Kamijou Touma was truly a fearsome person. The high school boy was so fearsome that he had managed to gather around him an extraordinary group of individuals, creating the Kamijou Faction. Touma had seen both sides of the coin. Touma had spent most of his life living within the stronghold of the Science Side, Academy City, yet he could not be considered a member of the Science Side. He was the bridge connecting the Magic and Science sides for he was a Level 0 with no magical abilities.
He possessed the Imagine Breaker. It was an ability so powerful that even Saints trembled upon hearing of its strength. It was with this ability that Touma had defeated the strongest esper in Academy City with a few punches, ending a scheme that would have allowed the Science Side to reach God's Domain. Underneath the appearance of an unassuming high school boy, there was a monster that could easily devour even the strongest of people.
But the word monster referred to his absurd strength. It did not refer to his personality for he was a hero who helped others even at the cost of his own. As a result of his heroic actions and his involvement in many unfortunate circumstances, the Kamijou Faction was born. Made up of members of both members of the Magic and Science Sides, the Kamijou Faction frightened other factions.
It was not the fact that the faction disregarded the rules of the game that made the faction so feared. The members of the faction were far more terrifying. Over his life, Touma saved or reformed many people of great power and influence. The Kamijou Faction, as a result of this, contained Saints, powerful members of the Anglican Church, potential Majin candidates, at least three Level 5 espers, and many others from the two sides.
It was Touma's fortune or rather, misfortune that allowed him to meet the extraordinary people who made up his faction. Touma's misfortune would soon put him in the middle of a conflict that would be yet another trial to prove Touma's own position as a hero and allow him to meet even more extraordinary people.
…
The room was not cold, but Kihara Byouri shivered anyways. She was remembering. It had been months since a single event changed her entire life and she had managed to shurg off almost all of the events that soon followed. Assassination attempts and thorough investigation into her life meant nothing to her. But no matter what she did, she could not forget what she had seen at that recycling plant.
The cold, dead body of the only man who had ever shown interest in her wellbeing was forever pressed into her calculating brain.
She was back in his office, looking down in horror at the body that lay at her feet. His lifeless eyes stared up at the ceiling and his mouth was twisted as if cursing his killer. Blood stained the floor and the walls, the red contrasting sharply with the surroundings.
And as quickly she had been put into that terrible room, she was transported back into reality. Despite hating that she was forced to see the body, she hated not being able to mourn properly. The other members of the Kihara family only considered love and romance as a means of carrying on the family line. Despite all the disapproval, Byouri found herself liking and even loving the man who had introduced himself as Saul Karter.
And why not? Saul was rather good looking, but more importantly, he was willing to overlook Byouri's faults. She had long been regarded as a disappointment for members of the Kihara were expected to be sound in both mind and body. The other members were the ones who implanted the idea of "giving up" in her mind. It pained her to know that she had told Saul himself to give up on life.
It was the biggest regret in her life.
Byouri's internal lamenting was interrupted by the door to her room opening, revealing Kihara Enshuu. The little girl looked at Byouri and motioned outside.
"It's time."
…
The auditorium in the secure complex was almost completely packed with members of the Kihara family. Byouri herself was sat in the front row, watching as others filed into the auditorium and found their seats. Her eyes soon turned towards the old man standing on the stage and behind a podium, a screen behind him. The old man was the leader of the Kihara family, Kihara Gensei. A man of eighty three, he was the oldest living member of the family and he was by far the most famous and powerful. He scanned the crowd, the noise in the room quickly dying down. With that, he began.
"Welcome, members of our great and glorious family," said the ancient scientist, echoing the traditional introductory words of a Kihara family gathering. "I have called this gathering in order to address the situation that our family now faces."
The sound of murmuring could be heard, all those in the auditorium immediately growing concerned by Kihara the Elder's words. The family was of utmost importance to all Kiharas and there was no greater issue than one that threatened to tarnish the family's immaculate history. Gensei waited until the talking had died down to continue.
"Recently, our faction has experienced repeated failures in our attempts to advance science beyond its current limits. Faction Kihara faces a threat that is unprecedented for it only continues to grow like a cancer. That threat is the Kamijou Faction. It now stands to deliver the weight of the world unto us, destroying us all. Behold, the face of our enemy." said Gensei as a picture of Kamijou Touma appeared on the screen behind him.
Byouri immediately felt hatred towards the high school boy. She immediately devised a thousand ways to kill the boy, but her thoughts were interrupted by the voices of other family members.
"A mere high school boy stands in our way? Surely you jest!"
"Have we fallen so far to be trembling in fear at the image of a mere boy?"
"Enough with the jokes, Gensei! Show us who dares to challenge our glorious and honorable family!"
Gensei's eyes opened slightly, the room immediately growing quiet. The old man smiled slightly and the screen displayed events where Touma had appeared and the result of his appearance. All instances resulted in the failure of some experiment that members of Faction Kihara had set up.
"Do not be fooled. The Kamijou Faction is truly powerful, but the one who leads it, the high school boy you so willingly mock, will be the end of our family and faction. Some of us can testify to the boy's potential to be our undoing and those not here have already felt the consequences of crossing him and the members of his faction." said Gensei to heavy silence.
Byouri and others grimaced at the last sentence and many others shifted in their seats uncomfortably. Nobody could deny the truth in his words. All opposition silence, the wrinkled, old man continued.
"Fortunately for us, the boy known as Kamijou Touma does not yet realize his full potential. He has limited knowledge of the allies he had gathered and his nature is that of a righteous and unassuming high school boy. He is reckless and refuses to place logic before emotion when faced with a situation that could result in the death of another." Gensei folded his hands on his podium. "We must quickly act and take advantage of all resources at our disposal and the weaknesses in Kamijou Touma's character. There can be no debate on the urgency of this issue. Kamijou Touma presents the greatest threat to Faction Kihara, our faction, and therefore, must be eliminated."
…
This prologue was very short and for that I apologize. It's just that I've been feeling awful from sickness and as a result, I just had to write something. At first, I tried to write the prologue to my Othinus/Ollerus story, but I couldn't stop thinking about this story. So, this prologue was created.
This story is a sequel to Mugino's story from One Last Corpse. This story ended up being created much quicker than I told people it would. Updates, however, will not be as fast because I am currently busy with school and other activities. I hope that this is not inconvenient for anybody.
Maybe I made Kihara Byouri a bit too OOC, but I enjoyed humanizing her a little bit. Also, I will refer to Kihara Gensei as "Kihara the Elder" because I think it's a good title for the head of the most famous family in Academy City.
I'd like to take this time to ask for help regarding characters I have little to no knowledge about, especially Othinus and Ollerus, and the story in general.
Please leave a review if you would like to see more and I'll see you all next time.
