Painted Prison Chronicles

by Sparity Ikari

When Kamijou Touma and Gokusai sisters reunite after a long while, things certainly go crazy for all of them when they found themselves living together through random twists of fate. In their daily life, Touma, Amazora, Kaibi, and Rikuri will learn about each other, with their light, darkness, and pasts revealed. Among the misfortune, comedy, and romance, their bonds blossom anew!

50. Chapter 50

PAINTED PRISON CHRONICLES

CHAPTER 50

SPECIAL VI: WINTER'S HEART, UNDER STARS ALIGHT

Hello everybody! After meticulous work, and ending the year with big finish, another chapter is upon us. The last of the second group of special chapters, grouped in threes, after which brand new arcs will be opened for us. Please, consider this a bit belated wishes of Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays, as well as early wishes of all that's best in the new year 2025. I wish you all happiness, safety (we live in rather anxious times as of late, at least in my humble opinion), joy, laughter, best of friends, prosperity, peace, kindness, wamrth, inspiration, fortune, and love. I thank you all for your kind words and support for me, and I hope that I can do my best to return it in effects of my work.

Although this year, the year of 20th anniversary, did not yield some grounbreaking revelations to the franchise, let's not lose hope and dream of new additions to the franchise, and anime adaptations (I for one thing am in the group of people who would rather have any anime than none at all. I know Index III was terribly adapted, but, well, novels are always here. The same cannot be said for anime, so I still hope for Index IV. And of course it would be better if it was adapted with respect and care)

This time we have more of a magic side chapter, with some resolutions to certain magic side plotlines from earlier in the story, sprinkled with winter-themed comedy and absurd. It is a very expanse chapter, but in all honesty, there is a period of lots, and lots of personal obligations in front of me, and with that, the possibility of longer waiting period for next chapter, maybe more than a month (since it begins new saga in the story, it's a bit fitting, but still). As always, if it's up to me, the chapter will come earlier, but I cannot guarantee anything, and this is why I wanted to leave a lot of material for you to possibly enjoy. Also, this chapter is kind of a milestone, since it is 50th chapter. Speaking of milestones, I am also heading towards a more symbolic milestone of breaching so-called Proust Limit (Michael Proust's book 'In Search of Lost Time', having 1,267,069 word count, is considered the longest novel of classic literature). My story will breach this limit in approximately two chapters.

Those last three chapters are a good way of representing just how long girls wait for Touma to wake up, as it is reflected in the pause of main plotline in your experience, the reader. I think it is rather appropriate psychological measure, is it not? (Sorry ;))

What's more to say... since it's a long chapter, I will not chat needlessly, and will see you guys below this chapter. But first, the Q&A.

Fullbreaker: I am so glad that you are happy with Orsola's daughter. I knew you would be! The number of children is most likely fixed by now, but I am happy Orsola got included in one of the last sweeps.

Amad0: Well, I suppose this may gain it some infamy, but it was my ambition to write a total harem. Because I believe that if one is to write harem, especially for Touma who (despite not wanting harem in the first place) deserves it more than most modern MCs (in my opinion alone) then you go all out. Because this series has so many best girls that it is just sad leaving some out.

Averege stuffy: The number is likely to be 52. And Ladylee mystery is one of the reasons of Future Phase's relevancy in the first place.

Dredgon: I will be sure to make a comprehensive guide of all of Touma's children when they appear, given that their number is now fixed and no new addition will likely be made. As for my procedure, the operation itself went well, but recovery took a bit of time, which is writing this chapter took time. Yet, I appear to be in a good condition now.

Whatimdoinghere2: Kongou's dorky love for Touma is one of my guilty pleasures in the story. And I think it would make sense that aviation heiress is the main provider of Kamijou Family's travels.

5had0wHand: Othinus is one of the most stubborn women in this series imo.

FingFangFoom100: I am happy you enjoy the children, I know it's a whole lot, it's actually part of the comedy, but I will be sure to make guides, and reminders, too. As for Gunha and Junko and Touma... it is for drama and mystery, and it's probably my fault that I cannot decide fully in my commitment to one of the guys here... I will try not to make it awkward, but I happy that we have this plotline in a sense that this may be one of the finest mysteries in that story, if I let it unravel the way I plan

Also, thank you so much Xellos, for your long reviews to my earlier chapters. I sincerely hope you'll continue to write them, they very nice, illuminating, and thought provoking.

Without further delay, let's begin!

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But like to a wheel whose circling nothing jars

Already on my desire and will prevailed

The Love that moves the sun and the other stars

-Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy, Paradiso, Canto XXXIII

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Snow was falling on the tops of mountains and the rooftop of the mountain shelter, hidden away in Italian Alps.

With skis in hand and wrapped in warm winter clothing, Touma, Gokusai sisters, and Index stood in front of the building that served as a meeting place for them and Necessarius Female Dorm.

Amazora was wearing light pink coat with dark pink woolly cap with a yellow stripes, ended with a yellow pom-pom. Kaibi wore white coat with pink cap and crimson red scarf. Finally, Rikuri sported light- blue, elegant winter coat, with white russian-style woolly hat, and blue earmuffs.

Amazora clenched her fists, closing, tensing up in excitation.

"WE ARE IN THE MOUNTAINS! THIS IS SO AWES-"

"Oh for the love of-" Kaibi put a hand over Amazora's mouth. After letting her go, she sighed" Amazora, do you realize that you can cause a massive avalanche? One has to be careful this time of year, apparently"

The magenta eyes of the youngest sister lit up. Kaibi knew that this was actually more of an encouragement than deterrent for Amazora scream her lungs out. After all, Amazora was always an adrenaline junkie, eager to test her strength against many things, beginning on other people and ending on the forces of nature, such as a whole, gods forbid, avalanche from alpine peaks.

Rikuri, as if reading Amazora's mind, gently put her hand on her little sister's shoulder.

"My my, Amazora-chan, I am pretty sure Touma would not want us to be buried under ice and snow. I am sure you are grateful to him, and would not want to cause him any problems, ne?"

Amazora immediately calmed down, at least in regards to her shouting. Instead, she turned towards Touma.

"Yeah. I am just so happy onii-chan got us this trip." before Touma could react, the little blond jump into the air and latched onto him on chest level, with practiced precision" I love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, looooove him!"

Each 'love' was accompanied by a peck of small lips all over Touma's face, making it a true flurry of kisses. If Amazora wore lipstick, Touma's face would be on a good way to being smeared fully red.

"Oh... okay, okay, I am happy that you are happy..." Touma chuckled, finding the blond locks to brush through them in reciprocity.

He turned to Kaibi, while withstanding the onslaught of affection.

"Amazora is really excited. I mean, even more than usual"

"Well, no wonder." Measure Heart shrugged" She loves sports and mountains. She is so excited to go skiing. In Academy City, there are skiing simulators and she loved them ever since she could go into one. But the prospect of the real deal, and the fact that it is thanks to you that you are here... yeah, it makes her really happy"

"So she loves mountains and extreme sports... she was also really excited to talk about paragliding with my mom" Touma reminisced to the time when Kamijou Shiina visited them.

He thought about something, before asking the middle sister.

"By the same token, are you a sea lover?"

Kaibi knew what Touma was referring too.

Years ago, after a sculptor Haruto ran away with daughter of prestigious Gokusai family, before returning with a daughter of his own, he named that daughter, and two that followed, with a certain scheme.

Amazora's name was etymologically related to the sky, Kaibi's to the sea, and Rikuri's to the land.

"As you know, I enjoy swimming" Kaibi pondered at his question" And I had a lot of fun when we visited the seaside during the stay at Orsola-san's monastery... before things got messy, of course. I love sun, sunbathing, playing beach games... it appears my father was right on the money, naming me Sea Beauty."

For Rikuri, the connection was less precise, but she did enjoy being in nature, even if she wasn't particularly masterful with any sport. More so, she suffered from acrophobia, fear of heights, so she usually preferred to stay on the ground either way.

"Okay, Amazora, we have to go in or we will freeze our butts out"

"I like kissing onii-chan" Amazora pouted" I don't want to stop!"

"You can do it later on. If you don't let me go for now..."

Touma's fingered gloves circled a small arc and landed on Amazora's armpits.

Even through thick layer of clothing, the girl felt the tickling and started giggling, squirming around like an eel.

"S-Stop... p-please... I can't..."

Still applying the tickling torture with one hand, Touma managed to haul the baggages to the doorstep.

By the time he finished, Amazora was almost breathless from laughing.

He pushed aside the blond hair covering her forehead and gave small kiss himself, asking

"I love you too, so please get down"

This worked. Winded and flushed Amazora found herself back on the ground.

"Well, we are going to spend a lots of time together, and ski all day, so-"

"Wait, Amazora. I am only saying this for you not to be disappointed. But I am here because of Lucia and her family situation. I can't guarantee that I will be with you all day"

"Oh..."

"But don't worry. I will always find time for you, in some form or way."

The reason why Touma was here, in Italy, was to help Lucia of Agnese Forces in family matters of very delicate nature.

After being introduced into the subject by Orsola in the monastery, he and Lucia corresponded with one another, and then, with the permission of Dion Fortune, reached towards the pope. It took a bit of time and tracing, but Lucia's mother was definitely found.

And the nun in question, proud and eager for truth, wanted to confront her.

As luck would have it, said mother was currently a prisoner within the complex hidden in the mountains. As such, Lucia travelled here and, since she felt she was acting on selfish desire, pleaded with Agnese and the Forces' superiors to allow the Female Dorm to come too, and simply relax, while she takes care of her business.

While Touma helped Lucia in searching through testimonies and records, he wasn't sure why he was needed. However, after Agnese convinced him that yes, Lucia did request for him to be present. Knowing that some misadventure will strike him anyway, he packed his things.

And when he was at it, he asked his own flatmates whether or not they would like to go to Italy with him. To which, of course, they enthusiastically agreed to.

Now, they were here, about to enter the building that was a meeting spot.

In the next moments, Rikuri wobbled a little on her feet as she tried to climb the stairs. Touma quickly got to her and supported her arm.

"Thank you so much. Silly me, I should have picked a more functional shoes. Leave it to me to choose fashion over practicality" the older sister giggled sweetly.

'Yeah, right, what a poor damsel in distress' Kaibi thought, raising an eyebrow in scepticism, as she noticed Rikuri's massive breasts squishing onto Touma arm, and her face expressing utter adoration.

Despite the fact that Rikuri loved fabulous, stylish clothing (which to varying degrees was a trait present in all three sisters) she wasn't unpractical in her conduct. No, on the contrary, she was an engineering and chemistry genius, who often took precautions to set up the terrain of their assassin missions, planning so far as to pick just perfect onset for the poison to work, with no place for slip-ups.

In this case, Kaibi saw with her very eyes that Rikuri covered her shoes with hydrophobic agent, with some rough powder. This meant that the shoes would not get easily moist and remain very frictional. In other words, she would not slip, even if the shoes themselves weren't practical, to complete the illusion.

Illusion to achieve what exactly?

Well, even though Rikuri was the eldest, exuding maturity with almost every step and taking great pride in flirting with Touma (it didn't take a genius to notice that Touma enjoyed it too), she also had another, more delicate and less sultry side. From time to time, she deeply enjoyed to be pampered and treated like a princess. Being assisted while exiting the vehicles, being walked hand in hand, being complimented and considered charming, this sort of thing. Touma was arduous fighter for gender equality, but outside of battle, such gallantry was not completely alien to him, if he knew when to use it.

This was why she indulged in her fantasies, while also taking precautions to not actually slip.

'What cunning onee-san I have' Measure Heart remarked to herself in exasperation' They say she acts just like dad while looking like mom, and I have both mother's looks and personality, but this level of deviousness is Yua's genes to the letter'

Her thoughts were stopped by Index, who swayed from side to side.

"I am so hungry... and sleepy..."

Touma mentioned that jet lag usually hit Index hard, they could experience that when they travelled to UK a couple times. This, combined with the fact that a few hours passed since the meal on the plane, turned the nun into a zombie mode.

Fortunately for Index the doors opened, warmth and light poured outside.

"Oh my, oh my, oh my~" Orsola Aquinas put a hand to her cheek" Such a welcomed travellers graced our little gathering! Please, do come in"

"Thank you"

As they got inside, Touma looked around.

They were in the great hall, built with combination of wood and stone, lit with golden chandeliers and with paintings depitcing mountain passes and pine forests illuminated by moon on cloudy sky, and crimson carpets on the floor. It looked cozy, not too fancy, not too poor, It was a comfy mountain shelter that Necessarius rented for the occasion.

"How are you doing, Orsola-san?" Touma asked with renewed energy.

"My, wonderful now, when I am seeing all of you happy and well" the angel of a nun smiled to him.

"He never blushes like that with us" Kaibi couldn't help, but feel a small sting of jealousy, as she looked at how transfixed Touma was at Orsola.

No... not only him. Orsola also frequently looked in his direction. Those weren't sultry or even flirty glances in traditional sense, but the look of those eyes was a level higher than just casual politness. As if she wanted to warm him up with just her eyes.

"Give him time Kaibi-chan..." Rikuri answered in relaxed fashion" Besides, it is bound to be like this. She appears to be his other half... a muse, if you will"

"A muse?"

"According to Index-san, there was a tale found in Plato's writings about how people were once a double of what they are now. Two heads, four arms, two legs... but gods feared the might of those humans, and so they forced them to split into two... and from this time, with every human birth, another is born, disregarding space and time, two halves of one whole, secretly hoping to find each other, and put themselves in place, together once again..."

"Hmm... do you honestly believe that?"

"Some parts may be colorized, but apparently, magic itself exists, right? There may be a grain of truth in every legend. And besides, this certainly does have a romantic ring to it. Sometimes, you just feel you found your soulmate in the purest sense of the word, and there is nothing you can do... don't get me wrong, I am also a bit envious... but..."

She smiled, as she looked at Orsola, pointing out and then gently removing the melting snow from Touma's cheek, while chuckling lightly besides her hand.

"... there is also certain beauty in how they act"

"If you say so... you always been much more of a romantic type than me..."

"That's not true at all. Touma says you can be very sweet and romantic"

Kaibi blushed, her hand going to her hair, as it often did when she was embarrassed.

"D-Did he... I-I suppose that if it was him, then it is alright..."

"Where... is...food?" Index, mumbled next to them.

The nun looked as if she was about to collapse on the ground.

Amazora fell back as Index ran past her and slammed into someone, causing said someone to loose a grip on a small statue, which unfortunately shattered into pieces.

"W-Whoops..." Amazora muttered, blushing from embarrassment.

"It's fine, don't worry about it" the woman who fell prey to bumping waved her hand. She addressed Touma

"Hey, Kamijou. Long time no see!"

The boy smiled at the sight of dark-skinned woman with blond hair, who walked down the stairs while twirling a chisel in her fingers.

"Sherry! How are you?" he exclaimed, running towards her.

"Nothing to complain about. This bunch I live with is loud and bratty at times, but I am proud to call Necessarius my home now. Thanks to you, that is" Sherry winked to him and squeezed his hand." In that sense, I am in your debt"

"No, that was nothing" Touma answered truthfully" I just wanted you to realize certain things and then we could be friends"

"That's odd. You still seemed like a same kid that slugged me to the face... but at the same time, there is something different in your eyes..."

"Well, that's what dying does to a person, I guess..." he said quietly under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing important. And same to you, too. You are still the icon of gothic fashion, but your onee-san factor is going through the roof"

"I don't think I understand, but from your tone I assume it is a compliment. Thanks!"

"Yeah... so what are you doing here, Sherry?"

"Well, since one of our members got a matter here, we thought: why not to go together and spend some time away from London, for a change? I for one thing look forward to the place to sculpt, gaining inspiration from this austere mountains. I hope to create something good out here!"

In the meantime, new people arrived. It was a group of nuns, in which Touma recognized Agnese Forces. Apparently, they were woken up by their arrival.

Feeling slightly awkward, he waved to the only nun in sight who he recognized, a brunette called Caterina. Then, he noticed Kanzaki Kaori, standing a bit behind the nuns.

"Hi... is Agnese..."

Yet he didn't even need to finish. Agnese grumpily made her way through the crowd, rubbing her eyes, sporting impressive, and adorable, bedhead. Touma was so used to seeing her with dreadlock-like, pencil-thin braids that if not for fiery red colouring, he wouldn't recognize the nun leader.

"Who is making this noise at such an-" she paused in the midst of her muttering, noticing Touma.

She froze, her mood instantly changing, and her face reddening.

She whipped her head towards Kanzaki

"W-Why is he here?!"

"What do you mean?" Saint looked at her with confusion" He was meant to arrive. After all, he is here because of one of your subordinates"

"Y-Yes, I know that, but he was supposed to be arriving in the morning..."

"No, we said in the late evening."

"I-It's night though..."

"Is there a problem?"

"N-No, but..." Agnese fidgeted, trying to hide her embarrassment." Ho un aspetto così sgradevole... I can't welcome them like that. E-Excuse me!"

She dashed back, almost tripping on her feet.

Touma looked at her with confusion.

"I didn't mean to surprise you... we had a bit of delay on the airport..." he muttered.

"Hello!"

Sister Angelene went for a friendly hug and smiled at Touma

"May God bring luck onto you"

"Doubt that. Luck is a thing those wielding this right hand cannot afford... and because of that they cannot afford anything else, either" Touma scratched his head, and patted Angelene on the head, before he shivered and noticing thin smile and something akin to dark miasma flowing out of Amazora, who was standing few steps away.

"A-Anyway, how are you doing, Angelene-chan? Did you grow since I saw you last?"

The small nun puffed her flat chest.

"That's right. I have been getting plenty of milk and sleep. And now we have a delicious chicken!" she handed him to leg" Want some?"

"I-I don't know if it's a good-"

"FOOOOOOOOOD! GIVE MEEEEEEEEE THAAAAAAAAAAT!"

As if she was a homing missile, Index launched herself through the air with unexpected burst of power, her jaw filled with razor sharp teeth opening wide before seizing the chicken leg... alongside Angelene's wrist.

"HEY!" Angelene cried out, more of anger than of pain." That is not for you!"

Similarly to Index, she was pretty uncompromising when it came to food, and not to be taken lightly.

"Not bitten, not eaten!"

"I was about to eat that, you thief!"

The French nun-in-training slammed another chicken leg into Index's head, causing the shark teeth to loosen enough for a true fight to begin. As the cloud of kicks and punches commenced, with occasional chicken leg flying through the air, Amazora took the initiative and lifted the baggages, asking for the room.

Touma restrained himself not to let out a huge laugh at the faces of the nuns, who first saw the visually spectacular display of Amazora's telekinetic weight distribution in action. The nuns pointed out the direction, their mouths opened as Amazora walked past them with a mountain of baggages held in her hands.

In the meantime, Agnese appeared again, this time accompanied by Lucia.

"W-Welcome" Agnese cleared her throat, trying to banish the memory of earlier embarrassment" To this humble shelter."

"As an acknowledgement of your help, please enjoy the comfort of this accommodation and skiing pistes as you like" Lucia added, watching Touma with her blue eyes.

"No problem. Like I said, I would like for our groups to rely on each other more."

As the battle over the food started to escalate, both Touma and Lucia stepped in to separate the fighting girls.

"Index, calm yourself, we are the guests here!"

"Sister Angelene, that's wrath, gluttony, and greed!"

"But I am hungry!"

"She stole it!"

"Enough, both of you!"

Finally, the quarrel ended as dinner was served.

During the meal, Touma noticed, aside Agnese's nuns, Kanzaki, and Orsola, the presence of Stiyl Magnus and Itsuwa. While the fire magician didn't approach him, Itsuwa ate together with Touma, Gokusai sisters, and Index, with brought everyone great joy... well, he could not speak for Index, as he doubted she saw anything besides the food she was devouring, but everyone else? Sure.

The Gokusai family, especially Amazora, had good memories with Itsuwa from the time they all fell sick. Even Kaibi, who in retrospect got very jealous of the housewife-incarnate of the Amakusa Church at the start of their relationship, started to appreciate the unique blend of deep empathy and resolute practicality that Itsuwa demonstrated.

Touma, whose perception evolved a little since he started to live with the sisters, noticed that Itsuwa was a bit... fidgety, well, more than usual, as she glanced in his direction. When they finished, it looked as if she wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Agnese, who raised up to speak.

"Everyone, once again, welcome to our humble shelter. It is not overly exquisite, but it shall provide our guests with food, entertainment, and warmth for the next three days. Tomorrow, we will give our guests time to enjoy themselves, after the prison visit takes place"

Touma nodded, this time not noticing the pouting face Itsuwa made. However, this did not escape Kaibi's attention.

'What is she thinking about?' Measure Heart pondered, not really out of jealousy and malice (due to her love confession and closeness she shared with Touma, those were less common nowadays) but out of genuine puzzlement.

After the dinner, everyone went to the designated rooms. As the nuns were in charge of room division, it was no surprise that Touma was put in a separate room.

He took this decision with relief. Not purely because he worried about the girls sneaking in.

As shameful as admitting this was, he grown a bit used to Gokusai sisters trying to get into his bed at their shared apartment. He didn't approve of it, and always asked them to stay out, but if he happened to find any of them in the middle of the night, he was more likely to go back to sleep instead of causing the scene.

Each sister had different sleeping habits, and sharing a bed made it abundantly clear. Amazora tended to kick and move a lot in her sleep unless she was held in Touma's arms or had his hand on her head, which calmed her down and then she rested gently, until he shifted, at which she started to kick again. Kaibi was getting easily flustered even in her sleep. She tended to stay away until she got cold, at which point she closed the distance, hugged and snuggled into him, until the warmth woke her up (she was a very light sleeper), getting her flustered, causing her to move away, and the cycle repeated itself. Finally Rikuri was Kaibi's opposite, being very clingy and having a habit of chewing on Touma's ears in her sleep and tracing her fingers down his skin. She was very soft and warm, so the usual problem was the fact that he couldn't get away from her or wake her up for any reason. She was a heavy sleeper and as such would hug him without any heed.

Individually? It was manageable. Sometimes troublesome, but manageable. They weren't doing anything to him, just sleeping and being close, after all. Problem lied within the fact that if one sister got the idea to get into his bed, the other two usually followed.

Thus, he usually ended with all of them sleeping with him... no, on top of him.

And although the siblings were family of beautiful ladies, they felt incredibly heavy when stacked together.

Not to mention the fact that Index, in all of the betterment she underwent and in all the greater niceness she seemed to possess those days, was not very merciful if she discovered sisters' missions to his bed.

In the place like this, not having a single room spelled nothing but trouble for him. Home was one thing, but here? Oh no, no way.

He heard shouting as, from what he could hear, Sherry Cromwell berated Amazora for making her drop the materials for her statue, shattering them... again.

Touma tried to lay on the bed and forget about the fact that in the very same building, Orsola was also preparing for her sleep. The more he thought of those preparations, the more it became apparent to him that his own body would not be ready to rest.

What a trap he fell into.

(MEANWHILE, IN THE SAME BUILDING)

Itsuwa was rolling around in her bed so much that her dark hair fell over her face. She spat it out, and rose on her sheets, putting her palms on her cheeks.

"Ugh... it's no use... I am so... so..."

she punched the bed.

"... frustrated!"

While it was the cutest fit of frustration in the world, probably because of the pout she made at the end, Itsuwa's feelings were very serious.

"I want to do this... I decided to do this... I will not let Priestess, as much as I care for her and respect her, have the upper hand here. I will co... con... c-confe..."

She felt her face go beet red and her eyes became swirly, as the room whirled around her.

Few rooms away, Agnese Sanctis was repeatedly hitting her face on the pillow, lifting herself just a little, only to plummet onto the body support.

"What... an...embarrassment..." she mumbled from under the veil of red hair spread over her head" This cannot go on... what happened to me?"

Well, she knew what it was. The change that began some time ago, with Touma's occasional help and reevaluation of his worth to the Forces and to herself. The realization of gratitude she had, and what that gratitude meant in the long run.

Agnese Sanctis knew she was standing at the crossroads. Her feelings pushed her there, and, for better or for worse, she had to act. Not only for herself.

"I am a leader" she whispered to herself" I cannot have my sisters seeing me so torn, so indecisive... but what lies ahead will cause a schism, greater than the Church saw since Anglicanism's birth... it will change everything... am I ready... do I want this... are the two of us worth the change of such traditions..."

As much as she wanted, she couldn't fully rid herself of doubts.

Two girls sighed, tossing and turning once again, finding only restlessness.

For very different reasons, in that moment, they were linked through one thing.

They were done pushing their sentiments away. Those feelings, left unchecked, were ruining their regular life, and made them feel like frauds. So Agnese Sanctis and Itsuwa of Amakusa both, independently and with their individual histories, both stood in front of the momentous decisions. Conclusion of one of them would arrive sooner, the other would have to take greater strides.

How would they take it?

(BACK WITH TOUMA)

After long while passed, Touma looked outside, at the falling snow. It swirled around in the darkness, and on the vague silhouettes of stern, majestic mountains, the light from inside of the stone building being the only source of light in the night.

"I wonder how those three are doing. I hope I made the right decision, to have this bonding exercise right now"

(ON ONE OF THE MOUNTAINS OVER THE SHELTER)

To get a full view on the story that is about to be told, we must introduce to other groups.

One of said groups was currently on the mountain overpass. It consisted of three women.

"Hmm... breathe that in" Othinus sucked the air through her nostrils, inhaling deeply, and exhaling with satisfaction through her mouth" Do you feel that? This is freedom of the mountains, the wild splendor of nature, majesty of ice and snow!"

The night was indeed beautiful. The moon was almost full, causing the snow on the slopes to gleam like thousands of white sparks, and illuminating dark forests of pines and high-altitude shrubs, contrasting through the dark colouring, together with rocks and chasms, with the whiteness of snow and silver orb of the moon.

Additionally, it started snowing. Not everyone was happy with it.

"T-T-The only thing I feel is t-t-t-this accursed c-c-c-cold"

Even wrapped in three layers of clothing, Nephthys was still shivering.

"Well, then we need to finish making the shelter fast." Niang-Niang shrugged" I was saying that an hour ago, before it started snowing. But Othinus couldn't decide over the spot"

"That's because you didn't choose the correct ones" Othinus snorted" Leave it to me and this will all be over before you know it"

"E-Easy f-f-f-for you to be so optmistic, O-O-Othinus" Nephthys shook out" Y-You are a nordic god! Y-Y-You are used to being in frozen wastelands. B-Beautiful, t-tender, e-e-egyptian g-g-goddess such as myself is u-u-used to warmer climates!"

"Whining will not do us any good! This is a matter of willpower. And in that, I can confidently say, I am better than two of you combined" Niang-Niang proudly puffed her chest.

Othinus and Nephthys looked at each other.

"You almost got your tongue stuck to the shrub because you wanted to test if it was edible. You are far too reckless"

"Othinus, I respect you, you being so called god of war-"

"SO CALLED?"

"But it's better to be proactive than to be know-it-all. Our human may consider it attractive, but here, it will not do you any favours"

"I am not trying to gain anything. If you two won't back down and go with the obvious..."

"W-We..." Nephthys tensed up, overpowering the coldness" We made our statement clear, Othinus. We have the desire and right to be the Understood, like you are."

Othninus narrowed her eye.

Nephthys narrowed her eyes.

On paper, both of them agreed on that, but the truth was Othinus wasn't enthusiastic to share the spot of being Understood, even if it wasn't the Understanding in the exactly same vein as Touma shared with her.

Meanwhile, Nephthys remained infuriated at the perceived audacity of Othinus trying to have her voice on the matter. The matter of Infinite Hells was a heavy topic between them, one that Othinus deeply regretted and one that Nephthys, as goddess of mourning, could not easily forgive.

As for Niang-Niang, she was just annoyed and tired of being between those two.

Shijie-Xian sighed loudly.

"It will be long three days. Or we are all going to die, either way"

The tension, even if it was attempted to be hidden, was still rather obvious.

Half a day earlier, Kamijou Touma gathered the three of them in front of himself, before the group split to go the mountain shelter.

"I know that you aren't always agreeing on everything" he said" But I want to use this opportunity for three of you to become a team. Respect each other. You are each great in your own way, and it just sucks if jealousy or rivalry, especially for a normal, plain guy like myself, is making a mess out of it. That's why it was suggested to me that for the next three days..."

It was suggested to him. Niang-Niang frowned. So he didn't come up with the cause of their predicament himself. Someone else did.

If that someone didn't remain anonymous, they would be dead from the triple dosage of divine wrath. Even Niang-Niang had to admit it, and she wasn't the one to back down from the challenge.

Said challenge was one of survival, cooperative effort for three days and three nights. Othinus, Nephthys, and Niang-Niang had free hand to do everything they could to gain upper hand against nature, with two rules imposed.

Firstly, they had to self-limit their abilities to those of a regular human. Their nigh-omnipotent powers would be sealed and would be restored automatically after 72 hours, or if they all spoke a designated codeword.

Secondly, they would enchant themselves in a way that if even one of them were to die in that time, they all would perish.

Meaning that this was cooperative effort in the strictest sense of the word. Now, they were susceptible to death, disease, hunger, thirst, sleep-deprivation, and had specs beffiting regular human women. In short, the parameters that were completely alien to their divine idenitities.

This was the solution. If they weren't a team, this would end catastrophically.

Niang-Niang sighed again. Gods had only few Achilles heels, and vast majority of them were psychological. Gods could be exploited mentally, as Othinus experienced during her fight with Kamijou Touma. They could be played by their own emotions, such as Nephthys' sentimentality and eagerness to get overemotional. They could also fall prey to their character traits governing their actions, such as Niang-Niang's competitiveness.

Also, all of them were really, really proud. This is why they all agreed to it. And why no one would utter the power-unsealing codeword, for the lives of them.

And so, they ended up on the slope of the mountain, looking for the place to sleep in.

They had a bit of canned food, water, a tent, a flashlight, knife, and other supplies in the backpack she was carrying.

As the snow started to fall more heavily, they went uphill, looking for the suitable cave.

They were issued a challenge and they weren't about to back down. But neither wanted to stay outside, too.

Their walk was interrupted by a chasm, running across the slope.

"Break" wheezed Nephthys" W-W-We've been treading through the snow for an hour!"

"Only for a moment" Othinus agreed. It irritated her to no end, but even in her full size, she got tired extremely quickly.

"Are you sure?" Niang-Niang asked, putting the backpack down, and closing to the wide chasm. "Wow, how deep is this thing?"

Othinus and Nephthys looked too.

"I don't know... not overly deep, but maybe enough to worry about it while possessing a human body?" Nephthys spoke out.

"We have to find the way to cross-"

Othinus didn't manage to finish her sentence. In the next moment, a cracking sound came from the ice.

"Get ba-"

They weren't fast enough, and soon, all three fell down, as the seemingly stable ground gave away.

The freefall was not all that long, but it seemed far longer.

"WOOOOOOOAH!"

Niang-Niang landed on the bottom of the chasm with gracefulness of the cat.

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

Then, Othinus joined her. She shifted slightly during the descent, so she hit the ground with much more impact, falling to her knees as a result.

"OH NONONONONONOOOO!"

Nephthys hit the big pile of the puffy, soft snow, face first. It dazed her, and caused her to sink into the pile, her silver hair mixing with the snow. It was similar to jumping to the pool from the springboard, and landing on one's belly.

"Hey, sandbox" Othinus looked at brown-skinned woman on the snow "Are you alive? Well, I'm alive still, so I guess this answers that..."

"Urrrrgh..." the pile of snow growled something incoherently.

"Well..." Othinus sighed, examining the slippery walls" I guess we don't need to worry about crossing it as much as we have to think about leaving it. But first, we need a place to stay in."

"Urrrrrgh..." came from the pile of snow, once again.

"Excellent argument. Let's get the-" Othinus paused" Where is the backpack?"

Niang-Niang's pale face became even more pale as she realized that the bag containing their supplies was up and above, and didn't follow them down.

"I put it... down" she chuckled sheepishly" And it kind of... stayed up there? But I can always-"

She paused. No, she couldn't use tools in her Pao-Pei. Neither of them could use magic. So reliance on the other resources was the only option.

"Well, this looks like the beginning of a fine night." Othinus sighed.

"I am sure that if we follow this chasm back, down the slope, we will find a place to sleep in"

"Urrrrgh..."

(NEXT MORNING)

As new day, arose, a final pair of women made their appearance. Standing side by side, they looked down at the alpine valleys from the resort they were staying in.

"I completely don't get it" muttered the woman on the left, looking up and down throughout the landscape" You are proposing the retreat right now? After all this time?"

"Is there a problem?" her companion answered smoothly, as they looked on the skiing maps... with shelter chosen by Kamijou's group marked with an X and a small winter hut encircled with red marker.

"I just want to speak to one important to family... and I know you want it, too"

She was met with a shrug and grumpy muttering.

The woman smiled, studying the map closely

"I hope you forgive me using the information of your whereabouts, Kamijou Touma... but this is occasion we don't want to miss.

(FEW HOURS LATER)

Kamijou Touma and Lucia of Agnese Forces decided to deal with the main reason of the meeting as quickly as possible. So without alerting everyone save from Agnese, they walked outside long before the sunrise, still well within the deep hours of the night. It was deliberate choice, not to cause the ruckus and spare Lucia attention and worry of the others.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to be there?" Agnese said with concern.

"Yeah, I was meaning to ask" Touma joined in" I get that I tried to help, but Agnese and other nuns are your family. They should be-"

"No. I don't want them to see this. But I need you specifically because you are you. Because how you changed us... how you changed me... what you confessed"

Touma was surprised and didn't protest. Agnese didn't inquire either. She knew better than to pry on the matter of confession. But inwardly, she was burning with curiosity.

Kamijou Touma confided something with Lucia? Their Lucia? The same Lucia that detested him with such passion upon their first that she tried to murder him merely for touching her habit?

How quickly the times change...

For now, Agnese allowed herself to drop the subject. There were more important matters. She knew family as a topic was something very important to all nun in her Forces. Most of them were even orphaned or abandoned. Agnese's own parents were murdered, while Angelene's left her behind on the trip, for the reasons unknown.

In a sense, Agnese understood why Lucia didn't want any of the nuns to listen to the conversation. Not because she didn't want any of them there. But it was due to the reaction this conversation could entice from her fellow sisters.

It was the matter of mother abandoning the child. Agnese's knew for the fact that if she got her hands on Angelene's parents, her soul be damned, she would have a very, very hard time upholding the 6th commandment.

How could anyone do this to their own child?

And why did it happen in Lucia's case?

When Agnese thought of those things, Touma and Lucia were driven away, to the special, hidden gondola, that would take them to the desolate, almost inaccessible prison carved in the mountainside.

Touma looked at the nun sitting to his left. What was she feeling right now?

He had enough experience with the nun to know that she was meticulous, professional, and didn't appreciate needless chatter. So he waited for her to speak first. And he was rewarded.

"You..." Lucia spoke, her sharp face and blond hair only partially visible in the darkness" Thank you... really, I am grateful. It is only natural that you can go there with me, after helping so much."

"Orsola helped with the records, I was only someone who moved this forward"

"Without movement forward, there would be no result. When you want to get something done, results are everything" Lucia tried to be harsh and professional, but her voice trembled slightly" This is why... I am really glad you kept your promise"

"I just felt that I finally understood you better in that closet..."

"C-Can you not describe our conversation with the inclusion of vulgar setting that suggests something extremely sinful?"

She pinched his skin and right now, he was almost sure that her face was showing embarrassment.

Moment to which they were referring to was a short, yet meaningful heart to heart he accidentally had with Lucia in the monastery near the ocean, during Kamijou No Touma and Sukemi Rin crisis. It involved terrible headaches, Touma accidentally tearing down Lucia's habit, Lucia getting into sexy costume borrowed from Kanzaki, Touma stumbling into the room with her in said attire, almost getting leg to the face... and perhaps most importantly...

Learning of Lucia's insecurities regarding her biological family and, in turn, revealing to her his own memory loss.

From this moment on, the freezing cold relations warmed up, and from such a rocky beginnings, a sturdy if somewhat tumultuous bond formed. Remembering Orsola's words about Lucia's mother, Touma tried to help the young nun gain certainty on her heritage.

And it all led to this day.

"Are you nervous?" Touma asked.

"I don't know. Maybe" the blond nun spoke quietly, lowering her gaze" I feel many things. I don't know what is most prevalent in this mess of emotions, but I suppose... I suppose actually seeing her will make it clearer"

Then, another long period of silence.

They left the vehicle in favour of guarded gondola. The guards, as Touma noted, bore papal insignia, but those weren't the Swiss guards one would often see in Vatican City.

Some secret garrison, perhaps? Either way, four of them stood on the small ramp outside gondola, as it descended above the valleys and close to the mountains.

Touma was looking at the agile mountain goat, jumping from one rocky ledge to the other, when Lucia spoke again

"It is rather ironic, isn't it?"

"What is?" Touma looked at her.

"That, apparently... on two separate occasions, you opposed both myself and my mother."

"I didn't meet her though. I interacted with her hired courier, Oriana. I only heard some stories about how... intense she is"

"Do you think intense the right word here?"

"Yeah?"

Touma knew that one was tempted to use the word 'crazy' instead, but did not share this suggestion.

After a while longer, they arrived at their destination.

The cold and solid, the prison station almost seemed like an integral part of the mountain. It was made as a temporary confinement for dangerous prisoners, or, on other occasions, was a place for interrogation. Either way, it was incredibly difficult to escape.

Another pair of guards opened doors for them and the two walked through the corridor, with prison cells on the sides, each guarded by a pair of guards, men and women alike.

Some were empty, some weren't. Most prisoners were sleeping, but some stayed up, looking through space with empty, jaded gazes. One of them glared at Kamijou with annoyed eyes.

This place had a bad aura to it. It was amplified by the fact that they were here during the night.

They descended to a lower corridor, and after passing another group of guards, they finally ended up in front of the steel door.

"The prisoner was prepared, chained up, and is awaiting you, signorina" the guard told Lucia" Are you absolutely sure that you don't want the escort?"

"She is not an unreasonable person" Lucia stated, slowly approaching the door" If she wanted to do something to me, she would do so when I was a newborn"

"I get that... but..."

"I am strong" Lucia curtly replied, before pointing at Touma" And he will more than suffice. Thank you for your consideration, but this is a private matter. I wish no one else was there"

"If that's your wish, signorina, then so be it. The guards will be outside the door, just enough for any call to reach us" the man saluted, and marched away.

"They seem to have some respect for you" Touma remarked quietly.

"It wasn't always like that. They are military force that's hundreds of years old, so for the mos part, they didn't really treat us seriously. Yet, some time ago, Agnese Forces collaborated with them in stopping some terrorists who wanted to torch Vatican Archives. Long story, but they do not consider us a bunch of little girls anymore"

Lucia whispered back with a voice tinged with a bit of pride and self-satisfaction. Then, she focused back on the door.

"It's time"

"Right"

"Try not to touch them with your right hand. The mechanism is enchanted to allow only the entrance of pre-selected people, by identifying the mana. The mechanical locks were already unlocked, but I have to open the magical ones"

"Oh, so it's like magical iris scanning!"

"What is iris scanning?"

"A biometric lock that uses AI and algorithms to match the pattern of someone's iris in the base to unlock doors. In Academy City..." Touma paused, noticing blank face Lucia was giving him.

Like most magicians, she had very limited knowledge of cutting edge technology of Academy City. Sure, retinal and iris scanners were rather common in some places nowadays, but it was not surprising that magical battle nuns never heard of them.

"Never mind that, continue"

Upon Lucia's touch and clearly spoken password, something clicked in the mechanism, and the doors opened.

They stepped into the dimly lit room. The only portion of the stone chamber that moonlight illuminated was the silhouette of a woman with blond hair, blue eyes, and the prison clothing in colours of black and white.

The blue eyes, still in the shadow cast by the downturned face, narrowed, as the prisoner raised her head.

"I was waiting for you" she spoke lazily, as if she was awaken from the nap.

Yet her body indicated that she was very much awake.

Touma clenched his fist, as Lucia crossed eyes with the prisoner.

"I know you were." the serious nun spat out coldly" And here I am, to settle things between us, mother"

Lidvia Lorenzetti stretched her body, raising her head, and smiling at two of them

"Took you long enough"

(MEANWHILE)

Three divine participants of the bond-strengthening survival trip huddled together in the deep shelf. Due to very warm clothes, and the fact that they were hugging each other, shielded from the wind, they managed to get a bit of sleep.

Then, Niang-Niang, wanting to redeem herself for leaving the backpack above the chasm, suggested that she would go to retrieve it.

Othinus, who was already fed up with being between a snoring Niang-Niang and still slightly shivering Nephthys, agreed without much of a resistance.

As all of them would have to leave the chasm anyway, they began to climb up. Niang-Niang, being the most agile, went up first. Then was the most unsteady Nephthys, who was trying her best to gain some equilibrium. Othinus closed the climbing column.

"Honestly, if not for the fact that your demise would hurt me too, I would have left you to freeze" Othinus grumbled under her breath.

"Well, you cannot exactly change location like we can even if you wanted to" Nephthys chided back" And you can always end this thing. I am, for one thing, respectful and intrigued of our mortal's challenge for us. Aren't you, Othinus?"

"I do not need any challenge to know that my place is next to him"

"We don't either. But it's just a matter of trust. We made a geas between ourselves, which should be enough, but this is not really a proper way to build trust"

"I am at the top! Wohoo!" Niang-Niang cheered.

"Don't shout, you idi-... Nephthys, get your butt off my face!"

"I am climbing, I am climbing. Hmph, so impatient, no sensitivity whatsoever"

Finally, they got to the top, panting and wheezing, trying to catch their breaths.

"Right, let's start searching for the bagpack... it shouldn't be that far from here..."

So they got to digging through the snow. Before finally...

"Yes" Othinus exclaimed triumphantlly, raising the bag over her head and stretching herself in victory" We are sav-"

It happened in the blink of an eye. A feathery shape zoomed down from the heavens, yanked the brightly coloured bagpack from Othinus' arms, and flew away, getting away in a slower but steady pace, leaving three women behind and below.

"E-Eh?" uncharacteristic confusion etched onto Othinus' face, as she stayed frozen in a triumphant pose, with her hands up, for few moments longer.

"H-Hey!" Niang-Niang was the first to snap back from shock" You thief! Give this back! This is not yours!"

Yet the bird was already too far. Throwing anything at him was out of the question.

If she wasn't so chilled and miserable, Nephthys would really laugh at the face Othinus was making right now.

But the situation wasn't really laughing-worthy.

(BACK IN THE PRISON)

Touma leaned next to the wall, as two blond women pierced themselves with gazes of blue eyes.

"I don't think you came here to only stare at me" Lidvia scoffed at Lucia" Do you want a praise or something?"

"Praise?" Lucia gritted her teeth" Judging from the fact that you left me behind, a praise would be like asking for both heaven and earth. So you are not even going to question it? Or did you know all along?"

"So loud! Well, what's good in denying it now?" Lidvia's dignified brow furrowed a little" I never felt any desire to come forward about it, but I won't back down now that you connected the dots. Did I know I had a daughter? Yes. Did I know that it was you, from the words alone? Of course not. But I knew my daughter will come to me one day and it's becoming pretty obvious when we are here together. Just one look in the mirror would do... you look like a spitting image of me when I was younger."

"No denying that either... Also, why are you even here? I thought that you got some special treatment because of your involvement in God's Right Seat investigation?"

"I was. But I don't like when orders of earthly law conflict with my divine mission. But I may get an earlier leave if I, as they said, behave. But let's not delve into that. I am sure you have questions. As a matter of fact, I want to say some things too. So, if we may, firstly..."

She turned to Kamijou Touma, scanning him from head to toe with a focused, neutral visage.

"We finally meet up close, Kamijou Touma."

"Yeah... hello, Lorenzetti-san. It's nice to put a disembodied voice to the face"

"Who would have thought that someone titled One-Above-God would look so... ordinary"

"Well, in my experience..." Touma spoke up in contemplation" Being ordinary is the best compliment misfortunate person can ge-"

"Or so I would like to say. But it is obvious that you are someone with formidable power and skill. Even if not the brightest, you couldn't defeat Oriana and thwart my plan while being just an ordinary highschool student"

"I know I have to go make-up classes, but that was uncalled for! Don't straight out stab my sense of self-identity! I really am a normal highschool you can find anywhere."

"Kamijou, being in denial is not a superpower"

"You too, Lucia? Why is this poor Kamijou being the one ganged upon here?"

"I heard that you also helped to arrange this meeting."

"Yes. I know... a thing or two about wanting to understand your parents better. I wanted to help Lucia-san, even if it would reveal something unpleasant"

Lucia looked at him discreetly. She knew that Touma was referring to his memory loss. Even if his parents were alive, he had little knowledge of them, since his episodic memory worth 15 years was totally gone.

"Also, when I first saw you, I instantly thought of Lucia-san."

"Through what?"

"I guess through... intuition of the lover of older women?"

Lidvia's shoulder shook as she chuckled.

"So amusing... and lax, too..." she shook her head" Your mannierisms and display of embarrassment are just like your father's"

"You met my father?" Touma asked in surprise.

"As a matter of fact I did, when I was trouble with that little runaway Balbina. Even if he was a little quaint, he deeply intrigued me with his devotion to solving the misfortune of his only son. He was searching for good luck charms on his travels and no matter where we went, we ended up bumping into each other. I decided to help him out by giving him some low-level talismans. It's actually interesting... he kept saying this about misfortune and destiny... and it is quite a thing that our paths met, mine and Kamijou Touya's, when I had no idea that this misfotunate son is a boy I will have to oppose to put science under my foot. I learned that this boy and Kamijou Touma were one and the same after the fact. And also, it is even more interesting that as our paths met, likewise, his son is fraternizing with my daughter."

"I-I have the suspicion you got the wrong picture..." Touma waved his hands." We are nothing like that"

The young battle nun didn't say a word, but her eyes narrowed slightly at the word 'fraternize'.

Lucia then crouched down in front Lidvia.

"As interesting of little trivia this might be, let's get to business. I am not here to talk long. I am not here to throw tantrums. I am not going to pretend we are suddenly a functioning family, when you obviously never allowed for that to be the case. I guess what I want to ask is simply... why?"

"Why? Speak more clearly!"

"Why..." Lucia swallowed back her anger." You are a Vatican citizen, right? And a member of the clergy. Why did you have a child? And why... why did you abandon me?"

Even with nearly flawless control of her voice, it trembled, just a little.

"Ah, that" Lidvia said, as if she wasn't aware that it was the main topic of Lucia's visit" Probably it's best to start to from the beginning. Yes, you are right, I was born in Vatican, as a daughter of high ranked member of gendarmerie and one of the female workers in the archives. I was a happy child, growing up amongst the gardens and museums of the Holy City."

"Until your mother left. We heard about it during our search" Lucia interjected.

"My mother..." Lidvia's face tensed a little bit" does not exist to me. She left us for other man. Even if it meant abandoning her religion. Apparently, father was too busy with his duties for her. What a bunch of lies! At the end of the day, she was just a lying heathen"

"But the witnesses said that you were often toge-"

"Those were mistakes!" Lidvia spat out, a bit breathlessly" When my father got ill, I prayed, and through grace of heavens he got better. He was always telling me that faith was the answer to suffering and heartache. So I devoted my light to spreading it, to have everyone knew how liberating it would be. If everyone were connected through Christ, and truly gave their hearts to the Lord, they would be one in Him. No tragedy or separation would befall others. From the moment I was initiated, from the moment I gazed upon divine visions of Saints and Prophets, I understood that this religion was the only way. The only way for love to be sustained in the cruel world. In word's our our Doctor of Church, Saint Augustine, the evil is simply the absence of good. If God is goodness, and our religion vehicle of this goodness, then it was only natural that those who wrought evil on this world were such because they weren't enlightened and informed of salvation through sacrifice of Christ. I knew from the very beginning that I have to save those by introducing them to way of light."

Lidvia glanced at Touma

"I heard that you are quite an adventuring spirit, boy. That you too want to save others, who were left hopeless and alone. That you frown upon the suffering befalling the bystanders and innocent. In this case, you should be able to easily understand me"

"I heard that you don't like to involve innocents. I also believe that you have the drive to save those around the world" Touma admitted slowly" But don't compare us like that. I would never try to convince someone to be saved because of the external reason. You only save through conversion. You save through christianity, you don't save people for who they are"

Lidvia raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? I was under the impression that by saving someone, you do it through some principle. I think christianity and teachings of the Lord will save souls. Those teachings are, as a theory, pure and virtuous. So wouldn't be beneficial if whole world was exposed to them?"

"I said it many times and I say it now" Touma spoke, unconvinced" It is just as important how you get the job done as what you are doing. I would never sacrifice people to get such a result. And what about the people who don't want to be christian? Don't deny that you would eliminate them!"

"Those people would threaten our faith"

"No, they wouldn't, if you left them alone. The problem isn't if your belief is right, it is that you consider everything else wrong. Let me guess, you think that since christianity is the only way, the people who are not christian are such only because the teachings you want to preach weren't presented to them yet. So if they are presented and someone still does not want to convert, they are lost cause to you!"

Lidvia didn't move for some time, before laughing quietly under her breath

"I heard the rumours, but you truly are as unorthodox as they say. I can see it in your eyes, boy. Even with all the vile things you clearly heard about me, you still think how to save me. Would you do that?"

"Yes"

"Despite everything I did or what I might do?"

"Yes, I would"

"Hmm... so let me ask you, Kamijou Touma, how exactly are we different? We are both pursuers of salvation for those that surround us. You are bringing it about with fist and extended hand, I do it through words and my talent to see hidden potential. Wouldn't both of us go to extreme lengths, throw ourselves in the always open arms of insanity, if it would meant salvation of the world and those in it?"

"I have a feeling that we are talking about two very different worlds" Touma remarked coldly.

"Really?" Lidvia's lips twisted slightly in devious wickedness" What is salvation to you then? Is it getting them away from danger and peril? Or maybe giving them happiness? Yes, that seems likely, given your personality. Salvation is bringing others into world of smiles, a future where everyone can smile at ease. But you do realize that smile is brought about through different means? Are you really able to say that you save everyone without discrimination, when someone's reason to smile may be the suffering of others? You do so, just like I do it too. Don't you deny them salvation if salvation means happiness and fulfillment? What about people who gave up? Who don't want to live anymore because of variety of reasons? You come from the nation that had a lot to do with the concept of honourable death, so it might be a bit of stereotypical generalization, but I thought it would not be totally alien to you. Is death salvation, if it brings release? Or maybe you are self-righteous, and think you can see the hearts of others, knowing what kind of salvation is on the spot?"

"Of course I can't! I know I can't save everyone, I am only human."

There was no day that Touma didn't regret this particular inability.

"I never said I could save everyone either" Lidvia retorted" If someone is stubborn, they are damned. Yes, Kamijou Touma. Different choices were made, but our starting point was the same. What if everyone could be saved? What if tragedies could be avoided? What if..."

She clenched her fist, looking at the grey sky outside.

"What if we didn't have to suffer too?"

Looking at her, Touma suddenly understood why this woman, this crazed, fanatical zealot, was so dangerous. Lidvia was determined and incredibly intelligent. Those characteristics, combined with crazy level of devotion and incredible insight on how to use particular people's talents, warranted the fact that even someone like the one pretending to be Laura Stuart, the Great Demon Coronzon, considered her a worthy person to be a formidable enemy.

Something strange, akin to the mixture of awe and revulsion, rose up in Touma's soul and as he clashed his gaze with Lidvia Lorenzetti.

"Yes, Kamijou Touma, even though this blasphemous right hand is an affront to God's order of creation..." Lidvia's gaze lowered down Touma's right arm" I will say something I should probably not be saying: you appear to be a respectable adversary. I do hope we will get the chance to meet on another occasion. It also explains why my daughter must have taken an interest. If she is anything like me, you must beware. Though, from what I heard, you might be the type to attract the woman who want to kill you"

"Some actually did... no, wait! Again, it's not like that!"

"Ekhm!"

Lucia cleared her throat, both to remind of her presence, and to cover her embarrassment.

"Maybe let's get back to answering my question? I am sure that if you go into ideology war, we will be here all day long"

"Hmm, speaking from your experience with him?"

"Bah... where is this coming from? Just tell me!"

"Alright, alright, so impatient... but well, it began with an idea I had while studying the marian hymns..."

(MEANWHILE)

Nephthys was moving as fast as she could, her heterochromic eyes dilated in fright.

Behind her, running with a terrifying roar, was a brown bear.

"Ah... ah... ah... why is this happening to me?!" the egyptian beauty cried through the mountain forest.

(EARLIER...)

They were left without any kind of food and supplies.

Normally, this was not a problem. They could just will anything they desired into existence.

Buuuut, due to the trial they were undertaking, neither was eager, on their pride, to use their divine powers. That would meant giving up.

With human bodies, came human urges of tiredness, hunger, and thirst, all three feeling them to some degree.

Niang-Niang, always the one to get to heart of most intimate of problems in brutal honesty, shifted from foot to foot.

"You know, I kind of wonder... I wasn't a human in millennia, but does getting human bodies and having to eat means that we have to worry about it going through... the other side? We lost the supplies, but we will eventually have to eat... and after a while it will go... out, right?"

"I suppose we are ought to..." Othinus mused out loud.

She shifted in size, and now sat on Niang-Niang's arm.

After a short moment, she shrugged

"Well, in any case, I saw Nephthys stuffing some bandages in her clothes, for what exactly, I have no idea. They would be of good use"

Nephthys gasped audibly, pressing her hands to her chest with an absolutely appalled face.

"How dare you!" she said, visibly paling" T-Those are holy cloths of the dead, not an emergency toilet paper!"

"From a practical perspective, I really don't see the difference" Othinus looked at Nephthys with great seriousness" Besides, in dire times, everyone has to make sacrifices"

"It is easy to make sacrifices when you sacrificing what is not yours!"

Ultimately, they decided that they will deal with this particular problem when the need arises. Instead, Othinus devised a strategy to get food.

Said strategy involved luring a prey into a trap and then killing it. Othinus was the mastermind of the plan, Niang-Niang set it up and was about to deliver the killing blow.

Which left...

"I hate thiiiiiis!" Nephthys squealed, her silver-white hair flowing beside her like a veil of moonlight, the bear chasing after her.

"Why am I the bait?" she shouted at Othinus as they made a plan.

"It's only fair. You are the only one without a part to play in the plan. Plus, there is one more thing... you smell pretty strongly"

"It's because..." Nephthys bit her tongue, and decided not to reveal that while she naturally smelled like myrrh (the oil made from it was used to embalm mummies), she added touches of cinnamon and sandalwood because Touma enjoyed it and because it reminded both of them of the times she danced with him and when he hugged her, as she cried for herself for the first time in eons.

Now, being chased on empty stomach, she was crying from a very different reason

Niang-Niang was certain that her smell would lure a predator. But Nephthys would never imagine that she would be right.

Nephthys veered to the right, and flailed her arms just on the edge of the cliff.

If not the fact that the bear was just behind her, she would probably be able to regain her equilibrium. But the fact was that the enormous beast lunched towards her didn't do the situation any additional favours.

However, two things occurred.

First, the fragment of the cliff Nephthys was running on broke, causing the brown skinned woman in a coat to fall diagonally downwards.

Second, because of that, bear flew over her head, into the empty air above the edge.

Nephthys could have sworn that the bear looked just as surprised as she was.

In the next moment, something even more absurd transpired.

Nephthys, gaining velocity, felt herself being choked, as her coat hooked itself on one of the thicker branches of one of the pines growing on the slope.

The tree bent... and bent... and bent...

Yet, just before she was asphyxiated, she was shot backwards, as if she was in some whacky cartoon.

The bear and the goddess flew in opposite directions, up and down.

As the animal fell into the depths of the valley, to its doom, Nephthys flew through branches and trees, crashing into wood and snow, before descending to the ground.

She crash landed like a sack of potatoes. Granted, divinely beautiful sack of potatoes, but sack of potatoes nonetheless.

"Phew! Pwah!"

She spat out dirt and snow, as she slowly rose up.

Her hair was sticky thanks to tree sap, and had needles and small branches in it.

But Nephthys, through her frustration, cried out in happiness, with tears on her cheeks.

"Ah, just how fragile is the mortal life. And how glad I am that even though bruised and battered... such new sensation, truth be told... I kept mine"

Still, she was more than furious with so called plan. Especially since her stomach was growling even louder now.

"Where are they? When I find them, I am going to give them a piece of my mind"

Nephthys didn't know however just how much more her patience... no, patience of all three of them... will be tested in close future.

(MEANWHILE)

Sherry Cromwell, dressed in stylish black winter coat, huffed and puffed, dragging half-crafted statue onto the small circle of free space in the midst of trees.

"I learned my lesson. But I won't be deterred" she said, panting, and wiping her brow with her hand.

Over the last couple of days, Angelene broke many of her statue prototypes. And last evening, Amazora did it even more. This was the reason why Sherry had lots of private space in the Female Dorm.

But no matter, Sherry thought to herself, if I go deep enough into the forest, there is no way they will wreck it here. Genius!

She tapped her brown cheek and scratched her head as she examined the block half-shaped block of stone. What could she make?

Her eyes lit up. Maybe a gift for Kamijou?

While they didn't spend time all too often, it was true that he came to respect him and was very grateful to him. Yes, some statue of a mature, caring women... that was his type, right? He would surely be pleased.

But as soon as she took the chisel and hammer to her hands...

"ROOOOOAAAAAAR!"

Something smashed into the raw material, smashing it into pieces and blowing a cloud of dust above the clearing. The earth controlling magician was blown back and fell. For the first moments, she could not see, smell or hear anything.

As Sherry sneezed and coughed from the dust, the air cleared out. She looked at what once was her sculpting material, her jaw dropped.

She blinked a few times, looked again. Her mouth opened and closed, and opened again.

"What?" she finally asked, incredulously, her eye twitching.

Sherry was a golem user, a magician, and decoder. She saw and experienced many things.

But a bear dropping from the sky and bombarding her sculpture was truly not one of them.

(MEANWHILE)

As Lidvia got to the issue at hand, continuing her story, the sky turned from grey to pale blue.

"As I secured my rank in the Church, completed the missionary work to quite a few countries, and conducted many rituals of self-sacrfice, to offer my body to Lord, and with pain of my whipped and starved body pay at least the part of the insolvent price of our sins, I realized that something was amiss. That I was too self-centered in all of this. I needed to give more, to offer more, to dedicate my flesh and blood in ways that transcended my own life... I needed to give Lord a child that would grow to be the most devoted solider of faith, when my time on this mortal coil passes... child was a perfect gift. And I would ensure it would solidify my ultimate devotion to the Lord"

"But... how? We went through your medical examinations, they were made until..." Touma trailed off" Until some point 18 years ago... Lucia, how old are you?"

"I am 17" the younger blond responded.

"Adding the pregnancy, it would be 18... I suppose it would make sense..." Lidvia tilted her head deep in thought" Because if you are talking about the fact that by all physical examinations, I was a virgin, it was the truth. I did get pregnant. However, physical traits that attested my virginity were not breached"

"How?"

"Like I said, I was studying the hymns to Virgin Mary. And then it occurred to me. Holy Virgin is one of the most respectable, most virtuous examples to any woman. I realized that to elevate myself to heights of greater holiness, I had to emulate her to truly understand... and I did..."

"No..." Lucia paled, taking a step backwards" You tried to... replicate the Immaculate Conception?"

"Yes, I did. To do this, I even forsaken the rules and used the medical practices forbidden by church. I became pregnant without sexual intercourse. How magnificent! How sublime! How holy!"

Touma thought that he couldn't be right about what he was seeing, but now, he had no doubt.

Lidvia was panting slightly, her cheeks coloured, and strange light glimmered in her eyes, eyes identical to those of Lucia.

She was, for all intents and purposes, elated, to a rather unhealthy degree.

"As regrettable as it is, in this sinful world all can be solved with money. The clinic and doctors were paid well enough to keep quiet for years. And for someone tasked with missionary work, hiding the pregnancy was easier than it appears. When I came back from hiding, I gave birth... and it was truly..."

She shivered, almost convulsed. Chains rattled, as she put her hands together, as if in prayer, her lips slightly parted.

"...sublime and divine... so painful, and yet with each moment of pain, I felt closer to Virgin Mary than anyone else... of course, it was a mere imitation, a child's pantomime, because no one can truly be worthy to have exact experience that was bestowed upon the mother of our Lord... but still, oh still... it was the closest one could ever get... birth without sinful frivolity, bestowing the world with the innocent child for God's glory..."

Touma did not understand everything. But he felt anger just for mere fact that Lucia, who was exceptionally good at keeping stone cold face most of the time, bit her lip subtly, in almost unnoticeable manner.

"Who..." she said, willing her voice to be steady" Who is my father?"

"I don't know" Lidvia shrugged" The only criteria I went for was that the source to combine with my egg was a healthy man and christian. Anyone else would taint the wondrous experience. I never bothered to find him. And honestly, after your birth, I had no direct use for you either. The eccstasy was over, and by no means could a respectable member of clergy be seen with a daughter. Can you imagine, me being a mother?"

"No" Lucia answered, her tone reverting back to icy coldness" Can't really say I am able to"

"I gave you a name, after saint Lucia, patron of the date of your birth, and arranged for you to be found by nuns loyal to me, and then by Orsola. She was once my pupil, you know, we did some preaching work together. She is a true believer, and incredible nun, but so easily manipulated... she believed that the child found on the doorstep was just some random foundling, and took you to the orphanage. Yes..."

Lidvia ignored the stare Lucia was giving her and made a small bow.

"My daughter, don't think that I fully left your life."

"Must have slipped my notice, given that you appeared for a whole zero seconds since leaving me on the cold"

"I carefully arranged your teachers, I made you a devoted follower of the divine law that you are today."

"You left me alone, without anyone, in orphanage or not!"

"Oh, but do you think I am a monster?" Lidvia gasped" I did provide you company. I knew that there is only so much one can do alone. So to give you allies in fighting for God, and to reinforce your belief, I pulled even more strings"

"Me having a company in orphanage was thanks to wonderful people that happened to have same misfortune of sharing same fate. Don't you think you are being narcissistic here?"

"You mean the poor Agnese Sanctis, whose parents were murdered out of the blue? Or little Angelene, whom her parents conveniently abandoned in the middle of the trip? Or perhaps you might mentioned the fact that they just happened to be found be Orsola, and taken to the same orphanage as you?"

Lucia's fair face was naturally pale, but now it became almost ghastly so. She was transfixed at relaxed face of Lidvia

"No... you didn't... if you put one finger on them... if you caused-" she rose up, lifting her hand...

But it was stopped by another. Touma swiftly grabbed Lucia's arm.

"Hey..." he said calmly" remembered what you asked of me before we came here?"

Lucia seemed to not register her surroundings for a few seconds, but then coherence flashed back in her eyes and she lowered her arm.

"Right... thank you" she whispered, so only Touma could hear her.

Then she looked back at Lidvia.

"I see. Then, I think that for now, I have all I need."

"If you want, there is a lot that I can teach you. There are lot more secrets that would give you higher status, higher ability to serve both God and your fellow sisters" Lidvia pressed on.

Yet, Lucia crouched down with a face that said it all.

"No"

"No?"

"No. I have nothing to learn from you... nor do I have the intention of listening to a fake believer"

Lidvia's eyes narrowed, and her smile thinned. For the first time since the start of the visit, the neutral face turned into more hostile.

"You dare to say-"

"Yes, I do. I do not need you, mother. I just desired to confirm something. To confirm, by seeing you eye to eye, what I already knew long ago: you are incapable of loving. And you are incapable of being a true believer"

Lidvia was silent for a moment, before jerking her head upward. Her grin was toothy, pupils small, eyes bulged out, with absolutely fanatic look to them.

"You cannot escape this!" she snarled in a feral fashion" You have no idea how much I sarificed to understand and feel the depths of this faith, how much time I spent, getting your life to the point it is now. I created you for a glorious purpose! Once I get out, and believe me that I will, the time will come when you will need me"

"I think you have something backwards here. Like I said, those who made me who I am are my family and friends. You gave me life, but I don't owe you a single second of it, nor a single thing in this life. I am your daughter, there is no denying that. But I will make this name on my own. What you expected to happen? That I will obediently follow you when you pulled the strings after throwing me away in the name of your glorious purpose?"

"You will not want to have me as your enemy, child. I wouldn't like to fight my own flesh and blood"

"Lying is a sin. In truth, you do not care in the slightest. And frankly..." a glint of ferocity entered Lucia's eyes" neither do I. Like I said, I don't need you. Because I have them. People who taught me how to truly praise and adore God."

"Your fellow sisters? Maybe that ditz Orsola? Or even... him?" Lidvia gave Touma an annoyed look.

Lucia was undeterred and stood her ground.

"What if it is so? What if it's him, too?" she said in a challenging tone.

"You can't be serious. Kamijou Touma is an opponent of faith, a heathen possessing the blasphemous ability that defies divine order of the universe God created"

"That may be so. He may be irresponsible, lax, and a non-believer on top of that. But he was there for me, and for ones I consider family. When I needed to be saved and lost all hope, he came for me and Angelene. He, not you. When we needed help in a fight, he got involved and did all he could to aid us... he always does this, regardless of any factor of external nature. He cared for me in his own way, even though I treated him very harshly for the longest of times. Yet after a while, even I managed to recognize what sister Agnese began to suspect: that he is a better embodiment of christian values, of kindness to other beings, than many devoted believers. Better, as hard as admitting it was, than myself."

Crazily smiling Lidvia let out a snort of disbelief.

"You are being foolish!"

"I don't care. You are right... I am Lucia Lorenzetti, in the flesh. But precisely because of that, because I am your daughter, I think it's through divine providence, that Kamijou was put on my way. Just a little bit more and I would be just like you. A manipulative zealot who is so blinded by upholding the church's rules that she forgets why God made those rules in the first place"

Lidvia's face was outright scary now. It still looked beautiful and mature, but the veins bulged on her temples, teeth were showing through parted lips, and Touma knew that the church hierarch was hiding a true onslaught of fury.

Lucia didn't seem to care about her mother's venomous visage.

"I do not want to be like I was before, because it would only breed hate. My family are those were there for me, who supported me, who wanted me happy... whom I wanted to be happy. Even if you steered my life towards your goals, my choices made it meaningful. I will choose in what and who to believe. I will choose what I hope for. And I will also choose who I love."

She turned around, showing her back to Lidvia

"I am not naive to think that this is the last time we are seeing each other, as much as I want to have nothing to do with you. I will need to get to the bottom of... everything, really. But a word of warning. If you lay a finger of any of those who matter to me..."

Lucia whipped her head around, showcasing the same crazy smile, with bared teeth, dilated pupils and fanatic fire within the gaze.

"... then I will drag you to hell myself, disregarding fate of my own soul! And this includes Kamijou Touma. With his help and support, he is more family to me than you were and ever will be"

Touma suddenly felt that room was awfully claustrophobic, with mother and daughter clashed the identical faces of madness, a truly unnerving sight.

She knew Agnese's right hand could do it. She was very skilled in using Wheel of Saint Catherine , her weapon of choice, which could explode and re-create itself, either automatically or on command. Being hit with bits of sharp wood was only part of the problem. Much more pain came when it was being recalled and forcibly pulled out.

Finally, Lucia turned back again, and with a simple:

"Farewell"

she left the room.

Touma looked at Lidvia

"What is it, boy?" she asked" Still thinking about saving me?"

"Yes" he answered" Though... were those things you said about Agnese and Angelene... what happened to them and your involvement... was it real?"

"What do you think?"

Did Lidvia really caused the murder of Agnese's parents and Angelene's abandonment?

"I don't know. I thought you didn't want to engage against innocent"

"Oh, I loathe if innocents suffer. Yes..." Lidvia lowered her head and put emphasis on the word" The innocent, yes... but other than that..."

That cryptic answer caused Touma to think that maybe he got himself in something more complicated and messy than just a simple family conflict.

As he was exiting the cell, he heard Lidvia say

"Take care of my rebellious daughter, Kamijou Touma. It would be a shame if you two met your end before I could crush you and your convictions one day"

Touma caught up to Lucia when she was exiting the upper corridor of the prison.

"Hey, Lucia..."

The girl was silent, as they were escorted outside be the guards.

They stepped outside, waiting for the gondola to arrive.

The snow died down, and in the light of the morning, the mountainous valleys could be clearly visible.

Only when they sat down, looking at this view, Touma realized that Lucia was shaking slightly. But because of the cold.

"Everything that happens here, stays here" he heard her say.

He nodded and felt her scoot closer.

"Thank you, for stopping me there." she whispered" It would be unwise to commit such a grave sin... it wouldn't be worth it..."

He smiled, unsurely.

"Of course"

"And what I said... I meant it. I really think that you are essential part of Forces' life now. And... I wish to repent, okay? For how I treated you when we first met"

"Don't mention it. What matters is that it is better now"

Yes, Lucia was harsh, a stickler, and had troubles in relaxing. But they both knew that in contrast to their first encounter, they could trust one another.

The trembling intensified.

Touma realized that for this proud and stern girl keeping a straight face in situation like this had to be really taxing and certainly didn't go without an echo.

"Do you want to cry?" he asked silently.

Her head, almost on his shoulder, nodded lightly.

"I meant it" she repeated" You helped me a lot. The least I could do is give you a bit of faith and assume that you won't take advantage of my weakness..."

With those words, she hugged him, her blond hair tickling his cheek.

It was a pretty big exception. As far as Touma knew, even though Lucia toned down her extremism, she absolutely didn't allow any man to touch her, in any form.

He felt honoured, and realized that in this way, this strong, brave young woman could cry without her face being seen.

Honouring that desire, he instinctively hugged her back, delicately but with enough firmness to convey his support.

Lucia didn't say anything, but Touma felt her trembling died down slowly. His shoulder got progressively wetter, but he paid it no mind. He did not speak, for he wished to live longer, and nun he held in his arms could be terrifyingly crazy when angered.

So they just rested in each other's embrace, focusing on each other's warmth and presence.

Little did they know that this would be the beginning of the bond that would last a lifetime.

Even amongst many, many bonds Kamijou Touma would have in the future, this one was unique.

Despite the fact that they held certain adoration for each other, they never formally married nor have kids in any of the futures. In some aspects, they were worlds apart.

But they also came to trust each other, and confide with one another on a sublime, wordless level. Level, on which one touch, gesture, or look spoke more than thousands of words. They were to sleep side by side on many nights and find harmony in kissing each other's lips, despite Lucia's upholding of virgin status.

It was the level of emotional synergy rarely achieved. He brought her back when her crazy side risked burning bridges. She grounded him when he got too far in pursuit of ideals.

And between that, there was faith, hope, and of course, love. Not primal, reproductive love, but a kinship of souls, firm yet ethereal bond between two people, agape, understood as Aleister Crowley would understand it: selfless, unconditional love, and harmony with one's own will. The adoration of soul, respect of mind, and admiration of body. That was what bonded Kamijou Touma and Lucia Lorenzetti.

(MEANWHILE)

Niang-Niang's eye twitched, as she breathed heavily against the wall of the cave.

She promised, she would keep her cool. She had no place in rivalry Othinus and Nephthys had with each other. She agreed to this arrangement because she wasn't the one to back down from the challenge, and she kind of wanted to impress Touma with her resilience. Yes, she wanted to not only be cute, but also fierce in front of him.

But instead, mess and chaos kept escalating...

'Ugh, curse this mortal stomach'

Sleep deprived, hungry, cold. Not having a worry over their own survival for millenia made them sloppy, Niang-Niang had to admit this much.

Nephthys, who sat in front of her, looked as if she was through a tornado. And Othinus... well, despite being the most well-composed, Shijie-Xian was not sure if the same if the same could be said about her inward mood. No, scratch that, she could definitely say Othinus wasn't as calm as she tried to appear.

Now, they were sitting near the entrance to the cave with the way out blocked. How did it happen, you might ask?

Firstly, Nephthys was searching for nearly an hour to find Othinus and Niang-Niang.

Why?

They fell into the hole.

"How could you fell into the trap you set in?" Nephthys asked in annoyance.

"It wasn't the hole, it was a hole" Niang-Niang said, after she and Othinus managed to crawl up the drop they fell into." Not our hole, the one we set up, a different hole"

"You are telling me there was a random, masked hole in the middle of the forest?"

"Yeah? Maybe some hunter left it here."

"Why didn't you pay attention where you were going?"

"You made noise over entire mountain, I wanted to check on you"

"Aww..." if she wasn't sleepy, tired, dirty, and hungry, Nephthys would have smiled at the fact that her friend cared" Anyways... what are we to do now?"

"Hunting again will not do us any good as we are" Othinus said to them" So we should probably focus on gathering"

So they did. And soon, on the shrubs, they discovered berries.

After more searching, and determining that those were indeed the only edible fruits in the vicinity, they managed to find some mushrooms.

After some deliberation on whether or not they should eat it, the hunger prevailed, because neither of them was accustomed to it. Othinus was the only one who managed to resist and advised cooking the food first, but they didn't listen.

Of course, as seemed to be routine now, it didn't go well.

Only 5 minutes passed and Niang-Niang threw up, catapulting Othinus from her shoulder into the rather unpleasantly smelling snow.

As for Nephthys, it took her nearly an hour to come back from strange state euphoria that the uncooked mushrooms got her into. The silly giggles, lack of coordination, and body tension of a wet noodle, meant that when the sun hid behind the clouds and already cold mountain weather worsened even more, moving to shelter became difficult. Yet, finally, they managed to find an entrance to the cave in the mountainside.

Niang-Niang felt acid in her mouth, Othinus smelled like vomit and dirt, Neephthys still looked a bit woozy, and they looked absolutely awful.

"Méiguānxì, méiguānxì, nǐ kěyǐ zhèyàng zuò..." she calmed herself down, gritting her teeth.

But Othinus, who was clearly the most tired out of them, didn't took the accidents of the last hours kindly.

"Why didn't you listen to me?" she sighed in annoyance" It was obvious that eating things raw would not end well"

"What about..." Nephthys began, scrunching her face.

Even though she came to her senses, it was obvious that she had trouble focusing her attention. Her two differently coloured eyes couldn't find focus.

"What about you? You were the one who let some stupid bird take our stuff"

"Hey" Niang-Niang interrupted them sharply" Maybe let's focus on the fact we are alive. We are already strained beyond compare. I never felt so spent in millenias past. What else can possibly happen?"

There was an ominous cracking sound from beneath them.

Niang-Niang swallowed hard.

"You have to be kidding me!"

"Human always says that saying things like that or 'it couldn't be any worse', will always tempt something to-"

Othinus didn't manage to finish. The floor of the cave, possibly weakened through erosion via moisture or mechanical impact, gave way under them.

All three of them fell down. As they did, they collided with each other.

And then, they began to slide down.

Embracing each other, the trio slid down the slide in total darkness.

No amount of experience and wisdom could stop three embracing females from screaming, as they travelled down and down and down, the terribly narrow passageway causing them to separate a few times, but afterwards, always bringing them back together...

Finally, they were dropped onto solid ground of some tunnel way below the level on which they started.

For a moment, they didn't move, too stunned and dizzy to speak.

"Is everyone... alive?"

"I am..." Nephthys replied slowly" And form the feeling I have all over me, Othinus is too. Did you shifted in size on the way here?"

"Yes, I did. So..." Othinus sighed in darkness" that was a total bust"

With a roar, the cascade of rocks following and blowing over the cloud of fine particles in the air.

Nephthys punctuated the silence that followed with a storm of coughing, as the rock dust got to her throat.

The darkness sucked the quiet, but still distinct sound in a rather ominous manner

"Alright..." Nephthys muttered, sniffing and shaking her head" So it could get worse"

"What now?"

"Now... we try to get out. Niang-Niang, grab our hands. We cannot become separated here, no matter what. Without light, we may never find each other again. Let's go forward, close to the walls, and think of a plan. I will lead the way"

(SOME TIME LATER...)

"Are you ready for this?" Touma asked Amazora, as they were about to journey down the skiing piste.

The smaller blond grinned and put on the goggles.

"I was born ready, let's do this!"

Touma moved forward, skiing without a great finesse, but with a degree of skill nonetheless.

Amazora zoomed past him with a cry of bravery on her lips, forcing him to sharply turn and chase her, riding down the slope alongside her with a fast, hair-rising speed. It wasn't the speed which he used to relax while skiing on his own, but he wanted to give Amazora a good time.

While Touma and the sisters went to the slope after he returned from prison and ate breakfast, he was admittedly rather worried.

After all, he had absolutely no memory of ever skiing, and while he wanted to spend quality time with his family, he feared that he will have no ability whatsoever.

But no. Apparently, as was the case with some physical exercises, muscle memory was retained, and after initial uncertainty, he got to skiing with a boosted confidence in his ability.

In that case, Touma had to learn it somewhere, before he lost his memories. He was kind of curious when and where.

Maybe on some holidays in his childhood? Surely he couldn't afford the artificial skiing Academy City offered.

He knew that this was the case for Gokusai sisters, and they frequented to such facility from time to time in winter seasons.

Amazora was having a time of his life. She was clearly a natural, and even dared to jump into the air and rotate, which caused Touma's heartrate to rise. But she always landed safely, and in sharp, energetic fashion, continued the descent into lower part of the slope.

Kaibi caught up to them, staying just a little behind. Contrary to vibrant, accelerated flair of Amazora, she was moving slower, but not without precision. Her movements were graceful, sinusoidal path of her skiing more pronounced, and there was a certain sophistication in her movements. Elegant as always, dressed in a chique winter coat, she could very well pass as a female spy tailing the enemy in the winter-themed thriller movie, or a model riding down on the skis in an advertisement for some rich company.

As Touma and Amazora continued to go down, Kaibi stopped near Rikuri.

The eldest sister was stiff on her skis, her legs shaking a little, as she stood in the middle of the piste.

"Are you anxious to go down again?" Kaibi, knowing Rikuri's usual ineptitude to some sports, asked with a smirk.

"W-Whatever you mean, K-Kaibi-chan?" Rikuri giggled in a terribly false way" I-I am way down... t-that means I-I am not afraid, right?"

"Yes, we rode down four times already, and you didn't even complete one"

"K-Kaibi-chan, I told you many times that o-one of ladies best q-qualities is patience." the beautiful chemist tried not to look down" I-I am a tender and delicate flower. How would I be a pleasant view for Touma to enjoy if I got a bruise or bump, and how would I contrust or synthesize chemicals with more serious injuries?"

"I told you just as many times that decisiveness is as important as patience. And we can patch you right back up if something happens. Academy City is quite advanced in that regard, you should know that. So, hop!

"Wha-... no, Kaibi-chaaaaaan!"

Kaibi pushed Rikuri on the back.

The Potion Lady tried to maintain her precious equilibrium, but her big chest, and distribution of weight caused by it, worked against her.

Soon Rikuri's skis found friction and she started to move down.

"I am right behind you nee-san"

"That is not reasuring at aaaaaaall!"

After a few more moments, Amazora arrived at the bottom of the piste.

"Wohoo! I rule! This is amazing!"

Next to her, Touma came to a halt before losing his balance and tripping into the snow.

Amazora's enthusiastic cheers died down a little when Touma didn't move for next couple of seconds.

"Onii-chan?"

No reaction. Touma laid motionlessly on the cover of whiteness.

Amazora frowned and called to him again. And once again, there was no reaction.

"Hey!"

The face of the youngest sister became worried, as she disconnected herself from the skis and ran over him. She turned him onto his back.

"Hey... hey! Onii-chan, what happened? Are you hurt? What should I do... compression? Or maybe call someone? Or-"

"RAAH!"

"Kyah!"

Touma suddenly opened his arms and rose up with a overdramatic call, which caused Amazora to squeal in fright and fall backwards, panting heavily.

"Hah, got you" Touma smiled at her.

"O-Onii-chan! That wasn't funny! I thought something really did happen to you"

"Need I remind you how many times you tried to get me with the same thing?"

"That's not the same at all! I am very mad at you"

Amazora crossed her arms in rather cute display of defiance.

"Come on" the relentless high school boy pressed on, looking over her shoulder" Admit that I got you"

"Hmph!"

"Come on..." he tickled her lightly and Amazora giggled. She was always very ticklish.

"W-Well, I think you did." she finally admitted, after Touma waited up for her feelings to settle. She had a tendency to live her feelings in bursts of raw emotionality, but not for very long. She definitely wasn't a vengeful and remembering type.

After a moment more, Touma smiled gently, the way only older brother can smile towards younger sister.

"Amazora... thank you."

"Hmm?" Amazora forgot about her mad pose" For what?"

"In situations like that, when I am in danger... I can feel that I am really care for me."

Amazora raised an eyebrow, skeptical.

"Why are you telling me this now? Isn't it a bit random? Also..." she wrinkled her nose and furrowed her brow, as sting of jealousy that she worked hard to hide reared its head" I am sure that you need Kai and Rikuri nee-chan more, and that they are more useful to you"

Touma sensed that he needed to avert the influx of bitter feelings.

"No, no, I am talking about you, about what you specifically are giving me. I just... when we spend time like this as a family, I think of all of us... and we rarely talk about stuff like that, while you deserve to hear it"

A bit of jealousy melted away, but Amazora still was unsure.

"Aren't you just saying that? I know we made promises, onii-chan, and that you said that you admire each of us for different things, but-

Amazora, it is not surprising that I believe now that you care for me just as strongly as Kaibi or Rikuri. You are getting older and you are not the same girl I met in that garage."

"Yet you still mess with me!"

"There is a reason for it. I like to mess with you... because honestly, I love making you happy."

Amazora felt as if she received a hit from her own gattling gun.

"I do... love to make you happy too" she said in a happy tone, blushing a little" I think I may have my own ideas for that though"

"You don't say. You are one of the most chaotic and whimsical bundles of restless energy I know. What I am trying to say is... my life is very often a chaotic mess. One thing can go bad after another, without any telling from which side something bad will strike next. But thanks to you, I learned that chaos can be a lot of fun, sometimes. And honestly, all three of you have different languages of love. I just had to learn to embrace it."

Amazora's eyes widened.

"You... actually acknowledge that I love you just as much as my sisters?"

Touma nodded.

"Just because I can't give it a shot just yet, doesn't meant that I will belittle your feelings. We both changed a lot since we started to live together, we all did. I had to learn to recognize feelings of others, to be les... clueless in this regard, not only to preserve happiness of others, but also to make my own future happier. And you matured a lot from that oyster-loving little maniac I met during Biohacker incident"

"I knew you were cool ever since I saw you there"

"You wanted to kill me and put holes in me like a cheese"

"Being seen as a worthy target means assassin means they actually respect you enough to bother with you"

"That's why I will never get dark side logic"

They both shared a laugh.

"I knew that it was random. But... I just wanted to appreciate your effort"

Amazora often felt frustrated that she couldn't do many things Kaibi and Rikuri were able to do. But in that moment, she felt like the happiest girl ever.

And so she smiled to him, in a way that could rival the most beautiful smiles of Kaibi and most enchanting ones from Rikuri.

Not big on poetic speeches, she said simply.

"Then I am super happy onii-chan... that I can love you and have you in life"

Kamijou Touma was very content with what he said. And so was Amazora.

In fact, she fell in love with him very long ago. For a time it was a simple crush, but turned into serious feeling during her mission to find him in the Labyrinth of All Fates.

The moment was ended by the arrival of Kaibi and Rikuri.

"Sorry we took so long" Kaibi looked like she was incredibly amused" We had a bit of a situation. Rikuri was very brave"

"I was... wasn't I?" Rikuri wobbled on her feet" I think I need to... lay down..."

"Come on, let's go up one more time!"

"Amazora..."

"Pretty please, last time?"

"Alright, but you owe me for this"

So they did go up and down again, this time everyone together. It was honestly a photo worthy sight and Touma later learn that one of Rikuri's drones, put on autopilot, did in fact capture the moment.

From there, after they skied down, Amazora attempted to get her revenge, through means of hitting Touma with a snowball.

Due to him unintentionally lowering his head however, it hit Kaibi on her helmet.

"Oh? You want war?" middle sister turned around and started to form snow in her hands" Fine. You will see what I have to offer!"

In Kaibi's praise, it was excellent throw, with excellent projectile.

In Amazora's praise, she did an excellent job in evading, moving away with keen reflexes.

To Rikuri's misery, the snowball hit her straight in the face, causing her to fall backwards.

The eldest sister didn't however, contrary to logical expectation, threw down the towel or simply stayed down.

"You think you have something to offer?" Rikuri giggled maliciously with water dripping from her face" You will know onee-san's power soon enough!"

Touma watched incredulously as soon after snow started to fly everywhere. He soon decided to help Rikuri, and the snowfight turned into a true battle.

It lasted for fifteen minutes, with Kaibi and Amazora on definite advantage and with more connected hits, until Rikuri's secret weapon, a drone holding a load of freshly fallen snow quietly made its way over enemy's positions (honestly, Touma never ceased to be at awe how effortlessly Rikuri piloted those machines or how out of the blue she seemed to appear), pouring snow over second and third sister, practically turning them into human snowmen. Kaibi made a rather unladylike yelp when some of the snow fell behind her collar.

"Hey! Everyone!"

They saw Index, waving at them, with hot cocoa in her hands.

"Hey, I made everyone something to drink" she ran forward as they stopped, trying her best not to spill hot beverage.

"I see that you 'tested it'" Kaibi noted" How many times did it took?"

Index blushed and wiped whipped cream from her face.

"Just a little bit..."

"Thank you Index, I appreciate it" Touma took the cocoa, genuinely touched.

Even if she was at times a bit slothful and angry, Index was beginning to change and be proactive. It turned out that her desire to improve herself, which caused explosion in the dorm and was one of the reasons for their current living arrangement, wasn't half-baked in the slightest.

Not that Touma ever doubted that, but seeing Index putting hard work into even smallest things made his fondness for her grow exponentially.

For a moment, he felt happy.

'Maybe it is possible for all of us to get to that future' he thought to himself' Speaking of togetherness... I hope the experiment me and senpai thought of was not an overkill. Othinus and the others... how are they doing right now?"

(ON THE MOUNTAIN...)

Niang-Niang thought she was ready for this.

And yet... she was so absolutely done.

When the three of them fell down into darkness, and then were left to wander through pitch black tunel system the situation looked dire.

Fortunately, after wandering in the darkness for what seemed like eons (and all three of them had pretty good reckoning on how long eons actually felt like), all three of them managed to find a cavern with a sound of water.

Othinus reasoned, and Niang-Niang agreed with her, that if there was the stream in the cavern then if they followed it down its course, they would go outside.

So they tried to do so.

But even though they knew which direction to take from the flow of the current, due to complete darkness, they lost their way multiple times.

Finally, finally, after another eternity of wandering, squishing through very narrow passageways, they finally managed to break free, seeing open sky, with slowly falling dusk.

Panting heavily, all three of them were feeling that the breaking point was approaching faster than ever.

And then, it finally came.

"Alright, that's it" Nephthys spat out, trying to stand up on the mixture of snow and mud" I am through with this!"

"Finally, we can agree on something" Othinus whispered, wobbling up to her feet as well" I think we can all agree that it's a disaster..."

"Well, it wasn't walk in a park when someone keeps arguing over my head"

Niang-Niang didn't say anything else, but felt her eye twitching a little.

"And it's all because of you!"

Nephthys and Othinus said this at the same time, blinked, and then narrowed their eyes.

"What do you mean my fault?! I am trying to be a reasonable one here" Othinus shouted

"How? Who lost our supplies to a bird?!"

"It was not my fault directly. You on the other hand complained on every occasion, and couldn't even make for a decent bait, after which you hallucinated on raw mushrooms!"

"Says someone who couldn't even properly find way and said that they know it all because they have mountain experience and know all about frozen wastelands. Well, they do not, apparently!"

"I thought we were through this. If this is about Touma-"

"What else could it be about?"

"I am honouring our geas. I will let you become-"

"But you still treat me and Niang-Niang like lower hierarchy. Honestly, how dare-"

"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" Ninag-Niang screamed, slamming her hands down on the ground. Nephthys and Othinus looked at her in shock" I am sick and tired of you two arguing! I don't have anything against you, Othinus, in some areas I even respect you. And you are my best friend, Nephthys, now and forever. But do you have any idea how hard and annoying is being between two of you, when you whine non-stop and are so jealous of each other that you can't even go forth in your promises, despite having desire to do so?!"

Before Othinus wanted to protest, Niang-Niang pointed at her.

"You are jealous because Nephthys and Touma like each other, and she is free from burden of your guilt"

Then she turned to Nephthys

"And you still feel inferior to Othinus' position and you think she will always get a special treatment"

There was a moment of silence.

"Well, now we know that magical agreements can mitigate, but not fully resolve such emotionally loaded clashes."

"Aside from what you said, we are nothing alike. He wanted us to see eye to eye, that was his wish, but I don't know what can we have in common to really achieve this in a long run."

"Niang-Niang, why are you even upset about this so much? Quarrels betwen me and Othinus should not concern you."

"THERE IT IS!" Green eyes of smaller goddess lit up dangerously, as she too felt her anger spilling over the surface" You are doing this again! Both of you are assuming I am not in the race, that this does not concern me. Well guess what, it does. I like him a lot too. I can give him a fun adventures, lots of laughs, and pleasure not inferior to yours. So what if I am not his type of big chested older girl? I am charming, cute, fierce, and with great personality."

"You are also one of the reasons why we are in this mess. Who left that backpack before we tumbled down to the chasm? And who fell to that stupid hole?"

"We are not going to get anywhere like this. Can't you see that?"

Three women stood unsteadily, looking at each other with such stillness that they almost became a part of winter landscape.

Rivalry was deeply rooted in the nature of Magic Gods. Even ceasefires and geases didn't change it all that much.

What differed between eras and particular gods were merely objects of those rivalries.

Usually, it was reality. In this instance, Othinus, Nephthys, and Niang-Niang's hearts felt drawn to the single misfortunate boy, who never really asked for it, but they decided to love him anyway.

They were all angry and yearned completion.

Othinus crossed her arms.

The spheres of blue and gold moved as Nephthys suspiciously looked to left and right.

Niang-Niang narrowed her own eyes, hunching her back a little.

One thing was certain: none of them was about to back down from this.

"If you got so talkative, what are you suggesting?" Othinus asked.

"We are settling this by blowing off some steam" Niang-Niang explained.

"How?" Nephthys inquired" We are limited to the mortal level. What can we possibly do to satisfy our thirst for justice?"

"If we are limited to level of mortals, it's even better. Honestly, it was unsatisftying when each of us could do almost anything. No, we will do it with our own strength and bodies, human style"

"Do you mean..." Nephthys gasped in realization.

"Yeah." Niang-Niang grinned wickedly" We will fight each other now"

Othinus snorted, a futile attempt to stifle a laughter.

"Fight? I don't think you want to fight with a goddess of wa-"

A slap caused her face to turn to the side.

Nephthys looked at her hand and smiled.

"You know, this did feel rather liberat-."

The shocked face of Othinus lasted a moment.

With a hiss of fury, fist connected with Nephthys' face in a matter that would put even Kamijou Touma himself in awe.

Nephthys flew backwards a few steps, but didn't fall back. She spat out redness onto the snow.

"Fine..."

"Fine!"

As they launched at each other, they failed to notice Niang-Niang, who jumped high and tumbled onto them both, just when they were about to reach each other. All three fell onto the snow.

Othinus punched again, hitting the arm of Nephthys, before she was bitten in her own arm by Niang-Niang, who tried to get the upper hand with everything she could.

"So now you are all for loving mortals?"

"I felt a spark when we were talking about my past and then training together. I don't want to deny my willingness to try!"

"We spent much more time with him than you!"

"At least I can offer him something positive. Goddesses of War and Mourning, yeah, this is certainly someone misfortunate and with traumatized brain needs the most!"

Nephthys twisted to the side, got out the rolled up bandage from her coat, and, using it like a dancing ribbon, pulled Othinus towards herself. The blond kicked her feet, causing Nephthys to fall to the ground.

The goddess of mourning tried to stand up, but Niang-Niang snatched her hair and held it in place, causing Nephthys to squeal in protest.

Othinus sprinted back up and tried to execute another punch, just as Niang-Niang grabbed her in judo stance and flipped over her head. As Othinus slammed to the ground, Nephthys put her long legs around Niang-Niang's neck, locking her in place, and then slamming her sideways into the snow.

"Yield!"

But as Niang-Niang squirmed for air between thighs of Nephthys, muddy and furious Othinus emerged from the a small cloud of snow and dust their fight was making and threw the muddy dirt straight onto Nephthys' eyes, and then went for a headbutt, once, then twice. This allowed Niang-Niang to escape.

Nephthys cried out, temporarily blinded, but managed to use her bandage, which was still over Othinus torso and neck, to pull her adversary close and push Othinus' arms against her own.

Two of them smiled, their hair in disarray, with mud and snow all over them, as they pushed one another.

"This is really unorthodox... but I did want to do this for a long time!"

"Not as long as me! And you know why?" Nephthys savoured her words" The truth is that I can make him happy, and he can make me happy. He made me cry for joy, so when we join in union of our bodies, I will do my utmost to make sure that he will be the one crying from happiness. I will do my best to learn to be the most beautiful and most caring for him!"

"He already has enough tears. How about some smiling? I can gladly arrange that. I will be with him even if I am to live till the end of times, and follow him through all forms he would take"

"Don't leave me out of the fun!"

Niang-Niang jumped up, kicking both of them in the stomachs. As they separated, Othinus exchanged blow with Niang-Niang, and collided their fists together.

"That hurt!" the both cried out, seething in pain and falling on each other.

When Othinus came to, she noticed Niang-Niang's leg bent under her stomach. Shijie-Xian grinned, as Othinus was lanunched into the air, before falling flat like pancacke.

Meanwhile Nephthys tried to get into the scuffle, was punched again, and fell onto wet snow, accidentally causing her to do a full split.

Wet droplets appeared in her eyes.

"Eeep!"

The egyptian goddess cried tears for many reasons, but this one was new.

Then, Nephthys tried tackling both of them, and all three of them started to fall down, through mud and snow, all three trying to grab onto something while also diminish the other's victory, in the mixture of kicks, pinches, punches, grabs, pulls, pushes, heabbutts, chest ramming, and many more. All of this combined with rather imaginative mixture of curses from three native languages of the fighters.

"Not my hair! Din forfengelige sandhaug! [You vain sandbox!]" Othinus roared as this time it was Nephthys who pulled her hair.

"What's the matter Othinus? You got rusty! Nǐ xiàng gè xiǎo nǚhái yīyàng zhàndòu [You fight like a little girl!]" Niang-Niang teased, as punches were exchanged. One of them hit unsuspecting Nephthys.

As if, I am the most formidable god of war the world ever saw! Prøv meg, ditt råtne blåbær [Try me, you rotten blueberry!] Gaaah, you bit me again?!"

"Iew ir fetet ren! [Let one who hurts me fall before me!] Let go of my chest!" Nephthys shouted weakly, as Othinus grabbed her chest, trying to force her to submission through exploiting the sensitive body part through attack.

Xiōng dà dé yàosǐ![Death to big chests!]Stop scratching me, damn it" Niang-Niang hollered, as both of her opponents clawed over her body with their fingers.

"Nen nehrek tifet wi [May your name be erased!]My beautiful nose!" Nephthys held the middle of her punched face, as they fell down, gathering snow.

After a while, they stopped, and, although slower and more sluggishly moment by moment, the divine catfight continued.

What none of the goddesses saw, however, was that their scuffle caused the entire snow cape of the mountain to become unstable, and ready to move downwards...

(MEANWHILE)

As was most frequently the case in Kamijou Touma's life, good times didn't last particularly long before something bad interrupted them.

"Angelene-chan is sick?" Kaibi asked, as everyone looked inside the room, with a pigtailed nun on the bed.

"Unfortunately." Lucia nodded" Someone didn't take care and fooled around without proper clothing"

The red and very warm Angelene looked at her with genuine remorse in her eyes.

"I am sorry. I didn't feel cold at all" she mumbled, sounding a bit nasal and tired.

Rikuri with tenderness put a tissue against Angelene's small nose.

"You are very brave. Now blow"

As Angelene cleaned her nose, and coughed a few times, Orsola spoke out:

"And now her fever is rising" she put a wet towel on Angelene's head" Poor dear... and we seem to have a shortage of antibiotics... just a portion, not enough..."

"I swear, if I get my hands on sisters in charge of resupplying"

"Sister Lucia, I know that you are worried" Agnese reprimanded her companion sternly, but her gaze also filled with concern for Angelene" What's done is done. Now we can only think what can we do about it"

"Well, there is an obvious thing to do." Touma said to the nuns" From what I've gathered we need to get Angelene medicine, because there is too little of it"

"Well yes, but you have to go down to the nearest village. Normally it would not be much of a problem, but the weather is getting worse once again and-"

"I don't care, I am going. We still have time before snowstorm hits. Do you have any way to get there other than on foot?"

"We have snowmobiles here. But-" Agnese paused.

"Yes?" Touma pressed on.

"If you are coming, I am coming with you." the redhead stated adamantly.

"What? But there is no need-"

"Angelene is my comrade. She is my responsibility, thus, I am going"

On the inside, Agnese was also worried about Touma going on his own, out of care for the one she secretly grown fond of. But she knew saying this would only make him object to her demand more strongly. They were both stubborn when it came to certain things.

Instead, she said:

"With me there, the communication will be much easier. After all, I am Italian. It is always easier to have native speaker in case of emergencies out here. Come now, boy. Time is of the essence"

"Wait..." Angelene shakily tried to get up from the bed, looking at Touma" Please, don't do it. Honestly, I am not worth the trouble."

Touma walked to the bed, and smiled.

"Now, why would you say that? Of course you are. And I would punch anyone who says you are not"

"But..." tears appeared in girl's eyes" I wanted to thank you for helping everyone, and for saving me on the ship. You were so nice after we treated you so awfully. I want to make a penitence for what I did"

Touma ruffled Angelene's hair.

"You know, as someone so unlucky, knowing that there is someone out there with a good heart like yours who actually gets worked over my well being... this is much more than enough for me"

"But there must be something to be done! I cannot simply be so selfish"

"Being selfish and taking care of oneself are totally different things..."

Kaibi cleared her throat and give him a meaningful look.

"T-Though... I am probably not the best person to say that" Touma amended.

Seeing that Angelene was still unconvinced, the boy decided to cheer her up before leaving.

"Cheer up! You never know, maybe you will be a big help to me in the future?"

Angelene fell back onto the bed.

"You think I will?"

Touma smiled again. In truth, in visions of the future he sometimes got from the rather extravagant divine present, adult Angelene often volunteered to be the nanny of many of his kids. Funny and prone to spoiling them, she was deeply loved by many of the next generation of Kamijou family, particularly Agnese's son Angelo.

Thus, Touma's gratitude was not just empty words, even if the future was to change.

"And if you want it to be for something, consider this my payment for all the wonderful panty shots you gave every blessed men around to gather attention... sight to behold, I tell you!"

Both Agnese and Lucia blushed at that, and whacked him on the head.

"Oi, don't just joke a-about something so sinful!"

Angelene laughed heartily, before losing strength and falling onto bed.

"You know" she added shyly, but with a happy glint in her eyes" I obviously have a lot of sisters, but with you, I almost feel like I have an older brother. Thank you so much for that, I was curious how it feels like, since I was originally the only child"

Amazora turned around and began hitting her head on the doorframe, muttering something that sounded like: 'there is no end to this' or 'another one?'

"Emm..."

"Ignore that. She will calm down soon enough... I hope"

Touma thought of instructing Lucia to not leave Angelene alone with Amazora for a moment... just in case.

"I will stay with her" Lucia said to Agnese.

"Good. Take care of her till my return"

"I will go prepare some soothing soup for everyone" Orsola announced.

"Orsola-san, you are an angel" Touma exclaimed with passion" No, angels themselves could learn virtues from you. That's right, take that, Gabriel. See this and sing praises!"

"Oh dear, pride is one of the seven deadly sins, don't tempt me into falling into it"

Orsola said this in the tone of light reprimand, but the happy sparkle in her eyes, and gentle smile of her lips indicated that she found the compliment very pleasing.

"I will stay with Angelene too" Index said, sitting by the bed" I think we can find something fun to talk to"

"You will stay with me?" the sick nun said with disbelief.

"Of course. It's rare someone with as much apetite as me is around to talk to. We are eating buddies, for good and bad"

Angelene blinked in confusion, before half laughing, half coughing, and putting a hand to her heart.

"Yes, we are... thank you"

(HALF AN HOUR LATER)

And so, Touma and Agnese set to the dusk and night to get down to the village.

On a good day, it would reportedly take them an hour, but due to current condition, it was ought to be more around two.

As they rode the snowmobile, Agnese held onto Touma, her mind racing and in disarray.

Here she was, alone with him, touching him (it couldn't be helped, as she didn't feel confident in driving the snowmobile, and she would die if their positions were reversed). Also, she couldn't help but feel ashamed that she wanted to be alone with Kamijou Touma.

Ashamed? No, there was no time to be ashamed. Nor was there a reason. She thought about this, she really thought this through, and decided that there was more than one proper love. That she needed to do what had to be done and say things that needed to be said, because otherwise those thoughts, those visions, would lead her to far greater sin than what her heart obviously started telling her some time ago.

She looked contemplatively around, as they rode down through the night. The clouds were slowly gathering, but for now, the sky was partially clear, with stars over the darkness like small diamonds, and white peaks of mountains reaching for the heavens like jagged hands.

Beginning of such conversation was the hardest path. She didn't know how to have this kind of conversation with a boy. She never considered she will be around boys at all, nor was she thinking of any relationship.

"Hey..." she said to him" We... don't really get to talk much, do we?"

"Oh?" Touma, focused on the road, was a bit surprised when Agnese spoke out" Yeah, I guess so. Aside from some times on the phone, we didn't see each other for a while"

"Yes..."Agnese racked her brain again, feeling a bit light-headed" It was some time... in which we all changed, hopefully for the better. As the leader of Agnese Forces, I want to personally thank you for changing our way of thinking. Especially... especially mine."

"I didn't really do much."

"Yes, only hit me with your fist" Agnese's cheek pulsed with phantom pain" Nothing much at all."

"Really, at first I thought you were just another girl that I accidentally fell onto and saw naked..."

"Urrgh..."

"Why are you groaning? In this Kamijou's defence, your habits really allow everything to be seen, plain as day, when you so much as bend over. It is only partially my fault."

"Says someone who kept staring u-u-up my skirt for good half an hour!"

"What about someone who sleepwalked into my tent?"

After this bit of lighthearted banter, Agnese resumed:

"I heard from Amakusan Saint... that you said I just happened to be a bad guy during Book of Law incident with Orsola. That you would come to my aid if I ever needed you. You have my deep gratitude for that"

"It's because there was no rule that you should be labelled as a villain. I meant it then, and I mean it now. You also helped me in Denmark"

"After trying to kill you"

"Wouldn't be the first and the last time"

Agnese actually laughed a little at that.

It was always like that with him. In fact, he always found the way to be bring her both support and embarrassment. Like when she sleepwalked to his side, hugged him after a shower, accidentally had her clothes destroyed... w-wait, why was she remembering all of those time now? This was not helping!

"I guess that's true"

"Speaking of spending time around each other, I guess we met a few times already and had some adventures" Touma mused on, as they entered the forest road" But I don't really know much about you"

"What do you need to know?" Agnese decided to humour him" What are my likes and dislikes, like an integration game? I like my faith, good meal, and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds. I dislike sluggishness, certain leafy vegetables, and being considered on default less capable than I actually am"

"Why would anyone think that?"

Agnese actually felt touched that in his naivety, Touma didn't catch on at first.

"Well, I am short, a redhead, and young. Normally people are very quick to jump to stereotypes, and would never believe that I am a leader of anything"

"Huh... I see" Touma nodded to himself" Well, I am glad that you shared those with me... but from experience, I think the most valuable are two things to know about the other person: the greatest fear and biggest dream. They can tell you a lot about someone, and later, you can fill in the details with general outline in mind"

Agnese hesitated for a moment. Sensing that, Touma spoke on

"I can share mine too. Mine greatest fear is... missing discounts"

She laughed again.

"This is not really THE biggest fear, is it?"

"Hmm, I guess it was only a joke... although I did have to struggle with money enough to fear it for real. I would bet that yours would be... slugs?"

Agnese shivered from her shoes to tips of her red hair. She despised slugs. They were just so slimy and it unnerved her that they could just go on her bedsheets or something like that.

But she stil wanted to tell the truth. She knew that Touma wasn't fully serious with this one either.

"Good try, but no. Although it would be pretty high up" she replied.

"Well, if I were to say for real... I think we actually share the same fear"

"We do?"

"Yes... we both fear losing our loved ones. Because of that we strive our best to protect them. Isn't that right?"

Agnese's throat went dry, as the flashes of terrible memories filled her mind.

A dark anteroom, illuminated only by stream of light from an outside corridor, and two bodies, of man and a woman, laying motionlessly in pools of blood, staring at little Agnese with empty, marble-like eyes, as her mind couldn't process what was in front of her...

The red-haired nun hugged Touma tighter, as if he was a sturdy rock in the midst of stormy ocean, any form of solid surface amongst falling and unstable world.

If he noticed, he didn't mind.

"Sì, è così, hai ragione..." she whispered, before noticing she accidentally switched to Italian in her turmoil. She repeated in Japanese" Yes, it is so, you are right"

Soon, she found his presence comforting enough to breathe normally again.

"You are fearing it too?" she asked.

"Every day"

"That's why you push onward?"

"More or less. Technically, majority of my life was spent in death. So I don't want it for anyone, ever, even those who for the moment are my enemies"

Agnese frowned but Touma did not elaborate at this strange comment.

"I am sorry too" she heard him say instead" About your parents"

His voice sounded so sad that she actually wanted to comfort him instead.

"Why? You couldn't have done anything. Even if we follow your reckless reasoning, and discard the fact that you had no obligation to help... you still couldn't have known..."

"No... what I did was right, but I could have..."

"What?" Agnese didn't hear well the whisper Touma said under his breath.

She couldn't know that the boy was watching another scene before his eyes. A distant one, in both time and space, in the world which was designed to crush him, in the park filled with golden sunlight, in which she saw the small, happily laughing Agnese with two of her parents, alive and well.

Touma now knew that there was a chance that Agnese's parents were in fact involved in something more sinister. And as Lidvia alluded to it, their death might not be as simple as it appeared.

He blinked away the moisture from his eyes.

"Nothing... if that's okay... can you tell me what kind of people they were?"

Agnese nodded.

"They both were members of christian orders, who met during the spiritual retreat in Alpes, and despite the celibacy, fell in love in the characteristics of spirit of one another. My... my dad had the same eyes as me and was also rather short. He was a very good man, who often laughed and worked very hard to provide for our family. After leaving the order, he tried running a shop with mechanical parts in Milan, where we lived. My mother, a former nun, became a housewife. She had beautiful red hair, bright eyes, and was an excellent cook. She loved to eat her fair share of food, too... while she was strict with me, she was also very just. She always waited for me after school, and we went to the market together... before..."

Agnese paused, not wanting to remember more. She had her pride, and delving any more into the past would cause her to cry.

Touma understood that.

"Thank you for sharing that with me" he said with gratitude.

"That's... that's alright" Agnese said, pressing side of her face onto his back.

He carried on.

"Well... and when it comes to my dream, I wish to create a future where everyone can smile together. I think this also coincides with a vision you have, at least in some form"

Agnese nodded, breaking free from the stupor of past trauma.

She wished for the future where no child was truly lost, alone, and hungry, on the street and fighting desperately to survive, like she was.

"We could help each other out... yes" she whispered, allowing herself to be immersed in a vision for a moment

"I think so too" Touma said in a lighter tone.

In the flash of clarity, Agnese knew that this was the right moment.

She needed to do this, or at least try to pull this through.

"Hey... I need to tell you something. Something very important."

"Oh?" Touma had to stop himself from looking back, the tone of Agnese's voice, almost ceremonial, surprising him" Y-Yeah, sure, tell me anything you want"

She inhaled and then exhaled softly.

"I've been thinking about something... for a long time. Something that sounded ridiculous to me at first. Something that was heretical... something that was forbidden. But then I realized that it was the truth I couldn't stop any longer."

There was silence, as she gathered her next words. She felt that Touma was listening intently.

"When I lost my family, I lost meaning in my life. I was lonely, broken, hungry, and desperate. The church filled that void, gave me place to live in, to live for... me and so many of my sisters. That's why it became our everything... the very reason for living, its law was our love, its orders were our futures... it continued on until I stopped feeling anything else. Only from the distance I can say that I was zealous... and cruel... beyond belief. But then... then I fought, and was defeated by you. You, who without promise of heaven embodied virtues of the Bible far better than any of us. Goodness in name of goodness, salvation in mere name of salvation... you were not unlike Orsola in that regard. As if through a divine miracle, you healed our blinded hearts, made us realize the reason we loved God in the first place. Religion and cult should not be such only to follow rules out of fear. I knew my heart was grateful and that I wanted your happiness, since you brought me back anew into the world of light and faith. And certainly, if God is benevolent, then putting you on my way, and me on yours... as well as everything that occurred in my heart... could not be evil. And that's why-"

Agnese was interrupted when the snowmobile jumped up, in a rather unusual fashion.

This alerted Touma as well. He looked through the darkness and then-

The ground was no longer under them.

The snowmobile rode above the edge of the steep ravine.

Touma thought earlier on that their ride was going well. Too well.

If he had to guess what happened, it was probably his misfortune at work. Most likely, the wind and snow collapsed and buried one of the signs that marked the road, thus making them lose it and drive into danger.

"Agnese!"

He quickly turned around, and managed to catch the girl's smaller body and embrace it before they hit the ground.

They fell off the snowmobile, and bounced off the ground painfully, rolling and rolling down, scratched, bruised, hit over and over again.

Touma heard Agnese shouting something, but he could not answer.

Then, he hit something remarkably hard, a rock or a tree perhaps. The impact caused him and Agnese to separate, and he felt the nun slipping from his grasp, and falling away.

He fell, fell, and fell, until finally, a painful crash ended his descent, and his consciousness faded into black.

(MEANWHILE)

One would think that bear falling from the sky would be enough of a warning sign.

But Sherry Cromwell was god damn furious and determined, and thus, two hours earlier, she left the shelter, riding with her last remaining raw sculpting material to the darkness of night, to work under moonlight and lantern.

It was all set. Everything was in place.

"Yes. No running children, no bears learning how to fly, it's the middle of the night, no one will be here... perfect!"

She giggled in a slightly manic way. She was frazzled and brimming with nervous energy, but she didn't care. Now, her creative spirit would be satisfied.

And then, she heard something.

It was... motor?

Before she could react, a lone, out of control snowmobile flew from the bushes, smashed into the sculpting material, demolishing it, and disappeared into the darkness.

Sherry's eye twitched a couple times. Her nostrils flared, lips thinned into a narrow line, before she screamed

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

Trees shook and birds were scared away, as Sherry's roar of fury echoed through the mountains.

It reached the peaks.

The snow slowly, very slowly, started to slide down.

It was not dangerous.

Yet.

Because this was about to change in a very near future.

(ELSEWHERE)

"Wow... what lungs! Someone is... clearing having a problem down there"

On the clearing on the mountainside, three goddesses sluggishly exchanged completely depleted blows.

Othinus wobbled and made slap at Nephthys that turned out to be completely ineffective. Similarly, Nephthys' punch and Niang-Niang's kick appeared to be so slow that they barely reached their targets.

And then, as if on command, all three women collapsed and stayed on the ground, breathing heavily.

They were all beaten black and blue, and absolutely exhausted. But strangely... there was some peculiar lightness now that the energy and wrath of battle evaporated.

Thus, Othinus, Nephthys, and Niang-Niang, each laying on the ground with head near one another, and body sprawled in different direction, looked at the stars above their heads.

"I... I had no idea you are actually capable of fighting like this" Othinus broke the silence, addressing Nephthys.

The egyptian deity shrugged.

"Oh well, it's not something I usually do, but with good motivation... and I suppose wiping that smirk of your face was such... I can do a thing or two"

Then, Nephthys herself spoke to Niang-Niang

"How come you never wore your hair loose? You look so charming!"

At some point of the battle, the twin, thin braids of Niang-Niang came undone, leaving her with cascade of black hair falling onto her back.

Shijie-Xian chuckled lightly

"I am always looking good, Nephthys. I suppose that braids are just my brand of style"

And finally, Niang-Niang looked at Othinus

"I did think that you got rusty since you became mortal. But seems like title of the goddess of war isn't just for show"

"Huh, that's nothing noteworthy" Othinus cringed slightly, her body pulsing with pain" Back during my glory days, that was a different story... now, my mind is my greatest weapon of all"

Shooting star zoomed across the celestial firmament.

Othinus sighed.

"Why were we even fighting about?"

Nephthys groaned dramatically

"I am too tired to really recall"

"You said it. Mortals have it soooo hard"

As three of them looked at the sky, Othinus began laughing. Soon after, gentle giggling of Nephthys and boisterous snickering of Niang-Niang joined her.

"Look at us, wrestling through mud and snow like idiots."

"I bet we look ridiculous like now"

"I know humans have very strange tastes, but I don't feel quite worship-worthy"

As their amusement died down, Othinus spoke again

"Nephthys, I think this is due... I offended you out of turn. I was jealous of your beauty and how easy you made interacting with him look. I was afraid that he would pick you over someone who put him in so much misery, if he had a choice. No one would blame him or be surprised by it if he did so, logically speaking"

Nephthys raised an eyebrow.

"Othinus, you are not bad looking yourself. And I didn't pick you as a type to care for such things. Also, he risked wrath of entire world to save you. He would never abandon you just because he laid eyes on me"

"Such matters are not on the forefront of my mind, that's true. But besides being a god, warrior, and a sage, I am also a woman. I thought... that this was one your fleeing fancies "

"Well... I felt your situation was aggravating, I was so jealous too. I wanted to feel that connection you two had. At first, he was just a fleeing fancy. But after we talked and he made me cry from happiness... I think I began to learn what love really is. I hope that aside from being a goddess of mourning, I can make him as happy as he made me, through seeing me, and wanting to shed tears for me. I yearn for that... being a god is so lonely, you know. Is it wrong to desire understanding? Is it wrong to love, wanting to be loved. Maybe the reason I was given that beautiful form was to give it someone who would in turn give me understanding?"

"Maybe. It's not wrong... I just needed time and letting go of my pent up rage at you. And Niang-Niang... my apologies for belittling your chances. Your courage and straightforwardness may be something our human needs"

"Yes." Nephthys added" I am your best friend, but even though we made it so all three of us could pursue him, I still put myself before you. I am sorry for that"

"Don't sweat it. I am all about proving myself and setting new limits" Niang-Niang shrugged" I am confident that I can be as good of a partner than two of you. It's just that each and every one of us may complete different area of his life. Wasn't that the core concept of splitting the timelines of his life?"

Her companions nodded.

Niang-Niang exhaled deeply, her green eyes reflecting the stars above her.

"Though, all in all... I can't blame you for not being able to realize that I was as interested in him. I thought about it, and I assume that my disdain for connecting with any mortal over so many millennia was because... the very nature of becoming a Shijie-Xian is substitution. Pretending to be someone alive so your death was averted, dressing in cloth of the living to avoid being seen and taken by death. Even if the ritual was accidental, I still stole the life of my sister. Even after so much time passed, I felt like I was betraying Liánhuā, that all I was doing should have been hers. I just couldn't... bear to connect with anyone like I did with Touma beforehand. I probably have the world's oldest case of imposter syndrome"

"You should talk to him about it then. Our human was plagued by the same problem for the longest of times"

Niang-Niang smiled wistfully.

"You know what... I think I will. I find talking to him relaxing"

Silence came over them, as each of them contemplated on what was said.

"So... in the end, what we have in common?"

"We are Magic Gods. Even if you are mortal Othinus, your soul and experience is one of the god"

"We indeed are" Othinus nodded, before asking" What are your most vibrant memories of old times?"

Nephthys inhaled deeply through her nose, and when she opened her eyes, they shone with greater brilliance, like a sapphire and amber embedded in the polished bronze. She reached upward with her arm

"I remember shaping and lighting up stars of the sky within the palms of my hands, over the sands of Sepermeru, near my temples, all of heavens singing in harmony, creation flickering into being from my wonder and sorrow..."

Niang-Niang also reminisced.

"I remember sitting on the jade throne, looking over Guanghzou, City of Thousand Sails, with red sun making all the ships glow like jewels on the crimson carpet..."

Othinus added her own memory.

"Sailing across the sea with winds and tides at my command as I travelled through Sea of The North, reaching to the depths of the Earth and seizing the world into my grasp to rediscover what lied beneath the lands of ice and snow..."

Soon, they began talking one after the other.

"Becoming one with sandstorm... building cities unseen in those times... with prayers and hymns shouted into the sky at my name... mourning millions of deaths, and honouring each one by miracles of my might, shaping the world into something far beyond mortal imagination"

"Thousands of battles I watched over... descending into the bloodshed with a cry on my lips... toppling the civilizations at motion of my hand and making new ones... experimenting to my amusement and boredom... watching mortals crawl on the ground, like little ants..."

"Travelling into worlds transcending form and rationality... searching, still searching... weaving creation into infinity of fates, adding more and more reality with every breath I made... transcending fate and changing it into a whim, a pure chance..."

"Infinite, endless, eternal..."

"...unbound by form and shape..."

"... free from time and death..."

"... with geography immaterial..."

"... history unfixed..."

"... capable of anything..."

"... and everything..."

"... the world being a mere illusion..."

"... changing at but a thought..."

"... with no truth ever absolute..."

"... with no stability to our life..."

"... yearning for something that could never be found..."

"... despite having everything that was to have..."

"... despite being able to learn everything there was to learn..."

"The limitlessness was greatest limit there was..."

"... and eternity became so lonely..."

"... infinite phases away, as the world goes through motions seen before countless of times..."

"... as we endure, eternally bored..."

"... watching mortals, so fragile, so futile in their attempts to seek certainty..."

"... and yet seemingly filled with desire and purpose..."

"... never knowing true nature of the world... so weak and yet..."

"... such envy that instilled..."

"... because if you can do anything, what's the point of even trying to live anymore?"

Three of them needed a moment to calm down from a surge of the memories.

"This..." Niang-Niang finally spoke" This is why we are here now. He is where this all converges."

"If we slowed down to think of it" Nephthys affirmed" It was blindingly obvious"

"Yes, I suppose... that it was undeniable sameness, despite all of our differences" Othinus agreed.

"Also, you totally called him 'our human' just now... hehehe..."

"Did I? Hmph, must have been the spur of the moment..."

Despite all of their differences, they all fell in love with the same mortal. They all came through experience of godhood and found themselves pulled out of the meaningless malaise by Kamijou Touma.

Othinus loved him. Nephthys loved him. Niang-Niang loved him.

It was incredibly simple sameness.

But, as with many easy solutions, there was no need for any logical explanations, or refined elaborations.

In the end, love of those gods would suffice, to them and to him, too.

(MEANWHILE)

Touma swam through water before emerging from the familiar pool in his apartment complex.

Upon realizing that for some reason he has no clothes, he ran to his apartment.

He was greeted by a smell of freshly cooked meal.

"Welcome home, my dear master" Maria looked at him with an affectionate smile. She was cutting the vegetables with expert precision" The warming vegetable soup will be ready soon"

"I-I prepared some miso too..." Itsuwa, in an apron and gloves, blushing from steam over the pot, looked at him with hopeful, charming eyes." Please try some... it is bound to make you "

"I-If you could try some of my yose-nabe..." Hasako, with her hair tied up, and dressed in traditional kimono, bowed gracefully" I would be delighted, my love"

Warming soup... sounded nice.

" Don't forget about my stew" added Naru, who was standing near the pot and competitively clashed gazes with younger Kumokawa" I worked hard to learn this recipe just for you, and I think you will love it."

Two girls in maid outfits frowned at each other, as Touma scratched his head.

'Honey?'

"B-Both sound very nice. I will-"

"Come on, now" Naru put a hand next to a wall and batted her eyes at him" Let Naru-chan show you the real treat. Say "aah"."

"No fair" Maria shouted" Getting all close with him while I can't risk burning the soup. I want my turn later on, I am his chosen maid"

"P-Please, if you can, try mine too... it will make you warm and fuzzy..." Itsuwa joined in.

"Yeah right, chosen maid" Naru snorted, brushing aside her purple hair and leaning over Touma with

"Emm... wait... I swear I was in the middle of something important..."

"What's important is for you to eat something. Or maybe you want to have it fed during the kiss..."

"Okay, if you do that, I am totally stepping in. This was my idea!" Maria protested again.

"I-I was supposed to be first in line" Hasako pouted, as she marched with her dish.

"Alright, we can all enjoy the testing"

"Now, no arguing, eat up" Naru blew slowly on the spoonful of the stew, before moving it in his direction" Now, open up. Aaah!"

Shocked by the plethora of alluring girls (cooking!) and offering him warming... so wonderfully warming... dishes, Touma closed his eyes.

He expected taste of the stew. But instead, when he opened her eyes, he saw a bedroom.

'Where... where am I?'

Despite being under covers, his body was cold and he shivered.

Covers stirred and he saw Lessar rising next to him.

"Hmm?"

Yes, that was definitely Lessar, albeit older by 6 or 7 years, in her 20s. Long black hair partially covered her body. Her blue eyes looked at him with confusion and concern.

"Hey, are you feeling okay? Do you need to just lay down, without any spicy action? Last time was incredible, so you don't need to force yourself"

Touma's mind went blank. Was this really Lessar? Lessar would wait on such an opportunity.

He

"I thought you had plans for this night" he felt his lips say this, despite not wanting to speak it. It was as if he was having out of body experience. He could feel that his body was older and slightly more muscular

"Well, I always want to go wild with you" she smiled snuggling next to him" Each of us in New Light has different approach in those things... you would probably prefer Lancis when it comes to pure snugggling, but if you want a downtime, I can wait up, and take care of you. You should enjoy being with me as much as the reverse. Come here!"

She locked lips with him, with just a hint of french kiss, and hugged him, her embrace warm and welcoming.

He felt that even though he was melting away, the chill was increasing.

He fell through the embrace, and lost sense of equilibrium, until he was caught by a female hand.

"Careful, Touma-san" he heard a familiar voice. "The pavement seems to be cracked"

It was Hokaze Junko, in the elegant, stylish clothing. She walked close to him in the park, with autumn in full force.

Like Lessar earlier, she appeared older, although not so much. She was maybe 18, or 19 years old.

"I am sorry to bring you here on such a short notice"

"That's not a problem at all"

Once again, he merely felt his lips move, as if he was not in full control of his body.

They sat down at the bench, facing the lake.

"Touma-san..."

"Yes?"

He noted that Junko address him by his name, something she rarely, if at all, did before.

"I have something of utmost importance to tell you. When we met, I told you that through the words of my Queen, I wanted to be your friend. But now, after learning who you are on your own accord, and knowing that you were one Queen loved... I desire to stand by your side not only through her wishes, but because of my own will... you are one of the most precious, dependable, and honourable gentlemen I know"

"I don't think I am anyone special but I am honoured to be one, then."

"Ever since Gunha-san..." Junko stopped talking and rubbed her eyes. She shook her head" I-I am sorry, I shouldn't..."

"We are all suffering" Touma closed his eyes" Even if it happened 2 years ago, I still cannot believe it till this day"

Junko gratefully excepted handkerchief and blew her nose.

"Thank you. Touma-san... I am truly touched that you extended so much kindness onto me and the clique. And this is why I want to talk to you... about..."

"About what?"

"About the future"

She noticed that he was shaking and smiled.

"Come on. I was told that give most excellent hugs, I will warm you up"

But the lovely, soft embrace of Junko did nothing to warm him up as the world turned into mist.

Was that what he thought it was?

Nephthys and Niang-Niang attempted to gift him with lots of love and avoid global conflict by splitting him into dozens of parallel lifetimes, layered over one another, like possible worlds.

In all of the infinite possibilities, apparently, only in one did Kamijou Touma and Hokaze Junko ended up romantically involved.

Touma was already getting a feeling that this version of reality wasn't a particularly happy one, but the fact that Junko spoke of Misaki in past tense and implied that Gunha...

Why couldn't he remember this one? What was so terrible that Niang-Niang got interested in it and he could not easily retain it? He couldn't help but

He felt like his insides were freezing all over.

Touma opened his eyes, and suddenly...

He was welcomed by another sight.

'Speaking of Misaki...'

He saw a little girl with black hair and golden eyes being held by her hands by a woman with long blond hair, wearing a yellow and orange sundress with impressive chest window. It was complimented by a small bee earrings on her ears and sunglasses resting on her brow, above star-shaped irises in golden eyes.

"Come on... Kiseki-chan, you can do it, go to daddy! Step by Step... Look, my prince, she is doing it. Her first steps!"

He was feeling his elation as he looked at his daughter. But his present mind was racing. Why was he seeing this? What was happening?

Kiseki made a few wobbly steps on her own, and finally reached him. She smiled, proud of herself, in the way that only the most innocent can smile.

"You did it. Wonderful! Bravo!" Misaki clapped her hands.

What was going on with him?

As Misaki and Kiseki hugged him, he felt surge of drowsy warmth. Compared to previous coldness, this wasn't bad at all.

Once again, the scenery changed, and Touma found himself surrounded in bed by multiple girls, with greater or lesser degree of familiarity.

There were dozens of them, laying together with him on the warmest, most comfortable, bed in the world.

Index, Mikoto, Kaibi, Amazora, and Rikuri, Kanzaki, Itsuwa, Misaki, Othinus, Nephthys, Niang-Niang, Kongou, Wannai, Awatsuki, Mitsuari Ayu, Kumokawa Seria, Fukiyose Seiri, Himgami Aisa, Lessar and the rest of New Light, Leivinia Birdway, Maidono Hoshimi, Kankyougami Hasako, Mugino Shizuri, and so many others...

"It's wonderful, isn't it?" they all said in unison.

"Yes..." Touma agreed truthfully.

Normally, he would be far from happy by being squashed en masse, but now...

He felt too weak to protest.

The warmth was incredible, far better than earlier coldness. He could just stay here and never wake up... it would be so easy... to forget

"But you should probably get up"

"What?"

"You can't go to sleep now!"

"Don't let this feeling take you!"

"Darling, don't drift away now!"

"Idiot, we need you back!"

"Please, Kamijou, don't let go!"

"There is so much to do!"

"You have others who want to be with you!"

"Kami-yan!"

Confused Touma watched as Kaibi was followed by Index, Kongou, Mikoto, Kanzaki, Othinus, and Rikuri, before settling on rather surprising choice of Tsuchimikado, who appeared in his boxers among startled girls with a rather stern face

"Kami-yan!"

"Tsuchimikado?! I... I like you a lot, but I am not snuggling with you too, no way~ What the hell is going on?! " Touma slurred out.

"Isn't it obvious. You are dying and you need to wake the hell up, nya!"

Kamijou Touma opened his eyes, if only for a moment.

He lied buried under the snow. His head hurt, but he regained consciousness. He was freezing and almost drifted into deceitfully warm embrace of sleep in the snow, from which he would never wake up.

The thing that snapped him back to reality, aside from his own willpower, was the sound of footsteps on the snow, and the sight of two silhouettes above him.

"Help... them..." he forced himself to say" Angelene... is sick... we had an accident... trying to get the medicine from the village bellow... Agnese got... separated from me... please, help them... help them both..."

He didn't hear what two women (he was pretty sure they were women, judging by the curves under the coats) said to one another, due to worsening snowstorm. The one of the left gestured towards him, angrily, and wanted to pick him up. But the one on the right put the hand on her companion's arm, shook her head, pointed beyond them, explaining some matter, and categorically declared something. The last thing he remembered before passing out again was the women splitting up and the right one leaning over him.

"Do not worry, Kamijou. Quite unlucky for you to black out in such a cold but I will not allow you to die like this. Be sure not to fall asleep before you are warmed up."

Touma's teeth were too chattery to answer. His brain was fuzzy, but the voice was so familiar...

The woman thought for a moment and then, after assessing his body, gently lifted him up.

"I shouldn't have done that, but we have no other way, I can't just leave you here. Also, know that I am not doing this to enact any violation or take advantage of your state. You simply cannot fall asleep now"

Saying this, she wrapped her arms around him, as she started to walk with him.

Touma managed to walk alongside her, embraced by woman's warmth.

Whether it was intentional or not, he got a boost of adrenaline from being hugged by a feminine saviour who put his face straight into her prominent chest. It was a rather ingenious solution to keep him from drifting into asleep.

Edge of death or not, hormones were hormones. If this experience sharpened his awareness, keeping sleepiness at bay for a time being.

They walked for what seemed like hours.

"According to my maps, our shelter should be nearby"

Touma noticed an outline of a small hut from stone standing under the rock perch shielding it from overwhelming blizzard.

Finally, they managed to get to the door. The woman tinkered with a lock mechanism, and then pushed it open.

"Lay down" she ordered him" I will start a fire in a moment"

Closing the door and taking the coat off herself, she gathered the wood, which was already in the designated shelf near the chimney tunnel, and put it onto the fireplace, before striking the flint a couple of times. Then, she went to cupboard, heated the milk (where did it come from? Fridge, presumably, but Touma did not see one, so he had to assume there was thermos of some kind), put some powder into the cups, and stirred them.

"Drink, you will feel better"

Touma accepted the cocoa and looked at her, still a bit shaken, as she took off her helmet.

She then straightened her black hair and shook her head a little, like a wet puppy.

And finally, feeling incredibly stupid for not recognizing the voice muffled by the scarf, Touma shouted.

"Princess Rimea!"

The princess turned around, her sapphire eyes glinting lightly in first promises of the flame. She put a hot cocoa near her legs.

"Greetings, Kamijou Touma. In a moment, you should feel better. The fire and cocoa should help warm you up"

"Rimea-san... what are you doing here?"

In their correspondence, Rimea insisted to address her by the name. According to her, it made it feel as if they were not in royal setting, which meant she could be a little bit more at ease

Rimea shrugged.

"My sister and I were on a holiday trip. I am not allowed to take almost any vacations, so I thought that since you are here, I can talk to you face to face. I am relieved that I waited for the opportunity with enough vigilance to come to your rescue. How we knew you were here? We monitor Agnese Forces and knew about your involvement in the case of Lucia Lorenzetti. The rest is history"

"I am sorry you had to do rescue me... just a rotten luck..." suddenly, Touma's eyes widened" Agnese! And Angelene! I need to help them. I have to..."

"Calm yourself" Rimea said in a soothing, yet firm tone. She placed her hands on his shoulders" I know that you are the type of person to rush forth, disregarding your own safety. But this weather would not do you any favours. You would endanger yourself needlessly. And I don't mean that you shouldn't go, there is absolutely no reason for you to also get lost and sick when Carissa is already on it"

"Oh, so that's who that was..."

"Trust me, she wanted to be the one to stay with you. But she has greater endurance than me and, well, being a future queen has privileges. Now, can you trust us enough to wait for a moment?"

Touma knew that Rimea will not let him leave. He also felt that he should listen, at least due to the fact that Rimea saved him and he owed her that much.

So he laid back, as he sat close to the fire, with a princess next to him.

Despite her stern figure, he noticed light shivers permeated her, despite the fire slowly getting warmer and warmer.

When Rimea sneezed, trying to muffle it by pinching her nose so he wouldn't notice, he offered her one of the many blankets she wrapped him into.

"Hmm?"

"I worry that you will get a cold"

She sighed but accepted the blanket, wrapping her back and head with it.

"Unbelievable... when you woke up, your first thoughts were about safety of those nuns... and now about my health. Such an intriguing and straightforward mind you have"

"Emm... thank you?"

Her lips formed a small smile when she noticed him looking at her after the took off her outer attire.

"What is it?"

"Oh? Emm, nothing, no, really, I didn't want to stare..."

"You have my permission to speak honestly without worry. What is it?"

"Your jacket... is it the same as the one you wore in that bar? It really looks incredible on you"

"Thank you. It is the same one, indeed. I suppose I enjoy taking it on my outings. It helps me... forget, for a moment. Who I am meant to be"

Touma and Rimea sat together, watching the now burning fire, and listening to the sound of howling wind for while. Feeling a bit better, Touma resumed the conversation.

"Princ... Rimea-san, what do you wished to talk about?"

Rimea slowly looked at him.

"Kamijou, do you remember how my mother tasked you to help me?"

Touma nodded. Some time ago, Queen Elizard approached him with a request, promising reward.

"Mister Kamijou, I would greatly appreciate if you could write to and receive letters from first princess. Princess Rimea... needs to better her social skills and has to overcome her trust issues if she is to be a ruler some day... she needs help, even if she won't ask for it. She needs someone to talk to. I would ask of you to be that person" she said then.

"Why me?" he asked in confusion

Elizard smiled nonchalantly, but also with a bit of sentiment.

"Old woman's intuition. You two may form a good pair to sort things out with your own souls. Rimea may seem cold, but her personality can actually be to your liking. She is rather brilliant and when she does commit to something, it does count. It will not be easy, but if you manage to get her interested and convince her to trust you, you will gain a long-life ally and confidant"

Back in the present, Rimea spoke:

"You were always rather peculiar piece on the board, Kamijou Touma. Oh, pardon this term, but that's how I used to perceive you... until you followed through with helping Carissa, even though she was your enemy. That really got me thinking. I heard rumors that your salvation policy was absolute, but given how out of... everything really... Carissa was back then, it was still a perplexing discovery. And then, on the eve of ball in the castle, when I conversed with your doppleganger, and then met with you and the others at the bar... I realized something vital. Despite being someone from another land, who didn't know me for long, I had this intuition that I could trust you. I think we wrote to each other, and been in occasional company of one another long enough, for you to understand how big of a deal this is"

"I... I don't know what to tell you, really"

"I am not a woman of intuition. I am a woman of logic, intellect, and strategy. So I put my intelligence gathering skills to use, and learned a few things about your history."

"I am flattered that you felt that I was interesting, but..." Touma scratched his head" You could have just asked me"

For a moment, Rimea appeared flustered, which was incredibly rare sight for her. Or more specifically, she didn't know what facial expression to assume.

"A-Apologies. I am not accustomed to believing that someone will tell me the truth, just like that. Suspicion first was my policy for my whole life... almost my whole life. But... my point is... ever since that time... when those events transpired and despite it all I still felt comfortable, on top of my mother ordering me to work with you... I started to seek the explanation. And what I found... saddened me"

"It saddened you?"

"Despite how I look and act, I still have emotions" she smiled, and she reminded him of the Rimea he saw in the bar before going to face Kamijou No Touma and the mind controlled Windsor Castle" I learned that some of your earliest misadventures... while in a different context and with completely separate reasons... bore some resemblance to my own"

"Your own? How so?"

Rimea decided to exchange the question for a question.

"When you see me, Kamijou, what do you think?" she shifted to look at him, her black, dyed locks gently brushing the leather on her back." Be honest, all you can think of"

Touma gulped, suddenly put in the spotlight.

"Well... I think you are mysterious, very intelligent, brilliant even. Woman who can step down into a shadow to allow someone else to take the spotlight, trick enemies and exploit weaknesses, diminish her own worth if it means that good result will be achieved. Someone who can command others without showing fear. And..."

Touma hesitated.

"I am lifting the protocole of lese-majeste. Speak freely, even something you wouldn't be able to say to me in a public scenario. I would feel much more comfortable if you were to tell me everything. I hope you know I won't be able to trust someone who's holding back"

And so, the boy finished.

"...funny, when you are outside of the palace. Reasonable, just... and quite beautiful, too"

Rimea chuckled lightly.

"My my, what a positive reputation I seem to have in your mind. At least you didn't call me gloomy, like that blond boy from the bar... Hamazura, was it?" a somewhat mischievous entered her eyes" Beauty may not be something that comes into forefront of my life, as I would rather live in seclusion with my beloved books, but I appreciate your compliment. As always, you put your heart into it, I cannot see any manipulation or want of approval in your speech. It also appears that your deep fondness of older women is not an exaggeration"

"What?! Just how deep does your spying data go?!"

"Why are you surprised? This kind of information is crucial to know how to properly reward an ally or manipulate the enemy. You don't need to get defensive here."

"This Kamijou-san dealt with many rash, impulsive girls in his life, so is it so bad that being around older, mature, intelligent, and reasonable women gives him peace?"

"Not at all. I know something about being around loud and impulsive people" Rimea sighed, closing her eyes" I never asked for any praise, yet you want to applaud me for sticking up for Carissa during the coup?"

Touma nodded.

"Yes. There was something so nice in the fact that you wanted to find a reason, to convince others that she was only doing it for others."

"This sacrificial spirit is, in various ways, shared by all members of royal family. I just did my part as the princess of intellect, uncovering the truth behind Carissa's actions."

"Maybe so, but I am happy you wanted to save her, not only condemn her"

"Well... I wasn't always the model sibling... but that's what older sisters ought to do."

As someone deep with onee-san adoration, Touma could tell that those were one of the most onee-san things to say, despite Rimea almost stepping into mother territory.

"Thus... you think that I am fearless? That I manipulate the pieces of the board without dread or fright?"

"I... if I offended you..."

"Oh, I think this is pretty reasonable conclusion, even if wrong one. I... for better or worse, became good in hiding my feelings. For better in being a leader. For worse... in being a human being"

"So... you are afraid? If I may ask, what are you afraid of? Maybe I can help?"

Rimea adjusted her monocle and then wrapped Touma tighter in a blanket which began to loosen and fall, almost automatically, as if her mind went somewhere else.

"Despite being born into the certain world... the world that dragged you in... no, pardon me, the world you stepped into willingly to save Grimoire Library... that is, the world of magic... and despite said world being filled with mages, gods, angels, demons, and various monstrosities... those are not the source of my fear. I fear no god, demon, angel, or monster. I am gifted with intellect that despite the difference in power, despite my personal inability to tackle most of those things on my own, is able to overturn the advantages. Power and evil are formidable, but easily predictable. Ones with limitless power will also succumb into making the moves on the board that are easy to analyze. It doesn't matter how devastating is their might if I am able to adapt to it. Even angels and other creatures of heaven, who are supposedly purely good, will follow easily traceable routes, if one pays attention and has the right mind in the right place. But... despite this..."

Rimea rubbed the bridge of her nose, as she inhaled through it. Supported on her arms, she looked at the snowstorm outside.

"I am not fearless, oh no. What I am afraid of... is humanity. Yes, Kamijou, I am not afraid of God, I am afraid of men. Evil and Good are predictable, but mankind commits evil in the name of good, and does acts of goods with hidden agenda of evil. The depths of human hearts are unknown and mysterious. I doubt even that starry eyed level 5 close to you, Shokuhou Misaki, is fully capable of understanding them from merely knowing thoughts and feelings. Intentions shift from second to second, and you never know how accurately you are ascribing it. Humans embody all the best and worst things of this world. They are pure chaos. Friend or foe? Enemy or ally? Humans are never complete. They evolve, they change, they kill, they love, they live and die in the blink of an eye. In the midst of it all, I feel completely paralyzed"

Touma listened to the princess, feeling sympathy rising within him.

"I am afraid too" he admitted.

Rimea looked directly at him, as he continued.

"I worry that when I save others, I won't succeed. That I will fail, and they will die. I do not wish for anyone to slip away because I wasn't there. I also worry that ones I hold dear will die through some misfortune when I was away... or worse, misfortune that I caused"

Rimea pondered on it for a moment.

"You feel others are indispensable part of your happiness?"

"Yes. I learned that even by discarding the power in my right hand, things will not get better, if all the world will be miserable, leaving me all alone"

"But they hurt you. Repeatedly. Why do you want to save them?"

"I think... there is no such thing as natural evil. I think many of many enemies were experienced by harsh events in life... and there is no saying that those people can't change"

"That is a very idealistic optimism. But perhaps it is what it's needed in this world, for it to advance in any way whatsoever. Human life has the unfortunate ability to lose sense of wonder if it's not sustained in some form"

"I think it's rather simple: I've been through my share of bad moments in my life. I am not wishing anyone to feel pain and be treated harshly because I know from personal experience how this feels like"

"I see..."

Rimea put another piece of wood into fireplace, and looked into her mug, where marshmallows were melting away.

"But don't you think that there is something more to your fear? Aren't you scared of the world, not only for it? As you said, you suffered. Even I don't know full image, but from what I learned, you were stabbed as a mere child. To not want vengeance on the world, for something so vile... you certainly are a perplexing individual, providing great stimulation in boredom"

She noticed an amusement on his face.

"What is so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. Just... I have a senpai that said things very similar to you"

"My, is that so?"

Touma quickly realized that he said something wrong, because although Rimea's face didn't exactly change, her tone cooled down from the light, bantering Rimea from the bar to calculative, cold First Princess.

Did the mention of Kumokawa Seria irritated her? No, he must have been imagining things. Rimea would not have any reason to be annoyed, would she?

He quickly went back to conversation, that seemed to be very important to the heir of the british throne.

"So... what you are saying is... that there is also fear about myself?"

"I would assume there is. You went through so much and was never given a chance to realize the scope of it all. You were merely a child, thrown into things you had no idea about, blamed for things beyond your control, hated by fate just through the simple act of living in this world... we are alike in this regard, and perhaps, I understand mother's decision more and more. You never asked to be born with this power, just as I never asked to be the heir to the throne. Just like you never asked for trouble, I never wanted to appear as anyone better than the others. But you know full well that people more often than not have other ideas"

With time, Rimea's tone become lighter again, especially after both she and Touma said simultaneously.

"I just wanted a moment of peace, I never asked for this"

They looked at each other and Touma smiled.

"You... didn't want to be a queen?"

"I don't hate it, but I never particularly desired it either. I imagine you don't frown on helping others, but it's not like you seek trouble just to help them. I... sometimes, I just felt I am not fit for the job. Then again, I am not going to abandon my people and country. I will inherit the crown. Doesn't mean my mind isn't racing with millions of plans and potential disasters"

"I know a lot about overthinking"

"Isn't this odd?" Rimea mused" That such different people, born on two opposite sides of the world, have such similarity?"

"I don't think this is odd at all"

"Hmm... I would hope so. Kamijou Touma... what do you think about what I said to you?"

Touma knew what specifically she referred to. He let out a sigh of his own, in the silence of that winter-smitten shelter in the midst of mountains. And then said

"Yes... I am afraid. Each and every time. Even if have this right hand, even if there are things sealed within me... I feel human, I choose to be one. I fear that something may happen each and every day. This doesn't mean I stop trying to save everyone. In fact, it motivates me. But it's never really calm. Not ever. You just never know, with misfortune like mine. I may just slip on a banana peel and break a leg... or a plane may fall on me and it will be... poof! Just like that, gone. Wouldn't be surprised. I am... terrified. But still... it makes me grateful for each morning I manage to wake up. For each moment I am actually alive. I really, really appreciate and cherish each moment in which I am not suffering. I have no strength to do it alone, but with others, I learned that for the most part, I can lead a relatively happy life. I want to live before I die. To live I want to be happy. I never wanted to be famous, or rich, or have vast residences, or possess some cheat code, an otherworldly, amazing power to conquer the world with. I never wanted immortality, or lust of thousands. I was content with being just an ordinary boy. I guess what I always wanted, ever since I was born... was to be happy. I just wanted to be happy. And my happiness... is with them, I know it now."

Rimea listened to him, her sapphire eyes watching him calmly. Finally, she spoke:

"I do not particularly enjoy socializing for too long. It depletes my energy. But I understand the desire to not be alone. I couldn't always realize it... I suppose more often than not, since I cannot trust most people around me. But even in chess, king cannot do well without his army, and even the smallest of pawns can become a queen. You just never know... that's the thing about humans. That's why you are so incredible, Kamijou. You have the ability to see into human hearts on a level far more sublime than facts and figures. Your fist truly shatters illusions and shows reality. Which, as hurtful as it is, is quite possibly the only solution. As a truth lover, your ability is nothing sort of marvellous. I know it brings you harm, but it is not without virtue to me"

Touma looked at the black haired woman in front of him.

"Rimea-san, some time ago, you took me under your personal protection, right?"

"That's right. It still stands, and so does the knighthood offer"

"Why? I am just a normal high school boy. Even counting in my Imagine Breaker, this shouldn't be a reason for such a special privilege."

"There are a few reasons. I feel like our country owes you a debt of gratitude, and you need to be rewarded. I also hear Mother wanted this to happen, so as her royal subject, I am obeying. But I think personally, a lot of good can come with our shared work. I understand that you cannot allow yourself to become close to the court when you are still not yet of age and studying. But in your adulthood, I will approach you with it again. I would very much like for us to share experiences. I am not going to force you, like this endearingly obnoxious New Light does. But I have high hopes that we are kindred spirits. I would like to be right, and if so, have you by my side. We still think we should assume the position my mother envisioned for you"

"Position? And what do you mean by we?"

"To answer the first question, you would become my royal confidant and official diplomatic representative of Academy City on my court."

"B-But... I never went to any school to learn about diplomacy!"

"I think you are doing a better job than many highly skilled diplomats out there." Rimea tilted her head, friendly sparks lighting up in her eyes" Isn't this basically what you are doing already? Travelling the world, to save others and help breach the problems between people to maintain peace"

"I think I make things worse just as often as I try fixing them..."

"Don't worry about that. Under royal protection, you could get a little more inventive. Well, depending which protection you will accept, but under mine, I guarantee-"

"Wait... that's what you meant by 'we'? Carissa also extended protection over me?"

Rimea snorted and took a sip of hot chocolate.

"I am not sure if she would call it that, she would rather said ownership, but she is interested in you nevertheless, even if she would die before admitting it"

"But... she hates me!"

"Wouldn't be so sure. You impressed her, just like you impressed me, but through your valiance and fortitude in battle. While Carissa is fussy about being bested by you, she never talks that much about someone if she is not interested or impressed by them"

"I will take your word for it..."

Touma took the last sip of his hot chocolate, and asked

"So... do you wish to... help me?"

Rimea reached forward, before asking

"May I?"

She made a wide gesture and only after a moment, he recognized what she was going for.

Not knowing what to expect, he nodded, at the same thinking that asking for permission was just a testimony how different mature women were.

What followed was rather awkwardly executed, but still sincere and pleasant hug. It was clear that Rimea could count times she hugged someone on fingers of her hands, but still decided to give him an embrace.

It was strange, but not because she hugged him. It was because he felt good and assured of good intentions. If it was most of other girls he knew, by this time he would not know what to make of it. But Rimea had no underside in her motives, no ill intentions. He was sure of it.

It was just a gesture of reassurance.

Rimea spoke in her elegant, serious voice, but it was noticeably softer, as if she tried to speak from her heart, not her mind. The tone wouldn't be out of place in a track from relaxation tape.

"You are neither of hell nor heaven, neither of science nor magic. You are humanity's incarnate, Kamijou Touma. The very humanity I fear, and yet... I can't help but sympathize with you. You may not believe me, but I understand you. The desire of wanting a bit of peace. The uncertainty of next day. The burden of destiny that may be too grand for you, but you have to take it on yourself nevertheless. You are not wrong in wanting to be safe. Even though I was a princess, I could never rest and be save myself. I have the power to aid you in your quests. Even someone like me, who thinks, not feels, was touched by your pain. You were stabbed, tortured, mistreated, and pained by both fate and the people of the world. You may say that our responsibilities are far different, and you would be correct. But they are different only in the name of law, not in their value. Kamijou Touma, I admire you for being able to do what I cannot. You can follow your heart and dictate self-righteous cause of action. I, Rimea Windsor, am bound by my fears and paranoias. It was necessary evil, but even I know that much"

"I often pay the price and make mistakes, Rimea-san." Touma protested, hit by Rimea's honest confession.

"But you are free. At the end of the day, you are living your life. Meanwhile, at times, I am afraid that I am so uncertain that I never learned to be myself."

"How so?"

"I am... afraid to feel." Rimea slowly let him go, and looked at the fire again" I had to lock my emotions inside myself many years ago. I couldn't allow myself to be crushed. Now, I am an adult, but they still remain away from me. I am not really suffering without them. But... the fact that sometimes I cannot remember how it is to be free, to be relaxed... if I forget how to feel, how will I be able to connect with subjects when my mother passes crown to me?"

"Were you ever? Different then now? Free, as you call it?"

Rimea's lips froze in half-parted state. Her face fell a little, as light seemed to make her blue eyes golden.

"Long ago... there was a time when I was the most carefree little princess in the world..." she finally said, immersing herself in the past

(MEANWHILE)

Agnese Sanctis did not freeze to death... yet.

When she was separated from Kamijou Touma, she was knocked down to the narrow creek, deep enough for the snow to be left above her.

She regained her senses, partially stuck between rocks, being able to just wiggle around and with limited reach of her arms.

Agnese wasn't particularly clautstrophobic, but this narrow, dark space caused her to be covered in cold sweat.

However, she was conscious and awake enough to realize that was not the main priority.

"Kamijou" she groaned" I need to find him. He might need my help. He might be dying from hypothermia. I need to go to him."

She was so close to saying what needed to be said.

Agnese knew now better than ever that the truth had to come out once she realized it.

And she was becoming aware of her feelings for quite some time. When she was fighting against Knights of England during British Halloween and learned of Touma's miraculous escape, she shouted 'I love you!' in elation and spur of the moment.

She didn't pay much attention to it. But maybe it foreshadowed something within her soul.

Lying was a sin. There was no point in lying to herself, it would only taint her soul. She needed to get him to safety and then confess what was gnawing at her for quite some time

"Sono un sopravvissuto... I am a survivour!" she said through gritted teeth.

That was right. She was a survivour. Not only because she faced many dangers in her mission as a battle nun, but also because if she were to come home a bit earlier, on that fateful, tragic day, that murderer could have easily take her life alongside those of her parents.

But it didn't happen. And she liked to believe that she kept on living for a reason?

'Maybe it was so he could show me the way? Either way, changing very foundation of religion I lived by so I can be with someone I love? I am definitely my parents' daughter. And now, I am going to find this reckless boy'

At first, she tried to wiggle around and strain as much as she could.

The only result was a rain of small pebbles and debris from above.

"Choo!"

Agnese let out a sneeze when rock dust entered her nostrils, and almost instantly winced.

Even this, basically a small inhale and abrupt exhale, was enough to painfully scrape her sides on the walls.

There was something she could try. Maybe if she chipped it all away to have some space to move...

Most magic required preparation. But she did have her Lotus Wand, a magical tool, that could send remote strikes to the target of her choosing through ether, transferring the damage the wand received to the object.

She strained and strained before, after what seemed eternity, pulling out the wand. She didn't extend it to its full length, but it was enough. This had to work.

Muttering the incantation under her breath, she knew how reckless this was. In the darkness, without proper position, with no knowledge where she struck the wand, with possibility to only give blunt, imprecise blows, and only vaguely knowing her position relative to the chasm, she knew she risked hitting oneself as a backlash.

Even if Lotus Wand was a pretty straightforward magical item, it still had its conditions, and although user could be hit by their own attack, they would have to be in a tight space. She never cared about it before, because she would never imagine she would get stuck like this.

Despite that she gritted her teeth, and struck the wand on the wall, as hard as she could.

The strike chipped down a part of the rock above her shoulder.

This was going to work.

So she got to it. She had to be very careful to destroy just enough to rocks to be able to climb up, but not enough for her body to loose all support and fall even deeper down.

It went well for some ten strikes and scrapes, as each was giving her more space to operate, but on the 11th, she missed, and deep gash appeared both in her coat and arm. She heard an unpleasant sound from her arm bone, and she stifled a cry of pain.

"That's nothing... compared to what the Lord and the one you want to be your earthly love... suffered... let this pain wake you up to what's really important, Agnese Sanctis. He would not let a broken arm stop her from rescuing you. He went to the entire armada of the enemy to save you."

So Agnese began to move.

Strike, chip away the rocks above her and around her, cough or sneeze out the dusty mess that fell onto her, breathe in and out to prepare, and climb on with all her strength. And then repeat. And repeat.

After few meters up, she hurt her leg, as particularly big rock struck it hard.

"Pay it... no mind! He is important here! He deserves to be saved! I must go to him, beyond anything! Because I survived, because I changed!"

Despite her arm being most likely broken, and her leg sprained, she let out a cry of passion, using them with her healthy limbs to rise up, bit by bit.

To distract herself, and to motivate her burning desire to check on Touma, she began to choose psalm to pray through in her head, before discarding it.

"No, this is for him... he once said to me that while he doesn't believe in you, Lord, he prays to his own human spirit. Let me take an inspiration from him and direct to you the prayer that is originally mine"

And so, amongst grunts and cries, rising with pain and newfound devotion caused by feelings she wanted to confess, she began praying:

"Nel nome dell'amore, ti cerco, Dio...[In the name of love I reach for you, God]"

Breathe, move, strike, chip away, breathe, move strike, chip away...

"Nessuna caduta sarebbe troppo profonda, nessun muro troppo duro, nessuna montagna troppo alta e nessuna distanza troppo grande..." [No fall will be too deep, no wall too hard, no mountain too high, and no distance too big...]

She let herself think only about Kamijou Touma and her fellow sisters. She wanted to see them. She wanted to be with them. She wanted to love them!

"... per me per raggiungere e salvare qualcuno che ha portato amore e luce della tua grazia nella mia vita, che ha aperto la mia anima alla tua gloria attraverso il suo sorriso e il suo cuore! [for me to reach out and save one who brought love and light of your grace into my life, who opened my soul to your glory through his smile and his heart!]"

She could feel the coldness of the snow now. Just a little bit more...

Agnese cried out once more, from determination and religious eccstasy caused by both earthly and heavenly love.

Just like Kamijou Touma could often overcome pain and stay on his feet till he saved someone, she would use her deep faith to brace through pain and do what needed to be done.

"Aiutami a salvarlo, così che io possa restituirgli un po' di luce e amore che era disposto a offrirmi nella tua infinita carità. Signore, sia fatta la tua volontà! [Help me save him, so that I can give him back some of the light and love that he was willing to offer me in your infinite charity. Lord, thy will be done!]"

And then... surface.

With wind howling and snow falling down, Agnese Sanctis crawled out off her doom.

But there was no time to rest. Kamijou Touma could still be out there, freezing, and beginning for help. She needed to reach him.

As if her body was made of lead, she managed to get up. Her broken limb screamed in protest, and she felt a spike of pain from her sprained leg.

But it was immaterial. Nothing mattered.

She needed to find him. She needed to survive, for him and for her sisters. She needed to be strong.

With her now loose hair, resembling a solitary tongue flame among the witness, Agnese began to slowly walk in search of her missing companion.

(MEANWHILE)

Princess Rimea continued to speak

"It began... and ended... when I was just about to go the trip with my father..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A steady, tall man with brown hair, blue eyes and golden crown on his head was pushed to the door by smaller girl, blond girl. She was puffing out her crimson cheeks, trying to move him with all of her little strength.

"Father, let's go! I want to go horse riding and see if they had any new books in the summer mansion!"

"Come on, Rimmy, wait just a moment" he ruffled her hair" I know you are excited for the trip, but we have to say goodbye to your mother and sisters. Oh, here they come"

Queen Elizard, with royal crown sitting on her golden hair, walked to the antechambers, leading to the major courtyard, accompanied by two other girls. One who seemed the age of elementary school, dressed in red, childish dress, and the other, who was just learning to walk and crawl, with green pyjama adorned by golden accents.

"Father, why is it that only Rimea is going with you?" Carissa, with a flushed cheeks and goosebumps on her skin, crossed her arms.

"Because you, young lady, are sick. You should be in bed" Elizard scolded her daughter.

Her husband laughed boisterously and patted Carissa on her head.

"That's my little Risa, always ready to run and face the challenge, even with high fever. Your mother is right though. After saying goodbye, to bed you go"

"Fine..." mumbled Carissa, before sticking her tongue at Rimea.

"You won't cry?" her older sister teased her" You know you are the biggest crybaby our family ever saw"

"I-I am not a crybaby!" Carissa cried out with an adorable voice crack. As if to spite her, tears appeared in her eyes" And I am not crying, you idiot!"

Rimea answered with a very smug face, at which Carissa's face became fully red. And of course, more tears filled her eyes.

The youngest girl flinched and clung to Elizard's dress.

"Behave, both of you! You are scaring Villian" Elizard turned to her husband" Are you sure you don't want me to come?"

"No, please, stay with Carissa. Also there is a meeting with prime minister tomorrow, remember?"

"Oh, another one?" the extravagant queen groaned" They are so boring lately... I would not remember about it if not for you."

Rimea waved her hand.

"Take care, mother. Bye bye Villian. I will play with you once I am back from the trip. And don't make such a sour face, or you will be stuck with it"

Soon, both father and daughter went into the carriage and were on their way.

"Open the gates for the King Consort and First Princess!"

Rimea felt her father leaning over her.

"What are you reading, Rimmy?"

"Macbeth, father."

"Ah, yeah... I don't think you need to read it, our family history is enough. And when Carissa goes up, she may go places to ensure we will have a sequel."

"Father, can you read one of my books to me? I also have History of England, Beowulf, some of Charles Dickens, Tennyson..."

"Who do you taking after with this genius of yours? Well, fine, my little sapphire. We might as well read to pass time, there is a long road ahead of us..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Your father... is a nice man" Touma said, as he listened to the princess.

"He was" Rimea said quietly" Respected by many, able to ground and keep up with my over-the-top mother... and loved dearly by me. We were very close"

"Was?"

Touma realized that he never saw any king in the palace. Which was odd, because the three princesses had to have a father.

"So... did he..."

"When we were going back from our trip" Rimea resumed, paling slightly" When we went to the inn we normally stayed in, one of the members of the staff wanted to give me a gift. It was a... a doll. Just a regular doll, cute-looking, I suppose. If I was my adult self, I wouldn't accept it. But back then, I didn't mind the dolls. I liked them. Not as much as books or riding horses, but I thought it would be rude to deny a gift from the nice man, who hosted us so many times. So I packed my stuff as my dad went to the carriage. We were about to leave. Then, just by accident, I realized I forgot one of my books, which I left in the banquet room. Dad said that he would wait so we stopped the carriage. I just pushed my things, including the doll, onto his hands, and ran back inside. I searched for a long while, before finding it. And just then... there was a loud explosion from the outside."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The ringing in Rimea's ears was deafening, although the explosion in itself ended a long time ago.

She stood on the paved way, looking at what remained of royal carriage. Flames and smoke were everywhere.

Among the heavy ringing in her ears, she felt her book drop down, as if it was thousand ton brick.

"Your highness, your highness..." she felt one of her maids tugging onto her" You have to move, it is not safe here."

But Rimea couldn't move. It was as if all of her muscles stopped being under her command.

She observed blankly, as the first policeman who arrived at the scene talked with his colleague while examining the scene of the explosion.

"Can you believe that? Bomb hidden within a toy for the princess... so vile... to think such a potent explosive could be so small... remote detonation, with predetermined countdown, unable to be halted once commenced. The princess survived only by the fact that she had to go back to the inn!"

"No one inspected it amongst other items, like it's usually done?"

"Apparently, the princess didn't show that she had it with her and just had to the carriage with it. Despite how clever she might be, she is still a child. She never expected any trap, especially from a man, who always hosted them, laughed with them, and was a trusted service provider to royal family"

"Poor girl... danger really lurks on every corner if you are high enough on the food chain, huh?"

"What of his majesty?"

"Transported to the hospital as we speak."

"Someone alerted the Queen?"

"They... are about to do it"

"Poor bastards... I wouldn't want to be the one to bring up that news"

"What was the motif of this assassinations?"

"The investigation is just beginning, but the inn owner could have held a grudge against new tax law and blamed the king for it"

"Still, princess Rimea... I really pity..."

The officer caught a glimpse of the blond girl in a sapphire dress and paled, as he bowed nearly to the ground. His colleague followed suit.

"Your highness! I... I sincerely beg for pardon, I had no idea you were still here"

Rimea was silent, her gaze empty.

"Your highness?" the officers asked, unsurely.

"Is father going to survive?" she heard her own voice from the distance.

She knew the answer already. Sometimes, she hated how smart she was.

But the policemen tried to ease it for her.

"He is about to be treated by the very best" they assured her.

Rimea did not say anything. She did not even protested when one of her servants finally picked her up, apologizing for it, and carried her away from the burning and smoking pieces of wood and metal.

'Danger lurks around every corner... danger lurks around every corner...'

Those words echoed in Rimea's mind as she realized, groggily, that she carelessly brought the tool of death into her father's hands. It was accident, one like many around the world.

But she was smart. She dreamed of being of use to her family by using her intelligence.

And the stupid oversight, out of trust, ruined everything.

No... she was the one to ruin everything.

Only then, still frozen Rimea shed a few lonely tears as she was carried up. The tears flew to the ground, extinguishing some embers with a hiss.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"My father died the next day. Years later, I knew that I couldn't predict this. It just came from such a sudden unexpected direction."

"It wasn't your fault. No one could expect something like this" Touma tried to do something to comfort the princess.

"All items belonging to royal family, especially gifts, should be checked before and after travel. As a careless girl, I was so happy from getting a gift, and from a man I liked so much, that I neglected to see it. I didn't think there was any harm there... this inn owner knew us, that is, me, Carissa, and Villian, since we were kids, he was my mother's drinking buddy when she came there incognito in her youth... looking from a distance, in addition to anger about tax law, which apparently complicated the saving for his wife's medical treatment, he could have been jealous of my father. After all, they were both commoners, and mother was quite a desirable maiden in her youth, even dismissing the fact that she was royalty... but let's not speculate here."

"So... this tragedy made you super cautious?"

"I was plagued by nightmares, paranoia, and survivour's guilt. I got panic attacks, thinking that death could loom over every corner, come from every direction... from the actions of everybody around me, who knew who I was. The fact... the fact that there were actual assassination attempts... over 10 between ages of 10 and 18 of my life... didn't help. It was either to put pressure on my mother, or take me out because I was a heiress... yet, I didn't fall for any attempt a second time. I used my knowledge to thwart every danger to royal family, and in most cases, caught the culprits. Constantly on high alert, looking for dangers... it became engraved in my psyche, like a second nature... but the fear never ended. I absorbed every bit of knowledge there was to learn. Facts can never betray you... facts are always what they are, just facts... this was my illusion, my fortress of certainty amongst the uncertain..."

"You learned all you could so you could predict every move of your enemies?"

"I learned all I could so that I could sleep" Rimea suddenly looked older and more tired" The illusion of power gained through certainty of facts gave me enough courage to fall asleep, put myself into most vulnerable of positions while not being able to react swiftly at danger... it didn't always work, I cannot count how many sleepless nights I spent on work..."

Touma suddenly wanted to hug her as well, but decided to give Rimea some space.

Instead, he put a hand on her shoulder, hoping that it would be reassuring in any way.

"With time, outward fears lessened, but cautiousness remained. Along the way, I had to make some decisions that broke what was already twisted in my heart..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Carissa knocked on the doors of her sister's study.

"Rimea?"

"Yes, Carissa?"

"Come out! You've been here for days, only getting food and not seeing the sun"

"Your point?"

"Come out with me. We can mock-battle"

"I have better things to do than barbaric battle..."

"Then... be a referee"

"It's too hot today for that..."

"And picnic? You can read your boring books all the time then. Come on, I hate picnics and even I am coming. Villian will be there too, and... she really misses you"

Rimea slammed a book shut

"Carissa, which part of 'I am busy' do you not get?"

Princess of War opened the door with a mighty kick and screamed

"I can't take it anymore! You keep ditching us, even when I extend a hand to you! You want me to say it? Damn it, fine, I am worried for you too! Happy?!"

"I thank you for that, but my answer still stands"

"Are we even a family anymore?!"

"Of course we are"

"Well, someone certainly does not show it!"

Carissa's face twitched and she wiped her eyes, as her features twisted into a snarling mask.

"FINE! I will leave you alone, your majesty! Enjoy being alone, like you soooo love! Why am I even bothering with someone who has only the ice in her heart!"

The doors slammed shut again.

Rimea tried to write on as the sounds of raging Carissa (the screams and what sounded like a well delivered blow to one of the armours lining up the corridor) died down.

But her shoulder shook a few times, and few droplets smeared the ink on the parchment.

The princess put a hand on her face and, as usual, wept in complete silence, unseen by anyone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Why... why did you do that?"

"Because... the assassination attempts were directed at me. If others were close by, they could suffer or be killed if something went awry. The risk was too great. Villian was naive and Carissa convinced that she could take anyone on. Few actually happened with them nearby. My heart sank each time I realized just how close of a call those were"

"You pretended to be cold and unloving, you distanced yourself from others and seemingly shunned them away... so they would be safe! You sacrificed your own image as loving sister for that"

"I only did..." despite slight tremble, the elegance and dignity didn't leave her voice" What needed to be done... to keep my dear sisters safe. I have emotions, I just... for all I know, I don't know how to show love... properly"

"It's strange, hearing about Carissa being so caring"

"She always is... but in her own, rather brash and brutal, way."

Touma thought deeply for a moment, before nodding.

"I am grateful that you want to help me. I appreciate it, and I will think about it. But there is something I want to do, too"

"What is it?"

"I want to help you. Not only because of your mother's orders. But because I hope too, that we are similar... kindred spirits, you said? You need to learn how to love and trust again. Not only for people you will rule, but for yourself too. I want to help you feel again. I cannot leave you like this especially learning that you were motivated by good of others. I will be there for you"

Rimea looked at him, with a mixture of disbelief and hope in her eyes.

"For how long?"

"As long as it takes"

"It's not something that will change in a day, month or a year... the change will be slow..."

"As long... as it takes, Rimea-san. We can do what we do now, talk, and have fun. You need to learn how to have fun again"

"I do know how to have fun. My outings serve this purpose"

"It will be different with me. Better, I promise you"

"By the time, you might become an adult and I will be older than I am now. Would hang around such an old crow?"

"With respect princess, I think someone like you will only get positive qualities enhanced and refined with age"

Rimea lightened up a bit, and looked at him with tilted head.

"You don't say... you really wear your heart on your sleeve... which is not a bad quality for someone with my problems..."

"Oh?" Touma blushed, realizing how what he said could be taken" I only meant..."

"Whatever you meant, I will decide, and regardless of what it was, it is well received" Rimea smiled, and it was a brief, but very warm smile" I thank you, Kamijou Touma. Let's have moments like that more often, it's my sincere hope"

"No, I thank you, Rimea-san"

Some time passed, hour or hour and a half, as the two were looking at now lessening snowstorm, checked the fire, and felt warmth in their hearts from the uplifting end of this conversation.

And then, the doors burst open.

"Carissa?" Touma exclaimed. He stumbled free from the blankets and ran towards the door" Are you alright? Come join us by the fire"

"It's princess Carissa! I am fine! I-I am a warrior, don't pity me" a very Carissa-like response came from under the hood

"Took you long enough" Rimea said lightly

"Well, I had a bit of package to carry, on top of going down to the village, and back up"

(SOME TIME EARLIER)

Agnese Sanctis was walking like a zombi. But despite all of it, she kept searching.

She needed to find Kamijou Touma.

With her half-seeing eyes, clouded by the pain and cold, she searched and searched, and searched some more.

But he was nowhere, to be found.

After she searched almost the entire passage onto which the snowmobile fell, she fell to the ground.

She tried to will herself to get up. But even pushing past one's limit was in itself limited.

"I am sorry, Lord. I was too weak"

She laid down, starting to gather snow, and feeling regret that she was going to die like this.

"I regret this..." she whispered" I need to go to the people I love... and make them realize it..."

She closed her eyes, and just when she was about to drift into pleasant, tempting warmness...

Snow slowly, but certainly, stopped falling, leaving only a foggy haze.

And through that haze the sound was heard.

The light was approaching, and Agnese's eyes managed to notice human silhouette.

'The Lord sent a messenger to collect me...' she thought, accepting her fate, as the silhouette closed in.

She never imagined she would go to Heaven after zealous fanaticism she fell into.

"Lord... I am not worthy..." she tried to say, but she had no strength to be loud enough.

And then, the angel of the Lord bent down and shouted

"What the hell? Why do you lie down, freezing your butt down here like goddamn shot duck, when I keep going around like an idiot, looking for you?"

There it was. Maybe it was Satan's twisted sense of humour. This angel was simply a demon pretending to not be fallen, to humiliate her in death. She was going to Hell after all.

"Io accetto il mio destino..." Agnese said, closing her eyes.

But the angel in a rather earthly manner began to slap her cheeks strongly, cursing under its breath

"Oh no you don't! You are not leaving me hanging like this, you moronic nun!"

"Just... finish your job, demon. Take me"

"Demon? One more word and I will leave you here to die!"

"I am not... dead?"

"Of course you aren't"

Princess Carissa, with glowing led bands around her head and shoulders, which illuminated good portion of the adjacent area, huffed in irritation, before lifting Agnese and putting her on the back like a sack of potatoes.

"Don't think I am doing this for you. It's just that it pisses me off that my sister got to get a talking session with him and I am here. He asked us to find you, and for some reason, he is able to worm his way into my heart and will, annoyingly so."

She began marching downhill, wind playing with the locks of her hair which escaped from under the winter hat.

"But I have plans. Oh, trust me, Kamijou Touma, do I have them"

(MEANWHILE)

The three Magic Goddesses managed to gather some more berries (this time completely safe) to replenish their strength.

As they ate, they noticed that big parts of the snow moved downwards, presumably quite recently.

"An avalanche" Niang-Niang called it by the name

"Mhm" Othinus agreed, chewing fervently" Right"

"It might be a pretty big one. Can be dangerous" Nephthys remarked, her bewitching lips purple from the berry juice.

It was strange that they didn't notice it. Then again, they were exhausted.

"Where do you think it will pass?"

"Should be close to the shelter, but they have means to work it out" Niang-Niang laughed" Even if it went elsewhere, who would be out this early?"

"It would have to be someone with terrible luck to encounter this avalanche" Nephthys laughed

"Yeah, really unlu-" Othinus paused.

Three pairs of eyes widened.

"Oh no..." the three deities said at once.

(SOME TIME LATER)

When Carissa arrived with Agnese, Rimea instructed Touma to step aside, as she drew few magic circles with chalk around Agnese. After muttering a few incantations, she passed her hand over Agnese's arm, which straightened up with a loud snapping noise.

"There... no bones broken"

At the same time, the swelling on the leg lessened in size, and, although initially pained, Agnese breathed sigh of relief.

Carissa didn't say anything. Aside from acknowledging him with a nod, she didn't speak with Touma, although he felt that she was staring at him intently for some reason.

Later, after Agnese rested for a little, expressing relief because of Touma's safety, princesses asked them to ride down the slope with snowmobile (now dug out and brought earlier by Carissa) so they could get onto the ski lift that would take them to the winter resort that Carissa and Rimea assumed as their home for their vacations.

It seemed a little bit counterproductive for Touma to go down in order to go up, but Agnese agreed with the sisters that it would be faster.

So down the piste to the ski lift they went. Touma and Agnese on snowmobile, Carissa skiing, and Rimea snowboarding.

Looking great in crimson winter coat, with energetic style of skiing, Carissa seemed right at home. Also, Touma couldn't believe how natural Rimea looked while on the snowboard, in black and blue suit combined with goggles, even doing the rotating jumps in the air, and freeriding with impeccable elegance.

When they finally boarded the ski lift at the bottom of the piste, the seating arrangement (the lift seated four, which was rather fortunate) was a topic of some discussion, before it was decided: from left to right, Agnese, Rimea, Touma, and Carissa.

It seemed that Agnese wasn't quite satisfied with this, as Touma sensed she wanted to say something, but couldn't due to princesses' presence.

But someone else did speak in her place.

"So... long time no see, face to face" Carissa looked at Touma with even greater intensity.

Touma felt as if he was standing close to bonfire. Carissa's embracing, fiery aura created stark contrast with Rimea's soothing, distancing coolness.

If looks had physical effects, he would be devoured, leaving only bare bones.

"It's nice to see you, Carissa. How is it going?" he said, gulping lightly.

"Oh good, surprisingly so" Carissa said slowly, pointing at him" Even better when one who bested me is here... I hope you are ready for what is coming to you"

"This can be interpreted in many ways, Carissa-san..."

"Trust me, it will be fun for me..." Carissa crossed her arms and smirked" I see in your eyes that you are still idealistic fool you were"

"I did came through my share of things since last time we were together. But it's still nice you have the energy I remember... even if it makes me fear for my life"

"I bet your tongue is as sharp as your fist is powerful" Carissa put one leg over the other.

Touma knew that Carissa was dying to know what he talked about with Rimea, he could feel it in her eyes. He braved through it and instead asked.

"Is there something I can do for you?"

He regretted asking that. Carissa's eyes lit up even more.

"As a matter of fact you can. I am going back to my prison wing in the palace after this. But I do have an issue I would like to request help with. I think it might be interesting for you"

"Why is that?"

"It also concerns the family of miss Leivinia Birdway." Carissa delivered main body of the matter" I think you are rather close. You would also be helping her. And if you agree to spend some time with me, I will consider listening to what you have to say and maybe change some things in my life"

Carissa knew Touma would be interested. Even discarding the fact that Touma became Leivinia Birdway's sworn brother, she was certain that Touma still desired to help her as well.

But the proud second princess would rather said that she had arrhythmia than admit that the change of her heartbeat was caused by giddiness connected to his willingness to aid her.

In fact, Touma was a little curious. If there was something Carissa needed him to do, it would be wise to just go before it bit him in the ass randomly. And he was interested in Birdway's family, as he never met anyone aside from Patricia.

"Alright. It's a deal." Touma relented" When?"

"In the not so far away future, I will send you the details. Rejoice, you will get to spend time with fierce and beautiful princess and get to know family of your little sister"

The ride was over, which Touma thanked heavens for, because Agnese and Rimea looked like they contemplated throwing either him, Carissa, or themselves off the lift. Knowing his luck, probably him.

And then, Agnese asked him to come to the side. To which he obliged, apologizing to the princesses and asking for a bit of time.

The poor girl Agnese seemed as red as her hair as she dragged him to the side, to a remote piste.

"Agnese? Is everything alright?"

"L-Look, there is something I've been wanting to tell you even before we got into the accident..."

The rumbling of earth was minuscule at first, but then quickly became more erratic. Touma felt it and looked around. But Agnese, too much into her emotions, failed to do so.

"What I am about to tell you may be shocking to you... in a way, this is a forbidden truth, but I am done lying... in addition to my gratitude for taking care of me and my sister, I need to address one other feeling..."

Touma looked up and gasped, noticing the slopes above and the source of the rumbling.

"A-Agnese-san..."

Agnese, misinterpreting the gasp as understanding what she was about to say, blushed even harder.

"I-I know that I am not too pretty and special compared to the others..."

"A-Agnese!"

"B-but, please, just listen to me... I have to say..."

"W-We have to run!"

Pale Touma suddenly took her hand and took off to the side of the piste.

"W-Wha... Che impazienza! I-If you want to take my hand, at least wait to-"

Touma abruptly turned her around.

Agnese looked up. And all of the blushing was instantly replaced by paleness.

Just above them, roaring and rumbling, fell the mixture of mud and snow.

The enormous avalanche was approaching, gaining momentum as it travelled down.

Touma and Agnese managed to get into the nearby tree when the avalanche hit, sweeping them alongside it.

Carissa and Rimea, alerted by the incoming roar, watched as the wave of snow and mud crushed everything in its path.

"Bet that he got swept by it?"

"Oh yes"

"We should save him"

"According to my simulations, another should do just fine"

(MEANWHILE)

The unsealing codeword was spoken without a second thought.

The most important thing was their human's life.

They all felt it and it was the most important treasure they held among the three of them.

Niang-Niang's eyes glowed as she spread her arms, all the injuries of her and Nephthys healed in an instant. In benevolent charity, she decided to also heal Othinus.

"Infinite power, welcome back!"

"Use your connection to him" Othinus instructed Nephthys" Find him and save him!"

Nephthys nodded, already on it. Using an enchantment, she made her voice silent to the other two.

After all, what she wanted to do was a private gift between Touma and herself.

Egyptian naming magic, also known as soul magic, specialized in invoking the powers of eight paths of akh, or soul, within every being and object of the universe. Those parts were: Khet, Sah, Ren, Ba, Ka, Ib, Shuyet, and Sekhem. Or, other words, physical body, astral body, identity, personality, vitality, emotionality, shadow, and form.

Nephthys could invoke each of the parts of the akh to achieve variety of effects. For example, by invoking sah, she could temporarily remove spirit from a body. Ba invocation could be used to overwrite someone's mind, ib invocation to feel someone's emotions or speak directly to one's mind, ka invocation to diminish or boost someone's vital force, and sekhem invocation to meld someone's form into desired shape. Invocation of ren, the name of names, was arguable most powerful, giving the speaker almost absolute control over being or object.

But now, Nephthys desired a basic khet invocation, to locate a physical body.

She created a ball of light and threw her to the sky. She then called out Touma's khet name, name of his body, three times. Touma learned it after Nephthys made him look into his own self, and he later shared it with her, alongside of his other names, just as she shared hers with him, thus entangling their destinies together, as much as Imagine Breaker would allow.

The ball shot downhill, creating an arc of light, pinpointing Touma's location in her mind.

"There you are~"

(FEW MINUTES EARLIER)

Bad news: the tree Touma and Agnese latched onto snapped.

Good news: It was wide enough for them to hold onto and climb on top of it as they surfed down on the monstrous avalanche.

They screamed and shouted, as the wooden surfboard of doom bumped and twisted amongst waves of snow and mud, that spread and spead, consuming everything on its path.

Touma and Agnese held onto the tree for dear life but it was obvious that if it turns fully upside down even once, they were done for.

"Padre nostro che sei nei cieli, sia santificato il tuo nome, venga il tuo regno, si attui la tua volontà..."

Agnese squealed and hung onto him more tightly as they were launched into the air, riding on top of the avalanche and over the hill, before they painfully touching down again. He can hear her praying.

To his horror, Touma noticed that they were heading to the village down below, and were to reach in a rather short time.

"I really, really wanted to say it in different circumstances..." Agnese said after her prayer, practically next to his ear, so he could hear her" But your bad luck is rather infamous, so if we don't make it... so I confess..."

They left the ground once again, and this time, the avalanche spilled over the cliff overlooking the village.

Somewhere on the italian sky, between forest blow and mountains above, Agnese Sanctis whispered to his ear

"I fell in love with you"

They fell down, Agnese smiling at him, and hugging him. Before...

Someone caught them.

"My, my" the enchanting voice whispered next to his other ear" It seems I got here just in time. If you don't mind, keep your Imagine Breaker away for a time being"

"Nephthys... I am so glad to see you"

"Not as much as I am to see you, my dear"

"Can you do something about the avalanche?"

"Already taken care of"

Below them, Niang-Niang cracked her knuckles, and grinning, looking at a tsunami of snow and mud.

Then, she made a gesture of flicking something away.

The shockwave generated by this simple motion froze the onslaught of doom in place, and then, as if a ripple was sent through the masses of snow, blew it back with tremendous might.

Akin to reversing time, avalanche retracted, all of its destruction gone and forgotten, before it reached mountain peaks and solidified there, as if it was never touched through thousands of years.

Shijie-Xian merrily waved her hand at Touma from the distance. Othinus, now small for convenience of travel, did the same.

He reciprocated the gesture, before looking at Nephthys

"I don't suppose... you can give us and the princesses a lift to the shelter?"

(LATER)

Everything ended relatively well, given the mayhem of recent days.

The medicine got to the shelter quickly, courtesy of Carissa, so Touma was relieved, knowing that Angelene had supplies she needed for getting better. According to Lucia and Index, after few days, Angelene would be almost recovered. The pigtailed nun also expressed her happiness that nothing happened to Touma... aside from almost dying twice, that is.

After living through exasperation of Kaibi and Index, worry of Rikuri and Itsuwa, as well as berating of Lucia and Amazora, Touma asked about the avalanche.

Itsuwa explained to him that the shelter was almost hit by the cataclysm, but due to Stiyl's intervention, it was spared.

Touma admitted that he would love to see it, and regretted being away. From the tale of both Kanzaki and Itsuwa, Stiyl spread his rune cards alongside the shelter, and upon summoning Innocentius outside, used giant sword made from his hottest flames to cut the avalanche in half. The sheer temperature of the sword melted the snow and vaporized rocks and mud, so all the shelter was hit with was dust and steam.

Stiyl didn't care much about Touma's gratitude, instead getting upset about him for leaving Index in danger so intensely that the nun in question had to intervene, politely thanking her former partner for keeping her safe, but at the same time, standing her ground in protecting Touma.

Orsola was only slightly surprised that two princesses were to stay for the dinner, in addition to already expected Magic Goddesses. However, she quickly smiled with her usual gentleness and retreated to the kitchen. Tired and wanting a moment of peace, Touma gladly followed her, and the two worked side by side, enjoying blissfulness of each other's presence.

Afterwards, when the final preparations to the meal were made, Touma, somewhat apprehensively, asked the Magic Goddesses how exactly the experiment he and Seria made for them went.

Othinus, Nephthys, Niang-Niang exchanged glances... and then all burst into laughter.

"Human, that was a nightmare" Othinus shook her head.

"Absolutely dreadful. I think I value life in itself a little more" remarked Nephthys.

"Yup, it was one flop after the other" Niang-Niang added.

"Oh? I see. You finished a bit early... so does this mean it was a failure? Are you mad at me?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that"

"While it was horrible, it's exactly because it was so horrible that we were able to understand what is important to us"

"While we may never fully see eye to eye in matter of the divine, I think we can safely say that we reached an agreement on what is important beyond our divisions, which is more than enough for us to bond over"

"Which is?"

"Come on, he can't be that dense all of the sudden" Niang-Niang pouted" I think he is asking us for the demonstration."

"I-I think I am too tired for any sort of-"

Nephthys put her hands on his arms and went for a deep kiss, her long hair partially shielding them from view. Additionally, she pressed her chest against Touma's own, while raising and bending her leg slightly back, as if posing for a movie poster.

"Oh, my" Orsola gasped" How bold!"

"I-If you have to do it, do it somewhere else!" Lucia blurted out.

Touma did not have a strength or mental capacity to scold Nephthys for this immensely pleasant kiss. He didn't want to admit, but it made him weak in the knees.

When Nephthys stepped aside with a smile, something akin to purple blur moved through the air.

Only one girl kissed by wrapping her legs around his chest to negate height difference

"Wai-mhhhh?!"

"Nope! Xiànzài, ni jiùshì wo de jingshang [Now, you are my reward!] Yum!"

"Seriously, go somewhere else!" Lucia cried out.

Niang-Niang had a tendency of doing playful bites amongst her kisses, fitting for the undead. She also had a unique characteristic of making her kisses tingle like electricity, which was due to her much lower body temperature. The very same characteristic caused her kisses to be more prone to leaving hickeys.

Finally, Othinus stepped forward, wiping Touma's lips with a handkerchief.

"No offense to both of you, but you may come in pair, I come as my own kiss"

She put a hand to his cheek and he instinctively did the same to hers. It was an echo of how she would cling to his cheek while in her fairy form, and would remain the way they kissed for the rest of their lives.

The kiss was gentler, quieter, more similar to something you would see in fairy tale. Othinus smiled gently, before pulling away.

"Am I going mute or something?" Lucia gave up, shaking her head.

Touma decided between making a lecture about messing with him out of the blue, or letting it go. He gave up, as he had no energy left for the former.

"W-Well, seeing that all of you did... t-that, in front of one another, and Nephthys and Othinus are not jumping to each other's throats, I think it's safe to say that... hmm... yes, it was a success"

"But it's not over yet" Nephthys smiled and motioned at Agnese" You, sister of the cross. Come here, we want to make it even to you"

"W-Who? M-M-Me?" Agnese looked around, her eyes widening.

"We saw what you were doing and saying. I am pretty sure you were eager to follow through with what you said..." Niang-Niang said with a wink.

"I-I don't know what you are talking about... we were falling, there was no time for such..."

"But you are not falling now, are you?"

With a snap of Niang-Niang's fingers, Agnese skidded forward to Touma's side, as if on eyes, and fell forward... into a kiss.

Although it was merely an innocent gently peck, the undisputed touch of lips lasting more than it would if it was just an accident, caused Agnese's face to lit up like a firework from the crimson hue.

Angelene squealed, more in excitement and curiosity than anything, as she watched her big sister and leader stumble backwards with a rather goofy expression.

"Bu... it... kiss...you... him... no... why...did... how..."

As Lucia was a step away from turning into a human beatbox due to shock and dismay, Angese made a few uneasy steps, horror and elation fighting in her mind. She chuckled like a little girl.

"Per ora, credo che il mio paradiso sia sulla terra..." she whispered.

And then, with a grace of a drunk ballerina, she fell down to the ground, unconscious from emotional overload.

"Oh my~" Orsola gasped again.

"And that's how you finish with a boom" Niang-Niang punched the air.

"I feel like we made history with that!" Nephthys remarked" A change will come, I know it!

Itsuwa watched this, a little jealous and distraught. For now, her occasion passed.

But then, the idea appeared in her head. A daring idea, but the one she liked more with each passing second.

'I will woe him... in my element. And I will find others who share my talents!'

Little did she know, she just made a momentous decision.

Dinner was a little bit postponed, as they waited for Agnese to come around enough to eat, they finally sat to dinner. During that meal, Touma was mostly with Gokusai sisters and Index, talking to them and making up for the time they lost, as well as exchanging small-talk with Carissa and Rimea, eating nearby.

Nothing noteworthy happened... aside from...

BAM!

The doors opened wide, revealing Sherry Cromwell, who looked as if she saw death face to face and would rather die than come back.

Touma went to greet his friend, a bit concerned by the way she looked.

"Hey, Sherry. Did you... had any luck with your inspiration? Did you create any beautiful art you wanted?"

Sherry's lip twitched. Her blue eyes welled up with tears, and before he knew it, she was hugging Touma like a human-sized teddy bear, wailing hysterically and shaking him back and forth.

"My art? My art?! I... I don't know... I am losing my mind... there was a decapitating railing... a flying bear... and rouge snowmobile... I just wanted to create in peace! Kamijou, you save others! Save me, Kamijou!"

"Sh-Sherry-san, you are not making any sense-" Touma said, shocked by complete reversal of personality from the cool gothic big sister Sherry.

"Is this what you feel all the time?! Save me from this, my art... my babies!"

She latched onto him and didn't seem intent of letting him go.

So Touma, as a supportive and caring friend he wanted to be to her, hugged her and patted her head, whispering words of encouragement, despite having no idea what happened.

He looked at the sisters, and shrugged, still comforting Sherry.

They shrugged back, equally bewildered.

They were used to it by now.

Such was the life of Kamijou Touma, and this was far from the weirdest thing that happened to him.

He died already and came back to life. What could happen to beat that?

[And there it is, chapter 50. But stay just a little longer, there's an important epilogue here]

(NEW ARC'S PRELUDE/BETWEEN THE LINES)

The time in which Kamijou Touma fell into a coma seemed like eternity ago.

Kankyougami Hasako sighed, looking around her small hermitage in the forest.

With meticulous work, she made it into small sanctuary, with pleasant climate and lush vegetation, which wrapped itself on every man made structure.

Hasako retreated here from time to time to escape from overwhelming sorrow and longing she felt. She knew it was a feeble distraction but those days, everybody had to cope in some form or way.

She put on her golden, antique looking glasses on her nose. Hasako's eyes, shining like multicoloured prisms, were excellent in terms of sight. She learned that she liked to wear those glasses because they helped her channel her inspiration.

Yes. To cope, she started to write.

She opened a laptop. It took a lot of effort, but she finally got a gist of how it operated, more or less, although she still jabbed into keyboard more strongly than was needed.

She entered into a folder called 'Flower of Ages', ready to write next chapter of the book.

Hasako started to write down her experiences in autobiography, under the pen name 'Lady Evergreen'. She did not do so out of vanity or due to belief that her life was incredibly interesting (even if it was, objectively, rather peculiar, to put it lightly). She did so to feel as if she was once again experiencing time with Touma. Her beloved, born in another era from herself, one for whom she awaited for decades, who was so close and yet so far.

The ground trembled, causing liquid in a glass on her makeshift desk to ripple.

Even far away, she could feel, and see, Maidono's frustration.

She spent as much of her time with her as she could, but there were moment where she knew she Maidono wanted to be alone.

Just as Hasako wrote to not become a sobbing mess, Maidono tore down and shattered objects and structures with her ability. Fitting for one who ought to be called Incarnate of Destruction.

"RAAAAAAAAH!"

Some distance away, Maidono screamed, jabbing her finger at the artificial lake of District 21.

The enormous pressure of her ability caused the earth to rupture and shot up in jagged spikes. The water agitated itself and rose up in waves, spilling over the reservoir, and into the forest, as the enormous cracks formed across the mountain, as if solid rock was thinnest of papers.

For the moment, everything was shaking, but as Maidono threw a couple of rocks and uprooted couple of trees, she calmed down, and so did the tremors.

She wiped tears from her eyes and slammed her fist on the nearest tree.

"Come on, come back... I am here for you, we all are... please, come back, damn it... please!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mild earthquakes were now common in Academy City. They were only mild because no one was stupid enough to provoke Maidono, who, given her infuriation at fate, could level the city for all she cared.

Storms were also frequent, with lightning often striking close or at Tokiwadai. Some passerby would often see Academy City's Railgun with hair and clothes in disarray, kicking a certain vending machine with obsessive passion, and then looking around, as if a boy who would meet her at this spot were to appear magically behind her.

One could see Queen of Tokiwadai, sobbing quietly and caressing a silver whistle hanging from her neck, with eyes so red from crying that they looked like two setting suns. Next to her, Hokaze Junko was faring no better, blowing her nose and trying not to tremble, as she absentmindedly caressed the Gekota Touma and Gunha won her some time ago.

The riverside was marked with scorch marks, alongside few burnt holes in the nearby buildings. Mugino Shizuri, creator of this mess, was currently locked in her room, denying most food and company. Hamazura Shiage roamed the ITEM apartment, worry eating him away for both Touma, his dear friend, and Mugino, who was now like family to him. Takitsubo Rikou often looked outside the window, saddness in her gaze, with occasional tear or two staining the carpet. And while Kinuhata appeared to only listen to music, she took every update on Kamijou's situation with interest.

Index went to church of District 12, praying day and night. Meanwhile, Othinus discussed matters with Nephthys and Niang-Niang, coming to a conclusion that if no change occurred, they would have to act soon. Neither of them wanted to admit how worried they were. It was normal for Nephthys to bawl her eyes out, but the fact that even Niang-Niang seemed to deflate and got shaky showcased the whole truth.

Fukiyose constantly visited the hospital, trying to be of service, despite the fact that there was little that could be done to effectively aid Touma. But due to her change of heart and attitude, she felt a need to at least try to do it for him. And also the fact that she felt like she was going to fall apart the moment she stopped doing something for him. She also had to stop Himegami from sleeping by Kamijou's healing tube non-stop. The miko girl develop a fear that if the boy would be in a coma long enough that everyone would forget him. In her love for him and knowledge how such forgotten state felt like, she wanted to guard him.

Since there was nothing they could actually manage, they spent time talking about Touma, with Fukiyose throwing in funny stories and Himegami heartfelt ones. It lasted until one of them started crying, after which the other, however bravely she tried would follow suit. Soon, it turned into mumbled singing of sad songs on karaoke, or depressing movie night, on which they fell asleep, trying to comfort each other's aching heart.

Things proceeded similarly with Wannai and Awatsuki, with the former crying so much that she used her own ability to dry herself. Awatsuki got the idea of making a welcome back gift for Touma once he awakened, but her sadness usually caused her to destroy it mid-way.

Ladylee Tangleroad contemplatively sat at the pond in the park, her face as death she couldn't meet with. Accelerator did the same in his cell, and Saten Ruiko in her class, looking through the window. In Saten's case, she had absolutely no idea that her heart can actually ache that much. The pain she felt during Level Upper Case and other times in which she was struck into sadness had nothing on this one.

New Light meticulously restored Touma's dorm. But nothing they did helped Lessar's depression, evident on her face and with the way she lost almost all of her libido. Lancis did not laugh, and if she did, it sounded similar to crying. Floris pretended to be okay and snuck out to be alone with her thoughts, while Bayloupe found herself erratic and unable to find any meaningful activity, not being able to focus whatsoever.

Itsuwa and Kanzaki stayed together, trying to comfort each other by revealing to each other plans of what they would do with Touma if he were to awake. Similarly to many others, if one of them started crying, the other would hold her in her arms, until the crying episode passed, or until the sadness overtook her. Needless to say, nodachi and the spear were almost completely buried by wet tissues.

Transcendents, for the most part of time, were gone from the face of the earth, and no one knew what exactly they were doing, except for the fact that Bologna and Aradia contacted the hospital regularly to check up on Touma, once appearing in person to bring flowers and chocolates, respectively, despite the patient not being able to eat them. Mut Thebes was also seen once, sitting in Touma's room almost entire day.

Hanatsuyu Youen, more distraught then she would like to admit, found comfort in company of Rikuri, and two of them often drank together, whether it was juice or one of sisters' concoctions, speaking how each would help Touma and finding the slightly sadistic joy in describing just what poisons they would use on Touma's enemies.

Scavengers took care of the Gokusai Kamijou apartment. Rita volunteered to compile Kamijou's missed school lessons, gathered and handed to her by very tearful Komoe, who would smoke and drink tons those days, if not interventions of Musujime Awaki.

Naru, doing her assigned maid work alongside Kumokawa Maria, made a paper crane with a blessing for Touma's health to improve every single day and every single day she inspected if his room was comfortable, despite it making no difference to comatose boy.

Yakumaru Itsuki firmly believed that Touma could still hear them despite the comatose state, and for at least half an hour daily, she talked to him, pressing a hand to his tube, laughing through tears as she recapped the day for him. She continued to get even more beautiful than usual for those visits, specifically for the boy, although the makeup always ended smeared in the end.

With Amazora being comforted by Amazora and vice versa, Kaibi talked, and cried, together with Mitsuari Ayu and Kongou Mitsuko. For which Shirai Kuroko was eternally grateful.

Prideful, boastful Kongou Mitsuko was someone she could somewhat handle by now. But dramatically sad, depressed Kongou Mitsuko? Oh, that was another story. Everything the aviation heiress did tended to be dramatic, and crying was no exception.

Right now, they were standing in front of hospital. Kongou, like a good fiance-to-be, visited Touma almost every day, often staying with him and missing the meals, unless Wannai, Awatsuki, Mikoto, or Kaibi didn't remind her. She displayed her usual flamboyance, because she believed that Touma would want her to be like that, but she also got moments in which guilt of what happened during confrontation with Vasilissa and immense sadness due to not being to be with her first and most important love overwhelmed her.

"Woe is me! Why does this befell him?" she sobbed as she talked with Kaibi, wetting her fan" I had a dream of us being together, out and about, of him kissing me and me kissing him in return... we were so happy... and then I woke up... W-Why I dream such things when he is obviously unwell? What is wrong with me, Kaibi-san?"

"Nothing is wrong with you" Kaibi said honestly, offering Kongou a tissue to blow her nose, which she also accepted graciously" You just hope for things to be better and it gets out at night in your dreams... we all hope for that, each on its own... I miss him so very much. But he is not dead. Like Gunha-san said... we need to have faith, because... emm... 'Kamijou's guts can crush even hold of death'... or something like that?"

"I do recall something like that. I don't think I will ever understand this #7 gentleman" Kuroko said massaging her temples" But it is the best advice we can follow in this situation"

Kuroko was much more stern on the outside, but she also held great deal anxiety for both Touma and Mikoto, not unlike what Hamazura Shiage felt in relation to Meltdowner and Touma.

"Mitsuari-san..." Kaibi asked softly, putting a hand on Ayu's shoulder" Do you hear us? Are you okay?"

Ayu, being naturally fragile in her mentality due to past experiences, took Kamijou's state especially hard. Aside from moments Misaki, where they planned how to help Touma later on, she was largely unresponsive, almost catatonic, moving from one place to another with traces of dried tears and bags under her eyes.

"I am..." Ayu hiccuped, and then answered nasally" fine. I just... I cannot bare to lose him. I just can't"

"You won't lose him." Kaibi assured, trying to be convinced" We won't lose him. I know this may sound hollow in this city of science, but we must... believe in him. Believe in Touma"

"I will" Kongou said strongly" I will be loyal, no matter how much time passes"

"I will too" Ayu said, as she and Aero Hand hugged.

Above them, on hospital corridor, Tsuchimikado Motoharu and Aogami Pierce were exiting Touma's room.

"I can't believe that. I just can't" Aogami shook his head" That's so unlike him. Ugh, I would punch that womanizing heroic son of a bitch, but I can't do even that"

"I doubt that would be of help" Tsuchimikado sighed, adjusting his sunglasses" And while it does take him more than usual, Kami-yan will be back. He has to be because we prayed for the chance to kick his ass for making us worry."

"For real" Aogami spread his arms" I mean, there is no punchline to our discussions. It is unnerving to only have an echo when I say small sizes rule, when he would always butt in and say 'but onee-san this... onee-san that...'... damn it, there is a structure to all of this. Kami-yan, you are missing out, god damn it. I have so much to tell you, bastard!"

"It is to be expected. There can be no Delta Force with no Delta and there can be no Delta without three sides... three points... or three people" Tsuchimikado nodded mournfully" The sooner you wake up, the better. Hear me, Kami-yan?!"

Seeing that the nurse gave them an annoyed look, he sighed.

"We will be back tomorrow, Kami-yan." Tsuchimikado exclaimed, and left the room.

"Take care... well, as much as you can" Aogami closed his eyes, emotions getting the better of him.

The spiky haired boy in the tube of golden liquid was left alone. For the next hours it was just this. Static, unchanging, and uninterrupted, as the sun set, moon rose up, and stars appeared over the nocturnal cityscape.

As seen through various examples, Academy City was torn emotionally, as one of its cornerstones was amiss.

No one knew whether to move on, or keep hoping. And even if moving on was a logical choice, they didn't know if it was possible.

In their own way, everyone was grieving.

But there was no need for further contemplation.

New era was coming, new saga was about to commence.

Written in romance, hilarity, tenderness, and blood.

As if hearing the sorrow of the City, it all converged upon that single boy. The new beginning came towards the world.

Because just then, in that darkest hour of the night... Kamijou Touma's finger twitched.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

And HERE. WE. ARE. I certainly got you through a lot of material, buuuut I really hope you enjoyed reading it, just as much as I loved writing it.

Now, few words about plotlines of this story.

General setting... I thought that since we had pool chapter and two beach chapters (Maidono vs Hasako battle and Orsola's Monastery), it would be only natural that there should be mountain/winter chapter as well, especially since it was written throughout all December, before, during, and after Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, while I didn't write dedicated holiday special this year, I hope this chapter gave you spirit of winter. And who knows about Christmas Chapter, there is always next year.

Lucia (and Lidvia)... if someone knows my style a bit, they would notice that I have a tendency to make family connections between seemingly unrelated (though similar) characters. Sometimes it is to make a joke, and expand on it to create meaningful connection (like with Oriana and Gokusai sisters or Komoe and Rita) and sometimes is because I love the implications of what could have been if said connection was true (like with Bologna and Misaki). Lidvia and Lucia being mother and daughter fit both cases. Not only is there obvious similarity between them, with their hair, eyes, and deranged smile, when they both get mad. But I also think Lidvia and Lucia are great together because in my eyes, Lidvia can teach us a lot about danger of religious extremism and being a zealot. Blind devotion not only distorts original reason through which one starts to believe in the first place, turning it into the obsession, but it can also hurt the others, as one would do do anything to satisfy the teachings of the religion, including pushing aside the needs of those close to them (I encountered such cases). Of course, each case is different and those are merely the extremes. But I think it's interesting thing to think about. We remember that Lucia was very similar to Lidvia in terms of fanatic devotion, getting livid (huh, good word to use, I suppose) when Touma touched her. But she changed for the better. I like to think it was because she and the Forces were transformed upon confrontation with Touma's virtues.

Among Touma routes, Lucia is one of the more unique ones. She is technically in Touma's harem as his partner, but they share a slightly different kind of love and admiration to one another, more sublime, spiritual, and platonic, although this is not to say that there is nothing physical between them as well. They did sleep together in the future, despite Lucia never bearing any children in any reality. They ground each other and are loyal to one another, wordlessly, and this is something refreshing to me.

Magic Goddesses Survival Experience... okay, this dates back to a random discussion I had with my colleague, who is not a fan of Toaru, but likes the designes of characters. We were speaking about Magic Goddesses once and we came into conclusion that it would be funny and cathartic if they had an all-out physical catfight. I thought about the idea for a while, realizing it would be nice to actually resolve the tension that clearly is between Nephthys and Othinus (I imagine it is annoying for Niang-Niang either), aside from two of them making a deal. Since this stress relief would not work at all if they still had their divine powers, I wanted to make it an experiment from Touma's side, a challenge of sorts. Lots of humour there is absurdist, even cartoonish, fitting for beings who regularly temper with reality itself. I hoped this would create some form of strange understanding between three of the goddesses, who saw that the most important constant in their lives, despite differences in their personalities and past, is love for Touma himself, even if manifested in different ways.

And Rimea... I truly love Rimea, she is absolutely charming, mature, very intelligent, total introvert role model, who also has a wild side. Also, a true mine of psychological complexity with hidden/repressed emotions. A marvel for psychologist to describe. Not to mention her voice is my second favourite in IF, only after Nephthys... yeah, there is a lot that I love about her. It was high time she had a longer moment with Touma in a fanfic. I thought that if there are some Touma and Carissa crackship shippers, why not Rimea x Touma (with any potential shipping-proper occurring in Touma's adulthood)? Touma loves mature, collected, nurturing older women. Though Rimea is cautious and sometimes lacks warmth, this is only to people she mistrusts. And even though most people ARE in that category, she showed signs of trusting Touma, despite him knowing she is a princess. Those two can form an incredible team together, caring, funny and loyal, helping one another on such profound levels... this is why one of the side-stories connected to this series, that I have in mind, is the one about Rimea and Touma's royal correspondence and spending time together, having fun and deep conversations. While there is an age gap between them, I wouldn't be surprised if Touma just gradually got closer to her over span of 10 or even 20 years, after which, the gap would not be problematic at all. But even without physical attraction, there is a kinship of souls there and some charming comedy spinkled in and out.

Carissa fans, don't think I forgot about you. Touma will most possibly get an arc with our favourite warmonger extraordinaire.

I also wanted to give a bit of backstory to her cautiousness and thought there is nothing more telling than guilt of causing the death of the loved one through carelessness and blind trust. I am very curious, where IS the king, father of Rimea, Carissa, and Villian, and husband of Elizard? Why didn't we see him? Is he away, or dead, like the direction I went in? I am rather curious.

Agnese... I think Agnese is not underused in the same way as, let's say, Maidono or Headband Girl, but there is surprisingly little spoken of her in the community, at least in my opinion. Which is a shame, because while she may not be overly saturated with lore, she is fun, and there is a lot to be done with her. There is a lot of mystery due to her parents tragic demise, a lot of psychological complexity due to her growing up in the orphanage, lot of personal transformation, finally, personal and emotional growth due to interactions with her fellow sisters and possible infatuation with Kamijou Touma, who, in my opinion, made her beliefs in what makes a good person, what is virtue, what is evil, and what is salvation crumble, and be reborn. She is also rather cute when she is not going psycho. So, since no one else seemed really committed, I thought her route through. Why not? Agnese deserves some love from an author like me.

Also, Sherry... I quite enjoy Sherry's character, despite not using her often in this story yet. In PPC, she doesn't have a harem route with Touma, but is instead his very good friend, kind of a straight-woman to harem shenanigans, someone he can rely on and vice versa, as she feels the same, and someone to talk to in need, much like Uiharu and Takitsubo on the science side. I just think Touma needs to have some good, trusted female friends who are just that, good, loyal, supportive friends. Poor Sherry, she only wanted to sculpt XD

Well, this appears to be it for now. Like I said, a hectic month lies ahead of me. Wish me luck, and as always, I sincerely hope to return as fast as I can. Because there is a lot to do. In the future chapters, we have Housewife Arc, Birdway/Carissa Arc, Chimera Arc, and more. There are so many things to explore in new saga of this story, so please, stay put and wait for more. Sooner or later (please be sooner!) it will come. Because this is my passion project and, when given time and space, I work on it with pleasure.

See you next time! You are amazing, take care!