Part 4
British and French magicians were fighting atop the solidified ocean surface in the Strait of Dover. The British forces were advancing due to Second Princess Carissa and the knights heading to the front lines. The knights were especially helpful as they were receiving power from Curtana Second using the mobile fortress Glastonbury. Knight Leader was using his spell that allowed him to nullify the power of any weapon he was aware of. Ignoring the usual national border, the knights were wielding their swords freely.
They were pushing back the French magicians, but Knight Leader's expression was not a positive one.
"…I suppose it just goes with the job to fear that a string of easy wins is just the enemy's preparation for a hidden weapon."
"Given who we're up against, that isn't exactly unlikely."
"…"
Knight Leader remained silent after hearing Carissa's response.
Common sense wouldn't cut it against their opponent.
The tactician on the French side was known as either the brains or the Holy Woman and she had a strange disposition characteristic of France.
She was a Femme Fatale.
Joan of Arc. Marie Antoinette. Women whose mere presence greatly affected the history of the country whether she herself was good or evil appeared in France again and again. This tactician was yet another example. She was too valuable to just execute and too fearsome to just be set free. As such, she had been imprisoned below Versailles by the French government.
With her as their opponent, it may have been odd that the normal theories were working.
Or perhaps they were already being affected by her Femme Fatale atmosphere by the mere fact that they thought there was something else there.
"The normal method will not work on them," said Carissa almost off hand. "If they think of themselves as cornered, there is a danger they will start acting violently in a way that would be impossible using normal military actions. Do you know what we must do to prevent that?"
"?"
"We conquer this battlefield without even giving them time to be thrown into disorder. We fight so hard that the enemy is pushed past fear and into dumbfounded amazement."
"I would rather you did not underestimate us," said a voice of unknown origin.
It was the Holy Woman who acted as the brains commanding the French magicians from afar.
But Carissa smiled.
"It's true that you might be able to turn this battle around if you showed up directly," Carissa said while being protected by a large number of knights. "But you can't leave Versailles no matter what. Those pitiful long distance attacks aren't enough to take out my knights. No matter how smart you may be, it doesn't change how strong the soldiers on the battlefield are. Using your strength well and pulling that strength above the limit are two very different things."
The second princess smiled, but there was a tinge of disinterest in her tone of voice.
"Our goal is not France. We don't have time to deal with you, so just open up a path for us without bringing on unnecessary damage. You're supposed to be the brains, right? Don't tell me you can't even figure out what the best course of action is here."
"Heh heh," the Femme Fatale laughed. "You know I am a person who uses her head, so why did you never think of this possibility?"
"What?"
Carissa narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
Knight Leader who was standing next to her was blown away by a huge impact.
"!?"
Carissa did not even have time to be surprised.
A woman had suddenly flown over. She was wearing a splendid dress mostly made of loose white cloth. However, in contrast to the dress, her skin was unhealthily pale and her eyes were sunken in. She was holding a sword, but it did not suit her. It was a similar image to a youth who spent all his time reading books in a corner of the library swinging a baseball bat around.
She was…
"…Having me take action is actually the best plan for France."
The showy Western sword that was mostly red and gold turned in Carissa's direction.
Knight Leader reacted first.
"To zero!!"
That statement should have nullified all attack power of the weapon the Femme Fatale held. It should have become even more harmless than a sponge.
However…
"How naïve," the Femme Fatale stated quietly. "The histories of England and France are actually surprisingly intertwined. In fact, the British King William I was originally a French noble."
As she did not take any immediate action, she may have been certain of her victory.
"…Your spell does not work on weapons related to the royal family, correct?"
"Ah…!?"
Seeing Knight Leader's surprise, the Femme Fatale swung her Western sword.
Its speed exceeded that of sound.
It was most likely a special sword that used spells unique to France similar to Curtana.
Carissa had no means of defending herself.
The knights were borrowing power from Curtana Second, but Queen Elizard held the sword itself. Carissa was not receiving the benefits of the sword and even if the knights threw themselves in front of Carissa to protect her, the Femme Fatale's sword would slice straight through that shield and continue on to slice through Carissa.
And then…
A high pitched clang rang out.
The blade in Second Princess Carissa's hand competed with the supposedly unstoppable strike.
She was supposed to have lost Curtana Original at the end of the coup d'etat.
Curtana Second was with Elizard, so Carissa should not have had any power.
"Durendal, hm?" Carissa said.
Her body had not been sliced in two. She was completely unscathed. Carissa alone was smiling as their swords were locked together at close range.
"How?" muttered the Femme Fatale.
Carissa was holding a silver piece of metal only a few centimeters long. A sword of light was protruding from it. Given the power of the weapon the Femme Fatale held, that should not have been possible. She held the sword of France. It was the destructive power of France itself. To compete with that, it had to be Curtana, but…
"You're the one that said the histories of England and France are surprisingly intertwined."
"What?"
"It's the same idea that your king, Charlemagne, had. He put a fragment of a holy spear in the hilt of his sword to give it sacred power and value, right?"
"You don't mean…?" The Femme Fatale looked back at the small piece of metal. "That's a fragment of Curtana Second!?"
"When I fought my mother, Curtana Original and Curtana Second clashed. This is a byproduct of that. …But I never expected it to display this much power just by being in the hands of a member of the royal family. Just destroying it isn't enough. I truly hate this sword because of all these loopholes and secret tricks. …I hate it enough to start a coup d'etat over it."
An explosion of magical power was created between Carissa and the Femme Fatale.
They both fell back a bit and held their swords up again.
"Having me take action is actually the greatest secret plan for England."
Part 5
Accelerator made a simple move.
The black wings behind him both swung downwards. Except, that this time his target wasn't the Level 0 teen that's running towards him,
But towards the empty white land in front of him.
The sound of an explosion rang out.
With the massive destructive power, large amounts of earth got swept up, and formed into a 15m high and 300m wide tsunami made of earth. The entire vista got covered by it, and it struck as if to swallow the tiny lad.
He should be dead with this attack.
Even if he was wearing military-use power armor, his body of flesh and blood would be crushed along with the synthetic materials of the body armor.
Even so.
Pacha!!* The Level 0 charged right into the soaring earth.
His body got pummeled by massive amounts of rocks, but none were fatal attacks.
"…"
Accelerator was shocked at first, but soon figured out his tactics from the situation.
From previous reports about Academy City's #3, Railgun, who Accelerator had faced off against before, in the rumors associated with the Railgun, there was one saying that an unknown Level 0 existed that could match against the Railgun using only his right hand.
This raised many questions.
For example, even if a right hand that could negate any ability exists, how could the one using it match his opponent's timing?
A railgun attack was over three times the speed of sound, and lightning strikes were even faster. Even with a method of defending himself, to be able to time it right was extremely difficult. Even missing the timing by only an instant would probably result in death. In that situation, how could the scenario "Every single attack is negated easily" happen?
From the situation now, Accelerator could make a rough estimate.
In other words,
Precognition.
For example, when the Railgun used her ability, she would give off weak magnetic fields and electromagnetic waves that would make the metal items around her resonate. Because of the eventual large explosion, the Railgun herself probably wouldn't notice these tiny vibrations like an earthquake's precursor. 'To see the invisible magnetic force, spread iron sand onto it to make it visible to the naked eye', just like an elementary school experiment. So, because of these "An Involuntary Movements", there would be hints to when the Railgun would attack.
Of course, that was not all.
That was not the only kind.
Even though her ability was more common compared to Accelerator's ability, she was still the #3 esper of Academy City, and shouldn't be blocked that easily.
There were probably other reasons as well.
For example, the lightning strike.
If it was only high voltage electricity flow, by extending his right hand the lightning would be attracted onto it, with the right hand acting like a lightning rod.
Also, the iron-sand sword.
Apart from the sword in her hand, the iron sand around her would also change shape due to the magnetic force. In other words, a 'visible magnetic path' would be formed that could be used to predict where the strike would end up. Depending on the situation, he could even negate the sword without coming in contact with it just by touching the iron sand around him.
Sometimes the path to victory would change.
Was it using the most powerful ability one possessed, or the aftermath from that ability?
According to different tactics used, the path to victory changed along with it.
What was most important wasn't whether there was a chance to victory, but to never rely on only one form, and look at the problem from many different viewpoints. Above all, look for the best method to resolve the current situation. Even against the same kind of espers, the same kind of tactics might not be suited to be used. Even if it was just lightning strikes, depending on how it was used, different tactics may have to be taken.
Because of this, battle tactics were always changing.
By depending on the defense from the ability to negate any ability to avoid being killed instantly, to buy time and use it for maximum gain. By experiencing the impacts on one's own body and using that data as the basis to find the best way to get out of the situation alive.
Just having brains wasn't enough.
Just having the power wasn't enough.
Only by combining the two it was possible to barely succeed.
In the situation where death was only a hair's-breadth away, having the courage to keep his body and thoughts moving probably helped a lot as well.
But,
The Level 0 probably didn't realize it himself.
How to use his ability in its fullest potential, using the aftermath as a basis, and then change tactics to fight according to the situation. He was probably just combining those with his reflex. As for the Railgun making everything made of metal vibrate around her, he probably didn't take note of it explicitly but took it in using his peripheral vision, and processed it deep inside him. So, success was not guaranteed. On the other hand, if he actively tried to take note of these things it was more likely to fail.
But,
Just taking Accelerator's attack and surviving was exceptional in terms of battle ability. Even if anyone else had this power in their right hand, how many could get the same results?
Taking only the supernatural abilities into account, he definitely couldn't be called 'strong'.
Even if taken everything into account he might still only be at a 'weak' level.
But because that was so,
This teenager knew the meaning of fighting with all his strength if he wanted to live.
" "Uwooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhh!!!!!!!!" "
The roar of the two overlapped.
The Level 0 charged in to where his fist could reach his opponent.
Accelerator raised one of his black wings.
The two attacks flew past each other, and the Level 0's attack hit only an instant earlier. Accelerator's face got blown backwards, and he lost his balance. The black wing's path got diverted slightly, and missed the Level 0 by millimeters.
A shockwave erupted.
With the raging wind, not just the Level 0, even Accelerator got blown several dozens of meters away. Both of them got up from the snow-covered ground, clenched their fists, and charged right at each other.
From inside Accelerator's heart, something black surged out.
It was not directed towards the Level 0, but towards something more indistinct. The hatred and anger towards this illogical and unreasonable world burst out in the form of words.
"Why!! Why didn't anyone save that brat!! Aren't you a hero! The hero that stopped that 'Experiment' with only one fist!! Then go save her! If you can do what no one else can, then you can definitely save that brat!!"
Accompanying the roar, an even larger power surged through the black wings.
At the same time, something that was crumbling in his heart started to fall to pieces.
He could no longer stop.
Even the action of remembering Last Order's smile could no longer stop the violence.
"It's ridiculous that a villain who was no better than a piece of shit like me was guarding her!! No matter how you think about it something must have been wrong!! How could I possibly be a hero!! No matter what, I can only choose the blood-stained path!! Why do I have to do all these things!! If a hero like you had shown up earlier, then something like this mix-up of position wouldn't have happened!! That brat would not had to have suffered as much this way!!"
While the two exchanged blows between fist and wings, the Level 0 probably didn't know why it had turned out this way either. Accelerator himself probably didn't know what he wanted to say; it was just air passing through his lips, no one else should be able to understand him.
Instantly, both of them went silent.
They moved their gaze towards the small girl collapsed on the ground.
Then,
The black wings swelled up even more than before.
The pair of wings split into over a hundred, and attacked the Level 0 from all angles.
At the same time where the sound of explosions and shockwaves ran rampant, the ground started to tremble dully.
"(He should be dead now… it's impossible for him not to be.)"
Accelerator thought.
It was impossible for that not to be the case.
Even so,
"Why…"
Accelerator let out a sound that was almost like a groan.
In the end it turned into a mighty roar.
"Why couldn't a hero like you just die?! If you die, then everything can finally break apaaaaaaaaaaart!!!!!!!!!!!!"
He heard the reply.
Right in front of him, the teenager that clenched the blood-covered fist spoke:
"… things like heroes are unnecessary."
Footsteps rang out on the snow.
Fist and wings collided.
The air shook, many attacks impacted, and blood flew out.
"Does a Level 0 like me really seem that incredible?! Hero? Villain? Stop kidding around! Can't you save someone if you're not standing at that spot?! In front of your eyes are people that don't wish to cry that are crying! In front of your eyes are people that can only clench their teeth while struggling and can't even say the words 'please save me'! Is that not enough!! Just step up already!! You don't need special positions or reasons!! With these, you can step up and be a shield for them!!" After letting out those words, the Level 0 became stronger.
Those words weren't just directed at Accelerator.
His words also slashed away at his own uncertainty.
"I don't know what you're trying to protect, nor do I know what you have been hurt by. But, if you want to protect that child then do so with your chest held high!! Here and now, be proud in knowing that you are protecting her!! This is your life right? Then decide for yourself!! If you want to protect everything with your hands then do so, if you want to abandon everything then do so. But, what do you yourself want to do right now?! Can you really be satisfied giving your most important thing to someone else that you don't really understand?!"
Explosions erupted.
The black wings flew erratically.
Snow and earth flew up high into the air.
But the Level 0 did not fall down. Facing the massive attack that looked like it would swallow him, he protected his vital points and advanced forward.
Thump.
Accelerator felt a chill down his spine.
Until today, Accelerator thought the most frightening thing about Level 0s was their resourcefulness when facing high-leveled espers. Charging in head on and then taking advantage of the small thing the powerful esper missed to deal the decisive blow there.
That was the most terrifying.
Yes.
With the resolve that refused to give up no matter what happened, the enemy that charged towards him right now was the most terrifying existence. The strongest esper of Academy City finally noticed this.
And as proof:
"(That last attack…)"
Accelerator gulped.
"(Even the weakest of those attacks hold destructive power that isn't possibly something a human body can handle, right?!!)"
Those things didn't matter.
The source of his terror was not those superfluous theories.
What was most important right now was 'the most terrifying enemy' closing in.
At this time, Accelerator remembered something.
Before, in the cargo holding area fighting the Sisters during the 'Experiment', the same kind of clash had happened.
Wasn't the most terrifying thing about that teenager being that he never gave up, and stood with his own two feet under circumstances where that could not possibly happen?
"Just choose already…"
The Level 0, just like back then in the blood-covered cargo holding area, charged towards the Academy City's strongest esper. "Do you want to keep protecting with your hands? Or do you want to give it all to someone else and run away? Or do you want me to give you a hand in choosing!!"
That fist,
Clenched to the point where it couldn't get any tighter.
"Whether it be pride or whatever, for whatever can make you hold your chest up high, just choose already!!"
A roar exploded out.
The sound of the Level 0's fist struck surely onto Accelerator's face.
After stepping onto the path of 'Evil', the power gained after many coincidences, the black wings do not work against that teenager.
No,
Actually,
The thought of that it is necessary to step onto the path of 'Evil', was that only a shackle? No matter what, what he had to protect at any cost was Last Order's smile. This had nothing to do with where she was located. If someone truly wanted to protect her, it didn't matter if he himself was 'Good' or 'Evil', he didn't even have to surpass people like Kakine.
The kind of person whose shadow he had been chasing all this time was probably an existence like this. It was not because of 'Good' or 'Evil'. And it was because Accelerator didn't consider this, that the 'pure Evil' Accelerator could not reach him. If that was the case…
Accelerator thought even as he fell backwards.
The fantasy that had occupied his heart for all this time had shattered.
And so,
Lessar, the magician travelling with Kamijou Touma, watched their battle from afar.
Observing from the angle of magic, the black wings of the mysterious attacker were like an embodiment of terror. But even more frightening was Kamijou Touma who could suppress even those wings.
"(Just then…)"
Lessar was going over what she had just witnessed once again in her mind.
"(That guy… caught one of the black wings that split into more than a hundred branches and twisted it…?)"
That boy's right hand seemed to have the effect of negating any supernatural power. But, because of limits there were cases where massive powers that couldn't be negated completely ended up only blocked by the right hand. From what she had seen, Fiamma's special giant sword had taken a while before it was erased completely.
Normally speaking, being unable to negate something completely… should be a disadvantage for him.
But,
Just now, that teenager used that 'flaw' to deliberately grab a black wing he couldn't negate completely. Then twist the wing to make the attacker lose his balance, and create a small safe area when he was surrounded completely by the black wings.
Negation and disruption.
Matching his opponent's strength, and using his ability for the maximum benefit.
Had this cruel war provided an opportunity to greatly enhance that teenager's power?
But,
"(With only that… is it really possible to have gotten out of that situation…?)"
Even if he could use his right hand to 'hold' onto the massive power, just that it was not enough to handle the problem. Even if Lessar had the same power, it would impossible for her to get out of that kind of situation no matter what.
If that was the case,
What exactly just happened?
Was there really no logic to this?
Or was it…
Part 6
Accelerator's vision flickered in and out.
In his vision, the world was on its side and he could see Last Order. She was still buried in the cold snow. Accelerator finally frowned at that fact and then noticed that someone was crouching down over the girl.
When he entered Russia, that may have been enough to pull the trigger of murder within him, but at that time he could not move.
Crouching next to Last Order was a spiky haired boy. He was staring at the small unconscious girl's face, but he finally moved his right hand toward her forehead. It was a similar action to checking to see if she had a fever.
From that alone, something happened.
A high-pitched noise similar to something solid being shattered echoed throughout the vast white land of Russia.
Accelerator did not understand what that meant.
His consciousness sank into darkness once more.
When he next came to, Accelerator was inside a vehicle.
It was not a civilian car. There was no interior meant for people to ride in or even any windows. Most likely, he was in the back of a truck. The unrefined metal floor and walls raised his caution. He thought that an underground organization from Academy City might have captured him.
But he quickly remembered the convoy made up of various vehicles that spiky haired boy had been riding in. Accelerator might be inside one of them.
There were no vibrations.
The truck was stopped. They may have reached their destination before Accelerator came to.
Last Order was lying by his side.
The unhealthy sweat that had previously been flowing from her body was gone for some reason. That spiky haired boy's right hand might have had some sort of effect when he had touched her before Accelerator had lost consciousness.
However, he was pretty sure that effect was only temporary.
He could use his vector transformation ability to accurately read the disturbances in a human's brain waves. When he used that power to check Last Order's body, he could tell the root of the problem had not been fixed.
Even if she was stable then, it would eventually return.
But the fact that his time limit had been extended remained.
Accelerator did not know what to make of the situation. He felt the pieces of parchment next to him. He found a small memo left next to Last Order's small body.
Given the timing, it was most likely from that spiky haired boy.
He grabbed the scrap of paper and it said: Index Librorum Prohibitorum.
Just before Accelerator had left Academy city, Aiwass had told him to remember that term.
There could be a connection.
The boy's memo might have been pointing toward the key to saving Last Order.
Suddenly, the back door of the stopped truck was opened from the outside. Light flowed inside. The large blond-haired blue-eyed man who had opened the door spoke to Accelerator.
"Welcome to the Elizalina Alliance of Independent Nations. I don't know how much we can do, but how about we work together to come up with a way to heal that girl?"
Accelerator did not respond.
He merely squeezed the memo in his hands and hung his head in front of Last Order.
He almost looked like a white angel lifting up a prayer.
And a being that surpassed humanity smiled silently in a distant city of science.
It was known as Aiwass.
A normal human may have been covered in a cold sweat. That was the nuance the smile held. The being spoke with that smile on its face that no one else knew the true meaning behind.
"His right hand truly is interesting."
It was rather unclear whether being deemed "interesting" by Aiwass was a good thing for a human who wished to live a proper life.
Aiwass did not possess any thought patterns that cared about the life of a mere human.
That existence only took actions that followed its own interest.
"Perhaps I should have gone to meet him before he left the city."
Part 7
The forest they had been using for cover was gone.
One attack helicopter remained.
They could no longer fool the attacker in the sky. It was truly 1 on 1. If they didn't bring it down then, the privateer attack helicopter would slaughter the fleeing villagers. Among them was Takitsubo Rikou who could not move on her own. Hamazura and the others had to win.
And yet…
"Oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"
Everyone within the confined area of the anti-aircraft gun yelled. Even Hamazura and Digurv who were not actually touching the trigger raised their voices.
The attack helicopter approached.
A line of bullets raced along the ground.
The attack helicopter was going all out and it was quite fast. They couldn't hit it with the machine gun. They had a missile lock, but firing it would likely be useless. Normally, surface-to-air missiles were fired from behind a fleeing aircraft. The odds of hitting an object flying in at high speed were low. The surprise attack using the trees as cover had only worked because the enemy had been late in evading because they were sure that no counterattack was coming. The missile was of no use when the enemy was on full guard.
Glickin had said it was like a gunfight in a Western.
Their bullets would cross and the one that hit the other first would win.
That was what Hamazura thought.
But the attack helicopter had the clear advantage.
(Shit…!!)
Hamazura desperately operated the treads to move the vehicle away from the approaching line of bullets. But he wasn't going to make it. The helicopter subtly adjusted its path so it was aimed straight for the anti-aircraft gun again.
It was over.
Hamazura yelled out Takitsubo's name and a noise that felt like it was squeezing his heart exploded out. It was the sound of thick metal panels being penetrated.
His consciousness wavered.
His breathing literally stopped.
However, Hamazura did not die.
The sound that had slammed into his ear drums had not been the sound of the anti-aircraft gun being blown away.
The ominous noise had come from the attack helicopter flying through the sky.
It was the sound of a 3.5 meter sword skewering the helicopter horizontally.
The letters on the side that said "Ascalon" seemed burned into his eyes.
"…Hah?"
Hamazura let out that stupid-sounding voice in response to the ridiculous scene. Even though his life had been saved, part of him did not want to accept what he had just seen.
Meanwhile, an even more unreasonable reality unfolded before his eyes.
Someone had jumped on top of the attack helicopter flying 20 meters up in the sky. Yes. Someone had jumped up from the white ground. It was a large man wearing blue clothing. He was holding the grip of the large sword that had stabbed into the helicopter. He then swung the sword around.
That king of the sky was thrown about like a toy hammer.
Obeying gravity, the large man landed in the center of the snowy field. At the same time, the large sword slammed into the ground. The attack helicopter exploded and orange flames scattered about the area.
"Stealing the enemy's weapon and continuing to fight in order to protect the people from unspeakable cruelty and to stop the shedding of unnecessary tears is most admirable," a low male voice said from within the flames.
He was speaking in fluent English and even Hamazura could just barely manage to pick out a word or two he understood.
Immediately afterwards, the flames were blown out from within.
A mass of water perhaps created from melted snow floated about the man. It was an unnatural sight like seeing a drink spilled in zero gravity.
"I do not know the details of the situation, but I, Acqua of the Back, will be presumptuous enough to lend you my help."
Various feelings crossed paths and the chance meetings of the protagonists created even further stories.
The time to fight back had begun.
As long as they continued to run forward without losing sight of their goals within that large and intense war, that world that continued to bring smiles to people's faces would not be so easily destroyed.