Toaru Majutsu no Index Painted prison chronicles

"Wait..." Ayu managed to speak, first time after a long while" You said... earlier you said that those brains still need to be alive. So did you..."

"No... tell me you didn't..."

It was the first time in a very long while since Touma saw Kumokawa so livid.

"Those brains are in perfect little vats, still alive and dreaming while awake. Their previous owners didn't really feel the difference. Like in that movie... what was it called... ah, Matrix. I managed to recreate a simulation for each one of them."

"You monster! They are as well as dead. This is not a true life!"

"Isn't a fake life in the name of truth better than no life in the name of falsehood?"

"Shut up!" Maidono said through her teeth" Everything about you riles me up. But there are two more things that bother me and I would like to have them answered before you get your justice"

"Huh? Sure, I will be leaving soon, but go ahead"

"Very funny. Firstly, you said you used the procedure you used on me and Ayu-san on yourself as well and that's how you are able to use Multi-Skill... how does that work?"

"Hmm, it's thanks to my amplified power and telepathic ability. When I readjusted it with data freshly acquired from Mitsuari-san, I managed to establish a telepathic network with those brains. They are a little bit like bluetooth AIM field transmitters."

"But if you underwent this accursed procedure... then you also lost something. So what-"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kaibi opened her eyes, which glowed with pink light" I cannot establish a proper connection. This effect... even if you use some form of mental power... is different from usual rebound. Measure Heart relies on emotional states. You lost the ability to express or perceive genuine human emotions. It all seems like a physical arousal to you. You are alexithymic!"

Veritas snapped her fingers, while tilting her head.

'She is angry. She is angry and she doesn't even know!'

"Such a cute face... you and those other two are sisters, right. Looking at you makes my heart race. You must be popular with guys, aren't you? As you said, looking at you makes my body tense. I don't know what it means, and it only gives me this strange sensation of pain in the head. So why wouldn't I..."

She extended her hand towards Kaibi, smile not fading from her lips.

"... kill you right here and now?"

In the next moment, a powerful gust of wind swirled around Veritas and lunched itself on Kaibi.

"Onee-chan!"

Touma jumped forward and took the blow, shielding the girl and causing both of them to tumble down to the floor.

"Oh my! You have quite the knack for intervening, do you?"

"You moron!" Kaibi pulled herself up" Don't take hits for me. I would've dodged that"

"I didn't want to take chances. Before I knew it... my body was already moving on its own"

"Last question. How can you even use esper ability?" Maidono pointed at their enemy" You are obviously too old to partake in a curriculum"

"Am I now? Tell me, heroic boy" Veritas, already turned back on them, pointed at Touma over her back" How old do I look?"

Touma blinked in surprise, before looking at Veritas from her purplish red hair through her torso and legs.

"I would say... upper 20s or 30"

"Oh, is that so? I guess it is by now. You see, this form of Multi-Skill I am using happens to accelerate the aging process a bit. You wouldn't believe it, but I am actually your senpai only by few years of time."

It was incredible. In a sense, she was an opposite of recently encountered Ladylee Tangleroad.

"Now then... I have cities to leave and few places to destroy among the way" Veritas extended her hand towards the ceiling" I bid you farewell then"

In the next moment, the ceiling was completely destroyed. Everyone could only stare in horror as the enormous mass of water was ready to collapse on them.

But it didn't flooded the room instantly. Instead it swirled around Veritas, encircling her as she ascended upwards.

"Is that... Hydro Hand?"

They never saw anyone control such masses of water.

"YOU ARE NOT GETTING AWAY! Touma, get everyone out and keep Hasacchi from doing everything stupid while I'm away. I'm going after her!"

"Maidono, wait-"

But the girl already shot out like a bullet, spreading her index fingers as far as she could.

That tore a narrow tunnel through the water, into which the girl went before disappearing.

Flying above the lake, Veritas turned around to see her former test subject with soaring above her with a wild grin on her face.

"Oh? How intriguing!"

"You are not the only one with a new tricks, traitor!"

With Touma and the others...

"She flew! How can she fly? Is she like Maidono?"

"No, Maidono flies using pressure on her own body to balance with external pressure and gravity while that brain maniac controlled the air itself and in a sense rode the wind. I am betting a lot that it was an aplication of level 5 Aero Hand... b-but we don't have time to analyze that now. We are getting submerged!"

The water was indeed flowing in fast.

"Everyone, out, out, out! NOW!"

(20 MINUTES LATER)

Everyone was panting on the bank of the lake, after miraculously escaping the flood.

Amazora carried Rikuri on her back, as the oldest sister's soul was practically leaving her body.

"That was close..." Touma wiped his brow." We would be dead if Hasako didn't use arctic on that tunnel."

"Oh, that was... nothing much..." Hasako, red from both fatigue and compliment, shook her head.

"Seems like some crazily powerful meetup" Mitori commented, standing above slowly recovering group" So, what are we going to do now?"

"Our enemy is a Multi-Skill user, hijacking brains to amass abilities. She probably thinks that quantity of level 5 abilities will turn into level 6 quality. Besides that accelerated aging effect, there must be some limitations to this power. We must figure out how it operates and stop her before she can leave the city."

"Is she really that crazy?" Mitori looked at the sky and Academy City's panorama.

"She can't feel empathy, she is guided by her obsession about objectivity and momentarily pleasure and displeasure, she's a super intelligent teen with a body of an adult and emotional stability of a small child. We can't leave her unchecked. Besides... kouhai is probably already thinking about saving her"

"What? I am not-"

"He is"

"He absolutely is"

"He totally is"

"O-Okay, but even so, I still know we have to stop her. Senpai, what's the plan now?"

"We will have support engage. Maidono-san is doing whatever she can to stop her, we should help her. Mitori-san, focus on protecting Ayu-san. Myself, kouhai and Hasako will head to join the support."

"What about us?" Rikuri wheezed out, trying to calm her breath.

"Veritas managed to realize BIV through some method. That means abilities she gets are linked with the brains that are stored somewhere, submerged in a reality simulation. If I am correct, destroying them should strip Veritas of her abilities. We don't know how far is the range of that telepathic network, but we need to find those brains. That's what I want you three to do."

"Senpai, but if what I understood from your explanation about BIV is true, then those brains still experience everything as if nothing happened to their body. They are still ali-"

"This is not a true life!" Kumokawa screamed back, clenching her fists, face to face with Touma" They are not free and they only feel what they are told to feel. Gokusai, doing it will be mercy. Besides, we have no time to argue, we need to hurry! She is here already."

There was a silhouette approaching through air in fast pace, before Shirai Kuroko teleported near them.

"Kumokawa-san told me to come here... what happened? You look like a mess"

"It would be faster to explain directly. Mitsuari-san, this is-"

"I see Tokiwadai uniform" Ayu spoke slowly" I can't recognize the face, but this voice... Shirai-san?"

"You know each other?"

"We were on the opposite sides of my battle against Mental Out one time..."

"Please send her information on what is going on, Mitsuari-san"

"A-Alright..."

"No, no, maybe it will be best to just tell me..."

Ayu pulled out a phone and clicked something on it.

There was a sound of a photo being taken.

Kuroko blinked and grabbed her head.

"Ah...I hate when telepaths do that! But... that's incredible. Reminds me of the time onee-sama fought with Kiyama-san and-"

"No time for reminiscing! Shirai-san, can you please take some of the people to the base of the mountain? We shall meet up with the others than and then I will ask you to transport those three sisters to place when they can search for the source of Veritas' power"

"Understood. But I can only carry two people at once."

"B-But I am really light!" Amazora protested.

Kuroko glanced at Rikuri's massive breasts.

"I doubt that you are the main source of mass I have to take into account while teleporting."

"So rude!"

"Take my sisters" Kaibi asked the teleporter" I am the most fit and will catch up in no time. As for Hasako-san..."

"I will do my best and make it down with the others to join Hokaze-san and Musujime-san!"

"Very well! I will be waiting for you"

"Be careful everyone! We shall see each other soon"

And with that, Kuroko, Amazora, and Rikuri vanished, quickly jumping 81 meter jumps in seconds, before completely disappearing in the distance.

"Senpai, before you go, there is something I need to tell Ayu-san" Touma looked at the girl who he once failed to save" Ayu-san, we both need to start anew. I know that right now, you went with us more on a whim and fuelled by emotions than by actual reconciliation and decision to move forward. I don't delude myself that all of the darkness that amassed itself through your loneliness and hatred will disappear just because this time I came for you. You are not expected to just forget about everything. But if I am allowed to be a little bit of selfish throughout all of this, even a little bit... then I am not letting you abandon yourself and die. I am going to reclaim as much of the time that should be yours, make you feel wanted and honoured. But I can't do it if you give up on life. So, in that selfishness, I will not let go of you even if I were to fight death itself over you. If there is a chance for the better, even a smallest percent in favour for the possibility of your happiness... I will strive my hardest for us to reach that ending together!"

Wide eyed Mitsuari Ayu looked at confident Touma and felt skin crawl all over her body.

It was true. Her emotions were too tainted and twisted for all of the problems to just go away. They shouldn't pretend that everything was resolved. The girl known as Mitsuari Ayu hated Shokuhou Misaki, hated the system that put her through so much suffering... and of course, hated her own self more than anything.

But the spark for change ignited in her soul. It was but a point in the shadows, but it was a point from which light could start to spread.

In that moment of bravery and determination from that single boy, Mitsuari Ayu fell herself falling in love again, from her toes to roots of her burgundy hair.

"I really don't deserve those words" she whispered, her cheeks reddening at Touma's declaration.

"I don't care. Like I said, that's just me being an egoist. Here, Hasako wants to say something too"

Hasako slowly approached Ayu, tears welling in her eyes.

"Mitsuari Ayu-sama... you don't remember me, do you? Or rather, you don't recognize my face now"

Ayu, slightly taken aback by the 'sama' honoriphic, slowly shook her head.

"I am sorry, but I can't tell who you are"

"My modern name is Kankyougami Hasako. But you may know me as the Beginning Child."

"Y-You... you are..."

"Yes, I am. I am the one you awoke from cold slumber. You are the one who brought me into this world after I was dead to it for many decades. I longed to truly meet you for a very long time. And I just want to say..."

Hasako slowly pulled Ayu into a hug, with Mental Stinger too shocked to react in any way.

The first esper spoke, warm tears trickling down her cheeks.

"I heard about what you've been through, and my heart cried out with each tale. I am so deeply sorry for the tragedies and misfortunes that befallen you. But as I heard that you are often compared to the current #5 level 5 of this city... personally I can only assure you... that as much as I may also respect Shokuhou-san... it was you who gave me new life. It was thanks to you I had the chance to begin again. It was through you that I gained a wonderful best friend. It was you who allowed me to find someone who I could truly trust and completely fall in love with. The starting point of all I am now, all I can be in the future, all I may accomplish and all I may see... it all comes down to what you did for me. Willingly or not, my life is thanks to a you, as your own self and no one else, Mitsuari Ayu-sama. You are one of the most important people in my entire existence, and I will never forget what you did for me, till the day I die. I shall hope for you to see your own importance and I will do my utmost to make you see the beautiful and magnificent young woman I see through my own eyes"

Ayu didn't know at which point she also started to hug Hasako and when her own streams of tears wet her face. She didn't hear such words in such long time that it thawed one of the icebergs surrounded her frozen heart.

Importance. Self-worth. And more.

All that she wanted, Hasako wanted to gave to her...

"We need to go now" Kumokawa reminded them, when Ayu and Hasako separated.

So everyone got ready to go. But...

"I am sorry... I hear what you're saying... but I can't go. I know that in the past I wanted to be saved. But right now... I should not be saved. I should work this out on my own and-"

Kaibi went towards Ayu in a rapid pace and asked.

"Looking at my clothes, you must know who I am. I am one of the assassins who once gave you a fiery near death experience. I am not as exalted in speeches as Touma or Beginning Child, so my message will be curt and to the point"

And with that, she slapped Ayu across the face.

"Kaibi!" Touma rushed forward, but Kumokawa stopped him

"Let it be. This might be something much needed"

Kaibi didn't put much force into slap, but it still caused Ayu's face to turn sideways, as she blinked in shock.

"For the record, I heard a lot of things about you since we last saw each other" Kaibi continued" And I truly think that you have one of the most screwed up stories around. I really feel for you and I will do whatever I can to help you. Because of Kamijou Touma, we've changed and we are no longer the same people that we were when we were trying to kill you But let me tell you something. Life waits for no one. If you spend your time wallowing in the past and self-pitying your tragedy, you might have everything you wish for slip before your grasp. And it would be the fault of no one other than you. Because you are not the only person who ever lost someone. You are not the only one who had their heart shattered. I tinged my own heart with lies to make it a painted prison for my dreams, but it was rotting away. So as one broken person to another, when you have the chance. Stop being soft and face reality. Because it might just surprise you. You know, this guy moved a lot of people to save you. Some of those people hate each other's guts, but they still stood side by side because he wanted to save you. In all of this time, he had his mind solely on you. So turning back without even trying, using same excuses, and being scared of taking responsibility is spitting in the face of all those efforts. And if that's how you want it to play out, then I am utterly disappointed. I was beginning to think that you were worthy of being our target. Was I mistaken?"

She lowered her voice, so only Mitsuari could hear her.

"It's not a crime wanting to be saved. But now it's the time to stop trying to be rescued and instead reach for someone yourself. When we were searching for you last time, you allowed yourself to drown in those doubts and this lead to us to fail in finding you, Touma failing to reach you, and you failing to find the willingness to continue living. Do not make the same mistakes again. There is a major difference now. Both me and you... we are not alone. So if you love him... if you truly love him... you should not have any doubt anymore"

And with that, Kaibi turned back and returned to the group.

"It's your choice now. We are heading down"

But even without her speech, the self-denying stance that Mitsuari Ayu was already shaken and half-hearted.

Now, options in her heart narrowed down to one.

(5 MINUTES LATER)

"Brings back memories! The last time we were running down from this mountainous region, we were fleeing from you as you ran amok" Kaibi teased Hasako.

"P-P-Please don't remind me, I am so embarrassed of myself from back then!" Beginning Child wailed.

As they ran down as fast as they could, Touma's phone rang.

Despite the urgency of the situation, he decided to answer it.

"Hello boss, it's Hamazura. I am just calling to check if anything is okay... might seem senseless but Takitsubo got some gut feeling and I just wanted to make sure..."

"Oh... that's sweet. Yeah... yeah... that's fine... I mean... everything is good..."

"Are you running?"

Touma looked at 5 girls running on both of his sides.

"Yup. You know how it is, gotta stay fit to run from those pesky misfortunes."

For one moment, he considered telling Hamazura about the situation. But...

"If you say so, then ok. You see, me and Takitsubo are going to have an anniversary dinner..."

No, no way he could do it now. Besides, it was handled... somehow. They could do it! No need to bring his friend and ones he cherished to the sight of danger.

Just then, Ayu, who was running next to him, tripped over a tree root, yelping and stumbling. She would have fallen if she didn't catch his arm.

"Oi, what the hell was that?" Mugino's voice sounded from the phone.

"M-Mugino-san?"

"Don't mind her." That was Kinuhata's voice" She got super restless and can't tell you that she is super worried about you~"

"CLAM IT! And you? Either you lost your balls and testosterone, or was that a god damn woman just now?!"

"Look at you, going all super red... yaaah!"

It sounded as if Kinuhata was tossed aside.

"M-Mugino-san that was just a random girl who tripped on the sidewalk. O... thin... recept...is... no... ot... good... call... la... ter..."

"I swear, if you are doing this stupid thing with bluffing about the signal, then I-"

Kamijou hung up and resumed his run. Mugino's possible wrath could wait.

Just then, something... or rather someone... smashed into the ground. in front of them.

"Hoshimi!" Hasako cried out.

"Ow, ow, ow... that bitch repelled me really hard... this pressure attack is bad match up against me..."

"Where is she heading?"

"Towards district 23, I think. I managed to slow her down a little... but she will be near the base of the mountain in no time."

"Luckily, we are also there. Look!"

The path between trees parted, showing Musujime and Junko waving at them, with Kuroko and .

(5 MINUTES LATER)

They shared the events that transpired, in telepathic transfer for both girls. Apparently, Junko did not shield her mind passively as Misaka did, but just in case, Touma hold onto her with his right hand to temporarily disable her ability.

"Oh my! Such a powerful we will face" the ringlet curl girl worryingly put the hand on her cheek.

"Seriously, the level of threat suddenly shot through the roof" Musujime

"She will be here any moment now." Maidono bit her lip, looking at the sky" She uses multiple esper abilities thanks to connection she somehow built to the brains emanating AIM fields, with fragments within her own brain."

"She earlier mentioned something about 10 brains in 1. It can be assumed that she has 10 abilities at her disposal. If we include her own ability, Cerebral Dive, Telepathy that she uses alongside it to maintain this Multi-Skill, uses of Aero and Hydro Hand that we saw earlier... and also that powerful pressure attack, Killer Press..."

"It would mean that we know half of her abilities, the other half being unknown" Touma resumed.

"I learned something through this short aerial engagement." Maidono added" I think this is still new to her. She can't use more than 2 abilities simultaneously, and she probably has a time limit of how long can she use one power continuously."

"Great. Obviously using that many powers has to have certain restrictions. That being said... it will be still some challenge to face her"

"We better get going." Kuroko said" From what you said..."

"... We have to find the source of her power and eliminate it" Rikuri nodded in understanding."

"And since Shirai-san can only carry teleport with two people" Kumokawa said, searching for something in the bushes" I have this!"

"A motorbike? Did you steal it?" Kuroko deadpanned.

"Borrowed in a state of emergency. Me and him did this before" Kumokawa pointed at Touma.

"Senpai, please, do not like me with criminal activity like this!"

"Touma, can I have a quick word with you?" Kaibi asked.

After they walked a bit further from the others, the girl gave him a serious look.

"Please don't do anything stupid."

"You say it as if I plan stupid things to happen"

Kaibi opened her eyes, which glowed with gentle pink light. Possibly to gave herself more courage, she decreased their emotional distance, as she gently kissed him on the lips. After few seconds, she separated her lips from his and whispered with a small blush.

"Is it wrong to worry about a guy I confessed my love to? You are not dying on me!"

"Yeah... I get it... I really get it..."

The actions Kaibi took were already rather bold on her part, but what Touma did next completely shattered her confidence of being in control.

Namely, he went for his own kiss, mirroring the one she just finished.

"Mmmmmm..."

Only when he placed his right hand on her shoulder, there was a sound of shattered glass. Touma opened his eyes to find Kaibi staring at him, her face going redder and redder by seconds.

He quickly backed away.

"I am sorry! I just... for some reason... I felt..."

"... that you really had to kiss me" Kaibi answered, wiping her lips from traces of saliva" D-Don't worry, I know what happened, that's on me"

In all of the chaos she felt in her own heart because of kissing him, she didn't immediately deactivate Measure Heart. As she set it to 'lovers' and Touma took its full effect, there was nothing strange for him to desiring to kiss her.

"Kaibi... I am so-"

"D-Don't apologize. I... enj...enjoyed it. It's fine... just..." she placed a hand on her red face" give me a warning when the time and place are right"

"O-Okay, let's go back"

But as they went back, Kaibi began to smile. Surely, Measure Heart made Touma do something he would normally not do and he acted a bit out of character, but her ability wouldn't make him go to such lengths if he didn't have some desire in his non-affected emotions to do just that. Which made her heart swell with happiness.

"There you are" Kumokawa said with hips on her hips" We are in the middle of battle, so I would appreciate if we stopped with side-meetings"

Kuroko was already holding hands of Amazora and Rikuri, when Kaibi jumped on the motorbike, turning the engine through short-circuiting the wires.

"We are off. Good luck!"

And so, they left, just as the clouds parted and a familiar, cold-faced woman descended from the clouds.

"What a party!" Veritas clapped her hands, before noticing the disappearing group of sisters and Kuroko." I don't remember that you could lea-"

A fragment of debris the size of the car almost hit an airborne villain, forcing her to focus on the group in front of her.

"Hey, zombie bitch" Musujime called out, pointing her finger at the enemy" We are the ones who will give you trouble"

"I... finished stretching!" Junko clapped her hands with a smile, Rampage Dress flaring around her" I am ready for this fight!"

"We are not letting you pass" Hasako said sternly, touching her DNA samples.

"I will make you pay by crushing you into the ground. For me and all of those people who were not lucky enough" ground around Maidono crumbled and cracked as she extended her index fingers, ready to lift them.

Ayu slowly came to their side.

"H-Her mind is shielded for now, but with enough time, I might be able to penetrate her defences. I will focus on shielding your minds and giving you instructions"

"Kouhai, Mitori-san, we need to strategize where to direct Shirai-san's group and how to get you up to Veritas. Your right hand will serve excellently against Multi-Skill."

"I will keep an eye on the battlefield. You two get to it" Mitori said, Liquid Shadow forming by her side.

Veritas spread her arms, smile not leaving her face.

"I am in a hurry... but maybe this is worth the while. Yeah, maybe, just maybe... 5 against 1? If I could feel emotions, I think I would be... sad? That's it"

But Touma knew that it was not so simply. It was true that Musujime, Junko, Maidono, Hasako, and Ayu were linked through the fact that they could be treated as level 5s in everything but the title. They had a quantitative advantage. But their opponent had twice as much abilities and was unpredictable to the boot.

Even so, five girls stood side by side in front of their enemy.

'For everything that has a childlike innocence' Musujime thought.

'For all of my precious friends' Junko thought.

'For the new life I am just beginning' Hasako thought.

'For the freedom of darkness I want to achieve' Maidono thought.

'For my desire to repay everyone that wanted to help me' Ayu thought.

The battle began.

Huge chunks of debris flew into the air and broke down on Maidono's command, surrounding the air around Veritas, forming a field of hundreds fragments of rocks and metal.

"Ho?"

In the next second, something akin to lightning moved in a zig-zag pattern, bouncing through the rubble and gaining speed with each refractive curve.

What appeared to be lightning was none other than Hokaze Junko, who ended up behind Veritas, delivering powerful roundhouse kick aimed at her head.

However... the next thing the girls knew, Junko was flying backwards, repelled by Killer Press.

"Musujime-san!"

"You don't have to tell me!"

Maidono disappeared and reappeared in the air, catching Junko and bringing her safely down.

"Ugh... thank you, Maidono-san"

"What happened? That was a clean hit"

"Yes... but she didn't seem to feel it. It did connect, but there was a sound of... hmm, a gong, I think... and in the next moment, she retaliated."

"So single attacks won't do. Let's try something-"

In the next moment, a powerful gust of wind caused all 5 to jump in different directions.

'I established a telepathic network.' the other four girls heard Mitsuari Ayu's voice inside of their heads' Let's share our plans here, so she might be surprised. If one of us thinks something, the rest will hear it.'

'Let's test it... Ayu-san and Maidono-san have really sexy legs, what's up with that? Who agrees? I mean, I am into something else, but damn-'

'P-Please do not use that link for things like that, Musujime-san' the choir of voices answered the teleporter, as the girls evaded attacks from both air and water vapour.

'What? I only wanted for us to know each other better'

'W-What if I invaded your privacy like that?' Ayu commented' Let's see, lots of memories of young boys and... Kamijou doing sports? Where did you go to his-"

"O-Okay, okay, I get your point!'

'But Maidono-san, Ayu-san, you do have incredibly attractive legs' Junko's voice said' My, I am jealous'

'Are you kidding? I mean, they are sexy, but I bet boys think that yours are so incredibly thic-'

'GIRLS! Now it's not the time! Focus! Ayu-san, can't she read our minds too?'

'I am trying my best to keep this hidden from her. My abilities are now on her level, so it should be fine. Let's try something else. Maidono-san, send some debris and form a field of chunks like last time.'

'Right'

'Musujime-san, you have to teleport them up before they hit the ground. We have to have stable footholds. Can you do that?'

'Pfft, I am able to freely manipulate the spatial placement and physical configuration of anything or anyone weighing up to 4250 kg, within the radius of 800 meters around myself, without any contact on my part. So teleporting those rocks and switching you around is a piece of cake.'

'Good. Junko-san, try to attack again. And this time, Maidono-san will join you'

'What about me?'

'Stay here with me, Hasako-san. Sooner or later, we will have to go to earth, she can't use Aero Hand forever. This is when you will come in'

And so, debris was once again thrown into the air. Hokaze Junko ricocheted around it, appearing in random place and pulling back to strike. Maidono shot up, gathering some rocks and launching them at Veritas, before she went for the strike.

'It's perfect! One attacker from the front, one from the back, and additional projectiles from the sides. We-'

But Veritas surprised them once again. She closed her eyes and simply stepped aside, twisting her body. The utterly shocked Maidono and Junko passed just by her.

"I can hear you... all of the buzzing in my head is what you have within your hearts..."

She then snapped her fingers.

And enormous gusts of air jets propelled the girls towards the ground.

'Khh... that is... Kongou-san's technique...' they heard Junko's thoughts.

It was and it also wasn't. It was much more powerful, like comparing an air flowing through small hole to an electric fan.

Both girls coughed out blood, as they flew down. Musujime cursed and made a swiping gesture, with both girls changing orientations of their flight and falling back into the arms of Ayu and Hasako.

"Hold them! Hold till it passes!"

And finally, also after a much longer amount of time than Kongou's air jets lasted, the ability terminated and girls were laid down, grimacing in pain.

"Hoshimi, are you alright?" Hasako said, examining her friend.

"I will manage, I was hit on the side, while Hokaze-san was hit on the stomach. She is in worse condition"

"I will be... fine..." the air crackled and sizzled, as Junko slowly got up, her hair now completely undone" My Rampage Dress can boost regeneration capacity of my cells. Something like that won't damage me."

"Then I guess... I have no time to be slacking off either." Maidono said, also rising to a standing position" So that was a waste of time"

"No, it wasn't. Did you notice that?" Musujime said, before another pressure attack caused them to run, to avoid being crushed." There was a difference in how she treated you and those sharpened rock projectiles"

"Yes, I noticed it too." Hasako nodded" She accurately evaded you, but took those rocks on herself. What does it mean?"

"That reminds me of certain ability from our School." Junko commented on Awaki and Hasako's observation" Hojou Arei-san's Whisper Bell. It allows one to hear emotions as sounds. I imagine that if Veritas managed to get her hold on brain with something similar to that ability, she can possibly map the distance and locations of us within 3D space. It allows her to have spatial awareness concerning the emotion-bearers. But it doesn't work on objects, so that may be why she took those rocks upon herself. Also, teleportation might hinder it"

"Well, whatever she might throw at us, we have to keep trying! We don't have to defeat her, just stall her long enough"

(20 MINUTES LATER)

The girls went on to fierce battle once again, and Kouzaku Mitori was busy as she was catching stray fragments of debris that were flying in the direction of Touma and Kumokawa, using her puppet like an experienced baseball player.

It was honestly a majestic yet scary spectacle to look at. The airborne battlefield kept changing, with both chunks of rocks, metal and glass teleporting from place to place, just like the fighters themselves, phasing in and out of existence or switching places before the hits. Veritas targeted Musujime who coordinated the changes on the battlefield, but Maidono, running on the fragments on the buildings she uprooted and bombarding her enemy with projectiles, and Junko, appearing like flickering and ricocheting incarnation of living lightning, prevented her from doing that. Apparently, Ayu could tell if there was a presence of humans within the buildings nearby, so she could relay to Maidono which ones she could use. Hasako waited on the ground, but occasionally Musujime sent her upwards, where she unleashed lightning storm of enormous magnitude or a sand whirlwind to swallow their enemy. She couldn't unleash her full power when the battle was in the air but was waiting her chance to strike.

Nevertheless, the power of their foe was monstrous. Wind attacks, pressure jets, sudden bursts of water from the underground, icicle lances, slashing people with their own sweat, accurate detection of people's positions via emotional detection, and hit absorbing barriers. Those were only some challenges And there were still some abilities left hidden.

"You two figured something out?" Mitori called out to Kumokawa and Kamijou.

"Besides the stupidly reckless plan this guy has regarding how to get to Veritas..."

"Hey, it's a very straightforward plan!"

"I know where she hid those brains. And it so happens..."

Kumokawa extended a hand with a phone in it.

"It seems our assassin trio got the same idea"

(10 MINUTES EARLIER)

In her emotional turmoil, Kaibi almost ran someone over.

She was in the middle of cursing Kumokawa Seria for imposing this method of transportation on her. Sure, she was moderately good in operating heavy machinery and the motorbike was not entirely alien to her, but her skills could be described as sloppy at best.

She regained her bearings only seconds before hitting a girl with purplish bobcut and violet, sleeveless tank-top combined with capris, causing Kuroko to stop her teleportation and descend to the ground.

"Gokusai-san, watch were you're going!"

"I-It was not on purpose! I am sorry... oh, you are?"

"N-No problem, just... oh? Gokusai-san?"

Itsuwa and Kaibi stared at each other, before the blond spoke

"What are you doing here?"

"I... I was on an evening stroll. Sightseeing and enjoying the view. Also..." she twirled her hair in her fingers" I was thinking about buying something for Kamijou."

"Itsuwa-san, was it... this might sound like an extremely strange question, but... do you know any place in which one can hide human brains?"

"B-Brains?" Itsuwa took a step back" Why would you need to know that?"

"There is a problem at our hands and we need to find... well, brains that certain person is misusing. We were plannning on heading to the morgue or the hospital, but I am starting to have doubts if it's there."

Itsuwa's eye became serious.

"Is it connected with Kamijou? It is, isn't it?"

"Well..."

"In that case, I will help in whatever way I can. Well, as for that place... maybe..."

(PRESENT TIME)

"... and so, I thought that those brains may be hidden somewhere on the Academy City Anatomy Exhibition" Itsuwa explained to Touma and Kumokawa over the phone.

"Senpai, we have something like that in the city?"

"Well, it is a museum in which it is vaguely explained to tourists how different parts of the body relate to various abilities and esper power development, of course without revealing some crucial details. It is not really a common knowledge among the students, because we already learn about it in classes... which makes it a pretty decent place to hide those brains in plain sight"

"B-But that's brilliant! Itsuwa, you are brilliant! So much so that I could kiss you from joy right no-owwwww!"

"Am I really? No, that's nothing" Itsuwa said bashfully, although her voice carried a tone of joyful giddiness" I am just happy I can be of use..."

"Head to this museum at once!" Kumokawa said, while stretching the cheek of poor Touma" Gokusai and the others know the rest"

"Right. I shall drive Kaibi-san there. No offense to her motorcycle skills, but I will drive you there without any innocent casualities"

"I heard that!"

"Okay, do your best!"

Touma hung up and grinned towards Kumokawa

"Senpai, I am doing my plan!"

"The profoundly stupid plan?"

"Come on, I did that before. Only I had a Saint to help and I smashed through a building and-"

"What exactly is your plan, Kamijou?" asked Mitori.

"I will fly there!"

"What?!"

(MEANWHILE)

It was without a doubt one of the fiercest battles ever for the combating girls.

Terrifyingly expressionless Veritas summoned a tornado, which Maidono miraculously managed to contain and counter. She then summoned water equivalent to a small tsunami and if not for Hasako's intervention, they would be flushed away.

'Ayu-san! How is that penetrating defences business going?!'

'I am making progress, but very slow. Mental types cannot interfere with each other under normal circumstances. But I will be trying. Junko-san, I can't follow you with my eyes, so I will hack your optic nerve to view where you are going from your perspective. Pardon the intrusion'

'Oh, don't mind me, you are my old friend, make yourself right... at eye, I suppose'

'What a marvelous sight you have! Is that the power of Rampage Dress?'

'Yes, all my senses are amplified right now.'

'Everyone' Maidono thought, sending another flurry of attacks at Veritas' we are attacking again. Junko-san! This time we will bring her down for good! You have to trust me!'

'Of course, Maidono-san. Let's do this!'

Maidono repelled the air in front of Junko, which sent the purple haired girl flying backwards. Veritas looked at them in mild curiosity.

Junko flew into the direction of sharp fragments of iron pipes, sticking out of the concrete, being suspended in the loop of teleportation by Musujime. It was similar to objects appearing on the other corner of the screen in old video games, like Pac Man.

Hasako covered her eyes.

The girl was about to be impaled, when...

'Heh' Musujime smirked, pointing her index finger upward' I am going to shamble you up good'

Suddenly, a convulsion ran through the body of Veritas as her back was pierced by two sharp spikes of metal. Even though her shock absorbing ability cushioned the impact, for the first time, the villainess was hurt.

She and Hokaze Junko switched places, with Tokiwadai 3rd year clapping her hands while slowly falling through the air.

'Kamijou probably wouldn't like if we hurt you, but we know a good doc for you'

The teleporter wiped the sweat from her brow.

'Hokaze-san, now!'

'On it!'

Taking a deep breath and spinning like a tornado of lightning, the girl pounced at temporarily immobilized Veritas.

"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!"

Junko bombarded Veritas with the storm of fists, so fast that it seemed as if her arms multiplied.

Small buildings, cars, street signs, and fragments of pavement flew upwards as Maidono stood at the teleporting foothold, gathering the sphere the size of the small meteorite.

'It's working! Her Shock Absorber is still working, but I am getting through.'

'Absorb this, bitch!'

Maidono tossed the colossal sphere of rubble and Junko was teleported above it, delivering a powerful kick, sending it down, straight onto Veritas.

There was a powerful shockwave as the ball of metal and rubble crashed into the ground.

All 5 girls reunited on the surface, looking at the small crater with a pile of rocks and metal.

"Did we get her?"

There was a few moments of silence.

But...

"You need to respect your senpai more"

The pieces of metal cracked and reddened.

"Every piece... every piece of metal is turning into rust... this is..." Junko recognized yet another ability from Tokiwadai"... Crimson Manager!"

Everything even remotely metallic was disintegrating or becoming covered in red oxide. The rusting spread from part to part, when Veritas emerged from the rubble. For the first time since the battle started, the girl who looked like a woman was bleeding.

"It seems... like I need to stop holding back for you, kouhaitachi"

In the next moment everything vanished. Not only Veritas and the pile of rusting rubble, but also each of the girls.

"What... she vanis-gaaah?!"

Awaki's disembodied voice was halted by splashing sound.

The world became visible again.

"Do you know this adorable ability? It's called Dummy Check. At its lower levels, it merely renders someone unnoticeable. But amplified, it can not only turn someone invisible physically, but also mentally, and not only yourself, but also objects in your presence."

Musujime looked down at arm, through which a rusting shrapnel-like piece of metal was impaled.

Suddenly, she felt pressure as the rusty metal moved towards her stomach.

"I can control rust telekinetically, you know"

"Shit... I can't teleport this out, because I will bleed to death."

The metal moved towards her stomach, piercing her skin, before...

"LET HER GO!"

Veritas recoiled from the stone colliding with her as the result of Junko's kick, with shock absorbed but not fully blocked, a violet bruise on her cheek, as Musujime wobbled on her knees, wincing in pain from pierced arm and stomach.

"It seems my Whisper Bell still needs fine tuning. After all, I am unable to express or understand emotions, so it's particularly hard ability to navigate. But regardless..."

In the next time, she vanished with a gust of wind, appearing just in front of Misaki's right hand girl.

"Wha-"

"... I can still kill you"

Even Junko's amplified vision did not register that speed, achieved with no progressive acceleration.

"Wild Speed... plus Killer Press."

Junko flew backwards, blood bursting from her body, before colliding with the ground dozens of meters away.

But before she could do anything else, someone grabbed her lifted hand from behind.

"Oi..."

The eyes of Hasako looked like prisms in deep wells of shadows, cast by her hair, as she got hold of Vertias' hand.

"... if you think you can hurt my friends or endanger my love like that..."

"Hasako..." both Maidono and Ayu looked in awe, as the girl suddenly started to radiate aura so heavy that almost tangible.

"... then I will show you hell on earth"

In the next time, a roar resounded and the world turned into volcanic crimson.

(MEANWHILE)

"That's the place. Let's go inside." Itsuwa gestured for the group in front of the exhibition.

Kaibi, who was slightly motion sick from the rather energetic and fast style of Itsuwa's driving, was about to agree when she saw something in the distance. And she wasn't the only one.

"Hey..." Amazora addressed all of the older girls" do you know that comedy movie when there is a king and they ride on the invisible horses?"

"What?" asked bewildered Kuroko.

"Oh... you mean The Holy Grail? Why do you mention it now?"

"Because I am seeing the scene from it... right now!"

Someone was running towards them, visible from behind the curvature of the street... however, they made almost no progress in the distance. It repeated again... and again, and again...

Everyone stared at the strange phenomenon, perplexed, before Kuroko decided to teleport and bring unfortunate soul, Shokuhou Misaki, before their eyes. The poor girl was drenched in sweat and was wheezing as if she had an asthma attack, practically crawling, bent in half.

"I heard... about... everything... from Shirai-san... so... I came to a... conclusion... that you will need... mental specialist...like me..."

She tossed her hair haughtily. However...

'Don't try to cover up that pathetic display, we can't forget that. Are you okay? You look like you are about to pass out'

"So you also came to a conclusion about Anatomy Exhibition?"

"Yes, I did. Also, how could you leave me like this, Kuroko-chan?! I thought we had likeness ability together!"

"The only thing my arms have are muscle sores from your weight"

"Cruel! I am not fat, just proportionally endowed"

"Hey, everyone!" came Itsuwa's voice" You can enter through the window. I made it that our presence will not be noticed"

"Truly? Even on cameras?"

"I-I am quite proficient in stealth. And while technology is not my strong suit, I am still better with it than many from my... line of work"

"Quite a nice magic trick"

"Yeah... something like that"

"Let's go!"

Three sisters, Shirai Kuroko (who kept complaining about needing to arrest everyone and then herself, after entire ordeal) Shokuhou Misaki and Itsuwa entered the museum.

Circling through regular exhibition, containing informative panels and preserved organs, Shokuhou swung her remote around, pressing one button in rapid succession.

"Where are you..."

"What are you doing?" asked Rikuri.

"Searching for signatures of brainwaves or consciousness. It's mental scanning"

"Wow, golden onee-chan's power can do that?"

"It can do almost all when it comes the mind and psychology. I feel the presence behind that wall... but there is no door"

"I assume there is some kind of hidden mechanism." Kuroko speculated" We must find-"

"No need. Amazora!"

In the next moment, portion of the wall was blown away by gattling gun bullets.

"Your methods are so... so..." Kuroko sighed, as Rikuri patted her on the arm.

"Our sweet sister must destroy something for good measure, or she will get restless. If we don't take care of it, she will become a true delinquent in her upper teens"

"You three are already delinquents by my standards!"

"L-Let's not fight here, or we will draw-"

"Hey, what is going on here?!"

"... attention"

BEEP!

The guard that entered the room froze, as Shokuhou spoke.

"Behind this destroyed wall lies some kind of laboratory, on the end of which I see some kind of a vault. Would you mind giving me code ability to them?"

"The code is..." the guard answered in a monotone voice" 37340325981"

"Marvellous. Now" Shokuhou said, pressing few other buttons" Be a dear, forget everything you saw here and go to sleep"

The guard promptly collapsed on the spot, with Shokuhou turning around and pointing at the door.

"I just gave us an entrance pass"

(MEANWHILE)

Veritas was panting deeply. Her skin was both burned and frostbit, sliced and bleeding. Maidono assisted her friend, smashing storage buildings or wind turbines into their enemy, but it was not really needed once battle settled on the ground. More so, if other girls were to come closer, they would be caught in Hasako's domain. Even if Veritas tried to fly away, the ancient esper simply did not let her do so.

With roar after roar, she dragged Veritas through dozens of different environments, long enough for their harmful effects to get to her enemy, but quickly enough to keep brain manipulator occupied.

The surrounding area became completely razed to the ground.

The speed through which Hasako acted made them look as if they were teleporting through the strings of parallel worlds.

Rivers of magma and foliage.

Seas of flood and ice

Desert whirlwinds of sand

Poorly oxygenated altitudes.

Thunderstorms filled with mist and clouds.

Swamps filled with haze and gas

Those were only parts of the fury that Hasako unleashed on Veritas.

Besides her roars, she never raised her voice. That was the most terrifying thing of all.

If the alexythimic esper could feel fear, the sweat on her face was indication that she would be experiencing it now. Even if she fended off some of the environments, pure power and quantity of them was just overwhelming.

"This much power, of such intensity... who are you?"

Hasako slowly walked through the small wasteland she created. The rapid changes caused the surroundings to not being able keep up, and turned into amalgamation of all 3 states of matter. The mountains melting ice around her burned with flames, remnant from toxic, alcoholic environment, and there was solid paths of lava covered in patches of sand, as first esper spoke, as if chanting a mantra.

"I am the gentleness of forests, strength of winds, clarity of rivers, depths of the oceans, majesty of mountains, nurture of earth, heat of fire, and coldness of ice..." Hasako slowly raised her finger, pointing in the direction of Veritas" For my loved ones, I am beauty of life. For enemies, I am darkness of oblivion. Choose wisely at which side of my attention you like to stand. Because I am this city's cornerstone and if anyone should learn respect for your elders, it's you. I shall not tolerate the future to be tainted by such vile actions"

Veritas was quiet for a moment.

Before...

"T-This ability! It bears tremendous potential for my cause! Give it to me!"

With another use of Wild Speed, the deranged esper was in front of Hasako, with water swirling in her hand rotating like a chainsaw.

"Give me your brain! One touch and it will be over! I swear it will be relatively painless!"

Hasako was caught by surprise. Every normal human being would be too scared to continue fighting such a monstrous opponent, so she didn't expect such a frantic counterattack.

However, Veritas was not a psychologically normal human being.

And now, the chainsaw-water was nearing her head.

She couldn't deploy another environment fast enough.

But...

Instead of cleaving Hasako's skull open, the water lost shaped only grazing right corner of her brow and cutting some of her long hair.

Veritas suddenly disappeared, teleported to the wall with 4 stakes piercing her limbs.

"No more miss nice Move Point" Musujime hobbled slightly, her foot twisted and rusty piece of metal still piercing through both her arm and skin on her belly. "I should have done it from the beginning. I will teleport something into your heart and be done with it!"

"No, Jime! Don't kill her!" a voice echoed throughout the battlefield

Everyone knew that voice.

Key question: what was Kamijou Touma doing throughout all of this time?

Was it in his style to just leave the fighting to others when he could spare them the pain?

The answer, of course, was: absolutely not

However...

'That was crazy. It all happened so fast that I just couldn't waltz in between them'

Despite his Imagine Breaker, Kamijou Touma was still only human. Just walking into the clutch of this magnitude would be ill advised.

Or at least, that was what two stubborn girls by his side said.

Touma could oppose saying that he did in fact walked onto some really tremendous battles, however both Kumokawa Seria and, to some extent, Kouzaku Mitori did not want to hear it.

So he needed to get a good moment to strike.

And when he saw Hokaze Junko making her way to join the others, he knew that said moment came.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Kumokawa asked him.

"Hell yeah. Let's do this"

"I can't watch this" gulped Mitori.

"Senpai" Touma felt Junko poking him on the cheek with a finger.

Her hair falling down on the back, she was covered in bruises and cuts, as her regeneration slowed down. Her uniform was torn and there was an ugly looking violet spot in the place when she got hit from point blank range.

Despite this, she smiled tiredly to Touma.

"If it doesn't work, my queen and myself will cry to the point of lethal dehydration. So you better come back!"

Meanwhile, the pieces that Musujime sent through Veritas decayed and turned to rust.

"Crap, she is recovering. And it seems like she is using Hydro Hand to stop the bleeding. This feels like a damn cheating! If you have some plan, do it now!"

"Jime, send her up"

"What? But-"

"Just do it!"

And so, Veritas disappered and then reappered above the battlefield

"Hmm... what's this? You know that I can just stop my fall-"

"JUNKO-SAN!"

"SOOOOOORYAAAAAAA!"

Something... or rather someone, shot through the air, being thrown by Rampage Dress empowered Hokaze Junko at maximum velocity.

Veritas could only slowly turn in that direction, when Kamijou Touma swung his fist across tremendous opposite pressure, smashing through Shock Absorber and landing tremendous punch on her, with echo of shattering glass across the empty street.

(5 MINUTES EARLIER, IN THE SECRET VAULT HIDDEN IN ANATOMY EXHIBITION)

They entered something that looked like informatics centre combined with a morgue.

Kuroko and Amazora examined the large computers, looking by size, quite old, yet obviously utilizing modern technology.

But Kaibi, Rikuri, Shokuhou, and Itsuwa focused on what was between large pieces of hardware.

In large, crystal-clear tubes, or vats, filled with greenish liquid, were submerged human brains. Pinkish-white, they consisted of both hemispheres, cerebellums, and brain stems, all connected to the numerous wires that linked them to the computers.

"There they are" Kaibi muttered grimly. "She probably kidnapped those people and acquired those brains through operations, before linking them to simulation"

Shokuhou hesitated for a moment, before pointing the remote at the brain.

BEEP!

Her face changed momentarily.

"What did you see?" Kaibi asked.

"It's like... it's like life...I sent myself there for an hour of their subjective time and... it really is like our life... if I wasn't from the outside, I wouldn't be able to distinguish..."

Kaibi's eyes darkened. She motioned to Rikuri

"Nee-san... do you have something for this to end swiftly?"

"Of course" Rikuri nodded, without her usual playful mirth, pulling out a flacon of indigo substance.

"Did you hear me, Gokusai-san?" Shokuhou marched in front of Kaibi. Itsuwa, Kuroko, and Amazora also approached, listening to the argument" There have feelings ability too. They have lives, they feel and see, smell and taste. Even without the body... even solely like this... they are still living. Do we have the right?"

"I do not know about rights" answered Measure Heart" But it must be done"

"But what you are doing is essentially taking the life-" Shokuhou flared out in anger. But she was soon outdone in her outburst.

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW?!" Kaibi lashed out, grabbing Shokuhou by her uniform, and partially mirroring Kumokawa's earlier speech" You think I don't know how messed up this is? Ever since I met him, I don't want to take life anymore. I want to be someone who upholds to his beliefs at least a little. But this... this isn't life! We should at least be able to speculate that we have a free will. Those people will never again do anything because they wanted to. They are only puppets, with no possibility of regaining what was taken from them. They think only what they are programmed to think, this is a ridicule of human dignity. These organs are degrading, there is no way that this procedure can be applied without end. They are altered beyond the option of putting them in a robot or human body. It just... it will not be the same. It has to be done. It's just... just mercy. A messed up mercy, but mercy nonetheless. If we leave them like that, Veritas will keep misusing them, toying with them, extracting them. You of all people should know the difference between mental illusion or reality, Mental Out. Veritas said that illusory life is better than real death... but if I am to draw the line... I just want to keep Touma safe"

Kaibi let go of the level 5, sniffed and rubbed her eyes, as Misaki opened her lips, her head dropping slightly.

"I... I am sorry. In situations like this..."Shokuhou bit her lip, pointing her remote at the brain once again" There are never any truly good options, are they?"

"No... there aren't"

"Rikuri, get ready to administer whatever you have prepared. Shokuhou-san... enter those brains and put those... them, at ease. I shall use my Measure Heart to do the same."

"Right... Itsuwa-san. Can you assist me? I will make us go together"

"M-Me?"

"I don't know how to put it but... your presence, your mind... it seems... soothing. In a situation like this... I think you are the right person to have by one's side..."

"If you think so, then... of course. I will pray, if you don't mind..."

For as long as they were in a vault, no one spoke anything else. Even Kuroko and Amazora lowered their heads, as the sombre mood hung above them.

(MEANWHILE)

When Touma smashed into Veritas, he forgot one thing.

Namely, landing.

He prepared for it, but the fall from rather impressive height still left its mark, stunning him. His arm was in tremendous pain, but ignoring it for now, he strained and grasped the ankle of Veritas with Imagine Breaker, disabling her abilities.

"Ayu-san, now!"

"Ah!"

Veritas froze, paralyzed, as Ayu ran forward with phone at hand.

"Good job!" Mitori said" You got her!"

"Be quiet everyone, she is fighting back. I can only control this woman for so long!" the fluffy haired telepath said, tensing her face, as she focused on their immobile enemy.

"Hurry up, let's tie her up. Musujime-san, Maidono-san" Kumokawa commanded the rest of the girls" can you find something non-metallic around here?"

"Look for it yourself. I am... so tired..."

Musujime slowly fell down onto Touma, who had to let go of Veritas in order to catch her.

However, that was a mistake.

Either if paralyzed, her mind was slowly working. Painfully slowly, but fast enough.

Fast enough to feel one of her abilities fading away. Her connection to Whisper Bell was lost. And others were slowly fading too.

In that moment her heart sped up, pupils dilated, and breath became faster.

The girl in a body of a woman could not read or name her emotions properly. If she could, she might know what she was experiencing right now.

It was rage.

It so happened that she became telepathically paralyzed by Mitsuari Ayu with her hands on the ground. And now, with Imagine Breaker off of her, she reached below the magma and various layers of substances created by clash with Hasako, till she found what she was looking for. In that one feat of rage, she managed to enact one final blow to her adversaries.

There was 10 abilities she possessed and demonstrated to various degree in battle. Her original, Cerebral Dive. What followed were Telepathy, that held all abilities together, Aero Hand, Hydro Hand, Whisper Bell, Crimson Manager, Wild Speed, Dummy Check, Killer Press.

What was the remaining ability?

Ayu was first to notice something was wrong.

"Everyone! Something is off! She is-"

But not nearly fast enough.

10th ability, Flux Coat, allowed one to freely manipulate asphalt. And on level 5 output, it produced catastrophic results.

In the next moment, it seemed like the world itself exploded.

But it was merely the ground. It ruptured and exploded upwards, as dozens of branches of black substance emerged from below, shooting upwards. The entire street seemed to jump upwards, as dozens of spears of asphalt shot up, the buildings and road being crushed as the tree like structures of sticky substance shot up before freezing once again.

During all of these, injured Veritas, rendering herself invisible, flew away from the scene.

(SOME TIME LATER)

Touma opened his eyes. Did he black out?

Last time he remembered, he was protecting Musujime, since she was basically in his arms when the calamity occurred. And indeed, the redhead was in his arms. She seemed okay, at least not different from before the asphalt attack.

Who would have thought that Veritas would unleash such a devastating attack as a last resort?

In fact, he seemed to be relatively fine, more than he thought he would be-

Something dripped down on his face.

Turning around, he found hair tickling his face. Black hair.

Kumokawa Seria was spreading her arms over both them.

"You're awake, huh?" she whispered weakly.

"Sen... pai? What... what are you doing here?"

"When she attacked, I was coming to you from the side. And when I saw you shield Musujime-san... I just knew... from the angle and trajectory of... nevermind that, I knew you will be hit. So I... well..."

Touma slowly looked down, to the source of dripping wetness.

Both he and Kumokawa stared at the tip of a thin spear of dried asphalt, sticking out of older girl's belly at a sharp angle.

"No..." Touma chocked out.

"It... ricocheted... and went through. Everything was flying around. I angled my body as much as I could but..."

"Please tell me you are joking! Oh, I know, this is some sort of special muscle alignment or another fancy technique you can u-"

Blood gushed from Kumokawa's mouth, causing Touma to become deathly pale.

"No tricks or intelligent cards of my sleeve, I am afraid. Just an unsophisticated injury. How pathetic of me. And through the navel too, that was my best asset..."

"WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?! Seria..."

Kumokawa smiled at Touma's use of her name.

"How did you say it? Before I knew it, my body moved on its own? No, it sounds better when you say it. Let just settle with... what kind of senpai would I be if I didn't protect my kouhai from mortal danger... especially if said kouhai... managed to steal... my... heart..."

"SENPAI?! SENPAI?!"

He wanted to carry both unconscious girls to safety, but with Kumokawa's injury, he knew he couldn't risk further damage. So he scrambled to his feet, and ran into the ruined street. The echo of his own screams for help ringed in his mind.

(LATER...)

A lot of happened since then.

Fortunately for Touma, he managed to find Ayu, whose shoulder was dislocated, with girl herself being partially covered in liquid asphalt, and Maidono, who, similarly to Touma's doing with Musujime and Kumokawa's doing for both of them, shielded Hasako. Hasako's hair and scalp was sticky with blood and asphalt, while Maidono got pieces of concrete all over her body, but besides that, they were relatively fine. After a moment, they found Junko laying down, half-conscious, yet in stable condition. Two of her ribs appeared to be broken and she was bleeding from multiple cuts on her body. Only then, Touma realized that he also had broken right arm.

Kouzaku Mitori was far enough from the asphalt calamity, and it was her who informed them that Kuroko's group returned. Shirai, bless her for it, called for ambulances in advance, already suspecting the need to treat the wounded.

Luckily, the help arrived in record time, and soon everyone was secured. It was almost the end. Touma knew that right now, it was the time to trust his personal doctor to do his medical miracles.

But it was not over yet. He and Maidono had one more thing to do.

(IN THE ALLEY NEAR DISTRICT 23 AIRPORT)

Veritas had no strength left. Using her remaining abilities, he flew across Academy City, hoping to sneak onto the airport. However, all of the planes were cancelled and the airport sealed tight. Not only that, but apparently every single entrance/exit to Academy City was rendered non-functional, making the city sealed shut as well. What in the world happened?

Veritas did not have strength nor capacity to think about it. Her abilities, save for Cerebral Dive, left her. Because Hydro Hand, that she used to seal her wounds, was gone, she was slowly bleeding out, as she laid down in the alley.

Suddenly, she felt the presence of two people above her head.

It was a spiky haired teen who somehow negated her abilities and Maidono Hoshimi.

"Hmm, how interesting... why and how are you here? Do you want to watch me die? "

"I have a friend who can hack CCTV. But that's not important now? Maidono?"

Maidono Hoshimi looked down on her former oppressor.

"Nouzori Satsuki. I recently learned your name, you know?"

"Is that right?"

"I utterly hate you from the bottom of my heart. When we started to work together, I knew you genuinely supported me... remember that time when you told me that I could cause wind turbine blades, located dozens of meters away, to spin backwards? I never believed it, but you told me I could do it, until they moved and spun as if the wind actually blew?"

"You had... a wonderful brain. One that I always wanted to assimilate. If you could see what I saw... with a potential like yours, you could move anything... you could become Master of All Matter."

"Except you hid the side effects of signal method from me. You don't feel shit, so you don't know what went wrong. Hah, the word 'wrong' probably never even appeared in your head in association with me. I suddenly lost the ability to properly use the grasp of my fingers. My friends started to think I am weird since I couldn't eat normally and I was dumped by the boy I really liked. I went through deep inferiority complex, not only because of chopsticks... but because I thought that I will never be able to be enough with what you taken from me."

"It was a needed sacrifice... for progress... in the name of peace and prosperity..."

Everything in the alley vibrated as if the hidden anger of Maidono took form in the pressure around her.

"For long years, I wanted to tear you apart for making me go through this humiliation and nightmare, for the sake of your psychotic delusion. Piece by piece, slowly and painfully. And now I finally have you here... Frankenstein and his monster..."

A single can levitated from the trash can. Touma watched Maidono's action with controlled tension in his body.

The sharp lid of the can separated and positioned itself over the throat and arteries of Veritas.

"One motion, one slit, and you will be gone. But..."

The lid rotated and instead slashed the air next to the woman, before falling down.

Maidono forcefully stepped on brain manipulator, causing her to cough blood.

"I was found and saved, by this guy next to me. He charmed me, and made me yearn for the way I could serve him without staining my hands in darkness. And you know what he said to me when I offered him this service? Be your own boss and make your own way. So now, I am choosing this. I no longer see myself as a killer. And as much as I want to rip you apart, I don't want to leave with the thought that it was your presence that compelled me to ruin everything this guy taught me to love. I choose to remain myself instead of returning to who I was back then. I will not kill you. But make no mistake. I will never forgive you, I will never absolve you, I will always loathe everything about you. And if you ever step your filthy foot near me or my friends... then I will use everything in the world to make you regret that I chose to spare you"

With that, she spat on the cheek of her fallen enemy and walked back from the alley, not turning away.

"Heh... even now, I can't know what was that look on her face... I can't name it... what about you, boy?"

However, Touma didn't answer.

Veritas, once known as Nouzori Satsuki, looked at the stars above with light slowly fading from her eyes.

"Oh well... no matter. It seems like the time is upon me"

Suddenly, she exploded in the fit of laughter, mixed with coughing blood.

"It's cold... so cold... but that's fine. Cause with death, I will arrive at it anyway. The ultimate objectivity. I will finally understand... yes, it's the other way of finding it, but I will finally... know..."

But just when the darkness was about to claim her...

She felt the presence of two people over her head.

She thought she had to mistake something in her deadly dellirium, but she conversed with Maidono in the same way, before collapsing in the darkness. Only this time, the spiky haired boy seemed to be facing her a little more...

No, there was no mistake. It repeated a few times afterwards, like a broken record. Also, for some reason, the alley became filled with green mist... and the soft singing sounded, bringing into her feelings, that she of course couldn't name...

"Why... why can't I die?! I am almost knowing it, almost experiencing the Final Answer... why can't I do it?! Is it your doing?!"

The boy finally interacted with her.

He raised his right arm... no, that was not his arm. Was it like this all the time?

It was emerald green and appeared ephemeral, producing hypnotic, mesmerizing mist that ever so slightly tinted the world around them.

"I will tell you something. Objectivity, or Pure World untainted with laws and subjectivity of our world, really exists. But someone like you will never arrive to reach it"

"What did you do to me?"

"The first time you heard it, this conversation really happened. As we speak, you are transported to hospital to be treated. You are on the brink of death but you are not dead yet. I want to save you and shatter your illusion, that is impossible to be realized. I truly do. But... I also cannot overlook the fact that you hurt so many of my friends, and those innocent victims. So before I shatter it, I will leave you to relive it a little longer. Realize just harmful it is. Long for the answer that will never come."

He looked at his emerald appendage.

"They tell me that this one can blur the difference between dream and waking world, fiction and reality. Its illusions can span upon entire phases. I am locking you in it for now. This way, you will see it, as I did long ago. It is much better to appreciate the love, even with possibility of pain, than drown in embrace of lonely death that will never reach the truth."

"Y-You are leaving me here?!"

"The self-perpetuated near-death experience is not something I wish upon anyone, even if you can't really experience fear. I just need to touch your body with my right hand and you will awake. I will release you the very moment that I know everyone will be fine and Kumokawa-senpai survives... and if she doesn't... well, better focus on alternative. You don't want her not surviving. If everything goes fine, I will swallow your memories and give you a new life. Don't worry, I did it before. Although right now I don't have Stiyl to change your face... oh well, maybe this will be fine. Who knows, maybe divinity or death leads to the truth. But before you realize error of your ways, this, for your own good, is and will be your punishment..."

"No... don't tell me! No, stop!"

Kamijou Touma turned around as an illusion opened, like a door through the emerald mist.

"You live"

He stepped outside of the gateway, not looking back.

Touma opened his eyes, as the ambulance gained distance.

He glanced at his new right arm.

"Well, at the very least, regrowing it healed my broken bone. Yay for non-paying more than necessary in the hospital!"

He went on to walk a couple of meters, before he wobbled on his feet.

Before he could fall however, he was caught on someone's arm.

"Maidono-san told me you stayed behind, so I decided to came to your aid"

"Kongou-san..."

"Thank you for valorous fight, darling" Kongou gave him a peck on the cheek as she said that" You and the others outdid themselves."

"Hmm... that blocked airport and sealed exits to the city... it was your doing, wasn't it? It was what senpai requested of you, wasn't it? We saw that Veritas wanted to escape through plane or car before she fully lost her abilities and her injuries caught up with her. This was a major help in the ending act, thanks to you we actually apprehended her"

Thinking about Kumokawa made him silent for a moment, which was not missed by Kongou, but he nevertheless continued.

"Indeed it was! Papa is one of the overseers of the airport. I begged and begged, saying that he will be deemed a hero if he announces the state of emergency combined with the temporary shutdown of the airport, and now he is praised for quick reaction in the 'terrorist attack'"

"Ah... so that's the version we will officially get"

"Seems like it, yes. Now, it's time to get you to the hospital"

"But-"

"Opposing me on this is out of question, darling. You are getting rest and I am helping you recover. That's final!"

"Alright, fine, I need to see the status of the others as well. But tell me... how did you block all the other exits?"

Kongou looked at something in the distance and smiled

"Seems like I won't have to explain it alone"

"Kamijou-saaaaaaan!"

Two silhouettes were running towards them. Touma squinted his tired eyes.

"Wannai-san?! Awatsuki-san?!"

"Kamijou-saaaaan!" Wannai cried out, jumping on him with misty eyes before practically grabbing his entire left side, the one not supported by Kongou.

Awatsuki put away something that looked like a middle-sized metal surfboard.

"Kongou-san informed us that you are facing someone powerful in battle..." she said, her voice trembling slightly" And while she said it was our choice, since you were involved, we both agreed that we could not let that go. We still want to spend more time with you, should you be interested"

"W-We knew that we had to focus on our tasks, but since we didn't know much, we were... we were just so, so worried!" Wannai choked out, involuntarily rubbing her soft cheek and pert nose against side of Touma's face."It's such a relief that you are safe!"

"Wait... those accidents that compromised city's entrances... those were your doing?"

Only now did he notice that Wannai's short brown hair was partially wet, while Awatsuki looked had smudges of dirt on herself.

The girls grinned. They were obviously still high on adrenaline, as they talked one over the other.

"Yes! I blew up some pipes and flooded the gateways..."

"... while stacked I certain containers and bent some rails..."

"... I would never guess that committing such scandalous acts could be so..."

"... liberating. While there is limits to barbarity, I guess I can understand..."

"... what those commoners feel at times. As for how we got around..."

"... We are pretty fast when we surf, combining our abilities and-"

"Girls" Kongou interrupted them" we will have a lot of time to talk later. Right now, we must get him to hospital."

"Oh, you're right." Wannai nodded" How tactless of me"

"Of course, my apologies" Awatsuki also concured.

However, Touma smiled at the two of them.

"No problem. In fact, it warms my heart to be in a care of such selfless people. You didn't have the full picture, yet you still decided to help only because I needed it. This city needs more people like you. Especially while unravelling this city's corrupt side, you are a true treasure to have by one's side."

That caused both girls to turn red, with Awatsuki looking awkwardly to the ground, playing with her hair and Wannai giggling sweetly, while taking his other arm to support him.

"W-We didn't even do that much. Compared to you or your friends, from what I heard..."

"Even so, I am grateful. I mean it."

"Well, we will do our best to live up to that gratitude." Wannai smiled warmly at Touma and her friends" Right, Kongou-san?"

"Of course. Now, let's get going. I can only imagine how much darling worries about his friends"

(NEXT DAY, IN THE MORNING)

Everything resolved itself in some way or another.

In the hospital, Touma reunited with Kouzaku Mitori who was already patched up, sustaining little to no injuries, and after exchanging some information, they both decided to wait through the night to hear about the others.

Apparently, Shirai Kuroko was taken to report about the incident, with Touma only hoping for her to give a reasonable enough description of events.

Kongou, Wannai, and Awatsuki refused to leave his, even when he warned them he will have to stay through the night. But they vehemently declined his offer for them to go home and waited for long hours, before falling to sleep. And it was in such state, with Wannai and Awatsuki each breathing gently while resting their heads on Touma's shoulders, while Kongou did the same on his legs, that Heaven Canceller found them in at daybreak, accompanied by Gokusai sisters who apparently helped with the injured. After rather frustrated awakening by his flatmates at the sight of Tokiwadai trio, the frog-faced doctor revealed some information regarding the other fighters against Veritas.

The news were as followed:

Even though, ironically, Kumokawa Seria did not participate in physical clash for so long, her injury gained while protecting Touma could be one of the most fatal. If it wasn't treated fast enough, it could evolve into severe peritonitis and cause death. Luckily, the spike was angled such that it missed the spinal cord and most important organs. However, it impaled the pancreas, which caused the doctor to perform an emergency transplant from Academy City's high technology organ bank. Aside from getting small star shaped scar around her navel and not being able to eat particularly sweet things for a while, there was nothing to threaten her health permanently. This caused Touma to slump down in relief.

Hokaze Junko, who was already tended by Shokuhou Misaki, suffered multiple bruises and cuts throughout her body, losing considerable amount of blood, on top of breaking two ribs and straining few muscles. However, with how strong and fast-healing her body was, there would be no permanent trauma and she was to make full recovery in couple days.

Musujime Awaki had fractured left forearm and sprained right leg, accompanied with a shallow wound over the liver, however, thanks to various efforts, no further injuries were reported.

Maidono Hoshimi collapsed from exhaustion, blood loss and dehydration after Veritas was transported to the hospital. Apparently, a few of her bloodvessels burst from prolonged fatigue and now she lied recovering her strength.

Kankyougami Hasako suffered slight concussion and gained a scar on the side of her scalp, that was fortunately to be covered by her hair. Other than being covered in blood and asphalt, her life was in no danger.

Finally, Mitsuari Ayu also received relatively minor injuries in the battle itself, only gaining few cuts and bruises during asphalt calamity. However, there was still an issue of her acquired prosopagnosia. Heaven Canceller stated that while modern medicine did not allow for the facial blindness to be cured, this did not necessarily applied to the solutions within Academy City. He also said that in few hours time, he should distinguish potential solution.

Itsuwa (Touma was genuinely shocked, hearing her name in all of this) apparently went to Touma and sisters apartment to get it ready for their return, yet she was to visit later.

Touma then went to his usual room, saying goodbye for a moment to Kongou, Wannai, and Awatsuki, who had to return to the school to change clothes and shower. The girls hugged him, saying they will visit later this afternoon.

Now, he spent time with Amazora, Kaibi, and Rikuri, each exchanging their experiences from the fierce battle.

Also...

"DO YOU FUCKING REALIZE HOW MUCH THE DETOURS TAKE?! HOW THE HELL DO YOU HAVE THE TIME TO PHONE ME ABOUT YOUR HAREM SHIT AND NOT TELL ME TO SEAL OF THE CITY? YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE YOUR GIRLS WRECKING EVERYTHING NEAR THE EXITS, I AM A BOARD FRICKING CHAIRMAN DAMN IT, I CAN CLOSE THIS FUCKING CITY LITERALLY WITH A MOTION OF MY FINGER!'

He got three angry rants over the phone from Accelerator, Index, and Mugino Shizuri. The first was angry about the scale of damage, but begrudgingly thanked him for his actions after his explosive wrath dissipated. Index was angry that he ended up in the hospital again and his only saving grace was the fact that the nun was participating in yakiniku with Scavenger girls. But even if Index could be reasoned with easily, Touma was not spared a lecture by Othinus, even after asserting that this time, there was no magic side business involved. As for Mugino... well, this rant was so vocally expressive that it could fill quite the few pages, but all in all, she expressed satisfaction at his survival.

Since everyone was safe, Touma quickly fufilled his promise. True to his name, Heaven Canceller brought Veritas from the brink of death and Touma touched her with his right hand, ending the illusion she was in.

Veritas was later transferred to a special facility and Touma set to visit her once or twice a month. However, he was always astounded how much Veritas, or rather Nouzori Satsuki, changed after awakening. Gone was crazed, psychotic mannierism, and left was the curious girl, still unable to recognize or express emotions, but no longer attached to objectivity that she could not attain. In truth, Touma did not know how many times did she repeat her near-death experience. But he knew that process allowed her to leave her tainted ideals behind, as much as she could. As for memory change, that would have to wait to later date.

And now, as he sat in his room, he prepared for what was about to come.

"Hey..." he heard Ayu's voice besides himself" you called for me?"

"Hey..." he smiled at her" I changed my clothes... do you still know who I am?"

"I can recognize by hair and tone of voice. Kamijou-san..."

"Please, call me Touma"

"No, I cannot go to that so fast after what I've done. Then... Touma-san, I am... so terribly sorry for what happened to Kumokawa-san. If I controlled Veritas better, she wouldn't-"

"No, that's alright, don't blame yourself. Even senpai said to not blame yourself for that, so please, do not"

"But... this shouldn't be like that. You went all that way to save me. I should be the one most injured, I should be the one to suff-"

Touma promptly got up and hugged the girl tightly.

"If anything, you suffered enough. In silence, in the darkness, in the cold. I am sorry, but as long as I am here, I am not allowing you to suffer ever again, and I am not going anywhere. Of course, it's horrible that senpai was hurt. But I know that you would jump in front of that spike for me... like I would for you. That's more than enough. I know that it will take time... lots of time... but I bent on making you remember again... remember that you have a beautiful heart, Mitsuari Ayu. There is a reason why I consider meeting you one of the best things that could happen to me"

The girls smiled awkwardly, with tears in her eyes, and put the hand on the side of Touma's face.

"The ones who are the kindest suffer the most. And no one, despite and through the pain, is kinder than you. If anything, it was meeting you that was the best things that ever happened to me"

"Hah, so I guess meeting one another is the best for both of those two misfortunate souls. I am not really a math guy, but two minuses really can give a plus..."

"Hello my prince, you called... oh?"

Shokuhou Misaki froze at the door to Touma's room, as he finished.

"... which is why I hope you both forgive me for calling you at the same time and putting you through this conversation. But to move past death through the process of grief and embrace life... you both, and probably also me, have to talk about all that happened. About you two. And about us, together."

The clouds passed on the outside sky. Gentle breeze moved the curtains.

It seemed that time stopped, that was how long two girls froze up.

"Mitsuari-san..." Shokuhou said with a tone of ambivalent calmness, not revealing any true emotion.

The ant who could not become the bee slowly turned towards the level 5, her eyes cold and lifeless

"Shokuhou..." Ayu said, accentuating each sound in a such manner that if sounds could have shapes, this utterance could cut like sharp glass.

The moment of fateful talk arrived now.