Answers and further questions.

[ACMItM: Arisa is a Saint?]

Touma reached the group and took a breath as he looked at them.

Crow leader was still in her robot. Stiyl was getting out a cigarette. GV had raised an eyebrow and spoke frist.

"Just for the sake of clarity, how are you connected to this?"

Touma looked towards him. GV shrugged before Touma focused on Stiyl.

He was angry as he spoke "You're jumping the gun here and you know it. There's still no proof that Arisa is what you say she is! Why don't you just leave her alone?"

Ok, Gunvolt did remember Joule telling him that Touma was connected to the magical group. In this case he disagreed with whatever they had told him then?

"Thanks Kanzaki." Stiyl muttered sarcastically before looking at Touma and speaking up "I have recently been given a new set of orders. You know what that thing is over there?"

He tilted his head to the side to indicate Endymion. GV decided to answer "The space elevator?"

Stiyl turned back to look at GV who had still yet to lower the gun. After a moment he responded "Nope, I don't care how much you know but it isn't enough." He turned back to Touma "Consider the sumerian ziggurats, the tower of babel. When structures are built on a scale that exceeds the very bounds of human reason they take on magical properties as well. And you know what happens when some evil mastermind gets a saint involved? The structure in question can become a large scale magical instrument."

GV was annoyed but the man was correct that he knew little about magic. It did make a sort of sense to him though. Some Adepts used tools, they weren't strictly needed for their ability to work but they acted as amplifiers- at least to the Adept. In truth they were normally something akin to the magic feather, they work because the adept believes them to work. An adept who trains with one though will find it easier to use higher level techniques as their tool allows them to draw out more of their power in a quicker and safer way.

Assuming magic worked on the same sort of concept, the idea of a "magic feather" that could massively amplify an effect put into it wasn't impossible. Or at least, GV didn't doubt the man was telling the truth.

A saint though?

"Hold on a second," Touma began worriedly "Are you saying there is someone in academy city who's trying to use magic on that scale?"

Stiyl nodded. At the same moment he did though, the robot reacted to something and began to move. It slid towards the car.

"Oh no you don't!" GV reacted. She was going to take Arisa now. Strictly speaking that would be fine but the fact that she choose now to do it felt off. Why didn't she wait for them to finish talking?

[ASG1: Monolithic Pride]

As the robot reached out to grab Arisa, GV fired a shot that bounced off it's armour.

Conventional attacks wouldn't work then. He'd have to use a skill. He couldn't go for it's body, he'd risk hurting the pilot.

"Sacred sword agleam, Barbarous and bathed in blue, Cleaving right from wrong!"

The blue sword of lightning appeared in his hands and he held it to the side.

"That's a-" Stiyl was shocked by the sight as GV brought the sword down.

"Luxcalibur!"

The power flowed from his body to the sword which grew in size.

The horizontal slash cut the robot's claw along with a few legs. It crumpled to the ground as GV grabbed Arisa himself.

"Why are you interfering? Weren't you here to-"

"I was here to save her, that didn't need you to react as you did. If you had waited we could have got this sorted out without fighting."

"I was getting it done without fighting you idiot! The fighting stops when she's safely away. It's not like the pyrokinetic would risk hurting her."

Touma looked over and he didn't look impressed, as he did Stiyl laughed at her words.

"What? Were you not listening to me? While I don't want to hurt her, I want to keep her out of your hands."

Touma shook his head "I wouldn't have let you."

So wait. Who is on which side now?

"Everyone stop!" And someone else was showing up now.

A new car arrived, it looked quite expensive. Two doors slid open, one on either side and some of Joule's friends and acquaintances poured out.

Joule herself was there of course but so were her friend group, excluding the girl who was using a wheelchair. There also looked to be three girls that GV barely recognised, the girl at the front was the level 4 who controlled air right?

She had been the one to speak but one of Joule's other friends was taking charge now, the girl with flowers in her hair, Uiharu.

She held her armband that marked her as a member of Judgement.

"Stop in the name of Judgement."

When nobody moved, the group walked over. Joule made her way to him and quietly asked "What's been happening?"

GV quickly filled her in as Uiharu approached Stiyl carefully.

"You were in charge of the kidnapping, correct."

Stiyl sighed.

"Do you really have to do this, I get that she's your friend but she-" he nodded to the robot "just needed to be stopped from escaping with Arisa. She's the larger threat right now."

"He's right." Misaka spoke, examining the damage before looking at Gunvolt "Your sword?"

"Yes."

She nodded and held her hand against the side of the robot.

"Come out or you're getting zapped."

The voice of crow leader was indignant.

"What? Why me, I'm doing my job keeping Arisa out of danger. It was these people who attacked me!"

Saten sighed and scratched her head.

"This is going to take a while isn't it?"

End of chapter.

And something butterflied by GV being there. How quaint.