Part 5
The limo that Accelerator, Tsuchimikado Motoharu, Musujime Awaki and Unabara Mitsuki, were riding together in was currently heading for District 23.
The world's largest particle accelerator, Hula Hoop, followed around the outer walls of Academy City and was 200m underground. Its control center was the same, it was near the outer edges of the district that bordered the outer walls. Terrorists had occupied the place, taken hostages, and passed on 'demands' via the network.
"Come to think of it, what happened to that 'man on the other side of the phone'? With something like this happening, shouldn't we have gotten a call from him?"
"Hell if I know. If he doesn't want to contact us we can't get to him no matter what. If he doesn't have something else on at this time then he must be on holiday or something."
"Ara, are you worried because he isn't contacting you?"
"Watch out before I rip your foul mouth apart, you idiot."
Accelerator and Musujime Awaki glared at each other, but Group didn't mind things like this.
Unabara was polishing his obsidian knife while asking Tsuchimikado,
"Are there any movements from Anti-Skill?"
"Apparently the excuse of a specialized anti-terrorist team is being sent out stopped them from mobilizing. And actually, if normal Anti-Skills got involved in something like this chances are they would only make it worse."
Tsuchimikado answered while taking apart his handgun with practiced ease.
"To prevent the Hula Hoop that's built 200m under the ground from releasing gamma rays in case of accidents, there are protection walls the level of nuclear shelters built around it. Trying to cut a hole out of it or even blow one out using dynamite would be impossible."
"Can't we use the elevators?"
"There are plenty of other walls inside as well. The elevator cables are all placed in niches in the walls, just like an automatic door. The other lines are the same."
"Dawdling movements will just tell them we're coming. If we are found blowing up doors and walls the terrorists from Spark Signal will probably blow the hostages' heads off."
Musujime Awaki was shifting her military flashlight that she used as a weapon in her pocket continuously, to make sure she could draw it out easily when she needed it.
Unabara wiped off some murky water on his dagger.
"What's the situation inside?"
"We've already gone over this. To prevent gamma rays leaking, the walls there are extremely thick, normal radiowaves won't be able to get through. Drilling a hole to get a camera inside is also not possible. Though we have the schematics now, we still don't have any idea how many are deployed in there."
"Then what about those 'nano-machines'?"
As soon as Musujime said that, the atmosphere inside the limo tensed up.
Nano-machines called Underline were spread throughout the city, observing everything that happened there without pause. Of course, Hula Hoop would also be one of the places under surveillance.
"If they completely closed down the safety doors the network should have been disrupted… then again, if there is hidden technology it won't be surprising."
Tsuchimikado paused at this point.
"Also, 'on the surface' we don't know about the existence of the nano-machines. So even if there is information from that, it won't get to us."
"The most troublesome thing here would be that we don't know how many of them we need to take down before everything is over. It won't be good if we get shot in the back as soon as we relax."
"Then we'll just throw the guy that won't be hurt even if shot to deal with it."
Tsuchimikado put together the handgun he had disassembled earlier and pointed at the make-shift bed.
The one sitting there was Accelerator. He could reflect all of the attacks.
"I don't have any intentions of listening to orders coming from the bastard-with-sunglasses, but this is a lot easier than trusting my back to you people."
Accelerator said that while glaring viciously at Tsuchimikado.
"But what method are we going to use to break in? Pierce through the 200m of walls and earth with one blow?"
… That comment seemed to have disregarded all of the premises, but there was indeed one person here that could do that.
But Tsuchimikado shook his head.
"Forget it. Not counting Spark Signal, if we drag the hostages and the machinery into the attack it would be troublesome. We'll do this the usual way, using Musujime's ability to ignore the limits of three-dimensions."
Her Move Point worked just like Teleport, ignoring obstacles like walls and ceilings to send whatever she wanted to somewhere else.
At this time, the person in question furrowed her brows.
"Transport a mass as large as a human precisely onto a point 200m away, to a place that I've only seen on a schematic and not in person? There's probably a 50% chance of being buried alive inside the walls or in the ground. If you still want to do that regardless of the risks then I don't mind."
"You won't have to do anything that difficult."
Tsuchimikado laughed.
"District 23 is filled with aviation and space technology facilities, so it's only runways all over the sector. But with that, the space above ground would be wasted; so, how do they get the building space for research and development?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"…In other words, it's pretty spacious down there. Though it's not directly linked with Hula Hoop, the direct distance between two points can be shortened somewhat. We can use Musujime's Move Point to launch Accelerator there."
As they talked, the limo reached the District 23.
Originally, in accordance to counter-terrorism strategy ordinary cars that were not business-use cars or specialized buses were forbidden to enter, but they were allowed to do so anyway.
In the runway-covered District 23, there were comparatively few tall buildings. The limo was parked at one of the buildings branching off from a school's gymnasium.
The four of them got off immediately.
Accelerator's crutch sprung four tiny claws to grab the ground, and Musujime's eyes couldn't help but to open wide at the sight.
"Did you just make that crutch? You sure are enthusiastic in your work."
"Shut up and get out of my way. Are you the wordy housewife that suspects the husband is cheating on you due to a slight mess in his clothing?"
As they verbally sparred casually, Accelerator and others walked into a low building. It was a testing site for aviation weaponry. Of course, they were heading for the underground beneath there.
Tsuchimikado used the access code he had gotten from somewhere to open the lock for the elevator that was reserved for authorized personnel only. The four of them took a ride in the rectangular box and descended 150m at once.
Accelerator felt a sense of unease near his collarbone.
(…After getting this far down is the radiowave reception getting worse…?)
He unconsciously touched the choker-style electrode on his neck, but he couldn't do anything about it.
Outside the elevator was a wide open space like a department store or an office building. Everywhere was polished to the point it sparkled. Though there were no windows, the countless light sources could almost make people forget they were still underground.
Accelerator and others' destination wasn't one of these rooms, but the wall that was the closest to the edge.
Tsuchimikado looked at the map on his cell phone as he tapped the wall like knocking the door to a club president's room.
"Here it is. Going down 30 degrees to the east, 80m away is a corridor leading to the Hula Hoop control facility. There is no closer distance than this, and the target location is spacious enough."
"80 meters, huh."
"In terms of capability, a certain middle-school student in Judgment can do something of this level as well."
"…You sure have quite an annoying mouth. I'll do it already."
Musujime glared at Tsuchimikado who deliberately reminded her of that twin-tailed Teleporter, and walked towards the wall.
After that, she turned to Accelerator.
"Then, should we start the dimension-hopping now?"
"Wait."
The one who spoke wasn't Accelerator, but Tsuchimikado Motoharu.
"Your electrode is having trouble now, right?"
"…"
"Wait for another 15 minutes. I'll use the cables from the elevator to make a simple antenna that will allow the radiowaves to reach the facility."
"Do you need my help?"
Even though I have no tools with me right now. Towards Unabara who added that last sentence, Tsuchimikado only shook his head.
"You go contact the 'man on the other side of the phone'. Using the emergency lines you should be able to reach a temporary connection with the board of directors. After contacting them make preparations to make sure no other forces or specialists get in our way. It's not our problem if they want to get themselves killed, but if they get dragged into this it'll get troublesome."
After that, Tsuchimikado smiled at Unabara who was standing at one side with his head tilted, with an expression saying 'Why me?', and said,
"It's because your looks are very popular with old people nyaa."
"This is just a complete fake."
This teenage boy who wasn't Japanese, let alone Asian, scratched his face that was fairly popular with the Japanese people.
Tsuchimikado finally turned to face Accelerator,
"Listen up. We start in 15 minutes. Though I think there probably won't be any problems, before we start I suggest you check your electrode once again, make sure no other problems pop up. It doesn't matter if you die, but I definitely won't allow the kids that were taken hostage to get hurt."
Part 6
This world's largest particle accelerator, Hula Hoop, that was built 200m underground, could accelerate protons to 99.22% of the speed of light, and maintain that speed for up to 300 seconds.
But, even such a large device had its own limits.
Surpassing the speed it was designed to hold, or running it longer than it was supposed to would both lead to Hula Hoop's explosion; that meant enough gamma radiation to cover a third of Academy City would be released.
But up to this point, this boy didn't know any of that.
Before, he didn't have the memory of having guns pointed at his head by masked men, or the experience of having his hands tied behind his back by someone else. The time where he trembled as around 30 people which included his classmates, teacher, and the driver was also a nightmare that he had never experienced in reality.
"Stabilizing at 50% of speed of light. Hula Hoop is only a restricting measure, it's not a bargaining chip. That's why we captured these brats."
"If we go too far the higher ups will blow us sky-high along with this underground facility. There are no civilian structures above our heads, just bare runways, so they can make this place blow up to their heart's content."
"That's why we needed Hula Hoop, isn't it? As long as we make it appear as if this place will explode any time, we can stop the board of directors' desperate actions."
"Confirm the escape routes. After negotiations we'll explode a small section of the control facility when the outer ring of Hula Hoop while it's operating at 70% lightspeed. Then we'll put on the anti-radiation powered suits at emergency shelter B and break through while they are hurriedly preparing for their own anti-radiation gear."
Dangerous and outlandish words floated above the boy's head.
There were no signs that he would be released safely.
It didn't matter if things took a turn for better or worse, there was no future for him and the others here.
Despair had taken over his brain and it reverberated throughout his body.
"It's time."
Ignoring the boy that shook uncontrollably at one side, one of the masked men that looked like their leader looked at his watch and said,
"Mah, from the start I didn't think we'd get the higher ups to respond without 'taking care of' at least one person… is the camera ready? We'll start the negotiations for real soon, hurry up with that."
After hearing those words filled with hints, the masked underlings started to move. The recording equipment was nothing special, it was just an add-on on one of their cell phones. Though to prevent it being traced a strange machine had been added onto the cable leading from it.
"The images and sound can be transmitted at any time now."
"The direct links to the Anti-Skill Headquarters and the board of directors are complete. With one signal we can have a live recording."
"Alright, let us begin."
As soon as his words left his mouth, the man who looked like the leader grabbed the boy's hair with one hand. The fear that exceeded the pain made him cry out loudly, but the other party completely ignored it. The boy was then dragged all the way in front of the camera.
Words of objection were sealed before they were even yelled out of his mouth.
In the hands of the man who looked like the leader was a gun that looked like the real thing in anyone's eyes.
"Give him a final mercy and cover his eyes."
Resistance was futile. Both his hands were tied behind his back; but even if they were not, what could a single child do? Immediately a strip of cloth was tied around his head and covered his sight.
"Make him kneel and start the live broadcast."
In the darkness, his wrist was being grabbed by someone and he was lifted up. Somebody stepped behind him and a cold, hard touch came in contact with the back of his head.
The high-performance focal aperture on the cell phone camera moved slightly, and next to the boy's ear the sound of a small motor rang out.
The man that stood behind him said the following in a manner like speaking from a script which had been prepared earlier:
"We wished to solve this in a peaceful manner, having once and again given you the alternative where blood will not have to be shed; but the answer we received is not the one we wanted. We must have made you misunderstand us, made you think we didn't have the courage to take decisive action. If that was the case we apologize here."
'kacha'
The boy could feel the hair on the back of his neck rising.
"To give you the ability to decide, this time we'll hint at our intention. But, this is an action that was originally not necessary, and the blood that will flow is one that is not needed. Grieve, and regret your foolish decisions."
A *kacha* sound came from the gun that was pointed at the back of his head.
Though he didn't realize that was the hammer being pulled by the thumb, but he could understand that was a key signal for something.
"In addition, if you do not make a decision soon, we promise more unnecessary blood will flow. We will not be stingy in that manner. We are willing to gather everything that will change your minds. So, we will be using everything that we have to their furthest extent. Though we do not wish to do so."
He wanted to run away.
He wanted to scream.
But if he did that, the worst outcome would arise.
"Then, we'll use the first one."
If he stayed silent he would only be killed.
Even if he knew that, if he resisted he would only be killed earlier.
He didn't dare to move.
Even if he knew he would be killed if he didn't move, he couldn't even move a finger on his hands that were tied behind his back.
"Let's start the negotiation here."
Regret.
As the boy found he still had that emotion under this terror, he finally opened his trembling mouth.
"…This kind of…"
This wasn't begging for his life; he was not begging for his life.
"…This kind of plan, it cannot possibly succeed…"
On the contrary,
"No matter how much you people scheme, no matter what kind of horrible weapon you prepare, your crimes will never be forgiven."
At least, he was fighting back at the end of the end.
"That's what I believe. This world is far kinder than any of you villains believe!! No matter what you have planned to escape, there will be heroes to come and apprehend you! Everyone will be saved. Somewhere in this wide world there will be someone that will come and save everyone!"
"Really?"
The man who looked like he was the leader spoke for the first time to the boy.
Except that his words were extremely simple.
"Even if such heroes exist, they will not make it in time to save you."
Small weak sounds of trembling reached his ears.
They were the sounds coming from the inside of the gun and passing right through to his skull. The index finger slowly pulling the trigger, the small springs starting to contract.
At this time, the boy that had his eyes covered went further and even closed his eyes.
Even so, to the end the boy mouthed,
"(…I believe.)"
'Don!' A sound of gunfire rang out.
That sound shook the boy's skull, and his surroundings were filled with the smell of rust.
In that instant,
Inside the control facility of the world's largest particle accelerator, Hula Hoop, authentic sounds of gunfire rang out. Red-black liquid splattered across the floor, the air was permeated with the smell of rust, and mixed in with it was the distinctive smell of gunpowder burning. The sound of the shell falling onto the ground followed after that.
Undoubtedly, he had opened fire.
The merciless bullet had been shot out and pierced muscle and bone.
A dull thud, being the sound of the boy's small figure falling onto the hard ground. The clothes designed for kids were dyed completely red. It couldn't be mistaken for anything other than blood.
Except,
That, was not the boy's own blood.
That was something that flowed out of the arms of the man who looked like the leader.
From beside him, in his blind spot, another person had shot the arm of the masked man.
"Wha—"
After blankly looking at his arm—the gun was blasted out, his arm was twisted unnaturally by 45 degrees, the man who looked like the leader felt pain only a moment later.
But, screams did not ring out.
As soon as that man's eyes left the camera and looked outside the area covered by it, more gunshots followed. After the sounds of *don don don*, the man who looked like the leader was shot all over his body and blown away.
The panicked voices of the other masked men overlapped each other.
But at this time, 'that somebody outside the camera view' continued to fire. The man that was filming with a cell phone was shot, and collapsed along with the machine. The higher ups that were watching the live broadcast only saw the view turning up towards the ceiling, then gray static.
Because the lens was shattered.
Because he couldn't see and could only hear the sounds, the boy with his eyes covered opened his mouth,
With a voice that couldn't stop shaking, a weak voice.
"A h-hero…?"
"A villain."
After that,
An evil reply, as if to overturn everything here.
"A villain that's just like a piece of shit."
'Kacha'
The villain's shoe completely smashed the cell phone being used for recording.
With that sound as the signal, the battle with the #1 of Academy City began!
Part 7
Level 5s were still human.
It didn't matter if it was the #1 or anyone else, they were all primates.
No matter what kind of special ability they possessed, if they didn't breathe or didn't eat they would die. They had a limited life-span, and if stabbed they would also bite the dust.
If they were humans with the same weaknesses, then there would be a way to kill them.
Spark Signal originally was a special force made to combat those that planned to leak inside information of Academy City to those on the outside. In their activities they had also fought with powerful espers countless times. So, when facing espers that could create incredible phenomena, Spark Signal could respond appropriately. First calmly analyze the opponent, then find a way to defeat him.
The masked men of Spark Signal had believed that all this time.
That was something they firmly believed in.
However,
Was the #1 of Academy City really human?
Boom! A sound that swept through the air exploded out.
The multiple bullets in his hands shot out, and each of them accurately pierced through the terrorists of Spark Signal.
Of course, they hadn't come here to just die when they planned this large-scale mission. At this place, this time, as a human they all felt their lives were in danger. To be released from this threat, they unreservedly used all the techniques and knowledge they had learned up to this point, bringing their full strength to fight back against the white-haired esper.
Some of them tried to shoot with their rifles from behind cover.
Some of them tried to use hostages to stop their opponent's movement.
Some of them tried to use dynamite to destroy the columns and bury their opponent in the rubble.
These were good actions, except it was all meaningless.
Forget about it even having an effect, there was no value in even trying.
The bullets didn't work.
As soon they touched the monster's skin, they were reflected back and shot the terrorists themselves.
Taking hostages didn't work.
As soon as they tried to reach for the kids, their wrists were twisted in an unnatural manner.
Dynamite didn't work.
As soon as they tried to push the button for it to explode, their fingers were blown away along with the button.
(No…)
It was more than just these, one of the masked members of Spark Signal thought.
That face of his that could not be seen from outside was already covered with cold sweat. He felt that the essence of the escalating terror in his heart was more than just those.
Yes.
The #1 esper of Academy City, Accelerator, was taking all of this completely seriously.
He didn't excessively use his overwhelming power. Even seeing the terrorist falling one after another he did not get careless. If he relaxed then maybe they still had a chance, but Accelerator didn't even give that small possibility to his opponents.
Sometimes with his ability, sometimes with his handgun, he always used the smallest amount of effort to obtain the greatest results. It was no longer a battle between humans, or even between humans and a monster. Simple destruction that needed no emotions.
For example,
It was just like a homing missile that was closing in on a fighter plane that tried desperately to run away.
This wasn't a matter of winning or losing, but whether you get hit. If it hit there was not much chance of surviving. The disaster that Accelerator spread had already reached that level.
(Do you know how much effort we put in to create this plan…)
Staring blankly at the Level 5 who, with some kind of ability, soared through the air in an arc to strike at one of his comrades, this man tried desperately to make his confused head work.
(We've used everything Spark Signal has, apart from the main plan there were many other back-up plans… We've clearly prepared to this extent, clearly… In the end we're still taken down like weeds…?!)
At this time,
Inside a pool of deep red blood, that monster who had just ripped apart one of his comrades and taken away his ability to think turned its head towards him.
(What do I do…)
Those crimson eyes met his own eyes head on.
That looked just like an infrared aiming scope, Spark Signal's terrorist thought.
(What…?!)
It couldn't even be called a showdown.
He was aimed at, and then shot.
In total, it only took 300 seconds.
The world's largest particle accelerator, Hula Hoop, had become peaceful once more.
Part 8
The boy understood.
Though he had his eyes covered and could not see what had happened, but the tense atmosphere that could ignite with a single touch had vanished. The world of despair made by the terrorists was slowly disappearing.
Around him came a sound of gasping from fright.
It was probably from the boy's classmates and teacher.
From their heavy breathing not a trace of relief could be felt, as the method of solving the problem had been so overly violent.
The boy struggled desperately with his hands tied behind his back, and right before the rope grinded through his skin, one of his hands was finally released from the binding. With that shaking hand he took off his blindfold.
The long absence from light made him dizzy.
He reached his hand towards the fluorescent lights, narrowed his eyes and looked around. 'That person' should still be around. The boy who thought that suddenly turned his head towards a certain direction.
Next to the wall.
One of the terrorists who had been struck down was lying there in his dying moments. A white-haired person with a crutch stood parallel with the terrorist. Except that he could not see the face of the white-haired person. What expression this person, who had his back to him, had on his face could not be seen from his point of view.
…The boy was submerged in that atmosphere in an instant.
But, this didn't seem like reality.
Because, in the next instant that white-haired person disappeared into thin air. Without any warning, almost like a plot in a movie, the white-haired person vanished without a trace.
The boy looked blankly at the empty space there.
A villain that was just like a piece of shit.
His mind kept thinking about the one who he believed was a hero, but had unhesitatingly replied with those words.
Part 9
"Thank you for your hard work. You did a good job, O Great He~ro~ <3"
As Musujime actually tried to talk to Accelerator in that way, he almost pulled the trigger on her in his anger.
His sudden disappearance was obviously her helping him retreat with her Move Point. Spark Signal had been eliminated, what was left was for the Hula Hoop's workers to unlock the doors and the escalators, and get the children out above ground quickly.
There was no more room for villains to step in on the stage.
Accelerator looked around him. This was the underground where they had been before their assault, a place that tested aviation weaponry. In this place where the walls were polished until it sparkled like a high-class market, apart from Musujime both Unabara and Tsuchimikado were there.
"There's something I really mind. What did those pieces of shit terrorists actually demand from the higher ups?"
After hearing Accelerator's words, Tsuchimikado's brows raised slightly.
"…While you were there in your rampage we tried to investigate, but their defenses are more robust than what we thought. We can only guess this is something that the higher ups really don't want others to know."
"I didn't expect you to get anything useful at all. Shut up and listen, fool."
After Accelerator finished insulting others, he brought the conversation back to the main point.
"When I was suppressing those bastards in Hula Hoop I heard some of their conversations. They were saying with tears in their eyes 'At this rate we won't be able to achieve our objective' and things like that."
"…Did they leak out what their demands were?"
Faced with Unabara's urging, Accelerator went silent.
Then, he replied,
"-- 'Dragon'."
That word with only six letters in it made the atmosphere around them tense up in an instant.
That classified information which had only its name recorded even in the secret nano-machine information network Underline. Even for Accelerator and the others with him, who walked the bottommost of the dark side, didn't know the truth of it. But was this a breakthrough point that could allow them to fight the higher ups of the massive Academy City? It was not hard to deduce that this was a word that had a huge meaning to it.
Accelerator, Tsuchimikado Motoharu, Unabara Mitsuki and Musujime Awaki.
They had a temporary alliance as they sought the truth of Dragon for their different goals.
However,
From the looks of it, the ones investigating Dragon was not just limited to them.
Just like presenting evidence, Accelerator said,
"Immediately release all information related to Dragon. That was, apparently, the demand of those brain-dead terrorists. In the end we've been fooled by the higher ups, and cut down our only link to it with our eyes wide open."