The next match would be a 'ball tossing contest'.
Misaka Mikoto was standing on the school compound with soil ground.
To her, who was used to the new facilities of Tokiwadai middle school, it was refreshing to be in this arena where the ground was uneven, which caused a difference in shock absorbance. With a little wind, dust would fly up. Could anyone really carry out precise tests in this place that was like those places depicted in Western movies? Or were they really setting this irregular terrain as a practical training ground?
There were only around 200 students on the Tokiwadai Middle School side, and they were all ojous, so they looked elegant, charming and petite. The reason why there was so much spotlight from the spectators was, well besides their prowess, these girls on lens were like a beautiful painting.
However, that was an 'external' viewpoint from outside Academy City.
The views from those 'inside' Academy City were completely different.
When the ojous of Tokiwadai took part in a battle, it meant that their weakest, Level 3s, all the way to their strongest, Level 5s, would be taking part. Even if the numbers and physique were different, the opponent was simply pessimistic against this group of ojous who could sink an Aegis-class warship with smiles on their faces.
In actuality, on the other side of the school compound...behind the pole baskets used for the tossing contest that was separating them, was the opposing school. Though there were more than 2000 of them, one could see from afar that there was a sense of realization over there, which was covered by an atmosphere of tragedy. In the eyes of the Tokiwadai camp, these people were giving off a sense of failure. The proud ojous quickly realized this as they gave a sharp Ohohohohoho laugh.
But Misaka Mikoto was not pleased with this situation at all.
Her two hands on her hips, Biri Biri, she began to emit some blue and white sparks.
(...WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON!)
In the enemy's camp, 100 meters away, among the 2,000+ middle school students, was a person who shouldn't have been there. And to think that guy even carefully prepared by putting on the school's designated PE attire.
She had never beaten that guy before.
The only teenager she had ever showed her crying face to.
(WHAT–ON–EARTH–ARE–YOU–DOING–OVER THERE!! OI...!?)
The kouhais around Mikoto were somewhat afraid to ask her what was wrong, but Mikoto, who lowered her head as she gave an eerie laugh, didn't realize that the air around her was crackling.
After the participants were in the arena, Kamijou Touma, who heard the name of the opponent from his own camp, went green immediately.
"(Eh...!? The opponent is Tokiwadai Middle School! Fa…face it, Tsuchimikado! If the ojous over there are angry, they'll probably send out a railgun that can even cut Tokyo Tower in half!)"
"(...Nya. I heard that with their abilities and Levels combined, they can even take down the White House with just flesh. Kami-yan, we should be careful about stray bullets.)"
After talking about things that would guarantee that they'd be attacked by the ojous if the ojous had heard them, the two started to talk about emergency battle plans.
"Shorthand is just a code name. in fact, it's impossible to set up such a thick book down there nya. The divination circle array's response points to this school; do you see anything that's strange on first glance?"
Like what Tsuchimikado said, there was no 'magical item' to be seen at this school.
On the soil ground, the ten metal pole baskets were arranged in a line. Placed around them were red and white balls. As there were more than 2,000 people taking part in this, not only was the basket big, there were a lot of balls to be used.
If she was to set it up, where would she put it?
"Really, it'll be good if it's shaped like an old book."
"That's the objective of the enemy. Though we don't know Oriana's modus operandi, since it's a set-up type, there must be a spell that's set up. It can be disguised as graffiti, scratches, dyes or even stains. Does she think that I can't find it? Kami-yan, the Onmyoji techniques that I learned include Fengshui techniques of scenery and buildings. 'Reading' these magic marks is my specialty."
Tsuchimikado smiled as he answered.
Kamijou started to think.
"Oh yeah, Tsuchimikado. Speaking about where Oriana's Shorthand is, isn't that a grimoire as well...also, it's still an Original, right? I heard that people's hearts will be broken if they read it, so won't the people taking part in this ball tossing match all fall?"
"No, I don't think so. The Shorthand is a grimoire that doesn't allow any reader to understand it. Since it's a scribbled book that cannot be read, no corrupted knowledge will be passed on. So you don't have to worry about that."
I see. Kamijou finally relaxed.
However, Tsuchimikado's face still looked stern.
"The important thing is how that Oriana set up the grimoire nya. If it's carved on a stone tablet, the stone tablet itself will become a grimoire. Though I don't know how far it extends to, I hope that she didn't set up something too big, because the chances of touching it would be extremely big."
Kamijou looked past the students' heads, at the school. What he saw was a row of ten pole baskets that were used for this match, with some red and white balls scattered around it.
"It's alright if it's those baskets...for example, it'll be disastrous if one of those balls is the grimoire. There're a total of around 2,500 people after totaling both sides, right? If so, the number of balls prepared will be twice the number. More importantly, the chances of touching it are high."
Not only would finding it be difficult, the participants would also be tossing the ball. Even if it was set up among them, they didn't know where to start looking from.
"No, the balls were only added just now. When Stiyl was attacked by the counterspell, these balls were still in the warehouse. If so, it'll be weird if the 'all-around reality array' didn't point towards the warehouse."
"So now what?"
Kamijou turned around to stare at Tsuchimikado, before looking back at the school campus, and then back at Tsuchimikado.
"The baskets are rather suspicious nya. It seems like they have been set there for quite some time. They have to decide where the baskets are to be placed because they need to 'scatter the balls around the basket.' If so, it's likely that she set the spell at the basket."
"But, what do we do...? Though it's only preparations, this is when the spectators are gathering. Won't we be noticed if we just casually approach it?"
This was obvious, because there was nothing blocking anyone's view. Or had she disguised herself like how Kamijou thought?
"No. It's likely that Oriana wouldn't get close to the school. Kami-yan, didn't you notice Anti-Skill at the back door? Trying to break through it while running away is a waste of effort… Those baskets may be borrowed from some other place nya. Maybe she set up the magic array while they shifted them here."
"But, just touching it alone will create a victim. Then how did the courier not fall?"
"It's likely that Oriana set up when it'll start and stop. The proceedings of the match will be televised through broadcast. By looking at the electronic bulletin, one could get hold of the situation that's required for her to prepare this nya."
"Stop...?"
Kamijou raised a doubt, but Tsuchimikado smiled,
"Oriana will try her best to avoid any chaos in order to allow the deal to proceed smoothly. It's likely that she'll stop it when the match is over and the committee finishes clearing up. Of course, she'll be far away by then."
But once anyone touched that Shorthand grimoire, whose shape and whereabouts were unknown, it'd be disastrous.
"That Oriana...thought about these right from the start?"
"I don't know nya. It's likely that she didn't think that far. Besides, there's a competition schedule on the tour guidebook. Investigating the actions of the committee members isn't impossible."
As Tsuchimikado answered, the audio broadcast of the school could be heard.
"Everyone, get into position."
A voice could be heard.
The fight against this enemy that wasn't there was about to start.
On one side of the school compound, inside the tent for committee members, Fukiyose Seiri was holding a microphone.
"Everyone, get into position."
The voice released by her throat overlapped with the noise from the audio speakers. The work of a committee member was rather diverse, ranging from recalling the injured to giving the start and stop signals for a match. The actual broadcast was left to the broadcasting crew inside the broadcasting tent, so the committee members just needed to give the starting signal.
There was other troublesome work like counting the number of balls tossed into the baskets. Because there were so many participants, the number of balls tossed into the baskets could not be underestimated. In this 'ball tossing contest', 1/3 of the estimated time taken was used for counting the balls.
"Get set."
Fukiyose was only in charge of giving the starting command, whereas the other commands were to be handled by the other committee members. After this was done, she had to count the balls afterwards. Others may feel that it was bothersome, but she had other things on her mind.
(I've been feeling that someone's inside that group...is it fatigue? Do I lack vitamins? I recall that soybeans can relieve mental fatigue. But didn't that shopping program mention that soy isoflavones is effective against anything ranging from obesity and blood toxins to memory loss and aging of skin?)
While her doubts weren't solved yet, Fukiyose raised her voice,
"START!!"
Beep!! With the sound of the whistle, the 'Ball Tossing match' started. The loudspeakers in the school started blaring a march that was normally heard during a sports meet.
The students from both schools ignored the fast paced and entertaining music as they advanced to the middle from the left and right side of the arena. Their targets were the pole baskets that were approximately 3 meters tall.
"Woah! Kami-yan, get down!!"
Tsuchimikado shouted. Just as Kamijou got down onto the ground, colorful lights and flashes of red, blue and yellow flew over from the Tokiwadai Middle School side that was several meters behind the baskets. The flashes arrived, creating shockwaves. With this volley of attacks, dozens of boys were blown away.
"Wah, to think that those guys were knocked back by 10 meters!?"
A part of the crowd vanished. During the Wrench Pole match that Kamijou had been involved in, there had also been esper attacks, but these were of a completely different level. A crater several meters in diameter, one that was comparable to the craters on the moon, was made. Even the dust floating in the air was blown away by the impact.
Kamijou was terrified, and turned to look behind. Though the students that had been blown away were still wobbly in their legs, it seemed like nobody was hurt. Seemed like as the explosion occurred, other espers from Tokiwadai had added some protective abilities like Air Bag or Shock Absorber. As expected of the ojous that liked to take care of the enemy's welfare.
However, Kamijou's right hand, which contained the Imagine Breaker power, may end up destroying this kind protective power. The wound on Tsuchimikado's flank may open once there was an impact.
"..."
"..."
Kamijou and Tsuchimikado inadvertently communicated with each other wordlessly.
Next, flashes of red, blue and yellow were heading towards the two of them. Fireballs, electric guns and vacuum bullets were flying towards them.
"Wha...what is going on...! Didn't the schedule say that it's a Ball Tossing contest?"
"Instead of balls, we might as well call them cannons nya!!"
Because of these cannon blasts, parts of this group of student began to vanish one by one. Kamijou and Tsuchimikado got into the crowd, making their way to the middle of the school compound with all their might, to the baskets that were arranged in a row. The posts weren't supported by humans, but by metal bases on the ground.
"…(Listen carefully, Kami-yan. I'm going to check the posts in order.)"
"…(Ah, is there anything I can help with?)"
"…(I'll tell you if there's anything to be done. Okay, stay here nya. You're up next once I find this Shorthand.)"
"…(Got it, however…)"
Kamijou thought, what am I going to do in the meantime? Anyway, in order to avoid suspicion, he threw a white ball that was on the ground, and thinking that if he, an outsider, was to really take part in this match, it could really change the outcome of the battle, so he was not too enthusiastic about it.
Under a post, Tsuchimikado purposely tossed a ball that would definitely not land inside the basket, and examined it from top to bottom. The pole basket was 3 meters tall, so just twisting his head up to examine it was really tedious.
Besides checking for any flash card that Oriana may be using, Tsuchimikado was checking different areas, whether there were any strange words that were carved on the pole, or whether there were any strange markings on the metal base.
"(…Tsuchimikado?)"
"(…Not this one, Kami-yan.)"
He shook his head, picked up another white ball, and headed towards the next post.
Next, he checked the second one beside it, then the third one, only to be let down. Seeing this, Kamijou felt that time was running out.
There were still seven more to go.
Just when Kamijou was going to follow Tsuchimikado from behind, a white flash was shot from behind him.
"Wa!?"
He immediately used his right hand to block. The light bullet flew over, and upon touching Kamijou's hand, Shoosh! A sound could be heard as it gently bounced off. Somewhere rather far away from him, he could see the girls of Tokiwadai staring, wide-mouthed, but Kamijou didn't care. It would be bad if he was noticed. Thus, he nudged his elbow on a trembling male student nearby, pretending that it was this boy who had saved him.
"(…Kami-yan, it's not the fourth one either. Next one.)"
The angry girls of Tokiwadai Middle school turned to aim at that boy. Tsuchimikado and Kamijou then proceeded on to the fifth one.
The human wall in front begins to shake.
A group of boys who were only focused on tossing the balls into the baskets were blown back like a row of dominoes. They were crowded together as they knocked into the fifth basket.
Dang! With a metallic sound, the basket started to shake.
If Oriana had set the Shorthand at the fifth post—lots of sacrifices would have been made.
Like how Stiyl seemed to be suffering from severe heatstroke.
Those without magical capabilities could die at the hands of this counterattacking spell.
"Damn it!!"
Tsuchimikado frantically dashed towards the group. Kamijou wanted to go after him, only to stop in his tracks.
The fifth pole was shaking heavily.
It fell sideways, crashing heavily into the sixth pole beside it.
The sixth pole was shaking about as well.
In front of the falling metal was a female student from Tokiwadai.
The girl, who was holding a red ball with both hands, was wide-mouthed as she stared at the heavy equipment, which weighed over 30kg, falling onto her.
Kamijou wanted to run over, but the group of boys who fell at the fifth post were blocking him.
"Damn it! Tsuchimikado!!"
Kamijou shouted. He jumped onto the back of Tsuchimikado, who was dashing towards the fifth post, and leapt over the group of boys on the ground. He lost his balance in mid-air, but still managed to grab the collar of the girl's jogging suit, and used momentum to drag her aside. At least he managed to get out of the path of the falling pole.
At this moment, from far away, an explosion caused by esper powers colliding occurred.
The sixth pole, which was falling down, was affected by the storm generated. The metal pole was now falling towards Kamijou and company, with numerous times the weight and momentum.
(Damn it, got to get out of the way first!)
In this posture, when he was lying on the ground, Kamijou was unable to jump away. Due to the impact when he fell down, Kamijou's body was hurting all over. He shifted his aching body over, and pushed the girl, now unable to move, away. The girl looked surprised, and it seemed that she didn't even know what was happening around her.
(…Really!!)
Kamijou gritted his teeth.
The pole basket that was over 30kg was falling onto him.
In that instant.
Dang!! Like the sound of a Church bell being rung, the sixth pole basket was forced aside. It was cut in half by an orange beam of light, continued to bounce on the ground, and rolled away for several meters. The surrounding students instantly ducked, but several seconds later, it was back to the chaotic battle mode. During this time, what was left of the pole continued to bounce on the ground.
Railgun.
One of the esper powers, a bullet which moved at three times the speed of sound.
Kamijou Touma shakily looked back. In front of him was a girl who had flicked a coin with her thumb, the Ace of Tokiwadai Middle school who was emitting sparks all over her body, Misaka Mikoto.
The two stared at each other.
"Hehehe…"
Kamijou laughed weakly.
"Really…you…YOU-REALLY-WANT-ME-TO-BE-THE-ONE-PUNISHED!!??"
At the same time, Mikoto continued to fire an electric shot.
"Ww…waaahhhh!! That girl down there, before you get hit by this large-scale attack, run away!! I'll block this, so hurry up and run!!"
Kamijou frantically waved his right hand to deflect the electric shot.
The girl just shouted from behind, "Thank you very much! I'm sorry!!" bowed politely, and ran away from the battlefront with amazing speed. In a flash, she was lost among the participants who were duking it out.
Kamijou didn't look behind as he calmly said,
"…Phew, seeing her being so lively, guess nothing's wrong."
"You…sneaking into another person's match is bad enough, why are you acting so cool…?"
While arguing halfway, Mikoto felt somewhat tired as she placed a hand on her forehead. She then extended her small hand out to the side—the seventh pole.
"STOP! Wait a second, Misaka!!"
"Wha…what are you doing?"
Mikoto's pulled her hand back, suspending it in mid-air.
Kamijou didn't look at Mikoto's face. He was observing the seventh pole. At the height where Mikoto was about to place her hand, there seemed to be something.
A rectangular piece of paper…that was as big as a chewing gum wrapper.
Though he couldn't see it from here, there seemed to be some small words written on it.
(A flashcard!? Don't tell me that's the Shorthand?)
Kamijou's back suddenly froze.
A foreboding struck him, stiffening his body.
(I see…it's likely that the Shorthand that Tsuchimikado talked about, that thing that creates a counterspell, is referring to that. Don't tell me every single one of Oriana flashcards is a Shorthand?)
Kamijou thought, this was bad.
Both Kamijou and Mikoto were about 1.5m away from each other.
Though they were near to each other, it was not a distance that could be covered by just stretching a hand out.
The thick piece of paper was only taped onto the pole at the top.
As the autumn wind blew, the piece of paper would sway about slightly.
Misaka Mikoto's palm was only 3 cm away from the pole.
Once a strong wind blew—the thick piece of paper might touch her.
Thinking about how Stiyl was lying on the ground right now, Kamijou inadvertently gasped.
He carefully selected his choice of words, and calmly, he said to the girl, who was in danger,
"Listen, Misaka. I'll explain it to you later. Listen to me, get away from there. What I'm going to say will be very important."
"Ah??? What are you talking about? Saying this all of a sudden?"
As expected, Mikoto frowned. Her hand…continued to remain at that position though. It was neither moving forward, nor backwards, maintaining a distance of 3 cm.
The thick piece of paper suddenly swayed about slightly.
Mikoto didn't notice the danger hidden in this situation.
"I say. Right now, what authority do you have to order me around? Why are you here? We can't continue the match when the pole is down, so you better give me a proper explanation—"
At this moment, one could hear the air being cut.
The sound came from behind Kamijou. The male student from the school facing off against Tokiwadai fired a dirt spear at Mikoto. Because of the esper powers, the dirt spear was accelerated and cut through the air like a metal arrow. If one was hit by it, the person's ribs would break.
Seeing this sudden situation, Mikoto was shocked, and emitted some blue sparks, ready to strike back.
"Stop interfering!!"
Before she could take action, Kamijou's right hand stretched out to the side.
The boy's fist, which was between the dirt spear and Mikoto, smashed the dirt spear in one hit.
The dust that was flying about dirtied Kamijou's face, but he didn't even bother rubbing it off.
It seemed like he didn't have time to do this, as his eyes were fixated on Misaka Mikoto.
"Bak…"
Mikoto looked at what was left of the dirt spear, and then turned to look at Kamijou.
"Are you an idiot? Why are you blocking your own allies' attacks? Eve…even without your help, I can settle this on my own. What's this important thing that you want to talk about? Can't you say it after the match? What is it that requires you to sneak in here and say it to me!?"
"I'll explain it to you later, Misaka. Anyway, just hurry up and get out of here!!"
"Really! Why aren't you listening to other people's words! The one who should be leaving is you, right!!"
Mikoto angrily smacked against the pole to vent her frustration.
Frantically, Kamijou inadvertently shouted.
"Wait a second, Misaka! Don't say anything now, and come over now!! It's dangerous there! I don't want you to get hurt!!"
Mikoto stopped what she was doing.
For some reason, her face reddened. Her head didn't move, but her eyes seemed to be looking away from Kamijou.
"There's no need for you to worry about me in this minor competition. No matter who attacks me, I'll be fine as long as I use my powers…"
Kamijou couldn't hear what she was saying, and right now, there was no time for that. His eyes were watching each and every single action that Mikoto did. Sweat flowed onto his face, so he quickly rubbed it away with his right hand, and could feel a gritty feeling as he rubbed it away.
On the other hand, Mikoto, who was being observed by Kamijou, made a sound as she straightened her back. The hand that was about to touch the pole slowly pulled back in front of her. After a while, she violently shook her head.
(Anyway…there's nothing wrong right? However, why is she blushing???)
Kamijou had this doubt in his head, but Mikoto's hand did leave the pole after all.
Just when Kamijou relaxed,
"What the heck, stop saying such things to scare me."
Mikoto bent her back that she had straightened just now, and listlessly grabbed onto the pole with her right hand.
"Damn it!!"
Kamijou dashed forward with all his might. The thick piece of paper was being blown about wildly in the wind, and was about to touch Mikoto's palm. Before that happened, Kamijou leaped towards her, and using the momentum, ducked. He clung onto Mikoto's waist with both hands, and sent her to the ground in one go.
"Eh? EH?"
Mikoto lay on the ground and looked up at the body covering her. The two hands in front of her chest froze.
"Wah…wah…wh…whywhywhywhywhy…?"
Like an explosion, Mikoto's face was fully flushed red, and she was unable to complete her sentence. Kamijou's face became even more serious.
"Quiet, don't move."
After saying this, while Mikoto was still lying on the ground, Kamijou observed her face. Since he didn't know anything about magic, he was unable to make any judgment. However, just by looking from the view of a layman, her face was extremely red now, like she had some sort of fever.
(He did mention that there would be symptoms like severe heatstroke…)
In order to examine it better, Kamijou brought his face closer.
"Eh…that…?"
Mikoto blinked. To her, it seemed like Kamijou, who had brought his face closer, realized something, and slowly closed her eyes.
Seeing this situation, Kamijou sucked his tongue, and frantically placed his right hand on her forehead.
"Damn it, are you really unwell, Misaka!!? A rise in temperature…damn it, why is your face that red!!?"
Hearing Kamijou shout, Mikoto snapped back into reality, and frantically retorted back violently,
"Wha…what! Since when was it red since when was it red since when was it red! I'm not having a fever!!"
Eh? Kamijou pulled his face backwards. If any ordinary person was supposed to have worse symptoms than Stiyl, then it meant that Mikoto had never touched the pole basket.
However, they had found where Oriana had set up her flashcard — the location of the counterspell.
Kamijou got away from Mikoto, and looked around.
"Tsuchimikado, it's here! The seventh one—!!"
Just as he was about to shout this out, he stopped.
He saw it.
The thick piece of paper that was stuck on the seventh pole with tape had the words 'property of Nogi Middle school'. Was this pole borrowed from other schools?
Tsuchimikado said.
This is a tag to prevent them from losing it.
(It's not this!? Then, where's the real Shorthand!?)
Kamijou frantically looked around.
At this moment, the whistle was blown. The march that was being played on the school's audio speakers stopped airing.
After that, another hand stretched out, and grabbed onto the eighth pole.
"Really. Kamijou Touma, what are you doing here?"
An accusing voice was heard.
"I'll ask you for the reason later, so right now, leave quietly. The match has to stop, since it's impossible to have a fair game when so many posts are down."
The committee member, Fukiyose Seiri, looked at him with a surprised look.
The girl was wearing a thin jacket over her PE attire.
"You hear me? Do you still want me to force you to eat calcium?"
But Kamijou wasn't looking at her, and neither could he hear her voice.
In Fukiyose's hand…
There was a piece of paper between the metal post and her soft palm.
It was a piece of paper that was taped on.
Kamijou hoped that the thick piece of paper was an ordinary piece of paper like the one on the seventh pole.
There were blue words written on this piece of paper, and it seemed to be written in English.
PAcha!! Suddenly, a strange sound was heard.
Fukiyose's body was shaking.
"Fuki…"
Her hand left the post lifelessly.
On the position she had been holding onto, there were the words 'Wind Symbol' written in blue pen.
"Fukiyose-san—!!"
Kamijou couldn't help but shout out, but Fukiyose didn't respond.
Just like this, Fukiyose's hand left the pole, as she fell onto the ground. Pow. It was a lifeless way of falling down. She was on the ground, and couldn't move her limbs. One could associate her expression with a deflated soft leather bag.
ParaParaPilaPila, around Fukiyose, the sound of air being compressed could be heard.
"Wha…what?"
Mikoto was surprised as she let out a cry. But among the participants, it seemed like only Mikoto had realized that something strange was going on. Though the other students looked suspiciously, nobody expected this to be an unknown attack from the magic side. As there were so many espers taking part in this battle, nobody would find it strange even if something unbelievable occurred.
At this moment, Tsuchimikado managed to get beside Kamijou.
"(…Kami-yan, hurry up and knock Fukiyose! She's not a magician. She'll be in danger if this continues!!)"
Hearing Tsuchimikado, Kamijou collected himself. He rushed towards Fukiyose Seiri, who was lying on the ground, lifted her up, and brought his right hand behind her.
Pashoo, a deflating sound could be heard.
Even so.
Even so, Fukiyose Seiri hadn't recovered.
"Damn it…"
He knew the reason. Between Stiyl Magnus and Fukiyose Seiri, there was a difference in magic resistance. Even a magic specialist like Stiyl had been hit badly. Fukiyose Seiri, an ordinary person, was attacked without warning. Anyone could expect what kind of outcome this would warrant.
But.
No matter how anyone thought, the doubt in the brain couldn't be stopped.
Why?
"Tsuchimikado!!"
"Calm down, Kami-yan. This is just physical fatigue caused by removing some lifeforce—didn't I say that it's like severe heatstroke? The health room…probably won't be able to save her. If we call an ambulance now, we can still make it. At least it's better than letting her lie down in the sun."
He calmly said what they should do.
But, saying something like this wasn't convincing. It was like saying, because he was a specialist, he knew the seriousness of the situation, so he wouldn't purposely say anything that would make Kamijou optimistic.
From the tent in a corner of the school compound, several committee members were running out. They must have realized that something was wrong. One could also see teachers among them as well. In their eyes, it seemed that they felt that Kamijou and company were hesitating, not knowing what to do to take care of this girl who suddenly fell down.
The committee and staff members quickly grabbed Fukiyose's body from Kamijou's hand, and quickly moved somewhere to establish contact.
Kamijou Touma, who was left alone on the same spot, slowly got up.
He lowered his head and quickly swung his fist to the side. DANG!! With a metallic sound, the piece of paper that Oriana had stuck on the pole shook. Mikoto stared at Kamijou, looking surprised, but Kamijou didn't mind at all. On the piece of paper that was hit with Kamijou's right hand, the words on it vanished as if it melted away.
"What a brilliant idea, huh, Oriana Thomson…"
His vibrating lips started to move.
"If this was your doing, if you are willing to involve innocent people into this situation without guilt—"
He lifted his head, looked in front, and declared.
"—THEN I'LL USE THIS FIST OF MINE, TO SMASH THAT NONSENSICAL ILLUSION OF YOURS COMPLETELY!!!"