Chapter 14: The Unholy Trinity

Kago knew he didn't trust the three people who got off the plane. They were foreigners, but that had little to do with his distrust of them.

The first man was in his late twenties, and wore a long dark coat to go with his black hair, which was slicked back over his scalp. His most distinguishing feature was the eyepatch covering his right eye. The second man was younger, a teenager on the cusp of adulthood, and had shaggy brown hair and wore a very well tailored crimson red suit. The final member of this trio was a girl, sixteen or so, who wore a white skirt and a sky blue blouse, with her hair tied back into a ponytail. He couldn't place exactly what country they were from, but they were some form of European, all of them. And not one did he trust.

Was it their lack of respect for Kago? Maybe. Was it their odd clothing? Perhaps. Was it the fact that even after he had greeted them, as per their request, and offered to show them around Academy City, they decided to abruptly and quite rudely murder him and steal his car? Yes, it was probably that.

They laughed as the dark one cut his throat and left him on the side of the road, no one around to help as he bled out rapidly. The suited one kicked him as he passed and the girl smiled nicely at him - almost as if what she had done was no more than a common greeting. They got into his car and drove off as darkness clouded Kago's vision.

Within a minute, he was dead.

Mikhail glanced at the rearview mirror with his good eye - to ensure no one was following them. Satisfied that no one was, he leaned back into his plush, leather seat.

"I must say, they make good cars here," Mikhail spoke with a thick Russian accent to his two friends from the passenger seat.

"Please. 30 years ahead or not, this car has nothing on the cars back in Italy," Giose chuckled as he adjusted the collar of his suit. "Did that guy bleed on me? Can you see?"

"Look at all the gadgets it's got! It's like this is one of those cars from a spy movie or something!" Lillian squealed in an English accent, ignoring Giose and leaning to the front from the back seat.

"You think all type of advanced technology is like from spy movie," Mikhail sighed.

"That's because it is here! Academy City is the place that has the most advanced tech in the whole world. It's like the entire place is a spy movie amusement park!"

"No, seriously guys, can you see any blood on my suit?" Giose asked again. Mikhail leaned over.

"My god, Giose, there is blood all over you!" He announced. Giose panicked and temporarily forgot he was driving a car. He let go of the wheel and began searching himself for the aforementioned blood.

"Where? Where?" Giose shouted.

"All over you! It has turned your entire suit red."

Giose punched him in the face and retook control of the wheel. Mikhail laughed as he sat back into his seat.

"That's not funny! This suit cost me a fortune."

"Wait, you mean you actually buy something?"

"No, but I had to kill three people to get it. One of which I was dating at the time."

"Pfft. Three people is nothing. I once had to go through an entire mall of people to get these cute pair of pumps that went great with the jacket I was wearing at the time," Lillian chipped in.

"Wait wait… entire mall? Was this in Calgary? Was that why we had to flee Canada?"

"...Maybe," Lillian admitted, looking sheepish.

"Oh Bozhe... Lillian, God's Right Seat almost caught up to us because you wanted pair of shoes you ditch a few weeks later?" Mikhail said as he turned around in his seat to face her.

"They were Louis Vuitton! What was I supposed to do?"

"Leave the shoes in the box! We had good thing going in Canada without those monsters after us. And now I learn we were discovered because you wanted pair of shoes?" Mikhail criticized.

"Relax, Mikhail. God's Right Seat is gone now, since NERGAL hit the Vatican. We're now free to do what we wish," Giose smiled. After a second, he squinted at something on the road.

"Coin's back," Giose announced, rolling down the window and reaching his hand out. After a silver coin landed in the center of his palm, he pulled his arm back in and rolled the window back up. He held the coin up to his ear and both Mikhail and Lillian grew quiet and paid close attention to Giose.

"The city is still very badly damaged from CLASS's little terrorist act. Most all buildings are damaged, but they're repairing fairly quickly. No one knows of our presence, and no one has yet found that man's body back there," Giose informed, taking the coin away from his ear.

"That is it?" Mikhail asked.

"No, but the coin is uncertain of this next part. It scanned some form of building that had no windows. It was completely sealed - no way in or out from what we know. When the coin tried to penetrate it, it failed, and couldn't scan within it."

"Aleister?"

"Most likely, but the coin isn't certain. I'll have it do a full recon of the city first, and make certain Aleister is nowhere else before we assume that. It's found us an information center in which we can find the name of our target and any other information we may need," Giose finished, rolling down the window and flicking the coin into the air, where it made a short loop and then rocketed off through the city streets.

"Next time it returns, it'll have more information on any secret hiding place Aleister may use."

"Our mission hinges on whether or not we will be able to contact him, so make it quick," Lillian said.

Giose nodded. "The coin will do its job. For now, we can find information much more efficiently at one of these public terminals in this library," Giose replied, driving up to said library.

As the three sat, squished together, all trying to get a good look at the Guest Computer they were using, Mikhail couldn't help but miss the days when "going to the Library" meant hard research and the study of many an actual book. He instantly felt much older now that he had thought that. They tapped on the keyboard a few search terms and entered them into the Student Database. A picture of a kid with a short sleeve white button up shirt and black spiky hair came up.

"That," Mikhail gaped, "is Imagine Breaker?"

"Ooh, he's real cute," Lillian smiled, moving in closer to the screen.

"His real name is Touma Kamijou. If that source from Annihilatus can be trusted, he's been hanging around the index recently," Giose said, accidentally stepping on Lillian's toes, making her release a loud yelp that echoed through the library.

"Unusual… why would he need grimoire?" Mikhail asked, scratching his chin, ignoring Lillian's outburst, but accidentally elbowing Giose.

"You misunderstand. From what I gathered, it's very likely the two have been living together."

"As in relationship?" Mikhail tried to confirm, shifting in his seat, accidentally shoving Lillian too far to the side. She tried to shove him way back so she could see the screen.

"Possibly. She's a nun, but if there's one thing we all know-"

"Nuns are total bimbos," Lillian filled in, grunting as she pushed Mikhail to the side and moved in the vacant space left behind.

"But she looks too young," Mikhail observed, moving and letting Giose and Lillian have the computer.

"We look too young to be mass murderers, don't we?" Giose replied. Mikhail shrugged.

"Would not be surprised if she is nun. Just surprised if she is bimbo."

"Well, reports say she's 14."

"She look 8."

"You look twenty-something."

"Fair point."

"What's his address?" Lillian asked, scanning the page quickly.

"Says there, at the bottom of the page. Write it down, I'll get the car."

"No, is my turn to drive spy movie car," Mikhail called after him.

Lillian squinted at the screen. "Mikhail, do you know what a Block is?"

"Block? Is cube, usually made of stone or plastic."

"No, it's saying that he lives in a Block. District 7, Block 16. What does that mean? Is that the street name?"

Mikhail shrugged. "Ask local."

"We can't just ask any random local, can we?"

"Sure. Talk to teenage boy, he lead you where you want to go. Use feminine charms," Mikhail suggested.

"Oh yes, those are quite charming…"

As they were driving, the car stayed oddly silent. They all noticed it, there was no need to verbally communicate it. The streets were empty. Completely dead. Shops still had open signs in their windows, but no one was inside. Someone had emptied them. And they all knew exactly who. She was standing in the middle of the road, directly in their path.

She had long hair, a pair of jeans with one leg ripped off, and a sword in her off-hand. Giose stepped on the break, stopping it two or three meters before the car ran into her. Mikhail looked at the other two.

"I will deal with her. Two of you continue on. Touma Kamijou must be seized," he ordered. He adjusted his jacket, checked his hair, made sure his breath didn't smell, and then got out of the car. He smiled at her as he began walking towards her. He stopped short as he realized a wire was cutting through his t-shirt and into his chest.

"Wire. Good trick," Mikhail snickered. Suddenly, a blade, about 30 centimeters long, shot from his palm, spewing blood over the ground. He brought his arm up quickly, and severed the wire and several in front of it. The woman squinted. Blood shot from his other palm, and another blade came with it. They had blue, glowing symbols etched onto them. He brought his two hands up, crossing the blades in an X in front of his face.

"I must ask you, devushka, to stand aside. I do not suppose that display here could convince you that we are not people you should interfere with?" Mikhail asked. The woman drew her blade.

"Unfortunate…" Mikhail murmured. He glanced over to Giose. The two exchanged a silent conversation, and Giose began to move the car around the woman, who, in response, moved back into the path of the car, sword ready. Mikhail whistled at her.

"Excuse me, but my compatriots would have much appreciation if you would move."

The woman looked back at him. "I don't give a damn whether or not your friends would be appreciative or not. You're not passing," she replied.

Mikhail shook his head sadly at her. "It appears, then, I must give you great incentive to move. Tell me, do you know me?"

The woman hardened her gaze. "I really don't care."

Mikhail laughed. "But you should care, devushka. All of humanity has been searching for me their entire lives, they just do not remember."

She looked half confused and half suspicious. "Remember what exactly?"

"What I did to them, devushka. What I did to you." Mikhail retracted the blade of his left hand and reached it up to his eyepatch, grabbing hold of it.

"I would ask your name, but it would be rude before introducing myself. My name is Kaina001 - Punish those who refuse to punish the guilty. You may know me by Mark…" Mikhail announced, ripping his eyepatch off. On his right eye, etched over his pupil and iris, was the Symbol radiating with blue energy. The same Symbol she had been searching for. She had seen It in her dreams. She had heard It's whereabouts from the whispers of God. And now, finally, It was here.

There, on Mikhail's eyeball, was etched the Mark of Cain.

"Now then, what is your name?" Mikhail asked politely.

At that point, Kaori Kanzaki had never felt such pure rage, hatred, and disgust in her whole life for any one thing ever. It wasn't a feeling Kanzaki particularly liked, but she understood why it was necessary. Cain stood before her. THE Cain. The worst sinner of the world, bar none. And Kanzaki knew from the moment she charged forward, pouring energy into her Yuisen, that none of her hatred was natural. Obviously, the Mark of Cain had this effect on everyone, even her. But none of it prepared her for that wave of emotion that coursed through her muscles, forcing her to attack him with everything she had, forcing her to scream atrocities at him, letting him know exactly why she was doing what she was doing.

He was Cain. There was no other reason.

She brought her sword down hard, but he stepped to the side and twisted, letting the sword pierce the concrete below and create a rippling effect that destroyed much of the street behind him. He moved forward and shot the blade sticking out of his palm towards her, and slightly cutting her arm. She quickly brought her sword around again, pouring more energy into it and swinging it horizontally. Cain bent backwards unnaturally, letting the blade arc over him.

Kanzaki cursed herself. In all of her anger, she discarded any skill she had. She was making rookie mistakes, as if she had never wielded a blade before. It was all because of Cain. That hated Cain. Damn him. Damn him to hell.

Her momentary pause allowed Cain to surge forward, piercing her shoulders with both the blades extended from his palms. Kanzaki felt her blood mix with his, and she felt like puking. The blood of a Saint mixed with that of the despised Cain.

Pain shot through her arms as she brought her sword up into his belly, letting it pierce into him. Euphoria swept into Kanzaki. She had got him. But she wasn't nearly done yet. Adrenaline pumped into her arms, forcing them to work despite her injuries. She bent her knees and pushed, launching herself into the air and doing a flip over him, bring his arms, still stuck in her shoulders, with her. Her blade flashed, and both his arms and his head flew from him.

Kanzaki landed behind him and sheathed her blade. She turned her attention to the car. The car that was gone. Most likely, it had driven off because she was dealing with that bastard, Cain. Dammit. Even in death, Cain ruined everything.

"Very good, devushka. You are more agile than I thought. Here I was thinking you were just an ordinary magician. Unfortunately, I believe I may be starting to piece puzzle together. You are Saint, yes?" Cain's voice stabbed at her from somewhere behind her. She turned, but there, on the ground in front of her was his armless, headless body. A brief wave of pleasure hit her just knowing it was his. But she looked up and saw, in horror, as he stood across the street from her, unfortunately naked.

She spotted a red spot on his hand quickly close up. Regeneration, Kanzaki thought. Why did she expect Cain of all people to play fair?

Cain got into a boxer position. He was all muscle and chest hair, everything Kanzaki hated. Whether or not she hated it before she knew he was Cain, she didn't know, but she certainly hated those things now.

Cain cracked his knuckles. "I do apologize for using my mark, but you leave me very little choice. If I knew you were Saint before, I would have tried to kill you before I had to use my mark. Unfortunate side effect of Znamie Kaina is that those closer to God hate me more. Being Saint, you must hate me great deal more than average person."

Kanzaki hated listening to his voice, so she struck again, dashing forward. As she did so, she saw him crouch and kick off, breaking his legs in the process, but rocketing himself high into the air. Kanzaki jumped, trying to intercept and swung her blade straight at his Mark. He twisted unnaturally in the air and landed heavily on his arm. Kanzaki positioned herself towards him and launched herself at him again the second she touched the ground. Cain rolled, moving out of the way of her blade. He suddenly stood up, his legs freshly regenerated.

"It is unfortunate that you have cut off my head, separating me from all those blades in that body of mine. Do not worry, devushka, I have more," he smiled. His smile grew wider. And wider. It grew so wide that his cheek tore open and a multitude of blades came from his jaws, giving him a metal grin from ear to ear. He then got on all fours, like the animal he was, and began to pounce forward toward her, each leap far further and faster than the average human was capable of.

Kanzaki brought her blade up to meet him, but he twirled in mid air, passing straight by the blade and aiming for her neck. She moved at the last second, and she felt cold metal tear into her shoulder. Cain kept moving forward, and took her arm with him. Kanzaki screamed.

Cain rolled as he hit the ground, readjusted himself, and pounced again. Kanzaki spun, swinging her blade with all the momentum she could muster. Cain twisted again, and this time went for her head. Kanzaki moved her head out of the way, but Cain managed to bite down onto a lock of her hair, and Kanzaki thanked God that his teeth were so sharp they just cut it off rather than rip them out of her head.

Kanzaki's head was swimming, partly due to pain, and partly due to the absolute lividness. She jumped and rolled, giving her as much distance from Cain as possible. She turned, and was greeted with giant metal teeth aimed at her head. She brought her sword up and stuck it straight into Cain's mouth, ripping through the top of his mouth and through his head. But Cain didn't stop. He kept going and bit down on her remaining hand. Hard. Kanzaki threw out a kick instinctively and Cain went tumbling back.

Only too late did she realize he had now taken her hand with him, still clutching the sword. Cain stood up and straightened. He grasped the sword with both hands and slowly pushed it out of his mouth, hand as well. She stared as she saw the wound in his mouth close up, before his metal teeth shrunk back into his head and his skin repaired itself. He removed the hand from the sword and held it out to her.

"Will you be needing this?" Cain asked, giving her his genuine smile. She hated him. Hated everything he was. Hated his voice, his face, his clothes, and now she hated even the sword he held. She hated every. Last. Thing. About him.

Which is why Kanzaki vomited. She had only one option. God Breaker. She had no idea how to harm him, and she needed to conserve energy for when she did know how to harm him, but she was willing to sacrifice a small portion of her God Breaker energy to retreat. She hated herself for not staying and ripping out every organ in him, just to have them regenerate back and rip them out again, just to make him feel more pain.

Pain. That was it. She needed to make him feel so much pain, he would give in. And all she needed was, as much as she now despised it, her sword and something to grip it with. She pushed her tongue around in her mouth and felt the blood. Not good. She was losing blood fast, and if she passed out, Cain would most assuredly murder her. She needed to be fast.

So she went.

She moved quickly, straight at Cain, who gripped the sword with two hands and brought it up and down again with great speed.

Kanzaki focused. Her breathing slowed, her heartbeat returned to normal, and after a moment, Kanzaki gained the ability of God Breaker.

Kanzaki stopped just short of the blade's range and let it hit the ground right in front of her. The extra boost of speed allowed her to jump forward and lean in. She opened her mouth and bit down onto the handle of the sword. She twisted her body, bringing her legs over her head and throwing them into Cain as hard as she could. Cain was ripped backwards through the air, letting go of the sword. He tumbled through the glass of a store and landed onto a table within it.

Kanzaki twisted her feet down and landed, stumbling slightly before straightening and jumping through the window of the store herself. Cain leaped up and charged at her. Kanzaki ducked low and swung her head, flicking the sword through the tips of Cain's fingers. She knew it would hurt, and she grew pleased with the satisfaction of hurting Cain. She kept spinning, quickly slicing through Cain's arms bit by bit and tearing up the front of his legs. Then when she finished, she threw her body into a strike that castrated Cain.

She kept going. She needed to hear his screams, a begging to stop. She wasn't even sure she would stop if he did so. But he was silent. He said nothing and simply stood there as she furiously whipped about him, slicing off bits of him, piece by piece, the only thing keeping her going is her God Breaker and the wonderful feeling of killing Cain. Until Cain spoke.

"Are you going to be done soon?" he asked casually, concealing a yawn.

She stopped. She wavered, standing on a pile of sliced flesh and the pieces of a broken table.

Cain stood there, letting his remaining wounds heal. "Impressive display, surely, podruga. You fight with fire in you I have not seen in long time. Shame that very strategy you use was same I thought of long ago, when I was first obtaining my magic."

Kanzaki's heart sank.

"I specifically tailored regeneration of mine," Cain continued, "to never regenerate nerve ends. I cannot feel anything, countering any attempt to torture me. But it was good attempt, podruga. Take some comfort in that."

Kanzaki turned and bolted out the window, desperately trying not to pass out. Now all of her anger turned to fear. She wanted nothing to do with Cain, or his two friends. She just wanted to run away and cry.

She looked over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't following her. When she saw his head poke out of the window, she immediately turned and kept running.

"Der'mo," Mikhail swore as he walked out of the store and over to his other body. He took off it's pants and put them on. The shirt and jacket were ruined, of course. Typical. Foreigners had no heed for tasteful clothing. That's probably why that girl barely had any clothes on anyway.

Mikhail turned to one of the clothing stores nearby and walked into it. Luckily, whatever trick that girl had done to vacate the populace was still working, so he didn't even need to kill anyone to get his clothes. He grabbed a black t-shirt that was a bit too small on him and put it on.

He almost began walking towards the direction Giose had driven, but stopped. He turned back, picked up his eyepatch and slid it back on. It'd be silly to forget that again.

Touma stared vacantly at his homework. He had stopped working on it almost ten minutes ago, so it was no surprise that it remained unfinished. He felt as though he ought to have been doing something right now. He knew why he wasn't, of course. Mikoto was gone, and Ren was dead. He still had Index, but she wasn't accompanying him as much as she used to. What he would've done for Tsuchimikado to walk up and start talking to him.

"Is… someone sitting here?" Someone asked. Touma looked up and saw a cute blonde girl with her hair tied back into a ponytail. She wore a blue blouse and a white skirt. She smiled at him.

Touma looked around, making sure she was talking to him. "Uh… no," Touma said, satisfied that she indeed was talking to him. She sat down, and pulled out a bag. She pulled out some rice balls.

"You want one?" she asked. She had an accent. European of some kind.

Oh, shit. Did I know this girl from before I lost my memory? Touma thought. "Yeah, sure, I'll take one." Whether she was new or old, there wasn't a need to be rude. Or refuse rice balls.

The girl smiled as she handed him one. Touma figured that if they had known each other, the girl would ask how he was soon enough.

"My name is Lillian by the way. You're pretty nice," she said. Touma raised his eyebrows in surprise. They didn't know each other.

"What… what makes you say that?"
"Well, I've sat at like, four tables now, and when I offered them food, they all just looked at me weird and left."

Touma blinked. "Uh… why are you sitting at random tables?"

Lillian shrugged a delicate shrug. She was pretty enough, Touma thought, that people would want her to sit at their tables.

"So… where are you from?"

"Britain. I'm on exchange."

"Where are you going to school?"

Lillian opened her mouth to give an answer, but stopped. Her expression clouded over. She turned her head slightly and Touma could swear he could hear the gears clicking in her head.

"Uh… how long have you been here?" Touma asked, moving on. Lillian's expression cleared up.

"Oh! I've been here three hours."

"Three... hours? Do you mean maybe three days or three weeks?"

"Yes."

"Wait, which is it? Three days or three weeks?"

"Yes, one of those."

Touma was aghast. Clearly, she must be confused about what he was asking. He probably should've assumed she didn't know the language all that well. Touma decided to reword the question.

"When did you arrive in Japan?"

Lillian thought hard for a moment. "3:00."

Touma tried desperately not to look absolutely confused. "You arrived… today? At 3:00?"

"Yeah! I'm so glad I finally got that across."

Touma took a deep breath. "Okay. Well, I don't want to offend you, but I have to finish my homework because- h-hey!"

Lillian had reached over and snatched up his piece of paper, studying it.

"Oooh. Tough stuff."

"Can you… do math?" Touma asked. Lillian looked at him with a confident look on her face.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I can't."

Touma almost fell off his chair. "Okay, what exactly did you come here to accomplish?"

Lillian shrugged. "Stave off boredom. I've got a huge list of things I want to do here in the city, but I kinda need a guide."

"I'm sure the robots-"

"Robots!? There are bloody robots here!?" She shouted excitedly, jumping up. Touma leaned back in his chair in surprise. Lillian quickly cleared her throat and did her best to act casual. She didn't succeed.

"Oh, I mean, like, whatever, it's just robots. Besides, I want a human escort. Someone who could tell me interesting stuff about this place as we went around."

Touma sighed. "I'm sorry, but I don't know a bunch of trivia, myself. Maybe if you found a teacher…?" he suggested.

"Oh, good idea! Wait, no… um… why would I want some old fuddy duddy to show me around when I can have a cute boy show me around?" Lillian replied, trying to flutter her eyes at him. Touma arched an eyebrow.

"I really wouldn't know anything about that."

"Oh come on, just show me around already, will you?" Lillian pleaded.

Touma sighed. "Alright, who are you guys? Another secret organization that's come and needs Imagine Breaker for something?"

Lillian looked very surprised. "What? I would never- how absurd- I'm not even… you're racist!" Lillian shouted, standing up.

"Yes, clearly, you were the best person to approach this situation," an older kid in a red suit grumbled as he walked up to the table, pulling a chair with him. He tossed the chair into place and reclined back into it, crossing his legs.

"Name's Giose. Her name actually is Lillian, despite her having several minutes for her to come up with a better fake name."

"You weren't helping!" Lillian proclaimed, slamming her hands onto the table in front of her.

"Okay, so I know your names. On the off-chance you guys don't know mine, it's Touma. So... who are you guys?" Touma asked.

"We don't really have an organizational name. The church likes to give us some label that isn't accurate - 'The Unholy Trinity'," Giose replied.

"And what do you want with me?" Touma asked.

"We have a proposition for you, but I feel like Lillian and my other associate would be better at explaining that to you."

"And why's that?"

"I won't have enough time to explain. There's a lady over there that's coming towards us. My guess is she's trying to kill us like the last one. You take him somewhere safe and tell him. Things are going to get violent here," Giose explained, standing up, buttoning the top button of his jacket and moving around the table. With a single graceful move, he jumped over the divider and into the street.

Touma looked at where he was headed. There was a dark-skinned woman with blonde hair in black gothic clothing. Touma was certain that he had seen her before. He stood up.

"Hold on, Giose, she's an ally!" Touma called after him.

Giose moved some of his hair out of the way and restyled it into some new, messed up fashion.

"She works for Necessarius, which means she's my enemy," Giose replied. He suddenly turned to Touma. "And don't think Necessarius is your ally," he continued, "You have a working relationship, but so did Germany and Poland before 1939. Now go. Things are going to get messy if you stay here."

Touma felt his hand being grabbed and he was suddenly being pulled backwards, away from the fight. He turned and saw Lillian pulling him through the throng of people.

"Lillian, wait!"

His voice was lost in the rising voices of people. Soon, Giose disappeared behind a wall of people.

Giose turned back to Sherry Cromwell. "Well, it seems you don't have a problem with involving innocents. Unless you really were just here to get a cup of coffee?" Giose asked, pulling out a pair of smooth brown leather gloves and sliding them on.

Cromwell brought a piece of chalk into her hand. "You know nothing."

Pieces of concrete began to pull apart and reform into a massive golem standing in front of her. Immediately, people screamed and began to run.

"Well, there goes all of that anonymity we had…" Giose sighed.

"Ellis! Crush him under the force of the Earth!" Cromwell commanded. The Golem Ellis raised a fist and launched it down at Giose. Giose smiled, and the arm of the giant suddenly blew apart.

Cromwell took a step back. "No matter…" she grunted.

More concrete and metal were pulled from the surrounding area, reforming the Golem's arm.

"Tsk. You lack elegance, which isn't only insulting to my senses, but to my friend's. You give the English a bad name," Giose mocked

"Do you really think you can bait me into attacking? I realize you have some kind of defense, but it really won't stop me. I'll simply plan around it," Cromwell replied, waving her chalk in the air.

Giose raised an eyebrow. "Really? You look like you're trying to swat a fly. I take it back, it's not the English you give a bad name to, it's Magicians as a whole."

The Golem Ellis, with surprising speed, took a step forward and brought it's left fist down on the ground in front of Giose. Dust exploded forward, and Giose kicked off the ground just as the pavement beneath him cracked. His legs straightened out, and he was suddenly standing in the air. Ellis' right arm came circling around the dirt, and was aimed directly at Giose. Giose glanced at it, and it exploded, sending tiny rocks every which way. Even the rocks sent at Giose, before they got too close, were smashed into dust. Cromwell saw glints of silver cross the paths of the rocks as they did this.

It's something physical, then. It's just moving fast, Cromwell thought. As she commanded Ellis to reform, she modified his reconstruction to prioritize metal objects, and move them to the back of Ellis' leg. If she could identify what it was he was using, then she could counter it. And she was very good at doing just that.

A glint of silver suddenly appeared, catching Cromwell's eye. She smiled, and took a few steps forward, having Ellis attack Giose a few more times just to keep him busy.

It was a coin. She squinted a little harder at it. There was the face of a man on the coin with a wreath around his head. All around the circumference of the coin was a strange lettering.

ETOVE NIKHE.

Ancient latin. On a silver coin.

"Had a good look?" Giose called out to her. The coin suddenly disappeared, and a giant hole in Ellis' leg was in its place. Cromwell, startled, took several steps back. Ellis tilted, and the leg crumbled under its weight. As the golem began to fall, Cromwell shook her head and began to frantically wave her chalk about, causing more rubble to reform under the stub of a leg. Ellis tilted the other way, and then stabilized.

Cromwell gave an exasperated sigh. "Those coins should be lost."

Giose nodded. He spread his hands wide. There were flashes of silver, and the numerous coins suddenly appeared all around him, evenly spaced in a sphere. Even under his feet were two of his coins, keeping him afloat.

"You have good balance," Cromwell noted.

"I've had a long time to get used to it. It's unfortunate you're not prettier, Sherry. I would have enjoyed this battle a lot more."

"So you think you can win just because you have replicas of ancient coins under your control?"

"And you think you can win because you have a terrible drawing of an angel, most likely created by a three year old, under your control? Your golem is as flimsy as paper, and as far as the authenticity of these coins go… they are most certainly the real deal. Many holy artifacts of God that have been lost or sealed away by the church over time, but as we both know very well, Trenta Denari d'Argento is very much a relic of the Devil."

Cromwell glowered. "I may not be able to win, but that girl won't be a match for our next agent. You won't lay a hand on Touma Kamijou."

Giose burst out laughing. He continued to laugh and laugh. Cromwell patiently waited for him to stop. He was still laughing. He almost doubled over from laughing. He wouldn't stop laughing.

"Ellis, go," Cromwell growled. Even with Ellis throwing several titanic blows against him, Giose continued to laugh, occasionally waving a hand at the oncoming attacks to destroy them. Giose wiped a tear away from his eye.

"I'm sorry. I truly am. You don't get the joke. You were smarter than the last person, at least… but you don't fully grasp the situation you're in," Giose explained, straightening up and adjusting his suit.

"You understand that you're a pawn, a sacrificial lamb sent to distract me, so you have that over the last whore… but you think there's really a point to trying to save Touma Kamijou? You think you're a distraction for the 'real agent' to do his work by cutting out the two strongest people of our little group?"

Giose put his hands back in his pockets.

"We've been pursued by God's Right Seat for over three years. They couldn't catch us, and even if they did, they'd have a hard time killing us. With them gone, the three of us are now the most powerful magic users in the world. There is no one above us anymore. Necessarius knows that, so they sent three loyal servants to their deaths in order to buy time. It'd be funny if it weren't so pitiful."

Cromwell stood her ground. "I've lasted a good while against you. And I'm not even the best Necessarius has. Touma could easily defeat you."

Giose shrugged. "He could defeat us. Not easily, though. And not with all three of us together. But most importantly, we're not going to give Touma a reason. True, he may disapprove of us, but we're going to ask him to join us soon. And he won't say no."

Cromwell smiled. "You know, I said it at the beginning as a mere insult… but you truly do know nothing. Touma is unlike anyone you've met before. He will destroy you. It might be as you say - that he won't do it easily… but he will. Even if it's true, that our final agent is doomed, I'm not going to let you go and help your friend when Touma decides to defeat you all, one by one. You're going to stay here and fight me for as long as I can force you to," Cromwell announced, getting into a battle position.

With a flick of her wrist, metal began flying through the air from the buildings around her, reinforcing Ellis dramatically. Silver wouldn't soon be able to pierce it again.

"My name is Intimus115 - I offer everything to my lost friend."

Giose just shook his head. "Intimus… how boring. My name is Giuda001 - show the ignorant their sins."

Sherry Cromwell traced the chalk through the air, and Ellis began to lumber forward. Cromwell made the mistake of blinking, and simply saw Ellis falling apart around her.

Giose chuckled. "These coins… they're meravigliosa. They can move at hypersonic speed, so you can't escape. They can analyze any structure, so you can't hide. They're completely indestructible, so you can't defend or attack. An overwhelming weapon. Bellissimo."

Cromwell barely felt it. It felt like something just brushing up against her at first. She looked and saw a cut on the back of her hand.

"And my favorite part is that after only a single cut, your sins will rise up to destroy you, just as it did to my predecessor over two thousand years ago. Enjoy," Giose continued, reaching out a hand and catching the coin as it returned to him. He slid it back into his pocket. Slowly, he returned to the ground and began walking away.

That was all he had to do to beat her. Was he just playing around with her from the start?

Cromwell's head got a little fuzzy and she looked at him as he slowly sauntered away. She could barely care. It was strange. The whole world seemed to get dark, but she could still see clearly. Her heart was thundering in her ears for some reason. Her movement was sluggish… was she just tired? She must've been, after all that work she'd been doing.

Cromwell turned her head forward, toward where Ellis had been.

Ellis. That's right. Didn't they have more tests to do?

Who had she been fighting? Had she been fighting? No, there wasn't a need to fight… Ellis was here, that's all that needed to be.

But Ellis was gone. There was just a strange road in front of her that she'd never seen before. All around her, there were bits and pieces of… something. Her golem, that's right. Ellis.

Bits of Ellis. All around her.

She let out a scream, but her own heartbeat drowned her out. She took several steps back, away from all the various bits of flesh that used to make up Ellis.

She turned and started running. But he was there, all around her. Everything she saw was Ellis. His eyes looked at her from the buildings, his words floated up to her from the road beneath her…

No… those weren't buildings and roads. Ellis had been flesh and blood, but now his flesh surrounded her. She had just been tearing piece after piece away to try and create some awful replication.

She could hear his words. Whispering harshly at her, torturing her.

Cromwell's knees buckled and she fell. She tried to speak, but words failed her. She wanted to say she was sorry. She wasn't sure he'd believe her.

The blood vessels. Magic and AIM Fields can't mix. Cromwell looked behind her from her kneeling position.

The buildings of Ellis were bursting. The roads of Ellis beneath her were exploding. A tidal wave of blood was surging towards her. She couldn't even scream before she was lost unto it. Not that anyone could hear her. Her heart was beating far too loudly.

"Just slow down, would you? Where the heck are we even going?" Touma shouted as he was half-dragged down the side of the street.

"Well, your place, obviously," Lillian replied, taking a corner too fast and slamming Touma into it.

"How is that obvious?"

"I jus' figured you'd know the way to your own flat."

"I can't recognize where we're going when you keep slamming me into things," Touma shouted indignantly.

Lillian stopped dead in her tracks and swiveled on her heels, causing Touma to go flying past her. He didn't get far before his hand, still connected in hers, was pulled taut. A moment later, he was on his back, staring up at the sky.

Lillian looked down at him. "Havin' a bit of a lie down, are you?"

"I really don't like you."

"You'll learn to love me. Anyway, this is where you live, yeah?" Lillian inquired, looking up at the building next to her. Touma shifted his gaze over to the apartment complex.

"Yup. Seventh floor."

"Good."

"No no, wai-"

Lillian took off again, yanking Touma along the hard pavement. She stopped in front of one of the elevators.

"Lift is takin' a while to get here… maybe the stairs would be better?" Lillian thought aloud.

"NO!" Touma cried, standing to his feet. "That's alright, we don't need to take the stairs, let's just wait a minute for the elevator."

Lillian smiled at him. "Ok!"

"Maybe while we're waiting, you can fill me in on what the hell is happening?" Touma suggested as politely as he could.

"Eh, it's kinda long," Lillian shrugged.

"We've got a while, don't we?"

"Guess so. But I'm terrible at 'splaining stuff, so don't get angry if I mess somethin' up. I'm Lillian. Hi. My friend back there was Giose, and I've got another friend named Mikhail. The three of us are… uh… whaddaya call 'em?"

"Magicians?"

"No. Well yes, but I mean the people who the church hate?"

"Uh… sinners?"

"Yeah, that's it! We three are sinners, and we were thrown out of the three different branches of the church because of different reasons, so we decided to all band together and kinda just hang out."

Touma waited for her to continue, but she just stood there, smiling at him.

"Is… is there more to it?"

Lillian blinked and tilted her head, thinking about it. "Probably. I'm probably forgettin' somethin'."

"Like maybe why you need me?"

"Oh yeah! Alright, so since we can kinda kick around and do anythin' we want, we've taken to watchin' the church and Academy City fight back an' forth for a while. It's like a ping pong match! Any time one side gets the upper hand, the other side makes a quick recovery! It's really thrillin'! Anyway, we don't want it to end, right? Unfortunately, the Church 's found a new weapon that'll pretty much immediately end the war if either side gets it so… we'd like your help to destroy it!" Lillian summarized, looking proud of herself for having remembered it all.

Touma thought for a second. "A weapon? What kind of weapon?"

"Lancea Longini. The Holy Spear," Stiyl answered, entering the far hallway.

"Ah, bollocks," Lillian grumbled, turning to face him.

"Stiyl? Hold on a sec," Touma said, stepping in front of Lillian.

"I know Necessarius is probably against them destroying this weapon, but-"

"Touma, you don't know what they're asking. Do you really believe that they actually seek to destroy it?" Stiyl asked, keeping his hands out in the open.

"That doesn't matter, I'd destroy it. If you're not convinced, then come with us. Help make sure they keep their promise!"

"Ooh… actually, that's probably not gonna blow over well with the others. They kinda like doin' their own thing..." Lillian interjected.

"Touma, these magicians aren't just outcasts of the church, they're criminals. They've murdered people, tortured people, and some they've driven to madness. They're not people that can be trusted!" Stiyl shouted down the hall.

A few heavy footfalls signified someone coming up from behind Touma. He turned, and saw a man in dark clothes and an eyepatch step forward. "We are trustworthy so long as no one try to kill us. As for you, magician, are you a Saint, too?"

"Mikhail, how did you know where we were?"

"I saw address on computer, too, Lillian," Mikhail replied.

"We all saw it," Giose spoke, stepping up next to Mikhail.

Touma turned around and faced them. "Just wait a second. We don't have to fight. I'll go with you guys, but stop fighting with my friends, alright?"

Mikhail, Giose, and Lillian all looked at him. Lillian and Giose looked at Mikhail, who seemed to be thinking.

"Touma!" Stiyl bellowed.

Touma looked over his shoulder at Stiyl.

Stiyl gritted his teeth. "Don't. You don't know what you're getting into."

Touma closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "I know that. In any other situation, I'd trust you over them, but… I need to know," Touma replied, turning back to face the Unholy Trinity.

"Know? Know what?" Stiyl questioned.

Touma looked down at his own feet for a moment. He looked back up a moment later. "If Ren was right about me."

Mikhail raised an eyebrow at Touma, studying him. He eventually nodded. "We accept terms. However, your magician friend is not so happy looking. Lillian, if you would?"

"Oh yeah, sure," Lillian replied, as if she just remembered something.

Touma turned in time to see Stiyl fall to the ground, unconscious. Touma immediately ran over to him. "What did you do to him?" Touma demanded.

"Relax. He's taking a nap, dreaming sweet dreams," Giose said, walking over to Touma.

"He's… just sleeping?" Touma asked, checking Stiyl to see if he was wounded at all. To Touma's surprise, he was completely unharmed, and did appear to be, in fact, sleeping.

"Probably gettin' the best kip he's had in years," Lillian giggled.

"So, he'll wake up? Completely unharmed?"

"Well… that is up to him," Mikhail replied, walking over to Touma and Stiyl. "He seems to have strong will. Should be okay."

With that, he motioned towards the door. "Ready to go? We've got private plane coming in soon, and we have to move quickly, before the Churches find out our plan."

Touma moved Stiyl off to the side, making sure he was in a safe place before standing up. "We're leaving now?"

"Is that problem?" Mikhail asked.

Touma thought for a moment. "Well, is it alright if I bring someone with me?"

Giose rolled his eyes, earning him an elbow from Mikhail. "Sorry, but no. Travel lightly. We will not be gone long. Maybe week," Mikhail explained.

"Ah," Touma said, looking a bit sheepish. "Then I'll make a quick call while we're on the way, then."

"Whatever, let's just get going. Who knows when the next Necessarius person is gonna show up?" Lillian urged.

As Touma grabbed his cell phone, the four of them left the apartments together.

Amata Kihara took another drink from his flask.

"You shouldn't be drinking on the job," Ao Amai chided, turning from his work for a moment.

"Fuck off."

The two of them were standing on a hillside within Academy City, setting up a device.

"I'm serious. If you get drunk and mess this up, Dr. Trauge'll kill you."

"Fuck Trauge. He's in a fucking jail cell right now, so who gives a fuck?"

"You will, once he gets out."

"Fuck you. Just finish setting up the fucking thing."

"You still need to make sure the electromagnetic patterns correctly match the brain waves."

"I did it for all the other ones we did. Just fucking copy those ones."

"I don't have those ones, and that would be contradicting Trauge's orders anyway."

"Again, fucking jail cell."

"He'll get out. He has a plan."

"Oh? Did he tell you about this plan he apparently fucking has?"

Amai stayed silent.

"Yeah, I figured as much, you fucking pissant."

Amai closed the screen he was working on. "Done here. When you're ready to do your job, the console is still on. We'll continue tomorrow."

"Whatever."

Amai turned and started to walk down the hill. He could take this kind of verbal abuse. All his life, people talked to him like this, so why should it be any different from the mouth of a Kihara?

Things are gonna change, Amai thought to himself. Once Trauge gets out, things'll change.

He truly believed that. In fact, he believed it more than anything he had ever believed in before. After all, it was the world's most brilliant mind working with the number one Esper in the foremost advanced city in the world. It was all too good to be true.

Author's Note: I'M BACK! You fools thought I was dead!

I was.

...I got better.

Anyway, I hope no one's abandoned this story. If you're reading this, that means you haven't. I appreciate it. This piece is a labor of love, if anything. We'll see it completed, no matter how long it takes.

In case you're not aware, I co-write this story with "Because I'm So Original". It is our love-child. Definitely check his stuff out if you haven't already, he's way more clever than I am (most of the time).

Enjoy the new villains.