Switch allegiance?
The instant the thought appeared, Kakine Teitoku threw it out of his mind.
As one of Academy City's flagship Level 5 espers, those old fossils intoxicated by the lingering glory of the Middle Ages might not even accept someone like him, a major threat from the science side.
Admittedly, neither the Board of Directors nor Aleister was anything good, and Academy City itself was a city steeped in sin. Countless tragedies had been born from buildings and underground facilities whose ownership was deliberately left unclear.
But at least Academy City was still something. No matter how great or sacred the Vatican appeared in the eyes of other devout believers, in Kakine Teitoku's eyes, the Roman Catholic Church was nothing worth respecting.
Putting aside whether someone accustomed to Academy City's near-futuristic capitalist lifestyle could even adapt to the Vatican's Christian faith, just imagining another whole group of Vatican pontiffs hanging over his head, ordering him to perform devout worship every...
Forget it.
More importantly, Kakine Teitoku had seen the extremist thoughts and memories Selene had extracted and packaged from Terra of the Left.
Good grief. Followers of other denominations and nonbelievers weren't even considered human under your conceptual framework? Who the hell do you think you are, revoking my membership in the human race?!
He had also seen the memories of Terra repeatedly using innocent tourists and children in magical experiments. And this guy called himself an incarnation of an angel? More like an incarnation of Satan.
Kakine Teitoku knew perfectly well that a villain like himself was never getting into heaven, but if that was the heaven where an "angel" who committed things like that lived, then even an invitation wouldn't make him want to go!
It would have been one thing if they merely refused to advance, but they were actively regressing, and not just by one or two steps. Other people merely drove history in reverse. The Roman Catholic Church's ideology was practically a high-speed train heading straight back through history.
Although it was one of the world's major Christian denominations alongside the Anglican Church and also the largest, if the former had adopted a relatively open attitude toward technological development due to secular reforms, then the latter was simply hopelessly stubborn.
All day long they went on and on about how the Lord dwelled in the highest heaven, how divine power was inviolable... blah, blah, blah...
The science side?
Hmph. Shameless heretics!
Academy City?
Ha. The source of all original sin!
Technological products?
Tch. Soulless objects used to deceive ignorant lambs!
The Vatican's cardinals generally regarded humanity's technological creations with intense disdain, believing that only talentless fools who lacked the aptitude to become magicians would depend excessively upon them.
Were there enlightened people within the Roman Catholic Church? Yes, but very few! And they were usually isolated or ostracized, if they had not already defected outright or originally belonged to some other accepted faction.
A nest of vermin!
As Selene put it, faith should never be something so inconvenient.
Disdain scientific creations? Bullshit! Were their brains frozen solid, or were they simply missing a screw?
Ring the great bells! Praise the Omnissiah! Praise the Omnissian Messiah!
My Lorgar Aurelian and his God-Empress Preachers Legion are the true experts who know how to keep faith relevant with the times.
"I have no objections. As long as that cripple with the cane doesn't start trouble, we're all Level 5 espers of Academy City. Fighting a common enemy together is only natural."
Kakine Teitoku glanced sideways at Accelerator and spoke first.
Accelerator's expression immediately turned ugly, as though he had swallowed a fly. The moment Kakine opened his mouth, every word seemed deliberately aimed at provoking him.
"Start trouble with you? Number Three, your narcissism is disgusting. I don't have that kind of free time. Protecting Academy City doesn't require you running your mouth. I'll fight when I damn well feel like it."
Deep down, Accelerator was not opposed to switching sides either, but the Roman Catholic Church... After receiving Selene's one-two-three combination of intimidation, threats, and temptation, Accelerator had no favorable impression of the Roman Catholic Church whatsoever.
Cloning technology was listed as taboo by them, considered a desecration of all creation, humanity, and Christian doctrine itself.
If the Roman Catholic Church replaced the Board of Directors, not only Last Order, but the remaining ten thousand-plus Misaka Sisters would all be forcibly destroyed.
Last Order's treatment and recovery, the one halfway decent act of redemption he had finally managed to accomplish, and the "family" he cared about all existed and continued because of Academy City. He could not allow it to be destroyed!
"Just assign the missions. Fighting this so-called Roman Catholic Church is no different from the Dark Side assignments I usually carry out."
Mugino Shizuri glanced at the two who had already started arguing, then looked toward the composed Selene with a strictly businesslike expression.
There was nothing more to say.
Fight!
Making her become an ascetic nun would be worse than letting her die during a Dark Side mission.
Selene nodded. Just as expected, Mugino Shizuri was actually the easiest one to handle.
"Don't get careless. Magic comes in countless bizarre schools and styles. As long as you're still breathing, I can pull you back from the brink, but try not to get yourselves killed so thoroughly that there's no corpse left."
Selene patted her shoulder earnestly.
Mugino Shizuri had always possessed a tendency to underestimate every opponent, something that frequently caused her trouble in battle.
Whether her violent temper had caused her to develop Meltdowner, or whether possessing Meltdowner had made her violent, no one could say. In any case, she was usually manageable, but once she erupted, Mugino Shizuri's temper was indeed extraordinarily vicious.
She appeared gentle, but beneath that exterior she was ruthless and merciless. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for a young woman like her to willingly choose life in the Dark Side. Whether she sought excitement or simply enjoyed the thrill of killing, only she knew.
It certainly was not because she lacked money. Mugino Shizuri herself came from a wealthy background, and as the Level 5 Meltdowner, she could earn an enormous income merely by allowing research institutes to study her ability from time to time.
Within her Dark Side organization ITEM, some members needed money to support a younger sister, some had nowhere else to go, and some stayed because they cherished their friends... Everyone had some understandable reason, except Mugino Shizuri, who seemed to genuinely enjoy this kind of life and possessed obvious sadistic tendencies.
Selene, however, appreciated that personality. Someone like this should be sent outward to "expand the frontier." Why waste her talent fighting internal wars at home?
Regardless of whether Aleister had deeper considerations, Selene had criticized a great many of his inexplicable strategies from top to bottom.
"And you two as well, plus that genius Sogiita Gunha. None of you are getting away. Once war begins, all of you are going straight to the front line." Selene pointed toward Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki, who were shrinking their necks at the side.
The two Tokiwadai Middle School students had even less chance of escaping.
Shokuhou Misaki's expression turned bitter.
By this point, after absorbing the information Selene had forcibly poured into her mind, Shokuhou Misaki finally understood why Selene had previously ordered her to cease all activity.
Apparently, she had been flattering herself. It had not been aimed at her at all.
Kihara Gensei, whom Shokuhou Misaki had spent half the day searching for, was not even inside Academy City anymore. Selene had already sent him to an external military base with a single written order.
The Roman Catholic Church's attack on Academy City, Terra of the Left's death, and the evidence extracted from Terra's memories... To the upper levels of the Board and administrative hierarchy, the message conveyed by these things was obvious.
A declaration of war.
No wonder Keitz Nokleben's investigation had drawn Selene's warning before producing any results. Numerous factories and research institutions were already mass-producing supplies. If some internal factional nonsense caused even the slightest problem, Selene would probably tear him apart alive.
Kihara Gensei possessed considerable strength when supported by various technological devices. From Selene's perspective, rather than letting useful people die in internal conflict, they might as well prepare to fill the battle lines for her.
The rewards for going were generous. Honkai Cubes, "high-end" physical enhancement, life extension, and procedures to restore youth were all readily available.
Of course, that assumed you survived the war and returned alive.
"And you lot, are you done crying yet? If you are, move aside. He's still a powerful attack dog who surrendered to us. It'd be a shame if he died." Selene's voice was neither loud nor quiet, but it was certainly enough for the sobbing Villian and the others to hear clearly.
Simulation—Gravity.
Using force from a distance, Selene pulled Villian aside and lifted William Orwell, whose body was still continuously radiating heat, up in front of her.
His features, once handsome enough to resemble a marble sculpture, now looked utterly drained. His head would occasionally droop before he jerked it back up again, his spirit visibly exhausted.
His eye sockets had sunk inward, and he looked half-conscious, taking in less air with every breath than he let out. Villian, standing nearby, looked heartbroken and repeatedly opened her mouth as though wanting to speak.
But there was no serious problem. Selene was a top-tier healer. She could save him.
Hummm!
Selene raised her hand. Sharp finger armor instantly wrapped around her pale hand, violet-red motes of light filling its surface.
"Treatment begins."
Splurt!
Under everyone's strange gazes, Selene thrust her hand straight through William Orwell's chest before anyone could react.
Whoosh!
You call that treatment? It looks more like you're trying to rip out his heart and lungs!
Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki, who had never witnessed Selene's medieval Western veterinary-style treatment methods, immediately widened their eyes. Villian nearly fainted, while Carissa's mouth fell open.
She had truly never seen a healing method like this.
Only Accelerator and Kakine Teitoku had their eyes twitch violently. Their chests were already beginning to ache in sympathy. They knew this scene very well, along with the bursting pressure of being filled with that energy...
The next moment, the sleeping bear suddenly awakened.
"AAAAAAAH!"
William Orwell's eyes snapped open so violently that the corners nearly split, and his spirit instantly surged back to full force.
Hearing that vigorous roar, Selene nodded in satisfaction and immediately injected even more.
Visible violet-red patterns of Honkai corruption spread densely across William Orwell's body. Horrific burns, blunt-force trauma, and cutting wounds scabbed over within seconds as pale pink flesh knitted together.
After the external wounds were repaired, part of the energy continued restoring his damaged organs, while even more gathered around the stump where his arm had been torn away. Violet-red energy accumulated around the wound where pale bone had been exposed. Once it reached a critical point, regeneration began within the glowing motes.
Like molten lava, severed flesh, bone, and nerves began rebuilding themselves according to the host's own DNA and cellular structure.
Within only a few breaths, an entirely new arm grew from the severed stump.
"Kneel and swear allegiance."
Selene released her gravitational control. As though still adapting to his new body, William Orwell staggered once before dropping uncontrollably to one knee, his forehead nearly touching the ground.
"Do you understand your position now?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Very good."
With a casual wave of her hand, Selene raised her head and gazed at the bright moon overhead. "Night beneath the moon is your domain. Recover on your own. Your next task is to help Carissa ascend the throne. Once that's done, I'll arrange your marriage to Villian. Remember, do it quickly. Try to finish before the Daihasei Festival ends."
William Orwell's God's Right Seat characteristic was "Gabriel," governing water, the color blue, the moon, and the rear.
By exploiting the attributes of "Gabriel" and absorbing night air containing moonlight, Divine Mother Worship could forcibly grant him the protection of the true moon even when no genuine moonlight existed, such as when the moon was merely projected onto the screen of a planetarium.
"As you command."
"Rise."
Having accepted his new identity, William Orwell stood. His muscular upper body was completely bare, and apart from appearing somewhat mentally exhausted, he looked almost stronger than before.
Tap, tap, tap, tap!
At that moment, a man with black tattoos across his face stepped out from the shadows. The instant they saw him, both Accelerator and Mugino Shizuri froze.
Why is he here?
Accelerator in particular looked even more disgusted than he had upon seeing Kakine Teitoku, as though he had stepped directly into human waste.
Kihara Amata, however, completely ignored him. He walked to Selene's side and whispered a few words into her ear. After Selene indicated that everyone present could be trusted, Kihara Amata immediately raised his voice.
"Kihara Amata reporting. In cooperation with our allies from Necessarius, we have completely defeated the Roman Catholic Church's God's Right Seat operation. Lidvia Lorenzetti has been captured alive, and the Croce di Pietro has also been recovered."
"We've also achieved substantial results in the arrest of Roman Catholic spies... The interrogation teams managed to pry open the mouths of a few insignificant small fry. Most of what they knew was trivial, but one thing is certain. After learning of Terra of the Left's death, the Vatican flew into a rage and is preparing a major operation."
"I obtained one name. Cardinal Biagio Busoni."
Kihara Amata might act as meek as a lamb before Selene's fists, but toward low-level espers, members of the Dark Side, criminals, and foreign invaders, he was extraordinarily vicious.
"The commander of the Queen of the Adriatic Sea. Heh... The Roman Catholic Church is moving considerably faster than I expected. Looks like we'll have to accelerate our preparations as well."
Selene nodded. "What about Fiamma of the Right?"
"We haven't obtained any information yet."
"Then pry open their mouths one by one. If they know nothing, forget it. If our Anglican friends want them, hand them over. Clean up the rest."
"Understood."
...
Inside the Windowless Building.
"Selene seems rather dissatisfied with many of your arrangements, Aleister."
"Too much internal conflict makes it difficult to unite our forces. She values her own position more than I expected. Compared with fighting alone, she appears to prefer commanding vast armies." The calm male voice was almost mechanical.
"But... none of that matters anymore. Let her do as she pleases. Academy City has only two possible endings. Either it is destroyed, or it becomes hers... Just as she said, Aiwass. It is time."
A sharp sound rang out. Pale red life-support equipment shattered, weakly alkaline culture fluid poured onto the floor, and the figure dressed in green surgical clothing ended more than half a century of hanging upside down.