And back with the requests! I'm serious this time!
For those waiting for the next part of the previous Chapter, I did say that it will be released not in a linear order but if you wanted to read it when the project is done, all you have to do is search out the chapters in the bar and then read them in order. Sorry for the confusion.
Also, I have to note that I have skipped some requests in my reviews simply because I have already satisfied a request for that particular reviewer before. Unless the idea REALLY jumps out at me you'll have to sort of wait your turn until I get most of the requests out of the way. Please note though that you are not forgotten, but I have a larger amount of people contributing to this as well meaning that I would like to give them a go as well.
I hope that you understand.
Before we actually get to the request though, here is the Q & A:
dragonrider66 (and whwsms): Well I think that Deadpool came out after I finished writing this but breaking the fourth wall is nothing new for me personally. But for everyone out there, you'll only have to wait for what comes next…..
Anon Guest: Shokuhou was included, she was at the end of the previous chapter. As for the other characters, like Seria and Ayu, you'll have to wait for the next chapter.
But here we are with the requests like I said. This comes in from Punitor567 who asked:
Keep it up. Finally, may I make a request?
A chapter focused on Stiyl, Kanzaki and Index's relationship.
Anyways, Punitor567 out. Keep up the great work.
And of course I can do that! But first before we begin, I'd like to start off with thanking the usual people.
The first of course, my all-important beta reader PokeRescue18. Without his work here, I'd be hard pressed to actually get things in a working order so I'd like to thank him for his hard work in this.
The next is you, the reader. You might not realise this but with each and every author, you are our bread and butter. We do this for you and I hope that you enjoy it for as much as it is worth.
And lastly, I'd like to thank Punitor567. You read, reviewed and asked something and I am more than happy to comply. The idea though might be a little weird…..We'll see though!
Before I actually start though, I'd have to make a note that because of my school starting up again meaning that my holidays are effectively over, I'll be taking a bit of a break when it comes to this just so I can prioritise my work over these projects. I hope that you can understand although I will have another chapter up maybe early next month or near the end of this month for BTL before I'll be going on a small hiatus to focus on school for a bit. I hope that you can all understand and enjoy this chapter and await patiently the next.
Lastly though from me, the only thing that I hope you do is enjoy.
Mr Question Mark.
There's Something About The 0th Division. Early_Days.
The wind blew lightly and while the sun that shone in the sky beat down on the figures on the ground, one boy with red hair donning a black priest's robe held an annoyed expression as he looked at the sight in front of him.
Despite the fact that it was supposed to be one of the most mysterious and historic landmarks of England, not to mention its magical significance, the young Stiyl Magnus (aged 12) truly felt as though there was nothing special about Stonehenge.
Sure he realised that because no one knew what the magic stone circle was actually used for there were a number of interpretations giving way to a number of different uses of the circle. This in turn meant that for anyone that was trying to figure out what the massive stone collection actually meant, there were a number of answers and none were entirely correct or incorrect.
Magically, it was extremely important. While magic circles were usually created in order to serve a specific purpose that coincided with the spell caster's discipline, the Stonehenge circle was something that could be interpreted in many ways among many disciplines. It could be used for a number of different magical spells and went from one extreme to the other.
Yet although the mystery that surrounded this massive structure was to this day unsolved, the cries of the person next to him made it seem like the answer had been there all along.
"It was aliens! Aliens! Octopus-like aliens came from the sky and implanted Stonehenge in the ground!"
Stiyl sighed as he heard the ridiculous revelations being made by an equally ridiculous person. He looked to the side and spotted a silver haired young girl, perhaps around the age of 12-13 jumping up and down in excitement as she pointed at the stone structure that was in the distance.
Her nun's habit was white with golden lining, the same type of white as her skin as her green eyes stared at the structure with a proud gaze as if she had unravelled the entire mystery of the ages in an instant.
"Index," he said as he turned towards her with a frown. "It is not and will never be aliens that set up Stonehenge. Can't you think of something that perhaps really happened?" he asked in a bored tone as Index turned towards him with a frown on her face.
"Oh yeah Stiyl? Then what's the answer? Who put Stonehenge here? How did one create a magic circle that can be used across numerous disciplines? Do you have an answer Stiyl? Well!?" Index walked up to the boy and went on tip-toe to put her face closer to his as he stepped back, slightly blushing at the close proximity of the girl to him.
"W-Well at the very least I can tell that it's not aliens!"
"It is! You have no idea what aliens can do! I just know that they are going to descend and abduct us before taking us into space where we can be friends!"
"And what does that have to do with Stonehenge at all?"
"It's to communicate with them!"
A giggling came from the side as the two looked where it had come from, seeing the third person of their group standing next to them and covering their mouth as they tried to hide back their own laughter.
"Kaori. What's so funny? Do you think it wasn't aliens too like Stiyl?"
The girl, Kanzaki Kaori aged 16 only coughed, clearly trying to regain her composure as she looked at the two that were bickering over the massive stone structure in front of them. Her large ponytail blew with the wind and her jeans were cut at one leg and the shirt was tied around the waist giving view to her navel.
While she was fairly new to Necessarius and one of the fewer than 20 Saints in the world, the quick connection that she had formed with the boy and girl in the time that she was at Necessarius was nothing to be laughed at.
While she had defected to the Anglican Church only recently and learned English, the way that she interacted with both of those members of Necessarius only made it seem as though they had been comrades since birth; friends for eternity.
She smiled at them and merely straightened her posture, speaking in English as she too stood in front of the massive structure.
"No, it's just that we aren't here to determine the mysteries of Stonehenge. So I think that trying to discuss why it's here in the first place isn't really worthy of our time you know." Kanzaki said those words smoothly, trying to show that she was the most mature one of the group as the oldest one there as the young Index only narrowed her eyes at her.
"I know why we're here Kaori! But I'm telling you it was aliens!"
"It wasn't aliens. Stonehenge was an act of God himself, gracing the world with a structure that is meant to test our faith. How can we look at this structure and think of anything other than God? It is clearly a test to determine the truly worthy to follow His name." remarked Kaori as Index's eyes went wide as she hung her head, clearly embarrassed as an Anglican nun to think otherwise.
Stiyl on the other hand merely scoffed.
"I find it hard to believe that coming from you. I believe the Amakusa, of which you are Priestess is a pseudo-Christianity, combining the systems of Christianity, Shintoism and Buddhism into one discipline meaning that you don't really believe in the one God at all. It's ridiculous to hear a fusion style Christian sect blab on about God." He spat out those words as Kanzaki went red in the face, her grip on her two metre long nodachi, Shichiten Shichitou, suddenly tightening.
"W-Well despite that, what I say is still true, Respect your seniors Stiyl!"
"Kaori…did you just try and trick me?"
Kanzaki seemed to freeze up at the frown that Index was giving her as she slowly averted her gaze, whistling to herself as she tried to divert the attention away from what she had said and how she had tried to pull one over Index's eyes.
"You did! You did! It was aliens! Aliens were the ones that put this here!"
"Can we get on with this?"
The voice that came towards the trio was not from their group but rather from behind them, standing another magician that was clearly upset at having to babysit the trio. While there were others behind this magician as well, it seemed as though they were equally as unpleased to do this babysitting job when there were clearly other things that were more worth their time.
While Kanzaki and Stiyl were perfectly happy taking Index to Stonehenge themselves, the reason that they were here was something of perhaps magical importance.
Index was the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, housing 103,000 forbidden grimoires inside her very mind. While that in turn allowed her the capabilities of analysing and destroying any spell that came her way, it in turn also allowed her precision when it came to understanding various systems of magic.
While Western magicians, sometimes in order to overcome some problem that could not be fixed using their own style of magic, turned to other foreign legends, it was Index that had the capability of searching out new solutions to new problems using the sources of numerous types of magic from a number of legends and the like.
Thus, when it came to one of the most mysterious magic circles in the magical community, one that had no 'right' way to interpret it, having a complete understanding and gaining the 'right' answer to such a thing was perhaps of great importance to the Anglican church.
Understanding Stonehenge would not only allow the Anglicans to perhaps refine and use Stonehenge for their own purposes but could also allow them complete access to the refined magic of a magical circle that had been here for more than centuries. The amount of latent power that was hidden within would surely provide them greater power than the other two denominations of Christianity; the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches.
Politically, what Index was trying to do today (understand Stonehenge's finer points using the 103,000 grimoires in order to come to a complete understanding about it) was perhaps one of the most dangerous things that could be done.
There was no question what people would try to do to stop her and thus, the reason why so many people had been sent to protect her as she went looking at Stonehenge with the collective knowledge of 103,000 grimoires.
Naturally, it was Stiyl Magnus and Kanzaki Kaori that had put up their hands first when it came to assisting the girl in her own investigation.
"Come on you guys! I'll show you why this is the work of aliens!" Index wasted no time as she ran up to the massive stone structure as Stiyl and Kanzaki followed, keeping an eye out for any enemy forces that could possibly attack them at a moment's notice.
It was unknown if Index could sense what was going on but if she did she hid it well under her perfect smile as she ran to one of the stones and pressed both of her hands against it, feeling the cold stone underneath.
She turned and pouted towards the others, looking at Stiyl first as she narrowed her eyes.
"Why did you come anyway Stiyl? You don't think that Stonehenge was put here by aliens and you don't seem to care. Why join me and Kaori on this expedition?" She titled her head cutely as Stiyl turned his head away from the girl.
He frowned, unsure of what to say. While he could simply tell the truth that he was here to protect the girl, if she did not know that she was in danger than perhaps the safer she would be. In some contexts, ignorance was bliss and Stiyl partially wanted to keep it that way if indeed she was ignorant of the situation that she was in.
The truth of the matter was something that was awfully simple though.
There had been one reason, one main reason why Stiyl had joined the group. And that was simply that if Index was in any danger at all, then he wanted to do everything in his power to protect Index and prevent her from falling into that very danger.
Magicians all had a darkness about them. It was unavoidable, especially when you looked at their magic names and the reasons why they had chosen to become magicians, chosen to throw away their normal lives and choose to delve into the occult.
Fortis931.
I prove why my name is the strongest here.
Stiyl had chosen that name to become the strongest that he could. He had weakness, that much was obvious and he merely wanted to overcome that through the use of magic and to use everything at his disposal that he could get rid of that stigma of being 'weak'. People might mock him for turning to such a method to grow stronger however the fact that Stiyl could kill them right then and there prevented them from doing it.
He had always viewed magicians as an existence similar to himself. Someone that had something that they wanted from everyone. Whenever a magician allied with anyone, it was to advance their own goals. Any association, any connection was done with profit in mind.
Magicians at their core were strictly speaking selfish beings. They acted for their own interests and chose magic for their own personal reasons.
It was ridiculous to think that anyone would chose to delve into magic for anything other than oneself.
And then he had met her.
The Index Librorum Prohibitorum.
Dedicatus545.
The dedicated lamb that protects the knowledge of the strong.
A nun that was cursed with a perfect memory, taking the knowledge of 103,000 grimoires into her mind as to not only protect that knowledge but also to fight against the magicians that sought to use their magic for their own selfish purposes that threatened other lives.
A girl who had the evil of numerous grimoires implanted into her mind yet smiled so perfectly, it seemed as though the world had no such things as war, conflict, pain or suffering. The girl who spoke of things such as hearing the prayers of others in order to save them and ensure that the grace and kindness of God was felt by everyone.
She said those words despite her own situation and she said those words as someone that truly wanted to reach out towards others and merely make them smile.
She said that despite her own situation. She said that despite the knowledge of the darkness of the world that she resided in. And she said that despite having chosen to become a magician to further her own selfish goals.
Honestly, when Stiyl Magnus had first saw her, he felt as though she was nothing more than someone filled with idealistic delusions. And then he had learned about her situation, the pain of 103,000 grimoires within her own mind.
She knew that they were poison and readily accepted that very fact. She understood her situation and what it meant for her.
And despite all of that, she wanted to truly help and save others around her.
Although he would never admit it to anyone, Stiyl truly felt as though Index was a blinding light that blasted through the darkness that he thought all magicians held. It was something that someone as selfish as him should not have been gifted with.
Yet every smile that she gave him was something that blessed his day and every single day he spent with her only made him realise that there was kindness within this very world.
Again, him coming along with her was nothing more than a selfish wish, something that he was born to do as a magician.
But he truly wanted to protect her no matter what, no matter the cost.
For that smile that seemed so radiant, so godly, Stiyl Magnus was willing to watch the world burn.
Because that smile was surely worth it.
Stiyl cleared his throat as he looked away and merely gave a sigh.
"I have no obligation to explain myself to you Index. Hurry up and analyse this gigantic stone mess. The wind's killing me and I want to get out of here right now." He said those words although when he considered his true feelings towards the girl, a burning reached his cheeks that he found he could not get rid of.
Index pouted as she turned away from Stiyl who was clearly upset for some reason as she looked at Kanzaki as she asked the same question to her.
"And what about you Kaori? I mean, it's not like Stonehenge's aliens are going to attack us. You didn't need to come out here with me." She remarked as Kanzaki merely smiled at the girl.
For a similar yet different reason, Kanzaki had decided to accompany Index as well to the famous stone structure.
Although it was something that he did not bother hiding, as a Saint, Kanzaki's magic name perhaps had more power and meaning behind it than Index's or Stiyl's.
Salvare000.
Be the salvation for those that cannot be saved.
As a Saint, blessed with fortune she could not help but think that her own fortune was only at the expense of others. Whenever she was happy, someone else was doomed to be disappointed. Whenever she was protected, someone else was doomed to take the damage that she was supposed to.
It was an endless cycle of her own good luck meaning harm came to innocents, people that she had failed to protect. While she had turned away from that, thus joining the Anglicans and Necessarius, she had still held that wish inside her heart, the wish that she would be the salvation for those that had been abandoned by God.
Yet no matter where she went, she still found suffering. Personally, she thought that the idea that she could escape it altogether was ludicrous but she once more found suffering in the form of a small girl that had 103,000 grimoires jammed into her brain.
Yet, just like Stiyl, she had been breath taken by the fact that she could truly smile purely in spite of that fact.
Whenever she smiled, she always did so with the knowledge that there was evil in her mind yet she did not hate that fact. She did not curse the world and lament on her own sorrowful situation.
She only accepted it, moved on and lived each day as if it were her last. Looking at it that way might have meant that Index was merely someone that was refusing to look at the world in its beauty, only looking it at as if it were the last day however for Kanzaki as she came into contact with the girl, it was hardly the case.
For all intents and purposes, it was clear that Index truly loved her life. She loved what she was doing with it and the people that she spent it with meaning there were no falsehoods in what she was given.
She could not be saved from what lay in her mind. Kanzaki had no way to deal with the brain and she was no party to the Science side meaning that any methods or things related to the brain were beyond her capability to understand.
But Index accepted that she could not be saved yet still made her way and forged her own goal, being that of saving others. She wanted to be a disciple of God, someone that would do His bidding and ensure that His subjects were able to smile in the face of the pain that they endured.
Kanzaki was someone with power wishing for perhaps the impossible, the salvation of those that were rejected.
Yet Index was someone that was wishing for the exact same thing, doing so in a different way to Kanzaki despite her powerlessness. She might have hit a wall in regards to her own natural power but she had nothing against it, thinking of other ways for her to overcome her own shortcomings.
In ways, she was much more powerful than Kanzaki, someone that moved forward without ability in their grasp and someone that worked towards making other people happy despite their own suffering.
For that Saint, Kanzaki truly felt as though the existence that was Index was not merely limited to being the library of grimoires. In a way, Kanzaki was somewhat jealous in how she could live her life the way she could and work towards improving the happiness of those around her and dispelling sadness.
Kanzaki Kaori felt as though the true friend that she had found in Index was someone that was her own pillar of support, giving her an ideal to work towards in regards to her own goal. There were no lies when she felt that and only thought of Index as a precious friend that was dear to her.
Although her reason was different, and her reasoning selfish, Kanzaki knew that she would do her utmost best to make sure that no harm would come to Index because of what she held. If what lay in her mind was what made people come after this radiant person, then Kanzaki was determined to make sure that she would be protected.
Not only because she was her friend but also because Kanzaki truly valued what Index stood for and what she was trying to do with her life disregarding the poison within her mind.
"Chances are that you might get lost out here Index so we came to accompany you." answered Kanzaki with that same smile as Index pouted at Kanzaki.
"I-I wouldn't get lost! I mean this is a massive field and even though the magic circle in the middle is something that we don't understand that doesn't mean that I'm going to suddenly disappear without a trace Kaori!"
Index pouted as she put her hands on her hips and turned back to the stone pillar, pressing both of her hands up against it once more as she closed her eyes and her mouth moved ever so slowly.
Mumbling came from her mouth as the ground beneath the feet of Stiyl, Kanzaki and the other magicians (around 7 in total) trembled as they tried to hold themselves steady as they kept their gaze on the girl at the stone structure.
Whatever she was doing, it seemed to be resounding through the earth, through the very magic circle that seemed to cover the entire ground as all voices fell silent as a hum went through the air. Energy that they could not identify resounded around them and touched their skin, making it tingle slightly before disappearing.
Stiyl looked at Kanzaki and noted that she had gripped her nodachi, Shichiten Shichitou tighter as she scanned the area around Index like a hawk as Stiyl found that he had a rune card within his hand as he did the same.
They were tasked to protect the Index however as magicians, they only did things that aligned with their own selfish goals. For various reasons, they had decided to do one thing then and had followed Index.
And it was all to protect her; to keep her and her smile safe.
"Kanzaki, can you get a read? I'm getting numerous flows of mana but they all seem to be coming from the same magic circle beneath our feet." said Stiyl quietly as he moved closer towards his partner.
"It's…." Kanzaki paused for only an instant as she looked wide eyed at the ground as she knelt and touched her hand there. "It's numerous systems. I don't know if it's Index doing it but there are numerous systems passing by through this one circle. I'm sensing….Christianity, Shintoism, Buddhism, Norse, Greek, Roman…..and those are only the ones that I recognise!"
"What? So are you telling me that Stonehenge itself is like…a bank or something? A bank of magical properties and systems?" Stiyl asked his question with a frown as he looked at the ground.
"Exactly. I'm sensing numerous religions, symbols and other legends that are associated with different religions and Idol theories." Kanzaki reported as she stood up and looked at Index as she slowly said inaudible words from where she was standing.
"The Anglicans though have already accumulated the data of the different types of magic that can be gathered here. Are there more that we don't know of?" A voice from behind, from one of the other magicians that had come with them spoke up as Kanzaki put a hand to her chin as the ground continued to hum.
"It's certainly possible. In fact, I'd say it is possible. But…is Index trying to bring out the numerous systems that Stonehenge is compatible with and going through them all to try and understand what is the base system?" Kanzaki asked rhetorically as Stiyl watched his friend with concern.
"This might get hairy. If Index is going through of all her 103,000 grimoires and trying to see if they are compatible with Stonehenge, this could take ages." He remarked with disdain as he looked back at the ground.
"We need to keep on our toes." Kanzaki said to which Stiyl gave an annoyed nod.
"As long as nothing unexpected h-"
Stiyl was cut short as suddenly his entire vision, from out of nowhere, shone with a white light as he felt himself go blinded. He cried out, falling to his knees as he covered his eyes with his hands, trying to see past what his limited eyesight could however black spots danced in his vision and obscured it.
Similar lights came from the others around him as they too fell to their knees, the humming that was coming from the ground seeming to come in all directions now as if Stiyl himself had been immersed in the sound.
"Kanzaki!" He yelled at the top of his voice as he felt something grab his hand, something that he gripped tightly.
A tapping on his arm traced words in English as Kanzaki who had grabbed him spelt out what he needed to do as Stiyl nodded even though it was unlikely that Kanzaki could see as he placed a rune card on the ground and chanted his spell.
"Great pillar of Babel. Head towards the heavens and attempt to pierce through the godly skies!"
Suddenly, just as sudden as the sudden light that had blinded the entire group, a fire pillar rose from the rune card as it sailed through the air, giving the eyes new light to stare at as both Kanzaki and Stiyl felt the warm flames dance near them. The light of the fire was closer to them and seemed to burn into their eyes greater than the sudden flash from before.
Stiyl let the flame pillar burn in the sky for only a few moments before he cancelled it, the remnants of flame disappearing into the sky as time passed.
However, the relaxed nature of overcoming the sudden disorientation was lost as both Stiyl and Kanzaki stood up, pressed their backs together as they looked around each other in their clearing vision. They circled, doing three full rotations as they saw their vision clearing however the only thing that they found in terms of new elements was only the burnt ground in the space where Stiyl has placed the rune card.
"…What the hell was that? Kanzaki, can you see anyone?" asked Stiyl as he continued circling.
"Don't be ridiculous. If I did, you would have as well. The amount of hills that there are in this area are limited and the time to get to one of them after you sent that pillar in the sky was too short for them to get into hiding." remarked Kanzaki as Stiyl concurred.
Someone had clearly sent off the flash of light that had blinded everyone. But after Stiyl had completed his counterattack, both he and Kanzaki had immediately stood up and circled around. There was no time for someone to make an escape.
Yet they saw no one that hadn't come with them before.
So where did their assailant go?
"Mirage-"
"No, I'm getting no heat signatures from anywhere near us where someone could have escaped. There are no mirages or people around that could have cast the spell. Even if they were managing to escape from my heat detection spell, they would not have had the time to go into hiding. We're on a bloody plain. The only cover is the stones but I didn't see anyone there, did you?"
Stiyl asked his question in response to Kanzaki's as she turned towards where Index was, only seeing her in the exact same spot where she had been before, untouched with the ground still humming the same.
He gulped and he heard Kanzaki do the exact same thing as she kept her back facing his yet voiced one question that he did not want to ask.
"Then where did whoever attacked us go?"
Stiyl was silent if only for a moment before he slowly turned his head towards the people that were recovering near where he was with Kanzaki as he narrowed his eyes.
"Do you think we might have someone with us that is acting in their own interests?" he asked slowly as he felt Kanzaki stiffen slightly as she considered the idea.
"Come to think of it, do we actually know anything about these members of Necessarius? The only thing we know is that they came up to us and stated that they were waiting for us and the Index. There is no evidence that they are in fact with Necessarius."
"So….is it entirely possible that we and Index are the only members of Necessarius here?" he asked as he turned his head towards Kanzaki slowly as she turned her body slightly as she looked at where Index was.
The girl was unharmed for now but that only meant that whoever had attacked them had not taken the opportunity to attack Index as of yet. And for those magicians, acting on nothing more than their own selfishness, there was only one thing that they could do when faced with the possible threat.
If it was the threat to their own lives, to their friend's lives or Index's life, there were not going to submit and admit defeat.
All in order to protect what they held most dear to them.
"Yes."
Kanzaki's response immediately made the two break contact and face the recovering magicians as Stiyl held out a rune card and placed it on the nearest man's chest as he struggled to get his eyesight back after the bright flash.
"Wha-"
"Are you with Necessarius? And don't piss about. I'll know immediately when you are lying to me. This rune card. My magic is to use this rune card to detect any changes in heartbeat and pulse, causing you to spontaneously combust if you lie to me. So I'll ask again. Are you with Necessarius?"
Stiyl spat out those words as he saw the fear in the man's eyes in response to the cold words from the boy however that in itself was enough of a response for Stiyl. While indeed, it was possible for rune cards to be used in such a way, Stiyl had not managed to acquire such runes and even if he had, using such magic was beyond him at this current stage in his life.
If this man was a Necessarius magician, he should have known that.
But the intimidation that Stiyl was giving was merely smoke and mirrors, meant to make the man slip up.
Which it had.
Stiyl suddenly and violently grabbed the man by the front of the shirt as he spoke into his face, spitting almost in disgust that he had managed to be tricked when it came towards protecting Index.
"Are these guys with you? Or are they from different factions?"
"D-Different! I swear! I swear to Odin!"
Stiyl clicked his tongue and threw the man to the ground as he desperately tried to get the useless rune off his chest as he scrambled away from the Necessarius duo as Kanzaki tightened her grip on the blade by her side. Stiyl turned towards her and the both of them knew exactly what was going on in the other's minds.
"I know. I'll deal with the rest. If it's to protect Index….Wait. Isn't there one less from before?" Kanzaki asked as she looked at the rouge magicians that were from different factions as Stiyl looked towards the groups. It didn't take much time before he realised that Kanzaki was right.
There were now 6 magicians from different factions rather than 7.
"Index!" Stiyl's thoughts immediately went toward the worst case scenario as to where the other magician was as he turned his head to where Index was. His face was pale and he felt an unnatural sweat covering his body as Kanzaki turned as well with the same expression on her face before they stood stunned.
Index was where she had been before, unchanged and doing what she had been; analysing Stonehenge's magic circle using her grimoires to gain a greater understanding of it.
And since she was fine and Stiyl had already confirmed that there was no one near her, where in the world had the last magician gone?
"Kanzaki-"
"Stiyl-"
Both of the magicians turned towards each other with confused expressions on their faces as they gazed at the other magicians that were there. They were slowly standing up as they realised that their cover had been blown, even the man that had managed to get Stiyl's rune card off him.
However even as those magicians , a mix of males and females armed themselves, the duo still felt a frown on their face as that question filled their mind as the humming through the ground continued, almost rising up now and filling the air.
Where had that last magician disappeared to?
That was the last thought that they had before once more, suddenly a massive flash of light shot through the eyes of both of the magicians as they cried out and fell to the ground, temporarily blinded from the effects of the light that had suddenly entered their eyeballs.
"Son of a- Great pillar of Babel! Head towards the heavens and attempt to pierce through the godly skies!"
Stiyl chanted his spell once more as another flame pillar shot into the sky as both Kanzaki and Stiyl used the flames to try and focus their vision once more however unlike last time, something else pierced through the air.
The male scream was inhumane as if the man were being subject to the most terrifying type of torture. The scream made the skin on Stiyl and Kanzaki's arms crawl as they desperately tried to look past the light towards where the screaming was coming from as the humming continued.
Stiyl tried to move first, running past the fire pillar before his vision had fully recovered as he ran towards where the scream was coming from. He gritted his teeth as he stumbled however focused on where the scream had come from, only one thought filling his mind.
If whatever was attacking the armed magicians by attacking them through the time that they were blinded from the light, then there was no telling what would happen if they came up against both Kanzaki and Stiyl. It was undetermined if they could win but right now, there was someone that was perhaps in the greatest danger.
The only non-fighter, Index.
And there was no way in hell that Stiyl was going to let something happen to her on his watch.
It seemed as though the feeling was mutual as Kanzaki ran by his side and lifted him slightly as the both of them utilised her Saint speed to head towards where the screaming was coming from. They crossed the gap in an instant however the moment that they reached the place where it had been coming from, it disappeared.
The scream lingered in the air for only an instant as both of the magician's vision slowly returned to them as they looked at the spot where they had reached. They stood stunned and confused at the scene; this was surely where the scream had come from.
So where was the man that had made it? Where had he gone?
Stiyl gulped as he looked around frantically, up, down and all across the plain he was on.
Yet there was nothing.
Nothing to suggest that anyone had been there nor that anyone had left in the first place.
The man had literally disappeared in a flash of light, the only remnant of something happening to him being the scream that he had left behind.
Stiyl gulped as he counted the people that were left.
He, Kanzaki, Index and 5 other magicians. They were down two and it seemed as though those two had merely disappeared into thin air without the others realising it.
A thought came to his mind as he slightly trembled, turning towards Kanzaki and seeing that probably the same thought appeared in her own mind as she felt the boy's gaze. She returned it with a disturbed gaze.
"Stiyl….this might seem to be a stupid question."
"I….refuse to accept this. There is no way. There is no way!" Stiyl sounded desperate and he knew it but Kanzaki still continued with that shaky tone as she, a Saint pondered the impossible.
"Do you think…that Stonehenge was built by aliens?"
The stones of Stonehenge, at least the ones in the inner ring were reported to have come from a location that was around 320 kilometres away from where Stonehenge was actually located. Each of those stones weighted around 4 tons yet they had somehow been transported that distance towards where the stones now stood, arranged in such a fashion that had mysterious magical significance.
Question:
How did the people that constructed Stonehenge then, around 3000 or 2000 BC manage to lift those stones that distance?
Did they have help?
And if they did, where did that help come from?
The image of octopus-like beings came to mind as the humming that was echoing through the air seemed to gain greater meaning as the two magicians felt that they were in the presence of something larger than they could ever hope to be.
"I refuse….to accept it!" Stiyl shouted those words as Kanzaki suddenly felt herself tense up as the humming seem to rise from the ground and into the air once more, something that had happened before. Something that had happened before the magicians had disappeared.
The magicians that had disappeared without a trace, seeming to have just vanished into thin air without a trace and without any evidence suggesting that magic had been used whatsoever. It would have been sensed, even with this massive magic circle going through numerous disciplines and mana related to them in order to try and understand the Stonehenge circle.
Another question:
What if those magicians had been taken?
What if they had actually been abducted by those aliens that built the Stonehenge circle?
It was ridiculous. It was stupid and if someone had told it to Stiyl and Kanzaki they would have laughed and thought that said person was probably smoking something that was bad for their health.
Yet the possibility could not be denied.
It was definitely there and could not be shoved to the side as a pointless theory.
"Here it comes Stiyl! Try not to get abducted!"
"You realise how retarded you sounded when you s-"
A flash of light blinded the two magicians once more as they descended into an unknown hell.
"Huh? Where did all of those nice foreign magicians go?"
Index was the one that asked that question at her friends as they sat panting in the middle of the plain that housed the stone structure with a confused look on her face.
Both Stiyl Magnus and Kanzaki Kaori were white as sheets as if they had seen something that could never been unseen. They were both sitting on the ground in the darkness as the remnants of the last girl screaming echoed in their ears as whatever had happened to her replayed in their minds.
They were the only ones left and now that Index had left the stone at Stonehenge, the humming had now stopped given that her contact with the Stonehenge magic circle using her grimoires had ended. As soon as she had dropped the contact, she had immediately bound over towards her friends however the concern on her own face was clearly showing in response to the distress that Stiyl and Kanzaki were feeling.
"Are you guys OK….what happened while I was working?" Her voice was oddly soft as the duo tried their best to not think about what had happened to them, unable to find words.
They had been unable to determine what had happened to those magicians that had not been a part of Necessarius. At the very least, something had happened to them that they could not describe but it all had happened the same way; the flash of light blinding their vision and then when Stiyl had managed to focus their eyes on the pillar of fire and they ran towards where they were hearing screams from, they found nothing to suggest that there had been anyone there in the first place.
They had honestly disappeared off the face of the earth.
And there was no explanation that either Kanzaki or Stiyl could come up with.
"F-Foreign?"
Stiyl managed to choke out a word as Index rushed towards him and looked him straight in the face.
"Yes. They were foreign. Didn't you notice that their magic wasn't from the Anglicans? They didn't attack us or anything from the start so I felt as though everything was fine but….where did they go? Kaori?" Index turned towards her friend as the Saint blinked and tried to compose herself.
"H-Hahaha. I truly have no idea Index. Stiyl and I are fine. We'll be fine. We'll be fine." Kanzaki repeated what she said as she slowly stood up and faced the grimoire library with a strained smile on her face that made Index only look at Kanzaki in even more concern.
"What happened? Where is everyone? I-Is this my fault?" Index started to suddenly find that her own voice was rising as she asked her friend what had happened as Stiyl rose and placed a hand on her head that silenced her voice. He stared down towards her and closed his eyes, breathing deeply as he threw all unnecessary thoughts away.
While brooding could be done on the matter in his own time (something that he would dedicate a lot of time to), it was Index that was standing before him right now.
He honestly had no comprehension of the events that had happened today but at the end of the day, right now that didn't matter. He knew Kanzaki felt the same despite what they had managed to escape but the fact of the matter was that he had made it back to safety.
He had made it back to the space that he had wanted to return to with all of his might. Index was worried for them as they were not saying anything regarding what had happened but Stiyl truly wondered whether or not they had to.
After all, whatever had happened, they had made it back to this very spot.
As primarily selfish beings, magicians usually acted for or against certain parties in order to accomplish selfish goals that they had.
So if that was to be taken at face value, then what did Stiyl Magnus and Kanzaki Kaori fight for the entire time they were facing this crisis that had presented itself towards them?
Naturally, they fought for their own lives.
But not only that, they fought so that they could protect and once more return to the same side as that smile that had shone through the darkness for them. The same smile that seemed to override any preconceptions that they had about the world around them.
They had desperately wanted to return to the side of their friend.
It had driven them and given them the power to act in a time of crisis and that was all that they needed.
As selfish beings, a goal was what was required to act in the face of danger. And they had acted because they had had that very goal.
It could not be mocked, slandered or look down upon because it was their reason for fighting. As magicians, it was their core and it was what separated them from everyone else.
It was merely that important to them.
And once more, Stiyl took action towards trying to protect it.
"Are you an idiot?" he asked in as natural a voice as any other. "Those guys decided that since you were taking so long, that it was best to leave. Do you know how long Kanzaki and I have been waiting here for you to be finished? Honestly, have some thought for others once in a while." Stiyl spat out those words harshly as Index blinked in confusion as Kanzaki coughed to the side.
"Indeed," she remarked as she slowly regained her composure and stood up. "Index, did you think that you could have done the process a little faster?"
"A-A little faster!? I had to sort through 103,000 grimoires! That's not something that you can do instantly!" Index felt her own shocked voice rise through the air as Stiyl and Kanzaki merely sighed as they looked at each other.
"You're simply not trying hard enough."
"You're simply not trying hard enough."
"I-Idiots! You idiots! I'm leaving! Then maybe you can learn about how hard things can be to be as fast as you can! Even I wanted to get back to your side after this job was done!"
Index grumbled under her breath as she stomped away, leaving the both of them stunned given her remarks as she made her way off into the distance. Although they did not think that they would get to sleep tonight as they brooded over what had happened, Index had definitely said it.
That she wanted to return to the side of her friends after everything was finished.
In a way, their goals were not so different after all. Even though they were magicians, they were bound by a common ideal and a friendship that surely was something that could not be mocked, slandered or looked down upon. They were bound and those bonds would surely never fail to break whatever pressure was applied to them.
And as Index stormed off in clear unhappiness, both Stiyl and Kanzaki looked at each other with surprised faces at what she had said.
They might have thought that their own personal feelings were something that only they felt and were nothing more than embarrassing to say out loud towards others. But confirmation of what they felt in the eyes of the person that had brought them together only filled them with a joy that they could not describe.
And so both Stiyl and Kanzaki smiled at each other, something that they felt they would not do for the rest of the day.
"W-Wait up Index! We were joking! Joking!" cried Kanzaki as she made her way after her friend as Stiyl sighed in exasperation however the remnants of that smile were still lingering on his lips.
He followed after the two girls, coming up to their side as he asked Index a question, although casually in order to make sure that neither he or Kanzaki reacted obviously towards it and thus gave away their distress towards what had happened.
"Say Index."
"What?!" She blurted out that comment with n frown on her face as she found Stiyl looking at her with almost pleading eyes. She was taken aback a bit however the boy merely opened his mouth once more.
"Aliens. Do you…..do you think that they exist? Do you think that they built Stonehenge? Seriously?"
Index frowned at the boy's question, seeing that there was an odd seriousness behind it. She turned and faced Kaori, seeing that the same thing was on her own face but that in turn only added towards her confusion.
Something had happened. They might not be willing to talk about it but something had clearly happened. Although Index wanted to help her friends, if they said nothing, then there was nothing that could be done. After all, they hadn't even asked about the results of her analysis! The results were surprising to say the least however she felt as though those results could wait until later, until after she answered their question.
"Do aliens exist? Hmm…"
She turned her head up to the sky as the magicians that were walking beside her did the same. The night darkness hovered overhead with the stars that twinkled above giving a calming atmosphere to the group.
Index was silent for only a moment before she turned towards Stiyl and gave her answer with a smile.
"I don't know! Well the truth is out there right?"
She looked at Kanzaki with that same smile as the both of them looked utterly astounded given how confident she had seemed about it earlier in the day before they shook their heads and felt their mouths return the smile almost naturally.
They did so without a care in the world and a part of them felt as though that was the right answer.
Right now, their bonds were what joined them and separating or destroying those bonds was something that was going to take a lot of effort overall.
And even if there was something that threatened those bonds, both Stiyl and Kanzaki felt as though they would fight eternally what chose to threaten those bonds. And Index was likely the same.
Because if anything, these moments and the time that they all spent together would forever last in their memories until it was time for them to leave the world for a better place.
Index maintained her smile and took Stiyl and Kanzaki's hands in her own as she swung her arms as the duo did the same although reluctantly as Index hummed as she skipped along with her friends by her side.
That was merely how important those bonds were to them, to all three of them.
Those were the bonds that they would grasp with all of their might and never let go, no matter what the cost.
And those wonderful bonds would surely never fade.
Never.
Finito!
I know what you're thinking. I'm thinking it too. What in the world was I smoking as I wrote this? I wasn't smoking anything really but I wanted to create a situation in which the relationship of the Necessarius trio came off across as not something being 'slice-of-life'. They are magicians after all and they deal with magical things so I wanted to put something in here that sort of matched that.
But I somehow added aliens along the way and things exploded in my mind. I hope that you can accept that. I've probably been getting too much into The X Files re-airing.
Firstly, Punitor567 I hope that this met your idea of a request. I dealt with their relationship as the main topic, after all wanting to return to Index's side during the crisis was what drove Stiyl and Kanzaki so it was their core reason for fighting throughout the entire thing. I delved a bit more into their thoughts simply because their thoughts are the only ones that remain of their bonds.
Index has forgotten them meaning that while I dealt with her as well (namely that she too treasures those bonds strongly), I really wanted to focus on the other two and their relationship. So I hope that all of you felt as though their bonds were surely something that were tragic enough to be ripped from them and that I nailed what their relationship was in essence.
Looking at the last lines with that in mind makes it seem like a death flag doesn't it?
But I guess at the same time, the fact that I included aliens as well was something that needed to be addressed. I sort of got an X Files feeling throughout the entire thing so I hope that you can forgive me if you got a bit freaked out but it's to be expected. They've even been mentioned in the canon so it's fine!
Still, the truth is out there. Questions such as "How was Stonehenge made?" are all over the place if you look properly but don't think too much into these conspiracy theories.
Overall though, despite the weird 'enemy' in this case, I hope that this was enjoyable for you readers.
And as always,
Review if you please.
And I'll see you when I see you and I won't if I don't.
Was it aliens? It all depends on Index's analysis of Stonehenge. While you might think that 'it was aliens', there might also be a magical explanation for what happened. But at this stage, only Index knows the truth if she managed to identify what the Stonehenge circle was all about! It could go both ways though.