Hello, everyone! We've finally reached WW3, so Touma and Mikoto are now heading into Russia.
Sebastin Mrmol: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the last two chapters!
Surayo: Unfortunately for Mikoto, the food probably doesn't have that property. I wanted to bring up Kimi's dragon so that Mikoto could ask Touma about it, but I didn't plan on changing the Jailbreaker Arc. Indeed, it's time to visit Russia.
Sentient Mop: I'm really glad to have reached 100k words, and I'm looking forward to continuing this story into NT.
Aminadab Brulle: Well, if the title is a Jojo reference, that was coincidental. I have been referencing the light novels as I write, so I'd glad it's noticeable.
GG Vegito: Yeah, that last scene between Mikoto and Touma in WW3 was really sad in canon, and you'll soon get to see this fic's version of that scene.
xellos540: Yeah, Mikoto learned that Tsuchimikado is not to be trusted. She probably ended up more pleased by the end of the call. Actually, "A Certain Infinite Possibility" is a full-on harem fic, so you might enjoy that. You're right, despite Mikoto's insecurities, she is one of the closest girls to Touma, and she becomes supportive of his decisions later on. Gunha was beaten by Ollerus, and Shokuhou will appear once we get to NT. Yeah, you might expect Mikoto to be shy about kissing or doing intimate things, but she's getting more confident over time. We are indeed in the WW3 arc now, and Lessar will be making an appearance.
MarauderPrime12: Thanks, I'm happy you enjoyed it.
Guest10032: Yeah, it ended up being a series of one-shots about Mikoto's day. I guess Villian isn't really part of his harem, but I wanted to throw that line in for fun. She was enthusiastic about taking that photo with Touma. Touma will probably mention Acqua helping him in London, but I don't think he knew about Acqua's role in WW3 in canon. I do want to give all four of the main group of Sisters (10032, 10039, 13577, and 19090) some screen time. Misaka 10046 probably lives at the same hospital too, though I don't know if I'll have her appear. Yeah, I'm not having the Silent Party Arc as canon, so Mikoto doesn't know what happened to Nunotaba, and she hasn't destroyed a missile in space. Yeah, the WW3 scenes will be a bit tricky, since I have to go back and forth between three light novels and a bunch of anime episodes, but hopefully I'll do Mikoto and Touma justice. Unfortunately, I can't really say much about my plans for NT2, since that would also spoil my planned ending for the WW3 arc. But Mikoto taking care of a drunk Touma or vice-versa would certainly be an interesting scene.
Clearwing Yuta: The remaining parents would probably be supportive as long as their children are happy, though Mikoto and Touma probably don't contact them too often, since Mikoto's dad is often overseas and Touma doesn't remember anything about his parents. Mikoto does want to tell them at least a bit about what happened during the Daihasei Festival, though she'll have to think about how to tell them about their memories being altered. She might not tell her friends about magic unless they start getting directly involved.
0 Jordinio 0: Yeah, I should've connected the first scene a bit to the previous chapter. Those are some pretty good suggestions. You're probably right about Thor not taking an interest in Mikoto or vice-versa.
Stryper88: I'm glad that conversation between Mikoto and her mother fulfilled your expectations. Yeah, I do plan on alternating between following the canon plot and having slice-of-life scenes in the gaps between them, and I do want to extend this fic into GT if possible. That fic's 81 chapters is a lot, but I guess I'm a quarter of the way there, even if my chapters are shorter. I've been writing pretty quickly lately, but I might have to slow down a bit soon. I hope you enjoy this first chapter of the WW3 arc.
Toa Solaric: I'm glad you enjoyed Mikoto and Misuzu's conversation. Like I said above, the other parents would probably be happy as long as their children are.
Blankow: Yeah, I really like writing slice-of-life moments between them, and I'm looking forward to writing more of them after WW3. You're right, as long as the two of them are happy together, she's the right girl for him.
tython055: Yeah, Mikoto's friends definitely won't like hearing that their memories were altered. They would probably be really upset with Shokuhou, and they may even get upset at Mikoto for not telling them. Saten especially might feel the worst, like you said, though Mikoto might actually be able to empathize in terms of feeling useless and inferior this time. There were some cool scenes in Silent Party, but I already treated it as not canon in my fic.
Streetmud: Yeah, I guess so, though I don't know how long I can keep writing this fast. You're right that Touma had some good reasons to stay behind in canon. As for what happens in this fic, you'll have to wait and see.
KaleidEmiya: Since Touma traveled to Russia from the UK, Mikoto can't join him in Russia from the beginning, unfortunately. I don't want to spoil what happens at the end of the war, but in any case, Mikoto won't get black wings.
HunterX097: Yeah, you're absolutely right about that.
EricGreater76: Yeah, them being a couple definitely raises the potential emotional impact, though I don't want to spoil the ending of the WW3 arc.
Hotaru TKM: Sorry about missing your question from Chapter 12. Touma did tell Index about his memory loss in canon, so I'll have that happen at the same time.
It was now October 30, and Touma was now in Russia. He was going after Fiamma of the Right, who had used the chaos of the coup in London to steal a spiritual remote control for Index's John's Pen mode. Furthermore, Russia had declared war on Academy City, and since Queen Elizard had said that there was some sort of alliance between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, Fiamma had likely engineered this war as well. And even though it had started as just a war between two countries, it was already being called World War 3. This was because India and China had joined the war on Academy City's side, and also because war seemed likely between the UK and France due to their continuing tensions.
But he had a more immediate concern, directed at the girl who was walking beside him, "Lessar, what are you doing here?" Somehow, the New Light magician he had briefly met back in London had caught up with him in Russia.
Lessar gave him a teasing grin as she replied, "Well, I'm not here on the orders of the British royal family, and I don't really have any grudge against Fiamma of the Right. I just figured it wasn't in Britain's best interests for you to die out here, so I decided to come here to support you. It's good to have a professional magician who can also translate Russian for you, don't you think?"
Touma sighed in exasperation, "If I wanted someone who knew Russian, I'd much rather be with Mikoto. Come to think of it, I haven't seen her for two weeks." As for the other part of her claim, he questioned, "Professional magician? I only remember you frantically running around London at night with a weird case. Are you even all that powerful?"
The girl bristled at the insult, "Do you want me to beat you up to show you how powerful I am? No one from Necessarius can help you, and I've even upgraded my weapon! My steel glove can now grab onto distant objects!"
The boy rolled his eyes, "I didn't ask for your help." He then asked, "How did you even find out that I was sneaking into Russia in the first place?" Other than his girlfriend, Touma had only told Elizard and Stiyl that he was heading for Russia, and even then he hadn't told them the details of his planned trip, so it troubled him that he'd been found by Lessar so easily.
Lessar noticed Touma's frustration and chuckled, "What's wrong? Are you feeling guilty about not being fair to Index, who's lying helplessly in a cathedral in London? After all, you're supposed to be saving her, but you're having a rendezvous with another girl instead!"
Touma decided not to dignify her with a response to those comments, letting out a resigned sigh instead. Lessar looked over at him upon not hearing any response, and she noticed something sticking out of his jacket pocket. She pointed at it and asked, "Hey, what's that frog strap?"
Touma pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the strap, answering, "It's called Gekota, though I don't really know much about him." He knew that Mikoto loved it and found it really cute, and that it was a really popular mascot, but that was the extent of his knowledge.
As the boy returned the phone to his pocket, the girl gave him a smirk and replied, "Ooh, a fancy mascot like that and you don't know any details? Sounds like there's a girl involved."
Touma debated with himself on whether to confirm her guess, and decided to reveal, "Yeah, it's actually a gift from my girlfriend."
Lessar froze for a moment as she processed this surprising information. She hadn't expected him to be taken, and she muttered to herself, "I may need to change my strategy a bit, but I still have the advantage of being here with him."
She walked closer to him, her tail wriggling in the air, and said, "So, where is this girlfriend of yours? Did you abandon her back in Academy City to save another girl? I wonder how she feels about that."
Touma tensed up a bit, having a bad feeling about what she was up to. As she approached him, he began slowly backing away.
Lessar licked her lips and said in a seductive tone, "Aww, are you feeling lonely without her? If so, I have some good news for you! I, Lessar, am not wearing any leggings under my skirt right now, just my panties!"
The boy's eyes widened as he realized her intentions. He raised his hands in front of him and replied, "Woah woah, why are you telling me that information? How am I even supposed to respond to that?"
The girl was annoyed that he was brushing her off, and she angrily exclaimed, "Like a normal guy! Get behind me, lift up my skirt, and forget that other girl!"
Touma was livid that Lessar was blatantly telling him to cheat on his girlfriend. He clenched his right fist and sharply replied, "You know what, absolutely no one in the world would blame me if I punched you for what you just said to me!"
Lessar suddenly backed away in fear. She hadn't expected him to react so angrily, and she knew that he wouldn't have any hesitations about punching her. The girl had been planning to seduce him to get him on the side of the UK, but he was being much more resistant than she had expected. After distancing herself from Touma and calming down a bit, the girl thought to herself, "I guess I'll have to back off for now, but I'll try again later! He'll surely get too lonely and desperate to resist soon!"
Touma looked over at her and became very concerned about the devious expression on her face. He realized that he would have to keep a close eye on Lessar. But then he turned his thoughts to Mikoto, "I wonder how she's doing back in Academy City. It must be a bit tense over there because of the war, though I don't think the city is in any danger from Russian attacks." He hoped that defeating Fiamma would help bring the war to an end, after which he could finally return home.
Late afternoon in Academy City, Mikoto and Kuroko were in their dorm room. While Kuroko was at her desk, Mikoto was lying down on her bed, looking up at her Gekota phone strap. She really missed Touma, who she hadn't seen in two weeks. He had been in the UK during the coup there, but once it had been defeated, he had texted her saying that he was heading to Russia to save Index from Fiamma of the Right. A couple of hours ago, her boyfriend had again texted her, telling her that he had finally reached Russia, but also that a magician from Britain had managed to track him down. Apparently, she was now accompanying him and making weird sexual advances. Mikoto was really annoyed about this, but she trusted him not to betray her.
But she was also concerned about the war that had broken about between Russia and Academy City. Because of its advanced technology, Academy City was completely safe from Russian bombings, so the main theater of the war was in Russia itself. But she was much more worried about Touma, especially since the war had apparently been engineered by Fiamma of the Right using his influence over the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches. He was not just fighting against Fiamma, but potentially against Russian military forces as well.
If that was all, Mikoto might have just patiently waited for him to return home. However, Mikoto had just learned about a third threat to her boyfriend. She had just hacked into Academy City's data to see if there was any information on him in relation to his presence in Russia. She had learned that the higher-ups were concerned that he might defect from Academy City to another organization, so they had prepared a special mission to retrieve him alive, and if necessary, to keep him alive with a similar method as that being used for the 2nd Ranked Level 5. Mikoto knew that Accelerator had left Kakine Teitoku in a crippled state, but he was apparently being kept alive in order to maintain the production of dark matter for research purposes. She did not want Touma to suffer the same fate.
She had even seen the detailed plans for retrieving Touma from Russia, which involved a paradrop from a military aircraft that was currently being prepared in District 23. It would be taking off soon, so Mikoto didn't have much time to wait if she wanted to stop it. Thus, she got up off the bed and found a large bag. She opened her drawers and began picking out some winter clothing.
As she started to pack, Kuroko turned around and asked, "What's going on, onee-sama?" She had noticed over the past two weeks that her best friend seemed constantly worried. Kuroko knew that Mikoto hadn't met up with her boyfriend during that time, which was a bit unusual, but she chalked it up to either the war or just them being too busy. But now, Mikoto was suddenly packing a bunch of clothes, implying that she was going to travel somewhere.
Mikoto looked at Kuroko with a nervous smile and admitted, "So, it turns out that Touma is in Russia right now. I don't know the full details, but I know that he's in danger."
Kuroko tensed up as she realized what the other girl was about to do. The boy's absence was now explained, but Mikoto, like usual, was going to march directly into a dangerous situation. She questioned, "How are you even going to get there? It's an active war zone!"
Mikoto chuckled nervously and replied, "I'll find some way. Could you please tell the others, Kuroko? I promise I'll come back home after I drag that idiot out of danger."
Kuroko let out an exasperated sigh. She knew there was no dissuading the other girl, and in fact she was a little jealous that Mikoto was willing to go halfway around the world for Touma. She told Mikoto, "All right, just be careful, okay?"
Mikoto nodded, "Yeah, I will." She finished packing and quickly left the dorm. She was now on a mission to protect her boyfriend from danger and eventually bring him home once he defeated Fiamma.
A few hours later, Mikoto was in an Academy City supersonic bomber flying over western Russia. Previously, she had ambushed the paratroopers who were tasked with retrieving Touma, knocking them out before they could even board the aircraft in District 23. She had then paralyzed the pilot with her electricity and forced him to fly her to Touma's location.
The hijacked aircraft was now approaching the location that Mikoto expected Touma to be in. She turned to the pilot and said, "Okay, once we get there, I'll parachute down on my own. After that, you can do whatever you want."
The pilot replied, "Do you realize what a big risk you're taking?" He was still in shock that this esper was going this far to save a single boy.
Mikoto scoffed at that question, "You've already seen what I can do, I had no problem taking down a group of professional assassins. Besides, it doesn't matter how risky it is. Between the side that is trying hard to kill an ordinary high school boy and the side that is trying hard to save him, which side do you want to be on? Which side would you be proud to be on?"
The pilot was silent, unable to refute her reasoning. Meanwhile, Mikoto frowned, thinking to herself, "Ugh, this kind of thing really isn't my style. I think Touma is rubbing off on me."
Soon afterwards, the aircraft had reached the target location, so Mikoto grabbed one of the parachutes and jumped out of the plane, which was about three kilometers above the ground. The girl waited until she reached free fall before activating the parachute. She then slowly descended to the ground, and once she took the parachute off, she was surrounded by a snowy expanse on all sides.
Suddenly, Mikoto detected a presence behind her and heard some footsteps approaching. She turned around and saw a girl with an identical face, carrying a Russian assault rifle. She questioned, "You're...?"
"Misaka's serial number is 10777, kindly explains Misaka to Big Sister, who seems speechless."
Mikoto was a bit surprised to see one of her sisters here. "Oh, hey 10777-chan! I'm guessing you're with one of the cooperative institutions in Russia?"
"Yes, we have successfully covered the evacuation there, so Misaka was allowed to take some private time off, announces Misaka in a leisurely mood while holding a dangerous rifle."
Mikoto repeated with some confusion, "Private time?" She wondered what type of leisure her sister could have in this environment.
"Big Sister, are you here on private time too, asks Misaka for confirmation."
Mikoto sighed at the unexpectedly revealing question. She answered, "Well, I'm certainly not here for business." She had already taken care of the people targeting her boyfriend, so now her goal was to meet up with him.
Misaka 10777 looked over at her older sister and noticed something sticking out of her jacket pocket. "Is that a Gekota strap, asks Misaka, filled with curiosity."
Mikoto took the strap about and held it in front of her, answering, "Yeah, I got two of these from a cell phone promotion I dragged Touma to, and I gave him the other one."
"With that strap and especially the necklaces, it seems the Academy City Misakas have the advantage when it comes to that boy, deduces Misaka. Being long-distance is hard, concludes Misaka, wondering how to change her strategy."
Mikoto empathized with her sister. Her sisters in Academy City were able to see Touma regularly, but the ones in the rest of the world, including Misaka 10777, couldn't. She smiled and patted the other girl's shoulder, "Hey, cheer up, 10777-chan! I actually came here for Touma, and I'm pretty sure he's close to here! So if you want, you can join me and we can go meet up with him!"
"Misaka likes the idea of searching for the boy, replies Misaka, grateful for the golden opportunity. But do you know where exactly to look, questions Misaka, wondering if you've thought this through fully."
Mikoto nervously rubbed her head, admitting, "I know for sure that he's around here, but I'm not sure about the exact location. I bet he's involved in a battle somewhere." Touma always ended up at the heart of the action.
"It seems you are as impulsive as ever, Big Sister. However, Misaka has intercepted encrypted Russian transmissions that indicate an ongoing battle against Academy City tanks and powered suits taking place a few kilometers in that direction, reports Misaka, pointing towards the location. Perhaps the boy will be there."
Mikoto looked in that direction and mused, "Hmm, now that you mention it, I am detecting a lot of radio waves from that direction. Let's head in that direction and find that idiot!" She was excited to finally see her boyfriend again after all this time, and so the two sisters began walking towards the battle.
"By the way, why is that boy in Russia in the first place, asks Misaka, wondering how he got involved in this war. After all, his ability is useless against conventional military forces, notes Misaka."
Mikoto internally retorted, "Yes, but it can be used against magicians." Not wanting to get into the Magic Side, she instead told her sister, "He's going after someone here to save a friend of his."
"I see, so it's the same pattern as usual, remarks Misaka with a smile. So, did you come here to help him fight against his foe, asks Misaka, interrogating your motives."
Mikoto chuckled, "Yeah, it definitely is. I actually found out about a plot by Academy City to forcibly take him back. I took care of the soldiers who were going to carry out the plot, and hijacked their aircraft to come here. But now that I'm here, I also want to help him as much as I can." The girl knew that she would likely be outmatched against Fiamma, just like against Acqua, but she hoped that she could at least make a greater contribution this time.
"You seem to be gaining even more experience in criminal activities, notes Misaka, somewhat concerned about her Big Sister."
Mikoto gave her sister a smirk and retorted, "Hey, didn't a bunch of you guys break into facilities around the world to retrieve those Gemstones?" She knew that the other girl was just teasing her, so she decided to fire back.
"We had proper authorization to do that, says Misaka, attempting to distinguish the two cases. However, she concedes that saving the boy is more important."
Mikoto exclaimed, "That's for sure!" Saving Touma was the most important objective for her, and she resolved to do whatever was necessary to achieve it.
By this time, Touma and Lessar were in a snowy plain, about 40 kilometers from Fiamma's base. They had already encountered Fiamma once before, within the Elizalina Alliance's borders. Even with Vento of the Front on their side, they had all been defeated by Fiamma, who was able to take Sasha Kreutzev. The two of them had then set out to find Fiamma's base, but Touma had been sidetracked by a fight against Accelerator. After that, however, he and Lessar had finally made it to this location by riding in a supply truck.
This was as far as the trucks would go, so they had planned to sneak into the base via the underground train which was being used to transport materials to it. They were now in front of a large hole in the ground which led down to the underground railway tunnel. However, before they could enter the tunnel, they suddenly heard someone shout, "Hey, Touma!"
The boy turned around and was stunned to see his girlfriend and one of her sisters approaching him. He asked, "Biri-Biri? What are you doing here?" He checked out her outfit, which included a cute hat and skirt, as well as a warm-looking coat and pair of leggings, in contrast to his thinner high school winter uniform. Touma suddenly felt the urge to cuddle up with her.
Mikoto walked up to him and gently poked him on the nose, smirking, "I came here to rescue you, you idiot!" She was actually really happy to finally see him again, but she tried to hold back a bit since they were not alone.
Touma blushed in response to her soft touch. Her finger was a bit cold on his face, but Touma felt a bit warmer nonetheless. He smiled back at her and replied, "Rescue me?" He knew that he was risking his life by being in a war zone and going after Fiamma, but she made it sound like there was a more immediate threat.
Mikoto brought her hand back and answered, "Yeah, Academy City tried to send some soldiers to forcibly bring you back, but they were nothing I couldn't take care of. I was even able to use their plane to get here!"
The boy's eyes widened as he processed what Mikoto just told him. His ability was useless against conventional military forces, so if it wasn't for her, he might've been forced back to Academy City before he could take down Fiamma. And who knows what they would've done to him after that.
Touma grinned widely and pulled Mikoto into a tight hug, exclaiming, "Thanks, Mikoto! You really are the best!" He was also really happy to see his girlfriend again, and relished having her in his arms again. Touma brought up one of his hands and stroked his fingers through the back of her hair.
Mikoto blushed at his sudden embrace, but she also wrapped her arms around his back. Resting her head on his shoulder, she replied, "Of course, I'm not going to let you get taken out so easily!" She enjoyed the comforting feeling of his fingers caressing her head, especially after two weeks of separation.
After they hugged for a few moments, Mikoto lifted her head and pressed her lips against his. She felt Touma's hand pull her head in closer as he began to kiss back. Once they finished kissing, they opened their eyes and leaned their foreheads against each other. Mikoto softly said, "I missed you so much!"
Touma gazed into her eyes and replied, "I missed you too!" He then grabbed onto her hands and softly caressed them with his thumbs. His hands now felt a lot warmer thanks to Mikoto's hands. Touma then looked over at the other new arrival and said, "Hello there!"
"Hello, Misaka's serial number is 10777, states Misaka, kindly greeting the boy. Because her cooperative institution has been evacuated, Misaka has been able to take some private time off, and she helped Big Sister find you here."
The boy let go of his girlfriend's hands and waved at Misaka 10777 with a smile, "Nice to meet you, 10777-chan! Thanks for helping her out!" He noticed that she was dressed in a military-style outfit, a Russian hat, and a radio headset, and that she was carrying an assault rifle on her back. Overall, she looked somewhat intimidating, but still cute.
The girl then held out her arms and approached a bit closer. "Misaka is happy to finally meet you again, says Misaka, earnestly hoping for a hug."
Touma simply replied, "Sure!" He walked up to the girl and embraced her, being careful with the gun on her back. He felt her wrap her arms around his back, and he enjoyed the hug. After a few seconds, the two of them separated.
"Misaka wishes she could see you and Big Sister more often like the others in Academy City, but she is glad for this opportunity, admits Misaka."
Touma frowned as she lamented her situation. He figured it couldn't be easy for her to be separated from the people closest to her. He tried consoling her, "Yeah, it sounds tough. But at least you can always communicate with the others, right?"
"That's right, answers Misaka with a nod. And she can live vicariously through the ones in Academy City, so it's not too bad, concedes Misaka."
While all this was going on, Lessar had been silently watching with mounting frustration. One of her main goals in coming to Russia was to seduce Touma. It had been a bit disappointing to learn that he had a girlfriend, but she'd tried to soldier on. Back when they had been riding in a carriage, she had tried unbuttoning her shirt and flapping her skirt, but the boy had just treated her like an ignorant child. She had been saving a revealing bra as a secret weapon, but that had been revealed too early and also had no effect.
But now, his girlfriend had somehow managed to find him in the right place at the right time, throwing a big wrench in her plans. Lessar recognized Mikoto as the girl she'd met in Russia a few months earlier, and she knew that Mikoto was a formidable opponent. However, seeing Touma readily embrace the girl's weird twin sister, Lessar decided to make a last, desperate move. She rushed towards Touma with outstretched arms, exclaiming, "Here, I'll give you a hug too!"
Touma's eyes widened as she began her attack. He quickly sidestepped her and shouted, "No thanks!" This left Lessar just hugging air, and she pouted as she realized her attempt had failed.
Mikoto immediately realized that this was the girl that Touma had been complaining about. She walked up to Lessar and sharply said, "I remember you, you're that Lessar girl I met the last time I was in Russia! What the hell are you doing, harassing my boyfriend all this time?" She remembered working well with Lessar back then, so it was a bit disconcerting seeing the other girl was acting like this.
Lessar continued pouting and tried justifying herself, "Well, I just figured he would be lonely, since he abandoned you to come here after all! But now that you're here, I won't mind sharing him with you and your twin sister. Maybe he wouldn't mind a foursome?"
Mikoto's jaw dropped, and she was rendered speechless by Lessar's audacity. But Touma was absolutely furious. He had been putting up with Lessar's harassment the entire day, and now she was doing so right in front of his girlfriend. He tersely told her, "Hey, Lessar, I wasn't kidding when I said I would punch you for saying something like that!"
Lessar jumped back in fright and frantically waved her hands, saying, "Sorry, sorry, I'll stop!" Not only did Touma look ready to beat her up, but the two Misaka sisters were sparking as well. She knew when she was in a losing situation.
Touma sighed in relief. He turned to his girlfriend and asked, "You've met Lessar before?"
Mikoto nodded, "Yeah, it was when I did a demonstration of my powers at the Russian Shopping Center. We worked together when there was some weird incident there." Her eyes widened in realization, and she asked Lessar, "Wait, you're a magician, right? Was magic involved in what was happening there?"
Lessar, having recovered a bit, smirked at Mikoto, "Oh, now you believe in magic? You were pretty skeptical when I tried explaining it to you. But yes, there were magicians behind some of what happened there."
Mikoto retorted, "Well, you just gave up explaining it the first time I expressed skepticism, and you never showed me any evidence, so of course I didn't believe you back then." She then turned to Touma and asked, "So anyway, what have you been up to here? You're going after Fiamma, right?"
Touma replied, "Yeah, we've been trying to get into Fiamma's base, which is 40 kilometers away from here. We were about to enter that tunnel and try to sneak aboard a freight train bringing materials to the base."
Mikoto excitedly pumped her fist and exclaimed, "All right, let's go take him down!" She looked forward to working with her boyfriend to bring an end to this war.
However, before they could do so, some Academy City forces began carpet bombing the Russian positions, with shells that traveled faster than the speed of sound. They weren't fired at specific targets within the base, but just in the general area, which put the four of them at risk.
Mikoto was able to deflect the fraction of shells that posed a direct danger to them using her magnetism. However, all the other shells produced bright flashes and loud shockwaves that forced them to lie on the ground for cover. Due to the flashes, it took them over 30 seconds for their normal sight to return.
After that bombardment was over, they heard the sounds of heavy treads and smelled exhaust gases. An Academy City tank unit arrived nearby and began firing on the Russian positions, soon joined by powered suits. A Russian tank force also began firing in return. Touma was glad that Mikoto was there to protect them from Russian counterfire, but that still left the problem of now to sneak into Fiamma's base while this tank battle was going on.
Lessar stood up with a grin and exclaimed, "Yes, this is our chance!"
Touma looked at her with a confused expression, "How is this our chance? There's a tank battle going on now."
Lessar explained, "We can use the chaos to sneak into the base. The Russian army is going all-out to defend the base, which means Fiamma doesn't want to move. Either he doesn't want anyone to know where he's hiding, or he's conducting some kind of magical operation."
"Misaka doesn't fully understand what's going on, but how are we going to sneak into the base, asks Misaka, observing that the underground tunnel has caved in from the bombing and that the surface route is without any cover."
Lessar gestured to Mikoto and replied, "She can provide cover for us, can't she? We can even steal some of those powered suits or one of the tanks so we don't have to walk all the way there!"
Mikoto perked up and added, "Yeah, I can definitely deal with the Russian tanks, though I'm not sure how the Academy City forces will react if we attack them." She was a bit worried that her boyfriend could be captured, since he was still technically a target of Academy City.
Touma frowned and voiced his doubts, "Hold on, this seems a little too easy. The last time we tried sneaking into the base, Fiamma had about 200 Russian Orthodox magicians defending him. Since the Russian military forces are losing, I would've expected the magicians to come out to try to turn the tide, but there's no sign of them. Assuming they're still there, why is Fiamma just letting Academy City capture the base?"
Touma and the others suddenly heard Fiamma's voice, "Hmm, isn't it obvious? To invite in you and your all-important right arm!" He frantically looked around for the source of the voice, as it continued, "I can't have you losing your right arm in a random attack. I intentionally left a gap open to lure you in!" The boy reached inside his jacket and found a doll made of flour, which disintegrated upon contact with his right hand. He realized that Fiamma had let him get away in their earlier fight, knowing that Touma would surely come after him.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Touma's feet shook, before rising into a cliff. Mikoto, Misaka 10777 and Lessar were left on the ground, absolutely shocked, as the boy was lifted higher and higher. Once the giant piece of earth had fully separated from the ground, it started flying upwards at a much greater speed.
Mikoto looked up with a dumbfounded expression and exclaimed, "What the heck is that?" She glanced around, but while her sister was still next to her, it seemed that Lessar had disappeared, which led Mikoto to wonder, "Did she get dragged up by that thing too?" In fact, Lessar had used her steel glove to latch onto the giant piece of earth, leaving the two Misaka sisters behind.
Mikoto clenched her fists in frustration. After all that effort she had taken to get here, it didn't take long for her to get separated from her boyfriend again. And if she wanted to see him again, she would have to figure out a way to reach that fortress in the sky.