"Touma! Don't fight him head-on! That guy is Level 5's No. 1, Accelerator!"
Misaki Shokuhou's anxious voice echoed in the dark night sky. Touma Kamijou glanced back at the three people on the bridge before turning his gaze to Accelerator, whose expression had grown more agitated.
"You! What did you just say?!"
Staring at Touma, who was holding Misaka Sister, Accelerator reached into his ear, a chilling tone in his voice. "I didn't quite hear that just now. After all, the sound of bugs is just so quiet."
"I'll listen carefully this time, so say it again. I don't know where you crawled out from, bug!"
"As expected, you're just a piece of trash now, Accelerator."
Turning towards the bridge, Touma looked at Accelerator, whose pupils dilated in rage. He spoke calmly, "Wait here for me. I'll be right back to set you straight."
With his knees slightly bent, Touma leaped towards the bridge, more than ten meters above.
"Interesting! Truly interesting!"
Covering his forehead, Accelerator laughed maniacally, watching Touma's airborne figure through the gaps between his fingers. He exhaled slowly.
"Since you've said such big words, don't even think about running away! Bug!"
Bang!!!
Accelerator stomped on the ground, his vector manipulation propelling the ground and surrounding containers towards the airborne Touma.
"Touma! Behind you!"
Hearing the deafening roar behind him and Misaki's frightened cry, Touma clenched his right fist and swung it backward. His punch created a vacuum wave in the air.
Boom!
The massive shockwave collided with the incoming objects. In the midst of the smoke, Touma gently tapped his foot on the ground, landing beside Misaki Shokuhou.
Quickly opening the chat group, Touma requested a healing potion from Kazuma Satou, who was idly chatting.
After clicking receive, a faint white light appeared in Touma's hand.
Unscrewing the healing potion that had been blessed by Aqua, Touma helped the dying Misaka Sister drink it.
Gently laying her down, Touma nodded to the three people around him.
"I'll leave Misaka Sister to you."
With a flash, Touma was once again airborne. He punched a massive container that came flying towards him, sending it soaring away. He then focused on Accelerator below and stepped forward.
Bang!
A deafening sound echoed from the air as Touma vanished. A sonic boom cloud slowly dissipated.
Accelerator's pupils constricted, and he immediately maximized his calculations, expanding the vector field around him to its maximum.
Hovering slightly in mid-air, Accelerator glanced quickly to his side, only to see a massive fist enlarging before his eyes.
"Hehehe!"
A strange laugh escaped his lips, and Accelerator felt an intense sense of exhilaration as he stared at Touma, who was behind the fist.
The instant the fist touched him, this annoying bug would die from the reflection.
Bang!
"Aaaaaah!!!"
An involuntary scream of pain burst from his mouth. Accelerator clutched his nose and fell straight to the ground.
Curled up, Accelerator felt the excruciating pain radiating from his nose and eye sockets. He struggled to lift his head, staring at Touma's calm face.
"Why?!"
Shaking, Accelerator wiped the blood from his nose with disbelief and roared at Touma, "Why didn't my ability work on you?!"
"Why am I still alive?!"
Holding his knee, Accelerator's face displayed a complex range of emotions. Glaring at Touma, he spoke resentfully, "With your ability to ignore mine, and your physical strength, you could've killed me in that strike. Why?! Why am I still alive? Are you looking down on me?!"
"In a way, yes."
Nodding, Touma said sincerely, "You have the strongest power, but no will of your own. You simply drift with the current, letting others manipulate you."
"To me, you're like a child who never grew up."
"Even though you distanced yourself from others out of fear of hurting them, that is not a reason to kill so many Misaka Sisters in the name of supposed invincibility!"
Accelerator suddenly looked up, the corners of his mouth curling up, eyes burning with rage. He roared, "Who the hell are you?! Don't think you can lecture me just because you hit me once! What do you know?!"
He remembered how, as a child, even the slightest mood change would hurt others. So, he chose to seal away his emotions and distance himself from everyone. Somehow, he became the strongest.
But a swarm of pesky bugs kept coming at him, challenging his title of the strongest, and it became unbearable.
Gradually, the thought of becoming invincible took root in him, for being the strongest was only that—the strongest. Invincibility was truly supreme; the kind of existence that made enemies admit defeat before even encountering him.
So when he learned of an experiment that could elevate him to Level 6, Accelerator agreed without hesitation.
Even if that experiment involved killing twenty thousand clones.
Standing upright, a current of air surrounded Accelerator as he rose into the air, glaring at Touma. "I am the strongest! But it's still not enough!"
"Because there are always bugs like you challenging me, pissing me off more and more!"
"You're a strong bug, I'll give you that. But! Even with your strange ability, you're no match for me."
In the sky, a massive vortex of wind began to form. Raising his hands, Accelerator looked down at Touma, now as small as an ant, and screamed, "Fighting strong opponents accelerates my ability's evolution. If my physical speed can't keep up with you, and my ability gets nullified, then I'll go high enough that you can't reach me! I'll control the world's airflow and gather it all in my hands!"
In the center of the storm, a massive ball of silvery plasma took form, hovering high in the sky. Accelerator roared, "You are probably the first person to threaten me, unknown bug. Count yourself lucky as you head to hell!"
Buzz!!!!
With a deafening roar, the enormous plasma ball crashed towards the ground. The energy within it could easily wipe out the entire area below.
With a tension even he was unaware of in his eyes, Accelerator laughed wildly, watching Touma remain motionless on the ground below.
"Challenging me, the strongest, just for a doll, and daring to look down on me! You held back after shattering my shield, so now you and that doll can both turn to dust with this area."
"It seems you need guidance, Accelerator."
Though standing on the ground, Touma's voice rang clearly in Accelerator's ears.
Looking up at the massive plasma ball that engulfed the sky, Touma raised his right hand.
A sword composed of white light appeared in his hand.
"Phantom Killer Sword."