"Well then... what other tricks do you have up your sleeves?"
Homura Akemi felt a heavy weight settling in her chest as she listened to the cold, clinical voice of the man standing before them.
She and Miyu had been moving toward the center of the recent disturbance, sensing the energy of an ongoing battle. But before they could even get close, they had encountered the one opponent they had most hoped to avoid.
Berserker... Accelerator!
'Our attacks... they won't even reach him.'
Miyu stared at the approaching figure, her mind a blank slate of frustration.
She had already attempted to channel the capabilities of "Shirou Emiya" and "Sakuya Izayoi," yet even their legendary powers had failed to leave a single scratch on this man.
If anything, the opponent seemed designed specifically to neutralize their entire offensive strategy.
"Good grief..."
"We really ran into him again, didn't we?"
"And here I thought the recent [Time Stop] meant the others were finally busy with each other."
At that moment, a small figure dropped from the sky, landing with a heavy thud on the pavement. Accelerator's eyes tracked the newcomer with disinterested curiosity.
It was a young boy, carrying an older teenager on his back.
THUD!
The impact of the boy's feet shattered the concrete beneath him, sending a small tremor through the street.
Subaru Natsuki hopped down from Goku's back, his expression one of pure, unadulterated dread as he locked eyes with Accelerator.
If he had his choice, he would avoid this "Legendary" powerhouse at all costs.
Unlike Goku, whose strength was rooted in an almost divine physical ceiling, Accelerator's threat was far more insidious. It lay in the absolute utility of his [Vector Manipulation].
Accelerator's greatest "Weakness" was typically his vulnerability to a first time ambush or a trick that bypassed his calculations.
But the "Problem" was whether such a thing even existed in this city.
If you presented him with a concept or a force that exceeded his ability to calculate, he was theoretically quite easy to manage.
But without that specific key, he was a walking fortress that no physical force could hope to breach.
"Ah... we really need a proper Magus to deal with a guy like him."
"But unfortunately, we're a bit short on 'Traditional' magic users at the moment."
Subaru leaned a hand on Kid Goku's shoulder, his mind racing as he tried to formulate a plan that wasn't just "Running Away."
'If only Ainz or Tanya were here... this would be so much simpler.'
He couldn't help but sigh at the thought of his absent comrades.
"Are we going to fight him?"
Kid Goku looked back at Subaru, his head tilted to the side in confusion.
"Well... it doesn't look like we have much of a choice."
"Goku, you have to be extra careful with this one. A normal punch isn't going to touch him. In fact, it might just break your own arm."
While the logical move would be to grab Homura and Miyu and flee immediately...
Subaru knew Accelerator wouldn't just let them walk away. The man had the pursuit capabilities of a heat-seeking missile.
The best chance they had was to stall him here, forcing him to abandon the chase.
But Homura, Miyu, Subaru, and Kid Goku lacked a fundamental "Counter" to his [Vector Manipulation]. It was a stalemate where the opponent held all the cards.
'But maybe... just maybe...'
Driven by a sense of desperation, Subaru decided to let Goku try to "Break the Logic."
Despite his young age, "Goku" possessed a preternatural instinct for combat that often defied established rules.
Perhaps he could find a crack in the armor that Subaru's analytical mind was missing.
"Eh? What do you mean?"
Goku's confusion was genuine as he looked at the scrawny, pale-haired man.
"Well... if you get close to him, you'll feel like you're being pushed away by an invisible wall..."
"Oh! Is it his [Ki]?"
"No... it's something completely different."
Watching the two of them chat as if they were discussing the weather, Accelerator didn't wait for the punchline. He gave the ground a sharp, calculated kick.
CRACK!
The pavement was instantly uprooted, slabs of stone surging forward like a massive wave to crush the group.
BOOM!
The attack failed to leave a mark. Goku simply unleashed a light, focused punch, vaporizing the oncoming debris before it could even get close.
'This brat...'
Accelerator's eyes narrowed as he focused on the boy. He hadn't underestimated the newcomer from the start.
To be selected as a Servant, one had to possess a core of exceptional power.
Even a child could be a monster in this war.
WHOOSH!
CLAP!
Accelerator compressed the surrounding air into a localized tornado, but Goku merely clapped his hands together with enough force to create a counter-pressure wave that dissipated the wind instantly.
THUD!
Before Accelerator could launch a follow-up, he felt a sudden weight against his [Reflection] field.
The boy's speed was absurd. Accelerator hadn't even perceived the movement.
"Ehh..."
"I really can't get past it!"
Goku's hands and feet were pressed against the empty air as if he were glued to an invisible wall. His expression was one of pure, wide-eyed curiosity.
But in the next heartbeat, he was hurled backward by the reflected force.
CRASH!
The boy's body slammed through a nearby wall, the impact collapsing the upper floors of the building.
Homura Akemi watched the scene with a tightening in her chest. She had witnessed the boy's incredible performance earlier, but if even he was powerless against Berserker...
Then retreat was no longer a choice, it was a necessity.
Subaru was reaching the same conclusion. Standard physical combat was meaningless against [Reflection]. And if they started using [Ki] or magical energy, it could easily spiral into a situation that endangered the entire district.
"Subaru Natsuki..."
"What is it?"
Miyu's voice was low and serious, her eyes fixed on the pale-haired man.
"Could you explain the underlying logic of Berserker's ability in as much detail as you can?"
She was looking at him with an intensity that suggested she was hunting for a specific piece of information.
"Well... I only really know the broad strokes. The mechanics are way over my head."
"That's fine. Tell me what you know. Perhaps one of the records within [Sakatsuki] has a way to bypass it."
"Really? Alright, here's what I've got."
Step... step...
'?'
Accelerator watched the two of them whispering in the background. He was about to close the distance when he heard a noise from his flank.
The boy had emerged from the rubble, seemingly unscathed.
'His body shouldn't be able to handle that kind of feedback...'
Once again, Goku lunged at the [Reflection] field. It was a reckless, desperate gamble that Accelerator found difficult to comprehend.
Usually, when someone touched his field, their limbs were twisted into scrap or their internal organs were shattered by the reflected kinetic energy.
Yet this boy... after being "Reflected," he simply shook it off as if it were a mild annoyance.
THUD! THUD!
Goku began to tap against the invisible wall with his small fists. The redness of his skin showed that he was definitely feeling the feedback, yet he seemed more intrigued than pained.
"It feels like there's a wall I just can't see..."
He landed back on the pavement, staring at his reddened hands as he tried to conceptualize a solution.
'Strong.'
Accelerator made his assessment based on the feedback from the field.
If this kid wasn't a physical enhancement specialist, then his natural constitution was nothing short of legendary.
He realized that simply using the environment as a weapon--shaking the ground or manipulating the wind--would never be enough to truly threaten a monster like this.
Those were macro-level physical attacks. A being of this caliber could weather them indefinitely.
Perhaps the only way to kill him was to get into close quarters and force a reversal of his blood flow.
"I see..."
"So he uses his brain to calculate the necessary vectors for every physical interaction, and then forms a corresponding [Reflection] field..."
"And that 'Air Wall' is simply the physical manifestation of those calculations."
Miyu listened to Subaru's explanation of [Vector Manipulation] with the focus of a born scholar. Even if the details were fuzzy, she was a genius who could extrapolate the core principles from the available data.
"If that's the case... then that person's ability might actually work."
"With the support of Lancer's constitution, we might finally be able to break through Berserker's [Reflection]..."
Homura and Subaru both looked at her in surprise. The sheer confidence in her voice was staggering.
Miyu called her Stand, [Sakatsuki], back to her side.
With a silent command, she channeled the essence of a specific record into the Stand.
The manifestation blurred into a stream of pure, golden light, surging forward to merge directly into Kid Goku's body.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]