Even though he moved at his fastest pace, when Lin Luo arrived, it was a fraction of a second too late. He caught sight of Misaka Mikoto and the Final Product simultaneously unleashing their Railguns. Two beams of orange-red light intersected, hurtling toward each other's hearts!

Stop! Stop! Stop right now!!!!

At this moment, he was still at least fifty meters away, outside the effective range to counter them with a Railgun. Of course, even if he were within range, the triple-supersonic speed of the Railgun meant it was completely futile to try and intercept.

Even unleashing the full power within him in an instant to summon celestial lightning wouldn't be enough to block the Railguns in less than a second, let alone two of them!

Misaka Mikoto cannot die! After finally rewriting the tragedy of the original story, her brilliant life had only just begun; how could she perish like this! How could she die in such a manner of self-sacrifice! Absolutely not permissible!

The Final Product cannot die! As the culmination of all the negative emotions of the Sisters, she deserved even greater affection; how could she die like this! How could she perish in such a self-destructive manner! Absolutely not permissible!

No one can die—both must be saved!

But... Ah! Damn it all!!!!

Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop...

Watching the Railguns about to pierce the bodies of the two girls, Lin Luo felt a tearing agony in his heart, screaming desperately in his mind, yet at this crucial moment, he couldn't even utter a sound. He could only watch, and watch, and watch...

In an instant, did the world seem different?

The Railguns, which should have been traveling at triple the speed of sound, suddenly seemed to freeze, halting right before the two girls... No! It wasn't the Railguns that stopped; it was the entire world!

The running figures, the streaking light beams, the gently blowing wind... everything was moving forward at a speed thousands of times slower than before, inching along, yet the only thing not slowing down was the torrent of thought within Lin Luo’s mind!

Immersed within this state, Lin Luo saw a different vista... individual points of light, lines of energy, his own body, the surrounding environment, the girls opposite him, the orange-red beams... everything was mapped out in terms of points and lines.

What is this? Lin Luo could not comprehend it.

This vision had occurred several times in his memory, each instance bringing a distinctly different realization, but invariably, just like before, the meaning embedded within these points and lines, the sensation he could grasp from them, was—Hope!

He didn't know how to utilize these points and lines, nor what power they represented, nor why this phenomenon was occurring. However, these questions were insignificant now. He acted purely on instinct...

Stop the Railguns!

This single thought, and when this intent reached its zenith, the unbelievable occurred.

A portion of the points and lines rapidly converged. They gathered slowly before Misaka Mikoto and the Final Product, gradually forming a circle of white light...

Then, the points and lines vanished, and everything snapped back to normal. The wind blew, people moved, and all things resumed their original velocities. The next instant, the Railguns finally reached their targets, but...

The two orange-red beams did not pierce anything. They dissolved completely into the two clusters of white light, vanishing along with the light circles, as if swallowed by the sea!

Feeling no pain from the Railgun impact, Misaka Mikoto and the Final Product instinctively opened their eyes. Before them... there was nothing!

Why nothing? Where were the Railguns? This was within fifty meters, the effective range—why had the Railguns simply disappeared? The same confusion and bewilderment flashed in both their eyes.

"How long are you two going to stand there looking like idiots?!"

When they heard that voice, both girls turned simultaneously toward the source. There... stood a boy.

The electromagnetic waves within their bodies were being drawn in, moving irresistibly. As Level 5 espers, they possessed absolute control over electromagnetic energy, but now they were shocked to find they could not command the internal waves. Following the movement of the energy, their bodies were rapidly pulled toward the boy who was currently running toward them.

Smack! Smack!

As Misaka Mikoto and the Final Product were yanked over, Lin Luo did not hesitate, delivering a sharp slap to each of their behinds, scolding, "Are you two brain-dead morons?! Looking to end it all, wanting so badly to be the tragic heroines?!"

Both froze, their minds completely muddled, unable to process the situation.

"You, this guy..." Lin Luo pointed at Misaka Mikoto. "I didn't save you from that situation just to watch you die in front of me! Since you're a young lady, you need to act like one! Stay quietly at home, arranging flowers and playing the piano. Don't just run around aimlessly! If you're truly bored, go give the Sisters some proper names. Saving the world is a million years too early for you, you bastard!"

"And you..." Lin Luo then pointed at the Final Product and roared, "Don't take all the tragedy onto yourself, and don't think you're special! You were only just born; you're not old enough to be suffering from chuunibyou! Your prologue of misfortune was just a bit long—what are you despairing about! Since you're a Sister, act like one and wait obediently for me to save you! The ultimate B-Boss? If you want to play that role, go reach Level 6 first, you idiot!"

Splash!

He pulled the two girls, who were like twin reflections, tightly into his embrace. "So, it’s all over now. This is the true start of your new lives. Don't make me tell you again and again how important your own lives are!"

"Mhm," Misaka Mikoto nodded firmly, hot tears streaming down her face. But the Final Product was completely stunned, murmuring, "Why? I wanted to kill you, so why did you save me?"

Lin Luo let go of her, looking at her with an expression that implied the answer was obvious. "Why does that even need asking? Because you're a Sister!"

"A Sis... Sister?"

Having been infused with every negative emotion, knowing only hatred and resentment, unable to find salvation, forced to shoulder all the unreleased negative emotions of every other Sister... Why? It wasn't my fault, it had nothing to do with me, these weren't my own feelings—why did I have to bear something so heavy? With such questions, she packed all this dissatisfaction and rage deep into her core. It wasn't due to a programmed instruction; she was simply blinded by fury and jealousy, unwillingly wanting revenge on everything...

The Final Product had always thought her entire existence would be spent in slaughter and hatred. She thought no one would ever come to save her. She believed the word "Sister" would be something she could never hear.

But now...

"What expression should I wear to face this?"

"Idiot, for something this perfect, all you need is a smile."

P.S.: I hate tragedies the most, please vote, you bastards!