Capítulo 4: Chapter 1: The Magician Lands on the Tower. Part 3
Kamijou Touma stuffed his mouth full of the fried garbage and grinned.
"Mhh," grunted the girl calling herself Index with a look of complaint on her face as she gnawed on a biscuit. The way she held the small biscuit in both hands made her seem a bit like a squirrel.
"Okay, you said you were being chased. Chased by whom?"
Having returned from his Nirvana, Kamijou once again asked about the biggest issue in her story.
He was not about to follow a girl he had met less than 30 minutes ago down to the depths of hell. However, it was already likely too late for nothing itself to happen.
So in the end, I have to go with fox's words, thought Kamijou, using a personal term for the sake of feigned kindness.
He knew it would likely resolve nothing, but he still desired to comfort himself by feeling that he did something.
"Hmm…" she said with a slightly dry throat. "Now who was it? Maybe it was the Rosicrucians or S.M., also known as Stella Matutina. I think it was a group like that, but I don't know their name yet. …They aren't the type to find meaning in names."
"They…?" Kamijou asked meekly.
Apparently, she was being chased by a group or organization.
"Yes," said Index surprisingly calmly. "A sorcerer's society."
…
…
…
"Hah? Sorcerer? Hah? What!? That's crazy!!"
"Eh? Huh? W-Was my Japanese weird there? I mean magic. A magic cabal."
"…" Hearing so in English improved nothing. "What? What? Are you talking about some dangerous cult? Like a cult that says not believing in its leader will result in divine punishment and then proceed to give you LSD and brainwash you? That's bad in more ways than one."
"…Are you making fun of me?"
"…Sorry, I just can't… I can't accept magic. I may know all sorts of psychic powers like pyro-kinesis and clairvoyance, but I just can't accept magic."
"…?"
Index looked confused.
She had likely expected a believer in only science to deny that any kind of strange thing could exist in the world.
However, Kamijou's right hand held a supernatural power.
It was called Imagine Breaker and could negate even the systems of god seen in myths in a single stroke so long as it was a supernatural power beyond the ordinary.
"Psychic powers are pretty common here. Anyone's brain can be 'developed' and have the pathways open up by having 'esperin' injected into their veins, electrodes attached to their neck, and certain rhythms played through headphones. It can all be explained scientifically, so it's only natural to accept, right?"
"…I don't really get it."
"It's normal! It's completely normal, utterly normal. Is three times enough!?"
"…Then what about magic? Magic is normal."
Index sulked like someone insulted her pet cat.
"Umm… Well, take rock, paper, scissors for example. Wait, is rock paper scissors known worldwide?"
"…I think it's from Japanese culture, but I do know it."
"Okay, if you played rock paper scissors ten times in a row and lost each time, would there be a reason behind that?"
"…Mh."
"There wouldn't, right? But it's human nature to think there is," said Kamijou with little interest. "You'd think there'd be no way you would keep losing like that. You would assume there was some unseen rule, and once you start thinking like that, what happens when you factoring in things like horoscopes?"
"…You mean like, 'you cancers are unlucky, so you shouldn't compete in any competitions'?"
"Right, that's the occult's true identity. Luck is just our dreaming for these invisible rules. While reality is just pathetic coincidence, our hearts mistake it as some great inevitability. That's the occult."
For a bit, Index frowned like a displeased cat, but then said, "So you didn't just deny it without giving any thought."
"Right. And it's because I've given it such serious thought that I can see why those musty old stories are no good. I can't believe in some magician from a picture book. If we could raise the dead with the only cost being a bit of MP, no one would be developing these other powers. I simply can't believe in the supernatural that has no connection to real science."
He felt that people only saw psychic powers as strange and mysterious because they were ignorant. The fact that those powers could be explained scientifically was common knowledge in that city.
"…But magic exists," Index said as she pouted.
Most likely, magic was like a pillar supporting her heart, similar to Kamijou's Imagine Breaker.
"Well, whatever. So, why are they chasing you?"
"Magic exists."
"…"
"Magic exists!"
It seemed she obstinately wanted him to acquiesce.
"Th-Then what is magic? Can you shoot fire from your hands without undergoing our psychic curriculum? If so, I'd like to see it. I might believe you then."
"I have no magic power, so I can't do that."
"…"
Kamijou felt like he had just met an esper failure that said they could not bend a spoon around a camera because it distracted them.
All the while, a rather complex feeling filled his chest.
He insisted that the occult did not exist and that magic was ridiculous, but he really knew nothing about the Imagine Breaker power that resided in his right hand. How did it work and what was going on that he could not see? Academy City was at the peak of the world's powers development, but even its System Scan failed to analyze his power. Consequently, he was labeled Level 0.
Also, that power had not appeared later due to a scientific timetable. It resided in his right hand from birth.
He insisted the occult did not exist and yet he himself was a part of the supernatural that ignored the rules.
Regardless, he refused to accept the ridiculous reasoning that magic could easily exist simply because there were strange things in the world.
"…Magic exists."
Kamijou sighed.
"Okay. For argument's sake, let's say that magic exists."
"For argument's sake?"
"If it does," continued Kamijou, ignoring her. "Why are they after you? Does it have something to do with how you're dressed?"
Kamijou was referring to the rather extravagant nun habit that Index wore, made of pure white silk and golden thread embroideries. In other words, "Is this church related?"
"…It's because I am the Index."
"Hah?"
"They are likely after the 103,000 grimoires that I have."
…
…
…
"…Once again, I don't understand at all."
"Why do you seem to lose motivation every time I explain something? Are you the fickle type?"
"Um, let's go back over this. I'm not sure what these mentioned grimoires are, but imagine it's a book, like a dictionary."
"Yes. The Book of Eibon, the Lemegeton, Unaussprechlichen Kulten, Cultes des Goules, and the Book of the Dead are good examples. The Necronomicon is so famous there are all sorts of imitations and fakes, so it isn't very reliable."
"No, I don't really care about the contents."
He wanted to add that it was "because it's all a bunch of nonsense anyways", but he held his tongue.
He instead asked, "So, where are these 100,000 books?"
He refused to back down on that point, one hundred thousand books were enough to fill an entire library.
"Do you mean you have a key to where they're stored?"
"No." Index shook her head. "I have every single one of the 103,000 grimoires with me."
"Hah?" Kamijou frowned. "You aren't going to say these are books idiots can't see, are you?"
"You couldn't see them even if you weren't an idiot. There'd be no point if anyone could see them."
Index's words were so removed from reality that Kamijou felt he was being mocked. He glanced around, but could not see a single musty old book that may have been a grimoire. All he saw scattered on the floor were game magazines, manga, and the summer homework he had tossed into a corner.
"…Wahh."
He had forced himself to listen up until then, but was at his limit.
He began to wonder whether she was merely imagined being chased. If she had jumped from the eighth story rooftop, slipped on her own, and gotten caught on his balcony all due to a delusion, she was not someone he wanted involve himself with any longer.
"Believing in psychic powers but not in magic makes no sense," Index said with a pout. "Are those psychic powers really all that great? It isn't right to make fun of people just because you have some kind of special power."
…
"Well, yeah." Kamijou gave a small sigh. "I agree. It's not right. It's wrong to think of yourself as above others just because you can pull off some little trick."
Kamijou's gaze dropped to his right hand.
No fire or lightning would come. It could not cause any beams of light or explosions, and no strange markings were going to appear on his wrist.
However, his right hand could negate all kinds of supernatural powers, disregarding if the power were good or evil or even the systems of God seen in myths.
"Well, for the people who live in this city, the power they have is like a part of their personality, so you should probably be a bit forgiving as far as that goes. In fact, I'm one of those espers, too."
"Is that so, idiot. Hmph. You can always just bend a spoon with your hand instead of messing around inside your head."
"…"
"Hmph, hmph. What's so great about a guy who cast aside his natural shade to color himself artificially? Hmph."
"…You don't mind if I shut that mouth of yours along with that ridiculous pride, do you?"
"I-I won't give in to terrorism. Hmph," said Index like a displeased cat. "A-anyway, you say you're an esper, but what can you do?"
"Umm, well, if you put it that way…"
Kamijou was a bit unsure of what to say.
It was not often that Kamijou explained his right hand to others. Also, since it only reacted to supernatural powers, it could not be explained without knowledge of the supernatural or psychic.
"You see, it's this right hand of mine. Oh, and in my case, it isn't doping; I've had it from birth."
"I see."
"If I touch it with my right hand, any kind of supernatural power will be negated. That goes for A-bomb level fireballs, tactical railguns, or even the workings of God."
"Eh?"
"Why does your face look like you just saw a good luck miracle stone in some magazine?"
"But… you don't even know the God's name, but yet you just said you can negate His miracles." In surprise, Index dug her pinky into her ear while giving a scornful laugh.
"…Kh. Th-This is really annoying. I kind of hate being made fun of by some kind of fake magical girl who claims magic exists but can't prove it."
That mutterings of Kamijou Touma's soul seemed to upset Index.
"I-I'm not a fake! Magic really exists!"
"Then show me something, Halloween girl! You aren't going to believe my Imagine Breaker until I destroy something with my right hand anyway. C'mon, fantasy head!"
"Fine, I will!" Index threw both her hands above her head in annoyance. "Here! These clothes! They're the highest quality of defensive barrier called the Walking Church!"
Index spread her arms to show off the teacup-like nun's habit.
"The Walking Church? What? You're not making any sense! It's not very nice to keep using these incomprehensible technical terms like Index and defensive barrier, y'know!? Explaining things means to tell them to someone who doesn't understand in a form simple enough to become understandable. Do you not get that!?"
"Wha-? How dare you say that when you aren't even making attempts to understand!?" Index swung her arms around in anger. "Fine, seeing is believing, right? Take a knife from the kitchen and stab me in the gut!!"
"Stab you!? Is this going to end up as a news story that says 'it all started with a pointless argument' or something?"
"Ah, you don't believe me." Index's shoulders rose and fell as she breathed heavily. "These have the bare minimum of components required to make up a church: so, they are a church in the form of clothes. The way the cloth is woven, the way the threads are sewn, the way the embroideries decorate it… It's all calculated. A knife won't even put a scratch on it."
"Yeah, right. What kind of idiot would just agree to stab you? He'd have to be an unprecedented kind of juvenile criminal."
"Will you ever stop mocking me? This is an accurate copy of the Shroud of Turin, the cloth worn by the Saint that was stabbed by the Lance of Longinus, so its strength is Pope-class. I guess you would say it's something like a nuclear shelter. It turns aside or absorbs any attack, be it physical or magical. I told you I got caught on your balcony after getting shot, right? Well, I would have a giant hole in me if it wasn't for the Walking Church. Do you understand now?
Shut up, idiot, Kamijou thought angrily.
Kamijou's appreciation gauge toward Index rapidly dropped and he stared at her clothes with scorn.
"…Hmm. So if that really is a supernatural power, would it be torn to pieces if I touched it with my right hand?"
"Yes, but only if your power is real. Heh heh heh."
"Perfect!!" shouted Kamijou as he grabbed Index's shoulder.
As if he had grabbed a cloud, it strangely felt like the impact was absorbed by a soft sponge.
"Wait… huh?"
Kamijou cooled his head and thought.
What if everything Index was saying was true, as unlikely as that was, and this Walking Church really was sewn together with supernatural power?
Would negating that supernatural power truly rip her clothes to pieces?
"Huuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?"
Kamijou reflexively yelled out at the sudden premonition he had that he was about to suddenly go up a few steps on the stairway to adulthood. But…
…
…
…?
"Ehhhhhhh? ...Huh?"
Nothing happened. Nothing happened at all.
Oh, jeez, don't make me worry like that, he thought with relief.
Kamijou just could not stand it.
"See? What was all this about your Imagine Breaker? Nothing at all happened. Heh hen."
Index put her hands on her hips and puffed her small chest in pride.
But in the next instant, her clothes fell straight down like the gift's ribbon.
The threads sewing her nun's habit together had cleanly come apart, turning it all into mere pieces of cloth.
The hat-like one-piece hood must have been an isolated item because it alone remained. Having only her head covered made it seem all the more painful.
The girl froze still with her hands on her hips and her small chest puffed out in pride.
To sum it up, she was completely nude.
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