She began to wonder how she could alter the path of the story. If she was going to cause something new to happen, she could always break the entire bridge.
But her thoughts were interrupted.
“Stop right there, young ones.”
Mikoto was unable to even spot the one who produced that graceful female voice.
She was simply struck by a sudden punch to the cheek and she flew over ten meters through the air. She flew from the sidewalk, across the road, onto the opposite sidewalk, and finally into the metal railing. With a loud crash, dust flew into the air and hid her from view.
“E-ehhh!? Are you okay, Misakaaa!?”
Kamijou was dumbfounded, but he had seen who had made the surprise attack.
Kanzaki Kaori was expressionlessly clenching her fist.
“It seems you believe this space is I Don't Want This First Story of A Certain Magical Index!!, so I must give you a warning.”
“B-before that, I want to see if Misaka is okay! And why did you choose such an acrobatic entrance, Kanzaki-san!?”
“No reason. It certainly was not because I always receive such a cold welcome and this girl always receives such a warm one.”
The ponytailed older girl remained perfectly expressionless.
When Kamijou shuddered and glanced around, he spotted a shrine maiden on the edge of the bridge holding a metal pipe.
But Kanzaki continued speaking with no concern for Kamijou’s condition.
“Two possibilities have presented themselves. I Don't Want This First Story of A Certain Magical Index!! or I Don't Want This Final Story!! The starting point and the goal. They are two extremes.”
“Eh? But isn’t it…?”
“Yes, it is July 19. But it might be one year since Volume 1. The current year and your and Misaka Mikoto’s ages have not been mentioned.”
“Th-then is this the final volume?”
“I am saying that we do not know. This might actually be the starting point. That is why we must find the answer. Is this the starting point or the goal? What we must do will change based on the answer.”
Kamijou realized she was right.
When Kamijou gave an admiring comment, Kanzaki seemed to cheer up a bit.
“For the moment, let us work together. No matter what troublesome battles present themselves, you should have no trouble with me around. I will take care of all that, so you focus on determining whether-…”
Kanzaki did not manage to finish.
An orange beam of light, a Railgun, had flown in from the side and struck her face. With an explosion, her body was enveloped in dust.
“Gwaaaaah!?”
Her shout was accompanied by several tremendous crashing noises.
“E-ehhh!? Are you okay, Kanzakiiii!?”
Kamijou paled and he saw Mikoto slowly standing up in the corner of his vision. Her uniform was in tatters and her skin was covered in scrapes. A trail of blood flowed from her mouth and bluish white sparks crackled around her.
“Now you’ve done it. You’re a maggot that never even managed to become a pesky fly. Act like the side character you are and stay isolated in your British dorm, you idiot!! Gwa ha ha ha ha!!”
As she laughed, Mikoto fired Railgun after Railgun. Kamijou could only cover his head with his hands, crouch down, and tremble.
But someone else refused to remain silent.
That was Kanzaki Kaori herself.
“Nhhhhhhhhh!!”
After she blasted away the dust with pure force of will, a red light filled her eyes and she glared at Mikoto with her teeth bared.
“Someone who is safely in Academy City cannot possibly understand what it feels like to be shoved into the Anglican women’s dorm which is referred to as side character storage!! How do you expect me to be involved with the main character like that!?”
“Is it just me or has your character changed a bit!?” shouted Kamijou, but Kanzaki did not respond.
She reached for the hilt of the huge Japanese sword at her waist while charging toward Mikoto. Mikoto must have sensed that her major ability of the Railgun was not going to be enough because she began intercepting with lightning spears and iron sand swords.
Several unpleasant destructive noises followed.
The bridge was supposedly built to withstand earthquakes, but it began to shake like an unreliable suspension bridge. Kamijou had been almost completely abandoned and he could only cower on the ground.
Not really?Idk Saint stuff that well. Isn't Brunhild the bottom of the Saint totem pole which Kanzaki defeated?
I think Misaka could win with the A.A.A. with constant aerial bombardment but not w/o it. Then again her projectiles are vastly slower than the electron laser feats ppl use.
- NT6, page 155Academy City espers may have possessed quite a bit of power, but Brunhild Eiktobel possessed the rare qualities of a Christian Saint. And on top of that, she also possessed the rare qualities of a Norse Valkyrie. The two abilities worked against each other and the upper limit of her power changed over a set period like the waxing and waning of the moon. However, she did not currently appear to be having any problems related to that.
St. Peter's spell?I think Misaka could win with the A.A.A. with constant aerial bombardment
Anyways, Kanzaki consistently operates on a level beyond Misaka.Kanzaki Kaori referred to that.
There was one legend about Peter, one of the twelve apostles. He had confronted a magician named Simon Magus who was famous for trying to buy sacred acts. When Simon had freely flown through the sky, what had Peter said?
It was...
"Oh, demons carrying this magic user, promptly let go!!"
Flight was prohibited.
That barrier existed for all magicians living in modern times.
That means of interception had spread too far due to it being simple yet both powerful and effective, and due to it being based on a famous story. Thanks to that, humans were restricted by the fact that they would be brought down the instant they tried to fly without wings.
(I can't allow myself to be led astray.)
That magician's strange appearance had led to her forgetting something very basic.
The Throwing Hammer was not a spiritual item or a weapon. It was a living human being.
A voiceless voice let out a cry that was something like a shock-wave.
The perfectly controlled giant circle was crushed in an instant. The Throwing Hammer lost control and slammed into the fortress with a high voltage current trailing behind it. When it hit, a massive amount of sparks exploded out, but it was nothing compared to the destruction that had been about to be fired.
***
With a sound like plastic boards folding, the Throwing Hammer changed from the flat plane back to the cube. It gave up on flying and seemed to be trying to roll away from Kanzaki.
But it was no use.
When the magician Simon had been brought down, he had died. For magicians, obstructing the opponent's flight was not just something that brought the opponent's altitude down to zero. The effects depended on what part of the story about Peter was being most strongly emphasized, but there was always something more than the simple damage from the fall added in.
As such, the expanded cube was unable to return to the proper cube.
- New Testament Toaru Majutsu no Index Volume 2 Chapter 4 Part 8
More importantly, Yuisen oneshots- nothing Misaka can do to protect against that.In the next instant, Kanzaki drew Shichiten Shichitou and stabbed the tip forcefully into the stone floor as if she had timed it.
She cut into the stone like it was made of tofu and then felt a different type of resistance.
In other words, she felt herself slicing through the high voltage current and neutralizing it.
(There are legends of swords slicing through lightning in Japan. In a country with such harsh changes in the weather, you cannot name yourself a magician if you do not have an understanding of how to deal with a thunder god!!)
That was what magic was.
It exceeded the laws of physics and brought one to an absurd battlefield.
If she messed up the timing of her attack, she would receive the attack head on, so she could not let her guard down, but she could deal with spells of that level.
Isn't that only for magical means of flight?St. Peter's spell?
Anyways, Kanzaki consistently operates on a level beyond Misaka.
She is superior in speed. Misaka might barely be able to keep up but even Brunhild was so fast that Misaka could not even see her and had to rely on EM Radar to perceive her moments- Misaka was on the defensive the entire fight.
Besides, Kanzaki counters her, she has magic that can deal with electricity.
More importantly, Yuisen oneshots- nothing Misaka can do to protect against that.
She has supernatural luck, counters electricity, and only has to land a single blow on an opponent already slower than her. I don't see any scenario where Kanzaki loses.
All flight without wings-Isn't that only for magical means of flight?
And before you bring them up, magical Mobile Fortresses explicitly have counters to that.That means of interception had spread too far due to it being simple yet both powerful and effective, and due to it being based on a famous story. Thanks to that, humans were restricted by the fact that they would be brought down the instant they tried to fly without wings