When Amai Ao heard the result—that the "Armed Forces" would not be coming—he took a frightened step back. But then, the reality of his situation crashed down on him. If the plan was delayed or failed, he wouldn't be able to repay the massive loan he took out to fund the Radio Noise Project. Without the patent money from the Level 6 Shift, he would be ruined.
Fear turned into hysterical courage. "So you're just going to watch the experiment be shelved?!" Amai roared, veins bulging in his neck. "Didn't you come here to protect the plan?! What's the point of you if you do nothing?!"
"Who do you think you're talking to? Huh?" Kihara Amata grinned contemptuously. He stepped forward, invading Amai's personal space. His eyes were filled with pure, unfiltered malice.
"Ahhh..." Amai's courage evaporated. He collapsed onto the floor, trembling.
Kihara crouched down, his mechanical gloves whirring softly. "Amai Ao. You just need to obediently follow the orders of the General Board. You don't need to worry about anything else, understand?" He patted Amai's cheek—hard. "You're just a disposable middle manager. Academy City has plenty of people like you. You can be replaced anytime. So don't take yourself too seriously. Just behave yourself. Understood?"
Amai scrambled to his feet, terror and humiliation burning in his chest. He turned and fled the office without a word.
"Tch! A complete idiot who doesn't understand his own worth," Kihara spat disdainfully, returning to his manicure.
...
The Hallway.
Amai Ao strode forward, breathing heavily. "Damn it! Damn it all! The General Board is treating me like a fool! They want me to be burdened with insurmountable debt! Those vampires... they're in cahoots with the banks!"
The thought of the penalties, the debt collectors, and the ruin of his life drove him to the edge. "Fine. Since you want my life to rot... I won't let you get away with it." A glint of madness appeared in his eyes. "The Experimental Data. The Tree Diagram's calculations. The genetic map of the Railgun."
Amai decided. He would steal the data—the Remnant. He would flee Academy City and sell it to a hostile organization like Science Guardian. If he was going down, he was taking their secrets with him.
...
District 2. The Nuclear Shelter.
Deep underground, in a facility designed to withstand a nuclear strike, a man sat on a reinforced sofa. He was wearing a massive, high-tech Powered Suit (HsPS-15). He never took it off, not even to sleep. Shiokishi. One of the Twelve Directors of the General Board. The man in charge of the military and military research.
He held an old-fashioned telephone receiver to the helmet of his suit. "Yes! Proceed with the experiment as described," his deep, synthesized voice boomed. "The process isn't important. Only the yield counts. Ensure the cover story is reasonable. The rest is up to you. Don't disappoint me."
He hung up the phone. He picked up a stack of documents from the table. The photo on the file was of a young man with black hair.
[Subject: Takahashi Yuuya]
* Affiliation: A Certain High School, Class 1-7.
* Classification: Suspected Gemstone.
* Abilities: Move Point, Electro Master, Physical Enhancement, Suspected Copying, World Rejecter.
* Threat Assessment: S-Class.
"Hmm..." Shiokishi tapped the armored finger on the desk. "Aleister... this must be your arrangement, right? You opened the green channel for the Level 6 Shift Project. Is this boy part of your plan again?"
He was one of the few who knew about Aleister's true nature and his war against the Magic Side. He knew Misaka Mikoto was a cornerstone. "The number of Misaka Sisters is clearly insufficient. Is Aleister trying to force an evolution through conflict?"
Buzz...
The phone rang again. Shiokishi picked it up instantly.
"Shiokishi," a mechanical voice spoke. "Unfortunately, the plan has encountered unexpected problems. To ensure the Misaka Sisters are successfully manufactured... you need to cooperate with Takahashi."
"Aleister? Is this really your doing?" Shiokishi asked, surprised. "Why the rush? Reallocating resources so quickly is difficult."
"Heh. Unfortunately, this isn't my doing," Aleister replied cryptically. "Although... it doesn't matter if you know or not. It's better for you to remain ignorant."
Shiokishi's eyes widened behind his helmet visor. He had been with Aleister for years. This was the first time he had heard a hint of... compromise?
"I understand. But who exactly is this Takahashi?" Shiokishi pressed. "Even if he's a trump card you've cultivated, it's impossible for me to be completely unaware of such an existence. Tell me."
"His identity is not something you are qualified to know," Aleister said coldly. "Just understand that he is very important to Academy City. More important than you. And carries more weight in my plan than you. Remember that."
Shiokishi felt a chill that penetrated his climate-controlled suit. "You mean... even if it's necessary, you would use me as an expendable pawn for him?"
"You misunderstand, my friend." Aleister's voice was devoid of malice, which made it worse. "You are not even qualified to be an expendable pawn."
Click.
The call ended. Shiokishi sat in silence. "...Heh. I'm not even qualified to be a pawn?" He laughed self-deprecatingly. "I always thought I was your partner. Turns out I was just deceiving myself."
He looked at the file of Takahashi Yuuya again. "Another anomaly like 'Imagine Breaker'? This Academy City... even after being a Director for so many years, I still can't see through the darkness."
...
District 7.
Suzushina Yuriko (Accelerator) clicked her tongue. She didn't wait for the clone to arrive. The research institute had called: The plan has encountered an obstacle. Take a day off.
"How boring. Tsk!" She walked with her hands in her pockets, slouching. Her mind was a mess of complex emotions ever since she learned the truth—that the Sisters were brainwashed puppets, not just dolls.
She felt like a fool. "How could such a good thing exist in this world? Becoming Level 6? Absolute Power? I'm so stupid," she muttered, kicking a can. "Anyone trying to get close to me is either trying to use me or kill me to claim the Number One title."
"Level 6... Ha. I'm so naive. So easily fooled. Even if I become a Level 6, as long as I'm in a place like Academy City, nothing changes. The darkness just gets deeper."
Suddenly, Yuriko stopped. Someone was waiting for her under the streetlight ahead. A boy in a white lab coat. Seeing him, she clenched her fist, instinctively calculating vectors. But then she relaxed, her expression returning to one of world-weary boredom.
"Waiting here deliberately to see me make a fool of myself?" She sneered. "Level 6?"
....
.....
.....
Early access to advance chapters on immortaldaowriter.gumroad.com