Welcome back to another chapter of A Certain Strange Addition! With a fast update too!
A lot of you seemed pleased with the lore revelations I made last chapter, and you'll be happy to know that this chapter has yet another massive lore revelation in store for you all. Although, admittedly, it creates more questions than it answers. Have fun theorizing.
This chapter is going to be much shorter than the last chapter, covering the events of a single anime episode instead of two, but it still has some considerable girth to it thanks to some new lore and shake ups to the status quo. Look forward to that.
But first, our special tradition. Responding to reviews!
zero fullbuster: Thank you! Good to be back!
Stryper88: Always good to see someone so excited for this story.
Nemonobody001: I will be using the anime as my primary source (blasphemes, I know), but I will use the Light Novel as support for parts that were not well adapted by the anime, ie the entirety of Index III.
Isokage: Don't worry, Touma's not going to be dealing with them on the battlefield. He will have to deal with them afterwards. You'll see. I unfortunately don't know the first thing about Persona, let alone Persona 5, so I can't give you a proper answer to that question, sorry.
5had0wHand: Came sooner than expected, didn't it? You can never truly understand what's going on in a Sister's head. With how well Shizuri and Index know Touma's antics, it's only natural they assume the worst. I never intended for the dynamics in the story to end up like in Castlevania, but I'm not complaining.
DuckBoi: Glad you liked the chapter. I didn't intend for Guardian to be the official term for what Touma is taking the role as; it was supposed to just be what the Rosenthals referred to the role as. However, you have thoroughly convinced me and that term will be staying for the forseeable future!
comrade-elmo1: It was explained in the episode by Taowu itself that Hirumi was always dead. She at no point had any control of her body. Taowu was only mimicking her mannerisms based on her memories to manipulate Esther and Hishigata. A lot of big stuff happened last chapter, so I'm happy you enjoyed all of it.
JoshPlater: That is certainly an interesting idea for the Railgun Daihasei Arc adaptation, but I think I'm going to decline that suggestion. I've had the Daihasei planned for some time now, and I don't plan on deviating from those plans too much. While including other Level 5s would be cool, it would also get too bloated too quickly. Plus, the limitations of Accelerator's choker are actually pretty necessary for storytelling purposes since his power is so broken he'd break the story if he was at full power, so I'm not about to do that any time soon.
DarkMatter69: Yes, yes. A chapter about ancestors happens to share theming with Yugioh's Number 69: Heraldry Crest, a monster that embodies the idea of a corrupt patriarch. Funny number themeing.
Rekuta: As you'll see, the final battle is pretty short, mostly because the fight is not that complext and this chapter is more focused on the aftermath of the fight. The girls have been in Liberal Arts City for the entirety of the Necromancer Arc, and will be back starting next chapter. I think you're going to be in for a surprise at the end of the chatpter.
ahsoei: This chapter is definitely shorter, but I wouldn't say it's short. Chapters 1 and 2 were short. The average length of the chapters has actually been getting longer the longer this story goes on.
RedRat8: Sorry, Index and Shizuri aren't going to meet Accelerator and Esther. Those meetings will happen later on.
UA1991: No, Index would not be able to revive Hirumi. The whole takeaway from the arc for Esther was that her Necromancy doesn't revive the dead, just puts another soul in control of a dead person's body. The greater takaway from the arc as a whole is that death is irreversible.
azlil7: This is exactly what I like to see, readers theorizing about my story. It tells me that they are engaged. Won't reveal anything just yet, but the truth will be revealed in time.
Shwae: It's always fun to leave breadcrumbs for my readers and watch them try to theorize what I have planned. My mind is an enigma that I myself am not entirely sure about.
Vein Bloodborne: Always encouraging to know my work his helping people emotionally.
H17 (Guest): Honestly, the new cover image has thrown me off a few times as when when looking for this story on my user page. Glad you like the cover image. The Kamijou Clan storyline is one that I have had in the works for a long time. I'm finally starting to get into the meat of it, and am excited to see all the theories people start coming up with trying to figure out what I have in store. Just keep guess, because I'm not giving out spoilers unless explicitly PMed about it.
OnePunchPlayer: I... am at a lose for words. Not sure what to make of what you just said.
Zatil Hidayah Spensa: Well, you didn't have to wait long, now did ya?
GunsAndMagic: Glad you liked it so much!
You all know the drill from here.
Disclaimer: All characters and plotlines of the "A Certain" franchise are credited to Kazuma Kamachi.
Chapter 70: New Generation
"We're close." Esther announced, looking straight at the ceiling, "Isaac's main body is up there."
"So we've finally reached it." Accelerator smirked, getting pumped for the upcoming brawl.
However, before anyone could even think about going up to confront Isaac, everyone in the party was overcome with an immense pressure coming from up ahead. Washing over all of them was an aurora of rainbow light that flooded the corridor.
"What is this?" Esther asked, having never experienced anything like it before in her life.
Just above them, the Sephirothic Tree that stood at the very top of the golem disappeared and was absorbed into the golem's body. The golem's body, specifically the main body resting at the head, gave off a brilliant light illuminated the cloudy sky.
"I've done it!" Isaac gloated, "At long last, I've attained it! The Rosenthal's four-hundred-year-old wish! This is what a perfect body combine with a perfect soul looks like!"
As a demonstration of his now power, Isaac created a massive sphere of pure magical energy over his head. Once it was sufficiently charged, the sphere was discharged in several streams of energy flowing in all directions. The resulting blasts caused metal structures across Academy City's rooftops to bend and melt from the heat generated from just passing by. Everyone who had been able to see the attack was left utterly lost for words.
"I am now a being on par with a god!" Isaac announced, "An ideal being, perfect in every way!"
In the chambers just below Isaac, Accelerator felt himself getting pushed back by the forces exerted by Isaac's ascended state. Try as he might, Accelerator was unable to defend against the powers Isaac now wielded.
"No… This power…" Esther deduced, "Don't tell me his evolution is complete!"
"In other words, looks like time is up." Hishigata bemoaned weakly.
As Accelerator continued to struggle against the aura of magical energy, a cut formed on his left cheek.
"I can't reflect!" Accelerator yelled in disbelief, "What kind of craptastic power is this!?"
"Yuri, stay back!" Touma ordered as he rushed ahead, throwing his right hand in front of him.
As soon as Touma took the lead, the sound of shattering glass echoed through the corridor. The aurora that had engulfed the party receded such that it did not expend past the palm of Touma's hand. By the same token, the pressure felt by the rest of the party was lifted, leaving Touma to be the sole individual to experience it on his right hand.
"Just as I thought, pure magical energy." Touma said through gritted teeth, "This thing's so powerful now it's literally flooding its entire body with the stuff."
In the lower sections of the golem, DA continued to fight a losing battle against the golem's many appendages. Even as they were swallowed whole by the dozens, they continued to fight, all the while declaring their dogma of justice.
Outside the base of the golem, Anti-Skill continued their struggle to contain the golem and apprehend any DA agents they could.
"Index, care to explain what's happening now?" Yomikawa asked the nun-in-training.
"It would appear that the golem has ascended to a state on par with a god." Index reported grimly, "The consuming of souls from the people it has killed has accelerated its evolution and it has now reached its final form."
"Seriously?" Yomikawa asked in bewilderment.
Caught up in the prospect of trying to fight a physical god, Yomikawa failed to notice a tentacle aim to consume her. However, Shizuri saw, and she was not one to let an enemy get the better of her. Raising a hand over her head, she formed a long stream of ambiguous electrons over the palm of her hand. With a mighty scream, she swung her arm down and threw her electron construct. The construct spun as it flew through the air, morphing into the shape of a spinning crescent. The attack sliced cleanly through the tentacle, splitting open its jaw and raining blood everywhere.
"Who cares if this thing is supposed to be an artificial god?" Shizuri called out, "If you can make God bleed, people will cease to believe in Him, and I'm seeing a lot of blood coming out of this thing! This thing can be killed, so don't worry about stuff like be being a physical god! Just keep shooting and don't get distracted!"
Despite the desperate situation they currently found themselves it, Yomikawa could not help but feel a bit hopeful, especially after the short speech Shizuri just gave."
'She really is Kamijou's sister.' Yomikawa thought as she continued to fire on the golem's tentacles.
"This is what I've been seeking!" Isaac cheered, "The more I consume, the more my power increases!"
All around Isaac, the ground quaked as his golem body encroached further the school and started spreading to the surrounding buildings.
"As long as there's food, my power is limitless!" Isaac gloated, "I'll become the ultimate being, surpassing even the level of a god!"
Suddenly, Isaac's face morphed, becoming less like that of a manic psychopath and more like a dull minded animal under a trance.
"And once the process is complete, then I will be able to bring true Justice to Academy City." Isaac said in monotone.
"Huh!? That wasn't me talking just now!" Isaac cried, briefly snapping back to his normal, manic self.
For reasons that illuded him, Isaac found himself chanting the same word over and over again, "Justice". As he did so, a smoky aura enveloped his main body, and his open, left eye transformed, gaining a black sclera and a dilated red iris. Isaac was slowly losing control of his body, and as a result, the power he wielded waned.
Down on the ground, the tentacles Anti-Skill had been fighting stopped their advance, much to the confusion of everyone currently fighting. They simply stood frozen in place, as if conflicted as to what they were to do.
"What's happening now?" Shizuri asked, baffled as to why the monsters would stop now of all itmes.
Run a quick analysis, Index couldn't help but smirk at what she had discovered.
"Looks like the golem's strategy backfired." Index reported.
"What do you mean?" Yomikawa inquired.
"The golem's jiangshi powers allowed it to accelerator its evolution by consuming other lifeforms and grafting their memories of their deaths onto its own pseudo-soul. However, memories contained small portions of the original consumed souls." Index explained, "As the golem continue to consume, more of its total soul becomes those it consumed. Eventually, the original pseudo-soul will lose control of the body."
"But wouldn't that leave use with a mindless, rampaging monster?" Shizuri asked.
"No. Theoretically, the golem would become completely inert. Without a guiding soul and mind to control the body, it can't do anything." Index clarified, "The only way it could function at that point was if a majority of the collected souls all worked collaboratively towards a single goal."
"Oh no…" Yomikawa gasped, the gears in her head clicking into place, "This is bad. Really bad!"
"What do you mean?" Index questioned.
"If what you're telling us is true, most of what this golem has been eating was members of Disciplinary Action, a splinter cell of Anti-Skill with a dogma they're so devoted to, you'd think they were a cult instead of a paramilitary group." Yomikawa explained, "If this keeps up, DA is going to get control of this golem, and I don't want to even think about what would happen."
Directly below Isaac's main body, the field of magical energy Touma had been holding back dissipated, allowing Touma a moment to breath.
"It appears the power has stopped." Houtou observed.
"What was that?" Touma asked, falling to his knees for minor exhaustion.
"Doesn't matter." Accelerator said as he stepped forward, brushing off the issue, "As long as we can keep moving."
Kneeling next to Touma, Accelerator switched on his chocker and place a hand on the ground. While there was no wind of the Level 5 to manipulate within the tunnels of the golem's body, there were other sources of power for him to draw on. The true power of Accelerator's Ability lies in its versatility and how universal the concept of vectors was. Everything that had a vector was his to control so long he could touch it, and that included the Earth itself.
Drawing on the immense kinetic energy of the Earth as it rotated on its axis and orbited the sun, Accelerator used the smallest fraction of that energy to generate a powerful updraft. Said updraft lifted the entire party off their feet and into the air, much to their collective shock. By the guiding hand of the first ranked, the party flew upward to confront Isaac.
Isaac cried in agony as he fought with the voices in his head. On and on, the kept chanting about "justice" to the point of it being maddening. He could hear the collective consciousness of those he had consumed trying to tear away control of the body from him, something he could not allow.
"What is going on with me!? Agh! Where are these voices coming from!?" Isaac demanded, "This body is mine! Get out!"
Before Isaac could concern himself further with the voices in his head, he was interrupted by a portion of his golem body's topmost layer being blasted apart. Jumping out of the resulting hole was the group of misfits that had been scurrying about the inside of his body. Despite the abrupt nature of their ascent, all members of the party managed to land on the top of the golem safely, some more gracefully than others.
"A little warning would have been nice." Touma complained has she stumbled on his landing.
"Sorry. Kind of working on a time limit here." Yuri replied, switching his chocker off to conserve power.
While Isaac saw most of the party as inconveniences at best, especially with his current level of power, he did recognize one of them as a genuine threat. The descendent of the Guardian who interfered with his research all those centuries ago stood before him, wielding the very same power that destroyed his previous creations. While there was no telling how that power would stack up against his own in his current state, Isaac wasn't about to take any chances.
"If you think I'm going to let some brat of a Guardian interfere with my plans again, you've got another thing coming!" Isaac roared as dozens of tentacles emerged from his golem body.
The numerous tentacles opened their jaws wide and fired a massive volley of laser blasts straight at the party, specifically at Touma himself. Seeing the attacks incoming, the entire party jumped back to dodge. Touma did the same, having no hope of negating all the attacks at once with only his right hand.
When Isaac saw Touma dodge instead of defending, he immediately noticed something was off. The previous Guardian he had encountered was able to dispatch an entire battalion of his golems without moving a millimeter from where he stood. He simply stood in place as any source of magic power that got too close immediately got negated. In contrast, the boy standing in front of him only ever negating things when they came in contact with his right hand and saw it best to dodge when dealing with attacks more numerous than what he could reasonably block with a single hand. Given everything he had seen so far, Isaac could only come to one conclusion.
"Could it be… the range of you your power is limited to your right hand?" Isaac inquired.
"So what if it is?" Touma asked.
Hearing Touma's response, Isaac slowly let out a faint chuckle before breaking out into full blown laughter.
"Unbelievable! Your ancestor could destroy my magical creations without lifting a finger, and you're telling me can't do the same unless you touch something with your right hand?" Isaac laughed, "You don't even have a fraction of your ancestor's power! Looks like I'm not the only one with worthless descendants!"
"Yeah, we'll just see about that!" Touma challenged, equipping his helmet and ODD.
"Thank you for getting me this far, Master." Esther said as she drew her dagger, "I'll take it from here."
"You can count on me to provide some cover." Touma announced as he shifted his ODD into its Crowd Control Pike Mode.
"As will I." Houtou added, taking a fighting stance.
Even though Esther, Houtou, and Touma were all threatening him, Isaac wasn't worried in the slightest. Esther lacked the guts to attack the form of her friend, Houtou paled in comparison to Taowu, and Touma lacked the raw power and control of his ancestor. Even with all of them trying to fight him, it would be a simple feat to defeat them.
Leading the charge, Esther rushed at Isaac with a powerful battle cry. Looking to keep her at bay, Isaac spawned several more tentacles from his golem body to dispatch her. However, Touma and Houtou were quick to provide support. With her superior physicality, Houtou leaped into the air and swiftly chopped away the heads that would otherwise open fire on her master. On the ground, Touma used his ODD to quickly pin down tentacles as they emerged before destroying them with Imagine Breaker. With her path made clear, Esther boosted herself into the air with one of her charms, launching herself high above her ancestor's head.
"Isaac! Say your prayers!" Esther screamed as she prepared Emperor Shun's Blade.
"Please don't do this Esther!" Isaac cried out, mimicking Hirumi's voice and mannerisms, "I can't take dying again!"
Confronted by the form of her friend, Esther was unable to bring herself to attack the person in front of her. Making use of another charm, she halted her descent and jumped away from Isaac's main body, losing her footing as she landed.
"Adonai!" Houtou cried out as she watched her master fall to the ground and drop her knife.
"Crap! And she was so close!" Touma yelled as she pulled back, fighting off tentacles as he did.
"I can't believe you seriously fell for that!" Isaac laughed, "Ha! Idiot! How tragic that the Rosenthals have fallen so low! How else could a dunce like you be head of the family!?"
"That's absolutely right. How big of an idiot are you." Accelerator reprimanded, pulling Esther to her feet by the collar of her shirt, "I thought you were going to be the hero!? That's why we came all this way, isn't it!? Don't start backpedaling now! I told you, if there's something you want to save, don't hesitate to protect it with all you've got!"
Tightening her grip on her dagger, Esther knew her chosen master was absolutely right. She had already come this far; she couldn't afford to back down now. She would not hesitate anymore. She was going to see this through to the end, and nothing was going to stop her.
"Alright, Master. Here I got." Esther said with renewed determination as she went to take another stab at Isaac.
"I already told you, I'm not your master." Accelerator clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"If you're done with you little pep talk, then it's about time…" Isaac announced, before his suddenly shifted to that of a mindless drone, "…To enact justice… justice… justice…"
Losing control to the collective minds of the DA agents he consumed, Isaac began forming a massive sphere of magical energy over his head. The sphere quickly grew until it eclipsed the entirety of Isaac's golem body. However, before it could reach critical mass, Isaac's main body start forming red cracks across the skin. Isaac could feel his power waning as the sphere he was generating dissipated even more quickly than it formed.
"What's this!?" Isaac demanded, "What's happening to me!?"
Looking around the battlefield, Isaac spotted Hishigata and Misaka 10046 messing around with the Coffin unit Isaac's main body was connected to.
"The Sister! What the hell did you do!?" Isaac demanded.
"While you may have obtained powers comparable to a god, that doesn't change the fact that you're in Hirumi's body." Hishigata laughed, "And in case you need a refresher course on how this tech works, she has to remain connected to the Coffin that contains her physical form. So in short…"
"Using the Misaka Network, we gained access to the Coffin," Misaka 10046 explained, "and shut down its functions, says Misaka, explaining the situation."
"It's impossible to kill you merely by cutting off the power, but honestly I'm satisfied inconveniencing your plans." Hishigata admitted, a smirk growing on his face.
"Who the hell do you think you are!?" Isaac asked in outrage.
"This is what you get for toying with the memories of 10031 Sisters' deaths, declares Misaka, wearing a smug expression." the Sister said, although her face remained mostly stoic.
"For that, I'll kill you!" Isaac screamed, barely noticing Esther charging at him from the side.
Noticing Esther's battle cry, Isaac managed to catch his descendent with several cables before she could plunge her dagger into Taowu's charm.
"And you were so close." Isaac taunted, "Too bad, hero."
"After coming this far… I can't afford to be beaten…" Esther said through gritted teeth as she tried to force her way through the cables, "I'm so close!"
"You do not have to fight alone, Adonai." Houtou said as she place a hand on the dagger's handle.
"Misaka will assist too, says Misaka, feeling as those she has discovered her purpose for being here," Misaka 10046 added as she placed her own hand on the dagger's handle.
With their combined strength, the three girls slowly drove the tip of the blade towards Isaac's chest. Refusing to let things end this way, Isaac grabbed the blade with his hand to keep it at bay.
"Stop! I'm warning you three, don't do this!" Isaac demanded, "There's still so much I need to accomplish! You can't kill me now!"
Ignoring Isaac's demands, the three girls continued to push forward, slowly bringing the dagger closer to its target. Refusing to die, Isaac directed a tentacle behind the girls, ready to blast them with a surprise laser attack. However, that plan failed miserably when Accelerator, with Touma's left arm slung over his shoulders, rushed it, crushing the tentacle's jaw and using it as a pedestal.
"Attacking from the back, not bad." Accelerator mused, "Unfortunately for you, it looks like you've lost."
Isaac couldn't believe what was happening. Was he really going to lose here, after everything he had done to get to this point?
"Looks like they could use a hand." Accelerator noted, seeing as Isaac was in a stalemate with the three girls, "Or better yet, a fist."
Giving a silent nod, Touma took a step to the right and offered Accelerator his left hand.
"Hey, Isaac!" Touma called out, "You said my ancestor could destroy your magical creations without lifting a finger!"
Grabbing Touma's left hand, Yuri gave his friend a quick swing before throwing him straight at Isaac.
"Have a taste of how the new generation does it!" Touma cried as he flew through the air, cocking back his right fist.
With a useless cry, Touma threw a right hook right into Isaac's face. The impact of the punch and the momentary interference from Imagine Breaker caused Isaac's grip to slip, allowing the girls to finally pierce Taowu's charm with Emperor Shun's Blade.
Once the dagger started taking effect, a pulse of magic energy threw Esther, Houtou, Misaka 10046, and Touma away from Isaac. Isaac screamed in agony as the dagger's magic quickly destroyed Taowu's pseudo-soul, and by extension his own soul, from the inside out.
"How can this be!? How could I have been defeated by my dunce of a descendent and a half-baked brat of a Guardian!?" Isaac cried out.
As his soul was quickly destroyed, Isaac looked down at Touma as he picked himself up from the blast. In his final moments, Isaac could have sworn he saw a strange aura surround the boy. Comprised of a kaleidoscope of light, he saw a figure with bat-like wings, sharp claws, and an alligator-like head adorned with ten horns like a crown.
When the screaming finally stopped, the main body of the golem raised its head and look straight at Esther. It looked at her with both eyes open, with a soft yet fading light behind them.
"Is that you, Esther?" the body asked.
"Hirumi." Esther said in reply, recognizing the tone and mannerisms.
As if to confirm her identity, Hirumi held out her pinky finger, wearing a warm smile as she did so.
"At least tell me, was I useful to you?" Esther asked, tears welling up in her eyes.
Hirumi simply nodded silently, a response Esther gladly accepted.
"I got you back." Hishigata sighed in relief as he watched from his spot on the ground, "Long enough to say goodbye, Hirumi."
"See you soon, big brother." Hirumi said, accepting her fate.
In that moment, Emperor Shun's Blade finished its job in destroying Taowu's pseudo-soul charm. With nothing left to preserve her, Hirumi's body feel apart, crumbling and fading away into moots of light. Esther could only cry out in grief as she watched her friend pass on.
"It figures I never got the chance to be a real hero." Hishigata sighed, "Shame."
"That's not true at all." Touma said as he approached the dying scientist, "You were a hero for you little sister. Isn't that enough?"
"I suppose you're right." Hishigata agreed as he laid himself down, "Funny. That's the first time I've ever agreed with someone's counter argument."
Touma stood by as the life faded from Hishigata's still open eyes. Paying his respects, Touma closed Hishigata's eyelids, letting the man who was a brother before a scientist rest peacefully.
With the Hishigata siblings now gone, the remnants of the party convened around Accelerator.
"Is it over?" the Level 5 asked.
His answer came when he felt the remnants of the golem's body start to quake.
"Now what!?" Accelerator asked in frustration.
With the golem no longer functioning, color returned to the surrounding areas. At the same time, the remnants of the golem itself started pulsating and giving off a brilliant light.
"This… isn't good." Misaka 10046 observed, "A vast, uninterpretable power has built up inside Isaac's body. It's causing distortions not only in space, but also in the Misaka Network, explains Misaka."
"The guy at several hundreds of men's worth of Mana to achieve his final form. Really shouldn't have expected any less." Touma bemoaned, struggling to find his footing.
"So what!?" Accelerator asked, not seeing the problem.
"If this energy is released upon Isaac's death, it will cause an explosion that will disintegrate everything within half kilometer radius." the Sister explained grimly, "In addition, the shockwave will devastate Academy City, Misaka explains further."
"Oh no!" Esther gasped, completely at a loss for what they could do now.
A moment later, the very top of the golem where Isaac was once rooted became engulfed in an enormous, pulsating mass of magical energy, one that looked just about ready to blow. Now fully aware of what this sphere of energy was capable of, Accelerator took it upon himself to deal with it. However, despite his determination, Accelerator found he could not manipulate it with his Ability.
'I can't disperse it with vector manipulation.' Accelerator thought to himself as the mass of energy pushed back against him, 'Does this thing have more of that crap from earlier mixed in it?'
As Accelerator struggled with his left hand on the sphere of light, he was surprised to see a certain right hand touch a spot on the sphere just to his left.
"Touma?" Yuri asked in bewilderment.
"Magic operates under different rules with its own physics. With no knowledge of the system, you can't do any calculations to properly manipulate them, right?" Touma deduced, "But Imagine Breaker can negate and disperse the magical energy in this thing. What do you say, buddy? I handle the Magic; you handle the physics?"
Despite how dire the situation was, Yuri could not help but smirk at the prospect of working with his best friend on this.
"Let's do this, partner!" Yuri cheered.
With a unified cry, Academy City's Strongest and Weakest pushed forward against the threat to their home. With his vector manipulation, Yuri redirected the physical forces within the imminent explosion. With his Imagine Breaker, Touma slowly but surely negated the massive accumulation of magical energy that fueled the explosive reaction. The two of them were an unstoppable team, a pair of polar opposites who covered each other perfectly.
However, faced with more magical energy than ever before, Touma found himself experiencing an unusual phenomenon.
Touma had no idea what had happened to him. One second he's standing at Yuri's side suppressing a magical explosion, the next he finds himself somewhere he's never seen before. Gone was the remnants of Isaac's golem body and the skyline of Academy City. In its place was a jagged, raised path of stone in the middle of an endless black void. The path was so thin that Touma had to watched where he stepped or risk falling right off. Following the path showed that it got wider as it went along, culminating in something that completely threw Touma for a loop.
Sitting at the end of the path was a massive door. The door was bound in chains and blocked the entrance of a towering stone wall tipped with a row of iron spikes. The door itself was one of the most intimidating things Touma had ever encountered, depicting a massive dragon head with ten horns and its mouth wide open. Inside the dragon's mouth was a peculiar design, a spiral with seven arms the spun around a central point, the center of which had a hole large enough to fit in a human hand. He wasn't sure how he knew, but Touma was certain that Imagine Breaker was the key to the door's lock.
Finally, just when Touma thought he had gotten his head wrapped around the door, it spoke.
"Should you dare… open this door… you will gain a great new power…" the door spoke in a deep, echoing voice that resonated throughout the void, "But know that such a reward comes a great burden… Have you the will and courage to bare this burden? Can you bare the balance of the world on your shoulders?"
Touma had dealt with a lot in the past few months. For better or for worse, he had taken most of what the world had thrown at him in stride. But what the door was asking of him was a lot, more than anything he was face with before. A great power in exchange for baring the balance of the world on his shoulders? What did that even mean? Why would an ordinary high school student like him who just happened to have a one-of-a-kind power be offered such a deal?
Overwhelmed by what he was hearing, Touma took a hesitant step back away from the door. As he did so, the raised path he was standing on crumbled under his feet. Touma could only scream as he fell into the black void.
Snapping out of his trance, Touma found himself standing at the top of Isaac's golem, suppressing an impending magical explosion alongside Yuri. However, the change in perceived scenery made Touma stumble and slip, causing him to briefly touch the sphere of volatile energy with something other than his right hand. In that brief moment, sphere of energy blasted Touma away, throwing him towards Esther, Houtou, and Misaka 10046, knocked out for the count.
"Touma!" Yuri cried as he watched his best friend get knocked aside.
Accelerator now stood alone to face the impending threat, his best friend and surest ally in no condition to help him. However, that did not deter him. Seeing his friend lay in the middle of what would be ground zero completely helpless filled the Level 5 with determination. He did not care that his battery was running dangerously close to empty. He did not care that he was trying to manipulate a type of vector he had no hope of comprehending without further research. All that matted was that his best friend and Last Order were both currently in range of the explosion and would surely die if it went off. No matter what it took, Accelerator would save them both.
'There's no reason to stay standing!' Accelerator told himself as he fell to his knees, reserving every bit of processing power he could spare for using his Ability, 'I have to give everything! Everything I have!'
"Master!" Esther cried out as she watched her chosen master kneel.
Suddenly, a pair of vortexes comprised of what appeared to be black feathers sprouted from Accelerator's back, almost like a pair of wings. Those present to see them didn't have the faintest idea what they were. However, they could feel the immense power radiating from them.
'I'll take control of everything!' Accelerator told himself as he gave one final push.
The wings on Accelerator's back appeared to rapidly expand, growing to be well over twenty times Accelerator's standing height in length. With the flick of the Level 5's wrist, the magical energy on the verge of being released was redirected upward in massive pillar of light that split the sky. Within seconds, the collected energy was all fired into space, leaving Academy City no worse for wear.
With the last of its lifeforce gone, the remnants of the massive golem started to quickly wither and die. All that remained of the final battle were Esther, Misaka 10046, Houtou, Accelerator and Touma, the latter two of whom were knocked out and being tended to by the former two.
"The Savior is in stable condition, having only suffered a some burning and a concussion from stumbling while dealing with the explosion, reports Misaka, relieved that the Savoir did not suffer worse."
"Master. Wake up. Please." Esther begged as she rested the knocked out and bleeding Accelerator's head on her lap, "Give a sign if you hear me! I'm begging you, open your eyes, Master! Master! Master!"
Just when Esther was about to lose hope, she noticed Accelerator's mouth move. His voice was quiet, and she couldn't make out the words he was saying, but it was enough to tell her that he was alive. Overcome with feelings of relief and gratitude, Esther began to cry tears of joy, many of which fell on to the unconscious Accelerator's face, washing away the blood.
The next day, both Touma and Yuri were admitted into Heaven Canceller's hospital in School District 7. With Touma having received a couple of nasty burns and a concussion, and Yuri having not been released from his previous injury, it was only natural that this be the case. Both were recovering from their recent operations in their respective rooms, but Yuri had the unfortunate displeasure of having to deal with a nagging, little sister in the form of Last Order.
"Seriously!" Last Order yelled, "What made you decide you could just skip today's checkup, demands Misaka Misaka as she is forced to lecture you again!"
"If you're done, would you buzz off and let me read in peace?" Accelerator asked in his usual rude demeanor.
"Misaka Misaka will do anything! Just ask! But will she go away because you think she is annoying? Nope! She declares, drawing a line in the sand!"
"Oh? Then go ahead and buy me one of those whatever they're called cans of coffee." Accelerator requested, offering his money card, "The kind they only sell in School District 14."
"Right away!" Last Order cheered as she took the card, completely failing to notice she was being played, "says Misaka Misaka, thrilled that you trusted her with such an important mission as she rushes off to purchase one!"
Overcome with joy and a desire to be helpful, Last Order happily skipped out of the hospital room with a jubilant pep in her step. As she did so, she skipped past a visiting Yomikawa, who was more than a little confused by the youngest Sister's presence.
'Does he have a child at his age?' Yomikawa thought to herself, 'No, she couldn't be. But she's too young to be his… I'm sure there's a logical explanation. Best not to read into it.'
"Yo." Yomikawa greeted as she entered the room, "You're looking well."
"Right. If you're convinced of that, you ought to see an eye doctor." Accelerator scoffed.
"Come on, don't be that way. I'm here to apologize for the entire disaster." Yomikawa said earnestly.
"Excuse me?" Accelerator asked.
"This incident has wiped out DA, and any survivors have been apprehended." Yomikawa explained, taking a bow, "I'm sorry you got involved, but thanks. Thanks to you, we lanced a boil infecting Anti-Skill."
Accelerator simple clicked his tongue, not caring for the gratitude.
"I also wanted you to know that your friend Kamijou filled me in on all the details and helped us form a cover story." Yomikawa added, "Not that I don't trust his word, but I'd like to get your account of things. After all, you reached the center of the golem along with him."
"If Touma's already told you everything, then there's nothing I can say that would be significant." Accelerator replied.
"Surely, there's more to it."
"There wasn't any other damage, right?" Accelerator pointed out, turning away, "Sounds like you guys did everything you could, within the bounds of what you could do. Isn't that enough?"
Resting up in his usual hospital room, Touma was occupying himself by updating his journal. With everything that had happened over the last few days, there was a lot he needed to write down, especially regarding what the Rosenthals feared and the vision he had on top of the golem. An ancient guardian of the power balance that could destroy the supernatural without a touch. A raised path in an endless void that led to a dragon gate, one that depicted the very same dragon head that formed during his encounter with Aureolus Izzard. What did they all mean? Was there a connection between his family and Imagine Breaker he was unaware of? All these revelations created more questions than they answered.
While updating his journal, Touma surprised to have a visitor in the form of Esther. However, he was far more surprised by the fact that a certain other individual was not present with her.
"Hey, Esther." Touma greeted, putting his journal away, "Where's Houtou?"
Esther simply pulled out one of her many pseudo-soul charms, one that Touma was particularly familiar with.
"I see." Touma nodded, "So Hasumi Hitokawa's body is being returned to her family. That's good."
"I'm simply taking care of a few loose ends." Esther explained, "Once I take care of everything, I'll be leaving Academy City."
"Is that so? Then why come to me?" Touma asked.
"Because I wanted to thank you." Esther said with a bow, "If it wasn't for your help, I'm not sure things would have turned out as well as they did."
"Seriously, you're giving me too much credit." Touma insisted, "I just helped where I could. You and Yuri were the ones responsible for resolving everything. You really should be thanking him."
"I'm actually planning of speaking with Accelerator after this." Esther clarified, "Afterwards, I'll be leaving Academy City."
"You're really leaving?" Touma asked, "I would have thought you would have stayed to be closer to Yuri. I mean, you did select him as your master. Don't you want to learn more from him?"
"I'm certain there is much more for me to learn, but I wish to move forward with my own two feet." Esther replied, "I can't rely on my master forever."
"That doesn't mean you have to leave Academy City." Touma pointed out, "Besides, better to have a teacher in arm's reach than on the other side of the world."
"Even if I washed to stay, I don't exactly have the means of living here." Esther argued, "I've been spending most of my time in the city held captive by Taowu and Isaac, and I can't just keep renting out a hotel room for months at a time."
"I think I have a solution to that." Touma said, taking a sheet of paper from his nightstand and scribbling a few words before offering it to Esther, "If you decide to stay, go to this address and look for Motoharu Tsuchimikado. He's a Magician living in Academy City, just like you. If you tell him Kami sent you, I'm sure he can arrange a place for you to stay."
"Are you certain about this?" Esther inquired.
"Just take it." Touma insisted, "The choice is ultimately yours, but I want you to at least consider staying."
Although hesitant, Esther gratefully accepted the note with the address.
"Thank you. I'll think about it." Esther replied, "I should get going now. I need to properly thank Accelerator and say goodbye before I leave."
"Hopefully it won't be a permanent goodbye." Touma said with a smile.
As she left, Esther returned the smile, silently thanking Touma once again for all his help.
Once Esther left, Touma prepared to get some rest so he could check out of the hospital as soon as possible. However, he was greeted by the arrival of two more visitors, both of whom looked rather displeased with him.
"Touma!" Index and Shizuri yelled as they entered.
"Sis! Index!" Touma cried in fear, "What are you doing here!?"
"Checking in on you, obviously!" Shizuri answered, stomping her way to the side of the bed, "What happened that caused you to not come home the other night and land you in the hospital again!?"
"I-I got caught up in a chemical reaction when the splinter cell tracking operation took me to a rogue researcher's laboratory!" Touma lied, relaying the official cover story, "I was just unlucky and got hurt in the process, it wasn't even that big of a deal!"
"Stop lying!" Index demanded, barring her fangs.
"I swear I'm not!" Touma begged, raising his arms in defense, "Please don't bite my head or smack me in the face repeatedly with a paper fan!"
Knowing his begging had a track record of not being enough, Touma prepared for the pain that would surely come. However, he was surprised to find that rather than teeth to his skull or paper to his cheek, he was greeted with a gentle touch to his hands. Looking up, he saw that his sister had gingerly grasped both his hands with her own, inadvertently negating her own Esper Ability as she gently lowered his guard.
"Touma, please stop lying." Shizuri asked slowly, "I know all about the existence of Magic, I know you have been dealing with it since the start of last summer. I know this last incident you were involved with involved Magic in some way. So please, stop lying to my face and tell me what really happened to you. I don't want you to keep lying to me like this. I want you to know you can trust me, and I want to know I can trust you. So please, no more lies."
Stunned by his sister's revelation and sad expression, Touma looked to Index for an explanation. All he got in response was an equally sad looking nun-in-training, but that one frown was worth a thousand words. Having been back into the same corner again for the third time that week, Touma let out a defeated sigh.
"Rotten luck." Touma sighed, "Alright, where should I start?"
"Master."
"Stop calling me that." Accelerator said, waking up from his nap, "Don't make me keep telling you."
"Thank you for everything you did." Esther said with a bow.
Accelerator simply clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"I'm not your master, but here's some advice." Accelerator replied, "When it comes to mediocre folks like yourself, you should avoid getting involved with any damned darkness again. From here on out, it's a one-way road."
"I'll uncover a path that leads me into the light." Esther declared with a nod, "Not only as the head of the Rosenthals, but also as your pupil, my Master."
"Can you do that all on your own?" Yuri asked, a twinge of concern in his voice.
"… Yes," Esther answered, looking at her pinky finger, "because… I'm not alone."
With her final piece said, Esther was gone, off to who knows were. All that was left was the wind, gently blowing the balloon Esther gave to Accelerator when she first asked to be his student, carrying it freely through the hospital room.
The next day, while Last Order and Misaka 10046 were arguing over who would make Accelerator's bed while he was away, Touma and Yuri were relaxing on top of a radio tower, simply enjoying each other's company over a couple of cans of coffee.
"Sure is nice out today. Peaceful." Touma mused.
"It is. Too bad every day in this city can't be like this," Yuri replied, "Not while villains continue to crawl in the darkness of its shadows."
"You know, I've had a couple of run ins with some serious villains in the past. You want to know what I said to them?" Touma asked, "I swore I would be the light that pierces through Academy City's darkness and pulls out those being choked by it. I know I can't do that for everyone, but I think I did a pretty good job with you. I mean, you're here enjoying a can of coffee with me, right?"
"Maybe." Yuri agreed, taking a sip form his can.
"Hey, how has hospital food been treating you lately?" Touma asked.
"It's alright, I guess." Yuri replied, "Nothing you would call gourmet."
"You should come over to my place sometime. I'd be happy to make a meal for you. Last Order can come too." Touma offered.
"Your cooking hasn't gotten worse over the last decade, has it?" Yuri jabbed.
"How about you come over and I make you eat those words?" Touma challenged back.
"Alright." Yuri said through wolfish laughs, "You got yourself a deal."
"Crap! Is it that time already?" Touma asked, looking at his watch, "I got to meet the girls at the airport. Mind giving me a boost?"
"You sure you want to do this?" Yuri asked, "Could get ugly."
"I've faced worse." Touma said as he activated his hoverboard and equipped his helmet.
"Alright, you asked for it." Yuri replied as he switched is choker to combat mode.
With a soft kick to Touma's hoverboard, Yuri sent his best friend on a controlled flight to Academy City's airport. While he had his doubts regarding this plan, he was confident enough in Touma's abilities to pull it off.
"This damned city never gets boring." Yuri sighed.
Special End Card Segment: Trivia Corner
1) The Dragon Door was inspired by and references the Door of Destiny in Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal. The speech the Dragon Door says is even a variation of the speech the Door of Destiny makes, primarily based on the English Dub version.
2) I originally planned for Shizuri to reveal to Touma that she was aware of Magic during the Queen of the Adriatic Sea Arc, but events of the Necromancer Arc convinced me to move this event forward.
3) The technique Shizuri performed to slice a tentacle in half this chapter is a reference to The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Specifically, the execution and appearance of the game's signature Skyward Strikes. You can blame my 100% Hero Mode run of the game for that reference.