Mikoto had already tried every method she could think of, yet nothing could slow the Beast's advance. The massive creature now resembled a kaiju straight out of a tokusatsu film, steadily marching toward structures that would cause catastrophic consequences if destroyed. She desperately wanted to stall its progress but faced with an enemy that regenerated so absurdly fast, she was at a complete loss.
"The Illusion Beast was born from everyone connected to the level Upper Network," Su Mo explained, his eyes calmly analyzing the creature. "At its core, it's a runaway aggregation of AIM diffusion fields."
"In simple terms… as long as those students remain alive, this creature will continue to regenerate." His tone carried a strange sense of curiosity as he watched the monstrosity.
It was clear now—the Illusion Beast was essentially a prototype version of Kazakiri Hyouka. However, with only ten thousand AIM diffusion fields supporting it, it lacked the intelligence or higher reasoning that Kazakiri possessed. What stood before them now was nothing more than a mindless beast driven by instinct. "A purely spiritual entity, yet manifesting as physical matter… in essence, this is another creation of the Third Magic." Su Mo's eyes narrowed as he grasped the fundamental nature of the Illusion Beast almost immediately. A being formed from pure spirit materializing into physical form—without doubt, that was the result of soul materialization.
Of course, this didn't surprise him. In the world of Type-Moon, even Phantasmal Species were products of soul materialization. The concept of a "Third Magic product" wasn't rare or particularly shocking to him. After all, many of Su Mo's own god-slayer abilities involved soul materialization—whether the divine boar avatar or the white horse incarnation. These techniques all drew upon the same foundational principle.
But there was a crucial difference between controlling the Third Magic and being a product of it. Like the difference between the goddess Nuwa who created life, and the humans she shaped from clay. The distinction wasn't one of degrees, but of fundamental nature. Su Mo possessed the power to create life through soul materialization. The Illusion Beast, however, merely existed as a byproduct of that phenomenon—it was not a creator, but a creation.
"And this one isn't even a complete product." Thanks to his understanding of the Third Magic, Su Mo quickly identified the core of the Illusion Beast—a glowing triangular prism embedded within its brain. That prism acted as its spiritual core. Destroy that, and the creature's body would instantly collapse.
In that sense, the Beast resembled the Servants of the Holy Grail War. A fatal flaw—proof that it was an incomplete creation. A perfected product of the Third Magic wouldn't have such an obvious weakness. "So… does that mean this monster is invincible?" Mikoto asked in disbelief after hearing Su Mo's explanation. After all, it wasn't realistic to kill all ten thousand students connected to the Level Upper Network. And as long as they remained alive, the Beast would just keep regenerating. Such an ability was far too terrifying.
"Not exactly," Su Mo shook his head calmly. "If we sever the connection between the Beast and the Network, it will lose its regenerative ability. Alternatively, if your attack speed exceeds its regeneration speed, it can be killed." He offered two solutions. Mikoto, however, immediately rejected the latter option with a disbelieving scoff. "How is that possible?! At the rate this thing heals, there's no way anyone can attack faster than it recovers!" Even if she went all out, Mikoto doubted that she and Su Mo together could manage that feat. The Illusion Beast's regeneration was simply too absurd. Su Mo, naturally, held a different opinion. If he casually summoned his white horse avatar or divine boar incarnation, the Dream Beast would turn to dust instantly. Its so-called immortality was laughable compared to the real Third Magic. But he wasn't in the habit of throwing around divine-level attacks without reason. Nor did he plan to use his god-slayer powers here.
"For now, let's focus on immobilizing it."
Hearing his calm words, Mikoto wanted to ask how they could possibly restrain such a massive creature. Before she could voice the question, Su Mo casually picked up a small rock and tossed it into the air. Was he seriously planning to fight the monster… with a pebble? Just as that absurd thought crossed her mind, Mikoto noticed something strange—the environment around them had begun to change. Even without wind, the rubble and steel debris left from their earlier battle began shifting. Slowly at first, then more rapidly, the remains of broken structures started lifting off the ground, drifting toward the sky. Not just the rubble—the very earth itself cracked and splintered; chunks of the ground being pulled upward by an unseen force.
"What… is happening?" Looking up in shock, Mikoto finally saw it. A hundred meters above their heads, the pebble Su Mo had casually thrown now hovered in midair. And like a miniature black hole, it radiated a powerful gravitational pull, dragging everything around them toward it. Everything nearby was being sucked into its gravitational field. The rubble and debris continued swirling upward, gradually forming a small asteroid-like sphere in the sky. And it was still growing.
"Wah!" Misaka Mikoto let out a surprised cry as she felt her body starting to lift from the ground, caught in the same gravitational pull as the debris. Was she about to be sucked up too? That would make her Misaka Mikoto-chan, flattened into space junk! Just as she was about to anchor herself using electromagnetic force, Su Mo reached out and gently grabbed her hand.
"Relax. You won't be affected now."
Sure enough, the moment he took her hand, Mikoto felt the invisible gravitational pull vanish from her body. Though the sensation of her first time holding hands with a man made her blush with embarrassment, she reminded herself that Su Mo was her teacher and this was a serious situation. Forcing herself to focus, she turned her gaze forward.
The massive Illusion Beast, being the largest and heaviest object in the area, stood no chance of escaping Su Mo's gravity well—the scientific version of Chibaku Tensei. Despite its desperate struggles and attempts to resist using similar abilities, it was ultimately overwhelmed by an ability beyond its scope. Before long, it too was dragged into the sky, its enormous body compressed under the immense gravitational force.
"So… this is how you meant to restrain it? That's insane…" Mikoto finally understood what Su Mo had meant when he said he would "control" the beast. Looking around, the open field had been stripped clean, leaving behind a crater-like hollow as if struck by a meteor. The land itself, along with all the debris and rubble, had been pulled into the black sphere floating above. The phrase "scraping the earth bare" didn't seem like an exaggeration at all. The Beast was now pinned firmly in midair, completely immobilized. With the beast under control, Su Mo led Mikoto, still holding her hand, toward the awakening Kiyama Harumi.
..…..
"As for how to sever the connection between the Level Upper Network and the Illusion Beast… that's something only Kiyama Harumi, its creator, would understand best," Su Mo explained calmly to Mikoto as they walked.
"Uh… oh! Right!" Mikoto responded absentmindedly, her heart pounding faster than usual—not because of fear or adrenaline, but because their hands were still intertwined. Since the gravitational field had to remain active to restrain the Illusion Beast, they had to stay connected. Though usually a tomboy at heart, Mikoto couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious now. Perhaps because of that, even after they reached Kiyama, now in a safe zone free from the gravitational pull, Mikoto didn't even think to let go of Su Mo's hand.
When they arrived, they found that Uiharu Kazari, who had somehow arrived ahead of them, had already spoken to Kiyama and persuaded her. Kiyama Harumi was not a true villain. Seeing her plan fail and realizing that the Dream Beast could cause massive harm, she didn't want things to spiral further out of control.
....
Hearing Uiharu's sincere words, Kiyama reluctantly handed over a memory card containing the audio file capable of disconnecting people from the Network. "Just play this music next to the patients' ears. It'll sever their connection to the network. Once that happens, the Illusion Beast will lose its regenerative power." Having said that, Kiyama slumped down, thoroughly exhausted.
"Mm! I'll definitely wake them all up!" Uiharu, her small animal-like cuteness contrasting with her determination, nodded seriously. Taking the memory card, she hurried up the nearby staircase, preparing to hand it over to Anti-Skill so it could be broadcast throughout the hospitals housing the Network users. Mikoto, naturally, had no reason to stop her friend.
After a short wait, the audio file began playing over hospital loudspeakers across the city. One by one, the connections forming the Network—painstakingly constructed by Kiyama—were severed. The broadcast continued for several minutes before Uiharu called back, confirming that the process was complete. Exchanging glances, Su Mo and Mikoto smiled in relief. Above them, the asteroid-like mass lost its gravitational pull in an instant. Yet it didn't crash down; instead, it remained suspended in midair. Only one thing fell—the Illusion Beast, which had been pinned atop the sphere.
The enormous creature, previously flattened under the crushing gravity, now plummeted toward the ground. Its body, severely damaged and deformed, revealed its core as it fell—a glowing triangular prism embedded within its brain. "That's the Illusion Beast's core," Su Mo said calmly, no longer planning to intervene himself. He looked to Mikoto beside him.
"Understood!" Finally able to let loose, Mikoto eagerly produced a single coin and charged herself with maximum power. She unleashed her signature move—the Railgun. A blazing orange-red beam of energy shot forward, striking the exposed core with pinpoint precision. With a massive explosion, the Beast's core was obliterated, and its massive body dissolved into nothingness. Above them, the massive asteroid of rock and debris slowly descended under Su Mo's control, settling safely back onto the ground. At long last, the Dream Beast incident was over. At least… on the surface.