Trinity of Tokiwadai

by Engineer4Ever

Three very different girls. Each a powerful Esper in the miraculous city of superhumans, Academy City. Together these heroines and their friends explore the wonder and mystery of their City and its Dark Side as the Trinity of Tokiwadai.

114. Chapter 114

Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto or Toaru Kagaku no Railgun/Toaru Majutsu no Index

The Trinity of Tokiwadai

Chapter One Hundred Fourteen: Ichihanaransai - The Multi-Level Overpass Battles

AN: I'm going to be off on holiday for the next two weeks, so here's the rest of the arc! I hope you all enjoy it!

---

As things in this Incident steadily moved towards its climax, Mikoto found herself standing beside the Gremlin Magician going by the name of Thor at one of the roads leading into the multi-level overpass where it seemed the final battles would be taking place.

"Argh." Mikoto groaned. "Honestly, why do I have to help you?"

"You're helping me because of Kamijou Touma." The blonde boy replied with a knowing smirk. "People have gathered together to beat the already injured Kamijou Touma, and then abduct Fräulein Kreutune, use her for their own purpose, and then kill her. As an admirer of Kamijou Touma, it behooves you to help him, doesn't it? And as an agent of Academy City, it's your duty to contain this Incident isn't it?"

"A-An ad-admirer of K-Kamijou!?" Mikoto sputtered at this Gremlin Magician, of all people, calling her out on her crush.

Much to her annoyance, Thor chuckled at the expense of her embarrassment.

His laughter was just the impetus she needed to recover her wits. Thus with a deep breath, she turned to shoot Thor a glare.

"I'm just helping out the idiot as he plays the hero again and ended up getting in over his head. That's all!" Mikoto ranted angrily. "Honestly! Why can't Kamijou learn some self-preservation for once! Even after everything that's happened! After the Hawaiian Invasion and what he got up to in Baggage City, he's still sticking his neck out to play the hero! Seriously!? What the hell is wrong with Kamijou!?"

"You're too hard on Kamijou." Thor said with a shrug. "He's a hero. He's just doing what is in his nature. And despite the mess that happened in Baggage City, Kamijou still managed to save lives. If you have to blame someone for what is happening today then you can blame me. I am as much to blame for the events happening now. Kamijou is just trying to finish things with Fräulein Kreutune, the primary cause of all the events that are currently happening. Will you support him as he does or will you get in his way?"

Mikoto clicked her tongue. "Help him of course. But you owe me for this!"

"Shouldn't that be directed to Kamijou?" Thor asked, shooting her a curious look.

"Probably," Mikoto admitted. "But telling him is too embarrassing, so I'm getting you to owe me instead."

Thor chuckled. "You're such a tsundere~, Miko-chan~!"

"Shut up! Don't call me that!"

"What? A tsundere? Or Miko-chan?"

"Both!" Mikoto snapped.

Thor just chuckled at her response and Mikoto dearly wanted to deck him. However, before she could act on the impulse and probably start a fight with her own ally, her phone rang. Shooting the Magician a glare to let him know he got off easy, Mikoto touched her earpiece and answered the call.

"Senpai, Thor-san, the potential hostiles are approaching from the western and northeast approaches to the overpass." Ruiko informed her.

"The one coming in from the west is Brunhild Eiktobel and the one from the northeast is Silvia." Thor said as he looked down at his phone and swiped through what she presumed were the photos of the incoming hostiles that Ruiko had sent them because of course she'd looped him into the call too. He was their ally for this Incident after all. "You remember the intel on them?"

Mikoto nodded as she recalled the briefs on the two Saints that Ruiko had sent her after Thor had informed them to expect that they would have to face them.

"Good. Any preferences on which one you have to take on?"

"No," Mikoto said with a shake of her head. "The intel briefs weren't enough to give me an informed opinion on their abilities. You probably know better what they can do, so you pick."

I really should do a deep dive into the Bank soon considering how we keep fighting people I know nothing about lately. Mikoto thought with a frown.

"I wouldn't say that. We Magicians like to keep our abilities close to our chest." Thor said with a shrug. "But if you're gonna let me choose… Hmm… I guess I'll take Silvia. You can handle Eiktobel."

"Sounds good to me." Mikoto said, offering him a nod before addressing her kohai, who was still waiting on the call. "You heard that, Ruiko?"

"Yes, I did." Her teammate confirmed. "It sounds like a plan."

"Okay. Then let's put it into action." Mikoto said with a nod. "Good hunting, Ruiko."

"Same to you, Senpai, Thor-san. See you on the other side."

"See you." Mikoto returned.

"Bye, Saten-san. Thank you for the support." Thor added as Ruiko ended the call.

Pulling her earpiece out of her ear and putting it away into a case where it would be safe during the fight to come, Mikoto turned to Thor.

"Time to split up?"

Thor nodded and leapt away towards the northeast entrance to the multi-level overpass, shouting over his shoulder as he did. "All the best with Eiktobel, Miko-chan~!"

"Don't call me that!" Mikoto shouted at the blasted Gremlin Magician irritably even as she followed his lead and leapt away to move to engage her own chosen opponent. "And good luck too!"

He didn't reply but even if he didn't, Mikoto wouldn't have cared. Her head was in the game now and when in serious mode, she wasn't going to let anything distract her. Especially not when the fight ahead would be what decided the outcome of this Incident.

I still don't know the full context of this Incident but whatever it is, we're going to win it! I'll make sure of it! No matter what!

---

"Is running all you can do, Kakine Teitoku!?" Accelerator taunted the resurrected Number 4 as he flew atop a tornado after the last of the humanoid bodies of his opponent into the lowest level of a multi-level overpass in School District 7. He had managed to destroy the rest of the dozen humanoid bodies and the ninety six giant beetles of [Dark Matter] that he had initially confronted, at which point the last body had grown a set of giant, white, feathered wings and fled. He had promptly given chase because there was no way he was letting the psycho get away. "You're pathetic!"

Landing on the suspiciously empty road, likely due to the City's security forces cordoning the area, Kakine turned to Accelerator as he too landed and sneered. "Pathetic!? Are you blind, Accelerator? Can't you see how much more powerful I am since we last fought?"

Accelerator snorted. "Yes, you're pathetic. That you're still obsessed over how powerful you are is proof of that. That you've not grown at all. I've moved past that, but despite all the power you've gained, you haven't. You're still nothing but the same power obsessed chūnibyō that you were during the Battle Royale Incident."

"Was that supposed to rattle me somehow, Accelerator?" Kakine said with a snort of his own.

"No, just an honest observation from one guy to another which I hope can help you grow into a better person." Accelerator said with a shrug.

"'Grow into a better person'? That's rich coming from you." Kakine told him dismissively. "Especially here. Tell me, Accelerator, is this place familiar to you?"

It was. He didn't need to look around them to confirm that fact. This place, like so many other secluded places across the City, was one he would never forget.

"Hahahahaha~! You don't have to answer, Accelerator!" Kakine said with a laugh. "I can see from the look on your face that you do. Not surprising. Considering how guilty you are said to be about it, you probably can never forget any of the stages for the Level 6 Shift where you once mercilessly killed Sister clones."

Accelerator had frankly no retort to that but even if he did, the Number 4 did not give him the chance. Instead, using his Dark Matter he created a dozen Misaka clones.

"You killed us Misakas here. Misaka says, shooting Accelerator-sama a glare." One of the distorted white-skinned conjurations of one of the dead Sister clones that he had killed an uncounted number of ages ago told him, shooting him an accusing look.

"Misaka was innocent. Misaka laments." Another of the Sisters that Kakine had revived said, sounding heartbroken.

"Misakas did not want to die but you killed us anyway. Misaka confesses." Yet another twisted copy of a dead Sister said, glaring at him. Or a glare by the standards of a Sister at least, which on a normal person would at best be a mildly annoyed look.

""Misakas did not want to die! Misaka declares."" The dozen Dark Matter Sisters chorused. One made eerie by the fact that it came from the copies of dead people. ""Yet you killed us Misakas anyway! Misaka accuses.""

Accelerator couldn't help it, he took a step back in horrified shock at these specters of his victims. Of these avatars of his sins.

"Wh-What is this!?"

"They aren't actually the Sisters you killed of course." Kakine said with a smug grin as he gestured at the conjurations of the Misaka clones that he had created. "But they are close enough."

""Killer! Misaka accuses. Murderer!""

"You see, I can use my Dark Matter to take information from an area, like a form of Psychometry, and give the information form." Kakine explained, his grin turning outright shit eating. "Though, as I said, they weren't the same as those that actually died. Even I cannot completely fix someone who has died, nor can I make something completely I can make something that's pretty close. Oh, that, and I can force my will upon my creations."

"You are using the dead as your pawns!?" Accelerator hissed, looking at Kakine with disgust.

"Totally." Kakine said with a laugh. "The tactic is working, isn't it? It's unsettling you, right? And since Esper powers are controlled using high level calculation ability, even unknowingly. So throwing it out of order can be useful, like making you lose your Redirection."

Accelerator frowned. Was his Redirection down? Was he that rattled?

"That said, I have an interest in seeing that Angel Mode of yours. I want you to at least make yourself worthy of testing my combat ability after all." Kakine said, his grin turning predatory. "So put on a good show, Accelerator! Misakas attack!"

At his command, the Dark Matter Sisters all raised their arms towards Accelerator and gathered electricity that they channeled into lightning bolts that they proceeded to shoot at him. Normally, Accelerator would've taken such attacks head on or let his Redirection deflect the incoming attacks before counterattacking. Particularly when the attacks were from Level 3s and weaksauce. There was a reason why the Level 6 Shift Project had armed the Sisters with guns after all. However, he could not do it this time. Not against Sisters. So instead of fighting like he normally would, Accelerator instead only dodged their attacks. He refused to hurt the revived Misaka clones. He would not harm these reminders of his sins.

"Hahahahaha~! You're full of openings, Accelerator!" Kakine taunted as Accelerator danced around the barrage of lightning bolts that the Dark Matter Misaka clones were relentlessly shooting at them.

Yeah! Tell me something that I don't know! Accelerator thought with a growl as the Number 4 grew one of his giant, white, feathered wings and shot out sharp feathers from it towards him, hitting the Sisters on the way like spears, though he did not care.

Accelerator did though and seeing eight of the dozen conjurations of the dead Misaka clones being torn apart had him shouting out in dismay and unsettling his thoughts. True to what Kakine had previously said his unsettled mind left him too distracted to evade the feathery spears shot his way and his computations were too scrambled to deflect it with Redirection. Thus, the spear hit him in the side, tearing a deep, wide wound even as the force from the impact sent him flying through the air. Thankfully, the wound wasn't all that serious and he was able to use some quick Aero Hand to help him break his fall.

""Killer! Misaka accuses. Murderer!""

Pressing a hand to his side and emulating some Thermal Hand to cauterize his wound, Accelerator reinforced his Redirection with some conscious computations that allowed him to deflect the lightning bolts that the surviving reanimated Sisters shot at him. Heck! Even the outright mortally wounded Sisters were chipping in and tossing lightning at him to enact the order [Dark Matter] had given them to attack him. Seeing this, Accelerator's anger boiled over. Abusing the free will of anyone was going too far! Especially the free will of a Sister! It reminded him too much of his own sin of depriving them of their life for his own selfish ambition to achieve Level 6.

"You know, Accelerator, I did plenty of research on you." Kakine told him in a taunting tone as he stood back and just watched as the Dark Matter Sisters continued to hurl attacks at Accelerator, adding in iron sand bullets to their lightning. Even the Dark Matter Sisters that the Number 4 killed had revived and were now adding their firepower to the assault. "It appears on the surface that you have atoned for what you did, and that Last Order and the Sisters have forgiven you, but that does not mean that you have been completely forgiven."

"So what!?" Accelerator spat back as he returned to continuing to evade the Sisters' barrage.

"Although the Sisters can be viewed as mere components of the Misaka Network, I believe that the Sisters' individual personalities should also be recognized. That means that even though the Network's overall will has forgiven you, it doesn't matter. Only the one who was killed can understand the feelings of the one who was killed and there is no longer any way we can determine if you have truly been forgiven by those you have killed. The clones that I have formed are the closest thing that might allow you to determine what those you killed thought. Taking that into account, perhaps you should just kill them and wipe away your sins?"

""Killer! Misaka accuses. Murderer!""

He didn't want it to, but Kakine's taunts hit a nerve. Was he right!? Were these Dark Matter specters really the only ones who could give him the forgiveness that he sought?

What should I do? Should I do what he suggests and kill these clones? Would that wipe away my sins? Accelerator thought, his mind filling with uncertainty. Unsettled thoughts which weakened his computational abilities and almost caused him to not only fail to leap out of the way of the latest salvo of the Dark Matter Sisters' barrage but actually caused him to trip as he landed.

"You're open, Accelerator!" Kakine shouted triumphantly as he spread his wings - It seemed that he had conjured the wing he was missing earlier to complete the set. - and prepared to use them to attack.

However, before he could so much as twitch his wings, a beam of heat and light pierced through into the underground passageways, killing half the clones and disintegrating the top half of Kakine's humanoid body.

"Looks like I got lost and ended up at the wrong place." Mugino Shizuri, the Number 6, said as she stalked over with a predatory stride. "But it seems I've ended up in a good place nonetheless since it gives me a chance to see Accelerator being pathetic."

"Pathetic?" Accelerator hissed, shooting Mugino a glare as he stretched his Redirection to deflect the attacks from the surviving Dark Matter specters headed her way.

"What else do you call letting Kakine Teitoku's words cause you to drop his guard?" The Number 6 said as she gestured at [Dark Matter] as he regenerated the damage that she had caused to his body. Same as the conjurations of the dead Sisters that she'd destroyed earlier.

"Oh, shut up, [Meltdowner]!" Accelerator hissed angrily at the Number 6.

"You're angry at the wrong person, Accelerator." Mugino said with a roll of her eyes. "If you want to be angry with anyone then be pissed with Kakine Teitoku. What he said about 'only the one who was killed can understand the feelings of the one who was killed' is correct. But-" She gestured towards the Dark Matter Sisters and continued. "-the clones he made here aren't really the ones you killed."

""Killer! Misaka accuses. Murderer!"" The now fully revived specters of his sin chorused as they launched another round of attacks at him.

"Don't you think I know that?" Accelerator hissed as he Redirected the revived clones' attacks.

"Knowing and accepting it are two separate things." The Number 6 said with a shake of her head as she fired off a salvo of her Particle Waveform High-Speed Cannons that both wiped out the resurrected clones and also shut their creator up before he could say a word by once again disintegrating his upper body. "Besides, it's not up to the likes of us, people who have killed others, to even begin to understand what the dead feel. It is not our purpose."

Accelerator furrowed his brows in incomprehension. What, by Science, is she talking about?

"You are incredibly naive to fall for Kakine's tricks." The Number 6 said, shaking his head in disappointment. "Especially if you thought that they might come back to life and that your crimes for killing them could be undone."

"I didn't think that!"

""Killer! Misaka accuses. Murderer!""

"Quiet. We're talking." Mugino hissed at the once again revived Dark Matter Sisters as she once more silenced them and their creator with a fresh salvo of her Particle Waveform High-Speed Cannons. Turning back to him, she continued. "I read about what you did to these clones, you know? And your reasons for killing them were no worse than my killing others for no reason. We are both going to hell, but there are things you need to do before you get there."

"What's that?" Accelerator asked, honestly confused. And surprised that [Meltdowner] of all people was schooling him on how to be a better person and actually making sense!

"You need to make a choice." She told him. "You can let yourself get killed by these ghosts of your past or you can retrieve the dead's dignity and end Kakine's desecration of them by using them as his pawns, giving them a peaceful rest in the process. What are you going to choose?"

""Killer! Misaka accuses. Murderer!""

"At least let me sa-"

"Like I said! Be quiet!" Mugino shouted at Kakine Teitoku and the Dark Matter Sisters and disintegrated them for a third time with a barrage of her Particle Waveform High-Speed Cannons.

"I know what you're saying." Accelerator said with a frown. "And it makes senses but even then these clones that Kakine brought back are the final proof that those I killed ever existed."

"Then all the more reason you should put them to rest." The female Level 5 insisted. "Or do you think that it's acceptable for someone to steal and control the dead? If so, then maybe you should just let yourself be killed and leave it to me to take care of everything. If not, then you need to accept that you need to dirty your hands once again to give the dead the clean end that they deserve."

Accelerator's frown deepened. I know she is right but…

"Again, even if everything else Kakine Teitoku said is nonsense, that bit about how 'only the one who was killed can understand the feelings of the one who was killed' is true. We, the living, can only act based on our feelings for the dead, and rejecting that and running away is neither being honest or pacifistic, but plain cowardice."

He nodded. She was right. I need to take responsibility for this.

"I get it." Accelerator said as he shook off the stupor that his hesitation had unwittingly trapped him in. "I will destroy the dead and put them back to rest. I will be the remnant to prove that those people I killed really existed. There need not be any others, especially not some pawns of Kakine Teitoku!"

"So you're saying that you'll stop thinking about how the dead feel?" The aforementioned Level 5 said as he reformed, this time without Mugino disintegrating him now that she was done with her pep talk.

"Have you forgotten how painfully you killed Misaka? Misaka demanded."

"Are you going to brush aside the cruelty you showed us Misakas? Misaka accuses."

""Will you forget us!? Misaka demands.""

Even as Accelerator deflected the latest salvo of attacks that the Dark Matter Sisters sent their way as they spoke, Mugino addressed their creator directly. "You will never understand, Kakine Teitoku. You are someone who puts words in the dead's mouth for your own benefit and runs away from your feelings regarding the dead himself. You are pathetic even though you are powerful, and it would've been better if you had stayed dead."

At this, Mugino fired a high-power Particle-Function Waveform High Speed Cannon at Accelerator that he promptly redirected and split into multiple lesser beams that he sent at all the false clones Kakine created at once, destroying them.

"So you've gotten serious about this fight at last! Good go-" Kakine Teitoku said, only to be cut off by Mugino disintegrating his head with a single Waveform High-Speed Cannon.

"How many times have we disembodied him already? Three? Four?"

"Considering I had previously already destroyed about a dozen other bodies of his and dozens of his giant beetle drones too." Accelerator said with a shrug as he used a brace of vacuum blades to bisect the revived Dark Matter Sisters. "Destroying his bodies alone isn't gonna be enough to put him down."

"Any idea how we can?" Mugino asked with a tired sigh as she fired off another Particle-Function Waveform High Speed Cannon at Kakine Teitoku, only to frown as the beam washed over his body and only scorched it instead of disintegrating it.

"I've had enough of that, [Meltdowner]!" The Number 4 said with a frown. "You have Saten to thank for this trick by the way. I learned it from fighting her with my beetles earlier."

Her eyebrow twitching in frustration, Mugino cursed. "Damnit! Saten-san liked her electron particle beams too much it seemed."

"Looks like it." Accelerator said as he shot forward with an vector manipulation enhanced charge and landed a similarly enhanced punch to Kakine's gut, landing a blow with such force that it sent him flying into a wall of the road tunnel, cratering it with the impact. "Can you use anything else?"

"Of course. I am a Level 5 after all. You can't exactly become one as a one trick pony." Mugino scoffed as she used modulated versions of her Waveform High-Speed Cannons with exceptionally large plasma wakes, the latter of which allowed them to burn away the recently revived Dark Matter Sister before they could even repeat their accusatory chorus directed his way.

"Really? 'Cos you certainly act like it." Accelerator teased as he leapt out of the way of Kakine's wings that the Number 6 stretched towards him like a pair of lances in an attempt to impale him. "Those beams of yours or variations thereof are all you ever seem to use."

Landing gracefully, Accelerator shoved his arms forward and sent a massively powerful air hammer at Kakine Teitoku as he pulled himself out of the crater he'd been slammed into earlier, sending him crashing right back into the wall. Doing so with such force that the wall was cratered all over again. Oh! And it also popped Kakine's head open like a melon.

"Hahahahahah~!" Kakine laughed as he regenerated his head. "You can destroy my body and those clones as many times you want, Accelerator, Mugino! I have an infinite supply of Dark Matter and my inspiration is boundless. To defeat me, you will need to climb over the wall of infinity that continues on eternally!"

Completely ignoring him, Mugino instead addressed Accelerator as she used precise shots of her Waveform High-Speed Cannons to send portions of the tunnel's roof to crush the still only half reformed Dark Matter Sisters. "You're one to talk, Accelerator! Your powers should give you even more versatility in application than I can dream of and what do you do? You almost entirely stick to Aero Hand!"

"That's a fair criticism." Accelerator admitted with a shrug. Could anyone fault him though? Aero Hand just came so easily to him! Of course, he defaulted to it.

"Stop ignoring me!"

Accelerator and Mugino both shot Kakine Teitoku unimpressed looks.

"Anyone who demands attention deserves none at all." Mugino said with a dismissive scoff.

"Pathetic!" Accelerator declared with a disgusted snort.

"Why yo-" Kakine began only to suddenly freeze.

"Is this an act, do you think?" Mugino asked, shooting a Waveform High-Speed Cannon at the frozen Number 4 and scorching his entire upper body but yet failed to get a reaction from him.

"No. It doesn't look like it." Accelerator said with a frown looking between the half reformed bodies of the Dark Matter Sisters. "Hey! Kakine, what, by Science, are you doing?"

"Y-You don't know?" Kakine asked, jerkily turning his head towards him. "Are you not responsible for what is happening to me?"

"What nonsense is he talking about?" Mugino asked, looking between Kakine and Accelerator curiously.

What indeed… He called himself infinite and eternal earlier, didn't he? That must be a reference to the seemingly unlimited bodies he can produce using his Dark Matter and that he controls with his AIM Field. So long as he maintained at least one Dark Matter construct under his control that would indeed make him infinite and eternal. Accelerator mused as he eyed Kakine curiously and tried to make sense of what was going on. Wait! If he's really infinite or close to it, then that means that there's an infinite chance of rebellion!

"Hahahahahaha~! I get it now! You've sowed your own demise, Kakine Teitoku!" Accelerator said with a full bellied laugh

"Accelerator, what's so funny? Come on, share what's got you laughing like that!"

Still laughing, Accelerator just smirked. "[Dark Matter] is just suffering from the consequences of becoming 'infinite'."

---

"Good hunting, Ruiko." Mikoto-senpai said as they wrapped up their call.

"Same to you, Senpai, Thor-san. See you on the other side." Ruiko said, wishing them well.

"See you."

"Bye, Saten-san. Thank you for the support." Thor-san added as Ruiko ended the call.

"So it's go time, Ruiko-chan?" Frenda-chan asked, looking eager.

"It is." Ruiko said as she reached out with her emulated Electromastery and activated the intercom of the transport that her, her girlfriend, Order-chan, Fremea-chan, and Beetle 05 were riding in.

"Driver-san, can you hear me?

"Yes, Saten-sama? Do you have instructions?" The man driving the transport said from the sealed driver's cabin.

"Yes. Please stop the vehicle. We are where we need to be."

The man didn't immediately reply and if her emulated Empathy was any indication, he was feeling hesitant. He probably was uncomfortable dropping them, especially Order-chan and Fremea-chan, off in the middle of a battlefield. However, his sense of duty eventually overcame his reticence and replied. "Yes, Saten-sama."

"Uh, Mama, why are we stopping here? Misaka Misaka asks curiously."

"Yeah, Ruiko-nee, what's so special about where we are that we need to stop?" Fremea-chan asked, echoing Order-chan's question.

"Because Fräulein Kreutune is nearby." Ruiko said as the transport began slowing down. "This is as close as I am letting you two get until the countermeasure that Naru-chan went to get ready is here. Besides, our guest is at his limit."

Both little girls looked at her in confusion but it was Frenda-chan which asked the question they wanted to ask instead. "Ruiko-chan, what's happening to Beetle 05?"

Across from them, massive cracks were spontaneously spreading over Beetle 05's body in a spider web pattern and the color of his eyes were blinking between the red that represented his malfunction and their "normal" green color.

"I can only hypothesize based on what I can sense from Kakine Teitoku's AIM Field but I would guess that he is fighting the original."

"Fighting for what? His independence? Control of [Dark Matter]'s Network?"

Ruiko shrugged. "Insufficient data. I'm not exactly linked to the Number 4's Network and I don't want to even try to."

"Is he going to be okay?" Fremea-chan asked worriedly even as Order-chan shot her a pleading look.

"I can't do anything for him." Ruiko told her daughter apologetically. "It's up to him now. Have faith in him. That's all we can do now."

Both Fremea-chan and Order-chan exchanged worried looks and clasped hands.

---

"Impossible! My authority over my sense of self is being usurped! It shouldn't be possible for a power that I brought into this world to betray me!" Kakine shouted in anger as cracks began to spread across his body and the half reformed Dark Sisters began to collapse into nothingness.

"Betray you?" Accel snorted. "You became infinite, didn't you, Kakine Teitoku? And if you're infinite, every one of you is just as much Kakine Teitoku as the original. And if so, how can Kakine Teitoku betray Kakine Teitoku?"

"Ah! I think I know what's going on now." Mugino said before breaking out into a laugh. "Hahahahaha~! This is the problem of becoming too powerful, Kakine Teitoku. When a network made up of flexibly replaceable equipment has a portion that becomes isolated from the rest, the isolated portion becomes a small network of its own. That's what happened to you, isn't it, [Dark Matter]?"

"You probably have the right of it." Accelerator told her with a nod. "I imagine that the one who stopped Kakine Teitoku is the true Kakine Teitoku now. To be honest, to be able to create something where this would even be a problem… I can't help but be impressed by Dark Matter's capabilities. It's such a shame that its user is too incompetent to wield it properly."

"You might be directing your mockery to the wrong person." Mugino said, gesturing to the frozen and now silent Kakine Teitoku before them. "He might not have been the core Kakine. Since he scattered his mind over his AIM Network, the one we were fighting might have just been the closest to the surface, that doesn't make it the true Kakine Teitoku."

"Does that matter?"

"I suppose not." Mugino said with a shrug. "I just find it a little concerning that we might have just been battling the outer layer of his mind and yet we still were having a hard time of it. Taking into account that might even be a possibility, I agree with you, Dark Matter truly is an impressive ability."

As they spoke, the cracks that had spread across Kakine Teitoku's body started to rapidly expand. Such that practically the entirety of the Number 4's body was covered in a spiderweb of them.

"Hmm… By the looks of it, there will probably be nothing left to prove that he was here," Accelerator commented, gesturing at the slow motion shattering of Kakine Teitoku's body. "Even if a massive amount of data is left concerning Kakine Teitoku after this, it will no longer refer to him."

"T-That witch, Saten Ruiko!" Kakine cried out furiously as his body started to slowly crumble. "Only her AIM Sovereign could cause this!"

"Maybe, but I doubt it. Ruiko generally likes to be more personal when she kills." Accelerator said as he lanced his arm through the center of the thing before him, completely shattering it. "Sort of like this."

"He's dead?" Mugino said, looking down at the remains of the humanoid Dark Matter construct that Kakine Teitoku had been using to confront him.

"Yeah. It's over." Accelerator said with a nod.

"And that's one more threat to Academy City that we have taken down." Mugino said with a sigh. "However, we still have a long way to go before people will see us as anything more than villains."

Accelerator shrugged. "Well, we will just have to keep trying won't we?"

"True." Mugino nodded.

---

In what Ruiko would chalk up to pure coincidence, the transport had just finally rolled to a full stop when Beetle 05 and Kakine Teitoku's fight over their shared AIM Field came to a sudden conclusion.

"My name is Kakine Teitoku!" Beetle 05 shouted suddenly as not unlike a metamorphosis, his body split open down the middle and a humanoid mass began to pull its way free of it. A humanoid that started out looking like a featureless mannequin but as the Dark Matter that made up its body reorganized itself into its new shape, its features quickly gained definition. Features that as the rest of his body crumbled away into dust took the shape of his creator.

"Looks like it's the latter option, Frenda-chan."

"Looks like." Frenda-chan said with a smirk. "Glad to have you on our side, Number 4."

Before Beetle 05 - No, he was Kakine Teitoku now. - could respond, Fremea-chan and Order-chan threw themselves at the Number 4 and pulled him into a hug.

"Glad to be on the side of the heroes for once." Kakine Teitoku said with a smile as he returned the two girls' hug before gently pushing them away and adopting a determined mien. "Let's go end this Incident."

"Yes, let's." Ruiko replied with equal determination.

---

"I'm afraid I can't let you pass, Brunhild Eiktobel-san." Mikoto said as she blocked the path of the older girl with long blonde hair and white skin. A girl that was wearing a hat with decorative feathers in it, a dress that came down to just above her knees, and men's pants. An outfit that she complemented with armor that had the same silhouette as Medieval European armor which consisted of protectors covering her elbows and knees and a bulletproof vest covering her chest. All in all, her outfit gave an odd impression, with each piece of clothing having nothing in common with the others but as a whole possessing an odd sense of unity.

"Oh, you know who I am? I'm honored that someone as famous as Misaka Mikoto, the Number 5 Level 5 of Academy City, the [Railgun], knows my identity."

"I am not going to repeat myself a third time. So this is your final warning. You're not getting past me." Mikoto said, ignoring what the Saint-Valkyrie Hybrid Magician said. Honestly, reading there was a Magician that was similar to Sequenzia-san in being a Saint Hybrid and thus making it clear that Naru's girlfriend wasn't some kind of weird anomaly was actually something of a relief. Though if what the same intel report that revealed Eiktobel-san's nature said about her abilities was accurate… Yeah, Mikoto wasn't looking forward to this fight.

"But I am afraid I must enter that multi-level overpass. I suppose that means we have no choice but to fight." Eiktobel-san with a sigh as she unsheathed the massive five feet claymore with an exceedingly wide double-edged blade from its sheath on her back, tossed aside the sheath and suddenly launched herself at Mikoto in a blur.

Mikoto wasn't even exaggerating. Like something out of an anime, Eiktobel-san was moving at such extreme speeds that she literally looked like a blur to the Level 5's eyes. But that didn't mean Mikoto couldn't track her opponent. She had known about the speed granted to her by being both a Christian Saint and a Norse Valkyrie thanks to the intel on her and she'd prepared accordingly. She had spread a layer of iron sand all over the roadway that was to be their battlefield and thanks to that, Mikoto was able to use how Eiktobel-san displaced the iron sand via her electromagnetic sense to track the Saint-Valkyrie Hybrid as she moved behind her.

Using some of her newly mastered Electromastery based biokinesis - And I really should get to asking my Power Development Team just what this technique is called and who they got it from! - to spin around so fast that she left a small trail of fire in her wake, she brought up an vibrating iron sand sword to block Eiktobel-san's massive claymore as she swung it down at her in what Mikoto imagined was an attempt to take her down with a single opening attack.

"I'm not going down that easily, Eiktobel-san." Mikoto told her opponent through narrowed eyes as with a burst of biokineticly enhanced strength, she pushed the surprised older blonde back.

It also left the Magician's sword out of position and Mikoto moved to exploit it by shooting a lightning bolt at her opponent. However, in a show of insane speed, Eiktobel-san brought her sword in front of her to shield herself from the Level 5's lightning. A bolt that as it hit the Saint-Valkyrie Hybrid's massive sword, caused its blades to light up as the dozens upon dozens of runes inscribed onto it activated to allow it to deflect the lightning.

Damn! She can swing that sword faster than I thought. Mikoto thought as she was forced to hastily use her own sword to parry the thrust that Eiktobel-san had launched immediately after successfully defending against her lightning attack.

"That's an interesting sword you have there, Neiti Misaka." Eiktobel-san said as she spun with Mikoto's deflection of her parry and smoothly transitioned into a follow-up horizontal slash that the [Railgun] found herself having to block.

"It's a placeholder." Mikoto replied as she used another biokineticly enhanced burst of strength to push her opponent back. "I'm still waiting on getting the proper clearance to use my proper sword."

And I really wish that wasn't the case. Mikoto lamented in the privacy of his mind. I really wish I could use Worochi-no-Aramasa (蛇之麁正, Rough and True Blade of the Serpent).

Ever since she started training to use it and learning swordplay to use it even better, an iron sand sword simply simply didn't cut it for her anymore. Pun fully intended. They just didn't feel comfortable in her hands anymore. Which didn't make any sense! She barely used Worochi-no-Aramasa in her training at all, instead using at best facsimiles. Most of the time, she just used bokken. She had only really used the actual sword a few times. Yet, for some unfathomable reason, it had become the only sword she felt fit her.

"Oh? A shame then. I would've liked to fight you when you were truly at your best." Eiktobel-san said as she leapt into the air above Mikoto and brought her claymore down at her in a powerful overhead slash.

I'm not even going to try to block that. Mikoto thought as she jumped to the side, evading Eiktobel-san's slash seconds before it would've hit the mark. A strike that cratered the road and left her claymore's blade buried at least six inches into it.

Pulling it out like it weighed nothing, the Magician immediately launched herself at Mikoto in a rapid-fire series of thrusts. They were so fast in fact that Mikoto struggled to maintain a credible defense, but she managed. Just barely.

Science! I need to slow down that sword of hers or I won't be able to keep up! Mikoto thought as she quickly began electromagnetically hurling small bits of metallic debris scattered around the battlefield at her opponent's sword and magnetizing them to it in a bid to weigh it down.

"Huh?" Eiktobel-san said, noticing what Mikoto had done as she aborted her attack and leapt back to gain distance. Landing a good twenty feet away from Mikoto, the Magician examined her sword and noticed the various metallic pieces that the Level 5 had magnetized to its blade. "What an innovative solution to the speed of my swordplay."

Mikoto shrugged. "Finding some way to negate my opponent's advantage is just the logical thing to do."

"Indeed it is." Eiktobel-san agreed with a nod. "Anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool. And you are most certainly not one. You are a worthy foe. Though, considering that, I must question why you are participating in this conflict for Fräulein Kreutune? To my understanding, you have little to do with magic, do you not? That being the case, why put yourself at such great risk by doing so and making yourself an enemy of Gremlin?"

"I don't want to hear about how I'm putting myself in danger from someone who is trying to kill me. I frankly do not know nor care about the big picture surrounding this Incident. I don't even have a no good reason to be fighting here today and I don't need one." Mikoto as she ripped out chunks of the reinforced concrete that made up the overpass via some electromagnetism and tossed them towards Eiktobel-san.

"So you're doing this on the orders from your superiors in the City, [Railgun] of the Trinity?" The Magician asked as she cut the debris thrown her way into pieces with swings of her sword and began charging through the debris.

"No," Mikoto snorted as she hurled more bits of reinforced concrete at the Saint Valkyrie Hybrid whilst simultaneously magnetizing material to her claymore. "The City rarely gives us orders. They tend to just tell us there's an issue and leave it to us to figure out how to handle it. Seeing as how it involves one of my sisters, we would've gotten involved regardless."

"Then why are you fighting? For your sister?" Eiktobel-san asked as she deftly weaved through the rain of reinforced concrete that Mikoto had tossed at her. She rapidly closed the distance, and as she reached striking range, she began to spin, building up the speed behind her strike.

The Level 5 wasn't about to let her get away with that and negate all the effort she put into slowing down that blade of hers, so with a burst of computations and will, she shifted the finely spread layer of iron sand under the Magician's feet with her Electromastery. Just enough that the older woman slipped slightly. It sent her stumbling and by the time she caught herself, her blade had lost all the momentum she'd built up with her spins.

"No, Order-chan is also Rui-chan's daughter and she's with her. She can take care of her." Mikoto admitted as she tried to take advantage of Eiktobel-san's slip and attempted an attack only for the blonde to effortlessly parry her slash. "But I would have helped even if Order-chan wasn't in danger?"

"Because this Incident involves Kamijou Touma?" The Saint-Valkyrie Hybrid asked with a friendly smile that was in utter juxtaposition to the way she leapt at Mikoto and tried to cleave her in half with an overhead slash.

"Yeah." Mikoto agreed as she spun out of the way of the attack that, like her opponent's last attempt at such, ended with her blade stuck in the asphalt of the road. "He's a friend and I don't need a good reason to help out a friend."

Seeing as thanks to all the material that she'd magnetized to her blade Eiktobel-san was having a little trouble pulling her sword free, Mikoto tried to take advantage by thrusting her sword straight at the distracted Magician's side.

"My friends have taught me that true friends support each other no matter what dangers that might mean." Mikoto continued as her opponent freed her sword and managed to bring it up to block her thrust with the flat of its blade.

"You truly are a worthy foe, Misaka Mikoto." The Magician mused as she tilted her sword, using its mass to force Mikoto's own weapon out of position and leaving her open. An opening that she tried to exploit by lashing out at the [Railgun] with a punch.

Mikoto however had expected something like this and the moment her sword was forced out of position, she had let it go, dispersing the electromagnetic fields she'd used to maintain the vibrating iron sword blade and leapt back with all the strength that her biokineticly enhanced legs gave her.

Swordplay isn't getting me nowhere. Not that I really expected it to when I'm up against someone who uses a sword as their main weapon. Mikoto mused as her leap sent her flying away from her opponent. Taking that into account, I think I actually did pretty good. But it's time now for a different tack. It's time to pull out my specialty.

With that thought in mind, even as she landed with all the grace that her training had imbued in her, she reached into her skirt pocket and with hands made deft from practice pulled out one of the Dark Matter coins Ruiko had given her. A coin that at the sight of which, Eiktobel-san's eyes widened and she fell into a defensive stance.

It seems she did her research on me just like I did on her. Mikoto thought as she flicked the coin into the invisible electromagnetic fields in front of her that were necessary for her signature technique. She keeps calling me a worthy opponent… Well, honestly, she's the same.

The [Railgun] had just finished that thought when the Dark Matter coin she was using as ammunition was caught by the electromagnetic fields she'd crafted into the rails of the eponymous technique that had earned her moniker and was sent hurtling towards Eiktobel-san at supersonic speeds. With a sonic boom and a trail of plasma in its wake, Mikoto's railgun shot slammed into the Magician's sword as the blonde raised it in front of her like a shield.

The shot sent the Saint-Valkyrie Hybrid skidding back dozens of feet and sparks flew from her knee guards as she was forced to her knees and they scraped along the road as she was pushed back. But despite that, she mostly held her stance. Similarly unyielding was her sword, whose runes flared brilliantly as they struggled to keep it intact against the destructive power of Mikoto's railgun.

"S-Such destructive power." Eiktobel-san praised as she shakily got back to her feet and brought her sword back into a ready position. "I see now what it truly means to be a Level 5 Esper. Tell me, Misaka Mikoto, how close was that shot to your full power? Twenty percent Thirty percent?"

"Ten." Mikoto said as she fished out more Dark Matter coins and clutched them expertly between her fingers. "I wasn't about to try anything too high powered until I knew for sure you could take a hit."

"How considerate of you, Neiti Misaka." Eiktobel-san said with a pleased nod. "In return for your graciousness, it is only fair that I too should start ramping up my abilities."

"Go ahead. I can take whatever you throw at me!" Mikoto nodded confidently.

Smiling at her enthusiasm, Eiktobel-san crouched down in preparation to once more launch herself at Mikoto. However, just as her muscles tensed to break into a run, the Magician suddenly froze before letting out a frustrated sigh as she straightened her posture.

"What are you doing?"

"We no longer have a reason to fight." The Magician said with a shrug. "It seems the issue that served as the source of our conflict has been resolved."

---

We don't have to do this.

That was what Touma wanted to say to Leivinia-san. But if she had ever been willing to allow herself to be talked out of her plan by such simple words, they were past that point already. So he said nothing as battered and bruised, he stood across from her in a crouch as they took a breather in a lull in their fight.

He did not however remain silent. Leivinia-san might not be convinced by simple platitudes, but Touma had not given up on convincing her to change course yet.

"If you need a sacrifice to use against Gremlin, Leivinia-san, then use me instead."

His suggestion seemed to shock her and the Magician just looked at him in disbelief, as if he was some kind of impossible creature, unable to formulate a reply.

"I am sure that with your power, you can make me look like enough of a threat to draw Gremlin out. You don't need to use Fräulein Kreutune."

"As noble as your suggestion is Kamijou-san, it wouldn't work." Leivinia-san told him with a shake of her head. "You are but a mere human who cannot contend against Gremlin like Fräulein Kreutune could."

"That's not true and you know it." He retorted. "Othinus, Gremlin's leader herself, showed up to fight me in Baggage City. She explicitly said that she wanted to look at my right hand. It might not be on the same level as Fräulein Kreutune, but since it lured her out once, why not use it again?"

"She defeated you in Baggage City and you almost lost your life because of it." Leivinia-san said as she took a step back from him, looking at him like he was a truly unfathomable creature. "And yet you are offering to face her again? I can't understand what drives you! Are you insane!?"

"I just don't want to abandon any more people." Touma told her, his tone full of determination and conviction. "I've had enough of that already."

"You are insane." Leivinia-san concluded with a shake of her head as she raised her flintlock pistol and leveled it at him with her finger on the trigger. "Honestly! How does Academy City control someone like you!? The biggest threat you hold is not your power, it's how you use it! Your power is not good or evil, like Aleister Crowley and Laura Stuart, it is a great power if you can completely grasp it. However, like all great powers, if you cannot, it will be disastrous for you."

"What in the world are you talking about, Leivinia-san?"

"Why don't I give you some time for you to figure that out on your own?" She replied as she moved to pull the trigger.

---

The first thing Naru saw as she teleported into the School District 7 multi-level overpass was Leivinia Birdway raising her flintlock pistol at a beat up Kamijou Touma. A sight that had her immediately gathering her chakra.

"Why don't I give you some time for you to figure that out on your own?" The mesugaki, as Accelerator called her, said as she moved to pull the trigger.

Not on my watch! Naru thought as she converted the chakra she'd gathered into her mouth into water that she spat at the gun like a bullet. A projectile that slammed into the antique firearm used by Birdway with enough force that it knocked it out of the other blonde's hand just as it fired, sending the bullet flying off course. Not done, the [Elemental Empress] followed this up by converting the rest of her gathered chakra into raw thermal energy that she fired at the now airborne flintlock. The heat ray she fired from her eyes - She was inspired by some Superman comics recently so sue her! - was so intense that it easily melted the antique into charred cinders and molten slag in mere moments.

Good job. Kurama praised as Naru wiped the sheen of sweat created by the intense computations she'd done to pull that off on such short notice off her brow.

Thanks, partner. Naru told her friend as she teleported to stand between Birdway and Kamijou.

"Kamijou, I'll deal with Birdway." She told the spiky haired hero as she charged the Magician. "You can take a breather."

Considering how beat up he is, it was the right decision to come and support Kamijou.

Totally. Naru replied as Birdway responded to her arrival by smoothly going on the offensive. With a swing of her wand, she conjured a tongue of fire from its tip that she used at a whip which she swung at the Level 5.

"Are you stupid, Birdway?" Naru shouted at the Magician as she easily evaded the swings of the fiery whip. "Don't you know elemental attacks won't cut it against me? I'm not called the [Elemental Empress] for nothing!"

As if to prove the point, as the flaming lash got close, Naru reached out and grabbed it in a chakra enshrouded hand. Protected by her chakra, the flames of the magical whip could not harm her and she was able to tug on it hard. Naru had hoped that this would pull Birdway to her and she could start whaling on her in close quarters but the Magician instead wisely dispelled the flames entirely before the force of Naru's pull could reach her.

"Is that so? Why don't we test the limits of your elemental control shall we, [Maniforce]?" Birdway said, looking confident as she shifted her wand into the Symbolic Weapon's cup form and used it as a focus to wordlessly cast a spell that conjured dozens of ice spears around her that with a wave of her free hand she sent flying at Naru and, more importantly, the injured Kamijou behind her.

Stomping her feet on the ground, Naru used her chakra to flip an entire section of the roadway they were fighting on, creating a makeshift shield..Even then, a number of Birdway's ice lances still managed to pierce through it. Thankfully, they got stuck doing so.

Science! Just how much magical energy did she put into that ice she conjured!?

A lot. Kurama said with an impressed whistle.

"Thanks for the save, Namikaze-san." Kamijou said even as Naru kicked the impromptu barrier she'd created and sent it flying at Birdway.

An attack that prompted the Magician to conjure a dome shaped explosion to disintegrate the mass of ice and asphalt that had been sent to crush her.

"Leivinia-san!" Kamijou said as he stumbled to the edge of the chasm that now separated them from the Magician. "It's true that Fräulein Kreutune is an unknown entity whose true nature is something nobody knows, but that doesn't matter! Things have changed! Many people have come together to save her! It may seem to you like we're all crazy to be doing this but you're absolutely wrong! Anyone would want to save someone if they saw or heard that they were suffering for no good reason!"

Naru had to honestly suppress the urge to face-palm. Seriously!? Just how rose-tinted is Kamijou's view of the world?

Do you really have room to talk, Naru? Kurama asked with a bemused smile. You are one of those people he said are here to help save for no good reason. Or did you forget that?

Oh, shut up, Kurama! Naru retorted only to hear her partner snicker in response.

"T-That… What hogwash!" Birdway sneered as she waved her Symbolic Weapon, now once more a wand, in their direction and conjured a dozen spheres of ball lightning that began to erratically pinball around the area as they zeroed in on her and Kamijou.

"That's not a rebuttal." Naru pointed out with a smirk as she channeled chakra into her hands and released it into the air as she clapped them loudly together, unleashing a shockwave that dispelled Birdway's lightning.

"Exactly!" Kamijou said, latching onto what Naru had said. "And since you have no way to refute our point of view, that's why we will win. We won't lose to people like you who can't understand something so basic."

'We'? Since when did we count ourselves as being on Kamijou's side? Naru said as she followed up her shockwave by spreading her arms wide and using the motion to flood the air with more of her chakra. Energy that she manipulated into creating a brace of vacuum blades that she shot at Birdway.

Since we stepped in to fight on his behalf? Kurama suggested with a chuckle as shifting her Symbolic Weapon into a disc, Birdway summoned a stone pillar from the ground over forty feet below the overpass they were fighting on and had it serve as a shield for her.

Oh! Right! That makes sense I guess. Naru replied sheepishly as using the chakra that still suffused the air around them as a vector she condensed it into a wall of superdense gas to shield them from the needles of spiraling air that Birdway shot at them with thrusts of the sword that she'd transformed her Symbolic Weapon into as she raced out from behind the cover of the stone pillar.

"You are hopelessly naive if you assume everyone is as goodhearted as you are, Kamijou-san!" Birdway shouted just before Naru teleported behind her and lashed out at the Magician with a kick.

Reacting with a speed that Naru had not expected from the mesugaki, Birdway actually managed to bend herself out of the arc of the kick. She even recovered first such that whilst Naru was still regaining her proper footing she found herself hit by a wind blade that cut deep into her body from right shoulder to left hip.

"Namikaze-san!" Kamijou shouted in alarm at the sight of her injury.

Naru ignored him and the pain of the already healing wound. Her regeneration could handle it. Instead, she used her chakra to conjure lightning around her fists and lashed out at Birdway with a punch.

The Magician blocked it with her Symbolic Weapon, now in the shape of a disc, which she used as a shield. One that grounded the electricity that Naru had conjured and the mesugaki used to cast a spell that caused stone spears to shoot out of the pillar she summoned earlier at Naru. A move that forced the Level 5 to leap away from her and out of close quarters.

"Yo, Birdway, Kamijou isn't naive." Naru shouted at the Magician as she landed and thrust her arms towards her fellow blonde, using the action to shove chakra out of her body and convert it into lightning that shot at the mesugaki as twin lightning bolts. "He's an idealist. He knows people aren't all like him, but he acts like they are because he wants a world full of people like him. Cynical people like us might think him a fool but, in my opinion at least, his idealism and his determination to hold to his belief even in the face of the cruelty of the world is commendable."

"Is that why you are helping him?" Birdway asked as she summoned another pillar of stone to shield her from Naru's lightning.

"I guess that's about right." Naru said with a shrug even as the Magician used both of her summoned stone pillars as ammunition to create a hail of car sized boulders that she hurled at Naru.

Well shit! Guess I ended up losing the pure elemental contest after all. Naru thought with a disappointed sigh as she shrouded herself in a cloak of her chakra and from its writhing edges fired off beams of corrosive chakra that disintegrated the incoming boulders well short of hitting her.

Yeah, we lost. Kurama agrees. And Birdway knows it.

Looking over at the smug smile on her opponent's face, Naru saw it too. Birdway was practically glowing at her victory.

"Leivinia-san!" Kamijou cut in from the other side of the gap Naru had made in the roadway. "I've figured you out! What makes you special are numbers! You keep using the same spells with the same motions. You repeatedly did the same thing for a long time and it has built up. By doing things, like your spells, the exact same way time and time again, you have turned those very motions into magical symbols to support you. That kind of hard work is truly praiseworthy. It shows that despite your cold demeanor, you are one of the most passionate and hardest working people of all."

Since when was Kamijou insightful enough to create a hypothesis like that from just watching Birdway fight? Naru thought as she took a short breather. Using her raw chakra as weapons was tiring. There was a reason she only did it when she had the support of a Demon Frame.

He's been in how many fights by now? He's accumulated more than enough experience by this point to have developed a sense for such things.

That's true. The ability to discern things in a fight is something experienced fighters develop in one form or another, but Kamijou's expression of it is quite impressive. Naru sent to her partner as she watched Birdway just silently fume at Kamijou's words.

True. Though I'd have expected nothing less from a Hero.

Mentally rolling her eyes at her partner, Naru chided him. You and your obsession with heroes…

"That's not true at all!" Birdway shouted indignantly after working herself up as she turned to Kamijou and with a swing of her currently disc shaped Symbolic Weapon, she conjured a steel blade that she sent flying through the air like a giant rotary fan towards Kamijou. "No matter if it's Science or Magic, I'm always searching for something new!"

Shooting a bolt of chakra at the rotating blade that both knocked it off course and began corroding it away, Naru simultaneously launched a salvo of similar bolts at Birdway. A barrage that the Magician responded to by tossing a tarot card in front of her. A card that Naru identified by the winged figure that was pouring liquid from one cup to another as the Temperance card and by its position relative to Birdway was inverted.

An inverted Temperance? What can it do? Naru thought as the card glowed and released a pulse of energy that caused her chakra bolts to lose coherence and disperse before it disintegrated.

That it seems. Kurama said with a growl. Be careful, Naru. I think she's using the fact that inverted Temperance's symbolizes disunion to grant an ability to disrupt the coherence of targets.

Wow! You remembered the symbology of the Tarot? Naru asked, surprised even as Naru teleported a short distance behind Birdway and tapped her foot on the ground, causing spikes to shoot out from underneath the Magician.

As Naru expected, not appearing in the mesugaki's immediate vicinity meant that she was slow to react and the earthen spikes impaled her before she could evade them. Of course, it wouldn't be so easy to win this and Birdway tanked the hits with nothing but a wince.

I don't see the card, but I think she used the Hanged Man card like she did back in Hawaii. If I remember correctly, it lets her transfer damage she receives from piercing attacks onto the card instead.

Yeah, I think you're right. Naru thought as she evaded a brace of wind blades that Birdway shot at her with swings of her currently sword shaped Symbolic Weapon. By the way, seriously, did you memorize the symbology of the whole Tarot?

Maybe… Kurama said evasively as Naru counterattacked with a spread of fireballs.

Why!? Naru asked her partner incredulously as her fireballs were intercepted by an equal number of the same conjured by Birdway with her currently wand shaped Symbolic Weapon.

It gets boring here sometimes you know! A fox's gotta find some way to kill time!

Naru could sympathize. It couldn't be all that entertaining being stuck in her soul. Sure, she gave Kurama a pretty long leash in regards to what parts of her memories he could access to kill his boredom but they were different people and what interested her didn't necessarily tickle his fancy. So the amount of things in her mind that could hold his interest was limited. It was thus very easy for him to run out of those and to get bored. There was a reason after all why he spent most of his existence sleeping.

I'll go use Testament to download a new library of books into my brain for you to read this weekend. Naru promised her partner. Any genre in particular you'd like to read?

Fantasy and sci fi.

Got it. Naru told him with a nod as she winced from a bunch of wounds suddenly opening up across her body. Wounds that were the result, she was sure, of the magic cast using the Chariot card - a card that depicted a figure seated in a chariot, although he holds no rope, that was pulled by two sphinxes - that was disintegrating in Birdway's hands.

Using the Chariot's association with vengeance to have you suffer the same damage she took from your attack earlier? Kurama noted with an impressed air. That's a dangerous spell indeed.

Yeah. If only she used it more wisely.

"Was that supposed to take me down, Birdway?" Naru asked with an arched eyebrow even as her wounds closed up. "Did you forget I have regeneration?"

Birdway frowned and was about to respond. However, what response she was going to make, verbal or another attack, was cut off when Kamijou spoke up again. "You don't need to show off your magic, Leivinia-san! I am sure you can do all kinds of stuff, it doesn't change what I'm trying to say."

"And what are you trying to say, Kamijou?" Birdway asked, shooting Kamijou a look of exasperation.

Ya know… I'm kinda curious myself.

So am I.

"Leivinia-san, I can tell that you're someone who has taught many people that hard work will carry them to the top just like you did. Heck! I bet you show off your range of spells to others to convince them that with enough effort they can learn just as many too, don't you?" Kamijou must've hit the nail on the head because Birdway looked like a deer caught in the headlights as she heard what he was saying. "That makes you a good person, Leivinia-san! And because of that I cannot let you come to the conclusion that using Fräulein Kreutune is the best answer to dealing with Gremlin. It is just the easy way out and an option that a hard worker like you shouldn't even consider."

"And what are you going to do about it, Kamijou?"

"Ask my friend to shatter the illusion of yours that what you're doing is right." Kamijou said, looking at Naru meaningfully. "Namikaze-san, take her down!"

"I don't take orders from you, Kamijou!" Naru shouted at the [Imagine Breaker] petulantly whilst Kurama snickered at her expense and she donned her Festung Demon Frame. The thick set of oversized chakra armor with a faintly knightley aesthetic armed with an arsenal's worth of cannons and missile batteries settling over her body.

"The World!" Birdway cast, consuming a Tarot card depicting a naked woman hovering above the Earth holding a baton in each hand and surrounded by a wreath while being watched by a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle.

So she's invoking the card's concept of permanence to create some kind of defensive effect? Kurama mused. Let's see how well that will stand up to our firepower, shall we?

Naru's reply was to unleash the full fury of her Demon Frame's weapons. "All-out assault!"

At her mental command, every last cannon and missile box equipped to her Festung fired its payload at Birdway. This sent a veritable storm of chakra beams, bolts, and missiles slamming into the blonde Magician. A barrage that detonated with enough force that it quite literally vaporized the entire section of the overpass where the blonde had been standing.

Her Tarot based magic worked though and despite the immense amount of firepower directed her way, she was unharmed. Well, except for the fact that with where she was standing destroyed, she was now falling four storeys to the ground. She didn't seem fazed by this and had already shifted her Symbolic Weapon to its disk shape presumably to create a pillar of earth for her to stand on. Too bad for her, Naru wasn't about to let her.

Teleporting behind the Magician, Naru reached out and grabbed the surprised mesugaki by the hair and using the full strength of her Demon Frame threw her into the overpass above where they'd been fighting. More specifically, she threw the other blonde at the underside of said overpass just above where Kamijou was standing.

Naru's aim was excellent and with Birdway caught completely off guard by the Level 5's unexpected move, she could do nothing but squeak in surprise as she was sent flying before letting out a pained scream as she crashed into the underside of an overpass hard enough to crater it. This wasn't even the end of her misery as she rebounded from the impact and crashed to the ground a few feet from the [Imagine Breaker].

"You still alive, Birdway?" Naru asked as she teleported next to the battered and defeated Magician.

"Argh. S-So-Somehow." Birdway said as panes of what looked like raw magical energy created by what Naru guessed was some kind of last second defense spell fell off her body and shattered. It had been enough to save her but clearly hadn't been enough to save her from defeat. It did however, somehow, prevent her from having half her scalp ripped off by Naru's throw or maybe that was her earlier Tarot spell? Naru wasn't sure and didn't care.

"Good!" Naru chirped happily as she reached down to grab Birdway by the hair and began dragging her away by it. "That means I can hand you over to get locked up rather than sending you to the morgue."

"J-Joy."

"Namikaze-san! Please don't drag her like that!" Kamijou whined as he hobbled after them.

Naru just ignored him. This Incident that Birdway caused, she was sure she was responsible to some capacity, had wasted a good chunk of the Ichihanaransai! Time which she had wanted to spend enjoying the festival with Shu-chan and Arisa-chan! She deserved some payback from the one responsible! And, by Science, was she going to get it!

---

Watching just outside what had been observed as Fräulein Kreutune's sensory radius, Ruiko watched alongside Frenda-chan, Order-chan, Fremea-chan, Yoshikawa-san, Hamazura-san, Takitsubo-san, Kinuhata-san, and the new Kakine Teitoku as the anomalous entitty stumbled along in the maze that was the multi-level overpass that had been the site of the climactic battles for the Incident revolving around her. Battles that thankfully had been resolved without dragging her into them in the slightest.

Okay. Time to definitively put an end to the Fräulein Kreutune Incident. Ruiko thought as she gave Hamazura-san a nod.

Nodding back, the former Skill-Out toggled a series of commands on his phone. In response, the keychain that Fremea-chan had given Fräulein Kreutune began to vibrate. This startled the creature wearing the shape of a woman and she reached into a pocket of her skirt - Why did her prison clothes even have pockets!? - and pulled out the tiny device and read the message Order-chan and Fremea-chan had written for her off its tiny screen.

'Our friend, Fräulein Kreutune, hang in there just a bit longer. We've come up with a plan to save you so just wait a little while. We're on our way.' Ruiko recalled. Short and sweet. Hopefully it'll do.

Not that the message was all that important. They could've sent Fräulein Kreutune anything really or nothing at all. They just needed to catch her attention for a moment so that she would stop wandering around like a zombie and they could properly interact with her. And in that aspect, they had certainly succeeded.

Smiling brightly as she finished reading the message, Fräulein Kreutune looked longingly at the device and spoke. "I am grateful that you consider us friends, Last Order-san, Fremea-san. But I can't be your friend. Not when I am unable to stop myself from eating Last Order-san!"

She burst into tears as she said the last part and clutching the keychain to her chest, she curled up into a fetal ball and wept. It was frankly a heartbreaking scene and Ruiko didn't need Order-chan and Fremea-chan shooting her pleading looks to feel a desire to help the woman.

"We can help you with that." Ruiko said, using some audiokinesis to project her voice far enough so that Fräulein Kreutune could hear her.

The feminine entity immediately inhumanly jerked her head to look at Ruiko and froze at the sight of her group. Or more specifically at the sight of Order-chan.

"Last Order! Why are you here!? Run!" Fräulein Kreutune shouted at Ruiko's eldest as she visibly fought against her own body as it jerkily got to its feet and in stilted, unnatural steps began slowly advancing towards them. "You need to stay away!"

"There's no need to worry, Fräulein Kreutune." Ruiko assured the creature as she gestured at Hamazura-san. "Like I said, we can help you with your uncontrollable desire to eat Order-chan's brain."

Almost everyone shot her disapproving looks at her choice of words but she just smiled cheekily in response. More importantly. Hamazura-san had ignored what she said entirely and heeding her gestured command instead, stepped forward and carefully put the imitation of Last Order's brain that Cendrillon had created in accordance with Kamijou Touma's plan in front of them. The moment he did and she spotted the imitation brain, Fräulein Kreutune froze and she stared at it for a long moment.

"Oh! That might work. Smart move." The anomalous entity declared before abandoning her previously jerky mode of movement, she suddenly charged forward with the grace of a predator. In a flash, she had thrown herself at the imitation brain and was messily consuming it.

"Ruiko! That better not-" Accel said as she arrived alongside Mugino Shizuri, who incidentally had wandered off from their little group shortly after her team had joined up with them.

Well, at least she didn't disappear on us like Cendrillon. Ruiko mused.

Sure, she was fairly sure that she could find the former Gremlin Magician if she wanted to but she had helped them a great deal during this Incident and that earned her enough goodwill to justify letting her go. For now.

"Hi, Papa! Misaka Misaka greets." Order-chan cut Accel off, proving that it wasn't her brain that Fräulein Kreutune was currently devouring. "That brain is a copy of Misaka's made via magic. Misaka Misaka explains. We hope that once Fräulein Kreutune eats it, she won't need to eat mine anymore. Misaka Misaka elaborates."

"Essentially then she can continue being our friend. Nyah~!" Fremea-chan added.

Accel, who had been gathering winds around him to go apeshit on Fräulein Kreutune, froze and turned to Ruiko. She just nodded with a grin. She loved when a plan came together. Especially one where she had to do practically no work!

Blinking in confusion at her response, Accel turned to Frenda-chan, who just shrugged. "Yeah, everything's fine. As for Ruiko-chan… She's been excessively smug since that imitation brain got delivered. I think she's overjoyed she didn't really have to do much during this Incident."

Ruiko's smile widened at her girlfriend proving that she knew her well enough to discern the source of her good mood.

"Yeah. It's hard to believe considering how much of a workaholic she is most of the time but she has her lazy moments." Accel said with a sigh.

Ruiko nodded enthusiastically.

"[Multi-Skill] feeling lazy!?" Mugino-san said, looking at her like she'd grown another head. She wasn't the only one. The rest of ITEM, Yoshikawa-san and Kakine-san were too.

"What can I say? It's the Ichihanaransai." Ruiko shot back with an unrepentant shrug.

After all, it wasn't like she wouldn't work hard or fight if there was a need to. It was just that there wasn't and she got a chance to relax. What was wrong with being pleased about that?

"Mama! Misaka Misaka cries urgently." Order-chan said suddenly, tugging lightly on Ruiko's skirt as well. "Look! Misaka Misaka says pointing at Fräulein Kreutune. What's happening? Misaka Misaka asked, worried for her friend."

"Yeah," Fremea-chan asked just as worriedly. "What's happening to her?"

"Considering how much of her nature is an enigma, I can only hypothesize but I believe her body is adapting based on the information she is absorbing by eating that brain." Ruiko said as they all watched, seemingly in response to finishing the last of the imitation brain, Fräulein Kreutune's body suddenly began to shrink in size until she became child-sized. Where once she stood at over two meters tall, she was now less than half that, her limbs changing in length to remain proportional. The only thing that didn't change was her long unkempt hair which now, thanks to her reduced height, became on the verge of touching the ground. Oh, and her much reduced frame meant her clothes were now practically falling off her.

Shooting glances at Accel, Hamazura-san and Kakine-san, Ruiko was pleased to see them looking away. Satisfied that the men among them were not about to outrage Fräulein Kreutune's modesty, Ruiko used some emulated Dark Matter to conjure some wet wipes and more fitting clothes in a neat pile a short distance away from the now child sized anomaly.

"Fräulein Kreutune, why don't you put on that new set of clothes?"

"But-"

"I have questions. But first, please clean yourself using those wet wipes and put on those clothes."

Fräulein Kreutune frowned but nodded and obliged. She walked over to the wet wipes and clothes, promptly using them to clean herself and change.

"Was the hat necessary?" Yoshikawa-san asked with an arched eyebrow.

"It's winter and her coat doesn't have a hood." Ruiko retorted.

"So it isn't because you super wanted to play dress up and your daughters all don't wear anything but dresses?" Kinuhata-san said, looking at her accusingly.

"I will neither confirm or deny that observation."

"Mama~! Misaka Misaka laments her Mama's obsession with dressing up." Order-chan whined whilst dressed adorably in a blue woolen trench coat over a cream, knee length knitted dress with a turtleneck collar. An outfit that was complemented by a matching cream beret.

"At least it means you always look good? Nyah~!" Fremea-chan offered as she patted Order-chan on her back.

"That it does," Frenda-chan said with a giggle and gestured at the now properly attired Fräulein Kreutune. "See for yourselves."

The anomalous entity was now dressed in a beige long woolen trench coat that was worn over an outfit consisting of a cream turtleneck, checkered skirt, gray tights and a checkered pageboy hat. All in all, it, in Ruiko's completely biased opinion, made even the inhuman entity look cute as a button!

"Frenda isn't wrong." Takitsubo-san said with a tired nod. "She does look cute."

"I hate to admit it but Saten-san has good taste when it comes to fashion." Mugino-san added with a sigh. "Is there anything she isn't good at!?"

"How about staying on task?" Accel griped. "Is she dressed? Can we turn back around?"

"Yes, please do." Ruiko said, fighting a blush at having been called out on going on a tangent.

She rallied quickly though and after squashing her blush, she addressed her eldest's newest friend with a voice of firm authority. Or so she hoped. "Fräulein Kreutune, do you still feel the compulsion to eat Last Order's brain?"

"No, I do not." Fräulein Kreutune said, looking down and unwilling to meet anyone's eyes. "But that I ever did proves that I am a loathsome creature who is unworthy of having Fremea-san and Last Order-san as friends."

"That doesn't matter. Misaka Misaka asserts." Order-chan said, stepping forward now that it was clear it was safe for herself to do so. "Even if your situation was not taken into account at all, and your morality was not determined by your functions, it does not apply to you now. Misaka Misaka assures. You need not be afraid or anxious about whether you are good or evil, it will not change that we are friends. Misaka Misaka promises."

"Yeah." Fremea-chan agreed as she too stepped forward. "I can't say it using complicated words like Order-chan. Nyah~! But essentially you're our friend Fräulein Kreutune. What happened doesn't change that."

Both girls punctuated these statements by embracing Fräulein Kreutune, causing her to burst into what Ruiko imagined were happy tears. She certainly felt happy seeing the three of them hug and reaffirm their friendship.

Happy enough to ignore her allies whispering about her behind her back.

"What's up with what Fräulein Kreutune is wearing? Why's it so fancy?" Hamazura-san whispered to his girlfriend.

"Saten-sama." Takitsubo-san whispered back.

"Ah~!"

"Does she pick out your clothes too, Accelerator?" Kakine-san teased Accel.

"No." Accel hissed back.

"But she does mine. Sometimes." Frenda-chan admitted shamelessly to exasperated looks from her former ITEM teammates. Even Yoshikawa-san was shaking her head at hearing that.

It was to this scene that Naru and Mikoto-senpai teleported into. Though fortunately their focus was immediately caught by the trio of little girls hugging it out and not the others gossiping about her.

"Aww~!" The Number 2 gushed at the sight, even pulling out her phone to take pictures.

Smiling at that and wanting to preempt her getting caught up in the gossiping, Ruiko turned to Senpai. "What happened to your fight, Senpai?"

"Nothing really interesting. We were still just testing each other out and not using our full power when my opponent just suddenly quit the fight. After comparing notes with Naru, it seems she did so when Birdway was defeated by her."

Ruiko nodded. That made sense. Based on what intel she'd been able to piece together, this entire Incident had been Birdway's idea and by all accounts, her allies had only reluctantly went along with it. The moment she got taken out, whatever plan she was working on was as good as dead in the water.

"And what about Birdway and Kamijou?"

Apparently finished gushing over the girls, Naru-chan skipped over to join their conversation. "You have good taste in clothes as always, Rui-chan."

"Thank you, Naru-chan. My question?"

"Kamijou snuck away whilst I was handing Birdway over to the goons the Superintendent sent in just after I beat her. He is still technically a fugitive, though I imagine now that the Incident is resolved, that'll be cleared up soon."

They all nodded at that. Kamijou was too important to Aleister Crowley's plans for the Silver Star to not ingratiate himself with him a little. The least he could do was lift his fugitive status.

"How long do you think we can hold Birdway?" Senpai asked with a frown. "Between her influence on the Magic Side as a leader of a major cabal and the City's need for an anti-Gremlin ally, I'm not holding up hope for her being in custody for long."

Ruiko nods. "She probably won't even make it to processing before one of the allies she brought with her to the City frees her."

"Yeah," Mikoto-senpai agreed. "I can see Eiktobel-san doing that."

"Yup. Birdway will be a free bird soon enough."

Ruiko and Senpai both shot their teammate an unimpressed look at her attempt at a pun. Her bad attempt. Her very bad attempt.

"So… What about Thor?"

"If you don't know, then we have less luck. All I know is he disappeared."

Ruiko sighed. "And with my surveillance network still spotty after the blackout the Superintendent imposed, it looks like he'll get away."

"Ruiko!" Accel shouted, prompting him to turn to her boyfriend. "Done catching up?"

Ruiko looked to her teammates. Both of them thought over the matter for a moment before nodding.

"It appears so."

"Then what should we do now?"

"Well…" Ruiko said with a teasing smile as she skipped over to hook her arms with Accel and Frenda-chan. "The day is still young, we should spend the rest of the day enjoying the Ichihanaransai. What do you think?"

"I think that's a great idea, Ruiko-chan!" Frenda-chan said, leaning into Ruiko's side.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Accel admitted. "Let's round up the twins and make a family day of it like we initially planned before this mess."

""Let's!"" Ruiko and Frenda-chan chorused.

---

Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!

Whelp, looks like another festival is going to get ruined due to bad people being stupid people. When will the villains ever learn that you don't fuck with the Trinity when they just want to have fun? And we have so many fights to go through! Hope you all enjoyed the slugfests that went on, even if they were mostly similar to their canon ones.

Nameless: Hope you guys enjoyed this action packed chapter. With more than 10k+ words covering the various fights, I hope your itch for action is satisfied. More importantly, we hope that our renditions of this arc's fights were entertaining. Some of the conversations exchanged in canon during these fights were important to the development of various characters (e.g. Accelerator) so we need to keep to the gist of it and then write the rest of the stuff around it. It's not different from what we usually do but this time, the important conversations were basically all of them… So we hope we managed to at least keep things somewhat original. If you'd be so kind, please let us know how well we did.

Though I will say that the Naru versus Birdway fight was my favorite. Just her clowning on Birdway even if that mesugaki wasn't super serious was just cathartic. And having Naru drag her away by her hair in reference to Birdway's win against Cinderella wannabe? Chef's kiss!

Nameless: If you're wondering why there is a sudden change in tone with the final scene. That's because I wanted to indicate how abrupt the tension wound down. Not that they were particularly high for Ruiko at least. Even though Last Order was being hunted in this arc, it was surprisingly relaxed for her. She didn't even need to fight anyone during the climactic battle. Guess she got a lucky break.

Yeah, Last Order got super lucky her Mama was calm despite her Papa freaking out. I can only imagine what a livid Ruiko would have done if she didn't know her baby was safe.

You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!