Volume 5, 4: A Certain Freeloading Forbidden Index. Arrow_Made_of_AZUSA.

Volume 5, Chapter 4: A Certain Freeloading Forbidden Index. Arrow_Made_of_AZUSA.

Part 1

August 31, 3:15pm.

Academy City.

The esper development city that was developed in Western Tokyo. It took up one third the size of Tokyo, and had a population of 2.3 million people. 80% of the residents were students. The 'powers' of the students could be classified into 6 levels, from Level 0 to Level 5.

In this city, the 'powers' weren't some abnormal spiritual power or anything. The 'powers' here had a scientific basis, and after a certain level of training, anyone could obtain one.

In a corner of this extremely conspicuous city, there was a student dormitory. The ordinary High School student Kamijou Touma was staying in this student dormitory, surrounded by summer vacation homework and grasping his head alone in agony.

“SAVE ME! DAMN IT! WHAT IS THIS FACTORIZATION ABOUT!? A MATHS PROBLEM HAS 2 ANSWERS!? WHAT NONSENSE!?”

Kamijou cried out in agony as he bent his body back as if he was trying to escape from the maths problems on the short glass table. He was a weirdo who would start to mutter to himself once he met difficulty. But even if he managed to deal with the 'mathematics', there was the book review assignment of 'modern Japanese' and 'English assignments' waiting for him, which caused Kamijou's mind to almost sink into distress.

(Uu...)

Kamijou lay on the floor and stared at his own right hand.

The Imagine Breaker—the power that was hidden in Kamijou's right hand. Any 'supernatural power', no matter whether it was an electrical shot of 1 billion volts or flames more than 3,000 degrees Celsius would be erased by his right hand and vanish without a trace. But such a great ability wasn't of any use in completing a summer assignment.

Right now, it was August 31, 3:15pm 00 seconds.

This is a disaster...Kamijou said half-seriously with tears in his heart.

It could only be said that when it rains, it pours. He had gone out this morning to the convenience store to buy canned coffee, only to find out that they were sold out. And then he had been held up by Aogami Pierce and Tsuchimikado, and then he was forced by Mikoto to act as her lover, and then he was attacked and chased all over the city by that Aztec magician, who was disguised as Unabara Mitsuki. He hadn't made any progress in his homework at all.

As he turned around to look, he could see a girl who was staring intently at the television and a stupid cat who was burying itself into the bag of potato chips and wolfing the food in large gulps. Both of them seemed to be mocking him.

The girl's name was Index.

It was an abbreviation of the ridiculously long name 'Index Librorum Prohibitorum'.

The girl had white skin, silver hair, green eyes and foreigner's features; and she was also wearing a really glamorous white nun habit that had gold embroidery on it, making it look like a teacup. She was completely in a 19th century Victorian atmosphere. Actually, he didn't know what a Victorian style was, he just randomly said it.

One could tell from her appearance that she was not a resident of Academy City, the leader of the science world.

And her position right now was of the complete opposite; she was of the magical world that was full of mystics.

She was a little different from a magical girl one would commonly think of, but that was not the only troublesome thing. It was because she was the only person in the world who had obtained all forms of magical knowledge in the entire world through 'a certain method'.

The authentic magical girl was now staring at the television and nodding her head away.

On a side note, what was on the television was a magical girl cartoon that was airing (summer vacation rerun).

“I see, so this Magical Powered Kanamin normally dresses like a student. No wonder even the Albigensian Crusaders of the Roman Catholic Church couldn't even get a trace of her. But what's that staff that gives out rainbow light...ah! It must be a wand that's the 5th cursed tool 'Lotus Wand' that includes the 5 elements and remade with modern materials! Ohh, as expected of Japan! Such impressive Japanese magic.”

You're wrong, that's just the mental food of otakus that Japan is so proud of. Kamijou wanted to say something to the magical girl (the authentic one) who was staring at the television intently, but he thought that he should ignore it. Right now, he should focus on his homework.

“I say, I won't stop you from watching the television or talking, but you should at least lower the volume of the TV and speak softer! Right now, a tiny distraction for me is fatal enough!”

“What!”

Index unhappily turned her head back and said,

“It's because Touma won't play with me that I could only watch the TV. And where did you go at noon? What was that phone call about? Don't tell me that Touma's acting like usual and went to fight with a magician secretly without telling me?”

“Ah, no, don't worry don't worry, there wasn't any fight this time. We settled it through diplomatic means. Hm, the Aztecs really have a gentlemanly attitude.”

“Then which unfortunate girl did Touma help this time?”

“Stop entering your own world! Since when did this 'I fight...save an unfortunate girl' formula appear?”

Kamijou shouted, only to see Index looking extremely tired and sighing.

“Oh well, no point talking about the past. But Touma, I was neglected for an entire morning, so I could only enter the TV world to escape from reality.”

“Alright, then let's play the holiday homework game. I'll take maths, you'll take English.”

“..I don't want to play such a stupid game.”

Index sighed again and said,

“Oh yeah, Touma, thank you for your manga. I placed the ones I borrowed over there.”

“There—OI!”

Kamijou was speechless. The manga that should have been placed on the bookshelf were scattered all over the floor as if they had met an earthquake.

“Wh-why!? Why did you find more things for me to do in this situation!? Since you took them to read, you should put them back into their places, right?”

“Don't worry, I remember where to put each book.”

Index casually said as she continued to watch the television.

Kamijou lowered his shoulders and sighed. The environment of the entire place was really to let one see 'where the items are'. To someone who could remember 'where the things should be put' flawlessly, it was meaningless to put the manga back in order.

Index was a library of magician books; 103,000 magical grimoires from all over the world like 'The Golden Bough', The 'Book of M', the 'Book of Hermes', the 'Secret Teachings' and the 'Tetrabiblos' were memorized in her brain. To her, even if the room was messed up, she could instantly remember the location of every single book.

“But is this the attitude you should show after borrowing from others?”

“Eh? But it's easier to look for stuff like this.”

Index didn't look happy as she said,

“Besides, Touma, you don't consider where you should put your stuff when you arrange your room, so that's why you can't find your ball-point pen so often. If you don't believe me, let me ask you, Touma, where's your Ancient Literature assignment?”

“Eh?”

Kamijou sat up and looked on the glass table.

It was not that.

The large stack of Ancient Literature assignment that he had finally finished and stapled had disappeared.

“Ah? Wait a minute! Where did that Ancient Literature assignment I just finished go to?”

“In this situation, the stuff will appear in unexpected places.”

“STOP STANDING AROUND WITH A GENTLE SMILE WHILE WATCHING THE SHOW! PLEASE HELP ME LOOK FOR IT!”

Kamijou's cry of agony rang throughout the student dormitory.

Logically speaking, it should have been in the room. But for some reason, Kamijou had a feeling that he wouldn't be reunited with his Ancient Literature assignment.

Part 2

August 31, 4:00pm.

There was almost nobody on the streets on August 31.

As 80% of the population were students, and today was the last day of summer vacation, most of the residents were in their dormitories, frantically trying to finish the summer vacation assignments that they hadn't completed. Only the wind turbines, that had replaced the electric cables, were spinning in a lonely manner.

A man was silently walking on this hot summer empty street.

This man who was standing on the empty street didn't look normal.

In the hot late August under the blazing sun, the man was wearing a black Western suit, and even his tie was black. The man was rather burly, and his thick muscles were still obvious even when they were under a shirt. In such hot weather, he was not sweating at all, keeping his eyes closed as if it was cool.

He looked like some yakuza member or someone who had just attended a yakuza funeral.

However, the burly man had something on his right wrist that was unrelated to a yakuza funeral. A Japanese-style armour that had a black Japanese bow on it that looked like an Arbalest. Through that complicated design, he could pull the bow with one hand and shoot the arrow.

The mysterious man's name was Yamisaka Ouma.

He was not bound by the rules of Science. In other words, he was a magician.

“Index Librorum Prohibitorum.”

The burly man said a string of Latin fluently. It was a name any magician would have heard of. The girl who had 103,000 magical grimoires in her head. Any magician knew that by obtaining such knowledge, they could change the rules of the world and fulfill every single wish.

Thus, there were magicians all over the world who wanted that girl for themselves.

“Hm, still far away.”

Yamisaka muttered to himself, not hesitating as he walked on.

He had quite the battle just to enter this city. Not only was Academy City surrounded by walls, but there were also Anti-Skill members who specialized in preventing intruders from entering.

Yamisaka hadn't killed those Anti-Skill members, but the wounded Anti-Skill members could suffer from some after-effects. He understood this clearly, but he never stopped in his tracks. Since he had come this far, if he gave up now, it would be too rude to the people he had hurt. Since he wanted to do this, he had to make sure he finished it.

Yamisaka Ouma continued to walk down the street with heat waves all over it.

He had only one aim, a certain room of a certain student dormitory.

Part 3

August 31, 5:05pm.

Just when it was about time for dinner, they finally found the missing Ancient Literature homework.

Index, who found it, laughed and said,

“Ohhoho, to think that it was hidden in the pile of manga. Aren't I great, Touma? Shouldn't you be saying something to me?”

“DIDN'T YOU MESS UP THOSE MANGA? MESSING THEM UP IS STILL A BAD THING! ARRANGE THAT PILE OF MANGA ONTO THE BOOKSHELF! AND THEN APOLOGIZE TO ME!”

“It had nothing to do with manga. Sphynx took it away.”

On a side note, Sphynx was a calico cat Kamijou was raising. Of course, it was not the mysterious beast that would kill people who couldn't think fast.

As for the culprit cat, it was attracted by a 3-minute cooking show on the television, and was pawing at the television.

Kamijou sighed seriously.

Right now, it was about 5pm. There was less than 7 hours before the date changed. Even if he rushed through an all-nighter, there was less than 15 hours left till school started. Could he really finish all the maths questions, English assignment and Modern Literature?

It was really a waste to spend so much time looking for the Ancient Literature assignment, Kamijou thought in despair.

But on the other side, Index, who couldn't get Kamijou's praise, seemed to be unhappy as well.

“Touma, Touma! I helped out, so I should be able to get a reward, right? I want to eat delicious stuff! Make what they're cooking for today's dinner!”

“...”

Kamijou stared silently at the television.

Maybe it was because it was summer vacation, the 3-minute cooking show was introducing how to make a tofu hamburger to make children happy.

Kamijou then slowly turned his neck around and stared at Index.

His lips made a mysterious smile.

“...Are you complaining of having such a long life?”

“Why are you so rash? Touma, you should be hungry, which is why you're getting angry so easily. Don't you want to eat that?”

“Of course I want to, but haven't I been emphasizing it for so long, that I don't have time to do that?”

“Your brain will become rigid if you give yourself too much pressure. You should occasionally rest once in a while.”

“Uuu! Those completely kind words are making me hate my itchy mouth...”

“Okay okay, Touma, stop grasping your head and wailing about. Eh? Where did your maths problems go off to?”

“Eh?”

Touma stared at the short glass table.

It wasn't there.

Part 4

August 31, 5:30pm.

Yamisaka Ouma was standing in front of the student dormitory and he looked up at the 7th level. However, his eyes were tightly shut, so one might wonder what significance this action had.

“It's here.”

After Yamisaka muttered to himself, he activated the mechanism of the armour on his right hand. The bow on the armour was activated through the automatic mechanism. But this black Japanese-styled bow had no arrow.

“Fuuma no Gen.”

Yamisaka let go of the bow string without any hesitation. With a ripping sound, the sharp sound of the thin string being snapped echoed throughout the silence so clearly that one might have been shocked.

BOOM! A ferocious roar of wind whipped up beside Yamisaka.

A large mass of air formed up in the size of a beach ball in front of him, but it was transparent and colourless, so the naked eye couldn't see it.

Yamisaka jumped up on both legs and landed on the mass of air.

Chi! His legs effortlessly crushed the mass of air, flattening it.

BAM! With the loud sound of the air expanding, Yamisaka's body jumped up with shocking momentum.

His body flew up vertically, scaling several metres of the student dormitory wall.

Once he reached the targeted level—Kamijou Touma's room on the 7th level, he grabbed onto the parapet of the balcony to prevent himself from flying further up. He then stood on the parapet and pulled his bow.

“Shouda no Gen.”

BOOM!

With the sound of the bow string being plucked, a transparent metal-like ball smashed the thin glass windows to smithereens.

The scattering of the broken glass sounded like some high-pitched scream.

The numerous pieces of glass scattered into the room like a torrent. Someone may have ended up severely hurt if the person had stood near the window, but Yamisaka didn't care about that. He stepped into the room, preparing to take Index away.

However,

“No one's here?”

Yamisaka was shocked that no one was in the room. In order to confirm that, he checked the bathroom as well, but there was really no one around. It seemed like they had just gone out.

Yamisaka tilted his head, and looked dejected as he walked back to the balcony. The shattered glass windows were scattered everywhere, but the magician didn't care at all about that.

“Hm.”

Yamisaka awkwardly scratched his head, and then muttered,

“Souma no Gen.”

The string resonated like a sonar. The soft sound of the string gradually became louder as it swept through the entire city, giving Yamisaka Index's current location.

Part 5

August 31, 6:00pm.

“...I have a bad feeling about this.”

Kamijou Touma muttered to himself in the air-conditioned fast food chain restaurant. What was with this chill? Kamijou was extremely puzzled by it. He had locked the door, so there shouldn't have been thieves about...

Even though it was the 31st of August today, a lot of people were still coming out to the streets to eat. The fighters were in convenience stores, fast food restaurants and yakiniku restaurants, resting and preparing for war. They intended to finish their food before returning back to their study tables and continuing their long fights with their summer vacation homework. There was less than 6 hours before summer vacation ended.

“Touma, Touma! Can I choose anything? Can I choose anything from here?”

Index was sitting opposite Kamijou, looking at the extremely large menu. Her eyes were glowing like a child waiting for Santa Claus. On a side note, this restaurant chain had a shocking rule in that it allowed customers to bring their pets in, so the stupid cat was cuddled up on Index's lap.

Kamijou sighed.

Kamijou had merely come to this restaurant with the intention of improving his mood (and save time on cooking). In other words, he intended to sit there and finish the summer vacation homework he hadn't completed—but it seemed like the girl in front of him didn't understand his feelings.

Kamijou stared at the writing pad he had bought from the convenience store, and shook his head. He had originally intended to settle his Literature homework in one go, but it seemed like things weren't looking so good.

“Touma! Touma, Touma! Can I choose anything?”

“What do you want?”

“Then I'm ordering! The most expensive one!”

“...”

Kamijou smiled and said,

“I understand. 2,000 yen worth of raw eggs?”

“TOUMA—!”

The girl cried out in protest.

In the end, Kamijou ordered coffee, Index ordered Set Meal A, and the stupid Cat ordered 'Cat Special Meal C'. The most terrifying thing about this shop that allowed pets in was that they actually provided food for pets. There were also Dog Special Meals and Tortoise Special Meals.

It would take some time for the food to be served. Kamijou took out his writing pad and mechanical pencil and started to write his Book Review.

However...

“Touma, Touma, what Book Review are you writing?”

“I'm writing about 'Momotarou' this year.”

“...Eh...”

“Hold on you foreign girl, you don't understand anything about Momotarou, right? Momotarou's a famous worldwide fairy tale that Japan is so proud of! It's most suited for writing a Book Review during a summer vacation!”

“Really, Touma, it seems like you really hate to read books.”

“It's even more normal than having to memorise every single word of 103,000 books.”

Index's temple trembled.

Then, she revealed a sweet smile that seemed like cheese just melted and said,

“Touma, Touma.”

“What?”

“Have you heard of the truth behind the Japanese fairy tales?”

“Please don't start on it! I'm just writing about a Momotarou book review! If I write some messed-up report, the Momotarou book review won't be a Momotarou book review! And how did you know about the dark truth behind Momotarou?”

“Sigh, you're too naïve, Touma. 'Momotarou' is a real magic grimoire. The original is kept among the 103,000 magical grimoires.

“What?”

“In Japanese culture, many ordinary lullabies or fairy tales are magic grimoires that are camouflaged. For example, in the story Momotarou, there's actually no such person as 'Momotarou who was born from a peach'.”

“Eh...”

Kamijou's mind went blank. This was bad, Index was in explanation mode, but he couldn't waste any time if he wanted to complete his homework.

“Ever since long ago, the river has been treated as the boundary between Life and Death. Floating on the river or crossing it indicates that one controls the power of Life and Death. Touma, If you can think of the boat that sends the dead through the River Styx, you can understand this.”

“Sorry, sorry! Time out, time out!”

“The correct interpretation of the story is that the peach that flowed down the River is a forbidden fruit that lets people surpasses Life and Death. In Eastern culture, there is mention of a fruit of Immortality. Of course, it's the peach that the Queen Mother is protecting. The original Momotarou wasn't 'born out of the peach', but the grandpa and granny ate the fruit and became young. One can tell from this that this story is about the creation of an elixir of Immortality...”

“Stop! Stop! End of the out-of-point magic theatre! Please look forward to Index-sensei's lesson next time! Please let me finish my homework, will you?”

Index gave an unhappy 'humph', but Kamijou didn't care as he picked up the mechanical pencil and started to write. The writing of the essay was a lot slower than what he had expected. It seemed like writing this sort of thing wasn't any different from writing a letter of reflection. Kamijou thought as he had barely managed to write three pieces of paper.

“Ho...”

After working so hard, Kamijou relaxed and exhaled.

At this moment, as if it was pre-meditated, the waitress walked over and served the food.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Here's the coffee, Set Meal A and Cat Special meal C.”

“Oh, it's finally here.”

Kamijou moved to clear up the writing paper off the table.

Suddenly, the waitress tripped without warning.

“Ah...”

Shocked, Kamijou could only watch as the tray of food landed on the table. The pile of food formed a hill on it.

The hamburger steak that was the recommendation of the day was separated from the mini hot metal plate, and the metal plate landed directly on Kamijou's thigh. Kamijou jumped up to let the metal plate drop, looking half-serious as he stared at the culprit, looking like he was about to cry.

The waitress collapsed onto the floor, letting out a pitiful 'uu...' sound.

“Everyone, if it were you, will you forgive this clumsy huge-breasted waitress?”

“HOW CAN I FORGIVE HER! YOU DAMNED COW, I'M GOING TO LET YOU TAKE MY HELLISH ATTACK!”

“Calm down, Touma! Calm...eh? Touma, where's your assignment?”

“...”

It wasn't there.

Kamijou could only pray that the assignment wasn't in that pile of hot food.

Part 6

August 31, 6:32pm.

“Souma no Gen.”

Yamisaka continued to release the Seeking Demon's Bow String.

The resonance ripped through the air, telling Yamisaka Ouma that the target was rather near.

“...It's there.”

Yamisaka closed his eyes tightly and walked towards a restaurant.

At the window facing the road, there were a boy and girl sitting.

“The time has come to step onto the battlefield.”

Yamisaka activated the complicated mechanism and pulled the bow with only one hand.

“The horn for battle has been blown, Danma no Gen.”

His bow was aimed at an innocent boy on the other side of the glass.

Part 7

August 31 6:35pm.

Kamijou Touma was completely worn out.

The assignment that he managed to dig out from the pile of food was now all soggy, and he couldn't even see the words on it. How could he hand in such a thing?

At this moment, Kamijou was like a marathon runner who had just used up all his strength. And Index could only remain stone-faced as she said,

“Bu, but Touma, the words are still visible. You can just rewrite it on new writing paper, aren't you feeling lucky that you don't have to rewrite everything again?”

“Yeah.”

Kamijou responded like he had just lost his soul.

In fact, just rewriting these three pieces of paper was a tough job.

“Damn it...if I could only just use a computer to type it out.”

Kamijou looked down at the (barely) cleaned table and muttered to himself. It was a painful thing to write such a long essay, and writing each word down with a mechanical pencil made it even worse. It was alright if it were some normal notes, but his hand would hurt if he wrote quite a few pages.

“Ahhh...”

Kamijou casually looked out of the window.

He had thought that the window would show his tired face, but on looking closer, he found that something was not right. There was a burly man in a black suit near the glass window, staring at him and Index.

No, more accurately, the burly man's eyes were shut.

At first, Kamijou thought that the burly man was using the glass window as a mirror to comb his hair. However, how could there be anyone in the world who wouldn't open his eyes when facing a mirror?

(What's this guy doing?)

Kamijou wondered. At this moment, the burly man at the window seemed to be muttering something.

His attitude was as gentle as if he had just seen an old friend he hadn't met for decades.

However,

The burly man pointed what looks like a bow attached on his right hand at Kamijou,

“!?”

Just as Kamijou stood up from the chair, the bow fired, The bow was definitely not loaded, but the next moment, the huge glass window between the burly man and Kamijou was shattered by some mysterious force. Also, it was not just one steel wire-like force as the glass was shattered into pieces.

Blades of air that could cut even sound.

The numerous blades swung about wildly, cutting the table into numerous pieces and gliding past Index's nose-tip. However, the glass that was shattered didn't fly back, but landed directly on the floor. Before that stupid cat on Index's lap stood up, the storm of blades came attacking Kamijou.

The customers nearby stood up, ready to shout out. These people could respond so quickly to such a ridiculous power because it was a city of espers.

But no one shouted out.

DONG!

The blades of air that came at Kamijou were negated by his right hand.

Imagine Breaker. That was the power that was hidden in Kamijou Touma's right hand.

Any 'supernatural power', no matter whether it was esper or magic, would vanish on contact with his right hand. Seeing the mysterious power of Kamijou's right hand, the people nearby held their breaths in shock and almost forgot to shout out.

Kamijou, who had been attacked by numerous blades, was actually unharmed.

A storm whipped up. It seemed to be the devastation caused by the blades or air, which didn't seem to be vacuum, but air coagulated together. Also, the blades of air weren't fired out one shot at a time, but gathered in something similar to a small tornado. The moment Kamijou's right hand touched it, the entire mini-tornado was negated completely.

Kamijou bared his fangs and glared out of the broken window.

“Toma no Gen—I'm here.”

But the burly man who should have been standing outside the window was now standing behind Kamijou from who knew when.

Kamijou's body froze up, unable to move.

The burly man with his eyes tightly shut seemed to be rather satisfied with that response, and sighed as he said,

“Though I'm rather surprised by this outcome, it's a good thing to avoid having to kill recklessly. Surrender to me quickly. If you do so, I won't hurt you. Once I get the thing I want, I'll leave quickly—”

“AAHHHHH!! LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE! MY BOOK REVIEW BECAME A PILE OF SCRAPS!!!”

Kamijou's roar interrupted the burly man's voice.

The burly man revealed a puzzled look on his face. He probably never expected this. Most likely, he probably wished that everyone would be more serious in this situation.

But Kamijou didn't care about that.

Kamijou stared at the ripped—no, the essay assignment that had been shredded thoroughly with teary eyes, and said,

“YOU! IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU DID THAT, BEAR RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT! GIVE ME BACK A BOOK REVIEW! THE TOPIC IS MOMOTAROU, THREE PIECES OF PAPER! THE CONTENT MUST BE GOOD ENOUGH TO WIN THE LITERATURE AWARD FOR SCIENCE!!”

“Who cares about you?”

“...Alright, this Kamijou-sama today is a little angry right now, you know?”

Kamijou sneered, but it seemed the burly man had disappeared into thin air.

“Wha, at?”

He looked around.

The burly man appeared behind Index.

“Let's deal with this fast. No time to play with kids.”

The burly man grabbed Index's from behind.

It was just a slight touch, yet Index's body went stiff as if she had been electrocuted, not moving at all. The stupid cat frantically ran away, pulling away from the burly man.

What's that guy trying to do? Kamijou wondered.

The burly man seemed to be targeting Index. It was true that Index was a rather special person. Her brain had 103,000 magic grimoires, and she was basically a walking treasure trove.

But in Academy City, where Science was everything, she should have been useless to espers.

If that was the case, this man who wanted to get Index was...

“You're, a magician?”

Another 'supernatural power', completely different from esper powers.

Magicians.

“That's right.”

The anonymous man clearly confirmed Kamijou's suspicions.

“I really don't know what you're doing here, you dangerous guy, using invisible blades to cut people up and then sexually harassing a girl from behind? Don't you know there's a law called the Youth lifestyle protection guidelines? You pedophile!”

“You're asking what I think about this?”

But the burly man just casually smiled.

“Since she's the Index with 103,000 grimoires, my aim should be obvious, right?”

The burly man holding Index suddenly vanished into thin air without any warning.

“Toma no Gen.” Only these words could be heard beside him.

Is this...similar to teleportation?

“Ah damn it! You never denied that you're a pedophile! You're just doing that for your own personal interest!”

Like a drowning person wanting to grasp some straw, Kamijou grabbed at where the burly man had been standing.

His right hand missed, but his left hand seemed to grab something soft in what was appeared to be empty air.

“KYAAAH!!”

There wasn't supposed to be anything there, yet he could hear Index scream,

“To, TOOOOOOOUUUUUUMMMMMAAA! WHERE ARE YOU GRABBING!!?”

“Ah?”

Kamijou grabbed again at something soft in what was supposed to be empty space.

It seemed like there was still something in the space that didn't look like it had anything. It seemed that the burly man had used some skill to hide himself, and he just couldn't see him.

The man let out a 'tch' sound in the end.

Kamijou believed that he got it right. Index and that burly man hadn't left the scene through teleportation. They were still there, it was just that he couldn't see them.

In other words, the burly man and Index were still standing in that space that 'didn't look like anything was still there'.

In other words.

What was this soft thing Kamijou Touma was grabbing onto?

“...Ah?”

Kamijou's mind instantly went blank.

At this moment, a burly man's hand suddenly appeared from the air near him as though it had just appeared from a screen.

The burly man's right wrist had a bow on it.

“Danma no Gen.”

On hearing the burly man mutter, Kamijou instinctively let go of his hand from what was not supposed to be there. A blade of air sliced through where he had been and hacked at the floor like a guillotine.

“Damn it, I got checkmated there!”

Kamijou frantically swung his hand, but he couldn't find anything

They got away.

“Damn it!”

Kamijou grabbed the neck of the stupid cat.

Kamijou was really worried about Index. Her brain contained 103,000 grimoires, so she was basically a walking magical library. With those grimoires, it was said that one could distort the rules of the whole world and accomplish whatever they wanted.

If that man wanted the grimoires, he might harm her in order to obtain the knowledge.

(This is ridiculous--)

Kamijou grit his teeth and thought,

(--It's just because she memorised those 103,000 grimoires, so what? It's ridiculous that she got treated violently because of that!)

Kamijou clicked his tongue and turned around, ready to run out.

But he saw the smiling waitress (with a cold expression in her eyes) standing right in front of him.

And that waitress seemed to have switched from the clumsy busty girl to a hi-mobility fighter girl.

“Please wait a minute, mister.”

“Ah?”

Kamijou again inspected his surroundings.

The huge glass windows was opened like butter, and the restaurant table had been cut up into pieces. Kamijou didn't know how much all these cost, but he knew that they were even more expensive than ordinary furniture.

“...Ah...”

Kamijou's lips curled.

The muscular shopkeeper walked out from inside the shop with a smile on his face.

Part 8

August 31 7:30pm.

“DAMN IT! THAT BASTARD! I'LL MURDER THAT PEDOPHILE!!”

Kamijou grabbed the stupid cat and ran around in the dark alleys.

Of course, he ran away from the restaurant. The muscular shopkeeper, smiling waitress and a few of those brave and kind customers had chased him around for about an hour, causing him to sneak here and duck there up till now, and he still didn't know whether he had managed to shake them all.

Summer vacation homework wasn't important now, this commotion would get him expelled.

“Fufu...fufufu, fufufufufufufu!!”

Running around in the dark alleys, Kamijou let out a dangerous smirk.

Right now, Kamijou's rage was at its limit. There was already so little time left, and just when he was rushing through his homework, he actually got disturbed by a real pedophile, causing him to get blamed and also possibly end up being expelled. It was no wonder he was infuriated.

(Speaking of which, is she going to be alright?)

Kamijou sighed.

Though Index was affiliated to the witchhunting section Necessarius of the Anglican Church, Kamijou was suspicious whether or not that pint-sized girl had any combat abilities.

Kamijou really wanted to get Index back from that pervert, but he couldn't find a clue.

(Alright, now what?)

Just as Kamijou was tilting his head and racking his brain, the cat in his arms suddenly jumped out and landed on the floor. Without looking back at Kamijou, it ran forward.

“Ah, oi! Wait a minute!”

Just as Kamijou was really bothered by this, he suddenly remembered something.

It's said that cats have an acute sense of smell. No wait, that's not right, the ones with acute sense of smell are dogs, right? No wait, it should still be more alert than humans. No wait, he only heard of police dogs and no police cats, right? Damn it, is it sensitive or not!?

Full of question marks in his mind, Kamijou decided to run behind the calico cat and try it out. Perhaps it could hear or sniff out Index's position.

The stupid cat was moving really fast.

Kamijou could only squeeze out all his strength as he followed the cat, trying not to lose it. He continued to run, and run, and run.

Finally, the place the stupid cat arrived at it...

“...Oi, isn't this the back door of a hotel?”

The hotel was actually more of a multi purpose building. There were department stores, restaurants, guest rooms, indoor play parks and spas; it could be said to have everything. But basically, it was still an international hotel enterprise.

Kamijou looked up at the wall of the 'hotel', and had a bad feeling about this. Did that pedophile really bring Index to such a place? If that were the case, this would be a real unrivalled pervert. Thinking about this, Kamijou's face went green.

At this moment, Kamijou glanced, and saw the stupid cat looking for something.

“?”

Kamijou casually looked over. The stupid cat climbed up a plastic bin, and used his front feet to open the lid cleanly and buried his entire face into the bin and searching.

Kamijou again looked up at this building.

It was a rather large hotel. Basically, Academy City used an exclusion policy, so many people may think that the city didn't need any hotels, but actually, there were some hotels set up for student activities. And in order to boost Academy City's image, these hotels were ridiculously posh (of course, besides these, there practically wouldn't be any guests living here. So to make up for the losses, they could only set up secondary enterprises like department stores or indoor play parks).

Of course, the restaurants in this building were highly rated. The trash thrown from the restaurant should have been a lot more classy than normal...

“You bastard--! You don't know how to be grateful to your master!? Index even brought you back!”

Kamijou roared at the cat, but the stupid cat merely purred.

The conclusion was: A stupid cat is just a stupid cat.

Part 9

August 31 8:15pm.

In fact, Yamisaka Ouma was standing on the roof of the hotel the stupid cat wouldn't budge from. He was sitting on the floor with his back leaning on the water tower. Index was tied up and lying on her side.

Yamisaka looked up at the sky and clicked his tongue. According to the information he had, there may be satellites monitoring the inside and surroundings of Academy City, but up till now, he hadn't even gotten a single disturbance, let alone disruption. The security system in Academy City couldn't be this inept; it seemed that they were just waiting for now.

(...Doesn't matter anyway, I'll just break through their trap after I get what I want.)

Yamisaka already knew that it would end up like this, so he didn't feel surprised.

He sighed and opened his tightly shut eyes.

Right now, if there had been anyone nearby, they would have been so shocked that they would forget to breathe.

He didn't have any terrifying expression, nor does he have any unique prosthetic eyes.

His eyes were so normal.

Those eyes didn't match the image of a self-proclaimed magician fighter in a black suit. It was a pair of pure eyes that could only be suited for a boy who hadn't seen the dark side of the world.

Yamisaka took out a photo from his suit.

The person in the photo was a woman who was unrelated to Yamisaka.

She was older than Yamisaka by 2 or 3 years, and she was at an age where she could no longer be called a girl. She was extremely skinny, and had white skin, and she gave the impression that she would faint if she stood under a hot summer sun for more than 30 minutes.

In fact, this impression wasn't wrong. She had already been ill when he had first met her. Also, what she had wasn't an ordinary illness, but a cursed disease that the medical world couldn't figure out. In terms of Eastern context, it was like some voodoo spell that was cast using a mirror and a sword, and in Western context, it was a magic that was 'similar to a curse'. However, it didn't matter what they called it; basically, this woman was in a condition where there was no cure for her, and she could die any second.

But the dying woman didn't ask Yamisaka to save her.

That woman couldn't do anything, and could only reveal a tired smile.

Yamisaka and that woman weren't related. They weren't relatives nor friends. Both of them would occasionally talk to each other in the garden of the hospital, and that woman didn't even realise that Yamisaka's a magician. Yamisaka didn't even have any need to step up for that woman. There was no reason for him to risk his life.

But to Yamisaka, up till then, he had always thought that magicians were all-powerful.

It was because he hadn't wanted to face any setbacks that he swore to be a magician.

Yamisaka didn't care whether that woman was dead or alive. But if he couldn't even save a dying woman, could he call himself 'all-powerful'? Could he still boast that he 'wouldn't meet any setbacks' again? He wouldn't be stopped by such a simple thing. He wouldn't let such a simple thing force him to give up on his goal.

It was just that.

It was just a simple idea.

“...Humph.”

Yamisaka placed the photo back into his Western suit. He then closed his eyes as if he was shutting off all human emotions. He lifted his head up. To Yamisaka, whose 5 senses had been enhanced, closing one or two of his five senses wouldn't be a hindrance to him.

Index was right in front of him. The girl who was presumably all tied up should be still lying on the concrete surface, but she got right up, sitting down cross-legged and giving an unhappy look.

“Hm, that was surprising. You managed to undo two knots within such a short time. Rope binding spells aren't my speciality, but it's not easy for a lesser demon to escape from my ropes.”

Though the ropes that were intertwined on Index were as thin as cables, they were authentic Shimenawa (literally: enclosing ropes). In other words, she was locked in a very small boundary.

Facing such a perilous situation, Index didn't show any fear on hear face.

“Thus the rope is a culture of torture that the Japanese came up with, such an erratic manner of tying isn't going to force me to say anything.”

The girl said casually.

Rope binding. Though it looked ordinary, it was a cruel method of torture that was so powerful it could kill. For example, when one tied a convict's wrists up and left him for two days, the convict would see the palms start to swell because of the lack of blood flow. At that point, the psychological torture could be a lot worse than the physical torture.

Index glared at Yamisaka.

In fact, the girl who kept the 103,000 grimoires in her head was already used to this kind of crisis. So her body had some sort of resistance. For example, she could adjust her breathing to let her enter a state of anemia to decrease the pain.

But the effect was still limited.

If her blood flow was sealed up and she saw her hands and feet start to rot, she didn't believe that she could maintain her sanity. Of course, nobody has this belief.

Although Index had another defence system that even she didn't know of, unfortunately, this system had been destroyed by that boy's right hand.

At that moment, Yamisaka sighed.

“I see. As expected of an Anglican Church member of the branch that specializes in hunting witches and torture. You won't submit even if you turn into ash?”

“...Turn into ash...That's a lousy way of hinting.”

“No, I don't have that idea at all. In fact, I don't intend to torture you.”

“If you don't intend to torture me, why did you tie me up so tightly? Such a method of tying me is pressing down on my blood vessels and lungs. If you don't intend to kill me, you could have just tied my thumbs slightly so that I can't move.”

“I see. As expected of an expert.”

Yamisaka casually replied, and he reached his hand out to undo a few of Index's knots according to her directions. Such an action shocked Index. As an enemy, he was really too nice.

But Yamisaka merely said casually,

“I said it before, I'm not here to torture you.”

But he added on,

“But I do want to take away a grimoire from your head.”

Index glared angrily at Yamisaka.

It was her responsibility to protect the 103,000 grimoires in her head.

“Alright.”

Facing the girl's stare, Yamisaka looked rather carefree and said,

“It'll take some time to prepare. I have to prepare a boundary to increase the effects first.”

Part 10

August 31, 9:21pm.

He had wasted a lot of time with the distraction the stupid cat had made.

Kamijou grabbed the stupid cat's neck as he continued to sprint wildly in the night street. As it was past dinner time, the students who had been outside had disappeared like a low tide. The only sounds that could be heard on this empty street came from a cable broadcast and a row of television sets in the front of an electronics shop. In a customer-less convenience store, a man who looked like a student was just standing about at the cashier.

(This is bad. It's been so long, things have probably gotten bad by now.)

Kamijou exhaled, hoping that he could ease his anxiety.

The burly man who took Index away probably didn't want to kill her...probably. If that was the case, he shouldn't cause any harm to her. But that didn't mean that the situation was looking good.

Right now, the most troublesome thing was that Kamijou didn't even have any clues. No matter how he continued to run forward, he had a feeling that he was running further and further away. No matter what he did, it would just add on to his anxiety.

(And the problem is that I can't stand around at the same place! Damn it, is my method of running to make up for the lack of information not enough!?)

That white nun really gives so many problems! Kamijou cursed as he turned around the corner with such momentum.

A girl who was coming around the corner nearly knocked into him.

“AHHH!! Wha, what are you doing here!?”

The girl who didn't sound like a girl had shoulder length tea-coloured hair and a look that didn't want to admit defeat. She had a grey pleated skirt, a short-sleeved shirt and a thin summer jacket.

“I finally found you! Why did you leave me behind and run off with that fake Unabara!? What happened to you during the day? It seems like you got involved in the tower collapse incident. Are you hurt? Really, if you're alright, you should have called me to tell me that you're alright...eh? Don't you know my mobile phone number?”

Misaka Mikoto.

An elite student in the famed esper development school Tokiwadai Middle School, and one of the 7 Level 5 espers in Academy City. She was a girl with the electromaster ability, and the electric shocks she released from her bangs could reach 1 billion volts. Kamijou and her were more rivals than friends, but right now, Kamijou didn't have time to bother with her as he turned around the corner.

Completely ignored, Mikoto shouted,

“E, EH!? OI, WAIT UP! WHY ARE YOU IGNORING ME!?”

Kamijou heard Mikoto shout at him, but he ignored her.

He continued to run.

“OI! THAT'S TOO MUCH ALREADY!!”

Kamijou decided to ignore her completely.

There was no reason for her to get involved in this.

“You, better pay attention—always making people angry...”

Pa! Kamijou could hear sparks from behind.

Shocked, he turned back to see Mikoto's bangs let out blueish-white sparks. Like what was just described, Mikoto's shocks could reach 1 billion volts. If the title 'Railgun' wasn't legendary enough, perhaps a natural electric shock could be understood more easily.

Kamijou stretched his right hand out.

Any supernatural power, whether esper or magic could be negated by this right hand on contact. Though Kamijou knew that his right hand could negate Mikoto's railgun, he still found it terrifying. Besides, if he didn't negate it completely, the aftermath couldn't even be imagined.

PAM! Mikoto's bangs let out some blueish-white electrical flashes.

BOOM! The sparks instantly ripped through the air.

“!?”

But the sparks weren't aimed at Kamijou, instead they hit a nearby cleaning robot which just so happened to be cleaning up some chewing gum on the ground.

In a moment, the sound generator of the cleaning robot started to explode from inside. BAM! The shockwave-like impact destroyed the sound generator, causing the glass doors of the nearby department stores to tremble.

Of course Kamijou, who was just within the vicinity of this ear-deafening power, was severely affected. The shockwave went through his ears and into his body, robbing him of his balance and causing him to stumble about. He could only stop and shake his head that was in chaos thoroughly. Even the stupid cat in Kamijou's hand went from a cute 'nyanya' cry of complaint to an agitated 'KYAKYA!' that was like a scream.

And this time, Mikoto seemed to be satisfied that Kamijou stopped and said,

“Humph you finally stopped. Really, almost knocking into me, and you didn't even say sorry. Really, you...eh? What's wrong? Why do you look like you're about to cry!?”

“I'M REALLY IN A HURRY, YOU KNOW!! I HAVE TO SETTLE MY HOMEWORK AND A KIDNAPPING AND A RESTAURANT INCIDENT WHERE I ENDED UP EATING A FREE MEAL!!! PLEASE TRY AND UNDERSTAND FOR NOW, WILL YOU!!?”

Almost giving up, Kamijou roared, causing Mikoto to be taken aback.

But he didn't care, and continued,

“WHAT IS IT? DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANT WITH ME!? IF THERE IS, PLEASE ANSWER WITHIN 40 SECONDS AFTER THE BEEP! BEEP—!!”

“Eh? Ah? What.? It's nothing, it's just that I'm a little angry that you ignored me. It's nothing much...nothing much at all...”

“EXCUSE ME!!!”

Kamijou turned around and sprinted away from Mikoto.

If he calmly analysed this, he could have gotten hints that she seemed to have feelings for him, but right now, Kamijou didn't have time to calmly analyse.

“Ah...wait! YOU'RE GOING OFF LIKE THIS? OI!!”

Kamijou heard Mikoto shouting at him, but he ignored it.

And he continued to run.

Part 11

August 31, 9:52pm.

Index didn't seem to be able to understand what was going on.

At first, she had thought that the magician in front of her was an enemy, but he had tied Index up without any intention of hurting her. Right now, he was using some thin shimenawa to set up a boundary around her (it seemed like he was just being humble when he had said that rope binding wasn't one of his specialities), ignoring Index completely, and only noticing in passing not to let Index escape.

To a girl, it was disrespectful to be tied up and left aside, but from a prisoner's point of view, this was already a treatment of the highest class.

Torture in witchhunting was like squeezing out orange juice. Basically, it was about squeezing out the body (orange) and getting the information (juice). As for the orange that was squeezed, nobody would care about them. Those who would feel pity for the oranges wouldn't think of imprisoning others right from the beginning.

Of course, there were only a few individuals who could execute torture among the Anglican Church. People like Index, who never had any combat training, they couldn't even hurt others. In fact, most of the inquisitors who attended a 'witch trial' were either hypnotised or forced to drink potions to hide their insecurities. Only a few among the few could interrogate people with a completely clear mind.

Index stared at the magician who was setting up the boundary in front of him.

It seemed like he was a person who couldn't squeeze an orange out.

Was he weak-hearted?

Or was it because...

Part 12

August 31, 10:07pm.

“Huff! Huff!”

Kamijou tried to get away from Misaka Mikoto as he ran about like a headless fly, but right now, he still couldn't find Index.

“Ahh, damn it! There's only 2 hours before the day ends! What do I do with my assignments? IF I DON'T SETTLE THIS QUICKLY, I'LL KILL THAT DAMNED PEDOPHILE!!!”

Kamijou shouted out what sounded like some dangerous muttering to himself (or rather, shouting to himself), glaring viciously as he continued to run about in the darkness.

But his shouting was just to hold back that insecurity that was rising within him. It had been several hours since Index had been taken away.

(It's too much to do this alone. Should I just ask security for help?)

The security system in Academy City was different from ordinary policemen; they were made up of Anti-Skill and Judgement who specialised in taking on espers. Anti-Skill members consisted of teachers with modern age weapons, and Judgement members were chosen espers among the students.

Even if the enemy hid himself to avoid detection, a mind reader could tell where the enemy went from what he had left behind at the scene of the crime. Besides, if he wanted to take Index back, it was safer to overcome the enemy with human-wave tactics.

(But...)

Kamijou grit his teeth. Index was a resident of the magic world, and not Academy City. She was like an illegal immigrant. If he asked them for help, there would most likely be other troublesome matters in the future.

(What should I do?)

Kamijou was in a fix. At that moment, an Anti-Skill member who was standing in front walked over at him. Kamijou wondered, 'do I look so panicky?' Just as Kamijou was still undecided on whether he should discuss this with Anti-Skill, the male Anti-Skill member walked up to him.

Before Kamijou could say anything, the Anti-Skill member spoke up,

“Were you the one who destroyed the glass of the restaurant in the 7th district?”

“Eh?”

“The shopkeeper reported the incident to us, and we let the mind reader extract the image of the person from his memory. Hold on, I seem to have seen you before. Oh, during the day, there was a tower collapse in the 7th district, and someone spotted you at the scene. Because of that, the 2nd level orange warning was issued. Don't tell me the 1st level red warning after that was related to you...”

“...Eh.”

Kamijou carried a stiff smile and turned around.

And then ran away for his dear life.

Though he had let Tsuchimikado handle that magician who couldn't go anywhere, it was unknown whether Tsuchimikado took care of him properly. As Kamijou thought of this, he started to flee from the scene at an amazing speed.

“Ah, oi! You! Stop right there!”

Who would listen to you? Kamijou sprinted down the road at a speed a star sprinter could be proud of. Can I shake that guy off? Did I shake him off? Hahaha, you slow Anti-Skill! Just as Kamijou was indulging in the delight of victory, a gunshot rang out behind him.

Looking back, the Anti-Skill member had whipped out a.22 handgun that was smoking from the barrel.

The first shot was a close one. That took guts.

“ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME!? YOU DAMNED ANTI-SKILL, WHAT ARE YOU TREATING HUMAN LIFE AS!!”

“Don't worry, I respect the human rights of youths. That was a rubber bullet.”

“So it wasn't a blank...I'll get a few bones broken if I get hit by them...”:

Kamijou cried out as he snuck into another alley. What time it was, whether he had finished his homework, those weren't important anymore. Was Index safe?

Part 13

August 31, 10:52pm.

There were numerous ropes set up on the ropes.

Looking from afar, it was like the many flags of different countries at an Olympics. With the water tower as the peak, the ropes extended out in all directions out to the railings on the edges of the tower. There were numerous talismans stuck onto the ropes, each made from washi paper and written in ink.

Index, who was tied up and sitting on the floor, said in surprise,

"Is that...a Kagura stage?"

As what the name implies, a Kagura was a choreography that was meant to entertain the gods.

"It's not really something that impressive. It's just a Bon Odori at most."

It was basically a fusion of Shintoism and Buddhism, Yamisaka described.

Now that he mentioned it, the water tower did look like a peak, and the ropes that extended down from the peak looked like rows of lanterns (but the bon odoris Index knew of was from the illustrations of books, and the habit of setting a peak and rows of lanterns were only a recent culture).

Of course, a choreography couldn't be compared to a mere dance. But in terms of the functions, the origin of a Bon Odori was to act as a dance to calm the souls of the dead--a Kagura and a Bon Odori were similar in this spiritual aspect.

In a Bon Odori, people would prepare a special place. Everyone would then go around according to a specific guideline...this was to help interact with the spiritual world better. The Western demon worship spell 'Roshtein's Corridor' and the modern urban horror legend 'Squared Mountain Hut' were developed in different settings under the same concept.

(But why did he set up such a place? Is he trying to put something on me--it hurts!)

Her butt seemed to have squashed something. Moving her body away to look, it was a mobile phone. Though Kamijou had given Index a free mobile phone, Index didn't know how to use it. Right now, the phone's screen was flashing for some reason. In order to avoid angering Yamisaka, Index moved the hand tied behind her back and grabbed the phone before hiding it well. It seemed that she had pressed a few buttons while doing so, but Index didn't care.

Luckily, Yamisaka didn't seem to notice it.

Yamisaka raised the bow on his right wrist and boasted,

"Don't worry. I just set up the boundary to increase this thing's effectiveness. This bow was originally meant to be used for a Bon Odori."

Index looked around and then compared what she saw to the knowledge in her head, and said,

"...Azusayumi?"

"That's really impressive, that magic library in your brain even encompasses Japanese magic."

An azusayumi--a ritual instrument in Japanese Shintoism. The purpose wasn't to shoot arrows, but to use the pulling of the bow to make sounds. It was said that the impact could shake demons up. It was originally an instrument in a Kagura, and the aim was for the miko playing it to lead the dancers and make them more enthusiastic and the ritual more smooth flowing.

"Originally, this bow's power could only correct spiritual damage."

Yamisaka pointed at the roof and said,

"But if I can fulfil a set condition like this--I can read the target's thoughts. That's right, even the 103,000 grimoires you're trying so hard to protect won't be a secret any longer."

Index was shocked. The next moment, with the numerous intertwined ropes as centre, the entire space let out a dim glow. Yamisaka tweaked the mechanism and pulled the bow of the azusayumi.

"NO, YOU CANT!"

Index shrieked like a child,

"THESE GRIMOIRES AREN'T LIKE WHAT YOU THOUGHT! ANY ORDINARY PERSON WILL GO CRAZY ON SEEING IT! EVEN A MAGICIAN CAN'T TAKE THE BURDEN OF OVER 30 BOOKS! YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF ANYONE OTHER THAN ME READ THE MORE THAN 100,000 GRIMOIRES!!"

Her tone seemed to indicate that she was worried about the enemy, but Yamisaka Ouma merely smiled.

He smiled silently and said,

"Don't worry. I know."

Part 14

August 31, 11:10pm.

Just as Kamijou was running about in the dark alleys while trying to shake off the Anti-Skill member, he heard 'that voice'.

Index and that pervert's voices could be heard from the mobile phone. Index's free phone was always turned off, but now it had switched on somehow on its own, but the voice sounded like the phone was covered by cloth, and it didn't sound like the conversation was intended for Kamijou. The feeling was like he was eavesdropping on other people's conversation.

Click.

He could hear some strange sound from the roof of a tower far away, and it was starting to glow like there was a huge pillar of light that was headed to the sky.

(That is...? Damn it, isn't that the hotel from just now? Why did I tire myself out by running like that?)

Of course, there was no proof that Index was there. But since there were no other clues, he couldn't ignore any abnormal places. Kamijou then turned his head around and ran over there.

Part 15

August 31, 11:20pm.

The moment the ritual started, there was a supernatural phenomenon.

In this huge boundary that was surrounded by light, Yamisaka continued to pull the bow, yet his body was trembling like he had the flu. Disgusting sweat flowed down his body, and the focus of his eyes started to waver.

Right now, what Yamisaka was doing was to basically look into Index's inner world. There was no mistake in the spell and method; the spell itself wasn't dangerous at all, there were no side effects.

But Yamisaka's life was trickling bit by bit.

The 103,000 grimoires that were hidden in that girl's heart were that vicious.

"--,----!!"

Yamisaka Ouma was having a severe migraine and couldn't say anything. It was as though his skull was being hammered.

In fact, Yamisaka didn't intend to obtain the full knowledge of the 103,000 grimoires. It was impossible to download such a large number of grimoires into his head.

However, he just needed one. The name of that grimoire was 'baopuzi'. In Chinese culture, it was a grimoire that was said to teach people how to be a 'deity' and live an immortal life. It should have a record of what was called 'alchemy'; in other words, it had a method of creating an immortal elixir that could heal any disease or curse.

He just needed this book.

He didn't want to see a counterfeit or a copy with a wrong explanation, but rather, he wanted a grimoire that was very close to the original and was high in purity. He just needed that one grimoire.

"---!!!"

However, he had never expected it to be so devastating.

At this point, Yamisaka finally realised why it had been heavily modified into 'counterfeits' or 'copies' with so little purity. It was because the toxicity of the original was too great. If they hadn't lowered or removed the purity, no ordinary person could even read it.

Yamisaka stared at the girl who was screaming, telling him to stop.

It was unbelievable that this girl had actually managed to read all 103,000 grimoires, when reading just one page alone was enough to cause a huge migraine in his head.

This wasn't something that any human could do.

The girl who had achieved such an amazing feat was actually the most abnormal person.

"---!!!"

Each time he pulled the bow, the toxic grimoires started to flow into his mind page by page. Each page of poison started to flow in like milk mixing into coffee, fusing with Yamisaka's soul and corroding it.

But Yamisaka still continued to grit his teeth and pull the bow.

Up till now in his life, he had always thought that magicians were all powerful. It had been because he didn't want to meet any more setbacks that he had sworn to be a magician. Thus, he wouldn't be stopped by such a thing. That woman who was dying. That woman who didn't even have the strength to ask for help. That weak woman who could only smile as she gradually stepped towards death. If he couldn't even save such an ordinary woman, how could he shamelessly declare about being 'all-powerful', what 'not wanting to suffer any setbacks'? How could he let such an ordinary woman suffer and leave a black mark on his record?

Thus, Yamisaka continued to pull the bow.

Even if blood continued to flow out of his eyes and ears, he wanted that grimoire.

Letting himself get scarred and suffer the sin of wanting to fulfill his desire.

It was definitely not because of that ordinary woman.

It was definitely not because of that ordinary woman at all!

Part 16

August 31, 11:20pm.

Kamijou pushed open the back door of the tower, rushed in and dashed up the stairs.

"...That's not right."

Running up the stairs, Kamijou heard Index's voice from the mobile phone.

"I understand. That azusayumi--because the power was increased too much, your thoughts entered my mind, so I understand."

The girl sounded really anguished, and it seemed that she would start to cry at anytime.

The girl seemed to be gradually understanding the heart that was getting destroyed.

"You just liked that woman. So you would risk your life to save her. But to save her, you have to hurt others, you have to commit a sin. And you didn't want to let that woman bear that responsibility. Because of you, I committed this sin, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have committed this sin. YOU DIDN'T WANT TO SAY THAT NO MATTER WHAT!"

Index shouted in order to stop him.

"IT'S JUST THAT SIMPLE! SO, SO THAT'S WHY YOU CAN'T DESTROY YOURSELF! IF YOU DESTROY YOURSELF, EVEN IF YOU UNDO THE CURSE ON THAT WOMAN, YOU'LL LET HER LIVE A LIFE OF GUILT!!"

Kamijou continued to run, gritting his teeth.

"IF YOU REALLY WANT TO SAVE THAT WOMAN, EVEN IF YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD WHO WANTS TO SAVE HER, EVEN IF YOU DON'T WANT TO GIVE UP, IF YOU CAN'T GIVE UP ON A PERSON WHO'S CURSED TO DIE, THAT'S ALL THE MORE REASON WHY YOU SHOULDN'T RELY ON THIS CORRUPTED GRIMOIRE!"

I see. Kamijou understood everything.

Reaching the highest level, Kamijou continued to dash up to the end of the stairs, where the door leading to the roof was. It was too much of a hassle to grab the handle of the door and open it. Kamijou just kicked it down.

Part 17

August 31, 11:47pm.

The moment he entered the roof, Kamijou's right hand seemed to touch something.

It was actually one of the ropes used for the boundary. The boundary seemed to vanish on contact with Kamijou's fingertips like a gust. Then, the destruction started to spread out like a fuse being lit.

At that moment, the collapse started to spread from one rope to another. After a while, the light that was scattered from the entire place vanished. Looking again, the scene had reverted back to what was supposed to be a hotel roof.

The stupid cat cleanly slipped out of Kamijou's arms and down to the floor.

The stupid cat left Kamijou, most likely unaware that the situation was dangerous as it moved towards the girl who was sitting over there without any sense of danger.

That girl Index...for some reason, she was messily tied up. But at least she didn't look hurt, and her clothes didn't seem tattered.

Kamijou looked away.

He was staring at the man who was standing some distance away from Index.

That pervert--correction, that magician.

That burly man had blood vessels pulsating all over his skin. His sweating made him appear as if he had just gotten drenched. Tear-like blood started to drip from his tightly shut eyes--one of them, at least, as it flowed across his face.

The anonymous magician asked Kamijou,

"...Is this wrong?"

The magician activated the bow and said,

"Is it wrong even though I risked my life in order to protect someone?"

Silence permeated throughout the air.

The night wind blew between both of them. A cold, spine-chilling, hard wind.

"Of course...it's wrong."

Kamijou answered.

"You should understand how sad it is for someone important to die. Seeing that person struggling painfully yet unable to do anything or help; you should understand that feeling clearly."

Kamijou knew that feeling.

In the past, he had made another person in that white hospital room experience that pain, so he understood.

"At that moment, you'll start to panic, feel anguished, sad, heartbroken, afraid, trembling, wail, cry...so that's why you shouldn't do that. You can't let others experience that feeling."

The anonymous magician didn't answer; he merely raised his bow silently.

He definitely knew what was right and what was wrong.

But whatever the case was, the anonymous magician didn't want to give up.

Because he was afraid.

The most important person to him was about to die in front of him, and that, was the scariest thing to him in this world.

"Danma no Gen."

The name of a spell that could create blades of compressed air. On hearing that voice, Kamijou moved forward. He clenched his right fist to stop this magician that was too gentle and weak-hearted.

But Kamijou's fist didn't hit that magician.

Because before the bow got pulled, the magician's body tumbled and collapsed.

The anonymous magician was unable to stand up.

Red fluid started to flow between the floor and his body.

Kamijou's expression changed as he rushed to the unconscious magician.

Perhaps since he felt that there was someone beside him, the magician started to speak.

The voice accompanied the presence of blood as it came out through the bloody red lips.

"So useless. All I did was read a grimoire...and I ended up like this."

He sounded really tired,

"It seems like someone weak like me must be daydreaming about even getting an original. Haha, what in the world. My life's full of setbacks. This is the third time I've given up in my life."

"..."

"But I still couldn't give up."

The magician smiled as he faced the moon floating in the sky,

"Just this, no matter what, I still can't give up."

His lip movements were gradually becoming slower, until he almost stopped completely.

Index gasped, and Kamijou heard it.

Kamijou bit his lips hard, and then said.

Charge.

The stupid cat received the order and jumped at the magician face, scratching it hard.

"GYAAHHHHHH!!!"

"STOP GETTING DEPRESSED IN YOUR OWN TRAGIC ENDING, ALRIGHT!? YOU IDIOT!!"

Kamijou looked down at the magician who was looking rather energetic all of a sudden as he rolled on the floor. He sighed and said,

"This can be considered revenge for my summer vacation homework. It's because of you that I definitely can't finish my homework. I'll end up being called out to stand in the corridor as punishment because I decided to help you. It's not too bad to reward you with a cat punch, right?"

The magician's mouth opened and closed as he tried to say something, but Kamijou ignored it and continued to talk on at will,

"Alright, where's that 'precious person' of yours?"

"Gya, uu...what did you say?"

"I say, there's no need to use the Index to solve this, right?"

Kamijou scratched his head lightly and said,

"For example, this right hand of mine is called the Imagine Breaker. Any 'supernatural power', no matter esper or magic will disappear without a trace on contact with my right hand. Of course, even some ridiculous power like curses aren't exempt."

Kamijou reached out his right hand, looking like he was about to shake hands with the magician.

The magician's expression froze.

"Ah...?"

"Though I'm not a magician, and I don't know what sort of gimmick curses are, as long as this right hand is here, any problem can be settled, right?"

"Tha, ah...that's impossible."

"There's nothing impossible. Didn't you see it once? Those wind blades you created were destroyed by my right hand. Listen up, I'll tell you this. This may sound illogical, but this right hand does possess such a power."

The unknown magician was stunned. He blankly listened to every single word Kamijou said.

Seeing this 180 degrees transformation, he obviously didn't know how to respond.

This magician had originally given up in despair; he thought that hope wouldn't descend again.

But on the other side, Kamijou nonchalantly scratched his head and said,

"Alright. Perhaps you're tired, but I have to ask you to let me. If I don't come back by 7 tomorrow, I won't be able to make it to the opening ceremony tomorrow...hold on. Are there still trains at this hour? Ah, also, did you just say that it was a 'curse'? Like those tricks bad magicians in those graphic novels love to play with? If so, do we have to get rid of the bad magicians? How troublesome!"

Kamijou continued to nag on alone, and the magician could only listen silently.

Finally, he said.

Afraid that the hope he finally grabbed would disappear again, he stuttered as he asked,

"Ah...don't tell me, that's true."

"Such nonsense. Because of you, I've given up on my summer vacation homework. If I don't show something for it, it's really wasted."

Kamijou impatiently said,

"So you have to bear responsibility. I want you to lead me even if I have to drag you. I don't care about the 1st level red alert, I'll definitely save that person who's most important to you. No matter what, at least you better give me a reason as to why I forgot to finish my assignments."

Time for the magician seemed to stop. Kamijou smirked and laughed,

"So I need your help. Nobody else can do. Only your power can help me. No matter what, I have to ask you for help. Don't you want to save her? With your own hands?"

Uu, ah...

Kamijou's words made the magician's face wince.

His face was covered with tears like ice that was melting.

Kamijou sighed and thought casually

"Alright, seems like I can only give up on my homework...give up...hold on, hey, can I go get my vacation homework before I leave?"

September 1, 0:00am.

END