Reiko's face flushed slightly, her body curling in on itself almost imperceptibly. Her restless hands instinctively moved to smooth down a few stray strands of her own disheveled hair.
Two similar hearts thumped in unison, a primal tension washing over them and dulling the anger that had burned there monts before.
Even though she knew full well those pitch-black projectiles couldn't really harm her, Natsu-san's heart still fluttered with a trace of panic each ti one whistled past her.
It wasn't about the actual outco—most of those shots were never going to hit her—it was just human instinct.
Natsu-san did her best to calm herself, to trust the calculations completely and avoid any unexpected deviations.
"Those dark energy masses are part of the AIM diffusion field itself. To excise them, I'd need to sever their connection to Misaka-senpai as well."
"But a full-area bombardnt to physically remove them is impossible; the sphere's volu alone is beyond my ability's scope. The most feasible plan still hinges on Misaka-senpai herself… aning the real target for excision should be her," Natsu Sonoko thought.
Dodging two more attacks in quick succession, she darted through the temporary safe zone carved out by her own ltdowner beams.
Only a few seconds had passed since the direct confrontation began, yet she had already closed the distance by ten ters, inching ever closer to Misaka Mikoto.
Even confident in her own surgical precision, Natsu-san maintained extre caution, continuously refining her surgical plan in her mind.
Nothing in life was a hundred percent guaranteed. Beyond thorough preparation, one could only hope for a stroke of that elusive thing called luck.
The young bun-lady coordinated her normal vision with her new perceptual sense, her brain rapidly processing a kaleidoscope of bizarre scenes into coherent, understandable images.
In Natsu-san's mind, Misaka-senpai had transford into a person embedded within a bubble of AIM diffusion fields.
Parts of this bubble had even morphed from their original state, evolving into various tools attached to Misaka-senpai's form—like the strange wings sprouting from her back, or the three angelic rings extending from her forehead.
Near these rings, two distinct types of AIM fields fused into one, acting like a compass needle, constantly drawing energy from the phase of the field.
This rged energy was then channeled into the dark sphere.
Having clearly mapped the real-ti distribution of the AIM field, Natsu-san felt a surge of confidence.
First, separate Misaka-senpai from the dark energy sphere.
Then, sever the connection between the Misaka Network and Misaka-senpai.
While there was a logical sequence, the "surgery" could be perford simultaneously.
To prevent the negative energy from backlash affecting her senpai, Natsu-san needed to ticulously orchestrate the exact steps of the procedure.
"Accelerator's containing the bulk of Misaka-senpai's energy output. Otherwise, the bombardnt would be far more intense than this."
As a white beam ahead obliterated a corrupted version of a Railgun shot, clearing the last of this wave's assault, Natsu-san gained a clearer understanding of the limits of what Misaka-senpai could currently throw at her.
This intelligence significantly hastened Natsu-san's advance, allowing her to see through the Personal Reality of this semi-finished Level 6.
Even if Misaka-senpai could handle two Level 5s, the amount of force she allocated to counter each was different.
Accelerator, who was shaking the very foundation of the dark sphere, naturally drew the majority of her power. Natsu-san, who chose to avoid the sphere and whose movents were relatively less aggressive, was relegated to second priority.
Furthermore, Natsu-san had never intended to get within a hundred ters of Misaka-senpai, currently hovering around two hundred ters away.
This paled in comparison to Accelerator's head-on, point-blank assault. The difference in proximity also translated to a difference in the level of attention they received.
In a way, this was another form of Accelerator drawing fire for her.
Lacking sufficient adaptability and cognitive ability in her current state, the present Misaka-senpai couldn't discern the true intentions of her two opponents.
Or perhaps, simply no one knew what Natsu-san was planning, so there was no reason for special counterasures.
"Open your eyes wide and look properly! Standing before you is Accelerator!"
Accelerator tore through the dark dinsion, charging straight up to Misaka Mikoto. A fist the size of a small pot shot directly towards the luminous figure that seed to contain a vast sea of stars.
The intense aura radiating from the veteran villain forced even the Level 6 to montarily recoil.
But the fist stopped just short, grazing Misaka-senpai's cheek before smashing into the wings behind her.
Upon contact with his skin, the wings physically shattered, their energy scattering uncontrollably and leaving a large, chaotic void.
The tornado-like wings he'd used for propulsion were utterly shredded during his advance. Using the recoil from his punch, he pushed himself back, putting a stable distance between them.
The overly frequent use of his ability was taking its toll; Accelerator's breathing grew increasingly ragged, starting to affect his condition.
'The last ti I was this embarrassing… must've been that pitch-black night, when I ran an oddly high fever for half the night.'
This sudden turn of events was more or less within expectations, yet the bun-girl felt her eyelid twitching uncontrollably.
Accelerator's actions had severely disrupted the AIM field environnt around Misaka-senpai, causing large swathes of static in Natsu-san's new perception.
This disruption brought a flood of minute changes, forcing Natsu-san to readjust her surgical plan once again.
Truthfully, this kind of adjustnt was also within Natsu-san's anticipations, as these field aggregates were in a constant state of flux themselves.
It was at this mont, however, that Natsu-san glimpsed sothing, though it pertained more to Accelerator himself.
Accelerator's reflection was powerful, but it certainly wasn't insurmountable.
Overwhelming it through sheer volu of attacks was theoretically possible—it would just require an astronomical amount of computational power.
Moreover, if one could find the equilibrium point of his reflection's activation, attacking each ti with the minimum necessary energy while covering the maximum possible surface area of his skin, that astronomical figure could probably be compressed.
Just how much it could be compressed depended on one's understanding of Accelerator.
With the loss of her wings, the defenses on Misaka-senpai's back were suddenly laid bare.
While Natsu-san didn't need to confront her senpai face-to-face, this still reduced the potential resistance she might face when extracting her.
Thanks to Accelerator's forceful suppression, the scattered Railgun shots that had been pinning Natsu-san down largely dissipated. A period of defensive weakness erged as Misaka-senpai diverted more firepower to deal with the imdiate threat right in front of her.
Natsu-san let out a quiet sigh of relief, pushing forward successively through the dark sphere's peripheral radiation until her ability could finally reach Misaka-senpai.
"Let ltdowner end this."
Natsu-san's red eyes, back in her original body, locked onto Misaka-senpai a hundred ters away.
Before Accelerator could launch another attack, Natsu-san acted decisively.
Hundreds of pale white beams materialized simultaneously from all directions around Misaka-senpai, instantly piercing through vast clusters of the aggregated AIM diffusion field.
-- --
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.
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