Toaru Majutsu no Index

Volume 4, 3: The Descent of the Angel that Harms This World

Volume 4, Chapter 3: The Descent of the Angel that Harms This World

Part 1

On the taxi ride back, Kamijou didn't utter a single word to Kanzaki.

Right now, he was thinking about Misha. Comparing running to taking a car, there was no contest. Kamijou and Kanzaki should be faster than Misha in returning to the resort. However, Misha might hitch a ride on the way back.

"..."

Kamijou tiredly closed his eyes.

While closing his eyelids, Kamijou seemed to see the photo that had been switched and became so weird.

It seemed like that wasn't the only photo that had been switched. The photo album that was hidden in a certain corner should be the same. Of course, that went for all the photo albums in the world.

Even if it was a faded eight centimeter film that was filmed during elementary school.

Even if it was a greeting card with a photo of a baby on it.

Even if it was a couple who tried to squeeze into the small image and kept their bodies tightly together as they took the photo from a camera.

Those should be important memories to everyone.

They were memories that couldn't be stained or twisted.

(Why must you do this...damn dad...)

Kamijou sighed heavily.

It seemed like even the sighing voice was forcing Kamijou to focus.

The sky was already dyed orange when Kamijou and Kanzaki returned to the Wadatsumi resort.

The colour looked like fresh blood or flames to Kamijou, and he shuddered.

Misha...she's not here yet, right?

Since Touya was the culprit, someone would come to take his life.

And it wasn't the fangs of the devil, but an ally of justice.

Even so, being worried about Touya, Kamijou rushed into the resort frantically. No matter whether it was good or evil, those came secondary. Kamijou was simply worried for his father. However, that thought landed him on the evil side, which really caused Kamijou to hate it.

"Eh? Onii-chan, where did you go?"

On entering the house, he saw Mikoto lying in front of the electrical fan and licking the ice popsicle while watching the television.

(Lucky...)

Kamijou thought. At least that meant that Misha, who knew the truth, didn't take someone as a hostage.

Mikoto, who was lying on the floor, didn't seem like she intended to get up. She puffed her cheeks and said to Kamijou,

"Onii-chan! You disappeared all of a sudden! Everyone was so worried about you! Everyone stopped playing and went to look for you! Since you wanted to go out, you should have told someone or left a note—"

"Dad? Where's he?"

Having her words interrupted suddenly, Mikoto widened her eyes in shock. Kamijou didn't know how he looked like now, but he knew that his voice sounded like he was about to cry at any moment.

"He should be at the seaside? I don't know the exact location, everyone went to look for you. Ah, I'm not lazing around, I'm in charge of contact. Onii-chan, you better say sorry to everyone. Really."

Oh. Kamijou nodded his head.

Then, Kamijou was about to face his own father. Maybe he should have apologized about this.

"It's my job now. You just need to stay here."

Kanzaki said with a cautious tone,

"I'll protect Touya-shi and the rest, so..."

"I refuse."

Kamijou immediately refused Kanzaki's orders.

He sounded like he was standing in the middle of an icy cold rain.

"I want to do with this myself. I have to deal with this myself."

"But—"

Kanzaki sounded rather perplexed. Maybe it was her gentle side, as she didn't want Kamijou to take on his own relative.

But that angered Kamijou.

"NO BUTS!! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!? KAMIJOU TOUYA IS MY FATHER! MY DAD! THE ONLY DAD IN THE WORLD THAT CAN NEVER BE REPLACED!!!"

Kamijou suddenly roared, which caused Mikoto to jerk her shoulders and stare at Kamijou.

Kanzaki didn't say anything.

"Therefore..."

Kamijou muttered to himself.

Even if he didn't know what to do, even if he couldn't find an answer.

"That's why I want to deal with this personally. I won't let you interfere, I won't let you people hurt my dad. He's my dad—"

Kamijou Touma still made this declaration.

Even if his body was fatigued.

"—I must save Kamijou Touya."

Part 2

Kamijou Touya was walking on the beach, dyed red by the sunset.

His face looked tired, and sweat flowed down his entire body. He had been running around, looking for the missing Kamijou, but even though he was extremely tired now, he wouldn't allow himself to rest. Dragging his tired legs, he continued to walk on the beach.

He didn't look like a magician at all.

He didn't look like a fighting expert at all.

"...Dad."

Kamijou called out to Touya.

That moment Touya's tired expression turned around, it became one of relief and delight.

A completely normal expression.

An expression of an ordinary father who had just found his lost son.

"Touma!"

After five seconds, Kamijou Touya barely managed to make an angry look.

"Where did you go!? If you wanted to go out, why didn't you tell us!? Your mother was worried about you! Didn't you say that you got summer heatstroke? Are you alright? Are you hurt? Do you feel like vomiting?"

Less than a second in, the angry lecture had become concern for Kamijou.

That was to be expected.

Touya wasn't angry at Kamijou because he hated him.

Fathers always get angry at their children because they were worried.

Kamijou gritted his teeth.

If possible, Kamijou really didn't want to force Touya to say it aloud. Kamijou didn't want to ask Touya whether he was the culprit behind Angel Fall. Kamijou just wanted to pretend that nothing had happened, follow Touya back to the resort and continue chatting away as per usual.

But he couldn't do it.

The Angel Fall incident had to be settled.

Even if he had to go up against Touya, even if he wanted to stop Touya's dream from happening, even if he would be hated by his own father, even if he couldn't talk to Touya like family members do, it was alright.

Kamijou had already decided.

He would definitely save Kamijou Touya.

Kamijou didn't know what Touya's aim was, but he didn't want his father to enter the bloody world of magic. Kamijou knew what a magician was, and he knew how terrifying those people were. Kamijou didn't want to imagine numerous magicians, including Misha, coming to hunt Touya down.

So, this had to be settled before Misha arrived.

Angel Fall must be removed.

"...Why?"

Thus, Kamijou spoke up.

Kamijou was extremely careful not to let his voice tremble, and not to let himself cry.

Seeing Kamijou like this, Touya frowned.

"Why must you step into the magic world? Aren't you a person from the normal world? Why must you touch that stupid magic? What were you doing, damned dad!"

Hearing Kamijou say that, Touya's smile froze.

"What are you saying, Touma, the important thing now is—"

"Stop acting dumb! I'm asking you why did you do those things that only magicians will do!"

Like a cut string, the expression disappeared from Touya's face.

It was not the expression of a magician sensing danger. It was the expression of a father when his son found out something he shouldn't have done.

"...Before I answer this, let me ask a question. Touma, you don't have to tell me where you went. Let me ask you, is your body alright? Are you hurting anywhere?"

Facing the dual-layered sunset on the sky and the sea, as if the world was burning, Touya asked Kamijou that.

Kamijou was shocked that he still asked such an unimportant question at this critical moment.

Just like a father.

"Seeing you like this, you should be alright, right?"

Kamijou Touya heaved a sigh of relief.

“Alright, where should we begin?”

Kamijou remained silent.

He couldn’t think of what to say. He couldn’t possibly be expected to say something. However, Kamijou didn’t look away from his father, not even once.

Like a toy without a battery, Touya’s face lost all expression.

To Kamijou, the man in front of him seemed to have aged by ten years.

“I myself felt...that it was a stupid thing to use that method to achieve my wish.”

Touya finally started to explain.

“Hey, Touma. You may not remember it because you were sent to Academy City right after you graduated from kindergarten,” Touya seemed to recall something. “But do you still remember when we were together, what the people around us called you?”

“...?”

Kamijou frowned.

Having lost his memory, he couldn’t even remember anything in July of this year.

Touya was about to say something before holding it back.

After pausing for a while, he said, “They called you a god of pestilence.”

Touya said that with a devastated expression that looked as if he wanted to kill himself by biting his tongue.

As a father, he actually had to say that fact to his own son. Touya revealed a regretful expression.

“Do you understand, Touma? Ever since you were born, you held misfortune. That is why you were called that. But do you understand, Touma? That was not just teasing by children who had no real ill will.”

Touya gritted his teeth.

“Even most adults called you that. There was no real reason for it. Just because you held misfortune, they called you that.”

Kamijou couldn’t help but hold his breath.

It was impossible to see the expression on Touya’s face.

No delight, no happiness, nothing could be seen at all.

“The children believed that just by having you around, other’s gained misfortune. Because they believed that, they would throw rocks at you just because they saw you. And the adults did not stop them. When they saw your injuries, it did not make them sad. It instead made them sneer at you. They would urge the kids to hurt you even worse.”

Touya continued on with the blank expression. Kamijou couldn’t tell what he was feeling.

Maybe Touya was deliberately trying not to show any expression. Behind his mask was an insuppressible agitation that couldn’t be held back. That emotion definitely couldn’t be shown in front of his own son. Maybe one could tell his determination here.

“The children believed that when you left, their misfortune would also leave. Because they believed that, they would avoid you. Even the adults believed that. Do you remember, Touma? A man buried in debt once chased you around with a knife trying to stab you. When the TV stations heard about it, they used a paranormal show as an excuse to show your face on TV without permission and treat you like a monster.”

The world, now dyed orange, looked like a blazing inferno of hell.

The man standing in the middle of the flames chose to keep this icy feeling that didn’t have any emotions in it.

“That is why I sent you to Academy City. I was scared. I wasn’t scared of the whole fortune and misfortune thing. I was scared of the reality that people would act violently towards you as if it was the natural thing to do just because they believed in that.”

Touya started to cry painfully without any expression.

“I was afraid that superstition would kill you one day, Touma. So I sent you to a world without superstition.”

Thus, Touya himself had cut the bond between family members.

As long as he could protect his own son, it was alright even if they couldn’t live together.

“But even in that forefront of science, you were still treated as having misfortune. I could tell just from reading the letters you sent. It did seem the malicious violence was gone, but that was not enough for me.”

Touya smiled.

“I wanted to destroy your misfortune itself. However, that was clearly a wish that could not be granted with the methods of even the forefront of science.”

Even though he knew that it was a wish that couldn’t be granted.

Kamijou Touya wouldn’t give up.

“Only one path remained to me. I reached out to the occult.”

Then, Kamijou Touya stopped talking and remained silent.

Kamijou started to think. Touya said that he had activated Angel Fall to remove the misfortune from Kamijou. But what did he intend to summon an angel for? Did he simply wish to talk directly to God and hope that God would hear his prayer? Why did he get so many people involved, switching all the inside and outside of all the people in the world for...?

Upon thinking about it, Kamijou understood.

The switch of the inside. In other words, Kamijou Touma's title of an unfortunate man would end up with somebody else.

It was not important whether the angel would descend.

Kamijou Touya only wished to switch the inside and outside.

"...You bastard."

But that method had its pros and cons.

As the identity of Kamijou Touma would be switched with others, Kamijou Touma wouldn't think that Touya was his father. Not only that, a stranger would become Kamijou Touma, and walk around in his own family as the son.

Even so, Kamijou Touya was willing to make that sacrifice for his own son.

Even if he had to get the entire world involved.

Even if his own son would never ever call him dad again.

Even if the entire family wouldn't be able to gather happily again.

Kamijou Touya had chosen to protect his own son.

Even if he became a sinner, he would protect his son from the pain of that invisible misfortune. ? "YOU BASTARD!!!"

Kamijou couldn't help but roar.

Touya revealed a surprised look, but that made it even more unbearable for Kamijou.

"That's right, I'm unlucky!"

Kamijou said with disdain.

"Just this summer vacation alone, I almost died a few times, and I even just had my entire right arm sliced off! If I have to compare it to everyone in class, I suppose only my summer was this unfortunate!"

Kamijou paused, and then continued.

"But have I said that I regretted this!? Did I say that I didn't want this unfortunate summer vacation!? Stop joking around!! My summer vacation is unfortunate, but so what!? Is that little thing enough to make me regret!?"

That was right.

The one who had saved Himegami Aisa from Misawa Cram School was Kamijou Touma.

That was right.

The one who had saved Misaka Imouto from the experiment was Kamijou Touma.

Also...

The one who had protected that radiant smile of that white nun should also be...

Even if he only got involved because of others, even though they were just cases of misfortune, Kamijou had the right to brag about it. On the other hand, if Kamijou was too lucky and hadn't gotten involved in all that, just thinking of the aftermath was enough to make his break out in cold sweat.

"If I hadn't been so unlucky it's true that I could live longer, and I wouldn't have to face the gates of death several times." Kamijou glared at Touya and said, "But can that be considered fortune? Living a normal everyday life so casually, and yet not finding out that others are suffering, drenched in blood as they cry for help. Casually living, is this really fortune?"

"That's why, don't stop me!"

"I don't want to be that lucky guy. Instead of living a carefree life and not knowing about the pain of the people around me, I'd rather be unfortunate and get involved in the pain of those people."

Kamijou Touma said.

"Don't think that I'm an unlucky person. I'm the luckiest person in the world!"

Kamijou's face was showing a smile.

A ferocious, savage, rough and inelegant smile.

But it was the best and strongest smile.

With such a smile, Kamijou had made such a declaration.

"..."

Touya.

Kamijou Touya couldn't say anything.

In this orange world, the waves could be heard, and Touya laughed. He continued to laugh, laugh, laugh and laugh.

"Haha—"

Then, Kamijou Touya revealed a slight real smile

"What the heck."

Touya just said in a half-joking tone.

"So you were always that fortunate, Touma."

Kamijou nodded his head without hesitation.

Touya finally looked like he was free of his burden.

"I'm such an idiot, I only knew how to make things worse. I nearly took my son's happiness away."

After feeling relieved, Touya started to mock himself.

"But actually, I didn't do anything. I was an idiot. What can I do, going around collecting those memorabilia? I definitely understood that those strange cosmic forces are all superstitions."

"Eh?"

His father's words made him frown.

But Touya didn't notice his son's bewilderment.

"Those lucky charms that the gift shops sell were said to what, protect the family, excel in academics, these are all exotic crafts. If I could remove that misfortune of yours like that, your misfortune isn't worth bragging about. I won't go about buying that stuff, and instead just get some snacks. Your mom will be happy as well."

"Hold, hold on a minute."

Kamijou was stunned for a second, and then continued.

"Didn't you trigger Angel Fall? Where's the ritual site? Since your aim of removing my misfortune is gone, you should be able to remove Angel Fall right?"

However, Kamijou's words only puzzled Touya.

"Angel Fall? What's that? Some modern lingo? Or is that a singer's name?"

"...Hold, wait a minute!" Kamijou seriously stared at Touya's face and asked, "Do you know where mom is?"

"Why are you asking that all of a sudden, Touma? She may have went back to the resort, right?"

Kamijou was stunned.

His father's face didn't look like he was lying.

Touya really thought that Index was his wife. But that didn't make sense. If Kamijou Touya really triggered Angel Fall, he shouldn't be affected.

(Wait, think fast! What did I miss out? The situation now is too weird. Dad's explanation seems like he just bought a lot of charms for his son.)

But there was no time to think.

Kamijou's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps on the beach.

Kamijou lifted his head up.

"...Misha Kreutzev!"

When did she appear? On that beach without any hiding spots, a girl wearing red clothes and a red cloak suddenly appeared. Seeing this blond girl that had black straps and even a ring around her.

Misha didn't respond to Kamijou's shout.

The girl just faced Touya silently.

They were about a hundred metres away from each. Kamijou recalled the attack last night, and his spine started to freeze in fear. The terrifying Hino Jinsaku had been sent packing like a stray cat by the overwhelming power of Misha. One hundred metres wasn't a distance to Misha.

But Kamijou still believed that everyone could talk it out. He still believed so.

He casually walked forward, stood in front of Touya, and then said, "Hold on, Misha. Something's not right. My dad wasn't switched by anyone, but he didn't notice that the people around him got switched. This means that he got affected by Angel Fall, but I don't know why--!?"

Before he could finish, Kamijou's throat dried up.

His body was trembling.

From the petite body of Misha Kreutzev, there seemed to be something spraying out. Kamijou's feet were just nailed to the floor. His stomach could feel a tremendous pressure, his breathing was erratic, and his heartbeat was getting faster. There was a sense of pain deep within his brain that was like fireworks, and he stopped thinking.

Did Misha's pores let out poisonous gas? Of course not. Misha didn't do anything, but that was enough to force Kamijou to be unable to move.

Killing intent.

The killing intent alone was enough to turn Kamijou to stone.

The tremendous pressure that was released made him feel like the surrounding gravity was increased by ten times.

Slowly, Misha raised her slender hand and reached for the belt strap on her waist. She drew out the L-shaped crowbar. Seeing that blunt tip, Kamijou could feel that Touya was so fearful he forgot how to breathe. The blunt and heavy tip looked even scarier than a sharp blade.

"Hold it—Misha...listen to me!"

Kamijou still tried to talk to Misha, but Misha didn't respond.

A gust of wind blew by, and Misha's bangs started to wave.

Behind the bangs, the eyes that looked like lightning were completely emotionless.

If Hino Jinsaku's eyes could be said to be wild and agitated, Misha's eyes were the complete opposite. They were no longer a human's eyes. A human couldn't possibly have those eyes that covered all emotional sense. It seemed like those eyeballs were two glass balls or crystals.

Misha Kreutzev didn't say anything.

She just stretched the L-shaped crowbar aside, glancing at Kamijou as if she were watching him.

He was numb.

Kamijou didn't say anything now.

The petite girl in red clothes in front of him didn't look like a human anymore. It was as though she was something with human skin over it. Slowly, Misha raised the L-shaped crowbar as if she was holding an axe.

The interrogation tool had fractured Hino Jinsaku's wrist in one hit. Could Kamijou dodge and protect Touya at the same time? Kamijou's body started to tremble, and his palms started to give off disgusting sweat.

But he wouldn't back away.

Kamijou clenched his trembling right hand tight.

Suddenly, Kanzaki's growl came from somewhere.

"Move aside! Kamijou Touma!"

The sound of wind being cut could be heard.

An invisible slash passed between Kamijou and Misha, forming a wall of sand. Misha, who had been holding the crowbar and intending to launch the attack, was instantly distracted. At that moment, Kanzaki appeared between the two of them.

Standing beside Kanzaki, who was giving off killing intent, was Tsuchimikado, who came back.

"It's been tough on you, Kami-yan. Good work. Since you managed to talk it out, back down, it's our job next."

Though it was unknown what Kanzaki and Tsuchimikado did, they seemed to be remaining vigilant.

On seeing Tsuchimikado, Touya's jaw dropped. This was to be expected. Because of Angel Fall, to Touya, Tsuchimikado was an idol who had just made the headlines because of a scandal.

But there was no time to explain this misunderstanding to him.

Though Kamijou was shocked, he was still staring at Misha, who was acting strangely.

"Oi Tsuchimikado! What's with her?"

"Hei, thinking about it, it's really strange!" Tsuchimikado smirked and said, "We thought that people from other religious sects wouldn't tell us their real names, so we never asked. But thinking about it, she shouldn't be calling herself Misha. At that moment, we should have realised that something's up nya."

"?"

"This name: Misha."

Kanzaki carefully glared at Misha and said, "It's a male's name in Russia. It's illogical to use that name as an alias."

Misha herself didn't rebut this.

She just narrowed her eyes and pointed the tip of the crowbar from Touya to Kanzaki.

"What...?"

"We asked the Russian Orthodox, and they said that there's only a Sasha Kreutzev. It seems like she's Sasha before she got switched."

Kamijou stared at Misha.

That was right. Under Angel Fall's influence, she should have switched with someone. But the problem is, who was this girl in Kreutzev's body?"

"There are beings that can exist as male and females, Kami-yan. They have no gender. In legend, they either remain neutral or have features of both genders. To them, the 'name' is the reason why God created them, so they can't exchange names with others."

Hearing Tsuchimikado's words, Kamijou frowned,

"Have you forgotten, Kami-yan? What's the name of this grand spell?"

At that moment, Misha widened her eyes.

BOOM! An earth-shattering boom could be heard. ? The sunset sky that was dyed orange instantly became a starry night sky.

"Wha..."

Kamijou inadvertently looked up at the sky. Touya stopped breathing.

Night. It was as if something switched off the lights, and the evening sky suddenly became pitch black night. The unlucky symbol of the full moon hung over them. That was strange, no matter what, today should have been a crescent moon.

"W-what's going on?"

"Can't you tell? She turned the evening into night."

Kanzaki said it casually, but Kamijou was astounded.

It was easy to say that she changed the evening sky to night, but that meant that the person in front of them could control the relative positions of the earth to the sun. No, even the orbit of the moon was switched. That meant that the moon and other planets were under control.

Controlling celestial bodies.

Maybe that terrifying ability was so terrifying that people couldn't experience it personally, but this was a power that could destroy the world. For example, if the world's axis were tilted by ten degrees, a fourth of all life on earth would be destroyed. And if the world stopped spinning, the world would be instantly destroyed. The people standing on the world may not feel it, but actually, the world was spinning at a terrifying speed of 1666 kilometres an hour. If it suddenly stopped, it would be like making an emergency brake. The terrifying force could flip all the things on the surface of the Earth.

That meant...

That at anytime, at any place, once Misha decided it, the world would be at it's end.

"Hold, hold on a minute! Can magic do such scary things?"

"For a human, of course not."

With a sharp and icy look, Kanzaki's voice sounded like a blade.

"Summoning the night to strengthen its own element and putting the moon as the main part. Oh, I see. The element of water, the controller of blue, the guardian of the moon, the keeper of the back. The one who buried the fallen city of Gomorrah under a rain of fire in the Old Testament, the one who foretold the news of the birth of the Son of God to the virgin in the New Testament."

At that moment, Kamijou finally remembered.

Angel Fall.

Since it was named as such, it naturally meant that something descended into this world.

"—Your name is Power of God, the twin-winged archangel aligned to the left side of God, right?"

The breaker of God (Kanzaki) said that, but the servant of God didn't reply.

An invisible shell-like thing started to crack, and the invisible skin was molting.

'That thing' completely awakened.

Part 3

The angel didn't do anything.

Kanzaki stood in front of Kamijou and Touya, and she reached for the nodachi at her waist.

"An angel's power is neither good or evil. Those who were directed by God to save mortals will be praised as angels. Once they fall onto the corrupted earth, they will become terrifying demons."

Kanzaki said in a curse-like voice.

"It's as according to what the Old Testament described. Do you really want to return to heaven? Power of God?"

Kamijou stared dumbstruck at Misha—no, the angel called Power of God. Maybe her reason of preventing Angel Fall was even simpler than anyone here.

Angel Fall was a spell that caused an angel to fall into the mortal world.

An angel that got pulled down would definitely want to go back.

Power of God didn't say anything.

There was no need to talk. She raised the L-shaped crowbar high as if it was a lit fuse.

Kamijou felt a chill, as if his heart was speared by an ice pillar.

The moon above him was even whiter, even brighter. The bright moon created a halo around it, as if a camera lens was forced near the sun. With the full moon at the centre, the halo instantly expanded outwards. The interior of the halo formed all sorts of bright lines that looked like all sorts of complicated codes.

A magic array.

And that magic array wasn't just big. Looking closer, all the bright points that formed the lines were magic arrays themselves. It was like flocks of fish swimming together in the ocean, or ants crawling in single file on the land. Billions and billions of magic arrays were neatly arranged to form one huge array.

(How can, there be...such a terrifying scene.)

Looking up at the array of stars in the night, Kamijou was unable to say anything.

The stars in the night sky looked weak and fantastical, but it was just an illusion. Things that were further away seemed smaller—this was something that even an elementary school child could understand. Even one who stayed in Japan should have seen the fighter jets of the Self Defense Forces, or the ones stationed at the American bases, create contrails, but had anyone seen an engine spurt out fire?

That was the case right now.

The contrails released by a fighter jet would disappear after a certain distance. And as for the artificial lights visible in the stratosphere, most likely, only the lights from the rocket boosters of the satellites could be seen.

Even though Kamijou didn't understand anything about magic, he could understand this.

Those magic arrays weren't a trivial thing.

Kamijou could feel it, his body was trembling.

Looking up at the night sky, a drop of sweat appeared on Kanzaki's face.

"Are you serious? Power of God! You intend to use an Old Testament spell just to kill one person? Are you trying to destroy this world!?"

Kanzaki's tone and what she said were too shocking.

Kamijou inadvertently panicked and asked, "What? Oi, what does that angel intend to do...?"

"That's a torrent of fire arrows that once destroyed a civilisation. If that spell activates, humanity will cease to exist."

The seriousness of this situation far exceeded his understanding, and Kamijou was unable to comprehend what was going on.

But the words 'fire' and 'torrent' remained etched in him.

(Rain of fire arrows? Fall down? Don't tell me, those lights in the sky, these billions of bright spots that aren't any different from rocket fuel will land onto the surface!?)

Kamijou remained rigid as he looked at the night sky. The simplest thing he could think of was that the billions of bright spots were missiles aimed at the world. If all those missiles landed on the earth, it would far surpass a carpet bombing. Even if one missile was assigned to every person, there would still be many remaining.

Kamijou wasn't clear how large the attack range was. Maybe it was a city, or maybe a country. If any place that could see the night sky was part of the range, half the world would be reduced to ash.

Kanzaki looked like her heart could stop at any time.

"Without God's orders, angels shouldn't be able to kill. Have you forgotten about that, Power of God? According to the New Testament, the Final Judgement of judging the souls has been decided. Killing people randomly will cause it to be affected, you should be clear about this! This is what you told humanity!"

Kamijou had heard those words from Tsuchimikado before.

At the end of the world, God would descend down to the mortal world and decide everyone's fate, whether they were going to heaven or to hell. If a person who shouldn't be killed was dead, his children wouldn't be born. If that happened, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren wouldn't be born. That was why those who could control time and space were those supremacists who could control history. The angels who escaped from the history of humanity also had the power to change humanity's future.

The supremacists.

The angel didn't respond to Kanzaki's earnest plea to not kill humans.

No anger, no frenzy, no mockery, no sneering, nor any guilt.

It wasn't moving at all.

Seeing that, goosebumps appeared on Kamijou. They couldn't talk to that angel called Power of God. Ever since Angel Fall occurred, perhaps she was like a train that had gone off track.

The angel had only one command to itself, and that was to return to heaven.

It was already unable to think of what would happen to the world.

It just wanted to return to its correct position.

It was like an organ transplant. If an organ that was not suitable was transplanted, the body would reject it, even though it knew that it would die.

It had been willing to work together with Kamijou and company just to find out who the person was.

After an all-out bombardment, it would be unable to tell whether its target was dead from the pile of corpses and rubble. Thus, it had to remember the target's face.

Kamijou gritted his teeth and looked up.

Kamijou's right hand could neutralise any supernatural power, even if it was God's miracle. However, the magic array was located too far away. Even a fighter jet couldn't reach that altitude.

Thus, Kamijou turned to glare at the Power of God.

If he wanted to destroy those magic arrays, the only way was to beat the caster down. Like Angel Fall, the spell was still incomplete.

"Damn it..."

But faced with that simple answer, Kamijou couldn't help but grit his teeth.

If he did that, how would it be different from what that angel did?

"DAMN IT!!"

Power of God was just staring at Kamijou expressionlessly.

Its eyes were like someone standing high above, looking down at insects rolling around in the dirt.

The archangel that could destroy the world without raising a finger didn't say anything.

Its eyes didn't have any look of danger, not even a look a pity.

Because there was no need to pity a bug that was going to be crushed to death.

"WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS! AT LEAST SAY SOMETHING! LISTEN UP, I'M ANGRY, I'M REALLY ANGRY!! THERE'S NO ROOM FOR NEGOTIATION, REMOVE THIS SPELL RIGHT NOW!!!"

Kamijou roared at the girl who was shorter than him, but his voice was trembling.

At that moment, Touya was shocked that his own son was still scolding.

Kamijou recalled the speed, the power, the distance control and the battle skills that Misha had used to send Hino retreating in front of his eyes. Even if it was pretending, it still had that power, a godlike power. If they fought, Kamijou would only be played with in its hands.

Besides, right now, its victory was just right in front.

Because it didn't need to disguise itself anymore.

"..."

A lot of sweat flowed down Kamijou's body. In order to protect Touya, Kamijou took a step forward. This may have looked courageous, but it was merely suicidal. The difference in power between a human and the Power of God couldn't be closed down. It was like using martial arts to take on a nuclear missile.

"Kamijou Touma."

At that moment, Kanzaki Kaori silently turned her head back and looked at Kamijou Touma.

"I'll take care of the Power of God, hurry up and take Touya-shi away from here." ? For a moment, Kamijou was unable to understand what Kanzaki meant.

Because she had said it so casually.

In this situation where it was not much different from using martial arts to take on a nuclear missile.

Kanzaki wasn't hesitating, bothered, tolerant, fearful, anxious,

She stood before Kamijou, facing the angel that was like a death god. ? "W-why...?"

Thus, Kamijou could only choose to ask that.

Facing this question Kamijou barely managed to make out, Kanzaki said without turning her head back, "No reason. There's something I should do here, which is why I'm standing here. It's just that simple."

Kanzaki then said in an uninterested tone, "The Sweep? How meaningless, really meaningless. If you do that, I won't be able to achieve my aim."

Kanzaki stepped forward.

Kamijou was unable to stop her, nor was he able to catch up to her. Though they were less than a meter away from each other, it made Kamijou feel like he wouldn't be able to catch up with her for all of humanity. It wasn't because the enemy was strong, not because of the fear within him, not because of the sharpness, weight, speed, cold or heat.

But because of the nature.

With her back facing Kamijou as she faced the Power of God, Kanzaki gave off a presence of nature that indicated that she had the right to do this.

The Breaker of God said, "The following battle will far exceed a human's limits. When escaping, be careful not to get caught in the shockwave."

Facing the word 'escaping', Kamijou was unable to understand.

At this point, where could they run off to? Could they actually run off to Mars?

Kanzaki didn't turn back as she continued to say to the puzzled Kamijou, "Think about it, the Power of God just needs to cast the Sweep to easily end everything here. Why is it silently waiting there for us to take action?"

Now that Kanzaki said it, Kamijou finally realised it.

Since it had the power of the Sweep, why didn't it take action quickly? To the Power of God, there should be no reason to hesitate, as she had only one goal.

Why didn't it quickly summon the Sweep?

"It's not that it's not activating it, but that it can't. Even if it's the Power of God, it will take quite some time to activate such a large spell. This isn't weird. When it activated the God's Purge that destroyed an entire civilisation, it took quite some preparation time."

Kanzaki said.

"...About thirty minutes. Fufu, wouldn't that be too short to send all the animals up the Ark?"

Kamijou was speechless.

Only thirty minutes left. Thirty minutes later, the Sweep spell would send billions of burning fire arrows down on half the world like billions of missiles. Of course, Kamijou's Imagine Breaker wasn't going to save the entire world.

But on the other hand...

If they could beat the Power of God within those thirty minutes.

"If that's the case, that's even more reason for me not to run away! I want to fight! Against this enemy from the magic world, my right hand should more or less be of some help!"

"Don't be stupid, if we professionals let amateurs get hurt protecting us, we don't even have the right to commit seppuku."

Kanzaki sounded rather casual.

"WHY ARE YOU STILL SO CONFIDENT IN YOURSELF!? THAT THING WON'T SHOW ANY MERCY! THAT NONSENSE YOU GUYS SPOUTED ABOUT ANGELS UNABLE TO KILL HUMANS ISN'T RELIABLE AT ALL!!"

Kamijou sounded like someone who was trying to prevent a lunatic from jumping off a building.

"HOW CAN I LEAVE SUCH AN OPPONENT TO YOU! I WANT TO FIGHT! HOW CAN I RUN AWAY EVEN AT THIS POINT!!"

"Listen to me."

But Kanzaki seemed abnormally calm,

"This thing in front of us is already past an ordinary person's realm. It's stupid to fight against it, let alone beat it."

Kamijou held his breath as he stared at Kanzaki.

"But don't be mistaken. I don't want to lose my life like that. I may not be able to beat it, but I don't think that I'll lose. Maybe I can divert it away and hold it off."

Kanzaki said silently.

"Kamijou Touma, while I hold her off, please take Touya-shi away to remove Angel Fall."

"Wait, what did you say?"

"Have you forgotten what's the goal of the Power of God? The reason why it activated the Sweep was just to remove Angel Fall. In other words, if we remove Angel Fall before it activates the Sweep, there's no need for it to cast the spell, right?

The last sentence didn't seem to be directed at Kamijou, but at the archangel.

The unmoving angel didn't respond to her.

It was because to the Power of God, all that wasn't important. Thirty minutes later, the Sweep would kill the caster of Angel Fall, Touya, and end everything. Even if Kamijou and the rest used another way to remove Angel Fall, it wouldn't be of any disadvantage to the angel.

Thus, Power of God just silently let Touya escape from its eyes.

Its attitude was like saying, no point arguing with you since the outcome will be the same.

It had an Astro in Hand spell that was even scarier than the Sweep, it was just wondering which method was more suitable to settle the problem right now.

Kamijou glanced at Touya. It was true that leaving him with the Power of God here was too dangerous.

"But what about yourself? Is it really alright to go against that Power of God..."

"Who knows, but this is the best choice. With your ability, you can't contain it. You have to seriously do your job well and try to destroy Angel Fall. Your hard work will increase my chances of survival."

Kanzaki stared at the Power of God and stepped forward.

"And I don't wish to cause ordinary civilians to die because of battle between magicians. I definitely can't allow Kamijou Touya to die, even if I have to sacrifice my life."

"...Can you really do that?"

"Yeah. Though it's a little disrespectful for me to say this, I decide to trust you for now. Just like the time when you saved that child in front of me, this time, please save me."

Kanzaki didn't say any more.

Kamijou wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say.

It would be a waste of time to stop Kanzaki. Every meaningless action would decrease Kanzaki's survival rate.

Kamijou gritted his teeth.

"THEN I'LL LEAVE IT TO YOU, KANZAKI! I'LL TRUST YOU THIS TIME!"

Kamijou shouted as he grabbed Touya's wrist, who still didn't understand what was going on, and pulled him to the resort.

"Oi! Hold up a minute! What's going on!?" Touya shouted, but Kamijou ignored him.

Power of God turned away from Kanzaki and stared at Kamijou and Touya.

Kanzaki moved her body and again blocked the Power of God's line of sight.

"Your opponent is me. One of an angel's responsibilities is to act as a messenger between God and humanity, so you have to listen to me, right?"

At this moment, Kanzaki actually smiled.

"Speaking of which, did he really just say that he decided to trust me? Stiyl said that he nearly went crazy during the Misawa Cram School' battle so this feeling isn't exaggerated. But this is the best way to say it. Because of that, my chances of survival have really increased."

After saying that, Kanzaki grabbed onto the hilt of the Shichiten Shichitou.

The Power of God that was staring at Kanzaki silently suddenly muttered in an alien language.

"—qSTUPIDrw"

With a loud boom, a huge explosion occurred behind the angel.

Her back let out something that looked like wings.

They weren't wings that were as elegant as a swan's, but the screen of ice wings like a peacock.

Numerous sharp wings that looked that they were carved out from ice extended outwards like a hill of swords. At the same time, the sea behind Power of God let out an irregular tide, and numerous huge sea serpents or sea dragons formed from several tons of seawater rush out and gathered behind the angel.

The back fused with the seawater, forming a huge wing of water.

The huge water wing of blades opened up behind the Power of God, and each of them were about fifty to seventy metres in length. They looked like walls that nobody could climb up, and like a wall of sharp crystals that could cut anyone's fingers on the slightest touch.

The numerous ice wings stabbed up at the sky.

Finally, a drop of water appeared above the Power of God. The drop of water drew a small circle, forming a halo in the air.

The colour was like the surface of the sky at night, bringing the azure blue presence with black shadows and death.

Each wing was thoroughly infused with the Power of God, and each attack could flatten mountains and carve valleys like Divine Judgement. Even if it was on the battlefield as per normal, Kanzaki, who often caused enemies to back away in fear, was now stiff with tension. If it were anyone else, the killing intent released would have caused the person to faint.

"I really got quite a bad job now."

Kanzaki said as she lowered herself.

—At that moment, Kanzaki realised something.

"Tsuchimikado? Where are you? Tsuchimikado?"

He was gone.

It was unknown when Tsuchimikado disappeared from the battlefield.

Even in that situation, Tsuchimikado still insisted on his philosophy of betrayal, causing Kanzaki to be dumbfounded.

"Oh well, he's like this anyway. Even if I ignore him, he'll find a way to survive through his own way. Right now, I need to make a path to survival through my own way. While using Yuisen, please allow me to declare my magic name."

Then, Kanzaki Kaori let it out from her mouth.

The other name that she had carved on her body, heart, and soul.

"Salvare000 — Be the salvation of those who cannot be saved."

Part 4

At this moment, Tsuchimikado was running alone in the darkness.

(Damn it, things just got out of hand! I should have destroyed 'that' earlier if possible!)

It was like he was running away from the battlefield, from the war.

(But I should forget about my past mistakes! A human has to think positively! Alright, now that the bothersome Kanzaki's being held up, I can finally move out!)

As if he was running to a new battlefield, as if he was a fly flying to a fire.

(Fufufu! The time of betrayal I expect the most is finally here! Sorry Kami-yan! It seems like we need to sacrifice at least someone to settle this!)

Fallere825 — The Backstabbing Blade Tsuchimikado Motoharu continued to run in the darkness cackling happily.

Part 5

Kanzaki Kaori and the Power of God were facing off ten metres away from each other.

But for a believer of Christianity, this could only be described as stupid. It was not that Kanzaki was too weak or the archangel was too strong; it was not that kind of simple dimensional question, but an even more basic and simpler paradox.

Basically, all the religions in human history had a rule.

It was the decree that they couldn't go against God.

It would be different if it were the pagans who believed in different gods, but the Christians believed that they couldn't go against the Christian angels. On thinking about it, that was something obvious.

In other words. Since Kanzaki was affiliated to the church, she wouldn't be able to beat the Power of God.

In terms of janken, the believers were scissors, and angels were rock. It was obvious to see who would win.

So Kanzaki's action was really comical.

But the angel girl didn't say anything, or even show a smile of pity.

Power of God raised one of its water wings. Though they were about ten metres away from each other, it didn't matter to the seventy-metre-long water wing; instead, it may have been too close.

The water wings that were infused with Telesma from tip to tip could each send out a Judgement that could wreck a city. Once it sent that, this beach would vanish completely, forming a crate like cover, like how in legend, God shaped the earth.

Power of God didn't hesitate.

Even though it knew the devastation this would cause on a human.

The archangel that controlled the colour blue raised the seventy meter water wing in the air without hesitation.

Such a scene gave a look that a tower was collapsing. The air that was ripped became a fist of air as it scattered about, until the wind itself collapsed due to the water wing. The water wing came swinging down at Kanzaki Kaori with shocking speed.

It was all over.

Everything should have been over.

BAM! With a clear sound, the water wing was sliced in half by a horizontal flash.

Who could have predicted such a scene?

Power of God was stunned, and Kanzaki merely took a deep breath in response.

The over two-metre-long nodachi that was hanging from Kanzaki Kaori's waist.

The moment she drew the sword, the seventy-metre-long water wing was sliced easily like a bamboo tube. Also, the remains of the sliced water wing immediately scattered into powder like an explosion and vanished into the darkness of the night sky.

Kanzaki didn't say anything.

The long blade of the nodachi had already been sheathed silently into the black sheath.

The bangs of the Power of God trembled slightly. The glass-ball-like eyes behind the bangs rolled about, seemingly looking for Kanzaki's weakness. Power of God raised another water wing from its back, as if it were an experiment.

This time, the water wing swung over, and the storm it whipped up seems like it would flatten everything.

But the same thing happened again.

ZZSSTT!! Kanzaki Kaori's slash easily sliced that fifty-metre-long water wing in half.

And Kanzaki's body hadn't wavered from the speed of the unsheathing nodachi or the weight. The moment the blade was drawn, it was sheathed back silently.

Ten metres away, Kanzaki Kaori calmly stroked her hilt.

The angel stopped.

It seemed to be thinking of a new tactic to deal with this prey.

"I think that" Kanzaki taunted, "you don't have to be shocked about this level of counterattack. Seems like you underestimated this being called Kanzaki Kaori."

Power of God didn't respond. What replaced it were two water wings that crossed each other like pliers.

BOOM! The two water wings struck at Kanzaki with a boom.

But Kanzaki flipped her body like a tornado, slashing the two water wings in half at the same time with one strike.

"..."

The bangs swayed about in the air, the eyes behind them rolled about, seemingly confirming something.

It wasn't just one or two, four water wings had been sliced. It was obvious that this wasn't a random coincidence. But if so, this formed a paradox, Christians couldn't possibly oppose Christian angels.

On the other hand, Kanzaki looked rather casual.

"You believe that I'm just a simple Christian, and that's the beginning of your mistakes."

Kanzaki confidently explained.

"My spells belong to the Amakusa Church. That's a Japanese Christianity sect that got persecuted during the Edo period and created out of the necessity to maintain our belief."

In that cruel era, when merely holding a cross or a statue of the Virgin Mary resulted in painful executions, the believers could only use the wooden plates Shintoism and Buddhism to use as cover, and ended up mixing with other religions until they couldn't even tell which parts were Shintoism's, which parts were Buddhism's, and which parts were Christianity's. Thus, they ended up creating a new religion.

The multi-religious aspects Christian system, the Amakusa.

In other words, since Christian spells couldn't beat an angel, instead of using Christian spells, she should use Buddhism or Shintoism spells or any spells from religions that didn't have any angels to attack the angel.

If Christian spells wouldn't work, she'd use Buddhist spells.

If Buddhist spells wouldn't work, she'd use Shinto spells.

If Shinto spells wouldn't work, she'd use Christian spells.

The Amakusa could use other sorts of spells to make up for the religions' weaknesses. So the fact that the Christians couldn't beat angels didn't exist for Kanzaki.

Power of God looked frozen. Three water wings came swinging over the left and right.

But the water wings were still easily sliced by Kanzaki's nodachi flash.

"And Japan's Shintoism is one that has many gods. It has the belief that all things on earth have a divine attachment of many gods to it; any tool that doesn't have any value will become a part of God's will after a long time. There are many gods that are created by human means, like the dog gods, monkey gods and serpent gods that protect the house. Perhaps among all the religions, Shintoism has the most gods."

Kanzaki deliberately stroked the Shichiten Shichitou.

"Thus, it may be hard for an angel with only one god to imagine. Shintoism has many gods, and there are even interaction spells between humans and gods, human spells that are meant to take on Christian spells. In many Japanese folklore, there's a lot of stories about using an ordinary nodachi to kill an evil god who lost its mind or request for a girl as a sacrifice. Shintoism has a taboo—one mustn't harm gods. Think about it, why is there such a rule?"

Kanzaki Kaori said that casually.

She was declaring to the angel that this wouldn't be a one-sided battle.

"..."

Power of God stared at the enemy silently. Absorbing new seawater, the sliced water wings were restored to their old shape and size.

But for Kanzaki, she didn't need any preparations. She just needed to use her fingers to lightly stroke the hilt of the nodachi at her waist. Using the unique breathing to refine the magic energy within her, she could turn herself into the Breaker of God.

Silence.

After a tenth of a second of silence that an ordinary human couldn't feel.

The Power of God and the Breaker of God started their duel with their lives on their line.

BOOM! A roar could be heard.

The archangel sent a fifty-metre-long water wing sliding down from above, and it was sliced in half by Kanzaki, who was 10m in front of it.

But the Power of God didn't mind. No matter how many water wings were cut, it could repair them. This time, the water wing swung over from the left, trying to use the time Kanzaki was undefended while she was sheathing her nodachi.

After Kanzaki sliced this attack, the next attack from the right was aimed at Kanzaki's back.

The Power of God and Kanzaki were about ten metres away from each other. The angel seemed like it wanted to maintain that distance and continued to attack Kanzaki with the water wings to prevent Kanzaki from getting close.

Kanzaki spun her body and turned her head around, slicing the water wing behind her with one slash. Seeing this, three water wings of the messenger of God attacked from the air, each with a slight time interval between them.

Even though there was a time interval, the difference was measured by a hundredth of a second. An ordinary person couldn't really sense that somewhat godlike speed. A human needed 0.18 seconds to process the command from the brain to the fingers, but Kanzaki in the Breaker of God mode could enter superhuman territory for a fixed duration, thus such logic didn't apply to her. Her blood vessels, muscles, nerves, organs and bones had obtained the God Breaker ability under the spell.

ZAN! The first water wing of the trio was slashed by Kanzaki's Battojutsu technique.

Before the next hundredth of a second arrived, Kanzaki had already sheathed the Shichiten Shichitou and prepared for the next attack.

Too easy, Kanzaki smiled in that time, but at that moment...

The second water wing actually exploded by itself.

Numerous blades that looked small broken pieces of glass were fired at Kanzaki.

"What...?"

Just as Kanzaki was trying to deal with the torrent of blades, the third water wing rushed over at a speed faster than the torrent of blades.

"...Ugh!"

Kanzaki was barely able to slash that unexpected third wing, but Kanzaki didn't have enough time to sheath the nodachi. If she sheathed it, she wouldn't be able to deal with the torrent of blades that were coming at her. Kanzaki gave up on the Iaido and used the drawn nodachi to deal with the torrent of blades.

But it was impossible to block all the thousands of the blades with a nodachi.

Seventeen of the blades landed around Kanzaki (Though being able to knock them all away was already an unbelievable skill on its own). The boom caused a shockwave like explosion, and the sand surrounding her to whipped up.

Her vision was completely taken away by the wall of sand, like a storm in a desert.

At that moment, the water wings attacked from the left, right, and front right direction, ripping through the sand wall like paper doors.

At that moment, the trend for the battle was set.

Kanzaki and the Power of God were ten metres away from each other. In other words, Kanzaki couldn't attack the Power of God, but the Power of God could attack Kanzaki.

And under the quick attacks of the angel, Kanzaki didn't even have time to put her drawn nodachi back into the sheath. She couldn't use her Battojutsu, so Kanzaki could only swing her nodachi desperately. Anyone could tell that Kanzaki was at the disadvantage there.

Kanzaki gritted her teeth.

She was one of the ten strongest magicians in London.

In Kanzaki's lifetime, the number of times she had lost in a one on one matchup could be counted with less than the number of fingers on both hands. And also, the 'one on one' didn't just mean human vs. human. Sometimes, it had been human vs. beast kings or even human vs. weapons.

But such a record seemed like it was going to be tested heavily today.

The record that could be counted with only the fingers on both hands seemed like it was not going to be enough.

However...

There was a huge question mark over whether the battle against that angel, who surpassed all logic, should count.

DOGAGAGAGAZAZAZAZA! Every second, there would be four or five water wings sliced apart in sparks.

The just-hardened nodachi seemed to lose its sharpness as they continued to be sliced.

The angel didn't want to give Kanzaki any time to rest. It continued to swing the water wings at a terrifying speed, intending to let the battle become a battle of attrition and wear Kanzaki down. Kanzaki didn't even have a hundredth of a second to rest. The numerous water wings seemed like creatures with a life of their own as they attacked Kanzaki with all sorts of angles, directions, speed and time intervals.

At that moment, there seemed to be something shining in Kanzaki's hand under the moonlight.

Hiiun! With the sound of the air being ripped, seven steel wires shot out.

Nanasen.

Of course, facing the water wings that were thoroughly infused with Telesma, mere steel wires wouldn't work. Even though they were steel wires of global historical value, made from a swordsmith named Hidarimoji, they would be easily cut like a spiderweb.

But the moment the steel wires were cut, the speed of the water wings would decrease.

Even though the feeble resistance would only cause the water wings to slow down by a tenth of a second.

However...

In this battle, that instant was enough to give another four or five blows.

"—lkCHE!"

Power of God rolled its eyeballs. It got careless and cut the steel wires, causing the water wings to slow down. Of course, Kanzaki Kaori wouldn't let that tenth of a second gap off. She raised her nodachi horizontally and quickly dashed forward—

—But at that moment, Kanzaki's legs lost their balance.

(...?)

The angel used that time to readjust its attacks and swung out three consecutive water wings attacks, but Kanzaki still managed to slice them with terrifying speed and accuracy. But at that moment, Power of God realised something.

Kanzaki Kaori was sweating as if she had a fever.

Even though the God Breaker ability existed, it didn't mean that anyone could use it. Besides the issue of talent, the more important point was the huge burden this spell exerted on the human body.

Actually, Kanzaki didn't really have a soft spot for Battojutsu.

It was just that if the spells she used couldn't decide the victor immediately, the huge burden would wreck her body.

The angel continued to attack mercilessly with the water wings as it stared at Kanzaki's face. Kanzaki was definitely moving far more than a normal human could, but not only was her face not turning red, it looked extremely pale as if it had been soaked in ice water. The hand that was holding onto the hilt of the nodachi was trembling.

The price of overworking had already started to wear Kanzaki's body down.

Power of God continued to swing the water wings as the effects of this battle of attrition were finally showing. If it kept the battle going, Kanzaki would wear herself out. Under the fast and slow attacks of the Power of God, Kanzaki's body finally started to waver.

The blue angel ordered the water wings behind it, intending to deal Kanzaki the final blow.

But Kanzaki stared at the Power of God with such sharpness in her eyes.

"...TOO SLOW!"

What was supposed to be the last water wing released by the angel was hacked in half by Kanzaki.

The continuous movements that were beyond an ordinary human body's capabilities caused Kanzaki's body temperature to rise abnormally, her blood flow was pulsating crazily, she was severely lacking oxygen, and her muscles and bones were creaking. That pain went beyond the fever; it could be said to be worse than taking poison.

But Kanzaki didn't stop.

With such savage and suicidal intent, she continued to hack at the water wings one by one, not letting up.

Kanzaki Kaori was holding off the angel's attacks, getting closer to death.

Every move she took, she could clearly feel her body being eroded. Every time she swung the Shichiten Shichitou, the overwork would rip her joints and twitch her blood vessels. The organs that were unable to get enough oxygen were prompting Kanzaki's brain in pain.

There was no way to know how long Kanzaki could last. If an artery burst because of overwork, Kanzaki would die.

"But—"

Kanzaki gritted her teeth, ripping the two water wings that attacked in a tornado like manner.

She said with a bloody mouth, "—So what?"

Kanzaki continued to swing the nodachi like a storm, slashing numerous water wings.

She definitely couldn't let the Power of God get through.

The Kamijou father and son were trying to prevent the Sweep from activating. If Kanzaki fell, they would be attacked by the Power of God.

She definitely couldn't let the Power of God get through!

She slashed the water wings from outside and endured the corroding of her body. Even if she was scarred thoroughly, Kanzaki still gritted her teeth and held onto the nodachi, making numerous slashes every second when it was supposed to be impossible; she was slashing the water wings multiple times within a single second and preparing for the next attack.

The smell of blood and her gradually hazing consciousness caused Kanzaki to remember a distant memory.

At the time, Kanzaki had still been the Priestess of the Amakusa. For a twelve-year-old, such a position and respect had been too much for her. But Kanzaki had always wondered. One of the priests would always read a scripture of the Bible. But there was one chapter that Kanzaki never understood.

Heaven and Hell.

It was said that when humans die, God would decide whether a person should be sentenced to Heaven or Hell. So humans had to do a lot of good things in order to prepare for Heaven.

However...

If God had the power to save everyone, why did he need a Hell?

If God could save everyone without exception, why didn't he do so? Couldn't he just guide those who went down the wrong path? If he really had a pair of divine hands, why couldn't he just let everyone have happiness and let everyone smile happily?

Why was it that only a few people could earn that happiness?

Why must the people who weren't chosen be sent to Hell?

Kanzaki had always been one of the chosen ones. However, that ended up causing the people around her miss out on getting chosen. When a plane Kanzaki had taken crashed, Kanzaki was the only survivor. When Kanzaki was hunted by an assassin, the bullet missed, but hit someone else beside her. When Kanzaki's room was blown up, many people had covered Kanzaki to block the impact, one of them a child less than ten years old.

The people who never got chosen until the end still smiled when they saw Kanzaki.

"Ahh, that's great."

"It's okay if you're alright."

They said that as they squeezed out their last ounces of breath, reaching out their hands to pat the young crying Kanzaki on the head to comfort her.

And then closed their eyes with that peaceful expression, and the comforting hands gradually lost their strength.

All that was Kanzaki's fault.

When God assigned happiness, he would mess up. So people like Kanzaki who weren't strong would be cared for, and numerous people would suffer for her. Thus Kanzaki didn't want to use her power for people who were chosen like her. That was because those who were chosen could live on with their own power, and that power shouldn't be hoarded among those chosen.

If Kanzaki's power was taken from those who weren't chosen, she should return it to them.

Because those who helped others, would always be the people who weren't chosen and were mercilessly abandoned.

So Kanzaki couldn't kill. Even if she had such tremendous power, she couldn't kill. There was once a time when Kanzaki had fought against a boy because of a certain situation. Anyone could have predicted the outcome of a fight between an expert and an amateur. It had been decided in mere seconds. However, the battered boy asked Kanzaki why she didn't kill him. The answer was simple, it was not that she hadn't wanted to, but that she couldn't. It was because those that Kanzaki wanted to protect were people who provided help to others like how the boy was beaten up.

So Kanzaki had made up her mind.

She would focus her only belief into her blade and use it to force open her own path.

God, if you're only willing to save the people you chose...

Then I'll save the people who weren't.

"—Ha, AAAHHH!!"

Kanzaki exhaled, and the Shichiten Shichitou swung out, slicing two water wings. The retracted blade lashed out again and attacked a third water wing. After defending against numerous attacks, Kanzaki was gradually beginning to feel that this battle would not last for long.

Kanzaki would most likely lose. Even though she had managed to obtain the God Breaker body through the Amakusa spell, she couldn't possibly remain unharmed through the vicious attacks of the water wings.

But Kanzaki wouldn't give up her life for naught. The moment her body got worn down, the water wings of the Power of God would slow down. If she used that chance and her remaining strength to infuse the God Breaker power into the Shichiten Shichitou and threw it at Sasha Kreutzev, maybe she could kill the archangel inside Sasha Kreutzev.

Kanzaki's face ached in pain.

But that wasn't because her defeat could be easily predicted.

But because Kanzaki didn't want to kill the Power of God as well. She just wanted to hold off the archangel. The Shichiten Shichitou Battojutsu Yuisen was different from the wire spell Nanasen, which was used to trick the enemy; she couldn't hold back. Thinking that her nodachi may accidentally hurt the Power of God, Kanzaki felt the strength gradually seep away from her fingertips.

But Kanzaki knew that she couldn't stop her blade. If she didn't go all out, Kanzaki would be ripped apart by the Power of God in an instant. Once Kanzaki lost, the Kamijou father and son would die.

If she wanted to save their lives, she couldn't relent in her attacks.

But if this kept up, Kanzaki would still have to choose to kill the Power of God.

And that was one of the reasons why Kanzaki had wanted Kamijou to get away from the battlefield as much as possible. If the amateur Kamijou went up against the Power of God, the chances of him dying immediately would be more than 99%. However, Kamijou's right hand had the Imagine Breaker that could erase any supernatural power. If he actually managed to touch the Power of God that was formed entirely by supernatural power, it was likely that the Power of God would be erased.

All those who weren't chosen were among those Kanzaki wanted to save.

Viewing it from another perspective, the archangel in front of her didn't want to be put in that situation.

When Angel Fall had been activated, among all the angels, only it had been affected, which was was obviously another misfortune.

So...

(...If I want to settle this and prevent anyone from getting hurt or dying, I can only hope that Kamijou Touma can remove Angel Fall. I beg of you, Kamijou Touma, before this stupid battle lasts any longer—)

Kanzaki gave a painful expression as she continued to swing the Shichiten Shichitou.

Even when she was about to die, Kanzaki still prayed for the Power of God who was forcing her to her death. Kanzaki was praying deep inside like a terrified child.

(—I beg of you, please save this angel, Kamijou Touma!)