Here we are, the end of the Deep Blood Arc. The moment of truth, the reveal of the Dragon King/Invisible Thing. Hopefully, I managed to do this iconic scene justice. I was really conflicted about how to write it, since its appearance varies with the adaptation. I can only hope you all like what I did with it.
Now, let's get some Q&A done.
mohamadstar94: Let's see, shall we?
MrQuestionMark: Glad to know you think I'm improving. I really had to work my brain to find ways to inplement the other characters without making them feel alien. I will admit that Index is going to be the hardest to do since she is so inept with modern tech and has little to no stake in science side affairs. Sorry about forgetting the Aureolus Dummy. I want to read the novels, but I can't afford official translations and I can't come by fan translations. For me, Mikoto is best girl. I would she is my waifu, but I always found that practice weird and she is for Touma only.
Bluejack222: Sorry this took so long, friend. You can't rush a man's craft.
ADdude: Maybe she'll get involved, maybe she won't. Even I'm not entirely sure yet.
Generation Zero: I'm sure you will enjoy the Sister's arc greatly when I get to it. That is where all the big changes start. Can't say much for Othinus as the most I know about her is from reading fanfic and the wiki since I can't exactly afford the Light Novels.
ALostBlueIdiot: Don't worry. I've been planning to throw Touma a few bones for a while now and punishment to the rest of the Delta Force definitely qualifies as throwing Touma a bone.
ArmoredCoreNineBall: Very well. You will face the full force of Kamikoto X7F Superior Mode, who will be piloting the universe eclipsing robot Super Heart Piercing Mikoto Kamijou! Oh, the girls are going to see the Invisable Thing. Why go through the trouble of rewriting the scene if nothing changes? I'm glad you liked my decision to take the politics between science and magic into consideration with fights. Don't worry, I have a couple of logic bombs and loopholes prepared so science side characters can get a piece of the action in the future.
RedSS: Your in for a treat. Dragon head incoming!
GhostofTime: Touma's luck always rubs off on other people! Now, let's get see how bad it is.
Handsomistic1: You will see in the chapter.
Guest (1): Four wall breaks are my life! All your questions are answered in this chapter!
Linkstore (Guest): I counter your counter with the fact that science is constantly progressing, by nature. In this current age, we have humanoid robots that are becoming more and more advance. Academy City is decades ahead in technology from the rest of the world, so them having experimental humanoid robots in not unlikely. Also, I'm pretty sure I said this before but I will reaffirm, the style of the suit is drastically different from what is expected for powered suits. Academy City Powered Suits usually have large, bucket head helmets made out of some sort of translucent plastic that could potentially act as HUDs. The knight armor has a more form fitting helmet with grates for a visor, something that would be seen as inefficient and low-tech by Academy City standards and the armor itself, while bulky, lacks the bulk that is expected of a suit stuffed with wiring and motors. I do plan on changing things, I have been for the most part. The thing is the really big changes don't come until later down the line when they hold more impact.
Guest (2): Thank you for the kind words.
5waydragon: Failsafe for what? Index's memories? I'm not sure I understand your question.
Dawn thief (Guest): I am still doing the Poltergeist Arc. That should have been obvious from the fact I did the set-up, the Big Spider Arc. Huh, never new Aogami said that. I'm not planning on adding any OCs. I don't have it in me to create backstories, personalities, and abilities of new characters without treading Mary Sue status, so I don't bother. You sure are passionate about your hate for Kamisoto, aren't you? Personally, I have no qualms against him as I only know of his story arc, I have yet to have the chance to experience it since I can't afford the Light Novels. Since his arc is so far of, it is unlikely that I will include him any time soon. I do find his premise interesting, as I always had an interest in antithesis characters, and World Rejecter is a power that intrigues me as much as Imagine Breaker, so I will probably still implement his arc. Also, you do realize your asking a question you should already no the answer to, right? "WHY did Touma went and save him?!" Touma answers that question the same way every time he saves someone. You really shouldn't expect anything else from his character if you were that far into the Light Novels before dropping them.
Guest (3): I'm interpreting "The One Who Wields the Power of God" as Fiamma of the Right and "The One with Hundred fetishes" as Aogami. Definately Fiamma.
Now that those are out of the way, disclaimer!
Disclaimer: All characters and plotlines of the "A Certain" franchise are credited to Kazuma Kamachi.
Chapter 17: The Dragon King
After learning of Index's supposed kidnapping by the hands of Aureolus Izzard, the begrudging partnership of Touma and Stiyl once again entered Misawa Prep School in hopes of now rescuing both her and Himegami. Having lost his previous camera, the girls equipped Touma with a second, back-up camera that they bought in the event that something happen to the first. With Touma's luck, it was pretty much expected to happen.
The girls watched Touma's camera feed as he and Stiyl made their way through the building for the second time that day. With the girls now was Saten, who felt it was only right to stick around and help however she could after leaving Index unsupervised. However, she couldn't help but feel like she wasn't doing enough.
"This is all my fault. I should be in there with them," Saten said, "If I had stayed with Index, I would have made sure that she stayed in the dorm."
"Don't say that, Saten," Uiharu encouraged, "No one blames you for what happened."
"Besides, you know why you can't go in," Kuroko reminded everyone, "Even though you're a Level 0, you are still an Esper and thus a representative of the Science Side in the Magic/Science conflict. The two sides are in an uneasy truce to maintain balance, so if one side had a clear victory over the other, the balance would shift, and the truce would be broken. The only reason Kamijou is being let in is because Imagine Breaker is neither magical or scientific and his rank as a Level 0 is so low, he might as well be a normal human."
"Besides, you haven't seen what this guy can do," Mikoto added, clutching a fist, "With just his words, he forced reality the bend to his will and make Kamijou forget what he was doing and teleport outside of the building. He did something no one thought was possible. He got around Imagine Breaker's immediate effects on the user! You wouldn't stand a chance against him!"
"Too weak to be of any help, but at the same time, too strong to be allowed to help," Saten mused, "Talk about ironic."
"Don't worry, Saten. I'll be sure to bring Index back, safe and sound," Touma promised.
"Speaking of which," Kuroko interrupted, "Anything out of the ordinary yet?"
"Well, the school is empty, but considering the time of day, I shouldn't be surprised," Touma admitted, "We took the elevator up this time, so I'm guessing the barrier from early had been taken down."
"But the purpose of the barrier was to keep Himegami's Deep Blood hidden so vampires didn't run rampant towards the school, right?" Uiharu noted, "Why would it be taken down now?"
"Maybe this Aureolus guy wants the vampires to come to him for some reason," Saten suggested.
"Only question now would be why he would want that," Mikoto pointed out.
Regardless of the reason for why, Aureolus now had Himegami and potentially Index in his grasp. All the girls could do now was wait and see what Touma and Stiyl could do about it.
Having had taken the elevator up the building this time, Touma and Stiyl had reached their target floor much sooner than last time. Up until now, Touma had just been following Stiyl as the made their way through the building. Stiyl apparently had an idea of where Aureolus would be hiding, but Touma couldn't help but be a bit skeptical. By the way Stiyl was acting, it was as if he had personally knew Aureolus at some point and knew exactly how he thought.
"Are you sure?" Touma asked as he followed, "Do you really have some idea of where this bastard is hiding?"
"Of course," Stiyl replied, "Do you think I would just wander through the hallways of this building if I had no clue where I was going."
"I have to admit, it's a bit scary," Touma mused, "If this guy can bend reality to fit his words… Damn! How are we supposed to Himegami out? And for all we know, Index is somewhere in her now too."
"Even supposing she did wander in here for some reason, he's not going to launch an attack on her like he did us. I know that much," Stiyl said calmly before stopping in his tracks.
The abrupt stop caused Touma to stumble on his own feet, much to his annoyance.
"What is it now?" Touma asked, not happy about the sudden stop.
"That's what it is! Why didn't I see it?!" Stiyl yelled at himself, throwing his cigarette on the ground, confusing everyone else listening, "He's been in hiding for three years now! There are some developments he wouldn't know about."
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Touma asked in confusion.
He never got an answer as Stiyl suddenly took off. Had Touma not start running after him, he would have surely been left behind.
"Any idea what just happened, Kamijou?" Uiharu asked over the radio link.
"Barely," Touma admitted, "What about you girl? Detective work has always been more of your strong suit then mine."
"Don't sell yourself short, you're a pretty decent detective yourself," Kuroko reprimanded, "Regardless, it seems this has something to do with Index, like Aureolus has some sort of personal history with her."
"I was thinking the same thing," Touma agreed, "Stiyl seemed pretty familiar with him too. Only question is what that history is."
"Looks like we're about to find out," Mikoto pointed out, "According to security camera feed, Stiyl looks like he's stopping at a nearby open door just ahead."
Turning the next corner, Touma saw Stiyl walking up to an open set of double doors, where moonlight could be seen pouring in. He quickly ran next to the Stiyl and found himself faced with Himegami, Aureolus, and Index in the office in front of him. Index herself was asleep on the desk with the alchemist watching over her, his back turned to the infiltrators. Touma attempted to rush in, but Stiyl gently blocked the way with his arm, stopping Touma in his tracks. Stiyl apparently had something to say.
"I have some bad news for you, alchemist," Styil said calmly, "Your plan will never succeed."
Aureolus turned around to face the two infiltrators, a confident smirk on his face.
"Oh, so you finally realized what my intentions here are," he replied, "In that case, I expect that you howl at your own impedance when achieve what I mean to do."
"A year ago, I would have done anything to see your plan succeed," Stiyl answered back with a smile before returning to a serious expression, "But I tell again, nothing you do now will help you to saver her. There is nothing you can do for Index."
"He wants to help Index?" the girls asked in confusion.
"You speak out of jealousy because you have failed her in this. Not I. I will not fail," the alchemist declared, pausing a moment to spare Index a caring glance, "I will save her. My Index. She took the weight of all the grimoires upon her fragile shoulders. She could never hope to escape the spell that was cast upon her, but she has stayed strong. She accepts the fate decreed by the church, hoping her curse will be a blessing for others."
"You see, the alchemist here was once Index's partner as well," Stiyl explained, figuring everyone else was out of the loop, "This year, you have that honor. Last year it was me. And three years ago, it was this man, Aureolus Izzard."
"Index's survival is contingent on the annual erasure of her memory," Aureolus further explained, oblivious to the fact Touma and the girls on the other side of the wiretap were already well informed, "Without that process, she will die. An unescapable fate, on her human body cannot fight. However…"
"If her body was not human, things might be different," Stiyl finished.
Touma and the girls could hardly believe what they were hearing. Apparently, Aureolus intended to use Himegami and her Deep Blood in order to attract and meet vampires so he could learn how they could store lifetimes worth of memories throughout their immortal existence. Of course, for Index to be able to use the vampire's methods of memory retention, she herself would need to become a vampire.
It was bad enough that another magic side representative was grossly misinformed on how the brain functions, but now they had to deal with this maniac's extreme methods of turning Index into something that was not human. All of this just to save her life. A life, mind you, that no longer needed to be saved as her memory limit was never the issue and her curse had already been lifted thanks to a certain strange addition to Judgement. The whole situation was ridiculous to anyone that was well informed and not living under a rock regarding current events involving the magic side.
At the same time, Touma and the girls could tell that Aureolus was being genuine. He truly wanted to save Index from her fate and the hurt in his voice of not being able to was clear. He simply wanted to be the hero and save her.
However, it was at that point that Stiyl decided to break the news to the misguided alchemist.
"Then nothing I've said so far has changed your mind," Stiyl said in exasperation as he stepped to the side of the room.
"Well, in that case, would you care to do the honors as her current partner?" Stiyl asked, glancing at Touma, "Why don't you tell this misinformed hack about the recent change in Index."
Touma stared at the alchemist before him speaking.
"Alchemist, you have no idea what you're talking about," Touma said firmly.
"What's that?" Aureolus asked in confusion.
"Don't you see yet?" Stiyl interrupted, "You can't do anything because she's already been saved, and not by you. The title of 'savior' belongs to Touma Kamijou. He's already accomplished what neither of us were able to do. But course, you couldn't have known that. You turned your back on the church and spent three years in hiding. You've pretty much been living under a rock when the important stuff happened."
Needless to say, Aureolus didn't take the news very well. Of course, on body could blame him. By all means, Touma looked like a very average high school student. He was by not means a sorcerer. Heck, he barely qualified as an Esper. He was not the strongest looking human and didn't appear like someone who would posses a power to save someone like Index. Of course, anybody who thought like that would be dead wrong. As Stiyl explained to the confused alchemist, Touma's right hand held Imagine Breaker. With that right hand, Touma had inadvertently made all of Aureolus's efforts worthless.
Of course, anyone would think this would be a good thing. As Touma would put it, Index was saved so what did it matter who saved her? She was in trouble, Touma helped, she was saved, end of story. Unfortunately, Aureolus didn't seem to take it very well. He lost his balance momentary and wore an expression of pure shock and confusion. The revelation was so great that he needed to lean on the desk where Index was sleeping to stay upright. However, the slight disturbance caused Index to stir in her sleep.
"Touma," Index cried in her sleep, "Touma."
"I'm here, Index!" Touma yelled in response.
"Do you think she's okay?" Saten asked in worry.
"Touma," Index said once again.
Suddenly, her stomach released a loud rumbling sound.
"I'm really hungry," Index followed up, rolling on her side in her sleep, "An apple. A juicy, red apple."
"Perfect timing," Stiyl said through his laughs.
At that point, Touma couldn't hep but laugh as well. Even the girls began laughing at the sight.
"I can't believe this," Mikoto giggled.
"I know," Kuroko agreed, "All this time, we were worried that someone kidnapped her for her grimoires, only to find out she was fast asleep the whole time, begging for food."
"Well, I sure feel better," Saten added, happy her slip up wasn't as bad as she first thought.
"Best part is we got the whole thing on tape," Uiharu added.
However, all the laughing stopped when everyone heard the sounds of more maniacal laughing, like some mad man about to go on a rampage. All eyes and Touma's camera were on the laughing Aureolus Izzard, who now seemed a bit unhinged.
"You will fall to the floor, intruder!" he yelled.
Suddenly, Touma and Stiyl found themselves pinned to the ground by some supernatural force.
"Kamijou!" the girls cried in worry.
"You come in here and trample my emotions; sneer at my prevail," the alchemist said, stabbing himself with another one of his needles, "Very well, you will pay for this humiliation! You will pay with your pathetic lives!"
"Stop now!" Himegami yelled, standing between the infiltrators and the alchemist.
"Himegami, careful," Touma warned as he struggled to get up.
"Kamijou, you need to get up, now!" Uiharu begged, "Aureolus doesn't need Himegami anymore so he would hesitate to hurt her!"
"Working on it," Touma answered, trying to shift his right hand towards him.
"This doesn't make sense. How can his magic work on Kamijou directly," Saten asked, "Shouldn't Imagine Breaker instantly negate anything supernatural that comes in contact with it, like phenomenon aimed at Kamijou's entire body?"
"I don't think now is the time to be worrying about that right now, Saten," Kuroko pointed out, "We have bigger things to worry about."
"Come on, idiot! Get up!" Mikoto yelled.
"Really not helping, Zapper!" Touma yelled back.
After much struggling, Touma was able to reach his right hand to his mouth. He gently bit his thumb, negating the affect of Ars Magna. Unfortunately, by the time he managed to do so, Aureolus had already given the command of Himegami to die. With just his words, she had begun to fall backwards, her body limp and lifeless. Touma ran up and managed to catch her before she reached the floor, hoping for some chance that she could still be saved.
"Himegami…" Touma whispered, trying to wake her up.
"Is she okay?" Uiharu asked.
"Her existence is no longer necessary," Aureolus gloated with a laugh, "And as you can see, I even kept my promise to her. As she wished, I have set the girl free from the misfortune of her sweet blood."
As Aureolus continued to laugh and gloat, Touma desperately shook the now dead body, hoping for something to happen. To Touma and the girls' relief, Himegami suddenly gasped for a breath of air, a clear sign that she not only was alive, but had just come back from the dead.
"What?!" the alchemist asked in pure shock, "You somehow negated my Ars Magna? Impossible! Her death should have been irreversible. What kind of sacrad power do you possess in that hand of yours?"
"Stop your deranged babbling! You've clearly been defeated, it's time to give up!" Touma declared as he stood up, Himegami in his arms, "But, if insist on believing that you can manipulate reality, then I'll just shatter that messed up illusion of yours!"
Touma set Himegami off to the side of the room, opposite from Stiyl. Said flame sorcerer was still stuck on the floor, not even bothering to struggle off of it. Touma stood opposite from Aureolus, eyeing his opponent, as if daring him to make the first move.
"Careful, Kamijou," Uiharu warned, "This guy can manipulate reality with his words. There is not telling what he will do to you, so stay sharp."
"Well, you know what they say," Touma replied, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
In traditional Touma fashion, Touma charged head first at the alchemist. Said alchemist calmly responded by pulling out another needle and stabbing himself with it. He gave the simple command, "You will choke" and Touma suddenly felt a pressure around his throat. He stumbled at the sudden lack of oxygen, falling to his hands and knees. In spite of the pain, Touma reached his right hand to his neck. With a single touch, Imagine Breaker worked its anti-magic, releasing Touma form the super natural choke hold.
"Electrocute," Aureolus commanded.
Out of nowhere, a surge of electricity formed in the room and surged at Touma. Instinctively, Touma rose Imagine Breaker to defend against it, stopping the bold of electricity in its tracks.
"Nice try, but I deal with electric attacks a hundred times more powerful than this on a weekly basis!" Touma taunted.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Mikoto commented.
"Be crushed," Aureolus commanded once more.
In response, a car appeared in the air over Touma. Seeing the car, Touma immediately held his hand above his head. Once the car and hand met, the car shattered into shards, like a broken mirror, before fading away completely.
"So, it is true. Your hand is the genuine article. It has consistently cancelled out my Ars Magna attacks," the alchemist observed, "In which case, I just need to use an attack that your hand can not touch and there for cannot nullify."
Aureolus took out another needle and once again, stabbed himself in the neck.
"In my hand a gun will appear," Aureolus ordered, "It is loaded with magic bullets, any one of which can carry your death. The bullets will travel faster than the human eye can see. The shooting will now commence."
Just as Aureolus ordered, a pistol appeared in his hand. He aimed it at Touma and fired, only for the bullet to miss his head by only a few millimeters. Instead, the bullet impacted the wall outside the office, leaving a sizable crater.
"Did you think I'd let you die so easily?" the alchemist taunted, "I want to see you squirm a bit longer."
"Girls, I might be in trouble," Touma whispered.
"Magnify previous order! Ten pistols with simultaneous fire!"
On the Aureolus's command, the single pistol became two sets of five pistols. Each set of five was connected to a single pistol and were all controlled by a single trigger. The pistols all fired on Touma, each one hitting its mark and knocking Touma back.
"Kamijou!" the girls cried in worry as their friend was shot down.
When Touma landed, he let out a cough as most of the bullets hit him in the chest. Upon closer inspection, Touma noticed he wasn't injured too severally. He didn't feel even a single bruise, let alone a bullet hole, on his body.
"Don't worry," Touma reassured his friends, "Looks like I'm still good."
"I told you I wasn't done toying with you yet," Aureolus laughed as he approached Touma, "That was practice. Now I'll show you what my pistols can really do."
"Well, what do you know," Stiyl interrupted, "you really can seem to use your words to manipulate reality in whatever way you wish."
"Obviously," Aureolus boasted, "Ars Magna is the strongest power an alchemist can possess. I can do anything I-"
"Oh, really," Stiyl cut Aureolus off, "Of so, what could you possibly need Deep Blood for? Why would you need her to attract vampires for you? Couldn't you just create them without using her? All it would take was a few words from you, right? So, why didn't you do it, alchemist? Why didn't you create vampires using you're Ars Magna? For that matter, why would you even need them at all?"
"Into the air, you meddling sorcerer!" Aureolus commanded, his voice seething with rage.
On command, Stiyl was lifted high into the air for all to see.
"Stiyl, No!" Touma cried.
"I'm wondering if there might be limitations to your power," Stiyl continued, ignoring his more precarious position.
"Your skin will be torn from your body!" the alchemist yelled.
On cue, Stiyl's skin was instantly ripped away. With his skin gone, Stiyl's internal organs were all visible. His heart continued to beat and he was by all indications alive, his muscles, bones, blood vessels, and other organs close to the surface were exposed. The sight was so disgusting, Touma had to hold back the vomit attempting to escape his system. The girls were no better; their gags audible in Touma's earpiece.
Despite the disgusting sight, Touma was soon able to collect himself and think rationally. Stiyl was trying to tell him something. That was obvious from all the hypothetical questions he was posing. Touma thought back to what Stiyl had said regarding Aureolus's elaborate plan. If Ars Magna was truly all-powerful, why even have the elaborate plan? Not only that, there were inconsistencies when it came to Ars Magna's interactions with Imagine Breaker. Prior to knowing of its existence, the alchemist had no issue bypassing it. Touma was teleported outside the school not too long ago, something that even the Level 4 Teleporter Kuroko couldn't do. Then there were events like Touma being forced to the floor or choking. Imagine Breaker was attached to him, so it should have negated anything supernatural being directly applied to his body unless isolated from his right hand, just like with teleportation. At that moment, Touma realized that Ars Magna is not absolute and could be undermined, and he knew just how to do it. A new plan in hand, Touma got on his feet to face Aureolus one more time.
"I'm bored with this game. I believe I'll switch weapons," the alchemist declared, "I'll destroy you with a sword instead. Obviously, the source of your self-assurance is your right hand, which is your only weapon. It's clear my first course of action is to chop off your right arm. For this last attack, my spinning sword will sever your arm!"
The ten pistols Aureolus was using transformed into a single pistol with a sword attached to the barrel. Taking aim, the sword flew off the barrel of the pistol on command, spinning as it cut through the air. In the blink of an eye, the spinning blade cut straight through Touma's right shoulder, severing his arm and spewing blood everywhere. The blood splashed onto Touma's camera, obscuring the lens and cutting off the girl's video feed.
"Kamijou!" the girls cried as their video feed was blocked by a wall of red blood.
"Uiharu, we need a security camera feed, now!" Kuroko ordered.
"I'm trying, but most of the cameras in the area got put out of order by the crossfire!" Uiharu explained.
"What about this one?" Saten suggested, pointing to only camera feeds still online in the room.
As Aureolus's laughter grew in their audio feed, Uiharu quickly switched to the last remaining camera. However, said camera was inconveniently placed behind an equally inconveniently placed potted plant. While the room could be seen with Touma and Aureolus inside, the plant's leaves were blocking out everything below Touma's shoulder.
"What idiot put a potted plant in front of a security camera like that?!" Mikoto yelled, jumping out of her seat, "That's it! Kuroko, we're going in after them!"
"Sissy, you know why we can't!" Kuroko begged, "I want to help Kamijou as much as you do, but there is more at stake here then just our friends wellbeing. I hate to admit it, but our hands are tied."
"But he's literally been disarmed!" Mikoto argued, "We can't just leave him! He's bleeding out!"
"Misaka, please calm down," Saten asked, trying to keep her friend from doing anything reckless.
However, despite all their efforts, it was not the girls that got Mikoto to calm down. Rather, it was an odd sound coming from Touma's audio feed. It sounded like some sort of maniacal laughter, but it wasn't that of the alchemist. It sounded familiar, but at the same time not so. Looking at the video feed from the security camera, the girls saw that the laughter was coming from someone they least expected.
The one laughing was Touma Kamijou.
"Headband to Misfortune," Uiharu asked wearily, "Come in Misfortune."
She got no response. Touma just seemed to ignore her as he walked closer towards Aureolus, who appeared to be just as stunned as the girls.
Aureolus attempted to cut Touma's head off with the same sword pistol he used the chop off his arm. However, the blade somehow curved and missed Touma completely. When the attack failed, he tried again, this time with the same ten pistol combination as before. Once again, the blades curved around Touma, not even scratching him. In a final attempt to end the boy, the alchemist ordered the creation of infinite executioner's blades to dismember Touma's body. The blades all appeared suspended in the air above Touma before suddenly falling upon him. However, the blades never hit their mark as they were instantly destroyed, the oddest part being that the sound of Imagine Breaker rang out as they did.
"Hey, I have a question, alchemist," Touma said in a very not Touma-like tone, "Honestly, did you think you were going to win? Did you really expect to defeat Imagine Breaker with an attack as pathetic as that one?"
"What's with Kamijou?" Kuroko asked in fear, "He doesn't sound like himself. It's almost like he's possessed."
In his attempts to defend himself, Aureolus dropped his supply of needles and struggled to recollect all of them. During this time, Touma only got closer to his prey.
"You can't work your alchemy without using those needles, can you?" Touma deduced, "You rely on them to keep any stray thoughts out from interfering. Is something wrong? Come on, use your words! Why aren't you fighting? Can't you control me?"
"What if he is?" Saten suggested, "What if Imagine Breaker was actually a seal to suppress something much more dangerous?"
Aureolus desperately begged Touma to stay away. In his panicked bid for survival, he stumbled away and hid underneath the coffee table near the desk.
"Come on, don't be ridiculous," Mikoto replied, albeit unconvincingly.
Despite what she said, Mikoto couldn't help but consider the possibility. Although she would never admit it, she had a great amount of respect for the Level 0 high school boy. He was a kind and gentle soul who always fought for what he believed was right. He never held grudges and was willing to help anyone, even those that would be considered his enemies.
However, the boy she saw on the screen right now was not him. This boy seemed ruthless and held no mercy. He appeared to enjoy the alchemist's panic and encouraged it with taunts and belittling. Her knees grew weak as she watched him approach the frightened alchemist, taunting and laughing at him all the while.
By the time Aureolous mustered up the courage to get out from under the coffee table, Stiyl had somehow healed and collected Index in his arms. At the same time, Touma was only a few steps away from him. Had he taken another step, he's right side would no longer be blocked by the foliage of the potted plant.
"Your no match for me alchemist," Touma said, earning the alchemist's attention once more.
To Mikoto, this boy on the screen was not even human.
"I've figured it out. I know the secret of Ars Magna," Touma explained, "Your power is not making your words into reality."
To Mikoto, this boy she saw in that moment was a monster.
"Oh no, your power is making what you believe into reality, and now that I know that, I will crush you!" Touma yelled, taking another step forward.
With that one step, Touma's shoulder stub was visible for the girls to see. At least, that would have been the case if a shoulder stub was all that was there. To the girls' surprise and horror, in place of Touma's right arm was a giant dragon head. The head was large enough to equal Touma's standing height when its jaw was open and seemed to be made out of an eerie purple light. Its physical form was only barely visible on its own, only becoming clearer thanks to the splatters of Touma's blood smeared across it.
The dragon's head let out a might roar that physically shook the room the battle was in, shocking everyone conscious to see it, both in and outside of the room. To the girl's horror, the dragon's head lunged at Aureolus, swallowing him whole as he screamed for his life. As soon as the dragon's head's powerful jaws clamped down, the resulting shockwave knocked the last camera out of order, cutting off the girl's video feed.
The girls could hardly believe what they had just witnessed. They had no words to describe what they were feeling. Words like 'fear', 'shock', 'terror' and the like were not enough to describe what they felt. To use those words alone would not do the emotions they were feeling justice.
At that point, Mikoto feel to her on her knees at what she had just witnessed. The experience was just too much for her scientific brain to comprehend. For the first time since learning about Imagine Breaker, Mikoto was utterly confused by the power in Touma's right hand.
"What was that?" Mikoto whispered.
The next day, Mikoto, Kuroko, and Uiharu stood in front of a certain familiar hospital room door. At the moment, Saten was accompanying Index, saying that they would be a bit late due to a run in with a certain acquaintance. In the meantime, the remaining girls saw it fit to visit Touma to discuss topics that would best be kept away from Index. The three girls exchanged a nod before stepping into the room.
To their surprise, Stiyl was already in the room with the patient, Touma, peeling an apple. Touma sat upright in his inclined hospital bed, his newly reattached right arm in a sling. Miraculously, that one injury was the only one he had.
"Hey, girls," Touma greeted, waving his good arm.
Stiyl barely spared them a glance, focusing on the apple. The girls sat on the visitor's bench across from Touma, intent on listening in on whatever Stiyl came to say.
"I'm not trying to get all cozy, or anything," Stiyl clarified as he worked on the apple, "I just figured I check on Imagine Breaker here."
"That's awfully nice of you," Mikoto observed skeptically.
"Of course, you all are probably more concerned with a certain other incident that occurred last night," Stiyl noted, "My guess would be that dragon that came out of Kamijou's arm."
The students stared at Touma's right arm, giving Stiyl his answer.
"It's nothing," Stiyl insisted, "just the manifestation of terror Aureolus felt at the time."
"What happened to the alchemist, anyway?" Kuroko asked.
"Well, he seems to have lost his memories and magical abilities," Stiyl explained, "I didn't want his death on my consciences, so I gave him a new identity and snuck him past the Knights of the Roman Catholic Church."
"Is that so," Uiharu mused, "Good for him, I guess."
"Word is Misawa Prep School is being shut down," Stiyl added, "I was going to thank all of you, but it seems a bit absurd, now that I think about it. All you really did was get Aureolus to bring the school down on himself."
"If anything, you should be thanking me for my acting talent," Touma boasted.
"Wait, that whole thing was an act?!" Mikoto asked in shock.
"Yeah," Touma replied, "What? Did you honestly think I was some sort of psychopathic maniac that reveled in the fear and suffering of my opponents?"
"Actually, yeah," Kuroko admitted, "We had no idea you could act. For a while there, we thought you were possessed or something."
"I'll tell ya, it wasn't easy," Touma added, "My arm was chopped off and I had to act like it hadn't happened to keep our bluff going."
"That still doesn't explain how he could get past Imagine Breaker so many times or how you negated everything even after your arm was cut off," Uiharu pointed out.
"Like I said to the alchemist, his power turned his beliefs into reality," Touma explained, "When he teleported me out of the school, he didn't believe I had something like Imagine Breaker to prevent it, so his power made it so it was like I didn't have Imagine Breaker. Even after he learned about Imagine Breaker, he didn't know how exactly it worked or that it automatically negates things directly affecting my body, so his believed it would only work manually, like when I bit my thumb."
"And after your arm was removed?" Kuroko pushed.
"That was thanks to my acting," Touma continued, "I made it look like I could still negate things without my arm, so he subconsciously made it so his attacks would negate themselves."
"The pain must have been intense enough to put you in a state of shock," Stiyl deduced, "Thanks to that, you just able to do what needed to be done, kind of like Aureolus and his needles."
"Do not compare me to that psycho!" Touma said sternly, "How crazy can one guy be? He goes out of his way to obtain some crazy magic and create a master scheme involving vampires, all because he wanted to save Index."
Despite specifically demanding not to be compared to the alchemist, the girls couldn't help but do so. Much like Aureolus, Touma went to extremes just to help a single person. The only real difference between them was that Touma never dragged other people into his plans. They sat in silence, letting that thought sink in.
That silence was soon broken when Index could be heard running down the halls of the hospital, with Saten begging her to slow down. In response, Stiyl left his freshly cut plate of apples in Touma's lap and jumped out the window. He would prefer to not meet Index directly for the time being. After all, she was still convinced that he was her enemy, the unfortunate outcome of his ploy while acting as her partner last year and Touma saving her immediately afterwards.
"Touma!" Index yelled sternly as she entered the room and climbed on his lap, "I know what you were up too!"
"Up too?" everyone else in the room asked in worry.
"That's right, I know you risked you life in a fight to save Aisa and all of you were involved," Index replied.
"Aisa?" Touma asked, "Oh, you mean that freaky psudo-magician girl?"
"Wait, who did you hear that from?" Mikoto questioned.
"I think it would be obvious," Index replied, helping herself to Touma's apple slices.
"That was rude," Himegami said as she came around the corner of the room, "I'm no freak."
"Seriously, Kamijou," Saten added as she came around the corned as well, "You have not tack at all."
"Oh, hey Himegami," Touma greeted awkwardly, "I didn't expect to see you here with Index."
"It's not like I wanted her to come," Index clarified, "but she wouldn't stop going on about how she was desperate to thank you."
"Why did you do it?" Himegami asked, "Why did you help me? You could have died for some stranger. I'm just some girl you met at a fast-food restaurant."
"I don't see why I need a reason to help somebody," Touma replied nonchalantly, earning a giggled from the other students in the room.
"Of course he says that," Mikoto said, putting her head in her hand.
"That's Kamijou for you," Uiharu giggled.
"Word of advice, Himegami, don't question it when this guy helps someone," Kuroko advised.
"Yeah, no one's rescue is special to him," Saten added, "He just likes to play the hero."
"You make it sound like I don't care about the people I help," Touma sighed, exasperated.
"Hey, Touma," Index interrupted, "After a lot of discussion, it looks like the church has decided to take in Aisa."
"The actually church or your crazy Walking Church?" Touma asked, "I can never tell with you."
Touma never got a clear answer as a cat inturpted the conversation. Climbing out of Index's robes, Sphinx made his precence known and jumped onto Touma's face. After swiping at him for a bit, Sphinx ran off, leaving Index to try to catch him before he caused too much trouble.
"Sphinx, where are you running off to!" Index cried, running after her pet.
"You can't bring a cat to the hospital!" Touma yelled in anger.
"I thought you told you to leave him at the dorm!" Saten yelled, chasing after her roommate.
Suddenly, the door to Touma's hospital swung open, revealing a certain busty and clearly furious member of Judgement.
"Konori!" Kuroko and Uiharu yelled in shock!"
"Hey, chief," Touma greeted weakly, "I didn't expect to see you here."
"Kamijou," Konori said sternly as she stomped into the room, barely ignoring the kitten chaos, "What is this I heard about you losing and arm?"
"F-funny story, chief," Touma stuttered, not at all intent on telling her about the accident.
"Kami!" an additional, male voice called out.
The door swung open yet again, revealing the two remaining members of the Delta Force.
"What is this?! We come by to visit you in your sickbed, only to find your room filled with girls of all types!" Tsuchimokado yelled in indignation as he and Aogami let themselves in.
"I knew something was fishy on the way here!" Aogami added.
"What does that even mean?!" Touma asked, utterly confused.
"I have developed as sort of sixth sense when it comes to you and girls," Aogami explained, "When ever you are surrounded by a high density of girls, my nose itches, and if at least some of those girls has a thing for you, my scalp tingles. I call it my Kami Disease Detector!"
'These guys can't be serious,' Mikoto, Kuroko, Uiharu, and Saten thought to themselves.
"Is it too much to ask for some peace and quiet?!" Touma cried, "Damned rotten luck!"
After a bit of struggling on Mikoto and Kuroko's part, Touma room was eventually cleared of all of the visitors. Mikoto, Kuroko, Uiharu, Saten, and Index were all walking home when Mikoto realized she forgot something in Touma's room. Excusing herself, Mikoto ran back to the hospital to take care of her small problem, insisting everyone else go home without her. Of course, these actions were met with some suspicion.
When Mikoto reentered Touma's room, she found him sitting in his bed, reading his journal. He didn't seem to notice her enter the room. Taking her chance, Mikoto steeled herself. Once she felt ready, she made her presence known.
"Hey," Mikoto greeted, albeit shyly.
"Back so soon?" Touma replied, looking away from his journal, "Did you forget something?"
"Sort of," Mikoto admitted, taking a seat next to Touma's bed, "I never got the chance to ask when you would be let out."
"The doc said my arm should be healed in not time," Touma explained, "I should be able to leave tomorrow morning."
"I see. That's good," Mikoto said with a smile.
"I take it that wasn't the only thing you wanted to talk about," Touma deduced.
"What makes you say that?" Mikoto asked jokingly.
"It's written all over your face," Touma explained, "Just come out and say it."
"Who can you be so good are reading people yet not notice their feelings," Mikoto whispered under her breath.
"Come again?"
"N-no, that wasn't it," Mikoto stuttered, "I was just wondering if you still remember that favor you owed me."
"The one I owed you after the Big Spider case, right?" Touma asked.
"That's the one," Mikoto confirmed, "I was wanted you to spend all day tomorrow with me as the favor."
"What is this? Are you forcing me to go on a date with you are something?" Touma joked.
"I-it's not like that at all!" Mikoto yelled.
"Geez, I was kidding," Touma complained, rubbing his ears, "You didn't have to deny it so forcefully."
"I-it's just," Mikoto stuttered, "I-it's just that you're always pushing yourself so hard. I t-thought this would be a good way for you to relax for once. Get away from the chaos of your weird exploits."
Mikoto was reaching her limit. It was just so awkward for her to be talking to him alone like this. It especially didn't help that Touma kept staring at her, deep in thought. However, her worries were eased when Touma finally gave his answer.
"Sure," Touma smiled, "Sounds like fun."
"Y-you mean it?" Mikoto asked.
"You know me. I can't back down from a promise," Touma replied, winking.
"G-great," Mikoto cheered, "Meet me at ten o'clock tomorrow by the vending machine at the park. Sound good?"
"I'll be there," Touma said, giving her a thumb's up with his left hand, "Now, get going. I'd hate for your dorm manager to kill you the night before we meet up."
"Right," Mikoto giggled as she ran out, "See you!"
As soon as Mikoto left, Touma returned his attention to his journal. After flipping through the pages, he stopped on the next blank page in the misfortune survival guide. He then grabbed a pen from his nightstand and began writing a new entry, this one regarding the new mysteries of his right hand.
Unclassified Super Natural Force Section 1
Subsection 1
Imagine Breaker
Origin: Unknown
Abilities: Located in the right hand. Negates all other super natural phenomenon on contact. Suspected origin of all misfortune.
Warnings: Do not touch to magical clothing, especially those of women. Do not remove right hand; doing so will release an unknown entity. Further observation needed. Use with caution.
There you have it, the end of the Deep Blood Arc. I hope the girl's reactions to the Dragon King were as expected. I really wanted to give them a sense of not knowing by limiting their observation options with the broken and obscured cameras. I also really wanted to sell the fear and confusion from seeing their good and honest friend act in such a way that was contradictory to his personality.
So, as is the event order goes, the next chapter or two are going to be based on filler episodes. However, I think they will be much appreciated filler. After all, Touma just temporally lost an arm. I think we all need this break as much as he does.
Speaking of which, Touma and Mikoto will be going on a not-a-date next chapter. I already had plans set, but I feel like they are a little lacking. This is where you, the readers, come in. Leave in the reviews a potential activity the two can engage in during the next chapter. Provide details of what they would be doing if you'd like to. If your lucky, it might just be added in the next chapter. Just know that an arcade visit is already planned, so leave any suggestions if you have them.
That's all for now. See you all next chapter!
Humans are multimedia.