I, Kurumi Tokisaki, Am a Wanderer

Astral Dress: Third Form was transformed into the appearance of Tokiwadai Middle School's uniform. A white shirt with a dark red shield emblem embroidered on the collar was paired with a slim-fit deep blue dress. The hem of the dress barely covered half of her thighs.

Kurumi walked toward the gymnasium where the ability testing was being conducted.

However, unlike Academy City's usual unspoken dress code—middle schoolers wearing white ankle socks and high schoolers wearing black knee-high socks—

Kurumi still chose to wear matte black stockings. She was an absolute stocking enthusiast.

···

Despite it being a Sunday, the academy grounds were as bustling as any weekday. Girls chattered noisily among themselves, though most of the conversation consisted of complaints. After all, it was supposed to be a day off, but now they had to endure a surprise inspection. No one knew what had gotten into the administration this time.

—

Heaven knows, Kurumi really hadn't planned to drag things out like this on purpose.

Initially, she'd only been curious to see what sort of tricks the Academy City's ability testing might have up its sleeve. However, as she approached the vicinity of the Third District, she unexpectedly caught sight of someone who shouldn't have been there.

Accelerator.

Even though it was early morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise,

The boy looked like he had stayed up all night.

Boy… it might be appropriate to call him that.

White hair, excessively pale skin, crimson eyes like a rabbit's, a slender figure so androgynous it was hard to tell if he was male or female, and a jacket with black and white patterns—clearly a designer brand.

He had a sickly appearance, with heavy dark circles under his eyes. All in all, his face was extremely delicate and refined. Even if he swapped into a dress, it probably wouldn't look out of place.

But those eyes of his—when they stared directly at someone, they were far too frightening. They brimmed with murderous intent and madness… along with a faint hint of despair.

It was as if he had just stepped out of a convenience store. In one hand, he held a phone, scrolling through something, while the other carried a bag.

The bag was stuffed to the brim, bulging and wobbling.

Inside were over a dozen cans of what appeared to be beverages.

At the same time that Kurumi noticed him… he, too, became aware of her gaze.

It felt like being swept over by a venomous snake's stare—like falling into an icy abyss.

Accelerator raised his head, frowning as he looked in the direction of the gaze.

A highly threatening individual… though seemingly without malice.

That was his first impression.

A very beautiful individual… but very dangerous.

That was his second impression.

The girl had a slender and graceful figure, adorned in black, silky stockings. The deep blue dress she wore fluttered in the wind, but she quickly held it down with a delicate hand. The fabric looked incredibly soft, tailored with precision, and her legs were elegantly shaped, exuding a certain allure.

Accelerator discreetly lowered his head again and began pulling up information about the girl in front of him.

To his surprise… her records within Academy City's "Database" had an unexpectedly high clearance level—higher than his own.

A new Level 5? Or perhaps a participant in some kind of experiment?

This city wasn't as bright and pure as it seemed on the surface. As someone who had crawled out of its countless dark experiments, Accelerator knew this better than anyone else.

Well… as long as she didn't interfere with him, she could do whatever she wanted for all he cared.

The faint irritation and anger in his heart could easily cost someone their life, so he needed to avoid any emotional fluctuations. Only by becoming as cold as ice could he prevent himself from harming others.

That was Accelerator—an irredeemable villain whose hands were stained with blood.

And then, in accordance with Murphy's Law, just as his expression grew increasingly impatient, Kurumi approached him.

—The Level 6 Shift Project.

According to the calculations of Tree Diagram, Accelerator could become a Level 6 Absolute Ability user after 250 years of general training courses.

To ascend beyond human limitations and approach the divine.

But no one could live for 250 years.

Thus, Tree Diagram provided an alternative plan: prepare 128 battlefield scenarios and have Accelerator kill the Level 5 Railgun (Misaka Mikoto) 128 times. This would enable him to evolve into an Absolute Ability user.

However, because it was impossible to procure 128 Railguns, the experiment instead shifted its focus to the "Mass-Produced Ability User Project" being conducted simultaneously.

By preparing 20,000 battlefield scenarios and having Accelerator kill the Level 2 defective electricity users—Misaka's "Sisters"—20,000 times, the same result could be achieved.

Originally, Kurumi had intended to follow the trail through Nunotaba Shinobu and directly confront the masterminds to sabotage the plan.

But Accelerator had appeared before her.

If something happened to Accelerator, wouldn't the experiment be forced to halt?

At the very least… it would need to pause long enough for them to repair Accelerator before the trials could resume.

A faint smile began to tug at Kurumi's lips as she approached Accelerator.

"Hello there~~ Accelerator-san."

···

The other party recognized her instantly, and… clearly, she wasn't here with friendly intentions.

Initially as cold as ice, Accelerator's entire demeanor shifted in an instant.

It was as if he had suddenly become cruel and violent.

"Hey… woman." His lips curled into a nearly twisted smile as he sneered with a crazed expression. "Do you even know… who you're talking to?"

The entire world seemed to fall under his control. Standing before the experimental building in the Third District, the pale boy looked as though he had everything in the surrounding area in the palm of his hand.

Accelerator grinned, his voice like a chilling mix of pale darkness and despair.

In an instant, he realized why the people at the experiment lab had specifically ordered him to return to Tokiwadai Middle School this morning to deliver his ability testing report.

It was… so that he would encounter her.

"Ranked No. 1 among the seven Level 5 espers—Accelerator." Kurumi spoke in an even tone, as casually as if she were commenting on how the neighbor next door had done something trivial.

"Tokiwadai Middle School's only Level 5 esper."

···

"Well then… if you know that, how dare you stand here in front of me like this?" Accelerator burst into maniacal laughter, stomping heavily on the ground. The earth quaked and heaved upward in response.

He generally didn't bother with others, unless they were deemed an enemy. Then, he would show no mercy in tearing them apart completely.

However… this person standing in front of him gave him a distinct sense of threat.

The ground cracked, the center rising as jagged fissures snaked toward Kurumi. Pieces of shattered stone flew past her, grazing her ear and lifting strands of her bangs in the gust.

In that brief instant… through the gap in her bangs, Accelerator seemed to catch a glimpse of something golden.

"Hey now… Accelerator-san," Kurumi said with a smile. That smile, faintly tilted upward, made Accelerator see something twisted and grotesque in it.

It was a bit like… seeing the same madness within himself reflected in a mirror.

"Come and play with me~~~" The girl's voice was so soft and sweet that it could melt one's very bones.

But as Accelerator looked at the girl in front of him, cradling her face with her right hand and wearing a gentle smile,

He felt as though he were staring at Kotonoha Katsura, Yuno Gasai, or Rena Ryugu, all beckoning to him at once.

"Tch... what a boring person." Completely unconcerned about the public property he had just destroyed, Accelerator stuffed his phone into his pants pocket, sneered, and began to turn away.

That distorted smile on the girl's face—the kind that looked like she had been broken beyond repair—he'd seen it countless times before. No doubt she was just another freak let loose from some research lab. Probably thought she'd achieved something noteworthy and could now challenge Academy City's strongest.

These worthless pests… they really were as annoying as flies.

When would these self-deluded research facilities finally give up?

This was why… he needed to become "invincible."

Being "the strongest" wasn't enough. He had to instill fear and despair before any confrontation even began.

That way… no one would dare challenge him, and no one else would get hurt or die because of it.

"Oh my, oh my. If you win this game, I'll tell you how to make sure no one ever challenges you again." Kurumi's voice called out from behind him.

Accelerator's steps came to a halt.

He leaned backward in a strange, unnatural way, his blood-red eyes fixed on Kurumi. The twisted smile on his face suddenly turned vicious and feral.

"I see… you sure seem to know a lot, don't you?"

Accelerator began to wonder if someone familiar from his past was pulling the strings behind her.

Initially, he had intended to simply walk away. After all, the real reason he'd been summoned to deliver those ability test reports today was clearly to orchestrate this meeting with her.

But… who was he?

He was No. 1. If those cold-blooded bastards thought they could make him fight just because they wanted him to, wouldn't that make him look like a pushover?

With his left hand shoved into his pocket and the bag still dangling from his right, Accelerator stood firmly in place.

"Well, well… tell me, what kind of game do you want to play?" He locked his gaze on Kurumi, his murderous intent turning the entire world into a sea of glaring, hateful eyes staring coldly at this "overconfident" girl.

If it's a game you want… then as a benevolent overlord, I can graciously let you choose how you lose.

"Don't think for a second that I'm like those trash Level 5s you can casually provoke."

"Remember this… the reason I'm a Level 5 is because there is no one but me 'standing below the heavens.'"

"It's not that I'm just a Level 5."

···

However, that seemingly terrifying murderous intent… to Kurumi, it was nothing more than that.

"Mhm, mhm, I understand," Kurumi responded with a smile, her voice as soothing as if she were calming a child.

"Well then, how about we play this game~—"

"No restrictions, no rules. Let's see if I can knock you down—make you hit the ground—within 10 seconds."

"If I succeed, I win. If I fail, you win."

"The loser has to grant the winner one request. How about that?"

"Knock me down?" Accelerator repeated, as if he'd just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. His left hand pressed against his face as he doubled over, laughing uncontrollably. His laughter grew louder and louder until he threw his head back in hysterics.

"Hey, hey… do you even know what that means?"

Accelerator's ability was [Vector Manipulation]. Through physical contact, he could freely control the direction of all forms of energy—kinetic, thermal, electrical, and more—allowing him to reflect any physical attack.

What made him truly terrifying, though, wasn't just his ability, but his unparalleled computational power.

His mental processing could rival even Tree Diagram, the terrifying supercomputer orbiting in space. If he wanted, he could even stop the rotation of the planet beneath his feet.

To knock him down while his reflection was active… that would mean breaking through his ability itself.

Knocking him down—was that even possible?

"If you think you can pull it off… then go ahead and try." His dead-fish eyes bore into Kurumi, his voice dripping with disdain.

And in the very next second, his crimson pupils contracted sharply.

Before his eyes, the girl seemed to melt into a puddle of shadows, slipping downward. Immediately afterward, black and red shadows spread across the ground like a flood.

If her file labeled her as "Nightmare,"

Then… she had to do something befitting that title.

This sort of roleplay, like a child playing house, could be unexpectedly fun at times.

Behind me!

Accelerator suddenly reacted, spinning around to look behind him.

Sure enough… that beautiful girl had already appeared at his back.

But since the rules of the game had been established, and he had agreed to them, Accelerator decided to abide by them.

Ten seconds. He wanted to see what tricks she could possibly pull off in that amount of time.

Kurumi let out a light chuckle, extending her hand as a cyan-green fruit fell from her grasp.

Boom—

In Accelerator's stunned, incredulous eyes, he was sent flying through the air by the explosion.

The blast was so weak that it didn't cause any harm, but it was as though the laws of physics from another world had suddenly taken over. Without any reaction, he was just… launched.

What the hell just happened? I wasn't even ready yet.

···

"La-la-la-la~~"

Kurumi hummed a soft tune as she approached Accelerator, who was slumped on the ground, utterly bewildered and filled with question marks.

Her demeanor had completely changed. With a dazzling smile that radiated good cheer, she clasped her hands behind her back and leaned down slightly.

"Accelerator-san~ You've lost~~~"

Did you think I'd use time stop to bully you? Nope, it was a Sky Tree fruit~!

"Speak. Your goal. I'll honor my word," Accelerator muttered, furrowing his brow tightly as he tried to calculate what exactly had caused that bizarre explosion. "But let me warn you—if you go too far, you'll die an especially gruesome death."

"Oh my, so scary, so scary~" Kurumi's slender index finger rested against her soft lips as she spoke words that sent a chill down Accelerator's spine.

"Hey, hey… Ippou-san~~~ do you prefer wearing school swimsuits or maid outfits?"

Accelerator froze completely, not even noticing that Kurumi had casually changed the way she addressed him.

But before he could erupt in rage, the smile on the girl's face suddenly vanished entirely in an instant.

She leaned in close, lowering her body toward him. Her crimson eyes, as vivid as blood, filled his entire field of vision.

"As the condition of our agreement… for one week, you are not allowed to kill anyone."

"—Remember this."

"I mean anyone, including those children."

Kurumi reached out, taking a can of coffee from the bag that had fallen to the ground.

"Hey, hey, I'll be taking this~" she said as she replaced her stern expression with that same gentle, sunny smile, looking as harmless and graceful as a lady of high society.

Without the slightest hesitation, she turned and walked away, her posture so casual and carefree that she seemed to have completely dropped her guard around Accelerator.

"Oh, by the way, Accelerator-san," Kurumi added with a bright smile, her tone unusually serious.

"If you want to get rid of those pests challenging you, aside from achieving the kind of 'invincibility' that inspires absolute fear~ there's also another option: step away from being 'the strongest.'"

"Those scavengers, those bloodthirsty vultures, they only have eyes for the one person at the top."

···

"Ha ha ha ha!!!" Watching Kurumi leave, Accelerator's shoulders trembled as he laughed.

"How interesting, so interesting, absolutely hilarious!" Accelerator grinned, laughing heartily as though he was genuinely amused from the bottom of his heart.

"Excellent! Excellent! Amazing! I take back what I said before. You're nothing like those boring fools."

Was she someone who had heard about that plan and rushed here specifically to confront him? Accelerator didn't know. But deep inside, he couldn't help but feel a strange, pure joy. His thin, pale shoulders quivered as he held his face, laughing maniacally.

"If you can knock me off my throne as No. 1, then go ahead and try."

The words he spoke, so arrogant and bombastic, sounded strangely hollow.

Just as Accelerator was immersed in his deep, reflective thoughts, presenting the image of a man haunted by his past, an ill-timed voice interrupted him.

"E-Excuse me! Senpai…"

In front of Accelerator, a petite girl timidly extended her finger, gently tapping his sleeve.

Accelerator, who could theoretically extract all the blood from someone's body or twist them into a pretzel with a single touch, froze in place.

The expected scenario, where touching him would instantly lead to her demise, did not play out.

He was no longer the kid who couldn't control his rampaging abilities. His [Reflection] worked as it should, responding only to threats.

"What do you want?" Accelerator growled, deadpan, his dead-fish eyes paired with a menacing posture to scare the girl.

The girl, who had been about to point to the green armband signaling her official role, immediately stumbled backward, falling into a sitting position on the ground like a startled duck. She looked as though she might burst into tears any second.

"Boring," Accelerator muttered, standing up and picking up the bag filled with canned coffee.

For now, he was still No. 1. If someone approached him without triggering a dangerous reaction, it would only encourage those pests to come up with disguised ways to get close.

With a sigh, Accelerator rubbed his forehead. "Forget it. I'll just go back and sleep."

"D-Don't go!"

A soft, trembling voice called out from behind him.

"What now?" Accelerator turned to look down at her with disdain.

"C-Compensation!" the girl stammered, her voice on the verge of tears as she pointed toward the cracked ground he had split open with his earlier stomp.

"Tch."

—

"Sorry, I'm late."

The door opened slowly, revealing an elegant young girl to everyone present.

Her jet-black hair, as dark as shadows, was tied into two tails that fell gracefully down her chest. Her long bangs covered her left eye, while her alluring crimson right eye shimmered with a subtle charm as it swept across the room.

Her exquisite face bore a faintly apologetic smile. Aside from her unusual black stockings, it was impossible to find any fault with her appearance.

"It's… it's fine, Tokisaki-san," the usually stern and intimidating director struggled to maintain a pleasant demeanor, his stiff smile so forced that it drew quiet chuckles from a few students who had stayed behind to revise their ability data.

"As long as Tokisaki-san is here, that's all that matters," he said warmly, motioning for Kurumi to proceed to the testing area.

"If Tokisaki-san is willing, our Tokiwadai Middle School can provide you with the finest experimental facilities available. This is our pride as the most elite academy in Academy City."

"Coo-coo," Kurumi replied with a polite nod, then imitated the sound of a pigeon, her voice full of playful mischief.

Sorry, but I'd rather skip class and go hang out with Railgun in the Seventh District.

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