Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Endymion Chapter2 (section)

===Part 9===

The wind blowing through that single, straight tunnel would not be thrown out of order.

And if the magician girl used that stable wind to aim, Kamijou could not escape the flames of her Agni’s Festival Fire.

He doubted he could use Imagine Breaker in time against explosions that suddenly appeared out of thin air.

And Kamijou’s body was not reinforced magically or otherwise, so if even one of them struck him directly, there was a very real risk that he would be blown to pieces.

The situation was hopeless.

And on top of that, the enemy had no reason to hesitate.

An explosion roared within the tunnel.

That finishing blow came much too easily. Even with an overwhelming advantage, the enemy did not let down her guard. She did not allow her opponent even the slightest chance for a counterattack. This was the attack of an expert.

He should have died.

There was nothing those on Kamijou’s side could do. He should have simply been swallowed up by the explosion.

However…

“Wh-what?” uttered a girl whose face was made visible in the darkness thanks to the light of the flames she herself had produced.

Despite her supposedly perfect aim, the explosion of flames had missed.

Kamijou Touma still stood.

She once more used the Agni’s Festival Fire she was interfering with. But this explosion did not hit either.

It was not that he was defending against it in some way.

The explosions of flame that should never have missed were appearing in the completely wrong place. Her basic assumption of perfect aim had fallen apart.

“What did you do…? There is no sign of any further intervention with my spell. But then there should be no error in the aiming…!!”

“I didn’t do a thing to your spell. I wouldn’t know how if I wanted to,” said Kamijou with a small smile and a hand on the tunnel wall.

His unconcerned demeanor robbed all calmness from the girl’s thoughts.

“Then why…!?”

“You’ll know soon enough.”

And he was right.

A change came over the flow of the dust thrown into the air by the explosions. It should have flowed stably along the path of the subway tunnel, but it did not. It was swirling around and a lot of it was being sucked up towards the walls near the ceiling.

“What…? You don’t mean… Smoke vents in case of fire!?”

“This may be a tunnel, but it isn’t a mine. Of course they take measures for emergencies.”

Kamijou removed his hand from the wall.

The emergency button for the smoke vents appeared from under his hand.

“No matter how powerful an attack is, it’s meaningless if the attack doesn’t hit. I knew all too well from the previous attacks that the shockwave alone was not enough to blow me to pieces.”

“Kh!!”

The girl sent an explosion not at Kamijou but at the wall nearby.

Kamijou immediately grasped what she was after, but he walked forward without rushing.

“It’s no use. This is an emergency system in case of fire. It’s made so the power line and cables can’t be destroyed so easily.”

His pace quickened from a walk to a run.

He charged forward.

The girl immediately tried to move backwards, but she quickly realized that was a foolish plan. A single, straight tunnel was ill suited for escape. With no obstacles, it would become a chase based purely on leg strength. And she could easily guess that Kamijou would be the faster of them due to his build.

She could not win with the cards in her hand.

The girl quickly came to that conclusion. She reached a hand around to her back and pulled a gold-colored blade from her blouse.

But Kamijou did not stop running.

He did not show any unneeded caution that would only give his opponent more time.

As he charged on, Kamijou said, “''I know what you’re doing.''”

“!?”

The girl’s body stiffened and she tried to bring the blade to her own throat. Winning or losing here was a minor issue. What mattered to the girl was buying enough time for the main force to escape and to eliminate any hint leading to them.

As he was aware of that fact, Kamijou did not hesitate to speak.

“I know what you’re doing. And I won’t allow it. I won’t!!”

The girl was actually able to stab the blade into her neck before Kamijou could stop her.

He was unable to stop her from sending the pointed tip digging into the skin.

But that was as far as it got.

In the next instant, Kamijou’s right hand reached the gold weapon in the girl’s hands. And the instant his extended fingertips touched it, the blade shattered. It was completely destroyed before it could make it any deeper than the skin.

Kamijou grabbed the girl’s collar with both hands and slammed her back forcefully against the nearby wall.

“Will you admit defeat here or do I need to punch you first? It’s your choice,” said Kamijou as the girl struggled to breathe. “Whatever happens, you aren’t getting a chance to end this by dying. Keep that in mind as you choose.”