Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:RailgunSS3 Chapter7 (section)

===Part 5===

(Crap!!)

Misaka Mikoto clenched her teeth in that moment.

What did she need to bring an end to this negative turn of events?

(Something those twins don’t expect. A situation not even Counselor can read properly.)

She thought about it and found only one answer.

For one thing, it was unrealistic to expect any help from unconscious Shirai Kuroko or the ringlet curls girl who was being suspended by an arm.

But even with the one logical choice, it was unclear if a makeshift team would work here. Not to mention that Counselor could discover anything they were hiding using their cutaneous respiration.

“Shokuhou…”

How effective would this be?

She could only go for it.

“''Control meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee''!!”

“Ah.”

The shoulders of the silver-ponytailed twin known as Counselor must have shaken before the girl being addressed.

She had indeed read Misaka Mikoto’s thoughts.

But.

The long blonde-haired girl’s remote aimed in an odd direction. Acid and Counselor could defend against that if it was aimed at them, but their methods did not have a long enough range to prevent their enemies from using it on each other.

(What are they doing?)

Counselor gulped and focused on reading the Railgun’s thoughts.

''I’ll use a lightning spear from straight ahead. As long as it’s non-lethal, I can take out that ringlet curls girl named Hokaze Junko along with the twins.

(But no. Misaka Mikoto is being controlled, so her own thoughts don’t matter. It’s Shokuhou Misaki’s thoughts that matter. She’s the one deciding what Misaka Mikoto will do!!)

Counselor looked to the side.

That girl with the TV remote was a Level 5 psychological esper, but that did not mean she could prevent Counselor from reading her thoughts. Cutaneous respiration could not be consciously controlled, so carefully scanning the balance there would reveal her emotions and thoughts.

''I will have her use an iron sand sword. Rescuing my right-hand girl Hokaze Junko takes top priority. The sword’s edge is sharp enough that Acid’s severed hand can be reattached if she receives prompt medical care.

The scariest part was how the girl boiled with anger on the inside despite appearing so calm on the outside.

But now Counselor knew the truth. She only had to focus on Shokuhou Misaki to get through this. Acid could take them by surprise any number of times with the physical abilities given by controlling her oxygen intake on a cellular level. She could even wield Hokaze Junko as a club to attack the other girls.

They had a plan.

They could definitely win like this.

“Acid!! Focus your attacks on Misaka Mikoto! We can finish this while their teamwork is still-….”
Counselor trailed off.

She could read people’s emotions and thoughts based on the target’s cutaneous respiration. They could not prevent her from doing so without wearing an airtight spacesuit.

Which was why she noticed what Misaka Mikoto was really planning beneath her surface thoughts.

''For some reason, Shokuhou’s Mental Out doesn’t work on me. So no matter what she tries to have me do, it will be the lightning spear that hits them.

“Wait, no! Misaka Mikoto really is in control!?”

No.

Wait.

''We don’t really know why my control doesn’t work on her. I might be able to take control if I pour all my strength into it. If that works, then the iron sand sword will slice right through that girl’s wrist. I mean, why should I hold back for her sake?

“…”

She understood now.

She had read it all.

Counselor had managed to dodge everything with perfect accuracy because every person could only plan to do one thing and could only do one thing. With just the one option, she could predict it and dodge it. No one could escape their own thoughts, so with Counselor’s support, they could achieve victory without taking so much as a scratch.

Except.

What if there were two options?

Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki. Whichever one ended up being in control, one of the #3’s powerful attacks would be coming. A slight delay in reacting would prevent her from dodging it. Blocking those attacks by force was out of the question. It would be like being hit head-on by a large dump truck.

So predicting the coming attack and dodging it would no longer work.

Not even Mikoto and Shokuhou knew how this would turn out. And either option would allow them to defeat Acid and Counselor.

Counselor’s power was meaningless at this point.

A fighting amateur would have to rely only on her ordinary senses to predict which attack was coming!!

“Ah, ahhh!!”

The stick of lip balm slipped from her mouth and fell to the floor.

Two voices were in perfect harmony within her mind.

Those girls were normally polar opposites, but they were a perfect match in this moment.

''You really wanna do this? Then it’s time we taught you who you picked a fight with here!!!!!