A Certain Magical Index - Arc 2

Izzard glanced upwards without a care as the needle struck his neck.

"Be still."

The falling chunks ceased movement, suspended in mid air. Aureolus lowered his head to look at Haragi with a satisfied smirk on his face that appeared at the same time both manic from the stare in his eyes yet calm from the slight movement of his face.

"Be crushed to death."

The debris vanished from the air above Aureolus only to reappear above the Level 4.

The sound of a blade cleaving many times rang out through the rumble of crumbling stone as Kaori Kanzaki's Nanasen diced the debris, scattering it into harmless dust in a flurry of invisible strikes.

She stood at the doorway with a fierce expression. Behind her a tall young man with a mop of messy black hair shielded a girl dressed as a Miko. A nervous looking boy accompanied them from behind the doorframe.

"Strike now!" She urged Haragi. Itsuwa froze to the spot when she heard that voice.

It was then that Aureolus spotted the movement from the corner of his eye.

A rat scurrying in his office. The pain in his neck was sharp but soon faded to a blissful calm.

"You shall not approach." He intoned. And the office seemed to expand impossibly. Aureolus, and Index with him, were now separated from Touko and the others by a distance close to that of a football field.

"Wha-" Touko uttered in confusion and awe as the world warped in front of her eyes. "I can't cancel his ability if I can't touch him!"

"He's only human. He can only focus on so many things at once." Guy gazed at the alchemist, who now seemed many meters away. "When he makes his move we surround him and attack from all sides. He can't hope to repel us all."

He looked at the combatants each in turn.

"Sword-lady, you're quick on your feet, you take the left."

"New-girl." He pointed to Itsuwa.

"Yes!?" She jolted upright, trying to avoid bringing attention to herself she turned away.

"You' take the right." She nodded.

"Iceman, you can get above him, right?" He addressed Haragi, referring to his ability to walk on solid air. "Think you can get the drop on him?"

"I'll sneak up on him from behind."

"What about me?" Touko looked at Guy apprehensively. The boy placed a hand on her shoulder in a way that she found discomforting. As though she knew bad news was incoming.

"Hedgehog-girl, you're gonna take him head on."

Touko sighed.

"Fox-eyes, Princess..." He looked at Itsuki and Aisa.

Fox eyes? I guess I'll just have to accept that one for now... Itsuki lamented inwardly.

"...Find somewhere safe to hide."

While contained within the smoke, Haragi knew of Izzard's exact position. The air consumption levels detected by his OFR molecules made this possible. Haragi was sure that Izzard wouldn't be able to figure out his where he was within the smoke, especially since he was periodically moving between areas within the smoke.

However, it was when Haragi noticed something odd when the debris was about to crush Izzard. He would assume that his Word of Power ability would save him, and he thought correctly. But it was then the Level 4 had noticed the debris instantly appear right above him. His eyes widened as he grit his teeth.

"What?!?... He knew where I was all along?... No... that's impossible... I've been moving around without leaving any traces in this smoke... Unless... his power didn't need for him to see his opponents to use it against them?... No... that's on an entirely different level then... "

His thoughts were interrupted by the incoming debris above him. Haragi readied his OFR molecules to spawn and incinerate what was above him. Though he had seen something else completely turn the debris into dust. A flurry of wind rendered it into nothing. With that, the smoke had cleared away leaving everyone in plain sight view of Izzard. However it was pointless to care about his cover now regarding Izzard's omnipotent vision.

A familiar voice was heard from behind him.

"Strike now!"

The Level 4 turned his head to see familiar faces. A group of people consisting of the female swordsman, the terrified boy he tried to interrogate earlier, another girl whom he had never met before and one other person he'd never expect to meet. Out of all the people, he saw one of his substitute teachers from school, Guy Li. He could distinctly remember him because Haragi was forced by him to solve several problems in front of the class for being half asleep. Regardless, he didn't have time to concern for them.

He shifted his eyes towards Touko and Itsuwa only to see them fail due to his Power of Word ability, distancing them away from Index. But what struck him curious was the fact that Izzard needed to pierce a needle into his neck before using his ability. Recalling from before, he used a needle, back at the Student Dormitory, before using his ability to summon a falling car above him. And both times, he seemed as though he had nothing to worry about after taking the needle. What did this exactly mean? Does run out of energy after a certain time of his ability usage? Or was it something else?

Guy approached behind him, pointing something useful out. It was the fact that anyone had an extent to focusing on multiple things at once. Does this connect to the acupunctures he takes? Haragi needed more evidence to confirm this. Guy had spoke out to him, after directing everyone the next plan of attack,

"Iceman, you can get above him, right? Think you can get the drop on him?"

Haragi sighed in annoyance, not only of the nickname but the fact he doesn't recognize him.

"Don't you find it a bit embarassing?... Not remembering your students' names even if you were a substitute teacher for a day?..."

He averted his attention focusing on Izzard's smirk. He didn't seem too threatened by the number of people who infiltrated his office, only to oppose him. Haragi needed to observe for now, so he proposed an alternative to Guy.

"I think... I'm close to figuring out a flaw to his power... I just need to figure out his pattern... so instead of me, you take my place in the air...I can use my power to allow you to step on 'thin' air.... I can read your footwork easily, so you wouldn't need to worry about falling... plus... I work better within the 'darkness' anyways..."

His eyes sharpened towards Izzard as the group charged in. In that instant, tiny flashes of unstable light formed in front of Izzard's eyes. He intended to blind him once more, to give the ones attacking an upper edge.

"Listen to your elders!" Guy barked at Haragi as the boy charged off. He looked up at the high ceiling of the office. "Like hell I'd do that..." He muttered to himself as he took cover.

Izzard remained motionless even in the face of blindness as the distance between them shortened suddenly. That was their cue.

Aureolus Izzard was flanked by Kanzaki Kaori's Nanasen. A split second later his other side was caught in a pincer attack from Itsuwa. The wires converged on his neck.

"Return." The alchemist spoke those words and the wires coiled back on themselves in impossible ways. Kaori unsheathed her blade with blinding speed and the wires recoiled again, deflected by her expert swordsmanship. Itsuwa narrowly missed being beheaded, tumbling away at the last moment.

Touko lunged at Izzard with a cry and her fist met his form with a strange sound like breaking glass. She staggered forward, off balance as 'Izzard' vanished into thin air.

""A decoy?" Kaori's face tightened in a scowl. Returning her attention to the doorway she saw that their enemy stood once again on the far side of the room. He pointed at Itsuwa with a smile that froze her blood. And with a single word, he stopped it.

"Die."

The girl's face grew lifeless as she fell to the floor. Touko dove to catch her. If she hit the floor, somehow Touko knew she would be beyond her reach. Itsuwa's body fell, slack into Touko's arms.

"Listen to your elders!"

Guy spoke out loudly, attempting to send him off to do his bidding. However Haragi turned his head facing Guy, with his intimidating eyes. The level 4 intended to refuse, so he spoke out boldly,

"What makes you think I'll lis-"

His ultimatum was interrupted by the word "Die" being spoken out. His eyes widened as he immediately turned around to see what had exactly happened. Izzard wasn't in the same location as he was before. He somehow relocated himself to the far side of the room. At the same time, the girl named Itsuwa had fallen cold and went to sleep. Izzard was the one who had killed her with just a simple word.

"... Itsu.. wa?..."

The Level 4's mouth opened wide, shocked and appalled. Haragi's eye's grew as he felt his heart ache with pain. His feelings turned into anger. His mind enraged, at the sight of seeing someone whom he had never met, turned towards death. He couldn't explain himself or how he had felt. He just knew one goal in mind right now. His hands were to be soaked in Izzard's blood.

"Izzard...."

He muttered to the green haired murderer, gritting his teeth bare out of sheer anger. Haragi's eyes grew cold, as his mind was slowly reaching out of his control. He didn't care, or felt that he didn't need to anymore now that he knew of his objective. A darkened aura came about Haragi, he lent himself deep into the darkness.

"You're... going to pay for this.... Killing you would be the only way... Just don't blame me... for what happens...."

His personal reality activated, and he muttered the words.

"<No Air Space>..."

Suddenly around Izzard's vicinity, he ripped apart all the air molecules consumed by him, leaving him surrounded by OFR molecules and no way to breath. Haragi was able to do this since he was given time to analyze the room's information of every Air molecule. But he planned to avoid doing this until later, but he simply didn't care anymore.

Haragi made his move. Another explosion triggered in the middle of the room, covering himself within the smoke for a short amount of time. The smoke spread around Izzard, as Haragi readied his next move. Silence was drawn within the next few moments. Right until, his own figure launched out of the smoke as Izzard was flanked from behind, attempting for a surprise attack. Haragi readied his OFR conjured blades in both hands, focusing on killing him in his own desirable way.

Aureolus didn't notice the change in the air pressure around him at first. He fired his pistol blindly through the smoke again, the blades of the modified weapon whistling deeply as they split the swirling smoke.

Sensing something behind him he spun, lashing out with the weapon in his hand. The blade skipped across Haragi's own and Aureolus staggered back, his body weaker than he had realised. He felt dizzy, the effects of hypoxia slowly warping his thought processes as he crawled closer to unconsciousness. Still, it didn't take much thought to visualise his next objective.

"Die." Aureolus wheezed as though the small movements had rendered him out of breath.

***

Touko felt something. Something soft and rhythmic. Itsuwa's heart still beat. 

"She's OK!" Touko gently lowered the girl's feather-light body to the floor and looked up to see Haragi descend upon Aureolus with blades of ice. With their enemy distracted there was nothing standing in her way.

Beside Index, Kaori had already begun preparation of the ritual to erase the girl's memory. The surroundings were less than ideal and without Stiyl to aid her it would be difficult, but without any other option left to her she would stake her life on this single chance.

Touko approached.

"Don't come any closer!" Kaori barked, surprised to find her own voice strangled with panic and grief. Touko stopped in her tracks.

"If you come any closer then who knows what that hand of yours might do. I don't know what power you possess and I don't care!" The soft-spoken Kanzaki Kaori raised her voice uncharacteristically again. "But I won't let you stop me from saving Index."

"Then let me help!" Touko spoke before thinking. If Index's suffering was caused by something of supernatural origin then she was certain she could help. No. If that was the case then she could definitely save Index.

"You can't!" Kaori spoke as though silencing an ignorant child interrupting an adult's conversation. "I have to erase her memories..." Were those tears in Kaori's eyes? She turned away too fast for Touko to see clearly.

"Is it really true? What Izzard said?" Touko asked hesitantly. To think Index had to suffer that fate... It filled the girl with a feeling like disgust. A sense of wrongness. No one should live a life without memories. Without a past. "Index's mind is overloaded with that magic nonsense, so you're just going to erase her memories? Her happiness, her sadness? All so you people can keep chasing her and using her for your own ends!" Touko could see Kaori's resolve crumbling in the face of her own deeds.

"Overloading her brain!? Give me a break!" Guy interjected, having slipped away from the confrontation between the berserker Haragi and the rogue alchemist. "That's impossible. We still don't know the limits of the human brain, to think that erasing a year's worth of memories will make a difference... you magicians are pretty ignorant, aren't you?" He tutted. "It'd be a drop in the ocean."

"But I-" Could it be a lie? Her mind wheeled to comprehend this new information in the wake of Touko's devastating assault on her faith.

"Let me help her! Let me help Index!" Touko didn't wait for Kaori's answer, moving past the Saint who simply stepped aside, teeth gritted in shame. This girl. This 'Kamijou' was right. She wasn't saving Index by erasing her memories. She was simply prolonging her pain.

The spiky haired girl examined Index closely, looking for the sign she knew was there. Somewhere whatever magic was affecting Index had left its mark. Her eyes fell on Index's lips, parted in strained breaths. Could it be? She parted Index's lips. There, in the girl's mouth a mark was faintly visible. Touko reached inside...

As she shoved her finger down the back of the throat, Touko felt her fingers scraping against the magical surface and in that precise moment when she negated a layer of magic within, she along with Kanzaki was violently propelled backwards by an invisible force. The shockwave felt almost as painful as if Touko had been blown away by many shotgun rounds going off all at once, pain spreading from the tips of her fingertips. The sound of unnatural shriek echoed across as a magical defence mechanism within the small nun crumbled by the Imagine Breaker. Those who were fighting on the other side halted their squabble to seek out the source of the unnerving sound.

As Touko and Kanzaki recovered from the shockwave that violently propelled them back, they stared at Index who was a moment ago a mass of sweating feverish girl who was most likely on her deathbed. Yet the person they expected to find lying in agony was nowhere to be found and instead they saw the figure of the small nun rise like a creepy boneless jelly, almost as if watching a scene from a horror film involving a rising vampire from her coffins. Index slowly stood up in such an unsettling manner that she seemed like a boneless, joint-less sack filled with jelly. The crimson magic circles in her eyes pierced Kamijou. If they remembered her sweating and in agony, there were no traces of that now. Instead they looked on as her eyes silently opened to reveal a eerie blood red magical circles carved within her iris staring back at them.

“Warning: Chapter 3, Verse 2. All barriers for Index Librorum Prohibitorum’s collar from first to third have been breached. Preparing to regenerate…"

Touko looked towards Kanzaki but her expressions told her that she was in just as much shock and awe as she was as her dying friend came back alive spouting lines you would expect from a computer.

".....

....

..


Regeneration procedure...failed. The collar cannot self-regenerate. Switching priorities to the elimination of the intruder in order to protect the 103,000 archived grimoires.”

Upon hearing her last sentence it finally dawned on both their minds... If Index was not a Esper why is that she possess no magical power?

The answer to that question was likely right before them. The church had prepared multiple layers of security. If someone found out about the secret of her perfect memory and tried to remove the collar, Index would automatically use her 103,000 grimoires to use the powerful magic held within in order to literally keep the person who knew the truth from saying anything ever again. All of Index’s magical power was put into running that automatic defense system.

“Using the 103,000 archived grimoires to determine the magic spell used to damage the barrier…

...

..


Search failed.

The specified magic cannot be determined.

Composing an anti-intruder, local weapon to expose the composition of the spell.”

Index tilted her head like a corpse puppet.

“The magic expected to be most effective on the target intruder has been formulated. Proceeding to activate the anti-unit magic, St. George’s Sanctuary, to eliminate the intruder.”

With a tremendous noise, the two magic circles in Index’s eyes grew simultaneously. Two magic circles over two meters across were now positioned in front of Index’s face. Each one was fixed in place with its center over one of her eyes and the magic circles would move through the air when she slightly moved her head.

Index sang something that was beyond human comprehension. For an instant, the two magic circles centered on her eyes glowed before exploding. More specifically, it seemed like an explosion of high voltage electricity occurred in a point in space between Index’s eyes, and lightning scattered in every direction. However, rather than bluish-white electricity, the lightning was pitch black.
Though an unscientific description, space itself had seemingly cracked open. Centered at the point where the two magic circles crossed, pitch black spacial cracks spread out in every directions to the edges of the space.

It was like a window that was shot by a bullet. It almost seemed like a type of barrier preventing anyone from approaching Index. Something seemingly pulsating swelled up from within the cracks. A beast-like scent wafted in from the slight opening created by the pitch black cracks and as they stared at the widening cracks, whatever was inside it peered out in the form of a beam of light akin to a laser beam 1 meter wide!

Touko interrupted, as she had yelled to say that Itsuwa was fine. Haragi widened his eyes asking himself how. The mysterious right hand popped into his head. He smirked. For some reason, his heart felt relieved. He felt more confident, leaving himself with no worries to attack.

The two figures clashed against each other, one side with a crystallized blade and the other with a real blade created, within the last moment, from Ars Magna. Izzard flinched, trying to maintain his posture from the ambush. With much exhaustion, Izzard took the easy way out to win against the esper.

"Die."

The words were muttered coldly as if it sounded like the last words of a murderer before soaking his hands in blood.

"Hmmph.." Haragi muttered having felt indifferent.

Death had welcomed Haragi, or it should have. The spiky haired boy, was in fact safe, away from Izzard's view.

The sound of ice cracking apart were heard. The figure in front of Izzard shattered instantaneously into tiny sparkles of crystals, glittering about. With little time to realize for Izzard, each shards of crystal shone brightly, triggering a series of explosions. Izzard was engulfed by the flame, only to be restricted within the borders of his <No Air Space>. Because of this, the flame purged within his <No Air Space>, burning anything alive within.

Haragi recalled moments ago, from when he created several objects out of OFR molecules during the initial moments of the fight. One of those objects was a replica of himself made out of OFR molecules. After exposing Izzard's decoy, his real position was right behind the objects he created which were still concealed within the smoke. Because of this, Haragi took the opportunity to use such a method, knowing fully well if Izzard had imagined him and used his Ars Magna for his death, he would have been killed. His determination opposed death, which is why he's still alive.

Just as the explosion occurred, Haragi, who had been still concealed within the smoke this whole time, readied his blades and propelled himself forward. He couldn't tell if he was burned alive, but he wouldn't have gone down that easily. He had to finish off Izzard with a surprise attack, while he was still occupied by the flame. His feet stepped on thin air, to boost his own speed, as his eyes focused sternly towards the figure within the flame.

The countdown timer for his air capacity deprecation for his lungs started as he entered his <No Air Space> while ripping through the fiery flames. His resolve didn't falter, Izzard had to pay for the actions he committed. His eyesight targeted for whatever remained of him within the fire. Having done so he spoke,

"Izzard... you overlooked us as weaklings... People who would simply be feared by your power... But....

Haragi positioned his crystallized weapons in place, with both crossing each other diagonally.

"... I'm not the type of person who would be easily scared off... because of the burden I carry and suffer through!"

Haragi with no more than a meter distance away from the green haired man. He muttered his final words.

"You should have killed me... when you had the chance... But... because of that... it's checkmate... Izzard!"

Both blades swung downwards diagonally, expecting to slice through him.

Haragi ended up behind him with both his blades swung downwards. He had executed his attack, reaching outside of his <No Air Space>, while breathing heavily to regain the lost air from his lungs. His feet touched the solid ground only kneel on his one leg. He lost quite a bit of his conserved energy, because of that his own body was falling into exhaustion. Having risked his own life, only to attempt to defeat a man with such power. It was only possible because of his resolve, because of the burden he carries, because he chooses not to die.

As he was about to turn around and see the conclusion of his attack, he was interrupted by a massive shockwave originating from the end of the room. From where Index had been.

Haragi covered his eyes with his arms from the pulsating wind, while trying to peek at what was exactly going on. After the wind had calmed down, the sight of once an innocent little girl left his jaw open. It was what looks to be Index, but in a form of a floating lifeless body shining brightly while blood red material formed around her front.

Was this Izzard's doing? Or... was this the result of not erasing her memories? Haragi didn't have enough insight to piece together what had exactly happened. From the looks of it, what seems to be Index didn't seem like the sweet innocent girl he had met before. Her silent and emotionless eyes proved so. He had a bad feeling for what was about to happen. His instincts tell him to stop her, but how would he do that without hurting her?!

"Damnit!..."

He cursed to himself.

Suddenly, he heard a robotic like voice, similar to before, speak from Index's mouth. From what Haragi could comprehend, she had intent on eliminating those who stood in her path. A bright light charged between the girl's eyes, and shot a thick beam directly towards Touko. Haragi flinched, by immediately stepping on thin air to reach her.

"Touko!... GET OUT OF THERE!"

OFR Molecules spawned in front of Touko, creating a weak shield to slow down the beam's trajectory. But once it had collided, it broke through his own solid shield like it was nothing. He himself didn't have enough time to reach her. His eye's widened realizing what was about to happen.

Academy City's skyline split open with a pillar of light that pierced the clouds. High above the futuristic city the supercomputer satellite 'Tree Diagram' was sheared in half by the 'miracle of God' that occurred below.

Aureolus looked up as the boy, Haragi Faye, descended upon him to deliver icy death. The sharp sting across his chest, somehow both cold and hot at the same time, carved through his consciousness. In the face of such pain, focus was impossible. The attack was so sudden, so unexpected that he hadn't the time to think.

Aureolus Izzard fell to the floor in a heap of twisted limbs as his knees buckled. Looking up he saw a glorious sight. A miraculous sight.

Index had become an Angel...

In Aureolus's mind that teetered on the brink of death, that was how the girl before him appeared.

An avenging Angel, wreathed in God's glorious light, sent to deliver His wrath to the enemies before her.

He reached out a hand, noticing for the first time that his skin was daubed in blood.

"Index..." He whispered in awe.

The spear of light that targeted Touko threatened to envelop the girl and she reached up instinctively, stepping back to brace herself against the thunderous force that broke against her defenses. Imagine Breaker sang with a choir of breaking glass as the beam fell on her with the force of a waterfall.

Time Limit - To Aru Majutsu no Index OST

A beam of light struck against Touko's Imagine Breaker with unimaginable speed and with a force unknown to the modern day magicians that kept Touko's hand pinned down in a risky stalemate. It wasn't correct to assume that the Imagine Breaker was not negating the effects of this magical attack, rather it was being recreated at an even faster rate than what was possible to be negated by her hand. The longer she stood trying desperately to block the endless wave of light from passing through, the more she realized that she was being pushed back. Sound of meat and bones being crushed under a burning hot flat steel-like surface echoed across as the beam of light intensified Touko felt her fingers being pulverized, bending back in ways she never knew possible. However, there was no pain… and no heat. As if it were a pillar of water coming from a fire hose being repelled by a clear wall, the pillar of light scattered in every direction when it struck Kamijou’s right hand.

Kamijou grabbed her right wrist with her empty left hand. She felt a stinging pain in the palm of her right hand. The magic was eating into it. Her right hand was not negating it quickly enough and the pillar of light was approaching millimeter by millimeter. This wasn’t just a large mass! Each individual piece of light was something different!! She frantically realized. It was possible Index was using her 103,000 grimoires to use 103,000 different types of magic at the same time. Each individual grimoire held instant death and she was using them all at once.

"Salvare000!"

Kanzaki’s two meter long Japanese sword sliced through the air. Her Nanasen attack utilizing seven wires flew towards Index at a speed that seemed to slice through sound itself. But, she did not aim for Index. The wires tore through the floor at Index’s feet yanking it away. Having lost her footing, Index fell backwards. The magic circles linked to her eyes moved and the pillar of light that was supposed to be aimed at Kamijou missed its target considerably. As though if it were a giant sword being swung around, the pillar of light sliced through the wall and ceiling and it even sliced through the pitch black clouds floating in the night sky. In fact, it could have even sliced through a satellite outside the atmosphere.

“Warning: Chapter 45, Verse 3. Analysis of the anti-magic spell has succeeded. It is confirmed to be a Amakusa Style Magic Array Combat. Adding in most effective counter spells… Spell 1, Spell 2, Spell 3. Four seconds until the complete activation of the spell לחזור בתשובה באש הגיהינום.”

Just as she said those words Index aimed the palm of her right hand in the direction of Kanzaki Kaori and before anyone could see what was happening, the eastern Magician was pressed flat onto the floor as if the entire are around her was being crushed with a gravitational force that vastly differed from everyone else. Despite the fact that she had activated her powers as a Saint the moment Index finished her spell, she wasn't able to escape the effects of her spells nor could she move a step away from the immense gravitational force that weighed and pinned her on the spot. It was more accurate to say that Kanzaki's body wasn't grinded into a puddle of blood and meat due to the greater resilience she had as a Saint and ultimately kept her alive against the increasing gravity around her.

But this was nothing but a temporary measure as Kanzaki felt the helplessness Kamijou Touko felt as Index's magic ate through her best line of defence millimeter by millimeter, Kanzaki could feel the gravity around her intensify with each passing second threatening her muscles and bones to crumble against the increasing pressure.

With Kanzaki out of the picture Index briefly scanned across her surroundings. Her eerie eyes making eye contact with everyone from a distance and coming to a halt as she fixated her gaze on the enemy who should have died from her first spell.

“Warning: Chapter 6, Verse 13. New enemies confirmed. Changing combat considerations.

Beginning scan of the battlefield… analysis complete.

Focusing on the destruction of the most difficult enemy, Kamijou Touko.”

After witnessing Index's battle prowess, Haragi started doubt he himself would be able to save Index at this point. The once innocent young girl was now an enemy. She attacked Touko who managed to survive the light beam with the help of her imagine breaker and the swordswoman interfering afterwards.


“Warning: Chapter 6, Verse 13. New enemies confirmed. Changing combat considerations.

Beginning scan of the battlefield… analysis complete.

Focusing on the destruction of the most difficult enemy, Kamijou Touko.”

That didn't sound good. Haragi had to act now before she attacks again. Otherwise if Touko got hit by the same thing, she wouldn't be able to hold back against it judging by how exhausted she was by the previous time only to be saved by the swordswoman. Haragi's goal was to save Index, and even if he couldn't by himself, he had to help save her.

His personal reality activated, spawning OFR molecules around Index's vicinity. Within the instant, explosions triggered engulfing the lifeless angelic girl in smoke. This bought him some time to be able to find out a way to stop her. He had some theories of his own he thought up last minute based on what he knew. He knew himself that he wouldn't be able to stop Index without hurting her, so he realized someone else was more suitable for the role.

The level 4 managed to approach Touko, within the short time he had through thin air. His eyes fixated towards the direction Index was in while speaking,

"Touko... your right hand... you said it would be able to stop any kind of anomaly... right?... That means you can stop Index... but that also risks her life since we don't know what would happen if you were to use your ability against her..."

Haragi didn't have many options left, as time was running out. His plan revolved around Touko and her Imagine Breaker. Given the information and witnessing his own power get nullified by it, it was still too soon to tell what kind of flaws would happen if he were to use it on a being abnormal itself.

"We don't have many choices left... I want to save her... but I can do jack shit about it right now... you're the protagonist of this story, Touko... you get to choose how it ends... I'm only someone who can support you from the sidelines... but listen to this... I promised that I wouldn't let anyone get caught up within the darkness... that is the burden I have to carry... so please... not only for her sake... save her for mine..."

The spiky haired boy paused before continuing,

"I can maneuver you closer to Index with my Solid Air, if you are planning to take the responsibility of stopping her... I'm counting on how things play out... so make a choice fast... we don't have much time before the smoke clears out...."

Guy stood crouched behind the upturned oak table beside Kaori, his face darkened in a stern frown.

"Something tells me you weren't expecting this." Kaori didn't reply. "Any idea how to stop her or do I need to do all the work?" He placed a cigarette between his lips and flicked open his lighter.

"This isn't something a normal human can handle." She explained. "With the power Index wields, she could almost be considered a Majin, or Magic God. Just keep out of the way and try to stay alive."

Guy let out a dry chuckle.

"You're underestimating humans..."

Behind them Izzard's bloodied hand reached for a golden needle.

"Touko... your right hand... you said it would be able to stop any kind of anomaly... right?... That means you can stop Index... but that also risks her life since we don't know what would happen if you were to use your ability against her... We don't have many choices left... I want to save her... but I can do jack shit about it right now... you're the protagonist of this story, Touko... you get to choose how it ends... I'm only someone who can support you from the sidelines... but listen to this... I promised that I wouldn't let anyone get caught up within the darkness... that is the burden I have to carry... so please... not only for her sake... save her for mine..."

Images of Index flashed to Touko's mind. She hadn't known the girl for long. Had hardly spoken with her even, and yet she knew she couldn't turn away now.

The distance between them was a problem. She would need some way of getting up to the flying girl if she was going to end this. That was when Haragi proposed his solution.

"I can maneuver you closer to Index with my Solid Air, if you are planning to take the responsibility of stopping her... I'm counting on how things play out... so make a choice fast... we don't have much time before the smoke clears out...."

Touko nodded. but as she turned to run something hit her in the arm. Her right hand felt cold.

The girl looked down in confusion and clenched her fist. But her fingers didn't move.

That was when she noticed, her arm was no longer attached to her body. It lay limply on the floor in a quickly spreading pool of blood.

"Wha-?" She muttered in shock at the surreal sight.

Behind them both Izzard stood, barely. His hand clutched at the customised pistol, another blade now missing from the barrel.

"I won't let you harm Index!" He yelled in a raw voice.

Haragi focused his personal reality into calculating their path and destination for riding on thin air, only to be interrupted immediately by a gushing sound. The sight of a spinning blade passed through them and Touko's shocked face could only let out a "Wha-?".

The boy's eyes widened as he noticed the splatter of blood from Touko's right arm, having some of it stain on his shirt. There was a gap between his mouth as he saw her right hand on the floor accompanied by a pool of blood. Only logic predicts one certain man who could have done this. He averted his attention to who was behind him and saw Izzard barely standing up with an emptied gun in his hand. He was still alive, even after all he had done. His resolve wasn't enough to defeat him.

"I won't let you harm Index!"

The spiky haired boy knew that Touko's ability was the only chance they had left to stop Index. But that chance was taken away by Izzard, who blindly thinks Index isn't in any danger as she is now. A fiery rage entered Haragi's eyes staring at Izzard's disgusting figure. His teeth was bare as he yelled,

"Izzard! You bastard!"

OFR Molecules spawned around Izzards vicinity, intending to blow up the entire room. Controlling Solid Air depended on Haragi's emotional state. If he was led astray from his peaceful state, the magnitude of his explosions would be greater, ignoring the safety of those around him.

These molecules grew brighter than ever before, indicating the whole room was about to be showered in an explosion.

Aureolus felt a rush of victory even as the lights enveloped him. He had saved Index from the heretic and her terrible power. His work was done. Aureouls Izzard waited for his end to come.

Hehehehehehehe

Touko's shoulders shook.

The girl started to chuckle. Her mouth widened into a grin, baring her teeth as her head hung low. Izzard managed a gasp.

She's... laughing? He took a step backwards, his hand dropping from the gaping wounds in his chest with a trembling that he couldn't cease.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Touko's chuckling turned to a raucous cackle as she threw back her head, the blood still draining from her arm.

This isn't possible. Aureolus's peaceful expression cracked like glass, his brow creasing with worry. The solution was obvious. Even in this state he could deal with this girl.

"An endless array of guillotines. Dismember her body!" He commanded. The executioner's blades hung motionless over Touko's head, dropping with sudden, explosive force. They didn't reach her. Their forms disintegrated like dust in the wind. Haragi's OFR vanished. Even the light of Index's attack seemed to wither from the girl's presence.

Impossible!

Touko didn't look at Haragi as she passed him. Aureolus could feel her eyes on him as she turned to look over her shoulder at him slowly.

"You didn't think you could defeat Imagine Breaker with such a pathetic attack, did you?"

She's just a human! The overpowering primal terror in his chest told him different. There was something else there... Aureolus fell to his backside, scrabbling back with what remained of his strength he turned and ran from the girl whose mere gaze froze his blood.

***

"Hey, you're pretty strong, right?" He asked Kaori. She shot him a stern glare. "Can't you hold her down? Keep her from moving with those wires of yours?" He asked. Kaori pursed her lips. Even for someone who had fought Angels, such a thing was no easy task.

A gout of flame interrupted the Saint's thoughts.

"I'll distract her." Stiyl's voice was a welcome sound to Kaorit's ears and she allowed herself the faintest of smiles. Out of the corner of her eye she glimpsed the red haired mage in his unmistakable black robes.

"Right." She nodded, taking her sword. The two charged out, leaving Guy in their dust.

"So I'm really useless this time, huh?" He frowned to himself, watching Index bathed in magical light above him.

Index's vision was obscured by a wall of bright orange flames that licked at her small form. In that instant the wires of Kanzaki Kaori's Nanasen wrapped around the girl's limbs, pulling taut around her and dragging the angelic nun lower towards the exposed rooftop.

Kita re-entered the building after escaping the zombified students and began searching for the papers she originally came for.

As she managed to open her friend's locker to retrieve the papers she felt the ground vibrate and a piecing light shown into the room.
Moving to the window Kita could see a massive beam of light shooting out from the building.

"What on earth are they doing up there?" Kita said to herself as she began to wonder what was happening up above her.

Just when Entropy was about to occur, Haragi had felt an unexpected feeling. The fact that he had expected the whole room to be in chaos due to the magnitude of his incoming explosions wasn't the case. That was when he realized all of his OFR molecules surrounding Izzard were no more. While this occurred, Touko's initial chuckle turned into maniac laughing despite her serious injury.

As blood spurt out of her dismembered arm, her mental state completely changed. He also noticed Izzard's peaceful and calm expression changed to being cautious and shocked. It had seemed he didn't expect Touko to act this way after losing her right hand.

As Touko slowly made her way towards Izzard, Haragi was frozen in fear as she passed by him. All that he could muttered from his mouth was,

"T-touko...?"

The Touko he was looking at right now wasn't the same girl he had spoke to before. She was completely different as if someone... no something else had taken over her mind. As much as Haragi wanted to move and stop her, he couldn't. The fear that he felt prevented him to interfere with Touko's intents.

Izzard worried, used his Ars Magna against her. At this point, Haragi wouldn't have been able to do anything, only watch and observe. A series of Guillotines spawned above the girl, only to instantly disappear. That didn't make sense, her right hand was cut off and she was able to use her ability through that hand. Unless... That was when Haragi realized something.

What if her right hand only suppressed her ability to erase any supernatural entity from whatever she touches? If her right hand was removed, who says she can't use her ability but to a greater extent? It was as if she was holding back her true potential, by erasing any anomaly within the vicinity around her and without the need to touch it. This couldn't be magic because Touko was definitely a Esper. But was it something Academy City had been keeping underwraps? Haragi's eyes widened,

"Just what... the hell is she?...."

Kamijou Touko was an unknown through Haragi's eyes. Even if his knowledge of magic was limited, he knew Espers adapted to using their Personal Reality would not be able to use any other method outside of it. But Touko being an Esper, Haragi's insight of the science world couldn't explain her thoroughly.

No. This cannot be! My Ars Magna is failing me now, when I need it most? Aureolus cowered under the remnants of his table. "No. I can't think like that..." He fumbled for his needles and they scattered across the floor, clattering loudly. For the second time Aureolus fumbled blindly for the golden needles. But this time his hands, numb with fear couldn't grasp at the tiny slivers.

Aureolus felt something. Like a shiver down his spine it caled him to attention. There was no looking away. His eyes widened until it seemed they might bulge from his head and he mouthed silent words. Prayers perhaps? There was no looking away...

A monster had appeared before Aureolus Izzard. A beast, black as the darkest of blacks took flight against the glorious white light of Index's attack. It soared through the air towards the girl, her arms spread wide as though to embrace the hellish thing. Like the messiah on the crucifix. The dark miasma that had enveloped Kamijou Touko like a shroud coalesced into a snapping serpent's head.

The terrible dragon roared as Touko reared back her fist. The cruel jaws with their jagged fangs opened wide...

As the dragon's jaws closed around the angelic light there was a sound of breaking glass. There was a flash as the bluish white light extinguished like a candle blown out by a sharp breath.

Kaori felt her wires go slack and Index plummeted from the sky off the edge of Misawa Cram School as Touko slammed hard into the rooftop with a heavy thud. She ran as fast as her feet could carry her, but even with the speed of a Saint she would be too late. She skided to a stop at the roof's edge and looked over. The boy dangling from his fingertips looked up at her with relief plain in his eyes.

"What took you so long?" He asked with a shaky laugh. In his other hand a bundle of white cloth swung lazily. Wisps of silver hair could be seen.

"Index!" Kaori whispered with gratitude. She knelt down, reaching for the girl as Guy lifted his arm to pass Index's delicate wrist to Kaori.

Kamijou Touko hadn't moved from where she had fallen.

***

Aureolus Izzard ran with a speed that was surprising for a man with his injuries. He spared harried, wide eyed glances behind him as he felt his way along the walls of Misawa, leaning for support when he felt his legs might crumble beneath him.

Touko had fallen unconscious as a result of what had just happened. As she walked forward, she unleashed a dark miasmi-like attack in the form of a dragon, and stopped Index in her rampage. He noticed Izzard escape in fear however the Level 4 was still paralyzed from the demonic vibes off of Touko. Kanzaki and Guy managed to grab Index after the hit she took, concluding her safe and sound.

However, Touko fell. Haragi snapped out of his confusion and ran to her aid.

"Oi, Touko!..."

He could care less for Izzard at this point, given the circumstance. As Haragi approached her, he knelt down to observe her injuries. Her dismembered arm continued to lose blood, and she was completely unconscious. If this went on any longer, she might really die. He needed to reach the hospital as fast as possible before things went bad. He averted his attention towards Kanzaki and Guy only to shout,

"Oi!... Touko's gonna be in danger if she continues bleeding out! We need to get her to a hospital!... Try and be a little more considerate of who saved Index just now!..."

Haragi noticed his hands were still shaking from earlier. The person who appeared as Touko was definitely not her. Just who was it?

“…Warning: Final… Chapter, Verse Zero…. The collar has received fatal… damage… Regeneration… impossible… shut..down.. 5..4.”

With this final message the magic circles that danced within her iris started to vanish like a clearing of a fog and she fell back into deep slumber with a peaceful air about her. Her breathing returned to normal and her face showed neither signs of pain nor fever as she rested her head buried deep on top of Kanzaki's lap using it as a pillow. She was saved beyond all doubts and impossible odds that would otherwise have suggested no such promise of a future.

From a distance Haragi could hear Izzard's delusional screams coming to a halt followed by roar of a scorching explosion that shook him slightly and as he knelt down to investigate the hero of justice who saved the day for everyone, he felt a sudden outburst of heat exhaustion from the nape of the back of his neck as though he had been hit in the head by magic, all strength leaving his entire body, down to the very last finger as Haragi collapsed right next to Kamijou Touko.

"Let's try to wrap this up quickly without making a fuss." said the form standing above Haragi Faye, his left hand enveloped in embers that licked at Haragi's neck as he fell.

He was no healer neither was he very proficient in first aid either but he knew enough to keep people alive just long enough to get them treated properly. Taking a deep whiff and breathing out the smoke on top of Touko's wound, he quickly used his hand to engrave various rune into the smoke before it dissipated into thin air, carving away into letters of power.

As the smoke lifted, the runes carved out by Stiyl remained and hovered for awhile as though it was lit on fire and soon it seeped into the wound, stopping further blood loss yet keeping the wound fresh to re-attach the limbs at a later time.

"That should hold for another 3 hours. Now then..."

But by the time he stared at the general direction of the seemingly unordinary teacher to decide whether or not he should put him to sleep too as he did with Haragi, Guy Li was nowhere to be seen. He disappeared into the shadows without exerting a presence and neither Kanzaki or Stiyl could sense he was missing.

Where did he go?

The thought ran through them both but it didn't matter. Index was safe and they've managed to capture the rogue Alchemist. Now all they had left to do was to report back to the Archbishop while dropping 2 students at the nearest hospital.

"Listen Kanzaki, since I'm not in my best shape how about I carry Index and you.."

Just as he tried to finish the sentence Kanzaki Kaori was already miles ahead of him with Index wrapped in her right arm while she held onto the oversized katana on the other.

Kamijou Touko awoke to a brightly lit room that she recognized instantly. This was far from her first visit to hospital, after all. She sat up, rolling her neck sleepily before wincing at the soreness in her arm. She clutched at the bandaged limb.

"That's right..." Memories of pain, dulled and hazy now. She clenched her fist. Only a slight sting. "I should be thankful, I guess..." She said wearily as the door swung open.

"I'm glad to hear you say that." Heaven Canceller said with a fatherly smile. "You and that boy were in  bad shape when you arrived. What sort of fights have you been getting into, anyway?" He asked with a shake of his head.

"Boy?" Touko asked, nearly leaping from the hospital bed. "There were others with me?" She looked expectantly at the older man.

"Just the one. Faye-san I believe his name was." He explained. "Though a few more of your friends arrived to check up on you while you were unconscious..." His furrowed eyebrows lent him a concerned expression. "Speaking of which, you should really be resting in your condition. You lost a lot of blood."

"Who?" Touko interrupted him abruptly. "I'm sorry." She apologised. "But I need to know that everyone's okay.".

"Another boy and two girls." He referred to Itsuki, who had (rather reluctantly) accompanied Aisa and Itsuwa to the hospital in search of the two injured teenagers and Index. "You have some interesting friends." He chuckled warmly.

"I see..." Touko didn't sound as high spirited as Heaven Canceller had hoped. Index hadn't been with them.

She smiled tenderly from the dark corner she was currently occupying. Her arms were crossed and she leaned back in relief that she did not had to step in. The Undertaker merely watched from the shadows, waiting for everything to occur and for the heroes to end their struggles. Something of note however, that brought both a degree of respect and awe for the science side was how they nimbly made everyone in the area scarce. No Anti-Skill or law enforcement got involved, no calls were made and no one interfered. It was too spotless for Seluna's taste but that just confirmed the thought that the Archbishop and the Man in the Windowless building had much more influence than anyone could possibly imagine, Seluna didn't bother to think on this, just the realization was enough to leave her in awe. But, those were worries for herself and had no greater relevance in the moment.  What was important now was, that a crisis was averted and that her job would start soon.

There was a tug in Seluna's mind, she looked at the small inscribed glyph in a piece of paper that she held in one of her hands. The assignment was given.

"Escort our dear friend Aurelius and make sure he doesn't fall into the hands of his 'true' friends"

So that was it. Capturing the rogue catholic alchemist, moving him to a safe place where he would never be found by the Roman Catholic Church. Seluna shrugged and put away the scrap of paper. It wasn't her job to question but by her thoughts this seemed like a job she could take a small amount of pride in. She knew how crude the Catholic could be to their deserters and technically Izzard was trying to do the... "humane" thing for Index. It was a conflictive thing Seluna had witness, as Aurelius actions brought the result he desired but it also meant his "death" as Aurelius the Alchemist. He saved the person he wanted to save but in the process caused his own undoing.

---

What was left of Aurelius ran, he moved more by the fuel of fear and panic than out of outright will power. What he saw up there shook him or rather broke him. He simply had to run.

Clack!

Something smashed against the side of his stomach, it caught his air and smashed his ribs without mercy. The impact didn't break anything but it was a blow even a personal in perfect conditions might not be able to recover from. He staggered and as his fear plagued face turned something hit him in the back of the neck. Then it all went black as he collapsed.

"... And secured"

Her spear shrank again and the undertaker took the broken Alchemist to the only refuge where his life would be guaranteed.

As he watched Touko bleed out, he was regretting every second of his uselessness. As he idly waited for Guy and Kanzaki to arrive, someone else appeared behind him. Haragi felt this presence before. He titled his head to see Stiyl, but something fiery hot touched razed against his neck. It was too late to react. Haragi's eyes slowly closed, watching Stiyl slowly disappear from his sight while mumbling,

"You.. bastard lolicon..."

His body hit the floor unconscious.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Light started to shine onto his pupils, to which Haragi reacted almost immediately once regaining consciousness. His eye's sharpened as he met face to face with a startled, frog faced old man in pure white attire, grabbing him by the collar.

"Whoa there! No need to get aggressive with a harmless doctor."

Haragi loosened his hands and calmed himself, letting go of the old man's white coat. He rose up and observed the surrounding environment, he found himself in a bed and what seemed to be a patient's room you would normally find at an hospital. Then the man in front of him was most likely a doctor. He grabbed his forehead, trying to focus on what he could recall. What exactly happened? Last thing he remembers was that Stiyl caught him offguard and put him to sleep.

"That bastard loli-..."

The doctor spoke interrupting his thoughts,

"Haragi Faye right? Some strange black cloaked man brought yo-"

"Wait... Black cloaked man??... Do you know where he is? Did he say anything before he left?"

Haragi took the incentive to interrupt him back. Upon hearing about the man, he immediately knew it was Stiyl. He wanted to know why he knocked him unconscious? Could he have been plotting something after we saved Index? Haragi narrowed his eyes at the doctor with curiosity. However the doctor simply nodded.

"I'm sorry but he didn't tell me anything of what happened or where he went. He just mentioned that you and your friend needed immediate treatment."

Haragi piqued his curiosity upon something else.

"Friend?"

He shook his simply shook his head.

"Yes, Touko-san was her name? Speaking of the girl, what did you two do? Did you stick her hand in a factory machine and chop it off? If I hadn't been the Heaven Canceller, she would have been handless for the rest of her life."

Haragi recalled the unknown ability Level 0 Kamijou Touko held. When her right hand was chopped off and her personality was completely taken over by someone else. However, he was a bit relieved to hear Touko was doing well.

This had meant that Index was missing. Was she taken in by those "magicians"? Haragi didn't know, but he had to assure her safety somehow. But he didn't have any leads. For now, the only thing he could do was discuss it with Touko. He averted his attention towards the outside, to see it was still night. The clock stated 1:37 AM. Only 3-4 hours had passed since he last checked the time back at Misawa Cram School.

"Anyways, you're free to go since you were brought in roughly beat up. Nothing that bandages can do about those. As for your friend, she's still asleep from the surgery. I was just about to go check up on her. Though she should wake up soon so you're free to visit her."

Haragi nodded as he got out of bed, following the frog faced doctor to Touko's room. He leant his back against the wall outside of her room, telling the doctor that he'd rather wait and talk to her outside. The man shrugged and entered her room leaving Haragi to himself in the empty hallway.

He pulled up his cellphone to check if he had any missed calls or messages as he expected her sister to check up on him this late. Surprisingly, nothing came his way. The boy found this strange. His sister usually calls him once or twice if Haragi was out of the house later than usual to ensure that he was okay. But that was not the case. The only logical explanation he could make up was that she was coming back home later than usual for the past few days because of "working overtime" at this very hospital.

Then something clicked into his head. If Haragi was came in for treatment, wouldn't his sister be the one concern about him more than anything? Especially if she mentioned she was going to be working late these days at this hospital. He found the whole situation suspicious, but he had to talk to Touko about Index and the incident at Misawa Cram School before thinking about anything else. He calmly reserved his thoughts to idly stand by and conserve his lost energy.

Touko smiled with a weary sort of relief at the feeling of the warm summer air. She prepared herself for the walk home. It was a route she was familiar with, to say the least. But as her eyes lowered to the road ahead they met the gaze of Haragi Faye. There was an unspoken understanding between them. They both thought the same thing.

"We need to talk." Touko declared first.

(To be continued)

***

"It was as you said. Both the Catholic and the English Protestant Churches have made incursions into the city." The masked figure spoke in a smooth, level voice, lacking in any expression. The black coated stranger stood beneath the apparatus that contained 'that person'.

That person, Aleister Crowley, was one known to many as the 'wickedest man alive'.

"Did you doubt that it would be so?" The white haired magician asked.

The silence that followed was made all the more apparent by the low hum of something within that building.

"It was an inevitability." The masked figure said with calculated certainty. "But for it to happen so soon was unexpected. I need more time to prepare-"

"Do not forget your place. Your orders remain unchanged."

Suppress rogue elements within Academy City with extreme prejudice. Those had been the words of Academy City's General Superintendant. With those same words, now unspoken, Aleister Crowley had silenced any and all objections from the figure before him.

"Understood." The masked figure replied. "But it is unlikely they will cease hostilities now that you have shown your hand." Despite the dry tone of the masked figure there was no mistaking the probing nature of that comment, as though they hoped to gauge the extent of the magician's plans by his reaction.

The woman-like-man gave no outward sign of concern.

"Academy City's forces do not have the capability of a sustained counter offensive at this time and a war of attrition would be costly." The masked person continued. "If we move now we can end the war before it begins."

"You are mistaken if you believe that I have shown my hand." Aleister stated bluntly. The statement precluded any rebuttal. With a few words the General Superintendant ended the conversation.

The masked figure went to leave before stopping, turning. "And what of the Imagine Breaker?"

The awful silence returned, the air charged with tension so thick that time seemed to stand still.

"Do not concern yourself with Imagine Breaker." Was Crowley's only reply.

The figure in the white mask and black coat walked away before the petite form of Mujusime Awaki whisked them suddenly from view.