The sky was already reddish-orange in hue as Kuroko had just arrived in his student dormitory. To say that he was tried was an understatement. He was basically very exhausted from the long day that he had from practicing his basic fundamentals with his cousin to having to deal with a strange miko girl from Macronall Burger chain. Moreover, he finds it odd that someone would actually dress in such a strange and ancient way in a city said to be thirty years ahead in terms of technology and lifestyle.
Not that he minded at all.
He was already yawning when he entered the elevator and went to his own floor. Once he got there, he went straight to his unit and immediately changed his clothes to a more comfortable one in shorts and plain white t-shirt. But as he was about to think about what to eat for dinner, he heard a loud knock from his door. Who could this be? Kuroko thought as he then went straight to the entrance and opened it. He was surprise by the person standing in front of the entrance.
It was none other than Kamijou Touma.
"Anou…good evening, Kamijou-kun," the pale tealnette greeted, "What do you need that you came here in my room?"
"Well…" the spiky haired boy seemed to be hesitating about saying what's in his mind, "I would be going out for the night and it would be nice if I need someone to look after Index while I'm gone."
"Hmmmm. Perhaps, are you asking me to look after her?" the tealnette raised his eyebrows as he was holding a can of syrup.
"Ah…yes. That's it. I'll be leaving for some unfinished business," Kamijou smiled as he then turned his back, "If you have any problems looking after her, then just call me in my phone. Well…I'll be leaving in a few minutes." He then left hurriedly as if this thing called business is a pretty important matter that required his attention.
Kuroko stood there like he was just rudely cut off before he can even say anything. Shrugging it off, he then decided to just eat his dinner at the dormitory room of the boy with spiky black hair so that he can look after Index in a more time-saving way.
After packing all of his food, consisting of simple boiled rice and fried chicken which he bought outside, he then went outside of his room and was about to take the elevator when suddenly he heard someone from the staircase talking. No, there's two of them. And one of them is Kamijou-kun!
Quickly, he then stepped back and decided to observe the two out of his curiosity as he listens to their conversation.
"What are you doing with those?" Touma asked.
I thought I would leave her with some protection. Innocentius should do it.
Do you have a thing for Index?
What?! Of all the stupid things to ask!
I see. So let's go to School District 17.
Kuroko hid in the shadowy corners just in time to see Kamijou and a strange, tall man with red hair suddenly came going down in the staircase. Strange. He's wearing some kind of priestly robe and…he's tall. By the looks of it, he looks even taller than Kagami-kun and Midorima-kun. Oh well, whatever they do, it's not my business. Kuroko assured himself with the last part as he then went out of hid hiding spot and took the elevator.
As he was headed for the room of Kamijou Touma, he was thinking about his first fundamental training this morning. So far, I'm getting the gist on how the basics work. He didn't intend to really abandon his passing style but to make himself a complete player that can stand on his own even when the likes of Kagami is benched. So far, I have laid down the foundations of my own Personal Reality. He was really prepared to make same sacrifices to make himself stronger, even to the point where he'll have to drastically get his appetite used to eating more.
As he enters the door, he was greeted by no one else.
"Huh? Where is Index-san?" the passing specialist wondered as he lays his packed dinner in the table. As if his questions have been answered, he suddenly heard a rush of water coming from the bathroom, indicating that the silver-haired loli in a form of a nun is busy taking a bath. Ah, so far, so good.
Kuroko then sat down on the bed of his friend, which he didn't know was currently occupied by Index, and began nibbling his food. While he was eating, he wondered what is now happening back in Seirin as well as the rest of the Generation of Miracles. How is Kagami-kun and the team doing? Have they thought some ways on how to become a better team?
Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrating.
"Hmmmm. Kagami-kun must be calling," Kuroko said to himself as he then opens his flip phone and true to his suspicions, it was his red headed partner that was calling. Responding, Kuroko said in the lamest way, "Hello, Kagami-kun."
"Kuroko, how's your training over there?" By the way, we had a practice match with that annoying Midorima here in our training camp?"
"I'm fine and Midorima-kun?"
"Yeah. Coincidentally, Shutoku and our school both attended the same training camp venue so what happened is that coach and Shutoku's coach both agreed that there would be a practice match between the two teams everyday."
"I see. Did Midorima-kun said anything?"
"None, whatsoever although he did inquired about where you are. Oh yeah, how about you, how is your so-called personal training going along?"
"So far, so good. I have been practicing my basic fundamentals with my cousin and so far, it's bearing some results. It may not come out as much as I wanted for now but when I keep training like these, I would be able to stand independently and how my Personal Reality would bring me—"
"Personal—what?"
"Uh, that's some key concept that I have learned from my cousin."
Little did Kuroko realize that while he was busy speaking with the Seirin ace on phone, Index was beginning to sneak out of the room. While the tealnette was having his conversation with Kagami, Index was actually having some sort of a conversation.
With her cat she named Sphynx.
"Hey Sphynx, where did Touma go?" the nun asked the cat, which only meowed as a reply, "Something's wrong. There is no way Touma would just say "oh, well" when someone eats his pudding.
After a few minutes, she and the cat got out of the bathroom and to her utmost surprise, it was Kuroko, who was still busy talking on the phone, sitting on her—or her partner's bed and not Kamijou. Something must be wrong! Index concluded as Kamijou wouldn't simply leaver her to someone else's watch. Quickly drying up and donning in her habit, she stealthily tip-toed towards the entrance and as amaze as she was in seeing that the tealnette didn't even notice her, she knew she had no time dwelling on it as she had to find the spiky haired boy first.
It was only when Kuroko noticed some wet droplets in the floor that he had realized that the person he was supposed to guard was gone.
"Heh? Index-san?" the tealnette suddenly stood up, not minding Kagami's incessant questions as to who is this 'Index' he was talking about. Quickly going to the bathroom, he was a bit surprised that the bathroom is still moist but that it was already vacated some minutes ago. Deciding to check on the kitchen as he realized that the nun is some kind of a glutton, he surmised that she must be finding something to eat so he went there as well to investigate. But to hid dismay and slight alarm, she wasn't there as well.
In fact, she just disappeared from the house.
Anou, where is Index-san? Kuroko asked himself as he scans the whole area. But before he then decides on his next move, he then takes his flip phone and concludes his call.
"I'm sorry for the disruption but I need to go somewhere."
"Oi—"
Click!
Before Kagami can even answer, Kuroko had already ended the call as he races outside the door. But when he went outside of the dormitory room, something shocking had greeted Kuroko's eyes.
What are those!? Are those some cards stuck in the walls and foundations?
The tealnette was basically stunned to see numerous objects that look like playing cards all attached in the walls. Going closer to the cards, something written on the objects has caught Kuroko on surprise. They look like rune alphabets. Why something like this is are present in a city so advanced scientifically? As far as he can remember, runes are more present among pagan societies as well as ancient tribes in Europe. How did they end up here?
Sighing, he then goes out of the building, thinking, 'This is going to be a long night.'
"You mean, what?!"
Hyuga was close to killing Kagami in a chokehold as the latter had just reported to his captain and coach Riko that something must have happened to their passing specialist as he was calling to Kuroko. Just a while back, the team had just dropped a practice game against Midorima and Shutoku and while it does looks bad, it doesn't look bad for a team that is still missing Kuroko while Kagami has yet to play a game as he was ordered by their coach to do some running drills instead.
"What could have happened to Kuroko?" Kiyoshi asked as he sips his tea, "I'm pretty sure that he'll be just fine there in Academy City."
"Well…there's that but…" Kagami can't just shake off the feeling that something must have occurred to Kuroko, "I don't know why I feel that way but it seems like he is onto something that we don't know. His last message sounds like he was in some kind of an important mission."
"Well, you worry too much, Bakagami," Riko shrugged as she eats her last bit of a supper, "I'm pretty sure Kuroko-kun is just too busy in his own personal training regimen that he becomes a bit alert."
"Well…" Kagami decided to shake off the nervousness gripping his heart for now as he assures himself that Kuroko is safe, "I hope that was the case." He said as he was finished eating his meal and went outside of the inn that they were all staying to remove the sudden fear that came upon him and decided to play some little game.
Meanwhile, Midorima, who was busy taking a bath, was actually at lost as to where his former Teiko teammate was. Academy City? He had asked Kagami about their former sixth man's whereabouts but all the power forward could say is, "I don't know where exactly but he is in Academy City right now."
He didn't know whether he should be amused or not.
What would he even do there? The green haired shooter asked himself as he was busy squeezing his lucky item, which is a rubber ducky. As far as he knows, Kuroko isn't even an Esper and besides, the city itself is a mystery even for him and Akashi, who only heard it from pamphlets (though the latter won't admit it, at least openly).
For almost an hour, Kuroko kept going in circles as he was desperately trying to tail Index, whom he somehow was able to spot some hundred meters from his current location. Seeing that the nun was actually very fast, the tealnette had to duck into some garbage bins, shadowy corners, and large trees to avoid getting caught by the nun, who looked like she was finding something as she looks like she was enchanted by some unknown force.
As Kuroko was keeping up with the movements with the nun, he also observed the surroundings encompassing their location and was somehow quite surprised.
"Wait…this is District 17…" the tealnette said to himself as he realized that Kamijou had said the same thing about District 17. An area at the very edge of Academy City, it is essentially the industrial district in the city. It is bordered to the north by School District 20, the south by School District 21, to the east by School District 9, and to the west by Western Tokyo.
Far away from any residential district, its purpose is for producing items that are needed for research within Academy City; so they don't need to rely on the usual factories that are common in the outside world. The buildings in the industrial section are windowless and are highly organized, built to work for 24 hours a day.
Furthermore, the school district is the place where agricultural buildings used for cloning of meat and growing of vegetables exist. It specializes in manufacturing industrial products in Academy City and is fully automated. The population is extremely small due to the automation compared to the other districts, and is comparatively darker than the other districts due to the lighting of only the factories that use automation. This is also the place where the Space Carrots and the Genetically Improved Lettuce are grown.
Or at least, that's what the tealnette learned in his class yesterday.
After a few minutes, Kuroko found himself in land bridge as he was already panting for air, though not as worst as his pre-Academy City self. Thanks to Kuroko-san's training, I'm somehow managing to hold up. Kuroko had to smile, even for a bit as he kept going.
"Index-san is going faster. I have to go faster as well." The passing specialist said to himself as he followed the familiar blur of white tunic robe that was dancing with the breeze of the wind. Sooner, he found himself facing a building that looked more like a condominium though according to the handbook that was given to him by his cousin, this is actually a school.
Unlike a regular school like the one he is currently staying in, Misawa Cram School is a Juku Cram School found in the city and it is built to look more like an office building than a school. The school consists of four buildings several storeys in height, with a skyway built in the between each other connecting. The building contains elevators, a cafeteria and probably several classrooms, as well as a large office and secret rooms.
"Looks too fancy for a normal high school." Kuroko thought aloud as he and Index from afar was nearing to the location. I wonder if Kagami-kun entered a similar fancy-looking school as well?
Suddenly, he stopped walking as he spotted Index stopping by the large windows of the school. Forcing to hide in the trees that abound in the playground straddling in front of Misawa Cram School, Kuroko then suddenly heard Index whisper to herself from a far, though it was apparently loud enough as the whole area was a bit silent.
"Here, huh?" Index said to herself, unaware that Kuroko is watching and listening to her from afar. "Where the mana that was being supplied to the runes near Touma's room is completely cut off?" She added before suddenly going inside the building.
Runes? Mana? Kuroko though as he was quite confused by the terms. But this is Academy City. Magic is sure not to exist here…or is it really that case? He didn't know why but his instincts iare telling him that it was the opposite of what he had thought. But pushing out those thoughts for now, he then went nearer to the building as he crosses the road. But as he got closer to the windows, a something had just appeared in his eye.
Or rather, someone.
Now hiding in a pillar but peeking just enough for him to see what the hell is happening in this world right now, Kuroko then saw a man, who was standing in a raised platform that can only be reached through a stair. His face is stern looking and very distinguished, which is complemented by the way he dresses, wearing a white suit over a blue dress shirt and wearing a light-pinkish tie, as well as wearing loafers, but the most striking feature is his green hair that is neatly combed. Reminds me of Midorima-kun. Kuroko thought. That man…He has a serious air surrounding him…
"Hmmm…it's been a while…"
Kuroko then heard the man with green hair began to speak.
"Who are you?" Index asked, her voice bellowing in the empty hallway.
"You don't remember me?" The man asked in a smug manner. "Naturally, you wouldn't happen to recall the name Aureolus Izzard? No, perhaps, that should be a fortunate occurrence." He then gave one last word.
"Sleep."
Suddenly, to Kuroko's horror, Index suddenly fell and in his shock, it looked like he fainted. The man in white suit began to descend down from the platform and was about to pick up Index himself when suddenly, he tilted his head upward…
Towards the direction of Kuroko's hiding place.
Luckily, Kuroko was able to notice this and he hid behind the column just in time to be able to erase his presence. It also helped that he had little presence and it proved useful today as he waits for five minutes. Just what did I saw? Is this mana? Wait…is this magic? Kuroko gasped, realizing that this must be something beyond physics. He did found those runes in their apartment that he was staying in. Could it be that magic was real…after all?
He then peeked again.
But they were gone. Index and the man had just disappeared.
Feeling that he had to properly plan out his next move, Kuroko decided to return to the bushes, thinking that he must go and call out Kamijou for help. But when he was about to pull out his phone, he hear some voices near him so he hid lower in the bushes. When the source of the voice emerged, the tealnette didn't know whether he must be amused or not.
Ka-Kamijou-kun?! Kuroko mentally screamed. And that man with priestly robes. What are they doing here?
It looks like the two people were in a hurry as they were dashing towards another location of the building. Feeling that this will answer some of his questions, Kuroko stealthily followed the two of them as he had a feeling that he'll be involved, sooner or later. Better go with the soonest path, then. The tealnette thought as the three made a mad dash towards the gates. But when they did got there, with Kuroko hiding in the bushes, there were someone who greeted their arrival.
Slightly far away, Kuroko could see a few people around. However, it was impossible to tell if they were male or females, as they were completely covered skin-tight silver armor.
There was no one around, which made that even more suspicious looking. From that angle, he could see three people in iron armor. If they were surrounding the four buildings of Misawa Cram School, there should also be a few of their comrades.
What? Who are these strange guys? They look like medieval knights.
"Hey, those look like the corpse form earlier…" Kuroko heard Kamijou said aloud.
"They're the surviving thirteen knights of the Roman Catholic Church," Now, this was the first time the Seirin passing specialist heard the man in priestly robes talk.
Suddenly, the knights all raised their swords skywards, as per the command given by the one in the center of the group. A bright, red light shone at the tip of each of their blades.
"A Gregorian Choir," Stiyl noted, "A real Gregorian Choir, not like the alchemist's replica."
"But didn't you say a lot of people were required to this Gregorian or whatever this thing is." Kamijou inquired more.
"You're right." The priest replied. "This holy spell that gathers 3,333 monks at the greatest holy place in the world, the Vatican Church, can accurately turn anything in the world to dust. Besides, if we leave the tower of this heretic, it'll be harmful to our pride."
"Revelation 8:7—"
Suddenly, the knight, who looks to be the leader, began to command.
""When the first angel sounded his trumpet, there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down onto the earth!"
Perhaps due to the effects of magic, a horn could be heard from the glowing sword like a beast howling, echoing throughout the night.
Immediately, all the voices vanished.
All the clouds that were floating in the night sky were scattered away. From far away, it looked like lightening. A huge pillar of light that descended from the sky. However, that pillar of light was red. It looked like thousands of fire arrows mixed together to form a huge spear as it struck one of the four buildings of Misawa Cram School.
The crimson pillar pierced the roof to the basement.
"What the hell they are trying to do?!" The boy with jet black hair asked.
"Holy Magic Bombardment." The priest answered.
"Bombardment?! "What nonsense are you spouting!? There are countless innocent students inside! And Stiyl and Himegami are still inside! Even Aureolus…"
Suddenly, the tower was crushed to half of its original height like a squashed aluminum can. Theglass shattered and interior decorations flew about in chaos. It wasn't over. Though one of the four buildings had been hit directly, the neighboring two buildings were also affected, pulled down by the overhead bridges, leaving the remaining unaffected building there like a tombstone.
Such an act of madness left Kuroko, still hiding in the bushes, dumbstruck. A mixture of awe and fear had struck his heart as he watches the building break.
The building got twisted, cracks appeared on the walls, and people were falling through the gaps like dust patted off pants. A large number of rubble utterly devastated the surroundings like a meteor shower. The only silver lining was that there was no one else around.
The storm of dust prevented the two (and Kuroko) from moving forward. They couldn't see anything in front, he couldn't open his eyes. Even so, Kamijou continued to try and run forward. He just hoped that all that was just a joke.
But at that moment, something changed.
What?
At first, what Kamijou and Kuroko felt was that all the dust that was blocking his sight was scattering. The large amount of dust flew forward like it got hit by a strong wind—to what was supposed to be the wreckage of Misawa Cram School.
No, not just dust.
Even the rubble that flew everything was floating in midair, and the crumbled walls flipped back up. The pieces started to come together like a jigsaw puzzle, looking completely smooth like it got renovated. It was rising again? Kuroko didn't know if he was already getting crazy or what.
It was like a rewind of a show. The collapsed towers were standing back up, and the people who fell were re-absorbed back through the cracks. Most of the damage to the buildings were repaired, and soon, all the four buildings of Misawa Cram School looked like nothing had happened as they remained there. Even the neighboring buildings that had been hit by rubble reverted back to what they were before, making one wonder if his memory had gotten manipulated.
"Ars Magna…"
Kuroko heard the priest talking again.
"Ars Magna?"
"That is our enemy." The priest continued talking. "That is our real enemy…Aureolus Izzard's true power. "
But as things revert back to normal another sound was heard.
"Nya…nyaah…"
"Sphynx?!" Kamijou was obviously surprised. "Wait…don't tell me…this is Index's…"
In a matter of seconds, the two then dashed forward the building, hoping to save the girl. Kuroko wished to go in as well but something else is holding him back.
Facing such a terrifying enemy with the power to distort reality, how was he supposed to help and possibly even fight the guy named Aureolus Izzard? Kuroko stood around blankly, his mind in a blank state.
Kuroko decided to cool down for a moment before planning his next move. He then fishes out his phone and dialled a familiar number. After a few rings in the other line, he heard the familiar rude voice of Kagami, who seemed to be still annoyed by how Kuroko cut him off just a few minutes ago in the student dormitory.
"Oi, Kuroko, teme! How dare you—"
"Kagami-kun, I'm sorry if I cut you off a while back." Kuroko sincerely apologized before going straight to the point. "I need your help. Please search these terms for me…"
"What…"
"Kagami-kun, listen carefully. I don't have time now…" There was an edge in Kuroko's voice as this caught the surprise of Kagami, who seemed to be surprised to hear his partner talk like this. After a few minutes, he then receives a reply. "Okay, Kuroko. Just speak slowly so I'll list them down. Is it okay if I ask help from coach?"
"Sure, Kagami-kun. Okay, here are the words. Rune alphabets…mana…Thirteen Knights of the Roman Catholic Church…Ars Magna…Gregorian Chant…"
"Uhm…Kuroko…did I hear just right?"
"Yes, Kagami-kun, you just heard right. Now, search them, please. I don't have much time now." As Kuroko waits for his light's answer, he gripped the basketball that he unconsciously brought with him.
Meanwhile, everyone in the Seirin High School team was waiting anxiously as Kagami began to listen to his phone seriously. Just a minute ago, the rest of the team had just finished their third game with Shutoku High School and predictably, they lost another close game due to Kagami not again playing but as everyone is now winding down, Hyuga suddenly heard Kagami's phone ring.
"Oi, Bakagami…your phone is ringing." The clutch captain called out to their ace, who was sitting on the floor while stretching. But as Kagami answeres it, everyone suddenly froze when they heard a familiar voice in the other line.
"Hello, Kagai-kun…"
"Oi, Kuroko, teme! How dare you—" Kagamiw as about to cuss out aloud but he was cut off by his friend on the other line.
"Kagami-kun, I'm sorry if I cut you off a while back. I need your help. Please search these terms for me…"
"What…" Kagami wasn't sure of he understood. By this time, their coach Riko and the rest of the team began to gather around the red-headed power forward as the latter was listening seriously to Kuroko.
"Kagami-kun, listen carefully. I don't have time now…" There seemed to be an edge in Kuroko's voice, which surprised Hyuga and Kiyoshi. "Kagami-kun, just follow what Kuroko-kun is saying." Riko ordered the Seirin ace. "And put it in speaker mode so that we can hear what he has to say."
Following what the coach ordered, Kagami then turned on the speaker mode and then said. "Okay, Kuroko. Just speak slowly so I'll list them down. Is it okay if I ask help from coach?" He glances at Riko and Hyuga.
"Fine, Kagami-kun." Kuroko replied then began to speak slowly. "Okay, here are the words. Rune alphabets…mana…Thirteen Knights of the Roman Catholic Church…Ars Magna…Gregorian Chant…"
"Eh?" Now, Koganei spoke in confusion as he heard those words. "Those terms seems a bit…archaic…"
"Uhm…Kuroko…did I just hear right?" Understandably, Kagami was left bewildered at what he ehard as he didn't know why Kuroko is asking him to search him the terms.
"Yes, Kagami-kun, you just heard right. Now, search them, please. I don't have much time now." Yes, Kuroko seemed to be at edge right now.
Luckily, Riko was able to list down the words she heard in her phone, knowing the one talking to their passing specialist is a bit unreliable as of the moment. The other also began to help out by picking one term and searching on their own phones, which had access to the Internet. After a few minutes, Riko came forward and pushed it into Kagami's face. Despite the seemingly rude move, Kagami ignored it and began to read the letters.
"Rune alphabets are the letters or simply runes are alphabets, which were used to write various Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet and for specialised purposes thereafter." Kagami began to speak. "Historically, the runic alphabet is a derivation of the Old Italic scripts of antiquity, with the addition of some innovations. Which variant of the Old Italic family in particular gave rise to the runes is uncertain. Suggestions include Raetic, Venetic, Etruscan, or Old Latin as candidates. At the time, all of these scripts had the same angular letter shapes suited for epigraphy, which would become characteristic of the runes."
There was a long pause before Kuroko's voice is heard.
"Next?"
Quickly, Kiyoshi came forward and gave what he searched. "Mana, in Austronesian languages, means "power", "effectiveness", and "prestige". In most cases, this power and its source are understood to be supernatural and inexplicable." Kagami read what he saw. "In short, it is a form of energy that is present in many forms of life known in the Tabula Rasa exoverse, and is also often known as life energy or ki. It is particularly characterized by the tendency to replicate itself and grow after incorporating other forms of energy. As an individual grows larger and stronger, so does the amount of mana energy it has. A portion of mana energy is passed onto the offspring from the mother in every instance of reproduction, although there have been rare cases where an individual has been born without any mana energy. Exceptionally strong individuals often possess significant amounts of mana energy."
Koganei then came forward with his own search. "The Thirteen Knights of the Roman Catholic Church is a group of warriors created by and serve under the Roman Catholic Church. They are known to be patterned after the Knights of the Round Table of the Arthurian Legend…"
What the hell does this have to do with his basketball training?! Hyuga didn't know what to feel as he was listening to every answer that they are feeding to their Phantom player.
"Ars Magna is a Latin term for "Great Art." Kagami then read Izuki's search. "It's mostly found in alchemy, an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition practiced throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia, originating in Greco-Roman Egypt (primarily Alexandria) in the first few centuries AD. It aims to purify, mature, and perfect certain objects. Common aims were chrysopoeia, the transmutation of "base metals" (e.g., lead) into "noble metals" (particularly gold); the creation of an elixir of immortality; the creation of panaceas able to cure any disease; and the development of an alkahest, a universal solvent. The perfection of the human body and soul was thought to permit or result from the alchemical magnum opus and, in the Hellenistic and Western mystery tradition, the achievement of gnosis. In Europe, the creation of a philosopher's stone was variously connected with all of these projects…dammit, this one's the longest one…Kuroko…oi, Kuroko?! What's with you?! What are you doing right now?"
"Just keep answering, Kagami-kun. I'm in some sort of business now so this is why I am running." Kuroko replied from the other line. Before Kagami can retort back, Mitobe silently pushed his phone forward so Kagami can finish right now.
The red head grudgingly read it. "The Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries, with later additions and redactions. Although popular legend credits Pope Gregory I with inventing Gregorian chant, scholars believe that it arose from a later Carolingian synthesis of Roman chant and Gallican chant." Kagami began to get irritated as he went on. "The Gregorian chants were organized initially into four, then eight, and finally 12 modes. Typical melodic features include a characteristic ambitus, and also characteristic intervallic patterns relative to a referential mode final, incipits and cadences, the use of reciting tones at a particular distance from the final, around which the other notes of the melody revolve, and a vocabulary of musical motifs woven together through a process called centonization to create families of related chants. The scale patterns are organized against a background pattern formed of conjunct and disjunct tetrachords, producing a larger pitch system called the gamut. The chants can be sung by using six-note patterns called hexachords. Gregorian melodies are traditionally written using neumes, an early form of musical notation from which the modern four-line and five-line staff developed. Multi-voice elaborations of Gregorian chant, known as organum, were an early stage in the development of Western polyphony."
There was a pause in the other line, save for what sounds like loud footsteps, indicating that the boy is on the run—physically.
"Thank you, Kagami-kun." Kuroko replied as he kept running.
"Oi, what is happening to you?! Where the hell are you?!" Kagami roared.
All he got as a response is a long, ringing sound.
I'm sorry Kagami-kun but I have to go on my own way, for now. I got to help Index-sand and Kamijou-kun.
As the stakes got higher after learning that Kamijou and the guy in priestly robes got into the building first, Kuroko then decided to creep in as well as he didn't want to stay in his hiding place much lomger. Bringing his leather basketball and a rusty iron pipe he found in the sidewalks some minutes ago, he then pushes the revolving doors as he goes inside.
But more importantly, he was convinced of one thing.
Magic is real.
He might not have heard of it yet but what he witnessed is proof that something outside of this world is existing.
He began to navigate around the very large school building. It didn't help that he wasn't even familiar to this place but thanks to the opened but dim lights, the dusty foot prints, and the sounds of voices that seemed to be coming from the top floor, he was able to find his way around the place. Though he wasn't sure what floor it is, Kuroko then gambled by taking the elevator and estimating the frequency of the sounds through their pitch alone. If he felt that it was louder, then he'll simply have to close in.
It didn't take him that long before stumbling upon a door that was swung open. But before Kuroko can even step a bit further, familiar voices which were visibly coming from the room of the door were heard, quickly causing him to stop and knelt down as he tried to listen.
"I have some bad news for you, alchemist," Styil said calmly, "Your plan will never succeed."
Aureolus turned around to face the two infiltrators, a confident smirk on his face.
"Oh, so you finally realized what my intentions here are, albeit a bit late." he replied, "In that case, I expect that you howl at your own impedance when achieve what I mean to do."
"I would have done the same thing with Index a year back." The priestly man replied, now getting serious. "But I repeat, you won't be able to save Index, right now."
Save Index-san? Kuroko repeated in his mind as he grips the iron pipe in his hands. Something tells him this is going to get ugly in a matter of seconds.
""You simply failed at saving her. But I will save this girl." The alchemist declared, pausing a moment to spare Index a caring glance. "I will save her. My Index. She shouldered the weight of all the 103,000 grimoires upon her fragile shoulders. She could never hope to escape the spell that was cast upon her, but she has stayed strong. She accepts the fate decreed by the church, hoping her curse will be a blessing for others."
By how he sounds it, this Aureolus Izzard guy knew Index-san. I don't know what is happening right now. Is this magic? Kuroko mentally groaned.
"He was one of Index's partners in the past." Stiyl explained, figuring everyone else, including Kuroko whome they haven't detected yet, was out of the loop. "This year, you have that honor. Last year it was me. And three years ago, it was this man, Aureolus Izzard."
"To this day, Index needs to have her memories erase or else she will die…"
Those words alone proved to be quite a shocker as Kuroko almost dropped his pipe. Memories? Erased? Index-san? The tealnette didn't know what to feel whether he should get mad or feel a bit sad.
"Without that process, she will die. An unescapable fate, on her human body cannot fight. However…"
"If her body was not human, things might be different," Stiyl finished lamely.
"Vampires are those that possess immortal life. They possess the ability to save an infinite amount of memories in the same brain as humans. Thay have it…those vampires!" Aureolus' voice turns creepy. "They have a method of not losing their self no matter how many memories they take in."
"I see…" The priest's voice was heard. "So you want the vampires to tell you that method. But let me ask you one thing: what if it doesn't work on humans?"
"Then I'll move Index's away from a human body." Aureolus replied arrogantly.
"In other words, he wants to turn her into a vampire."
Kuroko was tempting to charge into their little meeting as well but he had to control himself. Now's not the time.
"It doesn't change that fact that Index would be saved!" Aureolus angrily said. "You should understand that! You, who have seen her ending annually! At that time, she told me…she told me she didn't want to forget and that she didn't want to die and go against her teachings. She told me all of this while she was smiling!"
However, it was at that point that the priest decided to break the news to the misguided alchemist.
"I see. Then nothing I've said so far has changed your mind…" The priest said in exasperation as he stepped to the side of the room.
"Well, in that case, would you care to do the honors as her current partner?" The tall priest asked, glancing at Kamijou, "Why don't you tell this misinformed hack about the recent change in Index? You're the current one."
The boy with spiky hair stared at the alchemist before him speaking.
"Alchemist, you have no idea what you're talking about," Touma said firmly.
"What's that?" Aureolus asked in confusion.
Uhm, what? Kuroko was confused as well.
"Don't you see yet?" Stiyl interrupted, "You can't do anything because Index's has already been saved. Not by you but by this Kamijou Touma. He's already accomplished what neither of us were able to do. But course, you couldn't have known that. You turned your back on the church and spent three years in hiding. You've pretty much been living under a rock when the important stuff happened."
"I-Impossible…" Aureolus muttered in disbelief. "He's…a normal human. Not even a magician nor an alchemist. What can this little fry even do?!"
"This guy's right hand is called the Imagine Breaker…" The pirest said and this is the part which Kuroko got hooked into.
As the pirest explained how Kamijou's power work, Kuroko was amazed as he heard about his new friend's right hand. Imagine…Breaker? The power to cancel out any supernatural ability? Can that be even possible?
The mood around him as well as the tone of the priest say that it was. Suddenly, he again heard another additional voice.
"Touma," Index cried in her sleep, "Touma."
Index-san!
"I'm here, Index!" Kamijou yelled in response.
"Touma," Index said once again.
Suddenly, her stomach released a loud rumbling sound.
"I'm really hungry," Index followed up, rolling on her side in her sleep, "An apple. A juicy, red apple…from Aomori…"
AT that moment, the atmosphere got a bit awkward at the peculiae sight.
"That's a good one…" Stiyl said through his snicker.
At that point, Kamijou couldn't help but laugh as well. And now, Even Kuroko, who heard it as well, almost dropped his basketball as he was shaking from the funny words he had heard.
Suddenly, Aureolus began to laugh as well.
Albeit, in a maniacal way.
Everyone stopped in their tracks as they watch the alchemist laugh and laugh.
"On the ground, intruders!"
All of the sudden, Kuroko heard a large thump in the floor as it vibrated in the ground. Shit…this must be it…
"You come in here and trample my emotions! You have jeered at my hardships!" The alchemist thundered. "Very well, you will pay for this humiliation! You will pay with your pathetic lives!"
"Stop now!" A familiar voice yelled.
Himegami-san?! Kuroko, now his eyes are bulging as he realized there was more to this.
"Himegami, careful." Kamijou warned as he struggled to get up.
As on-going battle began to emerge, suddenly, Kuroko's phone vibrated. Answering it, he ehard the voice of Kagami suddenly roaring in anger.
"Oi, Kuroko teme. You sure have some guts not answering us back! What the hell is with you today? What's with—"
"Kagami-kun, I don't have any time for this!" Kuroko's accent is tersely as he tries to lower down his voice. "And please calm down your voice! I'm in an important business today!"
"Teme…what the hell are you…"
Suddenly, at the astonishment of Kuroko, an explosion suddenly occurred right in front of him.
"Ku-Kuroko! What the hell is that explosion we heard here?!" Kahami can't help but feel frightened for his partner.
"It doesn't matter!" Kuroko replied, now taking the ball and the iron in his hands. "I'm charging in right now!"
"Kuroko—"
Kuroko threw his phone in the sides and went to the door. He was greeted by the sight of Kamijou lying on the ground, Aureolus holding what looks like to be a ten-barrelled pistol, Himegami lying beside Kamijou, and…
The priest now floating in the air.
And his skin ripped to pieces.
Kuroko almost vomited at the disgusting sight of his heart continuing to beat and he was by all indications alive, his muscles, bones, blood vessels, and other organs close to the surface were exposed but he had to keep going. Luckily for him, his lack of presence is helpful in this scenario and seeing and analysing the situation before him as fast as he could, he had only one thing on his mind.
He dribbled the ball so hard that it reached the ceiling.
"What?! Who's there?!" Aureolus shouted angrily, not that he was able to see because of Kuroko's misdirection and the fact that Kamijou is blocking his way.
"It's me!" Kurok had to declare his presence.
As the ball descends down, Kuroko then punches it. "Ignite pass!" He shouted as the sent the Molten Basketball flying into the face of the unsuspecting Aureolus, who was shocked at the sudden appearance of Kuroko.
And before he can even move, the alchemist was hit hard in the face that it sent him crashing down on the floor.
"Ku-Kuroko?! What the hell are you doing here?! Get away from here!" Kamijou shouted in horror and surprise as he tries to warn the tealnette about the supposed dangers lying in front of him.
His plead fell to deaf ears as Kuroko charges in, readily swinging his iron pipe.
Before Aureolus can quickly regain consciousness and his posture, Kuroko came up and quickly struck him in the face with the iron pipe. The alchemist can only cry in pain as the tealnette began to beat him up with all his might. It was an amazing feat for the tealnette, considering the difference in their heights. Aureolus Izzard-kun looks even taller than Midorima-kun and Kiyoshi-senpai. I have to beat him up while I'm still at luck.
His luck, though lone, didn't last long.
"Another violent boy, huh?" Aureolus muttered then thundered. "Be kicked by the force of the stallion's hooves!"
All of the sudden, before Kuroko can swung his iron pipe more, he suddenly felt something supernatural hit him as he got thrown back violently back into where Kamijou is lying. "Ittai…it feels like I got kicked by a horse…" Kuroko whispered as he held into his left arm, which bore the brunt of Aureolus' Ars Magna.
"Kuroko?! Are you alright?!" Kamijou was about to help but was stopped by the voice of a laughing Aureolus, who is now standing in front of them. His face was bruised black and blue from the beating he received from Kuroko's iron pipe.
"You two seemed to be the most troubling. Enough of this. I believe I'll switch weapons," The alchemist declared as he points at Kamijou. "I'll get rid of you first. I'll destroy you with a sword instead. Obviously, the source of your self-assurance is your right hand which is your only weapon. It's clear my first course of action is to chop off your right arm. For this last attack, my spinning sword will sever your arm!"
The ten pistols Aureolus was using transformed into a single pistol with a sword attached to the barrel. Taking aim, the sword flew off the barrel of the pistol on command, spinning as it cut through the air. In the blink of an eye, the spinning blade cut straight through Kamijou's right shoulder, severing his arm and spewing blood everywhere. The blood splashed onto Kuroko's white shirt.
"Kamijou-kun!" Kuroko cried as he tried to get up and help his spiky haired friend by trying to engage the man in combat once more despite knowing how dangerous it seems. But it was no use. His left arm is still hurting.
"Hm…Ha…HA HA HA HA!" Aureolus began to laugh maniacally as he was very satisfied with how he cut off his oppoent's right hand. He then turned his sights towards Kuroko, who was till trying to stand up. The tealnette would have been in the mercy of the alchemist if it wasn't for another laughing voice that was heard in the room.
The one laughing was Touma Kamijou.
"What?" Kuroko and Aureolus both asked in stunning manner.
In desperation, Aureolus attempted to cut Kamijou's head off with the same sword pistol he used the chop off his arm. However, the blade somehow curved and missed the boy completely. When the attack failed, he tried again, this time with the same ten pistol combination as before. Once again, the blades curved around Kamijou, not even scratching him. In a final attempt to end the boy, the alchemist ordered the creation of infinite executioner's blades to dismember Kamijou's body. The blades all appeared suspended in the air above Kamijou before suddenly falling upon him. However, the blades never hit their mark as they were instantly destroyed, the oddest part being that the sound of Imagine Breaker rang out as they did.
"A-Amazing…" Kuroko had a newfound respect, awe, and fear for what he was seeing right now.
"Hey, alchemist." Kamijou said that was not him at all. "Honestly, did you think you were going to win? Did you really you can get rid of Imagine Breaker with an attack as pathetic as that one?"
In his desperate attempts to defend himself, Aureolus dropped his supply of needles and struggled to recollect all of them. During this time, Kamijou only got closer to his predator-turned-prey.
"You can't work your alchemy without using those needles, can you?" Kamijou deduced. "You rely on them to keep any stray thoughts out from interfering. Is something wrong? Come on, use your words! Why aren't you fighting? Can't you control me?"
With that one step, Touma's shoulder stub was visible for everyone present to see. To the Kuroko's surprise and horror, in place of Kamijou's right arm was a giant dragon head. The head was large enough to equal the boy's standing height when its jaw was open and seemed to be made out of an eerie purple light. Its physical form was only barely visible on its own, only becoming clearer thanks to the splatters of Kamijou's blood smeared across it.
The dragon's head let out a might roar that physically shook the room the battle was in, shocking everyone conscious to see it, both in and outside of the room. To Kuroko's shock of his life, the dragon's head lunged at Aureolus, swallowing him whole as he screamed for his life. As soon as the dragon's head's powerful jaws clamped down, the resulting shockwave knocked down Kuroko once more in the floor, though not as hard as he experienced with Ars Magna.
The tealnette could hardly believe what he had just witnessed. They had no words to describe what they were feeling. Words like 'fear', 'shock', 'terror' and the like were not enough to describe what they felt. To use those words alone would not do the emotions he was feeling justice. More scarier than Akashi-kun's eyes…more powerful than Aomine-kun himself…more discerning than Midorima-kun's lucky items…
For the first time since learning, about Imagine Breaker some minutes ago, Kuroko was utterly confused by the power in Kamijou's right hand.
"What was that?" Kuroko whispered.
Outside of the room, a faint voice from a phone can be heard.
"Kuroko! Oi, Kuroko!"
The next day, Kuroko and surprisingly, the priest who was with Kamijou last night was already in the hospital room with the patient, the spiky haired boy, lying comfortably. Kamijou sat upright in his inclined hospital bed, his newly reattached right arm in a sling.
Miraculously, that one injury was the only one he had.
While Kaijou was quiet, the priest kept peeling the apple in his hands. Kuroko was also quiet as he didn't know what to say at this point. After being able to recover, Kuroko and the red headed priest with a barcode tattoo in his face help bring the boy to the hospital of the famous Heaven Canceller. As they were all in peace right now, the tealnette tried to piece all what he had learned last night. Imagine Breaker…Ars Magna…Magic…Sorcerer…
"Hey, what's your name?"
Kuroko turned to see that the priest was actually asking for his name. "My name's Kuroko Tetsuya. And you're?"
"Stiyl Magnus." The priest huffed as he continued cutting the apples. "Sorcerer and magician for the Necessarius, a branch of the English Puritan Church. Let me tell you one thing, though. You're lucky enough that you're neither a magician nor an esper. If you and Kamijou Touma just happened to be affiliated with either one of them, then I supposed you being involved could be the worst thing that could happen to us sorcerers and to General Superintendent, Aleister Crowley…"
"I…I see…" Kuroko muttered as he then asks. "What happened to Aureolus-san?"
"Well, he seems to have lost his memories and magical abilities," Stiyl explained, "I didn't want his death on my consciences, so I gave him a new identity and snuck him past the Knights of the Roman Catholic Church."
"Is that so?" Kuroko mused, "Good for him, I guess."
"Word is Misawa Prep School is being shut down." Stiyl added. "I was going to thank all of you, but it seems a bit stupid now that I think about it. All you two really did was get Aureolus to bring the school down on himself. In case of you, Kuroko, you actually help in stalling him for a few minutes, just enough time for Kamijou Touma to recover enough and fight back."
"If anything, you should be thanking me for my acting talent." Kamijou boasted.
"The pain must have been intense enough to put you in a state of shock," Stiyl deduced, "Thanks to that, you just able to do what needed to be done, kind of like Aureolus and his needles."
"Do not compare me to him!" Kamijou said sternly, "How crazy can one guy be? He goes out of his way to obtain some crazy magic and create a master scheme involving vampires, all because he wanted to save Index."
As the two continued to bicker, Kuroko simply watched them and gave off a small smile.
"Just so you know Kuroko." Stiyl then spoke. "This might not be the last time something similar to this would happen. If you want to be involved, then I don't stop you. But I recommend that you don't get involved at all…"
At this point, Index could be heard running down the halls of the hospital. In response, Stiyl left his freshly cut plate of apples in Touma's lap and jumped out the window. He would prefer to not meet Index directly for the time being, the reason still vaguely unknown to Kuroko.
Not that he minds though.
"Touma!" Index yelled sternly as she entered the room and climbed on his lap, "I know what you were up too!"
"Index-san, please don't do that. Kamijou-kun is still hurt." Kuroko tries to pull away Index away from the hospital bed.
"That's right. I know you risked your life in a fight to save Aisa and all of you were involved," Index replied. "Even Tetsuya is involved this time!" She grumbled, invoking Kuroko's given name.
"Aisa?" Touma asked, "Oh, you mean that wave-emitting fake magician girl? Wait, who did you hear that from?" Index didn't answer him immediately as she instead noticed the plate of apples in Kamijou's hands and she took it before beginning to chew.
"That's obvious…" Was Index's lone reply.
"That was rude." The voice of Himegami suddenly appeared. "I'm no freak."
"Kamijou-kun, try to be more gentle with ladies." Kuroko reminded him.
"Oh, hey Himegami." Kamijou greeted awkwardly. "I didn't expect to see you here with Index."
"It's not like I wanted her to come." Index clarified. "But she wouldn't stop going on about how she was desperate to thank you."
"Why did you do it?" Himegami asked, "Why did you and Kuroko-kun help me? You could have died for some stranger. I'm just some girl you and Kuroko-kun met at a fast food restaurant."
"I don't see why I need a reason to help somebody." Kamijou replied nonchalantly.
"Exactly my thoughts." Kuroko replied as well.
"Hey, Touma." Index interrupted. "After a lot of discussion, it looks like the church has decided to take in Aisa."
"The church? The actually church or your crazy Walking Church?" Kamijou asked with skepticism. "I can never tell with you."
Suddenly, Sphynx, the calico cat, suddenly went out of Index's habit and scratched Kamijou's face. As the ensuing chaos continued, Kuroko simply smiled at the scene and as he held his phone, which was full of incoming messages ranging from Hyuga lashing out curses, Riko swearing to kill him, and Kagami blurting out expletives for not telling anything, one thing suddenly is on his mind.
"For some reason, this might not be the last time I would be involved in the Magic World."
Sneak peak for the next chapter!
Kuroko Tetsuya and Shirai Kuroko continues their straining physical training and enhancement to help the tealnette attain what he was looking for. Slowly but surely, day per day, Kuroko began to experience some drastic changes in his physical prowess, such as now being able to perform the basics in basketball, especially with a new arsenal in his quick three pointers and can run almost on the level of the Generation of Miracles.
But other than that, it seems that he would be once again be sucked into the dark matters of Academy City. As Kuroko and Kamijou wanders around, the former managed to meet one of the latter's fear—a chestnut-haired middle school girls who happens to be the Level 3 Esper of Academy City. As he quickly meets with Misaka Mikoto, he also unknowingly got plunged into Academy City's secret experiments.
One that would involve bloodshed, the murder of clones, and…
The attempt to create a Level 6?
See you in the next chapter!