Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Crossover2 (section)

===Part 18===

'''(Quenser/Academy City)

“The ‘original cause’ is somewhere in this world. In Academy City. But they didn’t use the Cultivated Muscles,” wrote out Quenser. “And both the completed Cultivated Muscles were found in the storeroom of the maintenance base being used for a joint exercise. They had already obtained two types of cells and cultivated them. …That means whoever had made them had already returned to their original world: the world full of Objects that I’m from.”

Kinuhata still did not seem to understand, but this was not something that could be cleanly explained with just one world. It was the mixture of worlds that had created the paradox in the first place.

“So to super look at it in reverse…”

“The first step is figuring out what happened to the ‘original cause’ who fled from Ground’s Nir to Academy City. Because if they’re alive, we need to take them back.”

“…And what if they’re already super dead?”

“It’s a possibility, but we have to hope that isn’t the case. Only living humans can pass through a Gate. You can’t take back a corpse and you were saying a death would continue to cause a paradox even if the corpse was disposed of. We would be stuck in that case.”

But even if he was afraid to find the answer, he could not do anything until he checked on it.

He had to capture the ‘original cause’ who was somewhere in Academy City. Then he had to go to Ground’s Nir and regroup with Heivia. After that, all three of them had to return to the 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion. If they then sent the ‘original cause’ back to Ground’s Nir, they would have untangled all the thread.

The person who had created the Cultivated Muscles was in the 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion. Otherwise, they would never have hidden that biological equipment in that storeroom. And since they had been sent to other worlds as soon as they put those on, the Gate was probably opened in that storeroom as well.

That meant they did not need to think about the culprit who had escaped. They had already returned to their original world. In fact, they had to settle this before that person wandered elsewhere.

That would leave one last task.

After it was all over, they just had to find that culprit and punch them. Luckily, Quenser had more than enough arm strength at the moment.

“Okay, let’s think about the problem at hand.” For some reason, knit dress Kinuhata raised her hand before speaking. “Do you have any super hints where this ‘original cause’ might be?”

It was true finding a single person in this large city would be extremely difficult. And at the moment, it was unclear if they were even still alive.

But Quenser wrote something out at his feet.

“I have an idea.”

“What is it…?”

“You must have been given some kind of knowledge to make it this far. Y’know, about the Cultivated Muscles, paradoxes, and other worlds. Where did you get that from?”

“Well…”

“Nn. There’s someone who knows all about those things.”

“I see. Then that’s our ‘original cause’,” declared the pig-faced giant. “Could an outsider…no, could anyone who only knows of a single world have knowledge like that? They probably sent you after me to find out what kind of pursuit had been sent after them. …Show me where they are. Let’s end this.”