I'm back! and it only took nearly a month this time! Just in time for Christmas! Consider this my early Christmas present to all of you loyal readers.

This is it, the end of end of the Angel Fall Arc. Hopefully, I did this chapter justice, especially since it the arc itself took so long to complete despite it only being three chapters long. I think you'll all find the last part of the chapter particularly interesting.

For now, let's get the the reviews out of the way.

ahsoei: Yeah, probably should have wrote the reveal to the girls a bit differently. Touma's new apartment won't exactly be ITEM's apartment, since Shizuri would want to keep Touma away from it, but it would be just as nice.

SolanaLeonhart: Thank you so much for your praise. I've had plans for ITEM for a while now, being somewhat familiar with their story thanks to wikis and other fanfiction, and now that the anime is catching up, I have a much clearer idea of what I want to happen with them. Animan Temple is one of my favorite additions to my stories, so I'm glad you liked it.

ArmoredCoreNineBall: Now that we're at the climax, this chapter is going to be a bit more action packed, just not exactly where you would expect it.

Kim454: That is certainly an interesting interpretation of what Imagine Breaker would look like through AIM Stalker. I might just use that.

Healthcare: Thanks for being so understanding. I usually write harem for the antics, but I do enjoy genuine budding relationships between characters. Honestly, I just really like Itsuwa. I find the super shy and awkward characters plain adorable, probably because I closely relate to them.

SoulReaver267: Hey, I like good and bad puns, especially when I'm the one making them. I'll serve my time in pun hell. I'll be sure to delve deeper into Shizuri's protectiveness, especially in relation to Touma and girls. I'll do anything if it means Delta Force antics. They're the funniest part of any A Certain story.

OnePunchPlayer: I just interpreted Touma as being a bit more focused here since he's dealt with a bit more weird in his life than he did in canon. Plus, he's moderately trained to deal with stuff like that in Judgement. Just seemed like a natural progression of his character to me.

MemeDevil: It's less that I forgot about Index, more that she's pretty out of focus in this arc to begin with. Plus, Touma usually tries to keep unneeded people out unless they find they're own way in. The only reason he told the girls in Academy City about Angel Fall was because they were in not position to arrive at the scene and do anything. I'm sure you'll get around to your own story eventually. Persevere, my man.

dhart868: I'm actually reorganizing the timeline a bit so Touma can be involved in the Silent Party Arc. After a quick break chapter, it will be the next arc covered.

TheTimeWalker94: Eh, the mentality makes for a good source of suspense, with slight hints of comedy.

Guest (1): Sorry for the wait!

Kami (Guest): You might be overestimating Touma here. He's had several years of casual Judo training, yes, but Judgement training has been sporadic, spread out over the course of several weeks. Most of Touma's fights come down to how well he can improvise and if those improvisations even do a damn.

Chroma (Guest): I plan on having Index be a bit more involved in the future, it's just a bit difficult when a lot of the conflicts don't directly influence her until later. She's a living macguffin that only a few antagonists actually go after.

ivan meza: Not now, unfortunately. Next arc.

X the Reaper: I'm pretty sure the angel was more enticed by the gum than anything else. They do have a sweet tooth, strange as it is.

Anonymous Noob the 2nd: Oh, don't worry, she's like number 2 on my Magic Side girls list, just below Itsuwa.

Savior555: Here you go.

RedSS: I can see that you were not very pleased the chapter, and all I can say is context. Tsuchimikado gave his blessing and the girls were in no position to get involved since they're still in Academy City, which is heavy on security and has permits to allow exiting. Touma has no memories of Shizuri, but he knows she's a powerful Esper and a caring sister based on Mikoto's stories and his journal. Plus, the moment their father became a target, it was a family matter. It would be wrong to leave her completely out of the loop when her own father's life was in danger. She was told just enough to be convinced to help, but not enough to learn about magic.

fencer29: Just know that the offer stands.

Percyfan1998: Glad you liked the chapter over all. Index III is certainly a joy to watch. It feels rushed at times, but gives just enough to be enjoyable.

Generation Zero: Well, can't rush her into things to quickly. Touma and Shizuri are both concerned with keeping the other out of the questionable lives they live, unaware of how intertwined they really are, only bring the other along when push comes to shove, like when family gets involved. Also, spies make everything more interesting.

Eliza211: Well, this arc is a bit more akin to a detective story than anything else, so a lack of action was to be expected.

TeotakuFantasia: Glad you liked the chapter. Good luck with your life in another world! Seems hectic.

Xeno01: Glad you liked the chapter. Accelerator might not show up for a while since next is Silent Party, but I'm sure it will be interesting when I get to it.

RPGPersona: Glad you liked the chapter. I didn't want to rush Shizuri into things too quickly. Something the siblings share is their desire to keep the other out of the supernatural side of their lives, unaware of how intertwined they are. Thus, my best bet was to have Shizuri play defensive under a believable lie. Judgement may not have any jurisdiction on its own, but with the lie Touma told, it could be said that Touma was given special privileges while working with the extra party.

Mutant0401: Capturing the essence of the characters and their interactions is my top priority when writing, so I'm glad I succeeded in your eyes. I'm glad you found the story so enjoyable. Always a pleasure to have a new dedicated reader.

Teruterufying (Guest): Always a pleasure to have a new regular reader. I hope you like what I have in store.

thewiseguyalex: Glad to have such high praise. Hope you enjoy what I have in store for the future.

With that out of the way, you know the drill.

Disclaimer: All characters and plotlines of the "A Certain" franchise are credited to Kazuma Kamachi.

Chapter 42: Truths be Told

When Touma found his father safe at the beach, it had to be the biggest relief he's had all day. Still, he couldn't let his guard down just yet. Misha was bound to be after his father and if they didn't move now, there was no telling when or where she might rear her hooded head. He had to get his father back to the hotel. At the very least, they might be able to stage some kind of defense there until they could get Misha calm down and listen to reason. Even if all the evidence seemed to point towards Touya Kamijou being responsible for Angel Fall, Touma wasn't about to let some sorceress cut his father down.

"Dad!" Touma called out as he ran towards his father.

"Oh, Touma, you're back," Touya greeted, "Did you see the house? What did you think?"

"Yeah, it's great," Touma replied, rushing his words, "Listen dad, don't ask why, but we need to get you out of here, now!"

"Huh? What's gotten into you?" Touya asked his son, confused, "Did you get in a fight with your mother?"

"Look, it's nothing like that, we just need to get you out of here!" Touma insisted, grabbing his father's wrist.

"Son, please, just tell me what's going on," Touya begged, completely lost as to what was coming over his son.

"Dad, look, some various dangerous people think your responsible for doing something, and now they want to punish you for it," Touma explained vaguely, "So come on! I have some friends that can help keep you safe."

"Huh? What could I have possibly done to upset anyone? I've been here at the resort all day," Touya insisted, confused as to why someone would be targeting him.

"Okay, then answer me this," Touma challenged, "Who do you think I brought with me to the resort besides Shizuri?"

"You mean the girl in the white nun's habit?" Touya replied, "I never got her name, but she seemed like a very good friend of yours."

As soon as he heard his father's reply, Touma couldn't help but feel a hit of joy. After worrying about his father's potential involvement in Angel Fall, he finally had irrefutable proof that his father was innocent. If he had actually been the culprit, he would have noticed the changes in everyone's appearances. Instead, he still recognized Index as a young girl, despite her current outward appearance to be that of the perverted Aogami Peirce.

At the same time, Touma couldn't help but silently reprimand himself for taking so long to figure it out.

'Why didn't I ask something like that earlier?!' Touma asked himself in his head.

"Hey, is that Misha?" Touya asked, snapping Touma out of his thoughts.

To Touma's horror, Misha had found them. His only chance to save his father now was for him to convince Misha that Touya was innocent, here and now. Acting quickly, Touma stepped between his father and the sorceress, having no intention of letting her near her target.

"I'm know why you're here, but stop," Touma demanded, "It's true that my dad's appearance hasn't been switched with anyone else's, but he hasn't noticed the changes in anybody else. He's clearly unaware of the spell, so shouldn't that mean that he-"

"Response to question: self-explanatory," Misha cut him off, pulling out a metal staff from her many belts, "Target acquisition completed. Personal opinion 1: the solution to the problem is simple."

"Misha, stop…" Touma begged, forcing his father to back away.

"You're not supposed to kill anyone without a divine order," a familiar voice said from behind the Kamijou men, "or have you forgotten principle."

Looking over his shoulder, Touma could see Kanzaki approaching them, her sheathed katana in hand.

"I'll take it from here. Please get your father to safety as quickly as you can manage it," Kanzaki ordered.

"Misha has the wrong impression," Touma explained, "My father's not-"

"We've all been tricked," Kanzaki cut him off, "Her name isn't Misha. I made an inquiry with the Russian Church. They only have one Kreutzev on file, and her name is Sasha. This is probably just an assumed form that she switched into."

"What are you talking about?" Touma asked, "If she's not with the Russian Orthodox Church, then who is she?"

"Surely you can put it together," the saint suggested, "What is it we call this devastating spell? What kind of being has it forced out of its higher standing worthy of its unparalleled power?"

Finally, the clues snapped into place in Touma's head. Misha's hesitation to touch his right hand. The name of "Angel Fall". The all-powerful servant of God forced to exist among the lesser creation of humans. All these facts came to light as the sky became dark as night.

"Why did it suddenly become night time?" Touya asked, "There was still at least an hour until nightfall."

"I see now. By turning day into night, she's enhancing her power," Kanzaki observed, "Controller of the blue, symbol of the water, guardian of the moon, protector of the rear side. Her name is, The Power of God."

As Kanzaki spoke, black wings made of what appeared to be shards of black glass appeared "Misha's" back, lifting her up into the air. She then raised her staff above her head, enveloping the night sky with what appeared to be a giant magic circle. Kanzaki instantly recognized as a spell capable of completely wiping out entire civilizations. It would appear that "Misha" was so desperate to return to her place among the angels that she was willing to destroy everything within the immediate area just to destroy Angel Fall and its caster.

Remembering that "Misha" refused to touch his right hand, Touma suggested that he stay to fight the angel. However, Kanzaki had other plans for him. She ordered him to take his father away from the fight and destroy the ritual site used for Angel Fall while she keeps the angel busy. While Touma was hesitant to agree to that plan, not wanting to leave Kanzaki by herself, the saint had nothing but confidence in the holder of Imagine Breaker.

"I'm not planning on dying, if that's what you're worried about," the saint reassured, "I'm counting on you. I've seen you save one girl from death before, so I'd be grateful if you saved my life this time."

Seeing that there was no changing the saint's mind, Touma grabbed his father's hand and led him away from the beach. Unknown to anyone at the beach, Tschimikado was watching the whole ordeal transpire from a hill further inland. Looking up at the magic circle forming in the sky, the double agent couldn't help but smirk out how out of control everything had gotten.

"Well, everything sure has gone sideways now, hasn't it?" Tsuchimikado mused, "Sorry about this Kami. It's a tough decision to make, but some one has to make it. Looks like we're going to have to offer someone as a sacrifice to get this under control."

Starring out of her hotel room window, Shizuri could only gawk at how out of control everything had gotten. After positioning herself somewhere where she could shoot down any potential intruders, she had her suspicions when the man named Kanzaki got off the phone and told her he was heading to the beach to find Touma and Touya. Shizuri said she would come along, but the man insisted that she stay put and hold down the fort, so to speak. A few minutes later, and the sky had suddenly turned to night and had a giant, luminescent pattern printed on it.

"What the hell is going on?" she whispered to herself as she started to make her way to hotel lobby.

Walking through the halls, Shizuri couldn't help but notice how empty the hotel was. Now that she really thought about it, the only people who seemed to be there at all where the two employees and her family. Sure, it was a small hotel at a small beach resort, but one would have expected there to be a bit more business. Really, the only other guests to have shown up were those friends of Touma.

When she finally got to the lobby, Shizuri was quite shocked by the sight she was greeted with. For some reason, Hitotsui Hajime, the same idol that for some reason was with Touma earlier in the day, was in the hotel lobby, putting Otohime down on a couch, along side that Index girl that Touma brought with them.

Of course, Shizuri was no idiot. She wouldn't have survived in the Academy City Underworld as long as she did if she was. Even if it was dark out now, that was not because it had become late enough for the sun to have gone down and signal it was time for the two young girls to go to sleep. Look at the idol's back pocket, she saw a slightly soaked cloth hanging out of it. Either this guy was secretly the world's dirties panty thief, or he had just drugged the two girls and knocked them out.

Shizuri may have only met Otohime the other day and she barely knew the first thing about Index, but she wasn't about to stand for this. She revealed herself from the darkness to protect her brother and the rest of her family. She was not about to let them come to harm from someone like this supposed pop idol.

Acting quickly, Shizuri fired a single blast of her Meltdowner, barely singeing the man's hair. Normally, she would have just killed this person outright, but she promised Touma she would hold back on the killing. Given who this person seemed to be, a simple warning shot should be enough to at least deter him. No need to spill the blood of a relatively harmless threat for her family's sake.

"I suggest you step away from the girls," Shizuri warned, "That was a warning shot. If you don't want to see how accurately I can shoot, I'd suggest you do what I say and leave."

"Huh, so you're Kami's sister, huh?" the man mused, stepping away from the passed-out girls, "Who would have thought such an ordinary guy would have such extraordinary family? I must say, it's kind of ironic how you have that face considering your relationship to Kami."

"What's that supposed to mean? And how would an idol like you know my brother?" Shizuri demanded, creating three spheres of frozen electrons to extenuate her point.

"Nothing you need to worry about," the supposed idol replied, waving off the issue, "Truth is I'm not really an idol. Heck, I'm not even Hitotsui Hajime. This is just a disguise I'm using for a job. I just happen to be good friends with your brother, having worked with him on a ton of past jobs."

"If that's the case, why did you knock out my cousin and his friend?" Shizuri inquired, not buying what the man was selling.

"I just needed to get them out of the way for the next part of the job. Can't have outsiders getting involved," the man replied, "Unfortunately, outsiders include you!"

Out of nowhere, the strange man charged at Shizuri at a breakneck pace. The Level 5 tried to fire her Meltdowner as he closed the distance between them, but he dodged the blasts easily, despite the limited space. With the distance cleared, Shizrui couldn't reasonably use her ability. The man who looked like Hitotsui Hajime delivered several quick jabs to her gut and face before throwing her across the room.

After she landed, Shizuri tried to get her barrings, only to find herself held against a wall with a soaked cloth being pressed over her mouth and nose. In the time it took for her to get up, Shizuri had been pinned by the fake idol, faced with the same drug that had been used on her cousin and her brother's friend. She tried to use her ability to blast the man off her but found herself unable to focus.

"You Espers are all the same. You're so reliant on your abilities that the minute you're left without them, you're helpless," the man mused, "Not only that, the stronger the Esper, the worse the case. This is a special incapacitating agent with the added bonus of temporarily disabling Esper abilities. It's amazing what you can get from the Academy City Underworld. Of course, you would know, Meltdowner. Just rest easy for now. This will all be over soon."

Unable to put up any more of a fight, Shizuri let herself fall into unconsciousness.

When Touma and his father arrived at the hotel, they were shocked to find Shizuri, Index, and Otohime all fast asleep, most likely drugged. On edge for the discovery, Touma quickly raced into his family's hotel room, searching for any hints of the assailant or the whereabouts of the Angel Fall ritual site. Touya struggled to follow his son, both out of exhaustion and confusion.

"Touma, can you please just explain what's happening?" Touya begged, "None of this is making any sense."

"Honestly, I'm not sure if I can explain," Touma admitted, "Listen, do you know of anything you put together recently that might have any sort of religious significance? Like a shrine or something like that?"

"No, I can't say I have," his father replied, "But what does that have anything to do with this?"

"You've got it all wrong, Kami," a voice familiar to Touma said as a third person entered the room.

"Tsuchimikado," Touma replied in surprise.

"Haven't you figured out what's going on here yet?" the double agent inquired, "Well, it's not your fault you're so new to this magic business."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Touma asked in surprise, "Are you saying my dad really is innocent."

"No, he's a guilty as can be," Tsuchimikado replied, "The thing is though is that he's completely unaware of what he has done."

"What, how?" Touma asked again, "You said the spell needed a large ritual site."

"That's the thing. We already found the ritual site, your parent's new house," Tsuchimikado revealed, "The whole thing is a giant Feng Shui arrangement. Your dad's good luck charms from across the world have little to no power individually, but the arrangement that your dad put them in created a synergistic effect capable of incredible power. When your parents left the house to come to the beach, the spell was activated. Your father seems to have some latent magic power, accidentally triggering it. Angel Fall is nothing more than the result of a coincidental placement of some objects. That's why I kept you from touching the good luck charms at the house. If we messed with the ritual site, we might have invoked an even more dangerous spell."

"But, how are we supposed to destroy the ritual site if we can't mess with the individual pieces?" Touma inquired, "The place is huge and filled to the brim with good luck charms."

"It's simple really. We either destroy the caster or the ritual site in one fell swoop," the double agent replied, "And doing that will require a human sacrifice."

"No… you can't," Touma stuttered, realizing what his friend was implying "I won't let you hurt my dad."

"I figured you would disapprove, not may people would," Tsuchimikado said with a shrug, "That's why I incapacitated the girls downstairs. I couldn't have them interfering in all of this. Sorry, orders from the church. It may be unsavory, but it's my job."

"That was you!" Touya cried in outrage, only to be cut off by his son.

"Stay behind me, dad," Touma ordered as he pulled out his ODD and shifted it to shock baton mode, "I won't accept this. The church thinks they can use my dad as a human sacrifice, but they've got another thing coming!"

"If that's the case, come at me," Tsuchimikado taunted, gesturing for Touma to attack.

More than glad to comply, Touma charged in with his weapon held high over his head. Once he closed the distance, he tried to bring the electric weapon down of his opponent's head, only for Tsuchimikado to catch his wrist before it could reach its target. With his first method of attack trapped, Touma attempted a punch with his left fist, only for Tsuchimikado to also catch the attack. Before Touma knew it, he was kicked off his feet and thrown to the side of the room, flat on his back.

"Swordsmanship really isn't your strong suit, Kami," Tsuchimikado mused, "Just stay there and give it a rest."

"What to do something to me, then have at it!" Touya cried out, unable to just stand back and watch his son get hurt, "But don't to anything else to hurt my family!"

"Oh?" Tsuchimikado mused.

"I'm dead serious!" Touya yelled, "You've already gone and attacked my daughter and niece. Do anything else to anyone else and you're going to regret it!"

"Now you're just being silly," the double agent challenged, "You can't actually believe you can take me on."

"You're right, I don't," the middle-aged man admitted, "I may no win, but I'll make sure to inflict as much pain to you as I can in the name of my family before I bit it. Have I made myself clear? I am the man of my family. Anyone who harms anyone in my care will answer to me."

"Don't do it dad," Touma said weakly as he stood up, propping himself on his ODD.

"Stay out of this, son," Touya warned, "If you get involved, none of use are getting out of this alive."

"That's not true, dad!" Touma denied, shifting his ODD to his more familiar shock pike mode, "We are getting through this no matter what it takes! No matter what happens, I'm my father's son!"

"That's my boy," this father whispered, touched.

"If that's how you want it, so be it. I think we should make if formal, don't you?" Tsuchimikado mused, "As of this moment, Touma Kamijou is officially the enemy of Motoharu Tsuchimikado."

Not wanting he hear another word from his traitor of a friend, Touma rushed in with his weapon at the ready. Touma tried to thrust at his enemy, only for the traitor to dodge with a simply lean to the right. Touma attempted several more thrusts, all of which missed.

Eventually, Tsuchimikado grabbed a hold on the ODD and used it against Touma, thrusting the back end of it into Touma's gut. He then used Touma's connection to the weapon to pull Touma close and sucker punch him in the face. Finally, he grabbed Touma by the collar of his shirt and threw him threw the hotel room's paper sliding doors.

Not one to give up, Touma collapsed his ODD and threw it at Tsuchimikado's head. The blond was easily able to dodge it, but that Touma's plan to begin with. Just before the weapon hit the upper corner of the room, Touma activated its recall to execute his signature boomerang technique. Unfortunately, Tsuchimikado actually managed to both dodge the weapon on its return trip and catch it himself before it could return to Touma's hand, much to Touma's shock.

Because of the way that Tsuchimikado was holding Touma's weapon, Touma had no way of attacking Tsuchimikado with it. The ODD changed modes mainly by extending its length and then branching out, so even if Touma could remotely change its modes, none of them do anything to Tsuchimikado. With his weapon now in the hands of his enemy, the Imagine Breaker only had one option of attack left to him, his fists.

In a last desperate move, Touma charged and threw several punches at the blond, all of which were easily dodged. For his troubles, Tsuchimikado countered with a knee to his former ally's gut and a punch to the face, leaving Touma sprawling on the floor. Outraged by the attack on his son, Touya charged in with a punch of his own, but was easily stopped by a single punch to the stomach, leaving him unconscious on the ground.

"Dad…" Touma cried weakly as he watched his father fall.

"That takes care of that," Tsuchimikado said as he threw aside ODD and reached into his open shirt, pulling out a vial of paper flakes, "Alright everybody, prepare yourselves for an amazing display of honest to goodness sorcery. This room will serve as our humble stage for today. The first step is to properly set it up."

The blond boy scattered the paper flakes all across the floor of the room, coating every square centimeter of it. Once the flakes landed, the floor started to glow a brilliant blue light.

"With that taken care of, allow me to introduce my magic troop," Tsuchimikado continued, pulling out four more vials, each containing an origami animal, "Time to get to work you guys. Susaku, Seiryu, Genbu, Byakko."

As he listed the Japanese names of the Four Symbols of China, Tsuchimikado threw each vial containing the appropriate origami animal into a corner of the room pointing to their corresponding directions of south, east, north, and west. Once each vial landed, the origami inside them also started to glow in their respective colors, red, blue, black, and white.

"The pistol has been assembled, but we still need to see about loading it," Tsuchimikado mused, "The spell we have hear is similar to a gun. For the barrel we have a barrier. For a bullet we have a Shikigami spirit. And for the trigger, I'll be using my own hand."

As he finished his explanation, Tsuchimikado began to cough up blood, much to Touma's horror. A good bucket's worth of blood poured out of the sorcerer's mouth before he was able to speak again.

"Remember what I said, Kami?" Tsuchimikado said as he turned to face the fallen boy, blood now starting to leak from his eyelids, "There's more than one way to skin a cat, and the same goes for Angel Fall. One option is to kill the caster and the other is to destroy the magic circle."

"No… don't," Touma begged, not wanting to watch the person he considered his friend sacrifice himself to stop the world threatening spell.

"You know Kami, when you say stuff like that, you remind me a lot of Kanzaki," the bleeding boy mused, "If she knew I was doing things this way, she would do whatever she could to stop me, just like you. Unfortunately, that meant I needed a way to keep you or anyone else from interfering, which meant beating you up. On the bright side, I can now use my magic to blow the whole ritual site away!"

"Just stop it," Touma begged as Tsuchimikado started to cough up more blood, "You don't have to do this."

"I'm afraid I can do that. Sorry," the blond apologized as he was engulfed in a pillar of light, "If there's something you should know about me by now, it's that I'm a big, fat liar."

Out on the beach, Kanzaki continued to slash away at the fallen angel's attacks, doing her best to not be cut to shreds by them. As she fought, she noticed an arc of bright light fly across the sky before crashing somewhere in town, exploding on impact. Once the explosion passed, the night sky suddenly became dusk again and the magic circle in the sky faded. A moment later, the angel in the form of Misha Kreutzev faded away, leaving no trace of ever being there.

In the silence of the angel's absence, Kanzaki fell on her knees from both exhaustion and relief. By some miracle, the spell known as Angel Fall had been stopped.

"I don't know how you did it, Touma Kamijou, but now I owe you another one," the saint mused thankfully.

In the hotel, Touma woke up to find that it was dusk once again, the light of the setting sun pouring in through the windows. Getting up off the ground, Touma quickly took notice of his father unconscious on the floor and quickly moved to check on him. In his hast to see if his father was alright, Touma accidently placed his hand in a puddle of blood that had pooled on the floor. Looking over to the source of the puddle, Touma could only stare in disbelief at the sight of Tsuchimikado lying limp there, soaked in his own blood.

The next day, Touma was back in Academy City, once again checked into his usual hotel room. As he sat in his bed, Touma couldn't help but think about what had happened during the Angel Fall incident. All he could do was wonder if there was some way to stop the spell without anyone having to die. He just couldn't accept the idea of saving the many at the cost of a few. The sight of Tsuchimikado's corpse lying there in a puddle of his own blood would forever haunt the wielder of Imagine Breaker.

"There had to be another way. There had to be," he said to himself, "What good would sacrificing yourself do anybody?!"

"Hey Kami! Long time, no see!" Tsuchimikado greeted as he walked into the room in perfect health, much to Touma's shock, "You doing alright?"

"Huh?!" Touma yelled in confusion.

"What's wrong? You're as white as a sheet. You look like you've seen a ghost," Tsuchimikado pointed out.

"How can you be here?!" Touma asked, "You used magic again and you died, didn't you?!"

"Oh… That was a lie," Tsuchimikado admitted, "My Esper power is Auto Regeneration. I'm a Level 0, but I can still restore my body. Between you and me, I think I can still use magic a few more times before I keel over. It's kind of a pain to explain, so I didn't bother to."

"That's your reason? Really?" Touma deadpanned.

"How many times do I have to tell you before you believe? I am a liar," Tsuchimikado reaffirmed, "That bit about me sneaking into Academy City to do spy work is a lie! In reality, I'm a counterspy only pretending to be on the side of the English Puritan Church. Actually, to tell you the truth that's also a lie! In reality, I'm a freelance spy hired to multiple agencies for espionage!"

"You do realize everything you just said was a paradox, right?" Touma asked, fuming, "If you're telling me you're a liar, how am I supposed to take your word for it?! If it's the truth, it's a lie and if it's a lie it's the truth! There's no right answer here!"

"Aw, don't be like that! All's well that ends well," the liar replied, "But I figured you'd react that way, so I brought some folks to cheer you up."

And cheer up Touma did. As soon as Tsuchimikado stepped to the side, Touma could see his entire family enter the room, all of them looking totally normal. His mother was telling his father about how she met Hitotsui Hajime in their house while Shizuri and Otohime rushed in ahead of them to meet him. Before he new it, Touma found himself jumped on by Otohime, who pounced on to the bed to give him a hug, something he actually welcomed this time. Shizuri was a bit more reserved, opting to walk around the bed and kneel down next to it to check on him.

"Hi Touma! You feeling better?" Otohime greeted as she nuzzled Touma's chest.

"Yeah, much better," Touma laughed as he petted his little cousin's head.

"You sure? You had quite the beating when we found you," Shizuri noted, checking for any bruises.

"I'm fine, really," Touma insisted.

"You sure, Touma dear," Shiina asked as she and Touya joined Shizuri at the side of the bed.

"Of course," Touma replied, "Though, I'm not sure if you can call being used to being in the hospital as being okay."

"Oh my, we can't have that now, can we?" Shiina giggled.

"Good to see you, son," Touya said, "I'm glad you're looking better."

"Well, I have a good doctor," Touma joked, "You're looking good too, dad."

"Well, our house is completely gone now, but I consider that a small price to pay for your safety."

"Wait, what's wrong with the house?"

"Apparently, the house mom and dad had recently built got destroyed in a mysterious freak explosion," Shizuri explained, "My bet is on arson, but no one else seems so confident."

Upon hearing what had happened to the house, Touma instantly turned to Tsuchimikado in anger, clearly remembering what exactly he did to stop Angel Fall. However, Touma was surprised to see that the freelance spy was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, these things happen," Touya sighed, "We can stay at the old house until the new one is rebuilt, so its not a very big deal."

"You still have the old house?" Touma asked.

"Yes and no," Touya admitted, "Truth is, we've been renting it for all these years. Thankfully, they haven't re-let it yet."

"We may no have owned it, but it was still our home," Shiina added, "We lived in it from the time we got married up until we got the new place. It was where you and Shizuri grew up. You remember, right? You were always groaning about how cramped it was."

"Personally, I'd love to see the old house again," Shizuri chimed in.

"Yeah, me too," Touma said with a wistful smile on his face.

The Kamijou family was silent, happy reminiscing on their time together in their old home. However, that silence was soon broken when the hospital room door was thrown open and six very worried girls came pouring it. These girls were of course Mikoto, Kuroko, Uiharu, Saten, Index, and Konori.

"Idiot, why didn't you tell us that you landed yourself in the hospital again!" Mikoto cried.

"Honestly Touma, what did you do?! I was there, and I don't even know what happened!" Index added.

"You better have a good explanation for this!" Kuroko yelled.

"This is no way for a member of Judgement to act!" Konori reprimanded.

"Seriously, you had us all worried, Kamijou!" Uiharu cried.

"Come on, tell us what happened!" Saten begged.

"… Is this what you meant when you said you had girl problems, son?" Touya asked his son.

"… Son?" the girls asked, suddenly realizing there were other people in the room.

"Rotten luck," Touma lamented.

At the top floor of the Windowless Building, Tsuchimikado stood before the founder and leader of Academy City, General Superintendent Aleister Crowley. He stood there casually in front of the mysterious human as he floated upside-down in his tube, as if this were a normal occurrence for him.

"Hello again, my brilliant double agent," Aleister greeted, "I take it the mission to neutralize Angel Fall went smoothly?"

"You of all people should know that, sir," the freelance spy replied, "The spell was neutralized, just as you requested."

"Excellent. I would hate it if it that rogue spell interfered with my plans," the upside-down person mused.

"Of course, only would be brilliant enough to orchestrate the use of Imagine Breaker to better further your plans," Tsuchimikado complimented, "Though I never would have expected you to manipulate the entire Kamijou clan like you currently are. You of all people should know how dangerous they can be when provoked, even with their nearly forgotten strength and history. There is a reason their name translates to 'He who is above God'."

"I am well aware of the Kamijou clan's history," Aleister confirmed, "As followers of Soloman, the King of Magic, founder of modern magical practices, their bloodline was granted an unparalleled natural attunement to supernatural abilities, giving them a high capacity to perform magic or develop into Espers. In addition, they were charged with wielding and guarding the ultimate means to maintain balance in the supernatural world, passing the power down through the generations in different forms. A power that to this day, long after the clan had forgotten their role, is still held by the eldest son of the Kamijou clan."

"And still you toy with that eldest son and manipulate their eldest daughter to become another one of your weapons of war," the blond boy pointed out.

"Rest assured, I have everything under control," Aleister reaffirmed.

"I hope you do," Tsuchimikado said as he made his way out of the room, "For your sake."

Special End Card Segment: Animan Temple

"I can't believe your back, Priestess Number 1!" Animan cried as he nuzzled his adorable assistant, "It's a Christmas Miracle!"

"I never left in the first place," Himegami whined, struggling to get out of her Master's grip.

"Anyway, that was the end of the end of the Angel Fall Arc! Pretty exciting huh?" Animan cheered, letting go of his assistant and stabbing the tip of his Mugen into the floor of the temple, "Especially that reveal at the end."

"I never would have thought the Kamijous had such a deep history," Himegami mused.

"Oh, they don't. I just added that in to deepen the lore and give Touma's family more relevance," the master of the temple admitted, "Still, pretty interesting stuff, I'd say."

"Indeed," Himegami agreed with a nod before noticing the time, "Master, it would appear we are out of time."

"Mhm! So it would seem! We'll see all of you next time in 'Welcome Home'," Animan said, waving his sword in the air to say goodbye, "See you all after the holiday!"

"Merry Christmas!" Himegami added with a bow.