IndexVSDRRR Crossover Ikebukuro Chapter

Ikebukuro Chapter

Translation: botman/Dracoslayer123

Edit/Proofread: Dracoslayer123/Pablusky/SandyBoi/Fullmetal

Part 1

Tokyo | Ikebukuro | Summer

"Such misfortune..."

Kamijou Touma, under the sweltering sun, spoke his catchphrase.

However, there was just one thing that was different from normal.

He was neither in his usual stage known as "Academy City,” nor in the sky above Russia, nor in the eternal darkness made by the Magic God.

It was a place that wasn't that far from Academy City. He was in a city only a few kilometers to the northeast of one of the entrances of the "Outer Wall.”

Ikebukuro, Toshima City, Tokyo.

Although it couldn't compare to Academy City, Kyoto, or Akihabara, it was one of the most famous cities in Japan.

"Ikebukuro, huh... Come to think of it, I don't think I've been to many cities in Japan apart from Academy CIty..."

Kamijou deliberately added the word "Japanese" because he remembered that he had been to several cities outside of Japan in just the past few months. It was ironic that he had never been to a much closer city in Japan, yet he had been to Russia and Italy.

"Though if I wanted to shop, I could just do it in Academy City..."

At that moment, something similar to a news commentary could be heard from the side.

"...President to be at the summit..."

When he turned around toward the sound, he saw a prototype laptop displayed in an electrical appliance store, converting the news images from the TV to high definition and then broadcasting them.

The news of the summit between the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Japan came on, and at that time, Kamijou tilted his head and said,

"Huh? He’s not that old guy?"

After a while, Kamijou, surprised at the appearance of a man who looked nothing like the Hispanic president Kamijou had known, suddenly noticed something and said,

"His approval rating didn’t drop because of that incident in Denmark...right?"

After he spoke with such anxiety, he heard a sudden beeping sound in his head.

Then, in the next instant, he had a question about what he had just said.

Huh?

"That incident in Denmark…” What was that again?

"Well, that old guy was really one of a kind... I guess he finally got the sack."

Kamijou, who easily accepted his acquaintance's sacking even while cocking his head in worry, started walking forward, and then sighed deeply once again.

"Why on earth would I want to spend my hard-earned days off on something that feels like what an envoy would do?"

In the bag hanging from his hand, there was a cylindrical protective case made of stainless steel and some sort of cushioning material.

It seemed to have been found at a station at Academy City, and after being bounced between various organizations, it ended up in the hands of the troubled Kamijou as usual. And now it had to be sent back to Ikebukuro.

“Anyway, all you have to do is casually walk around with it. It’s bound to be reclaimed soon enough thanks to the law of causality.”

"At least, that's what Birdway said, but I really don't get it. That bartender guy beat me up so bad yesterday that I can't even straighten my back anymore, and she had the nerve to oh-so-politely help me fill out my application to exit Academy City? No matter how you think about it, it can’t be anything other than her using me. Speaking of which, isn’t she spending way more time in Japan than in England…?”

Whining, Kamijou took a look at the box. There were signs that it had already been opened, but there was no way to know if the person who found it had drunk any of the "something" inside. As the transporter, Kamijou, who was a minor, didn't even think about the option of "drinking" the thing.

"Ahhh, seriously, will there never be a chance for me to relax other than on a hospital bed...?"

Beside the sighing Kamijou, one of his classmates opened his mouth with a happy smile.

"Don't say that, Kami-yan. I'm looking forward to it, you know? Ikebukuro is filled with a different flavor of chaos than Akihabara. The mere mention of the word "Otome Road" alone transforms my heart into a great-journey-gangster-gold-mine!"

The boy who spoke such nonsense was none other than Aogami Pierce.

Just as his nickname suggested, he was a blue-haired boy with perpetually closed eyes and pierced ears.

Although this bad friend of his had also applied to leave Academy City, it seemed as if he had applied to go out in the name of "external training experience instead of supplementary lessons," and in order to meet the requirements, he had to have a tutoring partner.

"Anyway, I'm going to leave the tutoring to you… or should I?"

As Kamijou expressed his unease, another fellow student smirked mischievously at him.

"Nyaa~ As soon as I said I was going to Ikebukuro, my step-sister told me to "hurry up and go to the butler cafe to have the essence of a gentleman carved into your spine." But before that, I should pop into a cosplay cafe, and in there, I'll think about world peace and the safety of my sister: that's the real essence of being a gentleman!"

The upbeat boy with dyed blonde hair and a Hawaiian shirt was Tsuchimikado Motoharu.

These three were a group of delinquents known as the "Delta Force" (“Idiot Trio”), famous among their classmates in a very small subsection of Academy City. Because Kamijou was always covered in blood, their characteristically red, blue, and yellow colors may have given them the nickname "Academy City's traffic light trio."

Those three were striding through the streets of Ikebukuro, but--

"Anyway, the subway to Ikebukuro was surprisingly crowded..."

The moment Kamijou said that, he noticed something strange—

Huh?

Subway?

That was strange. Was it even possible to reach Ikebukuro by subway from Academy City?

The last time he was able to leave Academy City so easily was that time on the beach in Kanagawa—

He was pretty sure...that leaving the city would require walking through the ‘gate’.

Kamijou, who had been repeatedly manipulated by various organizations, had gone to many countries like England and Italy through questionable means, having even been thrown out of planes, needing to stick a parachute landing. That was why he didn't think there was any point in formalities like "having to walk out through the gate" at all.

However, even so, he didn't think there was such a thing as being able to leave Academy City using the subway.

In order to go outside, students had to prepare an application and a guarantor. Before they went out, they had to accept the procedure of getting a nano transmitter injected into their bodies.

They say the extra security protocols were countermeasures against industrial espionage, but to students, it gave the illusion that Academy City was actually a prison and that they were applying for parole. Therefore, was it even possible that they could’ve gone through all of that and not remember any of it?

That... Eh?

In the first place, why didn’t he realize something so important until now?

Anyway, what was today’s date again?

He realized that even such simple facts had become so vague for him and was suddenly filled with unease.

"Hey, hey, it's not like we’ve been hit by some mind-altering magic or psychological esper power, right?"

Kamijou touched his head with his right hand just to be on the safe side, but didn't seem to notice any significant change.

After all, his right hand could dispel any supernatural ability and restore the world to its proper form. If his right hand, named "Imagine Breaker," touched it, any illusion or the like should have been dispelled at once. However, it seemed like his memories and vision haven't been tampered with.

He began to relax about that, but then another bout of unease arose.

"I don't think I went through any procedure, no matter how much I try to think about it. I don't even think I took a subway at all..."

Was this really Ikebukuro? He looked around in a panic, wondering if he had mistakenly gone to the downtown area of District 15.

Then, in just a few seconds, he found a subway station entrance marked "Ikebukuro station.”

"Huh? Am I even more tired than I had realized…?"

Looking at Kamijou, who was breaking out in cold sweat, Tsuchimikado whispered quietly.

"(Calm down nyaa~ Kami-yan. I also feel like something is out of place here.)"

"(Hey now, don't tell me it's some trick you Anglicans are pulling!? If I get taken away somewhere again, I'm actually going to be held back a grade at this point...)"

“(If that were the case, I wouldn't have done any of this. I would have just kidnapped you quickly, nyaa. In any case, if this is some kind of attack, panic is what they would want you to feel, so pretend like you’re totally fine. This is perfectly normal, okay?)"

"(What about Aogami Pierce?)"

Kamijou focused on his friend who was just an ordinary person, despite being an esper, and Tsuchimikado straight up gave a thumbs up.

"(That’s not a problem, nya. He’s an idiot, so he probably has no inkling as to what’s really happening!)"

"(Wait, that's true.)"

Saying something like that made one wonder if they were really friends—

Aogami Pierce suddenly stopped and said to Kamijou and Tsuchimikado.

"Hmm? By the way, we never went through the “gate,” did we?"

"Ohhhhhhhhhh! I can't believe this guy just said it aloud!"

"Nyaa!! This guy really can't get with the program!"

Faced with inexplicable spite from his two evil friends, Aogami Pierce silently clenched his fists and prepared to defend himself while not even knowing why.

"Wait a minute! I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I can definitely at least read the mood! Say if some president’s voluptuous secretary, who’s wearing glasses and has an air of maturity, and some depressed-looking, blonde, Nordic girl appeared in front of my eyes, even if they looked like mother and daughter, I would politely say "did you sisters come to see the sights around here?" while desperately fantasizing about those two as my older and younger sister. See, I can read the mood on that level of making a paradigm shift and turning it into a paradise shift!"

He was probably trying to say that he could be polite enough to refer to an older woman as much younger than she actually is, but the entire message was soiled by his later words.

"As expected from Aogami Pierce. Choosing to be the middle sibling of three instead of being a lover—I'm impressed by the depth of your skills."

"The moment you use the words "depressed-looking" and "president's voluptuous secretary" while trying to explain how you can be polite to women, you’re just proving that you really can’t read the mood…”

"No, that’s the key. By imagining our positions in detail, we can make our delusions more realistic and our hearts more satisfied."

“Oh, I see you know your stuff! See, I’ve already fantasized away and came up with this. The two sisters are actually assassin sisters who were sent here to kill me, but thanks to that lucky pervert Kami-yan, they got their breasts fondled somehow, and as a result of their mental shock, the brainwashing that had been placed on them got lifted, and the plot of escaping their evil organization begins! Then, 80 years later, surrounded by a total of 128 heroines that I met in my journeys, including eternally young mothers, maid robots, and shota step brothers, I die from pure moe overload!

“That’s a surprisingly long life you live in that fantasy… More than that, don’t just casually put other people inside your own perverted fantasies!”

"Though, Aogami Pierce... in order to differentiate each person, it's important to set up costumes for everyone! Also, is there really a need for the "shota step brothers" thing, nyaa?"

"What are you talking about! I've said this before, but no matter if its a step sister, a stepmother, a stepdaughter, twins, widows, (omitted), soldiers, secretaries, lolis, shotas, tsunderes, cheerleaders, (omitted), non-humans, ghost girls, or animal-eared girls, I can accept them all! As long as you feel attraction, trivialities like gender cease to matter, don’t they?"

“Well, homosexuality is indeed a form of love, but the moment you do anything with a child, it’s a crime whether or not you’re a man or a woman.”

“Mmmm, and the dream that allows us to bypass the wall known as the law is called the second dimension. After all, I firmly believe that as long as it’s only in 2D, even lolis and shotas are totally acceptable. Of course, if you bring that dream over into the 3D world, you’re really sus.”

“You know, I had a phase where I thought like that as well, but now that I’ve seen some guy who manages to build a harem with every single girl in his class, his loli teacher who looks like she’s still in grade school, some little nun he found somewhere, and the ojou-samas in some fancy middle school, I’ve come to realize that the wall between 2D and 3D is basically nonexistent.”

“Exactly. And then he always uses the “I like older women” card to spread the fake news that he doesn’t have a harem or anything like that, like he’s some kind of messenger from hell! What’s more, even though there should be no way he could develop a relationship with her, he’s been calling my sister by her first name from the very start, nyaa!”

"Hey, watch it."

Because the debate seemed to be perpetually ongoing and because he felt like he was being insulted to his face, Kamijou decided to change the subject by voicing a concern he had had for some time now.

"Anyway... Who in the world are you?"

The three of them focused their attention to one place where there was a man who had somehow so naturally joined the conversation.

"Ah, hey guys. I'm Yumasaki Walker."

The teen, who seemed to be the happy-go-lucky type, cheerfully gave out his name.

"Wow, to see the Kamijou Touma in the flesh, it's such an honor to meet you!"

Part 2

Hikoboshi II | Zero Gravity Biological Impact Laboratory.

A young woman strongly felt that something was very wrong.

The shape of a certain city on Earth had become completely different from what it had been just a few hours ago.

The person floating weightlessly in space while curled into a ball was a girl who was probably in her late teens.

That alone was anomalous enough for "this world,” but the fact that she was wearing a junihitoe made that fact all the more so.

However, for the "world she resides within," what she was wearing wasn't anything too special.

It may be that the only thing that had become abnormal was our benchmark. At least, it was this girl who noticed the abnormality just now.

To her, the Earth, including its seven billion people, was just “something to observe."

Whether it was a war on the surface, the disappearance of national borders, or even a nuclear explosion, it was merely someone else's business to her.

For her, who was, in a sense, watching a live documentary while in the luxury of a first-world environment, such a disturbance would not go unnoticed.

Having a unique life rhythm, she woke up a few hours ago and found that the earth had changed significantly between the time she had gone to bed and the time she had woken up.

The only place she had been "connected to” on Earth—Academy City—had disappeared from Japan.

Although the surface of the earth looked like a neat little collage, to make a collage of its scale in real time would require a being on the level of a god, a demon, or someone who had completely surpassed the boundaries of esper powers.

Located in the western part of Tokyo, the isolated circular world of Academy City contained 2.3 million people.

The developed city within that circle had disappeared, replaced with a completely different topography.

After about 0.5 seconds of her debating whether to try contacting someone in Academy City to judge whether this was some sort of "attack” or if it was too rash to reveal her location just like that, a communication signal came to her as if it had been deliberately timed.

It had all the right codes and the same patterns as the hidden line she usually used, but the voice was of a man she had never heard from before.

[Hey.]

"Yo."

The girl, named Amano Kaguya, who spoke back in a rude way that was completely contrary to her appearance, did not show any particular worry about the disappearance of an entire city.

"So, who are you?"

[Ah, sorry, I'm Tsukumoya Shinichi. Nice to meet you.]

"That name doesn’t show up in either my memory or my records. So, what do you want from me, a person in space who has deliberately abandoned the Earth? Though in this situation, it seems more like I've been abandoned by the Earth."

[To be honest, in your eyes, your situation isn’t something to be so pessimistic over, right? You’re basically embodying that saying about how if there is a god that throws you away, there is a god that picks you up.]

"Using the word “god” to represent the people of Academy City? I see you really are an outsider."

As if she had figured something out, she smiled and spat out the words that got directly to the heart of the matter.

"Before we talk, I just want to confirm one thing... Are you a human being?"

[Well, I'll just say this. I sort of emphasize with Kazakiri Hyouka of Academy City.]

The man named Tsukumoya replied in a voice whose emotion could not be read, which was not to say it was emotionless.

It was like a voice that had mixed together and averaged the happiness, anger, and sadness of millions of people.

[If she is considered by someone to be "human," then I guess I could also be regarded as some nameless human.]

Part 3

Celty Sturluson was definitely not human.

She was a "Dullahan,” who were fantastical spirits who lived between Scotland and Ireland—and who visited the houses of the dying to declare their deaths.

They visit the house of a dying person with their severed head in their arms, in a two-wheeled carriage drawn by a headless horse called the Cóiste Bodhar. And if you carelessly opened your door, you would be showered in blood. As the main example of ominous harbingers along with banshees, they have been passed down various European mythologies and folklore.

Some stories claim that they were actually figures of fallen Valkyries from Norse mythology, but whether that was actually the case was unclear even to her.

It was not that she didn't know.

Precisely speaking, it was that she could not remember.

She had been robbed of her "head" in her homeland, and her memory of her own existence had disappeared from her.

In order to retrieve “that,” she had come to this place called Ikebukuro, following the faint signs of her own head.

The headless horse transformed into a motorcycle, the armor into a skintight suit, and lingered around the city for decades.

In the end, however, she was unable to get her head back, and her memory had not been restored to this day.

She already knew who stole her head.

She also knew who the person was that prevented her from finding her head.

However, in the end, she had not been able to find the whereabouts of her head.

Celty, now, thought that even if that was the case, it was okay, since she could be with the person she loved.

It was because she was able to live with people who loved her, and who accepted her for what she was.

If that was what happiness was, she reckoned she'd be better off living how she was living now.

A headless woman who hid her firm determination in her heart, replaced her non-existent face and expressed her will through her actions.

That was it -- the existence of Celty Sturluson.

Then, and now.

She was in an abandoned factory on her home turf of Tokyo, confronting "something" even less human than herself.

"So...? Who are you, and where did you come from?"

Even though he was talking like a gangster, there was an air that was completely different from that of normal street urchins.

"Though, it doesn't matter anyway. If you get in my way, I'll destroy you too."

She realized he must have gone through many kinds of hell, where he had to kill or be killed.

And that was a number that couldn't be counted using 2 or 3 digits.

The boy who was staring at her fiercely had a neutral face, but he was nothing more than a "boy"

That's right, he looked like a human being from the outside, as if he were a teenager.

He had beautiful pure white hair, that didn't look like it had been dyed.

No matter from where you look at it, it looked so natural, and yet everywhere you looked, it seemed to be full of some sort of scientific chemical, that sort of mysterious white.

Apart from that, he did look human in appearance, and didn't feel anything less than human.

The problem was, the actions he took, and the results of those actions.

A part of the floor of the abandoned factory was covered with steel plates, but there were many "human-shaped holes" in them.

To be more precise--

Heiwajima Shizuo. Half of his body was stuck in the floor of the abandoned factory, and he was not moving.

Although his body was still upright, his head was hanging slightly down. It was impossible to tell whether he was still conscious or not.

When Celty came into the factory for whatever reason, she heard a loud noise, and took a look inside. What she saw was the impossible to understand scenario of the man widely regarded as Ikebukuro's strongest, buried in the ground.

That "boy" -- The one who buried Heiwajima Shizuo into the ground, staring hard at her and said those words just now--

Even if he asked who she was and where she came from....---

She... she was the one who wanted to ask that!

Celty, who came just in time to witness the moment of Shizuo being buried into the ground.

Shizuo's body was hit by the teenager countless times with the metal plate, and as he finally stood up, several tons of industrial machinery floating in the air came crashing down at high speeds.

  In the next instant, the industrial machinery was violently compressed, and Shizuo's body was driven into the ground like a nail.    

"...Say, what the heck is going on with this product? From my experience, it should be the human body that would be compressed."

Startled, the boy shrugged and said to Celty.

"This isn't some cartoon about a mouse! I've blown so many people away so far, but this is the first time I've seen a guy who can hit a man-shaped hole in a metal plate. This is clearly beyond the scope of an ability that strengthens the flesh. It also doesn't look like he's got nitrogen or oxygen armor, or anything like that."

With a bored sigh, the white-haired boy asked Celty.

“Are you a “gemstone” or something? While I’ve heard that the “#7” is something like that, but at least now it makes sense why I was brought into do the dirty work—”

"Gemstone"? "#7?" What was he talking about?

"Don't play dumb."

Seeing Celty who seemed to have major doubts about it all, the teenager clicked his tongue and continued.

"I can tell from your outfit that you're related to Academy City. How can someone from outside the city have a suit that absorbs 100% of light?"

Facing the agitated teenager, Celty took her PDA out, and entered text with great trepidation.

[What's Academy City? Are you talking about Ōizumi-gakuen?]

He probably was thinking that he was being made fun of when he was shown the text, and so the boy silently reached his hand out and touched Celty's helmet.

"I can't sense the flow of blood in your vessels, or the movement of your muscles, so this is another type of special equipment. But it's been a long time since I've been played for a fool like this!"

The complaining teenager who had a cold tone--

Just like that, he blew the helmet off of Celty's head in an instead--!?--

Wha, wh-wh-wh, what was going on!?

Celty couldn't understand what was happening.

He didn't use gunpowder or anything like that. The helmet merely bounced off, as if it moved by itself.

If Celty had a head, she would have stared, eyes wide.

Similar to how the boy in front of her was looking at her.

"...Ah?"

Furrowing one of his eyebrows, the boy said.

"I thought I had overexerted myself and chopped your head off... What's this all about?"

[I, I know now! You're that, aren't you, a vampire! There are vampires I know who can use this kind of ability with your mind!]

"It's not Psychokinesis."

The white-haired teenager dismissed the vampire or whatever she was saying as a joke, and continued.

"What's up about that body of yours? Long range manipulation?... Doesn't seem like it either."

Facing the presence of something that had nothing from the neck up, the teenager maintained his hostility, and continued questioning.

"...Hey, I'll ask one more time."

"Who are you, and where are you from?"

That moment--

Creak. An exaggerated sound could be heard from the abandoned factory.

Then, as if it was from the depths of hell, the dull sound made the surrounding air stir.

"Oi..."

As Celty and the boy looked towards the source of the sound, the man in the bartender's uniform appeared, half of his body buried in the ground, craning his neck, looking relaxed.

"To be honest, I don't know what you've done to me... but you made me a bit dizzy."

Although he gave the impression that his body was all battered, he put his hands on the ground, pulling his body out, which had been knocked into the ground, with just the force of his palms.

"I don't know what happened, but I was blown away by the force of the blow.... Then, for some reason, my blood pressure suddenly shot up, and a headache came on..."

The white haired boy frowned at Heiwajima Shizuo, the man in the bartender's uniform, who continued to twist his neck by gently pressing on his head.

"Although I've used quite a bit of energy to force your blood flow backward, in the end, you've just got a headache. Are you really human?"

"Ah, forget it, it doesn't matter how you did it. After all, I've been done to death by some corrupt politician using Aikido or something... The important thing isn't that."

Shizuo, who had his blows all reflected back to him, was wounded by his own wrist, and then had his blood vessels and internal organs ruptured by the manipulation of the vector of his blood flow. Even then, he said it was trivial, with his voice boiling in anger.

"If it's just me, then I'd let it go. Although I don't know why, I suddenly succumbed to provocation and was beaten, but even this wouldn't make me so angry."

"Is that so!?"

Shizuo, who was staring at the white-haired boy with the face like a demon, continued without acknowledging Celty's surprised words.

"But, you smashed the helmet of my friend, who just happened to be walking by..."

"So you're saying, even if you get killed you won't have any complaints?... That's what you mean, right...?"

Part 4

Somewhere in Ikebukuro | A parking lot.

"It's Kamijou Touma..."

In front of the station wagon, she dropped the things she bought onto the floor and said, stunned.

"Hey? That..."--

Had he met her somewhere before?--

No, was it an acquaintance from before his memory disappeared...!?

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sheeeeeeeeeeeeet!"

It was a woman in her early twenties who was making that strange sound.

The moment their eyes met, an unprecedented light shone from her eyes, and then they made a strange sound.

"Kami...K-k-k-kami, Kamijou!? It's Kamijou, right!?"

"Eh? That's me, yes."

"I,I-I-I-I-I, I'm Karisawa Erika,it’s a real pleasure to meet you for the first time and please take good care of me!"

The woman named Karisawa Erika, who was holding the hand of the confused Kamijou, called out as she waved her hand back and forth.

"Alive! And walking!"

"Seriously, Karisawa, you're acting like a kid who met his dead grandmother using a time machine!"

The man named Yumasaki said that he'd "make sure someone would meet him,", so Kamijou and the others came to the station wagon, but--

"Hey... What the heck is going on here?"

"This isn't a high-precision cosplay or anything like that... It's the real deal! The real thing is right in front of me!"

"No, I don't get it at all.... Hey, why are you crying!?"

Kamijou Touma was swept deeper and deeper into the whirlpool of confusion as he stood in front of Karisawa, who began to spill tears.

"Karisawa's emotions are peaking."

"Haha, this is the first time I've seen someone this happy!"

In the wagon where they could hardly hear their conversations except for Kazawa's screams, the two men, Tokusa and Honda, tilted their heads and said.

"Who's that guy, Kadota?"

"I feel like I've seen him before... Judging by Karisawa's happiness, he's probably some young Seiyuu or something, right?"

"Ah! That's probably it!"

"Well, it's not a good idea to disturb them. Let's give them time to talk."

The two people in the driver's seat and shotgun who were nodding to each other, silently got out of the car, and left the parking lot.

Kadota didn't notice it.

That boy, in the novel that Yumasaki and Karisawa highly recommended and read- he said that he was "a good guy with backbone", the protagonist Kamijou Touma himself.

On the other hand, this Kamijou, the protagonist, was surrounded by his two evil friends, eyes closed, laughing.

"Heh heh.... Hahaha! Kami-yan... has finally learned the hax skill of "The big sister who he met for the first time but has already been flagged down"...?"

"Nya, besides, I like the "elder sister" trope anyway, nya, Kami-yan must be loving it, though I don't understand it well, the talents he has are only for the sake of getting popular..."

"Nonononono, nononono! It's not like that!"

Even if he wanted to defend himself, Kamijou could only keep saying "No," as he didn't know what was happening, but--

This was cut off by the woman named Karisawa.

"Well, it's obvious at first glance though! You must be Aogami Pierce, and Tsuchimikado Motoharu, right? Wow, that's amazing... it's the same as my imagination! You're both so tall!"

"Gwah!?" "Nya!?"

Aogami Pierce and Tsuchimikado Motoharu, who did not expect to receive pieces of the flag themselves, looked at each other, and panicked.

Leaving the two in their bewilderment, Karisawa decided to take advantage of when Aogami Pierce asked Yumasaki, “What kind of flag is she raising with me?” and said something that rang all sorts of alarms in Tsuchimikdo’s head.

"Well, you know. Tsuchimikado, you started wearing sunglasses when you changed your appearance, but now they've become a symbol of your identity, and in reality, they look real good on you!"

"!?"

Kamijou and Tsuchimikado both stiffened up.

They remained in this state, shied away from Karisawa and the others, turned around, and whispered, shoulder to shoulder.

"{Hey! This person knows about Angel Fall! So it really is your contact over there! What are you going to get me involved in this time!)"

"(No, no, no, wait, Kami-yan, wait! I'm just as confused as you are, I have no idea who this person is!)"

"(So, then... could she be from the Russian Orthodox Church? If she knows about Angel Fall, it's unlikely she's related to Academy City, no matter how you think about it!"

"(The key thing is that we don't know. I've told you about the glasses, Kami-yan, so the information must have leaked from you somehow!)"

"(Bruh, there is a literal spy here, and he doubts· THE· Kamijou Touma!? Obviously you’re more suspicious than I am!)"

"(Why would I be surprised if it's the information that I leaked, nya?)"

While they were throwing out their suspicions like this, Karisawa, who was approaching behind them, unnoticed, said this with a refreshing smile.

"It's alright, I'm not a spy for Gremlin or the Kihara family! At least, I'm not an enemy of GROUP!"

"I can't believe it, she just casually said two phrases relating to the dark side of Academy City, nya... Speaking of that, what's that Gremlin that can be said on the same level as those two?"

"Huh?"

The sense of disharmony was wandering in Kamijou's brain--

Hmm? Tsuchimikado, was he playing dumb? --

Gremlin. Tsuchimikado was, of course...--

..... Hmm?--

When was the last time he had spoken to Tsuchimikado... When did that come...?

At that moment, Kamijou's mind began to play a flashback of Tsuchimikado's face.

He appeared in a completely different air from the current Tsuchimikado, with an expression as cold as ice...

Hmm? Strange. If Tsuchimikado was here right now... really stra....nge?

The voice of Aogami Pierce rang out as if to ride the wave of confusion that was going on in the mind of Kamijou.

"Hey, hey, Kami-yan. I just realized that I can't see Endymion in Ikebukuro."

Endymion.

The space elevator, pride of Academy City.

This elevator, which extended beyond the atmosphere, should have been visible as a thin line, even at a distance as far as Ikebukuro-- But Kamijou knew that it would never be visible now.

"...What are you talking about, Aogami Pierce? Isn't Endymion already..."

"What? Did I, uh, say something strange?"

A chill spread behind Kamijou's back.

No.

Something was wrong.

He could feel a distinctive "dislocation" from both Aogami Pierce and Tsuchimikado.

"Right! Speaking of Endymion, there's something I wanted to ask you about Meigo Arisa!"

"Oh, you've got a good eye, Arisa is related to this! I, ah, think she'll come? This Endymion concert is really something to look forward to!"

"Huh? Is it time for that concert again?"

Aogami Pierce seemed to have become indifferent to the fact that he could not see Endymion, and returned to the unique conversation he was having with Yumasaki.

On the other hand, Kamijou was convinced by what Aogami Pierce had just said.

There was something wrong after all--

There was a misalignment between himself and Aogami Pierce's "perception"--

...Arisa's concert on Endymion, it had ended, clearly!

It wasn't that those two were imposters. They were undoubtedly the real Aogami Pierce and Tsuchimikado.

Even so, he was sure that something was "distorted".

It was obvious that they were the real people, but something was "distorted", so what did that mean?

Thinking about this, Kamijou suddenly realized something.

It was possible that he himself might have been "distorted" with the world--

The president.

The TV image he saw when he first came to Ikebukuro.

On that note, Kamijou didn't recognize the man who was supposed to be the president.

Gradually, the sense of dissonance became clear about all this.

It was like waking up and then gradually being able to distinguish between reality and dreams, the feeling of one's brain gradually becoming clear, and waking up.

Moreover, this city named Ikebukuro, or actually, the whole of Tokyo.....

Suddenly, he turned towards Karisawa and asked.

"That! What happened to the dragon... that attacked this city before?"

"Ah! You know about that, huh? I see, I see. You've already experienced "that", right? Have you experienced that honeymoon in Denmark?"

"Dragon? What are you talking about?"

Contrary to Kamijou who nodded his head like he had figured it out, Tsuchimikado's face was full of his confusion.

At that moment, his phone rang.

"Ugh, it must be Maika. I'm a little concerned about all this, but a call from a loli takes precedence over anything else, that's my 35th rule of life."

Tsuchimikado picked up his phone while walking to the corner of the parking lot. Looking at his back walking away, Karisawa said with passion:

"The fact that you can categorically say that your sister is also a loli is impressive. Having said that.... look at him, which time is this Tsuchimikado from?"

"Wait a second, explain quickly. What the hell is going on here?"

"Ahhh, mhm. Yeah, if you're unsure about a situation, it's natural that you'll feel uneasy."

Nodding her head while speaking in an understanding tone, Karisawa continued.

“Well actually, before we actually saw you, we were half-believing. We are probably the ones who could accept this the fastest, as I heard the details of the matter from the father of an acquaintance..."

Karisawa, who said this, looked at the entrance of the parking lot, and leaked out an "ah"

"Look, they're here. The person who can explain."

"Eh?"

When Kamijou looked over--

The man who was walking towards him, wearing a white gas mask in broad daylight in addition to a white lab coat, raised his hand in a friendly manner, and said.

"Aha! You're that "otherworlder"! Nice to meet you. How are you? (Written in English). Be careful not to get infected with bacteria that doesn't exist in your world and die suddenly!"

Looking at this man who greeted him with surprise, Kamijou--

"Defi..."

"Defi?"

Ignoring the "otherworlder" comment first, he shouted out what he was feeling at that very moment.

"You definitely have a connection with Academy City--!"

Part 5

A few minutes ago | In satellite orbit | Hikoboshi II | Zero Gravity Biological Impact Lab

"What about the "tunnel" with the other world?"

[There's a theory that the neutrino and Higgs particle experiments in both our worlds has something to do with this, but as far as I know, your world has a Magic God who has changed the world through the phases that filter the physical world, your boss has also forcibly teared apart the "thin film of the world", and our side has an existence known as the Dullahan, and began to overuse its powers. It's probably all these sorts of accidents that came together, that just happened to connect these two worlds together…]

"The accumulation of these unfavorable conditions, huh."

The girl who was near the top of the system called Academy City said with a sigh.

"Hng, let's not talk about whether parallel worlds exist or not, but this "tunnel" that just happened to be created is rather unbelievable. And it does not explain the fact that Academy City has disappeared off the earth."

Amano Kaguya, accepting the explanation of the man who called himself Tsukumoya Shinichi, nodded as she floated in mid air.

"However, the disappearance of Academy City on that side should be on this side."

[That's probably the case. However, not many people can remember and have that sense of dissonance. To fill that void of dissonance, it seems that the Earth where Academy City exists right now also has a 380 meter long aircraft named "Sky By Fire" flying around, like nobody's paying attention to it. No, maybe it's actually because of the appearance of this aircraft that you've suffered a loss.]

"I got squeezed out through that distortion, so I was transported here without going into the "tunnel"?"

[Yes, the "Sky by Fire" was originally developed by a company called Niblo in this world 50 years in the future. By connecting with a world like Academy City, which has technology a hundred or two ahead of its time, it was able to materialize in the world as a "thing that should exist". So basically, to replace that Queen of the Sky, and to achieve balance, the Princess of the Universe was chosen.]

Kaguya, who was floating upside down from the Earth, shrugged at Tsukumoya's words.

"Is that flattery or sarcasm? It's hard to read your feelings just from your voice."

[Even so, I'm still anxious right now. if the two worlds completely merge together, it'll become all kinds of bad.]

"If you look at it from the perspective of rapid development of science and technology, shouldn't it be a good thing for your world?"

[It's not like that. At the very least, there are tens of thousands of "Vampires" in this world. If the girl named Himegami, the carrier of "Deep Blood" from your side, comes here, the vampires will flock to her, and then we'll be in a crisis. We’ll need to sacrifice the girl's life to save the extinction of the vampires. But, what's troubling is that there's a lot of good people among the vampires. I can usually accept any outcome, no matter what, but what if someone I know, or an innocent girl dies as a result of an "outside" influence? That wouldn't be very interesting.]

Even for Kaguya, who knew about the dispute between Science and Magic, the sudden mention of a topic like "vampires" was unexpected, but--

But she, who looked at the world as it were someone else's business, dismissed it as "Of course that exists", felt relieved, and calmly accepted the request to help resolve the situation.

"Well, that's fine. I think it'll be interesting, just standing by and seeing how things develop, but I can't leave Academy City alone in this situation. So I'll help you get things back on track."

[That's a big help, thank you.]

"I'll take care of Tsuchimikado, who has come to this world. Probably because of his back and forth between the Magic and Science sides, and the outside and the inside of the City, his tolerance is quite big, as long as his sister is not in trouble. Even if he does look like that. I'm sure he'll accept this and help us."

"Ahah, that's true. Better start acting as soon as possible."

There was a slight pause here from Tsukumoya, and the presence of a certain man was mentioned.

[The troublemaker who's grasped the situation and accepted it readily is preparing to take advantage of it for his own personal gain.]

Part 6

Somewhere in the city | Orihara Izaya's office

"Well, even if it is Shizuo, it should be over by now."

In his office, Orihara Izaya, who was happily sitting in his chair, spinning around, talked about this, eyes shining.

"I'm having a hard time trying to make connections with the other world. Although we share the language of Japanese, there's a significant difference in science and technology, and there's 2 billion people in the Roman system alone."

Izaya, who seemed to be speaking to his assistant in the office, kept talking, half to himself, without waiting for a response.

"From a girl obsessed with urban legends named Saten Ruiko to the media queen of the other side of the world named Olay Blueshake, I was most satisfied to know someone is named "Loki". Me, I'd feel some empathy towards these types of people. But it seems he was recently betrayed, and got beaten up by his comrade. So even if he believes in what I say, he won't have any trust in me."

“If there’s someone who can trust you on a personal level, they can probably be considered a saint.”

Ignoring the sarcasm of his assistant, Izaya continued.

"In any case, with his cooperation, he managed to infiltrate part of the system in Academy City. After that, he gave a false command that relies on some condition to the most powerful Esper over there."

"False command?"

"Ahah, it's all true, up to the midway point at least. The two worlds are gradually merging together. And on top of that, add a hypothetical such as "If an important man goes to Academy City, the worlds will merge together. If that happens, the other world would be an obviously unnatural existence... For example, for the 10,000 or so clones, their existence will disappear, and other similar changes may occur." That kind of condition--"

There was a slight pause there, but he continued with a pleasant smile.

"The "strongest man in Ikebukuro", the point of deviation related to the metamorphosis of the world, rendered useless, with no chance of resurgence.... That kind of order. Additionally, I gave him the information that the man in the bartender's uniform is actually a nasty piece of work with a penchant for kidnapping young girls. Even if it is that physically overpowered Shizuo, in front of that "Level 5", who is literally beyond the stage of what you call an ability, he is nothing more than a baby."

"And who's this superpowered person?"

With a half-hearted look, the woman who was his assistant, Namie Yagiri, looked at the information in her hands.

"You write it as "One Way Road", and read it as Accelerator?"

"Yup. Well, it's the same as an animal's Japanese name as compared to its scientific name. Although names are used to represent identity, don't you think that this name suits him in every sense? And his old name is also very interesting."

"Compared to his actual ability name, "Vector Manipulation".... What is this?"

"It means what it means, literally. The ability to observe the "direction" of various phenomena, and manipulate them according to one's own will, such as kinetic energy, light, sound, heat, and electricity. The ability to trick the world, changing gravity energy into buoyancy, and in extreme cases, to manipulate the vector of time, in a limited sense.”

In the face of Izaya's exaggerations, Namie responded with a sigh.

"Even though you don't understand the concept of time very well, you still said that..."

"It's that sort of illogical ability. Although it's probably logical for a place like Academy City, in our world, it's something beyond our logic."

"Illogical ability, huh."

Namie narrowed her eyes slightly, and said with a hint of annoyance, as if she recalled something.

"That person’s "shadow" is no more logical than he is."

Part 7

An abandoned factory

"If I had complaints about being killed, I wouldn't have come here."

The white haired boy replied with a bored, but serious tone, saying something that reeked of self-deprecation.

"I never thought I'd hear such brave words after all this."

"....."

"You're not a normal human being. If you obediently lie back down, your chances of survival will grow."

In contrast to Shizuo, who emerged, veins bulging, the white-haired teenager kept a cold expression.

Celty, in the middle of those two people, firmly interrupted.

[No, wait a minute. Why are you doing this to Shizuo!]

"Why? It's just a job."

Speaking indifferently, the white-haired teenager lightly put his foot on the floor of the factory.

The next instant, the "action and counteraction" that existed in Celty's own brain, that common sense, completely collapsed.

The iron plate that lay on a part of the abandoned factory bounced up and began to turn in the air magnificently, as if it was dancing.

"And, if you get in the way, you'll get destroyed. I've said this before, right?"

The white haired teenager pushed the iron plate gently in the direction of Celty.

Then, as if the rotational force of the plate became propulsive force, it shot at a straight line towards Celty.

A direct hit with the iron plate that weighed dozens of kilograms onto a normal human wouldn't be something that you could shake off.

But, Celty wasn't human, and she definitely wasn’t normal.

Countless shadow tentacles reached out from her own body, and caught the iron plate that was flying at high speed.

"!"

Looking at Celty's shadows, the white-haired teenager narrowed his eyes slightly.

"...What, is that?"

If a normal person had seen it, they would have been open-eyed in shock, but the teen wasn't ordinary in any sense.

He changed his expression as if he had seen a strange cat, nothing more, and he then continued with a soft tone.

"...Do you use the same power as that #2?"

Celty muttered to herself, hearing the teenager's words--

What the hell was this #2 and #7 just then!?--

Nevermind, she had to suppress him first.

Celty immediately stretched out her shadow, and tried to wrap it around the boy's body at high speeds.

However, he dodged it with a jump that was beyond the physical limits of a human, and lightly slapped away one of the tendrils that got close with his left hand.

"...."

In an instant, the front end of Celty's shadow started spinning around, disappearing as if it had been swept into a tornado.

Uwah--

What was that feeling she felt just then!?

It wasn't a natural disappearance, as it took Celty's own will to disperse her shadows.

It was because she felt a creepy feeling, something like the flow of power being doubled and sent back in full. She judged the danger in an instant--

This guy… He really is using psychokinesis?--

This wasn't good, as this was much more powerful than even the vampires she knew.

Contrary to the anxious Celty, the teenager's body language didn't give away any signs of anxiety at all.

Maybe he had experience fighting against an opponent similar to herself before.

If that was the case, it would be impossible to maintain a dominant position here, right?

Would he allow him to surrender? To retreat? As she was contemplating that--

"Oi."

The voice of Shizuo rang out, and both Celty and the teenager's attention turned his way.

Then, Shizuo picked up the remains of the vending machine that had somehow been abandoned in this abandoned factory.

"Your opponent... Is meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!"

In the next instant, the vending machine flew towards the teenager with substantial force behind it.

The action taken by the teenager in response was--

Ignored.

The teenager once again looked at Celty, and assumed the attitude that there was no need to respond to Shizuo's attack

However, in realty, the moment in touched the special "barrier" thinly covering his body, the vending machine jumped back like a bouncy ball hitting a wall--

Shizuo!

Although Celty hurriedly stretched her shadow out, it failed to reach him.

Those who are immersed within their own abilities shall drown in them. The overwhelming force that matched this metaphor was heading for Shizuo's body--

"Ora!"

And with that, Shizuo struck it again--

....What?

"Ah?"

Even the white haired teenager couldn't help but look back at his opponent.

This teenager, so far, had bounced back all kinds of enemy attacks with his "ability"

He had experienced multiple crises before. Such as, people who could nullify attacks, people with special energy such as the "shadow", as well as getting overwhelmed with attacks from different dimensions.

 But was there anyone who could forcefully reflect an attack back by using only the force of his hands?

Although he observed a flow of a force field, he didn't think that he was using any sort of ability--

What was going on? Who the hell was this guy?

He felt that this level of sturdiness was a bit weird, never mind the fact that this was beyond the realm of humans in the first place. Although there had been battles with durable opponents before, this man's body was half the size of the leader of Skill Out that he fought before, so how the hell could he do such things that were so far from common sense?

Although he thought so, he soon realized that it was pointless.

Because even if he could get the vending machine back at him, he could just reflect it back again - totally risk free.

Just as he predicted, the vending machine bounced back at Shizuo--

And then, once again, the man in the bartenders uniform punched it back.

"...."

Crack! Pop! Once again, the exaggerated sounds of destruction resounded throughout the abandoned factory.

Between the bartender and the white-haired teenager, a vending machine rally began.

And, the speed of it was gradually increasing.

But in the end, it finally stopped.

It wasn't because the man in the bartender uniform had run out of energy. Instead, it was because the vending machine couldn't bear the brunt, and finally broke apart in mid-air.

"...."

"...."

There was a silence, with only the sound of the bartender-suited man's breathing that echoed through the factory.

Then, the white haired boy began to take a step towards him, and he said casually.

"Honestly, people who boast of their strength I see as fools usually... But, the truly outstanding ones are enviable. Since I have no need for physical exercise over here."

"...."

"If I could have 5% of your strength...."

In the teenager's mind, the face of a certain spiky-haired teenager flashed through.

He put on a bitter face, and said with a distracted look.

"Though I probably wouldn't be who I am now in any sense."

And then, for the first time, the teenager spoke of his reason for taking that step forward.

"Although it may seem a bit unreasonable.... But for today and tomorrow, if you were to wander around freely, that guy I know may disappear from the world."

The white haired teenager continued, as he walked over, step by step.

Was it because he was in an overwhelmingly favorable position, or was it because of some other reason that he became more talkative?

"Direct reversal of the flow of brain signals. If I keep your consciousness suppressed for three days, that'll be enough. However, if you're careless, you might die... Although I'm not going to apologize, if you've got any resentments to express, I'll listen to them."

However, Shizuo replied to this with a smile.

"Although I can't understand the implications of this all, this is extremely unreasonable."

Despite the blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, Shizuo persisted.

"But I can't fall like this without so much as a whimper. I'll lose my face against the spiky haired boy who beat me yesterday."

"....Spiky haired?"

Hearing that word, a bad feeling flashed through the teenager's mind.

But, thinking about it wasn't going to help, so he took another step closer.

Celty, overwhelmed by the vending machine rally, finally realized that Shizuo was in true danger.

Up to now, has Shizuo ever been pushed against the wall like this?

Whether it was getting sent flying by a dump truck, a train, a hundred people trying to cut his head off, getting attacked by a huge tiger, even though he could survive all that, he was in a truly life-threatening situation now.

Heiwajima Shizuo was about to be killed by someone who came out of nowhere.

Something that seemed as ridiculous to Celty that it could have been a joke to her was happening before her eyes, and she was having a hard time trying to understand it.

Celty looked at the Shizuo whose body was covered in wounds--

Part 8

Izaya's office

"To be honest, I'm still only half convinced."

Namie looked at the information in the laptop and said once again.

"Connecting with parallel worlds. That's an idea so old that even SciFi novels don't use it much anymore."

"You're the one who's delved into the mythical realm and studied the head of the Dullahan, so are you sure you can say that?"

"Eh, course I do. The head of the Dullahan is an actual thing, and it's been confirmed."

"And in fact, it's also true that people from the other world have come here, right?"

Izaya, who said this, handed over some papers to Namie.

"Kamijou Touma, Tsuchimikado Motoharu, Aogami Pierce. These names don't have any sort of records in this world. These three people, who existed in Academy City, came to this world through the subway in order to transfer something."

"High school students?"

"They aren’t just any high school students. Especially this kid, Kamijou. He’s a real hero who has saved the world multiple times. It's probably only in a world of advanced science as well as magic that a person can become that sort of savior. For me, I'm very interested in the kind of state such a rare human being is living in."

Looking at Izaya, who was laughing, Namie said, bored.

"It's like you think you're a god. You don't even have all the information about this world yet, so can you really understand the information about this so-called "other world" correctly?"

Although she was still doubtful about the connection with this other world, she had experience of studying the existence of an unnatural being such as the "Dullahan" using the common sense of science, so she might not have been so doubtful if not for that.

"Ahah, the intelligence level in that world is much higher. It's a world where you can even see the memories of the dead if you want to collect it. It's even easier to get information there than in this world."

Then, the corners of his mouth lifted in pleasure, and he said something unbelievable.

"In fact, I think it's fine to let the worlds merge like this. I think it's better for them to be integrated. When a new variable or an alien existence that is completely unmanageable appears in front of them, what kind of action will the humans take? Even if it's just limited to the people in this city, if I can observe them, one by one, it'll be enough for me to enjoy this life."

"Although what you said was that you've abandoned the struggle with a kindly tone, what you just said was extremely bad."

"There are a lot of interesting people over there too. Especially the Kihara clan's way of life, which makes me wonder about new possibilities for human beings. I don't think it's an exaggeration to call it beautiful."

"I think it's sad that these children are being treated like precious specimens by people like you. ...Eh?"

While looking at the information, Namie sarcastically said that, but she frowned suddenly.

"Hey, what's this "Aogami Pierce" thing?"

In response to Namie's light question, Izaya looked up at the ceiling, and giggled.

"Ahaha, this kid's information is well collected."

Then, without looking at any of the info, he began to talk about it.

"He's an Esper who freeloads in a bakery in Academy City. Although he's the class president of Kamijou Touma's class, he's also known as one of the "three idiots", along with Kamijou and Tsuchimikado. He's a strange fellow who's over 180cm tall. He takes supplementary classes, but not because he's dumb. Instead, it's because he wants to have as much interaction with his class teacher as possible. The possibility of this is pretty high. He’s been questioned regarding his occupation 43 times… no, it would be around 40 times regarding the time from when he came over to this city."

Without pause, Izaya droned on, as if he were speaking a tongue twister about the boy named Aogami Pierce.

Instead of boasting his knowledge--- it seems like he was trying to hide something.

"Ah, yes, that guy's fetishes concerning the opposite sex really is impressive. "I have a wide range of acceptance when it comes to women: not just fallen female main characters but also foster sisters, foster mothers, foster daughters, twins, widows, senpais, kouhais, fellow classmates, teachers, childhood friends, ojou-samas, blondes, brunettes, brown-haired, silver-haired, long-haired, medium-haired, short-haired, girls wearing bobby pins, wavy-haired, twintails, ponytails, one-sided ponytails, twin braids, ahoges, curly-haired, girls in sailor clothes, blazers, judogi, kyuudougi, kindergarten nurses, maids, policewomen, witches, shrine maidens, nuns, military women, secretaries, lolis, shotas, tsunderes, cheerleaders, stewardesses, waitresses, goth girls wearing black, goth girls wearing white, girls in China dresses, frail girls, albino girls, fantasists, girls with split personalities, queens, princesses, thigh-high socks, garter belts, girls who cross-dress as guys, girls who wear glasses, girls who wear an eyepatch, girls who wear bandages, girls in school swimsuits, one-piece swimsuits, bikinis, V-shaped bikinis, bikinis that barely cover anything, youkai, ghosts, animal-eared girls, etc.- any female is within my area of acceptance." That seems to be his mantra. Although some aspects of the opposite sex aren't in my personal domain, I admit that he is also an existence that can expand the possibilities of mankind."

"That guy, and you as well, who actually memorized that all, are perverts."

Namie said with an icy gaze, flipping through the information, page by page, in contrast to Izaya reciting it.

"And then?"

"And then, what?"

"That, the real name of that kid Aogami Pierce. It's not in the file."

"...."

Orihara Izaya was silent."

It was probably the first time she had seen him with such a quiet expression.

"There are various things... When downloading information from there, that kid's information was broken in a few places."

"What the heck, you don't even know his real name, but you've got the nerve to claim that you've been collecting information well!"

"Well. Although I don't think this kid is anything special, but as a human being who loves everyone equally, let me show you."

And so, Izaya took his laptop out and connected it with a special cord.

After a long list of unusual codes floated across the screen, a data file detailing some kind of roster was displayed.

"This is the roster of students in Kamijou's class. If you compare that with other conditions, you can immediately find the real name of Aogami Pierce, or something..."

In the next moment, the screen was completely flooded with images of flowers.

At the flower garden in the middle of the screen, a cartoon image of a character wearing a bouquet of flowers on her head appeared, and text emerged from the dialogue box that extended from there.

"Stop right there! Inappropriate access behavior!"

"Ah, fuck."

Sensing something, Izaya hurriedly shut the laptop down, and cut the line.

"Fuck me that was dangerous! It was almost like I've been stripped naked on this side!"

"Are you not going to run?"

""Anti-skill", the policing unit of Academy City, won't come to Ikebukuro. I don't think I need to even mention the police force of Ikebukuro here."

After that, Izaya tried various means of getting into touch with Academy City, but--

The information about Aogami Pierce was obstructed or corrupted before he reached it, and so the key information was not obtained.

"Does that mean that this kid is actually related to some sort of super important confidential information?"

In response to Namie's question, Izaya just shook his head.

"If that were the case, the information itself would have been protected. The reason we can't get information about it so far is because, although it seems far-fetched to say this, is all by chance. No, is it possible that there's a protection system in Academy City that pretends to be like this? Well....but...."

After a brief moment of confusion, Izaya stood up with a soft sigh.

"There's no helping it. He's here in person. Let's go collect some fresh information."

Although he seemed to be whining, his expression was that of a smile.

With a face full of anticipation as if he had never seen a new "human" before, Orihara Izaya happily left his office.

After calmly watching him leave, Namie said softly.

"This is looking like the pattern where he comes back empty handed. You reap what you sow."

Part 9

Somewhere in Ikebukuro | Station Wagon

"Isekai!? This Ikebukuro?"

Karisawa said that "it would be bad for Aogami Pierce to hear", and so she brought him back to the station wagon. After hearing the explanation from the man with the gas mask, Shingen Kishitani, Kamijou Touma accepted it, half in doubt.

"Though, now that you say it, I feel like I was involved in a similar incident yesterday..."

"You're the one who's in the other world to us. The company I belong to, Niblo, has been conducting various investigations to this, and both the technological might of Academy City and the magic outside of it are excellent. The idea of sending a corporate spy there was on my mind, but I thought it would be impossible to hide the discrepancy since we're of a different world, so I cancelled it."

"If it were you, you probably won't feel any sense of being out of place even if you were walking around the research area..."

The right hand of Kamijou clenched tightly, after Shingan said that, and stared at him.

"Whoa!? What!? What's the matter!?"

"Mhm. That's the "Imagine Breaker" that's become a topic of conversation over there. So. Since you're here in this world, wanna try dissecting it?"

"I refuse!"

Shingen, a fully grown adult, proceeded to prostrate himself while in the back seat of the station wagon before Kamijou, who had merely given the only sensible response.

"Please think about it!"

"Although there have been various people who have turned their sights on this right hand so far, this is the first time I've heard of such a direct request from someone sitting right in front of me! How!? Don't tell me that this is how this world operates!?"

Facing the confused Kamijou, Karisawa replied.

"Well, this guy is pretty special. His son is a special guy who likes girls who's got nothing above their neck."

"What kind of hobby is that!? Even Aogami Pierce's list of fetish doesn't include it!:"

"Ah, I guess I'll put it in the category of "not a human" for now."

Putting aside the Karisawa who calmly roasted someone, Shingen pressed on the subject of Kamijou's right hand.

"Money isn't a problem, we've got all the money you need! It's not as if we're going to cut that hand off and take it away. As long as we can do all sorts of experiments with you under anesthesia, we can guarantee a minimum of 20 million yen!"

"Twenty million!?"

After hearing the exact amount, Kamijou's brain circuit short circuited for a while--

Damn it... if this was about a billion or two, something that's extremely far from the reality Kamijou knew, it wouldn't have any effect, but when it comes to the ten thousands of yen, it felt surprisingly realistic...!--

Ahhh.... Speaking of this, how much would the repair of his dorm cost? With that big hole caused by Birdway and Lessar...---

And, that much money would render his food problems...

It seemed like the magic of money couldn't be dispelled by his right arm, and Kamijou staggered drunkenly in delusion--

Eh? Wait a minute. Food expenses?

The moment he thought of that word, "food", his mind went straight to, "Touma, where's the food", and the scenario where she made her way through 20 million yen worth of food in half a month. Kamijou couldn't help but shake his head vigorously as he thought of that.

Nononononono, he needed to pull himself together!--

If he believed that money on that sort of magnitude could have any effect on his misfortune, he had to destroy that illusion of his!

Kamijou slapped his face with his right hand, and awakened his consciousness with the sensation and clarity that came with the pain.

"...Well, better forget about it. Knowing me, the 2nd day I get that amount of money, I'll need to pay a 20 million yen compensation, or something will eat it, etc. That's my fate."

Although he hadn't yet given up on life, he had given up on his own fortune, and faced with the Kamijou who carried such sadness in his eyes, Shingen shook his head in pity.

"Ah... So that's the case. It's nothing, even if you hadn't said that, I understand. If you can't save someone who was in crisis during the time when your freedom of use of your right hand was taken away, you'll regret it for the rest of your life, right...! How noble!"

"Ah, no, I'm not thinking about such a grand thing..."

"Anyway. We'll want to avoid the cause that will be caused by the merging of the worlds. If all the people of the Academy City group, including you, can go back, the distortion will be more or less reduced, right?"

Nodding vigorously, Shingen once again began to explain the situation

"Actually, a boy who called himself Jörmungandr was raging all over the place with huge wounds covering his body, but apparently a group of vampires somehow appeased him, and there was also a woman who called herself Hel who could control the 'cause of death,' but a gang of immortals managed to calm her down."

"No, I don't get it at all, even if you tell me that."

Ignoring Kamijou, who was tilting his head, Shingen continued.

"Then, there's also...two people who are also confirmed to be here."

"Who? Do I know them?"

"One of them, I hear, is someone you know quite well."

At that instant-- The window of the station wagon made a clanging sound.

Looking over, what he found was Tsuchimikado, who was looking confused.

"What's wrong, Tsuchimikado?."

Kamijou opened the window of the car and looked over, while Tsuchimikado whispered.

"Ah... Just now, the boss gave me an order, nya."

"Order?"

"It seems like... someone's impersonating the Board of Directors, and are issuing false orders.”

A stuttering Tsuchimikado finally managed to spit out the true identity of one of the “visitors of Ikebukuro.”

"As a result of those false orders, the "1st Ranked" came over here, and because communications are unstable, I can't connect to him... so we'll have to get in direct contact with him and drag him back before shit gets real."

Part 10

Abandoned Factory

"....?"

The white-haired teenager stopped in his tracks, as he felt a powerful change in the flow of power behind him.

Turning back--he found half the factory filled with "darkness".

It was the large amount of shadows that Celty Sturluson sent forth, swallowing up the entire abandoned factory.

Shizuo, who saw this, shouted out!

"You fucking idiot... Celty! This is my fight, so hurry up and return it to me!"

[I refuse!]

"Wh..."

Seeing Celty, who was typing in words with an unprecedented forcefulness, Shizuo couldn't say anything--

Honestly, it was impossible to understand what was going on--

Because it was not understandable, they had to stop this situation in order to understand it--

If there was any chance of stopping it, it would only be herself.

Celty, who was calmly weaving those words in her mind, wanted herself to calm down.

However, the passion that came out was completely uncontrollable--

The most important thing was....

The headless horseman, Celty Sturluson, clenched her fists--

How could she stay silent as she saw a friend being treated like that, right in front of her eyes!

For her, this was an extremely rare emotion.

Pure "Anger"

That was to say, a clear "hostility" towards the boy in front of her.

She didn't think she could win.

Her opponent was an existence that was outside of common sense, even to her as a Dullahan.

And she feared that he hadn't even shown his full strength yet.

Even so, the option of abandoning Shizuo there and running away on her own did not even exist in the mind of Celty at the moment.

She was a Dullahan. A fairy who didn't become a human.

As a result of her integration into human society and learning about humans through various mediums, the "human" heart that had developed inside her had made up its mind to attack the threat in front of her.

And since that was the case, it didn't matter if that "ordinary human being" made fun of her for being tactless.

"You don't have a head, but you still make such a determined face. Well, at least it shows that you understand the situation better, as you're not getting on the ground and begging."

And after those words dripping with sarcasm--

The white haired teenager manipulated the vectors of the wind around him, and instantly whipped up a tornado.

He compressed it into a blade of wind, and shot it straight at Celty.

However, the protective shadows completely blocked the wind, and moved forward, through the new shadows being generated from within.

The shadows had taken root in every corner of the factory, and the half-hearted wind attack probably wouldn't budge at all.

"..."

Bang! The white haired boy understood the situation. Bang! And he tapped the floor with his foot.

After that, he somehow manipulated vectors to allow the steel in the abandoned factory to float, one by one, and then as if they were being pulled to his side, they flew.

And then, as if to dust off the steel off his body, he knocked them, one by one.

The simple action made the iron accelerate like a cannonball, and with the momentum of a rain of bullets, they flew towards Celty.

However, all of them were absorbed as if they fell into a swamp, and the shadow continued to expand, like a giant slime.

"Tch... it really is the same sort as the #2!"

While clicking his tongue, the white haired boy raised his hand to the sky.

The wind began to compress in front of him at a high density, creating a small body of plasma.

Just as the teenager was about to throw the plasma at the "shadow" without hesitation--

"Take this!"

Shizuo threw one of the nearby chunks of iron, the same way he had through the vending machines before.

However, if it were only on this level, the teenager would not panic and misfire the plasma.

"Watch and learn, old man."

Of course, his reflection worked properly, and bounced the iron back just like before.

However, it was a little different than before.

Shizuo, after throwing the piece of metal, burst forward towards his opponent himself.

Then, in the same way, he hit the iron back at him.

If that was it, the results would not differ from before.

And because there was no difference--

Shizuo hit the piece of iron into the ground.

"!"

The piece of iron completely destroyed the ground, and stabbed itself into the underground warehouse of the factory.

And the white haired boy started to fall.

If it was only this, it wouldn't be considered on the level of a crisis.

However, when he felt that the ground in front of him was darker than he thought, he couldn't help but click his tongue.

He sensed it.

Was it that Celty read Shizuo's intention, or was it that she was prepared to take hold from the very beginning- passing through the cave where half of Shizuo's body had been buried into, she filled the ground with a number of large shadows.

Then, just a moment before he was going to escape from the air through vector manipulation--

The shadows that covered the top, bottom, left and right of the abandoned factory wrapped up the boy completely.

"...What's this, huh?"

What was in front of Shizuo's eyes was a giant sphere that was about the size of a small car.

It didn't make contact with the ground, but it was completely stationary in the air.

[For the time being, I kind of locked him up....]

Instead of having the shadows directly twisting on him, it was akin to being locked up in a soap bubble.

Judging that he could manipulate kinetic energy freely, she didn't move the sphere immediately, but just kept it stationary in the air. Of course, if he kicked at the walls, he would be able to generate energy, right? So that was why Celty divided the sphere into dozens of layers, and wrapped it up like a Russian matryoshka doll.

Even if an inner layer was destroyed, a new one could be generated from one of the outer layers to cover it immediately. Although she had prepared for this specifically, nothing happened yet.

If this was ordinary matter, no matter what kind of technique was used to construct it, as long as the teenager used his ability, he would be able to tear it apart easily.

However, this was no ordinary matter that wrapped up the teenager.

It was "shadows"

Originally, shadows were areas where there was no light, and since they weren’t even considered matter, they didn’t have mass, or thickness.

Celty was manipulating the "shadow" as if it were an object with mass - the important thing here was that although "thickness" could be created through this, the concept of "thickness" could also be ignored.

This was something Celty herself did not realize, that she was actually able to materialize her shadows with varying degrees of thinness.

In other words, it could be kept at zero thickness, but also could be stacked infinitely to increase its strength.

Therefore, if Celty Sturluson had actually knew about this--

The "Shadow" could be a spear and a shield more powerful than any other material on this planet. It could even be the thread used to connect Earth and Mars together.

It was a power that had completely surpassed the common sense of science and the laws of physics. Celty herself was not able to understand it properly. It was a shadow of absolute strength that was created unconsciously.

In order words, she was able to do this because of the anger she felt.

If the underground doctor, who lived with her, knew about this, there would be no doubt that he would be jealous of Shizuo.

"This, how are we going to deal with him?"

[I don't think he can be defeated by physical means. Let's just wait for him to enter a state of hypoxemia.]

Celty made the density of the shadow bigger than usual, thus blocking the supply of oxygen by blocking the air.

This "suffocation attack" created by the interweaving and overlapping of various special conditions could be said to be one of the rare weaknesses of the invincible reflection.

If it were a normal person, this would be enough to decide who was the winner, and the loser. But--

This young man was the existence known as the #1 of Academy City -- [Accelerator]

He was another existence that wasn't ordinary, even within the category of Espers.

Bang..... Celty and Shizuo felt the sound of the air shaking.

In the next instant, alongside a violent sound of destruction, the top of the black sphere was torn by something unseen.

"What!?"

This....

Next to Shizuo who shouted out loud, the headless Celty's "vision" felt it.

From the top of the sphere, two colorless wings grew out--

....He hasn't even shown his full strength yet!

The thing that destroyed Celty's shadow, something that ignored the laws of physics, was indeed something "from another dimension" that also did not obey the laws of physics.

What was this... this thing, it was almost like...!

Celty probably associated the pair of wings with something else.

Just before she continued to think about it, the crack of the sphere widened, and the invisible wings, (were they white or black?), were rendered in another color for just a moment--

"Please don't fight over me anymore! Says Misaka as Misaka remembers the lines she recently saw in the morning at the theatre, and tries to pretend to be the heroine in the swamp!"

Such words, which were completely incompatible with the atmosphere of the scene, resounded throughout the abandoned factory.

When Shizuo and Celty looked over, there was a girl of about 10 years of age standing there, with an ahoge on the top of her head.

"A kid...?"

In contrast to Shizuo, who frowned, Celty, who saw who the girl was, panicked and took out her PDA, pointing it at her.

[I told you to wait near the motorcycle!]

"Who is it?"

Before answering Shizuo's question, Celty typed something in order to ensure the girl's safety.

[It's dangerous! Get out of here!]

But the girl, looking up at the black sphere, asserted with her hands crossed.

"It's not dangerous anymore, says Misaka as Misaka tries to send the words of objective truth to the strange sphere with hopeful observation."

The young girl had the voice of a child, but with the words of an old man.

Then, in the next instant, the "transparent wings" disappeared completely from Celty's vision, and the voice of a teenager who had become tired in every sense came from inside the sphere.

"Oi... I'm no longer in the mood for messing around. Hurry up and get rid of this damn ball."

A few minutes later.

After the shadow cage was lifted at the urging of the girl who called herself Misaka, the boy stared at them but didn't attack.

"Why are you here, you idiot?!"

“Because of numerous reasons, announces Misaka, Misaka somehow came into this world, but there were also signals from a satellite that talked about how several people were involved in a conspiracy."

"Say it so that I can actually understand."

The teen said, annoyed. Shizuo had to have suppressed his anger and urge to interject from behind.

"Hey...Although you guys seem to be pushing the topic on your own over there, I'm totally not convinced...."

Probably because there was a kid in front of him, he held back desperately. But the moment Celty tried to calm Shizuo down, whose face was twitching with anger--

"The reason is Orihara Izaya."

Because of what that girl said, Shizuo's movements halted.

"Misaka says as Misaka tries to convey this crucial piece of information that's at the core of everything."

"What are you on about, Last Order?"

Then, the girl named Last Order weaved around Shizuo's back and continued.

"It's all lies! About this person wandering around and the network, they're lies! They're all false orders given by that person named Orihara Izaya, pretending to be Academy City's Board of Directors, says Misaka as Misaka tries to peek at a certain person to see if his reaction is different than normal when he sees Misaka hiding behind this bartender, as Misaka peaks Misaka’s head out to confirm."

"Cut the bullshit and tell me."

After a few minutes, after the girl had explained everything, Celty's shoulders slumped--

In the end, there he was again, with his usual evil plans!

The man who did this thing purely because he hated Shizuo was none other than Orihara Izaya.

She understood this, but this time she actually really wanted to beat him up.

However, above that, there was a worry.

If she had that kind of thought, what kind of boiling state was Shizuo's mind in right now?

"Seriously, anyway, you should say sorry to the person you hurt first, Misaka says as Misaka thoughtfully teaches you the common sense of society."

Faced with the teenager who kept his face stiff, the young girl urged him to apologize to Shizuo and the others.

Just before the teenager said something, Shizuo said.

"Ahah... No, no need to apologize...."

Even though the #1 kid didn't use his ability, he could feel that Heiwajima Shizuo's anger vector had completely switched direction. But it also increased by several times then when he was facing him.

"Do you know where that fungus Izaya is?... Girl."

The girl answered without panic to the face of Shizuo, who was seeping with a ghost-like anger.

"Although I don't know why, because Hikoboshi II has also come to this world, I can observe his location in detail if I connect to the network! Misaka says confidently."

Part 11

——

Distortion.

The reason for all this was the distortion of space-time.

For example, even if Yumasaki or Karisawa went to Academy City tomorrow or yesterday, and met Index, but didn't realize it was her, that could be explained by that phrase, that it was all caused by the distortion of space-time.

In the past, when Yumasaki was thrown into the other world called Dengeki Gakuen, there had been a miracle, where he had met Index, and Burning-Eyed Shana themselves - perhaps the Yumasaki who went to Academy City was actually the Yumasaki from before in that point in time, so during his time in "that other world", that was why he judged Index to be a cosplayer.

And in this situation with distorted space-time--

Yumasaki and Karisawa were still going their separate ways.

"So, if you get Shokuhou-chan to remove the psychological scars of Awaki-chan, would it allow her to become a Level 5? Kamijou, try doing that please."

"What good would that do to Misaki-chan, huh?"

"Nonono, what are you talking about! And who's Awaki!?"

"She's a shotacon girl!"

"Even if you say that!"

While Tsuchimikado was trying to find out where Accelerator was, this argument continued. Shingen left the station wagon, saying that he had to go back to the office to report on the situation, and Aogami said that he was going to meet some girl on the Otome Road and left, so only Kamijou was left to savor this unreasonable situation--

Why do these people know so much about Kamijou and Academy City?

"Actually, I have even more questions..."

When Yumasaki tried to take out some books, he accidently dropped his backpack, and several Light Novels dropped out of the opened pack.

"Huh? What books are these?"

Seeing the cover that said "A Certain Magical Index," Kamijou frowned.

Index of Forbidden Books. A word that he often heard. So adding that "Index" on there was pretty redundant.

T/N: The Japanese title reads: "Toaru Majutsu no Kinsho Mokuroku", with Kinsho Mokuroku, with that meaning "Index of Prohibited Books", but there's Furigana above those Kanji, which tells the reader that it's supposed to be pronounced "Indekkusu", so that's why it's redundant

And, the cover art of these books of the characters all matched with the people he knew, even the outfits.

"Ah, this is..."

While Yumasaki was thinking of how he should explain it, Kamijou picked up one of the books nearest to him, and turned the pages noisily.

Then--

"W....what the hell is this!?"

Electrical current swam throughout the grey matter in Kamijou's brain.

Actually, it was the same kind of shock, as the time when he was gently hit by Misaka Mikoto's electrical attacks.

After seeing the word "Kamijou" in the novel, reading it with a frown, he found that it was as if his previous experiences in the past had been recorded in the form of a novel.

"This, what the hell is this!? Is it some stalker's diary or something? Did I make some enemies in some kind of strange organization unknowingly!?"

"Ahhhh... That.... That's.... something like the Akashic Records. About the Akashic Records, maybe Index or Birdway can explain it in more detail."

"Wait a second! You not only know Index, but also Birdway!?"

In the book labeled Volume 2, the events relating to Himegami and the Misawa Cram school were described.

Then, it suddenly occurred to Kamijou--

Hmm? This means...--

Wouldn't the first volume... be about the events before he lost his memories?

Moving his eyes down, he found a book with no number after the title, lying on the floor.

Gulping, he slowly stretched his arm out, but--

Karisawa held her hand out.

"No."

"Hey..."

This book was a very good example of the kind of book that could be used to make a person's life easier.

Putting that book away in his backpack, Yumasaki, with a serious face, said.

"Kamijou, we'll also be talking according to the situation. About your past, just like the flower on Uiharu's head, it's a sacred area that must not be touched. So I'm sorry."

"Hey, so my past, though I don't get it at all, it's on the same level as the "flower on the head" or something...?"

"After all, we're just mere spectators. Even if we can cheer you on, we don't have the right to change your life."

Karisawa said, hugging the Kamijou who had no choice but to calm down.

"It's alright, even if you don't have your memories, there are still people who love you. No matter what happens to them, we're the same. Who we love is the ‘you’ who can move forward now!"

"That's right, in this city, there is someone who has lost her head, not to mention her memories, and that person is now living a fulfilling, loving life."

"...."

He didn't understand what all this was about.

Although this was the case, he could feel that the warmth in their words was genuine, so Kamijou said this, though he was still confused.

"Thank....you."

"Ooooohhhhhhhhhh! Kami-yan!"

Completely destroying the fantasy-like atmosphere, from outside the station wagon came the voice of Aogami Pierce.

"What's wrong, what's wrong!?"

After Kamijou opened the car door, it revealed the tearful Aogami Pierce."

"You listen to me, Kami-yan! Even if I talk to the girls on Otome Road, all they say to me is that "Wow, that's so cool, this cosplay suits you"! What??? Did someone steal my iconic hair and earrings that I've put so much faith into! I didn't think it would be so humiliating to be asked if it was a cosplay or not, but this seems to have awakened a new fetish in me, ohonononononoononono."

"Okay, just calm down! The one feeling embarrassed is me now!"

Kamijou was made aware of the eyes surrounding them and used his hand to press on Aogami Pierce's mouth.

Pushing Kamijou's hand away from him, and complaining to Yumasaki, whom he had just established a friendly relationship with, Tsuchimikado sighed as he watched Aogami Pierce running around.

"Not good, nya. The line with Hikoboshi has become mixed up, and so I can't figure out where that guy is."

"Are you saying that there's others communicating? With that satellite?"

"Well, there's a lot of confusion over on the other side as well. Even so, if we don't find Accelerator soon..."

"You want me to tell you what?"

Kamijou and the others looked back at the place where the voice suddenly appeared, and there stood a man wearing a black fur coat.

"...Who are you?"

"An informant that's just passing by. You guys are worried because you can't find where Accelerator is, right? Then allow me to sell you that information."

"You... know about what's going on?"

"Sort of. Honestly, I've already looked into the situation. After all, this incident is of great interest to me as well."

The man who called himself the informant looked at the teenager near the door of the station wagon, expertly weaving his words together.

"There's just one thing, to be honest. Although I’ve collected all kinds of information, I don't know why I can't get the real name of Aogami Pierce over there."

With a self deprecating smile, the informant continued.

"Although it isn't a big deal, I'm pretty unsatisfied having such a hole in my information. If you can tell me this, I'll give you the information you want."

"What, what? It's not such a big deal. I'm not even listening, and you're talking about it so casually?"

Aogami Pierce, who heard his nickname being called, started to listen to the conversation midway, saying to the informant, determined.

"Oh, tell me my real name, Kami-yan! With gusto! Let this second-rate informant, who doesn't even know my real name, see the cruelty of reality!"

Aogami Pierce, who was pointing a finger at Izaya with a strange pose, Kamijou could only respond with silence.

"...."

"Kami-yan?"

An unprecedented cold sweat seeped out of his face, and Kamijou said some words, as if he were talking to himself.

"Once, despair was inflicted."

"?"

"That was when the whole world became my enemy. Even you and Fukiyose tried to kill me. Imagine it as some sort of dream."

"Hey? Ah, so you're talking about a dream?"

"In such a horrible, horrible situation, to you who tried to kill me... I called you ‘Aogami Pierce’... Even in such a situation, I could only use your nickname..."

"What are you talking about, Kami-yan? What are you trying to say?"

"Hey, wait, you guys, are you serious!? Are you kidding me!? Nononono, really, are you guys trolling me?"

Aogami Pierce accepted his friend's reaction as a joke, standing in front of the informant.

"Fine, I'll do it myself! Dig the shit out of your ears, and listen to me carefully!"

Aogami Pierce took a big breath, getting ready to say his name out loud to all these people around him.

"My name is..."

And in the moment after that, space-time distorted.

To be precise, it was an attack that gave the illusion of space-time distortion, that wrapped up an entire space.

The one that flew here, aiming at Orihara Izaya, crushed the asphalt beneath him, blowing the body of the Aogami Pierce next to him away, through the pressure of the wind alone.

"Arghhh--!?"

Looking at the Aogami Pierce, who was rolling around, grunting, Kamijou went after it with his unsteady body.

He glanced to the side -- A small impact crater had been created, and a man in a bartender's uniform with a face that looked like it belonged to a demon lord was standing in it.

Because of the overwhelming sense of pressure, Kamijou continued to chase after Aogami Pierce, as if he had seen nothing.

The man who had dodged the impact just in time howled like a monster.

"I don't know if this world is distorted or whatever... But you're ready to have your body squished into a ball, right...? I---Za----Ya----Kun------ OOOOOOHHHHHH!"

Part 12

"Goodbye, and thank you so much for today, says Misaka as Misaka shows kindness in the place of the cold edgy guy."

[Ahah, take care on your way back.]

Celty entered that text gently, to the girl who was smiling innocently.

Then, she took a look at the boy named Accelerator.

He manipulated Shizuo's strength, which far exceeded that of a normal human, blowing his body directly towards where Izaya was. Although this was Shizuo's own request, Celty couldn't help but think that this kid who could do this was so far beyond common sense that it wasn't even funny.

At the same time, if that girl hadn't arrived, who knows what would have happened.

Shingen suddenly said "You should accompany this child to find someone" and then because of this girl "Felt that he was this way, thought Misaka as Misaka tried to look for that person's distinct traces of AIM surrounding him", Celty followed those ambiguous instructions and ran up and down the streets.

When she came into the abandoned factory because of Shizuo's guttural roar, she told the girl to wait at the motorcycle, and so she went to see what was going on, but ended up getting involved in it--

After all, she didn't know about the white hair... So she didn't think that it was the person that the kid was looking for.

"Why are you staring over here... Uh, oh wait, you've got no eyes."

The girl began to lecture the teenager when he said such things to Celty--

Ignoring the lecturing, he said this to Celty.

"....Oi."

[What?]

"About your power... There should be a better way that you can use to kill me in an instant, right? Why didn't you use it?"

Celty responded after thinking a little, typing out the text.

[Why do you think... Wouldn't it be better to settle things without killing anyone? No one would lose any sleep at night because of it.]

Hearing that, the teenager frowned, muttering.

"Even a monster like you is this indecisive."

After that, with a slightly unimpressed expression, he messed with the girl's hair.

"We're going back. This isn't my city."

[Nonsense. As long as you don't go crazy like before, Ikebukuro welcomes you]

The teenager didn't respond to Celty's words.

As if to replace the reply, he once again ruffled with the girls' hair.

It was as if he was claiming that the place where the teenager would go was the place where he belonged.

Part 13

Ikebukuro station | On the subway

"Ahh, what bad luck. It's the same as yesterday. I didn't even finish one of the external research..."

After all that chaos, Kamijou and the others got on the same subway they took here because of Shingen's urging.

After that, they got caught in a fight between the man in the bartender suit and the informant, and when they managed to escape, they found out that Accelerator had already gone back to Academy City, so everything was settled.

"Honestly, I have no idea what just happened, but suddenly everything is alright now... Well anyway, if it's all solved, then it's for the best..."

Kamijou, who got involved in the incident, and yet didn't become the center of it, felt the fatigue coming on, after relaxing for a bit.

Speaking of which, was it really all over?

Although he wasn't so sure about it, once you got on this subway, people of the "Academy City World" would automatically go back to the original world.

Aogami Pierce, who did not understand what was happening, and Tsuchimikado, whose last encounter with Kamijou was a little earlier back in time. Each of them would go back to their respective times and places, across the distorted space-time.

No matter if it was a distorted path or not, all one could do was to move forward.

Suddenly, Kamijou, who had made his mind, felt a sense of unease, and said,

"I feel like I've forgotten something... What could it be?"

Part 14

Hikoboshi II - Satellite Orbit - Zero Gravity Biological Impact Laboratory

[We've finally solved the problem]

In response to the message from Tsukumoya Shinichi, Kaguya maintained her floating position as she replied.

"The scale of the merging seems to be larger than expected."

[Yes. So there's nothing better than getting in touch with you, who can observe the earth from the most objective perspective, and getting your assistance on top of that.]

"But the important thing is that I'm still here in this world."

[If the distortion of the Sky by Fire can be resolved, you should be able to return to your original world in a few days.]

"I said that I couldn't leave Academy City on it's own, but I don't really care about it. Looking at a different Earth is a good way to pass the time. It's like a spot the difference game."

To the not particularly troubled Kaguya, Tsukumoya Shinichi told the truth.

[Well, also, since you think it's fine like that, then I better not say anything more...]

[But your presence here has sent the surface into panic.]

Part 15

Somewhere on Kawagoe Street | Shinra's apartment

"Celty! You're back! What a day it's been today!"

[Really!... Suddenly something unbelievable has happened.]

When she finally returned home, she found a paper bag on the table.

[What's this?]

She took a peek with her hand, and saw something that looked like a wine bottle in some special packaging.

"Ahhh.... That seems to be something that my dad's guest forgot. He says that he wants you to send it back through the subway tunnel tomorrow..."

[???]

Why did she have to go through the subway tunnel to send back something that someone forgot?

Just as Celty was about to ask the obvious question, a report about an astonishing event just came, blaring from the news on the TV.

[And for the next piece of news. We have received an astonishing image. A huge artificial structure, 5,000 meters long, has appeared in the sky over Tokyo. There is no record of such a satellite being sent up, as far as we know--]

Suddenly, Celty dropped the goods onto the couch.

[Ohh... Are these aliens ahhahaguukayadshaaghdsdkgh]

"Calm down, Celty! Celty!?"

After that, she couldn't get her work done well because of the news, and the next day, she passed through the underground tunnel, confused. She arrived at "Academy City", but--

But this is another story, for another time.

Part 16

Epilogue

Ikebukuro's west gate park was covered in a thin, crimson, sunset.

In the corner of the park was a man with long, thin eyes, as well as a European shaped face, sitting on a metal tube bench.

Although it wasn't a rare presence in Ikebukuro, where there were many foreign tourists, the unique atmosphere that surrounded this man was a presence very rare indeed, both in Japan, and abroad.

However, a person who could detect this atmosphere would also be a very rare existence in this world.

"Can I sit next to you?"

"It's a public bench. You don't need to ask me for permission..."

The man said with a shrug, after glancing in the direction of the girl.

"Whatever."

"It's not just whatever. This side or that side, how much confusion do you think has been created? There were several conflicts in places you didn't see. Of course, you know all that, right?"

"So, is it, or is it not? After all, it would be boring if I knew everything. Life is meant to be a challenge."

"What are you talking about, cheater?"

The girl said that, sitting down violently on the bench

To this girl, the man said.

"Why did you come here? The bottle should have been returned to Kamijou Touma, right, girl?"

"It's like you asked me to come here yourself. I didn't expect that someone like you could blend in with society in general. How can you not be interested in something like that?"

The young girl, who was about 12 years old, spoke loudly. The leader of the magic cabal, the Dawn Colored Sunlight, Leivinia Birdway. To this, the man softly replied.

"Even so, he was a senior member of an underground organization. It's hard to say that he's someone with a normal status."

"It doesn't matter if it's the triads, the Camorra, or the 'Ndrangheta, to us Magicians, they're all the same."

"From how I can see it, Magicians and Espers are just the same."

"Don't get so passive aggressive. What are you, a child?"

The man of the underworld giggled at Birdway's words.

"It's not something to laugh at. Have you seriously prepared a solution to this mess?"

"Don't need to do anything. In the infinite cycle of the chicken and the egg, the chick will go on it's own way."

"Are you going to play this game of words to deceive your way through? If that really would work, what a chaotic play it would be."

After a little more words exchanged, Birdway slowly stood up.

"There's not much to be gained from how I live my life. It's time for me to return, Alchemist."

"Yeah? I'm sorry to see you go, but I won't keep you any longer."

The man named the Alchemist continued to speak to the magician girl.

"It's hard to form ties. In the end, I'd like to leave you a piece of advice, about your actions this time. Although it's something that the majority of people from this world can feel."

"What? Advice from a "being" like you would be interesting. Let's hear it then."

In response to Birdway's words, the Alchemist said with a blank expression.

"I don't think you came here because you were interested in what I was doing, but simply because you were chasing after Kamijou Touma, right?"

"Wh...."

"You're actually a brocon, aren't you?"

"...."

For a moment, the silence that seemed like that time had stood still dominated these two.

After several seconds of silence that could be described as forever, the corners of Birdway's mouth twitched, and she said.

"....If I become a magic god, I'll come over to this universe and destroy you, you bloody bastard. Keep that in mind."

"What a horrible thing to say...Fine"

Smiling while shrugging his shoulders once more, the Alchemist laughed.

"When that time comes, I'll ask Kamijou Touma for help."

Part 17

After the girl disappeared from the streets of Ikebukuro with an appalling anger, the man, still sitting on the bench, looked up at the sky, and muttered to himself.

"A chaotic play. In some sense, maybe that's true. But where in the world can you get the words to explain this event."--

"If you could explain it with words, then a phenomenon of this magnitude can't really be truly called "Absurd"".... Ha--

This, again, was the words of something outside of this dimension, from elsewhere--

Whether he understood it or not, this incident was, in other words, something like that.

"Oh well."

After saying that, the man's figure disappeared.

The space where the man was originally located dissolved into "nothingness" - like a film reel being scattered in the air.

Then, one part of the film distorts, beginning to form a circle, and the film, which had become a shape of a mobius ring, further shifted into the shape of ∞ Infinity, beginning to rotate.

As if to say that the event neither had a beginning, nor an end, from the very start.

The view of the city, too, continued to rotate like a film.

Knock knock, click click--

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Translator's note - Here's a note on all the origins of the characters (and terms) that appeared or were mentioned:

A Certain Magical Index (Kamachi Kazuma)

Kamijou Touma, Othinus, Roberto Katze, Leivinia Birdway, Aogami Pierce, Tsuchimikado Motoharu, Tsuchimikado Maika, Fukiyose, Himegami Aisa, Tsukuyomi Komoe, Index Librorum Prohibitum, Misaka Mikoto, Shokuhou Misaki, Amano Kaguya, Kazakiri Hyouka, Accelerator, Meigo Airsa, Aleister Crowley, Saten Ruiko, Olay Blueshake, Utgard Loki, Misaka Imouto, Sogiita Gunha, Kakine Teitoku, Komaba Ritoku, Kihara clan, Aiwass, Uiharu Kazari, Lessar, Jörmungandr, Hel, Last Order, Musujime Awaki

A Simple Series (Kamachi Kazuma)

[Absurd]

Durarara!!! (Narita Ryougo)

Yumasaki Walker, Tsukumoya Shinichi, Celty Sturluson, Heiwajima Shizuo, idk who this is, Karisawa Erika, Kyohei Kadota, Saburo Togusa, Shingen Kishitani, Shinra Kishitani, Orihara Izaya, Namie Yagiri

Vamp! (Narita Ryougo)

Viscount -- Gerhardt von Waldstein, The Organization

Baccano! (Narita Ryougo)

Prohibition Era Groups, Alchemy of the Abyss, Alchemist (Ronnie Schiatto)

Shakugan no Shana (Takahashi Yashichiro)

Shana

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