"This is impossible…"

Mugino Shizuri ground her teeth, forcing the fingers she had only just regained control over to move.

"How could Mental Out suppress me completely?"

The look she gave Shokuhou Misaki was equal parts fury—and a trace of barely perceptible fear.

Awaki Musujime couldn't help but laugh.

"Because they're not Level 5 anymore, y'know~"

Her figure vanished and re‑appeared behind Mugino in the blink of an eye, lips nearly brushing the other girl's ear.

"They've reached a Level 6 you can't even imagine~"

Though soft as a whisper, her words carried clearly through the entire office.

"Level… 6?"

Misaka Mikoto's pupils dilated; the ionized‑air barrier around her flickered with shock.

"That's supposed to exist only in theory…"

Her voice trailed off, and the way she looked at the three girls changed completely.

Takitsubo Rikō's face stiffened.

"So that's why—no wonder I couldn't detect the limits of their AIM fields. Their dispersion is literally beyond observation!"

"Not only that~"

Shokuhou twirled the remote in her hand, the starlight of mischief dancing in her eyes.

"We're now the de‑facto rulers of Academy City~☆"

She pressed a button. The office walls turned transparent, a virtual screen revealing the city's night skyline.

"The age of Aleister's rule is over."

Everyone's jaws practically hit the floor.

"Wait… the Board of Directors—?"

Her gaze swept the room, as if searching for the middle‑aged men who had once held absolute power.

"Reorganized," Misaka said calmly, striding to the window.

"After that incident, we decided to run Academy City ourselves."

Backlit by the city lights, her silhouette looked unshakably firm.

Expressions vacillated between anger and uncertainty.

Just then Shokuhou's golden eyes blazed.

"Seems you need a bit of proof~☆"

An invisible psychic ripple spread outward; the four members of ITEM froze.

A torrent of memories flooded straight into their minds—the truth behind the Level 6 Shift Project, the evolution of the Misaka Network, the secret transfer of power inside Academy City…

The data deluge left them reeling.

Minutes passed before they stirred again, each face more stunned than the last.

Takitsubo had to brace herself against the wall to stay upright; her ability‑sense was a scrambled mess.

"This… is beyond surreal…" she muttered, looking weaker by the second as her brain struggled to parse the forced download.

Frenda flopped onto the floor, unconcerned with appearances.

"So you really… took out the Chairman?"

Her voice shot up an octave.

Kinuhata Saiai stared wide‑eyed at Misaka.

"Twenty thousand clones… all evolved into separate individuals, and every single one's a Level 5 esper?!"

Her nitrogen armor had vanished without her noticing; both hands clenched into fists.

That's terrifying.

Mugino said nothing, simply digesting the bombshells.

Her gaze flicked between Misaka and Shokuhou, searching for cracks in the story—yet deep inside she already believed.

A power gap that was overwhelming could not be faked.

"Understand now?"

Awaki leaned against the desk, idly tossing a spatial marker between her fingers.

"We don't intend to abuse our strength. We need dependable people to keep the new order running—and to build a better one."

She looked straight at Mugino.

"And your team, ITEM, fits the bill."

Misaka stepped forward. "We'd like you to join us.

"The job's basically the same, but safer, fully backed, and with far better benefits."

Her eyes swept the four girls.

"Everything one‑hundred‑percent legal."

The words better benefits made Kinuhata and Frenda's eyes light up at once.

Frenda forgot her fear and scrambled upright.

"Really? What's the pay? Do we get insurance?"

She blurted out, hands no longer near the explosives at her waist.

"Paid vacation?"

"Full social coverage, base salary triple what you make now plus performance bonuses,"

Shokuhou answered with a sunny smile, already lounging back on the sofa.

"And a luxury apartment, free of charge~☆"

She knew exactly how tempting that was to girls who had lived in the shadows.

Kinuhata seized Mugino's arm, shaking with excitement.

"Mugino! These terms are ultra good!

We wouldn't have to keep moving hideouts!"

Mugino shot her a sideways look, then turned to Misaka.

"Why us? Academy City has plenty of other dark‑side groups…"

Her tone was still cautious, but the hostility was gone.

"Because you're… women."

Misaka met her gaze squarely.

"Women?"

All four of ITEM blinked.

What kind of reason was that?

Misaka could only sigh.

The real chairman was a certain lecherous old man, after all.

"Besides… we know your pasts," she added, voice lowering at the memory.

Silence settled over the room.

Uiharu's terminal chimed, shattering the stillness.

She checked it, eyes widening.

"City surveillance just registered an abnormal energy spike!"

Every eye turned her way.

Saten Ruiko leaned over the screen.

"Looks like some kind of spatial distortion… wait, this pattern—"

She looked up at Awaki.

"—matches your ability!"

Awaki's head snapped up. "Impossible."

She froze, expression darkening.

"Unless…"

"Survivors," Misaka and Shokuhou said in unison.

The two locked eyes, setting their earlier quarrel aside—for now.

~~~

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