Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Manga Chapter 123

Strategy (駆引) is the 123rd chapter of the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun manga series, released on March 27th 2020 in Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh.

Synopsis
Although the plan to get Saten and Uiharu outside is stopped by Kimi, Mikoto continues to formulate ways to bring out the two from the outer wall. Meanwhile, Kimi reveals her plan to spread information about Academy City's esper development to Mikoto, whose power and cunning amazed her. Soon, a Riot Suppression Gigapede emerges to attack Kimi, only for it to be torn apart by Kimi's power. Anticipating a "false Railgun" from Kimi by using one of the segments of the destroyed Gigapede, Mikoto decides to match it with her own Railgun using another segment. The Railgun outpowers Kimi's attack, hitting Kimi's dragon on the head. Mikoto then follows it up with more Railguns from the remaining segments of the Gigapede, using it to strike the dragon in different areas.

Mikoto prepares a final hit against Kimi's dragon, only to discover that the dragon is unharmed from her barrage of Railguns. Thinking that Mikoto is left at a vulnerable spot, Kimi uses the dragon to turn Mikoto to salt. However, Mikoto manages to use a segment of the Gigapede to block the dragon's attack. As a result of the attack, a large part of the outer wall becomes a slab of salt, to which Mikoto launches a Railgun to demolish it.

As the outer wall collapses, Mikoto urges Saten and Uiharu to use the salt smokescreen to escape. Mikoto then prepares to create decoys to facilitate the escape, only to be attacked directly by Kimi's dragon.

Major Events

 * Mikoto and Kimi's fight continues, with the dragon withstanding Mikoto's attacks.
 * Mikoto exploits the dragon's powers to breach the wall and create an opportunity for Uiharu and Saten to escape.

Characters
By order of appearance:
 * Uiharu Kazari
 * Saten Ruiko
 * Shundan Kimi
 * Misaka Mikoto

Abilities

 * Electromaster (Railgun-variant) - Misaka Mikoto, Level 5
 * Angel Dragon - Shundan Kimi

Locations

 * Academy City
 * Second Reformatory

Referbacks

 * Kimi refers to Mikoto's firepower being equivalent to a cruiser, something she was previously told by Aohoshi Suzuran when learning about the change with the Level 5s since she was imprisoned.

Cultural References

 * After attacking the dragon with repeated Railgun shots using robot debris to little effect, Mikoto remarks on how she now knew how the feel after futile attacks in  movies.

Quotes

 * Shundan Kimi (to Misaka Mikoto, regarding her plan to spread esper development technology): "The weak are trapped below the heels of the strong, but even they can tear out throats if they grow fangs. They won't need heroes like you to save them. The heroes can't reach all of the weak, so isn't it more fair to give the weak weapons so they can fight back?"