It was precisely because of that painful experience that Sherry Cromwell, despite being one of Necessarius's most outstanding talents, was always excluded from missions related to Academy City.
This time, her unauthorized visit to Academy City was because she had heard the news that Academy City was suspected of having a talent who simultaneously mastered both esper ability and magic.
Just like Lin Wuming, Misaka Mikoto, and Shokuhou Misaki, when they learned of the appearance of new Misaka Sisters, regardless of whether the news was reliable or not, they would inevitably take action to investigate.
Because it was the matter she cared about most, Sherry Cromwell also showed extraordinary initiative.
According to Sherry's original plan, if the rumors were true, then Lin Wuming's existence might be a kind of “salvation” for her, but also the greatest irony.
Sherry did not intend to be an enemy of Lin Wuming; instead, she wanted to persuade him to join her side and together stop this experiment that would lead to tragedy.
—According to other intelligence, Lin Wuming had the title of “Hero” in Academy City, was known for his hatred of evil, and considered it his duty to destroy various illegal experimental organizations.
Therefore, Sherry felt that as long as she could make Lin Wuming realize that what he was participating in was also an illegal experimental project, she would surely gain his understanding and become his companion.
However, after arriving in Academy City, Sherry Cromwell gradually discovered that the “rumors” might be mistaken.
There was no evidence to suggest that Lin Wuming had mastered magic.
Even so, Sherry Cromwell would not be too disappointed. Since she had decided to break into Academy City, she had already prepared a backup plan.
If the rumors were false, she still had to do something to completely eliminate the possibility of the rumors coming true!
“Imagine Breaker” was the talent most valued by Chairman Aleister of Academy City, and also the current manager of “Index Librorum Prohibitorum.”
“Index Librorum Prohibitorum” was the ace weapon of the British Puritan Church, and also a hostage held in Academy City.
And she herself was a magician of Necessarius, and could even directly represent the British Puritan Church in external operations.
As long as she personally killed either “Imagine Breaker” or “Index Librorum Prohibitorum,” it would inevitably provoke conflict between the two major forces, and even trigger a war between “science” and “magic.”
At that point, cooperation between the two sides would no longer be possible.
By then, the experiment of combining the powers of the two forces could also be completely terminated, right?
Under these circumstances, Sherry Cromwell also had no intention of going to war with Lin Wuming.
—It was just a rumor. Lin Wuming was an innocent party implicated by the rumor, so there was no need to involve him in her plan and needlessly provoke a Level 5 Esper.
However, the result of their actual contact was the worst-case scenario.
Before this, Lin Wuming had nothing to do with magic, but he was consciously and actively learning magic!
And he was doing so with a clear understanding of the consequences and side effects!
In Sherry Cromwell's view, this was nothing short of a provocation to her, something she could never accept.
—Then, the backup plan for the backup plan...
Besides being a Level 5 Esper, Lin Wuming was also a high-ranking official in Academy City. Killing him could also provoke war.
It was just that the difficulty might be a bit high.
The ground beneath Lin Wuming's feet suddenly deformed and swelled, turning into a giant hand reaching out to grab him.
Bang!
Mind Power Acceleration Cannon.
Lin Wuming was also prepared; without even looking, he directly threw a small steel ball.
At such a close distance, it would be impossible to miss even with eyes closed.
The opponent's action was clearly a spur-of-the-moment decision, a magic spell hastily cast. The giant hand was merely a mixture of dirt and concrete blocks, with limited strength. After being hit by the Mind Power Acceleration Cannon, it instantly shattered, turning into flying chunks of earth.
Using this move as cover, Sherry Cromwell quickly retreated, creating distance; at the same time, more dirt and artificial building debris converged, forming her cover and gradually coalescing into the image of a giant.
Magician Sherry Cromwell VS Esper Lin Wuming, the battle officially began!
For Sherry Cromwell, the underground environment was her home turf; all around her, even above her head, was dirt that she could control.
Therefore, Sherry Cromwell decided to maintain a certain distance from Lin Wuming to ensure her own safety and tactical flexibility.
But she still didn't understand Lin Wuming enough, didn't understand that Lin Wuming's “Mind Power Acceleration Cannon” precisely required a certain distance to unleash its full power.
Without entering “Bullet Time” state, this acceleration distance could not be omitted under any circumstances; at most, it was compressed from the original one hundred meters to the current thirty meters.
So, as Sherry Cromwell retreated, Lin Wuming also flew backward.
In the blink of an eye, the thirty-meter acceleration distance was cleared.
Lin Wuming flicked a small steel ball—Mind Power Acceleration Cannon!
In front of him, the stone giant “Ellis” that had just taken shape instantly froze in place, transforming from a “moving doll” into an “immobile doll”—or more accurately, a “broken immobile doll.”
Because the stone giant, which had originally been “towering” and almost filling the underground passage, now only had a small portion of its body remaining.
Its right half had vanished, replaced by a semicircular gap, as if a giant beast had taken a bite out of it.
Also missing half her body was the magician Sherry Cromwell, hidden behind it.
Her situation was even more tragic; a human's physique was far more slender than a stone giant's, so almost her entire body was obliterated by the Mind Power Acceleration Cannon.
But Lin Wuming did not stop; he even continued to fire three Mind Power Acceleration Cannons, completely shattering everything in front of him.
Just then, the walls on both sides of Lin Wuming suddenly twisted and deformed, and two massive hands slammed together, intending to crush him!
Lin Wuming's expression remained unchanged. He fired Mind Power Acceleration Cannons simultaneously to his left and right, and took the opportunity to rush forward, dodging the attack.
Boom!
Despite being delayed by the Mind Power Acceleration Cannons, the two massive hands still slammed together with a roar, causing the entire underground passage to tremble.
The enemy's attack missed, but this was just the beginning; immediately, a new offensive came.
A low rumble came from above. Lin Wuming, without hesitation, dodged forward again.
Immediately following was a foot made of dirt and rocks stomping down from above, once again causing the ground to shake.
With the experience of the previous two times, Lin Wuming simply stopped pausing and continued to move forward.
Sure enough, behind him, rumbling sounds echoed again, and massive hands and feet made of dirt and rocks continuously extended from the walls, ceiling, and floor, wreaking havoc in the underground passage.
