A Certain Unknown Level 0

by MrQuestionMark

Accelerator and the Railgun. Two level 5's that have been subjected to the same rumour: they have been defeated by a Level 0. But who is this mysterious esper? These are the numerous investigations made by characters in the ToAru universe into this Level 0. People who don't know him will learn the truth and those who do know him will catch a glimpse into his life. Will have action.

155. Kongou Mitsuko: Part 10

And here we are with another chapter.

As you can probably tell from last chapter, this one is not exactly going to be sunshine and rainbows. But as the characters move and deal with this war between Magic and Science that has its roots in the Science side for now, I hope you can read with some anticipation and also reflection on the events taking place.

It's hard to believe we've already made it this far! This story is working its elements into reach the final arcs so please, I hope you can stay tuned and keep on reading. Even if it's taking a while to reach there…

First up is the usual Q & A:

LukeSky001: I can sort of see the parallels between Kamui and Touma like Batman and Joker now that you think about it but I want to avoid saying a solid "yes" to your question just because I think of the conflict between Touma and Kamui as being separate, but that might be my bias towards the characters. While I aim for the STORY to have a happy ending (at this point though, it doesn't feel like it), this ARC is a separate thing entirely. I hope that you can look forward to what happens with Otohime all the same… But we'll see where things head from here – I have a plan and I aim to go through with it!

Hiss13: There's something wrong with us. Or maybe we just like pushing him down because we know he's going to get back up?

Ravenala: You've put a Faith-tan spin off in my head now… As for the Kiharas, save for a few exceptions, generally they are al this fucked up. I hope you can look forward to what happens here on out with the chapters and the characters as they change and evolve.

tmplym: I think the trauma sort of picked up recently… Death at this point, as you said, would be a mercy but the suffering does have a bottom. It's just that we haven't reached it just yet.

Dragonmaster870: Glad to see that you're looking forward to where things head from here, especially with regards to the 'aftermath' of things. As you can probably see, things have sort of changed in this arc compared to others so it's not going to be sunshine and rainbows all the time. But still, your question abut who breaks first is an interesting one, although in my mind I sort of already know the answer. I hope that Faith can continue to live on in your heart as an enjoyable character that you remember… As for Orion, we'll have to see whether or not he can live without Faith… And thanks for the bait-and-switch comment, but in its own way the TRUE villain behind this entire incident has yet to make an appearance so keep an eye on that one. I hope that for whatever happens with Aaron/Kamui that you can accept it. As for Otohime, I'm glad that your mind sort of went from "this is awesome" to "hang on there…". Otohime has come into power and I sort of want to show both the foolishness and the courage that comes with that decision. In a way then, you can think of future arcs as being a pseudo Otohime arc as she grows into her own. Ass for Kongou, her taking responsibility was perhaps one of the defining moments of her arc here. If she just sat back, I think she would never have changed so her moving forward like she did is the one thing about her that really shines through. As for your questions though, it was more of the later point in that Kamui knew about the problems the fiancés were causing and decided to do something about and got Touma as an added 'bonus' for is troubles. I hope that this chapter is easier to swallow… Hahahaha, don't pressure yourself to write though; take it easy and slow. But your presence here makes me gladder than anything.

ReyKingKaiser: Yeah, this Bad End was sort of bitter for me as well so I'm on the fence about whether I 'enjoyed' it or not. Still, it is what it is. I thin Kamui has become the character who smiles when he kills though; it's just that for Touma he hasn't killed him yet.

BlueJack22: I'm wondering if the arcs will ever get as dark as this again…

Aminadab Brulle: Oof, OHKO for Kanzaki. But I'm glad you found the Magic Name of Otohime fits. As you noted though, the decision for Otohime to just 'take on' the name of Salvare001 was really a foolish one yet in her innocence, you can't really blame her. Still, for whatever happens, I hope that you can enjoy it all the same. I sort of laughed at your comment about Orion; he is totally useless in the fight with the girls, isn't he? But then again, Orion is that sort of character: if he took him out of Magic and Science, he'd be pretty capable but as this is a Magic and Science type of story, he's pretty useless. I guess maybe your sympathy for Kongou is rather lacking though… As for how Touma would react to Kamui, we'll have to see, won't we? All good about that correction though!

Guest: I have to work on the slow pacing and long words, I'll give you that. As for the breaking Touma, that's going to be hard to remove given how much of it has appeared… I do wish that the story could end so easily as your suggestion however.

jonathanblade00: It did escalate rather quickly, didn't it!?

whwsms: Don't give me ideas since it's sort of official that Otohime is now a magical girl. But did you really think that Orion would be able to overcome magic using just conventional weapons!? I've written him to be the edgelord who is useless at the end, so I had fun bullying (if this is the right word) him. We'll see how Touma gets out of this one. As for Otohime and Kamui, you will have to see…

Animan10: Yeah, last chapter sort of did that to a lot of people.

DNWorks: You'll have to see how badly things get… But my OCs are being killed off quite quickly.

Indra Uzumaki: I dived so deep I didn't come back out. I hope that you can sort of see where Touma heads from here now that, as you said, he's hit "rock bottom". It's fine that you've forgotten bits and pieces here and there; chances are that they will be covered again later on.

Anime-ted Life116: I just need more harem hijinks and everything will be OK, right? Right?! Kongou's ass stick being removed was a moment I personally really enjoyed! I hope that whatever comes next is something that you enjoy. He does need a super duper break, I have to agree. Kamui needs to die though.

Suspicious User: No hay problema en usar un idioma diferente, ¡pero perdona mi pobre respuesta de traductor de Google! Definitivamente creo que este capítulo fue en gran medida un dilema moral dados los personajes y lo que estaban tratando de lograr. Uno de los comentarios de Orión al principio sobre "hacer lo incorrecto por la razón correcta" fue algo que quería usar para dar una distinción entre las opciones en este arco y cómo la línea puede ser borrosa a veces. Debido a esto, me alegra que hayas podido ver a través de esto y el dilema moral que tantos personajes enfrentaron durante este arco. Sin embargo, en cuanto a Kamisato, ¿cuándo aparecerá?

Mamb: Thanks for the words, and I have to agree with them. The seriousness of this arc and with MINUS too sort of felt a bit 'out of touch' with Index as a whole with 'little bits and pieces' and it here and there but overall, the feel of the series has been absent. I'll have to work on changing things up (once again) to make sure it realigns there but the character studies ended up being something I got into too much. Thanks for the feedback though.

Levolutioner: Wee shall see what happens…! I'm glad that someone was surprised by the reveal though! You'll have to see what happens with Otohime going forward. I'm sort of the same in that I ca see contrasts between Touma and Shirou but the latter feels more like a purposeful hero if you know what I mean. I'm sure there is a character study for the both of them out there. You shall see what has happened with Faith…

Deep Sea Diver Man: That's a good question. It feels to me it's like Tsuchimikado is willing to betray anyone and anything for the sake of his goals, which in this case would be keeping Maika safe?

Aquadude: I do remember that scene. Although, I don't think it will ever be that bad…

WwEpsilonwW: Why do I do this to my characters?

X-KT: I'm getting a few people saying Kamui is the Joker to Touma's Batman so I'm beginning to think DC has influenced me too much. You'll have to see what happens with Orion and Faith going forward… Only one month of waiting this time though! Damian was killed off screen though.

Kami: There's been plenty of Die Hard like fights before. But Dark Touma can be seen in one of my BTL chapters.

flayjunior15: Hahahaha, I'm not too sure whether others would agree this is a masterpiece but thank you for your kind words. I do want to get into the character's heads a lot, hence why it might feel like that but I really wanted to use this fanfic to push characters in ways that Kamachi has not before. I can't really say how Todd Phillip's Joker and Touma would react to each other but it definitely would be an interesting battle of wits and words. Hope you can enjoy the chapter!

EternalKing: Things sort of change by this point…

Kaze: You'll have to see how Touma ends up reacting to this situation and where things go from here… As you said though, it is rather tragic when Touma himself does not realise the worth he has for others. And yes, Touma would never forgive himself as seen in NT 22R, especially with the failures he had up until that point.

ArmoredCoreNineBall: Interesting that you would draw parallels to the Thor arc, but I can see where you're coming from. I hope that you can continue to be entertained.

UrsaMJR: Yeah, Touma was hurt BAD this time. Let's see what happens from here on out, shall we?

The Ultimate Impulse: Index and Touma are basically a thing by now…but he still is reckless all the same. You'll have to see where things go with Otohime. Hahahaha, Touma being thrown into magical prison sounds about right for him.

Sergio644: Y-Your words and last comment don't match each other…

Agent Nine: Yeah, last chapter had that sort of effect. I hope that you can look forward to the closure that is heading your way.

Venikas: I-I'm not too sure either at this point...

And the thanks. To my beta reader PokeRescue18. Seriously man, for the things you have done for me over the years, you have my endless thanks. There is nothing more I can give you so I only hope these meagre words make you realise just how thankful I am.

And to you as well, the reader. I hope every time I open with those words you always insert your name where it says 'the reader'. Because that is the point. You are here once again and charging into the fray with the characters and for this alone, I truly thank you. I only ask that you can remain until the end of the chapter and lose yourself in the words I have typed. For the fact you have reached this far, it is more than enough.

BUT EVERYONE!? PART 3 OF INDEX, GENESIS TESTAMENT IS ANNOUCED FROM FEBRUARY!? NOT TO MENTION RAILGUN T IN JANUARY!? GODDAMN IT, I CAN'T WAIT! While Railgun has been a long time coming with the Daihaseisai arc, for the new content we'll be getting, let's see where the story takes us from here and what insanity is going to follow the cast of characters we know now the Rosicrucians has finally made an appearance!

Still, let us wait for that to come our way. Despite this chapter having a dark tone, I hope you all have Happy Holidays and enjoy whatever you end up doing.

In the meantime, from me, I hope you do what you always do:

Enjoy.

Mr Question Mark.

---

Red.

That colour sprayed the walls and leaked onto the floor, a sickening stench of iron and the sight of bodies stabbing into the eyes of those forced to watch the horrors in front of them without comprehending the sudden change in the tide of the battle.

They had thought they were here to save Kamijou Touma from being kidnapped for having been caught up with the chaos surrounding Kongou Airlines.

Yet they had found themselves thrust into a war they wanted no part of.

Screams and bullets filled the hallway of the underground facility of District 10's Unergy Nuclear Research Centre. But within the small space, the girls who found themselves surrounded by the death felt as though it was pressing in at them from all directions.

They had no idea what was going on.

Before, the lines between ally and enemy had been extremely clear. The group who had kidnapped Kamijou were the enemy and the force formed together to fight against them and to rescue him had been focused on the defeat of that enemy and the salvation of that one spiky haired boy who had thrown away everything for the sake of protecting the life of one girl.

But now, there was nothing that could be understood.

Without warning, one of the groups who had been their enemy had fired upon their own allies. The company Circuits and Chips and the military security force they had brought together for the sake of defending this very facility had suddenly fired upon the security teams of their allies; Kisaragi Motors and Unergy. Where the previous battles had been ones where no death had resulted, the tide of the battle had entirely turned and the sight of bodies made those who were unadjusted to such sick to the stomach.

Kongou Mitsuko pressed her body against the cover she was hiding behind, her body sweating furiously as the stench and the sounds of death pressed in at her at all angles. It was overwhelming and the only thing she could do was bring her head over to the side of the cover to assess what was going on. But even that action formed so much regret within her that she immediately pulled it back, shaking and trembling with unhidden fear.

She could tell the soldiers she had previously been fighting from each other; Circuits and Chips (called CC by the soldiers she had been fighting against) wore yellow armbands on their arms, Kisaragi Motors wore white and Unergy wore red. But as the battle dragged on and on, the distinctions between those colours was less and less defined as more and more blood sprayed from the enemy.

The vomit that wanted to come from her mouth was one she held back. Her cover was the same one that she had been against before, the filing cabinet she had used the parts of as projectiles using her Aero Hand ability. But instead of being a weapon, it was only a flimsy sanctuary that protected her from the horrors of a war she suddenly found herself wanting no part of.

Was this the fight happening on the underside of Kongou Airlines? She had no idea how anything had led to what was happening and the events had spiralled so far out of control that it made no sense to her. Some part of her mind rejected even wanting to come to an understanding.

Did she want to know what was going on?

Did she want to have the knowledge that would allow her to fight more efficiently and effectively?

Kongou knew the answer within herself. However, the answers to the questions she was asking herself and wanted nothing more than to never hear the answers to were only known to the one causing all this and the boy he had chosen to try to break; Kamijou Touma.

The leader of the forces of Circuits and Chips, Aaron Gracestone, and his entire security force of men had been captured and tortured by one Kihara Kamui, to the extent that mad scientist had infected their broken minds with his own personality. The people fighting were dead, their minds replaced with the personality of the one who had killed them and it was for the purposes of killing senselessly and without purpose that Kamui aimed to pressure and break the mind of the high school boy Kamijou.

That was the underside and the truth of what was happening here now: senseless death that had no meaning.

But for Kongou Mitsuko, the only thing she understood was exactly what was happening now: senseless death that had no meaning. She did not need to know why these men were killing or that they had had their personalities taken over: she was not interested and knew nothing of that.

The only thing she knew was that she had never been so terrified in her entire life.

Other girls were with her on the front lines too. Misaka Mikoto, Kazakiri Hyouka, Itsuwa and Tatsugami Otohime had all been charging forward previously to reach Kamijou where he lay further within the facility but now the tide of the battle had gone from the girls winning to absolute slaughter, they found themselves frozen in place and hiding behind cover.

The girls who had previously been so confident and so powerful were now hiding behind the cover that protected them, never moving forward and having stopped their advance to save someone else. The desire to save Kamijou hidden within the hell was still within them but the fear that now gripped their hearts was one they could not so easily pass off as nothing.

Especially for those who had never seen something as horrible as this before.

Those who were not on the front lines and hiding behind the corner of the hallway where Kongou had previously come from included Wannai Kinuho, Awatsuki Maaya, Shokuhou Misaki, Index, Othinus, the calico cat Sphynx and some of the Sisters who were holding back for fear of being seen by those they did not want to be seen by. The sudden reversal of the situation had stunned them all into a frozen state, staring at the scene with shocked and horrified eyes or hiding, much the same as Kongou was doing and trembling.

"Advance. Advance and push these motherfuckers back! Get these assh-"

Who had said that? Kongou did not know and had no desire to as the same voice was suddenly cut off without warning. How it had happened and what had happened Kongou had no desire to know and in an attempt to hide whatever emotions she had on the subject; she huddled her body close to herself. She brought her knees to her chest and covered her ears, trembling all the same.

It proved to be no use and the sounds of death echoed in the hallway all the same, pressing in on her and threatening to cut into her and her body with mere sensations that had no physical presence.

Did the soldiers here even think of the girls as their enemy anymore? Kongou did not know but the horrors of what was happening beyond made her scared to move. The prospect of going out into a storm of bullets suddenly hit the girl full force, something that had never once registered because of how easy advancing had been.

If she went out into there, she could seriously die.

The sudden realisation of that simple fact which was obvious from the start sent waves of cold through Kongou. She felt her breathing escalate, her thoughts racing out of control as they tried to hold themselves together.

(Why? Why is this happening? What is happening? I don't want this. How is this connected to Father's business deal? I don't want to die. I don't want to be thrust into this battle that has nothing to do with me. I want to be safe. I want to go home. I want to run away. Please, let me run away! I want to run away!)

Fear coursed through Kongou's head, the previous determination to face forward and accept responsibility for what was happening entirely gone.

Kongou had realised that because everything happening was tied to the mysterious deal Kongou Airlines was undertaking, this was partially her fault. Especially with reference to Kamijou, she had vowed to take responsibility for what was going to happen and accept all punishment that would result from such when it came to that boy's safety when he had done so much for Kongou. However, the fear that coursed through her destroyed the resolution that had once filled her.

Fear, pure and vicious, stabbed into her heart and revealed the inner thoughts and the inner desire to escape. The Tokiwadai Middle School girl felt herself tear up as that fear stabbed into her, the way her resolution had been so easily destroyed and her wavering heart causing herself to cry. Wet and shameful tears as the screams and gunshots erupted overhead coursed down her cheeks. Kongou felt herself hunch over even more as she tried her best to ignore the sounds of the screams and lose herself in her own panicked thoughts.

(I want to go home. I don't want any of this. I want none of this. I want to be safe. I want to go home. I want my normal life back. This has nothing to do with me. Running away would be the easy thing to do and I want to do it! I want to do it so bad! Get up…Get up! Get up and move! Run away, escape and seek safety, do something but just run away and move!)

Yet the fear proved to be too much for the girl to handle. Her entire body had frozen and she shook. Kongou heaved heavy breaths, her entire body absolutely frozen in place as tears run down her eyes. She used the fingers not in her ears to grab at her hair and tugged at it, the dishevelled locks causing her face to become crumpled and twisted with pure fear.

Was it ugly?

Was it shameful?

Was Kongou Mitsuko weak in that her resolve to take responsibility and head into war was so absolutely shattered when she came to understand she was probably going to die if she even remotely took a step?

Her emotions and the balance of right and wrong was weighed within a scale in her mind but nothing made sense. The lack of understanding only provided more fear, not that Kongou felt that understanding what was happening would be any consolation.

She was just that scared.

She just wanted someone to hold.

Those basic human desires that came as a result of being so terrified seemed like basic level human emotions one would find in an infant, but that desire moved so fast and hard through Kongou she had no way of stopping it. Everything she had felt and everything she had wanted fell apart around her and her body was so frozen in place there was nothing she could do. No commands she sent to her legs went through and the constant sound of screams filling her ears despite her desire to drown them out caused her to seize up even more.

Salvation was escape.

But Kongou could not even get that far.

It was pitiful but at the same time could not be viewed in those terms. A powerful force caused the girl to stay rooted to the spot as she let out words, tears streaming down her face.

"Help me…"

The words of an infant, seeking warmth and something to hold to ease her from her fears leaked from her mouth. They were shameful but also could not be viewed in those terms. They were weak but also could not be viewed in those terms. The idiots who felt that 'standing up and running' was as easy as it sounded did not know the fear that permeated through Kongou's body, the terror that assaulted her and how she wanted nothing more than to sit tight and hope for the best when there was nothing she could do.

Logically, she could do something and seek escape.

But with the death that surrounded her from all corners, all sense of logic and efficiency was thrown out the window.

So the only thing that human, Kongou Mitsuko, did was cry and ask at the bottom of her heart for the chance for salvation in this hell she suddenly found herself in. She trembled, crying and speaking in tones so soft she was sure no one would be able to hear her but regardless, Kongou let out those words from the depths of her soul.

And, despite this being hell, despite this being a place where terror reigned and where there was no chance for salvation, warmth reached her from above.

It captured her, cradling itself around her and Kongou realised belatedly she was being embraced. The warmth and the comfort of something else caught Kongou and she blinked once, realising through her teary eyes she was seeing the sight of not the red stained floor anymore but rather pure white. White, unstained by the death that surrounded her and pure as snow. As if an angel had descended despite how unscientific such a thought was, Kongou was surrounded by the feeling of warmth of another human, of someone else by her side.

And the way that lifted her soul and saved her from the abyss of terror she had entered was something she could never describe. The simple feeling of touch, the simple feeling of something holding her was enough to give Kongou an anchor, something to fix her in place and something to focus on in her mind that was a mess of selfishness, incoherent and childish like thoughts.

"It's OK… I'm here. I'm here."

Soothing words.

Yet they had more of an impact than perhaps the words of God.

Kongou felt herself tremble, her mind catching onto the sensation and grabbing it with everything she had. As if it was going to disappear if she did not do that, Kongou held herself fast against the sensation of the warmth, the words and the comfort being provided to her. Like the Little Match Girl holding onto her small flame, Kongou held so fiercely onto the salvation she was given now. She pulled her hands from her ears and hair and grabbed the salvation in front of her realising it was real and had human form but that only made it all the more powerful to her.

Kongou pulled it in close and yet there was no sounds of complaint or surprise, only the warmth and the soothing words.

"I'm here. It's OK."

Kongou felt something catch in her throat, a sob that wanted to come out but refused to. A lock of hair that was not her own drifted past her face and hesitantly, as if fearing that if she diverted her eyes, this salvation would fade, Kongou caught sight of a different colour beyond the white.

Silver.

The silver hair shone like a radiance beyond anything Kongou had ever seen before and the dots connected in her mind. The white, that voice, the silver hair; the salvation in front of her took on a physical form in the Aero Hand's mind. Kongou opened her mouth, letting loose the words from the depths of her heart.

"Index…san?"

"I'm here."

Those words, said both as comfort and confirmation tore Kongou's mind from her personal hell. She pulled back, lifting her head fully and seeing the girl in front of her, holding Kongou still in the embrace. Her green eyes shone with a grace Kongou never knew she would find on the battlefield and she felt lost in them for a moment. The kindness shone in them was beyond anything Kongou had ever seen before.

Yet here it was.

Index, who had been just around the corner, had braved the hell that had made Kongou freeze on the spot, raced towards her and had done so for the purposes of showing her kindness. That was all there was to it and the benevolence revealed towards her made Kongou's eyes reveal more tears, although for a different reason entirely.

To merely show kindness and comfort in this hell.

That was the only thing Index had thought to do when she saw Kongou so terrified and it tore into Kongou's heart. The blade of kindness and of warmth made Kongou's mouth waver as she felt the tears enter her mouth.

That was the mere effect this warmth and this kindness was having on her as she sat so terrified. It was pure and salvation personified to the girl as she sat there on the ground behind her cover, death resounding in all directions around her. Kongou gripped it, letting it wash over her once more and taking the time to lose herself in it.

"Mitsuko, can you stand? Can you move?"

Yet that salvation and that warmth was cruelly taken from her in the next few words. The situation being what it was, it was obvious why they had been said but thrust forward into the reality her mind had been trying to avoid at all costs made Kongou tremble. Even so, the salvation given to her in the comfort Index had provided was more than enough to allow proper words to come from the Tokiwadai student's mouth.

"…I can't. I can't move."

Kongou whispered those shameful words, her legs shaking so hard she knew she would not be able to move. The chance of a bullet hitting her was a true threat and the threat of pain that came with it tore at her. She realised the shame that came from such, the yells of her mind telling her to move but nothing she wanted came to her and the fear proved to be too much.

The mere fact it was Index who had come instead of her friends Wannai and Awatsuki was not something Kongou held against them. The fear Kongou was feeling…the others probably felt it too so she did not resent her friends or hold it against them that they would choose to be safe. In fact, in her clearing mind, Kongou was glad it was the case and they were safe.

But it did not change the reality that she was stuck here and could not move from the emotions and terror filling her.

Index nodded. Her gaze softened, not being held with contempt or disgust at the fact that Kongou was terrified by the sound of what was happening but rather turned into one of understanding. Despite the screams and the gunshots hovering overhead, Index smiled at Kongou, gripping her shoulders tightly and passing her warmth onto Kongou even further.

"Then I need you to stay here. Where it's safe. OK? Can you do that for me?" Index asked those questions, softly and calmly. Kongou nodded but grabbed the hands of the girl holding her, her heart beating in her chest all the faster from the words Index was saying and what they implied. She knew the answer she was going to get but she asked anyway.

"…What are you doing?"

Index turned to her, using one of her other hands and holding the hand Kongou was holding her with as well. There was warmth there but there was no shaking, no sign Index was terrified like Kongou was. She was hiding it. Or was there something else she feared more than what was happening beyond her now? Index tightened her grip on Kongou's hand and kept her smile, Kongou shaking her head as she realised the answer she was going to receive.

"I have to go out there, Mitsuko. I can't stay here."

"No."

"Mitsuko, I – "

"Don't be stupid! Are you insane?!" Kongou roared, the terror in her eyes holding itself onto Index, as if trying to pass it on. She grabbed the girl more forcefully, holding her shoulders and bringing her behind the same cover Kongou was hiding behind. "How can you even think of going out there?! You won't survive, Index-san. There is no way I am going to let you do that! Not on my watch. Not…Not when this is all – "

"Mitsuko…" The words were soft and kind. Index, in Kongou's arms and being held tight, slowly moved her hands underneath Kongou's and lifted them. There was no strength in such but the terror of the prospect of what was happening behind the cover caused Kongou's grip to be like jelly. Index easily got free but Kongou kept on grabbing at her again and again, Index calmly removing the grasp each and every time.

"I can't let you go out there. I may not know the soldiers fighting, but I know you. A-And if you go out into there and you – "

"I have to take that risk. I have to go out there."

The words were resolute. There was something within them and Kongou felt herself crumble. Jealousy filled her as she stared at the nun-in-training. The girl she barely knew had surpassed her with those words and with her actions.

The words had not wavered. And in those green eyes was determination, a fire Kongou wondered the source of. Index looked and felt like a being beyond anything Kongou had ever seen or experienced before. Looking at her now made Kongou's body limp.

Not from the fear.

But from the awe presented and shown to her.

The girl who was basically a stranger had so perfectly done what Kongou had failed to do and that in itself was more than Kongou could think she could take. Her mouth wavered and her body trembled but the only thing that came from her now was a question, as if seeking an answer that would allow her to move and go past the fear possessing her now.

"…How?"

"?"

"How can you…be so brave? How can you act in the way you are in the face of this, Index-san!? There is nothing to be gained from this. There is nothing to be rewarded for you in this. If you go out there, you will die. I'm not talking theoretically or hypothetically. If you go out there, you will die! E-Even thinking about moving forward right now is ridiculous and yet you…you…!"

Index stared at the girl who was grabbing her hands, noting the trembling within. She stared at them for only a moment before smiling, reaching and touching the face of the girl in front of her, to wipe away the tears forming at the sides of her eyes. There was no sign of her going to lash out at Kongou for saying the things she was, or a rush to do things in a hurry and get the hesitations Kongou was putting in her head out. There was only the determination that shone in her eyes as Index slowly reached for the hands grabbing hers and pulling the fingers free.

As she did so, she spoke.

"I'm not doing what I'm doing to be brave, Mitsuko. I'm not doing it because it is heroic or because of anything like that. I know the risks. I know what I am doing is dangerous and that it is better for someone like me to stand on the sidelines. …But I can't do nothing. I came here for a reason, Mitsuko, and I am not going to abandon that. I resolved to do one thing when I came here and I am going to do it."

The hands were released but the warmth of Index lingered on them for only a moment before she spoke once more.

"I came here to save someone dear to me. And as far as I see it, there is nothing here that gives me a reason to abandon Touma. Not when he has done so much for so many people. Not when he has does so much for me. If my actions today are anything, then they are my heart speaking for me. I am here to save Touma, Mitsuko. And I can't stop now."

Index smiled at Kongou, holding her hands.

"Don't move, Mitsuko. Stay here and stay safe. …There is something here I have to do."

That was the only thing Index said.

She let go and wasted no time, ducking her head and racing past the cover where Kongou was, the girl sitting there in a stunned silence as she watched her go past the cover. She didn't even have the sense of mind to watch the girl head into the fire of hell, staring into space with the words Index said having pierced her heart.

Index, the nun-in-training, had not denied she was scared.

If anything, it was that one fact that stuck out to Kongou the most.

She had not denied she was scared and she had not shown it, likely for the sake of the girl she was trying to comfort with her presence. But amidst the horror and the terror shaking within her body, Index had resolved within her heart to do one thing and one thing only. She had set her sights on it, focused on it and never let herself get distracted.

She had come here to save Kamijou Touma.

And no matter what happened, no matter what occurred, Index was going to do it.

In the face of this hell of death and bullets, how much strength did that take? Given she had not collapsed even when she had every reason in the world to abandon Kamijou, there was a strength to the resolve within Index Kongou had never even realised was there before. She had always felt the impression Index had given off was that of a happy-go-lucky girl that followed Kamijou around but with the words and the resolve within her, it was hardly the case in Kongou's eyes anymore.

Index, for the sake of a single boy, had charged into hell to save him. She had the desire to drag him out of the depths of hell no matter the cost to herself and she was showing that resolve within her with her actions and not just her words.

She had said there was something that she had to do, even if it meant going into hell itself. There was someone she had to save and there was someone she had to grasp with both hands, not as a disciple of God but because her heart desired it with everything it had. For such a simple goal, Index had gone above and beyond what was required of her. She had ascended way past the stage Kongou Mitsuko was on and entered a place so far off that Kongou didn't even think she would be able to see where Index was standing.

But she had seen someone like that before.

Wasn't Kamijou Touma the same?

Hadn't he charged into an unknown fray for the sake of protecting Kongou?

He had done so with his own resolve, with his own desires pushing him forward and he had faced the consequences. But even then, he had still done what he had to do for the sake of the emotions within his own heart. He had chosen to save Kongou Mitsuko and help reclaim her daily life for nothing more than his own personal reasons.

How powerful was that? How powerful was that resolve that allowed Index to save Kamijou and Kamijou to save Kongou? No, even for Index, she had taken the time to also save Kongou from being overwhelmed by her emotions. The choices and the salvation those two had decided to give not only Kongou but each other in some way or form made Kongou sit there in stunned silence.

Why?

Index had given how she could do what she was doing, but why? Why do it?

Why did Index and Kamijou risk their life for each other and for someone who was a total stranger? Why did they make the decision to head into hell when there was a real possibility of being torn to shreds by the world? Why did they choose to save someone even when they were faced with hell itself?

It made no sense.

And yet, the fact Kongou Mitsuko could not see sense in the actions of that boy and girl proved the stage the two of them stood on was far removed from where she stood.

---

Index moved through the hell in front of her with her head held forward, even though it was ducked down. The hell she saw laid out in her eyesight was committed to her perfect memory.

Every body.

Every speck of blood on the wall.

Every scream.

Nothing escaped her mind and she felt as though she was being assaulted from every direction with hell. If God's hand was so merciful, then where was the sense in the death happening in front of her now? Index could not see clearly how this fit into any plan or any scheme and the horrible nature of the senseless killing made her feel sick.

But she could not stop.

There was something she had to do.

After all, if this was happening here, what would be happening with one Kamijou Touma who was deeper in the facility, potentially with other people who were out for blood when he had a broken arm?

The thought was horrific and with her entire body, Index wanted to deny any speculation or thoughts she had. She wanted to avoid making any assumptions for fear of what would come to pass if they did.

Her heart raced a million beats a minute but not for herself. No, as a nun of God, she had already learned that thinking entirely selfishly was not the path for her. When it came to the suffering of others, she had chosen her way of life to become a hand that reached out and grabbed others to give them kindness. It had been that thinking that had led her to reach out and grab Kongou's hand when she had been trembling and on the verge of tears from the fear.

No, her heart raced for the person that even now was caught up in the middle of this. It raced for the people Index could not help as they were slaughtered without rhyme or reason. The salvation Index could deliver onto them was lost as they had their lives taken from right in front of her without her being able to do anything.

It stung.

It stung more than Index ever felt it before and she was barely holding it together. Index herself was no stranger to violence or death, as a magician with a Magic Name, she had known the consequences taking magic would lead to and hence, the deaths in front of her, although through the medium of science, were not ones she had to avert her eyes from despite wanting to so much.

But even if she had known the consequences of taking magic and was prepared to see death, the sight in front of her and the helplessness she felt when it came to the slaughter stabbed at her. She could not save these people and she could not reach out her hand to bring them salvation as they were cut down with bullet after bullet despite how much she wanted to scream for everyone to stop and for everyone to be given the chance of salvation they so deserved.

Even if that applied to the soldiers in front of her, it applied more than anything else to the one spiky haired boy caught up in the middle of this through the usual method of sticking his nose where it did not belong.

People were dying.

People were not being saved and the fact it cut so deeply into Index when she desired salvation to others made her fear for the reaction Kamijou was going to have when he learned of this.

But where was that boy?

What was happening to him right now and what was he doing?

Those questions threw Index's heart further into strife as she charged forward. There was someone she had to save and while she had set that goal for herself, if there was the chance for her being able to save anyone else from this endless and meaningless slaughter, then she knew in her heart she would not turn from such no matter what happened.

Did it have to do with her role as a nun?

Maybe so or maybe not.

But Index just wanted to save these people and allow their prayers of salvation to be heard. Who was she to deny that? Who was she to turn herself away from the cries of pain others were making? She had no role in that and the fact screams were echoing into the air, screams of people who were not being saved stabbed into her exposed heart, crushing it from all directions as she came to realise what was being lost.

In the way Index also desired salvation for the people being killed and those who were doing the killing it meant she stood on the same stage as Kamijou Touma in that one moment.

She had pleaded with those with her in the corner of the alley if there was anything they could do to stop the chaos. Wannai and Awatsuki had been averting their eyes from the chaos leaving only Shokuhou however, with her power, not matter what she did, she would lead to someone dying.

If she took control of a solder from the Circuits and Chips team, they would be killed by those they had fired upon. Likewise, if she had taken control of the teams from Kisaragi Motors and Unergy, they would be killed by Circuits and Chips.

Controlling everyone was also an option, however, the problem then became the small glass cylinders thrown around in all directions. Their fragile glass containers were constantly smashing against and exploding when the small light inside was released from their containers. Whatever it was was enough to damage anyone far enough away and kill anyone too close, spreading their body parts across the wall in a mess of gore. As a result, controlling everyone risked the chance of accidentally dropping one of those containers.

Meaning that, with her conscious and not willing to be responsible for the death of anyone under her control, the #5 Level 5 esper of Academy City was useless.

Othinus, in her state and Sphynx as well were not going to be useful in this situation either. It was that thinking that had led Index to leave them and charge forward with the intent of helping Kongou and also keeping her mind focused on what she had to do.

Index had to remember it all. With her perfect memory, the sight of her failure to save and protect these people who deserved to be saved was a failure she would have to accept and force into her mind no matter how much she wanted to deny it. With her eyes now, she watched helplessly as each step she took was one that meant more and more people were tossed to the side and killed senselessly.

Short-Hair was currently hiding behind a piece of cover. Occasionally, she would pop her head up and it was clear she debated to launch a lightning spear but hesitated. After all, no matter who she fired the lightning spear at it risked the chance of them being killed by their opponents. It seemed that such was a weight too heavy to bear for the #3 as she hid behind her cover, debating her options with sweat rolling down her cheek and a tense face.

Kazakiri Hyouka was hiding as well, her face contorted as she watched the scene in front of her without understanding what was happening or what she had to do. Her options were more open than anyone else but with the distinction between their enemies and who she had to face being blurred, Kazakiri was held down by the inability to decide her battles and how to fight as it would only lead to death one way or another.

Itsuwa of the Amakusa Church was clearly conflicted as well. She hid against the same cover as Tatsugami Otohime, poking her head up and over the cover every now and then. Unlike the others, being a magician herself, she understood the death happening in front of her. She understood and had prepared herself for it in the event of it happening but the humanity within her meant she was constrained as well, unsure and unwilling to cause and contribute to the death happening here by choosing one side over the other.

Circuits and Chips were the bad guys here. But attacking them would only result in their death as they were also attacked by the merciless Kisaragi Motors and Unergy.

The mercenary working for the latter, Orion Phoenix, was the closest out of the enemies who they had previously been fighting. Having entirely disregarded the girls who he had been fighting beforehand, the constant gunfire he unleashed to those of Circuits and Chips was only met with blood and reactions in the form of gunfire. With his broken left arm courtesy of Otohime, his mobility was the worst out of everyone there and it was questionable whether he was even useful in the chaos unfolding.

But out of everyone inside the hallway of blood and war, it was Otohime who was facing the worst of it.

She had absolutely shattered the moment the first death had occurred in front of her eyes. Much like Kongou, she had grown disillusioned by the victory she had against Orion and charged forward thinking she could do anything but when faced with the proper deaths of the men in front of her, she had simply collapsed. Itsuwa was holding her close and trying to speak to her but the girl was merely holding herself tight, trembling and crying with the blood of some soldier covering her face and clothes.

With the SCALE spell she had performed, the blast that had torn through the bodies of so many soldiers had left her basically unharmed but the gruesome sight of the blood covering her when she had just chosen her Magic Name was a fate too cruel to bear. She looked barely herself as Itsuwa did her best to hold her but it seemed to provide no comfort as she trembled in the arms of the girl. The broken form of the otherwise lifeless girl was horrifying and it was with every ounce of her body that Index wished she could reach her as she ran through the hallway covered with blood and gunfire.

Short-Hair spotted her doing so, going wide eyed and yelling something but over the cacophony of gunfire and screams, Index could barely hear her. However, with her perfect memory memorising lip movements when forming Japanese characters, seeing Mikoto telling her to get down was obvious, even though Index refused to listen.

There was something she had to do and her eyes were resolved to do it.

There was nothing that was going to stop her and there was no part of her willing to back down when it came to the salvation she could give to either these men senselessly killed or to Kamijou Touma who was in the middle of this chaos somewhere. Her heart, beating at a million times a minute, screamed at her to do something, to find some form of salvation for anyone and it was with that desire that she pushed herself beyond what she thought she had to do and entered the fray.

The resolve that coursed within her would never die and never fade.

But Index had forgotten something.

This was war.

And when you were dead, it didn't matter whether you had dreams or a family. It didn't matter if you had something you had to do, something you had to see get done or someone to see again. Your resolve, determination and the abilities of your body had no bearings and the moment your life was snuffed out was the moment everything truly ended.

Kihara Kamui in Aaron Gracestone, whose personality had also infected the security team of men for Circuits and Chips, had declared everyone was to die for the sake of breaking Kamijou Touma who would place the senseless deaths that happened on himself.

So, when the Circuits and Chips soldier infected with Kamui's personality spotted the nun braving the corridor of hell, it didn't matter to them what happened to the person they shot at or anything else.

The only thing the Kihara Kamui personality within the soldier told them to do was point his gun and fire.

So they did.

And no matter the resolve, the determination, the kindness, the desire to save, the human heart or the running Index did while keeping her head down low, it meant nothing whatsoever to the bullet that flew through the air and pierced her skull.

---

Misaka Mikoto was the first one to see it.

She had always felt that Silver Sister was a constant, someone who would always annoyingly be there by the side of that idiot, asking for food while Mikoto would always question what their relationship was and never get a straight answer. There was something connecting that nun and that idiot, something similar yet different to what Mikoto and that idiot had.

For that alone, Mikoto was jealous.

There was another part of that idiot that Silver Sister saw that Mikoto did not. The things she knew about him and the things he did with her were a mystery and yet so entirely different to what Mikoto did with him that Mikoto could not help but feel her heart move in that dark direction when it came to looking at that girl and what she had with that idiot.

What side of him did she see?

How was it similar to what Mikoto saw? Or how was it different? Would her perspective change when she looked at that idiot through that nun's eyes? Or would it stay the same? In what way would it change or be different?

Mikoto could not say whether those thoughts were the same as the ones experienced by that Silver Sister when she looked at Mikoto. She recognised she and that Silver Sister did not necessarily get along well but never had she thought she would ever hate or despise that girl. Mikoto felt the same could be said for that Silver Sister too: they were bound by something more than a jealousy of the other but less than friendship.

But the both of them realised they represented one part of that idiot's life in one way or another. You could easily split up the time and life of Kamijou Touma into the 'time' with Index and the 'time' with Misaka Mikoto and you would get a picture of that idiot's life in some way or form.

That was perhaps why it was so shocking when she saw it.

Because it was like a part of that idiot's life was snuffed out with the life of that girl who was always by his side.

Mikoto saw Index recoil but the sight of red was the only thing she needed to see to realise what had happened.

Her eyes went wide as she saw the girl fall backwards. It was as if time had stopped, the way her silver hair flew about and the way her arms flew. The surprised expression on her face looked as though she was more stunned than anyone at what had happened, her green eyes opened wide and her mouth as well. The pure white of her habit was stained as she fell backwards, an irreversible mark upon the world and stepping on a territory that should never be stepped on.

Something sacred was destroyed in the moment that pure white habit was stained.

That was the way Mikoto saw it as she watched Index collapse backwards after having been shot in the head.

Time moved once again and that one moment of impurity was gone the moment the Silver Sister hit the ground, another body to add to the pile. It was only when Index hit the ground that Mikoto realised she had been holding back a breath, something that refused to come from her mouth no matter how much she wished it to be released and no matter how much she wished what she was looking at was not real.

The constant she had felt was always going to be there was gone. It only took a small piece of metal to snuff out a life and as Mikoto stared at the body on the ground, the full reality of what was happening here hit her like a truck.

People were dying and it was entirely possible her allies would be on that list as well.

In truth, when in war…

You couldn't save everyone.

Such thinking filled her head felt like a poison, much like the stain on the Silver Sister's habit. Mikoto was by no means disillusioned by victory: she had been there with the Sisters had died, when Tokiwadai was overrun by Kihara Yuiitsu during the chaos with the Elements and when Uiharu had been suspended from Judgment so she knew and understood that sometimes you could not save everyone.

But never did she think that someone would have to be sacrificed to make her realise the full weight of those words.

But the fact that someone did, someone who was close to that idiot make Misaka Mikoto truly fear for her life as she sat there behind her cover and in relative safety. The full reality of the situation hit her full force and she exhaled, something that sounded half between a choke and a sob as she stared at the body on the floor.

A scream filled the air. It was immediately recognised as different given the pitch: it belonged to a girl instead of the soldiers fighting with guns. Mikoto had no idea who it came from: whether it be Kazakiri, Otohime, Itsuwa or even herself but the weight of it pressed down at her from all angles as she stared at the body on the ground.

Mikoto breathed heavily, finding it was getting quicker and quicker. She trembled, staring at her hand with fascination as she watched it shake uncontrollably, something rising within her throat now. It came from her stomach and the death which was so close to her, to someone she had conversed with every now and then, suddenly felt so real and twisted that Mikoto felt there was nothing holding whatever was rising back.

Grabbing the cover and instinctively covering her mouth and stomach, in response to the death that was not some random soldier but someone she knew, Mikoto –

"Warning."

The word that resounded through the air made Mikoto pause. Her eyes went wide as, with her hand still covering her mouth and stomach, she looked up and at the body on the ground.

"Cha–Kssssssssssssssssssssssssssh Verse-Ksssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhh Warning. Interference detected. Analysis: internal compromise. Detecting and dealing with the operational threat in progre-Kssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

That…

Was impossible.

Even on the ground, even with the blood pouring from her skull where she had been shot in the head with a bullet, Index still spoke.

Her words came out icy, cold and machine like but the only thing Mikoto found herself doing was watching in a fascinated way, not knowing what was happening but staring at it without comprehension. Her hand still over her mouth, she even forgot it was there as the impossible words came through the air.

"Error. Error. Internal compromise overreaching more than recommended safe territory. Currently taking 47% of control. Segregating and separating the mind of the host to protect corrupted areas and regain control. All other tasks will be taken towards the designated task. The margin of error is within the acceptable boundaries. Remaining tasks will be directed towards regaining consciousness and countering the internal compromise. Suggested action: seek shelter for the temporary relocation until administrator privileges are restored."

Words that made little sense came through the air but even though they made no sense to Mikoto, she felt something crawl up her spine. A chill she had never once experienced in her life raced along the surface of her body and she felt herself frozen in place by an emotion she only belatedly realised was gripping and controlling her body.

She was scared.

Despite the chaos and the death happening right across from her, Misaka Mikoto, when staring at the nun on the ground felt pure terror race along her skin such that it held her in place. She could not move, her heart pounded through her chest and she felt as though sweat was pouring endlessly down her body. Words wanted to come from her throat, but she found nothing did, only a choking sound as the impossible actions compounded on themselves in front of her.

And they did so as Index rose her head as she lay on the ground.

The moment Mikoto's eyes met that of Index's, she knew. In the instant her eyes met those of the Silver Sister's every fibre of her being understood and every fibre of her soul comprehended one very important fact.

That girl lying on the floor was nothing short of a true monster.

Although she did not completely understand it, the crimson magic circles in her eyes were enough to made Mikoto realise her position in the world as the #3 Level 5 of Academy City meant nothing in the power Index held within her hands now.

---

Itsuwa of the Amakusa Church paled as she watched the nun on the ground fully stand up, with shaky movements as if she were not used to her own body.

Tatsugami Otohime next to her who had screamed suddenly fell silent, watching with awe and surprise at the sight of her friend who she had thought had died standing up with those same shaky movements. Her face showed her joy and tears ran down her face both from how horrified she was at what was happening and the pure joy at realising Index had not been done in by a mere bullet to the head.

But Itsuwa could not enjoy the same thing.

On the contrary, the events of this moment were so terrifying Itsuwa felt rooted to the spot just from the mere fact she could understand them. The simple fact she could do even that told of her mental fortitude but the Amakusa magician could rapidly feel it fading as she trembled with pure fear.

What was happening in front of her was impossible.

And the fact it was the magician Itsuwa thinking those words that hammered in how drastically out of place and terrifying what was happening was.

Index had entered her John's Pen Mode.

That in itself was terrifying to say the least.

John's Pen was the defence mechanism for the now 103,001 grimoires inside Index's mind, for the purposes of protecting her when she could not use mana usually. When her body and/or mind were pushed to the limits, in order to protect the library that housed them, her body and mind reverted to the John's Pen mode for the purposes of protecting the information within from enemy hands. While Index usually could not use magic, John's Pen defence mode allowed her access to fearsome spells that gave inspiration and allowed her access to the 103,001 grimoires in her mind for the spells.

However, that was only when her body was in dire straits. Index, as a tool, was far too useful alive and far too useless dead. In a cruel twist of fate, it was because of her usefulness alive in being the library of forbidden grimoires that it was basically confirmed that any magician who spotted her would take her alive and forcibly take the grimoires from her mind. In the cruel world they lived in, just by merely existing and for the knowledge she was holding within her mind, Index had forsaken herself to a life of constantly being in danger and constantly being under threat of torture for the grimoires in her mind.

To that end, how wonderful and sacred was the peaceful life she now had? Questioning it made one realise the absolute beauty of the life Index was leading now when her life was such she was constantly in danger of being captured and tortured for the knowledge her.

But when that reached a point, John's Pen defence mode would take over and protect her. On the assumption she would be taken alive, Index had the perfect defence mechanism in place to protect her if all else failed.

But such did not happen with the threat of death.

If you killed Index before she had time to register the fatal wound or before her body and mind would switch over to the defence mechanism of John's Pen, there would be no reversion to that defence mechanism. There would be no time to make the switch and because of that, Index would truly die.

After all, when Index was dead, what was there to protect?

And yet, despite being shot in the head, John's Pen had activated.

Something had gone wrong and something had forcibly made the switch in the split second before the bullet had entered her brain. It was only after the switch had been made that the 'administrator' of the actual John's Pen took over and made the declaration it had.

It was impossible for Index to even be alive. As cruel a thought as that was, the activation of John's Pen when Index by all rights should have died was impossible. Something had protected her in the very last moment and made the switch to John's Pen. Yet that irregularity when there should be a body on the ground was not the only one.

It was the words Index had spoken.

There was an internal compromise within John's Pen.

Itsuwa had also been sent to Academy City for the purposes of observation. Observation of Otohime to see her growth when it came to her being a magician but also that of Index.

In her time in London, she had read a new grimoire: Message of Thelema, written by one Aleister Crowley. Whether it was this grimoire causing the problem or had caused another grimoire inside Index's mind to react unfavourably, it was during that time in London that Index's mind had been taken over by a sentient grimoire. It had only been through the strength of will and mind that belonged to that grimoire library that she had fought it off but the problem Itsuwa had been tasked to watch over had still remained.

Basically, that of the sentient grimoire that had previously controlled Index taking over her mind once again.

Because if that ever happened for an extended period of time, that meant that grimoire not only had access to its own knowledge but also the knowledge of 103,000 other grimoires. The danger, literally, to the world that would cause would be too drastic to even bear.

And it had gone beyond a mere hypothetical at this point.

John's Pen administrator privileges had been relocated for the purposes of awakening Index from her unconscious state and countering the internal compromise within her. The internal compromise was most likely that sentient grimoire trying to take over Index's mind and was possibly the reason why Index had even survived being shot in the head: the sentient grimoire had taken a hold of Index's unconscious mind after she had passed out when the bullet had pierced her skull.

The fact it had managed to seize control in the mere moments after she had passed out and before the bullet entered her brain and protected her told of the grimoire's fearsome power and abilities in itself.

And yet, now that the administrator of John's Pen had relocated to awaken Index and deal with that sentient grimoire, what was currently inhabiting the body of Index and had access to over 103,000 grimoires now?

It was not John's Pen, that was awakening Index and attempting to deal with the sentient grimoire running rampant within Index's mind.

It was not Index: she had passed out when the bullet had pierced her skull but was not dead as the bullet had not entered her brain.

Which meant there was only one option.

The being in front of Itsuwa now, the being who now had access to over 103,000 grimoires, was the sentient grimoire that had taken over Index's mind.

It was the grimoire attempting to snatch Index's mind away from her and was the grimoire that now had access to the power of over 103,000 grimoires.

It was this exact situation that Itsuwa and the entirety of the Anglican Church had feared. It was this situation where Index lost in a mental battle with that grimoire and had it take over her body and use the power of the grimoires inside her for whatever purpose that everyone had feared happening in the first place.

And, just like in the case that Otohime went too far down the wrong path that she was irredeemable, Itsuwa had been given her orders.

If in the case of Kamijou Touma being unable to save either of those girls, she had been given her orders on what to do to them.

Index right now was not herself.

She was the sentient grimoire that had taken over her mind in John's Pen mode that now had access the power of the forbidden library. The mere statement of that fact should have been enough to urge Itsuwa to action but instead, her entire body froze as she stared at the girl.

'Index' had completely straightened now. Her body seemed more lifeless than actually alive, her head dropping and her arms by her side, like they were branches swaying in the wind. The sound of continued gunshots and yells echoed through the air but nothing was heard or said by those girls who stared at 'Index'.

A sizzling sound echoed through the air, barely audible over the chaos. Smoke came from Index's head as she kept it down, something that smelled like flesh being burnt along with the rusty smell of blood entering the air. Everyone who could see what was happening went white in the face as they stared at the sight, before something fell from Index's forehead.

The bullet, smashed and squashed a bit after hitting bone, fell to the floor with a small 'clank'. It bounced once but the fact it had been ejected told of the power of the grimoire controlling the mind of Index right now. No one who knew her dared to say anything, as if they were watching an illusion play out before their eyes and wanted desperately to maintain their sense of confusion as to whether Index was herself or not.

If they received an answer, something would change.

And that uncertainty of what it would be pressed down on their hearts.

Itsuwa gripped her spear, Otohime next to her being the only one who stared in awe and amazement despite her broken features of the death that surrounded her. Itsuwa knew what she had to do, knew her orders. Kamijou Touma had failed to save Index and right now, it was the job of Itsuwa to ensure she dealt with this threat before it turned into something even greater and horrible.

She knew what she had to do.

She knew her role and had resolved to do it with everything she had.

But even then, Itsuwa wavered.

It was only natural given how she had formed a connection with this girl. It was normal for her to waver in the face of the decision and the order she had been given. She grit her teeth in that small moment where she hesitated. It would do no good and she had a job to do but every single fibre of her being screamed at her in the chance for there being another way, another solution despite there not being one whatsoever.

But it did not matter.

The sentient grimoire controlling Index did not wait around for the emotions within Itsuwa to sort themselves out.

It acted.

With the power of 103,001 grimoires behind its disposal.

What was driving its actions now?

Revenge?

A desire to test out the new body it controlled?

Or merely the desire to move and experience the world when it had been previously nothing more than a collection of magic?

Itsuwa did not know.

But it transformed the hell she was facing into a one-sided slaughter like she had never seen before.

There were no sounds, laugh or a declaration to harm.

Only a single step forward.

But that was all that was needed.

Perhaps it was because of the sentient grimoire acting and not because it was John's Pen entirely that 'Index' did not speak. She did not need to as she shot her way forward within an instant, crossing the distance and touching the soldier who had shot her.

But again, for that sentient grimoire with the power of 103,001 behind it, that was all that was needed.

Within the single touch, the man did not scream. There was no time for that as he merely crumbled into dust, his entire body falling apart. As if the very bonds keeping his body together were destroyed, he faded into dust without anything keeping him together.

The soldiers around 'Index' did not even wait or scream for their fallen comrade. Instead, they turned their weapons on her and fired, some of them throwing the small explosive glass containers towards her for the chance to envelop her body in the explosion that would follow.

The bullets were struck down in mid-air by an invisible force, slamming against the ground and the containers were the same as well. 'Index' did not even look as the area where she was was enveloped with an explosion so bright it burned the eyes of those who looked directly at it and they cried out and turned away. The men who were close enough to be enveloped in the explosion burst apart in a mess of gore and blood but for 'Index', to even think such would affect her in the state she was in laughable.

Like a wave the explosion around her parted, splitting off into two around her and sending a wall of flames behind her. If there was any relief on the other side of Kisaragi Motors and Unergy in that they had an ally on their side, it was entirely lost as their forces were enveloped in the destructive explosive force that had split around 'Index'.

Those who were not blown apart either lost limbs or were thrown so viciously against the walls they broke bones. Screams filled the air with more ferocity now as the soldiers did not care one way or another, firing without discrimination towards 'Index' while John's Pen worked to fight the internal compromise within it.

John's Pen had suggested seeking shelter to prevent oneself from being exposed to this threat while it worked to deal with it in the interior.

But would that even work? It was ridiculous to think so and the crimson magic circles in the eyes of 'Index' turned to face the soldiers firing upon her. There was nothing in her eyes as she rose a hand and pointed at one of the soldiers firing upon her.

His entire body burst into flames, the man screaming as he writhed on the ground and slammed his body, trying to put out the flames as best he could but finding nothing would work. However, 'Index' rose her finger and pointed at another man, the flames that danced around the first leaping from the man and jumping towards the second.

The first had been burning for less than a second but the charred and blackened remains of what had once been a human made the second man scream as he realised his fate. Bullets flew towards 'Index' but like a barrier was erected around her, noting touched her, the bullets being slammed to the ground before they even struck her.

The man was enveloped by the flames and another soldier, covered in red and gore roared, leaping forward with a knife and brandishing it towards 'Index'. He moved past the area where the bullets were being knocked down, seemingly having entered a safe zone, thrusting the knife forward.

He touched the bare and white skin of 'Index' with the tip of the knife…

Only for his own head to be flung back as the knife entered 'Index's' skin yet appeared within his own head. Blood flew and towards 'Index'. She reached out a single hand and let a blood droplet catch onto her finger before turning and spinning on the spot.

Like a LED light, the area around her shone with the same blood red colour of the man who was falling to the ground, her eyes in the same emotionless state. The line she had formed with a single drop of blood transformed into something else entirely in mid-air, transforming into a variety of different sized circles that hovered in the air around her.

It was Itsuwa who went even further wide eyed at that sight, grabbing Otohime's head who stared at the fighting 'Index' with both horror and awe on her face and pulling her back behind her cover.

"DON'T LOOK AT IT!"

Her allies had no idea what Itsuwa screamed, what was going to happen or what was going to follow. The only thing they registered was a single emotion in Itsuwa's voice.

Fear.

The true fear at the unrestrained actions of 'Index', controlled by the sentient grimoire within her mind, filled everyone and they immediately turned their heads away, throwing themselves underneath the cover or just plainly hiding their eyes from the sight of what 'Index' was doing. But even if they did not have to watch what happened, they heard the screams.

The magic circles that surrounded 'Index' glowed once and the men who were firing upon her and directly watching her froze up in an instant. Even though no one could see it, the shine of the magic circles imprinted the same image on their pupils, that of a red and glowing magic circle.

But that was all that was needed for the trigger for what was to happen next.

Electricity shot out from the magic circles surrounding 'Index', striking the same magic circles imprinted on the eyes of those watching. They screamed as the power surged through them, turning their entire bodies into burnt remains within an instant. The smell of burning and cooked flesh wafted through the air and the bodies of those struck hit the ground, parts of their fragile and burnt bodies breaking off and covering the ground with the remains.

For those who had been carrying the small fragile glass canisters, the moment they hit the ground, they smashed and broke apart. The element inside was exposed to the air and instantly caused numerous explosions that engulfed those nearby who had luckily escaped the spell 'Index' had sent their way. There was nothing that they could do to protect themselves as the raw power of an explosion ripped into them.

It carved through their body armour like it was nothing and coloured the walls, roof and the floor with red once more. The iron smell of blood filled the air like oxygen and men screamed, those left staring at the monster in front of them with fear. Not even knowing what to do, they held their guns in front of them, not even bothering to pull the trigger from the knowledge there was nothing they could do.

No one fired upon 'Index' or each other. Was that because they were all too frightened or because those who had caused the infighting, those with the personality of Kihara Kamui in the security forces of Circuits and Chips, were all dead? The reality was unknown and it was questionable if that was a good or a bad thing.

But the only thing that 'Index' did was continue on with the killing.

She, or rather the sentient grimoire controlling her body and mind, rose a finger and pointed once more at another man. He froze, stiffening as 'Index' drew her finger straight down in a vertical line. The man did not move, standing there in that same frozen position before shifting slightly.

But not to escape.

Instead the left and right sides of his body fell in opposite directions as the invisible blade cut him in two. A line going from the tip of his head to the bottom of his crotch formed in his body and he fell apart like he had been roughly glued together, the other men around the area going wide eyed as they realised one thing, which should have been obvious from the start.

They were never going to win this.

The moment 'Index' had taken the stage, they had lost.

Some of the men screamed but for a different reason, dropping their weapons and fleeing.

"W-Wait!"

The shouts of someone else filled the air but they were not listened to. The men who ran turned down the hallway where the girls were and ran for the exit, not even bothering to hide the fear that coursed through them. 'Index' stared at the fleeing figures and tilted her head, her emotionless eyes filled with magic circles regarding her enemies with indifference.

No, given her power, were they even enemies?

It felt more like they were prey meant to be hunted and killed without restraint.

The magic circles in her eyes widened, covering the area in front of her as she stared at the men fleeing. The magic circles did not just cover the area in front of her, they went past the roof and the floor; they were that big. But the fact the magic circles could only partially be seen did not matter. 'Index' did not even bother to speak, the only thing being that simple and cold gaze as she stared at the fleeing men.

All sound and light vanished a moment later.

Something like an explosion filled the air. The afterimage it gave was that of a line going from where 'Index' was to the fleeing men, indicating it was a beam of some sort that had shot right through the air and pierced the men in the back. But again, that was nothing but an afterimage.

What actually happened was entirely different.

The men simply collapsed, holes in their backs and chest that were singed around the edges. A burning filled the air and once more, cooking flesh did as well. They did not even make a sound and no blood came from their wounds; whatever had hit them had been so hot that it had entirely cauterised the hole in their chest. They merely fell to the ground like their power had been shut off, not one of them having survived.

Silence filled the air as it came clear to everyone there that of the original forces, there were only two left. Out of the group trained as professionals and were machines in their work, only one from Unergy and Orion Phoenix remained, both hiding behind the same cover.

A single girl had so easily destroyed their entire force and the silence that came over the two professionals was killing them on the inside. The other man stared silently over the edge of the cover and at the pure white nun who did not even have a drop of blood on her despite all the killing she had done. And that monster moved, stepping forward towards the men she had just killed and further into the hallway, moving closer to the girls there and the men too.

Only the sound of footsteps resounded through the air, the girls hiding behind cover not even bothering to look up as they trembled in fear. This was their ally they were talking about, 'Index', so they should have had no reason to hide themselves, but their hearts told them one thing.

They were scared.

Of that simple nun, they were absolutely terrified. No one wanted to show their faces, holding themselves behind cover and realising their sweat was racing down their bodies so fast it was uncontrollable. Their hearts pounded in their chest and the sound of breathing was so heavy it was like a weight on their souls. The absolute terror given to them through the actions of a simple girl was enough to reduce them to that simple state and they held themselves extremely still, not wanting to move or even breathe.

They did not know the girl who was in front of them now.

It was as simple as that.

The girl who was walking and had killed so many was not Index. That simple fact was enough to make the girls reluctant to even face that monster who had so coldly done what the others had not done in the act of killing. No one wanted to be the one to pop over their cover and reassure 'Index' that everything was fine: they valued their lives too much and they were too absolutely terrified to do anything about it.

Meaning the only thing left was the fear and the desire to hide from the horror walking down the hallway. Did she sense their presences? What would she do when she approached them?

Those questions were left in the air as 'Index' walked through the hallway slowly, before stopping. It was so quiet one could hear a pin drop and the moment the footsteps stopped, something else happened. The sound of twisting feet suggested 'Index' was turning and the way it was so far off in the ears of everyone else made them realise it was not them 'Index' was turning to.

Perhaps fascinated by the terror or merely wanting to view how far the terror was from them, everyone turned their heads and watched the monstrous figure as she had stopped in front of the people closest to her. Given she had been killing the soldiers beforehand amid their grouping without even breaking a sweat and was walking towards where the girls were, it was clear who she was going to reach first.

The soldier from Unergy and Orion Phoenix as they hid behind cover.

No one could see their faces, but both stared at the girl above them, watching and not even moving as she stared at them. She had fully faced them now, not even bothering to speak as she regarded them as one might an insect. Neither the soldier or the mercenary did anything or held their guns, realising surrender was useless and the only thing left was to determine the whim of a monster.

And that whim made itself known a moment later.

'Index' bent down and reached out her hand to touch them both.

But that was enough for the soldier, but not the mercenary, to act.

The man turned, embracing the boy mercenary with both arms into a strong embrace, the boy's broken left arm causing him pain as he winced. But in the right blue eye as the other was hidden by his long bangs, Orion stared at the soldier in both shock and surprise.

"Wh-What are you-…!?"

"If I didn't at least manage this…"

The words were soft but, in the silence, everyone heard them.

"…Faith-tan would be sad."

That was the last thing he said.

'Index' touched the man.

But that was all that was needed.

A shockwave came from the man's chest despite being touched on the back, the power that surged through him being that strong. Something cracked, he gagged and the sound of blood bursting from a body filled the air, spraying once more against the walls and the floor. With Orion being held in the man's embrace, blood sprayed all over him and he gagged, some of the blood entering his mouth.

The man holding him collapsed and fell to the side, holding the bloody mercenary in his embrace even now. There was nothing left of the man and his corpse hovered over the body of the stunned boy mercenary. He stared at the corpse on top of him before slowly turning his head to face the nun standing above him.

She pulled back the hand silently and repositioned it, holding it above Orion's head like he was being blessed. However, the reality was he was being cursed by the most unholy figure there was: a sentient grimoire who had taken control of the girl's body. He breathed heavily but did not avert this eyes, staring at the girl as slowly, truly slowly, reached for him.

And the sound that erupted out almost took the life of everyone there.

But it was not the sound of Orion screaming.

It was the cold and mechanical voice of someone else entirely.

"Administrator privileges restored. Consciousness restoration initiated. Sufficient recovery of the mind of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum has passed the required amount and the internal compromise has been successfully suppressed. Original settings will be restored."

That was all that was said.

But it was enough to change the tide of the battle entirely.

The magic circles surrounding 'Index' disappeared and she stood up, straightening herself and looking as though she had received a shock to the entire system. She hung there for a single moment before collapsing backwards, hitting the ground with a 'thump' and merely lying on the ground, still and unmoving.

Her eyes were closed and for those watching, it looked as though she was merely sleeping. Her silver hair spread out behind her and the silence that filled the air was overwhelming, all eyes on the girl on the ground as she lay there as if nothing had gone wrong and nothing had happened whatsoever.

Nobody dared to move. Nobody dared to even speak as they stared at the lifeless figure of the girl on the ground, her chest rising and falling with her breaths. The horror of what had happened was enough to press down on them and merely looking at what 'Index' had caused was enough to make them freeze up on the spot in terror.

Everyone, save one, had died.

Their bodies and blood lay around the area as if it were a shooting gallery and the stench of the blood hit everyone like an invisible wall. The silence was killing them and the lack of movement from the hallway stained red made it look like a picture rather than real life. The sensation of the blood and the smell was what made it feel real and it was overpowering in its ability to make even the most hard minded individual stop and pause.

Everyone had no idea what had happened.

They did not know it was Kihara Kamui and his personality which had made the security forces go against each other. They did not know that Aaron Gracestone and his security forces had been tortured to the extent they had had their personalities overwritten by Kamui and had resulted in this hell.

But it did not matter.

The only thing left was the smell of death and the victory everyone else had been given.

Yet, in their hearts, with the deaths that surrounded them, it made them feel like they had lost.

Movement came into the eyes of the girls who watched the scene, stunned and unable to even get their thoughts across and translate them into commands for their bodies. It came from none of them, so it came from the single mercenary who was the only one left alive from the hell 'Index' had created. He stood up shakily, his colours of black and white entirely changed.

He was now covered in nothing but red.

The blood of the man who had died protecting him covered him and dipped down his body. Orion's face and his white shirt were covered with that sickly colouring and the way he stared down at his body made him seem like the deadest figure out of everyone there despite being the one who had survived up until this point. He did not tremble, only staring at the death that surrounded his body, the bandages that covered his hands covered in a blood that was not his.

He simple stood there, before moving in the same silence that possessed everyone watching him.

With his only useable hand, his right, he reached into his trench coat; battered, frayed and bloodied and pulled out a single handgun.

Which he pointed at the sleeping Index.

"W-Wait!"

The shout was one that came from numerous voices. Orion did not even move, pointing the gun down at the girl on the ground who was sleeping but the way his finger rested on the trigger made it seem as though a single breath or wrong movement would be enough to justify the taking of the life on the ground.

The people who belonged to those voices did not move from where they were, the fright taking a hold of them as they slowly adjusted to the hell. It was with slow and trembling bodies they stood up, using the wall for support. Itsuwa, Kongou Mitsuko, Kazakiri Hyouka and Misaka Mikoto all watched the bloodied mercenary while saying those words, slowly adjusting themselves to the sensation of death that surrounded them.

Itsuwa, as a magician, lifted her Friuli spear and readied herself for action. Being someone who had resolved to fight even through death for the sake of her own goals, she stood firm, even if the hands gripping the spear shook slightly as she held it. She pointed it right at Orion, who did not move or was shaking, but only staring at the sleeping girl on the ground.

"D-Drop it. Now."

"…"

"Drop the gun."

Again, silence.

Orion stared down at the girl who had killed some many of his comrades, Itsuwa slowly approaching with her spear. Orion, whether it was because he was so focused on Index or did not care either way what Itsuwa did let her approach until the tip of her spear was pressed against the side of the mercenary. He said nothing as the threat was made obvious, Itsuwa speaking once more as she got words through her mouth.

"I said drop the gun."

"…"

"…There is no meaning in killing her. Y-You saw her, didn't you? The one who ki…The one that did all this is not the girl who is in front of you now. A-Avenging the people who died and trying to balance the scale will not achieve anything." Itsuwa found that her throat was dry but it was not that which struck her the hardest.

It was the fact she barely believed her own words.

Yes, it was true Index on the ground now was not the one who had killed everyone. It was the sentient grimoire who had been controlling her. John's Pen Mode had redirected its focus to suppressing the sentient grimoire, or the internal compromise, which it had done and had successfully restored the consciousness of Index and her mind.

But who said that that would never happen again?

Who said this would be the only instance where it would happen?

And if it did happen again, who would die? For the decision made here, who would be the one to suffer?

Yes, Index was not the one to blame. She had only been controlled as a matter of misfortune and her actions were not her own.

But…

There was meaning in killing her.

The fact that killing her now could potentially protect so many others and potentially prevent her from killing more when the sentient grimoire had access to 103,001 grimoires was protecting so many. Just looking at the numbers, killing this one girl to prevent her mind from being taken over and prevent her from harming anyone else was more than enough justification for taking her life.

Who knew if Index would be able to push back the temptations of that grimoire?

Who knew if John's Pen would be able to suppress it next time?

Who knew how many people would die next time if something like this happened?

Itsuwa had been given her orders on the off chance Kamijou Touma failed to put her on the right path. And the fact the possibility she had dreaded had eventuated meant her head was telling her the completion of her orders were what she had to prioritise above everything else.

For the sake of protecting everyone else, she had to make the decision she didn't want to.

But because Itsuwa did not want to do it, she did not. Right now, by seeking to preserve Index's life, even if in her heart she knew what the right choice would be in this matter, she was refusing to go through with her orders.

Was that weakness?

Itsuwa did not know but the fact she was betraying her orders despite knowing in her heart that killing Index now would solve so many things before they happened made her conflicted. There were thoughts and chaos moving through her head as she pressed the edge of her Friuli spear into the side of Orion. It was that one motion which got his attention as he stared at her with his right blue eye, blood dripping from his face. He coldly regarded her, while not even moving the handgun from where it was.

"…This is not about balancing the scales."

"…"

"Killing her is a justice. I have no idea what happened. I don't want to know either. But for a fact, I know that this monster killed all of us. Without even breaking a sweat, without even getting a drop of blood on her, she killed all of us. You think she can be kept alive after that? Killing her right now is doing the world a favour. Taking her life…is the best decision I can ever make."

He did not raise his voice but was that because he had seen death before or an aspect of his professionalism? Orion spat out those words as he stepped forward, brandishing the gun in his hand with a ferocity and a look in his eye that suggested he was going to do it.

"…It won't solve anything."

"It will protect a whole bunch of people. A whole bunch of people who will not have to die because of this…monster on the ground here. Yes, she had a reason to kill us. We gave her that reason with our guns and our violence. I will not deny that. But the way she did it, there is nothing in my mind that can allow me to let her keep her alive. This is the right thing to do."

"Do you really believe that? Do you really think you can take this life when you know that she is different from the person who killed your comrades? Look at her. Does she deserve the death you are going to give her, Orion Phoenix?!"

Orion paused for a moment as he stared down at the girl on the ground. He said nothing, eyes staring into him as if they were trying to look into his soul and understand his actions. But nothing on his face gave away what he was thinking.

At least, until a frown came onto his face and he turned up to look at Itsuwa.

"Why am I even talking to you?"

"E-Excuse me?"

"I have no intention to discuss the matter. I have no intention to make myself understood in your eyes. I've made my decision."

"…!"

Itsuwa did not even have time to react.

The only thing that she heard was the sound of a gunshot as Orion pulled the trigger.

Someone screamed.

Itsuwa did not know who it was but she felt herself go white as a sheet. Her grip on the Friuli spear loosened as she felt the world around her crumbling away. Her heart sped up inside her chest and she felt herself hyperventilating.

What Orion had just done was not justified whatsoever. Even if he could have reasoned with himself why he did what he did, there was nothing in truth that justified shooting the defenceless girl who could not even protect herself.

With a simple twitch of a finger, he had decided to become a murderer and kill Index for the simple fact that she had obliterated everyone around him.

Itsuwa's lip trembled as she felt something rise within him, putting strength into her weakening hands as she held the Friuli spear into Orion's side.

"You…!"

And yet…

"Please…"

A voice came out.

It was where Index was lying, Itsuwa turning her head and going wide eyed as she saw what was in front of her.

Kazakiri Hyouka was covering the sleeping Index with her body. Her face was contorted with pain and there was a hole in her clothes. While it was strange that no blood was coming from her wound, it did not matter to her whatsoever. For Kazakiri, who had acted as Index's shield, without giving explanation to how she survived or how she had gotten to her side so fast, the only thing she did was let out a voice like it was coming from a lost child.

Her voice was as soft as the lives extinguished so easily. Yet, even then, it held power.

"Please don't hurt my friend."

Kazakiri stared right at the mercenary above her, the boy staring down at her and still holding the gun in his hand. And despite the power her words held, it meant nothing to the one who held the decision of life or death in his hand.

"Get out of the way."

"Please…" Kazakiri did not respond with a negatory, only trembling as she held Index in her hands and protected her with her body. "She wasn't herself. I don't know what it was but-…"

"Whether it's one body or two, I don't give a damn. Get out of the damn w-…"

Fast footsteps had approached, Orion turning his head and staring at the girls who had made their approach. Even the calm and collected Shokuhou Misaki wavered in the face of the death in front of her, but Orion completely ignored her and the two Tokiwadai girls trembling behind her, instead staring at the one girl who was the odd one out.

"Ms. Kongou…"

The name came out with a sharpness that put everyone there on edge. Mikoto, slowly adjusting to the fact there was nothing here she could change, stood in front of her Kongou as a way of protection. Despite having failed, had Kazakiri not arrived to protect Index in time, she truly would have died from his bullet. The mercenary who was willing to throw everything away if he felt it justified was no different from a murderer and Mikoto was not going to let him sink his claws into Kongou. Given Orion's his 'enemy' had been Kongou Airlines, it was possible he saw her as being the primary cause of everything that had happened so, Mikoto stood in front of the girl to protect her.

But instead of the emotions welling up inside the mercenary being directed at Kongou, his right blue eye went wide. As if forgetting entirely about Index, he grabbed a radio hanging by his side along with his sword.

"Sir?!"

He wasted no time yelling into it but the silence from the other end made him grit his teeth and swear. Seeing Kongou seemed to have reminded him of something as he gripped the radio tighter, moving and putting it onto his belt. He brandished his handgun in his only good hand and turned away from Index and Kazakiri on the ground.

However, he did not cast aside his gaze.

"…I lost myself for a moment there. I apologise. It won't happen again."

He said what he did as if it explained his actions. And while his words suggested that him almost killing Index was nothing but a momentary lapse of emotional control, they also suggested he would not turn his gun their way again. While that would normally be enough for everyone to relax, Orion did not explain further, turning around and facing the opposite side of the hallway before breaking out into a run.

"W-Wait! Where are you going?!" Itsuwa yelled out after the mercenary but he did not so much as falter or even stop to regard the bodies and the gore he was paving his way through. The blood of the man who had died above Orion still dripped across his entire body. Orion seemed to have another objective in mind as he did not even stop to look at the girl who called out, Itsuwa turning and facing the others.

She did not waste any time and despite the scent and the wall of death pressing in at them from all sides, spoke the words and the assumption she had made.

"Orion's chasing after someone. Meaning there is someone else in this building. …And that is most likely where Kamijou-san is."

There were no other words that would have had the reaction than those words elicited. Immediately, those girls with their pale faces stood up straighter, their faces gaining clarity as they came to realise the words Itsuwa said rang with truth. If Orion was running to some other person inside this building then the most likely location for the kidnapped Kamijou would be there. That one fact carved through the minds of the others, their objective forming in their head a focus and direction once lost.

"S-So, what are we waiting for?!" Mikoto was the one who spoke those words first, but it was clear what was stopping her.

The dead bodies and the blood everywhere. Just as Orion had run through it, if everyone wanted to follow him, they had to do the same, going through the sea of impurity and death they could not avoid. The mere thought of it, the mere thought of actively going closely to those bodies and the stench they were giving off seemed to make Wannai and Awatsuki visibly sick as they covered their mouths and shook their heads.

"…No."

"I'm not going through there. I-I'm not."

Their words were ones that held fragility. No one bothered to stare at the girls who had said those things in disbelief; they were all feeling the exact same thing as well. The only reason Orion had managed to do it was likely because he had seen death before but for those who were unaccustomed to it, the fact they were still conscious held more weight to it than anything else.

Wannai and Awatsuki trembled as they shook their heads, grabbing at each other and bringing each other close for some semblance of warmth and to reaffirm they were alive. They seemed pale and the fact they were still here and standing with everyone else spoke volumes of what they were willing to do for their friends.

But it seemed even that had a limit.

Their breathing was heavy but it was clear the girls did not have the time or the effort to want to argue. With the labyrinth this facility already was, losing track of their one and only guide (even if it was unknowingly and unwittingly) of Orion was going to result in endless wandering and given what had already happened, they had no time to waste for fear of what was happening with Kamijou.

"Then Wannai-san and Awatsuki-san, please take care of Otohime." Itsuwa said calmly and without pressuring the girls, knowing pushing them here would result in nothing.

But it was the words that came from the person she had just referred to surprised her the most.

"…No."

All heads turned and looked at the sight of the person who had spoken, Tatsugami Otohime, who was partially covered in the blood of those killed near her slowly standing up. She looked barely able to walk with how pale her face was and with the shaking of her legs. Her eyes were puffy from crying and she looked on the verge of either a mental breakdown or just plain collapsing yet she still let out that word as she used the cover for support.

Merely looking but was enough to put the sight of death in her vision and that alone seemed to almost make her pass out. Her eyes went wide and seemed to waver, but she forced herself to stare directly at Itsuwa as she forced herself to control her breathing and her body. Her hand trembled and it was clear she was in no state to make demands, but she did so anyway.

"I…I'm coming with you. I…I want to make sure Onii-chan is safe and not after the fact. Please, Itsuwa." The voice she used was on the verge of begging and the immediate reaction Itsuwa had just about left her lips. However, again, the speed at which Orion was getting further and further away in this labyrinth meant she could not simply say those words and get everything over and done with as simply as that.

Otohime had given herself a Magic Name. She was no longer the innocent girl she had been before and certainly not after what she had seen and done with Magic.

Meaning Itsuwa could no longer treat her as that innocent girl she had before.

But rather, treat her for what she was.

A fully fledged, yet immature, magician.

"…Understood," Even though Itsuwa said that, the moment of hesitation that came through was enough to make her realise just how much she was wavering. With reluctance, she was letting Otohime go and with reluctance, she had let Index survive. The impact of the hesitation she had was not something she had time to analyse. "Anyone else, you need to follow closely. We can't lose Orion!"

Itsuwa wasted no time, turning around and racing after Orion.

The footfalls she made as she stepped inside the blood drew small ripples against the surface of the blood itself, something that entranced the people watching in awe and surprise. The shaking of her hands as she gripped the Friuli spear hinted at her strength of mind in focusing entirely on the objective in front of her even though she was clearly affected by what she was seeing and running through.

The way the blood kicked off the ends of her feet and into the air seemed hypnotic but the only thing Mikoto did in the face of that was clench her trembling hands and turn her head.

"Shokuhou – "

She never even got a word out as Mental Out did not waste any time, moving past her and entering the sea of blood and gore without so much as missing a beat. Mikoto stared in both surprise and shock at that, seeing Shokuhou's hands were clenched tighter than she had ever seen them before, a pale sweat on her face. It was clear the sight of death had disturbed her, but she made no note of it, charging forward with the same straightforwardness she always held.

There was nothing for Shokuhou to even say or communicate as she ran through the blood as well. Words were not needed as actions would speak rather than words.

Otohime tried to steady herself and felt something against her leg, staring down and seeing Sphynx with Othinus on his back trying to climb up her body. She blinked once, the completely normal sight filling her heart with relaxation. She reached down, picking both up.

"…Are you prepared for this?"

Othinus was the one who whispered those words to the girl. As a God of war and having caused numerous deaths before, Othinus barely even batted an eye at the bodies, even if her heart pounded in her chest at the reaction Kamijou would have. But, as that God of war, she knew the small girl holding her was someone who had to be asked that question as to fully make her understand what she was heading into.

Otohime was silent for a moment before she answered.

"No."

She trembled, bit her lip and held Sphynx and Othinus tighter to her body but even so, she took every single part of her and looked forward towards the goal she had set herself despite her shaking body.

"But I can't leave Onii-chan alone by himself. It's because I saw things like that and never did anything about them…that I chose the Magic Name I did."

Otohime wasted no time, breaking out into a run and practically collapsing as she entered the sea of blood, hearing her feet splash against the liquid. Her body trembled with everything it had but she forced down her sick and charged forward all the same, her forehead sweating bullets and her heart pounding in her chest.

Kazakiri Hyouka watched everyone leave before groaning as she slowly stood up. She reached for her back and noted that while Orion's bullet had pierced her clothes, her wound had already healed. No one had questioned it yet; they did not have the time with Orion running off as he did.

And Kazakiri already knew where she belonged in this crisis.

She followed everyone, her face just as pale as Otohime's as she carried the limp and sleeping Index. She did not listen to the cries of surprise from Wannai and Awatsuki behind her. Even though she knew she had no place in this and there was nothing she could do at this point in time, Kazakiri knew the sentiments made by Otohime were ones Index would feel. To that end, Kazakiri knew that for the sake of her friend, she had to move with everyone else as well.

She had failed Index in failing to save her life and resulting in Index turning into the 'thing' which had killed so many.

So, at the very least, she was not going to fail her when it came to making sure she was where she needed to be if she woke up in time; by Kamijou Touma's side.

Even if her body shook harder than anything she had ever felt before, she still ran through the blood and made her way forward, chasing after Otohime.

Mikoto was among those who faltered, turning her head and looking at Kongou by her side. The girl was as white as a sheet. Mikoto knew the Sisters behind everyone else would not be able to pass if Wannai and Awatsuki were in the way by staying behind but the concerns she had for those girls she had to file away in the back of her mind as she spoke.

"Kongou-san…what about you?"

There was a silence as Kongou received the question. It felt so distant with the events that had happened thus far being so sudden and fast paced it felt like a blur. It felt more like a dream than anything but the realism of the scent of death that surrounded Kongou was one she knew she would never be able to deny no matter what happened.

This was reality.

And as such, the question had to be asked.

What did Kongou Mitsuko want to do?

She had made a vow. She had made a vow to take responsibility and that vow had been shaken when she had been surrounded by death. Index had taken it upon herself to calm her down and reassure her when she needed it the most but even in the face of that, when looking at the bodies on the ground, the immediate reaction Kongou had was one that required her to pull away. Indeed, she had almost done so as well.

Just like Wannai and Awatsuki, she suddenly felt as though she wanted no part in this. The human desire to hide and protect herself was not so easily destroyed and that part of her seemed stronger than anything else now.

But more than anything else, the desire for herself to run and hide brought about disgust within her.

Hadn't it been that emotion, that desire, which had made her say such hateful things to Kamijou Touma? She had said she had hated him because of his misfortune when she was the one dishing out the greatest punishment of all. The last thing she had said to the boy when he was acting as the ultimate shield for her was that she hated him and there was no chance for him to be happy whatsoever.

She had learned of her faults. Kongou had even come here to overcome them and pull Kamijou out from the hell he had thrust himself into for her sake and yet, even though she had resolved to do that, the desire for self-preservation still screamed at her to run away and hide with her friends.

What should she do?

The answer, looking at her emotions, was obvious.

But even then, Kongou grit her teeth, clenched her fists and spoke.

"I'm…coming too."

"K-"

"Kongou-san?!"

Both Wannai and Awatsuki let out that shout as they stared at the girl who had spoken. Their faces showed their absolute shock and horror at what Kongou had said. The girl turned to them with a pale face and sweat running down her cheek and managed a smile. It felt so fake and so absolutely acted that Kongou knew it was not going to reassure them. No, was that smile made to reassure herself? She did not know but the only thing she felt coming from her mouth were words.

"This… This is my fault. I have to accept that. I have no idea what Father was up to, but Kamijou-san would never have gotten involved if it weren't for me. I have to face that. I have to take responsibility for the consequences of my actions by bringing in someone who was kind enough to think of protecting the life of someone as selfish and self-centred as me. If… If I run away here…"

Kongou knew there was no time to be sitting around and chatting. They had no idea where everyone else was heading and this was no time to be speaking about reasoning or anything else. The only thing spoken was the words of the heart, honest and unhindered in their impact to the hearts of others.

So, it was without holding back that Kongou spoke her heart.

"If I run away here, then I will always be that girl who never grew up."

Kongou Mitsuko had to take responsibility for the things she had done. She had brought Kamijou into this and running away here, not going with everyone else and not seeking the boy she had brought into this was the same as her avoiding that responsibility. It would be the same as her reverting down to the same girl she had been when all this started: prideful and thinking of nothing but herself and her friends.

Kongou had done wrong by Kamijou. She had recognised that and it was a large step forward that she had even thought to remedy that. She had resolved herself and while that had wavered, Kongou was not going to let it die completely for the sake of the growth she needed to have.

She could not stay a child any longer.

She could not avert her eyes from things that were her fault, hide behind her status as the heiress of Kongou Airlines or pretend everything had to go her way else she throw a tantrum.

She had to accept this was because of her. That everything happening to Kamijou Touma was her fault when he had entered this chaos for the sake of protecting someone as selfish and prideful as her. Even for someone like that, he had risked his life and deciding to run away from that would be the same as forgoing the pain and suffering Kamijou was going through.

Kongou Mitsuko would not avert her eyes any longer. She would see Kamijou safe and see what her actions and her problems had brought him. Even if her entire body wanted her to flee, even if she wanted to run and hide, she refused to do so.

Because she was Kongou Mitsuko.

And she was not a child any longer.

She would face what she had caused and bear the consequences of her actions, no matter the cost or what they were.

This was her resolve.

This was her taking responsibility.

There was nothing more to be said. Anything else to be said would be wasting time and that was something neither Mikoto nor Kongou had when it came to chasing after the others chasing after Orion. The thought of what she had to step through to get to her goal and to face the things she had caused was terrifying to say the least but Kongou forced the voice screaming inside her down and wasted no time.

She took off running, entering the sea of blood and hearing her footsteps against the blood as she ran. There were sounds of someone talking behind her, of Wannai and Awatsuki calling out her name and of Mikoto telling her friends they were safe here given some girls she knew would be watching out for them. Kongou was worried about what was being said but, in her mind,, the only thing she had to focus on was chasing after everyone else who had left the child version of her behind.

There was nothing wrong with hiding here.

There was nothing wrong with wanting to stay behind and not face what was to come and what had happened to Kamijou.

But for the life of her, if there was one person who had to see this through to the end, it was Kongou Mitsuko. It was her and her resolve to take responsibility for her actions and what she had caused that she needed to be the one to face them. If there was someone here who had to be the one to see Kamijou Touma, it was Kongou Mitsuko.

So she would strip herself free from the title of the child she was.

She would face what she had caused and accept it all for better or for worse.

Even if it was small and even if it meant very little in the larger picture, this was her strength.

This was Kongou Mitsuko, charging forward for the sake of others, for the sake of the responsibility she had to uphold no matter the obstacles and the challenges in her way.

And for that alone, she had clearly changed.

---

When Index had woken up, she had remembered nothing.

Given the sentient grimoire had controlled her mind and not her own consciousness, it made sense she remembered nothing. However, for the people around her who could definitely tell the 'person' she was when she was endlessly killing and the 'person' she was now were different, they neither spoke to her or responded to her questions of what had happened to her after she had passed out.

Everything had been so sudden for her it was basically a blur that not even her perfect memory could change but no matter what she asked and no matter what she wanted to know, the facts did not change even if questions remained.

And the key fact was that she, Kazakiri Hyouka, Tatsugami Otohime, Othinus, Sphynx, Itsuwa, Misaka Mikoto, Shokuhou Misaki and Kongou Mitsuko were running through the hallways of District 10's Unergy Nuclear Research Centre, chasing after the boy mercenary Orion Phoenix. He was covered in blood and left a trail of it behind as he ran, much like everyone else with bloody footprints but it was clear everyone else was chasing after him for one reason.

He would lead them to the location of another person within this facility and hopefully Kamijou Touma in the process. He did not seem to care either way that others were following him but the way his broken left arm hung uselessly by his side and his gun in his right hand, it was clear he had other things to worry about.

Kongou Mitsuko herself felt the running she was doing was working well to force down the sick that threatened to rise from her throat.

Having resolve was all good and well but charging through and running through the hallway of death where there had been blood, bodies and gore was not going to prevent her from feeling the panic that had rushed through her as she charged through that. Even now, her head raced with images of the sights she had seen as she had run through that and it was only the desire to take responsibility for everything that had been her fault that she had even found the courage to move through all of it.

But even with that desire and courage, there was nothing going to stop the memories of running and passing each and every body and feeling the blood underneath her feet from passing through her mind. Even remotely recalling it made Kongou want to throw up and she felt as though she was covered in the blood of the people she had stepped on to reach this point.

It was horrific.

Those simple words didn't even remotely sum up what Kongou was feeling but she felt as though if she stopped, everything would hit her at once and she would break down into a mess of chaos and panic.

She would never forget what she had done merely because of her desire to charge forward. She would never forget what she had to step through in order to reach her goal and despite Kongou knowing her goal was important, the horrific feeling that came with it was one that seemed to never fade.

The stench of death seemed overpowering to her and clung to her skin like a magnet but as she raced forward and lost herself in the exhaustion of running, it did work to distract her mind.

Explanations to Index who had woken up had been quick but the way she had acted as though nothing had gone wrong when she had outright murdered soldiers without even batting an eye was so different to the person killing that Kongou could only think it was an entirely different person who had killed those people. The words Itsuwa had said to Orion without Kongou really understanding them made more sense to her now.

Did she want to fully understand them though? Kongou did not know and the questions hovering in the air were ones she felt were OK being unanswered. Index had asked plenty of questions about what had happened and what she had done which also went unanswered but wanting no memory of the one-sided massacre, no one bothered to tell her of what 'she' had done.

It was questionable whether the Index now had been the one to do it after all.

Whatever the case, the only thing that resounded through the air were the rushed footsteps as everyone chased after Orion who would supposedly lead them right to Kamijou. He said nothing and the exhaustion everyone was feeling was clear in how their bodies were gradually slowing but everything seemed to change within an instant with one simple action.

Orion Phoenix slowed down.

Immediately, with that one action, the thoughts, questions and what was going to happen were thrown into the air, everyone who was following losing themselves in the present. Orion showed no intention of stopping and waiting for the girls behind him, not even turning and facing them as he stood in front of a door and wasted no time whatsoever.

He moved fast, as expected of a professional even though his left arm was broken.

He tossed the gun in his right hand above his head, grabbed the doorknob and flung the door open as fast as he could, grabbing the gun above his head and burst into the room without so much as wasting a single second. He held the gun forward, yelling out.

"Sir?!"

The girls behind him caught up now Orion had stopped, watching him as he froze inside the room he had entered.

The room itself was covered with paper. From the bottom to the top, even the walls, it was covered with documents with letters, characters and numbers scrawled across them. The font was too small to see at this distance and the way the papers overlapped with each other made it hard to see anything written on them. However, the papers in the room was not the immediate sight that drew the eyes of the girls as they stared past Orion.

It was the blood and the single body with its head blown off in the room itself.

The blood came from the left wall which seemed to have been a glass pane before it had been smashed. It created a trail along the floor, as if the owner of the blood had crawled from the smashed wall and into the centre of the room before the same blood trailed back to the wall itself: whoever had created it had gone from the wall to the centre of the room and the back again.

But while that left things to the imagination, nothing of the sort was given to the body lying on the same wall. Remnants of the head were splattered across the ground in a mess of both red and grey but if there was anything else that stuck out in the growing pool of blood forming where the head had collapsed, it was the features the others could barely make out.

Red hair, something that seemed fiercer than the blood seeping from his head. The colour, the way it was laid out and the body it was attached to only fit particular criteria in the minds of the girls watching, Kongou rising her hands up to her face to suppress a choked gasp at the horror of what she was seeing.

She knew who that was and had truly wished he had died when he had pretended to be her fiancé as an excuse to harass her to get to her father to stop some sort of deal happening with Kongou Airlines. She had truly wished harm upon that boy but now he was dead, she felt truly sick.

Kisaragi Maeda, the heir to Kisaragi Motors.

For how great he had been, how handsome, the only thing left of him now was a mere shell; head barely there and brains splattered against the ground in a mess of blood. The silence made it seem as though the sight of the dead body was one stabbing into everyone else but the one to act was none of the girls but rather the individual who was more accustomed to what he was seeing.

"…Shit."

Orion swore, holding up his handgun and turning to the left as if trying to see past the glass wall that the trail of blood was leading to. And in that one simple action, his right blue eye not hidden by his bang widened as he held the gun in his hand forward.

"You survived? Well now, that can easily be remedied."

Another voice came through the air, one mostly everyone there recognised as they had heard it so many times over the past few days. But no matter what Aaron Gracestone said, it was the events that happened immediately after that pierced into the eyes of those watching.

Gunshots erupted out from out of nowhere, slamming into Orion's body. They were not merely arbitrarily shot, from the way Orion's body recoiled from the gunshots, it was clear where he had been shot: in the left side of the chest, where his heart was. There was no cry of pain or shock, merely the sound of gunshots slamming into Orion's body as he was thrown backwards, hitting the ground and spreading blood against the white floor.

His body went limp from the gunshots that had pierced his heart. He fell to the side, moving out of the doorway to the room covered in documents and the silence that came over everyone else as they watched a boy die right in front of them gripped their hearts.

Gasps and pained breaths filled the air from the girls watching but they did not even have the time to scream, the sound of another door opening resounding through the silence in the air. The door closest to the one Orion had opened was pushed open from the inside, a single soldier emerging from the depths of the room he had been in when he had fired at Orion and killed him.

He froze for a single moment, assault rifle still in his hands as he stopped and stared at the group of girls he had not expected to be standing in front of the room when Orion had so recklessly entered. Without even taking a moment to pause or to be surprised, he tossed himself backwards into the room where he had come from, the other girls going wide eyed as they fully realised they had been seen and were essentially standing in an open hallway without any cover whatsoever.

They were sitting ducks and the pure instinct of survival that gripped them was one that forced those who had peace of mind to move fast.

Itsuwa, Mikoto, Shokuhou and Index all threw themselves to the ground and crawled into the room Orion had opened for them, forcing themselves to ignore the dead bodies on the ground of Kisaragi Maeda and Orion Phoenix. They moved with haste, flush against the wall that was essentially their cover. Sweat poured from their bodies as they heaved their frantic breaths at the suddenness of the kill made, Otohime holding Othinus and Sphynx, Kazakiri and Kongou standing with shock on their faces they had seen someone who had survived thus far killed so easily.

They had survived as well and yet, someone who was like them, Orion, had been felled without so much as a fight. Nothing was certain and the fragility their lives still formed despite Otohime having the SCALE spell and Kazakiri being an individual formed from AIM fields who had survived a direct bullet to the back did nothing to make their hearts stop as they realised the knife their lives were being balanced on.

The only thing that made them react and throw themselves to the ground was the single voice that came through the air.

"Oh? There are more of them? Given how none of them approached us now silence has fallen seems to suggest they are against us. I thought the Heartless Hunter, Orion Phoenix, would put up more of a fight after those rumours of his heart being unable to be destroyed but I guess rumours are just corrupted data after all. A bit of a pity he was killed so easily after all that was said about him… But if Orion is dead, the only people left are going to be…!"

A face popped over the edge of the cover without holding any hostility or caution whatsoever. But even then, the blood covering his face made it seemed as though the boy staring at them was maddened beyond salvation, the grin on his blood stained face further increasing that impression.

Aaron Gracestone, with his brown eyes and hair stared at the girls using the wall as cover with a sick grin on his face, his eyes sparkling with interest as he looked at them trying to remain as protected as possible.

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~! Well, if it isn't Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki? Along with two other faces that are not that well known to me. Kamijou Touma really is quite the character to attract such people, isn't he?"

Aaron's words immediately put the other girls on edge as they scrambled from the wall as a reaction to flee from Aaron which in turn placed them further into the room they had been hiding in. Aaron smiled, clapping his hands together as he shook his head. It was in that one small movement that the girls realised the mistake they had made by moving away from their cover and safety.

And that mistake was obvious as they saw the soldier from before pointing the assault rifle he held right at them as they walked into the open room.

"Now, now, let's not do anything reckless, shall we?" Aaron's voice held an interest as he smiled, leaning over the edge of the broken glass wall and letting his arms dangle over the edge. The girls froze, Aaron pointing at them and at the open door too. "I only ask you and your little friends all manage to line up in front of me here. I don't think I will have to tell you what happens if you move or hide any of them. And I know how many of you there are; soldiers are surprisingly alert about that kind of thing."

Aaron spoke lazily, indicating to the soldier who had seen the other girls before. It was hardly a threat given who exactly he was pointing the gun at: two Level 5s, a magician and Index but the lottery of who the soldier would shoot in the occasion of them disobeying his orders meant there was a 25% chance he would shoot the person that, at all costs, must not be harmed and killed no matter what.

Because if the soldier shot Index, then no one was sure whether they would survive or not. Perhaps on another occasion, the girls would have put up more of a defence but with the sight of what they had seen Index do when she had been shot and having her in a similar position once more was enough to make them reassess being as reckless as they could have been.

The chance of Index being shot and killed, in turn releasing 'that' was enough to make all the girls put their hands up in obedience. The impact and the weight of the deaths they had seen was perhaps another factor which added to their lack of resistance, the weight of the things they had seen and experienced causing them to be more cautious with their lives.

They had all seen how easily lives could be taken away.

And hence, they would do anything they could to preserve their own.

It was to that end, to make sure the girls standing in the room and being held at gunpoint that the other three girls complied, moving with their hands and with shaking bodies into the room of documents. They passed the fallen body of Orion Phoenix, trembling as they did so and it was with new eyes that Kongou saw the sight of the room adjacent to the one they were in.

It was covered with blood.

The walls, the roof, what was in the room and what Kongou could see on the floor was covered with red. It was splattered like a child had flung a paintbrush with paint on it everywhere and the stench of iron filled her nose, causing her once more to feel the sick threatening to rise from the stomach. She forced it back, noting there were only two people inside the room adjacent: the soldier and Aaron Gracestone.

The body draped over one of the desks was of a girl Kongou did not know. Her hair was grey with white streaks and black tips and what looked to be an ahoge was as lifeless as the rest of her body.

But that was all.

There was no one else Kongou could see inside the room but with the desks in the way, it was hard to tell whether there was anyone else.

Kongou stared at Aaron Gracestone, the young boy of Circuits and Chips and noted his face looked as though he had been punched numerous times. Blood streamed from his nose and tissues were inside of it too but as he leaned across the edge of the broken wall and tilted his head. He grinned, staring at the girls as if eyeing the victims he was going to choose next.

"Is this all of them?" Aaron asked, turning his head. The soldier moved forward, past the desk with the body of the girl draped across it and nodded.

"Well, this is a crowd. But I'm more surprised to see you here, Mitsuko. Did you come here because you really loved me, after all?" Aaron's voice held mocking in it, a cold cruelty that stabbed at Kongou.

"Go to hell."

"Hahahahaha! Well, I suppose that would be the proper response. After all, you can say that it is me who is directly responsible for everything that happened. But for the fact you are all here…that must mean everyone else upstairs is dead, am I right?"

The way Aaron said it so nonchalantly and carefree made Kongou lurch. Her eyes went towards the body in her vision, that of Kisaragi Maeda and she once more felt the images of the death and gore she had seen pass through her mind. She trembled and turned her head, noting Otohime next to her was just as pale as everyone else. Even so though, she held her ground, clutching the doll and cat in her arms tight. Only Index, having read between the lines but not knowing what exactly had happened expressed shock at the way the reality was so easily thrust before her, despite having guessed it.

The silence was enough of an answer for Aaron.

"Wow, that must have been messy. But, then again, it did serve as an interesting experiment."

"E-Experiment?!"

Kongou choked out that word. She saw Mikoto tense in the corner of her vision, grit her teeth and clench her fists in anger but the only thing that came to Kongou's mind was a pure anger that coursed through her entire being.

"Y-You decided to let people die…for the sake of an experiment?! Come to think of it, it was Circuits and Chips who attacked everyone else first and caused the infighting. A-Are you telling me all that senseless killing…was for the purposes of a mere experiment?!"

"Yeah, basically."

The words and emotions Kongou was feeling as she let loose her words were countered easily with a response that felt more like Aaron was ordering from a menu. Kongou felt herself blanch, her mouth opened wide and once more feeling she was going to be sick.

The disconnect between what Aaron was saying and what she had seen with her own eyes she could not even bear to look. She turned her head away and covered her mouth to force what was coming through it back down. The chill she felt come up her spine from the way the words were said caused her to want to collapse but it was with shaky legs and trembling knees she remained standing all the same.

Aaron, on the other hand, did not even seem to care what he was saying.

"Although it did not really seem to work. Hell, nothing I did seemed to work. There's a rock there I've been chipping at for ages in the past few minutes, but then again, Rome wasn't built in a day. I'll just have to expand my approach, you know?" Aaron said as he pulled his hands away from each other when he was said the word 'expand'.

There was a childishness in his voice but the utter sick feeling coursing through everyone as they stared at the boy so young saying such poisonous words caused them all to turn their heads away and force themselves to focus on the one thing they had come here for in the first place.

"…You kidnapped someone…didn't you?" Mikoto spoke, her anger barely being contained at the trigger words Aaron had said. He tilted his head in a cute way before smiling and nodding.

"Oh, yeah. Kamijou Touma. In a way, you can say this was all his fault."

Those words alone made everyone there force their minds to focus. Whatever unnecessary things had been floating in their heads was all dispersed and, in its place, came both concern and anger at the words said.

"…It's what?"

The words Shokuhou Misaki said were so icy they could have killed someone if they had been immersed in them but the way Aaron sat there and merely waved a hand in front of himself with his superior position made it seem as though he did not care at all.

"Yep. It's his fault. Every single death up there was because of one Kamijou Touma."

"What…are you even talking about?" Itsuwa asked, her voice shaking as she found herself trembling. There was an answer there she could not hear but she knew she needed to hear despite knowing nothing good would come of it.

And it was arrived.

"Well, you see, I wanted Kamijou Touma to break. So, I simply said every single death happening upstairs was because of him. That it was all his fault and people were dying because of him. The beating he gave me as a result of that…well you can see for yourself." Aaron arbitrarily waved at his own face and the blood covering it, but it was the words that sent the others who knew him well into a sea of ice itself.

Kamijou had been told deaths had occurred because of him.

While the case was the same for MINUS when they had done their attacks a few weeks ago, this time, the deaths caused were closer and yet, Kamijou had been unable to do anything about it. The absolute pressure in the knowledge people were dying because of him and yet being unable to do anything about it as smiles were lost with no meaning whatsoever was something that would have pressed at him from all angles, would have given him so much grief and so much pain that a simple death would have seemed like nothing in comparison.

The boy who wanted to ensure everyone had the chance to go home smiling had been blamed for the fact people were being unable to do that.

What exactly would that cause?

What exactly would that create?

No one knew but the chill that went down the spines of those who knew him was so unbelievably icy it was hard for them to collect their minds and form words to the things they were feeling. The mere thought of the pressure given to Kamijou in the knowledge of what was happening would have been so overwhelming the others could barely even comprehend it.

But among those who knew him, it was the voice of someone else who broke through the silence.

"That…would not have been enough to break him."

No one knew who said it and no one really cared. But it was Othinus who had spoken stared at Aaron with her one eye narrowed as she easily said those words. She did not speak from the standpoint of being hopelessly optimistic but rather from the standpoint of a horrible experience she had put Kamijou through.

Killing people in his name and forcing him to watch as he had been unable to save them?

That was merely one of the infinite hells Othinus had put Kamijou through in order to break him.

But even then, Kamijou Touma had not broken.

So, with that knowledge and that experience Othinus spoke in defiance to Aaron, the boy trying to figure out who had spoken but nodding once in turn. The silence indicated silent shock, whether it be because they knew everyone upstairs was dead as a way to torture Kamijou or because they tried to imagine the state Kamijou was in right now given the deaths above had been placed on him.

Even Othinus's words, despite being true, had provided no consolation on the matter as Aaron spoke once more.

"Oh, you are absolutely right. He screamed, let me tell you. Kamijou Touma screamed like you would never believe and it was beautiful. But he didn't break, as is noted."

Was there relief? No one knew what emotion was in their hearts as they felt themselves unable to simply state they were 'glad' it was the case. Deaths had been put on Kamijou's soul and that was something he had to accept despite not wanting to. How exactly that would have transformed him, if at all, no one dared to think about or even consider. History would not change and the cold reality that gave weighed down on the hearts of those listening.

But for whatever chills they had, for whatever things they felt…

It was only the tip of the iceberg.

"Yeah…he didn't break at all. Sure, he screamed. He beat me into whatever submission he wanted but he didn't seem on the verge of snapping."

Aaron Gracestone spoke, before breaking out into a sinister grin.

"So I tortured him."

Everything stopped.

No one breathed.

No one was even sure if their hearts were still working as Aaron stared at the girls with that same grin on his face that held unhidden madness and chaos within it. He nodded once as if enjoying the expressions on the faces of everyone else before rising and placing his hands together, before spreading them out and spinning on the spot.

"See this blood? The average adult holds around 5 litres of blood but who knew there would be so much of it!? I just kept cutting and cutting into him, but it never stopped. The human body has so many wonderful mysteries to it, doesn't it?!"

Everyone slowly stared, looking at the blood in the adjacent room on the walls, the roof, the desks and the floor. Although it had held the same iron scent as the blood in the rest of the facility, it had suddenly gained more meaning, a heaviness filling everyone as they stared at the blood. They opened their mouths to say something, but nothing came out, staring at the blood in the other room with rejection and a shaking passing through their bodies.

"Even more amazing is the fact he remained conscious throughout the entire thing! I mean, sure, I focused on that left arm of his but seriously!? What is that? Come on, you guys, you don't believe me? That's no fun! Here, I'll show you. Come and see my handiwork thus far!"

Aaron leaped up, everyone watching him and jumping as they saw the boy circle around to a desk blocking the view of what was behind him. He bent down to grab something there but in the moment he had disappeared, everyone there had the exact same thought running through their mind.

They should not see what was there.

But no matter how much their bodies and their minds realised they were going to reject what they were going to see, they still were forced to see it no matter what they thought and no matter how much they wanted to deny what they were going to be shown.

Aaron Gracestone, the source of his madness unknown, did not even bother taking a pause as he grabbed at the 'thing' behind the desk and brought it around, so everyone could see it.

And with each movement, the horrible reality of what they were all staring at came to meet them head on. Gasps came from choked throat, hands were lifted to mouths and some stepped back in shock, shaking their heads while others stared with trembling hands and bodies.

It was Kamijou Touma.

That was undeniable.

But all the girls there had never known until now how much they wished it was not him.

Blood covered his face and body, his eyes looking as though they were not even observing things but instead some off-world place. There was light breathing but even then, that seemed more horrific than anything else; it gave proof to the idea he had been conscious the entire time for what had happened to him, his lack of movement indicating how traumatic what had happened to him was.

The only part of his body that was touched was his left arm.

But the state it was in was enough to make the girls staring at Kamijou want to break down.

It had been carved open.

It was barely hanging on to his body, small bits of muscle being the only thing keeping it in place. The cast and sling it had once been in had been ripped to shreds and in its place, the remains of the left arm hung gruesomely. There were numerous cuts along the surface of the arm, but a single cut was the one that stood out the most.

And that was the cut that went from the centre of Kamijou's wrist to the tip of his shoulder, where the arm had been opened like it had been dissected.

The white bone could be seen and it was broken in numerous places, blood coming from the open arm and dripping onto the ground. The cuts made alongside the arm in places only produced more blood. It looked as if the arm had been dissected for science but with the fact the arm was still attached to Kamijou when it had happened, the physical and psychological torture it had to have produced was the only reason that it had been conducted in the first place.

Kamijou's fingers all had incisions along their frame, his fingernails having been removed with what looked to be the fine work of a professional. Each finger was bent at an abnormal angle and if there was any hope at all of the arm having a full recovery, that thought was entirely lost from the blood streaming down it. No one could see the skin underneath as the arm hung lifelessly, the person it belonged to conscious but not even mentally there. His eyes were distant and that in itself brought more horror to those watching the scene.

Aaron Gracestone, covered in his blood and likely Kamijou's, dragged Kamijou's body towards the wall dividing two rooms and threw Kamijou's body onto the ground roughly. There was a snapping sound as the muscles holding Kamijou's arm in place snapped from the trauma made, but that in itself was all the trauma needed.

The muscles holding Kamijou's arm in place all ripped from his body, Kamijou's body hitting the ground and the left arm separating entirely. The amputated arm which had been roughly removed plonked onto the ground, merely sitting there as Kamijou lay on the ground, unmoving but still alive and barely conscious.

Was he even responsive anymore? It was hard to say but the only thing Aaron did was speak.

"So!? What do you think?! He still didn't break all that…but I definitely think I'm on the right track, don't you?!"

There was a sound.

It was impossible to think it came from a human mouth, but it did anyway.

Sparks flew through the air without restraint, a remote was grabbed, a spear's tip was pointed, fists were clenched and a battle stance was maintained but even in the face of those 'humans' releasing their despair and pain into the air, the only thing Aaron Gracestone did was click his fingers.

And in that one moment, the soldier holding their assault rifle at the girls pointed at it Kamijou, a silent threat that held more weight to it when it had been pointed at them. That one action acted more as a leash than anything else and the girls who had unleashed that sound from their mouths stared at the soldier holding the gun with nothing short of rage in their eyes. The mere fact they could make such an expression was terrifying to say the least as the air burned with hatred.

Those girls who were frozen stiff in pure shock and horror at what Kamijou had been put through for the sole purpose of breaking him felt themselves on the verge of collapse. They tried to get out words from their mouths but the only thing that came out was the sound of choking and horror.

Kongou herself had tears streaming down her eyes as she stared at the boy in her vision. His now amputated left arm and the way he lay there on the ground proved to be the straw on the verge of breaking the camel's back and she felt something rising in her throat once more. The hands to her mouth were the only things holding it back but in her mind of chaos, one thing was clear.

This was her fault.

Kamijou Touma had been put there, was in the state, because of her.

The weight of those mere words and that raw realisation pressed down at her so hard that she collapsed to her knees, trembling and crying in the face of what she had caused and what she had done with her own hands. Otohime next to her trembled in much the same way, tears rolling down her cheeks as she shook her head back and forth, taking steps backwards as if to distance herself from her cousin who seemed more dead than alive.

Index stared wide eyed at the scene, realising in the back of her mind that for as long as she lived, she would never forget this. She would never once forget the scene in front of her now with her perfect memory or the emotions coursing through her body as she stared at the fallen form of the boy, entranced and horrified by the sight of someone who had done so much not just for her, but also for others.

"You son of a bitch…"

Mikoto's words burned with an anger that was not even bothered to be hidden but Aaron showed no signs of caring.

"W…Why? Why do this to Kamijou-kun? What in the world did he do to you?" Kazakiri was the one who spoke, words formed through her trembling mouth as she stared at the conscious but barely such Kamijou. Aaron tilted his head, seeming to think for a single moment before opening his mouth.

"A reason? You want a reason for why I did what I did?"

"If it is even possible for such a piece of absolute slime such as you to have reason ability, then I would like to hear such. Because if anything, that is going to be determine how far I push your mind into the depths of torture myself when I get my hands on you."

Shokuhou Misaki's words were icy but Aaron grinned, tapping his chin with a single finger.

"A reason. A reason… I would say interest. The proper reason I would have for this would be for interest purposes. But, even using that an excuse, tearing off his fingernails was going a bit too far."

"Th-Then why?! Why in the world would you do that to Touma?!"

Index screamed out, tearing her eyes from Kamijou on the ground and staring at Aaron, the boy blinking once before once more tilting his head.

"Do I need a reason to hurt somebody?"

Those words stabbed into the minds of those watching. The words that, changed a little, held so much power and worth in them but had been changed even the tiniest bit to produce one of the worst sentences known to man. The girls stared at Aaron Gracestone, the boy smiling and spreading his arms out in front of him with a grin on his face.

"I'd say that'd be about right. Reason to hurt? I don't need something like that. I hurt Kamijou Touma because I wanted to. I wanted to see the building blocks of his mind crumble down into oblivion and I wanted to see the shell he would become if I pushed him far enough. I wanted to see him break and I wanted to watch the very moment in which his mind smashed into a thousand pieces. That was all. You can say I did it because of some massive reason…but in the end, I didn't really have a reason. I merely did it…because I wanted to."

No one said anything, staring at the boy who had spoken with a look of absolute disgust and horror at the things he had said. It was only Kongou, her vision of Kamijou being blocked by the wall as she had fallen to her knees who found herself able to speak.

"Who are you? …The Aaron Gracestone I interacted with over the past few days was nothing like you. He was nothing like the madman in front of us now. So who the hell are you and what have you done with Aaron Gracestone?!"

Like how the Index who had killed the soldiers and the one standing there in shock at what she was seeing and committing to memory were different, in her heart, Kongou truly felt as though the Aaron Gracestone who had been harassing her and the one in front of her now were entirely different. The awkward boy who had been a genius and the chaotic madman in front of her were two entirely different people and the disconnect between who they were and their actions pressed down heavily on Kongou's mind.

There had to be some kind of mistake here.

She had to believe the boy in front of her was not really Aaron Gracestone and that it was someone else entirely.

"Now, now, Mitsuko. you want to know who I am? That's easy enough. Because I'm not the Aaron Gracestone you once knew. I took him and tortured him until I had the ability to implant my own personality into his mind. You can call him a carbon copy of me, except in a different body. Not exactly a clone but not exactly someone entirely different either. But if you're looking a name, I will gladly give you one."

Aaron bowed once, his small form showing respect but with the body behind him it was hard to think of it was being such.

"My name is – "

He never got another word out as something changed.

Without warning, the sound of something burning filled the air, all heads and eyes turning towards the source of the sound. Eyes went wide as they turned and saw the source of the burning: the girl who had been killed and whose body was lying draped over the desk where she had been killed. Blood streamed from the hole in her head, but it was with wide eyes that everyone watched her and what was happening to her.

The wound in her head was closing.

The sizzling was coming from her wound, the skin formed around the edge of the wound looking as though it was burning. Smoke rose from it like it was steaming hot and, like a tape playing in reverse, the wound itself was slowly edging itself smaller and smaller. Everyone stared in both shock and surprise, Kazakiri speaking.

"That's…not an esper power…"

As a being comprised of AIM fields, her words held an authority to them that could not be denied, Index going wide eyed as she stared at the sight as well, making her expert assessment.

"It's not Magic either!"

Itsuwa and Otohime were the ones who went wide eyed at that, staring at the girl and watching her wound close with their throats going dry and their minds going blank. What was happening in front of them if it was neither the product of Magic or Science? It was neither of them who had the answer but rather the enemy with them that provided it.

"A Gemstone!?"

The name of a natural esper, someone who did not reproduce the same AIM fields as other espers because of their failure to enlist in the Power Curriculum Program to gain their power filled the air but whatever her title, the girl's wound closed entirely. In fact, it was not possible for her to be anything else given the power she was showing was not Magic or Science. The steam rising from her wound disappeared, leaving nothing but a clean spot on her grey hair that contrasted with the red of her blood which stained parts of her hair.

The ahoge on her head which had previously been limp slowly moved, rising and sticking itself up straight, as if being an indicator of her life.

And a moment later, the girl rose her head, eyes distant as if she had been sleeping. She blinked once, staring at everyone else in front of her with those same sleepy and distant eyes, no one even daring to move as they stared at the unknown element who had made its way onto the game board.

The soldier pointing the gun at Kamijou was the one to move first, pointing the gun from Kamijou and at the girl. As she lay on the desk, draped over it, she went wide eyed, throwing herself to the side and off the desk as the bullets slammed into the desk where she had once been. She hit the floor hard, scrambling up just as the soldier fired another burst at the girl.

But it was the fact the soldier pointed the gun at the Gemstone girl that was enough of a trigger for the others to act.

"Y-You idiot!"

Aaron was the one who yelled that out, but he never once got the chance to move, Itsuwa racing through the air and stabbing him right in the left arm; the same arm which he had tortured on Kamijou. The tip of the Friuli spear sank in easily into the flesh. Blood burst out from the wound as Aaron screamed, Itsuwa using her body weight and pushing both her and Aaron onto the ground where she pinned him in place.

The soldier faltered for only a moment but again, that was enough for the Gemstone girl to move in response.

She kicked off the ground, racing and grabbing the gun in the soldier's hands and pushing him back as the other girls leaped over the edge of the wall divider and into the other room. The soldier looked back and through his helmet gritted his teeth before sending his head back and slamming it into the girl's forehead.

She grunted with pain, the cut on her forehead from the blow once more letting off the same smoke as it closed. She grinned, spinning and causing the soldier to twist around as well, her blue eyes showing anger and hostility.

"I don't know if you were the one who shot me…but you caught me off guard. When I'm alert, you don't stand a chance. Not to mention you fired first. So, you don't get a chance out of this."

The girl wasted no time, pushing back against the soldier as he stumbled but she had already begun her next move. She reached for the leather gloves covering her hands and took them both off, letting them fly as she reached for the neck of the soldier and grabbing it with her hands. However, she did not tighten her grip and attempt to choke him, instead sending her fingers through the gaps in his armour and touching the exposed skin underneath.

But that was all that was needed.

Smoke rose from where the girl touched the soldier, the man screaming as he discarded the gun, reaching with both hands for the hands touching his neck but it was already far too late. Within a mere instant, before he even got his hands to his neck, like he was losing all form of mass and muscle, the clothes he was wearing looked to be too many sizes too big for him, shrinking and losing the tightness they had around his body.

He screamed but the sound was lost, the clothes looking as though they no longer were around a man as his body disappeared entirely; no muscle or body for the clothes to cover.

They collapsed to the ground, looking as though no man had ever worn them. The sound they made when they collapsed to the sound sounded more like bones hitting the ground than flesh. The girl left standing in front of the clothes on the ground, what had once been a man, watched the girls in front of her who had vaulted the dividing wall and had gathered around Aaron on the ground, who she regarded with sharp eyes.

But she never said or got the chance to say anything as Itsuwa spoke.

"…You said you didn't need a reason to hurt him, didn't you?" Her voice was cold and Mikoto by her side let loose sparks from her bangs as she stared at Aaron, Shokuhou holding the remote in her hand forward and pointing it right at the boy.

"Hehe…" Aaron let out that gasp as the girl who had killed the soldier moved back into the room to collect the leather gloves she had discarded. She looked through the girls standing in front of her and went wide eyed as she saw Kongou, having realised something and returning her head back further into the room.

"Touma? Touma!"

Index, by Kamijou's side now, called out his name over and over again, grabbing him and staining her pure white habit. She did not care in the slightest, the look on her face telling of the pure fright. Otohime, Othinus, Kazakiri and Kongou were the only ones with her as they stared at the limp form of the boy, who barely seemed to register anyone was near him.

His breathing was light but the weak heartbeat that came through was the only thing that Index even registered that told him he was alive. His amputated left arm sat on the ground in a grotesque display of biology and Index held Kamijou closer to her, trying her best to bring warmth to his otherwise cold body.

"What goes around comes around, isn't that right?" Mikoto spat out, her eyes so cold they barely looked human. Something buzzed in the air; iron sand. It collected it her hand, forming a small knife that sat in her hand as she stared at Aaron, spitting out blood from his wounds.

"And there is certainly going to be more than that coming your way, you bastard." Shokuhou spat out without holding back either, using words she rarely used, if never. Aaron on the ground kept the same grin on his face as always, breathing and speaking despite it all.

"I-Is that so? Well then, do your worst. I can only hope you have the courage to face Kamijou Touma after what you're going to do to me. It doesn't have to be through mental or psychical torture. Even losing connections close to someone is enough to force someone's mind to break. So, can you face him after everything you are going to do to him? As you cast yourself away from the guilt of what you do to me, what will the effect on Kamijou Touma be? Or will you not turn away from him and try to continue your normal life despite what you're going to do to me? Either way, someone will break. And that is fine by me."

Itsuwa, Mikoto and Shokuhou stared down at the boy beneath them who smiled despite the blood staining his teeth. They grit their teeth, finding the words Aaron was saying pierced into them harder than they thought possible.

…If they did what they were thinking of doing, then how was Kamijou was going to react? How would they react in turn? It was possible that by doing something so unspeakable they would be cutting off something they could never afford to cut off and the idea of it pierced their souls as they watched Aaron on the ground.

What were they to do?

Revenge?

Or let Aaron go despite the atrocities he had committed?

They never got an answer as footsteps appeared above them. The girls looked up, seeing the grey haired girl with the ahoge standing above them. Her blue eyes were looking down at them, no, at Aaron beneath them. The boy stared up at the girl with the same grin upon his face.

"And as for you, Faith. I thought you were rather easily to kill."

"I have no idea what's going on, but did you really think it would be the case? I mean, our client hired us specifically despite you having those macho men in full tactical gear. And the threat you were dealing with was some super-duper threat about world security nonsense too. Did you really think Orion and I were just average mercenaries when we were the only external force brought in?"

"Well, you say it like that, I realise my folly."

"Yeah, when I say it like that, I sound pretty badass, don't I? But then again, Orion isn't like me at all so I'm the badass. Orion is just bad. Or an ass. You can pick. His ass is also pretty bad though, but that's a conversation for another time."

"You cheated. With your power. Nicely played."

"As Orion would say, I'm the Captain of the S.S Bullshit Powers! I really like that term because it makes me think I'm the leader of something large, hard and full of seamen. Kiddos, don't say that in front of your dorm manager. It's not going to end well."

"You are a disgusting human being." Aaron spat out with disdain before he let his lips form into a smile. "But I did do something that will get even someone like you to break."

"?"

"I killed your partner. The Heartless Hunter did have a heart after all, at least, one that a bullet could pierce."

Faith's eyes went wide as she looked up, spotting the figure of Orion Phoenix against the wall with numerous holes in the left side of his chest, where his heart was. Her mouth opened but closed, Faith falling silent as she sighed, rubbing the back of her head.

"Sorry. …But he's not dead. If you're trying to kill him and you shot him in the heart, then there's no way he's dead."

"Don't tell me that he's the same as you!?"

"Did you even listen to me? I said he's nothing like me, didn't I? He's completely different. And I'm not just talking about ass. That heart you think you shot? It doesn't exist."

"What!?"

"You three," Faith did not even bother responding to the words Aaron let out in outrage despite being pierced in the left arm. She turned to the girls who, frankly, could not keep up with the conversation the girl called 'Faith' was having given their own emotional turmoil and what was surrounding them. In her eyes, the jovial nature she was using to annoy Aaron (which seemed to be working) was entirely lost, replaced with a serious air. "Are you seriously going to do what you're thinking of doing? I can see it. I can see nothing you are going to say is going to convince you otherwise and I have no right to stop you. But this motherfucker is right. If you walk down this path, something is going to change. And something will break. It might be formless but what will break will have more meaning than you can think. …Can you handle that?"

There was silence. Even though the three girls knew what they were going to do, what they wanted to do at the bottom of their heart, the impactful words of the stranger were more than enough to make them waver. They knew what they wanted to do but the impact of what they were going to do to Kamijou was going to change something. Perhaps it was formless and perhaps it meant nothing…but something would change.

Could they accept that?

Could they accept whatever changed was because of something they had caused?

Even if they said 'yes', that was because they did not know what was going to change. But what if whatever changed if they went through with hurting Aaron was something they did not want lost? What if it was something they did not want lost no matter how much they wanted to hold onto it?

There was more than just a life on the line here.

It was their innocence.

Their innocence to hold onto the same everyday life they always had with that spiky haired boy. If they went through with whatever they were planning, some part of that, either big or small, would change drastically.

Were they prepared for that?

Were they prepared to lose what their actions would cause them to lose?

Itsuwa, Mikoto and Shokuhou all opened their mouths to say something but fell silent. Aaron underneath them grinned all the same, the girls turning their heads away from the sickening sight and staring up at Faith above them. She said nothing but the way that they looked at her was something she looked at with kindness and nodded her head.

"…I'm at fault for this too. I…" Faith turned and stared at Kamijou on the ground and in the crying Index's arms. "I said I would make sure no harm came to him. So I'm going to have to pay for the fact I was unable to do that," She turned back to face the girls. "But I'm not going to have you girls stain your hands when there is nothing you want to lose from doing so."

"We can't just leave this bastard. For what he did…he deserves to burn." Mikoto said as she gripped the iron sand knife in her hands, staring down at Aaron beneath her.

"And he will. But not at the hands of you three. Because that is a path you can never turn back from. It will be in your history no matter how much you want to reverse it and no matter how much you want to change it. There is a strength in stepping back and moving away. So, show that now. Care and don't kill. There is someone that deserves your attention more than this bastard, isn't there? He's pretty cute too, so you have to take care of him."

There was nothing more than needed to be said to make Shokuhou move. Her eyes went wide as she trembled, moving her remote and turning back to face the others where they lay with Kamijou. Mikoto watched her go and did the same, letting loose the iron sand knife in her hands despite the emotions running through her. Itsuwa slowly, making sure it hurt, pulled her Friuli spear from the left arm of Aaron. He winced, slowly getting up as Faith knelt down to his eye level, both people staring up at Itsuwa who looked down on them.

Everyone from where Kamijou was turned and stared at Aaron with the same hateful glance, not having the resolve to end this through killing him and going down a path where they would surely lose something. Even so, that in itself was a mark of strength those girls had as they stared at him.

Itsuwa was the one who spoke, looking at Faith and not bothering to stare at Aaron.

"What are you going to do?"

"The job of shitty adults."

Faith said that without even once holding back and moved.

It happened without warning.

She used both gloved hands to grab the side of Aaron's head which was facing away from her and twisted without even showing a single moment of restraint.

With a cracking sound and with a single motion, the neck of Aaron Gracestone broke.

His body slumped, lifeless, his eyes open in shock and the girls staring at Faith with wide eyes, the girl standing up and breathing slowly. She looked up at them, not even bothering to say anything and walking over towards the divider separating the rooms in between her and the other side of the room.

Itsuwa, Mikoto and Shokuhou were the ones who turned to follow her with their eyes, realising in their dark hearts that what Faith had done was not take their thunder: they had been incapable of mustering the resolve of killing or harming Aaron because of what they would potentially lose from Kamijou in the process of doing such. Instead, Faith had merely acted on her own, taking a life as easily as everyone else in this building.

But the fact the others did not hate her for it showed their own dark hearts. Justice, in its own twisted way, had been served as death had been dished out to the person who deserved it the most.

What type of ending was this?

The girls did not know but they did not yell out at her for having killed the person who deserved to face trial for what he had done: he had merely done so much to the person they cared for that they could not think it was that cut and dry. So, they did not tell her to stop, scream at her for having killed or tell her that she had betrayed them.

Even if they did, they would have believed none of it.

What did they feel in their hearts? What were their emotions on that matter now Aaron had been killed? Not even they wanted to look into that dark part of themselves.

So, instead, they merely called out to her given it was obvious what she as going to do.

"Orion…he's dead," Itsuwa was the one who said that in a slow and careful voice. "He was…shot in the heart. I'm sorry."

"So am I," Faith responded, vaulting the wall and approaching the mercenary on the ground. "Because if that was all it took to kill him, he would have had a much easier life."

Faith did not say anything else, approaching the mercenary on the ground and looking at his bloodied body not from his own blood. No one could see her face as she gave a light kick to the side of the mercenary as if to test out something.

And yet, despite being shot in the left side of the chest, right in the heart, Orion Phoenix groaned.

"Sleeping on the job? That's not like you."

The girl called Faith spoke with light hearted words, but unlike when they had been said to Aaron to annoy him, these ones held a small amount of sadness within them.

Faith shook her head, reaching down and lifting the boy as if it was an easy task, placing him over her shoulder like a bag of rice. He groaned again, the girls who had attacked Aaron staring at the action with wide eyes, questions racing through their head.

Faith had said that Orion was not a Gemstone with similar abilities to her, let alone a Gemstone period…yet how was he alive after being shot in the heart? The obvious question filled their heads and yet, Faith turned to them, her eyes sorrowful and also kind despite it all.

"I'll call an ambulance as soon as I get outside. …It might not mean much at this stage but I'm sorry. From the bottom of my heart, I am truly, truly sorry."

That was all she said as she moved out of the room with the mercenary over her shoulder.

There was nothing else after that.

The only things left were the tears and the girls surrounding Kamijou as they wondered where exactly everything had gone wrong in this incident.

And why it was, as always, Kamijou Touma who acted as the shield for the suffering dished out to anyone and everyone.

But even those tears did nothing to solve the situation.

So as some cried and some stood there in blank shock, the ending they had reached was revealed for what it was.

Where had it all gone wrong?

There was no answer.

But in their hearts, everyone who stood around the limp form of Kamijou and cried felt as though this ending was about the worst it could ever have been.

And it was one that spiky haired boy called Kamijou Touma did not deserve to have after everything he had done for so many.

---

…

And there we have it.

So, what did you think?

What type of ending was this anyway? A lot happened but somehow, as you look at it, it really does seem as though this has a different sort of 'Index' ending than the other arcs I have. If anything, I think this is more reminiscent of the endings reached in OT 15 if anything else but while I make that comparison, I don't even remotely think this chapter can match what happened in that volume. But even so, I do feel as though the ending of this chapter felt a lot like that one volume.

Given the medium of light novels, getting into the heads of characters in each particular moment isn't something that is done. Even here in fanfiction, it's rarely done but somehow it has become something I've really developed and put a lot of work into. And I think the case in point really shows here with Kongou in this chapter and in this arc. For her especially, her mistakes are both in her actions and her character, being someone overly prideful to begin with but taken a bit to extremes with the way she treats other people, especially Touma. She essentially treats him as the way he puts himself forward: as a means to an end and for this alone, the faults in her character are ones I really felt I had to push and reveal to her above anyone in this arc.

The opening moment where she is terrified and wants to run away only to realise that if she runs away she will lose everything she has learnt is perhaps the biggest part of her I really wanted to show. The combat here, more the killing, was taken to 11 and while there is the idea of just "pushing forward", in such a situation where there is endless death, I really feel that doing so would be absolutely out of character for Kongou. Despite her realisations of her failings as a character she still desires to retreat back into them and flee from the scene and she recognises them above all else. Yet it was because she knew she had those faults she realised she had to push past them as someone who had those faults and because of it, the choice to run through that sea of blood of her own will and take responsibility for the things she did and caused really hit her hard, even more so given what actually happened and what is actually the consequence of her actions here. As Kongou has to now face what she has done with her own two hands, I hope you can look forward to how she will develop and how she will ultimately bring about the realisation of who she wants to be and, more importantly, who Touma is for the things he suffered because of her.

But wow.

Index getting the new grimoire and it being sentient never really felt like a proper threat before. After all, it benefitted Otohime in giving her her BURN spell, but never did we really see how dangerous that could be until this chapter. But for what I showed and how it was done, I hope you realised, along with Itsuwa, just how dangerous Index is and how she is essentially a ticking time bomb, waiting to explode with the grimoire in her mind. The absolute slaughter she caused rivalled anything any character in the series thus far has caused, in this fic at least, and as she stood in the centre of it all with blood raining down upon her yet remaining untouched, I only hope you came to realise that there is something here that cannot be ignored any longer. For those of you who were thinking that Index was not saying anything despite being in John's Pen, that mainly has to do with the fact that it was the sentient grimoire taking over and hence did not bother to speak.

Although the question remains; would Index have come to her senses if someone she knew was on the other end of her 'blade'? Both Index and Otohime have suddenly become greater threats here and because of it, there is something looming on the horizon…!

Itsuwa's choice to let Index live because of her personal feelings and Orion's decision to not kill her because she is not to blame really sets the 'villain' Index became apart from anything else. Is she evil? Does she deserve punishment for something that she essentially did not do? Index 'died' in this chapter, in a way different yet similar to Touma but that was mainly because I really wanted to show the reality of what was happening and how fearsome Index was after being controlled by this sentient grimoire of hers.

And the end scenes.

I had Touma basically tortured. The fact I didn't really show that is the only thing that prevents me from saying I unleashed my inner sadist but given I basically tore his left arm off, I'm on the fence about it. But the fact this even happened was something I wanted to use to show how the incident that happened here was so far removed from the usual 'bubble' of safety formed around these usually. People died and the person that could have saved them was tortured merely because Aaron/Kamui wanted to see if Touma would break. The mere fact his mind was pushed to the limit by Othinus perhaps helped him in this instance and allowed him to survive and remain conscious but with what happened to him, the only thing I can truly say is that that was nothing more than 'misfortune'.

Who was saved in this arc? If anything, I really want you to question this. Itsuwa, Mikoto and Shokuhou were borderline going to rip into Aaron/Kamui and if they had done so, something would have changed. What it was, how it was going to affect their connection with Touma or what would happen in the future were entirely unknown but the uncertainty that lies within it showed it was that preservation of what they had with Touma that trumped getting revenge on someone else who hurt him. If anything, instead of yelling 'But Aaron/Kamui deserved it', I really think that observing the decision to not give into hate but rather give into concern has a strength to it.

In this way, for those girls who stepped back, Faith is the weaker one. Although they did not flinch, scream or anything else when Aaron/Kamui was killed out of revenge for Faith, the fact she gave into her emotions when she used words to encourage the others to not do the same really gives her the role of a "shitty adult". She wasn't a hero this time nor did she dish out justice and this distinction is really what makes her apart from those heroes as seen in the series so far. Not only that but I hope her 'jovialness' felt out of place as well for you guys. In another context, I imagine what she said would have been funny but for Faith, the world that the others have found themselves in is her normal. I hope that, even if you've come to like her character, makes you realise how different she is from the rest of the cast.

But what did you think of her? I haven't had a Gemstone introduced since forever but the idea of a Gemstone that can heal any wound and is basically immortal really stuck out to me. Although her power in not as cut and dry as that, I hope you guys felt she was suddenly a really unfair character to introduce given all that happened and her ability. I even had her call it out… I sort of wanted to give that impression and contrast it to Orion, the mercenary, who one would normally think as being badass as he unleashes bullets everywhere but surprisingly, he did very little and barely survived everything he went through. Not only that but he would have killed Index?! Even though he was shot in the heart and survived, something I hope you stick onto, I'm not going to ensure he or Faith steal anyone's thunder but are just going to be characters that feel both unfair but also something of a breaker given how they are in the face of this chaos. I think you can expect a lot more 'jovial' type scenes with the chaos now that Faith was revived.

But they are OCs at this point and nothing more than that. If anything, their characters will be more fleshed out as time goes along, along with the other important OCs. I only hope that you come to like them and their surprises. Given how many people cried out for her death does her revival make her the "Captain of S.S Bullshit Powers" or make her more likeable? I'll leave that you.

This chapter was full of heaviness that really weighs down on me. Next chapter for sure, I'm going to make things lighter…

And as always,
Review if you please.

And I'll see you when I see you and I won't if I don't.

I have to admit, I cringed when I wrote that Touma's fingernails had been removed. It was such a chilling detail to write but I really felt captured the insanity of what happened to him.