章節 22: Chapter 1: A Tower of Glass. Part 3

Later, it was evening.

In order to erase the memory of the mysterious miko and the suit-clad men, Kamijou and company played energetically and dispersed home after 5:00 like elementary school students afterschool.

Aogami Pierce said "bye-bye" like an elementary school child and disappeared into the evening streets. He lived in a bakery instead of a student dormitory. It was said that he stayed there because the uniform looked like a maid outfit.

On the road in front of the department store station, Kamijou and Index were alone.

Kamijou sighed. As the idea that they were alone appeared in his mind, a numbing tension spread through his body. There was no need to mention why.

"What's the matter Touma?"

Facing a question with such an innocent smile, he could only answer that it was nothing. He carefully maneuvered to avoid being found out and sighed. It was because they lived together. On top of that, secretly, in a "boys' dorm". Most important of all, she was such a little girl.

It was several days since he had returned from the hospital. And, every day, she slept beside Kamijou as if it were normal. Also, her sleeping habits were terrible; perhaps it was because of her dislike of the heat that she would reveal her feet or bellybutton from her pajamas. All said and done, he could only choose to lock himself in the bathroom and, because of it, Kamijou Touma was recently sleep deprived.

"...Am I so bad I could end up on the tabloids?" He muttered. How would the Kamijou Touma with his memories have viewed the situation? He continued to mutter. In fact, the concept of "living together" was proposed by the Kamijou with his memories.

What were you doing, Kamijou of the past! He roared in his heart.

Walking half the distance, Index suddenly stopped, seemingly having seen something.

"Eh?" Feeling depressed, Kamijou stared where Index's gaze was directed. At the base of ta windmill turbine sat a corrugated paper box with a cat purring inside.

"Touma! Ca—"

"No way!" Kamijou interrupted Index before she could finish. "No. We can't."

"Why why why why why? Why can't we raise Sphinx?"

"Because we're not allowed to have pets in student dormitories, and I don't have any money. And don't go ahead and name the cat so quickly! And what? Sphinx? THAT'S A JAPANESE CALICO CAT, WHY A FOREIGN NAME?"

"Why don't you keep a cat! Do as you are told!" (Note: This was spoken in English)

"???

"...Humph! Don't think a few English words can convince me!"

"I DON'T CARE! WANNA WANNA WANNA WANNA WANNA WANNA WANNA WANNA!!!"

"WHAT'S WITH THIS SHOUTING ATTACK!? IT'S USELESS AGAINST ME! AND LOOK, YOUR CAT RAN INTO THE ALLEY!"

"IT'S ALL TOUMA'S FAULT!"

"AND YOU'RE BLAMING ME!?!"

In the summer sunset, the two shouted at each other. Kamijou casually thought how did the Kamijou Touma then treat her? Maybe it was like this?

If it were the case, it would be great for him. But... it was somewhat lonely. After all, the girl was not looking at this Kamijou. What made her completely at ease was the Kamijou of old.

It was painful... But, Kamijou still intended to struggle on.

"Humph! I heard that the Shamisen was made from cat skins? Why must the people of this country always be so cruel to cats?"

"...Idiot, don't criticize other countries' cultures! You English folks also love to gather together and chase down foxes, right!?"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?! FOX HUNTING IS REPRESENTATIVE OF ENGLISH TRADITION AND PRIDE—!"

Halfway finished shouting, Index noticed something and moved away.

"Na? What? Where did the cat disappear to?" Kamijou said as he looked around, but did not see any sign of the cat.

"...That's strange. Touma. I seem to sense that mana is being gathered." Index stared at Kamijou and muttered.

"...The attribute is earth, color is green. This ritual... uses a medium to introduce mana and acts through conscious intervention..."

She seemed to mutter her thoughts. Kamijou knew not what she spoke of and only stared at her. As he did so, she finally spoke.

"Oi, Index!"

"It looks like someone just set up a magical array around here. I'll go check it, go home first, Touma!" Just like that, Index vanished into the alley.

"She told me to go back, but..." Quite the mysterious girl, he thought. Regardless, he could not simply leave her behind and leave first. Anyways, a girl just ran down a dangerous alley. The chances of encountering something bad is as high in a third rate RPG's storyline.

Misfortune reared its head again and Kamijou sighed. He raised his foot to follow her into the alley. But, at the same instant, a voice came from behind him.

"It's been a while, Kamijou Touma." His foot, about to step into the alley, stopped.

The words "It's been a while" were essential taboo for Kamijou. He remembered information like the Japanese language or first grade mathematics but he had no memories. He remembered nothing, not even the trivial from when he bought a game to the important like how he scored on his end-of term exams. As he could not remember names and faces, hearing something like "It's been a while" caused him to only give his most sincere false smile.

It was to protect her happiness. He had decided he must never let others realize his amnesia. With such a conviction, he turned to look behind him.

"Ah." Seeing the man standing there, Kamijou had no impressions. He was more of a teenager than a man but for a man over two meters tall, the term teenager could have been a stretch. He wore a black priest's robe and, like Index, he lacked the pale white skin of the Japanese.

Though he was a priest, the smell of cologne was overwhelming. His long hair was dyed red, his ears were pierced, every one of his fingers was decorated by rings and under his right eye was a barcode tattoo. This fallen impression he gave was like that of a renegade monk or even a heretic.

How could such a thing exist? And, he did not desire to leave any impressions.

"Humph. Not even a 'hello' even though we haven't met for a while? Hm, that's fine too. That's how our relationship should be. We can't just act like comrades after working together once." The cologne priest spoke earnestly.

Who is this guy... Kamijou could not voice this.

Besides the existence of such a suspicious priest, Kamijou was even more suspiciously curious why he had known such a person. Additionally, one more thing bothered him. Index had run off somewhere and there was little time to bother with the dark priest.

"Ah, don't worry about Index, I just used Opila runes. She probably just detected the magic flow and went to take a look."

Kamijou was stunned.

Runic magic: a magical language that the Germanic people adopted in the 2nd century A.D. Essentially, they were "words of power" such as "kenaz," flames. With "kenaz" on paper, flames would form over.

...What's going on? He could not voice his concerns. Rather than the priest's speaking of runic magic, it was because such ridiculous knowledge flowed naturally from Kamijou's mind.

It was certainly abnormal. It was like running a rusted locomotive into the middle of a clear river, like a large gaping hole in a logical world. It had mixed into a world where green meant go and text messages cost money. The thing called magic had weaved into everyday life.

What kind of world did the Kamijou Touma of the past live in?

For the first time, Kamijou feared his past self.

The scented priest seemed to see something in Kamijou's eyes and closed one eye and smiled. Kamijou knew not what was going on and neither was he in the mood to speak to others. He could only ambiguously smile and suppress the nebulous feeling.

As Kamijou smiles, the red-haired priest pulled out what appeared to be a card and spoke. "Don't smile with everything. Are you ready to die?" (English) He smiled like melting wax, the face extending sideways.

A chill. The knowledge that Kamijou still had told him that there was danger. Without time to think, he raised his right hand.

Quickly raising his right hand before his own eyes, as if he were blocking light shining into eyes, and, at the same instant, the priest's right hand burst out flames. As if he were hosing out gasoline, a fiery-red sword of flames formed.

There was no delay. No hesitation, no mercy—the sword was swung great force, downwards at Kamijou. The instant the sword and hand came in contact, the former exploded like a ball of gas the flames scattered.

The flames absorbed oxygen and released a terrifying sound as a 3000 degree flaming Hell formed a vortex that invaded all nearby. With a boom, the flames did not completely stop. It shined but, without a moment's notice, vanished as if broken.

"Ha... hah..." Kamijou did not lower in a panic his right hand that protected his face. He continued to breathe heavily.

Imagine Breaker: the mysterious power hidden in Kamijou's right hand. No matter what the super natural power, even one of God's miracles, would vanish completely on contact.

"Hah... hah...!"

Seeing the stiff, trembling and immobile Kamijou, the priest finally smiled. "Yes. Yes. That's the face I want. The relationship between Kamijou Touma and Stiyl Magnus should be like this. Don't make me repeat myself: our relationship isn't such that could call each other comrade after working together once."

The priest's smile ruptured and melted. Kamijou, on the other hand, could not respond. It was not that he feared the abnormal power within him, neither did he fear the priest called Stiyl Magnus. If it were a question of fears, there was but one issue.

What bothered him was that he could actually respond in time to block the attack, a flame sword at that without a thought. In other words, his knowledge feared him.

It was truly frightening.

"Wha... are you—" Kamijou frantically took two, three steps because the knowledge leftover from the previous Kamijou Touma was telling him that an enemy was there.

There was no time for him to fight the enemy within. As of then, the most important issue was the enemy without. Perhaps, as a result of the knowledge imprinted in his mind, Kamijou growled and entered a fighting stance of no particular style. He was in fact quite surprised he was accustomed to fighting.

Facing Kamijou, the pseudo-priest magician chuckled. "Hn? I want to tell you a little secret."

What nonsense are you spouting? As Kamijou thought as such, Stiyl extracted an envelope.

It seemed like it contained much information. Is he really going to tell me some secrets? Kamijou frowned. This guy just made a huge explosion on this one direction, 3-lane road as wide as a runway. Now he's trying to tell me a secret...?

...?

Considering it, Kamijou realized something. There was a large explosion and yet the surroundings were not involved in the commotion.

...!?

No. It was then that Kamijou realized the truth. Rather than a lack of commotion, there was a lack of people. On the said road as wide as a runway, there were department stores lined up on either side. But, giving it thought, there were no people, no cars, only Kamijou and Stiyl.

The windmill turbines rattled, causing echoes through the empty street like a laughing skeleton. From far away, the ringing of a siren was heard in the empty crossing.

"I said it before," Perhaps to break the silence of the night cost, Stiyl chuckled. "I used Opila runes."

"Ehwaz." Stiyl said and flicked the large fan-mail like envelope with his index finger. It spun like a Frisbee and slowly landed in Kamijou's hands. There were mysterious words on it that seemed to seal the documents inside. As Stiyl muttered, the words began to glow. The seal opened down the middle as if cut by a knife.

"Have you heard of Misawa Cram School, the prep school?" Stiyl asked as if singing. A large amount of information appeared on every scrap of paper and, like a magic carpet, only the necessary information flew out of the envelope and floated around Kamijou.

Lacking memories, Kamijou could only scan the name through his own knowledge. However, he still had no impression of the name Misawa. It had seemed his past self lacked interest in college entrance exams.

"It's said to be the prep school with the largest market in the nation." Stiyl spoke with melancholy. A prep school, as the name may have implied, that was tuition based. Repeat students who failed their college entrance exams gathered there to study.

However, the "promotion prep class" in Academy City has another meaning. It was to provide to those individuals who already had the potential to enter college but chose to spend a year to study.

A piece of paper floated in front of Kamijou. It seemed that Misawa Cram School provided not only "promotion classes" but "pre-exam express" services to those students yet to take an exam.

"...So, why are you telling me about prep classes? Is there a discount offered when you introduce it to friends?" Kamijou asked Stiyl with an obvious look of distrust. Kamijou could not imagine any sort of relationship the cologne reeking priest had with a preparatory school.

"It's like this," Stiyl nonchalantly began. "A girl is imprisoned in Misawa and it's my job to save her."

Completely stunned, Kamijou stared at Stiyl. Instead of the frightening word "imprisoned", it was because he suspected that the man was serious. Of course, even if Stiyl were mad, it was nothing to Kamijou. However, as the man could use flames like weapons, it would have been dangerous for him to go berserk.

"Hm, I thought that you would understand if I showed you the information. " Stiyl lifted his index finger up and the envelope in Kamijou's hands released printing paper that continued to fly around Kamijou like snowflakes. One particular piece was a positional diagram of Misawa Cram School.

However, the picture of the diagram contained errors in regards to the measures when one compared the infrared and ultrasonic scans. Naturally, it was an unknown place that consumed much electricity.

A Misawa Cram School electricity bill... Even after investigating the electrical consumption of each room, the sum did not tally up. There seemed to have been a room where "something" was consuming large sums of electricity.

A personnel entry and exit list of Misawa Cram School... The teachers and students seemed to take in a myriad of foods. Some investigators acted as garbage men and checked the trash but the numbers there did not tally either. Misawa seemed to provide food for other "people" inside the building.

The final sheet of paper... was a reported sighting one month prior of a girl walking into the Misawa building. According to a caretaker of the student dormitory, the girl was never again seen at the dorms.

"As of now, it would seem that Misawa Cram School has become a phony religious cult devoted to scientific worship." Stiyl said smoothly.

Scientific worship...? Kamijou frowned in surprise.

"You're, talking about those things, right? Gimmicks like how God's real identity is that of a UFO or with an extraction of a Saint's DNA, they could make clones, right...?"

The concept that science and religion are unrelated was rather shallow. In the Western world, there were many doctors and scientists who were also Christians.

However, if such a relationship were forced, it was fact that atrocities would occur. It was common for those individuals to have the most advanced technology in producing explosives and poisonous gases.

Academy City, the leading entity of scientific technology and coincidentally learning and education, would normally act extremely carefully when dealing with science and religion mixing. The places whose purposes were educational could become brainwashing institutions.

"I don't know what they're teaching. But, to be honest, it's pointless no matter what kind of fanatical religious group that Misawa Cram School becomes because it's already been dissolved."

"...?"

"To put it more bluntly..." Stiyl continued, appearing to have not a care at all. "Misawa Cram School was taken over. The half-baked science phony-religious group was consumed by a real magician—no, an alchemist of the Zurich school to be precise."

"An authentic one...?"

"Yeah, I know it sounds suspicious... hold on."

"What?"

"...Since when were you so docile? Are you just listening to me and letting the words come out the other end? Did you not understand at all?"

Kamijou was shocked. Stiyl was incorrect. He was truly listening to Stiyl and was trying to understand and respond to the unfamiliar terms. But, it was because of that that Stiyl felt something was amiss.

It was like someone had realized that the Kamijou Touma of now was different from the Kamijou Touma of the past.

Don't realize it. Don't realize it...!

The Kamijou of the present did not know the magician's relationship with Index. But, no matter how distant they may have been, Kamijou did not want others to know about his amnesia.

Kamijou saw it. In the patient's room, he saw the white nun's habit wearing girl cry. The tears of happiness were shed for the boy that was the Kamijou with his memories. He could not topple her mental support... ever. So, Kamijou had decided to fool the entire world. Even himself.

"What, are you giving me this crap just because I'm listening attentively? You aren't a masochist are you? You the type that wants others to interrupt what you say all the time?"

But, of that moment, Kamijou did not know how different he acted from the previous Kamijou. It was like walking with a map. Even if he knew he was going the wrong direction, looking around and finding desert everywhere would not tell him the correct path to take.

For a time, Stiyl stared with suspicion at his face. "Fine, whatever. It's not a problem that this conversation's going well anyways." Stiyl finally ended his digression. "The point is the reason why the alchemist took over Misawa Cram School. Of course, the simple reason is that he probably feels it convenient to use Misawa as a base. Most of the students may not have realized that the principal of the prep school has changed."

Stiyl lightly exhaled and continued. "The most important reason why is because Deep Blood is imprisoned in Misawa Cram."

Deep Blood?

Kamijou had never heard of the name before and neither did he possess any knowledge of it. However, the name itself already sounded terrifying.

"Originally, Misawa Cram seemed like they imprisoned her to be a miko. In actuality, their idea wasn't wrong. It's a viable method to use a miko as a sacrifice to summon higher class beings."

"..."

"But Deep Blood was already a target for the alchemist. Misawa Cram had simply taken her first. No, perhaps for him, it couldn't have been helped. His original plan should have been to abduct Deep Blood without any notice and proceed to escape Academy City. However, because Misawa blew it out of proportion, his plans was ruined."

"So... he forcefully took what he wanted from Misawa?"

He was like a master thief who formulated various preparations to steal something from an art gallery only to find terrorists occupying the building. The thief then would proceed to steal the painting he desired from the destructive maniacs who did not understand the value of the artwork and then finds police flooding the gallery.

Unable to do a thing, the master thief would build a barricade at the entrance and hide inside.

"Yeah. For the alchemist, it's his greatest wish to be able to get Deep Blood... or, more accurately it's the wish of for the entirety of magicians. Or maybe even the wish of the entire world."

"???" Kamijou appeared puzzled.

"It's an ability that kills a 'certain creature.' No, not only that. It offers the only possibility of capturing the creature alive to prove it exists." Kamijou still did not understand. "Well, if I have to use Christian terminology, this creature is called Cain's descendant."

Stiyl chuckled and spoke in a whisper. "Basically, they're vampires." He had finally said it.

"Are you kidding me?" Upon hearing such a word, it was Kamijou's first response. Vampires... Kamijou did not know where the legend originated from but, according to the depictions in games and manga: vampires fear crosses and sunlight, vampires die when hammered with a stake, vampires reduce to dust upon death, and those bitten by vampires become vampires.

He only knew those facts. And, for some reason, the information that Kamijou knew were from mangas and games (and fighting games at that). In reality, the Cross was useless.

"...Those that can consider it a joke are considered lucky." Stiyl gnashed his teeth and looked away. As of then, the adept flame manipulator magician seemed to fear something. "Humph. If there's a specialist that can kill vampires, it's obvious that the vampires to be killed must exist too. It's like how villains exist for the sakes of the heroes of justice. It's a vicious cycle. But, one thing I can confirm is that... well, if possible I don't want to admit it."

"...What do you mean? Do these fictional vampires actually exist?" Kamijou was still denying it in his heart.

But, the man before him was as stern as ever, unable to brush it off.

"Nobody has ever seen a vampire—" Stiyl Magnus seemed like the embodiment of self confidence as he continued in a chant-like tone. "—because everyone who did, died."

"..."

"Of course, I'm not going to just believe it so easily. The troublesome thing is that no one has seen a vampire before but Deep Blood's very existence proves vampires' existences. Nobody knows how strong they are, how many there are, where they are... No one knows, no one knows, no one knows... How can we deal with something we know nothing about?"

Stiyl continued to rant on but Kamijou, who still had not accepted the term vampire, could understand nothing. In the end, he could only think that they were dealing with hidden terrorists all over the world.

"But on the other hand, it's because no one knows about the truth behind them that there're all sorts of unknown possibility." Stiyl sneered cynically.

"Kamijou Touma, have you heard of the 'Kabbalah?"... I suppose you haven't, right?"

"...Do you think you'll hurt my pride like that?"

"Whatever. Anyways, the 'Kabbalah' represents the 'soul level' of God: Angels, humans, et cetera. Simply put, humans can climb the ranks with training. But, at some point, they'll hit a wall they can't climb."

"...You're treating me like an idiot, aren't you? What are you trying to say?"

"Is your pride hurt? What I'm trying to say is... there are some disciplines that humans can't reach no matter how much they try. But, humans do want to continue their ascent no matter what. Magicians became magicians because they want to surpass human limits. If so, what must humans do to surpass this limit?" His expression seemed like he would rip his sneer apart. "It's simple. They just need to borrow the power from something that isn't human." Kamijou could not speak.

"So-called vampires are immortal. You could rip their hearts out or stab them with a magic sword and they can continue to live like a magic tool." Stiyl easily continued. "The authenticity is unimportant. Scholars are those who would try anything with even just a tiny possibility."

In other words, whether the vampires existed was irrelevant. What was important was that some believed that they did and raised issues over it. If someone blew something up, another would have to deal with it. This was the situational crux.

"So... no one knows if vampires exist or not, right?"

It was a common occurrence to find a number of people fighting in action movies over some ancient treasure whose existence was questionable. However, it was ridiculous for such a thing to occur in real life.

"Confirming such an unknown existence is our job." Stiyl chuckled cynically. "Thus, Misawa Cram and the alchemist were serious. They really wanted to face off against a vampire and needed the ace called Deep Blood."

"..."

"Oh yeah. Do you know about Deep Blood's past? It's rumored that the girl used to live in a mountain village in Kyoto. But, one day, everyone in the village died. The last villager who reported on the case might've been in a state of disarray, fearing a monster would kill him. When the rescue arrived, all they found was an empty village caked in a white snow-like ash and a girl, absent mindedly standing there."

Ashes... It was rumored that vampires turned to ashes upon death.

"It's true that vampires are an unknown sort of existence. Deep Blood is a power that can 'kill vampires'. But if, Deep Blood wanted to kill vampires, Deep Blood has to meet vampires. As for those who want to find vampires no matter the cost, the easiest way is to catch Deep Blood. However, since Deep Blood is powerful enough to kill even vampires, how can they subdue Deep Blood? That's the question."

It was a completely supernatural discussion.

Kamijou's instinct told him it was dangerous to listen in. If he continued to listen, his common senses would become twisted. Kamijou had a premonition that, if it kept up, it may turn into an irreversible situation.

To end the conversation, Kamijou explicitly raised a suspicion. "Alright. You've told me these secrets. What do you want to say now?"

"Nn. That's right. We're short on time so let's end this quickly." Stiyl nodded twice and continued. "...Basically, I have to charge into Misawa Cram and save Deep Blood."

Kamijou nodded in response.

"Don't nod away like that. You're going with me."

...

"What? What did you just say?"

"That was an accurate description of the situation. Also, the conversation was a discussion of our battle plan. Do you still remember everything? The papers are engraved with flame runes and are due to burn up after you see them. It'll be bad if you forget."

"Hold...!"

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? Kamijou thought.

The person before him named Stiyl whose power was most suited for killing was merciless. If he was entering some enemy alchemist's stronghold, it would be unsurprising to see him tangled in a dangerous development.

"Also... one more thing." Stiyl continued. "I believe you don't have the right to refuse. If you disobey, we'll take away Index from you."

For some reason, the words carved deeply into Kamijou. His past "knowledge" was afraid. The remnants of the past Kamijou seemed to fear something.

"The mission that Necessarius gave you is for you to act as a shackle. You are a shackle that's preventing the chained Index from betraying the organization. But, if you don't do as the Church wishes, you aren't functioning as a shackle." Stiyl sighed. "Speaking of which, it'd be good for me if you Church felt you were useless. I'd really thank you if you could do it. Since broken shackles are useless, I could just take that child back."

It was a threat. If he disobeyed, Index would be taken away.

"..."

He was trembling. His heart was beating as if a wooden stake were being hammered in. Kamijou Touma had no memories and the one the girl met was the previous Kamijou Touma. It no longer had anything to do with him. The reason for his rapid heartbeat was likely because of the remnants of the last Kamijou.

But... for some reason,

"...Are you serious?"

Why did he believe with such conviction that his anxiety was a correct response?

Kamijou wondered.

It was true that Index had first met Kamijou when he had his memories and the trusts and smiles she had were not directed at the current him. Even so, it was alright. He had once seen the girl in the white room cry as she saw a battered and fatigued Kamijou.

In order to prevent her tears... Even if he had to deceive the entire world, even himself, it was alright. Kamijou swore to adhere to his own lies!

"...Humph." Stiyl detachedly looked away. His expression was the inexplicable one of an actor whose role was stolen. "If you want to settle things with me, wait till we deal with the alchemist hidden within Misawa Cram. Also, I forgot to mention, Deep Blood's name is Himegami Aisa. Here's a photo. It's best you take a look. It'd be bad if you didn't know the face of the person you're going to save."

A photo slipped out of the envelope, one that seemed powered by Stiyl's runes as well as it danced in the air and stopped in front of Kamijou.

Kamijou looked at the photo... What does the esper with this terrifying Deep Blood look like?

But, in the photo, he saw the face of the girl from the restaurant.

"Eh...?" Kamijou froze.

Perhaps the photo on a student report book or some I.D. card was enlarged because the face of Himegami Aisa was the same as the miko's.

Kamijou recalled Stiyl's words.

Originally, Misawa Cram seemed like they imprisoned her to be a miko.

He recalled the girl's previous words.

...I'm not a miko.

Then the magician's.

...A girl is imprisoned in Misawa and it's my job to save her.

Himegami Aisa's.

...They're cram school teachers.

But why? He wondered. According to Stiyl's explanation, Himegami Aisa was imprisoned in Misawa Cram. IF the miko's really Deep Blood, how can she enter a fast food restaurant to eat hamburgers?

...Train fare back home: 400 yen.

Did she escape? Kamijou considered. The only possible reason why the imprisoned Himegami Aisa would be outside is because she escaped Misawa.

...My total fortune: 300 yen.

If that were the case, it explains why she had so little cash with her. Besides, if she escaped without much money, she'd have less if she took trains and buses.

But, why was she at a fast food restaurant? He wondered. Since she escaped, how was she there?

...Spent all my money and ruined myself.

"Ah!" Suddenly, Kamijou finally remembered what she had said. What if she couldn't run any further because she ran out of funds? It's because she couldn't go any further?

And so, the girl had one final wish? The girl needed 100 yen. If she had 100 yen, could she have escaped Misawa Cram School? Who was the idiot who refused her?

...Spent all my money and ruined myself.

"Damn it..."

Additionally, Himegami conceded when she was surrounded by the cram school teachers. Obviously, she must have desired to resist. How could she be willing to return after escaping Misawa Cram School?

Any other person would have chosen to run. If escaping on her own were impossible, then she would have asked others for help. But, asking another would involve end up involving them.

"Damn it...!" Extremely unhappy about the circumstances, he was so frustrated he could not think. He was in outrage that Misawa Cram treated the girl as nonhuman and imprisoned her. He was revolting against the alchemist that snatched her and was infuriated by Stiyl who claimed that Deep Blood was the ace, the vampire deterrent.

But, the one thing that vexed Kamijou the most was the fact that Himegami Aisa had sacrificed herself for Kamijou's sake.

It was wrong. If Kamijou had handed over 100 yen, he could have changed her fate. However, the girl was actually willing to sacrifice her efforts in escaping Misawa to save the boy who returned her to despair. It was fundamentally wrong.

Though Kamijou did not know what type of "new religion" it was, he could not imagine how a captive girl would be treated. Naturally, he did not want to imagine at all.

Kamijou was supposed to adopt the pain.

On what grounds can you even... Kamijou bit his lips and the taste of blood was felt on his canines. TAKE AWAY ANOTHER PERSON'S MISFORTUNE!?!

In reality, this was the root of Kamijou's frustration, a fact that made his mind boil.

Kamijou lacked memories. However, Himegami considered her treatment as a tool as acceptable. She ignored her own pains to help others and thought it a form of happiness.

In the past, Kamijou felt he had met such a girl before. Why was the memory absent? Kamijou vexed himself.

He had to save her?

What should he have said? Kamijou Touma was going to be unable to relieve his angers unless he punched the selfish and stubborn Himegami Aisa.

Between the Lines 1

...The girl stood in the center of a sea of ashes...

One of the 13 Knight Squads of England, the 1st Lancer Squadron, was assigned the mission of "gathering enemy information before any others."

That time, the enemy territory was a mountain village located in Kyoto. They had to decipher why the mana flow had become abnormally large and eliminate any threats. Thus was their aim.

...It had been over six hours since they had lost contact with the village...

...It had been over three hours since the investigating police had disappeared...

As every member of the squad could have guessed, the village was in ruins. It was not a rare occurrence for them. England did, after all, possess the flesh and blood sacrificial altar that could search for every spiritual tool in the world.

Compared to the raging soul of some ancient emperor residing in age-old treasure, the mission was riskless.

In fact, they were only equipped with cast armor and cross-shaped spears that were not enough mass-produced holy spears. Though the cast armor were simply defenses possessing magical power that increased the bearer's mobility by 20-fold, they were still first class spiritual tools that their superiors saw as more than enough.

But, there was one thing that everyone was mindful of. The last survivor who had called had said something along the lines of "Help... me—that's not human... that's—"

Of course, nobody had believed him. The church superiors did not believe it and had not afforded the knights proper equipment.

But, the battle-hardened Knights of England felt some irritating sensation.

Though many records existed in the English National Library, none had actually seen it before let alone capture one. As this creature seemed to somehow exist, it was a mystery as to why so many refused to admit they existed.

If they admitted that the certain creatures existed, the world would have been destroyed.

The terrifying fact about them was not the power they wielded. If the power were unmatchable, humans could always improvise with something besides brute force, such as tools and weapons to succeed.

The terrifying fact about them was not their immortality. If they could not kill the enemy, they could use other means for victory. For example, they could freeze them beneath the Antarctic ice or cut up the immortal flesh into 200 pieces and place them in bottles.

These were not issues. The issue at hand was the rumored mana stores the certain creature possessed. Mana was the magic world's gasoline. It involved the refining of raw fuel like lifespan and lifeforce into something simpler to use. To humans, who from the very beginning had shortened lifespans, the power of the mana depended on the adept or inept refining methods.

However, it was different for the creature.

In essence, their original fuel, lifespan and lifeforce, could not simply be compared to a human's. Or rather, more accurately, their lifeforce was infinite so of course, the amount of magic they could use was on a completely different level. How could a handgun with limited ammunition combat an unlimited missile raid?

Thus, the members of the company laughed at their insecurities but still could not rid them completely. Like that, they passed through the mountains and reached the age-forgotten village. As they encountered the scene, their hearts felt crushed.

Around, ash was everywhere.

The seemingly age-abandoned Eastern wasteland was caked by a layer of white ash. The roofs of the huts, the earth in the fields, and the narrow channels were covered in ash.

Were the ashes... the remains of the creature?

But, that was not the truly shocking part. If they were real corpses, the number of dead was not limited to 10 or 20. By looking at the amount of ash, the members of the squadron were in disbelief.

In the middle of it all, a girl stood.

Around 5 or 6 years old, she was an Eastern black-haired girl. But, seeing the cute face of hers, the knights specializing in the elimination of radicals could not stop their hearts from beating wildly.

Among that scene of dancing ash, where the remnants of the certain creature were present, the girl was unharmed.

The wind began to blow and the ashes rose.

The ash that covered the entire wasteland scattered about except the area around the girl, as if she were in a Holy Sanctuary. It was as if the dead ashes still feared and avoided her presence.

"I..." The girl spoke. "...I... killed so many again."

It was like she was describing her everyday life.