The Third World War, for the people of this world, was indeed a world war. But for Lin Luo, it was nothing. With one strike of his Sword of Destruction, the starry sky shattered and the universe exploded. A mere Earth could not withstand the force of his snap; what was the war raging on it?

It was a joke, nothing at all!

Regarding Aihwas, Lin Luo didn't know much, only that she was the strongest Angel summoned by Aleister, and that Kaze-zan-Hyouka served as her fuse, with some slight connection between the two.

In terms of strength, Aihwas was terrifyingly potent, a being who could shatter a planet by merely moving a finger.

But for Lin Luo, there was absolutely no pressure!

Because Aihwas could absolutely never become Celestial-rank. He didn't know why he was so confident, but he had an intuition that Aihwas could not reach Celestial-rank!

And with his current power, unless facing a true Celestial-rank powerhouse, no one could match him. Being unrivaled among his peers wasn't just talk. Even if Aihwas was Quasi-Celestial, he could handle her easily alone, let alone having the assistance of the Quasi-Celestial Misaka Mikoto!

If Aihwas really came looking for trouble, two against one, it would be difficult for her to survive.

Then there were the strange undead creatures that appeared during the war. Just from Misaka Miling’s brief description of those beings, Lin Luo instantly knew their identity without a doubt: the Abyss Demons!

It was just that the behavior of these Abyss Demons was slightly different from his impression. Previously, Abyss Demons would not retreat; once they emerged, they fought to the bitter end because devouring worlds was their instinct, an instinct that only ceased upon their death.

But this time, the Abyss Demons vanished as the war ended.

Note, they vanished, not were annihilated. Explicitly, they were not all killed. Like Aihwas and Kaze-zan-Hyouka, they inexplicably disappeared. Why was that?

It was hard to imagine the Abyss Demons stopping their world-devouring spree; it was almost impossible!

It seemed there were some underlying issues here too.

Lin Luo thought about it but couldn't find the answer, so he stopped pondering. However, he had already decided: if those things dared to show themselves, he would kill every single one.

The most crucial matter now was allowing Mikoto to comprehend the Celestial-rank artistic conception here. Earth was the fundamental foundation of Mikoto’s original existence, and only here could she grasp what she desired—something no one could disrupt.

No matter who it was, no matter what the matter, it must yield to this goal. Anyone who refused would face the Destruction Killing Sword!

Of course, he kept these thoughts to himself, never telling anyone else. There was simply no need to inform them; in fact, too many people knowing might alert their targets.

Next came some trivial daily matters: Shirai Kuroko leveling up to LV5, the infamous Saten Ruiko causing a stir in Academy City, and so on. He heard these things, smiled, and didn't pay much mind. However, one event did capture Lin Luo’s interest.

That was the Daihaisei Festival.

Before coming to this world, Mikoto calculated the probabilities, and the chance of them catching the Daihaisei Festival exceeded 90%. Indeed, the festival was scheduled to start in a week. However, this time, the Daihaisei Festival was slightly different from previous years.

In the past, although the Daihaisei Festival was publicly open, allowing countless outsiders into Academy City, those outsiders could only act as spectators, never as the main characters. The participants of the Daihaisei Festival were exclusively students from Academy City schools.

But this time, the rules had completely changed. Outsiders could not only watch but also participate in the competitions. The duration was extended from the original seven days to ten days. And the most significant change was... the Magic side would be invited as special guests for a friendly match against Academy City.

And in this friendly match, Misaka Miling, Misaka Misheng, and Accelerator were all scheduled to participate.

"Is this your choice?" Hearing this, Lin Luo couldn't help but ask.

Misaka Miling nodded, "The Chairperson only invited us; there was no coercion. Although Misheng was quite dismissive, and Accelerator wasn't particularly interested, I felt this competition would benefit us somewhat, as the Magic side has many experts. So I agreed, and seeing me agree, they did too."

Since they decided it themselves, Lin Luo wouldn't object. For the Third World War to require Aihwas's intervention to suppress the Magic side showed that the Magic side's strength was terrifyingly vast, far beyond the limited forces he had observed previously. Whether it was the Kiyomizu, Chengjiao, or the Roman Catholic Church, they surely had hidden trump cards.

Fighting the strong would make them stronger; it wasn't a bad thing.

Actually, they weren't the only ones participating. Academy City’s remaining six Level 5s were all entered as seeded players. Although Lin Luo had taken three Level 5s with him when he left, with Misaka Miling and Misaka Misheng, plus Shirai Kuroko awakening during the Third World War, there were still seven Level 5 espers, the same as before.

As for The Last Order, due to her special nature, her LV5 status had always been hidden, known only to a very few. The previous sixth Level 5 was rumored to have died during the Third World War—true or not—so only six Level 5s were publicly known in Academy City.

But six individuals playing against the Magic side wouldn't work. Therefore, a preliminary competition would be held among all Level 4 and Level 3 espers to select the strongest six, who, combined with the six existing espers, would total twelve participants.

This was normal procedure. However, Lin Luo only wanted to laugh at the term "friendly match" between the Magic side and the Science side. It was as ridiculous as a cat telling a mouse, "I won't eat you; we are good friends."

There was definitely some foul play involved.

Of course, Lin Luo didn't care. Let them play whatever games they wanted, as long as they didn't bother him. He had zero interest in such trivial matters.

Thus, the two chatted as they wandered around, and time passed quickly. Soon, it was approaching evening. Because the Daihaisei Festival was imminent, Academy City had entered a semi-open state to the outside world, so even at this hour, the streets were bustling.

Lin Luo and Misaka Miling grabbed a quick bite and headed toward the hospital where Frog-Face was located. One hundred and twenty-eight Misaka Sisters resided there, and Lin Luo intended to upgrade all of them to LV5. The resulting spectacle would certainly be grand.

However, before they had been there long, a figure approached them from ahead.

Though the street was crowded, this person stood out remarkably. Short yellow hair, slightly tall stature, and a frivolous expression made him conspicuous, drawing every eye. Once you saw him, you couldn't ignore him.

Lin Luo recognized him instantly: Kakine Teitoku, the wielder of the Unidentified Matter ability, Academy City’s second-ranked Level 5 esper. But...

"Long time no see, Number One. I truly didn't expect to meet you here." The voice wasn't Lin Luo's or Misaka Miling's, but Kakine Teitoku’s. He looked directly at Misaka Miling, speaking as he strode closer.

Yes, the rankings of the espers had drastically shifted. Since Miling had reached the peak of Spirit-rank, she was now indisputably Academy City's Number One. Accelerator had been relegated to second place, meaning Kakine Teitoku, who was originally second, naturally dropped to third.

Accelerator cared nothing for rankings now; whether second or last, she didn't care. But Kakine Teitoku was different. He always harbored the ambition to be Number One. Now, not only was first place out of reach, but even second place was impossible—a truly humiliating situation!

"I also didn't expect to see you here. Quite disappointing," Miling retorted without courtesy.

"Heh, it’s nothing. It just means we are fated to meet. Since fate has brought us together, why not seize the day? Let's have a little spar," Kakine Teitoku cut straight to the chase, issuing a challenge. Lin Luo, meanwhile, was completely ignored.

Miling looked at him as if regarding an idiot. "Are you joking? The Daihaisei Festival is in seven days. The match against the Magic side is less than half a month away. Do you want to spend the next half-month lying in a hospital bed? Or maybe skip the Daihaisei Festival altogether by lying there for a month?"

This sentence almost made Kakine Teitoku spit blood in frustration. Lin Luo gathered that the man must have spent considerable time in a hospital bed previously, otherwise, he wouldn't have been rendered speechless with anger.

Lin Luo didn't want to waste time on this piece of trash and stepped forward instead.

"Fine. Why not seize the day? I didn't get to spar with you last time; let's play around a bit this time."

"Who are you?" Kakine Teitoku looked at Lin Luo, feeling a slight familiarity but unable to place him, so he asked. Then, his expression instantly changed, as he suddenly realized that all the pedestrians on the street had vanished. The entire world seemed to consist only of the three of them.

Lin Luo pointed forward, gripping the three-foot-long Sword of Destruction. "You should actually thank me. If I hadn't altered this world's timeline, you would have become a mere brain long ago, existing in a state worse than death, never enjoying the freedom you have now. I don't expect your thanks, but I also don't want you bothering me. Since you’ve come, don't leave. From this moment on, there will be no more Kakine Teitoku!"

Kakine Teitoku's face darkened drastically. He felt immense danger radiating from the Sword of Destruction; his survival instinct screamed at him to flee, but it was too late.

The moment he moved, the Sword of Destruction descended, cleaving down towards his brow.

But Kakine Teitoku did not die. He remained standing there, completely unharmed.

However, Kakine Teitoku was now utterly terrified, and even Misaka Miling wore an expression of shock, as she witnessed a violent transformation occurring in his body. Lin Luo retracted the Sword of Destruction and stated calmly, "I have severed every male hormone in your body, simultaneously activating the female hormones. From now on, there will be no Kakine Teitoku; only Kakine Teiko. Farewell."

With that, Lin Luo turned away.