Tsuchimikado watched with a raised eyebrow as Celeste hummed, painting a magic circle on the rocky ground. She was oddly cheerful for someone walking willingly to their certain death. He would have expected… He didn't know. Grim satisfaction or something, or even the pride of a martyr.
Seven minutes.
There were only moments left before the invisible moon reached its peak, and the ritual had to begin. Celeste practically skipped over as she completed the final magic runes, and grabbed the items needed for the ritual.
Four minutes.
"Oi," Tsuchimikado called out as she stepped back, surveying her work.
"Hmm?"
"Are you… Are you sure?" He asked, hesitant. It wasn't too late to stop.
"Of course I am. I have to do this," she said.
He could see no doubt, no hesitation in her eyes. She didn't even have the resigned visage of someone about to die and accepted their fate.
"Aren't you at least going to use your ability to make it easier on your body?" Tsuchimikado asked.
She nodded slowly, contemplating his words.
Three minutes.
"My body can handle being Lucifer's core," she said.
Silence.
"Well? Do you feel any different?" Tsuchimikado asked impatiently.
Two minutes.
She thought for a moment. "Hmm… Not really."
He raised an eyebrow. "Did it work?"
She grinned.
One minute.
"Only one way to find out!"
He shook his head. "You're insane."
She laughed. "Of course I am. Otherwise I couldn't handle both onii-chan and Shiro-chan."
He forced a smile onto his face. "Let's do this."
Zero minutes.
Accelerator frowned as he looked over the data, Misaka Worst's warmth against his arm as she sat next to him, frowning as she attempted to analyze the data. Funny how an enemy could turn into an ally in mere moments.
He could not consider her a friend. Not yet, at least. But she was an ally.
His Vector Change worked full time, trying to analyze Index's song, which had been stored on the Misaka Network. Never was he more grateful that Celeste had healed him all those months ago, because he was quite sure that if he was using the choker, the batteries would have run out long ago. Probably before he fought Kamijou Touma, even.
No matter how he looked at it, it was magic. And he needed to use magic. Accelerator frowned, trying to remember something Celeste had told him a long time ago, something about espers and magic.
The two didn't mix, he realized. Magic was only for the humans who were incapable of unlocking the parts of their brains that allowed them to use ESP. Therefore, espers were physically incapable of using magic. It was the price they paid, the exchange.
But Celeste had used magic before. What had been different? Was it because she could warp reality? Or was it because she knew something nobody else but Aleister Crowley and herself did?
He sighed. It wasn't like he had a choice. If he must destroy himself to save Last Order, that was what he had to do.
So he began to perform the spell.
And the pain began.
Accelerator gritted his teeth, continuing the spell despite the agony. He felt like his body was being torn to shreds, both inside and out. He was, literally. The sudden lacerations and blood that burst from his pale skin was proof of that. And from the horrified look on Misaka Worst's face, it was even worse than he thought.
If he hadn't been in so much pain, he would probably have laughed. He knew he looked like a monster right now, covered in blood. He knew the terror people felt when they looked at him as a figure of crimson and white. Except in those times the blood didn't belong to him, but to his victims.
And damn it, it hurt.
That's why when the spell finally, finally ended, and Last Order was visibly recovering, he fell back with relief.
The relief vanished.
Accelerator shot up, eyes wide, ignoring all the pain that ran through his body like a violent electric shock. His heart clenched, and he had to grit his teeth to keep from crying out at the feeling. He knew this feeling. He had felt it more than once. And he had felt it only when he was losing Celeste.
Something had happened to her. Wasn't she supposed to be safe in Academy City?!
Damn it. Damn it!
He glared up at the sky, unable to help the grim satisfaction when he detected the blast of telesma heading their way. He needed something to destroy right then, if only to settle the edgy tension coiled within him. Accelerator felt his body change, felt himself 'awakening'. Last Order and Misaka Worst stared him with awe, and he wondered briefly what he looked like.
But he didn't have time to wonder for long.
"Oi, brat," he said, voice raspy.
Last Order's eyes widened in realization as Accelerator began floating off the ground. "Misaka Misaka shouts out for Accelerator! No! You can't go! You'll die!"
"I won't, idiot," he said, but his heart wasn't in it. He knew there was a pretty high chance he would die.
"Don't go, Misaka Misaka cries!"
"Goodbye, brat," Accelerator said simply, and turned, ignoring the small hand reaching out for him, ignoring the wails.
He shot straight towards the telesma, and gritted his teeth as the Angel's Power hit his wings, sparks practically flying at the supernatural friction. Heat seared his skin, and pain tore through his body. For a moment, the wings nearly gave way, and his heart nearly stopped.
But just as he was wondering if he would die, the wings strengthened, withstanding the final spurt of telesma. For one blinding moment, wings clashed against magic, and then everything went dark.
It was almost as if he had gone blind, with the way the light disappeared without a trace. He felt his body falling back, freefalling through the air. Exhausted, he didn't even care. He knew he would land safely. His ability got to work, pushing back against the ground, giving him a safe landing.
With a cry, Last Order pounced on him, crying.
Accelerator sat back, exhausted but content. Last Order was safe, alive and well. He had survived both the spell and the magic blast. Misaka Worst had survived. He could ignore the pain, as long as everything was alright. The uneasiness in his heart didn't fade, though. He lay on his back, staring up at the sky.
Celeste.
"And?" Fiamma managed to smirk. "So I set your plans back. Perhaps even destroyed your plans. What could you do about it?"
Aleister smirked, expression hard. "You are in the way. And I came to destroy even the slightest chance of my plan being calculated out from your interference, from the trouble you caused. Therefore, I cannot allow you to fall into the hands of a magical organization."
A tense silence fell, and Fiamma's eyes widened. Aleister could see the realization light up, the man beginning to comprehend the truth of the world. And Fiamma began to laugh once again, a mirthless laughter filled with anguish and hopelessness.
"You are a cruel man. Simply seeing you, listening to you speak, makes me feel like my life has been useless, that all my actions have been futile," Fiamma smirked past the desolation, eyes mocking. "But yours are too. We share the same expression, and those who have the ability to save the world cannot carry this look on our faces, in our eyes. No, I cannot save the world. But neither can you. Kamijou Touma stands far above us in that matter, and nobody can overtake his position."
Fiamma of the Right struggled to his feet, the smirk still on his face as he once again summoned his incomplete Holy Right, his Third Arm. Aleister merely stared at him, expression completely blank. He didn't hate people who struggled. But it didn't mean he thought it was good either. It was… simply a waste of time and energy.
"You may as well stop trying," Aleister said mildly, the Blasting Rod appearing in his hand. "It is futi—"
Aleister stopped, eyes wide, breath caught in his throat. Something just happened to Celeste. He, who had the strongest connection to her, the connection of blood, felt it as keenly as if he had seen it with his own eyes.
His eyes refocused on reality and he started breathing again, only to see Fiamma staring curiously at him, head cocked. Aleister shook off the dreadful feeling that curled into a ball within him. He believed in Celeste.
She would not fail him.
"It is not an issue of futility. I will protect the world that Kamijou Touma saved from being trampled by you," Fiamma said.
The two tensed. And as if a signal had been given, the two clashed. Fiamma took two steps past Aleister, a smile forming on his lips.
And then he fell.
Aleister glanced down at the still form one final time. "It was your mistake for analyzing the Imagine Breaker, and even the One Who Purifies God and Slays Demons, at only the level of Christianity. It is your loss, Fiamma of the Right."
Aleister's eyes turned up towards the sky and he sighed, closing his eyes briefly.
Celeste.