Misaka Mikoto's signature Railgun technique typically has an effective range of approximately 50 meters. However, this limitation is based on her use of standard arcade coins as projectiles—lightweight, small, and prone to vaporization due to friction and heat at high speeds.
In contrast, Misaka Mikoto Alter had long surpassed this constraint. She launched her super-electromagnetic cannon using custom-forged, high-density tungsten alloy spheres designed to withstand extreme temperatures and pressure. The electromagnetic force propelling these spheres far exceeded even the upper range of Level 5 output. The trajectory cut across the sky like a streak of condensed thunder, echoing with plasma static.
"I've already contacted the Master through the neural link," Qi Mu Nanxiong said telepathically, his voice calm despite the chaos around them.
His earlier teleportation maneuver had pulled both Violet and Ryougi Shiki out of harm's way the instant the ambush occurred. Now, each of them was repositioned at different vantage points around the conflict zone.
Suddenly, Shen He's presence flickered into their minds via psionic imprint. A recall beacon had been activated—but they didn't respond to it just yet. That would be their contingency plan, not the main tactic.
"Our objective is to retrieve Misaka Mikoto, right?" Ryougi Shiki, dressed in her ceremonial kimono over combat gear, asked, her tone flat but alert. Her eyes—Mystic Eyes of Death Perception—had already adjusted to combat mode.
"Yes," Qi Mu confirmed. "You cover me. I'll warp to her. The moment I have her, you activate the Master's teleport signal and follow."
Teleportation had a cooldown interval. Only Qi Mu, a hybrid mutant-Esper with cross-dimensional psionic pathways, could safely transport an unwilling target away from the battlefield instantly. The team had split up for this precise reason—approaching Alter from multiple angles to avoid concentrated fire.
"Scatter formation," Qi Mu instructed, and they split.
Misaka Mikoto Alter's mouth curled into a contemptuous smile.
"You think I don't see through that?"
Without even moving her limbs, she unleashed an omnidirectional salvo—several super-electromagnetic railguns fired in a fan pattern. Each one emitted a blinding burst of electric corona and shockwaves, and the thunderclap that followed shattered windows in a five-block radius.
But that wasn't the true danger.
Each projectile was accompanied by a lightning cannon—a focused beam of ultra-voltage plasma that ionized the air around it into crackling, black electricity. The aftershock vaporized moisture from the environment and twisted surrounding glass into molten drips. The very air stank of ozone and scorched metal.
Even the real Misaka Mikoto, standing nearby, instinctively stumbled back.
Her ability to generate electric currents paled in comparison. She had seen lethal use of her own powers before—by her sisters in combat, by her own hand when cornered—but this? This was refined, weaponized malice. The overflowing voltage radiating from Misaka Alter distorted even time perception, slowing everything in Misaka's eyes to a crawl.
But Ryougi Shiki was in full self-suggestion mode.
Violet, armed with Crescent Rose in its heavy assault configuration, also adapted mid-combat. They adjusted their movement paths purely by analyzing Alter's limb posture and gaze trajectory, avoiding railgun blasts by millimeters.
"Why are you still here!?" Misaka Mikoto Alter screamed over her shoulder.
Her voice cracked under the strain of rage and restrained fear—for her original self.
A shrill thunderclap echoed.
Violet, having leapt from a low rooftop, launched several explosive magic rounds from Crescent Rose. The rounds were deflected mid-air by black, swirling magnetic particles—iron sand manipulated at the atomic level. The resulting shield formed into fractal layers of carbonized defense, crackling with electromagnetic resonance.
Realizing the threat wasn't one to be toyed with, Alter lifted her right hand and called forth an enormous blade of iron sand. The sword vibrated at ultra-sonic speeds, giving its edges a shimmer that resembled obsidian fire. This wasn't a tool. It was an executioner's guillotine.
Her eyes, shrouded in black crackling lightning, locked onto Ryougi Shiki.
"You'll be first."
The next instant, she exploded forward.
No longer holding back, her body became a blur surrounded by pitch-black plasma tendrils. The very sky responded, with clouds coiling inward like whipped cream in a maelstrom, and the thunder followed her like an applause of gods.
Ryougi saw it all.
Her Mystic Eyes registered death lines on the blade, on the electric arcs, on the air itself—but the sheer velocity made even pre-cognition difficult. Worse, the electromagnetic interference corrupted her vision's edge recognition.
Realizing she was outmatched, she mentally activated the teleport recall.
The high-frequency iron sand blade came down in an arc that split the battlefield—and would've cut her in half had the teleport not activated in the microsecond before impact.
The explosion that followed melted the pavement, sent red-hot asphalt raining across several blocks, and fused nearby debris into slag. The residual thunderous boom silenced everything else. Anyone standing within the arc would have been shredded to ribbons, incinerated, then atomized.
From Misaka Mikoto's perspective, it was simple:
Her kimono-clad counterpart had just died.
Killed by her own reflection.
That truth trembled within her bones. Despite understanding on an intellectual level what her Sisters had done, what the dark experiments had forced them into, seeing it tore through her psyche like serrated wire.
Was she really just a heartbeat away from becoming like that?
In front of her, Misaka Alter showed neither regret nor joy. She merely pressed her lips into a thin line, scanned the battlefield, and registered no remaining bioelectric fields from Ryougi Shiki.
Without pause, she charged toward the next active threat—Violet—who had repositioned behind cover and was unloading .50 caliber kinetic rounds at extreme velocity.
Again, the black sand intercepted each shot mid-air.
Snake-like strands of it twisted into the air, coiling like living shadows, attempting to bind Violet's limbs. All Alter needed to do was follow with another super-electromagnetic shot or lightning beam.
But the pattern was interrupted.
A deafening crack echoed from her flank.
Misaka Mikoto Alter spun on instinct and caught sight of Misaka 10086—formerly just another clone in the Misaka Network—surrounded by arcing blue lightning.
What shocked Alter wasn't her presence, but the electromagnetic surge emanating from her—comparable to a Level 5 signature.
And then, unbelievably, Misaka 10086 raised her hand in an imperfect yet effective Railgun stance.
The attack fired.
Alter's assault paused, intercepted.
Her face contorted. Shock. Rage. Betrayal. As if reality itself had spat on her carefully built dominion.
"—HOW DARE YOU!"
Her scream was laced with electric fury. The sizzle of power built into an unbearable crescendo. Her voice sliced through the air like a siren's wail designed to rupture minds.
"I can't take this anymore!" Misaka Mikoto herself yelled back, storming into the line of fire. "I don't care if you're my shadow or my future or whatever—just shut up and fight me already!"
Her body crackled with wild current. This wasn't calculated control—it was raw emotional discharge.
Alter gritted her teeth hard enough that her jaw popped. "That's my line!"
From her bangs, black sparks burst outward like petals of rage. Both Misakas now generated electric fields that repelled incoming ions, lighting up the surrounding air in ozone bursts and green-white plasma.
The first clash was imminent.
Twin Railguns armed.
Lightning surged.
And the sky tore open.
IMPORTANT UPDATE –
I WILL BE POSTING 1 CHAPTER HERE ON WEBNOVEL EVERY DAY...
I WILL BE POSTING 5 ADVANCE CHAPTERS EVERY TWO DAYS AND 5 BONUS CHAPTERS BY THE END OF THE MONTH ON PATREON, JOIN MY PATREON FOR EXCLUSIVE EARLY ACCESS.
🔗 JOIN NOW: patreon.com/Oreski
PS: I HAVE UPLOADED 50+ ADVANCED CHAPTERS ON PATREON ALREADY, AND BY THE END OF THE MONTH, I WILL POST 5 BONUS CHAPTERS—DON'T MISS OUT ON THE ADVENTURE.