novelDestruction of the Knights' and Princess's Defensive Line (1)
| ← Ch.136 | Ch.138 → |
Part 1
Second Princess Carissa stood in the dark forest at Folkestone.
Although, it might have been better to call it a former forest.
Tens and even hundreds of trees had been broken to pieces and blown far away by the last strike. Carissa was standing in the center of an area with upturned black soil and torn up stumps that had just barely managed to remain behind.
"Hm, I guess that was a bit too much.... But I suppose this sword guarantees the success of the revolution."
The second princess rested Curtana Original on her shoulder and gave a light sigh.
The dome-shaped explosion had not been the proper way of using Curtana. That may have been the reason the sword was lightly vibrating. It would probably subside before long, but it gave an ominous feeling that the vibrations would break the sword if she continued to use it like that.
(I guess you really should read the instructions manual and use your tools accordingly. This needs more than just emergency measures on the battlefield. I need to head back to Buckingham Palace and give it a proper tune-up. )
The carriage that had been ambushed by the mercenary William Orwell was completely gone. It had been transporting the Index Librorum Prohibitorum that possessed 103, 000 grimoires, but she had no way of checking if the girl had survived.
That grimoire library had been necessary for the evidence that the French government had been behind the Eurotunnel bombing that had started the whole incident, but...
(... Well, it has no more value than a logical pretext, so that doesn't really matter. I already have the right to control this country. Now that a war has broken out on an illogical pretext, no one's going to argue. )
With the sword that had no tip or blade still resting on her shoulder, she pulled out a cell phone with her other hand and operated it with her thumb. She chose one of the speed dial numbers in the memory and held it up to her ear.
She was calling the knights waiting in London's Buckingham Palace.
"How are things in London?"
"We have succeeded in mostly taking control of all the major British cities including the capital. The disturbances in London have ended and there is no sign of anymore reckless rioting by civilians."
"I see. It seems Knight Leader was defeated here."
"... !? Th-that's..."
"You had realized it, hadn't you? Did you want to deny it?"
Second Princess Carissa laughed. As a large amount of Telesma had been sent to the knights and Knight Leader via Curtana Original, the defeat of that leader would create a tremor in the total amount of power.
(It seems that disturbance couldn't be suppressed. )
Carissa came to that conclusion and then continued on as she didn't especially care.
"I'm going to be heading back there now. Is the Eurostar train running?"
"We just received a report that the freight train sending more personnel your way has arrived..."
The man's voice sounded somehow unreliable.
"But someone seems to have dismantled the track in various points between London and Folkestone.... Currently, it is being restored in 3 locations, but the entire 100 kilometre length of track needs to be checked over in case it was damaged elsewhere..."
"I see."
(I suppose that Asian must have gotten here by sneaking aboard the freight train. After he got through, they must not have needed the trains anymore, so they started destroying our infrastructure. )
A smile leaked out onto Carissa's face at that guerilla type of resistance.
She stared up into the starry sky.
"Then call in an Air Force helicopter patrolling nearby in Folkestone."
"But... will that really be okay? Won't that put you at risk of being targeted with anti-air spells?"
"With the amount of Telesma I have from Curtana Original, I won't die even if the helicopter falls to pieces around me in midair. What matters is getting back to Buckingham Palace as quickly as possible."
"Understood, " replied the knight."In other matters, you received a phone call from France while you were away."
"If it was just a senator, we can ignore it."
"There was one from a senator, but... this one was from the president. What should we do?"
"Just ignoring it could be interesting, but connect him through to me here. You can listen in on the side. I'll show you the diplomatic skills of the new head of state."
"Understood, " he replied again, this time with a hint of a smile behind it.
After a few seconds, the static in the transmission changed. She was now connected to someone else.
"W-we should cooperate, " said a voice right off the bat.
The voice belonged to the French president who had a frequent presence in the media.
"We should cooperate regarding the Eurotunnel terrorist attack."
"Oh, that's a lot of noise." Carissa put on a most unpleasant face despite the fact that the president could not see it."Are you on the phone in a strip club or something? I can barely hear you over all the indecent noises. How about you quit shoving bills into the dancer's stocking for a second and take this seriously?"
"Y-you're the one that needs to take this seriously!! I'm saying we need to negotiate so we can choose the option that is best for both of us!!"
"Negotiate? Wouldn't it be more appropriate for us to fight to the death? What, do you want to lick my ass or something? I won't say anything about a personal hobby, but it might have a negative effect on the next election if you let your constituents find out."
"D-don't screw around with me!! I know what you've done!!"
He must have breathed onto the receiver because actual noise entered Carissa's ear.
The increasingly cornered French president continued speaking while the second princess messed with him.
"You've dispatched a destroyer in the Strait of Dover! And it has rather large missiles loaded on it! I don't know if you are trying to threaten us, but surely you know that this is doing severe damage to the relationship between our countries!"
"Oh?" said Carissa as if she didn't care."I don't see how someone who has a nuclear submarine hidden in the Strait of Dover has any right to say that to me. It has been frequently sending and receiving coded transmissions. From the ones we have intercepted, it seems to be an exceedingly French sub and it also seems to have a nuclear missile aimed at London."
"... !?"
She had a feeling she could hear his mouth wordlessly opening and closing.
Ignoring him, Carissa continued.
"France is a nuclear power just like America and Russia. I know you had the option, but... it was just so damn blatant. Of course, there is the treaty banning them that you once borrowed the power of the Roman Catholic Church to get the EU to bring about. Did you let your guard down because you had used that treaty as a shield to rob us of nuclear weapons and the ability to develop them? Or did you just think we couldn't take it out with a single preemptive attack?"
A loud explosion was heard.
The noise was coming from a long distance away. It was far enough away that there was a discrepancy between light and sound as with distant thunder. Carissa turned her gaze in the direction of the distant sea.
"Oh, don't worry. According to the report from the destroyer, that was just a seagull."
As she spoke, Carissa swung Curtana Original lightly with the hand not holding the phone. This caused a 100 meter dimensional slice which created a large white fan-shaped piece of wreckage along the trajectory of the sword.
Carissa kicked the giant fan with a leg that held a piece of Michael's power and it flew off into the night sky. The fan rotated at high speed like a helicopter rotor as it disappeared beyond the horizon.
"... Our radars and anti-air defense weapons can detect and intercept foreign objects at that level of accuracy. The old large missiles are nothing more than targets. With mere hunks of metal that have no concealing spells cast on them, we can shoot down every single one you fire at us."
Carissa created and kicked away a second and a third giant fan.
"N-no, you've got it all wrong!! That submarine isn't ours. Coded transmissions? Those had to have been tricks intended to make the submarine look French!!"
"Well, it's true we have no proof, " readily admitted Second Princess Carissa."If you're telling the truth, I assume you won't mind if we sink this insolent submarine of unknown affiliation out of self defense as it is targeting our capital. If it really has no connection to France, you will have no reason to attempt to rescue those aboard either.... If you do attempt to interfere with this operation in any way, I will take that as confirmation that the 'submarine of unknown affiliation' is working with France."
A tremor spread across the ground.
That had not been the destroyer's weapons. It had been the noise of the giant fans Carissa had fired striking the ocean surface sinking the submarine hidden within the ocean with their enormous weight.
"Oh, did I get a hole in one? They probably shouldn't have been staying so close to the surface in order to be able to fire the missile. And they won't make it in time if they frantically try to dive now. At this rate, it won't even last a minute."
"D-damn you... !!"
"Oh, I know what to do. For every time the submarine of unknown affiliation requests help from the French navy and for every millimeter it tries to flee in the direction of France, we will fire one of the bunker cluster cruise missiles on our destroyer. The first will be aimed for Versailles, the second for Paris, and the third... oh, who cares. I can decide on that if you haven't learned your lesson after the first two.... The value of a leader is determined by how many of his people's lives he protects. With how you handled this, I'd say you're getting a failing grade."
With that, he was only able to sit by silently and watch as his trump card sank. As he listened to the screams of his comrades, all options other than merely bearing with it had been sealed.
The French president remained at a loss for words and a tone of ridicule entered Carissa's voice.
"How about you switch out with the princess at the top who is refusing to leave the cradle? This might be about the pride you gained by obtaining a parliamentary government, but no matter how many idiots gather together, they can't come up with a plan that will have any effect against us. It would be best for you if you went ahead and bowed down to the Holy Woman of Versailles and ask for her opinion.... If you don't, you will have nothing left but to be remembered as history's most incompetent president because you doomed your own country to destruction by starting a war out of your own arrogance."
Carissa heard a cry on the other end of the phone that sounded like a child throwing a tantrum, but she ignored it and hung up.
The sound of a helicopter rotor reverberated from above her head.
It was the Air Force helicopter that had been patrolling in Folkestone. An observation helicopter was basically an attack helicopter with the weapons removed and this was a very small one with a width of less than a meter. It was made for two people, so one of the pilots had likely needed to be left behind in order for Carissa to get on. Landing to let the other pilot down must have taken a bit of time, because there was no excuse for how long the helicopter had taken to get there otherwise.
Noticing Carissa, the observation helicopter stopped at about 20 meters up and slowly started to lower.
However, the second princess moved first.
She jumped 20 meters straight up into the air, grabbed the side of the helicopter with one arm, and thrust her sharp heels into its armor. As the shocked pilot watched on, she opened the door and climbed in as carefree as if she were climbing into the backseat of her private car.
"... Helicopters are convenient, but I don't like how they mess up my set hair."
Carissa, the woman who had just jumped high into the sky using the power of her own legs, looked displeased as she reached up to her hair. Folding her arms, she spoke with the tone of someone telling a driver where to go.
"Could you take me to Buckingham Palace? I have to do some work on this thing there, " Carissa said as she lightly tapped the side of Curtana Original with the back of her hand."And don't be slow. If you aren't going to be any help, I can always just bring down the helicopter and run there on my own."
Part 2
"Ow..."
Kamijou Touma awoke with a dull pain in the area of his backbone.
He was inside an old car left in the mountains near the foundation of an old ruined building. The car seemed foreign and was quite large making it look like it had bad gas mileage. However, it wasn't all too clear whether it was accurate to say he was "inside" the car. It had no roof and its doors were missing. Kamijou was lying face up in what was little more than the chassis.
Beyond where the door should have been was a dark forest. It was still the middle of the night, but his eyes must have gotten used to the darkness because he no longer saw a single shade of black. Instead, the darkness had its own type of light and darkness and color allowing him to see objects' silhouettes. For someone who lived in Tokyo like Kamijou, truly experiencing starlight was a rare thing.
(What... happened... ?)
Kamijou sat up on the sofa-like backseat and tried to sort out the information in his head.
(... Wasn't I not able to negate the second princess's attack and then got blown away way up in the sky?)
Common sense told him that there was no way he would have survived falling from a height of a few hundred meters. That was well beyond the level where something cushioning him on the ground would save him. Nevertheless, Kamijou was in one piece and didn't have any broken bones. In fact, he had nothing more than a few scratches.
And then...
"So you've finally decided to wake up? You certainly are carefree."
Kamijou turned around in the direction of the low male voice.
"Ee!? Acqua of the Back!!"
Kamijou instinctively started to bring up his guard, but his foot got caught on a part of the unstable car and he fell right back down onto the backseat.
Acqua of the Back made no attempt to enter the car.
He merely stood outside the car holding a ridiculously huge weapon as usual (although this one was different from the one he had in Academy City).
Kamijou cautiously eyed Acqua and slowly asked a question.
"You're... still alive... ?"
"Only one who attacked his enemy with the intent to kill and then gained proper evidence that he had killed the enemy should ask that question." Acqua sighed out of annoyance."To be honest, I did not expect you all to cause the power I had stored up by using the Virgin Mary Worship spell to explode from within. I was able to immediately create a bypass and release the mass of power outside my body, but that has caused my power to temporarily drop to the level of a normal Saint."
Despite normally preferring to remain silent, Acqua continued on about things Kamijou did not understand. The malice emitted along with the words made Kamijou shiver and think that Acqua might smash him to pieces right then and there.
"S-so, what happened to me after that explosion?"
"Hmph. Nothing much. I merely grabbed you in midair and landed with you."
"That doesn't sound like nothing much!!" said Kamijou in complete shock."Hm? Hey, wait a second. What about Index!? Carissa's final attack was basically an explosion in all directions, right!? What happened to the carriage she was on!?"
"Instead of asking me that, look around you and figure it out for yourself."
Acqua pointed to the side with a look of pure contempt in his eyes. Kamijou looked in that direction and saw a nun in a white habit unconscious in the passenger seat of the car.
"... You grabbed her, too?"
"Yes, but two was pretty much my limit in that situation."
He said that bluntly, but Carissa's strike had definitely been an explosion. In that instant, Acqua must have grabbed Index from the carriage, caught Kamijou in midair, and put up at least the bare minimum of a defense for himself.
(... Th-the more I hear, the less I think I can win. Actually, how the hell did I survive against such a monster back in Academy City?)
"Why... did you save me?"
"It is true that it may have been simpler to just let you die, " Acqua unhesitatingly replied."Are you aware that you are the cause of this disturbance?"
"..."
"However, the situation here is different than when I spoke with you in Academy City. Your defeat of members of the Roman Catholic Church is not the problem here. The true boss is after your right hand."
"What? Who is this 'true boss'?"
"The current leader of the alliance between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church is a man called Fiamma of the Right. This Fiamma is after your right hand and the knowledge inside Index Librorum Prohibitorum that is necessary to make proper use of it."
Acqua ignored Kamijou's confusion and continued the one-sided conversation.
"As such, pulverizing your right arm until nothing remains or destroying Index Librorum Prohibitorum's brain are possible methods of ruining Fiamma's plans."
"!?"
He didn't really understand the situation, but Kamijou's body stiffened at the imminent danger.
However, Acqua himself rejected that option.
"If I had intended to go that route, I would have abandoned the two of you and you would have died on your own."
"... Then what are you trying to do?"
"I plan to destroy the cause of this disturbance, " Acqua responded with no hesitation."However, I am aware that Imagine Breaker and Index Librorum Prohibitorum are nothing more than accessories that are closely related to the true cause. Losing the cornerstones of his plan would be a major problem for Fiamma, but there is a danger he would change his plan and begin again. There is also a danger that he will spread meaningless destruction around out of desperation.... So I have determined that I must destroy the cause behind the cause."
After saying that, Acqua turned his back on Kamijou.
With his gigantic sword in hand, the man spoke some more.
"However, it has become necessary to put a stop to a tiny dispute that is derived from the original cause. Increasing England's strength may lead to a chance to put a stop to the increase in Roman Catholic influence over Europe. As a result, this may lead to a primary factor in preventing Fiamma from carrying out his goal."
"Is there a way to stop this?"
"No petty tricks are needed. You should already be well acquainted with my methods."
"But Carissa and the knights already have control of the entirety of the United Kingdom."
"The size of the obstacle does not matter. Carissa and the knights' new order is centred around Curtana Original which makes it especially fragile."
"?"
"It is not my style to strike there. Perhaps I really should go with a completely fair and open attack, " Acqua of the Back spat out before he disappeared.
He must have left at such a high speed that Kamijou's eyes could not perceive it.
(Acqua of the Back, hm?)
Kamijou thought while he put his hand on Index's shoulder as she sat unconscious in the passenger seat.
(That man is truly a deadly enemy to have. Can he really help overturn this situation?)
Part 3
Kamijou did not know what to do to help Index, but after a bit she woke up on her own.
"Uuuhn..."
"Index! Are you okay!? Are you hurt anywhere!?"
Kamijou's face lit up.
In response, Index stirred a bit.
"... Did you save me from the knights, Touma?"
"Yeah, that's what you'd think, isn't it?" Kamijou averted his gaze."But things weren't that convenient."
Index stared at him in puzzlement for a second.
And then...
"Mh!? Did you come here with yet another strange girl... !?"
"I can see why you'd assume so, but fate was not so kind to me!!" Kamijou denied the claim with a shout."I'm glad to see you're your usual self."
"Touma, I want a midnight snack."
"And now you're a little too much back to normal."
"?"
With Kamijou finally relieved and Index puzzled, the two of them wandered through the dark forest a bit until they met up with some Amakusa members. It hadn't been pure coincidence. The Amakusas had detected the giant explosion Second Princess Carissa had created and were covertly searching through the area so she wouldn't notice.
Their temporary base was the large rescue plane that could take off and land on water. With Kamijou and Index onboard, the plane raced along a narrow river at a speed that would cause even an expert pilot to pale in order to take off into the night sky.
The plane had looked big on the outside, but it felt cramped with over 50 people onboard. As it flew, Tatemiya Saiji spoke to Kamijou.
"It seems Second Princess Carissa used an Air Force helicopter to head for Buckingham Palace."
Kamijou felt like he could hear voices from farther back in the plane yelling "Itsuwa, go! This is your chance!!", "I-I can't. I still reek of alcohol!!", and "You're just imagining it! That was hours and hours ago!!", but Tatemiya pleasantly stood in the way.
"To quell the coup d'etat, we have to do something about the second princess. Fortunately, the physical body Carissa was born with is not special like that of a Saint as with the Priestess. The core of the coup d'etat is Curtana Original. If we can just destroy that, Carissa will lose all of her power."
Upon hearing the word "Priestess", Kamijou looked over at Kanzaki Kaori.
She was sitting with her back resting on the wall of the airplane. She had bandages wrapped around her in places and her exposed skin was covered in bruises. When Kanzaki noticed Kamijou's gaze, her ponytailed head apologetically lowered slightly.
"... I am sorry. The former Agnese Forces and Sherry Cromwell are currently battling the knights and normally I would be doing so too, but... as you can see, I have been defeated. My strength is being restored, but it may take some time before I can move again."
"No, that's fine... But are you okay?"
"I wish I could tell you that this wasn't a problem."
Kanzaki's slightly torn up lips loosened up a bit and seemed to form a smile. She gave a look in Tatemiya's direction and he gave a small nod and began speaking again.
He spoke about what Kamijou had told them Acqua had said.
"If it's true that Acqua defeated Knight Leader who was such a major obstacle for us, this may have actually turned in our favor."
"... Yeah, but Acqua is a member of God's Right Seat. Also, that's just what he told me. I didn't actually see him defeat Knight Leader. Shouldn't we keep in mind that he could have told us that as part of some plan?"
"One of our scouts has confirmed that those two really seemed to be fighting at Folkestone. Since Acqua is freely moving around, it's only natural to assume for now that the head of the knights was defeated."
They of course could not abandon the possibility that even that was part of some trap, but that was why Tatemiya had said "for now".
Kamijou thought for a bit.
"If what Acqua is saying is true...."
"Then all that's left is Second Princess Carissa and Curtana Original.... She is the most troublesome enemy, though."
However, the problem would not be resolved if they did not do something about her.
Kanzaki then cut into the conversation.
"What happened to Queen Elizard and the head of the church, Laura Stuart?"
"We haven't received any report regarding that. According to the knights' communications network, they at least attempted to escape while being transported from Windsor Castle to London, but we don't know what happened to them after that, " Tatemiya replied to Kanzaki with a bitter expression.
Kamijou looked at their faces.
"That queen seemed like she really knew what she was doing. Do you think she has some secret plan to turn this all around in one shot?"
"With her ability, we can hope for that kind of direct battle ability, but even if she does not have such a plan, her mere existence is very valuable both in domestic affairs and in diplomatic affairs.... The real way to defeat Carissa's new order may actually lie there."
"?"
As Kamijou looked on in puzzlement, Tatemiya spoke as if to bring that aspect of the discussion to a close.
"Anyway, we need to defeat Second Princess Carissa in order to bring this coup d'etat to an end as quickly as possible. To do that, we need to prevent her from using Curtana Original."
They might be able to pull off destroying the spiritual item known as Curtana Original since they had Kamijou's right hand.
"But she's inside Buckingham Palace, right? With London, as well as the rest of the country, under the knights' control, can we really break into a tightly guarded palace?"
"Trying to break into the front door of Buckingham Palace right now would be like directly taking on a country's entire army. However, we may be able to sneak into London."
"?"
"Quite a few subway lines run underneath London, but one of them is the Victoria line. That line runs almost directly beneath Buckingham Palace. Using that, we can still make some trouble just by getting to a nearby subway station and not actually entering the grounds of Buckingham Palace."
Tatemiya stopped speaking for a bit and then started again on a slightly different topic.
"Why do you think Second Princess Carissa returned to Buckingham Palace?"
"Huh? She doesn't want the coup d'etat to be defeated easily, right? So she's probably just returning to the fortress with the strongest security."
"Curtana Original has tremendous power and Buckingham Palace does not currently have any defensive magical spells cast on it. She isn't someone who would be easily defeated if she was on her own, and if she were holing up for safety, she would have chosen a place with more magical security like Windsor Castle."
"Then why? I doubt she would go there for no reason. Is there governmental value behind orders that come from London or something?"
"Well, I suppose there could be some kind of message like that, but there is a more direct reason. That reason is Curtana Original."
"What does that sword have to do with it?"
"Curtana Original is too strong. It may be limited to within this country, but it uses power that rivals that of the leader of the angels. But that creates a certain concern. Curtana Original possesses the power to utterly destroy an external enemy, but if a mistake is made in controlling the power and the user loses control, the first one it will annihilate is the user herself."
"I see, " Kamijou muttered.
Tatemiya looked at his expression and nodded once.
"Of course, whether it's the Original or the Second, only a British queen or princess can wield Curtana. Those aren't people who can be allowed to die, so a large facility is needed to suppress its power if its power is headed out of control. The facility for preventing Curtana's power from getting out of hand and creating an explosion was built into Buckingham Palace because that is where they stay for the majority of the year."
"Curtana Original was once lost to history and Curtana Second was used instead. The cause of its disappearance is said to be the Puritan Revolution, but if Curtana's power truly was perfect, that revolution would not have succeeded because Curtana would have slaughtered all resistance. Since that didn't happen..."
"Curtana Original's power went out of control once in the past... ?"
They were merely building suppositions upon suppositions, but according to Tatemiya, Third Princess Villian had given affirmation to some of their suppositions.
"As such, it sounds pretty likely that they would have planned a way to prevent that from happening again. After all, having no means of prevention led to an opening that allowed a revolution to form."
Kanzaki continued where Tatemiya left off.
"If there is a large facility that gives and receives energy with Curtana Original, it may interfere with Curtana Original by reversing the flow of the magic power. That is our theory at any rate. Now that Carissa has entered Buckingham Palace in order to stabilize Curtana Original, we have a real chance to send it out of control making it unusable."
As long as she couldn't use Curtana Original, the second princess's power would fall to the level of a normal human.
The knights would also lose the tremendous power they had within the country.
"The union between Carissa and the knights is not all that strong. After all, the knights are led by someone other than her, Knight Leader."
"? But he started this coup d'etat with her, right?"
"That was because the knights had determined that Carissa's new order was the most beneficial path for England. It also means that the knights will mercilessly turn their backs on the second princess if they determine that continuing to follow her would be disadvantageous for England. In other words..."
"Whether she can use Curtana Original or not is directly linked to the success or failure of this massive coup d'etat... ?"
That vision caused Kamijou's face to brighten, but the brightness suddenly left.
"Wait. But I thought Buckingham Palace didn't have any magical devices in it? You all said something about causing diplomatic problems when guests sensed something magical and mistook it for being invited into a trap."
"That is what the subway is for, " replied Kanzaki immediately."It is true that there are no magical devices in Buckingham Palace during times of peace, but a subway line runs beneath the palace. A special railroad car with a magic circle on it is kept in an area branching off from the normal track. The special car is set up so it can be promptly taken to the area directly below Buckingham Palace when Curtana Original is headed out of control."
It was true that, using this method, one could say that there were no magical devices within the grounds of Buckingham Palace and still be technically telling the truth. The Amakusas guessed that it may have originally been installed on a large carriage that would be left on the palace grounds, but had been moved over to the subway system at some point.
Curtana Original had been missing for a few hundred years, so the safety device that used the subway system must have been created for Curtana Second. However, it wouldn't be surprising if Second Princess Carissa was planning to use that safety device since it was for another Curtana-type spiritual item.
"Currently, the Anglican Church is communicating with the air fortress Coven Compass. They are taking preparations to use Coven Compass's large scale flash spell to use a large amount of magic power to forcibly interfere with Curtana Original via the subway in an attempt to send it out of control." Kanzaki seemed to be carefully choosing her words as she continued."There is a distance greater than 500 kilometers between Coven Compass and Buckingham Palace, but hidden members of the Anglican Church are setting up spiritual items to act as 'relay points' in 10 places along the way. They will be arranged to guide the massive amount of magical power. If it succeeds, it is possible that that dangerous sword will be made unusable or at least severely weakened."
"So we're headed to London so we can attack Buckingham Palace once usage of Curtana Original has been sealed?"
"There is that, but..." Kanzaki seemed oddly hesitant.
Tatemiya felt like he had no choice but to break in and continue for her.
"If you remember, she said that the special railroad car used to bring Curtana back under control is kept in an area branching off from the normal track."
"Yeah, and?"
"Apparently, the point where it branches off is protected by a magical barrier, so it normally looks just like a normal wall. That means we need to destroy that barrier and secure the route."
"I see, " said Kamijou looking down at his right hand.
He knew what he had to do more or less.
"Basically, we have to get to a subway station near Buckingham Palace on our own and then I destroy that barrier in the tunnel with my right hand?"
"There is still one problem with that."
"?"
"Some new security measures have been put up within London. And they are especially sensitive to magic. To put it simply, it will immediately detect anyone wandering around if they have magic power. Their location will be displayed on a map and fully armed knights will be on them almost instantly. Basically, this means that magicians who can refine their own magic power cannot take part in this plan."
"Eh? Then..."
Kamijou stared back at Tatemiya and Kanzaki's faces as if he thought he had misheard, but Tatemiya and even Kanzaki averted their gaze.
"... U-um. People who cannot refine their own magic power at all are weak civilian-level people. In other words, you and Index are the only people who can fight here."
Even if she averted her gaze, Kanzaki still said what had to be said.
Ahead of her averted gaze was Third Princess Villian.
"Without a member of the Royal Family like Lady Villian you cannot interfere with the magical barrier within the subway tunnel or the special railway car with the magic circle. Consequently, we have no choice but to rely on the three of you for this."
Part 4
And so they ended up breaking into the center of enemy territory.
Kamijou, Index, and Villian were in a high class residential area in western London called Kensington and moving east.
However, they were not on foot.
London was a few dozen kilometers across, so they couldn't exactly walk to their destination. They were moving along a vacant street in a small car being driven by Third Princess Villian. Kamijou found it incredibly odd to see the kind of princess one saw in picture books holding the steering wheel.
"... Even if I am a princess, I'm not that sheltered, " was the 24 year old princess's explanation.
Kamijou also felt really bad about having an actual princess drive him around, but neither he nor Index knew how to drive.
They were headed for a subway station at the center of London near Buckingham Palace. Even if they didn't have to get on the palace grounds, they still had to get very, very close, so they were in a dangerous situation.
Apparently, there were hundreds of thousands of security cameras set up throughout London, but according to Tatemiya and the others waiting in the rescue plane that had landed on a street, those cameras were not functioning.
"Anyone who can use magic would move through the blind spots of the cameras or use spells to prevent themselves from being recorded by the cameras, so it seems Second Princess Carissa decided they were too much trouble since she already had almost complete control of the country. She most likely ordered the three major security companies in the city to stop the cameras."
"If you know the cameras have stopped functioning, have you stolen the footage from the security companies? Are you that good with science-side security?"
"No, we just observed them from a long distance with binoculars. The security cameras have auto-focus, but there was no sign of it moving. That means they aren't functioning. It's similar to a human sitting there with his pupils completely dilated."
They had analyzed the situation in an extremely analog way, but Tatemiya and the rest of the Amakusas had probably been right. The magic cabal known as New Light had snuck through the blind spots of the cameras and into London, but an amateur like Kamijou couldn't do something like that and Index knew almost nothing of science. They had been travelling through side streets and back alleys, but if the security network made up by the cameras had been functioning, they would have been caught in no time.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Kamijou spoke while staring at the unmoving cameras placed along the street.
"But won't the knights notice us if we move along these empty streets with an engine making all this noise?"
"We'll be fine, " responded Index from the backseat."Currently, the knights are staying on their guard by using magic. Instead of relying on their own senses, they have created a defense network that uses senses augmented by spells. Even if there are a lot of them, they still have to cover dozens of kilometers worth of ground covering all of London.... But if we magically use what they're doing against them, we can make it so they won't notice us even if we're right in front of them."
Kamijou was glad to have the knowledge of the 103, 000 book grimoire library, but then he realized something.
"Wait a second, Index. How do you know what kind of magic the knights are currently using?"
"Eh? Because they're on top of that building over there."
"Wah!?"
Kamijou hurriedly looked over in the direction Index was pointing and saw some dark figures on top of the building. However, the silver armor-wearing silhouettes didn't notice them and jumped over to a different building.
(With so few people around, I can't believe they don't hear the sound of the engine... )
Apparently, relying too much on magic had its drawbacks.
Nevertheless, if Index weren't occasionally giving Villian (seemingly) arbitrary instructions such as "turn there and move slowly", they probably would have been caught in an instant.
"So are the Royal Family and the knights not using the military or the police?"
"I would guess they're being used to deal with the civilians. According to the Amakusas, the normal people have been gathered up in large facilities like hotels and theaters. And if you're going to get people to listen to what some unknown person is telling them, they probably wanted to avoid using difficult to understand magic."
When Kamijou thought about it, he decided that pointing a gun at someone would indeed be much more effective than pointing some type of unknown staff or crystal ball at them. Of course, firing off a warning shot with the magic would change that, but they probably wanted to avoid having to fire that much if they didn't have to.
(Even so... )
As Kamijou stared at the empty London scenery from the passenger seat, his eyes suddenly moved in Villian's direction as she operated the steering wheel.
She was a blonde woman with white skin dressed in a green dress that looked straight out of a picture book. She was no more other-worldly than Index, but the two clearly had a very different feel to them. Index would go running headlong into even a foreign culture like science while Villian gave the impression that she would simply disappear were her delicate surroundings not maintained like an alpine plant quietly producing flowers.
Villian noticed Kamijou's gaze.
"Do you need something?"
"N-no..." Kamijou shook his head.
Before they had left, Kanzaki and Tatemiya had told him that inadvertently flipping up her skirt would be lèse majesté because she had the blood of the British Royal Family flowing in her veins, but Kamijou hadn't understood what they were talking about.
"Come to think of it, they said that anyone who could refine their own magic power would be detected by Carissa and the knights, right?"
"Y-yes." Villian awkwardly twisted up her body within the green dress as if she were attempting to escape Kamijou's gaze."I am very sorry. I know I should have learned that kind of thing as a member of the Royal Family, but I refused to be taught any knowledge or skills that could be used as a weapon. All I can do is operate already activated spiritual items by touching them. My sister Carissa is attempting to eliminate me because of the possibility that I could use Curtana Original, but I would not be able to use it even if it was handed to me."
"Huh? Don't we need a member of the Royal Family to get through the barrier in the subway?"
"Yes... If only my mother or my sister Rimea were here... With someone as inexperienced as me, I might not be able to do it right even with the help of Index Librorum Prohibitorum..."
"I-I don't think you need to get so down! In fact, I don't get why it would be necessary for a queen to know how to use magic!!"
"... Really? It seems the normal servants, maids, cooks, and gardeners in Buckingham Palace have headed down into the subway tunnel for this plan. If only I had a better way of protecting everyone without violence, I wouldn't have had to head to such a dangerous place with you two."
Villian looked quite discouraged. It seemed not being able to directly help fight the coup d'etat had taken its toll on her.
Kamijou forced his gaze back to London in an attempt to somehow change the subject.
"Y'know... the back alleys here sure are different from the ones in Academy City."
"Touma. Being a connoisseur of back alleys isn't something to be proud of."
"I never said anything about being proud of it, " replied Touma."Anyway, I know we have to do something about Carissa and keep her from using Curtana Original, but will taking out the top boss really put an end to such a large scale coup d'etat? I'm a bit worried this will just end up turning into a long and drawn out fight."
London was not the only place that had changed. Almost all of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland were under the control of the knights led by Second Princess Carissa. Kamijou wasn't confident that taking out a single pillar of a problem that had spread so far would really bring everything back to normal.
"I think that the coup d'etat will come to an end if we stop Carissa, " replied Third Princess Villian timidly.
"?"
Villian frowned at Kamijou's puzzled expression.
"There are actually many different types of coups d'etat, but I think the odds of this one turning into a long drawn out war because its leader is lost are quite low."
Index nodded and added to what Villian had been hesitatingly saying.
"The Amakusas have been intercepting the knights' transmissions. Apparently, a disturbance has been spreading throughout the knights due to Knight Leader's defeat. To the participants in the coup d'etat, Knight Leader and the second princess are like mental pillars of support. Now, one of those has been completely broken down. So if the remaining pillar is destroyed, the knights' determination will simply collapse."
"... Don't you think that most of them will be unsure of what to do once the very people urging them to take part in the plan have been defeated?" asked Villian.
(She may be right. )
"Also, the roles of the United Kingdom are divided up between the three factions of the Royal Family, the knights, and the church. That can also be used to put a stop to the coup d'etat, " continued Index.
"How?"
"Because the diplomatic relations with other countries are single-handedly done by the Royal Family. In other words, the knights excel at directly fighting, but they have no way of negotiating with other countries. Most likely, the only ones in the coup d'etat that can deal equally on a national level are Second Princess Carissa and Knight Leader because he acts as an advisor in those matters."
"But will they really lay down their arms because of that? Once they realize they don't know what to do, isn't it possible the knights will just go on a rampage or something?"
"I have no way of being sure, but I highly doubt that would happen. The knights' goal is to protect England. They joined the second princess's coup d'etat because they deemed it to be the most effective method of doing that.... But once they lose Carissa, they should realize that continuing with the coup d'etat would catastrophically damage the country, so they should sheathe their swords at that point. They should determine that sheathing their swords would be the path that would damage England the least."
"..."
Kamijou remained silent for a second and then looked over at Index.
"Hearing this kind of thing from Kanzaki or Itsuwa or someone is one thing, but hearing it from you, it just doesn't seem to have much credibility, " he said slowly.
"... Touma. By any chance, do you think I'm completely hopeless at anything other than magic?"
Kamijou was about to point out that all she ever did was eat, sleep, and watch TV, but he realized that would only lead to a chomp to the back of the head, so he opted to remain silent.
During their discussion, they had gotten close to their destination the subway station.
"Stop. A car engine is probably too much now that we're this close to Buckingham Palace."
At Index's insistence, Villian stopped the small car in the alley. The three got out of the vehicle and looked around the area.
Despite it being almost two in the morning, the complete lack of people was unusual for a capital city like London. There was no one on the walkways and no cars driving down the road. Before Kamijou had headed to Folkestone, there had been residents looking on being pushed back by the police, but those disturbances had completely disappeared. The battles on the streets between the knights and the church had been at least temporarily brought to an end and the residents had been suppressed, so the knights were probably stationed throughout London so they could respond quickly to any complications.
Kamijou looked around, but he didn't see any knights.
In fact, he didn't even sense any human presences in the direction of Buckingham Palace beyond the subway station.
"?"
Suddenly, something soft wrapped around Kamijou's right hand.
Looking back that way, he saw Villian's small glove-covered hands covering up his own hand. Her gloves were not unfashionable ones to help with the cold. They were the elegant decorative gloves that royalty and nobles wore.
"... Please do not enter the palace grounds, " she said softly looking up at his face."I don't know much about magic, so I don't know if it's true, but I have heard my sister Carissa boasting about being able to accurately detect the number of bugs on a group of trees with her search."
"U-umm... sure, " Kamijou said as he nodded repeatedly.
Even through the thin silk gloves, Kamijou could feel a soft marshmallow-like sensation that was clearly different to a rough male hand. It seemed Villian did not notice his odd reaction at all.
Glaring at him coldly, Index added to Villian's words.
"Most likely, the knights are using sniping spells to continually scan the area from the windows and the roof. It's probably a wide area version of a spell used to assist with Robin Hood."
Kamijou was about to head for the subway station, but he stopped moving immediately after hearing that.
"Then will it be dangerous to just head to the station from here?"
"We can slip through the gaps in the search. Follow me, " said Index as she moved inconspicuously out from behind the cover. There wasn't really anything there, but she took unnatural detours around areas of empty space on her way to the station as if she were avoiding invisible searchlights. Following her, Kamijou and Villian had no idea what they were avoiding, so they were about as uneasy as they could be.
Finally, the three of them reached the subway station.
Heading down the stairs, Index finally let out a sigh of relief.
"We should be fine here."
"... I have no idea what just happened, but should I be thanking you?"
"That would be nice, but what do we do about this?"
Kamijou looked up in puzzlement and Index politely pointed in front of her.
"There's some kind of wall with clicky things on it in the way."
"..."
Okay, everyone. Let's translate that from Index language☆
There's a shutter with an electronic lock blocking the way. What do we do?
Part 5
That day was only a half day of school!!
As such, Misaka Mikoto, ace of Tokiwadai Middle School, a prestigious esper development school, was in a family restaurant. The time was just before 11 AM. It wasn't quite time for lunch yet, so there weren't many customers. Mikoto was eating an early lunch before she planned to head back to Tokiwadai.
She was going to head back because they were preparing for Academy City's largest cultural festival, the Ichihanaransai. The event was going to have an open campus, so it was going to be open to those from outside like the large-scale sports festival, the Daihaseisai. On the other hand, the more prestigious the school the more visitors hoping to someday get into the school would come, so the schools get rather fired up preparing for it.
Of course, Tokiwadai Middle School would be partially open to the public during the Ichihanaransai, so Mikoto couldn't slack off.
(But... )
Mikoto cut the large Salisbury steak on the iron plate in front of her into small bite size pieces.
(What's with this restaurant? This is the first time I've been here, but is this the land of large breasts or something... ?)
As she looked around, she went straight past frustration and into shock.
It seemed the restaurant was geographically located in an area where more high school students came than middle school students. She saw a girl in a sailor uniform with long black hair, a large forehead, and large breasts (next to her was a girl whose breasts weren't particularly big who would have looked good dressed like a shrine maiden) and there was a woman who appeared to be a PE teacher who was wearing a green track suit and had ridiculously large breasts. And to top it all off, there was a girl with glasses and huge breasts sitting in a seat by the window who seemed to actually be a hologram. She may have been some new kind of fake customer to draw in real customers that was created with a type of psychic power, but Mikoto didn't see why they had to make the breasts so big.
(Hm? Wait. If almost everyone here has such a clear bodily characteristic, maybe something in the food here makes your breasts grow!! I-if that's true, this is a Nobel Prize level discovery!!)
Having gotten back to a positive mindset, Mikoto started putting the Salisbury steak into her mouth at a faster rate than before.
Suddenly, her cell phone that she had left on the edge of the table started to vibrate.
Right before the vibrations sent it off the edge of the table, Mikoto grabbed the phone.
(Kuroko wouldn't be calling at this time... )
Mikoto opened the phone and almost fell out of her seat upon seeing the number displayed on the small screen.
It was that idiot with the spiky hair.
"Mgh!? Cough cough cough!!"
Mikoto started choking from the shock.
(Wh-why!? What for!? That idiot pretty much never calls me... Dah! If he had just emailed me beforehand with what he wanted, I wouldn't be this frantic... No, that wouldn't work. Then I'd just be too nervous to open the email!!)
As she thought through all that, Mikoto was trembling uncontrollably, but she couldn't bring herself to just hang up either. Using the call history to call him back would be too high a hurdle for her. Mikoto used her trembling thumb to hit the connect button.
(Th-that's right. Today is a half day all across Academy City, so he must have a lot of free time! I can't skip out on the Ichihanaransai preparations, but if I manage my time well, I have a bit of free time... )
For some reason, she held the cell phone in both hands and brought it up to her ear in a refined manner that she normally did not use. With her mind in complete chaos, the first words that reached her ear were...
"Sorry, Misaka! I'm trying to sneak into a subway station. Do you know how to open a shutter's electronic lock!?"
".......................................................... ."
Misaka Mikoto removed the cell phone from her ear, sighed loudly, and calmly hung up.
She put the phone back on the table and started back on the giant Salisbury steak, but then the small vibrations of the phone started again.
She took a sip of her non-sugar latte and elegantly wiped her lips with a napkin before finally reaching over for the cell phone again.
"Sorry, Misaka! I'm trying to sneak into a subway station. Do you-... !?"
"I heard you the first time and decided to ignore you, you idiot!! Are you really that clueless!?" she yelled as loudly as she could before returning to a normal puzzled expression."And why do you have to sneak into a subway station? Do you need to get in somewhere that only station personnel are allowed?"
"No, no. There's a shutter lowered over the entrance and I need to get in. Well, the shutter isn't too surprising. This is an emergency situation and the last train would have already run by this point normally."
"Hah? The last train?"
Mikoto's expression passed puzzled and reached suspicious.
The time was only 11 AM. She had never heard of a line that had its last train before noon.
Then he seemed to realize what had her so puzzled.
"Oh, I see, I see. So there's a time difference. Sorry, Misaka, were you in class?"
"No, that was fine, but... no, wait just a second. Where the hell are you that there's a time difference?"
"London."
Mikoto almost hung up again at that answer.
That clearly couldn't be true. She looked over at the giant flat-panel screen on the wall of the family restaurant. The screen showed foreign news crews reporting the same things over and over again while standing in complete darkness. The people of central London had been moved to large facilities like hotels, theaters, movie theaters, and churches. They weren't even allowed to stay in their own homes. It almost sounded like a joke, but it had been reported that civilians would be fired upon if they left the specified buildings and facilities. England itself had not made an official announcement regarding the situation, but the theory that a coup d'etat had occurred seemed the most likely.
(But didn't he go to France before... ?)
For an instant, Mikoto was seized with an ominous feeling, but she shook her head to clear it.
That kind of thing couldn't just keep happening.
"Do you even know how much trouble the formalities for leaving Academy City are? Even the procedure for Academy City authorized events like wide area public visits is a pain to go through."
"Yeah, well, I really am in London."
He must have been having problems of his own, because she could hear the sound of him lightly scratching at his head over the phone.
"And I'm serious about having to do something about this shutter..."
"I don't know what you've gotten yourself wrapped up in, but that isn't something you should ask a girl."
In response to her exasperated response, she just heard him groan over the phone for a bit.
Then Kamijou Touma spoke a single short sentence in a careless way.
"... You can't do it?"
"I didn't say that, " Mikoto replied without thinking.
Part 6
"Hmm, that would be a Marvelous Lock 225 Passive. Remove two of the clasps below the panel and the maintenance jack should come out."
Five seconds after sending a cell phone picture of the electronic lock's panel to Mikoto, she had given that response.
"Uuh..." Kamijou responded in shock at her immediate comment."Hey, isn't technology outside Academy City 20 or 30 years off from the technology inside? Do you really know about the stuff from outside, too?"
"Marvelous Lock is a company that cooperates with Academy City, so the technology used is the same just with lowered specs, " Mikoto said lightly."I wouldn't know exactly what to do with a lock that was solely developed outside, but I'm not saying I wouldn't be able to open it either. After all, the technology would be at a level of 20 to 30 years ago. Even the security in a military research facility outside of Academy City would be lower than the login management on a completely outdated computer in Academy City."
"... And I can't even open a padlock."
"Well, you're at the technological level of the Edo period."
As they spoke back and forth, Kamijou operated the electronic lock's panel as instructed.
"I know I'm the one that asked you... but you really do know what you're doing with this kind of thing, don't you?"
"D-don't misunderstand. I only taught myself all this to make sure I didn't interfere with the functioning of an electronic lock if my power were to malfunction. It isn't like I want to be a sneak thief or a cracker or something."
"Hey, do you think you could tell me what to do a little more slowly?"
His fingertips were moving all over the place while he also used a handkerchief to make sure he didn't get any fingerprints on it, but he just couldn't keep up with what she was telling him.
Then he heard a noise from within the lock followed by the shutter clattering as it rose. It may have been because there was no one on the street outside, but the noise seemed especially loud. This brought a bad feeling to Kamijou and Index's hearts, but it seemed the knights didn't hear it.
"It opened! Thanks, Misaka!"
"Okay, but you owe me one now."
"Sure thing. Anyway, I'm in a hurry!"
"Eh? Wait! With the Ichihanaransai preparations, we're going to be having more half days, right? So, um, if I manage my time, I'll have a lot of time to kill and-... !"
She had started to say something quickly, but the connection had suddenly died. Kamijou looked down at the screen questioningly and saw that the antenna had zero signal.
(... Well, if it was something important, she can just call me back later. )
Kamijou put the phone back in his pocket. They had to enter the subway tunnel through the station and destroy the magical barrier with Villian's help.
Villian herself was staring at the opened shutter with one hand on her cheek and a look of pure admiration in her eyes.
"That's the city on the forefront of technology for you... You can even do that with just some help from a friend."
"Y-yes, well, she is the #3 Biri Biri, so she's pretty reliable with this kind of thing.... Hey, Index, why do you look so upset?"
"... No reason, " responded Index before she finally started moving and walked up next to Kamijou.
However, she decided to add in a light kick to Kamijou's shin as a bonus.
(??? What's with that pissed off aura?)
Kamijou was full of questions, but Index's aura told him that a careless response could send her into an explosion of biting, so he didn't say anything more.
Kamijou turned his gaze forward.
The shutter was supposed to be lowered, so there were no lights on within the station. However, the occasional light to an emergency exit or evacuation route kept the area from being completely dark. Those lights were installed directly on the floor, so it felt like they could walk through the passageway without a flashlight.
After heading forward a bit, Kamijou turned back around.
(... Come to think of it, maybe we should close the shutter again. )
He then remembered that he didn't know how to open or close it. He would have to call Mikoto to close it and then call her again when they were escaping.
"What is it?"
"Nothing.... Yeah, if we run into trouble in the tunnel and have to flee, we won't have time to ask Misaka for help."
"?"
Villian tilted her head in puzzlement, but Kamijou didn't say anything more on the matter.
As they headed down the stairs to the subway platform, there was still no sign of anyone else there. Kamijou wasn't really an expert at detecting hidden enemies, but the area was wrapped in such silence, that it felt like he would hear even the breathing of an enemy if one was hidden there.
Kamijou, Index, and Villian continued in the opposite direction than the one indicated by the lights for the emergency exits and evacuation routes.
After making it down to the platform, they finally saw the glow of fluorescent lights.
However, these were not the lights on the ceiling. The tunnel and the station must have been on different electrical systems because only the fluorescent lights on the tunnel wall past the platform were lit.
Of course, that wasn't enough light to illuminate the entire platform.
It was like a hospital after lights out.
Kamijou leaned forward from the edge of the platform and looked into the tunnel with fluorescent lights installed at set intervals.
"I know its past time for the last train, but I still don't like jumping down there..."
However, they couldn't just stop there.
Kamijou and Index climbed down onto the track, but Villian didn't seem able to get down easily due to her long princess's skirt getting in the way. To help support her, Kamijou held out his hands, but she unexpectedly put her entire weight on them causing him to topple over onto the track.
"S-sorry. I don't know the proper etiquette for situations like this..."
"D-d-d-d-don't worry!! And I doubt there's a Q&A or a lesson in manners school to teach you how to climb down from a subway platform!! But it would probably be best if you got away from me a bit, Lady Villian!!"
"Touma, that's lèse majesté."
Index's cold words pierced Kamijou's heart and Villian apologized profusely as she hurriedly moved off of him.
Kamijou stood back up and looked deep into the tunnel.
It seemed the point the Amakusas had designated was only a few dozen meters down. However, it was in the opposite direction of Buckingham Palace.
"This way?"
"Yes. I have heard of it, but I have never actually seen it, " Villian said with a slightly tense expression on her face.
That was when Kamijou and the others heard footsteps from behind.
"!?"
The three of them hurriedly turned around.
(The knights... !?)
For an instant, he was reminded of the New Light magician Lessar whose shoulder had been split from a long distance attack. He wasn't sure if he could defend against that type of spiritual item with just his right hand.
However, his guess had been wrong. Kamijou had taken up a position to protect both Index and Villian, but the princess spoke from behind him.
"P-please wait! They are not our enemy. Those are the servants from Buckingham Palace who had planned to meet up with us."
"... That voice. Lady Villian... ?" asked a questioning voice.
Perhaps because Villian had just spoken to Kamijou in Japanese, the voice coming from the darkness was also speaking Japanese.
A number of other figures started to appear. Almost 20 men and women had come to the station via the tunnel. From an old man in faded work clothes to a girl wearing a maid uniform, it was a varied group.
Villian moved past Kamijou and looked at each of their faces.
"Is this everyone?"
A maid of about 20 nodded.
"The numbers of the night shift are kept low and some of those, well... accompanied you to Folkestone. This is everyone who was in Buckingham Palace of a civilian background."
"I see..."
Villian's expression grew cloudy at the mention of Folkestone.
As she did not open her mouth to speak, Kamijou did instead.
"You all are going to escape to London with us after this, right?"
"Yes. We wish we could deal with the device within the tunnel so Lady Villian did not have to worry about it, but we don't understand how the mysterious things known as magic work and we aren't told any of the Royal Family's secrets. We asked to help knowing full well how dangerous it is."
"I see, " Kamijou said and nodded.
(In that case, we need to hurry up and get this job over with and get them somewhere safe. )
Kamijou then headed into the tunnel in the opposite direction from Buckingham Palace where their target lay a few dozen meters in.
The group of over 20 people walked through the tunnel half holding their breath.
As usual, both walls were made of concrete with fluorescent lights installed at set intervals. There were 2 tracks on both sides and the pillars supporting the tunnel were lined up at set intervals in the center.
"According to Tatemiya and Kanzaki, there's a track that branches off from the main track for the special railway car, but..."
Kamijou looked around.
As far as he could tell, no such entrance existed.
With an unsure expression on her face, Villian looked around, too.
"This is definitely the area."
"You can tell?"
"No, um... This is at least where it should be."
Villian's tone grew weaker and weaker, but then Index cut in.
"There is a mark here made with magic power. It's most likely here so the magicians who have to maintain it won't forget where it is."
"Th-that's right. Now that you mention it, there is supposed to be a mark showing where it is. Umm... I need something to write with..."
| ← Ch. 136 | Ch. 138 → |