Quick announcement: following the conclusion of this chapter, the Revelations Arc of a Certain Broken Testament will come to a close.
Prepare yourselves, my wonderful readers. The buildup of tension throughout the narrative will be leading into another arc; when Science and Magic clash, a story of war, of horror, and of suffering will be told.
Prepare yourselves for the World War IV Arc.
There was seemingly no limit to the number of small facial contortions performed by those among the assembled group who didn't know of her. Those within the concave space who watched on seemed capable only of doing exactly that.
Academy City was more than simply 'known' to produce some strange things, but invisible girls had to be near the absolute top of the nonexistent "Academy City strangeness" spectrum.
The Amakusan Holy Vanguard, Itsuwa raised an eyebrow but didn't speak a word, merely observing the once-invisible girl as she stepped forward, fingers intertwined with one another behind her back. She exchanged a glance with Kamijou Touma, who after a brief delay moved to follow the once-invisible girl.
So, she must've been another harem member. Itsuwa had to forcibly will herself to keep from laughing, despite (or perhaps because of) the overt seriousness of the moment.
Having lifted her hand from the hilt of her elongated blade, Kanzaki Kaori, the Saint of the Far East kept an eye on the proceedings; the girl with the long, brown hair, a single knot tied off to the side and bound with a small collection of beads looked harmless, but, many an enemy could make themselves look harmless. If need be, a rushing strike could be performed, the hypothetical assault's speed challenging the very speed of sound itself. Hopefully, the incident playing out before the Saint wouldn't end in fisticuffs.
The Amakusan Substitute Supreme Pontiff had taken to briefly abandoning his duties. At first, though it'd seemed that Kamijou Touma had finally lost his mind, having taken to speaking to an imaginary friend of some sort, once the Substitute Supreme Pontiff looked up from his work, the 'imaginary' friend was not imaginary at all. Leave it to Academy City to develop such a potentially devastating esper ability.
He clicked his tongue, but vocalized no words before returning to his duties. Picking up his pen, Saiji further studied the miniature battlefield and jotted down further notes onto his pad of paper. If there was an issue, the Priestess would handle it. Duty came before personal desire to gawk at uncertain proceedings.
And, so, given the glances she received from all parties involved, it firstly came as something of a surprise that she didn't close the distance between herself and any of those among the group who gazed upon her. She didn't stride towards them, though she did pay them mirthful glances, and offer them her warm and generous smile.
Given that she was a strange person indeed, it firstly came as no surprise that Kamijou Touma quickly took to her side. With a gentle pat to her shoulder, he too looked forward.
Instead of approaching one of three human beings in the concave space, as was expected, she gently and gracefully strode towards the insectoid creature, the Prophet Skoram.
The two perpetually exchanged glances, even as the 'march' of Kazakiri Hyouka, the sentient collection of AIM Diffusion Fields came to a close.
Then, she extended a hand outwards, allowing the other to fall to her side where it came to hang almost limply, drifting gently back and forth like the beams of a wind chime pushed about by the soft kisses of a light summer's breeze.
Skoram extended its corresponding, sharpened upper 'limb', and the sentient collection of AIM Diffusion Fields took it into her hand. She firmly shook the extremity, and then loosed it from her grasp.
Kazakiri Hyouka tilted her head to one side, and beneath the lenses of her glasses, her eyelids closed shut.
"It's such a pleasure to meet all of you! My name is Hyouka, and I'm a friend of Kamijou-san's from Academy City. What's your name? I assume you have one! Everyone has a name. You don't have to feel shy! I'm different, too."
For a moment, and only for a very brief moment, the Prophet Skoram seemed to choose to remain silent.
Then, revealing its whipping, tendril-like tongues from within the confines of its gumdrop-shaped head, it 'properly' spoke, either of its jaws shifting in place, from one side, and then to the other.
"Your greeting is received with welcome and much mutual fondness, "Hyouka". Strange minds, you humans from "Academy City" seem to possess. I remain incapable of reaching you and of reaching your Champion. I loathe speaking in this manner… So very uncomfortable."
With a shaking of her head, no, Kazakiri Hyouka raised her right hand. Like a cartoonish depiction of a mole jutting up from the Earth's soil, her index finger practically popped up.
"Ah, well, thank you for your kindness, but that's where you're not entirely correct. I'm not really human, not in the same way that the others here are human. I'm made differently."
"… Hm, indeed, "Academy City" has birthed many unique beings."
Even as the exchange shared between Hyouka and Prophet Skoram seemed to have come to a rather ceremonious close, the sentient collection of AIM Diffusion Fields turned to those who dwelled within the realm of the Magic Side, and to her friend, Kamijou Touma.
"I'm sorry for intruding. I know you have a… A thing, going on. I wasn't trying to be detected, and I PROMISE that I wasn't doing anything suspicious! I wanted to hear what was happening, but I didn't want to get in the way…"
About to continue, Touma quickly interjected, proverbially impeding his friend's progress, and building a verbal wall, one which Hyouka just barely managed to avoid crashing into.
"You're not "in the way", Kazakiri. You deserve to know as much as anyone else does. You've already been involved before, you just didn't know it. You don't deserve to be lied to."
With a bow of her head, Kazakiri Hyouka continued from where she'd been forced to leave off in her brief elaboration.
"I guess that's what ended up happening, anyways, so it doesn't really matter. So… Uh… Again, s-sorry, I would like to continue listening in if you don't mind. This "magic" business is kind of a big deal to me; it is now at least. If there's anything I can do to prevent the sort of violence Sanctis-san talked about from spreading, I'll do it. People who went on to become my friends, they stood up for me when I needed help, so it's only fair for me to return the favour."
"If there aren't any more interruptions," Saiji snapped, "we don't have all evening."
The Substitute Supreme Pontiff soon came to regret his decision to snap. She practically shrunk, as the Priestess of the Amakusa shot her underling a disapproving glare.
Though it took her some moments, Tatemiya Saiji quickly recovered his lost confidence; in what he considered a more dignified response, he merely clicked her tongue, and shook his head in aggravation, muttering softly under his breath, wordless, frustrated vocalizations fleeing from between her lips.
Once Kanzaki Kaori pulled her vision away from her Substitute Supreme Pontiff, she offered a very different facial expression to Kazakiri Hyouka, who she smiled warmly at.
"Without a doubt, any friend of Kamijou Touma's I count as a friend of my own, and as a friend to the Amakusa."
While Saiji soon fell silent, completing the unknown duties he'd set out to (or had been ordered to) complete, Kanzaki Kaori continued her interaction with Kazakiri Hyouka, though, she posed a query, rather than vocalizing a straight statement.
"I presume you're aware of our Church's nature? You should be, if you attended Sanctis-san's briefing."
"Vaguely," was Hyouka's swiftly-delivered answer, "I know you were once affiliated with a "Church of England", and the sort of separate, method-twisting techniques in which your own Church specializes… A lot of the terminology Sanctis-san spoke of went above my head, but I only learned of the existence of this "magic" some days ago, so I guess that's to be expected. Kamijou-san was kind enough to let me in on the secret, which, if Agnese-san's words are anything to go by, could do without being a secret."
"The Church of the Cross abuses its vast power," Kaori stated, rather cryptically. "This is a major part of the reason why the Amakusa acting as we are, and why we've officially left the Church of England's side. Unofficially and not officially, though, there're layers of strategy behind this move."
The Prophet Skoram seemed to skitter about, for a moment, the tips of its pointed legs repeatedly clacking against the smoothed, flat golden flooring, the central point within the concave space.
"The Roman Orthodox Church is entirely responsible for a wide array of worldwide tragedies, including the creation of the Traditionalist Roman Orthodox Crusade, which flies in the face of the Church's status as a supposed force of good in the world.
"Aside from being those who pulled the strings of and indirectly triggered World War Three, which, if you were unaware, took the lives of close to a billion people in less than eleven days, the Roman Orthodox Church, through the Traditionalist Crusade is responsible for the ethnic cleansing occurring throughout Iraq, the People's Democratic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia, three nations which are under the moderate Islam Reformation Society's control, and are therefore friendly to the western world."
From a small pile of papers, Tatemiya Saiji quickly pulled a singular sheet.
Eight and a half by eleven, as each of the sheets in the small and easily managed pile of papers were, Saiji passed the sheet to Kanzaki Kaori, who then placed the sheet down upon a free section of the wide, unwieldy table-map, with its vast depictions of greenery, tributaries and brown-grey splotch-like masses which were more than likely mountainous spaces viewed from a top-down perspective.
Kamijou and Kazakiri turned their respective attentions to the sheet of paper, and to the contents detailed upon its flattened, glossy surface.
It was a news article, from a source which referred to itself as "RFT", a trio of Russian characters. In fact, the entirety of the article's contents was in Russian.
Detailed within was a discussion of a subject which found itself clashing with the Western World's slant on the matter, though Kazakiri Hyouka would've had no way of knowing this. Only through his delving into the Internet's vast and almost completely uncharted darkness did Kamijou Touma obtain knowledge of the proceedings; yet, even then, the narrative slant of the stories shared within 'illegal' forums were often all too easy to pick out, like a series of sore thumbs.
According to the article, the Roman Orthodox Church, a superpower in and of itself had boots on the ground in the exact locations the Saint had previously mentioned.
Screenshots of Western media outlets referring to the ethnic groups targeted, particularly within countries and city-states that dotted the continent of Africa as "Islamic extremists", and calling for the downfall of these "extremists" were displayed within the article.
Touma found himself picking up on the frightened expression which painted Kazakiri Hyouka's facial features.
"The Roman Orthodoxy would have no purpose to pursue such an agenda outside of ulterior movies," Kaori stated, with a firm, almost viciously-delivered flatness. "The world's media seemed to have sided with the Church, whether through coercion or through ignorance I can't say, making the act of taking a stance against the Roman Orthodoxy all the harder for just about everyone."
Though Kanzaki Kaori ceased her brief elaboration there, both Hyouka and Touma exchanged glances, both with differing thoughts in their respective higher minds.
Hyouka couldn't even begin guessing as to why such information hadn't been covered on Academy City's news stations – censorship seemed like the likely culprit, but, why? Wasn't the purpose of the news to inform watchers about current events, to make watchers, readers and listeners aware of the incidents unfolding in the world around them?
Touma, who'd certainly long been privy to such information through exchanging of news stories within 'illegal' dark web forums, where only the goriest of world news stories were shared, could only assume that censorship was to blame; yet, his thoughts drifted in the same direction as Kazakiri Hyouka's own. Why would Academy City censor such information? It had no love for the Magic Side. It had no love for the world beyond its walls. Would turning its citizens against those beyond its walls not make the most sense, from a business and tactical standpoint, for Academy City?
Just what were those bastards planning out? Touma could only speculate, maddeningly grasping blindly at truths just beyond reach.
Ironically, from another standpoint, it made all the sense in the world, at least by Touma's standards.
The tales of ethnic cleansing taking place across the globe mustn't have fit the narrative Academy City's news media was attempting to construct, whatever narrative that might've been.
It wasn't about facts, and it wasn't about information. It was all about driving a population's beliefs and opinions in a certain direction. In the realm of corporate brainwashing, Academy City was king.
Unfortunately, it was overwhelmingly obvious that not everyone was aware. Not everyone had seen the truth as Kamijou Touma had. He silently and invisibly wept for those who were all too blissfully unaware.
Then, both Kazakiri and Kamijou were tugged from the depths of their own inner considerations.
"But we'll get to that. I'd prefer to keep this discussion flowing in chronological order."
Kanzaki Kaori's words earned the respective attentions of both beings who called Academy City home. Both parties turned to face the Saint, who folded her arms beneath her bosom.
"As Itsuwa already… delightfully mentioned… our distant ancestors, born some few million years before even our parents' parents' parents were introduced to what we in the modern world refer to as 'esper abilities' by the Ahnk'ji peoples, whom our ancestors crossed paths with by chance.
"Some of us, but not all retain our contact with the Ahnk'ji, those among us who choose to do so refer to ourselves as "The Sons of Taured", as we follow the teachings of the Prophet, Taured, who originally made contact with our distant ancestors.
"Kamijou Touma, Kazakiri Hyouka… at the behest of the Prophet Taured, they offered their knowledge to us, in the hopes that we would Awaken and come to view the world as they did. They hoped that we would respect our world, and each other.
"Through the use of our peoples' newfound power, what we in the modern world refer to as 'esper abilities', which most of the world's entire population assumes to have originated in Academy City, we were without the need to rob the world of its resources. Espers could conjure water, call forth fire, and even generate consumable, plant-based matter."
Though Kaori's elaboration could've continued, Kamijou Touma swiftly interjected, effectively walling the supplying of exposition regarding the veiled past.
"So, what went wrong, Kanzaki? Why are the Americans digging up what's left of Siberia for oil? Why are rain forests being sliced down like a bunch of weeds in someone's garden? Wait don't tell me, I can guess this one… The answer's money. It's all about money. Am I right, or am I right? Money equals power."
The Saint of the Far East merely nodded her head, facial expression turning to a grim shade of its former self. Biting into her lower lip, she wordlessly hissed.
Offended? Perhaps she was merely frustrated, and was wordlessly expressing that sentiment. Kamijou Touma didn't know, and Kazakiri Hyouka wasn't about to interrupt for a second time.
"We don't quite know what happened to the espers who once dominated the planet, who came to share it with the envious magicians, those who hadn't had the luck of crossing paths with the Ahnk'ji and receiving the same teachings as the ancient espers. Some presume them to have been wiped out and others assume them to have gone extinct, despite their free control over the world around them.
"It's one among many matters we'll likely never have an airtight explanation for. For now, let's skip ahead in time, and push forward, past the first and second World Wars, far past the armed conflicts of the distant past and even our own loss of contact with the Ahnk'ji, who would come to fear and loathe what we'd become…"
Kaori looked upwards, as she leaned forward on the ornate table. The Amakusan Holy Vanguard, Itsuwa, produced a soft yawn, and Saiji remained focused on his duties, which seemed only to involve jotting down something, of some sort and of some importance onto her ever-shrinking pad of paper. He'd created a small pile of papers, each ripped from the pad and defiled with barely-coherent scribbling of Japanese alphabet characters.
Looking to Touma, who'd come to place either of his hands into his pockets, and then to Hyouka, who'd gracefully intertwined her fingers, and placed her hands neatly near the skirt of her Kirigaoka Girls' Academy uniform.
And, so, both Touma and Hyouka then looked to one another. The being who'd once been a 'normal high school boy' offered the sentient collection of AIM Diffusion Fields a reassuring smirk, one which she responded to with a mirthful and warm grin.
Her friend wasn't about to find himself alone, shouldering the burden on his own as he always had. No matter what was said, no matter the revelations delivered upon them by Kanzaki Kaori, someone who was apparently something known as a "Saint", someone of incredible power and incredible important, Kazakiri Hyouka would leave the sidelines to be occupied by another, someone less proactive.
So long as he didn't protest, Kamijou Touma, her friend, would never face another trial alone.
"From this point," the Saint began, "I'll be translating the words of Prophet Skoram, a being older and wiser than any among even the Amakusa, and certainly wiser than those who continue to follow the religious establishment.
"You'd do well to ponder, but not immediately doubt these words, or the claims discussed herein. The truth is often stranger than any fiction… We're nearing the halfway point of our discussion so please do attempt to remain attentive, despite the late hour. For what it might be worth, I do understand any jitters you might be suffering from."
Despite (or, alternatively, perhaps because of) Kaori's call for attentiveness, Itsuwa, the Amakusan Holy Vanguard yawned one final time, and then unceremoniously tumbled forward, free falling for the briefest of fleeting moments, before her chin landed upon the edge of the nearby table.
With an off-putting grin on her face, the Holy Vanguard softly snored. She'd completely lost consciousness as slumber had wrapped its warm arms around her body and her mind. Pulled into its depths, she became utterly unaware of the world around her; for all her dreaming mind new, the Amakusan Holy Vanguard knew of no world beyond the dreamscapes conjured by her perpetually-wandering subconscious mind.
Saiji clenched his fist, which resulted in the breaking of the pen he'd been using, up to that point. Dark, almost navy blue ink spilled out, both onto the table and onto her hand. Eyelids sliding shut, he cursed under his breath as she approached, and then slung the unconscious Itsuwa over his shoulder.
Wordlessly he departed, leaving through the same passageway which Kamijou Touma had navigated, cursing again and again, like a particularly irate trucker.
There were no comments about the events that'd played out. Kamijou Touma and Kazakiri Hyouka had merely exchanged glances, while the Prophet Skoram hadn't even seemed to notice the unfolding events.
"Ahem."
The Saint of the Far East softly cleared her throat; in the absence of any obstruction, she cleared only her own passing saliva.
"Forgive the interruption. You'll come to see, Kazakiri-san, that those who have gathered to the Amakusa's banner are… Different from most, from many different walks of life, from many cultures and racial backgrounds. Regardless of differences and regardless of distractions, I'll continue from where the Prophet and I left off.
"To summarize an otherwise lengthy tale, leaving out unnecessary details, those which don't pertain directly to the issue at hand, there was a man who once more crossed paths with the Ahnk'ji, long after most had forgotten they even existed – most, but not all. I now transcribe directly from the words of the Prophet himself.
"From the initial beginnings, it may sound like an innocuous tale, even something a doting mother might read to their child. A small village within the landscapes we refer to as Great Britain, not too far from where we stand, in fact, a dying man and a living man, a doctor, were aided by the Ahnk'ji, those who came from below… From just beyond where our feet and the Prophet's limbs find themselves planted. It would be ironic that this small village, this settlement, would be the meeting point shared by the Amakusa and the Ahnk'ji, through the failed machinations of the Church of England.
"But I won't dwell on the details surrounding that meeting. With their aid, this dying man was able to heal his wounds, after being taught the means through which 'esper abilities' are developed. It took mere moments for one of these abilities to manifest within the dying man. Those in "Academy City" would refer to this ability as "Undo Marring", an ability which heavily augments the human body's inborn self-healing processes."
Before Kanzaki Kaori could continue with her transcription, Kamijou Touma took a step forward, one step and one step alone. With his hand raised, as if to silently request a temporary 'time out', the Imagine Breaker's former Bearer spoke his unrehearsed piece.
"Hate to interrupt, but, Kanzaki, look here. Esper abilities can take months to develop through the Power Curriculum. I know of a girl who's been trying to develop her ability for years, and she still hasn't gotten even a single developmental boost. I have my own theories regarding that, but, theorizing aside I can't see how esper abilities or the "Ahnk'ji" equivalent could be developed in a few minutes. It just doesn't seem possible."
"I don't have the answer to that," Kaori, ceasing her transcription remarked, "I'm not a high-ranking researcher in Academy City, so their methods are beyond me. Through that… Traitor… Tsuchimikado, however, we've come to know that Academy City prioritizes research and study above actual, visible development, for what purpose we can't be certain.
"I renew my transcription once more. The dying man and the living doctor both fled the small settlement, in which those from below had come to their rescue. They fled from the entirety of the world's population that wielded the force humans have come to know as magic. To Japan they fled together, with the Prophet's blessing and, close to Tokyo, that island nation's capital, "Academy City" came to rise, becoming what we see before us now, when we look beyond the City's border walls. It is at this point that I should reveal the true identity of this dying man, who managed to escape his fate. The dying man's name was "Aleister Crowley."
"Aleister Crowley? The guy who invented that Spirit Cooking religion? What was it that Index called it? Thelomo? Thel… Thelama?
"Thelema, Champion."
"Kanzaki, or, "Skoram", I… I don't get what you're talking about. He's dead and to boot, he died half a century ago, in the borough of Hastings, in the county of East Sussex, England. Age seventy-two. We learned all of this stuff in our lessons. You've got your info wrong."
Though both the Prophet Skoram and the Saint of the Far East exchanged glances, the issue wasn't pursued any further, in the sake of both brevity and convenience. That could be tended to later.
"We jump ahead through the passageways of time once more," Kanzaki Kaori stated, abandoning the previous topic of conversation; the relevance of the conversation had come to be irrelevant, regardless. It was a good of a time as any to move onto the 'meat' of the elaboration. "As well, I cease my transcription; I can accurately deliver the necessary knowledge on my own.
"The Roman Orthodox Traditionalist Crusade pushes ever-forward, ignored by Academy City, with the world's media focused on what remains of the unreformed Islamic states.
"While Eastern European media outlets are sympathetic, calling for the West's aid, the West remains sided with the Roman Orthodox Church. Even the Church of England, both its outer layers and Necessarius alike within have thrown their support to the side of the Crusade.
"Furthermore, the Islamification of many South and West African countries and city-states has done little to rile the West's concerns about the Crusade's presence. According to the West's media outlets, everyone in these countries and city-states deserves to die, simply because their leaders refuse to join the Reformation Society. Many individual peoples are being viewed as some sort of grand hive mind, one lone group. Extremist groups in these locations are not a proper indicator of the entire population.
"Moreover, I would rhetorically inquire, what would prevent the Traditionalist Crusade from ravaging Europe, if their rape of the Middle-Eastern states and the continent of Africa comes to a close? These are the questions the world doesn't seem to be asking, and, therefore, they're the questions we've been forced to ask ourselves."
And, so, given the mentioning of Europe, it seemed that Kazakiri Hyouka, for the briefest of moments, neared the ever-slimming edge of panic, drifting almost dangerously close to the very slope. Swiftly, however, the sentient collection of AIM Diffusion Fields seemed to get a hold of herself; turning her gaze to the Saint of the Far East, Hyouka spoke.
"What Kamijou-san believes to be members of this Crusade were spotted close by," Hyouka interjected, breaking her extended period of silence. "If this "Roman Orthodox Traditionalist Crusade" is waging a Holy War of some nature, what would their presence in the United Kingdom mean for those living here?"
"They weren't just casually passing through," Touma quickly added, "the whole bunch of them, mounted up on horses, armor, weapons, the whole cavalry deal were dragging this massive, metal cage behind them, full of people, I can only assume they weren't heading for a fun family trip to the circus. You don't have to worry about 'em, Index and I took care of the problem, but, for a minute, just think about it, if there's one group, there's bound to be more. Kazakiri's got the right idea. If they're here, what does that mean for the United Kingdom and for Europe?"
Though Kanzaki Kaori was poised to respond, the Prophet Skoram gently nudged her hip with the curled, smooth point of one of its six legs. The two exchanged nods, followed by a brief "handshake"; it was a one-sided handshake, at the very least. One of the participants possessed a hand.
Then, like a frame edited out of the final cut of a feature film, the Prophet was gone, disappearing with only a very brief "whoosh" accompanying its departure.
In fact, the mechanics utilized were very similar to, but were considerably more advanced than the calculations utilized by Musujime Awaki's ability, Move Point. Effectively, somehow, the Ahnk'ji had mastered a natural form of the legendary, falsely-forged Multi-Skill.
"The Prophet has been willed to return to his place at the Honoured High Prophet Taured's side," Kaori elaborated. "As all Prophets often remain with their High Prophet at all times, merely for ceremonial purposes rather than for tactical, his willingness to meet with us was an act of high honour and of great respect."
"Thanks for the history lesson, Kanzaki," Touma retorted, "but, what about this Crusade? If they're hauling people off in cages, right here in England, there's something way up shit creek about that… Sorry… Kanzaki. Didn't mean to snap at you.
"No one is perfect, Kamijou Touma. It was hardly even a slight."
"Still, I know that you're just trying to keep us in the know, and it's really good of you. Even if things aren't turning out the way they were meant to, that's fine. If we'd ended up helping to further the Church of England's fucked up schemes, then, that wouldn't have helped anyone, not anyone who deserves to live."
The Saint of the Far East merely hand-waved the issue; evidently, she wasn't offended.
"There are a large number of individuals living right here in England who originally lived in the Middle-Eastern states, especially those that have since been taken under the wing of the Reformation Society."
The Saint's words spurred Kazakiri Hyouka to interject, no matter how much she sought to do otherwise.
"And what does that mean?"
"I'm very grateful that you and Index were able to spot the Crusaders meandering about, and that you could subsequently 'deal' with the issue. Without a doubt in my mind, Kazakiri-san, the Roman Orthodox Traditionalist Crusade has boots on the ground in England for the purpose of carrying out sweeping ethnic cleansing, under the guise of rooting out "Islamic terrorists"… but they won't get far."
Both Kamijou Touma and Kazakiri Hyouka exchanged glances, and then, turning their respective gazes to Kanzaki Kaori, both parties looked sternly and expectantly, respectively, to the Saint.
"We've since obtained the 'artifact' which brought you all the way from Academy City, here, to us from Leivinia Birdway's cabal, the 'Dawn-Colored Sunlight'. As it would turn out, this 'artifact' is, in fact, a piece of demon hunter weaponry known as a Soulgrinder. It should hardly come as a surprise that the Church of England and, more accurately, Necessarius would purposefully misinform its own operatives. To summarize, it grounds the loosened spirits of daemoniac beings – demons – and converts them, utilizing these loosed spirits as a resource, into a mode of ammunition. With this weapon in Amakusan custody, our Church has been able to sign a brief contract with the Dawn-Colored Sunlight."
"Demon hunter?" What's a "demon hunter?" Kazakiri Hyouka inquired.
Kamijou Touma possessed no desire to utter queries, as valid as Hyouka's query was, especially given her uninformed nature. He'd conveniently (but frustratingly) crossed paths Birdway and her "pet" enough times to know what a demon hunter was.
"Dawn-Colored… that's Birdway's group. So, in spite of the whole reason we're here right now, you, or, we're with them now, even though Tsuchimi… that goddamn dead man walking, serpent, dragged the girls and I out here to gouge her throat out?"
"As strange as it may seem, the answer to your rhetorical question, Kamijou Touma, is "yes". We, the Amakusa, the Sons of Taured, the Dawn-Colored Sunlight and quite possibly the Russian Orthodox Church soon move to assault the religious establishment from two fronts. Birdway's cabal plots to directly assault the Church of England in its bid for absolute control over magical affairs; surprisingly, Birdway herself has been lenient and even sympathetic to our own goals.
"As most in her position would, she plans to execute something of a heart-strike… to slay the serpent the head must first be taken off. The head of Necessarius, and of the Church of England, my once-benefactors, those who once offered the Amakusa a home… Those who used us like mere disposable tools, those who stole the innocence and normalcy from an innocent, silver-haired girl, after all, is…"
Kanzaki Kaori changed the direction of her gaze, as she took to the table. Leaning before it, she rested her body's weight upon one arm, a palm placed flatly on the table's surface, and pointed to a certain spot on the unwieldy map with her available hand's index finger, the tip hovering just above a red-coloured game piece, accenting it like a halo floating mere inches above an Angel's head.
"… The point of the heart-strike would be St. George's Cathedral."
Though Kamijou Touma planned to speak to Kanzaki Kaori, he turned his gaze first to Kazakiri Hyouka, whose own his gaze clashed against.
He was so close. He was so close to learning who had harmed Index. He was so close to learning the identity of the heartless, soulless piece of living garbage who had continuously manipulated an innocent little girl's closest friends into wiping her memories over, and over, and over. Every year.
Kamijou Touma could almost taste their blood.
"This is a whole lot of craziness, isn't it, Kazakiri?"
The sentient collection of AIM Diffusion Fields admitted, with a bow of her head.
"Y-Yes."
Though he closed the distance between himself and Kazakiri Hyouka, swiftly taking her right hand into his left, the latter action seemingly generating a blush open Hyouka's cheeks, charged simply by principal alone, Kamijou Touma soon turned his eyes' vision to the Saint.
"Well, that's magic for you, it's all crazy. There's nothing normal about it. Honestly? You'd find more stability in an orphanage run by a stereotypically evil, buzzword-spouting headmistress."
Then, shortly following the vocalizing of his words, Touma quickly released Hyouka's hand, stepping away as if he'd committed some great wrongdoing. Switching the target of his vision once more, Touma placed either of his hands into his pockets.
"Sorry. I… uh… forgot. You know. About…"
"No, Kamijou-san, it's okay. I don't mind, and, I… um… I lied. I don't have a b-boyfriend. It was… a diversion, it allowed me to trail your group more easily, y-you see. I didn't want to get in the way, but I wanted to keep watch and make sure everything went alright. I humbly apolog…"
One hand soon connected once more with another.
"No reason to be sorry, Kazakiri. You did what you thought was the right thing to do. Nobody was hurt, and nothing shitty happened – Hell, without you, that shit with Accelerator could've gotten ugly. I should be thanking you. I don't give a fuck about the situation, I'm grateful that you decided to come with us."
A final time, the target of Kamijou Touma's gaze alternated.
"Look, Kanzaki, okay, I get everything that's happening here. I get it, I can understand."
"I'm glad," Kanzaki Kaori remarked, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
Though Kamijou Touma returned the gesture, he continued along the proverbial path he'd strode.
"As usual, the Roman Orthodox Church is doing fucked up shit, and there are people who don't want to tolerate it anymore. I can dig that, I really can, it's time for these asswipes to be… excuse the pun… wiped off the planet. There's also a conspiracy involving bug-people, but, given the weird shit I've come across, that's really more par for the course… I just have one question left."
"Ask, and I'll answer to the best of my ability, Kamijou Touma."
"If you, the Amakusa, are with this Sons of Taured organization-group-thing, then maybe you can riddle me this. What's with the fliers? I think I get that you want the populace of Academy City to wake up and face the music, but, espers who've been through the Power Curriculum get fucked when they try to use magic. I'm not about to freak out on you and start swinging fists around, but, I do want answers."
And, so, as Kanzaki Kaori studied the material jotted down by New Light's former Leader, she simultaneously spoke her piece.
"You're hardly incorrect; Academy City's espers do suffer gravely when they attempt to refine the mana necessary for spellcasting. However, within the pages of the pamphlets is a detailed guide which can be followed in order to remove this limitation, utilizing Side-neutral methods that circumvent the chains placed on almost every esper in Academy City. Yes, it is indeed a removable limitation, imposed upon Academy City's espers by those who wish to advance an agenda, those who are aware of both Sides.
"I won't lie to you, Kamijou Touma, Kazakiri-san. The truth of the matter is that there will be death. It can't be prevented, but to rile the people of the world, all across the globe is the only method in which the Roman Orthodox Church, and, by extension, their English Puritan enablers will be cast down. Humanity must rise as one and face those that would drive us to extinction, and place us in chains."
"I agree."
Rising, abandoning the duties she'd temporarily taken up as her own, Kanzaki Kaori, the Saint of the Far East looked to the Imagine Breaker's former Bearer, an expression of curiosity painting itself over her facial features.
Though seemingly less curious, Kazakiri Hyouka too turned not all that far to face Kamijou Touma.
Seemingly, she expected Touma to elaborate; this was the message he derived, at least, and so he did exactly that.
"The "greater good" is fucked up, in concept," Touma elaborated, "but it's the greater good only to an extent. If you think the greater good is some sort of mass extinction, then, that's not the greater good. The greater good is trying to do something inherently right, at least in most peoples' viewpoints…
"What I'm trying to get at is that, if some espers in Academy City are too trigger-happy for their own good, and don't read the instructions in the pamphlet, then, shit's going to happen. It sucks, a person dying isn't something that anyone likes, but no one can save everyone. You can't protect every smile. You can try, but, in the end, you're going to fail, crash and burn. Everything you've ever known will come crumbling down, and reality will slap you right in your face."
For a moment, Kanzaki Kaori's gaze lingered, as she beheld the Imagine Breaker's former Bearer.
"In a perfect world, perhaps, everyone could be saved."
"Kanzaki, you don't want a perfect world. It's twisted in concept and it's even more twisted when it's put to work in reality. So, I guess that ends our exposition dump. Am I right, or, is there something else we're missing?"
In response, Kaori merely shook her head, no, and began sorting a number of the sheets that Bayloupe had covered in her ink scribbling.
"So? Might the Amakusa and the Sons of Taured rely on your support, Kamijou Touma? Kazakiri-san? Your fellows, whether they be your friends or your lovers, I can't quite be sure which is the case, have already signed themselves onto the cause – the young lady with the red hair seemed to be particularly interested, as did Index, which came as something of a surprise to me. It'd seem that becoming your friend has helped her grow considerably, Kamijou Touma."
"It would seem that I'm in your debt once more."
"The Roman Orthodox Church needs a pummelling to set them straight? Count me in," Touma stated, tone of voice layered with an almost ruthless firmness.
While her close friend's own admission of involvement had come quite quickly and seemingly without hesitation, Kazakiri Hyouka didn't produce vocalizations with such reckless abandon. There were matters to consider, after all.
But were there really?
What was there to be debated? What if those who'd go on to become her friends merely chose to turn their backs, when she needed help, when that magician who could summon that monstrosity forged of stone and metal was out for her head? She was but one person, a singular grain of sand among billions of the proverbial beach that was the planet known as Earth.
It was about time for Kazakiri Hyouka to pay it forward. She wasn't some powerless level zero, or even a low-level esper. She wasn't even human. With her unnatural strength, with her borderline invulnerability, the "Roman Orthodox Church", whoever they were could be challenged, and whatever horrors they sought to deliver upon the human race through their misguided, genocidal rampage across the globe quite possibility brought to a grinding halt.
No, there wasn't even a single question about it in the mind of the sentient collection of AIM Diffusion Fields that'd taken on the form of a female human being and come to name itself "Kazakiri Hyouka". Hyouka had come this far, and the sight of human beings herded like animals, hauled off in a cold, metal cage was a sight that continued to haunt her mind's eye.
It was then that Kazakiri Hyouka noticed two sets of eyes focused their respective gazes on her.
Strengthening her resolve, Kazakiri Hyouka looked up from the floor beneath her loafer-clad feet, brow furrowing.
"I'll do whatever I can to help the people being targeted by this "Roman Orthodox Traditionalist Crusade."
And so Kanzaki Kaori drew her blade, Shichiten Shichitou. Holding the weapon outwards, the Saint of the Far East muttered a brief, near-wordless incantation under her breath, before returning the blade to its scabbard.
"For the sake of convenience, Kamijou Touma, I now knight you and yours as honorary members of the Amakusa-style Remix of Church… there aren't any particular ceremonies for an honorary knighting. As Priestess, my word is enough to solidify the knighting as legitimate. Dismissed. Take this time to wind down, as we've got some few weeks before Birdway's forces are ready to mobilize. Consider your stay in England to be an all-expense paid vacation from Academy City. For now, leave the worrying to us."
Kaori soon returned to her business, just as the Substitute Supreme Pontiff of the Amakusans returned, entering the concave space and silently acknowledging both Hyouka and Touma with a brief, affirmative nod.
But before Kamijou departed, he asked a question of Kanzaki Kaori. It was a question which left the Saint slightly unnerved.
"Kanzaki, can you be honest with me for a second? I need you to tell me something. I need you to tell me about who started it all. Who Index ran away from. Who was it that kept wiping her memories every year? Making you and Stiyl fuck with her head?"
The answer Touma received was short, simple, and straight to the point. Kaori held no reservations and restrained nothing in her response.
"Archbishop Laura Stuart", of the Church of England. Head of the 0th Parish, Necessarius."
"I'll remember that name, Kanzaki. No one else will. She won't be getting a fucking gravestone."
Though Hyouka herself had nearly found herself slipping back into the deep recesses of her own mind, she was pulled back to the metaphorical ocean's proverbial shoreline by a tap to the shoulder. The index and middle finger of Touma's right hand repeatedly rose and fell, making contact freely.
"Hell of a first day in England," he spoke casually, despite the proceedings that'd only just concluded, "I don't know about you, but I'm feeling like a few minutes of R and R are in order. What do you think, Kazakiri?"
"I think…" Hyouka began, hesitating for only a moment before she bucked up and, with a huff turned to face Kamijou Touma, "I think that sounds like a great idea, but I don't want to get too comfortable… My friend. There are people to help and there are friends to make. Even if we can't save every person and protect every smile, we can do something."
"Being a realist doesn't mean not kicking yourself into gear and doing your best."
"Honestly, I'm just sick of these guys, Kamijou-san. They disturbed the Festival in the summer and almost destroyed the fabric of everything we knew with that cross-thing of theirs, and…"
"And? You can finish that thought, Kazakiri, no one's going to judge you, not here."
"I'll… never forgive that Thomson woman for her stupidity and naivety. Call it a grudge, call it whatever you want. Maybe I'm being emotional, but how can she expect for everything to be fine, after what she did? What she was involved with?"
Even as the two began to depart, leaving Kanzaki Kaori and Tatemiya Saiji to their own devices, even as they ascended, alternating and weaving through the passage system which lead from the innocuous, fake-abandoned settlement of Hawkhaven and down into something lost and forgotten, something from another time before time, Kamijou Touma couldn't help but softly chuckle, more to himself than to Kazakiri Hyouka.
"That's a bit complicated, Kazakiri. It's complicated for me, at least. Whatever feelings you have, those are yours. I'm not going to start telling you that you're not living your life correctly, or that "eVeRyOnE's SmIlE cAn bE PrOtEcTeD, uh, DUH!" Whatever business you have with Thomson, that's yours. You want to slap the fuck out of her? Go ahead, slap the fuck out of her. That's not my business."
As the two ascended the passageways leading back to the surface from this place that seemed beyond modern time, as if it was a chunk of some other dimension lost in their own, Kamijou Touma found himself being embraced by her. Hyouka's arms wrapped around his shoulders.
"You're in a lot of pain, aren't you Kamijou-san...?"
What neither Kamijou Touma nor Kazakiri Hyouka could have conceived of, from the subterranean depths beneath the Hawkhaven motel, was that word had reached the highest point of Academy City's food chain. From Gladio-Oculus Operative Dave Horton to his superiors, from his superiors to Gladio's very own Director, from Gladio's very own Director to Academy City's General Superintended.
Academy City's twenty-third school district - a colossal district so vast that basic travel necessitated the use of public transport, or alternatively, personal vehicles as opposed to travel by foot - had become a launching point for the most technologically-developed weaponry the planet Earth had ever seen. Stealth bombers. Fighter jets. Colossal flying machines that barely looked capable of achieving liftoff at all. All were silver in colouration, save for the jet-black stealth bombers, triangular in shape. Given that much more than half of this school district's landscapes were dominated by runways, much of Academy City's military might was provided with much proverbial breathing room.
These engines of war required no true breathing room, for they were unmanned. Unfeeling. Without basic human empathy that a flesh-and-blood pilot might have provided. Killing machines, in the most literal sense of the term.
The artificially-flattened landscape of the twenty-third school district provided no cover from the winds which gusted. Planet Earth herself seemed to sense that something loomed, and brought her wings to gust in response.
To further strengthen the tides of war.
The seemingly endless tides of paved asphalt spoke volumes regarding this school district's purpose. Nature had been snuffed out here. Grasslands had been torn asunder, flattened and paved over. Natural woodlands had been uprooted during Academy City's construction, dispersing native populations of fauna that called those woodlands home.
An ugly blight, one which existed just outside Eastern Tokyo.
Academy City's military might was further augmented by the presence of weaponized, living creatures; they meandered about, their reptilian maws forced shut by the presence of tightened, metallic muzzles.
Their saurian features were almost entirely muted by thick plates of body armour layered upon their backsides. Similar, thick, overlapping armoured plates adorned their necks, and even obscured their locked jaws. With heads larger than that of a giraffe, the curious-seeming creatures with their front-facing eyes – not unlike those of a cat's – were guided not by instinct, but, apparently, by the beeping, metallic helmets strapped over their skullcaps.
Enormous, rumbling cannon-like weapons were mounted upon these beasts' hips, strapped into place by gargantuan chains. Reaching nearly thirteen meters in height, these saurians vaguely resembled the lumbering behemoths of Earth's distant past; bipedal, carnivorous dinosaurs. Thick, scaled hides were obscured by Academy City's own metallic raiments. Thin, but elongated wings protruded from their heavily-armoured backs. Long, lashing tails kicked up plumes of dust. With a wingspan of nearly forty feet, the reptilian behemoths stood upon muscular, well-developed limbs with heavy-set feet, each terminating in three toes from which jagged talons protruded.
Beneath their muzzles, these creatures that seemed to have been ripped from a land before time snarled aggressively. Occasionally, one would turn on another nearby before their helmets began to produce their loud, wailing beeps. Only then would the subdued predators relent and leave one another in peace.
Wyverns. Proof of the LSS's continued loyalty to this City's General Superintendent.
In his Windowless Building, Aleister Crowley knew that the Greek Island of Leso would not last much longer. No matter what magics the Sons of Taured possessed, no matter what martial might they could bring to bear, they simply couldn't match up to his toys.
For the first time in a long time, the 'Worst Magician' smirked.