Stiyl dispersed the smoke in front of him with a wave of his hand and surveyed the area. The place Touma had been standing was completely wiped out, nothing left but a crater of smoking rubble the size of a large room. Stiyl was somewhat confused. he hadn't intended to create an impact of that size. Ordinarily he would have chalked it up to a fluke success, but now he wasn't so sure. After what had transpired in the past few minutes, he wasn't willing to underestimate anything his opponent might be capable of.

Then he noticed a small trail of smoke, leading down over the railing and onto the next floor down.

No way. Did that crazy kid actually...?

Peering down over the edge, he could hear the boy's rapid footsteps and frantic breathing moving away from him. Stiyl was momentarily shocked that he could still be alive, but as he thought about it, he realized what had happened.

"I see. So he let go of Innocentius's sword and jumped to the side at the moment my swords would have hit him. It was Innocentius and me clashing that produced the explosion. Very quick thinking for a normal human."

He turned back to look at Index's prone body, which continued to stare straight ahead with those robotic eyes.

Well, time to do what I came here to do, I suppose. If that boy's smart, he'll get away from this place before Innocentius finds him again.

Touma collapsed to his hands and knees, panting heavily through his dry throat. His forehead coursed with sweat, and a thin line of black smoke trailed off the charred edge of his shirt.

"This-this is it... I'm gonna die here... Eaten by... A lava monster..."

Then he noticed the papers.

Hundreds of small bits of scrap paper were attached to the walls, the floor, the ceiling, the railing with ordinary scotch tape. Each one engraved with a strange symbol resembling an angular letter C alongside the letter F.

"Wait... Are these the runes that Index was-"

Touma's thoughts were interrupted by that awful, echoing scream meeting his ears once again. With no time to think, he scrambled to his feet and tore down the hallway as a swirling river of flames crashed around the corner and rushed after him.

"Again?!"

The howling creature was gaining on him, and Touma's body felt ready to give out at any second. He knew he couldn't keep running forever, not when he was being pursued by something that would never run out of fuel.

So he stopped.

Turning on his heel, he faced down the monster, which had begun to take shape within the blaze as it streaked toward him, it's eyes burning with mindless hunger. Charging the beast with a shout, he leaped to the side at the last second and let it streak past him, its flames momentarily cocooning his body before his hand dissipated them.

Now behind the creature, he took off once again, hoping his adrenaline boost would keep him going a bit longer. He swerved around a corner, expecting another hallway, but his sense of direction was muddled by the rush of survival instincts he was feeling. Instead of continuing on flat ground, he went flying down a flight of stairs.

And over the edge of the railing into the open air.

"Just my luuuuuck!", Touma screamed as he crashed down onto a set of bicycles left just outside. He winced as he opened his eyes. Miraculously, nothing was broken, though his entire body ached like crazy. He shakily turned to look back up at the balcony, where Innocentius was snarling and gazing over the edge at him, but not pursuing.

Wait a minute... The runes. I get it. It can't follow me when I'm out of bounds!

Sighing in relief, Touma took the time to crawl to his feet and think.

Well, obviously I should try to call someone... What the-?

Touma's phone wasn't in his pocket. No matter how much he felt around for it, it wasn't anywhere on him. That was okay, though. He could just find a payphone. And yet...

He just couldn't bring himself to move.

Why do I feel so... disgusting? It's not like I'm running away. I'm just getting help... I'm just...

...

Touma sighed, turning back toward the apartments.

What am I thinking?

Stiyl knelt beside Index's prone body, gently placing his hands over her forehead. He gritted his teeth, trying to maintain his composure, but it wasn't long before he felt his eyes heating up with tears.

Every time... Why has it never gotten easier?

He barely even trusted himself to perform the enchantment. Kanzaki had better control than he did, over both her magic and her emotions. Ordinarily he would never even attempt such a convoluted spell, but after Kanzaki took off, apparently trying to "divert attention", he had no choice but to try.

"Once again, I'm sorry..."

A sudden, piercing ring of an alarm sounded, snapping Stiyl out of his thoughts and back to reality. Nary a second passed after the initial noise before water sprayed down from the ceiling. Within seconds the magician was soaking wet.

"... So foolish. Does he really think Innocentius will be bothered by a small shower? Now I'm soaking wet because he thought he could-"

ding

Stiyl turned at the sound of an elevator. There at the end of the hallway, slowly coming around the corner, was the boy with the strange hand. Stiyl prepared to open his mouth, to mock the boy for the absurdity of his plan, to decry his misguided efforts against him...

But then he looked into his eyes.

They were no longer the eyes of a confused and terrified boy up against an unfamiliar enemy.

They were like daggers.

Daggers of unstoppable determination and unbreakable purpose.

Stiyl shivered, whether from the look in the boy's eyes or from the cold water he didn't know. Finally, he forced himself to speak.

"What happened to Innocentius?"

"He's gone", Touma responded, continuing to advance, "It's a good thing you never carved those runes into the walls or I would be done for."

The ground trembled slightly, and the boy stopped. A familiar fiery glow appeared behind him, the howling giant once again erupting from the ground and screeching at Touma's back. The sight of the unstoppable monster reassured Stiyl, weakening the hold the boy's stare had over him, and he laughed.

"You fool! Did you really think a fire that burns at 3000 degrees would be put out by a bit of water?! And those runes weren't written on toilet paper, you won't dissolve them that easily!" He raised his hand commandingly. "Innocentius! I call upon thee! Kill him!"

With an eager snarl, the beast raised its hand in turn, slamming it down at Touma's exposed head. The boy didn't break eye contact with the magician, he just lifted his right hand and caught one of the giant's dripping talons on its way down.

The Witch Hunter King Innocentius let out one last echoing cry, and then was immediately drowned out by the high-pitched sound of Touma's hand. The monster's body fell like collapsing tissue paper, swirling apart into detached strands of gleaming plasma, and soon even those faded from view.

"I-Impossible!" Stiyl's initial fear came back full force, and he reflexively stepped back, almost on top of Index. "My runes should still be at full strength!"

"The ink is washing off", Touma said.

Stiyl gasped. Of course... How could I not have realized! The ink is running, so the symbols are being disrupted! How am I supposed to beat him now?! Maybe I can carve another one... Maybe if I can just-...

...

I'm about to lose. I'm gonna be beaten by this... this... boy! What is he gonna do to me?! What even is he?!

"You aren't like him, are you?"

Stiyl's train of though was broken by the boy's voice, as well as his footsteps as he resumed advancing on him, those awful steely eyes still locked on his.

"That guy I rescued on the bridge. You're not like him. You may have something unique about you, your magic, your runes, your flaming pet, but you're human. If you get hurt, you won't heal any faster than I will. If you're hurting, you'll feel the pain just like I would. And if I hit you..."

The boy clenched his fist.

He was three steps away.

"You'll get hurt just as much as anyone else."

Stiyl shook uncontrollably, his vision getting blurry, unable to move or think clearly.

Two steps away.

"What the hell are you planning to do?", Stiyl choked out.

The boy stopped walking.

One step away.

...

"Save a friend."

Stiyl didn't even see the impact happen, all he saw were stars exploding across his vision.

The entire neighborhood was in an uproar.

Fire trucks crammed the street, police officers and firefighters dashing here and there, crowds of curious onlookers bustling around, trying to get a glimpse of the building. The enormous column of smoke had only gotten bigger since the explosion happened, and residents scrambled out of the building, claiming to have seen some sort of glowing figure moving around the complex.

Mikoto stood just behind the mob, looking up past them at the burning building. She, like many of the civilians, didn't think much of what had happened. An esper had probably caused an accident with their powers and lit their room on fire. It would get sorted out in no time.

"There you are!"

A cheerful voice rang out from behind her. She turned to see another girl running towards her excitedly. She had long, tawny brown hair divided into two wavy, branching pigtails by red ribbons. Her movements catlike and graceful, she slid to a stop alongside the Railgun and wrapped her arms around Mikoto's shoulder.

"Freaking finally! I've been looking for you everywhere!" She pressed her face closer, obviously completely oblivious to the concept of personal space. "I knew there was no way you were being kept for remedial class, and sure enough, here you are, out enjoying a night on the town!" She spoke in a run-on sentence, not pausing for breath until she had completely made her point.

Mikoto leaned away, trying to keep their cheeks from brushing together.

"And what makes it seem like I'm here enjoying myself, Kuroko?"

"Oh, that's easy", Kuroko responded, lifting a declarative finger, "This place isn't on your way home, meaning you would have had to take a detour to get here that you wouldn't otherwise take."

Mikoto blushed slightly.

"Well... I... had to run an errand around here. But more to the point, why are you here?"

Kuroko pointed to a band around her left arm. It was dark green with four white lines running along it and a shield-like emblem in the center.

"I'm actually here on official business", she explained, her tone suddenly serious, "for Judgement. Something strange happened tonight, so I was sent to investigate. That wasn't a normal fire, and we think it was caused by someone with unregistered psychic powers."

Mikoto looked back toward the fire, which was finally starting to shrink as fire hoses doused it. Interesting. It's not often that you get an unregistered esper. How would they-?

"Excuse me."

The unfamiliar voice seemed to tear through her train of thought. Turning sharply to the left, she saw a young man standing next to her who had apparently appeared without her noticing. She felt Kuroko let go of her arm and back away slightly, but only barely. She was distracted by the newcomer's appearance.

His hair was sleek and dark, strangely striped tattoos crossed over his cheeks, and he looked at her with baleful, yellow, almost luminous eyes. Her thoughts seemed to jumble up and she shuddered. It felt like those eyes were searching through her, piercing her.

Unable to bear it, she broke the eye contact and looked down, trying to escape his gaze. It then came to her attention that he wasn't wearing a shirt. And that he was rather toned and muscular for his slim physique. It was quite distracting, and she felt her face reddening slightly. But then he spoke again.

"Um... Excuse me?"

She reluctantly lifted her eyes back to his face. Then she tilted her head in confusion.

His eyes had changed.

They were no longer yellow, but rather a soft grey hue that seemed much more natural. In fact, except for his tattoos, he looked rather normal. He looked at her questioningly, almost nervously.

Did I just imagine it?

"... um... What?", she asked.

"I, uh, need to go this way", he explained, pointing past her.

... Oh!

Blushing heavily, Mikoto scooted backward to let him pass. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he had already begun to walk by.

Then he stopped in front of her, giving a short sniff.

He and Kuroko stood face to face.

The pigtailed girl craned her neck up and stared wide-eyed at him with fists clenched at her sides, her entire body shaking and sweat beading on her forehead. Mikoto immediately began to feel a bit nervous. This wasn't how her friend normally reacted to meeting strangers. Or ever. She moved over to try and say something, and then she saw his eyes again.

They were very definitely yellow.

And they were definitely glowing.

He looked back down at her with piercing eyes, far more intense than he had greeted Mikoto with. His inhuman irises seemed to pressurize the air around him, and it looked like Kuroko could barely stay standing with the weight of his golden stare pressing down on her. His expression was dark and menacing, and his fists seemed to clench tighter the longer he looked at her.

He slowly opened his mouth, and Mikoto couldn't help but think that his canines were just a bit sharper than they should have been. He spoke a single word, and his voice, though low and subdued, seemed to echo and crash through the pressurized atmosphere like a direct mental assault, directed straight at Kuroko.

"MOVE."

In the blink of an eye, Kuroko vanished into thin air. The strange boy stood in silence for a moment, then turned back toward Mikoto. His eyes were once again normal looking. He gave her a look of confusion.

"Where did she go?", he asked.

The Railgun was at a complete loss for words. Her mouth moved slightly, in spite of herself.

"... urm... teleporter..."

"Oh, okay!", he responded suddenly. Turning on his heel, he faced the building, the fire almost completely dying out. He stared up at the dwindling smoke cloud contemplatively, sniffing the air. "So they're already out. Good. I suppose I was worried for nothing."

He looked back at Mikoto with a gentle smile on his face.

"Please tell your friend I'm sorry for bothering her. It looks like I was wrong about her. Let her know that it's nothing personal, it's just a matter of principle."

"Wait, what do you mean-?"

And he was gone.

At first she thought he had teleported, but then she saw a faint trail of dust clouds leading down the street and around a corner as though he had sprinted away.

And Mikoto Misaka, The Railgun of Tokiwadai Academy, who could easily follow the movements of a bolt of lightning with her eyes, had been unable to perceive his departure.

...

...

...

... What the hell was that?