All Unrelated Parties, Please Exit

In District 7, there stood a building with no windows, no doors, no stairs, and no corridors.

Rumor had it that Academy City’s chairman lived inside this windowless, entrance-less building—one that could withstand a nuclear blast and could only be entered or exited under the guidance of a Teleportation user.

Not all urban legends were baseless. This windowless building was indeed the lair of the board chairman who ruled over Academy City!

From a practical standpoint, this impossible-to-enter-or-exit building was a failure among failures, and its construction had no meaning whatsoever. Yet within its little-known interior lay a world of its own.

At its center was a vast room lit like the stars. Countless screens flickering with images covered the surrounding walls. Behind the tens of thousands of screens, cables and pipes extended from within the building throughout Academy City. Through nano-level aerial transmission circuits, a constant stream of information was gathered into the network and ultimately sent here.

Dense electrical cables carpeted the room, converging at its very center. Within a life-support device made of reinforced glass, four meters in diameter and ten meters long, transparent bubbles occasionally rose slowly through the red liquid.

A white-haired man wearing green surgical scrubs floated silently upside down in the nutrient fluid, utterly motionless.

Aleister Crowley!

The name of the board chairman. This man’s character setting was absurdly overpowered: once publicly recognized as the world’s strongest magician, now the final boss of the scientific side. Due to his unconventional performance art, he had been given an elegant nickname—no, an underworld epithet… The Hanged Man!

"A strange person is making contact with Accelerator. Judging by his confused expression, he seems rather unwilling. Aleister, aren’t you going to do anything?" A calm female voice, mixed with indistinct static, sounded from some unknown corner.

On the massive screen on the wall, the portrait of the person who had made contact with Accelerator—Duke—lit up. Immediately afterward, his information was pulled up and arranged in neat, meticulous order.

Every detail of his life, great and small, was displayed on the screen without omission.

"He appears to be a Level 0. An ordinary past, an ordinary present, and an ordinary future that can be predicted." Aleister, floating in the red liquid, opened his eyes. Though he did not speak, his voice rang out.

"A Level 0 could not have emerged unharmed from such a violent explosion. He… is either a body-enhancement esper, one of the fewer than twenty Saints, or perhaps an overlooked Gemstone?" The female voice laced with strange static sounded again.

"A Saint is definitely impossible. I do not recall anyone like that. Even a newly born one would be impossible. This is Academy City, the headquarters of the scientific side. Without my permission, the magic side would not send such valuable combat power here to die!" Aleister seemed to be talking to himself. "He may be a Gemstone, or perhaps… AIM Burst… The group he belongs to is currently researching the AIM Diffusion Field, a power similar to Angel’s Power. Perhaps that is the source of his ability."

"That is truly dangerous. Is it really all right to let him get so close to Accelerator?"

"It does not matter! The purpose of the ‘Absolute Ability User Project’ is to comprehend God’s will with a body that is not divine! On the path of evolution, the unknown is the greatest enemy. Only by transcending one’s environment and oneself can one attain God’s will. From that perspective, his appearance has not exceeded the scope of the plan."

"An unexpected answer. I thought you would directly erase this variable!"

"In that era where there was only magic, espers were the greatest variable. I hold no ill will toward variables. Besides, existence is reasonable. Why erase it? His encounter with Accelerator was merely a coincidence…" At this point, Aleister looked toward another screen with interest. "Besides, the Absolute Ability User Project needs someone to bring it to an end. He is not a bad candidate. The ideal candidate had originally been Imagine Breaker, but another person would not be unacceptable."

"Of course… that is assuming he can defeat Accelerator. Otherwise, I can only guide Imagine Breaker there."

"You seem to be enjoying this!"

"The unknown is always fascinating. It represents the vastness of the world, while we still know nothing…"

"I’m in a hurry to deliver takeout. How about… we talk next time?"

Duke tried to muddle through, but the results were less than ideal. Accelerator glared at him with an unfriendly expression, while the Misaka Sister also gave him a puzzled look.

None of the three spoke. Duke tried to break the awkward silence. After hesitating for a moment, he said to Accelerator, "Suzushina Yuriko?"

"Who?" It was the first time White Hair had heard that name.

"Sorry, I mistook you for someone else."

Accelerator did not think much of it. He looked Duke up and down. "You came out of that explosion without a scratch. Looks like you’re much stronger than that trash over there. Come on, let me see what you’re made of."

Duke’s face twisted in pain at those words. Since when had the Number One become the protagonist of a hot-blooded manga? Didn’t he hate violence the most?

"Please wait. A battle outside the plan may cause deviations in the predictive calculations. Misaka quickly adds." The Misaka Sister promptly stole the spotlight. Pointing at Duke’s white coat covered in soot and smoke, she asked, "Are you an observer for this experiment?"

Duke rolled his eyes. "If I am, can I leave now?"

Looking at the Misaka Sister, Duke could not help sighing. Urban legends were way too cheap! He had seen several in one night… the mysterious stripping girl, the strongest white-haired guy, the fantasy Imagine Breaker, Multiple Shadow Clones. If AIM Burst, so closely tied to cute girls, were added too, that would make a full five-kill streak.

"Of course! However, as a precaution, the password must be verified. Please answer: ZXC741ASD852QWE963! Misaka tests you." Though she was still spurting blood, the Misaka Sister calmly recited a string of letters and numbers.

Duke kept a straight face and solemnly said, "If you add the prefix magnet: to make it a magnet link, I should know it."

"Analysis error. You are not personnel related to the experiment. Unrelated party, please leave this place as soon as possible. Misaka ignores the unrelated party’s dirty joke and makes this confirmation." The Misaka Sister spoke expressionlessly.

Duke said in surprise, "You can actually make sarcastic remarks? No, you actually know about links… Damn it, when I was your age, I thought my dick was only for peeing!"

"Hey, you doll over there! I’ve got new prey tonight. Since I’m in such a good mood, get lost already!" Accelerator suddenly cut in, waving dismissively at the Misaka Sister.

"An action not included in the plan, Misaka cannot agree…"

Before the Misaka Sister could finish, an invisible repulsive force sent her flying. Her body slammed sideways into the wall behind her. After falling to the ground, her right arm twisted at an unnatural angle. She coughed up blood, let out a muffled groan, and passed out.

"Unknown unrelated party, let’s begin at once!" Accelerator said impatiently. The madness in his eyes was clear even from far away.

Duke glanced at the Misaka Sister, whose fate was unknown. Judging from her earlier sarcasm, this Misaka Sister with an unknown designation had most likely developed emotions. In other words, the Absolute Ability User Project had already been underway for quite some time. Combined with his earlier encounter with Kamijou Touma and Kamijou Mikoto, he could roughly infer how far the plot had progressed.

Seeing Duke glance at the Misaka Sister before falling silent, Accelerator misunderstood something and sneered coldly. "What, are you interested in a product priced at 180,000 yen? Fine. If you beat me, I’ll spare her life. How about it?"

If you want to let her go, just say so. Why drag me into it?

Duke’s face was filled with helplessness. Besides Kamijou, Accelerator was also one of the few people the chairman had always kept an eye on. As long as someone appeared around either of them, the chances of being noticed would rise dramatically. As a salted fish, Duke hated being watched more than anything.

"Come on, I’ll let you attack first. Beat me, and you’ll become the strongest in Academy City!"

Duke sighed. "You’ve got the wrong person! It shouldn’t be me…"

"What?"

"You should be looking for a Hedgehog-haired Youth. Take one Crow Sitting on a Plane from him, then gain the second male lead’s halo and embark on the peak of your life. From then on, you’ll forcibly redeem yourself, become a champion of justice, get yourself a loli, cuck the male lead while you’re at it, and steal his harem of ten thousand… That’s the reasonable development!" Duke sighed wistfully. "What a wonderful future. Why resist it? Fight me, and you’ll gain nothing. Why bother?"

"What nonsense. Is something wrong with your brain?" Accelerator narrowed his eyes and stared at Duke like a venomous snake, frowning in displeasure. "Enough nonsense. Since you won’t attack, then I won’t hold back."

Duke shook his head and closed his eyes, letting out a soft breath. When he opened them again, his deep eyes were filled with icy coldness. "As you wish!"