Accelerator was frustrated. Lately, a string of reckless espers kept challenging him.
Of course, some had contacted him claiming they could help him reach Lv6. He understood why—because he was only the number one, not the strongest, he kept getting challenged.
These challengers only wanted to snatch his top rank. The constant buzz of them was exhausting. Even if he gave them harsh lessons, they never stopped coming.
After taking down another group of thugs in a back alley, Accelerator looked at a spot and asked, "Is that Lv6 really achievable?"
"Of course. It's calculated from the Tree Diagram. Has the Tree Diagram ever been wrong?" The man in the suit stepped out confidently. Since Accelerator asked, he must be serious.
"Enough talk. Take me there." Accelerator walked beside him, his eyes cold from handling the provocations of the thugs.
"Yes." The suited man shivered slightly, dared not say more, and hurriedly led Accelerator to the designated location.
At the same time, Ren arrived on the scene. As expected, the target had not been implanted with the fear of death. She held a handgun, repeatedly assembling and disassembling it. The skill had been implanted in her mind, and she would be ready soon.
"Why is she wearing Tokiwadai Middle School's uniform?" Ren held her head, baffled. She truly didn't understand.
"The clothes don't matter. The experiment is what matters," Kiyama Harumi said as she approached the glass, looking at the future test site.
The room behind the glass was vast and empty, with formidable defenses.
"Kiyama, did you implant the memory I mentioned into Misaka Number One?"
Kiyama shivered. She recalled the image of Misaka Number One fearing death. Though it was brief, it was deeply etched in her mind.
"What's wrong? Spacing out?"
"Nothing…" Kiyama shook her head. She now understood why Ren treated clones as people.
Soon, Accelerator was led into the empty room.
"What's this? I can become Lv6 here?"
"Don't rush," the suited man signaled him to wait.
Soon, Misaka Number One appeared, wearing protective goggles.
"The Number Three? Defeat the Number Three to reach Lv6? Don't joke." Accelerator instantly lost interest, especially seeing her fiddling with a handgun.
"No need to worry. She's just a clone of the Number Three, roughly Lv2 in strength."
"Lv2? So I've been underestimated." Accelerator was speechless.
"Misaka Number One, attack."
Bang—
At the command, Misaka Number One raised her gun and fired at Accelerator. The shot naturally ricocheted to her own leg, leaving her unable to move.
"Ha?" Accelerator turned his head to look at Misaka Number One. He really didn't understand.
Defeating someone like this was enough to reach Level 6? The Tree Diagram must be drunk or something.
"It hurts…" Misaka Number One's expression was dazed. Blood flowed from her calf, tears slipping down her cheeks. Her eyes were full of fear.
"It's over." Kiyama Harumi realized quickly. Although the implantation had been canceled shortly after it began, the fear of death seemed to have been etched into her genes.
During the experiments, she had been hit by unknown attacks, and the fear of dying had filled her mind.
"She's just a clone. You can destroy her however you want. You have to kill her to reach Level 6."
"Just defeating her isn't enough?" Accelerator turned his gaze back to Misaka Number One. Seeing her tear-streaked face, full of terror—this was a clone? These researchers must be insane.
They wanted him to kill someone utterly defenseless, someone who just wanted to live. He couldn't do it. Despite calling himself a villain, he had never actually killed anyone.
"So this is pain… this is the fear of facing death… I don't want to die," Misaka Number One murmured, feeling her blood slip away. No one cared for her. Even if it wasn't a fatal wound, she might die from blood loss alone.
"Boring." Accelerator strode straight toward the exit.
"What are you doing? That's an order!" the researchers urged, signaling Misaka to continue attacking.
"I don't know his attack pattern. If I strike again, I'll die," Misaka Number One began making excuses for herself.
"You're something that can be produced for just 180,000 yen, and you still care about your life?" The man's words dimmed her eyes.
Bang—
A bullet was fired. But it was the despair of facing death; she had been reduced to losing any will to survive.
The bullet didn't strike her; it hit the glass in front of the researchers. Accelerator looked at them and said, "Enough. Low-level scum. Do you want me to deal with you?"
The researchers immediately went silent, too afraid to act. Accelerator put his hands in his pockets. "What a boring experiment."
"If you leave, you won't reach Level 6," they warned.
"Reach Level 6 like this? Not interested. I don't kill people for fun, and I don't force anyone who's scared of death into fighting." Accelerator said that and left the lab.
"Did Misaka survive?"
"Kiyama, what are you doing? Didn't you say she had the White Mouse mindset? Why did this happen?" A researcher rushed up to Kiyama, questioning him.
"Failed, and the reason is still unknown." Kiyama Harumi didn't want to discuss the idea implanted in her that made clones fear death.
"Hmph, I already said it. Before any experiment, we need confirmation. The Number One Esper definitely won't agree again." The man said this and left.
Ren then opened the door and stood in front of Misaka Number One, looking at her.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't fulfill my role in the experiment." Though afraid of death, she had been transmitted with cheap, utilitarian ideas—if she didn't perform, she would be discarded quickly.
"This was never a reasonable experiment. Don't worry, you'll be fine. I'll take care of you from now on." Ren ruffled the girl's short hair and cast a healing magic, stabilizing her wounds without fully curing them. Fully healing her would only make these researchers more interested.
Misaka Number One was surprised at how her own wounds were recovering, and she felt a strange joy at being needed. She had never been treated this way and instinctively wanted to get closer to Ren.
"This one should be discarded. After you finish verification of Number Two, I'll bring in the experimental target." The suited man said this and walked away.
The other two researchers on site all turned to Kiyama Harumi. Without a doubt, this was her responsibility.
"Alright, I'll continue with the verification." Kiyama Harumi didn't argue; she simply accepted the task and left.
As for Misaka Number One, due to the failure, she needed to be "handled"—180,000 yen. Quite cheap.
Misaka Number One quickly hid behind Ren, peeking out and looking pitifully at him.
"Researcher Ren, we shouldn't develop unnecessary emotions toward clones," one female researcher advised.
"Aleister Crowley, you see it, right? I don't want this experiment to continue. Of course, you can make your decision after I prove myself."
Ren thought for a moment, then decided to reveal his presence. Since he was asking for help, some matters in Academy City would now fall under his responsibility.
**********
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