Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:GT Volume2 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 8===

In truth, Kamijou Touma could only see about half of the scene before him.

That had been the case even while on the way here.

“Pant, pant.”

He had descended the hospital’s emergency stairs and entered the courtyard.

There he had lost his balance and collapsed.

His trembling fingers had grabbed at the whistle that slid across the snow.

He could not remember when he had gotten it. He could not even remember if he picked it out or if someone had given it to him. But when he squeezed it in his hand, he felt strength filling the very core of his body for some reason. That warm driving force helped him fight the chilly winter air.

Even though his Imagine Breaker was supposed to negate all supernatural powers, whether they were good or evil.

“…”

He once more managed to get on his feet while clinging to a streetlight.

His feet slipped on the snow, but he managed to start walking again.

Nothing entering his eyes or ears managed to reach his mind. His body was nothing more than pain and feverish heat. He could not shake the feeling that he had swollen to twice his usual size.

“Hey.”

And that may have been why he had focused his mind inwards.

“Maybe this is all you are now. You lost your body, took the form of microbes, and can only do anything by disguising yourself as an elixir of life to get into people’s mouths. You may be more of a phenomenon than a person now.”

It was only a whisper, but he did call out to someone.

He was the only one there. No nurses or guards had come running to search for the runaway when the fire alarm went off. But that did not mean no one was listening.

He could tell.

There was a listener waiting inside him.

“But you’re a magician too, aren’t you?”

Yes, Kamijou Touma had been fighting this whole time.

But not against the pain of his wounds. He had been holding this conversation his entire time in the hospital.

All so he could open the door for someone who had been suffering for far longer.

He had refused Maidono Hoshimi. He had punched Aihana Etsu.

Because this was ''our problem'' and he could not let an outsider get involved.

He had not been speaking to a mere prop. There was ''another'' actor on the stage who would share his fate.

Someone who could clear a path for themselves through fighting.

“You’re a magician who carved a magic name into your heart and started down that path for your own reasons, right? Then what was it you wanted to do way back then? I’ll help you, St. Germain. Let’s end this ''silly game of pretend.'' If there’s something you want to do, then I’ll lend you my body.”

St. Germain had indeed destroyed his body from within as a part of Anna’s plan. That was an undeniable fact.

But.

Had that been the result of St. Germain’s malice or ill intentions? Had he demonstrated any sort of dark emotions? The answer was no. Anna Sprengel had meant him harm, but none of St. Germain’s human will could be found there.

What if he caused harm just by existing there and that magician had not meant to do any of this?

Was St. Germain really an enemy who had to be opposed?

''Kamijou could not answer that question.

''So all he had to do was ask.

“…”

The response did not come as a physical voice created from a vibration of the air.

The acute St. Germain had infected his entire body, so he must have reached the boy’s nerves or brain cells.

However it worked, a clear will existed there.

A will with entirely different beliefs than Kamijou Touma – a will that had been suppressed until now – spoke in his mind.

“I…”

Anguish, resignation, failure.

It was a clearly human will that oozed with all of those things.

“I wanted to give people dreams. I did not want great riches or fame as a magician. I simply wanted to appear in a town and surprise everyone with a fun little show – that was all. I hoped someone would pursue those techniques that began from lies and eventually accomplish something far greater than their wildest dreams.”

That must have never come to pass.

No one had tried to do it themselves. They had simply relied on St. Germain who provided them with everything.

They took the easy route.

The self-indulgent route.

The magician who claimed to be well-versed in techniques of creating gold, diamonds, and the elixir of life soon found himself surrounded by the nastiest sorts of nobles and the wealthy. He had been pushed into the center of the social scene and had been unable to back out. And once he was no longer able to deceive those greedy people who were only interested in riches and fame, they demanded he be judged and he was forced to abandon his physical body.

But even that magician had a starting point.

He was not just a tool. He had been a living human being.

So.

Kamijou Touma did not hesitate to focus on that central point. And he used a power that was frightening indeed when used against you.

The boy spoke the words that got down to his very essence.

“''Then do it, St. Germain.''”

“…”

Was he an enemy or an ally?

Was he the time limit that threatened the boy’s life?

But what did any of that matter?

Those were only the rules of the game Anna Sprengel had forced onto them both. Obeying those rules would only please Anna. Kamijou Touma had never drawn such a boring line between the two of them.

He was afraid of dying eventually. He was terrified. But there had to be something he could do while still alive. Something only Kamijou Touma could do.

When the entire world had given up on someone, they became “evil”.

A former god had told him that and he agreed with her.

But to put it another way, you just needed one person who would not give up on them no matter how unfortunate their nature was.

You just needed one person who did not give up on speaking with them.

Then surely they could be saved.

No, they ''could'' be.

“You wanted to use your magic to give people dreams, right? You wanted to master magic so you could dry the tears of children, put smiles on the squabbling adults’ faces, and loosen the mindsets of the elderly who had grown too set in their ways, right? Then the time is now. There isn’t a single reason to hesitate because this is your life. If you want to call yourself a magician, then don’t look away from your goal. I’ll give you my body to use, so go out there and master the path you chose for yourself, St. Germain!!”

A dull straining sound came from within his body.

He could not tell if it was his blood vessels, nerves, muscles, organs, or bones being destroyed.

An esper’s body would not last if St. Germain used magic through it and St. Germain would be gradually worn down as long as Imagine Breaker existed in that body.

They could not have been less compatible.

They never should have been working together.

But.

Kamijou Touma still did not hesitate to say it.

“Tell me what it is you want to do.”

“…”

“I’ll make it happen with my body, so now’s not the time to get shy!! You’re still clinging to this world even after being reduced to that form, so you must have some regret you can’t bring yourself to forget. So out with it! Tell me what it is so I can make it happen!!”

“I want to protect people’s dreams. Tears of failure and resignation have no place in this world!!”