Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:GT Volume14 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 22===

So not sports but music. No, theater.

Not a stadium for sporting events but for concerts and live performances.

When they corrected the initial assumption and had Index recalculate, they were given a single candidate.



“The Brilliant Outdoor Performance Stadium. It points north and, if the adjacent park is viewed as a mountain forest, you could extract the symbols of Dionysus. This time I’m sure of it! A god of insanity would be perfect for controlling her power as a chaotic great demon!”



Now that they had a new answer, they couldn’t just sit around.

Their initial wrong answer would have given Coronzon that much more time for the ceremony to break her body down into energy. As soon as she finished that, she would dive into a ley line and escape to the other side of the planet. There wasn’t a moment to lose.

Kamijou and the others hitched a ride on the rotary snowplow driven by Tsushima of the Amakusas to reach the new destination.

It was in the same district.

Driving there, it wouldn’t take long. The giant stadium capable of holding 255 thousand came into view.

“Is that it? Please still be in the city, Coronzon. Dammit.”

As soon as Kamijou jumped down from the snowplow onto the red snow, he staggered to the side.

He regathered his strength, somehow managing to keep himself steady, but he bumped into something next to him.

But not because he had nearly fallen.

“Ugh…”

He heard a small groan.

From Takitsubo Rikou.

She must have arrived on a different vehicle. Kamijou instinctually caught the unsteady track suit girl…and found her body temperature was higher than he had expected.

Not just warm, but blazing hot.

He was shocked.

“That’s not good… How long have you been hiding this, Takitsubo!?”

“…”

She refused to say a word.

She had been knocked out by some kind of attack from Coronzon during the Adikalika stuff. It was a miracle she was even still alive, yet she had joined the chase instead of calling an ambulance. Anyone would be in a similar state after that.

“You can’t go on. You need to get some rest! You’ve seen the way things are, right!? The Anglicans don’t want to torment Hamazura!!”

“You should listen to your own advice, Touma. Stopping Adikalika was more than enough of a win. You’re hurt, so stay here and look after her,” said an exasperated Index.

Even though it was she who had actually stopped the attack after arriving late. She had a perfect memory, so this wasn’t just a mistake. So was she giving them the credit? When he thought about it, he realized Kanzaki, Agnese, and the others hadn’t actually seen the moment Adikalika was stopped…

Speaking of Kanzaki, she called everyone over.

“If the countdown is close to the end, we can’t spend time on an initial search like before. That will mean a greater risk when we enter. Needless to say…”

“Then do we have time to sit around listening to the headmaster’s speech? I’ll steal a map of the stadium with my powers, so let’s get going!”

Mikoto, Index, Kanzaki, and the rest got moving.

In no time, there wasn’t anyone left.

It was so quiet.

Kamijou sat down and focused on taking deep breaths. He wasn’t as bad as Takitsubo, but he had lost his balance earlier. He had taken a direct hit from Coronzon. He wasn’t a doctor and couldn’t even imagine how much damage had been done inside his body, but he knew better than to be optimistic.

Takitsubo Rikou’s lips moved where she lay right next to him.

He doubted she was conscious, so maybe she was having a nightmare.

“…Hamazura…”

“Kh.”

Kamijou grimaced. In agony.

She had to be badly worried about her friend. If she didn’t do something to help out and earn points with the Anglicans, she would lose all chance of negotiating with them. But she was too injured to move.

If Coronzon did escape, who could say where they would direct their anger. Even if Kanzaki, Agnese, and the others fighting here didn’t, the higher ups watching from across the ocean might demand a live sacrifice from those who were close to Coronzon.

Could that be why Index had used such vague phrasing to give up credit for stopping Adikalika?

But it wasn’t enough. Takitsubo wanted something more to push her claim of having contributed, so Adikalika wasn’t enough and she had come with them even if it meant hiding how bad her injuries were.

And unlike her, Kamijou could still move.

He couldn’t push himself too hard.

But he had to make up his mind.

“Okay. I’ll go.”

“Human? …It figures.”

“I’ll stop Coronzon, so don’t you worry, Takitsubo. Don’t forget: winning is meaningless if you die. Your goal is to be with Hamazura, right? Then you need to rest.”

He forced his heavy body up and began to walk.

No, he was trying to run full speed, but this was the most speed he could manage.

Even so, Imagine Breaker would have to be of some use.

Coronzon’s magic was extraordinarily powerful.

Maybe he couldn’t fight her himself, but he could at least help out someone who could. If he could shield them from even a single attack, it might be enough to decide the battle.

He would overturn the game as a wild card.