Chapter 2: Roman Orthodox Church (Part 2)

Kamijou relaxed his fist immediately, however, because there was something strange about the enemy in front of him. The enemy wore a black nun's cap and robes. It was already very hot, and yet this nun's clothes covered her entirely from head to toe. Not only that, but her hand had also been tied to her back with white duct tape, each of her hands holding onto the opposite elbow. Even her mouth had been gagged with duct tape. Looking closer, he noticed that the duct tape seemed similar to fabric, and that distorted kanji-like text were inked on top.

Anyone could tell that this was Orsola Aquinas.

At that moment, Kamijou heaved a sigh of relief, and his entire body crashed onto the ground.

"Mmmm! Mmmmmmmm! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!"

The moment Orsola, who was gagged up by that weird talisman, saw Kamijou, she tried to talk.

"What? Since you specially came all the way to Japan, you want to meet a real sumo wrestler? You're really like an old granny! Not all Japanese are sumo wrestlers!"

"Mmm—!"

"Ah? Wait...I'm only jok—!"

Before Kamijou could finish speaking, an angry headbutt met his chest. Both he and Orsola went crashing onto the ground. At first, Kamijou could only cough and gasp for breath, but after a while, he realised that his hands were touching something soft. Actually, his hand was placed on Orsola's voluptuous and ample breast, the heartbeat and warmth traveling through his hands, but Orsola did not seem to realise it.

Eh? WAAA!

Kamijou immediately went red. Quickly climbing up from under Orsola's body, he used his right thumb to gently remove the talisman taped onto Orsola's mouth. Now that she felt someone touch her lips indirectly through the talisman, Orsola revealed a stunned expression, but upon feeling the talisman fall on its own naturally, she was even more shocked.

"May...may I ask...are you the mister who I met at the bus stop? Why..."

"Of course I'm here to save you! Ahhh, save the details for later; anyway, we have to get out of here!"

Kamijou looked around him, and after confirming that no one was around, retrieved the sword he had just thrown aside.

Orsola did not seem to be aware of what was going on, as she muttered seemingly to herself, and not to Kamijou,

"Eh? Eh? May I ask...you're really...trying to save me? It does not concern...The Book of the Law?"

"I'm too lazy to bother with that kind of thing. You think that I'll run all the way here just for an ancient book? Do I look that carefree?"

Kamijou shook his head as he shouted. Orsola seemed scared and shocked as she jerked back.

"Ah...um...really...thank you for your grace and kindness."

"...you don't need to thank me. Oh, yeah, why are you here? Where are those Amakusa?"

"The...the Roman Catholics and the Amakusa seem to be having a big fight. I escaped during this mess...now that I think about it, the Amakusa don't seem to be good at confinement and imprisonment."

Kamijou picked up the dress sword and went behind Orsola, breaking the seal on her wrists.

Orsola massaged her hands that were just freed, and asked,

"Thank...thank you. However...may I ask...how did you do it...?"

"Hm...? This is my special ability...I'm not going to explain it to you; the development process of esper powers on the Science side will probably confuse you badly. Come to think about it, why are you still here strolling around? Why didn't you think of escaping right away?"

"It's not that I didn't wish to escape, but that I couldn't; the two sides were fighting really hard at the entrance. Also, my hands were tied, so I couldn't get over the fence. And just when I was looking for another entrance...!"

Before Orsola could finish speaking, Kamijou suddenly grabbed her arm and ran back to the gap between the shops. Orsola saw the Amakusa girl, who had fainted and was lying on the ground, and nearly screamed.

"...quiet!"

Kamijou whispered as he covered Orsola's mouth with his right hand. He then ran to the end of the gap, and upon arriving there, pressed his body against the wall.

Several footsteps could be heard from the circular road outside, before becoming softer and softer.

These people did not seem to be looking for Index and Stiyl, but rather for the escaped Orsola. Each of them wielded either a sword or an axe, and were giving the others orders. They looked really scary.

After confirming the footsteps to be far away, Kamijou leaned his back onto the wall and slowly sat down. Orsola followed suit, gracefully sitting down beside him.

It appeared that the place where Kamijou and Orsola were sitting was a blind spot to the Amakusa. They were at the back of a shop, and there were shrubs growing around them, so if they kept low, it would be impossible for them to be seen from afar.

Because the safety area was small, however, Kamijou and Orsola were unable to move. Those youths from the Amakusa were running around, as their footsteps continued to echo from the tour routes nearby. Anyone who heard those footsteps could understand that the duo would be found if they moved out.

Kamijou worried about Index and Stiyl's safety. As Orsola was beside him, for them to stay inside Parallel Sweets Wonderland and not escape was dangerous and meaningless. Kamijou was unable to contact them, however, and he could not take the risk of leaving his hiding place to go look for them.

"I heard that the special magical teleportation portal can only be activated from midnight to 12:05 AM; in other words, as long as I hide here, the Amakusa's plan won't work either way. But is that a good idea...?"

Kamijou took out his phone, wanting to check the time on the display, but he was afraid of the screen's light giving away his location in the darkness, so he stopped halfway through. He thought, it would be great if I could contact them by phone. It was too bad Index's phone had been taken by that Calico cat, and he did not know Stiyl's number.

Kamijou sat down, stretching his legs forward, and accidentally touched the blade of the dress sword. The sound and touch relieved Kamijou of his thoughts and awareness, and he realised at that moment that he was breathing heavily. He wiped his forehead with his hand, and found that he was sweating abnormally heavily. Maybe it was because he was overly nervous that even a short amount of exercise made him sweat like he had just ran a marathon.

"Eh?" Orsola seemed to realise that, as she grabbed a laced handkerchief from her sleeves. Kamijou had a bad premonition about it and shifted his butt backwards.

"No...there's no need for that, no need! A little sweat is nothing; don't dirty your handkerchief! Come to think of it, something similar happened at the station...GwuaaaaHHHH!"

Before Kamijou could finish speaking, Orsola mercilessly pressed the handkerchief, filled with a flowery aroma, onto his face.

"If you don't wipe the sweat off, you may catch a summer cold! Ah, yes, didn't something similar happen near the bus stop?"

"Didn't I tell you the same thing a while back? Just eight seconds ago! You really are an old granny that doesn't listen to other people's words! This is unbearable...really unbearable! Stop pressing against my mouth and nose!"

Kamijou, in a slight state of asphyxia, tried to gather enough strength to escape from Orsola's handkerchief attack, but it was useless. While Orsola continued to wipe Kamijou's face to her heart's content, she revealed a dazzling smile, and asked,

"May I ask, are you from Academy City?"

"Cough cough...ugh...hm? Yeah, that's right."

"Since you're from Academy City, why did you appear here of all places? Your actions should be somewhat related to the Roman Catholics, right? But from what I know, there's no Church in Academy City, right?"

Orsola's tone was somewhat skeptical.

But Kamijou's attitude was rather melancholic.

"Oh, I'm special. There's a friend of mine among the English Anglicans. I was roped into helping in this case for some reason, and I'm not even clear about what's going on."

When Orsola heard that, her shoulders jerked.

It was like she was reacting to some major report.

"Hm? Are you worried? If I'm not wrong, you're from the Roman Catholic Church, right? Is the relationship between the Roman Catholics and the English Anglicans that bad?"

"No, it's not that."

Orsola silently thought for a while, and then continued,

"May I confirm it again? You're here to help on request from the English Anglicans, right?"

"Yeah."

Kamijou casually nodded his head.

Orsola muttered a "Mmmmm..." sound, and did not respond for a while.

After a few minutes, Orsola suddenly opened her mouth and said,

"Ah, you're sweating quite a bit."

"Enough, I beg you! Stop wiping my sweat away!"

"In other words, you're here on the English Anglicans' instructions and not the Roman Catholics', right?"

"Ugh...our conversation jumps from one topic to another? Eh...it's not really that formal. Ah, let me clarify first, I can't help you do anything for the English Anglicans, since I'm a resident of Academy City."

"I...see."

For some unknown reason, Orsola let out a laugh, as if she had been relieved of a burden.

"That's the case, alright. Someone like you shouldn't get involved with our side."

"...you think so? Hm...so, carrying this thing around is useless."

Kamijou said as he looked at the cross that Stiyl had thrown to him before he had left. Although he had no idea what effect this thing had, the moment he had caught it with his right hand, that effect would have been nullified.

"Ah, is that the cross that English Anglican friend of yours gave you?"

"How do you know?"

"There are many different shapes and designs for a cross, such as a Latin Cross, a Celtic Cross, a Maltese Cross, a Saint Andrew's Cross, a Patriarchal Cross, and a Papal Cross."

"Oh, I see. However, this thing in my hand is useless to me. It feels weird for an atheist to be holding this. Why don't I give it to you?"

Kamijou had said that casually, yet when Orsola heard it, she looked so happy that she was about to jump.

"Ah, is that true?"

"Yeah. Although I don't know why Stiyl would give this thing to me, there's probably not too much significance. Also, that guy knows that I can't use magic...he really likes to tease people; maybe it's a joke. Oh, yeah, this cross should be useless now, since, even though I'm clueless about magic, I've already touched it with my right hand."

Kamijou handed the cross over to Orsola as he said this.

Orsola grabbed his hand in a handshake, however, and wrapped her other hand around his, saying,

"May I ask you something?"

"Eh? Wha...what?"

Orsola's hand was even softer than Kamijou had expected, making his voice tremble.

"I hope that you can help me put this necklace on."

"Ah? Oh...okay."

Kamijou replied. For his convenience, Orsola closed her eyes and raised her chin to allow Kamijou to put the Cross around her neck. It really looked like she wished for Kamijou to kiss her. Kamijou freaked out and frantically looked down, only to see Orsola's chest. Her already ample chest now looked much larger thanks to her posture.

"WAAAAAAA!" Kamijou was so scared that he did not know what to do.

"Hm? What?"

"Noth...nothing! Really nothing!"

"Oh?"

Orsola gave him a skeptical look with her eyes still shut. Kamijou hastily unfastened the necklace. Orsola's neck was covered entirely by white cloth, so Kamijou hung the necklace around her neck. It was not until that moment that he realised he should have hung it from behind her; trying to hang it from the front was like wrapping his hands around her and hugging her. That made him extremely nervous. Kamijou's fingertips touched the back of Orsola's neck, his hands trembling continuously and not following his commands. It took him quite a while to hang the necklace around her neck.

Orsola looked rather satisfied as she continued to touch the Cross on her chest. Kamijou casually looked where her hand was pointing, but his eyes were attracted by her huge breasts, so he quickly looked away. Once there was an embarrassing thought within his head, it lingered on for quite some time. Kamijou could not stand the silence any longer, and so decided to come up with something to talk about.

"Oh, yeah, I heard that you know how to read The Book of the Law."

"It's not exactly reading. I would call it deciphering..."

Orsola said this slowly, but halfway through, she thought of something, and immediately turned around rigidly.

"Ah, please don't misunderstand. I'm not asking you how to decipher it. I'm just curious: why do you want to analyze The Book of the Law? Isn't the book supposed to be dangerous?"

Orsola stared at Kamijou for quite some time, then finally relaxed. She said,

"On a certain level of significance, it's to gain power."

She shook her head slightly, and continued,

"Do you know what kind of thing an original magic book is? That one can't destroy an original through any means?"

"Um. I've heard of this before. The reason seems to be because the words, paragraphs, and chapters will form some sort of spell array, right?"

"Yes. A 'magic book' is actually a blueprint. A magic book that records lightning magic is also a mechanism that creates lightning. Even if an original-class magic book doesn't rely on human magic, as long as there's a little natural energy or life force nearby, that power will be magnified exponentially, creating a semi-permanent defensive mechanism."

Orsola thought for a while, and said,

"With our spells now, we can't destroy any magic books. The most we can do is seal them and not allow others to read them."

She then continued,

"Being unable to do so now, however, doesn't mean that it can't be done in the future. Since the original is also a magic book, if someone added in a few specific words or paragraphs, they'd be able to make it ineffective. It's like operating switches to change a train's path; we can use it on the magic book itself in order to destroy its magic array. In other words, it's to allow the original to self-destruct."

Finally, she said firmly,

"The power of a magic book isn't going to give anyone happiness, and it'll only bring about war. So, I've been analysing this book, hoping to destroy the original."

Stunned, Kamijou stared at Orsola.

He had originally thought that the reason why Orsola was trying to decipher "The Book of the Law" was to gain power, but it was actually the opposite. The reason why Orsola was analysing "The Book of the Law" was to make its tremendous power disappear. Now that he understood that, Kamijou heaved a sigh of relief deep inside.

Dong! There was a heavy sound from outside.

The sound came from the other side of the shop, in the direction of the circular tour road; at that moment, something came flying in from above and into Kamijou's sight.

It seemed like a person.

A priest that had red hair and was wearing a black coat.

"Sti... yl...?"

Before Kamijou could finish speaking, Stiyl had already landed heavily onto the ground as his back crashed into the shrub that was originally covering Kamijou and Orsola. His clothes were torn badly by a sharp sword, blood flowing out profusely from his wounds.

That sound just now came out from the other side of the shop, but he fell here? Don't tell me he actually flew over from there!

Kamijou conjured a horrific image in his head.

Stiyl, who was on the ground, shouted,

"Damn it! Kamijou... Touma... what are you doing? Hurry up and run!"

"Eh?"

Kamijou was stunned. At that moment, something that looked alive pierced through a wall two stores away from him.

"!?"

Before he could understand what was going on, the wall of the store completely collapsed. A silhouette appeared from behind the wall like a killer whale emerging from water. The construct which had lost its support quickly collapsed behind him as the shoulder-wide planks fell beside this silhouette. But this guy was unfazed by it, even revealing a slight smile.

He was a male around 25 years old, with a tall and skinny figure, but he was wearing a large T-shirt and jeans that even a sumo wrestler could wear. The T-shirt was white in color, with two red stripes forming a cross on the left side of his chest. His hair was waxed extremely messily, as if it was deliberate. The highlight however should be his hair. His hair was really so black that it was likely that he had used a black hair dye to dye it. It was not only black, it gave off a mysterious shine like a carapace. He was wearing basketball shoes with shoelaces so frightening long it measured about 1m. As it was so long, even if he were to accidentally step on it, it was unlikely that he'd trip. There was a rope made of either leather or another similar material hanging around his neck, with four to five mini fans about 10cm big hanging on the rope around his neck.

Nobody could guess the intentions behind his get-up.

Of course, the most unbelievable thing as what he was holding.

A Flamberge.

A 17th century dual-handed sword that originated from France and was about 180cm long. The unique characteristic about this blade was that the blade was as curvy as a flame. It was said that the current design was meant to increase its destructive power.

Stiyl's magic emphasized numbers to gain strength. As long as the place was filled entirely with rune cards, he was able to use powerful magic. In other words, this battle was rather disadvantageous to him. He had no time to set the field up as he had to fight while moving. Also, he was protecting Index, and there was no other way out except to use his own body as a shield.

"Don't bother about these unimportant things," Stiyl said in a tone that felt like he was going to vomit blood anytime. "...Very good, looks like you found Orsola Aquinas. You're the same as always, I don't know whether to call it a blessing or a misfortune...anyway, hurry up and run away! Don't think of beating him, it's our victory as long as we escape!"

Stiyl attempted to support his body with his heavily trembling legs, and was unable to succeed.

Tatemiya Saiji happily looked at Stiyl, and then turned to look at Orsola, saying,

"Oh yeah, why am I meeting you here again? Didn't I tell you so many times? Orsola Aquinas, we don't intend to harm you any further."

His tone sounded frivolous, as if he didn't even want anyone to agree with him.

Orsola looked at the collapsed store, and the injured Stiyl, and the Flamberge in Tatemiya's hand.

"The first time you said that to me, it was really full of hope. But now, I can't trust the peace that you bring through violence."

"Too bad. Even if you return to the Roman Catholics, what's the point?"

Tatemiya gently waved his hand wielding the Flamberge, as if he was trying to confirm that nothing strange was on his shoulder.

"..."

Kamijou silently stood in front of Orsola.

He did not have a weapon in his hand. Even if he was to swing an unfamiliar weapon around wildly, he couldn't possibly beat the opponent in front of him. He might as well not use a weapon which was heavy and unfamiliar to him.

Tatemiya stared at Kamijou's face, followed by the ceremonial sword that lay beside his feet.

"No combat stance, no artifacts, and no hidden magic code on your clothes. You're really 'unarmed'. Hm, although I don't feel like fighting against an amateur...seems like I have no choice. That sword, did you get it from Uragami?"

Tatemiya scowled, his expression looked severely distorted, deliberately giving off a sense of invisible pressure.

Kamijou had never heard of the person called Uragami.

"If you're referring to your subordinate, she's lying down there. I protected the back of her head, so it shouldn't be life-threatening."

There was now no sense of frivolity in Tatemiya's tone now.

Seeing this reaction, Kamijou could already see Tatemiya's character. He was not a monster, he was an ordinary man who would rage when his comrade was bullied.

"Since you're someone who'll fight for others, can you please put your blade away? I don't really want to fight with someone like you."

"I'm thinking the same thing, but the problem can't be solved that easily. Although our main enemies are the Roman Catholics, since you British Puritans have joined in, I can't just ignore this. Moresoever, I can't let Orsola be taken away by you guys."

Tatemiya raised the sword that was almost 2 metre long above his head easily, swinging it wildly like a cheerleader captain waving her baton.

"Anyway, you have become an attack target of mine now. I'll see less blood if you are willing to kneel down and surrender."

Tatemiya laughed, though he looked regretful.

Although he said it like this, he had predicted how the enemy would respond.

Of course, Kamijou was rather scared. He was aware of what kind of person a 'Real Magician' was. And among them, those 'magicians that don't over rely on magic' were the hardest to take on. For someone like the alchemist, Aureolus Izzard, as he already had a powerful magic move, he wouldn't prepare for a second move. But for someone like Tsuchimikado Motoharu, he wouldn't rely on his spells too much, so he would always use different techniques.

Tatemiya Saiji was obviously the latter. Even if he didn't use magic, he could use the Flamberge in his hand to hack Kamijou's head in an instant. Just seeing that he had been able to beat Stiyl without a single scratch (Of course, another reason is that Stiyl is distracted, having to protect Index) showed that he was really good.

Fighting with him was almost futile.

Kamijou's entire body started to tremble.

It was like a rather fast child racing with an Olympic sprinter.

Should he surrender?

Since the enemy in front of him couldn't be beaten with abilities, Kamijou was unable to think of anything that could reverse the situation.

The problem was...

(If I surrender, what'll happen to Stiyl?)

Stiyl bent his body, gasping heavily for breath, and glared at Tatemiya.

The reason why he had decided to take part in this was because he thought that it would be beneficial to Index. So, he would never give up. The reality of despair and Kamijou's advice were not going to stop this man, Stiyl Magnus.

But if he didn't give up, the outcome could be easily seen.

(If I surrender, what'll happen to Index?)

Index looked like she was going to rush in anytime and get between Kamijou and Tatemiya.

Once Kamijou started fighting with Tatemiya, the option of 'surrender' would disappear. If so, she would try her best to create a chance for the outsider to the magical world, Kamijou to escape. Even if she was unable to fight, even if both sides had their special abilities, even if Kamijou didn't wish for her to do that.

Finally...

(If I surrender, what'll happen to Orsola?)

The Roman Catholic nun looked worriedly at Kamijou's face, and turned to Tatemiya's face.

Since Tatemiya wanted the knowledge, spells and power of the 'Book of the Law,' he would probably not kill Orsola straight away. On the contrary, he would protect her so that she wouldn't get caught in the crossfire.

But, once Tatemiya Saiji got Orsola, he would bring her back to the Amakusa's main base. Over there, if Orsola refused to co-operate and tell them how to read the 'Book of the Law,' one could guess what the outcome would be. And what Tatemiya Saiji and the Amakusa wanted was only how to read the 'Book of the Law,' and not Orsola Aquinas herself. Once they achieved their objective, it was unthinkable what they would do to Orsola.

("It's not exactly reading it. I would call it deciphering it...")

-What she wanted hadn't ever been the power of the 'Book of the Law'.

("On a certain level of significance, it's to gain some power." )

-To prevent something like this from happening, she was trying her very best.

("We can use it on the magic book itself to destroy the magic array. In other words, it's to allow the original to self-destruct.")

-But there were people who would mock and trample on her hard work, or even use her accomplishments for their own gain. This man was smiling as he stood in front of Kamijou.

("The power of a magic book isn't going to give anyone happiness, and it'll only bring about war. So I've been analysing this book, hoping to destroy the original.")

Kamijou stretched his leg, kicked the ceremonial sword aside, and stepped forward.

No matter how sad or how awkward, the only one who could stop Tatemiya now was Kamijou.

Even so, was there any reason for Kamijou to release his fist?

"...Don't look down on me."

Kamijou murmured. The fist which as already as hard as rock was now even tighter.

When Tatemiya Saiji saw this, he sighed, as if he was trying to find regret from deep within the bottom of his heart.

"Seeing your eyes, that glare makes me feel so sad, really sad. Although the result has been settled, your outspoken personality makes me not want to kill you."

Tatemiya gently waved the wavy longsword, the Flamberge.

"However, since it's already settled, this day next year will be your death anniversary!"

Just as Tatemiya said that,

Kamijou heard a loud explosion. Tatemiya stamped onto the ground with his sole, filled with energy like that of an explosion. Kamijou was so nervous that his entire body froze, and his opponent had already taken the first step. Just one step and the tip of Tatemiya's sword would touch Kamijou.

Tatemiya raised the long sword high, and the light that was reflected from his blade made Kamijou unable to move, as he felt like a frog paralysed upon seeing a snake staring at him.

He thought of raising his hands to protect himself. But that wouldn't be able to block the longsword.

(Wu...ugh...! Don't...don't be afraid! Hurry up and move!)

Kamijou continued to give orders to his stiff body, and finally managed to take the first step. It was not backwards, or sideways, but forward. Seeing Kamijou coming forward from slightly to the right, Tatemiya was somewhat intrigued, not understanding why an amateur would run into his attack range.

"Ho!"

Saiji breathed out some air and swung the sword down like a lightning strike.

This critical blow could cut Kamijou in half, who was rushing in like a cannonball.

"...!"

Next, Kamijou used his entire body strength and jumped, not 'slightly to the right,' but straight on towards Tatemiya's right arm. Sweat shed off into the air and was cut in half by the longsword. As this jump was completely different from what Kamijou would normally do, the impact to his ankle was rather great. Kamijou did not land successfully and lost his balance, slamming into the wall of the store beside him.

"Ha!"

Tatemiya turned his body around, swinging the sword that had landed onto the ground. But upon seeing Kamijou leaning against the wall, he revealed a smile full of self-confidence.

(Here's a chance!)

Kamijou lowered his body as much as he could.

When the enemy lowered his sword, if he were to dodge sideways, the enemy would normally cut laterally as a follow up. Because if he raised his sword and attacked again, his movements would be slower.

Kamijou got as low to the ground as possible and rushed in front of Tatemiya Saiji.

There was no need to think of attacks other than a 'horizontal cut'. If Tatemiya insisted on doing a 'vertical cut,' he wouldn't be able to react to Kamijou's movements, who would land a punch on him before the sword landed.

Of course, as Kamijou expected, Tatemiya Saiji raised his sword and cut horizontally.

It grazed the top of Kamijou's head, entangling his heart in fear.

"WOO...OOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

Kamijou shouted loudly, clenched his fist, and dashed in front of Tatemiya.

Even Orsola, who was on the same side as him, was scared and stunned by his momentum.

Even Tatemiya, who used his entire strength to swing this two-handed sword, couldn't dodge Kamijou's punch.

At that moment, Tatemiya Saiji disappeared.

Tatemiya, who was supposed to be in front of Kamijou, instantly backed away about 1m; and the sword, which had been swung horizontally, was now raised above his head for some reason.

It was like time was reversed and everything had restarted.

It was like an illusion that deliberately lured Kamijou in.

"Ah...?"

Kamijou felt a chill all over his body, and quickly rolled to the side.

DONG! The vertical strike split the ground like paper. Maybe it was because of too much friction, the dirt that flew looked orange, like magma.

That seriously didn't look like something that could occur according to the laws of physics.

(Magic...? If so...!)

Kamijou clenched his fist tightly. If that blade was made of magic, he could destroy it with his right hand. He made up his mind and swung his right fist towards the blade that was flying over.

"No...Don't! Touma!"

Hearing Index's voice, Kamijou quickly retracted his fist. In order to protect Kamijou, who was now wide open, the young girl rushed forward without hesitation into Kamijou's vision.

(No way...that isn't magic?)

Those actions that Tatemiya had just used...

Moving backwards in a way that eyes couldn't see, splitting the ground with a single strike.

Don't tell me those were just simple sword techniques? Kamijou felt a chill inside him.

"No! Don't come over! Index!"

Kamijou's shout was unable to extinguish the girl's determination. Tatemiya's sword came swinging down again, and it was almost like sound could be cut. Kamijou, who originally believed that his right fist could neutralise the attack, didn't come up with a plan B. Thinking about it now would be too late. Kamijou could only stare widely and watch the blade come flying towards him.

"O original flame, turn thy into light, blade of gentle protection and divine judgement!"

Stiyl suddenly shouted, creating a huge explosion. It was an explosion caused by a fire absorbing too much oxygen. The Flame Sword in Stiyl's hands pierced through the night and successfully attracted Tatemiya's attention.

"Damn it!"

Taking advantage when Tatemiya turned to look right, Kamijou jumped away in the opposite direction, trying to pull away from Tatemiya.

But, he failed.

When Kamijou made the first move, Tatemiya, who was looking in the opposite direction, was somehow able to catch up like a shadow. Tatemiya's feet weren't moving at all, and it was like he was skating on ice, his movements weren't natural at all.

(Ma...gic...?)

Kamijou felt his back go numb.

When Tatemiya turned around, the large sword came swinging around like a tornado sweeping across. He frantically bent down to avoid this strike.

DONG! A heavy impact hit Kamijou's waist, who should have avoided successfully.

Looking closer, a transparent snowball as big as a soccerball was buried into Kamijou's body. When he looked at it, the snowball vanished, as if someone coloured it with watercolour. Because of the blow from the snowball, Kamijou was knocked to the ground, and continued to roll.

-Let's go back in time for a moment, to when Kamijou and Tatemiya just met each other.

When the boy was about to be sliced by that sword, Index rushed forward without hesitation.

(That is...Amakusa...)

Index trembled as she ran.

Besides being fearful, she was impressed.

The magic that the Amakusa used wasn't really special on its own. At least not as grand, unique and powerful as Stiyl's 'Innocentius' or Aureolus' 'Alchemy'.

However, the Amakusa in turn used this point against them.

Kanzaki's 'Nanasen' was probably the best example. If there was one word that could describe the Amakusa's basic fighting style, it was 'disguise'. Most of the attacks that looked like magic were just simple illusions, but among these illusions, there was a real magical fatal blow.

Index continued to run.

Kamijou and Tatemiya seemed to be standing abnormally far away from her.

Defending against magical attacks was a lot different from defending against non-magical attacks. Once you messed up, you would be in for some suffering.

Index's 'Spell Intercept' could seal off an enemy's magic. As a magicians needed to think to create magic, by using words or action that would disrupt the magician who was chanting the spell, the magic would go out of control. It was like challenging someone to a tongue twister; saying something different in his ear would make a person mess it up.

But, the 'Spell Intercept' wouldn't work on the Amakusa.

The spells, talismans and magic arrays that they used were too special. Their spells were made up of several religious significances in everyday business and interactions. Especially for an enemy like Tatemiya, whose magic was composed of 10 or 20 'Actions that had some magical meaning behind it'. The time taken for every single 'action' didn't last for a single second.

With Index's voice and technique, it was impossible to use 'Spell Intercept' to prevent the 'actions' in one second. Just after opening his mouth, Tatemiya's 'actions' had stopped. As the conditions for activating his magic were all within his sword techniques, if one wanted to prevent his magic, they had to be able to match his sword movements. Of course, Index was unable to imitate those highly-difficult sword techniques.

In conclusion, even if Index were to rush in, she was unable to beat back Tatemiya Saiji. Besides the gulf in abilities between these two, Tatemiya's specialities were the kind that Index had the most trouble handling. As a magic specialist, Index was acutely aware of this.

Kamijou took a hit from the magical snowball and rolled on the floor.

Tatemiya Saiji raised his Flamberge high, like a worker raising a hammer to hammer a nail in.

Index had no way to prevent the attack.

The 'Spell Intercept' would have no effect on the Amakusa.

"Touma!"

But, Index's feet never stopped moving.

She was not thinking that much either.

Seeing Index rushing in without caring for her own safety, Stiyl Magnus was frightened to death. She did not have any combat capabilities, and if she stood in front of Tatemiya, she would be hacked into two within a second.

"Ugh...!"

Stiyl only had a flame sword in his hands. If he wanted to activate 'Innocentius,' he had to quickly place rune cards, and there was no time.

If he were to rush in wildly now, he might be able to get in front of Tatemiya before Index did. He would then attack Tatemiya next, and explode the flame sword when Tatemiya blocked it with the Flamberge. This would likely cause a little interference.

The problem, however, was that Kamijou was now standing between Stiyl and Tatemiya.

If he were to charge towards Tatemiya, he would have to pierce through Kamijou first.

In an instant, the flame priest's face became distorted due to frustration.

The inner conflict inside him only lasted a while. Then, a glimmer of determination appeared in the priest's eyes.

(A long time ago, I swore—)

Stiyl Magnus tried to adjust his breathing with his dry mouth.

("―Sleep well, even if you forget everything, I'll remember it forever. I'll live for you, and die for you.")

In order to protect the most important thing, Stiyl aimed the flame sword at the teenager's back.

Exhaling all the oxygen inside his body and losing consciousness at the same time, Kamijou saw Tatemiya raise the longsword in front of him. He desperately recollected the thoughts that he had lost and tried to grasp the situation.

With his two legs shaking, there was no way Kamijou could dodge Tatemiya's next attack.

Index was rushing there, and in several seconds, she would be beside Tatemiya, and be killed.

Glancing behind, Stiyl raised his flame sword, but his own body seemed to be blocking the flame sword's path.

Within one second, Kamijou's thoughts were very clear.

If he didn't want to lose anyone, or anything, and allow everything to end with everyone smiling...

There was only one way.

"...Come on."

Kamijou clenched his fist.

"Pierce me through as well, Stiyl!"

Kamijou squeezed out his last ounce of strength and dashed towards Tatemiya Saiji without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Tatemiya Saiji was somewhat messed up.

There was a British Puritan nun rushing in from behind him, but killing her will be easy. In order to protect the nun, the boy in front of him also clenched his fist, but he would be alright even after killing the boy in front of him, then the nun behind him.

The problem was the priest behind the boy.

That British Puritan lowered the flame sword to his waist, and charged toward him.

"!?"

If the priest decided to stab him with the flame sword, it would pierce through the boy's body without question. But, there was no sign of hesitation in the priest's eyes. His eyes were as sharp as the blade of a knife, his mouth smiling like a beast, and his mind seemed to only think about taking down the enemy.

In order to block the flame sword's strike, Tatemiya raised the Flamberge.

But at that moment, the boy placed his right fist backwards, preparing to strike like a hammer.

"Peh...!"

If he blocked this strike, he wouldn't be able to defend against the flame sword. Also, the main objective of the flame sword wasn't to hack, but to explode. He would probably die at once if he was not careful in handling this. If he did not quickly activate a spell that defended against flames to defend against the flame sword first, he would be swallowed in the flames caused by the explosion together with the boy, who was sacrificing himself.

(I've already cast a basic spell that defends against impacts earlier during our battle, a mere amateur's punch shouldn't be able to hurt me. What's scary is that flame sword — got to set up an anti-flame spell first!)

Tatemiya swayed the sword that was raised like a river. By removing the flame attribute from the 'Flamberge,' and by swaying the sword around like a river to 'suppress,' he managed to create a spell called 'Suppress fire'.

(Good! The spell is complete! Once the sword stabs through, be prepared to taste my counter...!)

Tatemiya Saiji stuck his large tongue out, licking his lips greedily.

The priest charged on and slams into the boy's back. The flame sword in his hand would pierce through the boy's body and towards Tatemiya's abdomen.

(I win!)

—But, things didn't turn out as expected.

Tatemiya had already prepared an anti-flame spell, intending to send the heat and flames caused by the explosion of the flame sword back. But nothing like this happened.

The boy forcefully pulled his right fist back, ready to slam him like a hammer, and the priest's flame sword just happened to land on his fist.

Bam! A sound similar to that of a balloon bursting is heard. The priest's flame sword exploded into fireworks, and vanished.

"Ah...? This is... Wha—!?"

Tatemiya, who had already set up the anti-flame spell and thinking about a counter, did not understand a single thing that was going on.

BAM! A terrifying sound was heard as the boy's fist landed brutally on Tatemiya's face.

(Ka...aaaa...! The anti-impact spell...was broken through...?)

Tatemiya's body flew backwards. Just when he was about to stand upright, the boy and the priest slammed into him. Being hit by the weight of two people, Tatemiya's body rolled on the ground at an astonishing speed like he was being hit by a large hammer.

Just like this, Tatemiya lost consciousness.

Twang! The Flamberge left his hand and rolled on the floor.