This is Shizuri Mugino and yes, I am going to do the opening announcements. Deal with it. The author actually told me about restrictions for doing this. For some reason, I'm not supposed to insult every one of you and keep the profanity to a minimum. F$%^ that, no one tells me what to do. I just wanted to make fun of a couple people and clear some things up. I beat the author up, so he has no say in my answers.
naruhinasakufan1: Well of course he would like older girls then those shitty brats that hang around him. The third and fifth have no idea what a real women is. If I really wanted him, I could get him. Right now, I'm going to let Frenda try. Kinuhata was right. It's really fun to push her to him.
KhaosKhan: What kind of stupid question is that? You know, if you asked that question before this trip, I probably would have blasted you for saying it. After seeing all this magic crap, I wouldn't be all surprised. Though… that might explain the strength I see in his eyes sometimes.
Handsomistic1: If I feel like it, I might. Maybe I'll do it when the third and fifth are nearby to really rub it into them. Kamijou is fun to tease for sure. A thank you? He should be thanking me for just being allowed in my presence. If Kamijou chooses Frenda, I can still use him however I want. Frenda's possessions belong to me too.
Swoob: How dare you say I am inferior to that a$$^&%*? One day I'm going to kick his ass and make him cry! Then I'm coming for you.
wildarms13: Pssh, hypothetical questions. Let's see, possibly. As long as he was kept available for when I needed him, I don't care. Though, I wouldn't let the two level five brats near him. Ha, seeing their reaction when they can't see him anymore would be the best.
Salishious: No, I would definitely make him join me. I'm not some damsel in distress waiting to be rescued. I find what I want, and take it.
Yakutsu Zaishiro: Who says I can't cook? I just don't have time for something so pointless, when I can get higher quality food easier. If I really wanted to, I could make five star meals.
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.
Back at the hotel, Ruiko and Kazari were pacing around the main lobby in worry. There were only a handful of noncombat trained nuns, who stayed behind. Motoharu and Jason were sitting at a table, playing cards, but neither of them looked like they were very into the game. Kuroko was staring out the window in the direction of London. She had desperately wanted to go and help, but Mikoto was adamant about not letting her. There was a long and heated argument between them, and even Ruiko and Kazari stayed out of it. They had seen Kuroko and Mikoto argue before, but the attack on the palace was in a league all of its own. Mikoto eventually had to shock Kuroko, until she fell unconscious, to get her to stay at the hotel. Everyone could tell Mikoto hated doing it, but her friend had been more important than her own feelings. Rikou was sitting down and her head was resting on a table in front of her. Her eyes were open, but she seemed unresponsive. One of the few remaining nuns poked her head into the lobby and spoke.
"Sorry to disturb you all," she said and every head turned to look at her, except Rikou. "We promised to let you know when our forces were about to enter the city. Sadly, the princess discovered our plan of monitoring the city with the cameras, and she shut them all down. I just wanted to let you know the situation."
"We figured the princess would catch on it eventually," Kuroko sighed, trying to keep a calm demeanor. Her hands were balled up into fists though, something Kazari noticed. She walked up and patted Kuroko on the shoulder, trying to reassure her.
"We knew that would happen," she agreed. "Misaki-san also knew the risk involved and she didn't want anything to happen to you."
"I wish there was something we could do to help," sighed Ruiko wistfully. "Even with my advancement, it's still nothing compared to the knights."
"Don't think like that," Motoharu called over to them. "How about using those feelings to improve so you can help the others next time?"
"Easier to say then do," Kuroko complained, staring at the city. "Onee-sama, I know why you did it, and I'm not mad at you, but I should definitely be by your side."
"Well you could teleport to the city," Jason suggested. "But it would most likely cause you to be exhausted for covering that distance."
"Jason," Kazari said quickly. "Please don't give her ideas."
"Sorry I couldn't give you more information," the nun apologized. "If I hear anything else I will pass it along."
"You did more than enough," Kazari replied. Kuroko, sort of, fell into her seat and just stared ahead with a vacant expression.
"Think it's time?" Motoharu asked Jason, as he threw down his cards. "You wanted them to be close to the city."
"Yea," Jason nodded. "You managed to get a car?"
"Lots of abandoned ones to choose from," Motoharu grinned, tossing Jason a set of keys. "Some even have keys. I grabbed a nice convertible, should get you there fast."
"Awesome," Jason replied, as he stood up. "Well then I guess I'm off." He hadn't even taken three steps when Kazari ran up and blocked his path. She held her arms out and had a determined look on her face.
"I knew you would want to go," she said. "But I can't let you. I told you already, you're not fully healed."
"It's enough," Jason said dismissively. "I don't rely on physical strength, and my shadow ability is working perfectly. They need all the help they can get."
"I'm not denying that," Kazari answered softly. "I understand you want to help, but if you aren't at full health, the odds of you coming back…" Her voice trailed off as the words got caught in her throat.
"Kagere-san," Ruiko adding, stepping in. "She's right. You're our friend and we may not be that high of a level, but we can't let you go." She also blocked his path, while everyone else watched. The nun appeared frozen, forgetting she had to leave. Jason sighed, and his face revealed the expression he was making a difficult choice.
"I'm sorry," Jason said, his face darkening slightly. "I promise to make it up to you later." Before either of them could respond to his ominous pronouncement, he raised his hand. "My curse sends you into the endless abyss." Kazari and Ruiko's eyes snapped shut and they began to collapse unconscious. Before they hit anything, their bodies were supported by Jason's shadow and he set them gently down onto chairs. A moment later, Jason was kicked in the head by Kuroko and he fell to the ground.
"What are you doing?!" she yelled at him. Her eyes were flashing dangerously and her face was red with anger. She couldn't believe Jason used his powers against Ruiko and Kazari.
"I'm keeping them safe and out of the way," Jason said solemnly, rubbing his head and standing up. "By the time they wake up, I will be gone. This way, they can't be tempted to follow." He turned to look at Motoharu. "You can watch over them?" He nodded. "Then I'm heading out," Jason said walking to the door. Kuroko could only stare at him. She was not use to seeing him with such a serious expression on his face. She also could not remember him ever treating Kazari like that. She looked over at the nun, who had rushed over and examined Ruiko and Kazari, before she made up her mind. Jason had just stepped outside the hotel when she teleported next to him.
"Wait up," she said. "I'm coming with you."
"Ok," Jason said, pulling out the keys Motoharu gave him.
"I'm going to go no matter… huh?" Kuroko was stunned. She had expected Jason to deny her, not accept her demand. "Why are you letting me come?"
"Because I have limited uses of the Sloth Mark," Jason answered. "I used it once and I might need it to defeat some of the knights. Besides, you would probably fight me to come and we can't waste any time. I also know how capable you are and we will probably need your help."
"Really?" Kuroko didn't really know what else to say. She felt her face get hot when Jason complimented her. She followed him in silence. So he thinks highly of me? But then why does he always annoy me so much? He actually seems like someone from Judgment should be like now. Maybe I got him all wrong. Worry about it later Kuroko, wait till you finish helping onee-sama. She shook her head and wasn't paying attention, until she bumped into Jason, who had suddenly stopped. She looked around him and saw why. A large grin appeared on her face as she looked at the car.
The convertible was bright pink and quite girly.
"That b#$%^&#," Jason growled, and then sighed. "I guess beggars can't be choosers." He jumped over the door into the driver's seat, buckled up and put in the key. The engine hummed to life instantly. "At least it sounds like it's working perfectly." Kuroko hopped into the seat next to him.
"Let's go," she said impatiently. "We need to catch up with the others." She paused. "Do you even have a license? I thought you were only 15."
"I am and don't," Jason grinned. "Hold on tight." He floored the pedal and the car flew forward down the road. For a moment, Kuroko questioned this decision, as Jason sped as fast as he could toward London. She instinctively put her seatbelt on.
Accelerator was sitting down in the back of a truck, with his arms crossed, looking out at the buildings. While he appeared nonchalant, he was ready to flip the switch on his choker at the slightest sign of trouble. He only had about thirty minutes, so he couldn't just leave it on. Sitting across from him was Saiji, who was in a similar position. While Accelerator knew she liked to joke around, she was quite serious in battle, especially when fighting with her teammates. Accelerator didn't know much about Agnese, but she seemed to be a capable leader, when she wasn't acting like an idiot during down time. Let's get this over with. It's not like this princess could be much stronger than that William guy. At least most of these people have combat experience. I am not in the mood to baby sit. He remembered Last Order wanting to come, but he adamantly refused. His eyes moved over to Saiai and he noticed she was staring at him. "What," he snapped at her.
"Just thinking," she answered. "This is the first time we are super fighting on the same team."
"So?" Accelerator sneered. "Did my amazing battle prowess astound you last time? Don't tell me, you're going to confess. That's rich." He couldn't suppress a chuckle.
"As if," Saiai huffed. She wasn't going to admit she liked the way he sneered at her. It gave her goosebumps. Man he is so hot when he looks down at people. "Just leave some for the rest of us before you go on a rampage."
"No promises," Accelerator laughed.
"I'm sure you both will get plenty of chances to fight," Agnese told them sighing. "Why do I get stuck with the battle crazed ones?" She muttered the last sentence under her breath.
"Good to see you all in high spirits," Saiji said pulling out his sword. "We have company." He stood up suddenly, in the back of the truck, and swung his blade. An arrow was deflected into a metal light pole, denting it. Agnese pulled out her staff, while Saiai turned around to see where the attack came from. Agnese was a mid-range fighter, since there was a range limit on her staff's ability to redirect damage. Saia was a close range fighter with her Offense Armor. She could stop projectiles easily enough, though something with enough force, like anti-armor piercing rounds, could break her armor. She also could deliver powerful blows and lift heavy objects by controlling concentrated nitrogen at her fingertips.
Accelerator didn't have weaknesses like that.
Four tornados of air rushed from behind him as he stood up, like wings, and he jumped straight from the truck onto the building, in the direction the arrow had come from. He saw a single knight holding a bow looking at him. The knight shot another arrow at Accelerator, but he didn't care. The arrow hit him squarely between the eyes. Accelerator knew the calculations of the unknown vectors, along with the normal ones. He was use to the magic around the knight's weapons and could reflect it without a problem. The arrow flew back and destroyed the bow the knight was wielding. The knight managed to avoid the arrow piercing his arm by rolling to the right. A moment later Accelerator was standing over him. He reached down ad picked up the knight, as easily as if he was lifting a piece of trash, and looked over his shoulder, as he felt another arrow hit him. On a building across the street, another knight had shot at him. Accelerator grinned and threw the knight he was holding, like a high speed baseball. He hit the second knight squarely in the chest with the first, and they both flew off the roof and down to the ground out of sight.
"Good job at handling them so quickly," Saiji said jumping up to the roof. "I took out the other archer and there doesn't seem to be more. Let's get going." Accelerator nodded and jumped back down in the truck. The truck shook as he landed and Saiji joined them a moment later.
"Move it now!" Agnese called to the driver and their group kept moving forward. They traveled several streets and didn't see any other knights. "I can see them using those knights to take out specific people," she muttered. "But there should have been more defenses then this. I doubt they would just leave one side unguarded, even if they focused their troops in another location."
"I agree," Saiji said, keeping his sword out. "There's no way the princess would make it this easy."
"Well," Accelerator said plopping down in his seat and flicking his choker. "It really doesn't matter. I'll take down any defense they have set up."
"You super seem confident," Saiai pointed out and he laughed.
"You know damn well how strong I am," Accelerator said, "He does too." He jerked his thumb over at Saiji.
"Confidence is good," Saiji said. "But don't underestimate her resourcefulness. She's a master at military affairs. The power she received from Curtana only gave her physical abilities."
"At the rate we are moving," Agnese said looking at the street signs. "We should reach the palace around the designated time. Assuming nothing else happens."
The ride was going smoothly, since they took care of the archers, but they all knew something was wrong. Saiai was probably the one with the most experience in running into traps, as part of her job experience back in Academy City. It might have been because she was looking for scientific traps, instead of magical traps, that she noticed it first. There were small strings laying across the road, about a foot off the ground, connecting cars on both sides of the street. She recognized what those strings meant. "They got mines set up!" she yelled a second before the truck tripped the first one.
Two huge explosions appeared on either side of them.
"Finally some action," Frenda said excitedly, as she looked out towards London. She was turned around in her seat and was holding the edges of the truck. "Basically, this trip was fun, but was a little boring."
"I agree completely," Shizuri muttered, while nodding. Her arms were cross under her chest as she glanced at Frenda for a moment. "It's time for my rematch."
"You should rethink your strategy if you think you can defeat her by simply attacking head on," Stiyl commented, puffing on a cigarette. The girls noticed he was the only one who looked calm. The other nuns, in the truck, had anxiety etched on their faces. "If we had more time to prepare, we probably would have instigated a full on bombardment of the palace."
"Really," Shizuri said, raising an eyebrow. She looked interested in the prospect. "You really think highly of her."
"You fought her first hand," Stiyl replied, also raising an eyebrow. "You seem smart. Can you honestly say her powers did not far exceed yours?
"How dare you suggest such a thing," Frenda chimed in. "Mugino wouldn't be scared of anyone. Basically, she's one of the strongest ability users in Academy City." Frenda had witnessed Shizuri's fight versus Carissa, but she had absolute confidence in Shizuri's ability. Frenda also knew Shizuri's skills to adapt to fights, along with her brains, would allow her to win in the end. She had heard of Shizuri's encounter and loss with Accelerator, but that was a unique situation.
"Shut up Frenda," Shizuri snapped and Frenda's mouth closed instantly. Shizuri had to admit Stiyl had a point. Out of everyone they met, she actually respected Stiyl. He was serious and was able to think rationally under pressure when assisting in these assaults. I hate this, but I really am no match for that b$%^& on my own. I'm going to make sure to hit her cleanly, at least once, before we crush her. "Overconfidence in these situations only leads to death." She had thought about all possibilities, when her group was split up, and decided Rikou was to stay behind. Her ability was powerful, but would be useless against magic users, as they did not have AIM fields.
"Glad to see at least one person near that idiot has sense," Stiyl said, a slight grin forming on his face.
Misaki was sitting silently in her chair. She was still upset about who she was forced to team up with. She didn't like Shizuri, for multitudes of reasons, and, by extension, her friends. She also didn't care for the way Stiyl seemed to insult Touma at every opportunity. He always slipped in an insult in during conversations that didn't require it. I rather be with Touma's group, actually, I think I rather be partnered with anyone else besides these three, even Accelerator. I don't know why Touma talks like Stiyl is an old friend. At least when Accelerator, Kagere, and Tsuchimikado insult each other, they sound like jokes. She fidgeted slightly in her seat at the other's conversation, but didn't want to speak up unless needed. Her remote was clutched tightly in her hand, as her eyes scanned the surrounding buildings.
"Look Mugino," Frenda called out suddenly pointing. "We have company." They all turned to look, as the truck came to a stop. At the end of the street, a large makeshift barrier of vehicles was set up, and several knights were standing on top of it, watching them. They were all carrying different weapons; swords, bows, or maces.
"Seems like they intend to slow us down," remarked Shizuri. "Though, I bet they wished they had more time to prepare."
"Seems like it," Stiyl agreed. "I bet they want each group to arrive at different times. Most likely to allow the princess's forces can pick us off bit by bit. Not a bad strategy, but a wall like that isn't going to stop us. Any of you want to take care of it, or should I?"
"I can do it nonvio…" Misaki started to volunteer, her remote already in the air. Her plan was to have the knights move out of the way, so they could just go straight through without any issues. She had just started to view their minds, when Shizuri stood up in the truck. Several green orbs appeared around her.
"They think a flimsy wall like that is going to stop me?" she laughed, a gleam of her old malice in her eyes. Misaki realized what was about to happen and shut her eyes to avoid seeing the destruction. She had still established a connection and realized the knights had seen Shizuri fight before. The same thought went through all of their minds.
Damn, it's her…
Shizuri fired.
It was lucky they recognized the orbs, as it allowed them to start moving before she fired. Her beams ripped through the wall of metal like paper and several explosions followed. The original explosions from her beams tearing through cars, and several more explosions as other nearby vehicles exploded too. When the smoke and dust started to clear, they saw the barricade was in shambles. "To easy," Shizuri grinned.
"Good job Mugino," Frenda cheered.
"Looks like it's not over yet," Stiyl said taking out a couple rune cards. "The wall wasn't a real defense." The smoke had fully cleared and they had a clear view of a large number of knights lining the street.
"Great," Shizuri grinned. "I was hoping it wouldn't be this easy."
"Here we go again," Misaki mumbled to herself, her mouth dry.
"May I be so bold as to ask you something?" Villian asked Touma suddenly.
"Huh?" Touma turned to look at her surprised. He was watching the tops of the buildings as Itsuwa, Kaori, and Mikoto were scouting for any more knights. "Yes, what you need?"
"You have no duty to risk your life for England," Villian pointed out. "Yet you immediately agreed to help the church. Once you and your friends were safe, you could have just stayed away from London and not get involved. Why are you helping?"
"I don't need a reason," Touma admitted to her. "If someone's in trouble, then I simply want to help them in any way I can. Of course I would prefer not to rush in dangerous situations, but I can't just ignore people's suffering. These aren't enemies like in a video game, who only exist to die and give you experience. Everyone here is a living being, with hopes and dreams. I want to be able to protect everyone, even your sister. If fleeing would save everyone, I would run and hide in the darkest hole I could find. If fighting would save others, I will be the first to stand up." Villian stared at him long enough that he began to feel uncomfortable. "Did I say something wrong?" Index shook her head and sighed, but avoided saying what was on her mind.
"I understand your words," Villian said slowly. "But I have a hard time understanding your meaning. I never saw a person who would risk everything for complete strangers so readily."
"Isn't that why you demanded to come," Touma asked her. Villian had been quite persistent in coming. The crossbow she carried was slightly different than a normal one. For one, it wasn't made of metal. It was made of a polished amber wood. It also seemed to have a slide, similar to that on a pump-action shotgun, installed on the bottom. There were probably gears or a pulley system that made it easier to pull back, which would allow someone with slender arms, like Villian, to use.
"I couldn't let everyone fight without me," Villian said softly. "I hate violence, in all forms, but I can't let my people suffer like this. Worst of all, it is my sister that is causing their suffering. All around me, I see people risking their lives, when it would be easier to hide and let the events play out. The church is only fighting because my sister is hurting the civilians. They do not have any real reason to support any one of us specifically, but their support is to the people of England." Touma thought he saw a couple of the nuns turn their gaze away from them. "I can't stay hidden and let others fight for me. I realized I need to do everything I can, including helping stop my sister's coup."
"I don't think you should be on the battlefield," Touma said truthfully. "Your sister is after you personally, but I'm not going to stop you." He gave her a small smile. "I get told all the time I can't go but, somethings, you have to do what others don't think you should." Villian opened her mouth to thank him, when they were interrupted by the arrival of Mikoto, Kaori, and Itsuwa. Itsuwa took over driving and the previous driver scooted over.
"I think we got them all," Kaori said, sheathing her sword and sitting down when the trucks began to move again.
"There weren't a lot of them," Mikoto sighed, throwing herself down next to Touma and leaning back. "They just had bows that shot like high powered rifles, so they were spread out. Luckily, their armor could be magnetized. I simply pulled them toward us." She grinned at Touma and he couldn't resist laughing slightly, as he pictured a knight flying across the rooftops from Mikoto's power. "We knocked them all out so they shouldn't be able to strike us from behind."
"Thank you for avoiding any more casualties then absolute necessary," Villian said.
"We are lucky we can afford that luxury," Kaori told her, nodding slightly. "We had people specializing in movement, while also being able to strike quickly and effectively. I don't believe the other groups will have that luxury."
"Yea," Touma said grimly. He didn't know if Stiyl had anyone capable of taking down the knights easily, without killing them. Stiyl wasn't the type to hold back against an enemy, and Shizuri was with him. She also tended to go all out without regards to her opponent's safety. She did grow up in the darkness, but I'm sure she can be a good person if shown the way out. Hopefully Misaki can keep the injuries to a minimum.
"What's that sound?" Mikoto asked. "A helicopter?" Touma frowned and turned his head upwards. He also heard the sound of air being cut repeatedly above them. Something was hovering high above them, but it wasn't a helicopter. He wasn't sure what it was, until it started getting closer. It was a large, white, plastic looking, fan shaped object, around fifty feet and at a right angle. It was spinning around and slowly coming down toward them.
"It's the debris from Curtana," he called out and he felt the truck lurch. As if the debris knew Touma had warned the others, it titled itself in midair and started to fall, unable to support its weight any longer. It started to spin downwards, looking like a giant spiral saw, right at the truck Touma and the others were in. "We have to move!"
"Hang on," Itsuwa said and the truck started to accelerate. The trucks behind them started to spread out, down any side streets they could fit, to try to avoid the impending blade. The debris hit the street and sunk a good twenty feet into the ground. Even stuck deep in the ground didn't stop its momentum. The debris kept rotating forward, cutting the street in half as it continued to spiral forward. Thanks to Itsuwa's acceleration and emergency lane change, they managed to avoid being hit directly by the debris. However, the shockwave, caused by the debris ripping up the street, hit their truck directly. Waves of asphalt, dirt, and concreated collided into their truck. The truck was forced to the side and crashed into several parked vehicles. The sudden impact caused them all to fly forward in the truck. Touma hit his head, and his vision blurred for a second, before he looked up.
"There's another one!" he yelled. He noticed a small figure in the distance, growing bigger. "Get off the street." Kaori grabbed Villian and jumped off, and the nuns and Amakusa spread out in every direction. Touma jumped off the truck and ran to the other side of the street. Mikoto was right behind him. They just managed to flee down another ally, when the large piece of debris slammed into the middle of the street. This one wasn't a fan shape, but a large rectangular block, like the trailer of a semi-truck. It was so heavy several vehicles were smashed flat under its weight, while others vehicles exploded when they had part of their body crushed. A shockwave blew vehicles, asphalt, dirt, and concreate all around it. Nearby buildings had their windows shattered and light poles were ripped from the ground. Touma and Mikoto managed to dive around a corner of a brick wall to avoid the majority of the debris. When the dust settled he looked over at Mikoto. "You okay?"
"Yes," she said nodding. Touma was aware she was panting slightly. "We can't continue down that street though. Let's go down that one. Remember, if we get separated, everyone is supposed to make their way to the palace."
"I know," Touma said, reluctantly nodding. Hope they all made it safely. I saw Index run off with several other nuns. If we get to the palace, Carissa will be too busy to continue to throw Curtana's debris at everyone. "Let's go." They started to run down the street, keeping near the side of the buildings and between cars parked on the street. They were hoping to avoid detection, since the street was quiet and appeared deserted. Of course, Touma's luck wasn't that good. They rounded a corner and nearly got impaled by two knights holding spears. "Shit," Touma groaned, his reflexes saving him. He was barely able to duck under the sharp tips.
"Stay down," Mikoto yelled and she shot a blue-white bolt at the knights. They both collapsed, smoking, before they could do anything else. Mikoto helped Touma to his feet. "They don't seem to have as many defenses anymore. It looks like they really lost Curtana's power."
"Well," Touma said, turning around until he and Mikoto were back to back. "Looks like those two weren't alone." Around ten more knights were emerging from nearby buildings, holding a variety of weapons. They surrounded Touma and Mikoto, about thirty feet away from them, and then stopped. One of the knights stepped forward and removed his helmet. Touma recognized the shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes.
It was Zach.
Though, the Zach Touma was looking at was completely different than the one he met back at the palace. Zach was a young knight, with a rather cheerful deposition. Now, his eyes were full of malice, and his face contorted with rage. Touma had a feeling he knew why Zach was upset, and when Zach spoke up, Touma realized he was right. "Traitor," Zach snarled at him. "You betrayed us and Lady Carissa. You even struck at her through Curtana. She brought you in, and introduced you to us. We treated you as one of us, and what do you do? You betray her after she was willing to let your friends avoid this conflict."
"I didn't betray anyone," Touma rebuked. "You know what she is doing is wrong. I'm trying to save everyone by stopping this coup, including her."
"We aren't going to listen to your lies," Zach said raising his hand. Before Touma or Mikoto could respond, several strings of white light flew from the other's knight's hands and wrapped around Touma and Mikoto. Neither of them was fast enough to dodge, but Touma was able to raise his right hand high enough to touch the string. It flickered out of existence with the sound of breaking glass. Touma frowned slightly. He knew they knew about his power, and he wasn't sure what they expected to accomplish, until he heard Mikoto yell loudly. He turned around and saw two knights pulling her away from him. Two other knights moved and stood between him and Mikoto.
"Get off me," Mikoto yelled angrily as she began to spark. "What the… Why can't I break these?"
"We knew it wouldn't work on you," Zach said pulling out his sword and pointing it at Touma. "But your friend isn't immune to magic. Those bindings were designed to withstand lightning, so they will be able to hold her long enough to strike down if she causes trouble."
"Don't worry about me!" Mikoto called out to him. "Kick his butt!"
"Let her go," Touma said fiercely, taking a step toward Zach.
"We were asked to take you alive if possible," Zach said staring at Touma unblinkingly. "But we can strike down your companions if required. George Clark is currently fighting on another front, so the decision is left to me. Come quietly and your friends might live."
"Do you truly believe Carissa is right?" Touma asked him. "I know I only spent a short time with you guys, but you guys have a strong code of honor. You know what she is doing is wrong. I know George didn't feel it was right to go after the Queen or the other princesses. If she kills them, she's going to go down a dark path where she won't be able to return. I plan to save her from that. I'm here standing against her to save everyone. Zach, please step aside." For a brief instant, he saw Zach's eyes soften with doubt, before he shook her head.
"I can't trust you," he said. "I swore an oath to England and the Royal Family. You are an outsider who just stepped into our country and don't understand how things work here. Curtana chose her to be the ruler. She is the best option to bring England back to its former glory."
"You can't be sure of that," rebutted Touma. "For all you know her choices will only cause more strife. I can see it in your eyes, you know she's wrong. Help us stop her. She can still be saved. As a knight, her safety should be your priority."
"SHUT UP!" Zach yelled and then he took a deep breath. His next words were calmer and more refined. "I know about your hand. As long as I avoid it, you won't be able to defeat me. I'm going to strike you down here and take you back. What your punishment will be for betrayal will be up to the princess. Your friend will most likely be executed. If you defeat me," he looked over at the knights, who nodded. "We will let you both go. This is the only deal I can make with you. I still have my honor as a knight."
"Then I don't have a choice," Touma said taking another step toward him. "I'll just have to defeat you here and we will go join the others." They looked at each other for a moment, and then charged. Touma didn't know, nor could he tell, the knight's strength was far below their normal fighting prowess, even without the Telesma from Curtana. When Curtana had overloaded, the shockwave caused many nearby artifacts to be destroyed or broken due to the powerful magical force. This included the knight's armor, since it was enchanted to increase their physical might and magical defenses. Right now, Zach was using his own strength, but wielding a hastily forged magical sword. This wouldn't have been much comfort for Touma, if he had known, because Zach was far bigger, stronger, and faster than Touma.
As they charged each other, Touma made a fist and pulled it back. When they closed in on each other, Touma flung his fist directly at Zach's head. Zach swayed to the right, and used his left hand to knock Touma's blow harmlessly to the side. Zach raised his sword and swung it downwards at Touma's shoulder. Touma managed to roll out of the way of the blow, but Zach was able to kick him in the stomach. Touma grunted in pain and rolled over, but quickly spring up to his feet, staring at Zach. Touma dashed at Zach again and swing his fist at Zach's face. Zach swayed out of the way again and punched Touma in the gut. Touma gasped again in pain and staggered backwards, but was able to continue to stand. Damn it, he thought. I have to hit him with my fists, but with his armor, only his head is exposed, and he knows this.
"You seem to realize your situation," Zach told him. "I know your ability, and I have the ability to avoid it. Your hand can't break my armor anymore, it's not magical."
"Shut up," Mikoto yelled sparking up again. "I'm going to break these bonds and turn you into a crisp." The nearby knights were holding the white magic threads, but they turned to look at each other, slightly anxious. Carissa had informed them of Touma's friend's abilities. After Curtana exploded, they couldn't use magic, but they had been able to prepare. They had used the time to create some spells to work on the students from Academy City, who had power to fight evenly with the knight forces. Their preparation had included these magical strings, which were resistance to lightning. Mikoto was trying to use her ability to break out, but the strings were suppressing most of it. Some electricity was escaping, so the magic was not perfect, probably because it was assembled hastily. The knight's knew this and realized it was only a matter of time until it broke.
"She's pretty strong," Zach commented, glancing at her. "I'm going to finish this quickly. Your hand is dangerous to Lady Carissa and, if you won't join her, you area liability. Though, once you understand it, you can easily avoid its power."
"Understand it?" Touma asked slowly. "I don't even understand it. I don't think anyone truly understands it. I know people researching it who can't understand how it works." Mikoto looked at him and understood who he was talking about. "But just because I'm at a disadvantage, it doesn't mean I'm going to give up." He knew he still had one trick up his sleeve, and he hoped Zach was wrong.
"It would be easier if you did," Zach sighed. "I don't really want… never mind. I will execute my orders to the letter." He held out his sword in front of him, drew it back, and charged forward. Touma imitated the actions with his fist. They approached each other, when Zach felt something was wrong. He didn't know what, and couldn't see Touma acting any differently than normal. It doesn't matter. I know what I'm going to do. He stabbed his sword at Touma, as Touma's fist moved forward. Before his sword could make contact, a white light burst from Touma's hand. The wave of light engulfed Touma and Zach's sword for a moment. Zach saw the sword shattered, but he couldn't react in time for what was happening next. Touma's fist did not slow down and he delivered an uppercut into Zach's jaw.
The blow lifted Zach off the ground for a moment, before he fell down unconscious.
Touma stood over Zach, rubbing his fist as he looked at the other knights. Touma had hoped Zach's sword was magical, and it was a big risk he took. If the sword was not magical, the Imagine Breaker burst would not have affected it and the sword would have pierced his body. It's been awhile since I have had to use that move, Touma thought to himself. He turned to look at the other knights. "I beat your leader and he promised you would let us go. Are you going to keep it, or do I have to fight every one of you?" He seriously hoped it was the first option, and he breathed a sigh of relief when the lights binding Mikoto faded away.
"I guess we should go?" she said running up to him. "Thanks for saving me."
"Yea," Touma nodded and then he looked back at the knights. "They follow a strict code and you can trust their promises. Hey," he called loudly to the other knights. "I promise we will save Carissa before it's too late and she does something irreversible." He and Mikoto took off running toward the palace before they could respond. When they were gone, one of the knights walked up and prodded Zach with the sole of his boot.
"They're gone," he said and Zach opened an eye. He stood up slowly and rubbed his jaw.
"Well," he said. "I certainly did not expect that flash of light. It looks like he can extend the range of his power. Does Lady Carissa know about this?"
"I don't believe so," another knight spoke up. "But, if you don't mind me saying so, it looks like you purposely let him win."
"Of course I didn't," Zach denied. "I made that deal in the heat of the moment, his words were getting to me. But I did make that promise and, as a knight, we had to keep it." The other knights knew what really happened, but none of them said anything. They knew Zach purposely left himself open, so Touma could hit him. While it was true the light had been a surprise, Zach's speed and reflexes would have allowed him to dodge. He was only pretending to fight in case anyone else, besides them, was watching. The reason was shared among all of the knights there. They believed Carissa was wrong in her approach and wanted Touma to succeed, but they couldn't directly stand against her. Zach looked in the direction Touma and Mikoto ran off in.
Best of luck, both of you.
Touma and Mikoto continued to run down the street towards Buckingham Palace. To their relief, it seems the debris from Curtana appeared to have stopped. They ran around a large chunk of the white material, avoided the collapsing street into the subway below, and had to climb around destroyed vehicles and piles of rubble before Mikoto realized something. "If she's not throwing that debris at us anymore," she asked. "Does that mean someone on our side managed to get to her?"
"I don't know," Touma admitted. "I would guess so, but she could be avoiding destroying the city as much as possible." Touma kind of hoped that was the case, though he didn't really believe it. He knew Carissa long enough to understand how ruthless she could be. He had no doubt she would level the entire city if it meant winning. Mikoto raised her eyebrow slightly, she also had the same thought, but she decided to not voice her concerns. They ran the rest of the way in silence, until the palace came into view. Unlike the rest of the city, the garden and palace looked relatively untouched. Carissa had not been throwing Curtana's debris as weapons here, like in the city. They jumped over the fence and landed in the garden with a soft thud.
"Looks like the windows had been destroyed," Mikoto said. "Think it was caused from the backlash of Curtana?"
"Probably," Touma said shrugging before they started to make their way closer. They jumped as they heard an explosion coming from the backside of the palace. "Someone is there!" he yelled out and pointed. "Let's go!"
"You don't have to tell me twice," Mikoto replied, and they dashed as fast as they could toward the noise. Several more explosions echoed, before they reached the side of the palace and turned to see the source. The scene behind the palace was much different than the way Touma and Mikoto came in. The lawn and asphalt had been torn to pieces, like an angry giant had pass through. Many large white objects had been created, from Curtana slicing dimensions, and many were sunk deep into the ground, making the scene look like an obstacle course. Standing in the middle of it carnage were three women, two of them were facing a third. Though it was the middle of the night, many decorative lights from the surrounding area allowed them to see everything clearly.
Villian was leaning up against one of the white objects, her fancy green dress torn and dirty, and her blonde hair messy. Even looking like she had been on the receiving end of a disaster, she still held herself in a way that emitted nobility. She was holding tightly to her crossbow, but it wasn't pointed at anyone. Standing in front of her was Kaori, her sword drawn in a defensive position and she never took her eyes of Carissa. Her clothes were also dirty, but looked in better shape than Villian's. Kaori's clothes just appeared to be covered in dirt and dust, most likely because she couldn't avoid the dirt from the explosions.
Across form them, with a smug look, was Carissa. She was still wearing her bright red dress, with leather coverings, and was resting Curtana on her shoulder. Though she was smiling, Touma felt an odd feeling of dread emitting from her. While the sword looked to be in a relaxed position, it felt like Carissa could lunge forward at any second. Carissa and Villian appeared to be talking, while Kaori kept watch to make sure Carissa did not attack Villian. Touma and Mikoto could not hear what they were discussing, but by the way Villian was growing slightly flustered, it was not going well. They started to approach the women cautiously when Carissa and Kaori turned to look at them.
"Good to see you two are ok," Kaori said.
"It will take a lot more than trying to squash us to stop us," Mikoto said, sparking up.
"I see," Carissa commented, eyeing them closely. "Looks like your back up arrived. I was wondering how many were going to survive my barrage. Though, I knew you would survive." She referenced Touma directly, and he involuntarily shuttered. "Are you still going to spout your nonsense?"
"No," Touma answered, shaking his head, but his voice was full of determination. "We are past the point of trying to convince you with words. We are going to have to show you why you are wrong." He made a fist and stared at her, straight in the eyes.
"I like your resolve," Carissa said. "One moment, I have to finish my sister and then we can settle this." Before Touma could respond, Carissa turned and made a horizontal slice with her sword. Every dimension were Kaori and Villian were standing was sliced, and a long white belt appeared where they were just a moment ago. It fell to the ground with a loud thud a moment later. Due to Kaori's reaction speed, she had been able to grab Villian and move them both out of the way. Thankfully, she had never let her guard down, even when Carissa had been talking to Touma.
"You..." sputtered Mikoto angrily as she let lose a torrent of electricity. The blue-white electricity arched through the air, but Carissa just swung Curtana and deflected it away. "Damn, I hate that sword."
"If you don't go all out," Carissa said laughing. "This won't last long. I wonder though, how many knights did you have to kill to get here. Well boy, you are the kind of person to avoid killing anyone, like my weak sister here. "
"Do you even care about the knights?" Touma asked incredulously. "Or do you just see them as tools?"
"They understood the risks when they joined," Carissa said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Every one of them will give their lives if it means protecting England's future." She held out her sword and pointed it at him. "What I think of them doesn't matter. As the leader, I will use them as needed, regardless of the outcomes."
"They follow you out of loyalty," Touma replied angrily. "And you treat them as disposable pawns."
"It is all for the sake of England's future," Carissa said again. "You could have been part of it and you sti…" She stopped and blocked another bolt of electricity from Mikoto. "Do you mind? I am having a conversation here. I will deal with you in a moment."
"Like hell you will!" Mikoto yelled, for the first time in a long time, she was completely overcome with rage. "I'm sick of people like you. You always say, well it's for the greater good, but you really just do it for yourself. It doesn't matter if you are from the magic side or the science side. People always justify their horrible deeds. How many people have died because of that kind of reasoning? You aren't some kind of savior, you are just a dictator."
"Shut up," Carissa said slowly, her grin fading. "Children, like you, have no idea who I am. I was going to finish you after my sister, but now I think your disrespect pushes you to the front of the line." She flickered out of their view and appeared next to them, before they could barely move. Carissa raised her sword above her head and begun to bring it down at Mikoto. A second later, Touma and Mikoto were thrown backwards, as Kaori moved between them, and brought her blade upwards to meet Carissa's. Their two blades collided in midair with a clang, and a small shockwave blew their hair back. Kaori's blade was pushed back, obviously she wasn't as strong as Carissa, so Kaori tilted her blade and parried Curtana to the side. The dirt and grass next to her was blown away, as a gash appeared on the ground.
"Thanks for distracting her," Kaori commented, jumping back to stand slightly in front of Touma and Mikoto. "Princess Villian has retreated to a safe distance. We can go all out now."
"Oh really," Carissa said mocking. "Even with your powers as a Saint, you aren't a match for me." Kaori looked at her for a moment, and then moved at superhuman speed. She swung her blade so fast, it appeared to be flashes of light. Wires scattered around her and tried to encase Carissa, while Kaori continued her assault. Even with her speed and strength far surpassing normal humans, to Carissa, it was still child's play. Carissa simply dodged or deflected every blow. When the wires threatened to surround her, she used the All Dimensions Severing Spell and slashed through them like paper. As a result, a thin, white, belt-shaped debris was created, ten feet long and flew at Kaori. She sliced through it, but Carissa took the opportunity to kick Kaori in the chest, knocking her back. Kaori grunted in pain and landed on a knee to stabilize herself. Carissa saw movement out of the corner of her eyes and turned to look at the source.
Carissa had to raise Curtana to avoid getting hit in the shoulder from the surprise attack. She saw the movement before she heard the echoing boom. Mikoto had fired her railgun at Carissa and, since it moved faster than the speed of sound, the boom was heard after the shot was fired. The attack didn't break Curtana, but the force pushed Carissa back a foot, her feet leaving grooves in the soft dirt beneath her. "Not bad," Carissa said. "Though, you should aim for a vital spot, rather than a shoulder to incapacitate. Hmm, I couldn't reflect it. It seems like your attack isn't pure energy like your friend's beam. Their destructive potential is similar though."
"Monster…" Mikoto mumbled. I saw her deflect Mugino's attack, but mine too? Do we even have a chance?
"No mere human can stand against the leader of angels," Carissa laughed. "If you beg for mercy now, I might give you a quick death."
"L-like I would do that," stuttered Mikoto. She was definitely scared. She had seen Accelerator demonstrate his full power, and even he didn't give off the kind of pressure Carissa was giving. Maybe the fact Accelerator, at the time, believed he was killing dolls, but she… she knows exactly what she is doing. They told us we would need a small army to fight her, but still, this is insane. Her hand began to shake when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked and saw it belong to Touma. She felt her hands stop, as he stepped up next to her.
"We have to hold on," he told her. "As everyone else arrives, our chances improve. We knew how strong she was already." Touma didn't like the fact other people had to risk their lives to stop Carissa, but he knew they wouldn't be able to do it alone. If it was possible for only him to stop her, he would have gone off on his own in a second. After seeing Carissa's strength firsthand, he had to admit to himself he couldn't do it alone. The final boss is standing right before us, and we can't do anything. What kept him focused was he knew taking down the leader would save more lives, than trying to take down every knight scattered around the country.
"Precisely," Kaori said standing up. "The longer this goes on, the more backup we will have." She nodded slightly toward their left and Touma and Mikoto turned. Itsuwa had emerged from behind a group of trees, and five other nuns followed her. Itsuwa had her spear already drawn and she pointed it at Carissa. The other nuns had drawn their weapons and stood behind her. Touma recognized a couple of them from the Agnese forces.
"Sorry we're late," Itsuwa called out. "Lot of destroyed buildings and the knights kept blocking us."
"Doesn't matter," Kaori said. "The fact you are here is blessing enough."
"Great," Carissa sighed. "More weaklings. Can't you all just keel over and die already?" She whipped Curtana out in front of her, causing the dimensions to sever and sent a gigantic block of dimensional debris at Itsuwa's group. Itsuwa jumped, at the last second, on top of it, while the nuns dived to avoid being crushed flat.
"Sorry," Itsuwa told her. "We are here to stop you." Itsuwa's eyes met Kaori's and they both lunged at Carissa simultaneously. While Itsuwa was not nearly as fast as Kaori, she was a normal magician and not a Saint, Itsuwa was well versed in working with others. They were able to match the timing of their blows and alternated their strikes perfectly in sync.
Well this is annoying,Carissa thought. Both of them were far weaker than she was, but she wasn't able to get a clean hit on them. They always kept dodging by a hairs width. After she dodged several more blows, she realized why. Their alternating strikes are forcing me to dodge and throwing off my aim. Impressive, but let's see them keep up with this. Carissa's blows become faster, and each blow had more weight behind it. She swung her blade at Itsuwa, who was forced to block. The blow was directly aimed at her body, so Itsuwa took the full force of the blow. It knocked her back several feet and she lost her breath, but she was still alive. Kaori tried to take advantage of this and strike Carissa with her sword, but Carissa rotated on the ball of her foot. Kaori's sword missed her, as she spun 360 degrees, and Curtana was then aimed at Kaori's throat. Right before it struck Kaori, Carissa had to adjust her trajectory to avoid two arrows flying at her from the other nuns. Thinking back, she realized she really didn't have to dodge, it was more based on instinct. The dodge cost her, as Kaori slipped out of the reach of her blade, and Kaori brought up her blade to cut into Carissa's cheek.
That was close, Kaori thought, raising her blade again. I'm glad the others are here or I would have fallen already. She watched a small drop of blood slide down Carissa's cheek. Carissa stuck out her tongue as the blood hit her lips. She looked surprise for a moment and then laughed. Everyone noticed the wound already healed.
"Even if they are weak," Carissa said. "Numbers do add up. But I wonder if you realized the weakness of your plan yet." Kaori and Itsuwa didn't say anything, and jumped back into the fray. Blades flashed, sparks flew, and clangs echoed across the garden. The other nuns spread out in a semi-circle to try to get a clean hit, if an opening arrived. On the other side of the fight, Touma and Mikoto could only watch.
"I don't know how they can find an opening in that fight," Mikoto said, trying to keep her eyes on the blades. They were moving so fast, she kept losing sight of them, only seeing them stop for a brief moment when they collided. She held one of her coins tightly in her hand. So far, she had only seen her Railgun have any effect against Carissa. Her electricity was just knocked away, like the princess was swatting a fly. "I want to help, but I'm afraid I'll hit Itsuwa-san or Kanzaki-san."
"I know it's hard," Touma said through gritted teeth. "But we have to wait for an opening." Waiting was probably harder for Touma then it was for Mikoto. He wanted to rush in and grab Curtana with his right hand, but he knew that was impossible. He and Kaori had a long conversation, before they left for London, on what he had to do. Kaori told him he wasn't supposed to rush into the middle of the fight, until the church forces had worn Carissa down. If he rushed in blindly, there was a chance he would be killed and the entire plan would have been for naught. They were going to weaken Carissa as much as possible, and try to stop her movements long enough for him to touch Curtana. Even though he knew this, and Kaori had reiterated it many times, it was still one of the toughest things he had to do. His very instinct roared at him to jump in and help stop Carissa.
"This is getting annoying," Carissa mumbled and she stepped up her game. Rather than just relying purely on physical powers, she started to mix in her dimensional cuts. She parried a blow from Kaori, and made a slashing motion at Itsuwa. Instead of physically cutting at her, the dimension was severed and a white object, several feet long flew out. Itsuwa had to duck under it, to avoid a concussion, and it interrupted her timing for a counter attack. Carissa took advantage of this to turn and swung a powerful blow at Kaori. Kaori raised her blade and blocked it, but Carissa delivered a powerful kick into her stomach. With her strength and speed, it was like being hit by a machine gun, instead of human martial arts. Kaori was sent flying, and Carissa turned her attention to Itsuwa. Itsuwa thrust her spear and Carissa's head, and her response was to tilt her head slightly to avoid it. She felt a wind brush past her face and she grinned. She was about to swing her sword when she was forced to step back. A beam of light flew through where she had been standing a second earlier, followed by a loud boom. Her aim is better, but she only fires it when I'm in the open. Such weakness can be exploited. Keeping track of her priorities, she swung Curtana at Itsuwa, sending her flying back. If Itsuwa hadn't blocked, she would have been cut in half.
Arg, why can't I hit her? Mikoto though desperately. By knocking Kaori back, Carissa gave her a perfect opening to fire a railgun. Even though Carissa had powers far surpassing human, Mikoto fired the railgun at Curtana, She didn't want to kill anyone, but she knew holding back wasn't going to work.
"Brat," Carissa growled at her. "I'm getting really tired of you butting in." She made a large horizontal cut and sent a large piece of debris flying at Mikoto. Mikoto used her magnetism to propel herself towards the palace and narrowly avoided the attack. Touma ran the opposite direction and managed to avoid being crushed by the debris' weight. When it hit the ground and sunk deep into it, it was obvious to him it weighed more than steal of the same size. It was lucky Touma was standing farther back then Mikoto, who had moved forward to fire her railgun, he had time to dodge. Carissa was about to create another large piece of debris, when she quickly turned and blocked a blow from Kaori. "Attacking while my back is turned? That seems quite unlike you."
"When fighting someone of your caliber," Kaori replied. "I need to take advantage of every opportunity." Their faces were less than a foot apart with just their blades cross between them. Carissa's face was smug, with a hint of annoyance, and Kaori's face was full of determination. A moment later, they separated and continued to strike at each other with superhuman speed. During their exchange, Itsuwa stood up, clutching her arm. Though she had managed to block, she was forced to take the blow head on. Her spear had been designed and crafted to withstand powerful impacts, but it didn't prevent the force from traveling through to her body. Her arm was numb and she was trying to restore feeling to it. Touma had dodged around several large pieces of debris to reach her.
"Where are the others?" he asked.
"They were currently fighting the knights," Itsuwa mumbled. "We heard the sounds of fighting, so we had to send a small group to assist. The others are making sure we don't get flanked."
"You ok?" Touma asked.
"Yes," Itsuwa nodded. "Please don't worry about me. You know what you have to do. After this is all done, we can thank you properly for your help." She looked back over at the fight between Carissa and Kaori. While they both were incredibly powerful, Carissa was overpowering Kaori. Carissa's blows were faster and, everything their blows clashed, Itsuwa saw the strain on Kaori's face. I have to help her, Itsuwa thought desperately. She flexed her arm, while it still hurt, she had full movement again. She raised her spear and was about to jump into the fray, when a large dumpster flew out of nowhere at Carissa. Kaori noticed it a moment before impact and jumped backwards.
"You aren't the only one who can throw things around!" Mikoto yelled from near the palace. A couple more large metal trashcans started to float, and then she propelled them forward using magnetism. Carissa looked bored as the approached her. She jumped over two of them, and then cut the third one in half with a simple slashing motion. A long, thin, white belt debris flew at Mikoto and she was forced to jump to the side to avoid it. It crashed into the side of the palace, leaving a large indention in the wall. Carissa raised Curtana again and this time it appeared she was targeting Mikoto. Before she could, several arrows flew at her and she reversed direction and created a large white debris wall to block them. This wall also prevented Itsuwa from approaching.
"It's just one pest after another," Carissa said angrily. "All of you can die already." She kicked the debris wall and it was lifted into the air with just her strength. It flew at the nuns and they had to scatter before
It came crashing down on them. It hit the ground with a large thud and continued to slide, smashing into the fence, leaving a large barren grove in the garden. "As soon as one pest arrives, more follow. It's time for a thorough extermination." She raised her sword and prepared to make an enormous cut to crush all of them with a single move. The nuns, Mikoto, Itsuwa, and Touma began to retreat, while Kaori was beginning to lunge forward to try to stop the attack. Carissa had just started to swing Curtana when she stopped. Touma didn't know why, but he noticed Kaori had stopped too. Both Carissa and Kaori turned to look up into the sky in the same direction.
"Why did they…" he muttered when he heard it. He looked in the same direction and his words were caught in his throat. Something large was flying through the air directly at them all. As it got closer, he saw it was a large white shape. That's a piece of Curtana's debris, but how… Ah crap, it's to close. He turned and continued to run. The piece was easily 100 feet long. It was around the size of one of the pieces Carissa had been throwing across the city. It was heading toward were Carissa and Kaori were fighting, but it was large enough the impact would affect every one there. Kaori and Carissa were in the most danger, but their speed allowed them to dodge by retreating in opposite directions.
The debris smashed down onto the ground with an earth shattering boom. Dirt, asphalt, and foliage were thrown like a small tidal wave from the point of impact. Touma dove behind one of the large pieces of Curtana's debris to avoid being suffocated. He pulled his shirt over his mouth and nose, as dust was thrown up into the air. A moment later he peered out from behind his cover and looked around. The dust was beginning to settle, but he couldn't see anyone. Laughter began to echo through the dust and smoke, and then Touma heard several familiar voices.
"Ha, I was right. This was a lot faster than walking through all those f$%^*& mines."
"That was super awesome. We definitely have to do it again."
"I think I'm going to lose my lunch."
The dust cleared and Touma saw three people standing on top of the debris. He grinned when he recognized Accelerator, Agnese, and Saiai, all of whom seemed to be perfectly fine. I'm glad they are all okay. We really need help.
"About time you got here!" Mikoto yelled when she saw who it was. "I'm surprised you didn't just barrel through everything to get here."
"What?" Accelerator said turning around and looking at her. "How did the third rate beat us?" He glanced over his shoulder at Agnese and Saiai. "You two slowed me down."
"It super wasn't my fault," Saiai said, raising her hands in front of her.
"We needed to clear the path as much has possible for everyone else," Agnese told him, sounding like this was the millionth time she had to explain it. "Just be glad she gave you a convenient way to get here."
"Good to see you Accelerator," Touma called out. He noticed Kaori grinned at Accelerator's presence and he remembered she knew how strong Accelerator was. Itsuwa started to make her way, silently to avoid attention, over to Touma.
"Well now that we are here," Accelerator said jumping down onto the ground and turning to look at Carissa. "I guess it's time to finish you off." He didn't even bother to look at Saiai and Agnese as they hoped down too and spread out to either side. Neither one of them wanted to get in his way.
Carissa was silent as she looked at the unexpected arrivals. Well, their way of arrival was unexpected, because she had known more of the church forces would be making their way here. She didn't recognize two of them, but she didn't spare them anything more than a passing glance. To Carissa, those two were garbage, it was Accelerator she had her eyes on. She knew who he was, she met him at the audience earlier, but she didn't understand his powers. From the reports she obtained, he had effortlessly stood against even battled hardened knights. She understood a single touch from his could destroy objects and send people flying. He's not a magician, I know that. His science power isn't pure strength, but I don't know the trick behind it. He is actually a threat I need to get rid of immediately. She swung Curtana horizontally in front of her and the dimensions severed. A large piece of white debris appeared and she flung it at Accelerator.
Accelerator frowned at her action, not because he was scared but because he had never seen a dimension severed before. He had been told of the power, but he didn't believe it. Now that he saw it with his own eyes, he couldn't understand it. It was like Carissa cut a void into the very world with nothing behind it, until the white debris appeared. How the hell does this even work? The chunk of debris flew at him, but he didn't even bat an eye. The debris collided with him and then immediately revered direction. Right before the debris hit Carissa, there was another void and the debris split in half. Each half flew past either side of Carissa and collided into the side of the palace. The wall and roof collapsed and starting crashing into the ground until it turned into a large pile of rubble. "Oops," he laughed, not sorry at all. "I hope you have good insurance on the palace."
"Interesting," Carissa muttered, ignoring his comment and looking at him. "At last, a real test for Curtana's power." She didn't understand his power, but she didn't care anymore. She wanted to test the full power of Curtana and she needed a strong opponent. They looked at each other for a moment, their eyes clashing, and they charged at each other. Accelerator held out his hand, as he blasted his way forward, and Carissa swung her blade forward, to slice off his arm. His hand touched Curtana and for an instant, Touma didn't have any idea what was going to happen. On one side there was a powerful magical artifact, on the other Accelerator had the ability to manipulate any direction. The outcome surprised everyone.
Accelerator flew backwards, uninjured, and landed on his feet.
What the hell? Accelerator had never encountered anything like that. When he started to redirect the magical vectors, he found out something. Curtana had almost an infinite number of vectors. No matter how strong a computer was, there was always a limit to how much data could be processed. The human brain was exactly like a computer. Even though Accelerator was one of the smartest people in Academy City, he still had limits. He immediately made the decision to retreat, rather than getting hit by the sheer mass of power. I can't affect the sword directly, so I guess I have to aim for her body. Before he got a chance to plan his attack, Carissa was already approaching him.
"Don't tell me that's all you have," she said grinning. She had felt some of Curtana's power being deflected, but it was only a drop in an ocean, so it didn't affect anything for her. She wanted to see what he could do against Curtana's real power, so she unleashed the All Dimensions Severance Spell. She drew back her blade, and aimed her slash at Accelerator's throat.
Accelerator felt fear before he had an idea what happened. It was the same kind of fear he felt when he had first fought against Touma. It was the fear of facing an existence that shouldn't even exist. His body moved by instinct and he flung his body to the right. His quick movement caused the slash to miss his neck, but it cut into his shoulder. There was no reflection at all. Accelerator's eyes realized this immediately. How were there no vectors? He could only come up with one explanation. Carissa was slicing something that had no proper calculation. After all it's not like a temporal plane is just made up of vectors. If she's cutting scalars, I wouldn't be able to alter the trajectory because there is no direction. If I had time to thoroughly examine the building blocks of dimensions… f#$% that. Who knows how long it would take to do that shit? He grabbed his left shoulder with his right hand, as he felt the pain. His vector manipulation was preventing blood from flowing out, but it still hurt like hell. "So I guess the stories are true," he said slowly. "That sword really is special."
"About time you showed me some respect," Carissa laughed. "It's far too late for you to beg for your life though." Across the garden, Mikoto and Saiai could only stare in shock. They had never seen Accelerator retreat, or be so obviously overpowered. The fact Accelerator was injured by an attack, that should have been reflected, surprised them both. Mikoto had only see Touma affect him so easily, and Touma was rather unique. Kaori was also surprised, but not quite as much as the others. She knew there was a limit to his strength, because of her observation against Acqua, but his power could be said to be above a normal Saint. Agnese didn't expect any outcome, but she knew Accelerator had to witness Curtana's power at some point. "It appears your power can't stop Curtana." She drew her sword back and prepared to make a much larger cut, one he couldn't avoid.
"Shit," Accelerator muttered. For the first time in a long time, he wasn't sure what to do. With just that brief exchange, he realized Carissa was faster than him. He also couldn't reflect Curtana and he knew Carissa realized this. The void began to appear and was traveling toward him, when a hand reached past his shoulder and collided with the void. With the sound of shattering glass, the void disappeared. Carissa was forced to jump back, as the hand narrowly missed Curtana. "Who told you to get involved?" Accelerator snarled.
"Sorry," Touma said sincerely. "Damn, thought I had it that time." He noticed Carissa's sole focus was on Accelerator, so he snuck around the debris and waited for the perfect moment. "I can't erase the actual debris, it seems to be a physical byproduct of her cut, but I can negate the cut itself." He slammed his fist into his other hand. "How about a team up?" Touma grinned at him.
"Pssh," Accelerator huffed. "I could take her down myself. But I guess I can give you the honor of fighting with me."
"Thanks," Touma said resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "It's our first official team up isn't it?"
"Shut up."
"You two really are an interesting combination," Carissa commented. "It is a shame you won't join me, such a waste of potential. But you two can't possibly defeat me alone. After all…" She stopped as a large lightning bolt came down and struck her. The bright flash faded and Carissa still stood looking annoyed, but appeared to be uninjured, though smoking slightly
"They aren't alone," Mikoto yelled at her. "I'm here too."
"So are we," Kaori added as she and Itsuwa joined Touma and Accelerator. Both of them had their weapons drawn and pointed at Carissa. The other nuns, who had hid from Accelerator's big entrance, had also prepared their weapons on the opposite side of Carissa.
"I haven't had a chance to show off my power," Agnese said holding out her Lotus Wand threateningly.
"We will stop you," Itsuwa declared.
"Don't forget about me," Saiai piped up. "I super want to punch her once or twice."
"Hmm," Carissa said, looking rather amused. "You certainly are confident. After all, thinking of standing up to the leader of angels is foolish bravado. But, I have many more tricks under my sleeve. Did you think I had not prepared for every eventuality?"
"No matter what tricks you have," Touma told her. "We can overcome it. You are alone while our numbers will just grow as our allies make their way here."
"She is not alone," a strong confident male voice said. While the man did not yell, his voice reverberated through all of them. Every one of them, including Carissa turned to see who it was. Walking toward them, still dressed in his fine suit, was Knight Leader. He walked confidently toward them, his eyes never leaving Touma's face.
No, Mikoto groaned silently. We are barely standing up to her alone, now he's here? Kuroko said he was ridiculously powerful too.
"So you finally showed yourself," Carissa snarled, though there was a slight hint of fondness. "You disappeared after chasing down one person."
"I'm sorry my lady," Knight Leader said and bowed. "He used an unknown style of magic, and he was accompanied by a member of the boy's group. She also had a strange power that could bypass my defenses."
"I expect a full report," Carissa told him. "For now, let's end these fools. Oh, keep him for last," she gestured at Touma. "I have a special punishment for him." Knight leader nodded and Touma felt a shiver down his spine. He also felt several dark auras coming from Mikoto, Itsuwa, Kaori, and Agnese. Accelerator also noticed this and grinned, but his grin was for something completely different. Knight leader pulled out his sword, from his waist holder, and stood next to Carissa, facing them.
There was silence as the two forces stared at each other. An ominous feeling hung in the air and the wind itself seemed to die, as if it was afraid.
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.
Mikoto: So…. How did Mugino-san do?
Me: Well, she only threatened to kill a couple readers.
Accelerator: Sounds about right.
Motoharu: Well, could have been worse, right? Good luck you guys in facing Carissa.
Touma: We are going to succeed because we have to.
Misaki: When I get there and stand besides my beloved Touma, we definitely will.
Mikoto: I'm already here. We will take care of it long before you show up.
Misaki: My Misaka-san, you are so violent.
Mikoto: You…
Motoharu: You can always ask Kami-yan who he wants to fight with…. Oh he disappeared. Well, who is doing the next chapter comments?
Me: I wanted Accelerator too, but he just flicked me off and put on his headphones.
Ruiko: Uiharu and I cou…
Last Order: MISAKA wants to do it MISAKA yells as MISAKA raising her hand and waves it wildly.
Me: Hmm
Accelerator: No.
Me: Well if Accelerator won't do it, I suppose you could. Some of the readers though post things that may not be suitable for… Nah, I'm sure you will be fine.
Accelerator: Fine, I'll f$%^&% do it.
Motoharu: Mother hen.
(EXPLOSION)