—4th September 7:27p.m.—
The fight had lasted for about 7 minutes, and he used quite the energy to reach the food supplement factory. Thanks to the help of ITEM, they managed to narrow the location of Last Order all the way to where they were now.
He had 5 minutes of battery time left. However, if he stayed in his normal mode, he would have 16 hours to move normally.
"I forgot my charger..." He says as he looks down at the white floor. He leaned against the wall while sitting down as Mugino and Scavenger's leader, Iizumi Rita, placed the bodies in the centre of the area.
"The fuck are you doing?" He asks them.
"Checking their life force."
The person who answered him wasn't Mugino or Rita, but it was Ester as she kneels down beside Yomikawa and Last Order, and used one of her talismans. She placed one on top of Yomikawa's chest first. When she did, a green magic circle formed on top and below Yomikawa's body.
"Whew...she's fine, she's only unconscious. The life force flowing through her body hasn't been too badly disturbed." She says.
Then she turns to Last Order and does the same thing. He looks at the floating talisman and a sweat dripped down his forehead.
"So you were after her as well?" He asks her.
"Yes. But without you, me, Last Order and this girl might not have made it."
Then he looks at the third girl, and he recognized her.
"This girl...if I'm not wrong, her name was Uiharu...right?" He wonders to himself as Uiharu starts panting hard.
"I'm thankful for your help." Ester gets up and bows down to him as her cheeks flushes red.
"Tch." He had nothing else to say, he was just annoyed.
"I didn't come here to see a Romeo and Juliet story, you know?"
The one who has the guts to say that was Mugino.
"Shut up."
"Phew, they're fine. Their life force has stabilized." Ester says.
"I don't know what kind of power that is, but quit using it and take them to a damn hospital." He scolded her.
"Right. And also..."
Then she looks at the other 3 members of Scavenger.
"We need to take them as well."
"Huh? B-But why would you care about us?" Rita asks.
"I can't leave you all like that now, can I? I'm sure you weren't thinking properly. Next time..."
Then she walks up to Rita and pats her head as she says this,"...make sure you don't repeat your mistake and learn from this, okay?"
Rita then starts to tear up. Accelerator just stares at them and clicks his tongue. Mugino walks up to his side and asks him,"So, when are you paying?"
"Tch, when we get back. You really are desperate for money, aren't you?"
"Of course. Those expensive steaks aren't going to pay for themselves you know? And business is business. This is the world we live in."
"Tch."
—4th September 7:40p.m.—
"Whew...we're finally done! They're fine. You're really kind, aren't you? Accelerator." Ester says as she wipes the sweat off her forehead. Rita just stares as at Accelerator, not believing that what he had done was considered "kind".
"You went easy on them, didn't you?" Ester asks him.
"Tch, no I didn't. If they're still alive, I'll hit them harder next time."
"So humble."
Then she walks up to him and bows her head.
"Again, thank you so much for saving us!"
"Tch..."
"You really are strong. You can use a strange power, but you also have a powerful, unwavering heart. I want to be like that one day."
Hearing that, he was getting annoyed. But he brushed it off and flicks her on the forehead.
"Don't be stupid. Your kind and pure heart is enough already. You don't want to be someone like me."
"That's not true! I'm always doubting, hesitating, and failing. It's all because I'm weak! Thinking back, Hirumi might have tried to gain enough power for both of us since I was so weak." Tears welled up in her eye sockets as she said that.
"Hirumi? Who's that?" Accelerator wonders but then, Ester's mood immediately changed,"Oh I know!"
She approaches him while wiping the tears off her cheeks and she asks him the most ridiculous question,"Will you make me your apprentice?"
"...Huh?"
"No...please make me your apprentice, master!"
"Wha...? My apprentice? Go ask that Anti-Skill woman over there!"
"She's wonderful too, but I want to ask you! There's so much I can learn from a master I can truly trust."
He was genuinely confused. No one had ever looked up to him as much as she did. Ester, a kind hearted girl, asking him to be her master shocked him, and he was confused that a murderer like him was even looked up upon.
"Please I'm begging you!" Ester begs him with her two hands clasped together.
"Ha! Look at you, gaining recognition from others. Must be nice, right? Master~" Mugino mocked him and he stared at her,"Keep your mouth out of this!"
"Please master! Make me your apprentice, make me your apprentice!"
"Shut up!"
"Please!"
He kept silent as he walks away.
"Please!"
Again.
"Please!"
"Tch, you're annoying!"
He turned his electrode on and manipulated the wind around him to blast her back. She got up and pestered him again, to which he just slams the ground and takes a few smaller rocks in his hand and flicks them back, making them fly past her head at an extreme speed.
"Go away. I'm not someone who you want as your 'master'. I don't care about what happens to the world, and if you keep pestering me, I'll shut you up for good." As he was walking however, he had his eyes closed. He got too comfortable and he tripped over a rock and landed face first.
"No, please! Please be my master!" She rushes up to him and places her head on his chest, as tears dripped down her face.
"Please...I need strength...I want to become stronger. If I had strength, I would have been able to protect Hirumi. Please teach me how to become stronger!" Her green pupils had made eye contact with his red pupils.
Her eyes, they were filled with regrets, those eyes, were not the eyes of someone who wanted strength just to fight. She had her reason for wanting strength, and it was a good reason as well. The reason of a hero. Accelerator admired that, and at that moment, he didn't know how he should react to his own powers anymore. Was it fortunate, or misfortunate? He didn't know. But there was one thing he had learnt from meeting a certain boy. He puts his hand on her head.
"*sigh* Like I said, your kind and pure heart is enough. That is your strength, don't lose sight of it like an idiot I know."
Then he heard a rumbling noise from above, he looks up and sees the ceiling breaking apart. He grabs Ester and pulls her in closer using his left arm.
"H-Huh?" Ester asks in confusion as she starts blushing. However, that feeling faded when the ceiling finally broke apart, and in the middle of the debris, was a blocky-like machine painted in purple. It had a rectangular mid-section, with two horizontal blocks connected to it, two more horizontal blocks floated on top of those blocks, connected by its slim main body. It looked like a gun barrel the right side, while the left side looked like a flashlight with it's lights turned off. A cable extended out of the main body, as a rectangular metal head with a red line across it's head was placed at the end of it.
It was floating above the ground due to the boosters underneath the horizontal blocks at the bottom. When it slowed down its descent, 5 magical circles appeared in front of it, as the middle one was the biggest out of the four which surrounded it. The four magical circles spun around the centre one.
"Rosenthal magical arrays...That's Taotie." Ester says.
"What?" Accelerator asks.
"A Si-xiong charm much more powerful than Huotou. Keep back! I'm the one they're after! I'll-"
"Fuck off. Isn't it much more convenient when the clues come looking for you?"
"Wait! We don't know which abilities he's enhanced! Be-"
Then a hand covers her mouth. Muffling noises could only be heard from her as she turns back to see Mugino looking at Accelerator while covering Ester's mouth.
"That's the #1 right there. If he dies, it makes it better for me. I can potentially become the #1 level 5. That's better than any amount of money in the world." Mugino smirks as she says that.
"Hey, stop it!" Rita grabs hold of Mugino's arm, only to get a growl back from Mugino.
"You wanna fight, kid?"
"Eek!" She drops to the ground as she looks at Ester's face. Her face was indicating "It's okay. I believe in him."
This is after all, the boy who took down four people all at once without breaking a sweat.
Four missile came out of the left box, all aiming at Accelerator, and before they reached him, he leapt up as the missiles chase after him. But when they got in contact with his AIM field, he redirected them back at the Taotie.
"Heh, this is going to be eas-What!?" When he was approaching the Taotie, the Taotie suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind him, and in front of him was one of the missiles.
*BOOM!*
An explosion went off and created a cloud of smoke. He emerged out of that smoke quickly and landed in front of Taotie, with a few burns on his left hand.
"The ability to switch places, replace. Huh?"
He felt something moving quickly underground, and when he processed it, it was going to the three girls. He moved quickly with the manipulation of a few vectors, hugged them together and pushed them all to safety as the ground underneath from where they were, broke apart.
The Taotie launches a missile next to it, and in an instant, the Qiong Qi appeared.
"Tch, I'm not spending my money on hiring a useless worker you know?" He says to Mugino.
"Don't get so full of yourself, Accelerator. I could have dealt with that machine myself."
"Oh really?"
Then he gets up and walk towards the two machines.
"Less than 5 minutes...I need to end this quick." He thought, but just then, his thoughts were interrupted by a girl's voice.
"Stay out of this."
"A girl?"
Ester's eyes opened wide as she calls out a name.
"Hirumi...Stop doing this already! Return Hirumi!"
Something was approaching the ground towards her and he was about to push her away, but the #4 pulled her away.
"Don't be reckless, you idiot." Mugino tells her calmly.
Then, another machine appeared out of thin air behind them, as it slowly peeled away its camouflage. It was mostly covered in brown coating, it has a central spherical section with holes on six sides. A spine-like section extended down from the bottom to a tripod-like base with three 'legs' connected with cables. A cable from the sphere's top hole connects to an elongated 'head', while cables from the four side holes each connected to a large shield. On each of the large shields were two rocket boosters that allowed it to float above the ground. Many cables were floating below it like an octopus' arms.
"Great, another one. Do you really need 3 machines to take me down?" Accelerator asks but there was no answer. In the next moment, the brown machine used its tentacles to grab hold of Last Order.
"Oi, I'm right here!" He shouts as he launches himself towards the brown machine, however, in a split moment, the brown machine disappeared and what replaced it was Qiong Qi. He crashed into Qiong Qi, and a red magic circle blocked him and sent him flying back. He landed on his feet while using his hands to slow his pushback. He clicked his tongue as he kneeled down, blood dripping down his forearm.
"Master!" Ester shouts as she runs to him, but then, the Taotie launched four missiles, all heading towards Ester.
"Tch..." Accelerator pulled Ester back and mentally prepared his redirection to redirect those missiles, but fortunately, Mugino stepped in and put a silicon card in front of her and shot through it, to produce multiple green beams that raged across the area, destroying every missile in its path.
"Come on, what's wrong, #1?" Mugino mocks him.
"Shut up, I've got them figured out already. Stay back and protect them." Accelerator was panting in between as he said that. Something had damaged him. The red magic circle, that was it, and he figured out it's patterns already.
"Goodbye, Ester." Hirumi says through the speakers in a rather friendly and playful tone. Taotie launched 3 missiles into the air and then, they all disappeared, bringing the missiles back. Accelerator redirected the blasts that ensued and flew off to catch the three of them.
"Think you're running away?!" He shouts as he jumps out through the hole in pursuit, leaving Mugino, Rita and Ester there.
"We have to catch him!" Ester urgently says, but Mugino told her,"It's okay, he's the #1. What could possibly go wrong for him?"
"Those coffins...they are special souls created by the Rosenthal family! They are gifted with superpowers!"
"Right, right. They're super powerful, but that doesn't matter."
"Huh?"
"Don't underestimate the power of a level 5." Mugino says as she dials for the rest of ITEM.
-4th September 7:47p.m.-
Accelerator got out and was jumping from building to building, Qiong Qi saw this and decided to engage him in combat. However, he was not interested in Qiong Qi in the slightest. His main priority is going after Last Order. Basically, the brown machine which had taken her. He tried to jump past Qiong Qi, but Qiong Qi was simply replaced in front of him.
"Tch, in the end, I have no choice."
They both stop at a building further up, with Taotie as well.
"Well, if it isn't Accelerator! Mm-hmm."
"So these piles of junk have more than one drivers huh?"
"Ah..."piles of junk" is quite mean, don't ya think? Unlike the prototype that you found, these three have pseudo-souls boosting their abilities up to level-5 class. Mm-hmm, you may be the first-ranked esper in Academy City..."
At that moment, the ground beneath them broke apart.
"Mm-hmm, impatient as always. Well, whatever. Your power requires a medium to work through. Without it, any physical attacks you do is no different than any physical phenomenon."
"...You can stop talking now. I'll destroy these pieces of junk with my bare hands."
"Mm-hmm. I'd like to see you try. You got injured just now when you tried to touch the Qiong Qi. Psychokinesis is a much better power than your vector control."
Accelerator blasted himself off the ground and towards the Qiong Qi's head. He extended his right hand towards it's head and then Hishigata only smirked behind his monitor as he awaits the #1's defeat.
"Just give up, Accelerator! You'll never beat me, mm-hmm! And once I kill you, I'll develop the first level 6...or maybe even beyond, mm-hmm!...Huh?"
The screen, which was showing him the fight between Qiong Qi and Accelerator, had become static. The only thing which was still working was the camera in Taotie and the camera in the brown machine.
"How did you do that?! What did you manipulate?! The psychokinesis was supposed to beat you in! What did you do?!" Hishigata screams at the screen in disbelief.
The #1 in Academy City turned to face the Taotie and wasn't even smiling as he went to break the Taotie as well. He extended his left hand to break the barrier which protected it, and then he placed his right hand on the front of its face and crushed it.
"Tch, what a waste of time."
He turned back to the direction where the last robot went and then he started jumping on buildings after buildings, calculating the wind which was blowing past him, and the wind he was creating to differentiate them and find the direction where it went.
"Less than 2 minutes left...tch." He could tell it was about to die when the red light started flashing. However, he was nearing the area already. He jumped past district 16 and then he saw a hole in a building.
"What kind of idiot makes a big hole just to retrieve something. For someone who is a researcher, he's fucking dumb in the head."
Accelerator landed in and he saw the brown machine, still holding Last Order in its tentacles and a cable attached to each side of her forehead. He flicks the machine once and it breaks and releases her. He looks around and sees three computers, one showing endless documents of research and two static screens. One of the folders was named "Project Produce". He didn't look through the documents as he was worried about Last Order instead.
"With the amount of time I have, getting back would be impossible. She's too heavy for me to carry without my powers...tch."
He thought of all the possibilities he could pull, but he couldn't find anything that would ensure her safety. So, he opened up the coffin for the machine and placed her inside with a sour face. He broke a piece of pipe from the walls as a temporary replacement for his cane, and switched his battery off.
3 hours and 12 minutes. That was the amount of time he had left before he becomes useless. He had to move quick, but telling a person who has to rely on a cane to walk to move faster, wasn't going to make him faster.
"Tch..."
It was a big place indeed. It was in a school after all. He was in Seiin High School. However, he checked the classrooms, the faculty office, everywhere, but couldn't find anyone. But then it came to him.
Using his expertise in being a villain, he could conclude that there was a basement underneath the school, or something close to that.
"Scientists and researchers need a place to do their research, and since he brought that piece of junk to this school, he has to be in here. That junk was still warm when I touched it, so it had recently landed, and he's not that dumb to show his work to a bunch of students as well. So, the place lies underneath this shit hole."
He limps all the way back down to where he first came in from, and when further into the darkness. Soon, he came across a red room with cables all around the place, a monitor and a guy facing 4 computers, giving him visual of where others are in the school through the cameras, a screen of someone's supposed heartbeat, and what looks like even more documents.
Behind the guy was a blue pod, and when he looked closer, there was a girl inside, with only her undergarments and bra on. The place reeked of a weird stench. Like someone who hasn't bathed in months.
He steps in, his footsteps alerting the man of his presence.
"Ah, you've finally made it, Accelerator. Mm-hmm. I was wondering when you'd arrive." The man with blonde messy hair, wearing a researcher's coat with a green shirt underneath, and long blue jeans says as he sucks on a lollipop.
"That familiar voice. I thought I found your voice hateful, but I guess your looks are worse."
"Oh, don't be so mean, Accelerator. I'm making the first level 6, mm-hmm! Thanks to your efforts of killing 10,000 clones, I've used that information and those deaths to create a formula that will turn Hirumi into a level 6!"
Accelerator limps all the way to his computer screens and Hishigata wraps one of his arms around Accelerator's shoulders.
"So, what do you think? I did a pretty good job, right? Mm-hmm."
In the next second, Accelerator raised the pipe, and let gravity do its work, and destroyed the computer screens, as Hishigata watched in horror.
He smashed the screens, everything all disappearing in front of Hishigata's eyes as he only knelt down and screamed at the shocking sight.
"No!!! Me and Hirumi's dream! It's...It's all gone!"
"Oh? Is your brain broken after witnessing that?"
But, Hishigata was chuckling after that.
"Heh...heheh...Ahahahahaha...AHAHAHA! Did you really think I would allow you to destroy it so easily?! Mm-hmm. I've already finished downloading all the documents and I have already finished formulating the death of 10,000 clones into Hirumi! Now, she's going to become a level 6! Thanks to you of course. Your effort of killing 10,000 INNOCENT CLONES WILL NOT GO TO WASTE! HAHAHAHA!"
Accelerator stood there in silence as he looked down at Hishigata. He only raised his pipe again and beat down Hishigata into a bloody pulp.
His mind was broken.
"Eheheh...you're right! I killed 10,000 of them, and now I'll kill you too! Let me tell you how I'm gonna fucking break you into half. First, in order to break a man, you'll have to cripple his legs."
Accelerator did as he said, he aimed the legs of Hishigata, the sound of bones cracking and metal clanking could be heard throughout the room as it echoed. In the next moment, Hishigata was shaking, however, he was still smiling and laughing.
"HAHAHAHA! That's it! You're the best, #1, mm-hmm. No one can beat you in terms of brutality. Come on, show me what you've learnt from killing 10,000 fake people!"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
He aimed at Hishigata's head, relentlessly beating his head, non-stop. Strike after strike, bones cracking, the pipe slowly bent to the shape of Hishigata's head, and he flung the pipe aside and grabbed Hishigata by the collar and used his fist to beat him up as he sat on top of his chest.
Right fist, left fist. All meeting Hishigata's face, blood was stained on Accelerator's hands as he continued beating him up. Hishigata did not show any signs of life, only the sounds of mush could be heard every time Accelerator beats down Hishigata with his fists.
Accelerator lost all emotions on his face, as he beat down Hishigata and then, a hand touched his shoulder.
His fist hung in front of Hishigata's unrecognizable face.
"That's enough, master. You've done enough."
It was the girl who he saved yesterday. That person was Ester.
She hugged his back.
"What are you doing?" He asks her, as his senses started coming back to him.
"I'm showing care to my family."
"What crap are you spouting out..."
"It's not crap. The two of you have showed me what it's like to have a family. I don't want to lose my family anymore, I don't want you to fall into despair like Hishigata. Please, master. Come back to me, let's end this once and for all."
"...Yeah."
She returned him his cane, and they got up to face the pod, which the girl was in. At that moment, the pod opened up, and the girl slowly opened her eyelids. It took her time to process her surroundings, but once she did, she saw Ester and was elated to see her.
"Oh, Ester! Good morning, how have you been? Is that boy beside you your boyfriend? My, Ester, you sure have some terrible tastes!"
There was no answer, Accelerator was waiting for Ester to say something, but Ester stood there shocked.
"How did you even fall in love with him? You are so happy-go-lucky, that guy looks like he's never happy and always so grumpy! Well, whatever, congrats anyway. At least you're not going to be alone like my brother, right? Speaking of which, where is my brother?"
She walks out of the pod but immediately falls down.
"Ow! H-Hey! I'm in my panties! Don't look!"
"Hirumi...No! It's not Hirumi. This is Taowu. Hirumi is long gone."
"Geez, what do I use? This is so embarrassing. Huh? Ester, what's with that getup? Are you into cosplay now?...Huh?"
She looks between Accelerator's and Ester's legs to see Hishigata on the ground, with his face beaten badly and his knees twisted.
"Brother?...Brother!"
She shouts as she tries to crawl to him, but Accelerator hits her back with his cane in his right hand.
"He's dead. But don't worry, you'll be joining him soon enough." Accelerator says with pity in his voice.
"Why...why did you do that to brother? Ester!"
Cables in the room started to move around and connect to the back of the girl's body. Apparently, behind the girl's back were a bunch of holes to insert cables into. Then, a bunch of cables around the area started gathering around Hirumi as they all covered her like the petals of a flower about to bloom.
Soon, the cables started to extend everywhere and they were flooding the whole area like water. Accelerator grabbed Ester and pulled her close after turning his electrode on and he rushed her out of that room at the speed of light, trying to find an open space where there were no cables and he dashed all the way into an empty space, with only power boxes situated in there.
He turned his electrode off, and limped to an emergency shutdown switch at the side of the door. The door closes down and Ester was kneeling down.
He places his foot on her head and shoved her down with it.
"You shouldn't have come here. You're a fucking burden to me. If you hadn't come here, I would've killed that level 6 wannabe myself."
"I'm sorry...but I want to settle my own problem. I created this mess, and I want to settle it myself."
"Tch. Do whatever you want, I don't care anymore. Just don't get in my way."
Ester takes a deep breath and exhales, as she gains back her composure.
"Hirumi...is not Hirumi. That is Taowu gone awry. I have to neutralize Taowu."
"..."
"I just have to stab her with this." She pulls out a blade with a weird marking on it.
"Emperor Shun's blade." She continues.
"This blade can kill Taowu, and finally set Hirumi free."
"What are you talking about, Ester?" This voice was not the voice of Accelerator, but the voice of Hirumi.
"I'm perfectly fine, Ester. I am Hirumi. This is 100% me. How could you let brother die, and not let his death go avenged?!" She appears out of the wall.
"That bastard deserved every beating he received." Accelerator replies confidently.
"Why, you!..." Then, her body goes limp as she tilts her head down. Then, she raises her head again. However, this time, the color of her pupils were different. They weren't blue anymore, they became golden.
Her pupils darted around the room and then to Accelerator and Ester. Then, "Hirumi" said...
"As life functions of subject of extended fraud are expected to cease, now terminating Hishigata Hirumi's memory."
Then she lowers her head once more, and after one second, she raises it back up and says,"Hishigata Hirumi's memory has been wiped. I am Taowu."
Then she stretches both of her arms out and looks at Ester,"Master Ester, congratulations."
"What are you talking about?"
"For 23 generations, spanning 400 years, the Rosenthal bloodline has been refining necromancy, and now, it is at last about to be perfected. Please celebrate. Sing songs of praise, dance and rejoice."
Ester couldn't believe it. This was Taowu. It had finally came out of its facade that it created, by faking to be Hirumi.
"Taowu!"
"Yes?"
"Why have you gone astray?"
"The results of my self-diagnostic program conclude that all is normal."
"But you did not heed my command!"
"The wishes of the Rosenthal family as a whole took precedence. The absolute order to give priority to achieving the family wish."
"Taowu, what exactly happened?!"
"9,854,878,051 seconds ago, when I was first activated, there was a being who connected with the pseudo-soul that comprises me."
"Connected with you?"
"Following 0.32 seconds of hesitation, I permitted communication. The being himself...proclaimed to be a devil."
The last few words had a very dark and scary expression to them, as if a demon had been saying them. Everyone in the room covered their ears as it echoed through the room.
*Ding*
A gust of wind blew in the room and a blast could be heard not long after.
"Sorry, but if you're gonna cause a bigger ruckus, then I'll kill you."
Accelerator kicked Taowu and manipulated its vectors to break it down into unspeakable bits.
"Is that all? Man, that was...tch..." he clicked his tongue as he heard the sounds of something reforming using bits of meat from the wall. What appeared next, was Taowu.
Accelerator was running out of time, and he looked at Ester and shouted,"Give me the blade, I'll kill it now!"
"No, let me hear what it has to say first."
Accelerator was in disbelief that she still did not want to kill that demon in front of them after what it had done. He wanted to say something, but the look in her eyes was filled with determination. She really wanted to end this problem herself. He turned his electrode off as he clicked his tongue yet again.
"So, what did the devil tell you to do?" Ester questions Taowu.
"When the devil connected with me, the devil told me the way to accomplish the Rosenthal family's wish. And so, rejoice Ester. I will now achieve the Rosenthal family's wish."
Taowu then went nearer to Ester's face as it asked her,"Young Master, you do know what the Rosenthal family's wish is, right?"
Ester hesitated to answer, but she eventually replied with,"Yes, to create a perfect golem."
The word "golem" triggered something inside Accelerator. He had met a girl who also had something called a golem. The name of that golem was called "Ellis". That woman appeared after he got shot in the head, and it was on that day when he met Kazakiri Hyouka.
"It would seem you have not forgotten."
"Wait, what golem?" Accelerator asks.
"The Rosenthal's golem is different from the rock-golem that attacked this city a few days ago. The perfect golem is something those of us who were born Rosenthals were told since we were young. From times of old, we Rosenthals have tried numerous methods to create a golem. One day, our founder, Obed, came up with "necromancy", a method of making a golem using a dead body. However, the leaders disapproved that method, and exiled Obed. Then, his fourth generation heir, Isaac, encountered the Taoist jiangshi spell when he crossed over to the east and incorporated it, creating a new line of magic that would be called the Rosenthal style."
"Huh? Magic?" Accelerator thought as confusion struck him. This was the first time he heard of magic. To him, magic was another word of saying "fantasy" as it should have never existed. But now he was witnessing it. Moreover, it would explain the many things he had seen performed by Ester. Just where was he dragging himself into?
"Then, the fifth generation heir, Nathan, radically increased the quality of pseudo-souls, which produced talismans for Taowu, Taotie, Qiong Qi, and Hundun, the four Evil Spirits of the Numbers. But even at that, the Rosenthal family was far removed from its goal. What the Rosenthals were trying to create was a golem possessing a perfect body and soul. A being that would be on par with god."
"..."
Taowu then continued,"The devil told me: By repeatedly dying 10,000 times, the souls of men slowly evolve and reach Keter, the top-level of the Sephiroth tree. Also, that even pseudo-souls could also attain Keter by logging evidence of 10,000 deaths. And just now, the memories of 10,034 deaths were converted into a formula and became appended to the Sephirothic tree that makes up my pseudo-soul. Please celebrate. Sing songs of praise, twirl around, and dance. The 400-year-long wish of the Rosenthal family is coming to fruition."
"Stop! Don't mess with death anymore! I've that one should not keep using necromancy to tamper with death! I lost a friend, and when I tried to bring her back to life, I lost her again. No matter how hard I tried, I could not save her. We don't need devils or manufactured gods!"
The whole room went silent and Taowu only stared at Ester and then asked her one simple question,"Then, are you saying I should not carry out the directions of the self-proclaimed devil?"
"That's right, if I still have Adonai rights, then I command you to stop at once and come back to me!"
It seems this matter could still be settled in a more civilised manner. Only problem is, will Taowu listen? Will this demon, who has reached Keter, listen to its master who is just a mere mortal?
Taowu showed a sign of disappointment as it looked down and simply answered,"Yes, master Ester."
At that phrase, she heaved a sigh of relief and turned to Accelerator.
"It's over now, master."
"Tch, I'm not your master..." Accelerator replies, but he looks behind her, then asks her,"Is it really over?"
"Huh? What do you mean? Taowu just said it, didn't it?"
"The look on its face behind you doesn't tell me so."
Ester slowly looks behind her back and she was met with Taowu's grinning face, the widest smile anyone will ever see.
"Taowu...?"
"I was just kidding, "Adonai"! AHAHAHAHA!"
Ester was shocked, Accelerator wasn't surprised at this turn of events. It was natural to be betrayed in the dark side of Academy City. When you're in the dark side, you can't help but find tragedies in every corner, and that's why, it's a free-for-all in the dark side.
"I already have everything prepared. Why would I give up now? I'm going to keep on going until I reach Keter!"
Ester holds the dagger with her hands as her hand shivers.
"Oh, what's wrong? Can't bring yourself to stab your friend, "Adonai"? Aw, you're so simple, it's pathetic."
"Taowu...No, you're not Taowu. Who are you?"
Taowu sticks out it's grotesque tongue out from its mouth to reveal a talisman on its tongue.
"After 19 generations, has the Rosenthal bloodline really fallen this low? I had my soul merged with Taowu in its artificial soul. When I was ill and was on the brink of death, I used my son Nathan to transcribe myself onto Taowu before my soul could be injured."
"So you're the 4th generation heir, Isaac." Accelerator says.
"Oh? Even an outsider can figure it out. My, you're a disgrace to the family bloodline, Ester."
Then, a tentacle with jaws at the end, opened wide and produced a purple beam, at the same time, one of the tentacles threw a metal box down which produced steam in the air.
"While hiding inside Taowu, I made my way inside this girl, found about that coffin research, and when I learned of these clones with the memories of 10000 deaths. I knew that I could create a perfect vessel with a perfect soul."
Accelerator grabbed Ester and he pushed her onto the ground as he laid next to her.
"Don't daze around. We've got a disaster here. I have a plan that can end this."
"What is it?"
"I'll throw you to that annoying bastard, and all you have to do is stab that idiot. Think you can do it?"
"..." she was quiet. Showing signs of panic, she shivered. She was scared to kill her friend.
"What are you so scared for? I thought you wanted to end this?!" Accelerator pulls her collar up as he shouts at her. It was hypocritical of him to be telling her to end her fate.
He too, could not end his fate, he wanted to suffer. It was not because he relished in the suffering, but he just know that he could never forgive himself for what he did. Pure hatred for himself, and he saw his past in Ester.
He raises his hand and slaps her across the face.
It was time to wake her up.
"You wanted to free her, didn't you? It's not too late, just fucking put her out of it already!"
Ester's eyes opened wide, in realization, and she regained her courage. A spark of hope lit up in her eyes as she nods her head.
"Master...thank you very much! Please throw me!"
Accelerator switched his electrode on, as a faint smile formed on his lips. He took Ester by the collar and flung her to Taowu, exactly to where Taowu was.
Ester prepares the blade in her hand as she hangs it at the center of her chest. It was time...
As she neared, Taowu's face was in distress. It did not expect this sudden turn of events. Taowu extended it's hands out and shouted,"No, please! Not the Emperor Shun's blade!"
"Sorry, Hirumi, but this is for you! I'll save you and set you free!"
Ester stand Taowu in the chest, and Taowu looks at her, still keeping her shocked expression. She screamed in pain and agony as she squirms around.
"Th-This is impossible! I'm so close to reaching Keter! How could this happen?!"
"Heh, you're plans are too simple and too ambitious." Accelerator mocks Taowu, and at the final cry, Taowu's body slowly faded into dust. The blade fell out of it's body.
Accelerator switched his electrode back to 'normal', and he walks up to Ester, who was in tears.
"Tch, it's over already. Get over it."
Ester kept sobbing as she turns back and tugs on his pants and hugs it.
"*sigh* You're really hopeless..." Accelerator whispers, but then, he realized something weird. The tentacles in the whole room were still alive and moving.
However, the most shocking thing was, the Emperor Shun's blade was missing from where it had dropped!
"Did Ester take it back?" He wonders, however, that was not the case as the whole place rumbled up and many Taowu figures appeared around them.
"Tch, what now?"
He turns to face them all.
"Ahahahaha! For someone so arrogant, you really don't have anything to back it up with! Did you really think you could kill me that easily?!"
The voice came from all the Taowu's who were grinning at them.
"Huh? How are you still alive?!" Ester gets up as she shouts.
"Let me ask you something. Did you really think I would let myself get carelessly stabbed by the Emperor Shun's blade?"
"You mean...that wasn't you?!"
"Of course it wasn't! My god, the Rosenthal's have really fallen down to stupidity. Well, it doesn't matter, as I'm back and am here to reclaim my throne. I've reached immortality, and I will repopulate this place to my liking! I will make a world full of dead people!"
"Stop, don't do it! Please, I'm begging you!"
"Too late, once I get rid of you, I'll make the perfect golem!"
The whole place rumbles again as the tentacles reach out and fill the whole place.
The #1 clicks his tongue as he prepares his crutch, and does a bit of testing with his left hand. He touched one of the tentacles, and it disappeared into nothing.
"I got it." He tells himself, and then he turns to Ester, "Oi, let's get moving."
"To where? And how?"
"Just follow me."
Taowu was long gone as she moved through the floors in a beanstalk-like manner.
"You got anything you can still use to fight?" Accelerator asks her.
"Uhm...I have a talisman that allows us to jump high, and that's all."
Accelerator was still confused about the magic part, but he continued,"Then that's fine. How many do you have?"
"5."
"More than enough."
He smirks as he switches his electrode back on and blasted a hole through the roof of the building using a rock. The height to reach Taowu was far. Really far. About a 1000m jump.
"Use one now, quick."
"Yes, master."
Ester throws one of the talismans on the ground and a magic circle appeared and he stepped on it while manipulating the vectors around them, he blasts through the roof, with wind blowing past his face and hair, with Ester holding on to him tightly.
When they reached Taowu, he immediately turns his electrode off.
"Less than 10 seconds..."
Accelerator has to use his power sparingly now. Now, he has to rely on the power that resides in his left hand.
He taps his crutch on the ground as he faces Taowu.
"In the end, I'm still doing this shit myself. Tch." Accelerator whispers.
"Oh, welcome welcome! You've made it here quite quickly. I was about to start devouring people."
"Your shit ends here. It's the end of the road for you."
"No, it's the end of the road for you, mere mortals!"
One of the tentacles face them as a beam appeared in its mouth and it launches the beam towards them. Accelerator reached out his left hand and the attack was immediately blocked as it collided with his hand. There was no heat, no pain in his hand. It felt natural.
"I get it now. This shit cancels out abilities. Seems troublesome..."
He looks down at his left hand.
"...but, I can deal with it." He says as he looks back up to Isaac, gathering up even more courage than before.
"Because if I don't, that girl...no, those girls will never find happiness. I know being a hero doesn't suit me, I don't deserve the position of a hero. That's why, I'll only do what I do best, being a fucking piece of shit of a villain."
Accelerator throws his crutch away as he gathers whatever strength he has in his legs. The thing is, that crutch, is supposed to help him walk, but because of its heavy weight, he got used to walking around for quite a bit.
"Only for a short while..." he thought, then he turns to Ester and tells her,"Throw those shit below my feet, I have a plan."
Multiple tentacles stretch out for them, but he taps them with his left hand and after clearing the wave, he runs towards Isaac as a talisman appeared right in front of him. He jumps on it, and since this was the first time he used it without the use of his powers, his legs crippled immediately under the pressure.
"Fuck!" He curses as he lands next to Isaac and then, he turns his electrode on and tears apart Isaac's right and left arm, then he proceeded to put his left hand into Isaac's mouth.
"Oh, fucking disgusting!" Accelerator showed a bitter face as he reaches in.
"Whag ghe fug ark youk doink?!" Isaac fumbles with his words because of the hand inside his mouth.
Suddenly, the sound of glass breaking could be heard, and Isaac's body went limp. At the same time, Accelerator's time had run out, and he drops to his knees as he slowly falls down the slope.
"Master!" Ester shouts as she runs to him. She holds him in her arms as she shakes him.
His eyes were still open and he was breathing and that made her felt relieved. She exhales as she smiles at her Master.
"Thank you, master. I'm so glad I met you."
Then she looks at Hirumi's dead body and tells her,"And I too, am glad to have met you and Hishigata, Hirumi. Thank you for the memories."
Cracks started appearing on Hirumi's body, as she comes apart like a mannequin. A seal only dropped out of her body and landed on Accelerator's body. Ester takes the seal and keeps it into her pocket.
This situation was supposed to be relieving for Ester, however, now the whole body of the plant-like figure started rumbling and glowing now. At first, she thought it was Taowu coming back to life, however, the seal just dropped, which meant it was not a resurrection.
A huge ball of energy accumulated at the place where Hirumi's body once was.
"No way..." Ester didn't know what to do, she could only stare at her impending doom. She wasn't strong enough to carry Accelerator's body. But even if she was, jumping down from that height is also suicide.
This was not how she wanted it to end. She wanted a happy ending with her and her master, going back home and having fun again. But the blast will surely kill them. The Sephiroth tree stood proud above the blast.
The blast rumbled the whole of Academy City.
"What do I do? Master...please help me. I'm helpless..." tears flowed down her cheeks again as she holds Accelerator tight in her arms.
Accelerator couldn't understand her this whole time, but, what he did know was that she was suffering.
"Master, I...I...want power! If only I had power, I could have done this myself. You wouldn't have to suffer!"
He couldn't understand her, but her incessant shouting told him everything. She was desperate. From the corner of his eye, he saw what was causing her to feel despair.
That energy.
That light.
He moved.
"Save her." Was the only thing he could think of.
At that moment, he didn't know why he was acting for her. She was no one special. Her problem was not his. Maybe it was not her, but the fact that Last Order was still in the building with them that drove him to his current position.
He moved his left hand to face the energy, he turned his body to it as he pushed Ester away.
"Master! Please, no more! You've done enough. I'm sorry for dragging my problems to you! I'm sorry that I brought Last Order pain! I'm sorry!"
All she could do was apologize.
Apologizing was the only thing she could do.
Ester hugged his limp body on the ground, and she sat him up.
"If I die, I want to at least die with the person I—"
Her words were overpowered by the blast and when it slowly reached them, Accelerator placed his left hand on it and it stopped momentarily, in his ears, all he could hear was the constant sound of glass shattering.
It shattered and shattered and then, until it could not handle anymore...
A dull sound broke out.
It failed to negate, and his hand was swallowed up by the light.
When that happened, he knew this was it. This was the end of the road.
However...
He was not dead.
In fact, time had stopped.
All he could hear were the muffled sounds of someone speaking. Not Ester, but from someone else.
He had no idea what that person was saying. But by the time it had stopped talking, a veil of darkness covered the blast and it slowly shrunk in size. That darkness flowed out from his left hand.
Was he mistaken about something? Was the power he had assumed, something sinister?
He was afraid that he might have became too powerful already. Was he about to go on another killing spree on accident?
This outraged him. But he could do nothing in his current state, and he blacked out before he could see the conclusion.
Ester was confused at what had happened. But she knew that her master had pulled off another miracle.
"Thank you master...thank you so much..." She embraces him and holds him tightly to her.
She splits open his lips as her lips met his.