After the incident in the underground sector was resolved, the Daihaseisai progressed without further interruptions.
No new anomalies surfaced.
As for the spatial gate at the Fifth Directorate—after a period of testing and surveying, its stability could be guaranteed.
On the other side of that gate lay the world that Academy City had originally belonged to.
The Magic Gods of that world… apparently had no intention of reaching into the prime world.
Perhaps, as beings of divinity, those Magic Gods had keenly sensed something:
On the other side of the gateway lurked existences of a rank higher than themselves.
If they were reckless enough to extend their hand through—that hand would be chopped off.
But in terms of pure thirst for knowledge, those divine beings were far less resolute than a certain Witch.
They would not stake their very existence, their very lives, on the gamble of pursuing forbidden knowledge.
Sure, one might say "If I hear the Way in the morning, I could die in the evening without regret."
But such lofty resolve belonged to only a rare few.
And Magic Gods… were not human.
On the seventh night of the Daihaseisai, the final day had arrived.
That evening, a grand fireworks display was planned, a fitting finale to the festivities.
Haruto entrusted Misaka Misaka to Mikoto's care for the time being, while he himself kept a prior promise—a date with Shokuhou Misaki.
The two of them did not linger on the bustling streets, but instead found themselves at a quiet, empty beach.
Their steps left a trail of prints across the sand, each crunch echoing softly beneath the moonlight.
Ordinarily, Misaki was the talkative one.
But tonight, she was unusually silent.
The sky was clear, and the Pacific stretched out beneath the vast glow of the moon. Its silver light washed across the beach, making the waves shimmer brilliantly in the distance.
"Are you enjoying your time at Tokiwadai?"
Haruto asked gently.
Misaki paused in thought, then gave a small nod.
"…I suppose I am."
Before enrolling at Tokiwadai, Misaki had harbored no expectations for school life. She had always been alone, incapable of entrusting her heart to others.
The idea of being surrounded by people only seemed noisy to her.
But after entering Tokiwadai, she had gradually grown accustomed to the academy's life. Though she still hadn't made any true friends, there were moments she could genuinely call happy.
"Why not try making some friends?" Haruto suggested.
Though a crowd of ojou-sama from her faction was always nearby, Haruto could tell—not one of them was truly Misaki's friend.
At most, Junko Hokaze could be called half of one.
Even though Haruto's presence had improved Misaki's personality compared to the original timeline, some things had not changed.
As the Mental Out, she simply could not trust anyone.
Anyone who approached her, she instinctively wanted to pry into their heart with her powers.
Only by seeing their innermost thoughts with her own ability could Misaki feel at ease. That, in fact, was one of the reasons she clashed so often with Misaka Mikoto.
She could not peer into Mikoto's mind. And that made Mikoto a destabilizing element—someone Misaki subconsciously repelled.
But if you had to probe into every person's thoughts with your powers… you would never be able to make friends.
That method was fit only for selecting tools.
"…I already have you. That's more than enough."
Her starry eyes gleamed faintly, as if they were glowing under the moonlight.
The scars of the past would never vanish.
At best, they could only be hidden away.
Haruto sighed softly.
He didn't press her further.
Misaki watched his expression, then let out a sigh of her own, imitating him.
"Geez, here we are, finally alone, the atmosphere so perfect—and all you do is talk about other things. Don't tell me, Haruto, that you're one of those hopelessly dense guys with nothing but rebar and concrete in your head?"
Before Haruto could retort, Misaki suddenly spun around and leapt into his arms.
Her soft body pressed against him, enough to stir even the calmest of hearts. Her lips, glistening faintly in the moonlight, beckoned irresistibly.
At a time like this, saying anything else would simply be tasteless.
Misaki rose onto her toes. Haruto lowered his head.
Their breaths synchronized with the rhythm of the waves.
After what felt like an eternity, they separated slightly, their eyes fixed only on one another.
"Haruto…"
"Misaki…"
After that meaningless exchange,came their second kiss.
Meanwhile, fireworks lit up the distant city.
One after another, rockets soared skyward, like meteors in reverse, before bursting into blossoms brighter than the moonlight.
Each explosion painted the world in a myriad of colors.
But on that moonlit beach, the two never looked up.
The brilliance of the fireworks, the thunder of their explosions— none of it was louder than the sound of each other's breath.
"…Haruto, I love you."
"I know. And I love you too."
This confession was no longer play-acting, and Haruto's response was enough to seal her certainty.
Because with their mutual feelings affirmed, their third kiss began.
The fireworks display was supposed to last a long while.
But to them, it felt like no time at all before the last flower faded from the sky.
No sense of time's passage remained.
But even so— the moment of parting inevitably came.
"After I graduate from Tokiwadai, I'll come find you. And then you won't be able to brush me off with excuses about age or femininity anymore."
Her cheeks still held a faint blush as she declared her vow.
She wanted to take things further tonight—but Haruto flicked her forehead, leaving her no choice but to relent.
"…Fine," she pouted.
Haruto nodded.
"Alright."
Her development was indeed remarkable, but her age was still far too delicate. Even if he didn't care for himself, he wouldn't allow her to be hurt.
Waiting until graduation was the right choice.
After parting, Haruto left Academy City.
He was heading back to Japan.
If all went well, he could still catch the final day of the Sobu High School Festival.
He was curious—how had the Service Club's activities turned out this time?
But fate seemed determined to keep Haruto away from the festival.
Because the Foundation had relayed an anomaly.
In GGO(Gun Gale Online}—the new full-dive VRMMO backed by the two great conglomerates—abnormal sightings had been reported.
And in reality, cases of players being attacked had also surfaced.
Urban legends began to circulate among players:
That if you traveled to certain map borders, and performed certain actions—a ghostlike entity would appear, unrecognized by the system.
It would kill you in-game…
and then hunt you down in reality.
Of course, such rumors existed in every major game. Which blockbuster title hadn't spawned creepy tales like these?
Even Pokémon had them.
Most players laughed them off as silly stories, nothing more than fun campfire chatter.
But the problem was…
Two GGO players had in fact been attacked, and ended up comatose, like vegetative husks.
That alone made this highly likely to be an anomaly.
The Foundation was already investigating, but their attempt to pull server data came up empty.
Even if the rumor hadn't disrupted GGO yet, the Foundation's policy was always to crush potential threats in the cradle.
With no digital trace, they had begun dispatching investigators directly into the game itself.
Upon hearing this, Haruto decided to see for himself.
With GGO's player base booming, an anomalous outbreak here could be disastrous.
If the worst came to pass, a massive amnestic operation would be necessary—the exact opposite of GGO's intended purpose.
This time, however, Haruto didn't dive into the game.
Instead, he went offline—straight to the homes of the two players who had been attacked and reduced to vegetative states.
Following the address, he arrived at Yushima 4-Chome in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo.
It was a private apartment.
Since the victims showed no physical injuries besides their coma, their families had opted not to keep them hospitalized, but instead brought them back home.
Standing before the door, Haruto hesitated.
Should he unlock it with a master key—or just freeze time and walk in unnoticed?