Chapter 32: A Satisfying Battle
In Su Xiao's mind, he conceptualized Accelerator's ability as damage reflection + kinetic energy manipulation + kinetic energy control, which made it easier to devise countermeasures.
After reflecting Su Xiao's powerless punch, Accelerator stomped the ground beneath him, sending a powerful surge of kinetic energy spreading outward across the surface.
Su Xiao had been hit by this move five times before, so the moment Accelerator bent one leg, he leaped half a meter into the air on the spot.
The shockwave spread. As Su Xiao's feet touched the ground, successfully dodging the attack, his left fist swung toward Accelerator's jaw. This might seem like an imitation of the original story's Kinuhata Saiai's method, but in reality, it was not.
With this punch, Su Xiao used full force. The moment his fist touched Accelerator's skin, a tremendous force rebounded.
Bang!
The energy shield wrapped around Su Xiao's fist shattered. Cracks appeared on the bones of his hand, and his body was pushed backward by the reflected kinetic energy.
Su Xiao forcefully shifted his center of gravity downward. With a rumble, his feet sank into the alloy floor, and a large section of the alloy ground behind him was torn up.
Enduring the impact with his body, Su Xiao felt soreness and swelling throughout his entire body, but his eyes remained fixed on Accelerator.
Accelerator knew this couldn't continue. Although he didn't understand what his enemy was trying to do, he absolutely could not engage in close combat with such a dangerous opponent.
Su Xiao threw his third punch, this time with his right hand. The punch was extremely fast, almost leaving afterimages in the air.
As his fist touched Accelerator's skin, Accelerator instinctively used his ability. However, the faint red mist that had been surrounding him surged, causing him a momentary lapse in concentration, as if his brain had frozen from fear.
Seeing this, Su Xiao's eyes lit up. He had tried three times, and finally triggered one effect of Aura Release: when an enemy is in a state of panic, there is an 8% chance that their skill activation will fail.
Superpowers were also considered skills. When reviewing the information on Mugino Shizuri earlier, Su Xiao had already noticed this point. And now, Accelerator's ability activation had failed, even if only for a moment.
Bang!
Su Xiao punched Accelerator squarely on the jaw. The reason he used his fist instead of a blade was that his fist could more accurately sense whether Accelerator's ability had failed.
With Su Xiao's formidable physical attributes, the result of such a punch was predictable.
The fist struck Accelerator's jaw with brutal force. The bones of his jaw began to twist, deform, and finally shatter.
With a cracking sound, shredded flesh and teeth flew everywhere. Su Xiao's fist was stained with blood. Accelerator's face from the nose down was completely crushed, and his neck was twisted into an unnatural angle.
"Huff..."
Accelerator's eyes rolled white. Despite taking such a heavy punch, he didn't lose consciousness. The mutated intelligence attribute of a Level 5 esper was strong; they weren't easily knocked out. His hand reached forward, pressing toward Su Xiao's chest, intending to take Su Xiao down with him.
In his hazy consciousness, Accelerator suddenly thought of one thing: the ten thousand or so Misaka Sisters he had killed—did they feel the same way before death? Just as much pain? No, they should have felt even more pain. Sometimes, when he was in a bad mood, he would torture those Misaka Sisters, using many methods to torment them.
For some reason, Accelerator had a "ridiculous" thought: that he deserved this retribution. He didn't dare to resist fate, so he vented the injustice of fate on a group of innocent clones. But before facing his punishment, he wanted to take his enemy down with him!
Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in Su Xiao's hand. He had just landed a heavy blow on Accelerator, who would be stunned for at least 3 to 5 seconds.
The long blade slashed down. Blood splattered several meters away. Clean and decisive.
With a thud, Accelerator's body hit the ground. His arm remained extended forward, clearly indicating that his attempt to die together with Su Xiao had failed.
After taking such a heavy punch from Su Xiao, Accelerator's jaw was completely shattered, and his spine was dislocated. In this state, even performing complex calculations was impossible, let alone concentrating enough to take his enemy down with him.
[You have killed Accelerator (Level 5 Esper).]
[Accelerator is a secondary plot character (has not awakened the power of fate).]
[Accelerator is ranked first among Level 5 Espers. Obtained World Source 10.2%. Total World Source obtained: 29.22%.]
[Your talent 'Soul Devourer' has activated. Permanently increased Mana Points by 30. Current maximum Mana Points: 3208.]
[You have obtained a Treasure Chest (Gold).]
[Prompt: Achievement Quest: Sky-Shattering Surge completion +10% (Currently 40% completed).]
...
Beside Accelerator's corpse, a gold treasure chest lay quietly on the ground. The feeling of fighting Accelerator was unexpectedly satisfying for Su Xiao. Both sides aimed to kill each other—that was their common ground. However, Accelerator's will to kill was somewhat unsteady; he seemed a bit lost. Su Xiao, on the other hand, was completely unwavering because he had his own goals and principles. He did not reject killing enemies, but he would not blindly slaughter, as that would cause his will to become increasingly unsteady, turning him into a purposeless, deranged murderer. Of course, Su Xiao had the awareness that he might be killed by someone else one day. That was the rule: while killing enemies, he also had to bear the risk of being killed.
Just as Su Xiao was about to walk toward the gold treasure chest, footsteps came from behind him.
Clap, clap, clap...
Sparse applause sounded. A boy with dead fish eyes walked over from a distance.
"An exciting battle. If I'm not mistaken, you used some kind of skill to temporarily interrupt Accelerator's superpower. With Accelerator's weak constitution, once he can't use his superpower, even a moment is fatal."
The dead fish-eyed boy smiled, standing not far away. There was a symbol on his forehead. Su Xiao recognized this symbol—it represented Pride.
"Of course."
Another female voice came. A girl in a school uniform walked out of a pitch-black laboratory.
"Accelerator's ability can be countered, but there aren't many who have the power to kill him."
The girl stood near the dead fish-eyed boy. There was also a symbol on her forehead, this one representing Envy.
"It seems Accelerator was in your way. Given the situation earlier, one of you had to die."
A slightly chubby middle-aged man walked over. The symbol on his forehead represented Sloth.
"Hunter sir, based on my continuous observation, there is an 80% or higher probability that you are executing a promotion task to the third rank. In most cases, promotion tasks are not carried out within derivative worlds, but considering that the last world was a war world, this is not unusual, and there have been many precedents."
This time, a seductive woman appeared. The emotion she represented was Lust.
"There are only four derivative worlds that can execute third-rank promotion tasks. The Toaru Majutsu no Index world is the most common one. And the promotion tasks in the Toaru world come in three types: first, survival in the Middle East; second, the Magic Side's Orteranica Sword; third, the Academy City's Last Codex. Among these, obtaining the Last Codex is the easiest, but the task difficulty is the highest, after all, you have to operate under Aleister's nose."
A round, chubby little fat man walked over. He represented Gluttony.
Pride, Envy, Sloth, Lust, and Gluttony had all appeared. Only Wrath and Greed were missing.
"You have no intention of leaving Academy City, which means your task is the Last Codex."
A gaunt man walked out. He represented Greed.
"Unfortunately, because I was too wary of Aleister, I was a step too late. If I could have obtained the Last Codex earlier, I would have had more schemes."
A muscular man with bulging muscles walked out. He represented Wrath.
The seven people representing the seven deadly sins all appeared. They spoke in unison.
"Hunter sir, first meeting. I am Sin Seven Lust. Let's... make a deal. A deal beneficial to both of us."
All seven bowed to Su Xiao. An abnormal violator had 'appeared,' yet Su Xiao received no prompts. This indicated that the seven who had appeared were not the true body of Sin Seven Lust.
Sin Seven Lust might not be the strongest violator Su Xiao had ever encountered, but they were the most mysterious. This was the second time they had proactively contacted Su Xiao.
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