Toaru Majutsu no Index SP c1
Stiyl Magnus[edit]
Part 1[edit]
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The darkness smelled of something burning.
The location was a small city in Siberia.
A slight crackling sound reverberated through the city at night. Orange flames seemed to wipe away the darkness in places. Things were not burning normally. The streets, the streetlights, the benches, the vending machines…regardless of what it was, bright flames were scattered around on them as if the flames were a sticky mud.
“Really…” sighed Stiyl Magnus.
The cigarette at the edge of his mouth glowed brighter from the additional oxygen.
He had shoulder-length hair dyed red, earrings in his ears, silver rings on all 10 of his fingers, and a barcode pattern tattoo under his right eye. He also smelled of perfume and cigarettes, so no one would have thought that large British man was a priest. They would have still doubted it even though he was wearing a priest’s habit and could shut his eyes and recite the Bible from memory.
And…
(I head out all over the world, but it’s always the jobs like this I end up with.)
The bottom of his shoe trampled on something hard.
It was a human face burned black to the extent that not even the expression could be read.
It looked like a failed attempt at making a cookie. There was not even the slightest moist feeling in the portions that were split open.
“Now then…”
Stiyl stuck an arm into his habit and pulled out a small schedule book.
He opened it and brought the hand holding his cigarette close in so he could read it by the light.
“…So my next job is in Academy City.”
Stiyl Magnus. Simply put, his job was to defeat the evil magicians who made people suffer. But thinking back on that previous scene would immediately tell one just how much a difference there was between that explanation and the reality of his job.
Stiyl belonged to Necessarius, the 0th Parish of the Anglican Church. That organization killed all magicians who would bring negative effects to society. And they left the corpses in a state where they could not have a proper funeral or memorial service. Their reasoning was that trash that had strayed from the proper path should suffer even after they died. They would not allow the dead to flee to heaven.
Stiyl himself used rune magic, but the inquisition viewed lies, tricks, torture, violence, or any other means justified in defeating their heretical enemies. The trash they hated so much may say that was unfair, but they did not listen to heretics, so it did not matter.
Stiyl had burned 19 members of a Western magic cabal to death in Siberia. They had felt that people who were merely born had no hope and that people only received true hope upon dying and being reincarnated. As such, they had been enjoying themselves in “giving hope” to some young children they had felt sorry for.
This very same Stiyl was now getting nervous in front of a girl.
He was in an underground mall in Academy City. Academy City was a psychic powers development organization that took up the western third of Tokyo, but the fact that he was in an underground mall was the more important part. It was underground, but it did not have a damp atmosphere to it. Instead, the brightly polished floor was lit up by the fluorescent lights and LED light bulbs that were bundles of LEDs. On the other side of a large window covering one side of the pa.s.sageway, young waitresses were energetically working in a café.
Stiyl was standing in a smoking section set up in a corner of that underground mall. Adults wearing suits and lab coats were breathing out smoke as if to say, “Even so, we love smoking!!”
A girl was also standing in the smoking area.
Or rather, she was grabbing Stiyl’s arm and trying to drag him out of that area.
The girl said, “Hey!! Why is a 14 year old child here!? Secondhand smoke is harmful. This completely defeats the purpose of having a designated smoking area!”
The girl was 135 cm tall and looked about 12, so she was not very persuasive.
Stiyl sighed and pulled a faded package from his pocket.
“I’m here because it’s polite to go here when you smoke.”
“A 14 year old is breaking the rules if he smokes regardless of where he is! As a teacher, I cannot just ignore this!”
Stiyl ended up being dragged out of the smoking area and even had his box of cigarettes confiscated.
But she was a teacher.
Despite how that girl looked, she was a high school teacher in Academy City.
(…Why did things end up like this?)
Stiyl brought his hand up to his forehead.
Just after he had finished his previous job, Stiyl had been told he had to head to Academy City for his next job. He had spent an entire day getting on an airplane, crossing national borders, receiving permission to enter Academy City, and dropping his luggage off at the hotel. He was guessing his job would once again not be something decent and he had decided to go smoke while he waited for his next instructions, but…
He had been caught there by that minimum teacher, Tsukuyomi Komoe.
“Sigh…”
“Mh? That’s a heavy sigh for someone so young. Is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” Stiyl responded as he forced his arm out of Komoe-sensei’s desperate grip.
However, he was a 14 year old who did not get many opportunities to hold hands with a girl like that.
(…Dammit. This age difference is just wrong. What am I doing?)
Stiyl’s body temperature had risen slightly, but he was not a perverted lolicon. Stiyl’s actual age was 14, so it was only natural for him to fall in love with a girl of the same generation.
However, Komoe-sensei’s actual age was something else entirely. To Stiyl, she was more of a mature woman…or possibly an onee-san type.
“So what is it that you want with me, sensei?”
“My lecture as a teacher has not even begun. Don’t try to smoothly imply it’s over! You aren’t going to smoke, right? Promise sensei that you won’t smoke anymore.”
Komoe-sensei was now grabbing at the waist area of Stiyl’s clothes and looking up at him. Her eyes stared straight ahead and did not move even slightly. It did not even take 2 seconds before Stiyl could not stand it anymore and averted his gaze. He wondered in his heart how that was supposed to be a lecture.
And then a cell phone started to ring.
It was a light melody that had likely been downloaded from somewhere. As that ring tone made clear, it was not Stiyl’s phone that was ringing. Komoe-sensei rummaged around and pulled out her cell phone.
“Yes, this is Komoe-sensei.”
The conversation began. Komoe-sensei spoke leisurely with whoever was on the other end.
“Yes, yes. That priest is here right now.”
“Hey!” Stiyl yelled out and started seriously considered trying to take the cell phone from her. She had no way of knowing, but he had snuck into Academy City on a covert mission.
Meanwhile, the teacher who was utterly ignorant of that fact smiled and switched her cell phone to speaker phone. She then held it out toward Stiyl.
A voice came from the phone.
It was a boy’s voice.
“Ahh… Are you really here…?”
“I don’t want to hear your voice any more than you want to hear mine.”
Stiyl’s voice was completely flat. As she held the phone, Komoe-sensei started looking fl.u.s.tered, but there was nothing she could do.
The voice over the phone continued casually.
“What? Did you get stuck with another dangerous ‘job’? Well, that’s fine. By the way, are you okay with spicy foods? We’re having jjigae today.”
“What do you mean, ‘well, that’s fine’? I don’t need your permission to-…”
Stiyl started to reply, but he trailed off partway through.
What had that boy said?
“Jjigae? What?”
“Oh, you aren’t familiar with it? The weather’s been getting cold lately, so I was thinking of going with a Korean stew. I got a magazine that had a special on Korean recipes. Jjigae doesn’t look too difficult.”
“That’s not what I meant,” said Stiyl cutting the boy off before asking his question again. “Why do I have to know what you’re having to eat tonight? And why does it matter if I’m okay with spicy foods?”
“Eh? But aren’t you eating here tonight?”
“h.e.l.l no,” Stiyl spat out.
Perhaps because she had seen his expression straight on, Komoe-sensei started getting even more fl.u.s.tered while stammering.
“Oh, right. Is there anything you simply refuse to eat? I’m at the supermarket right now, so tell me if there’s anything you want left out.”
“…Like h.e.l.l I’m going to tell you anything.”
“Well, don’t complain later. I’m filling my basket with all sorts of spicy things from around the world to season it with like Yatsubusa and red peppers.”
“That’s not what I meant! Are you even listening? I’m not going. I’m definitely not going…Hey!”
Before he could finish speaking, the line was disconnected from the other end.
He stood there blankly for a bit, but Komoe-sensei finally started saying something while trembling.
“B-but sensei can’t stand spicy things…”
“…Why did that boy call his teacher about his dinner plans?”
“Eh? We’re all eating dinner together today.”
“And I’m also curious as to how he knew I was here…”
“I emailed him when I first spotted you. I told him to buy some more ingredients because someone else would be joining us.”
When Stiyl saw her puzzled look, he slightly averted his gaze.
It seemed the student took after the teacher in some ways.
“Won’t you come?” asked Komoe-sensei.
“No, I won’t,” Stiyl responded strongly and definitely before leaving.
He turned around and saw that Komoe-sensei was trying to follow him, so he ran full speed and lost her.
“Really now…” he finally sighed after leaving the underground mall and walking alone along a street.
It was so ridiculous that he just couldn’t stand it.
Stiyl Magnus was a magician of Necessarius, the 0th Parish of the Anglican Church. He was a blood-stained person whose solution to over 70% of problems that occurred was a.s.sa.s.sination. He had burned 19 magicians to death the day before and he was thinking about how to write the report for the incident.
And yet he felt like he would forget that in conversations like the previous one.
He felt like he would forget all those truths.
It was most likely the same feeling as when one looked at fiction. A girl at a rebellious age would cry while watching a drama with a theme of familial love. No matter how opposed it was to yourself, just seeing it filled you with emotions.
That was why there was a strong feeling of despondency after it was over.
The worst moment was the one when you turned off the TV and saw once more what your situation was.
As if it had been intentionally timed, his cell phone started ringing.
It was an email from one of his colleagues in Necessarius.
“Here is your job. The mission description is in the attachment. Follow what it says and take care of the traitor.”
Stiyl nodded in confirmation.
Necessarius’s coldhearted report continued on and on.
A stimulating situation started spreading out before him and it was far removed from the peaceful appearance of things.
Part 2[edit]
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The location specified on his phone was a bank near the station in District 7.
It was not all that late, but all the lights were already off. Since banks had short business hours and since Academy City’s last bus and train were matched to the time the students had to be home from school, the bank was completely deserted by the time the sun set.
It should have been locked up for the night, but for some reason one door was not locked.
Stiyl turned the k.n.o.b and stepped inside the dark building. He headed further inside while keeping his footsteps silent and came to a hall with the receptionist counter and long benches lined up within it.
A single woman was standing there.
The woman was hiding her form within the darkness. She appeared to be around 40 or possibly a little younger. Her hair was a mix of blonde and silver, but it was simply because her hair was damaged. She wore a baggy white top and faded white jeans.
She was Stiyl’s colleague.
Her name was Theodosia Electra.
“Thank you very much for keeping to the schedule and being right on time.”
“…Enough with the greetings. What’s the situation?” Stiyl asked angrily and Theodosia pulled a small matchbox out of a basket hanging from her arm.
“The data is in here.”
“Hmph.”
Stiyl took the small box and looked at the matches inside questioningly.
(…So she’s changed her main spell yet again.)
She was either very talented or just an idiot who got tired of things quickly because Theodosia was constantly changing what Norse magic based spell she used. To be honest, even Stiyl, her comrade, had not grasped what her habits and characteristics were.
Meanwhile, Theodosia puffed her chest out confidently.
“I’m using a fairy tale-like method where the visual data is displayed when you light a match! Doesn’t it remind you of the Little Match Girl? Isn’t it just exquisite!?”
“Sigh… So a woman in her late thirties who has children is going on about a fairy tale heroine? You have four sons and eight daughters. What am I supposed to do? Do you want me to look down on you with contempt? Or do you want me to pity you?”
“Ngh!? I won’t lose heart with just that! Don’t you think I have misfortune on the level of that girl who froze to death in the middle of winter!?”
“…I have yet to meet someone who constantly goes on about how much misfortune they have that was also a decent person.”
Stiyl sounded irritated to the bottom of his heart and he pulled out a match from the small box and lit it on the side of the box.
When he looked into the flame, he could indeed see an image.
It seemed to be holding quite a bit of data. He could even see the thorough details. Stiyl started to rethink his opinion of Theodosia when…
The match burned out.
A slight sizzling sound came from Stiyl’s fingers that were holding the end of the matchstick.
“Hot!?”
Stiyl frantically cast the match aside and stomped on it.
He specialized in using fire, but he had not thought he would be burned there.
“Eh heh heh. There is about 40 minutes worth of video data.”
While trembling, he turned toward Theodosia.
“…And how are you planning on overcoming the issue of the match not lasting that long?”
“Heh heh heh. Don’t worry. The next match, the next match! If you worry too much about getting a bit burned, you lose!”
As she had said not to worry about it, he made Theodosia hold the rest of the matches. After burning through about 30 matches, he had finally gone through all of the data.
“M-my fingers are in a pretty serious condition here…”
The woman who was almost 40 had tears in her eyes, but Stiyl completely ignored her.
What he had learned about the job was as follows.
…Theodosia Electra was chasing the traitor.
…During her chase, the traitor had fled into Academy City.
…As Stiyl had just finished up a job nearby, he had been called in to aid her.
…Not even Theodosia herself knew what exactly the traitor had done.
…Apparently, the traitor was a very dangerous existence to the United Kingdom.
…The way things were going, there was a possibility the lives of the ninety million British citizens were in danger.
“According to the additional information, the traitor has an escort. It seemed rather dangerous, so I was a bit worried if I was on my own.”
“What a pain. Is it a magic cabal?” Stiyl spat out.
The term “magic cabal” may have made them sound rather grandiose, but the Anglican Church viewed them as nothing more than collections of criminals. If a group was going to rob a bank, they would divide up the roles. Someone would put together the plan, someone would gather the weapons, someone would attack the bank, someone would carry the money, someone would take care of the money laundering, and so on. In the same way, magic cabals could be made into all sorts of different organizations. They also often divided up roles with everything from providing funds and skills to securing a position in normal society.
Also, there was something called the Job Counter that was an unspoken agreement among magic cabals. Just as the spread of computer viruses gave life to the security software business, the appearance of a magic cabal that killed people would cause a magic cabal that acted as guards to appear. When a magic cabal that claimed to rescue people for free depending on the spell used appeared, a magic cabal that obstructed them because they had too much charisma would appear. In that way, the world of magic business would repeat the cycle of spreading chaotically and weeding out what was unnecessary.
Stiyl sighed.
There were a lot of different magic cabals, but if this one was aiding the traitor…
“In other words, I’m up against another group of people with a screw loose? I just got done roasting 19 of them in Siberia.”
But then Theodosia lightly shook her head.
“No, no. The traitor has only one helper.”
“…Just one? Is it a guest from the cabal…? So this person is enough to overwhelm Necessarius? This person must be quite something.”
“Yes,” Theodosia said with a smile and nodded. “After all, the helper is me.”
Stiyl immediately tried to jump back, but he did not make it in time.
Theodosia lit a match in her hand.
A light even less reliable than a candle flickered in the darkness.
And then the area expanded.
(!?)
He should have been in that bank that was devoid of illumination.
Even if it was a large bank, he was still in j.a.pan. The size of buildings was limited and most things gave a cramped impression.
But…
The next thing he knew, everything was flat all the way to the horizon in every direction. The floor was the tile of the rooms within the bank and round pillars and long benches were lined up at even intervals. Fluorescent lights dotted the ceiling all the way to the horizon like guide lights on a runway. The s.p.a.ce itself was odd, but the parts making it up were all normal parts of the bank.
It was as if the area had spread in the same way darkness was pushed away by the light of Theodosia’s match.
Stiyl stared forward.
Theodosia was hanging her head down and giggling.
“Eventually, your real orders will reach you. They will tell you to defeat the traitor and to watch out for the helper. That would have been a problem, so I called you in before that could happen.”
“…I see.”
“Hee hee hee. Are you surprised? What does it feel like to be stabbed in the back by your most trusted comrade? To be honest, it was painful for me to do.”
“Ha ha ha ha ha!! So that’s it!!”
“Huh?”
Theodosia was utterly shocked.
Something was wrong.
Stiyl Magnus was not shocked. In fact, his face was shining happily.
“Ahh, you got me!! You really got me there. Heh heh heh heh! Oh, how sad. I’m so sad my chest feels like it will just split open, but now I have a justified reason why I have to mercilessly kick your a.s.s! Whatever shall I do? I’m just so sad that I’ve started saying strange things that don’t match the context, haven’t I? Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!!”
“U-ugyahh!? You’re saying all sorts of insincere things! Normally you should be gritting your teeth at this unexpected betrayal!”
“I’ll roast you.”
A roar exploded out.
A red sword made of flames extended from Stiyl’s right hand. A pillar illuminated by its light had a laminated card stuck to it. The card had a rune letter displayed on it and it was the source of Stiyl’s power.
“G A S T T H. T F I A S T R I C! (Bring the flames to my hand. Its form is the sword and its role is execution!)” shouted Stiyl and a sword of blue flames appeared from his left hand.
At some point, dozens of rune cards had appeared on the floor and on the pillars lined up at even intervals. The more of those cards there were around, the stronger Stiyl’s magic was. With just that many, he could turn a human body to ash even through a heat resistant suit.
“Die!” shouted Stiyl as he swung the two flame swords down at Theodosia.
But just before he did…
“Hey, that’s dangerous.”
Stiyl’s flame swords flew through thin air. They pa.s.sed by just in front of Theodosia. She had not moved. At some point, Stiyl’s position had moved back slightly.
(What…!?)
Theodosia then lit a match and lightly tossed it toward Stiyl.
It was as if she were tossing a grenade.
“!!”
Just after Stiyl jumped backwards, the match exploded. The flat area wrapped in dimness was suddenly filled with light.
(That flame…!?)
Flames filled an area with a diameter of a few meters as if blocking the path between Theodosia and Stiyl. And it did not end with just one. As if creating a line of fire, a few more explosions occurred at even intervals.
She lit a new match and stabbed its small flame into the flames of the explosions.
When she did, the line of explosions changed direction like a falling line of dominos and headed straight for Stiyl.
He immediately swung his flame swords, but his opponent’s explosive power was greater.
“Gwaahh!?”
In the end, Stiyl was blown back a good ways and rolled a few meters on the ground when he landed. The hard tile sc.r.a.ped at his skin sending pain running through his body.
Stiyl stood up and created a new flame sword, but Theodosia showed no sign of tension on her face.
“It’s no use. You cannot reach me with that.”
With a smile on her face, Theodosia held a matchbox in her hand.
She lightly waved it back and forth making a clattering noise and an intense headwind started blowing. That gust of wind held magical meaning. It could stop Stiyl from moving forward and if he swung his flame sword then, the explosive flames of a few thousand degrees he himself was creating could be blown back at him.
(That spell certainly has plenty of variations…)
It had extended the s.p.a.ce, put distance between herself and her enemy, created explosions of flames, and had created a headwind.
It was the first time he had seen the spells that were coming from that matchbox, but…
(I can’t let that attack power fool me. Those are all defensive spells. They’re all used to distance me.)
After figuring that out, Stiyl smiled.
“…A spell from Norse mythology…and specifically from Iceland.”
“Bgh! You already figured it out!?”
“Over there, flames are said to be used to guard treasure. That means your flames are defensive. And they are not used to protect the magic user herself. …The traitor you are guarding is nearby.”
“Wh-wh-wh-what could you possibly be talking a-a-about!?”
“That matchstick refers to Skírnir’s Staff. It is a spiritual item with four runes carved into it that was prepared to force Gerðr to marry. Ha ha. Combining the flames used to protect treasure and the staff used to steal treasure certainly is an interesting way to use it. To have it carry out the role of stealing from Skírnir’s Staff and the role of protecting from the flames, you must have optimized an original pattern for the layout of the runes.”
“Tch!!” Theodosia clicked her tongue and lit another match. “Go to h.e.l.l!!”
The flame that was as small as a candle’s flame swelled up all at once.
An explosive wind was created and the ma.s.s of explosions increased seemingly infinitely as they headed for Stiyl like a line of dominos.
But…
“Sorry, but that won’t work on me anymore.”
With a roar, all of the flames suddenly went out.
“Once I’ve a.n.a.lyzed the spell, calculating out a countermeasure is simple.”
Stiyl had swung down the thick sole of his shoe and stomped on the flames from above. Oddly enough, that had completely put out Theodosia’s attack like he had been putting out a cigarette.
After stomping on the flames, he was completely unharmed.
“In the story of Skírnir’s Staff, Gerðr herself was protected as treasure by great flames. How do you think people in ancient times would think of overcoming those flames? By jumping over the flames with a horse.”
Stiyl rubbed the last flickering embers off on the floor and then showed the sole of his shoe to Theodosia.
The “ehwaz” rune that meant horse was written there in a red liquid.
By pa.s.sing magic power through his own blood and activating the rune that defended against the flames, he had forced open the deactivation key hidden within the spell.
“Heh heh. Not bad.”
Theodosia laughed calmly and looked at Stiyl.
There was strength in her gaze.
“But I can’t let myself be pushed back by just that!!”
She slid open the matchbox with her thumb and poured a great quant.i.ty of matches out. Just one of those matches could create a large explosion and now all of those spiritual items exploded in midair.
She was trying to overpower him.
Stiyl had only one “ehwaz” rune.
Even if that was the weakness of her spell, it was not a problem if she could overwhelm the power of that one rune and crush him all at once.
Theodosia thought he was dead.
And then Stiyl’s flame sword sliced through the blast.
“Wha-!?”
As Theodosia cried out in shock, he charged in gripping his single flame sword.
He grinned and said, “Theodosia, I have no duty to tell you this, but you cannot win a battle between runes with sheer quant.i.ty like that. This is an issue of quality over quant.i.ty. No matter how many you use, the result will be the same.”
He swung down his sword made of burning red flames.
“Odin of Norse mythology said that proper runes held the greatest power when the most suitable letter for the location and situation was used. They are not something you can just start putting around at random. …Even if you try to crush him with numbers, you cannot defeat a natural enemy who you clearly are not compatible with!!”
Theodosia immediately lit a new match prepared to blow herself up if necessary.
Stiyl ignored it.
The two attacks clashed.
“You lost because you underestimated that one rune, Theodosia Electra!!”
There was a crimson explosion.
Two types of flames swirled together, converged, and then scattered out as a single explosion. Stiyl held his breath and covered his face with his clothes, but he still felt a burning pain in his nose and throat.
He looked around.
Theodosia was collapsed about 5 meters away.
After letting the match go, she must have gotten as far back as she could manage. Even so, she had either not been able to escape the blast or the shockwave had hit her.
Theodosia spoke from on the ground.
“…You are too strong. A normal magician would have panicked and shown an opening when I took the initiative with my defensive spells.”
“You lost because you created a strategy that relies on the weakness of your opponent. You should have found a strategy that used your own strengths rather than something you cannot rely on.”
“U-uuh… I may have been wrong from the instant I tried to take you on using Skírnir’s Staff and runes.”
“Hmph. Did you really think you could defeat an expert like me with rune skills you had hastily taught yourself?”
Stiyl swung his flame sword once and approached Theodosia.
He was heading forward to punish her for her betrayal.
“In the end, will you tell me about this traitor?”
“No, it’s best for you if you do not hear about it. This is my problem.”
She then continued.
“And don’t say sad things like “the end”. I’m going to make sure I live on for quite some time!!”
“Wha-!?”
Stiyl hurriedly started to swing down his flame sword, but a fine powder struck his face before he could.
“Theodosia!!”
He wiped off his face to regain his vision, but Theodosia was already gone.
The oddly extended s.p.a.ce was also back to the original dark bank.
It seemed Theodosia’s spell had completely ceased functioning.
Stiyl rubbed the powder on his fingertips between his thumb and forefinger. His face turned bitter.
“The Drill of Rati…”
When Odin had stolen some special mead from the human world, he had used that drill to open a hole in a stone wall. It functioned as a charm that allowed one to sneak into difficult places and to escape from them.
(So she smashed it to a powdered form so she could carry it around with her… And she can also use it to make the person cornering her on the edge of death flinch. She’s practically turned it into a way to revive herself from the dead.)
At any rate, Theodosia Electra had escaped.
Stiyl angrily tossed aside his shortened cigarette and lit a new one.
(I’ll deal with her later. Right now, I need to find the true traitor.)
He jumped over the receptionist counter and headed deeper into the dark bank.
He found it almost right away.
It was a small room that was likely used to store cleaning supplies. The entire bank was locked down and yet the door to that room was unlocked.
(So I’ve found it. d.a.m.n, just how confident in her spell was she?)
Theodosia had prepared a spiritual item that controlled the protection and release of treasure. Most likely, he would normally have been unable to enter that room. Unless he used the rune corresponding to the spell, the door and even the room itself would not exist. That would have been how it was set up.
That room was holy ground he would have been unable to break into.
Theodosia’s defeat had made that seal disappear.
(The traitor…)
Stiyl frowned as he stood before the door.
He recalled Theodosia’s words.
“No, it’s best for you if you do not hear about it. This is my problem.”
(Who is this traitor and why did you help him or her?)
At the very least, he had to capture whoever it was.
If the person was dangerous, he would have no choice but to immediately execute him or her.
He checked on how many cards he had in his pocket and opened the door with his fairly sweaty hand.
And there he found the traitor that the Anglican Church had mentioned.
It was not a large man who was lying in wait for him and who looked used to fighting. Nor was it someone with a cunning-looking face who looked as if he could deal with any situation.
It was a small girl who looked to be around 12.
She was kneeling down in that small room. Near her, Theodosia was collapsed and breathing faintly. She had likely headed there to recover the traitor after using the Drill of Rati, but she had run out of strength.
The girl turned her gaze from Theodosia to Stiyl who had just entered the room.
As if he were tapping his palm against the wall, Stiyl stuck a rune card there and produced a flame sword.
The girl’s eyes opened wide upon seeing the dazzling flame.
But the girl’s reaction was nowhere near what Stiyl had expected.
She showed no sign of hostility and did not tremble in fear.
She opened her mouth and said, “Thank goodness. You’re Theodosia’s colleague, right!?”
Stiyl stopped where he was.
That girl was only half his height, but there was nothing but hope displayed on her face.
“Please. Theodosia told me to go on my own, but I don’t know who I can rely on. For now, I need to get to the police…no, to Anti-Skill! It seems the person who did this to Theodosia is still nearby!!”
Even though Stiyl had produced a sword of flames from his hand…
Even though he was clearly abnormal and was clearly dangerous…
That girl did not suspect him.
She understood that some kind of mysterious phenomenon was occurring before her eyes, but she did not even consider the possibility that it would bare its fangs toward her. It was possible that she was seeing Stiyl in the same way as some kind of fairy tale.
And yet if she just thought about it for a second, it should have been clear who had injured Theodosia.
“My phone’s battery is dead and I don’t want to just leave Theodosia here. What do I do? Why is she so beaten up…?”
And most importantly, her words held no hint of magic.
As someone who had been in that world for a long time, Stiyl could tell. He did not think that her use of normal words like “police” and “phone” were just a façade. She had the distinctive atmosphere of someone who had no knowledge of magic seeing something unnatural occur.
“…”
Stiyl felt his eyebrows move in doubt.
He truly started to wonder what was going on.
Was she the traitor?
(Or…)
Stiyl felt an unpleasant sweat on his back just before his cell phone started ringing.
He carried a number of different devices with him, but the phone ringing could only be accessed by the Anglican Church.
He put out his flame sword and answered the phone to find a Necessarius communications relay official.
“These are your orders. You must deal with the traitor who has entered Academy City,” said a female voice that was as cool as a machine.
He was receiving the real orders that Theodosia had warned him of.
“I will now read the mission description. The traitor’s name is Patricia Birdway. Gender: Female. Age: 12. Physical Characteristics:…”
He knew the details on Patricia’s appearance without being told.
They matched the girl before him.
“At school, she is the top of her cla.s.s and she has been chosen to skip some grades. She has been invited as a guest researcher to many different agencies. She has been marked as a person of interest more due to her promising future than for her immediate battle ability.”
“…I have an idea who this Patricia is, but what does she have to do with us?”
“She is the younger sister of the boss of the Dawn-Colored Sunlight, a Golden-style magic cabal. Patricia herself has no connection to the Dawn-Colored Sunlight, but it has been made clear that a few members of the Dawn-Colored Sunlight have been stationed around her without her knowledge. Presumably, the objective is observation and protection.”
A magic cabal.
The Dawn-Colored Sunlight.
“As it has become possible that Patricia has value to the Dawn-Colored Sunlight for a reason beyond being a blood relative of its boss, we must quickly capture her and investigate this matter. If we can get some sort of result from this, we may be able to get a full understanding of the Dawn-Colored Sunlight as well as means of weakening or even destroying them. Your job is to capture Patricia.”
(The Dawn-Colored Sunlight, hm?)
Once, the world’s largest magic cabal had existed in the United Kingdom. Magicians who were simply too powerful had gathered in it and, as a result, its actual activities had ended in just a few years. After that, it had destroyed itself with infighting.
After its destruction, the fragments of the cabal had developed on their own, made progress, and still existed to that day while continuing to chaotically break apart. The cabals produced by that were known as Golden-style cabals.
The Dawn-Colored Sunlight was one of the most prominent magic cabals among those.
They were famous for accomplishing their goals by any means necessary and there were stories that left even pros speechless upon hearing the number of corpses created in the process of achieving their goals.
But that was all concerning the organization known as the Dawn-Colored Sunlight.
Was that girl really such an important person?
The communications official had said that the observation and protection were being carried out without Patricia herself knowing. In other words, the guards were not the girl’s subordinates and she might not have been able to send them away even if she knew they were there. Also, the communications official had said that “Patricia herself has no connection to the Dawn-Colored Sunlight, but…” That just made things even more unclear.
If Patricia was a magician and a villain that had an important post within the Dawn-Colored Sunlight, there would have been no reason to start the sentence that way.
In order to get a better grasp of the situation, Stiyl asked a question to the Anglican communications official.
“…So why is she a traitor?”
“She refused to go along with the mission. She is a British citizen and yet she has denied something that would be to the United Kingdom’s benefit. That makes her a traitor to her nation.”
“!? You’re telling me I’m supposed to capture her for just that? There’s a possibility that Patricia still does not know about magic or the occult. Did you really think asking for her help was going to go well like that!? No girl is just going to go along with a complete stranger who says they want to look at her body and of course she would refuse if you tell her it’s for the purpose of defeating a family member!!”
“But that is what it says in the mission description.”
“Were the guards left by the Dawn-Colored Sunlight even all that strong? Patricia is alone now. If the entire group really saw her as valuable, they would have been guarding her more strictly. Don’t you think what happened was more in line with guards put on her just because she’s related to their boss!?”
“Any comments on a mission by an agent should be sent to the managing department.”
“Were these orders really carefully examined? Read over this again. The contents of that doc.u.ment are not something I can just accept!! In fact, who gave approval for this mission!?”
“May I return to relaying the contents of your mission to you?”
“Don’t just continue on according to the rules like that. This isn’t a problem that can be dealt with just by following regulations!”
“Any comments on a mission by an agent should be sent to the managing department.”
Stiyl was dangerously close to cursing.
A traitor?
Stiyl realized more than he wished to why Theodosia had gone over to Patricia’s side.
“It seems reinforcements are entering Academy City now. We have received word that they wish to begin working right away. I believe they want to set a time and place for you to meet up, but…”
Stiyl hung up the phone as the communications official was one-sidedly making those arrangements.
He had completely missed the time and place.
(Dammit. I’m supposed to just hand this girl over to the Anglican Church? What do they plan to do with her in order to destroy a magic cabal?)
Patricia was anxiously looking up at him.
Most likely, she had not understood what he was talking about over the phone, but she had to have noticed that her name had come up.
“…”
Stiyl knew that the contents of the mission were rotten.
He was in Academy City, the headquarters of the science side. If a normal person who had no connection to magic were attacked and taken away in that city, the problem would exceed the realm of the Anglican Church and a magic cabal. It was even possible it could lead to a direct conflict between the magic side and the science side.
But the unit coming to a.s.sault Patricia Birdway would not listen even if he tried to convince them.
(What do I do…?)
Stiyl looked back and forth between his cell phone and Patricia’s face.
(What am I supposed to do…!?)
He noticed a slight smile on Theodosia’s lips.
She seemed to be saying that she had been troubled with the same problem.
Part 3[edit]
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At any rate, they could not stay there.
Stiyl carried Theodosia over his shoulders as she had not yet moved and then left the closed bank along with Patricia. If they stayed there, pursuers would come.
No matter how ridiculous the mission was, their opponents would come fully equipped as members of the Anglican Church’s Necessarius as long as they recognized it as an official mission. They were at the disadvantage both in numbers and in equipment. It was quite likely that Stiyl alone would be unable to deal with it. Whether he was going to fight the pursuers or get the mission repealed, he would have to come up with a plan. And it took time to think up a strategy.
He was a member of the Anglican Church.
Of course, the normal course of action would be to cooperate with the pursuers and hand Patricia over.
But…
(How the h.e.l.l am I supposed to go along with a mission like this? This is no longer just Patricia’s problem. If I follow this rotten mission and screw up the next step, all of England could end up involved in the Dawn-Colored Sunlight’s issue.)
Stiyl bit into his cigarette’s filter.
(But what am I supposed to do against a nation? I’m just one magician!!)
He was conflicted, he was troubled, and he could not come up with an answer as he ran through the city at night along with Patricia.
“This will all be okay, right?” the girl asked with a worried voice.
Stiyl glanced over at her.
“Once we get Anti-Skill’s help, there will be nothing to worry about, right?”
(s.h.i.t!!)
Even breathing the smoke deep into his lungs did not calm him down. Stiyl tossed the useless cigarette ahead and stomped on it as he ran.
The embers flowed backwards from the sole of his shoe.
And then…
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Suddenly, Stiyl heard an unnatural voice. Even though he was running as quickly as he could, the voice was at a constant but undetermined distance. Patricia must have been able to hear it as well because her shoulder’s jumped.
Stiyl frowned.
At the very right edge of his vision, he glimpsed a black figure.
“Your destination does not lie in that direction.”
“Eh?”
With a puzzled look on her face, Patricia turned in the direction of the voice.
“Don’t focus on it!!” Stiyl yelled out, but it was already too late.
A sound similar to gla.s.s shattering came from Patricia’s chest.
All strength left her body, she lost her balance, and she collapsed forward without stopping her momentum from running.
“I was too slow!!”
Stiyl came to a quick stop and approached Patricia. She was completely unconscious and she did not respond even when he slapped her on the cheek. The black figure had disappeared from the edge of his vision. Stiyl’s expression turned bitter as he confirmed that it had been a type of spell.
With Theodosia already on one shoulder, he put Patricia’s small form on his other shoulder and tried to start running once more.
“Kh.”
But that was simply too much of a burden. It would be difficult to continue moving.
He needed to temporarily hide somewhere.
Stiyl peered inside a nearby alley and then headed inside it.
(Treating Patricia comes first.)
The alley surface was dirty, but it was not time to be picky.
Stiyl put down the two and then pulled a cigarette from the box using his mouth.
He lit the tip and then checked on Patricia’s condition.
Quite a bit of sweat had appeared on her face as she lay limply on the ground. Stiyl used a finger to lift up one of her eyelids and then ran his index finger across her forehead.
When Patricia did not move even slightly, Stiyl looked away and clicked his tongue.
(Mental interference. If her consciousness had been destroyed there would be nothing I could do, but this isn’t that serious. Only one portion of her mind is being forcibly held in place which is preventing the whole thing from moving.)
If you thought of the human mind as being made up of many gears, the magic user had forced a wedge between two of the gears to stop them all from moving. That failure in one spot was having an effect on the whole, so Patricia’s mind had been stopped.
In that case, what he had to do was simple.
Just by removing that one wedge, the gears would regain their normal motion.
(But removing this spell is a bit much for me alone. I’d like some backup for this.)
If the girl known as Index who had memorized 103,000 grimoires was there, things would have been perfect in more ways than one, but that was hoping for too much.
(In that case…)
Stiyl glanced to the side.
Theodosia was limply lying there.
“Hnn!!”
Stiyl stomped on the center of Theodosia’s stomach as she lay unconscious on the ground.
“Gbah!?”
Theodosia awoke with that ridiculous noise.
“Ubh!? Y-yes!? Good morning, Stiyl!!”
“…Now I’m not sure I can trust you to support me with this…”
“C’mon! Is that anything to say to someone who you just forced awake!?”
He forced a cigarette into Theodosia’s mouth to calm her down a bit.
They had to return Patricia to normal and get out of there before any pursuers arrived.
“Just to check. Did you know about all of this from the beginning, Theodosia?”
“Ha ha!! Being the person that knows everything makes me sound like an intellectual final boss, doesn’t it?”
Stiyl grabbed the cigarette and shook it slightly to drop some ashes down.
“Hot!? Hot!!?”
“Then tell me from the beginning!! Don’t keep it to yourself and act all pleased with yourself!!”
“Sorry! But…hot! I didn’t think it was right to get people involved in this kind of thing, so…hooottt!?”
“Shut up. First, we need to do something about Patricia. Just get up and help me already.”
Stiyl brushed up his long bangs that were getting in his face and then began the preparations.
First, he cast aside the old cigarette, pulled a new one out of the box, and lit it with one of Theodosia’s matches.
Next, he blew some of the cigarette smoke on a few rune cards before placing one on Patricia’s forehead, chest, and stomach.
“I see. In both Eastern and Western magic, the cigarette is used as a spiritual item that carries out changes of mental states, so you are using that as a base to investigate Patricia’s mind.”
“If I had some alcohol too, it would be perfect, but I don’t think we have time to get some.”
Magic could be carried out by materials gathered at a convenience store. Some legendary item hidden within ancient ruins was not necessarily needed. Of course, there were spells that needed items like that, but they were not using magic of that level.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Stiyl adjusted his grip on the cigarette and Theodosia lightly swung the match that had lit it.
By using the fire and the smoke as a common item, the three of them were bound magically.
“I A T W C P H I S K W O T D O T H. (This hand connects to a wavering heart and acts as the key to open that door.)”
When Stiyl closed his eyes and chanted that, the flames of the cigarette and the match became fixed in place. The flames were clearly burning, but the match showed no sign of shortening. The same thing happened with the cigarette.
Stiyl slowly opened his eyes.
His eyes were already out of focus and there was no change to his expression.
“…This makes me want to draw things on your face,” said Theodosia, but Stiyl gave no response.
It seemed as if he would fall over from just a slight poke. It seemed like a miracle that the cigarette was still in the corner of this mouth.
“Ow…”
Theodosia frowned slightly and looked over her body.
On her arms and legs, she had a few light burns that would not leave scars from the battle in the bank, but the dull pain from her chest to her navel was much worse. She guessed it must have been from the shockwaves.
“…”
Theodosia ignored her various pains, waved the lit match, and continued focusing.
The spell Stiyl was carrying out was a delicate one. Not to mention that he was not well versed in healing methods for anything besides burns. Without Theodosia’s support, he would end up having his own mind broken along with Patricia’s.
However, Stiyl was not currently inside Patricia’s mind.
Only specialists could do something of that high level.
Rather than slicing open a patient’s stomach to look inside, he was only p.r.i.c.king into the stomach’s surface to find out what the disease was.
Basically, he was using the smoke to touch Patricia’s skin, a.n.a.lyzing the inside of her mind, and reproducing its condition within his own brain. To put it simply, it was an extreme game of make-believe. It might have been similar to an actor getting into character. By approaching the same state as Patricia, he could learn what part of her mind was affected.
It may have sounded like a rather unique method, but it was actually rather popular in the magic business. People such as Crowley could “get into character” at such a high level that they could manipulate the model person and make them trip. It could be called a reversal of Idolatry Theory.
“…”
An intense stabbing pain ran across Stiyl’s head.
It was on the left side of his head just above the ear.
“So it’s there…”
Stiyl once more opened his eyes. With a bursting sound, the flames on the cigarette and the match both disappeared. Stiyl stabbed the now flameless cigarette into the side of Patricia’s head.
The soft cigarette was easily crushed.
Even so, a hard grinding sound came from Patricia’s head.
“It’s removed!! Theodosia, restrain her!!”
Her small form jumped up two or three times.
Theodosia forcibly restrained her and then Patricia’s eyes opened and her pupils widened to their limit. Stiyl helped grab the girl’s arms and legs as well and her eyes finally returned to normal.
Now that Patricia and Theodosia were both able to walk on their own, Stiyl’s burden had been lightened by quite a bit. For the moment, they continued down the dark alleyway.
The mental spell that had attacked Patricia had been a wide range but low power attack. Stiyl doubted the black figure he had seen was the true attack spell. It had likely only been used to slow them down so the magician could get closer.
In other words, their pursuer was not yet nearby.
“What are you planning to do from now on, Theodosia? If you went this far without any real chance of success, I really will roast you.”
“Eh heh heh. Patricia has no connection to magic, so there should be no problem with having Academy City shelter her as long as they don’t try to develop any psychic powers in her. It isn’t anything as definitive as having them take her in as a refugee, but handing her over should take top priority.”
“…So what are we going to do?”
“Hide until the heat dies down?”
Stiyl kicked Theodosia in the back. He then sighed while wishing he hadn’t gotten involved with something related to that woman.
“Patricia, why are you in j.a.pan?”
“At first, I came here on a trip with my sister, but we got separated partway through. Then Theodosia appeared and we decided to go to Academy City so I could meet up with my sister.”
At that point, Theodosia would have had received her mission from the Anglican Church, but she must not have told Patricia about that part. She might have gotten separated from her older sister due to some kind of magical battle being carried out below the surface. Currently, the guards who should have been by Patricia’s side were not there.
“If only all this hadn’t happened,” Patricia muttered with a sad look on her face. “I had been interested in j.a.pan’s Academy City for a while. In fact, I had wanted to study here if I could. But my sister and the others did not approve of that, so I had to rethink everything.”
Stiyl understood why they had not let her.
The Dawn-Colored Sunlight was one of the leading magic cabals in the United Kingdom. Patricia may have no direct connections with the cabal, but she would still end up taking part in the psychic powers development Curriculum if she were to become a student in Academy City. If she became a scientific esper, a political problem would appear between magic and science.
“I don’t know why, but my sister and the others seem to hate Academy City. I was thinking this trip could change their impression of it, but then all this happened…”
Patricia did not know of the complex details of the situation, so she was being saddened by something she was completely wrong about.
Stiyl blew out some cigarette smoke and changed the subject.
“The Dawn-Colored Sunlight, hm?”
“That’s the club or whatever that my sister is in. Is it really that famous?”
Patricia’s description made it clear she did not even know what a magic cabal was and Stiyl put a hand to his forehead.
“It’s very famous indeed.”
(…But what is the person who submitted this mission trying to do by having us interfere with such a major cabal? For generations, the bosses of the Dawn-Colored Sunlight have been known to be ruthless and wise and they have given us our fair share of bitter experiences. Is the church this desperate to find an opening through which to destroy the Dawn-Colored Sunlight?)
He just could not figure out what the person behind the mission was after.
And he could not exactly discuss it in front of Patricia.
(Or is the goal in the mission given to me a dummy and there is some other reason behind this? If Patricia herself really has that much value, then what is it that gives her that value?)
The cigarette at the edge of Stiyl’s mouth moved up and down as he turned in Patricia’s direction.
“Did you hear anything from your sister? Or were you given anything?”
“Eh?”
Patricia looked puzzled at first, but…
“How did you know?”
(Bingo.)
Without showing it on his face, Stiyl increased his earnestness within.
Patricia stuck her hand in her pocket and fished around for something.
“Before I got separated from my sister, she told me to take this, but-…huh?”
“I have it here,” Theodosia said with a smile as she held out a small box.
“Eh!? Eh!?”
Stiyl ignored Patricia’s genuine surprise and used his ring-covered fist to punch his kleptomaniac colleague.
“But it was dangerous to just have Patricia keep i-…gyaaahhh!?” Theodosia explained as she fell to the ground.
During all that, the box had been tossed up into the air and Stiyl caught it with one hand.
It was about the size of two matchboxes. It was an iron treasure box with a keyhole in it. The box itself had elaborate decorations making it look a bit like a music box.
“Where’s the key?”
“O-over here…gbh.”
Stiyl took the key that Theodosia had weakly tossed his way, stuck it in the keyhole, and turned it. With a slight click, the box easily unlocked.
When it did, Patricia’s eyes opened wide.
“Hehh…So it really does open.”
“What?”
“Oh, um, I tried a bunch of times, but it would never open. I thought the inside of the keyhole had rusted or something. Pouring oil in didn’t help and I was thinking of looking inside with a fiberscope if I got the chance…Eh? You opened it too, Theodosia? Amazing.”
“…”
Stiyl looked puzzled as he looked at Patricia who was looking in Theodosia’s direction.
The box may have been set up so Patricia could not touch the contents.
(If so, why did the Dawn-Colored Sunlight give her the box? It also bothers me that Theodosia and I could open it so easily. From a security standpoint, the complete reverse would be normal.)
And if the Dawn-Colored Sunlight wanted to distance Patricia from the world of magic, they would not have given her the box to begin with.
Stiyl recalled that the mission description had said that Patricia had value to the entire organization of the Dawn-Colored Sunlight.
(No, the odds of Patricia being a magician are zero. It’s hard to believe she would have faked receiving that mental attack. There was no guarantee Theodosia or I would have the recovery spell needed, so there would be too much of a risk in faking it. Also, there would be no point in holding us up while we’re fleeing from the pursuers.)
In that case, why had they given that treasure box to a harmless girl?
And why was the church after her?
There were a lot of things he could not figure out on the church’s side and on the cabal’s side.
The clue to figuring that out lay in his hand.
“…”
Stiyl slowly opened the unlocked treasure box.
What he found inside was a small gray stone about 2 cm across.
Like a jewelry case for a ring, the inside was covered in soft red cloth.
There were runes on the surface. No, technically it was a portion of a string of runes. In other words, he could not tell what it was supposed to mean with just that.
Stiyl felt along the surface of the stone with a fingertip and then frowned.
“An epitaph?”
Even then, rune data like that was carelessly being erected in places like Sweden. Such things could be called the world’s most generally neglected grimoires. No matter how hard a normal person worked, they would never be able to reach a stone monument with an Original level epitaph that held great power. That was just how they were made.
Theodosia got up from the ground and said, “That was discovered in Alaska.”
“I thought rune slates were primarily from the plains of Scandinavia?”
“Yes, and you know what that means.”
“…I see. So it’s an undiscovered derived branch of runes.”
There was not just one type of runes.
Just like most languages, they changed day by day depending on the era or the location. The standard number of runes was 24, but some sets used 16 and some places used 33.
Of course, the effects of rune magic changed depending on the type of runes being used.
Few records mentioned runes being used in Alaska. If there was a distinctive deviation in the runes, previously unusable magic could be activated. It was essentially the same as having a completely new set of spells different from those of normal rune magic.
“So this is a portion of an epitaph explaining the Alaskan runes?”
“Indeed. Rune epitaphs are carelessly neglected out in the middle of plains, so they are daily worn away by the effects o