To Aru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Discussion (Archives)

[Suzuku]

http://yunakiti.blog79.fc2.com/blog-entry-6897.html

lol. And total sales of Index and Railgun novel and manga are 15 million, meaning Railgun has sold over 5 million copies. Index really can't be stopped.

[Plant42]

Originally Posted by Suzuku

http://yunakiti.blog79.fc2.com/blog-entry-6897.html

lol. And total sales of Index and Railgun novel and manga are 10.5 million, meaning Railgun has sold over 5 million copies. Index really can't be stopped.

Railgun is around 3.5million since Index Manga is 1.5million.

[RPG_Fanatic]

Originally Posted by Suzuku

http://yunakiti.blog79.fc2.com/blog-entry-6897.html

lol. And total sales of Index and Railgun novel and manga are 10.5 million, meaning Railgun has sold over 5 million copies. Index really can't be stopped.

What does the novel category include? I can't be the light novel since it has sold 10 million separately.

Great to see Index/Railgun selling well over all formats.

[Plant42]

Originally Posted by RPG_Fanatic

What does the novel category include? I can't be the light novel since it has sold 10 million separately.

Great to see Index/Railgun selling well over all formats.

Total- 15M
-Index Novel - over 10M
-Index Manga - around 1.5M
-Railgun Manga - around 3.5M

[Suzuku]

Originally Posted by Plant42

Railgun is around 3.5million since Index Manga is 1.5million.

Ah my bad, I thought it was talking about the Railgun manga separately, not including the Index manga. I also accidentally put 10.5 million instead of 15. Still, that's great.

Originally Posted by RPG_Fanatic

What does the novel category include? I can't be the light novel since it has sold 10 million separately.

Great to see Index/Railgun selling well over all formats.

Yes, it is the light novel that has over 10 million in sales.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Wilfriback

I don't think is the real god Odin but a magician who became a maijin after snatching away Ollerus' chance to become one.

You know what I think? I think both Aurelus and Odin were going to drink from that well of wisdom and complete the acension to demon god of magic. Then Aurelus stopped to save the kitty and Odin drinks from the well......the rest, is history.

[Marina2]

(Sorry if this is the wrong topic to request this)

Can someone translate this for me? Just the part where each ITEM members give comment about other members is ok. (but if you can translate everything, that would be very thankful) This come from the under-cover of Railgun manga vol.5 Limited Edition.

http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/7605/index2305.jpg
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/9337/index2306.jpg

Thank you.

[cubicjack]

Originally Posted by outerelf

But we haven't seen Aurrelus fight yet.

Actually, we have, in SS2. He fought 9 Misaka Imoutos and Gunha. However, we didn't get to see much since Gunha (and of course the Imoutos) was easily defeated.

[jerys]

Translation updated by Teh_ping
http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/in...me11_Chapter_4
it's uragami = itsuwa? if it's true, then that explain why he make a move to touma in this chapter.

sorry for my bad english

[Xenosnake]

Originally Posted by jerys

Translation updated by Teh_ping
http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/in...me11_Chapter_4
it's uragami = itsuwa? if it's true, then that explain why he make a move to touma in this chapter.

sorry for my bad english

We don't know if Uragami is Itsuwa. Itsuwa likes Touma though because she respects his girth.

[yuiichi9]

Originally Posted by Xenosnake

We don't know if Uragami is Itsuwa. Itsuwa likes Touma though because she respects his girth.

What do you mean by Itsuwa likes Touma though because she respects his girth? Could you explain.

[pampz21]

move?
if this is a dating sim....the one who initiate this event would be Touma!
go Touma you got a harem there! raise some flags!

EDITed

[sasuke706]

Originally Posted by Xenosnake

We don't know if Uragami is Itsuwa.

J.C. Staff may actually just replace Uragami with Itsuwa, assuming they're different people (which is my bet), since Uragami doesn't seem to appear much, if at all, after volume 7. And they've already expanded Itsuwa's role, though minorly so far. All they have to do is obviously place Itsuwa in Uragami's place and have her use a weapon she may not be familiar with, then change the dialogue accordingly so Saiji says Itsuwa instead of Uragami.

[yuiichi9]

Originally Posted by pampz21

move?
if this is a dating sim....the one who initiate event this would be Touma!
go Touma you got a harem there! raise some flags!

I am with you. It is time he make his move & show that he likes in a romantic sense towards a female except index.

[MeisterBabylon]

Mieta zo! ENDING ga.

[I_am_Kami]

Did a new Mini SS novel come out?

[Suzuku]

Originally Posted by I_am_Kami

Did a new Mini SS novel come out?

A Railgun SS is being included with Index II BDs.



Anyway, translation of the ToumaxMikoto scene in vol22.

Spoiler for Volume 22 Chapter 12 Part 4:

12-4

"Go right!! Just a bit more!! Move closer!!"

Misaka Mikoto, standing up from her seat in the back, shouted this to the Sister holding the control column.

Finally.

At long last,

she had reached that idiot - in the same time, in the same space!!

"Misaka would like to point out that there is an eerie smile on the Original's face."

"Bwa-?! Tha, that's not true!! There's no way a comparison can turn out right when you're the only to compare with in the first place!!"

As Mikoto pulled at and checked her own face with a fluster,

"Just what is going on down there?! It was just floating there a while ago. Why is it starting to descend now?!"

"Misaka is sorry to interrupt while the Original is agitating herself, but would like to point out that with the cockpit canopy still closed your voice will not reach the other side."

"Well?! Which button is it?!"

After asking this, Misaka suddenly remembered a problem.

They were over 10000 metres in the air. The air outside was at minus fifty degrees, the atmosphere pressure was quite low, and there would be little oxygen. Would it be safe to open the canopy?

She can't reach him if the canopy isn't open. But she can't open it.

As Mikoto is assaulted by this incredible dilemma, the emotionless Sister pricked up her ears.

"...Misaka reports that there is something wrong with the noise of the engine's vibration."

"?"

"Misaka has completed a precise calculation - a conductive pattern of minus seven degrees, one atmosphere down. Misaka can conclusively report that, through unknown means, the outside contains approximately the same environment as the surface, despite being above 1000 metres in altitude."

"You mean,"

"Misaka is saying that that it shouldn't be a problem to open the canopy."

Immediately,

like a rugby ball being split open front-to-back, the canopy opened upwards. Apparently, the Sister had pressed the button.

Just as she had said, breathing wasn't a problem. The cold she felt on her skin didn't feel like it was dozens of degrees below zero.

The Sister tilted the fuselage forward, and the VTOL craft moved gently - not with the nose aimed towards the fortress, but perpendicular to it... in other words, slowly advancing towards it with the tip of the right wing.

A few more metres.

It was just a few hundred centimetres.

The exact distance changed every time the unstable fortress shook.

However, compared to when she was still hesitating in Academy City, it was exceptionally closer.

"It might be... difficult just landing here, as Misaka is straining against the control column."

Then, the Sister said this.

The fighter craft stopped precisely in mid-air.

It was just a bit further until they made contact with the fortress.

"Misaka explains that the a VTOL craft was made for gently landing on the ground. Misaka voices the concern that if a landing is recklessly attempted, it presents the risk of crashing the bottom of the craft onto this greatly oscillating fortress."

"Can we move to a wider space? This is a pretty huge fortress. If we go up, there's probably enough space for a pasture on the top."

"Misaka replies with the contrary point that, as the fact that the fortress is shaking is unchanged, the risk of crashing cannot be avoided. Thus, Misaka frowns upon the fact that, even if the fighter craft did manage to landed, if it loses its flight capabilities, then escape would become impossible."

"Then fine."

With the canopy still open, Mikoto reached for the metal part of her belt.

"Try your best to keep it balanced! I'll just follow along the wings and pull that idiot up here!!"

Mikoto clambered from her seat and moved onto the wing on all fours.

Perhaps it was because she magnetically attached her feet to the wing, but she felt it less terrifying than she expected.

She advanced slowly.

The distance to the spiky-haired boy shrunk.

(Reach....)

With a jerk, the fortress heavily shook.

The altitude was lowering.

The sense of stability from before was gone.

As though,

the invisible strings supporting the fortress were being shredded one by one, the shaking became a source of increasing unease.

(Reach!!)

The VTOL craft inched towards the fortress with Mikoto glued on to the wing, as its fuselage shook irregularly.

It was then,

that that idiot's eyes met hers.

The spiky-haired boy seemed to be perplexed by the means of escape suddenly lowering onto him. What were you planning in the first place, idiot? - is what she thought from the bottom of her heart, but now wasn't the time to be a stickler. She can preach until she dies, later.

Mikoto, at the very edge of the wing, stretched her hand as far as it can go.

Can she reach him? Or can she not?

Her fingertips inched closer.

But,

it was then, that the boy did something inconcievable.

He shook his head left and right.

And the hand that the boy was reaching out with, stopped.

(Wha...?!)

When Mikoto looked shocked, the boy's lips moved slightly.

She couldn't hear his words.

But she understood, from the movement of his lips.

There's still, something I have to do.

With a rumble, the fortress shook greatly - even greater than before - and it began to descend towards the ground, unstably. It was like a ball rolling down a hill road, picking up so much speed that it can no longer be retrieved. If this goes on, she wouldn't be able to retrieve that idiot. If it progresses any further, she won't be able to interfere with it. Mikoto came to this conclusion almost purely by instinct.

However,

the VTOL craft, suddenly moved greatly. Its fuselage shook, as though moving away from the fortress.

"Wait!! What're you doing?!"

"Misaka reports that the fortress' tremours have exceeded a specific level. Misaka fears that if the craft continues to attempt to close in, it will crash."

"-!"

Mikoto, attached to the shaking wing, threw out her hand to control the magnetic forces.

She didn't care if it would be by force or not.

His uniform's buttons, the metal on his belt - anything would be fine. She can help the boy escape the fortress by magnetically pulling him up.

That's what she had thought.

But in truth, the magnetic link connecting Mikoto and the boy was suddenly bissected.

"Huh...?"

Mikoto said blanky, not understanding.

She realised what had happened immediately after.

The boy possessed the mysterious power to nullify any and all of her abilities.

It had cut off his last lifeline.

She had lost her chance.

Even though she had the power to fight against countless number of tanks; even though she even had the power to stop the firing of a nuclear missile.

It was not enough to save this one boy.

The VTOL craft moved further away from the fortress which continued to descend unstably. The Sister swung the craft, letting Mikoto, still sitting on the wing, fall back into the cockpit, and closed the canopy. They promptly lost the benefit of the mysterious field which surrounded the fortress.

The reason was simple.

It was because they have already put that much distance between them.

The boy, murmuring that he still had something to do - they had left him behind in the fortress.

Only the cries of Misaka Mikoto remained, resounding through the air.

And epilogue scene with Mikoto finding Touma's strap.

Spoiler for Volume 22 Epilogue (last section):

Misaka Mikoto has reached the coast.

Though it was the coast, it was greatly different from the beaches of Japan. Even if it was a small fishing harbour, would there be any activity this time of the year? After all, the sea was covered by a sheet of white ice. It was drift ice.

As the VTOL craft was running out of fuel, they had to land on the ground.

They had ridden on the high-speed freight trains, but they were definitely late.

They keep moving towards the direction of the airborne fortress, again and again and again, until they finally hit this harbour.

There was possibly an evacuation warning just before the fortress crashed, as there were nobody around them. Perhaps the awful amount of ice sticking onto the surrounding roads came from the cold air freezing the water after a tsunami hit.

They couldn't find even a fragment of anything that could lead them to the boy.

At a loss, Mikoto looked around in a circle, and before long picked up a large stick. Reaching out with the stick from the concrete-fortified bank, she stirred at the water, its surface covered in ice like a cold drink.

A small piece of plastic caught onto the tip of the stick.

What is that, asked the Sister at her side.

Mikoto did not answer.

She can recognise it.

It was a Gekota strap, with its string forcefully torn off.

On September 30th - it was something they had gotten together.

Courtesy of /a/ Certain Light Novel Translator.

[outerelf]

Originally Posted by Suzuku

A Railgun SS is being included with Index II BDs.



Anyway, translation of the ToumaxMikoto scene in vol22.

Spoiler for Volume 22 Chapter 12 Part 4:

12-4

"Go right!! Just a bit more!! Move closer!!"

Misaka Mikoto, standing up from her seat in the back, shouted this to the Sister holding the control column.

Finally.

At long last,

she had reached that idiot - in the same time, in the same space!!

"Misaka would like to point out that there is an eerie smile on the Original's face."

"Bwa-?! Tha, that's not true!! There's no way a comparison can turn out right when you're the only to compare with in the first place!!"

As Mikoto pulled at and checked her own face with a fluster,

"Just what is going on down there?! It was just floating there a while ago. Why is it starting to descend now?!"

"Misaka is sorry to interrupt while the Original is agitating herself, but would like to point out that with the cockpit canopy still closed your voice will not reach the other side."

"Well?! Which button is it?!"

After asking this, Misaka suddenly remembered a problem.

They were over 10000 metres in the air. The air outside was at minus fifty degrees, the atmosphere pressure was quite low, and there would be little oxygen. Would it be safe to open the canopy?

She can't reach him if the canopy isn't open. But she can't open it.

As Mikoto is assaulted by this incredible dilemma, the emotionless Sister pricked up her ears.

"...Misaka reports that there is something wrong with the noise of the engine's vibration."

"?"

"Misaka has completed a precise calculation - a conductive pattern of minus seven degrees, one atmosphere down. Misaka can conclusively report that, through unknown means, the outside contains approximately the same environment as the surface, despite being above 1000 metres in altitude."

"You mean,"

"Misaka is saying that that it shouldn't be a problem to open the canopy."

Immediately,

like a rugby ball being split open front-to-back, the canopy opened upwards. Apparently, the Sister had pressed the button.

Just as she had said, breathing wasn't a problem. The cold she felt on her skin didn't feel like it was dozens of degrees below zero.

The Sister tilted the fuselage forward, and the VTOL craft moved gently - not with the nose aimed towards the fortress, but perpendicular to it... in other words, slowly advancing towards it with the tip of the right wing.

A few more metres.

It was just a few hundred centimetres.

The exact distance changed every time the unstable fortress shook.

However, compared to when she was still hesitating in Academy City, it was exceptionally closer.

"It might be... difficult just landing here, as Misaka is straining against the control column."

Then, the Sister said this.

The fighter craft stopped precisely in mid-air.

It was just a bit further until they made contact with the fortress.

"Misaka explains that the a VTOL craft was made for gently landing on the ground. Misaka voices the concern that if a landing is recklessly attempted, it presents the risk of crashing the bottom of the craft onto this greatly oscillating fortress."

"Can we move to a wider space? This is a pretty huge fortress. If we go up, there's probably enough space for a pasture on the top."

"Misaka replies with the contrary point that, as the fact that the fortress is shaking is unchanged, the risk of crashing cannot be avoided. Thus, Misaka frowns upon the fact that, even if the fighter craft did manage to landed, if it loses its flight capabilities, then escape would become impossible."

"Then fine."

With the canopy still open, Mikoto reached for the metal part of her belt.

"Try your best to keep it balanced! I'll just follow along the wings and pull that idiot up here!!"

Mikoto clambered from her seat and moved onto the wing on all fours.

Perhaps it was because she magnetically attached her feet to the wing, but she felt it less terrifying than she expected.

She advanced slowly.

The distance to the spiky-haired boy shrunk.

(Reach....)

With a jerk, the fortress heavily shook.

The altitude was lowering.

The sense of stability from before was gone.

As though,

the invisible strings supporting the fortress were being shredded one by one, the shaking became a source of increasing unease.

(Reach!!)

The VTOL craft inched towards the fortress with Mikoto glued on to the wing, as its fuselage shook irregularly.

It was then,

that that idiot's eyes met hers.

The spiky-haired boy seemed to be perplexed by the means of escape suddenly lowering onto him. What were you planning in the first place, idiot? - is what she thought from the bottom of her heart, but now wasn't the time to be a stickler. She can preach until she dies, later.

Mikoto, at the very edge of the wing, stretched her hand as far as it can go.

Can she reach him? Or can she not?

Her fingertips inched closer.

But,

it was then, that the boy did something inconcievable.

He shook his head left and right.

And the hand that the boy was reaching out with, stopped.

(Wha...?!)

When Mikoto looked shocked, the boy's lips moved slightly.

She couldn't hear his words.

But she understood, from the movement of his lips.

There's still, something I have to do.

With a rumble, the fortress shook greatly - even greater than before - and it began to descend towards the ground, unstably. It was like a ball rolling down a hill road, picking up so much speed that it can no longer be retrieved. If this goes on, she wouldn't be able to retrieve that idiot. If it progresses any further, she won't be able to interfere with it. Mikoto came to this conclusion almost purely by instinct.

However,

the VTOL craft, suddenly moved greatly. Its fuselage shook, as though moving away from the fortress.

"Wait!! What're you doing?!"

"Misaka reports that the fortress' tremours have exceeded a specific level. Misaka fears that if the craft continues to attempt to close in, it will crash."

"-!"

Mikoto, attached to the shaking wing, threw out her hand to control the magnetic forces.

She didn't care if it would be by force or not.

His uniform's buttons, the metal on his belt - anything would be fine. She can help the boy escape the fortress by magnetically pulling him up.

That's what she had thought.

But in truth, the magnetic link connecting Mikoto and the boy was suddenly bissected.

"Huh...?"

Mikoto said blanky, not understanding.

She realised what had happened immediately after.

The boy possessed the mysterious power to nullify any and all of her abilities.

It had cut off his last lifeline.

She had lost her chance.

Even though she had the power to fight against countless number of tanks; even though she even had the power to stop the firing of a nuclear missile.

It was not enough to save this one boy.

The VTOL craft moved further away from the fortress which continued to descend unstably. The Sister swung the craft, letting Mikoto, still sitting on the wing, fall back into the cockpit, and closed the canopy. They promptly lost the benefit of the mysterious field which surrounded the fortress.

The reason was simple.

It was because they have already put that much distance between them.

The boy, murmuring that he still had something to do - they had left him behind in the fortress.

Only the cries of Misaka Mikoto remained, resounding through the air.

And epilogue scene with Mikoto finding Touma's strap.

Spoiler for Volume 22 Epilogue (last section):

Misaka Mikoto has reached the coast.

Though it was the coast, it was greatly different from the beaches of Japan. Even if it was a small fishing harbour, would there be any activity this time of the year? After all, the sea was covered by a sheet of white ice. It was drift ice.

As the VTOL craft was running out of fuel, they had to land on the ground.

They had ridden on the high-speed freight trains, but they were definitely late.

They keep moving towards the direction of the airborne fortress, again and again and again, until they finally hit this harbour.

There was possibly an evacuation warning just before the fortress crashed, as there were nobody around them. Perhaps the awful amount of ice sticking onto the surrounding roads came from the cold air freezing the water after a tsunami hit.

They couldn't find even a fragment of anything that could lead them to the boy.

At a loss, Mikoto looked around in a circle, and before long picked up a large stick. Reaching out with the stick from the concrete-fortified bank, she stirred at the water, its surface covered in ice like a cold drink.

A small piece of plastic caught onto the tip of the stick.

What is that, asked the Sister at her side.

Mikoto did not answer.

She can recognise it.

It was a Gekota strap, with its string forcefully torn off.

On September 30th - it was something they had gotten together.

Courtesy of /a/ Certain Light Novel Translator.

... Bwaa! *cries buckets of tears* Why, why, why can't poor Mikoto catch a break? That's so sad!

[Karna]

Originally Posted by Suzuku

Spoiler for Novel 22 trans :

Mikoto, attached to the shaking wing, threw out her hand to control the magnetic forces.

She didn't care if it would be by force or not.

His uniform's buttons, the metal on his belt - anything would be fine. She can help the boy escape the fortress by magnetically pulling him up.

That's what she had thought.

But in truth, the magnetic link connecting Mikoto and the boy was suddenly bissected.

"Huh...?"

Mikoto said blanky, not understanding.

She realised what had happened immediately after.

The boy possessed the mysterious power to nullify any and all of her abilities.

It had cut off his last lifeline.

She had lost her chance.

Even though she had the power to fight against countless number of tanks; even though she even had the power to stop the firing of a nuclear missile.

It was not enough to save this one boy.

Spoiler for About IB:

Wait, did Touma just cancel something from long range, without touching it?

[Flere821]

Originally Posted by sasuke706

J.C. Staff may actually just replace Uragami with Itsuwa, assuming they're different people (which is my bet), since Uragami doesn't seem to appear much, if at all, after volume 7. And they've already expanded Itsuwa's role, though minorly so far. All they have to do is obviously place Itsuwa in Uragami's place and have her use a weapon she may not be familiar with, then change the dialogue accordingly so Saiji says Itsuwa instead of Uragami.

I seriously hope they don't replace Uragami with Itsuwa... cause it would mean that Itsuwa would be the one being knocked unconscious by Touma. None of the other members in his 'harem' has ever gone through that experience have they? (Though there's a fair few of them that beat him into unconscious or fairly close)

Originally Posted by Suzuku

A Railgun SS is being included with Index II BDs.

Anyway, translation of the ToumaxMikoto scene in vol22.

Spoiler for Volume 22 Chapter 12 Part 4:

12-4

"Go right!! Just a bit more!! Move closer!!"

Misaka Mikoto, standing up from her seat in the back, shouted this to the Sister holding the control column.

Finally.

At long last,

she had reached that idiot - in the same time, in the same space!!

"Misaka would like to point out that there is an eerie smile on the Original's face."

"Bwa-?! Tha, that's not true!! There's no way a comparison can turn out right when you're the only to compare with in the first place!!"

As Mikoto pulled at and checked her own face with a fluster,

"Just what is going on down there?! It was just floating there a while ago. Why is it starting to descend now?!"

"Misaka is sorry to interrupt while the Original is agitating herself, but would like to point out that with the cockpit canopy still closed your voice will not reach the other side."

"Well?! Which button is it?!"

After asking this, Misaka suddenly remembered a problem.

They were over 10000 metres in the air. The air outside was at minus fifty degrees, the atmosphere pressure was quite low, and there would be little oxygen. Would it be safe to open the canopy?

She can't reach him if the canopy isn't open. But she can't open it.

As Mikoto is assaulted by this incredible dilemma, the emotionless Sister pricked up her ears.

"...Misaka reports that there is something wrong with the noise of the engine's vibration."

"?"

"Misaka has completed a precise calculation - a conductive pattern of minus seven degrees, one atmosphere down. Misaka can conclusively report that, through unknown means, the outside contains approximately the same environment as the surface, despite being above 1000 metres in altitude."

"You mean,"

"Misaka is saying that that it shouldn't be a problem to open the canopy."

Immediately,

like a rugby ball being split open front-to-back, the canopy opened upwards. Apparently, the Sister had pressed the button.

Just as she had said, breathing wasn't a problem. The cold she felt on her skin didn't feel like it was dozens of degrees below zero.

The Sister tilted the fuselage forward, and the VTOL craft moved gently - not with the nose aimed towards the fortress, but perpendicular to it... in other words, slowly advancing towards it with the tip of the right wing.

A few more metres.

It was just a few hundred centimetres.

The exact distance changed every time the unstable fortress shook.

However, compared to when she was still hesitating in Academy City, it was exceptionally closer.

"It might be... difficult just landing here, as Misaka is straining against the control column."

Then, the Sister said this.

The fighter craft stopped precisely in mid-air.

It was just a bit further until they made contact with the fortress.

"Misaka explains that the a VTOL craft was made for gently landing on the ground. Misaka voices the concern that if a landing is recklessly attempted, it presents the risk of crashing the bottom of the craft onto this greatly oscillating fortress."

"Can we move to a wider space? This is a pretty huge fortress. If we go up, there's probably enough space for a pasture on the top."

"Misaka replies with the contrary point that, as the fact that the fortress is shaking is unchanged, the risk of crashing cannot be avoided. Thus, Misaka frowns upon the fact that, even if the fighter craft did manage to landed, if it loses its flight capabilities, then escape would become impossible."

"Then fine."

With the canopy still open, Mikoto reached for the metal part of her belt.

"Try your best to keep it balanced! I'll just follow along the wings and pull that idiot up here!!"

Mikoto clambered from her seat and moved onto the wing on all fours.

Perhaps it was because she magnetically attached her feet to the wing, but she felt it less terrifying than she expected.

She advanced slowly.

The distance to the spiky-haired boy shrunk.

(Reach....)

With a jerk, the fortress heavily shook.

The altitude was lowering.

The sense of stability from before was gone.

As though,

the invisible strings supporting the fortress were being shredded one by one, the shaking became a source of increasing unease.

(Reach!!)

The VTOL craft inched towards the fortress with Mikoto glued on to the wing, as its fuselage shook irregularly.

It was then,

that that idiot's eyes met hers.

The spiky-haired boy seemed to be perplexed by the means of escape suddenly lowering onto him. What were you planning in the first place, idiot? - is what she thought from the bottom of her heart, but now wasn't the time to be a stickler. She can preach until she dies, later.

Mikoto, at the very edge of the wing, stretched her hand as far as it can go.

Can she reach him? Or can she not?

Her fingertips inched closer.

But,

it was then, that the boy did something inconcievable.

He shook his head left and right.

And the hand that the boy was reaching out with, stopped.

(Wha...?!)

When Mikoto looked shocked, the boy's lips moved slightly.

She couldn't hear his words.

But she understood, from the movement of his lips.

There's still, something I have to do.

With a rumble, the fortress shook greatly - even greater than before - and it began to descend towards the ground, unstably. It was like a ball rolling down a hill road, picking up so much speed that it can no longer be retrieved. If this goes on, she wouldn't be able to retrieve that idiot. If it progresses any further, she won't be able to interfere with it. Mikoto came to this conclusion almost purely by instinct.

However,

the VTOL craft, suddenly moved greatly. Its fuselage shook, as though moving away from the fortress.

"Wait!! What're you doing?!"

"Misaka reports that the fortress' tremours have exceeded a specific level. Misaka fears that if the craft continues to attempt to close in, it will crash."

"-!"

Mikoto, attached to the shaking wing, threw out her hand to control the magnetic forces.

She didn't care if it would be by force or not.

His uniform's buttons, the metal on his belt - anything would be fine. She can help the boy escape the fortress by magnetically pulling him up.

That's what she had thought.

But in truth, the magnetic link connecting Mikoto and the boy was suddenly bissected.

"Huh...?"

Mikoto said blanky, not understanding.

She realised what had happened immediately after.

The boy possessed the mysterious power to nullify any and all of her abilities.

It had cut off his last lifeline.

She had lost her chance.

Even though she had the power to fight against countless number of tanks; even though she even had the power to stop the firing of a nuclear missile.

It was not enough to save this one boy.

The VTOL craft moved further away from the fortress which continued to descend unstably. The Sister swung the craft, letting Mikoto, still sitting on the wing, fall back into the cockpit, and closed the canopy. They promptly lost the benefit of the mysterious field which surrounded the fortress.

The reason was simple.

It was because they have already put that much distance between them.

The boy, murmuring that he still had something to do - they had left him behind in the fortress.

Only the cries of Misaka Mikoto remained, resounding through the air.

And epilogue scene with Mikoto finding Touma's strap.

Spoiler for Volume 22 Epilogue (last section):

Misaka Mikoto has reached the coast.

Though it was the coast, it was greatly different from the beaches of Japan. Even if it was a small fishing harbour, would there be any activity this time of the year? After all, the sea was covered by a sheet of white ice. It was drift ice.

As the VTOL craft was running out of fuel, they had to land on the ground.

They had ridden on the high-speed freight trains, but they were definitely late.

They keep moving towards the direction of the airborne fortress, again and again and again, until they finally hit this harbour.

There was possibly an evacuation warning just before the fortress crashed, as there were nobody around them. Perhaps the awful amount of ice sticking onto the surrounding roads came from the cold air freezing the water after a tsunami hit.

They couldn't find even a fragment of anything that could lead them to the boy.

At a loss, Mikoto looked around in a circle, and before long picked up a large stick. Reaching out with the stick from the concrete-fortified bank, she stirred at the water, its surface covered in ice like a cold drink.

A small piece of plastic caught onto the tip of the stick.

What is that, asked the Sister at her side.

Mikoto did not answer.

She can recognise it.

It was a Gekota strap, with its string forcefully torn off.

On September 30th - it was something they had gotten together.

Courtesy of /a/ Certain Light Novel Translator.

Thanks a ton for posting this here And I'm surprised Mikoto haven't shown any other signs of sadness... maybe she's still in shock and will save the crying till after she get back to Academy City?