Chapter Text
“Hmm. Might've gone a bit too much at the end there,” Stiyl Magnus remarked as he looked at the aftermath of his Flame Sword attack. Dust, debris and smoke obscured his vision, but he didn't mind it. All he needed to do was get her and put her somewhere else. With the power of her Walking Church still active, she would survive any sort of attack directed at her, magical or otherwise. It would take nothing less than the destruction of the planet to fully destroy it. A simple Flame Sword attack wouldn't be enough to Pierce through the Walking Church's total defence.
Stiyl Magnus sighed as he walked forward into the dust cloud, covering his mouth and nose with his hand. It still hurts, despite it all. But there was nothing he could do about it. Kanzaki was on standby somewhere near if anything, as rare as it was, went wrong here.
“You chose the wrong decision, boy. And you paid your life for it.” Stiyl grimly noted.
“I beg to differ, actually.”
Stiyl stopped walking, his mind reeling from that voice. It was his voice, that boy's voice that rang out. But it was impossible, even with the Index's Spell Counter the flames are hot enough to set his body ablaze, and the space was too small to redirect it safely. So how did he survive!?
Just then, the wind picked up, blowing away all the dust and debris within the alley and showing the Index and an unscathed man in red, right at the center of soot and ash.
'He blocked it!? But I didn't feel any magical prowess from him! How is that-!?’ Stiyl panicked before taking a deep breath and analyzing the situation. ‘No, the Index might've been able to block the attack at the last second. But that wouldn't be possible judging by the position they both were in. If she did what I thought she did, she would've been at the front instead of the rear. So how did this happen? Never mind, it doesn't matter, I just need to make sure the next one is a surefire kill-’
He started to prepare another spell, only for his eyes to be covered by some white material which proved too difficult to remove. Then he felt his entire body lurch forward in mid-air, pulled by an unseen force, and go limp right as he felt a sharp pain to his chin, knocking him out cold.
XxX
Touma Kamijou watched as the larger man fell down for the count. That fire he generated was not for show. Even with his right hand negating it he could feel the heat from said flame nearly cook his skin. He could barely breathe, hence the half-open mask. He turned back to see the girl in the nun's habit, panting heavily. She didn't seem to be sweating from the attack earlier, but she was definitely feeling the effects of the flames sucking in all the oxygen of the alley. He quickly grabbed her by the waist, and leapt up to the building, reaching the top in 3 seconds before letting her go to take a breather. He then turned around and opened half of his mask, taking a deep breath in before putting it back down, turning back to Index.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? We'll be safe in a while, but we need to keep a move on, just in case his buddies show up and want some payback. I'll say this though, that was unlike any other Esper power I've ever encountered before. It felt weird, like it's… a lot less conventional,” Kamijou said.
“‘Esper powers’? What are you talking about?” the wannabe nun asked, still panting from earlier.
“You know, ‘Esper powers'? The whole ‘shoot lightning out of your bangs' thing? Reading minds, teleporting, and all that? I didn't know Europe had already developed their own Espers. But for that guy to get so strong so quickly,” Spiderman said.
“It's not Esper powers,” the girl replied. “It's Magic.”
“...”
“...What?”
“Look, you're really taking the whole RPG thing seriously. Like you're dressed up as a Cleric, and the guy we fought earlier looked like an Red Wizard from an RPG or something. But this is getting way past playtime, and is approaching the verge of aggravated assault and attempted murder for a roleplay, you know,” Kamijou said dismissively.
“Wha…!?” the girl opened her mouth to retort, only to sigh out in frustration. “You know, I have no time for this. Thank you for saving me, but this is where we part ways. I have somewhere to go, so farewell.” She bowed to him before turning around to leave.
Kamijou quickly ran over to her side. “Woah woah woah, wait a minute. You don't have any way getting down from here. Let me help and get you where you're planning to go.”
“No need. I have a perfect memory, I have an idea of where I should go,” the nun said. “Plus, you shouldn't involve yourself with someone like me, not after what happened back there.”
“Hey, I beat that guy, if you don't remember. If anything, I am the best person around to help you with whatever crap you're doing. Seriously, this LARPing stuff is just getting out of hand-”
“And I thank you for that. But honestly, it would be far better if we don't see each other after tonight. Maybe it's a good thing for you to dismiss Magic like that so readily…” the nun said. “Anyways, it's been nice knowing you. But this is where we bid our farewells.” After bowing to Kamijou the nun was about to walk away when she was pulled by the arm just as the area she was initially on exploded in a cloud of dust and debris.
Kamijou placed the young nun on the ground, wide-eyed at the destruction in front of him. Then, his Instinct was set off, and he looked around, observing the wide space of the rooftop.
“Which cabal are you a part of?” a feminine voice asked.
“What?”
“Your attire doesn't seem to be that of a magician’s garb. But then again, the world is full of surprises. Though you bear a striking resemblance to another group I once fought ages ago.”
“Who's there?”
“Do you have any clue with the identity of the girl behind you?” The voice asked. “You barely know her, yet you jumped into the fray and defeated my partner saving her from him. What's your goal then? I doubt you only saved her out of the goodness of your heart.”
“Look, lady, I don't know who do you think you are, asking me things like that. Not when you tried to kill her right then with… whatever thing you just did,” Kamijou retorted back, looking at the place their unseen attacker had struck. There were seven gashes in the concrete, all done in a straight line, like claw marks. Kamijou shuddered at the possibility of fighting a werewolf, if that's what he was fighting.
“That girl is a lot more resilient than you think,” the voice replied coolly. “An attack such as the one earlier would have never harmed her one bit. But I cannot say the same for you, red man. If you do not surrender, I won't be able to secure your safety.”
“Yeah? Well, fuck that. If you're gonna go and terrorize some girl like this, then you've got another thing coming!” Kamijou yelled defiantly.
“...I see.” The voice seemed to consider his words. “Then, I'm sorry. But you're in the way of my mission.”
Kamijou felt a chill down his spine, followed by the blare of his Instinct, which led him to push the nun away from him while jumping back. Moment later, a large slash drove the gap between him and the silver sister, the shockwave from the attack sending both a couple centimeters away from each other. Kamijou recovered, and saw that the sister was safe, before preparing himself for the upcoming battle. His Instinct had gone crazy, his senses completely wired into the very environment he's on. He could feel every vibration, every sound, every change in the air pressure, and he knew that each of them were aimed at him. This opponent, whoever they were, was a lot stronger than the fake priest he had just dealt with earlier.
The air stilled. And a lone figure from the edge of the building revealed themselves to the pair.
Kamijou turned to face his new foe, gulping nervously.
The young eighteen year-old woman stood at the very edge of the building, her hands gripping a long 2m nodachi by the side. She was tall, though not as tall as the other mage, standing at around 173cm tall. Her outfit, however, Kamijou took note of. Her white crop top was tied at the bottom, baring her toned midriff to the elements, and emphasizing her well-endowed chest. Below she wore a pair of jeans, albeit with the right leg cut off baring that leg off, and cowboy boots to go along with the outfit. Her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail, and her beautiful mature face stared at his masked visage with a slight frown.
“...Is this a bad time to say that you're exactly my type?” Kamijou said.
“...”
“Did you really just say that right now?” Index said disappointed.
“What, it's a legitimate concern!” Kamijou defended himself.
“You're asking that IN THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLE! There's a time and place for everything!” Index said.
“That's the problem with my retort, the “time and place” thing?”
“I'm GETTING TO THE REST OF IT-”
“Seven Flashes.”
With those last two words, hell broke loose. The rooftop was assaulted by powerful wind slashes which littered the area around Kamijou, who was viciously pelted by debris while parts of his body were cut open. Index was blown away from the sudden attack, only managing to find her footing at the last second before she was thrown off the roof.
All the while, the woman with the nodachi watched the carnage unfold with a stoicness not too dissimilar to someone squashing a mosquito.
By the time the attacks had stopped, the masked man was worse for wear. Index unconsciously winced as she watched her savior's condition; his outfit was in tatters, cut in multiple parts, more specifically in the arms, legs, torso and head. Shallow cuts spread across the cuts, blood pouring out of them and dropping to the floor. Dust and dirt covered his attire so much the only thing that was red was the blood pouring from his wounds. It seemed that during the onslaught of slashes his hood was forcefully removed, most likely from the force of said attacks. And his mask, the one thing that protected his face from her and the woman, was damaged; the right lens was damaged showing the dark almost bluish eye underneath, narrowed in grim determination. Below to the left of his face was a large hole, showing part of his mouth. Parts of the mask was damaged, displaying part of his hair. He could barely breathe without falling into coughing fits, and the moonlight above could show that he was coughing out blood.
He shouldn't be standing at this point, but he still had enough to snarl at his current opponent.
“I do not intend to draw this battle out, nor do I wish to use my magic name against you. The gap in power between us is clearly evident from the beginning. There's no possible way for you to see victory in this moment. Yield.”
The woman's words had an air of finality to them. They weren't cruel, nor proud or anything else. They were a matter of fact. Index knew just how cutthroat the world of Magic was, and the fact that someone uninvolved in this bloody world has caught himself in the crossfire ate at her heart. To use your magic name in battle meant certain death for the opponent. And considering who the swordswoman was, it was a death sentence for the masked man. She was moments away from surrendering to the enemy when a shifting sound caught her tongue. She turned around to see him, the scarlet masked man, standing his ground and shifting his arms and legs around.
Bleeding from everywhere, undoubtedly in a lot of pain, his clothes damaged and dirtied, no one would blame for surrendering and letting her take her away from this very roof. Index wouldn't blame him, in fact she expected him to.
Instead, he took a battle stance, grit his teeth so hard his gums could bleed, and uttered 6 words.
“...Never. Not while I'm still standing.”
“So be it.”
Index didn't know why she stilled her tongue from speaking. But his eyes held a raging fire, a fire inextinguishable. He would not back down, not even against oblivion.
What drove him to such lengths?
How was he still standing after all that?
Index's thought were interrupted by the clash between two forces of nature.
With newfound speed that startled Index and even the swordswoman, the man engaged and threw the first strike.