Toaru Majutsu no Index:Endymion Chapter5

Status: Incomplete

Chapter 5

Part 1

They had no time.

Kamijou and the others headed to a mall filled with restaurants that truck drivers frequented. They were of course not planning to eat anything. They were instead searching for a truck heading to District 23 out of all the ones parked there.

“The satellite guidance vehicles have a sticker indicating they have been approved. Here we go.”

Kamijou and the others opened up the door for the container on the back and hid inside. Academy City’s busses and trains stopped running after the curfew, so they had to use a bit of cleverness to hurry to a distant location.

After finishing his meal, the driver drove the vehicle away without realizing they were there.

Stiyl spoke within the container.

“We will use this truck to head to District 18 which neighbors District 23. After that, we have to break in. Our only hope is to climb the fence and force our way in.”

“The security is in shambles thanks to the trouble caused by that interference, so it shouldn’t be a problem on its own.”

“The only problem left is my sister,” added Sozty as she leaned against the container’s door. “The project my sister took part in was special even within the cabal. Her entire body was completely remade to meet the usage requirements of Brahma Astra. I have no idea what she might be capable of.”

Index tilted her head in confusion and asked, “You mentioned that before, but does it mean she has been so specialized for Brahma Astra that she cannot use any other spells?”

“No. When I worked alongside my sister on missions in the past, I saw her using other Astras. In other words, she can use other attack spells. Because the experiment failed, she switched over to using Astras related to the god Shiva. But those are not as pure as the Brahma Astra. They are on a level I could use as well.” Sozty hung her head down as if she was trying to remember something. “Trishula, Gandiva… They are all related to Shiva, the god of destruction. If we think of Brahma Astra as a special case, that might be a set rule governing the weapons she normally uses.”

“But we can’t forget that Ureapaddy has intentionally regulated what she reveals to you in order to fool you. She may have purposefully narrowed down the information she gave you so you would analyze it in that way.”

“Exactly. We need to assume there is a chance she will suddenly use Astras of Vishnu, Brahma, or other gods. In other words, it is useless to think about it. We could fall into a trap of hers.”

Either way, an amateur like Kamijou could not calculate out the exact structure of the magic to either neutralize or counteract it, so he decided to keep his thoughts positive. He would be on the lookout for attacks from every direction and intercept them with his right hand. In other words, what he always did.

Stiyl frowned slightly and said, “Since Ureapaddy is trying to use Debris Storm to cover the world in tens of thousands of shooting stars, her target is likely more than just Academy City. And no one knows when the attack will happen. In that case, speed is what matters most. The grimoire library can remain as backup, but Kamijou Touma, Sozty, and I must be prepared to take some injuries.”

“I understand,” said Sozty through clenched teeth. “She is justifying it with some ridiculous hope, but my sister is giving up every part of her life for this day. If she is trying to wear away her entire life, I cannot expect to remain unharmed.”

“But it goes no further than injuries,” said Kamijou as if to cut her off. He continued when everyone’s attention was focused on him. “I will not let anyone die. Not us, not Ureapaddy, and not the people she is targeting with Brahma Astra.”

Stiyl clicked his tongue.

That was when the truck they were riding on came to a stop. This was not simply a traffic light; its engine shut off. They assumed they had reached their destination of District 23.

And they were not wrong.

However, when Kamijou cautiously opened up the container door to peer outside, he found a large parking lot lit up by large lights of the sort found at a baseball stadium.

And…

“What?”

A great pounding noise struck his eardrums.

It came from the footsteps of a large group of Anti-Skill. They were fully equipped and even held guns in their hands. Kamijou initially assumed they must have stumbled across some kind of incident, but he was wrong. As soon as his eyes met those of Anti-Skill, the guns all aimed in his direction.

“Shit!!”

He frantically escaped back into the container just as several gun shots exploded through the air. Orange sparks flew from the metal door.

“What the hell is going on!?”

“We are trying to use this confusion to sneak into District 23. Is it that surprising that they are treating us as dangerous?” responded Sozty in annoyance.

But Stiyl raised an objection. “But how did they get this information? Sozty, the grimoire library, and I are experts from the magic side. I doubt standard law enforcement could have detected our actions.”

“What is this then?”

“To help lessen the friction between the magic side and science side, I provide periodic reports on my actions. I of course leave out any unnecessary information, but I do not doubt they use the information I give them. In other words, the higher ups of the science side must truly not want us to approach that space elevator.”

“Why? Brahma Astra could be activated at any time! If that happens, there will be no magic or science. Everything will be destroyed!”

“There has been a lot of fighting between magic and science over who has the rights to space. You could call it the gold rush of the modern age,” spat out Sozty. “Even if my sister is planning to use Brahma Astra and no matter how much damage it will do, we could be using this as a chance to sabotage the space elevator. That is probably how they are viewing this.”

“What are we supposed to do!? This is no time for two groups of protectors to be fighting each other!!”

The Imagine Breaker power in Kamijou’s right hand would have no effect against a normal bullet. And this was a group of professionals whose everyday job was to suppress criminals who wielded supernatural esper powers. This was not an opponent he could easily break through.

“They are focusing on the single door to this container. I will slice through another wall with my flame sword so we can escape. After that, we will all flee via different routes,” suggested Stiyl. “At least one of us needs to get further into District 23. With the urgent situation regarding Ureapaddy and Brahma Astra, we cannot all be held back here. Kamijou Touma, can you calculate out candidates for routes?”

“District 23 is mostly made up of wide open spaces to provide room for the large runways. They will be able to see where we are at a glance. …Or so Anti-Skill will think. They will not bother to check behind the small pieces of cover. If we keep our path along those areas, we might be able to continue on without being noticed.”

“Then tell me what the most dangerous routes are. Sozty and I can use concealment magic to head unseen through the areas Anti-Skill is most confident are safe. You two head along the routes with the most cover.”

“Understood. And it would be great if you could cause a few diversions along the way.”

“Deal with this on your own.”

“Fine then.”

With an unpleasant noise, Stiyl sliced through the thick wall of the container. Kamijou and the ethers exited onto the large parking lot and split up as they slipped through the gaps between the large vehicles lined up there.

Kamijou spotted a few of Anti-Skill’s guns turn in his direction.

(Not good.)

As soon as he thought that…

The large baseball stadium-like lights suddenly shut off.

All of a sudden, darkness arrived.

Kamijou had no idea what had caused the blackout, but this was their chance

Kamijou turned toward Stiyl and shouted, “Put out your flames! We can escape now!!”

Anti-Skill’s bullets caused sparks nearby, but fortunately even their professional training was not enough for perfect accuracy at that distance.

It was unclear whether Anti-Skill had night-vision equipment or not, but Kamijou and the others could still gain some distance while they switched over to using it.

Kamijou Touma, Index, Stiyl Magnus, and Sozty Exica.

Those four scattered to different areas as they all headed for a single destination.

Part 2

The brown-skinned, silver-haired woman named Ureapaddy Exica stood at the base of the “tower”.

Officially, it was known as a large-scale air traffic control tower. By the time the world learned it played the role of the earthport at the surface-side end of a space elevator, it would be too late. The elevator could cheaply, reliably, and quickly transport large amounts of materials into space. The age had come where regions across the world would need to fear explosives raining down from the heavens and where a minefield could be laid in space that had such high density that it could completely defend against the thousands or tens of thousands of ballistic missiles fired to destroy that demonic tower.

Academy City would have a monopoly on space.

And the risk seen in that fact was not limited to the science side that launched rockets and shuttles. In fields such as astrology, the magic side had made use of outer space for much longer than the science side had.

It had been a dangerous project from the beginning.

If Ureapaddy had not come, something else would likely have happened.

“The development has already reached the seventh stage. The construction of the wire for the initial work has been completed,” muttered Ureapaddy.

The most difficult aspect of constructing a space elevator was hanging a single wire down from space to connect the spaceport and earthport. From what she had heard, that alone had taken several years.

The construction of that single wire could only be done by relying on the old method of launching rocket after rocket. But once that was complete, the speed of the work would rise dramatically.

A tower reaching up into space.

Normally, even several decades would not have been enough to create something like that.

However, Academy City had given each individual block of the tower the ability to function as an unmanned mobile robot. Hundreds of million or even billions of such blocks would move along the elevator wire from both space and earth to quickly create the exterior of the tower.

No need for scaffolding.

No need for cranes.

No need for safety checks.

That method allowed a durable building to be constructed with overwhelming speed even in an Antarctic environment where room temperature water would freeze almost instantly.

And while the tower was given durability, the method also provided joints in the connections between each block so that it could “bend” a bit if needed.

Such a gigantic building would normally take over 100 years to complete, but this construction technique allowed it to be finished in only a few days.

That alone may have rivaled the military advantage of the space elevator itself.

It displayed just how much of a threat Academy City and science were.

“The inside of the tower will include more than a single wire. Ultimately, several carbon nanotube belts will be lined up within.”

But Ureapaddy did not need to wait for everything to be complete. She merely needed something that would carry her magic power from the surface up into space without attenuating. As long as that initial wire was connected, she could use the tens of thousands of shooting stars from Debris Storm to activate Brahma Astra.

“Now then. I was waiting for some information, but it is about time I ended this.”

Ureapaddy smiled thinly.

She had most feared something would interrupt in the middle of her spell while completing the delicate task of using Brahma Astra on an unprecedentedly large scale.

The simplest form that could take would be if the elevator’s wire snapped while the magic power was being sent through it.

Carbon nanotubes were stronger than steel and resistant to heat, so they were not easily destroyed. However, they were also extraordinarily weak to high voltage electric currents. If Academy City had built in a system to sever the wire, they might have activated it as soon as they detected what Ureapaddy was after.

And so she had waited.

She had given her enemy more than enough time to decide to use such a system.

But she had seen no sign of the space elevator’s wire spontaneously snapping. It was obvious what Academy City’s higher ups were thinking.

“They know the risk, but they must not want to lose the advantages the space elevator will earn them. If they cut the wire and the project is delayed, the rest of the world may detect the elevator and begin putting together countermeasures. If space is sealed off to them before it is complete, they may find it difficult to even construct the space elevator. And so they wish to quickly complete the elevator while it is still hidden.”

This was exactly what she had expected.

And despite knowing it was coming, she still felt scorn for them.

“Such a foolish decision. If the world is destroyed, any advantage will be worthless.”

Individuals made frequent mistakes, but they came to a decision quickly.

Organizations made few mistakes, but they came to a decision slowly.

Both sides had their advantages and disadvantages, but it worked to Ureapaddy’s favor this time. Her enemy may have been able to choose to stop her even at that very moment, but the situation was leading them to destruction.

And so Ureapaddy had no reason to hold back.

With nothing left to stop her, she merely had to continue as planned. As long as nothing stood in its way, a ball rolling down a hill would naturally reach its goal. And Academy City had taken all of the walls out of the way of the ball.

Or so she thought.

“Oh?”

Ureapaddy Exica frowned slightly.

She had caught sight of a small “wall”.

However, this was not a special defense system built into the space elevator that was humanities largest ever building.

It was something standing directly in front of her.

With the city’s various defensive networks compromised due to the wishes of the higher ups and the system interference from solar winds, the final “wall” to obstruct her took the form of a pitiful human being.

It was a boy.

A boy with spiky hair and a tightly clenched right fist.

“When I planned for this sort of obstacle, I assumed it would be my sister.”

“She’ll be here soon. I just got here a bit ahead of the others.”

“It does not matter. The number of my enemies is no longer an issue. I already have Brahma Astra in my hands.”

“Why do you need to go this far?” asked the boy calmly. “What is your goal here? With that level of destructive power, the damage will spread beyond Academy City. You should be able to target the entire science side…or the magic side if you want. You might be able to crush both sides with arrows to spare. What are you trying to destroy!?”

That put a slight smile on Ureapaddy’s lips.

Her long silver hair waved in the wind.

“That idea…”

“…?”

“…is what I must destroy. That is what I am fighting for.”

At first, her response made no sense. But she continued speaking. What motivated Ureapaddy grew apparent, little by little.

“Why do you think the science side has used such a cautious method to construct this giant building? A method of transportation cheaper and safer than rockets, a business sending out satellites and probes to other heavenly bodies, a starting point for acquiring resources from the moon, the beginning of production for orbital weapons that outdo ballistic missiles…They have many different ‘official’ objectives, but it all comes back to one thing: the conflict between science and magic. This is one step in the preparation to win that conflict.”

The positions and paths of the stars in the sky were used in magicians’ spells, so the giant space elevator was a threat. They had to think about the effect the tower itself would have on the “night sky” and, if large quantities of resources were carried up using the elevator to create space stations on a scale never before seen, the armillary sphere itself would need to be redrawn.

It was possible the elevator could cause the spells of countless magicians around the world to activate without warning.

“And the magicians like me that have been modified or constructed to be specialized towards a specific spell are more or less the same thing. It is blatantly obvious that making us so specialized leaves us with major disadvantages in most situations. The reason the magic cabals stubbornly insist to focus on a single piece of magic is quite simple: they desire large-scale military might with which to oppose the dangerous science side.”

“Is that why you are doing this? Because you were forced into these changes you did not wish for?”

“Admittedly, the Astra reorganization was not an enjoyable experience. I am no longer anything more than an existence created by taking around 15 people with the ‘proper’ ability, having only the ‘proper’ portions of their spirits removed and combined, and finally having that averaged artificial spirit reinserted. Technically, all 15 had that artificial spirit reinserted, but I am the only that remains. The spirit itself was optimized, but discrepancies with the physical body that received it caused the others’ spirits to be rejected by their physical body. I just happened to be a close enough match. But thanks to that optimization, it is hard to say if I am even Ureapaddy Exica anymore.”

Those easily spoken words caused the spiky-haired boy’s shoulder’s to jump.

It seemed to be quite a shock to him.

That had been nothing more than the entrance of the path leading to Brahma Astra. The cabal had been so twisted that something like that could be called nothing more than an entrance.

“However. I see that as only one of many gears. I am not so conceited as to think my tragedy is all that matters. The same sort of tragedy occurs all across the magic side and I am sure plenty of it can also be found on the science side as well. …Doesn’t it all seem so ridiculous?”

“You don’t mean…”

“Magic works to grow stronger so that it can defeat science. Science works to grow stronger so that it can defeat magic. And in the process, taboo after taboo is broken without end. What is this chain reaction? If someone had brought it to an end at some point, all of this tragedy might have been avoided. And yet the scale of violence continues to grow as people swing their swords into the darkness without even knowing who it is they are fighting. Once this arms race passes a certain point, a power will be born that is great enough to destroy the entire world.”

“So you want to destroy everything to bring that chain reaction to an end!?”

“No, that is not it. What matters is gathering attention.” Ureapaddy smiled thinly. “A great stimulus is needed to wipe away the darkness that both science and magic are spreading before themselves. After I am done, Brahma Astra will most likely become a symbol of fear for a great number of people. But that will wipe away thedarkness whether they like it or not. They will want to know what happened, who is to blame, and how to stop it. And as they investigate, they will realize just what sort of a world exists beyond that darkness.”

The boy gritted his teeth. He had likely realized another fact.

It was for that reason that Ureapaddy had not simply relied on her own magic. With the space elevator and Debris Storm, she had included cutting edge technology in this plan she was risking her life for.

At first, the science side and magic side might try to force blame onto each other.

But as they investigated the incident that greatly involved both worlds, the people would realize something. They would realize just how much their enemy could accomplish. They would learn it in specific terms rather than as endlessly expanding fear and delusions.

Once they knew, the darkness could be swept away.

The incident with Brahma Astra might temporarily worsen the opposition between magic and science. But the “understanding” it would bring would also help to bring an end to the negative chain reaction that would otherwise spread infinitely.

“As I stood on the front lines of the fight with science, I truly experienced that pointless chain reaction. And I also grew to trust science at least enough to risk my life for it,” said Ureapaddy as her long silver hair blew in the wind. “If neither side is looking at the other, I just need to bring them close enough to see each other. Even if that means they must be at each other’s throats. It does not matter if it starts with hostility and animosity. As long as it ultimately leads to understanding, we can stop this conflict.”

It was all to stop that great conflict.

It was all to stop the unnecessary inflation of risk.

It was all so that the people of the world could continue to smile.

It was all for justice.

It was all for peace.

And Ureapaddy Exica would wield the full power at her disposal to accomplish it.

“…I see,” muttered the spiky-haired boy. “So you don’t even know what it really is that motivates you.”

“What?”

“I’ve come across people like this a few times before, so I have a fair understanding of it. People cannot fight for some great objective like that. Even if they claim it is for some great objective, they are truly thinking of some small thing that will be saved if it is achieved.”

Ureapaddy was confused by the boy’s words, but she did not care to question him.

Her silver hair shook slightly.

She had begun to shift her body weight.

That was all it took to change the surrounding atmosphere. What had been a gentle breeze now felt brutal and like it could cut into the skin.

Nevertheless, the boy tightly clenched his right fist and spoke.

“If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then I’ll remind you. Then even you will understand. Even if your supposed goal is perfectly achieved, your methods will never save what you are trying to protect!!”

Part 6

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