Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:MvM2 Depth1 (section)

===Between the Lines: Revenge of ****** Goddess ***********===

She was standing in an unfamiliar place.



Misaka Mikoto took a look around.

“…Shokuhou?”

“Hey, what’s going on now?”

They were in a giant stone temple colored white with a hint of blue. It was somewhat reminiscent of ancient Greece, but it also looked like a fancy smartphone made for the wealthy.

Mikoto realized she was back in her Tokiwadai summer uniform. Even though she had been piloting a fighter just a second ago.

“Welcome to the Resurrection Sanctuary, you souls who possess special power but fell before your path was complete.”

Mikoto heard a voice.

Someone stood in the center of the temple. The order there seemed wrong, but Mikoto didn’t question it. She felt like she was in a dream.

“I am Return Goddess Disvalerine. I am the ruler of all direct connections and the one who accurately fishes up all things with a single rod and line.”

Misaka Mikoto felt some camaraderie with her.

This goddess had small boobs.

“Insolent human species, would you like to be sent to yet another world? Perhaps a post-apocalyptic zombie survival world with an ultra hard difficulty setting this time?”

“Um, sorry. I just don’t see people with a chest smaller than mine very often, so I didn’t mean anything by that warm look!!”

“Twice.”

Except for her extremely small boobs, she was an adult woman. She was slim and tall, she had pure unblemished skin, and her long silver hair was tied loosely behind her head to fall down her back. She wore a loose white garment that made her look both like a divine priestess and like a lewd dancer, but that was probably intentional. Everything about her seemed unbalanced. The combination of her flat chest and her garment’s loose neckline left her incredibly unguarded.

The jiggly #5 looked exasperated.

“Misaka-saaan, I think this self-proclaimed goddess is the host of this mystery space, so maybe don’t anger her? When someone’s insecurities are so obvious at a glance, you can use it to your advantage. Just come up with some random compliment like, ‘wow, you’ve figured out how to use your flat chest ability as a weapon’.”

“Thrice. You’re out of extra lives now, you know?”

The goddess’s smile was gone.

They had pushed it right up to the limit, so Mikoto and Shokuhou swore to themselves they wouldn’t tease her about her boobs any further.

Once Disvalerine, who appeared to be the boss of this mystery space, regained her confident smile, she spoke while teasing the decorative red, green, and blue ribbons on her pure white garment.

“Let’s get down to business. Misaka Mikoto. And Shokuhou Misaki. Did you like the Japanese camouflaged carrier, landing ship, and stealth fighter I lent you?”

“That was your doing?”

“I fished them out of one of the countless worlds out there☆”

The Return Goddess smiled with no hint of guilt.

She even stuck her tongue out a little.

Do you dislike dangerous young women with sticky fingers?

(I do dislike how she uses her cuteness as a weapon to cancel out her own crime. Especially as a fellow girl.)

“Don’t act so innocent after making such heavy use of them.”

She read Mikoto’s mind.

It was true the origins of the Izanami, Izanagi, and Shinshin had been a mystery, but apparently this goddess was responsible.

“And the return device was my own original creation. Believe it or not, I’m the type to perform beyond expectations on my summer homework☆”

“…”

“Yes. This means I was the one who sent you to that world and made sure you would return by a certain date. It was me all along.”

Why would she do that?

There was no need to ask. Most likely, the distorted situation between the three world powers and the extraordinary Ruler had been a problem, so she had wanted someone to take care of those things. And one of those problems had been an 1800m naked girl.

What had the Ruler even been anyway?

An enemy of this goddess?

A subordinate or weapon this goddess had created?

Or another goddess who had abandoned her duties?

…This made Mikoto curious as to why the Ruler and the Girlish Weapons had all been girls.

“What are you going to do with us?”

“Silence us because you don’t need us anymore?”

“Of course not. I am the Return Goddess. Unlike a certain busty she-cat I could mention, I am the master of resurrection – of returning people’s souls to their rightful place. Me? Harm or even eliminate someone? Never.”

Mikoto found that extremely hard to believe.

“Then return us to Earth,” said Mikoto, glaring at the goddess.

“Misaka Mikoto, I am currently in a very good mood. Aren’t you at all interested in a bonus stage? You too, Shokuhou Misaki.”

“A bonus…’stage’? You mean sending us somewhere else? You must be joking!”

“We don’t need the gold axe or the silver axe. We need you to cut the crap ability and return us to our original world.”

“Oh?” Return Goddess Disvalerine looked surprised. “Are you really sure that’s what you want?”

“Why wouldn’t we be?”

“Do you really think following the rails I have set up for you and returning to your world will lead you to happiness?”

“You make it sound like unhappiness ability awaits us in our world.”

“It does,” said Disvalerine without a moment’s delay. “You’ve noticed by now, haven’t you? You are not Misaka Mikoto and you are not Shokuhou Misaki.”

Time stopped.

No.

It was Mikoto and Shokuhou’s breathing that stopped.

Noticing this, the goddess smiled bitterly and waved a hand.

“Pardon me. That was poor phrasing on my part. It would be more accurate to say you are not the Misaka Mikoto ''everyone knows and loves'' and you are not the Shokuhou Misaki ''everyone knows and loves''.”

The goddess raised her fingers one at a time and began speaking.

Sharply.



“The Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki here know far too much about fighters and aircraft carriers.”

“Hm? ''Of course we do. We’re always receiving flight training at school.''”



“The Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki here attend a girl’s school that teaches such things.”

“''Because that’s what they teach at Academy City. I mean, the city’s a giant collection of flight schools.''”



“The Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki here underwent esper power development to help them become the best fighter pilots around.”

“''Because we can’t protect anyone otherwise. Everything outside the walls is at risk because of Them.''”



Return Goddess Disvalerine shrugged.

Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki tilted their heads.

The goddess smiled.

“See?”

“No, I don’t see.”

“Unfortunately, you are the only two who don’t. Everyone else gets it.”

The look in the goddess’s eyes said Mikoto and Shokuhou were the odd ones out. The two humans and one goddess were supposedly the only ones here, yet she ignored the majority rule to remain in complete control. She got to say what was right and what was sensible. Or so it seemed.

“The Misaka Mikoto here and the Misaka Mikoto everyone knows and loves are the same person but from different worlds. The same goes for Shokuhou Misaki.”

“Different worlds?”

“You know, isekai. Or reincarnation.”

The Return Goddess giggled.

And that was it.

…

Huh?

Was that really the end of her explanation?

“You can’t appreciate it since you find all of that to be normal, but your native world is set on a decently hard mode. You won’t find Them in ''normal'' worlds. Even as Level 5s, it’s an open question if you can actually overcome that bullet hell shoot ‘em up.”

Come to think of it, what was it she had called herself?

The Return Goddess.

Disvalerine was only the master of returning people.

In that case…

“Wait a minute.”

“Waiting.”

She was a polite goddess at least.

Or maybe just confident in her superiority.

“I get speaking to us and taking us back after our trip to another world. That’s your right as a Return Goddess – whatever that is.”

“But why did we leave Earth and visit another world in the first place?” asked Shokuhou.

“I already explained that. Your home has quite a high death rate out of all the worlds out there. So even a Level 5 will probably find it impossible to overcome the bullet hell shoot ‘em up you find when They cover the sky.”

“…” “…”

“You have already died once. Your own lives are the proof of the impossible hell you were up against. If you return, you will only die again.”

Was she…serious?

They had somehow managed to defeat the 1800 meter and 750 thousand ton Ruler. But this was something even Misaka Mikoto would be helpless against?

Was their Earth really that dangerous a world?

“See? If you saw another Academy City, you would be shocked by how peaceful it is. With Them nowhere to be found, it would look like a world set on easy mode.”

Maybe they would have been happier not knowing this.

But the Return Goddess told them anyway.

Probably for her own purposes.

“But it’s not too late.” She smiled. “I am Return Goddess Disvalerine. I have the authority to fudge which world you are returned to.”

“Fudge?”

“Yes, that’s right. I can wield my authority much more strongly when I am returning you. Wouldn’t you like to go to a relaxing world without Them and without Academy City? A world where you can live a slow life with no death or conflict.”

“…”

“That is what I mean by a bonus stage.”



Without Them and without Academy City.

A slow life with no death or conflict.



“Now,” urged the goddess.

Return Goddess Disvalerine.

A specialist in salvaging all beings who journeyed to another world and could influence the “overall flow of events” by determining whether or not they would return.

“What do you say, Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki? Don’t you want to use this opportunity to escape a cruel fate?”

The goddess’s smile said they couldn’t find happiness otherwise.

This was their reward for saving a world. They had completed their task and arrived at the ending and it would leave a bad taste in her mouth if they were killed shortly after returning to their world, so the Return Goddess was offering to rescue them by cheating the system just a bit.

Misaka Mikoto sighed.

This was her chance to get ahead of some other Misaka Mikoto by filling a vacancy.

And maybe that was the only way to avoid death.

So she made up her mind.

“I don’t need a favor from you. Just send me back to Earth.” “I don’t need a favor from you. Just send me back to Earth.”

They spoke together.

Only after speaking did Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki exchange a glance. They hadn’t planned that.

Meanwhile, time had stopped for someone else.

Return Goddess Disvalerine kept her head tilted for quite some time.

And eventually…

She spoke.

“You will die.”

“Yeah, probably.”

“In fact, you already died once. You boarded the ultimate cutting-edge fighter that gathered up all of humanity’s greatest technology as it’s one last hope for one final battle. It was very serious and moving.”

“But our family, friends, and so many other things we want to protect are there. We’re more than willing to die if it will protect that place.”

“That makes it so much better than some safe world where we don’t know anyone,” added Shokuhou. “I can’t just abandon Dolly and my clique, can I?”

“At the very least, I think I’d go crazy in a peaceful slow life with nothing worth fighting for.”

They had seen the Ruler.

That lonely life form without a single rival had been perfect in every way, but she had chosen to self-indulgently focus only on her own wants and ultimately been brought down as a monster.

As a Level 5, Mikoto didn’t want to turn out that way.

No matter what.

“Besides, we gained plenty of experience ability in that other world,” said Shokuhou. “Maybe we could never have defeated Them while on Earth, but now that we’ve trained ourselves in another world, we might just have a chance.”

“So I want to test out my current strength back on Earth. I won’t let anyone claim my memories with YF-22A and the others are worthless.”

“Then so be it.”

She didn’t argue the point.

Return Goddess Disvalerine wasn’t very persistent. She had called it a bonus stage, hadn’t she? So from her perspective, it wasn’t a top-priority matter, an obligation, or a duty. If Mikoto and Shokuhou weren’t interested, that was fine with her.

They had rejected the final escape route she had prepared for them.

If they wanted to enjoy hell, then they could burn.

Maybe that was her reasoning.

“Oh, by the way, you two, do not get in a habit of dying. Just because your world is one of the worst ones out there is no reason to assume that dying will get you sent to a lucky pervert world populated entirely by scantly clad girls. The system is based on a complicated set of standards, so a soul that just lives an average life will not be rewarded with reincarnation into another world.”

…Was that fighter pilot life supposed to be a reward? People had been trying to kill them from beginning to end.

“What happens if we aren’t able to reincarnate?”

“Your soul gets to live blissfully in heaven forevermore.”

“Hey!” shouted Mikoto. “Then what’s even the point of having people reincarnate in other worlds after they die!? You need to apologize to all those people trying to get by with their appraisal skill, dud jobs, and whatever else!! Apologize right now!!”

“I-I get the feeling a lot more souls would find happiness if they just went straight to heaven instead of hoping for a new life with some kind of overpowered ability,” said Shokuhou.

“Oh, heaven is only for the humans who fully achieved enlightenment. Everyone else goes to hell.”

“…” “…”

“But if you full-clear all 136 hells, you might get to restart life as a gross bug or rat or something.”

Huh?

That wasn’t quite…what they had been expecting.

“Um, uhh, Disvalerine-san?”

“Th-that idea of hell is awfully Eastern for how you’re dressed. I mean, that is a very Buddhist way of thinking.”

“Of course it is. I manage a system based on the reincarnation of souls. I know people get the wrong idea from RPGs and mobile games, but it’s just silly to try and combine the idea of reincarnation with the Christian medieval European idea of souls being sorted into either heaven or hell and then just leaving them there forever. There are some exceptions, but Greek mythology and Norse mythology are also generally reincarnation free.”

Then why did she have a name spelled with the alphabet?

There had to be more than than ''just'' Eastern ideas there.

Mikoto considered pressing this further until she made the goddess cry, but…

“Reincarnation in another world is actually like a second chance for the poor losers who died and failed the exam but it would be a shame to just send them to hell. …Now, you seem to have a problem with how I run things, so if you want, I can just give up on you and send you off for a very long stay in hell. Then you can spend day in and day out being skewered in temperatures so cold your body splits from the inside while you dream of one day becoming a gross bug or rat.”

“You know what? You make some good points.”

“Yes, life is tough, isn’t it?”

“It really is.”

While Return Goddess Disvalerine stared into empty air and moved her fingers like she was operating some kind of device, Mikoto asked her a question.

It had suddenly occurred to her.

“…By the way.”

“Yes?”

“You called yourself the Return Goddess, right? Then why did you want to send us to some other world to live a slow li-”

“To get back at the goddess who single-handedly controls the journey souls take. Yes, that loathsome little busty she-cat who is so short yet has the nerve to look down on me, who is always looking at my chest and laughing or spewing nonsense like ‘At least you have your butt. There is a demand for overgrown butts like that, you know?’ If I can only prove that there is a way to save souls other than reincarnating them as an overpowered hero, I just know I can finally see that she-cat in tears.”

“…”

For once, she wasn’t smiling.

Her voice was low and flat.

Something terrifying lurked deep in her yes.

Once she noticed, she grinned.

“Just kidding☆ Hee hee. The real reason is that a different environment can change people.”

“?”

“You know. If I send Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki to another world together and trap them in a boring slow life, the fact that they share a secret they can’t tell anyone else will naturally bring them together until they become hopelessly dependent on each other and can’t help but flirt with each other☆”

Neither one spoke a word.

Shokuhou used her remote to brainwash the goddess into standing still while Mikoto blasted her away with a Railgun traveling at three times the speed of sound.

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