Under the crushing force, the brown-haired man let out a miserable scream, his body moments away from being squeezed to death.
"Selene-senpai, please stop! Don't kill him!" Only then did Shirai Kuroko react belatedly, hastily calling out to Selene, who sat on a nearby bench.
At Kuroko's plea, Selene ordered the Guardian Knight to halt. The enormous figure vanished instantly, and the robber's body crashed heavily to the ground.
His eyes rolled back, and he fell unconscious on the spot.
To be honest, Selene found this brown-haired robber utterly disgusting. Compared to the other two, this man was genuine scum—first using innocent civilians as shields to escape, and now attempting to kidnap a child as a hostage.
Each act was despicable. Especially the latter—for crimes involving the harming, abuse, or trafficking of children, both domestically and abroad, the punishment was always severe.
Originally, Selene hadn't planned to intervene; she had simply wanted to see the famous "Railgun" in action.
But when she saw the robber grabbing at the child in Saten Ruiko's arms, something in her snapped. Her anger flared up instantly, without reason or restraint.
Seeing the killing intent in Selene's eyes, the man pinned beneath Kuroko's needles shrieked in terror, his voice trembling. "I—I remember now!"
His tone was filled with fear. "She... she's Tokiwadai's number one! They say the first-ranked is brutal—anyone who crosses her ends up either dead or crippled..."
"So give up already," Kuroko said meaningfully. "If we hadn't happened to be here today, you'd probably all be dead by now... Selene-senpai isn't as easygoing as we Judgment members are."
Not long after, the real Anti-Skill officers finally arrived, their vehicles blaring as they surrounded the area.
After explaining the situation to the Anti-Skill staff, Kuroko turned to give Selene a stern lecture.
"Though we're grateful for your help, nearly crushing someone to death is too excessive. It'll cause trouble for our Judgment work."
"Yes, yes, I'll be careful next time." Judging by Selene's expression, however, Kuroko could tell she wasn't taking it seriously at all. The twin-tailed girl sighed helplessly. "Honestly... my Onee-sama's like this, and now Selene-senpai too... what am I going to do with you both?"
Once the commotion at the crepe shop's pedestrian street finally settled, the group of four headed toward their final destination—the arcade.
Faced with Misaka Mikoto's provocative invitation, Selene naturally refused to back down.
"All right, let's go." Though she hadn't gotten to witness Railgun's full display of power, the chance to tease Misaka further was one she wouldn't pass up.
"I'm pretty good at games, you know. Don't cry when you lose."
"Hmph, we'll see about that! I'm great at all kinds of games!" Misaka rolled up her sleeves as if to show off her "strength."
...
"Looks like you're not doing so well, Misaka~!"
"That first round was just a warm-up! The next one will show real skill!"
...
"Yay! I won again~! You were so close, Misaka~!"
"Damn it! Again!"
...
"Still want to continue, Misaka~?"
"Ugh! Again! I don't believe this!"
...
"I can't accept this! I was just one hit away!" By the final round, Misaka Mikoto collapsed to her knees in despair, her entire body radiating defeat and melancholy.
Seeing her like this, the ever-scheming Shirai Kuroko suddenly had a new idea. If... if I can win just once, then Onee-sama will see how amazing I am... and then she'll—hehe~ hehehe~ hah... ahaha~!
Her smile twisted into one of sheer madness, accompanied by a creepy giggle.
"Leave the next round to Kuroko! I'll win for Onee-sama's sake!" she declared confidently, turning toward Misaka with determination.
Volunteering herself, Kuroko took over the controller from the utterly defeated Misaka Mikoto to face Selene.
The result was...
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
A scream pierced the air—so loud and wretched it could make anyone's heart ache.
On the ground, a tea-red twin-tailed girl sat in a duck-like posture, her eyes lifeless and tears streaming down her cheeks as she muttered repeatedly, "Kuroko... Kuroko's dream... it's shattered..."
"Uh... isn't that a bit dramatic? It's just a game." Selene commented dryly.
On the game machine's screen, two large characters flashed—"Victory." But anyone who looked closely at both sides' HP and MP bars would realize something wasn't quite right.
"Maybe I went too far?" Selene muttered, stepping forward to comfort her opponent. "Look, I've got full HP, and you've got full MP—let's just call it a draw, okay?"
Unfortunately, her attempt at consolation didn't seem to work...
With a helpless expression, the ever-"invincible" Selene stood up and stretched lazily. Though each match ended quickly, even she couldn't completely avoid fatigue after so many back-to-back rounds.
"Wow! Ten straight losses!" Uiharu Kazari exclaimed in awe. She hadn't played herself, but she had witnessed every moment of the intense match rotation. "I didn't expect Selene-senpai to be so good at games too. Though... maybe that was a bit much."
Misaka-senpai had at least managed to put up a fight, but once Shirai took over... well, that was just... tragic.
"Onee-sama, Kuroko... Kuroko needs the warmth of your love..."
As if suddenly revived, Shirai Kuroko sprang up and, like a koala, latched herself onto Misaka Mikoto, hands wandering everywhere.
"Ah! Kuroko! Get off me! We're in public—what are you doing?!"
"Ahhh~! Kuroko's love for Onee-sama will never fade! Ah~ ah~!"
Sensing the danger of imminent destruction, Selene immediately activated a barrier, enveloping the two of them. No way she could let Misaka start blasting things again.
Sure enough, a surge of blue light and crackle sounds filled the air, accompanied by Kuroko's increasingly ecstatic moans. The commotion drew the attention of everyone in the arcade.
"Onee-sama~! Ah~ ah~!"
The stares from all around made Selene cringe. She really didn't want to be mistaken for a pervert. "Hey, Saten, Uiharu—let's go."
"...Oh... okay."
As soon as Selene dissolved the barrier, the three of them pretended not to know the two culprits and hurriedly slipped out of the arcade.
Meanwhile, Misaka Mikoto, who had just electrocuted Kuroko into unconsciousness, finally noticed all the strange stares around her. Her cheeks turned visibly red.
She was just about to demand an explanation when she realized Selene and the others were already gone. Letting out a mortified scream, she grabbed her handbag and dashed away at full speed—completely ignoring the twitching Kuroko still lying on the floor.
"Ugh... Onee-sama, wait for me..."