like a ragdoll. He hit the wall of one of the still intact buildings with a thud and gasped in pain. He coughed and a little blood flew out of his mouth. He looked up and immediately rolled to the side, as a large chunk of the street was torn up and thrown by one of Teitoku's wings. The debris was thrown with enough force to smash through the wall of the building and broke through numerous steel pillars. He grabbed a small rock and leaped up shakily to his feet. A couple more hits like that, and I'm screwed.
Shizuri grimaced as she too was hit by the gust of wind. She was further back and didn't get blown away, but she still had to brace herself from falling down. Touma was now at a complete disadvantage, she could tell that easily from her position. Touma did not have any long range attacks and Teitoku kept his distance out of fear of his hand. "Takitsubo, we are out of time, do it now. No matter what happens, do not stop in the middle of it."
"Okay," Rikou agreed, pulling out her container holding the Body Crystal. She licked it and her pupils dilated. She focused her ability on Shizuri and examined her AIM field. What she saw shocked and disturbed her. Normally, an AIM field is a weak energy that is unconsciously emitted by ability users. Only special machines and certain abilities can detect this. AIM diffusion fields are unique to the type of ability, as well as to the individual themselves. Pyrokineticists heat up their surroundings, telekinetics create pressure, and electromasters release electromagnetic fields. Shizuri ability created small amounts of radiation as part of her AIM field.
Right now, Rikou was watching Shizuri's AIM field going crazy. She had never seen anything like it. The radiation output was much higher then normal and its very identity was warped. How is she even conscious through this? It's like her very ability is trying to change if I am reading it right. Rikou shook her head, knowing she had a job to do. Using her ability, she took control of Shizuri's AIM field. Rikou took a deep breath, and reversed the field. For a moment, nothing happened except Shizuri's body began to glow.
"Urk," Shizuri groaned before falling on her knees. She no longer could stand, she couldn't think, she couldn't even feel her body. Her arms caught her before her head hit the ground, but she didn't even realize that. Her face was covered in cold sweat, her nose was dripping blood again, and she lost her vision. All she could do was wait for the pain to end. She used all her remaining strength to keep her mouth shut. There were a couple reasons for this. First, yelling would not make the pain go away. Second, she didn't like to show weakness in front of others, it was a way of getting attacked more than necessary. Last, she didn't want to distract Touma who was fighting for their lives. It was one of the few times she actually thought about someone else and she didn't understand why it gave her strength.
Rikou desperately wanted to stop, but she continued to force Shizuri's AIM flow to reverse and stabilize.
Meanwhile, the battle between Teitoku and Touma was reaching a breaking point. Teitoku realized long range attacks were quite affective against Touma and refused to reduce the distance between him. Touma was dodging the flying chunks of debris, but had no way to counter attack. His mind was going through every possibility, but nothing was working. He briefly thought about trying to enter one of the buildings and climb to the roof, but a large chunk of concrete hit the nearest entrance, blocking it with a resounding crash. All Touma could do was to keep moving and dodge Teitoku's attack until an opening occurred.
"Scuttling around on the ground in panic really suits an insect like you," Teitoku's called down to him in a mocking voice.
"Why don't you come down here and say it to my face?" Touma replied, looking up at him. Seriously, what should I do? I could try to escape into one of the buildings, but his ability would easily smash through the walls. He's the type of guy to destroy an entire building to crush a single person.
"I'll pass," Teitoku said, shaking his head. "You aren't worthy of being eye level with me." One of his wings extended and ripped several steel beams out of the ground from one of the destroyed buildings. They flew high into the air and started raining down like spears. Touma was forced to dive out of the way to avoid being skewered. He rolled several times on the ground and hit a fire hydrant.
"Ahh," Touma gasped in pain, but barely had a moment to register it. Teitoku flew over and picked up a large piece of rubble. He lifted it high above his head and threw it. Touma rolled on the ground to avoid being crushed, and the fire hydrant was blown clean off. A water geyser exploded upwards, soaking everything around it, including Touma. He staggered to his feet, the pain and fatigue finally getting to him, while Teitoku circled around him.
"You look a mess," Teitoku said coldly. "If you ask nicely, I could give you a quick death. I'm still going to kill you all, but your persistence is almost admirable…" He stopped, raised his hand, and caught something Touma threw at his face. He looked at it for a moment, slightly stunned, and then turned back to Touma. "Did… did you seriously just throw a rock at me?" He looked bewildered. "After everything you just witness, you thought a rock would stop me?"
"You looked like you let your guard down," Touma said with a shrug. In reality, he had run out of ideas. If Teitoku had remained on the ground, Touma might have stood a chance. Unlike when Touma fought Accelerator, Teitoku could fly and attack from a distance. Even if Touma couldn't be hurt by direct energy attacks produced by Teitoku's ability, Teitoku could still manipulate the energy into his wings to give them insane strength and durability to be able to throw heavy objects like baseballs. Teitoku may have appeared to be slightly sociopathic, but it was obvious to Touma, the guy was incredible calculating when the need arose. His clone's initial attack was only him underestimating me. He's not going to do it again.
"You little…," Teitoku started to say, his face turning red in anger, when he stopped and took a deep breath. "The game's over," he said instead, unusually calmly. A vein in his head was pulsating, but he didn't seem to be paying attention to it. He flew down the street and landed around a hundred meters away. "All of you can just die. I have more important things to do." His six wings extended to his sides and jabbed themselves into the street. The concrete and asphalt broke apart in a line directly in front of Teitoku.
"What are you doing?" Touma yelled, taking a couple steps toward him.
"I'm going to make a giant flyswatter," Teitoku replied, grinning. Several explosions occurred under the street and his wings lifted an enormous piece of the road into the air. It groaned and creaked as it began to bend. "One of the many uses of my dark matter is I can create energy that can be used to lift other matter. Something like this is child's play." It was obvious what he was going to do. An object that size would be impossible for Touma to dodge, and the weight would crush him into a bloody pancake. "Die you level 5 pieces of trash."
"Stop!" Touma yelled. While he didn't want to die, Shizuri and Rikou were still in the line of fire. Touma's eyes flicked to the object Teitoku had thrown. He actually tore a segment of the street and sidewalks out of the ground and threw it. He's as strong as Accelerator. He knew he wouldn't be able to dodge, but his body began to move automatically. He was planning to try to push Shizuri and Rikou out of the impact zone or, at the very least, shield them with his body. Something happened to make his struggle meaningless.
A dark green beam flew over his head from the right to the left across the flying chunk of street.
A moment later, countless explosions turned the debris into a cloud of dust and a rain of tiny concreate and asphalt fragments.
"Looks like she decided to rejoin the fight," Teitoku mocked as he flapped his wings. A large gust blew the cloud of dust away in an instant. "It's not like it's going to make a difference. No matter how much trash gather in one…." He stopped talking and his eyes widened. "What the fuck happened to her!?" he yelled.
When Shizuri's Meltdowner had blown up the chunk of torn up street, Touma fell backwards on his butt and was forced to shield his face from the rain of tiny fragments that didn't get disintegrated. He had just lowered his arms, when Teitoku had blown the dust right at him, and he was forced to cover his face again. He heard Teitoku's mocking words but, when he stopped, Touma immediately knew something was wrong. Is Shizuri okay? He thought, worry seeping through his mind as he scrambled to his feet and turned around. His mouth fell open when he saw Shizuri.
Or, at least what used to be Shizuri Mugino.
Shizuri had stood up and slowly walked toward the guys. Each of her steps was slow and deliberate. Rikou was leaning up against a large piece of rubble, her eyes wide, and she was panting. She had succeeded in taking control and reversing the flow of Shizuri's AIM field. The result was far more then she expected. Shizuri's AIM field exploded outwards, as the cap in her ability broke. She no longer could take control of it and was left with no choice but to watch. What really shocked her was Shizuri's AIM field changed. It wasn't enough to indicate her ability had transformed into something else, but it had changed significantly. There was now the possibility her ability would experience some significant alterations.
Then there was Shizuri's physical appearance, that Rikou, Touma, and Teitoku all took notice.
First, there was a bright green glow around her entire body, as if she was emitting passive radiation. Each step she took left a soft bubbly footprint in the street, as it started to melt. Her hair was blowing around her head, giving her the appearance of someone walking through a powerful windstorm, even though there was no wind. Her eyes were glowing green too, but they were a much darker green, closing in on black, and Touma couldn't see her pupils from his distance. Whatever had caused her transformation, Touma didn't know, but his eyes darted to the biggest change.
On her back, four glowing diamond shapes, resembling petals, had appeared on her back in an X-shape. They look like the same kind of energy her attacks are made of. Touma thought as she approached him. How are they just sitting there? It's just like Misaki's and Mikoto's transformation, but she isn't being exposed to any Telesma or forcefully linked to a network, is she? He froze as Shizuri stopped a couple meters away from him. He could feel heat on his body, except for his right hand, and realize the glow was emissions from her ability. Her head turned to him and she uttered a single word.
"Move."
Touma' body shifted out of her way instantly. It was as if his body instinctively knew Shizuri wasn't her normal self. Shizuri walked past him and stopped, staring at Teitoku. Ten orbs appeared in front of her and started rotating in a circle. A smile appeared on Shizuri's lips as she fired every one simultaneously. The air shimmered in front of Teitoku and he moved his wings forward as a shield. Explosions completely covered him from Touma's view and debris was thrown everywhere. When it cleared, Teitoku was standing, with his arms in front of his face, his wings utterly destroyed and his clothes burnt. Touma's eyes widened because, before he arrived, Teitoku had fought Shizuri but hadn't appeared to have received any damage. She's stronger now, isn't she? It's this transformation. Can all level 5s do it?
"Damn it," Teitoku panted, as he rematerialized his wings and flew straight up into the air. I wasn't sure what happened to her so I also added an energy barrier along with my wings, but still broke through. This bitch… He was forced to dodge and weave as Shizuri continued to fire multiple beams into the air at him. Each one was enough to completely blow away one of his wings. If several managed to hit him at once, even he could be in trouble. It looks like twenty is her limit now, Teitoku thought, looking down and counting the orbs as Shizuri fired. Let's assume she can make a few more to be on the safe side.
Touma watched in stun silence as Shizuri unleashed attack after attack at Teitoku. It was perhaps lucky Teitoku took to the skies, or the city would probably have been decimated for blocks around. However, Touma wasn't calm and was drenched in cold sweat. He was worried about Shizuri accidently killing Teitoku, but he was also worried what kind of effect that transformation was having on her body. He was close enough behind her that he could still feel the heat radiating off of her. Every time she fired one of her beams, he could feel the heat increase slightly. It also looked like the glow around her pulsed for a moment. Maybe that aura is protecting her body from the backlash, he thought.
He turned his attention to Teitoku, the man who definitely was trying to kill them. At first glance, he appeared to be only able to defend himself, but Touma noticed something and frowned. There was something about Teitoku's wings that bothered him. Shizuri's blast kept blowing up the white wings on impact and forced them to regenerate. It was during this part Touma watched closely. The wings regenerated like normal, but he could swear they were slightly different. He couldn't physically detect the difference, but the regenerated parts seemed to be a slightly different shade of white. The gleam and polish also appeared different. As he continued to watch, he realized the wings weren't being destroyed quite as badly each time.
"Mugino!" he cried. "Kakine is adapting his wings to your attacks." Shizuri's head didn't move and he doubted she even heard him.
"You noticed too late!" Teitoku called down mockingly, as he blocked several of Shizuri's attacks. His wings barely took any damage and regenerated instantly. He slowly lowered himself down to the street and grinned. "I had a lot of experience adapting the composition of my dark matter. Combining actual matter with energy was a little more of a challeng…" He stopped and blocked Shizuri's next barrage of attacks. "Are you even paying attention?" he asked her.
"Die," Shizuri hissed in a cold voice, as another round of orbs appeared around her.
"Wait!" Touma yelled, running up in front of her. He held out his right hand toward her in case she fired one of her Meltdowners. He knew she wasn't in her right mind and might not even recognize him. Her glowing green eyes moved slightly and stared right at him. For a moment, Touma thought she was regaining her senses when the glow seemed to dull slightly, but then the orbs around her moved and fired. Most of them were going to hit Touma directly and Teitoku was about to laugh. Touma was about to use his hand pulse to protect himself, when something happened.
The beams curved.
Normally, once fired, Shizuri couldn't control her attacks. They would travel in the direction she was facing with the force of her calculations. She didn't have the ability to actually change their directions midflight. This time, right before they hit Touma, they split to his right and left and curved away from his body. Once the beams passed him, they all converged on Teitoku's location. Teitoku grimaced and shielded himself right before they collided. He was once again engulfed with explosions, but he was perfectly fine.
She shouldn't be able to do that, he thought grimly. Whatever that transformation is, it's dangerous. That guy is also dangerous too. I need to kill them and remove all traces of their existence so no one can learn their secrets. The scientists here could learn about them from a trace of blood or a flesh sample. He glanced over and saw a car, partially smashed from a chunk of the street that hit it. I suppose that will do. When I'm done with them, this entire area will be a crater. Two of his wings stretched over to the car and wrapped around it, dragging it closer to the middle of the street. The white substance fused together and started coating the car like clay. It created a small dome and continued to grow.
Meanwhile, Touma was trying to reach Shizuri.
"Mugino!' Touma yelled at her. "Snap out of it." He took a step forward closer to her and her head turned to face him. It was hard to tell what she was thinking with her eyes glowing a dark green, but it looked like she was contemplating his existence. He took another tentative step toward her until he was only two meters away, when Shizuri held out her hand. Another dark green orb appeared at the end of it and this time it was obvious she was aiming at him. He reached his right hand out slowly and touched the orb with his hand, causing it to disappear with the sound of breaking glass. Several more instantly appeared around Shizuri, but he reached out and grabbed her hand and he heard the familiar sound and was relieved when the orbs disappeared. "Mugino!" he said loudly again, looking her in the eye. "Come on, you're stronger than this."
"Kamijou?" Shizuri asked slowly, her eyes turning normal. The glow on her body faded and the wings on her back started to break apart and fall away as they slowly eroded. She grabbed her head with her free hand, as the previous events came back to her. They were really fuzzy and it felt like she had been watching through someone else's eyes. Her eyes snapped down to her hand. "What are you doing?"
"It's not what you think," Touma denied quickly. "It's the only way I could snap you out of it. What happened to you? It's like you were consumed by your power."
That sounds about right, Shizuri thought, remembering how she altered the trajectory of her attacks. So it looks like the experiment was a success. She glanced back at Rikou, who looked exhausted, but still conscious and generally unhurt. I lost most of my consciousness when my AIM field was controlled. "I see," she said slowly. She didn't hate the fact he was holding her hand. Her eyes glanced past him and she growled at him. "You idiot, he's still alive and you are letting him set something up." Touma turned around and saw Teitoku standing next to what looked like a giant white egg with a flat bottom.
"What the hell is that?" Touma asked Shizuri, but Teitoku must have heard him.
"What do you two insects think of this?" he asked. "I've gotten bored of our little game so I decided to end this. Think of this as a giant bomb, capable of vaporizing this entire neighborhood into a smoking crater." He grinned and stepped back from it, his wings lifting him up into the air next to it. "This particular matter is quite combustible. If you hit it with your Meltdowner, you probably will set it off." He threw back his head and laughed.
"Move it," Shizuri said, pushing Touma away from her. She held out her hand and a large dark green orb appeared in front of her. "I'm going to blast that thing away."
"Don't," Touma said, moving his foot back to stay on his feet. "If he's telling the truth, your ability will cause all of us to get hit by the explosion."
"He's going to set it off anyway," Shizuri snapped. "This way, the explosion will be minimal." She prepared to fire and Touma reached out toward her hand again.
"Stop," he said, grabbing her hand and causing her green orb to disappear. "You can't throw your life away like that."
"You fucking idio…," Shizuri growled, when she stopped and her eyes went wide. Touma's eyes widened to, and a small trickle of blood came out the side of his mouth. "What the…" Her question was answered when Touma let go of her hand and staggered a couple steps back, before turning to face Teitoku. Shizuri's eyes widened even more as she saw the half a dozen white daggers in his back. While Touma had stopped her from killing all of them, Teitoku took the opportunity to attack when his back was turned.
"So your negation isn't all powerful," Teitoku commented, as Touma took a couple more steps toward him. "Accelerator doesn't even have to notice an attack to reflect it. It looks like your negation doesn't work like that."
"I'm not dead yet," Touma muttered. "The wounds aren't that deep and I've lived through worse." Pain suddenly wracked his body and he fell to his knees.
"Maybe," Teitoku shrugged. "But those are coated with a special kind of dark matter that is quite toxic to the human body. Your body is probably already paralyzed by now. Death is inevitable."
"Damn it," Touma muttered before falling face first onto the ground. He was no longer moving and his breathing slowed and died.
"KAMIJOU!" Shizuri yelled, as Teitoku roared with laughter. Shizuri felt something tighten in her chest. Her heart felt like it was about to burst out. Anger was overwhelming all other thoughts. Her face contorted in rage and she turned to face Teitoku with pure hatred. "KAKINE!" she roared. The street around her began to bubble as her body started to glow with a dark green light. Her eyes glowed a pure dark green once again. The diamond petals on her back reformed, but this time they were pitch black. It was as if her power was growing based on her desire for vengeance. He protected me and now he's gone.
Her explosion of power was so great, Teitoku felt it from his location in the air. Fear began to overwhelm him as he saw her transform. He couldn't understand it, but his instincts told him he needed to leave. So this form is what happens when a level 5 pushes past their limits.
Behind Shizuri, Rikou had managed to stand up, but was no backing away as fast as she could from Shizuri. She too could feel the darkness and raw power that was consuming her leader. Her AIM field is so powerful and concentrated, it's almost palpable.
"I'm going to kill you!" Shizuri screamed, in an almost animalistic way. Six orbs appeared in front of her in a perfect hexagon shape. She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, but she was going on instinct and following the flow of her power. She didn't care what happened to her, all she wanted to do was kill Teitoku. All six beams fired at once, but they weren't aimed at Teitoku. They were aimed at a single point about one foot in front of the orbs. All six beams combined into a brand new orb, which was growing as all the energy was funneled into a single point. Instead of being short beams designed to blast through an object and disappear, Shizuri was constantly replenishing the energy to keep the beams going, further increasing the energy contained in the final orb.
Teitoku was smart enough to realize what she was trying to do. "No matter how much power you add, you won't be able to contain the explosion with your power."
"Shut up," Shizuri told him, her last shreds of consciousness fading. After this attack, she would either go on a rampage or fall unconscious. She aimed her attack at Teitoku's bomb and fired. A beam large enough to cause a ravine in the street below her was fired, but didn't make it far. Something blocked it from only a couple meters ahead of her.
Touma Kamijou was standing up, his back to her, and held his right hand out to his side to block her attack.
"I told you," he said, turning his head around and looking at her. "I'm not going to let you commit suicide." His muscles in his arm appeared to be groaning from the effort, but he didn't have time to move his entire body in front of the attack. His Imagine Breaker had gone off, neutralizing the poison coursing through his veins, but the daggers in his back were still there.
"I can't control the output," Shizuri warned him, as her power fluctuated. A large wave of energy flowed into the beam and collided with Touma's arm. She felt a sense of dread before it happened.
His right arm was disintegrated from his body.
Shizuri's attack should have kept going and collided with Teitoku's bomb, but it didn't.
Out of Touma's hand, a great terrifying head emerged, preventing the attack from proceeding
It was a head of a beast only talked about in legends, with a jaw over ten meters long full of razor sharp teeth. It was the same dragon's head that appeared back in Italy that destroyed The Herald. The head extended, consuming Shizuri's Meltdowner like a feast and continued to grow as its neck emerged. It produced an aura of terror that caused Shizuri, Rikou and Teitoku to freeze. There was one big difference between this time and the one in Italy.
The dragon head was solid…
Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.
Accelerator: So she actually became useful, but it was only because of how awesome I was.
Shizuri: Hah, all you did was stop one attack. I and Kamijou did more against Dark Matter
Accelerator: You want to die fifth rate?
Shizuri: What did you call me?
Mikoto: Hey you two, at least you got an appearance in this chapter.
Misaki: Poor Misaka has slowly been dwindling away from the spot light. I guess the author knows you aren't the best girl anymore.
Lessar: That would be me.
Mikoto: Going to ignore both of you. Speaking of which, where is the author and Touma?
Eve: Well, the army of girls killed the author, and the Imagine Breaker is currently in the witness protection program.
Misaki: Why?
Mikoto: And what are you doing here?
Eve: Well, I saw him get taken away by people in suits and I'm here because I thought it might be fun to get on this harem thing.
All girls: No way!
Motoharu: It does pose a question what the intro next chapter is going to be like.
Accelerator: Eh, just let readers ask general questions or add comments and we can deal with it when the time comes.
Worst: Oh this will be fun. Misaka will make sure to cause a commotion.