A Certain Magical Index - Arc 2

"Would the honorable lady like some? Oh but -"
" - only if the honorable lady doesn't mind that this one has already drunk from the mouth...This one can go fetch a paper cup from one of the vendors here if it is objectionable..."

She snatched the bottle from his hands and tipped it up into her mouth without hesitation, gulping down the entire thing within moments. She handed it back to him, wiping her mouth.

"Thank you very much. I'm extremely grateful." She spoke excitedly, her energy restored. "I thought I was going to die." She sighed. It was difficult to tell if she was exaggerating or not.

Trystan watched in slight amazement as she gulped the entire remaining contents of the bottle down. He tried calling out to stop her from doing such an unhealthy thing, but he was too physically tired to really bother. Besides, just that amount of water wasn't going to be enough to cause her water poisoning, right?
He held out a hand, receiving the now empty bottle as she wiped the remaining droplets of liquid from her mouth. Aah, he was thirsty.

"Thank you very much. I'm extremely grateful. I thought I was going to die."

Trystan laughed at the expression, but in reality he wasn't particularly sure if it really was one or not. She had certainly looked to be in a terrible mess. He cracked a slight smile, sitting up a tad straighter, as he turned to face her general direction.

"The honorable lady should take better care of herself...what happened, if this one might inquire, to make the honorable lady sit out here in such a state?"

Stiyl sat at the bench overlooking the park. He stared of into the distance, not even noticing that the cigarette between his lips was at its end. The long stalk of ash scattered across the floor.

"Where are you?" He whispered softly. There was longing in his voice. "I just need to know you're safe..."

Someone stopped beside him. The red haired mage didn't notice.

"Mind if I take a seat?" Guy asked, slipping his own cigarette into his mouth. He lit it with a flick of his wrist. Stiyl shook his head, shuffling up to let the other boy sit. Guy held out a cigarette to replace his depleted one and Stiyl accepted it without a word.

"It's been a long time since I saw a priest. What brings you to these parts, Father?" He asked with an unusually respectful tone.

"I'm looking for someone." Stiyl uttered quietly.

"Oh?"

"A young girl. Around 15. Silver hair with white robes." Stiyl gave a simple description of Index.

"Does this girl have a name?" Guy asked.

"None that you'd recognise." That seemed to signal the end of their conversation on an unspoken level.

They sat in silence and smoked.

The park.

This area was right around the corner from Haragi's last interaction, in front of his apartment, with the red haired man in dark overalls. It was best to think that this man will be asking around there if he was still searching for that girl, just like he did with Haragi.

The Esper knew that this man had better reasons to find her than Haragi's insulting excuse of solely for his "sick" pleasure. To be honest, it was just something to let the man know that he was very irritated at the time. But for now, Haragi could only assume this young nun would be some kind of a big deal if this man was cautiously looking for her. After all, this man's being targetted by the higher ups so who knows what he could be planning.

Truly this mission was getting on his nerves seeing how he expected to conserve his energy today, and not have been put through a similar mission like last time. On the other hand if it had not been for that man, Haragi would have been suffering in a Physics Lecture at this moment. But it didn't matter since he is going to be forced to attend a supposed "Makeup" lecture which was unexpectedly prepared for him.

There shouldn't be many students wandering around in the park at this time. School was one of the major reasons that had pulled them away from even setting foot into places like this. If there were students about, they would be either skipping school, under special circumstances, or dropouts. Though the only dropouts in this city that Haragi would know of are Skillout. Other than that, adults would be present around this time. But none of this mattered, since Haragi was to focus on his mission at hand.

His hands were planted inside his pockets, casually walking down the main pathway. The boy carefully observed the individuals around him, only to find couples or elderly people minding their own business. A long drawn out sigh exited his mouth, resulting in disappointment for wasting his time like this.

He found himself passing by two particular people sitting down on a public bench. One of them looked as he had tired himself out from some effortful task. One of them many disadvantages disobeying Haragi's ideal standards of energy conservation. Nothing worth nothing nonetheless. However, the other one was a 14ish year old girl with a strangely familiar face especially with the clothes she wore.

"That's odd... Why isn't she in school at this time?"

Small girl wearing what a nun would usually wear being purely white overall. The innocent look, and the distinct pattern around her clothes. His feet stopped and the boy's eyes narrowed focusing on the suspicious girl across from him. It took only a few moments to realize that this girl was the same girl from a photo he had seen before. It was the photo that the red haired priest shown him from their interaction before. This had been the girl that the priest was searching for.

This girl may have information about this man, probably not his current location but something about his reason infiltrating Academy City. Though Haragi didn't want to scare this girl or cause some kind of commotion if he had attempted to forcefully get answers from her. It didn't suit his way of doing this, and especially it would have taken too much energy to do. But in the end, this girl is what that priest is desparately looking for. Meaning she would have some kind of role in this man's scheme.

Truly Haragi didn't want to hurt her in any kind of way, and he won't since his orders were to specifically capture that man. But he would try to get as many leads as he can about the whereabouts of this man just so he could get the mission over with as soon as possible. Though he had to be wary of the person sitting beside her.

"Uhmm... Sister, can I ask you something about a particular person you might know?"

He had abruptly asked upon approaching the two. Haragi had to be careful because if he screws up he might end up putting in more effort to obtain his answers.

"Uhmm... Sister, can I ask you something about a particular person you might know?"

Trystan lazily looked upwards at the individual standing in front of them. He seemed innocent enough, but it was rather rare for someone within Academy City to hold actual religious beliefs and/or to approach a sister with non-prankish intents. Well, he won't pry into this; who and what kind of relations this individual maintains are up to him. However, as he started turning his attention back towards his now-empty water bottle, something began nagging at him from the back of his mind. He sat up a bit straighter, then lifted his head to look at the boy standing in front of them again.

The boy was dressed in a school uniform. Upon closer inspection, it looked like the uniform of the same Certain High School which Trystan himself was attending. Due to his more...shall we say, unique circumstances, Trystan held a different schedule than most other students. His classes started later, and his classmates were of varying sizes and age. Speaking of size (nice save~! He really needed to stop his wandering thoughts earlier...), this boy wasn't particularly built, but neither was he particularly weak looking - an average build. He had a mop of messy black hair on his head, but it was his eyes that stood out the most. The shine in them was more similar to the shine in the eyes of the friends of his Master than to their other peers. To top it all off, while his body posture seemed relaxed and, if he dare say this, almost lazy, his eyes had been sharply and alertly observing the two of them during this entire time.

Just what is he being so wary of...?

Not knowing what to expect of him, Trystan instinctively became wary of the boy as well. While he didn't know this sister very well either, it wasn't like he would be so cold so as to let a complete stranger have his way with her. Besides, they had even shared water-...water...

Kuugh....Damn it, I'm thirsty...

"The honorable lady should take better care of herself...what happened, if this one might inquire, to make the honorable lady sit out here in such a state?"

"Well..." She started just as the new boy appeared. Though after her earlier conversation with Touko she doubted that the boy would believe her. But maybe she'd be pleasently surprised. This boy certainly seemed more open and receptive than that stubborn girl whose beliefs contradicted themselves.

"Uhmm... Sister, can I ask you something about a particular person you might know?"

Index looked at him expectantly, caught off guard by the sudden and unexpected question.

"Of course." She nodded.

***

"Kamijou's daydreaming again, Sensei!" The blue haired boy sitting near Touko said loudly, bringing her attention back to the room. She looked around to find the rest of the class glaring at her. At the front of the class Komoe was tearing up.

"Ah, sorry Sensei, I was just concentrating hard." She lied boldly. Not even she could believe such an obvious excuse. The truth was she had been thinking about the 'magic' girl, Index. Though it was hard to believe, maybe she really was in trouble after all. These thoughts nagged at Touko's mind even as Komoe scolded her for her lack of attention.

Mikoto leaned back on the bench lazily, looking up at the blue sky that was partly covered by thick branches and green leaves. She had finished her soda a long while ago, and having scrunched the can into a pulp and thrown it into a nearby bin, Mikoto found herself at a loss of what to do next. It was just way too hot to do anything, way too hot to be bothered with anything.

Damn it, I wish I had classes today. Then at least I would be inside an air-conditioned classroom…

Sighing, Mikoto spread out her arms along the back of the bench, looking and feeling utterly bored. To anyone walking by, they would have thought she was completely defeated by the world.

A day that I have no classes and it’s a stinking hot pot.

She considered going to the Arcade Center, but the thought of moving around in the sun again put her off. She decided that she may as well stay in the shade and try to cool down here.

As soon as she made her final decision however, a bright ray of sunlight suddenly forced its way through the tree branches and shined onto Mikoto’s face, directly into her eyes. She closed them in reflex, feeling her annoyance spike up.

Great. Just what I wanted.

She sat there for a while, trying to ignore the small beam of light directed right onto her face and hoping that it would move away. But it continued to shine with annoying brightness and stubbornness.

Growling in irritation, Mikoto leapt up from the bench abruptly, leaving behind the tiny patch of sunlight shining in the dark shade. Feeling that she had enough, the Electromaster decided to move to another place to rest and find better shade. Mikoto slowly walked towards the direction of the nearby park, feeling the heat pressing down on her like a blanket as she moved into the sun.

People were underneath every single shade she could find in the park, hiding away from the furious sun. It seemed she would have to blow into someone’s resting space at this rate.

A familiar figure caught her eye, sitting on a bench and smoking leisurely. A slight smile crossed her lips, Mikoto had found some entertainment at last.

Pretending that she hadn’t seen him, Mikoto casually walked towards the certain bench, only looking up when she got close.

“Hey, hey, what kind of example are you setting as a Tokiwadai teacher, sitting here in the public and smoking?”

Not a single drop of respect existed in the way she addressed her English teacher, regarding him with a mixture of disapproval and arrogant amusement.

“Hey, hey, what kind of example are you setting as a Tokiwadai teacher, sitting here in the public and smoking?”

Guy's head lifted slowly to gaze up at Mikoto. He smirked.

"Well if it isn't one of my darling students." He greeted her before reclining back into the bench. "I don't recall ever claiming to be a role model." He replied in answer to her question. "Besides, everyone's entitled to a vice or two." He added, taking another breath of smoke. Though if he was completely honest a 'vice or two' didn't really cut it. It was more accurate to say he collected vices.

Stiyl watched the exchange with detached curiosity. Was this boy really a teacher here? He had to agree with the girl. The relaxed looking character beside him hardly seemed the kind of person who should be nurturing young minds.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure?" Guy asked Mikoto. "It's Summer. You should be enjoying your carefree youth with your friends." He said in a tone that was best described as 'tongue in cheek'. He looked into her eyes. "Or did you just miss me that much?"

It seemed he still hadn't learnt his lesson.

"Of course."

The clear cut voice of the young girl spoke out, giving Haragi permission to ask as he pleased. His hand reached into one of the front pockets in the jeans of his school uniform. His trusty cell phone was brought out. He took it off of lock mode, and started to play around with it until he obtained something from the contents of the assignment he recieved from the Higher Ups. It was the blurry image of the red haired priest. If this girl knew him in some form, she would be able to tell who this was regardless of the horrible quality of the image.

A boring expression appeared on his face as he turned the cell phone around, directing it towards the clear view of the young nun.

"Do you know this person by any chance?..."

There was something quite peculiar about the young man sitting beside the pure hearted nun. He was cautiously taking glances over the Level 4, like Haragi was some kind of possible threat. Though, Haragi was doing the same as well from the very moment he approached the two. However, why would this person think of the boy as some kind of threat in the first place? Was he protective of the girl sitting beside him? Even though it seemed as though the two just met given lack of tension between them. Or perhaps he was involved in this hidden conflict with the man the Level 4 was after?

Jumping to conclusions so fast could end up bad, but disregarding every possibility this young man did seem familiar. Was he from his school? No, he wouldn't have been able to tell clearly considering the fact that all Haragi would at school was to attend lectures and conserve his energy. He would take all of his attention away from those around him just to finish school with the least amount of effort.

Then again, Haragi was still in his school uniform. Meaning people would want to question why he isn't in school during this time.

The boy's expressionless face slowly turned towards the person sitting beside the nun.

"Am I making you nervous?...."

"Do you know this person by any chance?..."

Trystan turned his head curiously, but couldn't see the screen of the cellphone that the boy held out. Was he perchance rescued when he was a child by a member of the clergy, then separated soon after by some sort of freak accident?! And was he hoping that this nun would know where or who this person was, because he never got a name out of them?!?! But if that was the case, how did this boy have the picture on his new-fangled cellphone? Was it a memento? Of his mother?! WHO HAD DIED IN -

...

He really needed to go clear his head, and perhaps watch less television. However, despite this, and other similar rambling thoughts going through his mind, he still wasn't entirely convinced that this boy hadn't come with bad intentions. Tilting his head back, Trystan took a deep breath as he stared off into the sky. It really was warm out. Why did it have to be so damn hot today? Could it be that there was some secret conspiracy against him? This city? This country?! As he contemplated such earth-shattering theories, he was pulled back into reality by a well-timed question from the boy.

"Am I making you nervous?...."

Lowering his head once more, Trystan found the boy directing a strange, expressionless face and an equally strange question towards him. Certainly, he was being wary of him, but what part of his behavior had caused this boy to think that he was nervous with him being here? Maybe the boy had caught him giving him a wary glance or two earlier. If so, it wouldn't be that strange for him to react in this manner; who wouldn't feel slightly uncomfortable being the target of such glances? It was, after all, the exact same reason why Trystan had shot those glances towards the boy to begin with. Regardless of his actual intentions with that question, his inquiry showed that the boy knew that he was being watched. He'd probably at least hesitate before pulling any sort of rude or offensive action on this nun. Trystan sat up a bit straighter before replying to his question so as to not appear rude.

"That is certainly not the case. This one is merely at odds with today's weather."

"Do you know this person by any chance?..."

Index squinted at the picture, tilting her head as she observed it. After a while she nodded.

"He's one of the people chasing me." She said matter of factly. Indeed she didn't seem all that bothered by the idea of being hunted. Her confidence must have appeared odd to the two boys, who were talking among themselves. "Why do you have his picture?" She asked. "I hope you're not thinking of confronting him. He's very dangerous." She hopped off the bench to her feet and dusted off her robes, again speaking casually, as though she was playing a game of tag or warning Haragi of a jealous boyfriend.

That was right, she couldn't linger here, out in the open. Hiding in plain sight was one thing, but being a stationary target would be bad.

“Well if it isn’t one of my darling students. I don’t recall ever claiming to be a role model. Besides, everyone’s entitled to a vice or two.”

Mikoto felt her face flush slowly as Guy spoke, and it had nothing to do with the heat around them. She had been hoping to catch him off guard for once, to humiliate and embarrass him the way he always did her, but it looked like that was never going to happen.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure? It's Summer. You should be enjoying your carefree youth with your friends."

A breath hitched up her throat and Mikoto almost choked as the teacher looked into her eyes with what she perceived as a mocking manner.

"Or did you just miss me that much?"

Mikoto trembled slightly, the corners of her mouth pulled downwards as she glared at him fiercely.

“NO! OF COURSE NOT! Where the hell did you get that kind of stupid idea from?”

She leaned forward aggressively, a fist clenched threateningly towards him. Small sparks were already beginning to crackle, sizzling and smoking visibly in the hot atmosphere.

“My friends… They are busy!” she snapped out the vague excuse. Realising how pathetic it sounded to her own ears, Mikoto quickly continued in the same snappish tone, “I- I wanted some alone time anyway! I thought I might come here and enjoy some peace and quiet in the shade, but then I just HAD to run into YOU, didn’t I?!”

By the time she had turned her speech into an indirect accusation, Mikoto was visibly shaking. Tiny tendrils of smoke trailed steadily up from her spark-spitting hair.

“NO! OF COURSE NOT! Where the hell did you get that kind of stupid idea from? My friends… They are busy!”

He didn't flinch or back away as she approached him threateningly. The now familiar sensation of the atmosphere around him charged with electricity tickled his skin.

I- I wanted some alone time anyway! I thought I might come here and enjoy some peace and quiet in the shade, but then I just HAD to run into YOU, didn’t I?!"

"If you say so." He shrugged. "But aren't you the one who started this encounter?" He raised an eyebrow at her self contradicting behaviour. "Or did you just decide to take out your frustrations on me?" He looked vaguely exasperated, but as ever there was an under current of apathetic amusement to his manner. As though he was only a casual observer to the world as it occurred around him. "Still, I suppose I should be happy for small mercies. At least I don't have to worry about that crazy friend of yours." He referred of course to Kuroko.

Stiyl rose from his seat without a word, preparing to continue his search and leave the two to their squabbling.

"That is certainly not the case. This one is merely at odds with today's weather."

What a weird way to comment on the weather. No intimidation had rose from listening to this young man speak, thus him being a suspicious individual had fallen. He honestly didn't seem to care about the image Haragi was showing to the young nun, which is another point proving he was least likely involved with this girl being an innocent bystander. The Level 4 Esper casually sighed, turning his head back towards the girl to continue his investigation.

This girl had kept the same expression while thoroughly glancing at the image. There was no change in her reaction, as she spoke,

"He's one of the people chasing me. Why do you have his picture? I hope you're not thinking of confronting him. He's very dangerous."

What a strange girl, even after she admitted to getting hunted down by him. So it proves that this man is up to some scheme that caught the attention of the higher ups. If this man was just searching for a lost friend, then no suspicion would arise from that but however this information just what Haragi needed to motivate to capture this man without hesitation or guilt.

Though what made this man 'dangerous'? Sure he looked suspicious and somewhat intimidating, but he wasn't an esper. He wouldn't be able to use his personal reality if he wasn't from Academy City in the first place, and the most he would be able to do in battle is through physical strength. Unless... he is somehow connected to that intruder from the esper's last assignment exactly one month ago.

This intruder was able to use powers without manipulating his own personal reality. Not only that he wasn't from Academy City to even learn about using Personal Reality in the first place. Maybe he was using the exact same unknown method as that intruder? Though at this point, Haragi wouldn't be able to come to a conclusion without knowing more about this man.

For some reason, the nun had the intention of leaving right after speaking with him. Haragi still needed some information about this man, and the opportunity to do so would be by speaking to this girl.

"This photo... I guess you could say I'm helping out some Judgement people..."

An obvious lie. He himself felt that exposing his identity to being part of the Dark Side would be troublesome, especially if his sister knew about it. She was oblivious to his risk taking actions for 3 years now, and he wanted to keep that up for her own sake.

"He did speak with me earlier asking about where you were... Though that was before I got asked to search for him... It would be the best choice to leave, since he is probably close nearby.... But before that... could you quickly tell me why he is dangerous?... I need as much information as possible...."

Trystan turned his attention back to the nun sitting next to him As the boy did so as well, apparently satisfied with Trystan's earlier response to the boy's question.

"He's one of the people chasing me. Why do you have his picture? I hope you're not thinking of confronting him. He's very dangerous."

Dangerous?

Trystan raised an eyebrow in slight confusion when she uttered that word. He was even more confused when it seemed almost as if she were in a hurry to leave after finishing her say; the direct contrast between the words she was saying and her overall body language would have told anyone that she was hiding something. Furthermore, why would she automatically assume that this boy would be confronting this apparently dangerous individual? Actually, if she were being pursued by such a dangerous individual, would she really be sitting around in a park with such a carefree attitude? His other brow caught up with his still-raised brow, before the pair furrowed into a look of concern. If it really was like this, then perhaps Judgement should offer to hel-

"This photo... I guess you could say I'm helping out some Judgement people..."

....what did he say?

Trystan turned to look at the boy once more. It was certainly true that there were other branches of Judgement aside from the one he was part of, but if he recalled correctly, members were required to have the characteristic armband visible on their right arms at all times when on-duty. Even from a very cursory examination, there was no such armband to be found on the boy. This obvious lie immediately caused Trystan to re-heighten his wariness around this boy once more. What did he have to gain from telling such an obvious lie, and especially to this nun specifically? Both sides were taking turns spawning obvious lies. Just what was going on? Trystan listened carefully as the boy began speaking once more; there was no other way for him to ascertain both the situation and if this boy meant harm or not to the nun sitting beside him.

"He did speak with me earlier asking about where you were... Though that was before I got asked to search for him... It would be the best choice to leave, since he is probably close nearby.... But before that... could you quickly tell me why he is dangerous?... I need as much information as possible...."

While his face remained expressionless, the pauses in between his sentences spoke to how he was carefully choosing his wording. On the other hand, with what he said just now, Trystan wasn't really able to ascertain what types of intentions he had in asking the nun these questions. The boy, talking to the nun under the guise of a member of Judgement, told her that he had talked to this dangerous individual who was pursuing her. However, he also revealed that he was under orders to search for this man, and had also warned her that he was probably in close proximity. Trystan cursed inwardly at what he had to work with; there was simply too many unknown factors about the situation for him to act. In the end, he decided to quietly wait for the nun's reply, masking his current concerns and intentions with a mask of physical exhaustion.

Worse comes to worse, if this boy meant and attempted harm to the nun, he would exercise his authority as a (volunteer and in-training) member of Judgement, and attempt to bring the boy in for improper use of powers with intent against others; at this distance, both the activation and effect of Trystan's ability would be nigh instantaneous. On the other hand, if the boy actually had no ill intentions towards the nun, then Trystan would probably have to work something out to get more information about the situation from the boy. Either way, now that he was aware of such a disturbance, there was no way that he could just let it slide, even if it was fairly obvious that the nun didn't want others involved in it.

Of course, even if he was thirsty and burning under the hot sun as well.

This damn weather.

Vanni walked along the streets of Science along with the Japanese Saint behind him. She wasn't much of a talker that's for sure but Vanni wasn't assigned to date. Although it thoroughly annoyed him, he had to focus on this mission he was ordered to give.

"Sorry, sorry, looks like I'm not that good at tracking as I thought, but you can forgive me right? This shouldn't take too long I guess, she isn't very familiar with Academy City. At least from what I can gather. If this nun is a dangerous as I think she is, I'm sure you can handle her right? Not that I would just leave you to be attacked or anything. I don't work that way, I'm pretty capable myself, so you don't have to worry about taking all the action alone."

His mouth ran nonchalantly as he made talk with the young woman as he turned a corner. The target or whoever she is would probably just run in some random direction that looked to be the safest and easiest to get out of sight. At some point though she would probably have to stop somewhere since she isn't use to this place and she can't run forever.

Walking down the street with his hands in his purple pants pockets, Vanni's eyes widened a bit in surprise. It didn't take as long as he thought, but there was some extra baggage.

The Magician caught eye of the sight, there were two boys talking amongst each other, but that didn't matter. What was important was the nun in white that sat at the bench with them. Her appearance was the exact match that the Fire Magician gave, well anyone running around this City in that attire would raise radars as a Magician.

"Hey guys, is this a party? If so, I have to take that girl, she's a nun you know. You can't just go picking up sisters like that. I know this place isn't religious but don't you have any shame? What I'm saying is, get lost and everything will be fresco"

His words targeted the two young men that were obviously students of this city. It wasn't just an aggressive tone, it was a commanding one, like he was demanding these two boys that he had never met. It was better if they just scrammed but Vanni was ready for the worst case scenario. Actually, he was hoping for it. All these orders being shoved on him was pissing him off and pushing him near the edge.

Vanni wasn't a battle maniac but the stress release would be perfect.

He stared at the two of them with an intimidating glare and smirk.

"May this place be the black domain with the stench of blood"

He spoke those words, not to anyone in general but to himself. It was simply a sentence but something had happened. A magical spell had been activated.

Immediately after, there was silence.

Everyone had disappeared, no it actually wasn't that but it was that the people besides Vanni, Kanzaki and the three in front of them, were now gone.

They had left because their senses told them to. The spell that he activated worked by humanity's fear of the darkness and the unknown. Vanni expanded on that and made it into a more literal sense.

People left and no one would come near this area

This was the power of magic

"If you say so. But aren't you the one who started this encounter?"

Mikoto reddened further as Guy shrugged and raised an eyebrow.

"Or did you just decide to take out your frustrations on me? Still, I suppose I should be happy for small mercies. At least I don't have to worry about that crazy friend of yours."

At this, Mikoto immediately snapped,

“Kuroko is NOT crazy!”

Even though she’s a complete pervert, Mikoto added grudgingly in her head.

“You have no right making such judgments about my friends!” Mikoto yelled, “You don’t even know them half as well as I do!”

Some movement to the side caught her attention then, and Mikoto stopped, turning her head distractedly. A strange young man she had somehow not noticed before was rising from his seat quietly. All anger drained from her as curiosity took over. He looked a complete foreigner, with stringy red hair and a strange tattoo underneath his right eye. He had a collection of ear piercings and his grim mouth held a lit cigarette that scattered fine ash in the air.

Definitely a foreigner, Mikoto decided, to not know that smoking wasn’t allowed on the streets. Although… that idiot still smoked.

Taking a closer look, Mikoto realised that the young man was actually a teenage boy despite the cigarette and his older appearance. She noticed he was wearing a black robe similar to those that she had seen on some fake religious shows on TV. Mikoto blinked, wondering if there was some live show happening nearby. Or…

“Is that boy seriously a priest?” Mikoto wondered out loud before she could stop herself. Then she laughed loudly, as if the very idea had been completely absurd. “Haha, what am I thinking? He looks like a complete delinquent!”

Suddenly realising how loud she was being, Mikoto quickly turned her laughter into a cough and faced away to hide her embarrassment at her own outburst.

Before the nun had a chance to elaborate on the boy's question, another individual, who was accompanied by a tall woman holding what looked to be a katana, approached the group. The male who had approached first had a posture that reeked of arrogance and he was clearly looking for a fight. It was a combination that put Trystan immediately on edge. Why were all of these people approaching this nun?

"Hey guys, is this a party? If so, I have to take that girl, she's a nun you know. You can't just go picking up sisters like that. I know this place isn't religious but don't you have any shame? What I'm saying is, get lost and everything will be fresco."

As the words left the man's mouth, Trystan became slightly irritated. Actually, truth be told, it was a far cry from irritation - it was more akin to an extreme mix of frustration and annoyance. This man just waltzed in here, in the middle of a nice peaceful morning, and started demanding ridiculous things from the boy and himself; he had neither a sense of propriety nor of manners. Everything about this man rubbed Trystan the wrong way, and coupled with the massive amount of bloodlust that he was sensing emanating from the man, he could only come to one conclusion:

This richly-garbed man was very confident in his own abilities and was itching for a fight.

After a few moments of strained silence, the man began speaking once more, a sharp glare and a smirk coming rather naturally onto his face. It seemed this expression was one in which he was well-versed in.

Aah, god damn it! This piece of shit is pissing me off!

"May this place be the black domain with the stench of blood"

What the hell were those words he was uttering? Sounds like the crap you find on those stupid teenage emo vampire shows. What was it that the girls were raging over these days...Twolight? Was that it?

During his irritated interior monologue, Trystan had failed to notice that the area around them had become completely barren of other people. Even the bright sky had been tinged slightly gray. If he had noticed, he would have probably felt slightly uneasy at this development. He might have even been put on guard by the sudden strange occurrence. However, at this point in time, the only thing on his mind right now was how badly he wanted to beat some sense into this man. That insufferable smirk, the lack of mannerisms and respect, the overall cocky look; it was almost as if someone had taken a random three-pick draw out of all the characteristics that Trystan hated most in an individual and mashed them all together just to fuck with him.

As he turned to face the nun, Trystan calmed his inner thoughts, subduing the mental chaos into that of a familiar whispering rumble. Hand reaching into his pocket, he brought out his Judgement armband, then pinned it onto the sleeve of his right arm. This motion alone should have notified the boy that Trystan had already seen through, or at the very least, was skeptical of the story he fed the nun just now. However, the boy wasn't the only problem anymore. This man, and most likely his companion as well, were dangerous, but he had no way to ascertain the situation. The only thing he was aware of right now was that everyone was targeting this nun, and so protecting her safety was the best way to get to the bottom of it all. Speaking softly to the nun, Trystan simultaneously and unceremoniously activated a single, invisible hansha for each of the other individuals around him aside from the nun; any one of these hansha would be able to be used to attack or defend accordingly as soon as he willed it to.

"Does the honorable lady require protection? Also -"

Turning towards the boy, Trystan began speaking once more.

"- This one does inquire: for now, are you with this one or against this one?"

"May this place be the black domain with the stench of blood"

Index recognised the incantation immediately on an instinctive level. She recognised it without recognising it, in a strange way. The information within her Grimoires allowed her an instant identification of the spell's content and effects.

A field of terror that rejected those who did not 'understand the darkness'. Those with fear in their hearts would find it repellant on a primal level.

But Index was not helpless against such an attack. Had she been she would never have made it this far.

Her mouth began to move, uttering syllables in rhythm as she activated her one real defense. Something even she, someone without mana, could accomplish.

Spell Intercept.

"Hold him back." She asked Trystan urgently as she formed the necessary codes to undo Vanni's spell.

Just as the young nun was about to give him crucial information, a strange yet upbeat voice interrupted from behind.

"Hey guys, is this a party? If so, I have to take that girl, she's a nun you know. You can't just go picking up sisters like that. I know this place isn't religious but don't you have any shame? What I'm saying is, get lost and everything will be fresco."

Haragi turned to see not one but two individuals. The one in front who provoked the opposing group was seen as a tea hair colored boy with emerald green eyes. His smirk and tone of voice proved his cockiness as well as his willingness to fight. The one behind him was a long haired woman who seemed to accompany him. Unlike the cocky boy's casual clothing, she wore revealing clothes having a unique designed. A short white T-shirt tied into a knot at the bottom, making her breasts noticeable, coupled with a pair of jeans with one leg sawed off revealing her slender thighs. What a weird way to dress, not even Skillout or any of the other Academy City's teenage rebels would dress such a way.

So far, Haragi could tell these two were not of the kind around here. Not only that, they even mentioned they have to "take" the young nun which could most likely mean that these two were after her as well. Did this mean they were affiliated with the red haired priest? Haragi's orders were to capture the intruders that infiltrated Academy City. Not just the red haired priest, though he was the only one that was given information about. Could these two be the other intruders mentioned? If that was true, then Haragi would have to capture them as well.

Then the young man who had just appeared spoke a metaphoric phrase.

"May this place be the black domain with the stench of blood."

A few moments later, darkness suddenly clouded Haragi's mind as if it were to trigger his fear. Not only that the sudden silence spread throughout the park. There was no one around, even though couples and individuals were roaming and talking about just a few seconds ago. The sky turned into a darkish gray setting changing the mood of the environment. Though Haragi's mood stayed the same. The darkness that was supposedly supposed to ensue fear within him was taking no effect at all. The suffering Haragi endured from his past couldn't be compared to whatever enclosed within his mind. Though questions appeared in his head.

"Illusion Ability?.... But the person behind me seems to notice this illusion as well... Multiple target illusion is a highly focused ability not even a Level 4 could easily accomplish... And this boy can't be a Esper if he's one of the intruders...."

Could it be? Could the method of using his ability be somehow connected to the intruder from one month ago? To this day, Haragi couldn't logically interpret this "unknown" method that allows oneself to use esper-like abilities without altering Personal Reality.

The young man, beside the nun, took something out of his pocket. It was the Judgement armband. No wonder this young man was suspicious of Haragi's presence during those times. He probably has gotten more suspicious when Haragi gave out that particular lie. Though that wasn't the problem at hand.

The now revealed Judgement member had stepped forward asking only one thing in the most awkward way,

"- This one does inquire: for now, are you with this one or against this one?"

Though Haragi didn't have the intention of fighting initially. He wanted to take the simple of approach of doing what he always had done when trying to apprehend his targets. The Level 4 esper had narrowed his eyes towards the nun's pursuers, replying to the Judgement member,

"Judgement, huh?... This is getting more troublesome than I thought...."

The nun had whispered something to the Judgement member beforehand, though Haragi didn't seem have any concern about their conversation especially when his possible targets were standing right before him.

"You should take that girl somewhere safe.... I can easily buy some time.... Plus... Those two are who I need to speak with... So please stay out of my business..."

He had finished off speaking with the young Judgement member, taking a few steps forward towards the two on the opposing side. Now Haragi turned his attention to the young man who had gave a ultimatum.

"So... You seem be interested in this girl just like a Certain Red Haired Priest I spoke with earlier.... Do you both happen to know each other?.... If so, I'd like to ask a favour out of you guys since I'm not in the mood for fighting...."

The black moped hair boy had took a small unsatisfying sigh before he continued to talk.

"Drop what you're after and leave Academy City like nothing ever happened.... Or things between you and me might get rough...."

It was an small effort to have the possibility of ending Haragi's assignment early. It was a small in a life time chance loop hole that Haragi gambles for everytime he confronts his enemies. It was a chance to conserve his energy as much as possible by putting the least effort as possible with the things he does..

Vanni stood-off against the three just over 15 feet away from him and the long-haired woman. The boy's green eyes took notice of the hostility emitting from the muscular young man. Vanni was a specialist in Luciferian magic, he knew all about things such as malice and he could tell it apart from a bluff. That was good, this meant that atleast one of these guys wouldn't run and he could take his frustration out on them.

Vanni's spell was meant to not to target the three in front of him, but they must have sensed some abnormality in their state of mind. Perhaps this was a slip-up on Vanni's part but that wasn't the matter at hand. What he started to notice was that a certain area of his mind that focused on the spell was being messed with. No, rather you could say that it was being interfered with.

A pinch of sweat slidded down his cheek as he focused in on the white nun. She was chanting something but he wasn't sure if it was a spell, but what he WAS sure of was that she was doing something to his spell.
That was quiet a shock to the Magician. She not only was interfering with it but most importantly she knew what it was. That was the requirement to do something like this but how was she able to do it so fast? Vanni actually started to think about this girl.....

She wasn't a Luciferian, she was a Christian, it was unlikely that one would know these types of spells. Not only that but the type of trick that she is using could only be used by someone who had a great knowledge on magic......

She's being hunted down by the Church

The Fire Magician close to the Archbishop and a Saint was necessary...

She has this kind of technique that reguires knowledge...

A shock sparked within Vanni's brain as he started to put the pieces together...

THAT.....THAT'S THE INDEX!?!?!?

He almost blurted those words out...

After a few seconds Vanni started to calm himself down...

No way, how the hell did they let her get loose, those fucking idiots!!!! It all makes sense now...but what's she thinking by negating my spell? It'll only bring back the bystanders? Does she want regular people involved in magic?

As Vanni thought this, the student in white started to speak

"So... You seem be interested in this girl just like a Certain Red Haired Priest I spoke with earlier.... Do you both happen to know each other?.... If so, I'd like to ask a favour out of you guys since I'm not in the mood for fighting....

"Drop what you're after and leave Academy City like nothing ever happened.... Or things between you and me might get rough...."

Whipping the sweat off his face, Vanni simply smirked at the ignorant boy facing him.

"No chance bro, you should just mind your own business and get running along, I'm sure your mommy is worrying over you. It's better off that she not see her son for a few hours rather than never see him again because he couldn't do what he was told to do."

Vanni raised his hand up to his face height, almost as if examining it...

"Although escaping might be out of your possibility right now, because you just did something unforgivable you dumbass. You just tried to tell me what to do didn't you? I'll have you know this, I hate being told what to do, most of all. Not only that but that sounded like a threat. Meaning you think you can take me on....now I'm really pissed"

The Magician's fist clenched tightly into a ball of anger.

They then came out

Like a magic trick, four black feathers had appeared between Vanni's fingers when he opened his hand,

But this wasn't a trick

This was real. Vanni had used the magic spell Hide & Black to remove feathers that he had hid inside a pocket dimension that was the shadow he created inside his closed fist.

"Here's your first taste of something new and illogical, science boys. I'll show you something really fresco"

Vanni swiftly swung his hand, throwing the four black feathers that if one looked closely, had blood stains on them.

"Spirits of Wrath"

He muttered to himself, with that a change happened. The four black feathers had become straightened like they were darts, but also very hard and sharp objects that aimed to kill the two boys and only injure the nun by cutting her leg.

Of course, the one that pissed him off, the black-haired student would get two feathers. One through the eye and one through the heart.

Oddly, sweat started to slowly pour down the upbeat individual's face. He couldn't have been intimidated that easily, especially after his grand ultimatum. But as strange as it was, his confidence to fight had not changed after Haragi's simple request opposing the matter. Though he was more than confident, he was enraged.

"No chance bro, you should just mind your own business and get running along, I'm sure your mommy is worrying over you. It's better off that she not see her son for a few hours rather than never see him again because he couldn't do what he was told to do.

Although escaping might be out of your possibility right now, because you just did something unforgivable you dumbass. You just tried to tell me what to do didn't you? I'll have you know this, I hate being told what to do, most of all. Not only that but that sounded like a threat. Meaning you think you can take me on....now I'm really pissed"

Mother... That's right. The word mother was only a memory to Haragi that haunts him daily. Out of childish insults, this heated individual didn't speak too kindly about him and especially about someone that hadn't existed for a long time. Though Haragi's standard facial expression had been kept the same.

But his pissed off opponent had raised his hand to observe it. In the next second his fist closed tightly curled up and what appears to be black feathers had instantaneously spawned from the slits of his fingers. Though how could that have been possible? Science's most common rule was that it was impossible to create a substance out of nothing, though that rule was being violated in every manner by what has been done in front of him.

Haragi had just widened his eyes realizing something from before.

"Here's your first taste of something new and illogical, science boys. I'll show you something really fresco"

Wait. Illogical? This spouting of his sounded very similar to the nonsense that that certain intruder kept preaching from Haragi's last assignment. Not only that, this attack was similar to the glass shard barrage Haragi attempted to endure through barely surviving from that same mission. His now opponent raised his hand muttering something from his mouth. Within the next second, the feathers straightened up and bolted from his hand aiming directly towards Haragi and the two behind him.

If the cards had played right, this young boy had be to using a similar method of using such powers external to Academy City's knowledge. But what exactly? How could such a method break a universal law of matter can only be created by other matter. But what if there's something hidden behind such a method that seems to show that?

All Haragi knows now that his opponents carry otherworldly abilities that logic cannot fully comprehend and that this fight had to be taken seriously from the start, unlike his last encounter with someone strange as this boy. As the feathers closed in towards the three, Haragi had already concentrated on his Personal Reality. His esper ability was one of the many unique abilities in Academy City, he was probably the only one to perform such powers. All he needed was air. If he had that, he was set.

Suddenly, a wide layer of 'ice' had formed in front of the three, as Haragi set aside his bored expression, transforming it into irritation. From this distance and time, Haragi did not have time to make multiple layers of 'ice' so he had to work with the quickest calculations as possible with the least amount of risks given the basic assumptions of his situation.

The next thing he knew was blood had dripped from the front of his cheek. What he saw was one of the black feathers, just having it touch the front of his cheek. As he observed the current situation, these black feathers were surprisingly able to crack through hardy layer. Given the time he threw them, and the minimum momentum needed crack through something hard as crystal, this boy was definitely to be cautious of.

The thin narrow line of blood ran done his face, and started to drip underneath his jaw. As irritated as the Level 4 esper was, he had to calm down and handle the situation as he always had done. The bored expression of his face appeared again, as he released the calculations of his layer to instantly break apart, dissolving back into air. The mysterious black feathers had taken their fall as well.

The Level 4 Esper focused his attention back to his mysterious opponent, while he wiped the trail of blood off his cheek. He recalled the last thing he had said. The childish insult involving his supposedly existing mother. Putting his hands into his pocket, he had decided just what his response to this fight was. He was going to 'expend' some of his conserved energy, thus closing his eyes. His Personal Reality responded again, as his cold voice slowly spoke to the green eyed male without giving any concern,


"My mother... huh?.... Well... Its gonna be pretty hard talking to her now.... since I murdered her long ago... But that's something completely irrelevant..."

At this very moment he sharply opened his intimidating eyes directing all his focus on the individuals in front of him, enabling a series of light to faintly glow at various points around his two opposing individuals. At the same time, thick layers of crystallized shields formed reinforcing on top each other, enclosing Haragi as well as the young man and the nun safely inside.

"Don't blame me for what happens...."

Haragi's initial words to everyone who had driven him to the point he had to fight back.

The faint glow from the plethora of lights gotten brighter by the second until it hit its limit. A large scale explosion was triggered, enough to give Third Degree towards everything within the near vicinity while the thickness of the multiple 'ice' layers had withstood the brunt of the impact. Of course, the only people within the vicinity at this time were just these two individuals.

<Clear-Cut Explosion> was the name of this ability. Only possible by the instability of Free Radical Oxygen Molecules and forcing it to enter entropy. Entropy is such a stage where excited molecules go past it's limit and enter a state where anything can happen. In Haragi's case, such molecules cause scaled explosions chosen by it's user. Though the 'ice' like structures he had created went through a reverse process where instead of entering excitement, the molecules had entered a inactive state (in other words Crystal Lattice State). But to create Free Radical Oxygen Molecules required the breakdown of Air particles. And the time it took to break down a handful of molecules depended on the distance of where each molecule was.

The Fifteen Feet radius was enough distance to create tens of thousands of OFR (Oxygen Free Radical) molecules from just thousands of Air molecules within two seconds. From gaining these OFRs, his abilities were possible. All that Haragi needed afterwards was the given assumptions to perform his calculations of each OFR's metric position on a imaginary Cartesian plane relative to his own position. Haragi had planned this explosion given the factor that there was no one within the area as well as the minimum force needed to overcome the impact of the explosion against his shield vs the amount of damage caused towards his enemies.

His ability to perform such extraordinary Esper powers through his Personal Reality was what made him a Level 4. He was given the title, Solid Air.

"Hold him back."

As she said this, the nun seemingly rooted herself to the spot, and began chanting in a language that Trystan did not really know or understand. In fact, it didn't even sound like any language he had heard on television before. Regardless, she had given him her reply, and he'd be damned if he didn't follow through with the protection that he had promised her. With that resolved, Trystan turned towards the boy as he began speaking to him once more.

"Judgement, huh?... This is getting more troublesome than I thought...You should take that girl somewhere safe.... I can easily buy some time.... Plus... Those two are who I need to speak with... So please stay out of my business..."

While that response didn't clearly answer what Trystan had asked, it seemed apparent enough that, for the time being, the boy had no intent on attacking either the nun or himself. He had also indirectly confirmed that he was not actually a part of Judgement as he had claimed earlier. For now though, that bit of information was secondary to the situation at hand, especially since he had already guessed as much; the important bit was exactly who he was working for. However, the nun and the boy had made separate and conflicting requests of him; one wanted him to stay and buy time, the other had told him to flee with the nun instead. As he decided what to do, the boy and the man launched into a rather vitriolic back and forth.

Spoiler:

It ended with the man boiling over, clearly having no intention of restraining his bloodlust whatsoever. Trystan could sense an almost psychotic, satanic will behind his words at this point in time. The nun had been fleeing from these sorts of individuals all this while? Trystan's eyes glanced towards the female companion of the man. So far, she had said neither a word nor made an action. In some respects, this made her the more dangerous card when compared to the obviously vocal and willingly violent man. They had no idea what her disposition was, nor did they know just what her skill with her weapon was. Trystan returned his focus to the man as he began to talk in his half crazed speech once more, while still keeping a wary eye on the man's female companion.

"I'll have you know this, I hate being told what to do, most of all. Not only that but that sounded like a threat. Meaning you think you can take me on....now I'm really pissed. Here's your first taste of something new and illogical, science boys. I'll show you something really fresco!"

As he finished, the man mumbled something to himself, four black feathers suddenly appeared in his hand. Trystan had no idea what they were, but in the dimmed light, he convinced himself that they had been brought out by means of sleight of hand. There were plenty of magic tricks like this on television and on the streets. Granted, such tricks were a slightly harder sell here in the City, where everyone was a firm believer in the power of Science, and could, at times, see things much more impressive than these visual tricks. However, the feathers that had been brought out seemed to be coated in some sort of dark liquid; Trystan couldn't really tell if it was the liquid itself, or was it simply a color brought about by the dark colored feathers themselves.

As the man mumbled another chain of words or another to himself, Trystan suddenly felt an even greater surge of bloodlust. His eyes widened in surprise as the flaccid feathers suddenly straightened themselves out; the glint from the liquid suddenly made it look like the feathers contained edges like those of a weapon. Trystan instinctively reacted to these as potential projectiles, wrapping two of the already prepared hansha towards the still-chanting nun, and wrapping two more around himself. The boy would just have to fend for himself. As he braced himself for intercepting the projectiles for himself and the nun, the unexpected happened.

As the man released the projectiles, a layer of ice instantaneously formed around the three of them, temporarily stopping the four feathers. It likely wasn't the nun, and it surely wasn't himself. That would mean that this shield of ice was formed by the boy in front of him. To form such a thing in such little amount of time was no easy task - this boy was a formidable esper! However, it seemed as if the amount of time given for the construction wasn't ample enough to perform all the calculations necessary, as the feathers shortly pierced through the shield. Gritting his teeth, Trystan focused on the feathers, their movement appearing in slow motion as they pierced through the ice.

Where are they headed? Where?!

As they finally pierced through, Trystan focused on his hansha, stopping the two feathers; one hovered just a few centimeters away from his heart, while the other vibrated, still trying its best to pierce, midair by the nun's thigh. Within a few moments, these feathers disintegrated into thin air. Trystan turned to look at the blurry silhouette of the man from the other side of the ice. The projectiles that he had thrown had managed to pierce through most of the double-layered guard that he had put up, and this was after piercing through the layer of ice generated by the boy. Trystan broke into a cold sweat at the prospect of the feathers piercing through without any guard put up; human flesh would be but paper before this sort of weapon. Normal projectiles could pierce, but nothing at this strength from this distance with such little wind-up. These feathers were clearly dangerous, and was probably enhanced in some way or another. Perhaps it had something to do with the liquid stuck on the feathers that he had seen before? Before Trystan could come to a conclusion, the boy had begun his own counterattack.

"My mother... huh?.... Well... Its gonna be pretty hard talking to her now.... since I murdered her long ago... But that's something completely irrelevant...Don't blame me for what happens...."

The barrier of ice still stood, despite being pierced earlier by the feather-darts. From the blurry images he could see, several small, bright points appeared around the two, before a violent explosion shook the area. The force was so great that it almost seemed as if it had sucked or blown away some of the breathable air in the area. Gritting his teeth, Trystan held his arms out at his side, balancing himself from the slight aftershock of the explosion. He turned to look at the back of the boy. Just who was he to have so much power? Thinking this, he turned back to look at the chanting nun.

Why did Academy City send such a powerful esper after this lone girl? Why are these strange individuals coming after her?

He turned back to face the man and his companion. He decided that he would defend the nun at this location until she was finished doing whatever it was she was doing, and if the need came about, he would not hesitate in doing what he could to defend the boy as well. However, there was no way that he could simply sit still and focus only on defense in this situation. Not only did he have a personal beef with that infuriating man, but he was also clearly causing a public disturbance in this City; his duty as a member of Judgement demanded that he apprehend this individual, and turn him in to the appropriate authorities for punishment. Having established this in his own mind, Trystan resolved to go on the offense as well the next opening he saw.

“Kuroko is NOT crazy! You have no right making such judgments about my friends! You don’t even know them half as well as I do!”

He held up his hands in a slow, placating gesture. Obviously he had touched a nerve.

“Is that boy seriously a priest? Haha, what am I thinking? He looks like a complete delinquent!”

Stiyl looked at Mikoto out of the corner of his eye, obviously understanding her to at least some degree. He shook his head. Yet another example of the disrespectful youth of today. Guy stood up besides Mikoto and he looked to Stiyl.

"Forgive her, father. She's a very outspoken girl." He apologised on her behalf.

"It seems she's followed your example." Stiyl said dryly in reference to their back and forth exchange.

***

Kaori stood her ground as her new partner uttered his incantation. He had done well to clear the way for them. With luck they would be able to take the girl before anyone had a chance to notice something was amiss. Today, bloodshed could be minimal. She thought calmly. Her eyes rested on Index, shielded by the stranger with green eyes.

Kaori's stoic frown deepened as the barrier of ice appeared and she settled into a fighting stance, gripping the hilt of her katana in preparation for an attack.

The explosion was like a starting pistol, galvanising Kaori into a burst of movement that took her several meters backwards. At the edge of the blast's effective radius she stood upright, her katana held along side her body.

In the blink of an eye a flash cut through the path opened in the barrier. What seemed to be countless blades sliced in wide, erratic circles through the air. The light caught them only for an instant as they whipped towards Trystan and Haragi.

"My mother... huh?.... Well... Its gonna be pretty hard talking to her now.... since I murdered her long ago... But that's something completely irrelevant...Don't blame me for what happens...."

"You think saying that will intimidate me? You aren't the only one in the darkness you know?"

Vanni decided he wasn't going to allow himself to be beaten in mind games. That may not have been that boy's intention but he still felt challenge by that outburst. Once Vanni sensed the hostility coming from his opponent, he closed his hand and opened it again to reveal a single black feather. The Esper standing before him unlaunched his attack, creating a chain of explosions that closed in on the two Magicians. The Saint had already moved back at great speed as expected. Vanni didn't have such talent, but he could make up for it.

The boy quickly tossed the feather behind himself and letting it be blown backwards. That was all he did, but the explosion came for the young Magician that didn't make a move. Like he was whispering to someone, he said

"Spirit of Envy"

Immediately after, Vanni's location had changed, just at the moment the flames would engulf him. His position was now where the feather had been, meaning he had just switched places with that black feather, putting himself just a bit in front of Kanzaki, but because of that he didn't go completely unscathed..

Like he was blocking something, Vanni held his harms up which were covered in smoke. There were a few slight burns on his forearms but it was nothing serious that could keep him out of the fight.

"Not bad, you got great fire power there, I don't know how your ability works but it's pretty dangerous. Although I'll be damned if it's more deadly than mine"

Vanni said out loud as he lowered his arms, eyes seeing the enemies before him. He wasn't being arrogant in thinking that his attacks were the best. Instead he just didn't want to be undermined despite that not even being referenced.

He didn't have another chance to make a move, the Saint that he was aligned with had made her swift attack, one that was cutting away at the air itself.

"It bothers me that it may look like that I need help. I'd rather I take you on alone but I'm glad she's on my side, even I have to admit that it wouldn't be fun to tango with a Saint no matter how fresco it may be, although I can't say the same about you guys. You're pretty unlucky"