Misfortune No One Sees, Until Now

by WwEpsilonwW

Misaka Mikoto, Index, Shirai Kuroko, Shokuhou Misaki, Hamazura Shiage, Accelerator, Itsuwa, Kanzaki Kaori, Styil Magnus, Lessar, Levinia Birdway... all wake up in a room with no memories of how they got there. Then, a weird voice suddenly tells them they are going to be watching the memories of a certain unlucky boy. What will they see of the boy they all know?[More characters now]

10. Would you follow me into hell? Part 2

Alright, here you go, you pack of vultures.

Guys! You never gonna believe what happened to me during this month. I was working on the story, like normal... but all of a sudden WHAM! College came up behind me and knocked me out cold. Pretty sure it dragged me back to its lair. I'm still there now actually. I'm surprised there's WiFi. Anyway, everyday at precisely 2 o'clock, they would torture me for hours. I don't want to get into specifics for you innocent people out there but... font size 12... font type Arial... minimum of 5 pagessssssss... Alright I'll stop. Anybody get ptsd? I hope so, that's what you get for constantly sending me these heartbreaking and yet endearing messages. 'Where's the chapter?' 'When you updating bro?' and then the occasional 'Proximo capitulo?'. Yeah that's right, I can Spanish.

Anyway, now that I'm done with my excuses, please enjoy. And yeah...

[I DO NOT OWN THE AWESOMENESS THAT IS 'A CERTAIN MAGICAL INDEX']

---

Kamijou Touma.

Uiharu found herself mouthing...

That was the name of a boy who had saved her life, and he did so without her even realizing it.

Naturally, after such a selfless act, you would think that very same boy would want some sort of recognition for what he did, maybe some praise, or even a reward. But that was not the case at all.

Whether the boy was even aware of it or not, Misaka Mikoto had gotten the credit for the saving the day during that horrendous incident. If he cared about such things, he certainly didn't make an effort to show any displeasure towards where the attention went. And that was further cemented by the boy's words.

'Everyone's safe, so there's no problem. Who cares who did the saving?'

These words did two things for Uiharu.

It excited her immensely.

It was thrilling to know that such a humble and virtuous person existed beyond the depths of the romance novels that Uiharu invested so much time in. And as selfish as it was, this was the very same reason why Uiharu wanted to meet Kamijou. The girl wanted to see if he was the hero everyone made him out to be. And more personally, she wanted to be able to say she has met her very own knight in shining armor.

However, the words bothered her a bit at the same time.

If everything went how Misaka explained, then there was something very off about what happened and what was said.

Kamijou had stepped in and saved Uiharu's life. That was a fact, and nothing would change the gratitude she felt for someone who was still a stranger to her. But then, as quickly as he appeared, he was gone.

It was as if... he felt that his presence wasn't required for the aftermath. It was as if he felt that he would get in the way of the happiness someone felt after being saved.

And that just stemmed the question.

Why didn't Kamijou Touma desire a connection from those that he saved?

Uiharu thought of the question, one that she was lacking the information to understand. Or... that would be the case if she wasn't informed about that boy's childhood.

Her friend's had explained that particular memory to her.

And to say it was saddening to hear was understatement. To think of what Kamijou had to go through at such a young age, it broke her heart. But, she began to understand. With everyone treating him as a lesser being, a freak, some sort of demon from hell, how could he not change the way he views himself?

(But...)

Kamijou Touma might see himself as average, normal and commonplace. Or maybe he thinks that he's less than that. He might see himself as undeserving of certain privileges, such as the right to smile and laugh with those that he saves.

(But even so, what does Kamijou know about the person everyone else sees?)

Uiharu raised a very fundamental question to herself.

Self-image. The idea one has of one's abilities, appearance, and personality. But on the other side of that, was an image conjured up by others. Subconscious thoughts about another person, based on what is known about them.

And Uiharu knew for a fact that Kamijou's image in others was more than positive. Her friends were the proof of that. The way they talked about him, the expression framed upon hearing his name, and respect and consideration that was always present when referring to him.

Uiharu had such thoughts about the enigma of a boy that was here and wasn't here. These were without a doubt, the rambling of a adolescent girl thrust into a new situation with new information.

As if to focus herself, the girl shook her head and directed her gaze at the screen

...

[Then, would you follow me into the depths of hell...? (Part 2) ]

Part 2...

Everyone took a deep breath. They stared at the words as if they were a challenge, testing their resolve to continue. But they couldn't quit now. Giving up now would be cowardly. After all, if he never did, what right did they have to shy away from the horrors they never knew about?

So, with that in mind, the occupants of the room continued watching. They continued to a watch a boy wade through the depths of hell to pull a girl out of the nightmare she assumed was her reality.

---

It was night; the sirens of an ambulance and fire trucks rang from the main road and echoed by.

The dorm had seemed mostly abandoned, but the triggering of the fire alarm and the subsequent sprinklers going off had changed matters. In no time at all, the empty dorm was filled with fire trucks and onlookers.

Many looked desperately to the screen, trying to catch some glimpse of the boy they were all worried about.

"Kamijou, please be alright..."

Itsuwa said in concern, hands clasped over her chest.

Kamijou had used his right hand to destroy the tracking function of the hood in his room before taking it with him. Had he left it working and abandoned it in some arbitrary place, he could have fooled the pursuers, but she obstinately insisted that she take it with her.

Kamijou Touma clicked his tongue in a back alley. He held Index's bloody form in his arms as he could not let her wound touch the dirty ground.

Sighs of relief were heard throughout the room. Happy expressions were adorned on multiple people's faces, not only seeing the boy's wellbeing, but also for the wellbeing of the girl in his arms. Well, as well as one could be in her state...

After seeing Index's selflessness in order to protect someone she barely knew, many couldn't find it in them to dislike the girl. And even if certain feelings in their hearts existed regardless, they all knew it was past the point where Kamijou would just stand idly by when someone in front of him was suffering.

(But still... that princess carry ability is just too envious...!)

Shokuhou thought, biting her lip.

The honey blonde, despite the current situation, couldn't help but have these thoughts. As were many others, no doubt.

He could not hand Index over to an ambulance.

Academy City fundamentally disliked outsiders. That was why walls surrounded the city and three satellites were constantly monitoring all activities. Even the drivers of the trucks that supplied convenience stores needed an exclusive ID to get in.

For that reason, information about an outsider without an ID, like Index, would spread if she were hospitalized.

Not to mention, her enemy was part of some organization.

If she were attacked there, the damage would spread to those around her. Also, she would be defenseless if she were attacked while recovering or in surgery.

"Where can he go to help her if he can't go to a hospital?"

Saten asked in concern.

Mugino lightly scoffed at the girl's naivety.

"There are other places that you can find that serve the same purpose..."

The girl ominously said, earning multiple curious and tense gazes.

(M-mugino-sama!? Can you please not phrase that in a way that makes you sound like a morphine junkie!)

Hamazura internally cried as he began to feel some of the stares on him as well.

Even so...

"But I can't just leave her like this."

"I'll… be fine. If you… can just stop the bleeding…"

Index's voice was weak and showed no hint of the mechanical voice she donned while explaining about runes.

And, that was why Kamijou immediately knew that what she had said was wrong. Her wound was beyond something an amateur could solve by wrapping bandages. Kamijou was accustomed to fights, and he performed first aid on himself for most of the wounds best kept secret. But, the wound on her back was bad enough to make even Kamijou lose his cool.

Kanzaki's face fell at the nun's pained expression.

There remained only one thing that they could rely on.

He still did not believe in it, but he had nothing else left to believe in.

"Hey, hey! Can you hear me?" Kamijou lightly slapped Index's cheek. "Is there anything that can heal wounds in those 103,000 grimoires of yours?"

"Naive..."

Birdway said in a warning tone.

"But... it might be his only option. If he could get rid of the impending obstacle..."

She finished, gaining a contemplative look.

Yes, the certain set of rules that did not agree with espers.

Kamijou's idea of magic was nothing more than the attack magic and recovery magic in RPGs.

It was true that Index had said that she was naturally unable to process magic power by herself and therefore could not use magic; but, Kamijou could handle supernatural powers, so if Index would just tell him what to do…

Index's breathing was shallow. However, this was more due to blood loss than pain. Her pale lips trembled.

"There is… but…"

Kamijou's face lit up for an instant until the word "but" belatedly caught in his mind.

"You… can't do it…" Index let out a small breath. "Even if I… taught you the spell… your power would surely… get in the way… ow… even if you perfectly… imitated it."

Kamijou looked down at his right hand in shock.

Imagine Breaker. The power residing there had indeed completely negated Stiyl's flames. And so there was a chance that it would negate Index's recovery magic the same way.

"Shit! Not again… Why is it always this right hand's fault!?"

Itsuwa tensed up as she remembered feeling that same sort of despair that the boy was likely feeling. That person dear to her heart was injured, battered and bleeding. But she couldn't do a single thing to alleviate his pain due to that right hand.

But above that, Itsuwa blamed her lack of competency to her magic more than anything. If magic was about inscribing a magic name into your soul to change your own reality, then surely her wish to save someone she loves would be able to transcend the boy's right hand.

But that was not the case. And that meant... her love towards that special boy was still lacking. And she would have to change that.

(I won't settle for anything less than the number one spot!)

Itsuwa made this declaration in her mind, strangely bold coming from her.

That just meant that he needed to call someone such as Aogami Pierce or that Biri Biri girl, Misaka Mikoto. The faces of a few tough people whom he would have no worries about getting involved in this kind of trouble floated up in his mind.

Mikoto felt flattered at the boy's comment. She was happy that he saw her as someone reliable enough to ask for help. And it was all the more important that it was Kamijou Touma who thought this.

And... um... similarily...

"Even if you complement me like that, I'm not going to fall in love with you Kami-yan."

Aogami said with a deadpanned voice. Despite that, he was happy that his friend trusted in him. Especially after what happened when he invited him to his room that day...

Anyway, Aogami's comment definitely stunned those who heard it. Everyone was trying really hard not to imagine 'KamixGami' right now. Except for...

"Wonder if Loverboy is a Top or a Bottom...?

"Huhhhhhhhhhhhh!?"

Every girl who still had their innocence freaked out at Lessar's comment.

"What are those looks for? I'm wondering if he is on top or on bottom during se-"

"Stop! Stop! Stop! What is wrong with you!?"

Mikoto shot at her while her face was the color of a tomato. Sadly, her imagination already was too far gone.

"He probably a bottom. Always so naive and oblivious. Although..."

DANGER! DANGER!

They could not let Lessar finish that sentence. If she went any further, their prepubescent fantasies wouldn't be able to calm down! Birdway, snapped out of her stunned silence to try to act, but it was too late.

"...Hehehe, I can just imagine him being pretty forceful as well."

Lessar said this in a dreamy tone, drool coming from her mouth.

.

..

...

Poof!*

Multiple people exploded in red. More so than they thought was possible. And that was all based on one thought.

Forceful. Forceful. Forceful. Forceful. Forceful. Forceful. Forceful. Forceful. Forceful. Forceful.

(Him being... forceful!?)

...

"N-no, that bad...!"

Itsuwa was the first to speak as she covered her eyes, as to shield herself from whatever she was thinking about.

Kanzaki was in a similar situation.

(He doesn't want that kind of reward, d-does he!?)

...

"Tsuchimikado!? A-are these the rumored f* me eyes!?"

An incredulous Aogami suggested as he gazed at the heated vacant stares of the female populace in the room.

"I think so bro, I think so..."

His friend replied in awe.

And then...

"T-this, this is all your fault, y-you pervert!"

A red-faced Fukiyose came stomping the blue haired instigator. Because, as much as she hated to admit it, she knew exactly what Kamijou looked like when he was serious. And that just made it worse.

"W-wait Fukiyose... w-we can talk about this. It was just a prank, yeah! A harmless prank. you can put those fists away now- Gublaahhhh!"

Suffice to say, the boy was thrashed.

"How the hell did the conversation turn this way...?"

Was Hamazura's comment.

"I-I have super no idea..."

Kinuhata stammered, scratching at her neck fro some reason.

"…?" Index fell silent for a bit. "No… That isn't what I meant."

"?"

"Not your right hand… The problem is… that you're an esper." In that broiling night, she shivered like on a snowy mountain in midwinter. "Magic is not… something to be used by 'talented people' like you espers. 'Untalented people' wanted… to do what the 'talented people' could do… so they created certain spells and rituals… which are known as magic."

"Huh... so that's how it started..."

Mugino said thoughtfully.

Kamijou was about ready to shout, "This is no time for explanations!"

"You don't get it…? The circuitry is different between 'talented people' and 'untalented people…' 'Talented people' cannot use the systems created… for the 'untalented people…'"

"Wha-…?"

Kamijou was left speechless. It was true that drugs and electrodes were used on espers like Kamijou to forcibly expand the circuitry of their brains in a way that made it different from a normal human's. It was true that their bodies were different from others.

But he could not believe it. No, he did not want to believe it.

2.3 million students lived in Academy City and every single one of them had undergone the powers development Curriculum. Even if it were not visibly apparent, even if they could not bend a spoon with efforts so strenuous they burst the blood vessels in their brain, and even if they were the weakest of espers, they were indeed made differently from a normal person.

In other words, the people who lived in that city could not use magic, the one thing that could save the girl.

That realization began to settle in for those watching. They could only imagine want the boy might be feeling right now.

"Could that be why..."

Komoe muttered to herslef, as if coming to a silent understanding.

There was a way to save the person who lay before him, and yet not a single person could.

"Damn it…" Kamijou bared his canines like a beast. "How could this happen? How could this happen!? What the hell is this!? How is this fair!?"

Index's trembling grew worse.

What Kamijou found the most difficult to bear was the fact that she received punishment for his own inability.

"'Talented' my ass," he spat out. "I can't even save the girl suffering before my eyes."

The boy's self-deprecating anger was obvious to them.

However, he could come up with no other solution to the situation. The fact that the 2.3 million students living in the city could not use magic was the rule he needed to break down first.

"…?"

Kamijou suddenly noticed something off about his thought process.

Students?

"Oh!"

Faces lit up as they saw where Kamijou was going with this.

"So he just has to super find some adults or teachers to help him right?"

Kinuhata asks.

"Hey, any normal 'talentless' person can use magic, right?"

"…Eh? Yes."

"And this isn't going to end up being useless because the person has no talent for magic, right?"

"You don't… need to worry about that… As long as they prepare correctly and perform it correctly… even a middle school student should be able to do it." Index thought for a bit. "Although, if they get the steps wrong, the pathways in their brain and their neural circuitry could be fried… But with the knowledge of my 103,000 grimoires, it will be fine. Do not worry."

Kamijou smiled.

Without thinking, he looked up as if to howl at the moon in the night sky.

It was true that 2.3 million students lived in Academy City and that they had all been developed to have some kind of esper power.

However, the teachers that developed them were normal humans.

"I hope she isn't already asleep."

The face of a certain teacher appeared in Kamijou Touma's mind.

Said teacher smiled. As shocked as she was that night, she was glad she was able to be useful to one of her students.

It was the face of Tsukuyomi Komoe, the 135 centimeter tall homeroom teacher of his class who wore a cute pink dress despite her being a teacher.

Kamijou used a pay phone to get Komoe-sensei's address from Aogami Pierce. (Kamijou had dropped and broken his phone that morning. Why Aogami Pierce knew Komoe's address was a mystery. Kamijou suspected he was a stalker.)

Stare...

"What...? I know where all the heroines of Academy City live."

The boy said nonchalantly, as if he didn't just admit to stalking multiple girls.

No one could decide to look at the pervert with shock or disgust.

Kamijou then began to walk with Index's limp form on his back.

"This is the place…"

He arrived after 15 minutes of walking from that back alley.

Utterly unbefitting of Komoe-sensei's 12 year old appearance, it was a two story wooden apartment building that looked so old and worn down that Kamijou felt it must have weathered the bombing of Tokyo. Since the washing machine was sitting directly out in the passageway, it must have had nothing like a bath.

"Th-that's not very nice! It take pride in my place..."

Komoe said, trying to defend herself.

Normally, Kamijou would joke about it for the next 10 minutes, but he did not even smile.

After checking the nameplates on the first floor's doors, he climbed up the run-down and rusty metal staircase and checked the doors there. When he reached the door furthest back on the second floor, he had finally found "Tsukuyomi Komoe" written in hiragana.

Kamijou rang the doorbell twice and then kicked at the door with all his might. His foot striking the door made a tremendous noise.

"That was a little excessive, don't you think...?"

Uiharu said dryly.

However, the door did not so much as budge. True to form, Kamijou had the misfortune to think he heard an unpleasant crack come from his big toe.

Everyone winced at that.

"That's gotta hurt..."

Hamazura said with a apathetic expression.

"~ ~ ~!"

"Yes, yes, yeees! The anti-newspaper salesman door is the only sturdy thing here. I'll open it, okay?"

(Why didn't I just wait?)

As Kamijou had that teary-eyed thought, the door clicked open and a bunny themed pajama wearing Komoe-sensei's head poked out through the crack. Her relaxed expression made it clear that she could not see Index's back wound from her position.

"C-cute..."

The blonde haired thug gulped out.

"Hamazura...!"

Takitsubo pointedly said the boy's name with a pout.

(Oh crap, I said that outloud. She's probably really pissed now. I'm so screwed.)

"Hamazura, d-do you want me to get pajamas like that?"

The girl asked with a slightly flushed expression.

(Never mind! Life is perfect!)

"Wah, Kamijou-chan. Did you start working part time as a newspaper salesman?"

"What newspaper has its workers solicit people with a nun on their backs?" remarked Kamijou with displeasure. "I'm in a bit of trouble, so I'll be coming in. Excuse me."

"I know the situation is dire but... that's a pretty blunt attitude when she's your teacher..."

Shirai said.

"W-Wait, wait, wait!" Komoe-sensei frantically tried to block Kamijou's way as he pushed her aside. "I-I can't have you suddenly coming into my room. And it isn't just because my room is a horrible mess with empty beer cans littering the floor and cigarette butts piled up in the ash tray!"

"Hm.. oddly specific..."

Himegami muttered.

Komoe froze, a cold sweat forming on her face.

"N-now... wait just a minute..."

She said in a worried tone, a blush making it's way to her face.

"Sensei."

"Yes?"

"…See if you can make the same joke after seeing what I'm carrying on my back."

"I-I wasn't joking! …Gyahhh!?"

"So now you notice it!"

"I didn't see you had such a bad wound on your back, Kamijou-chan!"

Komoe-sensei began to panic at the sudden sight of blood and Kamijou finally managed to push her aside and enter the room.

.

..

...

"The fuck am I looking at...?"

Accelerator said with a disbelieving stare.

It looked like a room belonging to a middle aged man who loved betting on horse races. The badly worn tatami mats had countless empty beer cans strewn across them, and the silver ash tray had a veritable mountain of cigarette butts in it. In what seemed like some kind of joke, in the middle of the room there was even a tea table of the kind a stubborn father would flip over.

"That... does not fit her character at all..."

Saten says, sweating slightly. And then, she further thought.

(How can such a little girl be such a slob!)

"…I see. So you weren't joking."

"I suppose it is hardly the time, but do you have a problem with girls who smoke?"

"...!"

Many found that way of phrasing odd, especially coming from such a little girl, a girl that was a teacher.

(As I thought...)

Himegami concluded to herself as she bore her gaze into her teacher.

"U-um... Himegami-chan... if you stare at me so seriously, I'm going to get nervous."

...

Tsuchimikado and Aogami both had vacant stares.

"Their is no god. If their was, Kami-yan's philandering ass would be smited a thousand times by now."

"Y-yeah man. Even that witch hat wearing stripper didn't even finish the job. Were all doomed..."

They both cried by themselves after saying their respective comments (the latter coming from Tsuchimikado of course). However, they were totally unaware of a chibi goddess staring them down with the glare of a war god.

They couldn't explain why it suddenly got so cold.

Kamijou felt that was hardly the problem as he stared at his homeroom teacher who appeared 12 and kicked some beer cans out of the way to clear an open spot. He was reluctant to sit on the worn tatami mat, but there was no time to worry about preparing a futon.

He laid Index face down on the floor to ensure her wound did not touch the floor.

The way her clothes were torn hid the actual wound from view, but a dark red liquid was flowing out like fuel oil.

"Sh-Shouldn't you call an ambulance? Th-The phone is over there."

Komoe-sensei pointed toward a corner of the room with a trembling hand. For some reason, her phone was a black rotary dial phone.

"The mana in the blood is flowing out along with the blood."

Kamijou and Komoe-sensei reflexively turned toward Index.

Index was still sprawled out limply on the floor but her eyes were silently open even as her head lay on its side like a broken doll. Her eyes were colder than the pale moonlight and more precise than the gears of a clock. Her eyes were so perfectly serene that they looked inhuman.

Just like before, many could not get used to the doll-like gaze of the nun. And it was especially freaky that the presence of such a abnormal visage was inconsistent to the girl's usual self.

Accelerator found it disturbing for his own reasons.

(Its just like they way those girls used to stare at me. Lifeless, dull, and completely ready to die...)

"Warning: Chapter 2, Verse 6. The loss of the life force known as mana due to blood loss has exceeded a certain amount and John's Pen is being forcibly awoken. …If the current situation persists, my body will lose the bare minimum of necessary life force and expire in about 15 minutes according to the international standard minute defined by the clock tower in London. It would be best if you followed the instructions I am about to give in order to perform the most efficient treatment."

"Interesting. So it's similar to having a fail-safe installed into her. Although, as a human..."

Mugino trailed off as she looked at her arm, the one without bone, flesh, or tissue.

(I can't say I reccomend it...)

Komoe-sensei stared at Index in shock.

Kamijou could hardly blame her. Even though he had heard that voice once before, he simply could not get used to it.

"Now then…"

Kamijou looked over at Komoe-sensei and thought.

If he out and bluntly asked her to use magic, she would surely tell him it was hardly the time to be pretending to be a magical girl and that she was much too old for that kind of thing anyway. So, how was he supposed to convince her?

"Hmm. Sensei, sensei. Since it's an emergency, I'll keep this short. I need to tell you a secret, so come over here."

"What?"

Kamijou waved his hand like he was calling over a small dog and Komoe-sensei approached with no caution whatsoever.

"Sorry," Kamijou apologized to Index under his breath.

He lifted up her ripped clothes to reveal the horrible wound hidden beneath.

"Ee!?"

The others in the room shared a similar reaction as they got a real look at the bleeding gash in its entirety. Purple and red blood gushed out of a narrow slit along the girls back.

Everyone who wasn't use to such gore felt sick to their stomachs.

"Oh my god...!"

Mikoto let out in shock.

"S-she's going to be okay, right?"

Uiharu said in worry.

...

...all your FAULT... all YOUR FAULT... ALL YOUR FAULT.

That was the only thing going through Stiyl and Kanzaki's heads as they saw exactly the damage they did to that poor girl. Even more so for Kanzaki.

She clenched her fists in anger. The burning rage she felt at her own lack of ability to have seen the truth.

(Someone who offers salvation to those who can't be saved huh...?)

Her grin was a bitter one, not fitting well with her face at all.

(What a sham...)

He could hardly blame Komoe-sensei for jumping in shock.

The wound was so bad that it shocked even Kamijou. It was a horizontally straight line cut across her back. It was as if a cardboard box had been sliced using a ruler and box cutter. Beyond the red blood, pink muscle, and yellow fat, something hard and white that seemed to be her backbone was visible.

If the wound were viewed as a red mouth, the lips around it had gone utterly pale like a person who had been in a pool.

With that even deeper explanation, many keeled over as a sense of bile rose to their throats.

Lessar, who has seen worse than this, was still not exempt from the effects. She shakily laughed.

"Even I can't say the innuendo for this one, h-he he..."

"Gh…" Kamijou forced away some dizziness and carefully lowered the clothing that was wet with blood.

Even when the clothes touched the wound, Index's icy eyes did not move in the slightest.

"Sensei."

"Eh? Yes!?"

"I'm going to call an ambulance. In the mean time, you need to listen to what this girl has to say and do whatever she wants… Just make sure she doesn't lose consciousness. As you can tell by her clothing, she's religious. Thanks."

If she viewed it as nothing more than consoling the girl, she could continue to view magic as impossible. For that reason, Kamijou had changed the focus in Komoe-sensei's mind from treating the wound to continuing the conversation by any means necessary.

"(That was actually really considerate for that human...)"

Othinus says with what can resemble a warm expression.

Index nodded. She was more than elated at seeing such seriousness displayed by the boy.

Komoe-sensei was nodding with an extremely serious expression and pale face.

The one problem was that Kamijou had to kill time outside while it happened.

If an ambulance arrived before the magic were complete, the "consolation" would end, meaning that he could not actually call an ambulance.

But, that alone did not mean Kamijou had to leave. After all, he could just dial 117 with the room's black phone and pretend to be calling an ambulance while actually speaking to a recording.

The real problem lay elsewhere.

"Hey, Index," Kamijou spoke softly to Index as she remained collapsed on the floor. "Is there anything I can do?"

"There is not. The best option for you would be to leave."

The hurt look on the boy's face was not lost on the occupants of the room.

"Damn..."

Accelerator muttered softly.

In a way, he could understand, everyone told him his power couldn't be used for anything other than death and destruction after all.

Her overly clear and concise wording made Kamijou clench his right fist so hard it was painful.

There was nothing Kamijou could do and it was all because of his right hand that would negate the recovery magic simply by being present in the room.

"Wow... daily misfortune and now this. He must super want his power gone at this point. Hm... I wonder if his ability will disappear if he lost the hand...?"

"I wouldn't tempt fate if I were you... Kinuhata Saiai."

The voice spoke up as if waiting for such an opportunity. Her sudden interruption surprised and confused many.

"Eh?"

"What I'm saying is, that their are some creatures better left in the shadows, never to be realized. Well... either way, your all going to see soon enough."

Many people had a variety of different reactions to such a statement.

A boy with wavy spiky hair shivered in excitement and a degree of fear.

A girl with electricity that could rival gods, gulped in nervousness.

A magician with an affinity for fire, felt a cold sweat go down his face.

"Oh? Looks like some of you know what I"m talking about. But for the rest of you..."

Their was no way to prove this, but many got the feeling the voice was giving the most chilling smile right now.

"I can't wait to see the expression on your face when your scared shitless..."

"..."

.

..

...

"Hahahahahahahahaha! Oh my God! Bitch with lasers! Your face! L-look at your face. Look at your-Ah hahahahahahahahaha!"

The voice suddenly burst out laughing, directing everyone's attention to Mugino, who had previously worn a rather nervous look at such am ominous explanation, but now... oh wow, she really looks like she wants to kill someone...

"I want to kill this bitch so bad..."

As the Level 5 was seething with rage, Hamazura, Kinuhata, and Takitubou took several steps back.

"Oh man... life is good. Anyway, Kinuhata, I feel like there is something else you said that I feel I need to address."

The voice, after calming down from her laughing fit, speaks to Kinuhata.

"Yeah...? What is it?"

She asks suspiciously. Everyone else also listened, ready for anything.

"You seem to be under the impression that Kamijou Touma has the desire to give up his Imagine breaker, and by doing so, his bad luck."

.

..

...

"Huh?"

Kinuhata wasn't the only one shocked at such phrasing.

"W-what do you mean by that!? Are you telling me that if that idiot was faced with the option to get rid of his ability, he would refuse!?"

In surprise, Mikoto exclaimed what everyone was thinking.

"Yes... that is exactly what I'm telling you."

The finality of the statement was not lost on those listening.

...

"That makes no sense to this Misaka..."

A snarky voice breaks the silence. Worst continues to speak.

"To want to keep a power that causes you nothing but suffering. That...that tramples on everything this Misaka knows about human nature...!"

The girl continues, beginning to grow irritated with the line of discussion.

"It's not that surprising brat."

Accelerator's gruff voice speaks up next go her.

"That damn hero is always shattering illusions and breaking expectations. He would be the type of person to hold on to such a rotten power."

"Let me give you another peace of information most of you might not be privy to. The ability known as Imagine Breaker is an ability that has been seen throughout the era's. Whether it took the form of a weapon, or latched on a human host, this ability has been a constant in this world..."

Many widened their eyes in interest.

"But what would you think would happen if the Imagine Breaker broke off from it's current host..?"

Everyone's minds did a full stop at that.

(If he lost it... then it would... wait, wouldn't it just find...)

Shokuhou thought hard about this, and then...

(Oh... so that's why...)

She didn't know why she was surprised. Her prince had always been this type of person. Faced with her realization, she just sighed contently.

(Your always like this...)

"For those of who have yet to figure it out, let me spoil it for you. His Imagine Breaker would find another host to latch onto. And for him, that means..."

"He'll essentially be pushing his misfortune on someone else..."

Himegami finished with a smile. One that held the highest form of affection for a person who would never want to burden or inconvenience someone else if it meant that he could take on such perils himself.

(Kamijou... you really are like a protagonist. So cool...)

Himegami thought with a blush dusting her cheeks.

"…Then, sensei. I'm gonna go look for a pay phone."

"Wait… eh? Kamijou-chan, I have a phone he-…"

Kamijou ignored Komoe-sensei's words, opened the door, and left the room.

He gritted his teeth at the fact that he could do nothing but leave.

Kamijou ran through the city at night. As he ran, he clenched his right hand that could negate even the systems of God but could not protect a single person.

Many began to feel for the boy who wanted nothing more than to save someone he cared about.

After Kamijou Touma left the room, Index moved her pale lips.

"What is the current time in Japan Standard Time? Also, what is the date?"

"It is 8:30 PM on July 20th…"

"You did not seem to reference a clock. Is the time accurate?"

"I do not have a clock in my room, but my internal clock is accurate down to the second, so do not worry."

"That's actually pretty impressive..."

Saten said in awe.

"…"

Still lying face down on the floor, Index glanced out the window with only her eyes.

"From the location of the stars and angle of the moon, the time is July 20th 8:30 PM, is that correct?"

"Yes. Well, technically it is now 53 seconds past that, but… Ah, no! Don't get up!"

Komoe-sensei frantically tried to push Index back down as she tried to sit up, further damaging her already injured body, but Index's gaze did not waver in the slightest.

Her gaze was neither frightening nor piercing.

All emotion had simply disappeared from her eyes as if a light switch had been turned off.

There lacked any real presence in her eyes. It was like her soul was missing.

Index did not like herself being shown in this state. She didn't like anyone seeing her in that state. She felt shamed when others saw her inhuman counterpart.

Index looked to the ground.

"It is no matter. It can be regenerated," said Index as she headed for the tea table in the center of the room.

The sound of Komoe-sensei gulping could be heard throughout the room.

Unexpectedly, Index began to draw some kind of figure atop the small tea table with her bloody finger. Even those unfamiliar with a magic circle would recognize it as something religious. Komoe-sensei had already grown timid, but now something overwhelmed her to the point of muteness.

After drawing a circle of blood that filled the tea table, Index drew a star-shaped symbol known as a pentagram.

Characters in some strange language were written all around it. The words were likely the same as Index's mutterings.

"Is this magic...?"

Uiharu muttered in awe at what she was witnessing.

It just looked so... so... occultic. Something she would see out of a video game or a fairytale.

"W-W-Wh-What is this?"

"Magic." Index paused after that one word. "I will now need your help and your body. If you do as I say, no one will meet any misfortune and you will not be the target of anyone's resentment."

"H-How can you say that so calmly!? Just lie down and wait for the ambulance! Umm… bandages, bandages. With a wound this bad, I should bind the area around the artery to stop the flow of blood…"

"That level of treatment cannot completely close up my wound. I am not familiar with the term ambulance, but, is it capable of completely closing this wound in the next 15 minutes and supplying me with the needed level of mana?"

"Did she super say Mana...? Like in an RPG?"

Kinuhata wondered.

"…"

It was true that an ambulance would take 10 minutes to arrive, even if they called at exactly that instant, and would also take that long to take her back to the hospital, and on top of that, the treatment would not start the second she arrived at the hospital. Komoe-sensei lacked the understanding of what an occult term like mana meant, but it was true that just closing the wound would not bring back her stamina.

Many gazed worriedly at the girl, the concern of her well being growing all the more present.

Even if the wound were closed at that exact instant with a needle and thread, would that pale girl be too weak to live long enough to recover her missing stamina?

"Please." inquired Index without the slightest change in her expression.

A mix of fresh blood and saliva was dripping from the corner of her mouth.

She had no intensity and there was nothing ghastly about her either. But, her calmness and composure were more frightening than either. How everything she did seemed to widen the wound made her seem like a broken machine continuing to run without realizing something was amiss.

(If I do anything that makes her resist, her situation could become even worse.)

Komoe-sensei sighed. Of course she did not believe in magic. However, Kamijou had asked her to keep the conversation going to make sure the girl did not lose consciousness.

All she could do was try not to provoke the girl sitting before her and place her hopes in Kamijou's calling an ambulance as quickly as possible, if not sooner, and in the splendid first aid of the EMTs in the ambulance.

"So what should I do? I am not a magical girl."

"I thank you for your cooperation. First… take that… that… what is that black thing?"

"? Oh, that is a video game memory card."

"? …Well, fine. At any rate, take that black thing and place it in the middle of the table."

Komoe-sensei did as she was told and placed the memory card in the middle of the tea table. She then took a mechanical pencil lead case, an empty box of chocolates, and two small paperback books and put them on the tea table as well. She also took two small figurines that came with her food and lined them up next to each other.

"What is this? You called it magic, but isn't this just playing with dolls?"

Sure enough, it all looked like a miniature version of the room.

"The substances do not matter," muttered Index as she dripped with sweat. "I just need you to accurately carry out my instructions. If you mistake the order, the pathways in your brain and your neural circuitry could be fried."

"?"

"I am saying that failure will turn your body into mincemeat and kill you. Please be careful."

"That level of bluntness ability is a bit..."

Shokuhou trailed off.

"Bh!?" Komoe-sensei almost spat out, but Index continued without paying any heed.

"We will now create a temple for the angel to descend into. Follow my lead and chant."

What Index said after that went beyond words and become nothing but sound. Without thinking about the meaning, Komoe-sensei attempted to copy just the tone into something like a hum or song.

And…

"Kyahh!?"

Suddenly, the figures on top of the tea table started to "sing" as well. "Kyahh!?" one of them screamed with the exact same timing. The figures were vibrating.

"Link complete." Index's voice and the voice from the tea table made it sound double. "The temple created on the table has been linked to this room."

Index pushed the tea table lightly with her foot.

In that instant, the entire apartment shook under Komoe-sensei's feet as if from some great shock.

She could feel the stuffy air of the room growing as clear as the air in a forest in the early morning.

However, nothing akin to an angel was present. All that was present was what could only be described as an invisible presence. A feeling assaulted Komoe-sensei's entire body like she was being watched by thousands of eyeballs from every direction.

And then, Index suddenly shouted.

"Imagine! Imagine a golden angel with the body of a child! Imagine a beautiful angel with two wings!"

Komoe-sensei was having a hard time imagining an angel. The term "golden angel" only made her think of that thing about one gold one or five silver ones.

"Pfft!"

Someone laughed at that comment.

"Could she be talking about cigarettes? Ha ha ha ha..."

Surprisingly it was Stiyl who covered his mouth, honestly finding what that short teacher said amusing.

As the image in Komoe-sensei's mind lost coherence, the surrounding presence followed suit and lost its form. An unpleasant feeling ran down Komoe-sensei's back like she was wrapped in the rotten mud from the bottom of a swamp.

"Just imagine it! This will not actually call in an angel. It is just a gathering of invisible mana. It will take form according to your will as the magic user!"

She must have truly been desperate because even the voice of that cool, mechanical Index grew as sharp as an icicle.

Komoe-sensei's eyes opened wide at that sudden change and she hurriedly began to mutter under her breath.

(…A cute angel, a cute angel, a cute angel.)

She timidly opened her eyes to check.

(…Huh? This will not actually call in an angel?)

The instant that doubt entered her mind, the human-shaped water balloon burst and the invisible mud splattered across the room.

"Hah... I still don't understand Academy City folk can't put faith in magic, but have no problem accepting the supernatural existence of esper abilities..."

Birdway said to herself.

"Kyahh!"

"…The fixation of its form has failed." Index looked around with her sharp gaze. "If the temple is at least protected by a blue color Undine, it will be enough. …Continue."

Her words were positive enough, but Index's eyes were not smiling in the slightest.

Komoe-sensei flinched back like a child whose parents had just seen a failed test that she had tried to keep hidden.

"I-I was nervous...!"

Komoe said in retort.

"Chant. It will be over with just a bit more."

The sharp order refused to let Komoe-sensei lose her composure despite her rising confusion and flagging thoughts.

Index, Komoe-sensei, and the two figurines on the tea table sang. The back of Index's figurine on the table began to melt.

Komoe-sensei felt like her heart was freezing over.

Currently, Index was sitting across the tea table from her.

She did not have the courage to circle around and see what was happening to Index's back.

Index's pale face was covered in oily sweat.

Her glassy eyes still showed no sign of pain or suffering.

"I'm guessing that form of hers masks things like pain and stress..."

Shirai said thoughtfully.

"Replenishment of mana and stabilization of condition confirmed. Returning John's Pen to dormant mode."

Like a switch had been flipped, a soft light returned to Index's eyes. Like a fire being lit in a cooled fireplace, warmth filled the room's atmosphere.

The look in Index's eyes was so kind and warm that Komoe-sensei could not help but feel that warmth. It was the look of a normal girl.

"And just like that she's back..."

Fukiyose said, looking at the screen with a weird expression.

"Now, if the descended protector is returned and the temple destroyed, it will be over." Index smiled painfully. "This is what magic is."

Index's sweating did not stop.

Komoe-sensei grew even more afraid. She began to worry that what she had done had only made Index's condition worse.

"Don't worry." Index looked about ready to collapse even then. "It's like a cold. You need your own strength to get better. The wound itself has been closed up, so I'll be fine."

As soon as she said that, Index collapsed to the side. The figurine fell over, too. The tea table shook slightly and the room linked to it was assaulted by a thundering tremble.

Komoe-sensei was about to run around the tea table to Index, but Index began to sing.

When Komoe-sensei followed along and sang one last song, the strange atmosphere returned to the normal and stuffy atmosphere of the apartment. Komoe-sensei cautiously shook the tea table but nothing happened.

Accelerator looked at the form of the singing nun, but as he looked something flashed in his memories.

A nun was singing, hands clasped to her front, before a younger girl with tea-colored hair.

Except, Accelerator didn't know she was singing at the time. He didn't know a lot of what was going on at that time. But... the one thing he did know was that girl was trying to help the little girl who was suffering. And that was enough for him to trust her.

(What am I saying...)

The boy's eyes twitched in annoyance at his own thoughts.

"Thank goodness."

As Komoe-sensei closed her eyes in relief, Index spoke. Komoe-sensei thought that anyone would be glad to have their deadly wound healed, but the nun said something else.

Many could agree with her. Anyone in her position would be happy that they survived such a terrifying wound. So they smiled at her own happiness to be alive.

However...

"I'm glad I did not burden anyone with anything." Komoe-sensei stared at Index in surprise. "…If I had died here, he may have had to bear the burden."

It took a moment to process what the girl had said.

"S-she... she's not"

Mugino stammered, quite unlike her.

"She wasn't more concerned that she survived, but rather that her death didn't burden anyone!?"

Meltdowner said this in shock as she gazed at Index from across the room.

Index closed her eyes as if to sleep and said nothing more. When that girl's back was sliced, when she collapsed, and when she had performed the strange ritual, she had never once thought about herself. She had been thinking about the person who had carried her there.

There was a kind of stupefied silence that came with that comment.

"She really is so considerate of Kamijou..."

Itsuwa said with a kind tone.

Komoe-sensei could not think the same way. She had no one to think that way about. That was why she asked one thing.

"*...?"

She was sure Index was already asleep and would not hear her; but that was exactly why she asked it, yet the girl answered with her eyes still closed.

"I don't know."

She had never felt that way about anyone before, and she did not know what the feeling was. But when he had recklessly gotten mad for her when faced with that magician, she had wanted him to run away even if she had to crawl to him and force him. When he had run away from Innocentius, she had thought she would cry when he had returned.

She could not fathom it, but when she was with him, nothing ever went as she wanted and she felt pushed around.

A resounding sigh filled the room.

Many could relate to the feeling the nun. That boy did have a tendency to push and keep pushing until he got his way, or the ending that made everyone happy.

And yet, those unexpected things were enjoyable and made her so happy. She did not recognize what the feeling was, however.

This time, Index fell into a deep sleep with a smile on her face, as if she were enjoying a pleasant dream.

Index blushed a deep crimson as her feelings were exposed for all to see. Little did she know that no one thought any ill-mannered thoughts about the girl. And that was for the simple reason that they too had the same thoughts. And it would be hypocritical for them to judge her for them.

For better or for worse, they accepted the emotions a certain girl felt towards a certain boy. Nothing could ruin that...

Nothing...

At least, I think so.

"Dammit Kami-yan! Stop wooing your heroines when your not even in the rooooooooooooommmmmmmm! LEAVE SOME FOR THE REST OF US, YOU BAAAAAASSSSTTTTAAARRRRDDDD!"

Aogami yelled in outrage with his fists clenched.

Index blushed an even deeper shade of red.

And Aogami started secreting something that was also a shade of red. Wait...

Oh shit that's blood.

"Do you even think before you speak, Aogami."

A disgruntled Fukiyose spoke to the near dead boy. All she got was a whisper in response.

"...huh?"

Fukiyose asked suspiciously.

"I said, something is going to awaken inside of me if you keep hitting me like-Fyuuuuuaaaahh!"

And irate Fukiyose delivered another devastating blow to cut the boy off.

After dawn came, her symptoms were like those of a cold.

Index was bedridden with a high fever and a headache, though she lacked a runny nose or a sore throat because it was not a genuine virus. It was simply a matter of regaining her missing stamina, so no matter how many immunity-strengthening cold medicines she took, the efforts would be futile.

"…So why are you wearing only panties down below?"

Many did a spit-take as that.

"Huh!?"

Index blushed an even deeper crimson than before.

(That bastard! I bet he took advantage of that!)

Stiyl thought in rage.

Index, lying down, had a wet towel on her forehead; she apparently was unable to stand the hot dampness inside the futon and had one leg sticking out in Kamijou's direction. She wore a pale green pajama top but her bright skin-colored thigh was sticking out up to its base. Due to her fever, the skin was a bit pink.

The towel had grown lukewarm, so Komoe-sensei stuck it into a basin of water and splashed it around while she glared at Kamijou.

"…Kamijou-chan. I think those clothes were a bit too much."

"Those clothes" likely referred to the safety-pin-covered white nun's habit.

Kamijou agreed with her completely about it, but Index looked like a displeased cat over having her familiar habit taken from her.

"The real question is how the pajamas of a beer-loving, heavy-smoking adult like you fit Index so perfectly. Just what is the age difference between you two anyway?"

A groan of discontentment came from the females in the room.

"Ha! I know this one."

Sogita stated proudly, arms crossed over his chest.

"One should never guess a woman's age."

Many looked over in surprise at the boy, because for him, that was actually really matu-

"Because they're always older than they look."

(And there it is...)

Mikoto sighed.

"Wha-?"

Komoe-sensei (age unknown) was at a loss for words, but Index went in to kick her while she was down.

"Please don't look down on me like that. These pajamas are actually a bit tight around the chest."

Mikoto winced at the low blow, she could sympathize after all.

"What… impossible! That can't be right. Now you're just making fun of me!" protested Komoe-sensei.

"Actually, do you even have anything in the chest area for it to be tight around!?" asked Kamijou.

"…"

"…"

"Kamijou..."

"Kamijou-chan..."

"Touma..."

"Ape..."

"Loverboy..."

As the two ladies glared at him, Kamijou's soul reflexively entered prostration mode.

"It is Kami-yan's default mode isn't it?"

Tsuchimikado said with a amused grin.

"Right, right. By the way, Kamijou-chan, who exactly is this girl?"

"My little sister."

...

Everyone was just giving the boy a blank stare. Although the speed of the reply had some people laughing. Aogami was one of them.

"That is a blatant lie. With that silver hair and those green eyes, she is clearly a foreigner!"

"She's my stepsister."

.

..

...

A palm met someone's forehead.

"That wasn't anymore convincing you idiot..."

Mikoto says with a sigh.

"…And you're a pervert?"

"I'm just kidding! I'm well aware that a stepsister is bad manners, but a real sister is against the rules!"

"Kamijou-chan," she said, suddenly switching over to her instructor voice.

"Psh... shows what you know..."

Tsuchimikado followed up offhandedly.

"Dude... that was the wrong time to out yourself..."

Hamazura said from across the room.

Kamijou fell silent. It was not at all surprising that Komoe-sensei wanted to know what was going on. Not only had he brought a strange foreigner to her, but the girl had had a blade wound on her back that clearly smelled of bad news. Komoe-sensei was even forced to take part in some strange bit of magic.

It would have been difficult to ask her to turn a blind eye.

"Sensei, can I ask one thing?"

"What?"

"Are you asking so you can tell the Anti-Skill or Academy City's Board of Directors?"

That would be the biggest fear for the boy. After sticking with her this long, there's no way he would accept giving her up to the authorities.

Index smiled at that thought.

"Yes," Komoe-sensei immediately said with a nod. With no hesitation, she had told her student that she would sell them out. "I do not know what kind of situation you two are in." Komoe-sensei smiled. "But if it happened here in Academy City, it is our duty as teachers to resolve it. Taking responsibility for the children is the duty of the adults. Now that I know you are in some kind of trouble, I cannot sit idly by."

Many felt that tension in the room rise. They wondered what would happen next.

That was what Tsukuyomi Komoe said, yet she had no power, no strength, and no duty to do so.

She merely said it with the straightforwardness of a famous katana slicing straight through the proper place at the proper time.

"I just…" Kamijou said before he finished under his breath. (…Can't stand up to her.)

Komoe couldn't wipe the smile off of her face from hearing that. It was a sort of prideful smile that came with doing your duty in watching over people, especially when it came to her students.

Kamijou had lived a long 15 or so years and yet had never seen someone else like that teacher: the type seen in dramas, not even seen in movies anymore.

And so…

"If you were a complete stranger, I wouldn't have hesitated to get you involved, but I owe you for that magic, so I can't let you get involved."

Kamijou's response was just as straightforward.

Even after hearing Kamijou's serious declaration to the teacher, her expression was still determined and authoritative, going against her appearance. But, everyone could have sworn they saw a faint blush on the teacher's cheeks.

"It couldn't be... right?"

Uiharu muttered to herself.

"Hehehe Kamijou-chan~... trying to be all suave~"

Komoe said with a lopsided grin.

He had already had enough of seeing people who were willing to protect others for nothing in return be hurt before his eyes.

Komoe-sensei fell silent for a moment.

"Mhh. I am not going to let you get away with trying to trick me with some cool line."

"(Hah... that human probably didn't even think much about what he said though...)"

Othinus whispered, as she knew exactly how such a line would be considered to normal to Kamijou Touma.

"…? Sensei, why'd you get up and head for the door?"

"I am giving this a stay of execution. I need to go to the supermarket for groceries. Kamijou-chan, you figure out exactly what it is you need to tell me in the mean time. And…"

"And?"

"...?"

"I might get so caught up in shopping that I forget. No cheating when I get back. Make sure you tell me, okay?"

Kamijou thought Komoe-sensei smiled as she spoke.

With the sound of the apartment door opening and then closing, Kamijou and Index were left alone in the room.

(She's trying to be kind.)

"She really is a good person..."

Itsuwa said with a smile.

The person she saw in that brutal hell was dispelled in this very scene. There was no way that kind woman would ever do something like that. She just cared for her students too much.

From the smile of a child plotting something on her face, Kamijou had a feeling Komoe-sensei would "forget" everything once she returned from the supermarket.

If he later decided to consult her about it, she would surely act furious and say "Why didn't you tell me sooner!? I completely forgot!" and happily agree to help.

With a sigh, Kamijou turned toward Index who lay in the futon.

"…Sorry. I know this is no time to be worried about appearances."

"Don't worry about it. This is for the best." Index shook her head. "It would be wrong to get her any more involved. …And she can't use any more magic."

"?" Kamijou frowned.

Everyone was also confused by this as well.

"Why can't she use any more...?"

Asked Himegami.

"Grimoires are dangerous. Written in them are aberrant and uncommon knowledge as well as twisted laws that break the common laws of this world. Whether they're for good or evil, those things are toxic in this world. Merely learning the knowledge of a 'different world' will destroy the brain of the one who learns it," explained Index.

"Whoa... super no way..."

Kinuhata gulped at that knowledge.

Kamijou tried to translate that in a way he understood.

(So is it like forcefully running a program that isn't compatible with a computer's OS?)

"My brain and spirit are protected by religious barriers, and magicians who attempt to exceed being human must exceed the boundaries of their own common knowledge to arrive at the desired state of mind that can almost be likened to a type of insanity. However, for a normal person from a barely religious country like Japan, it could all be over after just casting one more spell."

"I-I see…" Kamijou somehow managed to stop the shock he had received from showing. "Well, that's a shame. I was hoping she would be able to perform alchemy for me. You know alchemy, right? It can turn lead into gold."

He of course omitted the fact that he knew this from an item mixing RPG with a young female alchemist as its protagonist.

"Which is the best way to learn new things!"

Aogami explained. He then whipped his head towards Komoe.

"Komoe-sensei! I propose you add dating sims to the school curriculum!"

Faced with such a question, Komoe gave him a gentle smile. And...

"Denied."

That boy's dreams were thoroughly crushed.

"Well, there is a technique for that called Limen Magna but preparing the tools with modern materials would cost… um… 7 trillion yen in this country's currency."

"…Well, that definitely isn't worth it," muttered Kamijou soullessly.

Many nodded in agreement.

(I feel like this magic betrayed my expectations. My male fantasies aren't being realized...)

Hamazura thought, who was no stranger to the system of magic through manga, video games, and novels.

Index smiled weakly and said, "…Yeah. Turning lead into gold accomplishes nothing more than making nobles happy."

"But… wait. Now that I think about it, what does that do? How does it work? If you're turning lead into gold, are you rearranging the Pb atoms into Au?"

"I don't really know, but it's only a 14th Century technique."

"Wait, do you mean what I think you mean? It might actually be changing the atomic arrangement!? You mean you could cause proton decay without a particle accelerator and nuclear fusion without a nuclear reactor!? Wait just a second. I'm not even sure the seven Level 5s of Academy City could do that!"

"Hahahahaha! The boy's got a point you know. You all should be grateful Index turned out to be such a demure girl. (As well as a few other limiters...)"

"What was that?"

Mugino questioned suspiciously.

"Nothing at all, nothing at all..."

"?"

"Wait, don't look so confused! Um… um… Ah. If you're wondering just how amazing that would be, that kind of thing would let us easily create atomic robots or mobile suits!"

"What are those?"

With those three words, she cast aside all of the dreams of men.

As Kamijou's head hung down limply, Index seemed to feel she had done something wrong.

"What is it with a boy's fanatic obsession with robots and mechanized suits? Honestly, I can't understand getting so infatuated on one thing and having it drive your life."

As soon as Shirai said this, all her friends whipped their heads towards her, giving her the most disbelieving stares.

"What...?"

"A-Anyway, the holy swords and magic wands used in ceremonies can be made with modern materials as substitutes, but there is a limit. …This especially goes for sacred items related to God. Even after 1000 years, it seems no substitutes can be made… ow…"

As she talked on and on excitedly, she began to hold her temple like she had a hangover.

Many looked at the girl with gazes of concern.

"Is she okay?"

Saten asked worriedly.

Kamijou Touma looked at Index's face as she lay in the futon.

She had 103,000 grimoires in her head. Just reading one of them could drive you insane, and yet she had put each and every letter of all those books in her head. How much pain had that process caused her?

Yet she never once complained about her pain.

"She really is just like Kamijou..."

Itsuwa said with a warm tone.

And after that, for some reason, Index felt this unexplainable elation fill up in her chest after hearing those words.

"Do you want to know?" she asked while ignoring her own pain as if apologizing to Kamijou.

Index's usual cheerful tone had set a context that made that quiet voice stand out and seem to hold even more determination.

And they did see the difference. Index had always been a lively girl in any given situation. So as well as the determination that was present in her voice, she just sounded... depressed.

Index's situation was irrelevant to Kamijou. Whatever situation she had possibly been in, there was no way he could abandon her. As long as he could defeat her enemies and keep her safe, he saw no reason to dig into her old wounds.

"Touma..."

Index called out softly, thinking of the boy who was too considerate of her.

"Do you want to know what my circumstances are?" repeated the girl naming herself Index.

Kamijou made up his mind and replied, "That kinda makes me feel like a priest, y'know?"

In a way, it really did. He felt like a priest listening to the confessions of a sinner.

"Do you know why?" Index asked. "The Christian Church was originally a single organization, but now there are the Catholics, the Protestants, the Roman Catholics, the Russian Orthodox, the Anglicans, the Nestorians, the Athanasians, the Gnostics, and more. Do you know why these splits occurred?"

"Well…"

"Its why any group falls apart..."

Birdway says with a knowing voice.

Kamijou had at least skimmed through his history textbook, so he had an idea what the answer was. However, he hesitated to mention it in front of the "genuine" Index.

"Because humans aren't allowed to hold different beliefs without expecting repercussions."

She finished, saying it in such a way as if she had seen it countless times.

Index actually smiled. "It was because politics were mixed in with the church. Sects split, opposed each other, and fought. In the end, even people who believed in the same God were each other's enemies. Even as we believe in the same God, we each walk a different road of many scattered paths."

Index let out a small breath. "The Roman Catholic Church manages and controls the world, the Russian Orthodox Church searches out and eliminates the occult, and the Anglican Church I belong to…"

Index's words caught in her throat for a second.

"England is a country of magic," she said as if that was a bitter memory. "So the Anglican Church is especially advanced in anti-magician culture and techniques as seen by witch hunts and the inquisition."

In London alone were a number of public companies calling themselves magic cabals, and there were 10 times that many shell corporations that really only existed on paper. Their trials and errors that had begun as a means of protecting the citizens from the "evil magicians lurking in the city" had developed too far in one direction and at some point became a culture of slaughter and execution.

"He he... those first couple months starting out as New Light, were a little hectic. There wasn't a single day without assassins or explosions... or fire..."

Lessar said with a drained expression, along with a pointed stare at Styil. That was the face of the girl who had seen some messed up stuff.

"The Anglican Church has a special division," said Index as if she were confessing her own sins. "It investigates magic and develops countermeasures with which to defeat magicians. It is known as Necessarius." She sounded exactly like a nun.

"If you do not know your enemy, you cannot defend against their attacks. However, understanding an impure enemy will make your own heart impure, and touching an impure enemy will make your body impure. That is why Necessarius, the church of necessary evils, was created to draw all of those impurities into one place.

"Sending villains to hunt down the villains huh? Now doesn't that sound familiar..."

Accelerator mutters, sneaking a glance at his fellow member of GROUP. And the glasses wearing pervert was just smirking at him.

"Tch...!"

And the most extreme case of this is…"

"The 103,000 grimoires."

"Yes." Index gave a small nod. "Magic is something like an equation. If you skillfully reverse the calculations, you can counteract your opponent's attack. That is why I had these 103,000 grimoires put into me. …If you know magic from all around the world, you can neutralize magic from all around the world."

Kamijou looked down at his right hand.

He had thought his right hand was of no use. The power of his right hand would not let him defeat even a single delinquent, would not raise his scores on tests, and would not make him popular with girls, and so he had mainly just ignored it.

But, this girl had gone through hell to achieve the same thing.

Now that was an interesting concept.

Index, someone who was forced to memorize all 103,000 grimiores, and had to deal with the consequences of having all the power, was only useful in suppressing other powerful magic.

Similarily, Kamijou, who had a power in his right hand since birth, was without fortune, causing nothing but pain and suffering for him. And the only use of such an ability was if their was a supernatural ability that could be negated.

Two people with similar starting points met somewhere along the road to the finish line. But now... the girl will not have to go back to the beginning each time she was almost there. She can finally walk to the end of the line with a smile on her face.

But for the boy, it won't be that simple...

"Without a line to guide him, he'll just have to wonder aimlessly through the dark, hoping to latch onto something, anything that he can use to keep going forward..."

The voice said, truly amused.

"But if these grimoires are so dangerous and you know where they are, why don't you just burn them without reading them? As long as there are people to read and learn from these grimoires, magicians will continue to appear without end, right?"

"The actual books are less important than the contents. Even if you got rid of an Original the magicians who knew the contents would pass that on to their followers, so it would be pointless. Although someone who does that is known as a sorcerer rather than a magician," explained Index.

"Well, if fire doesn't work, then just burn it with guts...!"

Sogita said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

(What is wrong with this guy!?)

Fukiyose was thinking.

(Is it something like data posted on the internet? Even if you delete the original data, copy after copy of the data will continue to exist.)

"Tch. But can't magic be used by any normal person excluding us espers? Then wouldn't this spread throughout the world in no time at all?"

Kamijou recalled Stiyl's flames. What if everyone in the world could use that kind of power? The common knowledge of the world that built its foundation on science would crumble.

Many shivered in fright as they remembered exactly that. And it was all courtesy of RC Occultics. And conversely Anna Sprengel.

Shokuhou and Mikoto frowned in remembrance of those events.

"You… don't have to worry about that. The magic cabals do not recklessly let the grimoires get out to the general public."

"? Why not? Wouldn't it be better for them to have more comrades to fight for them?"

"That is exactly why. If every single person who had a gun were friends, there would be no war."

That was something so simple that everyone could understand. More specifically to the people in Academy City, if everyone with powers were friendly towards one another, than their would be no reason for things like discrimination, envy, or violence to take place.

There would have been no reason for Hamazura to yearn to join a group like Skill-Out.

(Especially just to almost kill some innocent woman...)

The boy silently thanked the one person who got in his way that day.

"…"

Just because two people knew magic did not mean they were on the same side. It was because they knew the power of their trump cards that they did not want to recklessly create enemy magicians.

The grimoires were treated like the plans of a new weapon.

"Hmm. I think I get it." Kamijou seemed deep in thought. "So basically, they want to get their hands on the bomb in your head."

She was a library with perfect copies of the world's 103,000 Original grimoires in her head. To obtain her was to obtain all the magic in the world.

"…Right." From her voice, it sounded like she was about to die. "With the 103,000 grimoires, you would be able to twist everything in the world to your will without exception. That is what we call a Magic God."

Not the god of the demon world, but someone who had thoroughly mastered magic to the point of entering the domain of god.

A Magic God.

"S-so, that means Index could...?"

Saten said trailed off nervously.

"Relax girl, you don't need to worry. The nun can't directly use the powers of the grimiores. (Under normal circumstances...)"

"W-wait what!"

"..."

That certainly did not ease anyone's worries.

(…Fuck that.)

"!!"

Without realizing, Kamijou had begun to grit his back teeth. He could tell from how Index acted that she had not chosen to have those 103,000 grimoires put into her head. Kamijou recalled Stiyl's flames. She lived like that for no reason other than to prevent as many victims as she could.

Many were surprised at the boy's raw anger being displayed. But they shouldn't have been surprised. They saw the same rage that came with that devastating punch to the red haired magician.

Kamijou could not stand how the magicians were using those feelings to their advantage and could not stand how the church referred to her as "impure". All of them were treating a human being like a thing, and Index must have seen nothing but people who did that. The fact that she still put everyone above herself despite that was what Kamijou could stand the least.

"…Sorry."

Kamijou had no clue what it was that made him so angry. But, that one word made him truly snap.

He lightly tapped Index on the forehead.

"…Oh, come on. Why didn't you tell me about something this important?"

Index froze in place as Kamijou stared at that bedridden girl with his canines bared. Her eyes opened wide like she had done something horribly wrong, and her lips frantically moved like she was trying to say something.

Everyone smiled at the boy's words. The foolish, idiotic, naive words that made them so happy whenever he said them.

The ones he used to turn your worst nightmare into something of a passing dream, like a far off memory of the past.

"But, I didn't think you would believe me, and I didn't want to scare you. And… um…"

Index seemed about to burst into tears, and her voice grew quieter and quieter as she spoke. Kamijou could barely hear her toward the end.

Still, Kamijou heard her say "I didn't want you to hate me."

("As if that human that's too soft for his own good could feel a pitiful emotion like hate.)"

Othinus whispered to the nun.

"No, fuck that!"

Everyone could feel the irritation in the boy's voice, because they all knew that the girl's own insecurities would be the one thing that would be able to anger the boy.

As such, Kinuhata along with everyone else reflexively gulped at the tone he used.

He literally heard a snapping noise. "Don't look down on people and come up with your own estimation of them! Church secrets? 103,000 grimoires? Yeah, that stuff is amazing and incredible. And yes, it all seems so absurd that I still don't really believe it. But…" Kamijou paused for a beat. "-But the last thing you should be doing is saying sorry and apologizing. So instead..."

The boy smiled.

"How 'bout... 'please help me'...yeah?"

Such casual words. They were by no means inspirational or had a deeper meaning to them. And yet... because that boy had said them...

They made many people smile and soften their gazes.

(Kamijou... as I thought... you are a knight in shining armour...)

Index's eyes opened wide. Her small lips frantically moved as if to say something, but no words came out.

"Don't look down on me like that. Did you really think I would call you creepy or disgusting or something just because you memorized 103,000 grimoires!? Did you think I would abandon you and run off the instant magicians showed up? Fuck that. If that were all I was capable of, I wouldn't have taken you in the first place!"

If Kamijou was the type of person to just abandon people when things got too hard, too painful, too unbearable, then... a lot of people present in the room wouldn't be existing right now. And some might be living in a nightmare that they would have no way out of.

One person in particular thought of such a future.

(Would I really have been satisfied at Level 6...? Can I really say that I would just stop and live my life peacefully after that...?)

Accelerator stopped to consider such things.

(No... even without considering that, would the world just continue to exist amidst such a monster?)

Then he scoffed at the very next thought he had.

(I have no way of knowing but... if I had reached that mythical level of invincibility... that hero would still be the one to bring me back down.)

As Kamijou spoke, he finally realized what it was he was so upset about.

Kamijou had simply wanted to be of some help to Index. He did not want to see Index get hurt anymore. That was it. And yet, she refused to let Kamijou protect her while she put herself in harm's way to protect him. Kamijou had wanted to hear her ask for help just once.

It was frustrating for him. So very, very frustrating.

Affirmation.

That was all 'Kamijou Touma' wanted. He wanted to hear 'please save me' come out of the girl who was suffering.

Index was smiling at the desire that boy had to save people.

A desire that didn't dissapear even when he became someone else.

"…Just trust me a little. Don't come up with your own estimations of people."

That was all there was to it. Even if he had not had his right hand and had been a normal person, it would have been no reason for Kamijou to back down.

No such reason could exist.

Two boys facing off against each other, except... they both had the uncanny visages of Kamijou Touma.

Many thought back to that time.

When Kamijou Touma had clashed with an impostor that had taken that peculiar ability from him. When the boy had shown his own desire to save the ones he had been steadily building connections with.

That time, he didn't want to leave it to someone else. He wanted to save his friends. And he did. He put to rest the being who wanted to be a 'somebody'. And by doing so, he reclaimed that ability that couldn't help him on tests, couldn't save him from delinquents, and didn't make him popular with the ladies. He reclaimed that inconvenient ability that gave him the worst luck in the world.

And that was because no one should have to deal with it but Kamijou Touma. And he could live with that.

Index merely stared at Kamijou's face in astonishment for a time. But then, tears welled up in her eyes.

It was as if her eyes were made of ice and had begun to melt.

Index clenched and sealed her lips to choke down the sobs, but her lips trembled as if she could no longer stand it. She drew the futon up to her mouth and bit onto it. If not for the blanket, the enlarged and growing tears in her eyes would have made her look like a bawling kindergartener.

Index's throat began to tighten as she thought back to the emotions she felt on that day. Because, despite her not knowing what such a word meant, she had understood one thing.

(That was hope. It had to be.)

In all likelihood, the tears were not merely in response to the words Kamijou had spoken.

Kamijou lacked enough conceit to think it was. He doubted his words had made that much of an impression on her. Most likely, something that had been building up within her had come flowing out with his words as the trigger.

"How could she not feel like that..."

Uiharu said, beginning to tear up.

"With being on the run, scared out of her mind, how could she not find solace in those words."

Just as he felt his heart break at the thought of no one ever having said those words to her before, Kamijou also felt that he had finally seen Index's "weakness" which made him a bit happy.

'You might find this disrespectful, but even though your a god, your surprisingly easy to get along with...!'

(Was that the weakness you you were happy see in me human...?)

Othinus thought, recalling the words said in those immeasurable lifetimes.

However, Kamijou was not the kind of pervert who enjoyed watching girls cry. In fact, it was incredibly awkward.

If Komoe-sensei unknowingly entered at that moment, he was sure she would unhesitatingly tell him to die.

"I would do no such thing...! I would j-just tell the boy that those who make girl's cry need to reevaluate their life choices and consider taking drastic actions..."

The teacher started to mutter.

(That sounds the same to me! And what the hell does 'drastic' mean in that sentence!?)

Were many people's thoughts.

"U-Um… Y'see. I have my right hand, so no magician is any match for me!"

"…But… sob… you said you have supplementary lessons during summer vacation."

Kamijou froze.

Everyone couldn't help but find amusement in the sudden shift to the boy's expression at those words.

"So this guy really is a bonafide idiot..."

Mugino said with a bizarre look on her face, like she couldn't decide on whether to gaze scornfully at him or just look on in dumb amazement.

"Leave it to Kami-yan to beat a Magic God but be truly powerless when it comes to academics..."

Tsuchimikado said with mirth in his voice.

"…Did I say that?"

"You definitely did."

Apparently, the girl who had perfectly memorized 103,000 books had an excellent memory.

"Don't feel bad about throwing someone's everyday life into disorder with something like this. My supplementary lessons aren't that big a deal. School doesn't want to hold me back if they can help it, so if I ditch the supplementary lessons, I can just go to supplementary lessons for the supplementary lessons. I can put them off as long as I need to."

If Komoe-sensei had heard that, that room would likely have turned into a battlefield, but he paid that no heed.

Komoe was about to scold Kamijou for his lacking attitude when it came to his studies, however didn't get a chance as Aogami Pierce spoke up instead.

"You know, Kami-yan says that he wants to pass this year, but I'm pretty sure he's ditching classes because he's got the hots for Komoe-sensei."

Any lecture that was about to come out of the tiny teacher's mouth instantly failed her as the words caught in her throat, her face burning at what was said.

"W-wha...!? What are you saying Aogami-chan!?"

Komoe spinned towards the boy, face aflame. The boy however, was still undeterred.

"Hey, I'm just saying, for a guy always talking about the appeal of dorm managers, he's always surrounding himself with younger girls. I mean seriously, its like they keep getting younger and younger! If I haven't been moved up to #15 under Anti-skill and Judgement's criminal watchlist, I would totally report that bastard! It's truly outrageous!"

Aogami said in an indignant tone.

.

..

...

... Hold on...?

"W-wait! I feel like that pervert said something really serious just now!"

"The panty-snatcher in spandex calling himself 'Blue Fetishist' is yOUUUUU!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

Saten, expressed deep concern at what had been said, while Shirai just came to a massive lead in an ongoing investigation where a number of females have reported missing underwear.

Everyone else just bore judgemental gazes into the blue haired boy. They honestly did not know what to do with this information.

(Something like this is a bit hard to proces-)

"Its not stealing if I return them after I'm done."

Was a whisper they barely heard from the boy.

"Huh!?"

"…"

With tears still in her eyes, Index looked up at Kamijou.

"…Then why were you in such a rush to get to your supplementary lessons?"

"…Oh."

Kamijou thought back. Sure enough, after he had stripped her nude by destroying her Walking Church with Imagine Breaker and that closed elevator-like silence had taken over, he had…

Many did not need tobe reminded of such an event. Especially Index, as a dark red hue took hold of her cheeks.

"Because you had plans and because you had a normal life to live, I felt it was wrong to disturb all that…"

"O-Oh. Yeah…"

"I was in the way there."

"…"

"I was in the way…"

Once she repeated herself with tears in her eyes, it was downright impossible to try to get out of it.

"I'm fwowwy!" Kamijou Touma apologized as he quickly entered prostration mode.

"Always so inconsiderate to other people's feelings, that guy...!"

Mikoto said with an annoyed smile. She herself has been on the recieving end of such indirect jabs, making it all the more relatable.

(G-girl's are sensitive. You can't just imply that they're a pain to deal with... baka...)

Index slowly sat up in the futon like a sick person, grabbed Kamijou's ears, and bit down on the top of his head like it was a giant onigiri.

"And there it is..."

Shirai said in a dry tone.

Everyone blanched at how, once again, Index latched onto the boy's head. But...

"Hey Index, does Loverboy taste good?"

.

..

...

This bombshell of a comment was said by Lessar.

"Huhhhhhhhhhhh!?"

Everyone exclaimed in unison. Faces grew red and eyes went up in surprise.

(W-w-w-w-w-w-w-what does she mean by that!?)

Uiharu thought, her mind a scrambled mess.

And regarding the nun's answer...?

"Hm... taste? Touma's head doesn't really taste like anything...?"

Index said confused.

Lessar seemed to be disappointed with such an answer.

"Ahem..."

Tsuchimikado cleared his throat.

"I think what she meant to ask was-."

"You finish that sentence and your relinquishing the right to use your kneecaps...!"

Fukiyose swiftly responded without batting an eye.

"...D-duly noted Fukiyose-sama."

About 600 meters away on top of a multi-tenant building, Stiyl took his binoculars away from his eyes.

"That guy again..."

Hamazura said.

"The boy Index is with… I've looked into him. …How is she?"

Without turning around, Stiyl replied to the girl who had spoken to him.

"She's alive. But that must mean they have a magic user."

"D-do they mean me...?"

Komoe said, a little confused.

The girl gave no response, but it seemed she was more relieved that no one had died than worried about a new enemy.

The girl was 18, but she was about a head shorter than Stiyl who was only 14.

"FOURTEEN!?"

Everyone exclaimed in surprise. Many whipped their heads to the magician in question.

"How!?"

Hamazura directly addressed the now revealed boy.

Stiyl however, looked away, tight lipped.

But then, Stiyl was over 2 meters tall, so the girl was still tall when compared to the average Japanese height.

Her waist-long, black hair was tied in a ponytail, and at her waist was a sheathed Japanese sword over two meters long. It was a type known as a "command sword" that was used in Shinto rain calling ceremonies.

However, it was difficult to call her a Japanese beauty.

"Damn..."

Was all that was heard from Aogami.

Many other gulps were heard, males and females alike.

(This girl is...!)

Shokuhou began to think in apprehension. She stole glances at the screen and then back to the girl in the room.

She wore used jeans and a white shirt. For someone reason, the left leg of her jeans was completely cut off up to the base of her thigh, the extra cloth at the bottom of her T-shirt was tied off so her midriff was visible, she wore knee high boots, and her Japanese sword was hanging down in a leather holster like a pistol.

(This girl is right in his strike zone!)

Shokuhou finished with irritation. But that was quickly replaced with determination. A feeling that resonated from a girl that was way too competitive to give up on someone she had fell head over heels for.

"(Someone like her won't stop me. And neither... yes. Neither will the other thing. What I've seen already is proof that I shouldn't give up. For his sake...)"

...

With Mikoto, she just stared at the tall Japanese beauty in deep concentration. And then...

"Okay...! I just have to look at it like another wall when raising my level!"

"Onee-sama!? What does that mean!?"

Shirai voiced out in surprise and concern over Mikoto's outburst. But the girl wasn't paying attention. She had a similar look of determination in her eyes. Although, it couldn't be said what she was fighting. A rival... or something attached to that rival. Two things to be precise.

She looked something like a sheriff from a Western who had traded their pistol for a Japanese sword.

Just like Stiyl, the perfume-smelling priest, her outfit was hardly normal.

"So who exactly is this guy, Kanzaki?"

"The thing about that is… I was unable to get much information on the boy. At the very least, it seems he's not a magician or supernaturally powered in some other way."

"Hmph! That couldn't he more wrong."

Mugino said in a slightly haughty voice. Almost as if... no, couldn't be.

(Mugino doesn't have something like respect or admiration for the Boss, that's crazy.)

Hamazura thought with a dismissive expression.

"Yeah. Kamijou is super strong...!"

(Kinuhata on the other hand... well, it couldn't be more obvious...)

The boy thought as he stared at the blushing visage of the girl with 'Offensive Armor'.

"What, are you trying to say he's just a normal high school student?" Stiyl lit the cigarette he pulled out by staring at the tip. "Just stop. I may not look it, but I'm a magician that has fully analyzed the existing 24 runes and developed 6 new and powerful runes. This world isn't kind enough to let a powerless amateur drive back Innocentius's flames of judgment."

With Index's assistance, he had put together a plan using that help almost immediately. Plus there was that strange right hand of his. If he were a normal person in Japan, then it truly was a country of mysteries.

"True." Kanzaki Kaori narrowed her eyes. "The real issue is that someone with that much battle ability is categorized as nothing more than a hopeless student who is prone to getting into fights."

"That's what bothered me as well..."

Mikoto said with a contemplative expression.

"That idiot has such an unassuming attitude. And even when I hacked the bank to get info on him, there was almost no information whatsoever. Just a bunch of folders labeled A-Z..."

"Wow Misaka-san~! I didn't know you so easily resorted to stalking when you like someone. My my how interesting...!"

"H-huh!? Who said I like that I-idiot!?"

Mikoto retorted to a grinning Shokuhou, face aflame with red.

"Um... Misaka. The correct answer should have been, I wasn't stalking him..."

Saten replied dryly with a meek tone, Uiharu nodding beside her. Then Uiharu spoke up, curious.

"Misaka? What were the folders labeled A-Z called?"

"Huh? Oh, they were called Hospital Reports? ...oh."

Suddenly a wave of pity was felt for the boy.

"Perhaps the information is being intentionally blocked. Also, Index's wounds were magically healed. Kanzaki, do any other magical organizations exist in the Far East?"

They had decided that the boy must have had an organization other than the Five Elements Institution on his side. They mistakenly believed that this other organization was thoroughly eliminating all information on Kamijou.

"Five elements institution...?"

Himegami muttered in a curious tone.

...

"As paranoid as ever, Aleister. That human is way too cautious sometimes..."

The voice said, talking as if recalling an old acquaintance.

"If they're doing something in this city, the Five Elements Institution's informants must have picked up on them." Kanzaki closed her eyes. "We have an unknown number of enemies and no chance of backup. This is a difficult development."

It was all a misunderstanding. Kamijou's Imagine Breaker had zero effect unless it was being used on supernatural powers. In other words, Academy City's System Scan was unable to measure his power because it used machines to measure it. And so, Kamijou had the misfortune to be treated like a Level 0 despite possessing a top class right hand.

"It just gets worse and worse for Kamijou doesn't it...?"

Uiharu says with a trace of pity in her voice.

"Yeah, even though he has the ability, he still doesn't get all the perks that come with it."

Saten adds.

(Even more so when you consider his bad luck...)

"In the worst case scenario, this could develop into a magical battle against an organization. Stiyl, I heard your runes have a fatal flaw when it comes to waterproofing."

Stiyl fumed silently as his loss was once again brought to his face.

(I feel like I'm never going to live that down...)

"I've already compensated for that. I laminated the runes. The same trick won't work on me again." Like a stage magician, he pulled out the runes that now looked almost like trading cards. "This time, I will place the barrier 2 kilometers around the area rather than just on the building. It will take 164,000 cards and the preparations will take 60 hours to complete."

Unlike in video games, real magic took a bit more than just the chanting of a spell. For that reason, an enemy force of unknown numbers put a magician at a serious disadvantage.

"…She looks so happy," the rune magician suddenly said as he stared 600 meters ahead without using his binoculars. "She looks so very, very happy. She always lives such a happy life."

He sounded like he was spitting out some kind of thick liquid.

"Is... is he talking about me?"

Index questioned.

"How long do we have to keep ripping that to pieces?"

Many were surprised to hear the clear regret laced in the magicians voice, Index included. The tone used now had a stark difference from the villainous performance he was playing earlier.

"So he really was faking...huh."

Shokuhou commented.

Kanzaki stared 600 meters ahead from behind Stiyl.

Even without using binoculars or magic, she could see clearly with her 8.0 vision. Through the window, she could see the girl angrily biting down on the boy's head while he flailed his arms around and struggled.

"Wow, that super looks like it hurts..."

Kinuhata says.

"It must be a complicated feeling," said Kanzaki like a machine. "…For someone like you who was once in that same position."

"…I'm used to it," replied the flame magician.

He truly had experienced that feeling many times before.

"Huh? Same position? What... what do you guys mean by that?"

Index turns to Stiyl and Kanzaki, nothing but confusion filling her face.

"Don't worry Index, this will explain everything to you, probably in a much better way than we can."

Kanzaki smiled at the girl and responded. Stiyl on the other hand just turned away with a slight frown.

(This... will probably be troublesome...)

---

"Bathtime Bathtime " sang Index as she walked next to Kamijou holding a wash basin in both hands.

As if to say she was done being sick, she had changed from pajamas into her safety-pin-covered nun's habit.

(I guess it's my turn now...)

Kanzaki mused with a less than pleased expression. Her gaze then fell to the weapon at her hip, her lip trembling as a result. Because it was with that very same blade that she beat down a boy trying to do the right thing.

With such feelings of anxiety within her, Kanzaki once again raised her eyes to the screen, waiting to relive a memory that she could only come to regret.

Kamijou had no idea what kind of magic trick she used, but the bloody habit was perfectly clean. He had a feeling it would tear into pieces if placed in the washing machine, so he wondered if she had taken it apart and washed each individual piece.

"Does it bother you that much? To be honest, I don't care about the smell."

"Are you the type that likes the smell of sweat?"

"I didn't mean it like that!"

"I know there are some super perverts out there, but what type of guy would like a girl that sweats? It's super gross."

Kinuhata made this offhanded comment, without any idea of what she had just unleashed.

"W-what did you just say...?"

Tsuchimikado let out in utter shock.

(Oh no...)

Fukiyose couldn't help but think, even more so when she looked at Aogami, as he had a similar expression of bewilderment, which quickly changed to anger.

"Just because your new to Kami-yan's harem..."

Aogami was steadily building anger in his voice.

"...Doesn't give you the right to make these baseless comments about what you know about the average male."

(Huh!?)

"H-harem!? Who's in a harem!?"

Kinuhata reflexively responded to Aogami's ludicrous statement, her face turning red.

"Yeah, play the ignorance card, see if that helps you in the long run, Miss-I-use-my-legs-because-I-don't-have-the-breasts-to-back-it-up."

Tsuchimikado said in a mocking voice.

(W-wha!? How the hell can they spout these things with a straight face!?)

Kinuhata thought in pure anger, getting ready to pummel the two cocky bastards.

"Listen up! If a guy tells you that he doesn't like the way a cute girl smells, he's lying! All guys are biologically programmed to find attraction in the scent of the opposite sex!"

(I'm more surprised that this idiot actually looks super pissed at me right now! Either way I'm slugging him!)

Kinuhata thought as she began to approach Aogami. But before she could even take a proper step in his direction, it seems someone already beat her to it.

Fukiyose blindsided the blue haired boy with a wild haymaker to the cheek, then pivoting her foot to unleash a killer blow to the idiot with sunglasses as well.

After two boys connected with the floor (once again), Fukiyose just stood there panting. Then...

"You know... I get the feeling that I just saved your life just now. Now shut up and pay attention."

...

After such bold statements from the perverted duo, someone couldn't deny the overwhelming truth that was spoken.

(Look away! Look away! Don't make eye contact, you can do it! Your not guilty. There is no way she knows that your gui-!)

"Hamazura, why are you looking away with a guilty look on your face...?"

Takitsubou interrupts Hamazura's internal struggling.

(Shit!)

Hamazura turns to see a very intimidating Takitsubou with a suspicious look.

"Could it be... that the guy just now was correct when he said all boy's like a girl's s-sweat?"

She couldn't help butter stutter at the end there, it was just that embarassing.

The boy looked absolutely crestfallen at such a question.

(What the hell do I say!? If I say yes, then I'm a massive pervert with a sweat fetish. If I so no, then I risk the likelyhood of Takitsubou getting subconscious about her smell. And that would make her uncomfortable with being around me in her track suit! I won't get to smell the sweet scent of my girlfriend anymore!)

"Hamazura...?"

"I..."

Hamazura racked his brain for what he could say to let him off the hook in this situation.

(Well, screw it, romance manga, don't fail me now...!)

"I-I don't know about all of that, but you smell good no matter what... Rikou."

"O-oh..."

Takitsubou's questioning stare instantly dropped, her cheeks gaining a heavy red hue.

"T-thats good to hear..."

That's what she said, although she couldn't tell if it made it to the boy's ears, with her heart hammering so loudly in her chest.

[A/N: I swear I'm not doing this on purpose...]

After three days, she was finally well enough to head out and a bath was her first request.

Komoe-sensei's apartment lacked anything even remotely resembling a bath, so their only options were to borrow the one in the manager's room or head to the run down public bath nearby. And so, the young boy and girl were walking along a footpath at night with wash basins in hand.

"Just what era of Japanese culture are we living in?" Komoe-sensei had commented with a smile as she explained the public bath system. She let Kamijou and Index stay in her apartment without asking for details on their situation. Kamijou agreed to freeload with her because he did not want to return to his dorm that was undoubtedly being watched by the enemy.

But as everyone undoubtedly just saw, that clearly wasn't the case. And that meant...

"Something's about to happen..."

Birdway said.

Anxiousness began to swell up in those watching.

"Touma, Touma," said Index in a muffled voice because she was lightly biting the upper arm of his shirt.

Due to her habit of biting people, it was nothing more than a gesture similar to grabbing at a person's clothes to draw their attention.

(Like a little kid...)

Mikoto sweatdropped.

"…What?" Kamijou replied in exasperation.

That morning, Index had realized she didn't know his name, so he had introduced himself to her. In the time since then, she had to have called his name about sixty thousand times.

"Nothing. I just like calling your name for no reason." Her expression was like that of a child going to an amusement park for the first time.

"That's actually really heartwarming and sweet..."

Uiharu said with a kind voice.

...

"'F-for some reason' she says. A-as if we don't know..."

Tsuchimikado panted from his prone position on the ground. He was still recovering.

Index seemed much too attached to him.

It was likely because of what had happened three days prior, but Kamijou was less happy than he was unsure how to feel about the fact that no one had ever said something that basic to Index.

"Only you would show that much kindness to someone and call it basic, you fool..."

Birdway said with a slight smile on her face.

"Komoe said the Japanese public bath has coffee milk. What's coffee milk? Is it like a cappuccino?"

"You're not going to find anything that elegant in a public bath. Don't get your hopes up so much," said Kamijou. "Hmm, but the giant bath might be a bit shocking to you. In England, the cramped baths like those at a hotel are most common, right?"

"Hm? …I don't really know." Index tilted her head to the side as if she really did not know. "The first thing I remember is being here in Japan. I don't really know how things are back in England."

Most found that odd.

"That's weird, her grasp on the language is really good for a foreigner."

Saten mused.

"…Hmm. So that's why you speak Japanese so fluently. If you were here since you were little, then you're practically Japanese yourself."

"No, no. That isn't what I meant." Index shook her head, shaking her long, silver hair back and forth. "Apparently, I was born and raised in London's St. George's Cathedral. Apparently, I only came here about a year ago."

"Apparently... as in she doesn't know herself...?"

Sogita murmured, confused at the girl's way of talking.

"Apparently?" Kamijou frowned at that vague term.

"Yes. I have no memories from before about a year ago when I arrived." Index smiled.

Just like a child heading to an amusement park for the first time in her life. It was the perfection of the smile that showed Kamijou the fear and pain behind it.

"What!? You mean she has... amnesia."

Mikoto didn't finish.

(Just like him...)

Everyone was shocked at this tidbit of news. The ever bright and cheerful nun had no memories to back up such a kind and endearing persona.

"When I first woke up in a back alley, I had no idea who I was. All I knew was that I had to run away. I couldn't remember what I ate for dinner the night before, but knowledge of things like magic, the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, and Necessarius were swirling around in my mind. It was so scary…"

"That's horrible. The first thing she knew was that she had to run. How could they do that to her!?"

Shirai exclaimed in outrage.

Kanzaki and Stiyl both reflexively lowered their heads in shame.

"Then you don't even know why you lost your memories?"

"That's right," she replied.

Kamijou knew nothing of psychology, but he knew from video games and dramas that there were two major causes of amnesia: receiving a major shock to the head or sealing a memory that your heart simply could not bear.

Many shuddered at the latter reason.

Because that was exactly how the boy was able to forget some of the atrocities that happened to him in those Infinite amount of deaths.

The frown on Othinus' face was clear.

"God damn it…" Kamijou muttered as he looked up into the night sky.

While he did feel anger towards the magicians who would do that to a girl like her, he was mostly overcome by a sense of powerlessness.

He now knew why Index had covered for him and grown so oddly attached to him. It was simply that Kamijou just so happened to be the first person she had gotten to know after spending a year alone in the world without knowing anything.

This displeased Kamijou.

He had no idea why, but for some reason that answer truly angered him.

"That's not the only reason I was attached to you Touma..."

Index began with a weak voice.

"You were the only one who didn't ignore me when I was running for my life. Even when it would have been the most safest thing to do..."

Index finished, warmth filling her heart.

(And that's why... that's why I fell in love with you...)

"Mh? Touma, are you angry?"

"No, I'm not."

The question had caught him off guard, but Kamijou managed to feign ignorance.

"If I upset you in some way, I apologize. Touma, what's got you so mad? Is it puberty?"

"Pftt!"

Many tried to stifle their laughter at the nun's wayward comment.

"I don't want to hear about puberty from someone with a childlike body like yours."

"Kamijou-chan! You can't say that to a young lady!"

Komoe scolded.

"Mh. What was that? I really do think you're mad. Or are you only pretending to be mad to trouble me? I don't like that side of you, Touma."

"Hey, don't say that when you never really liked me in the first place. I'm not expecting that kind of wonderful, love comedy-like turn of events with you."

"…"

"Huh? …Why are you staring up at me like that… princess?"

"…"

A resounding sigh filled the room as they were just left to witness the boy's overwhelming stupidity when it came to the feelings of the fairer sex.

"Why... why is he like this? No, the better question is how!? How the hell are you this dense Kami-yan!?"

Naturally, Aogami was the first to speak, oh sorry, I mean rant.

...

"Wait, you mean he thinks that the nun girl doesn't like him, seriously?"

Mugino asked in a stunned voice.

Hamazura just sighed.

"Yeah... the Boss is just like that. A girl could throw themselves naked at him and he would still find a logical reason for her doing so."

"Tch!"

At the boy's statement, Lessar clicked her tongue in apparent disatisfaction. It was as if someone had just ruined a long awaiting plan of hers.

...

"Kamijou... is pretty oblivious huh?"

Sogita said with wry smile.

(Your the last person who gets to say that to someone else!)

Shokuhou, Mikoto, and Accelerator all think in unison.

Even when he tried to force it in the direction of a gag, Index gave no response.

(Odd. This is weird. Why is Index folding her arms, looking up at me with tears in her eyes, lightly biting her lower lip with a hurt-looking expression on her face?)

"Touma."

"Yes?" Kamijou responded, deciding he might as well respond since she called his name.

He had a strong foreboding of misfortune.

"I hate you."

In that instant, Kamijou gained a good amount of experience points for the rare experience of a girl biting down on the entirety of the top of his head.

"Deserved it."

Shirai said bluntly.

"Totally deserved it...!"

(He's done that to me so many times!)

Mikoto said and thought.

"Um... poor Kamijou..."

Saten took the boy's side.

And...

"So... Kamijou isn't a playboy?"

"Huh!?"

Everyone turned to look at Uiharu in shock.

"W-what?"

---

Index headed on to the public bath alone.

Meanwhile, Kamijou trudged on toward the public bath. He had tried running after Index at first, but the angry white nun ran off like a stray cat whenever she saw him. Despite this, he would see Index's back after walking a bit further as if she were waiting for him. After that, the cycle would repeat. She was truly like a capricious cat.

"Is she... is she doing some sort of roleplay?"

Lessar answered with enough genuine curiosity that made others look over to her in pity.

Birdway just looked at her with a dead stare.

(What the hell is wrong with this girl...?)

(Well, we're headed to the same place, so we'll meet up again eventually.)

Not to mention that he sensed impending misfortune in the form of an arrest should someone see him (seemingly) chasing a weak and helpless young British nun down a dark pathway at night like some sort of stalker.

"That may be true, but it's not stalking if you don't make direct eye contact..."

Aogami muttered.

Himegami just wordlessly stared at him.

(There are so many things wrong with that statement...)

"A British nun, hm?" Kamijou muttered under his breath as he walked down the dark pathway alone.

He knew that Index would be brought to the Anglican Church's headquarters in London if he took her to one of their churches in Japan. There would be nothing left for Kamijou to do. It would all surely end with something like, "It may have just been a short time, but thank you. I will never forget you because of my eidetic memory."

Kamijou felt something sharply stabbing inside his chest, but he had no other ideas of what to do. If Index were not brought under the Church's protection, she would continue to be chased by magicians. Also, it was unrealistic to try to follow Index to England.

They lived in different worlds, they stood in different places, and they existed in different dimensions.

Kamijou lived in the world of scientific esper powers, and she lived in the world of the magical occult.

Like land and sea, their two worlds would never cross paths.

That was all there was to it.

That was all there was to it, but it still annoyed him like a fish bone stuck in his throat.

Once again, everyone was made aware of how much 'Kamijou Touma' valued the connection he had formed with the young nun. So much that the thought of their eventual goodbye was treated as an unbearable dread in the back of the boy's mind.

While Index herself was happy to hold that much sway over the boy who she had fell in love with, it was as equally painful to know that persona of 'Kamijou Touma' from then was not the same person as the one today.

But, even so...

('He' is not gone. Touma might not remember in his mind, but... there is no way that he's not still there in his heart.)

With those thoughts, it seemed Index was able to come to a similar conclusion as to where 'Kamijou Touma' still was and always will be.

"Huh?"

Suddenly his vainly spinning thoughts cut off.

Something was not right. Kamijou checked the time displayed on a department store's electronic billboard. It was exactly 8 PM. It would still be some time before most people were asleep, and yet, a horrible silence had fallen over the area like that of a forest's at night. A strange, out-of-place sensation hung over the area.

With that, the atmosphere that had been created, was immediately snuffed out. Because as it always was for Kamijou Touma, nothing would remain normal forever.

(What's going to happen...?)

Komoe thought in worry, her gaze never leaving the spiky haired teen on the monitor.

"..."

(Come to think of it, I haven't seen anyone since we were walking together…)

With a puzzled look, Kamijou walked further along.

"A people clearing field huh..."

Birdway comments.

"Looks like Cow Tits is making her move..."

That was said, not so quietly. Which of course earned her a silent glare from a very annoyed Saint who was already in a foul mood in regards what was about to happen.

"Oh don't flatter yourself, isn't a bit presumptuous to assume I was talking about you...?"

Kanzaki just gritted her teeth at that, and then ultimately looked away. But...

"Who else would I be talking about with those gigantic meat bags your carrying around."

"!"

And when he came to a major road with three lanes in each direction, the out-of-place feeling shifted to a full-blown sense of things being blatantly wrong.

There was no one there.

"Is this... mag-"

Whatever Uiharu was about to say was cut off by a sudden voice.

"This is because Stiyl carved the Opila rune for a people clearing field."

A female voice suddenly entered his head like a Japanese sword stabbing into the core of his face.

He had not noticed.

She hid behind nothing and did not sneak behind him. She stood in the center of the wide runway-like road around 10 meters ahead of him, cutting off his path.

It went beyond the point of not seeing or noticing her due to the dark. An instant before there truly was no one. But, in the time it took him to blink, the girl had appeared.

The stares that were set on the saint before were that of idle curiosity (but some overwhelming jealously). But now, the stares were accusing, and that was because the mood was clear. This girl was going to be a threat to the boy they all cared for in their own way.

"All of the people around this area have had their focuses averted so that they avoid approaching here for whatever reason. Most are likely inside the buildings, so worry not."

His body reacted before his mind could manage to. All of the blood in his body seemed to gather in his right hand. With rope-like pain tightly binding his wrist, Kamijou instinctually sensed that the girl was dangerous.

The girl wore a T-shirt and jeans with a leg boldly cut off, her clothes completely removed from normalcy.

However, despite the perilous situation Kamijou was most likely in...

(This girl's outfit is so lewd! I swear Aogami was just telling me about some western cowgirl he was dreaming about!)

Kamijou couldn't help but let his teenage mind drive in the front seat.

(L-lewd!?)

Kanzaki's face burned at that. Then, she not so subtlety glanced down at her current outfit, which was actually different than the one on the screen. It was what she saw as her winter counterpart, made up of dark blue colors with long sleeves and material that was sturdy and warm.

(D-does Kamijou see this one in the same way?)

"As much as I want to, and I really want to... I can't take credit for some like that. My feeble small brain could never imagine something so mature and erotic."

Aogami said, holding his head in shame. And of course, the saints enhanced senses did not miss this comment, leaving her to feel more and more self-conscious about her image.

However, the two meter plus Japanese sword hanging from her waist like a pistol emanated a freezing bloodlust. The blade was hidden within a scabbard but the black scabbard appeared as full of history as the pillar of an old Japanese building, making it clear that the sword was real.

"The One who Purifies God and Slays Demons… An excellent 'true name.'"

That name was once again brought to everyone's attention.

However, the girl herself showed no signs of nervousness. The relaxed way she spoke, like that of someone having a casual conversation, made it all the more frightening.

"…Who are you?"

"I am Kanzaki Kaori. …I would prefer to not give my other name, if possible."

"Your other name?"

"My magic name."

He had expected it, to a certain extent, but Kamijou still took a step back.

Magic name. That was the "killing name" that Stiyl offered before attacking Kamijou with magic.

And that was so terrifyingly accurate, as the intent to kill was ever present in that previous battle with the red haired magician.

Fukiyose gulped.

"So… what? Are you from that magic cabal or whatever, just like Stiyl?"

"…?" For a split second, Kanzaki frowned in doubt. "Oh, did you hear that from Index?"

Kamijou gave no reply.

"Not giving the enemy information. So this guy does have some battle sense in him."

Mugino said with apparent disinterest. Although those that knew her thought it sounded like her own version of a compliment.

"To be honest," Kanzaki closed one eye. "I would like to take her into our care without having to give my magic name."

Kamijou shuddered. Kamijou had a trump card, his right hand, and yet, the enemy standing before him sent a chill down his back.

"…And if I refuse?" Kamijou asked nevertheless. He had no reason to fall back.

"Kamijou is so brave..."

Uiharu said in awe.

"Hahaha! Is that how it looks? Because in actuality... he is absolutely terrified..."

The voice said, causing many to look more intently at the boy. And upon closer inspection, they noticed he was shaking slightly.

"But... when has something as trivial as fear ever stopped him."

"Then I will have no choice." Kanzaki closed her other eye. "I will have to give my name until she has been brought into our care."

An earthquake-like shock caused the ground under Kamijou's feet to tremble.

It was like a bomb had gone off. The night sky at the edge of his vision that should have been covered in the pale blue darkness was instead colored with a burning orange like that of the sunset. Giant flames were spreading a few hundred meters ahead.

Kamijou reflexively looked over in the direction of the exploding flames and in that instant, Kanzaki Kaori's slicing attack approached him.

A distance of 10 meters lay between Kamijou and Kanzaki. Additionally, Kanzaki's katana surpassed two meters long, so it looked impossible for her slender feminine arms to pull it from its scabbard, much less swing it around.

…But that was just how it looked.

In the next instant, the air above Kamijou's head was sliced apart like she wielded a giant laser. In shock, he froze in place and the blade of a wind turbine behind him to the right was silently sliced through diagonally as if it were made of butter.

"S-so much power..."

Saten said, half terrified at such a feat, and what it meant about the boy squaring off against her.

"Please stop this," said a voice 10 meters in front of him. "Ignoring my warnings will only lead to death."

Kanzaki's two meters plus sword was already in the scabbard. The strike had been so quick Kamijou had never even seen the blade exposed in the air. He was unable to move.

The only reason he was still standing was because Kanzaki had intentionally missed. The situation seemed so unreal that he had only just barely managed to realize that fact. His enemy was so absurdly powerful that his mind could not keep up.

And that was all it took for everyone to know that this person, this enemy wielding unimaginable power, was someone who a normal highschool boy would not be able to win against.

But... was someone who stood against a magic god, suffering, struggling, and agonizing through the countless hell's that he was put through... can a person like that really he considered normal...?

So... as much as it terrified them that the boy was up against this monster... a small sliver of hope was there for the person who always seemed to defy trivial things like fate and logic.

With a loud thud, the sliced wind turbine blade fell to the ground behind him.

Though the wreckage of the blade fell so closely by, Kamijou was still unable to move.

Kamijou gritted his teeth at the thought of how ridiculously sharp that blade must have been.

Kanzaki opened one of her closed eyes and said, "I will ask you again." She narrowed her eyes slightly. "I would like to take her into our care without having to give my magic name."

Kanzaki's voice was unhesitant, her voice so cold she seemed to be saying that that level of destruction was not worth any surprise.

"…Wh-What the hell are you saying?"

As if his feet were glued to the ground, he could move neither forwards nor backwards. His legs trembled like he had just finished running a full marathon and could feel his strength leaving them.

"He really is afraid, Misaka says while looking at the boy's shaking legs and shaken demeanor..."

Imouto did not understand why the boy, her savior, always went so far. It was the same way during the Level 6 Shift Experiment.

(Even though he probably wanted to run away... he stayed and fought anyway...)

Then Imouto blushed.

(For Misa-...no...for me.)

"I have no reason to surrender to-…"

"I will ask as many times as necessary."

In an instant —truly only an instant— Kanzaki's right hand blurred and disappeared like a bug in a video game.

With a roar, something flew at Kamijou with frightening speed.

Kamijou felt like giant laser guns were being fired from all directions.

It was like a giant tornado made up of blades of air.

Kamijou Touma watched as that typhoon sliced the asphalt, the streetlights, and the trees lining the street at set intervals to pieces as if it were an industrial water jet cutter. A fist-sized piece of asphalt flew through the air and struck Kamijou's right shoulder, which was enough to send him flying and almost knock him unconscious.

Everyone's hearts seized in worry at that. However, they had a feeling it was only going to get worse for Kamijou, and that was even more terrifying.

"Kamijou... please be okay..."

Himegami said.

Grasping his right shoulder, Kamijou looked around while moving only his eyes.

One… two… three, four, five, six, seven. A total of seven linear sword slices continued for a few dozen meters across the flat ground. The cuts came in at many seemingly random angles and looked something like fingernail scratches on a steel door.

He heard a click as her katana returned to its scabbard.

"I would like to take her into our care without having to give my magic name."

With her right hand still on the hilt of her sword, Kanzaki simply spoke her words with no malice or anger.

"The speed of the Nanasen attack that my Shichiten Shichitou creates is enough to kill you seven times over in the period of time known as an instant. People refer to this as an instant kill. Calling this a certain kill would not be far from the truth."

Silently, Kamijou clenched his fist with enough force to crush his right hand.

She had overwhelming speed, power, and range. Most likely, that slicing attack had something to do with the supernatural power known as magic. In that case, he just had to touch the actual attack itself.

"Keep dreaming," she said, cutting off his thoughts. "I heard from Stiyl that your right hand can dispel magic for some reason. However, am I correct in thinking you cannot do so unless you touch it with that right hand of yours?"

Exactly. Kamijou's right hand was of no use if he could not touch it.

"If she knows about his ability, then how is Kamijou-chan going to win?"

Komoe asked in worry. Her knowledge about her students ability was already lacking, but as well as the fact that his opponent already knew about it, that further clinched he fears.

"Ha! I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that guy acts like a total dumbass in school. Isn't that right shortie?"

Accelerator laughed with a sneer on his face.

"Well..."

"Most definitely..."

Fukiyose commented in Komoe's place.

"Then you probably don't how he is in a fight. And after going at it three times... I can say..."

Accelerator then scowled as if the next words were truly irritating to say.

"That guy is scarier than me."

This surprised everyone, especially since it was coming from the 1st ranked esper in Academy City.

Komoe looked back up to the screen, back to her student.

(Is Kamijou-chan really like that?)

"I will ask as many times as it takes."

Kanzaki's right hand silently grabbed the hilt of Shichiten Shichitou at her waist.

Kamijou felt a cold sweat on his cheek.

If Kanzaki's mood changed and she went in for the kill, Kamijou would certainly be sliced to pieces in an instant. Given how she had sliced the trees lining the road to pieces at a range of a few dozen meters, trying to run away or use something as a shield would be suicide.

Kamijou calculated the distance between himself and Kanzaki.

It was about 10 meters. If he ran as quickly as his physical body would let him, he could cover that distance in four steps.

(…Move.)

Kamijou desperately commanded his legs that seemed attached to the ground with instant glue.

"Will you let us take her into our care before I give my magic name?"

(…Move!)

He took one step forward as if ripping his feet off of the ground. One of Kanzaki's eyebrows twitched up as Kamijou moved to take another explosive step forward like a bullet.

"Ohh…. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

He took his next step. If he could not run away, could not evade to the right or left, and could not use anything as a shield, the only option left was to head forward and open up a path for himself.

Many could only admire the grit the boy had, which made him unable to stand still even when he was clearly terrified.

"Kamijou truly doesn't let his moniker of weakest define him..."

Saten says in awe.

"I do not know what is driving you this far, but…"

Kanzaki gave a sigh that held more pity than surprise. And then…

They knew...

They knew exactly what would drive Kamijou Touma to do the things that many would consider foolish.

Nanasen.

The small fragments of the destroyed asphalt and trees floated in the air like dust. With a roar of wind, that cloud of dust was sliced to pieces before Kamijou's eyes.

"Ah… Ohh!"

He knew in his head that he could negate it if he touched it with his right hand, but his heart immediately chose to evade. He crouched down with such force it looked like he was swinging his head down, and his heart froze as the seven waves passed overhead.

He had not calculated it, and there was no way he could have succeeded had he tried. He had only managed to evade due to pure luck, and he proceeded to take another powerful step, the third of the four.

"T-that was close...!"

Aogami said nervously.

If he took that last step to reach Kanzaki, he would win. The final hope that the thought gave Kamijou was shattered to pieces with a small click.

It was the much-too-short slightly metallic noise of the katana being returned to its scabbard.

Nanasen.

The roar came from directly in front of Kamijou at pointblank range.

The seven strikes were on him before his body's reflexes could even kick in.

"Dammit… Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Kamijou stuck his right fist forward toward the slicing attacks in front of him, but the movement was more like a defensive attempt at catching a ball thrown at his face than an offensive attack.

As long as it was a supernatural power, Kamijou's right hand could negate it even if it were the power of God or of vampires.

Himegami visibly winced at that.

(I guess that would make sense. So just like me... Kamijou could also...)

Himegami shook her head to interrupt her thoughts. That was not something she wanted to imagine.

Due to the close proximity, the seven strikes were released simultaneously without spread, which meant he could blow away all seven of them with one strike of Imagine Breaker.

As the strikes glowed blue in the moonlight, the skin of one finger on Kamijou's fist lightly touched them….

…And was eaten into.

"!"

Expressions of shock and surprise filled the room.

"Wha…!?"

It did not disappear. Even with Imagine Breaker, those absurd strikes did not disappear.

Kamijou immediately tried to pull his hand back but was too slow. After all, he had stuck his own hand into the oncoming strike of a Japanese sword.

"Touma!"

Index yelled in worry.

She narrowed her eyes slightly at the sight of him. In the next instant, the wet sound of flesh being sliced apart filled the area. Kamijou held his bloody right hand with his left and fell to his knees.

Many felt sick to their stomachs churn at such a sight.

"No... why?"

Itsuwa said with her eyes widened.

Kanzaki dipped her head down in unbearable shame.

He was honestly surprised to find all five of his fingers were still attached. This was of course not due to Kamijou's fingers being tough or Kanzaki's skill being poor. Kamijou's body was not sliced to pieces due to the simple fact that she had held back, held back even more, and allowed him to live.

Still on his knees, Kamijou looked up.

Kanzaki stood with the blue moon's perfect circle behind her. He could see things like red threads in front of her.

"I can't believe this…" Kamijou clenched his teeth. "Are you even a magician?"

She had only moved the sword slightly within the scabbard and then moved it back. That motion was to hide the hand manipulating the seven wires.

Kamijou's hand was relatively unharmed because Kanzaki had loosened the wires just before they severed his fingers.

"She's still holding back against him!?"

Shirai said in surprise.

"As I said, I heard about your ability from Stiyl." Kanzaki sounded disinterested. "That was when I realized: your power is not of greater quantity, it is of a different type. It is the same as rock-paper-scissors. No matter how many times you use rock, you can never defeat my paper."

Kamijou clenched his bloody fist.

"You seem mistaken about something." It seemed to pain Kanzaki to look at him. "I am not disguising a lack of ability with a cheap trick. Shichiten Shichitou is not a mere decoration. Beyond Nanasen is the true Yuisen."

He clenched his bloody fist.

"And more importantly, I have not given my magic name yet."

He clenched it.

Everyone could feel the myriad of feelings clenched into that fist. Powerlessness, incompetence, rage, sorrow...

The boy felt these emotions because he wasn't strong enough.

"Please do not make me give it, boy." Kanzaki bit her lip. "I don't wish to give it ever again."

His clenched fist trembled. She was clearly different from Stiyl. She was not a simple one-trick pony. From the most basic of the basics to the most complex of the complexities, she was a kind completely differently from Kamijou.

Kamijou Touma could very well die in this fight.

That was something that passed through everyone's mind. And that was a gut wrenching realization for them.

It only made sense for one to simply despair in the face of such power. But...

---

[PLAY MUSIC: Re:Zero - Requiem of Silence - KaYou Remix]

---

"…Like hell I can give up."

Even so, Kamijou did not unclench his fist. He kept his right hand closed despite having no feeling in it.

Index had not given up in her attempt to face Kamijou when sliced in the back by that magician.

The voice that permeated through the room was solid and firm. And... angry.

"Woah..."

Kinuhata let out.

"What did you say? …I could not hear you."

"I said shut the hell up, you damn robot!"

Kamijou clenched his bloody fist and tried to swing it at the face of the girl standing before him.

But, the toe of Kanzaki's boot jabbed into his solar plexus before he could. All the air in his lungs burst from his mouth and the Shichiten Shichitou's black scabbard struck him on the side of the face like a baseball bat. His body spun like a tornado, and he struck the ground shoulder-first.

"Kamijou!"

Fukiyose yelled out.

Before he could cry out in pain, Kamijou saw the bottom of a boot coming down to crush his head.

In an attempt to evade, he immediately rolled to the side and…

"Nanasen."

As that term entered Kamijou's ears, seven slicing attacks broke the asphalt around him to pieces. Kamijou's entire body was pelted by an explosion of small fragments from every direction.

"Gh… Ah…!?"

Kamijou writhed in place as intense pain similar to being brutalized by five or six people assaulted him. Kanzaki approached him with her boots scraping on the ground.

"Get up my prince... please get up Touma..."

Shokuhou said pleadingly.

(I need to get up…)

However, his legs were too tired to move.

"Surely that is enough." Her quiet voice actually sounded pained. "There is no reason for you to go this far for her. Lasting even 30 seconds against one of the top 10 magicians in London is quite an achievement. She cannot blame you after going this far."

Kamijou's mind was hazy, but he managed to recall something.

He recalled that Index would indeed not blame him no matter what he did.

"That's right Touma! You went above and beyond for someone that was a stranger! There is no way I would-"

(But…)

That one word echoed through the room, cutting Index off.

He could not give up precisely because she continued to withstand it all without blaming others. He wanted to save the girl who smiled so perfectly with the otherwise heartbreaking expression.

Kamijou forced his destroyed right hand into a fist like it was a dying bug.

His body could still move. It moved when asked.

"Touma... you always do this..."

Index said with tears in her eyes.

"…Why?" Kamijou whispered from his collapsed position on the ground. "You look like you don't like this. You aren't like that Stiyl guy; you're hesitating to kill your enemy. You could easily have killed me from the beginning if you wanted to, but you didn't. …You still have enough of a normal human's way of thinking to hesitate about things like that, don't you?"

That was a good point. The girl known as Kanzaki Kaori could have indeed killed him without him even knowing. She didn't even need to show herself, that was how much powerful she was in comparison to Kamijou.

But she hasn't yet.

(That guy is going to beat her with the only other thing he's got then...)

Birdway thought with a smile. The one thing that was always sharper than any weapon that he refused to bring into his fights. And those were his words.

Kanzaki had asked again and again. She had asked to have it all ended before she had to give her magic name.

The runic magician naming himself Stiyl Magnus had not shown the slightest bit of hesitation in that regard.

Kanzaki Kaori fell silent, but Kamijou's mind was too hazy from the pain to notice.

"Then surely you know, right? You know that chasing a girl around until she collapses from hunger and then slicing her back open with a sword is wrong, right?" As he spoke the words as if he were coughing up blood, Kanzaki could only continue to listen. "Did you know that she has no memories beyond about a year ago thanks to you? What the hell did you do to her while chasing her down to cause something like that?"

The hidden anger in the boy's voice was obvious.

He received no response. Kamijou could not understand.

He would have understood if this magician were trying to gain the 103,000 grimoires to become a magic god that could (supposedly) bend the rules of the world in order to make some wishes like healing a child with an incurable disease or something for a dead lover come true.

But she was not doing that.

She was part of an organization. She was doing it because she had been told to, because it was her job, and because those were her orders. That was all it had taken for her to chase down a girl and slice her back open.

"Why?" repeated Kamijou, his teeth clenched. "I'm a loser who couldn't save a single girl after risking my life to desperately fight you. I'm a weakling who can't do anything but lie on the ground and watch you take her away." He sounded like he could burst into tears like a child at any moment.

Everyone saw that those words of self-deprecation were not an act in any way. That was the truth.

"That's not true Kamijou."

Himegami muttered softly.

"But you're different, aren't you?" He had no idea what he was saying. "With your power, you could protect anyone or anything, and save anything or anyone." He had no idea who he was speaking to.

"So why are you doing this?"

He spoke.

He regretted.

He regretted that he had thought he could protect everything he wanted with the little power he had.

He regretted that someone with such overwhelming power was using it only to hunt down a small girl.

He regretted that the situation seemed to be saying that he was worse than even someone like that.

He regretted it all and he thought he would cry.

Silence built atop silence, creating an even greater silence.

Had Kamijou's mind been clearer, he would definitely have been surprised.

"…I…"

Kanzaki was the one driven into a corner.

"Huh!?"

Everyone gaped.

With only a few words, he had driven one of the top 10 magicians in London into a corner.

"I really did not mean to slice her back open. I thought the barrier of her Walking Church habit was still functioning… I only sliced her because I was absolutely sure it would not hurt her… And yet…"

Kamijou did not understand what Kanzaki was saying.

"I am not doing this because I want to," said Kanzaki. "But she cannot live if I do not do this. …She will… die."

Kanzaki sounded like a child, about to burst into tears.

Many watched in slack jawed amazement as Kamijou had reduced this all powerful magician to that of a vulnerable little girl.

.

..

...

"That's kinda hot..."

"Lessar!"

"The organization I belong to is the same as hers. I am from Necessarius of the Anglican Church," she said as if coughing up blood. "She is my colleague… and my precious friend."

Index was mildly confused at this revelation.

(Wait... I knew her... before?)

The nun then sent a look to Kanzaki, and also to the one standing beside her, they both just have her grim smiles. They were clearly at a loss of what to say.

---

He did not understand. He did not understand what she was saying.

While Kamijou lay collapsed and bloody on the road looking up at Kanzaki, he thought he had imagined what he had heard because of the surprise. After all, it made no sense. Index was trying to escape to the Anglican Church while being chased by magicians. How could those magicians be from that very same Anglican Church?

"Have you ever heard of an eidetic memory?" asked Kanzaki Kaori. Her voice was weak and she looked pained. At that moment, it was hard to believe she was one of the top 10 magicians in London. She looked like nothing more than an exhausted girl.

"Yes, that's the true identity of her 103,000 grimoires, right?" Kamijou moved his split lips. "They're all in her head. I find it hard to believe she can remember every single thing she sees even once, though. I mean, she's an idiot. She just doesn't look like that kind of genius."

"Hey! I'm not an idiot Touma!...Your ...um ... an idiot!"

Index then looked away with a huff.

("Excellent display at proving him wrong...)"

Othinus muttered as she rolled her eyes.

"…What does she look like to you?"

"Just a girl."

Kanzaki looked more exhausted than surprised and said, "Do you think she could have escaped our pursuit for an entire year if she were 'just a girl?'"

"Stiyl has his flames and I have my Nanasen and Yuisen. She is up against magicians who name their magic names, but she cannot rely on a supernatural power like you or magic like me. She can only run away." Kanzaki gave a self-derisive smile. "And Stiyl and I are only two opponents. Not even I would last a month against the entire organization of Necessarius."

That was true.

"Wait... does that mean the Silver Sister... is actually intelligent!?"

Mikoto said in bafflement.

"Stop sounding so surprised Short Hair!"

Index said in annoyance.

Kamijou finally learned the truth about Index. He was unable to escape for four days even with his Imagine Breaker that could smash the systems of God in a single strike. And yet, she…

"She is, without a doubt, a genius," declared Kanzaki. "To the extent that using her ability in the wrong way could cause a disaster. The reason why the higher ups in the Church do not treat her normally is clear. They are afraid of her. Everyone is."

That snapped the nun out of whatever mood she was in.

"People... were afraid of me...?"

For someone who knew next to nothing about her past, this was not something the girl wanted to hear. It actually saddened her quite a bit.

But...

"That may be." Kamijou bit his bloody lip. "But she's still human. She's not a tool. I can't… let you call her that…!"

"Touma..."

Index let out softly with a small smile.

"Yes." Kanzaki nodded. "But her current traits are not that different from normal people like us."

"Over 85 percent of Index's brain is filled with the 103,000 grimoires. The remaining 15 percent is just barely managing to function enough for her to be the same as us."

"Damn... that much huh."

Hamazura said with a slightly impressed tone.

...

(Remaining 15 percent? What's she talking about?)

Shokuhou thought this, however not in the way that implies that she lacked understanding. She furrowed her brow in thought.

That was amazing and all, but there was something Kamijou wanted to know first.

"…So what? What are you people doing? You're part of the same Church as Index, right? That Necessarius thing. Why are you chasing her around? Why was Index saying you were evil magicians from a magic cabal?" Kamijou silently clenched his back teeth. "Or are you trying to say Index was the one tricking me?"

He could not believe that. If she were simply trying to use Kamijou, he saw no reason why she would have risked her life and gotten her back sliced open to save him. And, even without the logical reasoning, he simply did not want to believe it.

"The savior always sees kindness in everyone! Even with the people that think they don't have it, says Misaka Misaka while attempting a sly wink in your direction."

Last Order put her hands on her hips and attempted just that, only to get shut down by the recipient.

"Yeah, let's test that. Let's see how kind I am when I punt you across the room."

Accelerator said with what could only be described as a villainous sneer.

"Th-thats so mean!"

Last Order cried out.

"…She was not lying," replied Kanzaki Kaori after slight hesitation.

She sounded like she was holding her breath while her heart was being crushed. "She remembers nothing. She remembers neither our Necessarius affiliation nor the reason for her being chased. Because she does not remember, she has to use her knowledge to fill in the gaps. It is only natural to assume magicians chasing the Index Librorum Prohibitorum are from a magic cabal after her 103,000 grimoires."

Kamijou recalled something: Index had lost her memories from before about a year ago.

"But, wait. Wait a second. That doesn't make sense. Index has an eidetic memory, right? So why did she forget? What made her lose her memories?"

"She did not lose them." Kanzaki stopped even breathing. "Technically, I erased them."

"Y-you guys... erased them. M-my memories...?"

Index was not taking this well. She was stuttering and had an expression of complete shock.

Kamijou had no need to even ask how.

–Please do not make me give it, boy.

–I do not want to give it ever again.

"…Why?" He asked instead. "Why!? I thought you were Index's comrade! And that wasn't just something Index thought, I can tell from your face! You saw Index as a precious comrade, didn't you!? So why!?"

Kamijou recalled the smile Index had given him.

It was the other side of the loneliness that had led to him being the only person in the world that she knew.

"…We had to do it."

"Why!?" he shouted as if he were howling at the moon above his head.

"Because, otherwise, Index would have died."

"Huh...?"

Index's thoughts and feelings, along with everyone else's, were all stopped at that comment.

His breathing stopped. For no discernible reason, the heat of the midsummer night that he felt on his skin departed. All five of his senses grew thin like they were trying to escape reality.

It felt as if… It felt as if he were a corpse.

"Like I said, 85 percent of her brain is taken up by the memories of the 103,000 grimoires." Kanzaki's shoulders trembled slightly. "She only has the remaining 15 percent for normal use. If she continues to amass memories like a normal person, her brain will quickly burst."

"No way…"

Denial. Rather than use logic or reason, Kamijou's brain simply denied it.

"Is she serious!?"

Saten said in a shocked manner. This feeling was mirrored by Uiharu and Shirai.

However.

(What? That's wrong.)

That was the thought of 5 teenagers in the room that transcended what it meant to be intelligent. And those people were Mikoto, Accelerator, Mugino, Sogita (Who knew...), and Shokuhou. And especially in the latter's case, the concept of your brain bursting because you have photographic memory was not true at all.

"As I thought. It's complete bogus."

Shokuhou says quietly.

"Although... the fact that the magician believes in it without question means..."

The honey-blonde haired girl smirks.

(As usual... someone with influence ability is pulling the strings from the top.)

"I mean… I mean… how could that be? You said she was the same as us with that 15 percent..."

"Yes, but she is different than us in one way. She has an eidetic memory." All feeling slowly left Kanzaki's voice.

"Think back to what an eidetic memory really is."

"…It's the ability to never forget anything you see even once, right?"

"And is the ability to forget really all that bad a thing?"

"The specifications of the human brain are surprisingly limited. The only reason a human brain can keep functioning for 100 years is because unneeded memories are disposed of by the process of forgetting. For example, you don't remember what you ate for dinner a week ago, do you? Everyone's brain undergoes this maintenance without them even realizing it. Otherwise, people would be unable to live. But," Kanzaki said with an icy voice, "She cannot do this."

"She cannot forget anything: be it the number of leaves on the trees lining the road, the faces of each and every person during a rush hour, or the shape of each and every raindrop falling from the sky. All of those pointless, garbage memories fill up her mind in no time." Kanzaki's voice froze over. "Having only 15 percent of her brain leftover is a fatal tragedy for her. Since she cannot forget on her own, her only way to live is to get another to force her to forget."

Everyone was shocked by this circumstance.

However, if the Level 5's wanted to indulge the others on their findings, they made no signs of doing so. After all, there was still a foreign element that they didn't account for, or more accurately, couldn't account for.

And that was magic. More specifically, how much power those fabled grimiores would have over the human brain.

Kamijou's mind shattered to pieces.

(What… what kind of story is this? I thought this was the story of an uninteresting guy saving an unfortunate girl being chased by evil magicians, getting to know the girl, and finally feeling a slight twinge in his chest as he watches the girl leave in the end.)

(Uninteresting huh...)

Fukiyose thinks with a smirk.

(There is no way that's the case after all we've seen Kamijou.)

...

Index frowned at one point of the boy's thoughts, and that was the end.

(Touma... did you really not think I'd want to stay with you? Did you really not consider I'd want to get closer to the person who saved me?)

And the girl truly did frown, because those were questions she would never get answers to. Never.

He continued to analyze the disparities.

–So I came to shelter her before anyone who would use them came to take her away.

–I would like to take her into our care without having to give my magic name.

"…How long?" Kamijou asked.

Inquiring instead of denying, he seemingly accepted it somewhere deep down.

"How long until her brain bursts?"

"Her memories are erased at precise one year intervals." Kanzaki sounded exhausted. "The limit is three days from now. It cannot be done too soon or too late. If not done at that exact time, her memories cannot be erased. …I hope she has yet to experience the powerful headaches that precede it."

"Just three days..."

Shirai said, her tone glum.

Kamijou was shocked. It was true Index had said she had lost her memories from over about a year ago.

…And the headaches. Kamijou had assumed Index had collapsed due to the recovery magic. After all, Index knew the most about magic out of any of them and had said as much.

But, what if Index were mistaken? Kamijou considered.

What if she were moving around in a state where her mind could be destroyed at any moment?

For Index, this was a lot to process. How could it not? Memories, previous lives, photographic memory, being seen as a monster, having to forget things that she no doubt held precious...

All these things were swirling around in her mind like a cascading hellscape.

Index reached shaky hands up to her head, gripping it tightly.

(I don't- why? How? Why does this?--!)

But then... it all stopped. The storm that was rummaging amok in her mind suddenly came to an immediate halt. And that was because she had thought of one thing, and it had calmed her to her very bones.

She thought of the idiotic boy who continued to indulge her selfish whims, because he cared for her. She thought of the one known as Kamijou Touma who hadn't even entertained the thought of abandoning her.

(Right... that's one memory that I would like to hold onto. More than anything...)

The girl smiled, a truly heartfelt smile. She was happy to find solace in a memory that too precious to let go.

"Now do you understand?" Kanzaki Kaori asked. She had no tears, as if refusing to allow herself to display such cheap expressions. "We wish her no harm. In fact, there is no way to save her without us. So, will you hand her over before I must give my magic name?"

As Index's face appeared in Kamijou's mind's eye, he gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut.

"Also, if we erase her memories she will not remember you. You saw how she viewed us, did you not? No matter how she feels about you now, once she opens her eyes, you will be seen as nothing more than a natural enemy after her 103,000 grimoires."

At that instant, Kamijou felt something was strange.

"Saving her will gain you nothing."

"Hmph... bet that guy didn't think of that. I guess know he has no excuse to play hero anymore."

The part of Mugino that was cynical (Or her whole self let's be honest) came out of the girl's mouth with a sneer. It seemed that the Level 5 assumed that she now understood the personality of Kamijou Touma.

Yeah, let's test that shall we...?

"…What do you mean by that?" The feeling exploded out in an instant like gasoline thrown on fire. "To hell with that! What does remembering me have to do with it!? You don't seem to get it, so let me tell you something. I'm Index's comrade. I decided to stay on her side no matter what happens! Even if it isn't written in your precious Bible, this will never change!"

Everyone smiled at the boy's retort. As it was without a doubt, incredibly like him.

Mugino's cocky expression instantly fell at the boy's words.

"Huh!? You mean, he truly doesn't care that she won't remember him?"

Even Kinuhata was surprised, despite the girl starting to have a little faith in the boy who held her interest.

"Hahahaha!"

Hamazura burst out laughing beside her. This quickly prompted Mugino to glare at him with rage.

"Sorry Mugino, its not that I'm laughing at you. It's just...the idea that the Boss would try to save anyone just to gain their affections, or some dumb shit like a long term booty-call, is honestly hilarious! Ahahahaha!"

.

..

...

"But isn't that why you super wanted to save Takitsubou?"

Kinuhata commented offhandedly. Thus, the boy froze.

"Hamazura... explain."

(Shit...)

"I thought something was off. If she only forgot, couldn't you just get rid of the misunderstandings by explaining it all to her? Why did you leave it at the status quo? Why did you chase her around like her enemy!? Why the hell did you just decide to abandon her!? Do you have any idea how she fee-…"

"Shut up! You know nothing!"

Kanzaki's voice echoed through the room, startling everyone. Index just looked on in surprise.

Kamijou's anger was crushed by Kanzaki's yell assaulting him from above. What seemed to squeeze at Kamijou's heart were, rather than the words she spoke, the raw feelings that were stripped bare.

"Don't act like you understand! How do you think we've felt erasing her feelings all this time!? How could you possibly understand!? You spoke like Stiyl was some kind of sadistic murderer, but do you know how he felt seeing her with you!? Do you know how he suffered!? Do you know how hard it was for him to name himself her enemy!? What do you understand about Stiyl's feelings as he continued to sully himself for the sake of his precious comrade!?"

"Wha-…?"

"...Stiyl...? You were..."

That was all Index said as her eyes widened in surprise.

Before he could raise his voice in shock at her sudden change of behavior, Kanzaki kicked his side like a soccer ball. The unrestrained strike sent Kamijou's body into the air. After landing, he rolled two or three meters further.

The taste of blood overflowed from his stomach up into his mouth.

Everyone winced at the brutality.

However, Kanzaki jumped straight up, the moon at her back, before Kamijou could even writhe about in intense pain.

Like some kind of joke, she jumped three meters up into the air with just the strength of her legs.

He heard a dull noise. The flat tip of Shichiten Shichitou's scabbard had crushed Kamijou's arm like high heels.

"!..."

Not knowing what else to do, everyone gazed at the scene in front of them in surprise and horror.

But, he failed to even cry out in pain. The expression on Kanzaki's face made it seem like she would shed tears of blood.

Kamijou feared.

He was not afraid of Nanasen, or Yuisen, or of the power of one the top 10 magicians in London. He feared the raw human emotions that assaulted him.

"We tried, too! We tried everything we could! We spent spring trying, we spent summer trying, we spent fall trying, and we spent winter trying! We promised to make memories that she would never forget and we made journals and photo albums!"

The end of the scabbard rained down again and again like a sewing machine.

His legs, his arms, his gut, his chest, his face. The blunt blows crushed his body again and again.

"…But none of them worked."

Kamijou heard the sound of her gritting teeth. Her hand stopped.

"Even when we showed her the journals and the photo albums, she just apologized. No matter what we did and no matter how many times we tried, even if we remade the memories from scratch, nothing worked. Everything returned to zero whether you were family, her friend, or her lover." She trembled so much that it seemed she could not take another step. "We… could stand it no longer. We could not bear to see that smile of hers any longer."

Before the girl knew it, tears began to fall down Index's eyes. Whether it was because of the power of the raw emotions presented by Kanzaki, or something else, like a phantom pain...caused by something that she can't quite place.

...

Wait...

She couldn't bear it? Kanzaki... couldn't bear to see the girl's smile any more?

(Yeah... there's something wrong with that...)

Mikoto thought.

With Index's personality, having to say farewell must have been as painful as dying. Having to experience such a thing over and over again would be like living in hell.

Immediately after experiencing the misfortune that was the farewell, she would forget it all and tragically begin a run toward that same determined misfortune once more.

That was why Kanzaki and Stiyl had chosen to lessen the misfortune as much as possible rather than give her the cruel fortune of knowing them. If Index never had the precious memories she had to lose, then the shock of losing her memories would lessen. That was why they abandoned their good friend and played the part of an enemy.

They would blot out her memories to make that final hell as easy as possible for her.

Somehow or other, Kamijou understood.

As did the people in the room.

(I know what that's like...)

Mikoto thought this with a bitter smile. Something similar had happened to her after all. For a short time, her friends held no memories of their time together.

Even if it was only temporary, to be regarded as nothing but a stranger...

(It hurt.)

They were expert magicians. They made the impossible possible. The entire time Index repeatedly lost her memories, they had to have searched for a way to keep her from losing her memories.

They never succeeded.

Even then, Index had certainly never blamed Stiyl or Kanzaki.

She had surely given them that same smile like usual.

Being forced to connect with her anew each time had led Kanzaki and Stiyl to blame themselves and see giving up as the only option.

But that was…

---

[PLAY MUSIC: Dearly Beloved - Kayou Remix]

---

"What a load of crap!" Kamijou gritted his teeth. "That reasoning only takes you into account. You didn't give even a single thought about Index! I didn't hear one thing in your heartfelt speech about her! The feelings of the girl who you chased down! Don't blame your cowardice on her!"

The boy surprised everyone even further with his exclamation.

Kamijou had pointed out one very important thing. And that was further cemented by what he had said before.

'To hell with that! What does remembering me have to do with it!? You don't seem to get it, so let me tell you something. I'm Index's comrade. I decided to stay on her side no matter what happens!'

It didn't matter to him whether or not he would be remembered. It didn't matter to him whether or not someone acknowledged his efforts. Kamijou Touma already swore to himself that he would reach out his hand and drag the girl out of hell. So...

There was no way in hell he would hand Index to someone with their own disillusioned sense of priorities...

Komoe smiled at her student.

"Your always such a good person Kamijou-chan."

For the past year, Index had continued to flee on her own without relying on anyone. Kamijou refused to accept that that was the best option. He would not let himself accept it. He did not want to.

"Then… what else are we supposed to do!?"

Kanzaki grabbed Shichiten Shichitou's scabbard and swung it down forcefully at Kamijou's face.

Kamijou moved his battered right hand and grabbed the scabbard just before it struck his face.

"He's bleeding all over, his body is riddled with bruises and cuts. I don't even know how he's still able to move. What is Kamijou doing? Why is he going this far?"

Uiharu asked in frantic confusion.

No longer did he feel fear or nervousness because of the magician.

His body moved. It moved!

"If you were a little stronger…" Kamijou gritted his teeth. "If you had used faux words powerful enough to become reality…! If she was afraid of losing her memories of that year, you just have to give her even better memories the next year! If happiness, great enough to erase her fears of memory loss, awaited her, she wouldn't have to keep running! That's all it would have taken!"

He forcibly moved his left arm, now with a broken shoulder, and grabbed the scabbard with that hand too. He forced his battered body into a standing position. Blood flowed from various parts of his body.

"Kamijou... please stop..."

Fukiyose whispered.

"Are you seriously thinking of fighting in that state?"

"…Shut… up."

"What will you gain by fighting?" Kanzaki seemed legitimately confused. "Even if you did defeat me, Necessarius awaits behind me. I may have said I was one of the top 10 magicians in London, but there are those stronger than me. …From the Church's point of view, I am nothing more than a subordinate sent out to this Far East island nation."

It was likely true.

If they were truly Index's comrades, they would have opposed the church's way of treating her like a tool. The fact that they did not meant that there was a gap of power preventing it.

"I said… shut up!"

It did not matter. He forced his body to move despite the fact it trembled as if he were about to die and glared at Kanzaki standing before him.

"You idiot... you always try so hard..."

Mikoto lamented.

It was a simple gaze that held little power but was enough to make one of the top 10 magicians in London take a step back.

"That doesn't matter! Do you resign yourself to protecting people because you happen to have strength!?" Kamijou took a step forward with his battered legs. "No, you don't, do you!? Don't lie! You worked to gain power because there was something you wanted to protect!"

A chill ran down everyone's spine as they heard those words.

"H-how the hell can he get thrashed around and look like that at the same time...!?"

Mugino said mollified look on her face.

"Its because he's not some wannabe or faker."

Accelerator said without looking away from the screen. Mugino sent a confused look his way.

"He doesn't have any ulterior motive or scheme when he's playing hero, and that's what makes him a hell of lot more real than any other poser in this world..."

Coming from Accelerator, especially in the low tone he said them in, those words felt way more definitive.

...

"You poured everything you had into those words, didn't you kamijou?"

Kanzaki said with a smile, and then... she blushed slightly.

And that was because now, unlike before, she got a real good look at the eyes of the person who didn't give a damn about her status as a saint, a magician, or whatever the hell else.

Those blue orbs held nothing but determination and truth.

He grabbed Kanzaki's collar with his battered left hand.

"Oh wow... this is interesting! To think he got so forceful with her during the battle..."

Lessar said with a playful smile, causing Kanzaki to gain a darker tint to her cheeks.

"Why did you acquire power?"

He made a bloody fist with his battered right hand.

"Who did you want to protect!?"

Using that weak fist, he struck Kanzaki's face. There lacked anything remotely resembling force behind the punch and the fist itself actually spurted blood like a tomato.

(How the hell can he take so many injuries like they're nothing!?)

Shirai thought.

What Uiharu was thinking wasn't far off from that as well.

(Kamijou really is on a whole other level...)

Even so, Kanzaki stumbled back as if truly punched. She released Shichiten Shichitou which spiraled as it fell to the ground.

"Kamijou actually punched the priestess. He really is amazing!"

Itsuwa said in awe.

But...that just raised a question.

How could the saint known as Kanzaki Kaori have possibly been damaged by a punch from normal high school student? Was it Imagine Breaker? Or maybe... was there more to a punch than the physical power behind it.

"Then what the hell are you doing here!?" He looked down on Kanzaki, who had collapsed to the ground. "If you have so much strength… if you have so much almighty power, then why are you so powerless?"

The ground shook, or so it seemed, under Kamijou. The next instant, he collapsed to the ground like the electricity powering his body had switched off.

"He... he's out of energy..."

Kinuhata breathed out, taking a breath for the first time in a while.

(Get… up… The counterattack… is coming…)

His vision was dyed in darkness.

Kamijou, forcibly moving his body, had lost too much blood to see or recover. He moved in an attempt to defend against Kanzaki's counterattack but the best he could manage was move one fingertip like a caterpillar.

However, no counterattack came.

Nothing.

.

..

...

"That was so cool!"

Sogita yelled out.

"Even against such a strong opponent, Kamijou didn't back down even once! Guts like that is what I live to see!"

---

The feverish heat and dryness in Kamijou's throat awoke him.

Sighs of relief were heard. Based on all the injuries he had sustained, everyone was glad to see him awake.

"Touma?"

Around the time that he realized he was in Komoe-sensei's apartment, he also realized Index was staring down at him as he lay in a futon.

Surprisingly, he saw bright sunlight coming in through the window. That night, Kamijou had indeed lost to Kanzaki and lost consciousness before his enemy. He had no memory between then and waking up there.

Simply put, he was too dissatisfied with what had happened to even be glad to be alive. Komoe-sensei was nowhere to be seen and must have been out somewhere.

The only sign of her was some porridge sitting on the tea table next to Index. It may have been unfair to Index, but he doubted she could have cooked it given that she had asked for food after getting caught on his balcony and assumed Komoe-sensei had made the porridge.

"I did make it!"

Index said indignantly.

"Well... tried to."

"Honestly… You're treating me like I'm sick." Kamijou tried to move. "Ow, ow. What the hell? Since the sun's up, I must have been out all night. What time is it?"

"It wasn't just all night," replied Index, whose words seemed to catch a bit in her throat.

"?"

Kamijou raised an eyebrow, and Index said, "It's been three days."

"Three days! What kinda of bullshit timeskip is that!?"

Aogami said in surprise.

Wait... 3 days?

"That magician said... there were three days left..."

Himegami muttered in horror.

"Three days… Wait, what!? Why was I asleep for so long!?"

"I don't know!" Index suddenly shouted.

Kamijou's breath caught in his throat at that shout that had seemed like a burst of anger.

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know! I really didn't know anything! I was so focused on losing the flame magician that was at your house that I never gave any thought to the possibility that you would have to fight another magician!"

(She's... worried about him...)

Komoe thought with a smile.

Her angry words were not aimed at Kamijou. Her voice tore into herself and Kamijou was so overwhelmed he could not interject.

"Touma, Komoe said you were collapsed in the middle of the road. She was the one that carried you back to the apartment. I was so delighted back then. I had no idea you were on the verge of death while I did nothing but delight in the thought that we had gotten away from that stupid magician!"

"Alright, I don't mean to be that guy but... carried!? How!?"

Hamazura said in surprise, looking rapidly between the screen and the small teacher.

"I-I did carry him... well I dragged him actually but that doesn't matter! I did do it!"

Komoe said triumphantly.

"Oh... so Kami-yan wasn't actually sleeping for three days, it just took you that long to carry him?"

Tsuchimikado said offhandedly.

"..."

Komoe started to tear up.

"I-I believe you! I believe you! Stop crying!"

Tsuchimikado instantly caved after seeing the heartbroken expression that formed on that child.

Index's words suddenly cut off. What followed was a slight gap just long enough for her to slowly breathe in and prepare for the main point of her rant.

"…I couldn't save you, Touma."

Unmoving and biting her lower lip, Index's small shoulders trembled as she sat. Even so, Index shed no tears for herself.

Her heart would not allow even the slightest bit of sentiment or sympathy. Kamijou realized he could offer no words of consolation to someone who had sworn not to show any tears for even herself.

Instead, he considered something else.

Three days.

They could have attacked any number of times had they wanted to. In fact, it would have been unsurprising if they had retrieved Index three days ago when Kamijou had collapsed.

"Were they being kind by waiting until the time limit?"

Uiharu asked?

"Hm... maybe."

Saten replied.

"But it might also have something to do with why that woman with the sword didn't attack Kamijou when he passed out to begin with..."

Saten said that with the thought that Kamijou's words were able to impact the female magician more than they realized. Enough for her to relinquish any hostile intention towards him.

Then why? In his mind's eye, Kamijou had a puzzled look. He could not tell what their enemy was thinking.

He also felt that the term "three days" held some deeper meaning. With the sensation of bugs swarming his back, Kamijou suddenly recalled something.

The time limit!

"? Touma, what is it?"

Index merely looked at Kamijou in puzzlement. If she knew him, the magicians had yet to erase her memories. Also, from how she was acting, the symptoms had not begun either.

Kamijou felt relieved but also wanted to kill himself for wasting the final, precious three days. However, he hid it all away in his chest, not wanting Index to know.

"…Damn it. I can't move. What the hell? Why am I completely wrapped in bandages?"

"Does it hurt?"

"Does it hurt? If it did, I'd be writhing around. What's with the bandages all over me? Don't you think you went a bit overboard?"

"Huh... Boss looks like some Chunibiyoi Protagonist with all those bandages..."

Hamazura blurted out.

"…"

Index said nothing, and then tears welled up in her eyes as if she were unable to bear it any longer.

It stabbed into Kamijou's heart more than anything she could have shouted at him. He then realized that not feeling any pain was actually a bad thing.

Komoe-sensei could not use recovery magic anymore. He was pretty sure Index had said that. It would have been faster if he could have healed his wounds at the cost of some MP like in an RPG, but it seemed the world was not that kind.

Kamijou looked at his right hand. His utterly destroyed right hand was wrapped in bandages.

"Come to think of it, an esper that's been through the Curriculum can't use magic, right? What a pain."

(Unless you want to deal with the pain...)

Tsuchimikado offhandedly thought with a grimace.

"…Right. The pathways are different between a normal person and an esper," said the girl in an unsure tone. "It does seem those bandages will heal the wound… but your science sure is inconvenient. Our magic would be faster."

"That may be so, but I'll be fine without using anything like magic."

"…What do you mean by 'anything like'?" Index pouted her lips grumpily at Kamijou's comment. "Touma, do you still not believe in magic? You're as stubborn as someone with unrequited love."

"I didn't mean it like that." Kamijou shook his head with it still pressed against the pillow. "If at all possible, I don't want to see that face of yours when you talk about magic."

Kamijou recalled the look on her face when she gave her explanation of rune magic in the passageway of his dorm. Her eyes were as cold as the pale full moon and as precise as the gears of a clock. Her words were more proper than that of a bus tour guide's, and yet, lacking more humanity than a bank ATM.

Even so, he could not believe she was the same as the girl sitting before him. Or rather, he did not want to believe it.

Many could agree with that. After all, that particular personality was a far cry from how Index usually acted.

"? Touma, do you dislike explanations?"

"Hah…? Wait, do you not remember? You were talking about runes in front of Stiyl like some kind of puppet. To be honest, I didn't really like it."

"…Um… Oh, I see. I… awakened again."

"Awakened?"

"Awakened...? That's a weird way to put it..."

Shokuhou said.

The way she stated it had it seem as if that puppet-like form were her true self. It was like the kind girl before him was a fake form.

"Yes, but please don't say too much about what I'm like when I awaken."

Kamijou was unable to ask why. Before he could say anything, Index said, "Speaking when you aren't conscious is something like talking in your sleep. It's embarrassing. Also," she said. "It seems I become more and more like a cold machine and that scares me."

Index smiled.

She smiled as if she were actually about to collapse but wanted to avoid worrying anyone.

It was an expression that no machine could make.

It was the smile of a human being.

"…Sorry." Kamijou simply apologized. He regretted thinking for even a moment that she was anything other than human.

"It's fine, you idiot." Her comment that made it unclear if it were fine or not was accompanied by a small smile.

For some reason, Mikoto felt a pang of hurt in her chest at the nun's words.

(W-wait! I'm not jealous that the Silver Sister called him an idiot!)

She internally ranted with a blush on her cheeks.

"Are you hungry? We have porridge, fruit, and snacks, a full course staple for the sick."

"How am I supposed to eat with my hand-…"

He trailed off when he realized Index held chopsticks in her right fist.

"…Um, Index-san?"

"Hm? It's too late to start worrying about it now. If I didn't feed you like this, you would have starved to death the past three days."

"…Okay, fine. Just give me some time to think, God."

"Why? Are you not hungry?" Index put down the chopsticks. "Do you need me to wash you?"

"…Um?" An indescribable feeling crept through Kamijou's body.

(Huh? What is this terribly bad feeling? What is this horrible uneasiness that's making me think seeing a video of the past three days would make me die of embarrassment?)

"I don't understand. All I did was wash the sweat off of Touma's skin. But really, a boy's skin is different than girl's though..."

Index said without a care in the world.

Shokuhou's eye twitched.

(Is this girl... is this girl bragging without even realizing it!? I-I mean sure, I've already seen him shirtless up close b-but... to actually touch his...)

As expected, this middle schooler is not ready to think about such things.

...

"…Okay, I doubt you meant any harm by it, but just go sit over there, Index."

"?" Index fell silent before saying, "But I am sitting down."

"…"

Index surely had the best of intentions as she sat there with a towel, but Kamijou found himself unable to attach the term "innocent" to it.

"What is it?"

"Oh…" Kamijou had fallen silent, and now he tried to change the subject. "I was thinking about how you look from here in this futon."

"Do I look weird? I am a nun; I can nurse people."

"...?"

Many were confused as to what the boy was getting at.

He did not, in fact, believe she appeared odd. Her pure white nun's habit and motherly behavior made her seem like an actual nun (a fact he insultingly found surprising).

And, more importantly…

The way she looked at him with those teary eyes and flushed cheeks from having cried, she seemed quite…

"Hehehe... I get it. I guess there really is no taming you at the end of the day Kami-yan. You really are just like the rest of us..."

Tsuchimikado said in a teasing voice, gaining even more confused looks from everyone present, especially Fukiyose and Himegami.

(But... you lost your memories, and thus...your sense of self. So is the Kami-yan here now...does he...?)

The Backstabbing Blade had no idea what he was thinking about, but he felt like it was important somehow.

But for some reason, he just could not bear to speak that aloud, so instead he said, "Oh, it's nothing. I noticed that your nose hairs are silver too, is all."

"…"

Index's smile instantly froze in place.

"...you absolute idiot."

Mikoto breathed out.

"Geez... how can you always be like that. And... why despite that, do I still lo-"

Mikoto's weary expression froze as she realized what she was about to say outloud.

(W-w-w-wait! W-what am I saying!?)

"Touma, Touma. Do you know what's in my right hand?"

"Well, the porridge… No, wait! Don't offer it to gravity!"

In the next instant, Kamijou Touma met the misfortune of having his vision filled with the white porridge and its bowl.

"Totally deserved that. Stupid Touma... hmph!"

Index mumbled this while epitomizing a look that said 'I don't care anymore'.

---

Kamijou and Index learned firsthand that porridge was difficult to get out of futons and pajamas. Index battled with the goopy grains of rice with slight tears in her eyes until a knock at the door drew her attention.

"Is that Komoe?"

"…Are you not going to apologize?"

He had not been burned since the porridge had already cooled by the time it was dumped on him, but Kamijou had still once again passed out when the carbohydrates struck him because he had expected the porridge to be scorching hot.

"Huh? What are you doing in front of my house?" asked a voice on the other side of the door. It seemed Komoe-sensei had spotted whoever had knocked on the door as she returned from wherever she had been.

(Then who is it?)

Suddenly, everyone got a bad feeling.

"Kamijou-chan, I'm not sure what's going on, but it seems we have visitors."

The door clicked open, and Kamijou's shoulders jumped in surprise. Standing behind Komoe-sensei were two familiar magicians. They had appeared somewhat relieved to see Index sitting like normal.

"Are they here to fight Kamijou?"

Saten asked.

Kamijou frowned in suspicion. Naturally, with any thought at all, they were there to retrieve Index. However, they could have retrieved her three days prior when Kamijou had collapsed. There was little reason for them to let her roam freely until the day of her "treatment". Instead, they could have confined her somewhere until it was time.

(…So why did they wait until now to come?)

His muscles naturally tensed up as he recalled the powers of the magicians' flames and sword.

However, Kamijou no longer had reason to simply fight Stiyl and Kanzaki. They were not "Evil Magic Cabal Forces A"; they were from Index's Church to take her into their care. He worried for Index. In the end, he had nothing he could do but work with them and hand her over to the Church.

But, that was simply from Kamijou's point of view.

The magicians lacked any reason to cooperate with Kamijou. Simply put, there was no reason why they couldn't just decapitate Kamijou right then and there and take Index away with them.

Stiyl seemed to enjoy the fact that Kamijou stiffened up upon seeing them, and he said, "Heh. It looks like we won't have to worry about you escaping with those injuries."

"As I thought, that guy is a super sadist."

Kinuhata said in a mocking tone.

Stiyl's eyes twitched in annoyance.

At that point, Kamijou finally realized what the "enemy" was trying to do.

On her own, Index could escape the magicians. After all, she had eluded the church for almost a year on her own. Even if they captured her and locked her up somewhere, she might be able to easily escape if she were alone.

With only a few days until the time limit, they might be unable to catch up to her again if she truly began to flee again. If they imprisoned her somewhere, she might escape and it was possible she could escape even in the middle of the ceremony.

However, the same could not be said if she were burdened with an injured person like Kamijou. That was why the magicians had not killed Kamijou and why they had allowed him to return to Index. They wanted Index to refuse to give up on him so that he would function as a convenient shackle.

They had overlooked him solely so that they could more safely and surely take Index into their care.

.

..

...

Everyone was agape with surprise. I mean, they had all seen it before, but... they really forgot how analytical Kamijou could be when put in a dangerous situation.

"T-thats exactly what it was..."

Kanzaki said in awe. Stiyl also stiffened up next to her.

...

"Kamijou-chan, when did you get so smart!"

Komoe said with happy tears trailing down her face. That was the look of teacher that was proud of her student.

...

"Is this really the same guy who's supposed to be a bad student..."

Mugino deadpanned.

...

"So cool..."

Saten said with a faint blush.

To her, even though Kamijou was a Level 0, that wasn't all he was capable of. He could still apply himself in ways that he couldn't with a flashy ability.

"Leave, magicians."

And now, Index stood between the magicians and Kamijou.

She stood up and spread her arms. She somewhat looked like a sin-bearing cross.

It was all going exactly as the magicians had planned. Index gave up on escape because of the shackles that were Kamijou.

"…" Stiyl and Kanzaki both twitched slightly.

It was as if they could not bear to watch it despite how things progressed exactly as they expected.

Kamijou wondered what expression was on Index's face. Her back was facing him, so he could not see but those great magicians froze in place. Komoe-sensei was not the direct target of her feelings, but she still averted her gaze.

Kamijou wondered what they felt.

He wondered how it must feel to be looked at like that by someone you would go so far as to kill for.

Index started to shiver slightly.

(I... I didn't know...)

"…Stop, Index. They aren't our enem-…"

"Leave!"

Index was not listening.

"Please… I'll go wherever you want and I'll do whatever you want. Just please, I beg of you…" Senses of feminine cries were mixed in at the heart of the hostile tone she had worked up. "Just don't hurt Touma anymore." Just how much damage did that do to those magicians who had once been her greatest comrades?

For an instant —just an instant— extremely pained smiles appeared on the two magicians' faces as if they had abandoned something.

"That guy was thinking about us even then huh..."

Stiyl muttered.

But then, their eyes froze over like a switch was flipped.

These were not the gazes of people looking at their comrade; they were the chilling gazes of magicians, holding their convictions to lessen the misfortune of the parting as much as possible rather than give her the cruel fortune of getting to know them.

The gazes held their feelings for her that were so strong they chose to abandon their comradeship and become her enemy.

Their convictions would not be break.

Because they lacked the will to tell her the truth, they could only watch on as the worst possible scenario played out.

"The time limit will come in another 12 hours and 38 minutes," announced Stiyl in the tone of a magician.

Index must not have understood what he meant by "the time limit".

But now she did. She completely understood that the time limit that was imposed on her was her deadline. And when that clock chimed its final bell... the girl known as Index would lose something precious, like all the times before.

"We simply wanted to see if her shackles would function or not so that we don't need to worry about her running off when the time comes. They were more effective than even we expected. If you don't want to have that toy taken from you, give up any hope of escape. Understand?"

It had to be an act. They had to want to celebrate in tearful joy that Index was okay. They had to want to rub her head and place their forehead against hers to check her temperature. That was how important she was to them.

All of the horrible things Stiyl had said about Index were simply to perfect that act. He had to actually want to spread his own arms and act as Index's shield, and Kamijou could not imagine how much mental strength it would take to do what he was doing.

Is there such a thing as good and evil? Is one side inherently bad, while the other is undoubtedly righteous and true? That is most certainly not the case. Because in between the white light we praise, and the black abyss we shun, are the various shades of grey that have their own reasons for doing the things they do.

"Kaori... Stiyl..."

Index muttered in a saddened tone.

Index gave no response.

The two magicians said nothing more and merely left the room.

(Why did it turn into this…?)

Kamijou gritted his teeth.

Yes... that was most certainly not the case. Kamijou couldn't pretend to be the hero that Index needed, nor could he the type of villain that would continue to break the hearts of the people that cared for Index.

So... what could he do...?

"Are you okay?"

Finally, Index lowered her raised arms and slowly turned back towards Kamijou. He instinctually closed his eyes, unable to bear to look.

He could not bear to look at Index's face covered in tears and uplifted by relief.

"If I make a deal with them…" He heard a voice in the darkness. "I can keep your life from being destroyed anymore, Touma. I won't let them intrude on your life anymore, so don't worry."

"…"

Kamijou could not respond. He merely thought in the darkness of his closed eyes.

(…Can I let go of our memories together?)

"What can Kamijou Touma do...?"

The voice says to no one.

---

Night came.

Index was asleep next to the futon. Because they had been asleep since before the sun had set, the room's lights were not on.

It seemed Komoe-sensei had headed for the public bath leaving the two of them alone in the room.

Kamijou wasn't entirely sure that was the case, because he had fallen asleep as well due to his poor condition. It was nighttime by the time he had awakened. The air felt especially cold as the term "time limit" crept into his mind.

Yes, the suspense built up in the room as they were once again reminded of that dreadful time limit. Everyone was wondering how Kamijou would overturn this situation.

Index must have been incredibly nervous the previous three days, because she had fallen asleep, assaulted by weariness with her mouth hanging open, looking like a child who had exhausted herself nursing her sick mother.

It seemed Index had completely abandoned her original goal of merely getting to an Anglican church. If Kamijou forced himself to stand up in his beaten up state in an attempt to take her to a church, she would probably have resisted him.

He felt slightly embarrassed as she occasionally muttered his name in her sleep.

"Ah!"

Index flushed in embarrassment at that.

Index's defenseless, kitten-like face gave Kamijou a complex feeling.

No matter how much determination she showed, in the end, it was all going to end up exactly as the church desired. Whether Index made it safely to a church or was captured by the magicians partway there, she would still end up captured by Necessarius and have her memories erased.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

This startled everyone. Komoe herself jumped up in surprise.

The phone in Komoe-sensei's room was a black rotary phone that could have been called an antique. Kamijou slowly looked over at the phone giving off an old-fashioned ring that sounded like an alarm clock.

He felt that he should answer the phone but also did not know if it were right to answer Komoe-sensei's phone without her permission. Nevertheless, he grabbed the receiver. He did not truly care so much about answering the phone but would feel guilty if the noisy ringing awoke Index.

"It's me… You can tell who I am, right?"

The voice coming from the receiver was a polite, female voice. Even over the phone, he could tell she was trying to keep her voice soft as if speaking in secret.

"Kanzaki…?"

"I wasn't aware you called him..."

Stiyl said softly. Kanzaki just remained silent, then...

"He was trying so hard for her. I couldn't just do nothing..."

"No, it would be better if we did not learn each other's names. Is she… Is Index there?"

"She's asleep, but… Wait, how do you know this number?"

"We knew the address, so it wasn't difficult to look up." Kanzaki's voice was not calm. "If she's asleep, that's perfect. Listen to what I have to say."

"?" Kamijou frowned suspiciously.

"As I mentioned before, the time limit is tonight, midnight. We have put together a schedule to end everything by that time."

Kamijou's heart froze. He knew that there was no other way to save Index. He knew it, but when the "end" was thrust before him like that, he felt cornered.

"But…" Kamijou's breathing grew shallow. "Why are you telling me this? Just stop. If you tell me this, I might end up wanting to resist you even if it gets me killed."

Index trembled at those words. Because... because there was more truth to that statement than anyone else could know.

"…"The voice from the receiver fell silent.

It was not complete silence, though. He could hear suppressed breathing mixed in. It was a very human silence.

"…Then, do you need time for your farewells?"

"Wha—…?"

"She's assuming Touma's going to give up. No... my prince does not know how to do that."

Shokuhou said with a smile. A very sad smile.

"I will be honest with you. When we first had to erase her memories, we spent the three days prior solely focused on creating memories. On the final night, we did nothing but cling to her, sobbing. I believe you have the right to that same opportunity."

Index frowned as she could not so much as recall such a sad memory.

"Don't fuck with me." Kamijou thought he was going to crush the receiver in his grip. "That's the same thing as giving up! You're just telling me to give up the right to try! You're just telling me to give up the right to desperately challenge this!"

They could feel the raw anger coursing through the boy's voice.

"…"

"If you don't understand, let me tell you one thing: I haven't given up yet. In fact, I won't be able to give up no matter what! If I fail 100 times, I'll get back up 100 times. If I fail 1000 times, I'll crawl to my feet 1000 times! That's all there is to it! I'll do what you couldn't!"

Othinus froze at those words. And then...

"(Of course... of course- of course- of course...)"

The god said with a wry chuckle. After all, those words were way too fitting to the boy's attitude back then.

"This is neither a conversation nor a negotiation. It is merely a message and an order. Whatever you intend to do, we will recover her at the appointed time. If you try to stop us, we will destroy you." The magician's voice was as smooth as the voice of a bank receptionist.

"You might be trying to negotiate with me, counting on the human kindness left within me, but that is exactly why I am giving you this strict order." Kanzaki's voice was as cold as a Japanese sword drawn in the night's air. "You will say farewell to her and leave before we arrive. Your role is nothing more than to act as shackles for her. The fate of chains that have lost their purpose is to be cut."

The magician's words were not simple words of hostility or scorn. She sounded as if she were trying to stop a wounded person from struggling and hurting themselves further.

"There was no reason why you had talk with him at all you know."

Stiyl said, giving Kanzaki and sideways glance.

"Y-your right. But I- uh... I just felt that I could hope for something if it was him. So... I wanted to talk with him one more time..."

Kanzaki said nervously.

In truth, the young woman didn't really know how what she was saying. But, she did know that those words that he said to her when he was struggling to stay conscious... they had more truth to them than she's heard in a long time.

'Why did you acquire power!?'

'How can you have so much power but be so damn useless...?'

And interestingly enough, Kamijou Touma had no idea the meaning behind her magic name at the time. He didn't know the oath that she carved into her soul. But even so, he knew exactly what to say to make her hesitate.

Isn't that funny? A highschool boy used his words to intimidate a saint level magician that is part of a group of no less than 20 others.

(You called me useless and you were right. It was me who stood on the sidelines while you had to work for the ending you didn't give up on.)

"F… Fuck that." Her tone strangely irritated Kamijou, and he snapped back at her. "Everyone is shoving their own incompetences onto me. You two are magicians, right? I thought magicians made the impossible possible!? But look at you! Can you really do nothing about this with magic!? Can you really stand before Index and proudly tell her you tried every last option!?"

"…Nothing can be done about this with magic. I wouldn't be proud of it, but I find it impossible to lie to that girl," said Kanzaki as she gritted her teeth. "If we could do anything, we would have done it long ago. No one would want to use this cruel ultimatum if they did not have to."

"…What?"

"We are magicians. With any circumstances created by magic, there is a danger of it being dispelled by magic."

"I thought it was an anti-occult defense system created by a magic specialist? Can't you do something with Index's 103,000 grimoires!? She said that controlling those would give you the power of a god, but if it can't even heal one girl's head, it doesn't sound so great to me!"

"Oh, you're referring to a magic god. The Church is extremely afraid of Index rebelling. That is why they put a 'collar' on her so that the maintenance only the Church can perform must be carried out once a year by erasing her memories. Did you really think they would leave any possibility of her removing that collar herself?" Kanzaki spoke quietly. "There is likely a bias in her 103,000 grimoires. For instance, she was probably disallowed from memorizing any grimoires that dealt with manipulating memories. I would be willing to bet that the Church has put up some security like that."

"Hah? A collar..."

Accelerator felt like there was something off about that word.

"God damn it," Kamijou cursed under his breath. "…You said 80 percent of Index's brain is taken up by the information in the 103,000 grimoires, right?"

"Yes. It is apparently actually 85 percent, but it is impossible for us magicians to destroy those grimoires. An Original grimoire cannot even be destroyed by an inquisitioner, after all, meaning that we can only hollow out the remaining 15 percent, her memories, to increase the empty space in her head."

"…Then, what about us on the science side?"

Many brightened up by hearing that. After all, Academy City was home to many espers that could directly affect the brain, and thus, memories.

"I wonder... if he was able to... would he have came to me?"

Shokuhou asked no one.

"…"

She fell silent.

Kamijou wondered if it were possible. The magicians knew their field, magic, backward and forwards, and they could not do it. If they were not going to give up, it was only natural to move to a different field.

For example, there was science.

"…There was a time when I believed the same thing."

Kamijou had not expected her to say so.

"I know that you people cannot do something that we cannot. Your crude methods of filling her body with some unknown drug and chopping her up with a scalpel will do nothing but unnecessarily shorten her life. I do not want to see her be violated by machines."

Many heard the clear edge to the magician's voice just now. Her revulsion to the methods were abundantly clear.

"Okay, that's it. How the hell can you say that when you've never even tried it? I have a question for you. You keep talking about destroying memories, but do you really know what memory loss is exactly?"

"Ah..."

Kanzaki let out.

Yes, this was her blunder. This was the reason why things fell apart.

(If only I'd looked into it a little more. If only I didn't readily trust in the authority of my superiors. If that was the case then... maybe both of them wouldn't have had to suffer...)

The girl thought is self derision.

No response came.

(She must really not know much about science.)

Kamijou pulled some Curriculum textbooks that were on the ground towards himself with his foot. It was a recipe for powers development including a mix of neuroscience, rare psychology, and reactionary drugs.

"That teacher takes her research seriously."

Shirai says, in awe of the scholarly side to such a childish adult.

"How can you talk on about an eidetic memory and losing memories when you don't even know what it is? There are many different kinds of memory loss." He began to flip through the pages. "There's aging… I guess like senility. And apparently you can lose your memories from getting drunk with alcohol. There's a brain disease called Alzheimer's and there's TIA where blood stops flowing to your brain and your memories disappear. Memory loss is also a side effect of general anesthetics like halothane, isoflurane, and fentanyl, of derivatives of barbituric acid, and of drugs like benzodiazepine."

"? Benzo… What?"

Kanzaki's voice was surprisingly weak, but Kamijou had no duty to explain it all to her, so he ignored her.

It was clear to everyone in the room that all of this scientific vocabulary and jargon was going over the saint's head.

"Um... what?"

"Huh?"

Even Lessar and Birdway had blank looks on their faces.

(Hah... Patricia has always been more knowledgeable on these things than me...)

Birdway thought with her head held in her hand.

"Simply put, there are tons of ways to medically eliminate someone's memories. It means that there are methods you people can't use that can get rid of her 103,000 grimoires, you idiot."

(Not sure insulting the person who can beat the crap out of you with nothing more than a sheath is a good idea Boss!)

Hamazura internally yelped. After all, the boy had some constant experience with female abuse.

"Something you want to say Hamazura?"

"Yeah, what the hell are you super looking at me for?"

"N-no reason."

Kanzaki's breathing froze.

However, these methods did not remove the memories. Instead, they damaged the brain cells. An old man with dementia could not remember more just because he lost some memories.

But, Kamijou left that part out. Even if it were just a bluff, he had to stop the magicians from forcibly erasing her memories.

"And, this is Academy City. There are plenty of espers that can manipulate people's minds with powers like Psychometry or Marionette. Not to mention that there are research facilities all over the place. It's way too soon to give up hope. Apparently, there's even a Level 5 at Tokiwadai who can remove people's memories just by touching them."

That was where the last ray of hope truly lay.

Mikoto stole a glance beside her to see a smiling Shokuhou. But, this smile was far from happy. It was more along the lines of resigned.

(She always seems so affectionate when talking about that idiot...)

Mikoto internally grumbled.

So...

(So then why does she look so unhappy? And if she knows him, then why doesn't he know her? Is it the amnesia?)

Mikoto tried to rationalize, not realizing that there is yet another crucial factor behind such a disheartened look from her fellow Level 5.

But that is a story for another time.

No voice came from the receiver.

Kamijou continued on to truly defeat Kanzaki who was starting to show signs of hesitation.

"Well? What will you do, magician? Are you still going to get in my way? Are you going to give up on trying when someone's life hangs in the balance?"

"…Those words are much too cheap to convince an enemy," Kanzaki said with a slight tone of self derision. "We have a practiced and genuine method of saving her life. I cannot trust in this untested gamble of yours. Do you really think you can change that with some reckless statements?"

Kamijou remained silent for a moment.

He tried to come up with a rebuttal, but he could come up with nothing.

He had no choice but to accept it.

"…True enough. In the end, we just can't understand each other."

He had no choice but to accept that she was his enemy despite the fact that there was a possibility she could have understood. After all, she was once in the same situation.

"Yes. If people who wished for the same thing would always become allies, the world would be completely filled with peace," she said.

And how true was that. Both sides wanted the same thing; the happiness of the girl who suffered such an unfair circumstance.

Kanzaki wanted to save the girl's life at the expense of her memories. She wanted to choose the method that would ensure that the girl would be able to continue and live her life.

But... was that really much of a life...?

To lose your memories after a year's time and then be thrown back into the darkness, afraid and worrying about every step you take. To be constantly on the run and looking behind you at every juncture.

Was that truly what saving someone meant...?

And also...

'I'm glad I did not burden anyone with anything…If I had died here, he may have had to bear the burden."

'I thought if I told you everything, you wouldn't like me anymore...'

'Then, would you follow me into the depths of hell...?'

It was because she had said those words with such a sad smile on her face; a smile that made everyone question whether this person really was a young girl. Especially in light of her caring nature.

It was for that reason why the boy couldn't give up on her. They could now understand that determination all too clearly now.

Kamijou's grip on the receiver strengthened slightly.

That beaten up right hand was his sole weapon and it could negate even the systems created by God.

"…Then, you are my arch enemy and I will defeat you," he said.

"Given the differences in our physical abilities, the result is immensely clear. Do you still intend to call this hand?"

"Perfect. I raise. I just have to invite you into circumstances where I'm guaranteed to win."

Kamijou bared his canines at the receiver.

They knew the boy did not even have a solid plan in motion. They knew that he was just saying that to psyche himself up. They knew that... and yet...

There wasn't any lack of sincerity or truth found in that boy's eyes as he spoke those words that amounted to nothing more than lip service.

Because... Kamijou Touma always had a habit of making that lip service into a reality, even when the odds are heavily stacked against him.

Everyone had their own memories of such an occasion.

...

'Die...!'

Himegami thought about a certain memory, one that she struggled recalling because of the overwhelming fear she felt at that single word.

It was said by a green haired man, a person who she had become familiar with. She knew what he could do with that unorthodox power of his; she might have not understood it, but she knew the significance of even the words he spoke.

And then he said that one word that instilled a paralyzing fear within her and then... darkness.

Cold... empty... darkness.

And that moment, she had no way of knowing what had happened to her. But she did know she would never be able to escape that lonely abyssal darkness that terrified her. Himegami Aisa was... irrefutably dead.

And then she heard a sound similar to breaking glass, echoing into her ears despite such a thing being impossible.

And then came the warmth that dispelled any feeling of discomfort or fear, along with a voice, his voice.

(Yes... that warm feeling that enveloped me that day. That is something I would never want to forget. And Kamijou is the one who gave it to me despite it defying all logic.)

"Just so you know: the next time that girl collapses, you should consider it too late." Kanzaki's words were as sharp as the tip of a sword. "We will be there at midnight. You don't have much time left, but make your final useless struggles good ones."

"You're not going to see me cry, magician. I'm going to save her and steal all your scenes."

"Hmph... how selfish of him..."

Shirai says, but the smile on her face clearly shows her feelings on the matter.

"Stay there and wait for us," she said and hung up.

Kamijou silently put down the receiver and looked up at the ceiling as if he were staring up at the moon in the night sky.

"Damn it!"

He swung his right fist down on the tatami mat as if punching an opponent he had pinned down. His wounded right hand did not hurt even in the slightest. His head was in such chaos that his pain was blown away.

"Kamijou..."

Itsuwa said, disappointed that she couldn't be any help to the boy.

He looked at Index's face as she lay curled up, asleep on the tatami mats.

He then stood tall, completely fired up.

Academy City had more than 1000 research facilities both large and small, but a first year student like Kamijou had no connections with any of them. He was going to have to contact Komoe-sensei.

Whether anything could be done in less than a day was a valid question. Index's time limit was drawing near, but Kamijou had a secret plan for it: if her brain were to burst if she continued to add more memories, couldn't he buy her some time by putting her to sleep so that she would not gain more memories?

"Huh... not bad for a high school kid..."

Mugino said with a little amusement.

A Romeo and Juliet-like drug that put one in a state of apparent death sounded very unrealistic, but he did not have to go that far. Basically, he just had to put her to sleep with some laughing gas, a general anesthetic used for surgeries.

There were no worries about her dreaming while she slept and creating memories that way. Kamijou had learned a bit about the system of sleep in the powers development lessons. He was nearly sure that people only dreamed in a state of light sleep. Once one entered a state of deep sleep, your brain rested to the point that it even forgot that it had dreamed.

"D-did Kami-yan just come up with an idea that implies he pays attention during class!?"

Tsuchimikado says in mock surprise.

Komoe was crying tears of joy.

"Sensei is so proud of you Kamijou-chan!"

Therefore, Kamijou needed two things.

The first was to contact Komoe-sensei and acquire help from a research facility that dealt in either neuroscience or perhaps esper powers related to the mind.

(So that's why he called me.)

The teacher thought, wiping at her eyes.

The second was to slip past the magicians and get Index out of there or to create circumstances in which he could defeat the two magicians.

"(Unrealistic but... I guess that sums up everything that human does...)"

Othinus mutters.

Kamijou decided to start with calling Komoe-sensei. But, when he thought about it, he did not actually know her cell number.

"Wow, I'm an idiot…" he said, almost wanting to kill himself as he looked around the room.

"He he he..."

Uiharu couldn't help but giggle at that foolish realization.

Trying to find a cell phone number that may not even have been there seemed like an insane task.

Even so, he could not stop. Kamijou started turning over everything in the area searching for a memo or something that would have her cell phone number written on it. Every minute and every second mattered, so searching for something that may have not been there was hardly a sane thing to be doing. Every time his heart beat, it irritated him, and every time he breathed, more impatience burned within him. At first glance, it may have appeared like he was just throwing around everything near him in anger.

While Kamijou was rampaging around, Index continued to sleep curled up on the ground, which made it seem like time had stopped for her.

Seeing her in her complete "cat in the kotatsu" mode, he strangely felt like hitting her...

"That's so mean Touma!"

Index cried out.

...

"The hell did he just say...?"

Stiyl said with a stony expressjon.

But, at that same time, a scrap of paper stuck in a notebook, which seemed to be for a household account book, fluttered to the ground at his feet.

It was Komoe-sensei's itemized cell phone bill.

"And this bastard calls himself unlucky..."

Aogami muttered to himself darkly.

Kamijou immediately grabbed the scrap of paper and found an eleven digit number written on it. It seemed she had spent an entire 142,500 yen on the cell phone the previous month. She must have gotten stuck with some terrible phone. Normally, he would have rolled around laughing for around three days at the discovery, but it was hardly the time. Needing to make a call, he headed for the black phone.

Komoe's face grew red with shame as her blunder was brought to everyone's attention. Strangely, it felt like her credibility as an adult was slowly slipping away.

"I-I was scammed..."

She weakly retorted.

He had a feeling it had taken quite a bit of time finding the phone number.

He had no idea if a few hours had passed or if it had only been a few minutes. Kamijou's heart felt so cornered that his sense of time was thrown off that much.

He called the number and Komoe-sensei answered after the third ring as if she had timed it.

About to foam at the mouth, Kamijou yelled an "explanation" that was hard for even him to understand, because his mind simply could not sort out what he wanted to say.

"…Hm? My major is in Pyrokinesis, so I don't have many connections in mind related things. You could probably use the Takizawa Institution or the Todai University Hospital, but their equipment is second-rate. Calling in a guest esper who excels at that field would be a safe bet. I know Yotsuba-san in Judgment is a Level 4 Telepath and she would likely be willing to help."

"Huh... I feel like I've heard that name before."

Shirai says.

After all, their wasn't that much Level 4's, especially in Judgement.

He had not given her much of an explanation, but Komoe-sensei still rattled off an answer. Kamijou decidedly realized that he should have consulted with her from the beginning.

"But, Kamijou-chan. Even if these researching teachers are terrible people who've flipped day and night, they probably wouldn't like being called by a student at this hour. How about we just prepare a bed in a facility for now?"

"What? …No, sensei. I'm sorry, but this is urgent. Can't we just wake them now?"

"But," Komoe-sensei responded sounding slightly irritated, "It's already 12."

Many had a sneaking suspicion, but now it was confirmed. A palpatating silence filled the room.

"Oh no..."

Saten said, worried for Kamijou amd what was about to happen.

Kamijou suddenly froze in place. The room had no clock but even if it had one, Kamijou would have lacked the courage to check the time.

His gaze zeroed in on Index.

She was curled up, fast asleep on the tatami mats, but her arms and legs that were sprawled about weren't moving. They weren't moving at all.

"…In… dex?" Kamijou called out timidly.

Index did not move.

Like someone with a fever, she had fallen deeply asleep, completely unresponsive.

A voice came from the receiver but Kamijou dropped it before he could gather what was being said. A terrible sweat had started on his palms. A terrible feeling weighed in his gut as if a bowling ball were dropped there.

He heard footsteps in the passageway leading to the apartment.

Somehow, they could hear the loud thumping of the boy's heart as the seconds passed by. Kamijou was not calm at all. Not one bit.

—We will be there at midnight. You don't have much time left, but make your final useless struggles good ones.

The instant Kamijou recalled those words, the apartment door was kicked open from the outside. Pale moonlight fell into the room like the sunlight shining through the leaves into a forest thicket.

With the perfect full moon to their backs, the two magicians stood in the doorway.

At that moment, the hands of all clocks across Japan indicated it was precisely midnight.

That meant that a certain girl's time limit was up.

That was what it meant.

Fukiyose let out a shaky breath, an action shared by the people next to her as well. She had a feeling that one way or another, things would reach there appropriate end.

Whether that was good or bad ending? She did not know.

---

With moonlight at their backs, the two magicians stepped through the door still wearing their outdoor shoes.

Stiyl and Kanzaki had returned, but Index did not stand in their way this time. She did not shout at them to leave. She was covered in sweat like she was suffering from a fever, and her breathing was so shallow it sounded like one could blow it out like a candle flame.

A headache.

A headache so great it felt like even the slight sound of accumulating snow would split her head open.

"…"

Kamijou and the magicians exchanged no words.

Still in his outdoor shoes, Stiyl pushed Kamijou aside as the boy stood there dumbfounded. The shove had held little force, but Kamijou could not hold his ground. He fell on his backside atop the old tatami mats as if all strength had left his body.

Everyone saw the expression on the boy's face. They saw it and they hated it. They hated it because it wasn't him. It wasn't Kamijou Touma.

The boy who worked harder than anyone else to make people smile...

He was not. Not with the defeated look that adorned his features. Not with the pained look that came when he realized his own incompetence. Not the utter uselessness he felt when he layed there unmoving and weak.

They did not want to see their hero looking like that, for his sake.

Lessar found this somewhat familiar, or maybe she didn't. The girl couldn't tell. But, she knew that this face was reminiscent of one he had in Russia, when Kamijou Touma was questioning his own sense of right in wrong. But this time, she wasn't there to smack some sense to the hero that judged himself far too harshly.

"This isn't the type of submissive play I was imagining, Loverboy."

Lessar said, but lacking her usual playful snark.

Stiyl neglected to even look in Kamijou's direction. He knelt down next to Index, whose limbs were sprawled out limply. The magician then muttered something under his breath.

His shoulders were trembling. He was a perfect representation of human angers felt when a person's precious was hurt before them.

"Based on Crowley's Moonchild, we will use the method of capturing an angel to create a chain of events that will summon, capture, and have a fairy work for our ends."

(Crowley...)

Accelerator thought in silence.

Having gathered his resolve, Stiyl stood up. When he turned, his expression was void of the slightest hint of humanity. His face was the face of a magician who abandoned his humanity to save a certain girl.

"Kanzaki, give me your help. We need to destroy her memories."

Kamijou felt like those words stabbed into the most fragile part of his heart.

"Ah…"

Index did not know what to feel about what was currently happening to her.

She didn't feel sadness, because she had no memories to recall a similar experience. If she had, she might be crying about now.

She did not feel anger at the magicians taking her memories away because they used to be her friends. They used to love and take care of her.

But, what she did feel was grief for the boy was trying to save her with all his might and power.

"Touma..."

He knew that robbing Index of her memories was only meant to save her.

And, Kamijou had once told Kanzaki that they should not hesitate to destroy her memories if they were truly acting solely for Index's sake. No matter how many times she lost her memories, they just had to give her even better memories the next time. That way she could look forward to the coming year even if she must lose her memories.

But…

(Wasn't that just a compromise to be made after exhausting every other option?)

"…"

Without realizing it, Kamijou had begun clenching his fist hard enough to crack his nails.

Could he do it? Could he just give up? Any number of research facilities dealing with a human's memories and mind existed in Academy City. Could he really give up here when there might be a happier way to save Index in one of those facilities? Using old fashioned magic would destroy the memories that she cared about the most. Was it really okay to continue to rely on the world's easiest, and the world's cruelest, method.

No, that was irrelevant. All the boring reasoning and rationalization no longer mattered.

Could he… Could Kamijou Touma bear to have the week he spent with Index reverted to a blank slate like someone deleted the save data for a video game?

The boy did not want to be forgotten by the girl he had a chance meeting with.

That was something almost everyone was able to understand.

"So the Boss... felt useless at times as well..."

The former Skill-Out member said.

"…Wait." Kamijou Touma raised his head.

He directly and honestly raised his head with the intention of opposing the magicians who were acting to save Index.

"Wait, please wait! Just a bit longer! Just a bit! There are 2.3 million espers in Academy City and there are over 1000 research institutions running it all. There's Psychometry, Marionette, Telekinesis, and Materialize! We have tons of espers who can manipulate minds and labs that develop the mind! If we get their help, we might not have to rely on this horrible method!"

They watched as Kamijou Touma was truly desperate.

"…"

Stiyl Magnus said nothing. Even so, Kamijou continued to shout at the flame magician.

"You don't want to use this method either, right!? Deep down in your heart, you're praying that there is some other way, right!? Then just wait a bit longer. I will make sure to find an ending where everyone is smiling and everyone is happy! So…!"

"…"

Stiyl Magnus said nothing.

Kamijou had no idea why he was going so far. He had only met Index a week before. He had lived for 16 years before then without knowing her, and there was no reason why he would be unable to live a normal life without her from then on.

There was no reason why, yet he knew he could not.

He did not know why. He was not even sure if he needed a reason why.

He just knew it hurt.

It hurt to think that her words, her smile, and her mannerisms would never be directed towards him again.

It hurt to think that the memories of that week would be easily wiped clean by someone else as if a reset button were being pressed.

Just considering the possibility caused great pain in the most precious and kindest part of his heart.

"…"

Many felt something resonate inside them at those words. And that was because they had seemed to find something truly important.

'Why do I need a reason to save someone?"

(Was this... could this be...?)

The people who knew him the longest struggled to come up with an answer that would quell the questions they had always had in regards to Kamijou Touma.

"Maybe it is just that simple for him..."

Shokuhou said.

"Maybe just the thought of someone else suffering is enough in of itself."

Mikoto, at the girl's words, just nodded mutely, likely lost in her own thoughts about the topic.

Silence filled the room like that of an elevator's. Rather than a silence where one was capable of making noise, the odd silence there was filled with only the faint sound of breathing, the people there merely remaining silent.

Kamijou raised his head.

With great caution, he looked at the magician.

"Is that all you want to say, you self-righteous failure?"

And… That was all the runic magician Stiyl Magnus said.

Everyone heard the unadulterated hatred that oozed out of the magician's voice. But for some reason, they could tell that he was still holding his anger back.

It was not that he had not listened to what Kamijou said.

His ears had heard every single one of Kamijou's words, had processed them, and had comprehended their meaning as well as the feelings hidden below the surface.

And yet, Stiyl Magnus did not move so much as an eyebrow.

Kamijou's words had not hit home with him in the slightest.

"Out of the way," said Stiyl. Kamijou had no idea how the muscles on his face were moving. Without so much as a sigh, Stiyl said to Kamijou, "Look."

He pointed. Before Kamijou could look over in the direction Stiyl was pointing, he grabbed Kamijou's hair.

"Look!"

"Ah…" Kamijou's voice froze over.

Before his eyes, he saw Index who looked like her breathing could stop at any moment.

And suddenly, the situation to those in the room just gained a new level of difficulty. Especially after looking at the suffering girl that was clearly in pain.

"Can you say the same thing in front of her?" Stiyl's voice trembled. "Can you say the same thing while she is mere seconds away from death!? Can you say the same thing while she is in too much pain to even open her eyes!? Can you tell her to wait because you have some things you'd like to try out!?"

"…"

Index's fingers stirred. It was unclear if she were barely conscious or if she were moving subconsciously, but she desperately moved her hand that seemed as heavy as lead and tried to touch Kamijou's face.

It was as if she were desperately trying to protect Kamijou as the magician grabbed his hair.

It was as if she thought her own intense pain was meaningless.

Mikoto grit her teeth at the unfairness of the situation. The circumstances that led to this horrible conclusion, the choices that the magicians were left with, and the pressure put on a single boy.

"If you can, then you are not human! Anyone who could see her like this and still inject her with some untested drug, let some strange doctor mess with her body, and fill her body with drugs can't possibly be human!" Stiyl's shout stabbed through Kamijou's eardrums and into his brain. "Answer me, esper. Are you still human or are you a monster who has abandoned his humanity!?"

Without even meaning to, those who were present recalled the very first memory that was disclosed.

'Freak'

'Monster'

'Demon'

'Plague'

'God of Pestilence'

These were the names that everyone was reminded of. A wave of sadness passed over the room.

"…" Kamijou could not answer.

Stiyl went in for one last blow like stabbing a sword into the heart of a deceased.

He pulled a necklace with a small cross on it from his pocket.

"This tool is needed to destroy her memories." Stiyl waved the cross in front of Kamijou's face. "As you might guess, it's a magical item. If you touch it with your right hand, it should lose all power just like my Innocentius."

"!"

Everyone was surprised the red haired flame user would let Kamijou in on such an important secret.

"So if he touches it, it's super all over. But... if he does..."

Kinuhata trailed off.

"He'd be destroying the only sure-fire way of saving her."

Hamazura finished.

The cross swayed back and forth in front of Kamijou like a five yen coin being used for a cheap bit of hypnotism.

"But can you negate it, esper?"

As if he had frozen in place, Kamijou stared up at Stiyl.

"When that girl is suffering before your very eyes, can you take this from her!? If you believe so much in your own power, then negate it, oh mutant who thinks he's a hero!"

Kamijou stared.

He looked at the cross swaying before his eyes. He looked at the abominable cross that could rob people of their memories.

Sogita tried to imagine what he would do in this situation. Would he be able to forsake a method to save someone, just because he believed that his way would work instead?

"I wonder... could I even..."

For once, Sogita doubted if his guts would be enough.

As Stiyl had said, he could stop the deletion of Index's memories if he took that from him. It was nothing difficult. He just had to reach out his hand and lightly touch it with the tips of his fingers.

That was all. It should have been so easy. Kamijou clenched his trembling right hand until it was as hard as rock.

But he could not do it.

For the moment, magic was the one safe and surefire way to save Index. How could he take that from the girl who was suffering and putting up with it all?

He simply could not.

There was no way he could. Kamijou Touma couldn't selfishly burn the bridge that led to someone's salvation. His pride and ego be dammed, he couldn't do that with a 100% certainty.

"Our preparations will be complete at 0:15 at the earliest. We will destroy her memories using the power of Leo," Stiyl said to Kamijou in disinterest.

0:15… He likely had less than 10 minutes left.

"…!"

10 minutes left until the girl he had met would forget any trace of his existence.

Index thought back to a certain perfect world, one where everyone was smiling. That is... except for a boy being crushed by those smiles, and the people watching him endure them.

For Index, in that moment, the idea of living a life where she had no memory of Kamijou Touma...

That was a thought that was too unbearable to even think of.

He wanted to shout out and tell them to stop. He wanted to yell out and tell them to wait. However, Kamijou would not be the one who would suffer as a result. The cost of Kamijou's selfishness would all come back to Index.

(Just accept it.)

—My name is Index.

"No... I..."

Index muttered weakly.

(Just accept it already.)

—Anyway, it would be great if you could feed me enough food to fill me up.

"I don't want to..."

(Just accept that you, Kamijou Touma, have neither the power nor the right to save Index!)

Kamijou could not shout and could not cry out.

"I don't want to forget you Touma! Please!"

He could only stare up at the ceiling, grit his back teeth, and let tears he could not hold back fall from his eyes.

"…Hey, magician," Kamijou muttered blankly as he continued to stare up at the ceiling and lean against the bookshelf. "How do you think I should say farewell to her in the end?"

"We don't have time for this nonsense."

"I see," replied Kamijou blankly.

Many did not know how to express the feelings that rose up in their hearts when they saw the look on the boy's face.

Kamijou would have remained frozen in place there, but Stiyl did not let up.

"Leave this place, monster." The magician looked at Kamijou. "Your right hand negated my flames. I still don't understand how it works and we can't have it interfering with the spell we are going to use."

"I see," replied Kamijou emptily. Kamijou gave a small, corpse-like smile. "It was the same with that wound on her back. Why is there never anything I can do?" How should I know? Stiyl's eyes seemed to say.

The look in Kamijou's eyes lacked any form of light or spark. And that absolutely terrified them.

"Your not supposed to look like that Kamijou. Your supposed to have that stupid grin on your face..."

Fukiyose said solemnly.

"I can destroy even the systems of God with this right hand." Kamijou seemed to crumble. "So why can't I save just one suffering girl?"

He smiled. He did not curse fate, and he did not blame it on misfortune. He simply reflected on his own powerlessness.

Kanzaki looked at him with a pained expression and said, "We still have 10 minutes until we perform the ceremony at 0:15."

Stiyl looked at Kanzaki as if he could not believe what he was seeing. But, Kanzaki only smiled when she looked at Stiyl.

"On the night we first swore to erase her memories, we spent the whole night crying by her side. Isn't that right, Stiyl?"

Index's heart shivered at that.

"…" Stiyl fell silent for a moment as if his breath had caught in his throat. "B-But we have no idea what he'll do. What if he attempts a double suicide while we aren't looking?"

(A-a double suicide!?)

Uiharu gasped as that was a pretty far up 'worst case scenario' in her opinion.

"If he were willing to do that, don't you think he would have touched the cross right away? You only used the real cross rather than a fake because you were already sure he was human, right?"

"But…"

"So it was real..."

Birdway says.

"Whatever we do, we cannot perform the ceremony until the time is right. If he has any regrets left, he might try to stop us mid-ceremony, Stiyl."

Stiyl gritted his teeth. He held himself back like he was on the verge of lunging and ripping out Kamijou's throat like a beast.

"You have 10 minutes. Okay!?"

He then spun around and left the apartment.

Kanzaki silently followed Stiyl from the room, but a heartbreaking smile could be seen in her eyes.

The door closed. Only Kamijou and Index remained in the room. The 10 minutes had been gained at the risk of not Kamijou's life, but Index's. And yet, Kamijou knew not what he was supposed to do.

Everyone just watched in silence, wondering what the boy would do, no... what the boy could do.

"Ah… Kh. Fh…" A few odd noises escaped Index's lips as she lay limply sprawled out. Kamijou jumped in shock.

"!"

Mikoto's eyes widened in surprise.

"She's waking up!?"

Index opened her eyes slightly. She seemed to wonder why she was in the futon, worrying about where Kamijou was when he should have been in the futon.

She had completely forgotten about herself.

"…"

Many formed painful smiles at that, because they knew exactly how much that would hurt the boy next to her.

Kamijou gritted his teeth. At that moment, standing before her was more frightening than fighting those magicians.

But, running away was not an option.

"Touma?"

Kamijou approached the futon and Index breathed a sigh of relief. The look on her sweat-covered face was one of relief from the bottom of her heart."

"…I'm sorry," said Kamijou as he hung his head down to meet Index's gaze.

The boy lowered his head to the girl that he couldn't pull out of hell.

"…? Touma, there's some kind of magic circle in this room."

Index had been unconscious, so she did not know that it had been drawn by the two magicians. She tilted her head to the side in a girlish sign of puzzlement as she looked at the symbols drawn on the wall near the futon.

"…"

For an instant, Kamijou clenched his back teeth.

It was for just an instant. Before anyone could have noticed, his expression returned to normal.

"Just like before..."

Itsuwa said with a faint voice, recalling the previous memory.

Just like then, he had switched that painful look on his face on a moment's notice.

"…It's for recovery magic. We can't leave your headaches this bad, now can we?"

"? Magic… Who's casting it?" At that instant, a certain possibility entered Index's mind.

"!?"

Index forced her unmoving body to move and attempted to spring up. When her face twisted in pain, Kamijou grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back into the futon.

"Touma! Have the magicians come back!? Touma, you need to get out of here!"

"That little miss is still worrying about Kamijou. Wow, she's got so much guts."

Sogita said with awe in his voice.

Index looked at Kamijou with an expression of disbelief. She knew just how dangerous magicians were and was wholeheartedly worried for Kamijou.

"…It's okay, Index."

"Touma!"

"It's over. …It's already over."

Somehow, there was an invisible weight to those words that were said. One that was crushing the boy who had to say them.

"Everything's so... sad."

That was all Uiharu could say.

"Touma," said Index quietly and then, all strength left her body.

Kamijou had no idea what kind of expression was on his face.

"…I'm sorry," said Kamijou. "I will get stronger. I will never lose again. I will get strong enough to kick the asses of every last person who would treat you like this…"

'Why did you acquire power!? Don't lie! You worked to gain power because there was something you wanted to protect!'

Kanzaki was once again reminded of those words.

"What he told me held the utmost truth to it but..."

Kanzaki Kaori didn't like what the boy was saying right now. It just felt so wrong. So- so very wrong. It went against everything she knew of Kamijou Touma.

(The boy I met that continued to save people just because he could... should never have to say those words to anyone.)

That was something Kanzaki believed in wholeheartedly.

Even crying would have been cowardly. Inviting her sympathy was unthinkable.

"…Just wait. Next time, I will make sure to truly save you."

The boy with white hair grit his teeth.

"..."

But, he didn't say anything...

How did he appear in Index's eyes?

How did he sound in Index's ears?

"I understand. I'll wait."

Because she knew not the situation, to Index, it had to seem like Kamijou had lost to the enemy and sold Index out for his own safety.

Yet, she smiled.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

This whole circumstance felt so very wrong.

And thus, Mikoto wore a grimace.

But she remained quiet.

"..."

Her smile was battered. Her smile was perfect. Her smile looked like it would crumble at any moment. Even so, she smiled.

Kamijou could not understand. He could no longer understand how she could be that trusting of people. That was when he made up his mind.

"Once your headaches get better, let's take out these magicians and win your freedom," he said. "I'd like to go to the beach after that, but we'll have to wait until my supplementary lessons are over,"

"Would you like to transfer to my school once summer vacation is over?" he asked.

"I'd like to make all sorts of memories," Index said.

"You will," promised Kamijou.

Even someone like Mugino felt it. This atmosphere, this feeling, this conversation...

Articifial, fake, unnerving, irritating, superficial...

It didn't fit with this story of some bastard playing hero.

Frankly, it pissed her off.

"..."

...

They all knew what Kamijou was doing. And it broke their hearts that he had to do it in the first place.

He continued forward with the lie.

It mattered not what was true or false. He no longer needed that kind of cold, cruel, and proper justice that could not comfort even a single girl.

"Touma..."

Index drawled. Her voice quivered in sorrow.

She knew what happened. She knew and yet she still felt these feelings. The ones she was never able to deal with.

The boy by the name of Kamijou Touma needed neither justice nor evil.

False words were more than enough for him, which is why Kamijou Touma shed not a single tear.

Not even one.

"…"

With a light noise, Index's hand lost all strength and fell atop the futon. Having passed out once more, Index looked like a corpse.

"But…"

Kamijou softly bit his lip as he looked at Index's feverish face.

"What kind of horrible ending is this?"

"What a load of fucking shit!"

Accelerator said immediately after hearing those words.

Those who were feeling their own forms of mixed emotions, looked over to him in shock.

The boy's eyes were glazed over in irritation, his red irises narrowing in displeasure.

"You don't get to preach to me about good and evil and then just fucking flail around like some useless wannabe! Especially after you fucking knocked me on my ass more than once! What the fuck is this!? Did you forget what you said to me you damn hero!? That if you want to reach out your hand to save someone, go ahead and do so!? So what the fuck am I looking at here!?"

In stunned silence, everyone continued to gape at him. Then... Last Order smiled a content smile. And... Misaka Worst smirked.

"Think about the people looking at you like your their own fucking salvation! Think about the people that had the best luck on this fucking planet to run into when they did! Think about what you did for me! So what the fuck are you on about you hypocrite!? If you hate this ending so fucking bad then change it like the hero you are! Why the hell do I even have get this pissed off to say this, you niave self righteous bastard of a hero!"

Accelerator exploded in a rage, more so then he's done before.

He didn't know why but, there was something about a certain boy looking like he was going to give up that pissed him off more than anything. Especially when Accelerator...

Especially when Accelerator looked up to him.

No one really knew what to say to that. But one thing did happen.

Last Order tugged on Accelerator's sleeve.

"See, Misaka Misaka says while giving you a wide smile to show how happy she is. You can be honest with yourself."

"...Whatever..."

Accelerator then put a hand on his face and scowled as he saw Worst's smirking expression.

"Wow! This Misaka didn't know you were so emotional. Are you sure your not a girl with that androgynous appearance. You could have fooled Misaka~!"

"..."

Accelerator was so done. That's certainly the last time he's going to open his mouth.

...

Little did the boy know however, that while Mikoto herself was indeed surprised by the outburst by the Accelerator, she was thinking about the very same things.

(Huh... who knew.)

He tasted blood where he was biting his lip.

He knew that what was happening was wrong and hated how powerless he was to stop it. Yes. Kamijou could do nothing. He could neither deal with the 103,000 grimoires taking up 85 percent of Index's brain nor protect the memories filling up the 15 percent left over.

"…Huh?"

As hopeless thoughts raced through his mind, Kamijou suddenly felt that something was off.

"?"

Wait... something had changed. The spikey haired boy... his expression just changed.

85 percent?

Kamijou looked back at Index's feverish face.

85 percent. Yes, that was what Kanzaki had said. 85 percent of Index's brain was filled with the 103,000 grimoires she had memorized. The pressure that was put on her brain meant that she could fit only a year's worth of memories in the remaining 15 percent. If she added any more memories than that, her brain would burst.

(But wait a second.)

"How could 15 percent only hold a year's worth of memories?"

A certain dangerous yet addicting feeling ran through the room at that particular question.

"Hold on..."

Kinuhata said outloud.

"If one year is super 15%, then wouldn't..."

That dangerous and addicting feeling was hope.

Kamijou had no idea how rare a condition an eidetic memory was. However, he was rather sure it was not so rare that Index was the only person in the world with it.

And, the others with eidetic memories did not use some ridiculous method like magic to erase their memories.

If it were true that 15 percent of the brain could only hold a year's worth of memories…

"…That means they'd die at about six or seven years old."

Gasps ran through the room.

It was so simple. It was something so simple yet that certain aspect was completely ignored.

(Sounds about right. Looks like my logic ability was spot on.)

Shokuhou nodded.

If the condition were some kind of incurable disease like that, wouldn't it be more prolific?

Also…

Where had Kanzaki gotten those figures, 85 percent and 15 percent?

Who had told her that?

Was the information about 85 percent of the brain even accurate?

"…They were tricked."

As the boy came to that mind-shattering conclusion, everyone felt an elusive chill run down their spines.

(Just thinking of that woman pisses me off. I never did get a proper conversation about that with her. She kept brushing me off.)

Stiyl thought as he grit his teeth in frustration.

The flame magician was thinking of none other than Laura Stuart, the Arch Bishop of the England Puritan Church.

What if Kanzaki truthfully knew nothing about neuroscience? What if she had simply accepted what her superiors in the Church had told her?

Kamijou had a bad premonition.

He rushed over to the black phone in the corner of the room. Komoe-sensei was out somewhere. He had searched all over the room and found her cell phone number not too long before, so that was not an issue.

The mechanical ringing sound, which had a way of truly aggravating people, continued briefly.

Kamijou had a feeling that something was mistaken in Kanzaki's description of an eidetic memory. What if that mistake were intentionally planted by the Church? They might have hidden some secret.

With a static-like noise, the phone connected.

"Sensei!" Kamijou shouted almost entirely by reflex.

They could feel the urgency and anticipation in the boy's voice. And...

Excitement. Of course he was. How could Kamijou Touma not be?

"Ohh, is that you, Kamijou-chan~? You shouldn't be using my phone~"

"…You sound happy."

"Yes~… I am at a public bath right now~. I've got a coffee milk in one hand, and I'm testing out a new massage chair~. Yes~."

"…"

"..."

Stares. Multiple Stares.

"H-how was I supposed to know the situation was so dire!? F-fukiyose-chan! Himegami-chan! Not you too!"

Komoe cried out under the intense pressure.

Kamijou thought he would crush the receiver in his grip, but Index's situation was direr at the moment.

"Sensei, please just listen quietly to what I have to say. The truth is…"

Kamijou asked about eidetic memories.

What were they? Did a year's worth of memories really use up 15 percent of the brain? In other words, was it a condition that set one's lifespan at only 6 or seven years?

"Of course not~." Komoe-sensei cut it all down in one short sentence. "It is true that an eidetic memory makes you unable to forget garbage memories like the flyer for a sale from last year at a supermarket~. But it isn't like the brain can burst from that~. They'll just take their 100 years' worth of memories to their grave~. The human brain can hold up to 140 years' worth of memories, after all~."

Kamijou's heart skipped a beat.

Everyone's hearts stopped altogether.

Saten was brimming with excitement.

"Th-that means he can save her right!? Right!?"

"B-But what if they were learning things at a tremendous rate? Like what if they used their memory to memorize all the books in a library? Would their brain burst then?"

"Sigh… Kamijou-chan, I can see why you fail all your development lessons~," said Komoe-sensei happily. "Listen up, Kamijou-chan~. People don't have just one type of memory. Things like language and knowledge fall under semantic memories, things like habits falls under procedural memories, and what we most often think of as memories fall under episodic memories~. There are all sorts of types~. All sorts~."

"Um, sensei… I don't really understand what you mean."

"Basically~." Komoe-sensei loved to explain things, so she was delighted. "Each type of memory goes into different containers~. Think of it like burnable trash and unburnable trash~. If you get hit on the head and get amnesia, you don't just start talking gibberish and crawling around on the ground, right~?"

"So…"

"Yes~. No matter how many library books the person memorized, that would only increase the amount of semantic memory~. According to neuroscience, it is absolutely impossible for that to overwhelm the person's episodic memory~."

Kamijou felt like he had received that supposed hit on the head.

'Absolutely impossible'

That was what was said by the short teacher who was very intelligent.

The receiver slipped from his hand. The fallen receiver struck the hook, ending the call, but Kamijou no longer had the time to care.

The Church had lied to Kanzaki. Index's eidetic memory was not a danger to her life.

"But… why?" Kamijou muttered in stunned shock.

Yes, why? Why would the Church lie and falsely state that Index would die in a year?

"Its because she's got those books in her head right? The really powerful ones?"

Aogami so eloquently put it. That was indeed the case.

Also, Index's suffering before Kamijou's eyes certainly did not seem like a lie. If it were not being caused by her eidetic memory, then why was she suffering?

"…Ha."

After thinking that far, Kamijou suddenly laughed out loud.

Yes. The Church had put a collar on Index.

"Of course."

Accelerator snarled.

"If its not being imprisoned in a research facility or experimented on in the name of science...no matter where you go, everyone pulls the same shit."

The boy's tone of voice was not happy in the slightest. That feeling was shared by almost everyone as well.

…A collar that forced her to require maintenance from the Church every year to survive. A collar that insured that Index would not use the 103,000 grimoires she controlled to betray them.

What if Index did not need the techniques and spells of the Church to survive?

What if she could perfectly well live on her own without the help of the Church?

In that case, the Church would never be able to leave Index be. If she could just run off and disappear with 103,000 grimoires, they would feel the need to put a collar on her.

To repeat, the Church had placed a collar on Index.

That made things simple.

There had originally been nothing wrong with Index's head, but the Church had done something to it.

"…Ha ha."

"And we were just enforcing that damn lie year after year..."

Stiyl grimaced.

"That's true but..."

Kanzaki smiled a fragile smile.

"We made everything right in the end. And it was all thanks to him."

She said looking at the smile beginning to form on that boy's face.

For example, what if they had done something similar to filling the bottom of a 10 liter bucket with cement so that only a liter of water could fit?

They had done something to Index's mind so that her brain would burst after only a year's worth of memories.

That way, Index had to rely on the techniques and spells of the Church.

That way, Index's comrades would have to choke back their tears and obey the Church.

They wove a devilish program that took even human kindness and sympathy into account.

"…But that doesn't matter."

Yes, it really did not matter.

What mattered and what he had to worry about was just one thing: the identity of the Church's security that was causing Index's suffering. Academy City, which monopolized espers like Kamijou, was the cutting edge of science. What was it that Necessarius controlled for magicians that was the cutting edge in its own way?

Yes, the supernatural power known as magic. And, Kamijou Touma's right hand could negate it with a touch even if it were the systems of God.

In that room with no clock, Kamijou wondered what the time was.

He likely had little time left until the ceremony began. He looked over to the apartment door. If he told the truth to the magicians on the other side of that door, would they believe him? The answer was no. Kamijou was just a high school student. He had no medical license in neuroscience, and his relationship with the magicians might as well have been called "enemies". He doubted they would believe him.

"He does have a point. If he went out and told them, that flame guy would probably burn him to a crisp."

Shirai said dryly.

"Yeah, he's kinda got a temper problem."

Uiharu added.

Kamijou lowered his gaze.

He looked at Index sprawled out on the futon. She was completely soaked in an unpleasant sweat, and her silver hair looked like a bucket of water had been dumped on her. Her face was feverishly red, and her eyebrows occasionally moved in pain.

–When that girl is suffering before your very eyes, can you take this from her!? If you believe so much in your own power, then negate it, oh mutant who thinks he's a hero!

Kamijou gave a slight smile at the words that Stiyl had beaten him back with before.

The world had changed enough that he could smile at it.

Shokuhou felt her heartbeat quicken while gazing at such a scene. She wasn't the only one of course.

While gazing at such a expression of happiness blooming on that boy's face, everyone couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

"I don't just think I'm a hero."

Still smiling, he removed the white bandages thoroughly wrapped around his right hand.

It was as if he removed a seal from the hand.

"I will be the hero."

.

..

...

"Dammit Kami-yan, that was pretty cool."

Aogami said with a pissed off expression, although it quickly changed to smile.

He spoke, he smiled, and he pressed his battered right hand against Index's forehead.

While he said it could negate even the systems of God, he had thought that it was a useless right hand that would not let him defeat even a single delinquent, would not raise his scores on tests, and would not make him popular with girls.

But, there was one thing it could do.

If it could save the girl who suffered before his very eyes, it held a most wonderful power.

…

…

…?

"…Huh?"

Nothing happened. Nothing at all happened.

"Of course its not that easy..."

Lessar says with a sigh.

There were no lights or noises, but had the magic the Church implemented been negated? No, Index still grimaced as if in pain. It certainly seemed like nothing had happened.

Kamijou looked puzzled and touched her on the cheek and the back of the head, but nothing happened. Nothing changed. Nothing changed, but he did remember something.

Kamijou had already touched Index a few times.

"Um... context?"

Hamazura joked.

...

"Ugh... I know that's the case but... that idiot needs to really work on his wording!"

Mikoto lashed out angrily.

For instance, he had touched her all over when he carried her from the dorm building after he punched out Stiyl. When Index had revealed her identity from within the futon, Kamijou had lightly struck her on the forehead. But of course nothing had happened.

Kamijou looked puzzled. He did not think he was wrong. Also, he doubted there was some supernatural power that his right hand could not negate. In that case…

In that case, was there some part of Index he had not touched?

"…Ah."

His mind immediately reached a very inappropriate place, but he forced it back on track.

Index, who was so very late in understanding what the boy was talking about, exploded in red at the apparent realization.

"T-touma you can't! I-I'm a nun of the church!"

The girl retorted with a heated face of embarrassment.

Othinus sighed.

"(Aren't you saying then if you weren't a nun then there would be no problem?)"

Index choked on air at that.

However, he could think of nowhere besides there. If it were magic that was afflicting Index and there was no magic Kamijou's right hand could not negate, then he could only think that his right hand had yet to touch it.

But then, where was it?

Kamijou looked down at Index's feverish face. Since the magic had to do with memories, would the magic be located on her head or somewhere near her head? If there were a magic circle carved into the inside of her skull, even Kamijou would have to simply give up. If it were inside her body, he could not arbitrarily touch it with his finger that was covered in germs, but…

"…Oh."

Kamijou looked at Index's face once more.

Her eyebrows were moving in pain, her eyes were held tightly shut, and her nose was covered in mud-like sweat. Ignoring it all, Kamijou lowered his gaze to her cute lips taking shallow breaths.

"Really didn't need that adjective..."

Accelerator said with an annoyed look.

Kamijou slipped his right thumb and forefinger between those lips and forced her mouth open.

…The back of her throat.

No one. Absolutely no one knew what to say.

.

..

...

Sorry, that was a lie.

"Wait... did I dream about this once?"

Lessar asked with an unabashed look on her face.

"HUHHHHHH!?"

The whole room visibly flinched at that.

Due to the protection of the skull, the back of the throat was closer to her brain than the back of her head. Also, people would almost never see it and it was unlikely someone would touch it. At the back of her dark red throat was a single eerie mark like something from TV horoscopes. The mark was carved in pure black.

"…"

Kamijou narrowed his eyes once, gathered his resolve, and proceeded to shove his hand into the girl's mouth.

Index was torn from covering her eyes in shame and embarrassment, or curiously looking at the rather... peculiar sight unfolding on the screen.

But between the scandalous look she was sporting, accompanied by the ever increasing heat and incoherent mumblings, it was safe to say which was gaining leverage over the other.

Her mouth wriggled like it was a different creature altogether as his fingers slipped inside. The oddly warm saliva wrapped around his fingers. The unsettling feeling of her tongue made Kamijou hesitate for an instant but he then pressed his fingers in the rest of the way to jab at the back of Index's throat.

"This is... um... I don't know."

Sogita looked completely flabbergasted. He did not know what to say.

...

"Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch."

Aogami, Tsuchimikado, and surprisingly Stiyl were all muttering the same thing like an incantation. And it were an actual spell, it would have been undoubtedly been aimed at Kamijou.

...

"If he doesn't find anything... next time I see him, I'm getting change for two thousand yen..."

Mikoto said darkly.

"Um... Onee-sama? A-and what might that be used for?"

Shirai inquired hesitantly, a bit freaked out by the tone.

"Railguns..."

Uiharu and Saten blanched.

(Plural!?)

...

And then, to be expected...

"K-kamijou-chan- you- huh?- why?- that's not- you shouldn't- umm! Kamijou-chan...! THAT'S LEWD!!!!!!!!!!!"

Komoe was broken.

It appeared to Kamijou that Index shuddered violently with a powerful urge to vomit.

Then, he felt a slight shock in his right index finger as if from static electricity. In the same instant, his right hand was forcefully blown backwards.

"Gah…!?"

A great number of blood droplets dripped onto the futon and tatami mats.

Jaws dropped.

"Ok! That's super bullshit! it was really in her mouth!?"

Kinuhata screamed in disbelief.

To be honest, she didn't know how to feel about what the boy was previously doing. She couldn't decide whether to be disgusted by such a sight or...dare she say, bothered by it.

Of course that thought brought red all over her face.

(Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! What am I thinking!?)

It had felt like his wrist had been shot at by a handgun and he instinctively looked down at his right hand. The wounds Kanzaki had given him had reopened and fresh blood was audibly dripping down onto the tatami mats.

As he held his hand up before his face, he noticed something beyond it.

As Index lay limply in the futon, her eyes silently opened, and they glowed red.

The color was different from her irises.

Glowing blood red magic circles floated in her eyes.

"I thought she couldn't use magic?"

Fukiyose asked in shock.

"Thats right. But that was information given by whom...?"

Tsuchimikado replied playfully, opening his hand in an explanatory manner.

"Huh? Oh..."

Fukiyose said in realization.

"It was just another lie..."

(Not good…!)

An instinctual chill ran down Kamijou's spine; he lacked the time to even hold his destroyed right hand up.

Her eyes glowed a frightening red, and something exploded.

With a tremendous shock, Kamijou's body struck the bookcase. The wooden planks making up the bookcase were smashed apart and the books thundered down to the floor. An intense pain rushed through Kamijou's body as if all of his joints had been smashed to pieces along with the bookcase.

Guilt shot through Index's heart as she watched everything unfold.

Trembling, Kamijou just barely managed to stand back up, his legs threatening to collapse beneath him. The metallic taste of blood mixed in with the saliva in his mouth.

"Warning: Chapter 3, Verse 2. All barriers for Index Librorum Prohibitorum's collar from first to third have been breached. Preparing to regenerate… failed. The collar cannot self-regenerate. Switching priorities to the elimination of the intruder in order to protect the 103,000 archived grimoires."

"Elimination..."

Saten croaked, concern evident in her voice.

Kamijou looked at what lay before him.

Index slowly stood up in such an unsettling manner that she seemed like a boneless, joint-less sack filled with jelly. The crimson magic circles in her eyes pierced Kamijou.

While they were technically eyes, Kamijou found it difficult to think of them as such.

They held no human light and no feminine warmth.

Kamijou had seen those eyes before. When the girl's back had been sliced open by Kanzaki, collapsing her in front of the student dorm, she had spoken about runes like a machine. These were the eyes she had at that time.

—I have no magic power, so I can't use it.

"…Come to think of it, there was one thing I forgot to ask you," Kamijou muttered under his breath as he clenched his battered right fist. "If you're not an esper, why is it you have no magic power?"

The answer to that question was likely right before him. The Church had prepared multiple layers of security. If someone found out about the secret of her perfect memory and tried to remove the collar, Index would automatically use her 103,000 grimoires to use the powerful magic held within in order to literally keep the person who knew the truth from saying anything ever again. All of Index's magic power was put into running that auto defense system.

Kanzaki and Stiyl both clenched their fists.

"Dammit! Dammit.. dammit.. dammit!"

Both magicians were cursing their uselessness, Stiyl especially.

(I couldn't even do anything for her...)

"Using the 103,000 archived grimoires to determine the magic spell used to damage the barrier… failed. The specified magic cannot be determined. Putting together an anti-intruder, local weapon to expose the composition of the spell." Index tilted her head like a corpse puppet. "The magic expected to be most effective on the specific intruder has been formulated. Proceeding to activate the special magic, St. George's Sanctuary, to destroy the intruder."

"St. George's Sanctuary...!"

Itsuwa repeated in shock.

With a tremendous noise, the two magic circles in Index's eyes grew simultaneously. Two magic circles over two meters across were now positioned in front of Index's face. Each one was fixed in place with its center over one of her eyes and the magic circles would move through the air when she slightly moved her head.

"..."

Index sang something that was beyond human comprehension.

For an instant, the two magic circles centered on her eyes glowed before exploding. More specifically, it seemed like an explosion of high voltage electricity occurred in a point in space between Index's eyes, and lightning scattered in every direction.

However, rather than bluish-white electricity, the lightning was pitch black.

"Black lightning...!?"

Mikoto said in fear and surprise.

Though an unscientific description, space itself had seemingly cracked open. Centered at the point where the two magic circles crossed, pitch black spatial cracks spread out in every directions to the edges of the room.

It was like a window that was shot by a bullet. It almost seemed like a type of barrier preventing anyone from approaching Index.

Something seemingly pulsating swelled up from within the cracks. A beast-like scent wafted in from the slight opening created by the pitch black cracks.

"Ah." Kamijou suddenly knew.

This was based on neither theory nor logic. Nor was it based on reason or sense. Perhaps his basic instincts were shouting it at him; he knew not what exactly the thing within the cracks was. However, he knew that seeing —viewing it directly and honestly— would be enough to destroy the being that was Kamijou Touma.

"Ah." Kamijou trembled.

The cracks spread and spread and spread and spread. Even though he knew that whatever within approached, he could not move. He trembled, he trembled some more, and he truly did tremble. After all…

He just had to defeat whatever that was. He and he alone had the hand that could save Index.

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

And, that was why he trembled with delight.

Kamijou Touma should have been scared for his life. He should have been running away in fear from the powerful being in from of him.

But that was not the case. Not Kamijou Touma.

"Heh... that fool really is happy in that situation, isn't he?"

Birdway said with a smirk.

"Of course he is. Just like always, as long as its only affecting him, he can smile that way. That's just the way he is..."

Lessar replied back with a grin.

Was he afraid? Of course not. After all, he had been waiting for this moment for so long.

While he said it could negate even the systems of God, his hand was so useless it would not let him defeat even a single delinquent, would not raise his scores on tests, and would not make him popular with girls.

(That last one really is debatable...)

Hamazura thought.

When a girl's back had been sliced open due to him, when he had been forced to leave the apartment so as not to interfere with the recovery magic, and when the wire-wielding samurai girl had beaten him within an inch of his life, he had cursed his own powerlessness while wishing all the while that he could save that girl!

It was not that he particularly wanted to become the hero of this story. It was just that he held the power in his right hand to negate and tear this too cruel a story to pieces!

He was only four meters away. If he touched that girl just once more, he could bring it all to an end! That was why Kamijou ran toward the cracks and toward Index who stood beyond them.

He clenched his right fist.

"You can do it Kamijou."

Himegami said with unshaken belief.

She knew full well that the boy on the screen could accomplish miracles like no one has seen.

He clenched it so he that could negate the never-ending and horribly, horribly boring ending to that cruel story.

At the same time, the cracks spread all at once and "opened". The giant cracks opened wide enough to reach the edges of the room and the "thing" inside peered out.

A pillar of light shot out from within the cracks.

It looked something like a laser beam about a meter across. The light was so pure a white it looked like it had been melted by the sun. The instant it shot out at him, Kamijou thrust his battered right hand out in front of his face.

The bright light was so stunning that many had to blink their eyes multiple times to get used to the shine

And then...

The sound of the impact was like a piece of meat being pressed against a hot metal sheet.

However, there was no pain… and no heat. As if it were a pillar of water coming from a fire hose being repelled by a clear wall, the pillar of light scattered in every direction when it struck Kamijou's right hand.

"E-even a high level spell like that...?"

Lessar asked, completely shocked.

The Imagine Breaker ability was truly something to be feared.

Even so, the pillar of light itself was not completely negated.

Just like with Stiyl's Innocentius, it seemed to have no end no matter how often he negated it. His feet planted on the tatami mats were slowly pushed backwards and his right hand felt like it would be blown away by the great pressure.

(No… That isn't… what this is…!)

Kamijou grabbed his right wrist with his empty left hand. He felt a stinging pain in the palm of his right hand. The magic was eating into it. His right was not negating it quickly enough and the pillar of light was approaching millimeter by millimeter.

"Come on Kamijou."

Shirai said softly, anxiousness in her voice.

Suddenly, Kamijou heard some noise from the other side of the apartment.

"Its about fucking time! How do you miss a damn death laser!?"

Mugino said in outrage, surprisingly caught into the pace of the moment.

(Did they only now notice something's wrong?)

The door swung open and the two magicians charged in.

"Dammit, what are you doing!? You're still struggling in—…!?" Stiyl began to shout but his breath caught in his throat, as if punched in the back. The sight of the pillar of light and of Index who had fired it had him look like his heart had stopped.

Kanzaki, who had seemed so superior and powerful before, looked utterly taken aback by the scene displayed before her.

"D-Dragon Breath? It can't be. Just how is she using magic!?"

Mikoto felt a certain satisfaction from seeing those dumbstruck faces on the magicians. She was happy to see that they just might be taking Kamijou seriously now.

"I had that look on my face before."

The girl said while grinning.

Kamijou did not turn around.

While it was true he was hardly in a situation where he could turn around, it had more to do with him not wanting to take his eyes off of Index.

"Hey, do you know what this pillar of light is!?" He shouted at them without turning around. "What's it called?"

"What is it!? What's its weakness!? What should I do? Explain each and every step from start to finish!"

The excitement in the boy's voice was so very obvious. There was not fear, anxiety, or sadness on that face of his. Kamijou Touma was so very happy.

Because...

"He's one step closer to savig someone."

Fukiyose then sighed.

"Geez, only someone like Kamijou would be excited in this situation."

"…But… but… what is…?"

"God, you piss me off! Isn't it obvious!? If Index is using magic, it means the Church was lying when they told you Index couldn't use magic!" Kamijou shouted while blowing away the pillar of light. "Oh, and that whole thing about Index having to have her memories erased every year? That was another lie! The Church was the one limiting her, so if I negate this thing, you won't have to erase her memories anymore!"

Kamijou's feet slowly but surely slid backwards.

Finally. Finally, finally, finally.

All of a sudden, the bleak future that couldn't be overwriiten no matter how hard anyone tried was starting to look a little more... hopeful.

And Index smiled. She truly smiled.

Not becasue she was about to be saved. Not because she got to see how the boy had done so.

She smiled because the boy was smiling. She smiled because the boy did not have such a despairing look on his face anymore.

The power behind the pillar of light nightmarishly doubled as if to rip up his toes that were digging into the tatami mat.

"Calm down! Calm down and think about this rationally! Do you really think the people who created the cruel system behind Index would kindly tell their subordinates the whole truth of the situation!? Look at the reality in front of you! Ask Index herself if you like!"

The two magicians stared blankly at Index who stood beyond the cracks.

"St. George's Sanctuary is showing no effect against the intruder. Switching to another spell and continuing destruction of the intruder in order to protect the collar."

It was clearly not the Index the two magicians knew but clearly an Index the Church had not told them about.

"…"

For an instant —just an instant— Stiyl gritted his teeth so hard it seemed they would crack.

"…Fortis931."

"Could he be..."

Himegami trailed off.

She had only a few memories of the flame magician. And in those, he had undoubtedly been an ally. So surely...

Tens of thousands of cards flew from within his pitch black clothes. Cards carved with flame runes spiraled around like a typhoon and in no time at all had covered the walls, ceiling, and floor without gap. It was just like Hoichi the Earless.

However, he did not act in order to save Kamijou. In an effort to save the girl named Index, Stiyl pressed his hand against Kamijou's back.

"I do not need any vague possibilities. As long as I can erase her memories, I can save her life for now. I will kill anyone to accomplish that. I will destroy anything! That is what I decided long ago." Kamijou's feet that had been sliding further and further back suddenly stopped.

"Really!?"

Everyone gaped in shock.

"Even in this situation, he's still super acting like this!?"

Kinuhata asked in surprise, voicing the question everyone had.

An unbelievable power caused the tatami mats his toes were digging into to creak horribly.

"For now?" Kamijou did not turn around. "To hell with that. I don't care about anything like that! I don't need reasons or logic! Just answer me one thing, magicians!"

Kamijou's voice was clear. There had to be fustration, anger, rage, and even desperation. And yet, his voice was clear. So cle wondered how such a thing was pssible given the situation.

And thus, everyone went silent awaiting the next words.

Kamijou sucked in a breath before continuing.

---

[PLAY MUSIC: Re:Zero - Styx Helix - (Droplamp Remix) ]

---

"Do you want to save Index or not?"

The magicians stopped breathing.

A ghost of a smile appeared on Stiyl's face.

(That guy... he really knows how to get to the heart of the issue, doesn't he...?)

A full blown grin was on Kanzaki's.

(He knew the one thing that would matter most to us. Despite us being portrayed as the unfeeling monsters, he still took a wager on our humanity. Just like we did to him.)

"You've been waiting for this the whole time, haven't you? You've been waiting for a solution where Index doesn't have to lose her memories and you don't have to make an enemy of her, right!? This is that kind of wonderful, wonderful happy ending that everyone wants where everyone is happy!"

An unpleasant noise came from his right wrist as he continued to force it against the pillar of light.

'I know you have your own goals. Mine is seeing everyone get through this alive. So, how about we work together? Maybe we'll both win!'

Such similar words were spoken.

Despite Mikoto's increasing worry as he faced off against such a perilous attack, she couldn't help but me reminded of those words.

Those stupid- naive- idiotic words that were no more than mere lip service when you take them into reality.

Except... coming from him, coming from Kamijou Touma; they are something you can believe in.

(But, he lost his memories right? So then how...)

The girl was left to ponder these very thoughts. Thoughts about how a boy who had lost so much, still continues to remember his core.

Even so, Kamijou did not give up.

"You've always longed for this turn of events, haven't you!? You aren't filling in until the hero shows up! You aren't buying time until the main character can appear! There's no one else! There's nothing else! Didn't you swear to save that girl with your own two hands!?"

A crack ran down the fingernail of his right index finger and red blood flowed out.

Pain was no doubt assailing him in waves.

But...

Even so, Kamijou did not give up.

"You've always, always wanted to be the heroes, right!? You wanted to become the kind of magicians you find in picture books and movies that risk their lives to save the girl, right!? Then this isn't anywhere near over! It hasn't even begun! Don't fall into despair just because the prologue dragged on a bit too long!"

The boy's voice seemed to make everyone freeze in place; the weight behind them being that powerful.

Even Mugino shifted in place.

The magicians' voices were silenced.

Kamijou would not give up. What did he look like in the magicians' eyes?

(A stubborn basatrd who tries to hard.)

Stiyl immediately thought.

(At first... I thought you were a naive boy who wanted to be a hero. But now, its clear that you have no want or intention of clinging to such a title. For you, saving people is just a way of life, something you can't help but do. There isn't any other option for you.)

Kanzaki thought with a sad smile.

(That is a truly wonderful thing, but also very sad.)

"If you stretch out your hand, you can reach it! Just do it already, magicians!"

An odd cracking noise was heard from Kamijou's right pinky.

When he realized the finger was bent —broken— at an unnatural angle, the pillar of light attacked with tremendous force and finally knocked Kamijou's right hand away.

His hand was knocked a good ways backwards.

Kamijou's face was completely defenseless and the pillar of light rushed towards it at a dreadful speed.

Everyone's heart seized then and there.

"Touma no!"

"Shit! Kami-yan...!"

"Kamijou!"

"Touma-chan!"

Index, Aogami, Fukiyose, and Komoe all yelled out in worry.

No one seemed to notice something that had been said.

"…Salvare000!"

The instant before the pillar of light struck his face, he heard Kanzaki yell.

"!"

Everyone was happy to see one of the magicians finally act. However, whether it was to help the boy, remained to be seen...

"Her magic name..."

Shokuhou stated.

Even she could see the likeness of the names that have been given so far.

Kanzaki's approximately two meter long Japanese sword sliced through the air. Her Nanasen attack utilizing seven wires flew towards Index at a speed that seemed to slice through sound itself.

But, she did not aim for Index.

The wires tore through the fragile tatami mat at Index's feet. Having lost her footing, Index fell backwards. The magic circles linked to her eyes moved and the pillar of light that was supposed to be aimed at Kamijou missed its target considerably.

"S-she saved him!"

Uiharu couldn't help say.

"Yeah, she did."

Mikoto nodded next to her.

She took a shakily exhale, as if letting out the worries and concerns festering within her.

As if it were a giant sword being swung around, the pillar of light sliced through the wall and ceiling of the apartment. It even sliced through the pitch black clouds floating in the night sky.

In fact, it could have even sliced through a satellite outside the atmosphere.

.

..

...

"O-onee-sama? Could that have been...?"

"..."

All Mikoto could do was stare dumbly at the screen, where she watched the unbelievable sight of a bright blue beam demolish a satellite orbiting earth.

(That was... that was... Tree... Diagram...)

The girl finally thought.

So yeah, Mikoto was left to ponder the ramifications of what that meant.

...

"Aw man! I'm so envious right now!"

Sogita yelled out in fustration.

"If it was okay to shoot down satellites then what the hell have I been doing up to now!? That's some serious guts!"

Normally the only adult in the room would have said something about that; however the pink haired Loli was thing about one thing and one thing only.

(Whaaaa! My roof!)

...

Not even a splinter remained where the walls and ceiling had been sliced.

Instead, the portions that had been destroyed had become feathers of light that were as pure a white as the pillar of light. They floated down. Kamijou had no idea what effects they might have had, but a few dozen of those feathers of light came floating down like winter snow on that summer night.

For some reason that couldn't be explained, everyone felt an immense amount of dread when gazing at those bright holy feathers of light.

"W-what are those...?"

Himegami asked, her voice stuttering because of an unexplainable fear.

Index just stared at them blankly, trying for the life of her to figure out where she saw them before.

"Those are the same as Dragon Breath, the strike of the legendary dragon of St. George! Whatever power they may have, I highly doubt the human body will react well to them!"

Having heard Kanzaki's warning and having been freed from the bonds of the pillar of light, Kamijou ran towards Index as she lay collapsed on the ground.

But before he could, Index turned her head.

Like a giant sword being swung, the pillar of light was swung back down, slicing back through the night sky.

Kamijou was going to be caught by it again!

"Innocentius!"

As Kamijou prepared himself, a spiral of flame appeared in front of him.

"Its about time!

Shirai said in indignation.

The giant flame took on the form of a person and then spread out its arms to act as a shield against the pillar of light.

It was truly like a cross protecting man from sin.

"Go, esper!" shouted Stiyl. "Her time limit has already passed! If you want to do this, don't even waste a second!"

Kamijou did not respond with words or even turn around.

Before he could, he ran around the colliding flame and light towards Index. He did it because Stiyl wanted him to. He did it because he had heard Stiyl's words and understood the meaning held in them and the feelings hidden behind them.

Kamijou ran.

He ran!

They all watched Kamijou sprint towards the ending where everyone could go home smiling. The one where he struggled, despaired, and agonized in his pursuit to find it.

"Warning: Chapter 6, Verse 13. New enemy confirmed. Changing combat considerations. Beginning scan of the battlefield… done. Focusing on the destruction of the most difficult enemy, Kamijou Touma."

Index swung her head around, pillar of light and all.

However, Innocentius moved to protect Kamijou at the same time. The light and flames continued to eat into each other in an extended conflict of destruction and regeneration.

Kamijou ran straight for the now defenseless Index.

"Come on Kamijou."

Itsuwa whispered, hands clasped on her chest.

Four more meters.

Three more meters.

Two more meters!

"Come on Ape, you can do it."

Shirai said, feeling the anxiousness of the moment.

One more meter!

"Nooo! Above you!" Kanzaki yelled with a voice that seemed to tear through everything.

This frightened everyone.

Kamijou had just reached the point where he could reach the magic circles in front of Index's face if he stretched out his hand. Without stopping his feet, he looked up at the ceiling.

The feathers of light...

The few dozen shining feathers that had been created when Index's pillar of light had destroyed the wall and ceiling were slowly floating down like snowflakes. They had just floated down far enough to be about to reach Kamijou's head.

Just then, the nun with the silver hair widened her eyes in recognition.

She knew those feathers. Those feathers were the ones that...

"!"

"NO TOUMA DON'T!

Index screamed, fear and desperation heavily present in her voice.

Everyone looked at her with confused gazes. After all, it was certainly a weird reaction for something that could happen to the boy.

Yes, could.

Despite knowing nothing about magic, Kamijou could still tell that having even one of those feathers touch him would have had extremely undesirable results.

He also knew that he could easily negate them by using his right hand.

But…

"I-if Kamijou touches them, then there's no probl-"

Uiharu was cut off.

"Warning: Chapter 22, Verse 1. Analysis of the flame magic spell has succeeded. It is confirmed to be a distorted Christian motif described with runes. Adding in anti-Christian spells… Spell 1, Spell 2, Spell 3. Twelve seconds until the complete activation of the spell named Eli Eli Lema Sabachthani."[28[a 43]

The pillar of light's color turned from pure white to crimson.

Innocentius's regeneration speed visibly slowed and the pillar of light pushed forward.

Using his right hand to take out each and every one of the dozens of feathers of light would most likely take too much time. There was also a danger of Index managing to stand back up, and, most importantly, Innocentius clearly wouldn't last that long.

The dozens of feathers of light floated above the single, controlled girl at his feet whose every feeling was being used.

"Touma no...! Please don't..."

Index said with widened eyes of terror, tiny droplets of liquid beginning to form.

With that, everyone was else started to get an inkling that something terrible was about to happen.

They had seen terror before. They had seen suffering, pain, and despair already. They had seen plenty of that and more so far.

But right now...

"That's right. Something irreversible is about to happen..."

...

"W-wait... hold on..."

Fukiyose stammered. She had a very bad feeling. She didn't know why, but she desperately wanted to freeze this moment to prevent in from continuing.

It was a simple question of who to save and who to let fall.

The answer was obvious.

With that very thought... they saw it.

Kamijou's expression had changed in that very instant. It was a look they had seen on the boy's face before.

And it terrified them. It scared them to death. It was more terrifying then any monster that hell could bring forth.

They had seen it when the boy decided he needed to end his own life to make everyone else happy.

They had seen it when the boy lay wheezing in the street with a knife sticking out of his chest.

They had seen it when the boy truly believed that he didn't deserve to be loved.

They had seen it when...

"!"

(No...no no no! This is a joke right!?)

Shokuhou thought in horror.

And that was because...

They had seen this exact face when the boy was finally killed amid those shifting and fluctuating worlds...

And thus, Othinus also widened her eyes.

(Human could you really...?)

Kamijou Touma had not been swinging his right hand around for his own sake.

He had been fighting the magicians in order to save a certain girl.

"Touma...!"

Index sounded absolutely heartbroken.

She knew what was coming. She knew and thought that it didn't matter anymore. She thought she loved the Kamijou Touma that came after, and the one that came before.

She thought she already knew that. And yet...

""T-touma! D-don't go!"

She wailed. She sobbed like a crying baby. She cried like someone who would never get to see a loved one again.

(God, if this world, this story, is moving ahead according to the system you created…)

Kamijou spread open the five fingers of his clenched fist almost as if he were going to wash his palm.

"H-hey Idiot... surely your not about to do something stupid right!? Right!?"

Mikoto said nervously. She had a horrible feeling.

(…then I first need to destroy that illusion!)

Kamijou swung his right hand down.

He swung it down on the black cracks and the magic circles that had produced those cracks. Kamijou's right hand easily tore them apart. It was so simple that it made him want to laugh at how much suffering they had caused. He broke through them as easily as the paper of a goldfish scoop once wet.

"…Warning: Final… Chapter, Verse Zero…. The collar has received fatal… damage… Regeneration… impossible… gone."

The voice coming from Index's mouth ended altogether.

The pillar of light and magic circles disappeared, and it was almost as if the cracks that had been running all across the room had been erased with an eraser.

The boy had done it. He had saved the girl that was suffering. So then...

Why was this unbearable unease still present?

At that moment, one of the feathers of light fell down on Kamijou Touma's head.

Everyone froze. No one dared move a muscle.

"..."

He thought he heard someone shout.

He knew not whether it was Stiyl, Kanzaki, himself, or even Index who might have woken up.

As if he had been hit in the head by a hammer, all strength left his entire body, down to the very last finger.

Kamijou fell down and covered Index who was still collapsed on the floor.

The room was completely quiet. No one wanted to say anything. No one could say anything.

It was like he protected her body from the falling feathers of light. The dozens of feathers of light floated down like snowflakes towards every part of Kamijou's body.

Even so, Kamijou Touma smiled. He smiled and he never moved those fingertips again.

On that night, Kamijou Touma "died".

Silent tears went down Index's face as she gazed upon the scene in it's full truth. She then collapsed to her knees.

Several others followed suit.

There was still a complete silence that enveloped the room.

But feelings? Those were ever abundant and most certainly active.

Fear. Confusion. Uncertainty. Despair. Disbelief. Those were to but name a few.

"Your all hoping for that happy ending right?"

The voice cut though the unbearable silence.

Many weakly turned their heads once again to the screen. The memory of the boy collapsing still at the forefront if their thoughts.

"Your hoping that hero will get to share in the miracles he always seems to make happen, right?"

Everyone unconciously mouthed the word 'yes'. Because, that was indeed the case. Kamijou Touma works so hard to make it so other people can smile in the face of their normality. So naturally, everyone who knows him would want him go be apart of that 'normal' as well.

And then finally...

"What... what happened to him?"

Shokuhou said, barely above a whisper.

Everyone looked to the screen to hear the answer. However, one was excluded from that curiosity, because she already knew.

The very same nun looked away with a pained expression. One full of guilt and shame.

"The undeniable truth is... 'Kamijou Touma' did die on that night. He will never return. But..."

Those who were about to recluse into their own shells of despair perked up at that final word.

"Well, it wouldn't be any fun if I spoiled it for you. How about you see for yourself, no?"

Those more accustomed to their lack of tempers growled slightly.

But... essentially, that was the intent of all of this wasn't it? For everyone to see the hidden ordeals of misfortune that Kamijou Touma had to deal with. So, like in the previous memories, they braced themselves; bracing for the truth they will and continue to see of that unlucky boy.

---

"Seems it was nothing," said a plump doctor in an examination room of a university hospital.

The doctor spun around in a swiveling chair. He seemed to have been aware he resembled a frog, because he had a sticker of a small tree frog on the ID card on his chest.

"Its that frog faced doctor..."

Accelerator muttered, recognizing the man.

"Ooh! I know him too, says Misaka Misaka, widening her eyes in recognition."

It seems that the girl known as Last Order was also gaining a little bit of energy back, even with her worry for the 'Savior' in her mind.

In fact, that worry wasn't just coming from her. Misaka Imouto also was deeply anxious; and conversely, so was Worst, as much as she despised such feelings.

Index may have had a great love for humanity, but scientists were the one group she did not care for. While magicians were indeed a collection of oddities, she felt scientists were even odder.

She wondered why she was alone with him, but, without anyone to be with, she had no choice.

Correct, she had no one to be with.

That unsettled many in the room.

Komoe, Fukiyose, and Himegami all gulped nervously.

"I don't like speaking so politely to someone who isn't my patient, so I'm going to stop. This is my first and last question to you as a doctor: Why did you come here to my hospital?"

Not even Index knew the answer to that question.

No one —truly no one— had told her the truth.

She disliked having magicians, whom she thought were her enemies, tell her about the yearly wiping of her memories or about how a certain boy had risked his life to save her from those horrible circumstances.

Kanzaki and Stiyl smiled grimly at that.

"But having three people in Academy City without an ID is quite a surprise. Did you know a strange beam shot down one of our surveillance satellites? It's left Judgment quite busy."

And of course, that was another thing.

"I still can't super believe Tree Diagram was destroyed just like that."

Kinuhata said.

(That wasn't your first and last question at all.)

Index was one of the three without an ID. The other two were likely those magicians. Despite having chased her all over, they had brought her to the hospital and then disappeared without a trace.

"By the way, that letter you have there is from them, isn't it?"

"Letter?"

Uiharu softly asked.

The frog-faced doctor stared at the envelope in Index's hand that looked like it could hold even a love letter. With an angry look, Index ripped the envelope apart and took out the letter.

"Oh? I thought it was addressed to that boy, not you."

"D-does that me... does that mean he..."

Itsuwa didn't say anything more. She truly did not want to say anything more.

"It doesn't matter," replied Index indignantly.

Since the letter was sent by "Stiyl Magnus" and started with "Dear Kamijou Touma", it was simply too suspicious. A deadly malice could be felt from the heart sticker on the envelope.

At any rate, the letter read…

Any standard greetings would be a waste of time, so I'm skipping them.

"Yeah that sounds like him."

Tsuchimikado said dryly.

Well you've done it, you bastard... and I'd like to go on like that, but if I threw all my personal feelings at you here, I would end up using up all the trees in the world and still not have enough paper for this letter. As such, I'll end that there, you bastard.

"He cursed him twice."

Shirai sweatdropped.

It went on like that for 8 pages of stationery. Index silently and carefully read through it all, crushing up each page she finished and tossing it behind her. The doctor's frog face grew more and more annoyed with each new balled-up page littering the floor of his workplace, but could not say anything to Index who emitted the odd intimidation of a bullied child on the verge of tears.

Now on the 9th and final page, the following was written:

For now, I will do the bare minimum of what etiquette demands of me for your help and explain the girl and her circumstances. I can't have either of us owing each other anything. The next time we meet, we are sure to be enemies.

We don't trust you scientists, so we examined her in our own way before the doctors saw her, and she seems to be fine. The higher ups in the Anglican Church seem to want to retrieve her as soon as possible now that her collar has been removed, but I think a more wait-and-see approach would be better. Although personally, I cannot stand to have her with you for even an instant longer.

"Nobody wants to see the male tsundere in real life."

Aogami commented, clearly disgruntled.

"Yeah, we get enough of that from Accel-kun."

Tsuchimikado added.

"Hah!?"

Two voices of hidden rage let out the same thing.

However, she used magic based on the 103,000 grimoires when in the John's Pen mode that the Church prepared. Now that John's Pen has been destroyed, it is possible she can use magic with her own free will now. If the destruction of John's Pen has caused her magic power to recover, we must reorganize our strength.

That said I don't see how her magic power could have realistically recovered. It's hardly worth warning you, but a magic god that can freely use those 103,000 grimoires is just that dangerous.

(Dangerous huh...)

Othinus thought, slightly amused, if the tugging of the corners of her lips were any indication.

(Yes, I was dangerous. And yet that human still...)

The goddess once again realized the incredulity of her own situation. Despite being a terrorist, and putting him through countless hells of suffering; and that was in no way a small feat...despite all of this...

Kamijou Touma did not give up on her. He not only saved her but...

(He gave me the one thing I was searching for in those infinite worlds...)

Those were the thoughts of the chibi goddess as her heart warmed at the precious memories.

(By the way, this does not mean we have given up and are leaving her to you. Once we have gathered the information we need and gathered the equipment we need, we intend to come back to take that girl again. I don't like catching people off guard, so make sure you prepare yourself for our arrival.)

P.S. This letter is made to self-destruct after it has been read. Even if you had realized the truth, you need to be punished for making that bet without consulting us. I hope this blows off a finger or two of that precious right hand of yours.

"Wait!? Self-destruct!?"

Hamazura yelled.

Post-letter, one of Stiyl's runes was carved into the paper. As soon as Index frantically threw the letter away, it burst into pieces with a crackling noise.

"You seem to have some rather extreme friends. Did they soak the letter in a liquid explosive?"

.

..

...

(What is it with that guy!?)

Was the thought of many.

The fact that the letter exploding did not surprise the doctor made Index half-seriously think he was a bit crazy himself. However, Index's feelings seemed to have numbed over too, because no other thoughts entered her mind.

As such, she decided to do what she had come to the hospital to do in the first place.

That seemed to make everyone pay attention to the screen.

"If you want to know about that boy, it would be fastest to just meet with him directly…Or so I'd like to say." The frog-faced doctor truly seemed to be enjoying himself. "It would be rude for you to receive the shock before the boy himself, so how about a quick lesson beforehand?"

That did not ease anyone's hearts.

"What's wrong with him?"

Lessar asked.

Beside her, Birdway remained silent. She truly had no idea what it could be as well.

She knocked on the door twice.

It was all she did, but Index still felt like her heart would burst. While waiting for a response, she restlessly wiped the sweat from her palms onto the skirt of her habit and crossed herself.

"Yes?" replied the boy.

"!"

Breaths hitched in surprise.

There was no way mere words would be able to describe the relief felt after hearing the boy's words.

He was alive. Kamijou Touma was alive.

Index brought her hand to the door but hesitated, because he had not actually told her to come in and she wondered if she should ask before doing so. But, she feared having him say something like "God, you're persistent. Just come in already." She was very, very afraid.

She opened the door jerkily like a robot. Instead of a hospital room with six patients to the room, it was a private room. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all pure white which threw off her sense of distance, making the room seem oddly large.

The boy sat up in a pure white bed. The window next to the bed was open, and the pure white curtain fluttered slightly.

He was alive.

"Oh! Look Look! The Savior is okay! Misaka Misaka says as she jumps up and down in joy."

And Last Order was doing just that, much to annoyance of Accelerator however.

"Yeah yeah, I see him brat..."

Accelerator just stared at him inquisitively.

(It doesn't look there's anything wrong with the hero.)

With that, they dared hope. They hoped that there was nothing wrong with Kamijou. They hoped that he would sport his usual idiot smile that seemed to out everyone present in a state of relaxation and ease.

That truth alone almost brought tears to Index's eyes. She was unsure if she should leap into his arms right then and there or if she should first give his head a good chomp for being so reckless.

"Um…" the boy said with a quizzical look on his face while bandages were wrapped around his head like a headband.

And then...

"Did you go to the wrong room by any chance?"

"?"

Surprised and confusion triumphed over shock in this instance. Out of all the things that they expected from the boy who had worried them immensely, was the words that came out of his mouth.

The boy's words were the polite and doubtful words of someone probing for information.

It was the voice of someone who had just received a phone call from a complete stranger.

—This was less amnesia and more a case of complete memory destruction.

.

..

...

"Oh..."

Mikoto muttered in a dazed trance, something many were feeling.

The truth hit them like a pile of bricks.

That was right. Memory loss. Amnesia. Complete cell destruction.

They knew this was going to happen. They had already been told of the boy's memory loss from that mysterious voice. However, with everything that was going on with Index and her plight, they completely discarded it from their minds.

It was similar to hearing a spoiler about a novel right before you start reading it, but you forget it, that is- until you come across it for the first time. So that why...

"Oh..."

Once again, but from Fukiyose.

But surely they could have made the connection right? Some of them surely would have noticed the similar circumstances of the boy sitting on that hospital bed, and the girl who was standing a bit of ways from him, right? Yes, yes they would have. Any person as smart as the geniuses in the room would be able to piece that together in a normal circumstance.

...

Yep, a normal circumstance. But this situation, one where they watched and lay witness to the true misfortune the boy had to endure, they did not question such a simple topic on top of everything else they were learning, observing, and... feeling.

Especially because of what they were feeling.

This was truly not a normal circumstance.

...

But... there were people who had not acquired the correct context to arrive at appropriate conclusions. Those people were indeed shocked, curious, and interested.

"K-kami-yan?"

Aogami let out, completely stunned. He was no doubt thinking of his friend that never gave even the slightest indication that he forgot who he was.

...

"..."

Tsuchimikado's face was unreadable, well that's not true exactly. The boy was frowning.

...

"I... see..."

Fukiyose muttered these words out, as she already knew. The thoughts that came in her head were trying to distinguish the two people who she knew were Kamijou Touma. But, she couldn't find those differences.

(Am I more friendly towards this you, Kamijou...?)

She wondered.

...

"Memory... loss?"

Before Himegami knew it, feelings of uncertainty, doubt, and worry assaulted her. Naturally, it was a normal course of action to finding out about such a thing. Especially hearing it happen to a close person to you. Someone that you hold in your heart.

But then, it was gone. And that was because of something really simple.

Kamijou Touma had saved her. That boy who saved her because it was simply the right thing to do. That boy didn't once complain that he had no memories. That boy who smiled at her in class, and talked to her because he wanted to.

Yes, Kamijou Touma might have died, and someone else may have taken his place. But...

She fell in love with Kamijou Touma. The one who saved her, smiled at her, and talked to her. It was a simply as that.

(Yes, that's why it doesn't matter. Not in the slightest.)

Himegami smiled as she felt that warmth in her chest. That very comforting warmth.

...

"Kamijou...chan?"

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Komoe was one of the people who was the most shocked. She just found out her student had lost something very precious to him after all. Actually, would that still be the case? Can someone lose something if that someone doesn't exist any more? Komoe thought about such things. She thought about all the times Kamijou Touma showed up to class with that ever-occurring laid back attitude. She thought about all the times that he complained about his rotten luck. She thought about all the times he bantered with his friends in those seats in the back. And...

She didn't notice a single difference. She didn't realize that one of her precious students was all alone in a completely new environment. She didn't even realize the trials and tribulation that the boy had went on to experience after this event.

Kamijou Touma had just endured. He suffered alone. He hurt alone. And perhaps... he even cried alone.

"Kamijou-chan...!"

Komoe was crying once again. And despite her attempts at wiping her eyes, the tears did not stop.

The words the doctor had told Index in that freezing summer examination room floated up in the back of her mind.

—He did not just "forget" his memories. The brain cells were physically destroyed. I really don't see how he could remember those things again. Honestly, did someone open up his skull and jam a stun gun inside?

Many flinched at that, especially Kanzaki. She, as well as a few others, would be the only people to realize the exact potency that the dragon's breath feathers would have on the mind.

...

"Physically destroyed...!"

Uiharu did not know that was possible. She couldn't hide the surprise from her voice.

"I've heard of amnesia but... total destruction!?"

It seems the girl was going through the same line of questions that Mikoto had. As such...

"Yeah... that's what I thought too..."

Mikoto said sadly.

"…"

Index's breathing stopped. She could not help but lower her gaze.

Serious damage had been done to the boy's brain as a reaction to his forced overuse of his esper powers and as damage from the light Index herself had fired. (Or so she had heard. She did not remember it herself.)

"That must of been what they told the doctors."

Saten said.

Since it was physical damage —that is, just a wound— healing it might have been possible with recovery magic like with Index's sliced open back. However, that transparent boy had a right hand called Imagine Breaker. It would negate all magic whether for good or evil.

In other words, even if she tried to heal the boy, recovery magic would be negated.

It all came down to the boy's mind and heart being dead rather than his body.

Shokuhou felt a distinct twinge of pain run through her heart at that statement. And that was because it was the absolute truth. Kamijou Touma had forgotten Shokuhou Misaki. And that was the case for his mind... and his heart.

But Shokuhou...no, Misaki still had one thing that she hadn't lost. And that was her memories and feelings. If the boy forgot about their time together then she would remember for the both of them. If the boy lost those feelings of friendship and compassion, then she would continue to fester those warm emotions for the both of them.

Anything for her prince, the one who talked to that lonely girl who about to end it all.

So, despite the grim situation, Misaki still smiled. She smiled and continued to watch.

"Umm?"

The boy's voice sounded unsure… no, worried.

For some reason, Index could not allow that transparent boy to speak like that. The boy was hurt for her sake. It was unfair for him to be worried for her.

Index forced down whatever it was that was gathering in her heart and then took a deep breath. She tried to smile and thought she might have managed.

The boy was transparent through and through, clearly showing that he did not remember Index at all.

Everyone saw the desperate attempt at a forced smile appear on the screen, and waves of sympathy were sent to the girl who was trying her best not to break down

Even watching herself again, Index realized that this truly was an emotional moment for her. Even if she knows what's going to happen, and how the boy made that decision to make her happy, she still knows this.

"Um, are you okay? You look really sad."

That transparent boy smashed her perfect smile to pieces all at once. Index recalled that the boy had always seemed able to see the true emotions hidden behind her smiles.

Surprisingly, as much as he wanted to, Stiyl felt no anger at the boy for causing such a look on Index's face. He couldn't after all, he didn't have the right to. Not after what this boy had to endure.

"I'm perfectly okay." Index worked to keep her breathing steady. "Of course I'm okay."

The transparent boy studied Index's face for a bit.

"…Um. Did we know each other by any chance?"

That question was the hardest one for Index to bear, proving that the transparent boy knew nothing about her.

Nothing. Truly nothing.

This was truly a sad thing to witness. They were able to understand why each word the boy spoke would be a painful blow to one's heart. And they were able to do this because they imagined themselves in Index's place.

"Yes…" replied Index as she stood in the middle of the hospital room. Her body language was similar to that of an elementary school student in a manga sent to stand out in the hall for forgetting her homework.

"Touma, you don't remember? We met on your dorm balcony."

"…I live in a dorm?"

Crack!

That was a sound they swore they heard as that girl's face twisted in pain.

"…Touma, you don't remember? You destroyed my Walking Church with your right hand."

"What's a Walking Church? …Is it some kind of new jogging religion?"

Creak!

Another one came, just as dinstict; the girl looked almost ready to cry.

"… …Touma, you don't remember? You fought magicians for me."

"Is Touma someone's name?"

The girl looked like she couldn't breathe.

Index felt like she could not continue to speak for much longer.

"Touma, you don't remember?"

Even so, she had to ask one last thing.

The white-clad nun who was watching, deeply inhaled, remembering what she said. Her cheeks began to die red.

"Your friend, Index… loved you."

Many felt there jaws drop at that declaration from the girl

"..."

However, many could not even be angry or jealous in this situation. They completely understood this was not a moment to be petty about such things.

"I'm sorry," said the transparent boy. "And what is Index? It doesn't sound like a person's name. Do I have a cat or a dog?"

Especially... since that confession was just completely ignored by the boy who didn't know any better.

"Weh…" Index felt the urge to cry rise up as high as her chest, but she crushed that urge and forced it down.

She forced it down and smiled. It was hardly a perfect smile, but she did at least manage a crumbling smile.

"Just kidding! You totally fell for it! Ah ha ha ha!"

.

..

...

"Wh...at?"

Uiharu said. She was truly frozen in shock. Others were of a similar nature.

The feelings that were being sent out to the girl who was no doubt suffering, as well as the sadness and loss they felt towards the boy who had lost a piece of him, instantly vanished.

All they heard was the quickening beat of their hearts, never slowing down until this moment.

"D-did he really just..."

Lessar tried to say, but nothing came out.

Truly, everyone was too shocked to react, and thus they stood there and watched the scene play out.

"Hweh…?" Index froze in place.

The unsure expression left the transparent boy's face. It was completely swapped out for a fierce and incredibly evil smile with bared canines.

"Why are you getting so emotional over being called a dog or cat, you masochist? What? Are you into things like collars or something? C'mon, I have no intention of having this end with me revealing a secret interest in kidnapping and confining little girls."

"Wha..."

Fukiyose trailed off...

At some point, color had filled the transparent boy.

Index did not understand why. She thought she hallucinated and rubbed her eyes. She thought she was hearing things and cleared out her ears. It felt like her perfectly sized habit had somehow become so big that one shoulder would slip off.

"Huh? Eh? Touma? Huh? I was told your brain cells had been destroyed so you forgot everything…"

"…C'mon now. Don't make it sound like it would've been better if I had." Kamijou sighed. "You really are slow. It's true I chose to take those feathers of light at the very, very end. I'm no magician, so I have no idea what effects they had, but according to the doctor, my brain cells were damaged. As such, I was supposed to have amnesia, right?"

"You were supposed to?"

"Yup. After all, that damage was done by magic power, right?"

That seemed to be enough for people to realize what the boy was alluring to.

The looks of confusion and incredulity began to replace the stunned silence.

(B-but, that idiot told me...)

Mikoto mumbled, clearly shaken.

"Oh my... this really is too cruel... I almost feel bad. Almost... ha ha.."

The voice said this in a lighthearted tone, confusing everyone even more.

"Ah," said Index as she realized something.

"That's right, that's it, and you've got it. Is three times enough? That makes things simple. I just touched my own head with my right hand and used Imagine Breaker on myself."

"Ahh…" Index weakly sat down on the floor.

"Basically, I just had to negate the magical damage before it could reach my brain and do permanent damage there. If it were more like a physical phenomenon like Stiyl's flames, it would never have worked, but those feathers of light were nothing more than a strange, supernatural power, so there was no problem."

As Index sat on the floor in a daze with her legs bent backwards to either side, she looked up at Kamijou's face. Now she was sure, the shoulder of her absolute nun's habit had indeed slipped down. Her expression was just as stupid looking.

"Ha ha ha. Man, you should've seen your face. With how you always get everyone to volunteer for your sake, I hope this incident has taught you something."

"…" She could not respond.

"…Huh? …Um."

Kamijou grew a bit unsure of himself and the tone of his voice dropped.

Index slowly lowered her head and her long silver bangs covered her expression. As she sat on the floor, her shoulders trembled slightly. It seemed she was gritting her teeth.

"Um, there is one thing I would like to ask. May I ask it, princess?" With an unpleasant tone in his voice, Kamijou returned to probing for information.

"What?" replied Index.

"Um… Are you angry by any chance?"

"Of course she's angry..."

Hamazura said, as that was all he could mutter in response.

"You just... you just..."

However he didn't voice it yet. It was just too...

Convenient.

Hamazura of course, was not the only one who thought this.

The nurse's call rang.

The scream of a boy who had been bitten on the top of the head rang throughout the hospital.

Perfectly fitting in with some angry sound effects, Index left the hospital room.

"Oh?" said a voice near the entrance. The frog-faced doctor entered just as Index exited and had almost bumped into her. "I came because the nurse's call went off, but… Oh, now this is bad."

The boy's upper body had slipped from the bed, and he cried while holding the top of his head with both hands.

"I'm gonna die. I'm really gonna die," he muttered to himself with such realism that it was frightening.

This was indeed a humorous situation; however, no one could feel that humor when there was a massive elephant in the room.

Things didn't add up, not at all.

The doctor glanced back towards the open door to the hallway before turning back to Kamijou.

"Should you really have done that?"

"Done what?" replied the boy.

"You don't remember anything, do you?"

"!"

And there it was, the news that completely destroyed anyone's hope for that too-good to-be-true happy ending.

It seems, and this was a heartbreaking thought for most, it seems that the boy who works the hardest for those endings, does not get to be apart of them.

And then... imagine the surprise when they look at the girl who should have been heartbroken. Perhaps on a greater level than all of them. But no...

Index, that girl was not crying, heartbroken, or frozen in shock. She had this simple look of acceptance.

It was almost as if... she already knew.

"(How did you find out...)"

Othinus asked to the girl.

The goddess herself was surprised at such a revelation of a loss of memory, especially since they called each other their understanders. But it made these in a way. That human had no reason to talk about such things in those infinite worlds of death and struggle.

"I can't really describe how I knew. It was just something that came to me. Maybe it was a feeling that wouldn't go away or... maybe it was discovered in a dream of sorts. One that I couldn't wake up from for a while."

And for Index, that was the truth.

"(I see...)"

That was all the magic god said in response.

The transparent boy fell silent. The reality that God had created was not as kind and warm as what he had told that girl.

As a result of the magic that had afflicted them, the boy and girl had collapsed in the apartment and the two naming themselves magicians had brought them to the hospital. The supposed magicians had told the doctors what had transpired, and the doctors had of course not believed them. The doctors had only told the boy all of it, because they felt he had the right to know.

To him, it was like reading someone else's diary. To him, it mattered not what someone else's diary said about a girl he could neither picture in his head nor recognize if he saw her.

What he had told her had been nothing more than something he had made up based on what someone else's diary had said. Even if it said that that right hand that was wrapped in bandages held a power that could destroy even the rules created by God…

He did not really believe it.

"Liar..."

Mikoto softly said. Their was no negative emotion in it though. She truly did not mean it in a derogatory way. Because she knew why the boy would have done such a thing.

It was so very clear to her. And for the boy, despite losing his memories, the reason why he did it couldn't be more obvious...

"But should I really have done that?" asked the transparent boy.

Even though it had been someone else's diary, it had been so enjoyable… and so heartbreaking. His missing memories would never come back, but he had somehow managed to think of that as a very sad thing.

"For some reason, I didn't want to make that girl cry. That was how I felt. I don't know what kind of feeling it was and I'll probably never remember, but that was how I felt all the same." The transparent boy gave a truly colorless smile.

He didn't want see the girl crying. He didn't want to see someone, who was now a perfect stranger, cry. The boy was that kind. And because of that overwhelming otherworldly kindness that you can't find anywhere else...

Kamijou Touma lied.

He lied to save that girl who would cry, who would truly cry if he didn't.

"Doctor, why did you believe that story? I mean, being a doctor is about as far as you can get from things like magicians and magic."

"Not necessarily." A proud look appeared on the doctor's frog-like face. "Hospitals and the occult have a surprisingly close relationship. …And I'm not talking about ghosts haunting hospitals. Depending on their religion, some people refuse to take blood transfusions, refuse surgery, and will sue you even though you saved their life. For a doctor, it is best to just do what the patient says when it comes to the occult."

Lessar, Birdway, Kanzaki, Stiyl, Itsuwa, and even Tsuchimikado couldn't decide whether to feel guilty or insulted after such a comment.

The doctor smiled, though he did not know why smiled. When he saw the boy smile, he instinctively smiled back like a mirror image.

Or perhaps it was the boy that was a mirror of the doctor. That was just how hollow the boy's smile was. It was like he could feel no sorrow.

The boy was really, truly transparent.

"I may still remember more than you think."

"Huh?"

Everyone looked to the boy in true puzzlement. Even Index was surprised, straining her ears to listen.

The frog-faced doctor looked at the transparent boy in slight surprise.

"Your memories were 'killed', brain cells and all."

What a ridiculous thing for me to say, thought the doctor.

But, he continued.

"To liken the human body to a computer, your hard disk was utterly fried. If there's no data left in your brain, just where are these memories supposed to be?"

Somehow, or maybe it was because they simply knew the boy that well- either way, they felt like they knew what he was going to say to that...

Somehow, the doctor felt the boy's response would blow that ridiculous logic away.

"Isn't that obvious?" replied the transparent boy. "In my heart."

[Scene End]

.

..

...

"Hmph... how ridiculous. But..."

Birdway said with a scoff, but then she paused.

"Coming from him, I actually believe it."

"Yeah, it would make sense if it was Loverboy."

Lessar said happily.

...

('In my heart' huh...)

Mikoto thought about that with a smile. She seemed to be recalling a similar conversation that she had with him at one point.

It was when she first questioned him on his memory loss.

'I can't remember what happened a long time ago, but even if I can't, it's thanks to all of it that I'm here now. Whoever I was before, he's moving me now. He's still here- not in my head but in my heart. Even if I don't remember, he knows exactly what I'm trying to accomplish and want I need to do.'

Those words swimmed around in her head, just now realizing the significance of them.

She now knew that in his heart, Kamijou took pride in the fact that he would keep going despite what he was lacking. Not because he was forced to, not because it was expected of him by others, no... the reason was much more simple than that.

Kamijou Touma was not the type of person to let memory loss get in the way when someone needed his help. That- in it's very meaning- would disrespect the one who had fallen, the previous boy. The one who gotten involved to save a girl from the depths of hell.

...

For Misaki, she couldn't quite place the reason why, but... those words made her incredibly happy.

Kamijou had said that in his heart, something was still pushing him forward, despite the basis having disappeared. If he could still feel something in his heart, if he could still move under the notion that the 'Kamijou Touma' was guiding and smiling at him... then maybe...

Just maybe...

"My my... how foolish would I be to get my hopes up."

Misaki said with a content smile, eyes clothes.

(But... it is a pleasant thought to imagine.)

[Next Scene: ???]

---

Sorry guys, not going to promise one until I know for sure.

And there we go. I just have one question for you guys. Do you prefer the novel type of writing, or do you want me to do what any other reaction fic does, and abridge the anime episode? Of course if I feel that the anime missed something, I'll add that as well, but mainly, I want to know if you guys even prefer the detailed novel version.

Tell your thoughts. Tell me if you liked the chapter. And I am sorry I kept you all waiting long.

Have a wonderful day!

-EPSILON