Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:GT Volume15 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 1===

If they could only capture Hamazura Shiage, the situation wouldn’t continue to deteriorate.

Takitsubo Rikou believed that. Strongly.

It was January, so it would get dark shortly after 6 PM. Although District 23 would be lit up by stadium-style lighting due to all its airports and runways.

She was in one corner of the Hotel Town where the arrangement of retired aircraft had greatly collapsed.

She was staring at the tracking data spread out on the hood of a car when Kanzaki spoke to her from behind.

“Have you figured out anything as our scientific tracker?”

“…This mobility device bothers me,” said Takitsubo while staring at the map and a photo.

She was checking over even the smallest vehicle fleeing from the Hotel Town.

“You might not think much of someone stealing one, but those work vehicles are linked to the airport’s internal network. They aren’t like ordinary cars where you can record the unlock signal sent by the key and then open the door with a tablet. I don’t know who was riding it, but Hamazura couldn’t have done that on his own. His usual MO is to stick wires through the door’s keyhole or window and break in that way, but that wouldn’t work here. …Could he have gotten Aneri’s help?”

“Yes. There is apparently a hacking tool called Black_Oneday out there. It’s specialized for the aerospace industry.”

“Wait.”

Takitsubo immediately interrupted after hearing this new information from Kanzaki.

What was this? Where had this information come from?

Not to mention…

“Black_Oneday? If there is a specialized hacking tool like that, it changes all our assumptions. We can’t just suspect Hamazura and AI Aneri anymore!”

“Why not? What is there to consider? All the hacking in District 23 is being done by Hamazura Shiage and AI Aneri.”

“But then how do you explain that mobility device?”

“What is there to explain about it? And if it needs an explanation, that’s your job.”

“…”

There was a disconnect.

She wasn’t getting through.

They were using the same words, but she couldn’t grasp the actual thoughts at the root of the conversation. Someone other than Hamazura was involved in this mess. …But when Takitsubo tried to say so, Kanzaki and the rest of the Anglicans reacted oddly.

Kanzaki smiled as she continued.

“Hamazura Shiage carries Great Demon Coronzon’s power inside him. That Sitra Achra is extremely dangerous. And Hamazura Shiage has been tainted by Coronzon’s way of thinking, so he could spread her apocalyptic ideology. We are fighting to save the world here.”

Takitsubo wanted to curse herself for not noticing something was off while speaking with them until now.



“Honestly.”



With that word, someone else suddenly appeared nearby.

She was a very tall figure.

Good, Old Mary now stood between Takitsubo and Kanzaki.

She was holding a sandwich toaster for some reason.

(That…wasn’t teleportation. …Did she divert the attention of a tracking expert like me enough that I didn’t even see her?)

“I hadn’t liked the look of things earlier, but now I see what’s going on. The hunters have been hijacked by the hunted, turning it all into a charade. That explains why the chase never seems to end.” Good, Old Mary looked disgusted. “But is this brainwashing? No, this feels more like an intentional bias has been applied to a portion of their thought processes.”

“A-a bias?”

“You in the track suit. How would you describe that Amakusa woman’s personality?”

Takitsubo had briefly worked with the Anglicans during pursuit of Coronzon the other day.

As a dark side tracker, she could profile someone after only a short interaction.

“She has a high level of skill, but she is the cautious type. That caution comes from deep-rooted self-recrimination and guilt. She has a complex about her great physical strength and she values her ability to apply the brakes with her rational side. She has a particularly strong aversion to killing.”

“Does she? But when Dion Fortune attempted to contact Hamazura Shiage, Kanzaki Kaori was the first one to launch a ''lethal'' attack spell at him from a distance.”

“?”

“And when Blodeuwedd the Bouquet showed up, she said she would ''feel bad cutting her down the very next day''.”

That didn’t fit.

Good, Old Mary tilted her head, her large hat shaking atop it.

“There is an intentional bias to the information in her head. This prevents her thoughts from reaching any information inconvenient to ''someone''. She has become a puppet who will pursue Hamazura Shiage forever without ever paying any attention to the true villain. What part of you was sealed away, Anglicans?”

The Anglican magicians dispatched to Academy City currently lacked the part of them that would protect the people from wicked magicians.

Good, Old Mary adjusted her position to protect Takitsubo, the only other one who was thinking clearly.

With an enemy group, Good, Old Mary could have swept them all aside, but she had accepted the Anglicans as her salvation targets.

(What a pain. That means I can’t abandon these puppets. This righteous mama has her work cut out for her.)

Takitsubo kept right by tall Good, Old Mary’s side.

“W-wait, what are you going to do? Can you fix this!?”

“If their thoughts are being biased by an external source, the symptoms are similar to a charm or confusion effect. Those aren’t particularly unusual in the magic world. In fact, they’re fairly orthodox. Shooting fire from your hand or moving at the speed of sound are supposed to be special exceptions. I should be able to whip up a recovery potion for them. Or if I have to, I could even kill them and resurrect them.”

There was no signal.

Tatemiya wielding a large sword, Itsuwa holding a spear, and many others all rushed in at once. The density of the attack mattered more than their individual skills. It was a surefire method available for a group where avoiding any one attack would lead to a lethal blow from another blade.

So there was no dodging.

Several blades sliced through Good, Old Mary’s neck and pierced her chest.

Not a single drop of blood was shed.

“That was an illusion projected on a cloud.”

Good, Old Mary stood three meters to the right. Holding Takitsubo in her arms.

With a few odd sounds of bursting air, Tatemiya and Itsuwa crumbled to the ground.

“And moisture can guide lightning.”

A decoy and a mine. She had combined evasion and attack into single deceptive maneuver.

But it wasn’t invincible.

The next attack came from behind. Brilliant light and heat scorched the air and stripped away the veil of cloud protecting Good, Old Mary. With the moisture in the air gone, she could no longer bend light and sound.

(Oops. Now they all know how mama appears and disappears so mysteriously.)

While regretting her actions, she turned around to see Stiyl Magnus smoothly emerge. Despite his size, she could not sense his presence right in front of her. She was mildly impressed. Perhaps this was what it took to be an expert witch hunter.

After a soft breath, she whispered to Takitsubo next to her.

“Oh, dear. Get behind mama.”

“Kenaz.” (Fire)

(Hm. Right now I want the hot and dry of the Fifth House which symbolizes summer. In other words, the eighth of the major arcana and the Hebrew letter Tet, so-)

“Thurisaz Naudiz Gebo!!” (Grant the giant a gift of pain)

The tall priest was three steps faster than her, producing a roaring red flame sword and blue flame sword in his hands.

And Stiyl Magnus did not hesitate.

He swung the red flame sword directly toward Good, Old Mary while sweeping the blue flame sword horizontally and triggering an explosion. Even if his target moved away to escape, the explosive blast of 2000+ degree flames would burn and melt them.

Good, Old Mary was an alchemist, so she could extract the basic elements (fire, water, wind, earth, etc.) from any object and use it as an ingredient to create various potions. Even if she could only make something basic at first, she could repeat the mixing process to respond to any situation.

Her greatest advantage was her ability to make the optimal potion for any enemy or problem she faced. But that meant she could be defeated if her enemy kept up the attack and never gave her a chance to mix a potion.

Except…you didn’t actually think that was how it worked, did you?

(Well, it’s technically not wrong.)

''But. However. Nevertheless.

“The Prince of Swords – in other words, the wind of wind. Keep him away.”

“!?”

Something unseen surpassed Stiyl’s speed.

Good, Old Mary’s palm produced a compressed mass of air more destructive than a meter-wide wrecking ball.

Its speed was unthinkable. The Bain-marie was an excellent mixing tool, but she still should have needed at least another three steps before she could launch Stiyl back five meters.

''She had skipped those three strict steps.

Lucia’s eyes widened in surprise.

“That was fast…”

“You have time to spare to praise mama? You’ll make me blush.”

The next wind wrecking ball splintered Lucia’s wooden wheel. And the nun holding it was thrown through the air. If the north wind and the sun decided to settle their argument by force from the start, it probably would have ended up something like this.

“Eek!?”

Panicked by the sight of her friend sprawled out before her, Angelene launched all of her golden-winged coin bags. Instead of trying to beat her target to death, it felt more like she was frantically raising her hands to guard her face from the ball flying toward her.

(Gold is the seventh circle – that is, the sun – the 19th card of the major arcana, and the Hebrew letter Resh. For the iron ingredient, Helios shall- no, Ra would be easier to use here. Yes, I’ll go with that.)

“Thank you for the gift.”

“Ah!? Wait, Angelene, don’t attack! She ''incorporates her enemy’s attacks into her spell, letting her skip steps''!! The more we help her along…”

The more ''her processing speed skyrocketed.

Agnese realized what was happening and raised a frantic shout, but it was too late. Good, Old Mary couldn’t complete the complex mixing steps in time on her own, but she could skip three of those steps if she had the enemy help her through the most troublesome parts. She had reached a state similar to a special sauce made by letting a mixture of ingredients sit for half an hour.

(With all their pro spiritual items, pro magicians are like a treasure trove of rare ingredients. Steal, steal, rob, rob…and it’s ready.)

“The Queen of Wands – in other words, the water of fire. Crush her.”

After supplying her coin bags as a mixing ingredient, Angelene was crushed to the ground. Like an invisible false ceiling had fallen on her. It was actually a mass of steam expanding to several hundred times its size in mere moments.

With a burst of quick movements, the magicians encircling Good, Old Mary and Takitsubo shifted their positions. To put a bit more distance between them and the center point.

“Hm.”

When Good, Old Mary held her palm out from a distance, the Anglican who jumped the most was Necromancer Isabella Theism. Which made sense. That dark-skinned girl used various Voodoo poisons and medicines, so Good, Old Mary had to see her like a kid’s meal piled high with child-friendly foods.

Osiris, Hades, or maybe King Enma?

Whoever the necromancer made use of, a divine fistfight would only play right into Good, Old Mary’s hand. That was the perfect field for the Transcendent.

(They’re under the enemy’s control, but they still tense up in fear of pain, terror, failure, and defeat. They wouldn’t care about physical damage if they were affected by complete remote control or internal possession. …So was I correct to think they have ''only'' had one portion of their thoughts manipulated?)

Thinking about it wasn’t going to turn up any objective proof. It wasn’t like they had an obvious magic charm attached to their forehead.

While Good, Old Mary repeated those worthless predictions, Takitsubo hid behind her back and asked a question.

“Wh-what now?”

“Mama will do everything necessary to ensure your safety.”



But.



There was no warning.

No light or sound. Good, Old Mary had not let her guard down. And yet the most dangerous magician had ''already'' arrived right in front of her.

Kanzaki Kaori.

As one of the world’s fewer than twenty Saints, she could move at supersonic speeds for short times.

(My, is she fast!! But if I mix the necromancer’s poisons and medicines…)

That was when Good, Old Mary froze. Her mixing process was halted. Something unseen sliced through her sleeve and tangled around her arm enough to dig into her skin, restricting the movement of her dominant hand.

(What? Seven…wires!?)

Good, Old Mary was unfamiliar with the name Nanasen.

She immediately used her other hand to burn through the wires with a potion, but that slowed her by a step.

And that one step created a critical opening.

Kanzaki Kaori’s fingers touched the hilt of the long sword at her hip.

Good, Old Mary felt an odd chill on the side of her neck. The blade had yet to be freed from its scabbard, but the sensation of her impending death reached her in advance.

This time, Kanzaki Kaori was not manipulating thin wires.

She truly did grab the katana’s hilt and draw it from its scabbard.



And ''a single light flashed out.



“G-”

Good, Old Mary’s voice was hoarse.

Because she was aware she could not ignore this damage.

“''God.'' Is that a god-slaying power''?”

That attack could mercilessly cut down Christian archangels or some of the polytheistic gods.

It was a hopelessly bad matchup for a Transcendent.

Because they were the highly irregular magicians who dressed up like a god to try and draw on specs equivalent to the god’s own. Good, Old Mary had become a resident of the divine myths, albeit an artificial one, so you could say she had made sure this god-slaying power could affect her.

So she should have died instantly.

“I see,” said Kanzaki Kaori, sounding somewhat impressed.

Given her Magic Name, she would never choose to kill. She had just used Yuisen against a human, yet that was ''the one thing'' she didn’t question here.

“Did you combine the Philosopher’s Egg, which can create a potion of immortality, with the Sphere of Sensation, the aura field everyone subconsciously emits much like their body heat or scent? By ensuring new life would well up endlessly within you, you made sure I could not fully kill you.”

But Good, Old Mary was out of the fight now.

Surviving Yuisen was a praiseworthy feat for a resident of divine myth, but this was a last resort like turning your body to stone to deflect an enemy blade. She had lost any chance to move her own body for the time being.

And…

“Ah, ah…”

With Good, Old Mary defeated Takitsubo was now surrounded and alone. Isolated. Because everyone around her was Anglican.

Kanzaki Kaori spoke from directly ahead.

With her usual calm smile.



“Now, let us track down Hamazura Shiage and bring peace back to the world.”