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“How troublesome.”

The magician Stiyl Magnus places the handphone next to his ear.

He’s sitting on a bench in a park, and there’s no one beside him. There’s canned tea and a sandwich that he bought from a convenience store beside him. After drinking some red tea, he swore deep inside not to drink it a second time. No matter what though, he’s a citizen of England, the land of red tea.

However, the reason why he looks so bitter is not because of this.

The reason is that lively voice coming over from the other end of the phone.

“We have checked the records of the British Library. The ‘Apostle’s Cross’ is a spiritual tool that the Roman Catholics refused to reveal up till now, so even with these details that are open for public access, we can’t guarantee that it’s accurate.”

The owner of this voice that either sounds like a male or a female is Sherry Cromwell. The decoder of the British Puritans, and at the same time, Index’s enemy. They’re both from the same group, and may cross swords because she’s of a different faction, but if it’s a situation or problem that involves England, she’ll help without any hesitation. Sherry’s in such a complicated situation.

Because of the attacks she carried out on September 1st, she’s now under a religious trial held by ‘Necessarius. As a key combatant, shutting her in and letting her do document arrangements to reflect on her actions has a rather deep meaning. However, Stiyl suspects that Archbishop Laura Stuart would issue a ‘generous disposition.’ Because this incident involves some complicated background in England, and they can’t just easily give up on Sherry Cromwell’s decoding and combat capabilities. That incident caused quite a few causalities in Academy City, so Laura should have conducted some tense negotiations with the leader of the science side, Aleister, in order to settle this.

To Stiyl, he doesn’t even care about this. Just the fact that Sherry once attacked Index makes him want to attack her with a flame sword before talking to her.

“Speaking of the ‘Apostle’s Cross’, as a former Roman Catholic, I have never seen it before. So this can be classified as a secret weapon. It’ll take some time for us to find its weaknesses.”

The other person who’s speaking in a relaxed tone is Orsola Aquinas. Like Sherry, she specialises in decoding anything magic-related. Because of the incident when she tried to decode the magic book ‘Book of the Law’, she switched from a Roman Catholic to a British Puritan.

Right now, Stiyl is getting information from the huge number of records sleeping inside the British Library, which is independent of the British Museum, as he tries to find the conditions for the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ to be used. Based on specialities, they should let those familiar with codes to manage the collections of information on these antiques. Thus, Sherry and Orsola are in the same department.

“Duru duru…oh my, wait a sec, Sherry! Sherry! There’s handwritten information regarding the Vatican security on this page.”

“YOU! Didn’t I tell you so many times not to eat muffins in the library?”

“But it’s already this time now. Want a light snack?”

“IT’S NOT ABOUT WHETHER I WANT IT OR NOT! I SAID NO EATING ALREADY, SO STOP CHEWING ON THAT MUFFIN!!”

“But this is the muffin that my Amakusa friends specially made for me. It includes food rituals that heals my wounds and replenishes my energy. My body hasn’t recovered yet, you know.”

“Ch, stop changing the topic—idiot! Don’t tell me that that dropping food scraps on the floor is also another important part of the Amakusa—”

Stiyl inadvertently sighs.

No matter what, the personalities of these two people are completely different. After some crackling sounds are heard, the phone on the other side is dead.

(Really…)

Stiyl folds up his handphone and slips it into his pocket.

(…Since when did ‘Necessarius’ become so harmonious?)

Up till now, the atmosphere in ‘Necessarius’ is like walking on a spider web. On the other side of hope, is despair. In order to add a comrade, they have to kill another. They have to shed blood in order to prevent shedding of blood — it’s such an organisation.

The only reason he could think of is of a certain boy.

Many magicians have interacted with him, were affected, and reconsidered what their purpose in life is.

Even Stiyl himself is one of them.

“…Though I don’t want to admit it.”

After saying this, Stiyl tosses the shortened cigarette stick next to his feet. The moment it touches the ground, the cigarette vanishes into a puff of fireworks. He holds onto a new one, and without touching it with his hand, a flame appears on the tip. He puffs out some smoke.

(Tsuchimikado said that he’s going to check on the security of Academy City, he feels that it’s not so reliable over there. Then…)

Stiyl leans onto the bench, looks up at the somewhat disgustingly blue sky, and puffs out some smoke like a chimney.

“?”

Someone’s staring over.

From the top, he tilts his head down. In front of him is a female that’s 135cm tall.

Her name is Tsukuyomi Komoe, right?

Near the end of July, when the girl named Index first sneaked into Academy City, she was the one who hid Index in her apartment. She looks like she’s around 12 years old, but it’s said that she’s a teacher. For some reason, she’s wearing a pale green sleeveless shirt and a white pleated skirt — seems like a cheerleading attire.

She’s staring at Stiyl’s face.

(Oh. Such a relaxed country, and yet there are people who can manage a crisis.)

Tsukuyomi Komoe probably hasn’t been involved with the core of this situation, but because of what happened the last time, she can still sense that something’s strange with Stiyl Magnus.

Stiyl reveals a cynical smile.

“Sorry, can I help you?”

Stiyl shakes the cigarette in his mouth as he says this. It’s been a long time since he last felt that sense of fear and rejection that reminds him of the atmosphere in ‘Necessarius’.

Komoe-sensei points her index finger at Stiyl, and says,

“Hey! It’s forbidden for anyone to smoke on the roads of Academy City!!”

…An answer that was completely expected.

Stiyl speechlessly blinks,

“Sigh…”

“Wh…why are you giving such a tired expression!? This Komoe-sensei is seriously warning you! I’m seriously preaching to you, you know!”

Seeing Komoe-sensei, whose eyes are watery now, Stiyl slightly frowns. Komoe-sensei doesn’t care about the look on his face, as she looks at his face closely before saying,

“Humph! Pardon me, how old are you? Komoe-sensei feels that you’re underage.”

“So what?”

“Of course I’m scolding you! Ah really, listen to me. LOOK AT ME! DON’T TURN YOUR HEAD AWAY!!”

Komoe-sensei is angry as she snatches the cigarette from Stiyl’s mouth, and reaches into his coat without any hesitation. She rummages through the coat, and pulls out a cigarette pack.

“…”

Stiyl looks like he got some spasms on his face. Basically, he won’t attack anyone that’s unrelated to magic (except for a certain boy who has a special right hand.)

Komoe-sensei looks at the brand of the cigarette pack that she confiscated, raises her eyebrows, and says,

“And yet you chose such a brand to show off. Did you learn to smoke because you yearned to be a movie star or something!?”

“It’s just that in my country, that’s the most famous brand…”

“Really! Anyway, I’m confiscating this! You’re not allowed to smoke. Nicotine and tar will affect a child’s growth!!”

Looking at Komoe-sensei, who’s staring back at him, Stiyl inadvertently looks away.

(…So troublesome.)

He thought.

Tsukuyomi Komoe is similar to a certain girl.

They don’t mind about the difference in physiques, ignore the distance between people, and get into other people’s hearts.

They do things that most people won’t pay much attention to, but they’re doing it for the good of others.

They’ll keep scolding others to prevent others from getting hurt.

—Several years back, every time Stiyl smokes, the girl will angrily scold him.

“Really…”

“Wha…what’s with that helpless expression!? I, Ko–Komoe-sensei, am really angry now! Ah, there’s still more? Today, sensei’s going to confiscate them all—wa…wa! Stop playing with the cigarette pack like you’re playing with a ball; hurry up and hand it over to me!!”

Stiyl turns to look away from Komoe-sensei. Even as he’s not paying attention to the shouting Komoe-sensei, he doesn’t intend to leave.

That’s right, she’s really stubborn.

“Hi…Himegami? Why are you here…?”

“There’s a troublesome situation, so I’m here looking for you.”

What’s going on? Kamijou tilts his head. Himegami Aisa is a girl whom lacks facial emotions, so it’s normally hard to tell whether she’s angry or sad. One can still believe her when she says ‘I’m hungry,’ and no one will question her when she says that ‘I want to raise a cat’ as well.

Thus, Kamijou asks honestly,

“What’s the troublesome thing now?”

“Ngh, Komoe-sensei has a bit of trouble. She looks rather angry.”

“???”

After hearing this, Kamijou decides to follow Himegami first. Himegami grabs Kamijou’s wrist, and pulling him along and saying “Here, here.”

Kamijou sees that the two of them are holding hands. Seeing Kamijou stare at the hands that are held together, Himegami slightly frowns.

“Is there a problem?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Himegami doesn’t seem to mind at all.”

“—”

At this moment, Himegami suddenly let go. She’s still stoic, but it seems that she’s a little red now. She pulls the hand that was holding Kamijou’s hand near her chest, and covers it with another hand. Though one can’t really tell, it seems that she’s mindful about it.

Himegami Aisa brings him to a rather large park.

Maybe it’s because lunch break is over, as there’re very few people around. Today’s main event is Daihaseisai, so the competitors and spectators are headed to the crowded arenas. So many people are walking on the streets, and they’re basically either moving from one arena to another, or they’re buying souvenirs. Especially those tourists from the neighbourhood nearby who’ll buy entrance tickets in order to sightsee around Academy City, everyone is busy attending the events, and there’s no time to slack.

In this deserted park, there’s a bench.

On the bench, Komoe-sensei, who’s wearing a similar cheerleading attire, is rather angry. She’s passionately talking about a smoker’s etiquette and underaged smoking.

On the other hand, treating these words as a mere distraction is the magician Stiyl Magnus. His face doesn’t show a frustrated look just because he got lectured, but he’s showing a smile that makes him look somewhat tired and bothersome.

Komoe-sensei is trying to confiscate the cigarette packs from Stiyl’s hands, but Stiyl is tossing it around like a ball, and Komoe-sensei can’t catch up. From afar, the way she continues to leap and miss is like a dog chasing after a plastic ball.

“It’s there, there. The man who saved me the last time is arguing with Komoe-sensei. I don’t know what to do.”

Himegami looks at the scene in front, seemingly finding it awkward. To her, though Komoe-sensei is her saviour, but originally, in the ‘Misawa Cram School’ case when the alchemist was highly active in the shadows, Stiyl Magnus is also her saviour. She probably doesn’t want to see both sides arguing. But, on seeing that priest, who has the smell of perfume all over him, Kamijou shows a look of irritation and disgust that he’s been feeling.

“I say…Himegami, there’s no need to stop them. For that guy’s good, he should let Komoe-sensei scold him badly.”

Hearing Kamijou say this, Himegami looks troubled, and says,

“But, that smoker man has been staring at us. He looks disturbed.”

“That guy is now so happy because a little girl hooked up onto him, it’s alright even if we don’t bother them.”

“But, Komoe-sensei’s face is all red now, it seems that she’s so angry that she’s tired now.”

“That sensei would be even happy on seeing a bad kid; no need to worry about her.”

Seeing Kamijou shaking his head nearby, Komoe-sensei doesn’t stop trying to grab the hand in the air that’s holding the cigarette pack.

“Ah, Kamijou!! What are you standing around for, come and help sensei!! This child is a terrifying heavy smoker! I say, can you help me get that cigarette pack and hand it over to me!?”

At his wits end, Kamijou can only approach Komoe-sensei and Stiyl.

Kamijou first stares at Komoe-sensei, then turns to look at Stiyl, who’s sitting on the bench.

“…How nice, there’re still people who are willing to be angry because of you.”

“I’d like to agree with you on this, Kamijou Touma, but I’m a bit busy now. She’s really noisy.”

Stiyl says this.

He tosses the cigarette pack high up, and at the same time, in a manner like he’s arranging his work tie, he points to the phone strap in his chest pocket. This tasteless skeleton-shaped light is flashing, indicating an incoming call. He lets Kamijou see it, again catches the cigarette pack naturally, and continues to play ‘toss the ball’ with Komoe-sensei.

The contact that the man is contacting…should be a member of the British Puritans. If it involves information about the ‘Apostle’s Cross’, he definitely can’t allow Komoe-sensei to hear it.

“Ah! You tossed it to the other side!”

Just as Kamijou is thinking about this, with Komoe-sensei’s words, something flew over from the corner of his vision. He frantically grabs it and examines it, it seems to be a brand that’s commonly seen in movies.

Stiyl ignores Komoe-sensei’s words, as he makes a gesture with his index and middle fingers, and brings them to his mouth. Don’t tell me it’s a disgusting kiss!? Kamijou readies his guard before realising that it’s a sign that he wants a smoke.

Kamijou, who realises this, shifts the hand with the cigarette pack over to Himegami, and asks,

“Himegami, do you have a lighter?”

Eh?

Compared to Himegami, who’s slow on the realisation, Komoe-sensei turns around at quite a speed.

“Kamijou! What kind of useless fighting spirit are you trying to use! Himegami, you should be stopping him too!!”

Komoe-sensei approaches at a very fast pace. Seeing this, Stiyl pulls out the handphone in his chest pocket, puts it near his ear, turns and leaves.

(It’s great if it’s information about the ‘Apostle’s Cross’. If not, it’ll be useless if I ticked off by Komoe-sensei. I don’t want to smoke at all, so how should I explain this misunderstanding!?)

Seeing Komoe-sensei start to tear up due to pure rage, Kamijou starts to panic. At this moment, it’s his phone that rings now. Who’s calling now? Kamijou tilts his head as he reaches for his shorts’ pocket.

“Kamijou! Shut your phone when sensei is lecturing!!”

“Wa!!”

Being pestered by Komoe-sensei, Kamijou inadvertently falls backwards. Komoe-sensei grabs the cigarette pack that Kamijou accidentally let loose into the air, and at this moment, Kamijou grabs the phone in his pocket. He sees the screen; it’s from Tsuchimikado Motoharu.

(For that guy would call at this time, it means that there’s some activity going on from Oriana’s side? …Damn it, that means that I can’t straggle around here, and I can’t let Komoe-sensei hear the contents of the conversation…)

In front of Komoe-sensei, who shouted “KAMIJOU!!”, Kamijou suddenly darts behind Himegami. The black-haired girl blushes upon being grabbed on the shoulders from behind, but Kamijou, who is behind, doesn’t notice this.

Kamijou thinks about his strategy as he wonders how to settle this situation.

“Hey, Himegami, I’m handing this over to you! I’ve already done what you requested, to break Komoe-sensei and Stiyl’s argument, so the rest is up to you!!”

With an almost desperate cry, Kamijou runs away from the scene. As Komoe-sensei is about to chase after him—

“Wa, Himegami! What are you doing! Why are you hugging sensei out of a sudden!!”

The other person seems to be fulfilling her part of the deal as she prevents Komoe-sensei from moving forward any further.

Deep inside, Kamijou is swearing that he’ll treat Himegami Aisa to some okonomiyaki from some stalls later as he rushes out of the park.

“Gack…gack…!?”

Tsuchimikado Motoharu tumbles two to three times on the marble-like surface. The impact causes the handphone in his hand to fly out and smash into a nearby pillar.

He’s on a road that links several underground streets together. It’s 8 metres wide, and about a 100 metres long. As there’s a famous underground street that’s commonly used as a shortcut, including the store owners, there’s almost nobody here. There’re large cylindrical pillars that splits this place into north and south zones, and the hidden side of the pillars is equivalent to the blind corner of the security camera.

The bus that Tsuchimikado took can’t proceed on due to the 10km race. He hastily looked for a place where there are no people, and activated the searching magic ‘all-around reality array’.

A rough sound is heard.

The ‘all-around reality array’ that he drew on the ground was trampled by someone and scattered all over the place.

“You can’t be too careless, you know. You intended to find this nee-chan’s whereabouts through things that are mine. On the other hand, you seem to forget that this nee-chan can also sense you as well. Oi, boys who do things their own ways might be hated, you know?”

A teasing tone.

And at the same time, an opponent with such strong power.

Oriana Thompson.

A different look compared to before. She has already changed out of her work clothes, and is now wearing a dark-coloured mini top and a light-coloured long skirt that has vertical slits like curtains. As the skirt cannot function like a normal skirt, there’s a Sharon skirt that’s used for covering swimming attire, now wrapped around her waist. But her fluffy blond hair and beauty, that beautiful impression of sweet curves that seems to melt like sugar inside a mouth, cannot be overwritten so easily just because she changed clothes.

She plays with the flashcards that have a metal ring passed through it.

“Of the people I’ve met up till now, it seems that you’re the most clear-headed, and at the same time, the most dangerous one. So this nee-chan is here to take care of you.”

“Cheh…”

Tsuchimikado gets away from the circular platform in the middle as he stands up.

If he doesn’t know that the enemy’s attack can be prevented by something blocking, the walls and the pillar—will become obstacles for him.

“…Everything will be alright if you hurry up and hand over the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ and surrender with Lidvia, or do you want to be a mollusc that has its bones wrecked?”

“Ah, even if I tell you that I have no interest in fighting, this nee-chan likes to play some exciting games. I’ll play with you until your waist breaks.”

Oriana gives a happy look as she answers, but in fact, she’s calculating the distance between her and Tsuchimikado. Tsuchimikado grits his teeth as Oriana pinpoints his position.

(Kami-yan and Stiyl…)

From his temple to his flank, and including his limbs, blood is seeping out. This isn’t caused by Oriana, but the rejection his body does when he uses magic.

(…Can’t rely on them. Though the walking distance is only about 10 minutes, I didn’t tell them exactly where I am. Besides, I chose to come to this place where no one will come to.)

He gently grips his fingers, and releases them, not letting Oriana realise this. Maybe it’s caused by the devastation of his insides, Tsuchimikado’s movements are as stiff as a puppet. Though in a real battle, he can’t use his full powers…it’s also bad when he falls onto the ground because of carelessness. One can sense anxiety in his calm and collected thought process.

Even so,

(How can I…)

Tsuchimikado rubs away the blood flowing out from his eyes, and looks in front.

(…retreat now?)

He exerts some pressure on his fingers that are slightly uncoordinated.

(In order to chase Oriana, Stiyl got hit by a counterspell. Because of the British Puritans, Kami-yan got involved in numerous unexpected calamities.)

He clenches his fist.

(So how can I retreat? I, who lured them onto the battlefield, how can I fall back now!? Even if the situation isn’t advantageous, even if my entire body’s covered in blood, it’s alright. I can’t let the goodwill of those idiots who assisted this traitor to go to waste!!)

A burning passion is in these eyes that are covered by those sunglasses.

“…Fallere825, 'the back-stabber'—remember this, this is my sorcery name.”

Hearing this, a slight smile appears on Oriana’s lips.

As a fellow magician, she knows the determination of the man who announced his name.

“Hoho, then it’s disrespectful for this nee-chan to not say her own name.”

Oriana’s eyes reveal a serious expression.

It’s her nature as a magician.

“My name is Basis104, "From the foundation to carry."…now that I’ve declared it, I have to win. This complete introduction should be proper manners for your determination.”

Tsuchimikado didn’t reply.

Oriana doesn’t say anything either.

It seems that starting the battle early would be the greatest respect to the ‘enemy’.

The two magicians instantly clashed with each other.

Tsuchimikado Motoharu covers the distance of 10 metres at one go, making the distance between them become 0.

During this time, Oriana Thompson places a flashcard inside her mouth, and bites onto it.

Out of mid-air, thick ropes appear on her arms. The ropes entangle with each other, and like a net commonly used in an obstacle race, wraps around her arms.

Just as Oriana’s about to use that net, Tsuchimikado swings his fist forward first.

He thought that his right fist would be blocked first, and thus faked his punch to the chest, and when the opponent is stuck, swing in a left hook to break through the wrist that’s used for defence. At the same time, he’ll stamp onto Oriana’s foot with his sole. This is a tactic that’s used for immediately disabling the enemy’s limbs, and remove all their mobility.

But,

Oriana seems to realise his intentions as she moves her right foot that’s about to be stepped on back. She uses her arm to block Tsuchimikado’s first punch, and using the instability caused by the punch and her stepping back, she falls backwards and increases the distance.

The left hook that Tsuchimikado intended to break Oriana’s wrist missed.

Her back on the ground, Oriana swings the right hand that’s covered with ropes.

A gust of wind is caused.

In that net that’s formed by many ropes, like bubbles being blown, the sound of air can be heard.

However, appearing this time isn’t soapy bubbles, but sharp blades that can cut rock.

“!!”

The blades, totalling about 20 of them, fly towards Tsuchimikado.

Facing this volley of blades that is fanning out like a shotgun, Tsuchimikado moves sideways and gets on onto the ground. Several pillars behind him are knocked down, and the lights on the ceiling are dropping towards him. The wall and the ads posted on it are ripped apart, and the marble floor looks like it was farmed.

Tsuchimikado didn’t get up, his four limbs still on the ground, as he leaps towards Oriana like a beast. If it’s close range, this can shorten the time needed to get up and run.

“Haha, this nee-chan doesn’t hate such a wild, youthful presence!!”

Her back on the ground, Oriana cannot dodge, but she gives a kick towards the approaching Tsuchimikado. Tsuchimikado grabs the foot with his right hand, his left hand onto her calf. As long as he can twist the ankle into a right angle, he will get the upper hand.

“Ho!!”

Tsuchimikado inhales, ready to twist the ankle.

Just as Oriana’s about to be controlled completely, with her ankle as the pivot, she turns her body around, and with her free leg, slams it from the side into Tsuchimikado’s face like a hammer.

“GYA…ahhhh!!”

Tsuchimikado’s body rolls hard to the left.

Oriana gets up and tears another flashcard with her teeth.

From her hands, an intangible force is released, moving towards Tsuchimikado. Tsuchimikado corrects his body posture while rotating and jumps up, his back slamming hard into the wall. A weird cracking sound can be heard from his body, and Tsuchimikado can taste blood.

(Damn…it!)

Tsuchimikado continues to jump aside, dodging the array of light bullets that Oriana’s shooting at him. The white balls that are as large as basketballs explode upon touching the walls.

Tsuchimikado again feels that shockwaves from the explosions, as he slams into the floor.

Tsuchimikado, who’s on the floor, slowly gets up.

He wipes the blood on his lips with his hands.

(Though it’s only a bit, my movements…are really slow…if it was the normal me, I would have broken a few bones of the enemy…!)

“Hn? Your method is not to use magic? Never mind, I don’t really care about how others live, but if so, you—will—die.”

Oriana seems to look uninterested as she places the flashcard near her soft lips.

“If this is your ability, you won’t be able to take the next hit. If this is how far your determination goes when you declared your sorcery name, this nee-chan won’t want to play with you anymore.”

She seems to be sighing that the outcome is a bit too fast.

It’s like spending lots of effort to prepare for an exam, only to find the questions too difficult. It seems like all her efforts were wasted.

“…To expect outside help at this time, it’s a bit stupid. This nee-chan has already set up a tactic to divert forces. Right now, this underground street is protected by a boundary. Nobody would think of approaching this place, and won’t find anything strange. News of whatever that happens inside won’t reach outside. Not only can it hide magic flows and magic movement, even the sixth sense, on the occasion that it works, will respond rather slowly — even a professional magician won’t approach this place so easily.”

(…)

Hearing these words, Tsuchimikado looks up.

He feels that those words aren’t right, but what? Even if there’re some contradictions, a slow mind won’t be able to pick up, that’s just what the enemy said. Maybe it is some wrong information to scare him or shake him up.

“So you’ll be defeated here. I’ll let you regret declaring your sorcery name to this nee-chan with this level of determination,” she said.

Oriana Thompson bites onto another flashcard.

It’s like pulling the plug off a grenade.

(…What now?)

Oriana’s flashcard falls onto the ground.

(Seeing how injured I am now, I won’t be able to take it the next time I cast magic. But, even if I want to use the ‘red spell’, there’s no time to chant it!)

While the flashcard lands on the ground, at the same time, a giant mallet suddenly appears from the ground beside Oriana. The pentagonal-type mallet is about a metre thick as it rushes towards the ceiling.

(If this is how it is, in this situation, if I want to deal the biggest blow to Oriana…! Damn it, I have to hurry! Got to hurry!)

Tsuchimikado grabs a coloured piece of paper from his blood-stained uniform.

With machinery-like speed, he folds up the wrinkled piece of paper.

“Everything begins from this signal! Follow the light and sharp noise!!”

“Too late.”

The moment Oriana said this, the giant mallet breaks apart like an ice sculpture.

This storm that has billions of shrapnel seems like it’s about to bury this road as it heads towards Tsuchimikado. It’s like it’s going to swallow this small human called Tsuchimikado Motoharu, stuff it into a main cannon, and fire it.

The sound of insects moving about can be heard later.

(I have to make i—)

Just before Tsuchimikado can send his request,

This metal tsunami that destroys everything rushes forward, all the way to the end.


The entire road was destroyed.

From where Oriana is standing, all the pillars to the end of the passage were destroyed. Seems like those pillars are just decorations, as in reality, they’re not used to support the ceiling. Well, at least it removes the danger of collapsing the ceiling. The walls, the ceiling, all the decorations on the floor, were ripped apart like a gift package, and even the materials on the ground look like they were ploughed through. In front of her, there’s no flat surface at all. The ground’s all fragmented and the sprinkler hoses in the peeled ceiling are all damaged; water’s flowing out like a faucet being completely open.

“…”

Oriana stares at this devastation that she caused.

(I damaged a surveillance camera? Security’s going to be tighter from now on.)

The opposing magician seemed to have dodged into the blind corner of a pillar, and lowered his body to avoid further damage. However, this level of dodging isn’t going to prevent him from getting hurt. On the back of Tsuchimikado, who’s sprawled on the floor, there are 4 metal pieces pierced into his body. Each piece of shrapnel, that’re several centimetres long each, are as sharp as a knife. Several pieces of rubble from the damaged pillars have also slammed onto his body, and each of these concrete slabs are as big as a honey dew.

“It’s over, huh?”

Oriana would normally keep the number of sacrifices she makes to a minimum and quickly leave the scene, but it’s different for a magician who declares his own sorcery name. In Oriana’s mind, a sorcery name is what keeps a magician alive; ignoring it is the biggest insult to a magician. Whether it’s done to her, or when she does it to others.

Thus, Oriana didn’t like it.

Even though she knows that she has to remove the danger in the shortest time possible and get away from it, even though she doesn’t like to go all out, she’s still unsatisfied now that victory was so easily decided.

(Should I deactivate the boundary I set around here and get away? Though nee-chan likes to leave some finishing touches.)

Interrupting her hasty thoughts and coming to a conclusion, Oriana looks around. If she wants to remove this boundary, she’ll have to use some sort of a code to deactivate it, and let the unstable ‘original’ self-destruct.

However,

“…?”

Oriana reveals a surprised look. Though it’s just the twitching of eyebrows, such a change is enough for her to reveal her inner thoughts.

The boundary was removed.

Oriana Thompson didn’t give any commands at all.

(What’s going on? Though it’s unstable, it’s still an ‘original’. There’s no magical interference, so it can’t be destroyed at all. Or, have his allies arrived…?)

Oriana moves to the front and back entrances to check, but there’s no one there. A destroyed boundary would mean that the owner of the destroyed boundary would know that’s it’s destroyed. As there is no way for anyone to use surprise attacks, when the boundary was destroyed, one would normally use a blitz attack.

The puzzled look on Oriana’s face becomes even more obvious.

She suddenly thought of a possibility.

“Don…don’t tell me…”

Her movements suddenly froze, and then she turns around.

She’s staring at the magician on the ground that has four pieces of shrapnel pierced into him. He’s still the same as before, but Oriana suddenly spots something.

Tsuchimikado, who’s sprawled on the ground, has a blood-red paper-folded bird beside his hand.

(At that critical moment, he seemed to be setting up some sort of spell…maybe he wanted to destroy the barrier? But why? Facing such a hit just now, why didn’t he defend, but do that sort of thing…?)

Destroying the barrier won’t result in Oriana’s defeat, as that was just a countermeasure.

That means…his aim is…

“Seems like…it’s a spell…that I can break.”

Oriana was shocked by that voice.

That ‘enemy’ that was definitely buried together with his sorcery name isn’t dead.

“I can’t really see it…you can endure this strenuous exercise, huh?”

Oriana refuses to admit defeat. Hearing this, the enemy magician on the ground slightly moves his lips, and smiles.

It’s like he wants to smile to show that he’s alive.

Tsuchimikado Motoharu moves these lips that are bloodied, and happily says,

“Oriana Thompson, didn’t you say that in this boundary, ‘nobody from the outside will know what happens inside?’ I’ll be troubled if that’s the case.”

“What…”

Oriana suddenly realises something.

Since it’s an enemy one can’t defeat, then what would the person think of first? Of course one would call for allies.

Realising what the enemy is thinking, the tension on her shoulders disappears.

It’s a tad too sad to rely on this.

“Idiot. Aren’t those comrades of yours those two that are chasing after this nee-chan? Those two don’t have any real threat. Even if those two work together, I won’t even be gasping for breath.”

“I’m not referring to them.”

“What?”

Oriana can’t help but ask back.

Right now, there are only three direct enemies that she can see.

“You’re really an idiot. We’re representing the British Puritans, the religious power of a country. Think, would there be only three members? If so, isn’t your mind a bit too simple and peaceful? They might as well go wash their hands in the golden basin of the magical world and go sell flowers? Just think, how many ‘Necessarius’ members are there? For us who’re supposed to be hiding our identity, how can we let the National authorities, who are living such a peaceful life that they’re almost stupid, realise this?”

This isn’t true, Oriana concludes.

Oriana didn’t come here to sightsee, so she didn’t check the schedule of Daihaseisai, but she did check with Lidvia before, and thus she knows there’s a delicate balance of power between the science side, which has Academy City as centre, and the magic side. Academy City, especially during Daihaseisai, can’t possibly let in too many magicians who belong to the same organisation. If they do so, the relations between the science side and the magic side will worsen.

The plan this time is to aim between the crack in relations between these two sides, and set up the ‘Apostle’s Cross’. Thus, she can’t possibly believe the exception that Tsuchimikado’s talking about, especially for the British Puritans, who’re supposed to be in charge of the magic side’s security.

Thus, Oriana can respond with confidence.

But she doesn’t completely know it — caring about Tsuchimikado’s words shows that there’s some sense of insecurity.

“If it’s true, this nee-chan would be troubled. But this is impossible. The British Puritans and Academy City won’t allow this sort of stupid thing to happen.”

“Why would we need their permission?”

“…”

“You forgot my sorcery name? I should have asked you to memorise it. I’m the back-stabber; which side am I backstabbing in the first place? The state of the British Puritans? The state of Academy City? So what? You think that my mind is so peaceful and stupid that I’ll ignore the minor details and let victory run away?”

Oriana feels that there’s a rather irritating silence surrounding her.

She slowly exhales.

“I can do anything just to get the victory. I can do anything just to hide in the darkness. As long as I can sneak onto the enemy, I’ll think of anything to get the victory no matter what. Watch it, Oriana Thompson. As long as I am willing, I can defend against all these metal shrapnel no matter how many are they. However, I won’t be able to get my victory like this, so I used a bigger trump card. That’s all.”

“…You think that I’ll believe this bluff? If you have plenty of comrades, why would you be working alone? When you used that searching magic, you should have gotten more people to protect you, right? Even if this isn’t the case, at least two people would be working together.”

“If you like to talk, then I’ll accompany you for that. To me, I can gain some time like this. When the boundary was broken, I’ve already sent the message. It won’t take long for the enemy to get here. Because that person is serious, that person will not hesitate to declare her sorcery name just to prevent someone from dying.”

Tsuchimikado extends out that blood-stained arm that was resting on the ground just now.

There’s a simple piece of paper in his hand.

It’s a piece of paper that’s shaped like a talisman that’s sold at a shrine. In the middle, there’s are Eastern words written in a straight line. Instead of saying it’s written in ink, it looks like the words were formed by burning the paper.

“‘Sealed Scripture’ – on first look, it looks like some sort of Shinto talisman, but in yinyang terms, it’s actually a cursed tool. This causes someone far away to hallucinate, creating internal conflict inside the person…if I reduce the power, it can be used in peaceful ways. That’s…”

“Don’t tell me that it’s a communication spell?”

“Bingo. This thing is made into a bag-shaped thing, and inside it is a wooden piece with somebody’s name on it. Very classical, eh?”

Tsuchimikado grins,

“Come to think of it, in this situation, who would be my most likely contact?”

He slowly says.

Though he’s covered in blood, it’s like he’s blackmailing his prey.

“It wouldn't be fine if the thing you’re transporting is the ‘Stab Sword’. Since we know that it’s not that, we can let that person join in the battle without any hesitation. Or should we say, since there’s no ‘Stab Sword’, there’s no need for that person to remain on standby. Besides, that person’s greatest weakness is gone.”

Oriana’s throat unknowingly dries up.

She heard of it before.

In the British Puritan ‘Necessarius’ department, out of the 20 Saints in the world, there’s a Saint among them. She has tremendous power, and will swing her sword to prevent anyone from dying. Oriana Thompson was originally a British, and her main base of operations was in England, so she knows about the Saints. Once she meets a Saint, she’ll lose; it’s said that only a real God or Angel can beat those monsters.

“That’s right, it’s Kanzaki Kaori.”

The glow in Oriana Thompson’s eyes become sharp.

She licks her dry lips.

“Since I know that you have the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ and not the ‘Stab Sword’, you shouldn’t be surprised when you consider the scale of this situation, huh? Kanzaki was a central character in the conflict between the British Puritans, Roman Catholics and Amakusa Catholics ten days ago. Isn’t it possible that she’s still staying in Japan? Also, there are people that Kanzaki is familiar with living in Academy City. She can be seen as a special guest, and even if news leaks out, there won’t be a problem.”

Tsuchimikado adds on,

“You should know, Kanzaki owes a debt of grace to me. Think about it, when she first came to England, who was the one who took care of her? Of course a fellow Japanese would be suitable. To me, it’s a rather trivial matter. But that person is rather sensitive about this sort of thing. If she knows that something like this is happening, she’ll immediately rush over.”

(Cheh…)

Oriana starts to make her own calculations.

Seeing Oriana like this, Tsuchimikado seems to treat her like an idiot, and continues,

“Oh my. Don’t tell me that you intend to destroy the ‘Sealed Scripture’. Let me tell you, that’s impossible. This thing is like an alarm, once it sends the signal, it’s over.

Saying this, Tsuchimikado seems like he wants to prove that this isn’t a hoax, as he pinches on his own hand-made talisman that he used as a communicator.

“…”

Oriana slightly adjusts her breathing.

Right now, she can’t tell whether ‘Kanzaki Kaori’ will come here or not. Even if that Saint is to arrive, Oriana doesn’t think that she’ll lose. As long as she can set up an effective strategy, ready to sacrifice her limbs, she can probably kill one or two Saints in battle. But this isn’t appropriate. Compared to a simple one on one battle, Oriana Thompson must achieve a higher goal and not hurt anyone else.

(If so,)

Anyway, she chooses to kill Tsuchimikado, who’s using the searching magic, and get out of here quickly.

“Hoo!!”

Tsuchimikado, who’s on the floor, squeezes his last ounce of strength, pulls a bar away from the rubble, and throws it onto the devastated floor. The gray dust is floating around like curtains.

Visibility has become zero.

“!”

Oriana suddenly moves towards where Tsuchimikado fell, and stamps onto the ground hard like she’s going to break her ankle.

However, she can only feel the hardness of the floor.

(He intends to buy some time!? Why must he work so hard…)

To this point, there’s no ‘anyway’ now. The enemy can still fight, though it’s somewhat troublesome to make a comeback in this dust. From the looks of things, Oriana has to spend quite some time before she can even kill Tsuchimikado. In other words, there are only two options.

If she assumes that Kanzaki Kaori won’t arrive, she’ll take her time to beat Tsuchimikado down.

If she assumes that Kanzaki Kaori will arrive, she’ll abandon Tsuchimikado and quickly get the heck out of here.

The dust in front of her can be dispersed by a flashcard. But if this is to end up being the signal that begins the battle, she’ll have to stay behind and fight until Tsuchimikado dies.

It’s not that Oriana doesn’t know what to choose.

It’s that she’ll regret whichever option she chooses.

(Anyway, this nee-chan has already destroyed the searching spell, my objective. It’s not worth it if I get injured because I was fighting against this troublesome boy…)

Oriana Thompson pulls her tongue back and runs to the exit of the subway.

If his words are true, the Saint of the British Puritans ‘Kanzaki Kaori’ will join in the battle. Oriana thought that if this is so, she should have made use of the rumour that it’s the ‘Stab Sword’ even more. If she can set up a strategy, she might be able to beat the Saint, but a Saint is not someone who can be taken down without taking damage.

Of course,

She doesn’t want to admit defeat.


“She…”

Left behind and alone in the damaged subway, Tsuchimikado mutters. When Oriana left, he checked to see whether the enemy left behind any flashcard spell.

The dust has scattered.

Tsuchimikado is sprawled on where Oriana first did her flying kick. Now heavily injured, even if she’s to use all her strength, he can only move this distance. In other words, he removed the visibility of the enemy, using it to cause anxiety in Oriana, causing her to be unable to ‘confirm it calmly,’ and barely escaped from this predicament.

“I can use the communication spell ‘Sealed Scripture’ and summon Kanzaki Kaori when I’m in trouble, huh?”

Tsuchimikado blankly stares at the ceiling.

He moves his lips, mocking himself,

“It’ll be great if this sort of thing really exists nya…”

Of course there won’t be any reinforcements. The only people who are chasing after Oriana and Lidvia are all in Academy City, Tsuchimikado, Stiyl and Kamijou, only the three of them.

He looks at the folded paper talisman that he made.

“This talisman and spiritual tool, ‘Sealed Scripture’—forget about yinyang, it doesn’t even exist in the world. Tsuchimikado concluded that Oriana isn’t versed in Eastern magic, so he just folded a piece of paper. Of course, there’s no magical meaning behind it, and there’s no wood piece that has Kanzaki’s name on it.”

(A ‘seal’ and a ‘scripture’ have the meaning of a ‘love letter’…it’s really like a curse anyway, being seriously in love is like being cursed nya.)

Before this, Stiyl mentioned dejectedly that ‘I have no knowledge on Eastern magic at all, so I can’t do it by myself.’ To think that it’d come to use now.

In other words, Tsuchimikado gambled on the possibility that ‘Oriana isn’t familiar with the incantations of yinyang,’ so he just confidently showed her a piece of paper that has kanji written on it.

But,

(If the enemy believes it, at least they’ll proceed slowly with their actions, but they probably won’t delay it. It’ll be great if I can get my revenge…)

Tsuchimikado is lying on the ground as he looks at the devastated subway.

(The magic array is destroyed, the flashcard is gone, and even my phone’s split. Now, how can I do my recovery nya… To be honest, I can’t activate the ‘all-around reality array’ again.)

He wants to get up, but his entire body is aching really badly.

He’s hurting so badly that he wants to roll on the floor, only to realise that he doesn’t even have the energy to do so.

His body is so cold, yet so heavy.

Even if he breathes, he might not breath in oxygen successfully.

“First…”

Tsuchimikado thought about the power that exists within him as a member of Academy City.

Level 0 Auto Regeneration.

It’s a self-recovery process that creates a film on those vascular raptures.

“…With such a broken up body, I have to think of an idea nya…?”

“Himegami, we’ll be late if we don’t take a shortcut—YA!!”

“!”

Both sides collide with each other.

The petite girl that’s like a primary school student jumps back after knocking into Oriana’s abdomen, only to knock into a black-haired P.E attire clad girl that’s moving backwards.

Oriana immediately gets ready to tear the flashcard, but she held onto it. The one who knocked into Oriana is a 135cm tall girl who’s wearing a cheerleading uniform.

Because of the impact caused by the cheerleader girl, the plastic cup that originally has fruit juice in it is knocked out of the black-haired girl’s cup. With a soft ‘wa’ sound, it lands on her hair. The fluid that wets her shirt drips onto the petite girl’s head.

“Komoe-sensei, you really like to look for trouble.”

“So…sorry! But sensei is all drenched herself! Ah, this lady, are you alright?”

The drenched cheerleader girl looks up at Oriana, looking slightly worried as she asks.

(Magician reinforcements…maybe not.)

From the attire and actions of the girls, Oriana simply hypothesized.

She reveals her normal smile.

“Ah, this nee-chan is alright, I’m more worried about you instead. It’ll be rather exciting if you’re to walk on the streets like that.”

“Ah! Himegami’s drenched as well.”

“Komoe-sensei too. Something pointy is on your chest.”

Komoe-sensei frantically covers her flat chest with both hands. Seeing Komoe-sensei blush, the black-haired girl again looks at her chest.

At this moment, Oriana sees it.

The chest of the black-haired girl.

The short-sleeved T-shirt is now transparent, thanks to the fruit juice that was splashed on her. One can see that she’s wearing a pink based green butterfly knotted bra.

However, she’s not concerned about it.

On the inside of the P.E attire, there’s something else. The thin chain hanging around her neck looks like a necklace. That chain is in her P.E. attire. Fastened at the bottom of the chain is a large, silver…

—Colt's Cross that’s refined by the British Puritans.

Oriana doesn’t know what that Cross does.

She also doesn’t know what abilities that black-haired girl has.

In this situation, she only knows one thing.

(A magician that’s allied with England!?)

In Academy City, there might be counterfeit Crosses being sold as decorations. Some children may wear Cross earrings and necklaces without understanding the meaning behind it. Thus the Cross itself isn’t rare.

But,

It’s not strange for the world renowned Roman Catholics, but for the British Puritan Cross to exist in Japan, where a Church doesn’t even exist, that’s another topic in itself. To specially import it from England, the circumstances should be abnormal. Normally, ordinary people don’t possess some sort of spiritual barrier. Besides, the name of that barrier is—

(The British Puritans’…‘Walking Church’!? To think that she has the same type of defensive mechanism as that Index Librorum Prohibitorum? This monster—!!”

Her hands immediately gear into action.

Oriana puts a flashcard that’s sealed by the thin metal ring near her mouth. She bites on it and tears it down at one go. The red words ‘Soil Symbol’ appear on the paper, as the unstable magic text ‘original’ starts to activate its magic.

BOOM!!

A blunt explosion can be heard.

“That seems to be the alley that we’re looking for…I have a bad feeling about this.”

“What?”

Facing this surprised Kamijou, Stiyl shakes the cigarette in his mouth.

“It’s the scent. This is a bad scent. When a certain group of people are nervous and excited, the feelings will spread out like smell. And this…is the scent of someone seeing fresh red blood.”

Hearing such terrifying words, Kamijou’s hairs start to stand.

In this to-and-fro situation, Kamijou and Stiyl reach the back of the crowd. They then reach the crowd, where some of them are straightening their backs to see what’s going on, and some are even jumping.

(What…?)

Kamijou frowns. Right now, he doesn’t have time to confirm it. He half-forces his way past the human wall and tries to get into the dark alley.

At this moment, on the other side of the human wall, there was an unexpected voice.

“PLEASE…PLEASE MOVE ASIDE! EVERYONE, PLEASE MAKE WAY! HIMEGAMI? ARE YOU ALRIGHT, HIMEGAMI!!?”

“MOVE ASIDE!!”

Kamijou suddenly rushes into the crowd, and arrives at the front. Most of the crowd move aside, and though there’s a rather angry atmosphere, Kamijou ignores this as he moves to the front.

Kamijou doesn’t slow down as he runs into this dark alley.

What he sees…

It’s blood.

It’s a narrow alley.

Because of the combinations of tall and short buildings, it’s supposed to be daytime, but the sunlight can’t shine in. The damp road looks dark, and there’s a stagnant flow of smell.

This dark alley

Is dyed another crimson red.

“Ka…Kamijou!!”

The familiar voice belongs to Komoe-sensei.

But, those small hands, and that soft face, and the sleeveless cheerleading vest and miniskirt, they’re all dyed a crimson red. Tears roll down from her large eyes, mixes with the blood and roll down to her chin.

But that’s not her blood.

There’s a girl lying beside Komoe-sensei. The black haired girl, Himegami Aisa, is lying in a pool of blood. Compared to the fresh red blood, her face and limbs have gone pale green.

The top half of her shirt is tattered.

She’s bandaged up at the top. From the collarbone, to the top of her navel…every part of it was wrapped. To an amateur, it’s pretty well done, but the seeping fluid continues to dye the bandage red. The originally smooth curve of the girl seems a bit uneven now.

“…!!”

Kamijou wants to know the reason, but he immediately regretted it.

Amongst the pool of blood, there’s a piece of flesh with skin attached that’s like a boiled egg that was failed to be peeled.

Himegami remains motionless.

Maybe he’s thinking too much, as he can still hear light breathing.

Kamijou feels a strong impact in his head.

He saw it before.

This feeling.

It’s the same feeling as when Accelerator was attacking the Imoutos.

“Why, how…Himegami, she…? Sensei, what happened! Who did it!?”

“I…I don’t know.”

Komoe-sensei, who’s still trembling, looks over here.

“Sen…sensei knocked into a woman around here…then sensei did apologise to her. That person smiled as she also forgave me. But suddenly, her face looked very terrifying, in an instant…Himegami…!”

“It’s Oriana, right?”

Stiyl shakes away that extremely long cigarette, and in annoyance, presses it against the wall.

“To do this in this situation, there’s a high chance that it’s her…that person, she’ll really do things that are despicable.”

“Why?”

Kamijou looks confused,

“Why did she do this? She has no reason to attack Himegami! Himegami has nothing to do with this!!”

“It’s that.”

Stiyl points at the floor with his cigarette.

In the pool of blood, there’s a blood-stained Cross. That’s a little boundary that the British Puritans sent over as a decoration for her to wear in order to seal off her ‘Deep Blood’ ability.

“This ‘walking church’ spiritual tool is a special tool that’s also given to me, Tsuchimikado and Kanzaki. Seeing this, it’s not weird for Oriana to assume her to be a magician of importance that’s of the same level as Index Librorum Prohibitorum. In Academy City, where science is the main subject, it’s strange itself to have a British Puritan spiritual tool. Oriana must have thought that there are strong pursuers chasing after her, so she wanted to take the pre-emptive.”

Kamijou knows what this means, as his facial muscles start to twitch.

“She…made a mistake…?”

His throat bobbles strangely.

“Just…like that? She’ll go to this extent, and land Himegami in this state; the reason is…she made a mistake?…Th…at…she…what the hell—!!”

Kamijou can’t help but hammer hard into the wall. Now still crying, Komoe-sensei’s shoulders inadvertently tremble.

Stiyl looks bored as he exhales, and pulls out some runes from his coat. After tossing it, the cards start to stick on the wall like there are magnets on it.

“Let this place be hidden.”

Saying this, the crowd that’s blocking the dark alley now moves back onto the road like a plug being pulled out.

This should be Stiyl’s ‘Disperse by-standers’.

“To carry out such emergency procedures, you probably called for an ambulance. If so, it’s better to wait at the entrance of the alley. If you’re to keep staying here, the paramedics won’t be able to see you. But at least it’s better than letting the bystanders stand around here.”

In order to chase Oriana, Stiyl heads into the inside of the dark alley. If she wants to get to the bus stop through here, she’ll continue to move forward.

Thus, Stiyl moves forward without hesitation.

He steps past Himegami Aisa, who’s lying in the pool of blood.

“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!”

“What, what are expecting now? Are you going to stay here and scream, or are you going to continue chasing after Oriana Thompson, and end this quickly?”

“It’s because of us that she got involved! How can we just leave Himegami behind without taking care of her?”

“Kamijou!?”

Komoe-sensei looks up, speaking in a soft voice.

She’s clearly one of the affected parties, but as nobody told her what’s going on, she can’t understand what they’re saying.

“Then, what can you do?”

Stiyl stands beside Himegami, who’s not moving at all, and stares straight at Kamijou’s face.

Then, he extends out his hand that has a ring on each finger.

“—STOP GETTING ALL HIGH AND MIGHTY, YOU AMATEUR!!”

He suddenly grabs Kamijou’s hair and forcefully pulls it down. In front of Kamijou, is a girl lying in the pool of blood, breathing weakly.

“In front of this injured girl, what can an amateur like you do? Even a specialist like me can’t do anything, NOTHING! Will staying with her heal her up? Will grabbing her arm cause her pain to go away? If you believe so, fine, then do it, right in front of me! During this time, this cold and hard reality will only rob her of her strength! Right now, we can only chase Oriana! And if we are to do that, we have to step past her! If you’re not willing, then just stay here and mope all you want!!”

Stiyl roughly lets go of Kamijou’s hair.

Kamijou took a few steps back.

“…You think that you’re the only one angry, Kamijou Touma? Anyone will feel something by just seeing this. Even if it’s Stiyl Magnus, he will feel it. The girl that I risked my life to save from ‘Misawa Cram School’ is now injured to such an extent; you think that I can remain calm!?”

Stiyl points his index finger, with the shiny ring on it, downwards.

“Step over it, Kamijou Touma. Step over her and chase after Oriana! This is our world. Terrible, isn’t it? We can’t treat this girl: this fact will not change. If you want to protect others, clench your fist. There’s a limit to what we can do in the first place. Your right hand has the ability to break illusions, since when did it have the ability to protect an illusion?”

“…Damn it.”

Kamijou lowers his face as his bangs blocks his view. He’s gritting his teeth so hard that his molars are about to break.

In this hidden regret, is it directed at Oriana, or is it the fact that he can’t rebut back?

“That…bastard…!!”

Kamijou lets out a roar that sounds like he’s going to cry. Then, he lifts a leg, as that trembling leg is about to make a first step. Instead of staying behind to look after Himegami, he chooses to chase after the escaping Oriana.

“—”

The magician, Stiyl Magnus, narrows his eyes as he sees the ritual in front of him.

It’s when Kamijou’s foot is about to step past Himegami Aisa’s body.

The priest sees it.

It’s Tsukuyomi Komoe, who’s slightly far away from Himegami Aisa, now drenched in blood.

Her hands, face, clothes, all dyed a crimson red thanks to the blood. Komoe-sensei is sitting on the floor, not caring about her skirt or the ground, as her butt directly sits on the ground.

But, this isn’t the focus.

She slowly begins to collect the surrounding pieces of rock and cans and stacks them up like she’s playing with toy bricks, arranging them. But she’s not placing them anyhow. It looks like a lame miniature model of the buildings.

“Wait a minute.”

Stiyl suddenly said something.

Kamijou, who’s about to take a step forward, loses his balance as he steps backwards. Stiyl completely ignores him, as he just stares at Tsukuyomi Komoe’s face.

“What…are you doing?”

“That time…”

The female who’s only 135cm tall looks at the magician with her reddish eyes.

“…Didn’t it work for Sister-san the last time? So, this…this time…I…should…be able…to do it. The last time…sister-san…was slashed in the back, she was bleeding profusely. But…if sensei follows…what Sister-san…instructed…”

“No way…”

Stiyl Magnus suddenly thought of it.

When that Index first came to Academy City, Kanzaki Kaori accidentally slashed Index in the back. Kamijou carried that injured girl to Tsukuyomi Komoe’s apartment.

But,

Index and Kamijou can’t use magic. That’s not a technical problem, but a physical one. Then, the one who used healing magic on Index was—

“Don’t tell me, it was you…?”

Stiyl says in a low voice that’s full of surprise and respect.

The petite girl didn’t notice his transformation.

“…Before, everything was alright after I did this. Sensei…remembers it very clearly? I really…followed what…Sister-san…instructed…! Why? Why, isn’t Himegami healed…!? Himegami…just talked about the night tour, she wanted to go out with Kamijou. She checked the tour guidebook a few days ago. WHY…MUST THIS HAPPEN…!!”

Such an outcry isn’t directed at anyone.

And Stiyl and Kamijou can only listen to her sobbing.

What Tsukuyomi Komoe is doing is a healing spell, one that requires delicate mixing of a magician-made hakoniwa (Note: A hakoniwa is a miniature piece of art. It may be a miniature garden, a landscape or a bonsai. Places in a box or a basin.) to a fixed amount of space. By using this method, if one is to patch up a ragged doll, the person can heal an injured person. But, if one doesn’t separate a fixed perimeter and just completes the ‘hakoniwa’, there won’t be any effect. Not just in the physical sense, the caster has to consider the magic symbols and the way the Angel’s power is to flow in.

This isn’t a simple process that any magician can do.

Even for Stiyl, who can flexibly control the runes and the Christianity, he can only heal burns.

Though it’s a recovery spell, due to the differences in sects, rules and spells, just chanting the incantation isn’t enough to heal it. It’s like how flu medicine’s not going to heal a fracture: if one doesn’t carry out the appropriate spell, it won’t have any effect on the injured person.

Moreover, if they want to heal laceration, beatings, fractures, and internal injuries, they need a specialised caster. If there’s a person with knowledge that’s of Index’s level, maybe even an amateur can do it. But such a condition may be too unique.

Like he expected, Tsukuyomi Komoe’s spell isn’t complete.

Of course, it’s a different case when she was instructed by Index to activate the magic spell. But for this kind of ‘hakoniwa’ that’s made when she just learnt a bit of, it’s a bit too loose, and there are no magical symbols at all. This is expected, as Komoe-sensei, who’s from the science side, doesn’t understand how the spell works in theory.

But, she called an ambulance.

And she did all the emergency procedures that she can do.

Tsukuyomi Komoe tried every single method that she can think of, but there’s no effect at all. In the end, she has to seek help from the ‘magic’ that she has no knowledge of.

She may not know how outrageous this thing that she did is.

She may also not know that she’s betting on such a lousy contraption.

Even so, she’s just doing it for…

A girl in front of her who she wants to save.

“Damn it…”

Stiyl Magnus inadvertently looks away.

This female called Tsukuyomi Komoe is very similar to a certain girl.

A petite figure, extremely naïve, one who gets angry for others sake, one who cries for others sake, one who has magical knowledge, but is unable to use magic, that crying look when she got dyed in other people’s blood.

Stiyl feels this unhappiness in his heart as he can’t help but narrow his eyes.

He inhales, and tosses the cigarette aside.

“—Nope, it’s not like that.”

Eh?

Tsukuyomi Komoe looks up.

Stiyl pulls out several rune cards that have complicated symbols on them from his pitch-black coat.

“Like using a bucket to store seawater, first, we have to set the ‘hakoniwa’ area. Also, it’s too little to just think of an Angel. We have to set where the Angel is to come in, and where is it going to stay. You just need to imagine it. We’re not really summoning an Angel that has wings, we just need some sort of force.”

He immediately bends down.

Facing Himegami, who’s wrapped in bandages and can only let out feeble breathing.

He faces the girl who he just stepped over.

“Kamijou Touma, go and chase after Oriana.”

“What?”

“I’ll tell you Tsuchimikado’s new number. Even without me around, it’ll be troublesome if you can’t contact him.”

“Wait a sec. That means…you’ll…”

“Don’t expect too much. I’m pretty much an amateur in this aspect.”

The magician, Stiyl Magnus, says unhappily.

“I can only heal burns; loss of blood and fractures will require another type of spell. Also, this is a territory which I’ve never stepped into before. To heal such a serious injury…even those that specialises in surgery may not be able to do this…”

But he continues,

“…This person seems to know something that’s part of Index’s knowledge. I’ll borrow some knowledge from her to confirm this theory. I can’t even memorise Tsuchimikado’s ‘all-around reality array’ and ‘divination circle array’. To be honest, I’m a little worried…but we can still gain some time before we send her to the hospital. After this, we can only hope for a highly-skilled doctor to heal her.”

“Eh, ah…?”

Tsukuyomi Komoe forcefully rubs her eyes.

Seeing her like this, Stiyl can’t help but look away.

“Wait till my instructions are over, then get to the road to call the paramedics in. Kamijou Touma, you go ahead and chase after Oriana. If even you stay behind, that right hand contraption of yours will destroy this healing spell completely. When this is over, I’ll immediately talk…let me repeat this again, if you want to settle all these, hurry up and get out of here.”

“…Got it.”

Kamijou stares at Himegami’s face, her body lying in the pool of blood.

He then exerts some strength into the five fingers of his right hand.

“I will, if this will solve everything. So Stiyl, I’m leaving Himegami to you.”

“I should have said it before, but don’t expect too much.”

Stiyl heavily exhales as he said this.

He then says in an extremely irritated tone.

“I’m not used to this either. In this world, I wish that I can use magic that’s not used for attacking others.”