Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Crossover2 (section)

===Part 7===

'''(Heivia/Ground’s Nir)

“Boo. Beatrice, don’t glare like that.”

“But, Boo Boo, I sense some kind of negative aura from this handsome guy. And the men I’ve met in Ground’s Nir have always been bad news.”

This island seemed to be made as a trial for good-looking guys. The flying kick to the face with the girl’s full body weight behind it seemed to have messed with the costume’s fit because the jacket boy seemed to be smiling oddly as he tilted his head.

“Beatrice, you can’t just beat up handsome strangers because you’re pissed off about the Gate Crushers.”

A sexy white witch was occasionally pushing up her glasses while clinging to the waist of the pig-faced giant named Boo Boo. She may have felt the need to hide behind someone.

“Wow, he really is the picture perfect version of handsome. …And that’s what makes me so skeptical,” said a short-haired girl in green who may have been some kind of priest. “Yes, just like balloon boobs filled with silicone.”

“I assume that was directed at me, but who’s going to feel hurt at the end of the day, Miss Flaaat?”

“Dammit, I so want to sneak up behind that glasses cow, anesthetize her, and stick a liposuction nozzle in her!!”

“Stop that, Armelina. It makes my skin crawl when you get that specific with your grudge!”

“You only have yourself to blame, Filinion.”

“You only have yourself to blame, Filinion.”

“I didn’t do anything! This flaaaat person just attacked me out of jealousy! Is there no justice in this cruel break room!?”

White Witch Filinion moved even further behind the pig and shrank down. Heivia had a thought as he watched her.

(Hold on. Is that pig in the same position as Quenser? If so, there’s no forgiving him. How do these people end up with several teenage girls hanging all over them without putting any effort into it!?)

The handsome mask apparently prevented anyone from picking up on his feelings. The gray pig named Boo Boo used his giant hand to somewhat roughly rub Filinion’s head.

“So who is this, Beatrice?”

“Someone suspicious, so let’s roast him and throw him out.”

“I have to respect how fully you’ve decided to throw out the rule of law here in Ground’s Nir, Beatrice. So what is this? His, um, full-body tights? Aren’t you curious where that came from? It seems different from Magic and I doubt Ground’s Nir could make that kind of special makeup since it has no petrochemical processing technology, so it feels kind of like some lost technology. And it would be trouble if someone used it to disguise themselves as someone else and sowed confusion while exploring the Labyrinth.”

The conversation was finally headed in a constructive direction. Beatrice, Filinion, Armelina, and Boo Boo. Heivia thought about those names that had been brought up so far.

“I was just cleaning up the storeroom when we found a bunch of them and I chose this handsome one because it looked like fun, so I have no clue what any of this is about. Do you all know more?”

“Hey, I don’t know if you’re just omitting a lot, but that was a terrible explanation. I have no idea what you’re trying to say.”

“Again, let’s fry this sketchy handsome guy and be on our way. My suggestion is dividing his ashes into a few different barrels or bottles and throwing them in a river or in the ocean.”

“You’d make that Vampire staying in the ghost ship cry, so let’s not, Beatrice. …More importantly, what even is this? You called it special makeup before, but that’s not really what this is. It’s weirdly lifelike.”

Special effects makeup would look really fake outside of the camera frame. For example, the voice would be muffled because the air came out differently, the thick mask’s many layers of coloring would have a powerful smell, and it would not sweat no matter how much they moved around.

But this unpleasantly handsome boy showed none of those signs. There was no flaw from any angle, so it felt like having a character from a movie step out of the screen.

“Something like this would be a lifesaver for undercover operations. Oh, but then we might get a bunch of phantom thieves like you see in manga.”

“Is it a technological revolution brought on by a Piece?”

“Boo. What does that mean?”

“By mastering Magic in Ground’s Nir, we can acquire precise processing methods and chemical compositions that can’t be reproduced with the technology back in reality. That data can lead to breakthroughs in research fields that have reached a dead end, so…”

…Heivia was skeptical that a pig from dreamland could understand all that, but he had crashed into a new barrier himself. Beatrice, that human weapon in red armor, had mentioned “technology back in reality”. Then where were they now? Did Ground’s Nir somehow not count as reality?

Armelina, the flat-chested green priest, did not hesitate to pinch the distorted handsome cheek.

“This is incredible. It’s like a full-face transplant from an SF movie.”

“Hold on there, miss. You sure are friendly. As a bust sommelier who understands that large and flat both have their own unique appeal, you’re going to make me blush!”

“Ho ho? And which category do I fall under?”

“Agrbrbrh!? Wait, don’t pull! You’re going to tear it! Is this a dictatorship that can get people to say that white is black!?”

But the fake skin showed no sign of tearing even as Armelina used her full strength. Instead of being pasted on somehow, it was more like it was actually his skin. Where did the costume end and where did the original begin? There was no way to tell.

“Whether it’s a breakthrough from a Piece or not, this might be…y’know.”

“You think so too, Armelina?”

“Beatrice, did you just not give this any thought at all?” Armelina sighed and tossed out a theory. “Cultivated Muscles. A technology that makes muscle fibers and nerve tissues out of the ever-popular stem cells and uses those as weapon components instead of mechanical parts.”