Bathed in the alternating red and blue warning lights, the Anti-Skill branch of District 7, having lost jurisdiction over this case, could only serve as a logistics unit managing the aftermath.
Their captain, Yomikawa Aiho, after a period of assessment, finally reported the extent of the damages suffered by Judgment Branch 177.
Near the first-floor lobby, various items were haphazardly piled up.
After some negotiations with the building management, all the items from the original Judgment branch office had been moved here.
Many furniture pieces and appliances had been destroyed in the recent battle, but most items were salvageable. If the standard was simply 'usable,' the actual losses weren't that significant.
This area would temporarily serve as the Judgment members' workspace until construction crews repaired the several large holes in the building.
Sitting on a small stool amidst the pile of usable items, Natsume Sonoko rested her chin in her hand, her mind wandering.
"Sonoko-chan, what is everyone discussing? This teacher can't quite follow," said Komoe-sensei, who was squeezed next to Natsume Sonoko.
Both wore similarly dazed expressions, though Natsume Sonoko had actually understood the conversation.
Though she wanted to join in, the more she listened, the more confused she became.
Pulled in temporarily to look after Meigo Arisa-senpai, Komoe-sensei felt utterly bewildered by everything that had happened today.
"It's magic, Komoe-sensei. You know Index, right? It's similar to the things she talks about," Natsume Sonoko replied quietly, though her gaze drifted with concern towards the tall girl beside her.
The bun-girl felt a flicker of surprise. Kanzaki Kaori-san hadn't tried to hide the existence of magic from everyone.
"This teacher is an adult! I don't watch things like that," Tsukuyomi Komoe pouted with dissatisfaction.
The existence of magic wasn't some forbidden secret, nor were there any movie-like scenarios where seeing it required memory erasure.
On the contrary, it was somewhat commonplace and brazen, something even ordinary people in Academy City might encounter every now and then.
They just didn't realize it was magic.
Like Stiyl Magnus's fighting style, which was completely different from a normal esper's.
The chanted incantations; the rune cards plastered everywhere; the bustling street becoming deserted during the fight.
And that suddenly appearing flame creature, seeming to possess life, reacting to everything around it.
No matter how one tried to explain it away, what that Stiyl used was fundamentally a power different from esper abilities.
Though, apart from a certain well-informed girl with twin buns, while the others found it strange, they hadn't made the leap to thinking of it as 'magic.'
While magic existed in this world, far fewer people believed in it than believed in science.
"So that power from before is called magic," Misaka Mikoto-senpai murmured, her eyes wide as she stared at Kanzaki Kaori, a sense of shock settling in.
She had thought earlier, given the current level of ability development, that a pyrokinesis-based esper couldn't possibly create a solid flame entity like that.
Flame was a release of energy. Its visible parts had mass, but it was negligible.
Regardless of feasibility, trying to gather that negligible mass into such a massive entity… even a Level 5 couldn't sustain the energy cost for an instant. Of this, Misaka Mikoto-senpai was certain.
She'd long felt the opponent's power was odd, different from the familiar esper abilities, but she hadn't known how to categorize it.
Now, with the explanation from this tall girl, things suddenly seemed to click into place.
So besides esper powers, there existed another incredible power called magic.
Although Misaka-senpai's understanding differed slightly from what others might assume—it was more of a naming distinction for her.
For example, esper powers could be called 'superpowers,' but they could also be called 'psychic energy,' 'special abilities,' or something similar. She figured 'magic' was just another name for a type of power.
"Magic! Is it the kind from movies or anime?" Saten-san's voice grew excited. She always held an immense curiosity for such unusual things.
"Perhaps magic like that exists," Kanzaki Kaori frowned slightly, thinking for a moment before nodding.
Her knowledge of movies and anime was limited to whatever was broadcast on TV, though she had seen some similar shows with Index before.
"Saten," Uiharu-san said with an embarrassed smile, gently tugging on the overly enthusiastic Saten Ruiko's sleeve.
"Then the most important question: why did that magician culprit attack Meigo-senpai earlier?"
Maintaining the demeanor of a famous detective, Shirai Kuroko-san's face showed a mix of belief and skepticism.
Even having witnessed the colossal magical creature, she still found the existence of magic too fantastical.
"Master is not a culprit!"
"It's because Meigo Arisa might be a Saint. To prevent a war between magic and science, we need to take her away," retorted the magical girl Mallybath, her face still smudged with dirt, her talisman confiscated by a certain bun-girl.
"What's a Saint?" Hearing an unfamiliar term, Uiharu-san asked curiously.
"The definition of a Saint is somewhat vague, but broadly speaking, they are individuals possessing great power," Kanzaki Kaori explained after a moment's thought.
"Perhaps you could think of them as 'Gemstones' on the magic side," The Railgun mused thoughtfully.
As Kanzaki Kaori finished speaking, Arisa grew tense, noticing everyone's eyes turning towards her.
"I'm not really sure either."
"But when I sing, there's a kind of power that can't be measured. Because it's immeasurable, my ability evaluation has always been Level 0," Meigo Arisa explained, taking a slow breath and pursing her lips.
"Meigo-senpai, please don't worry too much," Uiharu-san said, seeming to sense her distress, and gently rubbed Arisa's arm comfortingly.
"The situation is largely as Mallybath says. If Academy City chooses to forcibly detain Meigo Arisa, who is suspected of possessing the power of a Saint, it could indeed cause magic and science to turn against each other," Kanzaki Kaori continued, having organized her thoughts.
Everyone now understood that 'science' here referred to Academy City.
"However, some changes have occurred, leading to the second attack."
"What changes?" Natsume Sonoko-san interjected.
"We discovered that a large-scale magic spell exists on the space elevator scheduled to open tomorrow."
"By combining this spell with Meigo Arisa's potential Saint-level power, the resulting energy could be enough to destroy the entire Northern Hemisphere in an instant. Stiyl's goal was to prevent this from happening," Kanzaki Kaori explained in one go.
Apart from the few magical girls, the others exchanged bewildered glances.
Hearing about magic for the first time, only to be told the world was about to be destroyed by it… no matter how they thought about it, it felt utterly absurd.
Yet, however absurd, everyone sensed a storm brewing.
The security personnel sent by Orbit Portal Company, the similar passengers from the Spaceplane Orion incident three years ago, the seemingly ageless loli president… it was all closely tied to that elevator.
"The Orbit Portal Company invited Meigo-senpai to perform at the opening ceremony to draw out that power, right?"
Natsume mused, thinking it over. She felt Kanzaki-san probably wasn't joking and had no reason to joke about such a thing.
Natsume Sonoko's mind felt strangely dizzy. The scope of destruction had just escalated from Academy City to half the planet.
So the space elevator was definitely problematic, and tomorrow's opening ceremony was even more so.
Honestly, is there still time to move everyone to the Southern Hemisphere?
Dismissing the impractical thought.
Although Natsume Sonoko still had some doubts about the magic circle's destructive power, based on years of experience, it was probably more than enough to blow up Academy City.
As long as the space elevator's opening ceremony proceeded smoothly, unimaginable problems were likely to occur.
The red-haired magician's goal in attacking Meigo-senpai was to disrupt the opening ceremony, which aligned with Natsume Sonoko's earlier suspicions.
"Then what should we do?" The scene suddenly grew quiet. The ever-perplexed Komoe-sensei asked uncertainly.
Even though she still didn't fully grasp the situation, it seemed very serious.
"There's still a chance. As long as we ensure Meigo Arisa does not approach the space elevator until we have dealt with the magic circle on it," Kanzaki Kaori stated.
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T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.