Chapter 54

On this side, Misaka Mikoto, following the delinquent, watched a good show. A girl in a white lab coat, which is typically worn by researchers or doctors, subdued several delinquents with just words, acting, and a bit of anesthetic.

"Wow, what a spectacular sight. I was thinking of intervening if something went wrong."

The girl just looked at Misaka Mikoto: "You are... the [Original], right?"

"I guess you've heard something about it." The girl ignored Misaka Mikoto's surprise and continued speaking.

Misaka Mikoto recalled the rumors about her clones, but she didn't believe them. Apart from the DNA sample she provided in her childhood, she hadn't given her DNA to anyone else.

"I thought you were going to say something else. I didn't expect that even in Upper Academy City, there are people who enjoy gossip. So, what do you know about those rumors...?"

Thump. The girl hit Misaka Mikoto with the bag in her hand. "You are a middle school student, and I am a high school student. Follow the proper order of seniority. In brief, no abbreviations."

"Regarding that rumor, do you know anything about it?" Misaka Mikoto had to bow her head, as the girl was right.

"I know more than you, but the purpose and content of the experiments seem to have changed significantly since my time."

"Huh?"

"Knowing it will only add to your distress, because with your abilities, you can't do anything. I can do very little as well. Issuing savings cards is just one part of it—eliminating the blind spots in Academy City. By issuing savings cards, people will notice the small alleys and streets that surveillance cameras can't monitor, which might prevent experiments that should have taken place there. But, I was careless to be seen and followed here." The girl turned around, pulled out a file from the drawer, and said, "If this is seen, it might cause trouble. It seems I can't use things that leave traces." She then took out a lighter from her pocket and set the file on fire.

"What are you talking about? What do you know...?" Misaka Mikoto rushed forward, but the burning file fell to the ground, nearly causing a significant fire.

"Anyway, let's get them out first." Misaka Mikoto started dragging the delinquents who had fallen to the ground, while the girl quickly put on the white lab coat and left.

Misaka Mikoto wanted to chase after her, but the delinquents might die in the fire, and the kind-hearted Misaka Mikoto couldn't ignore human lives.

After leaving this place, Misaka Mikoto couldn't believe the existence of her clones, but the unease in her heart made her decide to investigate the girl, and this decision led her to the abyss.

In a public phone booth on the street, Misaka Mikoto used her ability to directly hack into the library to view the student information of Upper Academy City and quickly found the girl's information.

"Kurotsuki Toshin, a third-year high school student, 17 years old, showed remarkable talent in the field of biological psychiatry from a young age, at Yashima University附属医院 and Higuchi Pharmaceutical·Seventh Medical Research Center..." Seeing this, Misaka Mikoto began to believe Kurotsuki Toshin's words. When she provided her DNA sample, it was at Yashima University附属医院.

After reading Kurotsuki Toshin's information, Misaka Mikoto decided to infiltrate Higuchi Pharmaceutical·Seventh Medical Research Center to investigate.

After buying casual clothes at a store, Misaka Mikoto found a random hotel, changed her clothes, and went to Higuchi Pharmaceutical·Seventh Medical Research Center. Using her ability, she infiltrated the most confidential area and found this report.

"Mass Production Plan for Super Electromagnetic Cannons: [Sisters] Final Report."

After reading it, Misaka Mikoto felt a sense of relief. The clone experiment did exist, and her DNA was initially taken for the clone experiment, but according to the calculations of the [Tree Diagram Designer], the plan had a fatal flaw and was terminated and permanently frozen.

"Well, it turns out there are no clones of me. This crazy plan must have been incomplete when it leaked, and the rumors spread." Misaka Mikoto left with a sense of relief, not realizing that shortly after she left, a person who looked just like her came and completely deleted the [Sisters] files.

The girl called herself Misaka.

On the other side, Saten Ruiko arrived at the base of the Dark Side Protect. Here, she met Mutsu Kasumi, the teacher of the previously mentioned Shingetsu Kiyotaka, Kurotsuki Mitzu, the boyfriend of Konori Mii and the former leader of the Great Spider, and her roommate, the Level 5 Telepathy Master, Shokuhou Misaki, as well as an unknown beautiful girl.

Then, behind this group, was her boyfriend, also a Level 5 in Academy City, Shirai Kuro.

"Ruiko, what I'm going to tell you now is about the true nature of this world, the true face of Academy City, and my true identity." Shirai Kuro paused and continued, "After I finish, you can decide whether you really want to come to 'this side'."

"The world is divided into four parts: one part is the world of ordinary people, who have no abnormal abilities and just live in this world; the second part is the [Science Side], yes, the espers represented by Academy City and the armed groups named after science; the third part is the [Magic Side]."

"Magic? Is there really such a thing?"

"Yes, since espers exist, why can't magic exist? Moreover, the power of magic is far greater than that of espers. The largest part of the [Magic Side] is the Cross Church, which has two billion believers. The [Magic Side] is mainly divided into three forces: the Roman Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, and the British Puritan Church. And, the [Magic Side] is opposed to the [Science Side]."

"Opposed? Why?"

"The Cross Church is based on the existence of God and Jesus, but science denies the existence of God, which is equivalent to denying the existence of magic. Therefore, the contradiction between the two is basically irreconcilable."

Shirai Kuro paused to give Saten Ruiko some time to digest the information and continued, "The fourth part of the world is the [Cultivation Side] of China. They are a neutral force, and you don't need to worry too much about what the [Cultivation Side] means."

Saten Ruiko carefully thought about what she had just heard. This was the first time she had encountered such a reality, and the others in Dark Side Protect were also hearing this information for the first time. Shokuhou Misaki might have some understanding, but not such a detailed classification.

"But, Kuro, you still haven't told me about Misaka-san."

"Be patient, there's still a lot to tell you about this Academy City."

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