II

Chapter 9: Gate of the Imaginary Number District

Breakdown

Part 1

The first thing he felt was an almost unbearable pain that seemed to spread from the tip of his toes to the top of his head. It was as if several parts of his body were torn apart ad then sewed back with a thick needle and a steel line without any anesthesia. It was so strong that even though he wanted to scream his lungs out, he couldn't build up the strength to move a single finger.

The pain finally started to die out a little after a few minutes and he dared to try opening his eyelids. The daylight was blinding and it gave him an immediate headache, but he forced himself to study his surroundings. It was a simple white room with a window and a small table with a vase and red flowers on it close to a chair. He was laying down on a bed, and there was something attached to his right arm - it was a tube linked to a recipient of transparent liquid, probably some kind of drug or medicine being injected directly into his veins.

Ah… It's a hospital room. Upon reaching this conclusion, he remembered what had happened to him. That's right, I was going after the nun and then I fought that woman… I thought that this time I was gone for sure. His body was hurting, but with enough effort he could move his limbs with no problem. He had somehow miraculously survived that sure-kill attack in one piece... kinda.

There were a lot of questions on his mind and he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, but even though he had just woken up, he was too tired to stand up on his own. Giving up to his fate, he sunk on the bed once again and decided to take as much rest as he could. It annoyed him, but it would be for the best if he focused on recovering his energy for now.

A few hours passed and someone finally entered his room. "... Oh, I wasn't expecting to find you awake so soon. You are really one of a kind, boy. Even among my patients."

White coat. Old looking. Frog like face. Without even asking he could tell that this man was a doctor, even though he looked a bit weird.

"So soon, huh... just how long have I been asleep?"

"Two days." Said the doctor as he walked closer and started to check the medicine's recipient. "Though I thought you would be fainted for at least a week. You should consider yourself lucky."

Hearing that, the boy could only smile wryly. "I can't exactly complain at least. I wasn't expecting to survive that one."

"You were in a critical state, indeed, but it was more from the shock and blood loss than your actual injuries. I'm afraid they left some light scars on your torso, but they are mostly healed by now. Whatever hurt you did a good job avoiding your vital organs."

"That doesn't bother me… I've got plenty of those already." The doctor probably wanted to ask about the previous scars because he almost said something, but hesitated and gave up. The boy turned his attention to the calendar on the wall displaying July 23. That's odd… I was pretty sure it was the 20th last time I remember, but I supposedly sleep for only 2 days.

"By the way, doctor… how did I get to the hospital?"

"A girl brought you here. She said she was your friend and was nearby when you got hurt. Don't you remember?"

A… friend? A girl nearby when I got hurt? This doesn't sounds right… The only female he could think of that was nearby was the person that almost got him killed to begin with. He had to lie to gather more information and try to fill the gap to understand the situation. "No… A-actually, I don't remember exactly what I was doing when it happened, nor who was with me."

"Is that so? Well, temporary memory loss is common in cases such as yours. The girl in question was young and small… I was quite surprised to see her being able to drag you all the way here on her own. She's been visiting you every day ever since, always after your checkup. Actually, she could be here any moment now."

He felt a shiver. From the description, he could almost tell who it was, but… it couldn't be, could it? She had no reason to save him… she had no reason to get involved in this side of the world anymore. It's been three months already. It can't be…

However, his fear concertized. Right after the doctor finished replacing the medicines for new ones, a girl appeared standing near the door. No one heard a knock. No one heard a single footstep. It was hard to tell when she even got there. Shoulder length black hair, empty black eyes, wearing a black tank top and blue miniskirt, she stood there emotionlessly until she finally spoke with a shy voice. "Good afternoon."

Surprised, the doctor turned around and greeted her. "Oh- Good afternoon! As you can see, he has woken up already."

The girl tilted her head and stared at the boy, who avoided her eyes. Without noticing the atmosphere, the doctor decided to give them some space. "Well then, I don't want to get in the way of your reunion. I've added some painkillers to your medication, so you should feel a lot better from now on. If you need anything, just call me. I'll be staying until late night today." And like this, he left the two alone.

"Hishiro, are you okay?" The question might sound natural, but one would doubt any concern coming from her by the tone of her voice.

"... What do you think you're doing, Hinata?"

Yes, this girl was Hinata Sazuko, a level 0 that was originally a member of New Pointer just like Hishiro. She was one of the most lasting members and left the team just three months ago.

There were many mysteries surrounding this girl. In a group of people with exceptional and unique abilities, she was the only level 0. She was also "officially" the youngest member of the team. "Officially", because no one knew each other's real age or identities. According to the files, she is currently 12 years old, but she looked to be even younger than that.

The scary thing, however, was that her skills were not of a child. She was a master of assassination, being it by sneaking, facing her opponent head on or using indirect methods. Every time she went to combat, she would kill the enemy with a single and precise attack without breaking a sweat. That was the only thing that made her earn the respect (or fear) of the older members of the team. But one had to wonder where all that came from. She was extremely shy most of the time, going one hundred percent against her murderous actions, and under some circumstances she failed to express any emotion at all. Many among the team suspected that she was actually an experimental android developed inside some shady facility in the city. Even Hishiro believed that theory for quite some time, until he noticed that her body had grown a little, meaning that she could only be organic after all… probably.

Hinata kept glaring at the boy in the bed without flinching from his tone. "That's what I wanted to ask… what are you doing, Hishiro Yamazaki? It's not like you to get beaten so badly."

Having his defeat been pointed out to him so bluntly made him annoyed beyond the charts. "T-that's none of your business anymore, is it?! You're no longer one of us. Don't get involved with my job anymore, got it?"

For a moment, a very short moment, she seemed at a loss of words. But as if her brain had reseted in a split of second, her expression darkened and she retorted in a even lower tone. "... You are misunderstanding something. I haven't done anything for your sake. I just did what Mayu-nee-san told me to do. So you don't have to worry."

Dammit Asuka! He had a lot of trouble stopping himself from snapping (the pain was actually the only thing that held him in place). The worst part was that he would probably be dead if it wasn't for them, so for now, he had to swallow it all.

Without noticing his internal conflict, the girl continued. "Even so... I think you should quit, Hishiro. We aren't being forced into doing this anymore."

The suggestion got him off guard and made he raise an eyebrow. "Did Asuka asked you to tell me that?"

She denied shaking her head with her eyes closed. "This is my personal opinion. You can't continue doing this alone. It's not just dangerous-"

"I refuse to." He didn't let her finish.

"Why?"

"..."

"Is that the 'sense of justice' Kai was always talking about?"

"Don't you dare to compare me to that happy-go-lucky hypocrite!"

"Then are you just an idiot that likes to fight just satisfy your own ego?"

"Hell no!"

"Then why?" Hinata stared more intently. He couldn't avoid her gaze this time.

Shit, I'm falling right into her mind game... That's why I hate dealing with her! Thinking in a way to turn the situation to his advantage, he returned the question to her. "If you want to know that much, then tell me why YOU stuck up with us for so long. You could have left several months before, just like the rest did!"

"That is... I..." Her hard expression finally cracked. "... I can't say it."

"Then don't expect me to say it either."

"But your life is in danger-"

"Our freaking lives have always been in danger! From the very beginning! But it seems like I was the only one aware of it!"

"Y-yes, but... I-I mean, no! That's not my point!"

"I got it already, Hinata. But let me tell you something: I have always worked alone. Since way before we were recruited to POINTER, I already worked in the darkness and back then, people we thought to be allies could back stab us at any moment. I can handle myself just fine."

"Sure, I can see that very clearly right now how fine you're doing."

"S-Shut up! It's not like as if you, or Kai, or everyone else were there could have changed what happened!"

"You're hopeless... I feel bad for Mayu-nee-san to be stuck babysitting you."

That little... I wonder if they would be able to frame me for murder if I gave her a heart attack right now. Though he was more afraid of her somehow surviving than to be arrested. That's just how much of a monster she was. I have to calm down. She won't leave me alone if this keeps dragging on.

Breathing deeply, he got over his pride and said in a calmer tone. "Well... you did save my life, so you have my thanks."

Surprised by the sudden change, Hinata dropped her cold attitude and went back to the docile shy girl she seemed to be when she first entered the room. "... Don't mind it."

"Just… try to avoid getting involved in the darkness from now on. You finally got your freedom, after all." Several seconds passed and she gave no answer. It was hard to tell if it was a silence of approval or if she had no intention to do what he asked.

Part 2

Before leaving, Hinata told him what she knew about the incident.

On the 21st, Asuka had contacted her and explained that he had got seriously hurt. Supposedly, the woman that attacked him plus another person called an ambulance for him. However, the vehicle was intercepted midway and men in suit had took his body away in a black car. Asuka kept them in sight using a drone, and after his body had gone through a lot of people, the final destination was the headquarters of LIZARD.

Hinata alone infiltrated the facility, killed the guard with poisonous gas, locked him inside the cell and took Hishiro away without anyone noticing. It was a hard task, but thanks to a small group that had invaded the base on the same day and kept the staff busy, her escape went smoothly and she managed to bring him safely to the closest hospital she could find.

After her story was over, she gave him back his communication device that she had found inside the base and then left. She probably wouldn't come to visit him again after what had happened.

But they wouldn't meet again even if she changed her mind.

The next day, Hishiro received a call. Huh, figures. She won't leave me alone even under these circumstances. He didn't actually wanted to talk to Asuka, but he had to. They both took a step away from the path determined by the higher ups and they had to plan what to do from now on. However...

"Hello. It's been a while." The voice belonged to a female, but not the one he was expecting. It was the other manager of New Pointer, one that would not contact the field team directly unless the situation was critical. Hishiro had a bad feeling about this.

"Is it Seria? It's rare for you to call me. Sometimes I think you died in the hands of the directors or something."

"Unrespectful as always, I see."

"Says the woman calling my cell phone in a hospital."

"Let's put that aside for now." She said in a serious tone. Unlike Asuka, she was the kind to go straight to the point. Hishiro was glad for that, at the very least.

"Let me guess: you want to get me punished for what I did three days ago, right?"

"I don't know what you did and it seems that you got your punishment already. I'm calling you to give you further instructions regarding the investigation."

She is really letting me out of the hook? Is she THAT desperate? He swallowed dry before confirming. "The Breakdown?"

"Things are getting out of hand..." There was the sound of several sheets of paper being scattered around. She was probably overloaded with work. Knowing her personality, she probably wanted to get this over with as fast as possible, which would explain why she was in a hurry. "Several factions are on the move right now. One of them officially claimed - and by that I mean that they sent a message to the board of directors and the most important researcher and administration facilities - that they will be opening the path to the Imaginary Number District today. They are basically announcing a Coup d'état."

"What the heck... that's dumb." No matter how you think about it, if you want to take the government by force, the most effective way to do it was to do it by surprise. Why would someone give the enemy the chance to be prepared for the attack beforehand? However, Seria didn't agree.

"Is it really? I find it to be a pretty clever move."

"How come?"

"They can't take over. There is no doubt about that. No one knows what can be found in that place, nor if it's even a place to begin with. Even though, they had the courage to challenge the Board of Directors, and even the Chairman himself, with such confidence. They couldn't possibly be betting on something so unknown, so their goal is obviously something else. Can you figure it out on your own?"

It made sense, up to some point. Seria was smart, even Hishiro knew that much. But why would they do this false claim? What they had to gain with it? He didn't need to think about it too much to reach the answer. "The Breakdown itself... They can't take over the government, but if enough people believe they can, they'll panic instantly. And since the Imaginary Number District is a huge unknown like you said, those who matter cannot completely deny the possibility. Are they wanting to start a riot among the higher ups?"

"A riot or something worse. In the worse case scenario, the government would enter into a process of self destruction, but they know that we won't allow that to happen. In any case, they want us busy. And to make things even more complicated, the Level Upper project is getting to the final stage today. In summary, the city is going to be a mess and the Directors are going to be kept in check, thus we need you to act in their behalf."

"Well, it's their own fault for letting the Level Upper to escalate so much. I could have ended it in a day or two."

"The experiment being ran by professor Kyama Harumi is considered to be more important than the damage caused by its consequences. Besides, there are people keeping the damage under control, so all you have to worry about is the Breakdown."

"If you say so..." This were no news. He was used to leave alone the incidents that were "useful" for the higher ups. "Then, what do I have to do?"

"It's simple, actually. We located the leaders of the supposed rebellion inside a building in District 10. You'll barge in, eliminate everyone inside and capture their leader, Kihara Hideaki, alive if possible. Also, try not to damage any files or machinery you may find. Those are going to be inspected later. That's all."

"Wait, a Kihara?"

"That's what it says on the database, but he doesn't seems to be a researcher of any kind, so you can rest assured."

In other words, a genocide mission. Hishiro smiled bitterly. There was no explanation on how they were found, no guarantee that they were the right people nor that unrelated people won't be there and it seems that it doesn't matter even if there are. The true point behind it all is to close the case by using this group as a scapegoat and inciting fear on other factions. "That's quite the thing to ask someone in a hospital bed. You guys are the best, really."

"..."

"Whatever. I'll get it done… somehow. Is Asuka going to assist me?"

"No. She is busy with another task right now, thus I'm the one instructing you. However, she sent something that might help you. It's inside a package hidden in a brush near the front entrance."

"And how am I supposed to get there? I can't exactly leave here, you know."

"Find a way. I did everything possible on my end. There will be a vehicle to pick you up in fifteen minutes. Be waiting on the street by then."

"Good grief… that's unreasonable as heck." But no one heard his complaint, Seria had already cut the call. "Well… now, how should I do this?" He skillfully removed the needle injecting the medicine on his arm and stood up - just to regret doing it. The pain made it obvious that he wasn't totally healed yet. "Ugh- I guess I'll need to get back here once this is over..."

He couldn't just walk away as if nothing had happened. If a nurse or an doctor saw him on the hallways heading to the exit, they would stop him without a doubt. After all, all he was wearing were the patients attire, and since his normal clothes were probably destroyed after what had happened. Also, there weren't any outfits in this room he could use to leave without standing out. So this left the window as his only option. "Though this is the second floor… dammit, talk about bad luck." Looking down from there reminded him about the jump he had made a few days ago. His ability wasn't enough to break the fall back then, and it would probably be less effective now. Then, a tree nearby caught his attention. It wasn't too far away from the building and if he managed to jump there, he could climb down easily.

He made up his mind and opened the window wide, took a few steps back and when he was about to dash forward-

"Are you going somewhere?"

"!"

There was a girl leaning on the door with crossed arms. Shoulder length brown hair and Tokiwadai uniform, Hishiro immediately recognized her. "G-geez, you surprised me! Why didn't you knocked?"

"I did. Twice." Misaka stared at him with cold eyes. Her menacing tone was completely different from when he first met her.

"Is that so? I didn't hear at all."

"Yeah, you seem to be pretty busy here."

"N-not at all..." His vague answer brought a few sparks to her bangs. For the sake of keeping his calm, he told himself he was just seeing things. "By the way, what are you doing here?"

She almost didn't let him finish. "Just who are you?"

"... what do you mean?"

"When we met the other day, you told me to keep an eye on Saten-san… my friend that left early. You knew what was going to happen, didn't you?"

"Oh… that..." Hishiro recalled the scene. She was probably be referring to the girl he suspected to be in possession of the Level Upper. "By what you're saying, I assume that she..."

"Yes… she fell victim of the Level Upper." Misaka averted her eyes for a moment, just to stare back at him more coldly than before. "How did you know that she was going to use it? Just how deep are you involved with this?"

"It was just a guess. There was no way I could be sure." The boy couldn't help but grin, which made the level 5 even more irritated. "And if you believe I have something to do with that half assed cheat code, then drop it. I couldn't get near this whole incident even if I wanted to."

"Care to tell me why?"

"Nope, can't say it."

Mikoto narrowed her eyes and her tone grew more aggressive. "Then what? Do you want me to believe that you're just a normal civilian even after getting sliced all over, being captured by an unknown group, escaping on your own and recovering in two days?" Hishiro's eyebrows twitched even so slightly. He had to close his eyes and keep his grin to avoid letting her notice. "Yeah, I know everything about it. I had to rip this out of Kuroko after she searched for you all over the city. That idiot and Uiharu-san were worried sick about you!"

"Heh, that's surprising. I would feel flattered if I didn't knew they were from Judgement." She was really just millimeter away from losing control and punching him which just amused him further. "You go and tell them to not to do this anymore. Everything I do is always under my control, no matter how bad it looks. And one more thing-" Now the one staring coldly was Hishiro. "If you think that anyone in this city is actually normal, you're nothing but naive. Keep that in mind."

She was about to say something, but he continued. "By the way, you should hurry. If you want to find the truth about the Level Upper, today might be your last chance. Who knows what will happen to your friend if you fail again."

The girl clicked her tongue and gave up. Just like Kuroko had said, he was impossible to speak with when he was under pressure. "This isn't over yet." And with that, she left the room.

…

Hishiro let out a heavy sigh. What the hell was that? There are way too many females sticking their noses into my business lately. If I at least could take advantage of that… it feels like I became a protagonist of a shounen manga or something.

This time, he was able to jump out without interruptions. He nearly missed the tree branch , but managed to grab it with his right hand and climb down as planned. Then he headed to the front entrance and searched for the package while being careful to not be spotted. It didn't take long to find it. He took it to close the tree that he used to escape, which was a blind spot for both the guards, the cameras and the pedestrians, and opened it.

"... Haha, now that's more like it!"

The first thing he found inside was a small pink card with a handwritten message:

"Get better soon~!"

Underneath it, there was a share of clothes (namely a black jeans, shoes, a white shirt and a dark blue jacket with a hood - which looked like the gray one he used all the time), a small revolver, countless rounds, a few grenades and other kinds of bombs... but the most precious item was…

"The AMCP-55. She actually got me a new one. It's going to be hard to hate her after that."

The AMCP - short version of Anti Material Combat Pistol - was a large handgun with cannon like fire power. It fires unique 55 millimeter caliber rounds which used a special explosive chemical that was more efficient than gunpowder to make the capsules smaller. In return, it made the recoil hazardous for the user, which was the reason the prototype was considered a failure, but this wasn't a problem for Hishiro, as he could reduce the side effects drastically with his Null Inertia. Since it was a never released model, it was nearly impossible to get hands on one. And unlike the previous gun he used that was destroyed by Mugino, this was a recently fabricated model instead of an old test prototype. How did Asuka managed to get it was a mystery.

Taking a last look around to see if there was anyone nearby or looking through the windows on the above floors, he changed into his new clothes on the spot and packed his new equipment into his many pockets. "That's it, I'm back baby!"

Part 3

It was a one sided massacre. The dozens of boys and girls, men and women, high level and low level espers were all being overpowered by a single person. The lone warrior was playing dirty though. He sealed off all exits, cut off the power and water supply, armed landmines on every possible landing spot if someone tried to jump off a window, used his enemies as human shields, tricked them into attacking each other in the dark and, as long as it didn't disturbed his way up inside the building, he had no mercy into collapsing the ceiling over the heads of anyone that got in his way using explosives. Seems like I got influenced by that Frenda girl. She had some loose screws but I have to admit, her methods can come in handy in situations like this.

However, the boy wasn't completely unharmed. He got hit by a few esper abilities, not to mention that the continuous use of his canon pistol could injure his arm bones. Luckily for him, the building wasn't that high. It had only eight floors, and he was already on the sixth. Going by the cliche, he expected his target to be on the last room of the last floor, so he was almost done here. That is, unless he had killed himself trying to run away or was hiding somewhere. That would make things a bit more complicated without Asuka's help.

Hishiro was getting closer to the stairs to the next floor when several footsteps came from above, followed by two fireballs that missed him by far in the darkness. One of them dissipated, but the other had hit a wooden table that got fire, illuminating the room. The attackers were three people holding improvised riot shields on the front and two identical empty handed girls behind them, which he assumed to be the Espers responsible for the fire just now. Having lost his reliable cover - the darkness, he was an easy target when faced by five people. "There he is! No holding back now! Shot as if your life depended on it!"

What a pain… The fireballs came flying once again, but this time Hishiro swung his arm and they stopped in midair with a weird visual effect and dissipated on the spot. Surprised, the group was a second too slow to react. When the woman in the front reached for the gun on her belt, Hishiro was already shooting right through their defenses, digging holes in all of them… no, it only worked on two. What a great time to run out of ammo… fucking math. His revolver still had bullets, but it wasn't going to pierce through the shield. With no time to reload and not enough distance to use a grenade, his only option was to charge forward. His not yet recovered body screamed in pain from the sudden action, but he kept going anyway. No doubt those fireballs would hurt way more than that.

The last standing man in the frontline swung his shield horizontally when Hishiro was one step away from him and grasped his side, sending him slightly off balance. But it wasn't enough to stop the coming attack. Hishiro high kicked the man on the neck, making an unpleasant crackling sound and knocking him unconscious. The twin Espers did not waste time. One of them shot another fireball while the other covered her fist in flames and sent a punch for his face. He quickly picked up the shield the man was using just a moment ago to defend himself against the fire. The long ranged attack was blocked, but the burning fist crushed the shield and struck him in the forehead. "UGH! AHH!"

D-dammit! They look the same, but one is clearly more powerful than the other! At the very least, only embers remained when he got hit, but the heat and strength of the impact were not that light. He quickly got up and and found the two running at him. Both were really identical, he couldn't tell who had punched him. Who is the strongest? C'mon, c'mon, show yourself! When they were just three meters away from him, the girl on the right ignited her fist.

"So it's you!" He ducked down and tackled her, but did not allow her to fall. He circulated round her and grabbed her from behind, all the while making the other one trip down with his Null Inertia. She was intending to fight back, but then she felt the barrel of a revolver on her back. With teary eyes, she looked at the other one on the floor and forced out the words. "Onee-chan! I lo-"

Bang!

"Sorry, no last words allowed. I'm in a hurry here."

"No... NOOO! YUKOOOO! PLE-"

Bang!

And so the two girls were lying limp on the floor. Hishiro had not aimed at anything in particular, but the shock of being shot on the torso made them both lose consciousness and that was enough. They were not going to survive anyway, the fire from earlier was spreading fast. "Tsk. Don't they teach those pyrokinesist to not use their powers indoors?" He could try to stop the fire with his own power, but he wasn't sure if it was going to work on the flames of this size, so he prefered to rush and finish before it became a problem for himself as well.

Since he was close to his objective, he saved no resources and used countless grenades as he made his way to clean the seventh floor in five or so minutes. The eighth, for his surprise was empty - save for one room. It was a wide hall with no pillars and, unlike the other rooms in the building, the windows went from the floor to the ceiling and from one wall to the other without obstruction. There weren't many high buildings nearby, so it was a nice and wide view to the outside.

Looking through the majestic window, one person stood in the middle of the hall. He was rather tall, had light brown hair and a short beard. From behind, his expensive looking suit made him look old, but once he turned to look at Hishiro, he didn't seem to be much older than him.

"So you finally arrived. Welcome to my office, murderer."

"I assume you're the one they call Kihara Hideaki." Spoke Hishiro, ignoring the man's taunt.

"Yes, That is me. This name, however, holds no meaning anymore."

"Because I killed everyone that followed you for solely for this name? Or is it because you were never a Kihara to begin with?"

"... I'd say both, perhaps." Admitted the man in a self loathing tone. "How did you found out it was a farce?"

"If my enemy was a true Kihara, I wouldn't be able to go this far so easily."

"Ha… ahahaha, that may be true."

"Besides, when I called you just now… your reaction wasn't of someone being directly spoken to." Hishiro had lived with many people using fake names since his childhood, and one thing they all had in common was that they held no attachment for those names, and they had a slight delay to react when they heard it. That, of course, included himself.

Hideaki dropped the subject and asked. "So… what comes now? Are you going to kill me?"

"It would be easier for me to do so, but they told me to take you alive for some reason. They might still have some use for you, so let's get going. There is a nasty fire downstairs, so if you resist, you might lose your last chance of survival."

"Hmm... so Yuna and Yuko managed to do it." The man closed his eyes sadly and sighed in relief. "I'm glad that their deaths weren't in vain."

Yuko… that was the name of one of the twins earlier, right? While Hishiro wondered about that, the man opened his eyes again. There was a clear sign of determination on his face.

"Sorry, but I'll be dying today, and it'll be right here, inside of this office."

"... Say what?" Hishiro was expecting some resistance, but not... this.

"And, for the sake of everyone that lost their lives here today, I'll make sure to take you with me."

"What, do you intend to keep me here until the fire spreads and blocks our way out? Sorry, but that ain't happening-"

"The two sisters were there for a reason." The man cut in. "In case of emergency, we prepared a quick way to get rid of all evidence and evacuate. The trigger for that lies on the sixth floor."

"Wait… you don't mean..."

"This building will implode soon enough, and neither of us can escape. The door you just came through uses a mechanical lock and can only be opened with a password that not even I know of."

"What?"

"I asked someone to reset it and leave it unlocked… until you came in and closed it yourself. You probably killed the only person that knew it."

At this point, the boy was growing impatient. Even if it was a bluff, it was a bluff that he couldn't ignore. "Are you insane? Throwing your life away like this-"

"I die for all of those you killed… no, for all of those who died ever since Gensei purposefully leaked those documents."

As if waiting for this moment, a monstrous cry roared through the district. Hishiro and Hideaki looked through the window and, far in the distance there was - something. Something huge. It appeared to be a monster with several tentacles growing from its back and a halo over its head.

For a moment, Hishiro forgot about the situation he was in. "What… the heck is that?"

"So it has begun… it should be safe to do it now." When he said that, he took out a small music player and plugged the earphones.

"The Level Upper?!"

"Yes. That thing out there was born from the network formed by the Level Upper. It is composed by the mass concentration of AIM Diffusion Fields emitted by the Espers that have reached the terminal stage."

"You mean… the ones who fell into comatose?"

"Exactly. Their bodies are probably under extreme pressure right now. But for me, someone that is just getting into the network, there shouldn't be any side effects for at least a few hours." Hideaki grinned widely. It was already too late to stop him. "Now… I wonder what happens when a Level 4 like me gets a forced power up using this masterpiece!"

Then... will he reach the power of a Level 5? Hishiro gritted his teeth and braced himself. He had to defeat this person, and he had to do it quick. The building would crumble to the ground anytime.

Between the Lines

The creature had appeared at the southwest part of District 10, nearby the experimental Nuclear Power Plant. It was difficult for it to not pick the attention of the important figures that were currently living in the city.

For example, the famous electromaster girl was fighting it with all her strength to avoid a disaster.

…

For example, a silver haired nun watched it all on the television inside the house of a certain teacher, thinking that it was some kind of movie.

…

For example, inside a windowless building, a man floating upside down inside a large glass tube stared at several windows displaying images of the event and many charts and numbers while looking satisfied with the results.

…

For example, a certain saint holding a two meter long Japanese sword watched everything from the top of a wind turbine while talking in the phone.

"Styil, can you hear me? It's me, Kanzaki."

"Did you found out what is going on?"

"Yes… looks like some crazy experiment got out of control. There is a huge monster on a rampage here, but their people are taking care of it. It won't get in the way of our plan."

"Seriously? I can't get the science side at all…"

"But this is strange… this thing… it almost looks like a..."

"Hm? Is there something wrong?"

"... no, never mind. I'm heading back right away." She pocketed her phone and prepared to return, but it was hard to shake the feeling she just had. No, it can't be. People from the science side can't to do this. They lack the knowledge to do so. They should lack...

…

For example, a white haired esper caught a glimpse at the whole thing while going home after finishing a certain experiment.

"Heh, none of my business..."

…

For example, an esper girl capable of detecting AIM Diffusion Fields stared blankly towards the direction where everything was happening, worrying her blond friend.

"Are you alright, Takitsubo?"

"I can see it… it's all blurry… I didn't even used that thing, but I can still see it..."

"What? What are you talking about? What are you seeing?"

"I don't know… just what in the world is this? I've never seen anything like this before."

...

And the grey robed man watched it all through the complex magic circle drawn on the ground covered with green flames while eating an apple.

"Wonderful… It is wonderful indeed. I never even dreamt that the day would come… the day a single man would give its first step towards the creation of the System. It is a shame I cannot personally congratulate you for this accomplishment, Crowley. Even so… you have my gratitude. This was not enough to open the gate, but you just taught me how to do so and every major player or piece in the board has their eyes focused on this single event. I could not ask for a better chance."

Yet again, another supposed to be short chapter grew out of hand, forcing me to split it into two. I guess I understand how Kamachi managed to write more than 40 books! Once you start writing something about this series, it's really hard to stop!

Hishiro is back from the ashes, and got thrown right into the core of the whole incident without time to rest! It's actually funny because I always feels bad for Touma, not having a damn break nowadays and here I am, doing the exactly same thing to my OC… What a time for my sadist side to appear (lol).

Now he have to face Hideaki, a Level 4 esper using the level upper. This is something I always wondered about: what would happen to a high level esper boosting their ability even further with it? Could the 8th level 5 be born this way, even if temporarily? The answer I came up with will appear on the next chapter.

And there is also Hinata, an old member of Pointer. If you look back, she was mentioned in the end of chapter 5 alongside with the others. After giving it deep thought, I decided it was okay to bring them back, even if just as support characters. And come to think of it, she is the first level 0 to show up in this fic (that is, depending on Frenda's and Seria's level… this haven't been revealed as far as I know) It would be nice to give her a chance to show her battle skills later on.

Regarding the topic raised in the reviews… I can't say much about that without spoiling the plot, but I hope that what I have planned for the future will surprise you all. And there is no rule saying that Hishiro will never meet Touma. In fact, Touma has his role here as well. He just can't appear yet because… well, he is currently busy dealing with Index. But don't worry, whenever he has some free time, he will show up and maybe will cross paths with our hero (oh crap, less rest for you Touma. I'm really sorry… XD)

As always, thanks for the guests helping out with proofreading (I swear that the day you won't find any typos in a chapter will come!) Please leave your thoughts on the reviews! See you guys next time!

EDIT: (WARNING for possible minor spoilers about NT ahead) I somehow forgot to comment on the Kakeru idea. Yes, I'm following NT up close and I know about him (also, I'm among the minority that don't hate the poor guy). The idea is interesting and could lead to a really cool twist during the ending I'm planning, but I think that there is a huge difference in the core of Hishiro's and Kakeru's way of thinking. They aren't opposite's like Touma but Hishiro isn't the kind of guy that go saving people around. He has a reason for doing what he does, and he could ignore pleas of help for that very same reason (I'm going to elaborate more on that later on the story). But it's kind of a shame because I liked the idea. I'm thinking about writing a second fic (if my free times allows it, of course, I don't want this one to be left behind), so if it happens, I might use this as one of the themes. Thanks for your review!