Toaru Majutsu no Index-Volume 20, Chapter 4: Now is the Time to Strike Back. Heroes_Congregate.

Part 1

The three attack helicopters supplied by the Russian army flew across the white landscape. The large helicopters flew at 300 kph and were loaded with a large amount of ammunition. The sound of their rotors was deafening. Helicopters gave the image of making a great din as they flew through the sky, but the military ones were ingeniously constructed so they flew almost silently.

These were different from that ideal design.

They were quite different from the American military ones that were small, fast, and quiet. The mere fact that each one required 3 people to pilot it showed that they were not the usual type of helicopter. The kings of the skies felt no need to hide. In exchange, they could load as much ammunition as possible and damage the enemy as much as possible. That was the point of those helicopters.

Dogfights that required both speed and mobility would be completely left to the fighters like the Migs and Sukhois, so battles against other helicopters were not even taken into account with their design. Instead, they were designed to utterly destroy targets on the ground. After all, those attack helicopters belonged to the army instead of the air force.

“Nice. This layout isn’t bad,” muttered one of the privateer pilots.

They did not have common nationality, religion, race, gender, or age. Even their favorite genres of music were interestingly mixed.

They only had one thing in common.

They wanted to kill people and they wanted to do so in a one-sided way.

“This is a prototype developed by one of the large armies hovering between being 1st or 2nd in the world. I love it. In a side scrolling shooter, this would be the player’s craft.”

“This isn’t just a test run for the craft itself,” said another pilot in a transmission from one of the other attack helicopters in the formation. “This is a strategy test to see whether a large craft can realistically be used for something like this. The theory this operation is based on might not even work. ...If the actual Russian army were doing this, they would be using the basic pattern of using smaller helicopters and fighters. There could be some disadvantages to this. Particularly, our larger width will make us easier to attack from the ground.”

“That doesn’t matter. We just have to take them out before they take us out. We just have to fire a missile from long range before we even get in range of their weapons. That’s what the larger helicopters are for. Just like in a side scrolling shooter, we just have to fire like crazy without worrying about how much ammo we have left.”

As they spoke, they were getting closer to the target point.

It was a small village that seemed to be full of nothing but rubble.

It seemed the armored vehicle and anti-aircraft gun that had gone in first had met resistance and been taken out. However, they didn’t particularly care. It didn’t matter if the other privateers had been captured or killed. They were just looking forward to their own battle that was about to begin.

The pilot tightly gripped the stick (that unnecessary strength in his grip made it clear he was self taught) and yelled out excitedly while listening to the sound of the rotors.

“Ah ha ha!! Let’s kill them!! Kill them all!!”

Part 2

A low growl escaped Accelerator’s throat.

A line of large vehicles was stopped a few dozen meters away. The back of one of the vehicles had been destroyed. The door at the front of the vehicle opened and a boy got out onto the snow.

It was the boy who had once singlehandedly stopped the experiment that called for the killing of the 20,000 Sisters.

Accelerator understood that his rage towards the boy was nothing more than an outburst of anger. His words had no legitimacy or consistency. Anyone watching on would certainly see Accelerator as the one in the wrong.

But if the hero that had stopped that ridiculous experiment were to die for such a ridiculous reason, if the existence Accelerator held up so highly within him as holding tragedy in check were to disappear so easily...

Then the world would probably really and truly come to an end.

“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

He screamed.

The black wings on Accelerator’s back spread out explosively. They stretched to greater than 100 meters all at once and he swung them down towards that Level 0 boy’s head as grand weapons.

With a great noise, that strike that held the power to split a skyscraper in half vertically came down.

And yet the targeted boy was not turned to a pile of meat.

It was due to his right hand.

He raised that arm above his head scattering the pitch black darkness.

“...”

Accelerator’s lips twisted slightly.

What was he thinking deep in his heart now that the boy had not died in the first strike?

Accelerator himself was not entirely sure and he swung the black wings again.

This time it was a horizontal strike.

That strike seemed like it would slice apart every object in the world at chest level and it flew mercilessly towards that Level 0 boy.

The boy once more repelled it with his right hand.

But the situation was not the same.

The boy who had negated the black wings wobbled to the side as if being pushed by a force.

Accelerator knew.

That boy had a secret that allowed him to negate even Academy City’s #1 Level 5 power with a touch.

However, he could not do anything about an attack that blew away everything in a fixed area like a large and strong wind or plasma. Perhaps the boy could not negate an attack that exceeded a certain level of destructive power, perhaps he could not negate a power that affected a large area, or perhaps he did not possess the ability to negate secondary physical phenomena that were caused by a power. Accelerator did not know what the true answer was, but he still knew he could beat down that Level 0 boy even if he didn’t understand the reason or workings behind it.

In other words...

(I’ll smash him to pieces with overwhelming force not giving him a chance to fight back!!)

He could feel a dull pain deep in his head.

It felt like his right brain and left brain were being split apart and something was bursting out from within.

It was not a normal feeling.

He wasn’t even sure it was part of his powers as Academy City’s #1 Level 5.

He didn’t know what was going to happen.

He might even just disintegrate away.

(So what?)

Accelerator gritted his teeth.

Right there in that place, he had to muster all his strength and truly go all out as he fought.

A wind roared.

One of the wings turned into dozens of sharp stakes and flew forcefully towards the Level 0 boy who was running towards Accelerator. Instead of aiming for that small target from many different angles, the attack was more like a carpet bombing of an entire area that the boy happened to be in.

A shock wave exploded out.

White snow and black dirt exploded up greater than 10 meters into the air obstructing Accelerator’s vision. He could tell huge cracks had appeared in various places on the ground. Distant seismographs had likely detected that shaking.

The boy who had been in the center of the blast could not be fine.

Even with the ability to negate powers with his right hand, he wouldn’t have been able to intercept every single attack.

He had certainly been damaged.

There was no way the Level 0 boy could have saved himself.

And the shock waves created by even one of the dozens of stakes held enough destructive force to smash a human body to pieces.

It had to be over.

With that victory, Accelerator had lost some form of hope.

And yet...

A figure shakily stood before Accelerator.

That Level 0 boy stood on the other side of the dust of white snow and black dirt.

Of course, he was not unscathed.

The boy’s clothes were covered in dirt, red blood was leaking from his temple, and his center of gravity seemed to be tilted to the side.

Even so, the boy stood.

He stood on his two legs that would not fall.

“Ha ha ha...” Accelerator laughed weakly.

He didn’t understand. That attack was not something the boy should have been able to handle with just his right hand. However, Accelerator clearly laughed. He seemed to be enjoying it. He seemed to enjoy the fact that the theory behind his supposedly undefeatable attack had been overturned.

To him it looked like the image of the unstoppable rails of fate being easily overcome.

“Ha ha ha ha ha!! Gya ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!”

Accelerator laughed as he gathered even greater power into his black wings.

An even worse noise started to come from the inside of his skull.

The Level 0 boy clenched his fist and ran toward Accelerator.

This time, they were not testing the waters.

The true clash began.

Part 3

“They’re on their way,” Digurv muttered with his head sticking out of the top hatch of the anti-aircraft gun and binoculars in one hand.

Hamazura was in the front of the anti-aircraft gun sitting in the seat that allowed him to control the treads and move the vehicle around. He had nothing else to do. Piloting the vehicle was similar to operating a piece of construction equipment like a digger, but he didn’t have the specialized skills needed to operate the radar and aim the guns at the targets.

Hamazura peered out a horizontal slit made of reinforced glass and asked Digurv a question while looking at the snowy plain outside.

“Are they attack helicopters as you thought?”

“Yes, three of them,” Digurv responded without looking over at Hamazura. “They’re of a type I’ve never seen before. They’re quite large. This mission might be doubling as a test of a prototype.”

“Russia has a history of focusing on developing large helicopters,” the frostbitten Russian soldier added.

It seemed his name was Glickin.

“It seems the world’s largest transport helicopter has about the same loading capacity as a C-130 transport plane. Only Russia would try to build a helicopter like that ignoring the practicality of it.”

Hamazura could tell his face was paling as he listened to Glickin’s words.

“If the helicopters are that large, that means they have a lot of ammunition and bombs packed inside, doesn’t it?”

His traced his fingers along the unrefined levers of the controls.

He was trying to calm himself by checking on the existence of their own weapon, but it didn’t help at all.

“Are we really gonna be okay against a cutting edge prototype? Dammit. A busted anti-aircraft gun isn’t enough to take on something like that.”

“No, we might actually have a chance because of that,” Digurv said refuting Hamazura’s words.

“?”

“It’s possible they’re letting those rogue privateers carry out the test rather than the actual army because they don’t have too much faith in those prototypes. If those attack helicopters had been well tested and proven in actual battle, then we would have almost no chance of winning.”

“Either way, our lives are on the line though.”

“Here they come.”

Digurv’s quick comment created great tension within the vehicle.

“...They’re most likely the type of helicopter that focuses on high speed hit & away tactics. They can’t make tight turns, so they fly through the battlefield in a straight line and then make a large U-turn before returning.”

“In other words, this is like a gunfight in a Western. The only way to win is to exchange bullets as they pass.”

The sound of the large rotors resounded throughout the area.

Even through the small slit in front of Hamazura, three shadows could be seen in the white sky. At their current speed, they would pass by overhead in no time at all.

Basically, they could not let those helicopters get by them.

If they couldn’t stop them, they would kill all of the villagers who were fleeing.

“Begin!!”

As Digurv yelled, Hamazura grabbed the lever to control the treads and Glickin reached for the equipment to rotate the gun turret.

The battle began.

When the attack helicopters were 300 meters away, the anti-aircraft gun opened fire. While the space between shots was a bit greater than with a normal machine gun, the sound of each shot was deep and low-pitched like a drum.

The attack helicopters were flying in a formation where each one was the corner of a triangle, but they scattered upon hearing that noise. As they did, an orange spark flew from the surface of one of them. A bullet had hit it. However, it was not shot down.

“Do they have thick armor to go along with their larger size!?”

“Hamazura, turn around! Missiles are going to be pouring down like rain!!”

Hearing Digurv’s shout, Hamazura forcefully backed up the vehicle. The steel treads bit into the ground throwing snow about as they forced the heavy vehicle along.

Treads gave the impression of being slow, but they were in a military vehicle. From the display on the speedometer, it seemed it was set to reach speeds of up to 70 kph.

But the attack helicopters darting through the sky were much, much faster.

“Heh heh heh.”

Meanwhile, the pilot of one of the attack helicopters tightened his grip on the stick and licked his lips in excitement. He could blow that anti-aircraft gun to pieces with either a machine gun or missiles. He would leave the airspace, make a large U-turn, and then lower his altitude to gain the speed needed to aim for the target.

“Idiots! If you survived, you should have just pretended to be dead!! That might have raised your odds of surviving a little!!”

With its attack having failed, the anti-aircraft gun seemed to be desperately trying to flee. However, nothing would work as cover with all the sensors the attack helicopter had. The pilot raised the safety cover on the top of the stick with his thumb and pressed the red button that fired a missile.

A small missile with white smoke trailing behind it shot towards the anti-aircraft gun. It was already too late for them to attempt to evade. The treaded vehicle simply didn’t have the speed needed to do so. It seemed they were trying to flee into a forest of tall conifer trees, but it was too late to hide. The missile had already been fired.

“Ah ha!! Blow them to pieces!!” yelled the pilot, but things did not turn out as he wanted.

The vehicle had hidden behind the branches of the tall conifer trees. The missile struck the tops of the trees that were spread out like a roof over the anti-aircraft gun.

Flames and a shock wave spread out, but the anti-aircraft gun was unharmed even with its thinner armor compared to a tank. The trees were blown to pieces by the missile and the pieces rained down over the area.

And...

“Learn the purpose behind an opening, you pieces of shit!! Glickin!!”

In response to Hamazura’s yell, Glickin operated the lever controlling the gun turret. A surface-to-air missile equipped on the side of the machine guns fired off into the sky.

It flew up toward the sky that had previously been obstructed by the trees.

However, the missile flew through the opening created by the attack from the helicopter.

“!?”

The pilot’s throat dried, but the missile did not fly towards him. Instead, it struck one of the other helicopters that was flying alongside and preparing for a second wave.

An explosion and black smoke stained the Russian sky.

The attack helicopter became an orange mass and crashed into the white snow-covered ground creating an even bigger explosion.

However, the pilot felt no sorrow over his fellow privateers being shot down.

He only felt anger towards his business being given a bad name.

“Let’s make it rain,” he said into the radio contacting the other remaining helicopter. “The trees obstruct our missiles, so let’s turn them to Swiss cheese with a shower of machine gun fire!!”

The two helicopters moved away from each other. They U-turned and headed at high speed toward the forest where the anti-aircraft gun was hiding.

They started firing from two different directions at the same time.

The anti-aircraft gun hurriedly hid itself among the trees, but the same trick would not keep working. The attack helicopters’ sensors detected a large metal object and they could tear through the trees like paper with their 30 mm Gatling guns. Their cover would not work that time.

But then the pilot looked at the radar again.

“Ah!?” the pilot exclaimed in puzzlement.

The radar display was odd. He was confused for a second, but he still accurately operated the stick. He opened fire on the ground with the Gatling gun.

Matching the movement of the helicopter, a straight line of bullets raced along the white ground.

A number of thick trees splintered to pieces and large holes were opened up in the mass of metal hidden there. It wasn’t just a few holes. They continued along one after another like from a giant sewing machine.

An explosion spread out within the forest.

He had utterly destroyed his target...or so he thought.

The pilot’s expression was not one of joy.

“Hey, what’s going on?” The pilot’s expression was one of disturbance and irritation as he spoke to the other privateers. “Why did the number of objects on the radar grow!? It didn’t feel like I actually hit something!!”

If there was only one anti-aircraft gun in the forest, that phenomenon was impossible. And then a transmission came in answering his question.

“Look, it’s a car! To avoid being targeted, they hid all the vehicles from the village around the forest!! We targeted the wrong metal object detected by the—!?”

The transmission cut out.

Orange sparks flew. The other attack helicopter’s armor had been penetrated. The helicopter had been hit by an attack form the anti-aircraft gun and it exploded in midair.

“...”

The remaining pilot had the option of returning to the base, but he did not choose to do so.

One reason for that was the blood rushing to his head.

But the bigger reason was the fact that the spray of machine gun fire before had mown down most of the trees in the forest. The anti-aircraft gun could no longer hide. Even if they tried to hide among the other vehicles, it would not lead him astray when he could see the thing by sight.

“You. Are. Dead.”

The pilot withdrew to a distance where the anti-aircraft gun could not reach him and then made a large U-turn.

He would end this in the next run.

Without any cover, the anti-aircraft gun finally had no way of avoiding the attack from above.

“Gya ha ha ha ha ha ha!! I’ll turn you to Swiss cheese!!”

Part 4

British and French magicians were fighting atop the solidified ocean surface in the Strait of Dover. The British forces were advancing due to Second Princess Carissa and the knights heading to the front lines. The knights were especially helpful as they were receiving power from Curtana Second using the mobile fortress Glastonbury. Knight Leader was using his spell that allowed him to nullify the power of any weapon he was aware of. Ignoring the usual national border, the knights were wielding their swords freely.

They were pushing back the French magicians, but Knight Leader’s expression was not a positive one.

“...I suppose it just goes with the job to fear that a string of easy wins is just the enemy’s preparation for a hidden weapon.”

“Given who we’re up against, that isn’t exactly unlikely.”

“...”

Knight Leader remained silent after hearing Carissa’s response.

Common sense wouldn’t cut it against their opponent.

The tactician on the French side was known as either the brains or the Holy Woman and she had a strange disposition characteristic of France.

She was a Femme Fatale.

Joan of Arc. Marie Antoinette. Women whose mere presence greatly affected the history of the country whether she herself was good or evil appeared in France again and again. This tactician was yet another example. She was too valuable to just execute and too fearsome to just be set free. As such, she had been imprisoned below Versailles by the French government.

With her as their opponent, it may have been odd that the normal theories were working.

Or perhaps they were already being affected by her Femme Fatale atmosphere by the mere fact that they thought there was something else there.

“The normal method will not work on them,” said Carissa almost off hand. “If they think of themselves as cornered, there is a danger they will start acting violently in a way that would be impossible using normal military actions. Do you know what we must do to prevent that?”

“?”

“We conquer this battlefield without even giving them time to be thrown into disorder. We fight so hard that the enemy is pushed past fear and into dumbfounded amazement.”

“I would rather you did not underestimate us,” said a voice of unknown origin.

It was the Holy Woman who acted as the brains commanding the French magicians from afar.

But Carissa smiled.

“It’s true that you might be able to turn this battle around if you showed up directly,” Carissa said while being protected by a large number of knights. “But you can’t leave Versailles no matter what. Those pitiful long distance attacks aren’t enough to take out my knights. No matter how smart you may be, it doesn’t change how strong the soldiers on the battlefield are. Using your strength well and pulling that strength above the limit are two very different things.”

The second princess smiled, but there was a tinge of disinterest in her tone of voice.

“Our goal is not France. We don’t have time to deal with you, so just open up a path for us without bringing on unnecessary damage. You’re supposed to be the brains, right? Don’t tell me you can’t even figure out what the best course of action is here.”

“Heh heh,” the Femme Fatale laughed. “You know I am a person who uses her head, so why did you never think of this possibility?”

“What?”

Carissa narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

Knight Leader who was standing next to her was blown away by a huge impact.

“!?”

Carissa did not even have time to be surprised.

A woman had suddenly flown over. She was wearing a splendid dress mostly made of loose white cloth. However, in contrast to the dress, her skin was unhealthily pale and her eyes were sunken in. She was holding a sword, but it did not suit her. It was a similar image to a youth who spent all his time reading books in a corner of the library swinging a baseball bat around.

She was...

“...Having me take action is actually the best plan for France.”

The showy Western sword that was mostly red and gold turned in Carissa’s direction.

Knight Leader reacted first.

“To zero!!”

That statement should have nullified all attack power of the weapon the Femme Fatale held. It should have become even more harmless than a sponge.

However...

“How naïve,” the Femme Fatale stated quietly. “The histories of England and France are actually surprisingly intertwined. In fact, the British King William I was originally a French noble.”

As she did not take any immediate action, she may have been certain of her victory.

“...Your spell does not work on weapons related to the Royal Family, correct?”

“Ah...!?”

Seeing Knight Leader’s surprise, the Femme Fatale swung her Western sword.

Its speed exceeded that of sound.

It was most likely a special sword that used spells unique to France similar to Curtana.

Carissa had no means of defending herself.

The knights were borrowing power from Curtana Second, but Queen Elizard held the sword itself. Carissa was not receiving the benefits of the sword and even if the knights threw themselves in front of Carissa to protect her, the Femme Fatale’s sword would slice straight through that shield and continue on to slice through Carissa.

And then...

A high pitched clang rang out.

The blade in Second Princess Carissa’s hand competed with the supposedly unstoppable strike.

She was supposed to have lost Curtana Original at the end of the coup d’etat.

Curtana Second was with Elizard, so Carissa should not have had any power.

“Durendal, hm?” Carissa said.

Her body had not been sliced in two. She was completely unscathed. Carissa alone was smiling as their swords were locked together at close range.

“How?” muttered the Femme Fatale.

Carissa was holding a silver piece of metal only a few centimeters long. A sword of light was protruding from it. Given the power of the weapon the Femme Fatale held, that should not have been possible. She held the sword of France. It was the destructive power of France itself. To compete with that, it had to be Curtana, but...

“You’re the one that said the histories of England and France are surprisingly intertwined.”

“What?”

“It’s the same idea that your king, Charlemagne, had. He put a fragment of a holy spear in the hilt of his sword to give it sacred power and value, right?”

“You don’t mean...?” The Femme Fatale looked back at the small piece of metal. “That’s a fragment of Curtana Second!?”

“When I fought my mother, Curtana Original and Curtana Second clashed. This is a byproduct of that. ...But I never expected it to display this much power just by being in the hands of a member of the Royal Family. Just destroying it isn’t enough. I truly hate this sword because of all these loopholes and secret tricks. ...I hate it enough to start a coup d’etat over it.”

An explosion of magical power was created between Carissa and the Femme Fatale.

They both fell back a bit and held their swords up again.

“Having me take action is actually the greatest secret plan for England.”

Part 5

Accelerator made a simple move.

The black wings behind him both swung downwards. Except, that this time his target wasn’t the Level 0 teen that’s running towards him,

But towards the empty white land in front of him.

The sound of an explosion rang out.

With the massive destructive power, large amounts of earth got swept up, and formed into a 15m high and 300m wide tsunami made of earth. The entire vista got covered by it, and it struck as if to swallow the tiny lad.

He should be dead with this attack.

Even if he was wearing military-use power armor, his body of flesh and blood would be crushed along with the synthetic materials of the body armor.

Even so.

Pacha!!* The Level 0 charged right into the soaring earth.

His body got pummeled by massive amounts of rocks, but none were fatal attacks.

“...”

Accelerator was shocked at first, but soon figured out his tactics from the situation.

From previous reports about Academy City’s #3, Railgun, who Accelerator had faced off against before, in the rumors associated with the Railgun, there was one saying that an unknown Level 0 existed that could match against the Railgun using only his right hand.

This raised many questions.

For example, even if a right hand that could negate any ability exists, how could the one using it match his opponent’s timing?

A railgun attack was over three times the speed of sound, and lightning strikes were even faster. Even with a method of defending himself, to be able to time it right was extremely difficult. Even missing the timing by only an instant would probably result in death. In that situation, how could the scenario "Every single attack is negated easily" happen?

From the situation now, Accelerator could make a rough estimate.

In other words,

Precognition.[1]

For example, when the Railgun used her ability, she would give off weak magnetic fields and electromagnetic waves that would make the metal items around her resonate. Because of the eventual large explosion, the Railgun herself probably wouldn’t notice these tiny vibrations like an earthquake’s precursor. ‘To see the invisible magnetic force, spread iron sand onto it to make it visible to the naked eye’, just like an elementary school experiment. So, because of these “An Involuntary Movements”, there would be hints to when the Railgun would attack.

Of course, that was not all.

That was not the only kind.

Even though her ability was more common compared to Accelerator’s ability, she was still the #3 esper of Academy City, and shouldn’t be blocked that easily.

There were probably other reasons as well.

For example, the lightning strike.

If it was only high voltage electricity flow, by extending his right hand the lightning would be attracted onto it, with the right hand acting like a lightning rod.

Also, the iron-sand sword.

Apart from the sword in her hand, the iron sand around her would also change shape due to the magnetic force. In other words, a ‘visible magnetic path’ would be formed that could be used to predict where the strike would end up. Depending on the situation, he could even negate the sword without coming in contact with it just by touching the iron sand around him.

Sometimes the path to victory would change.

Was it using the most powerful ability one possessed, or the aftermath from that ability?

According to different tactics used, the path to victory changed along with it.

What was most important wasn’t whether there was a chance to victory, but to never rely on only one form, and look at the problem from many different viewpoints. Above all, look for the best method to resolve the current situation. Even against the same kind of espers, the same kind of tactics might not be suited to be used. Even if it was just lightning strikes, depending on how it was used, different tactics may have to be taken.

Because of this, battle tactics were always changing.

By depending on the defense from the ability to negate any ability to avoid being killed instantly, to buy time and use it for maximum gain. By experiencing the impacts on one’s own body and using that data as the basis to find the best way to get out of the situation alive.

Just having brains wasn’t enough.

Just having the power wasn’t enough.

Only by combining the two it was possible to barely succeed.

In the situation where death was only a hair's-breadth away, having the courage to keep his body and thoughts moving probably helped a lot as well.

But,

The Level 0 probably didn’t realize it himself.

How to use his ability in its fullest potential, using the aftermath as a basis, and then change tactics to fight according to the situation. He was probably just combining those with his reflex. As for the Railgun making everything made of metal vibrate around her, he probably didn’t take note of it explicitly but took it in using his peripheral vision, and processed it deep inside him. So, success was not guaranteed. On the other hand, if he actively tried to take note of these things it was more likely to fail.

But,

Just taking Accelerator’s attack and surviving was exceptional in terms of battle ability. Even if anyone else had this power in their right hand, how many could get the same results?

Taking only the supernatural abilities into account, he definitely couldn’t be called ‘strong’.

Even if taken everything into account he might still only be at a ‘weak’ level.

But because that was so,

This teenager knew the meaning of fighting with all his strength if he wanted to live.

“ “Uwooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhh!!!!!!!!” ”

The roar of the two overlapped.

The Level 0 charged in to where his fist could reach his opponent.

Accelerator raised one of his black wings.

The two attacks flew past each other, and the Level 0’s attack hit only an instant earlier. Accelerator’s face got blown backwards, and he lost his balance. The black wing’s path got diverted slightly, and missed the Level 0 by millimeters.

A shockwave erupted.

With the raging wind, not just the Level 0, even Accelerator got blown several dozens of meters away. Both of them got up from the snow-covered ground, clenched their fists, and charged right at each other.

From inside Accelerator’s heart, something black surged out.

It was not directed towards the Level 0, but towards something more indistinct. The hatred and anger towards this illogical and unreasonable world burst out in the form of words.

“Why!! Why didn’t anyone save that brat!! Aren’t you a hero! The hero that stopped that ‘Experiment’ with only one fist!! Then go save her! If you can do what no one else can, then you can definitely save that brat!!”

Accompanying the roar, an even larger power surged through the black wings.

At the same time, something that was crumbling in his heart started to fall to pieces.

He could no longer stop.

Even the action of remembering Last Order’s smile could no longer stop the violence.

“It’s ridiculous that a villain who was no better than a piece of shit like me was guarding her!! No matter how you think about it something must have been wrong!! How could I possibly be a hero!! No matter what, I can only choose the blood-stained path!! Why do I have to do all these things!! If a hero like you had shown up earlier, then something like this mix-up of position wouldn’t have happened!! That brat would not had to have suffered as much this way!!”

While the two exchanged blows between fist and wings, the Level 0 probably didn’t know why it had turned out this way either. Accelerator himself probably didn’t know what he wanted to say; it was just air passing through his lips, no one else should be able to understand him.

Instantly, both of them went silent.

They moved their gaze towards the small girl collapsed on the ground.

Then,

The black wings swelled up even more than before.

The pair of wings split into over a hundred, and attacked the Level 0 from all angles.

At the same time where the sound of explosions and shockwaves ran rampant, the ground started to tremble dully.

“(He should be dead now... it’s impossible for him not to be.)”

Accelerator thought.

It was impossible for that not to be the case.

Even so,

“Why...”

Accelerator let out a sound that was almost like a groan.

In the end it turned into a mighty roar.

“Why couldn’t a hero like you just die?! If you die, then everything can finally break apaaaaaaaaaaart!!!!!!!!!!!!”

He heard the reply.

Right in front of him, the teenager that clenched the blood-covered fist spoke:

“... things like heroes are unnecessary.”

Footsteps rang out on the snow.

Fist and wings collided.

The air shook, many attacks impacted, and blood flew out.

“Does a Level 0 like me really seem that incredible?! Hero? Villain? Stop kidding around! Can’t you save someone if you’re not standing at that spot?! In front of your eyes are people that don’t wish to cry that are crying! In front of your eyes are people that can only clench their teeth while struggling and can’t even say the words ‘please save me’! Is that not enough!! Just step up already!! You don’t need special positions or reasons!! With these, you can step up and be a shield for them!!” After letting out those words, the Level 0 became stronger.

Those words weren’t just directed at Accelerator.

His words also slashed away at his own uncertainty.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to protect, nor do I know what you have been hurt by. But, if you want to protect that child then do so with your chest held high!! Here and now, be proud in knowing that you are protecting her!! This is your life right? Then decide for yourself!! If you want to protect everything with your hands then do so, if you want to abandon everything then do so. But, what do you yourself want to do right now?! Can you really be satisfied giving your most important thing to someone else that you don’t really understand?!”

Explosions erupted.

The black wings flew erratically.

Snow and earth flew up high into the air.

But the Level 0 did not fall down. Facing the massive attack that looked like it would swallow him, he protected his vital points and advanced forward.

Thump.

Accelerator felt a chill down his spine.

Until today, Accelerator thought the most frightening thing about Level 0s was their resourcefulness when facing high-leveled espers. Charging in head on and then taking advantage of the small thing the powerful esper missed to deal the decisive blow there.

That was the most terrifying.

Yes.

With the resolve that refused to give up no matter what happened, the enemy that charged towards him right now was the most terrifying existence. The strongest esper of Academy City finally noticed this.

And as proof:

“(That last attack...)”

Accelerator gulped.

“(Even the weakest of those attacks hold destructive power that isn’t possibly something a human body can handle, right?!!)”

Those things didn’t matter.

The source of his terror was not those superfluous theories.

What was most important right now was ‘the most terrifying enemy’ closing in. f𝚛e𝗲𝔀e𝚋𝑛o𝘃𝒆𝗹.c𝗼𝒎

At this time, Accelerator remembered something.

Before, in the cargo holding area fighting the Sisters during the ‘Experiment’, the same kind of clash had happened. 𝒇𝘳ℯℯ𝚠𝙚𝑏𝗻𝑜ѵ𝑒𝙡.co𝑚

Wasn’t the most terrifying thing about that teenager being that he never gave up, and stood with his own two feet under circumstances where that could not possibly happen?

“Just choose already...”

The Level 0, just like back then in the blood-covered cargo holding area, charged towards the Academy City’s strongest esper. “Do you want to keep protecting with your hands? Or do you want to give it all to someone else and run away? Or do you want me to give you a hand in choosing!!”

That fist,

Clenched to the point where it couldn’t get any tighter.

“Whether it be pride or whatever, for whatever can make you hold your chest up high, just choose already!!”

A roar exploded out.

The sound of the Level 0’s fist struck surely onto Accelerator’s face.

After stepping onto the path of ‘Evil’, the power gained after many coincidences, the black wings do not work against that teenager.

No,

Actually,

The thought of that it is necessary to step onto the path of ‘Evil’, was that only a shackle? No matter what, what he had to protect at any cost was Last Order’s smile. This had nothing to do with where she was located. If someone truly wanted to protect her, it didn’t matter if he himself was ‘Good’ or ‘Evil’, he didn’t even have to surpass people like Kakine.

The kind of person whose shadow he had been chasing all this time was probably an existence like this. It was not because of ‘Good’ or ‘Evil’. And it was because Accelerator didn’t consider this, that the ‘pure Evil’ Accelerator could not reach him. If that was the case...

Accelerator thought even as he fell backwards.

The fantasy that had occupied his heart for all this time had shattered.

And so,

Lessar, the magician travelling with Kamijou Touma, watched their battle from afar.

Observing from the angle of magic, the black wings of the mysterious attacker were like an embodiment of terror. But even more frightening was Kamijou Touma who could suppress even those wings.

“(Just then...)”

Lessar was going over what she had just witnessed once again in her mind.

“(That guy... caught one of the black wings that split into more than a hundred branches and twisted it...?)”

That boy’s right hand seemed to have the effect of negating any supernatural power. But, because of limits there were cases where massive powers that couldn’t be negated completely ended up only blocked by the right hand. From what she had seen, Fiamma’s special giant sword had taken a while before it was erased completely.

Normally speaking, being unable to negate something completely... should be a disadvantage for him.

But,

Just now, that teenager used that ‘flaw’ to deliberately grab a black wing he couldn’t negate completely. Then twist the wing to make the attacker lose his balance, and create a small safe area when he was surrounded completely by the black wings.

Negation and disruption.

Matching his opponent’s strength, and using his ability for the maximum benefit.

Had this cruel war provided an opportunity to greatly enhance that teenager’s power?

But,

“(With only that... is it really possible to have gotten out of that situation...?)”

Even if he could use his right hand to ‘hold’ onto the massive power, just that it was not enough to handle the problem. Even if Lessar had the same power, it would impossible for her to get out of that kind of situation no matter what.

If that was the case,

What exactly just happened?

Was there really no logic to this?

Or was it...

Part 6

Accelerator’s vision flickered in and out.

In his vision, the world was on its side and he could see Last Order. She was still buried in the cold snow. Accelerator finally frowned at that fact and then noticed that someone was crouching down over the girl.

When he entered Russia, that may have been enough to pull the trigger of murder within him, but at that time he could not move.

Crouching next to Last Order was a spiky haired boy. He was staring at the small unconscious girl’s face, but he finally moved his right hand toward her forehead. It was a similar action to checking to see if she had a fever.

From that alone, something happened.

A high-pitched noise similar to something solid being shattered echoed throughout the vast white land of Russia.

Accelerator did not understand what that meant.

His consciousness sank into darkness once more.

When he next came to, Accelerator was inside a vehicle.

It was not a civilian car. There was no interior meant for people to ride in or even any windows. Most likely, he was in the back of a truck. The unrefined metal floor and walls raised his caution. He thought that an underground organization from Academy City might have captured him.

But he quickly remembered the convoy made up of various vehicles that spiky haired boy had been riding in. Accelerator might be inside one of them.

There were no vibrations.

The truck was stopped. They may have reached their destination before Accelerator came to.

Last Order was lying by his side.

The unhealthy sweat that had previously been flowing from her body was gone for some reason. That spiky haired boy’s right hand might have had some sort of effect when he had touched her before Accelerator had lost consciousness.

However, he was pretty sure that effect was only temporary.

He could use his vector transformation ability to accurately read the disturbances in a human’s brain waves. When he used that power to check Last Order’s body, he could tell the root of the problem had not been fixed.

Even if she was stable then, it would eventually return.

But the fact that his time limit had been extended remained.

Accelerator did not know what to make of the situation. He felt the pieces of parchment next to him. He found a small memo left next to Last Order’s small body.

Given the timing, it was most likely from that spiky haired boy.

He grabbed the scrap of paper and it said: Index Librorum Prohibitorum.

Just before Accelerator had left Academy city, Aiwass had told him to remember that term.

There could be a connection.

The boy’s memo might have been pointing toward the key to saving Last Order.

Suddenly, the back door of the stopped truck was opened from the outside. Light flowed inside. The large blond-haired blue-eyed man who had opened the door spoke to Accelerator.

“Welcome to the Elizalina Alliance of Independent Nations. I don’t know how much we can do, but how about we work together to come up with a way to heal that girl?”

Accelerator did not respond.

He merely squeezed the memo in his hands and hung his head in front of Last Order.

He almost looked like a white angel lifting up a prayer.

And a being that surpassed humanity smiled silently in a distant city of science.

It was known as Aiwass.

A normal human may have been covered in a cold sweat. That was the nuance the smile held. The being spoke with that smile on its face that no one else knew the true meaning behind.

“His right hand truly is interesting.”

It was rather unclear whether being deemed “interesting” by Aiwass was a good thing for a human who wished to live a proper life.

Aiwass did not possess any thought patterns that cared about the life of a mere human.

That existence only took actions that followed its own interest.

“Perhaps I should have gone to meet him before he left the city.”

Part 7

The forest they had been using for cover was gone.

One attack helicopter remained.

They could no longer fool the attacker in the sky. It was truly 1 on 1. If they didn’t bring it down then, the privateer attack helicopter would slaughter the fleeing villagers. Among them was Takitsubo Rikou who could not move on her own. Hamazura and the others had to win.

And yet...

“Oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Everyone within the confined area of the anti-aircraft gun yelled. Even Hamazura and Digurv who were not actually touching the trigger raised their voices.

The attack helicopter approached.

A line of bullets raced along the ground.

The attack helicopter was going all out and it was quite fast. They couldn’t hit it with the machine gun. They had a missile lock, but firing it would likely be useless. Normally, surface-to-air missiles were fired from behind a fleeing aircraft. The odds of hitting an object flying in at high speed were low. The surprise attack using the trees as cover had only worked because the enemy had been late in evading because they were sure that no counterattack was coming. The missile was of no use when the enemy was on full guard.

Glickin had said it was like a gunfight in a Western.

Their bullets would cross and the one that hit the other first would win.

That was what Hamazura thought.

But the attack helicopter had the clear advantage.

(Shit...!!)

Hamazura desperately operated the treads to move the vehicle away from the approaching line of bullets. But he wasn’t going to make it. The helicopter subtly adjusted its path so it was aimed straight for the anti-aircraft gun again.

It was over.

Hamazura yelled out Takitsubo’s name and a noise that felt like it was squeezing his heart exploded out. It was the sound of thick metal panels being penetrated.

His consciousness wavered.

His breathing literally stopped.

However, Hamazura did not die.

The sound that had slammed into his ear drums had not been the sound of the anti-aircraft gun being blown away.

The ominous noise had come from the attack helicopter flying through the sky.

It was the sound of a 3.5 meter sword skewering the helicopter horizontally.

The letters on the side that said “Ascalon” seemed burned into his eyes.

“...Hah?”

Hamazura let out that stupid-sounding voice in response to the ridiculous scene. Even though his life had been saved, part of him did not want to accept what he had just seen.

Meanwhile, an even more unreasonable reality unfolded before his eyes.

Someone had jumped on top of the attack helicopter flying 20 meters up in the sky. Yes. Someone had jumped up from the white ground. It was a large man wearing blue clothing. He was holding the grip of the large sword that had stabbed into the helicopter. He then swung the sword around.

That king of the sky was thrown about like a toy hammer.

Obeying gravity, the large man landed in the center of the snowy field. At the same time, the large sword slammed into the ground. The attack helicopter exploded and orange flames scattered about the area.

“Stealing the enemy’s weapon and continuing to fight in order to protect the people from unspeakable cruelty and to stop the shedding of unnecessary tears is most admirable,” a low male voice said from within the flames.

He was speaking in fluent English and even Hamazura could just barely manage to pick out a word or two he understood.

Immediately afterwards, the flames were blown out from within.

A mass of water perhaps created from melted snow floated about the man. It was an unnatural sight like seeing a drink spilled in zero gravity.

“I do not know the details of the situation, but I, Acqua of the Back, will be presumptuous enough to lend you my help.”

Various feelings crossed paths and the chance meetings of the protagonists created even further stories.

The time to fight back had begun.

As long as they continued to run forward without losing sight of their goals within that large and intense war, that world that continued to bring smiles to people’s faces would not be so easily destroyed.

Notes

1. ↑ The full the translation of this ability's name is Premonition Perception. While the more concise word Precognition is used throughout these translations, this ability is different from what one normally expects of precognition.