Chapter 6 Straightforward: Storm the Front
While Kamijou, Stiyl, Index and Tatemiya gathered together to talk, I started to wander the park looking for Akiha.
Having split up from her before I wanted to find her first to decide our next course of action. With Orsola gone it was likely that Grimoire Haze would start to make their move soon. As much as I wanted to call out to make finding Akiha easier, I couldn't be sure that there were no more enemies in the park and giving away my position would give rise to ambushes that were not in my favour.
Not detecting any movement in the surrounding area I lowered my guard slightly only noticing a pair of hands shooting out of a darkened alley to my right when it was too late to respond.
"Well well, look what I caught." a familiar voice said, like a spider toying with its prey.
"Dammit Akiha, what are you doing? We've got to move, the Catholics have pulled out already." I replied through gritted teeth.
"Hush hush, this is what happens when you force me to use magic. I get hungry." Akiha said with a girlish giggle as her eyes turned crimson red.
Letting out a small sigh as I relaxed my body for what was about to happen, Akiha leaned into me to the point that I could feel her heart beat as she slowly bit down on my neck and started drinking my blood.
After she was done she quickly licked the area to close the wound and smiled, "I guess we should meet up with the others hmm?"
By the time I returned with Akiha, Tatemiya had left. As Kamijou took his slow walk out with Index and Stiyl, I quickly ran up to catch up before mimicking their pace.
"So what's everyone doing?" I asked, Akiha falling in behind us.
"Tatemiya's gone to regroup, Stiyl insisted on taking Index back to Academy City."
"I see..." I replied as I fell silent as well.
"Will Tatemiya succeed?" Kamijou suddenly asked, looking at Index.
"There is some chance since he's a real magician, and the Amakusa, who're used to being
suppressed, are rather skilled in doing this. He won't be stupid enough to try and take on an
enemy when there's no chance." Index replied.
So I guess Tatemiya went to save Orsola and his comrades. Looking at Akiha for some kind of hint on what we were going to do receiving only a shrug in response, I took a look back in front as we continued walking.
"Oh, yeah, before we go home, I have to buy some things. At this time, the supermarkets and department stores should be closed, and there're only convenience stores open. But there's nothing in the fridge, got to buy some food… oh, well, I'm interested in what the convenience stores outside Academy City are selling. Maybe we can find bentos inside." Kamijou said suddenly.
"…Touma, why are you so concerned with everyday life now?"
"I'm sorry, I'm an ordinary student who recently began to like remembering things."
As Kamijou turned and started to walk in the opposite direction, Stiyl heaves a deep sigh as he pulls his cigarette to the side of his mouth to inhale.
"Dammit, like we don't know where he's going. I wish he won't be so rash." Stiyl mutters as he throws away the cigarette butt and starts lighting a new one.
"Where's he going?" Akiha asks, moving to walk next to me.
"Where else? That way goes to the church. He's probably planning to jump in and do something crazy."
"Shouldn't we follow him then?" I replied.
"I didn't want to go in immediately because we were supposed to handle this without him. Not that it matters now since he's jumping in headfirst." Stiyl growls as he turns to walk down another road.
As we reached the church, Stiyl started walking around the fence as if looking for a spot to hop over.
"Ummm, that place with the overgrowth looks like a decent spot to climb up."
"That's not what he's looking for. There's a boundary spell cast on the church. If we just carelessly break through we'll tip off everyone inside of our presence." Akiha explained as we slowly followed Stiyl.
"The barrier's solid. Probably maintained by a magic relic of some sort. We'll have to make our own hole." Stiyl said, throwing down his finished cigarette and extinguishing it with his foot.
"There's a weak point here, give me a moment." Akiha said, squatting down in front of the fence a few meters away with her hand outstretched, "Done, go through and hop the fence without moving and we shouldn't alert anyone."
Everyone making it over the fence easily, a tall spikey shadow approached us from our left too tall to be Kamijou. The moonlight hitting his face when he walked out of the shadows as none other than Tatemiya Saiji.
"You made it through the barrier with no problems I take it?" Stiyl said, pulling out another cigarette.
"Yeah, sneaking through was easy. The barrier was so blatantly obvious, they didn't even attempt to hide it." Tatemiya replied casually, hefting his large sword on his back.
Before anyone could say anything else, with a sound akin to glass breaking, both Stiyl and Tatemiya started looking around wildly.
"What happened? Did Kamijou just jump through a window or something?" I whispered to Akiha.
"He broke the barrier. Basically it's like setting off every alarm in the place." Akiha replied, with a small sigh.
"That idiot! He's going to get himself killed!" Stiyl growled as he ran towards the main church hall.
"You two with me, I need to free my comrades!" Tatemiya said, beckoning to us both as he ran in the opposite direction.
The three of us running down the narrow corridor, a group of nuns immediately blocked our way wielding an assortment of medieval weapons.
"You're in the way!" Tatemiya yelled, swinging his sword over his head once before bringing his weapon crashing down on the first nun.
Although she raised her spear in an attempt to defend herself, Tatemiya's sword simply cleaved right through the weapon's haft, separating it into two clean pieces. Following up with a kick to her midsection, he easily sends the nun staggering backwards into her comrades as he continued running on.
"You both go ahead, I'll take care of this." Akiha said with a nudge as more nuns started to arrive from behind us.
With a quick nod I continued running on, tapping the combat mode button activating Plasma Flux, Electro Master and Energy Manipulation.
As Tatemiya and I entered the a building that seemed to be designed as housing of some sort, we came across another group of five nuns this time armed with what I could only guess were magical weapons.
Barely ducking behind Tatemiya in the nick of time, Tatemiya swung his sword above his head once again deflecting the first volley of fireballs that the nuns shot before running forward.
"Can I leave this to you?" Tatemiya said as he shoved a nun back with the hilt of his sword, looking over his shoulder back towards me.
Giving only a curt nod in reply, I quickly created a plasma flux barrier in front of me to block the next wave of fireballs, the fireballs curving around the semicircle barrier I had created to hit the wall behind me.
The nuns immediately preparing another volley of fireballs before I could counterattack, I quickly focused on the tips of torches trying to absorb the fireballs as they were created only to be bombarded by another wave.
It seems that if I am unfamiliar with the concepts and rules behind the fireballs and until I understand the theory behind their creation I cannot manipulate the attacks directly.
The next set of fireballs hitting my barrier again, the nuns started to move around me trying to move around the barrier to get a clear shot.
Lowering the barrier as I raised my other hand in an attempt to widen the next barrier that I create, I quickly ducked as I blocked the three fireballs directed at me allowing the two on either side pass over me harmlessly. Both fireballs missing their intended target, hit the opposing nun catching both by surprise as they crumpled to the floor.
As both nuns stared stunned at the sudden fratricide incident, I quickly charged forward with the barrier, pushing one nun into the wall hard enough to knock her out and make her slump to the floor before rounding on her allies.
The nun on my left shooting a fireball, I quickly ducked under it and zapped her legs causing them to go numb from the shock before knocking her on the back of the head.
One nun left.
By the time I turned around, I was just in time to see her collapse, Tatemiya having finished rescuing his comrades and doing the honours with the hilt of his sword.
"Let's go. We don't have much time." Tatemiya said, beckoning for everyone to follow him to the exit.
-End of Chapter 6-
Sorry for the massive delays, I've been getting busier and busier! I've been getting requests to design a character and write a story for another fanverse but all of that hasn't even started in the face of my sheer amount of IRL work to do. As per normal, read, review, flames will be used to stoke marshmallows!