Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait. I was kinda busy organizing the contents of this chapter a bit and it turned out to have taken far longer than I had expected. Well that was really unfortunate. But anyway, since the story is more important, please enjoy this chapter without further delay! (One notice though, you might find a familiar joke below if you've watched a certain good anime back in 2011).

Chapter 2:

Astray

The scenery around them had changed. Sure it still looked green… But not the deadly green of Mirror Maze—this color was much brighter.

Grass—

So…outside…

This wasn't the first time Shuu saw instant dimensional swap, but he couldn't help thinking about how much of a difference between their powers.

Kuroshida Kanae—

—A hundred-year-old witch.

—and Thule's second-in-command…

I'm glad I didn't drag that battle on for longer.

But seriously, if this level was only second…what kind of monster was the leader?

"You know there is no turning back, right?" Kuroshida said in a low voice.

"Huh?"

"This path you've chosen… The strongest magus in history is at the end of it," Kuroshida continued without facing him. "Even though I am doing this for her sake, she has her own goal. And her goal is not pleasant for all of us. If you think you can avoid the upcoming calamity by following me, then you are mistaken."

Well…so much for glad.

But still—

"You keep saying that something bad is gonna happen, but never explicitly say what it is. How am I supposed to know if I'm even mistaken or not?"

He thought Kuroshida glared at him. "It cannot be explained without going deep into the details."

She began to walk away.

"But for now, just remember its name…"

"Name?"

Kuroshida stopped at the entrance of the park. She slightly turned her head back and showed a thin smile.

"Casus Puteus—the Abyssal Fall."

Mio put her feet forward.

One step—

Two steps—

Three—

Somehow, they felt heavy. She didn't know why, but it just how she felt.

Dammit.

Why…?

For what purpose…?

He betrayed us all—that Amami Shuu…

Still looking at her feet, she walked past what seemed to be an art gallery. Inside were all kinds of pictures and sculptures. In the farthest corner, there was a half-made wooden puppet on the farthest table. Whoever making it must be taking a rest in the real world. The cut were still new.

Had he been planning this all along?

If so—

Without even halting, she looked at her reflection on the glass of a department store.

Why did he bother bringing us here in the first place?

"Kouno-san."

Mio stopped and slowly turned around. It was Shiori who had said that. She was donning a haft-curious-half-surprised look on her face.

"Your eyes are red."

"They are not."

"Yes they are," Shiori insisted.

"I'm still recovering from earlier." Mio paid no further notice to the silver-haired girl and was about to continue walking.

"I see," Shiori silently muttered. "But you might want to stop. Azuma-san and Natsuki-san cannot follow you."

Mio stopped trying to walk further. She turned around to find Shione, her best friend.

It was just like how Shiori had said. Shione and Kaori were sitting on a bench just a few meters away. On a closer look, it seemed they were right in front of Cyberiada, a well-known coffee shop in Ayamegaoka. Not too long ago, a girl named Yuka in her class had recommended something called the Rose Cake of this shop to her.

Both Kaori and Shione seemed exhausted. They weren't breathing heavily or something. But they weren't even starting a conversation—and for those two, that spoke for everything.

So she had walked on her own without being conscious of how much time had passed. She felt incredibly stupid.

It wasn't like her at all.

"Sorry…" she muttered. But she only half-knew that she had even said those words. Her mind was still floating around the memories of the battle a while ago. While still looking down, her eyes the sight of her shirt.

Crimson—

It wasn't the color of her uniform. Well, Koukyoukan's uniform was indeed red…but the color she caught a glimpse of was darker than that.

Blood—

It was proof of the battle with Kuorshida Kanae. The witch crushed her organs by (purposely) misusing modern magic when Mio was defending everyone with all her power. It hurt like hell. But she had made it through. She had survived…because she trusted him.

"Rest. I'll handle things from here."

She really believed in him...

"Don't worry…"

She knew he meant it…

"I know what I'm doing."

"Idiot." Mio muttered yet again. Suddenly, something white was pushed into her face—

"Mhhnn! Wha-what the?" She hurriedly swung her arms to take whatever was choking her out of her face. But it was removed when she almost reached it. As her vision returned, in her line of sight was—

"Shiori-chan…?"

It was Momono Shiori who did that. The petite girl was holding a white handkerchief.

"Your eyes are wet."

"What?" she didn't catch what Shiori was saying.

"You were crying."

"Wha—wait a sec! This is wrong! I am not—!" Mio hastily applied her hands to her face and realized it was wet with tears. She embarrassingly tried to wipe it, but Shiori shoved her handkerchief in her face again.

"You're really a tsundere, aren't you?"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A TSUNDERE?" Mio angrily retorted as soon as she heard that. She pulled the handkerchief off her face with a force enough to rip it into pieces.

"Oh, so you know what it means?"

"Wait that's not it! I don't—"

"Just joking." And so the finishing blow went.

"Kuh…! Why you little…!" Mio was seriously pissed, but couldn't find a single word to talk back.

"At least you look better now," Shiori said while putting the handkerchief back into her pocket. "Azuma-san was worried seeing you like that." She pointed at the table where Shione and Natsuki were sitting at. The two was curiously looking at Mio and Shiori's direction.

"I see… I'm sorry." This time she meant it.

"Don't apologize. I can understand how you feel."

"Do you…?" Mio couldn't help but felt herself sarcastic. But Shiori paid no attention to that.

"I am shocked at what happened, too. I never realized—No…in fact I had doubts about Amami-kun's decision before," Shiori corrected herself. "If you think about it, Kuroshida Kanae is a powerful force to ally with. And since she agreed to no longer pursue Azuma-san and Natsuki-san, he had even more reasons to follow her."

Sure, that was helpful—in a way.

"Ally huh? Are you saying that there is a bigger second play being unfolded?"

"I never said that."

"That's a lie."

"This particular subject does not concern you." Shiori's words were straight and emotionless. Mio could hardly believe that she was trying to cheer her up just a few seconds ago.

"Hey now, Shiori-chan. Don't you dare say that line." She put her hands on Shiori's shoulders. "I don't care if it's Index's business. If they ordered you to keep silent, then I'll not press the matter any further. But that is the past now. I learned to trust you. So now you should learn to trust me too."

Unfortunately, Shiori just shook her head. "This has nothing to do with Index. This is my personal affair. But past events have proven that the situation was too dangerous—and I don't want to involve any other bystander anymore. Even if I don't know how I was a part of it, I will end it with my own hands." Those words were full of determination, but Mio could sense a hint of uneasiness lingering in them.

"You're not cute at all." Mio sighed. "If it's as dangerous as you say, then consider everyone else involved already. Kuroshida got all of us involved in her mess even though none of us wanted to, so I don't see the point of leaving us out of your bigger mess now. It's not like we can afford to, is it?"

Shiori dropped her head. "You don't want to hear it…"

Mio shrugged her shoulders. "Try me. It's not like we have anything better to do at the moment anyway."

"About that… I believe Kuroshida is going to release us soon."

"What makes you think so?"

"Kuroshida said she didn't have enough time to complete the Artificial Emerald Tablet," Shiori explained. "If she wanted to get it over with, she would have to drag us out and sacrifice Azuma-san and Natsuki-san. But if she wanted to keep her promise with Amami-kun, leaving us to die here would be the worst choice to make."

It was a logical explanation. Kuroshida had no reason to keep them inside Mirror Maze forever. She had to release them—and soon.

"Maybe… But I still want to hear your story."

In a certain hallway of a building at the Vatican, a girl dressed in white was standing in front of a thick metal door. Her outfit was kind of weird, but it somehow gave off the air of a believer—or an apostle.

What even more curious was the girl herself. Her pink twin tails, emerald eyes, slim build—everything—suggested that she couldn't be too old. And that wouldn't be wrong, because she was only nineteen.

Yet the way she was putting her hands together suggested otherwise. Indeed, that would be an example of what an apostle did when praying, but the particular way she did it was just unbelievable. It was so 'honest'—so 'holy'—that it made her more similar to an ancient believer.

"Patriarca—please bestow upon this faithful prayer for the Lord the key of gold and silver."

As the girl said those words, the heavy door in front of her slid open. Normally, even a cluster bomb wouldn't be able to scratch it. After all, it was the office of a Pope. Not the Pope in Saint Peter's Basilica—but another person so important to the Church in particular and to Catholicism in general that no titles but Pope was the only appropriate way to address her.

But this girl was an exception. The only exception. There was nothing strange about it because that very room was where she worked.

The girl stepped inside the Pope office with refined steps.

Inside the room, the first that came in sight was a large square table with seven seats—three on each side and one in the center. However, only one seat was occupied at the moment—the one in the middle. It was also the seat that only one person in the whole world could ever sit.

Even right now, that person—that woman was still sitting on that chair with inhuman composure.

"I, Chamberlain, have returned—Holy Mother," the girl greeted.

"Welcome back, Chiara," Her Eminence—Pope Johanna said with her usual deep voice. "I apologize for summoning you so suddenly."

Johanna was a figure shrouded in mysteries. Her appearance was that of a woman in her twenties, but her composure suggested that she was much older than that. Even more mysterious were her dark golden eyes. They were said to be able to penetrate a person's heart and see their deepest secrets with a single gaze. In the Orients, the eyes were viewed as windows of a person's soul. But if such was the case, if Johanna's eyes were so powerful—how powerful, how profound, how ancient her soul was?

"Thank you for your concern, Your Eminence. It is my duty after all. But to summon me so suddenly, perhaps you have a message that needs delivery?"

"Indeed. I suppose this is one of the most serious messages at this time of year. It is an order for pacification—with the approval of the Council."

"Pacification? How could such an order be given right now?" Chiara Francesca's eyes were wide opened in shock. An order of pacification usually involved dealing with heretics within Index. Whenever the order was given, the Church would attempt to educate the sinner about Christianity again, or simply expel him if there was no other choice.

However, that was only if the order was given to a priest within the Catholic Church. The real order here was delivered to the hands of Index, the shadow side of Catholicism, so the sinner involved this time would be a magus instead of a normal human being. And if it was a magus, heavy resistance would be a given. And if heavy resistance was a given, aggressive suppression would also be a must…

In other words—

—'pacification' would be done as 'execution'.

Chiara disliked such orders. It wasn't like she was not used to such news. But if this order was to be delivered, then it meant two orders of execution were given in the same month.

"It is regrettable, but what approved by the Council is irrevocable. Still, for this occasion only I approve of this order. After all, this is the best way to ensure Ursula's safety."

"Ursula's safety?" Chiara was surprised to hear the name of a friend.

"Yes. You have read her report, have you not? Although she may be more than capable of executing this order, her current priority should be the elimination of the renegade apostles—the Punishment Squad. And even that is an order we have hastily decided without giving her any time to be mentally prepared. Were we to appoint her this new order, it will most definitely cause unnecessary distractions… I suppose you know that is very dangerous considering the opponents she is dealing with, right?"

"Of course, Your Eminence." Chiara was glad that such an order could ensure the safety of Ursula, however cruel it might be. Ursula was like a little sister to her. Placing more burdens on her small shoulders was the least things she ever wanted to do.

"I know you would understand." Johanna smiled. "Then, if you would be so kind, please deliver this order to Saint Vitus of the Holy Beast. I believe he is the only one suited for the job right now."

"Yes, Your Eminence. I'll be going!" Chiara received the envelope from Johanna and walked out of the office.

"May you be blessed by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit…" Johanna bid farewell to her secretary.

As the door to the Pope Office closed, Chiara was greeted by yet another familiar face.

"Yoh! How're you doing Chiara?" a young woman in a black suit said it a cheerful voice.

"Oh hello Miss Sophia."

Sophia Measley was a researcher here at Index. Her main field of research was creating the Francine, artificial bodies for disabled apostle, but Sophia herself was an expert at almost everything—both scientifically and magically. Chiara could hardly understand what the older woman said whenever she got a little deep into expertise. But they still got along well nonetheless.

After all, they were connected by Ursula…

"New errands again? Woah… Is that a Royal Order?"

"Yes, regrettably."

"That sadist is really into this, isn't she? Who is it for—the receiver, I mean?"

"It's Saint Vitus of the Holy Beast."

"Eh? That guy?" Sophia raised an eyebrow. "How are you even supposed to find him?"

"What do you mean? You sound like he is on another planet right now." Chiara tilted her head curiously.

"No seriously—that guy loves traveling right? And he is the best teleporting magus in Index too. Unless you can nail him somehow, he isn't gonna stay put to receive your letter."

"Oh don't worry. I have his e-mail address."

Boring.

Shuu didn't know that the day would have been such a drag.

'Go back to class for now. We will meet later in the library.' was what Kuroshida had said. When he had asked her why, she had answered that she had class to attend too.

That had got to be a lie. She only altered everyone's memories before so that people thought she was a student here in this Kouryoukan Academy. Nobody had bothered checking so she had spent most of the time in the library reading. It wasn't too strange… It wasn't like there was anything left for her to learn.

Well…whatever.

Thinking too much about it wouldn't change anything—class was over anyway. It was about time he went and saw her like promised—

—or so he had thought. When he got to the library, there was not a single soul.

"What the…"

It would have been strange if Kuroshida had ever gone to class. But it would be dead strange if she was ever late. It wasn't like she had much to do, right?

"But then again…she is really nowhere to be seen." Shuu sighed and sat down. It seemed he would have to wait—

"Oh…? You're early," a familiar voice was heard.

—or not.

He looked at the entrance of the library and saw Kuroshida there, holding something like a piece of talisman between her index and middle finger.

"What's that?" Shuu asked curiously.

"Shikigami, it seems," Kuroshida replied while looking at the piece of paper between her fingers. "I did not expect to have another Japanese mage in this school. Her magic is not so impressive, but it is quite useful for surveillance."

"'Her'? You even found out the identity of the user through a single piece of paper?"

"I had doubts from the start." Kuroshida released the piece of paper and ignited it with a snap. "When I infiltrated this school for the first time, I noticed quite a few individuals with decent magical power—you included." The talisman burnt to ashes even before touched the ground. "Since there was a chance that those individuals also had the right kind of Od I needed, I kept an eye on all of them."

Shuu felt a little disturbed when she said those words. Even after having agreed to side with her, he wasn't sure if he could ever condone her attitude towards humans. It was as if she viewed them as nothing more than flesh bags with magical power in them.

Kuroshida seemed to have noticed what he was thinking. She showed a cold smile. "Are you still unsatisfied even when I have spared your friends?"

Shuu wasn't able to answer, of course. Even though he was getting a little pissed, talking back wouldn't do him any good at all. No matter what he said, he would never be able to win an argument against Kuroshida. She had walked this Earth for far longer than he did. What he had seen and felt was nothing more than a tiny fraction of what she had experienced.

"More importantly, why don't you tell me about what you know right now? It's the only reason we're still here, right?" he tried to change the topic since it was getting awkward.

"Correct," Kuroshida replied. "But time is running out faster than I expected—so I will use a method more efficient than simply telling you about Liz's plan."

Liz…?

Ah yes… It was the name of the leader of Thule. The name was fairly long, but Shuu still remembered that her name was Lieselotte.

But more importantly, what did she mean by 'more efficient'?

Kuroshida closed the door behind her and walked toward the window near the librarian desk. Shuu's gaze followed her. He had to narrow his eyes a bit when she got near the window at the end of the opposite aisle. The orange light of sunset was quite dazzling since the lights were off. But then it ceased to be so bright, as Kuroshida's figure blocked the light.

Just as he was thinking that Kuroshida was really beautiful—even without her revealing mage outfit—a mysterious look flashed in her crimson eyes.

"Come, Amami Shuu. I will show you…the meaning of true darkness."

Author's note:

And so chapter 2 ends! This chapter practically has no battles or lovey-dovey scenes, so it took me quite a while to figure out a way of building the tension and the mood. In fact, this rewritten version is about 87% different from the version that I lost during the full boot. That old version has the lovey-dovey process going a bit faster, but after studying HMF route again, I felt it was inappropriate so I kept Kanae's witch side a little longer. Well I don't really know since each reader has his/her own perspective… Since I don't know if it can be considered a good way to set up the stage, just drop any comment and I'll try to improve in the next chapters.

Oh yes… In case you're not familiar with some words from Japanese otaku's culture, "Tsundere" (ツンデレ) (English: /ˈsuːndɛreɪ/ or /tsʊ-/, Japanese: [tsɯndeɽe]) is a Japanese character development process that describes a person who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing their warm side over time. The word is derived from the terms Tsun Tsun (ツンツン), meaning to turn away in disgust, and Dere Dere (デレデレ) meaning to become 'lovey dovey'. Originally found in Japanese bishōjo games, the word is now part of the otaku moe phenomenon, reaching into other media such as maid cafes, anime, manga, novels, and even mass media. The term was made popular in the visual novel Kimi ga Nozomu Eien. (Wikipedia)