Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:GT Volume15 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 13===

At the moment, they needed to get away from the Hotel Town.

And when there were people after them, they had to be quick about it.

Hamazura took a look around.

“It would be fastest to steal a vehicle. And the drones in the sky and things like that can’t spy on us when we’re under an airplane wing…or any kind of roof. So a vehicle that brings a roof with us would be safest.”

“What exactly are you suggesting we steal? Not a highly conspicuous 10ton truck, I hope.”

Blodeuwedd the Bouquet sounded exasperated, but District 23 was full of airports and runways. Ordinary vehicles were the exception here. ''Conspicuous vehicles were actually inconspicuous'' in this district.

Hamazura pried open the ignition keyhole and messed with the wiring inside.

Anything that belonged to District 23 would have strict electronic security and locks, but large trucks like this moved between districts. And he knew these forceful methods often worked with vehicles that belonged to another district.

(Although this is really the result of reverting to old tech after people opening the door and starting the engine with their phone became a social problem.)

Hamazura bypassed the alarm and started the engine.

“Whatever the case, I have to do what I can.”

“Such as?”

“I haven’t figured that out yet! I can’t ignored the Black_Oneday user, I don’t want to be killed by those Anglicans or whatever, and I don’t plan on letting Kamijou Touma get away with what he did! He kills someone and now he’s the hero who saved the world? I won’t stop until I’ve at least left a mark on his shiny righteousness!!”

“Sigh. So, uh, doesn’t that least one seem kind of impossible?”

Blodeuwedd the Bouquet stood right in front of the large truck, looked up at him, and breathed an exasperated sigh.

…So they finally ran into a difference of opinion, did they?

“For one, Kamijou Touma isn’t bound by some rule keeping him from killing anyone. And it wasn’t good luck that let his past enemies survive. In fact, you can’t expect anything like that from that boy and his misfortune. So it was all intentional. He chose to let his enemies live even if it worked against him. But that didn’t happen with Coronzon. Letting the one die isn’t the exception here. To be honest, the way he saved all the others was the abnormality.”

Yes.

He had heard that before, but surely Coronzon had wanted to live.

Even if she was a villain, even if it had been ugly, even if she had brought it on herself, and even if she was hated.

“Besides, a majority of the would would say Coronzon’s death was for the best. So at least when it comes to Coronzon, you can’t possibly overturn Kamijou Touma’s ‘righteousness’. Even if he isn’t interested in being protected by the world’s general consensus. Remember, all 7 or 8 billion people on this planet have a common interest here. Their lives were saved and there is no substitution for that. You’re just one person, so can you do against that?”

Hamazura felt a dangerous heat between his eyes.

“''Just'' one person?”

“''She dragged 8 billion innocent people into it and tried to slaughter them all, so the one or two at the center of it don’t get to start whining about justice at this point, you worm.''”

“Kh.”

The words stabbed right into Hamazura’s chest.

“''Or is everyone you know personally an elite who deserves VIP treatment? Don’t make me laugh. All lives are worth the same. You can’t just shove other’s lives aside because it’s inconvenient for you''.”

But still the girl didn’t stop.

Did a running 10ton truck not warrant concern for a Transcendent?

She looked up into the driver’s compartment and continued the head-on verbal assault.

“''Every last one of those 8 billion people have their own loved ones and you two were prepared to take those people from them all for your own purposes. And you very nearly did it! Did you think you hadn’t earned the world’s ire after everything you did, Hamazura''!?”

Yes.

Hamazura had no right to claim he was in the right at this point. He couldn’t defeat a single person on Earth if he centered the argument there. When it came to righteousness, he was at the very bottom. There were 8 billion people above him in that ranking, so he would be crushed no matter what he tried to say.

He knew that.

He did…but that did nothing to quell his frustration.

He didn’t want to hear anyone say it was for the best that Coronzon died. If her death couldn’t be overturned, then he at least wanted her to rest in peace. He didn’t want people spitting on her grave just because she had been a villain. …Would this world of righteousness and nothing more not even let him think of his friend and make that claim?

And.

“…Hey.”

He heard a horribly low voice.

Far lower than before.

For some reason, Blodeuwedd the Bouquet was furious as she stood tall before the truck.

Even more furious than Hamazura.

“C’mon, idiot. I’m waiting. Aren’t you going to say something?”

“…There’s nothing I can say.”

“How stupid are you!!?”

She exploded at him.

The Transcendents were extraordinary beings who couldn’t even be explained by Academy City’s knowledge of espers. She wore a thick metal coat with only an apron below it, so no one was going to mistake her for a normal person.

And yet…

“At times like this, the idiot who did something unbelievably idiotic is supposed to shout that ''human emotions can’t be accounted for by adding up the numbers like that''! Say that and I’ll make it all work out for you! What do you think a Transcendent like me is doing here anyway!? ''We let you stick to your personal convictions and tear down those smug arguments based on justice, righteousness, the global majority, international rules, and a global consensus''! Why is an idiotic idiot like you trying to take this seriously with that idiot brain of yours!? Are you really an honest-to-god idiot, you idiot!?”

He gasped.

…Whose side was she on?

Hamazura stared in confusion, but this should have been obvious from the beginning.

Hamazura had been cut off from the world at large, so from a purely objective viewpoint, abandoning him would be the safer and easier option. Yet Blodeuwedd the Bouquet hadn’t done that.

Loving the hated was not a safe or easy thing.

But she had still chosen that as her salvation condition.

Chosen for herself.

She had decided she would do whatever it took to save those who were cut off and isolated from all directions because everyone hated them and thought they deserved death.

“Coronzon was evil. And alone! There are 7 or 8 billion people flooding this world, but not one of them would work with her!! Hamazura, she didn’t even consider you useful. She thought of you as utterly useless. And after looking down on everyone around her and driving herself into a corner, Coronzon died a death anyone could tell you she brought on herself. That’s all true!!”

Blodeuwedd the Bouquet was fierce.

The Transcendent who had seen so many hated people spoke sharply and piercingly.

So.

Her words managed to tear deeper into this hated boy’s heart than anyone else’s had.



“But you wanted to be her friend, didn’t you?”



“Shut up…” groaned Hamazura, head lowered.

This girl had just suddenly appeared, so what did she know about Coronzon?

…Coronzon had dragged Hamazura, who knew nothing of magic, around Scotland instead of abandoning him.

…She had helped him save Dion Fortune who had collapsed into a bunch of tarot cards!

…She had been more than just someone who nobly saved his life!! She had made jokes, given him scathing looks, and laughed!!!

He hated that he could only manage such a muddy sigh of a voice after remembering all that.

He wanted to be her friend.

No, he had wanted that.

He could only speak of it in the past tense now. He wasn’t an outsider here. He had been there with her, but he had failed to save Coronzon. Even though there must have been a way to do it. He truly hated himself for not managing it.

And yet.

How could this girl look down on him like this?

Even though she she had abandoned Coronzon and protected all the other hated people.

Even though she had sided with Hamazura and thrown out Kamijou because he didn’t meet her condition.

Even thought none of it had been calculated and she was only here now on a whim.

Even though none of it had come from “goodness” or “justice”…

“Coronzon was a pathetic idiot who downright sucked at living, but you still didn’t want to call her a great demon and abandon her!! You didn’t care if she was only an acquaintance or what. You still wanted her to have at least one person on her side!! You wanted to be the individual who linked that lonely idiot to the wider world! So why the hell are you letting formless and weightless things like goodness and justice hold you back now? Why do you have to lie about what you believe!? Kamijou Touma threw out that fragile possibility for the sake of the wider world. He made the choice for you without asking first. It doesn’t matter if he was right or not. That boy stole your right to make a choice for yourself!! …So why can’t you at least say you want to get back at that boy who destroyed your illusion!? Isn’t that what you want to do for the person you wanted to become friends with no matter how much effort it took!!?”

“I said shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup!!!”

He stepped on it.

He slammed his foot down on the gas pedal.

Blodeuwedd the Bouquet vanished from view in front of the truck. Of course she did. When the 10ton vehicle hit her, she would be dragged underneath it rather than launched forward.

Gasping for breath and sweat pouring down his face, Hamazura finally stepped on the brake.

“What the hell kind of shitty life is this? Dammit, is it finally over?”

Did this help Coronzon? Of course not.

He had thrown out righteousness himself, so what was this explosion of rage even based in? He was so stupid and pathetic and hopeless he had just lost the only person still willing to help him. He hated that he had shaken off her hand, erred, and tumbled down beyond the point of no return.

But then…

“That’s more like it.”

It came from directly below.

The voice’s cheerfulness seemed to ignore all common sense.

What was with that salvation provider? He was in a big truck.

“I knew you could do it, my cute Hamazura-tan☆”

With a roar, Earth’s gravity lost all meaning.

A force thrusting sharply up from below sent the 10ton truck soaring through the air. Although Hamazura only managed to recognize that after it had slammed back down into the ground.

“Khahh!!”

“Hey.”

With the windshield cracked and his view of the world flipped upside-down, he saw Blodeuwedd the Bouquet crouched and peering in through the driver’s side door. The emaciated girl was entirely unscathed after all that.

“We’re not talking about any boring crap about what the world at large thinks. Consistency and contradictions don’t matter. I’m not fighting to get all the riffraff out there to stroke my ego by hitting the like button. Listen, Hamazura. The emotion pushing you onward is everything for you.”

…Yes, that was right.

Hamazura gritted his teeth.

It was ugly. It was pathetic. It was ridiculous.

The 8 billion people who were nearly killed would probably respond with a snort of laughter and tell him he was wrong.

But.



''He had wanted to be her friend. He had wanted to get to know Coronzon better.



He finally managed to focus on the center of his feelings here.

But that could no longer happen. No matter how badly he yearned for it, they could never laugh together.

Because someone had decided to intrude, made a mess of things, and converted it all into the past tense.

“No matter how self-righteous and nonsensical it might be, the Transcendent who loves the hated will never tell you your feelings are wrong. I’m risking my life here too, so whatever you ultimately choose as an objective, don’t you forget what you really want out of this. Got that?”

“…Y-yeah…”

She must have liked something about Hamazura’s pathetic and trembling voice because Blodeuwedd the Bouquet smiled and held out a hand.

Not her metal coat’s giant sleeve, but her own overly skinny hand.

“Then come on out, Hamazura. We need to get out of here. Really, it’s your fault for that display of guts. I’m close to loosening up in a number of places and it’s like I’m brimming with power, so this ended up being a little more noticeable than I’d anticipated☆”

…For real? He couldn’t get a read on that tehepero-ing girl’s personality. When she got worked up, did she lose control to the point she would ''unintentionally'' throw a 10ton truck?

“How long are you going to hang around in that upside-down truck? You can’t go anywhere in there, so crawling out and walking on your own feet seems like it would be more constructive to me.”

“But where am I supposed to go!?”

“That’s not for me to decide. You need to choose.”

After Hamazura took the girl’s overly skinny hand and crawled out through the broken window, she turned the tables on him.

The Transcendent peered into his eyes and asked the most fundamental question.



“''You can’t fight based on what’s right, but what do you want to do about Kamijou Touma who is protected by what’s right''?”