Hello, everyone! Last chapter saw the beginning of the Hawaii Invasion arc, and it continues in this chapter.
Sentient Mop: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I'm hoping to keep fitting it into the original story, so there are plenty of KaMikoto moments coming up in the future.
Aminadab Brulle: I'm glad you enjoyed the banter.
Guest10032: They were indeed lucky to have a row to themselves on the flight. Cendrillon is an interesting character, and she even appears again in NT6. There's a Norse Mythology SS, but I haven't read it, so I don't know if it elaborates on the GREMLIN characters. Mikoto does mention the electrolysis in the novel. I actually looked up the process, and how it works is really interesting! She does indeed trust him not to cheat on her. President Katze will appear and will definitely ship them. Index did walk in on a lap pillow in Chapter 15, but it would be funny if they were interrupted by someone else, maybe by the Railgang. They might be able to spend some time relaxing after the fight is over, if circumstances permit. When Touma returns from Baggage City, his classmates are definitely going to have a lot of questions involving him and Mikoto.
Stewart54: Thanks, I'm happy you enjoyed it.
Stryper88: Yeah, she really was savage to Mikoto. Katze will certainly make an appearance in this chapter and go through his antics.
Tython055: Indeed, Worst loves teasing her older sister. I guess that oil-manipulating esper graduated from Tokiwadai already, but perhaps she can make an appearance in the future.
Bigboy101: Yeah, Mikoto is great, whether she's happy, flustered, or annoyed. Worst will definitely tease her whenever they're together.
PageTurnTheorem: Mikoto and Touma are definitely developing their relationship, and that'll continue in the future. I hope you enjoy the rest of the Hawaii arc!
xellos540: You posted your review right after I posted the new chapter, so I decided to go back and edit the new chapter to respond to your review. Index doesn't come to Hawaii in canon, which is weird because literally everyone else did, but I guess it's because she can't actually fight. Touma somehow managed to survive in the UK and in Russia knowing only Japanese, it's actually pretty amazing, though Japanese is probably a more well-known language in this universe. Mikoto and Accelerator met in Chapter 14, and they met Birdway Chapter 25. Touma is certainly happier, and Fukiyose would probably find that a bit confusing, even though she knows about Mikoto. Birdway set up a bomb, so the airport closed an area around it for "waxing," but they actually sent people to disable the bomb. I guess Mikoto figured out it was a hidden warning before even knowing there was a bomb. That's why almost no one was in that area when Cendrillon appeared. Yeah, like in canon, Birdway did pretty much all the work defeating Cendrillon. Misaka Worst was with Hamazura and Kuroyoru so that she could restrain Kuroyoru, I guess. Mikoto talked about coloring the rings with electrolysis in the novel, but I looked up the process and added in some details. It's unknown how much Mikoto will grow, but she hopes it'll be like Misaka Worst and Misuzu.
Sahijgill02: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
A while later, the entire group had learned from President Roberto Katze that GREMLIN was likely looking for the Trigger, a device developed by the American military to control the damage caused by an active volcano. However, it could also be used to cause the volcanic eruption of Kilauea, which would potentially kill about half a million people. As a result, President Katze, Touma, Mikoto, Accelerator, and Birdway had headed to the Marine Base at Pearl Harbor to try to secure the Trigger, while Hamazura, Misaka Worst, and Kuroyoru had gone towards Kilauea just in case.
At the base, there were three transport planes, with the Trigger likely to be on one of them, so that it could be easily transported to Kilauea. Accelerator and Birdway had headed towards two of the planes, and Touma, Mikoto, and Roberto were now headed towards the third.
While they ran, Roberto moved closer to Mikoto and asked her discreetly in English, "Hey, girl, is that boy over there your boyfriend?" He'd seen them interacting with each other earlier on their way to Pearl Harbor, and they had seemed pretty close, so he wondered if they were actually a couple.
Mikoto was confused about why he was asking her that at this time, so she replied in a hesitant tone, "Yeah, why?"
Roberto gave her a suggestive grin and replied, "Good, my hunch was right! By the way, if you want a tip on how to seduce him, try changing into a skimpy swimsuit. Then, take off your bra, throw it at him, and embrace him. That'll guarantee your success!"
Mikoto was dumbfounded for a moment at what he'd just said, but soon, her face completely reddened, and she angrily exclaimed, "Wh-what? Why are you saying something like that to a teenage girl? Even if you're the president, I still have no problem punching you! And don't try to say that this is just a cultural difference, because that would be an insult to Americans!"
Touma glanced over at them. He didn't understand what they were saying in English, so he wondered what Roberto had said to his girlfriend to cause her angry reaction.
The three of them soon passed a soldier driving a forklift, who demanded to know who they were. Roberto announced that he was the president and ordered that the plane not take off, annoyed that no one had recognized him all day. The forklift driver was confused about whether to obey the order, but the three of them just ignored him and charged onboard anyway.
There was a lot of space inside the aircraft, enough to fit an entire bus, and the interior was filled with cubic containers. Touma frantically looked around and asked, "Where is it? Where's the Trigger?"
Mikoto had a somewhat different priority, "Shouldn't we look for Saronia first? She's the person behind all this, so if we capture her, we can…" She was cut off as the floor started vibrating.
A loud noise filled their ears, and it took them a moment to realize that it was the sound of the four propellers spinning, by which point the plane was already starting to accelerate. However, the rear cargo door was still open, and the president suddenly lost his balance and started falling towards the exit. The door was being dragged across the ground, sending sparks flying, but the plane would soon take off.
Mikoto reacted quickly, stretching out her arm and grabbing the president's hand, just before he was about to fall out. However, he chided her, "Girl, I really would like to thank you, but I think you've only made things worse!"
Mikoto was confused, and exclaimed, "What are you talking about? Just hurry up and get back in!"
As the plane continued accelerating, Roberto elaborated, "If I'd fallen out before, while the plane was still moving slowly, I would've only suffered a few scratches. But if I fall out now, I'll be torn to shreds!"
The girl gritted her teeth, realizing he had a point, but replied, "Then let go of that case you're holding, and grab onto me with both hands!"
That case actually contained the Imperial Package, a computer which allowed the president to access all government cloud systems. As a result, Roberto shook his head, "That would directly compromise national security, so I have to refuse, unfortunately."
By this point, the plane had accelerated enough that it was finally starting to take off. The open cargo door lowered even further, cleating a steeper slope, and Mikoto had to maintain her grip on the president to prevent him from falling out.
Meanwhile, Touma wanted to help, but he couldn't, because of the girl who suddenly appeared from behind one of the containers. He immediately realized who it was, "Saronia!" According to Birdway, she was able to control people based on the legends of a Russian fairy known as the Leshy, who ruled over all the forest animals. By making someone touch a portion of a Russian conifer tree, including anything containing its wood, she could apparently take control of people by having them play the role of the forest animals.
Not wanting to turn his back to the magician, Touma asked Mikoto, "Can I leave the president to you?"
Mikoto sighed and replied, "I'll manage somehow, but did they really have to remove almost all of the metal parts of this plane? There's barely anything I can use my magnetism to grab onto!"
Touma prepared his right fist as he saw Saronia approach. He figured that they'd be fine if the three of them avoided being controlled. He knew that Mikoto could potentially be immune to Saronia's mental control, due to her electromagnetic barrier, and Touma guessed that he'd be able to protect himself with his Imagine Breaker, though that still left the president.
However, Saronia snapped her fingers, and Touma was immediately slammed into the wall. Meanwhile, to keep herself and the president from falling out into the sky, Mikoto had to wrap her leg around the thick cylinder that opened and closed the cargo door. As Touma recovered from the impact, he briefly wondered if Saronia had just launched some sort of magical attack, but he quickly realized, "You're controlling the pilot!"
Saronia smirked, "Indeed, did you know that even a large cargo plane like this can do acrobatics? No one in their right mind would attempt it, but that's where I come in!" She snapped her fingers again, and the plane continued making violent maneuvers through the air, throwing Touma back and forth.
Saronia kept her balance by holding onto a thick wire running between the wall and the ceiling. She pulled out an object from her turtleneck, and began, "We in GREMLIN have come up with a very simple way to fight against your right hand." It was a handgun, something easy to acquire in the United States, and as she pointed it at the boy, she continued, "We'll kill you using ordinary methods, rather than the supernatural!"
Just before she fired the gun, Touma kicked up a lever holding one of the containers. Because the plane's acrobatics were creating an environment with less gravity, the container floated up and acted as a shield for him, absorbing the bullet. However, once the container fell back down, he had to roll away to dodge it. Saronia aimed at him once more, hoping that Touma wouldn't be able to use the same trick again.
However, Mikoto quickly sprung into action. Even though one of her arms was occupied holding onto the president, and her leg was still wrapped around the cylinder, she held out her other hand and sent a powerful lightning spear towards Saronia. The magician was forced to take cover behind a container, though she grimaced, realizing that a metal container wasn't the best shield. Mikoto gave her a fearless grin and said, "I can't do much against Touma's right hand, but my powers make me almost invincible against ordinary methods!"
However, Saronia merely grinned back at Mikoto. Touma guessed that she was planning to close the cargo door and crush his girlfriend. He shouted, "Mikoto, don't worry about her, just blow away all the containers!"
Mikoto needed no further urging, so she sent out multiple bursts of electricity at the containers, causing them all to fall apart and severely damaging all of the contents within. Touma didn't know what form the Trigger was in, but he doubted it could survive such a high-voltage current.
Saronia was dumbfounded, and cried out, "What?" However, although all the containers and their contents were completely destroyed, her shock wasn't because the Trigger had been destroyed. Indeed, the destroyed items were mostly basic military living equipment, such as kitchen goods and small lamps.
Touma didn't think any of these basic items could be used to control volcanic activity. It was possible that the Trigger was on one of the other planes, but he knew that Saronia would want to be on the same plane as the Trigger. It was also possible that the container with the Trigger hadn't been loaded onto the plane yet, but then Saronia wouldn't have made the plane take off.
This only left one possibility, which Touma soon realized, "You didn't actually know where the Trigger was! You were only told that it was in one of these containers!" Saronia must have been tricked by someone higher up in GREMLIN.
Saronia froze for a moment as she realized what had happened to her. However, Mikoto didn't give her much time to think, preparing to fire another lightning bolt at her. Saronia immediately aimed her handgun again, not at Mikoto, but towards the front of the plane, and fired every single bullet she had.
Roberto realized her true target and exclaimed, "The pilot!" Touma and Mikoto faltered for a moment, which allowed Saronia to grab a parachute and run towards the open exit of the plane.
As Saronia passed her, Mikoto hit the magician with her lightning spear. However, though Saronia went limp and seemed about to lose consciousness, she still jumped out of the plane with a smile. Mikoto gritted her teeth and inwardly cursed for letting Saronia get away, but she exclaimed, "There's no point chasing after her, we need to save the president!"
Touma was now finally able to help Mikoto pull Roberto back into the plane. He was heavier than they thought, but the two of them finally managed to pull the man up. Mikoto then began looking around for more parachutes, while Touma and Roberto headed into the cockpit to check on the pilot.
They found the pilot bloodied and barely conscious. Touma made sure to grab onto him with his right hand, making sure he wouldn't be under Saronia's control. He and Roberto covered his wounds with some cut pieces of cloth, and Mikoto then entered the cockpit, announcing that she'd found some parachutes.
The president realized that the pilot was in too bad of a state to jump out of the plane, even with a parachute. The pilot weakly suggested that the three of them escape without him, but Mikoto dumped the parachutes on the ground, and they all resolved to help make an emergency landing on the ocean.
With the pilot's instructions, Touma, Mikoto, and President Katze helped to press the necessary buttons, and they were miraculously able to land on the water, and some nearby marines in a patrol boat started rescuing them. However, they couldn't celebrate yet, because the sky had suddenly turned black. Kilauea had erupted after all. Misaka Worst, Kuroyoru, and Hamazura had tried their best to disable the Trigger, and though they had partially succeeded, since no lava was flowing out, the volcanic ash was still concerning enough.
They were all suddenly attacked by anti-ship missiles, which were aimed at their patrol boat. They all were forced to jump into the sea, with the injured pilot being wrapped in a body bag to prevent seawater from entering his wounds.
As they recovered from the bombardment, one of the marines realized that the missiles were actually Narwhal missiles, which had been developed by the EU. The president then deduced that they were the kind that had been sold to certain mercenary military forces. This meant that Hawaii was being invaded both by GREMLIN magicians and by a private military force. The volcanic ash spewing from Kilauea would prevent any aircraft from flying near the Hawaiian islands, and the anti-ship missiles would destroy any ships that tried to approach the islands. As a result, Hawaii was completely cut off and isolated from the rest of the United States. Even though the US had a lot of forces stationed in Hawaii itself, they were up against an alliance of GREMLIN magicians and conventional military forces, rendering their position very vulnerable.
The situation soon became even more critical. Now that Hawaii was isolated from the mainland, the mercenary military forces, known as Trident, were able to successfully attack Pearl Harbor, with help from GREMLIN forces. Multiple American warships were sunk, though Birdway, Mark Space, and Accelerator were able to buy enough time for the surviving American military forces to retreat.
Meanwhile, Touma, Mikoto, and President Katze regrouped in a bar on the island of Lanai. Roberto realized that Saronia may not actually have the power to magically control that many people. Instead, people were likely being controlled through normal means, such as by hostage-taking or exploiting chains of command. Mikoto realized that it was similar to how Shokuhou could only control a limited number of people at a time with her esper power, but she could also influence people who were not under her direct control as a result.
Later, on a conference call with the entire group, President Katze was able to deduce that the only person who could afford to hire Trident forces and who could monitor them all throughout Hawaii was Olay Blueshake, the media queen, who controlled the cameras all over the islands using the Free Compound Eyes system.
Upon learning that Olay was involved, Roseline, the president's aide, decided to kidnap Lindy Blueshake, Olay's estranged daughter, to use as a bargaining chip. Roberto, Touma, and Mikoto decided to go save Lindy from Roseline, feeling that it wasn't right for an innocent child to be put in harm's way for this.
The entire group began converging on the island of Kauai, where Lindy was currently living. From the southern coast of the island, they then split up into three smaller groups. Accelerator, Misaka Worst, and Kuroyoru ended up working together at the southern part of the island to destroy Trident's anti-ship missiles, as well as their nearby forces. Since Lindy lived on the northern part of the island, everyone else headed towards her cliffside home, though in two separate groups. Roberto, Hamazura, and Birdway headed counterclockwise around the island, while Mikoto and Touma headed clockwise.
When they arrived, they saw Harzak Lolas, Lindy's legal guardian. He was planting a seedling in the garden, but once he finished, he was ambushed by a Trident soldier. Mikoto quickly shocked that soldier and a few other ones nearby. Harzak was dumbfounded by this and didn't know what to say, but Mikoto told him in English, "Olay Blueshake hired these troops to seize Lindy. If you're her guardian, you should know the situation. Don't let her fall into Olay's hands, just take Lindy with you and flee!"
Harzak stammered, "Wh-what?" He was still a bit confused about the situation, since the soldiers had suddenly attacked while he was peacefully gardening.
Mikoto shouted, "Hurry up, they're coming from the ocean, you don't have much time!" Indeed, more soldiers were about to land at the base of the cliff, and a few soldiers already on the cliff began shooting at them. As Mikoto and Touma took cover, Harzak frantically ran back into the house, grabbed Lindy, and fled. They would soon safely meet up with the president's group.
Touma then said, "Okay, we'll let them escape, and you can take care of all those soldiers." They circled to the back of the house and saw Harzak and Lindy escape through the backdoor.
Mikoto and Touma prepared to reemerge from behind the house, but they suddenly smelled flowers. Immediately afterwards, both of their left arms fell completely limp. Both arms became complete dead weights, and neither Touma nor Mikoto could move them or feel anything with them.
Touma immediately grabbed his left arm with his right hand, but it had no effect. He exclaimed, "What happened to my left arm?" Given that they were facing Trident soldiers, it was possible that this was due to a chemical weapon. But if it was due to magic, then since his Imagine Breaker couldn't negate it, it had to have an outside source.
Mikoto glanced down at her dead arm and frowned, "That's strange, my arm is paralyzed, but it's not quite the same as if it were due to a drug or chemical weapon. It's not that the neural signals from my brain aren't activating the muscles in my arm. It's more like my brain can't even send the signals in the first place! So the actual problem is in our brains, not our arms."
Touma then concluded, "It must be magic then!" He touched his own head with his right hand, but that didn't revive his arm either, and he cursed, "Damn, the source of the magic must be somewhere else!" He then edged towards the corner of the house and peeked around it, and his eyes widened as he saw someone standing among the Trident soldiers, "It's Saronia!"
Mikoto wasn't surprised that their arms had been paralyzed by magic, but she wondered, "Wait, doesn't Saronia have the power to control people? I don't think my mind has been taken over, but even if it has, why would she just paralyze our arms?"
The boy thought for a moment before replying, "I'm not sure, but maybe there's some sort of limitation to her magic? We already figured out that she can't control as many people as we'd previously thought." He looked at the girl's limp arm and suddenly remembered, "Hey, you said the other day that you can use your ability to overcome paralysis. Can you do that in this case?"
Mikoto activated her ability, and sparks started appearing all around her head. She tried flexing her left arm and fingers, and found that she was able to do so. She then grinned and said, "Yeah, it seems to work. It uses a lot of energy though, and I don't need to move my left arm to use my abilities, so I'll stop for now until I really need to use it." As she said this, her head stopped sparking and her left arm went limp again.
Touma nodded and said in a determined tone, "Okay, great! You have enough firepower to deal with the soldiers. But GREMLIN probably has some of their other magicians defending the soldiers, and we should probably get more information on how Saronia's magic works."
He then pulled out his phone and called Birdway. Once she answered, Touma said, "Hey, have you made any progress on analyzing Saronia's spell?"
Birdway replied, "Unfortunately, the automatic analysis we did with the papyrus was completely false, like the president suspected. Mark and the others are gathering data while fighting the Trident soldiers, but they haven't gotten any results yet."
Touma then suggested, "Hmm, even if the results are fake, can't we try to figure out what she was hiding from us by leading us to the fake information?"
Birdway was a bit surprised to hear such a clever suggestion from him, but she figured he'd gotten smarter from his past experiences. She replied, "That could actually work! I'll pass your suggestion on to my subordinates."
Touma then hung up the phone. He sighed, "I guess we'll need to wait for a bit longer for more information. I wonder how she's affecting our brains without directly controlling them."
Mikoto brought her right hand to her face and mused, "Well, like the president said, there are ways to control people without directly controlling their minds. We still know that her magic involves controlling the forest or something, right? Animal behavior can be strongly influenced by external stimuli. This isn't as true for complex animals like humans, but maybe her magic is based on something like that?"
Touma thought about what she said and replied, "That could be it, but hopefully we can get more specific details from Birdway so we can figure out a weakness."
The two waited for a while longer, and finally Touma's phone rang. He put it on speakerphone and said, "Birdway?"
Birdway announced, "We made some progress on the analysis, but it's not fully complete."
Touma frantically exclaimed, "We need any hint we can get! Saronia will find us here soon!"
Birdway smirked and continued, "Very well. The false analysis said that she needed to use Russian plants, but that's not quite true. Normally, her Leshy magic would give her control over a forest in Russia, but she can also create enclaves outside of Russia."
Mikoto then asked, "Enclaves? So she can somehow create areas in Hawaii that are considered Russian for the purpose of her magic?"
Birdway nodded and then elaborated, "If Saronia wanted to make some Hawaiian plants into an enclave, she can bring an animal from Russia and have it exchange something with the local plants."
Touma asked, "Like eating a plant's fruit or carrying a seed in its fur?"
Birdway replied, "It might be simpler than that. There's a basic process that pretty much all plants and animals participate in."
Mikoto quickly realized what she was alluding to, "You mean the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide!"
Birdway then replied, "Exactly. Saronia has been spotted in conifer forests, which don't really provide food to the local animals, so the only thing they could be exchanging is air."
Touma then tried to collect his thoughts, "So the animals that exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the plants in the Leshy's forest become forest residents themselves, and if these residents are brought to Hawaii and exchange gases with the local plants, and enclave will be created here?" After coming to this conclusion, he wondered, "But if she can control all living things in the enclave, why haven't we been under her control this whole time?"
Birdway sighed, "I told you we didn't know all the details. She can certainly control simpler animals like insects or reptiles, but what about a complex animal like a human? Maybe she can't fully control people, and can only give them simple commands. The children used as hostages and the people we captured on Oahu fit this theory."
Mikoto then observed, "But then wouldn't lots of people in Hawaii have become zombies? We saw that she only controlled a few people at once. Is there some sort of limitation to her magic?"
Birdway thought for a bit before answering, "Perhaps. I would guess that it takes a few days to fully establish the cycle of oxygen and carbon dioxide, so if the target leaves the enclave, they won't be affected. Maybe that's why we haven't been affected after only being here for one day."
Touma looked down at his limp left arm and replied, "Maybe, but if that's true, Saronia probably wouldn't show up at the front line, unless she also had a spell she could use immediately."
Birdway replied, "I agree, but I have no idea what that could be."
Touma sighed, "All right, I guess we'll have to figure it out by fighting her." He hung up the phone and glanced at Mikoto, asking, "Are you ready?"
Mikoto gave him a grin and replied, "Yeah, let's go!" They again peeked around the corner at the soldiers and magicians. They were being very cautious in their approach, likely because of Mikoto. She knew she could easily shock all of the soldiers, and she would probably get the magicians too, but she was a little worried that some of the magicians might have ways to defend themselves from her attack.
Instead, she used her magnetism to gather up a large amount of iron sand from the ground behind the house. Once she'd collected a giant blob of it, she began to walk around to the front of the house. Touma followed behind her and asked, "What are you going to do with that?"
Mikoto turned back with a smirk and said, "Just watch!" She slammed the iron sand into the ground just in front of the house. The finely-vibrating grains started cracking the rock, and it was not much longer before the entire portion of the cliff in front of the house broke off, sending all the Trident soldiers and GREMLIN magicians down into the sea.
Touma's eyes widened at the utter destruction caused by his girlfriend, but he didn't have much time to either celebrate or worry about if all those people remained alive. Saronia had apparently jumped off of the falling ground and was now right in front of them. If they could defeat her here, they would put an end to GREMLIN's and Olay Blueshake's plans.
Saronia knew that Mikoto was the bigger threat to her, so she knew she had to neutralize Mikoto immediately to have any chance of winning. Saronia opened her hand, revealing a bunch of seeds.
Mikoto's eyes widened as she saw the seeds. As Saronia threw them towards her, Mikoto knew that she couldn't afford to get hit by them. She had kept a reserve of iron sand orbiting around her wrist, but instead she sent out a bunch of lightning bursts to fry the seeds. Fortunately, Mikoto managed to hit and destroy all of them.
However, Saronia sneered, "Too bad, but pollen is good enough to bring out the effects!" Mikoto immediately dropped to the ground, her entire body paralyzed. Since her boyfriend had been behind her, he didn't get hit, but this result was bad enough. Saronia had distracted Mikoto with the obvious seeds and hit her with the invisible pollen.
Both Mikoto and Touma now realized why they had smelled flowers before their left arms had been paralyzed. They had both been hit by pollen back then. As Mikoto groaned on the ground, Saronia walked towards her saying, "You're actually pretty lucky, if you had breathed it in, you may have suffered multiple organ failure." She then kicked Mikoto in the stomach, causing her to roll towards the edge of the cliff.
Touma worriedly shouted, "Mikoto!" He angrily rushed towards Saronia, his right first ready, but he was surprised to note how unsteadily he was walking.
Saronia smirked and observed, "You can't control your own weight, can you? With your left arm dead, you have no force behind your right fist." She raised her leg and tried to kick Touma's chest. He barely blocked it with his right arm, but he was still forced back.
She then turned her attention back to Mikoto. Mikoto was trying to unparalyze herself with her ability, but since her entire body was paralyzed and she was in pain, it would take some time. She gritted her teeth and muttered, "Seeds or pollen..." Saronia had clearly brought these plant parts directly from Russia, and they caused paralysis against any body part they touched. This must have been the instantly-applying magic that Touma had expected. But since she and Touma had only been in Hawaii for a day, they couldn't be a part of the enclave. She then wondered out loud, "Is this some sort of punishment for people outside the zone who harm the property of that zome?"
Saronia chuckled, "I have no intention of just telling you how my power works." Nonetheless, this was basically an admission that Mikoto was right. By obstructing the path of a seed or pollen, the development of a plan is obstructed, justifying such a punishment. Saronia continued, "Anyway, it's too late for you."
As Touma looked on in shock, Saronia kicked Mikoto again. By this point, Mikoto had begun to move a bit, but she still wasn't able to block the attack, and she fell right off the edge of the cliff. However, in the brief moment when Saronia's foot made contact with Mikoto, she was able to shock the magician a bit, causing Saronia to stumble.
Touma knew that Mikoto could survive the fall by using her ability, but he still had to fight against Saronia alone for some time. Saronia had been hurt by his girlfriend's electricity, but she was still standing and ready to fight. She charged towards him and unleashed a flurry of kicks. Touma tried to dodge them or block them with his right arm, but by constantly aiming for his left side, she was eventually able to find a gap in his defenses and kick him to the ground, boasting, "GREMLIN has been searching hard for countermeasures against your Imagine Breaker. By sealing off your left arm, I was able to weaken it without binding it directly!"
Touma had his breath knocked out of him, and he was trying to avoid vomiting. He asked Saronia, "What are you doing attacking Hawaii? The war ended, and everyone was walking along a new path."
Saronia gave him a piercing look and answered, "Oh, you want to know why I'm interfering? You did end the war, and the countries around the world began to rebuild. But my country is just being used as a stepping stone. Countries like the United States and Academy City pretend to be altruistic by doling out aid, but they just control the flow of resources to achieve their political objectives."
The boy muttered, "Saronia…" He wasn't sure how to respond. He had no idea what the real truth was, but it was possible that she had a point. In any case, he still had to figure out how her spell worked before it was too late. He had to figure out what to negate to regain the use of his left arm. Trying to stall for a bit, he protested, "We didn't end the war for that to happen!"
Saronia sharply replied, "But that was the result, all the same."
Touma slowly stood up and replied, "Then it's my duty to fight those who are making you suffer in the name of justice! You don't need to do these things which will only make the world blame you!"
Saronia scoffed, "Naive fool. You were only able to end that war because of everyone else's efforts. What can a mere pawn like you do against people like that?" She then threw another batch of seeds at the boy. He twisted his body to dodge them, but he was then hit by the pollen, paralyzing the entire left half of his body and forcing him back down to the ground. She then completed the job by throwing more seeds at his prone body, completely paralyzing him, except for the lower half of his right arm.
Touma tried piecing together the information about the spell. Earlier, Mikoto had suggested that their brains were being indirectly influenced by external stimuli, and she'd later deduced that Saronia's seeds and pollen punished outsiders of the enclave. But how did Saronia set up an enclave here, when she'd only just learned that this was where Lindy Blueshake lived?
Was there a way to quickly create an enclave, without waiting for days for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide to proceed? The boy suddenly realized the answer. She could have brought in a plant from Russia and had it planted directly into the soil. Indeed, Harzak Lolas had planted a seedling in the garden. He probably wasn't working for GREMLIN. Instead, the seedlings he had bought may have been maliciously switched out. The fact that the Trident soldiers had only attacked after Harzak had planted the seedling confirmed this theory.
But before Touma could act on his conclusion, Saronia began approaching him again, saying, "All right, I think it's time for me to finally finish you off!"
Touma gritted his teeth, knowing that he did not have enough time to drag his own body to the garden. However, he suddenly smiled as he saw something at the edge of the cliff.
When Mikoto had fallen off the cliff, she'd still had some trouble moving her body with her ability, but she had able to use the iron sand she'd kept in reserve as a grappling hook, attaching one end to the side of the cliff and using magnetism to keep herself from falling any further. She had bumped into the side of the cliff a few times, but she'd eventually been able to firmly plant her feet on the rock. She had paused for a few moments to regain her strength, and had soon been able to move her own muscles mostly normally with the help of her ability.
Slowly but surely, Mikoto had walked up the side of the cliff, continually moving her iron sand rope to attach higher and higher. And now, she had just thrown one end of that rope to the top of the cliff, which her boyfriend had noticed. Immediately afterwards, she made one final leap and landed back on top of the cliff.
Hearing that loud noise, Saronia turned around and was absolutely stunned to see Mikoto. She questioned, "How did you survive? And how are you even standing up?" Since she had been shocked, Saronia knew that Mikoto could still use her abilities while paralyzed, but the girl was clearly not paralyzed at all anymore.
Mikoto grinned widely, "Let's just say that my ability lets me overcome paralysis." She formed her iron sand into a whip and flung it against Saronia. It hit her squarely in the back. Mikoto made sure that it wouldn't draw blood, so instead it merely knocked Saronia to the ground. Saronia was heavily damaged, but she managed to slowly stand back up.
Touma was really glad to see that his girlfriend was okay. Since she had diverted Saronia's attention from him, he was able to drag his body into the garden, dig up the seedling with his right hand, and completely negate its magic. When Saronia saw this, she muttered, "Impossible!"
With this, Touma immediately regained the full use of his body, and Mikoto no longer needed to use her ability to power her muscles. He quickly stood up and clenched his right fist, with Saronia only able to silently look on, her spell having been defeated. He said, "Sorry, Saronia, but if what you say is true, you're not the one that should be risking your life in this fight." With no further resistance from her, Touma punched Saronia in the face and knocked her to the ground unconscious.
Touma then ran up to his girlfriend and tightly pulled her against him, wrapping his hands around her back and her head. He exclaimed, "Mikoto, you're safe!"
Mikoto hugged him back, wrapping her arms around his back. She smirked and replied, "Of course, I've fallen off an airship before, remember, so this was nothing compared to that!" She then said in a softer tone, "I'm glad you're safe too, Touma!"
They kept embracing each other for a while longer. When they finally pulled apart, Mikoto held up her left hand, and Touma held up his right hand. They high-fived each other and exclaimed, "Good job!" The battle was finally over.
Once Saronia had been defeated, the commander of Trident had finally agreed to surrender. Now, Touma and Mikoto, as well as the others, were in the lounge of a Honolulu hotel watching the news. There had just been an announcement that Olay Blueshake's assets were being transferred to her daughter Lindy, and that since Olay was involved in the invasion of Hawaii, those assets may be partially seized for damages.
However, the next news item caused Touma's face to go pale. 27 of Academy City's cooperative institutions had just declared that, since Academy City espers were involved in an incident in a foreign country, they would be ending their cooperation with Academy City.
Touma realized that this was how his and the rest of his group's actions could be seen from a different viewpoint. An even more worrying thought then struck him, that this could have been the real objective of the invasion all along. But how did the cooperative institutions find out so quickly? He wondered, "Did they get access to the FCE network too?" His eyes widened as he realized that there was someone else who knew everything that had happened. It was Leivinia Birdway, the person who had invited them all to Hawaii to stop GREMLIN.
The boy looked over at the hotel lobby, but Birdway and her subordinates were already gone. He quickly pulled out his phone and called her. Once she answered, he demanded, "Birdway! Did you bring us here knowing this would happen?"
Birdway just replied, "27 is quite a lot, but they'll probably gather into three or four groups soon for better efficiency."
Touma's hand trembled as he pondered the implications. The cooperative institutions had access to some of Academy City's advanced technology, including military weapons from World War 3, so now there would potentially be a civil war within the Science Side. He demanded, "Answer my question, Birdway! Are you...are you part of GREMLIN?"
He was afraid to hear the answer, but Birdway simply said, "I'll leave that to your imagination." She then hung up.
Mikoto had remained next to him during the phone call, and she too realized that the new situation was very dangerous. Her heart broke as she saw her boyfriend's dispirited expression, knowing that it was similar to how she'd felt when she'd been trying to save her sisters.
Touma looked up at her and he softly said, "I was wrong." To Mikoto, he sounded completely defeated, and that made her feel dispirited as well. He continued, in a louder voice, "I was wrong! She set it all up from the beginning! Why didn't I see it, I had so many chances to notice! All of our information came from Birdway, so why didn't I think of her having an ulterior motive? If GREMLIN wants to obtain the technology of the Science Side, they now have the perfect opportunity!"
The boy clenched his fists and said with a determined look in his eyes, "Mikoto, I will not be returning to Academy City. I'll make up for this failure. Until I resolve everything related to this terrible result, I have no right to return to my normal life!"
Her boyfriend's firm declaration stunned Mikoto, but she quickly realized that it should've been expected. Nevertheless, there was something she had to make clear, so she firmly grabbed onto his shoulders and said, "This wasn't a failure, Touma! No matter who we were used by, we still protected the people of Hawaii from GREMLIN. I won't let you say that saving them was a failure!"
Touma appreciated his girlfriend's attempt to cheer him up. But he looked down and retorted, "Those people were only saved as part of Birdway's plan. If there's a conflict between Academy City and the cooperative institutions, they'll think that others will suffer because they were saved. I can't let them bear that burden, it has to be me alone!" The people of Hawaii had gotten wrapped up in this incident, but Touma had decided to intervene, so he felt he had the responsibility to make things right.
Mikoto tightened her grip on his shoulders and declared, "Then I will bear that burden too!"
Touma questioned in a surprised tone, "Mikoto?"
The girl continued, "If your decision here in Hawaii was wrong, then I was wrong too, since I made the same decision. I trusted Birdway just as much as you, and I should've also guessed that she could have ulterior motives. Even if you were wrong, that doesn't mean you have to bear this all alone." Mikoto felt more refreshed after getting her words out, and she finished with a smirk, "We're partners, remember? So you and I are on the same path. Don't you forget that!"
Touma looked at her for a few moments, unable to say anything at first. Eventually, he smiled and pulled her into a hug, saying, "Thanks, Biri-Biri." Hearing her pledge to stay by his side made him feel happier.
Mikoto hugged him back and replied, "You're welcome, you idiot. Don't just go deciding these things on your own." After they pulled apart, she noted, "Anyway, what are you planning to do about this?"
The boy nervously scratched his head and answered, "I'm not sure, but I figured that another incident will come up soon related to this, and I'd have to go resolve it."
The girl sighed, "Well, until that happens, there's not much we can do, right? And if we're going to stay here in Hawaii, we might as well try to relax a bit." As she said this, she touched the bag with the tag rings in her pocket, wondering if she'd soon get the opportunity to give him his ring.
Touma chuckled, "Yeah, you have a point there." He felt a little uneasy about enjoying himself while something bad was about to happen, but if he couldn't do anything about it immediately, there wasn't really any reason not to.
Mikoto grinned and grabbed onto his hand, dragging him towards the hotel's front desk. She exclaimed, "Great, let's go book a room!" She didn't know how long it would be until the next incident arose, but she was determined to make the most of it with Touma.