Sorry there is no Halloween chapter omake or anything. I thought about it, but decided I didn't want to interrupt the flow of the story or separate my thought process on a separate project. So I figured, why not add some death and destruction, a little whipping, and people running in fear? That is Halloweenish right? I hope so, because it happened. I did decide on how all the different scenes are going to be presented, mostly chronologically. I hope each fight is unique enough, but still ties the overall theme together. Oh, I definitely did not plan to release this chapter after Mr? released his new chapter just so my story would be above his. There is no way I'm that shallow or happen to be in some sort of rivalry with him. Anyway, I don't really have anything else to say except NT17 soon and I'm looking forward to it.

general ironox: I had a list of people to choose from for Eve's group, but they all have something in common which ties them together. Cain's really the only one who can fight Accelerator and possibly win, so Accelerator having back up is perfect here.

Brosephg: There is always a difference in fights involving a lot of people and one on one fights. One on one fights always seem to be more personal and you can focus on an individual, while group fights focus more on all the visual aspects. It's also easier to write scenes with fewer numbers of people. Each of the fights will be unique and have a lot of twists that will, hopefully, be even better than the sin fights.

Seeker: He's such a slacker like that.

KaguTsumi: Hmm, interesting. Guts, lots of guts. Don't mind my secret laughter, it doesn't mean anything.

Whwsms: You have a lot of interesting thoughts, and I would be interested in hearing more details to see how close your ideas are to mine. I feel like Yuna is going to mess up the harem plan, but not sure. Remember, she was never supposed to be a recurring character. Eve's harem is different. It's always the males with lots of girls, why not a girl with a lot of guys? Touma could be one of many and maybe he will understand what the girls go through. Over a million words, heh. This became a novel.

DivineDemonDragon: I fixed that pretty fast when you noticed. Always a problem with similar names. Misaka and Misaki have tripped me up a lot too.

wildarms13: As soon as Sphinx decides to move out, the #6 will do something. You know Touma, he's surrounded by hot girls, getting fed five star cuisines, and naturally having the best luck ever… if you believed that, I have a bridge to sell you. All the historical figures have a common theme, so they worked out great.

Salishious: I don't know if we can be friends anymore with you booing gears of war. I'm not sure about the fights, Misaki's could surprise you when we get there. As for your question, it depends on the situation, but focuses on the following question. "When would an interruption cause him the most misfortune?" If someone who likes him is nearby, it would probably be during the kiss so they can angrily interrupt them. If no one is, he might get hit by a falling potted plant as he tries to lean in and kiss.

RPGPersona: It was never mention who Misaki was going to meet, but it was an old friend. I wanted to introduce her this way, but got side tracked. Ignorance, the most powerful defense against Worst. I did get a laugh at Atomic Samurai Jack though.

Yakutsu Zaishiro: Hmm, Touma does need a harem worldwide. It's kind of an achievement.

Generation Zero: That Australia fight is going to be incredibly long and have a lot of twists and turns. I can't give out to much more information now though. King Author should fit it with the common theme of the fallen, if you know his history. (Not Disney history though.)

Jujudude: After Australian adventure, Touma will definitely get more dates and learn how the girls are vastly different. Worst's job is to annoy Accelerator. I'm not even sure if there are any signs in the novels she does. She takes all the negative emotions the network would feel and directs it at him.

GameCguru: That's what I ended up doing. It's mostly going to be chronologically.

FrodoFighter: "GOD DAMN KING ARTHUR! This chapter won in this moment." I'm glad you enjoyed the surprise. I hope his abilities live up to your expectations. You kind of already deduced his fighting style based on the clues I put in.

Agent Nine: Scenes will change occasionally, but I'm trying to avoid them alternating too much.

naruhinasakufan1: Character growth and change is one of my favorite parts I write about. It's interesting to imagine how a single event can cause chain reactions for how people act and perceive others around them. Especially since most of the main characters are middle/high school students and they have a lot of maturing to do.

Syko-Soldier963: They didn't ask. No, but there's no immediate plans to add her. Probably not. He got pissed, threatened Motoharu, and then got over it and went to sleep. You got some easy questions, give me some hard ones.

Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.

"Blah!?"

Touma spluttered after he felt a bunch of water on his face. He groaned and rubbed his sore head without opening his eyes. He was vaguely aware he was lying on the hard ground and finally looked up. The tent he was in was different than the one he had passed out in. It was a lot smaller and he could see out of the corner of his eyes two cots on either side of him, with a small backpack shoved in one corner. He blinked and then felt another bucket of water hit him in the face again. He spluttered once more and now was fully awake. He sat up, which turned out to be a big mistake. His head started throbbing and he felt nauseous. The last thing he remembered was seeing Carissa before everything went black. His brain begun to process everything that had happened and realized someone was throwing water on him. He looked around and his eyes widened in recognition. A familiar blonde haired, blue eyed man in his early twenties looked down at him while holding a bucket.

It was Zach, who had a wide grin plastered on his face.

"So, sleeping beauty, you awake yet?"

"Zach?" Touma coughed. "How, why…?"

"Calm down," Zach told him. "You suffered a mild heat stroke. You have to drink a lot of water when you are out here." He leaned backwards out of the tent and spoke to someone. "He's up." A second later, Ruiko barged in and was holding a canteen in her hand. "She's been worried about you." His smirk widened behind Ruiko, so she did not see.

"I'm glad you are okay," Ruiko said, as she crouched down next to him and handed him the canteen. "Here, they said for you to drink this slowly or you might start throwing up."

"Thanks," Touma replied gratefully and took a sip of the cool water. "What about the others? Was that really Carissa there or was that all a hallucination?"

"The others are back in the main tent," Ruiko explained quickly and then looked nervous. "They wanted to discuss a few things while you were out. And… you were not hallucinating. She was actually there."

"How?" Touma asked in shock and turned to Zach. "I thought she was locked in isolation?"

"She was," Zach confirmed. "But she was let out to lead this joint operation with the Anglican Church. A military leader was needed and she was available." His voice got softer, as if he was worried someone might overhear them. "I accidently heard the Queen talking to Knight Leader about it. I guess they have seen positive changes in her behavior. There was something about counseling from someone who was supposed to be a good influence on her. I didn't hear who, but the number of people who could contact her was limited, so if we found that list, it shouldn't be hard to figure out whom."

"No idea who that could be," Touma lied. No one needs to find out about my conversations with her. I hope she doesn't tell anyone about it, but I'm pretty sure she won't. "How long was I out and what's going to happen now?"

"Not even ten minutes," Ruiko told him helpfully.

"I see," Zach said, slightly suspiciously. He didn't have any knowledge or proof of Touma's involvement, but his keen observational skills told him otherwise. "I'm supposed to bring you back to the command tent once you are awake and feel up to it." He checked his watch. "We really should get in there soon. They are not patient people."

"I can believe that," Touma agreed with a nod of his head. "I'm feeling better, so let's not keep them waiting."

"Are you sure?" Ruiko asked. She leaned forward to look at his face closely. "You still look kind of red."

"I might need to lie down after the meeting," Touma admitted. "But I'm well enough to participate. I've been through worse."

"If you are sure..." Ruiko was worried about him, but kept her thoughts to herself. There's too much going on for him to idle, but his health may start being affected. After this meeting, he needs to get some rest. It would be selfish for her to voice her worries when a lot of people's lives were at stake if they didn't stop Adam. She had to use all her willpower to keep her mouth shut.

"Follow me then you two," Zach commanded. "We might have some time to talk and catch up after this meeting." Touma nodded and he and Ruiko took off after Zach. They weren't that far from the command tent and Zach announced their arrival before they entered. "He's up," he announced to everyone there. Touma felt everyone's eyes turn to him and he started to sweat. Zach bowed and exited the tent, which left Touma the center of attention.

"I see you finally decided to join us," Leivinia said. "Try not faint again. We already delayed the debriefing waiting for you."

"I'll try not to," Touma mumbled. Now that he was prepared, he looked around the tent. Agnese was sitting on the side of the table closest to him. Leivinia and Lessar were sitting on the left side of the table. Lessar looked bored, but Leivinia was showing how irritated she was at being kept waiting. Frenda and Imouto were off to the side, but were in view of the table and close enough to engage in conversation if they needed to. Ruiko was moving slowly around the edge of the tent toward the empty chair next to them. Oriana was nowhere to be seen. She must have been only assigned to transport us. His eyes turned to the four other individuals in the room. He saw the familiar face of George Clark on the other side of the table from himself. Wow, he's here. I'm kind of relieved to see him. He's a lot more rational than the princess and not as serious as Knight Leader. George was sitting next to a female with brown skin and black hair tied up in braids. She was staring at him intently with only seriousness in her brown eyes. Touma turned his attention away from her quickly and his eyes fell on the man next to her.

"William?" Touma asked in shock. William Orwell, formerly Aqua of the Back, sat in a chair with his arm crossed and a stony look on his face. The only sign he gave Touma that he heard him was to nod his head slightly.

"He's here on Villian's request." Touma's eyes darted to Carissa, the last person at the table and the one who spoke. She was also sitting down in a chair and had a side of the table completely to herself. She was staring at him intently and Touma felt more sweat form on the back of his neck. "Take a seat boy. You kept us waiting long enough." Her glare intensified and Touma could only do what she commanded him to do. There was only one seat open and it was on the closest side of the table to him and to the right of Agnese, but nearest to Carissa. He mechanically walked over and sat down without saying anything. "Good, we can finally get started. I believe a quick introduction is in order. I am Princess Carissa, as you all well know." She gestured to her right.

"William Orwell," he said gruffly. "I am here representing Third Princess Villian."

"George Clark," George introduced himself, mainly for the others. "One of the commanders under Second Princess Carissa."

"Amelia Taylor," the woman with brown skin and braids said. "The second commander under the Second Princess."

"I'm the representative of New Light," Lessar announced casually. "My name is Lessar." Carissa scowled slightly at her lackluster response.

"Leivinia Birdway," Leivinia announced. "I am the leader and representative of the Dawn-Colored Sunlight." There was a sharp intake of breath from George, Amelia, and Agnese. Even though Agnese knew who she was, there was a lot of tension between Leivinia's group and the others. Mainly, their overall goals differed significantly.

"Agnese Sanctis," Agnese spoke up to break the silence. "Representing the Anglican Church."

"Now that the formalities are over," Carissa continued. "Let's get to the reason why we are all here."

"Wait," Amelia spoke up. She pointed to Touma. "Who is he and why is he allowed to be at this table?" She also gestured to Ruiko, Imouto, and Frenda off to the side. "And why are there children here?"

"Children?" spluttered Frenda angrily. Ruiko grabbed her shoulder to keep her seated.

"We don't want to cause trouble," Ruiko whispered frantically. I get an uneasy feeling seeing everyone here together. It's like they don't normally get along.

Technically we are children if she is using the standard definition of a person under the age of 18, Imouto thought.

"The boy there is the current wielder of the Imagine Breaker," Carissa told Amelia curtly. Her eyes however showed her true intentions. Carissa was only waiting for someone to ask. "He is the key to our plans, so he needs to understand what is going to happen." Amelia's eyes widened and George hid a smile behind his crossed hands. It seemed like he purposely didn't tell her either. "The others," Carissa continued. "Seem to be stoleaways who snuck onto his flight. I granted them permission to stay," her eyes narrowed and her voice became sharp, "if they remain quiet." Frenda looked away and tried to appear innocent. Touma suddenly imagined what conversations went on while he was passed out.

"So what is our current situation," Leivinia asked. She leaned forward and looked down at the map spread out on the table. "From what I understand, Adam has set up a defense your forces are unable to penetrate."

"That's an understatement," George explained, as he pointed to a spot on the map. "Our base camp is here. Adam has erected a barrier covering this entire area over here." He moved his hand to an area marked with a red circle. "It's several miles in diameter and everything we have tried to break through it has failed."

"You have the resources of the Anglican Church and the knights," Lessar pointed out. "What's causing so much trouble?" She found it hard to believe two of Britain's strongest forces would be helpless against a single barrier.

"The barrier reflects any magic cast at it," Agnese explained. "Like a giant mirror. So even if we managed to find a spell that would work, it can't reach. We tried to blow it away with force and it resulted in dozens of my forces being severely injured."

"Are they okay?" Touma asked. People are already getting hurt. We need to solve this quickly.

"They won't be battle ready for a while," Agnese admitted. "But everyone else is ready to go once we break it."

"I take it physical assaults didn't work either," Leivinia said and looked at George and Amelia.

"It was about as affected as the church's magic," Amelia acknowledged. "Our forces were actually able to pass the barrier, but it does something to warp space. You can run in, but you find yourself running out of it from the direction you came from immediately."

"Sounds like spatial manipulation," Touma muttered to himself thinking. Jason's ability uses that, so he might know how to break it. I seem to recall him saying enough energy would break his shadow, but it doesn't look like that's the case here. I wonder if I should try to contact him. Adam could be bending space to cause people to enter and leave from the same location. He moved his hand to his pocket automatically, before he felt everyone's eyes on him. He looked up and confirmed they were all staring at him. "Err, did I say something wrong?"

"How much do you know about that?" Carissa demanded.

"Not a lot," Touma said quickly. "A friend of mine uses that as the base for his ability. I was thinking of contacting him. He might be able to give us some insight."

"You probably won't get a cellphone signal out here," George informed him. "We have to amplify our equipment with magic to ensure our signals are strong enough to get back to England, but are still masked in case they are intercepted."

"I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up," Carissa sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"As soon as I think you have something going for you," Leivinia added. "You destroy any expectations."

"I guess it's that straightforwardness that lets him do what he does," Lessar laughed.

"Sorry," Touma muttered. Amelia's eyes were glued on him, which made him incredibly uncomfortable.

"Anyway," Carissa said and forced the conversation back on topic. "Since everything we tried failed, we were left with two options. Use the Index Librorum Prohibitorum to decipher the barrier or have the Imagine Breaker destroy it outright. We decided on the latter. First, we don't know how long it would take to decipher the spell and if we could even target the core of the spell from our position. Second, the Archbishop was adamant about not letting her come here. She didn't believe we could protect her from Adam's wrath."

"He's not one to take it easy on people," Touma admitted. He was secretly glad Index wasn't here, but he was still worried about her. Eve was in Academy City. "Eve likes to make complicated plans, but Adam seems like he will head straight toward his goal, using whatever means necessary. He was willing to kill us when we first met him in Italy, and we didn't even know he and Eve existed."

"In some ways that makes it easier," Leivinia said. "But also more dangerous." Touma stared at her and she sighed. "Complicated plans can be harder to identify in their early stages. That's their strength, but they have a fatal weakness. If you can find out what the plan is soon enough, you can stop it easily. The more complicated the plan is, the more fragile each step is, like the cogs in a machine. A small interruption can cause the plan to fall apart. A simple and straightforward plan can be easily identified, but harder to stop, like a bolder rolling down a hill. Whatever Adam is doing, most likely falls in this category. Once we break the barrier, we should be able to figure out what it is and put a stop to it."

"And Lover Boy's hand should be able to break Adam's pathetic barrier," Lessar pointed out. Amelia looked over at George and mouthed, 'Lover Boy?' George shrugged, but the hint of a smirk formed on his face.

"That will solve our first problem," Carissa agreed. "And you have touched on the second problem. We don't know what Adam is looking for, but the information we have says the wing is in Academy City, so he shouldn't be after that. However, there is a possibility that is a lie to separate our forces."

"Eve seemed pretty serious when she told us that though," Ruiko spoke up and immediately paled under the glares from everyone at the table, except for Touma and Agnese.

"We have to keep the option in mind," Agnese agreed. "Once the barrier is down, we will have a clearer picture. There is also the possibility he is looking for something else we don't know about."

"Then there is one more problem," Carissa continued and glanced over at George. He nodded and pointed back to the map.

"We have no idea how numerous Adam's forces are," George informed them. Touma's stomach dropped. "We have to assume the worse once we break the barrier."

"From what I have seen," Lessar interjected. "Eve and Adam are only working with a small group. Most of their forces are only puppet created by Eve."

"That used to be true," Amelia refuted. "But you wouldn't know what is happening right now. A lot of people have been disappearing from the surrounding villages and towns around the border of the desert. Our scouts have even spotted several people wandering into the barrier, but not coming out." She pointed to several X marks on the map. "Here are the locations. We think someone there is using magic to control normal people's mind."

"We need to save them!" Touma said loudly.

"And we will," George told him calmly. "Don't overwork yourself now. Once Adam and any other members of his group are dealt with, the others should return to normal."

"So when is the assault?" Leivinia asked. "I assume you want to attack as soon as possible to prevent him from finishing his work or gathering too many reinforcements."

"We were planning to attack earlier today," George admitted. "But several things have been delayed."

"The courier we hired to pick you up was late," spat out Carissa. "Then our reinforcements and supplies won't be here until almost midnight." She looked pissed. "A night assault is out of the question."

"Why?" Touma asked. That doesn't sound like her. Carissa wouldn't be deterred from a fight just because it's dark out.

"A large scale fight at night without proper planning would only result in massive casualties and most likely a humiliating defeat Misaka explains." Touma turned his head to Imouto.

I completely forget sometimes that she had military training.

"This young lady knows what she is talking about," George said with an approving nod. "If we could only guarantee a small skirmish, we would definitely move out tonight. Since the enemy's numbers and objective is unknown, we have to err on the side of caution. Our plan is to move out at first light tomorrow morning."

"You mean we have to stay out here in the desert," Leivinia groaned. "Overnight?"

"There is no town nearby," George pointed out. Amelia crossed her arms and looked annoyed at Leivinia's attitude, but she held her tongue.

"So how is the attack going to proceed tomorrow?" Leivinia asked.

"We are going to assault Adam's base from three directions," Amelia explained. She tapped the map at all three locations. "Princess Carissa will be leading the main force, while George and I will be leading our forces here and here." She looked up at everyone. "Because of the unknown variables, we need a commander available at each group. We will have to adapt to any surprises we encounter." This time, she looked directly at Touma. "Of course, this strategy will only work if you can break the barrier. Can you do it?"

Touma looked at her and then realized everyone else was staring at him too. It dawned on him how important his hand was now. He had lived with his hand so long, he didn't really consider it that impressive, but others did. If he couldn't break the barrier with his hand or if he refused to help, their plan would not work. Of course, one of those options was unthinkable to him. "I'll do it," Touma said with conviction. "Even if I have to run around the entire perimeter to find its weak point. I'll do whatever it takes, no matter how many times I have to try. I already saw the people Adam was willing to hurt. There were kids unrelated to this suffering from his magic. He has to be stopped."

"Well said," George agreed. Ruiko beamed at him, Agnese grinned, Imouto gave an approving nod, and even Lessar smiled. Though her thoughts were focused on how to take that motivation and move it to England. Leivinia and Frenda, the most experienced with the less pleasant sides of the world, merely shook their heads in exasperation, but they didn't appear angry. Amelia was speechless for a moment, but managed to raise an eyebrow in interest. William continued to be silent in the background, but he raised an eyebrow.

"I take it your doubts are cleared?" Carissa asked Amelia smugly.

"For now," she replied. "I'm waiting to see if his power was worth risking our entire operation for."

"You won't be disappointed," George reassured her.

"He withstood a vampire's magic head on," Leivinia added. "A small thing like a barrier will be child's play."

"So it's true?" William asked, speaking for the first time since the introduction. "I heard Cain was with Eve in Academy City."

"He lives up to his reputation," Lessar muttered. "It was like fighting the princess when she wielded Curtana." Carissa scowled, but didn't say anything. It was more like she really couldn't. "His main magic involved the earth and plants, but the very pressure he gave off was overwhelming."

"It's one of the reasons the Church sent reinforcements," Agnese said. "Kaori Kanzaki, a few of the Amakusa, and the rest of New Light was sent to protect the city while the boy was here."

"I hope Bayloupe gets a chance to make some progress," Lessar said with a grin. "There's no rush for them to leave when we get back."

"Eve hasn't been making any big moves so far," Touma informed the others. "She's after someone, but hasn't been able to capture her. She appeared before me and Mikoto and she seems to be getting impatient. My friends are keeping a lookout for any movement too."

"Good news at least," Carissa said with a grin. "As long as she can't get what she needs, she will have no choice but to act rashly. That's when complicated plans slip up."

"So there is a chance Eve could attack while we are here?" Frenda asked. Mugino needs to know this. She should at least get a chance to prepare.

"That's a possibility," Carissa shrugged. "But our priority now is Adam. We can't be everywhere at once. Once he is taken care of tomorrow, you can go back while we decide how to deal with Eve."

"Okay," Frenda sighed. Once this meeting is over, I need to see if I can get a signal. I wonder if they have any explosives here? I could make some extra bombs.

"Our people were fully briefed on what Eve was doing in Academy City," Agnese added. "They will take precautions to make sure your friends are safe." Frenda didn't believe Shizuri needed help from them, but she figured it would be better to keep quiet right now.

"Then it's settled," Carissa said and stood up. "Make sure to get them a couple of tents. As for the Imagine Breaker, find him a male roommate."

"I already have someone in mind," George informed her.

"Good," she replied. "I'm glad to see someone remains competent. Does anyone else have any questions?"

"Misaka has a question Misaka informs." Everyone turned to Imouto, who was raising her hand politely, as if she was in school. Carissa stared at her incredulously for a moment, before she gave a brief nod. "Misaka feels as if Adam is setting a trap for all of us Misaka says truthfully. From what Misaka understands, Adam was keeping this a secret until recently. Why would he suddenly reveal himself, unless he wanted to be found? Misaka asks concerned."

"We already considered the possibility of it being a trap," William said. "But even so, this opportunity is too great to ignore."

"But we can't be sure," George continued. "Since we don't know what Adam is after. There is the possibility he is gathering us together to try to wipe us all out at once. However, we believe he is looking for something and he's being forced to set up his plague magic in order to retrieve it. He might even just be casting the spell to keep normal civilians from running into him here."

"There seems to be a lot of unknown variables Misaka mutters suspiciously."

"Tell us about it," Agnese muttered in response.

"First…" Imouto started to say.

"I didn't mean that literally!"

"Well then," Leivinia yawned. "There's still enough time tonight for me to make some preparations for tomorrow."

"Amelia," Carissa said sharply, which caused her to jump to attention. "Show our guests to their tents and give them a brief tour of our base camp, or assign someone to do it. Afterwards, check on the supplies and reinforcements. They should be arriving soon. If you have any extra time, make sure your troops are battle ready and have them relieve the lookouts."

"Understood," Amelia replied hastily, before she turned to the others. "If you all would follow me, we will get you settled in. There are a few details I need to run by you all about tomorrow."

"Are we going to be able to participate?" Frenda asked eagerly. "I have a grudge against their group."

"Only if you can show you won't be a burden," Amelia answered. Her eyes darted to the others. Lessar and Leivinia had stood up with Agnese and were talking in hushed voices, while they made their way to the tent entrance. Ruiko and Imouto were making their way toward Touma. George, William, and Carissa were discussing something in low voices in the corner.

"Are we going to participate?" Ruiko asked him nervously. "I'm not really combat oriented."

"I think if you tell them that they will keep you back," Touma said trying to keep her calm. "But I'm sure there's plenty you can help with that doesn't involve fighting."

"Misaka will make sure to keep her safe Misaka says reassuringly." This caused Ruiko and Touma to laugh. Imouto tilted her head slightly in confusion. "What is so funny Misaka asks?"

"Nothing," Touma said quickly. "I trust you." Imouto felt slightly hot at his praise.

"I'll be in your care," Ruiko added, as she tried very hard to suppress a grin.

"Then we should get going," Touma said. He pointed to the others who were heading out of the tent with Amelia leading the pack. They had just turned, when Carissa spoke up.

"Hold on boy," she said seriously. "You need to stay behind. I have something to discuss with you privately."

Her words seemed to drain the very sound from the tent, as everyone froze and turned to look at either her or Touma.

"What!?" Touma spluttered. "Why?" Ruiko opened her mouth to say something, but Carissa's response overshadowed her.

"I'll tell you when the others have left," Carissa stated simply. "This is private." Amelia and George looked at each other in shock. William frowned slightly, but exited the tent before the inevitable fight started.

"Hang on!" Frenda exclaimed. "Why does he get additional information and we don't?"

"Misaka also believes since we have heard everything already, more information will not cause any security risks Misaka says slightly irritated at being left out."

"What could be so important?" Agnese asked. She managed to keep her voice respectful, but she turned slightly red at Carissa's words.

"You wouldn't happen to be keeping secrets from us?" Leivinia said coldly. "Our organizations may not necessarily be allies, but if you expect us to work together, I recommend not trying to draw that boy to your side secretly."

"Oh no!" Lessar cried. "He's infected her with… what did his friends call it in London? Oh right, Kami-yan disease. Argh!" She grabbed her head. "If he chooses her, he will belong to England, but I'll lose as a woman! Why did she have to fall for him too? There are enough…" A loud bang interrupted her.

"Who taught you brats manners?" Amelia growled. She had hit one of the file cabinets near the entrance of the tent. "You can't talk to the princess that way. She's your commanding officer."

"I am no one's lackey," Leivinia replied and her eyes narrowed. She and Amelia glared at each other and Touma felt a fight was imminent. "If I listen to someone, it's only because I feel I should."

"Birdway," Touma whispered. "Now's not the time for this."

"Shut up!"

"Amelia..." Carissa said dangerously. Her tone was ice cold and Touma shivered slightly. Amelia shut her mouth instantly. Carissa turned her attention to Leivinia. "She's right though. I am in charge of this joint operation and we were kind enough to notify New Light and the Dawn-Colored Sunlight, thinking their expertise might be useful. The majority of these forces belong to me. Therefore, it is my responsibility to ensure this mission's success. All these men and women are military trained professionals and understand the chain of command. If you can't, you will only be a disruption to the overall group. That disruption could cause unnecessary deaths, which I will not allow. If you are unable to follow my orders, you will be escorted out, by force if needed. Am I clear enough for you?"

"I almost would like to see you try," Birdway growled back. Her eyes darted to the others and stopped on Touma. "But I won't argue with that logic. This is your show. If we fail, it's all on you. I'll try to cooperate when we start." She turned and left the tent without another word. The others followed her, but Lessar still looked the most disappointed out of all of them. Ruiko paused a moment, looked back at Touma, and tried to give him a reassuring smile. It was kind of forced, but he was thankful for it.

"George," Carissa called out. He was the last one to leave, but stopped as soon as she said her name. "Have whoever he's bunking with wait outside. He can give this boy a tour after I am finished with him." A shiver went down Touma's spine. George gave her a nod and exited the tent. The door flaps closed and fell unnaturally into place. Touma looked at Carissa, who was staring right at him, and he gulped.

"What did you want to discuss?" he asked nervously. Carissa didn't answer him, instead she turned around and walked to a large trunk. She opened it and started rummaging around. Touma was a little annoyed, but knew better than to say anything. Carissa is tough and likes to tease me, but she wouldn't do something without reason. He stood in silence and waited patiently for Carissa to find what she was looking for. Eventually, Carissa pulled out a laptop and set it up on the corner of the table. She turned it on and stepped back.

"Is audio and visual working?" Carissa asked.

"Everything is clear on my end," a familiar woman's voice responded. Touma coughed when the screen revealed Queen Elizard, who was sitting down on the throne in Buckingham Palace and looking at him. "Good evening Mr. Kamijou. I hope to find you well. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to help our forces in Australia."

"It wasn't a problem," Touma told her, but he was partially lying. He was happy to help, but now he was going to miss a couple days of school he would have to make up. "I don't think I would have gotten a choice though, but I wish you could find a way to give me more warning on these kinds of things. Most of my friends are going to wonder where I disappeared to."

"I will keep that in mind if we require your assistance in the future," Elizard promised. "But you know, these situations don't tend to give much warning."

"You can say that again..." Touma sighed. Elizard smiled and then turned to Carissa.

"Have you received everything?"

"We are missing one shipment of supplies and one detachment," Carissa responded. "Even with the delays, everything should be ready for us to move out first thing in the morning. Tonight will be Adam's last."

"Is there any possibility we can capture him instead of killing him?" Touma asked, but he knew full well what to expect.

"Are you stupid boy?" Carissa asked irritated. "You actually want to try to capture one of the most powerful magicians in the world? Or do you think you can reason with him if given the chance? Answer me honestly."

"I don't think he can be reasoned with," Touma admitted. "But that doesn't mean I shouldn't try. If there is even a small chance we can prevent any more destruction or death, it should be worth a shot."

"An interesting assertion," Elizard commented. "Let me hear how you would attempt this feat."

"Not possible," Carissa interrupted angrily. "It's a foolish pipe dream that is not even worth considering. His mind has been twisted far more than even Eve. An entire continent is under siege from his power and he doesn't care about the people. All he cares about is his goal of bringing back Lucifer. We should give up on trying to save someone so far gone. His complete destruction is the only way to stop him."

"I didn't give up on you," Touma retorted. "Even when others…" He suddenly realized what he was saying and clasped a hand over his mouth. Carissa and Elizard had frozen. Oh shit, I said too much. My mouth is going to get me killed. Before he could say anything else, Carissa turned around and started rummaging in the trunk she had pulled the laptop out of. Touma didn't see it, but a very faint tinge of pink appeared on her cheeks.

"Oh my," Elizard commented, but there was a twinkle in her eye. "You know, taken the wrong way, that could almost have been a confession." Touma's face paled as the blood rushed from it.

"N-no," he spluttered. "I was pointing out while others wanted to just defeat Carissa, I wanted to save her because I realized she had an ulterior motive for her actions. Even Riméa was able to verify she was doing this for a noble purpose. She just got a little off-track in doing so."

"You seem to be addressing my daughters quite casually," Elizard pointed out. "But your words only confirm my suspicions."

"What suspicions are those!?" Touma asked wildly. Before Elizard could answer, Carissa stood up and interrupted them.

"Found it!" Carissa said triumphantly. "I was afraid I left it back in England. I had to pack in a hurry to get here." She turned around and Touma nearly soiled himself.

She was holding an eight foot long black bullwhip.

"W-what's that for?" Touma asked and took a step back. He knew the answer, but he was praying he was wrong.

"You have been addressing me without respect for far too long," Carissa told him, as she uncoiled the whip. "I overlooked it for a little bit because of what you did in England, but you overstepped your bounds." She snapped the whip and a very deadly crack echoed around the tent. "I'm going to teach you some respect before you leave."

"Let's not get hasty," Touma said quickly, with a hand extended out in front of him. He took another step back when he saw the dark gleam in Carissa's eye. "Someone could get hurt."

"Someone WILL get hurt," Carissa agreed. "How much depends on if they move. I would prefer educational pain, so you will still be ready tomorrow. We can't heal you with magic." She snapped the whip again and Touma dived down to the ground. The whip had come at him vertically and he felt the wind from the blow on his neck. A nearby wooden chair was blown into pieces from the force of the whip's strike. Shards of wood rained down around him and he looked up.

"Is this really necessary?!" Touma cried.

"Yes." Carissa snapped the whip again and Touma rolled backwards on the ground to avoid it. A nice deep groove ended up in the ground. "If you continue to dodge, I may hit something vital."

"There's enough force to tear me apart!" Touma pointed out hastily. "No matter where you hit!" He turned to the laptop screen with Elizard on it. "How about some help?!"

"I would hate to interrupt you two," Elizard responded, with pure amusement on her face. "I was interested to see how you two flirt with each other."

"Who's flirting!?" Carissa and Touma demanded.

"I am teaching this ingrate some respect," Carissa added. She raised the whip again and Touma scrambled backwards.

"That's enough Carissa," Elizard said sternly. "This… ingrate, as you so elegantly put it, was the reason your sentence was so light. His testimony to your character allowed me to change the mind of many people who wanted to keep you locked up. Remember, this assault on Adam's base is a test. If you fail, you could find yourself right back in your cell. Injuring him could be detrimental to your mission." Carissa clicked her tongue, but had to admit she was right. Elizard turned back to Touma. "Allow me to thank you once again. Not only for your willingness to help us against Adam, but for giving us the opportunity to save my daughter. We are in your debt once again."

"You don't owe me anything," Touma said modestly.

"Nonetheless," Elizard continued. "Should you ever need assistance, you only need to let us know."

"You can leave," Carissa snapped impatiently to Touma. "I have a few words for my mother in private."

"Yes ma'am," Touma squeaked and ran out of the tent. He was relieved he got out of there alive. Note to self, don't mention the events in England to Carissa. Carissa waited until he was gone, before she turned to Elizard.

"What kind of nonsense were you spewing?" Carissa demanded.

"I already told you why I wanted to speak with him when he arrived," Elizard pointed out. "I wanted to personally thank him for his help."

"Not that," Carissa interacted. "Everything else."

"Oh," Elizard replied. Her tone implied she knew exactly what Carissa had meant. "I know you saw the letter I gave him and you are fully aware we monitored everything around you after the incident. Yet, you didn't seem to mind as much as I thought. You only yelled at me once about it. In fact, I heard when you were messaging Mr. Kamijou, you seemed to have been enjoying yourself. I was surprise when you ceased contact with him."

"Talking to anyone was better than sitting in a cell with nothing to do," Carissa snapped.

"You have changed since your encounter with him," Elizard continued. "The old you would have been content to accept her punishment and stay in isolation for the rest of her life. Now, you even said he was probably the best suiter I tried to push onto you."

"That's not saying much," Carissa muttered. The memories of the pieces of trash her mother wanted her to meet made her want to vomit. "Then you go and try to push a high school kid on me. Do you really want grandkids that badly?"

"I would like some yes," Elizard admitted. "You and Riméa seem to push away any guys near you two. Knight Leader and I have talked about this often…"

"You two need to keep your noses out of my business," Carissa interrupted. "Besides, guys may act tough, but they always fall apart when they are near me for too long. They break soon enough."

"I don't know about that," Elizard said thoughtfully. "I did warn you about that last guy and you didn't listen. Mr. Kamijou is different, even you can agree to that." Carissa grudgingly nodded. "Maybe you should give him a chance."

"Let's say by some miracle I actually develop a modicum amount of feelings for him," Carissa said with a short sarcastic laugh. "And then got past the age difference. I have to think about my position. A princess marrying a random high school boy from another country? That will cause the rest of the world to scrutinize every move we make."

"That won't be a problem," Elizard laughed. "We never told you, but I suppose now would be a good time as any. You see," Elizard grinned broadly. "If you succeed in this operation with his help, he will be given the title of knight, just like you originally planned."

Carissa was speechless.

Even though Touma was out of the tent, he didn't stop running until he was a good distance away, in case Carissa changed her mind. The people he passed looked at him curiously, but he didn't care. He stopped only to catch his breath, when a voice from behind caused him to jump. "You sure left in a hurry. You didn't even notice me standing there." Touma turned around and came face to face with Zach.

"Sorry," Touma panted. "I had to get away or my life was forfeit."

"So she actually carries a whip with her?" Zach asked, slightly impressed. "Looks like you managed to get away though."

"You heard everything?" Touma asked, while he feared the worst.

"Not everything," Zach admitted. "I kept my distance. I heard an occasional shout and the sound of someone cracking a whip. It was obvious you did not have one, so it had to be her. Am I right?"

"Yes," Touma confirmed. "I said something I shouldn't have and she got a little upset."

"You are lucky you survived," Zach pointed out. "There are stories of what happened to people who crossed her." He shivered. "None of them were pleasant."

"They probably are true," Touma sighed. They looked at each other and burst out laughing. Touma stopped and found the nerve to ask something he had meant to early. "I forgot to ask, after our last encounter in England…"

"Don't worry," Zach reassured him. "I don't hold a grudge. We both believed in something and, in the end, you won. It would be childish for me to be upset. I don't think even the princess holds a grudge against you."

"Could have fooled me," Touma mumbled.

"It's just how she is," Zach laughed. "But you couldn't ask for a more reliable CO. Come on, I'll give you a tour of the camp."

"Are you who I'm bunking with?" asked Touma. Wow, thought I would be assigned to some random person. This could be a good sign because with my luck, I could have accidently been assigned to a female tent like the one lady back there. He frowned as something occurred to him. Do they normally allow females to be knights? I thought they were all guys.

"George thought it would be for the best," Zach explained. "I'm the youngest knight here, so I'm closest to your age and you know me, so we can skip the awkward, hi my name is Zach and I heard you're the princess's fiancée." Touma stumbled and turned to face him in shock.

"Who told you that…?!" Touma stopped yelling when he saw Zach laugh. "It's not funny. You could cause a lot of misunderstandings around here."

"It's pretty funny," Zach disagreed with a shrug and a smirk. He started walking between a row of tents and Touma followed.

"I want to ask something," Touma told him. "Before I forget."

"Sure."

"Is it normal for a woman to be with the knights? I thought they were all men. She was even a commander."

"Ah," Zach replied. "You have to mean Amelia Taylor." He paused for a moment, lost in thought. "Historically, the knights were usually men. When the princess took over, she changed the tradition. She believed anyone who could pass the tests could obtain the title. A few women tried and failed over the years. Amelia was the first one to pass." He went quiet again. "She's as strong as George, maybe even more so in magical aptitude. No one complained when she was made a commander. She tends to do things by the book, which can cause some fights when people believe they need to be more flexible."

"I think I noticed that," Touma admitted. She flipped out when my friends didn't show Carissa a lot of respect. Now that I think about, I didn't either. I should apologize after she calms down. Her mother didn't help the situation. Such misfortune.

"Anyways," Zach continued. "The tour. The tent you were at was the command tent. It's where the COs hold their meetings. We normally don't go in there much unless summoned." He pointed to a small tent were a lot of cables were running from it to the command tent and in a few other directions. "Communications, it's how we can contact England on our status with terrible signal strength here. The supply tent is that medium sized tent, it holds extra weapons, armor, gear, pretty much everything not currently being used. The big tent in the middle that you can see some of the knights leaving from is the commissary. We eat in shifts and the late shift just finished."

"I can't imagine the food being that great if you are trying to feed this many people," Touma commented before he realized what he said. "Sorry, I didn't mean…"

"No," Zach interrupted him. "You're right. Food could be a lot better, but it's still better than rations. You pointed to the main issue. Anything made for the troops has to be made in large quantities. It was a stew tonight."

"What kind?"

"It's best not to ask." Touma made a mental note to try to finish up as quickly as possible to avoid having to eat too many meals here. Zach continued the tour while Touma remained silent. "The outhouses are those small stalls that way, away from the rest of camp. Don't expect much and hold your breath as long as possible."

Birdway is not going to be happy.

"Vehicles are on that side of the camp." Zach pointed to their right. "Mostly jeeps, but we have a couple tanks."

"Tanks?" Touma asked stunned.

"We prepared for anything," Zach reminded him. "If we had more time, we might have set up a couple missile sites." Touma's eyes widened. He was not use to large scale battles like this, so the preparation was a little overwhelming for him. "First aid station is there. If you don't watch yourself around the princess, I wouldn't be surprised to see you there often."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Touma sighed and Zach laughed.

"And here are my squad's tents," Zach told him and pointed to the rows of tents in front of him. "There's a small gap in between different squads to separate us. It makes it easier for us to move as one unit in case of emergencies when you know who you are working with." Touma followed him between two tents and he was careful to avoid stepping on any stakes or tripping on the ropes. "Oh hey guys. I didn't realize you were still playing cards."

"Nothing else to do until they tell us to move out," someone answered, as Touma stepped out into an opening between the tents. There were several tables set up and four knights were sitting around one playing poker. "I see you're still on special assignment." Touma only recognized the guy speaking. The man had short black hair and Touma remembered seeing him in England, the time he was taken to meet the knights for the first time. The knight turned to Touma. "Haven't seen you in ages. You still going around and performing the impossible?"

"Huh?" Touma was confused as all the knights laughed.

"Sorry," Zach told him. "Inside joke among our group."

"Should we mention all the rumors about him?" one of the other guys asked.

"Don't scare him off," another knight replied with a laugh.

"I should probably hear them," Touma sighed. At least I'll know what to expect. It's worse when people talk behind your back and you have no idea why. He braced himself as the knights all looked at each other.

"Okay," the knight with black hair said. "There's a rumor going around that…" he paused and looked around, like he was afraid they were being eavesdropped on. His voice dropped in volume before he continued. "There are rumors the Queen decided the second princess isn't seriously searching for a husband, so she is doing it for her. After going through the possibilities, the number one choice is supposed to be you."

"That can't be true though," laughed another knight. All the knights turned to Touma, who looked deliberately away.

The Queen was joking about that earlier, Touma thought. There's no way she was serious. The Queen acts like a kid a lot, but she knows what's best for her country. There was no way he was going to tell anyone about that conversation. First, Carissa would flay him alive and rub salt into the wounds, if she got even a whiff of him running his mouth off. Second, his friends would never let him live it down and a couple of them might take their frustration out on him. Third, he truly believed there was a small change it could be possible Carissa might not hold a grudge, but there was no way she would develop feelings for him. He noticed everyone staring at him in silence and he took a step back.

"Holy shit," the black haired knight muttered. "It's true?" The rest of the knights dropped their cards in shock and Zach just stood there, his mouth slightly open.

"Don't be-," Touma tried to respond, but the other knights stood up.

"We have to tell the others," one of them said and the others nodded in agreement. Before Touma could try to stop them, they all headed off in different directions. Touma fell to his hands and knees. He felt like crying.

"If she hears those rumors, I'm going to be killed."

"Your best bet is avoiding her as long as possible," Zach advised him and looked over at the black haired knight. He was the only one who stayed. "You know you guys doomed him right?"

"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly.

"I guess the only thing we can do is keep his presence on the down low," Zach sighed. "George is going to punish me. He told me to avoid attracting too much attention. I bet we can hide him in my tent…"

"I need to talk to my friends before that," Touma interrupted.

"Let's make it fast then," Zach said with a nod. He knew it would be impossible to argue with Touma when his friends were involved. "It takes time for rumors to spread, because we can't let any of our COs hear about it. They try to squash these kinds of things before they spread too far. Something about us wasting time on nonsense."

"I think I like them more now," Touma told him.

"Tell Amelia that and see what happens," the black haired knight suggested. He laughed as Touma's face paled. "Good luck," he added and started packing up the cards. Zach and Touma left him and started making their way to another group of tents.

"I feel like your squad is out to get me," Touma said depressed.

"We try to use humor to keep our spirits up," Zach explained. "Most of the time, our job isn't the most pleasant. Our primary duty is to protect England and I'm sure you release what that entails when you deal with magical threats."

"I understand," Touma agreed. "My friends do that a lot too." They walked in silence for a while. "What do you think Adam is up to?"

"I really have no idea," Zach admitted. "He's looking for something, but I doubt he would be broadcasting his location so readily. The top brass think it could be a trap, but we can hardly leave him alone."

"That was mentioned during the meeting we had," Touma confirmed, while he looked around. He was trying to remember the route they were taking, since the rows of tents all looked alike. "Do you know where my friends are going to be camped at anyways?"

"They will most likely be camped next to Amelia."

"Great." Zach laughed and they continued walking in silence, until Touma saw one of his friends. "Hey!" he called out, waving to Imouto. "Over here." Imouto turned to face him and waved back. Touma made a beeline straight towards her. "Sorry I took so long to find you all, but a lot of things happened."

"Misaka is not mad and understands the savior's busy schedule Misaka says truthfully. Misaka has been busy questioning the network." For the first time, Touma noticed a look of doubt on her face, which immediately caused him to worry.

"What's wrong?"

"It may be nothing, but the moderator and evil one suddenly disconnected from the network a little while ago, Misaka explains."

"You all are always connected to the network, correct?" Touma wanted to clarify because he didn't have a deep understanding of the Misaka Network.

"Normally, yes, Misaka confirms. We can disconnect if we choose, usually to focus on a task or if we are doing something private. Misaka has disconnected during this trip to be able to focus on the task at hand, but Misaka still uploads her memories routinely every five minutes Misaka adds. It allows us to have a backup in case something happens. The last memory the moderator and evil one had was them traveling with Accelerator, Estelle, and the one called Bayloupe. They were arguing Misaka remembers."

"Do you think something happened to them?" Touma asked nervously. Bayloupe's with him? And who's Estelle?

"They are still alive, Misaka says encouragingly to dismiss the savior's fear. There could be a logical explanation for their actions, but Misaka is discussing options with the other Sisters. Some of us are stationed in the city and plan to check it out if they do not respond soon Misaka explains."

"Can you let me know what you find out?" Touma asked.

"Misaka promises."

"Thanks a lot." Touma told her. He blinked when Imouto put her hand on his shoulder. "Umm, what are you doing?"

"Isn't this an appropriate social gesture to help calm someone down? Misaka asks confused. Misaka remembers when you did this to her and Misaka felt very happy."

"Oh," Touma realized. "Yea it is. Thanks a lot." He patted her hand with his and he swore he saw a faint smile on her face. "You really are learning a lot now that you are out and exploring the world."

"And this is why we all think you flirt with the princess," Zach pointed out, which caused Touma to jump.

"Holy…!" Touma gasped. "I forgot you were there."

"I'm a master of stealth. By stealth, I mean standing out in the open and completely visible."

"Sarcasm is not appreciated," Touma retorted and rolled his eyes when Zach laughed. Touma's mind was on more important things. The fact Last Order and Worst disconnected from the network disturbed him greatly. The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence. Did Eve wait until I was gone before making her move?

"Why won't you come out?!" Eve demanded, stomping down hard on the ground in front of the windowless building. No matter what she did, the building remained silent. A black hairy spider, the size of a car, crawled in front of her, as it and twenty other ones the same size started covering the building in webbing. "If you don't act fast, your entire building will become a giant cocoon." There was still only silence and a look or irritation crossed her ordinarily happy face. "If that's how you want to play, I'll oblige." She held out her hand and the Book of Genesis appeared. "I'll destroy half of this city to force you to come out." Paper started to fly from the book and spin around her like a vortex. She sensed a magical presence and smiled, even if it wasn't the one she wanted.

Boom!

Two of the spiders on the windowless building crashed to the ground, their legs severed. As they disappeared into scraps of paper and then into ashes, several more spiders fell. Eve's eyes traveled up to the side of the building and saw a young woman traveling at speeds far beyond a normal human. The webbing began to fall as the woman cut it to maintain her footholds as she circled around the building to strike down the remaining spiders. "I was wondering when the Saint was going to show up," Eve mused. "This should get Aleister's attention." The last spider disappeared and Kaori Kanzaki landed on the ground in front of Eve.

"I'm here to put a stop to this," Kaori told Eve. Her voice was calm, but she was radiating an aura of strength and determination. She shifted the weight of her body slightly and placed her right foot out in front of her. She held her Shichiten Shichitou, the two meter long nodachi, out in front of her, the blade pointed at Eve. "We figured you would move when we discovered Adam's location and split up our forces. I'm going to defeat you here and take you back to the church."

"And here I thought you didn't tell jokes," Eve burst out laughing. "That's hilarious. You think you can take me in a one on one fight? Did you forget how I faced an army by myself? The most you could do is play a game with me. If you want, we can settle this with Jenga." She pointed to the windowless building, but Kaori did not look amused.

"I know your weakness," Kaori replied, her voice never losing her measure of calmness, despite Eve's jokes. "You rely on your creations to fight for you. Like most summoners, you lack the strength to fight directly. I took out your creations and now I am close enough to strike you before you can create any more of them."

"Oh dear," Eve said with a shiver, a look of pretend fear on her face. "It looks like I lost and should just surren- pfff... ha-ha-ha." She burst out laughing. "You don't have the strength or resolve to take me in. Others have tried before you and they usually fall into two categories. The first group wants to kill me and the second group wants to save me. The leaders of the church fall in group one and the Imagine Breaker falls in group two. Where do you fall?"

"I know I can't kill you," Kaori answered. "But not for the reason you think." She couldn't kill anyone. Her Saint nature would not allow it. Eve's creations were only made out of paper, so they were an exception. "But I will stop you, even if I can't save you." She took a breath. "My name is Salvare000, and I will be the salvation of those who cannot be saved." She bent her knees ever so slightly.

"So you resolved yourself," Eve said and she was no longer laughing. "I will return the favor." Kaori immediately regretted saying her magic name, because the very air around them seemed to drop drastically. "My magic name is Genus000, the one who allowed mankind to thrive." Kaori took a step back as a wave of magical force engulfed her.

This is the first time I've seen her serious, Kaori thought. I need to end this quickly. Her magic is no joke. She wasn't sure that was possible, but her eyes never left Eve. Kaori was waiting for an opening in Eve's defense. All she needed was a single moment to strike with everything she had.

"If you won't come to me," Eve told her. "I'll make the first move." She opened her book and paper started to fly out of it. During that brief second, Kaori made her move.

As a Saint, Kaori could draw upon her stigma. The stigma allowed one who has bodily characteristics similar to the Son of God to call upon a fraction of God's power. Combining this with her own style of magic, she lunged forward at speeds normal humans could not comprehend. Kaori channeled all her power into her blade and swung it down at Eve. It was her ultimate attack, Yuisen, an attack that could even harm Christian angels. Her sword glowed brightly and left a trail of blue light. Kaori felt unusual during the strike, as if she was drawing more power than normal. The blade seemed to be moving in slow motion as she realized that. Is it because I'm using God's power directly against a servant of Lucifer? She couldn't be sure as her blade made contact with Eve.

The blue light exploded and engulfed them both.

Normally, Kaori wouldn't use this attack on a person, but Eve could not be considered normal. She had immense magical power and Kaori could not guarantee a stamina battle would be in her best interest. Got her, Kaori thought. Now to take… oh no! The light cleared and Kaori could see her.

Eve was standing there, unhurt, with her own sword in her hand, which interrupted her attack.

"How?" Kaori asked while she jumped backwards. "That strike should have been able to hurt even an angel."

"Did you think someone as old as me would not have learned how to defend myself?" Eve asked her seriously. "Did you think I only relied on puppets to do my work? You are not the first person to think that. I am quite capable in melee fights, though I don't enjoy them." She held the blade out in front of her. The handle was silver and the actual blade was gold. "This blade is a creation of mine I made to imitate an associate's blade, but I fuse it with Telesma to give it this nice rich golden color. Its name is Caladbolg. I think it's really pretty, don't you agree?" Kaori didn't answer and held up her blade defensively. "I don't know why you are so defensive. I didn't do anything to you until after you destroyed my pets."

"You know that is a lie," Kaori stated. "You have been attacking areas all over the world. What do you want with that building?" She pointed to the windowless building over her shoulder.

"I wanted to visit an old friend of mine," Eve answered with a pout. "But he won't come out and play."

"I wonder why," Kaori muttered dryly.

"But now that you are here," Eve continued. "I can take my frustration out on you." Paper appeared from behind her and started swirling around them. Each piece of paper began folding like origami into the shape of a knife. Seconds later, Kaori was completely surrounded by a dome of knives pointing at her. "Careful, you don't want to die from a thousand papercuts." Eve laughed at her joke, but the knives did not look like paper. They turned the color of steel and looked extremely sharp. "I prefer not to kill if I can help it, so if you would just get injured enough to be unable to move, that would be great." She held out her hand, palm down and closed it.

The knives immediately flew at Kaori from every direction.

In response, Kaori swung her blade vertically. Seven wires flashed around her and continued to split apart into thousands. The technique was called Nanasen and several members of the Amakusa could use this technique, but only Kaori could go this far because of her Saint attribute. The wires sliced through the first couple rows of daggers, breaking them apart into shredded paper before they disappeared, but the wires didn't stop there. They twisted and circled around Kaori in a spiral as they deflected the rest of the daggers. The daggers were thrown in every direction. Some bounced off the windowless building, while others landed in the ground and sunk into the concrete like it was made of sponge. Kaori lowered her blade and the wires retracted. "Is that all you are capable of?" she asked.

"Not even close," Eve laughed and pointed above them with a single finger. Kaori looked up and saw pages of Eve's book forming into a single circular object. "I watched you and Aqua fight in England and remembered he made an artificial move to augment his magic. I thought it would be fun to hit you with an actual moon." Kaori could make out the white crater surface and had to admit, it looked like the moon, though much smaller. "Do you think the building behind you can handle the force of the impact?"

Kaori didn't immediately answer, but her eyes darted between the moon and Eve. Cutting the moon with her blade would be possible, as it was only a fraction of the size of the real thing. The issue would be what would happen to the remains as they fell down upon the city. The moon was floating about twenty stories above them and was large enough to cause a lot of damage if even a chunk of it fell. She could tell Eve had set up a people clearing field in the immediate vicinity, but that didn't mean whoever was in the building behind her would be safe. There was also a possibility of a chain reaction of buildings collapsing that could move outside the field. Looks like I'm going to have to set up a defensive barrier to absorb the impact, but I may not be able to get it up in time. She raised her blade slightly and prepared to unleased her wires in a massive defensive spell to protect not only herself, but the surrounding area.

"I guess we will finally be able to settle the old argument about whether there is a man in the moon," Eve said mockingly. "Or in this case, a woman." She flicked her wrist and the moon started to descend.

Kaori was ready.

She swung her sword and hundreds of wires spread out above them, forming complex designs in midair, before beginning to glow. Her barrier was strong enough to withstand a bunker cluster, but a hastily designed and incomplete one might not be able to withstand Eve's attack. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Eve gliding backwards, away from the impact sight. The moon hit the first layer of wires and Kaori saw sparks as the barrier tried to withstand the force. The first layer started breaking, but pieces of the moon were flying off and disappearing from the collision. Kaori managed to get a second layer up before the first one broke completely, but she knew it wasn't going to hold. At least I managed to lessen the impact.

"And so ends the legend of the Saint of the Far East," Eve laughed.

"I won't allow you to win that easily," retorted Kaori. She bent her knees and prepared to jump. Her only other option left was when the moon broke through the next layer of her wires, she would start slashing it at supersonic speed and break it into thousands of smaller pieces to reduce the size of the explosion when it landed. Before she had a chance to move, someone else moved first. His voice echoed across the deserted street, which caused Kaori and Eve to focus their attention on the meddler.

"SUPER AMAZING PUNCH!"

Kaori blinked.

Her barrier and Eve's moon creation disappeared.

"Whew," Sogiita Gunha said and landed on the street to the left of Eve and Kaori. "Both of you have a lot of guts with your attacks. My hand is still shaking from the blow." He held out his hand and Kaori saw it seemed to be vibrating slightly. His jacket was still in a makeshift cape and was blowing behind him, even though there was no wind. Kaori had immediately recognized him by his outfit, especially his rising sun shirt. Sogiita turned and pointed to Eve. "Don't you know an attack that size would have destroyed all the surrounding buildings? Do you think Academy City is made of money for repairs?" Kaori and Eve blinked at him and the same thought ran through their minds.

That's what he is worried about?

"Oh," Eve commented, after looking him over for a moment. "I remember you now. It's been so long I almost forgot. You were a companion of the Imagine Breaker in Italy." She frowned. "You know you are interrupting something that doesn't concern you, right?"

"A hero doesn't stand ideally by and watches someone get hurt," Sogiita declared. "I will always stand up to evil doers."

"How did you find us?" Kaori asked him. "Eve put up a people clearing field and it should have kept you away."

"So that was what made my head feel fuzzy," Sogiita answered. "But it was no match for my guts. As for how I found you, I felt a dark presence over the city and I followed my instincts until I arrived."

"You should leave," Kaori told him. "This girl isn't like the Herald you fought back in Italy. She's in a completely different league."

"I had that impression when I first saw her," Sogiita agreed. "So since then, I have been undertaking special training to increase my guts. It's time to see how far I've come. You!" he suddenly shouted and pointed to Eve. "If you leave this city in peace, we won't have to resort to violence!"

"But I'm just a poor young girl," Eve lied innocently. She held a finger up to her quivering lip and the hand that held the sword she made moved behind her to shield it from view. "The world outside is a big scary place and I wouldn't last long." Kaori's mouth fell open because she couldn't believe how Eve could suddenly act like an innocent little girl. If she didn't know better, she might have fallen for it because of how good Eve's acting was. Sogiita, however, looked unconvinced.

"Your lies and deceit won't work against me," he replied forcefully. "I can feel your guts from here. You have a lot of them, but they are rotten. Surrender and you may have a chance to redeem yourself."

"A group two individual," muttered Eve. "They are always so annoying." She held her sword loosely at her side in her right hand, but then held her book out in her left. "You know, I have always hated reruns, especially when television stations keep playing the same episode several times a day for a week, but I'll make an exception in your case because you graced us with your presence." Papers started flying out of the book and begun to form humanoid figures in front of her. "Do you recognize them?" The papers created five men standing in a row, but they did not have masks, so Sogiita did recognized them.

"They are copies of the Herald!" he yelled. Sogiita recognized the long white silky hair that was slicked back and their bright blue eyes as cold as ice. Their serious and dangerous aura was also the same. Each one of them was identical to the previous one from Italy. "I can't believe…"

"That you even considered challenging me?" Eve asked helpfully.

"…that I would get a chance to fight him again!" Sogiita cheered, as he punched the air. Several different colored explosions went off behind him.

"What?!" Eve and Kaori yelled.

"He's one of your creations and doesn't have guts, but I learned there are all kinds of strength. He's a great opponent to test out how far I have come." Sogiita took up a karate pose. "I accept your challenge."

"You won't be alone," Kaori added, as she stepped up next to him. She held out her sword in front of her. "Thanks for the assist with her last attack."

"No problem," Sogiita replied. "I saw how you prioritized protecting everything around you over yourself. That takes a lot of guts and I would be honored to fight beside you."

This guy is an idiot, Eve thought. Kids thinking they can become heroes because they have some strength. A true hero is different. "Then I guess you two die together." She raised Caladbolg in the air and the copies of the Herald begun to move.

The empty street was impaled by Juliet's shadow hand right after Mikoto and Kuroko disappeared.

"Teleportation is really annoying," Juliet complained. "Things would go so much quicker if you accepted your fate."

"You aren't the first person to tell me that," Kuroko replied smugly and Juliet turned around to find the location of the voice. When she saw them on the other side of the street, she witnessed Mikoto sparking up. A second later, Juliet was hit by a powerful electric strike in the chest, which disrupted her physical appearance. She became a shadow completely and bounced around in the air for a moment, before turning back into her human form. "What do you think we should do now?" Kuroko asked Mikoto. They had a small window of opportunity to talk while Juliet reformed.

"I'll distract her while you try to contact the others," Mikoto muttered and took a step forward. "Touma, Kagere-san, Accelerator, Shokuhou, anyone you can think of who needs to know." Kuroko nodded, while Mikoto sparked up. "I don't think we are going to escape her easily."

"You can say that again," Juliet answered, as she jumped down into the street. "If you try to run, I'll have no choice but to chase you and, should you leave my people clearing field, there is no telling how many innocent people will be caught up in our fight."

"I figured that," Mikoto growled, the electricity around her increasing. "I met evil people like your group before. They always involve innocent people to get their way." Kuroko teleported away from her to avoid being in the way.

"But we are the good guys," Juliet retorted. "We don't want to do this, but have no other choice. You are trying to keep the world in the dark, while we are trying to defeat the being that keeps us in chains. Though, I'm really only helping to be with my lover."

"I don't want to hear that from someone trying to kill us." Mikoto flicked her wrist and another electrical discharge flew at Juliet. This time, Juliet was ready and her arm materialized into a shadow. The shadow whipped horizontally in front of her and deflected the discharge away from herself. Mikoto fired another round of electricity, but Juliet continued to bat it away, as if it were only a small insect.

"Your ability can't hurt me," Juliet laughed. "It's a minor nuisance at best."

"Then let's kick up the voltage," Mikoto replied. Electricity started to completely engulf her. Metal poles, benches, mailboxes, and other metal items began to shutter. Juliet grinned and her body completely turned back into a shadow. She rotated in midair, like a small stream of water, and then flew directly at Mikoto. Mikoto jumped up into the air, propelled by her magnetism to dodge Juliet. She hung on the second story of a building and looked down. The force of Juliet's strike created a crater several meters across in the concrete. She's physically strong. I can't fight her directly. She kicked herself off the wall and bolted through the air to the other side of the street, because Juliet had flown up at her, and then tore a chunk of the building off.

"Cowards are always a pain to fight," Juliet called out mockingly. "You can't save anyone by running away."

"Who's running?" Mikoto asked. "I was just moving to find a better position." She focused on the all the iron sand far beneath the concreate and asphalt of the city. To her relief, there was enough for her to implement her plan.

"You're overconfident," Juliet pointed out, before flying directly at her.

Got her, Mikoto thought. She flicked her wrist and the iron sand erupted from the ground like geysers. Juliet only had time to look down and gasp, as the sand engulfed her. Mikoto used her magnetism to cause the sand to wrap tightly around Juliet's body to immobilize her and then the rest was layered on. In seconds, Juliet was completely surrounded by an orb of black iron sand. Mikoto held her hand out and continued to generate magnetism to keep the orb from falling apart. Luckily she's not alive or she would suffocate. I can't use this technique on just anyone.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko gasped, as she teleported next to Mikoto. "No one is answering their phone. Jason and Uiharu have their phones off, but everyone else just rings until voice mail."

"Dang," Mikoto muttered. "What are they all up to?"

"It looks like you caught her," Kuroko said, unable to answer her. "What are we going to do with her?"

"We need to give her to one of the church members..." Mikoto started to answer, when she saw something that made her freeze. The orb of black sand was moving. More specifically, something under it was pushing against her magnetized sand. That's impossible. At this level, it should be immovable. A ripple went through the sand, like someone threw a pebble into a pond, and then another one occurred in another location. "She's breaking out!"

Black spikes exploded all around the sand orb until it looked like the head of a medieval flail.

"She doesn't give up," Kuroko said, her face slightly pale. The spikes retracted and the sand begun to fall apart, before it exploded. Juliet's shadow spiraled out wards like a saw, while the sand began to fall down like ash. Mikoto reached out and gather the sand up again to create a long vibrating sand blade in her hand. The blade was moving at such a high speed, it could cut most material in half with a simple motion.

"You can say that again," Mikoto agreed. "The question is, what do we do now? My electricity isn't doing much against her and she doesn't have a body, so your teleportation isn't going to hurt her much either."

"I may not even be able to teleport her," Kuroko added. "If her shadow power is anything like his. We might need back up, if people would answer their stupid phones. They better not be sleeping."

"There's a reason they aren't answering their phone," Juliet called down to them, her tone laced with mockery. Her shadow converged on top of a light pole again and she was back in her human looking body. A large smile was plastered on her face, as she looked down at them.

"What do you mean?" Mikoto asked quietly.

"What did you do?!" Kuroko demanded.

"All of your friends," Juliet explained. "All of your companions, they are being hunted down simultaneously." She was unable to restrain her glee at the look of shock and horror on their faces. "You won't have backup this time," Juliet continued. "This time all of you will fall. Eve even brought forth other members of our group, and they are almost as strong as Cain."

"You're lying," Mikoto said, though her shaking voice betrayed her true feelings. This can't be. Most of the time, we only succeeded because we worked together.

"Am I?" Juliet asked. "Why do you think they are all ignoring you? Or could you be under the delusion they all happen to be busy with unrelated things simultaneously." Kuroko and Mikoto looked at each other in horror. Her words made perfect sense and explained why their friends didn't answer. "Eve and Adam decided…" She stopped talking and held a hand up to her ear. Juliet started muttering to someone and completely ignored the two girls for a moment.

"Let's strike her now," Kuroko suggested. "She's distracted."

"We need a plan," Mikoto hissed. "She doesn't get hurt by normal attacks."

"Then let's-," Kuroko started to suggest, when Juliet's started laughing triumphantly.

"Looks like Eve finally came through for me," Juliet said between laughs. "He's mine now."

"What?!" Kuroko and Mikoto yelled out. They instantly realized who she was talking about. There could only be one 'he' with her.

"Eve personally went and captured him," Juliet said cheerfully. "After all, that was the deal she made with me for my cooperation."

"You're lying!" Kuroko yelled back and pointed at her. "There's no way he would have let himself get captured by her!"

"Eve's in a completely different league than him though," Juliet pointed out, her smile flickered for a moment, but then returned. "But he willing surrendered to protect the flower bitch." Kuroko choked on her words. She wanted to deny the entire thing, but that sounded like something he would do. Mikoto's face turned ashen because she realized the same thing. "Eve took him willingly in exchange for her not harming the bitch." Her smile widened. "But as soon as they left, one of Eve's soldiers did a personal favor for me." She let that sink in a moment and almost danced with glee as Kuroko's and Mikoto's faces, if possible, turned even paler. "He took care of one of my rivals, so now I only have one left. He should have phrased his wording better with the agreement." For a moment her smile faltered again. "He may be upset at first, but he doesn't need to know."

Of course, everything she said was a lie to stir up their emotions, but Kuroko and Mikoto didn't know that. To them, her words actually made sense and her actions seemed to confirm her words as true. This was all part of Juliet's plan to break them. She was skilled in manipulating people's emotions. It was why Eve chose her to take on Mikoto.

"No," Mikoto gasped, as she fell to her hands and knees. "Uiharu-san can't be…. I WON'T ACCEPT IIIIIT!" She roared the last part out, as her electricity started to flow from her body in enormous quantities. Kuroko was forced to teleport away to avoid being burnt to a crisp. She barely managed to force her thoughts to the threat. Kuroko wanted to believe Juliet's words were a lie too, but it was difficult. "YOU BITCH!" An enormous bolt of electricity fired from Mikoto at Juliet. Normally, an attack like that would have come from the sky, but Mikoto threw the energy directly from her own body in anger. Juliet's eyes widened in surprise, a moment before being consumed by the strike. An explosion blocked her from view, while smoke and debris flew into the air. Mikoto panted and felt lightheaded, which didn't improve her state of mind. Kagere-san captured and Uiharu-san may be dead. Tears filled her eyes. Don't believe it. Stop her and then find them. She kept telling herself that over and over, but it wasn't helping.

"Are you finally getting serious?" Juliet's voice called out form the smoke. Mikoto looked up and saw Juliet stepping out into the open. Her clothes were slightly burnt but, other than that, she looked fine. "You burnt my pants," she complained, after looking down. "They were my best pair." She looked over at Mikoto. "Are you tired out already? Did the thought of your friend's death upset you that much?"

"Shut up!" Mikoto yelled, as she stood to her feet. She had been firing a more powerful electrical blasts over the past couple weeks than she had most of her life, so she was getting use to backlash.

"I heard she squealed like the pig she is…"

"LIAR!" Kuroko roared and appeared out of thin air right behind Juliet. Juliet started to turn around, when Kuroko spun in midair and aimed her foot at the side of Juliet's head. It connected with a thud and Juliet's body arched in midair, as she started falling to the ground. A grin formed on Juliet's lips and she reached out a hand. Her hand morphed into shadow, extended, and wrapped tightly around Kuroko's neck. Kuroko gasped for air as she clawed at the bindings.

"I needed you closer to strike," Juliet hissed, while she stood up again. "Your teleportation is annoying. Now die like your friend."

"KUROKO!" Mikoto yelled in panic. She couldn't fire a strong enough bolt of electricity to disrupt Juliet for a moment, without seriously injuring Kuroko, so she needed to use a more refined attack. She pulled out a coin from her pocket and took aim. She had to be careful not to hit her friend. "Let her go Juliet!"

"Never."

Can't breathe, Kuroko thought. I don't know if I can teleport through her shadow, but I have to try. She noticed Mikoto aiming a railgun at Juliet and she smiled to herself. I believe in onee-sama to win even if I can't. She calculated a point away from Juliet and used her ability.

A moment later, she was free from Juliet.

"What the…!?" Juliet asked in shock. "Your ability wasn't supposed to work against shad-," She was interrupted by a loud, earsplitting, boom. A coin propelled by electricity hit her in the arm, breaking it apart. "Damn it," she muttered as she transformed back into a pure shadow. The broken part disappeared into nothing.

"Kuroko!" Mikoto called out. "Are you okay? How did you manage to teleport?"

"Her shadow isn't the same as Jason's," Kuroko muttered, as she teleported to Mikoto's side. "When I try to teleport though his, it's like there's a wall in the dimensions I can't go around. With her, it's like teleporting through a normal solid object. As long as I don't teleport into it, I'm fine. Their abilities have to be fundamentally different, maybe because she doesn't have a real body."

"Her not having a body is what's making it difficult to capture her," Mikoto said through gritted teeth. "If they hurt Uiharu-san…"

"She has to be lying," Kuroko told her again. She kept repeating it for both of them. "After we stop her, we will find the others." Mikoto nodded, but Kuroko was worried. The look of anger on Mikoto's face was frightening. She almost looks like she's going to go too far… but she wouldn't do that. Uiharu has to be alive.

"Maybe another death will change your minds," Juliet called out angrily. She had reformed and was standing across the street. Her arm had reattached itself, or maybe it was never gone. They couldn't be sure how her body was created by being a living shadow. "I'm curious, did you think my shadow form was my only ability? I am a magician you know." Kuroko and Mikoto looked at each other for a second. They actually had thought Juliet could only fight by using her shadow to unleash physical attacks. Juliet smiled and held her hands out in front of her. She put them together and they formed a heart shaped. "You two fight well together, you know that?"

"Because we have been friends for so long," Kuroko replied curtly.

"You used to be close with others," Mikoto added angrily. "Then you decided to follow Eve."

"Fate has a funny way of working like that," Juliet shrugged. "But I think it's time we separate that friendship." She smiled and a flash of light emerged from her hands.

Kuroko was the only one who reacted in time.

She didn't even consciously move. The moment there was a hint of light, Kuroko stuck out her hand automatically at Mikoto. Something in her mind warned her that when magicians did something with their hands, bad things would happen. A thought flashed through her mind while her hand moved. There's a chance Jason was captured and Uiharu may be gone, I won't allow anyone else to get hurt. Mikoto felt her touch, but couldn't say anything before Kuroko teleported her away. The light from Juliet's hands only engulfed her. "AHHH!" Kuroko screamed. It was like her mind had been set on fire. Memories flashed in her mind and she realized Juliet was doing something to her. She didn't know what, but it could not be good. She immediately slammed her head as hard as she could against the wall of the building. The force of the blow knocked her unconscious and she fell to the ground with a soft thud.

"KUROKO!" Mikoto screamed and rushed to her side. She felt Kuroko's pulse and it was there, but really weak. There was a tiny bit of blood from where she hit her head on the wall. "What did you do to her?!" she demanded, as she turned to Juliet, who was lowering her arms.

"I split up your friendship," Juliet laughed. She tapped the side of her head. "I'm going to destroy her from the inside out and the spell won't end until I die or remove it, but that will never happen. You should hurry. Judging by how she acted, it would be long before her brain is completely eradicated. Though, I won't feel bad if it happens, she brought it on herself."

"Shut up," Mikoto whispered and slowly stood up. Her entire body was shaking in anger. "I tried to be understanding, I tried to be rational, I wanted to help you, but now…" She took a step forward and raised her head. The smile on Juliet's face fell off when she saw Mikoto's expression. Mikoto's eyes were full of hatred and her face was contorted in rage. She took a step over and the air around her virtually shimmered with anger and darkness. Juliet could feel the tension between them change dramatically. Electricity started flowing out from Mikoto in all directions except behind her where Kuroko laid unmoving.

"That's a nice expression," Juliet commented. She jumped up onto a street lamp so she could look down at Mikoto. "Are you finally getting serious?"

"Shut up," Mikoto told her again. Her voice did not grow in volume, but was shaking. "I will never forgive you. I can forgive a lot, but attacking my friends is where I draw the line. After I take you out to save Kuroko, I'm going to find out what happened to Uiharu-san and Kagere-san."

"She's dead and he's captured," Juliet repeated. "I thought I told you that. Let's finish this so I can get back to my Romeo." She laughed, but that turned out to be a mistake. Electricity started exploding around Mikoto. Mikoto gave Juliet one last look, before bending her knees and putting her hand on the ground.

Concreate and asphalt cannot be magnetized, so Mikoto's power would not be able to directly affect it. Instead, Mikoto focused on all the metal beneath it. Academy City had a lot of metal structures built underground, including water, gas, and sewer pipes along with metal beams to support underground buildings and labs. That was what Mikoto was focusing on. She no longer cared about the damage to the city. For Mikoto, her friends were more important than any amount of money. She could feel the pipes and beams being ripped apart as she started forcing them to the surface. She didn't know that Academy City's warning apparatuses could detect when a pipe broke and would seal it off, or the amount of gas that pumped through some of those pipes could have created a very large explosion.

"What are you up to?" Juliet asked, unable to see the damage far beneath her. "Did you give up living…?" Her voice trailed off when she heard a very loud crack. "Huh?" she looked at the ground and noticed a bulge in the street, along with large cracks spreading from it. Another loud crack came from behind her and she turned around. Juliet blinked and noticed cracks were spreading across the entire street. "What is happen…?" she started to ask, when the street exploded.

Explosions erupted all around her as metal pipes and beams started flying upwards. Huge chunks of concrete and asphalt flew in all directions, but the main segment of the street didn't break. The ends began to curve up as the metal pipes and a cloud if black iron sand began to push the street into a bowl shape. The material the street was made of couldn't handle the change in shape and started breaking into large chunks but, by then, the metal pipes and beams had impaled through them and the iron sand was magnetized and being forced against the backside of it. The walls of concreate and asphalt continued to rise and bend, until Juliet was completed encased by a giant dome. Juliet blinked as she was engulfed by darkness, except for a few fragments of light breaking through the cracks.

"She never learns," Juliet muttered and then shouted loud enough for Mikoto to hear. "Capturing me won't save either of your friends. She will soon join the other one once my magic finishes her off. I predict she probably only has five minutes at the most to live." Juliet laughed and thought about what she should do. Should I wait and let her suffer or break out. She should know forming a wall like this can't stop me.

"I know this," Mikoto muttered to herself. "But what should I do?" She had fallen onto her knees and held out her hand in front of her with her fingers curved slightly, like she was holding an invisible baseball. Tears were running down her face. She didn't want to believe Kazari was dead but, seeing how easily Juliet took down Kuroko, it was definitely believable. Kuroko was still breathing, but Mikoto didn't know how much longer. I still don't know enough about magic to understand what is happening to Kuroko. I need help from a magician. Her entire body started to tremble at the choice she was forced to make. Kazari was an unknown, so logically Mikoto couldn't trust what an enemy said. The problem was her best friend was lying on the ground next to her. If Mikoto choose wrong, Kuroko could very well die. The tears kept pouring from her eyes as she was left with no other option.

She clamped her hand.

The giant concrete dome imploded in on itself.

All the metal debris and iron sand on the outside of the dome or stuck into the torn up street was pushed together by Mikoto's magnetism. There was a resounding crash, as all the concrete and asphalt was smashed together into a rough sphere. Unlike the time with the iron sand, she didn't stop it on Juliet's form. She forced the mass together with all the force she could muster. Her entire body trembled at what she had done and she couldn't stand up. Unsure if the fight was truly over, she continued to press to ball of debris together, but she did not encounter any resistance. It looked like she had actually won. Mikoto took a deep breath, but then almost vomited. The thought of Juliet crushed inside there weighed heavily on her mind. She glanced over at Kuroko, who was still lying unconscious, and Mikoto forced herself to her feet.

It's finally over, Mikoto thought and she stumbled toward Kuroko. I have to get her somewhere safe, preferably to a doctor or a magician, and then find out what happened to Uiharu-san. I'll think of something to tell them about what happened. A number of emotions flashed through her mind, fear, regret, anger, sadness, hatred, but there was something else as the water in her eyes dried.

She was shocked at how easy it had been to take a life.

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.

Pierce: So, what do you think is going to happen?

Motoharu: Looks like the battle ended sooner than expected. I think Academy City fights will resolve before Australia. Kagere, you sure you aren't going to help?

Jason: I can't unless someone contacts me.

Pierce: He just wants to stay with his girlfriend. Lucky bastard.

Jason: Think if I pretend to fall asleep, Kazari will let me spend the night?

Kazari: Dorm manager knows you're here. He won't let you.

Jason: Dang.

Touma: Are you guys all watching us on TV and eating POPCORN?!

Motoharu: You didn't invite us to the fun and ran off on your own.

Pierce: He just wanted all the girls to himself. He even founded himself an S with a whip. I would kill to be in your place you bastard!

Touma: It was your fault Tsuchimikado! You helped set all this up.

Motoharu: Sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of a sexy woman cracking a whip.