Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T Episode 13

SYSTEM (SYSTEM (神ならぬ身にて天上の意思に辿り着くもの) ) is the 13th episode of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T. Originally planned to air on April 24th 2020, the episode's broadcast was delayed for a week due to the. It was broadcast on May 1, 2020.

Kouzaku attacks Kuroko, manipulating her puppet with such precision despite having its "eyes" and "ears" disabled. However, Saten was able to find the key to exposing Kouzaku's secret: a miniature camera used for the relay events in the Daihaseisai. After being informed by Uiharu about the possibility that Kouzaku may be using a similar device, Kuroko used everything she knew thus far to guess where Kouzaku is located. With this strategy on hand, she comes out to challenge Kouzaku directly.

Meanwhile, a grotesque-looking Mikoto continued her rampage, while Kamijou and Sogiita's do-or-die actions were to no avail. After driving Shokuhou to a corner and obtaining the code, Gensei unleashes the final trigger to Mikoto obtaining Level 6: the release of the Exterior's limiter!

Synopsis
As Gensei successfully obtains the limiter release code of the Exterior, Kamijou Touma and Sogiita Gunha continue their battle against the rampaging Misaka Mikoto. Meanwhile, Kuroko remains unable to locate Kouzaku Mitori. Moreover, she is baffled about how her liquid metal puppet was able to injure her despite the loss of its ability to see and hear its opponents. Saten and Uiharu continue their monitoring of the perimeter of the suspected whereabouts of Mitori, although they are also worried about Kuroko's safety. Then, Uiharu notices a wandering relay camera near the building, which she deems suspicious due to the lack of ongoing events in the area. Uiharu initially thought of hacking into the camera's controls to monitor Kuroko from the inside, a suggestion she obtained from Saten, but Uiharu quickly realizes that Kouzaku may have done the same thing and relays this to Kuroko.

Kuroko reaches Kouzaku's last possible hiding spot, which is empty. With none of the motion-sensing sheets she deployed picking up Mitori's presence, a desperate Kuroko is forced to once again go over what she knows as the possibility of Kouzaku being somewhere else becomes certain. Suddenly, Kouzaku's puppet emerges from the nearby vent, pinning Kuroko into a dead-end area of the building. Kouzaku expects Kuroko to teleport out into the open, and prepares to ambush her by throwing a knife where she would emerge after teleporting. True enough, Kuroko was hit by the knife, and Kouzaku sees the Teleporter motionless on the ground floor afterwards.

Shortly after, Kouzaku and Gensei sense Mikoto undergoing yet another form, this time with a starry field seen from her head and torso—a form described by Gensei to be "the 'opening' stage". As Gensei inputs the limiter release code, Kouzaku becomes delighted in Mikoto approaching the stage where she can easily destroy Academy City. But, to her shock, Kuroko emerges from the sewers, exposing Kouzaku's location while Uiharu had hacked the relay camera Kouzaku was using earlier, effectively covering up her movements. With Kuroko on the attack, Kouzaku prepares two knives (one handheld and one ballistic) to use against the Teleporter as they fight in a cramped space. But, Kuroko startles Kouzaku by catching the first knife with her palm and attacking her upfront, putting her strategy in disarray. In the end, Kouzaku is knocked out by Kuroko.

At the Exterior facility, Gensei falls unconscious as the giant brain composing the Exterior disintegrates. Misaki then reveals that she had switched the self-destruct code with the limiter release code in her brain by using Mental Out on herself. During her escape from Gensei, she was already aware that she cannot outwit Gensei, and began to consider the costs of keeping the Exterior functional. However, the only way to destroy the Exterior is through the self-destruct code, which proves difficult with Gensei's access to the Exterior. Knowing that she still needs to look into Gensei's mind to determine the vaccine for the virus currently infecting the Misaka Network and not wanting to waste the opportunity to capture Gensei herself, Misaki decided on a gamble that almost put herself into further jeopardy.

With the collapse of the Exterior, Mikoto regains control of her subconscious. However, she is still unable to stop the rampage going on outside. Meanwhile, Sogiita is still unconscious after receiving an attack from Mikoto earlier, leaving behind Kamijou Touma to deal with Mikoto's powers.

Major Events

 * Misaka Mikoto undergoes another transformation. One of her attacks knocked Sogiita Gunha unconscious.
 * With the help of Saten's suggestion and Uiharu's hacking skills, Kuroko pinpointed Kouzaku Mitori's location and apprehended her.
 * Through a gamble by Shokuhou Misaki, Kihara Gensei inadvertently caused the destruction of the Exterior by inputting the self-destruct code.

Characters
By order of appearance:
 * Shirai Kuroko
 * Uiharu Kazari
 * Saten Ruiko
 * Misaka Mikoto
 * Kongou Mitsuko (recap only)
 * Wannai Kinuho (recap only)
 * Awatsuki Maaya (recap only)
 * Misaka Misuzu (cameo, recap only)
 * Xochitl (recap only)
 * Shokuhou Misaki
 * Kouzaku Mitori
 * Keitz Nokleben (recap only)
 * Misaka 10032 (recap and flashback only)
 * Sogiita Gunha
 * Kamijou Touma
 * Kihara Gensei
 * Dolly (flashback)
 * Misaka 10032's Cat (flashback)

Abilities

 * Liquid Shadow - Kouzaku Mitori, Level 4
 * Teleport - Shirai Kuroko, Level 4
 * Macuahuitl - Xochitl (recap only)
 * Mental Out - Shokuhou Misaki, Level 5 (recap and flashback only)
 * Unknown - Sogiita Gunha, Level 5
 * Electromaster (Railgun-variant) with Misaka Network - Misaka Mikoto, Level 5
 * Imagine Breaker - Kamijou Touma
 * Mental Out with Exterior - Shokuhou Misaki, Level 5 (recap only)
 * Multi-Skill - Kihara Gensei, acquired via Level Upper
 * Aero Shooter
 * Clairvoyance
 * Mental Out with Exterior - Kihara Gensei
 * Mental Out with Exterior - Kouzaku Mitori (shared with Kihara Gensei)

Locations

 * Academy City
 * School District 7
 * Judgment 177 Branch Office
 * Bank Control Center (recap)
 * Shinohara Liquid Material Factory (recap)
 * School District 2
 * Exterior

Trivia

 * The episode preview shows Touma doing his style of narration he does for his preview narrations in the main Index series, as well as the ending line "When magic and science cross paths, the story begins!" for the first time in an animated adaptation of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun.

Referbacks

 * Kuroko narrates the first four minutes of the episode and the following episodes are used as recap scenes such as:
 * Kuroko, Uiharu and Saten not remembering Mikoto due to Misaki's Mental Out;
 * the gang meeting Kongou and her posse, with Kuroko venting her frustration towards Mikoto;
 * Kuroko discussing with Saten regarding the current situation with Mikoto, as well as Mitori's Shadow Puppet's attack on Kuroko and Mikoto thanking her for saving her mother;
 * Mikoto promising Kuroko and Saten to restore their memories;
 * Kuroko finding Mitori's bank data, as well as the incident inside Shinohara Liquid Material Factory;
 * Misaki struggling with Mitori's shadow puppet and Kuroko saving her, Misaki 10032 and Keitz, Misaki using Mental Out on Kuroko, Touma and Gunha fighting Mikoto in her initial transformation;
 * and finally, Mikoto shifting her form and Kuroko's quest on finding Mitori's location while being chased by her Shadow Puppet.
 * Scenes of Dolly from ' are used as flashbacks when Misaki remembers her. In addition, scenes of Misaka 10032 from ' and  are used as flashbacks as well.

Differences in Adaptation

 * The dead end corridor, the final spot where Kuroko is looking for Mitori, was redecorated from just a single plant to having a vending machine and some seats.
 * Mitori's puppet exited the air vent directly before confronting Kuroko, unlike in the manga where the puppet unscrews the vent first before popping out.
 * The transformed Mikoto knocks Gunha out with her powerful electric attack in this episode, unlike in the manga where he is knocked out by her ribbon-like things.
 * Kuroko's one second teleportation lag is not referenced in this episode due to her teleportations in previous episodes having a small delay for up to minimum of 0.4 seconds, whereas Mitori states in the manga that Kuroko has one second delay between teleportations.
 * Kihara Gensei only types the supposedly limiter release code in mind in this episode, unlike in the manga where he speaks it out loud. This makes the code unknown in anime continuity.

Animation Trivia

 * At least 4 minutes of footage from previous episodes,     as well as least one minute of footage from the  are reused as recaps before original scenes are shown.
 * In addition, the first four minutes are narrated by Kuroko over the character's dialogue during the recap, akin to an audio commentary.