A Certain Influx of Time Traveling Mishaps

by NeoShadows

Kamijou Touma's tale has ended. A New Magic God has risen in the future, taken over the world, and set its sights to the past for more power. Luckily, or unluckily for one unfortunate high school boy, those who have inherited Imagine Breaker's will have chased after it. When Future meets the Past, a new story is created. All to the misfortune of a certain Kamijou.

7. Unheard Wishes

NeoShadows back again with our monthly dose of good reading!

Apologies for the late delay this month. This chapter's been done for almost two months now, but it needed a lot of touch up and edits. It took some time to polish it up to my standards, but here it is!

Zeroes War is coming to a close now. We got about two chapters left, the Epilogue, and than we're moving on. Though we do have some down time before the new Sisters Arc, which will be renamed to better fit the overall changes and plot. Until than though, let's get through some reviews and move onto the action!

DNWorks: I do what I can, glad to hear that you enjoy it. Deadlock is pretty much obsessed with the idea of proving that his way, his conviction, was always right and not so weak as to be broken when faced with some random nobody; especially a hero he's convinced was nothing more than a creation of his own weak resolve to follow through with his actions. As for his threat of 'what we Level 0s can do', it was more to establish that despite having no supernatural ability, they could still do something as simple as harm others. Oh, Komaba. We got plans for you.

BlueJack22: Glad to crack a smile from you. And I saw that it was Biribiri's birthday on ToAru's Reddit page.

Animan10: *Sigh* I. . .I know. I've done that twice now. I'm still trying to get use to the whole Japanese name proper thing. For some reason, it's more glaring when I'm addressing Hana. I have no idea why. Gonna need to fix that later. I am shamed. SHAMED!

The Wookie1: Beating down Lolicons always brings a smile to my smile. Grounded Hana. . .heh, punny. And nothing more fun than fighting another thug while colorful underwear flies around you. Truly District 10's the place to be for a good time!

ArmoredCoreNineBall: I have no idea why I keep messing up Hana's name! I literally didn't notice until going back after a review. I swear, I'll get this right. . .maybe. Hopefully I can keep the essense of Index going strong until the end.

Anti Mage29: You know I debated on how to reveal Komaba's involvement in all this before deciding on a brawl with our unlucky Kamijou. I was scratching my head for a while on what would cause those two to fight another before little adorable Fremea reared her head into the picture. It would be Touma's usual misfortune to end up fighting the leader of a large majority of Skill-Out because he was protecting some random frilly dressed girl. As for the identity of Toka's mother. . .meh. I'm sure you'll know soon enough who it is.

Jonathanblade00: Happy to have ya onboard the steam rolling train! The premise of the story was one that I had playing with other fandoms, but felt for some reason ToAru wore it better. Thank ArmoredC9Ball for giving me the push to release it.

TazalTerminals: Oh yeah, there's a reason for that. The curse is much more than meets the eyes after all. IB was never needed for it to be broken. No matter what those kids of his are up to, they all carry the Will of Kamijou Touma within them. That's a good, and bad thing. Now, for Toka's age, I'll set this up for the current children we've met to better help.

Kamijou Toka-Age: 16.

Angela Kamijou-Age: 17.

Misaka Hana-Age: 14.

Out of all Touma's future children, there is one that is the oldest and most surprising. Mainly due to the fact that the oldest is only the oldest by circumstances. And trust me, no one would ever guess who the mother of the oldest is. Literally no one.

Now that we're done with all that, you know what to do. Scroll away!

---

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index. All rights are reserved to Kazuma Kamachi. I'm surprised I'm even uploading right now. Been dead tired with my duties of opening a dog themed deli. Too tired to even crack open the good old laptop! Yet not tired enough to play some Stardew Valley.

Fun game, and relaxing when you're too tired for action. I will say this though; I am unhappy that I can not form a relationship with the house wives.

. . .What? Don't stare at me like that! You all have your fetishes, leave me to mine! Stop staring at me like I'm traaaaassssshhhhh!

---

Chapter 7: Unheard Wishes.

Clashing_Limits.

---

Between The Lines 3.

It was on a rainy night, raging with clashing thunder streaks across the globe, that Mila had meet her new friend. The very friend that would save a young girl from suffocating beneath a sea of utter sorrow.

It had been strange. Academy City was highly advanced, to the point they could predict the weather months ahead of schedule in thanks to the super computer that orbited in space, Orihime-I. If the weather forecaster said their would be sun, their would be sun. If there was rain, there was rain. Simple as that. Even if said forecasts had been off a bit since Orihime-I had mysteriously gone down this month, they were still able to predict the weather within a high percentage of success. Like the weather of that day, cloudy with some sun, and no chance of rain. A cool night with a view of the moon was what awaited those beneath Academy City's sky.

And yet it had rained that night. Not just rain, but a monstrous thunderstorm had come down upon them, sending bolt after bolt to strike the city along with other parts of the world. That was the strange part, the thunderstorm had struck not just Academy City as a whole, but parts of England, Asia, Japan, and the west. It was unlike any other storm anyone had ever seen. She couldn't help but feel. . .haunted by the memory of it.

Despite how strange it was, it was the night she had met him in the soaking rain with a sky crawling with lightning.

It was as Mila had been walking back from the convenience store. Honestly, it was suppose to be her last night in this wretched city. Why, you would ask? Simple.

Mila had been planning on killing herself.

Suicide.

Yes, it was a rather chilling revelation. A girl so young with such a bright future ahead of her was planning on cutting that life short with an overdose of sleeping medicine. Dramatic, no? But she had seen no other purpose to live in this world that called her worthless. As a Zero, what worth did she hold? Especially when the family she had worked so hard to impress had abandoned her.

It had been four years ago that Mila had learned that the parents that had sworn to love her with all their hearts, had stopped contacting her. Her weekly allowance had been cut off. None of her calls reached them. The city had officially recognized her as a Child Error, a child abandoned to fend for herself in the city that had measured her with no power, yet still refused to allow her to leave. When she had first learned of her abandonment, Mila had cried. She had cried for days, pleading to the god that had abandoned this city to bring her back her parents. All she wanted was to be loved. That was all she had ever wanted! It was the whole reason she had gone to this city, to earn her parents love and finally be embraced as their only, loving daughter! As the darling twinkle in their eyes!

That deep sorrow had eventually turned to anger. Hatred, rage, and disgust. She felt nothing but contempt, but not at the father and mother who tossed her away, but at the city that had caused them to stop loving her. Yes, it was Academy City and their Power Curriculum's fault that they had abandoned her. It was them that had labeled her as a zero. It was all their fault!

With that revelation, Mila had grown to hate the city that had raised her with the label of 0. She had tried to leave, but it was far too late. She was now property of Academy City, however worthless she may be. Leaving was not a freedom or right for her. So, she spent the next few years stewing with that anger, skipping out on classes, having to learn how to fend for herself as a zero with no ability, and spiting the very foundation that nurtured her lack of abilities with false promises and hope. You would think that a girl like her would eventually get over that hatred, growing to cast it aside and try to live her life as well as she could, maybe even make a life life for herself with her own friends and family that actually cared for her.

Hatred though was a deep emotion. One that would only grow stronger and more potent with time. Sadly Mila had allowed that hatred to take control of her life, causing her to push away anyone that had hoped to bring her out of that toxic emotion. And that was how she had lived her life.

One could say that she would slowly grow out of it. She was just a child after all. In time, she would eventually see how childish she was to hang on to such hate. In fact, the last year she had begun to question said anger. Was it really this city's fault for her worthlessness? Was that number they planted on her really the reason she had been abandoned?

Mila could have become a normal girl. But life was made of could haves and would haves.

That very week, Mila had gathered the courage to look up what had become of her family. Since her parents had abandoned her, she had been too heartbroken to reach out to them, not after she could no longer contact them. She had wondered if there was any news of the father and mother who had once loved her.

Soleil Etoile. The sun at the center of her parents world. The little sister she didn't know existed. And the replacement for the forgotten star the Etoile family had forgotten.

The young seven year old had been born a year after Mila had been shipped to Academy City. To make up for the failure that was their daughter, her parents had replaced her with another daughter. One they had properly raised, groomed, and nurtured to be the perfect child they could proudly display to the world. The moment said little sun had proved how gifted she was at the age of four, Mila's parents had officially shunned their older daughter, cutting off her allowance, and dumped her to the world that had proved to them that she was just a waste of time and resources.

The second Mila had finished reading the glowing, warm, and loving article speaking of the love and affection the Etoile family spoke of for their one and only daughter, was the second her heart had been completely devoured by despair. There was no longer hate, just utter despair. An abyss of ever dragging sorrow had reached its countless hands to pull her into the dark pit of heart break.

Mila had been replaced. Forgotten. Abandoned. Thrown away. By the parents she had once believed would love her.

The forgotten star had collapsed. It had lost its light and will to live.

That despair had drove her to end her life that day. Nothing anyone could say or do would stop her from acting on that deep sorrow. The cloudy, raining night had fit for her last night in this unfair world. At least the sky would shed a drop at her death.

But than as Mila had walked back to her dorm, she had come across an odd sight. She found a dumpster by her dorm with a pair of feet comically popping out and twitching. She had nearly doubled over in laughter, especially as the owner of said feet had jumped out, covered in trash. Upon meeting the boy, she couldn't help but be memorized by the boy's eyes.

They were blue, an ocean blue that captivated her. The boy wore a simple white suit with golden lines running straight down with a golden collar, dark brown loafers, and white pants. The boy had had a kind pale face, his pale blond hair straight and falling to his neck. The very sight of the boy was like a beam of light that fell from the sky onto this dark and dreary world.

Arden. The pale blond haired boy's name was Arden. He didn't give her his family name, saying he wanted to be addressed by his first even though they had just met. He was a kind, comforting boy who had shone bright on that dark, dreary night that rained thunder.

Arden, the boy who had saved her life and showed her how to take revenge upon this corrupt world of facts and numbers.

On that very night, the boy Arden had shown her the weakness in Academy City's precious system that guarded their secrets; the strange thunderstorm had given them the chance to break through as for the first time ever its security systems had gone down. She wasn't sure how, but the pale blond boy had wormed himself into the system without the use of technology. It was almost like magic.

Mila had found herself trusting Arden, working alongside him on her plan to payback Academy City for labeling her as a zero, for the downfall of her life. With him by her side, she had learned of the Level Upper System; the facility the researchers had hide its remnants to further improve and develop it; and how she could use it to repay the city for all the hard work it had invested in their property.

Within the deep center of the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor, surrounded by walls of steel pipes, and a staircase that lead deeper and deeper to the hidden vault that held the research of the Level Upper System, Mila smiled brightly, a pleased hum on her lips as she ventured deeper below. She had left the Skill-Out gang, Gunners to guard the entrance and await Deadlock on his return. The mercenary had accomplished his end of the bargain, having captured Dr. Tatsumi. As the one in charge of the facility, the good doctor was apparently the only one who had access to the vault. The doctor himself was also the head researcher of Level Upper, having redesigned its original purpose using several other classified projects.

Mila felt some sympathy for the family man. From what she had learned of her search of the classified files of Level Upper, Dr. Tatsumi was a Level 0 who wished to create a method of aiding Level 0s to gain a Personal Reality. It was for people like her that he had worked himself tirelessly for a better future for. Unlike the other researchers that prodded her body for an inch of development in her System Scans, he actually cared and thought of doing more than give Level 0s words of encouragement. He was a good man who understood the pain of being labeled as One With No Power.

But Dr. Tatsumi was too late to be of any help to anyone. His research had failed to do any Level 0 any good. It was far too late to save her. That innocent wish of hers could no longer be granted.

Mila had a new wish. And unlike before, she would realize it with her own hands. No matter the cost.

Reaching the end of the stairwell, Mila found herself at the very bottom level. After making her way through a cooling tower and a few other stops, she found herself in a room filled with various measuring devices for the levels of radiation, water pressure, and power. It was one of many that helped to control the levels of the plant. But this one was special. Walking over to the control center of the room, she typed in a few key phrases into the login screen, ones that had a special effect to the room. Behind her, the wall of computers began to slide away, revealing a hidden wall. The wall was simple in design, made of cold steel, smooth, and only having a hand imprint lock on its surface. It was more than just reading the divots in a hand though, it could only accept both the hands imprint and blood. Unless they had the man's hand, it would not budge. No amount of hacking could bypass the security measure.

That was no longer a problem though. Now that she had Dr. Tatsumi, she could move onto the next stage of her plan. Reaching for her cell to call her new friend to help finalize the last stage of her master plan, she found a certain wallet she had swiped falling onto the steel floor. Upon falling, the wallet opened to reveal to her the spiky haired Level 0 she had bumped into earlier. For a moment, her eyes locked with the face of the random high school boy she had met hours ago. She grew silent, scowling softly as his words echoed in her head.

'Because in the end, it really doesn't matter!'

Why now? Why now was that boy's words coming to mind? When Mila was ready to achieve what her heart of hearts desired, why now did that plain looking zero's words and face pop into her head"

Was it. . .doubt? No, she shook her head furiously with a scoff. Such a thing no longer resided in her heart. She's was more than ready to plunge this city, even the innocents, to the flames of her vengeance.

Carefully picking the wallet up, Mila dusted it off and gazed softly at the boy's face. For whatever reason, she couldn't bring herself to toss the weathered wallet aside like trash. It was. . .kinda magnetic.

'Kamijou Touma. You seemed. . .like such a bright person. When I look at you, I can't help but feel as if I missed out on something. . .special.'

---

The distance from the run down convenient store to the main nuclear reactor in District 10 was no easy feat, especially when the party of Angela, Toka, Hamazura, and a knocked out Hana were on foot. Meaning that it would take them hours to reach the plant. They would be lucky to catch the end of whatever was being plotted. It would be all for nothing.

Luckily for them, a certain dirty blond delinquent knew how to both hot-wire a car and drive said car. By a stroke of fortune, the car Hamazura had found was still in just barely working order. With a proper form of transportation, he had been forced to drive the girls and unconscious Esper to the center of all the chaos plaguing District 10. Something he really didn't want to be apart of. But he did gain some important information that had sent along to Hanzou.

If all went well, than Komaba would make it to the reactor too. The boss would surely bring an end to all this. Or at least save him from the two nuns. What the hell were nuns even doing in Academy City? This city was as godless as they came!

Thankfully, they were kind enough to treat his wounds. He wasn't sure how, but they were able to heal the damage done by the unconscious electromaster sitting in the back of the small car. The raven haired nun had used some weird light to wash over his wounds, mending the burned flesh and bruised skin. At the time he was in too much pain to question it, but he couldn't help but be curious now as they past the streets of District 10.

Most of the fighting had seemed to have died down. It was depressing to drive through the streets, finding the normally abandoned buildings damaged by the fighting of Skill-Outs many factions. He saw bodies from all the factions, even his own, strewn about the streets, wounded, unconscious, or worse. Even those who were still fighting looked to have grown tired, dropping their weapons and falling over from exhaustion. Their grudges could only last so long. They didn't bother to get in the way of the lone worn down yellow car making its way past them.

All this had happened because a few factions had attacked the other. It had gone to the point the fighting had broken out in The Food Stand Spire, a mutual ground where all the factions set aside their differences. The broken trust had caused a chain of reactions, creating tension that infected all the gangs to turn their guns on another. A literal war had raged in the streets. And for what? Control of District 10? Was something like that really worth this? Was that all there was to it?

Hamazura had gone silent as he had watched the red suited boy take away the scientist he had never met, left to listen to the boy go on about how they were using all the fighting as a cover for a much bigger plot. Did that mean they were just fodder? That all this was just part of someone's elaborate plan? That they were just disposable pieces to someone's chess game?

The dirty blond found his grip on the steering wheel tightening. His eyes furrowed deeply, feeling a fury grow in the pit of his stomach.

Did that mean, the people who had welcomed this worthless delinquent had died as part of someone's selfish plan?

"God damn mother fuckers!"

His cursing had startled the raven haired nun resting in the back. He couldn't help the outburst. It was only now that he was learning that this entire wave of violence that had consumed his home was all part of someone's plans for some shady goal he didn't even know of. Oh, now he was actually glad that he had been dragged along. If he could even get one good hit back at the son of bitch responsible for all this, he would be happy.

The unruly haired high school girl sitting in the front seat beside him gave Hamazura a curious glance. Like the rest, she was taking the time to rest for the big fight ahead. He wasn't sure what she could possible do, but he had seen her beat down an Esper who controlled lightning like a puppet master.

"Are you alright, Hamazura-san?"

Hamazura nodded stiffly.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just coming to terms with all this crap. I'll be even better if I can take a crack at the bastard who's responsible for all this shit."

The gruff response was enough to bring a smile to Toka's tired face. Seeing the man by her side, face now determined and fierce, certainly brought the painted picture in her mind to life.

Hamazura Shiage, The Trickster, The Tactful Zero, The One Favored By Fortune, The Hidden King, The One Who Defies Reason. A normal human who, when compared to the two heroes of the future, was truly the only who had no powers or abilities to speak for. And yet, time and time again, that regular human had turned the tables against the forces that meant to harm the people he loved. The true zero, luck seemed to have a thing for him, aiding him to allow him to defeat opponents who would normally stomp him to the ground with no effort. In time, he would prove to be a true threat to those who dared to cross his path.

The present Hamazura Shiage though appeared to be far from that person she had heard tales of. She seemed to have met him before he began his journey to become the hero he would be destined to be. It was nice to meet that hero before his tale began; it went to show how even some common thug could show he had the makings of someone great.

Resting back against the passenger's seat, Toka released a long sigh. There was still much to do and more trouble ahead of them. Thankfully Angela had applied some simple healing magic to mend her wounds, otherwise she would be groaning from the number her sparking little brother had done to her. Some time off her feet was really what she needed right now.

'I wonder how Tou-san's doing?' Now that she could think for a moment without imminent danger in her face, Toka couldn't help her thoughts from straying to a certain unlucky high school boy. She grimaced, recalling bits of how she had treated him while under the effects of the curse. Her right fist clenched tightly, hating herself for allowing that Magic God to cloud her love for her hero. Once again, The God of Ruin had brought her nothing but suffering.

'Not again, I won't allow myself to allow my weakness to bring him misfortune. I didn't cross through time itself to just be another burden for him to shoulder either. This time, I'll save him.'

Kamijou Touma had saved the day more than any human should be capable of. One could say that it was his job once he had decided to wander the world by himself, focusing solely on resolving whatever conflicts would arise wherever he visited. He had placed the sole responsibility of the worlds troubles on his shoulders, believing that he could no longer remain just your average, normal, man. Not after the events that had changed her father to be the man he was in the future.

Toka, like many of her siblings, was left in the dark of the story that would come to change that normal high school boy's way of living. The fallout of the story was the reason why Kamijou Touma had decided to never remain in one place for too long, to never settle down with a happy family he had once dreamed of, to never stand to watch the children he had fathered grow up with smiles on their faces. It was the reason he wished to vainly make up for the apparent loss of A World of Smiles. And perhaps it was the reason he had burdened himself with the title he had hated so much; Hero.

The Hero would always come to the rescue. But when that Hero was in danger himself, who would save him? When he refused to show his own pain and suffering, how could anyone ever come to his rescue if he wouldn't dare as much utter a single cry for help to the loving arms of the people he always turned his back to? The burden of Hero had come to cripple him in time, leaving him to eventually lose the strength to fight that demonic Magic God in his final moments.

Well, not this time. While others had journeyed to the past to help their father grow stronger to defeat The God of Ruin, Toka had come with her own plan in mind. To help lessen that burden on his shoulders, so he could finally relax and live the life he had always asked for. The simple, normal, average life that he truly deserved.

Toka wasn't an all powerful Esper. She didn't understand Magic, nor could she perform it. She was no Gemstone. And she didn't wield some legendary weapon to combat against godly forces. She was like her father, just an average girl. The only thing that she could attribute to as a gift would be her reflexes, something she liked to believe she had inherited from her father that were reminiscent of Precognition; a naturally born sixth sense to danger.

Her lack of any real power did little to discourage her though. Toka would still clench her fists. Just as her father had done many, many times before. Even now, she was positive Touma was suffering under the title of hero, most likely running towards the center of all the chaos, tired, beaten, wounded, and still fighting.

'This time, you'll be facing my back, Tou-san. So, please, don't push yourself anymore than you've already have. I don't want the real first meeting with you to be to your broken body.'

Toka had seen that image before, if only once. To the sight of her beloved father, her role model, standing triumphantly over the shattered illusion of a lost soul. His body was stained in red blotches, his skin torn apart, his face bruised, with his right arm broken in several place. And despite it all, Touma wore a proud smile, happy he had once again saved the world belonging to one stranger.

Eyes narrowing, Toka swore to herself that she wouldn't have to see that again. Not this time.

---

"Here we are."

After nearly half an hour, the party consisting of Hamazura, Toka, Angela, and Index had reached District 10's main nuclear reactor, The Hoshi Nuclear Reactor Facility. Carefully resting the still unconscious Hana in the back seat, the three stepped out. True to its title as the main reactor, the facility was large and towered over them, displaying a long reaching shadow thanks to the sun's position overhead. The facility was composed of several rectangular gray buildings at the center, with several cooling towers continuously bellowing clouds of water vapor. At the front of the facility was a security clearance gate, meant to clear all those who entered and stop any unwanted attention or threats from breaching their security. And ahead of that was a flight of stairs that lead up to the entrance of the main building.

But the scene they had found betrayed the expectations of the security force meant to maintain control. The security gate was completely destroyed, seeming to have suffered under some kind of unstoppable force plowing right through it like a wrecking ball. As they passed the remains of the gate, they walked in to discover a blood stained scene.

At the front of the building, they found countless Skill-Outs and security personnel strewn about, covered in wounds, unresponsive in the after math of the fighting that had taken place. Bullet shells, empty fire arms, knives, rubble, and plenty of blood stained the ground. It was hard to say from just a look who was alive and who was still breathing.

Angela held her hand over her mouth, finding herself taken back by the bloodshed. The scene was just horrific. She shut her eyes, swallowing the grief of all those who have perished in pointless violence before walking ahead of the group to the nearest poor soul being welcomed to god's embrace.

"Oi, what the hell are you doing?!" Hamazura scowled, watching the dark haired nun kneel down over some random corpse.

"She's offering up a prayer, helping the poor soul to better pass on to the next life." Index remarked solemnly before following Angela's lead.

Hamazura stared at the two nuns in disbelief. Right, he almost forgot what nuns actually did. There was no need for such things here in Academy City; a city devoid of religion or gods teachings. If you were dead, you were dead. End of story. Actually seeing what those who followed the word of some make believe entity was kinda weird. It seemed pointless to waste one's time with a pile of dead flesh.

It was a strange thing to see, but Hamazura couldn't bring himself to stop them. Maybe this was a way to deal with grief? Even he couldn't help but feel bad for all those who died. Seeing all the dead bodies laying around brought a bitter taste to his mouth. The cold reality of the situation wasn't so pleasant to accept. In the end, all those who had died had died for nothing to gain.

'Maybe this is why people fool themselves to follow religion. To find some warm comfort in an illusion than from the cruel, cold, stern world of science.'

Believing that those who had died here would pass on to another life, a world where all their troubles were washed away, where their sins and mistakes were forgiven, and could finally rest in peace with those they had lost before them, was certainly more pleasant than the truth they all just rotted away in the dirt.

It was because of that, that Hamazura had decided to let the two nuns lay to rest those who had passed in the fighting created by some unknown party for their own selfish plans. His silence was its own prayer.

"Pffft!W-What the hell are you two bitches doing?! Are you actually offering them prayers, or some shit!? Man, cosplayer's these days really get into it, huh?"

A cruel, vicious, voice laughed at the sight of two of god's follower's lay to rest the blood painted flesh on the street of the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor. Hamazura tensed, his hand going for the handgun he had picked up earlier as his eyes moved to the steps of the entrance of the security gate. He grit his teeth at the sight of six Skill-Outs wearing bullet proof vests over jackets and armored helmets with the initials GNRS. Walking in the middle of the rifled armed thugs was the leader of the gang; a teen wearing stolen Anti-Skill armor over a torn red leather jacket and soccer kleets. The teen's hair was dyed black and yellow, split down the middle of his shoulder length hair that was parted to leave his forehead free. His stormy dark eyes gazed at the two nuns standing over a dead security guard with a twisted grin and a tapping revolver against his thigh.

The grin on the Skill-Out leader's face grew wider as he found the glaring eyes of the nuns meet him back.

"Aren't you girls cute? Especially the silver haired one! The dark haired nun's got a decent pair of tits under that robe, but I've always had a thing for those girl's younger than me! Hey, how'd you sweeties wander over here of all places? It's dangerous, don't ya know?" the leader smirked, his tongue poking out to gloss over his lips, "It's your lucky day though. Why? Because Dangan-kun here will take care of you. I'm sure the boys would like to have you girls come in for some. . .fun."

"Come in for some 'fun'? Isn't that as cliché as a thug can get."

"That's Dangan for ya, always chasing after skirts with a gun on hand. I'm surprised they haven't locked your ass up yet, ya fucking creep."

The right brow of the yellow/black haired Skill-Out thug twitched. For a moment said eyes were suddenly gleeful, spying an unruly haired high school girl walk out from the side's of his vision in tattered clothes that were begging to be fully ripped apart for his leering eyes. But than he sneered, finding a shaggy head of dirty blond hair stepping into his view with a loaded pistol aimed for him.

"Hamazura, what the fuck are you doing here?" Dangan hissed as he raised his right hand, alerting the six thugs beside him to lift their guns.

Hamazura spat to the side, sneering back at the Skill-Out leader with disgust.

Dangan Chishi; Skill-Out leader of The Gunner's. A gang of Level 0s who specialized in firearms and one of the main contributors to selling firearms in District 10. The Gunners were notorious for their bloody methods of dealing with Espers, no matter if they harassed Level 0s or not. It wasn't just Espers they targeted; Anti-Skill officers, teachers, students, even fellow Level 0s; they were all targets in their eyes. In a city of science where students could learn to develop abilities of supernatural phenomenon, the gang of Level 0s believed that they could make up for their lack of ability with something just as deadly. Bullets.

And at the top of the gang was a cruel, sick, trigger happy delinquent known as Dangan Chishi. When one thought of a delinquent, one would think of a foul mouthed, dumb, Level 0 who skulked in the shadows of alleys for a lone girl on their way home. That was Dangan, a cliché of a delinquent. Except for one crucial bit. Dangan was no idiot, he was clever. As the main dealer of weapons of all kinds in District 10, he had a monopoly over the streets with his cold blooded tactics and business savvy. If it weren't for his frequent cussing, perverse nature, and hair style, you would think he was a business major.

The black and yellow haired leader was a force to be reckoned with. He ran his gang like a militia, unlike the other gangs in Skill-Out. Dangan ruled with order and smoking shells over his territory. If it weren't for the fact that his gang only cared for more their piece of territory in District 10, it was believed that he could take over the streets.

One of Skill-Outs Top Dogs stood at the entrance to the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor. One that even Komaba wouldn't dare to take on recklessly.

Yet lowly little Hamazura aimed his gun at the revolver wielding delinquent with a sneer.

"So, you're part of this too? Don't tell me you gunheads are acting as security for the bastard who turned this place into a warzone. Of all the leaders of Skill-Out not affiliated with Komaba, I would have never thought that the Gunners would act as lapdogs to anyone else. I thought you were more prideful than that." Hamazura frowned.

The Gunners didn't cooperate with any of the gangs in District 10. There were partnerships, alliances, and deals made with other gangs, but the Gunners never involved themselves in such matters. They were a tight knit group that followed Dangan like well mannered soldiers and followed his orders to a T. They would only ever interact with other Level 0s as either dealers or hired guns. To see the leader of such a gang work with anyone was baffling. And alarming.

Dangan smirked, seeming to come to an understanding.

"Oh? You seem to know a little more than you should, Hamazura. It seems to me that you're under the assumption that all this fighting is the work of some outside party. Even stranger, you're here of all places in District 10; with a gun aimed between my eyes. Why, oh why, would some idiot like you waltz in where no thug would think to enter?"

When compared to the many other faction leaders of Skill-Out other than Komaba, Dangan was the smartest of all the bunch. The sharpest blade of all the thugs labeled as Ones With No Power. It didn't take him any time at all to come to the conclusion that Hamazura was here for more than just a tour of the nuclear site.

"Honestly? The only reason I'm here is because I've found myself dragged along by a couple of girls who think they can play hero out in the streets of gang territory." Hamazura stated bluntly. The comment got him a huffing glare from Toka, to which he rolled his eyes. "But if I were to have any other reason to be here other than running away, it would be to take back the Skill-Out name. We've had enough of you fake Skill-Out bastards running around the streets, fucking up everything up to the point of starting a damn gang war! Plus, now that I see you here, it's become kinda personal." Hamazura viciously grinned.

He still remembered the scene that triggered the first official response from Skill-Out; the sight of finding several of his comrades in a bullet riddled alley like blood soaked chunks of swiss cheese. Corpses full of holes like they were used as dummies by trigger crazed gun fanatics. A common calling card of the Gunner's victims.

The bastard was either the one directly responsible for the death of his friends, or the reason.

"You've been hitting up our boys, haven't ya, you fuck!"

A maniac grin spread across Dangan's face. That was all the confirmation Hamazura needed as he fixed the aim of his gun onto the trigger happy Skill-Out leader.

Dangan waggled his finger with a disappointed tsk at the action, "Are you stupid? Wait, you are. I mean, even you should realize that you're surrounded by a shitload of guns. I count," the Gunner leader mused playfully, bobbing his head as if he was mentally counting, "About. . .fourteen guns aimed to slaughter you's at the drop of my hand."

A sick lump grew in Hamazura's stomach.

'Fourteen? But I only see seven.'

A haunting sound brought Hamazura's eyes back to the kneeling nuns over a Skill-Out grunt. The click of a handgun. The shaggy blond's breath got caught in his throat as he looked over to find the raven haired nun's stunned eyes staring back at him. . .with a standard Anti-Skill pistol pressed against the side of her face. Courtesy of the supposed dead Skill-Out grunt she had been caring for. The older holy sister was frozen still by the action, unable to even glance at the cruelly smirking delinquent who seemed to be more than ready to pull the trigger at the drop of a pin.

The Skill-Out corpse wasn't the only one to be playing possum. Rising up from the pile of corpses littered among the front entrance to the Hoshi Reactor, six other Gunner's stood back up with guns trained on Hamazura and the girls. Fourteen barrels, all loaded with skull piercing rounds, now cornered the three intruders like pigs in a slaughter house.

Seeing the completely shocked expressions on the faces of his targets, Dangan couldn't help but sigh dramatically. Honestly, what did they expect? Did these idiots really believe it would be so easy to step into an overrun facility? Didn't they think it had been odd that there had been no one standing guard, or strange that a barricade hadn't been formed to stop anyone from entering? Anyone could see that it had been a set up.

Mila had said that despite having taking control of the building, they had to take caution and guard the entrance. Apparently she had gotten word of a small unknown party that might cause them trouble; a hint that she had been handed by the silent and menacing red suited mercenary, Deadlock. So, Dangan had set up a little trap. It was common for any normal person to turn their eyes from corpses, no one would think twice about getting near one. Hiding a few of his men among the dead, Dangan had planned to lure them into an ambush and, after relaying what the intruders looked like to Deadlock over his mic, would then proceed to either shoot them down or pass.

He wasn't sure why, but Deadlock had informed Dangan to notify him if the intruder that would come by had spiky black hair, a plain face, and was covered in burns. Other than the burns on the mystery man, the Gunner's leader didn't have much to go on. He did get a name though.

If one Kamijou Touma found his way here, no matter what, they were to allow the boy to enter without a fight. This was a secret order, one that Mila, their boss, didn't even know about. And if Dangan were to so much as scratch this Kamijou Touma, Deadlock himself would show him what exactly would happen to a human body when stabbed in the chest with a pile bunker and detonated.

None of the three cornered by Gunner's fit the description. Just two nuns, and a common delinquent under Komaba Ritoku's command. Which of course meant Dangan was more than free to eliminate the intruders.

Dangan smirked mischievously with his eyes falling solely on the two nuns. Well, eliminate one. He was positive no one would mind if he indulged in a vice or two.

"I'm not sure what your plan was for infiltrating this place with nuns of all people watching your six, but whatever it was, it ends here. I have no reason to speak to you any longer than I am, you're just another coward hiding behind the big, bad, Komaba's shadow for protection. Just a common Level 0 who thinks they should uphold some kind of honor and rules in a lawless district. Really, who the fuck are you righteous dumb asses kidding?" Dangan snorted before his leering eyes returned to Angela and Index, "It's because of that gorilla faced idiot that we can't even have any fun with those lower Level Espers! I mean, come one! After all the crap they put us Level 0s through, don't you think it's fair that we have our own just desserts? If some fire chucking chick attacks us, can't I enjoy myself with that arrogant bitches mouthy lips; I got to shut her up somehow! Why not make it fun!?"

It was Komaba Ritoku who had forbid prostitution, drug dealing, and other twisted crimes from taking place in District 10. It was an iron clad rule. Breaking it in any way would see the full, personal wrath of the leader among a majority of Skill-Out. Even those not affiliated with Komaba were warned that if he were to catch wind of such activity in his streets, he would bring the full force of his authority and power down on them. Only a few factions had ever dared to test him. Those factions no longer existed.

The most vocal about his displeasure and all but contempt of said rules was Dangan. The leader of the Gunners was a degenerate, he knew that. What did they expect from a thug? Of course he wanted to abuse his authority and command to have his way with whatever pretty girls he laid eyes on. He wasn't a criminal for nothing. They all were! And yet, that righteous bastard forbid them from acting like criminals because they were apparently better than that? What horse shit! They stole, they killed, they kidnapped, they harassed, and threatened! Yet things such as molestation and drug dealing were no-no's? How did that make sense?!

Such rules were annoying and unfair. So, of course Dangan regularly broke them in the shadows of darkness. And many knew that. But where was the proof? Komaba couldn't just storm his territory on speculation and rumors alone. The thug was too righteous for his own good, not to mention such an attack would cause a war between the two factions. Dangan was always careful to never leave any witnesses when he had his fill. It was amazing what some drugs, recordings, and bullets could let you get away with.

But such rules really didn't matter now, did they? The streets were full of Skill-Out factions fighting another, all thanks to Mila's manipulations. Not even Komaba could quell all the chaos. Which meant Dangan could freely indulge in his fun ventures with whatever girls he pleased.

'Y-You. . .fucking piece of shit!'

Hamazura's expression was livid with repulsive anger. He, like many other Skill-Outs, knew of Dangan's habit of sexually abusing girls. It didn't even matter if they had abilities, that sick bastard would have his way with whoever caught his fancy. But thanks to this loyal followers, his crimes were always cleaned up without any evidence. Those who suffered at his hands were either dead, or fallen silent due to blackmail. After all, what girl would say anything when the bastard could easily upload their shame, with some edits, to the internet for all to see?

Without a doubt, the Gunner's leader was the worst of the bunch. And now he had his twisted heart set on Angela and Index.

"If you so much as touch them, I'LL FUCKING-!"

"What? Kill me?" Dangan said flatly before stepping down the steps to met the raging shaggy blond, face to face, "I know you're not that stupid, Hamazura. Take a look around you. I say the word, you die. There are no Ifs, no Buts, no Maybes; you're dead. D. E. A. D. Fucking, DEAD. The girls on the other hand," Dangan grinned cruelly, causing Index's face to go white and tremble in fear, "I'll keep safe. The high school chick can be dropped off as an offering to my boys for all their hard work, but the Sisters are mine! I always fantasized about being blown by nuns after all!" he laughed perversely.

The situation was hopeless. With so many guns locked onto them, it was impossible to so much as dodge one bullet. At a single gesture, Hamazura was dead. And the girls, a fate that some would say was worse than death. Even Toka, who wished more than anything to charge ahead and break Dangan's face in, found herself trembling in fear of the sick grin on the black/blond leader's leering face. Despite facing off with an Esper/Magician hybrid a half hour ago, not even her natural born reflexes could save her from a storm of bullets from all directions.

They were all gripped by a sick sense of anxiety and fear. But among those four, one of them was strangely quiet.

Angela's face was calm, betraying no other emotion other than a peaceful serenity as she held an odd stone tablet no bigger than the size of her palm in her right hand. The tablet seemed brittle, as if if the slightest of pressure could shatter it into pieces and was engraved with Hebrew writing. The writing on the tablet began to glow with a soft, brilliant light, catching Dangan's attention. The Gunner's leader scowled in suspicion. Was the nun an ability user?

"As God's Loyal Subject, I Offer My Faith and Purity To Thy Lord! I Call Upon The Ten Sayings of God; Decalogue, Commandment #6: Though Shall Not Kill!"

A mystifying pulse of light blue energy expanded from Angela's body, spreading far and wide among those around her. Dangan grew startled at the strange light harmlessly passing his body. What the hell was that?! Was that an ability? If so, what did it do? The Gunner leader began to feel around his body, searching for some kind of effect the light had done to him.

"Hamazura! Shoot to harm, not kill! Trust me!"

Panic struck Dangan, cursing as he realized he dropped his guard for a moment. Forgetting whatever the raven haired nun had done, he set his revolver's sights back onto Hamazura as the shaggy blond fired a single shot. The bullet pierced Dangan's left shoulder, releasing a gushing spurt of red that nearly dropped him to his knees.

"FUUUUUUUCCCCKKKK!"

A seething fury consumed Dangan's being. That fucking, useless, pathetic, coward of a Level 0! He was dead!

"STOP STANDING THERE LIKE RETARDS, AND KILL HIM ALREADY!" Dangan roared with a red face.

Snapped out of their stupors, the fourteen Gunners didn't waste another second and pulled their triggers, all aim focused directly on the sweating blond delinquent.

But the moment the fingers of those grunts squeezed the trigger, they were all struck down by a powerful force of nature that shouldn't have been possible on such a cloudless day.

White lightning fell directly from the sky like a pure sparking strand. Fourteen strands dropped onto the Gunners in straight thin lines, causing them all to convulse on the spot. Despite lightning hitting the delinquents, no burns could be seen forming on their skin as they all wordlessly screamed. The rifles in their hands fell to the ground, untouched by the lightning as the Gunner grunts followed in suite.

Both Dangan and Hamazura gaped at the sheer absurdity they had witnessed. Lightning, of all things, fell down from the sky like hammers. What the hell was that about! How did that even happen? Snapping out of it, Dangan took advantage of Hamazura's own shock to pistol whip the blond viciously. Hamazura nearly blacked out as the blow struck the side of his head, sending him falling back from the Gunner's leader with a bloody bruise as he groaned weakly.

The only ones to understand what happened were Toka and Index. Toka by now knew when something Magic related occurred, she had learned enough from traveling alongside a woman who was a literal index of magic. And as a devote Christian and the holder of thousands of grimoires, Index knew exactly what had happened and why.

"Divine Punishment." Index whispered in awe, having analyzed the effects and spell quickly. Even after seeing it once, she had broken down the new spell, one that was heavily influenced by the church, "Ten Sayings, Decalogue, Commandment #6. The spell is based on one of The Ten Commandments handed down by God to Moses. By enacting the spell, it creates a wide range of God's Law that can't be broken. To do so will call down Divine Punishment onto those who break the law in the area of effect."

Such a spell radiated an insane amount of magic to pull off. Any normal magician would be down to their knees in exhaustion after casting it. And yet Angela only displayed a light gasp, as if she had just gone for a light jog. One would need to have to have a magic reserve comparable to a. . .

Index's eyes slowly grew wide in realization.

The serene presence. The holy aura she had just displayed. The lack of fear of being surrounded by guns that would kill any normal human, Esper, and Magician. And the fact she had cast a spell that only those who were of pure status and divinity could ever hope to pull off. One word came to mind, one she had never thought to put together with her fellow Sister.

"Saint."

Dangan raised his revolver up with a shaken grip, locked solely now on the lightly panting raven haired nun. What he had just seen couldn't be explained with science. Could what he had just seen be called an ability?! He had dealt with enough Espers to know the tell tale signs of an ability user, enough to even spy what their attribute was. But what he had seen. . .he couldn't explain it!

"What did you do!?" Dangan spat in a mixture of anger and confusion before firing a single shot.

Unlike before though, no divine punishment struck. Not that it needed to.

Unbelievably, Angela didn't so much as flinch as she titled her head to the side. The bullet didn't so much as graze her as she glared intently at the seething delinquent leader.

To call upon a single Commandment came with limits. One of which was that only a single one could be activated at a time. The others couldn't see it, but one of the commandments written on the mini tablet that used Idol Theory to imitate the original tablet had vanished. Each commandment acted in a way to a bullet, each was one use, she had ten 'bullets', and each drained a large chunk of magic that would normally render a normal magician useless. Angela couldn't help but smile softly, having heard the amazed whisper from her future mother.

Saint, those who were born in the image of The Son of God. People who possessed super human reflexes, strength, speed, sight, and durability, among a large reservoir of mana. In this timeline, there were as many as twenty Saints roaming the earth; the most famous being Kanzaki Kaori and William Orwill. But in the future, that number had grown. Kinda.

In a way, Index was right. Angela was something akin to a Saint. She had all the characteristics that would be attributed to a Saint. But she had possessed a weakness. And she was suffering it at the moment.

Shakily, Angela stood back up on her feet, stumbling slightly as her breathing grew more heavy. She narrowed her gaze at the frustrated gang leader, her right fist cracking as she could still make out the lust in his brown eyes at the sight of her chest moving up with every breath.

Unlike the many other Saints, Angela had been born with a weak constitution; her body was weaker than others. Though her body was born similarly to that of The Son of God, it was frail none the less. Her frail body coupled with a Saint's blessed attributes created an odd balance that helped to stabilize her body like a normal persons, so long as she didn't stress the balance. Using even a fraction of her saintly strength or magic would have harmful effects. It was as if she was a cracked glass full to the brim with water. The most she could perform were healing spells and even those could be a bit draining. The entire ride over, she had been resting and recovering from healing Toka, Hamazura, and Hana's wounds. She didn't even have enough strength to heal herself. Even now, she grimaced as the wound hidden beneath her robe, dealt by Hana's tendril crossed with both Magic and AIM, had struck. To call her an honest to god Saint was a bit of a stretch.

Even so, she wouldn't fall back and run. Like Toka, like Hana, like all of her siblings, she too possessed her father's blood.

"Do you think you can just do whatever you want to girls, just because you have a gun in their face? Do you really think that you can go unpunished, under the eyes of god, for such disgusting, vile, repulsive lust?!" Angela spat.

Dangan nearly snorted with laughter despite the bullet wound. A guy like him who regularly killed with bullets knew how to grit his teeth.

"God? Aren't you taking that cosplay of yours a little too seriously? This is Academy City! God doesn't exist here! What the fuck do I have to fear? Is that imaginary friend of yours going to stop me from doing this!?"

Dangan delivered a powerful kick into Hamazura's stomach as the boy remained on the street in pain. A wheeze of pain was heard as Dangan dug his feet deeper into the Level 0's stomach.

"Get real, bitch! There's no such thing as karma, divine punishment, justice, or any of that weak shit! I can feel up your tits, I can rip off your sexy little robes, I can make you and those little friends of yours go down on your knees and suck me off, and I won't get punished! Not as long as I don't get caught. After I'm done using you girls until I'm bored, I can kill you, and suffer no consequences! The only god here to judge your fate at this moment is me!"

BAM!

A deranged grin came to Dangan's lips as he shot another bullet. But it wasn't aimed at either Hamazura or Angela.

Toka's eyes watered, fighting with all her strength not to cry out in pain as she fell onto her side from behind Dangan's back. Her left leg had been shot cleanly through, knocking her down as she had tried to launch a sneak attack on the gang leader while he had focused on her holy sister. She had failed though and suffered.

"Naughty, naughty~!" The black/blond haired Gunner leader sang with a lick of his lip, "No sneaking around, bitch! Just for that, I'm going to make you watch as I break in those two nuns. Let's see what that god of yours does then! That begs a question, doesn't it? If a girl keeps screaming, crying, sobbing for me to stop, does it count as a sound if no one hears!? Does it even count as a prayer if no one bothers to answer!?" he roared with laughter.

"You're wrong! Men like you, sinners like you, will always be punished!"

Dangan moved his head to the side, his eyes now falling on the silver haired sister who was hidden behind Angela. A vile, sick, gleeful smile grew at the sight of the pure faced maiden.

"Oh, little Sister-chan! I almost forgot about you! You seem to be a devote one, aren't ya? So young, so naive, so helpless. Yes, I think you'll be the first one. After I deal with all these idiots, I'll start with you. I'll make you beg for it at first, with a loaded gun to your friends face, and make you worship me. Don't worry though, even after I break you to a babbling mess, I'll keep you. I'll be your savior, your god, and you'll kneel before me everyday like the good little girl that you are."

Angela's expression became livid, her anger only reaching the breaking point as Dangan fantasized about the sick acts he was wishing to inflict on her mother with a moan.

"Oh~! I hope to god, you're a screamer!"

It happened in an instant.

Dangan didn't even have time to register the pain from the right fist popping into his face. The knuckles dug into his nose, crushing the cartilage and causing blood to gush out like a bursting pipeline. The inhuman speed and strength that was thrown his way sent his body flying back like a cannonball to crash against the steps leading up to the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor. The impact created a crater around Dangan along with a cloud of rubble falling around him. A gurgled groan fell out his lips as he laid in the crater, his body mangled by the pure force of a superhuman punch by a nun. It was a miracle he was still conscious.

"Consider this divine punishment."

Walking over to the crater against the steps where the Gunner laid, Angela's stared coldly at the blood face caked boy with the glowing stone tablet held in her right hand. Dangan's glared back with what little strength he still had at the nun.

"It may have been too late for others, but you will not touch a hair on that girl's head. It's true, often time prayers are not heard, for there are far too many poor souls in need of saving, but that's alright. Eventually, someone will hear their prayer. I know for a fact of one man, one normal man, without any power, who will always hear the prayer or cry of one in need."

Despite the threatening girl over him, Dangan snickered weakly.

"What are you babbling? I've done what I've done plenty of times. No one's prayers have been heard. I still got away with it!"

"But those countless prayers were heard now, and answered. The prayers wishing for you to be stopped, to be punished, were heard and answered. In the end, sinners like you will always, undoubtedly, be punished by god."

Dangan roared with laughter, spitting blood in the face of the raven nun.

"What shit! Who cares if I'm punished?! I've still broken girls, I've still killed, I've still robbed, and I've gotten away with it! You're fucking god is deaf to ignore me this long. Hell, I'm the only god to those girls and idiots I've killed! If you think a little love tap is enough punishment for all that I've done, than you're even stupider than I thought! If all that equates to punishment, WHERE IS YOUR GOD WITH HIS SENTENCE!?"

"That makes five."

Dangan blinked.

"Wha-!"

From the sky, a great shriek of blinding white lightning fell like a strand of hair to drop onto Dangan's body, delivering the long awaited Divine Punishment from above. A wordless scream of utter agony devoured every nerve of the Gunner's leader, causing his body to flail around like a rag doll. Unlike before, it didn't stop there. Four more strands of Divine Punishment were dropped like hammers, multiplying the suffering to even greater lengths. Through it all, Dangan's didn't lose consciousness.

Eventually the acts of Divine Punishment ceased. Leaving the wretched, sick, gang leader staring up into the sky with eyes wide like plates, expressing a mute agony and a soundless groan that went on and on. Even now, he wasn't allowed the grace of unconsciousness.

That made five Commandments cast and broken. Angela breathed a shaky sigh of relief as her vision grew spots. In total that made five casts of her Ten Commandments. As the Ten Sayings vanished from her mini tablet, Angela stepped back from the punished leader with a wobble in her step. Having used such powerful spells with her condition, it was a wonder she hadn't passed out. Her legs were weak though, which explained why she began to fall back.

"Angela!"

"I got her!"

Before Angela's body could hit the street, Hamazura stood back up and caught the older sister in his arms with a wince. His head was still ringing, but he shook it off as best he could as he helped Angela stand on her feet.

Angela smiled gratefully at the shaggy blond, patting the side of his head gently where his face was horribly bruised.

"Thank you, Hamazura-san."

Hamazura smiled back.

"You know, you're a lot tougher than I expected, Sister-chan."

Gaining some help to walk straight, she urged Hamazura over to Toka. She frowned sadly, her eyes locked onto the blood seeping in a puddle around the high school girl's legs. If she had acted quicker, her sister wouldn't have been injured by a perverse heathen. The brave face her younger sister was sending her was an obvious front to ease Angela's worry. The stubborn pride of refusing to reveal pain was a trait just about every child of one Kamijou Touma had in them.

Though she was suffering from exhaustion, Angela knelt down and raised her palms over the horrid gaping wound running with blood. A heavenly emerald glow coated her hands and worked to knit the flesh together before everyone's eyes.

Hamazura was dumbfounded as he watched the bullet wound crippling the unruly haired high school girl's leg begin to close up. Just what kind of Esper ability was he seeing? None of what he had seen Angela do fit any of the attributes studied in Academy City. So far, he had seen the raven holy Sister summon strands of lightning onto multiple opponents, punch a gang leader like some kind of mini superman, react quick enough to evade a bullet to the face, and heal grievous wounds. He knew he wasn't the brightest Level 0 in a district full of powerless Espers, but he was positive that not even those pompous Level 5s would be able to understand how Angela could perform such abilities through scientific means.

However Angela was doing it, Hamazura was relieved to see Toka's wound treated. As the mystic light faded away, the gaping hole in her leg was reduced to nothing more than a case of scrapped flesh. The wound wasn't fully healed, but it was better than before.

"There, you should be. . .okay to stand back up. . .Toka."

"Angela!"

The raven haired nun collapsed in front of Toka as she finished with her healing spell, falling into the worried arms of her younger sister. Toka frowned at the state of Angela, finding her sister's breathing labored, her face pale and sweaty. It was as if she had been struck by some kind of illness. Toka wasn't sure she had ever seen her sister like this.

"You okay there, uh, Angela-san?" Hamazura asked, not sure of what he should do.

Angela steadied her breathing and nodded. She didn't look so good now that he got a good look at her. She looked like even the slightest push could knock her down.

"Maybe you should rest. We've only just got here and you've already taken out like fifteen thugs. I don't know how, but you knocked them out. You should hang back and leave the rest to us-"

"NO!"

Gathering her strength, Angela stubbornly pushed herself off of her younger sister's chest with a labored breath. She was drained from the fight, the short exertion of her Saint abilities nearly bringing her to collapse like the many other poor lost souls caught in the middle of a gang war. It actually wouldn't be such a bad idea to take a break and regain her bearings. But every moment lost was another moment that they allowed this chaos to continue.

Steeling her resolve, the raven haired nun ignored her own injuries and began making her way into the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor. She didn't look back to see if the others followed.

This carnage could not be allowed to continue another second more. Those who went against god's teachings could not be allowed to go unpunished. And those cries drowned in the sea or roaring violence could not be ignored any longer! Within this building of science that opposed god's nature, the source of all this suffering calmly stood and manipulated these misguided souls to go against another. And for what? For the means of a sinner who viewed the lives of these rough, misguided lambs as nothing more than tools?

Someone had to stop this needless spread of cruelty and blood. Sadly, it didn't appear as the hero could make it in time. That was alright. Angela knew that her father was not at fault for allowing this gang war to erupt over District 10. Kamijou Touma was just a high school boy. He was not omnipotent. Not even he could be there for every tragedy. And that was fine, this world was full of other heroes too to help relieve the pressure of such a title.

At the top of the steps leading towards the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor, Angela's legs wobbled, her body still weakened from tapping into her saintly strength. She shut her eyes as her body fell back to meet the many stairs behind her.

"Damn it, be careful!"

But before the weakest Saint's body could fall and tumble down the many steps below, she felt two strong arms catch her. Weakly, she opened her eyes to the sight of an exasperated shaggy blond haired delinquent who held her as gingerly as possible against his chest. Hamazura didn't appear happy to see her pushing herself.

"Geez, what are ya? A glass cannon? If you're feeling worn out, don't go charging in like an idiot! You're going to give idiot's like me a bad name, because even I know better, Sister-chan!" Hamazura grumbled.

Helping the visibly tired ebony nun back up, Hamazura kept an arm on Angela's shoulder as Toka and Index joined them at the top. Both girls looked at Angela with worry, more so Index. The keeper of more than a thousand forbidden magical texts wasn't happy with how her fellow Sister of the cloth was running ahead without a care for her fatigued state. The attitude, the expression in her eyes, it reminded her all too well of a certain spiky haired boy.

"He's right, Angela. You shouldn't push yourself so hard! Out of all of us, you're the one most injured! You haven't even healed your own wounds yet!" Index lectured, earning the young nun a sheepish smile from the older nun.

Seriously! That kind of attitude was far too similar to Touma's!

Toka nodded in agreement, taking the chance to take Angela off of Hamazura's hands and repay the favor from before. Ignoring her older sister's protest, the unruly haired high school girl carried Angela on her back, piggy back style. She grinned back at the stubborn pout on Angela's face.

"Don't give me that look. You're always getting on all our cases since the moment you met everyone, not to run off like our father. If you didn't realize it, you were acting just like Tou-san does right now. Take a breather, Angela-onee-chan! We still got a lot more ahead of us, so don't go wasting your energy on one mini-boss!"

As much as Angela wanted to protest, she sighed reluctantly. That was all the answer Toka needed to continue on ahead with Index. She blinked, noticing someone was missing. Turning around, she found Hamazura staring away from them and scratching the back of his head.

"Hamazura-san? You coming?"

For a good few moments, Hamazura didn't say anything back, seeming to be stuck between some decision. Sighing grudgingly, he glanced back with a strained smile on his lips.

"Yeah, I'll be right ahead of you girls. I just. . .need to leave a quick message to a friend of mine. Is that alright?"

Toka frowned slightly, but found no reason to stop the blond delinquent.

"That's fine, but hurry up! We're going to go ahead and see if we can find a map of some kind. Don' t take too long!"

Waiting for the girls footsteps to fade away, Hamazura finally dropped his smile. His eyes narrowed with a cold expression adopting his face. The handgun on hand was lowered as he slowly walked back down the stairs. He stopped at the bottom at the crater where a certain black and yellow haired Gunner leader rested. Dangan's laid motionless, his eyes empty as he continued to stare at the sky. It seemed the boy was now resting, the odd ability that had been hurting him finally fading away.

Dangan was far too tired to get back up or even utter a word; let alone do a thing about the rifle picked up and pressed firmly on his forehead.

This was a Skill-Out matter. There was no need for those girls to get involved with their affairs, at least not these kind. Hamazura didn't have words to say to the scum who didn't even have the strength to defend himself as his finger felt the trigger.

This wasn't justice. It wasn't fair. It wasn't kind. It definitely wasn't the actions of a hero, or god's punishment.

BANG!

It was just another delinquent killing another delinquent.

---

Deep below the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor, beneath the great plant that created radiating energy to supply Academy City with power, there was an unknown and closed research facility that the world above did not know exist. The facility was known only to a small team of researchers and scientists, along with two board members of Academy City's Governing Board of Directors. Funded in secret, the facility studied a very important subject to the city and its Esper Development Program. What that subject was would surprise many.

Level 0s.

Despite having created Espers, human's who could manifest extraordinary psychic abilities through a phenomenon known as Personal Realities, a large majority of it's student populace were Level 0s. To be a Level 0 was to be known as One Without Power. Though they produced an AIM Dispersion Field, a psychic energy that was instrumental in discovering one's macro universe that allowed them to manifest certain abilities, Level 0s were unable to break through the final boundary of their human limits to become something more. For that reason, many of the top most researchers were puzzled.

After all the tests, drugs, and money put into all those who attended Academy City, a large majority were still unable to become anything more than Level 0s. This became a puzzle. One that only the most curious and thoughtful researchers would ever care to study into.

One of said scientist was known as Tatsumi Orochi.

Dr. Tatsumi was Japanese researcher, enrolled into Academy City at the age of sixteen when the Power Curriculum Program had just begun. He was a smart boy, having the highest scores in his region, having enough renown to catch the eye of the rising city known as Academy City. It was during his second year in high school that he had been offered to study in the much rumored city that had helped to bring Japan back from the brink of its decline after World War II. His intellect had basically demanded he accept the offer, unless he was nothing more than idiot like the others.

And so, Tatsumi had left behind his home, his family, his friends, and ventured off to study in a city that would finally challenge his great intellect. And even become more than human. To become an Esper, a human that broke through the limitations of his species onto a higher plane.

But as the Japanese genius had come to realize not even those who held the greatest intellect could become anything more than a Level 0.

For years Tatsumi had studied, taken whatever drugs the researchers would provide him, and undergone whatever tests offered to him, to aid him to break past his lowly Level and unlock his Personal Reality. Like many others though, he failed to discover his ability and remained a Level 0 into his adult years.

And like many others, he was disappointed to discover he could never become a true Esper. It was a major hit to his ego and even intellect. Idiots, delinquents, common folk, Tatsumi could understand; but him? Why? For what reason could someone of such high intelligent fail to understand how to shed his lowly Level and gain a Personal Reality?

The question bothered him greatly. Which was why he had decided to research the odd phenomenon known as Level 0. It was a Level that border lined a regular human and an Esper. A title that spoke of being powerless despite having the potential to become strong. A Level that produced AIM, an energy created by science that no other human being in the world possessed outside of Academy City; minding Gemstones, yet failed to unlock an ability that set them apart from humans.

For the next two decades, Tatsumi had researched and studied all he could about Level 0s and the procedures and factors needed to unlock one's Personal Reality. In those decades, he became Dr. Tatsumi, he found a caring woman to love, he married, and he grew a family he dearly loved in that city that announced him as powerless.

None the less, he continued his study and became a researcher who watched over the students of Academy City. That is until he caught the eye of one Academy City's Governing Board Members. He was employed as head researcher of one of the city's power plants, granted a hidden facility deep below its foundation, and given all he needed to discover how to unravel the mystery that was Level 0.

And, on one fateful day, Dr. Tatsumi was given the most valued material of research he could ever dream of.

The Level Upper System.

Created by another researcher, it was a network that connected the minds of Espers ranging from all Levels using brainwaves to link all the individuals apart of the network to, in a way, share their AIM and their Personal Realities. The Espers themselves would find that their Levels would rise, granting them in increase in power and calculations; hence the name, Level Upper. The increase in Level was truly fascinating, but what Dr. Tatsumi had found groundbreaking was what the Level Upper had done to Level 0s.

The Level Upper System had done what years of experiments had failed for many Level 0s and unlocked their Personal Realities. A Level 0 who had been designated as powerless for years suddenly found themselves gaining an ability when using Level Upper. Though it was short lived as the loss of the network had meant the loss of their ability as well, it had proven to them that they indeed had the potential to gain that momentary power beyond human.

It was thanks to the board director who had hired him to discover how to unlock a Level 0s Personal Reality, that Dr. Tatsumi had been granted all of the Level Upper's research material. He wasn't sure he had ever been more gleeful than that day.

Years and years of research poured into Levels 0s had finally paid off. Combining his own research, among several others such as The Dark May Project's copying of brainwaves onto individuals, Five_Over's reproduction of Level 5 abilities using macro engineering, and The Misaka Network's brainwave network and synergy, Dr. Tatsumi had developed a way to allow a Level 0 to breach into their full potential. Permanently.

He called it The Level Giver. A machine that shared the AIM of ability users with a Level 0 along with their brainwaves. The Level 0 apart of the experiment would all be carefully selected based on past user's ability granted to them through the Level Upper Network. If that Level 0 had displayed the potential to gain something as simple as Telekinesis, than they would have their brainwave and AIM connected alongside an Esper who also shared the same ability. Through the experiment, The Level Giver would help to unlock that ability using macro engineering technology and allow the user to retain their Personal Reality by copying pieces of the Espers brainwaves to be ingrained in their brains.

In only days, the experiment had found success. A Level 0 had gained an ability, disconnected from the network, and retained it for twenty-four hours under observations and exams. It had marked the end of Level 0s at long last.

Than the twenty-four hours of success had passed into twenty-five. Problems had arisen.

A student had lost control. A student had been swallowed by their own aim and spat out as some. . .abomination. An other worldly beast had cried in its birth. And death had stricken.

Time and time again, Dr. Tatsumi had repeated the experiment with the same results despite the initial success. Obsession for his dream had swallowed him and blinded him of the casualties of the very students he wished to help. Each time, twenty-four hours of success had dwindled until complete failure had struck quicker than before. His experiment had begun to display a dangerous hunger and posed a threat to the students of Academy City. In the end, his dream of unlocking his own ability had been shattered. The experiment was shut down.

It had only been two days since the order had been handed down. As a consolation prize for all his work and research, the board member of the Board of Governing Directors who employed him had granted him a well paying job in that very facility he had done his experiments. Dr. Tatsumi was promoted to Head Researcher of Nuclear Energy, a nice cushy job with all the benefits he could dream of that would assure that his family would live a life of comfort for years to come.

Though he had been bitter for his all his life's work going to waste, Dr. Tatsumi had grudgingly accepted the offer. After all, he wasn't the type of character to stew in his own failures. He was at least happy to be able to provide for his family. It was then that he decided to just settle with the title of 0, and decided to focus more on what should have mattered to him all this time; family.

But it seemed others weren't so happy to settle with being a Level 0.

Dr. Tatsumi bitterly tapped away at a module displaying wall of code that only he could ever understand. He sat within a large white room, set up with rows of computers fit for at most fifteen other researchers. The room was made of an egg shell white steel, a durable metal that was designed to handle the same as a nuclear bunker. Their were only two doors within the room; one leading into the facility, and the other leading out. At the front of the room, a see through window designed to be only seen out instead of both ways was set up to view whatever went on outside the room.

As the reluctant head researcher typed away, there stood two individuals responsible for his capture behind him. The red suited boy in the Queen Diver watched him like a hawk, his arms crossed and his finger tapping along the deadly pile bunker. And to Deadlock's left stood a girl, a blonde platinum haired girl of french origin, dressed in a frilly white and blue blouse, checkered skirt, who appeared out of place among the setting they were currently in.

It was that girl, Mila Etoille, that was responsible for all the violence centered in District 10. And she was the one who forced him to once again run the Level Giver's experiment. Only under a new name.

The Level Eater. An abomination born from the wish of helping Level 0s stand on the same level as those higher than them. His failed creation.

For a moment, Dr. Tatsumi paused his fingers, stopping from entering one more key as he sighed tiredly. Mila quirked a brow, moving her hand up to signal Deadlock to settle down and keep his pile bunker steady. She gestured her head to the door leading out, to the corridor that went up another level of the facility and to the elevator that was the only way down to the hidden research facility. Deadlock grudgingly got the message, nodding stiffly before going on his way to act as he was employed and stand guard. With the threatening boy out of the room, she looked back to Dr. Tatsumi with a pleasant smile.

"Is there a problem, Dr. Tatsumi?" Mila asked sweetly with narrowed eyes.

"It won't work."

"Oh? But you yourself had proven that your machine can in fact grant even the lowliest of Level 0s an ability. I've read those classified documents as well. Your marvelous invention has done the impossible, replicating The Level Uppers ability to grant Level 0s their own Personal Reality, but on a permanent basis." Leaning her head next to the cleanly combed researcher's downtrodden face, Mila looked to him with appraise in her eyes, "You did something amazing for Level 0s like myself. With your help, we could finally stop being looked down on as failures. Isn't that a good thing? So, why do you say that it will fail?"

Dr. Tatsumi looked to Mila crossly. He wasn't sure how that girl had done it, but she knew of a project very few could ever possibly hear whispers of. It boggled him how a high school girl who looked so sweet had come into hand with his redacted data.

"You say that a character like yourself has read through my work, correct? Than you know of the project's failure. The subject in question becomes overwhelmed by the unnatural growth of AIM, consuming their body and mind. What remains is a being made purely of AIM, an After Birth of the true terror born in the moment all those Espers Personal Realities mix. The result has been the same time and again since the 'success' of the first trial." Dr. Tatsumi spat in distaste, "All we've been capable of accomplishing is the creation of an AIM Burst, a Phantom Beast that only knows to wreck havoc in its birth. Nothing has changed since then. Though you unlock your ability, you'll lose your humanity."

"My humanity?" Mila hummed pleasantly before shrugging, "Such a thing no longer matters to me." she said indifferently.

A displeased frown marred Dr. Tatsumi's face. How could such a pretty faced girl say such a thing? A person's humanity was a precious thing.

"You see, Tatsumi-san, what I have planned is nothing so pathetic as wanting an ability for myself. True, at one point in time, I would have been sobbing with tears of joy at such an experiment. The prospect of your Level Giver would have been the saving grace for someone who had simply yearned for the love of her ever high expecting parents. You would have been the one to make one hopeful little girl's prayer come true." she said wistfully, a faint smile on her lips.

To think such a thing was real. If Dr. Tatsumi had succeeded in his experiments to help Level 0s gain a Personal Reality, than Mila wouldn't have become the Child Error she was; abandoned in a godless city by her only family. But such a thing never came to pass. It was far too late for that wish to ever come true.

Those pale green eyes bore a dark plethora of raging emotions now. In her heart, a new wish had been born. One that yearned for the destruction of all that had caused her such grief and suffering.

"No, what I have planned is nothing short of revenge."

"Revenge?"

"Yes, revenge against those who lead me to being abandoned. Revenge against those monsters who would label a little girl as worthless. What I have planned, is nothing short of repaying the debt of suffering those cruel, cold, bastards have put me through with false promises and hope!"

Eyes cast with a sea of grief, rage, and hatred, Mila glared darkly at the grimacing researcher with a voice speaking of nothing but loathing. Seeing how she was putting the man on edge, Mila calmed down with a deep breath, her face still expressing loathing for the city that had brought her such suffering. Face still pictured with seething animosity, she smiled thinly at the man as she rested her chin on his shoulders, startling him. She caressed his finely combed hair, ignoring the shiver running through his body.

"You yourself must understand that pain as well, correct? You're a Level 0, you've been looked down on, picked on, spoke ill of, and mistreated by a city that had promised you so much more than you deserve. Though that has diminished in your adult years, you had felt it when you were young and hopeful. But this city had failed to deliver that wish of becoming an Esper, a true Esper with powers that set you aside from your peers. I'm sure those voices of doubt, want, and anguish are still there to this day, in the back of your mind."

'I want to be more than some Level 0.'

'Why? Why haven't I advanced after all these years!?'

'It's not fair! I've studied, I've worked so hard, I'm much more intelligent than them! So, why can't I gain something as small as a Level 1 ability!?'

'They promised I could become an Esper! Was it all just lies?'

'Was it all. . .just for nothing?'

The clenching of Dr. Tatsumi's fists and the sight of the man inwardly biting his teeth in memory of those miserable days was all Mila needed to know she was right.

"Academy City lied to you, lured you away from home at a young age with sweet words, and experimented on your body, marking you as their property. Any regrets you had, and want to leave, were ignored as you were now their possession to do as they wished. To them, you were nothing more than a human guinea pig."

"That's. . .that's not true!"

"Oh?" Mila remarked with interest, "But you yourself know that to be true. After all, you're just another researcher like the rest of them. Lying to children, putting them through experiments for your own interests, and labeling them based on their progress. How's if feel? Telling children that their worthless to the world?" she taunted.

At this point, the creator of the Level Giver's body was visibly trembling. His eyes spoke of an indignant anger, and a glint of sorrow. It seemed felt that his captive knew just the right buttons to push. That in a way, he knew of the irony of his position as a researcher who wished nothing more to gain his own Personal Reality, only to fail and label others as 0s.

"But that's why I created the Level Giver! It's why I became a researcher! Because I knew of the pain of being labeled as One Without Power!" Dr. Tatsumi shouted in defense of his actions, "Everything I have done was so that no one had to endure the stigma of Level 0 anymore! I did it all for you! I'm. . .I'm nothing like those faceless bastards who only ever care for those with power and research material!"

"And I am ever so grateful for your progress. Even if you were far too late to be of use for one little girl's innocent wish. I'm sure those dead children who made your failures possible feel the same way." Mila spoke thinly. "None the less, your invention will be of great use to one Level 0. And you will have made a wish come true. And that wish is to make Academy City suffer for destroying the life of a Child Error."

"And how would you go about that? I told you, the Level Giver is a failure." Dr. Tatsumk chuckled hollowly with a shake of his head, "Even if your desire is to become an AIM Burst, this facility was designed to keep the entity caged within; not to mention the number of Espers connected to the Level Giver's Network is far too small to grant you an ability with enough destructive capability to pose a city wide threat."

Mila smiled brightly, a smile that would charm any boy who was caught in her gaze when facing such a beautiful girl. But to Dr. Tatsumi, he saw a smile that hid a malicious intent and desire beneath the surface.

"It doesn't matter. After all, we're not aiming for the capabilities of the Level Giver, but the Level Eater."

The name brought disgust and fury to Dr. Tatsumi's features.

"That is not what it's called! The Level Giver is a device meant to grant Level 0s a Personal Reality, to rank them up to at least Level 1! It was never meant to-"

"Devour Levels?" Mila tilted her head to the side with an innocent giggle that only infuriated the researcher, "Yes, that was it's original purpose. But due to your creation gaining a rather ravenous appetite, it had grown to consume the AIM of those connected to its network, stock piling them up, and ranking the garnered abilities all up to the border of Level 5. At least, that was the theory presented by one of the Kihara's who studied its new nature."

Kihara. The name alone would send a chill down the spine of those who understood the meaning of the name. To think one of those despicable monster who lurked in the Darkness of Academy City had gone through his own notes and research. He should have known it was a Kihara who had perverted his prized creation.

"That is what I wish to control. Not the Level Giver's miraculous gift of Personal Reality, but the Level Eater's gluttonous appetite to steal one's Personal Reality and make it their own."

Dr. Tatsumi's eyes went wide with disbelief. That was what the girl wanted to do? She wanted to control Level Eater? The sheer thought that some Level 0 even knew about the horror was mind boggling enough, but to think she believed she could use it for her own personal agenda? It was madness!

"You can't be serious! Didn't you hear me!? What the Level Giver does now is nothing but destruction! It will consume you whole! Name it whatever you will, but the result is the same none the less! There's no way to control it!"

"Until now."

"Wh-What?"

Dr. Tatsumi felt a sick knot grow in his stomach at the wide grin on the platinum haired girl's face break free. What she had just said, it couldn't possibly be true. It had only been a few days since Level Giver had been shut down. Not even the brightest of researchers or scientist could ever possibly hope to gain some semblance of control over that thing!

Seeing the disbelief, Mila couldn't help but pleasantly explain.

"You remember the cool faced gentleman who met with us, correct? Well, my dear friend, Arden, is a special kind of genius. The kind who can, in a matter of a few days, further develop your failed experiment as not the Level Giver, but the Level Eater, into a whole new beast. Even now as we speak, he is tweaking the original body of your creation to better align with my wish, with the help of his two brothers. The only reason we needed you was to allow us entry and provide the original source code to the Level Eater."

Dr. Tatsumis was speechless. He knew of the boy Mila was speaking of. The boy appeared no older than fourteen, had blond hair, fair white skin, and blue eyes. He seemed to be a boy who was raised with manners as Arden had politely greeted him and even went as far as apologizing for all the trouble they caused Dr. Tatsumi. Once they had made their way to the control room for Level Giver, the boy seemed to vanish into thin air without a word.

Rushing out of his seat, Dr. Tatsumi ignored the fact he had knocked his keyboard aside as he ran over to the window panel at the front of the room that allowed them to see what went on outside in the hangar. His face paled at what he say.

The young boy, Arden, moved in the shadows of what was once the Level Giver, seeming to tweak its original body with odd symbols that shone in the dark. Moving away from his creation, the blond boy in the white suite returned to the computer module that read back the source code for the machine. Another boy appeared next to him, leaning over his shoulder in the shadows.

"Oh, my! It seems that Arden has finished the remaining coding all on his own! That child truly is a genius, it's actually terrifying now that I think about it."

A cold sweat ran down the creator of the Level Giver's body as he looked back to Mila, finding the girl staring at the computer screen with appraise. Moving back hastily to his desk, he was baffled to see what remained of the missing code completed in a matter of minutes. How?! That source code was only known to him! How could a child, a complete stranger, complete his own code?! It should have been impossible! No amount of genius could replicate his own mind and programming!

They would have had to go inside his own mind to retrieve the code itself!

With the Original Source Code, they could rewrite Level Giver's original programming for their own means. They could transform his creation into something completely alien. And after hearing what Mila desired, and knowing what Level Giver was capable of now, Dr. Tatsum couldn't help but stare at the screen with horror.

The researcher slumped onto the seat in front of the computer, feeling drained both physically and emotionally. It only now dawned onto him the gravity of the situation. He couldn't help but feel something vile brewing in the pit of his stomach.

"Even still. . .the Level Giver doesn't posses enough power to break free from the facility." Dr. Tatsumi uttered weakly.

"True, at the moment it can only gather what AIM it can from the six Espers that were taken for the experiments."

"They're still there!?" Dr. Tatsumi shouted in alarm. He was told that the students would be returned to their dorms once the project was finished. After all the death he wrought to the others, he thought he could at least allow those remaining innocent children to walk away. Why would they still be locked down here!?

Mila shrugged, "Did you honestly think they would allow anyone to know of what was transpiring down here? They were probably left to rot in isolation. Now where was I? Oh, that's right! At the moment, Level Eater only has access to those six Espers ability, but that can change. Have you ever heard of radio waves?"

The color in Dr. Tatsumi's face was drained, leaving him ashen white as he connected the dots.

Level Giver created a network using brainwaves by both copying and pasting the wave lengths with similar AIM Diffusion Fields. Using Harumi Kiyama's Level Upper, it used a recording of the brainwave of the Administrator broken down into sound to connect others to the network. Anyone who heard the full length of the sound bit would automatically be connected to the network as a User with or without consent. If they replicated the process, they could create a new sound file and spread it through radio waves to every device in Academy City.

The network of six would no longer be hindered by how many Espers were in the facility. Hypothetically speaking, the network could grown to reach all 2.3 billion Espers who resided in Academy City. And the power gained. . .

"SYSTEM."

If Academy City had a wish of its own, it was the desire to create a being above Level 5. Level 6, SYSTEM, One Who Reaches The Heavens Without God. A human who walked on the same plane as deities.

Seeing the creator of Level Giver incapable of responding anymore, Mila turned away from the man and began making her way out. Arden was finished with his preparations it seemed. All that was left was to upload her own brainwave and break it down into a sound file. It would take some time, but she was willing to wait a bit longer for her dream to come true. The dream, the desire, the wish to turn Academy City's own wish against them. At the door leading to the Level Eater's hangar, Mila glanced back at the silent researcher. A small, sympathetic, smile came to her face.

"I do apologize for all the trouble and pain I've caused you. This is nothing against you, the other Level 0s, or even those Espers above 0; this is simply the wish of a girl who's cries had been ignored for far too long. In a way, after this is all through, the cage we've all been trapped in will no longer be there to keep us from leaving. You can be free from your status as Level 0. You will no longer be worthless."

Dr. Tatsumi didn't move from his spot, finding his eyes glued to the ceiling as he listened to the electronic steel door shut behind Mila. The man, who was himself a Level 0 too, shut his eyes as he thought back to Mila's words. He settled back against his seat with a long sigh, thinking of the events of the day that had taken him away from returning home to his simple little home. Back to his wife and his precious son who were no doubt wondering where he was.

It was true, Dr. Tatsumi had suffered under the title of zero. Back in his younger days, he been full of anxiety and stress as he worked himself to the bone to improve his level, to discover his ability, even if it all he could muster up was a Level 1 ability. He had wished for nothing more than to finally gain his own Personal Reality, to make all the hard work he had put in be worth all the crippling expectations he had. He would finally gain a stipend worth something, he could finally be recognized, he could finally be a proper Esper. That was all he had wanted to be!

Sadly, all that work had been for nothing. Dr. Tatsumi had failed to find his own Personal Reality. He had failed as an Esper. And he would never realize that dream he had worked towards with all his being.

It should have been enough to destroy him, shatter his mind, and sink him into a deep depression that there was no coming back from. It should have broken him completely.

But than Tatsumi had met her, the woman that would eventually become his wife, and later, the mother of his child. Despite being a zero with no power to show for all his studying, Tatsumi had found a glimmer of hope for something better in this world. That glimmer grew to eventually brighten his days with love and family. The simple zero had found something better than a Personal Reality. He found a loving reality all on his own, right here, in this world of science that deemed him as One Without Power.

"Worthless, huh? Could someone so worthless find something so precious and valuable in this world of if he was anything more?" Dr. Tatsumi spoke softly before finding himself shaking his head with a chuckle.

It was this unfair world created by Academy City's System that had eventually led to where he was today. For all its mistakes and failings, he had still found happiness in that world.

In a way, he had found value all on his own while being deemed powerless.

---

After making their way through Skill-Out after Skill-Out, Hamazura and the girls had finally made it safely through the Hoshi Reactor Facility. It seemed the Gunner's leader wasn't an idiot and had made sure to spread the rest of his men to guard the facility from within. Facing even more delinquents armed with several kinds of firearms eager to riddle them with holes, the party consisting of two Nuns, a common Delinquent, and a High School Girl, had to once again fight. It was difficult, but with the help of Angela who had regained some strength, they had dealt with just about every gun toting thug in their way.

Reaching the bottom step of the long staircase, the dirty blond found himself panting tiredly as he rested his hands on his knees. So many steps! Who the hell thought to make that many steps! He stopped counting after fifty.

Suddenly wincing, Hamazura held his right hand over his left shoulder, his fingers painted with red due to one of the bullets fired by the fake Skill-Outs leaving a nasty graze. He was lucky not to have been riddled by bullets. It was only thanks to Angela that he wasn't another dead body like the ones outside.

Speaking of the raven haired, mature nun.

"How's she doing?"

Toka sighed in slight annoyance, finding herself returning the favor to Angela as she carried the older nun on her back again. This entire day was just full of piggy back rides. Her sister was forced to rest back on Toka's back after overdoing it on their last encounter with Skill-Out which had earned them the location to the boss's hideout. From what Index had told her, it was a case of exhaustion coupled with some kind of magical withdraw. All those spells Angela had been throwing around were apparently too much for her to handle, draining her of her stamina, not to mention she had been suffering from her own wounds. Wounds that she had been ignoring. This entire time she had been focusing all her healing magic on everyone else.

'And they say I take a lot after Tou-san?' Toka couldn't help but think in amusement.

Angela pouted tiredly at the looks of concern pointed at her.

"I said I'm fine! I'm just a little tired is all." Angela grumbled.

"You collapsed and fell on your face while we were facing five thugs with sub machine guns. You looked like you were going to puke." Hamazura said bluntly, further causing the raven nun to pout like a child.

If it wasn't for the distraction that was a nun of all things dropping on her face with her ass up in the air, Hamazura wouldn't have had the chance to take the bastards out who found themselves staring at the girl. At the memory, blood began to run down his nose, earning him glares from the girls.

"Pervert."

"Lustful heathen."

"Do you want to be treated to the Touma Treatment?"

What the hell was the Touma Treatment? And was the little silver haired nun's teeth always so sharp looking?

Wiping his nose of the blood, Hamazura faced the other way to the locked door to the level leading to their final challenge. The Level 0 suddenly felt nervous as he began to pick the lock, happy that it wasn't anything as fancy as a computer lock.

This was it. Further ahead this door they would meet the bastard who created the war between all the Skill-Out factions, the one responsible for the death of some of his friends. Just who was it that was responsible for all this mess? And what would await them to stop them from taking the bastard out? It was only now that Hamazura realized how outmatched they were. Other than Angela who appeared to have some weird ability, they didn't posses any kind of advantage or skill. Toka had told him that what he had seen before as she fought the electromaster wasn't due to her Personal Reality, but her reflexes. Like him, she was a Level 0. Which meant without Angela's help, they wouldn't stand a change against whatever security the boss would undoubtedly have guarding them.

Just what the hell had he been thinking? Hamazura wasn't cut out for this. He was just some thug! What the hell had gotten into him, making him believe he could march into the mastermind's lair and take him out? He wasn't some main character, he was the lowly grunt for crying out loud! Not even some petty revenge was worth putting his life at risk!

Originally, he had been dragged along by the three girls behind him because he had been too injured to stop them. They had healed his wounds and asked that they drive them to the main nuclear reactor in District 10. Hamazura knew the way, so he had agreed not only to pay them back for saving his life, but to confirm that the bastard who caused the war on the streets resided there. Than Komaba would just need to assemble the rest of the true Skill-Outs to storm the place and make that bastard pay for all the spilled blood. He had also hoped to get a good hit on the mastermind's face while he was at it.

But Dangan had than showed his ugly face and Hamazura had found several guns aimed on him. It was only thanks to the dark haired nun that he had been saved. Again. And for some reason, even after showing the girls to their destination, and sending Komaba the location of where the chaos was centered, Hamazura, found himself following along with the girls despite the fact his job in this story was over.

Why? Why the fuck was he still here? Why the hell was he risking life!? Couldn't he just run away now? No one would stop him; right?

"Hamazura, are you alright?"

The unkempt blond flinched, finding Toka's hand resting on his right shoulder. He looked back, finding his fellow Level 0 staring at him with concern on her face, as were Angela and Index. A pang of guilt hit Hamazura, realizing he had thought of leaving them behind to face whatever laid ahead.

Anxiety was gripping Hamazura's heart. It was enough to make him want to fall to his knees and start hyperventilating. He really had no right to be here. It looked like the girls had their reasons, but did he? Did a grunt like him have any reason to be here on such a big stage? Making it this far was pure luck. If it weren't for Angela and Toka's help, he would have been left behind, bleeding to death after being beaten by some out of control Esper. He. . .he didn't belong here.

"What. . .What am I doing here?"

Toka blinked, unsure of what she just heard before she found the dirty blond begin to ramble, his voice trembling as he let go of all the anxiety that had been building up.

"What am I even doing here?! I know I said I wanted to do this for revenge, to make the bastards responsible for the senseless fighting in District 10 pay with my own fists, but seriously! What the fuck am I doing here?! I'm just a grunt, a thug, a no good delinquent who found himself dragged along to some plot at the hands of some asshole who doesn't care about killing a few Level 0s! I'm nothing special, I got no power, I'm just a common thug who couldn't think of anything better to do with his time than cause trouble! I'm not some hero, some kind of chivalrous protagonist hoping to save the day out of the goodness of his heart! I'm just a lowly side character who's never seen again after one damn scene! So, what the fuck am I doing here!?"

Hamazura gripped his chest with shameful tears gathering in his eyes. It was only now did he realize why he was panicking.

'I. . .I don't want to die. I don't want to die like the rest of them.'

Bodies. Bloody, disfigured, burnt, bulled littered, beaten, broken bodies flashed through Hamazura's mind to surround him. The memory of all those Level 0s he had passed, of all those friends he had met, wet with blood soaking their clothes. Those Level 0s who had died in some pointless conflict were no different than him. There was nothing remotely special that set this lowly Hamazura apart from those dead bodies, other than a heart beat.

He really was lucky to have survived after everything he went through. Hamazura had thought he was ready to die before, back when he had given up on fighting the sparking Esper. He though he had come to peace with it. The truth was, he wasn't. By a stroke of fortune, he survived. Unlike some of his friends and enemies, he was still alive. The worthless Level 0 had gone against the odds and lived. And then he found himself dragged along to some plot that had nothing to do with him, even though it had involved his home and the death of his fellow true Skill-Outs!

Hamazura could have walked away. He could have run off and found the others, taken shelter, and lived to struggle another day as a Level 0. But instead, he was throwing his life away to fight a fight he really didn't want. Fuck revenge! Something as stupid as that didn't matter anymore.

He. . .he. . .he just wanted to live.

A bitter smile fell over Hamazura's face. How pathetic. Guess that number Academy City gave him truly fit him to a T. He was just a selfish Level 0 who would rather run for his life than fight for some just cause.

A guy like him didn't even deserve the kindness those girls had shown him.

"Does it matter?"

"Eh?"

Eyes full of shameful tears, Hamazura found himself staring at Toka again. The girl who was just like him, a Level 0, looked at him with a firm resolve, something that took him back. How could someone like her have such a face? They were the same.

Right?

"Does it matter how you got here? Does it really matter whether you belong here? Protagonist? Side Character? Who the hell gives a shit what you are?!"

The unruly high school girl grabbed onto Hamazura's jacket, pulling him off his feet as she gave the boy who would one day become an important figure in her history a piece of her mind.

Her father had taught her an important lesson long ago. That an individuals status didn't decide what one did. Toka herself had seen it. She had seen a common man in her future step up to the plate time and time again. Not out of heroism, not out of duty, not out of title, and not out of orders; but because he had felt like it. That man never wanted to find himself in that spot that had him facing off against threats bigger than the world. He was just there.

Kamijou Touma was a common man who found himself in the middle of a crisis. What he did in that situation was his own desire. And that desire was shared by others who followed after him. Such as the supposed Legendary Level 0 who had bore doubt in a Great Demon.

"Right now, you're here! Who cares what brought you here? Whether it was us dragging you along, something as stupid as revenge, or some kind of sense of justice you yourself aren't aware of! What matters now is that you're here! You're here to decide what to do with your life! Even if you're just a Level 0, you have the power and strength to decide what to do, right here, right now! Run away, hide, abandon us, betray us, fight with us, support us, protect us; it's all up to you to decide! Selfish or Just, do what your heart screams at you to do! So, here and now, decide what you want to do with your life and be proud of it!"

Hamazura felt his breath ripped away from him. Uncertainty was all he felt as he stared into the average looking girl's bold black eyes that held a strength he wasn't sure he could ever muster. Everything she had said struck a cord in his heart. Doubt clouded his thoughts, his anxiety replaced by uncertainty.

What did he want to do? Here and now, moments away from facing some bad guy who brought his district to senseless war, what did he want to do?

"I. . .I. . ."

Hamazura couldn't decide. He could only stare down at the floor with a look of shame. He couldn't dare to look back to see the girl who seemed to bring out a side of him he wasn't sure off with a face of disappointment. He couldn't see it, but Toka's face had grown gentle, seeming to come to some realization.

"It's alright. I'm sure you'll figure it out, Hamazura-san."

The lock to the door clicked, allowing Toka to grip the handle and step past the silent dirty blond. Along with Index and Angela, she went on her way to face whatever threat stood behind the door. Before she left, she patted the Level 0 with a kind smile on her face.

"Again, this is your life. I know without a doubt, that whatever you decide to do with it, is the right thing."

"H-How?"

How could she possibly know!?

"Because the glimpse of the Hamazura I've gotten to know isn't some coward, or a lowly grunt. He's just Hamazura!"

Left alone in that dark staircase, his left shoulder bleeding and dripping with blood, with a rifle that was down to its last magazine, Hamazura could only stare down at the cold floor with a question on his lips.

". . .What. . .do I want to do?"

---

"So, you're here? How disappointing. Who I had hoped to meet me here was that clown, not two nuns and a high school girl. Really now, what kind of scene is this to expect?"

Through several more sectors, the girls were greeted to an expansive, dark, gray concrete like space the size of a stadium. The area they stood in resembled a + made of solid stone and a circle of railways at the edge of the massive space for access, a massive gaping ventilation like hole was found in the center, and hot steam vapor lingered up above them. Angela and Index weren't sure of where they were, having little idea to such things as a nuclear facility, but Toka could take a guess where. At the moment, the must have been below one of the cooling towers.

And, standing beside the middle of the large hole, stood the scarlet Queen Diver boy; Deadlock.

The boy in the red suit fitted with countless roller blades sighed in disappointment at the sight of the three girls. And here he had prepped himself up for nothing. When Mila had silently ordered that he leave, he had decided to wait at the last check point like area that would lead to the only elevator to the secret research facility down below. Knowing that a certain Level 0 would somehow get in his way yet again, Deadlock had waited to once again face off against that old illusion of his heart. But instead of finding that clown, he found a couple of kids playing hero.

"I thought I told you all to run away? Did that not go through your heads? Because I'm pretty sure I made it perfectly clear that I had invited Kamijou Touma, not anyone stupid enough to meddle in some stranger's affairs!" Deadlock spoke in frustration at the turn of events.

"Let's make this clear than; Leave. This stage is reserved for that shell of my own doubt that I failed to finish off. Bystanders have no right to involve themselves in matters that do not concern them!"

"When it comes down to it, we do all this for you."

Deadlock was ready to scare the girls away with a well aimed shot of his pile bunker, nothing with the intent to harm but frighten them, when he found his earlier comment fired back at him from the angrily scowling high school girl. He quirked a brow of interest, seeing the girl take a couple steps forward, showing no signs of fear or anxiety towards him.

"That's what you said, right? That all this chaos, violence, fighting, killing, destruction, and bloodshed was all for us, right?! So, if its all for us, doesn't that mean that it involves us?! That means it's alright if I decide to put my foot down and say that none of this bullshit is fine with me, right?!" Toka shouted angrily.

Deadlock continued to stare at the strange girl, finding himself feeling a sense of de ja vu. Unconsciously, his fists tightened. His eyes narrowed, feeling a sudden jolt of anxiety run through him as the girl stopped a few spaces away from him, only a simple run away from swinging that right fist of hers brought up in the moment.

'That pose, those eyes, that damn firm resolve!'

Yes, it was just like that damned clown's.

The uncanny resemblance put Deadlock on edge, the common high school girl brought him back to the scene of a boy who couldn't stand down in the face of what he believed to be unjust. And it infuriated him.

"Who are you, girl?" Deadlock hissed as finished loading his weapon with a deadly click of metal.

Toka smirked, moving her arm back to gesture for Index to help Angela move further away. Angela moved to protest, but her weak condition left her with no way to fight Index who pulled her somewhere safe.

"Me? I'm no one, just your average Level 0 who's fed up with jackasses like you thinking you know what's best for us!"

Deadlock cracked his neck, feeling the last of his patience slip him by. Yes, that. . .shadow reminded him far too much of that damned clown. He couldn't help but smirk darkly as the jets on his body grew to life with a small roar of flames.

The boy who was nothing more than an illusion of Deadlock's own doubt was no where to be seen. But it seemed that a shadow had come in that clown's stead. And that was fine. A light course to enjoy before the main dish!

"I suppose you will have to do! You're certainly no hero, but you can play the understudy just fine for now!"

With a burst of flames from his back, Deadlock sped up to the girl with his pile bunker aimed to pierce right through her. The speed he was moving at was similar to a car moving at 50 miles an hour, quick enough and strong enough to kill an average person on impact. No normal human could possibly dodge such a speedy attack. The space they were fighting in didn't help her either; it was as if they were fighting in an expansive hallway that lead him straight to her.

The scarlet blur racing forward like a spear found itself hitting nothing but pure air as Toka moved her body to the left at the right moment to avoid any harm to her. A powerful gust of wind blew her unkempt hair around as she quickly spun around, knowing it was far from over with. The scarlet blur didn't stop its charge, abruptly turning around in a twisting U-turn. Toka was ready, moving to charge straight at the blur. It took Deadlock by surprise that his opponent would fall right into his attack.

He was further surprised to find the unruly high school girl vaulting over him at the last minute. He adjusted his movements, the countless wheels on his person and jets allowing him to twist around again, this time braking on the spot. Seeing the girl in the air, he fired his pile bunker's nail, aiming to skewer her through with a boom. With a fiery burst, the nail cut through the air, intent on hitting its target, only to fail as the average high school girl twirled her body to avoid the deadly shot.

Deadlock growled in frustration before attempting another blurring tackle. He watched the girl fall back to the floor, timing his charge just right to catch her off guard and leave her no time to dodge. He turned into a scarlet blur again, ready to send the girl flying.

Toka grinned, falling back with her leg flung up and descending down onto Deadlock's skull just as he came into her space with a left fist. The Queen Diver suited boy's eyes flew open in disbelief at the quick timing counter before he found his face smashed onto the floor with a boom. His thoughts were jarred for a moment before his jets roared, the wheels on his chest spinning with the jet to roll him backwards and avoid the stomp to his skull. He brought his heels down with an odd motion, braking with just the right force to bring his body upright and back on his feet with a skid.

"What, is that all ya got?! For someone who fought against Kamijou Touma, I would have thought that you could put up a better fight than this!"

Deadlock grimaced, his head ringing as he watched the unruly haired girl charge at him with a right fist ready to knock him back. He didn't have enough time to load another nail into his weapon, leaving him no choice but to fight back with close quarter's combat. His blitzing maneuver wasn't having any damn effect, the average girl's reaction time was better than he could have ever anticipated. What he needed to do was catcher her off guard for just a moment, than deliver one finishing blow.

Clenching his own fists, Deadlock intercepted Toka's fist with his own. Toka grit her teeth, feeling the scarlet suited boy slowly overpower her in their fist lock. Rearing her right fist back, she caught the boy by surprise with under handed left uppercut flying for his chin. But like Deadlock, she had forgotten about his other left hand, carrying the heavy blunt weight of a pile bunker on his arm. Deadlock's left arm swung for her left side, slamming the full weight of his weapon deep into her ribs. Toka's face grew frantic with both alarm and pain as she could feel her ribs strain from the blow.

Deadlock found himself ripped away, his body flung off his feet to fall roughly onto his back. A splitting ache erupted from the scarlet suited boy's chin that ran up his face while he moved to get back on his feet. That damn girl wasn't no slouch, she knew how to hit and hit hard. Despite looking like an average high school girl he could pick out from the streets of Academy City, she was anything than normal. No normal girl could move or fight like that!

On his feet and clutching the visor of his helmet, Deadlock spat furiously at the girl who seemed to fair no better than him.

"Why? For what reason do you have to get in me way!? You said you're a Level 0, right? Than why would you try to stop us from freeing this world from the distortions of those with nearly Absolute Power?! Aren't you fed up with being someone without any power, any strength, to move forward?!"

Toka panted heavily, her left arm wrapped around her bruised ribs with a twisted grimace. At Deadlock's words, she grinned slightly, almost mockingly.

"W-Who the hell says I don't have any power?" she said in between breaths.

Deadlock narrowed his eyes dangerously. So, the girl had been lying? Pretending to be a Level 0 so he would let his guard down. Clever. But the revelation only further infuriated him.

"You have an ability than? I must say, it does explain how you've been capable of evading my attacks so far. So, what is it? Precognition?"

Toka shook her head, her grin never dying, her face growing more amused as the scarlet suited boy guessed.

"Nope! As much as it sucks, I didn't hit the Esper lottery and gain a Personal Reality that would give me an ability. Nothing as cool as creating fire, controlling vectors, freezing the moisture in the air, or digging into someone's mind. I'm just your average Level 0-"

"Don't screw with me!" Deadlock roared furiously, taking a threatening step forward. Those damned words! He didn't want to hear the words that reminded him of some illusion that had already played him! "You said you had power! That can't be true if you're just another 0! The very definition of that Level means One With No Powers! How can you possibly have any trickle of power if you're truly just some Level 0 like the rest of us!?"

"Because I don't need some machine to tell me that I have any power!" Toka shouted back, mirroring Deadlock with a step forward while flinching as the action hurt he ribs, "So, what?! Because you're a Level 0, because you haven't awaken a Personal Reality and Ability, because a whole city labels you without 'power', you just accept that you don't have the strength to advance? Are you a fucking idiot?! You are, aren't you! You must be if you're dumb enough to think you can't do a damn thing despite how strong you are despite having no ability either!"

Deadlock snarled in rage, his jets sending him forward to close the short distance between himself and the naive girl. His rage blinded him, causing him to forgo his weapon for his trembling fists that sought only to make the girl understand her lack of power.

"Are you really a Level 0?! Even someone at Level 1 would understand how little they can truly do when their everyday life is effected by the overwhelming power of those with all the power they could ever hope for! The government stipends that force us to search for sales on a regular to eat properly, the shame of failing to gain a sign of progress for all your work, the looks of those who stare down at you, knowing you're too weak to do a thing about it! As a Level 0, than you know of the suffering they all go through! And not just them either!"

Toka quickly brought up her forearms, blocking the rain of blows from the furious boy. Her face scrunched up, her earlier wound shooting pain on her side with every knuckle rattling her around.

"Level 1s, Level 2s, Level 3s, and even Level 4s! I've seen them all suffer as well! All their progress has stopped because of those damn arrogant Level 5s have siphoned all that there is! Progress to the next Level is rare, harder to achieve at the higher Levels, making it impossible for us Level 0s to ever dream of ever gaining so much as a Level 1 ability! And do you know why? I had once thought it was because of the Level 5s, those with Super Powers whose AIM Fields create distortions for their benefits, but I realized now; It's because of this damned System Academy City has created!"

Jets roaring again from Deadlock's right side of his body, he spun on his feet like a whirlwind and lashed at Toka's already wounded ribs with his leg. The savage blow caused the unruly haired girl to gasp deeply, a wordless cry falling out her lips before she found Deadlock's pile bunker slamming into the right side of her face. Her thoughts were jarred, her vision swam, and she found it nearly impossible to speak as she swayed back from the blow. Blood grew slick on her face, splashing onto the ground as she tried to steady her feet.

Seeing an opening in Toka's guard, Deadlock locked in another nail swiftly and fired away. The Queen Diver suited boy clicked his teeth, watching the disoriented girl still find a way to dodge the blazing metal skewer just barely; suffering a gash from the passing blistering nail on her shoulder. Did the girl even know what she was doing? It was like she had handed the keys to someone else to take over the steering wheel. What he was witnessing was nothing short of Precognition.

"Even a Level 0 like you know what System is, correct? It is the goal for Academy City, to create a human who surpasses humanity, to reach the heavens without the need of gods. In the end, we're all just stepping stones for those arrogant bastards to create a human who can perform some made up being's calculations! We're just human resources who were promised money and power, only to be left with the scraps of those who they found useful to their goal. And that is where the grandest distortion is centered, the very one that created the monsters known as Level 5s, and the fault in our world. As long as System is sought out, we will all remain powerless for the creation of some nonsensical monster."

Reaching to the side of his leg were he concealed his firing nails, Deadlock tsked, finding only two left in his possession. He had been too caught up in everything to stock up on his weapon. Oh well, he wouldn't need anymore than one. And he would make sure he made this one count. He played around with the fatal metal nail, glancing back at the now tired, and wounded, anomaly of a supposed Level 0.

"When I said we do all this for you, I meant it." Deadlock stated firmly, displaying his own strong resolve, one he wouldn't let anyone break again, "What my employer plans to achieve is the downfall of the system that uses us to create a Level 6. With the System no longer achievable, we will all be free from our Levels to walk our own paths and achieve our own power. Even the monsters known as Level 5s will too be free from their shackles that distort their thoughts for power!"

Toka scowled unhappily, not liking what Deadlock was trying to say.

"You mean, you're trying to-"

Deadlock grinned, glad that the girl was beginning to understand what he was trying to do for them all.

"Eliminate the Power Curriculum Program." he gestured grandiosely with his arms spread wide, "Isn't that why we are all here, stuck without any way to progress any further in this world? It was the thought of becoming more than human, of gaining supernatural powers, of gaining greater knowledge, of being paid lavishly for our efforts, that we came to this city that traps us like their guinea pigs. Because that was what it truly comes down to; we're they're loyal, ignorant, guinea pigs to experiment with to their hearts content. With the elimination of the Esper Program, we won't have to compete against another or look down another anymore; we'll all be free of the shackles that cruelly weight us down! We'll be free to find true power, free to truly break free from the limits this city has placed onto us! Doesn't that sound better than the situation we're stuck in now?!"

"As if!"

Deadlock stumbled back from the roar of the wounded girl who didn't seem to even have the energy to stand still on her own feet anymore. Toka glared at Deadlock, her teeth openly gritting together.

"You know, my father always told me, that before I go and say my piece, I should properly listen to the others own thoughts and beliefs before speaking up my mind. And I did just that; I listened to every damn word you had to say. I listened to why you would cause so much pain and ruin to the world around you, and even got a good peek at what makes you, You! And honestly? What I saw and heard was complete bullshit!"

Nothing but wracking pain crawled up alongside Toka's ribs and face as she moved forward. One of her eyes was bruised, slightly shut and caked with blood. Even with her gifted senses and reflexes, she would still find herself caught off guard and suffer like anyone else. She was still after all your average high school girl. She wasn't built to soak in punishment. It would have been better for her to escape and recover than continue fighting.

But, Toka Kamijou was her father's daughter. Taking a step forward, she couldn't help but feel an odd, old, faint and comforting presence clasp her shoulder from behind and help push her on.

The Will of Kamijou Touma carried her on to do what her heart desired. And what she desired more than anything at the moment was to shut down the idiotic ramblings of a boy who could only blame others.

"Who's says we're powerless?"

Deadlock frowned, not understanding what he had just heard from the stern eyed unruly high school girl who had no place on this stage. Even though the pain and wounds she had suffered should have been more than enough to cause a normal girl like her to pass out, she merely cleaned the blood smearing her face with the back of her right hand and grit her teeth.

"Do you really think that what you're looking for can be granted without breaking through your limits? That Academy City and its system, the Level 5s, are right to blame for your whining!? What the hell do you even think 'power' is?! Tell me! Why do you want power?! What is it that you want to do so badly with the power you've failed to grasp!?"

With a renewed spring in her step, Toka ran in with a wide swing for the red suited boy's face. It was a sloppy and poorly executed attack that even someone who had never raised their fist could avoid. All Deadlock had to do was simply move a step to his right and not only would he avoid the blow, but find an opening to deal a devastating counter attack. He was more than ready to plunge the deadly, foot long nail of piercing death, into the girl's small body.

"Who the hell were you originally trying to protect in the first place?!"

Than, to his utter disbelief, he found his body fumble by the words of the dark, unruly haired girl that somehow struck a direct hit to the center of his being.

'Who was I. . .trying to protect?'

The momentary confusion that shook him to his core was enough of an opening to allow that poorly swung fist to collide with his masked face. The cracks created by the hero who was nothing more than a distortion created by a Level 5 to create doubt in his heart, spread further to crawl entirely over his helmet. A piece of the visor that hid Deadock's face was chipped in that instant, breaking off to reveal a single stunned brown iris as the boy in the Queen Diver stumbled back. He blinked, not sure what happened to him as he stared at Toka. A surge of pure rage took over him.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?! Isn't it obvious who I'm protecting? I said it before, and I'll say it again; I do all this for you and every Esper cursed to chase after powers they can't grasp!"

"YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!"

Again, Deadlock found himself thrown back by the ordinary girl's simple fist. More pieces to his helmet's visor shattered to reveal more of his face, revealing his two brown eyes and light brown hair. Deadlock panted, growing more furious as he found himself on the end of barrage of fists.

"Why do you want power? Isn't it because you had originally had someone or something you had wanted to protect with all your being, but found yourself falling short of saving them? That was it, wasn't it?! Someone like you, who spouts bullshit about hitting a limit, blaming others who are stronger than them for their shortcomings, and wants to destroy the very system that failed to give him power, is nothing more than a failed hero! Isn't that right!?"

An unseen chord was struck deeply in Deadlock's core, sending chilling vibrations down to his toes.

A hazy, distorted and forgotten image flashed through his mind. The image of a boy who had wanted nothing more than to protect a friend close to him, but lacked the ability to do anything to save them.

It was a ferocious roar erupting out of his lips that he broke Toka's attack and drove his fist into her stomach. He didn't give her a chance to gasp, raising his left arm, the arm that wielding his heavy pile bunker, and slammed it onto her back as she doubled over with a gasp. Toka was slammed to the cold metal floor with a crack, her eyes flying wide open in anguish as she struggled to get back up.

The girl's senses went off, warning her to move. Toka rolled to the right, just in time to miss the deadly point of the pile bunker stabbing through her weakened spine and instead clang against the floor. She got back on her feet, breathing heavily as sweat mixed with dirt and blood on her face, keeping a safe distance from the angered Queen Diver suited boy. Her foot slipped, her thoughts growing hazy as blood continued to seep down her face as the pain in her ribs only continued to grow more intense with each passing second. She clenched her teeth, refusing to fall now.

"There was something you couldn't protect, even after all the hard work you had put into your studies and with the help of Academy City, isn't that right?" Toka said firmly.

Deadlock grit his teeth, his mind wandering to a past he no longer cared to dwell. The unruly haired high school girl's word forcibly dragged him back to those days, those days of studying like a proper student, to a time he had whole heartily believed in the curriculum the City of Science had provided him, to the hope and belief that all his his work would lead into discovering his own Personal Reality. Only to be reminded of the memory of everything he had worked for leading to failure. He was reminded of how truly powerless and hopeless it was for someone like him to ever attain an Ability no matter how much blood, sweat, tears, and effort he put in.

Long ago, all the mind numbing studying, painful after effects of experimental drugs, and pointless mind games, would have been all worth it for the ability to allow him to so much as bend a spoon. Than maybe, just maybe, he could have shattered his limits of his power to protect what he had once desired.

Once upon a time, he truly believed that it was all the fault of those Level 5's who had controlled all the power in the city, creating distortions that stood in their way of breaking through their limits. But now Deadlock could see much more clearly to who was truly to blame for everything. Academy City. SYSTEM. Abilities. In the end, the world would be much better off if all three were eliminated.

Maybe then. . .he could finally gain the power to once again protect what he truly desired within limits he could break naturally.

A hollow chuckle left Deadlock as he found himself staring up at the ever stretching ceiling and the faint clouds of vapor, "A failed hero, huh? I can't say you're wrong. All I want to do is assure that no one else has to go through the pain and suffering I had. Is that truly so wrong? To give them limits that they can all break equally no matter who they are?" he couldn't help but ask softly.

Toka's eyes were like steel, firm and determined even as she struggled past her own injuries to meet the red suited boy's now exposed hazel eyes that spoke only of all the anguish he had been through because of this world of Espers.

"You're looking for power in the wrong place, you stupid failed hero." Toka smiled gently, "Again, just what do you think power is? Do you think it's something anyone can grasp so easily? That it can just be handed down if they really, really, desire it? As if. It's not that simple or fair."

Toka stepped forward, nearly stumbling with her first few steps, her eyes seeming to glow with an odd energy even when her consciousness was growing faint, almost as if a wisp of her determination had been lit to blaze red in her right eye. Deadlock grit his teeth, growing both frustrated and confused as his own feet responded to the sight by taking in involuntary step back. Something wasn't right here. His breath hitched, his muscles tightened out of reflex, his fingers trembled, and his eyes grew frantic at what he was seeing. Why? WHY?!

Why was he seeing that damned clown's image overlapping with that common girl's like a living illusion?!

"Power only comes to those who have endured through their own powerlessness and grown to overcome it themselves with their own battered fists! It's found by those who never stop fighting, by those who don't fall to excuses and keep trying! That kind of power doesn't need an Ability or Level, anyone can break their limits to achieve the strength to clench their fists for what they believe! Just because someone labels me as a Level 0, One Without Power, doesn't mean that I have to accept it or make up some dumb ass excuse as to not try and stop bastards like you from harming others. And right here, right now, I'm going to shatter my limits, shatter your fucked up delusions, and shatter whatever plan the head boss is up to. All as your average Level 0!" Toka grinned tiredly.

"Than you'll die just another average Level 0!" Deadlock snapped viciously.

Slamming one of the last few nails in his possession into the chamber, Deadlock sped forward, aiming his pile bunker for a stabbing point blank shot. This time, he would not miss. Racing forward as a blistering blur of red death, he couldn't help but grin as he watched Toka simply raise her right fist.

That's when it happened.

Toka's eyes grew wide in puzzlement mixed with alarm as her body stumbled and began to fall. Her body had faltered, suffering far too many injuries for a normal girl like her to sustain. Even though she wanted nothing more than to keep moving, for her words to be more than lip service, her body couldn't go along with her demands. She grit her teeth in frustration as her body fell forward, her eyes locked onto the scarlet blur of approaching death.

"Toka-san!"

"Toka-chan!"

The sound of rushing footsteps too late to reach her brought Toka out of her descent into unconsciousness. Her face twitched, fighting to keep her heavy eyes lids from shutting for what would be permanently.

Damn it, not now! She couldn't go down like this! After all she had said, she couldn't just succumb to her own injuries because her body didn't want to listen to her! She'd be damned if she proved that stupid asshole right!

Deadlock grinned in victory. All talk, that was all that high school girl had been! To think he had actually been shaken by someone who had no place on this stage. Well, it would all be over soon. Only inches from reaching Toka, Deadlock sentenced the girl's death with simple pull of a trigger.

BANG!

An echoing bang bounced off the wall of the storage space that surprised all those inside. A single shot had been fired. And an eruption of flames burst from Deadlock's pile driver. The scarlet suited boy wasn't sure of what to say as his pile driver went off without a hitch. But with one problem.

A perfectly well aimed bullet had been fired from the entrance into the concrete cooling tower at the exact time Deadlock had fired his pile bunker. The bullet had accurately shot past Toka's head and hit it's true mark; Deadlock's right shoulder. The force of the drilling metal shell had just enough to swerve his body to the left, completely missing Toka's face as the pile bunker's trajectory had changed to fire at the floor below them. The nail fired, hitting the floor with a metallic clink before detonating in a fiery plume of smoke and flames between Deadlock and Toka. Both teens found themselves blown back by the eruption that scorched their skins. Toka was sent rolling away with a cry of pain, hissing as she could feel the blazing burns crawling over her skin. Coughing, she tried to stand back up, only for her body to again put its foot down, causing her to weakly fall onto her side. She gasped tiredly, her eyes fluttering as she watched the smoke created from the blast begin to weaken to reveal Deadlock still on his feet.

Multiple patches of Deadlock's suit had been burned off, tears littering the scarlet fabric, blood seeped from his shot right shoulder, and the boy's left arm was now visible with the skin charred black, the pile bunker seeming to have destroyed by the close impact and explosive force. Among the loss of his deadly weapon, Deadlock's helmet had suffered more damage; chunks of the head wear had been blown right off. With a groan, Deadlock decided to get rid of the old relic of his past, tossing the ruined motorcycle's helmet off with a scowl. His face was now visible, revealing his pale skin, straight combed brown hair that reached his ears and parted to reveal a bit of his forehead, and brown eyes painted with disdain. But for once they were not aimed at her.

"W-Who the hell are you!?" Deadlock spat.

Toka was confused. Trying to once again get back on her feet, she found herself pushed back down softly by a familiar hand.

"It's alright, Toka-san. Leave it to this worthless thug to take care of the rest."

". . .Hamazura-san?"

Grinning weakly, Hamazura Shiage eased Toka back on her side. The rifle in his right hand was gripped tightly with a death grip. His posture was uneasy. And a nervous sweat coated his face.

Somehow though, despite his body language saying he didn't want to be here, Hamazura stood protectively over her wounded body. The dirty shaggy blond gulped, taking a deep and drawn out breath, before those shaky brown eyes grew firm with a new born resolve.

Hamazura had been watching. Still unsure of what he should do, he had followed after the girls just enough to let him get a good eye of what was happening as he heard the sounds of shouting from the door leading to the cooling tower. He panicked, finding the scarlet suited boy who had kidnapped the scientist who had been with Angela, Toka, and Index, facing off with Toka. Someone ridiculously strong and threatening had been waiting for them, ready to take them out before they could reach the final boss as some kind of mid-boss. Seeing Deadlock was more than enough of a reason for Hamazura to scram right there.

But then he had watched Toka, someone who was labeled a Level 0 like him, go toe to toe with a boy who was faster, stronger, tougher, and wielding a weapon that was designed to pierce and shatter iron walls with a single shot. Even as the high school girl had been hit, bloodied, and nearly killed as she faced her imminent death, Toka didn't back down or run away. A Level 0 like her, no more special than him, continued to fight and stand her ground.

Why? Why had that common girl fought so hard despite being outmatched in every physical category? It was the same as when she had fought that live wire Esper. If what she had said was true, she didn't have any special ability to give her an edge or turn the tides of battle into her favor. She was powerless. But. . .she had been anything but weak.

That girl who had no business bloodying her own body against someone who had obviously been dipped into the Darkness of the city, fought because it was something her heart had willed her to.

In that that moment as Hamazura had watched Toka's body give out on her due to her wounds and leave her open for the kill shot, the foolish thug's heart had finally spoken for him. It had shouted loudly, telling him all that he needed to know to act.

It said; I don't want that girl to die.

Hamazura had found his answer and pulled the trigger. There was no going back now that he acted.

"The names Hamazura Shiage, just a Level 0 who's fucking sick of sitting back and whining about being powerless to even save one simple girl!"

Speaking what he felt from the bottom of his heart after everything he had heard, Hamazura rained a stream of gunfire at the wounded scarlet suited boy. Deadlock's expression grew livid at the announcement before activating his suit's jets to evade the bullets. He grew alarmed as he had only been able to skate a few spaces away, just barely missing a bullet hitting his back, before his jets died. It was only than that he realized that small jets and just about every skate wheel on his suit had been broken. The wheel on his feet cracked, shattering and leaving him to trip flat on his face. His face hit the floor, smashing his nose against the hard steel; his nose bleed heavily upon impact.

Hamazura grinned in victory, aiming his barrel at the stroke of bad luck falling on Deadlock and pulled the trigger that would end it all.

Click, click.

". . .You got to be shitting me." A twitch grew in Hamazura's right eye as his rifle didn't fire. He'd been lower on ammunition than he thought.

Fuck.

Blood gushing out his nose, Deadlock chuckled as he got back up.

"Out of bullets? How unfortunate!" Deadlock roared smugly as he ran forward. Though he lacked his pile driver, that didn't mean he didn't have a weapon. Reaching for his now destroyed weapon's last firing nail, he brandished it like a stake, intent on driving it into Hamazura's body.

Seeing the long, piercing nail going for his chest, Hamazura dropped the empty rifle and reached for his pocket. Just before Deadlock could run the steel nail through him, Hamazura swung and deployed the collapsible steel police baton to block the thrust. Sparks flew up at the deflecting swing as Deadlock fought to overpower the blond thug. Hamazura flinched, feeling the scarlet suited boy push him back before he kicked Deadlock's kneecap as hard as he could. Deadlock cursed in pain as his leg gave out. Before the Queen Diver boy could fall, the cold tough steel of Hamazura's Anti-Skill baton swung for his face, lashing out with a crack on his face.

"FUCK!" Deadlock spat as blood gushed from his busted lip.

Hamazura didn't stop there. As Deadlock stumbled, The End of The Century Emperor wildly swung his baton at the brown haired mercenary, batting Deadlock around like a ball with a war cry. Again and again, blow after blow of hard steel smacked and bashed Deadlock with such speed and ferocity he couldn't grasp a moment of clear thought to counter.

"It's your fault, isn't it!? You and your fucking boss are the reason District 10 is caught up in some god damn turf war, right!?" Hamazura hissed with each swing, "Spouting bullshit about doing all this for us! When the fuck have we ever asked anyone to bathe the streets with blood and bullets!? When have we worthless Level 0s ever begged anyone to destroy Academy City for some noble wish!? When the god damn hell have we ever crawled to anyone with tears on our faces to be saved by bastards like you!? Because I sure as fucking hell don't ever recall ever giving my damn life away to assholes to use like some shitty chess piece for their own crappy goals!"

A snarl stretched Deadlock's face as he lashed out with stab in between Hamazura's swings. The Queen Diver boy grinned maliciously, watching the nail gouge the skin along Hamazura's left rib cage, just nearly stabbing right through. Blood gushed out of the wound, causing Hamazura to skip back as Deadlock swung diagonally, scoring a slash that tore the shaggy blond thug's favorite yellow sweater and cut his chest.

Hamazura flinched deeply, his free hand flying for his ribs and feeling the torn flesh that soaked his entire hand with slick red. His breathing began to grow heavy as he kept his glaring eyes on the scarlet suited boy.

A gash was nothing. He'd already been shot today; what was a stab compared to a bullet at this point?

"Y-You dirtied the name of Skill-Out, Komaba's Skill-Out, for your own damn goals. You turned the gangs we were on good ground against us. Your fucked up master plans killed some of my friends! And your mess dragged me along to participate in some final battle I really don't want any part of!" Hamazura roared as he dropped his left hand from his bloody wound. His face twisted with pure rage, his eyes glancing back right behind him to find two nuns staring at his back from far away, and seeing the unruly haired high school who had fought until her body given out, "And worst of all, you harmed someone who inspired this worthless, stupid, pathetic Level 0 to get off his damn ass and do something about this entire shit show you're running." he spat lowly so only the two boys could hear.

"How stupid can you be!?" Dealock yelled furiously, "You're a true Level 0 like me! Aren't you tired of this cities Espers looking down on you like you were some piece of trash that drifted by them? Aren't you tired of surviving on sales because of the low stipend this city gives us? Don't you want power just like the rest? Don't you want to stand on equal grounds with everyone and be free of this city's expectations!? Don't you want limits that you can realistically break?!"

"Fuck that."

"What?!"

Hamazura sneered, brandishing his baton for another smack down, "You're right, I'm sick of this city and the higher ups looking down on me. I'm tired of even Level 1s making fun of me. And I'm tired of the crappy check those idiots up top hand down like it was some shitty participation ribbon. I'm. So. God. Damn. Sick. OF IT! But I'm even more sick of dumb asses like you who think they know what's best for me! Like hell I want to stand on equal ground with those pricks! That's what you want, not what we all want! You may not know this, but Skill-Out ain't about attacking all Espers, only those who go around harassing Level 0s, even lower levels! We may be no good thugs, but at least we're doing more for our fellow Weaklings than you idiots!"

A proud grin grew on Hamazura's face as his feet kicked off the ground. Charging ahead, he yelled with all his might as Deadlock mirrored his action to run ahead with his piercing nail.

"Fuck whatever goals you have in mind, fuck your reasons, fuck your righteous dream of equality; I just want you to hit the damn ground! As if this lowly, crappy, stupid Level 0 would want to be saved by the likes of youuuuuuuuuuu!"

The two boys who were labeled One's Without Power collided against another. Hamazura grimaced in anguish as the sharp piercing nail stabbed through his sweater and dug into his abdomen. He spat blood, his breathing hoarse as he glared weakly at the darkly grinning Deadlock. With the nail in his abdomen, all it would take was a simple swipe to the left to deal a fatal wound. Still, Hamazura mustered the strength to grin back in victory, confusing the scarlet suited boy. It was only than that Deadlock found his eyes falling down to find the police baton touching his own abdomen. Deadlock didn't understand. Why would the thug believe he won?

A small streak of sparks flashed along the steel baton, answering his question before his eyes flew open in panic.

All it took was a simple press of a button before Deadlock could further wound Hamazura. The steel baton flashed brilliantly with a coat of over fifty thousand volts of electricity, the same voltage that police tasers produced, that stabbed Deadlock's body. The Queen Diver's suit's wiring went haywire and lent its own sparks to the stun batons sparks to further shock and scorch Deadlock's body. His muscles convulsed, smoke blew up from his suit with the scent of cooking flesh, all while a scream of agony erupted from his mouth. But he wasn't the only one to suffer the shock.

The conducting metal of the pile bunker nail was still in his grasp, stabbed into Hamazura's abdomen. Like a circuit wire, the voltage that was frying Deadlock traveled along his arm and weapon to deal an equal shock to the shaggy blond thug. Hamazura openly ground his teeth together, enduring the thousand upon thousands of volts hitting his body. Despite the torture of electricity shocking his nerves and clouding his senses, he pushed the baton further into Deadlock until he slammed the mercenary into the floor.

This bastard. It was because of this bastard and his boss that Hamazura was even involved with this mess! If it wasn't for him, than it would have been just another day for him. His normal, somewhat peaceful, day had been ruined because of some idiot who thought he knew better for Hamazura and his fellow Level 0s. Because of this asshole, several of his friends had died! Knocking him out wouldn't do. No, the Deadlock bastard was better off buried in the trash! Running off pure adrenaline, Hamazura continued to endure the shock and pressed the baton deeper into Deadlock to the point he nearly pierced right through his body. His eyes were livid, wild with hate and rage as he spat venomously.

"GO AND DIE, YOU FUCKING IDIOTTTTTTTTT!"

"Please. . .stop."

The clouding rage was banished by the soft touch of a girl's soft, weak, bloody hand on Hamazura's hand, the same hand that tightly gripped the stun baton. His finger let go of the switch, stopping the flow of electricity to both parties. Against his better judgment, Hamazura let go of his baton, watching dully as it fell to the ground and rolled out of his reach. He suddenly felt exhausted, tired beyond belief, before falling back against the one who had stopped him in acting his revenge. His head looked back, finding equally tired and worn out eyes.

Hamazura wanted to know why she had stopped him, but felt too tired to utter another word.

Toka shook her head, patting the simple blond thug's head with a sigh. Her eyes gestured to Deadlock, showing Hamazura the smoking, burned up, Queen Diver boy laying on the ground without a twitch. The boy's eyes stared up at the ceiling, his gaze vacant with only a slight rise of his chest to tell them he was still breathing. It was obvious that he wasn't going to be getting back up any time soon.

The fight was over. There was no need to go any further with death.

"You won, idiot. You played the role of hero just fine, Hamazura-san. Guess you're more than some lowly thug." Toka grinned widely.

Footsteps could be heard behind Toka, causing Hamazura to glance back to find the silver and raven haired holy sisters running over with worried expressions. A small smile fell on his face as he released a long, worn out, sigh.

'Hero, huh? That's going a little far, isn't it?'

Eh, he was too beat up to correct her.

"Hold him still, Toka-chan! I may not have much magic left, but it should be just enough to heal both of your wounds."

Magic? Hamazura tiredly looked up to find the bustier raven haired nun lay her hands over both him and Toka before a soft green glow fell over him. He must have been seeing and hearing things. Magic, here in Academy City? That was just make believe. To his surprise though, he found small orbs of light hovering over them to cast a warm sensation over his bloody wounds. Oddly enough, all his wounds, minor and heavy, were being treated and healed like that. His eyes were wide in disbelief at what he was seeing.

Wait, hadn't the raven haired devote sister done some strange things earlier? It hadn't been an Ability, he was sure of that. It had felt too alien, even now. So, what was she doing and how? Magic? There. . .there was no such as thing as something as silly as that.

In a matter of moments, Hamazura's and Toka's wounds were healed by the magic spell. Even the most deadly one, the puncture wound in his abdomen, was gone, leaving only a hole in its place on his already ripped sweater. Hamazura moved to get up, only to nearly trip over his shaky legs. Seeing that, Angela moved and held the thug steady with a stern expression on her face as Index did the same with Toka.

"Don't move just yet, Hamazura-san! Just because I healed your wounds, doesn't mean you're a hundred percent! You've lost quite a bit of blood, not to mention you're still reeling from the pain. You need to give your body some time to rest before you can continue on. The same goes for you too, Toka-chan!" Angela lectured over Hamazura's shoulder to her stubborn younger sister.

Toka pouted as Index helped to support her as they walked over to the two.

"But I hate waiting! Can't we just kick down the door and get this over with already? I really want to punch that head honcho's face and go home. If you haven't noticed, I stink." Toka complained dully.

Index blinked at the comment, her nose twitching as it suddenly caught a horrible stench. The silver haired sister couldn't help but gag lightly to the side.

"See?"

Angela sighed as she helped move Hamazura past the large vent in the middle of the ground to rest against the wall. While Toka had taken a lot after their father, she had her own personality that was similar to her mother's. Give the normal high school girl a bat, and she would be exactly like her Level 0 mother. She ignored her sister and began to move over to another important matter that caught her attention.

Hamazura scowled, noticing the holy raven haired sister walk away to kneel down next to Deadlock's smoking body.

"What the hell are you doing, Sister?" he hissed angrily.

"I don't have much magic left, barely enough to heal, but it should be enough to not leave any permanent damage on the boy. He still won't be able to move after, but it's better than leaving him like this." Angela explained simply as she cast a warm green glow over Deadlock's body.

"But he's the enemy! Why the fuck would you heal someone who had been trying to kill you!? Are you touched in the head?!"

Angela didn't appreciate the comment, sending a glare at the blond thug that was enough to shut him up. He laughed nervously at the dark aura now emitting from the holy sister.

"He's not the enemy anymore, is he? Our fight with him is over, he's just a severely wounded boy now. And as a devote Christian under god's teachings, I can not turn a blind eye to him. He was just a lost lamb who had strayed from the honest and just path god had set for him. And it's my duty to lead all those who have strayed from god back to his loving arms." Angela explained softly with a tender smile on her face.

"And what about Dangan? You left him to suffer."

Angela's eyes didn't meet his own, staring away as she spoke lowly.

"He was a sinner. One beyond our lords salvation."

Hamazura of course didn't understand any of what she said. He was an Esper, the complete opposite of those who followed religion and miracles of faith. Teachings and words of god completely flew over his head. He could only sigh and drop the matter. Inwardly, he made a note to finish off the bastard if he so much as noticed Deadlock make a move at them. Screw good will, it was no skin off Hamazura's back if he killed the asshole. He'd done the same to Dangan when the girls backs were turned, he'd do the same again here.

Done with healing what she could, Angela exhaled loudly as she wiped some sweat off her forehead. It was official, she was now out of magic. Not to mention she herself was still wounded and exhausted from the day's events. Walking back beside Hamazura, the raven haired holy sister fell back to sit next to the dirty blond thug. Index and Toka followed in suite, resting against the cold, soothing concrete walls behind them for relief.

Wordlessly, they all knew there was still one more matter to attend to. The Final Boss laid ahead of them through several more rooms. It was thanks to some magic that they had learned where to go to find the location of Skill-Outs boss. One more challenge awaited them. The true origin of all this mess. There really was no time to be resting. The end to the chaos was patiently awaiting to enact their plans to eliminate the creation of Espers, basically bringing down all that Academy City had worked towards. Right now, they needed to move fast and put an end to all this.

But those four that sat back, on the very edge of unconsciousness, were simply human. Whether they liked it or not, they had to take a moment to rest and gather their strength for the last battle. Besides, they had done the most important job; clear the way to the Final Boss for the real hero to enter.

A bright smile could be found on Toka, Angela, and Index's face as one face came to mind.

'Please, hurry, Touma.'

Even though they weren't pleased with the thought of that precious someone entering the fray, they each knew that he would somehow get involved. The stage was now set for the final act. And they knew all that was needed was for that hero to enter the stage with his right fist chambered.

Hamazura grunted lightly, knowing that he was in no shape to do anymore. That was fine with him. He had done more than enough for a thug like himself. Hoping that it wasn't broken in all the fighting, luck had shone down on this Level 0 as Hamazura found his cell still in tact. For a second, he would have thought the current running through him would have fried it. With a few taps, he sent a message to a certain leader before decided to lay back, his eyes locked on to the knocked out and wounded Deadlock in case he made any moves.

'Boss, you better get here fast. I don't know what exactly is going on, but we needed to put in end to it. It's time Skill-Out cleared its name and showed everyone who's in charge.'

---

"What the hell happened here? It looks like a hurricane passed by."

"Nyaa! Essentially, it looks like someone had gone crazy with red paint and splattered it everywhere like some messy child!"

Touma grimaced at Fremea's assessment of the carnage that they were witnessing as they crossed the warn torn battlefield that was the entrance to the Hoshi Reactor Facility. All around them, he could see bodies splayed about, littered with bullets, severe wounds, and burns. Both Skill-Out and security personnel could be found among another. One of the worst of the corpses was the blond and black haired boy laying in a crater at the bottom of the flight of stairs leading up to the facility with a bullet through his skull.

The fighting had reached this far? Just what the hell was all this for!?

"Ooooh! I really like that look in your eyes, Kamijou-onii-san! Essentially, it looks like you're going to crack someone's skull open!"

Standing at the entrance into the facility, Komaba glanced back at the normal high school boy at his side. The large gang leader was actually taken back at what he saw in that boy's eyes.

A cold, blistering, fury shadowed Touma's face. The look in his eyes spoke of outrage, a determination to face off with whatever was the cause for all the bloodshed. It was the sight of someone who couldn't stand idly by and allow such atrocities to occur and wished for nothing more than to drill his fist into the person's face. The right fist by the high school boy's side trembled, eager to find its target.

It was only than did Komaba realize just how threatening the boy could seem.

A rumbling his pocket brought Komaba's attention to his cell. Seeing a message from a certain blond thug, he frowned before proceeding to enter the building.

"Let's not waste anymore time. It seems one of my men has secured a path to the location of the bastard who started all the fighting. I'm sure we'll find those friends of yours waiting alongside him." he added to relax Touma's concerned gaze.

Touma nodded firmly, following along as they made their way to the center of District 10's troubles, and unknowingly, Academy City's. There was nothing more that needed to be said in that moment by either men. The darkness awaited them and they walked in with their fists clenched tight to banish whatever had created all the turmoil and destruction that threatened the people they wished to protect.

Hanging off the back of Komaba's shoulders, Fremea grinned widely, more than eager to see the two macho men thrown down with the final boss.

"Essentially, get ready for the biggest ass whooping of your life, Villian-san!"

---

Within the deep center of Hoshi Nuclear Reactor, there laid a secluded hangar. Within that hangar, several pieces of high tech equipment were set up and attached to connect to the center of the large room. A strange device was set up set up that took priority space of the hangar with several electrical cables falling from the ceiling to connect with the device.

The device, or machine, in question was made out of an alabaster white metal that reflected what little light could be found in the hangar in the shape of a pod. The center of where the device laid was a large circular platform composed of several glowing red circles among computers that helped to run and command the pod. Surrounding the platform were several smaller see through tanks that were large enough to fit a large human male, filled with an odd green obscuring liquid. At the center of the large alabaster white pod was a glowing red lenses that emitted an ominous aura reminiscent of an eye seething with malevolence. And at the sides of the pod were two large supporting arm like beams that helped to steady and ground it. Running down the sides of the pod were a series of English letters that revealed it's name.

Level Eater/Model Case-GHOUL.

The hangar was empty except for the lone individual typing away on the main computer that stood facing at the Level Eater. The individual was blond, his hair reaching his neck and combed perfectly with some of his blond lock falling over his forehead with two bangs at each side of his clear blue eyes. He wore a white suit with golden lines running down, white dress pants, and chocolate brown gentleman's shoes. The boy appeared no older than fourteen despite the calm features on his face.

The blond boy hummed in thought as he paused his clicking away at the keyboard. Leaning back on his seat, he found his eyes wandering towards the ceiling. A chill ran down his spine, one that brought an eager grin to his perfect features. A chuckle left his lips as he rested his head against his palm, his eyes returning to the computer screen.

Brain Wave Scan Completion: 57%.

Radio Signals at 100%. Awaiting Transmission.

Drones at Stand By.

Level Eater/Model Case-Ghoul on Stand By.

Range of Transmission. . .14 Miles and Growing.

Completion of MELODY. . .34%.

The blond boy couldn't help but grin in anticipation.

---

Your limits have hit a wall. Battered, wounded, ready to collapse on your knees; do you have the strength and grit to shatter your limits? It's there, so raise your fist.

When faced with solitude, rage, resentment, and hatred for the world, can you stand in the face of an Error in Humanity?

The fine tuning of the finale is almost complete. A grand illusion is set to play onto the scene.

When next we all met, the finale chapter will begin! But due to how large it is, it will be split into two parts. It only felt right to split it up, it would be too much to just throw out a nearly 50-60K+ chapter at ya's. Too much of a good thing is bad for you after all.

In the mean time, I'll be busy working on other projects I still have on the burner. One that I've already discussed with my bud ArmoredCoreNineBall about. And I, as well as you guys too, will be patiently waiting for NTR22 to be translated. I can't help but smell some NT9 shit going on. Damn it, Kamachi; hasn't the boy suffered enough?!

Anyway, Read and Review! It's common courtesy!

NeoShadows fading in and out.