The Magic Side

Seventh District, Institute Hospital.

"Hmm? Kuroko, what's with that look on your face?"

"It's all your fault! Those doctors thought we Judgments were abusing our power! That guy is so beaten up he doesn't have a single good spot on his body and will be bedridden for at least a hundred days..." Shirai Kuroko complained irritably.

"Hey, I saved you, didn't I? Did you manage to get [Level Upper] from them?" Selene asked casually.

"Yes, here's the portable music player. It seems that delinquent leader wasn't lying. [Level Upper] is an audio file!"

"What about Saten? Is it alright to let her go home alone?"

"There's no problem. I arrived just in time, so Saten didn't get hurt. She just needs to relax," Kuroko reassured.

Currently, only Kuroko and Selene were present. After the scare, Kuroko let Saten Ruiko go home to rest.

...

Walking down the street, Saten Ruiko let out a deep sigh.

"If Kuroko and Selene hadn't arrived, what would have happened to me?" Saten murmured to herself, her voice full of frustration. "We're all high schoolers, all about the same age... why do we live in such different worlds?"

If she had powers, she wouldn't be so helpless, right?

"You powerless people have no right to be here!" The delinquent's words had deeply hurt her.

Yeah, I'm just an Lv0, completely powerless... There's a huge gap between the powerless and those with abilities.

If only I had powers... This thought lingered in Saten's mind like a spell.

She once again pulled out the portable music player from her pocket, staying silent for a long time before finally clenching her fist gently.

It was as if she had made a decision.

...

Judgment 177th Branch

"Why do I, the Judgment member, have to write the report while you, Selene, the one involved, are just playing around!?" Kuroko's temper flared up at the sight of Selene idling away.

Realizing she was being inconsiderate by relaxing while Kuroko was busy, Selene apologized and slipped out.

"Phew!"

Once outside the branch, Selene took a deep breath and glanced at the sky. It was time for dinner.

She decided to leave immediately. "Hmm hm hm..." Humming a tune, Selene cheerfully headed toward the food street. "Hmm? Why is there such a small crowd? This isn't normal for this time of day..."

Suppressing her unease, Selene walked forward. But before she left the street, a strong urge from deep inside urged her to visit her favorite restaurant instead.

This was odd! Something was wrong! Selene felt like she was forgetting something. Why did this seemingly trivial matter keep echoing in her mind? It felt like a deliberate suggestion... Wait, a suggestion.

"Suggestion... That's it! It's suggestion magic?!" Selene realized, recalling that this was around the time Kamijou Touma and the "Index" had first met.

"Interesting." Selene thought with curiosity, "Magic side, huh? This is [Disperse Crowd] suggestion magic? It feels rather fascinating..."

...

Another unlucky day, once again cornered by the electrifying middle school girl. Kamijou Touma, a spiky-haired boy, sighed deeply, dragging his exhausted self home.

"Hmm... What's this?"

Kamijou Touma finally noticed three cleaning robots gathered at his apartment door. They seemed to be vibrating in unison, likely trying to clean a stubborn stain.

Was there such a hard-to-clean stain at my doorstep? Kamijou Touma had a bad feeling about this.

As he got closer, a strong smell of blood hit him, and Kamijou Touma knew something had happened. His curiosity overpowered him, and he couldn't stop moving toward it. Finally, he saw it.

A small, white figure—Index!

Seeing the girl lying in a pool of blood, Kamijou's pupils contracted sharply. He pushed aside the buzzing robots and gently picked up the unconscious, injured girl.

He now saw a straight cut near her waist on Index's back. The cut was so precise, like a ruler and blade had sliced through corrugated cardboard.

Her white nun's habit and silver hair, down to her waist, were stained red with blood.

Although Kamijou's first encounter with her wasn't pleasant, any decent person seeing a young girl injured and lying in blood would curse the one who did this.

"Damn it! Damn it!" Kamijou's mind was in chaos, and he couldn't help but swear, "What the hell happened? Who did this?!"

"Hmm? Are you talking about her?" Just then, a slightly mocking voice came from behind Kamijou, making him turn sharply.

"Our magician did it." Approaching him was a nearly two-meter-tall red-haired man with pale skin, smoking a cigarette. He had a barcode tattoo under his right eye and wore a black priest's robe.

"Hmm? Hmm hmm hmm... That was quite a heavy cut."

The red-haired magician glanced around as he shook his cigarette, then continued, "Though I know Kanzaki did it... I didn't see any blood on the way here, so I was a bit relieved."

Seeing Kamijou's angry eyes, the tall red-haired magician sighed, though his tone didn't sound troubled. "I see, so that's why she returned here..."

Hearing the magician's calm and almost chilling voice, Kamijou couldn't suppress his anger. "Why?"

"Hmm? You're asking why she came back? Who knows, maybe to get something... I saw her with a hat yesterday, and today..."

Kamijou suddenly remembered the only thing Index had left behind: her white nun's hat. "Was the remaining magic on the hat what led them here?"

"Will you accompany me to the depths of hell?" was the last thing she said before smiling and leaving.

Did she do it to keep me, an outsider, from getting involved? Thinking about this, Kamijou felt a wave of self-reproach. "What an idiot!"

Rising, Kamijou glared at the red-haired magician with anger in his eyes.

"Ah, don't look at me like that. I find it troubling." The red-haired magician remained calm, even taking a deep drag on his cigarette. "And it wasn't me who hurt her. I doubt Kanzaki did it intentionally."

"The nun's habit, called the 'Walking Church,' was supposed to offer absolute defense, but it shattered for some unknown reason..." The red-haired magician shook his head regretfully.

"Why?! I don't believe in fairytale magic or understand you so-called magicians, but..." Kamijou clenched his fists, slowly standing up. "Can't you tell right from wrong?! Hurting such a young girl and still insisting you're right?"

"Hmph, if you're done talking, step aside. I'm here to retrieve something." The red-haired magician was dismissive of Kamijou's righteous anger.

"Retrieve?!" Kamijou was momentarily stunned, thinking he'd misheard. But the red-haired priest's certain expression confirmed it. "I didn't hear wrong."

The magician blew a puff of smoke and continued, "Yes, retrieve. But to be precise, it's not her I'm retrieving but the 103,000 grimoires in her mind."

"Oh, by the way..." The magician, smiling with a bored tone, added, "You should be careful. Just reading any one of those grimoires would break your mind."

"What...?" Kamijou gritted his teeth but couldn't speak.

"To prevent malicious magicians from obtaining her, we're here to 'protect' her," the magician said, lighting another cigarette from his pack. "After all, they're dangerous things."

"Protect?" Kamijou was extraordinarily angry, clenching his fist so tightly it almost crushed his fingers. Seeing the arrogant red-haired magician, he couldn't hold back and charged, swinging his fist. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Stiyl Magnus... Remember it well." Stiyl dodged nimbly, laughing as he flicked his cigarette away. "Now, introductions are over. Let's fight!"

The cigarette, trailing sparks, flew horizontally over the metal railing.

"Kenaz (Flame)—"

Stiyl whispered a spell, and the cigarette exploded.

Turning into a raging fire, it coalesced in his hand into a massive fireball, leaving Kamijou dumbfounded.

"Is this... magic?" Feeling the heat, Kamijou instinctively shielded his head, murmuring.

...

At this moment, Selene, strolling by, suddenly saw flames erupting from the seventh floor of a student dormitory. Seeing magic in action for the first time, her fingers itched. "Is this magic?"

Before she could ponder, she saw Kamijou Touma leaping from the seventh floor with a scream.

Seeing this, Selene wasn't sure if her powers would affect him. She crouched, cracking the ground beneath her as she launched upward, intercepting Kamijou mid-air and bringing him safely to the ground.

Recognizing Selene, Kamijou felt relieved. "With you here, Index will be saved. An Academy City Level 5 can surely defeat that magician!"