Toaru Majutsu no Index

Volume 7, 4: Amakusa-Style Church of Distinct Doctrines. AMAKUSA_Style_Remix_of_Church.

Volume 7, Chapter 4: Amakusa-Style Church of Distinct Doctrines. AMAKUSA_Style_Remix_of_Church.

Part 1

Seven chapels form the Church of Orsola.

Every single chapel was to be used as a place for carrying out one of the seven sacraments. No two were the same size; how big each construct had been built and how much money had been spent on it depended on how often it'd be used and how important it was.

Where Orsola and company were right now was the "Marriage Chapel", the place where marriages were held. It was the place they had spent the most money on, so the room was the biggest. The second largest room was the "Fuyou Chapel", used to carry out funerals. Although the "Holy Order Chapel" and the "Confirmation Chapel" were rather significant religiously, they couldn’t earn money from "ordinary folks" like Kamijou, so their rooms were smaller. These smaller constructs were decorated with art pieces like sculptures, drawings, and stained glass, and it seemed that they planned to open them to the public as art galleries or museums in order to earn extra money for the Church.

The website that Kamijou’s phone was connected to only displayed this information. However, it was incredulous for the Church members to have set up an introductory website. Maybe they had considered this place a tourist site, as the webpage even revealed the scheduled plans and the complete map. To Kamijou and company, it was an unexpected reward... Of course, the website was only disclosing things that "the public are allowed to see".

“Peh!”

Kamijou, carrying an injured Orsola, ran through the back door of the "Marriage Chapel". There was not even a single blade of grass, as everything was covered by the flat stone floor. When Kamijou’s two feet passed the back door, the weapon-wielding nuns started chasing after him.

Taking advantage of the battle between the Amakusa and the Roman Catholic nuns, Kamijou carried Orsola out of the "Marriage Chapel". Although he was not willing to part with Index and company, they were separated, so he had to run out first.

While running, Kamijou looked at Orsola’s face.

“Sorry I’m late. Are you alright?”

“...Don’t worry. This is a minor injury; I’m alright.”

Orsola’s clothes were tattered; the metal parts of the zippers were broken. Every jerk caused her entire body to stiffen in pain, and it was obvious that her injuries were serious.

But her face only showed fatigue, and not pain.

She looked like she was going to cry, being carried by Kamijou in his arms, as she looked at his face like a missing child finally finding their parents.

Damn it! Isn’t fighting here the simplest way?

Kamijou carried Orsola as he continued to run forward.

The "Marriage Chapel" was extremely large, but to fight so many enemies inside was suicidal. It wasn’t a case of which side was stronger; just having everyone push someone would be enough to kill him. Moreover, Kamijou was just an ordinary high school student. He could win if it was one-on-one, and he'd be in danger if it was one-on-two, but he would have to run if it was one-on-three; Kamijou’s capabilities were just like that.

However...

Running away wasn’t a sign of defeat.

“Ho...!”

Just when countless pursuers were about to grab Kamijou, several Amakusa members jumped in from the roof of the chapel. The weapons that were about to pierce Kamijou’s body were sliced in half by the Amakusa members. Then, one Amakusa member viciously kicked the frontmost nun so hard that she flew backwards.

Shua—! The footsteps were like tides, as one group of Roman Catholic nuns surrounded the Amakusa members like some giant organism.

Thanks...!

Kamijou ran off, kicking a can that a worker had thrown aside. Of course, such an attack wouldn’t hurt a Roman Catholic nun.

But seeing something fly by was bound to attract their attention.

“!?”

Just when the nuns were distracted, the Amakusa members broke through the perimeter, nodded to Kamijou to express their appreciation, and scampered off.

Kamijou didn’t have time to look back. Although the nuns were wielding heavy weapons, those weapons couldn’t match a person’s weight. The nuns again chased after Kamijou, trying to whittle down this lead.

The nun in the back was waving a torch, and a magma rock as large as a softball was shot out of it. Kamijou grabbed Orsola tightly, avoided it, and arrived at the rectangular "Holy Order Chapel" behind the "Marriage Chapel". He dashed towards the step pedals used for construction around the Chapel, and climbed up the ladder leaning against the wall to the second level. A torch-holding nun followed, and Kamijou raised his right leg to kick her down. Another nun was able to get from ground level to the second through some unknown means, and Kamijou kicked her off while she was trying to balance herself on the shaking platform, causing her to fall back down.

“—”

Several nuns were standing at ground level, staring coldly at Kamijou and Orsola.

They were beginning to realise something.

Although it was possible to corner Kamijou when they were chasing him like this, once Kamijou could create a one-on-one situation, he could keep running.

The platform that Kamijou was standing on was made of steel pipes, so they were not only thin and long but also unstable. So, the nuns couldn't attack Kamijou from every direction. If the nuns climbed up to the long platform, they'd naturally have to line up. Not only that, but if there were too many people on the platform, it wouldn’t be able to handle the weight and would collapse. Unless they were thinking of dealing damage from both sides, they couldn’t win with numbers.

The nuns silently thought about this.

They reached a common understanding without needing to talk. At the same time, they raised their weapons.

Rods, axes, crosses, Bibles, even the giant minute hand of a giant clock: they had all sorts of weapons. These weapons were aimed at Kamijou Touma, who was above them. Red, blue, yellow, green, purple, tea, white, gold... many different colors were glowing from the fronts of these weapons.

Oh... no...!

Kamijou held Orsola, who was unaware of what was going on, and frantically ran along the metal pipes. At this moment, numerous glowing feathers of different colors attacked them. These feathers looked like rocketheads attached to quills, hitting where Kamijou and Orsola had been one at a time. The feathers damaged the outer walls and the platform severely. DONG! The platform suddenly began to shake.

In fact, the nuns weren’t aiming at Kamijou, but at the platforms below Kamijou’s feet.

They never cared about Orsola’s safety. Besides, as long as her brain and heart were still working, she was defined as "not dead".

The platform underneath Kamijou’s feet was shaking like a sinking ship.

Of course, once he hit the ground, he would be surrounded by several nuns.

“WAAAAAAAAHHH!”

Kamijou meaninglessly shouted. As the platform was becoming more slanted, the path he was running on got even steeper. He desperately sprinted up the almost-vertical platform, and the platform that was originally as high as the second level was now reaching the third level, near the roof.

Kamijou held Orsola tightly, and jumped.

His feet landed on the marble roof, and at the same time, the platform built from metal pipes and parts collapsed to the ground.

Hearing the platform that he had been standing on collapse with such a loud sound, Kamijou felt chilly. He hugged Orsola and finally stopped, taking in a deep breath.

“Are... are you alright?”

Orsola was worried that she was being a burden, and looked at Kamijou as she asked uncomfortably.

“I’m alright.”

Kamijou casually answered as he scrutinised Orsola’s condition. Orsola had been treated badly and violently, as her robes were tattered, the zippers were spoilt, and the fabric was all messed up. It could be a rather seductive scene in an ordinary situation. But right now, Orsola was thighs were covered in blood, swollen until they were brown. Nobody was going to think of anything wild.

...Damn it.

Kamijou didn’t say anything as he cursed deep inside.

No matter how big someone is, they can’t face off against so many nuns! Agnese Sanctis! To think that you ordered them to beat her like a spineless chicken!

Kamijou was raging inside, and really wanted to rush into the enemy's front lines, but he was worried about Orsola’s safety. He had to find some place for her to rest, and treat her wounds no matter what. Kamijou frantically thought.

But he couldn’t stay there forever.

In order to prevent the enemy from attacking him from below, Kamijou ran from the side of the roof to the middle. As long as he was there, the enemy should probably be unable to see him.

“Then...”

Kamijou placed Orsola on the roof that was under construction, and grabbed a toolbox nearby with both hands.

Thunk!

The next moment, a loud explosion occurred from below, and three nuns quickly jumped towards the roof.

Kamijou used his full strength to push the heavy toolbox away. The box hit one of the nuns, and she lost her balance before falling down to the ground.

The remaining two nuns wordlessly landed on the roof. Both of them were holding the hour hand and the minute hand of a giant clock. The bases were wrapped in bandages, probably to prevent them from falling off.

The nuns without jumping ability rushed to the roof through the stairs inside, and Kamijou could hear many footsteps below him.

Being at a disadvantage, Kamijou didn’t dare to turn his head, and only moved his eyes, looking for a way out. At that moment, Kamijou, who was standing on the rooftop, saw a nun dressed in white robes running around inside the wide compound of the Church of Orsola.

Like Kamijou, the girl was chased by several black-robed nuns.

But Kamijou, who was overlooking from the last section of the roof, couldn’t help but break out in cold sweat. In front of the white-robed nun was another group of nuns approaching. Both sides were unaware of this, but if the white-robed nun continued to run in the same direction, both sides would meet each other.

“INDEX!”

Kamijou couldn’t help but shout. At that moment, the two nuns wielding the clock hands rushed from both left and right.

The girl running on the ground didn't hear Kamijou.

Part 2

As the positions of the "Baptism Chapel" and the "Marriage Chapel" were relatively tilted to each other, there was a triangular atrium between them. Tatemiya Saiji continued to swing his large sword in this atrium.

Tatemiya was the last Amakusa member to retreat from the "Marriage Chapel". Just like the other Amakusa members who were fighting to create enough time for Orsola to escape, Tatemiya had been trying to create enough time for the Amakusa members to escape. Currently, the Amakusa members had escaped and were now fighting the Roman Catholics.

On the smooth marble floor, there was no length of grass, and there were stands for placing sculptures everywhere. When the Church was finished, there would probably be sculptures of angels or the religious greats known as saints. Right now, however, there were no sculptures, and they were rather empty. All the religious art pieces had been blown to dust, as if the Church had been invaded by non-believers.

Tatemiya Saiji wasn’t using the tactic of "think while I fight" like Kamijou Touma did.

Because he was able to skillfully break down the enemy’s attack rhythm. He wouldn’t attack fully or defend fully; he would keep a balance between attack and defence.

When the nuns intended to charge in, Tatemiya would step forward.

When the nuns intended to step back and readjust their attacks, Tatemiya would step back.

Tatemiya’s actions surprised the nuns greatly. The moment the nuns misjudged what the enemy was going to do, they would naturally panic, and in this situation, Tatemiya normally would attack them. Even if the nuns were to carry out defensive maneuvers, they’d be blown away if they tried to block an attack from that giant sword.

But Tatemiya wouldn’t attack back. After attacking once, he would step back. He was not attacking all-out or defending fully, but instead maintaining a balance between them. Using this "stalemate" that wasn’t supposed to happen, he built up an invisible wall.

This is terrible; I can’t continue to play with them like this...

Tatemiya, though, saw his comrades waving their swords at the enemy and jumping about from the corner of his eye.

Although Tatemiya was looking rather confident and smiling, he was very nervous deep inside. The nuns were rational enough to analyze the attacks as they fought; this was why Tatemiya’s tactic could work. When the nuns got impatient enough and decided to pull out all the stops, not caring about their comrades’ safety, Tatemiya’s tactic would fail.

Whether it was attacking or defending, as long as there was an imbalance, the psychological wall would dissolve in that instant, and Tatemiya would be swallowed by the crowd charging forward.

It was like fishing, Tatemiya thought. If he pulled the rod hard, the fish would struggle and end up breaking the fishing line and escaping. To catch a fish easily, one had to give it enough freedom- which was to allow the enemy to attack and let them think that they had a chance.

Suddenly, Tatemiya could hear loud footsteps nearby.

“A new enemy?”

Tatemiya panicked, but upon listening carefully, he noticed that the footsteps were headed towards him.

Tatemiya was standing in the atrium between the "Marriage Chapel" and the "Baptism Chapel". At that moment, he saw the British Puritan nun in white robes standing at the apex of the triangle, which was the small gap closest to the two chapels.

She was being chased by the Roman Catholic nuns, only to meet up with another group of them, and was finally surrounded, unable to move. The number of people surrounding her was twice that of the enemies in front of Tatemiya.

Damn it! Don’t do something like this in front of me!

Tatemiya frantically tried to save the white-robed nun, but the nuns who were surrounding Tatemiya were working together flawlessly, creating a human wall like a great creature. To them, once they took down one, there would be more comrades who could assist them in taking him down. Since they couldn’t beat Tatemiya, they were wishing that their comrades would quickly take down the other enemies.

Tatemiya and the nuns glared at each other.

In the other corner, Index was swallowed by a large crowd, her body gradually sinking among them.

“Let me show you...”

Tatemiya adjusted his breathing and slowly raised his sword, preparing to use a killing blow.

Suddenly, a man’s voice could be heard from above.

“Stop! Don’t get near that child!”

Tatemiya looked up, and in an instant, the second-level window of the "Baptism Chapel" exploded, as a firestorm erupted from inside. Next, a Roman Catholic nun was shot out like a cannonball. When she landed, she barely tried to let the joints in her legs withstand the impact, but it seemed that she couldn’t withstand it anymore, as she collapsed again and lost consciousness.

Wielding a flame sword, Stiyl Magnus was standing at the window...

He said,

“In some situations, that child is much stronger when she fights on her own. We’ll weaken her fighting capabilities if we go near her. You probably don’t want to become like those people, huh?”

“What?”

Tatemiya was intrigued. At that moment...

BOOM! There was an explosion around Index.

Index reappeared, having been surrounded by tens, maybe more than a hundred nuns all around; in other words, a section of the perimeter was blown away. In that thick perimeter, a corner had been blown off by some unknown force, causing the perimeter to form a "C" shape. About ten nuns had experienced the impact directly, and one of them even landed at Tatemiya’s feet, several meters away. Seeing their comrade flying over their heads, the nuns fighting against Tatemiya turned to look at Index.

BOOM! Another huge invisible explosion, and several nuns were sent into the air.

“...What’s going on?”

Tatemiya looked at the nun at his feet. Her face was full of despair, and her body curled up like a baby, her arms holding her head. Although she had lost consciousness, she seemed to be having a nightmare, as she was still trembling. Not only that, the muscles on the nun’s legs were torn. That phenomenon hadn’t actually been an explosion, but the nun had jumped back. As if her survival and defensive instincts had gone haywire, she had even done the extreme by doing something that far exceeded her physical capabilities in order to get away from Index.

Stiyl jumped down from the second level, and landed beside Tatemiya.

“You’re also a Christian, and you should know that there are weaknesses or conflicting concepts in several Christian teachings. Many different Christian sects exist in order to patch up these weaknesses and conflicting concepts, but they create their own in the process; this is a so-called religious characteristic.”

“...So what?”

Tatemiya gently swung his longsword, restricting the nuns’ movements.

“That child has the knowledge of the entire world. With the knowledge of 103,000 magic books, she can make sharp criticism in the ‘conflicts’ that Christianity has- the ‘Sheol Fear’. To Christians, Christianity is like a function, and the paradoxes in its teachings are like holes in a cover, so the ‘Sheol Fear’ is their enemy. Upon hearing this, their personalities will completely dissolve within a short time.”

Of course, this spell was useless against enemies other than Christians. As for magical authors like Aureolus, they had set up a special magical barrier to prevent their minds from being destroyed by their own original magic texts, so this spell was useless to them as well. However, there were very few people in the world who could "write an original magical text and not get their minds broken" like Aureolus.

“The magical books aren’t just to only use spells. Although she has no magical power, she can use the knowledge of the magic books to attack with ‘Spell Intercept’ and ‘Sheol Fear’. There’s likely no one better to be the magical library than her.”

While the nuns were still panicking, Stiyl and Tatemiya unleashed a flurry of attacks. Stiyl let the flame blade explode, blowing the nuns away with a flame storm, followed up by Tatemiya knocking them out swiftly and cleanly. Index continued to send the numerous nuns around her flying with her "muttering".

Tatemiya was impressed and stunned. He said,

“Come to think of it, since she’s capable of such an impressive spell, why didn’t she use it in the beginning? Even if it was me, I’d be devastated if I was hit by that technique.”

“That spell is rather unstable and troublesome. I believe you know that it’s easier to do a religious brainwashing to a group than to an individual. From the Science side point of view, the ‘Sheol Fear’ uses group psychology to break through their own psychological defence.”

Stiyl again let the flame sword explode, suppressing the nuns. The nuns were trying to find a chance to charge forward, but their faces had been burned by the flames, so they hurried back.

“The ‘purity’ of the group’s psychology affects the effectiveness of the ‘Sheol Fear’. It’s easier to use when ‘the group’s thinking of the same thing’, and much more difficult when it’s ‘a complicated group with many different thoughts’ since that causes the ‘purity’ to drop, which makes it completely useless... In other words, when I was fighting with you, because both Kamijou Touma and I had been present, the group’s ‘purity’ dropped, so she couldn’t use the ‘Sheol Fear’. I was assigned to be her guard because of this possible scenario.”

Stiyl plainly stated,

“In other words, if you rush in now, the ‘Sheol Fear’ will be ineffective.”

After saying this, the conversation stopped.

There were more footsteps now.

Looking up at the roofs of the chapels beside the atrium, they saw several nuns standing above them.

Part 3

In the darkness of the "Marriage Chapel", Agnese rested her back on the marble column.

Agnese was surrounded by several nuns who were protecting her to ensure her safety. But with each explosion and crashing sound, these nuns would be so scared that their shoulders would jerk violently and they would look around frantically. In contrast, Agnese crossed her arms in front of her chest, as she silently closed her eyes to rest. The position of those who were protecting and those who were protected seemed to have changed.

“Don’t look so panicky; that’s too unglamorous. Especially you, Sister Angelene.”

“But... but... Miss Agnese...”

Those seemingly mocking words seemed to give the nuns a sense of relief, as they looked like they had seen a savior while they were on a sinking ship. Maybe talking to them would relieve them of their tension.

“The battle has lasted for more than ten minutes... Even... even if we add Orsola in, we still far outnumber the enemy... Don’t you feel something is wrong? Ah? Listen! Where did that explosion come from? Maybe... the enemy has turned from defending to attacking...!”

“...”

“Why... why don’t we take part in the battle as well? We can spare some manpower anyway...”

“It’s meaningless.”

Agnese impatiently said.

“Then... what should we do? Orsola’s been taken away... If she runs away again...”

“She can’t run.”

Agnese interrupted Angelene.

She was so confident that she was not willing to give an explanation.

“She’ll definitely be unable to run. In this damned world, this is predicated.”

The balance was broken in an instant.

The reason came from where Index was.

From the 103,000 magical texts, she found the parts that were detrimental to a Christian’s mind which created the "Sheol Fear", and was attacking the Roman Catholic nuns with it. During this situation, an accident happened. One of the nuns, Sister Lucia, the one who had attacked Kamijou in the theme park, suddenly shouted,

“Heavy attack! Light defence! Sacrifice yourselves! Destroy the enemy of God!”

In an instant, the nuns completely froze.

Their faces silently and gradually became expressionless, and like a military salute, they neatly pulled out two things from their clothes. Each of their hands was holding a rather high-class fountain pen.

...?

At that moment, Index was thinking that they were planning to use some magic to fire an attack at her.

But she was wrong.

The next instant...

Almost a hundred nuns surrounding Index inserted the pens into their ears without hesitation.

The squishy sound resembled a person squeezing grapes.

Bright red blood spurted out from their ears.

At the same time, they pulled the pens that were inserted deeply into their ears out, and then proceeded to raise their weapons.

Although their expressions were distorted due to pain, they were smiling bitterly like they had just destroyed their desires. There was something white on the blood-covered pens: their eardrums.

Index strongly felt that she was going to vomit any moment.

“Don’t tell me... it’s to block out the ‘Sheol Fear’...?”

If they were unable to hear anything, the "Sheol Fear" couldn't work.

Index realised this chilling fact as the nuns advanced together.

“Damn it...!”

The one who realised this first was Stiyl. He really wanted to immediately get over and save Index, but the great combination attack with Tatemiya would stop working.

Stiyl continued to let the flame sword explode, letting the firestorm block the nuns’ vision. But the heat could not reach where Index was. And by encountering the same attack so many times, the nuns became used to the flames and could find a way to attack them.

“Over here!”

Suddenly, a door of the "Fuyou Chapel" opened. Kamijou Touma stood at the door that was opened outwards. Orsola, who was injured badly, was standing behind him, using the bandaged minute hand of a large clock as a crutch. Maybe Kamijou felt that carrying Orsola around while running wasn’t the way to go that he was hiding in the "Fuyou Chapel".

In this critical moment, Index, Stiyl and Tatemiya rushed into the "Fuyou Chapel". Kamijou hastily closed the door. Right at that moment, numerous blades were stabbed into the 5-cm-thick oak door.

In a short time, the door had blocked the Roman Catholic nuns' attacks.

But a door like this could not withstand for much longer. Using the story of the Three Little Pigs as an illustration, it was like they were hiding in a straw house now.

“Seems like everyone’s okay... Orsola, can you walk?”

“You really like to worry. My injuries aren’t that serious.”

Orsola’s injuries were definitely serious; it was just that they were hidden underneath her nun's robes, so nobody could see them. Even so, she still weakly smiled at Kamijou. Although Kamijou was feeling compassionate, he couldn’t do anything. So, he barely changed the subject.

“...Okay, now what?”

Nobody could answer that question. Everyone present realised that the stalemate that was originally there was gone now.

The Amakusa members out there were surviving through their own sneak attacks and escapes, so they were already busy themselves and couldn’t possibly help now.

*Pang!* *Bam!* Like nails being hammered into wood, the number of holes in the wall continued to increase.

Index looked extremely pale as she said,

“They... just... stabbed their ears like that... My ‘Sheol Fear’ cannot work...”

Maybe Index was still thinking about how the nuns had stabbed their ears with fountain pens that the blood seemed to have been drained from her face.

“The ‘Spell Intercept’ can only work against one person at a time. It’s impossible to interfere when there are so many people chanting their spells...”

“Oh?”

Index continued to analyze her battle capabilities, and Kamijou was confused. He didn’t even know what Index had done based on what principle.

Tatemiya then said,

“Although my subordinates are hard-working, I guess it’s hard for them to reverse the situation. Humans are at their scariest when they’re willing to sacrifice themselves. No matter how good an expert fighter is, he can’t handle a group of people rushing like a flood. It’s like how an army of ants can kill any beast.”

His tone was full of reluctance, overlapping with the sounds of blades being stabbed into the door and being pulled out. Several eyeballs were peeking into the dug-out holes.

Kamijou felt chilly in his stomach.

Once the door broke open, several hundred armed nuns would rush in like a landslide. If they couldn’t come up with an answer within the next few minutes, everyone inside would be unable to survive.

But the more suggestions everyone gave, the more they sunk into despair. Although Kamijou was as panicky as an ant in a hot pot, he was at a loss on what to do.

“Eh... If... we had ‘The Book of the Law’, maybe we could find a spell to protect ourselves using my code.”

Orsola suddenly asked.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"The Book of the Law".

Although it was the cause of everything, the magic book had been long forgotten by everyone. The forbidden book written by Edward Alexander- also known as Crowley, the greatest magician in the world- contained a strong power and knowledge, said to be able to allow humans to use the "Angelic Spells". Just opening one page was said to be able to end this Christian age.

Since "The Book of the Law" was so dangerous, "breaking the seal of ‘The Book of the Law’" could be used as a negotiating tool.

“Too bad ‘The Book of the Law’ wasn’t stolen; it was all a ploy to frame us. In other words, the real ‘Book of the Law’ may not even be in Japan. They only brought a fake, and the original should still be in the Vatican; we have no-”

“It’s here!”

Kamijou and Index shouted out at the same time.

That was right, the original "Book of the Law" was here.

“Index, although you’re unable to decode ‘The Book of the Law’, you might have memorised it thoroughly in order to decode it, right? You do have the original text of ‘The Book of the Law’ in your head, right?”

“Un, I still remember those codes that aren’t decoded yet.”

Hearing that, Stiyl’s expression changed drastically.

“No way! If you do so, she’ll memorise the correct content of ‘The Book of the Law’! That means that even more magicians will want her!”

“Are you worrying about me?”

Index, who only treated Stiyl as "somebody who had nothing to do with her", asked suspiciously. Stiyl, who treated Index as an "old friend", didn’t know how to reply, and his face was flushed red. But Stiyl smacked his mouth again, not saying anything more. Stiyl was clear that Index already knew that the magicians were chasing after her, so no reason would stop her. Besides, there was no other way out.

Stiyl thought for a while. Conflicting thoughts were inside his head like angels fighting against each other. He suddenly shouted,

“Kamijou Touma!”

“What... what now?”

“You have to be even stronger! If there’s any consequence that harms her in any way, I’ll burn your body, heart, and soul until there’s not even ash!”

Stiyl then cursed, smacked his mouth again, and turned around. Index still looked like she didn’t know what was going on, as she was somewhat bewildered by Stiyl’s anger. Tatemiya looked at Kamijou with a profound meaning, then turned to look at Stiyl. Kamijou thought, “Please don’t look at me like that.”

Puzzled, Index tilted her head, and asked,

“Anyway, can you tell me how to decode ‘The Book of the Law’?”

“Ah, yes, then, I’ll explain it to you.”

Being asked by Index, Orsola continued on.

At that moment, Kamijou felt sweat emerging from his forehead.

In the past, he had thought that it was only fantasy, yet it was about to come true. The danger that Kamijou had never ever thought of continued to appear in his mind.

Kamijou was very clear of what the "Angelic Spells" that were only rumours and speculation to the magicians were (what an irony). He had seen firsthand one of the four great angels, the "Power of God", summon the magic spell "Judgement"- billions of light bombs that nearly turned half the earth to crisp.

If they used such a spell, they could turn the tide around.

But...

Should humanity meddle with such power?

Orsola seemed to have sensed Kamijou’s worries, and said,

“We have no need to show them the power of ‘The Book of the Law’; we just need to tell them that we have decoded it and can use it anytime. If possible, I would like to avoid using this power as well.”

Orsola seriously said.

That was right; the original reason why Orsola was studying "The Book of the Law" was to cause the knowledge inside the book to disappear. Right now, her actions were going against what she originally believed in. Also, even if they managed to get through this crisis, they would be harassed by magicians all over the world for having the knowledge of "The Book of the Law".

She had already thought about all this. But she decided to do it.

Even if it went against her ideals, even if it was going to put her in danger, she still wished to help Kamijou and company.

Throughout history, no one had been able to find a way to decode "The Book of the Law".

Even Index, who was keeping the 103,000 magical texts, couldn’t decode the banned book inside her.

“The base model is Temurah, which is the switching of the texts' locations. But there’s a special rule that’s closely related to the number of lines. First, arrange the twenty-two lines of Hebrew text into two rows, and according to the rows—”

Kamijou felt like a duck that heard some thunder rumble, but to Index, it was very important. Kamijou had never seen her so serious before.

Right now, Index was processing and decoding the magic book that nobody had read before, forming a blueprint of the strongest weapon. On one hand, Kamijou was bewildered; on the other hand, he was wondering if he was taking part in an irreversible mistake.

“—In other words, the texts with different numbers of lines have to be changed again using another rule, so it sounds complicated. But even if the page changes, as long as the number of lines don’t change, the rule of change won’t change. Then—”

“The sentences with changes done to the positions of the words have to be rearranged according the number of pages. So then, the original content of the text can be restored. The title is ‘End of Two Eras’, and the content is written in Enochian about the Human Angelification Spells.”

Index suddenly finished what Orsola was about to say, as if she had read Orsola’s mind. Orsola was wide-eyed now.

“It’s alright; I know what’s going on.”

Orsola was surprised that Index had interrupted her while she was conveying her own way of decoding that only she should know. She asked,

“May I ask, what do you mean by 'you understand'?”

“Um...”

Index said with a heavy tone.

“This isn’t the way to decode it; it’s a fake answer that the author left behind.”

“What...?”

Orsola went numb.

Index sadly turned to look at Orsola, and said,

“I’m sorry. I came up with this answer myself as well. Besides this one, there are many more fake ones out there. The most frightening thing about ‘The Book of the Law’ is that...”

Index sighed, and continued,

“There’s more than a hundred ways to decode it. And every single way of decoding it can form a text, but those are all fakes. It’s not that nobody can’t decode ‘The Book of the Law’, but that anyone can actually decode it because they are misguided.”

“This is impossible...”

Orsola hoarsely croaked.

“The wrong explanation can still create a ‘text’ that someone can read, so even when one finds a wrong way of decoding it, everyone will think that theirs is the correct way. It’s normal that you fell into the trap without noticing. Besides the title on the cover of ‘The Book of the Law’, there’s also a line of English words; do you remember?”

Index painfully conveyed this cruel truth.

“‘Desire, and it’ll be thy magic’; in other words, what one perceives to be the correct way to decode it can create several ‘wrong answers’ for ‘The Book of the Law’. ‘The Book of the Law’ is such a scary book.”

Orsola Aquinas’s face showed that she had lost all hope.

This couldn’t be helped. She had gambled her life in order to interpret "The Book of the Law", thinking that it would bring about happiness to everyone, and destroy this magic book, the root of all evil.

But unexpectedly, the "way to decode" that she so treasured was unable to do anything.

Not only was it unable to destroy the magic book, but it also couldn’t save her friends in this critical juncture.

“Look on the bright side. If we tell them that Orsola didn’t find the way to decode it, I wonder if they’ll be magnanimous in their actions?”

Tatemiya asked.

At the same time, a huge knocking sound came from the chapel’s doors.

“I guess it’s unlikely. Since they’ve thrown away their façade, they probably won’t hold back.”

Stiyl replied.

In the desperate situation, he gave a faint smile.

It was useless.

Their only hope was gone.

Kamijou frantically tried to bring Index and Orsola out the back door, but accidentally knocked into Stiyl, who was wielding a flame sword. The rune cards, which were supposed to be the killer blow, landed on the ground without response.

*BAM!*

There was an impact that was much louder than the first, and the off-type doors of the "Fuyou Chapel" were knocked down. Kamijou and company only had time to say two or three sentences. A few hundred nuns were wielding all sorts of religious weapons as they rushed into the church construct that was built for funerals.

Part 4

Ten minutes later.

Only the commander of the nuns, Agnese Sanctis was inside the pitch-dark "Marriage Chapel". The ten nuns that had been assigned to guard her were about to collapse from nervousness, so Agnese had relieved them of their duties by ordering them to battle. Although it was much more dangerous on the battlefield than here, they had happily accepted the order. The fear of being unaware of the situation made it even more unbearable for them.

It’s nothing big; why so nervous?

Agnese sighed upon remembering the sight of her cowardly subordinates. Right now, there were sounds of explosions and crashing outside the construct, but Agnese didn't look uncomfortable. Once someone was experienced enough, they could understand the situation just by hearing the sounds. Compared to a while ago, the enemy was in a mess and could only defend.

Eh?

Suddenly, she heard some noise that was uncoordinated with the battle.

It was a set of footsteps.

The owner of the footsteps opened the huge doors of the Church.

*BAM!*

Kamijou Touma was standing at the entrance, but Agnese wasn’t fazed. She was not panicking; in fact, she was smiling. The same scene had happened before, but right now, Kamijou looked tired, and there were many wounds on him.

“With that difference in numbers, how did you get here?”

Agnese asked as she rested her back against the marble column. Though Kamijou was breathing hard, he was smiling.

“About this, we played some tactics.”

“Tactics? Hm...”

Agnese closed one eye.

“I see, I see. You’re able to appear here so smartly by sacrificing your comrades. Naturally, nobody can get here if everyone gathers to fight against my subordinates. But is this alright?”

“...”

Agnese’s statement had a mocking tone to it, but Kamijou didn’t reply.

So now, Agnese thought that she had struck some place in Kamijou’s heart where it hurt, and smiled even more happily.

“Hoho, Orsola Aquinas had been praising you people just now. She said that your actions are based on trust, that you’ll never lie to anyone. HAHAHA! This is too funny. In the end, you still tricked your comrades, using them as a sacrifice in order to protect your life, right?”

“No.”

Amidst this mocking, Kamijou revealed a smile that was completely different from hers, one that was completely free of pretense.

“Don’t think that I’m like you, I trust them very much. There are some things they can do that I can’t. So, I’m in charge of the other thing. It’s just that simple.”

Kamijou clenched his right fist.

“If possible, I hope that they can believe in me, feel that I can complete this mission, and don’t have to worry.”

“...Do you think that by beating their commander, my subordinates will stop their attacks? I’m impressed that you guys can come up with such a naïve idea. What will happen to sheep that lost their shepherd besides going out of control?”

Agnese Sanctis’s back left the icy-cold marble pillar.

She kicked the silver staff that was left aside on the ground, and it popped up, and landed in her hands.

“Alright, I’m bored to tears anyway. Idleness is a sin; I’ll crush your last hope as a parting gift.”

Kamijou Touma looked around, confirming the situation.

The two of them were about 15 metres apart. As the construction inside the church wasn’t complete, the interior was completely empty, and there were no obstacles. A huge group of people were fighting outside, and there were only Kamijou and Agnese in this closed room.

The silver staff that Agnese was holding was fine, and there was a sculpture of an angel on it. The angel was in a pose like that of The Thinker, an art piece of Auguste Rodin (1840-1917, a famous French sculptor), but there were six wings enveloping the angel like a cage.

*Dang!* *Dang!* Two clear sounds could be heard.

Agnese removed the thick soles on her sandals, kicking them backwards.

“Tutto il paragone. Il quinto dei cinque elementi. Ordina la canna che mostra pace e ordine.” (Everything is taken care of. The fifth of the five elements. Open up, symbol of peace and order, ‘Staff of the Bishop’.)

She uttered a chant as she held the staff with two hands. The angel wings that were curled up on the silver staff opened up like flower petals. The six wings were like a figure disc of a clock, as they pointed outwards accurately in six different directions of equal angles.

“Prima. Segua la legge di Dio ed una croce. Due cose diverse sono connesse.” (One of the idols that obeys the Son of God and the power of the Cross, connecting to foreign bodies and people.)

Agnese chanted on as she started to swing the silver staff gently.

*DANG!* The front tip of the staff hit the marble pillar, creating a loud sound.

...?

Both of them were rather far away from each other. For Agnese to strike like that, it really confused Kamijou.

*Bam!*

Kamijou's vision suddenly tilted 90 degrees sideways.

“GYAAA... AAA...!”

Kamijou felt that he had been hit on the side on his head by some sort of metal; the moment he was aware, he was already on the floor. He felt giddy, and looked up. Agnese again grabbed the end of the staff, spun it around twice, and slammed it on the marble floor.

Kamijou felt his back go numb, and quickly did a roll. In an instant, an invisible force hit where his head had originally been. *BAM!* With that heavy impact sound, there was a dent and some cracks on the ground, like it was hit by a hammer.

A coordinated attack? Is it an attack that’s similar to manipulating the dynamics of space?

Kamijou understood that he couldn’t stay in the same area even though he didn’t know how the attack worked. At that moment, Agnese pulled out a knife from her arm, and scratched the side of the staff like a guitar.

Kakakaka! Behind Kamijou, who was running around frantically, an invisible force cut the air.

“That stick...!?”

“Haha, seems like you finally realised it. This is like that map magic that the Amakusa used, but it’s really a bother to explain. Once I damage this staff, other objects will be damaged as well... like this!”

Agnese pretended to raise her knife, only to swing the silver staff around before slamming it into the ground. Kamijou was unable to dodge this attack from above in time, and his left shoulder sunk downwards in an unnatural position.

*Dong!* At that moment, the heavy impact could be heard.

“...!”

Such an attack could be nullified by the Imagine Breaker, but the problem was "where the attack would come from", so he couldn’t raise his right hand in time.

Kamijou stopped at this point. After Agnese raised the Angel Staff and swung it around, she slammed it into the marble pillar with her full strength.

Oh, no...!

Kamijou hastily threw himself to the side. Luckily, there was a slight delay from when Agnese gave the order to when the attack actually happened; in other words, as long as he kept moving, he shouldn’t be hit.

*Pow!*

The strike that shouldn’t have hit Kamijou cut deeply into his left wrist and the left side of his abdomen.

“GYAAAAHHHH...!”

Kamijou was pushed to the ground by the lateral impact. He felt a sharp pain coming from deep inside his abdomen, which was the centre of the body. Although his left wrist was between the point of impact and the left side of his abdomen, the impact slammed it into his abdomen. The joint of the left wrist seemed to be broken, and not only was he unable to use any strength, but even his sense of pain was gone. He could only feel a burning sensation.

Agnese tapped the staff on the ground.

Kamijou quickly rolled on the floor, but the impact still struck his chest. All the air in his lungs escaped. Even so, Kamijou endured the pain as he jumped backwards, wanting to avoid the next wave of attacks.

Agnese quickly raised her knife and scratched the staff, causing a few diagonal cracks behind Kamijou.

*Papapa!* The muscle fibers on Kamijou’s back seemed to be torn.

For some reason, like lightning and thunder, there was a second of delay between the damage and the pain.

“GYA... AA... AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Kamijou continued to roll on the ground, his back hurting like it had been burned by fire. Agnese swung the staff horizontally across, and Kamijou continued to bounce on the ground like pebbles skipping on the water surface.

“Don’t think that you can dodge them so easily.”

Agnese said with a cold expression, and swung the silver staff.

“Although there’s a delay between the command and the execution, once I calculate and readjust the position of the attack, this can be offset; in other words, all I need to do is predict where you will dodge to, and by setting up the attacks in those positions, you’ll run into the attack area. Anyway, this isn’t impressive. Those times when I missed were samples to help me correct the position errors; didn’t you realise it?”

Kamijou desperately turned his head that was hurting and hot, trying barely to hear all this. He stumbled as he endured the lingering pain on his back.

As if she was confident of victory, Agnese rubbed her staff with her cheeks, saying,

“I wonder if you know that in modern Western magic, there are five elements— fire, wind, water, earth, and ether— that have their own symbolic weapons. A ‘stick’ represents fire, a ‘dagger’ represents wind, a ‘cup’ represents water, and a ‘round table’ represents earth: these are the so-called elemental weapons.”

Agnese chuckled.

“And this staff in my hands is the ‘lotus staff’ that represents ether. It has a very interesting characteristic: it can change into a weapon of the other elements.”

*Shua!* Agnese swung the staff diagonally downwards.

When the staff struck the ground, Kamijou felt chilly, and jumped backwards- but this was predicted by Agnese. The premeditated strike hit Kamijou’s head from right above. Kamijou’s legs became weak, and he almost knelt down. His body was swaying about, and he couldn’t maintain his balance.

Kamijou tried to swing his right arm wildly, but the impact seemed to be mocking his stupid behavior, as it hit him in the stomach from an entirely different direction. Kamijou’s vision was blurred, and his legs were trembling badly.

Ugh... Damn it, I can remove it if I can touch it! How can I touch it? How can I predict where Agnese’s attack will come from? Right now, all I can do is predict when it'll come...

Kamijou looked rather angry, while Agnese grinned happily.

“Everything is created from the five elements. By mixing this with the ‘Idol Theory’, what will be the result? Didn’t that magical library explain the map magic of Ino Tadataka? It’s the same idea, but that magic links the ‘map’ with the ‘landscape’. However, this five-element staff represents everything; in other words, it can cause everything to be suitable for this rule- like, say, air itself...!”

Agnese raised her staff and slammed it into the pillar like a nail. The heavy impact hit Kamijou, whose reaction was slowed by half a beat, in the stomach. His entire body fell backwards.

He struggled to stand up, and found a trail of blood flowing out from the corner of his mouth.

Kamijou spit out the blood in his mouth, and said,

“Ugh... Peh. You said that you hated ‘The Book of the Law’, that you hated magic... yet it seems that you enjoy using it—”

This meaningless conversation allows Kamijou to catch his breath. Agnese knows this, but doesn’t seem to mind.

“Hahaha, I know that you’re very angry after being hit so many times. But the Bishop staves that the higher clergymen use evolved from the warhammer. The warhammer was used to destroy enemies’ armor, so what’s wrong with me hitting the enemy? Haha, come to think of it, it’s ironic that people view this metal rod as a symbol of peace and order.”

Agnese stuck her tongue out, and licked the side of the staff as if she was intoxicated. A weird tinge passed through Kamijou’s body, causing him to jump back frantically. Upon seeing his reaction, Agnese laughed.

“Besides...”

Agnese gently continued,

“Didn’t I say this before? The basic theories behind modern Western magic that was established in the 20th century were just some backdoor teachings of Christianity- or in the words of the alchemists, ‘these are secrets of Christianity that humans don’t know of.’”

Agnese again struck the staff down onto the ground.

Kamijou desperately tried to escape, but his feet could not catch up to his thoughts.

*Dong!* The heavy impact hit his head.

“Ugh...! What does that... got to do with me...? I’m not a magician.”

“All the same. Being able to get God’s grace despite not praying to him... that's unforgivable. Isn’t it? We worked so hard for the organisation, so why do we have to spend money on people like you who never did anything? Those radicals, the British Puritans, and the Amakusa are all the same. Any teachings outside the Roman Catholics aren’t teachings. They didn’t contribute anything; what they do end up being are obstacles. These people are like pawns who only deserve to sacrifice themselves on a mission.”

It’s coming...!

Kamijou grit his teeth.

Agnese’s attacks may not have been as powerful as Stiyl’s flame sword or Tatemiya’s strikes, but even an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to take it after being beaten a few times. Kamijou’s legs were trembling, indicating that his body was at its limits.

The time of attack was rather precise.

Since it was a magical attack, it was possible to eliminate it with his right hand.

So...

As long as he could grasp the angle and direction of the attack...

As long as he could touch Agnese’s attack with his right hand, it would be alright.

It’s coming!

Agnese frowned as she held the staff around like a performer. Kamijou was unable to dodge this "premeditated strike". Before he could even raise his right hand, the impact sent him flying away, and he rolled on the ground. He quickly pushed himself off the ground, and got up straight.

*Dong!* Kamijou concentrated all his strength on his legs as he stepped forward.

The distance between the two of them was about seven meters.

With Kamijou’s pace, he would be able to get in front of Agnese in two or three steps. Agnese looked rather relaxed, though. It was much easier to predict the enemy’s movements if he continued running forward. She tightly held onto the Angel Staff, and swung it into the ground like she was hacking a watermelon.

*BAM!*

There was a heavy sound.

If this strike lands from above, it would definitely smash his skull to pieces.

But...

I’ve been waiting for this—

Kamijou slammed his shoes onto the ground, and suddenly stopped moving forward.

As long as he didn’t move forward, he wouldn’t be hurt by the attack that was set up in front of him.

—I've been waiting for quite a while!

Then, Kamijou clenched his right fist, and swung it towards the empty space in front of him which he was about to "step into".

*BAM!*

A sound that was like a blown balloon bursting was heard. Kamijou felt his right arm touch some giant invisible bubble. The attack that should have appeared there vanished into thin air, just like that.

“WHAT?!”

In contrast to this amateur, Agnese the magic specialist was more aware than anyone else that this couldn’t possibly happen.

Like a cannonball, Kamijou rushed into the empty space in front of him.

Agnese frantically raised the Angel Staff in front of her.

But being caught off-guard, she couldn’t use her full strength.

Kamijou was already in front of Agnese.

Agnese’s staff finally hit the marble pillar.

With a resounding crash, Kamijou’s head tilted to one side.

But...

He didn’t loosen his grip.

*Bam!*

A heavy-sounding hit.

The back of Agnese Sanctis slammed into the wall.

She became giddy.

Old fragments of her memories that were sealed away gradually started to appear in her hollowing heart.

Ah... Don’t tell me...

Agnese tried desperately to seal her memories away, but like magma rising, there was an instinct to vomit from deep inside her stomach rising up, interfering with her thoughts.

I’m going back...

The scene in her memory was of a dark alley in Milan. All the sunlight had been robbed by tourist streets outside.

Over here, there were only people lying on the red brick ground, rodents, worms, and slugs.

Over here, there was no hope.

Am I going back there again...?

Going deeper into the memory, this fragment pierced through her heart.

It was the back door of a restaurant. She was digging into the rubbish bin for scraps of meat. She was afraid of dropping it onto the bodies of the slugs, the fur of the rodents, and the shed wings of the cockroaches, as she put it into her mouth, continuing to chew, and chew, and chew.

She did the same action every day.

No...

The cry in her heart awakened her from her haziness.

Her wrists were numb, her weapon was on the floor, and the knife that was used to scrape it slipped. Just like that, the symbol of her fighting spirit, the weapon that was used to defeat the enemy, left her hand, and fell to the ground.

But...

Even though she had already let go of the knife, she was not going to let go of the Angel Staff.

No! I definitely don’t want to... go back to that kind of life...!

Agnese held onto the silver staff tightly as if she was going to snap it.

Her consciousness was back.

Her fighting spirit was back.

“!!”

Kamijou Touma and Agnese Sanctis were glaring at each other.

Both of them were now approximately five meters away from each other. Whether it was the fist with a shorter attack range or the staff with a longer one, both could hit each other in an instant. This staring contest was like an iaido contest in an old drama, or a quickdraw contest in a Western movie.

Cold sweat flowed down their faces.

Their nerves were tight.

They stopped breathing.

“Humph.”

Suddenly, Agnese dully sighed as she lowers the Angel Staff. Not only that, but she also looked away from Kamijou, and started to look around.

Although it was a perfect opportunity to attack, Kamijou remained cautious. He was trying to find a trace of possible danger in this chance.

Agnese rolled her eyes at him, and said,

“I know you’re working hard, but everything’s over.”

At that moment, Kamijou didn’t understand what she was talking about.

But after thinking about it for a while, he understood what she meant.

Right now, it was quiet inside the "Marriage Chapel"; even the dropping of a pin could be heard in this place. It was like being locked alone inside a cinema; the terrifying silence stimulated the ears, travelling down from the head to the heart.

This silence wasn’t caused just by Agnese and Kamijou not moving about.

It also included outside.

There were about 250 Roman Catholic nuns, together with the allied group of more than 50 British Puritans and Amakusa members combined.

The total should be more than 300, as they were supposed to be fighting outside the "Marriage Chapel".

But right now, not a single sound could be heard.

What did this mean?

This meant...

“...”

Kamijou felt a stinging sensation all over his skin.

As if she wanted to remove this stinging sensation forever, Agnese Sanctis continued,

“Your original plan seems to have been for you to beat me, the commander, while your comrades held up my subordinates.”

Her tone was mixed with senses of mockery, insult, and sympathy.

“But this illusion seems to have been destroyed.”

Kamijou was stunned as he heard this.

He even forgot to breathe.

He released his fist.

There was no reason to battle anymore.

There was no reason to stay there.

Kamijou could only stand around, stunned.

A particular person’s face appeared in his head.

“Yeah.”

He gathered his last ounce of confidence, and said,

“That’s right; your illusion is destroyed, Agnese Sanctis.”

“What?”

Agnese frowned.

*BAM!* At that moment, the Marriage Chapel’s doors behind Kamijou were forced open.

Agnese Sanctis, who was facing off against Kamijou, slowly looked over his shoulders, at the doors.

Her face was full of fear and anxiety.

The figures at the doors of the "Marriage Chapel" weren’t her subordinates, but Index and Stiyl Magnus of the British Puritans; Tatemiya Saiji of the Amakusa Catholics; Orsola Aquinas, who was in Tatemiya’s hands; and Tatemiya’s comrades.

Besides them...

There was a humanoid monster covered in orange flames that was standing beside Stiyl.

Agnese didn’t know what that monster was.

But everyone who knew it called it,

"Innocentius".

A flame monster with a temperature of more than 3,000 degrees Celsius. Once created, it would continue to implode and regenerate, melting the enemy's every attack and any obstacle until its enemies were vanquished; a super offensive magic that followed the principle of "offence is the best defence" to the letter.

But even those who had seen this magic before would wonder if they were seeing an illusion at this moment.

Compared to back then, the "Innocentius" right now was completely different: the density of the flames and the momentum were different. The heat that was released from it distorted the air surrounding it, and there seemed to be countless invisible wings behind its giant back.

“I used 4,300 rune cards.”

The red-haired priest casually said.

“This number isn’t much... but the Amakusa are really something. They used the position of the runes to form a large picture, setting it up such that there’s a magical meaning throughout this entire place- which means that the Church of Orsola has become a giant magic array. And they even placed this construct outside the effective area in order to prevent the boy’s right hand from destroying it... Such a multi-structured magic array that includes and uses so many things, although it’s unorthodox, I may end up spending a lifetime studying this and still be unable to finish learning it.”

Stiyl proudly looked at the lump of fire in front of him.

“Thanks to them, the rune cards had been set up. Come to think of it, almost everything had been set up before the battle, and we were just touching it up just now, like filling up the missing parts of a jigsaw puzzle. Oh, yeah, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m never the type that will run around as they fight; I prefer to stand at one point and wait. Because of this reason, I need this kind of magic.”

The doors of the church were opened, and one could see the scenery outside. On the flat stone atrium, where there was not even a single blade of grass, burn marks from the magical flames were everywhere. The nuns in black robes were lying all over the place. Their flesh wasn’t burnt to ash, nor were they seriously burned.

The explosions that they had just heard had likely came from this flame monster.

The shockwaves caused by the flames pushing the air away had sent the nuns sprawling on the floor.

These nuns that couldn’t get up were just comatose.

Though only a fifth of the nuns had lost their combat capabilities, the destructive capabilities of "Innocentius" scared the rest, causing them to grit their teeth, not daring to rush forward.

Because they knew that once they got near carelessly, they would be the next victim of the flames and heat.

“I told you just now that we played a few tactics.”

Kamijou viciously smiled,

“They weren’t running all over the place just to be bait; they were just setting up the cards for Stiyl’s secret weapon... Of course, not being a magician, I’m not sure of the details.”

Kamijou’s right hand had the ability "Imagine Breaker"; he was unable to take part in the setting up of the rune cards, so he was the only one responsible for taking down Agnese. All this was a ploy to ensure that Agnese would be misled into thinking that Kamijou had used the rest as bait in order to create a chance for a duel to the death with her, so that the rune cards wouldn’t be destroyed.

Although Kamijou didn’t explain, Agnese had almost guessed what was going on.

At the same time, she knew what she needed to do.

She carefully raised her staff, and shouted at the nuns outside the "Marriage Chapel",

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? WE HAVE MANY MORE PEOPLE THAN THEM! THESE PEOPLE AREN’T WORTH FEARING AS LONG AS WE FINISH THEM ALL OFF!”

That was right. No matter what anyone said, there was a huge difference in the number of people between the Roman Catholics and Kamijou's group. The reason that Kamijou and company were still alive was due to their tactics and running about. The Roman Catholics could beat them easily as long as they surrounded them, not giving them a chance to escape, and attack at the same time. Although there'd be several casualties, the remaining 100+ people would step over their comrades’ dead bodies to finish off Kamijou and company.

This was the reason that Stiyl, though a professional magician, hadn’t killed a single nun; once he killed a few of them, the others would go berserk and commit a kamikaze attack, causing the situation to become even more dangerous. With his magical prowess, killing people was a lot easier for him than not killing them.

However...

The nuns, who had a huge advantage in numbers, didn’t take action.

“What are you doing...!?”

Agnese saw that her subordinates were unable to understand this simple logic, and was about to scold them.

But at that moment, she realised the reason behind it:

Doubt.

Although the nuns understood that Agnese’s point was correct, their hearts were unable to completely believe. Their hearts were like an unstable balance, unable to decide whether to fight or run. As long as one of them took action, the group psychology would affect the entire situation.

Agnese Sanctis remembered what Orsola Aquinas had said.

“Their actions... are based on trust...”

“...Compared to them... we’re truly ugly.”

Agnese lowered her head, and grit her teeth, almost breaking her molars.

Since the balance was in a swinging state, the problem could be solved by breaking this balance through tough measures; in other words, all Agnese needed to do was beat Kamijou in front of her.

If she used the power of the other nuns, she wouldn’t be able to show her superiority. However, Kamijou was in the same predicament; if his comrades were to beat Agnese, it would reveal his anxiety, nervousness, and fear. At that moment, the doubts inside the nuns’ hearts would disappear, and they'd rush onwards with the momentum of an avalanche.

In other words, it could only be settled with a one-on-one fight.

Kamijou Touma versus Agnese Sanctis.

Though the number of people on both sides totalled to more than 300, the two of them were in a state of isolation and helplessness.

The distance between them was now about five metres.

This distance was still within the Angel Staff's striking range, but Kamijou just needed to step forward in order to say hello to Agnese’s body with his fist. The situation for both sides was rather comparable; in other words, whoever struck first would win.

What... what should I do...?

Agnese carefully maintained the distance between them as sweat flowed down her forehead.

Will my attack hit him first?

Agnese kept telling herself to not panic. The usefulness of the "lotus staff" couldn’t be compared to a mere fist. As long as she estimated the position and struck with full force, beating the ordinary man in front of her should be easy.

What... what... is the right thing to do...?

However, should she really gamble everything on just a simple hit? What would happen if he dodged it? What if she guessed wrongly? Should she first use several light and fast attacks to limit his movements just to be safe before striking him down in one hit? The problem was that if those light attacks couldn't block his attack, and he rushed forward, what would happen to her?

But, but then, however, rather, the problem is, come to think of it...

Agnese overturned her thoughts again and again.

There were too many tactics that she could use, but she didn’t know which one to choose.

Method time, weapon... distance... How should I attack?

In contrast...

Kamijou Touma had no doubts over his tactics.

He concentrated all his strength into his right fist.

He would bet his life on this hit.

He believed.

Even though he was tired and one leg was in the coffin, he believed.

He believed in his weapon, in the path that his weapon created, in the scene when his weapon brutally hit the enemy’s body, that his victory would bring about a wonderful future.

Kamijou Touma’s actions were based on trust.

“It’s over, Agnese.”

There was no hesitation in Kamijou’s voice.

“You should be clear about it yourself; your illusion is already destroyed.”

Stiyl pinched the cigarette in his mouth, and threw it to the ground.

The two saw the orange flame fall onto the ground from the corners of their eyes.

At that moment, the battle started.

*DONG!* A strong and powerful step was heard.

Kamijou Touma clenched his iron-like fist, and swung it at Agnese.

What should I do... what should I do—KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Something seemed to break inside Agnese Sanctis’s heart.

Though the enemy’s attack was in front of her, the swaying balance was unable to make a decision. Agnese, whose mind hadn’t made a decision yet, was forced to make one. With low confidence, she swung the silver staff.

One side had already bet everything on his right fist; the other side didn’t know what to do.

It was obvious which side had the advantage.

*BAM!*

A stunning impact sound.

Agnese’s body flew away, grazed the large marble pillar, and viciously landed on the ground.

The large impact forced the Angel Staff to fall out of Agnese’s hands. After rolling on the ground for several metres, when all the air in her lungs seemed to have escaped, she finally stopped rolling.

By that time, she had already lost consciousness.

With this, the power balance between Index, Stiyl, and company and the Roman Catholic nuns surrounding them was dissolved in an instant. A nun who lost all hope of winning dropped her weapon, creating a sound. A second one... A third one... Finally, all the weapons dropped to the floor like a downpour.

The battle was over.

Just the fist of a single boy was able to bring down the inner mental defence of more than 200 enemies.