So I think my releases will be on Thursdays from now on. It seems to work better with my schedule then Wednesday did. As some people pointed out, they wanted to see Acqua vs Accelerator. So I decided to start their fight in this chapter, because I love you all. SO many things going on at once still, hard to make sure everyone gets their scene in each chapter, but it's slowly coming together for the big event. Time line helps a lot. If you are new and thinking of writing a story with several events occurring simultaneously, time lines are life saviors.
RPGPersona: I have to admit, a couple times, I had to look at the chapter you are commenting on to remember what all happened. Glad you are reading it at a relaxed pace. Some people try to marathon it and that must be tough for them. Story has gotten long.
Swoob: Hope you didn't exhaust yourself to much trying to marathon it. It's pretty long now.
Salishious: That information will be passed on to the delta force, well, I guess they are now the Penta Force with Accelerator and Jason.
FireDusk: You are one of like three people who feel that way lol. Well, of the people who commented at least.
General Ironox & Guest: If Touma did, Knight Leader would take a sword to him, but he is a noble so he would do it like a sir.
naruhinasakufan1: I love that skit so much. Carissa definitely will get more screen time soon.
Handsomistic1: You have touched on something that will happen, but you are a little off on how. I don't want to spoil anything though, and it won't occur for a bit, so you have to wait.
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.
Acqua wasn't sure what to make of the situation before him.
The person before him was definitely an anomaly. While Acqua had fought countless individuals, many of whom would be considered monsters to others, nothing was quite as strange as the boy standing so confidently before him. The boy did not use magic, which was obvious due to the lack of mana. However, he seemed to be able to rip a tree out of the ground and throw a simply as if it was a normal spear. While a Saint might have been able to do that, a boy from the science side should not be able to. Could they have created an artificial Saint in Academy City? Their power suits are impressive, but still nothing compared to a skilled magician. He was one of the world's strongest warriors and, while he had absolute confidence in himself, he wanted to analyze the boy's power before rushing in blindly. He knew if someone made a single mistake on the battlefield, it could cost them their life.
"If you aren't going to attack," Accelerator said grinning. "I guess I will make the first move." The ground around him exploded as his body was propelled forward like a rocket. Accelerator reached out his hand towards Acqua as the distance of sixty feet closed almost instantly. Accelerator's grin flicked as Acqua virtually disappeared in front of him. He stopped, the ground below him cracking, and looked around. He saw Acqua standing a good thirty feet away and he reached a hand up to grab the side of his face in an irritated gesture. "Ah come on," he said annoyed. "Don't just run away. Show me what a Saint can do."
Acqua did not say anything, because he was not someone to respond to petty taunts. Instead, he was focusing on what he saw from the way Accelerator attacked. His speed is fast, still well below mine. That movement though, it seems like it wasn't a jump, but he propelled himself forward. His attack pattern is full of openings, like he doesn't care about defense at all. That kind of attack would get him killed instantly on the battlefield. He must have some secret behind his reasoning. I guess it really doesn't matter. Acqua stopped trying to think of why Accelerator does what he does. Acqua had absolute confidence in himself and he prepared himself to do what he had to do. The white haired boy stepped willing onto the battlefield and stood against him. He only had himself to blame for his unfortunate outcome. Accelerator charged at Acqua again, and this time Acqua was ready to strike back. He easily side stepped Accelerator's assault and swung his mace with enough force to crush a full grown adult male in full armor. A normal boy would not have a chance.
Something happened that through even threw the composed Acqua off balance.
As soon as his mace collided with Accelerator's skin, the mace suddenly moved in the opposite direction with the same force as was originally applied. Acqua felt the shift in the force instantly. The momentum threw his arm back and it would have shattered if he had been a normal person. He was, after all, a Saint and his body was strong enough to ignore attacks that could destroy normal people. He saw Accelerator's eyes shift to his location and then he reached out a hand toward Acqua's face. Acqua's danger sense warned him of the impending threat and he used his water magic to glide backwards away from Accelerator's strike. He looked at his mace, and then flexed his arm to make sure everything was still in working order. He didn't just block my attack and then force my arm back. My mace immediately changed directions. I think I know his power now and why he is so confident. "You have the power to reflect," Acqua commented.
"Bingo," Accelerator laughed. "Right in one. Most people I have to tell them before they realize how screwed they are. Do you realize you can't win now? Even if you are physically stronger than me, it is completely useless."
"While annoying," Acqua said. "No single power is invincible. We know Academy City's abilities are limited to one per person, which makes them inferior to magic. I will simply find the hole in your armor."
"While true," Accelerator grinned. "Reflection is only a small part of my power." He tapped his foot onto the ground and an explosion of rocks and dirt pelted Acqua. He simply swept his mace in front of him to blow it all away, he eyes never leaving Accelerator's.
So reflection is just part of it, Acqua thought. Physical attacks are useless, so now to simply go through every option until I find his weakness. The water on the ground around him started to rise into the air and form the shape of many different types of weapons. Some of the water weapon began to freeze into ice. They moved around Accelerator until he was completely surrounded by a dome of Acqua's weapons. Accelerator didn't look worried though and just started walking toward Acqua. Every weapon attacked Accelerator simultaneously from every direction, even above. Even though the weapons didn't seem to do anything to Accelerator, both he and Acqua noticed the same result, but reached different conclusions.
Most of the weapons didn't get reflected outright, but shattered into pieces or dissolved apart and flew in random directions.
Accelerator frowned. His original plan was to change the direction of the water and ice weapons towards Acqua. Instead, when he had calculated the change in vectors, the water and ice did not go the direction he wanted them to. The magic, he assumed, in the attack had different vectors then the ones he was use to with normal attacks. Damn, these calculations are annoying. I still haven't figured out the formulas yet. But I guess this is what I wanted, so I can't complain. The main issue is if all magic attacks follow the same rules or they change based on attack. I finally find someone who can fight toe to toe with me, and I can't even get excited. He glanced at Kaori who was seemed to be concentrating on something while mumbling and Accelerator figured she was trying to heal herself. Ever since that damn hero, fights just don't have the same ring. While he pretended to enjoy fights on the outside, he didn't really think they were fun.
Acqua noticed the frown on Accelerator's face and it raised many questions for him. He didn't reflect my attacks? They just sort of exploded. Can he just reflect physical attacks or is there more? He could reflect my mace like it was nothing. It can't be just solids because the ice shattered too. Maybe… of course, he's a member of the science side, so he doesn't have experience with magic. I know what to do now. Acqua swung and threw his mace into the air and it landed with a dull thud, end first, into the ground twenty feet away from him, it sort of resembled a flag pole. Accelerator raised his eyebrow at this strange action, but Acqua didn't say anything to explain himself. Instead, he held out his right hand. Water started to rise from the ground all around them and began to consolidate in his hand.
"Whatever you are trying," Accelerator said. "It won't work."
"Your lack of true battle experience is obvious by your overconfidence," Acqua replied. "I believe I have seen through your defense."
"Oh do tell," Accelerator smirked as he opened his arms in a wide motion. "I am going to enjoy thoroughly examining your magic."
"Finish him quickly!" Kaori yelled from behind him. Accelerator turned around and glared at her as if he was annoyed she was telling him what to do. "He may normally use his strength to defeat everyone in front of him, but he's not a stranger to real fights. He's survived countless battles and knows how to find his enemies weak points." She began to stand up on her feet, her wounds partially healed.
"I would listen to her," Acqua said as the water around his hand stretched into the same shape as his mace. The water then froze into ice as his hand wrapped around the hilt. More water began to flow around the mace in small spiral streams, going faster and faster, until water was spinning complete around the ice mace like a vortex. Acqua channel a large amount of his magical power into his mace. His plan was simple and straight forward, but still had a cold calculating designed to thoroughly destroy his enemies. He abandoned an attack that would not work and, instead, use an attack imbued with his mana.
Accelerator didn't like to listen to anyone else, but he had a feeling Kaori might have a valid point. The ground around him exploded as he lunged again toward Acqua, the distance between them closing in an instant. While the speed of his charge wouldn't be possible for a normal person to dodge, it was still extremely slow for someone as powerful as Acqua. Acqua side stepped him and swung his ice mace, surrounded by water, horizontally at Accelerator's chest. Accelerator was barely able to register the speed of the blow and just manage to move his hands in front of his chest. The blow hit him directly, and this time, it did not immediately move in the opposite direction. A fierce battle was being waged, during fractions of a second, between their exchange.
F^&% THIS! Accelerator roared in his head as he felt himself collide with an enormous amount of the unknown magical vectors. He wanted to just deflect the blow with his basic reflection formula, but he would not be able to. The vectors in the magical attack seemed to be going in every direction simultaneously, while the attack as a whole moved at him. As he found out before, trying to reflect a magic attack like a normal physical attack would cause unknown results. It could explode, go a random direction, or possibly keep moving in the same direction. His normal reflection calculations were causing the sheer number of magic vectors to go in random direction, and some where being forced back at him. He couldn't develop a formula to reflect them all since he needed to calculate the direction of the original vector and then how he wanted to change it. Right now, that was impossible. He felt his body began to get impacted, as a percentage of the unknown vectors collided into his body. He had to do something he never had to do before.
He retreated from the attack.
Accelerator couldn't remember the last time he retreated form a fight. If someone else got involved, he would make them leave, but he always stayed to fight. This time, he used his vector powers to move in the same direction of the blow to give him more time as he tried to understand how the magic vectors worked. While he was getting to the point he could redirect most of the vectors away from him, a fair number of them were still getting through. The part of the blow hit him as he used his ability to fly backwards. He couldn't resist gasping slightly, as he felt himself being pulverized in the stomach. He flew about twenty feet into the air and was able to land on his feet for a moment. Then he fell onto his knees and held a hand up to his mouth as he felt himself on the urge of vomiting from the blow. A small amount of blood trickled out of the side of his mouth. Damn this magic crap. He got to his feet and glared at Acqua. He wasn't use to feeling a lot of pain due to his ability, but over the last year, he has had a lot more experience with it. "Arg magic sure is a pain," he said trying to keep his calm demeanor, but all hints of the self-confidence he had was gone, something Acqua did not fail to notice.
"You seem to now realize the difference in our strength," Acqua said holding out his ice mace and pointing it at Accelerator. "You and the Saint of the Far East are no match for me. I will give you the option of telling me where the Imagine Breaker is and getting out of my way. If you do, you both may live. This is the last time I will give you this opportunity." He actually had another reason of giving them a chance to surrender this time. When he struck with the mace, he could feel his hold on my magic weakening the longer it remained in contact with Accelerator. He was dispersing my magic with his redirect, but it seems incomplete. I rather not draw this out if possible. He is a threat and if I did not have my mission priority, I would kill him now before he masters that ability.
"Not happening Acqua," Kaori said raising her sword in front of her. "Thanks for giving me a chance to catch my breath Accelerator."
"That guy's after the f#$%*^ hero?" Accelerator asked angrily and Kaori nodded. So that's why those two were fighting. I can't let him meet the hero for whatever reason this a$$hole has. "Guess I can't let you go with just a warning. I'll take you down with a single touch." He didn't like the fact on what he was getting forced to do, but normal methods were not working. It was unusual for him to fight someone who could give him trouble like this.
"Were you not able to understand with that last exchange?" Acqua asked. "Here I thought you were intelligent. I will end this charade with my next attack." More water began to flow around his mace like a vortex as he gathered power. I will also create a backup plan in case they survive. Kaori could feel the immense power gathering in his blade, but missed the water beginning to flow behind him.
"I can block his next attack," Kaori whispered to Accelerator. "Your attack patterns are sloppy, but it appears like you just need to touch him for your attack to stop him?"
"Yes," Accelerator answered, slightly pissed at her remark. "His speed is annoying. Stop him for a moment and I'll end this fight."
"Ok," Kaori said taking a couple steps forward. She didn't know what he was going to do, but he had already demonstrated his power. She knew she couldn't take Acqua alone, so she was left with no option but to team up with him, and trust Accelerator could stop Acqua. She moved her eyes over Acqua's face and noticed he did not appear concerned about fighting both of them. She bent her knees automatically when she saw his muscles twitch. Acqua vanished from sight and she felt his presence behind them. She turned and swung her blade at the ice mace. She still wasn't at her peak condition and could not block it directly. Instead, she swung the blade upwards to knock the mace over their heads. She then saw, out of the corner of her eye, the ground explode and Accelerator lunging at Acqua. Acqua noticed him too and used high speed gliding movement to avoid his touch.
Acqua knew they were trying to get Accelerator to hit him, but did not know why. So his name is Accelerator. If he touches me and redirects my body, it would just send me flying backwards. There has to be more to it than that. I will just avoid him and crush the Saint first. He dodged the sloppy attack from Accelerator and swung an overhead attack with his ice mace down towards Kaori. She side stepped it to conserve her strength and delivered a swipe with her blade at his side. He moved back to avoid the blow by a fraction of an inch, and then brought his mace diagonally upwards to crush her body. Right before his mace collided with Kaori, he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. A rock came flying directly at his face and he had to lean back to avoid it. During that brief second, Kaori manage to duck under his blow. He glanced downwards and saw Kaori directly below him. She swung her blade, now glowing, at him and his first instinct was to move backwards as a bright blue light came out of her blade.
Yuisen.
It was Kaori Kanzaki's ultimate attack. It was an attack which infused her sword with powerful magic, giving her the capability to harm even angels. She never would use this attack lightly. She would only use this attack when necessary and normally only when a defeat was guaranteed. The bright blue light from her blade moved toward Acqua's chest and, at the same time, he spun his body and brought the mace between them as he retreated with his gliding movement. Their two weapons collided. The mace was consolidated with Acqua's strength and Kaori's sword was empowered by her magic focused as a single blade. Kaori was blown back by the explosion that followed, and Acqua's ice mace shattered, but he kept his footing. Whether it was because his power was greater to avoid the backlash, or his strength kept him standing, it did not matter. What mattered was the flash of light form Kaori's blade, and the pieces of ice flying in all direction. Acqua was temporarily blinded and did not see the pale hand reaching toward him until it was too late to dodge. He also saw the red eyes filled with determination and something else as the hand grabbed his wrist.
Hatred at himself.
A moment later, Acqua's body was wracked with pain as his blood circulation was reversed and he collapsed.
Kaori had no idea what Accelerator had planned. All she saw after being blown away was Accelerator grabbing Acqua's wrist. A moment later, Acqua collapsed. She opened her mouth to call out to Accelerator, when she stopped and jumped forward to help support him. Accelerator had staggered, held up a hand to his mouth, and looked sick. She helped him walk away and said, "You did it, but what did you do?" She didn't think Accelerator would kill Acqua, but the way he laid their motionless was not a good sign for him.
"I reversed his blood circulation," Accelerator replied simply. Every time I use that I always think of the level six experiments. It doesn't get easier, even against freaks like Pride and Acqua. It was mentally taxing on his mind because of his past and it made him weak and nauseous.
"So he's dead?" Kaori asked cautiously. As part of the magic side, she didn't have full knowledge of biology, but she was pretty sure changing the blood flow would kill someone. Her body was in severe pain from taking the blow from Acqua, but she didn't show it. She knew if the fight lasted much longer, her body would probably collapse if she tried to block two or three more blows.
"The only person who ever survived it was immortal," Accelerator replied shrugging. He was going to leave and Kaori was going to take Acqua's body back to the church when they both stopped. They heard the slight whisper of clothes from behind them. They turned around and couldn't do anything but stare in shock, as Acqua slowly stood back up to his feet. His eyes were no longer bored or curious. They were filled with excitement and a hint of pain.
"It has been ages since someone could hurt me this bad," Acqua stated as he stared at Accelerator. "I can feel all my blood moving in the opposite direction. So your power allows you to change directions of anything you touch. I see why you were so confident early on. It was warranted. But I have a mission and will not fall to something like this." The water on the ground rose back up into the air and started to surround him. While he may have been in pain, he still radiated the unbreakable aura of strength.
"What the hell are you?" Accelerator asked completely shell shocked. People can't survive with their blood flow reversed. Half of their blood vessels can't handle the change in pressure caused by the change in direction. To him, this shouldn't be happening. Pride was one thing, as he had a mark giving him immortality, but the man before him was just strong, and still appeared to be human. But after what Acqua said, Accelerator had to believe he was still alive and his blood was just moving in the opposite direction.
"I am a Saint," Acqua explained, his voice calm and powerful. "My body is similar to the Son of God's. A Saint's body is much more powerful than a normal person's. I also wield the Divine Mother's Mercy to weaken any punishment. Your attack may have worked, but it is not enough to stop me."
"Damn this guy," Kaori muttered and moved her sword in attack position.
"After I kill both of you," Acqua continued. "I will travel into London and find the owner of the Imagine Breaker. Afterwards, I will kill him and take his hand. If any of the other members from Academy City or the Anglican Church try to stop me, they will be killed too. I gave you the opportunity to surrender and live, but you refused on multiple occasions. If you had just given me the boy, none of this would have happened."
"What the f$%^ did you say?" Accelerator said as he snapped out of his shock when Acqua explained his plans. His eye's had narrowed in anger and his hand made a fist.
Ruiko was pacing back and forth in her hotel room, while Kazari watched her as she sat on the bed. Last Order had bounced around the room for a while, annoyed she was stuck inside, but then just stared out of the window. No matter how hard Ruiko tried to get information out of any of the nuns, they were all tight lipped and told her nothing. Many of them apologized and said they were under orders not to talk about it. Ruiko had a good idea of who they were referring too. "I can't take it anymore," she cried holding her hands on her head. "We are the only ones who have no idea what is going on. It's been ages and still nothing."
"I feel the same way," Kazari said depressed, and Ruiko could tell she was really nervous because her hands were shaking on her lap. She had the TV on, but wasn't really watching it. Kazari had her phone next to her and was constantly glancing at it to see if she had any new messages. "But there really isn't much we can do. Neither of our abilities are really combat oriented and we don't know anything about magic."
"There has to be something we could help with though," Ruiko complained. She felt the same way, but sitting in silence just made her feel worse, so talking about anything was better. "Do you see anyone we know yet Last Order?"
"No MISAKA sighs as MISAKA stares intently down at the parking lot."
"What are you watching?" Ruiko asked Kazari trying to keep the conversation going.
"Oh I'm not sure," Kazari said uninterestedly reaching for the remote. Ruiko sat down next to her and started watching some teenagers at school. As they didn't know all the English sitcoms, it could have been any of them. They briefly discussed trying to reach the others, but decided against it. If someone was in hiding, their phone might give them away. Ruiko went out and checked the hallways a couple more times to try to talk to any of the nuns, but she still got nothing. Eventually, they got some good news.
"MISAKA sees people MISAKA cries as MISAKA notices familiar faces." Both Kazari and Ruiko jumped up from the bed and ran to the window and looked down. A car had pulled up and they saw Itsuwa, Shizuri, Frenda, Saiai, Rikou, and Worst emerge from it. A couple nuns led everyone except for Itsuwa into the building. Itsuwa had stopped and was conversing with a couple guys who wore normal casual clothes instead of church uniforms.
"Whew," Kazari said slightly relieved. "It's good that they got out ok."
"I don't think they will tell us what is going on though," Ruiko said sighing. "They are a little…" She decided not to say the world she was thinking. "Anyway, the church still seems to be evacuating people, so I bet everyone else is on route." She said it to cheer up Kazari, but it was also to make herself more confident.
"Yea," Kazari agreed in a slightly more positive tone. "So that makes almost half our group here now. I bet we hear from the others soon." They waited a moment and opened their door when they heard Shizuri and her friends storming down the hall. Storming was really the right world as Shizuri was complaining angrily about what happened and how she wanted to shoot the hotel down. Last Order pushed past them and joined up with Worst. While Worst made some snarky remark and retreated into her room, Last Order was not deterred and followed her.
"What's happening?" Ruiko asked as they got near. "They aren't telling us anything."
"Oh it's you," Shizuri said looking at her disinterestedly and then started to walk past. "They are just evacuating everyone out of the city. But then she tries to give me some bullshit about people using magic. Magic doesn't exist."
"Well," Ruiko said hesitantly. "What they call magic has been described to us as abilities that follow different rules."
"Wait," Shizuri said as stopped and focused on Ruiko. Ruiko felt sweat form on her forehead under her stare. "Go on."
"Basically," Frenda said. "Tell us everything you know about this magic."
"I'm super interested in it too," Saiai added. Rikou blinked, but see seemed to focus on Ruiko.
"I don't know a lot either," Ruiko confessed as she remembered the conversation on the bus a while ago. "But from what I heard. Magic is like our abilities, except it is based on ideas rather than an individual. It allows them to have a broader range of powers, but to use them, but they have to use certain structures and rules outside of an individual. They can't use it as efficiently as we can. I don't know much more." She looked over at Kazari and she shrugged.
"We would have to ask Jason when he gets here if we want to know more," Kazari added.
"I wanted to talk to him privately anyways," Shizuri said cracking her knuckles. "Now I just have another reason to." Both Ruiko and Kazari looked at each other in surprise. Neither of them knew what Shizuri was talking about, but they both felt sorry for Jason. They knew Shizuri wasn't the nicest person around.
"Did you hear about anyone else?" Frenda asked Ruiko and Kazari. They shook their heads.
"They aren't telling us anything," Kazari sighed. "What about you?"
"I think they mentioned everyone had not been evacuated yet," Saiai said crossing her arms and thinking. "The fifth stayed behind because we couldn't all fit in the car."
"Shokuhou-san is still out there alone?" Ruiko asked gasping slightly.
"She's fine," Shizuri said in a bored tone. "I know what she's like."
"She's a level five," Frenda added nodding her head. "Basically, she can handle herself. I bet she found someone to take her outside the city."
"I don't really care," Shizuri said stretching and started walking to her room. "Let me know if you here about Kamijou or Accelerator. If Accelerator loses to someone, I'll treat everyone to a meal." She entered her room and the door closed behind her.
"She super knows that won't happen," Saiai said in an almost admiring tone. Something Ruiko did not miss.
"Oh?" she said grinning. "Sounds like someone may have a crush on him."
"What?" Saiai asked surprised. "Who said that?"
"She does," Frenda added grinning. "Basically, she liked him ever since she challenged him to a fight and lost." Saiai's face turned red and Frenda was finally glad she got revenge after all the times Saiai made fun of her and Touma.
"Oh yea," Saiai said evilly. "Frenda's in love with Kamijou."
"Don't tell them that!"
"You super started it!"
"…Good luck both of you…" Rikou said speaking up at last. When everyone stared at her, she left and went into their room after Shizuri. Frenda and Saiai started arguing as they followed Rikou. They all seemed to have completely forgotten about Ruiko and Kazari.
"Well that wasn't as informative as I hoped," Ruiko sighed as they went back into their room. They left the door open in case someone else they knew arrived. Itsuwa still had not come up.
"You might have some competition though," Kazari said feebly as she attempted a joke. Even though the situation was dire, she understood jokes could make people feel better in stressful times.
"That's not important right now," Ruiko said slightly embarrassed. "If they got here ok, everyone else should be back soon too." They sat down on the bed feeling slightly better. Once they had proof their group were being evacuated, it raised their spirits. They started watching the TV, actually paying attention to it this time, but they would constantly shoot glances at the clock or their phones. When they heard footsteps coming down the hall, they bolted toward the door way and looked out.
Stiyl was walking down the hall, looking serious, with Itsuwa closely behind him. Behind them were three more people, a blonde girl they didn't know, and two other nuns. The blonde girl had her hands tied up behind her and she didn't look happy either. Stiyl stopped and looked at them. "Which one of you is Kazari Uiharu again?" Ruiko and Kazari shared a surprised look.
"I am," Kazari said nervously stepping out into the hallway.
"Here," he said handing her a letter. "This is from Kagere. I believe the information in that letter will be of use for all of us. It is addressed to you and encoded." Kazari looked at him, slightly suspicious as he appeared to have opened it, and hastily opened the letter. Ruiko leaned her head over Kazari's shoulders and read it too.
Kazari,
I can't say everything I want to, in case Floris is captured or just decides to run off on her own. I'm not sure how reliable of a courier she is right now. Anyway, I plan to escape the city and meet up with everyone. If this letter reaches you, it means the meet up location is still under church control. I'm setting up something big in London before I leave so I won't be answering my phone. Below is information I hope you will know what to do with.
I believe in you,
Jason
Below it were some random numbers and then a combination of letters and numbers. Ruiko was confused. She was glad Jason was alright, but she didn't know what he was talking about. "What does he mean? Uiharu?" Kazari had remained silent as she read the letter. Ruiko noticed her head was scrunched slightly indicating she was thinking.
"Do you understand what that code means?" Stiyl asked.
"We are hoping he was trying to find a way to help us," Itsuwa explained. "We figured it must be some science code. Floris here," she indicated the blonde girl, "delivered the letter from him. She was part of the magic cabal that helped the princess start her coup. She was under suspicion when she arrived, but Jason wrote us a letter asking her to be let in." Ruiko noticed a slight grin appeared on her face while Stiyl's face looked irritated.
"He said that letter would get me out of trouble," Floris grumbled. "I'm just glad that he," she nodded toward Stiyl," didn't try too hard to fry me. Is that what the boy meant by Flaming Mage?" Stiyl grimaced for a second and looked like he wanted to burn someone. The nuns took Floris back downstairs since it appeared she did not know anything else.
"I think I have an idea," Kazari said slowly. "I have to check first." She quickly went into her room and grabbed her laptop. She sat on the bed and started typing. Ruiko, Stiyl, and Itsuwa entered the room behind her and stared at the screen. Ruiko was getting a headache as she watched the screens and information flash on the screen. Kazari's eyes were moving back and forth so fast, they were almost a blur. There was silence for a while, as Kazari kept trying different things and no one wanted to interrupt her. Suddenly, the screen changed to what appeared to be a camera view, looking at a deserted road. "Finally got it. He sent an address and password for me to access remotely. I think he created a transceiver for us to hack into London's security camera network. I have access to one and I should be able to start connecting into others. If I had more computers, we could do this faster." She kept a hand on her computer to prevent it from overheating. Her ability allowed her to control temperature to a point and with her abilities on computers, they tended to overheat quickly.
"Excellent," Stiyl said looking impressed at the empty street on the screen. For the first time, his face had something else besides a serious or annoyed expression. "The princess would most likely start to rely on magical means to watch the city now that the civilians are rounded up and detained. We wouldn't be able to send spies into the city, because she should be able to track individuals who can refine mana. I can't believe that guy thought that far ahead, or he's just lucky. Itsuwa," he said turning to her. "Go find a couple more computers and set them up. She can get us access, and then have it all monitored. We need to see what the princess's plan is and her troop's movements."
"Understood," she said and left the room.
"Have you heard anything about our other friends?" Ruiko asked after Itsuwa left. "No one's told us anything about them. If Uiharu is helping you, then you should be able to tell us the status of our friends." Ruiko was determined to find out and Kazari's eyes widened at her tone. She, of course, agreed with Ruiko and looked up at Stiyl with determination too.
Stiyl stared at both of them and sighed. "Fine," he grumbled. "Agnese is bringing two of them with her. She reported she had Misaka and Shokuhou. The one girl who teleported from the bus is still unaccounted for and so is Kagere."
"I knew she shouldn't have run off," Kazari sighed and she was afraid Kuroko might have gotten in trouble.
"What about Touma and Index?" asked Ruiko.
"They have…" Stiyl said and paused. The pause was only for a moment, but both Ruiko and Kazari had a terrible feeling in the pit of their stomachs. "Been captured by Princess Carissa and are being held hostage. We believe they have been taken to Buckingham Palace."
"What?!" they both cried and surprisingly a third girl's voice came from the doorway. Frenda had quietly been eavesdropping on them.
"Is there a plan to save them?" Kazari asked immediately.
"Not at this time," Stiyl explained. "The princess controls too many forces in London for us to attack directly. Plus, they are all infused with the power of Curtana Original. She also has Knight Leader, who is virtually a one man army. If we attacked directly, we would suffer untold casualties. The situation does not look good. It is the reason the information Kagere sent will be useful. We might find a weakness we can exploit."
"That idiot got himself captured?" Shizuri asked in a cool voice from the hallway. She had suddenly appeared "I suppose we can lend a hand." Stiyl looked back at her and wondered once again how Touma was able to attract so many girls.
Touma and Index were silent the rest of the ride. It wasn't like they didn't try to get answers, but the two knights who replaced Knight Leader were not conversationalists and Carissa appeared distracted on her phone. She was constantly checking with different knight divisions, as they searched for her sisters and her mother. Touma had tried to convince her she should change her plans, but she just ignored him, most of the time she didn't even acknowledge his words. At some point, he realized she didn't have anything more to say to him and he fell silent. He looked at Index who was lying down on the seat next to him moaning slightly in hunger. If we don't get somewhere soon and get her something to eat, she's going to pass out.
His needs were met about five minutes later as the car stopped. The door opened and Carissa got out first. The other two knights flanked Touma as he half dragged Index out of the limo. It was pretty difficult with his hands bound. He looked around and saw they had arrived in front of Buckingham Palace. Carissa turned to look at him. "You two will be escorted to a holding room until I call for you. It would be unwise to try to escape."
"Can we at least get some food for Index," Touma asked. "She's about to pass out from hunger." Carissa didn't answer or even appear to acknowledge his question. Instead, she turned around and entered the palace. Touma felt one of the knights push him in the back, telling him to move, and he and Index followed Carissa. When they entered the palace, they were lead down a different magnificent hallway from Carissa and into a large room. The room wasn't as elaborately decorated as the main meeting room they had been in earlier that day, but it wasn't empty. There were three couches by each wall and a large circular table in the middle surrounded by chairs. There were paintings on the wall and a large gold chandelier was suspended over their head. Marble columns stood in each corner
"Touma…" Index said weakly. "Need food…" Touma turned to the two knights.
"Can we please get her something to eat?" he asked again. Neither of the knights answered him and closed the door, leaving him alone with Index. . Touma wasn't sure what to think about their situation. He had expected the knights to lock him in a prison cell, not a fancy waiting room. Index dragged herself to a couch and laid down while Touma paced around the room. He knocked on the walls and moved the paintings slightly. He had hoped the room would have been something like the video games he played, where castles always have a secret escape path. He found nothing, and then threw himself on a couch feeling useless. He looked over at Index. "Did you find out anything about the Fallen before you were brought here?" Touma asked Index. He figured there wasn't much else they could do but talk. He was pretty sure the room was bugged, so all he wanted to do was catch up on what Index had found when she was with Carissa.
"Eve is definitely not a magic god," Index told him. "So I believe Adam isn't either. Their unknown power comes from Christian base magic, but they distorted it with a couple of different core beliefs and practices. It is possible they might be able to communicate with Lucifer directly to gather lost knowledge. We were going to examine another location, but then she received Curtana and knocked me out."
"That sounds bad," Touma said, slightly angry at Carissa having Index knocked out. While he didn't understand magic bases, the fact their power came from a former Archangel was not at all reassuring. "I hate being stuck in this room," he burst out suddenly and punched a wall. All that did was cause him to hurt his hand. "We should be out there helping end this coup before people get hurt. We can't let Carissa kill her family members."
"You shouldn't say her name so casually," a male voice remarked, as the door opened simultaneously with Touma's outburst. A muscular man in his thirties with short brown hair entered the room. He did not wear armor and instead wore a suit. It wasn't as fancy as Knight Leaders, but it was several steps above any suit Touma had owned. "If you continue to do so, people might think there is something going on between you two."
"Who are you?" Touma asked, as he instantly raised his guard and ignored the last comment. The voice sounded familiar, but he could not remember where.
"Don't you remember me?" the man asked smiling slightly as he stepped into the room. "It hasn't been that long and we even fought side by side. You timing was rather convenient."
"AH!" Touma yelled pointing as those words jolted his memory. "You were one of the knights accompanying her."
"Yes," he acknowledged, then turned serious. "My name is George Clarke, one of the knights directly under Princess Carissa, and I am here because I need to talk to you."
"About?"
"Several things," George started to say, but then he motioned for someone at the door to enter. A maid walked into the room and was pushing a cart with a plate of sandwiches on it. Index raised her head at the smell of food and immediately lunged at it from the couch, stuffing her face with three sandwiches at a time. The maid looked shocked at her reaction and quickly excused herself. "I was told you had requested food. I hope this shows I do not have any ill intentions."
"Yea," Touma said looking at the sight of Index devouring the food. He wasn't that hungry, but Index had to eat all the time for some reason. He never learned why her stomach was like a black hole. "So what do you want?" He was still suspicious.
"First," George said as he sat down in a chair and Touma sat across the table from him. "I came to tell you what is going to happen to you. I bet you can tell you are not getting a normal treatment for a prisoner. In fact, it is very unusual for the princess to bring anyone back to the palace, even if she has to talk to them."
"I did notice that," Touma admitted. "I thought it was because Index was too valuable to her to just leave somewhere."
"That is part of it," he acknowledged. "But there is more. You see, Princess Carissa is quite prideful, but she respects brave and strong individuals. When you rushed out to help us, even if she believed you didn't need to, she respected that. I believe she kept you here, not only to keep Index Librorum Prohibitorum from trying to escape by having her friend here, but to also protect you."
"Protect?" Touma asked incredulously and almost laughed from the ridiculousness of the statement. "You can't be serious."
"Protect might be a bit of a strong word," amended George. "Maybe, keeping you from battle would be a better choice of words."
"Huh?"
"You see," George explained. "Your hand is powerful, as you are well aware. The Anglican Church is in a desperate situation right now. They would use any means at their disposal to destroy Curtana Original and defeat Princess Carissa, including you. If she met you on the battlefield, she most likely would be forced to kill you. I believe she wishes to avoid that situation."
"Do you think my hand could destroy something as powerful as the Curtana Original?" Touma asked.
"If you touched it directly," Index piped up. "I believe it would. Trying to negate the Telesma she is feeding to the knights wouldn't affect it at all though." Touma nodded in thanks for the explanation and turned back to George.
"What you say makes sense," Touma admitted to George. "But that doesn't explain why she put us in a fancy room like this instead of a prison cell. She doesn't seem like the kind of person to treat captives differently, regardless of their status."
"I have to agree," George said while closing his eyes, crossing his arms, and nodding. "She does seem to be treating you two special, even for helping her out without being forced to. I expected her to have you held at another location. The palace is bit of overkill." He looked up and stared at Touma for a moment. "What are you to her?" he asked suddenly
"What?" Touma asked shocked. "I haven't done anything to warrant an attention of a princess. There is no way something like that could happen. I tried to stop one of the magic cabal members from delivering Curtana, but she succeeded. There was no opportunity to raise any flags. I left immediately after helping you two fight the Fallen guys."
"Tooouuummmaaaa," Index hissed dangerously and Touma felt and saw the dark aura seep from her body.
"Judging by her actions," George said thoughtfully, more to himself then Touma. "While she is not going to let it affect her plans, which is a sign of a good leader. But, I believe she might be harboring some kind of admiration for you."
"Are you serious?" Touma asked with his mouth agape. He was too stunned to notice the extremely dangerous girl behind him.
"TOUMA!" Index cried angrily and jumped at him, sinking her sharp teeth into his head.
"Index!" Touma yelled in pain trying to get her off of him. "Stop biting me! There's no way she could have any feelings for me!"
"Stop… flirting…with… girls!" Index yelled at him between bites. George watched their interactions with a small amount of amusement on his face, until Touma finally got Index off his head. George stood up and stretched, aware Touma was glaring at him, and then sat back down.
"I did not mean to cause any strife," he apologized, but Touma still saw the glint of amusement in his eyes.
"Did you just say that stuff to try to get me on her side?" Touma asked suspiciously. "There's no reason to try to lie to me. I'm not going to give you any information on my friends."
"I'm not either," Index added defiantly.
"It would be easier if that was indeed the case," George sighed and Touma felt a small bit of pity towards him. He realized being a knight under Carissa's command was probably not the easiest task. He saw the way she acted in combat and when strategizing. She was strong and smart, but carried out her strategy ruthlessly and efficiently. Touma also realized she probably did not accept any sort of failure. The knights, who lost track of the Queen and the other princesses, were probably not in the best condition. "Anyway," George continued. "If she isn't, everything will be easier. If she is," he looked at Touma, "I feel sorry for you kid." Touma felt a shiver run down his spine and realized George was simply warning him from man to man.
"Thanks," Touma said thinking George was a pretty good person.
"It is the least I can do," he said standing up. "I am in charge of your security till the princess comes back. Please do not attempt to escape. The guards outside were told to stop you by any means necessary and I don't want this to get violent. If you need me, tell the guards by the door." He left and gave them one last smile. "Seriously though, I feel sorry for you."
"Wait!" Touma called out a moment before George grabbed the handle.
"Yes?"
"Do you really support what Carissa is doing?" Touma asked. "You seem like a good guy. Can you really get behind her when she's trying to kill the Queen and her sisters?"
"You should address her more formally," George told him again. "As a knight, my duty is toward this country and the ruler. Princess Carissa is the one chosen my Curtana."
"You didn't answer my question," Touma interjected while Index watched them. "Do you support what she is doing?" George did not answer him, or even look him in the eye, and left the room. Touma realized things were just going to get worse, long before there was a chance they could get better.
Kuroko's eyes could not see everything that happened. One moment, she and Jason were staring at the man who called himself Knight Leader, the next, Jason had shoved her with his shadow and Knight Leader disappeared. Jason had been hit, thrown a good five feet, and collided into a nearby tree. She had been pushed just out of his reach or she would have had the same outcome as Jason. She instinctively teleported backwards and when Jason stood back up, she teleported next to him. His speed is as fast as my teleportation. How are we going to fight a monster like that? She glanced at Jason who seemed to be back to normal and his shadow spun around him. "Do you have a plan?" she whispered.
"Run as soon as you get a chance," Jason muttered unusually serious. Kuroko didn't hear any of the humorous tone he always used when speaking to her. "I might be able to hold him off while you escape."
"You got to be kidding," she whispered back. "I can't just abandon someone. Is he that powerful?"
"You have no idea how much Telesma he has," Jason replied dryly.
"You know I can hear everything you are saying," Knight Leader said conversationally, but seemed to be willing to let them finish their conversation. "Escape is quite impossible. If you surrender, you will not be harmed. If you resist, I will use force." There was not a trace of emotion on his face. He did not see them as any sort of threat. That might have been the reason why he didn't just attack and incapacitate them.
"Yea right," Kuroko replied disdainfully. "Like we can trust you." Kuroko noticed a longsword on his hip, but he didn't seem to have any intention to draw it.
"I never asked you to trust me," Knight Leader pointed out. "I told you the two possible outcomes of our meeting."
"Well," Jason said trying to smirk, but it was obviously strained. "I always liked to choose the option not given." One of his shadow tendrils extended at high speeds and the end seemed to sharpen, like a sword. It slashed across Knight Leader's chest. Well it would have, there was a slight afterimage as Knight Leader disappeared and the shadow blade passed harmlessly through the air. Knight Leader reappeared right behind him and reached out a hand. Two more shadow blades spun around Jason and made slashing motions at Knight Leader, but he just disappeared and reappeared back in front of Jason. Knight Leader pulled back his fist to deliver a punch to Jason's gut when Jason disappeared a second before his fist connected.
Knight Leader looked around and located Kuroko grabbing Jason's arm fifty feet away. Jason glanced over at Kuroko and muttered thanks. "That did not appear to be speed," Knight Leader said looking at Kuroko. "You appear to be able to instantaneously move from one point to another and can take others with you. That is a most interesting ability. I assume those spikes you hold in your hand are a weapon you can use with it. Your power," he said turning to Jason, "is just like the reports. You have a shadow that appears to absorb Telesma. You also radiate mana, which leads me to believe you can use magic." His eyes moved between them as he examined both of them. "How did I do?"
Both Kuroko and Jason were stunned. Knight Leader only saw their abilities for a moment, and already analyzed them to that extent. Kuroko saw him move at speeds she couldn't possibly defend against and held her spikes tightly in her sweaty hand. I guess I have to try to hit him directly. But with that speed, trying to aim is going to be really tough. She looked over at Jason. His face looked surprised, but she saw his forehead narrowed slightly and she could tell he was thinking about his next step. "Can you slow him down for a moment?" she asked quietly.
"I can try," Jason replied, but she could hear the uncertainty in his voice. "If it was just speed, I might be able to handle it. I have fought those types before. The problem is he also has incredible strength too. My shadow won't be able to keep up with him, but I have a couple other things I can try if I can hit him. I hope you can take advantage of the opportunity."
"Who do you think I am?" Kuroko asked. "Give me an opening and I'll use it." Jason nodded and started walking toward Knight Leader, who raised an eyebrow in interest. Jason's shadow started circling around him like a vortex in strands five feet away. He took a couple more steps, and then started to dash at Knight Leader. His speed was only around a normal athletic person's, so it was like standing still to someone like Knight Leader. Two shadow swords emerged form Jason's sleeves as he ran towards him. They extended while circling around Knight Leader and, as they started to close in on him, he disappeared and the shadow vortex around Jason shattered under Knight Leader's strength. Knight Leader broke though the shadow vortex simply by plowing straight through it, and his fist lifted Jason up into the air. Jason gasped in pain as the wind was knocked out of him. He was thrown several feet into the air and landed with a thud. Knight Leader took a couple steps towards him and Kuroko saw Jason grin.
Shadows erupted from the ground around Knight Leader's foot and rooted him to the ground. At the same time, several others tendrils flew at him and started wrapping around his body. The shadows started to merge and his lower half was completely covered by darkness. Knight Leader looked down at his legs and then looked at Jason. "Did you think this was enough to stop me?" he asked. "Your shadow may steal Telesma, but you can only take a drop of it from the sea if power I wield." All he had to do was take a single step and the shadow shattered like glass and disappeared. Knight Leader took another step as he looked down at Jason. "You overestimate yourself."
"'My curse sends you into the endless abyss," Jason muttered, as he pointed at Knight Leader.
For a moment Knight Leader stopped while his eyes closed, and Kuroko thought for a minute it worked. Then Knight Leader opened his eyes and a smile stretched across his face. "That almost worked," he said slightly impressed. "I am glad you are giving it your all. I almost fell asleep, but my mind is far stronger than a cheap trick like that. Curtana is protecting me and strengthening my resolve." Knight Leader walked up, stopped next to Jason, and looked down at him. He reached a hand down to pick him up and he stopped, but the action wasn't his choice.
Every major joint in his arms and legs had a metal spike embedded in it.
Kuroko took the opportunity during the second Knight Leader let his guard down. Jason's ability and magic had failed, and Knight Leader was going to capture him. She teleported next to Jason, grabbed his hand, and then teleported them away from Knight Leader. "You ok?" she asked Jason.
"You cut that kind of close," grumbled Jason. "I'm healed back up, but I still remember the pain."
"I had to make sure he wouldn't suddenly move out of the way," Kuroko huffed. "I knew you would keep him occupied." They turned to look at Knight Leader and Kuroko's mouth fell open. Knight Leader was moving and pulling the needles out of his body. "How is he doing that? He shouldn't be able to move his joints with those needles in it."
"Damn," Jason yelled running toward Knight Leader, as his shadow erupted around him. "He's controlling the Telesma to force his body to move. Take him down before he is back to full strength." Jason lunged at Knight Leader and swung a shadow blade at him, who only had an arm free. Knight Leader looked up and with that one arm, drew his sword and swung it at speeds Jason could not see. His shadow blade was blown away and a deep wound appeared on his chest. Jason staggered backwards with bright red blood erupting from him and soaking the remains of his shirt.
"Jason!" Kuroko yelled in panic, as she teleported to him. She grabbed him and teleported them both out of range from Knight Leader. "Shit, there's a lot of blood." However, she calmed down as the wound began to close. "How…?"
"Curse of Pride," Jason said standing up straight. "It gives me high speed regenerative abilities. I'll explain it all later, but nice of you to call me by my first name." He looked at her and then at Knight Leader who had finished pulling the rest of the needles out of his body. He crushed them all in his hand and let the small metal ball of needle remains fall to the ground. Jason looked Knight Leader up and down and didn't see any blood from where the needles had been stuck. His regenerative abilities must be strengthened by the Telesma too. This his eyes traveled to the longsword Knight Leader held in his hand. Kuroko noticed it too.
"What is that?" she asked nervously pointing to the sword, ignoring Jason's attempt at comedy. The longsword Knight Leader had carried on his hip was no longer looked to be gray steel. Instead, it was deep red and the surface looked rough. As they watched, the surface bubbled. The bubbling was not mealy a result caused by a chemical reaction. Some of the bubbles were about the size of basketballs. Then hundreds of those large bubbles, wider than the sword itself, appeared and started to merge. His longsword grew until it was over three meters long. It was a sinister, slightly curved blade.
"This is not good," Jason remarked.
"I underestimated your power," Knight Leader said stretching out his arm and holding the sword perpendicular to his body. "I figured your power could transmit items directly into a person's body, but I did not realize you could bypass all of my defensive spells. I made a mistake, but this will be the only time. You wasted your one chance of a surprise attack. You should have aimed for my vitals instead of trying just to incapacitate me. This sword is known as Hrunting. Do you know it?" Kuroko shook her head, but Jason spoke up.
"I think I remember reading something about that," Jason said slowly. "It was the sword used by Beowulf and would become stronger as it was stained with the blood of enemies."
"Correct," Knight Leader said. "I substitute the Telesma I receive from the princess in place of blood. Though, the blood it received from you only fueled it more. It is quite useful in defeating foes with unusually powerful regenerative abilities." Jason felt a shiver run down his spine as he realized Knight Leader was referring to him. Also, the sword gave him a bad feeling.
Just leave the girl behind. You can get away.
Shut up. "Spread out," Jason whispered. "If we are to close, he can get us both at once." Kuroko nodded and teleported about ten feet away. He didn't know everything the sword could do, but Knight Leader was already overwhelmingly strong without it.
"A wise plan," Knight Leader said. "But futile, Movement Speed." He vanished and the last thing Jason felt was a slight wind behind him before Knight Leader's sword plunged into his back and through his chest. The sword's momentum knocked him forward and he fell onto the ground. Knight Leader grabbed the handle of the sword, and pushed it down, virtually staking Jason into the ground.
"AHHHHHHH!" Jason yelled in pain, and then went silent.
"JASON!" Kuroko screamed again. She wanted to go help him, but stopped when Knight Leader looked at her. She froze under the strength of his gaze. The pressure Knight Leader emitted wasn't something a normal person could bare. Kuroko may have been a skilled ability user and fighter, but her experience had not prepared her for this. What kind of guy would stab a student with a sword without any hesitation? Knight Leader started walking toward her, not fast or slow, but at his own pace. He knew he had won.
"I had fought individuals who could regenerate so fast, it was as if they were immortal," Knight Leader said to Jason, before he started walking toward Kuroko. "You were no different. Now I will capture the girl and take you both back to the Princess."
"Get away from her," Jason growled, but he was unable to move. He could feel his wounds healing, but his strength was leaving his body as fast as he gained it back. Is that damn sword draining my blood as fast as the mark is regenerating? Jason didn't know enough about this artifact to be able to accurately examine it, but it appeared that was the case.
Kuroko's eyes darted back and forth from Knight Leader, Jason, and her surroundings. She was hoping to find anything to use as a weapon, since she had used up her metal needles trying to stop Knight Leader before. She picked up a rock and took a couple steps back as Knight Leader approached her. "Drop it," Knight Leader ordered her. "You are not someone who is experienced in killing others. As soon as you try to move that item at me, I will kill you. Drop it."
"Take that sword out of him," Kuroko said through gritted teeth.
"You are in no position to make demands," he said. "Besides, your boyfriend is still alive, the sword just keeps him helpless."
"Shut up and let him go," Kuroko spat out again, ignoring the boyfriend comment.
"I guess it's the hard way…" Knight Leader said, but then the stopped and staggered for a moment. Kuroko had no idea what happened, but she dropped the rock and used the opportunity to teleport next to Jason. She then teleported the sword out of his body. With the sword out of his body, Jason's wounds closed, he stood up, and then leaned against Kuroko.
"Thanks again," he said weakly.
"What did you do?" Kuroko asked Jason, as she stared at Knight Leader.
"Curse of Wrath," Jason said grimly. "Pain slowed him down, but his mental fortitude is insane. It's not going to stop him.
Knight Leader's body had been wracked with pain, as if every nerve in his body was on fire. This was more than just taking wounds and the burst of pain accompanying them. The pain was constantly growing and threatened to overwhelm his senses. He focuses all the training he had endured, through his years of training as a knight, and forced his brain to ignore those pain signals. He turned and glared at Jason. "That was unexpected," he said. "You are full of surprises. But this charade must end. I was going easy on you because you are kids, but now, I will treat you as adults."
"Well," Jason replied. "Here's your sword back." His shadow wrapped around the handle of Hrunting. It stretched as he thrust the sword toward Knight Leader, who was still slightly disoriented from the Curse of Wrath.
Knight Leader said three words. Those three words did not sound like much, but Jason and Kuroko would find out how dangerous they were.
"Turn to zero."
"What the f$%^ did you say?"
Accelerator did not know what Acqua truly wanted until now. He had followed Kaori because of her determined expression, one of someone going into battle, and he wanted to know why. When he found her completely overpowered, he stepped in. During his fight, he could tell why she had trouble. Acqua was a veteran of battle and, his way to instantly examine his opponents, was a pain to deal with. The magic vectors, that did not follow the normal rules of physics, stressed Accelerator to no end. I thought he was just trying to capture the hero. So that bastard is trying to kill him? Like hell I'm going to let that happen. But can we stop a monster like this. His head was pounding from the damage he received from Acqua, and the stress he obtained from reversing the blood flow.
"I am a Saint," Acqua said patiently. It was probably a sign of respect to Accelerator's power he explained himself again. "We are born with bodies similar to the Son of God. I am also a member of God's Right Seat and…"
"F%^$ GOD!" Accelerator yelled and Kaori pretended she didn't hear that. "Did you just say you were here to kill the hero?"
"I am going to kill the owner of the Imagine Breaker," Acqua confirmed. "Then take his right hand back with me. I will make it quick. He will not feel a thing."
"Like hell that is going to happen," Accelerator said taking a step forward and cracks in the ground started spreading out from him, like he stepped on thin ice.
"We will stop you," Kaori added holding her sword out.
"Why do you insist on stopping me?" Acqua asked. "Why would you be willing to die for the sake of a single boy?"
"He went out of his way to save people I considered my family," Kaori replied glaring at him. "And has never once asked for anything in return. I owe him a great debt. Plus, I admire the strength of his resolve to overcome any adversary." Accelerator remained quiet, but gritted his teeth in frustration. Acqua stared at him for a moment and shrugged.
"It seems unlikely you would just come and help out of the goodness of your heart," Acqua commented. "But I guess there are stupid people like that."
"You know what," Accelerator mumbled. "I do have a reason." Something rose in his chest, something he wanted to get off for a long time, but never had a good opportunity. Now, there were only two people, both of whom appeared to be people who didn't give others unnecessary information. "You said you are a Saint and a Member of God's seat. Where the hell was your God when I was walking down the road to hell? Where was he when I was abusing my power for the sake of only gaining strength? I hurt countless numbers of people and didn't think anything of it. Everyone else around me encouraged it. I thought it was just a part of life. I never had a family to teach me what was right and wrong. Was it God who saved me?" He stopped and his next words he yelled.
"No, It was the f#$%^& hero! He saved me! He stopped me from walking down that path! I have traveled to far down that path to be a hero myself, but thanks to him, I have everything I missed out on. I have people who actually care about me, people I want to protect, and even friends." His mind turned to Last Order, the people he lived with, and his friends from school. He took a deep breath and his red eyes flashed with conviction. "You know what, f$%^ it, that hero is my f^&**$ friend, the best I have ever had! It was thanks to him that I have a family now! I owe him more than I could ever hope to repay in my lifetime! I know what he is like now. He will continue to help everyone, something I can't do. So I will do the only thing I can. I will protect him from you, so he can help more people like me! I will do what has to be done from the dark so he can keep that light!" His mind started pounding again, and he felt the familiar, and dark, sensation he felt back when fighting in Italy.
Kaori and Acqua felt it to. It was the twisting of raw power emitting from Accelerator. It was definitely Telesma, but dark and warped. Kaori had been standing near him and jumped back several feet in response to this power. Acqua was far enough back, but he stopped when that power engulfed him. From Accelerator's back, two pure black wings erupted and started spreading out. They started expanding and splitting over several meters. The ground around him exploded and the tips of those wings ripped the ground like paper. Accelerator's eyes became more beast like as the only had one target, Acqua.
So that is where a source of the Telesma came from in Italy, Kaori thought. But how could a science side individual, let alone a kid, be able to create Telesma. What kinds of experiments are being performed there?
Acqua stared at the monster before him. He could feel killing intent and hatred emitting from Accelerator and those wings appeared to be an embodiment of those feelings. In a sense, he is a lot like me. To protect others, we become monsters. I wonder what would happen if he could purify those wings. It is a shame I have to kill him. A monster like that can't be allowed to live. Water all around him started to converge in his hand as he created another ice mace. "I respect your conviction."
Accelerator looked at him. Even though he appeared to be a monster, his mind was still miraculously clear. I hate this feeling, but I have to stop this guy no matter what. He could feel the overwhelming hatred threatening to take over his mind as he stood there. If Accelerator lost concentration for a moment, he would truly become the monster he had once before. I won't let that happen. He took a step forward, his wings extending over several meetings. "I am going to stop you, even if I have to tear you into pieces!"
A moment later, the ground exploded as the true monster's clashed once again.
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 skit MrQuestionMark and I created.
Accelerator: What kind of bullshit is not dying when blood circulation is reversed?
Motoharu: Saint power #34, blood vessels that can withstand sudden change in direction.
Jason: Actually, Saint power #1. Just accept it. Don't think about it. Just accept it. Saint power #1 paragraph (j): when in the face of the power known as Imagine Breaker one must think about it.
Kanzaki: What the hell is this?
Acqua: Eastern Saint...I find it remarkable, that a person and Saint of your caliber, has failed to read the basic manual of your abilities. They come naturally when you gain your powers.
Kanzaki: That is ridiculous. What kind of logic does that come from? And where do they come from?
Touma: It's not that ridiculous.
Kakeru: How do you think that we have such a good understanding of our powers? All powers come with a manual.
Jason: That's how I learned the formulas for my shadow. I believe you can pick up copies on Amazon.
Touma: I lost mine though. And my memories. There are still some things I don't get.
Invisible Thing: I know right? My host, do you know what I've have to put with?
Touma:...Did any of you guys here that?
Motoharu: No, but I heard Accelerator mention his love for Kami-yan.
Mikoto: Oh my god!
Misaki: No, you can't have him!
Accelerator: SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!
Jason: Guy love at its finest.
Accelerator: I'm going to kill you all!
Shizuri: Except Kamijou.
*World Explodes*