Yoshino remembered that the person who did this was a researcher in Academy City named Fushidori Honoka. She was originally a researcher for the "Mass Production Ability User Plan" and served as the supervisor for the "Learning Device" in the "Ability User Evolution Project". Because she perceived the innocence of the Misaka Imouto, she began to secretly obstruct the experiment's progress. She tried to prevent the experiment by distributing envelopes containing stored-value cards, using human eyes to eliminate blind spots in the streets.
Now that this has happened, it means that the Ability User Evolution Project has been restarted. Does this mean that Suzuya Yuriko, for some reason, agreed to this plan and started massacring the Misaka Imouto after I left? If so, how will I face her in the future? Was everything I did before futile? This thought began to spread in Yoshino's mind as soon as it appeared, making Yoshino's face grow paler and paler.
"Don't overthink it, kid. Although I don't know what you're thinking right now, I know things are definitely not how you imagine them to be." Suzuya Yuriko saw the look in Yoshino's eyes—shock, helplessness, and a hint of confusion—after Yoshino heard Saten Ruiko's words and looked at her. Although she didn't know what Yoshino was thinking, she knew Yoshino was definitely overthinking things. And if she didn't explain properly, a rift would form in her relationship with Yoshino.
"Haven't you received any research from Academy City recently? For example, did someone suddenly appear before you one day and say there was a way to evolve your Esper ability from Level 5 (Esper) to Level 6 (Absolute Ability User)?" This was Shiina asking on behalf of Yoshino. It looked at Suzuya Yuriko seriously, hoping to discern any details from Suzuya Yuriko's face to see if she was lying.
On the other side, hearing this, the nine members of Muse also recalled when Shiina first told them about the "Ability User Evolution Project" during their first dream meeting. Hadn't that cruel experiment already ended? Now, listening to Shiina, did it mean this plan was starting again?
"Evolving into a Level 6 (Absolute Ability User)? Someone did mention this to me." Suzuya Yuriko, seemingly recalling something, leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, as if remembering something unusual. But her words made Yoshino and Muse frown. Did she really agree to it? And did she participate in such a cruel experiment?
"What are you thinking? You should know that before that person told me about this, I was Accelerator, the one who sealed 'emotions' in his heart, never showing them to anyone, calling himself a 'hopeless villain.' To be honest, I was tempted at the time, because if I agreed to his experiment, even if there was only a slim chance of evolving from 'strongest' to 'invincible,' then no one would challenge me anymore, and I wouldn't have to hurt anyone again." As she spoke, her eyes became distant, recalling the scene of being surrounded by tanks when she was a child. How many people died back then? She had already forgotten.
"However, on the night I was indecisive, Yoshino appeared in my life, and I gradually began to change." That night, she was just going to the convenience store to buy coffee as usual, but then a light suddenly appeared in an alley. Driven by curiosity, she walked in, and there she saw Yoshino collapsed on the ground. For some reason, she ended up taking her home.
From then on, her life began to change. She had originally believed her ability could only be used to kill, not to save, and had even used the self-deprecating phrase "I can only kill" to find an excuse for her hopeless life.
In the end, she found her own salvation. With the adorable Yoshino waiting for her at home, her once incredibly cold home began to fill with warmth. This made Suzuya Yuriko abandon the experiment that had once greatly tempted her. She no longer wanted to get blood on her hands. Otherwise, what right would she have to embrace Yoshino?
"At that time, I had already given up my identity as Accelerator, the 'evil' one. The current me is Suzuya Yuriko, living with Yoshino as the highest priority in my heart. Invincible? I don't need it. I know that not losing in front of Yoshino is enough." I will not fail in front of Yoshino!? As this thought appeared in Suzuya Yuriko's mind, she felt as if something within her had changed.
"..." Hearing Suzuya Yuriko's words, everyone lowered their heads, feeling ashamed of their recent suspicions.
Suzuya Yuriko had found salvation; she had already been saved by Yoshino when the other party invited her to participate in the 'Ability User Evolution Project' experiment.
No wonder after transforming into Suzuya Yuriko, she launched such a fierce offensive towards Yoshino. It was to elevate her status in Yoshino's heart, wasn't it? After all, when she heard Toujou Nozomi's name, she was a bit worried that her position in Yoshino's heart was not as high as the other's, so the fiercer the offensive, the better.
"Eh? Eh? What are you all talking about? Why don't I understand any of it?" Saten Ruiko had a bewildered expression, completely unaware of what they were discussing. What Level 6 (Absolute Ability User)? Weren't they talking about the scattered prepaid card envelopes I found in Academy City recently?
"Ah, actually, it's like this." Everyone here, except Saten Ruiko, knew about the 'Ability User Evolution Project'. Toujou Nozomi briefly explained the matter to her, and she also learned about this cruel event.
"I see, then the recent events and Senior Misaka's strange movements can be explained." Saten Ruiko thought about Misaka Mikoto's recent situation, connecting this incident with the information collected from the 'Saintess Cult' and the urban legends that had appeared, and thus arrived at the truth. "I once heard an urban legend that a person could be seen appearing in different places more than three times in a single day. This should be referring to Senior Misaka's clones."
"It's probably because Number One somehow learned that she had donated DNA at a hospital when she was young. The hospital's reason at the time should have been that her blood could save more patients, but she didn't expect Academy City to use her DNA to clone people identical to her. And recently, she must have witnessed her clones being killed." Suzuya Yuriko's computer-like brain quickly figured out the cause and effect. "Now that I've refused this experiment, the only one who will take it on is that guy."
"Academy City's Number Two Esper: Kakine Teitoku, that frivolous guy. He sees me, Number One, as a stepping stone and probably wants to gain power stronger than mine." A brown-haired young man, nearly 180 centimeters tall, wearing a high-class top. As someone who has long dwelled in the darkness, he wouldn't show any mercy when killing the Misaka Imouto.
"But isn't this something only you could accomplish? After precise calculations by the Tree Diagram, among Academy City's seven Espers (Level 5), only you, ranked Number One, have the opportunity to evolve into an Absolute Ability User (Level 6). However, it would require over 250 years of general curriculum training to evolve into an Absolute Ability User (Level 6). Since there's no way for a person to live for 250 years, the Tree Diagram found another method: using actual combat to promote ability growth, which means preparing specific battlefields and letting battles proceed according to plan to control the direction of 'ability growth in actual combat.'
According to the Tree Diagram's calculations, you could evolve into an Absolute Ability User (Level 6) by preparing 128 types of battlefields and killing Railgun (Misaka Mikoto) 128 times. However, since 128 Railguns cannot be prepared, the experiment targeted the 'Misaka Imouto' from the concurrently running 'Mass Production Esper Project.' Because the mass-produced 'Misaka Imouto' have less than 1% of their original body Railgun's ability—that is, Level 2—according to the Tree Diagram's calculations, the same goal can be achieved by preparing 20,000 types of battlefields and 20,000 'Misaka Imouto'."
"You know a lot, bunny. But I've seriously thought about Academy City's goal. It shouldn't be to create an Absolute Ability User, as that would only add to the burden of those in the upper echelons. So, the executor doesn't necessarily have to be me; it could be anyone else. And in the end, this experiment will definitely have someone arranged to stop it. I think that person should be Kamijou Touma."
Yes, the true purpose of the 'Ability User Evolution Project' was not actually to evolve Espers into Absolute Ability Users (Level 6), but to deploy artificial Espers to various corners of the world.
This was all part of Aleister, the Director of Academy City's Board of Directors' plan.
To naturally send these 'Misaka Imouto' outside Academy City, he deliberately first destroyed the 'Mass Production Esper Project,' and then destroyed the 'Ability User Evolution Project' which served as a cover. Through these two feints, the 'Misaka Imouto' would be sent to Academy City's partner organizations worldwide, ultimately causing the entire world to be enveloped by the AIM diffusion field.
The 'Imaginary Number District: Five-Element Organ,' which originally only existed within Academy City, would expand globally.
"Forget it, these are not things we can stop. You should know that our current strength is still too weak; we cannot contend with Academy City. Previously, I felt a powerful force in the Academy City Director's windowless building, a force I cannot resist right now. And there are also those unfathomable existences on the Magic Side. Our current strength is still too poor; we need to prepare well." Suzuya Yuriko felt that a major war between the Magic Side and the science side would erupt sooner or later.
Yoshino, sitting to the side, listened to their conversation and thought that Misaka Mikoto must have just started her actions. This meant that the problem hadn't been resolved yet, but after this incident, world consciousness should allow her to return to that world.
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