Disclaimer: To Aru Majutsu no Index and all associated characters, settings, and concepts are the intellectual property of Kazuma Kamachi and ASCII Media Works, and I claim no ownership.
_VOLUME 1_
Chapter 10
Arakuyo Kenji's Will
Final_BATTLE.
Part 1
Silence fell upon the top floor of the abandoned parking garage as everyone within sat tense and poised for the battle to come. It was the kind of silence that brought with it an uncomfortable, restless feeling, with both opponent waiting for the other to move first. The sound of clothes rustling and the rubber soles of shoes scraping against the concrete as each person shifted around ever-so-slightly was loud in comparison to the absolute stillness. Not even the sounds of
Academy City in the background were enough to fill the void, echoing faintly as though they were off in the far distance.
Kenji had been in this position countless times, but as he stood here he was all too acutely aware of the sound of his heart beating furiously in his chest.
The red-haired Esper known as Arakuyo Kenji had been in a lot of fights. Back when he was in middle school, Kenji would go out every night and pick fights with delinquents and thuggish-looking brutes who hung around the back alleys of District 7. Most of his fights were with people twice his size, and it wasn't rare for him to get ganged up on by multiple thugs at a time.
Needless to say, he lost almost every fight.
At first, his motivations had been to get stronger. Every time he lost, he convinced himself that he was getting just a little better, and waited for the time when he'd pick a fight and come out on top. As long as he believed that, he could continue fighting.
Yet, in all that time, Kenji wasn't accomplishing anything.
Eventually, Kenji came to realize why.
"Back then… I didn't have anything at stake. Sure, I didn't want to lose, but that's not the same as having to win. If I had something to protect, if I was fighting for some important reason, then I didn't have the option of losing! I absolutely had to win, no matter what! It's only after I started fighting for something else that I was able to start overcoming my limitations. I may still be the same level in regards to my ability, but I'm a hundred times stronger than that kid I used to be!"
Yet no matter how many times Kenji had stood on the precipice of battle, he couldn't ever remember a time where the stakes were this high.
"If I lose… Miyako-san will…!"
Kenji closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if shutting that very idea out.
"No! I won't lose! For Miyako-san's sake, I absolutely will not lose!"
With that resolve burning in his heart, Kenji opened his eyes and launched himself forward towards O'Reilly.
O'Reilly shifted his stance immediately, bracing himself as though preparing for Kenji's attack.
Kenji narrowed his eyes and smirked, reeling his arm back and using Density Shift to augment his punch. As Kenji reached O'Reilly, the red-haired Esper swung his arm forward and drove his fist into the air where O'Reilly had been.
"He… he dodged!?"
Although the white-robed magician had poised himself for an impact, at the last minute O'Reilly jumped out of the way and darted sideways. Kenji immediately whirled around and jumped backwards as steel chains shot out from O'Reilly's robe's sleeves and struck the ground where he had just been standing.
Kenji crouched low to the ground and once again charged at O'Reilly, this time preparing to hit him low with a sweeping kick and knock him off balance. As he reached the white-robed magician, O'Reilly reacted quickly and jumped over Kenji's attack. With Kenji off-balance and wide open for a counter attack, O'Reilly quickly swung down with his arms and lashed Kenji with the chains from his sleeves.
Kenji wasn't steady enough to correctly dodge the attack, but he managed to stumble out of the way of the incoming chains. The chains struck the concrete beside him and chipped pieces from the floor, casting them into the air like dust. Kenji saw his opening and steadied himself, launching himself forwards while O'Reilly was reeling the chains back in.
O'Reilly's head snapped around to face Kenji and the red-haired Esper could swear he saw the robed man snarl as he held out his other hand. With a flick of his wrist, runes appeared before him and formed into a glowing array, and a familiar weapon materialized in the air.
It was the sharpened pole that O'Reilly used as a spear.
O'Reilly snatched the pole from the air in front of him and swung it at Kenji, halting the Esper's charge in his tracks. The robed magician's sunglasses caught the light filtering in through the hole Kenji had made earlier and glinted ominously.
"I don't know how you survived our fight last night, Esper," O'Reilly began, voice dripping with anger and disgust, "but be assured, you will not leave this place alive. I will not be so careless next time."
At O'Reilly's taunt, the robed magician shifted his weight and lunged towards Kenji with something of a renewed vigor. This action gave Kenji the impression that, for some unspoken reason, O'Reilly had been holding back as though something about Kenji made him uneasy. Their first exchange of blows seemed to be enough to satisfy O'Reilly and quell his fears, for the ominous intent that radiated off of him the day before had returned with a vengeance.
Kenji ducked under O'Reilly's spike as the magician thrust it forwards. Kenji had planned to use his lower stance to execute a sweeping kick to trip O'Reilly up, but the magician had accounted for that. In an instant, O'Reilly brought his leg forward and slammed it against Kenji where he crouched.
Kenji stumbled slightly, but regained his balance in time to watch O'Reilly slam the spiked pole into the ground. A silver array spread out from where the spike pierced the concrete and began to glow brightly underneath Kenji's feet. Kenji reacted quickly and sprang backwards off the ground, narrowly avoiding the numerous spikes that erupted from the array and impaled the air directly in front of him.
Kenji looked through the forest of spikes at where O'Reilly had been standing not a moment before, but the white-robed magician seemed to have disappeared.
This trick again.
Kenji took a few steps back and took a defensive position, awaiting O'Reilly's strike.
It never came.
Kenji had given the spikes a wide berth. There was no way O'Reilly could hit him from within. Yet O'Reilly hadn't even shown himself yet.
Kenji's eyes widened as he realized something and he dodged to the side, whirling around just in time to see O'Reilly appear behind him and thrust his polearm forwards. O'Reilly managed to adjust the trajectory of the spiked pole and narrowly grazed Kenji's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.
Kenji wasted no time moving in for a counter attack. He kicked off the ground and lunged forward before the white-robed magician could reel his weapon back in to block. As he reached O'Reilly, he wound up for a punch and drove his fist directly into the magician's face, knocking him back forcefully.
It was the first direct hit Kenji had landed on O'Reilly, and the white-robed magician didn't seem to be taking it too well.
For a moment, O'Reilly stood there, hunched over with a hand to his face as the other one held his weapon loosely. The white-robed magician held his position as though he were frozen, with his head tilted back and his eyes towards the ceiling.
"Damn… damn… damn… you…"
O'Reilly slowly brought his head forward, a manic grin plastered across the magician's face. His lip was split and a thin line of blood trickled down over his chin and dripped onto his clean robes, staining them with a small red dot.
"I've faced vampires who've landed less hits upon me. You, Esper… you…."
O'Reilly paused, tightening his grip on his weapon and straightening himself up before taking a single step towards the red-haired Esper. He then took another one, and began making his way over to where Kenji stood, getting within half a meter of the Esper.
"You are incredibly lucky."
Kenji imagined it was very rare for O'Reilly to voluntarily put himself in such a direct and up-close position with his opponents, especially considering most of the spells he had seen involve using traps or illusions to trick opponents. Yet that only made Kenji more nervous. O'Reilly wasn't foolish. He wouldn't get so close if he wasn't confident he could still utterly crush Kenji with his spells.
"Now, Esper, I'll finish you off swiftly, and finish up here."
Kenji smirked despite his wariness. As long as the white-robed magician continued to pour strength into the unsealing ritual, Kenji still had an advantage. After all, even unarmed, Kenji was best at close-quarters combat. Like this, O'Reilly was keeping himself within the Esper's effective range.
"You can say that after I'm dead, O'Reilly. It would look pretty sad if you said all that and then I kicked your ass, you know?"
O'Reilly smirked, "You'd need to show me your full power to even stand a chance of beating me."
"Full power? Oh… he's talking about that strange clarity I felt yesterday fighting Earthwyrm. Yeah, I wish I had that power right about now... If only I knew how to control it!"
Caught up in the thought of the spontaneous boost in abilities he had experienced the day before, Kenji hesitated long enough to let O'Reilly strike first. The white-robed magician swung his pole-arm forwards and tried to drive it into Kenji's side.
Kenji reacted quickly, stepping backwards and narrowly avoiding O'Reilly's attack. As the weapon swung past him, the Esper ducked underneath and charged at the magician, reeling his arm back for another punch.
O'Reilly anticipated the counterattack and stepped to the right, allowing Kenji's punch to dart right past him. Before Kenji could recover, O'Reilly swung the pole like a staff and slammed it into Kenji's side, causing the Esper to stagger sideways. O'Reilly immediately followed up by readjusting his grip on his weapon and slamming the blunt end of the pole into Kenji's stomach.
Kenji doubled over and coughed, blood sputtering up his throat and trickling down the side of his mouth as he stumbled backward. O'Reilly immediately moved to follow up with yet another attack, but Kenji was ready for it. Recovering quickly, the red-haired Esper ducked under O'Reilly's next swing and swung his arm at O'Reilly.
The white-robed magician tried to dodge, but Kenji had anticipated and adjusted his attack to strike O'Reilly's arm. As his fist connected with O'Reilly's shoulder, a loud crack echoed through the mostly empty parking garage and the magician stumbled back. As O'Reilly reached up and grasped his shoulder in pain, Kenji stepped back and whirled around to deliver a strong roundhouse kick to O'Reilly's side.
The magician stumbled backwards and barred his teeth at Kenji, as though he were snarling. O'Reilly shot forwards, wielding his weapon in his good arm, and thrust it forwards towards Kenji. The red-haired Esper sidestepped to avoid the attack, but O'Reilly was anticipating his dodge. The ground beneath Kenji's feet once again lit up with a glowing array, and chains whipped around Kenji's legs, pinning him in place.
"Tch…!"
Kenji looked over at O'Reilly, only to find the white-robed magician poised to impale him once more.
"I have you now, Esper!"
Instead of panicking, Kenji closed his eyes and concentrated. Just as O'Reilly stabbed forwards with the polearm, a hole opened up beneath Kenji's feet and the Esper fell, ducking underneath the magician's strike.
"W-What!?"
The chains around Kenji caught him and suspended him just below the hole, still anchored to O'Reilly's array. The trap shifted colors from a light silver to a dark red, and the chains retracted to reel the Esper back in. As Kenji felt the chains draw him up, he slipped out from their grasp and dropped down to the floor below, leaving O'Reilly standing alone in the floor above him.
The white-robed magician cursed and looked around the mostly vacant floor with apprehension. Kenji now had the upper hand. O'Reilly had no way of knowing where or how the red-haired Esper would make his move.
"He wouldn't run away," O'Reilly spoke aloud to himself, voice barely above a whisper, "The vampire's still huddled over there in the corner. He wouldn't leave her behind… he intends to finish this as swiftly as I do."
O'Reilly sat silently, continuing to watch the floor beneath him for any signs that Kenji was about to attack. As he waited, he took a few steps back from his original position. Unless Kenji had some way of knowing where O'Reilly was, his attack would hit the air where O'Reilly had been standing harmlessly.
Suddenly, a small can of something came shooting up from the hole in the ground where Kenji had disappeared, letting out a thick smoke and impeding O'Reilly's vision. O'Reilly tried to jump out of the smokescreen, but it seemed that the smoke grenade Kenji had used was more potent than the magician anticipated.
Blinded by the smoke and angry that Kenji had managed to catch him by surprise, O'Reilly slammed his pole into the ground angrily, filling the area around the smoke screen with spikes to impale the Esper wherever he was hiding.
As O'Reilly cast the spell, he felt himself waver, clutching the metal pole for support as he regained his balance.
"Getting tired already?"
O'Reilly's eyes widened as he heard Kenji's voice from immediately behind him. The magician whirled around quickly, only to be met with a heavy punch straight to the jaw. O'Reilly's head was pushed to the side and his sunglasses flew off his face, skidding across the ground and coming to a stop a few meters away.
"That smoke bomb… you…"
"Like it?" Kenji grinned smugly, "Let's just say I borrowed it. You have so many tricks up your sleeve, but I bet you didn't expect me to have one of my own!"
Now that O'Reilly's eyes were exposed, Kenji could see the anger searing in the man's fierce red eyes.
"ENOUGH!"
O'Reilly readjusted his grip on the spiked pole and pulled it out of the ground. He swung it a few times tentatively before pointing it directly at Kenji.
"I've… I've had enough of you!"
Behind the white-robed magician, the glowing array on Stoker's Coffin faded away and disappeared. The red aura that had surrounded O'Reilly for the whole fight also faded, and he flexed his arms lightly.
"Yes… that's much better…"
"He's not diverting any energy into the unsealing ritual… that means he's going to come at me with everything he has!"
O'Reilly's eyes gleamed in the dim light of the parking garage as he swung his pole over his head like a staff. As the white-robed magician raised his arms, multiple arrays appeared in the air above him.
"It's over, Esper!"
Large, circular razor blades shot forth from the glowing runes floating above O'Reilly's head, aimed directly for Kenji. Each blade was spinning on an axis attached to long, snaking chains, and O'Reilly was manipulating them in the air with his hands.
Kenji dodged the first blade, which bit into the concrete below him and cast off glowing red sparks as it dug into the hard floor. Kenji ducked underneath the next two blades, one nearly missing him and cutting a small slit in the collar of his shirt.
The next two blades forced Kenji to dodge by stepping back, one hitting the ground near his feet and the other nearly digging into his shoulder as it whirled past.
O'Reilly flicked his wrist and the chains of the blades that had missed their target were pulled taught, and the blades were pulled back towards him.
"How long can you keep this up, Esper? You can't hit me from back there, can you?"
"Tch…"
Kenji glared at O'Reilly, but the magician wasn't wrong. It would be hard for Kenji to slip past O'Reilly's attacks, and charging him directly was way too risky. Any one of those blades could cause Kenji some serious problems.
Kenji looked over at the deep hole the first blade had dug into the concrete next to him, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
"Heh, what's the matter, Esper," O'Reilly taunted, a disturbingly manic grin spreading across his face, "Where's all that confidence you had before?"
Without waiting or a response, O'Reilly flicked his wrist once more and the blades once again launched forwards towards the red-haired Esper. Kenji instantly broke out into a run, hoping to circle around so he could close the distance from a safe position.
The first and second blades shot harmlessly past Kenji, and for an instant Kenji thought he was safe. However, instead of digging into the concrete behind him like last time, the blades immediately swung around and began chasing Kenji like heat-seeking missiles.
"Y-you've gotta be kidding!"
The two blades were soon joined by the other three, and soon all five blades where chasing Kenji down. Kenji ducked low to see if he could get the blades to strike the ground and get stuck, but with O'Reilly guiding the blades himself, Kenji realized he was wasting his time.
"Tch… this is a pain… gotta think of something fast!"
Kenji's eyes lit up and the red-haired Esper grinned before turning on his heels and charging directly towards O'Reilly. At first, the blades continued to chase him like nothing had happened, but then one by one each blade slowed down and broke off the closer Kenji got.
"I was right! O'Reilly wouldn't dare to keep his blades chasing me with us so close! Now's my chance to close the distance and-"
Even though Kenji had outsmarted O'Reilly's attack, the white-robed magician was still smiling. In fact, it almost looked like he was ready to burst out laughing any second now.
"W-what!?"
O'Reilly stepped aside to reveal a sixth array immediately behind him. The instant he stepped out of the way, a sixth blade shot out at Kenji. The red-haired Esper instinctively raised his arms to block the attack, and the blade struck his right forearm, digging into his flesh and scraping against bone.
Kenji cried out in pain and stumbled backwards, landing on the ground and letting the blade fall out of his arm and onto the ground beside him. In that instant, another one of Kenji's blades shot forwards and struck Kenji in the side, digging into the Esper's flesh and causing Kenji to cry out in pain.
O'Reilly laughed triumphantly as he flicked his wrist once more, sending all blades back into their respective arrays before the arrays themselves dispersed. As O'Reilly ended the spell, he readjusted his grip in his spiked pole and stepped towards Kenji ominously.
"I'll finish you off myself."
Kenji cursed as he crouched on the ground, grasping his arm as blood poured from his injuries.
"Damnit…. I was careless…"
O'Reilly reached Kenji and looked down at him, brandishing his weapon and grinning almost sadistically.
"I'll strike your heart this time. Make sure you actually die."
O'Reilly turned to look at the corner where Miyako lay.
"Foolish, vile creature…" O'Reilly spat, "To enchant a human to this extent… I will make sure she knows true despair."
The white-robed magician readied his spiked pole and drew it back, ready to impale Kenji through the heart.
"Now DIE!"
Just as O'Reilly shouted, however, A powerful beam of light burst through the wall and slammed into the white-robed magician. O'Reilly stumbled backwards as he was caught in the attack, falling backwards and using his polearm to regain his balance. As he stopped, a glowing array appeared underneath him and erupted into a cylindrical wall of light, imprisoning him where he stood.
"My apologies, O'Reilly," a familiar voice rang out as a figure stepped through the new hole in the wall of the parking garage, "but I can't let you kill that Esper."
O'Reilly's eyes widened before his whole face contorted into an expression of extreme rage.
"Greenhart…. Y...you…. you…. YOU TRAITOROUS HARLOT!"
"Oho?" Greenhart arched an eyebrow at the imprisoned magician, smirking, "Traitor, you say? How dumb could you get? I was never working with you to begin with, remember? You and your shitty church forced me into working with you!"
O'Reilly snarled at Greenhart from behind the wall of light, "Greenhart… that 'grimoire' of yours… Are you telling me you do not value it?"
"I've analyzed this destruction spell, O'Reilly," Greenhart replied, "You can't activate this spell without a remote catalyst. With you trapped in there, I can search for the spell's source at my leisure."
O'Reilly grinned, "Have you truly underestimated me that much? If you've truly analyzed that spell, then you know the catalyst can be something small…"
O'Reilly reached into his robes and produced a small red crystal tied to a black string like a necklace.
Greenhart's eyes widened and she brought the spellbook up to her chest, as though that would somehow protect it from the destruction spell bound to it.
O'Reilly saw this and grinned.
"Now, Greenhart, I'm not unreasonable," O'Reilly replied calmly, "Do exactly as I say, and I will spare that precious tome of yours."
Greenhart hesitated a moment before nodding begrudgingly, and O'Reilly smiled.
"First, dispel this annoying light prison you've trapped me in."
In an instant, the prison faded and O'Reilly stretched his arms out to make sure it was gone.
"Good. Now, kill the Esper for…"
O'Reilly turned to where he had left Kenji and trailed off when he noticed that the Esper was no longer there. O'Reilly began looking around frantically, trying to locate Kenji before he got the jump on him.
As O'Reilly turned his head, he caught a quick glimpse of the red-haired Esper as he charged at him. The white-robed magician's eyes widened as Kenji reached him and landed a heavy punch to his gut.
While O'Reilly staggered from the powerful strike, Kenji grabbed the red catalyst in his hands and held it up for the blonde-haired witch to see.
"Greenhart, catch!" Kenji yelled, tossing the crystal towards her.
Greenhart snatched the crystal as it flew towards her and grinned, tossing it to the ground and crushing it underneath her heal. As she did, her grimoire glowed with a faint red glow as the destruction runes etched into its bindings faded away.
O'Reilly recovered from the strike and looked Kenji over in shock. The injuries that had nearly spelt his defeat earlier were gone.
"You… how did you…!?"
Kenji grinned, reaching into his pants pocket and producing a small vial from within. It was the potion made from vampire extract that Greenhart had used on him the day before. Before the battle, she had given him the vial in case anything went wrong.
"You…" O'Reilly began, glaring at Greenhart indignantly, "You already knew I had the catalyst on me… you… you two planned all of this!"
O'Reilly stumbled backwards, looking from Kenji to Greenhart and back nervously.
"Now," Greenhart interjected, "It looks like the tables have turned, O'Reilly."
The blonde-haired witch turned to Kenji and nodded, taking a step back as if she were motioning for him to finish the fight.
Kenji nodded back before he turned his attention to the white-robed magician. The Esper's expression darkened and he began walking towards O'Reilly, glaring him down with every slow, purposeful step.
"You chased Miyako to the ends of the earth just for your own gains…"
Another step, and O'Reilly felt himself start to back up.
"You came to the heart of Academy City just to search for her…"
O'Reilly took another step backwards as Kenji closed the distance between them, fire burning in his eyes.
"You even got me involved, and tried to kill me…"
O'Reilly kept backing up until his legs brushed up against Stoker's Coffin and he nearly stumbled.
Kenji continued stepping towards him and came to a stop right in front of him. Even though O'Reilly was taller, he somehow felt like Kenji was still standing above him looking down.
"There's only one thing left for me to do, and that's to send you crawling back to Ireland with your tail between your legs!"
Kenji slammed his foot into the side of O'Reilly's left knee and cracked the bones that made up O'Reilly's knee joint. The white-robed magician let out a cry of pain as he collapsed, his left leg barely able to support his weight anymore.
"You can't run away now, O'Reilly," Kenji noted, "This ends here!"
As Kenji stepped forwards once more, ready finish the fight with O'Reilly then and there, the coffin behind the white-robed magician began to glow bright red. The light first appeared as the runes that had once covered the coffin for the unsealing ritual, but quickly spread over the entire surface. After the light had engulfed the coffin entirely, it began to fade and the sound of an old metal latch clicking open echoed through the parking garage.
O'Reilly looked at the coffin behind him and began to laugh.
"Ha… hahaha…. Ha…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!"
As O'Reilly laughed, he stumbled forwards and Kenji took a tentative step back. The white-robed magician glared up at Kenji and smiled triumphantly as she clutched his head with his hands in
a deranged manner.
"It's over… I've won! You shitty Esper, I've finally won!"
O'Reilly's body began to glow and the white-robed magician stood up straight, putting weight on the leg that was supposed to be injured. He moved his knee around a little before giving his leg a test jump, his face betraying not the slightest bit of pain.
Kenji grit his teeth as O'Reilly grinned maniacally, glaring at him and laughing.
"Greenhart told you, didn't she? Up until this point, I was pouring a significant portion of my energy into the unsealing ritual… but now that Stoker's Coffin is open, I can finish you both off at my leisure…. but first…"
O'Reilly swung his arm and metal chains shot forth from his sleeves. Yet he was not aiming for Kenji. The chains flew through the air over the corner of the room and snatched up the bound figure of Miyako Mizuki before reeling themselves back in and leaving O'Reilly hunched over with the vampire in his clutches.
The green-haired vampire opened her eyes, having been paying attention to the whole battle silently from where she lay. She glared daggers at her captor, but in the state she was in, there was nothing she could do.
"Once I place the vampire in Stoker's Coffin, neither of you will be able to unseal it again. Even if I were to somehow lose after this, the only ones able to unseal her would be members of the Irish Catholic Church. Either way, I've won."
Kenji knew he was right. Greenhart had told him she was unable to perform the unsealing ritual, and Kenji wasn't exactly keen on his chances of running into another magician in a place like Academy City. If O'Reilly were to put Miyako in the coffin, it would be all over regardless of whether they won or lost.
Yet the look on Kenji's face was not one of defeat.
Kenji let out what sounded more like an exasperated sigh, "Damn… I was really hoping I wouldn't have to do this…"
The red-haired Esper paused to reach into his pocket, producing something that looked like a remote switch. As he held it out in front of him, O'Reilly's eyes widened as he seemed to realize what it was for.
Strapped to the outside of the building, running up along one of the corner support structures, were numerous small metal rectangles that did not look entirely unlike bombs. Yet rather than explosives, each bomb was constructed from the power supplies of the repurposed security robots from Kenji's school.
The smoke bomb was not the only thing he had "borrowed" from the Development Lab.
Kenji pressed the button and a loud shockwave rattled the parking garage. Before long, the whole building began to creak, and the sound of concrete cracking and crumbling could be heard growing closer.
The shockwave caused O'Reilly to stagger and release Miyako. Kenji immediately stepped forwards and caught her, removing her gag and using his ability to quickly remove her bindings.
"Arakuyo-san…" Miyako replied weakly.
Before Kenji could respond, the whole building began shaking around them, and he smiled as he caught the glimpse of pure shock and confusion plastered across the white-robed magician's face.
"Haven't you noticed, O'Reilly?" Kenji asked, "This parking garage is completely empty. There aren't even any support pillars between the floors."
The red-haired Esper pointed over to one of the four corners of the building.
"This building uses a special internal support structure to keep its floors from collapsing under their own weight without pillars. They designed it like that to save space, but they deemed it too dangerous to use and closed it down before it even opened."
Kenji smirked.
"With all that weight being shifted to the supports in each corner, I wonder what would happen if you took out one of the four structures?"
O'Reilly's face twisted into disgusting mix of seething anger and utter disbelief. The floor beneath him began to lean slowly to one side as the building began to collapse underneath him.
Kenji turned to Miyako and Greenhart and nodded, "Let's go!"
The two nodded back and began making their way for the stairwell, leaving O'Reilly standing in the middle of the collapsing floor with Stoker's Coffin right behind him. With Kenji leading the way, the three made their way to the stairwell and Kenji turned right.
"Arakuyo-san," Miyako replied worryingly, "These are the stairs to the roof!"
Kenji nodded, "We'll never make it out of here if we run all the way to the first floor! Once we're on the roof we can jump across to a nearby building!"
Miyako nodded and followed after him, with Greenhart coming right up behind her. The three leapt up the stairs and made it out into the open, but by that point the whole roof had already started leaning to one side. As the three ran up the slight incline, Miyako began to struggle and stumbled into Greenhart.
"Hey," Greenhart called out, "Watch it!"
"Sorry," Miyako replied, "I guess I'm kind of weak after having been tied up that whole time…"
Kenji sighed.
"I guess it can't be helped, then."
Without warning, the red-haired Esper snatched up Miyako, with one of his arms supporting her back and shoulders and the other arm just under her knees. Miyako let out a squeak of surprise and looked up at Kenji.
"W-w-what do you think you're doing!?"
"We don't have time to argue," Kenji replied, breaking out in a run towards the roof of a nearby department store.
Kenji noticed he was fighting a harsher and harsher incline as he approached the edge of the roof. The green-haired vampire wasn't particularly heavy, but Kenji was worried with the added weight he wouldn't be able to clear his way over to the building.
Just as he was thinking this, Greenhart rushed past him and leapt across the building herself, turning around to see if Kenji was able to make it.
By the time he reached the edge of the roof, it was already starting to fall in on itself. Kenji kicked off the edge of the roof with all his strength and lunged for the building on the other side, but halfway through the jump he realized he was coming up a bit short.
"Arakuyo-san!"
Kenji looked up to see Greenhart reaching her hand out towards him. Kenji nodded and looked down at Miyako.
"Quick, hold on to me!"
Miyako nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck and clinging to him, allowing Kenji to reach out towards Greenhart's outstretched arm.
Kenji and Greenhart were able to lock arms together before Kenji fell, leaving him and Miyako dangling over the edge of the building with Greenhart holding them up. Greenhart pulled the both of them up far enough for them to grab hold of the edge of the building and pull themselves up the rest of the way.
After the three were once again on solid ground, Kenji turned back towards the collapsed building. There was no sign of O'Reilly or the Stoker's Coffin anywhere.
As the dust settled, Kenji let out a long sigh and turned towards Miyako, flashing her a huge smile.
"It's finally over…"
"Thank you, Arakuyo… no… I should call you Kenji-san," Miyako replied, casting a sincere smile towards Kenji.
"I'm glad you're okay, Miya-er… Mizuki-san…" Kenji replied, not accustomed to saying her given name yet.
Greenhart crossed her arms and sighed, frowning slightly, "I hate to interrupt your moment, but what do you mean 'over'? The Irish Catholic Church isn't going to give up so easily. All you've done is made them mad…"
The green-haired vampire glared angrily at Greenhart and the blonde-haired witch sighed again.
"Geez, I was just warning you. Well, I suppose I should feel partially responsible. After all, even though my hands were tied, I was hunting you down too…"
Miyako nodded silently, though there was still a hint of some suspicion in her eyes.
Greenhart looked down, noticing there was quite a substantial crowd gathering around the base of the fallen parking garage. Off in the distance, the sound of Anti-Skill sirens sounded as emergency vehicles sped towards their location.
"Sounds like people are starting to notice. I think that's our cue to leave."
Kenji nodded, turning towards the fire escape to climb down with Mizuki. Greenhart turned a different way, presumably to jump off across the rooftops, and the red-haired Esper called out after her.
"Greenhart! You were in Academy City because of O'Reilly, but now that you have your grimoire, where are you going to go now?"
Greenhart shrugged, "Who knows. Maybe I'll enjoy the freedom the Irish Catholic Church stole from me for all those years and travel the world for the hell of it…"
The blonde-haired witch paused and looked out across Academy City, taking in the sights the cityscape had to offer.
"Or who knows, maybe I'll stick around here for a bit."
Kenji nodded, "Well, thanks for all the help, Greenhart. I hope whatever you decide to do that we'll meet again."
Greenhart nodded silently, and Kenji turned around, making his way over to the fire escape and climbing down with Mizuki. As she watched the red-haired Esper disappear, she allowed herself a small smile.
"Oh, I have no doubt we'll meet again, Arakuyo Kenji."
With that, Greenhart opened up her spellbook recited a simple spell. Instantly, her body was engulfed in a bright light. When the light dispersed and faded, all traces of the blonde-haired witch had vanished, and the rooftop was completely empty.
Part 2
By the time Kenji and Mizuki successfully made it back to their dorm, the sun was already starting to go down. Mizuki had opted to take a much needed shower after a day of being tied up on the floor of a parking garage, and Kenji was all too keen on getting some sleep after the tiresome fight.
As the two sat down to eat dinner at the small table in Kenji's dorm room, they watched the sky outside Kenji's small window turn from the brilliant orange of sunset to the deep bluish black of night. For the most part, they ate in silence, surprisingly little to say between them after the experience over the past three days.
It was Mizuki who finally broke the silence, still looking a bit hesitant and unsure of herself as she sat across from Kenji at the other end of the table.
"You know," Mizuki began, her voice almost a whisper. Even though she was speaking softly, the relative silence around them meant Kenji had no problems hearing her, "Things are only going to get rougher from here."
Kenji looked over at her, mouth full of yakisoba bread and eyes filled with confusion as she caught him off guard "Hmm?"
"You heard what Greenhart said… Now that we've defeated O'Reilly, the Irish Catholic Church is only going to become more determined to capture me. Things are really just getting started."
Kenji sighed, giving him time to clear his mouth before responding.
"Mizuki," Kenji spoke, looking out across the table directly at her. The green-haired vampire almost wanted to shudder under his strong gaze, his amber eyes filled with determination and his face hardened and serious.
"I've said it before, haven't I? I'm not going to let any of those bastards take you away! I don't care how many people come after you. I'll beat down anyone who doesn't get the hint! I won't let them take you away, Mizuki, so stop worrying about it and relax."
For some reason, after everything that happened today, hearing Kenji say that made Mizuki truly believe he was telling the truth. For the first time since they had returned, Mizuki allowed herself to relax as she leaned forwards slightly, placing her arm on the table and leaning her head on her hand contently.
"H-hey! Don't do that so suddenly!"
Mizuki had closed her eyes, but as soon as she heard Kenji freak out her eyes shot open again and she looked across the table at Kenji curiously.
"What's wrong?"
Kenji averted his gaze and Mizuki could swear the faintest hints of a blush were teasing at his cheeks.
"Uhm… You're um… leaning forwards…"
Mizuki's eyes widened and she looked down, only to notice the v-neck she was wearing was loose enough to show considerable cleavage when leaning forwards.
Mizuki frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, "Geez, I didn't think you were such a pervert, looking at my chest like that!"
Kenji, absolutely refusing to look at her, frowned, "S-sorry! I didn't mean to, you just kind of-!"
Before Kenji could finish, Mizuki had made her way over towards him and smiled.
"You shouldn't be so embarrassed, it's not like you really saw anything, right?"
Mizuki crept closer to the red-haired Esper and he began to back up little by little.
"O-of course not! It just caught me off guard, you know!"
Mizuki smiled, "Oh, is that so? What if I gave you a P-E-E-K?"
Kenji's face lit up like fireworks and he backed up all the way until his back was pressed against the wall.
"H-hey, you're not actually going to-"
Mizuki smirked, "Ha! As if! I'm just hungry, you know!"
"Wait! Wait just a minute, Mizuki!"
Mizuki leaned over Kenji entirely and whispered into his ear, "You know, you can start calling me Mizuki if you want."
"But I, uhm…!"
"Thanks for the food, Kenji-kun!" Mizuki replied teasingly.
Kenji knew what was coming, but he still wasn't any more prepared for it than he had been last time. Kenji looked over at Mizuki as she sunk her fangs into his neck and once again the red-haired Esper let out a shout towards the night sky as he sat on the floor of his apartment in defeat.
Outside, the silent streets and darkened buildings of District 7 gave no response as the summer night crawled on at a steady and uncaring pace. Perhaps Mizuki was right, and even now the Irish Catholic Church was preparing to send yet more magicians to Academy City to capture her.
Yet now, it seemed that even if that were the case, the city would stand there, unknowing and uncaring to the chaos amongst its buildings and within its bounds. The city's buildings standing ever so calmly as night turned to day and day to night.
And even as Kenji was letting Mizuki drink his blood, one thought echoed in his mind louder than all others.
"The Irish Catholic Church is going to send more magicians here? That's fine… let them come."
-VOLUME 1 END-
AN: Here you guys go! The final chapter of A Certain Unusual Vampire Volume 1!
As I've mentioned last week, I am going to be taking a short break from uploading. Now, before you guys freak out, this doesn't mean I'm going to be taking a break from writing. Quite the opposite in fact. The only reason I'm not going to be uploading for a bit is because I'm going to be working hard on finishing Volume 2's rough draft. I know it's an unconventional way of doing things here on fanfiction, but it's necessary to maintain the quality and consistency of the story.
For those worried that I'm going to abandon this story; don't worry. This fanfiction has been a rather large part of my life for the past few years, going through multiple iterations and drafts before I finally have something I feel is worth writing and continuing. I really hope you guys will bear with me while I go off to finish Volume 2's draft, and will patiently await Volume 2's prologue chapter! I'm going to use this here story for all future volumes, so don't worry about missing Volume 2's first update.
Anyway, Thank you for sticking through Volume 1. I hope you all thoroughly enjoyed the story so far, and I hope you will continue to enjoy the future volumes to come. I really enjoy seeing your reviews and receiving feedback, so feel free to share your thoughts. Anyway, Thanks for reading, and while I won't be back next week, I'll be back with Volume 2 very soon.