Toaru Majutsu no Index ~ Bahasa Indonesia:Volume2 Chapter2

Part 1

Kamijou memandang ekspresi gadis kecil bernama Index.

Pengetahuannya mulai mengeluh. Dia memiliki memori sempurna yang tidak akan pernah lupa dan karena ini, dia bisa mengingat 103.000 grimoires.

Tetapi, kemampuan ini juga tidak selamanya bagus: dia tidak bisa melupakan sesuatu yang ingin dia lupakan. Memori tak berguna dari brosur supermarket sampai wajah semua orang ketika jam kerja juga tertanam di memorinya, tak bisa dilupakan.

Sihir dibutuhkan untuk menghapuus memorinya setiap tahun. Jika memorinya tidak dihapus, beban yang besar pada otaknya akan membunuhnya. Tapi, pada saat itu, dia, disamping Kamijou, sedang tersenyum dengan riang.

Menurutnya, yang menolong Index dari keadaan sulit itu adalah Kamijou sendiri. Tetapi, dia tak bisa mengingat apa yang ia pikirkan atau apa yang telah dia lakukan.

Kemudian, Kamijou mulai berpikir.

Dia sudah berpisah dengan Styil dan kembali dengan Index ke asrama. Setelah itu, Kamijou perlu kembali ke medan perang bernama Misawa Cram School.

Tentu saja, membawa Index bersamanya jelas tidak mungkin, lebih baik tak usah memberitahu anak itu tentang Misawa.

Tapi, kalau dia tidak memberi alasan yang tepat, Index pasti akan curiga dan memaksa ikut pergi.

"Touma?"

Tangannya mulai berkeringat. Situasi berbahaya, dia harus menahan Index disini.

“Aku bilang… ‘Touma!’”

Dengan itu, yang harus dia lakukan sudah jelas.

Kamijou, untuk menyembunyikan kegelisahannya, mulai menembaki serangan verbal.

"AKU MAU PERGI KE INSTITUT BUDAYA UTAMA! TEMPAT SUPER TEKNOLOGI TINGGI! EH? KAMU MAU PERGI JUGA? JELAS TIDAK! KAMU NGGAK TAHU APA-APA SOAL MESIN, KAMU JELAS NGGAK BISA MEMAKAI DETEKSI OTAK SUPER MAGNETIK! KAMU BAKAL TERKUNCI DI PINTU OTOMATIS! KARENA SEKURITI TERMASUK LEVEL 4, KALAU DATABASE TIDAK PUNYA DATAMU, KAMU AKAN DISETRUM! BIRI BIRI ION SUMBU NEGATIF!"

Sesuai dugaan, dalam pemboman verbal urusan teknologi, kepala Index mulai menguap. Benar-benar sesuai dugaan. Index, yang kurang mengerti soal dunia modern, adalah tipe orang yang keheranan dengan mesin penjual otomatis di stasiun kereta yang bersuara "selamat datang".

"Then I'll say this first. Dinner's in the fridge, just microwave it and you can eat it. Don't put the spoon in the microwave oven, or you'll start a fire. And don't you open the freezer door to cool yourself." "Eh? Ah, uu...I don't seem to be really capable of using a microwave oven." Maybe one may suspect how does one misuse a microwave oven. However, Index did microwave a sauce pack of a convenience store bento, and it exploded. She also tried to heat up a half-boiled egg, and it exploded. She even microwaved a bento for too long, and it exploded. In the end, it seemed to her that no matter how she used the microwave oven, it will explode. Perhaps she thought that using a microwave oven is 'a sure-fire way for an explosion'. (...Seems like she's not suspecting anything at all.) Kamijou stares at Index, who's staring at the microwave oven and narrowing her wide eyes, giving the look that she won't fail again. He heaves a sigh of relief. Then, he realises it. "Oi! What's hidden inside your clothes? More accurately, near the stomach!" "Eh?" Index froze. She turns to Kamijou and says, "No, nothing at all!? I swear to God that sisters don't tell lies!" The moment she said finished, the abnormally large stomach let out a 'mi--' cat cry. "OII! SO MUCH FOR YOUR FAITH, YOU BROKE YOUR OATH! TAKE OUT THAT CAT FROM INSIDE YOUR STOMACH!" とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 56 とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 57 Perhaps it's because he was talking to Stiyl and too nervous that he didn't notice it. It's likely that the reason Index stayed in the alley for so long wasn't that she wanted to look for the source of the rune, but rather that she wanted to look for that stray cat. "Uu! To, Touma! This piece of clothing is called the 'Walking Church', right?" "So what?" "And a Church should open its arms without any conditions to any lost sheep! Therefor, I will protect Sphynx, who was lost on the streets, Amen." "..." Kamijou's lips seem somewhat numb as he says, "...So, you mean that you'll raise the cat inside the clothes, right? I understand! So the cat sand and it's toilet will be shoved into the your sleeves, right?" "..." "..." "Whatever! I've decided that Sphynx will be protected by the Church!" "Oi! The person who doesn't even think through before doing things! At least think for the one who's being taken care of!" "It's all right as long as I treat it as a family member!" "I DON'T WANT TO BE TREATED BY THE CAT AS ITS DAD!" Though he really doesn't want to do it, Kamijou really feels like dumping the cat while heading to 'Misawa Cram School'...no, he actually wanted to do it, but if he really does so, Index will want to get the cat back and keep following Kamijou all the way. "IDIOT, TOUMA IS AN IDIOT! I'LL RAISE THIS CHILD!" "...Say that when you can earn money for yourself." "But actually, Touma doesn't need to feel sorry. I just said 'idiot' out of frustration, and don't really think that you're a real 'idiot'!" "Are you speaking alien?" But on the other hand, if he agrees to it, Index will agree to him. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 58 (...What can I say, fukou da.) Kamijou sighs. Thinking about the money needed to raise the cat, it seems like he has to reduce the number of dishes everyday. Why did Index choose to pick a cat up at this time? ".........alright." "Hm? Touma? What did you say?" "...............Can't be helped, let's raise it." But it's good. Seems like such words can make Index cry out tears of joy. It's worth it to be able to see Index show such an expression. "Ahh, our Father in Heaven! Your warm light of love hase finally reached the heartless, cruel, cold-blooded, snake-eyed Touma's heart! Thank you for saving this stray cat's innocent soul, I won't forget this for the rest of my life." ...Even though he thought of this, Kamijou Touma's still unable to explain something. Part 2 After exiting the dormitory room, he sees Stiyl, who he said goodbye to a while back, scattering card-like things all over the place. "What are you doing?" "Can't you tell? I'm setting a barrier here to build a temple here." Stiyl said as he continues to work, "Before we leave for the 'Misawa Cram School', who knows who will come up with a stupid reason to come here and take Index away? Even though we can only use so much, at least we can be more optimistic if we leave 'Innocentius' here, and if something happens, it can help her buy time to escape." Innocentius. Though Kamijou doesn't have any 'memory', his 'knowledge' is telling him that that's a humanoid-shaped ultimate weapon that's made of 3,000 degrees Celsius flames that has auto- tracking ability. The weakness is-- とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 59 "--It can only be used in the 'boundary' that has runes on it, and it will be destroyed if the runes are destroyed." "...I can tell you this." Hearing this, Stiyl's ears twitched, and says, "I lost to you the last time not because I was weaker than you, it was just the location. If you didn't set off the sprinklers." "Eh? Did we fight before?" Kamijou only had 'knowledge' and no 'memories'. Therefore, even though he knew 'how to beat Innocentius', he doesn't know 'where this knowledge came from'. "Ku...so you meant that that incident had no value in remembering?" Seemingly misunderstanding, Stiyl continues on, "Fine then, I won't squabble with you over that. After I stick this up, the boundary will be complete, and we can head towards Misawa Cram School...how troublesome. I have to set up a boundary to keep off magicians, but I can't make it too strong or else that child will notice it." Stiyl continued to mutter, and it seems like he's really happy. Thus, Kamijou somewhat realises something. "Do you like Index?" "Eh?" "EH!?" Stiyl blushes as if his heart got flipped over, and says, "Wh wh wh why are you saying such ridiculous words out of a sudden!? She's, she's a target that needs to be protected, not a target for romance--!" Kamijou chuckles and ends the conversation. That's because Kamijou feels that if he continues to delve deeper into this, he'll be digging into his own grave. The main point isn't whether 'the current Kamijou Touma likes Index or not', but that 'the current Kamijou's feelings mustn't be any different from the Kamijou Touma' before he lost his memory'. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 60 Kamijou doesn't know how the 'pre-amnesia' Kamijou Touma viewed Index nor how did he interact with her. If Kamijou says anything now that conflicts with the 'pre-amnesia' him, Stiyl will realise that he lost his memory. (It's like I have two of "me"...) Kamijou sighs deep inside. It's not really accurate to say that there're two of "him". Kamijou even feels that a fake Kamijou entered the real Kamijou's body and is trying to act like the real one. That really feels awkward. "Before we charge into 'Misawa Cram School', let's talk about our 'enemy'." Stiyl said this, perhaps trying to prevent Kamijou from asking on. As they exit the student dormitory and walk on the night street, Kamijou listens to Stiyl's description. "The enemy's name is Aureolus Izzard." Stiyl first introduced the enemy's name. "Speaking of Aureolus, there's one person you'll think of...hm? Are you shocked that he's such a famous person? Don't worry, he's just the descendant of that guy, he's not as strong as the legend goes." "? Who is this Aureolus?" "...Oh yeah, you don't know anything from the magic world. But at least you should have heard of Paracelsus, right?" "???" "Ku...! He's the most famous alchemist in the world!" Stiyl said impatiently. While walking down the evening street, Kamijou asked, "So, is this guy really amazing?" とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 61 The August sunset is burning. The large number of windows, windmill turbines, everything's dyed orange red. Kamijou thinks that it looks just like a faded photograph. Perhaps that's because their conversation doesn't seem so realistic. "He shouldn't be strong...but what's worrying is that he must have some sort of 'secret weapon' to force Deep Blood follow him. Also, the worst case scenario is that he may have used the Deep Blood to let this 'certain creature' submit to him." More than Aureolus Izzard, it seems like Stiyl's more mindful about this. But Kamijou can't really understand. Even if the conditions are unique, he shouldn't be treating the 'enemy's' ability as second priority. "Oi, that's not right, isn't it? I don't know how powerful vampires are, but should our primary concern be the enemy boss? It's like fighting in a fire, we'll be beaten badly if we are concerned only on the flames." "Hm? Oh, you don't have to worry about that. Aureolus' name may be familiar, but his descendants aren't as powerful as he was. And in the magic world, there actually aren't any roles called Alchemist." Stiyl said nonchalantly, "Divination, alchemy, summoning, these sounds like your language, mathemathics and history. Even Japanese language teachers won't stop learning mathematics completely, right? This so- called magic is to learn a part of everything and then choose a direction that's most suited for himself." Stiyl also mentions that the reason Aureolus Izzard became an alchemist is because he's not talented enough for the other roles. "And also, this alchemy isn't a refined knowledge." "..." Even if Stiyl says so, Kamijou doesn't have any idea of this at all. That's because to Kamijou, alchemy's 'only a fraud that was widespread in the 16th century and will come up with scams to fool royalty' and other sorts of knowledge that's like a history calendar. ―Alchemy—especially the late Zurich branch of alchemy can be said to be a subset of the Hermes school. Normally speaking, the main motivations are to turn lead into gold and create an elixir of immortality, and so on--‖ Stiyl sounded rather unmotivated, probably because it's not what he specialises in. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 62 ―But these are all experiments. It's like what you people call scientists, always looking for the '...basis' or '...rule'. They don't care about what they will get from the test tube, it wasn't their initial aim. The same theory applies here, alchemists weren't supposed to be focused on 'creating', but 'pursuing knowledge'. ―...It's like how Einstein was only researching on the theory of Relativity, and the atomic bomb was just a by-product of the research?‖ If one views it from this angle, scientists are really arrogant, never thinking of what their creations will do to society. ―Yeah. But besides researching on the 'formula' and the 'principle', they have a final goal.‖ Stiyl pauses, and then continues, ―--It's like a simulation of the world in his mind.‖ ―...‖ ―If one can understand all the laws of the world, one can imagine the world in the brain. Of course, if even a single law is wrong, the simulated world in the brain will have flaws.‖ ―??What? What do you mean by that? Are you talking about abilities similar to those of 'espers'?‖ It's said that on the primitive islands in the South Pacific like Fiji and Melanesia, one has to have the talent of 'being able to accurately predict the weather the next day with just a single glance to the sky' in order to be a leader. Though this 'weather forecast' ability seems like some esper ability, it's actually just a result of computing the window flow, cloud shapes, temperature and humidity in the brain and making a rough estimate out of the vast amount of calculations in the brain. These island leaders never realised that their brains were doing calculations, thinking that they 'just listened to the voice of the wind' to accurately predict the weather'. What Stiyl meant was similar to this example in meaning. It's true that in the 'leader's mind, they may have completely simulated 'tomorrow's weather'. However, this imaginary world will be miles away from the actual one, if there's a tiniest error in their supposedly-perfect formula. ―...Hold on, but what can such an ability do? Are they trying to create some sort of calculator that can get everything in the future like a weather report?‖ ―No.‖ とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 63 Stiyl said nonchalantly, ―What if they can bring out what they thought of into the real world?‖ That's really a shocking proclamation. ―For example, spells that involve ectoplasm, or spells that uses telesma to summon Angels; it's not uncommon to see one 'pull the thoughts in the brain back to reality' in the magic world.‖ Stiyl folds his arms in front of his chest and says, ―Thus, it's important to have an ability to 'use the brain to accurately imagine the real world'. Basically, with this power, one can 'control the world'. Any celestial beings or devils will bow down to that person.‖ ―...Oi oi...‖ ―Of course, it's hard to do this. The flow of the river, clouds, humans, blood...there are an unlimited number of 'laws' in a world. If one messes up something, he won't be able to create an accurate 'world'. One distortion in the world is like a distorted pair of wings, even if they're summoned, they will be vanquished.‖ This should be similar to a computer process, Kamijou thought. No matter how perfect the process is, if someone forgets to input an extra line, there will be an error, and it can't be executed. ―But on the other hand, if he really managed to do it, won't anyone be unable to go up against him? If he goes against the entire world, how can the entire world win?‖ Perhaps deep inside, Kamijou's still unable to believe this completely. But he's right, humans can't beat 'everything in the world'. This doesn't mean that the Gods or devils are strong or not; no, that's not that case. The point is that 'everything in the world' also includes the people living on this world, including Kamijou himself. A simplest example. There's a mysterious mirror that can reflect everything it shows into reality. In this situation, no matter how strong Kamijou is, once the opponent pulls out an identical Kamijou duplicate, the end result is that the duplicate will die off together with the real one. But Stiyl doesn't look that anxious. ―I said it before, just relax. Alchemy isn't a refined knowledge.‖ とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 64 ―Let me put it this way. If I want you to explain everything in the world, including every grain of sand on the beach or the stars in the night sky, how long are you going to take!? I don't think you can finish explaining after one, two hundred years?‖ ―That's the case. Actually, the incantations were in existence for a long time, but the human life is so short that they couldn't finish incanting it.‖ Stiyl continues nonchalantly, ―Though they tried all sorts of things like removing the unnecessary parts to shorten it or like breaking it up, letting each generation say 10 lines and letting each descendant say 10 lines, and so on.‖ But even so, there hasn't been a case of success. A complete incantation won't have any excessive points. And when each generation passes down an incantation, it will be like a telephone game, there will gradually be errors in the incantation. ―However...‖ Saying up till here, Stiyl finally shows some battle intent and says, ―...If those were living things that don't have any limits in lifespan, they can recite finish the super long incantation. Perhaps it's because of this, that 'certain creature' is a rather huge threat to magicians.‖ Perhaps this is also an aim of why the enemy decided to get a vampire, Kamijou thought. To a scientist, it's painful when they know 'an answer' but yet can't 'prove it'. And if their bodies of flesh can't fulfil it, Can't they just get some creature that can surpass a human's limits? ―It's true that this alchemy is still rather threatening, but right now, Aureolus Izzard shouldn't be able to do this. The most he can do is to create a few things and turn this 'Misawa Cram School' stage into a fortress, and then set up numerous traps to prevent outsiders from entering.‖ ―...?‖ Kamijou feels that something's not right. Why is Stiyl so confident? ―Oi, do you know that what Izzard guy?‖ ―Of course we do. We were from Church organisations after all.‖ Stiyl casually said, とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 65 ―I belong to the English Anglicans, and he belonged to the Roman Catholics...we did meet each other before even though our sects were different. Of course, we aren't friends.‖ To Kamijou, it's really hard to imagine the terms Church and magician together. Necessarius, the organisation Stiyl and Index are affiliated to, is aimed at learning magic to counter magicians. But this is the radical among the radicals. Even if the English Anglicans have such an organisation, will the Roman Catholics, who's of a different sect, be something like this? Hearing Kamijou's question, Stiyl frowns and says, ―Necessarius is an exception amongst exceptions, there can't possibly be similar Churches.‖ Stiyl sighs and continues, ―But even if we're exceptions amongst exceptions, the secret recorder he was tasked to do should be a unique example among unique examples. Basically, he writes grimoires in place of the Church. Even though it's a grimoire, the purpose is of the complete opposite. It's like some teaching guide for 'which line in the Bible can be used to handle the spells those witches use.‖ Stiyl stretches his arm out and shakes it about, ―Of course, it's not rare to see people of the Church write grimoires as teaching guides, and those pope Honorius III or the King James I's grimoires are rather famous.‖ ―...I see. So that's why you said that Aureolus Izzard's power isn't really much.‖ ―That's right. He may be knowledgeable about this, but he can't fight. It's like a quiet social club member that's not in a sports club. However, he's another tough opponent. That's because he's one of the few secret recorders of the Roman Catholics and had much power. The Roman Catholics are planning to fight hard against him in order to punish him for being a 'heretic'.‖ ―No, I don't mean that. I'm saying that that Aureolus should be something worth mentioning with the name of top religious people and kings, right? Are you jealous of him?‖ ―...I can treat that as a taunt, right?‖ ―I'm up for it if you want to fight me, but don't mistake me as your opponent now.‖ Kamijou stares forward and says, ―We arrived at our battlefield.‖ Kamijou and Stiyl stopped. Under the burning-like sunset, that building's waiting for them. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 66 Part 3 "I say." Kamijou looked up at the building and muttered. This can only be described as a strange building. The building itself is rectangular and nothing special. However, there are 4 of such 12 storey tall buildings, each taking a corner of a cross junction and forming a 'ta' (田) word. Also, the linked pathways are actually overhead like an overhead bridge above a road as they link the buildings. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 67 とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 68 Such a building plan should defy the Land Area Planning Adjustment Project, right? Kamijou thought as he looks up at the corridors in the sky. Basically, the authority of the 'sky' is of the 'land's owner. In other words, the area above the roads should be a 'public area'. "Never mind, that's not important." Kamijou muttered and again stares at the 'Misawa Cram School Academy City branch'. Looking at this building, it's really hard for people to think of this 'religious science' term that surpasses normal understanding. This really looks like a very 'ordinary cram school', there will be students who will walk in and out occasionally. It's nothing abnormal. "Anyway, our initial target is the 5th level of the South building--beside the restaurant. There seems to be a secret room over there." Stiyl said casually. The location diagram was burned after Kamijou read it. In that case, has he memorised the entire map? "A secret room?" "Ya. It should be some trick that uses some illusion or distortion to make people unaware of this secret room's existence. This building's interior is like a kid's toy blocks, there are many 'spaces'." Stiyl stares at the building and says, "...I could find 17 secret rooms just by looking at the location diagram. And the one beside the restaurant on the South building's 5th level is the closest one to us." "...Ohh, but that doesn't look like those ninja houses that are booby-trapped." Kamijou muttered, and Stiyl muttered viciously. "...Yeah, sure doesn't look like it." "Eh?" Kamijou turns his head to look back at Stiyl. Stiyl stares at this building that looks like it penetrated the sky and the earth, and after a while, shakes his head and sighs, "Nothing. In fact, as an expert, I can't find any abnormalities, nothing at all even after looking at it as an expert." とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 69 Though Stiyl said this, he's not looking relaxed at all. The expression is that of a doctor who managed to spot something wrong through an X-ray, but unable to spot the source of the illness. "..." It's suspicious, too suspicious. Though he doesn't know what's going on inside, it's way too suspicious. Stiyl just said that 'he couldn't find anything wrong inside'; he never said that 'this building is safe'. Inside this building, there may be numerous mines hidden inside, it's just that they never found out. Maybe there's really nothing. They can't even confirm this, so they're basically going in blind. To be honest, is it really safe to enter a building that a magic expert can't even tell whether it's safe? "Of course we shouldn't." Stiyl replied without even dragging this on, "But we can only go in, right? Our aim is to save people and not to kill. I would be really grateful if I could just burn everything from the outside." Stiyl's words must be more than half serious. "Hold on...what do you mean we can only go in? Are we going to go in through the main entrance like that? No tactics? Like no way to avoid being detected or beating the enemy safely?" "What, don't tell me you have some ideas?" "...ACK! Are you kidding me!? Are you really going to charge in like that? How is that any different from charging into a building that's occupied by terrorist!? Even if it's just a low-level trick, can't you just throw in some bait!?" "...Hm, using a knife to crave a rune 'AnsuzGebo' can hide a person's presence." "THEN DO IT! HURRY UP AND DO IT!" "Listen to me!" Stiyl said with an irritated tone, "Even if we get rid of our presence or become invisible, I will leave a mana signal that 'Stiyl Magnus just used magic'." とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 70 "...What?" "You have no concept of 'mana' at all. Seems like I have to explain it to you." Stiyl sighs and says, "For example, what if there's a map that only has red colouring on it?" "...Psychologically, I think that's a bad omen." "Shut up and don't butt in. This red colouring is an indication of Aureolus' magic in the entire building. What if I colour this map with blue colouring?" "...I don't really understand, but you're basically a walking transmitter, right?" "That's sort of correct, but it's more than you think." Just as Kamijou's about to ask why, "Your Imagine Breaker is like an eraser that removes the red colouring. If one's painting is being eaten into, anyone will realise that something's amiss. I won't be detected if I don't use magic, but your ability is always active." "...Alright, so it means that we're like walking transmitters, we don't have any tactics, and we're entering a building that's filled with terrorists. Do we press the doorbell first?" "So that's why we need your power. If you don't want to become a beehive, use your right hand to act as a shield." "ARE YOU KIDDING ME! WHY ARE YOU ACTING LIKE IT DOESN'T CONCERN YOU!? IT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE USELESS THAT I HAD TO DO THIS!" "Ahahah, no need to be so nervous. It's just alchemist's magic. Your right hand that managed to block the St. George's Dragon Breath should be able to handle it. And it's useless to rely on me. I sent 'Innocentius' to protect that child, and right now, I can only use a flame sword." "WAAAAAHHH!! YOU REALLY DON'T THINK THROUGH!" Kamijou stares at the exit--the automatic doors that aren't looking abnormal. In fact, Kamijou really doesn't want to enter that place. This is to be expected. Who wants to enter a battlefield that the enemy booby-trapped and is waiting? Besides, this is a main stronghold of a fanatical religion nobody knows the truth about. However, とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 71 Because of that, they have to enter. If a man can tremble on seeing such a place, how can they let a girl remain in there just because she's called 'Deep Blood'? "Let's go." The magician Stiyl Magnus said. Without saying anything, Kamijou walks towards the automatic doors. After entering through the glass doors, the scene inside is extremely normal. A lot of glass is used inside the hall to bring in more sunlight. The hall is extremely wide, and the room's about 3 storeys tall. Somewhere near the lift, there's a staircase over there. This seems to be an unrenovated staircase that's meant to be used as an emergency escape. Perhaps since it's during the evening, it would be a rest time for an ordinary school. The length should be as long as an afternoon break, and there seem to be a lot of students who're heading out to buy dinner. Kamijou and Stiyl aren't really attracting attention, perhaps because the manager hasn't memorised every student's appearance. And even if they're discovered to be 'outsiders', since this is just the entrance hall, others will just think that they're just transfer students who are here to settle the administration. (...Forget about me, does this guy even look like a student?) Kamijou sighs. Though the person beside him can be called a 'teenager', this is a priest that smells of cologne, red-dyed hair, earrings, rings and such a ridiculous build. But nevermind, since a cram school is a service, they won't reject any customers. Anyway, looking around, they can't find anything wrong. The people who're walking about don't seem to be anything wrong. "Eh?" Therefore, the only abnormality is extremely obvious. At the 4 elevators, between the 1st and 2nd from the right, there seem to be some human-shaped robot lying there, or rather, placed there. The limbs are severely twisted, and it looks like a pile of scrap metal that makes one think that it got into some serious traffic accident. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 72 In terms of build, it's similar to a full Western armour. However, the figure is extremely modernistic like a fighter jet. It has quite an intrinsic design, and the texture that's reflecting a silver light doesn't seem to be of an ordinary metal hide. There's a 80cm long bow dropped nearby; perhaps it's a piece of equipment for the robot. The robot's right wrist has a word 'Parsifal' on it. Perhaps that's the name of the unit. But anyone can tell on first glance that this robot can't fulfill it's original function. What's supposed to be limbs are severely twisted, and there's tar-like slick black oil oozing out from the broken limbs. The rusty smell in the air causes Kamijou to frown. What in the world is that? First, where did this robot come from? Though there are security robots and cleaning robots in Academy City, they look like large metal containers. Kamijou never heard of such a humanoid- looking robot in Academy City that doesn't have much mobility. Next, why did this robot break down? Though Kamijou doesn't know how strong this robot originally was, it looks like it got hit in a car accident. There shouldn't be a need for such force, right? What happened in this cram school hall? And finally, (...Why hasn't anyone nearby noticed it?) The final point made Kamijou feel that something's amiss. Everyone here didn't even treat this robot as something that should be talked about, not even looking at all. That feeling doesn't feel like they deliberately refused to look or remember, but something that isn't necessary to be noticed like a stone on the road. It's like. That damaged robot just mixed into their everyday life. "What? There's nothing here. Anyway, either we find Himegami or beat Izzard. Hurry up." Stiyl said casually. "Ah, oh." とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 73 Kamijou finally managed to look away from the robot. That's because nobody other than himself noticed the robot, so Kamijou had a feeling that he just saw a phantom. But that's not a phantom. That robot really exists in front of Kamijou's eyes. "What? Are you interested in that thing? Oh well, that's true. It may be considered rare to you." Stiyl seem to finally notice what Kamijou's looking at. "We, well yeah...eh. Hold on, robots should be something from our science side, right?" On hearing Kamijou's words, Stiyl immediately frowns, "What are you talking about? That's just a corpse." That's really a shocking reply. "Wha...?" Kamijou can't understand at all. "A caster's incantations and a Heavenly bow's duplicate--this should be the 13 knights of the Roman Catholic Church. They should be here to execute the heretic, but it seems like they were crushed. Really, the knights were England's speciality, and these guys just loved to copy and ended up with something like this." Stiyl shakes the cigarette in his mouth and says, "...Cheh, speaking of this, that guy in formalin is too sneaky. There was already another Church helping out, and yet he made us enter separately. Was he deliberately trying to make us fail...? It's true that the people who are here to settle this mess are the elite forces of the Church, and it'll be good if he can make even one die..." Stiyl muttered angrily. But Kamijou doesn't understand what's going on, so he basically ignored it. Kamijou chooses to stare at the thing that's lying on the floor clearly. The limbs are twisted, it's a pile of scrap metal that looks like it got into some sort of serious accident, the silver metal body was crushed, there's a reddish-black oil oozing out from it. The wreckage of a robot. No. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 74 What if that's not reddish-black oil, but something even redder and black. No, What if that's not a robot, but a human in armour? "Why are you so surprised?" Stiyl said it as per normal, "This is a battlefield. What's so strange about seeing one or two corpses on the way?" "..." Kamijou is speechless. He already knew. He should have known. This is a battlefield where people kill each other. The 'enemy' had already set up traps for 'intruders' like Kamijou, and waiting for them to walk in. Also, Kamijou and Stiyl have no intention on negotiating with a vicious 'enemy'. That's right, they should have known it. But even if they should have known it, Kamijou's still unable to ignore it. ―Damn it!‖ Kamijou dashes forward. Though he doesn't know what he can do, maybe bandage up here and there, the amateur Kamijou doesn't even know the correct emergency procedure. Besides, with the armour severely damaged like that, he can't tell whether the person is alive or not. Also, Kamijou can't think of any ways to get that person out of the twisted armour. Even so, even without a clear proof, the person inside the armour is dead. If so, perhaps he can still save the person inside the armour if he does this quickly. Kamijou spent only 10 seconds to run from one end of the hall to the other. As the casualty's face is completely covered by the helmet, Kamijou can't see his expression. He can only hear the slight air flow between the gap of that metal-block like helmet. (He's still breathing!) Just as Kamijou's feeling relieved, he realises that he can't move that body randomly. Just as he thinks that they should call for an ambulance, a sound can be heard as the metal doors slide apart. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 75 Many similar-aged teenagers walked out of the lift, failing to notice that person at all. It's like they just saw a normal scene as they continue to talk about things like 'the food in the restaurant is so expensive and so bad that I get sick of it, how about we get some from a convenience store'. ―You guys--!‖ They should be saving the injured. Though he knows this, Kamijou's still unable to maintain his silence. He inadvertently tries to grab a nearby student on the shoulder. ―--WHAT ARE YOU DOING? HURRY UP AND CALL AN AMBULA--!‖ However, he stopped before he could finish, That's because Kamijou hand got forcefully dragged forward. No, It's not enough to describe it as a 'drag'. It's like using a hand to grab a driver seat of a moving truck; it's of a completely different level of 'impact'. ―WHA--!‖ His arm nearly got dislocated. But what really shocked Kamijou is that the student didn't grab Kamijou's hand at all. The hand that was placed on the shoulder felt like a balloon that's tied onto a car. Also, the person didn't even seem to notice that Kamijou put his hand on his shoulder. Nobody in the hall even reacted to Kamijou's roar. They're just like the twisted armour in front of them. ―--What's going on?‖ Kamijou remembers the feeling on the hand. What was supposed to be a soft fabric texture of clothing felt like the hand passed through instant glue; extremely hard. He can't even let his fingers touch the soft fabric, let alone the student's body. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 76 ―It should be this kind of a boundary, just like a front side and back side of a coin. The people on the 'front side of the coin' are the students who don't know anything, and can't detect us 'people on the back side'. And as for us 'people on the back side', the intruders from outside, we can't interfere with the students 'on the front side' who don't know anything. Watch.‖ Stiyl sounded like he's chanting as he raises his finger and points at a girl who walked out from the elevator. Kamijou's eyes are following the girl's back. Her feet aren't soiled at all, and there's no reddish- black footprints. That pool of blood looks like one huge pile of hardened plastic. ―Hm.‖ Stiyl nonchalantly takes off the chewed cigarette in his mouth and presses the burning red front tip of the cigarette against the plastic elevator button. However, the plastic button isn't even burned, let alone melted. ―I see, so the entire building's 'on the front side of the coin'? I guess that's how it should be, since this is more suitable to be a fortress that protects against magic. Kamijou Touma, it seems that with our power alone, we may be unable to open even the single door, even the automatic entrance doors. We're stuck.‖ ―...‖ A boundary. Though this term is really alien to Kamijou, who's residing in the science side, since it's a type of 'supernatural power', isn't this the chance for Kamijou Touma to step up? Kamijou clenches his fist tightly. Imagine Breaker. As long as a supernatural power comes into contact with his right hand, it will be negated, even if it's God's miracle. It's a unique ability among unique abilities. Kamijou clenches his fist and raises it high up into the air. He then slams his fist hard onto the floor, wanting to smash the boundary into pieces-- --That's right, he hammered it down, but he just let out a dull sound. ―WOAH! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!‖ ―What are you doing?‖ Seeing Kamijou roll about on the floor like that, Stiyl seems like he can't take it and sighs. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 77 ―It's probably like my Innocentius. If we don't destroy the 'core' of the magic, we won't be able to break out of this boundary. And most likely...the 'core' should be safely placed outside the boundary. The people who are locked inside will then be unable to get out. Hmm, we have some trouble now.‖ Kamijou's really somewhat puzzled about what they should do now, and says, ―...Damn it, so what should we do? We got a casualty here and we can't call a doctor nor send him out...‖ ―We don't have to do anything. That person's dead.‖ ―WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? CHECK HIS BREATHING! HE'S STILL ALIVE!‖ ―Yeah, he's definitely alive if we look at his heart. But his fracture ribs punctured his lungs, his liver got crushed, his pulses are all crushed...he can't be saved in this situation. This guy's name is called 'corpse'.‖ It's unknown whether he found that out through the rune magic, but Stiyl's words are as cold- hearted as a doctor declaring that a patient got a terminal illness. ―...!!!‖ ―What's with that expression? You knew that right from the start, tight? Even if he's breathing, he won't be saved at all.‖ Immediately, Kamijou pulled Stiyl's chest up with both hands. He can't understand it. Kamijou can't understand it. How can this person in front of him remain so calm? Why can he say such words even in front of a dying person?‖ ―MOVE ASIDE! THIS PERSON DOESN'T HAVE MUCH--‖ But Stiyl calmly pushes Kamijou aside. ―--We don't have much time. I'll let you cast what you think is pity on the dead. It's a priest's job to send the dead on the last ride. You amateur, step aside.‖ Releasing his hands, Kamijou finally realized. Stiyl, whose back is facing Kamijou and staring at the 'knight' who's bordering on the edge of death, is... (He's...angry...?) It's really hard to imagine that from his usual mockery, but it can't be mistaken. Right now, Stiyl Magnus isn't a magician. His back seemed to bring about some static electricity, as everything とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 78 that touches his back figure seems to be deflected away. Yes, this is the back of the priest Stiyl Magnus. Stiyl didn't do any special ritual. ―...‖ He just said something really intelligible. Kamijou doesn't understand what it means as it's of a foreign language. The words came out of the priest, and not a magician. Though Kamijou doesn't know how much significance this is, but the knight who wasn't able to move trembles as he raises his right hand and stretches it out at Stiyl like he wants to capture something in the air. ―.....,.....‖ The knight said something as well. Stiyl nods his head. Kamijou doesn't know what this nodding meads, but the knight's body seems to relax from the tension. It's like he handed over what he wanted to hand over...he doesn't have any worries left, relaxing as he lets go in relief. The knight's right hand drops. The metallic right hand lands on the floor. It sounded like a knell. ―...‖ As a priest, Stiyl Magnus finally draws a Cross in front of his chest. At this point, there's no difference between an English Anglican and a Roman Catholic. This is the last rite of sending someone off. And then, Kamijou finally realises something. This is a real 'battlefield'. ―Let's go!‖ とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 79 とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 80 Stiyl Magnus said in a magician like voice, and not a priest like voice. ―--Seems like we have one more reason to fight.‖ Part 4 He's feeling really bad now. Anyway, their initial goal was to look into the gaps all over the building—the secret rooms. And the nearest secret room is in this building—near the 5th level of the South Block. Thus, both of them are moving up the stairs. Why do I feel in low spirits? Kamijou wondered as he climbs up the narrow emergency staircase. At first, he thought it was because of that knight. Then, he thought it was because this staircase was narrow and dark. However, there's also another physical reason besides these psychological reason. ―My legs...‖ Kamijou looks down at his legs that are showing fatigue for some reason. The 'front' and 'back' sides of the coins—the magician who knew everything from the 'back' side, yet can't interfere with the citizens on the 'front' side. Stiyl said before that this is the rule of the game. Also, this entire building's on the 'front' side. This means that the impact caused by the stepping on the floor will be reflected back onto the feet. Basically, it's like the difference between punching people and punching a concrete wall. As they're walking on an 'overly hard floor', the fatigue build-up is 2,3 times faster. ―We, can only- pray...that the- enemy is in- the same situation...‖ Stiyl seems to be bothered by this 'fatigue' that arrived too early. Though Stiyl's really huge, it seemed like he hasn't done much physical training and isn't used to physical activities. "Che...if I had known, we should have taken the lift." "We're on the 'back side of the coin', how can we press the button that's 'on the front side of the coin'? If you can, teach me." "..." とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 81 "Even if we enter the lift when the students 'on the front side of the coin' use a lift, we'll be crushed if a large number of people walk into the lift." The people 'on the back side of the coin' can't interfere with the people 'on the front side of the coin'. For example, even if a car on the 'back side of the coin' slams hard into a person on the 'front side of the coin', the car will be wrecked while the human will be completely alright. If the lift is crammed full of people, It will be like a raw egg that's in a crammed train, it will be crushed. (...Uu, this is really getting more and more depressing.) Kamijou lowers his head dejectedly. He's already tired, and with the dark and murky thoughts, he starts to feel that he should give up. Think about happy things, hurry up and think of something happy--Kamijou's heart is in urgent need of rest. "Oh yeah, where's that phone?" "What?" "You just mentioned the 'front side of the coin' and the 'back side of the coin', right? Can't the phone work?" Kamijou said as he pulled out the phone. Though he said it, Kamijou realises that this is just an excuse he made for himself. As too many abnormal things have happened, Kamijou has to do some 'normal things' or he may go crazy. As for who to call, Kamijou doesn't need to think at all. His room--in other words, a girl who's in his room waiting for him. Just as Kamijou intends to call, he realises something. "...Hold on, wouldn't the enemy detect this call signal and attack us?" "Who knows? But our existence may have been discovered. We did enter from the front door." "If so, why weren't we attacked?" とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 82 "Heavens know. Maybe that's because they're overconfident, or maybe they intend to destroy us in one move. That alchemist's that kind of person. Right now, he should be preparing all sorts of means to prepare a counterattack." "..." If so, why in the world does your God exists? Kamijou wonders. But since their whereabouts are most likely exposed, there's no need to fidget around. Thus, Kamijou decides to brazenly make a call. 3 call tones. (So it can't work...?) 6 call tones. (...Seems like I can only give up.) 9 call tones. (HURRY UP AND PICK UP!) Though he's feeling impatient, Kamijou doesn't want to hang up the phone. While waiting, Kamijou has another though. What if this isn't related to what 'front side of the coin' or 'back side of the coin', but Index unwilling to pick the phone up? Or what if it's not that she won't pick it up, but she can't? Don't tell me. Something happened to Index? (In--!) Just as a mysterious chill rises up Kamijou's stomach. The phone was picked up. "Erm, hello! This is Index Libror--excuse me, I'm sorry, this is Kamijou speaking, that, hello, hello?" ...What came next is Index's extremely nervous voice. "Oi, let me ask you--" Kamijou lethargically asks as if he just tried a wrong method of slimming, とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 83 "--Is this the first time you're picking up a call?" "Uweeh!? This, this voice is Touma's. Eh? Do all the voices in the phone sound the same?" Then, a knocking sound can be heard. It should be a puzzled Index tilting her head and knocking the receiver against the floor. "INDEX! STOP KNOCKING THE MACHINE WHENEVER YOU FEEL THAT A MACHINE HAS A PROBLEM! THAT'S WHAT AN OLD GRANNY WILL DO EVERYTIME SHE'S FIXING A PHONE!" "...That's strange, the only one who should be saying such stupid words is Touma." OI!!! Kamijou retorted deep inside. That's to be expected. It should be Index's first time picking up a phone (but it seems that she seen others pick up the phone before, judging from her first sentence 'hello'). It seems like she was walking around frantically in front of the phone, but the phone continued to ring, so she had to pick up the phone? The 'magic' expert who has knowledge of 103,000 grimoires doesn't understand anything about science at all, and this amuses Kamijou. However, he remembered something else. Kamijou's 'knowledge' is telling himself that Index doesn't have any memories since she only has one year's worth of memories. Such a funny action is actually a deficiency caused by the loss of memories. Thinking about this, it's really heartaching. "Niyai? Touma? Why must you deliberately use such a troublesome, exaggerated and excessive and unfriendly thing to the phone? Did something serious happen?" "Ah, nothing--" It seems like to Index, the telephone isn't something ordinary. "Ah, is it because one of the two lasagnas in the refrigerator was Touma's!?" "You eaten it? Oh well--" "Ah!"--Before Kamijou could continue, the voice can be heard again, "Ah, there was pudding in the fridge...!" "YOU ATE IT!!? THAT WAS MY PUDDING!!!" とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 84 "But there was only one!" "CAN'T YOU SPARE ANY THOUGHTS FOR THE OWNER OF THE HOUSE! THAT'S BLACK HONEY PUDDING! ONE COSTS 700 YEN!!!" Kamijou cried, "~~uu, oh, oh well. Never mind, I almost went out of topic. Since the phone managed to link, never mind." "?? Touma, are you looking for me for something?" "Ar. I'm just testing if I could get to you through the phone. I'm hanging up." "???" Right now, Index should be tilting her head in confusion, right? Kamijou thought. He then says, "Ah, oh yeah. Did you know, Index? For every single minute you use the phone, your lifespan will be shortened by one day accordingly?" WAAHHH! The phone line was cut. It seems like the entire receiver dropped onto the floor. "...Such a simple minded person." Having taken revenge for his pudding, he muttered to himself after hanging up the phone. However, "......" The magician beside him looks like he wants to say something. "Wha, what?" "Nothing." Stiyl sighs, and continues, "It's just that I feel that you might be too relaxed. This is a battlefield, and yet you're chatting away nonchalantly with a girl. I don't really care if you die because of carelessness; in fact, I'll be dancing in joy, but please don't drag me down." "Are you jealous?" とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 85 "Ku...uuu..." Stiyl remains silent, and it seems like he burst about 60% of his blood vessels. Kamijou starts to understand how he should handle this person in front of him. "...Yeah, that's right." The shock Stiyl's words gave to Kamijou is even more than what he expected. Kamijou doesn't know why he was so affected. However, Stiyl continues, "...Don't be mistaken. I'm not treating that child as a target of romance." Without looking at Kamijou's face, Stiyl continues, "You should know that up till now, that child had to erase her memories once every year or else she would die. If so, you can imagine how many people were in your position." "..." "Many have wanted to be her father, some, her older brother, others, her good friend, and even some wanted to be her teacher." Stiyl continues on, "It's just like that, just that simple. I failed in the past, and you succeed. That's the mere difference between me and you." Stiyl stares at Kamijou's face. He looks like he's facing a future he can't fulfill. "However, I'll be lying if I say that I don't care." Stiyl sighs and continues, "Besides, I didn't really get abandoned by Index, it's just that she forgot. If she recovered her memories, she'll come running at me and hug me." Kamijou can't say anything. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 86 If there's a person, a very important person to me that lost her memory, not knowing anything, and somebody just steps in and accompanies her, how would I feel? Can I still remain calm? Kamijou asked himself. No, this isn't just a problem of 'somebody else' standing beside her. Wouldn't he feel that he got betrayed by this most important she? But this person in front of him still believes in himself, thoroughly following his belief. So strong. Kamijou looks back at his phone. That meaningless 5 minute conversation; someone actually gave up everything he had to protect this person that's most important to him, even after knowing that he can't turn back. These's people's hearts. Are all crushed under the current him's feet. What right does the current Kamijou has to have that girl for himself? (...I don't know.) If this were Index's only wish, Kamijou will protect it until the end. But the main point is that Index 'merely forgotten'. How can a girl who doesn't know that she has other options be expected to make decisions? (I don't know. But if Kamijou Touma really save Index.) Yes. If that's the case, he has to take up the burden of saving her. It's like giving cat food out of enthusiasm, but not bringing it back home even after knowing that it will die of hunger. Instead of giving it the hope that 'this person may keep me', it's better to give her despair right from the beginning. However, (The one who saved her isn't the 'current' Kamijou Touma--) In the end, they're back at the starting point. (--What Index needs is the Kamijou Touma 'before he lost his memories'.) とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 87 Part 5 After climbing up to the 5th level, Kamijou and Stiyl arrived onto the corridor. The location diagram of the 'Misawa Cram School' is memorised completely in Stiyl's brain. There's a reason why they came to this level. That's because from the parameters of the location diagram and the actual measurements done through the infrared and ultrasonic means, there are errors in the spaces. While walking down the middle of the straight corridor, Stiyl lightly knocks on the wall that doesn't look abnormal. ―...Even if we're here, if we can't open it, we have to give up, right?‖ ―Yeah.‖ Even if it's not a 'secret room', to Kamijou and Stiyl, who're on the 'back side of the coin', they can't even open a door 'on the front side'. If they want to enter the room, they can still wait until a student on the 'front side of the coin' opens the door and slip in. However, if it's a 'secret room', there may not be students going in and out so often. ―But it's best to check the situation out. No matter how strong the boundary is, the caster's Aureolus. We can just force him to remove the boundary by threatening him—or by killing him.‖ ―...‖ Kamijou inadvertently stares at Stiyl. This is a 'battlefield', and Aureolus' the 'enemy' they must beat; Kamijou understands this. Thinking about the imprisoned Hiemgami Aisa and the knight Aureolus took down, one can imagine that the situation right now is really precarious. But even so, Kamijou still can't just say things like 'kill Aureolus'. It's because the way Aureolus took down that knight can also be considered proper self-defense. He said 'kill him', not 'beat him' or 'stop him'. He just said 'kill him', no ambiguity in the words. They head down the closest wall closest to the 'secret room'. Then, both of them arrive at a student cafeteria. It seems like they're mixing the distances between the people in the wide room to hide the existence of that small secret room. This uses an illusion, and there are no doors at the entrance of the student cafeteria. Trying to prevent themselves from getting caught in the crowd, Kamijou and Stiyl walk into the cafeteria. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 88 The people on the 'back side of the coin' can't interfere with the people on the 'front side of the coin' at coin. The boys are fighting for the few seats available, the girls who are carrying their trays of food and chatting away as they walk on; everyone's rushing in like bulls. And unlike a corridor, everyone's movements in the wide restaurant is unpredictable. Kamijou and Stiyl are already on their toes trying to avoid the crowd. Besides, since it's evening, there are many students in the cafeteria. It's actually a refreshing experience for others to 'be unable to see himself'. This is different from moving in a traffic jam. Those who have gone through this should realise that the surrounding people will consciously try to avoid them to prevent themselves from knocking into each other. There's a counter at the secret room, and behind it is a small kitchen. The large freeze and the utensils make the kitchen even more cramped. With this, others can't tell 'how big the space really was', so outsider can't tell. ―...hm, this is the first time I actually seen some religious science, but it doesn't seem much. I thought they would put some photo of a Bishop.‖ ―...It's true that it doesn't look dangerous.‖ Kamijou looks around. In the realm of science, there's an indicator of 'fanatical religious rating'. For example, there's the 'level of taking in gold' from the believers, 'the expansion level' when they force new believers in, 'the absolute orders level' where believers will accept all orders even if they end up having to self-destruct, the 'dangerous items creation level' of creating poison gas or explosives', and so on. The religions with higher points will be counted as 'a more dangerous religious science.‖ From the 'science' viewpoint, Misawa Cram School won't be a really dangerous religion. As the members are students, they can't possibly take in too much money. And since it's a cram school, this place isn't suited to create any chemical weapons. However, "...No, this is really a deadly scientific religion." Kamijou said with disdain. Though it's a cafeteria that has many students gathered there, the atmosphere there is unexpectedly heavy as if they're taking an elevator. That's to be expected, Kamijou thought. That's because everyone here may be talking loudly, but the content of the conversations are anything but. They could only talk about things that belittle others, like 'how many people I beat in the last mock exam', 'how many marks I improved by', or 'I don't understand how there are trash who won't study even at this time', just to make themselves happy. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 89 Kamijou looks at a poster on the wall of the cafeteria. This is an extremely ordinary cram school poster. Written on it are two extremely different sentences, 'if you study hard now, you will get into a good school and have a great future for yourself assured', and 'if you don't study now, you'll end up at the bottom and meet misfortune'. This is really not much different from a 'lucky letter', Kamijou thought. The 'lucky letter' is a gimmick derived from an 'unlucky letter', some prank mail that is like those 'if you send this mail to 7 people within 7 days, you'll get happiness' mail. On the other hand, the person will get misfortune if he doesn't do so. This threatening intent isn't any different from a radical religion. "Humph, the motto of this school should be something like 'those who study here should be extremely smart', right? Besides, the teachers must be brainwashing the students, telling them things like 'this is something that will definitely be tested, I'll tell you that, those who didn't study here in the summer vacation are inferior people' or something like that, right?" How infuriating. Kamijou muttered. Really, he feels disgusted. Kamijou is really disgusted that he could actually slightly emphasize with them. Besides, this thing called exams is easily associated with superstitions, Kamijou thought. No matter how hardworking the students are, they will try some 'unscientific food to increase their concentration'. There are many students who will even bring 'talismans to pray for top scores' into the exam hall. It's a gap called 'insecurity'. The scientific religion of this 'Misawa Cram School' uses a knife and stabs it into this gap. "Hm, seems like you got caught by the fanatical poison gas, eh? But don't forget our aim, we have to find where the secret entrance is." "Oh, okay okay! I got it!" Kamijou takes a deep breath and tries to calm down. Then, he turns to look around the entire cafeteria. Immediately, about 80 students in the cafeteria turn to stare at him. At first, Kamijou thought that he spoke too loudly and ended up attracting everyone's attention. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 90 "Well, doesn't look good here...is this the first pass?" So even after hearing Stiyl's serious voice, Kamijou was still unable to react. "Ah, eh?" "Haven't you understood the situation? The people 'on the front side of the coin' shouldn't be able to see us 'on the back side of the coin'. I see, so the area around the secret room has such an alarm system?" "..." Kamijou looks around. About 80 students are definitely looking at Kamijou and Stiyl. The human looking action disappeared, and everyone's standing around blankly and having glass like eyes. "Don, don't tell me--" Kamijou looks around. It's true. 80 students are now on 'the back side of the coin'. And that means-- "--magician!" Just as Kamijou shouted out meaninglessly, Stiyl abandoned Kamijou and jumped back. However. "The wings of the seraph shines brightly, and the bright light is a pure white colour that reveals all sins--" One of the students who're standing around start to mutter something ambiguous. "The pure white colour 'is the proof of purity, the mark is the result of one's actions'--" Another voice overlaps the first one. "The re'sult is the future, the future' is 'time is uni'form--"--" A second voice, a third, a fourth, fifth sixth seventh eighth ninth tenth eleventh twelfth thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen eighteen nineteen--!! "Uniformity is 'all, all is created by the past, the past is the ca'use, cause is 'one', one is 'sin, sin are humans, humans fear, fear' is gu'ilt, guilt' resides within oneself, oneself if there is とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 91 something one despises within, the wings of the seraph shall 'reveal your sins', and remove it from within you--!" A 80-persons chorus--no, rather, a verbal maelstrom of the 'battle' that's created by the several thousand people in this building echoes throughout. On every single student's forehead, there's a ping-pong sized blueish-white glow. Maybe the things are starting to gather as they float about in the air and lands on the floor beside Kamijou. Then, like a strong acid fizzing and explosives giving off white smoke. He will merely be burnt if he only touched one, but... "Oi! Strongest ShieldImagine Breaker! Time for you to step up!" "Wha?...oi!" Looking back, the numerous balls are closing in, blocking Kamijou's sight. "U, wah--so many, HOW DO I TAKE THEM ALL ANYWAY!?" Kamijou chases after Stiyl and overtakes him, dashing madly to the exit. Stiyl, who thought that Kamijou would act as a shield, panics somewhat as he dashes behind Kamijou and out of the cafeteria. "Wha...what are you running away for!? You're the shield! Your right hand was able to fend off a Dragon Breath attack? And you're not using your right hand ability while running away with your back exposed!? Are you crazy!?" "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!? I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT FROM SOMEONE USING ME AS A SHIELD!? THIS ISN'T A CASE OF QUALITY BUT QUANTITY! HOW CAN I FEND THEM OFF WITH JUST A SINGLE RIGHT HAND!!" It's like fighting with someone that has 4 arms. Even if he guards against 2 of them flawlessly, the other 2 can still wave at him. An 'individual' power isn't going to match up to a 'group's. BOOM, a large number of balls move out of the entrance, and then rush out of the floodgates as if the cafeteria was filled completely with water. Kamijou and Stiyl can only run down the corridor. "Che, but speaking of which, this may be a replica, but to be able to replicate the 'Gregorio's Chant', it seems like I underestimated that Aureolus Izzard." "What's with that Gregorio whatever?" とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 92 Originally, it was the ultimate weapon, a grand spell that that requires 3,333 monks in a cathedral and gathered their prayers. It's like focusing sunlight on a magnifying glass, and can magnify that power." Stiyl grits his teeth and says, "Though it's a replica now and they have only about 2,000 students, but as the saying goes in this country, 'pile up sand and you can build a tower'. The power can't be underestimated." Kamijou is stunned. Even though he knows that he can't understand what Stiyl said, basically--doesn't it mean that he's fighting against 2,000 people now? This is a 'battlefield', and he's in the midst of the 'enemy's camp'. He can understand all these in his brain. But on thinking that this means that he's 'fighting against 2,000 people', he starts to feel a sense of despair. "Then there's no way we can beat that head on! Though it's big here, we'll still get caught in this building if we're going to play hide-and-seek with 2,000 people!?" "Not quite," Stiyl said as he continues to look in front, "The main emphasis is the 'core'. 'Gregorio's Chant' requires the simultaneous control of 2,000 people, or else it won't work. If we can find the 'core' of these 2,000 people and destroy it, we can destroy the 'Gregorio's Chant'." Both of them continue to run down the long corridor, and finally arrives near the staircase. At this moment, they see that there's a large number of blueish-white balls flooding in. They're attacked on both sides. "The stairs--move it!" Kamijou and Stiyl frantically duck into the stairs beside them. Just as Kamijou intends to ask Stiyl whether they should run up or down the stairs, he suddenly realises that something's amiss." "You...you've been looking so calm up till now. Do you have some sort of secret move?" That's right. To someone who finally managed to escape from the claws of death, Stiyl's really being too calm. "Hm, I do have a secret plan. It's just that I'm wondering whether I should use it now." とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 93 "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? IF YOU HAVE IT, HURRY UP AND USE IT!" With a 'oh', Stiyl happily looks at Kamijou's face. Facing this abnormal smile, Kamijou inadvertently holds his breath, becoming even more alert. At this moment though, Don. Stiyl pushed Kamijou down the stairs. "Wha..." Before Kamijou could react, he loses his balance and tumbles down the stairs. The numerous bits of pain surround him at the same time, and he can't even let out a cry. It's if he lets out a voice, he will bite his tongue." "Bad luck, scarecrow♪" Stiyl's happy voice can be heard from above. While dazed, Kamijou can see Stiyl running in the opposite direction, which is upstairs. Then, the 'flood of balls' came coming over, splitting upstairs and downstairs, and like a water flow, it naturally moves down at Kamijou--! "That Bastard...!" Kamijou barely drags his body that's in pain and runs downstairs. What Stiyl said passes through his mind. This is Aureolus' hideout, it's filled with his mana. It's like a picture that's only covered in red. If Stiyl's blue colouring is used, the enemy will realise that something's not right. But on the other hand, if Stiyl doesn't use magic, nobody will detect his presence. However, Kamijou's situation is different. His Imagine Breaker continues to erase the red colouring. Stiyl can decide when he wants to use magic, but Kamijou's like a transmitter that's always working. Basically, the reason Kamijou was brought here was to be a decoy that's to be abandoned. He thought that Stiyl's lack of planning was too rash, but to think that there's such a reason behind it. (...Damn it! Eh, hold on, something doesn't seem to be right.) とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 94 Kamijou's heart is ringing an alarm. However, he doesn't know why this alarm is ringing, not at all. Since it's not something that Kamijou, who 'doesn't have any memories', can think of, It means that this is the 'pre-amnesia' Kamijou, the 'knowledge' part telling him something. At this moment, another fresh set of footsteps interrupt Kamijou's thoughts. And it's coming from below, blocking off his getaway. "...!" 'The flood of ball-like things' continue to close in, but Kamijou can't possibly stop. He dashes down and peers downstairs. There's a girl downstairs waiting for Kamijou. A girl he never met before, one whose uniform he doesn't even have an impression on. Perhaps she's a 'candidate' who's older than Kamijou by one or two years. Black braids, round spectacles, the girl looks like she can't even 'fight', let alone use 'magic'. "The flames punish sin, Purgatory governs the flames. Purgatory was created to burn sinners, as the only violence God recognises.--" But what came from her cute lips made him really unhappy. It's like the sound of rusted gears. Every time she says something, the ball of blueish-white light between the girl's eyebrows will increase in size bit by bit. It seems like the front and back sides of the coin were flipped around. The girl who should be on the 'front side of the coin' is now a magician and standing on the 'back side of the coin'. Perhaps every student in Misawa Cram School is the same now. But on the other hand, Kamijou can easily knock the girl down now. (I can win this...!) Kamijou clenches his right fist. Though he definitely can't beat numerous thousand people, one or two of these ball objects aren't much of a threat. Kamijou clenches his fist even tighter, as if he's trying to confirm the existence of his Imagine Breaker. At this moment, Crack! The girl's face explodes as if firecrackers were placed underneath her skin. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 95 "What...?" Just as Kamijou's shocked, the girl's fingers, nose, inside of her clothes...let out mini explosions one after another. Though the explosions are so small that they only burned holes that are a few centimetres wide on the skin, but, "Violence...is the affirmation of death. Affirmation, is--recognition. Re--cog,ni--" Every time the girl said a single word, her body would start to crack. Her talking lips are cracking as well, and blood flows out of her lips as it seems like her insides are severely damaged. Even so, the girl continues to talk. No, it's more like she can't talk. It feels like she's being controlled by a machine and yet also like a frog being electrocuted. Her leg muscles are twitching, ignoring the frog's will. (Don't tell me...) The anxiety rises up Kamijou's stomach. His 'knowledge' is telling him something. Not knowing where it's coming from, the ridiculous 'knowledge' is telling him something. Espers can't use magic. Though espers and magicians are similar in that they can use 'supernatural power', the concept is different. The 'circuit' in espers is different from that of an ordinary person. Even if they try to imitate a magician, they can't use magic. However, this is Academy City. All the students here should have taken some esper development program. Then, assuming that, What will happen when espers who can't use magic try to use magic? "Stop, it--" Kamijou muttered, forgetting his own situation now. The circuits are different, his 'knowledge' is telling him that. Kamijou doesn't know anything about the basis behind magic, but that feeling may be like a generator that's to be powered by batteries, and forcefully charged with alternating current. Though the 'current' flows and the 'circuit' works, such a crazy method will end up burning the 'circuit'. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 96 "--STOP IT! YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT YOUR OWN BODY IS IN TROUBLE!!" He even forgot to clench his fist. Right now, even though it feels like he's being pointed at with a gun at his head, he still dashed down the stairs without any care. "...tion, re--st wit,thin. Within, refers, to--the world. Connect your inner self with the outside world." The girl that was muttering suddenly let out a deep voice, and went silent. The bridge between her eyebrows exploded. The blueish-white ball that she summoned disappear, leaving behind a fresh red wound. The voice just now many be a fatal wound. The girl's body sways about and tumbles towards the stairs. Kamijou's mind is telling him. A human body is heavy. Even a petite girl can be really heavy if she's treated as 'luggage'. If she carry this several kilograms weight about, he definitely won't be able to avoid the 'flood of balls'. Kamijou's mind is telling him. Also, this girl is an enemy. He can't get any benefits even if he save her, and he may even be attacked. If he considers his life as the biggest priority, he should just leave this enemy behind and run away. Kamijou's mind is telling him. The most important thing is that a severely wounded person like her can't possibly be saved. Anyone can tell that her wounds are fatal. Besides, her soul got poisoned by the religious science. (...) Hearing the voices in his mind, Kamijou inadvertently gnashes his teeth. "STOP MESSING AROUND--!" Even so, Kamijou still rushes down the stairs and reaches his hand out to save the girl who's about to collapse on the stairs. It's true that this girl is heavy. It's already hard for him to escape, and now that he's carrying someone, he definitely won't be able to escape the 'flood of balls'. It's true that this girl is an enemy, he understands this clearly. It's true that the girl is severely wounded and is even more wounded emotionally. Kamijou understands this without anyone needing to tell him. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 97 Even so, Even then, there's no reason to abandon a girl who's wounded, to let her get involved in the 'flood of balls' that's coming in from behind. Even if he looks around the entire world, he can't find a reason to allow this. It's likely that this girl didn't intend for this to happen. She probably thought that this would be just an ordinary cram school when she enrolled, and soon got brainwashed by religious science unknowingly, before being used as an abandoned pawn without knowing it. Kamijou remembers the 'knight' who fell in front of the lift. Any kind person can't possibly leave him alone injured, even if he's an enemy. "Guu...damn it!" Don! The girl that collapsed on Kamijou's chest is a lot lighter than what he expected. However, that's when she's viewed as a 'person'. If she were viewed as 'luggage', she can be considered extremely heavy. Also as this is midway down the stairs, Kamijou can't maintain his balance as he almost falls down. Carrying the bloodied girl, Kamijou intends to continue running down the stairs as he looks behind. At this moment, (...) The flood of balls have already arrived in front of Kamijou's nose like a landslide. Kamijou frantically uses his right hand to knock away the balls in front of him, carry the girl with his left hand and rush down the final steps. However, an unconscious person is a lot heavier than what Kamijou expected. It feels like a metal ball is tied at his feet as he swims. He wants to jump, but his body is tied up by the gravity. Just that little lag cause the thousands of balls to form a vortex around Kamijou. ".........!!" Kamijou inadvertently closes his eyes hard. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 98 Kamijou thinks. As for the girl who he's about to protect, he can block one or two of them with his body, but he's out of luck with all the thousands of balls coming at him. Right now, Kamijou's body will be eaten away by the balls like a strong acid, bitten at by numerous worms-- "...?" --This didn't happen. After a while, nothing happened. There's a strange feeling that time has stopped. Kamijou doesn't dare to open his eyes recklessly. He's in some strange fantasy that the moment he opens his eyes, time will start to flow again. Even so, he has to open his eyes. WIth a fearful feeling that's like that when someone removes the wires of a timed bomb, Kamijou carefully opens his eyes. "...ah?" But even after opening his eyes, Kamijou still doesn't understand what's going on now. It feels like time stopped. That's because the phenomenon now can only be explained by a time stoppage. The numerous balls in front of his nose nearly swallowed him full. However, the vortex of balls seem to be paused in a record as they remain in mid-air. After a while, the seemingly impatient balls finally start to move. However, they aren't swallowing Kamijou whole, but dropping down onto the floor like an apple in the hand being dropped slowly. The balls that land on the floor then vanish as it they sublimed. Then, a set of footsteps can be heard. Kamijou doesn't understand the situation. Even though he doesn't, he knows that the footsteps are coming from downstairs. Looking for the answer, Kamijou stares downstairs as he looks for the source of the footsteps. The stairs is linked downstairs to the entrance of the corridor, and the sunset sun is shining on the dark emergency stairs. Over there, The 'Deep Blood' Himegami Aisa is looking up like she's watching from the bottom of a well. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 99 とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 100 Part 6 At this moment, Stiyl Magnus is seeing the used-up flame sword vanish. Cards of runes scatter about in the air like sakura petals. This is a corridor that's a level above Kamijou. It's an ordinary long corridor, but Stiyl knows that the core of the Gregorio's Chant is over here. He's a magician. To him, detecting the 'mana' flow is his speciality, so it's not difficult at all. Even though the magical power of the students here is extremely weak, with the power of 2,000 people being managed at a single point, it's hard not to detect this 'core'. "...I see. So this is considered 'hidden', huh?" Smoking casually, Stiyl muttered. The 'hiding' on the 'front side of the coin' is considered an absolute defense to the people on the 'back side of the coin'. Thus, the people on the 'back side of the coin' can't even do anything to things on the 'front side of the coin', even if it's just removing a Christmas wrapper. Thus, by putting a 'core' into an ordinary wall, a strongest defence will be formed. Even if the enemy magician finds the place, as long as the enemy can't touch the core,it should be safe. "But first, I have to cover the core in this wall up first." Stiyl looks bored as he puffs out smoke. His 'flames' don't have any shape. For example, if there are some slight distortions in the walls and windows that creates a gap that's not even a 1mm, he can let the flames flow through that 3,000 degrees celsius temperature. The knowledge on the 'front side of the coin' isn't suited for the 'back side of the coin'. IF he wants to create a perfect defence, the best option is to put the core into a plastic bag and tie the bag up. Anyway, without even seeing the 'core', Stiyl destroyed it. Thus, it seemed like he managed to destroy the 'Gregorio's Chant'. "...Speaking of which." Stiyl shakes the cigarette in his mouth and says, とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 101 ―Looking at this bloody path, it seems like even the alchemist has fallen after we haven't met for so long. The real 'bloody road' should be made with one's own blood, right?‖ An esper and a magician's 'body setup' is different. If espers even try to use magic, the unstable mana will rip through the blood vessels and nerves in his body. In fact, there are many fallen students on this corridor—including the area around his feet. Some are still trembling, and some can't move anymore. It's unknown where the thick smell of rust came from. Looking around in the rooms, there should be a Hellish sight 10 times worse than what he described. Even Stiyl is amazed at himself for saying such bitter things. It's like he still has some human feelings inside him. (...That guy really seems to believe in me.) Recalling that esper boy's, Stiyl looks like he can't take it any more. At this moment, Stiyl can hear a very clear sound of footsteps coming over from the other side. Not anxious, not intending to suppress the volume, not intending to hide the killing intent, and yet not intending to hide and make the killer blow. If there's a need for an illustration, it's like facing an enemy and intending to attack, and yet knocking on his door; it's extremely daring and arrogant. Absolute confidence. It's a 'declaration of war' with a firm belief that he will win, and also like a 'declaration of victory'. The owner of the footsteps says, ―Naturally, it's true that by using the 'fake Gregorio Chant', I can lure you to where the 'core' is no matter where you're hiding.‖ The footsteps never stopped, and he continues, ―Certainly, there should be two intruders...where's the other one? Clearly, was that familiar of yours swallowed by the 'Gregorio's Chant'?‖ ―I'll be really happy if he really got swallowed.‖ Stiyl said, ―But that guy has a longer life than what you expect. Also, he's not such a cute thing like a familiar.‖ とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 102 Stiyl chuckles and turns to face the owner of the footsteps. His eyes are no longer smiling. This set of footsteps come from a pair of Italian leather shoes. The long legs above the shoes and the 2m tall frame are wrapped in an expensive and white Western suit. The name is Aureolus. 18 years old, male. His hair is green. This dyed colour means that this man controls one of the five elements 'Earth'. The slick hairstyle makes this white-skinned man in white clothing all the more unique. Perhaps others would be laughed at if they wore such a ridiculous getup, but to the middle-aged looking man, wearing such a shirt is obviously logical. ―What now? What do you intend to do luring me here when you aren't good at fighting? You should know that you alone can't stop me. Or rather, how many magical tools do you have on you? You antique salesman?‖ ―...‖ These words seem to be taboo to Aurelous. For an alchemist to step onto the frontlines and fight, he has to equip himself with weapons and spiritual tools. Aureolus must use tens, even hundreds of magical tools just to match up against Stiyl. ―Idiot. Can't you tell that I don't have any magical tools on me?‖ ―I guess so. Besides, this entire building itself is like a sacred city—a huge magic tool in itself. Even if you don't use any magical tools to protect yourself, the surrounding environment will automatically help you. Hm, the problem is, why did you come out? If you just stayed put, the sacred city would have fought for you. And even if you come out, you're just relying on the power of the sacred city. So what are you doing here? Or rather, what can you do here?‖ ―You bastard--!‖ Like a snake slithering out of a hole, swoosh, a cold knife shoots out of Aureolus' right sleeve. (A dart...?) Stiyl frowns. Though it looks like a dart, it's about the size of a dagger. Just as Stiyl thinks that this is a hidden throwing weapon, ―--Transmute!!‖ とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 103 Immediately, the dart flies out like a bullet, and flies right at Stiyl's eye. The tip of the huge dart is attached to a golden chain. Stiyl bends his body down and sees the large golden snake-like dart fly past. The gold chain flies out of Aureolus' sleeve, ripping through the air and grazing Sityl's face. 'Tch'. With the sound of a fruit being sliced open, the tip of the dart stabs into the back of one of the fallen students. (…) Just as Stiyl's wondering what he should say, (…?) BAM. Like a knife piercing a balloon, the student's body burst into bits and fluids. It's as if someone just a strong acid to corrode the huge body, but yet somewhat different. That's not an ordinary liquid, but shiny golden-- Pure gold that melted due to high heat. Swoosh, the chain rewinds back, and the dart flies back into Aureolus' sleeve. ―Naturally, why would you be so shocked?‖ Aureolus again raises his right hand and says, ―I'm an alchemist, and I suppose, that you know how I got this name.‖ Stiyl can't reply. The representative magic called alchemy, which can convert lead into pure gold, really exists. However, if such a 'project' is to be carried out using modern materials, it will take 7 trillion yen and 3 years. It can be said to be 'a spell with a hefty price'. However, the Aureolus here actually managed to use this magic in less than a second. It's incomparably fast, and it can be said that nobody can surpass this record. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 104 ―Anyone who gets touched by this Instant AlchemyLimen Magna of mine will be forcefully converted into pure gold. It can't be defended against nor avoided. Now, show me your ace, your Innocentius. I'm really interested in seeing whether the flames that don't have shape can be converted into gold.‖ The gold dagger sneaks out like a snake from the alchemist's right sleeve. ―...‖ But Stiyl doesn't say anything. It's like he can't believe what's happening in front of him, completely rooted to the spot. ―Hm, Inevitably, it's to be expected that you would be shocked after seeing my 'Limen Magna'. But don't get killed by me so easily. I'm not satisfied yet. That attitude of yours 5 seconds ago can't be compensated even if you die 10,000 times.‖ Surprised, Stiyl Magnus mutters like a child who just saw a ghost. ―So, why must you do just a meaningless thing?‖ ―What...?‖ The alchemist is shocked. ―What's so surprising about these words? The main point of magic is to 'experiment', and not get 'results', isn't it? Even if an expert can make a magic drug within 5 seconds, what's the difference if the drug effects are the same?‖ Looking like he just saw something really dumb, Stiyl sighs and says, ―It's the same with what you did. Limen Magna? How stupid. How is this any different from spraying strong acid on someone?‖ ―...Just...‖ ―I know that you're really trying hard, but it's too much of an overkill to use 'Innocentius' to beat this. Besides, it's watching a house, and I have no need to use it here.‖ ―...JUST SHUT UP!!!‖ Trying to shut of the mockery, Aureolus lets out the 'Limen Magna' from his right sleeve. The dart flies out, showing the alchemist's rage. As the attack and rewinding speed is too fast, it とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 105 looked like the afterimages of several gold lasers. At the barrage of 10 attacks every second, the magician Stiyl's body of flesh and blood can't keep up to this speed at all. In the end, among 10 shots, 6 of them stab through the face and the abdomen like a sewing machine head. The runic cards on Stiyl's body are flying about in the air. However, ―And what's with this? Haven't you realised that you're just a magic tool?‖ His upper body got pierced through like a hive, and there's an arm-sized hole that can pass through the face. However, Stiyl Magnus' extremely bored and unenthusiastic tone can still be heard. ―WHAT, ARE YOU SAYING!?‖ Extremely stunned, Aureolus continues to fire the 'Limen Magna' . Stiyl's tattered upper body continue to be pierced, and the lower body that was originally unhurt is now being pierced through as well. However, "Using basic materials and a Germanic Cross to create a soul, it really does look like what the Roman Catholic priests would do. But I just want to look for the real Aureolus Izzard. Will the Aureolus Dummy please step aside?" Stiyl's body is swaying about in the air and gradually becoming transparent, looking it it will disappear anytime soon. But even so, he still continues to remain standing. "What are you saying!? These words defy the basic premises! Obviously I created 'Limen Magna'. Or else where would this power come from?" "Of course it came from the real Aureolus Izzard. I believe you're starting to feel that something's wrong, right? Alright, let me ask you a question, Aureolus Dummy. Why did you start to learn alchemy?" "...Do you need to ask that?" Aureolus raises the Limen Magna and says, "The aim of alchemy is only to seek the truth. And I specialise in 'humans'. Maintaining a humane concept and seeing how high I can reach, this is the answer I seek." とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 106 By consuming a poisonous plant that causes hallucinations, it can cause the assimilation and reciting of incantations be a lot faster even though it will wreck the body. One can hibernate for thousands of years by going into the frozen land of the South Pole. But what Aureolus wants to know isn't this breakthrough that's made by 'sacrificing oneself for humanity'. What he wants to know is the 'how humans can maintain their form and pride', and how much it can be ascended to. That's his aim in alchemy. Aureolus, who's the descendant of the famous so-called magician-doctor Paracelsus, has this as his goal in life. That's also what he's most proud of. "If that's the case, why do you want to get near 'vampires' that are said to 'surpasses human concept'?" But the magician's words crushed all his belief. "..." "Humph. See, you don't understand. You don't understand anything at all. You don't know what Aureolus Izzard is doing, and you don't know what Aureolus Izzard is thinking of doing. You're just a fake that only has his basic ideas in his mind, so you can't understand why Aureolus Izzard would go against his initial beliefs and do all that." If he really doesn't know anything, how can he be the real magician Aureolus Izzard? The magician that should be battered really badly is actually talking in an even more arrogant tone than the alchemist. "Also, about that Limen Magna of yours, since magic exists for research, how can Aureolus Izzard be so proud that he completed such a spell? Only a kid will be happy about being cured after taking a flu medicine, right?" "U, ah..." There are too many points Aureolus can argue about. However, Aureolus can't stop himself from listening. That's because the words the magician said are like a jigsaw puzzle that patched up all the deficiencies in his heart. Thus, he really couldn't ignore it. "I can say it as many times as you want. You're a fake. I'm only looking for the real Aureolus Izzard and not you. Though it's really too easy to destroy one or two of these security functions of yours, I'm not too willing since you have a familiar person's face. Get away as far as you can." The Aureolus dummy can't take it any more. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 107 It's not about whether he's a dummy. The main point is that he spent a lot of effort just to create this one and only spell. How can it originate from somebody else? The Aureolus dummy intends to use his full power to crush this enemy in front of him, and raises his blade. "Also, you should understand this clearly. How can the real Aureolus Izzard lose so easily?" The voice came from behind. At a moment, the warm stove-like air brushes past the Aureolus dummy's face. Then, at a place that was empty, Stiyl Magnus appeared. (A mirage...!?) The Aureolus dummy immediately tries to back away. This so-called mirage is a phenomenon that's caused by the expansion heat, causing a refraction of light. Thus, he can do things like letting his body seemingly melt into the air or let himself look like he's at a place where he's not really at, just like a movie screening. It was a fake image that was speared through many times by the Limen Magna. The real Stiyl hid himself in the air sneaked behind Aureolus. The Aureolus seem to see through Stiyl's tactic thoroughly in an instant. It's through that he can avoid his attacks by moving about. However, The illusion that was speared by that Limen Magna seem to cause a false sense in the Aureolus dummy's mind--at that less than a second moment, the image overlaps with his body, and that's the biggest mistake. If he stops thinking, he will show fatal holes. Just as the dummy Aureolus drags his thoughts back to reality, the flame sword appears on Stiyl's right hand. The flame sword swings directly down and hacks Aureolus' left hand and leg away. The cut's extremely smooth like a hot knife cutting butter. The parts that were sliced by the 3,000 degrees celsius flame aren't even bleeding. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 108 "U, ah." But what dominates Aureolus' mind isn't the pain of the body. "Also, you should understand this clearly. How can the real Aureolus Izzard lose so easily?" The magician's words echo in his mind, shaking his brain. That's right, Aureolus Izzard is definitely invincible and overwhelming. He never knew what failure was, what retreat was. He can only be called a perfect saint. But what's with his ugly state now? Right now, how is he any different from a scaredy cat that uses all sorts of tools to protect himself and with tremble on taking every single attack? "A, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" The Aureolus dummy finally loses all sanity. Even after losing a hand and a leg, the Aureolus dummy still uses the 'Limen Magna'. Stiyl reamins wary of the golden dart and raises his flame sword. However, the Limen Magna flies off in a completely unexpectedly place. The students who are gathered all over the floor are stabbed by the Limen Magna. Immediately, the entire floor is filled with molten gold. Then, Aureolus stabs the Limen Magna into the molten gold and activates the Limen Magna. Perhaps the Limen Magna has the ability to manipulate pure gold like magnets attracting iron sand, as the molten gold splatter all over the place. Of course, it includes the area surrounding Stiyl Magnus. Stiyl casually blocks the splatters of molten gold. He then lets his flame sword explode. Though the numerous droplets of gold can't be blocked altogether, a storm can send them flying. Stiyl again creates a new flame sword and slices the surrounding smoke apart. He doesn't see any signs of the Aureolus dummy, who may have escaped during the explosion. Stiyl hesitates on whether he should chase after him, but decides the give up. Right now, the corridor in front of him is covered completely with high temperature lava-like molten gold. It's 5m long, and he will be burned if he can't jump over successfully. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 109 It seems like he can only make a detour. But luckily for him, 'Misawa Cram School' is made of 4 buildings, and each building is linked through an overhead corridor. There's no place I can't get to as long as I doesn't mind making detours, Stiyl pondered. Part 7 "It looks bad, but the injuries aren't serious. Treatment will suffice." Kamijou dragged the 'Misawa Cram School' student--the girl with braids--onto the corridor. And the 'Deep Blood' Himegami Aisa said calmly to Kamijou. "Bu, BUT SHE'S COVERED IN BLOOD!" Kamijou placed the girl on the floor, and can't help but roar on seeing her. That unknown school's summer uniform was already dyed fresh red. Her face, hands and other exposed parts of the skin are damaged and look like a layer of plastic is wrapped over them. "Only her skin that was damaged caused damage to the capillaries. Had her arteries ruptured, it would have been worse. The blood would gush out like a fountain." "How, do, you--" You're not a doctor--and even if you're are, you need to thoroughly check this. How can you make such a prognosis like that? Kamijou thought. "I'm more informed about the flow of blood than others." Kamijou is stunned, and inadvertently thinks back to Himegami Aisa's 'ability name'. "Help me!" However, Himegami herself didn't seem to notice Kamijou's reaction, probably because she's giving emergency treatment. She undresses the wounded in front of the boy Kamijou. "Uboah, hold on..." "Don't overreact. This will be too disrespectful to the injured." Though Kamijou is panicking about something else, but thinking about it, there's something wrong about thinking what 'this is a girl's naked body', right? It's like how a doctor who'll get excited on seeing a patient's naked body will get fired. What Himegami does next can be compared to doctors and paramedics. She first uses a handkerchief to stop the bleeding thoroughly, and since she can't stop the bleeding at the wrists with the cloth, she uses Kamijou's belt to tie them and stop the blood flow.The abdomen muscles とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 110 that were ruptured are sewn together by the injured girl's hair and some needles from a sewing box. Kamijou can't do anything. He can only follow Himgami's directions and lift the hands higher than the heart or use the handkerchief to press the wound down. But doing this causes his hands to be stained in blood. It's not because he hurt others, but because he's saving others, and that is a remarkable feeling in him. "Anyway, she's alright." Himegami, whose miko outfit got stained in blood, said it as if it were nothing, "We managed to stop the blood. It'll take 15 minutes for the blood to clot, and at that time, the wounds will patch up. However, the sterilisation is incomplete. Even though there won't be any danger in the next 2 hours, it's better to send her to the hospital just to be safe." "..." Kamijou against stares at the injured person on the floor. This girl is about as old as Kamijou, but her wounds are so serious that it's hard to imagine that. Psychologically, she shouldn't be faring any better as well. It's true that he should be happy that they managed to save her life. However, she lost everything, and this bothers Kamijou. "We did what we could, now...we can only leave it to Academy City's technology." Kamijou stared at the girl's face as he said this, As the wounds are created from the inside, the damaged skin is stuck on her flesh like damaged plastic sheets. "Only plastic surgery will be required. She just needs the skin on the arm." "..." Himegami Aisa merely replied according to modern medicine knowledge. However, Kamijou still find it's unbelievable that the 'arm' can be used as the 'skin of the face'. "Speaking of which, you're amazing just now. Are you a certain doctor that operates without a license?" [2] "I'm not a doctor." Just as Kamijou's about to ask 'what are you then', Himegami replies, とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 111 "I'm a spellcaster." ",..." Kamijou recalls that she did say something like that, and says, "Eh, on what basis are you like a spellcaster?" "I have a magic wand." "O...oi, hold on! That's a police baton!" "New material." "STOP MESSING AROUND!" Kamijou, who was arguing loudly about such ridiculous words, finally realises something. The injured person in front of him is alright, so he could think about all these. Kamijou collapses onto the floor. Just all these causes Kamijou's remaining strength to be seemingly released. It's a really comfortable feeling, and one can even find it weird that nobody's crying. In some unknown place that can't be seen, lots of people are killed. Even if they saved one or two people, that Hellish sight that's even worse than what he sees now should be even trivial. But no matter what, it's still something that's worth being happy over. "If that's the case..." No matter what happens, they can't let this injured person remain here. No matter how they intend to deal with 'Misawa Cram School' and Aureolus Izzard, they have to call for an ambulance first. "I'm going back. We can't leave the wounded here. And it's better to let the ambulance wait at the entrance." "Mn, that's true. There's not just one casualty. We can cut down on the time it takes to take them to the hospital by calling the ambulance here first." "...Stop talking about it like it doesn't involve you." とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 112 "?" Himegami stares at Kamijou with an inexplicable look. Perhaps its because she got locked up for so long that her brain doesn't have the thought of 'running away'. "Eh, what I mean is that you don't have to be locked up over here. Let's get out of here. In fact, we came here to save you." Himegami doesn't say anything. She just reveals a surprised look that seems frozen, unable to move at all. "What is it? Did I say something weird?" "..." Himegami says in a soft voice, "...Why?" "What why? Do I need a reason to save others?" Himegami's shocked again, remaining stiff. And this time, it seems like she blushed--or maybe that's just a feeling. "But, I..." Himegami Aisa seem like she intends to say something. But at this moment, there seems to be the sound of something being dragged about as it interrupts Himegami. Then, there's a heavy breathing sound. Though he doesn't hear any talking, one can feel the negative feelings of hatred and anger in his breathing, and it seems to echo in his mind. "Damn it! Damn it! Absolutely, Why am I so injured! He's supposed to be material, yet he's dragging me down...kuku, hoho, dragging me down? Dragging me down? That's interesting, isn't it, Aureolus Izzard! You don't even have any rear leg for others to pull! Kuku! Kukuku! You bastards looked down on me! Inevitably, I'M GOING TO MELT YOU ALL DOWN...!" An abnormally loud male voice can be heard, sounding like echoes that got blasted too loud. Then with an extremely loud swoosh, with the sound of something being dragged, the sound of something being can be heard, and the man escaped down the stairs and made it to the corridor. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 113 Kamijou is inadvertently stunned. That's a green-haired foreigner in white western suit. However, his left hand and leg got sliced off on the joints, and there's a slanted golden stick that's attached to the damaged parts, one of which is used as a crutch. It should be painful, but the man doesn't look in pain at all. Perhaps he has a lot of anesthetic in him, as all the anger, hatred, happiness and craziness overwhelms his pain. The sweaty face is obviously showing an exaggerated expression. Also, the man's right hand and the prosthetic left hand. His hands look like they're dragging rubbish, grabbing the collars of bloodied boys and girls. 3 on each side, 6 altogether. "Wha, what's going on?" The man stares at Kamijou with bloodshot eyes, and says, "Kid, what are you doing here? Only magicians are allowed to be here! Are you an intruder? That flame magician's friend? 3m away away, the man continues to let saliva fly, but Kamijou remains unmoved. "You...these people." "Naturally, these are just materials! Alchemy requires materials! Why are you looking at them? That's too strange! This Aureolus Izzard and his Limen Magna is standing before you. Why are you still looking at the materials!? I should be perfect!! Why are you so unhurried!? What am I lacking!?" The name Aureolus Izzard shocks Kamijou, causing him to back away. However, Himegami Aisa, who's beside him, maintains her expression. "Poor thing"... "If you didn't realize the truth, you could have continued being Aureolus Izzard." "Ku...!? Damn you!!" As Aureolus growled, a large golden dart flies out from the remaining right sleeve. It spins around the alchemist quickly, and the gold chain looks like a boundary. --The dart pierces through those bloody students that Aureolus was dragging around. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 114 The six students that were stabbed through by the dart are immediately melted into something golden. That's not an ordinary fluid. The mercury like metallic shine hisses, and the steaming sound that sounds like a beast breathing proves that this fluid is molten metal. "What...DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING, YOU BASTARD!?" But on seeing this, Kamijou Touma's only worried about the students that were melted. Facing Kamijou, who completely ignored his 'killer technique', Aureolus' as angry as ever. "Of, course--ACCEPT YOUR FATE!" With that cry, the gold dart and chain starts to spin around the alchemist even faster, The surrounding golden dirt is flying in mid air like a tornado. It looks like a wall, yet like a tsunami, and yet like a meteor landing on the sea. It whips up waves around Aureolus and extends out to the ceiling. At this moment, from the corner of his eye, he can see Himgami moving. She silently bends down and carries the injured girl away before backing away. Though she's staggering back unsteadily, she wasn't anxious at all. It's like she's clear about what she wanted to do, that if she backed away, she can get away from the attack range. Luckily, the 'fluid' formed by the molten metal isn't like water, but a 'sticky fluid' that's like melted chocolate. Even if a tsunami crashes in, there won't be too much splash damage. Kamijou follows Himegami, who's carrying the girl, and backs away. But at that moment, a hole got pierced through the golden tsunami, and the golden dart flies over at a terrifying speed. "...!?" Though he wants to dodge it, Kamijou's backing away and can't obtain balance under such a situation. He can only choose to use his right hand to grab this attack that's flying at him. The sound of muscles ripping can be heard in his hand. The golden dart isn't so easily caught. It backs away and returns back to the golden storm. The palm that got cut feels hot, like it got scalded on a hot metal plate. After a while, the golden tsunami starts to rise. Kamijou jumps backwards and then rolls away, before finally avoiding this scalding molten metal attack. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 115 The golden sea separates Kamijou and Aureolus, and the width's about 3m. (...Ku, damn it, I don't have, any feeling in my hand--!) Kamijou grits his teeth. It's hard for him to clench his 5 fingers on the right hand. This right hand that can negate any miracle can't even deal with a small knife. "...What, what's going on?" But after the tsunami of gold subsides, Aureolus, who appeared again, seems to be more anxious that Kamijou. One can even say that he's more than confused now. The golden dart in Aureolus' hand starts to disintegrate like it was made of sand. The Imagine Breaker of Kamijou's right hand starts to work. That dart should be something that's imbued with some 'supernatural power', so it got destroyed after Kamijou's hand touched it. The wound on Kamijou's hand was caused by the blade just before it got destroyed. "Naturally, What's with your right hand? Certainly, Why can't it change? Inevitably, My 'Limen Magna' is the pinnacle of alchemy! It's a miracle that 2 schools of thought, Bohemia and Vienna, gave up on after thinking that it couldn't be fulfilled! This is unbelievable! Entirely, What did you use to negate my theory!?" (Limen, Magna...?) Kamijou feels that the wound is pulsating according to his heartbeat. He inadvertently frowns and think. Was the 'change' he talked about referring to that molten metal?" "Ha, how satisfying! Haha! THIS IS SATISFYING! YOU'RE REALLY INTERESTING THERE, BOY! WHAT'S WITH THAT SECRET OF THE HUMAN BODY? LET ME, THE MAGIC DOCTOR, DISSECT YOUR BODY AND SOLVE ALL THE QUESTIONS!!!" Aureolus swings his right hand across, revealing a new dart tip. It's aimed between Kamijou's eyebrows, matching the killing intent in the alchemist's eyes. (He's coming...!?) Just as Kamijou frantically uses his right hand to cover his face, the dart almost touches Kamijou's forehead. He quickly uses his right hand to knock it aside, and the fist feels like it got sliced as a sharp pain can be felt. "Che!" とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 116 Aureolus wanted to use the gold chain to counterattack, but it got affected by Kamijou's right hand before he could catch it, and shatters like glass. Another golden dart tip appears in Aureolus' right sleeve. As as Kamijou's intending to dodge, The golden dart continues to fire out like a machine gun from Aureolus' suit. It's fast. The firing, the wrecking, the preparing of the next shot; All these actions took less than 0.2 seconds. This isn't something that a human can handle anymore. However, he can't choose to run away like that. He can't even turn his back on others, as the tiniest slip-up will allow the dart to spear through his chest or other critical areas. Luckily, though the dart is moving fast, the trajectory's relatively simple. It will continue to shoot out in 'a straight line'. It's a lot easier to predict the trajectory than against a boxer who can send in straight punches and hooks. "Ku, ahh--!!" So even though Kamijou knows that his right hand will get cut, he can only choose to use his right hand to deflect them. Seeing the dart's 'changing ability', it seems like he will be melted into gold if he uses anything other than his right hand to block it. Thus, in a while, there are remains of darts and chains all around Kamijou. "HAHA, HAHAHAHA! SUCH AN INTERESTING HUMAN SPECIMEN! IT'S NOT USING A CHANT THAT ABSORBS THE MAGIC POWER, NOT THE LANCE OF LONGINUSGod Slayer! IT JUST USED A BARE HAND TO DESTROY ALL MY LIMEN MAGNA!" Seeing that he couldn't kill the enemy no matter how many times he attacked, Aureolus still seem really happy as he laughs. He's like an adventurer who reached some mysterious place that no one entered before. "IT'S NOT ENOUGH! HAHA! BOY! THAT'S NOT ENOUGH TO TEST YOUR LIMITS!" The golden dart destruction and regeneration speed increases to more than twice. It continues to rip the air and fly at Kamijou. Kamijou's right hand is already stained in blood, and he can't even clench his fist. (Da, damn it...!) MY FINGERS MAY BE SLICED! Just as Kamijou feels this scary thought invade his body, the gold dart unexpectedly misses, and it flies past the slow moving Kamijou. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 117 The enemy missed--it'll be too optimistic to think like that. Standing behind Kamijou is Himegami Aisa, who's carrying that injured girl! "HIME--!" Kamijou turns his head about, trying to cry out. But facing the dart that passed him, this is too slow. The golden dart is aimed between Himegami's eyebrows. Aureolus seem like he got mentally confused, and can't even show mercy on the Deep Blood he worked so hard to get. In front of him is a shocked look on Himegami Aisa's face. Just as Kamijou wants to shout out, the dart can be heard landing on flesh. There's a cry of shock, and Kamijou isn't clear about whether he was the one who made it. He can't even tell, because the scene in front of him is too pitiful and unexpected. The golden dart didn't hit Himegami Aisa. The thoroughly injured girl that Himegami was carrying, the girl that couldn't possibly move a finger, actually pulls her hand out to protect Himegami's face. The golden dart lands deeply into her soft hand. But the girl doesn't reveal a look of pain, instead using her other hand to gently push Hiemgami's chest. Himegami's body sways and takes a step back, separating from the girl. The girl seems to be muttering something. It's an extremely weak voice, and one can't hear what she said. But the girl smiled. This isn't a smile for herself. This is a feeble smile that's forced out to comfort others. Then, just like that, the anonymous girl got 'transmuted' into molten gold. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 118 とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 119 For that moment, Kamijou seemed to shout something. Kamijou doesn't even know what he was shouting. He nearly burst his throat. The alchemist also seems to be taken aback, probably due to luck or lack of it, and the golden chain stops rewinding for a while. Kamijou uses his hand to grab the golden chain, not with the sure-kill right hand, but with the left hand. Kamijou's instincts are telling him that only the dart can carry out the Limen Magna. The chained parts shouldn't have any ability to carry out the Limen Magna. If the chain has a similar ability, the enemy wouldn't have 'shot the dart straight out' but 'swing the chain'. That's because if he did that, the attack range will obviously be wider. "Ugh...!" Aureolus naturally wants to pull the chain back to himself. The chain's being held straight like a rope in a tug-of-war match. However, Kamijou uses his foot to hold it tight. Aureolus himself is the one who ends up being pulled. And in front of him is the scalding molten gold that he created--! "GUOAAAAHHH!!" Stepping into the golden fluid, Aureolus tries to back away, but he can't do it. That's because the golden chain became a bind, causing him to be unable to move move. Aureolus roared and releases the chain that's hidden in his suit. He finally manages to drag himself out from the molten gold. Although it was only 2 seconds, this causes smoke to come out from below his foot. Perhaps knowing that he can't use the chain as a bind, Kamijou's bloodied hands let go of the chain. Now, should he run, or should he attack? Just as Aureolus' hesitating, he sees an unbelievable sight. Kamijou bends his body down, looking like he wants to increase his jumping ability to the maximum and jump over the golden stream to attack the alchemist opposite. Letting go of the chain doesn't have anything to do with binding. But anyone can tell the Kamijou can't do it. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 120 The golden stream between Kamijou and Aureolus is 3m wide. He may be able to jump over it if he does a running start, but he definitely can't do that without a running start. Even so, Kamijou's eyes don't have any hesitation. It's like saying that it's alright even if he fails and jumps into the molten gold, that he must beat this enemy in front of him before his body gets burnt. This intense 'emotion' that's unrestrained causes Aureolus to feel that he's in danger. The next moment, Kamijou jumped without hesitation. It seems like a suicidal jump, but the direction's not at Aureolus. But at a window on the corridor that's shining the sunset sunlight in. Kamijou's foot lands on that slightly protruded platform and flies at Aureolus! "...!" Just as Aureolus frantically tries to counterattack, Kamijou has already jumped--from a position much higher than the floor and above Aureolus. Aureolus' survival instincts are telling him to quickly attack back and use the golden dart to shoot that guy down. But just as the alchemist frantically raises his Limen Magna, he realises something. Kamijou Touma jumped over Aureolus' head. If he uses the Limen Magna to shoot him down--the scalding hot molten gold will rain down on Aureolus! "Apparently, I didn't foresee that...!!" The action, pride, and even the burn on his foot, he can't even care about them now. Aureolus frantically rolls back and avoids Kamijou's attack, running away. Compared to the shame of 'losing to some ordinary folk who's not even a magician', what Aureolus can't take is a great fear. He can only run with his battered legs in the darkness, crashing about as he runs. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 121 Part 8 The Aureolus dummy continues to tread through the corridor. It feels like this corridor is long, and that there's no end to it. After the alchemist was grabbed by that boy, he lost all his strength, but this isn't much. The golden dart was just a tool that was materialised. Limen Magna's actual identity is actually that of the entire 'Misawa Cram School' base. Even if the tool's mana supply got cut of, as long as the main body is supplied with mana and the shape of the tool is recreated, he can use it again. Thus, that's not the reason why the Aureolus dummy ran away. The reason why he ran away was because of the power of that boy's right hand. It seems to be limitless. No matter how much he absorbed mana from the main body and into the golden dart, it still continued to get eroded by that boy's right hand. If that kept up, the main body would have ran out of mana. Such a crisis sends chills down Aureolus' spine. "Ku, damn..." But the Aureolus dummy's still thinking of the next step. Whether it's Stiyl or that boy, even though 'Limen Magna' are ineffective against them, they will still try to avoid the molten gold as much as they can. "...In other words, if there's so much gold that they can't hide, they won't be able to do anything. Ha, I have 1,982 materials beside me, naturally, that's definitely more than enough to get rid of them!" Though this place is huge, they are still within a building. If he pours out a large amount of gold like a dam bursting from the top level, he can easily flood all the corners below. Just imagining it alone is fun. Just imagining it is enough to sweep aside all unhappy feelings. "HAHA! DESTROY DESTROY! DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY! THAT'S RIGHT! I CAN'T DIE! THERE'S STILL DEEP BLOOD AND ALL SORTS OF RESEARCH MATERIALS THAT'S INCOMPLETE! HOW CAN I DIE! NO, NOT JUST THIS! THERE ARE STILL 50,000 HUMAN SPECIMENS IN THE WORLD WORTH RESEARCHING ON! HAHA! IT'S ONLY A PITY FOR THAT BOY, I HAVE TO KILL HIM BEFORE I CAN EVEN UNDERSTAND THE SECRETS IN HIS BODY!" Luckily, he summoned all the students in the cram school onto the 'back side of the coin', and now he just needs to gather these materials. At that point, he just needs to pierce the Limen Magna through them. But after thinking about it, the core of the 'Gregorio's Chant replica' that could manipulate all the students actions was destroyed by Stiyl. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 122 "These guys, really want to go against me regardless of anything..." The anger rips through the air like a hot blade. But the sound of footsteps behind him sound like a sharper blade. "...!?" Anyone can tell that Aureolus' back seem to shrink after hearing the footsteps. Normally, ordinary people will choose to run away when they're afraid. That's normal. Everyone wants to run away, they don't want to endure those irritating and painful events. If possible, they wouldn't even want to look at it. However, these footsteps don't even allow Aureolus to act on the primitive instincts that's so associated with ordinary people. That's because the footsteps contain killing intent, bringing a sense of despair. It seems like if he looks away, his body will be diced into 100 pieces. Thus, Aureolus could only choose to turn back. His heart is telling him to run crazily without even looking, his mind is already unable to endure such pain anymore. But Aureolus could only turn back like a puppet being manipulated. Over there, right over there. 10m away, Kamijou Touma is standing there, looking like a savage beast that just escaped from an experimental lab. "Wh, what's going--" Aureolus doesn't understand. He's supposed to be perfect, so why can someone force him into such a state? But in reality, Kamijou Touma's standing over there. "...Did you have enough fun?" Hearing Kamijou mutter, Aureolus frowns. That's a voice of one standing in the midst of an icy cold rain. Nobody can tell who's being forced into despair. Kamijou saw Hell. He saw people die right in front of him, and he understands that some place where he can't see, a lot of people must have died, but at least he managed to save an injured girl. However, this alchemist in front of him just took away the only saving grace in his heart. But as for that, Kamijou doesn't say anything, and of course he doesn't have any views. That's because if he has the time to talk, he might as well do something else. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 123 Kamijou's eyes are glaring at the enemy. His eyes are filled with burning iron-like killing intent. "Ugh." Aureolus frantically raises the Limen Magna, but the action's not out of battle intent, but out of fear. However, this action causes Kamiijou to be even more determined. He doesn't say anything. Kamijou's feet explodes with strength as he dashes at Aureolus. Filled with fear and anxiety, Aureolus shoots out the golden dart at Kamijou's face to prevent him from closing in. Kamijou crouches down like a spider and easily dodges it, even taking a step forward. "!?" Aureolus' anxiety continues to increase. However, even if the anxiety causes the Limen Magna to be less effective, it can still regenerate 6 times within a second. Aureolus easily recovers the dart into his hand, and shoots it again at Kamijou's face. Having bent down, Kamijou has no other place to go. However, Kamijou uses his right fist to smash an uppercut at the abdomen. The golden dart and chain immediately shatters. The perfect counterattack looks like it was predicted right from the beginning where the dart will fly to. Bending down his body was an act. If there's no way to retreat, and with that huge of an opening, the enemy will definitely attack there. A straight attack that's straightforward is way too easy as compared to fighting in the alleys where anything goes. Ten metres distance, dodging the first attack alone isn't going to cover the distance. Thus, Kamijou thought of this tactic. That's because if he could dodge the second attack, he can get near the enemy--! "Wai!" Stunned, Aureolus roared with a twisted expression and tries to fire the third attack. However, before that could happen, Kamijou's right fist lands on his face. Then, without slowing down, and even though he's one head shorter than the enemy, Kamijou uses his forehead to smash into the enemy's jaw. Having taken two direct hits in the head, Aureolus can't help but tumble on the floor. He wants to roll away to avoid the attack, but Kamijou won't allow him. He stamps hard onto the prosthetic that's made from gold and moves his foot to pull it out. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 124 Like the sound of a fruit being crushed, the wound that was barely patched up lets out a ripping sound. "GYYYYYAAAAAHHHH!!!" Aureolus screamed out in pain and releases the Limen Magna at Kamijou, who's intending to sit down on him. However, Kamiijou actually uses his left hand to grab the golden chain so as not to destroy it. It seems like he never thought that he would turn into gold if he made the slightest mistake. Kamijou then twirls his left hand and ties the golden chain on his arm. The Limen Magna attack is completely sealed. Then, Kamijou looks down at the alchemist's face from above. (Stupidly,...if this keeps up, I'll get killed) Aureolus' judgement was quick. He chose to cut the golden chain that's linked to the inside of his suit. Having maintained his balance with the resistance of the chain, Kamijou sways. Using this opportunity, Aureolus rolls away and escapes from Kamijou's clutches. Aureolus' crying out in his heart. The Limen Magna that he so believed in wasn't destroyed, but abandoned under his own will. His own belief got wrecked. He expected that he should be able to save his life if he gives up everything. It can be said that it would be all for naught if that doesn't work. But in front, Aureolus can't run away any further. That's because his prosthetic leg got ripped out, and he can't even walk. Also, Kamijou even raises the golden chain and whips it on the crawling Aureolus like a whip. The heavy hit causes all the air in Aureolus' lungs to be forced out, causing him to roll about on the floor in pain. "..." Kamijou wordlessly closes in on Aureolus and steps on his back, and uses the golden chain to chain it around the original owner's neck. Then, he can hang him by pulling this chain. However, since it's not the right hand that he's not used to, he can't break the bone up. Kamijou doesn't carry any emotions to his own actions. Or rather, he can't. His mind and blank and hot, and reality is nothing to him. "I, gya...sp--spare me." However, these words causes Kamijou's brain to seem like it got dunked in cold water, causing him to lose all his anger. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 125 It's an unreasonable request. How many people this person killed? Thinking of it, one can tell that there's only one choice. Even in those superhero special effects movie that are shown to children, nobody will hesitate over killing such a person. But Aureolus isn't like a human. He knows he can't run, but he continues to reach his arm out and struggle. Kamijou starts to recall. The 'knight' who was abandoned in the hall, the students who still continued with the incantations of the 'Gregorio's Chant' even with their bodies breaking, and the anonymous girl who turned into molten gold while protecting Himegami. He knows that there's only one choice. Kamijou wordlessly tugs at the golden chain. But in the end, he can only choose to let go. Aureolus continues to climb away on the floor. He can only escape from this person who caused his downfall, wondering about the misfortune that happened around him, and relieved that he's still alive. He's still a 'human', how can Kamijou kill him? The Aureolus dummy doesn't even know what floor this is anymore. Though he managed to roll down a few levels, he doesn't even have any strength to roll. There's no strength left in his body. His back is resting on the wall of the dark emergency staircase, and he's staring at the remaining hand. Ever since he got hit by that boy, he started to feel that the strength that was supporting him seem to be taken away. That sense of powerlessness seems like a certain mana source was cut off from him. Now, Aureolus Dummy realises it. He's not a human. If the boundary isn't there to provide him with energy, he can't even stand up. It's like Limen Magna, a tool that's among numerous substitutes. "Ahh..." Aureolus sighed as the feeling in his fingers gradually fades, and yet he's feeling satisfied. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 126 What is that? No matter whether it's Limen Magna or this body, magic would be negated on contact. What is that boy's right hand? Thinking about this, Aureolus' like a teenager who's looking through a telescope, his eyes sparkling with the thirst for knowledge. The greatest question in his heart is. How much can a person maintain and raise his form and pride? Aureolus seems like he saw the answer. It's not just because of that boy's abnormal power. It's also because that even though the boy had such a power, he would get angry and feel sad like a human. Thinking about it, it seems like his tragic fate is nothing. That's because a scholar who knows the answer doesn't need to live on and think. Footsteps. Aureolus weakly looks up the stairs, and sees Stiyl standing there. "Naturally, I can see...you haven't gotten sick of killing me?" The alchemist mocks himself and says, "Even if you leave me alone, I'll certainly die anyway, so why do you still want to kill me?" "Yeah. It's true that I have no interest in killing you. Besides, 'that child' didn't interact with you." Stiyl says with an uninterested tone, "Speaking of which, there's a member of the 13 knights that was killed. I suppose you didn't do that, right?" The Aureolus Dummy leans on the wall and stares up at Stiyl. Aureolus Dummy's weapon is Limen Magna. Even though it can turn everything into gold, it can't possibly turn the casted armour of the knight in a vented shape like that. "...Humph, speaking about that. Certainly I never killed any of them." "What?" "Inevitably, since I lost, you can just go ahead and think of the reason." Aureolus smirks and says, とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 127 "Speaking of which, since you're not interested in me, why are you here? Naturally, Can't I just die alone?" "It's the complete opposite, idiot. I'm here to send you off. Can you endure yourself dying off like that?" "..." For a while, the Aureolus Dummy stares blankly at Stiyl's face. Then, he smiles. For this man, it's really rare, but he did smile. Though he's a fake, Aureolus is a scholar. And right now, he's extremely satisfied that he managed to obtain the answer to 'human's biggest limit'. However, there's still some time till Aureolus dies off. Less than 10 minutes. Aureolus' is a scholar. In this spare time, he will think of a new question to think about. Those are research topics that are waiting for him to ponder about. However, Aureolus doesn't have 'time' to ponder about them. To a scholar, it's Hell to have a doubt yet unable to research on it before dying. That's definitely an unhappy feeling and regret that can't be avoided. That is why Stiyl said that. Before you find that sweet question and ponder hard into it, let me send you off while 'your mission is complete'. "Humph." Thus, Aureolus smiles and says, "I can't tell if you are an Angel or the Devil." "These are two beings of similar natures, the difference is where they take their orders from." Stiyl slowly walks down the stairs. "I prove why my name is the strongest here Fortis931" とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 128 Stiyl's black coat flips out, and numerous runic cards scatter out like sakura petals. "Sorcery name, huh?" Seeing Stiyl walk down the stairs, Aureolus muttered to himself. If so, what is his sorcery name? Aureolus starts to recall. "Oh, I remember." My honor is for the worldHonos628 Having finally remembered his 'name' and 'purpose', Aureolus narrows his eyes. "Do I need to make a final prayer for you as a priest? Alchemist?" Walking down the stairs, Stiyl Magnus said as he arrives in front of the alchemist. "Stop dragging this on. You're just a mere magician." The moment the Aureolus dummy replied, Stiyl's flames enter him through the mouth, quickly burning through the insides of his body. The flames burst out from all the openings. The abdomen then start to break, splitting him into two parts. Large amounts of flames continue to spur out, causing Aureolus' upper body to shoot out like a rocket. Part 9 At this moment, in a certain student dormitory, or rather, a certain student dormitory bathtub, the girl Index, who's watching the house, is exchanging looks with the stray cat Sphinx. This calico cat seemed like it was a domestic cat, so it doesn't have a cute personality. It doesn't chase after a thrown ball of yarn, it continues to nest under a table even after its name got called, it will snatch other people's food when eating. The last point is really a serious thing. To Index, who has a voracious appetite, it's significant that Kamijou Touma cooks for her. It seems like she has to train it. Having decided to stop giving the gentle treatment, she's now battling with the calico cat who's covered with bubbles. On a side note, Index read through Kamijou's elaborate explanation on how to use the automatic hot water supply in the bathroom, and gingerly managed to work it out. (...But, where did Touma go?) There're a few questions in her mind. The first is what was said during the conversation. It's not because Kamijou said that he 'just wanted to test whether the phone could work', but that Kamijou actually said so easily 'forget it' even after having his pudding eaten. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 129 Speaking of which, it's the same thing for this cat that's covered with shampoo bubbles and having its fur standing up. Basically, Kamijou won't do anything he doesn't like. Even if he knows that there's no other way, if he really doesn't want to do it, he will think of another way to solve it. Such a Kamijou didn't even pursue on those two things that he didn't agree in. That's really too weird. Having made up her mind, Index nods her head. She walks out of the bathroom and puts on her nun habit 'Walking Church'. At the corridor, before she even opens the door, she realises that even if she wants to question Kamijou she has to know where he is. Of course, calling Kamijou is not an option. To be honest, Index doesn't know how the phone works at all, and since the Kamijou's residence phone has a 'fax function', there are so many buttons that Index doesn't know how to start using it. Will she give up? Just as Index is about to return back to the room, she suddenly sees something. There's something that looks like a tarot card stuck on the wall. That's the runic imprint that the magician Stiyl Magnus uses. "..." Index stares at the card without looking. Something's definitely going on. He definitely left Index alone to deal with something alone. Index recalls it. A few days ago, she met that teenager who doesn't have any feelings. The despair and anxiety Index feels causes her to be extremely restless. Run. She can only run. Luckily, Index has the knowledge of 103,000 grimoires in her mind. She knows the workings of Stiyl's magic. The runes require magicians to continuously provide mana and maintain it. For example, when a soul is lost, there will be something thin string-like that links the soul and the body. Though Index can't use magic, she can trace the mana, so she won't get lost. Just like that, Index runs off the the 'battlefield' without even locking the door. She doesn't know that such an act will bring about the biggest trouble. とある魔術の禁書目録 – To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 130 Notes 1. デンパ少女 or Denpa Otome goes for "wave girl", Denpa is a term to coin someone who has a really strange or eccentric behaviour without any apparent reason (hence "the wave made me do it"); you might recognize the word as it is also the name of a novel, where the titular character is actually quite weird 2. Black Jack