In Academy City, the Paradise Project begins.

Page 87

Accelerator roared, his right fist carrying terrifying kinetic energy enough to collapse a building, tearing through the air and slamming into Higashino's face!

He's going to personally crush this bastard! To prove that he's the absolute strongest being!

However, just as that devastating fist was about to touch Higashino Yu's nose...

boom! ! !

A dull, heart-pounding bang exploded!

Higashino's movements were so fast that they defied visual perception, as if he had simply lifted his leg casually.

That foot, clad in an ordinary sneaker, arrived first despite being behind, carrying an indescribable "inevitability" as if space itself were making way for it, bypassing the reflection of vectors, and imprinting itself with perfect precision on the abdomen of Yifangtongxing!

"Ugh—!"

Accelerator's fury froze instantly, replaced by extreme pain and horror.

He felt an overwhelming, incomprehensible force pierce through his proud vector reflection barrier!

That wasn't kinetic energy, it wasn't thermal energy, it wasn't any form of energy he was familiar with! The feeling... was as if the very "direction" he relied on for survival had been forcibly distorted and denied!

He was thrown backwards like a baseball hit head-on by a bull in a Spanish bullring!

Boom! ! !

The figure of the driver crashed hard into the tunnel wall dozens of meters away, and the hard concrete instantly cracked and dented, forming a huge spider web-like pit.

Higashino can guarantee that he absolutely did not intentionally knock him into the wall. It's just that the space is so small, isn't it normal for him to fly out and get embedded in the wall?

A burst of rubble and dust engulfed his disheveled figure. He struggled to get up, but coughed up a mouthful of blood.

His eyes were filled with unprecedented confusion and pain. His proud, absolute defense had failed?!

"Yu!" "Senior!"

Almost simultaneously, two exclamations filled with different emotions rang out.

Misaka Mikoto's cries were filled with sobs and unbelievable elation, while Uiharu Kazari's voice was trembling with relief and anxious concern.

Mikoto rushed to Higashino's side first, her hands frantically groping his body, her eyes brimming with tears, her voice trembling uncontrollably:

"Yu! Are you...are you alright?! Was that...was that fake? Are you hurt? Let me see!"

She anxiously examined his chest, abdomen, and arms, her undisguised worry and concern almost overflowing.

Following closely behind, Haru Kazari also pounced on the other side of Higashino. She wasn't as imposing as Mikoto, but her concern was just as intense.

Her little hands gripped Higashino's arm tightly, her face filled with surprise as she asked repeatedly, "Senpai! Senpai! Does it hurt? Are you hurt anywhere? I was so scared... so scared..."

Although she felt relieved to see that Higashino was safe and sound, her long-held worries still brought tears to her eyes.

Once she was certain that Higashino was truly unharmed, glistening tears streamed down her cheeks, and she finally felt relieved.

Higashino felt a warmth in his heart as he sensed the distinct yet equally sincere concern emanating from both sides.

He looked down at the anxious Mikoto, his gaze softening; then he looked at Haru, who was crying from excessive fear and worry, his eyes filled with comfort.

He gently pulled away slightly, and with the hand that Haru hadn't grabbed, he gently took Mikoto's flustered hand; with his other hand, he raised it and gently wiped away the tear stains on Haru's cheek.

"I'm sorry to have worried you."

At the moment Misaka appeared, he was in the crucial stage of analyzing Accelerator's ability, which is why he was unable to appear immediately to stop the battle between Misaka and Accelerator.

"I'm fine, Mikoto, Haru. I'm not hurt at all."

His voice was steady and powerful, carrying a calming force. His gaze swept across the two girls' faces, giving them a sense of absolute security.

"Look, it's really intact."

He raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Fubuki Toshinobu and Misaka 9999, who was being supported by her and was somewhat dazed, before finally settling on the dust-filled crater. A knowing smile curved his lips.

“The ‘domain’ began the moment I stepped into this area.”

Higashino's voice echoed clearly in the tunnel, explaining to Mikoto and the others, and also announcing to Accelerator, who was struggling to get up.

"I originally planned to use my ability directly on him to nullify his vector manipulation. However..."

He paused, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

"This guy's ability is indeed quite interesting. Even my ability isn't so easy to work on him."

Disabling the enemy's abilities is a fighting style that Higashino likes, but unfortunately, it didn't have the desired effect on Accelerator this time.

“Once he is chosen, the influence I exert will be reflected back without any reason.”

He released the two women's hands and took a step forward.

"So, I changed my approach."

Higashino Yu's gaze pierced through the smoke and dust, locking onto Accelerator's angry eyes.

“I altered my perception of this ‘space.’ From beginning to end, what he was fighting was merely an illusion within his ‘perception.’ Every attack he made, every perceived crushing victory, was just a battle against the air, against the ‘me’ he saw within this space.”

Higashino's alteration of his perception of this space was not aimed at Accelerator using his abilities, but rather at the space itself, so that it would not trigger his reflexes.

"However, it is precisely because of this that your perceptions have been indiscriminately affected when you entered this space, which is why you saw the defeated 'me'."

"And during this period..."

Higashino's voice suddenly turned cold.

“I have completed the analysis of the core logic of his ‘vector manipulation’. His reflective barrier, his power manipulation, the ‘directional’ basis of his operation, the ‘cognitive’ boundary of his ability… I have seen through everything.”

Just like the barrier of the Misawa Academy back then, once an ability is completely analyzed by him, it will be unable to work on him, and he can even use his ability easily if he wants to.

Amidst the smoke and dust, Accelerator finally staggered to his feet, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his white hair disheveled, the ferocity in his eyes replaced by an unprecedented look of surprise and... a hint of fear.

He heard Higashino's words, and every word felt like a hammer blow to his heart.

"Impossible... How could such a lowly nobody possibly see through my abilities?!"

He roared, his remaining pride still struggling, unwilling to face this reality.

Higashino Yu didn't stop; he continued:

"'possibility'?"

Are you still trapped in the pathetic shackles of 'ability' when trying to understand the world?

"I reconstruct the 'cognition' of this world, endowing all things with an illusory appearance. Your proud 'vector,' your reflective barrier that you regard as a god..."

He stopped ten meters away from Accelerator, his gaze seemingly piercing through the mist of space, reaching the very core of the opponent's power:

"The logic of its operation, the basis of its existence, and the inevitable cause and effect of its birth and death—all of these are transformed into the formula flowing in my palm at this moment."

"My power is to analyze the 'principle' of all things, modify the 'cause' of the world, and reconstruct the 'effect' of reality. Within the realm of complete analysis, the 'absolute' you hold onto is nothing but a sandcastle, and its collapse is only a snap of the fingers."

Accelerator's face was contorted with anger and a hint of wavering.

Higashino's voice suddenly rose, carrying a declaration of finality:

"'Invincibility' is nothing but a spell used by the weak to bind themselves. The moment you believe that 'reflection is eternity,' your very existence has already revealed all its fatal flaws to me!"

"In other words..."

Higashino Yu slowly raised his right hand, fingers spread, and aimed it at the tense Accelerator:

"At this moment, what stands before me is merely—"

'An individual who can be defeated.'

The moment the words fell, Accelerator's pupils contracted sharply, his vector reflexes were fully activated, and his gaze frantically scanned his surroundings, trying to capture Higashino's attack trajectory.

This time, he was determined to reflect this strange ability back.

He said a lot of confusing things, but as long as he takes him down, his invincibility will be flawless!

However, within the realm of "cognitive reconstruction," and in the face of Higashino, who has grasped the essence of "vectors," his so-called absolute defense is already riddled with flaws.

The real end has begun.

Chapter 115 The Final Victory

"Bastard! Bastard! Bastard! Stop talking nonsense!"

Accelerator forcefully suppressed his surging blood and chaotic thoughts, his violent roar echoing in the tunnel, trying to dispel the unease with his volume.

"Don't think you can defeat me with your tricks! Even if you can affect my vision with illusions, so what if I can't perceive things? I just need to kill you before you can affect me again!"

He stomped his foot on the ground!

Boom!

The ground beneath his feet seemed to be torn apart by a giant beast. He manipulated the terrifying kinetic energy vectorically, transforming it into a visible shockwave that distorted the air and surged wildly toward Higashino Yu in a fan shape!

Wherever it passed, the ground shattered, and the rubble was swept up and turned into a deadly rain of bullets! Such a wide-ranging, indiscriminate attack was enough to crush any enemy along with their hiding place!

However, faced with this devastating wave, Higashino Yu simply raised his right hand, slightly bent his five fingers, and pressed it forward lightly.

Om-!

The violent shockwave, powerful enough to tear steel and shatter concrete, slowed dramatically within meters of Higashino Yu, its ferocious kinetic energy being stripped away and dissipated layer by layer. The flying debris, as if stripped of all power, clattered and tinkled in mid-air before helplessly falling to the ground.

The shockwave itself completely dissipated less than a meter away from Higashino Yu, turning into a turbulent airflow that ruffled the corner of his clothes.

"What...?!" Accelerator's eyes widened in disbelief. Ineffective? No, it wasn't ineffective! He could feel the power he released was still there, but the "direction"... the "direction" of the power transmission... had been forcibly distorted and deflected! It was like punching cotton; the power had been redirected elsewhere!

"It seems you haven't understood yet."

Higashino Yu's calm voice rang out. He lowered his hand and slowly walked forward.

“Your ‘vectors’ are no longer untouchable rules in my eyes, but rather clearly visible ‘lines’.”

He stopped five meters away from Accelerator, a distance that made Accelerator feel an unprecedented sense of pressure.

"Your reflection merely sets up a 'directional' barrier, deflecting the attack back along its original path."

Higashino Yu raised his hand again.

"What if I changed the 'direction' of your attack the instant it touched the barrier?"

Before he could finish speaking, Higashino Yu's figure suddenly vanished!

The next moment, he appeared in Accelerator's left blind spot!

"die!"

Accelerator reacted with lightning speed, roaring as he threw a backhand punch! Vector Reflection was activated at full power, and the reflection formula was modified to ensure that any sneak attack would be mercilessly deflected!

However, Higashino Yu did not attack. He simply extended a finger and lightly tapped the side of Accelerator's outstretched fist.

laugh--!

A soft sound, like a bubble bursting.

Accelerator's fist, his arm brimming with destructive kinetic energy, suddenly took a bizarre deflection when it was still half a foot away from Higashino's fingertips!

As if forcibly pushed aside by an invisible hand, the fist that was originally aimed at Higashino Yu's head, with a force that he himself could not control, slammed hard into the ground beneath his feet!

boom! ! !

Gravel flew everywhere and smoke filled the air.

Accelerator's arm went numb from the recoil of his punch, and he staggered backward, his face filled with utter astonishment and absurdity! He missed? No! The "direction" was changed! Without him even noticing!

It was as if his power was reflected by a vector!

"It feels familiar, doesn't it? But it's not over yet."

Higashino Yu reappeared behind him.

Accelerator turned around in shock, simultaneously manipulating vectors to influence the air around him, instantly creating countless sharp, high-pressure wind blades that attacked behind him!

Higashino Yu still didn't confront him head-on. He lightly moved his hands in front of him as if plucking the strings of a musical instrument.

hum!

The dense array of wind blades, powerful enough to cut through gold and jade, seemed to collectively lose their way the moment they approached Higashino Yu.

Some collided and annihilated each other, some inexplicably shot towards the ceiling or the ground, and some even spun in place... What was originally a deadly strangulation net instantly turned into a chaotic and disorderly wind blade fireworks display, exploding in various parts of the tunnel, but avoiding Higashino Yu in the center.

"This...this kind of ability, how is that possible?!"

Accelerator was completely panicked. His attacks were ineffective, his defenses were inexplicably broken down, and even his attacks themselves could be arbitrarily distorted by his opponent! This feeling of being completely seen through and manipulated was more devastating to him than any physical pain.