Chapter 304: Eat, Sleep, and Beat Up Accelerator

The birth of the Misaka Sisters was absurdly cheap—pitifully low in cost. After all, they were created solely for experimentation. Those heartless bastards never once considered their life spans.

Sending them off first thing in the morning was the right call. The sooner they went, the sooner they could be treated.

Ruiko urged everyone to head inside quickly. Everything outside could be left to Takumi. Their job was to go see the Sisters.

Once they entered, Takumi was left alone at the scene.

This time, Takumi hadn't just sent in the surviving Sisters. Even those who had died, or hadn't been activated yet, were all transported. If he said he'd take them all, he meant it. Not a single one left behind.

Dead? There were backups in the Misaka Network. He could revive them later.

To Takumi, this wasn't even a big deal. After sending everyone into the imaginary space, he waited idly.

Why was that guy taking so long to arrive? Bronya was still waiting for him, after all. He grumbled to himself.

Before long, a pale-haired figure with a gloomy expression slowly emerged.

When Takumi saw him, his eyes lit up. "You're finally here, bro! Too bad you're late."

He greeted Accelerator in a very familiar tone.

Seeing this stranger who wasn't part of the plan, Accelerator frowned. "Who are you?"

He had no memory of this man. Someone outside the plan?

He frowned even more. How had those useless fools allowed an outsider into this?

"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm here to tell you—the Level 6 Shift Plan is over."

"Come on, kid. Beat me. If you can defeat me, you'll become Level 6."

No—more than just Level 6. You'd be unmatched in the world. That is, if you could defeat Takumi.

Accelerator's face darkened. "What did you say? The plan is over? Who the hell do you think you are? You don't just end it like that."

He clearly didn't believe him. This stranger must be spouting nonsense.

Frustrated, he stomped his foot lightly. A pebble flew into the air, then shot forward like a missile—straight at Takumi.

If this guy wanted to talk big, then let's see what kind of strength he had.

But Takumi didn't get angry at the sudden attack. As the pebble approached, a spatial rift opened in its path and swallowed it.

Then, behind Accelerator—

BOOM!

The same pebble crashed into Accelerator's own body.

The explosion rang out, smoke billowing. He'd been hit by his own attack.

Not that it mattered. After all, his reflection ability was always active.

As the smoke cleared, Accelerator reappeared, glaring fiercely at Takumi.

"Hehehe... so this is your power? Interesting, very interesting. Hahaha! Let's fight!"

Accelerator became completely fired up.

Maybe this guy was telling the truth. If he could defeat Takumi, he really could become Level 6.

With a crazed laugh, Accelerator shot forward, throwing a punch straight at Takumi.

"You're going for close combat? Are you serious, you weakling?"

Takumi sighed, unimpressed, and raised his fist.

BAM!

"Ugh..."

With one punch, Accelerator vomited out everything he'd eaten the night before.

His mind was a mess.

What just happened? Why didn't his reflection work?

What he didn't know was that Takumi had gone easy on him. If Takumi had really hit him seriously, Accelerator would've been taken out on the spot.

This punch was merely a light warning.

Before Accelerator could react, Takumi placed his other hand on his forehead.

BOOM!

A deafening blast erupted.

Takumi slammed Accelerator into the ground.

His reflection was completely nullified.

Pain surged through his entire body, nearly making him pass out.

His head was ringing.

Why? Why? Why?

Huff... huff...

His breathing sounded like a broken fan.

Every breath came with a spurt of blood.

His nose and mouth were soaked in it.

He was nothing like the intimidating figure from before.

The supposed strongest esper in Academy City was floored in just one round by Takumi.

Takumi calmly pulled out a camcorder and zoomed in on him.

"The invincible Accelerator... has fallen."

"Well? Feel the gap now?"

After snapping a few pictures, Takumi smiled and uploaded them to the Academy City network.

In just a few seconds, thanks to his hacks, the photos spread across the internet.

Even Accelerator's own phone buzzed with a message.

Not that he had time to check it—he was too busy questioning his entire existence.

Huff... who... who are you?

Accelerator's face was pale, twisted in disbelief.

But somewhere deep inside... he felt relief.

Finally, someone stronger than him.

He wasn't the real monster after all.

"Let me tell you—there are many strong people in this world."

"Don't think being top esper in Academy City means anything."

"You've got a long way to go."

"Kid, train harder. Remember this lesson well."

"If you've never been beaten by the world, how would you know how cruel it is?"

"You're just a bird in a cage, stuck in this city."

"If you get the chance, go out and see the world."

"Only by seeing the world beyond this one will you understand how many powerhouses exist."

"Alright, I've got a girl waiting for me. I'm done here. This experiment's over."

"I've taken care of those research facilities too."

"You're not inherently evil. And I can revive the Sisters."

"So I won't kill you."

With that, Takumi turned to leave.

"Wait!! What did you just say? The test subjects can be revived?!"

Accelerator's face twisted with disbelief.

"Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. So I won't bother."

"Someone else will come after you eventually. Just because I spared you doesn't mean others will."

He didn't want to explain.

With those parting words, Takumi vanished.

Leaving behind Accelerator, bloodied and barely breathing, lying dazed on the ground.