105Chapter 2 - The strong and the powerful.
"As you can see, I am from the Church. That is important. Oh, but I'm not from the Vatican. I'm from the Anglican Church."
Kamijou and Kimi exchanged glances as they watched the little girl devour enough to satisfy an entire family in minutes, all while explaining her strange adventure of invading Academy City and jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
"So someone from a rival organization wants you dead or something?" pondered Kamijou, idly toying with the chopsticks resting on the bowl of rice. "Sounds plausible."
"Oh! So you believe me?"
"That's not what I said." He turned, placing a small rice ball into his 'ex-girlfriend's' mouth. "What do you think, Kimi?"
"I think it's plausible too." She chewed her rice, contemplating. "Apart from the magic part, of course. What the hell is this, anyway?"
Kimi took the opportunity to take some of the grilled fish she had made and feed her "ex-boyfriend". Kamijou initially accepted, but after a bite or two, he slammed his mouth shut, threw on a frown that could rival a grumpy cat, and muttered some secret code only he could decipher. He was definitely angry about something. Kimi responded with a smirk that practically screamed, "I've got this in the bag," spurring Kamijou to unleash a barrage of even more cryptic mutterings. Their guest occasionally cast strange glances at them, carefully observing the "relaxed" way the two showed affection for each other.
"You're getting very good at this," said Kamijou, savoring the fish as it melted in his mouth. "Wait, we're getting off-topic again. You mentioned something about being hit, but you don't look hurt."
"Of course, my Walking Church gives me an impenetrable defense against any attacks, whether physical or magical."
"Walking church?" said Kimi. "Don't go using strange religious terms, we're in the city of science little girl."
"They're my clothes." She gestured with her hands to her own body. "These have the bare minimum of components required to make up a church so that they are a church in the form of clothes. The way the cloth is woven, the way the threads are sewn, the way the embroideries decorate it...It's all calculated. A knife won't even put a scratch on it." Her chest puffed out, as if she were proud of something. "Come on, give it a try. You've got a knife here, don't you?"
"Okay, if you insist," said Kimi, in the most casual tone possible.
Just then, the air around her was pushed, and a feather appeared in mid-air. The attack from Kimi touched the girl's clothes, but the pale feather bounced off and ended up hitting one of the worktops in the kitchen.
Kamijou grunted in disapproval when he realized that his "ex-girlfriend" had used a powerful projectile instead of a weaker version. Of course, using the mind control version that causes less physical damage wasn't an option, but that didn't detract from the fact that something so dangerous made him angry.
That look made Kimi pout.
"She asked for it, it's not my fault," she said, her head swaying from side to side, her voluminous blue hair flowing. "This outfit is really tough. My feathers can tear right through metal, but it hasn't even made a scratch. Impressive, little girl."
"Did you really use something so dangerous on me?!" The poor girl didn't know whether to be proud or horrified. What kind of people was she dealing with here? "Is that one of the espers powers you mentioned earlier?"
"Um... it's complicated. My boyfriend and I are a bit different. You could say we're on a scale that isn't used in this city. But I do have an esper power."
"Hmm... that's confusing."
"This is the girl who's trying to convince me that magic exists."
"But it exists, you just proved it."
That had been an impressive demonstration, but the two still had their doubts. There was nothing to stop that outfit from being just a piece of technology from this city, like some that people from the dark side usually use. Of course, a foreigner having access to this kind of thing wasn't common, but it was still more believable than saying that magic exists.
"Hey, Touma-kun." Kimi smiled at him as mischievously as possible. "You can use your power to damage just the clothes, can't you?" She grabbed him by the wrist, directing one of his hands toward Index. "I have a feeling she's not even wearing panties. Let's embarrass her a bit as a welcome to this crazy city."
Kamijou sighed when he heard this nonsense and broke away from her. A comical sound echoed as he delivered a blow to Kimi's head, executed in a karate-like fashion.
"You're letting the intrusive thoughts win again, you idiot," he said, watching her rub the blue hair on top of her head.
"You're a real pain in the ass. And if you're going to punish me, at least throw me out of a window or something, don't make it seem like a reward."
"You two are strange." Index was shaking after this sequence of events. She felt less safe here than out there being chased.
"Believe me, you haven't seen anything yet." Kimi bared her sharp teeth as she said this.
"Back to the point." Kamijou tilted his head and put on a deadly serious expression. "Where are those 'magicians' who are chasing you?"
x-2-x
At the top of a nearby apartment building, two enigmatic figures observed a particular dormitory, uncertainty etched across both their faces.
"The magic signature points there," said the young man with fiery red hair. "I can handle it myself; you stay put as backup."
"Stiyl, wait."
The girl with her hair tied up in a ponytail had an apprehensive look on her face. She clutched the sheath of the Japanese sword at her waist, as though fearing she might not get another chance to wield it.
"Is there a problem?"
"I have a bad feeling about this," responded the girl, approaching the building's edge and sharpening her eyesight. "It might be better if we just observe for now."
A sepulchral silence pervaded the air, Stiyl casting a skeptical glance her way. The logic seemed elusive. With a reasonably tight deadline, waiting appeared imprudent from the perspective of the flame magician.
"Prepare a people-clearing field," she said, biting her lip on instinct. "No, I'll help you with that. We'll need a large area as a guarantee."
"Hmm... do you think one of those espers might be a problem?"
"I can't say but... just now... I felt a unique 'pressure' coming from that apartment."
x-3-x
"I'd better go," said Index, after another brief explanation, including things about perfect memory and grimoires(?). "The mages from the cabal that's chasing me can track me because of my Walking Church, staying here puts you in danger."
"If that's the case, then I can't let you go," responded Kamijou, turning away from the Kotatsu and retrieving his schoolbag from a small table. "Kimi, I'm leaving. Stay with her while I sort out the extra classes. I won't be long."
"Wait, you don't understand!" Index stood up and grabbed him by the arm. "These people are dangerous. Just tell me where there's a church, and I'll be fine. There's no reason for you to help me directly."
"Great." He shrugged, smiling at her. "Looking for reasons to fight isn't something I usually do anyway. Things are simpler that way."
Index stared blankly at him. From just that look, she truly, truly seemed like nothing more than a normal girl.
"...Then will you follow me to the depths of hell?"
"Without a second thought."
The answer came so quickly that the girl could only muster a nervous smile. She released his arm, her hands visibly shaking.
"Thank you," said Index. She was clearly a foreign girl, but the brief bow she made was in the Japanese style. What was she trying to say by behaving like that?
"Don't bend over like that." Feeling embarrassed, he placed his left hand on the top of her head. "By the way, I don't really need to follow you anywhere. Let hell come to us. I guarantee they won't even be a threat."
"That's enough, stud," said Kimi, dispelling the tense atmosphere with a nonchalant wave of her hand. "You tend to talk too much at these times. Hurry up before you're late."
Kimi leaned in for a kiss, but Kamijou once again turned his face away at the last moment. Nevertheless, she persisted and landed a playful smack on his cheek. At least he didn't dodge completely, so that was some progress there.
x-4-x
"I won't stop you from talking amongst yourself, but you need to listen to what I say. I put a lot of effort into making a quiz, so if you do poorly on it, you will be punished with the See-Through lesson."
Despite the teacher's earnest efforts to make the lesson productive, Kamijou found himself continuously gazing out of the window, fixating on the clear sky overhead. The frequency of this distraction was so pronounced that, occasionally, he had to consciously redirect his attention, akin to an ex-alcoholic grappling with the struggle not to relapse.
At least that window gave him a good view of the women's tennis club and their fluttering skirts to distract him. Those athletic girls were helping to keep the world safe and they didn't even know it.
"Hmm?" Kamijou noticed someone outside, taking advantage of the shade beneath a tree. This person waved two fingers at him. "I guess that's my cue." He turned towards his mini-teacher and offered her a gentle smile. "Komoe-sensei, could you give me a minute?"
"I must remind you that you need to finish all your exercises by the end of the day or you won't be able to go home, Kamijou-chan. Fail to do so and you'll be stuck with Columbus' Egg."
It wasn't as if that punishment was a challenge for him, but he'd rather avoid failing his first year of high school.
"Understood, Komoe-sensei."
The window beside him opened, and he placed his hand on the support, jumping over the open window onto the lawn below.
One thing about Kamijou Touma, there were two reasons why he struggled miserably with his schoolwork: the first being his sporadic attendance, having missed more than four months in that period, and the second being his inclination toward laziness. Paying attention in tedious classes was equivalent to medieval torture for this strange boy; his homework remained perpetually undone, and it didn't help that he was constantly getting into trouble.
That said, his grades were actually excellent. Or almost.
"You took your time," said a girl in a sailor's uniform. The most noticeable feature was her huge forehead, unless, of course, the observer happened to be a boy, in which case their attention might be drawn to two other huge features.
"Sorry, Fukiyose-san." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and tried to smile at his friend.
Sighing, the girl leaned against the tree and retrieved something from her bag. It was an entirely ordinary notebook, its cover adorned with drawings of various reptiles.
"Here," she said, handing over the notebook. Before the boy could take it, she pulled it back and assumed a deadly serious expression. "How do you say?"
"Thank you very much, General Fukiyose-sama. Please, grace this worm, Kamijou Touma, with your academic benevolence."
The attempt to be funny resulted in a slightly annoyed face and a notebook being casually tapped on the top of his head. He just smiled at that and picked up the notebook.
"I've included my notes too," continued the girl, crossing her arms and huffing as if annoyed. "Let me know if you need anything else; I'm free all week."
"I need one more thing," he said, flipping through the notebook. "Can you give this to Komoe-sensei and say that I had an emergency and needed to leave?"
Fukiyose's demeanor shifted into seriousness, but in a different manner than before. This girl was assertive, always attempting to evaluate others by comparing them to herself. She must have believed it fair to measure everyone using the same scale, but with Kamijou Touma, it was different. It hadn't always been like this, of course.
"I assume it's something you can't avoid."
"No, it's not." He gazed at the sky once more and then reached out, as if attempting to grasp the clouds. "A girl fell on my balcony this morning, and she looked like she was in trouble."
"I see." Fukiyose nodded, then paused for a long moment. "Everyone contributes in their own way, don't they? I'll cover for you once again."
"Thank you, Fukiyose-san. This Kamijou-san would be a complete failure without you."
"I have no doubts about that. Now go quickly, before I change my mind."
She wouldn't change. Ever.
That demanding girl was the only reason Kamijou Touma wasn't failing (technically) when it came to academics. Not only did she invest much of her time in crafting concise notes on all subjects to help him absorb as much as possible, but she also frequently completed his homework. In a way, she was his best friend. Better in the sense that she worked hard to improve him, not to spoil him like a certain lunatic delinquent.
"By the way," she said when she saw him turn away. "Is it true that you broke up?"
Kamijou stopped in the middle of the school grounds but didn't turn to answer her.
"No... it was just a false alarm."
He shrugged and left, refusing to elaborate.
x-5-x
At the Kamijou residence, Kimi had finally come to the realization that the little girl there posed a significant problem. Specifically, for her "almost-boyfriend's" finances.
Standing with the fridge door ajar, Kimi grimaced.
"Yeah, it looks like we're going to have to go shopping if we want to have a decent dinner tonight." She closed the fridge door and looked at Index. "You're basically a black hole. Do you have a dragon inside you too or something?"
"Eh?"
With a deadly serious expression, Kimi sighed and reached for her bag. Being the professional delinquent she was, her purse was compact but sufficient to carry the essentials, even resembling a man's wallet. Though she used to complain, their finances weren't so bad.
But there was a big catch.
The allowance they both received as level 0s wasn't enough to afford any luxuries. So, how did two teenagers manage to possess an excellent state-of-the-art sound system, a giant TV, shelves filled with rare manga, collector's edition games, and various other items from geek and otaku culture?
Simple, as mentioned, Kimi was a delinquent.
"I must have a few million extra yen with these money cards," she muttered, checking those yellowed cards. "Those idiots in District 15 are so easy to fool."
You could even say she was a first-rate criminal. Extortion, breaking into ATMs, kidnapping important people. It was all within her gang's standards. While Kamijou didn't condone such activities, she used to justify it by claiming she was only stealing "directly from the city," which wasn't entirely untrue. He would never accept that money anyway, but he wasn't opposed to her "using it for herself" either.
"He's always been a damn hypocrite," that comment was accompanied by a mischievous smile and a quick shake of the head.
"Hey, Kimi," said Index, lightly tugging on her poncho.
"It looks like we're already on a first-name basis, although I don't even know yours."
"I told you, my name isn't fake!"
"Okay, okay." She waved her hand to placate the girl. "What do you want now? We're about to go shopping. Do you have any special requests?"
"No... it's just..."
Index turned away, hiding her facial expression. The way she suddenly hesitated was strange.
A hand was placed on the nun's shoulder, with as much kindness as that rough girl could produce. Which wasn't much, she preferred to save those moments for someone else.
"Are you scared?" asked Kimi. "Don't worry, I'm a lot tougher than I look."
"It's not that." She shook her head, still not turning around. "It's just... what he said at the time. What do you mean he doesn't want to find a reason? He didn't even care when I said 'that'."
Kimi couldn't help but let a shy smile appear at the corner of her mouth. She glanced at the money card in her hand, then turned Index's body to look into her eyes.
"Index, have you ever heard the term 'impulse buy'?" She paused, but didn't let the girl answer. "There's a reason things like sweets or soft drinks are placed near the checkout counter. Whether it's to relieve stress, forget frustrations, or whatever, in the end, someone will buy something they don't need. People tend to be capricious; it's a fact of human nature. They say that around 90 percent of our decisions are made on pure impulse, and although that's an exaggeration, there's a bit of truth in it."
"What are you trying to say?" Index looked at her in confusion, her head tilting as her attentive green eyes narrowed.
"Practically everything we do has no reason... or even a meaning. Trying to find reasons to do something is just an unnecessary extra step. Doing something on a whim, for no reason, without thinking it through... that's how life should be lived. Doing what you want and when you want is more important than anything else."
"It doesn't sound like a philosophy that anyone in their right mind would follow, to be honest."
"Maybe you're right." Kimi looked away, not because she was giving up on arguing, she just felt she had no reason to try to convince her. "But... as I said, it's human nature to do things on impulse. And that's one of the few things left human about that monstrous freak."
As soon as she said that, their gazes diverged, only to converge at a singular focal point: the front door. It was as if the ambiance of the place underwent a gradual transformation, a shift discerned by Kimi because of the creature attached to her.
As for Index.
"Magic," said the nun, her eyes moving as if following an invisible light. "There's a magical current flowing across a vast expanse around us."
"I presume it's those people coming for you," Kimi remarked, a smile playing on her lips before she nonchalantly snapped her fingers. "Perfect. I'll extend them a warm welcome. Stay here for now, if you get hurt, he'll punish me, and in a way that I won't be able to like."
"Wait, it's dangerous—"
"I'm well aware, and that's precisely why I'm going."
Perhaps Index had misunderstood the extent of that statement. After all, she had no way of knowing that the crazy girl would die before trying to run away from something like that.
The door creaked open with deliberate casualness. Kimi, devoid of a combat stance and intentionally exposing herself, found her heart unexpectedly racing as she peered down the corridor.
"Oh, you actually used the elevator," she said, her arms crossed beneath her breasts. She leaned her shoulder against the wall in a nonchalant manner. "Aren't wizards supposed to know how to fly?"
Two figures stood before her.
A towering boy, two meters in height, clad in a priest-like robe with dyed-red hair and a tattoo beneath his eye. The other had a strange, asymmetrical style, wearing clothes that looked too ordinary, and sported a massive sword at her waist.
In all sincerity, the presence of these "magicians" failed to evoke any sense of intimidation within her.
"How much did she tell you?" the girl with the ponytail asked. She was also completely relaxed.
"More than enough." Kimi moved away from the wall, her gaze distant, without worrying about giving the enemy the element of surprise "You trash are after a defenseless little girl, the rest is irrelevant to me."
"It's not what it looks like."
"It doesn't matter to me."
Now, the three of them locked eyes, mere meters apart. Despite the physical distance, their auras brought them closer together.
The red-haired boy clicked his tongue.
"Kanzaki, this is a waste of time." He removed the cigarette from his mouth and flicked it, triggering a crimson explosion that devoured the place's oxygen. "I'll do what needs to be done. Stand back if you'd rather not witness."
Kanzaki gripped the scabbard of her sword tightly, a clear conflict leaking through the gaps in her serious countenance.
"My name is Kanzaki Kaori," she said, fixing her gaze directly on Kimi. "I am one of the ten strongest magicians in London. I strongly advise you to comply with our request."
"I'm not interested."
The interruption proved more irksome to the redhead than to the supposedly powerful magician. Without waiting for any reaction, Kimi pressed on.
"Your strength is irrelevant," she continued, locking gazes with Kanzaki once again. "I don't know your whole story, but I can say this with certainty. The conflict you're feeling right now makes it clear how powerless you are."
As if fed up with everything, the boy took a step forward.
"I've heard enough."
It was a simple gesture, a mere whisper. All it took was one word and the sword of flames materialized, a fiery torrent unleashed as though a gasoline-loaded fire hose had been switched on. The intense heat robbed the corridor of oxygen, causing an immediate sensation as if nostrils were being singed by the flames.
Kimi's eyes widened slightly. That cascade of flames easily surpassed a level 4 pyrotechnic, perhaps even higher, and the boy displayed no hesitation in directing the crimson assault.
The entire corridor succumbed to the inferno; the metal railing liquefied like an ice sculpture in the summer sun. Stiyl, unfazed, smiled as he lit another cigarette, while Kanzaki regarded him with evident displeasure.
"That was unnecessary," she said, her stern tone leaving more unspoken than expressed.
"I disagree." The retort did not come from Stiyl.
"Huh?!"
The girl in the sea of flames took a step forward. Something pale appeared in the middle of the inferno, blowing the flames away with a powerful gale. A few moments later, everything had dissipated.
"After all, talking too much makes things less fun." Kimi's expression remained impassive, arms still crossed. The sole alteration in her countenance was the appearance of translucent wings enveloping her like a guardian angel. "Thanks for taking the first swing. It saves me the trouble of justifying the conversation I'll have with Touma-kun later."
Finally, Kimi shifted her posture, casually sweeping her right arm in a horizontal arc. The atmosphere became charged, prompting Kanzaki to tighten her grip on the sword hilt, her guard elevated.
One of the ten strongest magicians in London. That's what she used as an intimidation tool, to prevent things from getting out of hand. There was no way for Kimi to know, but this girl was more than that. She was what they called a "saint", a rare existence under 20 in the world. That small display of power wasn't enough to make her back down. The battle stance she assumed didn't mean she was intimidated. Not in the slightest. She could casually push that pressure away, and end it all in a single instant if she wanted to. It couldn't be any other way, or at least that's what she kept telling herself. But there was something strange there.
Those wings.
There was something else behind them; just thinking about it was enough for that rare existence to take the slightest precaution.
However, the tension quickly subsided.
"Looks like I'm late again."
A young voice sounded in the corridor. It came from behind Kanzaki.
The saint was busy caught up in her own thoughts, so much so that she didn't even notice when someone approached. The shock of her carelessness was so great that she turned around to see the source of the voice.
"Look at this mess," said the young boy, nonchalantly with a schoolbag slung over his back. "This is your fault, Kimi."
"Huuuuh?" Kimi even started tapping her foot. "It was the smoker who burned the whole place down, what was I supposed to do? If I'd killed him as soon as I saw him I'd have avoided all this, but I bet you'd be angry."
"Indeed."
Kamijou Touma had entered the scene. That abnormal boy was now looking directly at Kanzaki, which made the saint think that he had instantly seen her as a threat, but that was far from the case.
"Hey, Kanzaki," Kimi interjected, anticipating Kamijou's intentions. "If I remember correctly, you said you were one of the strongest where you come from. You'll get along well with the handsome one over there. He's the strongest, no matter where he goes." The girl smiled, revealing pointed teeth, then signaled to Kamijou. "I'll take care of the two-meter chimney. That way, you two can have an uninterrupted superhuman fight."
Without uttering a word, Kamijou pointed at Kanzaki and gestured with his head to the street below. Despite being on the seventh floor, the boy casually threw himself down and landed on the wide street below.
Kanzaki hesitated briefly before following him.
"Stiyl—"
"Go after him," he said quickly, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and holding up a runic card. "She won't be a problem."
She nodded in response to his confident assurance and swiftly descended to join the boy waiting for her downstairs.
"And now it's just the two of us," said Kimi. A single step forward was taken, symbolizing that she was ready.
"Fortis931."
Tens of thousands of cards erupted from within his pitch-black clothes, leaving no doubt that he held nothing back.
"When someone like me gives his magic name, it only means one thing." The boy shed his serious countenance and offered a somewhat sadistic smile. "A death sentence."
"I hope you worked hard on your obituary, then."
"May the world of the five foundations, the one..."
With the start of that incantation, the battle between the two hotheads had begun.
x-6-x
Meanwhile, on the street outside, an ordinary-looking boy and a girl with a reasonably unusual style of clothing were analyzing each other.
Of course, what the two were analyzing in each other were completely different things.
"Hey," Kamijou said, casually placing his schoolbag on a nearby bench. "How old are you?"
"Eh?" She was taken aback by the question. "I'm eighteen. Why do you ask?"
"I already know your name, so I don't really know what to ask." The nonchalant way he shrugged caused the girl to grimace. "I'm Kamijou Touma. Before we begin, is there anything you'd like to share with me?"
Kanzaki pondered carefully. There was something off about that boy, but she couldn't quite grasp it. Her senses felt disoriented, akin to opening one's eyes underwater for the first time while swimming and being unable to see anything but a blur. It wasn't enough for her to perceive him as a threat, so she kept her guard up and attempted to sound as casual as possible.
"Do you have any ties to a magical cabal?"
"I hardly know what that means," he replied with a shrug.
The answer wasn't satisfactory, so the girl decided not to act yet.
"Why are you protecting Index?" she asked.
"I don't have a reason, to be honest."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"Does it make any difference?" Now, he gazed at the clear sky above him, and then his eyes shifted to the deserted streets. "You set up this battlefield. I don't know what you did, but there are no people here for hundreds of meters. That means, at the very least, you're not a malevolent person since you aim to minimize casualties. Yet, you must still be prepared to take my life to fulfill whatever mission you're on."
"Wrong." For the first time, the casual demeanor she had maintained was shattered. His words had deeply affected her. "I will end this fight the instant it starts, but I will not allow a single life to be taken by my sword, not today, not ever."
At that moment, the boy also relinquished his casual pose. Their eyes locked, creating a palpable tension in the air.
"Hmm..." He smiled slightly as he looked at her. "I like you. I wish we had met under different circumstances. It's not too late to put down the weapon and have a civilized conversation."
"I'm sorry, but I'm on a tight deadline. Defeating you is the fastest way to my goal."
A distance of ten meters lay between Kamijou and Kanzaki. Also, Kanzaki's katana was over two meters long, so it seemed impossible for her slender feminine arms to pull it from its scabbard, much less swing it around. But that was an irrelevant fact, the world she was in didn't care about those standards.
"Nanasen!"
In the next instant, the air above Kamijou's head was sliced apart like she was wielding a giant laser. He didn't even move, not because he couldn't react to the attack, he just decided to.
Kamijou looked back, watching the piece of a wind turbine fall to the ground after being sliced like butter.
"A warning shot, eh?" said the boy, looking at her again. "You're too kind."
"The speed of the Nanasen attack that my Shichiten Shichitou puts together is enough to kill you seven times over in the period of time known as an instant. People refer to this as an instant kill. Calling this a certain kill would not be far from the truth." Calmly, she gripped the handle of the blade and took a deep breath. "Do you understand now? There's no winning this fight."
"You're contradicting yourself." He looked away, as if he was losing interest. "Wasn't defeating me supposed to be the quickest way to your goal?"
Kanzaki had no choice but to bite her lip in frustration at that moment. She clearly didn't want to have to hurt that boy who seemed so helpless.
"Okay," he said. "I'll make it easier for you."
Just one step. The ordinary-looking boy took one step forward, yet that was sufficient to set the air around him in a twisted motion. It felt as though a chemical reaction was unfolding, a response to an unidentified element introduced into an unstable mixture.
Something had shifted.
Not a moment passed, Kanzaki had to widen her eyes when she grasped that the boy was right there, directly in front of her. He was so close that she could reach out and touch him with a simple extension of her arm. She couldn't comprehend what had transpired. Was her internal conflict interfering with her heightened senses?
The boy's hand moved lazily towards her. Although she quickly regained her composure to recognize the impending attack, she couldn't defend against it. The hand ascended, approaching her face, but at the last moment, the fist came to a halt.
"That should do it," said the boy.
But the attack wasn't over, only the method had changed.
Kanzaki Kaori felt the gravitational bonds release from her body as she was hurled following the explosion of air in multiple directions. Her body collided with the asphalt, but the momentum didn't cease there. She rebounded like a stone skipping on water for several dozen more meters, eventually crashing through the concrete wall of a building. Even then, she didn't come to a halt. The bouncing continued, the world around her spinning as her muscles and bones emitted strange noises.
Upon finally coming to a stop, she found herself on another broad street. Using her sword sheath as a makeshift crutch, she forced herself upright. The attack was so intense that a saint like her had to submit to something so pathetic. But worst of all was when she realized what had hit her.
"A flick of the finger?!" she exclaimed to herself, gasping, almost in disbelief. "He propelled me that far with a mere flick of his finger across my forehead?!"
It was a playful gesture often used by children or older siblings to annoy the younger ones. That was the chosen "attack". The worst part was that she couldn't even defend herself against something so clearly telegraphed. Kanzaki blamed her internal conflict for not seeing it coming. She wouldn't let it happen again.
"I think that settles it," the boy's voice sounded nearby. Where had he come from? "You attacked first, but hesitantly, but my attack must have shaken you enough to clear your mind."
"What have you done?" Once again, she gasped, not entirely sure why, she wasn't tired, after all. "Is that the esper power this city cultivates?"
"Is that what you're thinking about now? Put your guard up."
It sounded like an order, which she promptly obeyed. Her hesitation caused her to be hit, but now she had a clear mind, as he himself said. The boy had made a mistake by not going all out in the first attack.
"Nanasen!"
It was like a giant tornado made up of blades of air. Seven strikes. And Kamijou Touma saw every one of them. The "sword cuts" came in at many seemingly random angles and looked something like fingernail scratches on a steel door. But it was a deliberate attack, aimed directly at him. That saint had recognized that ordinary boy as an opponent.
But it was all in vain.
Kanzaki Kaori's eyes widened. The boy hadn't even moved. All the attacks were met head-on without any attempt to dodge or block.
"What... was that?" She asked herself in a whisper so weak that she doubted it had escaped her dry lips. "It's as if... there was something invisible there."
Ignoring the girl's analysis, Kamijou casually moved his right arm.
"Hmm... wires."
He grabbed them, like a curious child unfamiliar with how the world worked, eager to try everything. Soon after, he lost interest, dropping the wires as if they were a broken toy that had already served its purpose.
Such a casual gesture shook Kanzaki. He had seen through her attacks and didn't even bother to provide an answer. The boy remained unmoved, maintaining a bored expression while something absorbed the damage from the attack. He only became interested when he perceived a bit of creativity behind the destruction.
"That's actually kind of cool but that's all there is to it?"
He crossed his arms, in such a casual way that it made everything even more intimidating. It was only then that the saint realized something crucial. The attack she had received had shaken her so much that something so obvious had escaped her notice. The damage to her body had been moderately great, which implied that the path her body had taken after being thrown violently should have left a trail of destruction, but... the wall of that building, the one she had gone through all the walls of...
"No damage." Kanzaki was stunned. "Is it his doing?"
Thinking about it, had that wall been destroyed in the first place? She felt that focusing on anything trivial would divert her concentration, so she attempted to push that mystery from her mind.
"Can we start again?" he asked, so carefree that he seemed on the verge of yawning.
This time, Kanzaki decided to take the initiative. She didn't want to give the boy any more room to use his strange attacks, so she pushed her wounded body to the limit. As a saint, she could break the sound barrier in an instant, and that's exactly what she did. Following a predetermined path to avoid further damage to her body, she attempted to strike him with the scabbard of her sword. If he employed that invisible defense, the girl intended to counterattack using her wires.
A sudden pressure appeared on the back of the young woman's neck. Once again, she couldn't comprehend what had happened. All she knew was that the boy had somehow grabbed her by the head and forced her to move, causing her face to slam into the asphalt.
Intense pain surged through her body once more, but the boy wasn't finished. He pulled her face out of the small crater that had formed and then threw her against the wall of a nearby building.
Using a maneuver with her wires to avoid colliding with the building, she briefly witnessed the boy becoming a blur. He then grabbed the back of her head once again, forcing her face against the wall of the building. Following that, he tore through the wall, holding her firmly by the head as destruction unfolded behind them for several... and several meters. He only ceased when he destroyed the sides of two or three more buildings using the girl's face, and then spun her body in the air before dropping her onto the asphalt in another mini-crash. All this occurred while maintaining disinterest in his eyes.
If Kanzaki hadn't reacted in time and used several protection spells, the fight would have ended right there.
But she still had the strength to fight. She forced her aching body to its feet, then turned her face towards that monstrous abomination who looked so much like a normal high school boy. That's what he looked like in her mind now. She couldn't call him anything other than a monster or worse.
"You're tough," he said. "This magic thing is serious stuff, apparently."
As he said this, the boy was sitting on a nearby bench, taking a sip from a can of soda. He also took a bite out of a cereal bar while looking up at the clear sky above him, showing no interest in the girl struggling to stand.
Kanzaki decided not to dwell on where he had gotten it. The mere thought that he had picked it up while beating her was too humiliating.
"Tell me," Kamijou said. He threw the soda can into a nearby trash can and then packed up the rest of the cereal bar, putting it in his pocket. "The strength you have, how hard did you work to get it?"
It was such a casual question, but the girl was shaken to the core of her being. Even her lips seemed to tremble at that moment.
"I am a saint. The positioning of my skeleton and organs is similar to that of the son of God, which allows me to draw special power. There are very few like me in the world."
She thought that would be enough of an answer, so she let the silence linger while the boy stared at the sky, as if searching for an answer in the blue expanse above him.
"I see," he finally said. A moment later, he stood up and clapped his hands together as if wiping off dust. "You look like us espers then."
"Huh?"
"Born talent," he continued, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "A world only you can see or a reality only you can understand. You'd probably feel it even if you didn't train your body for a single day, which gives you an advantage over everyone else. Yes... I get it now. You're too kind, that's why thinking about it affects you so much."
"Shut up!"
Metal wires cut through the air. The asphalt was destroyed in an instant, the wall of a building was sliced and thrown by those invisible wires like a makeshift mace. But the boy just casually swung his right arm and the whole giant mass was erased from existence.
"What do you want now?" she asked, trying to keep her voice down but realizing she was incapable. "Isn't breaking my body enough?"
"So much strength... but you still have no power at all." He ignored her and continued. "You can't even save yourself. It would be pathetic if it weren't tragic."
She gritted her teeth, then ran towards him, breaking the sound barrier. The two met head-on, the sheath of her sword clashing against the boy's arm. A shockwave formed, so intense that the glass panes of the surrounding buildings shattered in a dangerous cacophony.
Amidst the rain of debris, Kanzaki used her sword to cut through the pieces of glass around her, dozens in a single instant, and then guided the remaining pieces into a whirlpool of glass and death using her wires. The dust of glass and metal engulfed everything in an area of more than 20 meters, a deafening tinkle ringing out from several directions as the girl continued to cut through everything in that area at supersonic speeds.
There was no way that boy could have done anything. The storm of glass dust would have kept his visibility down to practically zero, and his body would have been shredded by all those attacks, which numbered in the thousands, in mere seconds.
"Tell me," the boy's voice emerged from the chaos all the same. He stepped forward out of the storm and towards the girl. "Would you be stronger if you had more power?"
Kanzaki clicked her tongue, using the anger that was bubbling up in her now to hide the fact that she was almost cowering in fear.
"You make it sound like the two things are different." She forced herself to speak, feeling that if she didn't, she would drop the sword and stop fighting right there. That was the pressure she felt coming from that boy now.
"That's because they are." Kamijou now had his hands in his pockets, coming out of his thoughtful mode. "You seemed curious earlier, looking at the wall of that building. Do you want to know how I did it?"
"Hmm?"
"It's just a question of willpower, that's all." He stared into her eyes, without flinching, which increased the pressure she felt little by little. "Power can be measured in many ways, and without power, you can't accomplish anything. That's how the world works. If you want to save someone, then you have to seek more and more power, because whoever has the most power is the one who saves the most people. Even if you are a mere human, fragile and pathetic, you will succeed as long as you know the difference between the two. After all, being weak has never stopped anyone from fighting back, has it? Being weak has never stopped anyone from saving someone. So tell me, if you were born with such strength, then why are you so powerless?"
Kanzaki remained silent. For several seconds, only the wind rustling her hair broke the monotony between them.
She took a deep breath, feeling the weight of her sword getting heavier.
"It's true that I'm privileged," she said, feeling the weight on her grow heavier and heavier. "I was born with an unfair advantage, but that doesn't mean I haven't done everything I can to put that strength to good use. I'm not powerless."
"Prove it to me."
Those words cut deep into Kanzaki's soul. The weight, the struggle. She couldn't bear it any longer. She just wanted it to end, to drop that heavy sword and leave it all behind. Perhaps it would be for the best.
Her hand slipped, and the sheath of her sword hung in the air as she lost her grip on it.
Her battle seemed to be nearing its conclusion.
"Salvare000!" Kanzaki shouted at the top of her lungs, holding her sword so tightly that it almost broke.
It was different.
The pressure Kamijou felt from her at that moment was definitely different.
She wouldn't give up. Even in the face of that overwhelming force making her bow to the inevitable, she would keep going.
"I will be her salvation," said Kanzaki, determination resonating in her words. She assumed a battle position entirely distinct from any previous moment in the fight. "You're a formidable opponent... the best I've ever fought. I can't allow myself to hold back here so... please survive this."
"Hmm... kind all the way." Kamijou scratched his head and wore a thin smile. "You're making it sound like I'm the villain here."
She smiled too. It seemed strange to act like that after deciding to use an attack that could only end in someone's death.
But she was pushed into this corner, and she got out of it using her own strength... her own power.
The air was torn apart. Kanzaki moved her body at such an absurd speed that it seemed as if she had teleported towards the boy.
"Yuisen!"
Everything in her path was severed. Debris shattered and transformed into thick smoke, yet the full force of the attack was ultimately directed at one point. This was her trump card, an attack rumored to cut through even angels… or the thick scales of dragons.
"It's over."
That voice sounded. So casual, bordering on tedious.
Kanzaki shifted her gaze toward the target of her attack, in the direction of that voice. There he stood, nonchalant, his right hand raised, and his index and middle fingers holding the blade of her sword as if it were a mere joke.
"I was wrong," said Kamijou Touma, looking into her eyes from that short distance. "There is some power in you."
It was a rare case, but that girl could be considered unlucky to have to face him. After all, if he wanted to, he could kill even God... so why would he have problems against a mere saint?
Something broke.
The blade held between his two fingers shattered instantly, as if it were as fragile as a crystal goblet. It didn't even appear as if he had exerted effort. And then...
Kamijou Touma chewed.
The fragment of the sword he had broken off was being consumed by him, emitting crunching noises from his mouth. The scene was so surreal that Kanzaki took several steps backward, utterly shocked.
That ordinary boy not only halted her 'Yuisen' with just two fingers but was also chewing on a metal blade. Was he even human?
"Let's see," he said in his casual voice.
His right hand was raised once again, pointing in her direction. At that instant, Kanzaki noticed something "opening" there. There was definitely something, like the jaws of an invisible animal opening threateningly. Or perhaps it was just her imagination.
It didn't matter.
The sound seemed to be sucked away at that instant. A ray of light emerged from those invisible jaws and split the entire city in two.
Not a single person was hurt. The landscape didn't even suffer a scratch.
Kanzaki froze in that instant. What other reaction could she have after witnessing something so destructive pass inches from her face? A few strands of her long hair had surely been erased from existence.
"I imagine that's enough," Kamijou Touma said, stepping forward, his hands in his pockets, his face bearing a completely neutral expression. "Now... get down on your knees."
It seemed the girl was so perplexed that she didn't even fully process what she had heard. Then the boy was forced to repeat himself.
"I said... get down on your knees."
It was instantaneous. The moment those words left his mouth, all the strength in Kanzaki's body vanished. She definitely didn't want to do it, but her body moved on its own, and she fell to her knees in the face of that crushing pressure. It even felt as if her willpower had shattered, crashing into an insurmountable wall.
"Good," said the boy.
He had to scratch his head and then shake it to dispel the strange sensation invading his body. If he didn't concentrate, that beast would influence him even more.
"I'm sorry about that," continued Kamijou, "but now that you've surrendered, can we have that civilized conversation?"
The young woman lifted her head when she felt that pressure fade away. She looked at that incomprehensible boy in front of her and nodded positively several times.
"Good girl."
The fight between the two superhumans had come to an end. If you can call it a fight in the first place.
x-7-x
Meanwhile, at the Kamijou residence.
"That seems exaggerated," said Index. She poked Stiyl's face, who was lying unconscious in one of the corners of the room.
"Nah." Kimi shrugged as she took a sip of black coffee from her seat at the kotatsu. "Who knows if he'll try anything. Tying him up with that sturdy tape will make sure he stays put."
There was no way of knowing if it would hold him, but she had to take her frustrations out on someone, didn't she?
Author's notes: That was easy.
As I said, the focus will be more on the fights and the complicated relationship between the two protagonists. Many of the scenes will be shortened and others will only be quoted, as it would be redundant to give you all the information you already know. I intend to add extra original scenes, and be warned, don't expect me to repeat the entire canon, changes have already occurred in Kamijou and Kimi's past, and this will shape the future of this fic. You'll understand at the end of this first arc.
Talking about the personality of the "dragon couple" now. I wanted to write Kimi in a similar way to the original, but bear in mind that technically, she has already gone through several life lessons alongside Kamijou. There are still traces of recklessness and negativity as well as traces of nihilism in her, and this makes her see Kamijou in a different light than he really is. I also studied a bit about the "decadent movement" to add some subtle traits to her personality, which was probably Kamachi's original intention.
About Kamijou, remember, that's him before he lost his memory. There's a lot of his "pessimistic" and blunt personality from SS:Biohacker here, but things are a bit more extreme because of his past in this fic, which will be expanded on gradually. In the previous chapter, "optimization" was mentioned, which is a term that Anna Sprengel uses in GT2. Just keep that in mind.
Kamijou's speech is my version of what he used in OT1, but a bit "twisted". Here, I'm trying to use the information Kamachi gave us in the afterword to OT2, and also Kamijou's own words for Index in OT1. Remember? It will make more sense in the future.
One thing about Dragon Lord Kamijou's powers. Here I'll try to keep it as close to canon as possible, but some things are open to interpretation. For example, as you can see, the Dragon King here is invisible, just as he is described in OT2 and GT9, since he can adapt to the environment by essentially camouflaging himself. Kamijou only makes him visible here when he fully manifests. You may also notice that Kamijou's body has a "superhuman" physiology in this mode, which is confirmed by both NT22R and GT9. There are moments in his fight with CRC/JVA that just "normal" kicks and punches (the narration makes a point of saying it's a "normal punch", lol) send him flying to other floors and also the fact that Kamijou can chew seemingly anything. You'll see other interpretations of his abilities here.
Let me see your reviews:
5had0wHand: "Fine, I'll do it myself." xD It's not exactly a question of "overworking ", but thank you very much for your concern, it means a lot. That was the first official fight, if you can call it a fight. I hope it was interesting.
Spidergy: Hey! I thought of a lot of things after reading GT9, but a lot of it I couldn't adapt directly into my current stories, so that's why this one exists. I'll still use information from there in other stories, of course. I'm glad you liked their dynamic. I made a point of making it clear that this isn't a healthy relationship, so I can focus on an eccentric dynamic that will make sense as their past is revealed. Thanks, I'll try not to disappoint.
Guest: Yes. What Kimi has is actually originally his.
Aiman031122: I'm glad you liked their personalities. I've already given you a taste of what the fights will be like here.
Cainabel201X: I appreciate it. Maybe that will change now with GT9.
Fullbreaker: Wait, I'm not unfamiliar with that name, lol. Anyway, glad you liked it. In Kimi's case, it's more like "I can make him worse".
Nicko2545: That's right, Kamijou is getting ready to terrorize the poor magicians who stand in his way. Thank you very much.
FinFangFoom100: I'm glad you liked it so much. Many thanks for all the compliments. Yeah, I was also very unsure whether to go back to the beginning with this fanfic or not, but I'm more relaxed now. I hope to see you here until the end then.
Zatil Hidayah Spensa: I intend to adapt it a little to make things interesting, but in general, yes, he'll have no trouble beating up whoever is in front of him. Glad you liked the premise, I'll try to do a good execution of it.
BlueJack22: Yes, it seems that this kind of story is already a bit saturated. I hope I'll continue to impress then with future changes, I have a lot of plans for Index in the near future. I'll try to focus on new things rather than just retelling everything. Of course, I'm not going to change completely until it's unrecognizable, but the changes will be significant in future arcs.
Emzt20x: Thank you very much. I'll try to keep it up.
Guest: There will be many, I guarantee it.
Guest(2.0?): Thanks.
Guest: You can find more here.
Guest(2²): Thank you very much for reading.
DhakaGrayMan: What did you think of it?
See you next time!
By the w— eh? Hang on, wrong story. That's all. Moon Leaving.