Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Endymion Chapter3 (section)

===Part 4===

Kipsila Endinia gasped for breath as he ran through an area lined with student dorms. A slight bit of blood oozed from his temple and his right arm was hanging unnaturally limply from the shoulder. Night had already fallen, but an area with restaurants targeted at students must have been nearby because quite a few people were out on the road. He naturally drew a lot of attention. But he was in no situation to worry about that.

“D-damn her…!!”

His feet stumbled as if he was on a ship in a storm. Time after time, he ran into a concrete wall or wind turbine. Even so, he continued to run. He continued to flee. He had no idea how far we would need to run to be safe.

It had happened in an instant.

Even taking into account it had been a surprise attack by an ally, the amount of damage had been too great. Control of the Gate of the Gods Come from the Heavens was completely held by Kipsila and a few others. Even if someone on the “outer edges” had gone on a rampage, the damage would never have reached Kipsila. The others would have acted as shields to lessen the damage. And during that time, Kipsila and the others would have carried out a certain counterattack. That was the power of an organization. That was what should have happened.

But…

In actuality…

“What…? What kind of output was that!?”

It had pierced straight through those acting as shields. The attack had directly reached Kipsila and the other. That had stopped any preparations for a counterattack and then subsequent strikes had wiped them out. Once it started to crumble, an organization was nothing but a hindrance. The members of the magic cabal unit had started to fall one after another, yet the enemy continued to attack without mercy.

The level of power was unthinkable for an individual.

The output completely ignored the intentionally limited values that had been put in place to prevent both rebellion and friendly fire.

Plus, the woman who had become their enemy had supposedly been a failure. The project behind the power that had made her special had long since been frozen.

And yet…

“Gah…!?”

He ran into another wind turbine pillar. He had lost track of how many times that had happened now. But this time it stopped him. He could not continue his flight. As he leaned up against the pillar that was sticky with his blood, Kipsila breathed a sigh.

It was not due to strength leaving his legs that he could not continue on.

Someone stood ahead on the road dimly lit by the sparsely placed streetlights.

It was a woman.

She had long silver hair and brown skin.

She wore a tube top and a long skirt that were primarily yellow and orange but had black accents here and there. The combination was reminiscent of the silhouette of a strapless dress.

She was dragging something with both hands.

They looked like stuffed toys at first, but they were not.

She had two in her right hand and three in her left. Kipsila recognized the faces of the people she was dragging along the road by the collar. They were the ones who had controlled the cabal along with him.

How had this horrible situation happened?

They had been faced with a bit of trouble, but the Gate of the Gods Come from the Heavens had maintained control of the situation. They should have been able to use the time Sozty Exica had bought as a decoy to make a recovery.

“What…?” groaned Kipsila.

Whether she intended to answer or not, the silver-haired, brown-skinned woman relaxed her right and left hands. With a thudding sound similar to a sandbag being dropped, she dropped her hunter’s prize to the road surface.

Something other than his injuries caused Kipsila to feel dizzy.

“You lost everything in that failure! The project was frozen!! So how can you wield such great power!?”

“…Oh? All I did was answer your question.”

“What?”

“Question 1: what is the most effective means of damaging Academy City with the strength we currently have?” said the brown woman with a thin smile. “The answer is simple: we give up on Agni’s Festival Fire.”

“Wha-…?”

“After all, we’ve given away way too many hints about this ill-prepared plan. Both the Anglican Church and Academy City are already pursuing us. It is like a boat made of mud. If we try to force it along any further, we will all sink.” The brown woman continued while grinning. She announced that she would destroy the dying Kipsila. “But that boat of mud is the only thing our pursuers have managed to grasp. If I cast aside both Agni’s Festival Fire and the Gate of the Gods Come from the Heavens and start with a new plan, I can polish my plan while the pursuers chew on the half-eaten leftovers. And it will be too late by the time they learn the truth.”

“You…fool. What could you possibly use…to produce more destruction than…Agni’s Festival-…!?”

Kipsila trailed off.

This was because the brown woman was slowly opening and closing her bloody fingers.

“Don’t tell me you…”

“If I had said I was going to use this from the beginning, you would not have given me permission. In fact, you would probably have tried to gang up and attack me all at once.”

“You should know better than anyone why that project was frozen. It was not because the needed output could not be achieved! It was the exact opposite!! That pure Astra is-…!!”

“I can tell it scares you.” The woman tilted her head slightly. “But surely you don’t think the Astra I hold is still the same as it was back then.”

“…!!”

That meant Agni’s Festival Fire had been a decoy meant to draw the attention of the Anglicans and Academy City.

That meant Kipsila and the others who had ridiculed Sozty Exica for being a decoy had been decoys themselves.

That meant the plan Kipsila had been aware of was merely a decoy to get the Gate of the Gods Come from the Heavens to take action.

That meant the Gate of the Gods Come from the Heavens had been nothing more than a decoy to ensure her freedom.

That meant, that meant, that meant!!

“Well, anyway…”

The brown woman took a step closer.

Kipsila instinctually tried to take a step back, but then he realized something. He had been drawing so much attention not long before, but he could no longer feel anyone’s eyes on him. In fact, there was not a single person around.

Magic ensuring that had been set up without him even noticing.

And that meant the woman was going to do something she did not want to be witnessed.

The magic circle for Agni’s Festival Fire was set up on the bloody wind turbine pillar. But Kipsila did not even think about using it.

Those bloody fingers.

Her smile.

Overwhelming fear slowly closed in on him.

“Could you be a good decoy and leave now that your role is complete?”