There are so many different groups of people doing different things in this chapter. All of the events interact with each other eventually. I think it was actually easier than when I had everyone in one scene. I was able to sit down and write longer, at least, as everything kept being broken up. I thought it would be harder because of trying to keep the timing with everyone being in different groups and places. It was definitely a change of pace and quite fun.
LESSAR! We all love her. Those who don't know her from the light novels will soon love her too.
Rider & Anon: Lessar might actually do that. Hey Anon, after nine months, there could be girls too besides just boys.
Yakutsu: Jason doesn't get to be happy, but I think you are the first person to cheer for him lol.
Mythfan & whwsms: You two make it sound like nothing interesting has happened yet. Now I feel so sad. Oh well, lots of fun stuff planed for the future.
Generation Zero: They have not been revealed as magic gods. They were just talking about it during the meeting. They could just be extremely powerful magicians. But I understand your concern. I felt the same way when reading the Light Novels. If they are revealed to be magic gods, they will not be defeated easily.
This chapter is still very similar to the light novels, but now the science sides has gotten involved and have begun changing things. I am looking forward on how this arc will end in a different way than the LNs. Alternate universes are fun in their own ways.
Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.
"Wow," Kazari said as they looked up at the St. Bride's church. "It's so tall." She was right. It was the second tallest church in London and clearly visible in all directions as it stood 226 feet high. Its main floor was a rectangle base, but its height was mainly attributed to the great spire that reached up towards the sky. It took them a little while to get here, by the time they left St. George's Cathedral and went through the midday traffic of London.
"It kind of reminds me of a wedding cake," Ruiko commented looking at the spire.
"Let's go in," Kuroko urged. "We should take a quick look around, and then head out. We need to be meeting everyone else soon anyways." She of course was going to see if the rumors were true, but she also knew they were supposed to meet the others for a late lunch. I don't really like Mugino and her friends, but they are part of our group while we are here.
"Yay MISAKA cries as MISAKA rushes in to see if the rumors are true." Kazari had to reach down and quickly grab Last Order before she ran in and collided with someone. Kazari was not that strong and it was slightly difficult for her to slow down an excited Last Order.
"There is no reason to run," Kazari said quickly to her. "The church is not going anywhere and you don't want to bother other people." Last Order looked at her and nodded. She slowed her pace and walked with everyone else though she kept fidgeting with anticipation.
"Do you think the rumors are true?" Ruiko whispered to Misaki.
Misaki turned and looked at her in surprise for a moment. As these girls were all Mikoto's friends, Misaki had temporarily forgotten Ruiko still talked to her often. I guess we have met several times. She thought about Ruiko's question for a moment and replied friendly, but honestly, "I don't think so but, with magic being real, it could be possible. I still bet it is just a rumor for tourist." Of course, I am going to try anyways since Misaka is not her.
"That's what I thought," Ruiko said looking slightly crestfallen. "Be fun anyway to see if it might be true." Ruiko loved rumors and strange things so she was always willing to check them out, regardless if they seemed possible. Misaki nodded and they went in.
Itsuwa was the last one to enter the church since Agnese had not gone with them. Agnese had been called away on her phone shortly before they left. She had heard of the rumor circling the church before, if you pray for love you would find it. There was no verifiable evidence the rumor was true, but even Itsuwa wanted to try it while she was here. I need to be more aggressive, and do anything to give myself an advantage. I still wish I knew how Kamijou was doing in front of the Queen.
The inside of the church was more modern then St. George Cathedral. Its interior was spacious and elegant. The main aisle was long, easily 100 feet, with molded wainscot, and was composed of a lofty nave, covered with a vaulted ceiling, and aisles separated by coupled columns. It was not very crowded, with only an occasional person passing them, and they approached the altar. When they got close, a woman dressed in nun clothes approached them. "Hello," she said smiling. "May I help you?"
"Ah yes," Itsuwa said stepping forward. "These ladies are visitors to England and have heard of the legends of finding love by praying at this church. They would like an opportunity to try."
"That sounds nice," the nun replied her smile not leaving her face. "Many people come here hoping to find love. The practice is quite simple." She pointed to the altar. "You just need to kneel before the altar and pray you and the one you love will find happiness together."
"Does it really work?" Kuroko asked, still a little skeptical.
"It all depends on your belief," the woman responded kindly. "If you truly love the person, there is no reason why it should not be possible."
"Ok," Kuroko said nodding and, since she was the closest, walked up first and knelt before the altar. They could all see the concentration on her face as she closed her eyes. They all knew what she was praying for. A moment later, she came back to them and shrugged. "Now to see if it works." She didn't feel like anything had changed and then felt a little embarrassed at her action. I believe in science and still did something as unorthodox as this. England is a strange country.
"I'm next," Ruiko called out excitedly and moved forward. She knelt down and did the same thing as Kuroko.
While Ruiko moved forward, Misaki, on a whim, reached down and grabbed her remote. She was interested to see if the nun's mind was protected. To her surprise, it wasn't and Misaki was able to stand there looking at her thoughts. The nun was definitely kind and was not putting on a show, but her main thought was, Foreigners always seem to be here because of that rumor. There is no evidence for it, but I hope they find true love, even if it is not with the person they expect. Misaki felt very slightly disappointed. She was hoping there might have been some truth to the rumors. I can still do it for fun and not ruin it for the others. When Ruiko finished, Misaki went up and imitated their actions. Her only wish was to be together with Touma. She took less time than the other two, because she knew exactly what she wanted. When she stood back with the others, Kazari walked forward and, at the same time, Itsuwa had backed up to answer her phone in private. Misaki was curious, since Itsuwa had looked like she wanted to be here, so she used her ability to see if her mind was unshielded. It turned out, Itsuwa's mind was also unshielded at this time. While Misaki was too far away to hear Itsuwa's voice, she could hear her thoughts loud and clear.
If I leave, Itsuwa asked. Who is going to guide the group? They would be suspicious if they are suddenly left alone.
One of the other Amakusa will take your place, the man on the other end of the phone told her and Misaki recognized him as Stiyl. They should be there momentarily to replace you. Take their car and go to the rendezvous point. We need to make sure the cabal, known as New Light, gets stopped.
Understood, Itsuwa said. I'll meet them outside. Misaki could tell she was upset she wouldn't get a chance to try to ritual to find love, but Itsuwa knew she had a mission to do. While everyone else was distracted by the altar, Itsuwa moved silently toward the exit. Misaki smiled to herself and followed just as silently.
"What were you thinking of Uiharu?" Ruiko asked smiling, while nudging her friend with her elbow. "Your face was bright red when you were up there. Thinking of those kinds of things with him?"
"Saten-san!" Kazari cried defensively, turning even redder. "It wasn't anything like that."
"How do you even stand him?" Kuroko asked rubbing her head.
"MISAKA's turn MISAKA says excitedly as MISAKA bounds forward to try the unscientific ritual." Kuroko, Ruiko, and Kazari all sighed, hoping her choice of words didn't offend the church patron. The nun just smiled at the enthusiastic reaction of the little girl, even as she thought the girl's way of speaking was strange. After the girls finished they turned around and saw another young female waving to them. She was dressed in casual clothes, thought different, like Itsuwa.
"Hello everyone," she said sounding a little nervous. "Itsuwa-san had to be pulled away for official church business. I was asked to take her place until she returned." The girls looked at each other, they knew something was up, and immediately began barraging the poor new girl with several questions. She was surprised at how much attention to detail the girls had, though none of them realized Misaki had disappeared.
Itsuwa had exited the church and passed the other Amakusa girl on the way to the car. They exchanged a brief greeting and Itsuwa moved into the driver seat. She was sixteen and knew how to drive most types of vehicles, though she still couldn't fly a plane. She sat down, turned on the car, and drove off. She was about a block away when someone asked. "So where are we heading?"
Itsuwa nearly had a heart attack.
She swerved slightly in surprise and looked over at the passenger seat. Sitting there, looking completely normal was Misaki, who was twirling a remote in her hand. Itsuwa was not some new magician. She was quite skilled in many forms of magic, along with other skills like infiltration and intelligence gathering. It was one of the reasons she was sent to aid in the search, rather than stay as a guide. How did she sneak up on me? Not only that, she was able to get right next to me and I had no idea. She shook her head and asked, "How did you get here without me noticing."
"I simply made you ignore my presence," Misaki said smiling. "My ability allows me mental control. It was easy to make you unable to see me until we were far enough away. I also manipulated the others slightly, so they wouldn't notice my disappearance until it is far too late for them to look for me. Now I'm going to ask again, where are we heading?" Itsuwa gulped slightly at the look in Misaki's eyes. It was a look saying, there is not going to be any arguing.
Touma and Mikoto were dropped off by Stiyl in the northern part of London. Stiyl had told them they would meet someone from the church to work with. They sat on a bench, waiting, as people passed by. "This is boring," Mikoto complained leaning back and staring up at the sky, noting the clouds rolling in that indicated rain was going to follow. "When you work with these guys, do you normally have to wait this long?"
"Sometimes," Touma said shrugging. "Most of the time, I'm minding my own business and Stiyl just walks up and drags me into fights."
"He rubs me the wrong way," Mikoto muttered as Touma brought him up. "He barely gives us information and just throws us into this. Then the look he gave me when I refused to just ignore everything that happened." Touma saw her fist clench slightly.
"They don't want Academy City people to get involve…" Touma said and changed direction when Mikoto glared at him. "But we are already involved now. Besides, it is just the way he is. I doubt he ever takes a break. He is always straight to the point and talks as little as possible."
"And one of the most grumpy people I have ever seen," Mikoto muttered again and Touma laughed.
"On the plus side," Touma said trying to cheer her up. "You got mad at me for not telling you about these kinds of things. Now you get to see it firsthand. But, please be careful, I don't want you to get hurt."
What?! Mikoto thought turning bright red. Does he mean he really cares about me? Am I over thinking things? "I-I… d-don't need you to be worried about me," she stuttered and then managed to keep her voice calm. "I can take care of myself. This time, I can watch over you and make sure you don't end up in the hospital again." She then muttered quietly, but Touma could still hear it, "Thank you for being worried about me."
Touma turned red too and looked away as his heart started beating faster. She's so cute when she's embarrassed. "I have to admit," he said after a moment's pause. "It is nice to have someone reliable watching my back." He could not look directly at Mikoto, he looked down the street instead, or he would have seen her face turn pure crimson.
"Do you know who we are waiting for?" Mikoto asked as she tried everything possible to keep her voice calm, along with changing the topic since smoke was coming out of her ears. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this topic up. She may have had the courage to confess she liked Touma a while ago, but it was still very awkward to say anything like it out loud, plus they were about to fight magicians so they couldn't be distracted.
"No," Touma sighed. "Typical Stiyl just saying they are going to meet us here. After all, we don't have any way to track magicians. Neither of us can locate mana, so we need someone from the magic side."
"Couldn't you contact Jason?" Mikoto asked.
"He's in the church working on getting rid of those sin marks," Touma revealed to her. "Sorry to keep it a secret, but he did ask me to. I felt it was important for him."
"I can't argue with that," Mikoto said. "Though after this is all over, you owe me."
"Anything you want," Touma said grinning at her.
"Then let's do something just the two of us," Mikoto said quickly turning red again. "After this is over of course," she added quickly.
"Sure," Touma said embarrassed scratching his cheek. So another date? Would this make us a thing or is it just testing? Arg, I have no idea about dating. He was spared thinking about it when a car pulled up to the curb next to them. A moment later, Agnese got out and looked at them.
"Kamijou, Misaka," she greeted. "You two are with me."
"What's the plan?" Touma asked.
"We have my forces and the Amakusa scattered throughout the city," Agnese told them. She turned and started walking while they followed. "As soon as we detect someone, all the nearby forces will converge on that point." Her shoes clacked with each step because of the soles. "We would have the patrols by car, but with midday traffic, it would actually be tougher to chase someone than on foot."
"So we are just going to walk around till someone contacts us or we find something?" Mikoto asked.
"Exactly," Agnese replied. "We have check points and several people coordinating our movements. If they enter the city, we will find them. We already found out information from their previous base. They go by the name New Light."
Accelerator was leaning up against a building waiting for some person from the magic side. He needed someone who had skills in tracking mana or he wouldn't know where to start. He had a personal vendetta against The Fallen for capturing Last Order and made him look like a fool by taking her right under his nose. They better get here fast or I'm going to be pissed. Stiyl said they would be here soon. At least I'm not paired with the third rate. I couldn't stand listening to her complain about the hero. He looked up as a small black car parked in a lot near the building. He recognized the two females getting out, but was surprised who the second one was. He walked over and asked, "What is the fifth rate doing here?"
"What are you doing here?" Misaki asked in equal shock.
"Accelerator-san is helping us," Itsuwa explained. "I told you we were going to meet someone," she stopped and looked at him, "though they did not tell me who. That must mean Agnese-san is going with Kamijou-kun and Misaka-san."
"Why is she here though?" Accelerator said irritated pointing to Misaki. "I kept hearing your side talking about how they shouldn't involve science and blah blah blah. Yet, you bring her along?"
"She kind of followed me," Itsuwa admitted lowering her head in disappointment at her own mistake. "I didn't realize till it was too late."
"She didn't guard her mind closely," Misaki said as she made a cutesy pose with her fingers making a V over her eye. Accelerator was not amused.
"Whatever," he said rubbing his head annoyed. "I suppose her mind reading ability will be useful, as long as she doesn't talk too much to me."
"But here I thought we could have a nice long chat while we wait," Misaki said pretending to pout. "I feel we don't spend much time getting to know each other." Accelerator glared at her and opened his mouth.
"Umm," Itsuwa said, sounding more confident than they had heard her sound before, as she stepped in between them. Itsuwa had entered mission mode and was a lot more forceful then when she was worrying about normal things, like crushes on a certain someone. "We need to start the patrol. After talking to Shokuhou-san about her ability, we are going to watch a crowded area around a major subway station. She can scan people's minds, while I start tracking mana sources. We also have other members scattered as a net around the city. Any issue we detect, we will all be able to converge on one point."
"Then you just call me if you need muscle," Accelerator added yawning. "Sounds about right. The plan is solid." Itsuwa nodded and led the way for Accelerator and Misaki.
"About time they finished," Jason sighed as he and Motoharu left St. George's Cathedral. "At least the sealing was successful."
"Top of the line magic healing," Motoharu grinned. "Just be thankful they aren't charging you. You need to go meet up with the others at the mall."
"Just me?" Jason asked. "What are you going to do then?"
"Going to talk with a few of my friends who live here," Motoharu explained.
"Sure," Jason said rolling his eyes and turning around waving. He knew that was not true at all, but he didn't have a reason to press for more information. "I guess I'll walk there instead of taking the bus. After all, sitting in that cramped room forever was a pain. Maybe I'll get a chance to use my shadow, since it has been awhile." He held out his hand and his shadow emerged from his sleeve and started wrapping around it. "Calculations changed slightly, but it was easy enough to modify them."
"Try not to cause too many problems here," Motoharu said. "Normal people are not use to seeing magic or abilities."
"Yea yea," Jason brushed off Motoharu's warning and walked away. The weather wasn't too bad, but the clouds starting to roll in ruined the mood for him. He wanted to think, so he used the less crowded back streets because it was quieter. He was thinking of what he learned from Laura about the marks, but he felt she wasn't telling him everything. The pain lessoned since the marks were removed and I can use my shadow, but I still feel sick.
I told you coming to England was a mistake.
Shut up, Jason thought to himself as he walked. He wanted a chance to use his shadow without repercussion but, even taking the back allies, people still kept passing by occasionally. Why don't you just make yourself useful?
Like indicating there is a magician only fifty feet in front of you carrying magic items?
Now you are just mes… Jason moved his gaze to take in his surroundings. In front of him was a blonde girl, probably around his age or slightly older. She was carrying a brown box and had a wing shape accessory on her back. Her hand was up to her ear as if she was using a phone, but Jason could detect a slight trace of magic. The wings aside, those could pass as cosplay, but I want to know what is in the box. I'm not generating mana so she shouldn't be able to detect me.
Just steal it. You have the Mark of Greed. She won't be able to detect your mana, unless you cast something or activate Shadow.
Stealing is wrong, Jason thought to himself, but he grinned. I should at least ask first. Though, I suppose being a magician and learning what others do could be considered part of the trade.
The oldest member of the Cartel known as New Light, Bayloupe, was leaning up against a wall outside a subway entrance. She had an old brown case on the ground next to her as she watched people pass by. She held up a small piece of paper in her hand with a symbol marked on it. She was using it as a communication device to stay in contact with the other three girls.
"They found our old base in Scotland by now," Bayloupe told the others. "We need to start right away. You all know the plan. Lancis in the keeper and everyone else get into positions. Remember to keep a low profile to avoid attention. LESSAR THIS MEANS YOU!"
"Can I at least get something to eat?" Lessar asked through her own communication device.
"Fine whatever," Bayloupe said. "Just do it normally. You are still a part of this, so don't get caught." She heard Floris mumble something but it sounded like Floris wasn't talking to them through her device. "Floris, did something happen?"
"No," Floris responded evenly. "Some random guy, looked like a tourist, tried to flirt with me. I told him to get lost."
"Nice job Floris," Lessar's voice came through loud and excited. "I knew you had the charms to attract the guys. Now you just need to reveal more skin to show off your body…"
"Lancis," Bayloupe said cutting off Lessar. "How is everything on your end?"
"I-it tickles," Lancis replied. "Ahhh, e-everything is fine."
"Everyone you are on your own," Bayloupe told them all. "Try to limit the damage to London if things get bad." She picked up her box and moved towards the subway entrance. She wanted another possible option to escape if she was caught. As long as one of them made it, the plan would succeed. And right under the nose of the Anglican Church.
Lancis lowered her communication device and stared up at the sky. She giggled as the constant tickling sensation flowed through her body and she sat down under a nearby tree. She also had a brown suitcase next to her which she made sure to always keep one hand on. Her hand still had the dragon claws on the end of her fingers. She tucked the communication rune in her pocket in case Bayloupe tried to contact her again. I hope they don't get into too much trouble, Lancis thought while trying not to laugh too much from the tickling. I wish we could have waited, but the entire plan got pushed ahead of schedule. It's so much work. She wanted to just go to sleep against the tree, but then a shiver went down her spine as she thought what Bayloupe would do if she found out Lancis had been sleeping on the job.
Floris was walking down a side street, a bit off the main road, and was holding a brown bag over her shoulder. She knew as long as she didn't use any obvious magic, she would not get discovered easily. I wish I could use a people clearing field, but that would just broadcast where I am. Most people ignored her, but occasionally someone would come up and bother her for some reason. The most annoying person was some blonde kid, around her age, who kept talking to her. At first he just seemed helpful and offered to carry her bag, but she told him to get lost. Guys really are stupid if they think they can just go up and flirt with anyone they see. The guy was not easily deterred and walked next to her, talking and trying to get her to respond. She really wanted to hit him, but, there were enough people around, it could cause a scene. She noted a side ally and figured she could knock him out there without attracting attention.
She turned down the ally and, when she was about halfway through, turned around. To her surprise, the guy had stopped about ten feet away from here and smirked. Before she could say anything, the guy spoke first. "Before you say anything or misunderstand my intentions, I have a girlfriend. I am purely interested in the magical case you have there. Would you be so kind as to tell me what it is and what it does?"
Damn, Floris thought. Is he from the church? She took a step back and immediately thought of her options. He doesn't look like someone from the Anglican church, but seems to be a foreigner. It doesn't seem like he knows about Skíðblaðnir. He knows about magic so he has to be a magician. A magic fight right now is not going to be good. That leaves me two choices, give him the case, or… She decided on option two. "Ok," she said and the guy nodded understandably.
"Glad we could resolve this without violenc…" he started to say when Floris turned around and bolted towards the main street. Her plan was to pass through a populated street and lose him. She got to the end of the ally and started to turn when she heard the guy mutter something. Suddenly, she no longer felt the case in her hand. It wasn't like the case was pulled from her hand, it actually just vanished. She turned around and the boy was no longer in the ally. A small movement near the room of the building caught her eye and she gritted her teeth.
"If that is how you want to play," she growled. "I'm not going to hold back." Losing the case is worst then being found by the church. Her wings spread out and she hopped up on the fire escape and ran up the stairs. She had felt mana when the guy took the case and moved up to the roof. She reached the roof and pulled out the metal rods that formed her spear. More specifically, it had a metal shaft about 1.5 meters long. The end had a blade on it, about 40 cm long. However, this wasn't just one blade. It had three blades on the top of that end and single blade on the bottom of that end. The guy was standing in the middle of the roof examining the case. "Give it back," she said as she pointed her spear at him. "You do not know who you are messing with. I have a mission to complete."
"I heard some rumors from passing nuns about a cabal invading London," the guy said looking at her. "I really don't want to turn in a cute girl, so how about I take this to them and you go free?"
"Sorry," she said spinning the spear. "That case is worth a lot more than my freedom. Thanks for the compliment though." She started to walk forward when she felt a rise in the guy's mana. Darkness seemed to emerge from him like dark water. Floris had never seen anything like it. The darkness flowed around him in a circular formation as he watched her.
"Shame," he said. "Guess it's the hard way."
Lessar was walking down a more run down district in northern London, looking for a place to eat, while carrying a brown case like the others. She didn't have a lot of money so she had to find a cheap place to grab food. She eventually found an old bar open in the middle of the day. The bartender didn't look at her to kindly, but still took her money for some friend fish and juice. She was stuffing her face and wasn't paying attention to her case. A couple older men sat down at the bar, on both sides of her, to drown whatever troubles they had with large beers. She was busy enjoying herself and was kicking her feet, while waiting for the final stage of their mission. She was waiting for the signal or any communication from the others.
"Yum," Lessar said into her communication device. "This food is really good. Bayloupe, you are always so grumpy before a mission, maybe you should eat something."
"Shut up Lessar," Bayloupe growled. She did not want to admit it, but she was hungry too. "Don't clutter up the communication link with your idle chatter." I hate that we have to rely on someone like her, even though she is the most combat oriented among us.
"Your thoughts are leaking through," Lessar said happily. She heard Bayloupe curse and started to respond when Floris's voice interrupted her.
"I've run into some problems," Floris said. "Some random magician took my case. He's using magic I have never seen before. It's like dark water."
"What?" Bayloupe snapped. "Get it back quick."
"I've been trying," Floris replied, in a tone that said it was stupid to suggest anything else. "His magic is more suitable for combat."
"Yay I wasn't the one to mess up," Lessar said, but she was worried for Floris. She knew Floris was not the most combat specialized among them.
"SHUT UP LESSAR!" Bayloupe roared and Lessar was forcefully ejected from the communication line.
Lessar shrugged and went back to eating. The plan should still work as long as we are not all caught. I hope Floris can get away though. She finished and stretched on her stool, vaguely aware the person to her right got up and left. She glanced lazily toward the door when it opened and her heart stopped. The guy, who was leaving, was holding a bag that looked exactly like the one Lessar had. She looked down at her feet and saw the brown case, but it was in a slightly different position. She didn't know if she accidently kicked it or if the man grabbed it by mistake. She panicked, knowing what Bayloupe would do to her if she lost the case. Since Floris had been tracked down, her case was even more important. She dashed out of the bar yelling "WAAAAIIIITTTTTT!"
Itsuwa, Misaki, and Accelerator had positioned themselves near the main entrance to the subway. Itsuwa was busy scanning the area for mana, while Misaki was scanning people's minds as they entered and exited the subway. Accelerator couldn't do much, until they actually found the magicians, so he was leaning up against a wall watching people. I suppose if anyone looks strange I could point them out, he thought. This is really f#$%(& boring though. He looked at the other two girls who actually appeared to be working, but he could tell they were trying to remain inconspicuous. I wonder, since we have all these check points, would it be safer to stay in one place? "Hey girl," Accelerator turned to Itsuwa. "If we assume they know we are looking for them, wouldn't it be better to stay in hiding instead of moving around."
"He has a point," Misaki said. "We are watching the exit, but it will only work if they are moving. What if they found a place to hide and are waiting for something, like a signal?"
"Hmm," Itsuwa said taking their comments into account. "We have patrols for that reason. Can you expand your ability to the actual subway below us?"
"No problem," Misaki nodded. She rotated her remote slightly and concentrated. Hmm, what's this. Someone has a mental block on their mind, but I have never seen anything like this. She turned to Itsuwa. "Found one," she said smiling slightly. "They are near a staircase in the subway."
"Can you stay here?" Itsuwa asked. "Let us know if anyone else tries to sneak up on us." Itsuwa hit a button on her phone. "Others are going to surround this position. Accelerator, when we go down, can you cover the other direction so they can't escape?" They both nodded and then Itsuwa and Accelerator went down the subway entrance.
Damn it, Bayloupe though to herself. First Floris gets found, and then Lessar causes a scene. If she gets caught, I swear I am going to give her such a spanking, she won't be able to sit down for a week. She leaned against a wall near a staircase. It was not the main stairway, so only an occasional person passed by her. She suddenly felt something, in the back of her mind. It did not last, but she frowned. I don't like this. Are they searching for magical defenses? If so, they know I am here. Better be careful then. She pulled out metal rods and quickly assembled a spear, just like the one Floris had. Her instincts had been right. Shortly afterwards, she was surrounded by several males and females. They stood out to her because they were all Japanese and most of the nearby people she had seen were English.
"We are from Necessarius, the 0th Parish of the Anglican Church," Itsuwa said stepping forward. She was holding a spear of her own, though it looked more traditional, in her right hand. "You will come with us. Do not make any sudden moves."
"You certainly are efficient," Bayloupe said conversationally. "But I don't plan on being captured." She moved her foot into the handle of her case and threw it up into the air, and then grabbed it with her left hand. Itsuwa immediately stabbed with her spear to incapacitate Bayloupe but, as Bayloupe grabbed the case, she swing her body and her right hand holding her spear collided with Itsuwa's spear. Sparks flew as a loud clang echoed around them and both Itsuwa and Bayloupe were knocked backwards. "Sorry I can't stay and play," Bayloupe continued and swung the spear at the wall behind her. The concreated cracked and exploded, several pieces rained down toward Itsuwa and her group forcing them to cover their eyes.
"Everyone watch the exits and put down people clearing fields," Itsuwa ordered as she realized Bayloupe had escaped further down into the subway. "Quick, before any more people get involved. They should have heard the explosion. We can't let them be used as shields." The other guys nodded and scattered. Itsuwa jumped through the hole made by Bayloupe and dashed down the tunnel after her.
Itsuwa chased Bayloupe to an old subway stop that did not appear to be used anymore, or just under construction. There had been construction tape across the entrance as Bayloupe tore it down when she ran through the entrance. Itsuwa jumped over the ticket gate and the old ticket machines to find Bayloupe standing looking at the tracks. It seemed to Itsuwa she was planning to run down the tracks, rather than getting back up to the surface.
Their eyes met and both of them jumped at each other. Their spears clashed again. Another loud clang and sparks was followed by them both getting pushed back. Bayloupe used her spear, which seemed to have a hand on the end, to grab a sign above her and threw it at Itsuwa. Itsuwa nimbly side stepped it as it crashed into the wall behind her. Itsuwa's eyes noticed a symbol on Bayloupe's weapon. "The Norse symbol of strength? It appears to be based on the thunder god Thor, but it seems different."
"Don't be stupid," Bayloupe responded looking superior. "There's no way we could be using Thor's famous weapon, the hammer Mjölnir. He uses many other weapons besides the hammer. Instead, we developed these steel gloves based on items in a story involving him and a female giant, a belt that increased arm strength, a club with enormous destructive power, and the iron gloves. But we thought, wouldn't it be more convenient to have them all in one item?" She smiled and sunk the blades of spear, known as the steel glove, into the stone floor. A large piece of stone was lifted up and thrown at Itsuwa as Bayloupe swing the steel glove like a golf club.
Itsuwa ducked and coughed as a large amount of dust was kicked up into the air. The actual stone crashed and exploded into the wall behind her. Her strength is a problem, Itsuwa thought. She looked up and realized too late. The stone had not been the real attack. Bayloupe had raised the blades on her weapon above her and they seemed to grab the very dust in the air. Itsuwa instinctively jumped to the side as something exploded were she was only a moment ago. She can even use the dust in the air? This is not good. Bayloupe grinned and used her weapon to smash the ground again, causing more dust to fill the area.
"You reap what you sow," Bayloupe said and jumped into the air. Her steel glove spun around in her hand and grabbed most of the dust. She then swung the blade downwards at Itsuwa. Itsuwa knew she couldn't block the attack so instead she tried to dive out of the way again. The ground exploded like a volcano throwing stone shards in every direction, along with more dust.
This is bad, Itsuwa thought as she managed to land on her feet. Arm strength, plus she can use even dust as a weapon. She had several small cuts over her arms from the shrapnel when she protected her face from the explosion. She raised her spear to try to strike back, but Bayloupe was already swinging her spear again, grabbing the dust in the air from the last attack. Itsuwa finally realized how Bayloupe was using the dust as an attack. The steel glove was grabbing the dust and compressing it. When it was thrown, it quickly expanded to create an explosion. Even though she knew how the attack worked, she was off balance and trapped in a corner. She moved her spear in front of her to take the attack as the dust explosion hit her square on. She was blown backwards and crashed into the wall. She fell to the ground as the segments of her spear clattered in the distance, blown away by the force of the explosion. Her entire body screamed in pain and she looked up as Bayloupe stood over her.
"Looks like you can't go on," Bayloupe commented while looking down at Itsuwa. "If you can stand up, we can continue. I don't recommend it though. I'll use the horn of wisdom, Gjallarhorn, next. By adding wisdom to the steel gloves, I can gain access to the thunder attribute of Thor. I am prepared to turn you into ashes." Footsteps echoed from behind her and she turned around. She immediately ducked as an old ticket machine flew right where her head was. She saw a skinny white haired young male walking towards her with a smug look on his face. "Who are you?"
"That's right," Accelerator said sarcastically. "You wouldn't know me because I'm just here on vacation. I guess you can call me a monster. Most of the people I face do."
"Great," Bayloupe said rubbing her eyes exasperatedly. "Another headache, as if Lessar doesn't give me enough already." She sunk the blades of her steel glove into the ground again and threw the stone block at Accelerator. Accelerator didn't even flinch as the concreate hit him, and immediately rebounded against Bayloupe. She barely had a chance to duck again as the concreate missed her by inches. "What the…"
"You need to try harder than that," Accelerator mocked her. "I'm the strongest person alive. If you don't come at me seriously, you won't have a chance."
Bayloupe narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. "If that's what you want," she said and she activated Gjallarhorn, the hearing like device s on her head. A spark appeared at the tip of the steel glove, but that was the only indication it activated for her enemies. She was the only one who could tell the thunder attribute was active in her weapon. She spun the steel glove in a circle collecting the remaining dust from her last attack. She looked at Accelerator, who only laughed at her serious expression, and charged at him. She jumped at the last moment and swung downwards, creating the explosion right in front of Accelerator. The explosion blew up the stone floor in front of Accelerator, pelting him with shrapnel. Bayloupe did not stop there to try to see through the dust cloud. Before the dust could clear, she slammed the blades into the ground again and the thunder attribute transferred into it. She lifted a piece of stone with the glove and threw it at Accelerator's feat. When it hit the ground, it exploded in a line of white electricity, from the floor to the ceiling. It was so fast, it looked like a lighting strike had occurred. "How was that?" Bayloupe asked through the dust. "Oh, I suppose you would be just a pile of ashes now." She turned to leave, with one last look at Itsuwa, but stopped when Itsuwa's eyes went wide. She turned around and saw Accelerator stepping out of the cloud of dust, looking completely fine.
"Little flashy," he said evenly. "But points for effort, though your electrical attack is quite weak compared to the third rates. I suppose it is my turn to end this. Try not to die."
"You monster!" Bayloupe spat out, while her eyes widened in surprise. She could not understand how someone could just stand there and take her attacks like they were nothing. Fear was spreading through her body and she realized, far too late, she should never have tried to fight him.
"Nice," Accelerator laughed. "You called me by my suggestion."
Kamijou's friends are so powerful and skilled, Itsuwa thought. I need to work harder if I want to stand out to him. I'm still too weak. She managed to get to her feet and glanced at the remains of her spear. She reached into her pocket and grabbed the wires. I still got these if I need it.
Bayloupe looked at Accelerator, and then her eyes glanced over to Itsuwa when she stood up. This isn't good. I can't take on both of them. I should run. However, she couldn't find the strength to turn around. Something told her trying to escape from the monster in front of her was a useless endeavor. What is he? Damn it. LESSAR IF YOU DON"T SUCCEED I AM GOING TO MAKE SURE TO COME BACK AS A GHOST AND PUNISH YOU FOREVER! She put her weapon out in front of her and charged Accelerator. He didn't even move as her steel glove's blade hit him in the chest were his heart should be.
The glove exploded into pieces.
Bayloupe's expression turn to shock as Accelerator casually reached out his hand and tapped her in the shoulder. Her body rocketed backwards and crashed into the wall. She slumped down on to the ground unconscious. Accelerator turned to Itsuwa. "You need her alive, right?"
"Yes," Itsuwa answered while nodding. "We need to question her on New Light's plan." She walked over and picked up the brown case. "We need to examine this case too, as it might have clues to their mission. Sherry should be able to tell us what it is and its purpose." Itsuwa grabbed her communication device and contacted the other Amakusa to have Bayloupe taken away for questioning. When they arrived, Accelerator left the subway with Itsuwa and met back up with Misaki.
"I thought a patrol would be more exciting," Mikoto said to Touma as they followed Agnese. "So far nothing has happened except she's been on the phone for a while. I think I understand why Kuroko always complains about her Judgement patrols."
"Trust me," Touma said dryly, but he was feeling slightly bored too. "You don't want anything to happen. These kinds of things tend to spiral out of control quickly."
"I wish Agnese-san would tell us what is going on at least," Mikoto said. "She's been on the phone the entire time." They both looked at Agnese in front of them and saw she still had her phone to her ear. As if she heard Mikoto or noticed their stares, Agnese put down the phone and turned around to talk to them.
"Seems like two disturbances have already been found," Agnese informed them. "Itsuwa's group ambushed one member of New Light in the subway, a fight's breaking out now, and there seems to be two magicians fighting in another location. Seriously, those magicians are fighting only a couple blocks away from our headquarters. What kind of idiot would do something like that?"
If on cue, Touma's phone began to ring. "Hello," Touma answered.
"Hey Touma," Jason said. "I have a question for you."
"Make it fast Jason," Touma said rolling his eyes at Mikoto who raised an eyebrow.
"Let's say I run into another magician," Jason said. "And we fought and I captured them. I'm sure the fight attracted attention. I just wanted to examine this magical case she had, but she attacked me. What should I do? Can you ask Agnese or Itsuwa?"
"Seriously?" Touma said face palming. He could have sworn he heard someone yelling in the background on Jason's end. "Hey Agnese-san," He called over to her. "I think I know who the two magicians fighting are."
"Huh?" Agnese stopped and looked confused. Touma explained to her quickly what Jason was most likely doing, so she contacted her people to pass on the message. "So two down. That means there shouldn't be too many more. From what we found out, New Light should only be a small group."
"Does Kagere-san always get involved in these things?" Mikoto asked Touma.
"I think he does it on purpose," Touma shrugged. "After all, he does have a problem with authority figures."
"Kuroko complains about that all the time," Mikoto laughed. "I have to agree with you."
"Do you think they have a…? Oomph," Touma began to ask her when someone bolted out of an alleyway and collided into him. Touma fell to the group as a young girl with black hair, yellow bangs, and a white jacket with red and blue sleeves fell on top of him. "You ok?" he asked while looking at her.
"Yea sorry about that," she said quickly and stood up. She immediately started running off and Touma realized she was carrying two brown cases and seemed to be comparing the two.
"What was that about?" Mikoto asked helping Touma up. Touma shrugged and looked at Agnese who was staring at the girl running from them.
"Shit," Agnese muttered, and then yelled at them. "Don't stand around you two, that was a target!" She immediately bolted off and they followed her. Mikoto wondered how she was able to run in her shoes, but didn't question it. They chased after the girl, who didn't seem to notice them. She was holding both of the brown cases and was constantly looking between them. Appearing satisfied, she tossed one of them off to the side of the road. She turned around and her eyes went wide when she noticed them chasing her.
"I already apologized!" she yelled back over her shoulder. "I don't have any money!"
"People clearing field," Agnese muttered and through a couple rune cards in different directions. "In the name of Necessarius, I command you to come quietly."
"Umm no," the girl called over her shoulder. Touma watched her pull out poles and formed them into a type of spear with several blades at the end. "I have a job to do."
"Sorry about this," Mikoto called out, Touma immediately moved to the side, and Mikoto fired a bolt of blue-white electricity at the girl. Her electricity at full power could easily kill someone, but Mikoto was quite skilled at limiting her power to make sure she didn't accidently go too far. She had a lot of practice with thugs in Academy City. The girl was too far away, but Mikoto thought she looked familiar. The girl turned around then jumped backwards away from them. She swung the spear at the bolt of lightning as she was in the air. What is she doing? That metal spear will just act as a lightning rod… No way! The blades at the end of the spear opened up like a hand and her electricity hit it. Instead of traveling down the spear, the electricity seemed to consolidate at a single point, almost as if the spear grabbed it. Mikoto's attack formed a solid ball of electricity at the end of the spear.
"You have got to be kidding…" Touma muttered and jumped forward as the girl swung the spear at them. The ball of electricity turned into a blade of electricity and traveled in a line from her spear as she swung it. Touma jumped in front of Mikoto and held out his right hand. The electricity disappeared with the sound of breaking glass as it collided with his hand. He and Mikoto were fine, but Agnese was not as lucky. She was hit by a corner of the electric blade and was knocked backwards. "Are you ok?" Touma called out to her.
"Yea," she said. "My legs are numb though. Go after her, I'll catch up with reinforcements." Touma and Mikoto nodded and dashed off after the girl.
The girl thought she had won with her surprise attack. None of them would have expected that, but that electricity… Could she be here? She didn't stop to consider it as the electric blade disappeared just by the boy reaching out his hand. "How did he…? Shit." She turned around and ran as the boy and one of the two girls kept chasing after her. Bayloupe is going to get pissed. How could I just run into people from the Anglican Church like that? Is Loki playing a trick on me? She heard a crackle as another bolt of electricity soared at her. She turned around in panic and raised the brown case in front of her. The electricity hit it and she felt her arm grow slightly numb. 'AH! I used the most important thing as a shield without thinking!" She made a mistake and spoke to loudly.
"It seems like that case is important to her plan," Touma said as they stopped about twenty feet from her. "Let's focus our attacks on it."
"I can't believe you discovered my weak point," the girl said. "Well done. But I can't let it be destroyed or my a$$ will be crushed by Bayloupe."
"Hang on," Mikoto said taking a step forward as she recognized that name. "Lessar?"
"Wait," Lessar said in surprise, looking Mikoto up and down. "You are that Railgun girl from the mall."
"Huh?" Touma asked completely confused. "How do you know her Mikoto?"
"I did a demonstration in Russia once," she replied not taking her eyes off Lessar. "There was a little bit of trouble and she helped me."
"Have you been able to eat oranges since that incident?" Lessar asked grinning.
"I wouldn't let one bad experience prevent me from eating them," Mikoto replied shaking her head.
"I don't suppose you would let me go?" Lessar asked. "I don't really want to fight someone called the Railgun and her boyfriend. You know, for old time's sake?"
"B-b-boyfriend?" Mikoto stuttered turning bright red. Normally, she would immediately deny it, but she actually kind of liked it. Touma also turned bright red, he couldn't think of anything to say, but tried to keep his focus on Lessar in case she made a break for it.
"I'm wrong?" Lessar asked looking between them and smirking. "Doesn't really matter, so will you let me go without a fight?"
"I can't," Mikoto said. "Come with us and I promise we will make sure you are treated fairly."
"You don't know how the magic side works at all," Lessar sighed. Touma noticed her skirt move and a long golden tail emerged from under it. "If I get captured, death will be the best thing I could hope for. Besides, you know what Bayloupe is like and what she would do to me if I get caught." Her tail moved like a pendulum and she suddenly jumped straight up into the air and landed on a nearby building. "Sorry I can't stay and chat some more Railgun." Lessar waved and jumped to the nearby roof.
"That must have been four stories," Touma gasped. "Can you follow her Mikoto?"
"No problem," Mikoto bragged. "Try to keep up." She used her magnetism to jump up onto the building and kept jumping until she landed on the roof. She saw Lessar in the distance and started running after her. "You can't escape Lessar!" she yelled. Touma ran along the streets trying to keep up with them. Luckily the buildings were built along the street. It meant Touma could run along the side of the buildings to keep up, rather than trying to go around them.
On the shores of England, a small boat landed on the rocks. A single man stepped out of the boat. His tea colored hair rustled slightly in the breeze. When he was completely off the boat and on the shore, the boat started to break apart and sink beneath the waves. He looked at the gray clouds moving in from his back. A storm is coming. I should make this quick. He was carrying a large mace in his right hand, but it was more than just a simple one handed mace. It was five meters long, shaped like an old European knight's lance, and looked like a huge umbrella created from steel that was used to construct a building.
Acqua stretched as he looked in the direction of London. "It is time for us to meet once again Touma Kamijou." He swung the mace over his shoulder and started walking in the direction of the city.
Touma kept running along the buildings and occasionally saw a flash of electricity from the roof tops to inform him he was still going in the right direction. He didn't see anyone in the direction he was running and the sun was high in the sky. Agnese's forces must have set cleared out everyone. He heard a crash as Lessar jumped through a window from the roof she was currently on. Really, why is she breaking windows? Mikoto wouldn't give up with just that. He glanced up and saw Mikoto jump over an alley and through the window Lessar broke. He heard something moving above him and, when he looked up, he saw a small fist size jack-o-lantern floating above his head.
"Can you two tell me why you are chasing me?" Lessar's voice came through. Touma noticed she said 'we' which meant Mikoto probably had a pumpkin too. "Neither of you two are magicians nor do I think we did anything to Academy City."
"Are you from New Light?" Touma asked.
"So you know us," Lessar muttered. "That means you are involved, but why?"
"Are you working for The Fallen," Mikoto's voice came through. "We heard you were planning some kind of attack against London."
"The who?" Lessar asked and Touma didn't think she was lying. "But our plan will affect more than London. The entire UK will be changed for the better. You two are not qualified to participate. Just leave before anything happens."
"Not qualified?" Touma asked slightly angrily. "We have friends here we want to protect. Whatever New Light is trying to do, we will stop you."
"I'll make sure you are treated fairly Lessar," Mikoto added. "For old time's sakes."
"I can't," Lessar responded. "I love this country too much. As it is now, the UK will slowly weaken and be absorbed by outside influences." There was silence on the line for a moment and Touma was about to ask what she meant, but she continued. "Oh I was wondering Railgun," she said and Touma heard the joking tone he was used to hearing with Jason.
This is not going to be good, Touma thought.
"Did your chest grow since Russia?" Lessar asked. "You were so concerned about it before. Is it because your boyfriend likes them bigger, like mine?"
And there it is, Touma thought as he suddenly felt worried Lessar might not make it out of this unscathed. Of course, he felt his face burn as he thought about the subject.
"Y-y-you," Mikoto stuttered and then exploded. "WHEN I CATCH YOU, I AM GOING TO TURN YOU INTO A SCORCH MARK ON THE GROUND!" The building, she and Lessar were in, lit up as blue electricity blew out a couple windows. Touma kept running forward to avoid some of the falling glass. He saw Lessar jump into the next building and he groaned.
How much damage are those two going to cause? He thought as he tried to keep up with them. He turned to the pumpkin still floating near him. "Lessar," he said panting slightly from the constant running. "All we have to do is destroy that case of yours and you won't be able to succeed. Just give up whatever is in it."
"Heh," Lessar laughed. "You don't need to get involved in things that don't concern you."
"Trust me," Mikoto said her voice still coming through clearly. "That doesn't work on him. He sticks his nose into everything."
"Hey!" Touma said indignantly.
"He's one of those guys then," Lessar remarked mildly. "Then I guess words won't work then." The pumpkin next to Touma's head exploded into streamers, like a party cracker. Touma was annoyed and battered the streamers away and suddenly came to a stop. There was a large road in front of him and no nearby building next to the last one beside him. He turned and looked up to see Lessar standing near a window on the top floor looking down at him. Why doesn't she just jump down? She can jump high, but can her magic not soften landings? He glanced at the street and noticed it was empty. Good job Agnese. He ran into the middle of the road to make sure she couldn't escape.
Suddenly, a blue-white bolt of electricity hit the ground behind her causing a small explosion forcing her to jump through the window. Her jump was farther than a normal person, but it was obvious she didn't use her full jumping power. "You are either dead or captured!" Touma called out triumphantly moving forward to catch her. Then he stopped and realized something. The window broke when she jumped through, followed by the explosion which propelled the shattered remains, and the large amount of glass was raining down towards him. Oh shit!
Lessar immediately notice Touma didn't run forward far enough to catch her because of the glass. "Hey," she yelled. "I'm so dead if you don't catch me!" She suddenly felt herself moving away from the building. It wasn't her body, but her steel glove seemed to be moving, while she held to it tightly, away from where the glass was going to rain down and Touma was moving back to catch her. Lessar turned her head around and saw Mikoto standing at the broken window holding out her hands as electricity crackled around her. Mikoto was not going to kill her, no matter how mad she was at Lessar, and was using magnetism to push Lessar out from the path of raining glass. This only lasted a couple seconds and Lessar collided with Touma, who had his arms out stretched to catch her.
Mikoto sighed as she saw Lessar fall into Touma's grasp. At least she's ok, we can question her now…. WHAT IS HE DOING! Her eyes went wide in anger as she saw what happened.
How did this happen? Touma thought to himself as he laid on his back, sore, because Lessar collided into him. She didn't weigh a lot, but falling from a height of several floors put a lot of momentum behind her. Lessar was lying on top of him groaning in pain. The majority of her weight landed on him, but it looked like her legs had hit the ground hard. The problem was Touma could not speak, not because he was winded, but because of the way she fell on him.
Lessar's face had hit Touma's face directly and somehow they ended up kissing with her on top of him. She opened her eyes in surprise when she realized her position.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU IDIOT!?" Mikoto roared from the top of the building, her electricity beginning to shoot dangerously in all directions. "I'M GOING TO TURN BOTH OF YOU INTO CHARCOAL! HOW DID YOU EVEN END UP LIKE THAT!?"
Her words seemed to snap Lessar out of her stupor. She rolled off Touma and sprung to her feet, wincing slightly. "I'll forgive you because you caught me," she told Touma as she turned around. "By the way, that was my first kiss."
"What?!" Touma asked trying to get to his feet.
"Hah," Lessar laughed. "Just kidding. But if you want to go any further, I'm going to have to charge you." She bolted when Touma managed to get to feet. He felt a killing aura coming from the building and his eyes traveled to where Mikoto was standing.
"IDIOT!" Mikoto yelled again. "Don't you dare let her get away after your mistake!" Touma nodded and ran after Lessar, as Mikoto scaled the side of the building.
She's going to keep calling me an idiot for a while now, he thought to himself with a sigh. Such misfortune.
"What do you think of this?" Itsuwa asked the woman next to her. The woman was around 25 years old with dirty blonde hair and brown skin. Her hair was messy, like a cheap wig, and if looked at from behind, would remind someone of a lions main. She was wearing black gothic style clothes with white lace. Her name was Sherry Cromwell, a member of the Anglican Church. She had once invaded Academy City, but was defeated by Touma.
"Let's see," Sherry said as she to move her hands around the case while looking at it. "It is made of oak, but there are no nails or screws used to put it in this shape. They bent the oak by making it only a few millimeters thick and using steam, similar to bamboo baskets. It seems like it was designed to transform, since the case is not the original form." She moved her hand, hit the latch, and stepped back. The case began to expand and unfold until it formed the shape of a small boat. "So it's a boat huh. Did you see what kind of magic they used?"
"Yes," Itsuwa replied. "They seemed to be using Nordic based magic."
"So I guess this would be a replica of Skíðblaðnir then," Sherry said eyeing the boat.
"Skíðblaðnir?" Itsuwa asked. "Wasn't that the boat that held all the gods including Odin? I heard it could be folded up so small, it would fit into a bag."
"So they are transporting something," Sherry said thoughtfully. "Have you discovered any clues on what it might be?"
"No," Itsuwa said. "But we received word they seemed to have had a factory in Scotland where they were mass producing items. The girl I fought had one, and I heard another girl was captured with it."
"So that means the other members probably have one too," Sherry added. "Let me see." She knelt down next to the boat and peered inside. She moved her hands around the inside of the case looking for runes and examining the mana fused with the item.
"I have no idea what they are talking about," Misaki muttered as she and Accelerator were leaning against a building wall. "Skíðblaðnir? Gods? Is this magic stuff always so complicated?" She had only a limited experience and a short explanation of magic. In order for her to understand it, she would have to do a lot of studying with religious texts, something she was not keen on doing.
"It's just abilities that follow a different set of rules than ours," Accelerator said gruffly looking at the roofs across the street bored. It's true, but I still don't quite understand how some of these vectors work with magic. I had some practice with them in the cathedral, plus some of the vectors I memorized in Italy. Sometimes magic uses completely normal vectors, and other times they don't make a lot of sense and are hard to direct. I need to find someone who can last more than just a minute to really learn. He yawned and wondered when they would be done so he could go back and sleep. Then he remembered Last Order would bother him about where he was and he sighed.
"Touma and Misaka-san are working together," Misaki said irritated as she puffed out her cheeks. "I should have been the one to work with him." As soon as this is over, I am never letting him out of my sight. "I feel pretty useless now that we found the magician. You are better for the brute force work."
"Whatever," Accelerator muttered rolling his eyes. He did not like Misaki, but he didn't like most people so it wasn't really a surprise. He was halfway through another yawn when he saw something. A girl, who he recognized as Kaori Kanzaki, was running on the roofs in a straight line with a determined look on her face. Accelerator frowned when he saw that look. She looks like she is prepared to walk into a death match, he thought. He recognized it as the same look Touma had on his face when they first met. He got up and started to head in the same direction.
"Where are you going?" Misaki asked.
"None of your business," Accelerator snapped and walked away.
"Fine then," Misaki said sticking her tongue out at him. She turned to Sherry and Itsuwa. "Have you two found anything about what they are carrying?"
"Not yet," Itsuwa said shaking her head disappointed. "It has to be something dangerous or they wouldn't take so many precautions. It looks like several of them have similar cases, so we have to assume this is being mass produced. But the item one of them has to have, we have no idea what it is."
"It's worse than that," Sherry said standing up.
"What do you mean?" Misaki asked nervously.
"It looks like these cases are set up so they can teleport the item in between the cases. I can't tell if there is a certain order from just this, or if they can go to any of the cases."
"So if one case is still in New Light's hands…?" Misaki said trailing off as she realized the problem.
"Yes," Itsuwa nodded noticing the serious look on Misaki's face. "They still have the item they brought."
Touma, she thought turning around so Itsuwa didn't see her face. Be safe and catch them.
Accelerator tried to figure out what to do to keep up with Kaori. He had walked into an ally and used his powers to move to the roof of the building. He used it to follow her for a short distance then stopped on a roof watching her run off in the distance. She seems to be traveling in a straight line out of the city. I still have 25 minutes using my ability, but I don't know how far she is going. At least she's traveling in a straight line so I know where she is headed. I want to know what she is doing. I still owe the church a debt for helping me save Last Order. He heard someone say something and looked around. He was standing near the edge of the building's roof and did not see anyone else on the roof. He heard someone call his name again and he looked down into the alleyway. His eyes widened in surprise and he jumped down. After landing on the ground, he looked them up and down.
"I didn't expect to see one of you here," he said, but smirked. "I need to borrow your motorcycle." He pointed to the vehicle next to the individual.
Eve was sitting on the top of the famous clock tower, Big Ben. Her legs were hanging off the edge as she gazed across the city of London. She was singing softly to herself and looked like she was having the time of her life. Magic concealed her from view, both mundane and magical. She was simply waiting for her companion and was enjoying spying on all the fights happening between the different factions. "It's almost time," she said suddenly. Behind her a shadow moved all on its own and slowly rose from the flat surface until a female form emerged from it.
"They still do not appear to know where the wing is," Juliet told her. "The protection is still the same."
"Of course," Eve giggled. "They could not know where the wing is. It took centuries of research to find it. The reason is because it is located in plain sight, but has changed constantly over the years. I doubt their predecessors know the importance of it. It wasn't until Curtana and Michael's blessing made it impossible to take."
"I'm surprised," Juliet said smiling slightly. "I thought someone with your power could easily just go and take it, even if the Queen herself was protecting it."
"I could forcefully take it," Eve admitted. "However, it has been soaking in the power of Michael for hundreds of years. Lucifer's power and Michael's power have always been at odds. If someone like me grabbed it, the clash of powers would cause the gem to break. If you tried to grab it, Michael's power would destroy you."
"So you want to wait for her plan to take shape?" Juliet asked. "It will weaken the hold on Lucifer's wing?"
"When control changes," Eve explained. "There will be a short window of opportunity for you to grab the wing as Michael's power will be unstable. Afterwards, you will take it to our base and start replacing Michael's remaining power with Lucifer's. After that is done, then I will fulfill my end of the bargain."
"Then he will be mine," Juliet sighed and smiling broadly. "Any problems though?"
"Adam is slacking off," Eve said her smile faulting for half a second. "He was supposed to keep the Roman Catholic Church in Europe, but a member of God's Right Seat has just entered England. Now I have to use my puppets to lure some of the knights and Anglican troops toward him. They will get slaughtered, but it will slow him down. I can't let him take the Imagine Breaker or ruin her plans." She stretched. "I deplore violence. I suppose I can make something specific to fight him, but his power is annoying. Oh that's right," she added grinning broadly at Juliet. "I already took precautions. I delivered two messages to important people about his arrival. He shouldn't get anywhere near the Imagine Breaker."
"I'll move into position then," Juliet said bowing. "I should have known you would have everything planned out, even if you plan doesn't make sense to anyone until it is complete." Her body began to melt into a shadow and started moving along Big Ben. Eve gave her one last look before going back to staring across London. She started singing again as grey clouds started covering all the blue sky.
Far outside of London, Carissa and Knight Leader were talking while they waited for Index to finish examining the magic left behind by Eve and her creations. They were leaning against a tree while the other knights constantly patrolled the area for any ambushes. Carissa looked annoyed and bored, while the Knight leader's face was unreadable. "I can understand my older sister not coming," Carissa muttered to the Knight Leader. "She does not trust anyone, but even Villian had a change of heart at the last minute."
"It will not matter," Knight Leader said. "You planned for this to happen anyways."
"Of course," Carissa replied. "It is almost time. Notify me as soon as you receive it."
"Understood," Knight Leader replied. He reached down and picked up an old brown case and made sure to keep hold of it at all times.
For those of you who don't know how Lessar and Mikoto know each other. There is a side story light novel that explains their meeting in a shopping mall. It happens early July, so it's shortly before the Index series starts.
Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.
Enjoy a small skit created by MrQuestionmark and me as he and I had fun times talking about random stuff and the amazing series which is Index.
Motoharu: Ok guys, I finally got the new dungeon crawl for D&D. You all are seeking the elixir of life.
Index: Touma, what is this elixir of life? D-Don't tell me that Academy City has perfected the pinnacle of alchemy?
Touma: Index...it's a board game. It's not real. And why am I always rolling the lowest numbers? Is it even possible to always roll ones on a twenty sided die!? Such misfortune!
Accelerator: Why the f### am I even playing this?
Pierce: Where are the nurses? I at least want a fantasy RPG like setting to come to life.
Jason: Touma already took all the nurses as they try to bandage up his character.
Touma: Shut up! There are no nurses in dungeons! What kind of event are you thinking of playing?
Motoharu: Kami-yan, you rolled a one again.
Shizuri: Hah I got a picture of the number one playing a nerd game. This is going on 4chan.
Accelerator: Delete that or I am going to kill everyone here.