Toaru Majutsu no Index:GT Volume7

Novel Illustrations

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  Contents Page

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  Pages 003-005

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  Pages 006-008

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  Page 56

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  Page 113

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  Page 147

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  Page 231

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  Page 260

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  Pages 208-299

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  Page 307

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  Page 337

Prologue: Capture the Powerful Witch – Happy? New_Year!!

It was January 1, time for a happy new year.

Specifically, it was just past 7:30 in the morning.

The wind carried away a white breath.

A solid footstep was drowned out by the low crackle of electricity.

Academy City’s #3 Level 5, the 2nd year middle schooler with the strongest electric power, wandered into a dark back alley. After walking, walking, and walking some more, the short-haired girl came to a sudden stop. If she had run into someone unexpected here, she might have zapped them with millions, if not tens of millions, of volts without even glancing their way.

But what if she actually targeted someone?

When she put her mind to it, she could wield a billion volts of destructive force.

“Hm,” the Electromaster girl muttered, pulling a leg back.

Bluish-white sparks scattered from her bangs and a metal dart stabbed into the ground right in front of her foot. A teleportation attack was a definite threat since it could pierce any target no matter how hard or sturdy it was, but its fatal flaw was its inability to target more than a single point at a time. Even the greatest threat was meaningless if it failed to hit.

If that was the end of it, she would have made an immediate counterattack to deal with the issue.

“!?”

But after sensing something, the #3 disappeared.

A moment later, metal darts covered every surface there. The asphalt ground and concrete walls were turned to Swiss cheese.

If the Electromaster hadn’t magnetically pulled herself up to a higher part of the wall, that would have been the end for her.

“That attack.”

She pressed her arms and legs against the wall and used her elevated vantage point.

She could now see exactly who her enemy was and where they were.

An underclassman with twintails stood in the narrow alleyway between buildings.

“What even was that attack!?”

Yes, this made no sense.

Teleportation allowed its user to send anything she touched – including herself – to whatever coordinates she wanted, but it couldn’t do what the #3 had just witnessed. That had to have been close to a million metal darts, but where had they come from and how had they been teleported?

“Do you see now?”

But her opponent remained calm. Something stood next to the twintails girl.

It was intimidation itself.

It was neither a lion nor a wolf, but it was a massive four-legged beast that’s claws tore into the asphalt under its weight.

The twintails girl smiled boldly with this unknown enemy under her control.

But did she really understand just how dangerous that thing was?

It was not just a convenient weapon.

Something croaked from Mikoto’s shoulder. Her froggy partner warned her that this beast was the deadly disease secretly spreading across Academy City.

After choosing power over safety, the twintails girl probably wasn’t aware of that.

“It is true I was no match for you in the past, Onee-sama. But times have changed. The 0-5 ranking system is a thing of the past. No longer must we purposefully deceive our brains to produce supernatural phenomena using quantum physics.”

“Y-you can’t mean-!?”

“Answer me, core of my powers. Answer me, material embodiment of that which hides in the depths of my heart. Answer me, my personal beast grown from within after being injected from without.”

The twintails girl held a rectangular object between her index and middle fingers.

It was a card.

She swung it perfectly horizontally from right to left and gave a roar.

Sharp slashes ran across the giant beast’s body. No, those were the parting eyelids covering eyes larger than basketballs. A total of 11 eyeballs – one for each of the dimensions present in her calculations – poured their heavy gaze upon the Electromaster to set her as their coordinate.

“Be devoured by the dimensional maw, #3. The world has left you behind as you cling to your outdated crown and refuse to awaken.”

Mikoto scrambled to pull out an arcade coin, but it was too late.

A roar seemed to rebel against heaven as it conquered the earth below.

“Personal Therion – Teleportation!!!”

“Oh.”

Exciting sound effects played from an LCD TV.

It was just past 7:30 AM on January 1.

Academy City’s PR drama meant for foreign viewers – and possibly to draw attention away from the truth of their former dark side research – had finally reached the climax of its 2nd episode. With the basic worldbuilding complete, they had added a slight twist to the concept to surprise the viewers. There had also been a lot of foreshadowing like the ultra-violent Dorm Manager Sage and the mysterious Masked Blonde Brainwashing Queen, so it looked like they had a long story in the works.

(The identity of the Masked Queen seems a little too obvious, so some in the Misaka Network suspect that answer is a red herring.)

“The elderly frog doctor told Misaka it is Japanese tradition to waste away an entire day of your life spending New Years watching a jidaigeki marathon, but it would seem that tradition has changed, notes Misaka while holding a can of shiruko energy drink to power through her drowsiness. The TV station must be running very low on ideas if they are attempting a niche cable-style supernatural battle drama on over-the-air TV.”

A girl with short chestnut hair and special goggles pushed up over her forehead let out a white breath while staring at the LCD screen in front of her. She wore a thick coat over a Tokiwadai Middle School winter uniform and a silver heart necklace shined at her chest. This early in the morning, a hot drink can was a necessity. A hand warmer was simply not enough.

However, this girl was not the original.

“Still, a 10-hour action drama special is a cruel relay race in its own way. Ugh, an energy drink’s chemical flavor is way worse when it’s hot. And the mochi is absorbing it like crazy, complains Misaka while her tongue rejects this flavor despite her being accustomed to being injected with all sorts of drugs.”

Did a new year mean new rules?

The mass-produced military clones known as the Sisters now had official identities. This girl – Serial Number 10032, who some referred to as Misaka’s Sister – was out in the cold at 7:30 in the morning because she was inside a small security booth in front of District 11’s east gate.

The booth was no larger than the tiny shared offices for rent at a train station. It did have heating, but there was a strange tradition of keeping the window open to make sure you could hear what was going on outside. The idea was to make a show of doing your job so people didn’t think you were simply watching TV all day. Thanks to that, it was so cold inside the booth that her eyelashes would frost over or her eyelids would freeze shut if she wasn’t careful.

(A different Misaka wore a Russian hat during World War Three. It was nice and warm and Misaka wants to order one online right this instant, but she doesn’t know what it’s called, says Misaka while fighting the cold and hating how only sharing our memory data makes some things more painful.)

She had had a few different options, but Misaka’s Sister had chosen this since Academy City needed all the help they could get with Anti-Skill so shorthanded. However, this was the front line of checking the travelers and cargo moving in and out of the city. The fact that a (supposedly) secret clone was working this job was a sign of the changing times.

The world really did change when a new year began.

“But is this really a good idea? wonders Misaka, revealing her worries about this new era of information resources. Even if the seven Level 5s are the face of Academy City, this feels like giving away their personal information for free. And if you are going to do it, why make the bizarre decision to show them being dethroned like that? …Oh?”

Misaka’s Sister looked up.

Someone was approaching.

She reached for the assault rifle with grenade launcher attachment leaning against the wall and stepped out of the security booth. The gate looked wide open, but several thick barriers rose up from the asphalt. Those would keep out a 20ton truck even if it crashed into them at full speed, but there was still a risk of a motorcycle or someone on foot getting through. Of course, if they did get through without permission, they would be literally filled with holes by the machineguns of an unmanned helicopter activated in the name of protecting the city’s secrets.

In truth, Misaka’s Sister’s job here was to keep people safe as they passed through the gate.

No one wanted an emergency alert triggering based on a misunderstanding. Unlike the clones, the mechanical weapons had no sense of humor.

“Pant, gasp.”

The person attempting to pass through now was a pointy-haired boy.

He was accompanied by a silver-haired nun in a white habit with a calico cat on her head and an unfamiliar busty black-haired girl. The clone didn’t know who that was, but she stared into the distance, knowing this had to be more of the usual. This bastard may have had more female acquaintances than there were Sisters.

Oblivious to this, Kamijou Touma was so exhausted he felt ready to forget his current situation and sprawl out on the asphalt.

“We made it, dammit. We made it to Academy City’s gate!!”

“T-Touma, I still think we should have taken the train. We have money from that job, don’t we!?”

“Shut up. I was the only one who did any real work in Shibuya. And even if the trains are running throughout the night since it’s New Year’s, I can’t walk through the station looking like this. I haven’t cleaned up after fighting for my life on the 31st.”

“Ugh. Boy, that’s why I said I would call us a taxi or a hired car.”

“Why do you have money to throw away when you didn’t work at all, Kumokawa-senpai!? If I forget the value of money so soon after working, I’ll be broke again in no time, you super rich upperclassman!!”

The pointy-haired boy went on to shout “A debt free new year!!” at the top of his lungs, so he had apparently been through a lot.

Misaka’s Sister held her grenade-launcher-attached assault rifle to her flat chest like it was a stuffed animal and tried her best to look cute.

“Oh, it was you, says Misaka as a greeting. If you really would collapse onto the road now, I could be – panties – the first one to wish you – panties – a happy new year.”

“Huh? Hold on. Are you glitching out because the Misaka Network was hit by something like the Y2K bug?”

Kamijou’s concerns here were no laughing matter.

Misaka’s Sister continued staring blankly as she directed her gaze a bit higher.

She looked to Othinus, the 15cm god keeping warm within the pointy hair.

“You are a god, aren’t you? says Misaka as she gives you a New Year’s greeting. Bow.”

“Come to think of it, the being hidden within you kept her memories and personality after I destroyed the world, didn’t she?”

“Misaka is not sure what you mean, but she does hear an unidentified voice in her head saying, ‘Fuck that lonely goddess for hogging the spot next to Kamijou-chan like she of all people deserves the heroine position’, notes Misaka. Fuck you.”

“Fair warning: I’m not a particularly benevolent god. If I thought hitting you would hurt the being hidden within you, I would do so without hesitation, insolent clone.”

The pointy-haired boy sensed that letting this continue would lead to bloodshed on New Year’s morning, so he quickly intervened.

“So what are you doing here, Misaka’s Sister?”

“This is apparently part of an experiment to see if clones can participate in society, says Misaka to provide a short but informative answer.”

Misaka’s Sister did not try to hide it. There was no reason to.

To repeat, it was a new year.

“It is still unknown if clones like us will be immediately accepted into society, but we will never know if we do not try. To start with, we were split into groups and each group is attempting to work in a different field, such as education, public service, finance, labor, and research. This Misaka is in the public service group, proudly states Misaka. With so many of us, it was deemed faster if we attempted every genre and see what suits us best.”

“That guy really thought this through.”

“He is the new board chairman after all.”

“Yeah, but that’s a job where overthinking things leads to some scary places.”

“By the way,” said Misaka’s Sister, turning her emotionless eyes elsewhere.

She looked next to Kamijou Touma’s face, where a large butt was wiggling.

“What exactly led to this situation? inquires Misaka, seeking an explanation.”

A muffled voice groaned from behind a strip of duct tape.

Sturdy waterproof tape bound the wrists behind the back, the ankles together, and the lips shut.

Witch Goddess Aradia was being carried over the shoulder, bandit style.

So, what were Kamijou’s reasons for this?

He had no other choice.

He had defeated Transcendent Aradia in Shibuya on the night of the 31st, but if he left her there, she would have recovered and attacked again. Ditto for leaving her with the ordinary police. Kamijou was the only one who could neutralize her by negating all forms of magic, so he had to look after her.

There was also a reason for carrying her bandit style, which made him look like a ruffian. Aradia fought by covering the ground with a powder made from various chemicals and then used her own bare feet to mix in her own sebum and create a witch’s ointment. In other words, if her legs were bound and her feet were kept off the ground, she couldn’t attack.

However, blankly-staring Misaka’s Sister must not have really expected a clear explanation. She resumed speaking before Kamijou had a chance to respond.

“That unknown woman’s butt is putting up a mighty struggle. With her hands bound, she appears to be using only her butt to fight back, but that is causing an impressive wedgie, assesses Misaka with a sigh.”

“Mghh!!!???”

“Is Misaka correct in concluding you walked all the way from Shibuya like this? Misaka is amazed no would-be heroes tried to stop you, says Misaka to express her awe at this miraculous occurrence.”

“You think luck or a miracle would give Mr. Misfortune himself any help? Oh, no. I was stopped for questioning four times on the way here. And all four times, I had to make a run for it with Aradia over my shoulder!! I imagine they’re making a wanted poster for me right about now!!”

That was why Kamijou Touma wanted inside Academy City as soon as possible. According to Othinus, the rest of the world viewed the city like a giant embassy. Kamijou wasn’t sure what that meant exactly, but Kumokawa-senpai had gone on to say they would be safe in the city!

Not even the police officers driving around with their lights flashing on New Year’s could get into Academy City. …Not that he could let his guard down once inside, since he had no guarantee Anti-Skill and Judgment would take his side.

“I should really contact the Anglican Church about this, but I don’t know how. Fortunately, I remembered Academy City’s board chairman has a secret hotline with the Anglican Archbishop, so returning here is my best way of contacting the magic side.”

“The board chairman…”

“Right. And that’s the #1 nowadays, isn’t it?”

Misaka’s Sister sighed and stepped aside to clear the way.

“Misaka will always take your side no matter what, but an ordinary Anti-Skill officer might have put you in handcuffs, says Misaka, hoping you will be more reasonable in the future.”

“Thanks.”

He wished he could leave Aradia with the adults of Anti-Skill, but he didn’t trust them to handle her after Anna Sprengel’s escape. He decided it would be best to use Imagine Breaker to keep her under control until the Anglicans could send Stiyl or Kanzaki. In fact, Witch Goddess Aradia wasn’t a scientific esper and hadn’t done anything in Academy City, so would Anti-Skill even take her into custody?

“By the way.”

But not everything was going to go smoothly.

Still expressionless, Misaka’s Sister held out her hand, palm up.

“The frog doctor has informed Misaka that Japan has a tradition of gifting money on New Year’s.”

“…”

The very beginning of Kamijou Touma’s year had been defiled.

Mr. Bribery returned to Academy City after buying his safety with money.

Chapter 1: Happy New Hell, Another Year of Panic – KOTATU_Syndrome.

Part 1

“Yes, I’m back! Huh, did my room always smell like this?”

“I don’t notice anything different. And my memory is perfect, so I know I’m right!”

Kamijou may have been feeling the same thing anyone did after returning from a trip.

Regardless, he set down the luggage he had been lugging around over his shoulder bandit style and then got into the kotatsu.

However…

“Why is it cold!? What, is someone using this kotatsu to store Hokkaido salmon!?”

“Yawn. Human, salmon is usually salted so it can be stored without refrigeration.”

15cm Othinus would be entirely buried by the blanket around the kotatsu, so she curled up on the table instead. When the heater was switched on, the table apparently felt like a heated floor. Which was why carelessly placing your laptop on the kotatsu could lead to it overheating.

“Index, plug that cable into the wall. Then I just have to flip this switch.”

“Ugh…”

“Don’t complain just because it’s a machine. You’re the closest to the outlet and we’ll never get warm unless someone does it.”

He wanted to take it easy on January 1.

When he had said he couldn’t bear doing a shrine visit right away after everything, Kumokawa Seria had wandered off somewhere. That upperclassman girl remained strong on New Year’s despite all the danger she had survived the day before.

Once inside the kotatsu up to his shoulders, Kamijou lay on the floor and grabbed the TV remote, but nothing happened no matter what he pressed. They had only just returned from a trip, so he hadn’t turned the main power back on. He grumbled about misfortune as he emerged from the kotatsu, hit the button, and returned.

The TV turned on to a program introducing Shinto shrines across Japan with pleasant music in the background. It was less meant for its content and more meant as background noise to help you drift off to sleep. It was perfect for the new year. Who needed some shocking footage putting a strain on your heart first thing New Year’s morning?

“Index, are you okay with doing the shrine visit after lunch?”

“I’m taking a nap, Touma. And I hope you understand how bad things are if I’m choosing to skip a meal for sleep.”

“Welcome to the 5-minute Short News. For our top story, the anti-elite Winter Cleaning unofficially held inside and outside of Academy City is continuing to spread under a new name.”

But someone else was not onboard with the “relaxing New Year’s morning” plan.

The luggage placed on the wood flooring groaned loudly and rolled side to side. That was in fact Transcendent Aradia tied up with duct tape.

The witch goddess apparently had something to say. Did she want inside the kotatsu? It was January and she was wearing a modified bikini that made her look like a dancer. She was like that one kid in every class who insisted on wearing shorts year round. You know, like Kanzaki.

Aradia was a Transcendent from the Bridge Builders Cabal.

She acted like she was the leader of this group called the Wiccans, but it wasn’t clear if that was really true. The Transcendents like the Bologna Succubus all had their origins in fictional stories or reports and Index had said the history of a goddess named Aradia stood on pretty shaky ground.

Was she a human magician who had wanted to use the fictional goddess’s reputation?

Or was she a being so powerful humans had failed to accurately record her existence?

(I need to get a straight answer about that later.)

That thought came to Kamijou’s mind while he enjoyed the kotatsu. Index was on another side of the square kotatsu, so she was sort of lying on top of him down where no one could see.

“Hey, Touma? Are you sure it was a good idea to put Aradia on the floor?”

“She mixes her witch’s ointment using her bare feet on the ground, right? Her legs are bound and her feet are wrapped in duct tape up to the ankles, so she can’t directly touch the floor. We’ll be fine…I hope.”

“Human, if this is going to be a problem, why not use that duct tape to hang her from the ceiling? You can tie her up all sexy like and trap her in essentially a giant spider web.”

Aradia raised a muffled protest. She bent her knees to try and protect her stomach while lying on her side, but she didn’t seem to realize that just emphasized her butt. It wasn’t much of a defense.

“Then why did you cover her mouth?” asked Index with a tilt of the head.

“Wait, why did I do that? It isn’t like she uses incantations.”

He tore the duct tape from the tied-up goddess’s mouth. After all her resistance earlier, she proved to be quite obedient when he was removing some of her restraints.

“Pwah.”

She started by sucking in as much oxygen as she could get.

“What do you people plan on doing with me!? How dare you treat the goddess of all witches this way! Don’t you know I am Transcendent Aradia of the Bridge Builders Cabal? I will never forget what you did to me today!!”

Her ankles and her hands behind her back were still bound by the duct tape, so as threatening as she tried to sound, she was still flopping around like a mermaid caught by a fisherman.

Kamijou turned back toward the kotatsu that Index still occupied.

“Hey, Index. I don’t think she’s going to tell us much.”

“Yawn. Well, she’s being loud, so why not tape her mouth up again?”

“Othinus?”

“Magic researcher who dares disturb my divine slumber, I hope the human ties you up with some sexy bondage and stuffs you in the closet or in the below-floor kitchen storage. All using that super-strong foreign tape he bought at a discount store.”

“W-w-w-wait!?”

Aradia began to panic. Index and Othinus were only interested in getting some sleep, so they didn’t seem too concerned with what might become of her.

Kamijou removed the cover from the below-floor storage and then noticed something.

“Huh? Oh, right. I forgot all about this.”

“Why are you actually opening the storage space!? Barbarian clinging to the trappings of civilization, you need to embody the grace of god!! Or at least consider my free will!!”

Aradia paled and bristled. She loathed Christianity, so mentioning the grace of god had to be a major compromise on her part, but the pointy-haired high school boy didn’t know enough about religion to notice her determination.

Kamijou Touma next opened the refrigerator’s giant door.

“I was right.”

“Eh? Uh, oh. You aren’t thinking of stuffing me in there, are you? And that white mist escaping tells me that door is to the freezer, not the crisper!”

Aradia was at a loss for words with clear drops forming in her eyes, but the pointy-haired boy was not interested in eating a homemade witch goddess sherbet made with brown sugar syrup and rice dumplings to fit the New Year’s season.

“This isn’t good. I managed to earn some money, but I didn’t go shopping. We’re still completely out of food and on the verge of starving to death!!”

“Settle down, human. Academy City is an urban area in Japan’s capital of Tokyo. They have stores open on New Year’s these days.”

“Maybe, but are you absolutely certain the local supermarket is open? I can just imagine walking around seeing nothing but closed shutters with signs saying they’re closed for the holiday. Starving to death with a wallet full of money is an absurd level of misfortune, but that’s exactly why I can see it happening to me!”

“Zzz… Don’t worry, Touma. We have Aradia if worse comes to worst…”

“Time out,” interrupted Aradia. “Where did this extreme survival situation come from? Why do I feel like every second brings me closer to being turned into an unwilling noble sacrifice!?”

Aradia’s throat was entirely dry now, but she still couldn’t move.

Wiccan spells were all about an ointment made by mixing a variety of chemicals with oil. That Transcendent was powerful enough to rival the entire magic side on her own when the conditions were right, but she was only a weak (and sexily dressed) young woman when the conditions were not right.

Index, Othinus, and the cat showed no sign of leaving the kotatsu.

After they fell asleep in the kotatsu, woke back up, and were overcome by enough hunger to forget their humanity, Magical Girl Aradia-chan would meet her end. The rules of the world would not apply in this small room where starving stomachs ruled all.

Goddess Aradia would be devoured by them all, and not in the sexy way☆

Whether they were wild spells people were forbidden from even mentioning or they were slanderous inventions of the Christian church, Aradia had detailed knowledge of ancient rituals from around the world. At times, being an avid learner had its drawbacks.

“W-w-w-wait, you there! Kamijou Touma!! Go grocery shopping right this instant! Isn’t that the obvious solution here!?”

“Yeah, but I need to recharge my motivation first. I might be used to misfortune, but not even I could bear to head out into the cold when I’m this sleepy and find nothing but closed shutters greeting me.”

“The more you refuse to challenge yourself, the lower my odds of survival!! Food isn’t going to magically appear if you stay here. Besides, can’t you check if the store is open on your phone!?”

Could you do that?

Kamijou was shoulder deep in the kotatsu again (much to the displeasure of Index who had briefly had the entire space to herself) and now he reached for his phone. But a smartphone beginner like him could only find their ordinary weekday and weekend hours. Stare as he might at the small screen, he couldn’t find anything about New Year’s in particular.

Lying on his stomach, he lowered his head, kissed the floor, and groaned.

The old folk’s smartphone slipped from his hand.

“I can’t do it. I’m too sleepy and hungry to think. I don’t even have the willpower to do a search.”

“There’s a popup for a New Year’s sale flashing on the screen right now, so they’re obviously open today!! Please don’t give up, Kamijou Touma!! You’re the only one left who can hear me and actually do something about it!!!”

Part 2

At the insistence of the sexy crybaby, they set off for some emergency grocery shopping. Mostly because sleeping in the kotatsu was impossible with her making such a racket.

Kamijou decided it would be a good idea to get the shrine visit done with while they were out. He was getting his new year off to a somewhat guilty start since he felt bad going so soon after telling Kumokawa he wouldn’t be.

“Ugh, I’m too tired to move.”

“And I don’t have it in me to cook. Hey, Index, how about we buy some ingredients and then grab something we can eat right away? It’s New Year’s, so they must have food stands set up near the shrine.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Touma. Anything you can buy at a food stand counts as a snack. I demand three full meals!”

“You always ask for croquettes and yakisoba at the shopping district, so I think your definition of snack is too broad. A set of four takoyaki I would understand, but an entire okonomiyaki is a meal!”

Kamijou’s group sluggishly left the dorm room.

But one of them still wasn’t satisfied.

“…”

Transcendent Aradia scowled down at her left hand.

It was written clear on her face that she appreciated not having her hands duct taped behind her back anymore and she could live with the makeshift duct tape shoes covering her feet, but she did not like having Imagine Breaker tightly grasping her hand. A lot to fit on the beautiful goddess’s small face.

The Transcendent spoke with her voice pitched terrifyingly low.

“…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………What is this?”

“An Aradia countermeasure. What else?”

Her unimaginably icy voice only got a confused look from Kamijou.

Were Transcendents just too far removed from humans? This hot-blooded boy would get in the bath with the Bologna Succubus if necessary for a battle and he didn’t seem bothered by this either.

“The idea that you can’t use magic as long as you can’t make your ointment makes a lot of sense, but only duct taping your feet doesn’t feel like enough. I wanted a little more insurance.”

“Don’t I get a say!? And how about showing some tact regarding me being a woman? You’re even intertwining our fingers like we’re lovers!!”

“Ow, ow, ow!! How did you even twist your hand like that!? You’re bending all my fingers the wrong way!!!”

Aradia twirled like she was ballroom dancing to hit Kamijou with a Broken Heart Finger Smasher, but Kamijou couldn’t even let go, fell onto his butt, and writhed around on the same sidewalk he normally used to get to school. It looked a lot like the beautiful aikido moves that Anti-Skill used and even a graceful young woman could pull off.

Aradia hissed at him like a snake and Othinus sighed after managing to avoid falling from Kamijou’s shoulder.

“What a pain. Transcendent Aradia, you should have noticed something now that you’ve tried moving around.”

“…”

“You’re furious with him, but this is all you managed. But the way things were yesterday, you would have torn through this human’s torso with your bare hand if he so much as irritated you.”

Aradia quietly clicked her tongue.

And her hand remained in his grasp. She could bend his hand using her finger joints, but she could not tear the hand from his wrist or break the arm from his shoulder.

Although this difference in the superhuman’s power was lost on Kamijou as he wept in pain on the ground.

“Hmph. So what is this about a shrine visit?”

“?”

“No matter how silly it is, it is worth my time to know your plans. So I can plan a counterattack or an escape.”

“Is she openly telling her enemy that because she’s some confusingly high-level form of tsundere?” Othinus whispered in his ear, but he had no way of judging that.

“D-District 12,” he replied. “Even Academy City has a district where all the mythology and religion research is done.”

Othinus had suggested they use more duct tape to wrap Aradia up like a mummy and toss her in the bathroom, but that idea had scared Kamijou. Even if she was somewhat neutralized at the moment, she was still a Transcendent of the Bridge Builders Cabal. If she managed to get the tape off her feet and made some ointment while they were away, things would get quite literally out of hand.

He honestly didn’t want to let her out of his sight. He knew firsthand she would not hesitate to kill if it would advance her goals.

He hesitantly looked over and the witch goddess responded in a sulky voice.

“What do you want?”

And so they set out.

The train schedule was different for the holiday. When they arrived at the station, they saw a kadomatsu decoration at the entrance. There was also a kagami mochi display in the employee waiting room next to the ticket gates. And even though it was early morning during winter break, one of the platforms was lightly crowded with students. That was of course the platform for the line leading to District 12. The crowd included a lot of brightly dressed girls.

“…”

The pointy-haired boy viewed his companions one at a time: Index, Othinus, Aradia, and Sphinx.

“(With a group like this, I should just throw out any hope of making any adolescent memories today. Ha ha ha.)”

“Human, what kind of hope did you just give up on?”

He ended up with the 15cm god tugging on his ear. But no matter what any of them said, a nun, a god, a witch, and a cat were not the appropriate party for a New Year’s quest. None of them would look at home wearing a furisode. If they had to choose one thing to bring with them to a desert island, they would seriously choose something like a musty old grimoire or a sketchy ointment, so a swimsuit vacation or a seasonal event was too much to ask of them.

The LCD ads covering the sides of the trains were in full New Year’s mode. They were playing ads for a New Year’s sale at a fancy department store or for an AR campaign to win New Year’s money by going to different parts of Academy City with your phone in hand. Interspersed among the ads were the occasional horoscope or a headline seemingly taken from the top online news stories.

“A social phenomenon some are calling an entrance exam boycott is showing signs of growing,” read one story. “Academy City has rejected the recommendation to adopt the less alarming name of kotatsu syndrome.”

“Ugh…”

“Index, stop trying to read the scrolling text if you aren’t used to it. Some people get motion sickness from it.”

“Why is it so hot and humid in here? It’s like this gross invisible haze is coming up from below us.”

He had thought Index was being unusually well-behaved, but apparently she had been hit by the mysterious heating effect of trains.

“…”

Meanwhile, Aradia was looking somewhat upwards while still holding his hand in the crowd. He thought maybe she was nervous around modern technology since she too was from the magic side, but he realized her focus was on the fluorescent light near the door.

Or more accurately, on the 2mm security camera hidden on the fluorescent light’s joint. Kamijou’s eyes widened too.

“Huh? When did they install those?”

“They must be to increase security on the trains. In other words, to catch pickpockets and molesters. …Interesting. This boy insists on holding my hand, which keeps his dominant hand hidden within the crowd. If I scream and say he’s molesting me when the door opens at a station, I might just have a chance to escape.)”

“Don’t you dare turn preserving my social standing into an impossible challenge!”

Academy City covered about 1/3 of Tokyo.

That was too much to cover on foot, but it didn’t take long to cover on a train.

The train soon arrived in District 12 and the view outside the window entirely changed.

“Impressive,” said Othinus from Kamijou’s shoulder.

Giant pyramids and Greek-style temples were lined up in between the skyscrapers made of thick concrete and glass. One temple had various color patterns applied to it with projection mapping, perhaps to research the theory that the Parthenon wasn’t originally white. There were plenty of enormous stone monuments and goddess statues. The colors washing down the river were not fallen leaves or flower petals – they were origami dolls designed to decompose naturally. A herd of deer wandered happily along an elevated street which was closed to traffic. More than a research institute for mythology and religion, the place felt like a theme park full of replicas of famous tourist locations from around the world.

Kamijou had rarely ever visited the district, but he knew the basics.

“It isn’t that they actually believe in any gods. The idea is to research why humans believe in gods and what is needed to keep people in the special psychological state known as ‘belief’ long term. Most of the research is in the fields of philosophy, psychology, and architecture.”

“Hmph.” “Hmph.”

Othinus and Aradia both sounded less than pleased. Unsurprising when they were both known as gods.

“(I probably shouldn’t tell them this is the headquarters of Academy City’s analysis of all things unscientific and supernatural and that it’s commonly known as the Occult Denial Society.)”

“We heard all of that.” “We heard all of that.”

The two divine ones were suddenly the best of friends as they responded in perfect unison, but that was when the train arrived in the District 12 station.

Kamijou’s group followed the crowd exiting onto the platform. The train actually tilted to one side so many people were leaving. Most of these people were here for their New Year’s shrine visit.

“Touma, where exactly are we going?”

“I’m not sure, but we should reach a popular shrine if we follow the crowd, right?”

The mythology focus showed through even in the station’s exit signs. They said things like “A9, Great Pyramid Area Exit” or “This way to Tree Worship, Megalith Culture, and Near Death Experience Labs”.

Kamijou was intensely curious what the pyramids of Egyptian mythology did on New Year’s, but today was the day for a Shinto shrine visit. He followed the crowd containing a lot of furisode girls through the ticket gate.

And…

“…”

They were still out in front of the station, but Aradia stared up at something in astonishment. A skyscraper covered on all sides with glass rose more than 50 stories.

“W-wait a second.”

“C’mon, Aradia. Let’s get to the shrine.”

“When you said shrine, I thought you meant your country’s unique religious structures! With torii, offering boxes, and komainu!! Why are all those kimono girls entering a high-tech skyscraper!?”

“Hurry up.”

The large entrance area contained a lot of people. There were more than 20 elevators to reach the higher floors, but there was still a line.

There was a building guide in the center of the floor, explaining what could be found on each floor.

Floors 1-5: General Information and Shopping Area. Floor 6: Christian – Latin Relief Cathedral. Floor 7: Museum. Floor 8: Egyptian Mythology – Nile Nome Temple. Floor 9: Buddhism – Great Red Lotus Temple. Floor 10: Shinto – Daybreak Shrine. Floor 11: Folk Belief, Folktale, and Multipurpose Fortunetelling. And so on.

Needless to say, the Shinto shrine and Christian cathedral found here had none of the things that mattered to the magic side. They were only shallow recreations made from the scientific perspective of Academy City. Their research wasn’t even asking why people believed in Shinto fortune slips. They asked what psychological conditions led people to pay money for fortune slips when the outcomes were determined by nothing more than random chance.

The witch goddess’s eyes widened in disbelief. How many times in history had that miracle occurred?

“This can’t be real.”

“If there’s one thing Academy City can’t spare, it’s land. They can’t have big shrines and temples sprawled out along the ground. That’s why each one is built in a huge garden on a floor of these buildings. It’s all indoors, but I’ve heard you can even meditate under a waterfall if you want. Since each floor has no interior walls, they have even more space than your average school campus.”

Index just about wandered off to where they were giving out grilled mochi for free, so Kamijou grabbed her by the back of the collar. Take one step from the elevator line and they would have to return to the very back of the line.

This one building was not a special case.

Most of the skyscrapers sticking up from District 12 like bamboo shoots were the same. Any one building did not contain just one type of religious or mythological facility, so the people (well, the university research team) that wanted a type of temple or cathedral just struck it where there was an opening like leasing a room in a multi-tenant building. In District 12, it wasn’t unusual for the ground floor to hold a discount store and the 2nd floor to contain a church.

“This is unusual, Touma. Why do you know so much about the occult here?”

The answer to that was a secret Kamijou had sworn to take to his grave. In truth, Aogami Pierce had once gone here on an ascetic journey to rid himself of all worldly thoughts, but instead found the shrine maiden so cute that professional warrior monks from the neighboring temple had to be called in as reinforcements and the boy was thrown out and banned from ever entering the district again. Then when the idiot had wanted to recover the contents of the hard drive he had wiped in his short-lived zeal, he had ended up writhing in pain in a back alley junk shop where a villainous professor had nearly digitized his brain and DNA. The story made Kamijou suspect that such heavily concentrated desire was like a dark crystal carrying a form of power all its own.

Eventually, it was Kamijou’s group’s turn.

They crammed themselves into the fairly large elevator and rode it up. The elevator was so crowded, they couldn’t even reach the buttons, but they knew they would still reach the floor containing a giant Shinto shrine.

The gentle acceleration suddenly stopped.

The doors slid open to reveal what lay beyond.

Part 3

She was running late.

That was Misaka Mikoto’s first impression.

The real problem was ending up in the hospital right at the end of the year. She had only been there for a few days to make sure nothing was wrong, but she hadn’t managed to rework her schedule during all the confusion and the new year had caught up to her before she was ready. All hope was lost. She had accomplished nothing and now the winter of her 14th year had ended without any real drama. Your second year of middle school only came once (not that she wanted a second chance from getting held back a year) and she had wasted it! How could she lie there in bed staring at her phone’s tiny screen!? All that noise outside was the fireworks for the countdown to midnight! Listen to them shout happy new year. That was how it was supposed to be. Wasn’t that kind of wild partying with no thought to the consequences what being a teenager was all about!?

The 14-year-old was seriously reconsidering her life.

So once midnight of January 1 arrived, Misaka Mikoto entered battle mode.

She of course broke several dorm rules by jumping right out the window.

“Pant, pant. O-Onee-sama, isn’t it about time we take a break?”

“It’s only been about 8 hours since midnight. New Year’s is all about endurance. Watching the sunrise, drinking amazake, paying hanetsuki, doing calligraphy, getting New Year’s money, eating the traditional food, pounding mochi, and visiting a shrine! I’m cramming as much of it into this one day as I can!!”

The twintails underclassman could teleport, but Mikoto was magnetically leaping from building to building with such speed even Shirai Kuroko was out of breath. In her brightly colored furisode, she looked like a neon shooting star.

And…

“Someone has far too much energy for first thing in the morning on New Year’s. Does Academy City’s Miss Thunder keep rumbling all year long?”

Mikoto’s eyebrows twitched when she heard a familiar voice.

The bottoms of her zori were drawn toward a balcony railing sticking out from the 10th floor of a skyscraper towering over 50 floors tall.

“And what are you doing here in that gaudy kimono? Let’s see, this floor is the Shinto shrine, isn’t it?”

The balcony contained a small café space. A bench covered in scarlet felt and a large tea ceremony umbrella were set up within a beautiful gravel garden (probably maintained by a cleaning robot with a special attachment resembling a giant comb). Shokuhou used both hands to hold a teacup with whitish contents – probably amazake. It must have met the queen’s strict standards for food and drink.

The balconies for the higher floors must have been on different sides of the building, so the view above was clear.

The girl who had gone to the trouble of visiting such a chilly location on New Year’s morning had it in her to wink for some reason.

“Your schedule might be wide open, Misaka-san, but those of us with lots of friends have plenty of events to attend during the holidays. Such as praying for my clique members to pass their entrance exams.”

“Really? You’re sure it isn’t that your plans to head home during the holiday weren’t ruined by spending time in the hospital with me?”

“Gh. My planning ability is not as poor as yours, so I did not wait until the last second to make my plans. I chose to remain in Academy City because my clique wanted me to.”

“(She’s like those apartment women who force their hobbies onto others without realizing no one else is enjoying it.)”

“You said that out loud on purpose, didn’t you?”

The Level 5s showed their support of the SDGs by producing sparks without any fuel even if it meant breaking the 2nd law of thermodynamics. Meanwhile, the twintails underclassman and the ringlets upperclassman exchanged a polite New Year’s greeting. Come to think of it, the ringlets girl was in the third year, so she had entrance exams to worry about. Tokiwadai was said to spend three years creating people who could make it in the real world.

Mikoto heard a metallic noise and looked over.

Her eyes immediately widened.

The girl there had short brown hair, pale skin, a thick coat that stood out among all the colorful furisode, an assault rifle with grenade launcher attachment worn over the shoulder, and a face identical to Mikoto’s. And she wasn’t alone. Three or four of them were in the shrine area at the same time.

Those were the mass-produced military clones created from a DNA map of Academy City’s #3.

They were known as the Sisters.

“Wh-what are you doing here out in the open!?”

The identical girls tilted their heads in the exact same way with no change of expression. They were so perfectly synchronized they looked like heads of wheat blowing in the wind.

“Misaka is providing security for the New Year’s shrine visitors, succinctly replies Misaka #10998.”

“This Misaka is on janitorial duty. What are you doing here, Original? asks Misaka #14979 with a tilt of her head.”

“Misaka is blowing off her duties in the District 2 museum to visit the shrine, reports Misaka #19090 with a cute upturned look.”

“Hm. Misaka was doing some people watching, but now she notices a lovely aroma coming from the free amazake area over there, says Misaka #10777, showing off her observational skills.”

“This is Misaka’s chance to participate in some economic activity, says Misaka #15850 while detecting a chance to cause some trouble. Like this!”

The Sisters were already getting off track all on their own.

Meanwhile, Shirai Kuroko was trembling.

“What!? S-so many Onee-samas. Am I already having my first dream of the year?”

The passersby all reacted in their own ways. Some curiously aimed their phone cameras at the clones that had been recently revealed to exist. Others walked right past the identical girls to line up for the offering box. They reacted about how they might for an unusual new design for a security robot.

“But they just aren’t the same as the real one. They lack that intangible divinity! They don’t have the aura of a goddess!!”

Shirai Kuroko still came to cling to Mikoto, so Mikoto intercepted her with a fist and pondered what was happening.

People were accepting those girls.

They were allowed to just be another part of the scenery – a harmless piece of the city.

Just like any of the students or teachers walking through here.

“…”

Misaka Mikoto narrowed her eyes as she watched it.

Maybe this was nothing more than an ordinary New Year’s scene.

But who could have imagined this could ever happen?

Shokuhou Misaki whispered in Mikoto’s ear with her cup of amazake held between her hands.

Mikoto didn’t know the actual story behind it, but she had heard enough to guess this girl had established her own bond with the Sisters.

“Aren’t you glad you got to see this in your lifetime, Misaka-san?”

“It irks me I didn’t make it happen myself, but that’s a me problem and doesn’t mean anything to them.”

“It won’t all go this well. The people are still mostly just unsure what to make of this new revelation ability. The loving and righteous bashing will come once they’ve had time to process this☆”

“I’m well aware, social media queen. I don’t intend to sit back and let someone else handle it all.”

Twenty thousand Sisters had been made, but not even half of that remained.

She doubted she would ever forgive the person who had caused that, but she felt like she could accept that his remorse and his efforts toward atonement were genuine.

And…

“Hey, Misaka. Are you here for the shrine visit too?”

“I’m hungry, I’m hungry! Ohhhh!! There’s shiruko, zoni, and a mochi pounding festival!!”

She heard some familiar voices.

She looked over to see the pointy-haired boy and his strange companions approaching through the crowd. She could guess the usual nun had insisted they go to the balcony where they were giving out various New Year’s foods. First thing in the new year, that wasn’t enough to rattle her or Shokuhou.

However…

“(Who is that exhibitionist wearing a modified bikini in the middle of winter!? And why are those two holding hands when I’ve never even seen her before!!??)”

For once, Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki were in perfect sync. They had to be careful because, with Kamijou Touma, falling behind by even a day could make it just as hard to catch up as with a weekly battle manga.

Was she a fortuneteller? A dancer maybe? Given District 12’s scientific focus on mythology and religion, just about anything seemed possible. Strangely, the woman kept giving him murderous looks (but never tried to let go of his hand).

And then…

“Um…have we met?”

When the pointy-haired boy’s gaze wandered next to Mikoto, he hesitantly bowed his head, unsure what to do.

Shokuhou Misaki only smiled.

“Hm? What’s going on here?”

Misaka Mikoto was confused.

She couldn’t figure out why he was acting like he didn’t know Shokuhou.

The electric furisode middle schooler tilted her head until a look of realization appeared on her face.

“Oh, you’re implying you didn’t recognize her because the furisode and special hairstyle made her look more adult, aren’t you? Well, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m wearing a kimono too!!”

“Wait, why are you going nuts all of a sudden, electric girl? Can’t you at least give me a break from this nonsense on New Year’s!?”

“Hadn’t you heard that kimonos look bad on people with big boobs!?”

“That line of reasoning is only going to hurt you in the long- gyahhhh!?”

The shrine here was not dedicated to a god of thunder, yet lightning struck him all the same. That was a good summary of how Mr. Misfortune’s year was going.

Part 4

Kamijou’s biggest mistake had been using his right hand for the Aradia countermeasure. He was firmly holding her hand, but the high-voltage current running through his body was negated when it reached his wrist and none of it reached the Transcendent.

The pointy-haired boy was twitching on the gravel when one of the expressionless Sisters addressed him.

“Um.” In fact, she crouched down, grabbed at his jacket, and refused to let go. “Misaka heard about a New Year’s custom from another Misaka over the Misaka Network. Specifically, #10032, hints Misaka #10998 while fidgeting nervously.”

“Misaka wants to do that too, says Misaka #10777 to ask for a lovely memory.”

“Misaka wants in too, says Misaka #15009 while making sure you don’t get away.”

Kamijou looked puzzled.

For the Sisters, this truly was their first ever New Year’s. He had no reason to turn them away if they wanted to enjoy the holiday. There was hanetsuki, flying kites, and maybe karuta? He could think of a few New Year’s activities that a high schooler wouldn’t be all that into.

“Wait, #10032? You mean Misaka’s Sister? What did she tell you?”

Maybe it was their brainwaves being synchronized for the network, but they all nodded at once.

He shouldn’t have let his guard down. These were cursed words he had to avoid hearing at all costs.

But the gates of hell were already opening.

“Misaka #10032 told the Misakas about the custom of receiving New Year’s money, say the Misakas, bringing up the filthy topic of money.”

Kamijou was petrified.

Come to think of it. As his life started flashing before his eyes, he saw #10032 working as a guard at the east gate. It was true he had paid her a bribe to let him through while carrying tied-up Aradia and he had indeed claimed it was only a gift of New Year’s money, but did this mean every one of the Sisters knew about that thanks to the Misaka Network!?

The clone girls were inching closer with yen signs and dollar signs dancing ominously in their emotionless eyes.

“Wait, wait, wait!! N-New Year’s money? I get what you mean, but how many of you are there!? Even if I gave each of you 500 yen, there are almost 10 thousand of you, so…eh? Wouldn’t that be enough money to buy a car!?”

“Even an elementary schooler would click her tongue at her kindly grandfather if she opened the envelope and only found a single 500-yen coin in this day and age, warns Misaka #18000 with a glare.”

“Why are new numbers popping up!? C-can’t we simplify this by focusing on how much I’m giving to the Sisters as a whole? And you can share memories and experiences through the Misaka Network, so don’t I only need to give it to one of you?”

“But that wouldn’t be fair, says Misaka #19518 while pouting her lips to look cute.”

“Another new number… How many Sisters are wandering around this shrine!?”

“To begin with, the amount #10032 was given at the east gate was-”

He quickly reached his arms around the expressionless girl and covered her mouth with both hands.

“(Stop it, you idiot! That super-serious-looking twintails girl over there is wearing a Judgment armband, so please don’t let her know I smuggled Aradia into the city!!)”

But that choice backfired.

The various currency signs vanished from the Sisters’ eyes as they found something new to focus on.

“Misaka too.”

“Misaka wants to be held like that too, begs Misaka #10777.”

“Is the surprise New Year’s hug another Japanese custom? asks Misa-”

Kamijou’s pleas fell on deaf ears.

Mikoto took Shirai Kuroko’s hand and Shokuhou took Hokaze Junko’s and they swiftly escaped outside the encirclement.

Letting go of Aradia’s hand while being zapped had been a mistake. When the real possibility of death showed itself, she casually put some distance between them.

Index was too busy stuffing her face with free dangos to notice what was happening.

The Sister in charge of security here would have received an important warning when she was being trained in how to handle lost children, what to do with suspicious abandoned bags, and whether to call Anti-Skill or an ambulance first when someone needed emergency assistance for alcohol poisoning or whatever else.

Namely, she would have been told to avoid a domino effect when guiding people.

When more than 100 people fell in the same direction, the pressure could be destructive enough to crush a light truck.

An unpleasant squashing noise echoed across the New Year’s scene.

Imagine Breaker was powerless against the pressure caused by a crowd of girls.

Part 5

In a way, this was the most dangerous prison in the already unruly District 10.

Or it should have been.

“Tah dah!! Happy new year! says Misaka as Misaka gives the standard greeting!!”

“………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………What the hell are you doing here?”

The atmosphere in the visitation room was entirely off.

Accelerator briefly thought the thick glass had been made too thick and his voice hadn’t reached the other side, but apparently it had.

The girl who looked to be around 10 was celebrating even after hearing every word. She was so overexcited she was hopping around.

“Misaka is here to visit you because you must be lonely all on your own, says Misaka as Misaka explains the purpose of her visit.”

“Huh?”

“It was Yomikawa’s idea.”

He glared over Last Order’s head, but the gym teacher with her long black hair worn in a ponytail only grinned at him. Her arm was in a sling after breaking it in the mess with the dark side, but that hadn’t dampened her spirits any.

“C’mon, what’s the harm?”

“Go to hell, Yomikawa. You too, Yoshikawa. I see you trying to look inconspicuous back there.”

The adult in a lab coat clicked her tongue despite being too old for that kind of thing. But best not to let her hear you call her “too old” for anything if you wanted to keep out of trouble.

“Accelerator, we understand that you’re a prisoner now. And we understand you need to set an example for Academy City.” Yomikawa Aiho shrugged out of habit and winced when it moved the arm in the sling. “But that means you need to use the rights given to you as a prisoner. You’re allowed visitors. Forcing yourself to suffer unnecessarily would be setting a bad example too, wouldn’t it?”

Now it was Accelerator’s turn to click his tongue.

Either Last Order didn’t notice what this was about or she pretended not to notice.

“So why the hell are you wasting your New Year’s holiday here?”

“Misaka knows what happens after she says happy new year: she gets New Year’s money!!”

“Talk to the grownups.”

Yomikawa Aiho and Yoshikawa Kikyou looked the other way at the exact same moment. They had clearly known each other a long time because they even whistled the same tune.

Meanwhile, Last Order pulled out a large box wrapped in cloth.

“Look, look, says Misaka as Misaka shows this off to you. Let’s eat this New Year’s food together.”

“Did you fail to notice the thick bulletproof glass between us, brat? Visitors aren’t allowed to share food with prisoners!!”

“Ehh?” came the cry of disappointment.

When his perfectly reasonable observations were answered with protest, he just had to accept that the just deserts of his highly unprecedented life were boomeranging back to hit him.

Last Order tilted her head and continued in obvious displeasure.

She opened the lid and looked inside as she did so.

“And after we stayed up late last night making New Year’s food, says Misaka as Misaka puts on a disappointed face.”

“…”

Accelerator noticed the food was mishappen in a way that said it wasn’t premade. Not only did the kobumaki and datemaki look wrong, but the kamaboko was cut unevenly and that only required using a knife. (It was a mystery how Yoshikawa, who preferred experimental beauty devices over cooking equipment, and Yomikawa, who cooked everything in rice cookers, had made this food,) but) Last Order likely hadn’t been allowed to use a knife while she helped. The crushed edges of the herring roe suggested she had used a pair of dull kitchen scissors instead.

Accelerator hated that he was spending his peaceful New Year’s analyzing what type and size of blade had been used based on the shape of the cut.

He sighed and made a suggestion.

“Then head to the general reception on the 1st floor.”

“?”

“All the paperwork should be there. Including the request form for gifting a prisoner food.”

Last Order’s face lit up and she ran off.

Yomikawa and Yoshikawa’s laughter made Accelerator click his tongue.

Part 6

Academy City was a unique city that had been built using the western third of Tokyo.

That meant some of the city beyond the tall walls could be seen from the top of the taller buildings in neighboring Shinjuku.

The administrative area was actually less busy on January 1.

They were gathered atop one of the tall buildings there.

That included Magician Anna Kingsford and the golden retriever Kihara Noukan.

“Now, now, 🐕. You know 🚬 is bad for your health.”

“Please leave this old dog with one of the few things that makes worth living. And since it is New Year’s, I am in the mood to smoke a Japanese kiseru instead of a cigar.”

“No, that will ❌ do at all. Have some Muru☆”

“Wait, stop!! You can’t just give a dog or a cat that secret weapon of a treat! Gwahhhh!!”

Given something (in delicious wagyu flavor) which may as well have been like a cutting-edge science version of catnip, the golden retriever stood on his hind legs and went to town licking at the opening in the stick-shaped package held by the founder magician. He clearly wasn’t happy about it, but he couldn’t stop licking either.

Meanwhile.

A metal disk larger than a record was slowly flipping from one side to the other.

That was a film canister used for movies. It was currently held between the hands of a blonde nun in a beige habit.

A human face was plastered to the outside of the disk.

The face belonged to Anna Sprengel.

Instead of a simple drawing, this face blinked and breathed. And if the film canister’s owner asked it questions, it had the intelligence needed to provide a response.

“What a pain. If only defeating you was enough to call it a day,” said that owner.

“You noticed Alice back on the 29th, didn’t you? And you realized she was too dangerous to ignore, whether or not she was good or evil.”

That was true enough.

Miss Sprengel was not like Aleister. She may have been the type to push people away by speaking the truths no one wanted to hear.

“This can only mean one thing.”

Aleister, the magician hijacking a great demon’s body, took a deep breath.

He was flanked on either side by a golden retriever and Anna Kingsford, who had been revived by machinery after 100 years.

The human protected by the inhuman stated his conclusion.

“Does the Bridge Builders Cabal have more than one base of operations?”

“For risk reduction purposes, almost certainly. The Transcendents of that cabal know exactly how strong they are. So perhaps it would be more accurate to say they know better than to let Alice Anotherbible’s interest stay in one place for too long.”

Their incredible charisma had influenced a great many people while they remained hidden from the world. That had to be how they had caused the massive riot across Shibuya.

“I have no idea how you reached that conclusion, but I don’t understand any of this magic stuff anyway,” said Noukan.

“Hee hee. Do ❌ worry, 🐕. He will sum it all up for you afterwards. It seems every 🧙 since the 🥇 cabal really likes to hear themselves 🗣️.”

Alice was something born from Crowley’s brand of Magick.

“Who could have created Alice? Not that I expect them to still be alive. I doubt anyone could safely control that capricious thing for long.”

“Oh? You think death is the worst case scenario there? How naïve of you. Especially when you have a fate worse than death literally in your hands right now.”

Cruel laughter left the film canister.

Aleister thought for a moment.

“That R&C Occultics company you started was a model meant to analyze the Bridge Builders cabal, wasn’t it? To gain a deeper understanding of that mysterious enemy organization, you built a similar organization and did some roleplaying to work out its internal structure and, more importantly, discover its vulnerabilities.”

To put it another way, the Bridge Builders Cabal had caused similar harm in the past.

Either to advance the Transcendents’ interests or on some innocent whim of Alice herself.

They had just been less openly cruel than R&C Occultics, so their harm had remained hidden below the surface.

“You really are shortsighted. This is why you should have left me to it for a while longer.” The film canister laughed, pointing toward Aleister Crowley’s constant failures. “My short-term goal is the destruction of that harmful organization that has taken root in the hidden part of the world. Revealing the Bridge Builders Cabal’s structure and weaknesses isn’t worth it if I can’t supply enough damage to take them down. All I did was unleash Alice to throw some chaos into their little group. That would have taken a much more amusing turn if you had left it alone.”

“For you, maybe. It would have been an unmitigated disaster for everyone else.”

Just remember what happened in Academy City and Los Angeles.

Even in the Shibuya riot, she had tried to turn everything around in the very, very end by pitting a certain boy against Alice.

Of course, just because the Bridge Builders Cabal had multiple bases around the world did not mean they were helpless here. If there were 100 such bases, they only had to crush every last one of them. Even if they didn’t find anyone at a particular base, the documents and other evidence left at the hideout would help them pursue Alice and the Transcendents.

Meanwhile, something still bothered Noukan.

“Setting aside everything about magic, are you saying R&C Occultics was a false organization created to learn how the Bridge Builders Cabal is structured? In other words, it was intentionally designed to resemble the cabal?”

“👍, very good. Have a 🎁 of Muru as a reward☆”

“Please, no more of that cursed substance!! No, don’t tear open the packet with a smile! Noooooooooo!!”

This conclusion may have been hard to reach for the children clenching their fists and fighting on the front line.

This was a job for Aleister who worked behind the scenes.

Anna Kingsford asked a question while petting the golden retriever who had abandoned his pride to lick at the treat in a bipedal pose.

“Does that mean Alice and the Transcendents are ❌ just an indiscriminate gang of 😈 armed with superior occult weapons?”

“Hm. Are you suggesting they also have a powerful enough source of funding to influence the global economy?”

Part 7

“…”

In truth, Kamijou Touma had two keys to the hidden side of the world.

The first was of course Transcendent Aradia. If he wanted to know about Alice Anotherbible’s Bridge Builders Cabal, the best option was to ask Aradia. He just had to figure out how to get her to talk when she was supposedly powerful enough to rival the entire magic side on her own.

Then there was the second key.

The pointy-haired boy’s thoughts turned to the old folk’s smartphone in his pocket.

(Kumokawa-senpai hid a GPS tracker on the Bologna Succubus’s clothes. I don’t know how many hideouts they have around the world, but this lets us ignore that question and know exactly where Alice and the others are hiding.)

On the other hand, once he had that answer, he would be throwing himself back into the fighting. The peaceful New Year’s spread out before his eyes would fall apart.

“Touma, this sign says an Eastern god will do you a favor if you throw money in here, whether or not you follow their religion!”

“That’s one way of putting it, I suppose.”

Was it really okay for an Anglican nun like Index to pray at a Shinto shrine? Well, this was a District 11 facility meant to scientifically analyze religion, so it had no connection to the real occult stuff Stiyl and Kanzaki worked with. It probably wasn’t an issue.

Othinus, who was just as disconnected from Shinto, whispered something from his shoulder.

“(Who do these people think they’re praying to if they know this is an empty shrine without a god inside?)”

“What, sad they aren’t all praying to you, Miss God?”

Kamijou’s rejoinder earned him a hard tug on the ear. Apparently a mere human wasn’t allowed comments like that.

Also, he doubted anyone in Academy City gave any thought to whether or not there was a god there. Mikoto and some unfamiliar girl were lined up in their furisodes, but the looks on their faces suggested this was just a seasonal event for them. Maybe it was like how you didn’t need to believe in ghosts to enjoy Halloween. Or how people would throw coins into concrete fountains with nothing remotely mystical about them. Even if you knew there was some kind of jinx involved with coins and fountains, it was the same as someone praying as a last resort when in trouble: they didn’t have any specific god in mind when they did it.

Meanwhile, there was one thing about this large crowd that bothered Kamijou.

“Aradia.”

“…”

“Please promise me you won’t try to run away when I shut my eyes and clap my hands to pray.”

He made a whispered plea to Witch Goddess Aradia who was looking for a chance to run off. He didn’t want this to count as his once-a-year New Year’s prayer, but where did he put his offering?

While he was dealing with that, someone else stepped up alongside him.

The ringlets girl threw a generous 500 yen in to the offering box, clapped her hands, shut her eyes, and made her prayer. Maybe she thought she was keeping it inside, but it escaped her adorable lips in a whisper.

Kamijou was close enough to hear it.

“Please do not let me pass my entrance exams.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

(Eh?)

He forgot to breathe for a moment.

When the ringlets girl opened her eyes and saw him staring, she tilted her head.

Apparently she hadn’t meant that as a joke for him to hear.

“Excuse me.”

The honey blonde girl was just as confused and hesitantly spoke up.

She approached this as cautiously as someone defusing a bomb.

“Hokaze, what was that about?”

“Oh, that?” The ringlets girl smiled and explained without a moment’s hesitation. “I don’t want to move on to high school for no other reason than ‘it’s time’ when I could instead stay home and spend years seriously considering what path in life would best serve you, my Queen.”

“Hoka-”

The honey blonde girl started to reply, but couldn’t find the words.

In their stunned silence, Kamijou’s group was ejected to the side of the line. They ended up a bit outside the shrine’s grounds and they saw something else unusual there.

The ringlets girl wasn’t the only one.

The ema, on which the shrine visitors wrote their wishes, included some shocking examples.

“Keep my parents and teachers off my case about passing my exams.” “Please don’t let my System Scan results improve because I don’t want to stand out.” “I don’t need any New Year’s money.” “I want to give up.” “Don’t let anyone get mad at me when I don’t study.” “I want an easy life.” “Why should I care if I get held back?” “I’m so tired.” “FML”

“What the hell is this?” groaned Kamijou.

It didn’t look like a prank. They were all written with different handwriting and different pens. So instead of a single person spreading negativity, this was the result of each individual person writing out their thoughts.

“Kotatsu syndrome, huh? Quite the social phenomenon for such a pleasant-sounding term.” Othinus sighed from his shoulder. “And this is especially bad news for a city of schools like Academy City. For better or for worse, this city is built on the competition between students. If enough people stop caring if they have bad grades and don’t mind if they get suspended or expelled, the teachers lose all power over the students.”

How had this happened?

The anti-elite Winter Cleaning that had sprung up near the end of the year had supposedly been a naturally-occurring social phenomenon caused by Accelerator’s guilty verdict coming at the same time as the collapse of R&C Occultics. And as the new year began, it had apparently transformed into this kotatsu syndrome.

Shirai and Mikoto were holding their own discussion of the issue.

“What do we do about this?”

“It doesn’t look good. Assuming this isn’t a prank by the #5 over there, anyway.”

Without anyone directly harming anyone, the structure Academy City used to prop up a minority of elites was collapsing from the bottom up.

(Since this all goes back to R&C Occultics, could Anna Sprengel be involved?)

Kamijou had no idea where Anna was or what she was doing.

And knowing her, she might have set things up so events would continue playing out how she wanted even if she were somehow taken out of action.

(Anna belongs to the Bridge Builders Cabal, so could this be a plot run by them?)

He couldn’t preserve the peace by sitting around doing nothing.

If he didn’t do something about it, he could only watch as an invisible hand crept ever closer and crushed Academy City in its grasp.

Kamijou Touma focused on his pocket.

His phone was linked to the GPS tracker planted on the Bologna Succubus’s clothing. That was Kumokawa Seria’s special present to him. It was the only way to immediately locate Alice Anotherbible’s cabal hideout.

If he was going to use it, now had to be the time.

He made up his mind and reached into his pants pocket.

Part 8

One of the skyscrapers in Shinjuku gave an especially decent view over the wall into neighboring Academy City.

Inside, Human Aleister placed a large film canister on the polished floor.

“What are you doing?” asked the seated golden retriever, tilting his head.

This was not a cruel prank played at immobilized Anna Sprengel’s expense. Aleister surrounded the film canister with a complex pattern of white chalk based on some precise calculations.

“Are you trying to use me to backtrace the Bridge Builders Cabal headquarters?”

Even now, Miss Sprengel scoffed.

Aleister knew several people who knew no other way to communicate: Westcott, Mathers, and Aleister himself to name a few.

“Are you certain they have such a strong connection with me?”

“You don’t need all that much camaraderie for this to work. For better or for worse, you have tampered with Alice’s nature. Whether anyone wanted it or not, that had an unfathomable influence on the cabal, didn’t it? That creates an inseverable bond.”

So he would make use of it.

Throughout his life, Aleister had never been what you could call “well-liked”, so he found these methods easier.

“So this will tell me where Alice and her cabal are located,” said Aleister.

“I see,” was Kihara Noukan’s brief response. He was focusing on lighting his long, narrow kiseru while Mrs. Kingsford wasn’t looking, so he was probably only half listening to this talk of magic.

“Anna Kingsford.”

“Yes, what do you need?”

The film canister clearly shook.

The female magician herself only smiled gently.

“You do the honors. I have given up performing magic when I don’t have to.”

The true founder did not need any fancy poses or incantations.

Mrs. Kingsford simply held out her palm.

With a burning sound, one direction and a few of the letters of the complex white chalk pattern gained a scorched black coloration.

Deciphering that would provide the answer.

Aleister Crowley frowned.

He had a knack for drawing the unlucky straw at times like this.

“What in the-?”

Part 9

Kamijou Touma was surrounded by indistinct voices.

No, his brain’s processing power had reached its limit, so he couldn’t analyze each individual voice, causing him to perceive it as a meaningless mass of sound.

That was unavoidable given what he saw approaching him now.

The crowd of peacefully smiling boys and girls seemed to part before his eyes.

One look at the old folk’s smartphone in his hand would tell him where the Bridge Builders Cabal was located.

But he already knew the answer.

It was right there, not 5m away from him.

“I’ve come to play, teacher☆”

That was Alice Anotherbible.

He was now painfully aware of just how extraordinary she was.

Everything he had set up was meant to let him track down where she was.

But all of that fell apart after a single, unplanned action by that young girl.

Between the Lines 1

Once upon a time, there was a small girl.

Unlike now, she failed in everything she did. Everything she tried backfired and she grew to hate who she was.

The most frustrating part of it all was the presence of an actual correct answer.

She wasn’t dealing with a trick question without a real answer.

Maybe that answer was as miniscule as the eye of a needle, but if you did choose the correct options from the mountain of possibilities and combined them appropriately, it was possible to bring happiness to everyone. But it didn’t turn out that way. She felt like she was being presented with the fact that it wasn’t the world that was cruel – it was her.

It pained her.

It pained her.

It pained her.

She clenched her teeth, failed to accomplish anything, walked across the desolate earth in her bare feet, and wore herself down, covered in soot and dust.

Eventually, a being called out to her.

She heard that voice so clearly.

“Are you prepared to do what it takes to make your dream come true?”

Saying yes to that was simple enough.

It may not have taken any courage or thought at all.

So the next question was what approached the crux of the issue.

“Are you prepared to remake yourself into a vessel to accomplish that?”

That is what this story is about.

That small girl would go on to be known as a Transcendent, but where was it that she took a wrong turn?

Chapter 2: Which of Them was Caught? – the_Consulate.

Part 1

The holiday didn’t mean Accelerator could take the entire day off.

The statistics were clear: trouble and accidents tended to happen precisely on the days people least wanted them to happen on.

“A consulate in District 12?”

“Let’s see…it’s technically called the Bridge Builders Cabal Academy City Consulate.”

“…”

“Yes, sorry, I know that’s weird! I wasn’t checking thoroughly enough on the diplomatic side of things.”

The response came from Qliphah Puzzle 545 who floated near the ceiling. That artificial demon was acting as the eyes and ears of the board chairman now that he could no longer leave his cell.

A consulate was an extraterritorial area in which Academy City had no real authority.

What is the difference between an embassy and a consulate, you ask?

The biggest difference is that a consulate lacks the authority to represent its country in negotiations with the resident country’s government. A consulate is only meant to provide a link between its home country and that country’s citizens living in the resident country, while an embassy is tasked with battling the resident country at the negotiating table.

That might make a consulate sound like less of a threat than if a country suddenly built an embassy in your country.

But that was inaccurate.

To have a country’s consulate in your country meant it was normal to have that country’s people in your country. That meant Alice’s cabal had gained more than just the consulate’s territory. They had created circumstances where magicians could walk freely throughout Academy City.

Something quietly struck the wall.

The walls and ceiling were covered with printed documents. They were all attached directly to the wall with colorful pins and those pins were connected with a spiderweb of colorful strings.

Alice, Academy City’s dark side, the Bridge Builders Cabal, the Shibuya riot outside the city.

Whether or not these things were actually connected was a matter to consider at a later stage.

He only needed to lay out all the information first and visualize all the connections with strings later.

His only information on Alice came from Qliphah Puzzle 545’s reports, but that only made the girl more concerning because it meant someone was strutting through Academy City without any of the city’s security capturing her.

Anna Sprengel had bloodily destroyed the dark side on December 25 and Alice Anotherbible had suddenly appeared on the 29th.

“Qliphah Puzzle 545.”

“Y-yes!?”

“How did you get tangled up in the string? To be blunt, you’re in the way.”

“Heh heh heh heh. Th-the more I try to avoid them, the more tangled I get. You can think of me like the bookish girl who’s terrible at dodgeball.”

Qliphah Puzzle 545 was somewhat tied up in a corner of the ceiling that was quickly becoming her standard spot.

“Umm, I didn’t mind so much when it was just my wings and legs tied up so tight, but now it’s getting to my crotch, which is a lot more- ohh!?”

She seemed to like attention of any sort, so she looked kind of happy about this. Which was why Accelerator chose to ignore the demon who had to be devastatingly bad at jump rope.

Yes.

Accelerator was currently lying on a bed much too nice for a prison cell. There could only be one reason he was back here.

The meeting with his guests had been called off.

Because Alice Anotherbible’s cabal had been detected inside Academy City.

Last Order had not looked disappointed on the other side of the thick glass when he had had to call it off. She had smiled as she watched the board chairman go.

He needed to keep in mind that he was the one who had made her force that smile.

“U-u-umm?”

“What now?” “Well, you see. Eh heh heh. If you happen to be angry, I would actually find it something of a relief if you would hit me a few times. Just go all out with it.”

Accelerator clicked his tongue.

He knew that wouldn’t solve anything. The artificial demon tangled up in colorful string had only relayed the necessary information to him. He much preferred that to her being too afraid to pass on some important information.

Alice was here.

And several more of those monsters known as Transcendents were with her.

(If only we had a solid definition of this Transcendent term everyone’s started using like it didn’t just appear out of nowhere. Was it in Shibuya on the 31st when that third-rate got himself tangled up in this mess?)

With several of those mysterious Transcendents detected in Academy City, there was a risk of the people living their ordinary lives here encountering them. It could happen to Last Order, to Yomikawa, to Yoshikawa, or to anyone else.

Accelerator wasn’t sitting around doing nothing. He had a few tricks up his sleeve beyond the standard Anti-Skill and Judgment. For example, he had direct fighters like Qliphah Puzzle 545, Fuse Kazakiri, and Misaka Worst.

But not even all that was a guarantee.

The #1 knew all too well that there was no such thing as an absolute assurance of safety.

He couldn’t stop whatever happened outside.

Outside and inside this cell were two different worlds.

And once something happened, he could not protect Last Order. If he wanted to protect her from harm, he had to act before anything happened.

A disturbing mass throbbed at the center of his chest.

He felt like he had a giant egg there in place of a heart.

“…”

There was a reason to act.

But if he left the prison for that reason, he would be causing everything to collapse.

He might feel good about it at first, but the monstrous whispers of reality told him he would only be drowning the world in an ocean of blood if he took that path.

“Qliphah Puzzle 545.”

“Y-yes!? D-d-d-do you need something!?”

Accelerator sighed on the bed while the demon responded more nervously than necessary up in the corner of the ceiling.

“I’m not mad, so lend me a hand. Show me those newspapers you’re wearing.”

“Oh, you mean my dress? Hmm, but I’m not sure what article could tell you more than all these documents covering the walls.”

“It’s not for that,” he replied, feeling annoyed.

For one thing, Qliphah Puzzle 545’s dress was not a collection of actual newspaper articles. It transformed depending on who was reading it, creating articles that pointed out that person’s sins and shames.

In other words…

“Show me my darkness.”

“Um, okay!!”

The demon forced her tangled body to move, placing her hands behind her head.

She showed off her body.

The pattern on her dress writhed. The shocking headlines of those English-language newspapers tore into Accelerator’s old wounds.

Each individual article didn’t matter much.

But altogether, they felt like a great monster.

Yes, there was a monster here.

Everyone had a monster inside them.

It was a fearsome thing that would drag you down the path to death and ruin if you let it, but it could provide great power if you learned to control it.

Accelerator knew that violence came in many different forms.

And he knew there were also nonviolent ways of solving problems.

(Don’t let it take over.)

He felt impatience, tension, anger…and the fear of losing someone close to him.

He took a deep breath and faced his monster.

(I created this monster myself, so I must be able to control it myself.)

If he could start by looking to the destination he needed to reach, then he would reach that goal no matter how much he strayed on the way. He focused on his own immaturity while moving his fingers faster than anyone.

(I don’t know who these people are, but they’ve set up a backdoor into Academy City. The question is what they hope to use it for. A backdoor is a means to an end, not the end itself.)

He lay on the bed, moving various things with his fingers without even glancing in their direction.

The bedside printer spat out paper, he cut those apart with scissors, he tossed the cutouts with his fingers, and he threw a pin to skewer the floating paper. And if necessary, he would swing weightless string like a whip to send it slicing through the air so it could add more color to the display.

He continued organizing his information in a fashion that would be more gruesome than execution by firing squad if someone happened to be standing by the wall.

“You said it was a consulate, right? Then it must belong to some country or another.”

“Yes. Th-they apparently bought a Central American country smaller than a soccer field to gain the qualifications and rights of a country. Eh heh heh. That’s what let them officially use the position of a diplomat or consulate to create an enclave in Academy City.”

“Who the hell gave them permission to do that?”

“Eek!! Diplomacy is handled more by the Japanese government than Academy City, so it was probably one of their bureaucrats. The cabal took advantage of a blind spot we created by focusing so much on what was happening inside the city!!”

A new red pin thwacked into the wall.

It pierced through a point on a map of District 12 floating in the air.

“Still, it bothers me that something so extreme managed to slip by us.”

“No, no!! I assure you this wasn’t anyone’s fault!”

The demon girl frantically shook her head.

She seemed to think she would be left behind if she let the #1’s thoughts turn too far inward. She was in a puppy mode where she craved attention, even if it came in the form of a light slap.

“Things have gotten a lot more complicated after the Crowley’s Hazards because a bunch of artificial islands and ship-towed floats were set up as bases for reconstruction efforts, but now some of them have started declaring independence. Countries are joining together and splitting apart as much as a girl who seems to have a new boyfriend every week, so it can be hard to notice when a country’s system or true ruler has been swapped out. And this is the same area where R&C Occultics tried to set up a massive server center to abuse a legal loophole to gather personal information on people around the globe.”

“R&C…”

“I imagine that connection is how Alice’s group learned about it in the first place.”

A consulate.

Needless to say, that was a special site protected by international law. The laws of the consulate’s country were prioritized over the ordinary laws, so in the most extreme example, a murder case that happened on a consulate’s grounds could be tried in a foreign country’s courts.

And now a magic side consulate had been built inside science’s headquarters.

Nothing could be more dangerous.

They had an enclave.

Or worse, they had a foothold for an invasion. It may have been more like an airfield or bridgehead. The word “consulate” might sound peaceful, but the threat here was closer to the Cuban Missile Crisis when the former Soviet Union attempted to deploy nuclear missiles right at Washington’s throat. Except this time, the deployment had already happened instead of being discovered in advance.

“…”

Accelerator rested back in the large bed and stared up at the ceiling in thought.

He had built a bizarre boxy planetarium made of articles and colorful string. What big picture could he find here?

Could he not see the enemy’s goal because he lacked sufficient information?

Or was he misreading the inciting factor for the attack, such as personal interest, love or hate, sheer coincidence, or simple enjoyment?

The Bridge Builders Cabal had a consulate. That never would have been allowed if they had been honest on their paperwork. Alice and her cabal’s Transcendents must have used some clever trick to gain approval for the consulate. And that approval had come from Japan, not Academy City.

That deception was meant to obtain something here in Academy City.

This was enough to conclude they had some kind of attack planned. Accelerator had already confirmed Anna and Alice were the external factor that had agitated Academy City’s dark side. And as the board chairman, Academy City’s #1 could send the city’s official defenses against them without needing to break out of prison himself. However…

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Accelerator clicked his tongue.

That wasn’t Qliphah Puzzle 545. She remained tangled up in a corner of the ceiling, cowering like a puppy in the rain.

The voice came from the large TV in the wall.

These days, it was unusual for a TV to not be connected to the internet. Of course, it was even more unusual for a prison cell to have a TV at all.

The TV displayed short red hair and white skin.

The strong-willed girl was wearing a fluffy white miniskirt dress.

She was Magician Dion Fortune. Except she technically wasn’t human since she was a magical device created based on that magician who belonged to the Golden cabal. And now she led the Anglican Church as their new Archbishop to fill the vacancy there.

She smiled as a black box twirled with its corner balanced upon her extended finger.

Since she wasn’t human, her thoughts lacked the uncertainty of wishing things would turn out one way or hoping they wouldn’t turn out another way. She cut so directly and accurately to the truth it could seem cruel.

Accelerator didn’t get up from the bed as he flicked two pins into the wall.

He added articles for the Anglican Church and Dion Fortune. Where the string would connect those articles would be determined by the coming conversation.

The magic side leader grinned as she got to it.

“I don’t care what sort of monster you were to begin with. But the Accelerator I’m talking to now is also the board chairman who controls Academy City as a whole, correct? Then don’t lose your cool so easily. You’re only allowed to do that when you’re wielding personal power. The leader of an organization served by lots of people doesn’t have that luxury.”

Accelerator clicked his tongue.

Dion Fortune looked pleased at earning that reaction. She ignored Qliphah Puzzle 545’s flustered stammering near the ceiling and kept going.

“It won’t do you any good to single out and deport the individual Transcendents when you don’t know their names or nationalities. But you should also assume you can’t just shut down the consulate itself,” she said to drive that point home. “You could do that, but as soon as you did, the 190+ other countries and territories out there would see Academy City as an untrustworthy and uncontrollable group that shuts down consulates and embassies authorized by the Japanese government the instant they become inconvenient. And once no one trusts any of your promises, diplomacy becomes all but impossible. You might be the headquarters of the science side, but you aren’t designed to survive in complete isolation.”

“…”

“It’s called the Condroniard Republic. The Central American country smaller than a soccer field is very real. As sketchy as it sounds, Alice really did buy an entire country that belongs to the UN and can make use of international law. So if your approach to this consulate doesn’t conform to the relevant laws and treaties, Academy City will be seen as a children’s playground that doesn’t know the first thing about diplomacy. Once that happens, the war between magic and science will be the least of your worries. Those of us on the magic side will be able to sit back and watch as the science side disintegrates all on its own.”

“Isn’t that exactly what outsiders like you want?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

Dion Fortune made no attempt to hide her interests here.

And with that said…

“But that result alone isn’t good enough. It matters a lot who is responsible for magic’s victory over science. The Anglican Church doesn’t want Alice’s cabal to be the ones responsible for destroying the science side while leaving the magic side untouched. That would lead to a new magic side that throws out the current main powers of the Anglicans, Roman Catholics, and Russian Orthodox and places the Transcendents of the Bridge Builders Cabal at the top.”

Accelerator could see hints of that being the goal here.

But he threw out that obvious line of reasoning.

“I saw bits of pieces of what Alice did on December 29.”

“Oh? Picking up a new interest in spying to complete your role as faceless dictator? You’re sounding more and more like that pervert Aleister all the time.”

“And based on those observations, this Alice Anotherbible doesn’t seem like the type to jump at bait as simple as the conflict between the science and magic sides or on ruling the magic side herself. What do you say?”

“I haven’t seen her myself, so I wouldn’t know.” Dion Fortune shrugged on the TV. “But Necessarius’s horoscope profile says she’s true to her desires and utterly devoid of patience. Based on that, my guess is she would take anything she can get her hands on, but she wouldn’t be working on multiple tasks at once. To her, a piece of candy and a million yen are the same. So whether or not she would be interested in those goals, it definitely doesn’t sound like her to set a plan in motion and wait for it to bear fruit.”

“…”

“On the other hand, this consulate belongs to the cabal as a whole. Tyrant Alice may be their leader, but it’s still an organization, not just one person.”

“Are you suggesting Alice’s intentions as an individual and the cabal’s objective as a whole are different?”

“It’s probably more accurate to say the rest of the cabal is trying to pull something off without Alice noticing. Think of it like the US president and the lawless CIA, an international corporation’s CEO and a sports team trying to hide how deep in the red it is, or the Russian Orthodox’s pure Patriarch and their perverted torture-loving monster. Really, I expect most organizations have a similar dynamic going on. It’s unusual for the intentions at the very top to work their way down to the very bottom.”

Academy City and the dark side was another example.

The new board chairman had taken action to put a stop to that, but he couldn’t say the process had been bloodless.

“So be careful and watch how this plays out. Attempting a careless confrontation or expulsion will only widen the wound for Academy City.”

The Anglicans had their own interests in all this.

Very few people would reach out a helping hand for nothing at all in return.

And some piece of those interests could be gleaned from the following statement.

“Alice is indeed an extraordinary tyrant, but you will be caught unawares if you focus on her alone. They tend to be overshadowed by Alice’s presence, but keep in mind that each and every one of the Transcendents waiting in the wings is an infuriatingly brilliant magician.”

Part 2

It was freezing out.

Kamijou Touma held himself and shivered on the way back to his District 7 dorm room.

It really was midwinter. It was still only around 6 PM, which should have only been evening time, but it was already dark out.

Unusually, there were a few paper postcards in the door’s newspaper slot. Those were New Year’s cards. Specifically, from his parents and a girl who was apparently his cousin. But most people seemed to use their phones these days. He had a whole list of messages from his classmates (probably meant to double as a test message to his new number). And most of those probably weren’t sent to him personally. It would be a lot easier to just send them out en masse. He appreciated the thought, but he knew neglecting to read them all would probably make things extremely awkward once the new term began. Smartphones came with their own annoyances.

“There, Aradia’s all wrapped up in waterproof duct tape.”

“…”

“Index, Othinus. We’re having a hotpot tonight. You’re in luck because I happen to know a secret: make sukiyaki with chicken and you have a dinner that’s both cheap and luxurious!”

“Yay, we get sukiyaki tonight!!”

“Sigh. What’s this about, human? Trying to take revenge on those cooking shows you kept glaring at when you didn’t have any money? Let your feelings dictate your purchases and you won’t notice how much you’re spending.”

“Shut up, Othinus! I don’t need any ominous warnings first thing in the year. I’ll be fine. I set the TV to record all the New Year’s cooking specials they were running, so I have a treasure trove of recipes to try out! I swear I’ll work through them all by the end of winter break. I’m through feeling poor!!!”

“Wait, wait, wait!! I am not letting you forget about me with all this household talk! You have someone lying on your floor in a duct tape cocoon and I am not letting you accept that as normal!!”

The victory prize he wasn’t sure what to do with started thrashing about on the floor.

Alice Anotherbible was back in Academy City. She had said goodbye during the clash with the dark side, but here she was already. Ignoring her verbal promise like that could be seen as the innocence of a child, but he sensed something more concerning there.

Alice’s sudden appearance seemed to link together some unnatural fragments of issues he had noticed.

Kamijou thought back to the bizarre scene at the District 12 shrine where he had run into Misaka Mikoto, Shirai Kuroko, that ringlets girl, and someone else. He recalled all those emas wishing for personal ruin instead of success. And the ringlets girl who had abandoned all intention to pass her entrance exams even though it was January of her last year in middle school.

The social phenomenon had been dubbed kotatsu syndrome and it was apparently connected to the Winter Cleaning at the end of the year.

Students didn’t want to study and adults wanted to goof off instead of working.

(Could it be?)

Kamijou Touma recalled something else.

Transcendents had directly clashed in Shibuya on December 31. Their spells had been a threat, but something else had carried just as much danger: their powerful charisma as an individual and the crowd manipulated by it.

Aradia had used the witch’s Sabbat and the Bologna Succubus had used the witch hunt.

(Should I assume this kotatsu syndrome comes from one of the Transcendents using something similar?)

Alice, for example.

Hadn’t the Winter Cleaning occurred the exact same day as her first visit to Academy City?

(No, there isn’t any real evidence of a connection there.)

The Transcendents had the dangerous ability to manipulate large groups, but he didn’t know if it was something they consciously used or something that happened on its own. And it was possible there was another self-indulgent Transcendent in the Bridge Builders Cabal.

Could he really point at the obvious suspect and insist she had to be the culprit?

He felt like he was falling into that trap.

“…”

At the same time, could he safely return Aradia to the Bridge Builders Cabal after defeating her once already?

How much could he trust Alice if she accepted Aradia back with a smile and insisted he had nothing to worry about?

He couldn’t handle Aradia on his own, but he was honestly afraid to return her to Alice and the others.

He asked himself why he felt so much fear and unease about Alice Anotherbible.

Hadn’t she saved him when they first met?

On the way back, they had stopped at a supermarket and bought plenty of ingredients, so now he transferred them from their foam packs to metal or plastic trays and put them away in the different compartments in the fridge. Othinus spoke from his shoulder in the middle of the work.

“You couldn’t do a thing about Alice and her ilk back there.”

“Victory for me means fighting without causing any collateral damage, which wasn’t possible there.”

Of course, something had happened when he ran into Alice without warning. Especially since he was escorting around Aradia after defeating her. Anyone who wanted to prevent Aradia from leaking any cabal secrets would see her as a target.

Kamijou had put his old folk’s smartphone in his pocket. He had no choice but to give up on the GPS tracker.

Alice hadn’t been alone.

She had been flanked by a pair of Transcendents. One was Good, Old Mary who he had seen in Shibuya on the 31st. The other was someone new to him. The magician was a black-haired young man wearing a tailcoat and holding a black cane, making him look like a butler.

Kamijou’s side hadn’t been entirely powerless. They included Grimoire Library Index, the Sisters, and several Tokiwadai elites: the #3 Railgun, the Judgment girl who could teleport, the ringlets 3rd year, and someone else. Kamijou himself was a Level 0, but those girls belonged to a prestigious esper development school, so they would be able to resolve most any trouble without his help.

But how much did that matter in this case?

He couldn’t stop having a very bad feeling about what could have happened if a battle had broken out there. If the Transcendents flanking Alice hadn’t deterred everyone with killer intent so thick it was stifling or if that hadn’t been enough to stop the Tokiwadai girls, what might Alice have done on a whim?

Could Kamijou’s hand have stopped that?

In Shibuya, the Bologna Succubus had said he was the only person capable of controlling Alice, but was that really true?

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

That line stuck with him.

The gloomy young butler’s words would not leave Kamijou’s mind.

Strangely, he had trouble remembering who the young man had been speaking to.

Alice herself had looked confused. He was pretty sure she had spread her arms to welcome them.

However…

“Peeking inside this girl’s mind will only trap you in a psychedelic world. Alice’s world is like a bottomless pit that can bring only tragedy to those who experience it.”

If the young butler hadn’t casually grabbed Alice’s collar and stopped her, she might have run over to Kamijou.

Alice’s group hadn’t forced Kamijou to do anything.

They hadn’t even demanded he hand over the witch goddess.

That was another way of saying they felt confident they could take her back by force if necessary. Kamijou wasn’t even worthy of a seat at the negotiating table with them.

Most likely, only Alice’s group and any others worthy of the Transcendent title would find a seat there.

What did someone need to do to earn that title?

Kamijou hadn’t a clue, so he doubted he was anywhere close.

“…”

“Touma, where’s the meat?”

“Hold on. Using a knife to remove the small clumps of blood from the jaw is the secret to making good chicken.”

He switched his focus and pulled an earthenware pot and a frying pan from the shelf. For sukiyaki, you couldn’t just place it on the stove. Some ingredients needed to be seasoned first and some needed to be pre-cooked to ensure they weren’t undercooked.

With expensive, thin-cut beef, it was apparently best to cook it in a frying pan, but they were using chicken (which was pretty dangerous if undercooked). That tasted best if you submerged it at the bottom of the pot.

“Alice said something about a consulate, didn’t she?”

“She doesn’t seem like anything more than a kid, so I doubt she came up with that idea on her own. My guess is visiting Academy City every time she wants to play sounded like a pain, so she innocently asked for a secret base here. Then those Transcendents made it a reality. Sweating all the while at the thought of disappointing her.”

Most likely, no one knew how many bases the Bridge Builders Cabal had around the world. To them, this may have only felt like adding one more to the list.

(Come to think of it, Aradia and the Bologna Succubus must have a home country somewhere out there. That’s really hard to imagine.)

“A consulate. Hey, Othinus, how bad is that?”

“A consulate built without mutual trust between the two countries is even more dangerous than a blackhole. Listen, human. No one can investigate inside a consulate. Even if someone steals something from an Academy City museum or steals some kind of information, they’re untouchable if they hide in the consulate until they find a way to escape outside the city. The Transcendents can take whatever they want from the city, load it into their car with a diplomatic license plate, and carry it to the consulate and then stop worrying. Because no one can investigate further.”

“…”

“At the same time, Academy City can no longer refuse to keep people or items from being transported from outside the city and into the consulate. Magicians used to have to nervously sneak over the city walls, but no longer. Now those dangerous magicians can strut on in.”

There was a process for deporting people like that, but that was all there was. Demanding they leave wasn’t the same as trying them for a crime and deportation had to be issued by name. According to Othinus, the entire process was meaningless against Alice’s Transcendents since no one knew their real names and nationalities.

That meant they couldn’t catch these mystery people red-handed and boot them out.

Diplomacy always required paperwork, even when that meant ignoring the reality before your eyes.

So even if Academy City’s leadership said “Alice must leave”, the consulate could point to a part-timer they hired, say “that’s Alice”, and give her some pittance to make up for being deported. All while the real Alice Anotherbible walked freely around Academy City. Everyone would know it wasn’t right, but that was how it went with paperwork. It was powerless against people whose appearance and name weren’t found in any database.

Who was this Transcendent named Alice?

Was that her real name or one of many pseudonyms? Was she human, or was she something else?

Did anyone have a clear answer to these questions?

Anyone at all?

It was nice having something to keep busy with. Without the familiar meal preparations, Kamijou may have been crushed by his worries.

“Hey, Index! The pot is ready to go, so clear off the kotatsu and place down a pot stand.”

“But my job is to eat, eat, sleep, and eat!”

“Just help out some, you freeloader!”

In the Kamijou household, they used an induction cooker instead of a gas-powered portable stove. Why was obvious. With the kind of misfortune Kamijou was accustomed to, he just knew having a portable gas cartridge around could only lead to misfortune.

“Not that the induction cooker is perfectly safe. Use it too horribly wrong and the power cable could start a fire.”

“Could you not, Othinus!? I don’t need any ominous trivia to start off my year!”

Since it was New Year’s, he gave the calico kitty his usual cat food plus a liquid pet treat known as Muru.

Even this sukiyaki was just another variation on his usual cheap cooking. And sukiyaki stock was one of the three great cheap seasonings, right alongside eel sauce and matsutake soup.

“Here are bowls for everyone, here’s an egg, and use these chopsticks for searching through the pot. I’m not making any zosui to finish it off. I have rice and udon separated out, so create your own universe in your bowl, while building up to whatever you want to eat last. Okay, let’s get started!”

“Yay, it’s all you can eat!!”

“No, it’s a hotpot, Index! Don’t go reaching for the rice cooker right away!! How high were you planning to pile up your plate!?”

At 15cm, Othinus was shorter than the earthenware pot and reaching inside would mean rock climbing up a hot cliff, so she decided to just steal things from Kamijou’s bowl. He wished she would stop balancing her stomach on the edge of the bowl to lean inside.

But there was still one person unaccounted for.

“…”

Aradia remained a duct tape mummy with her arms bound behind her back and she was glaring hatefully over from the floor. She could sit up on her own using her abs, but she couldn’t do anything about the hands behind her back.

She may have been hungry.

“So, Othinus, what do we do about Aradia?”

“Why ask me? Isn’t solving magical problems that British grimoire library’s job?”

“She’s too busy chowing down on nothing but meat and rice to be any help. Index!! Chicken breasts are admittedly cheaper than pork or beef, but it’s still meat. That’s a luxury item, so make sure you chew thoroughly and actually savor it! How are you swallowing it down so fast!? Chicken isn’t a drink!!!”

The TV was on, but no one was really watching as a comedian made a fool of himself in nothing but briefs. It was a traditional New Year’s act. The popular middle-aged man was being held back by some younger men when he took a hot piece of shabu-shabu meat to the forehead and writhed around on the floor. Apparently that didn’t set Kamijou off because of the note that the staff would eat it later.

But that aside…

“Say ‘ah’, Aradia.”

“!?”

Aradia’s shoulders noticeably jumped and her face grew red, either from anger or something else.

“Y-you must be joking. I am Transcendent Aradia. I will not accept your condescending charity even if I did lose to you.”

“(Hey, you’re free to refuse, but if you keep shaking your head, a miracle could occur and that hot chicken will end up somewhere other than your mouth. Just like with that briefs guy’s expert comedy act on the TV there.)”

“O-okay, fine!!”

Othinus’s whispered voice switched on Aradia’s desperation mode. She shut her eyes in frustration and opened her trembling lips.

Kamijou wanted to know why this mystery woman looked somewhat embarrassed about nothing more than being fed some meat.

He tilted his head as he resumed feeding her the chicken sukiyaki.

She ate it.

She was suddenly much more obedient. It was cute.

She looked like a mysterious beauty, but he was feeding her like a small child, creating an odd dissonance.

After watching her chew a few times and swallow, he grabbed the next bite with the chopsticks.

“Oh, right. Is there anything you can’t or won’t eat? Any allergies?”

“That would’ve been a great thing to ask before force-feeding me. But no, nothing like that. Besides, witches get their power from searching the forest for anything with medicinal qualities. You can’t do that if you’re picky about what you eat. Munch, munch, gulp. What was that I just ate? Some kind of gelatin?”

“It was shirataki, a type of konjac.”

“Konjac? I’m not sure what that is either. And what is this white rectangular thing? Please tell me it isn’t a hunk of egg white or butter.”

“It’s tofu. It’s made from soybeans, but I would recommend not looking at what the word literally means. A European who doesn’t know how it’s made would probably react badly to that.”

“Tofu???”

That must have been a difficult word to translate into English and other languages. Her common tones didn’t know what to do with it. There was probably a word for it in other Asian languages, but apparently not in the mother tongue of this goddess of witches who flew brooms through a night sky filled with five-pointed stars.

“Munch, munch. Napa cabbage, tofu, and wheat gluten – if it’s soaked up some flavor – are all so good! Yum!”

Kamijou must have assumed it would all be fine since Index devoured it all without issue. But you couldn’t trust that demon lord of gluttony’s tastes because, when she was hungry, she would chew up and eat unpopped popcorn. (Warning: This is a good way to chip your teeth☆)

Aradia had a curious look as she chewed on the food given to her by the chopsticks. Feeding a beautiful young woman a mystery food was one hell of a situation when he actually thought about it. Take that in a cruel direction and it could be foreshadowing for the shocking ending of a SF movie or a psychological horror novel.

She may have trusted him enough to know he wasn’t the type to engage in that sort of deception, even if they had been enemies to begin with.

“Now this I know. It’s an onion.”

“What do you call these long ones in English? I know you just use ‘onion’ for the round ones.”

“I think the closest term is scallion.”

“Why does that sound like the codename for a new surface-to-air missile?”

That may have been one sort of cultural difference.

Like how the English word “carrot” sounded weirdly cute to him.

“Witches use onions a lot. Along with garlic and ginger, they’re one of the standard medicinal plants used as a starting point for a variety of medicines.”

Was she pointing out that real witches didn’t just use plants that had legs and screamed when you pulled them from the ground?

“Onions are medicinal?”

“You can use them for just about anything. For example, you can use onions and tomatoes to create a rare medicine that foolish royals and nobles are willing to buy with a hunk of gold 10 times its size.”

“(You’re talking about a witch’s aphrodisiac, aren’t you? You clearly don’t know how dense this human is if you think that sort of subtle sexual harassment is going to get a reaction.)”

“?”

Kamijou was confused.

He couldn’t keep up with this discussion between a Magic God and a Transcendent.

Aradia fidgeted while still tied up. The pointy-haired boy figured that meant she wanted more food, so he grabbed some more onion from his own bowl instead of the large pot and carried the chopsticks to her mouth.

“Onions as medicine, huh? Weird how you can find these connections anywhere.”

“Onion and ginger is one of the standard medicines for minor things like colds.”

“Ah ha ha. Oh, you mean that thing about sticking a green onion up your ass when you have a cold?”

The instant he mentioned that Japanese tradition, Cocoon Aradia hit him with a drop kick.

She must not have appreciated that particular idea while she was trying to eat.

Part 3

It was time to face the biggest problem: bath time.

“So, um, I’m not sure why you think you even need to discuss this?” said Aradia, feeling a headache coming on. “The answer is simple: remove all this duct tape and let me take a bath.”

Kamijou, Index, and Othinus exchanged a glance.

“Yeah, but we all know you’re running away the instant we remove the duct tape from your hands and feet.”

“You might try to fight back.”

“You’re a Transcendent. If we screw this up, you might destroy an entire city or country in retaliation.”

For some reason, Othinus’s comment was a lot more sadistic than the others.

They only had to look at it realistically.

First of all, Aradia was the Transcendent who had caused such a major panic in Shibuya. Removing the duct tape from the hands behind her back and from around her ankles could mean returning her power to her.

“Yet here you are coming up with excuses to get that duct tape off.”

“It’s not an excuse. Am I the only one who thinks this is a perfectly reasonable request?”

“If we do remove them, then I’ll have to suppress your power with Imagine Breaker. Which means you would have to take your bath with me holding your hand throughout.”

“You expect me to share that tiny bathroom with a stranger?”

Othinus was grinning her face off for some reason.

“Close the shower curtain to hide the tub and you’ll be fine. Barring any freak accidents with lewd results, of course.”

“Don’t you dare jinx me like that! Oh, no! I can just imagine the horrific fate that awaits me 10 minutes from now!!”

“Then what are we supposed to do?”

Apparently not letting her take a bath today was simply not an option. She was a young woman after all. Index’s snapping jaws had a hair trigger, but not even she protested that one.

Which meant…

“I guess you’ll have to take a bath with the duct tape still on your hands and feet. It’s the only safe way.”

“Throw me in the tub like that and you’ll have a nasty drowned corpse on your hands!”

“Let me finish.” Kamijou grabbed a random towel. “You stay tied up and someone else washes you off with a wet towel.”

Aradia quaked at that suggestion.

Her face really did pale.

“Don’t tell me you’re volunteering for that job! There is only so far you can push this unintentional sexual harassment bit and make it believable! Please listen to me!”

“We’re only still having this conversation because you nixed the idea of me being in the bath with you, so calm down that overactive imagination, you pervert witch.”

His rational rebuttal led the goddess to start thrashing about on the floor. It wasn’t very frightening when she was in duct tape cocoon, but who knows what she would do if he let his guard down and she broke free of her restraints. He would be dead for sure.

Kamijou handed the towel to someone else: a confused Index.

“Look, she’ll be doing it. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes, I suppose,” Aradia reluctantly grumbled.

Now, was she aware that when presented with two negative options and asked to choose the lesser of two evils, it was common to make sure one of those options was a non-starter? Was she aware it was a negotiating tactic to present someone with something they would never, ever choose and then present them with a less-objectionable option you actually wanted them to accept?

Yes, Aradia lost sight of something important when she focused only on the fact that this option was better than having to bathe with a boy like Kamijou.

It didn’t occur to her that she had just agreed to have someone rub all over her body while she was tied up and unable to do anything about it.

This was the result.

“Ah hya hya hya hya!? Wait! Wait a second! Don’t stick your hand there! Hee, hee hee! Please can’t you be a little gentler!?”

“Shut up and sit still.”

Half an hour later, Aradia languidly crawled out of the bathroom with her skin squeaky clean and the full length of her silver hair washed.

“K-kill me,” said the bound Transcendent between gasping breaths. “Someone please kill me.”

“Hey, Othinus. Why did Aradia take so much damage from this?”

“About the last thing a witch wants is to be helpless in the hands of servant of their nemesis – the Christian Church. It made for a very amusing show, though.”

It was past 10 at night.

The TV remained on and it was shifting to the late night programming. In this case, that still meant a New Year’s comedy special, but one for lesser-known comedians who started out on the stage or online videos. Kamijou had basically been awake since the 31st, so he was already sleepy.

Index didn’t need a bath since she had just taken one with Aradia, but…

“I think I’ll only take a shower. I’m too tired for a full bath. What about you, Othinus?”

“I will not be deprived. Fill a washbasin with bathwater so I can relax.”

“Sure, sure. Yawn. Afterwards, we can drink this and then get to sleep.”

Index and Othinus gave him puzzled looks.

“It’s amazake,” he said, sleepily rubbing his eyes. “This is about the only time you get to drink it.”

Now.

Witch Goddess Aradia, the embodiment of Wicca, was a magician who extracted the medicinal properties of all the plants, animals, and minerals found in the forest and converted them into her spells. If she was resistant to medicines, it would reduce the efficacy of her spells. Being highly sensitive to any form of drug was useful both for using your own medicines and for revealing the methods used by enemy witches.

The problem was that Kamijou only learned this fact once it was too late.

A cup of amazake made without sake lees was perfectly fine for a high schooler to drink, but it had a disastrous result for Aradia.

“Hic. Wuhhh?”

“Wait, are you kidding me!? Aradia’s face is bright red!!!” screamed Kamijou when he saw Aradia’s shoulders shaking with each “hic”.

This made no sense. It wasn’t even an issue of a small amount of alcohol having an exaggerated effect on her. This kind was completely nonalcoholic, so why in the world was Aradia losing control of herself!?

Othinus sighed from her spot atop the kotatsu.

“This isn’t about anything real – it’s the placebo effect. In other words, assumptions are more powerful than any of you humans. Although if she could consciously control this, it would be an excellent weapon for a potion-making witch.”

“Looks to me more like Tipsy Aradia-san is the one being controlled!”

“Hence the ‘if she could consciously control this’ part, human. Harnessing assumptions rarely ever works because it’s a lot like tricking yourself into thinking you’ve become a vessel for a god and then losing yourself in it. Be careful here. Her self-hypnosis is strong enough to physically intoxicate her with a nonalcoholic drink, so a false pregnancy is well within her abilities.”

Aradia herself seemed oblivious to their whispered conversation. She remained limply seated on the wooden flooring – with her legs turned to one side in what some call mermaid mode – staring off into empty space and swaying side to side.

“Nya. Nya, nya, nya, nyaaa♪”

“Now she’s singing.”

“Hey, you. If you’re gonna tie me up, at least have the decency to look after me. I’m the goddess of all witches, so you’re supposed to be serving me, dammit. Hic.”

“And now she’s leaning against me!? Gwahhh!!”

“Trying the begging for attention plan, huh?”

“This happened with Alice and the Bologna Succubus too. Is every Transcendent such a free spirit? Now I know for sure Aradia is too dangerous to free from that duct tape!!”

She was causing this much trouble with her hands tied behind her back. All it took was swaying to the side for her to more or less tackle Kamijou onto his back and fall asleep while the two of them drew out a cross on the floor. Body Press Witch Aradia was apparently the kind to gain a lot of energy when she drank but use it all up almost immediately. In other words, she was the most annoying type of person who would cause all sorts of trouble and then have someone else clean up afterwards.

As a nun, Index was having trouble deciding if she should give into her reflexive urge to bite.

“Grr. Touma, where should we let her sleep?”

“Dammit, this is such a royal pain,” groaned Kamijou on his back.

The usual arrangement was Index in the living room and Kamijou in the bathroom, but where was drunk Aradia supposed to go? In her current state, he didn’t want to leave her anywhere.

After crawling out from under her, Kamijou grabbed her under the arms and dragged her along the wooden flooring.

“People are so heavy. Hmm, I’m thinking the closet.”

“I know you want to close her up in a space with walls and a door cutting her off from everyone else, human, but tying a woman up with duct tape and stuffing her in your closet sounds a lot like robbing her of what this world calls human rights.”

As drunk as she was, Aradia didn’t put up any kind of resistance. In her current state, she probably wouldn’t complain if she was placed aboard a slave ship, so he had no trouble shoving her inside the small closet.

“Sigh. Now I can rest easy.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he heard a heavy thud from the closed closet. Followed by the drunk woman groaning.

“Ugh.”

“This is safe, isn’t it? Her mysterious Transcendent magic isn’t going to run wild and squash the entire dorm building while we sleep, is it? Y’know, like mille-feuille when you use your fork wrong.”

“Touma, don’t talk about food before bed. You’ll make me hungry.”

“This is a boy’s dorm, but you have three girls here – including me – plus a cat when pets aren’t allowed. Scary that you can get away with this at a school dorm. What are Academy City’s adults even doing?”

Part 4

It had been one hell of a day, so Kamijou had trouble getting to sleep after closing himself in the bathroom. He was tired, but couldn’t sleep. Or to put it another way, his body was exhausted, but his mind wouldn’t settle down. That drowsy state would mean any sleep he did get was shallow and it could lead to the amusing sleep phenomena of weird dreams and sleep paralysis.

He thought he saw Aradia in his dream.

He couldn’t be certain since he didn’t remember the dream. It was possible he had seen someone else who his mind had decided was similar to Aradia. Then he started wondering if that qualified as his first dream of the year.

At any rate, the next thing he knew, his phone’s alarm was ringing to tell him morning had arrived to his windowless bathroom.

Before he realized he could have switched off the alarm since it was winter break, he noticed a strangely soft and smooth sensation. And it came from below the blanket.

“Um!?”

Index or Othinus would never do this. And with the bathroom locked from the inside, the nocturnal calico cat couldn’t have stopped by to play. Besides, Sphinx was the fluffy type.

That left only one possible suspect.

“Aradi-”

“Nope. You’re wrong, teacher☆”

He really did jump.

His entire body trembled a few times and the small girl below the blanket laughed excitedly like she had found a new piece of playground equipment at the park.

This was Alice Anotherbible.

The blonde girl of around 12 looked like she had stepped right out of a children’s book.

What was she doing here!? How had she gotten in!? The front door and the bathroom’s door were both locked! Sure, their first meeting had been similar, but he couldn’t accept something so absurd just because there was a precedent!!!

On January 2, his morning began with a Transcendent who could determine what happened to his life and the fate of the world.

“Eh? What in the world is going on here?”

“Boo. The girl worked hard to get up early to visit you, teacher.”

“Visit me why?”

“For New Year’s money!!

“Noooooo!!!” shouted Kamijou. He shouldn’t have asked. He felt like he had just opened Pandora’s box, but he couldn’t say no when Alice was actually small enough to be the right age to be begging like this. And she was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed foreigner(?), so he couldn’t send her away without letting her experience Japanese culture first.

“Ugh, dammit. Here, Alice. Happy New Year’s. I hope you don’t mind I don’t have a bag to put it in.”

“Yay! This was the girl’s first time!!”

An extremely disconcerting phrase was transmitted from a boy’s dorm bathroom first thing in the morning. And Kamijou was really starting to wonder why a high school boy kept having to give out New Year’s money. Wasn’t he still the age to be receiving it?

The girl wore an apron over a blue dress.

She stuck her head out from the blanket and smiled at him inside the bathtub.

“Everyone was too busy yesterday, but things have settled down enough to invite you over today. Come visit the girl’s secret base!!”

“…”

He wasn’t sure how to react.

The Bridge Builders Cabal Academy City Consulate probably did seem like a fun secret base for Alice who stood at the center of it all, but was going there really safe? According to Othinus, Academy City’s rules didn’t apply inside the consulate – even if a crime was committed.

But he couldn’t let the conversation die here either.

Nothing would get any better if he always chose the safest option.

Kumokawa Seria’s GPS tracker was no longer useful now that Alice had come to Academy City. And she had done so on a whim. If she suddenly got bored and decided to leave, there would be no tracking her down a second time.

Whatever her reasons, it was a miracle to even have Alice with him.

He was also worried about what would happen to Aradia. What would Alice’s cabal do with a defeated Transcendent? The answer to that question would greatly affect how he felt about Alice.

After some thought, Kamijou made a decision.

“Fine. Show me to your secret base.”

“Boo.”

Alice’s voice suddenly dropped in tone.

That may have been a dangerous sign.

He hadn’t said anything wrong, but he belatedly realized she hadn’t liked the short pause – less than a second – before he answered. Small children could be sensitive to those subtle clues.

“But whatever.”

“Alice, um, have you had breakfast?”

“The girl has eaten.”

Alice finally crawled out from Kamijou’s blanket.

He left the bathroom with her and checked in the closet. Aradia was still tied up and stuffed in the cramped space and her eyelids fluttered open.

“Ugh? What am I doing in here? Wait, where am I?”

She appeared to still be half asleep. It was probably best not to tell her what had happened last night.

Meanwhile…

“?”

Kamijou looked down at Alice and she tilted her head.

If she were here to silence Aradia, she could have done so at her leisure before entering Kamijou’s bathroom, but she hadn’t. Could he take that as a good sign?

Index and Othinus were waking up now, so he had to fix breakfast for them.

“Touma, are we having bread or rice today?”

“Another one appeared overnight!? Human, explain yourself!”

Unlike last night’s hotpot, their breakfast of toast, fried eggs, and salad didn’t match the New Year’s mood in the slightest, but the next thing he knew, Alice had joined them. She had supposedly already eaten, but there she was spreading chocolate paste on a piece of toast. Like Index, she would eat any food put in front of her.

“The District 2 Firearm Museum has opened a historical weapons exhibit to help us learn from the past,” said the TV. “This is a valuable opportunity to directly touch a real Acht-Acht or PIAT under the supervision of museum personnel.”

“Ooh, wow.”

“Alice, stop leaning toward the TV and look what you’re doing. You’re spreading that chocolate paste all over the kotatsu!”

Unfortunately, this meant Kamijou had to look after someone else too.

“Aradia, do you want butter on your toast? Or would you prefer strawberry jam?”

“…”

“Get ready cause we’re doing this again. Say, ‘ah’.”

“I feel like I’ve woken up to find I’m still living my nightmare…munch.”

While Kamijou took care of Aradia (whose hands were tied behind her back) like her caregiver, he felt a powerful gaze on him.

Alice was moving just her upper body in some warmup exercises while keeping the rest of her under one corner of the kotatsu.

“The girl wants to do that too. Hm, hm.”

“You mean…being duct taped up?”

“No☆”

She smiled and sent a tiny punch toward the clueless boy’s shoulder.

The physical blow hit Kamijou, but it was Aradia’s butt that lifted about 3cm off the floor when she saw it.

“The girl means the food! The girl wants you to feed her! Everything tastes better when you can have fun with it!!”

Kamijou wasn’t sure if she actually wanted this or just wanted to mimic what she saw the others doing, but he had no real reason to refuse her and he ended up feeding Alice her toast.

“Munch, munch. We can go after eating this.”

“…”

“Go to the girl’s secret base – the consulate in District 12!!”

Part 5

They were both part of winter break, but January 1 and 2 felt subtly different.

The 2nd was something of an in-between time, where everything was calmer with the shrine visiting over. The 3rd and 4th may have been busier again with people starting to head back home, but that wasn’t here yet. Convenience stores and gyudon shops were open on New Year’s nowadays, but the beginning-of-the-year vacation mood still seemed crammed into January 2 more than any other day. Kamijou couldn’t be sure though, since he didn’t remember any of the previous years.

After making sure the windows were shut and the gas was off, Kamijou, Index (with cat on head), and Alice left the dorm room.

“What did you even eat after leaving last time?”

“Heh heh. Good, Old Mary made the girl the classic: turkey, fries, and a fluffy chiffon cake!!”

“Touma.”

“Stop. Please don’t store up a long list of requests in your perfect memory.”

When Index was given unnecessary ideas like this, she would start demanding he fix it for her. That wasn’t so bad with a cooking show that taught you how to make something an amateur could manage, but she reacted the same way when she watched a gourmet show that introduced some delicious brand-name dish from a fancy restaurant in a big city.

And he just knew the next two days of his relaxing break would be ruined by this.

“(Hey, human.)”

“(I’d like to say I know what you’re getting at, but I doubt I can assess the risk on the level of a war god.)”

To start with, he could not refuse Alice’s invitation. If he explained his reasons why, she might give up on the idea, but who knows what the Transcendents trying to keep her in a good mood would do afterwards.

They might kill someone, take a hostage, or even destroy half of Academy City.

If things got that serious and then every single Transcendent showed up asking him to play with Alice, he would be entirely out of his league.

At the same time, he could not carelessly leave Aradia behind.

Taking her to the Bridge Builders Cabal’s base was a bad idea, but they already knew where his dorm was. If he left her to hold down the fort (in her duct tape cocoon), there was a decent chance of another Transcendent attacking the dorm room.

Was this the right answer?

Had he really not overlooked anything?

Alice’s whims played as big a role as the cabal’s interests and plans, so he doubted any amount of thinking would be enough.

“It is so nice to get some fresh air,” sighed Aradia after they rode the run-down elevator to the ground floor. Then she glared hatefully down at her own left hand. Needless to say, it was still tightly held by Imagine Breaker. “Now I just need to do something about this.”

“Yeah, if only keeping you in your duct tape cocoon and carrying you around bandit style wouldn’t gather so much unwanted attention. I need to research an easier and less conspicuous method of carrying you around. Maybe one of those dollies delivery workers use for bigger packages?”

“You do realize there are better alternatives than carrying me around, don’t you!?”

Aradia bristled, but they must have looked like a couple teasing each other. An old lady walking her dog smiled at them and Kamijou ended up exchanging New Year’s greetings with a stranger.

But…

“Boo. Why does Aradia get all the fun?” said Alice on his other side.

Before he could say a thing, the small girl tackled into him from the side and grabbed at his left arm.

“Hee hee. This hand belongs to the girl!”

“Um, Alice?”

“?”

She looked up and smiled at him like she always did. She didn’t seem to notice Index wandering side to side, unsure where to go. The cat was struggling not to fall off her head.

“Alice…you are Alice, aren’t you?” hesitantly asked Kamijou.

“Eh heh heh☆”

She wiggled ticklishly for some reason. It may have been a bashful response to him saying her name so many times.

Based on that, this did seem to be the Alice he knew.

This was the mysterious but reliable girl who had used her power to protect everyone on December 29 when the dark side threatened to engulf everything. He hadn’t known if he would see her again when she left with Anna Sprengel. If nothing else had happened, he might have hugged her and wept with joy at this reunion.

But…

“…”

He felt a tremor.

It came from the other side than Alice. So from Aradia on his right. Transcendent Aradia had caused so much trouble in Shibuya on December 31, but she was trembling like a small child afraid to go home because she thought her parents would scold her.

It was so unusual and wrong that he couldn’t just ignore it.

Alice Anotherbible.

Even the kind Bologna Succubus had called Alice a tyrant, but what exactly did the girl carry inside her?

“Touma. Are we taking a train again?”

“I can hardly believe it, but yes. And to think I was broke at the end of last year. Hwa ha ha! I can afford normal expenses again!”

The Bridge Builders Cabal had a new headquarters.

The mysterious consulate was in District 12, so they only had to pay 200 yen at the subway to get there.

“Tah dah!! This is the place!” said Alice with a huge smile, hopping in excitement with no concern for her skirt.

The place would have stood out in any other district, but it fit right in among the giant pyramids, five-story pagodas, and other structures that made District 12 feel like an amusement park.

Past a grassy garden larger than a soccer field was a gate leading to a white marble building resembling an amusement park castle. But it wasn’t built according to a specific style like gothic or something-or-other garden. None of it felt real, so the entire space felt like part of an amusement park. If you had to describe it, it was a white mansion similar to the White House but with pointy towers added on without any sort of pattern. It wasn’t even symmetrical.

According to Alice, the white building in the center was called a tower despite not being all that tall. In a castle, that was where the lord’s living area and the administrative functions were concentrated. It was known as the keep, or in French, the donjon.

Were those roses in bloom? It sure looked like a red rose garden at first, but a closer inspection showed them to be white artificial flowers painted red. The place was still being prepared, so some areas had been left incomplete. On that note, castles and temples normally took more than a century to build just by stacking up the stones, so how did they get this built so quickly without anyone noticing?

Roses.

Painted from white to red.

Were the out-of-season honeybees the result of agricultural selective breeding? They were colored black and yellow.

Hadn’t he seen that coloration when fighting in deserted Los Angeles?

“…”

A relevant question came to mind, but Kamijou shook his head. He had directly clashed with R&C Occultics and Anna Sprengel a few times, but the worst thing to do when your life was on the line was assume you knew everything already. For magic expertise, he had Index and Othinus with him. And he had Alice and Aradia from the Bridge Builders Cabal with him too. Instead of making assumptions based on his imagination, he was far better off speaking with them and seeing what useful information they had.

And in fact, Othinus – a god of war, magic, and deception – had noticed something he hadn’t.

“(They call it a consulate, but it’s built like a fortress or like a castle built on the front lines. So did they openly build themselves a bridgehead inside enemy territory?)”

“Oh?”

A young man in the garden noticed them while pointing out where the delivery workers should set up the giant sculptures wrapped in packaging and cushioning.

He had black hair and wore a tailcoat. He even wore an old-fashioned black cloak.

He was still young(?), but he held a smooth, glossy black cane.

The young butler had a somehow gloomy air to him.

“I know you couldn’t exactly escape when Alice came for you personally, but I still can’t believe you showed up. And bringing our own Aradia with you? That I didn’t expect at all.”

“Who are you?”

“H. T. Trismegistus.” The young butler pulled a leather notebook from his pocket. “Come to think of it, I didn’t introduce myself yesterday, did I? As common sense would tell you, I am a Transcendent.”

He did not offer to shake hands. Whether or not that was due to the notebook was unclear.

He too was a member of the Bridge Builders Cabal. That meant he was one of the special magicians who held meetings with the other Transcendents to discuss how to change the world for the better. That meant he would be less than fond of Kamijou who – they believed – was capable of guiding Alice’s whims.

Index frowned and repeated something under her breath.

“Trismegistus?”

“Yes!! H. T. Trismegistus is amazing. He makes the best tea in the world. He also folds the girl’s clothes and puts her shoes away!”

“You should really be able to handle that much on your own, Alice.”

Even as he said that, the young butler kneeled and cleaned off some mud that got on Alice’s skirt as she hopped around. He wiped it off with a handkerchief, applied detergent, dried it with a dryer, and even ironed it.

But…wait?

Where did all of that stuff come from???

“(Don’t freak out yet, human. A stage magician could do that. He could have multiple storage cases hidden inside that cloak like a tackle box or a pop-up book.)”

“Um, are you Alice’s tutor?”

“Heavens no. I am no more than one of her servants. I wouldn’t dream of holding that much influence over my beloved master.”

H. T. Trismegistus answered the grimoire library’s gaze with no more than a meaningful smile.

There was one thing Kamijou had wanted to ask the next time he met a Transcendent. He hadn’t wanted to ask Alice because he got the feeling her answer would change based on what she thought he wanted to hear.

“Wh-where is the Bologna Succubus? Is she alright?”

“She is inside. But common sense says she should be allowed to rest for the time being.”

That was a relief…or was it?

Was this H. T. Trismegistus one of the Rescuers or one of the Killers?

The young butler welcomed back Alice while indicating the consulate with a sweep of his arm.

“Everyone is familiar with Alice and her tea party, but in the original story, it is held at a house in the woods. But outside the house, not inside it. But common sense says the real highlight of the setting arrives with the Queen of Hearts shouting to have everyone executed. There is nothing better than the queen’s castle or the courtroom.”

Kamijou felt like a dull, invisible object was slowly stabbing into his chest.

He ended up holding Aradia’s hand tight. She took it as some kind of sign and gave him a wordless, wide-eyed look, but he hadn’t meant it that way.

Executed.

And a courtroom.

What did the Bridge Builders Cabal intend to do with Aradia after her defeat? He still didn’t know why they had come to Academy City. If it was a whim of Alice’s, there might not be any real reason, but that didn’t mean they would ignore a potential information leak like Aradia.

Alice, being Alice, smiled like she wasn’t concerned about any of that.

“H. T. Trismegistus! The girl wants to show her teacher around her secret base! But just looking around would be boring!! Do you know a fun game we could play? You know, like a treasure hunt or something else where everyone can see the whole place while playing!!”

“Ah ha ha,” laughed the young butler as he pulled out several movie pamphlets and TRPG rulebooks. Those paper booklets had to be heavy with so many of them.

“Common sense says you only need to speak this magic phrase: ‘I will grant my whole inheritance to whosoever reveals every one of my secrets.’ ”

“Ohh, that sounds like fun. Then should the girl share her power with the winner? You’re the best, H. T. Trismegistus!”

“Not at all. It is merely my job to gently support my master by granting her every wish.”

“Then I’ll give them a whole half!!”

“Hold on,” interrupted a graceful woman’s voice.

Kamijou realized someone else was already standing next to Alice. The woman wore a maternity dress and a wide-brimmed hat that covered her eyes. That was Good, Old Mary, one of the Transcendents, and she was currently pinching and slightly stretching one of Alice’s small cheeks.

“Alice really would give someone half of the planet while in this sort of mood, so if you see her start on something like that, please stop her even if you have to physically restrain her.”

“Eh? Um, you mean me? You’re telling me to do that?” said Kamijou.

“Mama is only asking an outsider because none of us can do it.”

That sent a tension similar to static electricity through them all. The Transcendents, Index, and Othinus all carefully observed Kamijou and Alice.

“?”

Even the cat instinctually sensed something was amiss and put up his guard, but Alice herself tilted her head and then grabbed Kamijou’s arm again.

He was afraid to say anything.

He had temporarily captured Aradia, but he had been helpless against her on the 31st. He had been killed more than once and had only barely pulled off a victory thanks to two Transcendents providing assistance that felt like cheating.

What if he was thrown out onto the battlefield with no assistance this time?

Or what if several Transcendents attacked him at once?

Or what if Alice turned on him???

He had no idea when he would be killed or by whom, but he couldn’t predict what the other Transcendents would do if he turned down Alice’s invitation. He worked to organize what information he had while asking some questions.

“So is this consulate about that stuff the Bologna Succubus was telling me about? You know, about the Transcendents of the Bridge Builders Cabal being split between a group that wants to rescue me and one that wants to kill me?”

“Uh, oh,” gasped H. T. Trismegistus.

The young butler’s gaze lowered to young Alice.

She silently and emotionlessly tilted her head.

And she spoke.

“What. Is. He. Talking. About?”

“Gasp!?”

Kamijou opened his eyes.

He shook his head several times and stood up.

Only then did he realize he had been collapsed on the grass.

(What? Eh? Wait. What happened? What in the world just happened!?)

He checked his old folk’s smartphone to find time had skipped forward by about 10 minutes.

No.

What had happened immediately after Alice Anotherbible spoke in such a low voice? Kamijou at least seemed to have lost consciousness at that point.

He took a look around.

H. T. Trismegistus had seemed so above it all, but he had fallen onto his rear with his cane a good distance away from him. Where it had come from was a mystery, but in his panic, he had produced an entirely useless life jacket which he clutched in his arms like a stuffed animal.

For some reason, Good, Old Mary was trying not to look in that direction.

After sensing a tremor shaking and a sweet aroma, Kamijou realized Aradia was holding onto him from the side. Just like a small child afraid to let go of her teddy bear after having a nightmare.

Index and Othinus had to be around there somewhere. Probably doing their best to hide in one of the large garden’s flower beds or shrubberies.

Alice alone remained on her feet.

Her head was still tilted and she spoke in her usual tone again.

“You were saying?”

“Yes! Yes!! We’re all good friends here!! Common sense says we would never be so rude to an important guest!!”

The young butler’s voice was cracking.

The Bologna Succubus had said only Kamijou could guide and control Tyrant Alice. He still didn’t understand what this was all about, but if this was how things worked, he could see why everyone was so afraid of her.

But anyway.

“T-to be clear, our objective is not Kamijou Touma,” said H. T. Trismegistus while trying to catch his breath. “Common sense says we made this direct visit to prevent an information leak. In other words, we are here for a fellow Transcendent.”

“…”

“You heard a lot about us in Shibuya on the 31st, didn’t you? I believe a few Transcendents other than Aradia contacted you. But common sense says this decision cannot be overturned. The Bologna Succubus, Good, Old Mary, and even Alice herself have already agreed that the traitor who left our cabal must be punished accordingly. Because these are not false accusations placed upon an innocent’s head.”

“Punished?”

“Correct.”

Someone walked up next to the young butler.

She was a girl of about 15. She had long, wavy blonde hair, brown skin, and a skinny build decorated with thin belts and pure gold ornaments. She reminded Kamijou of Nephthys, but maybe it was his lack of knowledge that made him think of an Egyptian goddess or a dancer when he saw her.

Alice hopped around proudly.

“This is Mut Thebes! She’s a Transcendent just like the girl!!”

They had finally reached the point where he wasn’t even sure what kind of god they were talking about. He at least recognized names like Alice and Mary – whether or not the associations he made were accurate – but some of the other names like Aradia and Trismegistus meant nothing at all to him.

Since Alice sounded so proud, the young butler went ahead and introduced her.

“She is an Egyptian mythology Transcendent who specializes in punishment.”

The matter-of-fact way H. T. Trismegistus said it sent a chill down Kamijou’s spine.

Punishment.

He gave Aradia’s hand a squeeze.

“She carries the symbolism of the mother protecting her children – or of the queen protecting her people. She will do whatever it takes to protect what she had decided is her territory. And of course, that is currently defined as the Bridge Builders Cabal.”

That made her sound super powerful, but Kamijou wasn’t sure if it made her an enemy or an ally. He gave the brown girl a nervous look and, for some reason, she bowed. Now, should he feel glad that this assassin or hitman was impeccably polite? He wasn’t sure.

She was a Transcendent who specialized in punishment.

The brown girl stood next to…something not quite the same as a metal fence with spikes jutting out in a giant X. Several sharp spears were contained in the same binder, creating something that looked a bit like a barricade. The spearheads were made of glass and a strange fluorescent pink liquid sloshed around inside. At about 150cm long, they didn’t seem to have much reach for spears. Hold the shaft near the center and they wouldn’t reach much further than a sword.

That meant they were probably javelins.

Notably, they each had the same phrase written on the shaft: Drink Me.

“(Th-this is related to Alice in Wonderland,)” whispered Aradia, unable to hide her trembling.

“…”

Kamijou remained silent.

“I used the word punishment because I have a graceful heart and common sense told me to avoid stating it so directly, but perhaps it would have been simpler to say ‘execution’ instead.”

The young butler’s voice was calm as could be.

Although he was nervously tapping his cane against the ground.

“Transcendents can be killed. Especially when you have an expert in executing them,” he said quite plainly.

The next thing Kamijou knew, there was a long, narrow coffin there. Was it another stage magician tool? It was about the right size to hold an adult woman and it had strange slits all over it, so it may have been a prop for stabbing swords into.

“You should already understand this on some level after what you saw during all that ugly fighting in Shibuya on the 31st. One specific method is to weaken the Transcendent by taking away their power. The spiritual item called the Shrink Drink does just that. In the story, it was a drink that causes the imbiber to physically shrink, but- oh, you should already be familiar with the general idea since one of your companions is a weakened god.”

They had traded one problem for another.

(At least it looks like I don’t have to worry about all the Transcendents attacking me at once. Still, this is bad. I’m not thrilled about their target being Aradia either.)

Kamijou turned to look at someone.

Not Alice who was kind but capricious. He looked to Good, Old Mary who had selflessly helped save him and the Bologna Succubus on the 31st.

Aradia and the Bologna Succubus had both had something they wanted to protect, so Good, Old Mary – who could return a corpse to its state when the heart had stopped – must have had her own reasons for wanting to become a magician.

But she did not return Kamijou’s gaze.

In fact, her large hat shook as she turned her head away from him, but that may have been to avoid Aradia’s eyes more than his.

(Are we out of options?)

Kamijou clenched his teeth.

He was wrapped in an extreme tension that told him he had to avoid letting them notice even that.

(Then what do I do? What good is Imagine Breaker alone against an entire group of Transcendents!?)

But while all this was going on in his head…

“Oh, I think you have the wrong idea,” continued H. T. Trismegistus, to correct the puny boy’s misunderstanding. “It is true Aradia neglected to return to us after her defeat at your hands and the possibility of her revealing critical information does put our cabal at risk, but she already understands and shares in the cabal’s ideology and – more importantly – she understands in her very bones what it would mean to make herself an enemy of Alice. Common sense says no amount of cajolery or torture would get her to talk. That sturdy vault door can be dealt with later. It is the flimsy back door we must deal with first.”

“Back door?”

“Indeed.” The young butler nodded and explained. “Our top priority assassination target is none other than the newest Transcendent, the international information expert who created R&C Occultics, and the traitor who shows insufficient respect for Alice and who got you involved in all this in the first place. I am, of course, referring to Anna Sprengel.”

Part 6

Meanwhile, Yomikawa Aiho had business beyond giving a New Year’s greeting to her former roommate. And that business required visiting the same location two days in a row.

It could be confusing since Board Chairman Accelerator had adopted it as his new base, but the place was originally a District 10 prison for adult criminals.

Working for Anti-Skill naturally led to knowing a fair number of convicts, but this particular one was a special case.

Because…

“Hi, Ultimate Evil Demon King Tessou Tsuzuri who’s awoken to the thrill of the dark voltage. Care to share some of your genius inspiration that us ordinary and peaceful Anti-Skill officers could never hope to think up?”

“Eeek!! P-please stop this, Senpai!! Why are you harassing me like this!? You’re teasing me on purpose, aren’t you!? Oh, god, it’s so embarrassing!!!”

Trembling on the other side of the visiting room’s thick bulletproof glass was a timid teacher with glasses and curly black hair. She had wounds all over. It was kind of scary that the AI-supported speed trial had her thrown in prison so fast her teaching license hadn’t even officially revoked yet.

(Well, that government paperwork is going to be slow during the holiday anyway.)

In that sense, Yomikawa was a little impressed that the prison was working so fast at the end of the year.

What had happened to the version of Tessou who had strutted through Academy City’s darkness as an Anti-Skill Negotiator? The usual tearful glasses woman was back like she had woken from a dream.

Tessou lay her head on the desk and placed her hands on top of her head.

“Why? Whyyyyy did I do that? I wasn’t wrong to want to protect the children, but why would I choose to do it like that? Am I secretly a sadistic jerk deep down? If I just wanted to feel fear, I should have gone to an amusement park haunted house, but I got fixated on doing everything with violence and I feel like that’s kind of your fault really.”

“(Wow. It’s hard to imagine, but what if Accelerator is like this deep down and he’s just better at hiding it from us?)”

“Umm, Yomikawa-senpai?”

Tessou Tsuzuri tilted her head in confusion.

It at least sounded like she had never stopped wanting to protect the students, but she should have come asked her colleague for advice before doing all that. Yomikawa sighed.

“Whatever. The point is I need to pick your brains, Tessou. It was temporary, but you managed to synchronize with – or even outdo – the dark side, so I want some help thinking like they do.”

“I-I won’t do it. I decided I wasn’t touching that dangerous dark side ever again. I will pay my debt to society, but don’t make me get involved with that again. I don’t even work for you anymore, so you can’t make me.”

“Oh, really?”

“Um, you’re scaring me. Scaring me a lot. Why do I sense an obsession behind that ‘oh, really’? It feels every bit as strong as someone’s unrequited love!!”

“So, Tessou? Care to remind me who it was that put my arm in this sling? Ow, ow, ow, ow. Man the winter chill sure does a number on a broken arm.”

“Kh!? Y-your guilt trip won’t work on me!!”

“Suit yourself. Now, the solitary confinement area is split up by gender, age, and occupation, isn’t it? That means you’re in the teacher section. And if my memory serves, isn’t your cell neighbor named Therestina?”

“Bff!? Why do you know the layout of the cells? And what are you suggesting!? I really don’t like where this is headed! Do you know how creepy it is that she spends all her time cackling in her solitary cell!? She doesn’t even need to snort any white powder!! The brain chemicals produced by her own love, courage, and derangement have completely broken her brain!!!”

“Did you know, Tessou, that this prison can reward model prisoners by transferring them from a solitary cell to a shared cell? Lucky for you, your good friend has your back. Your lonely days will soon be over and you can share a cell with another lewd glasses teacher with a screw loose.”

“You’ve made your point, so please give me a job to do!! What was it you wanted to ask me, you lowly scum!?”

There. Tessou’s cooperation acquired.

Yomikawa Aiho lazily rested her head in her hand and organized her thoughts.

She had more than one thing she wanted to ask.

Fortunately, she knew which one she wanted to get out of the way first.

“Kumokawa Seria.”

“…”

“On December 31, the Board’s brain was sighted outside the city in Shibuya. She was focused on, but ultimately never visited, the Miyashita Ark. It’s basically an enormous mall, but I doubt she was there to go shopping. Any ideas?”

“What were you thinking?”

“That girl is the type to pursue something that has already happened, not start something herself. That would mean something was already underway at the Miyashita Ark and she was there to put a stop to-”

“I think you’re wrong.”

Yomikawa’s idea was swiftly shot down.

Tessou Tsuzuri giggled at the way Yomikawa’s eyes widened. Her situation had greatly changed, but it was still amusing to see that look on her former superior’s face.

Or maybe she had switched modes.

The (supposedly) timid teacher held a hand over her mouth as she laughed and then explained her reasoning.

“You said Kumokawa Seria never actually went there, didn’t you? If she was there to stop something, I would expect her to pay a visit even if she screwed it up. No matter how risky it would be. If the person who called for Anti-Skill is attacked by a criminal before you can get there, you can’t just turn around and head back even if you know it’s too late for them, right?”

There was always a miniscule chance you could save them. Getting the injured caller medical care could at least save their life. And even if they were already dead, you had to search for evidence that could lead to the culprit. A defender would change their objective but still act if they learned it was too late. You could not work law enforcement if you would stop just because the best case scenario was no longer an option.

Which meant…

“So you’re saying Kumokawa wasn’t going to the Miyashita Ark to stop something?”

“On the other hand, I would feel bad if I used that reasoning to conclude she was the one who set it all up.”

“…Hm.”

“But I could see her wanting to interfere with something already underway in order to steer it where she wants it. So just imagine what would have happened if there had been no accident and she had arrived at the Miyashita Ark as planned. Maybe she couldn’t have done anything herself, but someone with her may have accomplished something if she had guided them there.”

“But what for?”

“Don’t ask me. Maybe she wanted to eliminate something she was afraid that new board chairman couldn’t handle on his own. Academy City has been on a losing streak of late, so it wouldn’t surprise me to find some people are doubting that new board chairman’s abilities. I know I am.”

“…”

“That said, she isn’t as impatient as me, so she wouldn’t gather the people she needs using blackmail material. I bet she would lay out the rails to guide some great power where she wants it, all while staying just barely within the bounds of legality. Maybe she sees the world differently. If you rely solely on science, I don’t think you would place your hopes in anything outside of Academy City.”

But then who was it?

The new board chairman was Academy City’s strongest Level 5.

What game piece could be so powerful even he paled in comparison?

Part 7

She didn’t go for the cigar or the kiseru.

“Yes, I will be taking that lighter. It will be much simpler if I take your 🔥 instead of all your many 🚬 products.”

“Woof, woof, woof!!”

“Suddenly trying to act like a cute 🐕 is ❌ going to change my 🧠. Using the kiseru helps 😷 how much you’re smoking, but you are matching the pace of a ⛓️ smoker right now. Smoking is bad for your health and there is ❌ possible way you can 🗣️ otherwise.”

The golden retriever lunged at the person forcing her own preferences onto him. Having her face licked by a tongue that reeked of nicotine made Lady Kingsford shriek and fall onto her rear. Was all this really about her not liking the smell?

“Oh, dear. My glasses. Where are my glasses?”

“I have found your weak point now, you gentle teacher. What are you, a living cliché?”

Losing her glasses made that founder of founders get down in a doggy pose. Crybaby Anna Kingsford crawled around feeling about for her glasses until Kihara Noukan sighed and used one of his mechanical arms to hand the glasses to her.

The interaction received a sidelong glance from a woman in a beige habit and blonde hair roughly cut to shoulder length. No, that was actually Magician Aleister who had hijacked a great demon’s body.

He clicked his tongue while walking toward Academy City.

“They’re going to notice this time,” said the golden retriever’s artificial voice. “Our group has gotten too large and we haven’t prepared well enough to sneak in safely.”

“I know that. I did build this city from the ground up, after all.”

For one thing, Anna Kingsford – who was tearfully putting back on her glasses – was not a camouflaged model finetuned for infiltration missions. If they took her with them, Accelerator’s side would notice immediately.

Aleister wasn’t happy about the situation either. He had already handed Academy City over to the next board chairman, so he didn’t want to be making frequent visits.

But things had changed. In a big way.

The Bridge Builders Cabal had a consulate.

They had created a bridgehead enclave inside the headquarters of science.

That secret base would make it impossible to track anything that was stolen and impossible to prevent anyone from getting inside.

(Why would that boy choose to enter their base where they can legally disappear him?)

Of course, this human’s objective was not to solve a riddle. Everything would be for naught if Kamijou Touma wasn’t rescued from the threat of the Bridge Builders Cabal.

He would save that boy even if it meant breaking his word. In a way, it was a very Aleister thing to do since fate never seemed to let him follow his own rules anyway.

So they crossed the outer wall and entered Academy City.

“Your pareo.”

“Hee hee. Thank you very much. Such a gentlemanly 🐕 to hold it down with your 🦾.”

There was no time for getting weirdly emotional or succumbing to self-loathing. The beige habit woman spoke up while they walked through that familiar city.

“H. T. Trismegistus.”

There was a note of annoyance in Aleister’s voice.

He then restated it as if confirming it for himself.

“Hermes Thoth Trismegistus. That Egyptian secretary god has a strong connection to Holy Guardian Angel Aiwass. And both Hermes and Thoth correspond to each other in Liber 777, an occult dictionary I wrote. That means Alice isn’t the only one. Yet another hint of the Magick system I worked on so long ago. Ugh, why do I always do this!? If only I could go back in time and punch my past self.”

Witch Goddess Aradia was another obvious example.

In fact, the entire framework of Wicca was created by Gerald Gardner, who had interacted with Aleister. Aleister’s influence could be seen in the portion of Gardner’s witchcraft where the practitioners gained power through sex.

Looking relieved now that she had her glasses back, Anna Kingsford whispered in obvious enjoyment.

“Hee hee. By that logic, would the Bologna Succubus and Good, Old Mary be 🔗ed as well?”

“…”

“My, my. I 💭 which Magickal supernatural being they could be. Perhaps the sky goddess from 🇪🇬 mythology? Or maybe the lady in 🟥 spoken of in the 📕 of Revelation?”

Anyone could tell from the teasing tone of voice that Kingsford was only eliminating impossible options. Although she smiled and swiped a portable ashtray from Kihara Noukan while doing so.

There was no point in trying to find a connection in all of them.

It was dreadfully easy to find mistaken interpretations when using Magick. It was a labyrinth of one’s own making that beginners often found themselves trapped inside.

Magic was so complicated because it operated under an orderly set of rules, but questions didn’t necessarily have just the one answer. If you weren’t willing to accept contradictions like two distinct but equally correct answers, then you could never reach the truth. That was a conclusion Crowley himself had reached at a certain temple.

So putting off a question on hold was far more important than you might think.

(I shouldn’t assume the Crowley system alone is enough to explain all of this.)

Alice Anotherbible, Aradia, H. T. Trismegistus.

Then there was the Bologna Succubus, Good, Old Mary, and the rest.

For the time being, he decided to operate under the assumption that the cabal contained some with Magickal origins and some without. But it didn’t look as simple as the ones who followed the Crowley system being Rescuers and the others being Killers.

“Some come from Crowley and some do not.”

“And some have decided Kamijou Touma should live and others have chosen he should ☠️.”

They had already found a mixture of four different categories within the single cabal. That was unusual since cabals usually followed a unified ideology with their magic.

Furthermore, there was another unique case beyond those four types.

“Why are you staring at me?” asked the face plastered to the film canister he held.

Anna Sprengel.

“Wasn’t she invited to join that Bridge Builders Cabal?” asked Kihara Noukan.

“That suggests the Transcendents aren’t some legendary group with, for example, only 12 spots available. If someone meets certain requirements, they can add new members.”

“Which leads to an obvious ❓☆”

Anna Kingsford’s tone was light.

Was this how she had once spoken with Westcott and Mathers?

“What conditions did Miss Sprengel meet? What expectations did they have of her and how did she end up betraying them?”

“I don’t know anything about magic,” said Noukan, “but for someone to betray your organization, you must have placed your trust in them at least temporarily.”

Some followed the Crowley system, others didn’t. Some were Rescuers, others were Killers. Which of those groups had Anna Sprengel joined?

“That line of reasoning doesn’t fit the timeline,” said Miss Sprengel.

“…”

She laughed when Aleister fell into silent thought.

“The split based on what to do with Kamijou Touma only came to be after I betrayed the cabal and messed with Alice. Those groups did not exist originally.”

That left only two groups: Crowley and non-Crowley.

Time to think through it again. When comparing their magic, was there anything linking Aleister and Miss Sprengel?

Eventually, the beige habit woman muttered under her breath.

It didn’t matter if part of the process was flawed as long as you found your way to the correct answer in the end.

“So that’s it.”

“Have you grasped the big picture now?” asked Miss Sprengel.

“The Bridge Builders Cabal’s Transcendents seemed awfully confident with their boasting about individually rivalling the entire magic side, but I see where they were coming from now.”

In that sense, Anna Sprengel did indeed qualify.

Aleister brought a hand to his borrowed chin.

“It also explains why Alice’s group did not choose Anna Kingsford when her magic is so much more powerful.”

“Yes. And it means an immature Aleister Crowley might have been accepted as a Transcendent if things had gone differently.”

Not that Aleister Crowley ever would have chosen to obey someone else in that way.

Funnily enough, this meant it was impossible for both Aleister and Miss Sprengel to join the Bridge Builders Cabal at the same time.

Only one or the other could join.

“Every man and every woman is a star,” sang the girl’s voice.

That was a theory Aleister himself had once proposed.

“All people can create a monster and become a god. Of course, doing so would change the very definition of the word ‘god’. With one 2000-year period ended, the world has already entered that age. Isn’t that the Aeon of Horus you proposed? That is the foundation of their strategy. That is what the Transcendents have created by gathering together and what they are attempting to control all on their own.”

Miss Sprengel continued to sing from the surface of the film canister.

“But I am not talking about Alice here.”

Between the Lines 2

The girl was known as a witch.

There was nothing she couldn’t do.

With her newfound power, she could bend anything to her will with a wave of her finger. She scattered stars across the night sky, sent blessed rain falling from that sky, created a potion for the sick, and gave a beautiful dress to a poor woman.

The girl was praised by so many.

The girl was thanked by so many.

The girl became a goal for so many.

She swam through her dreams. There was nothing left that could bring her pain. How could there be when she had the power to remove all sources of pain from her sight and to support and guide those who worshiped her?

There was a smile on every face.

Everyone looked happy.

So the girl was confident she had done the right thing. So the girl did not question any of her actions. It was the right thing to do, after all. Why hold back when her every action was a wonderful thing that would make everyone happy?

She lived in a world void of stress.

From the moment she got up in the morning to the moment she fell asleep at night, her every day shined bright.

But isn’t it strange?

Why, then, was that girl known as a witch?

Chapter 3: The Next Move – Witch_Trial.

Part 1

“The girl is ready to eat!!”

“…”

Alice put on a perfect smile and made her announcement as the center of the world.

She had taken the seat of honor at a very long table inside the white castle’s large dining hall. An impressive array of food covered the table as if that was just the way of things here. Everything clearly followed Western culture, but each course of the meal was not brought out separately. And the silverware only included a single knife and fork per plate.

“Here, Alice. Make sure to wear a napkin.”

“Nh.”

“Wouldn’t it be best to cut this up on a separate plate? You prefer using a plastic cocktail pick instead of a fork, don’t you?”

“I want a bento food pick! The shiny see-through ones are so grownup and cool!!”

The young butler H. T. Trismegistus’s cloak seemed to contain anything and everything. He also swiftly took care of Alice without getting in her way. He had denied it himself, but the way he looked after her sure made him look like her tutor.

“(Hey, Othinus. What does Trismegistus mean? Some kind of god?)”

“(There is of course a story behind the name, but the legend that still remains in the current world doesn’t point to a specific individual. It’s something like a shared penname ancient scholars would use to release their papers anonymously.)”

So was the concept of a throwaway account a modern continuation of an ancient tradition? But what did that mean for this young man using the name?

Kamijou didn’t have a clue about Western etiquette (was there even such a thing as a singular “Western” etiquette when, even limiting your definition of Western to only include Europe, that category included everything from Greenland in the west to Russia in the east?), but the man had hung the head of his black cane from the back of his chair.

“Alice does not like having each course brought out in turn. Yes, common sense says she prefers to do things trattoria style.”

“Ooh, meatballs! They’re made from almost the same thing, but they still seem so different from the small hamburger steaks in a bento.”

“If you ask mama, the distinction is similar to the difference between gyoza and shumai, Alice.”

“Yay, there’s Chinese food too!”

Kamijou had trouble focusing on the food when Mut Thebes, the Transcendent punishment or execution expert, was eating at the same table as him, but when their eyes met, she silently passed him the French dressing. Apparently she wasn’t in a bad mood – that was just how she always looked.

Othinus, meanwhile, was worried about being drugged and had the cat try the food first, but Index started chowing down immediately.

“Yum. This home food is just as good as restaurant food.”

“Yeah, can’t say I expected home cooking here,” replied Kamijou.

“(Why is it such a surprise? Mama only wants everyone to feel at home.)”

Kamijou hesitantly dipped his spoon into his soup. So that woman was the ultimate magical healer, could fight according to Kumokawa-senpai, and was willing to do all the housework? Was there anything she couldn’t do?

He had a feeling the Transcendents wouldn’t try to poison the food. If they wanted him dead, they could have obliterated him with simple brute force.

“You eat too, Aradia. You’ve missed mama’s cooking, haven’t you?”

“…”

The witch goddess looked uncomfortable.

She knew the others weren’t going to suddenly attack since Alice was against it, but she wasn’t sure where she stood in the Bridge Builders Cabal.

“H. T. Trismegistus, you aren’t going to eat your fries? Then the girl will take them.”

“I am saving them to eat after my baked potato, Alice. And I see you are stealing them with your fork despite my explanation!”

The young butler tearfully protested, but Kamijou was curious what the difference was between these Western-style baked potatoes and Japanese-style buttered potatoes.

It looked like H. T. Trismegistus let himself be bullied while Good, Old Mary tried to control Alice through her stomach. As Kamijou noticed each cabal member’s strategy, what might have looked like an enjoyable meal seemed a lot more like a game of chess or shogi surrounding Alice.

But even that wasn’t perfect.

So whether they were a Rescuer or a Killer, the Transcendents all feared the boy who could freely influence Alice.

Kamijou glanced to the side. It was already dark outside the window. The sun set early at the start of the year, but it was already well into the night.

Q. Why was he doing this?

A. “Eh? Because you’re spending the night at the girl’s house, teacher.”

Alice had made it sound like a foregone conclusion.

He could have refused and he doubted she would have stopped him from leaving. But doing that would have made it even harder to predict the actions of the other Transcendents who were so interested in Alice Anotherbible’s moods.

“Hm. The girl’s soda water has gotten warm.”

“Shall I pour you a new glass, Alice?”

“No!! The girl wants this glass!”

“Very well. Your wish is my command.”

The young butler was clearly accustomed to her childish demands. He opened a tiered storage container he pulled from his pocket and then held an icepack of dry ice against the glass to cool its contents. Kamijou got the feeling the guy had a canister of carbon gas in there too.

H. T. Trismegistus’s job was to look after Alice (and clean up the mess she made while eating), but the food preparation was handled by Good, Old Mary.

Othinus, who was being careful to only eat something she had seen another human or the cat eat first, whispered to Kamijou with a piece of bread in both hands.

“(Human, have you figured out who you need to keep an eye on?)”

“…”

“(In this case, it isn’t Alice.)”

He agreed with that.

He didn’t know the exact number of Transcendents staying in the Bridge Builders Cabal Consulate, but the one who terrified him the most was Good, Old Mary.

Resurrection.

Even death could be reversed.

Aradia and the Bologna Succubus’s mysterious spells had appeared to be purely destructive in nature, but this would bring great chaos to the world in a different way entirely. For example, if all of humanity came together and used up all of Earth’s natural and human resources to defeat a single Transcendent, it might not end there. If Good, Old Mary used her resurrection, that Transcendent would be good as new while everyone else remained worn down. Kamijou didn’t even want to think about that possibility.

So as dangerous as the Transcendents were on their own, they might push past their usual limits on the assumption they could be resurrected.

It felt like having the frog doctor on your enemy’s side. Kamijou felt ungrateful since she had already saved his life more than once, but it was those rescues from beyond the verge of death that told him just how abnormal Good, Old Mary was.

(On that note, Alice’s abilities seem so depthless she could handle both destruction and resurrection.)

“This bread is good. I didn’t know just bread could taste good, but it does.”

“That is because mama baked it from scratch herself.”

It sounded like Index and the mama were hitting it off. Or rather, the latter was winning over the former with food.

Then Kamijou noticed a silver cart next to Good, Old Mary. It contained portions of the same food Alice was eating.

“What’s that for?”

“Mama is willing to forgive people for not showing up at the table for mealtime. Especially when they are recuperating in their room like the Bologna Succubus is.”

“…”

This was something he had hoped to see for himself. He had been told she was fine, but still.

“(Do not take the bait, human. Did you learn nothing from Los Angeles? Hopes can quickly transform into vulnerabilities.)”

“(But…)”

The Bologna Succubus had seemed different from the rest of the Bridge Builders Cabal (including Alice). She looked wild with the horns on her head and wings on her back, but of all the members he had met so far, she had had the most solid head on her shoulders.

“(Mama has been perfectly reasonable with you at every turn and I still rank below Miss Walks-Around-In-Her-Underwear?)”

Good, Old Mary was squirming for some reason, but he decided to ignore it…which must have shown on his face because an even deeper shadow fell over her face.

But for now, he was focused on the Bologna Succubus. He still had trouble believing some things.

For example, there was that traitor Anna Sprengel.

The rise and fall of R&C Occultics he could understand. That had been Anna’s personal toy. But even as an outsider, he could tell it meant a lot that Alice Anotherbible had appeared before him.

“We are not like the Magic Gods,” said H. T. Trismegistus.

Was the silent tension in the air coming from Mut Thebes, the executioner Transcendent?

“What I mean is, we do not attempt to gather the people’s faith or be worshiped as gods. I have no desire to spread the name of my beloved master among the people. Simply put, the fact that our presence is so widely known is a major failure in and of itself.”

If Alice hadn’t appeared out of nowhere and followed Kamijou around in the dark side of Academy City on December 29, the world never would have known the name of the Bridge Builders Cabal. If the Transcendents were gathering to fulfill some master plan, then that alone was a significant mistake.

For the Transcendents like Aradia and the Bologna Succubus, the battle in Shibuya on the 31st had been a highly unusual occurrence. Internal conflict hurt them far more than it benefited them. And dragging all of Shibuya into that conflict set things up so the entire cabal looked like villains.

It made sense the cabal would want to punish Anna Sprengel.

But was that reason enough to kill her?

Kamijou thought about it for a bit.

Setting aside his feelings, was it even possible to physically attack and kill that monster?

He guessed it was possible. Those Shrink Drink spears contained a special liquid in the head. Being pierced by one and forcibly injected with the liquid was supposedly game over for Anna Sprengel, so she probably really would die. It wouldn’t just defeat her or aggravate her. It would kill her.

Anna was certainly a fearsome magician, but she couldn’t vanish into thin air or pass through walls. In a 1-on-1 battle, a dense enough barrage would make it impossible for her to dodge and she could take a direct hit. Kamijou had defeated her on the 25th because fighting with St. Germain’s help had given him more options to use.

But that realistic path toward killing her was the entire problem.

The cabal was not split into Rescuers and Killers over the question of striking back at Anna. The entire cabal agreed with it (except for Aradia who they hadn’t been able to reach until now). Did that mean the Bologna Succubus agreed too? After she had thrown away her own life to protect a stranger like Kamijou?

But…

“O-oh, right. Alice, what about your vegetables? If you do not want them, I can put them in a container and eat them as a late night snack.”

“No, these aren’t just any vegetables. They were steamed in butter! This is the good kind!!”

“I see. You are such a good girl with plenty of common sense. Ah ha ha.”

Kamijou’s mind was entirely focused on the Bologna Succubus, but something in a corner of his mind stopped him. Could he really ignore everything underway here?

H. T. Trismegistus was saying a lot to Alice with a smile, but he had given up on actually influencing her on his own.

At first glance, the consulate was heaven for Alice. It was filled with things she liked.

But the Transcendents’ actions were rooted in fear.

The young butler called her his “beloved master”, but he appeared to be standing on a foundation of fear.

No matter how close any of them got to her, they could never have a real connection that way. Even if none of them actually harmed her, none of them could save her from her loneliness either. It was like an automated store run by polite prerecorded phrases. The smiles here were only for show.

Which of them was the real monster?

Could he really conclude that it was exposure to this environment that had twisted Alice?

Good, Old Mary glanced over at the cart of food.

“Please excuse mama for a bit.”

“Oh, if you’re going to the Bologna Succubus, I’ll join you.”

This was what Kamijou wanted all along.

But there was no rule limiting him to only wanting one thing.

“You come too, Alice. We can visit that dumbass and see how she’s doing.”

“Yes, teacher!!”

Alice sprang from her seat of honor.

Index was still working at the food and looked confused why anyone would want to leave the table and 15cm Othinus slapped her forehead while seated on the table.

But the seating arrangement no longer mattered. Now Alice was just another part of the crowd like Kamijou.

Good, Old Mary tilted her head with her eyes still hidden by her large hat.

“Mama doesn’t mind and the Bologna Succubus was worried about you too.”

H. T. Trismegistus’s jaw dropped while various tools spilled from his cloak, so Kamijou doubted inviting him was a good idea. Instead, Kamijou turned to the witch goddess who looked just as shocked.

“What about you, Aradia?”

She vigorously shook her head.

Things were awkward for her in the cabal after losing her battle, but she must have decided being surrounded by her old cabal-mates was better than ending up 1-on-1 with Alice.

But Kamijou ignored that and grinned.

“Oh? You’re that opposed to staying here? Yeah, I can see why. After everything you did on the 31st, it would make sense to go apologize to the Bologna Succubus.”

“I-”

“Right, teacher? We all need to get along.”

“~ ~ ~!?”

Aradia tearfully gnashed her teeth. She looked like someone whose escape route had been cut off by a horizontal line of landmines.

And with that settled…

“(Index, you can eat every bit of this food, so you look after things here.)”

“Hm? But this food already belongs to me.”

“(Just listen. I want you and Othinus to observe H. T. Trismegistus. Things should relax in here after Alice and I leave and I want to know if he lets anything slip as soon as he doesn’t have to look after Alice anymore. With your perfect memory and Othinus’s knowledge of inhuman magic, you might be able to figure something out together.)”

“(Not so fast, human! Don’t leave me behind with that cat!!)”

The god was unusually tearful and shaken, but with all this food on the table, he didn’t trust Index alone to keep watch even if she did have a perfect memory.

“Don’t worry.”

“Yikes!!” yelped Kamijou, jumping on the spot.

Mut Thebes had ended up right behind him without him noticing. That was super scary with an execution expert.

This was also his first time hearing her speak. She had a lovely, almost musical, voice.

“I will watch over them. If that gloomy butler tries anything, I will end his life on the spot, so there is nothing to worry about.”

“I-Is that so?”

“Make no mistake. I simply do not want anything to ruin my meal time. I happen to like sharing my meals with people who are enjoying themselves.”

Apparently Transcendents these days came equipped with a tsundere mode.

Good, Old Mary pushed the cart out of the dining hall, so Kamijou and Alice followed after her (while dragging along an empty-eyed Aradia whose soul was starting to escape through her mouth). Preventing Alice from swiping food from the cart became Kamijou’s job.

He sensed someone’s gaze and found Good, Old Mary was looking back at him while pushing the cart. …Oh? It was hard to tell which direction she was facing with the large hat hiding her eyeline, but could she really safely turn her head that far?

“…”

“Wh-what do you want? It’s hard to breathe when you stare silently like that.”

“Nothing.” She shook her head and the large hat on her head. “I was simply noticing that you really do have the power to get Alice to obey.”

“Of course he does. Because he is the girl’s teacher!!” replied Alice while he restrained her. Really, he was lifting her up like a stuffed animal while she waved her arms and legs in delight.

(The girl’s teacher, huh?)

Anna Sprengel had apparently done something to Alice, but what exactly had she done to make Alice so obedient?

“…”

Then Aradia glared quite harshly at him. Come to think of it, hadn’t she been with the Killers who were trying to take his life to prevent Alice from turning out this way?

She had been temporarily stripped of her magic by the duct tape around her feet, but that wouldn’t last forever.

Regardless, the demoness was his priority right now.

On the 31st, Kumokawa Seria and Good, Old Mary had worked to save the Bologna Succubus, but apparently she was still too weak to leave the consulate or even show up to dinner in the same building. What was her condition like? Hopefully she didn’t have casts on all her limbs with tubes and electrodes covering the rest of her.

Kamijou continued following Good, Old Mary and the cart down the hallway. She never entered any of the rooms. Instead, she opened an accordion door and pushed just the cart onto a small elevator. Apparently she didn’t use magic to make the glasses and plates float around.

Kamijou felt like he had lost his chance to lower Alice to the floor, so he held onto the playfully squirming girl while looking up at the ceiling.

“Is the Bologna Succubus up there?

“Yes, we were free to choose our own rooms and that idiot insisted on having one on the top floor. She was still better than Alice who wanted to stay in the basement storeroom or attic, though.”

The casual insults helped make them sound like friends.

They walked down a hallway lined with giant flower pots and goddess statues that probably had some meaning which was lost on Kamijou. On the way to the stairs, they passed by someone Kamijou didn’t recognize. Since Aradia looked away awkwardly and used Kamijou as a shield, he guessed this was another Transcendent.

How many Transcendents were there in all?

Hopefully they were a chosen few like with the Level 5s and Saints, but that was really only wishful thinking on his part. They might not have a set number like with God’s Right Seat. The thought of those extraordinarily powerful beings numbering 10 or 20 thousand like the clones was too terrifying to consider.

Good, Old Mary whispered to him while walking silently.

“(Aradia is acting just like a girl in a haunted house. Make sure you check this out. It isn’t often you’ll find a young woman’s vulnerabilities so clearly on display.)”

“I can hear you, you know?”

Aradia shut her eyes and stuck up her nose, but she continued clinging to Kamijou’s right arm with all her might. That could be cute with a small girl like Alice, but he wasn’t sure what to do with someone who gave off as many pheromones as Aradia. His spine tensed every time he felt that soft sensation bumping into him.

Good, Old Mary collected the cart from the elevator in the third floor hallway. Unlike an apartment building or student dorm, the hallways took lots of twists and turns (which meant the number and size of the rooms wasn’t standardized). They made their way through the labyrinthine consulate before stopping at a door.

Good, Old Mary knocked thrice and called out.

“Bologna Succubus.”

There was a keyhole in the door even though it was an interior door.

“Mama is here with your dinner.”

But apparently the occupant was willing to leave the key with someone else.

Good, Old Mary lifted her large hat with one hand and pulled out an old-fashioned key that had been balanced(?) on her head. It was just the one key, not a ring of them, so it was probably a master key.

This may have been a hint of how much camaraderie there was in the Bridge Builders Cabal.

The click of the lock opening sounded awfully loud.

“?”

Alice looked curiously up at Kamijou. Maybe because he had quickly put her down on the floor.

He audibly gulped.

Every tube in his neck was so dry they seemed to catch.

How bad were the Bologna Succubus’s injuries really?

She hadn’t needed to go through any of that. If Kamijou hadn’t been so weak or if he had recognized the dangers of being killed repeatedly, she wouldn’t have had to replenish his opportunity for resurrection like that.

“We are coming in,” announced Good, Old Mary.

And she opened the door.

“Take this! And this! Yes, yes! Bang! Bang! Bang!! No, why was the southern tank units wiped out? What, a drone loaded with aerial bombs? Uh, oh. Is that a playable unit and not just an indiscriminate NPC for the event!? Did this nincompoop buy all the new units in the shop the instant the new update went through!? Gyahhhh!!”

She was there.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed.

She didn’t see any of them because she was playing an FPS game with VR goggles on.

She was making the most of life in Academy City where technology was said to be 20 or 30 years ahead of the outside world. Beyond her usual one-piece corset, she also had bandages all over her body, but she was going nuts on the bed there. She would lean to the side in her cross-legged position and swing the controllers around quite dangerously. Stepping too close was liable to get you slapped in the face with a tail or a wing.

Good, Old Mary silently pushed the cart into the room, casually grabbed a curly pink goat horn, and slammed the wounded woman onto her back. She kept rolling back from there, so she ended up with her butt sticking up in the air while still in her cross-legged pose.

“Show some appreciation for the food and respond when people talk to you, Bologna Succubus. Hmph!”

“Gwahhh!!”

The Bologna Succubus’s tail flailed wildly with her butt sticking up. The impact had knocked the VR goggles out of place, so the room’s fluorescent lights had dazzled her eyes.

“Oh, the lad. Long time, no see.”

“Hey, Good, Old Mary? What’s happening? Her common tones are sounding all 8-bit. Does yanking on a demon’s horn break their brain that badly!?”

“This is her idea of a joke. Taking it seriously will only encourage her, so please don’t.”

Then the Bologna Succubus noticed something else: Alice was staring all sparkly-eyed at the VR game set. The young girl was fixated on the flatscreen TV linked with the goggles.

“What is this? Hee hee. Yay! The girl wants to play too!!”

“Bologna Succubus!!” shouted Good, Old Mary, uncharacteristically(?) raising her voice.

Unseen tension filled the room.

This was Cold Mistress, the Bologna Succubus’s Transcendent spell. Didn’t it replace hunger, lust, sleepiness, and all other pleasure signals with pain?

And if used correctly, it was supposedly the only spell with the possibility of rivalling Alice.

“?”

Alice seemed like an embodiment of joy as she rushed for the device with a huge smile, but then she slowed.

The Bologna Succubus spread her pink wings wide to get in the way.

“Halt, cease, desist!! I forcibly added an unofficial blood & guts processing pack to the downloadable version on Steal, so the actual rating would be well into adults only territory. It’s great for playing online matches, but you can’t use it in the official tournaments. Nothing this gory would be a good match for a gal a doll like you, Alice.”

The Bologna Succubus must have concluded this wasn’t actually going to stop Alice’s charge because she crawled to the edge of the bed, let her upper body fall to the floor, and grabbed the main power cable to the power strip. She yanked that out, bringing down all the gaming equipment at once. Only her butt remained on the bed, so it looked a lot like she was sticking it out.

Alice tilted her head.

“I can’t play?”

“Alice, this game is a lot more suitable for a noble lady like you. It’s called Manju Crossing!”

“?” Kamijou looked confused.

He agreed that a small girl (she was a small girl, wasn’t she?) shouldn’t be playing a ridiculous FPS which made a point of representing war in a hyper realistic way and then turned around and let the player fire N, B, and C weapons, but why were the Transcendents all panicking over it?

“We said Alice must never get her hands on a smartphone or tablet, Bologna Succubus,” said Aradia with fear written on her face. “Letting her watch an online drama or Hollywood movie would not end well.”

“You’re the ones that barged in here with her,” argued the Bologna Succubus, pouting her lips.

There was a clattering sound.

The Bologna Succubus had a red tube extending from the inside of her elbow. It was connected to an IV stand next to her bed. The bag hanging from that contained a red liquid with a gemlike shine. It was strange, but Kamijou didn’t feel any kind of biological reaction when he saw all that red contained in a hygienic pack instead of flowing from someone’s body or splattered on the floor. He recalled that the demon couldn’t receive a transfusion of human blood with a normal blood type, so was this something special, like her own blood or artificial plasma?

She must have noticed him staring.

The bandaged Bologna Succubus returned to her cross-legged position on the bed and placed her other hand on the inside of her elbow.

“You don’t need to worry about this, boy. In fact, what are you doing this deep in the Bridge Builders Cabal so soon after that mess?”

“What is that stuff”

“What? It’s only some transfusion fluid. Really, what doesn’t make sense here is you. Did you even go to the hospital? Aradia there killed you several times and Good, Old Mary forcibly resurrected you in a way I can’t explain. Aren’t you concerned about your health?”

He could only look away and cough.

Were the hospitals even running on New Year’s? The usual frog had to be his best bet!!

“(All mama has done is go around saving people and now you act like I’m a land mine to be avoided.)”

She didn’t seem completely out of it, but Good, Old Mary was looking depressed as she swiftly sliced up some round bread and cheese with her multitool that had a seal mascot attached.

The Bologna Succubus rubbed her hands together and licked her lips while observing all the food that Good, Old Mary lined up on the small bedside table.

“So how deep have you gotten in this, boy?”

“Anna Sprengel. I heard she was the cabal’s top priority. Something about protecting your secrets.”

Kamijou pulled up a seat and cautiously broached the subject while the Bologna Succubus grabbed some of the bread.

“Yeah, and Anna started that whole kotatsu syndrome thing which is even affecting us.”

“Eh?”

That didn’t come from Alice Anotherbible? thought Kamijou as he watched her laugh and take a sip of milk. (Aradia let him know that succubi loved milk.) She finally continued while smiling and sharing her cheese with Alice.

“She let R&C Occultics run wild to start up a global anti-elite movement and then used Alice as a trigger to shake everyone up even more. Thanks to that, our collection of Transcendents is seen as an evil organization that threatens the stability of society.”

There were two mysteries here.

First, the Bologna Succubus and Good, Old Mary hadn’t demonstrated any kind of extreme cruelty during the Shibuya battle on the 31st. In fact, they had selflessly assisted a stranger like Kamijou. Why were they now in agreement with the other Transcendents about executing Anna Sprengel?

And second, what would happen to Aradia once that top priority issue was dealt with? He couldn’t have them turn around and decide to silence her since she could also leak their information.

The Bologna Succubus glanced over at Alice.

Alice had found something she liked more than Manju Crossing. She sat on Kamijou’s lap looking as pleased with herself as a king, but she tilted her head curiously when the Transcendent looked her way.

Kamijou decided he needed to ask, but couldn’t build up much momentum and remained hesitant.

“What…do you plan to do about it?”

She was as close to a good guy as there was in the Bridge Builders Cabal.

She was the reasonable member of the group.

But the next thing she said overturned that image Kamijou had constructed.

“’Probably kill her. I mean, the accusations against Anna Sprengel are anything but false and I’m not so nice that I’m going to head out and save the guilty criminal who betrayed us all.”

Kamijou really did stop breathing – and even lost consciousness – for a few seconds.

He felt like he had gone to the biggest police station in town in search of help, but they slammed the metal shutter in his face and told him to get lost. This proved that H. T. Trismegistus hadn’t been putting words in the Bologna Succubus’s mouth. They really did all agree on this point. She had said it herself: she wasn’t going to save a criminal.

“…”

“You’re asking mama now?”

Not so much out of strategy than out of desperation, Kamijou turned to look at the other more reasonable cabal member, but Good, Old Mary only tilted her head in the large hat.

She seemed to be asking why he had so much trouble understanding something so simple.

This was all it took for them to use the spiritual item left in Mut Thebes’s care. The countless javelins bound in an X-shape within a single binder. The words “drink me” taken straight from Alice in Wonderland. They hadn’t created the Shrink Drink in order to threaten Anna into obeying. They truly meant to kill her.

“This case does not match mama’s condition either. So like it or not, I simply have no reason to save Anna Sprengel.”

Kamijou’s mouth flapped like a goldfish but no words came out.

Her condition?

What was that about?

What was this powerful sense of wrongness roiling in his chest?

“I take it you’ve noticed,” whispered Aradia by his side.

She was the very enemy who had attempted to take his life on December 31. In fact, she had killed him. Quite thoroughly and more than once. She was supposed to be the last one he could hold a reasonable conversation with, so why did she seem like the only one he could actually speak with anymore?

“Each Transcendent has their own reason for joining the Bridge Builders Cabal. And that reason is always about protecting something beyond ourselves. That is even true for me and for H. T. Trismegistus. But on the other hand, we never do anything on a whim. We gathered with a clear purpose, so whether or not an action advances that purpose is crucial information when we make a decision.”

“But…but.”

“If it fit our search criteria, one of us would save Anna. But none of us have stepped forward to do so. I expect that is the whole story here.”

“What do you mean you don’t do anything on a whim? What about you, Bologna Succubus!? You risked your life to save a stranger like me!!”

“Yeah, but only because you were falsely accused.”

“And you, Good, Old Mary!?”

“Mama is only freely distributing the saving substances that shouldn’t be limited to the privileged class who were chosen by a miracle.”

This is what our search result says.

So why are you still questioning it?

“…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………”

Kamijou realized he was drenched with sweat.

This wasn’t right.

These Transcendents were fundamentally different from the powerful foes he had faced before. They weren’t like Accelerator, Fiamma of the Right, Magic God Othinus, Kamisato Kakeru, or Great Demon Coronzon. It wasn’t about good or evil. It wasn’t about what they liked or disliked. They simply saved whoever met their conditions. And it wasn’t some condescending thing where they chose to do it on a whim. If someone happened to meet the conditions, they would turn against their oldest allies or even sacrifice their own life to carry it out.

So what if Kamijou hadn’t met just one of the Bologna Succubus’s conditions on the 31st? What if he hadn’t matched Good, Old Mary’s rules?

Or what if someone else who met their conditions showed up and he was an obstacle to saving that person?

(This isn’t working.)

Aradia, the Bologna Succubus, and Good, Old Mary.

Why had he thought they were safe?

Everyone else in this lockable room were Transcendents of the Bridge Builders Cabal.

He felt like he was in a space ruled by the inhuman – like he was inside a ferocious beast’s cage at the zoo.

(It might look like we’ve gotten closer, but deep down we’re kilometers apart. This isn’t just about Aradia or H. T. Trismegistus. I thought the Bologna Succubus and Good, Old Mary were on my side…but I just didn’t understand how Transcendents work!!)

And…

“Teacher, teacher, teacher!”

Alice smiled and kicked her legs in Kamijou’s lap.

She was Tyrant Alice, the greatest irregularity who all the other Transcendents feared.

But this new information changed how he viewed her. Who said the winner of a majority vote was always correct? Why had he never considered the possibility that it was all the other Transcendents who feared Alice that were wrong? And after seeing firsthand how often her whims had saved lives in Academy City’s dark side!!

For example, what if Alice Anotherbible was a young and incomplete Transcendent in the sense that she had yet to decide on the conditions for her salvation? That would explain why her actions seemed so capricious and not based on any consistent rules. Some people would be saved as a result and others might die. It was also possible that the sweet words that little villain girl had whispered in Alice’s ear may have shifted the scales there.

A lack of consistent rules was a scary thing at first glance.

That was unavoidable when people’s lives were at stake and you couldn’t predict what she would do next.

But was that really so bad? Since you couldn’t tell what Alice was thinking, she might decide on a whim to save a kitten on the roadside. Meanwhile, the other Transcendents viewed everything through the lens of their conditions and would abandon someone to die if they failed to meet even one item on their list. Which one of those was more messed up?

You couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

You couldn’t perfectly predict what she would do next.

But…wasn’t that how it worked for normal human beings?

“Aradia.”

“What?”

“What about you? Does Anna Sprengel meet your conditions?”

“It’s a tricky one. I might consider it since she’s a woman who uses magic, but she also has the financial power to singlehandedly build up a global IT company. She just doesn’t feel like a poor witch being unjustly persecuted by the wealthy Christian church. So my internal scales would be 2-to-8 between saving and killing. I could possibly change my mind if you had additional conditions for me to consider, but if I had to make up my mind right this instant, I would go with the latter option.”

Kamijou smiled a little.

Finally.

He felt like he was speaking with space aliens here, but did Aradia realize what she had said?

She said it was “a tricky one”.

So she couldn’t overturn her 2-to-8 decision, but she was willing to call it tricky. To Kamijou, that word hinted at a fragment of something beyond the cold judgment – something unnecessary and inefficient.

(What is happening here?)

None of this changed that Alice saved his life on the 29th and both the Bologna Succubus and Good, Old Mary saved his life on the 31st.

So why was he having a much easier time reaching an understanding with Aradia who had killed him more than once?

(Is it just that Aradia has a more reasonable set of conditions? Does it help that I’ve sealed her Transcendent abilities with the duct tape on her feet? Or did something in her change while being separated from the cabal for a time?)

He could come up with a number of theories, but no answers were forthcoming.

For one thing, he didn’t know what a Transcendent really was. How were they different from a normal magician, from a Saint, or from something special like Fiamma or Othinus? It made sense he couldn’t find an answer when he didn’t have a clear definition for them.

“Alice.”

The room froze over when he spoke to the girl in his arms.

He was the one and only person who could control Tyrant Alice. That was where his value lay for the Transcendents. It may have been even more important than Imagine Breaker here.

Alice kicked her feet while he held her in his lap and she looked up to meet his gaze.

“What is it, teacher?”

“I want to know what you think. You knew Anna Sprengel, didn’t you? I saw her take you back to the Bridge Builders Cabal on the 29th.”

“Yes!”

“So what do you want to do with her? I get why the cabal as a whole wants to do this, but I know you’re not bound by any of that.”

“The girl doesn’t really care.”

That was about as much of a non-answer as you could get.

That may have been a response a completed Transcendent could never give.

“But the girl doesn’t like liars and traitors very much.”

“…”

That was much more of an answer.

The eyes looking up into his while she leaned back into his chest were pure as could be. She was deciding someone’s fate with the logic of a child.

Sure enough, if the Shrink Drink spears meant to kill Anna came from Alice in Wonderland, then it was reasonable to assume Alice had helped Mut Thebes make those.

Alice’s internal scales were probably wavering between whether Anna Sprengel’s betrayal was directed at the cabal as a whole or at Alice personally. If the former, then Anna was the friend who taught her a fun game the grownups didn’t want her to know about. If the latter, Anna was the sack of shit who had made a mockery of the trust Alice had placed in her.

To repeat yet again, no one could predict what Alice would do next.

Say Alice held a red flag in one hand and a white flag in the other. One hundred times in a row at a rate of once per second, Alice would raise whichever flag she wanted. If she ever raised the red flag even once – whether on a whim or for a calculated reason – Anna would lose her head. And all the Transcendents around Alice would be begging her to raise the red flag the entire time. Now, under those circumstances, was it really logical to rely on the possibility of Alice saving Anna on a whim?

Kamijou loathed Anna Sprengel. He couldn’t find any reason at all to like her.

Not after what happened with St. Germain and seeing the disaster in Los Angeles with his own eyes. And she may have been involved in the recent tragedies within Academy City too.

But was he willing to kill her? That he wasn’t ready to say.

It wasn’t the solution he had in mind. If capricious Alice was guided by the other Transcendents to kill Anna, Kamijou couldn’t help but feel like that decision didn’t come from Alice’s personal morals.

A small child with a knife could possibly kill someone.

But how could you push that small child toward bloodying their hands like that? And how could you act like Alice was the fearsome monster in that scenario?

Kamijou suddenly remembered what the Bologna Succubus had said on the 31st.

(I’m the only person who can get through a normal conversation with Alice Anotherbible without being killed and I’m the only one who can scold her when she does the wrong thing.)

That was a clearly unnatural situation.

He had a strong feeling Anna Sprengel had a hand in setting it up, but…

(That doesn’t mean I want Anna dead. And I don’t like the idea of Alice killing someone.)

That may have been an impossible goal from the beginning.

Kamijou didn’t know a thing about Alice Anotherbible’s past. If she had been in this environment for long, it was possible she had already killed someone. Based on how terrified the Bologna Succubus had been of her in Shibuya, it seemed likely she had killed, or nearly killed, in the past.

But if he was still going to choose that as his goal…

(That sounds like a decent stance to me. And if I stick with the Bridge Builders Cabal, which is dead set on executing her, could I possibly help Anna escape at the last second?)

Anna Sprengel was of course one of history’s worst women.

Even if he did help her escape execution, letting her go free was much too dangerous.

He already knew from experience that she would simply escape her cell if he punched her and left her with Anti-Skill.

He honestly didn’t know what he could do about this.

He only knew he needed to stand up against what he was certain was wrong.

These people intended to use Tyrant Alice to kill someone they wanted gone.

Be the kind of person who can stand up and say that’s wrong, Kamijou Touma.

Part 2

Kamijou’s visit with the Bologna Succubus came to and end without any real results. In fact, the more information he gathered, the more confused he felt.

He left the room following Good, Old Mary as she pushed out the cart loaded with empty dishes and he asked a question of Aradia by his side.

“What are you doing about a bath? It looks like each room has their own.”

“Why are you, a boy, asking about that? No, never mind. You don’t have to explain it for me. Keep that right hand away from me, Kamijou Touma!!”

He doubted there was any getting out of staying the night at the consulate and he did want to get as much information as possible while he had a chance to stay in contact with the Bridge Builders Cabal. They could also keep an eye on each other and he definitely wanted to know what Mut Thebes, the execution expert, was up to.

Hence his curiosity about Aradia’s bath. Needless to say, Aradia’s spells used her bare feet. Her power could return if she got the duct tape off her feet while he wasn’t paying attention.

“Guess I’ll have to ask Index to handle that again.”

“Could you not strip me of my rights as casually as coming up with tomorrow’s menu?”

“Eh? But who other than Index could-”

“The girl!”

“………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Uh, oh.”

This idea must not have even occurred to Witch Goddess Aradia because she sounded like someone watching a dump truck about to hit her in slow motion.

And so…

“Ahhhh!? No, wait, Alice. I can do that on my own. I can wash myself there, I promiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiise!!!”

“But the girl’s teacher asked her to do this. Look, this is the natural sponge everyone recommended. The girl also has this loofah and this bumpy silicon one! We can try them all out tonight! Scrubby scrubby☆”

“Bologna Succubus, aren’t you going to stop this? Or at least remove the duct tape from her feet?”

“Can’t you see me holding her in place to support her scrubbing assault, Good, Old Mary? She beat me up last year, but now she’s all tied up and begging for attention. Besides, I know firsthand the accusations against her aren’t false, so I have no reason to help her.”

“Mut Thebes. What about you?”

“I believe in the importance of communal bathing.”

Kamijou listened to the female Transcendents through the door.

(They certainly sound like they’re enjoying themselves. But is that only an illusion? The real problem with Transcendents is that this isn’t enough to know who they are deep down.)

He sighed out in the hallway.

It was like they could understand each other’s words, but there was some fundamental difference in their viewpoints.

But based on what he heard, he didn’t have to worry about the duct tape being removed from Aradia’s feet. He didn’t need to stand watch over the door, so he chose to leave.

Now was no time for being in such a quiet mood.

(Wait, if Mut Thebes was in the bath with them, then who’s looking after Index and Othinus!?)

Could you not trust a verbal promise from a Transcendent, or was that a problem with Mut Thebes in particular?

He returned to the 1st floor dining hall to find H. T. Trismegistus clearing away the dishes left on the table. He opened another storage case he pulled from a pocket and pulled out a rag, cleaner, and a large tray. Could he fit his black cane in there too?

Index must have eaten a prodigious amount because she was now resting her head on the table in utter satisfaction. 15cm god Othinus hopped up and down on the table to catch his attention. The fearful looks she kept giving the calico cat said she wanted to reclaim her spot on his shoulder immediately.

“(Human, I got a few pieces of information out of H. T. Trismegistus, but…)”

“(But this is a lot more dangerous than you thought? My findings say the same thing. Although those findings are mostly just even more things I now know I don’t know about the Transcendents.)”

H. T. Trismegistus glanced their way while they whispered to each other.

He was a Transcendent as well.

It didn’t matter if he could understand the words they spoke. How much could they actually communicate?

“I began clearing the table when my master showed no sign of returning to eat.”

The young butler prioritized his master Alice above all others, so he must have decided dinner was over when she did not return to the table.

“We all grabbed something in the Bologna Succubus’s room. …There isn’t much food left, is there? Let me guess: Index ate it all.”

“She is a very eco-friendly person.”

“I don’t think that’s what that means.”

The problem was not leaving food behind. The problem was that not enough food made it to everyone. Eating several people’s worth of food on your own, even if it was close to expiring, was not the same thing as being economical. Confusion there was what led to meaningless announcements about “creating a sustainable society by reducing the number of unused take home boxes thrown out”. It was the restaurant that spent year in and year out buying more than they could possibly use and then throwing them out, so why did they sound so smug about cutting that waste in half? And why were they even throwing out take home boxes like it was a seasonal trend?

But the young butler didn’t seem particularly interested in the planet’s future.

“Mental exercise helps digestion as much as the physical type. So how about a game of chess? Alice and the others enjoy playing too.”

“Sorry, but I don’t know the rules to chess.”

The young butler had been partway through pulling out collapsible table and chairs when Kamijou answered and he ended up dropping everything to the floor.

His eyes shook as badly as a university professor who visited a supposedly haunted location with all the latest tech necessary to disprove the existence of ghosts and then started getting some very ghostly readings.

“C-common sense says you can’t possibly have lived 15 or 16 years without learning the rules to chess. E-even Alice knows how to play.”

“Oh, yeah? And when is knowing how to play chess going to help me find the loophole needed to win a battle, you fancy-pants butler?”

Kamijou Touma also didn’t know anything about the cricket game that Alice’s bat came from, but he now knew that was a secret he had to take to his grave.

“Besides, I’m Japanese, so what do you expect? A lot of people pretend to know, but only a handful of people can actually play chess without a set of instructions on how the different pieces move.”

This time, H. T. Trismegistus really did physically collapse backwards. Just toppled over like a felled tree.

The loud sound made Kamijou jump, but the butler himself didn’t even notice.

He rolled onto his side and clawed at the carpet while muttering to himself. Icepacks, headache medicine, and other similar items spilled from his cloak and scattered across the floor around him. He apparently didn’t have a chess rulebook on him and that failure came as something of a shock. To him, chess was apparently as basic a game as rock-paper-scissors or tag.

“C-common sense is not…common to everyone? No, that can’t be. It is absurd. I knew Academy City was a devilish place, but I never imagined it could be this bad. Grgbhdfbeewrby…”

“Hey, Transcendent? Your common tone thingies are breaking down.”

This confirmed H. T. Trismegistus was as eccentric as the rest, but Kamijou’s thoughts on the matter were cut off.

“This is the plank of Carneades.”

“?”

“I saw something like that long ago. The world is a cruel place indeed when people lose their ability to treat the concept of justice with care. No matter how logically you explain your academic theories, there is nothing you can do when people brush them aside based on emotion.”

The young butler didn’t seem intent on saying anything more.

It had come up several times when he spoke, so it sounded like H. T. Trismegistus measured his actions using the idea of “common sense”, or at least his definition of it. He normally felt untouchable there, but once that concept was shaken, it affected the very foundation of his thoughts.

Kamijou couldn’t afford to forget.

Aradia, the Bologna Succubus, Good, Old Mary, Mut Thebes.

And Anna Sprengel.

It wasn’t clear what kind of spells H. T. Trismegistus used, but he was definitely on par with those monsters. And this felt like a case of “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know”.

It wasn’t as simple as duking it out to compare strengths.

This really was a wonderland.

Part 3

It was January 3.

Kamijou Touma had spent the night at a girl’s house.

It was somewhere around 9 or 10 AM and he was eating a lazy breakfast on this vacation day.

“Aradia, hold out your feet.”

“Sigh.”

Aradia was starting to grow accustomed to this, so she sat on the billiards table in the Bridge Builders Cabal Consulate’s recreation room and held her right foot out toward Kamijou on the floor.

The pointy-haired boy held a thick roll of duct tape in his hand.

Wrapping that around her ankles and feet was necessary to seal her powerful magic. But this was only a temporary fix and it wouldn’t last forever. The duct tape had to be periodically replaced, just like bandages.

“Okay, I’m going to take off the old tape. It might hurt some.”

“If you know it’s going to hurt, then don’t do it.”

“You’re the one who freaked out when I tried to use a knife.”

“Of course I did when you aimed a big box cutter at my ankle! Were you not aware that the Achilles tendon is a classic weak point!?”

Aradia snapped at him, but Kamijou was honestly relieved. As long as she didn’t have her Transcendent magic, a simple box cutter was enough to scare her.

He thought back to what happened in the dark side on December 29.

He doubted Alice would be so easily weakened.

He was afraid Aradia would make a run for it if he removed the tape from both her feet at once, so he did it one a time: removing the tape, wiping the foot off with a wet tissue, and then wrapping new tape. The witch goddess on the billiards table scowled at him the entire time, but she did let him do it.

Aradia grabbed a nearby tablet and browsed through the website for a new museum that was linked on the top page of a search engine that doubled as a news site.

“Why am I the only one receiving this kind of treatment when this place is crawling with Transcendents? Taking away my magic doesn’t change much overall.”

“I’m still doing it.”

Kamijou wrapped duct tape around Aradia’s left foot too and then made sure none of the sticky side was exposed and none of the tape was coming off.

“There, all done. After dealing with the more immediate problems, I need to find a more fundamental solution here. In a house like this that lets you walk around in shoes, maybe it would be easier to have you wear some cheap shoes and tape up the ankles real good, but…”

“?”

Aradia looked confused.

But when she looked down, she found her answer. Sitting on the billiards table and holding her leg out toward the kneeling boy placed her crotch right at his eye level.

“…”

“Wait! I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear! And I’ve been meaning to ask – is that sexy outfit a swimsuit or underwear? Seems to me the answer to that should influence your response here!!”

Apparently that true idiot was unaware it wasn’t okay to stare at a girl’s crotch even if she was wearing a swimsuit or pants.

Aradia jammed her foot into his mouth quite forcefully.

The lovely reward only tasted of rubber.

Part 4

Aradia stepped out into the hallway, leaving Kamijou Touma dizzy on the recreation room floor.

The witch goddess looked right, then left, and sighed.

Finally, she shut one eye.

An individual could only remain focused for so long. She had thought he would leave an opening eventually if she pretended to obey for a few days. Her Triple Reload spell was triggered by a witch’s ointment made by mixing several powdered herbs with the sweat and sebum from her own bare feet. That meant she could not use the spell with her feet duct taped up, but that changed if she could be alone for a while.

Anyone could remove the duct tape given enough time.

With a fighter nearby, she would be attacked while attempting persistently trying to remove it, but she could get rid of it safely right now.

She crouched down and brought her hands to her right ankle.

“God, you can tell what an amateur he is from the way he thinks he can keep an enemy indefinitely restrained without some kind of organized power. If he wanted to take my power away for good, he only needed to chop my feet off while I couldn’t resist.”

“That’s what I said.”

Aradia literally jumped from the floor.

The gap between her giant wimple and long silver hair widened and a 15cm god’s exasperated face emerged. The god stood on the witch goddess’s shoulder and whispered into her ear. Which meant she was in the perfect position to jab her arm in Aradia’s ear.

“But that human isn’t willing to do that, so he chose to accept the risks of keeping you around. Do try to pay attention, you overstudying witch.”

“Okay, okay. I get it.”

Aradia slowly raised her hands without straightening back up.

She doubted it would be difficult to crush 15cm Othinus in a hand, but if the tiny god threw out her pride and screamed, she had no idea who would come running. She could guess how Kamijou Touma would react, but she wasn’t sure what Alice or the other Transcendents would do if she exacted violence upon a guest of the consulate. Especially when her position in the group was on shaky footing after losing.

Aradia smiled.

“So are you the organized power tagging along to make up for that foolish high school boy’s mistakes? Surely you know these half-assed restraints aren’t enough to defang me.”

“Why do you think I warned him to remove your feet if it ended up killing you? He’s seen countless times that his foolish efforts go unrewarded, but he still bets his own life on this crap every single time. It makes my head hurt.”

“?”

Aradia looked puzzled and Othinus sighed.

“You can lower your hands. So why do you think that human chose to do this the hard way?”

“Because he isn’t willing to slit his defeated enemy’s throat or at least cut off their limbs to keep them from using magic?”

“Got it in one, dammit.”

Aradia had meant that as an obviously silly reason, so she was taken aback when it turned out to be right.

Othinus went on, sounding a bit sulky.

“Or more accurately, he wants things to end when he defeats an enemy. No matter how harsh the battle, he thinks the end of the fight should signal a new beginning where both sides can throw out their hard feelings and get a fresh start.”

“…”

“Anna Sprengel has shaken his confidence in that idea. He defeated her himself on December 25, but when he left her with Academy City, she easily escaped her cell. And if that weren’t enough, now Academy City and the Bridge Builders Cabal have concluded that killing Anna is the only option. …It all must have come as quite a shock for that kindhearted idiot. That’s why he’s so desperate to prove using you that defeating a powerful enemy is all you need to have a nice happy ending.”

Aradia stared at her right ankle while crouched down like she was retying her shoelaces. She stared at the crude safety device made from the waterproof duct tape the boy happened to have on hand.

“He knows this isn’t the smart thing to do,” said Othinus, looking down on Aradia for scoffing. “But he does it anyway because he thinks he can protect you if he finds a nonlethal way to neutralize a Transcendent. He’s doing all this because he believes your life can still be saved as long as he doesn’t give up, no matter how hopeless it seems. …And here you are mocking him for it. Just goes to show truly selfless acts go unappreciated. Is that one of the cruelties you see in this immature world? Is this one of your complaints with the current world, Transcendent?”

“I never asked him to do this.”

“Then are you going to tear off that duct tape and join your old pals in the Bridge Builders Cabal? You already know they don’t need you as much as you think they do. They have no reason to accept the risk of taking you back in unless you bring them back a souvenir that more than makes up for your failure. Because the fact that he defeated you becomes a vulnerability or backdoor for the cabal as a whole. I don’t know what the cabal’s ultimate goal is, but if they decide you would be a hindrance, they’ll just kill you.”

“I will still become a goddess who is a protector to all witches!! That is the only way I can live my life!! You think you can remove the fangs I need to save people and call it a nonlethal way of saving me? That only leads to a future where I have to watch helplessly as so many others die. You can’t force this compromise on me and assume I’ll just accept to abandon the less fortunate to their suffering. You think too little of Aradia, goddess of witches and ruler of the night and the moon!!!”

This wasn’t about her magic power or spells. That Transcendent’s way of life and determination gave her words enough power to crush someone’s soul.

But it had no affect at all on Othinus.

She may have lost her powers, but she was still a Magic God.

“You say you’re the goddess people expect to save all the witches being unjustly persecuted by the wealthy Christian church?” asked Othinus as if seeking confirmation. “Then you have made a fundamental misunderstanding here.”

“?”

“You didn’t know? That boy is far from unscathed. He carries the scars of all the idiotic stunts he’s ever pulled. To be fair, he chose to do those things on his own, but the majority of them were related to that Index Librorum Prohibitorum. In other words, the Christian church is using an innocent high school boy to protect their ultimate weapon. Oh, and I haven’t seen any sign of them rewarding him or paying him for everything he does. And as a result, he’s missed class so often he’s at risk of having to repeat the year.”

Time stopped within Aradia.

It took more than 5 seconds of actual time for her to get the next word out.

“…What?”

“Also, he has, just once, used magic of his own free will. It happened in his battle against Anna Sprengel on December 25. Of course, he didn’t refine his own lifeforce into magic power and it was mostly done by the microscopic St. Germain infecting his body, but he still chose to use magic to protect everyone in Academy City even though he knew it could mean his death.”

“!!”

Aradia completely stopped breathing for a moment.

Yes.

If she was to truly live the life she had defined for herself…

“And the word witch can also be applied to male practitioners of heretical magic. Just think back to the Bologna Succubus’s story. The person killed at a witch trial for the absurd crime of running a succubus brothel was a man. …Doesn’t this mean that human is someone who was forced to using magic at the risk of his own life because the Christian church took advantage of his kind heart and sent him into battle time and time again? Oh? Aradia, wouldn’t that make him a poor witch unjustly persecuted by the wealthy Christian church? So isn’t it very odd that he’s the one you’re attacking here?”

Originally, witches did not call themselves witches.

They did not seek fame or fortune.

They simply gave nearby villagers advice and secretly dealt with those villagers’ problems using special means unavailable to most people. So no matter how many people a witch saved, they would never be understood or rewarded for their actions.

Just like Aradia had thoughtlessly pushed Kamijou away here.

The witch goddess paled.

“A-are you kidding me!? Do you have any idea how many times I’ve killed him? And I’m supposed to be a guardian to all witches! Sure, maybe I was in no state to think it through on the 31st, but I kept antagonizing him today on January 3! Why didn’t he say anything!?”

“Because saying something would bind you. So he has chosen to abandon the trump card of borrowing your power. He really is betting his life on the absurd idea that one day everyone will come to an understanding without the need for any of those special conditions.”

“…”

The long history of witches was, by and large, a depressing one, but there were some people accused of being witches whose hellish trials were overturned or who were protected by the people and lived out happy lives. For example, there was Biddy Early, a bottle magician who healed injury and disease without asking for any kind of payment, and there was Kyteler, a marquis’s wife who used her authority to fight back against a bishop abusing his own authority. No one determined to be a witch could survive in those days, yet they had done so because the people hadn’t forgotten what their local witch had done for them, had refused to provide false testimony, and had never succumbed to the great pressure of the church that had such power over people’s lives back then.

Aradia had failed to do the same.

Was a violent mob deceived by misinformation the real threat? That wasn’t the only way people could respond. The true saints who saved the lives of the desperate were ordinary people who didn’t think they had done anything special. Crossing that tightrope was second nature to them, so they didn’t see it as something to be proud of.

“That human smiled.”

When Aradia fell silent, the girl known as a god clicked her tongue and made her point even more clearly.

“On December 31, I mean. You probably don’t remember since you had just been punched out, but when he learned that covering your feet would keep you from using your magic, Kamijou Touma breathed a wholehearted sigh of relief. Once he knew how to switch your supernatural power on and off, he didn’t need to fear you anymore. The witch goddess was an extraordinary monster, but he could finally say that cutting off your feet and killing you wasn’t the only option. Sure, the possibility was slim, but you were still savable.”

“……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………”

Something replayed in the back of Aradia’s head.

What was it the Bologna Succubus had told her on December 31?

“If you could only calm down some and recall the kinds of hell the witches of yore experienced in those sorry excuses for trials, you would have gone out of your way to become the good goddess of the silent night who would protect Kamijou Touma.”

Othinus had one more thing to say to the dazed witch goddess.

In a tone that said she hadn’t thought Aradia was this dense.

“But your rudeness destroyed even that faint hope. You should thank me, foolish goddess. I’ve chosen to save a stranger like you even if it means smashing up that human’s dreams. Because if you do tear that tape from your feet and kill that human again – and this time doing a thorough enough job that not even this city’s doctors or Good, Old Mary can reverse the process – then you will no longer be able to call yourself a goddess to all witches.”

Part 5

Kamijou had lost track of Aradia after taking his eyes off her for only a moment.

He was legitimately worried as he stepped out into the garden’s bright green grass. The building was so big and labyrinthine he had decided it would be faster to look in through the windows and see if he saw her that way. That was no guarantee of finding her, of course, but he would at least know she wasn’t anywhere visible through the windows.

Of course, this was all assuming she remained at the consulate at all.

“Hey, human.”

Out of nowhere, someone called out to him.

It wasn’t Aradia. He looked back to see the 15cm god giving him a look of exasperation and pity from the witch goddess’s shoulder, as if to say she had found the child he had lost.

“She isn’t going to run away, so don’t worry about that,” said the small but arrogant god. “The deal was for you, the grimoire library, and me to take turns looking after her, remember?”

“Hmph.”

Aradia was in a very bad mood as she entered the garden.

But while she did refuse to look Kamijou in the eye, she didn’t leave either.

When she spoke, it was in a somewhat sulky voice.

She also restlessly toyed with her silver hair.

“You want to stop Anna Sprengel before Mut Thebes can, don’t you? And without killing her if possible.”

Kamijou blinked.

And he tilted his head.

“Aradia, have you mellowed out?”

“Do not even suggest such a thing. I am a Transcendent. I am the goddess of all witches. Do you really think my nature would change so easily?”

Aradia swept her hair back with a hand and glared icily at him.

She and Othinus on her shoulder whispered something back and forth.

“(You’re sure he counts as a witch?)”

“(Why are you getting cold feet and questioning it now? I know you’d prefer it if he was.)”

“?”

Aradia still had waterproof duct tape wrapped around her feet, which meant she hadn’t tried to tear it off while she was alone.

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

Aradia sounded a bit irritated.

And she continued from there.

“The Bridge Builders Cabal has settled on killing Anna Sprengel for being a traitor. Since the Shrink Drink execution spiritual item is already complete and Mut Thebes has already arrived, they would be hard pressed finding a reason not to go through with it. I imagine you think you can hide your true purpose and stick with them so you can find some way of letting that little devil escape at the last second, but that isn’t enough. The Bridge Builders Cabal has hideouts across the globe and can freely travel between them. So even if she escapes for now, they will just send in more and more Transcendents until she can’t possibly escape. Saving her in the here and now isn’t enough to end the threat to her life.”

“So how many Transcendents are there in all?”

“That isn’t important. What matters is that you can’t save Anna Sprengel by rushing in once something has already happened.” Aradia winked. “So you need to get what you want before anything happens. That’s the standard method for preventing harm.”

“Before anything happens?”

“Did you forget, human? The Bridge Builders Cabal is run by the Transcendents gathering together and talking things out,” said Othinus, walking down Aradia’s arm to reach him.

She was right. It was easy to forget with Alice Anotherbible and all the other Transcendents being so extraordinarily powerful, but the Bologna Succubus had said they discussed what path to take the world down and made adjustments accordingly. And the other Transcendents were having trouble because Alice’s child logic was ruining all that.

“You must control the discussion held between the Transcendents,” firmly stated Aradia.

“…”

Kamijou didn’t say anything, so she continued.

“That is the only way to prevent Mut Thebes from executing Anna Sprengel with the Shrink Drink she was lent.”

“I-I’m all for talking things out, but how exactly do we make that happen?”

“I’d like to know that too,” said Othinus. “Aradia, you said yourself that the Bridge Builders Cabal has bases all around the world and we haven’t even seen how many Transcendents are hiding out here. We don’t know who to argue our case to or how many people we have to convince to gain a majority. How do we control the discussion like this?”

“You’re both idiots. Didn’t I say that isn’t important?” interrupted Aradia. “It’s not about how many votes you get. The actions of Alice Anotherbible always hold an important meaning within the cabal.”

“Wait, you mean…?”

“Only you can do this,” said Aradia even as she was distracted by the sight of Mut Thebes walking by a 2nd floor window.

This was a choice that not even the Bologna Succubus or Good, Old Mary could make.

“But to be extra certain, it would be safest to convince anyone here capable of influencing Alice’s actions. There still aren’t very many Transcendents here in the consulate. And only one of those serves as Alice’s aide: H. T. Trisme-”

“Talking about me?” calmly asked the young butler with a cane.

He didn’t seem to have any trouble walking, but that wasn’t enough of a reason to conclude the cane was a spiritual item for his magic. Since it was so conspicuous, it could have been bait to distract from the real spiritual item.

Kamijou wondered what kind of work a butler did in the garden, but there was a table set up in a corner decorated by green grass and colorful flowers. The gardener wouldn’t be in charge of maintaining that.

The young butler smiled thinly when he noticed what Kamijou was looking at.

“I agree it is cold out here during January, but Alice still prefers to drink her tea outside. Heh heh. Sounds like something straight out of a children’s book, doesn’t it?”

“Perfect timing,” said Aradia.

By then, the young butler had already pulled a new table and several chairs from his cloak and finished setting them up. The witch goddess sat down in one of the chairs like this was normal.

“Kamijou Touma, you can gain the Bologna Succubus and Good, Old Mary’s cooperation if you make your request in the correct way.”

Potable water that didn’t need to be boiled was apparently more valuable than something like tea. H. T. Trismegistus handed Kamijou a bottle of ice-cold mineral water, but Kamijou was grimacing at what Aradia had said.

He still couldn’t forget what the Bologna Succubus had said in her room.

“But aren’t they full-on ready to kill her already?”

“Then you need to remove Anna Sprengel from their conditions.”

“Human, take the Bologna Succubus for example. She is a Transcendent who will save anyone, whether she likes them or not, as long as they have been falsely accused. No matter how specious the argument, she should back down as long as you can place Anna in that category.”

Othinus’s explanation made Kamijou frown.

Even if she looked like a winged exhibitionist who walked around town in her underwear, she had still saved his life in Shibuya on the 31st. Even if the Bologna Succubus said otherwise, he wanted to believe there was a deeper meaning and connection between them.

Aradia breathed an exasperated sigh at the pointy-haired boy.

“Stop thinking about what you like and dislike and start thinking about what is correct and incorrect. Not even Good, Old Mary saves everyone indiscriminately using her composite miracles. She only resurrected you in Shibuya because you met her conditions. Figure out for yourself what those conditions are. She doesn’t keep them hidden, so she should have mentioned them already.”

“…”

“There seem to be a few other dangerous Transcendents in the consulate, but you really only need one more. With H. T. Trismegistus here’s help, you would have decent control over everything around Alice. If you have a majority of those in the consulate and Alice herself on your side, the rest of the cabal members around the world should choose to go your way. Mut Thebes can’t act alone because she is a Transcendent who only kills in accordance with her rules. For better or for worse, she only acts according to the organization’s decisions. Everyone fears Alice. She technically only has one vote, but that vote determines how most everyone else votes.”

“Umm, I get the feeling you are dragging me into something messy,” said H. T. Trismegistus. “Especially when you keep mentioning Alice.”

“We will not cause any trouble for your beloved Alice.”

The young butler tilted his head, took a sip from his water bottle, and pulled a notebook from his pocket.

Kamijou’s group explained everything from the beginning.

The angle of H. T. Trismegistus’s head tilt grew as the explanation continued.

“So you wish to retract the order to execute Anna Sprengel with the Shrink Drink?”

“Simply put, yes.”

“But why, Aradia? Setting aside the cabal’s own issues, we all know that villain causes global disasters wherever she goes. She has even interfered with Alice. Why would you work so hard to make her fit your conditions?”

Aradia only shrugged.

H. T. Trismegistus was not being coldhearted. Anna had already done so much. Most likely, the entire 6 or 7 billion population of the Earth would question this decision.

So only Kamijou could answer that question.

“I don’t need a reason now. I can come up with one later.”

“…”

“It was the same in the fights against Accelerator, Fiamma of the Right, Magic God Othinus, Kamisato Kakeru, Aleister, Coronzon, and even myself. If I don’t have a reason to save them, I find one by getting to know them better while we fight.”

Academy City would never forgive Anna Sprengel for what she did to it.

And the many Transcendents of the Bridge Builders Cabal were constructing a practical method of killing Anna.

Kamijou wasn’t interested in forgiving Anna either. What had she done to St. Germain, Los Angeles, and Academy City? If she intended to cause even worse tragedies in the future, he had to stop her even if it meant knocking her out with his fist.

But was blood and death the only possible ending?

Was that really the conclusion Kamijou Touma had sought this whole time?

“I see, I see, I see. So this is the Kamijou Touma that Alice has grown so attached to.”

The young butler sighed in deep exasperation.

“Don’t act like you already understand him,” said Othinus on his shoulder, furious for some reason.

Aradia also viewed Kamijou again with an unreadable expression.

“Hey, H. T. Trismegistus,” said Aradia.

“What do you want?”

“I would like to start by confirming we’re on the same page here. Everything with Anna Sprengel was outside of our plans. Both the changes to Alice’s settings and Kamijou Touma unwittingly becoming Alice’s controller. Do you agree with me so far?”

“I do.”

“Then if we distort the Bridge Builders Cabal and its definition over whether or not we should kill Anna, haven’t we already lost to her? If we kill the traitor and that changes something fundamental about the cabal’s nature, then we are accepting that loss for nothing in return. Anna Sprengel can go to her grave sticking out her tongue and mocking us.” Aradia took a sip of her cold mineral water. “I sense danger in the very fact that we are having a Transcendent create a tool for executing Transcendents. Everyone is too furious with Anna to think about it rationally, but what guarantee of safety do we have if a third party steals that Shrink Drink spear and directs it at us? If this goes wrong, Anna’s ghost will haunt us forevermore.”

“Aradia. I must ask something for my master’s sake,” said the young butler. “I am here to save the majority who believe in the strength of common sense. And I am here to prevent the tragedies that would follow if common sense itself were to be shaken. But that does not mesh with the conditions of your salvation. …That means I am in no position to judge whether or not this boy and Anna Sprengel meet your conditions. So please think of this as a purely hypothetical question.”

“Get on with it.”

“What would you do if one or the other of Kamijou Touma and Anna Sprengel no longer met those conditions? Then this dangerous tightrope walk shaking the power balance of the entire cabal will have been for nothing.”

“True.” The witch goddess laughed, took a deep breath, and gave her answer. “If that were to happen, I might just act on a whim the way Alice does.”

“Is that so?” said H. T. Trismegistus. He held a hand to his thin chin in thought. “The way Alice does, you say? Then common sense can only lead to a single solution.”

Even Kamijou could sense the tension draining from the witch goddess’s shoulders and neck.

Making this suggestion must have been a nerve-wracking experience even for another Transcendent. Kamijou couldn’t keep up with it all since he was an outsider to the cabal. And as an outsider, he didn’t even get a vote in the discussion.

The young butler tapped his cane against the ground and glanced down.

He looked below the table.

He noted the duct tape sealing Aradia’s feet.

He tore a page from his notebook and slowly stood from his seat.

“Transcendent Aradia, I can prevent a lot of future problems by killing you here and now.”

The table and chairs were all blown away.

Something flashed from the young butler’s hand.

It all happened so fast the boy’s understanding and perception were delayed and shredded. At first, Kamijou saw it as an incredibly long whip of light or as a white serpent, but that wasn’t it.

It was a sword.

How long did it take Kamijou to realize that flash came from the sword H. T. Trismegistus had drawn from his black cane? And the powerful sweep of the drawn sword covered a range longer than the cane had been.

So he was much too late to react.

He could only watch while blood erupted from Aradia and she crashed to the ground.

With her feet covered, she couldn’t even defend with her magic.

The young butler had blatantly checked on that before drawing his cane sword.

It was all the result of Kamijou’s own actions.

“Aradiaaaaaa!?”

“You idiot! You need to move away, human!!”

Othinus shouted something into his ear, but Kamijou simply stood there in the garden.

Fight? Against who? Didn’t he need this man’s cooperation?

What about Aradia?

How bad was her condition after erupting with blood and collapsing!?

“You should have seen this coming.”

The young butler actually looked confused.

He returned the beautifully shining blade to its scabbard that doubled as a black cane.

“Aradia, any Transcendent who has already lost contains the risk of losing again and again and again. What does my Alice gain by including such a vulnerability in the cabal? And based on what you have told me, it is obvious you intend to include Alice in your plans. This time, it would not be accidental. Kamijou Touma has begun to consider manipulating Alice Anotherbible’s actions for his own purposes. Any Transcendent with common sense would not let that continue.”

That young butler had said he would not allow any tragedies caused by common sense itself being shaken.

Were his interests incompatible with Aradia’s as she tried to manipulate the votes and trends in her favor?

No, this was deeper than that.

“Don’t tell me…”

“Yes. I am one of the so-called Killers when it comes to you, Kamijou Touma. View the issue with common sense and it could not be more obvious that you are the most dangerous person in the world for your ability to control Tyrant Alice.”

“…”

“I decided to hold off on judgment until I had seen it for myself. You were also Alice’s hope, after all. So until yesterday, I merely observed. I would feel bad if I beheaded you over a baseless rumor, after all. But now you are showing signs of controlling Alice for your own ends. And thus you must die, Kamijou Touma. You cannot avoid my blade.”

Aradia wasn’t moving.

She didn’t even groan in pain while coloring the grass red around her.

Something in her had finally started to change.

Kamijou had no way of knowing what had caused it, but Aradia had clearly changed from when he had seen her in Shibuya. It was obvious enough even he could tell. Her conditions? Her rules? What did it matter if someone didn’t fit one of the items on her list? What was wrong with wanting to save someone on a whim!?

But H. T. Trismegistus hadn’t allowed it.

He had nipped that change in the bud like this was a standard process!!!

“Why not me?” asked Kamijou.

“What about you?”

“I’m Tyrant Alice’s controller, aren’t I? If you Killers are so damn scared of me, why did you cut down Aradia first!?”

“You are indeed my top priority target, you loathsome illegitimate controller.”

Mut Thebes was nowhere to be seen.

Hadn’t she said she would kill the young butler if he tried anything? Did she never keep her promises, or did only Index and Othinus meet her conditions?

“However, I have done some research into that bizarre Imagine Breaker you call a right hand. While you did receive considerable support from the Bologna Succubus and Good, Old Mary, the fact remains that you defeated Aradia – a Transcendent. Did you think I wouldn’t show the utmost caution around you? Common sense says the most effective method is to prepare a landmine to trip up the intruder before making your attack.”

“…”

That was all?

He had attacked Aradia, a fellow cabal member and a fellow Killer, for nothing more than that?

“Also.”

The young butler glared down at Aradia while holding his black cane – or the murderous tool disguised as one.

He now had pure contempt in his eyes.

“I have noticed some changes in the other Transcendents, not just in Tyrant Alice. You are causing Alice and the world around her to crumble. Witch Goddess Aradia, you stopped caring if Kamijou Touma and Anna met your conditions, didn’t you? You felt relieved when you found a way to make him fit your conditions, didn’t you? Did you perhaps want to try living outside your own rules? Did you decide you wanted to save them even if they did leave your conditions? That is a problem. Transcendents must provide salvation in a fair and evenhanded fashion.”

Was that…?

Was that really so wrong?

She had told Kamijou how to save Anna when he didn’t know how.

Was it really so wrong to feel your convictions shaken when they told you to say nothing as someone died!?

“Aradia trusted you. She must have.”

“Yes, I am aware.”

“She trusted you enough to share this secret with you! And this is how you repay her!?”

“That has no bearing on the conditions for my salvation. It’s common sense really.”

Kamijou clenched his teeth harder and harder.

When a Transcendent got like this, they could understand your words, but actual communication wasn’t possible.

Kamijou had sensed this same thing when visiting the Bologna Succubus. The Transcendents chose who to save based on a programmatic list of and, or, and not operations. Tyrant Alice, meanwhile, would reach out a hand carrying indescribably great power on a whim when she saw a tragedy playing out before her. Which of those was more normal?

The goddess of witches had decided on her own definition of and conditions for salvation.

To hell with this. All she had done was feel a desire to save someone who didn’t fit those self-imposed rules! Was that really so heinous a crime it deserved being summarily executed by a trusted companion!?

“…H. T. Trismegistus.”

“Now, prepare to die.”

A metallic sound whispered from the black cane.

The young butler held the cane scabbard next to his hip, no longer making any attempt to hide that there was a sword within.

That Transcendent was superficially polite but filled with killer intent and he kept a thin smile on his face.

“Aradia has fallen, Anna will be executed before long, and common sense leads me to conclude I would be doing the world a favor if I swiftly and surely eliminated you here. Therefore, this is the end for you.”

“To hell with that!! How is this any form of salvation!?”

“My actions only look cruel because you do not meet my conditions. That is always how it works with us Transcendents.”

Kamijou had heard enough.

Some kind of flimsy thread snapped in his head.

He immediately grabbed Othinus from his shoulder and flung her to the side.

“Human!?”

His top priority was rescuing badly injured Aradia, so he needed someone who could bring Good, Old Mary here. And Othinus was small enough that she could hide within the grass and flowers if she crawled.

Of course. H. T. Trismegistus wasn’t about to overlook this. It was possible he could draw his sword and slice her into confetti before she even landed.

But Kamijou wasn’t going to let him do that.

Transcendent H. T. Trismegistus.

Don’t assume you can get away with anything just because you have so much power!!

“Oooooooaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

The time for words was over.

The boy clenched his right fist as hard as a rock, roared, and charged toward the Transcendent.

He wasn’t letting Aradia die.

He refused to let this end with her death!!

That was the only thing he needed in his heart right now!!!

Between the Lines 3

No one trusted the witch.

No one praised the witch.

No one knew who the witch really was.

The path to success was right there in front of them, she carefully explained it to them over and over, and they all would have found happiness if they had simply followed her instructions.

But the people still failed.

But the people still fell and suffered for no reason.

Why did these things happen?

…Did they think there was a shortcut?

She had them taking such a long route because anything shorter would be too dangerous.

…Did they think it was a dead end?

It might look that way at first, but they would find a hole in the wall if they kept going.

…Did they think the stone bridge would collapse below them?

Such a kind witch would never tell them to take a path as dangerous as that.

Again and again, nothing she did was ever rewarded.

But she still pointed out the way.

No matter how horrifically she was treated.

No matter how muddy and bloody she ended up.

She knew no one would believe her, but she still pointed out the way for the troubled people she encountered.

She simply pointed to the answer right in front of them.

Chapter 4: Hear the Name of Thy Ruin, World – Call_“XXXXX”.

Part 1

Kamijou felt the entire world raise a groaning cry in that moment.

Part 2

The gloomy young butler known as H. T. Trismegistus pushed his cane sword up with a thumb and attacked.

They had more than 10m between them, but it didn’t matter. The boy only saw it as something like a tremendous explosion.

A silver explosive blast formed a sharp, straight line.

That wasn’t possible when swinging an ordinary blade, so it had to be some kind of twisted magic.

“!!!???”

Kamijou felt a tension strike him on the cheek. A moment later, the air burst, blasting him in the right eardrum. He couldn’t even tell if that was a sound or a rapid pressure distortion.

But he had dodged it.

Kamijou Touma had just barely dodged it.

At the last second, he had concluded Imagine Breaker and its ability to negate all supernatural powers wouldn’t be enough. A memory he shouldn’t still have throbbed in the back of his mind. Had something happened long ago that gave him a powerful fear of iaijutsu and other sword-drawing techniques?

He could hear something.

Despite the vibration of his aching eardrum, some distorted common tones reached him from head on.

He knew he couldn’t afford to miss this.

“No more holding back. Risk 4: Releasing the numberless seal – leaving human territory. Rapidly renewing myself using a trio of great beings.”

“…”

Kamijou gasped, forgetting even to frown.

It wasn’t exactly the same, but he recognized those words. When Witch Goddess Aradia was pushed to the limit in Shibuya on the 31st, she had attempted to draw on something.

Kamijou’s Imagine Breaker had shattered it that time before it was complete.

But not this time.

“My right hand contains Zeus. My left hand contains Indra.”

From the very first move, Transcendent H. T. Trismegistus was taking this to the level of tearing down half of the world supported by science and magic!?

“Thus I am renewed. Z. I. Trismegistus conversion complete.”

“Really!?”

“Think about it.”

The young butler silently pushed his thumb up against the head of the cane that hid a blade.

A few millimeters of the deadly glint emerged once more.

“Common sense says I have no reason to hold back. If an enemy is being a nuisance, you should kill them right away, don’t you think?”

“…”

“The drowning man grasps at straw. An excellent saying. The proverbial man is earnest about survival and, no matter how pathetic he might appear, he is not causing anyone else any trouble. …But with a plank of Carneades, the drowning man must snuff out the life of another in the fight over the plank floating in the ocean.”

That was probably what led him down this path. Or a small glimpse of it.

Hadn’t he said that, no matter how logically you explain your academic theories, there is nothing you can do when people brush them aside based on emotion?

But using that reasoning to ban people from having emotions wasn’t going to create an ideal world.

“Have you heard that people once believed madness was caused by a stone of folly inside the head and victims actually had their heads cut open in a serious attempt at medical treatment? How about the baseless legend that all medieval castles have cruel dungeons or long, hidden escape routes? This is not unique to any one era. Superstitions always find their way into the world of academia and they are extremely hard to extricate once they have taken root. They cause so much harm to the human world. So someone must prevent these farces from altering common sense. And the distortions that my Alice would bring to the world are the greatest such example. Someone must put a stop to it.”

This probably wasn’t about Carneades. If he simply hated that story about a plank, he wouldn’t be trying to solve this by killing Kamijou. Trismegistus was a throwaway penname shared by academics in an older age. So who was this guy?

Kamijou stepped on a frozen puddle.

He didn’t have time to prepare for the impact.

They had more than 10m between them, but since Aradia had been cut down in front of him, he could tell the length of the cane sword and the range of the actual attack did not match.

From there, Kamijou Touma recalled something else.

He had to set aside the intense fear of death trying to numb the back of his mind and the uncontrollable racing of his heart. He couldn’t forget what really mattered. What did he need to focus on most here?

Transcendent Aradia.

First and foremost, he needed to prevent any further attacks on her while she lay motionless on the ground.

It was distorted.

To Kamijou, the deadly slash flying straight toward him looked a lot like an exploding firework.

The roar of bursting air arrived after a short delay. The explosive sound crashed into his right eardrum as he just barely dodged to the side. The green grass was torn through and a zigzagging line of destruction sent dark soil soaring into the sky.

This time, he had done it with his own willpower.

Time had seemed to stretch out infinitely, but it soon returned to normal.

The rose hedge behind him was torn through.

(Damn, I can’t let this scare me so much. Aradia’s in trouble if I don’t move in and negate this with Imagine Breaker!!)

“Tch!!”

“I feel like clicking my tongue as well. I clearly have a long way to go as a Transcendent if I fail to kill my target with the first attack, even if outdoor battles do add in many complicated environmental factors. I cannot look my Alice in the eye after this.”

More small explosions followed. And some shattering glass sounds. The garden’s streetlights and bug zappers were scattering sparks, but Kamijou knew he was dead the instant he looked toward them.

He didn’t have time to stand around.

He kept his momentum going as he charged toward the small woods in the garden. They were only decorative and would not even function as a windbreak, but this was still better than out on the open grass.

Kamijou ducked down after just barely surviving, but he was also smiling.

(H. T. Trismegistus is focused on me, which means he won’t attack Aradia again.)

Some words were already escaping the young butler’s mouth.

“Shall I call Alice?”

Kamijou heard the young butler’s footsteps from beyond the thicket. He also heard the rubbing of metal hinges, so the man was presumably opening a storage case and pulling out a notebook or pocket watch or something.

He was confident.

But that made Kamijou smile even more. What luck. Even Mr. Misfortune himself couldn’t help but think that.

H. T.? Or was it Z. I. now? Whatever it was, Trismegistus was pursuing Kamijou. Luring him away from collapsed and unmoving Aradia was the right thing to do here. What was this if not a silver lining to his predicament?

“There is no common sense at all in your attempt here, but I suppose it is the only option that could possibly allow you to defeat me. But either way, I will have this dealt with before Alice arrives.

Common sense.

Kamijou hadn’t heard the details, but was that the starting point for this Transcendent calling himself Z. I. Trismegistus? It was possible he had seen the moment when a major disturbance in that concept had led to a vast tragedy.

Just like Witch Goddess Aradia had roared after witnessing the persecution of so many witches.

Just like the Bologna Succubus’s soul had been burned by the false accusations her name pointed to.

Z. I. Trismegistus was the same.

“…”

Was it Zeus and Indra?

But Kamijou didn’t have Index with him. And he had thrown 15cm Othinus to go seek help. On his own, Kamijou was only a high school boy, so he didn’t know what these magical words meant. Even though he knew they had to contain the key to a miraculous upset here.

He heard a metallic sound at his feet.

His throat went dry. He had stepped on the stainless steel cover over a drainage ditch.

He sensed his impending death.

“There you are.”

“!!!???”

The instant after he rolled to the side, a long-range slash lashed out. In fact, it circled around the large tree he had been leaning against and sliced right through the stainless steel cover, sending sparks flying.

(That didn’t even move in a straight line!? This is bad. I can’t even imagine what kind of path it can take!!)

The young butler’s voice came from somewhere in the windy artificial woods.

“Hm, so I missed. Then I should visually confirm your location first instead of relying solely on intuition. I do not want to destroy the beautiful garden I created for Alice.”

(Does that mean he wasn’t using any kind of clairvoyance or precog? No, wait. He’s a Transcendent. He might just be trying to trick me into lowering my guard that way!!)

Hiding behind the trees was relatively useless if the slashes could move around obstacles. But running out into the open garden would be suicide. So…

(I need to get inside the consulate!!)

He tackled the back entrance opening out into the woods and tumbled inside. If he had knocked or even grabbed the knob, a slash from behind probably could have sliced horizontally through him along with the door and the stone wall.

But he had survived. He got back up and ran down the long hallway.

(I don’t like the idea of relying on this.)

Kamijou gulped and pulled out his old folk’s smartphone while still crouched low.

He used the device to connect to R&C Occultics’s official website.

And to the magic database that had been leaked to the public.

If you typed in a term and ran a search, it would pull up a list of webpages, especially ones selling related products, but when Kamijou tapped the link now, he only got a simple “this service has been shut down” message. He realized he should have expected that after he destroyed the giant IT company during the incident in Los Angeles.

But a few external sites apparently still had cached versions of the website. That would only contain fragments of the vast database, but it was better than nothing.

Staying on the 1st floor too long could get him killed by a horizontal attack since that slash’s range was unknown, so Kamijou made his way to the nearest stairway before the young butler made an appearance.

(Zeus at least sounds vaguely familiar. He’s some kind of god, right?)

He ran a search and found Zeus was a Greek god.

He was the final child of Cronus and Rhea. He was the ruler of heaven and symbolized by the blessing of the rain. On the other hand, he was also known for the lightning bolt he held in his hand which obliterated all of the gods’ enemies and meted out divine punishment.

(A lightning bolt?)

He tapped another link in the explanation to delve deeper, but none of it was very clear. He could tell Zeus had an ultimate weapon symbolized by lightning, but nothing said whether it was a spear, a bow, a sling, or a magic bullet. One sculpture of Zeus showed him holding something rodlike, but that was only meant to be the lightning itself and other art depicted various designs for his weapon.

A formless weapon.

Bright light, an explosive sword drawing, streetlights and bug zappers destroyed just because they were nearby…

“!?”

Outside the window, a slash suddenly flew Kamijou’s way.

If he had left the stairs and entered the 2nd floor hallway lined with windows, that would have hit him. He fell on his rear and the horizontal line sliced through the walls just above his head. Was the attack aimed solely on a vague figure visible through the window? But the windows remained shut and the glass intact.

How disturbing that was belatedly crawled up Kamijou’s back.

(How does that work!? Is it not just the blade extending out through space!?)

Z. I. Trismegistus must have been able to see him from outside, so he needed to move elsewhere. He quickly turned around and fled further up the stairs.

(Dammit, I can’t do that. If I hide on the 3rd floor, I’m putting the Bologna Succubus at risk!!)

He turned around again.

Surrounding the consulate’s White House-style mansion were several walls and towers straight out of a fairy tale castle. If he wanted to keep anyone else from getting hurt, he had to avoid the main structure and escape into one of the towers.

Indra.

When he typed that other foreign term into his old folk’s smartphone, he found that was a god from the Hindu religion spread across the Indian region. That felt like it had nothing to do with Zeus, but apparently there was a cultural connection. For example, the names of the Indian god Dyaus, the Greek god Zeus, and the Roman god Jupiter all came from the same name. And Indra used lightning too. But Kamijou doubted the pair had been chosen for that alone.

Most likely, there was some other rule at play. Something that would be obvious if he could only look it up in some kind of magic or occult dictionary.

(Do Zeus and Indra have something in common?)

The site said the form of the Hindu lightning weapon was just as unclear. For example, Indra’s weapon was known as the Vajra. When the stories arrived in China and Japan, the Vajra was said to be shaped like a five-pronged club or a pestle with a blade on the ends. But those were only exorcism weapons designed by Indian artists and priests because “lightning is difficult to explain without giving it some kind of shape”.

Both traditions incorporated the same name.

Both had weapons symbolizing formless lightning.

Weapons that could later be given form by someone else – even mere humans.

(Is that it!?)

Kamijou ran up a tower’s spiral stairs and exited through the skylight leading to the roof. At first glance, the height made this a dead end, but there were still a few paths he could take, like the tall castle walls or the roofs of the elevated passageways. And useful items could be found anywhere.

For example…

“A solar power cable!!”

Z. I. Trismegistus could freely change his name and his attacks were undeniably frightening. Both for their simple power and range, but also because the slashes could change direction and circle around cover. They moved too quickly to react to, so they would be deadly when combined with iaijutsu, which could be so hard to predict.

But those attacks had to follow some kind of rules.

(That stainless steel ditch cover in the artificial woods.)

What connected the Greek Zeus and the Hindu Indra?

(I’m pretty sure the window frames on the 2nd floor were metal too. That means his sword strikes follow paths of electrical conduction!!)

“And if his weapon is lightning, I should be able to redirect it!!”

“Sigh.”

The young butler’s voice softly but bluntly interrupted him.

“This is not Zeus. Common sense should have told you that right away.”

How – and when – had he arrived on the tower’s roof?

Something flashed. The person using the Trismegistus name had flicked up a clear plastic cocktail pin with his thumb.

Then the cane sword was released from its scabbard and light surged out.

Kamijou held his right hand out, but it wasn’t enough. He definitely felt something being negated, but when the blade’s light hit the cocktail pin overhead, the light scattered as if from a disco ball.

That light carried the sword strike.

This didn’t follow the rules of electricity at all.

The victim didn’t even have time to feel a chill on his spine. More than eight glowing slashes rushed toward his neck from different directions.

His death was a silent one.

His vision spun around.

It wasn’t Zeus’s lightning bolt or Indra’s Vajra.

And he was punished for his wrong answer.

After failing to find the key to a miracle, the boy could only look back up at his own headless body, still standing there.

(Aradi-)

Part 3

Kamijou’s vision restarted.

Part 4

The best Kamijou could describe the feeling was having the film of his memories forcibly linked together. And he only knew one person capable of something so absurd. She was so convenient she could eliminate the very tragedy of death, but she would utterly destroy your world the instant you started to assume you would receive her help. This monster – this Transcendent – had complete control over an artificial miracle.

“Good…” he groaned.

His right shoulder felt funny. Had she severed that arm again?

He couldn’t even get up, so he held his throat and looked up at the woman in a large hat and a maternity dress who stood next to him like shimmering heat or a ghost.

“Good, Old Mary?”

“Do not worry.”

Good, Old Mary did not assume she would give her help either.

And she knew what that puny boy most wanted to hear.

She remained entirely motionless even in the biting wind.

“Aradia is safe. Since you managed to distract H. T.? Z. I.? ABC? Random Letters Trismegistus, mama could complete the process in peace.”

That was all it took.

Kamijou Touma felt so much relief he nearly let go of the consciousness he had reclaimed.

But he couldn’t do that.

Z. I. Trismegistus – that monster who was not Zeus and did not wield a lightning bolt – was still out there. Leaving him be would give him a chance to use his cane sword against Aradia again.

So Kamijou had to do something.

Even if nothing he had done had worked so far!!

“Mama said not to worry.”

Kamijou’s anxiety motivated him to try and force himself up on the tower roof, but Good, Old Mary bluntly interrupted.

“You have met mama’s conditions for salvation. By managing that, you and Aradia’s gamble paid off. So stay here and accept your victory prize. Mama will defeat him. You are not needed.”

“Really? First Aradia and now Kamijou Touma? You would give your miracles out to just anyone, wouldn’t you? I can’t let Alice see this.”

On a different roof, the young butler gently returned the sword to its scabbard and tapped his finger against the hilt like he was timing something.

The air between the two Transcendents seemed to electrify.

“Good, Old Mary. Your conditions are too broad and lax. Do not forget that we are the Transcendents who accompany Alice. Did you think you could avoid the ‘monster’ label if you played at being a doctor?”

“Have you gone so senile you cannot tell the difference between a proud doctor who pours all of their efforts into helping any suffering people they come across and mama who blurs the line between life and death for her own purposes?”

Her sigh sounded exasperated.

Z. I. Trismegistus’s fingers toyed with his cane sword.

“Common sense says not everyone deserves these grand miracles.”

“Who says miracles only belong to a chosen privileged class, you fuck.”

These were their starting points.

The very cores of these Transcendents clashed head on.

A moment later, something shining exploded from the distant young butler’s cane sword, but it was clearly thrown off course. That wasn’t lightning or light. It was pressurized water. The deadly water jet targeted Kamijou’s neck while he was unable to get up, but its path changed when it hit something else and sliced diagonally through a different tower.

A huge explosion of orange sparks occurred a moment later.

The leaves floating in the air were all sliced through when the splashing droplets hit them.

If Kamijou had tried to block that with Imagine Breaker, the main water jet would have exploded, drenching him. And if each drop could slice through solid objects, his entire body would have been shredded.

Kamijou couldn’t tell what Good, Old Mary had done.

He only saw her slender fingers occasionally toy with the camping kitchen tools hanging from her belt which looked vaguely weaponlike: the tea kettle, the gas burner, the multitool, the sandwich toaster, etc.

“Random Letters.”

“Please state my identity accurately. Alice is going to start calling me that.”

“That name is too long. But you have nothing to worry about. Mama will resurrect you even if you die. However, mama must punish you, so you will be resurrected into a state with all your bones removed and your organs crushed. It is time you crawled this earth like a worm in a state of constant, undying pain, Transcendent. Maybe then you will understand what it feels like for those who can only look up from below.”

“…”

“Do you understand the consequences if you lose? Then do take this seriously. Life is such a wonderful thing, so make sure to thank mama, Random Letters.”

“I don’t even care if you get it wrong, at least try to say my name right!!”

Good, Old Mary was still toying with the kitchen tools in her hands.

She did not actually use any of them or try to hit him with any of them.

Yet far below, a massive fissure formed in the ground and orange lava erupted sharply upwards. It looked like a disturbing glowing serpent. The young butler jumped up to avoid it, but then a mass larger than a dump track crashed into him from the side. The massive blunt object might as well have been one of the wrecking balls used by cranes to demolish buildings, but it was actually a hunk of ice weighing more than 30 tons.

A deadly attack split the ice into three pieces.

Trismegistus didn’t even wait to reach the ground. He landed on one piece of ice and continued slicing through the bed and desk that crashed through a window and the storm of pebbles torn from the white wall, before solidifying it all. What even was that? Clear crystals jutted from where he sliced through the objects, linking together Good, Old Mary’s projectiles, and pinning them in place in midair.

Based on what Kamijou had seen, those sword strikes came in more than one variety.

Lightning.

Light.

Water.

Crystal.

How did it have so much variety? The young butler himself had said it wasn’t Zeus, but even knowing that, Kamijou couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Aradia and the Bologna Succubus’s spells were supposedly powerful enough to fight the entire magic side on their own. Same for Good, Old Mary’s resurrection.

Was Trismegistus the same?

He could infuse his sharp blade into any phenomenon, so if he wasn’t afraid of cutting himself, could he fill this entire universe with miniscule death and destruction?

“Do not worry. Mama has a scorching hotplate double slap with that gloomy butler’s name on it.”

“I’m thankful that you’re helping me, but how am I even supposed to respond to something like that!?”

Kamijou trembled and shouted back at her, but the Transcendent didn’t seem to care.

As if this wasn’t enough to surprise Good, Old Mary.

“Trismegistus. Who is currently in your right hand? And who do you have serving within your left hand? Did you attack Aradia before your top priority target because she uses a similar spell and you were afraid she would see through it?”

Flash.

Boooooooooom!!!

This time, it wasn’t a long range slash. Was it lightning? With cane sword in hand, Trismegistus himself dropped sharply down like a flash of light. But he was forcibly stopped right in front of Good, Old Mary who stood atop the tower with her large hat swaying.

There was an invisible wall there.

The one Transcendent revealed the other’s secrets from such close range.

“Mama knows your trick. You are not borrowing a portion of a god’s power and you are not making yourself identical to a god to wield their power. You place one god in your right hand and another in your left. Including you, that creates a large triangle that implants the world with a false definition saying you yourself are a god too. That is your method of leaving human territory. So instead of borrowing an existing god’s name, you create a brand new god and make yourself that god. You use the correspondences of the Liber 777 to accomplish this. Thus, you are not Zeus or Indra and you were not Hermes or Thoth. In the end, you never could love anyone other than yourself.”

“Tch!! “My right hand contains Odin. My left hand contains-”

“Mercury? Or maybe Anubis or Loki?”

“!?”

“Weren’t you listening? Mama knows your trick. Anyone who understands Crowley’s correspondence table can predict your next move. And that means your sword is no longer a threat. You cannot freely transform your blade into whatever you want. It operates on a predictable pattern.”

Aradia had mentioned the triple goddess in Shibuya.

Kamijou still didn’t know what that meant, but Trismegistus was another Transcendent whose power was based on the number 3.

“I too am a Transcendent who serves Alice. I know you do not have as much an advantage as you claim to.”

The young butler’s trick had been revealed, but he still smiled and pressed his sword against the invisible barrier.

“Your surefire plan has already failed from the moment I got this close. Not too surprising really since you are no more than the kitchen manager. Food is meant to be carried out to the guests; you do not want them entering your territory.”

A slight cut ran down Good, Old Mary’s cheek visible below the brim of her hat. A few red drops formed and dripped down to color her face.

The young butler could apparently infuse his sword strikes into a variety of ordinary phenomena like light and water. So could he apply a cutting edge to the an electric field and not just to a lightning strike?

“Good-”

Kamijou gasped just before an explosion burst out.

Trismegistus was sent spinning away. He forcibly applied the brakes by stabbing his cane sword into the flower garden on the roof of a midair passageway connecting the sharp tower to the large mansion. A storage case similar to a tackle box spilled from his cloak and he couldn’t return it to its pocket. He tilted to the side with his right half covered in blood, but he was definitely smiling.

He was focused on Good, Old Mary’s right hand back on the tower.

She held an ordinary sandwich toaster like it was weapon.

“Ha ha ha!! I’ve peeled back another layer, Good, Old Mary! How many more until I break through that calm façade? You might be the kitchen master who can create a microcosm contained to a glass container, but not even the greatest chef can cook without her tools. I will keep peeling back those layers. And with each tool I take from you, the more powerless you will be!!!”

The previous rules no longer applied.

Good, Old Mary took a step forward.

“Steam.”

The word came after the fact.

Her tall body suddenly disappeared.

It wasn’t a simple issue of speed. Unlike with Saints such as Kanzaki or Acqua, there was no roar or blast of wind as she tore through the air. Maybe this was the light physically bending and maybe she had constructed some kind of trick that placed her in a preexisting blind spot found in human vision, but she must have surrounded herself in something that prevented anyone else from seeing her.

(You’re kidding, right?)

Kamijou recalled how Good, Old Mary had appeared out of nowhere when called back Shibuya on the 31st. What if she hadn’t teleported from afar and had already been standing in that scramble crossing?

By the time the powerless boy realized a blade had been against his throat at the end of the previous year, Good, Old Mary had approached Trismegistus.

She was already making her next move.

“!?”

Transcendent clashed with Transcendent.

They reduced the distance between them to zero, several explosions erupted, and each time, a tea kettle or gas burner dropped to the ground far below.

It looked a lot like Good, Old Mary was overwhelming her opponent while appearing from and vanishing into the background. With each explosion, Trismegistus took a powerful blow and the rusty scent in the air grew stronger. The flurry of attacks was too great to block with a cane sword alone.

But who was really making progress here? Hadn’t Trismegistus said his goal was to take away all of her tools?

Kamijou Touma was concerned, but his imagination proved insufficient.

“Mama is going to allow herself a risk of 4. Releasing the singular seal – leaving human territory,” said Good, Old Mary. “Show yourself, Tribikos – the tool mama used to contain a complete universe.”

Kamijou felt some shaking.

He thought it was an earthquake, but apparently not.

“…”

He looked up toward the sky without thinking, but in this case, the foolish pointy-haired boy hadn’t been hopelessly left behind.

Trismegistus did it too.

He reacted just like Kamijou even as he sneered despite his battered body. He silently looked overhead. Yes, even though they were at the top of a tower or in a rooftop flower garden.

Three distorted legs – each one taller than the average transmission tower – supported a squashed sphere resembling a domed baseball stadium. Was it supposed to resemble chemistry equipment like beakers and flasks? Or was it supposed to resemble a living, breathing creature? Kamijou wasn’t sure, but the very core of his body was ruled by a dreadful shaking. Even at the top of a tower, the sky overhead was entirely blotted out.

It was as hard as thick porcelain.

But it was also clearly pulsating from the inside.

What did it contain? A collection of energy as massive as the sun or even the big bang? An all-consuming black hole? Good, Old Mary had called it a universe. Was that a metaphor, or was it literally true? Looking up at it, Kamijou could no longer tell what was a joke and what wasn’t.

“The red stone, a panacea that provides immortality, pure control over the five elements, rearranging the universe.”

Good, Old Mary accepted what she had summoned like it was nothing. She did not even glance up at it.

That Transcendent calmly viewed her enemy from below the brim of her hat.

Calmly but strongly.

“But a creator must do more than complete their research. They cannot make any progress without first inventing the necessary tools. Mama is Good, Old Mary. The Bain-marie insulated pot, the Kerotakis reflux device, and the Tribikos distiller are all the basic tools needed to create a universe, so do not underestimate the one who rules the very foundation of those tools, long-named one.”

The giant mass did not attack.

She was going to use the brand new death and destruction contained within.

How far did it go? This was something from a brand new category than all the types of magic and elements Kamijou had seen before. What if it pushed even a bit past the limits of what the 103,001 grimoires covered? Wouldn’t this be magic that not even Grimoire Library Index could defend against?

Did this simply make Good, Old Mary frightening, or was the real threat Trismegistus for requiring something so powerful to deliver the finishing blow?

“Ha…ha ha ha. Good, Old Mary, you are rebelling against Alice at this point.”

“You are a Transcendent, making you more powerful than the average person, but mama heard what you childishly said to this high school boy, knowing he is forced to walk a path of greater-than-average misfortune because he lives in this city and is unfairly shunned by god’s miracles. You said common sense says you have no reason to hold back and, if an enemy is being a nuisance, you should kill them right away.”

“There, that’s the final layer. Once I survive this, you are done forrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!”

“Mama sends those words right back at you. Since you wield your own miracles to trample on the less fortunate, you do not meet mama’s conditions. Thus, she will not hold back. So bring it on, you depressing butler. Mama will kill you quickly like the worm you are.”

There was a sharp clash of metal. Trismegistus had remade himself into a brand new being by swapping out the names of the gods wielded by his hands and he rushed toward Good, Old Mary, slicing through even the wind with his cane sword. Whatever he planned on infusing his sword strike into, he pushed the sword up from its scabbard with his thumb and tons of rusty sewing needles spilled from the blade.

Good, Old Mary had told him to come to her, so she was unfazed. A massive piece of lab equipment covered the sky overhead and she only needed to release what it contained. All she did was pull back her index finger while standing in the flower garden.

This time, they both attacked in a straight line.

The two Transcendents clashed after tearing through the seals which kept them human.

And…

Part 5

Light flashed.

A wet explosion rang out.

Part 6

“…”

It took Kamijou Touma a moment to realize nearly all sound had vanished.

Was that short rhythm he heard his own shallow breathing?

The destruction was so bad he just about forgot he was on the roof of a tower on the consulate grounds. The ground was torn up, orange lava spewed out, and a few of the other towers had collapsed. It looked like the end of the world. He was all the way at the top of a tower, but he felt dark soil on his head.

His entire body was stiff and he had trouble simply moving his head. So he instead moved just his eyes while slumped on the roof.

The wind blew and dust scattered through the air.

He saw a silhouette through that dust cloud. It was lying on an elevated passageway that looked ready to collapse at any moment. Kamijou gasped when he noticed how dark the silhouette was, but he could make out some other features too. It wasn’t feminine. It only looked dark because of the old-fashioned tailcoat and cloak it wore. It looked a lot like a crushed cicada. A tiered storage case similar to a tackle box sat partially open and crushed.

That was Trismegistus.

Kamijou couldn’t say whether he was H T, Z I, O M, or whatever other combination at the moment.

He wasn’t moving anymore.

But Kamijou Touma remained frozen. He couldn’t relax yet. Of course he couldn’t. Not when he could see another silhouette collapsed a short distance away from the motionless young butler.

That one was Good, Old Mary.

The giant Tribikos’s three legs had shattered, its smooth squashed sphere was split in two, and its pieces leaned against the consulate.

But this wasn’t a case of mutual destruction. If the threat was gone, Kamijou’s paralysis would have gone with it. He would have found some way to run to Good, Old Mary and see if she needed medical care. And if she was fine, he would have tried to restrain Trismegistus.

But he couldn’t.

He couldn’t bring himself to move while on the top of the tower. The deadly paralysis showed no sign of going away.

Because something else had happened here.

This was not two Transcendents attacking and defeating each other simultaneously.

“Court, court, court.”

Far below, a small silhouette walked along the ground. And the girl was saying something.

Her words formed a rhythm like she was humming an improvised song.

Hers was the last voice Kamijou had wanted to hear right now.

“The girl’s court is in session.”

This was Alice Anotherbible, the true tyrant who had obliterated those ordinary Transcendents in the blink of an eye.

With a roar, the tower and the rooftop flower garden collapsed. Kamijou could tell grabbing onto something wasn’t going to be enough here, so he steeled himself and aimed for a body of water that had survived the devastation. He couldn’t re-aim after being thrown into the air. So instead, he leaped from the crumbling tower himself to reach a garden pool that was even more bent than a gourd.

“Gahh!?”

He landed in the water, but he still ended up bloody. The extreme chill seemed to slice through his skin. But he had made the right choice. He couldn’t let the pain or chill stop him now. He didn’t have time to safely run down the spiral staircase.

Because Good, Old Mary and Trismegistus were in danger if he didn’t reach them immediately.

What would happen to them if Alice reached them while they were helpless?

(Ugh. Not to mention…)

He realized he should have seen this coming.

Trismegistus had been using his cane sword to produce supernatural blades not found in any mythology and Good, Old Mary had produced a piece of lab equipment so massive it covered the sky. With that going on, there was no way the young master of the consulate would fail to notice.

The idea of “ordinary Transcendents” was absurd, but she was so overwhelmingly unusual that he felt the need to apply that “ordinary” qualifier to Trismegistus and Good, Old Mary. She was so extraordinary that even other Transcendents feared her.

(It’s not use.)

Kamijou forgot to even breathe.

He was entranced.

(Mut Thebes is an execution expert and has that “drink me” item capable of killing Transcendents, but not even she can defeat Alice. Even thinking about fighting her is the wrong move!!)

Alice’s cute lips had uttered the words “court is in session”.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was a global best seller, but Kamijou was ashamed to admit he didn’t know that much about it. He knew there was a tea party with a hatter and a march hare, he knew there was a cricket game at the castle with the queen of hearts, and he thought there might be a court scene too. Was that related to the hysterical queen who yelled “off with their head” at the drop of a hat?

That would mean this trial meant death for the accused.

The odds of a guilty verdict and immediate death were greater than 99.9% and any other result had such slim odds it deserved to be called a miracle. On the other hand, there was no possibility at all of harming Alice herself. Not even a 0.1% chance.

It was that unilateral of a massacre.

“A-Alice?”

“Yes, teacher?”

“That’s enough. This is already over. So you need to calm down and-”

“No.”

A dull popping sound followed.

But it was wetter than an explosive going off.

The young girl hadn’t even directed her small palm in that direction. She hadn’t even glanced that way.

But Trismegistus was still launched from the ground. His already injured body twisted further in midair, crashed helplessly back to the ground, and kept rolling.

“Alice!!!”

Was he alright? Not the physical impact or pressure. Was he alright on the level of the fundamental definition of a Transcendent!?

And it didn’t end there.

Alice’s shadow pulsated at her feet. She wanted another sacrifice.

She wanted the other Transcendent lying motionless on the ground.

“The Trismegistus stuff is over!! Good, Old Mary didn’t do anything! In fact, she saved my life! So-!!”

“No.”

Kamijou moved between them.

Alice’s usual smile was gone. She kept the blank expression of a noh mask as she silently tilted her head.

That was far more terrifying than if her face was red with fury.

She opened her eyes unnaturally wide and spoke without blinking.

“Teacher. There is blood on the ground. It smells like you.”

“…”

“Good, Old Mary was too slow. She did not risk her life to protect you. She failed to see the threat coming and then patched things up afterwards. That isn’t good enough. She neglected her duties. The girl told everyone in this secret base – consulate? – that you are an invited guest and they were not to harm you. But these two failed to keep the most basic of promises: don’t kill people.”

More pulsating.

But this time it came from inside Alice’s children’s book dress.

She could not restrain her power anymore. Kamijou clenched his teeth knowing what lay at the foundation of it all.

Alice was frustrated.

She was frustrated that someone she cared for had come to harm. She was frustrated that the Transcendents who lived with her had done it. And she was frustrated that she had failed to stop them and save his life.

I’ve come to play, teacher.

What if Alice’s first words to him had really and truly been the whole story for her?

The thought made him grimace.

This wasn’t good.

It went beyond Trismegistus and Good, Old Mary. Based on Alice’s current rules, Shibuya on the 31st was a problem too.

Aradia had killed him and the Bologna Succubus had failed to prevent it.

This one seam threatened to tear down everything around her.

Hence the tyrant title.

That immature ruler had tremendous power but could not protect the world because she was too easily manipulated by her emotions.

“You can’t, Alice,” said Kamijou without thinking.

She was acting entirely on a child’s logic, so he maybe could have chosen to simply hear her out instead of rejecting what she was feeling. But he still made his move since it looked like the tiny tyrant was ready to explode at any moment.

And losing everything here would be far too painful.

Aradia, the Bologna Succubus, Good, Old Mary, and Trismegistus. If he was being honest, none of the Transcendents had been perfect. He couldn’t fully accept the inhuman way they each set their own conditions for saving people.

But they still cared deeply for the Bridge Builders Cabal.

Trismegistus had been utterly terrifying, but even he had only wanted to eliminate Kamijou so he could protect Alice. He had been willing to bloody his hands and take Kamijou’s life because he cared about the home he had found in the Bridge Builders Cabal more than anything.

Maybe he had gone about it the wrong way. But now the man who had gone to so much misguided effort, and the woman who had tried so hard to stop him but just barely failed, had both been badly injured. There was no reason to punish them further.

The young tyrant needed to learn that forgiveness was another option.

“You can’t do it this way, Alice.”

“Are you going to fight the girl? To protect Good, Old Mary who is lying there close to death?”

But with her head still tilted, noh mask Alice immediately rejected her own question.

“No, teacher. The girl can tell from your eyes. You are also looking at Trismegistus. That means you’re talking about saving them both.”

Good, Old Mary had saved his life, so it made sense with her.

But he had no reason to insist on saving the young butler known as Trismegistus. Even if he had done it for Alice, he had cruelly cut down Aradia and attempted to do the same to Kamijou.

But Kamijou didn’t even need to think about his response.

“So what if I am?”

“Why would you do that?”

“If I don’t have a reason, I’ll find one. At the very least, I don’t have it in me to abandon someone to die and then smile like nothing happened.”

He directed his right fist toward her.

There was a dull cracking sound, but not from his fist.

It came from Alice Anotherbible’s tilted head. The angle of the tilt had passed a certain threshold. Her thin neck continued making strange cracking noises, but no hint of pain was visible on her face.

She spoke from that abnormal angle and from the noh mask that seemed entirely devoid of life.

“You too, teacher?”

Something more frightening, and much more painful, than tears of blood spilled from her eyes.

“You’re afraid of the girl and her power just like all the others? But the girl hasn’t said anything wrong. The girl hasn’t done anything wrong.”

That was probably close to the very core of that young girl.

This was something Anna Sprengel’s whisperings had implanted in her and something she had ended up clinging to.

“I’m sorry…Alice.”

It was true Kamijou had kept his eyes on both Good, Old Mary and Trismegistus to ensure no stray shots would hit them. And Alice had seen right through him.

But did she realize that it wasn’t only those two.

They were confronting each other head on. They were clearly enemies. But it was an indisputable fact that Kamijou Touma had kept that young girl in the very center of his vision this entire time.

He would save Alice too.

If he didn’t have a reason to, he would find one.

He was making the choice that none of the Transcendents had dared make.

“The Bologna Succubus and Good, Old Mary told me about this too.”

“…Did they?”

Their eyes met.

He couldn’t look away now.

“They said I was the only person in the world who could hold an ordinary conversation with you and the only one who could get you to accept your mistakes if you did the wrong thing. If that’s true, then this is my job. Alice Anotherbible, it doesn’t matter if you hate me now or not. Don’t ever think that’s enough to stop Kamijou Touma!!!”

“Enough, teacher. Just shut up. You’re completely helpless once you get caught up in a few wonders. That puny fist of yours would shatter if you tried to break through the wall you’re facing now, so don’t think the girl is going to start bawling just because you threaten her with it!!!”

Her picture book dress completely tore away, revealing soft skin and leather overflowing with immorality.

The psychedelic sight would destroy the souls of all who ignored their instincts and attempted to attack her. Alice Anotherbible’s fury had easily dealt with the entirety of Academy City’s dark side, but now it was manifesting in full to crush just one boy.

He realized this may have been the first time Alice had ever directed real hostility in his direction.

It scared him.

People trying to survive a bombing or shelling could apparently feel so much fear they bled from their heart. The pressure bearing down on Kamijou was reaching that level.

Nevertheless, the puny boy chose to fight back against this deadly barrage. He knew that, deep down, Tyrant Alice wasn’t looking for someone unnaturally kind who would bake her a birthday cake every single day. She wanted someone who would do this without hesitation.

He had to believe that.

If he wasn’t sure what to do, he only needed to listen to his will.

He could not take a single step away. He was certain he stood in the position needed to save Alice.

And that had to be enough to give him the strength to fight against such great power!!!

Part 7

Alice Anotherbible.

Bits and pieces of her power had been seen in Academy City on December 29. There were the direct examples like the hedgehog balls and flamingo bat, there was the Executioner with unknown attack conditions, and even the Bridge Building that constructed bridges between the world’s logic and laws to distort the world as she saw fit. Seeing as she had created a reality where the dark side’s survivors all worked together to fight a powerful foe, her power had reached the point of forcibly creating impossible results.

Also, her body was immune to bacteria, bugs, curses, and all other forms of internal damage, both scientific and magical. As for external damage, she would always remain unscathed thanks to the hedgehogs and flamingo protecting her. Moreover, this didn’t come from a fear of shedding blood. She protected herself that way because if anything obstructed her actions, she might get angry and kill someone.

It was unknown if it was even possible to defeat her.

Kamijou couldn’t guess what punching her with Imagine Breaker would accomplish.

And with all that in mind…

(My top priority is that world-distorting power.)

Kamijou set his sights on that.

(I have to avoid being sucked into a fake happy ending where I forget all about fighting. But as long as I can avoid that, I can at least continue to fight back. That means-)

“Gryphon, clean this up.”

Everything blurred.

Kamijou’s vision grew distorted as he was tossed more than 20m backwards. Alice’s already small form looked so much smaller due to the greater distance.

Horrific snapping and cracking sounds came from inside his body. He belatedly realized he was basically being squeezed within a giant press.

Giant feathery wings spread wide before his eyes. That was definitely a sharp beak and talons holding him. Overall, it reminded him of a hawk or eagle, but that was no bird. When his eyes finally managed to focus again, he realized he was pinned down by a lithe body covered in feline muscles.

Hadn’t Alice mentioned a gryphon?

He estimated it was more than 7m long. The spread wings made it look nearly three times as large. A lion was 2.5m and a Siberian tiger could reach 3m, so how strong was this beast!?

(Damn, I’m not sure what a gryphon is supposed to be! And since this came from Alice, is it a specific one from that children’s book? I need Index’s knowledge here!!)

“Bh?”

He hadn’t known about this.

Kamijou hadn’t heard a thing about this trump card!

“Gahh!! Cough, cough, agh! Alice!!!”

Held between a giant beak and pressed roughly to the ground, “cornered” didn’t adequately describe Kamijou’s plight.

“Gryphon.”

Alice wasn’t even looking his way with her leather and soft skin exposed.

She only held out a hand and observed her nails.

“The girl is bored. Entertain her with the usual lobster dance.”

“!?”

Kamijou’s vision turned to flowing lines and gravity seemed to vanish.

It took him a few seconds to realize the giant monster was shaking its head side to side with him still in its beak. By then, he had already been slammed into the dark soil. He heard a disconcerting cracking sound deep inside him. He couldn’t have survived a second or third time, but he instead slipped from the beak, flew through the air, and tumbled along the ground. Thankfully, the beak wasn’t good at gripping. With a jaw with rows of teeth or fangs, he would have been pummeled until he didn’t even look human anymore.

Some kind of massive vortex approached him with rumbling sounds reminding him of artillery fire.

Was that the lobster dance?

That told him nothing! He couldn’t even predict what was flying his way! He was up against incredible power wielded in seemingly meaningless ways, so he had the feeling anything he tried to do to escape would backfire!!

He put off worrying about his inability to breathe. He instead rolled to the side to escape.

It didn’t help.

He felt something catch on his back and then the world around him lost shape again. By the time he realized, a birdlike talon had caught him, he slammed into the ground, tearing up the grass. He forgot all about breathing. He couldn’t resist in the slightest as the sharp break grabbed him again.

Kamijou couldn’t win. Or more accurately, he couldn’t even start to fight. He had badly misjudged this. After running around Academy City’s darkness with Alice on December 29, he had tricked himself into thinking he understood the girl.

Aradia, the Bologna Succubus, Good, Old Mary, Trismegistus, and all the other Transcendents were each said to rival the entire magic side on their own, so did he really think what he had seen before was enough to terrify them?

How many more trump cards did Alice have?

In fact, this giant monster with a lion’s body and a bird of prey’s beak, wings, and talons – had she called it a gryphon? – had been tossed out so thoughtlessly he wondered if Alice Anotherbible even considered it to be a trump card. Could this be her idea of teasing him with her little finger instead of one-shotting him like she had the others?

“Teacher.”

Cold wasn’t the right word.

Alice’s words were empty, like she didn’t care at all if he lived or died, which tore into Kamijou’s heart.

“You don’t need to worry about that. There is no way you can escape the Gryphon.”

“Aghhh!?”

“Do not underestimate the girl’s Gryphon. He is an embodiment of destruction who insists everything is a boring illusion and strips all things of value.”

Alice made it sound like no concern of hers. The Gryphon may have been the one who got rid of any nuisances bothering her.

It appeared whenever Alice didn’t feel like playing and it swiftly cleaned up whatever was ruining her fun. No, it was more than that. That monster would also perform the aforementioned lobster dance to cheer up the small girl. It destroyed only the simplest of hurdles. Its job was to give her a change of pace when she was done playing with someone and wanted them removed in a hurry.

The Gryphon hadn’t made an appearance on December 29.

Because Alice hadn’t felt the need.

Did that mean, in Alice’s opinion anyway, the Gryphon was even more dangerous than Academy City’s entire dark side!?

(A-)

Still in its mouth, Kamijou reached out his hand.

Toward the girl in the unsuitable leather outfit who was trying to display no interest in him.

He couldn’t reach her.

He knew that.

But if he died here, what would happen to her?

(Al…ice.)

A dull crunch rang out.

The gruesome sound of crushed flesh and bone echoed across the area.

He had known this. He had known Imagine Breaker wasn’t enough to battle a Transcendent without anything else prepared. That was an undeniable fact when he had already been killed multiple times by Transcendents like Aradia and Trismegistus. And he doubted Good, Old Mary was going to conveniently get up and resurrect him right now.

If he died, it was all over.

That basic fact of life applied to everyone equally…but it did not bare its fangs against Kamijou Touma here.

He was not dead.

The crunch had not been the Gryphon mercilessly shutting its giant beak. The gruesome sound of crushed flesh and bone had contained another sound as well.

An explosive blast.

The flesh and bone belonged to the Gryphon, not to Kamijou.

But this wasn’t just a sniper shot. The abnormal bird of prey was more than 7m long and it was blasted so hard from the side that it forcibly spat Kamijou from its beak. That couldn’t have been a simple 12.7mm anti-materiel rifle. It had to be something large enough to deserve the title of “cannon” rather than “gun”.

“Bwah!! Cough, cough. Ughh!?”

Kamijou rolled along the ground trying to get air in his lungs again, but all he found was a rusty flavor. He heard definite cracking sounds from inside his body. He may have broken a few ribs.

Alice looked away from her nails.

And she spoke in a dry, emotionless voice.

“Hm. An antique.”

Part 8

Identical clone girls were focused on their binoculars at a position about 1.5km from the Bridge Builders Cabal Consulate.

“The target was hit, reports Misaka #10777.”

“Hitting without an initial test firing is not easy, says Misaka #15000 to boost morale through self-praise. Even if it was a test shell without any explosive inside.”

“The hot combustion gas is constantly changing the metal barrel, repeats Misaka #18009 while preparing the next shell. Adjust the targeting grid up and right by 25 degrees for the 2nd shot.”

One of the Sisters held a giant hammer over her shoulder.

But it was not meant to break down a building wall or work in a mine.

It was used to drive in the metal spikes needed to secure an old weapon to the ground.

And unlike a department store or shopping mall during a good sale going on, the public museum was relatively quiet during the New Year’s holiday. This was often when the displays were maintained and aired out.

“Flak 18,” whispered the hammer Sister, her breath visible in the cold.

That was an oft-romanticized weapon that had once been used for both antiair and antitank combat.

“If you need to shoot something, you can’t go wrong with an Acht-Acht, says Misaka #19090, wiping sweat from her brow.”

Misaka Mikoto, still not used to the Japanese clothes she was wearing, was taken aback on a building rooftop.

And here she had thought she could enjoy a peaceful time with the Sisters over the holiday.

“H-how can you fire an 8.8cm cannon horizontally through an urban area, you stupid sisters!?”

“Misaka doesn’t want to hear that from the girl who starts blasting railguns everywhere the instant anything irritates her, calmly retorts Misaka #10032.”

“Gh. Th-that’s different…”

“Also this right here is the maintenance plan for the Acht-Acht given to us by the District 2 Firearm Museum, says Misaka, smugly showing off a fancy tablet since we live in a paperless era. We were asked to keep it in fireable order, so we have done so. And they do say that a machine must be used periodically if you want it to remain functional.”

“That’s a superstition! And I thought these things had internal parts severed to prevent them from being fired!? Curse that new board chairman. Why would he approve something like this? He’d better not be doing everything you ask out of guilt.”

“(Misaka thinks his approval had more to do with him than with us.)”

“?”

“…says Misaka while running a meaningless simulation based on fictional parameters to have fun with the Misaka Network. Some might call it fantasizing about amusing scenarios.”

Anyway.

There was of course only one possible destination for the two identical girls.

Misaka realized it was unusual for the two of them to accompany each other like this.

“We got that thing to spit him out, but this is still a crisis situation. The details and size of the enemy force are unknown. And the known enemy appears unharmed by an artillery blast to the side, reports Misaka, sharing the information taken from the other observers.”

“So what is it? I’m reluctant to fight a fluffy animal for different reasons than a human. But if it’s as big as you say it is, I’ll probably get over that reluctance real quick once I see it for myself.”

“The best tactic with monsters is to avoid making contact with them in the first place, says Misaka, trying her hand at counseling. So what should we do? This monster did not shed a single drop of blood after a direct hit from an Acht-Acht.”

Misaka Mikoto’s answer began with a quiet metallic sound.

She had flicked up an arcade coin with her thumb.

“Then we’ll have to try a cutting-edge railgun.”

In the blue sky above, an irregular demon girl floated in defiance of gravity. She did have wings reminiscent of marine animals on her back, but they clearly weren’t large enough to provide enough lift for her to fly.

“Kee hee hee. Look at ‘em go. Well, he’s not the type to let someone go through with murder just because they’re in a consulate protected by international law.”

A consulate represented an entire country, so attacking one wasn’t that simple.

But a consulate could also freely move around within the host country. And once it had moved, the former site of the consulate was no longer bound by the same legal restrictions.

So that was what he had done.

In exchange for some economic support, the new board chairman had gotten the consulate moved to Academy City’s District 1, a much nicer part of the city.

This was a gray zone.

The original Condroniard Republic had been bought by the Bridge Builders Cabal. Their bureaucrats would behave very differently depending on who came out on top here – Academy City or the cabal. Instead of ending the legal protections once the move was complete, they were holding off on doing anything for today, waiting to see how it turned out.

But the board chairman only needed this one day.

Academy City could deal with the rest.

Floating next to Qliphah Puzzle 545 was her opposite: a scientifically-created angel.

“What do we do now?” asked the busty glasses girl.

“Well,” said the demon in a newspaper dress, grinning. A demon’s logic was always the same: “We do whatever we want.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“It’s looking like our current job is to deal with anyone who steps outside the bounds of humanity,” whispered Qliphah Puzzle 545, her tail whipping side to side.

The teacher’s pet and the mischievous girl.

They held opposite positions, but they were already forming a new bond between themselves.

“And in that sense, Alice Anotherbible has made herself an obvious target. Sometimes being too powerful invites further danger. Now, let’s show her how we do things here in Academy City!!”

There was also movement on the consulate’s grounds.

“Hey, have you managed to analyze Alice Anotherbible yet? Without that, heading out there will only get you killed! It’s meaningless!!”

“Sphynx, bite that pagan god the next time she says anything pessimistic.”

“Yikes, yikes, yikes!!” shouted 15cm Othinus, her hair bristling.

“I’m close. So close,” said Index sullenly.

“So are you ready to accept it now? The Index Librorum Prohibitorum doesn’t mention any of the spells used by the Transcendents of the Bridge Builders Cabal.”

“No, not that,” interrupted Index.

Never underestimate her. They had seen a lot of special types of people – Saints, God’s Right Seat, angels, demons, Magic Gods, and now Transcendents – but none of them made the grimoire library any less valuable.

“This isn’t just about Alice Anotherbible. I’m so close to seeing a common factor between them all. I’m so close to having a definition for what a Transcendent is!!”

“…”

“If I get closer and actually confront her, I might get the last piece of the puzzle. And we can’t wait any longer anyway. Touma’s going to die!!”

“Yes, I’ll grant you that one. And none of this means anything if that human dies. But let me ask one last time: are you sure this is the choice you want to make? Don’t regret this after the fact, human girl!!”

Part 9

Someone was coming. Kamijou’s woozy mind managed to hear several footsteps approaching. They were on their way despite the laws and treaties protecting the consulate and despite the fact that it was a monstrous place guarded by countless Transcendents, including Alice herself.

They were on their way to bring an end to all this trouble.

They were on their way to protect Kamijou Touma.

“Damn.”

(I appreciate it, but I can’t get them involved in the battle against Alice. If they go up against her without any real chance of winning, who knows what kind of trick she’ll reveal she still has up her sleeve!!)

That meant he only had one option.

He couldn’t rely on kindness, warmth, or the good of the world.

He had to crawl back to his feet if he wanted to protect them himself.

And if he wanted to prevent Alice from becoming that kind of enemy!!

“Bh.”

He had no way of knowing what was going on inside his body.

A rusty flavor filled his mouth.

Maybe this was what it meant to fight a Transcendent without a plan. With Aradia, Trismegistus, and Alice, simply being with them meant risking your life and directly facing them meant unavoidable death.

All the more reason why he couldn’t let anyone else get involved.

He moved his body despite the disturbing sounds it made when he did so and he dug his fingers into the dark soil.

He was painfully aware of the birdcage his ribs formed in his chest. Something hot was exploding inside that cage.

He had pushed himself too hard.

The blood went wild in the core of his being and he collapsed back to the ground.

“Gahh!?”

How much longer would he be able to move?

10 minutes? 5? Maybe not even 1.

But.

He gathered strength in his deteriorating body once more.

He was willing to cough up blood, break some bones, or damage his internal organs if that was what it took.

As long as he could keep himself moving for another minute.

As long as he could stand back up and clench his fist again.

His right hand wandered.

He touched Trismegistus’s sword on the ground and it shattered. With Good, Old Mary’s outdoor kitchen tools, he wasn’t sure how they were even used as weapons.

Nevertheless…

“Gahh!!”

He stood up.

He threw his right fist forward.

Toward the giant monster rushing toward him. The difference in their strength had already been proven beyond a doubt. The Gryphon opened its large beak and bit at the boy’s right arm.

He heard an unpleasant tearing sound.

He felt searing heat.

But.

His arm exploded.

Something burst from within his torn-off right arm and rapidly expanded within the bird of prey’s mouth.

The Gryphon’s silhouette burst like a balloon.

“Ah, ahh, ahhh, ahhhh, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

(This isn’t over.)

He staggered to the side.

His vision faded due to all the blood gushing from his arm.

(Alice is still there.)

He still had to deal with the hedgehog balls, the flamingo bat, the executioner, and the small girl herself.

He knew that.

He wasn’t going to last much longer.

Defeating the giant Gryphon wasn’t the end of it. it probably didn’t even qualify as one of the main cards in Alice Anotherbible’s deck. Kamijou was already battered before even arriving in front of her. If he couldn’t defeat her at his best, what hope did he have in his current state?

Still.

Kamijou Touma used his remaining arm and his mouth to tie a handkerchief tightly around the shoulder just above where his arm had been torn off.

He couldn’t afford to pass out yet.

He knew people were rushing to his aid, but he couldn’t expose them to the threat that was Alice. If this had all begun with the two of them meeting on that adventure in the dark side, he had to be the one to end it.

“Al…ice.”

He couldn’t even straighten his slanted stance.

But he still clenched his bloody teeth and took a step forward.

“Forget about the others. Pretend they’re not even here.”

He moved forward.

He moved of his own free will to stand before that young monster whose innocence was what made her so terrifying.

“So fight me!! Alice Anotherbible!!!”

And…

“…”

Alice looked away from him in her inappropriate leather outfit. She was instead focused on the many footsteps surrounding them.

On all the people attempting to eliminate her to protect Kamijou.

Then she let out a visible breath with resignation on her face. It was the look of a child who had been so excited about going to the amusement park but, once she arrived, got lost, was taken into custody by the park officials, waited and waited for her parents to come get her, and as the sun began to set, finally realized that her parents had abandoned her.

That face stabbed into Kamijou Touma’s heart far more painfully than anger or the noh mask ever could.

“Forget it…”

Uh, oh, realized Kamijou, but it was too late.

He had already seen the clear drops growing in the corners of her eyes as she pouted her lips and turned away.

And the girl said one last thing now that she was truly alone.

“Stupid teacher.”

Between the Lines 4

The girl thought she would be happy if she became something special.

She thought she wasn’t happy now because she hadn’t done enough to set herself apart.

Maybe she could be like Cinderella. Or like Snow White.

So she specialized herself more and more and more. To a dangerous degree.

She innocently improved herself.

She became someone who did what no one else could.

Now, let’s take a peek at the answer.

How did that turn out for the girl?

Epilogue: Saving Her is Unconditional – Join_to…?

Shortly before the ending.

“Gh,” someone groaned.

It was Aradia, goddess of the night and the moon.

She had been quickly cut down by H. T. Trismegistus in the clash between Transcendents, but she remained vaguely aware of how the battle progressed afterwards. Since Alice made an appearance toward the end, perhaps she should have been thankful the young butler had cut her down when he did.

She found it hard to believe she now found herself in a carefree morning with an ordinary sunny sky overhead.

She slowly sat up.

(Good, Old Mary’s skill is as scary as ever.)

Her witch’s clothing was torn and bloody, but her skin didn’t have a single scratch. Although Good, Old Mary herself claimed the way she used death for her own purposes differed from a doctor who solely fought to save the patient’s life.

Aradia grabbed a needle and some thread from among the scattered rubble and sewed up her torn clothing while the entire consulate grounds continued to shake.

That boy was one of the witches Aradia was meant to protect.

The eyepatch god had informed her that he met her conditions for salvation.

But if Alice Anotherbible had released the seal of her safe and friendly children’s book, then a normal Transcendent like Aradia would be killed instantly if she tried to intervene. That would be meaningless.

(So what else can I do?)

Waterproof duct tape was crudely wrapped around her feet.

She would regain her power as a Transcendent if she removed that, but she frowned. She took a deep breath and stopped herself. She would be removing the tape eventually, but she could wait until she had put that boy’s mind at ease first.

She had already detected something else.

(Alice isn’t the only threat here!!)

She used her unsteady legs to take her away from the consulate where all the fierce fighting was taking place. It would have been impossible not to notice these people. They were probably hiding their presence to an extent, but they had to know it wasn’t enough to fool a magician with good instincts.

She could sense their insolent intent to silence anyone who discovered them.

She could hear them.

They blended into the crowd like they belonged there, but their group was possibly even more horrific than the Transcendents. They were whispering with a thin smile on their faces.

“I see it now.”

One was a woman in a beige habit with blonde hair roughly cut to shoulder length.

One was a golden retriever.

One was a goddess of wisdom created by stuffing a preserved corpse full of precision machinery.

One was…what even was that? A villain’s face sealed inside a large film canister?

And it almost looked like someone else’s face was visible in the shining hair on the back of the beige habit woman’s head.

“Aradia uses the triple goddess, Trismegistus creates a false god, and Good, Old Mary has her Tribikos. I can’t say for sure about the Bologna Succubus, but I can make some guesses based on the data we have so far. And it looks like Alice is using a children’s book as a seal.”

Not a single member of that bizarre group was an ordinary human. They were all monsters who could bring disaster or pestilence upon you if you so much as laid eyes on them, but they were rationally analyzing the world’s darkness.

They were revealing the secrets of the Transcendents.

“They might be an unlucky magician who was born to the human world yet acquired a spell that most people wouldn’t dare even consider because it breaks all the limits, is much too risky to use, and should kill you the instant it is activated. They might never have been human to begin with. And they might be a cunning priestess who can safely draw on the power of an abnormal being like that.”

The relevant terms had been seen in the magic side a few times already.

Even that boy may have heard them, although he may not have known the great meaning they held.

“They are all linked to the Holy Guardian Angels or Secret Chiefs in some way. Some by controlling them, some by receiving their grimoires or knowledge, and some by allowing one to reside in their body.”

Aradia was close enough to clearly hear the voice containing a self-deprecating smile.

“Come to think of it, my Aiwass was much the same. And he moved from me to you during the confusion of the battle against Coronzon in the UK. Whether you call him an intelligent extraterrestrial lifeform or a messenger of Thoth, you did indeed deserve the title of Transcendent if you had become his priestess.”

The film canister sang.

Almost like it was enjoying its own ruin.

“He belonged to me to begin with. And you don’t think that’s all there is to it, do you?”

Aradia froze while listening in.

But not because Anna Sprengel was leaking their information. No, this information clearly came from the woman in the beige habit.

“Yes, if Aiwass was all it took, then I would have taken the title for myself. Even if I was only temporarily borrowing him from you, Miss Sprengel. Trying to brag about him does seem kind of silly at this point, though.”

She didn’t hesitate to touch on the crux of the issue.

“All people can create a monster and become a god. Wasn’t that how you defined the Aeon of Horus before?”

The film canister laughed in response.

“But I was not talking about Alice Anotherbible.”

The beige habit woman clicked her tongue in annoyance.

And she said more with the look of someone being presented with a past failure.

“The microcosm and macrocosm are always linked. So anything that can be done in an individual human body can also be done in the world as a whole. For example, the magicians who serve the rose believe they can create a medicine to heal the world’s sickness in the same way ordinary medicines can heal human sickness.”

She did not stop.

She revealed even more.

“Are the Transcendents of the Bridge Builders Cabal a group meant to create a special being? Just as the position of the moon affects the tides, the positioning of those extraordinarily powerful Transcendents in their lab is meant to create something with an otherwise impossible deviation.”

That led to an obvious question.

And if she got past that question, Aradia and the others were truly done for.

“Every man and every woman is a star. If each of the Transcendents stands in the ceremonial ground with a perfect understanding of their role, they could act as a complex device to create something extremely powerful. An understanding of Crowley-style Magick is enough to reach that conclusion. …But what is it the Bridge Builders Cabal is trying to create? What is the intended end result of the precise positioning of all their powers, including Alice’s?”

That was where they stopped talking. They had noticed Aradia’s presence. And what did the witch goddess herself think that meant?

That group hadn’t thought they could remain hidden to the end. Their plan was to keep their secret by killing any troublemakers who discovered them.

Their eyes met.

The beige habit woman frowned just a bit while holding the film canister in her hands.

“You?”

“Uh, oh,” said Aradia, too late.

Anna Sprengel had made such a mess of the Bridge Builders Cabal, yet she had been so thoroughly defeated. Even if Aradia had been in top form, she may have had trouble escaping the onslaught of the beige habit woman and her gang.

But.

That wasn’t what concerned her at the moment.

“Quick question.”

“What makes you think we will answer it?”

“Since you’ve turned her into a face on a film canister, I can assume you and Miss Sprengel are enemies, right? This isn’t some big moral issue. I just need to know: is Kamijou Touma one of the people you hope to save?”

“Again, what makes you think-”

“If so, you need to get out of here immediately!! Damn, I really screwed this one up. This isn’t an issue of logic or rules. If he notices I’ve disappeared without a word to him, he’s going to follow me here. And that will bring him to the hidden side of the world where he doesn’t belong!!!”

But it was too late.

If Aradia had been told then that the beige habit woman was in fact Aleister Crowley, this may have made a lot more sense to her.

That human worked out his plans more carefully than anyone and they always ended in failure.

No matter where he started from, he would always fall victim to misunderstandings and confusion.

And this was no exception.

Kamijou Touma had chased after Aradia, so he saw everything here.

He didn’t know how it had happened, but he saw what remained of Anna Sprengel pasted to the surface of that film canister.

He roared.

By the time that mass of sound exploded out, Kamijou Touma was already rushing in with fist clenched.

Alice and the Bridge Builders Cabal had made it clear they intended to kill Anna Sprengel. They had prepared the Shrink Drink spiritual item for that purpose and called Mut Thebes, an execution expert, to Academy City.

And now he found Aleister’s group had taken away Anna’s body to hold her captive.

This was the boy who had clenched his fist and opposed the young butler and even Alice herself in his fury over their treatment of the witch who had personally killed him several times.

He of all people would do this.

He didn’t need a reason. He didn’t even need to like her. He only needed to learn of a cruelty playing out before his eyes and see someone backed into a corner.

He could find a reason to want to save her later.

He had said as much already.

Ordinarily, Aleister could have fought back in any number of ways. Or if that human couldn’t act, he could have given a command to the preserved corpse magician by his side and she could have defeated the boy without lifting a finger.

But he was caught off guard.

He had the look of a child after being struck out of nowhere by a trusted family member.

But Aleister wasn’t even Kamijou’s target.

Kamijou was focused on the film canister in Aleister’s hands.

His punches could destroy any illusion. With a comical “poof!!” sound, the little villain reappeared, clutching her baggy dress to her flat chest.

“Damn.”

Kamijou himself appeared to be biting his lip.

Miss Sprengel was undeniably a bad person for all the suffering she had caused on a whim.

But Aradia knew exactly what the boy was going to say next. He wanted to eliminate all hard feelings between him and his defeated enemy. He wanted to avoid a situation that would require killing her. The waterproof duct tape around Aradia’s feet was in fact a reaction to his failure with that villain.

So…

His hand moved right past the human to grab someone else’s hand.

“Run away with me, Anna Sprengel!!!”

Kamijou Touma ran through Academy City, pulling the little villain along by the hand.

Witch Goddess Aradia was with him too.

(Where are Index and Othinus? They were with me at the consulate, but what happened after that, dammit!?)

He was worried, but there was no turning back now.

A lot of people were gathering at the consulate, so he had to hope those two could escape in the confusion.

For now, he had to ensure Aradia and Anna were safe. Once that was done, he would have attention to spare on seeing if Index and Othinus were alright.

That said, he wasn’t sure where he could actually go.

Academy City, Alice’s Bridge Builders Cabal, and now Aleister. Too many people wanted Anna Sprengel dead. There might not be anywhere she would be safe.

“Why?”

Anna Sprengel was baffled.

She had chosen the path of evil for her own enjoyment and looked arrogantly down on everyone else, but now she had encountered something that made no sense at all to her.

“Why would you put yourself at risk to help me escape?”

“Shut up. I’m not happy with you, but I can yell at you once we’ve escaped. Make no mistake. I haven’t forgiven you for what you did to St. Germain, what you did to Helcalia and Melzabeth, or anything else! But that’s not enough of a reason to take someone’s life!!”

“But you have no reason to help me. Do you have any idea how many enemies you’ve made with this move? You should have stayed out of it and let me die, or at least pointed and laughed while I was shown off as some kind of living mouth of truth.”

“I don’t care!! Maybe I don’t have a reason now, but that just means I have to find one later!!!”

Kamijou crouched and reached for Aradia’s feet. Or more accurately, toward the waterproof duct tape covering everything from her ankles on down.

“Are you ready? I’m going to remove this, Aradia.”

Aradia narrowed her eyes.

It was true that relying on Aradia was about his only option at the moment. This was well past the point where Imagine Breaker alone was enough.

She assumed that was his reasoning, but…

“I can’t get you caught up in this. I’ll unlock your magic, so get as far away from here as possible. Do you think the Bridge Builders Cabal would let you back in? If not, find somewhere else to go.”

“…”

“Just please don’t hurt any innocent people while you- gyahhh!?”

His weird shout at the end came from Anna and Aradia punching him simultaneously.

“O-owwww…”

“This fool’s nonsense doesn’t count obviously, so what are we really going to do?”

Aradia winked and directed the question toward the villain who even she saw as a traitor.

“There’s something off about his neck and arm. That one sleeve is torn away too. It’s hard to tell since the arm is back, but I’m guessing his right arm was severed. I would suggest we not use this idiot who’s so fired up about saving anyone and everyone. Not when he can’t get Good, Old Mary’s help anymore. Besides, I’ve seen reports that the body starts rejecting her resurrection if she uses it too many times.”

“So the body remembers something about it like with anaphylactic shock?”

“More or less.”

Good, Old Mary’s resurrection only magically tricked the body. If she could truly resurrect people without any risk or downside, she would have been deified under a different name.

Furthermore…

“The Bridge Builders Cabal has more Transcendents than just the ones in the consulate. One word from Alice and plenty more dangerous characters will gather from around the world. And don’t forget that the ‘drink me’ Shrink Drink and Mut Thebes are still out there. Not even you can avoid all of that.”

(Technically speaking, the group that was binding Anna is not Kamijou Touma’s enemy. For now anyway.)

Aradia understood how twisted the big picture had gotten here.

And with that in mind…

(But if Kamijou Touma tries to convince them to let Anna Sprengel go free, they’re going to say no. She escaped them even after they went as far as to turn her into a film cannister, so they won’t have many options left. They won’t see any option but to kill next time.)

Meanwhile, Anna Sprengel whispered to herself.

“That’s right.”

They were surrounded by enemies on all sides, but there were holes in that encirclement.

For example, Academy City was Anna’s enemy, but what about Kamijou’s personal friends? The same applied to the Bridge Builders Cabal. The Bologna Succubus and Good, Old Mary had chosen to stay with unstable Alice, but Kamijou might be able to convince them to take his side.

No one else could do it.

But after coming this far, Kamijou Touma had a chance.

The odds were not zero. And taking the life of someone stupid enough to fight for the losing side would not satisfy Anna Sprengel’s mischievous heart. For better or for worse, she was searching for a ruler, so she wasn’t interested in adding insult to injury.

The little villain made up her mind about something and then raised her hands as if in surrender.

“Fine, fine. Just this once, I will use my trump card.”

“Anna?”

“I had been saving this one to wipe the smirk off Aleister’s face after he used Kingsford to seal me in that film canister, but your right hand dealt with all of that for me. Using my trump card here seems like a fair trade.”

She made it sound so simple.

Then she pulled out her trump card for battling Kingsford.

In other words…

“Hear the voice of the Secret Chiefs’ priestess and show yourself, Holy Guardian Angel Aiwass. Behold the power of the Transcendent who refuses to side with the Rescuers or Killers and is, in a way, even more unusual than Alice within the Bridge Builders Cabal☆”

Between the Lines 5

However, the witch’s story is not over yet.

The girl of the red rose continues her journey even now.

Afterword

If you picked them up one at a time, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This time, I focused on Academy City at New Year’s. I hope you enjoyed the strange scene of everyone visiting a shrine in a city of science. And once you were tired of that Japanese meal, I supplied a Western meal with the Bridge Builders Cabal Consulate.

Come to think of it, it might be unusual for me to have three days pass in a single novel.

I used Aradia, the Bologna Succubus, and Good, Old Mary in Volume 6 to give you a baseline for how strong Transcendents are, but here in Volume 7, I feel like I focused more on what makes them unusual. Their idea of mechanically deciding to save anyone who meets conditions A, B, and C is actually the complete opposite of Kamijou who will reach out his hand even without a reason to do so. …I also had Kamijou himself shift up a gear by saying he would find a reason if he didn’t already have one.

I felt like Good, Old Mary could seem too much like the frog-faced doctor if I didn’t use her right, so I made sure to mention in the novel how they differ. The frog doctor fights only to save lives, which I feel makes him something Good, Old Mary couldn’t be even if she tried since she is also a powerful fighter. Think of it like a multitool being convenient, but it can never be treated like a simple corkscrew or screwdriver when one of its tools is a knife.

Also, the Bridge Builders Cabal is a gathering of Transcendents who carry tremendous destructive power but whose bodies aren’t necessarily sturdy enough to survive that power, so I think they would have more accidents than a normal magic cabal. Like someone blowing themselves up by failing to sufficiently restrict the backlash of their spell or someone’s head getting caved in during a boke and tsukkomi routine. In that sense, mama might just be one of the most valuable people in the organization. …Would that make her more like the Dagda even though she’s a mama character?

I think another important point this time was the Accelerator family and the Aleister family. One of them is having a normal heartwarming time, but the other is growing more and more bizarre. Not one of that group is a normal human, not even Aleister since he’s borrowing the body of a great demon! But maybe it’s a testament to Aleister Crowley’s broadmindedness that he fits right in there. I mean, can you imagine him getting along with a normal person?

I give my thanks to my illustrators Haimura-san and Itou Tateki-san and my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, Nakajima-san, Hamamura-san, and Matsuura-san. January 1 is a day for dressing up!! That and all the Sisters walking around in Academy City couldn’t have made it easy. Thank you again.

And I give my thanks to the readers. Happy New Year! It’s January 1!! Now, the shrine visit is a standard event, but it’s surprisingly hard to make it cute. Kamijou ended up buried in identical girls begging for New Year’s money and the Tokiwadai girls were dressed in furisodes, so I hope you felt an enjoyable atmosphere there. Anyway, thank you.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

I love how easy it was to get Tessou to show her true colors.

-Kamachi Kazuma

Ending

“…”

That human didn’t move for a while.

He stood stock-still, unable to do anything.

“Kee hee. Ee hee. Ha ha ha. Ah ha ha ha!”

Mocking laughter filled the air.

It came from the great demon who had lost most of her territory when her flowing blonde hair was cut short.

“Yes, yes, this is such a delight!! It has been far too long since I’ve seen that look on your face!!”

The preserved corpse sighed next to him.

That was Anna Kingsford.

“One 🗣️ to me and I could have solved everything.”

“I couldn’t…”

He responded with his head lowered and his voice vanishingly quiet.

“I couldn’t possibly do that.”

Aleister hadn’t been considering anything extra this time. He had simply noticed Anna Sprengel and the Transcendents of the Bridge Builders Cabal moving to make a mess of Kamijou Touma’s life, so he had come to Academy City to stop them. That was truly all he had wanted to do.

He said more.

He could have stopped. The truly smart knew not to speak on and on for no reason. Anna Kingsford had already proven that with her own way of life.

“I’ve only done the right thing this time.”

More and more words spilled out of him.

“If I hadn’t crushed those executives during the war in Los Angeles, R&C Occultics wouldn’t have fallen. Melzabeth and Helcalia would have wasted their lives on meaningless revenge.”

Once it all broke down, this was who that human really was.

Everything he held inside burst out through the small crack that had formed.

“I said I would deal with Academy City’s dark side, but he rejected that and charged into the depths of the darkness himself!! What the hell!? Didn’t he hear what Alice said!? She told him plain as day that he would die!!”

He spat out his resentment like it was his own blood.

He was used to unfair treatment. In fact, it was unusual for things to go his way. That was a lesson he had learned long ago.

“Then he goes and dies multiple times in Shibuya! And after all that, he didn’t even notice Anna Sprengel approaching!! If I hadn’t woken Kingsford and sent her after Miss Sprengel, he would have lost Aradia and everything else too!!”

Kihara Noukan didn’t say a word.

He simply looked away from his old friend and lit a new cigar.

“I wanted to save Kamijou Touma… For once in my life, I wanted to be the one who saves someone! That, dammit, that really was all I wanted!! Why!? Why does this always happen to meeee!?”

Even when you start with kindness and have the ability to act on that kindness, sometimes it doesn’t work out.

The ache he felt in his chest came from the hostility he felt coming from someone he had gone to such lengths to help.

Miss Sprengel could not be contained by a prison cell.

The only way to capture her without killing her was to at least take away her arms and legs.

But the boy with ordinary sensibilities hadn’t understood that.

He wasn’t here anymore.

“Hee hee hee.”

Anna Kingsford leaned gently against the human. Just like an older sister seeking attention from her shy little brother.

That was probably something that Aleister had never been able to find.

“What do you want?”

“Now, now. Do ❌ be like that.”

Until now, Anna Kingsford had only seen Aleister as a temporary traveling companion while she served those around her. She would obey him as long as it aligned with her purposes, but she would eliminate him and gain her freedom as soon as he stood in her way.

In fact…

If Aleister had panicked and ordered her to attack that amateur high school boy, Kingsford would have easily defeated Aleister and sided with the pointy-haired boy. She was the sort of expert who showed no mercy to that sort of wicked magician.

But Aleister hadn’t done that.

No matter how much it made his heart ache, he had said he couldn’t do that.

That appealed to her.

Even if he was hopelessly awkward. Even if the magic he was so desperate to make use of seemed like little more than a crude game to someone who had mastered that path as much as she had.

It appealed to her so much that she wished she had accepted him as one of her troublesome children even earlier than this.

And so Anna Kingsford smiled.

That great goddess of wisdom smiled and spoke.

“For now, cry your eyes out, Aleister.”

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