Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:MvM Chapter6 (section)

===Part 5===

The three treasures ceremony had finally begun.

It made use of the entire stadium-sized great hall. The succubi, dark elves, and others were busy placing herbs and jewels in the appropriate locations. All magic in this world was apparently based on incantations, but magic circles, incense, colorful cards, and more gathered tens of thousands of words together in this one place.

The two witches who had supported the king provided instructions.

“You need to flip that card upside down! The way you have it, it ands the symbols together, but we want to or them!!”

“Hee hee. Place the censer on the magic circle at 150 degrees clockwise to indicate a period. That alone can greatly change the meaning of the incantation.”

Everyone’s efforts were working toward a single result.

Everything came together to elevate it all.

The village mayor looked like he couldn’t believe what he was doing.

Or maybe it made him deeply emotional.

“To think the day would come I would be working side by side with elves.”

They were breaking the barrier between worlds and surpassing the rules of the reincarnation goddess to create a path back from Celesaqphere to Earth.

It was all for that.

Patissiet and Elder Bakerian joined their voices together.

“The red treasure is a sign of the Celesaqphere sky. Its light symbolizes the ever-expanding dusk and the gap that invites demons.”

“The blue treasure is a sign of the Celesaqphere sea. Its light symbolizes the changes and currents that rain down from the heavens and fill the space below the land.”

“The green treasures is a sign of the Celesaqphere land. Its light symbolizes a place that splits and breaks but has still been gifted to all that live.”

“Where is the unseen territory found? The three colors shall dye our world and outline the territory with no sign of its own. The formless path shall appear before us in the very end!!”

There was no obvious change.

Only a shift in the density or hardness of the air.

Something was changing at an accelerating rate.

And it would likely continue until it reached the point that everyone could see it.

“The five continents and all their life wish you well.

“The four kingdoms bless you.

“The three Demon Lords have provided the guiding treasures.

“The two goddesses have granted us the love and support needed to seek it out.

“The one portal’s lock need no longer function.

“Strange Underpass Cathedral, resonate with us and open the portal between worlds!!!”

Meanwhile, Shokuhou and Mikoto were whispering to each other.

They had noticed something.

“(This is something we were only supposed to get after convincing everyone in this world to get along and work together, wasn’t it?)”

“(Kind of awkward that we forced them to come together and help us, isn’t it?)”

But it would be weird to stop here and redo things the right way, so they decided to stick with it.

Oblivious to this, the elf girl continued her very serious incantation.

Once her part was complete, she made a worried comment with the thick grimoire in hand.

“With the portal connected, th-the gatekeeper will emerge. Be careful!”

“Don’t worry. We’ve never been in any real danger since we arrived in this world.”

“Heh heh. I’m sure this’ll be a letdown too.”

The two girls made somewhat rude comments.

The ceremony had reached its climax. Most likely, the mermaids and scyllas’ part of the song had left the human audible range.

That was when they heard a cracking sound.

But not from anything specific. If anything, it sounded more like space itself was cracking.

Mikoto, who didn’t know much about magic ceremonies, jumped.

“Is something wrong!?”

“No! Lady Misaka, Lady Shokuhou, stay where you are!!”

That didn’t make them feel much better.

Patissiet elaborated with grimoire in hand.

“''This threat was expected!!'' The gatekeeper is coming!!”

The air shook.

Even Mikoto took a step back.

The portal itself seemed to be rejecting their attempt to approach and pass through it.

Something was coming.

“What is this gatekeeper supposed to be!?”

“Um, according to the grimoire, if you travel against the current, the gatekeeper appears borrowing the form of the strongest person in the destination world. It won’t have their memories or personality, but the greatest enemy for whoever is attempting to return will be created to stop them!!”

Mikoto wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but she wasn’t going to back down no matter what came through.

She pulled an arcade coin from one of the (extremely limited) pockets in her bikini armor.

The #5 girl twirled her TV remote.

The depths of the portal writhed and the air burst.