italics - thoughts
Bold - Emphasis
Italics Bold - Magic names or titles
"normal" - speech
" underlined bold " - Mental transmissions
Underlined - Flashback
{Bold}- Magic spells or abilities
Disclaimer:I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index nor its characters. All rights belong to Kazuma Kamachi. Except for my own characters that I create
Chapter 25:World Rejector Pt.2
Flashback(A few days before)
"Oho~ So you are from an alternate world then?" Niang-Niang grinned. "That explains the different mana circulation and flow.
"The future." Percival corrected. "Well, with this, your curiosity should be satisfied already, yeah?"
"Mmm…" Niang-Niang hummed. "Well…"
"Niang-Niang…" Nephthys sighed. "Make up your mind quick. High Priest was killed, so we should make a move to get out of the city as soon as possible."
"Che." Naing-Niang's face darkened. "That reminds me…"
"And please, don't go on a rampage of trying to find out who killed him." Percival begged the Magic God. "The person who killed him is hard for you to kill, especially since you fought him before and he managed to live."
"Fought him before?" Niang-Niang raised an eyebrow at that. Percival could tell that her interest was piqued. "What do you me–"
"Oh?" A new voice caused everyone to freeze. "What's this? I was looking for one Magic God, but I found two instead. Plus…what are you? A Magic God? Hmm, no. Perhaps some sort of Priest to them?"
Slowly, Percival turned his head. He knew what was coming. He had hoped he would have manged to get away from the Magic God duo when he arrived, but–
Of all times…guess Kamijou's luck is rubbing off of me.
"No matter." The sight of the schoolboy slowly cracking his neck with his right hand caused shivers to go up Percival's spine. "Well, this is even more of a pain, I guess. I was looking for the last one since I killed the rest of them, but it turns out there are three more. What sort of exhausting work would I have to do now? Ah, I better make this quick. Otherwise, the girls might do something drastic. Not that it matters to me what they do, but if I don't keep them in check, they might do something they were not willing to do. Like fall in love with me because of my right hand."
"Last one?" Percival heard someone's throat make a dry gulping sound as he spoke. Maybe it had been him. "…what happened to Chimera?"
"I don't know."
"You little shit!" Niang-Niang instantly brought out her sage weapons, all aimed at vital organs. "Don't get cocky!"
In a single moment, Percival saw all of those destructive weapons that were releasing a high-pitched sound like a metallophone get destroyed by the index and middle fingers of a right hand.
"Eh?" Niang-Niang could only let out a dumfounded voice when she saw her precious weapons get destroyed.
With a simple motion, that same right hand thrust forwards-
"!"
-and missed their target, barely scratching Naing-Niang's chest.
"What? Huh?" Ninag-Niang was dazed as she was pulled further back from the hand. Her chest did not look damaged, but her clothes showed the evidence of the attack that was dealt towards her.
"Naing-Niang!" Nephthys shouted at her friend, who was held in Percival's grasp. "Are you–" She stopped.
Not because of someone interrupting her, or Kamisato stabbing her.
But because of the peaceful expression on Naing-Niang's face.
"Ehehehe" She giggled. "I was stabbed…but I didn't feel any pain! Nephthys! You have to try it!"
"What on earth…" Nephthys took a shaky step back. Had Percival not anticipated this, he might have followed her reaction as well. But because he knew of the right hand's weakness, he remained less than fearful towards the scene playing out before him. That did not mean he did not feel fear though. "Her overall power is lower… …Did you absorb a part of her when you hurt Niang-Niang?"
"I did not absorb her. Nor did I take anything from her." Kamisato glanced at the delirious Magic god. "I am simply giving her salvation. But only to the person who believes that this is salvation."
"Salvation?" Nephthys sounded confused.
"A new world, I guess you could say." Kamisato wiped his hand with a handkerchief, removing the blood that covered his fingers. "My right hand is a collection of such dreams of salvation. I believe its name is…World Rejecter."
"How? Parallel worlds don't-" Nephthys was about to say that 'Parallel worlds do not exist', but Percival was standing not but a few feet from her, so she kept quiet. Well, she is right in a way. World Rejector does not send people to a parallel world.
"Yes, the world is ultimately a straight line, like the rubber strings nailed onto pachinko machines. There is not infinite expanse of parallel worlds out there in the world, just like there is no infinite resources." Kamisato looked at the three of them with mild disinterest as he explained. "But at the same time, the world can stretch or contract like a rubber string. It can bend time and space, so to speak. The world we know has quite the amount of waste. It's like only using 10 frames in a 60 fps film. No one would even notice if you stick some subliminal footage in using two or three of the leftover frames. This is what you wished for, isn't it? You Magic Gods wished for this even though you knew it could never come true. You checked the farthest reaches of the universe and all of the piled-up phases and you realized there was nothing new left. But if it was possible, you wished to leave behind this troublesome world and spread your wings in a new world no one else knows of."
"…" Nephthys kept quiet.
Well, that is what they had wished for after all. And it would not be a stretch to say that Kamisato is right. His arm does provide the means for them to achieve their wish. In such a way, it could be considered as a salvation…
"What happened to Chimera?" Nephthys repeated the question, this time with different feelings from before.
"Like I said, no clue."
"What about Tezcatlipoca, Nuada, and Proserpina?!"
"I don't know their names or what they look like." Kamisato's Kakeru's voice had a hint of boredom to it.
"What happened to all the others!?" Now, Nepththy's voice was an octave higher from panic. Idly, Percival wondered if this was the first time the Magic God had felt panic.
"How would it have helped me to remember the exact number?"
That normal boy clenched and opened the right hand. Like a poor attempt at sleight of hand, something heavy fell down with a clunk.
It was a prosthetic left arm made of silver.
Percival did not know what that was supposed to mean, but it was soon answered by a dumbfounded whisper from Nephthys.
"Airgetlám…"
Who was that? Percival quickly thought of all the mythological figures he was forced to remember due to Percival's insistence. I know he is a Celtic god…Well, that doesn't matter. We need to run.
"Anyway, I went around consuming everyone I saw who looked like a Magic God." Kamisato hummed. "The only ones I missed were…what were their names again? Zombie, High Priest, and…Othinus? Was that it? I don't remember, so I can't really say."
"You know, that sounds like you ate them."
"Hmm…" Kamisato frowned. "You're right. But I'm not sure how else to put it to get my point across. Killed sounds wrong, since I didn't really murder them. Banish sounds good, but I don't really know what happens to those who get hit by my World Rejector, so that is also wrong."
"Why not try isekai?" And…
"Why would I do that? It's not as if I-"
*Bish~*
"What are you doing?" Percival heard Kamisato's annoyed sigh. "You know this won't work."
Seriously… Kamisato swung his right hand. With a soft noise, the smoke was immediately gone, like it had never been there. That was useless of them to do…hm?
As Kamisato's eyes adjusted to the light now that it was no longer obscured by smoke, the first thing he noticed was the lack of three individuals.
Hoo~ Kamisato was a little impressed. I thought they would have tried to attack me, but they chose to escape instead.
His eyes scanned the small alleyway which he had first encountered them. Looks like they either escaped to the roof, or they ran through these maze-like alleys. This place is pretty narrow for them to hide.
Taking out his phone, Kamisato walked off. "Hey, Ellen, could you–"
After Kamisato left, everything was quiet.
Then, a section of the wall rippled, like a pool of water being disturbed.
"That was close." Percival whispered, slowly lowering both him, and the two Magic Gods to the ground.
"I assume this is one of the things that Science and Magic developed in the future?" Nephthys asked, glancing back towards her friend as she did so. Instead of the look like she was in heaven, she was now merely out, muttering some gibberish.
"It was a joint project, yeah." Percival kept the cloak-like fabric back into his storage unit. "The outside is basically optical camouflage from the Science side, while the inside is a magical power source. Thanks to that, Kamijou can't touch it. Though he can touch some of the things that me and Informant have because of the nature of the way the magical components are made."
"Oho?" Nephthys looked a little fascinated. "So there are things which Imagine Breaker can touch?"
"We can discuss that at a later time." Percival took out a harness. "Use this to carry Niang-Niang."
"You would ask a Magic god to do a menial task like this?"
"Unless you have a way to escape with the two of you fine. Or do you have an idea on how to escape him and his faction?"
"…" Nephthys stared at Percival for a minute, before she did as he told her.
Flashback end
"Well, after that, it took Niang-Niang a day to get back to her usual self. And even after that, we spent a few days trying to get Kamisato off our scent." Percival sighed. "It would have been easier had Niang-Niang not somehow managed to give away our location almost every time by ordering Chinese food."
"What?" The Chinese Magic god pouted, folding her arms over her flat(well, flatter compared to her companions, one of who was half dead, the other 15 centimetres) "This place has great ingredients for Chinese food."
Can't really deny that part. Touma mentally agreed with her on that part. It was one of the reasons why he preferred to cook at his own dormitory. Academy City's produce are mostly imported in, but that was because they had yet to mass-produce ingredients that were nutritionally identical to every animal that came in.
"Well, thanks to that fight Kamisato and Kamijou had, we managed to slip under their radar long enough for us to get to you." Percival nodded his head towards the misfortunate boy in question, which he barely acknowledged from the thoughts that occupied his head on Academy City's food situation.
Hmm, Academy City has to import quite a bit of food. The only things we are able to produce are mainly vegetables and fruits from high tech hydroponics. Touma frowned. We also have quite a limited amount of space, so we don't have that great a variety. There are also plant-based meat, but we don't make too much of those I think...hmm? Couldn't we clone animals to eat?
"…ma… … …ouma!"
I mean, if those scientists can clone Biri-biri and her esper ability, wouldn't that mean we could also clone animals? I am pretty sure there was a person who cloned a sheep once. What was its name again? D-dobby? Doggy? Dolly?
"…mijou!" He could faintly hear someone calling him, but he ignored it in favour of continuing his thinking. "…ami…jou!"
Actually, the reason why the Sisters have to go to the hospital for their check-ups is to ensure that they can live the lifespan of a human. Touma raised his hand to his chin absentmindedly. In that case, if we clone animals that have an accelerated growth rate, or as fully grown animals, couldn't we use them as a food source? There is the question of ethics for that, but if we make it such that the animals are 'brain dead', would that be fine? Actually, wouldn't just cloning chunks of meat be fine as well?
*zap*
"Ah!" Touma was knocked out of his stupor by the familiar sound of Imagine Breaker activating.
"Finally." Percival smirked. "Back with us Kamijou?"
"…what?" Touma blinked in surprise. Almost all the females were gone. "Where is everyone?"
"The Tokiwadai girls headed back to their dorm since it was near their curfew." Informant told the boy, flipping a book with some interest as he spoke. "Same reason for Uiharu-san and Saten-san. Niang-Niang went out for some Chinese food. And Index is cleaning up."
"What!?" Touma panicked. NOOO! My best pot!
"Don't worry, it's her eating up the remaining food. The ones that you would not be able to fit in the fridge, like the soup or the leftover rice." Informant's words calmed Touma down. "Although, she might try to wash up afterwards to make less work for you."
And like that, his panic came back in full force. "I better wash up quickly then." Face nearly ashen from fear, he quickly gathered the used utensils and bowls…
…only to find that there was none.
"The girls cleaned up before they left." Informant helpfully supplied. "Hence the reason why she is trying to wash her stuff later."
Turning his head so fast that he might have gotten whiplash, Touma scrambled towards the sink, where he could hear running water. "Index, STOP!"
"Eh?" Index tilted her head to the side, a scrub in one hand, and her bowl in the other. "Touma, what's wrong?"
"You are NOT going to wash anything!" Touma frantically looked over his sink. No fire, no smoke. Nothing seems wrong.
"Eh? Why not?" Index pouted. "I can clean!"
"No, you can't!" Touma got closer to Index, hands raised like he was approaching an animal. "The last time you washed something, you somehow set fire to the sink!"
"Oho?" Nephthys suddenly leaned through the little counter space that separated the bed from the kitchen area. "That sounds interesting. I heard about that from Othinus. She said something about fires being set with non-flammable things? Such an ability has to be a talent."
Not really. And don't you agree with her like you aren't the culprit! She is talking about you! Touma shouted in his mind when he saw Index nodding her head along with Nephthys's words.
..
"So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?"
After quite a bit of convincing, some slaps to the head(courtesy of Informant, and mainly on Percival), they managed to get back on track with minimal damage to the home of one high school student. Levinia Birdway had also stopped daydreaming, and was in the conversation as well. Well, listening first anyway.
"Well, the main thing was about Kamisato Kakeru." Nephthys started off the meeting. "Niang-Niang took a hit from Kamisatio Kakeru's World Rejector, as you know, and became…delirious, for lack of a better term."
Just a few hours before, Touma might have rejected it as nonsense.
The Magic Gods were the greatest threats, and nothing would be better than to have them be gone from the world. Yet he would have rejected the idea because the notion of a Magic god becoming delirious from a single hand was enough to make one snort.
But now, he did not. After all, he had seen first-hand what World Rejector could do. And he had a feeling that was just the tip of the iceberg, like how his own right hand's basic ability was to negate miracles, including luck.
"So, what is World Rejector?" Touma finally asked. "And what do you mean the other Magic Gods were sent to a new world?"
"World Rejector…I am unclear on how it was created exactly." Nephthys answered. "Somehow, a special power had managed to crystallize and be wielded by Kamisato Kakeru. Furthermore, that boy can use that ability to… …harvest Magic gods, for lack of a better word."
"That boy?" Othinus narrowed her eye. She could understand where Nephthys was coming from. After all, she had seen it too.
Nephthys's lips curled into a mocking smile while her long silver hair dangled down. "Yes…that boy. Kamisato Kakeru looked like the kind of normal high school boy you can find anywhere. Just like Kamijou Touma. He has incredibly plain features like him, and he might be even more average than Kamijou Touma. At the very least, he didn't seem to have years of high-level military training, years spent in a magic cabal, or any unique physical features like those of a Saint.
"Then what is this World Rejecter thing?" Touma brought the conversation back to the crux of the matter.
"Like Kamijou with Imagine Breaker, Kamisato was probably chosen by the world's lottery and obtained World Rejector, right?" Percival asked.
"…No." Nephthys answered. "Imagine Breaker chose Kamijou Touma for a reason. Something that drew the dreams of all the magicians into the shining soul of the person bearing the true name, 'the One who Purifies Gods and Slays Demons'."
Her eyes flittered briefly towards Kamijou's right hand. "…In that case, there must be something inside Kamisato Kakeru as well. Something unique that drew in World Rejecter."
"But what exactly IS World Rejector?" Touma stressed, raising his right fist slightly and looking at it. "Is it some kind of special power like mine?"
"In a way." Percival cut in. "From the small bits of history that we managed to glean, Imagine Breaker and World Rejector belong to a class of powers we have classified as the 'Tools Of God'. The reason for this is because that it works against any and every supernatural phenomenon in some way or the other, unable to display their true power against weapons of Science due to their power."
"Disregarding what Percival said, Imagine Breaker is a gathering of dreams held by all of those who use magic." Nephthys sighed, a hint of exasperation in her tone. "A clear point that marks the basis for everything. The set units, the way of life, even units of measurement like the kilogram or meter. That right hand of Kamijou Touma functions as an unchanging standard. In a way, you could say that Imagine Breaker is a tool fit to be used by a god."
Hm…didn't Ollerus say something similar to that effect now that I think about it? Something about Imagine Breaker being a safety net that gathered the hopes and dreams of all magicians? Kamijou thought to himself. Well, it was also thanks to that I am still in the 'original world' that Othinus created…or would it be original timeline, going by Percival's and Informant's words?
"Oh," Nephthys added. "I haven't checked on any of the details, but based on what Kamisato himself said, there is a connection between the origins of Imagine Breaker and World Rejecter."
"""Hmm?""" Everyone looked at Nephthys, especially Percival and Informant. "What do you mean?" The dirty-blonde asked, leaning forwards to catch everything she spoke.
"Imagine Breaker protects, restores, and clings to the existing world. It is basically a collection of that ideal." As Nephthys spoke, everyone not a Magic god listened closely. "The World Rejecter inside Kamisato's right hand is the exact opposite. It casts his target into a 'new world', practically erasing their existence. In other words, it abandons and gives up on the current world to take a trip to another world. A collection of that illusion as opposed to the collection of an ideal."
"I see." Othinus frowned. As a fellow Magic god, she had aa better understanding with Nephthys than did Index, who sat at the stage before becoming a Magic God. Guess that fact allows our resident chibi Magic god to catch on more quickly to some things. "Imagine Breaker is the dreams of all magicians, but did some of them change their minds? Did some percentage of 'all magicians in the world' subconsciously doubt they would truly be safe if they continued relying on Imagine Breaker as it is, causing some of it's power to escape and form the new power called World Rejector?"
"It goes without saying, but 99.9 percent of the magic side's total power is held by us Magic gods… …scratch that, make that 50 percent, seeing as there is only two of us left, not counting you." Nephthys corrected herself. "Despite the minority in our numbers, our overall power in each individual Magic god far eclipses that of the average magician, or even a magic cabal. So–"
Nephthys cut herself off, eyes widening marginally. "Ah, so that was it…"
"What?" Touma was confused. "Go on. What were you about to-" Wait… Touma caught himself. She said that most of the power in the world is held by the magic gods. So, unless every magician in the world doubted Imagine Breaker–
"World Rejector was created by your own hands, because of a silver of doubt that entered you minds?" Percival finished the sentence.
"… …" Wordlessly, Nephthys narrowed her eyes at the boy.
"Hahahaha~" Clasping a hand to his eyes, Percival laughed out loud. "That is actually hilarious! The one thing that the Magic gods wanted was a person that would help them, but because they lost faith in that person for a fraction of a second, that created the thing that would end you! Oh, there is some irony in that! If you had not lost faith, then we would not have a kid with a grudge coming after you and erasing your very existence!"
"Indeed." Othinus chuckled. "It's like a loyal servant backstabbing a person because of that one moment of hesitation. Did you enjoy getting the entire world caught up in your suicide of your own making, Nephthys?"
"Should you really be laughing?" Nephthys showed an irritated expression. "We in the true Gremlin started doubting Kamijou Touma when he left his path to save all Magic Gods by gaining an understanding of you personally. In other words, none of this would have happened if not for your actions. All of the chaos since the end of the World War 3, including today, can be blamed on your selfishness."
"…"
"…"
Briefly, murderous glares were exchanged between the two Magic gods(one former, the other with diminished power). Touma swore he saw sparks fly in the air.
"Hey, wait! Let's not fight here." Touma tried to break the strained atmosphere. "We have many thing to talk about, like Birdway and what she is doing here, as well as why she is connected to those things that attacked Kamisato. Plus, he himself!"
"…that's true." The chibi Goddess agreed, backing off. "But first, we are going to talk about Kamisato Kakaeru. After all, Levinia Birdway is awake now, and she would be working with us, whether she likes it or not."
"Oi."
"You know as well as me that my Understander would not settle for anything less than helping you out with whatever problem you have." Othinus shot back towards the glaring girl, before shooting a look towards her fellow Magic God.
Taking the hint, Nephthys cleared her throat. "Kamijou Touma. If you could avoid any trouble by throwing us into wolves den, would you do it?"
"What do you mean?" Touma frowned, and incredulous expression over his face. "Of course not. I could never do that."
"See?" Othinus gave the blond a meaningful look.
"…got it…" Levinia sulked. "But I am warning you Kamijou, you better not touch me."
"Oi! I am not some pervert who gets off on little girls!" Touma felt a stinging pain hit his very soul. "That's Aogami's jurisdiction, and it will stay that way!"
"That's not- Ahh~" Levinia sighed, placing a hand on her face. "Just…go on with your conversation. I'm thirsty, so could you-"
"Here." A glass of water was given to the cabal boss.
"Thanks." Nodding her head towards Informant, Levinia leaned against the bed as she drank her water.
"So, for the benefit of a certain person who had been daydreaming, let me sum up what was just said." Percival scratched his head as he spoke. "Our newest enemy is Kamisato Kakeru, who has the ability called World Rejector. He is an unknown who has confirmed to have erased almost every Magic gods on this plane of existence. He is also an unknow variable, since history does not say much about him. We were also confirming the existences that were Imagine Breaker and World Rejector, which is something that could have been summed up in less than a few sentences instead of the roundabout way we did so."
"""OI.""" Several people felt their hearts get stabbed. Well, Touma agreed personally with Percival's statement. We could have just said that World Rejector is a power similar to Imagine Breaker, and despite it's unknown origins, it is able to erase Magic gods, and do so that is like drawing moths to a flame.
"Well, ignoring that jab," Othinus scowled. "It is highly likely that the two of you would clash again soon."
"That seems a little unfair to him, doesn't it?" We hardly even know him after all. We could maybe convince him to leave them alone.
"Not really." Percival shrugged. "Come on Kamijou, are you really that dense?"
"Eh? No I'm not! Right Index?" He turned towards the nun, but she huffed, looking away from him. Eh~ Am I…really that dense?
"I can tell what you are thinking, and yes, you are that dense, Kamijou Touma." Levinia looked at him with a deadpan expression, sipping her glass of water. "After all, he can't even take a hint from the girls around him."
"Sorry Birdway-san, but that bridge got crossed."
"Kak-kak, what?!" Levnina choked on her water. "How?!"
"A kiss, lots of teasing, and blunt words."
As Levinia spluttered, Percival looked back towards Touma. "As I was saying, are you dense? Wait, don't answer that. You are." Touma felt an arrow hit his head at that jab. "Anyway it is a fact that the two of you would clash against one another, no matter what you attempt to do. He wants to kill every Magic god in this plane, while you want to protect them. As it stands, your objectives are polar opposites. And since you do not know anything about him, you can't convince him otherwise."
"And there is another point, human." Othinus's words were like a heavyweight boxer's. "Until now, you have managed to get through everything by using the blessings in your right hand. As all kinds of normal threats opposed you, you achieved an unexpected victory using that abnormal power. But this time, it will be different."
"?"
"Your opponent's power is just as abnormal." Othinus explained. "You can no longer fight like a joker taking on a group of aces and kings. This is a joker against a joker. In a way, it's even harder to predict than a clash between two aces. You have never experienced something like this before, so you can't predict what's going to happen based on your accumulated experience. If you don't focus your mind, you could easily end up dead in a way that ignores all the rules you've seen before."
Othinus allowed that fact to sink in before she continued. "And going by your luck, you are more likely than not to encounter and fight Kamisato Kakeru. The question now is it sooner or later. And more importantly-"
"…" Silence ensued, as they all listened attentively to Othinus.
"-this girl here got picked up this idiot hero. His affliction of needing to save anyone who can be called a girl struck again." She pointed at said girl, who sputtered in indignation.
Touma fell onto all fours and started to pound at the floor in frustration, but the eyepatch girl ignored him and kept the conversation going.
"I am not some sort of child that needs rescuing!"
"Please say that again when you are a few years older." Informant said in a deadpan voice towards the cabal boss. "You title in the future is 'Youngest Cabal Boss who remained in power for a decade'. And at that time, or rather right now, you are 13, barely 14, years of age."
"Grrr…" Sadly for the cabal boss, she had no way to refute that statement.
… …Plus, it was a little flattering to be the youngest cabal boss.
"Birdway, could you tell us what on earth you were doing to end up looking like you were covered in a rotten red carpet?"
"Rotten re- You know what, that is a little fair now that I am looking at my current state." Levinia paused as she gazed at the little red bits that were clinging to her clothes. "And I would say that you should stay out of my business, but…"
"Like we said, Kamijou-san would end up in your problem, whether you like it or not." Informant sighed, patting the young girl on her shoulder. "My condolences for getting a busybody brother."
"Wha-" The blonde blushed a heavy red. And Touma had a feeling that it was not embarrassment. "You little-"
I don't see anything, I can't hear anything~ For the first time in a long time, Touma stopped thinking about the complicated things, looking away from the scene of carnage.
Timeskip, a few minutes later...
"Pant, pant..."
"Gah!" A male voice screamed. "How the hell are you managing to do a German Supplex on me?! You are quite literally, half my size!"
"Say that again, I dare you!"
"Mercy! Mercy!"
Timeskip, a few minutes later...
It took some time, but after Birdway had finished punishing the strange boy(in her eyes) and inquiring about them, everyone got back to their positions
"Now that everything is in order…" Percival patted the sobbing Informant on his head(I can't get married anymore…). "Birdway, could you tell us what the heck you are wearing? And why?"
"Before I answer that…" Levinia crossed her arms. "…tell me. How much do you know?"
"Like everyone that we have met that is connected to Kamijou, just the bare minimum." Percival answered. "So, we know about how many times you have interacted with him, a possible basis of you magic, the fact you have a sister, and your lo- Oof!"
The last part was cut off from the sudden kick Levinia launched at his solar plexus, instantly knocking out all the air in his lungs.
"Please...ignore him." Informant sniffed. "He likes to tease others a lot, so...could you please explain it?"
"…fine." Levinia sighed. "But first, what do you know about my sister?"
""""… …""""
"…Seeing your confused faces, not much I guess." Levinia sighed. She pointedly ignored the faces of the two people from the future. "My sister…Patricia Birdway, is someone who uses the Birdway name, but she is not a magician. While I have been exclusively focused on magic, she has a more scientific way of thinking. She is my little sister, which should give you a guess at her age, but she already has a PhD and works on university-run projects."
Touma could hear a hint of pride in her voice as Levinia spoke about her sibling. "She has also been sponsored by Academy City, or its cooperative institutions, to join labs and research ships as guest researchers. The number of published papers she has are more than 20, and the media react differently to a paper with her name on it, so plenty of schools look for chances to bring her into their institutions." Her chest puffed up. "To sum it up, she is my wonderful little sister. I will only say this when she is not here, but she is one of the few people I don't mind having around."
"Why am I picturing two sadistic little girls glaring down at me with identical smirks?" Touma shivered slightly in fear.
"Her personality is the polar opposite of mine."
"Wow, she must be an angel! I'd actually be a little afraid to meet someone that perfect!" Touma's attitude took a complete 180.
""Make up your mind."" Two voices said at the same time, both of them female.
"I don't like what you're implying there." Levinia said, a little upset. "Of course, Patricia knows nothing of the cabal. To be exact, I've made sure of it. And her success isn't because we've been putting in a good word for her. She knows I lead some kind of organization related to the Birdway family, but she isn't actually aware that it's a magic cabal. She probably thinks it's a salon that dates back to the old noble days or something. It's only just barely, but she still qualifies as a normal person."
…what is with this sudden backstory?
"So, why tell us about your sister so suddenly?" Index vocalised what Touma was thinking.
"There was someone else there besides me, wasn't there?"
"You mean Kamisato?"
"Kamisato? I did not even know that there was someone like that until you started to discuss him. So, no." Levinia sat herself down onto Touma as she spoke, causing Touma to let out a grunt in discomfort. He would have asked her why she was sitting on his lap and making herself comfortable, but three glares aimed at him made him reconsider his options.
"She means the black one, human." Othinus cut in, kicking the boy in his neck. Thankfully, she had not chosen to shove her arm into his ear, so he could hear still. Unfortunately, she put a little too much into her kick, so it felt like he was being choked for a moment.
"Wait… You mean there was a human inside that one too?!" Touma managed to choke out after he managed to get air back into his system.
"That's the problem." Levinia sighed. "That was my sister Patricia. But needless to say, she wasn't born like that. There was apparently some trouble on an Antarctic investigation. Some weird parasite got inside her and transformed her into that."
"Seriously?" Percival frowned. "History did not mention that before."
"I don't think anyone would purposefully put this into history books." Levinia frowned. "When I first heard of it, I chucked the report back at Mark's head, but after some checking, I realised how serious it was. The cabal had no way to purge this parasite, even when I looked through all the cards the cabal held. Because Academy City was apparently backing the project, my sister was sent 'outside' to different institutions before being sent to an Academy City medical facility. But…as you can see, she managed to escape the bed she was restrained to and rampaged outside. Do you see the problem now? Both my organisation and the Science side were unable to find a cure, so this is akin to admitting to letting loose an extremely dangerous an unknown specimen that could end the world. "
Touma did not understand everything that was said, but he managed to get the gist of it. "So you left your cabal to look for a cure for your sister?"
"That is correct." Levinia nodded her head. Touma could feel her blonde locks tickling his chest as she did so. "What I am using is a hybrid magic that comes from the Dark Continent, or Africa. I won't go through the entire explanation, but basically, I am growing something in my body that would be used to substitute what is missing in my sister's body. "
"So you left your organisation to save your sister...alone. Why not ask your group to help?" Informant asked, a little confused.
"It is a matter of personal pride, I guess." Levinia responded. "As the leader of a Golden Organisation, I don't want the men that I led to see me in such a state. And when I am handling something even more important than my life, my reputation would also be at stake as well. Or rather, because the Dawn-Coloured Sunlight is not a pure Golden Cabal and has a number of issues that needed to be settled at the extremities of the organization, I don't want to spread any unnecessary confusion during these difficult times, so I chose to act alone."
"Talking to an average high school boy about leading an organization isn't going to help much. Sorry, but I've never even had a part-time job."
""…You're not the most considerate person, are you?"" Not surprisingly, Levinia was not the only one who had spoken.
"Anyway, about that black thing...you said that it came from the Antarctic and that it was a parasite, but what does it take exactly?" Informant tried to steer the conversation back on track. "Certain organs? Blood? Since you are growing something in your own body, I I am guessing it is the latter. And is it contagious? Can it spread to multiple people, or is it limited to a single host?"
"For the first question, I don't know." Levinia sighed. "If it was contagious, I doubt that Academy City would let my sister into the city, let alone allow her to be taken to multiple institutions to take samples from her… …or so I hope. For the taking and final question, since it refuses to leave Patricia's body, I believe that it can only stay in a single host. Or course, it might seek out a new host should her vitals grow unstable."
"That sounds more like a hairworm or a tapeworm than influenza or diarrhea." Touma commented. In his head, he knew that the issue was not as simple as a parasite living inside a person and taking some nutrients, but he could not help but make that comparison when he heard about what Levinia said.
"I don't like your comparisons." Levinia spat out. "That thing has managed to dissolve almost all of the fat in Patricia's body. Right now, its treating her body as a mobile home and hostage in one. It's hard to get all of it out because it slips inside the empty space and maintains her human silhouette. It also handles all the nutrient storage and distribution. In other words, that parasite you compared to a tapeworm holds my sister's life in its hands. Trying to extract it causes the thing to go nuts. Try to get all of it, and you might as well shred her body from the inside out. And even if you did manage to extract every single bit of it, all that would remain is the skin-and-bones shell that makes up my sister. She would die before she could recover her strength. In other words, she can't be saved by normal means."
"…That's awful."
"And that is how parasites work." There was no heat in her voice. "They latch onto their host and won't let go until they have obtained everything they wanted. That thing is trying to survive, in it's own way...anyway, everything I told you came from Mark's report. He couldn't come up with his own solution, so I left the organisation for a bit and acted on my own."
"…then, what is your trump card?" Touma was curious. He knew that the situation was dire if Levinia Birdway had snuck into Academy City to do something about her sister Patricia who could not be saved by surgery, even casting aside the magic she excelled in to do so.
"It's in my body." Levinia lightly tapped her chest. "That's mainly why I told you not to touch me with Imagine Breaker. I know you carried me to your dorm room and all, but I would not like to take any chances."
"The animal skin I am wearing, the thing you call a rotten carpet, is based on the African legend of a princess. It's a medium that fosters growth, while also providing defence and concealment so that the beautiful princess could grow up without anyone getting in her way. I've been using it to grow a certain something."
"A certain something?" Touma echoed. "What is it?"
"…" Levinia leaned away from the boy, not looking at him.
"Birdway…" Touma's eyes narrowed. "What aren't you telling me?"
"…what I am doing is akin to canalisation." Levinia finally admitted.
… …what did she say? A sense of horror bloomed within Touma as he thought about the implications of what she just said.
"Well, what I am growing is made of corn starch, so it's not true cannibalization, but the symbolism of healing a sick patient by providing a corresponding part is there." A note of resignation entered Levinia's voice as she spoke.
"There is a concept occasionally shows up in legends concerning food. If your eye is sick, eat an eye. If your arms or legs are lame, eat an arm or a leg. If your heart is bad, eat a heart. That way, you will regain a healthy body. Most of the time, another mammal like a pig or cow is used when doing a ritual like this, but sometimes, it means the consumption of eating specific body parts of another human."
"Wait…you don't mean…" Touma's mind had calmed down when he heard that Levinia was NOT cannibalising herself to save her sister, but his heart rate definitely shot up when he realised what she had said earlier.
"I needed a way to save my sister."
As she spoke, Levinia got away from Touma. She then removed her large brooch and unbuttoned her blouse. Normally, Touma would have shouted something along the lines of 'Why are you stripping in front of a guy!? Do you not have any shame, woman?', but what he saw made him pause.
She was not wearing a bra, but a thin slip hung from shoulder straps and covered her from the chest to below the navel. But that was not what caught Touma's attention.
In addition to the two lovely mounds on her chest, something grotesque was growing almost centre to her chest. It pulsated like a living creature, but it was clearly something that was not tied to the girl's own heartbeat.
"I told you I have more than you, didn't I?" Levinia gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I have created a new organ in my body that is meant to be eaten. If Patricia eats this once it's fully grown, this will all be over."
"…" Touma kept silent, choosing to observe the pulsating thing in her chest. So that's why she said not to touch her… Touma realised what she had meant earlier. If Imagine Breaker had somehow worked on that artificial organ, than all her hard work would have been for nothing. Or at the very least, wasted. Sure she could have grown it again, but by then, would Patricia still be alive?
"No way!" Suddenly, Index stood up. "How?!"
Touma blinked, not entirely sure what was going on.
Levinia smirked. "Sorry, but life is unfair."
"You're lying! That has to be a lie!" Index wailed. "How is it that you have more than me?"
Huh? Touma was lost now.
"Give up." Levinia said in a smug tone. "The system of this world is a cruel one. Deal with it."
"I don't want to hear that from a child who wouldn't even know how to put on a bra!"
"Whaaat!? What do bras have to do with anything!?" Levinia positively growled. "Besides, the idea that having breasts and wearing a bra are one and the same is nothing but a fantasy of those with no cup size to speak of!"
It was at that moment that everything clicked for Touma. Ah…cup size…breasts… Touma's eyes glazed over as he stood up. Walking towards his kitchen, he started to pull some things out from the fridge. Okay, I did not hear anything. Nothing at all. Nothing. At. All.
Touma did what he did best. Cooking, and running from reality.
Off to the side, a couple of people sighed at the very pointless and fruitless conflict that was occurring at the moment.
Nephthys was one of them. After all, she was wearing nothing but bandages on her body, but she clearly had a cup size to speak of. And an impressive one at that. Plus, using bandage should have restricted their growth, so…
As for the other people that sighed, it was Othinus and the two people from the future. The former because she had a cup size as well, and was wearing what could only be considered a exhibitionist-styled witch outfit that had absolutely no bra or support like features in it.
And as for the latter, it was because…well, both of the child-like individuals that were currently in an argument(which had now somehow devolved into a catfight) would end up having a decent-sized chest. Well, they would never beat the Level 5s, but it was decent for people who had spent their early lives nearly as flat as a board.
The world was very confusing like that.
…
…
…well, after a few minutes, someone had to ask a few questions to sate their own curiosity.
"So, why corn, if you don't mind me asking." Informant tilted his head, looking down at the two panting girls. "Well, I have a few other questions, but this one first. It's been bugging me actually. Why corn specifically when it comes to things like curses?"
"Well," Index cleared her throat as she fixed her ruffled clothes. "corn is mainly used as a substitute. In the beginning, dolls were made of animal matter or an actual human body, but they were not that common. Plus, to make a doll, you would need to add some mystery to it. So they had to develop substitutes of producing the same effect as the sacrifice, be it to escape a curse, or to curse someone else in what you would call voodoo magic. Stories all over the world about plants or grains arranged in a human form to take someone's place are either examples of the magic Levinia is using, or are used to exemplify and amplify the magic being used."
Levinia buttoned up her blouse as she spoke, nodding in agreement to what Index had said. "Also, what I am doing is not truly curse magic. What I am trying to do is for her to eat the organ to replace the fats she has lost. To buy her more time really. Corn starch is what I am using because there are threads or sheets made of that same material used to close or close a large wound. There would be no need to remove it because the body would fuse with the corn starch cloth."
She replaced her large brooch over her blouse, putting on a nonchalant expression as she summed it up for the high schooler and person who inquiring about the mystic arts. "Basically, the organ isn't really all that different from some corn potage."
Othinus sighed. "That would explain why the supposedly green animal skin is red. Are you trying to grow an apple in your chest?"
..
The process was psychedelic and grotesque.
At first glance, Touma's optimal answer would have been to complain about what Levinia was doing. After all, the thing seemed to rob one's willpower just by looking at the damn pulsating thing. But after hearing the explanation for why she was doing so, no one could voice out their complaints. To sum it up, the entire problem would be resolved if the created organ was eaten by her sister.
But…
..
"What about your sister?" Touma could see the next problem. To someone who was not aware of the other side, the pulsating object that had appeared in the centre of Levinia's chest would have been a cause for concern. Especially if it had grown to that size in such a short time.
"You have grown smarter, haven't you." Levinia shot him an unreadable look.
"I take offense to that!"
"Well, you nailed my second problem on the head, Kamijou." Levinia clicked her tongue in irritation. "Because my sister does not know about the magic side and what it has to offer, I can't explain this to her. Or rather, I won't do so. The less she knows about this side, the better."
"So that's the main problem right now?" Percival scoffed. "Well that's a shitty problem, considering the way you want to do this."
"Quite." Levinia agreed. "How is Patricia supposed to understand the logic of the cannibalisation helping to take up her burden, or at least partially her burden, of the parasite residing in her body? Any normal person would be horrified. My sister would be even more so, since all she would see and think is her sister is growing some strange tumour in her body and is tying to force the fully grown product down her throat. Without exposing magic to her, I can't figure out a way to convince her."
That would explain the fight me and Kamisato stumbled across. Touma suddenly realised. Birdway and her sister were fighting because one wanted to save her and knew how to do so, while the other did not want to be saved at the expense of her sibling's life, which was false unknown to her, since she did not know about the existence of magic. Plus, the black parasite would go on a rampage once anything tried to drive it out.
Not everything is going according to plan. As usual. Touma sighed discreetly.
"I am also calling this organ a fruit. Partly because I am giving it nutrients so it would grow like one, but also because it is not made for long-term storage. Once I have obtained the fully grown product, it would stop growing and start to wither and rot. Nothing short of using magic to somehow preserve it perfectly would stop it from withering. Because of this nature, there would be no second chance. I need to make sure it grows, make sure it get's harvested, and make sure it gets into my sister's mouth. The last bit is the real problem."
""""… …"""" Everyone kept quiet as they tried to think of a way to solve that problem.
"Well, there is one more thing I am very curious about." Levinia raised a finger. "Where did Patricia end up while I was unconscious?"
"Eh?"
Touma looked over at Othinus who only shrugged. "At the very least, she wasn't at the scene of the battle…"
When she heard his answer, Levinia had an expression akin to one suffering a cavity at their molars. "If she's wandering around alone, that isn't much of a problem."
Next, it all gathered together on a single point.
"But if that Kamisato person collected her, this could be trouble. I don't remember much, but there was one other person there and his right arm seemed to be as much of a joker as yours."
AN
Okay, so I saw someone ask about the parallel worlds. It was stated by Kamisato and Nephthys that parallel worlds did not exist.Well, this should have answered your question. That was BEFORE Othinus messed with the world. Like she said, she knew what was supposed to happen, what the world was supposed to look like, but she did not know all the details. To quote(somewhat) from the fanfiction, 'From Fake Dreams'(Fate fanfic):
"In Fae Magic, I know A plus B equals C, but how it does so, I have no clue."
This is actually very apt in this case. Othinus managed to get to the C part, but the process she used to get there was not the 'proper' method. She managed to use A and B, but along the way, what made B 'B' was lost, turning it into a degraded version of the original. And so, when she got to C, some parts were missing, and some parts were added.
And also, there was a loophole in what Kamisato said. World Rejector banished someone into the place between the world they lived in. Basically, he pushed them into an alternate world. That what it is. A world which has no humans. A shadow of the real world.
Now, this part is a contradictory statement that was true at the time. Until now(at that time), Kamisato had no idea what his World Rejector ACTUALLY did. Sure, he could 'banish' things to the unused 'frames' as he called it. But he did not specify more than that. Similar to Imagine Breaker, World Rejector was, is, and will never be fully understood, as it is a culmination of ideals given form. World Rejector is the 'hopes, dreams and false.' Imagine Breaker is the 'original, old, and true'.
I say 'true' and 'false' because that what it is. World Rejector makes everything a lie, something false. It also has the illusion of always being reliable. Something that is 'false'. Imagine Breaker however, is something set in stone. It has a set limitation, a set use. It is confined by something always 'true'; a fist. It's action makes everything back into 'truth', turning the false(magic) into true(reality). The anti-extra-normal-phenomena we call magic and esper abilities.
Now then, with this, the next chapter would be focused more on Kamisato, something that everyone could already see if they read the books. The content would be mostly the same, except for one or two bits that is.
Well, Anime is Life, and please review!