Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:GT Volume14 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 1===

The factories of District 17 surrounded them.

The time had passed 4 AM. If it weren’t January, the sun may have already been rising.

One line was far more distinct than the horizon and also quite dangerous.

Academy City’s wall was in view.

The fate of the world would be determined by whether or not the great demon managed to cross that wall.

But neither Kamijou Touma nor Coronzon even glanced in its direction.

They knew the greatest threat at the moment was right in front of them.

Coronzon started first.



“Ra-Hoor-Khuit. Ruler of the eastern horizon.”



“Hoor-Paar-Kraat. Ruler of the western horizon.”



“And south is Set’s direction. The east and the west have already been sealed. The world is now a straight line. Be pierced by the dazzling light stabbing the world from my southern hand and die, human!!”



A fearsome white light was compressed before it raced out, scorching the air as it went.

And several more followed.

“!!”

A single hit to Kamijou and not even a hunk of flesh would remain. He would be truly obliterated.

But he did not catch this with his right fist. He swung his entire body aside to dodge.

Coronzon’s attacks were extraordinary.

Even with Imagine Breaker, carelessly trying to stop them would send his arm spinning with the rest of his body, blowing him away.

His right hand’s power was no use anymore.

However, Kamijou Touma hadn’t been fighting because he thought he thought he could win.

He knew all too well how much of a disadvantage he had.

But there was a reason he couldn’t let this continue, so he was fighting.

His body…moved.

''He couldn’t remember what they looked like anymore, but someone had done something to help him'' and now he could push past his injuries to fight.

(If I can move around like this – if I have enough speed to slip past her attacks – then I can reach her. Each step I take and every centimeter I move brings my fist that much closer to reaching Coronzon!!)

“Ha ha!! So the first attack didn’t take you out!? You really have grown!! And I thought you would be rolling along the filthy ground immediately after spewing some wild nonsense like usual!”

This was not a simple matter of physical strength.

Coronzon tore apart people’s bonds and obstructed their progress. Yet the world still needed her. She hated herself, so she wanted to destroy that framework and create a fair and impartial world void of conflict.

Kamijou knew she was twisted, but part of him couldn’t directly refute what she was saying. That was why he had lost their previous battle. Helplessly so.

What about now?

Could he say she was wrong to her face?

He asked himself that now.

And he fiercely faced forward. At the great demon who was trying to destroy the world by ''overdoing'' her role. At someone who could not accept a world where someone as evil as herself was allowed to exist.

If he couldn’t, this would be a repeat of the previous battle over Adikalika.

He would lose the psychological battle, freeze in place, and receive a serious injury while just standing there.

“I’m not sure I understand all that confusing stuff about the Sephiroth and you being a great demon…but it boils down to you wanting to create a just world, right? That’s why you’re fighting?”

“Yes. That’s right! I will create a pure world without any loathsome roles like my role of tearing people apart!! The next world will be a world of freedom, fairness, and happiness, filled with only just things. I will create an era where no one suffers or is torn apart. And I will do anything to achieve that!!”

“…I see. But I think it’s nice if the world is a little bit off.”

“?”

“As long as the world is kind to people, it’s okay if it’s a little bit off. I mean, a world where only just things happen, and only in the correct way, sounds stifling. There’s no soft cushioning in a world like that. Any impacts will hit you directly, like hitting solid concrete with a metal bat. That would mean no one ever lets anything slide and there are never any surprise bonuses, right? The unjust are expected to be destroyed and never get a second chance. No, the unjust would never come to be in the first place. …Yeah, that would be stifling all right. ''I don’t want to live in a just world where saying the wrong thing doesn’t just get you criticized but gets you executed.''”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m saying that your next world where everything’s all lined up in order and where everything can be explained doesn’t sound very fun. Your ideal leaves no room for whims and uncertainties. It’s like having a ton of choices, but you know where they lead before you make them. In the worst case, there might not even be any ‘wrong’ choices at all. In that case, then no matter what you choose, the path you take from birth to death with all lead to the same ending. It’d be a boring life of pressing the same button over and over.”

Coronzon’s face turned red.

“What kind of reason is that!? You can’t even benefit from your good deeds in the current imperfect world. It will all fall apart at some point. Are you saying you will accept bad deeds!?”

“There’s something I’ve wondered while looking at Qliphah Puzzle 545 and the Bologna Succubus. Why do demons fulfill people’s desires? Is it to drag people down to their own doom? Without directly physically killing them? If so, there must be better ways, like using hypnosis or illusions to pit the humans against each other. But demons all lend their power to humans and take those humans’ ruin as payment. And they even do this with the kinds of desires that an angel would never grant and you’d be reluctant to tell anyone else about. Doesn’t that mean that you demons are like a cushion to catch the people who slip through the cracks and can’t recover through the normal methods? However you were originally created, you may have ended up functioning in that way.”

Of course, those people would be ruined in the end. You couldn’t rely on a demon and then get away scot-free.

But you had the freedom to choose: die without any say in the matter, or go to hell satisfied you made your own choice.

“Are you kidding me, Kamijou Touma? Don’t act like you know what you’re talking about after only about 15 years of life! I exist to ruin people! God knew I would rebel, yet he did nothing to stop me!! My fall was planned. A soft cushion to catch people who slip through the cracks? I am not equipped with that function and it would be sinful to even wish I did!!”

Kamijou smiled a little.

He wasn’t Hamazura Shiage. ''Kamijou Touma could not agree with Great Demon Coronzon.'' But he felt like he was a little closer to understanding why Hamazura had been worried for her and decided to bet on her. But not much closer.

Hamazura hadn’t wanted Coronzon to be left all alone due to her title of great demon.

She was an embodiment of evil, but she would not call herself righteous. Hamazura had probably seen the weakness in Coronzon that prevented her from arriving at that answer.

“I seem to have struck a nerve. And I thought you demons were supposed to be good at this sophistry stuff.”

“Kh.”

“You’re a demon, aren’t you? But do you really want to defeat heaven?”

Coronzon herself had just said it would be “sinful” to wish she had that function.

She kept saying she would defy god, destroy the world, and wipe the slate clean, but she still understood the weight of the current rules. She kept saying she hated them, but she was constantly aware of them. Almost like a rebellious teenager and their parents.

In other words…

“No matter how much you resent, hate, and curse him, you still picture him as the ruler of the next world, don’t you? You can’t throw out the idea and presence of a good god.”

“Do not attempt to analyze me, human. I am an irredeemably wicked being, but there is one thing I know: baseless accusations are a sin deserving of death!!!”

The roar of splitting air passed above Kamijou’s head.

A group of people rapidly flew by in the night sky above.

It was the Transcendents like the Bologna Succubus and Aradia.

Some lights were flashing. Colorful lights.

“Oh, dear. Have you already forgotten who swatted you down from the wall!?”

“Alice!! If you want to save Kamijou Touma, then get ready. We will lay the groundwork and visualize the extent of the magical damage. Then when you attack, you don’t have to worry about that boy being caught in the blast! Today isn’t a day to be playful, selfish, or in a temper! Today is the day you take this seriously!!”

Lay the groundwork.

Each of the lights flashing in the night sky had to be a deadly attack. They would soon stab into the ground. It would be a downpour of destruction. While the Transcendents were only borrowing those forms, their precision meant the end result was little different from the acts of the gods of myth.

All expression vanished from Coronzon’s face.

And then she chuckled.

To Kamijou, it didn’t look like she was enjoying this. That was the look of someone who had cold water thrown on them.

“I am the great demon who lurks in the Abyss of the Sephiroth and obstructs humanity from arriving at wisdom.”

Kamijou’s shoulders shook.

This was bad.

He had picked up on some kind of invisible change in the air. He knew it was unscientific, but then Coronzon stood at the peak of the unscientific.

''Her presence was growing.

“Thus, this kind of magic is the best fit for me. …Dakshina Kalika.”



A white explosion followed.

It was made of ice.



A point in the sky unnaturally froze. Before Kamijou could even identify it as an icy orb as smooth as a crystal ball, it burst from within, scattering sharp shards in all directions. A mass the size of a soccer ball became tens of thousands of shards. With enough force to snag at and topple the factory smokestacks and blast furnaces.

It didn’t matter how many colorful beams of light were launched by Aradia, the Bologna Succubus, and the other flying Transcendents. Each of those magic attacks had to be powerful enough to kill Kamijou…but none of them made it through. He had thought of them as a downpour, yet they were all intercepted before reaching Coronzon. Not even one of the glowing raindrops falling from the sky managed to slip through. Instead of accurately hitting each one, it was more like enveloping the entire area with a small explosion. The precision was perfect. It was truly a wall. An impenetrable wall of ice.

Coronzon wobbled on her feet. Blood dripped from her mouth. In exchange for this great power, something was being worn away inside her.

He knew he could end this, but Kamijou still shouted out loud.

“Wait! Kanzaki told me you saved a girl from a violent man while you escaped. Then even you must have some-”

“Yes, It’s true! Ha ha ha. God must truly despise me. I don’t know if he placed it in me to begin with or if he remotely interfered, but he made me do that!”

“No, dammit, that’s not what happened! God wasn’t controlling you! This just means you had that capability inside you from the star-”

Several more ice orbs exploded.

Kamijou’s cries did not reach Coronzon.

Precisely, as if someone had arranged it that way.

And all of the attacks falling from the night sky were shot down before reaching her. Light and explosions danced wildly.

Explosions.

Without end.

And, most of all, with extreme precision.

Interception, shooting down, the act of obstruction. Coronzon made full use of her purpose and grinned. Even as her eyes wavered and red blood dripped from the corner of her mouth.

Coronzon didn’t even look in the Transcendents’ direction. She was only considering how she would use ''this'' to torment, tear down, and kill the powerless boy.

He alone she would make sure to kill here.

Kamijou sensed something else seething behind her wicked smile.

“Cough… What now, Kamijou Touma? I have more than one trump card. I can destroy the human world in so many other ways beyond Adikalika. As I’ve explained countless times already! But I don’t recall saying ''I couldn’t bring about that destruction from within Academy City a second time''!”

She could blow up and shoot down that downpour of rapid projectiles with perfect accuracy. What would happen if she did that to attack him on the surface? Maybe he could stop one or two with Imagine Breaker, but he couldn’t keep up with so many attacks. Then should he run away? How was he supposed to get away from that on his two human legs!?

The distance grew again.

The gap between them had seemed to shrink and he had been certain his right fist would reach her.

But now the psychological distance kept growing.

“I can accurately shoot down objects flying up to Mach 9 whether they come from the front or behind. This is a 360-degree barrier. The Transcendents? That school play of phonies dressed up as gods!? Ha ha ha!! Superior numbers mean nothing to a great demon!!”

“Damn!!”

“Come, Alice Anotherbible!! You are the only one who can likely break through Dakshina Kalika’s barrage by brute force. But I do not fear you! I am an expert at making people give up. That is my purpose as a great demon. So I will face you head on as I wear you down and break every last part of your spirit!! If you don’t act now, I will turn your precious teacher to mincemeat!!!”

Coronzon had to understand the threat Alice posed.

Yet she was goading and provoking Alice for her own enjoyment.

Coronzon was just too much. Kamijou didn’t even have to move in for an attack. If she simply walked toward him, he would be crushed. Whether or not he readied his fist.

Kamijou backed away, driven back by the barrage of exploding ice.

“Are you kidding!? Did you think these brute force tactics would be enough for the Transcendents to give up!? We just have to break that Mach 9 limit!!” said the Bologna Succubus.

“Ha ha!! About what I would expect from a nameless extra. Breaking the Mach 9 limit only lets you get close. Even if that uncontrollable straight line does reach me, I will simply hit you with a cross counter. I have more than the one trump card, you utter buffoon!!”

Lights flashed and explosions boomed.

Kamijou dove into a nearby unmanned factory while hearing the angry cries of those extraordinary people. That alone was a miracle. Yes, without the Transcendents giving him the opportunity, he would have been turned to mincemeat after taking the first step. An ordinary human couldn’t attack, defend, or even move freely against Coronzon. Not even a supersonic Saint like Kanzaki was enough. Coronzon was too great a monster!

“But what kind of factory is this?”

Had he actually gotten away? If this was an ultra-dangerous factory marked with some kind of hazard symbol because it dealt in dangerous chemicals or microbes, he would rather not know about it.

Kamijou took a look around and found a huge indoor space like a harbor warehouse or school gym. However, it didn’t feel spacious thanks to the object at the center. At first, it looked to him like a humongous ikameshi made of gray steel, but it wasn’t.

A sliced aircraft carrier sat there.

It was supported from below by countless wooden pillars and surrounded by metal scaffolding and stairs.

The back half of the whole was complete, but even that half was sliced up. The cross section showed the interior of the ship, including cabins and corridors. Kamijou knew he was seeing something strange. It looked like there were three or four levels below the flat deck.

He frowned.

“They’re building a ship? So is this a shipyard?”

“From the look of it, it will be at most 100m long when fitted together, which is awfully small for an aircraft carrier. It must be a drone carrier that has cut out all the necessities for a human crew.”

“Whoa,” exclaimed Kamijou.

All of a sudden, he found 15cm Othinus on his shoulder. He felt her glaring at him. During all the confusion after that giant LAShTAL thing knocked over the building, Othinus must have been hiding in his jacket.

“You do understand me well enough that I need not explain what I am doing here, human?”

“Fine, fine.”

A drone carrier. Academy City was located in western Tokyo, so it didn’t border the ocean. But come to think of it, hadn’t Transcendent Mut Thebes found a warship to use as a weapon? Since this one was sliced up, maybe large transport helicopters would suspend it from wires and carry it, piece by piece, to a coastal harbor city outside Academy City where the pieces would be welded together into the whole warship. That was far from the normal method, but Academy City could pull it off.

The side of the ship curved back further than vertical and bore the name Kagenui.

Coronzon was protected by a Mach 9 barrier. And this drone carrier was awaiting completion in the shipyard. …Should he try to find something he could use, or was it too dangerous for an amateur to touch anything here? An ordinary high school boy couldn’t even make that judgment. With a great demon as an enemy, he was afraid he would be lured toward what looked like the best option but would actually work against him.

“So what was that thing Coronzon was using? The Dak-whatever!?”

“Dakshina Kalika. Just like Adikalika, that’s another alternate name for the Indian goddess Kali and an alphabetic symbol used in Crowley-style Magick. I assume you can figure out for yourself how highly Coronzon ranks it.”

So it was on the same level as the Adikalika large-scale attack spell…

Kamijou nearly came to a dumbfounded stop.

Even though he knew that great demon’s true essence – yes, the very essence she so loathed and despaired in – was in breaking people’s spirits, making them give up, making them fail, making them rot, and sending them tumbling into the depths.

..Yes, that magic was exceptionally powerful. It might take time, but if Coronzon were to walk through a city or country she wanted to destroy, she could scatter endless destruction and wipe it off the map. None of the people being destroyed could stop her slow approach, so everyone and everything in that area would be obliterated by the ice explosions. It was an absolute interception magic, a Mach 9 barrier. That wasn’t very exciting, but there was no countermeasure!

(Maybe a teleporter would be able to fight back against that… But I doubt that alone would be enough to win.)

“Are you kidding me? If she could do this, why didn’t she use it from the start? It was only a few hours ago that she could have won easily if she had just hung on until Adikalika activated!”

“It’s probably ''too'' powerful. At Scotland and here, she was setting up a major ceremony meant to influence the entire world. Thoughtlessly using a major attack would have damaged her delicate spiritual items and ceremony, so she chose not to use it. But now she has nothing to protect. At this point, she has no reason to hide her presence. She can focus on killing the enemy before her and escaping, so she can more easily draw on her full strength.”

Othinus suddenly stopped talking there.

Because of some footsteps.

In the distance.

“Kh.”

Kamijou was cautious. Could this actually be Alice or someone else on his side? No. There was no rush to these footsteps, so he doubted this was a Transcendent who had hurried inside after breaking through the ice barrage. More than that, Kamijou Touma knew his misfortune too well than to hope for a lucky break like that.

The hundreds of wooden pillars supporting the sliced carrier were thicker than Kamijou’s body, so he hid behind one of them.

Overly long blonde hair.

A beige habit.

But something wasn’t right.

The explosions were continuing.

From beyond the wall and outside the shipyard. Coronzon was already here inside, but they were just as powerful as before?

“I left some turrets out there.”

Coronzon said it herself. Loudly enough for Kamijou to hear her even from this distance.

And with a smile splitting her face.

“This does require me to send magic power their way. They are stationary turrets, but as long as I continue to supply them with power, I can set up as many as I like. Their power, speed, accuracy, and precision are all no different from my own. This keeps the Transcendents pinned down by their barrage. And if you do not choose your exit carefully, you will be turned to mincemeat as soon as you take a step outside.”

“(Human.)”

“(Yeah, I know.)”

Kamijou didn’t believe her.

An analysis by his understander Othinus was one thing, but would Coronzon really reveal accurate specs when he hadn’t even asked? ''Not a chance''. He had to assume she was hiding something, like that those turrets could actually move around at high speed or that they amplified the power of the shots beyond what she could do herself.

She was even more serious than before.

But this was the seriousness of a wounded animal. She had been pushed devastatingly far beyond her limits.

Would she pass through the shipyard to shake the Transcendents and then safely cross the city wall?

“Alice Anotherbible and the rest of the Transcendents will not show up to save you. Besides, they were an unnecessary addition to our confrontation anyway. Now, is there any fat left to be trimmed? For example, what about that Magic God on your shoulder who keeps whispering wisdom into your ear? I will crush her now, Kamijou Touma!!”

Coronzon did not hesitate. She aimed her palm straight toward him from her distant position. Apparently he wasn’t hiding as effectively as he thought!

“Dammit!!”

A frozen white explosion burst forth.

A rapid chain of them did.

Each of the thin carrier slices had to weigh hundreds of tons. More and more of the wooden pillars distributing their weight snapped and they tilted with a great groaning. Kamijou didn’t have time to consider what was safe and what was risky. He ducked below a slice that looked ready to collapse at any moment, diving to the other side of the ship. He wanted to get as far away from Coronzon as possible and put some kind of cover between them.

Coronzon tilted her head in response.

…Yes, it made no sense that Kamijou could escape on foot like that. She had already said that spell could handle anything up to Mach 9.

“Hmm.”

She directed a curious look to her surroundings rather than Kamijou.

“The strike points were scattered. Or rather, my accuracy has clearly dropped. Why would the automatic targeting fail? Is the echo not reflecting right in this indoor space? No, even then…”

“(The problem is in the Telesma forming Coronzon. That is, her nature as a great demon. I know I’m not one to talk after being reduced to a fairy, but wicked monsters traditionally avoid silver or iron. Yes, iron. And I hope I don’t need to remind you that this is a military shipyard. Did she call it an echo? Yes, because Telesma does not rely on the laws of physics, using its weak echo to track a target would provide history’s greatest sensitivity. But her impure demonic power is absorbed by gold and reflected wildly by silver and iron. That means her echo doesn’t work in here.)”

Othinus whispered all this into Kamijou’s ear.

He couldn’t trust Coronzon’s own words, but Othinus’s analysis was a different matter.

“(You just said something crazy in there, didn’t you? An echo that doesn’t rely on the laws of physics!? Are you messing with me!?)”

“(Did you think a magic cabal’s manuals would waste many pages on physics? And that isn’t what matters here. Stop arguing when it means the enemy can’t use that ability here, idiot.)”

To sum up, he could ignore that Mach 9 barrier while inside the shipyard. He approached Coronzon.

This time, his right fist would reach her.