A Certain Magical Index - Arc 2

"(While bringing peace and stability at the same time), (it also destroys the cold and dark misfortune)… (Fire is the name), (sword is the title)!...( Show yourself) , (Swallow Myself’, turn me into power)—!” The tornado of fire that enveloped Stiyl's body erupted, coalescing into a hulking form that loomed in front of him and let loose a tremendous bellow. In its hand a flaming cross glowed white hot.

The creature lifted its arm to strike down the red-haired girl, the enormous sword of fire swinging down on her with monstrous strength. Stiyl smirked, expecting to see her turn to ash before his very eyes. The flames swirled about her as she lunged through its body with a powerful punch only to emerge on the other side, unharmed. Stiyl's smirk faltered.

***

"You should be careful swinging that thing around." Guy pointed to Kaori's sword. "You might hurt someone, you know?" He stepped forward abruptly, jamming his hand against Kaori's arm to stop her from drawing her sword.

"Run!" He yelled to Index and the girl took off past the swordswoman. For a second it looked as though she might reach the safety of the staircase but as she reached for the door a splash of red blood appeared suddenly from her back. Kaori's expression flickered with horror and the wires retracted, leaving Index's body to tumble limply to the floor in a heap.

Guy's fist shot towards Kaori's face, but with speed borne from the powers of a Saint she twisted aside, swinging her foot upwards and into his ribs. The blow sent him flying, his back slamming into the door of his apartment. The door frame shattered inwards and he groaned, rolling onto his front and pressing up onto his feet with his remaining strength.

Sakamoto burst through Innocentius and was rewarded with the image of a rather upset Stiyl. Her momentum carried her forward, right into the man. She grabbed his cloak and pushed her face right up against his, looking half crazed herself. "Guess what? I'M FIREPROOF, MOTHERFUCKER!" she screamed into his face, pulling her head back for a moment before headbutting Stiyl as hard as she could.

She let go of Stiyl and stepped back a foot or two. "That thing of yours is like a warm summer breeze for me. Just sayin'."

Touko found herself staring down the flaming giant, Innocentius. But with a confident gesture she swept her hand across it, dispelling the creature's form as easily as if it were made of smoke.

She didn't have much time to enjoy her victory, however as she felt something appear behind her. To Touko;s dismay Innocentius regained its form, sword and all and prepared for another strike. Lifting her arm, the spiky haired girl grabbed the sword.

"It's not disappearing!" She gasped. The flames were regenerating quicker than her Imagine Breaker could cancel them!

"Runic magic..." Index's weak voice said without emotion. Her glassy eyes stared at Touko and Innocentius. "Attacking Innocentius is ineffective. As long as the runic markings in the area remain it will rekindle itself endlessly."

Stiyl reeled from Meirin's headbutt and staggered backwards clutching at his bloodied nose. So this was the power of Academy city's espers. What a nuisance. This was the worst possible opponent for him to be facing right now. His eyes watering and with every breath stifled by blood he could only watch, helpless as the red-haired esper moved in for the kill.

Her advance was cut short as a flurry of black feathers peppered the ground and wall between Meirin and her prey.

"Sorry for the late assist. But better late than never, right?" The lilt of Vanni's accent was a welcome sound to Stiyl as the Luciferean mage appeared suddenly between the two. Another useful application of his magic, allowing him to switch places with the 'spirit of envy' spell. He brought his arm across his chest. In between his fingers he held three feathers, honed to a razor edge by the 'spirit of wrath'.

"It'd be a shame to cut such a pretty face." He looked at Meirin appraisingly. "So why don't you run on home, little girl?"

***

Grimacing at the pain in his side, Guy clutched at what were certainly broken ribs. Looking up he barely managed to evade the next swing of Kaori's blade as it scythed towards his neck. Rolling to the side he dove past the sword wielding Saint and took off for the staircase.

"Attacking Innocentius is ineffective. As long as the runic markings in the area remain it will rekindle itself endlessly." Index's weak and monotone voice was barely audible over the chaotic battle that raged around her. Bundling the barely conscious nun under his arm as he ran he tripped, falling down the steps to the level below. That hardly helped his throbbing ribs and he let out a gasping wheeze, forcing himself up onto his feet again with a desperation borne from impending death.

"Runic markings..." He glanced about. Yes, he could see them now. The hallway was covered in them. Tiny slips of paper inscribed with strange symbols.

"To completely erase all of Stiyl's runes..." Kaori's stern and quiet voice rang out behind him and Guy turned to face her. "It's an impossible task for you." She took her stance, sword in hand. "Hand over Index!" She raised her voice.

Meirin did not respond for a few moments as she analyzed the situation. Those weren't ordinary feathers; the way they were embedded in the ground said that much. Furthermore, the new guy could teleport. She then decided to fight somewhat more... defensively. Only somewhat.

She charged in again, ready to dodge any of the feathers, should they decide to fly at her again.

There was nothing inside the kitchen room. No body was to be found, no evidence were to be observed and inspected. Only the aftermath of rubble in the kitchen room was left to simply gaze upon and question. His mind wondered what happened to the small Crystallized OFR he managed to implant within Vanni. The crowd behind the spiky haired boy murmured many different things about what had happened. From what the boy heard, some of them could easily be read as rumours. However, the fact that Haragi Faye had no leads of where the roaming "Magicians" could be was disheartening.

The esper had tried to determine the geographic coordinates of that specific OFR crystal within his personal reality once again. Knowing well that it will probably give a general area of the same location he had already known, it was the only reliable source of information in is arsenal. The information he received from his personal reality was perceived differently than before. The coordinates of the general area that were given of the OFR had somehow managed to move 50 m North East almost instantaneously. Which could only mean the most likely thing from Haragi's experience with Vanni...

"That sly bastard....."

Teleportation. Pushing through the crowd to forcefully exit the restaurant, Haragi kept thought of the updated coordinates of where his OFR particle is relative to his position. Even if the position wasn't exact, it had given off a general area to start off with. It was at least better than absolutely nothing. The position of the OFR molecule was changing drastically, meaning that Vanni was on the move. Haragi had to be in range to be able to keep track of the coordinates of the general location. If he had gone any further from him, the esper wouldn't be able to sense his OFR shard any longer.

Stepping on 'thin' air once more, the esper bolted into the sky, hovering through the district in pursuit of the escaping 'magician'.


Eventually, the magician had come to a stop, given the coordinates of his OFR molecule, which had meant he was in the general area in the upcoming section of the district. The esper's eyes were kept sharp as he closely inspected the ground below him to see if anything was deemed suspicious.

Moments later, a voice shrieked from a distance,

"Guess what? I'M FIREPROOF, MOTHERFUCKER!"

It had come from one of the student dormitories. Before the esper knew it, familiar faces were to be seen as well as unfamiliar faces in the latter. Three faces of which Haragi had set his eyes on. The red haired priest whom he spoke with before, the swordswoman with extraordinary strength and speed, and the nonchalant individual who'd he'd been tracking for the past few hours. And adding onto the oddness, a manifestation made out of lethal fire was causing a scene. Ignoring that.

Three targets.

Exactly the amount of individuals that the Dark Side has assigned him to capture. Not only that, there were others. The young sister was lying on the ground injured. This wasn't good. One of the other individual appeared to be one of his substitute teachers from his Physics course. The latter two were two girls whom he had not seen before, but could tell they were from his school.

Since those so-called 'magicians' are after the currently injured young sister, they would not be able to leave Academy City without capturing her. Thus making it easier for Haragi to finish his mission if he had kept the nun away from them. With that and his imaginary container filled with the energy he had conserved so far, he was ready to get involved.

"Oi, oi!.... Did you so-called 'magicians' along with that lolicon priest... already forget about me?... "

Hovering on 'thin' air right outside of the scene of the battle with his arms crossed was Haragi Faye, The Level 4 Solid Air. His sharp eyes were filled with intimidation as he had glared at the battlefield in front of him.

"Oh! I can see why you were having trouble with this one." Vanni's voice seemed to throw itself as he vanished from the path of Meirin's charge and re-materialise behind her in the blink of an eye. "Hardly a fair match up, even for the great Fortis931." He laughed.

"Oi, oi!.... Did you so-called 'magicians' along with that lolicon priest... already forget about me?... "

Vanni shrugged.

"What a pest. Hey, Fortis931. How about we switch partners for a while?" He called out to Stiyl, who replied with a bolt of flame aimed at the hovering esper.

Meirin's senses screamed at her as the man teleported behind her. However, with nothing between her and Stiyl, she sped up and rushed him. If one could teleport, well then, she'd just have to beat the stuffing out of the one that couldn't!

"How about you flying freaks take each other out? I've got a date with Hot Stuff over here!" she yelled, advancing on Stiyl faster than the mage probably liked.

"How about you flying freaks take each other out? I've got a date with Hot Stuff over here!"

With nowhere left to run Stiyl uttered a hurried incantation and the floor beneath him glowed white hot, disintegrating under his feet.

The black robed priest fell through the gap, landing several feet in front of Guy. The young teacher rose slowly to his feet, setting Index down beside the wall.

"Impossible huh?" He looked to Kaori, his cocksure smirk announcing his intentions as clearly as his words. "Well then, I guess you could say I'm about to make the impossible, possible." He sprinted towards Kaori in a suicidal dash. She had just enough time to frown.

"Fool." She unsheathed her sword. But the young man wasn't there anymore. Guy dropped to the floor, his momentum carrying him, skidding underneath the sword's path. As the woman spun to defend herself she realised too late that she was not his intended target. He yanked down on the fire alarm and a fine mist of water rained down on the corridor.

The ink on Stiyl's runic markings began to run and the paper slowly disintegrated in the water.

With Haragi standing ontop of 'thin' air, he was able to view all the levels of the Student Dormitory. The priest had managed to escape a direct attack from the crimson haired girl who supposedly gave away their position to the Level 4 when she shrieked earlier. The priest burned through the hard concrete with Fire(?) dropping a level below near his former teacher.

Right now Haragi had multiple targets to choose from to take out and capture. With Guy facing off against the powerful swordswoman and the priest who can spontaneously produce fire, he would be outmatched. Not only that, the young sister was lying there injured, which would complicate things even more. Thus the Level 4 had rushed the level below to confront the priest and provide support for Guy. As Haragi skid on air, Guy had already started to make his move. It was as though he was making a suicide rush towards the swordswoman, but however he was actually running towards the Fire Alarm.

Was it to douse the monstrous figure completely made out of fire and put the priest at an disadvantage? Regardless, Haragi was already set on confronting the priest. Activating his Personal Reality, faint sparks of light had lit up from around the priest, ready to cause an explosion at any particular moment. Haragi approached the priest, glaring at him with a threatening opposition,

"To be honest... I didn't expect you to be one of the intruders... A lolicon like you.... How about surrendering... rather than all this pointless fighting... otherwise I'm gonna have to beat you around a little bit...."

"Wuh-- huh?! Where'd he go?!" Meirin asked in confusion, stopping to look around. The man she had been attacking had suddenly vanished!

Confused, Meirin spun in a circle, looking for her target.

The flaming sword consumed itself as the runic markings summoning the monster were washed away. At last the Imagine Breaker was able to negate the magic faster than it could regenerate and Innocentius flashed with a blinding light. The flames exploded violently, enveloping the area in a fiery tornado.

As it cleared, Touko lowered her hand.

Shaking his head with a ruefu smile, Vanni assessed his situation.

In front of him stood a girl who had, through methods unknown, not only survived, but completely ignored an attack by some of Fortis931's most powerful magic.

Behind him stood a girl who had dispelled that very same magic.

Academy City had many capable agents at its disposal, Vanni decided. And right now he was in a most unadvantageous situation.

"Well, since Fortis931 is feeling shy, it looks like I'll be your opponent after all!" Vanni charged for Meirin only to vanish at the last moment. In his place a small black feather floated slowly to the ground. It was the same trick he had used only moments earlier and Vanni appeared behind the red haired girl, his hand drawn back to deliver an attack with his razor sharp feathers.

***

"To be honest... I didn't expect you to be one of the intruders... A lolicon like you.... How about surrendering... rather than all this pointless fighting... otherwise I'm gonna have to beat you around a little bit...."

"Ashes to ashes..." Stiyl began to chant in direct response to that threat. There was no backing out now. No retreat. No surrender. If the only way forward was through this boy, then so be it.

For her sake.

Stiyl's gaze fell upon Index, lying bloodied against the wall.

The corridor shook with a deep tremor as the wall around Index opened up. White gloved hands scooped the girl up into a man's arms. Aureolus Izzard cradled Index carefully, running a hand down her long, silver hair.

Stiyl stalled, distracted by the sudden turn of events and he hesitated in his chant, a fatal opening if Haragi decided to take it.

Kaori was the first to move. Long, poweful strides brought her within distance of Izzard' exposed neck and her sword flashed out.

"You shall not touch me." The command left Izzard's lips and Kaori's attack fell short, as though the distance separating them had grown by miles.

"That trick won't work twice!" Meirin announced, leaning back, stepping to the side, and swinging her fist around to attack her attacker. While she may be a hothead, she wasn't stupid - she could identify an attack pattern when she saw one. The previous time the man had vanished, he had appeared behind her. Why should she think this time would be different?

"Ashes to ashes..."

A sign of retaliation was about to be brought towards Haragi. The red haired Priest, known as Stiyl Magnus, was about to activate his own 'ability' after chanting the first few words of his 'spell'.

"Damnit.. he's still choosing to stay persistent.... even if he's facing his own demise.... My bluff isn't going to work if he continues his attack!"

His thoughts spoke to him while clenching his bare teeth. His eyes narrowed sharply as Haragi was about to force his OFR molecules to enter entropy. His goal was to create small scale explosions, enough to knock the priest unconscious leaving him with first degree burns. Not only that Haragi is constrained from going all out in an environment like a student dormitory. If his Esper power had harmed innocent lives, he would only build up the regret he's been suffering through since that one incident with his mother.

However, right before the OFR molecules were excited into entropy, Stiyl stopped the process of the attack focusing on something that had more priority than confronting the Level 4. Haragi noticed this lag period from his threatening glare immediately to a surprised look directed at someone else, causing Haragi to withhold his immediate series of explosion. The priest wasn't focused on the Level 4 anymore, but rather a new individual that had entered the scenario.

A man in a bright white suit with distinguishing green hair had appeared with an injured sister in his arms. He himself didn't look as different than the 'magicians' who had suddenly infiltrated Academy City, but he gave off an particular aura that made him suspicious. Who exactly is he? The mission details only mentioned 3 intruders, so he must be a resident of Academy City? Though why would a citizen of Academy City be interested in that young girl like the infiltrators?

Another thought had came to mind which would make things a bit more concise. It was the fact that the young girl, given her style of clothing, she also came from the outside world. This had also meant that the man in the white suit could very well be a 'magician' after that girl.

Not only that, but the powerful swordswoman had gone hostile towards the odd individual as soon as she had sight on him. However, even her powerful skills with the sword proved to be ineffective against the mysterious man. It was clear that the swordswoman and the green haired man are enemies. Right now, Haragi has a hold of one of the intruder he's been after, but that young sister had been the center of these 'magicians'. If Haragi had seen someone innocent get hurt because of his own abilities, it would only add onto to his regret. Not only that, if he kept that nun safe, the priest would stick around for her alone along with the other 'magicians'. Thus, putting priority on the nun would make more sense, not just for the nun's sake but for Haragi's sake as well.

Ignoring Stiyl's existence, Haragi's eyes concentrated on the man with an intimidating glare. His personal reality activated causing new OFR molecules to form around the man in question having faint bright lit molecules sparkle ready to explode.

"Oi.... What do you think you're doing with that girl?...

Meirin's fist struck Vanni hard across the cheek and he fell against the wall, clutching at his skull as he tried to clear his head. He knew that in moments the girl would be upon him. And if the strength of the other espers he'd faced was any indication she'd be more than capable of finishing him off then and there.

Thinking quickly he called to his aid the spirit of greed. A spell placed on his feathers that would repel her, if only for a moment by forming a barrier of feathers around the point of impact.

"Oi.... What do you think you're doing with that girl?..."

The distinguished looking man in the white suit simply smiled, looking down with gentle eyes at the girl in his arms.

"What am I doing you ask?" He chuckled humourlessly. "What does it look like? I'm saving this girl." The words carried absolute conviction.

"Ars Magna..." Index's weak voice droned. "An alchemical spell that allows one to mold the real world according to a simulation present in the caster's mind..." Aureolus' finger on her lips silenced the small girl.

"Hush, my lamb." The green haired alchemist spoke tenderly. "You are safe now."

"Ars... Magna?" The tremor in Stiyl's voice made his whisper sound almost reverent. He glanced to the runic inscriptions. Faded beyond any hope of usefulness. Stiyl Magnus cursed under his breath. Just like that his most effective weapon had been rendered powerless.



"Didn't I tell you? You may not touch me."

At the same time Stiyl conjured a spiralling flame to his hands.

"Ashes to ashes..."

"Sleep." Aurelous didn't look at the magus as he said that command. Stiyl's knees buckled instantly, his limp and heavy body landing on the ground with a heavy thud.

"Stiyl!" Kaori called out to her fallen comrade. Charging forward with a cry, the whiplike wires of her Nanasen flickered towards Aureolus and he turned to face the fearsome Saint without a hint of fear in his cool blue eyes.

"Fly away."

With those words, Kanzaki Kaori's feet lifted from the ground and she felt herself become airborne, sailing clear over the ledge of the open air corridor. Only her reflexes saved her, clutching to the railing with all her strength.

Now only Haragi and Aureolus remained. The green haired alchemist looked down at the fallen body of Stiyl with a look of muted satisfaction.

Meirin, however, wasn't merely going in for the kill; she wanted overkill, and she intended to get it. Her ability at full blast, she charged at the downed mage, killing intent clear. Her hand met an invisible barrier when she tried to grab him. She tried both hands next after seeing the feathers, attempting to burn them away. Once they were gone, she would immediately leap on the man and boil his brain. All she needed was to grab him, and a few seconds to finish the job...

"What am I doing you ask? What does it look like? I'm saving this girl."

The way this man had spoken, he had sounded like he wanted the complete opposite thing. An unusual feeling came over the Level 4 just from observing that man. Though Haragi was not in the position to judge him, seeing as though he was opposing the Academy City Infiltrators as well and for the fact that he may very well be a citizen of Academy City trying to protect the young nun.

However, the young nun had suddenly spoke oddly, in a more mature voice than before,

"Ars Magna... An alchemical spell that allows one to mold the real world according to a simulation present in the caster's mind..."

Though this explanation could only be seen as nonsense within Haragi's field of logic. However, the red haired priest had been shocked by hearing this. He immediately initiated another attack towards the mysterious man in the suit. But...

"Sleep."

In the next instant, the priest known as Stiyl had dropped dead onto the ground without reason. In retaliation, the swordswoman had reacted quickly enough to attack in concern for her fallen comrade. However, the mysterious man had spoke again.

"Fly away."

Just like that, the swordswoman had been forcefully blown away across the corridor. The only two that remained now was the Level 4 and that man. Though as Haragi witnessed such indeterminable events, he wasn't able to determine this man's esper ability. If the man was able to put others to sleep and forcefully blow away other beings, then he would very well be ranked a Level 5 in both Telekinesis and Psychological Control. Even then, a Level 5 like that doesn't exist since there were only seven Level 5s in Academy City with only one of them majoring in Psychological Control. Recalling from before, the young nun had mentioned a description of some kind of 'spell'. The fact that the person enabling this technique would be able to bring his thoughts to reality.

Meaning if this man was able to use such abilities, he wasn't an esper. Right now, Haragi could only come up with the conclusion of him being associated with the ideals of 'Magic'. Not only that, he also was interested in the young nun who was getting chased after by these 'Magicians'. If the higher ups ordered him to capture the ones who infiltrated Academy City and anyone associated with them, then this man was a likely suspect he had to capture as well.

The Level 4 stepped forward, slowly approaching the man with his mysterious ability. Haragi had consistently kept his expressionless face, despite the fact that he was easily able defeat the mission's targets.

"You know.... I should thank you for helping me knock out one of my targets.... but I can't let you leave with that girl... I still need her help with my business... but if your willing to interfere with my work... then I'll be forced to take you out...."

Vanni's feather smoked and hissed under the heat of Meirin's ability, but the precious few seconds it had granted him had been valuable. In his hand he held a new feather which he flicked towards the girl's face like a knife stroke.

The spirit of Sloth. A single touch of this feather would see the victim lose all desire or motivation. Falling to the 'spirit of sloth' even the mightiest would lose the will to live.

All it needed to do was make contact.

***

"You know.... I should thank you for helping me knock out one of my targets.... but I can't let you leave with that girl... I still need her help with my business... but if your willing to interfere with my work... then I'll be forced to take you out...."

Aureolus reached into his pocket, producing a small needle that caught the light of the moon for an instant. Holding it carefully in his fingers he deftly speared the tip into his neck, twisting the sliver of metal slowly as it buried into his flesh. His blue eyes slackened as he relaxed and he turned to walk away from Haragi.

As he did so, he turned to look back at the boy.

"Be crushed." The command was spoken without hesitation. Something appeared above Haragi, high in the air. Something that had no place being there. A car, materialised from thin air now fell at speed towards the level four as Aurelous closed the wall behind him with a simple statement. "Revert back to normal." He spared a self satisfied smirk and turned back at the flicker of movement that caught his attention.

Guy had launched towards him, his fist drawn back and teeth gritted in determination. Aureolus fumbled with the accupuncture needle, driving it home into his neck.

"Slam to the ground." He said. As if complying, the boy was driven face first into the floor as his momentum halted abruptly and turned earthwards.

"You need not worry. She'll be in good hands." Aureolus said as he stepped over Guy's body. The boy reached out to grasp at his ankle but his body was pinned under a force of what felt like tons.

"Index..." He groaned, reaching in vain for the silver haired figure. Unconsciousness soon followed.

Meirin increased the distance between herself and the man by stepping backward, thinking whatever was in the man's hand would be capable of cutting her; considering the way he was swinging it, the idea seemed plausible, especially if one took into consideration the feathers embedded in the ground. When fighting someone with a knife, what must be remembered are two things:

Close the distance so the wielder can't swing, or extend it so the wielder misses.

Since closing the distance wasn't an option because of some invisible barrier, Meirin stepped back out of range of the stroke, following up with a rapid sidestep to the left, the distance closing once more, and a continued assault. Her intent to kill was rather clear.

"Be crushed."

Short, command-like words were heard from his mouth. These words were directed at Haragi, after his short ultimatum. Similar occurrences from before, the caster's words can bring truth into reality as displayed from instantly knocking the Priest unconscious from just saying "Sleep" and abruptly blowing the swordswoman back from simply stating "Fly Away". Considering what the young nun said, his thoughts will create his own reality. Did this mean simple statements such as Sleep, or Fly away activate those.

Regardless, Haragi could only use the black box method and only consider the inputs and the outputs for battles with magicians and their 'methods' of attacking. In other words, as soon as Aureolus stated "Be Crushed" there was likely going to be some force that will harm him. A few seconds into the situation, nothing had happened except when the Level 4 noticed a car hovering above him.

*Cue Necessary Music*

Haragi had sharply narrowed his eyes as he was about to activate his Personal Reality.

Then... "Revert back to Normal."

As soon as the car was released from it's non-existing idle state, Haragi had developed OFR Molecules surrounding the falling vehicle. As the molecules got excited, Entropy kicked in...


BOOOM!


The explosion tore through the car, which was coupled by the explosion of it's gasoline tank distracting those currently fighting from the unavoidable bright flash of light and fire. Smoke had covered the area in the aftermath, while Haragi status was unknown. After Aureolus had dealt with Guy, heavy panting had come from within the smoke. As the smoke cleared up, A figure, known as Haragi, was seen covered around a thick layered dome of crystallized OFR Molecules which had clearly shielded him from the brunt of the explosion.

However, Haragi himself had blood trickling down from his right arm as part of his school uniform was torn apart from the explosion. A first degree burn mark could be seen from his shoulder area, as his other arm gripped tightly to cover the wound and stop the bleeding. His teeth gritted as the pain dwelling up inside his wound spread across his body striking every nerve. As the Level 4 had recapped the sudden events, he predicted he wouldn't come out unscathed from the explosion. The car above him was too close to avoid completely, and setting an explosion would surely fuse another added explosion from it's gasoline tank.

However, creating a crystallized shield require a little bit more time than causing destructive explosions. Meaning, he would surely have to get injured in the process, but also manage to survive being the most efficient choice during the situation.

Haragi's eyes focused on Aureolus as he concentrated his Personal Reality towards his eyes.

"What a pain... Now I have to think about another excuse about how this got done in to Aneki.... Oh well... Its my turn!"

Faint glow of light immediately formed in front of Aureolus's eyes. Without any given signs of mercy, Haragi triggered Entropy with constraints. In other words, a small scale explosion occurred aiming to blind the 'magicians' eyes also enough to keep Index unharmed.

The flaming giant was gone. Touko let out a sigh of relief before remembering where she was. Index! Touko ran for the balcony, looking out onto the floor below where she spotted the battle raging on between the two magicians and the newcomer in white. Running past Vanni and Sakamoto, she tore open the door to the staircase and bounded down the steps.

But the fight was already over by the time she got there. Stiyl Magnus lay unconscious on the floor. His companion, Kanzaki Kaori hadn't fared much better, dangling from the balcony by one hand and Touko caught a brief glimpse of the white suited man retreating as the wall closed up behind him.

Was this magic?

Touko didn't have much time to contemplate what she had seen before a car fell past her with a loud boom.

"I will come to you now." Aureolus Izzard said.

Something sparkled, like fireflies in his eyes and he for a second time seemed to stand still for the alchemist. The world went dark in an instant.

The pain hit just as suddenly and he clutched at his face, pawing at the bloody mess that had formerly been his eyes. The girl, Index nearly fell from his arms before Aureolus dropped to his knees.

Had he made it? He couldn't tell where he was. Groping in the darkness that now encompassed his world his hand brushed against something familiar. The polished desk of his office in Misawa.

Aureolus Izzard coughed a laugh.

He had succeeded. Carefully setting Index on the ground, he felt around in his back pocket. The sliver of metal between his fingertips was a reassuring feeling for the man as he readied the needle against the skin of his neck.

Relief was instantaneous. Aureolus felt calm return to his world. A feeling of peaceful tranquility washed over him and he focused his thoughts on the task ahead of him.

"Revert back to normal."

An agonising moment passed and Aureolus mustered the courage to open his eyes. There, in front of him on the office floor lay the silver haired nun.

He had succeeded. Aureolus' hysterical laughter echoed through the halls of Misawa cram school.

***

Kanzaki Kaori hauled herself up over the balcony with effortless strength. She didn't spare a thought for the boy who had certainly been caught in that explosion just now, nor about her companions, Stiyl Magnus and Vanni. Bolting past Stiyl's unconscious form she kicked down the door to the apartment and readied her sword.

Her spirits sank when she found herself alone, save for the fallen boy on the floor in front of her.

Guy stirred with a groan.

***

Meirin's quick evasion gave Vanni the breathing room he needed to collect his thoughts and the magician readied his next strategy. He followed up the initial slash with a second fron the concealed feather in his other hand. It flicked out in a near miss and Meirin pressed back in. A predictable maneuver for a close range fighter, he thought to himself with smug satisfaction.

"Silly girl. You didn't think that was the only trick I had up my sleeve, did you?" There was a quiet whistle behind the red haired girl as the 'spirit of pride' shot through the air towards her. Guided by magic, the feather was drawn inexorably to her 'weak point' as Vanni took advantage of the distraction to escape his confinement against the wall.

"Nor was that my last trick, either!" Meirin replied, increasing the temperature of the air surrounding her to about one thousand degrees for a few moments by crossing her arms over her chest and releasing her power in one huge burst. It only affected the air around her for about six inches, but it burned the feather coming at her from behind to a cinder. However, she wasn't done there.

What Meirin had just done would seem like utter insanity to anyone who didn't know she couldn't be hurt by flames - the burst of immense heat had set Meirin on fire. As soon as she was bathed in flames, she rushed the mage like a berserker, grinning crazily. As she was completely on fire, she didn't need to use her ability, which was lucky for her, since that burst had taken a lot out of her.

"H-he's gone?!...."

Vanished, right before the Level 4's eyes. The explosion he caused was sure to directly hit him within the seconds Aureolus had. Haragi was left injured and annoyed by this abrupt conclusion. He had escape with the young sister, and the man himself was a obvious suspect. If Haragi had failed this mission, then his sister's life would be one step closer to danger which he wanted to avoid no matter what.

Clenching his teeth, he directed his eyes towards the Swordswoman who seemed almost exhausted. Haragi barked,

"Oi!... tell me where he went... You so-called 'magicians' seem to know each other...!"

His personal reality was well focused around the swordswoman's area, enough to immediately be able to create OFR molecules and trigger an immediate explosion.