Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item3 Ending
“Memo, memo. I can just convert my voice to text for my report.”
That would lead to a festival of mistakes, so instead of relying on the automatic speech recognition, I would prefer you typed out your report by hand.
Please do not make reading your unfortunate grasp of Japanese any harder than it already is.
“Oh, shut up. You’re not the top of this city – you’re just just the Board Chairman’s secretary. So stop trying to boss me around. Fuck, you’re not even human.”
My speech algorithm has applied your usage of the word “fuck” to my deep learning.
And just so you know, you foolish drunk with a beer in hand, word of this will reach the Board Chairman.
“Wait, wait, wait! I’m sorry!! Eek! I’ll sober up real quick and get my prostration on in front of the webcam, so anything but that, you superhumanly perfect AI secretary!!!”
So you view the Board Chairman as someone who warrants tears over a minor infraction like this? Then I recommend creating your report in the proper format. Strongly recommend.
“I’m doing it now, okay!? ...Huh? I’m trying to transmit my report, but it’s being rejected. First the higher ups ask for it and now this?”
Warning!
The Windowless Building’s security level has just been increased.
The Windowless Building will no longer allow access from this sloppy and unstable communications route. Please use the official process going through Spark Signal.
“Wait, does that mean the higher ups are still on alert?”
I do not possess the authority to answer that question. Also, I do not recommend a fucking agent like you attempt any valueless and reckless speculation. Fuck you.
“Does this mean it isn’t over yet? …It’s always like this, I swear.”
It was the middle of the night.
More specifically, this was an empty street in District 1.
“Hey, Mugino. In the end, the Criminal Real Estate just contacted us. Our runaway lives are finally over. We should be able to find a place to sleep.”
“It’s 3 in the morning. Does the real estate industry really operate that late?”
“Website forms are scary things. They completely eliminate the concept of business hours,” said track suit girl Takitsubo with no noticeable expression.
It was just business for the Criminal Real Estate. They hadn’t been able to do business with Item before due to an unnatural warning icon appearing on their account, but Item had originally been excellent customers who rented plenty of ultra-pricey apartments and resorts. Now that Item had done enough work to get that warning icon removed, there were plenty of recommended locations for them.
“Super what should we do for our next hideout?”
“I want somewhere convenient for shopping,” said Takitsubo. “We should be able to get most anything in District 7.”
“Ehh? In the end, can’t we just use online shopping and bike delivery services for all that? Keep in mind it’s nearly September and fall. I want a district with plenty of good food!! By which I mean District 4!!”
“Academy City is a densely-populated walled city, so if you need something, you can easily head out and go there. Isn’t there anywhere quiet we can stay?” said Mugino.
Item had lost most of their support team delinquents during the execution squad’s thermobaric bombardment. No one had died at the Reserve Meal cold storage warehouse, but there was still plenty of evidence they had to cover up.
(It’s going to be expensive, but I guess we can hire an outside cleanup crew. There was that corpse specialist Hanatsuyu Kuchikusa. It’ll probably be fastest to contact her first and have her introduce us to other people she knows.)
Mugino was working out some calculations in her head, which caused her to lag behind the others.
Frenda waved from a bit up ahead.
“Mugino! In the end, can I come up with a schedule for viewing possible new hideouts?”
“Go ahead.”
With that, Mugino looked up into the night sky.
(Hey.)
She didn’t say anything out loud, but she was speaking to someone in her head.
She pictured someone who wasn’t here right now.
(I managed to survive, you shitty Class Rep. Is that what you wanted?)
Mugino sighed.
And the very next moment, her right knee went limp and her vision dropped straight down.
This was not a case of the accumulated damage catching up to her or some bleeding inside her skull.
Something had clearly happened right this instant.
And despite all her experience as a Level 5, Mugino couldn’t figure out what had happened.
The threat wasn’t over yet. In fact, the true threat had only just arrived.
“Kah…”
She couldn’t even get out a shout. Her eyes were the only thing she could still move.
She spotted a strange silhouette. It had the outlines of a small child, but those outlines were wavering and distorting, never staying put for long. She tried staring at it but could only see darkness.
Was there really something there?
There hadn’t been any footsteps. She hadn’t even sensed anyone’s presence until right before it happened.
How had they gotten so close? Had they used a teleportation power? Or a psychological power capable of messing with perception or memories?
They hadn’t touched her and nothing had flown in from long distance. Mugino had simply fallen to her knee. Something was wrong with her equilibrium. Was the change in the outside world or deep within her brain?
But aside from all that…
(It’s them…)
“Are you the Dark Side’s Bane!? The #6!!??”
“I did not approach you.”
They spoke with a voice of disinterest.
Was that shadow really even looking at Mugino?
“You came to me. Mugino Shizuri, you thoughtlessly entered a territory you should have stayed out of. I am the Dark Side’s Bane. You knew that, so you should have kept your distance. This tragedy is the natural result of your actions.”
“Gahh!!!” roared Mugino.
Violent beams of light surged from her wounded palm.
That was all.
Meltdowner veered off course shortly before reaching the strange shadow and burst into particles.
This was not the imitation justice she had fought before.
Evil’s attacks could not even reach true good.
“Wha-?”
“You are the strongest when it comes to simple destructive force, but that also means you only have one card in your deck.”
They did not brag.
Others might bow before the Level 5s, but as another Level 5, the #6 was not cowed.
“You have no surprising tricks or clever applications. So once someone breaks free of the initial fear, they only need to learn that one attack. You are the most tedious of the Level 5s. Even the Railgun and Mental Out scare me more than you.”
“Kh.”
“Which is why you will be destroyed by betrayal from one of your own.”
That was a dangerous prophecy.
It had no basis, but when it came from the #6, it did bring some fear.
“Humans can adapt to any stimulus. One-note, unchanging fear cannot mentally bind people forever. The time will come when it all unravels. The only question is whether it will happen sooner or later.”
What was their power?
Mugino doubted it was only some kind of defensive power. That had only been an uninteresting sliver of their power. But in that case, what did the #6 see right now?
This was the fear they had mentioned.
A bottomless fear.
“Do you see now why you are taken lightly and will one day be betrayed?” asked the #6. It wasn’t even clear where that small shadow’s mouth was. “Traitors will themselves be betrayed. You are ruling everything around you with fear, but there is no trust there. No one sees enough value and weight in it to keep their promises.”
“…”
She wasn’t able to respond to these accusations. The #6’s attack was probably already complete. Otherwise, she doubted the #6 would so readily appear before a target, even as this indistinct shadow.
Their appearance and name were unknown. The #6 had always been so careful that they had practically become a legend.
So when they showed up, it was best to assume this was checkmate.
“Now, after I crush you, what should I do with the rest of Item?”
Takitsubo, Frenda, and Kinuhata were nowhere to be seen.
She had fired so many beams and torn away pieces of the city, yet no one seemed to have noticed. Not even Takitsubo who excelled at searching out enemies and gathering intel.
Was it a strange coincidence?
Or was this an application of the #6’s power?
“Are you entirely to blame for this case growing to the point that I had to make an appearance, or is Item as a whole to blame?”
Mugino’s focus rapidly grew to a boil.
“Do I need to wait for the next case to make a decision? But letting innocent people come to harm for that would violate my justice. In that case, it would be safest for the world as a whole if I eliminated all four of you now.”
“Go…”
Mugino clenched her teeth.
And she finally got out a roar.
“…to helllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!”
Thick beams flooded not just from her palm but from her entire body. They melted asphalt, cut down a wind turbine at the base, and flew right past the #6.
That small shadow could not react.
She was prepared to lose control.
She was willing to obliterate her own body if necessary.
“Justice? Is that what you call it when you choose whose lives to take? Good and evil don’t matter to you! You just care about your peace of mind!! I’m not about to call myself one of the good guys. That’s never happening. But because I’m on the bad side, there’s one thing I’m certain of: you’re nothing but a killer!”
“Hm.”
“Billions of people might love you and history might praise your name, but that fact will never change. I’m not letting someone like you get at my teammates!!”
The #6 responded with great interest.
“Come to think of it, you chose not to kill at the very end this time. Meltdowner is a tedious Level 5 power that relies entirely on the initial impact, but perhaps you still have a minuscule chance of receiving an unexpected blessing.”
This result may have been a possibility left to her by someone who was now dead.
The detective.
No, the Class Rep. Shiratori Okibi.
A possibility Mugino had killed herself.
“Foster that feeling. With great care.”
The #6 said something strange.
Almost like they sympathized with Mugino.
“If you do, something could possibly change. Meltdowner, you possess an incredible amount of energy. You only need make good use of it. The odds are extremely poor and it may be easier on you if I did not present you with this hope that will almost certainly amount to nothing.”
To put it another way, their emotion of disappointment had shifted for just a moment.
“The path you four walk is far too dangerous to be relying on luck and asking for a miracle. If you do that, you all could lose your lives at an even earlier point. But on the other hand, there is a chance…”
“Shut your trap, you killer who doesn’t even have the decency to be a villain!!”
This time, Meltdowner directly struck the #6’s small shadow.
She broke through the mysterious defenses without actually understanding them.
The shadow spiraled around.
And that was it.
It vanished into thin air.
Mugino could tell the beam hadn’t actually burned through or destroyed anything.
There was no questioning it.
They were clearly better than her.
“I’ll fight back.”
So the loser howled alone in the darkness.
It didn’t matter what was awaiting her.
It didn’t matter what the #6 – the Dark Side’s Bane – was after.
It didn’t matter what kind of cruel tracks Academy City had laid out for her.
“Railgun!? Mental Out!? Who gives a shit about those rankings and hierarchies!? Maybe it means turning my back on the changing times and going down in history as an irredeemable villain! But I’m Meltdowner, one of Academy City’s seven Level 5s! Whatever you might try, Item will use our own power to protect our hoooooooooome!!!”
Her statement was entirely meaningless.
Quantum theory said an individual human’s observations could influence microscopic physics and the macroscopic world was composed of such things.
Academy City could freely wield that theory, but the result here had already been determined.
Everyone already knows how it ends.
