Hello, everyone! Now that Othinus has destroyed the world, Touma's infinite hells will now begin.

rubengalihalexis: Touma's experiences in these hells will change somewhat due to his relationship with Mikoto, but his Mikoto won't be able to reach him, unfortunately. Mikoto's father would probably need some convincing to approve their relationship, but Touma being his friend's son helps a lot.

dragonghoul9707: Yes, Touma will be very scared of facing Mikoto after he returns from the perfect world. Mikoto will indeed be angry at Othinus when she finds out what she did to Touma. NT10 will be a very important point in Mikoto and Touma's relationship.

SuddenBetrayal: Othinus will definitely use Touma's relationship with Mikoto to torture him. This is indeed an important arc for Touma, and so I won't be summarizing it as much as some other arcs. His scene with the Will of the Misaka Network will be somewhat different due to his relationship with Mikoto, but it'll have similar themes.

LordChorizoCosmico: Mikoto does have a lot of experience with that, there's also the time she climbed up to that airship to fight the Doppelganger, and had to get back on it after falling off. But it was certainly stressful to make sure to save Index as well. Index just brings Sphinx with her whenever she wants, and I don't think Touma can stop her. Mikoto and Index fighting together is nice, it could be cool to see that more in canon. It is good that both of their mothers are happy about their relationship. I don't know if they're looking forward to grandkids just yet, but that is definitely a prospect for the future. Touma indeed doesn't hesitate to fight a pregnant woman, though he did make sure the fetus was safe. Mikoto did have a very epic entrance, it's just too bad she had to separate from them almost immediately to take care of that dragon. Yes, Othinus as a Magic God is one of the most powerful and frightening characters in the series. Touma's reactions to Othinus's hellish world will be interesting to write, especially with his relationship with Mikoto. Yeah, that's a good point, Othinus tortured Touma even without having any particular hatred towards him. I don't ship her with Touma, but I do still like their dynamic starting with NT10 when she turned into his ally.

Aminadab Brulle: Oh, I see what you mean now. Yeah, that was definitely the case in that scene.

Vegitta: Mikoto's father did hear about girls that looked like Mikoto stroming various facilities around the world to rescue the Gemstones, but I don't know if he's figured out that they're clones, instead of just Academy City using advanced technology to mimic Mikoto's appearance. Him learning that Touma saved Mikoto and her sisters would definitely help. There was a chapter in the fanfic "Between The Lines" by MrQuestionMark which had him kidnapping Touma. I probably won't have anything that extreme, but I might write a scene later on at some point with Tabigake meeting Touma.

Stryper88: Yeah, that chapter was pretty close to the original, with the conversation between the moms being the most different. It would've been nice to make it a little longer, but I couldn't think of anything more they could say about their children's relationship. I'll try not to summarize NT9 too much, but I think I'll still be able to fit it in 3 longer chapters. I will probably summarize most of the NT10 fights, though.

veryhappy: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Unfortunately, in canon, Mikoto tends to be outmatched when fighting against magicians, so I've been trying to have her be a little stronger than in canon. She already did pretty well in NT8 against GREMLIN's spells, and I kept that in my version in the previous chapter.

Guest: Well, the rings aren't magic or anything, so unfortunately, Mikoto won't be able to reach Touma in Othinus's worlds, or at least not the Mikoto he knows and loves. I do plan to have Mikoto meet the Will of the Misaka Network at some point. And yes, I will have Mikoto confront and comfort Touma about what happened in Othinus's hellish worlds, in my version of NT10.

xellos540: Yes, they're all falling after the jet took off and was sliced apart. Mikoto's mom lives somewhere in Tokyo. I guess Mikoto figured Touma would survive a simple fall if he'd survived everything else before this. Index calls everyone by their first name, since she's from England. Meeting Mikoto's father will probably be daunting for Touma, but at least it now won't be completely hopeless. I don't think their parents know much at all about their adventures. It was actually Freyja who said that Othinus was evil in the chapter. Touma does think of Othinus's actions as evil, though I think you're right that he hasn't called anyone evil themselves. I don't think the red threads have anything to do with the red string of fate in this case. Index used the spell to assure a safe birth and applied it to the mother instead of the child, since their positions had been reversed. Kagun's body was reanimated, so he's not really alive. Yeah, Othinus says that in a playful tone. Versions of Mikoto will appear in the infinite hells, but not the one Touma knows and loves. Will will appear, though.

MC91: Indeed, this chapter starts my version of NT9. I hope you enjoy it!

The first thing Touma heard when he came to, was Othinus's voice saying, "You have failed, and this is the result. I honestly don't care what you do now. This is the reality."

Touma realized that he was lying on his back, but when he quickly stood up, he was left absolutely speechless by what he saw. Everything around him was black. Both the ground and the sky were black, and the ground was completely flat, not even varying by a micron. He looked around and muttered, "What is this place?" He turned around a full 360 degrees, but the scenery remained the same. Plus, without any landmarks, he couldn't even tell which direction he was originally facing.

The one thing he did see was the blonde, eyepatch-wearing girl known as Othinus, whose appearance was even more emphasized by the dark background. Touma had never before felt such hostility and rejection towards reality. He finally asked, "What is this? Weren't we just in Tokyo Bay, at the GREMLIN headquarters of Sargasso?"

Othinus replied, "Does this look like some other place to you?" When she said this, Touma noticed that she seemed oddly close in terms of physical distance, yet very distant in terms of his ability to understand her.

Touma tried explaining what he was seeing, "This isn't Sargasso, you carried me somewhere while I was unconscious. That has to be the truth! After all, anything else would be a major problem!"

Othinus asked, "Why do you think the world would revolve around your convenience?"

The boy then frantically asked, "Then what happened to Sargasso, and Tokyo Bay? And where is Mikoto? Or Index? Or Lessar, or Birdway? A-and not just them, what about all the people living in Tokyo?"

The girl dismissively scoffed, "Do I look like someone who cares about any of that?"

With that declaration, Touma's illusions of what lay before him began to crumble. He couldn't find a way to feel anger or sorrow, and he could only continue trying to deny it, "You're lying! You used some kind of trick to make it look like that's what happened. It would be much easier to bring me to another place than to destroy Tokyo Bay and kill all those people."

But Othinus told him in a disinterested tone, "It doesn't matter what you think about the situation, nor does it matter anymore who has disappeared. Your problem now is that it's just the two of us here. And by the way, you seem to have the wrong idea of the scale we're talking about."

At that last point, Touma wondered, "What, are you saying there's more?"

Othinus finally revealed, "You're thinking on the small scale of Tokyo Bay, but what I destroyed wasn't even limited to the small planet known as Earth."

With Othinus seemingly claiming to have destroyed the entire universe, Touma could not help but laugh, giving up completely on trying to grasp the situation. He had no idea what emotion he was feeling, but he decided that speaking to Othinus any longer would be pointless. She had to be lying, because he couldn't bear to think of the alternative.

He turned around and started walking away from Othinus, resolving to check on the situation himself in order to disprove her. Her parting words to him were, "Hah, if you want to see it that badly, go right ahead! But you might be happier if you don't."

Touma had no intention of responding, and turned his back to that powerful Magic God, not feeling any threat to his life. He shouted out to the people who had accompanied him to Sargasso, desperately hoping for them to be nearby, "Mikoto? Index? Lessar? Birdway?"

The landscape was completely flat, with no hills, structures, or objects to hide anyone. If there was someone standing there, Touma would have seen them immediately. But as he continued walking across the ground with no mountains, valleys, rivers, or oceans, and looked at a sky with no sun or moon, he couldn't see anyone else. All he found was the same level ground all around him.

For a while, Touma kept hope that his allies might be hiding in a valley or something else in this world of black, too far away to be seen from his location. But at some point, Touma realized it was futile. There was nothing to tell time with, no sun, moon, or stars, so he didn't know if he'd been walking for half an hour or for three days. His thin thread of hope finally snapped, and he realized that there truly was no one else around.

Touma knew that Sargasso couldn't possibly be that large, and he should've reached the ocean eventually after walking in a single direction. Had he really wandered into such an absurd and surreal world, or had the world been changed to take this form?

He finally asked himself, "Where am I?" Once he properly asked this question, it was all over. A great pressure squeezed on his heart, and he felt the support underneath his feet, as well as his mind, starting to crumble. He screamed, "Ahhhhhhh! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

He was all alone in this world, and he finally felt the true horror of the situation. Unable to remain standing on his feet, he collapsed to the ground in the fetal position, continuing to scream as loudly as he could. In this distorted world, with the scenery the same at every point, there may have been no real concept of location, but Touma was still afraid of not being able to return to a location that remained only in his mind. He was afraid of never being able to talk to the people whose presence he'd taken for granted in his daily life. Touma had never known about this type of fear. This was worse than the fear of death, it was the fear of being the only one alive.

As Touma thought about what to do, with there being absolutely no variation anywhere, his heart ached for some kind of indicator or landmark. After a while, he muttered, "There is one." Once he found this new option, he unsteadily stood back up and began walking in a certain direction, adding, "There's still Othinus, the source of all of this."

Touma walked back in the opposite direction, trying to reach Othinus, who was indeed the only thing besides himself in this dark world. He had so many questions, all of them connected to that Magic God. With no landmarks, he didn't know if he was even walking in the right direction, or how far he'd have to walk. But he did eventually end up reaching her again.

Othinus had stabbed her lance into the ground and was casually leaning against the handle. She lazily said to him, "Oh? And here I thought you'd broken and collapsed to die out in the middle of nowhere."

The boy only replied, "There was nothing there."

Othinus casually said in response, "I told you that at the beginning."

Nevertheless, Touma replied in a resolute tone, "But this isn't the end. There has to be some way of returning the world to normal and bringing back all the people who have disappeared."

Othinus straightened up a bit and said, "Are you still being foolishly optimistic? I wondered how you managed to overcome seeing the end of the world, but it looks like you just deluded yourself. Listen, it doesn't matter how, but the world has ended. Your right hand can negate magical flames, but it can't restore something that has been burned to ashes. This is the same, the world has already ended, so there's nothing you can do."

But Touma shook his head and replied, "Really? According to Ollerus, Imagine Breaker was created from the selfish hopes of all magicians, to have a reference and restoration point to fix the world with if they have twisted it too far." He held out his right hand in a fist and continued, "And that is exactly what's happened here. I may not be able to understand what you're thinking, but I have the tool needed to revert everything you threw out of order!"

Othinus quickly declared, "Fine then, to be honest, I figured you'd be the final obstacle. Or more specifically, your right hand. Imagine Breaker takes on different forms depending on the era and location, so while you are literally trash, killing you and having it reside somewhere else may be a problem for me."

As the boy looked on with a questioning expression, she continued, "So rather than smashing you to pieces, I'll break you mentally, using you as a cage to trap Imagine Breaker. That power of yours will be completely useless."

Touma then said, "Bring it on! Even if I'm at a disadvantage, we're the only ones here, so I can only rely on myself."

At this, Othinus frowned and tilted her head, replying, "Me, fight you? It might be hard to believe, but I am a god, so why would I fight a puny human?" She pulled her lance out of the ground and continued, "A Magic God doesn't need to do anything directly to crush a single kid. I can manipulate anything in the world using magic. Everything is under my control, so I can leave the annoying work up to my pawns."

At this point, the tip of the lance glowed, illuminating that world of complete darkness. It was a clear change, perhaps even a sign of creation. Touma asked her, "What are you doing?"

Othinus casually answered, "Like I said, I'm going to mentally break you. I will take everything you want to protect, the places you want to return to, the people you want to see again, and everything else. I will fundamentally overturn and destroy your recognition of them. I will show you the total insignificance of everything you've achieved and gained in your 15 years of life."

As soon as she finished speaking, the entire world was white. Touma was not being blinded by light, and the empty and dark world was now changing. Starting with the lance, everything was obeying the Magic God's will, and something was being created.

Touma awoke with no memories of what had just happened or knowledge about where he was. He looked around and found that he was in the bedroom of a small house, which was ominously missing its roof and a wall. It seemed to be night, judging by the starry sky, but he could also see a faint orange light from beyond the horizon.

The boy didn't know whether that black world was a dream, or even if he was in a dream right now. He thought to himself, "Where is this? Where are Mikoto, Index, Lessar, and Birdway? It doesn't look like Academy City, so is it Tokyo? I guess the confrontation with Othinus at Sargasso didn't go well, so maybe they took me here after withdrawing."

That seemed to be the only logical solution, since GREMLIN wouldn't be considerate enough to lay him on a bed when he fell unconscious, and a random stranger probably wouldn't have intervened. And yet he couldn't bring himself to be completely hopeful that one of his allies had dragged him to safety.

Suddenly, a TV in the room turned itself on, and Touma saw a news report that seemed to be about a war in a distant country. But when he saw the burning and blacked-out cityscape depicted on the screen, he realized that it was Tokyo itself that was being attacked.

The announcer's voice then said, "The international coalition army is continuing its joint invasion of Tokyo, which is aimed to eliminate Kamijou Touma. We have word that 70% of the central part of the city has been completely reduced to rubble, but there are concerns that this large-scale destruction will make it impossible to confirm whether Kamijou Touma is really dead."

Touma was baffled by this. Birdway had told him that an international coalition had been formed against GREMLIN, so he had no idea how that had led to this situation.

But then he realized the significance of the house being destroyed. The orange light was in fact from the flames in the burning city. Touma was in the middle of a war zone, and it was a war that was apparently targeting him specifically.

He then heard the US President, Roberto Katze, speak on the television, "There was no other option. The Japanese government may have admitted that Kamijou Touma is hiding in their country, but only after hiding this fact for a long time. This is an insult to the peace-loving people of all nations. It's an undeniable fact that we're forcing great hardship on the Japanese people, especially those who live in Tokyo's city center. But we cannot end this onslaught until we have definite proof of Kamijou Touma's death. Even those who insist on pacifism must understand deep down that the death of that demon is necessary for true peace! If he is allowed to escape, nothing but rubble and corpses will follow over the next century. Future historians will applaud our decision to end his life for the goodness of all mankind!"

Touma just had a blank expression on his face as he watched the world enthusiastically respond to that speech. He couldn't bring himself to accept the truth, so he wondered, "Is this some kind of information warfare, to trick GREMLIN? There's no other reason to broadcast such false information to the entire world."

But his attempts at rationalization were interrupted by a voice saying, "Hi there. Looks like the world has heated up nicely." It was the Magic God Othinus, who was leaning against the wall with a remote in her hand. She used it to flip between different channels, each of which showed shocking footage that threatened to break Touma's heart. He heard the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church and Queen Elizard, both denouncing him.

Othinus continued, "The world is boiling over, and they've realized this commotion won't end until they find your head in the rubble. I'm surprised they haven't resorted to using nukes, but perhaps that's because they want to confirm your death."

Touma frantically asked her, "What did you do to them? I don't see why they'd ever stop targeting you!"

Othinus replied, "Come on, do you think I threatened them and made them denounce you? No one would go along with that, and I'd have to take their pitiful lives. There is no continuity with the previous world. I told you, that world really was destroyed. This isn't a nightmare or an illusion. This is the current world. I am a god, and I made it this way. You can try deluding yourself, but that will only lead you to one fate. You will die, and nothing will change that." She then vanished from sight.

At this point, Touma heard multiple violent-sounding voices from outside. They had apparently heard the TV, and decided to check out the house, since their target might be hiding inside. Touma's entire body started sweating as those people broke into the first floor of the house through a window. He stood up and tried to figure out a place to hide, but quickly decided that he would need to escape the house entirely.

He headed to the missing wall and contemplated whether to jump from the second floor to the ground, even at the risk of breaking his ankle. But he then realized that the intruders weren't bothering to search for him directly. Instead, they had set the house on fire, in order to kill or force out anyone who was hiding inside.

Touma now only had one strategy to escape. Since the people who'd set the house on fire had already left the house, Touma jumped from the second floor and landed directly on top of them. Touma quickly rolled away and crossed the short concrete fence to the other side.

But he wasn't out of the woods yet, since gunshots soon began targeting him. In Japan, the police were the only people allowed to carry such firearms, so Touma realized that he wasn't just being attacked by a random mob of people. He ran in a zigzag pattern to escape the bullets, and leaned against a telephone pole to catch his breath.

Othinus appeared, sitting on top of the pole, and noted, "So you overcame the first trial."

The boy stepped away from the pole and shouted up at her, "What in the world did you do?"

The Magic God replied with a smile, "I didn't do that much, I just changed everyone's point of view." With that, she once again disappeared.

Touma looked around but saw no sight of the girl. Instead, he found a few bodies in the rubble. They were dried up like mummies, obviously having died from starvation. A radio in one of their arms blared a report about the world cutting off all food supplies to Japan, and over half of the population being expected to die.

After walking for a while, the boy found a road sign saying that he was in Shibuya, but his surroundings were completely unrecognizable. The tall buildings had all been reduced to rubble, with only the bases remaining standing. Touma wondered, "Did GREMLIN do this, or the coalition?"

Othinus appeared once again for a brief moment, just to tell him, "It wasn't me, and it doesn't seem to be over yet." She then immediately vanished again.

Touma heard a news broadcast saying that efforts were being made to evacuate Academy City's students, but the international coalition had decided to bomb any place that accepted those refugees. At that moment, twenty to thirty flashes of light appeared over Touma's head and slammed into important targets.

One of the bombs approached the area Touma was in, and he didn't even have time to drop down before it hit. The targeted subway station was a hundred meters away, but his body was still thrown into the air, and he hit the back of his head on the ground.

Touma didn't have time to check on his injuries. As he recalled the broadcasts about fleeing students from Academy City being targeted, his mind was filled with the faces of his classmates, who he now knew weren't safe.

He saw that the exterior of Shibuya station had collapsed. He feared for the fate of anyone hiding in there, but he calmed himself with the thought that they'd be deep enough underground to not be damaged by the bombing.

Othinus once again appeared, this time riding an electric scooter, saying, "Don't be so sure, things may not go as well as you think." Touma tried to punch her, but she and her vehicle disappeared again.

Touma looked for the entrance to the station amid the rubble, but his eyes widened as he saw something else. He said in a trembling voice, "Fuki...yo...se?" He rushed over, shouting his classmate's name, and picked her up.

She was still breathing shallowly, so Touma exclaimed, "Damn it, are you okay? I'll do something about this, I will save you!" He thought about finding some water to treat her burns. When she began moving her lips, he stopped her with a hand, "Don't try to speak. You need medical treatment first, so let's get away from here."

As he looked around for something to treat her with, Fukiyose stirred in his arms. He didn't pay much attention to that, but that was a fatal mistake. Because Fukiyose then stabbed his side with a glass shard in her hand.

For a moment, Touma felt more confusion than pain, but when his classmate twisted the shard into his wound, he began screaming loudly, as intense pain travelled through his spine and upper body.

Touma could no longer support the girl, so Fukiyose dropped onto the sidewalk, and Touma vomited blood from his mouth. As he started to realize the seriousness of the situation, he pulled out the glass shard from his body, while coughing up more blood.

Meanwhile, Fukiyose slowly stood up and eventually asked in a resentful tone, "How can you talk about saving me? Kamijou Touma, if it weren't for you and what you did, no one would've had to die!"

Her words were a physical blow to Touma, who had never heard this much resentment and contempt from his classmate. As she picked up a piece of rebar and prepared to slam it into him, Touma wondered how things had reached this situation where everyone in the world hated him. Before Fukiyose could deliver the finishing blow, a set of cruise missiles slammed into the other side of the rubble, and an enormous wave of heat swept over them. The ground below Touma crumbled, and he fell deep underground into Shibuya station.

For some reason, Touma fell for longer than he thought was possible. As he wondered once again if this was all a dream, Othinus appeared, falling upside-down beside him, asking, "Do you understand now? This is a world with a different point of view."

Touma asked her, "What? What point of view did you change to make this world?"

The girl laughed mockingly and said, "You still don't get it? Their point of view concerning you!"

Touma then felt himself impact into the ground, not too far below the broken portion of the ceiling he'd fallen through, which he could still see. Fukiyose wasn't nearby, so apparently she hadn't been caught in the collapse.

When he tried to move, he felt immense pain from his side and then his entire body. He tried covering his wound with his hand, but he knew even bandages wouldn't do much, and in this situation, it was unlikely that any doctor would be available or willing to help him.

He removed his coat and pressed it against his wound. Touma then looked up and listened to a new broadcast on an LCD monitor, announcing that Academy City had been surrounded by nuclear landmines, in order to punish the place which produced Kamijou Touma.

Touma still didn't understand the full picture, but he did finally realize he was being treated as absolute evil by the world, and that any people or organizations remotely connected with him were being indiscriminately attacked. He already knew what was happening to Academy City students, but he still wondered out loud, "Where are my parents?"

At this moment, a powerful flashlight shined in the darkness, and Touma soon heard a familiar voice say, "Kami-yan."

Touma grimaced as he said his friend's name, "Aogami Pierce." He had never thought he'd feel such fear at running into a friend, but the deep wound in his side only proved that this could be a fatal encounter.

Aogami then said, "I'm impressed, I never thought I'd run into you here. I'm not sure how you managed to avoid being surrounded on your way here. Right now, everyone would applaud and cheer if you were crucified in a public square!"

The malice in the boy's voice told Touma that there was no chance of having a proper conversation with him. Othinus appeared again, leaning against Touma's back, and informed him, "To be clear, they haven't been brainwashed. I haven't added anything new, just changed their point of view. You've already done what it would take to be treated like this, it's just that no one, including yourself, realized this before."

Touma quickly turned around, but Othinus was still behind him as she whispered, "You've always charged headfirst into every incident, used your fists to defeat your enemy, and protected someone and their small world as a result. You even managed to end World War 3 by accumulating enough such incidents. Thus, in the world you know, you were treated as a hero and only the positive aspects were emphasized."

Her words, instead of beating against Touma, slipped deep inside him. She continued, "But what if their point of view is changed? You bare your fangs towards anyone you don't like, jump in and rescue every girl you see, and relentlessly swing your fist towards anyone who resists. That's the other side of the person known as Kamijou Touma. You choose your fists as your means of solving problems, and while it may sound cute compared to swords or guns, you still managed to influence the outcome of World War 3 with that method. It would be strange to accept such an incarnation of violence, so here people hate you even more than the worst national dictators."

With this, the feeling of the girl against his back vanished again, and Touma was left to deal with Aogami, who hadn't heard or seen Othinus at all. Aogami said in a disgusted tone, "Kami-yan, I know you have your issues, but why did you have to do it around us? Why couldn't you have done it on the other side of the planet. No, on the other side of the moon or Mars. I don't understand why we had to go through all this. If you'd just stayed put and done nothing, none of this would have happened."

Those words settled the issue. Touma shook his head with clear intent and replied with increasing energy, "I can't do that, Aogami. All of this may have happened because of me, and all of you might have nowhere left to go, just because you knew me. But I could never agree that staying silent and overlooking what happened was the right thing to do."

Aogami raised his arm to attack Touma with his flashlight, growling, "I'm not here to debate with you."

Touma's body was too battered to dodge, so he blocked the strike with his left arm. The blow cracked or even broke his bone, since a great pain began emanating from the core of his arm. Touma used his right hand to grab Aogami's collar, and then slammed his forehead into the other boy's nose, rattling his brain. Touma said to him, "I'm sorry Aogami, but I still need to see what happened to my parents, so I can't get taken out here! If this really all happened because of me, I promise I'll do something about this, but I beg you to get out of my way for now."

Aogami dropped the flashlight and whispered, "Do you really still have hope?" Touma couldn't use his left arm anymore, so Aogami moved to tackle him, in order to finish him off. But Touma kicked up a small fragment of concrete, which smashed into Aogami's face.

Once Touma heard the sound of the hit, he grabbed the other boy's hair, tripped him to the ground, and was about to slam his foot into Aogami's solar plexus to knock him unconscious. But then he stopped, and decided to run off instead.

Aogami's parting words stabbed into him, "If you want to feel despair that badly, have at it! There's nowhere left for you in this world. We lost everything, so I won't let the source be the only one saved!"

Touma ran along, but he felt worse and worse the farther he went. His left arm was limp, and the wound in his side was draining his strength away. He placed his right hand against the wall and tried to support his body. His only thought was of seeing what had happened to his parents.

Othinus, who was not hanging upside-down from the ceiling, said, "How brave of you. If you really want to see it for yourself, I won't stop you. But you should be more cautious of your surroundings."

The boy then felt a sharp blade stab into his back, and he realized that it was now truly over. He used his right hand to feel for the handle, and he found that it was large enough to be a true kitchen knife. Touma's determination crumbled away, and he slid to the floor.

Touma used his remaining strength to look up at his attacker, and uttered in disbelief, "Komoe-sensei?" She was a teacher, and not the type of person to do this. Just like with the police officers, if she was doing this, then this entire world would have to be on the road to destruction.

As his teacher pulled out the knife and prepared to strike again, she said, "I'm sorry Kamijou-chan. But I saw all sorts of horrible things happening to the class. None of that should've happened, and I have to take responsibility."

Touma finally collapsed to the floor, unable to move his mouth anymore. He moved his eyes to another LCD screen. It showed his parents in a courtroom, perhaps one from overseas. They were being charged with the crime of giving birth to him, and Touma was collapsed on the floor, unable to save them. These facts brought him shame, and he apologized over and over in his heart. This must have been what Aogami and Othinus were talking about.

As Komoe moved to stab him again and finish him off, his father said, "It's true that Touma is our son, there's no denying that. But we have realized that to destroy the absolute evil known as Kamijou Touma, the help of us who know him best is needed. Please judge us after it's all over, and give us the chance to right our mistake!" The reaction was cheers, applause, and comments of praise.

Just before Tsukuyomi Komoe killed him, Othinus appeared for a final time and happily whispered while crouching in front of him, "In the end, who actually saw you for who you were? I used the lance to regulate my power as a Magic God and create this world with a different point of view. In one world, you are a hero, but in this world, you're an incarnation of destruction. But even here, if some people had really seen who you truly were, perhaps at least one of them might have come to save you."

It seemed like time had stopped, at least where Othinus was. Thus, she was able to talk to him just before the knife stabbed into his body again. Othinus concluded, "No matter how many people surrounded you, none of them were actually looking at you. They saw your name, your outer shell, and a list of your actions, and they decided for themselves what kind of person you must be. That's why it was so easy to manipulate their impression of you and change their point of view. Othinus then posed a final question, though she already knew the answer, "So in the end, was it really necessary to risk your life to protect that collection of individuals?"

Her words battered Touma's soul, especially since he knew she had a point. Most of the people in his life didn't really know him that well. They didn't know that he'd lost his memories, and they generally either only knew about his normal high school life or only about incidents he'd been involved in. He could only think of two people who really knew the true him: his girlfriend Mikoto, as well as Index. At least, that was true in his original world, but perhaps it was not true in this twisted world that Othinus had created. Were Mikoto and Index already killed for being close to him? Or were they still alive, disgusted at him for bringing ruin on them and everyone around them? He had no way of knowing.

But nevertheless, Touma, who somehow regained enough strength to speak, slowly answered, "It is." Othinus looked at him in surprise, while he continued, "Despite all that, it's still certainly worth protecting." No matter what tragedy befell a person, they still deserved the chance to stand up. Even if they'd twisted their relationships, surrounded themselves with hatred, and given up on a happy life, they still had the option of reversing each of those decisions. This was how Touma had resolved multiple incidents in the past. He had seen people return to the light.

It was now Touma's turn to struggle, but even if he was the target of hatred in this world, he was prepared to accept it all, make up for it all, and move forward. He would make sure that everything returned to normal.

Othinus darkly smiled a little and replied, "I see. It seems you're just like the fabled frog in boiling water. I had thought the immutability of your right hand was my greatest enemy, but your utter foolishness is another obstacle. But it's much too pathetic to face seriously. In that case, I'll make a slight change of plans and enjoy this."

Touma asked her, "What are you going to do?" But he received no answer. Instead, the Magic God snapped her fingers. Time started up again, and Komoe stabbed her knife forcefully into Touma's back, killing him at last.

When "Kamijou Touma" awoke, he was in his usual school classroom. The teacher wasn't present, so his classmates were all out of their desks and enjoying themselves. He had apparently fallen asleep at his desk.

"Touma" tilted his head in confusion and muttered, "What was that just now?" He checked his own body, but he had no stab wounds, and his left arm wasn't broken either. He let out a sigh of relief as he realized that that horrible hellish world must have just been a dream.

From nearby, Fukiyose said in an exasperated tone, "What are you doing, Kamijou Touma?"

On hearing his classmate's voice, he stood up and exclaimed, "Fukiyose!" He rushed towards her and used his hands to check her head and abdomen, frantically saying, "Are your burns okay? You don't seem to be bleeding, but are you sure you don't need a doctor?"

Fukiyose was startled by his sudden actions, and she replied, "Wh-what are you doing? Stop touching me!" She slammed her fist into him, and the boy rolled across the classroom, slamming into multiple desks and chairs in the process. She shouted at him, "I don't know what kind of weird dream you were having, but you better wake up!"

Touma looked up blankly and muttered, "A dream?"

At this moment, Aogami and Tsuchimikado entered the conversation. Aogami smirked and said, "Heh heh, we all have those kinds of dreams, but only Kami-yan would go right ahead and touch her, despite already having a girlfriend."

Tsuchimikado added in, "Though it looks like, even while half-asleep, Kami-yan had enough self-control to avoid any prohibited areas."

"Touma" said in a deadpan tone, "Okay, looks like you two have a death wish." He then climbed onto his desk and jumped onto his horrible friends to attack them.

But Aogami and Tsuchimikado caught the attack and started lifting him into the air. Komoe arrived at this moment, announcing, "Okay, it's time for our first afternoon lesson. We will be covering the records of Mifune Chizuko, an esper who existed before the establishment of the quantum theory system." But when she saw what was going on in her classroom, she exclaimed, "Ehhh? Why is Kamijou-chan hanging down with his head stuck in the ceiling?"

Aogami then commented, "Who would've thought there was a duct opening up there? Hmm, wait, is this the beginning of a long and winding path to the girls' locker room?"

Tsuchimikado added, "I'm more interested in how Komoe-sensei immediately knew it was Kami-yan despite every boy wearing the same uniform from the neck down."

When "Touma" realized that no one would help him, he pressed his hands against the ceiling to push his body downwards. This succeeded in freeing his head, but when he fell down, his back struck a desk, and he ended up writhing in pain on the floor, shouting, "Such misfortune!"

Later that day, "Touma" and Index headed for the underground zone filled with high-class department stores. They would usually never come to a place like this, but he'd already promised her a luxurious oden dinner that night, so there was no choice.

However, the boy came back to his senses when he saw the price tags in the store. He nervously said, "Um, Index, I don't think this is going to work." With his meager budget, there was no way he could afford such prices.

Index protested, "But we already came this far!"

"Touma" tried mollifying her, "I'm not rejecting the idea of oden altogether. We can still have it tonight, but why don't we get an economical oden pack from the supermarket?"

But Index replied in a dissatisfied tone, "I already saw the best one! If we turn back now, my oden craving will never disappear!"

He saw Index snap her teeth together, and knew what would befall him if he didn't acquiesce. As a result, he thought to himself, "Looks like it'll be just bread crusts for me for a while."

His depressing thoughts were then interrupted by the familiar voice of his girlfriend, who asked, "What are you doing here, Touma?"

"Touma" turned to look at her, feeling not too surprised that she was in a high-class place like this. She could definitely afford the higher prices, after all. But then he noticed something odd: she didn't have a shopping cart or a basket. He asked her in a joking tone, "Mikoto, have you gone from kicking vending machines to full-blown shoplifting?"

Mikoto put her hands on her hips and smirked back at him, replying, "It seems like you want me to blast you into the sky. Would you prefer going to the moon or Mars?" He knew she was joking, but he also knew that Mikoto could probably gather the materials to construct a mass driver in Academy City. She then added in a more serious tone, "Anyway, I'm not here to shop. My school's dorm has been getting a bunch of junk mail telling people to come sample their foods. The mail has gotten so full that some of the girls are afraid to open it. They seem to be taking Tokiwadai too lightly, so I've come to have a word with whoever's responsible. I want to put an end to this before they actually come to the dorm and pester us in person. Kuroko would normally deal with things like this, but she seemed busy."

"Touma" chuckled and ruffled his girlfriend's hair, saying, "Wow, you're very considerate towards your classmates, aren't you? No wonder they look up to you!"

Mikoto blushed a little at his compliment, before replying, "Anyway, what are you doing here, Touma?"

The boy sighed and answered, "I promised Index a luxurious oden dinner, so I have to buy the ingredients from here, even if it destroys my wallet. Do you want to come over for dinner tonight, Biri-Biri? Maybe even stay the night?"

The girl sympathized with his plight, so she replied, "Sure, I'd love to! After I have a talk with that shop owner, I can help pitch in for the ingredients."

"Touma" let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness, I feel a little bad relying on you for this, but since you'll be eating too, I guess it's okay."

Mikoto then put her hands on his shoulders and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, before saying softly in his ear, "By the way, I know it can't be tonight, but how about we stay the night at a hotel later this week?" She made sure Index couldn't hear this.

The boy blushed furiously at her proposition. They hadn't had sex since their return from Hawaii, so he was really looking forward to the opportunity. He enthusiastically nodded, "Yes, let's do that!"

Mikoto laughed at his enthusiasm and then stepped away from him, saying, "All right, I'll catch up with you later then." She then started walking towards the industrial elevator.

"Touma" then continued shopping with Index, looking forward to their dinner that night. He was really enjoying himself and his life. Even though he would get involved in all sorts of trouble, he could still keep going because of this enjoyable everyday life. He could survive stepping deep into the darkness as long as he had this place to return to. The boy knew from the bottom of his heart that his enjoyable days would continue on and on.

But as the day turned into evening, a boy sat at a desk in the back of the classroom. No one had noticed him or thought it odd for him to be sitting all alone.

Kamijou Touma trembled while all alone, and asked, "What...what the hell was that?" He didn't recognize the boy known as "Kamijou Touma." Everyone had surrounded that boy, and no one had noticed anything wrong. But "Touma" had been a completely different person, with a different height, weight, facial features, and hair color. There was no way anyone could mistake the two of them. And yet he'd had to watch that boy socialize with his friends. Touma had to watch him kiss and even plan to have sex with his girlfriend, and the imposter had even been wearing a copy of Touma's ring.

Othinus appeared, sitting on the teacher's desk, and said, "You really have to ask? That was Kamijou Touma's everyday life. Surely you recognize it."

Touma shook his head and replied, "That isn't what I meant!" He wanted to know why someone else had replaced him in his life.

A piece of chalk began to move on its own, writing the letters A and B on the blackboard. Othinus slowly spoke, as if speaking to a poor student, "For them, it didn't matter who it was. You met various people in your past, resolved their problems, and expanded your circle of friends, even getting a girlfriend. From a god's perspective, it was all a ridiculous farce, but perhaps they were praiseworthy acts for a mere human."

Touma felt his heart start to sink, guessing what she would say next. Indeed, she continued, "But their trust stemmed from you saving them. As long as they were saved, it could have been anyone, right? If someone besides you had been the one to save them, then their trust and good will would have gone to that other person. Anyone could have become 'Kamijou Touma,' even a greasy middle-aged man or a dried-up old man. What's wrong, did you really delude yourself into thinking that no one but you could have walked down the path you travelled?"

Othinus spun her finger around, and the floating chalk crossed out the A and circled the B. She sharply said, "No one was truly looking at you, and no one would be particularly troubled if you weren't there. As long as they had someone to resolve their problems, their lives would continue on just fine. How pathetic that you repeatedly risked your life for such shallow relationships. And yes, that includes your relationship with Misaka Mikoto."

Touma wasn't even able to feel a chill, and his footing felt unsteady, despite sitting in his chair. The world felt distant, as if he was detached from his own body. He couldn't find any argument to directly rebut her point. Perhaps Mikoto and everyone else really would've just formed bonds with whoever saved them, and he was just the one who'd happened to be there.

Othinus concluded, "Remember what I said last time? Is there any need to persistently risk your life for this? As long as it saves them, they would all worship a chewed-up piece of gum that someone spat on the road."

The boy remained silent for a while, looking at the empty lines of desks and chairs. It felt even bleaker than a deserted planet, and he felt absolutely no warmth in this world.

Othinus then asked him, "Can you still continue on? Changing a simple point of view is enough to bring hell to the surface. You can remain idealistic if you want, but that'll only lead to more intense darkness. You will be broken by the very path you chose."

Touma finally muttered, "What good is denying it? No matter what anyone says, this is my world, and I protected it. It may only look like a miniature garden to a Magic God like you, but it's still valuable to me."

As a lance appeared in Othinus's hand, she replied, "Oh really? As long as I have this, I can rearrange the world how I want. After all, I am a god."

The boy asked in a somewhat confused tone, "What are you suggesting?"

Othinus told him, "I'm waiting for you to despair."

Touma then asked, "Why? You can create as many new 'Kamijou Toumas' as you want."

Othinus whispered, "There's no meaning in tormenting a new doll with no sins. And anything I create isn't allowed to oppose me. Despair over what happened. If you do, I'll return those people to their proper form, so they'll at least feel sorry when you're buried in your grave."

Othinus could indeed do anything to the world. If she wanted, she could create a world that fulfilled his every ridiculous wish and fantasy.

The boy thought for a moment and shook his head, "No, that would be meaningless, Othinus. You already said it yourself, creating new dolls is meaningless. No matter how comfortable it might be, it would still feel empty. It's the same as if you filled the world with these dolls to grant your every desire."

The Magic God replied, "Well said, but then are you saying the scenes you saw weren't mistaken? That nothing should be corrected, and you should be abandoned to this loneliness?"

Touma immediately replied, "Yes." This speed caused Othinus to wrinkle her brow, and he continued, "I was abandoned, and someone I don't know took everything away from me, including my girlfriend. But I'm not entitled to having things go my way. I'm not entitled to their friendship, or to Mikoto's love. They are all free to do what they want, and their decisions should be honored. Having everything go exactly as you want is too hollow, so this is what it means for something to be beyond your reach. So Othinus, if you offer to correct everything that I lost, I would stand in your way. Everything here only gives me pain, but I have no right to force it all away for my own convenience!"

Othinus scrutinized him for a bit, with the expression of someone whose plan had gone awry, and then said, "Let me ask you one thing before I crush you. What do you gain from that?"

The boy immediately replied, "Nothing, I was never fighting to gain something from it."

Othinus said in a displeased tone, "I see."

Touma then explained, "And while I may have been separated from the people in my life, I can always rebuild those connections! Several of those relationships started out with hatred and lack of understanding, but we got to the point where we could smile at each other. Those bonds are much, much, much stronger than you think. Just because 'Kamijou Touma' has stolen those bonds doesn't mean I can never create new bonds with them."

Othinus repeated, "I see." She was bringing this line of conversation to and end. Her shoulders began to tremble, and while Touma at first thought she was suppressing anger, she was actually suppressing laughter. She said, "Heh heh, that's quite the wonderful opinion you have there, but I've played a rather cruel trick on you. To be honest, I never thought you'd come to that conclusion, and it's a little awkward for a god to admit a mistake to a human. You should be proud of that, at least."

Touma frowned and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Othinus pointed to the classroom's exit and said, "The boy who disappeared through there was called 'Kamijou Touma' by everyone. He himself believed that he was 'Kamijou Touma." But only the two of us remain now. Your own assertions are meaningless here, and everything I've said has been filled with malice. So doesn't that bring an obvious question to mind?"

An unpleasant feeling raced across Touma's skin, and he felt like he couldn't let her continue speaking. But even so, she asked in a scornful tone, "Who is this person sitting pathetically at your desk? Who are you? Is someone who just sits around complaining really the Kamijou Touma that everyone knows?"

And with that question, he no longer knew who he was. He began breathing erratically, and his arms and legs hung limply down. Othinus was right, in this twisted world where how people viewed themselves and others had completely collapsed, he couldn't rely on a name. Just like other people's concepts of "Kamijou Touma," his own concept of "Kamijou Touma" could be easily manipulated.

And if so, then who was he? He truly believed himself to be "Kamijou Touma," but who was he really?

Othinus jumped from desk to desk, and once she reached his desk, she looked down at him and said, "Tell me your name. 'Kamijou Touma,' what kind of person were you originally? As you filled with righteous anger and challenged a god for your friends' sakes, what kind of people surrounded you, and who did you abandon in order to protect someone?"

The boy sweated profusely, and she continued, "There had to be someone that the real you wanted to protect with your life, even if it meant fighting someone you couldn't defeat. Where is that person now, and what are they doing while you deny your true identity and insist that you're 'Kamijou Touma'?"

Now, all the heat left his body, and he felt a freezing chill. Othinus ruthlessly continued her assault, "Tell me. As thanks for letting me kill some time, I'll return you to your proper position as long as you tell me your proper name. You can return to your friends, your family, and your lover. If you can find your true self, I'll return you to the people who hold a connection with that true self."

The boy looked up, and saw that Othinus had produced a photograph between her fingers. As she let it fall onto the desk, she said, "Having you choose from all six billion on earth would be a bit much, so I'll give you a hint. After all, human entertainment is no fun if there's no chance of winning."

The photo showed "Touma's" class. The dozens of class members were lined up on the stairs, and their teacher Komoe was standing a short distance away. Othinus said, "You are one of the people in that picture. You only need to choose one of them. This is much easier than having to spin a globe around, right?"

The boy knew that the Magic God had only given him this chance on a whim, and would mercilessly abandon him once she lost interest. She continued, "You are one of them. If you choose correctly, I'll return your world, your life, and your existence." She did not need to say what would happen if he chose incorrectly.

The boy slowly looked at the class photo. They all had flat smiles, and none of them stood out from the others. He initially focused on the boys, but Othinus warned, "The lance can change your appearance, so your current sex and age mean nothing in terms of who you originally were."

Since she mentioned age too, Komoe could have been a candidate as well. Othinus concluded, "Don't worry about the time. This is your final decision, so you can worry about it until you starve to death, if you like."

Both boy and girl, and both student and teacher, were options. There was nothing identifying he could look for, so his only option seemed to be to choose at random, which had much worse odds than a game of Russian roulette.

His eyes hurt, either from tears or from the sweat dripping down his forehead. His lips felt oddly dry, and he could feel Othinus watching him. But he slowly spoke, "I...I am Kamijou Touma. I am no one but Kamijou Touma!"

As soon as he said this, Othinus grimaced in utter displeasure. This was a very dangerous expression, since it meant that she'd lost interest, and thus would soon respond with great fury. But first, she clicked her tongue loudly and sighed, "When did you catch on? Don't tell me this is just more baseless optimism."

Touma quietly answered, "You actually gave me a hint."

Othinus questioned, "I did?"

The boy explained, "If your goal was just to make me suffer, you would've never given me the class photo. That meant you had a reason to show it to me. You said the real me was in there, but you never warned me that it was someone other than Kamijou Touma. You were hoping that I would choose wrong when I easily could've chosen correctly. Plus, you also said that there's no point in creating a new 'Kamijou Touma' to torment. So since you're torturing me, I must be the real one."

Othinus frowned and replied, "So you saw through my malice. And here I thought it would be an interesting experiment in destroying your identity."

She then snapped her fingers, and the current world vanished. Touma once again stood in a world where both the ground and sky were completely black. He couldn't see Othinus anywhere, but her voice slipped into his ear, "It seems this was on too high a level for a fool like you. I guess having no worries can be a talent in a situation this extreme. I'm honestly impressed you have so little self-doubt."

However, Othinus then added, "But how many cards do you think I have in my deck? Do you think it's limited to just tens of thousands?" With this, Touma knew the next threat would soon arrive.

Touma saw countless worlds and experienced countless forms of despair. They cornered and attempted to crush him. He faced strange false accusations and was hung by a noose around his neck. He was stranded on a mountain with some acquaintances, and was forced to distribute his flesh so the others could survive until rescue arrived. He lay on a hospital bed, unable to move, and was simply stuck like that all the way to his funeral. He was buried alive and began to decompose, starting from his arms and legs. He was forced to wander a scorching desert, hungry and thirsty beyond belief. He felt himself drowning, while falling deeper and deeper into the ocean. As a puny human, he was destroyed by a giant robot or asteroid. He floated in space without a spacesuit, and he slowly suffocated.

Touma clearly felt his heart breaking, not like being smashed by a hammer or sliced by a sword, but more like slowly being consumed by termites. And yet, throughout it all, he managed to gather his thoughts bit by bit. He didn't suddenly come up with a way to reverse or resolve the situation, but he did figure one thing out.

In his hazy mind, he quietly said, "You aren't actually destroying anything."

Othinus, standing directly in front of him, replied, "Oh?" She seemed surprised that he was only now realizing this.

Touma continued, "There aren't thousands or millions of worlds. This is still our world, and we haven't moved anywhere this whole time."

Othinus replied with a scoff, "Don't act like you know what you're talking about. Besides, I never said anything about parallel worlds."

He didn't know how it worked, but Othinus was changing the world's point of view. He was just experiencing what was around him, so it looked to him like he was travelling to completely different worlds.

Othinus then asked in a disinterested tone, "Have you ever heard of phases?" Hearing no reply, she continued, "This world wasn't pure and untouched to begin with. Christian, Buddhist, Celtic, Indian, Shinto, Incan, Aztec, Greek, Roman…and Norse. These various religions placed layer after layer of phases over the world like thin veils or filters. There's heaven, hell, the underworld, the Pure Land, Yomi, the abyss, Mount Olympus, the fairy island, Nirai Kanai, Asgard, and many others. Anyways, the world you've seen so far has been viewed through various colors of cellophane."

While his vision wavered, Touma still managed to speak, "And you haven't destroyed any of those colored it comes down to it, you're a person who creates. Even if it's filled with malice and even if it's more like crushing a house to create a pile of rubble, you're still a person who creates."

Othinus replied, "Just call me a god. Yes, I've simply placed new filters over the world so it appears to have changed. That's a lot easier than destroying everything and building it back up every time. Your right hand has the power to level out the foreign elements in the world, so it has difficulty functioning when I change the world itself. In the end, history will record that a Magic God repeatedly destroyed the world and created new ones to make a single boy suffer as much as possible."

She then added as an aside, "The man who calls himself the Silver Star seems to have been trying to directly tamper with the pure world beyond all the filters, that is, the world of science unaffected by religion. Honestly, you're quite lucky to see this, even the Golden Cabal was unable to reach this point."

Touma couldn't really understand the value of what Othinus had just explained, and perhaps someone like Index would have understood it better. But he did realize one thing, "She has the most extreme power of creation. She forces unnecessary or mistaken gears into the world, which completely changes the scene before me."

He then clenched his right fist and looked at it, thinking, "That must mean Imagine Breaker is special to her. It contains the power of destruction, and has the possibility of erasing those gears and restoring the world." Ollerus had said that Imagine Breaker was the selfish dream of all magicians, a way to restore the world to normal if they twisted it too far. And this was exactly the case here.

According to Othinus, those filters were existences or concepts like heaven or hell. Touma wasn't sure if he could destroy something so massive, but there was still a chance. There was still a very thin thread that connected back to the original world with Mikoto, Index, and the others. He even still had that ring from Mikoto on his left hand, and the Gekota strap on the phone in his pocket. Thus, he still had a small hope of returning to the world he knew.

Othinus seemingly knew exactly what he was thinking. With a very dangerous smile, she said "Oh, dear. Are you sure you want to reach for that last thread of hope?"

Touma asked, "What?" While she seemed to understand what he was thinking just by looking at his face, he had no idea what she meant.

Othinus just replied, "I'm saying that having hope and a chance of victory can actually lead to a fatal blow. You will understand that soon. You'll understand it all too well."