Index ran.
Kamijou and Tatemiya felt strangely far away.
Obviously you would take entirely different defensive measures based on whether something was magic or not. If you misread it, you’d end up taking quite a bit of damage.
Index had a way of preventing sorcery with her spell interception technique. Sorcery started from a person’s thoughts—so by acting and speaking in such a way to disrupt the mind of someone casting a spell, you could cause it to go out of control. For example, whispering nonsensical words into the ear of a person trying to say tongue twisters to induce mistakes.
However, spell interception didn’t work on Amakusa-Style techniques.
Generally speaking, their spells, charms, and magic circles were unique—hidden within casual, everyday actions and words. They picked out subtle religious rituals and built techniques out of them. And this Tatemiya person had performed actions with magical meaning in a split second and was activating magic ten or twenty techniques at a time in the middle of combat.
With Index’s voice and skill, she couldn’t slip spell interception into a single motion that took only a split second to complete. By the time she thought to do something, Tatemiya’s single motion was already finished. If she wanted to obstruct his sorcery, she would need to keep up with his swordplay movements, which he’d built
into his techniques’ activation conditions. But Index obviously didn’t have any way of using such masterful martial arts abilities.
As a result of all this, Index jumping in wouldn’t be able to force Saiji Tatemiya to retreat. Index, being a magical professional herself, realized the difference in their strength—and not in terms of simple quantity, but also the fact that his kind of power was overwhelmingly mismatched with her.
Touma Kamijou took the magical ice-bullet attack and fell to the ground.
Saiji Tatemiya whipped his flamberge up into the air as though he were about to hit a nail with a hammer.
Index didn’t have any way of stopping that attack. Her spell interception wouldn’t do much against Amakusa-Style techniques, either.
“Touma!!”
But Index didn’t stop running.
She didn’t think any longer of what would happen afterward.
Stiyl Magnus thought his heart would stop when he saw the defenseless Index jump out. She had no fighting power. If she stood up to Tatemiya, she would be sliced in two within seconds.
“Gah…!!”
He had one flame sword in each hand. He didn’t have enough time to place all the rune cards to activate Innocentius again.
If he jumped out now, Stiyl would get to Tatemiya before Index. He might be able to distract him by attacking with the flame swords and blowing them up the moment they clashed with the opponent’s sword.
But Kamijou stood between Stiyl and Tatemiya.
If Stiyl pointed his sword at Tatemiya, it would pierce Kamijou’s body as well.
For just a moment, the flame priest’s face warped into a bitter expression.
For a few moments, he was conflicted. And when that ended, the light of determination was already in his eyes.
I made an oath long ago
…
Stiyl Magnus desperately worked his bleeding mouth to steady his breathing.
…
“Relax, and go to sleep. Even if you forget everything, I won’t forget a thing. I will live and die for your sake!!”
In order to protect that which he held most dear, he focused on the young man’s back and readied his flame swords.
All the air vented from his body, and his consciousness wavered. He looked at Tatemiya, bringing his sword up in front of Kamijou. He frantically restrained himself from passing out and tried to somehow get a handle on the situation.
His feet trembled. It would be impossible for him to avoid Tatemiya’s next attack.
Index had already started running, and in a few seconds, when she ran into Tatemiya, she’d be killed instantly.
He glanced behind him—Stiyl had his flame swords up, but Kamijou was a wall in the way of him using them.
Touma Kamijou revved his mental engine to full before even a second had passed.
So that nobody would be missing. So that nothing would be lost.
So that everyone could go home smiling.
“…Do it.”
He clenched his fist.
“Attack us both, Stiyl!!”
He rallied every last bit of strength in his body and charged for Saiji Tatemiya without hesitation.
Those few words confused Saiji Tatemiya.
The English Puritan sister was approaching him from behind, but he could easily slice her in two. The young man had jumped for him, his fist clenched, in order to stop that, but there was still more than enough time for him to cut the boy down and then deal with the sister.
But behind that young man…
The English Puritan priest had burst into a sprint, his flame swords at his hips.
“?!”
However one looked at it, if that priest kept charging, he would end up having to go through the young man with his swords. But there was no hesitation in the priest’s eyes. They were sharp as a knife blade, and there was a savage smile on his lips, as if calculating how to defeat his enemy were the only thing on his mind.
Tatemiya tried to ready his flamberge to defend against the flame swords. But when he did, the young man brought his right arm behind him and went to deliver a rock-hard punch.
“Crap…?!”
He wouldn’t have enough time to deal with his punch and then defend against the flame swords’ attack afterward. Plus, those flame swords weren’t for slashing—they were for exploding. If he screwed up on how he responded to them, he’d be in mortal danger. If he didn’t prioritize them and inject an anti-fire technique into his flamberge, the sacrificial boy could be engulfed in the explosion.
It’s just a punch from an amateur—no problem; I’ve had a basic shock-absorbing technique on me since this battle began. I only need to worry about those flame swords, so I’ll compose a technique for them right now!
Tatemiya brought his sword down into a horizontal stance. The flamberge was flame aspected, given the origin of its name—a flame-like sword—and his horizontal leveling of it was the code for “suppress,” giving him the impromptu technique that would suppress flames.
Fine, got you, finished! When your careless flames come to hit me, I’ll counter them with everything I’ve got
…
!!
Saiji Tatemiya’s tongue came out of his mouth. It wriggled around and licked his lips greedily.
The priest charged at the young man’s back, as if to assault him. The flame swords in his hands were aiming straight through the boy’s body and right at Tatemiya’s center.
I win!!
—Or so he thought.
Tatemiya tried to use a flame-resistant technique to try and blow back the heat and flames that were supposed to come at him when the flame swords exploded, but contrary to his expectations, nothing happened.
The young man’s right fist was all the way behind his body, like a hammer about to drive into him. And the priest’s flame swords had stabbed right up to that fist and nearly into it.
Bang!
With a sound like a balloon popping, the flame swords in the priest’s hands scattered into little embers and disappeared.
“Wha…? Nnh, gahh…?!”
Saiji Tatemiya, who had only been considering his counterattack timing after he’d used his flame-resistant technique to defend, didn’t understand what had just happened.
Boom!!
came the ear-splitting roar as the young man’s fist plunged right into Saiji Tatemiya’s face.
Ga, bah
…
!! Wh, ah, it went through
…
the shock-absorbing tech
…
?!
Tatemiya’s body bent all the way backward. Before he could regain his lost balance, the young man and priest both rammed into his body at full speed. Their pressure and weight made Saiji Tatemiya feel like he’d been hit with a battering ram—he flew horizontally through the air and slammed into the ground hard.
That’s when Tatemiya appeared to lose consciousness.
The flamberge flew from his hands and came down to the ground with a clatter.
The battle was over.
Kamijou figured it was because Amakusa’s command had crumbled all at once, since they lost their leader, Tatemiya. He basically understood because the sounds from afar had abruptly stopped, and the tingling, tense air had cleared. He hadn’t been given a thorough explanation, since they hadn’t met back up with Agnes and the sisters, but it seemed like victory had visited the Roman Orthodox Church. If that wasn’t the case, then it was strange that Amakusa wasn’t sending reinforcements to Kamijou’s group, since they’d been acting so uncontrollable and crazy.
He was a little concerned about the welfare of the Roman Orthodox and Amakusa, but Stiyl had reported no deaths on either side, and that the Romans had placed the Amakusa members under arrest. He wondered for a moment where all the man’s confidence came from, but it seemed like he was communicating by using his cigarette ember. The way the smoke billowed apparently conveyed his intent, but Kamijou obviously couldn’t tell by looking at it.
Saiji Tatemiya had been seated nearby, and rune cards attached to his limbs, chest, back, and forehead. It was apparently a brutal technique—one that would immediately douse him in flames if he were to move too much.
And, since Stiyl had gone to bring Orsola to Agnes and the others, Kamijou, Index, and Tatemiya were the only three people here.
And…
“Touma, Touma! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Does it hurt anywhere?!”
…at the moment, a white-faced Index was trying to take off his clothes.
“Hey, would you quit that, Index?! I’m fine, nowhere hurts really—bwah? A-are you an idiot or something?! Watch where you’re touching!”
“Then make absolutely sure of it yourself! Like if there’s anywhere that hurts or that’s hot or something!!” she shouted, nearly crying.
Kamijou finally realized how much he’d worried her. But making a direct comment along those lines would be incredibly embarrassing, so he listened to Index without saying anything and checked himself. “Okay. My side hurts a little, but that’s about it. It’s not like I can’t move or anything.”
“Really? It’s really no big deal?”
“Yeah. And I mean, I think I’m pretty accustomed to this. Back-alley fights with espers everywhere are pretty dangerous in their own right. And I fought magicians a whole bunch of times over summer break, remember?”
“I see…That’s good…” Index made a face he found difficult to judge whether it was smiling or crying. He grew vehemently embarrassed and couldn’t help but look away, but…
“…So then I can bite your head all I want, Touma.”
What?
He couldn’t ignore that—and the moment he heard it, the wild-animal girl Index launched a vicious assault on his head with her teeth.
“B-byaah?! Wait a second, Index! One second you’re worried about my health, and the next this?! What’ll you do if you make another wou—gyaahhh?!”
“I’m biting you because I’m worried about you! What in God’s name were you thinking, Touma?! You’re crazy! Not only did that guy have a huge sword, he was also a sorcerer! And you went
up against him with just a fist! Maybe you should have used that weapon on the ground! And the enemy actually said that if an amateur surrendered, he wouldn’t take your life! What were you thinking getting all determined?! You’re hopeless!”
“Wait, wait, you might kill me if you keep doing this, Miss Index, ow! I got it! I sincerely apologize on all fronts for my own actions today, so would you please lighten up with the biting…?!”
“And also, also! Did you actually think this through to the end? Did you even know that Amakusa guy would need time to build a fire-resistant defensive technique?! If you messed up on how long he was gonna take for it, you would have gotten cut right in half!!”
“No, no plan or anything. That was actually me going in for a real suicide attack, it’s just that Stiyl is so considerate, I had no idea about flame-resistant or defenses or—wait owwww?! I’b sowwy I’m sorry Miss Index pleeeaaaassseeeee?!”
Kamijou thoroughly delivered the kind of scream he would have never voiced in serious situations. Finally, Index seemed to feel better.
“…Hmph. You’re stupid. And reckless,” she murmured to herself as she put her small chin upon Kamijou’s hair.
Uh, wha
…
?!
Index, tired of being angry, probably did it with the same feeling one would when they got bored and put their head on their desk, but Kamijou’s heart immediately began beating twice as quickly. Aside from the sensation of a girl’s chin on his head, her long, silvery hair was giving off a sweet fragrance that wafted refreshingly to his cheeks, and above all, since he and Index were facing each other, her chest was super close—not even two centimeters from the tip of his nose. Normally he wasn’t aware of it, but this close, he was made to notice just a slight bit of a bulge.
Why are all her attacks changing speed like this? Oh, I get it. Now she’s gonna realize I’m looking at her chest and end up biting me again, right?!
Kamijou edged into a defensive stance, but contrary to his expectations, Index simply pulled herself away.
She stared up at the night sky for a few moments, listening carefully. “It’s so quiet. You wouldn’t think that many people were fighting.”
“Yeah.” He nodded along with her.
But right now, this silence was welcome. At the very least, he didn’t need to worry about swinging around swords and lances, or people yelling angrily, or the sounds of things breaking.
“Hey.” And then, all of a sudden, Saiji Tatemiya, seated nearby, spoke up to Kamijou. There was an odd tinge of impatience in his voice. Before Kamijou looked over there, Index spread out her arms and went in front of him as a shield. Tatemiya glared at them and said, “Shit. Sorry, but could you take these off for me, man? Well, I mean, I know I’m askin’ the impossible. But I can’t just leave her alone like this.”
Huh?
Kamijou frowned.
Who does he mean by “her”?
he thought…but it hit him a moment later: Orsola Aquinas. “What are you saying, idiot? Why would we let the most dangerous person here out of our—”
“You’re the idiot here! Come on, just hear me out, all right? Do you
actually
plan on handing her over to the Roman Orthodox Church, man? You probably have no idea what kind of treatment she’ll be getting after this.”
Huh
…
?
Kamijou didn’t know what to say.
“No, Touma.” Index actually sounded calmer than him. “This person uses his words as a weapon. So don’t listen to him. How would our enemy benefit from telling us the truth, anyway—”
“
She’s going to be killed
,” said Saiji Tatemiya, cutting her off. “Listen, I’ll just tell you the ending first. Don’t hand her over to the Roman Orthodox. They
actually
want to kill her.”
“And you’re Orsola’s ally, so you want us to untie you and let you escape? You’ve gotta be joking. That’s way too convenient. You’re the ones who kidnapped her in the first place! And you stole the
Book of the Law
, too! She knows how to decipher what’s inside it, so you kidnapped her, gave all these people weapons, and fought, and now you’re saying
we’re
the bad guys? That’s the dumbest fucking thing
I’ve ever heard!!” Kamijou was so mad that he yelled loud enough to hurt his throat.
Tatemiya, however, didn’t care. “We didn’t steal the
Book of the Law
.”
What?
Kamijou’s mind blanked for a moment.
“I mean, just think about it. What would we need it for? Roman Orthodoxy is the world’s largest Crossist denomination. It’s got more than two billion followers in all. Would we want the thing so badly we’d pick a fight with
that
? It’s just the
Book of the Law
.”
“Don’t give him a serious reply, Touma!” Index tensed up and said flatly, “I heard Amakusa lost its priestess, and now it’s gotten a lot weaker. So you tried to make up for that missing strength by getting your hands on the unknown grand magics in the
Book of the Law
. Am I wrong?”
“I just said—
why would we need power in the first place?
”
Saiji Tatemiya smiled. The expression, with a bead of sweat sliding down his face, looked like he could have been impatient because he was running out of time.
Kamijou was perplexed. “Because if you didn’t have it, you’d lose to other factions!”
“Yeah—if they even
attacked
us, man. But you just have to remember this. Amakusa’s been oppressed for an extremely long time. Do you think we don’t have any countermeasures for it? Nobody has ever found our base, and there are still plenty of eddy points for our specialty, the Pilgrimage in Miniature, set up by Tadataka Inou, that no one knows about.”
Kamijou suddenly felt like he’d been caught off guard by the man’s words.
That was right—they only knew twenty-three of the points used for the special movement method.
“How would anyone attack our base when no one but us even knows where it is?”
He has a point
, he thought.
Nobody knew where Amakusa’s headquarters was, so if they fled
there, Orsola wouldn’t be able to be rescued again. Because of that, the point of this battle had been to settle things before they activated the special movement method.
No one would be able to attack their stronghold—so they never needed to prepare to defend it in the first place.
“Then…”
Did Amakusa have some other objective than defense? Could they have been going after the
Book of the Law
to expand their military might?
Or were they…
“Lemme ask you something, man. What kind of grimoire is the
Book of the Law
, exactly?”
Saiji had been talking to him, but since he was a total amateur when it came to magic, he meekly looked at Index.
She began explaining, her expression reluctant. “The
Book of the Law
is a grimoire written in an extremely complex code—and actually, its grammar is strange enough that it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that it was written in a completely different language all its own. It’s said that the only one to ever decipher it properly was Edward Alexander, the one who wrote it, also known as Crowley. He stated that the most important part of the book was ‘There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt,’ but nobody knows what that means.” She continued smoothly. “The
Book of the Law
’s contents contain instruction from an enigmatic being called Aiwass, who could be said to be his guardian angel or one who must not be forgiven. One theory states it lets you freely use techniques that angels can use. It has enormous power. They say that as soon as you open the book, it announces the end of the age of Crossism and the beginning of a new era.”
“That’s the thing.” Saiji Tatemiya smiled meaningfully. “That’s the most important part. The
Book of the Law
does have enormous power. If it really did allow anyone to use angelic techniques, the era of a Crossist-dominated world would be over before the day was up. After all, everyone would be able to use powers stronger than the pope himself. The entire pyramid structure of the Church would
come toppling down, but…” He paused for a moment. “But I don’t actually think everyone thinks everyone wants this power.”
“Why not? I’m not a sorcerer, so I’m not involved in this. But don’t you professional sorcerers want to use stronger magic so you can move up in status?”
“There’s the question of
why
we would need to move up in status in the first place. We don’t need that kind of power. In fact, neither should any true disciples of Crossism.”
“But the Roman Orthodox Church manages the
Book of the Law
because they want its strength, don’t they?” This mystified Kamijou, but Index seemed to understand what he was getting at, since she made a sour expression.
“Here’s the thing.” He smiled quietly and answered the young man’s innocent question.
“Why would Roman Orthodoxy, the biggest Crossist denomination with the most disciples in the world—two billion—want to
end the era of Crossism
?”
Oh
. Then it hit him.
People who were already satisfied at the current balance wouldn’t have any reason to desire change. In fact, that went even more for those who reigned supreme in this day and age.
“The Roman Orthodox were never
looking
for a weapon as strong as the
Book of the Law
. What they need is a weapon to help them gain control of the world, not one that would smash the world to pieces.”
Kamijou and Index both fell silent.
It felt like the darkness of the night had grown many times thicker all of a sudden.
“So they decided to secretly get rid of the one person who could draw out the book’s power. But she realized that, too. She used all the power she had to get to somewhere the Roman Orthodox couldn’t reach…In other words, she manipulated her schedule so she could come here to Japan. Ironically enough, the
Book of the Law
was set
to be transported here already. And then she came looking for help from the local Crossist sect—Amakusa. When all’s said and done, we were really just helping her make her great escape.”
Tatemiya heaved a sigh. “The book being stolen was a big farce put up by Roman Orthodoxy. There’s no way we would steal it. They were probably trying to connect her disappearance with the book. If they came as a set, then everyone would think the kidnapping was so we could get our hands on it. If she had been the only thing to disappear, people might put it down to some other possibility. Like that she defected in order to flee the Roman Orthodox Church, for example.”
Good and evil, offense and defense, capturing and rescuing.
Kamijou witnessed the single moment all of these flipped around.
“So can you still say that the Roman Orthodox Church is in the right here? Can you say with one hundred percent certainty that returning Orsola Aquinas to them was the right move?”
“…”