With Vento's body in his arms, Acqua left Academy City.
Her Soul Arm destroyed, the city residents would begin sequentially waking
up. The spell left no aftereffects; it just neutralized enemies. In a way, it was the
perfect spell for mass pacification, but now it was gone, too.
From this point on, they couldn't be so optimistic.
The next time there was a clash, great amounts of blood would be shed.
"What a sad state of world affairs," lamented Acqua, sounding gloomy
indeed. He shifted his unconscious associate in his arms.
He looked down at his hands in exasperation—one held his umbrella, the
other Vento herself—then threw the umbrella to the side. For one whose name
implied the attribute of water, as soon as the downpour hit him in the face, he
wore quite the grimace.
A familiar number had just come up on his cell phone screen.
"Terra?"
"Yes, this is Terra of the Left. Have you finished over there, Acqua?"
The voice was grating, like metal rubbing against metal. He spoke politely,
even a little jovially.
Acqua glanced at the woman in his arm. "Vento's down. I've just picked her
up and ordered the other units outside Academy City to withdraw. We suffered
over seventy percent casualties; hence, we will temporarily suspend our pursuit
of Touma Kamijou and our attack on Academy City. It's all according to the list
you designated beforehand of possible methods of resistance." He paused.
"Though we didn't expect to be beaten this badly, especially considering the
'angel' being incomplete."
"Good work out there."
"No reprimand?"
"What would come of acting hostile to you, not to mention Vento? Of course,
if she fell, it's highly possible her Soul Arm is done for, too."
"You don't sound frustrated."
"Well, her 'divine judgment' does spring from her property, Uriel. Frankly,
losing a single Soul Arm doesn't frustrate me. We are, after all, quite different
from ordinary sorcerers. We can't use any that aren't individually tuned for us. I
am of Raphael; the tool would mean nothing in my hands, so what value does it
have? You must understand that as well, being of Gabriel."
That made Acqua sigh. Everyone in God's Right Seat was so self-centered.
"I've recovered Vento. What about the other forces I couldn't contact?"
"The fallen angel in question—its attack wiped them out."
"Though not up to our level, they were strong, were they not? And there
were many of them. Were they really—?"
"Annihilated? Yep," came the smooth answer. "Of course, Academy City
appears to have picked up the ones fanned out inside Academy City for local
interception."
Acqua paused for a moment. "Then our pawns have died."
"They are badly wounded physically, of course, but also quite so mentally.
They're barely alive. It would be simpler to supply more people rather than
regroup with them."
Which meant he was considering taking advantage of the Roman Orthodox
Church's most unique trait—its two billion followers. Acqua adjusted Vento at
his side and said, "Then I'll gather up the wreckage."
"You? A member of the God's Right Seat, assigned to corpse collection duty?"
"I'm already carrying the defeated. It isn't much extra work. Even if there was
significantly more wreckage, I could tolerate it. And if there is any chance they
still live, it would be a nice bonus."
"How kind of you."
"I'll recover them alive or dead. I only mean to have those who can walk do
so. It's less work for me that way," said Acqua with a disinterested sniff. Then,
pelted by rain, he continued. "What comes next? I could always return now and
take the head of our target."
"No, let's stop here. You saw it too, right, Acqua? Rumor has it some
interesting information is flying around. I think we should find out the details
and rethink how we're going to bring down Academy City."
"…To bring down Academy City…"
"Does that not suit your liking?"
"I've withdrawn in deference to your viewpoint, but I still feel it would be
faster if I went back into the city alone, right now, and slayed Touma Kamijou
and Aleister. I don't like parlor tricks. It's obviously easier to strike down those
who must be defeated in a fair fight. I would be able to keep civilian casualties
to a minimum, too."
"Well, well. Now I wonder. Crushing them would be a simple matter, but
don't you think we can use them to our advantage? That fallen angel, for
example. Isn't that a factor made specifically with God's Right Seat in mind?"
"…"
"I'd like to keep the enemies we need to defeat and those we should let
remain in separate piles. Doing this now would be like starting a battle in a
museum, wouldn't it?"
"I cannot agree with acts of plundering on the battlefield."
"Yes, right. How very much like a former knight. The tongues of nobles are
ever silver. They say such different things than the rest of us."
"I am no knight. I am a has-been mercenary, a crook."
"A crook who cares about morals on the battlefield. In any case, please bring
Vento back here at once, all right? This order comes from Fiamma of the Right,
as well."
"Understood."
Acqua ended the call, then took one last look behind him at Academy City.
Crushing them would be a simple matter.
I'd like to keep the enemies we need to defeat and those we should let
remain in separate piles.
After ruminating on Terra's words, he remembered something another
person had said: "Let Vento go."
Words from the young man he'd met a short while ago.
"Her hostility toward science is just a misunderstanding. Deep down, she
knows that, too. But she can't ever get away from those feelings because she's
with your shitty God's Right Seat or whatever!"
The thoughts of an enemy. One he would undoubtedly aim his sword at in the
future.
"I must wonder…," Acqua said to himself, picking up the discarded umbrella—
and remembering the face of his target, who even worried over his enemies'
circumstances. "Is Academy City really as weak as you seem to think, Terra of
the Left?"
"!!"
Touma Kamijou watched the great angel.
Had Index finished? The dozens of wings connected to Kazakiri's back were
beginning to disappear into thin air, one after another. The ten-meter ones and
the hundred-meter ones—everything vanished at the same speed. The angel
lost her wings with even intervals between, like a countdown. And finally, the
last one disappeared.
"She did it…Index really did it!!"
Tap.
Hyouka Kazakiri fell to her knees, limp, and then to the side. Her long hair
traced after her slow movements.
"Kazakiri!!" shouted Kamijou, running over to her. Unfortunately, thanks to
his right hand's Imagine Breaker, picking her up would be dangerous. As he
stood trapped by impatience, Kazakiri put a hand to the wet ground and,
wobbling, sat up.
"Thank goodness you're safe…," said Kamijou, all the more relieved for his
lack of ability to help. He didn't know what he would have done if she couldn't
get up on her own. "Does it hurt anywhere? You went through a lot. Index
handled things, so you should be fine, but check yourself anyway. She was
really worried, too, so if you're all good, we should finish what we need to,
check on everyone else, and then go see Index."
Kamijou finally seemed to relax, but Kazakiri made a mystified face and said,
"No…"
"Huh?"
"This isn't…good at all…" Her lips trembled as they moved.
She wasn't looking at him, but he knew what she was gazing at—the utterly
devastated cityscape around them. And she was ignoring the rest: her losing
control and being sucked into the utterly inexplicable situation with the "angel."
"…How…did this happen…?"
This was the city she always longed for. Now it had been smashed into
oblivion—right before her eyes.
"It's all…my fault. If I hadn't been here, at least nobody nearby would have
been hurt. Why am I the only one unharmed? This is…This is crazy, isn't it?"
"…"
"What the hell am I supposed to be?! I can't be with everyone else, and if I
even try, everything breaks like this! Why was I even born?! I'm just being held
together by involuntary diffusion fields! I'm a monster that only exists because
of the espers' power!!"
Her own thoughts were probably too scattered to know what she was saying
or what she was trying to say. That's how much pain this disastrous scene made
her feel.
But she still felt it.
"She finally called me a friend, and I thought that made me more human.
Then those wings grew, those violent sparks flew, and I crushed everything! I
really am nothing but a monster, aren't I?! I hate this. Please, punch me and
make this all end!!"
Kazakiri knew exactly what would happen if Kamijou's right hand touched her
—a conglomeration of involuntary diffusion fields. She said it anyway.
What do you mean, monster? thought Kamijou.
Trembling so hard but not pleading for her life, instead worrying about
everyone. What part of that was monstrous? All Kamijou could do was make a
fist and get into fights with people. She was far more "human" than he was.
When he thought that, he couldn't help but grin a little.
"…Wh-why…why are you making that face?"
"I'm relieved," he said curtly. "I can't accept your request. I don't know why I
have this kind of power. But I do know I can't use it for that. If it's meant for
erasing my friends, then I'd rather cut the damn thing off right now."
Those words opened Kazakiri's eyes—he had called her a friend.
"But…why…?"
"I don't really know, either. You made those glowing scale things, right?
Didn't you just protect everyone? You didn't know what was happening to you,
didn't know what would happen after this, but you still did your best to protect
them. Is that different somehow from what you think 'humans' are? Do you still
not have enough 'human' in you after all that?"
Kazakiri couldn't say anything.
As the rain came down, only Kamijou's words continued. "You're a way better
'human' than a failure of a high school student like me. That's something you
can be proud of, so stick out your chest. Look forward. You fought for people
you've never even met, and you protected them all. You don't have a reason to
look down right now."
But Hyouka Kazakiri still couldn't look up.
He heard a sniffle.
Smiling a little, he looked away from her and into the distance. They'd solved
the problem, so he wanted to get back to Index. Unfortunately, she still had his
cell phone. He didn't have a way to contact her. Before, he'd used Last Order's,
but that was for a rescue, not personal conversation.
"Well, anyway. I think things will be fine thanks to your scales, but let's check
around to see if anyone needs first aid. From what I heard, the city's functions
should come back up soon, and then they'll start rescue operations, so it's not a
big deal, but still." He spoke optimistically. "Once we're done, let's go home.
Index will probably go back to the dorm in the meantime. I don't know when
you'll disappear, and if I don't get you to her quickly, she'll probably get really
mad." He paused. "Oh, this is the first time you'd be coming to my dorm. I hope
you can put up with a little mess."
"Uh, ah…?" Kazakiri tried to ask a question, but between her sobs and
hiccups, she couldn't get it out.
Kamijou smiled anyway and answered. "Don't start asking why now. It's
because we're friends, obviously."
Accelerator leaned against the desk in the abandoned office.
"Are…are you okay?"
Scampering up to him was Index, who had come out of her meditative trance
for the song. Of course, Accelerator couldn't understand anyone right now. All
he could grasp, from her expression and voice volume, was that she was
worried.
Index checked over his wounds, then stared hard at Accelerator's back,
patting him with her pale hands a few times. "??? …Nothing here…?"
She knew she'd seen demonic wings coming out of him, but there was no sign
it ever happened. No tears in his clothing, either.
She began to mutter. "…The field closely resembled Telesma but with a
completely different substance. Applications of demonology are treated
differently than normal Telesma anyway…I'm not sure if even a saint could
muster up that volume of power…"
"Hey! So what the heck happened?! You haven't said anything since you were
singing! Those gigantic feathers are gone, I think. Does that mean everything's
okay now?! I took care of all the black-suits, so I can come over there if you
need help with something!!"
At the voice from the cell phone, her face jerked up. She must have been
prioritizing Accelerator's and Last Order's physical problems. "W-wait just a
little while. I'm going to call a doctor!! She'll be fine, so you can't die, either!!"
"H-hey, are you even listening to me?!"
Index burst out of the abandoned office. Accelerator lazily watched her go.
…Aahh, uhh…urgh…
He couldn't make out an ounce of what she'd said, but something was more
important right now.
He turned his head.
On the filthy floor under the desk lay Last Order's limp body. He couldn't tell if
she'd been saved or not. The angel havoc out the window had quieted for now,
but without any calculation ability, he couldn't link the angel's disappearance
with changes in Last Order's situation.
Was she all right? What happened to the virus? Should he call a doctor?
These were the things a normal person would have thought. But without any
battery left in his electrode, he couldn't organize even simple thoughts. His
body was a wreck from the battle, too, and he couldn't get it to move much.
Then he heard a new set of footsteps.
They weren't Index's. There were several of them.
"Accelerator. We have something to discuss. Is that acceptable?"
Even in his current state, Accelerator could understand the voice. It wasn't
coming through his ears. It was some kind of ability, communicating directly
with his brain.
He looked that way just as several people entered the abandoned office. Each
figure was two sizes larger than a normal adult male. They seemed to have
nonmetal material on them, reaching from their crowns to their soles. The
material had cracks in it for turning all the joints. The lines of the head, neck,
and shoulders connected smoothly as one object. Those thin backpack-looking
things on their backs must have been batteries. Every time they moved a limb,
he heard soft motor sounds.
They were powered suits.
In their armor, short and stout, they were watching Accelerator with
countless cameras, their domed heads swiveled at him. He heard high-pitched
squeals, as though they were autofocusing.
After having "thought" that far, Accelerator frowned.
…My…calculation ability…?
It had returned, to an extent. It was far from what he needed for his power,
but it was enough to compose normal thoughts for daily life.
Now that Accelerator had regained the ability to process "questions," for the
first time in a long time, one of the people spoke. That person was the only one
not in a powered suit. Instead, it was a slender figure, clad in slim black
clothing. The face was hidden, though, so Accelerator couldn't tell the person's
gender.
"We are using several techniques of telepathy right now. By linking our
language and calculation abilities with you, we can sustain a very temporary
state that makes dialogue possible. We should be able to understand any words
from your end, too. Oh, but your supernatural ability is out of the question. We
can't compensate for your personal reality."
"…An esper?" said Accelerator, his expression one of gloom.
"We, too, have jobs 'outside,' you see. Our recovery team is currently
rescuing Motoharu Tsuchimikado and others, but we returned 'inside' as soon
as we could."
Accelerator sucked his teeth in irritation.
Leaving aside the exception of the Sisters, he'd never heard of any special
forces using both firearms and abilities. He thought Judgment only ever
touched them once in a while for training. They were probably more dangerous
than the Hound Dogs led by Amata Kihara. On top of that, they'd accurately
tracked both Accelerator and Kihara. If not, they couldn't have walked in exactly
when the battle ended.
They, more than likely, were an even deeper part of Academy City—darkness
within the darkness.
Accelerator had finally made contact with them.
"What do you want?"
"We have something important to discuss."
"Guess I'll listen, but I've got a question. Answer it first."
"What is it?" answered the man lightly.
He spoke. "What happened to Last Order? The virus?"
"It's stopped temporarily but not in an orderly fashion. As an analogy, one of
the gears has been taken out, so nothing can work. In the end, that was all they
were able to do. We've stopped the virus's rate of progress, though, so with a
Testament it is possible to readjust her…"
"Don't you fucking dare! I know a good doctor and scientist already!!"
"I see. There is no problem leaving things to them."
Accelerator spat on the ground. It looked like he already knew all about his
combat potential, pawns, and personal relationships.
"…What do you really want?"
"Thank you for being cooperative," answered the man politely. "We wanted
to talk about the string of occurrences you've caused as of late, as well as the
damages Academy City sustained."
"…"
"Allow me to continue. First, the financial problem. Physical damages to
buildings and facilities, medical care and replenishment of wounded Hound Dog
personnel, information control expenses for the public—all said and done, we
must request from you approximately eight trillion yen. Next, with regards to
your assault on one of the General Board members, Thomas Platinaberg…"
The man went on to explain at length, but his tone was one of levity.
Accelerator returned his stare with a look of annoyance. "You gonna cut me up
and make me a test subject as payment?"
"That is an option, but we'd like to propose a different path." The man raised
his index finger. "Would you be interested in joining us?"
"What?"
"I believe this is a realistic proposition, as your power can easily be used for
military purposes. After all, the value of the war industry has been inflating.
How much do you think a single jet, a single ship costs? Well, if you do the work
of, say, a fleet, eight trillion yen is within the realm of payment. It will take
some time, though."
Accelerator clicked his tongue again. "What the hell's Academy City so
impatient for? They want to start swinging around a guy like me, after I did all
this? The idea's insane. You tryin' to start a war or something?"
"We cannot answer that."
"Right. Whatever the answer is, I already know mine."
He leveled a glare at the man.
"…Don't fuck with me."
"I see."
"Reparations for losses? Damages to Academy City? The real reason for all
that is shitheads like you getting together into your shitty little groups!!" roared
Accelerator, still sitting with his back against the office desk. "After everything
you've done to us, why the hell should we do anything you say?! You want me
to fucking kill you?! This is the part where you should be apologizing to me! I
don't know what you've been scrambling around behind the scenes doing, but
don't get me or that brat mixed up in it!!"
It was a sound argument.
One from the mouth of someone who shouldn't have been able to make it.
"This is Academy City's moment of truth."
"…Are you even listening to me?"
"What I mean is, if things go poorly, it could fall. We want to oppose that, and
we'd like you to help us. We won't force you, but it's something to think over. If
Academy City disappeared completely, would there be a place for espers like
us? Or its other technology, for that matter?"
" "
Ten thousand mass-produced espers for military purposes, forbidden by
international law, disallowed even within Academy City. They didn't have a
place "outside." If things went sour, they could wind up at even crueler military
research establishments. After all, Last Order and the rest of them were
valuable enough that some kind of huge plan revolved around them.
For the sake of the girl he had to protect and the scenery she loved, Academy
City needed to exist. He didn't know who the enemy was, but he couldn't let
them destroy this place before his eyes. However ugly it was, Academy City was
the world of such small, young children.
The "teachers," the General Board, were dirty, but without them, the
"school" of Academy City couldn't continue running. And no matter how much
a certain student rampaged, he wouldn't be able to solve that problem.
In the end, there was only one path to take.
He clicked his tongue and made up his mind, then looked at the man before
him.
"Tell me one thing."
"What is it?"
"The name of the one behind all this. I've got an idea but no proof. So tell me.
Whoever controlled that brat like his puppet—I'll rip off his head. That sound
good for the contract's terms?"
"I could answer you, but they are no more than a scapegoat."
Accelerator fell silent for a moment. "…I get it. Somebody valuable enough to
refrain from answering, eh?"
"Anyway, what will you do?"
"Do whatever you want, I don't care."
"A good response."
The man removed the pistol at his waist, then put its muzzle up against the
sitting Accelerator's chest.
"I look forward to working with you, newcomer."
Bang!! Boom!! A series of gunshots rang out.
Rubber riot-suppression bullets pumped into him, and he fell to the floor. As
the man returned the pistol to its holster, he gave instructions to those around
him.
"We're pulling out. Get rid of all traces of the battle. Carry the wounded via
route B and Accelerator via route G."
Two men grabbed the unconscious Accelerator's hands and began to drag
him away.
After finally having found a tiny light, he plunged into the darkness once
again.
This time, so deep he would never be able to crawl back out.
The frog-faced doctor had returned to the hospital.
Doing so had required a lot of advance preparation, of course. Having the
Sisters be the first ones into the building and checking for any good-bye
presents, like enemy ambushes or bombs, had taken over an hour.
Never thought I'd be making my patients do work. He sighed, actually a little
disgusted. In the future, maybe he should properly employ people to be his
hands and feet.
He'd finished administering to the most important wounded people in the
unique, tourist-bus-sized ambulances, or hospital cars. After checking on the
empty beds, they'd returned each patient to their room…and he'd finally gotten
to a point where he could take a break.
He now sat in the chair in his clinic, mindlessly staring at the ceiling for a
while.
Eventually, he reached for a phone on his desk.
After pushing the external call button, he pressed the pound key a number of
times. The act seemed random, but there was actually a certain rhythm to it.
After that, he began punching in a special number.
When he put the receiver to his ear, he didn't hear the normal call tone. It
had put him through almost immediately.
"Good morning, Aleister. How do you feel after letting yourself loose for a
while?"
"Oh, no, no. I've just shifted to phase two at last. It's too early to call this
'letting loose.'"
The sound quality was surprisingly clear, to the point where it was dubious he
was using the same phone lines. It would have been more convincing if
someone had told the doctor it used completely separate cables.
But the frog-faced doctor was used to it. He'd mentioned this to Accelerator,
too—how he was more experienced in the world of darkness.
"Too early, hmm? How long do you plan on ordering Accelerator and Last
Order about?"
"Who knows? More worrying is whether they'll last until the end. I've finally
just finished the work of putting involuntary diffusion field value settings into
the vector control device, but the other is not…quite complete. There is a way
to combine the Accelerator, the Last Order, and the Fuse Kazakiri into one, but
that is too optimistic. I must go beyond that."
"To something beyond Level Six…"
"If not, the trouble of inviting the Imagine Breaker in from outside would be
worthless."
"Aleister. I have something I need to say to you, hmm?"
"And what's that?"
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't use my patients as toys."
"Heh," came the laugh in response. The doctor remained silent, and the
General Board chairperson spoke. "What will you do if I say no? Or rather, what
could you do?"
"I know," said the frog-faced doctor quietly in his clinic, pitch-black, no lights
on. Nobody could see his expression. "What could I do to you, now that you
have this much power…? I know that, too.
"But, you see," spoke the doctor, "those children are still my patients."
"…"
"And I am a doctor. Aleister, whoever you may be, you cannot twist that fact.
You understand my resolve, right?"
The frog-faced doctor gripped the receiver more tightly.
Then, in a low, quiet voice, he said:
"Your life—I saved it, after all."
Silence filled the dark clinic.
Both the frog-faced doctor and Aleister stayed silent for a short while.
Eventually, Aleister spoke up. "…I truly was on the verge of death back then."
The doctor frowned at that—as though the very situation of demanding
gratitude pained him.
"It was a remote place in England. I was on the run from a sorcerer-hunting
group sponsored by the state religion, lying on the ground like a torn-up old
bag. You stitched me together, protected me from that nation, gave me a lifesupport device, introduced me to this place called Japan, and helped me create
this institution called Academy City. All of it was thanks to you."
"…"
"Do you regret it?"
"Are you asking seriously?"
"Now is your only chance to stop my life-support device from a distance."
"If you're trying to make fun of me, I'd appreciate it if you'd stop that."
"I see." Aleister sounded like he'd smiled. "I must make even you an enemy,
even after your kind words."
"…"
"I've made many enemies—one of the most stringent factions of Crossism,
the golden sorcerer's society said to be highest in the world, and many others,
from states to families…To think after all this time, there was still something I
could lose."
"Is your intent still the same?"
"You know my reasons."
"…I do."
"I cannot stop. The time for that has passed."
A distinct farewell.
It was a sad thing. All the more so because he hadn't been an enemy to start
with.
Last of all, Aleister said this:
"This is good-bye, my kind, gentle enemy."
The call ended.
The final slender line of connection went away, leaving only a simple
electronic tone.
The frog-faced doctor sat still for a good ten seconds.
Then, slowly, he lowered the receiver.
In his clinic, dark with no illumination, he sighed to himself.
You haven't forgotten, have you, Aleister?
The doctor glanced out the window. He couldn't see it from here, but a
windowless building was in that direction.
His back was so small.
It had no presence, that tiny back of his, as he thought silently.
You, too, are one of my patients.
On that day, Academy City officially acknowledged the existence of sorceryrelated groups.
Their reports described that outside Academy City, the Roman Orthodox
Church possessed a scientific supernatural-ability development facility under the
code name of "sorcery," and it had attacked them. Within the day, the topic was
all over the news in every country in the world.
Meanwhile, the Roman Orthodox Church confirmed the presence of an angel
inside Academy City. The Roman pope himself criticized the city for conducting
inhumane research violating Crossist religious precepts.
Each dismissed the other's allegations as absurd, using only their own to
attack the enemy with. Not a gram of negotiation or compromise could be seen,
and it even looked to some as though each wished for this conflict to escalate.
The war was about to begin.
An all-out confrontation between Academy City and the Roman Orthodox
Church.
A vast, all-encompassing war—one that could become the third of its kind.