School District 13, Advanced Education Department.
Kihara Gensei stared at the combat footage between Selene and Accelerator, bursting into manic laughter. His eyes widened with hysterical excitement as he shouted, "Yes, yes! That's the power I've been seeking—the potential of an Absolute Ability user...!"
As for why he hadn't asked Selene for her DNA samples—
Come on, Kihara Gensei wasn't stupid. Selene was clearly someone you didn't want to mess with—neither naive nor gullible—and he valued his life too much to go looking for death.
After a while, Kihara Gensei regained his composure and asked, "How's Accelerator's condition?"
"He's out of critical danger, but hasn't regained consciousness yet."
"Hmph. Once he wakes up, resume the Level 6 Shift Project immediately!"
...
The next day, all of Academy City was abuzz with the news that the Number Two had challenged the Number One—and been beaten half to death.
The Number One had defended her rank with an overwhelming display of power.
Although the Board of Directors had considered covering up the incident, the deafening noise, the earthquake, and that enormous crater from last night couldn't possibly be hidden. What were they supposed to say—that it was caused by a meteorite? No one was that stupid.
So they had no choice but to make the incident public.
As a result, every esper in Academy City was awestruck by the sheer strength of the Number One. Then, for reasons unknown, rumors began spreading that the Number Three had also challenged the Number One and ended up severely injured. People couldn't help but marvel at the massive gap between themselves and those at the top—it felt as if they didn't even live in the same world.
Originally, Academy City's ranking system had been based on the practical utility of one's ability. But now, perhaps due to Selene's influence, after several high-profile fights, it had effectively turned into a combat power leaderboard in the eyes of most students.
...
Every trending topic fades with time.
As days passed, the hype surrounding Selene gradually gave way to other news. Finally, she was able to return to a somewhat normal life. When the story had first broken out, she couldn't go anywhere in the School Garden without being greeted or stopped for a chat. The sheer enthusiasm of her Tokiwadai classmates was overwhelming, to the point that she had taken refuge at the Schicksal Research Institute just to get some peace.
Still, looking back on her battle with Accelerator, Selene couldn't deny it—it had been exhilarating. No matter how Accelerator might feel about it, she had thoroughly enjoyed herself. Yet one thing continued to trouble her: every time she entered combat, an uncontrollable urge to destroy welled up inside her.
It was, without question, one of her greatest flaws. She suspected it was due to the fusion of Sirin's DNA with her own soul and the influence of the Honkai itself. While that fusion had granted her incredible power, it had also brought a deep-seated thirst for destruction and a cold disregard for life. Normally she could restrain it, but once a battle began, she often went too far—her fights tended to end either in death or total incapacitation. She could never seem to hold back.
After that night's battle had been interrupted, and her mind had gradually returned to normal, Selene had actually felt a bit dazed.
Seeing the scale of the devastation she'd caused had frightened her. When Kihara Amata had approached her with his inquiry, her heart had nearly leapt out of her chest (though from his perspective, her expression had been completely blank—and terrifying). She had genuinely feared he would demand compensation.
Upon hearing that Accelerator would be held responsible for the damages, she had breathed a silent sigh of relief. But to maintain appearances, she had made sure to act furious before immediately vanishing—without even bothering to heal Accelerator.
Still, every misfortune comes with a silver lining. During her self-imposed retreat at the Schicksal Research Institute, and under Selene's constant "supervision" (in name only), Shuji Matsuzaki and the others had finally succeeded—
the institute had produced the first prototype of a human body restoration serum, officially designated as T-R1 Serum.
The only drawback was that the T-R1's medicinal potency was too strong. Ordinary people might not realize how precious such a serum truly was, but Selene was certain that once it hit the market, the terminally ill, medical institutions, and the wealthy would fight tooth and nail to obtain it.
Although this first version lacked any body-enhancement effects, its healing capabilities were extraordinary. Minor wounds and diseases were trivial—but most importantly, it could treat so-called incurable illnesses like AIDS, cancer, and Alzheimer's with equal effectiveness.
That alone made it revolutionary. These diseases had long been the scourge of humanity, capable of destroying entire families and casting shadows across society itself. Yet before the T-R1 Serum, they were nothing.
But that wouldn't do—the T-R1 Serum's effects were far too powerful. It needed to be weakened, diversified into several sub-series, each designed to treat different conditions. Even within cancer treatments, separate formulations could target specific types of cancer. Only then could profits be maximized.
Such was the mindset of the capitalist and strategist Selene. She was quite pleased with her subordinate Shuji Matsuzaki—her favorite "tool," as he worked with remarkable efficiency.
"Using this serum as the prototype, keep it restricted to internal circulation for now—no public release," Selene said from behind her desk, handing a document to Shuji. "Also, Matsuzaki, here's another task: tone down its effects a bit." She slid the document across the table. "Read and burn afterward. You know what to do."
"...Yes, ma'am." Shuji accepted the plan respectfully with both hands. As he read through the details, a frown formed on his face. "Boss, dividing the serum's restorative functions into such fine categories... the difficulty's extremely high. It'll be impossible to complete in a short time."
Selene raised an eyebrow. "Did you forget my ability? The essence of these serums still lies in Honkai Energy. Even if diluted, I can still control the intensity and range of their effects within my field of influence."
In truth, as long as the serum's core material was Honkai Energy, Selene could directly manipulate its properties—enhancing, suppressing, or limiting its effects at will.
To use an analogy: if the serum was antivirus software, diseases were viruses—and Selene was the only developer and administrator. She could modify the software's functional scope at any time, even dividing the main program into multiple submodules, each specialized to target a specific virus.
Hearing her explanation, Shuji pondered for a moment, still a bit uncertain. "Boss... do you mean you'll personally oversee each production process?"
"Personally oversee?" Selene blinked and immediately shook her head. "Of course not. I mean, I'll grant you partial Honkai Energy control authority—think of it as me giving you admin rights. Do you accept?"
"Boss! Really?" Shuji's eyes widened in disbelief, excitement lighting up his face. The thought of being granted control over Honkai Energy left him trembling slightly. Still, he quickly calmed himself, wary of the unspoken cost. "Then... what's the price?"
He had always believed—there was no such thing as a free lunch. In this world, anything free was often the most expensive.
Selene drummed her fingers on the desk and smirked. "The price is simple: you'll work for me for the rest of your life. From now on, your life and death will rest in my hands. Any betrayal means death. So—do you still dare to accept?"
Shuji fell silent for a long while before finally nodding firmly. "Alright, Boss. I accept."
He understood all too well. With his current skills, surviving in Academy City without backing would mean decades of obscurity—if he even lasted that long. Refusing Selene wasn't really an option. Even if she didn't eliminate him outright, she could easily sideline or replace him. And besides... he had ambitions. If he was going to stake his future on anyone, it would be her.
"Good. I won't shortchange you. You'll be well rewarded," Selene said with a faint smile. Extending her right hand, she conjured a glowing crimson-violet cube of Honkai Energy and tossed it to him. "A wise choice."
As Shuji reached to catch it, he noticed in surprise that the cube didn't stay solid—it began to dissolve into his skin. "Huh?" He braced himself for pain that never came. Curious, he probed his body with his senses—but felt no change at all.
Before he could ask, Selene spoke. "Okay, fusion complete."
"So fast?" Shuji blinked. By his count, it hadn't even taken ten seconds.
Of course it was quick. The cube's only functions were to bind Shuji's life and death to Selene's will and grant him limited Honkai Energy sensitivity. Nothing more.
In reality, the authority she gave him was pitifully small. He could only control Honkai Energy within a restricted range and couldn't extract or generate any himself. He was, quite literally, a controlled production tool.
Selene was exceedingly cautious about anything involving Honkai Energy, layering restriction upon restriction.
"Yes. Try to sense it carefully," she instructed. "You should be able to slightly manipulate the activity of Honkai Energy—enhance it or suppress it as needed. Experiment and see for yourself." As she spoke, she walked past Shuji, opened the office door, and added, "Remember—your mission has been assigned."
Without sparing him another glance, Selene left the office.
But instead of returning to the School Garden, she headed to another research center—one housing her next major experimental project...