Saint.
"That's the one, the humans who are similar to the Son of God in Christian teachings. In the Idol Theory of Christianity, when duplicating the Cross that the Son of God was executed on, the duplicate will have some power as well. By using this theory on the relationship between the Son of God and humans, any human similar to the Son of God will have power equivalent to him. These people chosen by the heavens are known as 'Saints'. These people have an inexplicable amount of power. However..."
The Roll the Ball Match was over now (Luckily, Kamijou's school won). As they were leaving the arena, both Kamijou and Tsuchimikado were continuing their conversation and drinking sports drinks given by Fukiyose Seiri, who had said "You need to replenish your amino acids. This drink includes black vinegar and soy isoflavone."
"The Saints have a weaknesses."
"Really? But isn't Kanzaki strong enough to take on a real angel on her own?"
Angel. This word didn't sound very real, but because Kamijou had seen it for himself, he had to believe it. That angel who called herself Misha Kreutzev had enough power to destroy the entire world with a single finger, and yet Kanzaki had been able to fight the angel till the end. No matter what Kamijou or anyone else did, they couldn't match up to her.
Tsuchimikado was gulping down the drink, saying,
"But her powers do have a weakness. Listen closely, a Saint is a human who has the same type and nature of body as the Son of God, so not only do they have the same amount of power, they have the similar types, characteristics and features."
Tsuchimikado took a deep breath,
"—Basically, they have inherited the weaknesses of the Son of God."
Ah! Kamijou inadvertently cried out.
"The Son of God died once. It doesn't matter that he resurrected and rose to Heaven; the fact that he died cannot be denied. Kami-yan, do you know how the Son of God, who was hung on the Cross, was killed?"
Tsuchimikado grinned at Kamijou, and continued,
"He was stabbed. After his arms and legs were nailed onto the Cross, he was stabbed through by a spear. Whether the spear gave the critical blow, or whether it was used to confirm that he was dead, is still being hotly debated by Bible scholars. But the fact that he got 'stabbed' wasn't changed, nya."
Tsuchimikado took another gulp of drink, and continued,
"The 'Stab Sword' has the religious meaning of execution and assassination, a spiritual weapon that can expand and contract at will, to any length. It's said that it can 'Stab through a dragon and pin it onto the ground.' It's useless against humans, but it's a sure kill against Saints. No matter how far, just pointing the sword at something is enough to kill it."
Hearing this, Kamijou broke out in cold sweat.
Seemed like Tsuchimikado wanted to add on to Kamijou's imagination, as he proceeded on,
"Sounds scary? When the 'Stab Sword' is activated, whether one's in a nuclear shelter, or in the core of the Earth, or even if the person hides in the netherworld, just pointing the sword at a Saint is enough to kill him or her. It's much more convenient and ruthless than a nuclear weapon. Because this sword was created to destroy any selfish and greedy Saints, nya!"
"What are these magicians thinking, dealing for this kind of thing..."
"It's for war, Kami-yan. A Saint is the magical equivalent to a nuclear bomb. After killing the enemy's Saints and protecting all your comrades in the first place will result in a drastic change of tide in battle."
War.
To ordinary high school students living in modern Japan, this didn't sound sensible. But Kamijou had come close to it once. Once, because of the magical Book of the Law and the nun who claimed to have cracked the code, Orsola Aquinas, the Anglicans, Roman Catholics and Amakusas had a three-way battle. If there was a real war, the scale would definitely be much larger. A war that would affect the entire world, a war that would involve ordinary and innocent people, a war that would change the landscape.
"However, there are a lot more magicians who aren't Saints, right? Like the Anglicans, they can battle on even if they don't have Kanzaki, right?"
"Kami-yan, the problem isn't there. It's not whether we can win. Once we get the wrong feeling that we can win, we'll provoke a war. Once a Saint, who signifies power, is dead, it'll likely destroy the balance of the Magical society. It's like how an entire country grieves when a member of Royalty is killed, nya. People who feel that this is a great chance to succeed will jump into battle without hesitation — these people never notice, however, that what awaits them is a tragic failure."
Tsuchimikado's words had a cold and oppressive feeling in them.
It was probably because of his status as an agent, working in different places, that he knew the weaknesses of this world.
"A Saint being killed wantonly will destabilize a country and its organizations religiously. If they are attacked from within or from outside by magical organizations, they'll get destroyed. These situations won't appear on stage, but they're enough to cause the countries and the world to collapse. Once the balance of an area is unstable, many different groups will plan and set up a new order, and end up causing war as a result. As an international security maintenance organization created to counter magicians, the 0th Parish of the Anglican Church, Necessarius, won't let this off easily, nya."
This really sounded like a resolve, but Tsuchimikado's tone at the end was really frivolous.
(Is this tone of his really a relaxed one from the view of a spy, or is he trying to suppress his feelings as a professional?)
The amateur Kamijou was unable to judge this.
Kamijou drunk the drink that was not so cold now, and said,
"However, in this serious situation, isn't it better to ask Index for help?"
That was right, Index was still not around.
After hearing Tsuchimikado and Stiyl's explanation, he had run immediately to the arena without meeting Index.
If it was related to magic, she was a very reliable helper. To Kamijou, nobody knew magic better than her.
However, Tsuchimikado rejected this proposal with just a sentence,
"No way, we can't use Index. Not only must we not allow her to be near the scene, we can't let her know anything about this."
"...Why?"
"Hm. Because there are a lot of complicated reasons. Alright, I'll explain everything from the beginning."
Tsuchimikado seemed to find it bothersome as he scratched his head.
"Like what I just said, the science side cannot cross over to the magic side. Right now, there are many problems inside and outside Academy City…do you understand if I say it like this, nya?"
"Ah? I do know that Anti-Skill and Judgment cannot face off against magicians directly."
He seemed to have heard of this before when he had snuck into 'Misawa Cram School' with Stiyl to find the alchemist hiding himself inside.
The science and magical worlds were two different worlds on their own, two completely different sides. In this situation, if any policing agency of Academy City was to catch a magician, it would cause the risk of information regarding the magical world being leaked to the science world.
"For example, it's like our newest and most advanced fighter jet fell into the hands of the enemy?"
"That's right. And if there are a lot of magicians who stepped into Academy City as a group, the situation will be much worse. Because in this case, the magicians who intend to do the trade in Academy City can do whatever they want. How can anyone leave them alone?"
Kamijou felt that this was a rather stupid structure. Everyone had the same intentions, but were unable to move because of this kind of reason.
"So this time, we have an exception. We'll have me, Kami-yan and Stiyl, the three of us working together."
Tsuchimikado grinned.
"Of course, some organisations will be unhappy about this. These people are observing, but are unable to get into Academy City. Some of them want to solve this case, but for the wrong intentions. These people are using spells that act like radar, sensing any magical flow. Once there's movement, they'll rush in."
"Hmm...so that's what it's all about?"
Kamijou could only say this, since to be honest, he was unable to imagine what a magic flow was like.
"But, what has this magic detection got to do with Index? She can't use magic! Even if those guys can use radar-like spells, there's no need to hide Index."
Although Kamijou Touma had lost his memories, he still had this knowledge. Although Index was the keeper of 103,000 grimoires, she couldn't use it. This was to prevent her from getting into trouble by using them.
Facing Kamijou's doubts, Tsuchimikado bitterly laughed,
"This is the difference in values. Hear this, Kami-yan. For the past few months, there had been quite a few magical occurrences—and you were able to settle them perfectly—but in the magical world, nobody knows that you were involved."
"It doesn't matter. I'll have a larger headache if too many people know. But why?"
"What I'm trying to say is that in comparison, Index's name is a lot more noticeable. The people in the magical world won't feel that this is 'Something that happened around Kamijou Touma,' but rather 'Something that happens around Index, the keeper of the 103,000 grimoires.'"
Kamijou thought — So that was it.
Tsuchimikado seemed to be able to sense something from his face. He happily said,
"So these people will think that 'everything happens around Index.' So, using common knowledge, they'll focus their search on Index, right? But in reality, a sensing spell that can cover Academy City entirely doesn't exist. Even if an organization like the 'Gregorian Chant' uses this spell, the maximum range for them is around 500 meters. So by putting Index away from this case, those guys outside will focus on her. This way, if there's a magical war somewhere, it's likely that it won't be found out, nya. On the other hand, if we get her involved in this, we'll be in for a lot of trouble."
"In other words, we cannot allow Index to sense any magical presence, or anything related to it?"
Kamijou thought, this sounded easy, but was actually difficult. Index had memorized the 103,000 grimoires in order to counter all magicians. She wouldn't let go of any tiny clue easily. Once she found one, she would spring into action.
That said, even if he explained it to Index first and told her 'not to move,' she'd likely not agree to it easily. Normally, she hated getting others involved in any magical related cases, so she would definitely not agree to having others take care of this for her.
As Kamijou was thinking about this, Tsuchimikado gently shook the empty bottle.
"However, Kami-yan, this is another 'misfortune'. I guess you won't be happy since Index's been getting all the credit?"
"Idiot. I'm worried for her. Really, that Index is too much. My troubles are already so much!"
Kamijou sucked his tongue as he continued his thoughts. Seeing his face from the side, Tsuchimikado laughed. That laugh had no sense of irony or mockery.
"Anyway, this is how it goes, nya. Kami-yan will take care of Index, and try to hide any hint of what's happening in Academy City. Oh yeah, you can go shopping with her; try and get her away from any place where there might be a magical battle."
"Ah, what are you saying! You're making it sound so easy…!"
"There's no problem! To this unfortunate Kamijou Touma, this is but a trivial matter!"
"Where is this confidence coming from!? What'll happen for our next match? Fukiyose will go berserk if we play hooky! Isn't this much scarier?"
"I'll leave that to you! Right now, the most important thing is Index. However, that Index, she can be easily controlled with food, nya. If anything happens, throw the food in the opposite direction, nya!"
"...You rascal, if Index heard this, she'd bite till your skull breaks. Wait, that's not right, I never saw her bite a human other than me..."
Tsuchimikado patted Kamijou's shoulder hard as Kamijou said this listlessly.