Fictions Mentioned:

Episode 2 - Total Recall

When science and magic cross path, this epic will begin.

- Touma Kamijou/The Imagine Breaker

Location:

Multiverse Cluster: Kamachi Verse

Universe: Toaru Prime Verse

Temporal Powers Alliance (TPA) Member Territory: The Ranaevian Empire - The Gekota Tribe, The Kirgumar Empire - The Kill Bear Tribe

Location: Academy City

Date and Time: July 19, 2XXX

Period: Night

Insert Song: Start

Innocent Trap · TETRA-FANG

It was one random night in Academy City. High above the atmosphere orbits an artificial satellite as it drifts unabated. The satellite was zooming it's camera closely towards one part of District 7, in one of it's many city streets.

An incident appears to be taking place.

A young man with spiky black hair, wearing the summer uniform of the school that he goes to which is known as A Certain High School, wearing an armband to his right shoulder that belongs to an organization known as Judgment; Academy City's student-based disciplinary committee, was now sprinting fast pace across the streets, being pursued in haste by a couple of delinquents, eight of them in fact, that belong to Skill-Out; an armed group, composed of many countless factions which number in the thousands.

He was running fast for almost two kilometers, intending to reach his current destination. The iron railway bridge.

As of this moment, he was just running, keeping track of his many pursuers who used to number much more than eight. But those others were taken care of one or two at a time by someone to whom he would consider to be his best friend.

All of this started the moment he walked into a family restaurant in order to get a nice meal after a hard day's work as a Judgment Officer. He spotted one of his best friends, Misaka Mikoto, being hit on by a couple of Skill-Out delinquents once again. Really, he thought, the irony of his best friend, the young woman of Tokiwadai Middle School who has the powers of electromagnetism, becoming a magnet for trouble in one shape or form. One of the main reasons why he joined Judgment. To keep an eye on his best friend.

And thus leads to the predicament that he landed in which was all part of the plan.

Incidentally, the young man had great confidence in his long distance running due to practice, daily exercise, and experience. He notes that his current pursuers on the other hand had already ruined their bodies with alcohol and cigarettes, and the boots that they were wearing weren't made for sprinting. On top of that, running full speed for long distances without pacing one's self was impossible by its very nature.

The young man alternated and weaved in and out through roads and back alleys, seeing one and then another of the delinquents drop out of the chase, leaning forward with their hands on their knees, with no clue or idea of what awaits them. His plan was working like a charm.

In his long distance running, he notices a couple of people who were walking and gathering the streets. Couples full of dreams and happiness. He could simply form a reminiscence smile due to recalling his own dream to protect these dreams and happiness. He would also recall a very special woman who was forever close to his heart.

He heard one of the delinquents shout at him during their marathon.

"Hey! You fucking brat! Stop, you master runner!"

He could simply make a smirk at the foul comment that was being hurled onto him.

He may look like a brat physically. But the more accurate term for him now would be that of a meddling old man who needs to teach these whippersnappers some form of proper manners. He was far from being a master runner. That title belongs to none other than his second father due to always running all the time as part of his daily life.

Always running. Never looking back.

For many reasons.

Keep moving forward. Carry on. Out of shame. Secrets untold.

The young man run from another two kilometers, with six of his pursuers still chasing after him. They have now exited the urban area and came towards the iron railway bridge. The young man suddenly stops. The others begin to stop as well, sporting looks of irritation and anger, feeling the effects of all their running.

"Ha... Ha... Nowhere to run now, brat!," said one of the delinquents, a man that seems to wear an ordinary white t-shirt, sporting an pleased expression. "We got you right where we want you!"

The young man slightly turned his face around, with his right eye sporting a serious expression.

"I'm giving all of you once last chance. Surrender now and nobody needs to get hurt anymore than needed."

"Pffft. Hahahahahahaha!"

The delinquents could only laugh at the subtle threat to stand down, much to the young man's expectation as he begins to sigh heavily in resignation, making a side comment in his inner thoughts that these types of people would always tend to severely underestimate other people.

"Can you believe this kid, boys?," the man with the ordinary white t-shirt said in a tone of arrogant confidence. "This punk thinks that he can take all six of us. Well then, Let's see if he bites more than he barks."

At that moment, the man and his fellow delinquents begin to walk slowly towards him, with some circling around him.

"Get 'im, boys."

At that moment, the delinquents begin to take turns on the young man, with the two about to strike from his front with their fists, only for the young man to dodge the fists with ease, putting an armlock on one of the delinquents, beginning to throw said delinquent to his back where the white t-shirt delinquent and two other delinquents were knocked towards the asphalt floor, with the four automatically turning unconscious as they hit the ground.

The two remaining delinquents standing were now taking their respective turns. One of them, a young man with bleach hair, was now aiming his knife towards the young man's neck in order to slash it, only to be dodge and countered by the young man, performing a chop attack to the neck, rendering the bleach haired man unconscious. The other delinquent, a young man with semi-bald hair, begins to try to punch the young man with each successive strike in a clumsy like fashion. The young man could only dodge with ease before finally ending this pitiful excuse for combat by raising his knee towards the delinquent's upper right chest, with the delinquent sporting a grimaced expression on his face due to the impact of the knee cap. The young man performs another chop attack to the neck, knocking said delinquent out cold.

The young man was now the only one standing.

He completed his objective. He had managed to successfully subdued his pursuers. with nothing but his quick thinking and combat experience oriented skills.

He begins to breathe in and out, closing his eyes.

"Wow, I guess you didn't need my help after all."

He begins to hear a voice that came from the south of his position. He turns around to find a normal middle school girl with brown hair, with a hair clip attached to it, wearing a gray pleated skirt, a short-sleeved blouse, and a summer sweater. He sees her sporting an awed and impressed expression on her face. If he could take a guess, it probably had something to do with what he did to those delinquents who are now lying on the floor.

He could simply form a genuine smile in recognition of the girl who is standing right in front of him.

Misaka Mikoto - The 3rd Rank Level 5 Esper of Academy City.

His best friend.

He begins to walk towards her, sporting that genuine smile on his face which warms the girl's cheeks.

"Judging by the fact that you're here, I'm assuming that the others have been taken care of."

"Ah, Uhm," Misaka nodded, sporting a slght blushing expression. "I managed to fry them unconscious. Kuroko and Uiharu-san are handling them right now as I called them from the phone. Speaking of which," Misaka begins to sport a concerned expression. "What the hell were you thinking back there, spraying soda on one of those jerks which got them to chase you down all the way to this bridge?"

"I'd figure that you could take care of the rest of them while I deal with the lucky ones to escape your wrath."

"Pffft," Misaka slightly laughed, sporting a look of epiphany. "So in other words, you were just the decoy while I ended up taking out most of the trash."

"...Well, when you put it like that," said the young man, sporting a smile of humor, shrugging his shoulders.

"Hmhahahahaha!"

He and Misaka both begin to laugh for a few moments. Then they begin to look at the bright night sky, sporting smile on their faces as they admire the stars.

"There's never a dull moment in this city, is there?," asked Misaka, sporting a smile, putting her left hand to her waist.

The young man could only shake his head, sporting a smile.

"No, there isn't."

Insert Song: End

OP Song:

To Aru Majutsu No Index OP 1 HD [Creditless]

Date and Time: July 20, 2XXX

Period: Day

"BREAKING NEWS: Third Reich forces have been spotted in Multiverse X2340."

"Massacre of the Jewish populations through the use of concentration camps has caused a major uproar throughout the Senate."

"President John Connor and First Lady Griselda are now about to meet up with the leaders of the United Nation of Israel in order to discuss the present situation."

It was July 20th, the first day of summer vacation.

Kamijou Touma was simply doing some housecleaning by himself, with an advanced vacuum cleaner in order to remove of any hidden debris from the surrounding area. All the while, he was listening in on INN News, following deeply on President John Connor's meetings with the leaders of the United Nation of Israel in order to discuss inter-universal trade, the safety of the Jewish people throughout the multiverse, issues regarding Anti-Semitism, and the major threat of a version of the Third Reich that is becoming a major headache to deal with at the present moment in time. It was topic that made him pay very close attention, sporting a grimaced expression considering the implications, along with the experiences that he and many others had with those versions of the Nazis that are now being talked about.

After cleaning the surroundings and making sure that no hidden debris was around, he was now heading towards his study table, bringing out all of the files that he would need, reviewing the files with interest and concentration, then putting it on back towards the drawer. The files were concerning the military reports that were provided to him by the SCP Foundation concerning the insidious version of the Third Reich that was being discussed on multiple news cable channels across the multiverse.

People were becoming afraid. That much was clear to him. Not really surprising considering the ideals and goals of the Nazis. And the less that was said about the various complaints at the Senate of the Temporal Powers Alliance (TPA) regarding it the better. Too much of a headache to deal with which would no doubt be dealt with by Lord Ren Fuji - Lord Tenma Yato - Lord Setsuna and many countless others.

At this moment, he was dialing the number of his wife in order to speak with her.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Hello, anata (dear)," said Rika, sporting a smile as she puts held the phone to her ear. "What made you call me at this hour?"

"Nothing much honey," said Kamijou, putting the phone to his ear while gravely looking at one of the files concerning Oberstgruppenführer Wilhelm "Deathshead" (Totenkopf) Strasse, Oberstgruppenführer Karl Ruprect Kroenen, and other high ranking members of the Schutzstaffel (SS). "I was simply calling you in order to at least hear your voice that's all."

"Mo (Geez), anata (dear)," said Rika, sporting an amused smile. "You've only just seen me last two nights ago if I recall correctly. It hasn't really been that long."

"Maybe so, but I still miss you. That's all," said Touma, sporting a grave look on his face. "Speaking of which, how's TPA Politics on your end?"

"(Sigh). As you would expect, anata (dear). Lots of complaints and yelling among all sides. Ren-niisan is having a major headache in trying to appease the outraged members due to the incident surrounding the Third Reich."

Kamijou could only sport a grimaced smile.

"I think I could take a guess that Mercurius-sensei and some of his fellow Hadou Gods were amusing themselves of this incident considering the sheer irony of some of their relations with the concept of Nazism."

"Do you not expect anything less, anata (dear)?," said Rika, sporting an exasperated smile.

"(Sigh)."

Truth be told, he would expect nothing less when it comes to the Hadou Gods in general. All powerful beings who could bring their laws with them, shaping and molding them to their absolute liking and pleasure. Walking multiverse incarnate. A terrifying pantheon that is feared and respected throughout the Senate and not without reason.

"How about you though? Knowing this political shitstorm, I would expect that Lady Bernkastel would task you to be her assistant in handling all of the files of complaint as it were that you would no doubt be receiving right about now," said Kamijou, sporting a smile.

"You would be correct, anata (dear). My master has tasked me to be a secretary of a sorts in order to handle the complaints that are sent to our way. Same goes with Satoko as she was also assigned by her master to handle the complaints," said Rika, sporting an exasperated smile, holding a file in her hand that denotes complaints written in many alien languages.

"Well that's just great," said Kamijou, sporting a look of displeasure. "That only means that I wouldn't be able to spend time with you because of said political shitstorms."

"Believe me, anata (dear). I'm also displeased about this as well," said Rika, sharing in her husband's displeasure.

"So I guess I should probably hang up this call considering that you have a schedule to keep and I wouldn't want to cause you any more problems," said Kamijou, sporting a sad understanding smile.

"I suppose so, anata (dear)," said Rika, sporting sad smile.

"Love you," said Kamijou, sporting a sad smile.

"Love you too," said Rika, sporting a sad smile.

At that moment, Kamijou begins to hang up his phone albeit reluctantly, putting it back to his pocket. He would also put the file that he was reading back inside the drawers.

"(Sigh). Maybe I should get some fresh air at this point."

Kamijou begins to turn off the view screen, heading towards the balcony in order to get some needed fresh air. As he opens the screen door, something unexpected caught his eye, making him sport a concerned and cautious expression.

He spotted something hanging at the balcony. No, someone.

It was a girl wearing white clothes.

Her age was about fourteen or fifteen last he checked. She looked a year or two younger than him. She's obviously a foreigner because her skin was pure white and her hair was silver. Her hair was rather long, so it completely covered her upside down head, hiding her face from view. He guessed it must have gone down to her waist normally.

And her clothes were those of a strange habit that is not seen ordinarily from religious sisters. Nevertheless, regardless of such a strange design, it was an outfit that you would expect to see on a nun in a church. Her clothes looked a bit like a long dress that reached her ankles, and she wore a one-piece hood over her head that was a bit different from a hat. However, while normal nun's habits were jet black ordinarily, unless in concerns other religious orders, hers was pure white. The fabric seems to made of silk. Also, at all the important points of the outfit, embroideries made of golden thread had been sewn in. Kamijou could definitely believe by experience on how much the impression given by the exact same design of clothes could change just by altering the coloring. What he saw reminded him of a nouveau riche teacup.

The girl's lovely fingertips twitched.

Her head slowly rose from its hanging down position. Her silk-like silver hair smoothly split to either side like a curtain and the girl's face appeared from between the long, long hair.

Overall, the girl's face was relatively cute. Her white skin and green eyes were a new experience for someone with overseas skill level of exactly zero, and she somehow seemed like a doll to him.

"I…"

The girl's cute but slightly dried lips slowly moved.

"I'm hungry."

"..."

Kamijou could only blink repeatedly at the seemingly innocent request. He begins to ask in order to clarify what he had just heard.

"...You're hungry?"

"(Nod)."

Kamijou begins to sport a concerned and cautious expression.

"Come inside, I'll treat you to a meal."

The silver-haired nun became very excited, beaming a wonderful smile, leaping off towards the balcony as she goes inside the dorm room.

"Yes! Thank you so very much! May God bless you for your kindness!"

After that strange (not so strange) meeting, Kamijou Touma managed to cook a delicate set of food dishes that he had learned over the years, with a little help and assistance from friends who were experts in the kitchen. The meal was now prepared in order to be eaten by Index who approved of the meal as she begins to say grace, praying to the LORD to bless the meal that was presented before her as she started eating to her heart's content. After this, Index would begin to start a conversation with Kamijou who was simply watching said sister with a concerned expression.

"I suppose I need to start with an introduction."

"...Actually, I would rather you started with explaining on why you were hanging in the balcony."

"My name is Index."

"Index?" Kamijou questioned, sporting narrowed eyes, remaining attentive to the wording of her name as that wasn't really a name to ordinary eyes, but it was a possible name to unordinary eyes. He could attest that much due to meeting figures and persons of importance with strange names of significance.

"My full name is Index Librorum Prohibitorum, my magic name is Dedicatus545 - The dedicated lamb protects the knowledge of the strong, and as you can see from the clothes that I wear, I am from the Church. That is important. Oh, but I'm not from the Vatican. I'm from the Anglican Church."

At that moment, Kamijou begins to think deeply about what had been revealed to him.

Anglican. Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Dedicatus545.

He begins to recall the many types and branches of Christianity that existed, along with the many religions that existed throughout the Known and Unknown Multiverse that were a part of the History Lessons that he had learned in order to learn of the different social-cultural points of views regarding the different sets of beliefs, the designated behavior, religious doctrines, morals, worship practices, etc... that is involved in each and in its own way with its own cultural origins, backgrounds, circumstances, and stories.

Index Librorum Prohibitorum.

In many countless universes, it was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbidden to read them without permission.

This may or may not apply to her.

Magic name.

Seems like a secret code name relating to her and possibly to some other people as well. Could also possibly refer to a magic system. Another side of this world. One that he only had a general idea about based on the History Lessons and the hints throughout the years.

Dedicatus is Latin for dedicated or devoted. There were also three numbers behind the name.

"What does a magic name and the numbers that accompanies it signify to you?" asked Kamijou, sporting a curious expression.

"Magic names denote the wish of a magician. It is given in order to set up a goal that they wish to set their desires around summed up as a Latin word (i.e. Fortis, Honos, Regnum, etc.). With it, they would dedicate the rest of their life by whatever means to achieve those goals that have been carved into their soul. A magic name then concludes with a three digit number so as to avoid identical names and is accompanied by a phrase often as a description of who they are and an elaboration of their disposition."

Kamijou could only narrow his eyes at that, but add no further comment.

"Anyways, it would be great if you could feed me enough food to fill me up as I haven't been eating for the past few days." said Index, sporting a contrite expression, putting her hand to her stomach denoting hunger.

With the wording of that statement, Kamijou could only sport a look of concern and alarm.

"Alright sure, I'll just head to the kitchen then and make some more."

Kamijou silently headed towards the kitchen and began to open the extra amount of food that was left inside the fridge in order to feed her. He figured it would be fine if it was heated. He dumped everything left into a frying pan and made something similar to stir-fried vegetables. As he was cooking, he begins to think deeply of Index's situation. She hasn't been eatign for days. She was starving. What could have cause this? Another important question. Where did she come from?

Of course, there were foreigners in Academy City. However, Index did not have the characteristic "scent" of a resident. But it was also strange for someone to come in from outside.

Academy City was treated like a city made up of hundreds of schools, but it was more accurate to think of it as a city-sized boarding school. It was large enough to cover a third of Tokyo, but it was surrounded by a wall like the Great Wall of China. It was not as strict as a prison, but it was still not a place you could just wander into.

…Or so it was made to look. In reality, three satellites launched for experiments by a technical college were constantly monitoring the city. Everyone going in or out of the city was completely scanned and if any suspicious person who did not match the records at the gate was found, either Anti-Skill or members of Judgment from all the schools would immediately head there.

It might have something to do with the thunderclouds that appeared last night, much to the surprise of everyone since said thunderclouds wasn't predicted or anticipated by the weather machines. Misaka wasn't the cause of it, that he was most certain due to the fact that he was with her and their three other friends as they take a stroll throughout the city after they took care of the thugs that were hitting on Misaka, when the thunderclouds suddenly appeared from out of nowhere, bringing the rain down on top of them as they all try to find the nearest shelter. Luckily enough for him, he managed to get a few umbrellas from his pockets, much to the bewilderment of his four best friends, as they didn't see him carrying these umbrellas. They once asked where did he get those umbrellas. His only answer was that 'A magician never reveals his secrets', to which his best friends could only sport looks of annoyance and exasperation.

"So anyway, why were you hanging out to dry on my balcony?" asked Kamijou, as he put soy sauce on the stir-fried vegetables-like dish that he was making for the poor girl.

"I wasn't hanging out to dry." said Index, sporting a sad smile.

"Then what were you doing ? Did the wind blow you here or something?"

"…Something like that."

Kamijou had only meant it as a simple joke in order to lighten the mood. But the answer that she gave him made him stop moving the frying pan as he turned around to face the girl.

"I fell. I was trying to jump from rooftop to rooftop."

Kamijou looked up at the ceiling with concern and alarm.

Cheap student dorms lined the area. More of the same type of eight-story building were lined up and one glance out to the balcony showed there was a gap of two meters between buildings. It was true that a running jump could get you from one rooftop to the other, but…

"But…that's eight stories high? One wrong step and you'd be headed straight to hell."

"Yeah, you don't even get a grave if you commit suicide," said Index cryptically. "But I had no choice. I had no other way to escape."

"Escape?"

Kamijou frowned at that ominous word.

"Yeah," said Index, in a tone of a child. "I was being chased."

"…"

Kamijou's hand shaking the hot frying pan stopped moving once more.

"I made my jump just fine, but I was shot in the back in midair. "The girl naming herself Index seemed to be smiling. "Sorry. It seems I got caught on your balcony as I fell."

She gave a pure smile in Kamijou Touma's direction without even a hint of self-deprecation or sarcasm.

"You were shot…?"

"Yeah? Oh, you don't need to worry about a wound. These clothes also function as a defensive barrier."

Defensive barrier? Now that Kamijou looked closely at the girl's clothes, it does seem rather unordinary of a nun habit. Then there was the fact that she doesn't appear to be injured.

The fact that she remained alive, and then she had indeed been hanging from his seventh story balcony was already a major red flag.

If, hypothetically, everything she was saying were true, and there was truly no doubt that it is considering the childlike sincere tone that came from the sister, the question now was who was shooting at her.

He thought about just how determined one would have to be to hop between the rooftops of an eight-story building. He also considered how lucky she was to be caught on his seventh-story balcony. And he thought about the hidden meaning to the fact that she had collapsed. She had said that she was being chased. He thought about the meaning of the smile on Index's face when she said that. Kamijou did not know yet on what circumstances Index was in but he had understood what the few things she had told him about had truly meant. Most likely, he would only understand all of it if Index explained everything from start to finish and he would likely have a multiple set of ideas on how to even start by the time she explained it all.

With a tightening in his chest, he understood the fact that she had gotten caught on his seventh story balcony when one wrong step could have sent her straight to the asphalt below.

After feeding Index again, Kamijou began to resume the conversation with her.

"Alright, you said that you were being chased. Chased by whom?"

Kamijou once again asked about the biggest issue in her story.

"Hmm…" she said with a slightly dry throat. "Now who was it? Maybe it was the Rosicrucians or S∴M∴ aka Stella Matutina. I think it was some group like that, but I don't know their name yet. …They aren't the type to find meaning in names ."

Rosicrucians. Members of a worldwide brotherhood claiming to possess esoteric wisdom handed down from ancient times.

Stella Matutina. An initiatory magical order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional teachings of the earlier Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

Both of these societies have a historical connection to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn which was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of the occult, metaphysics, and paranormal activities during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In accordance with the hints that were provided to him, he could guess that she was being chased by a group or an organization that is somewhat similarly connected to these secret societies that was dedicated to the study of magic and to the study of the occult.

"Was this group that was chasing you by any chance affiliated with magic?"

"Yes," said Index surprisingly calmly. "There a magic cabal/society."

"Why were they after you in the first place?"

"…It is because I am the Index."

"Explain."

"They are likely after the 103,000 grimoires I have."

Grimoire. A textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination, and how to summon or invoke supernatural entities such as angels, spirits, deities and demons.

"What kind of grimoires were they exactly?"

"The Book of Eibon, the Lemegeton, Unaussprechlichen Kulten, Cultes des Goules, and the Book of the Dead are good examples. The Necronomicon is so famous there are all sorts of imitations and fakes, so it isn't very reliable."

"..."

Kamijou begins to sport a concerned and alarmed expression, recognizing the grimoires that was uttered one by one. These grimoires were dangerous by their very nature. One wrong step could bring about disasters untold. Stuff like this was banned under Spatio-Temporal Law for very good reasons. This is definitely going to be a problem for the world and the universe at large if this get's out into the wrong hands. He could see why people would be interested in girmoires due to the dark potentials and powers that are just riped for the taking. Beings from beyond. Creatures of the dark. Monsters of the abyss.

"So…where are all of these 103,000 books if I may ask?"

"I have every single one of the 103,000 grimoires with me in my head." Index said while pointing towards her head.

"..."

Kamijou could only just stare at the silver-haired sister with amazement, concern, and alarm as he was wondering to himself on how was said sister still alive when she has that much accursed boos stored inside her head. He would need to take note of that.

"Do you any other abilities besides being an index to grimoires?"

"Here are these clothes, they're the highest quality of defensive barrier called the Walking Church." said Index, presenting her clothes to the spiky-haired young man.

"Walking Church? What's that?"

"As explained by Idol Theory, the Walking Church symbolically takes the essential elements that constitute a church - and since the church provides protection to the needy, the Walking Church will replicate that protection for its wearer. For example, the Walking Church uses specific cloth-weaving, line stitching, and embroidery to successfully recreate all essential elements that make up a church. Because of this, anything that would not destroy a real church would be rendered ineffective against the wearer."

"What's Idol Theory?"

"Idol Theory or Idolatry Theory, also called Idol Worship, is the term used to refer to the phenomenon wherein an imitation of a whole or parts of a subject, the source, gains properties and attributes that are inherent to that source. It is used as an explanation on how magicians draw their power, and how they wield it. It is also known as Imitative Magic and is the opposite of Infection Magic."

Kamijou deeply thought and pondered at all of the available information that had been given to him. Taking note of the implications and explications of the magic system of his universe, he would make a note to himself on not touching the Walking Church with the Imagine Breaker in order for Index to not lose her own protection against many types of magics. He would also need to report what he had discovered to his second father, the Doctor, his beloved wife, Rika Kamijou née Furude, and his second brothers: Ren Fuji - Tenma Yato - Setsuna, John Connor, Andrew William 'Andy' Barclay, Koichi Minamoto, Taki Tachibana, Conan Edogawa - Shinichi Kudo, Kyon, Sota Mizushino, and Lelouch Lamperouge - Lelouch vi Britannia - Zero, about this if he and them have the right free time on their hands considering the respective problems that are happening on their end.

At that particular moment, he begins to recall about his "supplementary lessons" that he would need to attend for today.

"Oh that's right! I have supplementary lessons today!" Kamijou glanced at the clock on his wristwatch. "Um…I have to get to school, so what are you going to do in the meantime? If you're going to stay here, I can give you a key."

Better for her to be here where it's safe considering all of the advanced security systems that was put in place. His dorm room is essentially a bunker at this point.

"…That's okay. I'll leave."

However, Index stood straight up and made that dramatic announcement that seemed very unexpected. She then slipped past Kamijou's side like a ghost.

"Wait! What! Why?!" said Kamijou, turning around frantically in concern.

"If I stay here, they will likely come after me. You don't want your room blown up, do you?"

"That doesn't matter! Let me help you! We can figure this out!"

Index stared blankly at him.

From just that look, she truly, truly seemed like nothing more than a normal girl.

"…Then will you follow me to the depths of hell?"

She smiled.

It was such a heartbreaking smile that Kamijou was left speechless for an instant and then began to think on those words with the implications and explications that was spoken from her.

Index had used kind words to implicitly say, "Do not come with me for your own sake.", as if she was trying to warn him about something. Or someone.

"Don't worry. I am not alone. If I can escape to the church, they will shelter me."

Kamijou was still extremely hesitant as he doesn't want her to leave while knowing that there was a hidden society that was after her but he decided to continue this conversation while planning possible ways on how she could stay or if she can't stay due to reasons, he could at the very least make sure that she would be safe.

"…Hmm. So where is this church?"

"In London."

Kamijou could only raise an eyebrow at that considering the irony and convenient place of destination due to the fact that it just so happens to be his second father's favorite destination.

"That's a very long way! How far exactly are you planning to run!?"

"Hm? Oh, don't worry. I think there are a few branches in Japan," replied Index, in a tone of reassurance.

"A church, hm? There might be one in the city."

The term "church" brought many things to his mind, but the examples in Japan, or at least in his universe's Japan, were pretty shabby to say te least. First of all, the culture had little to do with Christianity. Also, a country with so many earthquakes had few historical buildings. The churches Kamijou had seen out of train windows had all been small prefab buildings with a cross on the top.

"Oh, but it can't just be any church. It has to be the British style I belong to."

"Why?" saked Kamijou, sporting a look of concern, wondering why does it have to be a specific type of church.

"Um, there are lots of different kinds of Christianity," said Index with a bitter smile, before eventually explaining. "First, there is the distinction between the old style Catholics and the new style Protestants. Also, while I belong to the Catholics, there are various types of them as well. For example there is the Roman Catholic Church centered on the Vatican, the Russian Orthodox Church with its headquarters in Russia, and the Anglican Church with its core at St. George's Cathedral."

"…What happens if you accidentally go to the wrong church?"

"They would turn me away," said Index with the same bitter smile. "The Russian Orthodox Church and the Anglican Church primarily exist within their respective countries, so Anglican churches are rare in Japan."

"…"

Things were not looking so good.

Was it possible Index had tried going to church after church before she collapsed from hunger? What had she been feeling as she fled and fled while being turned away at each church she went to?

"Don't worry. I just have to keep at it until I find a British-style church."

"(Sigh)," Kamijou gave a heavy sigh of resignation, turning towards Index with a concerned expression. "Despite my protests on the matter, I suppose that I can't exactly stop you from going if you really want to. However, if you're ever in any trouble, you can always stop by here again."

"Sure. I'll stop by if I'm hungry."

Her sunflower-like smile was so perfect that Kamijou could not say anything in response out of respect for the girl.

"By the way..."

"Hmm..."

Index tilts her head in cute fashion.

"My name is Kamijou Touma, just thought you should know."

"Ah (Yes)," Index nodded with a bright smile, "I will remember that."

And so, Index begins to leave at the front door, leaving Kamijou all by himself to ponder on what had just happened. Kamijou look at the door to his room and then down the passageway. Index was nowhere to be seen. There had been no farewell, tearful or otherwise. Kamijou couldn't help but worry for the sister. Something tells him in his gut that he would need to keep a very close watch on her. He had a feeling that he would see her again. Sometime soon. Then he started looking at his wristwatch again and checked the time.

"I still have a few more hours to go before the supplementary lessons commence."

Then he started dialing the number of his second father, more specifically, his twelfth incarnation and after a few moments of waiting, a line was picked up, with the voice of his second father was heard.

"Touma, What made you call?" said the Doctor, sporting a happy smile on his face as he was working on the console of the TARDIS.

"Doctor, I have a question, what do you know about a girl named Index Librorum Prohibitorum?"

At that moment, the Doctor suddenly stopped working on the console, with his smile turning into a grave look as he begins to hear of the name "Index Librorum Prohibitorum".

"...Ah, so you finally met her then."

At that moment, Kamijou notices the switch of his second father's voice, from happy to grave, denoting the fact that his second father does know about Index. And if that was the case, how much does he know? He could only sport a grave expression at that as he begins to speak very slowly.

"...Doctor, how much do you know about Index?"

The Doctor could only begin to sigh heavily from the phone, eventually continuing to walk through the console as he flips through the levers and switches in order to head towards his intended destination due to the revelation that was given to him.

"Touma, listen to me very carefully. When it comes to things of your future, I can't tell you much, you know that. This is one of them. I can't exactly tell you much about the sister. There are only three things that I could truly say regarding her. One, she's an important person in your own future, a future that is now an unknown considering the Imagine Point Event. Second, the young girl that is known as Index Librorum Prohibitorum will become involved in so many events of your universe that could potentially decide everyone's fate and she definitely needs someone to look after her due to the fact that so many people out there are very interested in those dangerous magic books of hers that she keeps on her head in storage which is unfortunately accompanied with the price of her memories being erased for a year. Thirdly, there's the fact that you are supposed to be her established guardian at this period of your timeline. That poor girl needs a familiar face every now and then due to all of the constant hardships that she has had to endure when she was a child. I and many others in the League have been watching her from the shadows for a while now so I and my fellow League Members can definitely say that the girl needs a break every now and then, don't you agree?"

Kamijou couldn't help but pay close attention to that.

Index is under the watch of the League. And that only increases the urgency of the situation.

"Alright, thanks Doctor. I promise I'll take care of her. Although," Kamijou turns towards the empty passageway with a concerned expression. "Index just left my place only a few moments ago so that might be a little bit of a problem."

"Oh no need to worry about that, Touma. Index will come to you, that is most certain. Now I do believe that at this moment in time, you have supplementary lessons to attend to."

Kamijou begins to look at his wristwatch, taking note of the few hours left until the lessons start, making a sigh of heavy resignation.

"(Sigh). I suppose so. See you later, Doctor."

"Alright, take care Touma. And remember, if you see Index again, don't let her out of your sight for one minute."

"Yeah, you got it." Kamijou nodded.

And so, Kamijou begins to end the call and head back to his dorm room in order to get himself ready. After the necessary preparations, he begins to use his wristwatch in order to teleport himself towards A Certain High School.

"Okay then let's begin the extra lessons. I put in some effort and made a quiz for all of you so I have the handouts for you all."

Kamijou was now seated at his chair, reviewing all of the notes regarding the lessons that are now being discussed for today from his journal. The lesson for today was about the subject of esper abilities, both active and passive. Active abilities require conscious effort to use, while passive abilities require subconscious effort.

"I won't stop you from talking amongst yourselves, but you need to listen to what I say. I put a lot of effort into making a quiz, so if you do poorly on it, you will be punished with the See Through Punishment Game."

Naturally, the class sighed heavily in exasperation at that.

"The "see through one" one? Isn't that the one where you play poker blindfolded?" said Tsuchimikado, sporting a smile.

"She won't let you go home until you win ten games in a row at that..." said Aogami, sporting a smile turning his back towards Tsuchimikado.

"Sheesh... (Yare Yare) We were forced to stay through the night last time." said Tsuchimikado, sporting a smile.

Kamijou was simply looking through his notes, while secretly having inner thoughts regarding the sister in white.

What his second father said to him regarding Index continued to bother him to no end. An important person in his future that has now become a complete unknown. How important? That was the question that was being pondered in his mind. The Walking Church that she wore may indeed be able to protect her for a while, but he doubted that it could do that forever considering the fact that he wouldn't put it pass the ones hunting her to have some leeway to it. Index said that a magic cabal/society was after her. Was that cabal/society something like a group, corporation, or an organization? Nevertheless, they seemed to be pursuing her because they wanted those 103,000 grimoires. And apparently, Index had been fleeing with those 103,000 grimoires in her possession. The fact that she has dangerous books such as the Necronomicon is a cause for an emergency alarm in and of itself.

Whatever the case, he would need to think about this very carefully.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Somewhere in the rooftops of one of the school buildings of A Certain High School, Kamijou was now dialing the number of one of his best friends. Shokuhou Misaki. The 5th Rank Level 5 Esper of Academy City.

A line was picked up.

"Hello my Prince," said Shokuhou, sporting a happy smile on her face as she was leaning against her office chair, holding onto her phone. "What can I do for you today?"

"Misaki, sorry to call you so suddenly considering how busy your intelligence work must have been these past few relative days," Kamijou said in contrition, holding on to his phone.

"It's perfectly mind, my Prince," siad Shokuhou, reassuring her beloved hero that it was no bother. "I actually prefer that you would call me from time to time as I do miss you. Now, I would assume that you called me because you needed something from me."

"Yes, well about that..."

Insert Song: Start

Dies irae - Animation OST: disce libens

And so, Kamijou begins to explain about what had happened throughout the day, including his meeting with Index Librorum Prohibitorum. When he mentions the name of the Anglican sister, Shokuhou begins to gasps in shock which made Kamijou widened his eyes in concern.

"What is it, Misaki?," asked Kamijou, sporting a concern expression.

There was simply silence for a few moments. Eventually Shokuhou begins to speak, albeit in a much subtle tone, denoting horror and tears, which made Kamijou become more concerned.

"M-M-My Prince... Did-Did you just say... Index Librorum Prohibitorum?," said Shokuhou, stuttering, with tears of sadness and horror forming on her face.

Cautiously, Kamijou replied. "Yes."

As Kamijou answered in positive, Shokuhou begins to tremble, with her holding of the phone becoming less steady and shaking. She was gulping from her mouth, pondering on the information that she had been provided.

She knew. Her two teammates, Kumokawa Seria and Mitsuari Ayu, knew. They knew of things relating to her beloved hero and the nun in white. Of what had happened in the original script which put on file, shared to them by Councilman Walker. The information that was provided to them made all of their hearts stop beating, if only for just a fraction of a moment.

In the original script, the man that they loved, Kamijou Touma, at least a few days time after meeting Index Librorum Prohibitorum - Callsign: Emerald, would be fated to have his memories erased. This was something that was downright painful for them. The man that they loved, losing his memories, in accordance with the original script. They had half a mind to bring this information to their beloved hero, if only to make sure that this would not come to pass. However, Councilman Walker reassured them that that particular moment would no longer apply to Kamijou Touma. Since the moment when the Time Lord known as the Doctor - the SCP Foundation's Chief Scientifc Advisor, intervened on that very fateful day which triggered the Imagine Point Event, that event, along with many others, would no longer come to pass. History has changed. The original script has been undone. The timeline has been rewritten. The future is now an unknown. That was the only consolation that they had been given. They were reassured that Kamijou would never lose his memories, not on their watch.

In the deep ponderings of the mind, Shokuhou was debating on whether or not to reveal about the information regarding Index. Perhaps, she would do what Councilman Walker had adviced.

"If Touma Kamijou asks or request for information regarding Emerald, tell him the general gist of it. Not too much information, but only the necessary truth in the form of subtle hints. Their are multiple players on the prowl when it comes to Emerald, Ms. Shokuhou. Some of them I fear, won't be so very kind and that would be understating it. Keep that in mind."

"My Prince," said Shokuhou, wiping her tears, steadying her voice. "With regards to the young girl known as Index Librorum Prohibitorum, known to the Foundation under the callsign Emerald, I cannot tell you too much to my regret as I've been given strict orders on that regard. Know also that I and the rest of your Angels would not be able to assist directly, only indirectly through shadow surveillance considering how important of an event this seems to your timeline. However, there are some things that I could tell you in the form of hints. Know that you and her are bound in a way that even I cannot fully predict. As you would know, the entire future of our universe has become a complete unknown, a blank slate. No one really knows what could happen except for a certain few that you and I know. In the original timeline, to give a hint of what had happened, in a few days time you...," Shokuhou was sporting a hesitant expression on her face, trying to steel herself to deliver the proper truth, hidden in hints in order to assist her beloved hero. "You would lose your memories, more specifically, the episodic memory part of your brain which governs recollection, although other parts such as the semantic memory part that governs information would remain completely intact as fortunate as it may sound."

"..."

Kamijou was sporting a serious expression on his face.

His memories? Gone? That was something that he took note of with caution.

Shokuhou said that this particular event had happened in the original timeline, however, this was not the original timeline. History has changed. The original script was turned on its head. That particular event could no longer be possible due to multiple factors.

If he were to take an educated guess, this would be one of the things that his second father had warned him about.

"Don't look too much into the future. Focus on the present moment. Don't focus on the big picture. Focus on what's right in front of you and follow your heart."

That was a piece of advice that his second father had given him. One of many that he cherished and would have the firm intention of following.

Follow the heart. Always the heart. For he is a man full of heart.

"I see," Kamijou said with a sad smile. "Is that all you would be allowed to give hints of, Misaki?"

"Yes," said Shokuhou, sporting a sad trembling smile. "That would be all the important hints in summarized form. The rest is for you to figure out for yourself. Know however that Emerald is being watched over by our senseis in the League and by the Foundation only in the shadows. It would seem that something about Emerald has drawn some particular interest on some unwanted players, according to some rumors that had been spreading a lot lately even in the corridors of Foundation HQ."

"Thanks for the heads up, Misaki. I'm going to have to end this call sadly since I have to write a report back at Judgment 117 Branch Office. Keep me posted for any available update regarding Emerald within reason," said Kamijou, sporting a sad smile.

"Alright my Prince," said Shokuhou, sporting a sad smile. "Keep me and my other team members posted as well for your current situation regarding Emerald. Although, I have a certain request to make with you."

"Name it," said Kamijou, sporting a resolved expression.

"Please be safe. I know that you can handle yourself just fine due to the training that you had to undergo for 33 years, to which was only a few days from my perspective, but still, promise me that you will stay safe," said Shokuhou, sporting a sad smile.

"Of course, Misaki. I promise," said Kamijou , with no hesitation.

Period: Afternoon

Kamijou was now currently at the Judgment 117 Branch Office. He was seated on his office chair and was simply typing his daily report of the day. While he was typing, he was listening in on a conversation between four middle school girls, Misaka Mikoto, Shirai Kuroko, Uiharu Kazari, and Saten Ruiko, who were presently at the waiting area as they discuss about various topics. At this particular moment, he was sporting a subtle grave expression on his face due to what his best friend had provided him with.

His memories. Gone. In the original script.

The times have changed. The moments between the lines are an unknown. This particular event that his best friend had mentioned had happened in the original timeline, but would no longer apply to his timeline which is now a blank slate. With the hints that had been provided to him by both his second father and his best friend, he could tell that the meeting between himself and the young sister in white was important enough that the League and the Foundation are keeping a very close watch on her. He would take note of this, maintaining a subtle and yet ever vigilant behavior. Even though the original timeline was undone, there would still be events that may happen in a different path. Whatever the case, he made a promise that he would stay safe, and he would keep that promise.

Insert Song: End

"Ne, Kamijou-san."

Kamijou sported a suprised expression, turning around to find Saten sporting a smile on her face, touching him by the shoulder.

"What is it?," Kamijou looks at Saten with a concerned expression.

"You've been busy with your report ever since you got here. Why don't you take a break for a while and sit down with us?," said Saten, sporting a warm smile, gently grabbing Kamijou by the shoulder. 'Have I got a rumor to tell you?"

Kamijou looks towards Misaka, Shirai, and Uiharu, sporting smiles that warmed his heart deeply.

"Alright," said Kamijou, sporting a kind smile. "Just let me save my report first, Saten-san."

And thus, Kamijou was saving his file from his computer, shutting the computer down, and allowed Saten to lead him on towards the couch in order to catch a break as it were. He was now presently seated along with his four middle school friends.

"Speaking of which, Kamijou-san, about your right hand, the rumor about you has been getting a lot of resurgence in popularity recently," said Saten,

"Is that so?" Kamijou inquired.

"Yeah. Ever since you shared the existence of your power during the Level Upper workshop, your rumor has been skyrocketing in popularity," Uiharu confirmed, pulling up the discussion board, "They're even trying to come up with names to call your power."

"What have they come up with so far?" Misaka asked, looking over Uiharu's shoulder at the screen.

"So far, they've come up with 'Anti-Skill', 'Negation', 'Effect Veiler', and 'Vanity Shatterer'," Uiharu listed off the many names that Touma was being called by.

Kamijou could only blink at that.

That was a lot of names. That was most concerning. He knew that this would happen ever since he became part of Judgment so he isn't really that surprised all things considered. But that doesn't mean that he isn't worried at the very least.

It would seem that he was slowly walking the path that his second father had already walked through, and with that comes enemies.

He would recall that his second father has many names and titles as a result of all of his adventures and misadventures throughout the Known and Unknown Multiverse since his very first incarnation.

Titles such as but not limited too:

To His Family, Friends, Acquaintances, and Allies:

1.) The Man Who Makes People Better.

This title was bestowed upon him due to his desire to fulfill his promise of the name.

2.) The Lonely God.

This title was bestowed upon him due to his status of always walking the paths alone.

To His Enemies whether Main, Major, or Minor:

1.) The Oncoming Storm - Karshtakavaar.

Referred to as such by the Doctor himself, the Draconians, and in "the ancient legends of the Dalek homeworld". In Draconian, the title was pronounced "Karshtakavaar".

2.) The Destroyer of Worlds - Ka Faraq Gatri.

As early as their second incarnation, the Doctor knew that the Daleks had also given them the epithet "Ka Faraq Gatri", which translated as "Destroyer of Worlds". He had been awarded the name upon orchestrating the destruction of the Dalek home planet Skaro in his seventh incarnation, though the Daleks also used it prior to Skaro's destruction. Davros also referred to the Doctor as "the Destroyer of Worlds" after the Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor destroyed the New Dalek Empire on the Crucible.

"They seem pretty hit or miss if you ask me," Kuroko commented.

"I'm not going to wake up tomorrow to find my dorm surrounded by people wanting to fight me, am I?" asked Kamijou, sporting a concerned expression.

"I don't think so," Saten said comfortingly, "The discussion board is full of skeptics, trolls, and misinformation. I don't think a lot of people honestly believe the rumor. If they do, they have no clue who you are."

"Well, that's good to know at the very least," Kamijou replied in subtle half relief but he was still taking note of this particular issue.

Period: Night

After a hard day's work, he teleported towards a gyudon restaurant in order to get something to eat. After eating his meal, he eventually teleported back towards his dorm building with the sun having already set.

The place seemed deserted.

It was the first day of summer vacation, so everyone was probably out having fun. The building looked like a stereotypical one-room apartment building. Pathways along one wall of the rectangular building had doors lined up on them. The metal railing had no plastic sheets to prevent peering up girls' skirts because it was a guy's dorm.

The front doors and balconies on the opposite side were built on the sides of the building going back as seen from the road. In other words, they were in the gaps between buildings.

The entrance to the building was self-locking, but the distance between buildings was only two meters. One could easily sneak into it by jumping from roof to roof as Index had done that morning.

Kamijou went through the self-locking entrance, passed by the storage room known as the dorm manager's room and got on the elevator. It was just for fun that the elevator was more cramped and dirty than the elevator for bringing items into a factory, but the "R" button, indicating the roof, was sealed with a small metal plate in order to prevent Romeo and Juliets from heading up to the roof night after night.

With a microwave oven-like ding, the elevator stopped on the seventh floor.

Kamijou pushed aside the door that clanked as it opened and exited to the passageway. He was on the seventh floor, but there was no wind and it seemed even hotter and stuffier than before due to the neighboring building being so close.

"Hm?"

Kamijou finally realized something. Down the straight passageway and right in front of his door, three cleaning robots were gathered. Seeing three of them was rare. For one thing, he was pretty sure only five were ever deployed to that dorm.

From the way they were trembling and moving back and forth, they seemed to be cleaning up quite a horrible mess.

For some reason, Kamijou had an intense feeling of impending misfortune.

Those drum robots had enough power to cleanly rip up gum that was stuck to the floor, so what was giving three of them such trouble? Kamijou thought in concern.

"What happened…?"

People had an unfortunate tendency to want to see horrible things.

After taking a few more subconscious steps forward, he finally saw it.

The mysterious girl named Index had collapsed.

He could not see all of her due to the robots being in the way, but someone wearing a white nun's habit covered in glittering safety pins was clearly collapsed face down there.

Even though the three drums were doing nothing but ramming her, Index was not moving at all. It made her seem all the more pitiful, just like if she was being pecked at by city crows. For one, the cleaning robots were made to avoid people and other obstacles, so why was she being treated as not human even by those machines?

"Index!?"

Kamijou Touma would not have been surprised to see his face in the mirror at that moment.

He had a worried expression that was on his face.

He had been worried about the sister's safety ever since this morning and with this misfortunate scen that was being shown before him, his fears were ultimately justified as he begins to call out to her.

"INDEX!"

He called out to her and ran over.

Index had not yet noticed him.

Kamijou Touma was not surprised as he runs towards her direction as he finally gets a clear view of the white sister.

She was lying in a pool of blood.

"No…"

The first thing he felt was shock as his eyes begin to widened.

He had been unable to see it before because the group of cleaning robots had been in the way. As she lay face down, he could see a single horizontal strike near the bottom of her back. The wound was from a blade, but it was so straight it looked like someone had used a ruler and a box cutter. The end of her waist-length silver hair had been cleanly cut off and that silver hair was dyed red by the red substance flowing from the wound.

For an instant, Kamijou manages to comprehend that it was human blood.

The three cleaning robots continued to move back and forth while making a clanking noise. They were cleaning the stain on the floor. They were cleaning the red substance spreading across the floor. They were cleaning the red substance flowing from Index's body. Like digging at a wound with a dirty rag, they were sucking out everything inside Index's body.

"Stop! Stop it! Damn it!"

Kamijou's eyes finally came into focus with reality. He frantically grabbed at the cleaning robots gathered around the seriously injured Index, pushing them away with ease.

Index said nothing.

Her pale purple lips were so still he was not even sure if she was breathing.

"Damn it!" Kamijou shouted out in worry as he begins to scan her with his sonic screwdriver for her injuries. "What happened? What the hell happened!? Goddammit! Who the hell did this to you!?"

At that moment, his sixth sense begins to be triggered. A voice was suddenly heard from behind him.

"Hm? That would be us magicians."

Insert Song: Start

Advent Children - J-E-N-O-V-A (FFVII AC Version) [HQ]

Kamijou spun his entire body around as if to confront the person that spoke behind him. A man was standing there who had come from…no, not the elevator. It seemed he had come from the emergency staircase next to the elevator.

The white man was over two meters tall, but his face looked younger than Kamijou's.

His age was…probably fourteen or fifteen just like Index if he were to take a guess despite appearances. His great height was characteristic of foreigners. His clothes were…a pure black version of the habits worn by priests in the church. However, it was unlikely you would find anyone who would call that man a priest even if you searched all across the world.

It may have been because he was standing upwind, but Kamijou would smell the horribly sweet perfume on him even though he was over fifteen meters away. His shoulder-length blond hair had been dyed red like the sunset, silver rings glittered on all ten of his fingers like brass knuckle, he had poisonous earrings on his ears, a cell phone strap could be seen sticking out of his pocket, a lit cigarette moved at the edge of his mouth, and as if to finish it all off, he had a barcode like tattoo underneath his right eye.

You could not quite call him a priest and you could not quite call him a delinquent.

The air around where the man stood in the passageway was clearly odd.

It was like the area was being ruled by completely different rules from the ones that Kamijou had used up until that point. That strange feeling spread out throughout the area like icy tentacles.

What Kamijou felt first was neither fear nor anger.

It was alertness and unease. It was a desperate loneliness likened to that of being in a foreign country or a foreign universe where if it weren't for his past experiences, he would not be able to comprehend the language. The icy tentacle-like feeling spread through his body and froze his heart, but then Kamijou realized something.

This was a magician.

He has now officially made his first step into the other side of his universe where strange things like magicians exist.

He could tell at first glance based on his appearance.

He could tell this was definitely a resident of somewhere beyond the world he lived in.

"Hm? Hm, hm, hm. She got her pretty good." The magician looked around and the cigarette in the corner of his mouth waggled as he spoke. "I heard Kanzaki sliced her, but this is… I thought there wasn't anything to worry about because there was no blood trail…"

The magician looked at the lying body of the sister who was sliced from the back.

Most likely, Index had been "sliced" elsewhere and had barely escaped here with her life before collapsing. She must have left fresh blood as she went, but the cleaning robots had cleaned it all away.

"But why did she?" Touma muttered to himself as he was wondering why she was here of all places as this misfortunate incident happens.

"Hm? You mean why she came back here? Who knows. Maybe she forgot something. Come to think of it, she had her hood when I shot her yesterday. So why did she become this way?"

The magician standing in front of Kamijou had said "came back".

In other words, he had been following Index's actions all day.

Index had said something about the magicians searching for the magic power of her grimoires.

That meant that the magicians had been following Index by detecting the supernatural power that was in her Walking Church as if it were a radar or a detection system. They would have known that in the event when the Walking Church was to be destroyed, the "signal" would be cut out.

But then Index had to have known.

Kamijou thought to himself as he begins to ponder on what Index was doing here of all places.

"—Then will you follow me to the depths of hell?"

Suddenly, it all clicked.

Kamijou remembered something. That one phrase that ran shivers down his spine as he begins to recall what his second father had said to him since this morning.

This was it. This is what he was warning him about in subtleties.

Many possible scenarios begin to form in Kamijou's mind. He recalled that he had never touched the hood of the Walking Church and made absolutely sure to not let his Imagine Breaker get anywhere near it. In other words, the Walking Church still had magic power that should have been able to protect her. Which means that someone or something must have sabotage her Walking Church when she was fleeing from the magicians. There was the hint. It wasn't just this magician, or his fellow magicians who were hunting her down. Someone or something was hunting her down besides them. Someone or something who seems to not be affiliated with these magicians who were chasing her.

Index herself must have thought that the magicians who were chasing her might detect her damaged Walking Church and so she decided to head here and lure them right back to him.

As if she trusted him.

And so Index had braved the danger to "come back".

There had been no need for this. Index did not have any obligation, duty, or right to protect or trust Kamijou. Even so, she had not been able to help but head back. Kamijou Touma was a complete stranger she had met less than half an hour before. And yet she had not been able to help but risk her life and head back to because she trusted him that he would protect her from the magicians.

The lines of probability are now drawn. A time when he must heed his heart, guided by his head begins to take shape and form. He was staring towards the magician with a battle hardened, analytical, and calculating expression which was noted by the magician in question.

"Hm? Hm, hm, hm? C'mon, I can't have you looking at me like that." The cigarette in the corner of the magician's mouth waggled as he spoke. "It wasn't me that sliced her and I doubt Kanzaki meant to turn this into something bloody. The Walking Church is supposed to be an absolute defense, after all. Really, she shouldn't have been injured at all by that. …Honestly, what twist of fate led that being destroyed? Unless St. George's Dragon has come again, I don't see how a pope-class barrier could have been destroyed."

That last bit had been spoken to himself and his smile disappeared as he said it.

However, that was also only for an instant. The cigarette in the corner of his mouth twitched back up as if he had suddenly remembered to smile.

"Why?" Kamijou said in a grave tone despite not expecting a clear answer from the magician as he pointed his right index finger to the girl lying on the floor to prove his point. "You ganged up on this little girl, chased her all over the place, and then injured her this badly. Can you honestly really say that you're just when this misfortunate reality is staring at you right in the face!?"

"...Like I said, it was Kanzaki that did this, not me." The magician paused for a second. Kamijou's words had seemed to hit home judging by that grimaced expression. "And whether she's injured or not, we have to retrieve her."

"Retrieve her?"

Kamijou was curious as to what the magician meant as that term could mean anything.

"Hm? Oh, I see. You knew the word magician, so I assumed you had been fully filled-in. I guess she was afraid of getting you involved." The magician exhaled cigarette smoke. "Yeah, we need to retrieve her. Technically, it isn't her we need to retrieve though; it's the 103,000 grimoires she has."

There was that again. Those 103,000 dangerous grimoires that was stored in her person.

"I see, I see. This country isn't very religious, so I guess you don't understand," said the magician in a bored sounding voice despite the fact that he was smiling. "The Index Librorum Prohibitorum is a list created by the Church of all the evil books that will sully your soul just by reading them. Even if you announce that these dangerous books are out there, people can still unknowingly acquire one if they don't know their titles. Thus, she has become something of a crucible of poisonous books with 103,000 such books. Oh, but be careful. Reading just one of the books she has would make a vegetable out of someone from an irreligious nation like this."

'Thanks for the information, but I already knew that.' Kamijou thought to himself, deciding to find a way to continue this conversation, with his plan being that the information that could be provided by this magician could slip unknowingly to his advantage. Kamijou asked. "So, where are these books that you speak of exactly?"

"Oh, they're there. They're in her memory," said the magician as if it was obvious. "Do you know what a perfect memory is? It seems to be the ability to memorize anything you see in an instant and never forget even a single sentence or letter. Simply put, it makes you a human scanner." The magician smiled disinterestedly. "It has nothing to do with our occult or your science fiction. It's a natural condition. She has been to the British Museum, the Louvre, the Vatican Library, the Pataliputra ruins, Château de Compiègne, Mont Saint-Michel Abbey, and everywhere else that has grimoires that cannot be taken from where they are sealed. She stole them with her eyes and stores them as a grimoire library."

'Perfect Memory.' Kamijou thought deeply, reflecting on that particular subject that he had learned.

Exceptional memory is the ability to have accurate and detailed recall in a variety of ways, including hyperthymesia, eidetic memory, synesthesia, and emotional memory. Exceptional memory is also prevalent in those with savant syndrome and mnemonists.

Hyperthymesia is a condition that leads people to be able to remember an abnormally large number of their life experiences in vivid detail. It is extraordinarily rare, with only about 60 people in the world having been diagnosed with the condition as of 2021.

American neurobiologists Elizabeth Parker, Larry Cahill, and James McGaugh (2006) identified two defining characteristics of hyperthymesia: spending an excessive amount of time thinking about one's past, and displaying an extraordinary ability to recall specific events from one's past. The word "hyperthymesia" derives from Ancient Greek: hyper- ("excessive") and thymesis ("remembering").

Eidetic memory (/aɪˈdɛtɪk/ eye-DET-ik; more commonly called photographic memory) is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision for a brief period after seeing it only once, and without using a mnemonic device. Although the terms eidetic memory and photographic memory are popularly used interchangeably, they are also distinguished, with eidetic memory referring to the ability to see an object for a few minutes after it is no longer present and photographic memory referring to the ability to recall pages of text or numbers, or similar, in great detail. When the concepts are distinguished, eidetic memory is reported to occur in a small number of children and generally not found in adults, while true photographic memory has never been demonstrated to exist.

The word eidetic comes from the Greek word εἶδος (pronounced [êːdos], eidos) "visible form".

Synesthesia or synaesthesia is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report a lifelong history of such experiences are known as synesthetes. Awareness of synesthetic perceptions varies from person to person. In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme–color synesthesia or color–graphemic synesthesia, letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colored. In spatial-sequence, or number form synesthesia, numbers, months of the year, or days of the week elicit precise locations in space (for example, 1980 may be "farther away" than 1990), or may appear as a three-dimensional map (clockwise or counterclockwise). Synesthetic associations can occur in any combination and any number of senses or cognitive pathways.

Little is known about how synesthesia develops. It has been suggested that synesthesia develops during childhood when children are intensively engaged with abstract concepts for the first time. This hypothesis – referred to as semantic vacuum hypothesis – explains why the most common forms of synesthesia are grapheme–color, spatial sequence and number form. These are usually the first abstract concepts that educational systems require children to learn.

Difficulties have been recognized in adequately defining synesthesia. Many different phenomena have been included in the term synesthesia ("union of the senses"), and in many cases the terminology seems to be inaccurate. A more accurate but less common term may be ideasthesia.

The earliest recorded case of synesthesia is attributed to the Oxford University academic and philosopher John Locke, who, in 1690, made a report about a blind man who said he experienced the color scarlet when he heard the sound of a trumpet. However, there is disagreement as to whether Locke described an actual instance of synesthesia or was using a metaphor. The first medical account came from German physician Georg Tobias Ludwig Sachs in 1812. The term is from the Ancient Greek σύν syn, 'together', and αἴσθησις aisthēsis, 'sensation'.

Emotion can have a powerful effect on humans and animals. Numerous studies have shown that the most vivid autobiographical memories tend to be of emotional events, which are likely to be recalled more often and with more clarity and detail than neutral events.

The activity of emotionally enhanced memory retention can be linked to human evolution; during early development, responsive behavior to environmental events would have progressed as a process of trial and error. Survival depended on behavioral patterns that were repeated or reinforced through life and death situations. Through evolution, this process of learning became genetically embedded in humans and all animal species in what is known as flight or fight instinct.

Artificially inducing this instinct through traumatic physical or emotional stimuli essentially creates the same physiological condition that heightens memory retention by exciting neuro-chemical activity affecting areas of the brain responsible for encoding and recalling memory. This memory-enhancing effect of emotion has been demonstrated in many laboratory studies, using stimuli ranging from words to pictures to narrated slide shows, as well as autobiographical memory studies. However, as described below, emotion does not always enhance memory.

'The question now would be what kind of perfect memory does she have, and if I were to take an educated guess, I'd say she has an eidetic memory.' Kamijou thought deeply as the magician continues to speak.

"Well, she has no ability to refine magic power herself, so she's harmless." The cigarette in the corner of the magician's mouth moved up happily. "But since that stopper was prepared, the Church must have some concerns. Well, that has nothing to do with a magician like me. At any rate, those 103,000 grimoires are quite dangerous, so I came to shelter her before anyone who would use them comes to take her away."

"Shelter her?" Kamijou Touma was utterly curious and astonished at what the man had just said in the face of such a blood-red scene?

"Yeah, that's right. Shelter her. No matter how sensible and good hearted she may be, she cannot stand up to torture and drugs. The mere thought of handing a girl over to the likes of them hurts my heart, y'know?"

"…"

Kamijou could only narrow his eyes at that, sporting a subtle prudent expression.

"Who are you?"

"I would prefer to name myself as Stiyl Magnus, but I guess I'll have to go with Fortis931."

Kamijou narrowed his eyes in thought as he begins to take note of the Latin word "Fortis" as to its meaning.

Strong.

The magician himself was completely motionless expect for the wagging of the cigarette in the corner of his mouth.

After muttering something under his breath, he spoke to Kamijou as if introducing the pet black cat he was proud of.

"That's my magic name. Not familiar with those? It seems we magicians cannot give our true name when we use magic. It's an old tradition, so I don't really understand why myself."

They were 15 meters apart.

Kamijou Touma filled half of that gap in just three steps.

"Fortis…I guess in Japanese, that would be 'the strong'. Well, the etymology doesn't really matter. What's important is that I have given that name. For us magicians, it is less a magic name for when we use magic and more like…

Kamijou Touma took two more steps down the passageway.

Even so, the magician's smile did not crumble. He seemed to be saying Kamijou was not even an opponent worth getting rid of his smile over.

"…a killing name, I guess."

The magician named Stiyl Magnus grabbed the cigarette from his mouth and flicked it away to the side.

The lit cigarette flew horizontally, over the metal railing, and hit the wall of the neighboring building.

An orange line traced the cigarette's path as an afterimage and sparks flew when it hit the wall.

"Kenaz (Flames)."

The instant Stiyl muttered that, the orange line exploded.

A sword of flames appeared in a straight line as if someone had turned on a fire hose loaded with gasoline. The paint gradually changed color like a picture being scorched by a lighter. He was not touching the flames, but it still felt like his eyes were being burned just by looking at it.

"Purisaz Naupiz Gebo (A gift of pain for the giant.)"

Past the right hand that was covering his face, Kamijou could see the magician smiling. While smiling, Stiyl Magnus swung the blazing flame sword horizontally at Kamijou Touma. The instant it touched him, it lost shape and exploded in all directions like an erupting volcano. Heat waves, flashes of light, explosive noise, and black smoke burst in every direction.

"Maybe I overdid it."

Stiyl scratched at his head in front of what looked like the aftermath of a bombing. Just to be sure, he looked around to see if anyone was coming out to see what was going on. It was the first day of summer vacation, so most of the residents of that boy's dorm would be out. However, it would be bad if some friendless shut in was in one of the rooms.

He could not see directly ahead due to a screen of flames and smoke.

However, he did not need to check. That strike had created hellish flames of 3000 degrees Celsius. At temperatures higher than 2000 degrees Celsius, the human body would melt before it burned, so the boy likely looked something like the metal railing that had melted like a sugar sculpture. He was likely splattered across the dorm wall like a used piece of gum.

Stiyl shook his head in annoyance and spoke as he peered into the smoke one last time as if he could see through it.

For an instant, the magician froze in place at that voice coming from those hellish flames. The wall of flames and smoke swirled and was blown away. Kamijou Touma no longer stood there.

The metal railing had been melted like a sugar sculpture, the paint on the floor and walls had peeled, and the fluorescent lights had melted and dripped down in the intense heat, but what got to his attention was that the boy and Index were no longer there in the middle of those hellish flames and scorching heat.

"What?"

The magician then looked around frantically at the scorched passageway as he begins to realize that Index was no longer in sight and he had just been tricked.

"That bastard!"

While he was saying this, the dorm fire alarms suddenly activated as the sprinklers became active as it rains down the water that was extinguishing the remaining flames as well as spraying the magician who was becoming more annoyed by the second.

Insert Song: End

Somewhere in an alleyway, Kamijou sighed heavily in relief as he looked towards the unconscious body of Index that he was carrying in his arms. He had used the opportunity that was given to him by the magician, now known to him as Stiyl Magnus, to get away by using his wristwatch to teleport him and Index away from his dorm as he triggers the fire alarm with the help of his sonic screwdriver to alert the authorities and scare off the magicians who were chasing them for a short while.

It was night. The sirens of fire trucks and an ambulance rang from the main road and passed by.

The dorm seemed to have been mostly abandoned, but setting off the fire alarm and starting the sprinklers had changed matters. In no time at all, the empty dorm was filled with fire trucks and onlookers.

Kamijou had used his right hand to destroy the tracking function of the hood before taking Index with him. Normally he would have abandoned it in some arbitrary place in order to fool the pursuers, but he had a feeling that the sister in question would obstinately insist that she would take it with her.

"Now then, what should I do from here on out?," Kamijou asked to himself.

"I'll…be fine. If you…can only stop the bleeding…" Index's voice was weak.

"Hey, hey! Can you hear me?" Kamijou said as he lightly shakes Index. "Is there anything that can heal wounds in those 103,000 grimoires of yours?"

Index's breathing was shallow but more due to the blood loss than to pain. Her pale lips trembled.

"There is…but…"

Kamijou's face lit up for an instant until the word "but" belatedly caught in his mind.

"You…can't do it…" Index let out a small breath. "Even if I…taught you the spell…your power would surely…get in the way…ow…even if you perfectly…imitated it."

Kamijou breathed in and out, expecting that answer. That just means that he needed to call someone else. But who exactly? As he was pondering this, he heard a familiar voice from the side of the alleyway.

"Kamijou-san?"

Before her eyes was Kamijou Touma's dorm building, smoke coming from his floor. Not only that, but the faint glow of left over flames could be seen as well. Misaka couldn't do anything but stare at the spot where his dorm would be. The sight just made her freeze up. Something about the situation just hurt her inside. However, her thoughts were interrupted when a familiar voice called out to her.

"Onee-sama, what are you doing here?" Kuroko asked as she approached, "I thought you were heading back to the dorm."

"I was, but I saw some fire engines heading this way, so I came to check it out," Misaka explained.

"You worried about Kamijou-san too, huh?" Kuroko deduced.

"Give me a break, Kuroko," Misaka denied, "As if I would come all this way for that idiot's sake."

"Then why did you come all this way then? This is out of the way from the dorm. You could have just ignored it. I, on the other hand, am here on official Judgement business, as would Kamijou-san be if this were anyone else's dorm," Kuroko countered, before noticing something in the distance, "Say, isn't that Kamijou right there?"

"Eh!" Misaka said as she turn towards the direction were Kuroko was looking at.

Poking his head out of an alley was Kamijou Touma himself as he was carrying a mysterious girl that was bleeding heavily in his arms. Misaka and Kuroko exchanged a look before nodding in agreement and chasing after their friend and the mysterious girl. Eventually, the two girls found Touma at a public bench with the girl sitting on it, still passed-out. The esper girls approached slowly before making themselves known.

"Kamijou-san?" Kuroko asked, announcing their presence known.

Kamijou turned towards them, sporting a widened expression. "Shirai-san, Misaka-san," He greeted, "Seems that I wasn't careful enough when I snuck out."

"Is she okay?" Mikoto asked in concern, "Who's she?"

"Oh, her. Well, her name is Index, and she's definitely not okay," Kamijou admitted, "She's hurt pretty badly and needs medical attention."

"If that's the case, I'll call Uiharu and we can get Judgment's support," Kuroko deduced, pulling out her phone.

"Wait," Kamijou interrupted, grabbing Kuroko's wrist with his right hand, "We need to keep this under wraps. If we bring this to Judgment, it will only attract more attention from the magicians chasing her. I just used my right hand to negate the magic still in her hood that they were using to track her back to my dorm. I'm not going put another tracker on her in the form of Judgement Officers."

"Magic? Magicians? What are you talking about, idiot?," Misaka asked skeptically in a raised eyebrow.

"I know it's rather hard to believe but I just fought a man that could create fire by chanting specific unknown words that was coming out of his mouth." Kamijou explained as he stared at them with his eyes that denotes seriousness, "Magic is real, Misaka-san, and we can't let this news get out to the public, less we cause a wide panic in the city or draw unwanted attention to Index. Please, Shirai-san, don't report this. I'm begging you."

Kuroko looked straight into Kamijou's black pleading eyes and took his words into consideration. As much as she wanted to contact Judgment, she knew that Touma was right. This was too much, and secrecy was important for this situation. Not to mention, the idea of magic would either turn people away or make them panic. They couldn't let this get out.

"Alright," Kuroko conceded, "I won't tell Judgment, but at least let me tell Uiharu. If we can't get the help of Judgement as an organization, we can at least get help from friends in Judgment."

"Thanks, Shirai-san," Touma said, letting go of her wrist, "I appreciate it. Your right, though. We really are going to need all the help that we can get. You can call Uiharu-san if you want to, just remember to tell her that it must stay a secret."

"Touma…," Index whispered weakly, earning everyone's attention, "Is something wrong? You look so tired and pale. Who are these people?"

"These are my friends, Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko," Touma replied, kneeling down look her in the eye, "But never mind that right now. Why are you worried about me? We need to do something about your injuries."

"I'll be alright, really. If we can just stop the bleeding…," Index said weakly, before starting to fall over.

"Can any espers in this city used magic?" Kamijou asked with clarification, not for his sake but for the two espers who are with him.

"No… Some espers are born with their psychic abilities. Some developed them over time. Magic isn't a power that one can be born with, but something that can be learned. It was created by the people who saw the espers and desired a power of their own. Magic and psychic abilities are mutually exclusive."

"So, no esper in the whole city can't use magic?" Kuroko deduced.

"Correct," Index confirmed.

"What about people who don't have any esper talent?" Kamijou proposed, "Can they do magic?"

Index's only reply was a weak nod.

Kamijou smiled.

Without thinking, he looked up at the bright gray moon in the night sky as he had a hopeful look that was directed at it as a constant reminder of his first trip in the TARDIS.

It was true that 2.3 million students lived in Academy City and that they had all been developed to have some kind of esper power. But the teachers that developed them were normal humans.

"I just hope that she isn't already asleep."

Kamijou, Misaka, and Shirai, then began walking with Index's limp form on Kamijou's back.

"This is the place…"

Kamijou said as they arrived at their current destination after fifteen minutes of walking from that back alley.

Utterly unbefitting of Komoe-sensei's twelve year old appearance, it was a two story wooden apartment building that looked so old and worn down Kamijou felt it must have weathered the bombing of Tokyo. Since the washing machine was sitting directly out in the passageway, it must have had nothing like a bath.

After checking the nameplates on the first floor doors, they climbed up the run-down and rusty metal staircase and checked the doors up there. When they reached the farthest back door on the second floor, they finally found "Tsukuyomi Komoe" written in hiragana.

Kamijou rang the doorbell thrice as he and the others waited.

"Cominggggg!"

The door clicked open and a pajama wearing Komoe-sensei's head poked out through the crack. Her relaxed expression made it clear she could not see Index's back wound from her position.

"Wah, Kamijou-chan, Misaka-san, Shirai-san, what are you all doing here?!"

"Sorry to bother you sensei," said Kamijou with an apologetic and serious tone. "but we're in a bit of trouble, so we'll be coming in. Excuse us."

"W-wait, wait, wait!" Komoe-sensei frantically tried to block Kamijou's way as he pushed her aside. "I-I can't have all of you suddenly coming into my room. And that isn't just because my room is a horrible mess with empty beer cans littering the floor and cigarette butts piled up in the ash tray!"

"Sensei." Kamijou said in a serious and urgent tone.

"Yes?"

"Look behind my back and tell me what you see."

"Eh?" Komoe-sensei made a confused sound as she looks towards his back as instructed as she realizes that Kamijou is carrying someone who has a wound on her back.

"Oh my goodness!" Komoe-sensei said as she makes her way towards the wounded sister, "What happened to her?!"

"We'll explain later, sensei," Kuroko said in a professional tone, "But we need to set her down somewhere immediately, preferably a clear space on the floor."

"Right! Of course!" Komoe-sensei nodded seriously as she and the others went inside her apartment as they manage to clear all the countless empty beer cans strewn across them, and the silver ash tray had a veritable mountain of cigarette butts in it.

Kamijou sets Index face down on the floor as gently as he could while ensuring that her wound did not touch the floor.

The way her clothes were torn hid the actual wound from view, but a dark red liquid was flowing out like fuel oil.

"Sh-shouldn't we call an ambulance? Th-the phone is over there."

Komoe-sensei pointed toward a corner of the room with a trembling hand. For some reason, her phone was a black rotary dial phone.

"The mana in the blood is flowing out along with the blood."

Insert Song: Start

Advent Children - J-E-N-O-V-A (FFVII AC Version) [HQ]

Kamijou, Misaka, Kuroko. and Komoe-sensei reflexively turned toward Index.

Index was still sprawled out limply on the floor, but her eyes were silently open even as her head lay on its side like a broken doll.

Her eyes were colder than the pale moonlight and more precise than the gears of a clock.

Kamijou's century old eyes begin to narrow while the two middle school girls begin to react in shock and surprise.

"What!"

"Wh-What is this?!"

Her eyes were so perfectly serene that they looked inhuman.

"Warning: Chapter 2, Verse 6. The loss of the life force known as mana due to blood loss has exceeded a certain amount, so John's Pen is being forcibly awoken. …If the current situation persists, my body will lose the bare minimum of necessary life force and expire in about 15 minutes according to the international standard minute defined by the clock tower in London. It would be best if you followed the instructions I am about to give in order to perform the most efficient treatment."

Komoe-sensei and the girls stared at Index in shock.

Kamijou could hardly blame them since this was not natural in the slightest.

For he knew that there were Certain Hidden Things and Powers out there that go bump in the night that might clash with everything that they thought was their correct reality and correct worldview.

For he knew that there were Certain Hidden Things and Powers that are far older than humanity.

Kamjou was not surprise at this at all as he simply got used to it due to the fact that he has met stranger.

That, and he remembered all of The History Lessons and Bedtime Stories that The Doctor taught him about.

"Now then…"

Kamijou looked over at Komoe-sensei and thought.

If he just straight out asked her to use magic, she would surely tell him that it was hardly the time to be pretending to be a magical girl and that she was much too old for that kind of thing anyway.

So how was he supposed to convince her?

"Sensei!"

Komoe-sensei turns her eyes towards The Spiky-Haired Judgment Officer as he says in a concerned and serious tone.

"Since this is an emergency, I'll keep this short. I need to tell you a secret, so come over here."

"What?"

Kamijou waved his hand like he was calling over a small dog and Komoe-sensei approached with no caution whatsoever.

"Sorry," Kamijou apologized to Index under his breath.

He lifted up her ripped clothes to reveal the horrible wound hidden beneath.

"Ee!?"

"Eh!?"

He could hardly blame Komoe-sensei and the girls for jumping in shock.

The wound was so bad that it had even shocked Kamijou to his very core. The wound was in a horizontal straight line across her back as if it was a cardboard box someone had used a ruler and box cutter on. Past the red blood, pink muscle, yellow fat, and even something hard and white that seemed to be her backbone could be seen.

If the wound was viewed as a red mouth, the lips around it had gone utterly pale like someone who had been in a pool.

Kamijou then had his eyes narrowed in righteous anger as he carefully lowered the clothing that was wet with blood.

Even when the clothes touched the wound, Index's icy eyes did not move in the slightest.

Kamijou then turns towards Komoe-sensei as he begins to say in a grave and serious tone.

"Sensei!"

"Eh? Yes!?"

"You need to listen to what this girl has to say and do whatever she says."

"Eh!?"

"Just make sure that she does not lose consciousness. As you can see from her clothes, she is religious. Shirai and I would need to go to my dorm apartment seeing as it got burned down by a fire and I would need to be there to provide a report to the authorities seeing as I live there."

If she viewed it as nothing more than consoling the girl, she could continue to view magic as impossible. For that reason, Kamijou had changed the focus in Komoe-sensei's mind from treating the wound to continuing the conversation by any means necessary.

Komoe-sensei was nodding with an extremely serious expression and a pale face.

"Misaka-san," Kamijou turns towards Mikoto, "Stay here with Komoe-sensei, I would need someone to guard these two while Shirai and I conduct Judgment Business.

Misaka then nodded seriously, "Alright."

Kamijou then turns towards his partner, "Let's go, Shirai-san."

Kuroko looks towards him as she nodded in turn as they both left the apartment with Kamijou using his hoverboard while Kuroko was using her esper ability of teleportation to keep up.

After the duo left the room, Index moved her pale lips which brings the attention of the two women.

"What is the current time in Japan Standard Time? Also, what is the date?"

Komoe-sensei and Misaka looks towards each other for a moment before they turned back towards Index as Komoe-sensei said in a concerned and serious tone.

"It is 8:30 PM on July 20th…"

"You did not seem to look at a clock. Is that time accurate?"

"I do not have a clock in my room, but my internal clock is accurate down to the second, so do not worry."

"…"

A Certain Magical Index and A Certain Scientific Railgun were rather silent at that declaration.

"You all don't need to doubt me that much. I have heard that some jockeys have internal clocks accurate to a tenth of a second and you can regulate it with certain eating habits and rhythms of activity," replied Komoe-sensei in puzzlement.

She may not have been an esper, but she was indeed a resident of Academy City. The idea of what level of knowledge was normal from medical and scientific fronts was different between those within the city and those without.

Still lying face down on the floor, Index glanced out the window with only her eyes.

"From the location of the stars and angle of the moon…that matches the direction of Sirius with an error of 0.038. Now to check once more. The current time in Japan Standard Time is July 20th 8:30 PM, is that correct?"

"Yes. Well, technically it is now 53 seconds past that, but…Ah, no! Don't get up!"

"Wait! Don't get up!"

Komoe-sensei and Misaka frantically tried to push Index back down as she tried to sit up which would further damage her already injured body, but Index's gaze did not waver in the slightest.

Her gaze was neither frightening nor piercing.

All emotion had simply disappeared from her eyes like a light switch had been turned off.

There was no real presence in her eyes.

It was like her soul was missing.

"It is no matter. It can be regenerated," said Index as she headed for the tea table in the center of the room. "It is near the end of Cancer. The time is between 8 and 12 midnight. The direction is west. Under the protection of Undine, the role of the angel is the cherub…"

The sound of Komoe-sensei gulping could be heard throughout the room while Misaka paid close attention with a serious expression that was on her face.

Unexpectedly, Index started drawing some kind of figure atop the small tea table with her bloody finger. Even those who did not know what a magic circle was would recognize that it was something religious. Komoe-sensei had already grown timid, but now something overwhelmed her to the point that she could not speak.

After drawing a circle of blood that filled the tea table, Index drew a star-shaped symbol known as a pentagram.

Writing in some strange language was written all around it. Those words were likely the same thing Index was muttering. She had asked about the constellations and time because the words written changed depending on the time and season.

As Index put together her magic, she showed none of the weakness of one who was injured.

Her extreme focus made it seem like her sense of pain had been temporarily cut off altogether.

A silent chill ran down Misaka's back as she heard the dripping of blood coming from the girl's back as she begins to say in a somewhat curious and frightened tone.

"Wh-wh-wh-what is this?"

"Magic." Index paused after that one word as she begins to speak to Komoe-sensei once more. "I will now be needing your help and your body. If you do as I say, no one will meet any misfortune and you will not be the target of anyone's resentment."

"H-how can you say that so calmly!?" Misaka said bewilderingly.

"Please," said Index without changing her expression in the slightest.

A mix of fresh blood and saliva was dripping from the corner of her mouth.

There was no intensity in her. There was nothing ghastly in her either. But that calm and composure was scarier than either of those. The way everything she did seemed to widen the wound made her seem like a broken machine continuing to run without realizing anything was amiss.

"If we do anything that makes her resist, her situation could become even worse." Misaka thought in a sighed expression. She of course still have some doubts on whether to believe in magic or not. However, Kamijou had told her in a serious no nonsense tone that it does exist, that it was real, and with that kind of sureness and conviction which is accompanied by a tone of experience as if he dealt with this kind of situation before, she couldn't help but believe him.

"So, what should we do exactly?"

"I thank you both for your cooperation. First…take that…that…what is that black thing?"

Komoe-sensei took note of what the Sister was pointing at as she explained.

"? Oh, that is a video game memory card."

"? …Well, fine. At any rate, take that black thing and place it in the middle of the table."

"Technically, it's a tea table…"

Komoe-sensei and Misaka did as she was told and placed the memory card in the middle of the tea table. They then took a mechanical pencil lead case, an empty box of chocolates, and two small paperback books and put them on the tea table as well. They also took two small figurines that came with her food, and lined them up next to each other.

Komoe-sensei and Misaka begin to wonder on what the point of it was, but Index was still completely serious despite looking about ready to collapse.

All of their complaints and concerns disappeared before the Japanese sword-like gaze coming from that pale face.

"What is this? You called it magic, but isn't this just playing with dolls?"

Misaka asked in a bewildered tone as she looks towards what could be called as a miniature version of the room.

The memory card was the tea table, the two books standing up were the bookshelf and closet, and the two figurines were in the exact place of the two people in the room. When glass beads were scattered over the tea table, they seemed to stop in the places that exactly replicated the beer cans scattered across the floor.

"The substances do not matter. It is the same as how a magnifying glass magnifies regardless of whether the lens is made of glass or plastic… As long as the form and role are the same, the ceremony is possible," muttered Index as she dripped with sweat while directing her gaze towards Komoe-sensei as she says. "I just need you to accurately carry out my instructions. If you mistake the order, the pathways in your brain and your neural circuitry could be fried."

"What!?" Misaka reacted heavily at that while Komoe-sensei looked confused as to what she meant.

"I am saying that failure will turn your body to mincemeat and kill you. Please be careful."

"Bh!?" Komoe-sensei almost spat out, but Index continued without paying it any heed.

"We will now create a temple for the angel to descend into. Follow my lead and chant."

What Index said after that went beyond words and become nothing but sound.

Without thinking about the meaning, Komoe-sensei tried copying just the tone in something like humming or singing.

And…

"Kyahh!?"

Suddenly, the figures on top of the tea table started to "sing" as well. "Kyahh!?" one of them screamed with the exact same timing. The figures were vibrating. Just as the vibration is transmitted along the string in a string telephone and comes out as a voice in the paper cup on the other end, the figure vibrated and reproduced Komoe-sensei's voice.

The reason Komoe-sensei did not panic and run from the room right then and there was likely because she lived in a city with 2.3 million espers in it. A normal person would have thought they were out of their mind.

Misaka was just staring at the scene with a face that was full of amazement, surprise, and wonder as she thinks to herself, "So, this is magic huh."

"Link complete." Index's voice and the voice from the tea table made it sound double.

"The temple created on the table has been linked to this room. To put it simply, everything that happens in this room will happen on the table and everything that happens on the table will happen in this room."

Index pushed the tea table lightly with her foot.

In that instant, the entire apartment shook under Komoe-sensei's feet as if from some great shock.

She could feel the stuffy air of the room growing as clear as the air in a forest in the early morning.

However, nothing like an angel was present. All that was there was what could only be described as an invisible presence. A feeling assaulted Komoe-sensei's entire body like she was being watched by thousands of eyeballs from every direction.

And then Index suddenly shouted.

"Imagine! Imagine a golden angel with the body of a child! Imagine a beautiful angel with two wings!"

When carrying out magic, determining the field was important.

For example, a pebble thrown into the sea does not make much of a ripple. However, a pebble dropped into a bucket makes quite a ripple. It was the same as that. To alter the world with magic, the field in which the alteration would take place had to be demarcated.

A protector was a temporary god in a small demarcated world.

If one properly imagined a protector, fixated its form, and freely controlled it, one could more easily cause mysterious things to happen in a limited field.

Komoe-sensei did not receive any such explanation and she was having a hard time imagining an angel. The term "golden angel" only made her think of that thing about one gold one or five silver ones.

As the image in Komoe-sensei's mind lost coherence, the surrounding presence followed suit and lost its form. An unpleasant feeling ran down Komoe-sensei's back like she was wrapped in the rotten mud from the bottom of a swamp.

"Just imagine it! This will not actually call in an angel. It is just a gathering of invisible mana. It will take form according to your will as the magic user!"

She must have truly been desperate because even the voice of that cool, mechanical Index grew sharp as an icicle.

Komoe-sensei's eyes opened wide at that sudden change and she hurriedly started muttering under her breath.

"…A cute angel, a cute angel, a cute angel."

Hazily, she frantically called up an image of the girl angel she had seen in a shoujo manga long ago.

Whatever it was that felt like invisible mud hanging in the air of the room took form as if it had been shoved inside a human-shaped balloon…or at least that was how it seemed to Komoe-sensei.

She timidly opened her eyes to check.

"…Huh? This will not actually call in an angel?"

In the instant that doubt entered her mind, the human-shaped water balloon burst and the invisible mud splattered across the room.

"Kyahh!" Komoe-sensei and Misaka reacted.

"…The fixation of its form has failed." Index looked around with her sharp gaze. "If the temple is at least protected by a blue color Undine, that is enough. …Continue."

Her words were positive enough, but Index's eyes were not smiling in the slightest.

Komoe-sensei flinched back like a child whose parents had just seen a failed test she had tried to keep hidden.

"Chant. It will be over with just a bit more."

That sharp order would not let Komoe-sensei lose her composure despite her rising confusion and flagging thoughts.

Index, Komoe-sensei, and the two figurines on the tea table sang while Misaka continues to observe silently.

The back of Index's figurine on the table began to melt.

It was as if it was rubber being held up to a lighter. It melted, the surface lost its unevenness, it grew smooth, it cooled and hardened once more, and its form came back together.

Komoe-sensei and Misaka both felt like their hearts would freeze over.

Currently, Index was sitting across the tea table from her.

She did not have the courage to circle around and see what was happening to Index's back.

Index's pale face was covered in oily sweat.

Her glassy eyes still showed no sign of pain or suffering.

"Replenishment of mana and stabilization of condition confirmed. Returning John's Pen to dormant mode."

Like a switch had been flipped, a soft light returned to Index's eyes.

Like a fire being lit in a cooled fireplace, a warmth filled the room's atmosphere.

The look in Index's eyes was so kind and warm that Komoe-sensei and Misaka couldn't help but feel that warmth. It was the look of a normal girl.

"Now if the descended protector is returned and the temple is destroyed, it will be over." Index smiled painfully "This is what magic is. It's the same as how apple and ringo15 mean the same thing. You do not need a glass wand when a plastic umbrella is just as clear. It is the same with tarot cards. As long as the design and numbers match, you can perform divinations with the cut outs from the back of a shoujo manga."

Index's sweating did not stop.

Komoe-sensei and Misaka grew even more afraid. They started to think in concern that what Komoe-sensei had done had only made Index's condition worse.

"Don't worry." Index looked about ready to collapse even then. "It's the same as with a cold. You need your own strength to get over it. The wound itself has been closed up, so I'll be fine."

As soon as she said that, Index collapsed to the side. The figurine fell over, too. The tea table shook slightly and the room linked to it was assaulted by a thundering tremble.

Komoe-sensei and Misaka were about to run around the tea table to Index, but Index began to sing.

When Komoe-sensei followed along and sang one last song, the strange atmosphere returned to being the normal stuffy atmosphere of the apartment. Komoe-sensei and Misaka cautiously shook the tea table, but nothing happened.

"Thank goodness." Komoe-sensei and Misaka said in a sigh of relief.

As they both closed their eyes in relief, Index spoke.

They both would have thought that anyone would be glad to have their deadly wound healed, but the nun said something else entirely unexpected.

"I'm glad I did not burden anyone with anything."

They both stared at Index in surprise.

"…If I had died here, he may have had to bear the burden."

Index closed her eyes like she was dreaming and said nothing more. When that girl had been sliced in the back and collapsed and when she had performed that strange ritual, she had never once been thinking about herself. She had been thinking about the person who had carried her there.

"What do you mean by that?"

Komoe-sensei asked as she could not think in the same way. She had no one to think that way about. But Misaka knew who she was talking about as she remembers A Certain Spiky Haired Boy that brought her here.

"That idiot, always being the hero and getting the girls left, right, and center even though he actually has a girlfriend." She thought as she begins to shake her head in annoyance and exasperation.

"I don't know."

Index did not really understand, but when she was with him, nothing ever went as she wanted and she felt pushed around.

And yet those unexpected things were so much fun and made her so happy.

She did not know what the feeling was, though.

This time, Index fell into a deep sleep with a smile on her face like she was having a pleasant dream.

Insert Song: End

Soon enough, the duo found themselves at Kamijou's dorm building. As a member of Judgment and a resident of the building, Kamijou was given free reign when investigating the cause of the fire. He went up to his dorm room, activating the secret security systems that was put into place for any unwanted intruders.

With his notebook secure, Touma then gathered a couple of old notes, newspapers, and a small bowl. He then went to his balcony as he was holding the collected paper that was in the bowl and zaps them with his sonic screwdriver, burning them slightly and creating ashes, which he collected in the bowl. He then scattered the papers and ashes around his room and out of the door, creating a trail that lead back to an outlet in his room. Kamijou then reported to the fire department and Anti-Skill that the fire was simply a freak electrical fire caused by his carelessness and the aftermath of the power outage. After checking Kamijou's room, the officials bought his story and said they would take care of it within the next couple of days. With the case of the dorm fire 'solved', Kamijou and Kuroko took their leave.

"I have to admit, that was a rather impressive plan that you manage to come up with," Kuroko commented, "Planting fake evidence to blame the fire on some faulty electricity from yesterday's blackout was pretty smart thinking."

"I'll take that as a compliment, partner." Kamijou replied, sporting a simple smile.

Kuroko smiled a little at that as she continued, "So, what was so important for you to go back to your dorm to get anyway?"

Kamijou simply said. "I just needed to check for a few things that's all."

"I see. So, what now?" Kuroko questioned.

"For now, I'm going to find some place to stay for the night," Kamijou explained, "You and Misaka should head back to your dorm. I'd hate it if you two died because your dorm manager had a go at you."

"Don't remind me," Kuroko said with a shiver while asking in a concerned tone, "But what about you though?"

"I'll stay at Aogami's place. He's been lodging at a café for a while now. Tsuchimikado should be there already, considering he's my next-door neighbor. That or he's staying with his stepsister, Tsuchimikado Maika," Kamijou explained, "We'll meet up at Komoe-sensei's apartment tomorrow to check on Index. Bring along Uiharu-san if you think she can help."

"Alright." Kuroko nodded as she begins to teleport towards Komoe-sensei's Apartment in order to fetch Misaka while Kamijou uses his hoverboard and heads towards his current destination.

Date and Time: July 21, 2XXX

Period: Day

The morning of July 21st, the group met up at Komoe's apartment, just as they agreed. Kuroko had brought along Uiharu just as she had said she would. However, Uiharu had ended up bringing along Saten as well. Saten's innate ability to detect rumors and secrets allowed her to figure out that Uiharu was hiding something from her. That inevitably lead to Uiharu spilling the beans to Saten, forcing her to bring Saten along.

As much as Kamijou wanted to keep the information as confidential as possible to avoid any unpredictable complications, he figured that if Saten wanted to help and learn the truth, there was truly no stopping her as he knows her all to well. That, and Kamijou trusted her as she was his best friend. Her knowledge of rumors and urban legends could prove to be of use especially the area of magic.

After filling everyone in on the situation, the group entered the apartment to find an awfully strange sight.

After dawn came, her symptoms were very similar to those of a cold.

Index was bedridden with a high fever and a headache. She did not have a runny nose or a sore throat because it was not due to a virus. It was simply a matter of regaining her missing stamina, so no matter how much immunity-strengthening cold medicine she took, it would not solve anything.

"…So why are you wearing only panties down below?" said Kamijou, pinching his eyes out. The four middle school girls besides him were sporting

As Index lay with a wet towel on her forehead, she must not have been able to stand the hot dampness inside the futon, so she had one leg sticking out in Kamijou's direction. She was wearing a pale green pajama top and yet her bright skin-colored thigh was sticking out up to its base. Due to her fever, the skin was a bit pink.

The towel had grown lukewarm, so Komoe-sensei stuck it into a basin of water and splashed it around while glaring at Kamijou.

"…Kamijou-chan. I think those clothes were a bit too much."

"Those clothes" likely referred to the safety-pin-covered white nun's habit.

Kamijou doesn't know on whether or not to agree with her 100% on that as he figured that while her habit would warrant unwanted attention from unwanted people, on the other hand, Index looked like a displeased cat over having her familiar habit taken from her to which he already expected from a mile a way.

Apparently, due to Komoe's small stature, Index was able to wear an extra bunny onesie that was laying around. Of course, Komoe wanted answers just as much as Saten did, so Kamijou had no choice but to explain it to her as well. However, when she also told him that she intended to tell Academy City's governing board, Kamijou began to insist that he had to keep the governing board out of the loop so as to not get her any more involved than she needed to for her own safety, the fact that Index was being hunted by an unknown organization who are an outside context problem for the city as a whole as they used an entirely different system besides espers and that she might draw unwanted attention on herself and a target would be painted on her back, and the fact that this could cause a bunch of unpredictable problems in the political side of this matter. In the end, Komoe decided to reluctantly agree as she was hearing the same grave tone that her student uses all the time to denote the gravity of the situation. After which, she eventually decided that she will go out for grocery shopping for the necessary provisions. As she left, the students could only look back and reflect at the turn of events that have happened.

"Looks like we're in the clear," Misaka commented, "For now anyway."

Kamijou sighed in relief, with one problem taken care of for the very moment.

"She's a very nice person," Index said.

"Are you talking about Komoe-sensei?" Kamijou asked.

Index merely nodded.

"We should keep her from getting further involved," Kuroko pointed out.

"Yes," Index agreed, "It isn't safe for her to use any more magic."

Index went on to explain to them just how exactly dangerous the grimoires, and by extension magic, could be. She explained that the knowledge of the grimoires was not meant for normal humans to read. They create a sort of second world within themselves through their contents and that second world is toxic, damaging the brains of those ill prepared to take on that knowledge.

"Grimoires are dangerous. Written in them is aberrant and uncommon knowledge as well as twisted laws that break the common laws of this world. Whether they are for good or evil, those things are toxic in this world. Merely learning knowledge of a 'different world' will destroy the brain of the one who learns it."

Uiharu, who was listening attentively, couldn't help but think of the parallels between magic and the concept of Personal Reality for espers. Both create a second reality that imprints itself on True Reality. The key difference being that esper abilities rely on the personal beliefs of the individual while magic relied on the religious beliefs of a collective.

Misaka, who was also listening attentively, tried to translate the explanation in a way that she understood. "So is it like forcefully running a program that is not compatible with that computer's OS?" She thought.

"My brain and spirit are protected by religious barriers, and magicians who attempt to exceed being human must exceed the boundaries of their own common knowledge to arrive at the desired state of mind which could almost be likened to a type of insanity. However, for a normal person from a weakly religious country like Japan, it could all be over after just casting one more spell."

"Well, that's a shame. We were at least hoping that you would be able to perform alchemy for us. You know alchemy, right? It can turn lead into gold." Saten said almost excitingly.

"Well, there is a technique for that called Limen Magna, but preparing the tools with modern materials would cost…um…7 trillion yen in this country's currency."

"Well, in that case, that definitely isn't worth it," Kamijou said as if it were a matter of fact.

Index smiled weakly and said, "…Yeah. Turning lead into gold accomplishes nothing more than making nobles happy."

"But…wait. Now that I think about it, what does that do? How does it work? If you're turning lead into gold, are you rearranging the Pb atoms into Au?" Misaka asked.

"I don't really know, but it's only a fourteenth century technique."

"Wait just a moment," Misaka said as she raises her hand as if trying to process what she had just heard while saying excitedly, "Do you mean what I think you mean? It might actually be changing the atomic arrangement!? You mean you could cause proton decay without a particle accelerator and nuclear fusion without a nuclear reactor!?"

"?"

"Um. If you're wondering just how amazing that would be, that kind of thing would let us easily create atomic robots or mobile suits!"

"What are those?"

"Ahem," Kamijou begins to cut off the conversation with a cough which brings the attention of the two girls. "Girls, as interesting as this topic is, can we please try to get back towards the actual discussion."

And so Index and Misaka have no choice but to decide begrudgingly to put their conversation on hold, for now at the very least.

"Anyway, the holy swords and magic wands used in ceremonies can be made with modern materials as substitutes, but there is a limit. …This especially goes for sacred items related to God such as the Lance of Longinus, Joseph's Holy Grail, or The_ROOD. Even after 1000 years, it seems no substitutes can be made…ow…"

As Index talked on and on excitedly, she started holding her temple like she had a hangover.

Kamijou Touma and the girls looked at Index's face in worry and concern as she lay in the futon.

She had 103,000 grimoires in her head. Just reading one of them could drive you insane and yet she had put each and every letter of all those books in her head. How much pain had that process caused her they all wondered?

And yet Index never once complained of her pain.

"Do you all want to know?" she asked as if apologizing to Kamijou and the girls while ignoring her own pain.

Index's usual cheerful tone had set a context that made that quiet voice stand out and seem to hold even more determination.

Index's situation did not particularly matter to Kamijou. Whatever situation she might be in, there was no way he could abandon her. As long as he could keep her safe, he saw no reason to dig into her old wounds.

"Do you all want to know what my circumstances are?" repeated the girl naming herself Index.

"Do you all know why?" Index asked. "The Christian Church was originally a single organization, but now there are the Catholics, the Protestants, the Roman Catholics, the Russian Orthodox, the Anglicans, the Nestorians, the Athanasians, the Gnostics, and more. Do you know why this split occurred?"

Kamijou knew why of course as he thought deeply about that Certain Question that was a constant throughout the Known and Unknown Multiverse.

"Of course, people's ideas on things naturally differed. Some wanted to make money with the Word of God while others refused to allow that. Some felt they were loved by God more than anyone else in the world while others refused to accept that. And this is barely scratching the surface of this complex and fundamental problem that we all have no matter what universe in the multiverse. That we are all truly and fundamentally different in each and in our own way. We all have different opinions and ideas. And yet," Kamijou thought about that certain catchphrase from his best friend used to say. "There is only one truth."

"It was because politics were mixed in with the church. Sects split, opposed each other, and fought. In the end, even people who believed in the same God were each other's enemies. Even as we believe in the same God, we each walk a different one of many scattered paths."

"After the sects stopped interacting with each other, we each underwent our own isolated development which gave us our individual characteristics. We changed in accordance to the situation in or cultures of our countries." Index let out a small breath. "The Roman Catholic Church manages and controls the world, the Russian Orthodox Church searches out and eliminates the occult, and the Anglican Church I belong to…"

Index's words caught in her throat for a second.

"England is a magic country," she said as if that was a bitter memory. "So the Anglican Church is especially advanced in anti-magician culture and techniques such as witch hunts and the inquisition."

"The Anglican Church has a special division," said Index as if she was confessing her own sins. "It investigates magic and develops countermeasures with which to defeat magicians. It is known as Necessarius." She sounded exactly like a nun.

Kuroko begins to take note of the similarities between Necessarius and Judgment, using Espers to fight other Espers and help keep the peace in Academy City.

"If you do not know your enemy, you cannot defend against their attacks. However, understanding an impure enemy will make your own heart impute and touching an impure enemy will make your body impure. That is why Necessarius, the church of necessary evils, was created to draw all of those impurities into one place. And the most extreme case of this is…"

"The 103,000 grimoires." Kamijou said as completed the sentence.

"Yes." Index gave a small nod. "Magic is something like an equation. If you skillfully reverse the calculations, you can counteract your opponent's attack. That is why I had these 103,000 grimoires put into me. …If you know magic from all around the world, you can neutralize magic from all around the world."

"But if these grimoires are so dangerous and you know where they are, why don't you just burn them without reading them? As long as there are people to read and learn from these grimoires, magicians will continue to appear without end, right?" Misaka asked in a tone of curiosity.

"The actual books are less important than the contents. Even if you got rid of an Original16, the magicians who knew the contents would pass that on to their followers, so it would be pointless. Although someone who does that is known as a sorcerer17 rather than a magician," explained Index.

"Also, a grimoire is nothing more than a textbook." Index sounded like she was in pain. "Just reading one does not make you a magician. Magicians change it up to suit themselves and create a new type of magic."

"Because as I said before, grimoires are dangerous." Index narrowed her eyes. "When disposing just a copy, an expert Inquisitioner must sew his eyes shut to prevent pollution of his brain, and even then it takes 5 years of baptisms to fully rid him of the poison. The human mind cannot handle an Original. The only option for the 103,000 Originals scattered about the world is to seal them."

"But can't magic be used by any normal person excluding espers? Then wouldn't this spread throughout the world in no time at all?" Misaka asked in concern.

"You… all don't have to worry about that. The magic cabals do not recklessly let the grimoires get out to the general public."

"? Why not? Wouldn't it be better for them to have more comrades to fight for them?" Misaka asked.

"That is exactly why. If every single person who had a gun was friends, there would be no war."

"So in other words, it's like there's a bomb inside your head, and some people out there want to get their hands on it," Touma concluded grimly.

"…Right." From her voice, it sounded like she was about to die. "With the 103,000 grimoires, you would be able to twist everything in the world to your will without exception. That is what we call a magic god." Index whispered all this depressingly, sinking deeper into the blanket of the futon.

Magic God. That was a term that begin to narrow the eyes of one Kamijou Touma, somehow managing to recognize that term, and at the same time, seems to end up like a blank canvas in his perception as it seems to denote a hint of very own future as a result of his other ability that he had gained as a result of all his endless loops in Hinamizawa.

Reading Steiner.

Kamijou gave Index a sympathetic and understanding look as he knew how dangerous grimoires can be when they fall into the wrong hands and he knew what terrible consequences could ensue should this come to pass. He calls out to Index in a comforting tone as she draws her full attention while raising her face towards him.

"Cheer up, Index," Kamijou declared comfortingly and confidently while holding out his right fist as he mentions his right hand, "No one is going to touch you. Not when we are around. Not while I have this right hand which can dispel their magic as if it were an illusion so you don't have to worry one bit for we will keep you safe. That I can surely promise so you don't have to worry."

Index begins to tear up and smile gratefully while Misaka thought to herself with a smile. 'There he goes again, acting all cool, idiot,'

"Index, right," Misaka chimed in as Index turns towards her, "We haven't been properly introduced yet, have we? I'm Misaka Mikoto."

Then the other girls started to introduce themselves one by one.

"And I'm Shirai Kuroko."

"Uiharu Kazari."

"Saten Ruiko."

"Thank you all." a smiling Index said in a happy and grateful tone. "My full name is Index Librorum Prohibitorum but you can just call me Index."

While this heartwarming scene and conversation was taking place between A Certain Magical Index and A Certain Gang of Rail Girls, Kamijou begins to think of making various and diverse plans in the event when he would have to encounter the ones chasing her and the unknown culprit who managed to penetrate the Walking Church to the unawareness of everyone involved. He figured that since meeting that magician in his dorm apartment that there was still something that he was missing in this complicated puzzle regarding the relationship between Index and her pursuers and thought to himself that it might actually be possible that Index's pursuers are actually from Necessarius since Index said that she was from the Anglican Church, ergo, it stands to reason that her church would send their special division in the event when Index might escape from their grasp as this was one possibility that was in the considerate mind of the Imagine Breaker.

By the time Komoe-sensei had come back, she offered to house Kamijou and Index for the time being until the whole ordeal could be sorted out. In the meantime, Misaka and Kuroko agreed to help Touma guard Index whenever she went outside while Uiharu and Saten searched the internet for any sightings of the magicians. If any suspicious characters were sighted in a specific distract by anyone, Uiharu and Saten would alert the others to avoid that area.

About six hundred meters away on top of a multi-tenant building, Stiyl took his binoculars away from his eyes.

"I've looked into who this boy Index is with. …How is she?"

Without turning around, Stiyl replied to the girl who had spoken to him.

"She's alive. But that must mean they have a magic user."

The girl gave no response, but it seemed she was more relieved that no one had died than worried about a new enemy.

The girl was 18, but she was about a head shorter than Stiyl who was only 14.

But then, Stiyl was over two meters tall, so the girl was still tall when compared to the average Japanese height.

Her waist-long black hair was tied in a ponytail. At her waist was sheathed Japanese sword over two meters long. It was a type known as a "command sword" that was used in Shinto rain calling ceremonies.

However, it would be a bit difficult to call her a Japanese beauty.

She wore used jeans and a white shirt. For someone reason, the left leg of her jeans were completely cut off up to the base of her thigh, the extra cloth at the bottom of her T-shirt was tied off so her midriff was visible, she wore knee high boots, and her Japanese sword was hanging down in a leather holster like it was a pistol.

She looked something like a sheriff from a Western who had traded his pistol for a Japanese sword.

Just like Stiyl the perfume-smelling priest, her outfit was hardly normal.

"So who exactly is this guy, Kanzaki?"

"The thing about that is…I was not able to get much information on the boy. At the very least, it seems he is not a magician or supernaturally powered in some other way."

"What, are you trying to say he's just a normal high school student?" Stiyl lit the cigarette he pulled out just by staring at the tip. "Just stop. I may not look it, but I'm a magician that has fully analyzed the existing 24 runes and developed 6 new powerful runes. This world is not kind enough to let a powerless amateur drive back Innocentius's flames of judgment."

This boy had manage to put together a plan that managed to trick him into revealing his name and was just stalling for time while disappearing in the act as he managed to trigger the fire alarm on the building which alerted the authorities to which forced him to make a tactical retreat. Plus there was that strange right hand of his that manage to block his flames. If that was a normal person in Japan, then it truly was a country of mysteries.

"True." Kanzaki Kaori narrowed her eyes. "The real issue is that someone with that much battle ability is categorized as nothing more than a hopeless student who is prone to getting into fights."

Academy City had a hidden side where it was an institution that mass produced espers.

Even if the organization under which Stiyl and Kanzaki worked was hiding Index's presence, Stiyl and Kanzaki had contacted the organization known as the Five Elements Institution beforehand to get permission to enter the city. Even the magic group that was known as the greatest in the world could not remain hidden within the enemy's field.

"Perhaps the information is being intentionally blocked. Also, Index's wounds were magically healed. Kanzaki, do any other magical organizations exist in the Far East?"

They had decided that the boy must have an organization other than the Five Elements Institution on his side.

They mistakenly believed that this other organization was thoroughly eliminating all information on Kamijou.

"If they're doing something in this city, the Five Elements Institution's informants must have picked up on them." Kanzaki closed her eyes. "We have an unknown number of enemies and no chance of backup. This is a difficult development."

It was all a misunderstanding. Kamijou's Imagine Breaker had zero effect unless it was being used on supernatural powers. In other words, Academy City's System Scan was unable to measure his power because it used machines to measure it. And so Kamijou had the misfortune to be treated like a Level 0 despite possessing a top class right hand.

"In the worst case scenario, this could develop into a magical battle against an organization. Stiyl, I heard your runes have a fatal flaw when it comes to waterproofing."

"I've already compensated for that. I laminated the runes. The same trick won't work on me again." Like a stage magician, he pulled out the runes that now looked almost like trading cards. "This time, I will place the barrier two kilometers around the area rather than just on the building. It will take 164,000 cards and the preparations will take 60 hours to complete."

Unlike in video games, real magic took a bit more than just chanting a spell.

It may have seemed that was all it took at first glance, but quite a bit of preparation was necessary behind the scenes. Stiyl's flames were the type of thing that had instructions along the lines of "Take a silver wolf's fang that has soaked up 10 years of moonlight and…" For this reason, Stiyl's speed was actually that of an expert.

In short, magical battles were a matter of reading what was to come. When the battle started, you were essentially caught in the trap that was the enemy's barrier. When defending, you had to determine what the enemy's spell was, and find a way to turn it back at the enemy. When attacking, you had to predict what kinds of counterattacks would come and rearrange your spell accordingly. Unlike simple martial arts, you had to think 100-200 steps ahead amidst constantly changing surroundings. While savage terms like "fighting" were used, it was actually more of an intellectual battle.

For that reason, an enemy force of unknown numbers put a magician at a serious disadvantage.

"…She looks so happy," said the rune magician suddenly as he stared six hundred meters ahead without using his binoculars. "She looks so very, very happy. She always lives such a happy life." His sounded like he was spitting out some kind of thick liquid.

"How long do we have to keep ripping that to pieces?"

Kanzaki stared six hundred meters ahead from behind Stiyl.

Even without using binoculars or magic, she could see clearly with her 8.0 vision.

Through the window, she could see the girl having a pleasant and lively conversation between the boy and four middle school girls.

"It must be a complicated feeling," said Kanzaki like a machine. "For someone like you who was once in that same position."

"…I'm used to it," replied the flame magician.

He truly had experienced that feeling many times before.

Date and Time: July 24, 2XXX

Period: Night

On the night of June 24th, Kamijou had decided to take Index on a trip to a local bathhouse. Mikoto and Kuroko had to do some shopping and Uiharu and Saten gave them the all clear, saying that no suspicious characters were spotted in the area that day.

"Bathtime Bathtime." sang Index as she walked next to Kamijou, holding a wash basin in both hands.

As if to say she was done being sick, she had changed from the pajamas and into her safety-pin-covered nun's habit.

Kamijou had no idea what kind of magic trick she used, but the bloody habit was perfectly clean. He had a feeling it would have been torn to pieces if she had thrown it in the washing machine, so he wondered if she had taken it apart and washed each individual piece.

After three days, she was finally well enough to head out and a bath had been her first request.

Komoe-sensei's apartment did not have anything even remotely resembling a bath, so their only options were to borrow the one in the manager's room or head to the nearby run down public bath.

And so the young boy and girl were walking along a footpath at night with wash basin in hand.

"Just what era of Japanese culture are we living in?" Komoe-sensei had commented with a smile as she explained the public bath system. She was letting Kamijou and Index stay in her apartment without asking for details on their situation due to the fact that she had been explained well enough by Kamijou due to the serious and expression that was seen in his face when the situation is serious and grave. Kamijou was going along with freeloading with her because he did not want to return to his dorm that was undoubtedly being watched by the enemy.

"Touma, Touma," said Index in a muffled voice because she was lightly biting the upper arm of his shirt.

Because of her habit of biting people, that was nothing more than a gesture similar to grabbing at someone's clothes to draw their attention.

"…What is it?" replied Kamijou.

"Nothing. I just like calling your name even without a reason."

Index's expression was like that of a child going to an amusement park for the first time.

Index seemed very attached to him.

It was likely due to what had happened three days prior, but Kamijou was less happy than he was unsure how to feel about the fact that no one had ever said something that basic to Index.

"Komoe said the Japanese public bath has coffee milk. What's coffee milk? Is it like a cappuccino?"

"You're not gonna find anything that elegant in a public bath. Don't get your hopes up so much," said Kamijou. "Hmm, but the giant bath might be a bit shocking to you. In England, the cramped baths like those at a hotel are most common, right?"

"Hm? …I don't really know." Index tilted her head to the side as if she really did not know. "The first thing I remember is being here in Japan. I don't really know how things are back in England."

"…Hmm. So that's why you speak Japanese so fluently. If you were here since you were little, then you're practically Japanese yourself."

That gave her certainty that she would be safe if she escaped to the Anglican Church a little less credibility, though. He had thought she would be heading home, but she would actually be heading to another country she had never seen before.

"No, no. That isn't what I meant." Index shook her head, shaking her long silver hair back and forth. "Apparently, I was born and raised in London's St. George's Cathedral. Apparently, I only came here about a year ago."

"Apparently?" Kamijou frowned at the vague term.

"Yeah. I have no memories from before about a year ago when I arrived here."

Index smiled.

Just like a child heading to an amusement park for the first time in her life.

It was the perfection of that smile that showed Kamijou the fear and the pain behind it all due to seeing that same twisted smile throughout the countless years of his life.

"When I first woke up in a back alley, I had no idea who I was. All I knew was that I had to run away. I couldn't remember what I ate for dinner the night before, but knowledge of things like magic, the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, and Necessarius were swirling around in my mind. It was so scary…"

"Then you don't even know why you lost your memories?" asked Kamijou, sporting a frowing expression.

"That's right," she replied.

Kamijou knew that Index had memory loss due to what his second father had told him that on his phone call that he had with him a few days ago so he was not really surprise in the least. He could deduce that there were two major causes of amnesia: receiving a major shock to the head or sealing a memory that your heart simply could not bear. This situation with Index seemed far more complicated due to the fact that Index's memories tended to be on reset in every one year of her life. On that, Kamijou didn't know why but he thought that it may have something to do with those dangerous books that were stored in her head.

"God dammit…" muttered Kamijou as he looked up into the night sky.

While he did feel righteous anger towards the people who would do that to a girl like her, he was mostly overcome by a sense of powerlessness. That same powerlessness that now drives him towards hope as he would now reach her hand with his right hand that she may be able to smile once again. He now knew why Index had covered for him and grown so oddly attached to him. It was simply that Kamijou just so happened to be the first person she had gotten to know after spending a year alone in the world without knowing anything. This did not please Kamijou in the slightest.

"Mh? Touma, are you angry?"

"No, I'm not."

The question had caught him off guard for a moment, but Kamijou managed to feign ignorance, if only for a bit.

"If I upset you in some way, I apologize. Touma, what has you so mad?" asked Index, sporting a concerned expression.

It's just..." Kamijou made a hesitant look on his face as he begins to say in a tone that seemed far older than his actual physical appearance. "It's just that you shouldn't have to live through any of that. No one should have to live through any of that."

Index gave the boy a surprise look that was adorned on her face as well as being touched at the concern that Kamijou was giving to her. They have only just met for the past few days alongside his four female friends but this boy is already feeling concern and empathy for her.

A stranger.

Then there was that strange tone in his voice.

A tone that denotes experience. A tone that denotes understanding. A tone that denotes kindness. A tone that denotes compassion. A tone that denotes mercy.

This made her ultimately realize that there was something about this boy that seemed to look like an ordinary high school student, but in actuality, he seems far older than what he makes himself out to be. This boy had been nothing but very kind and understanding regarding her situation. When she told him about magic, he believed her immediately with no hesitation. He never made fun of her. He never became skeptical of her. He never doubted her.

He paid very close attention to her and to her explanation regarding her name, her religion, her books, her Walking Church, her explanation of Idol Theory, and her complicated situation, something that she had noted when she thought back to their conversation on his dorm apartment a few days ago and made her deeply think to herself on who was this mysterious spiky-haired boy.

His other female friends didn't believe her immediately at first, that she could tell based on some of their reactions regarding the existence of magic.

No one who has no knowledge of magic would ever believe almost immediately, that Index knew. And yet this boy did. He even asked questions regarding her Walking Church and about Idol Theory.

Index guessed that this was a boy-

No.

Not a boy.

A man.

This man that was now taking her to the bathhouse was a man who believe her immediately.

She wanted to know who this man was. The man who accepted her with open arms. Then there was his ability that she had found out a few days ago.

The Imagine Breaker.

She didn't think that such an ability to negate her magic would be possible. But it would appear to be the case since he had managed to negate the tracker that was on her hood in order for her pursuers to not catch her. The ability to negate any supernatural ability.

Who was this man? Who is Kamijou Touma? What hidden secrets does this boy hide from the eyes of the ordinary?

ED Song:

Toaru Majutsu no Index Ending 1 HD

Characters:

The Twelfth Doctor - A: Peter Capaldi

Touma Kamijou - VA: Abe Atsushi

Rika Kamijou, née Furude - VA: Yukari Tamura

Index Librorum Prohibitorum: VA - Yuka Iguchi

Stiyl Magnus - VA: Kisho Taniyama

Kaori Kanzaki - VA: Shizuka Ito

Mikoto Misaka - VA: Rina Sato

Kuruko Shirai - VA: Satomi Arai

Uiharu Kazari - VA: Aki Toyosaki

Saten Ruiko - VA: Kanae Ito

Misaki Shokuhou - VA: Azumi Asakura

Komoe Tsukiyomi - VA: Kimiko Koyama

Tsuchimikado Motoharu - VA: Anri Katsu

Aogami Pierce - VA: Yoshihasa Kawahara