Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:GT Volume5 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 6===

In truth, Hamazura Shiage barely knew anything about the events of the 29th.

He didn’t know how difficult it had been to reach this familiar place or what kind of drama had played out to make it possible.

But he had heard a cry for help.

Maybe that cry had come from an artificial ghost whose anger had caused her to swallow up Academy City’s Greatest Taboo, which stood on the dividing line between science and magic and made her voice deadly to even listen to.

Still, Hamazura Shiage had survived the 25th.

He thought he had ended Operation Handcuffs himself, so if it was still ongoing and someone was still suffering down in the darkness, then the half-dead delinquent boy had more than enough of reason to get out of bed.

Especially after seeing Drencher Kihara Repatri’s lifestyle up close.

He couldn’t let harm come to something that man had risked his life to protect.

No matter what.

“Hee hee.”

Something was making noise.

It was that pitiful ghost that had been caught in the shadows of the living realm by some kind of mistake.

He spoke directly below the young girl hanging from the tall, tall ceiling like a bagworm.

“You of all people are here? Did getting one little move in on me go right to your head or something!? You’re a zero! A Level 0!! If you lost sight of that and decided to return to the darkness, it sounds a lot like you have a death wish and decided to throw out your undeserved good fortune!”

“None of that matters,” calmly said Hamazura Shiage.

Operation Handcuffs had been the worst of the worst, but he had caught a glimpse of something while running around trying to survive the disasters of that day.

He had learned something.

He could take a step forward now that he had inherited something from Vivana Oniguma and Drencher Kihara Repatri who had died before his eyes.

Would they have just watched while young Risako’s victory was denied and her resolve mocked?

“Esper level doesn’t matter here. Everyone who comes to this city takes their first step after finding a reason to motivate themselves. Maybe they want to be a Level 5, maybe they want to be the #1 at the top, and maybe they want to be an even greater monster. So I have the right to try. And this godforsaken darkness is what invited me onto the path of the undefeated champion by stubbornly clinging to life and dragging Risako into it all.”

“Is that old-fashioned ‘where there’s a will there’s a way’ argument really all you have? The very fact that this city separates people by level should tell you that trying harder doesn’t actually make you stronger. A zero will always be a zero, Level 0!! You will never amount to anything!!”

“''I wasn’t talking to you, you empty ghost,''” spat Hamazura. His voice carried the slight irritation of having TV static interrupt an important conversation. Yes, he was facing the ghost, but he was speaking to someone else. “I’ll say it again: esper level doesn’t matter here” He almost seemed to be singing. Or maybe declaring war. “Everyone who comes to this city takes their first step after finding a reason to motivate themselves. Maybe they want to be a Level 5, maybe they want to be the #1 at the top, and maybe they want to be an even greater monster.”

It may have been the same for Risako. It was true she had failed to defeat him. Her resistance had accomplished nothing and Kihara Hasuu had ultimately overpowered her. But she had not been fooled by his words. To the end, she had held onto what Drencher Kihara Repatri had given her. Kihara Hasuu’s open anger about it proved how strong her will was. Her reluctance to hurt Sodate or the ghost lady hid a small light that would one day grow into a great power.

Drencher was gone and the dead were not so easily brought back. But in a more figurative sense, he had to be smiling when he saw Risako now. He would have learned that his efforts had been more than just self-righteousness.

Hamazura Shiage had dealt with him enough to feel certain of that.

“So I have the right to try.”

So Hamazura did not criticize the result.

For one thing, he was not directing his question toward Risako.

“And this godforsaken darkness is what invited me onto the path of the undefeated champion by dragging Risako into it all.”

So when he asked the question, it was directed toward someone else with the same right to try.

“What about you, ''Sodate''?”

He turned toward the area behind one of the concrete pillars.

Yes. There was another survivor of Operation Handcuffs. Maybe he had failed in everything he tried and never defeated anyone, but survival alone was enough of a win for that day. After experiencing everyone being manipulated by the Coins of Nicholas, Hamazura knew all too well how difficult that simple accomplishment had been.

At the very least, he wasn’t accepting any argument from the cheater who had failed to survive yet been so furious about losing he had flipped over the game board and clung to life.

With the slightest of sounds, a small boy in gym clothes stepped out from behind the pillar. He never should have been here and should have been the first one to keep away from that brutal chainsaw.

“I…”

But Hamazura didn’t stop him. Because that boy had the right to try.

The boy stepped up alongside Hamazura, tensed his trembling legs, and clenched his small fists tight.

All so he could resist the world’s cruelty and save someone he cared about.

“''I also want to become an esper who can surpass any Level 5, even the unbeatable #1''!!”