A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 15 Page 15

  “!!”

  “There’s nothing sadder than plastering false emotions over real ones. You should share your happiness of surviving this with that near-dead girl over there.”

  The two got into the elevator, Hamazura unable to stop them, and the automatic doors closed.

  He looked down at the Crystal case at his feet, then at the unresponsive Rikou Takitsubo, and slowly sat down.

  If she uses her ability a couple more times, she’ll break down…

  Hamazura, being a stupid delinquent, didn’t know what “break down” entailed, exactly. But he could guess it was nothing good.

  What should I do?

  He peered at her face. Her body wasn’t even twitching. No sign of her waking up, either. She must have put a lot of excess strain on herself, too, since she was covered in a layer of thick sweat.

  Rikou Takitsubo had fought Kakine until she’d gotten like this.

  Probably to save Shiage Hamazura.

  While borrowing the power of these Crystals he didn’t understand.

  “…” He quietly clenched his teeth.

  It didn’t amount to enough to be called resolve, and it wasn’t refined enough to be called determination. But he still had something now—something to drive him, to move his own arms and legs with.

  “Damn it…”

  He couldn’t return Rikou Takitsubo to Item. Their system would gladly replace official members if they disappeared. Even if he brought her there in her critical state, they’d cruelly force her to use her ability.

  As his hands trembled, he took the ladies’ gun out of his sleeve. He pulled the magazine out and checked his ammunition. It couldn’t hold much, given how narrow the grip was built to be. Besides, even with thousands of bullets on him, could he really overcome the crisis he was about to face? Academy City’s underworld would chase Takitsubo down, and even Item had enemies. Could he fight them all?

  “God damn it!!”

  He had to.

  If they made Takitsubo use her ability any more than this, it would really be over.

  Then Kinuhata, lying on the floor with her, looked over at him without moving anything else. She seemed to guess the situation from his irritation. “…Well, that’s probably the right thing. Take Takitsubo somewhere else and disappear, please.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I didn’t say anything you needed to thank me for. I’m just insulting you. I’m saying that the only thing super-useless people like you and her are good for in Item is holding us back anyway.”

  Despite that, a little smile was on her lips.

  She wasn’t unharmed, either. Blood was trickling from her lips. But she saw him act for Takitsubo’s sake and smiled anyway.

  “Is there anything I can do before I leave?”

  “…Well, you could use code five-two to contact our ancillary organization and get an information concealing unit and an ambulance here, please. As you can see, I can’t move.”

  “All right,” said Hamazura. It pained him to leave her here, but for now, he had to take Takitsubo and escape.

  In any case, we’re fine as long as she doesn’t use her ability. She’ll have to retire from Item, but that’s a lot better than “breaking down” or whatever, he thought.

  But just then, his cell phone rang.

  On the other end was Shizuri Mugino.

  “Haamaazuraaaa. Would Rikou Takitsubo happen to be with you?”

  “…Are you all right?! You were fighting Kakine, and, and…!!”

  “Quit making such a fuss. It’s time we started our counterattack on School. We’re using Takitsubo’s power and chasing them. If she’s there, bring her here, now. We’re getting results even if it kills her.”

  6

  Hamazura, with the corpse-like, unmoving Takitsubo on his back, left the building. He wasn’t obeying Shizuri Mugino’s orders and making her use her ability. Quite the opposite. He would run as far away as he could, so that she would have no part in Item in the future.

  He was on a short bridge now. It wasn’t water flowing underneath, but a railroad track. It was one of the parts of the subway line that went aboveground. A sports car was parked on the other side of the bridge.

  “So I don’t know what’s going on, but you want me to take her, yeah?”

  It was an Anti-Skill officer named Aiho Yomikawa who had gotten out of said car and was now putting a hand on her hip in exasperation.

  The escape routes and hiding places they used were also used by all of Item, which meant Mugino would easily find out. He decided the better plan would be to give her to someone with a completely different escape route.

  “Hamazura, you know what my job is, right? I’m an Anti-Skill officer, ’kay? You think I’d let you escape alone after coming to me in this extremely suspicious situation with an unconscious girl on your back?”

  “…Shut up,” said Hamazura, gritting his teeth. Yomikawa frowned a little—his irritation seemed different. He went on, “If you want an explanation, I’ll tell you whatever you want later. I’ll attend whatever I need to! Take her and bring her somewhere safe, and fast!! She’s seriously messed up right now. She was using some Crystal things and now she could break down any second!!”

  “Crystals…? Wait, Hamazura, did you just say Crystals?!”

  Yomikawa’s expression changed completely just from that one word, but Hamazura didn’t explain.

  He didn’t have the time.

  “…Haaamazuraaa.”

  Suddenly, he heard a voice from behind.

  He turned around and saw Shizuri Mugino, covered in blood, on the other side of the short bridge. Some blood was hers, some wasn’t. She was dragging some rags in her right hand—and he knew what they were.

  “Frenda…”

  To be more accurate, only her upper half.

  Her lower half was nowhere in sight, and dark red dripped and dropped from her terminus.

  “Oh, yes. It looks like School scared her, so she betrayed Item and tried to go into hiding. I cleaned her up real nice…And what’s this, now? I don’t have to clean you up, too, do I?”

  Mugino let go, and what was left of Frenda dropped to the ground with a blotch.

  She wasn’t paying attention to her trophy anymore.

  That showed the depth of their friendship.

  Hamazura grimaced at the sight—clearly a corpse, unlike Takitsubo. But he still wouldn’t waver. He pushed the girl on his back onto Yomikawa and said quietly, “…Please, go.”

  “Hamazura, like I said, I’m an Anti-Skill officer. I could never use a child as a shield in this situation—”

  “Go, damn it!!” he shouted, interrupting her. “I know you can’t leave a murder case alone. But she’s in a different dimension! I can’t tell you the details, but Frenda was really strong herself. And that woman killed her, no problem! Just take Takitsubo and get out of here!!”

  After that, his expression about to break down, he looked at the unconscious Takitsubo.

  “Please…I don’t want to let her die. For a while, I haven’t had any idea what to do, but now I finally found something. So please, go. I can’t protect her alone. Without your help, I’ll lose everything!!”

  “Hamazura…”

  “Anyway, what chance would you have alone?! She’s a Level Five. The fourth-most-terrifying monster in Academy City! I’ll buy you time, so you get Takitsubo out of here!!”

  The words seemed to tear his throat apart. Yomikawa sucked in her breath at his fierce look. She hesitated—but nevertheless, spurred by the glint in his eyes, nodded at last.

  “Once I’ve brought her somewhere safe, I’ll get fully equipped officers here right away. Don’t die before then.”

  “…Right,” he answered.

  Yomikawa decisively got into the car and stepped on the accelerator. The sports car, with Rikou Takitsubo on board, quickly sped away.

  He heard someone whistling.

  Hamazura looked over just as the Level Five Shizuri Mugino was c
rossing the bridge and approaching him.

  “A fight with your life on the line? How exhilarating, Hamazura.”

  “I—”

  It was just when he tried to say something.

  Mugino, now close to him, waved her hand horizontally. He took the hit, and his body went flying to the side. With a dull crack, the bridge’s metal handrail dug into his gut. The shock brought bile up into his throat. The power almost left his limbs as he hung across the railing like a futon set out to dry. Right under the bridge, he saw a subway train going by on the tracks.

  “Quiet. I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

  Ignoring Hamazura’s moans, Mugino crossed the rest of the bridge.

  She hadn’t used her power as a Level Five. It was just brute force. She’d purposely made him yield to physical strength so he couldn’t use their relative levels as an excuse.

  She hadn’t given up yet. She wanted to know where School was even if Takitsubo “broke down” because of it.

  “Ha-ha,” he laughed anyway, still limp on the handrail. “You sure you don’t want to just finish me off?”

  “Eh?” Mugino turned an indignant glare on him.

  Then her eyes went wide.

  The case of Crystals that Rikou Takitsubo had been using was in Shiage Hamazura’s hand.

  “She absolutely needs these to use Ability Stalker, doesn’t she?”

  “You bastard…!!”

  Before clear rage could make it into her eyes, Hamazura went over the metal handrail and jumped off the bridge.

  A subway car was passing by just at that moment.

  He crashed into the car’s roof. People usually perceived them as flat, but subway cars actually had outer air conditioners and such on their roofs, making them fairly uneven. When he landed, he rolled several times, his skin tearing as though he’d been dragged over a grater, and the momentum almost carried him straight off the car. But he managed to dig in and stop.

  Sprawled out on the subway car’s roof, he grinned. Looks like I managed to shake her off. Without these Crystals, she can’t make Takitsubo use her ability. I don’t have to fight her. As long as these don’t make it into Mugino’s hands—

  Suddenly, with a massive jolt, the train car stopped.

  He slid across the roof. As he stopped himself and looked up, startled, he saw Mugino standing far behind them on the rails. Like Hamazura, she’d jumped off the bridge. Her hand was deep inside the ground—the ground within which the electric cables for Academy City’s subways ran. Mugino had used her ability to sever those cables, forcing the train car to come to a stop.

  A few hundred meters away, Shizuri Mugino said something.

  He couldn’t hear her, but he could read her lips.

  Now. You’re. Dead. For. Sure.

  7

  Hamazura, on the train car roof, got the message from Mugino.

  The Level Five had stopped the car by force, and now she had a sharp, enraged grin on her face.

  “…!!” Hamazura’s hair stood on end. He quickly jumped from the car roof and ran across the gravel. He was blocked off on either side by concrete walls, like this was a man-made river, but spotted a metal staircase interrupting one. He ran up those stairs and burst out into the streets aboveground.

  He cast a glance over his shoulder.

  Mugino was ascending the stairs, not far behind. In spite of the twenty or thirty meters between them, she was staring straight at him through the crowds. She’d already locked onto Shiage Hamazura as her prey.

  Shit!! I can’t even shake her in a crowd!!

  He kept on running, slipping between the people enjoying their days off. But he soon reached his limit. He looked around, then headed for a nearby building. Without checking if the door was locked, he basically gave it a shoulder tackle to force open the entrance and rolled inside.

  “…Damn. Where am I…?”

  This wasn’t a normal company building. Trees a little taller than Hamazura were planted all over the floor. A wire netting hung overhead, and the trees’ branches tangled around it. Grapes. He looked down and saw a line of hydroponic containers. The bluish-purple illumination must have been ultraviolet light to stimulate photosynthesis.

  An automatic manufacturing plant for vegetable ethanol fuel?

  Research on gasoline substitutes had come a long way. Sugar cane and corn were the usual culprits, but judging by the purposeful choice of grapes, which had a low alcohol production rate, it probably meant the grapes were of the finest quality, with a serious consideration on branding. Apparently District 3’s celebrities wanted even the fuel they put in their cars to be different from the norm. Were they trying to make their engines drink wine, or what?

  “What a nice place.”

  The voice came from directly behind him. He tensed.

  “That’s some good sense to choose an unmanned facility, Hamazura. It’s best if you’re the only one to die.”

  Before he could turn around in a panic, he felt the impact.

  Gwa-thud!! With a nasty noise, Hamazura’s body flew several meters away before hitting the ground. In grand style, he overturned the hydroponic containers, cracked through several grape vines, and kept on rolling along.

  The one hit, liable to kill him outright, caused intense pain all over.

  It was very strange that none of his bones were broken.

  “Damn it…!!”

  Hamazura dragged his bruised body out of the room. There was a staircase, so he went up it. Upstairs, he found rows of silver machines twice his height and straight metal piping connected to them. It looked like a beer production plant, the kind he saw in commercials once in a while. They were fermenting grapes and using the alcohol content from them, after all, so it was probably mostly the same on the inside. There would have also been machines to concentrate the alcohol and convert it into automobile fuel.

  Compared to before, there were more blind spots.

  She might be a Level Five, but that doesn’t mean she’s invincible.

  Hamazura wriggled through the intricate pipes, then pushed his back up against the wall of a machine the size of a small room, desperately searching for an advantage.

  Back when I got attacked by that crane truck outside the Particle Physics Institute, she didn’t use her power to destroy the wrecking ball. And with the subway before, too—she didn’t try to stop the speeding car itself. She aimed for the power line in the ground.

  He clenched his teeth against the pain going through him and looked for a way out.

  She’s incredibly strong, but I bet she needs a certain amount of time to take aim. In other words, she’s weak to surprise attacks. She shouldn’t be able to deal with a sudden attack from the shadows.

  That wasn’t because her power was commonplace, but rather a weakness born of it being too strong. Unless she was meticulous and defined her ability’s area of effect, she could get herself caught in it.

  Whatever the reason, he didn’t care, as long as she had a disadvantage.

  With all the obstacles there, Shiage Hamazura should have had some chance at victory.

  But…

  “Haaamazuraaa.”

  One word. Just hearing the voice made Hamazura’s body scream of danger.

  Abandoning all logic, he went down to the floor—and a moment later, it came.

  Zzzhhhaaa!! A rain of light rays.

  Pure-white, unhealthy-looking rays of light lashed out in all directions from around the woman named Shizuri Mugino. They were special electron beams, each fired with as much energy as a lightning strike. Electrons, like light, exhibited properties of both particles and waves, depending on the situation, but Mugino could control electrons in a vague state between those.

  When these electrons, stuck in an ambiguous state, collided with an object, they wouldn’t be able to determine which response to exhibit—a wave or a particle—and would end up “stopping” in place. The mass of an electron was supposed to be infinitely close to zero, but because of this stopp
ing effect, they would turn into a pseudo-wall, which would smash into the target with terrible force, given the speed the electrons were fired at.

  That was Meltdown.

  Its formal classification: a high-speed particle-wave cannon.

  Unlike the number-three Railgun, this Level Five could control electrons without using either waves or particles.

  Each of the light beams destroyed metal like it was paper, melted down thick walls, and painted everything in an orange hue. As though heat had made it to the already-produced alcohol, small explosions were triggered in a few places. Hamazura managed to avoid a direct hit, but a metal fragment the size of a guitar pick stabbed into his left shoulder. And it didn’t stop at one—three or four more followed.

  “Guh, ahhhhhhhh!!” he screamed, holding his bloody shoulder.

  If his cover was in her way, she would make short work of it. With everything reduced to rubble and the room now flattened, Hamazura and Mugino hopelessly faced each other.

  “The machines around here—they’re just like those things you use to scoop goldfish. Uhh, I forget the name. Anyway, none of this can block my Meltdown.”

  Academy City’s number four.

  She’d reduced all the machines covering the room to rubble in a single attack. She’d wrecked all possible cover, even doing major damage to the outer walls—and with the building itself now in danger of falling, Mugino stood in the center of the destruction and slowly, slowly widened her smile.

  “According to those shithead scholars, my biological instincts put a safety on my ability, so this is all the power I can use. But I hear that originally, it could instantly kill Railgun. I guess that’s just me complaining, though—if I actually did it, the recoil would apparently blow my own body to pieces, too.”

  Fear washed over Shiage Hamazura like a wave.

  The Level Five monster merely approached him without a word.

  8

  Shizuri Mugino’s Meltdown fired with overwhelming force.

  With the rubble behind him, Hamazura ran for his life, trying to get as far away from her as he could.

  As he fled from the vegetable ethanol plant to another part of the building, Mugino called out.