Crack!
A burst of lightning erupted from thin air, instantly fracturing the stone-paved ground within a ten-meter radius, scattering shards in all directions.
A searing, ripping pain tore across his face and nose. The arrogance and gloom in the voice of the man known as the Terra of the Left turned into a bestial roar. His thin frame was flung backward, howling like a furious beast.
BOOM—!
He crashed into an empty arcade, smashing through rows of machines, sending a spray of cracked LCD shards sparking with electric arcs into the air.
Bzzzt bzzzt—!
On the ground, Alyssa handed Ferdinand over to an arriving Schicksal Research Institute operative. Behind her, a pair of wings—formed of blue-white plasma—unfurled.
With knees slightly bent, her right forearm cloaked in sky-blue lightning raised high. In the next instant, a Railgun shot thundered into the arcade.
WHOOOM—!
Not far off—RATATATATAT!BOOM!
In a soon-to-be-demolished office building, sustained gunfire erupted. Amid the storm of bullets, several cone-shaped missiles trailing red flames launched into the air. Explosions engulfed an unassuming room, and the resulting shockwave tore down glass, doors, and furniture within dozens of meters.
Then, a moment later—"Bright-colored Severing Axe."
The swirling heat wave was cleaved apart by a wind blade. Moments later, two figures leapt from a shattered window and landed heavily onto a flowerbed-like ground below.
"So this is your idea of a 'simple delivery job,' my dear employer. You never mentioned that the Vatican's darkest unit—God's Right Seat—would intervene..."
The 'courier' Oriana Thomson leaned over the flowerbed edge, dusting her hands with a wry smile as she glanced sideways at her employer.
Her outfit had changed—now a short, fringed skirt barely covering her thighs, paired with a tube top openly showing her full chest. Exceptionally seductive.
"I only just found out. The Church contacted me unexpectedly and added more layers to my plans. This situation is now beyond my control."
Her red-and-white priest's robe was covered in dust and debris from the explosion. Her hood had been blown off, and her once-silky golden hair now dulled with smoke. Lidvia Lorenzetti awkwardly tried to rise.
Though a devout Vatican Roman Catholic from the center of the Church and holding a fairly high rank, Lidvia was clearly less adept than the freelance magician Oriana when it came to practical combat and dealing with surprise attacks.
Her movements were clumsy.
She was more of a missionary type—well-versed in theory and rituals, but lacking the battle capabilities of specialized inquisitors or heresy hunters.
Earlier, if not for Oriana's sharp instincts and quick reaction—realizing that Academy City's response team had switched tactics from capture to no-holds-barred elimination—the rocket barrage might have ended her.
"Our objective remains the same. At 6:30 p.m., we initiate the 'Croce di Pietro'—"
Before they could act further, a hail of bullets came screaming in.
"Fire!"
High-caliber rounds from the Hound Dog unit tore into the flowerbed like giant fangs, shredding the ground and spraying dirt. A barrage of intense firepower rained down upon the pair.
RATATATAT!
More and more armed robots advanced, followed by soldiers clad in full-body armor suits, their heads covered with visors and heavy ski-goggle-like night vision gear. They were armed with portable anti-armor missiles and heavy-caliber weapons. Boom boom boom!—the sound of bullets exploding on impact rang out as chunks of concrete flew from the walls.
Faced with this increasing firepower, Oriana knew they couldn't drag this out any longer.
"Soil Symbol."
Buzz!
With her chant, the exposed ground writhed. A five-meter-high wall of earth rose from the ground. With a thrust of her hand, it moved forward like a sliding bulldozer, crushing several military robots in its path and detonating an incoming rocket.
"Go!"
The two exchanged glances and sprinted into a side alley. Going head-to-head with Academy City's elite forces? Forget it. The longer they stayed, the more likely they'd be taken out. They weren't Saints, nor were they members of God's Right Seat—they didn't have that kind of power.
Thump thump—
While running, Oriana bit lightly on a blank strip of paper torn from a simplified grimmoire. She flung it back sharply—clack clack clack!
"Wind Symbol II." Like flying daggers, the rune-inscribed strips embedded themselves into walls, windows, and alley walls—cutting deep into stone.
Swish swish swish!
Several three-meter-tall, half-meter-thick ice walls dropped into place, crushing parts of the alley and completely blocking the Hound Dog units' line of fire. Magic-infused halos shimmered across the ice, distorting their sightlines.
"Chasing a lady so relentlessly—how ungentlemanly! Here's something for you!"
Carrying a bandage-wrapped long object, Oriana gave a half-lidded wink with her watery blue eyes just before turning a corner.
"Fire Symbol II!"
Orange-red light flared from her fingertips.
A massive fireball, cloaked in blazing flames, slammed out with explosive force.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
The devastating blast collapsed nearby alleys, burying multiple tactical squads beneath the rubble.
"These rats sure know how to pick locations—abandoned office buildings or construction sites. They even use 'Evacuate Civilians' magic. Hmph, magician theatrics, but at least it saves us the trouble of crowd control."
Kihara Amata stepped out of a black van, watching from afar as Lidvia Lorenzetti and Oriana Thomson fled deeper into the alleys under the Hound Dog's siege. Sensing the magical influence in the buildings—spells for "driving off bystanders"—he sneered, the tattoo on his face twisting with malice.
"Magic side, before we deal with unruly test subjects, let's have some fun with you."
Kihara Amata usually handled dark side affairs in Academy City, tracking and eliminating high-threat targets—especially missions involving the retrieval of berserk espers like Accelerator. His expertise was all science-side.
Now, being called in by Selene to deal with the magic side? He was almost enjoying it.
Selene: What's the point of fighting amongst ourselves? If you want to brawl, brawl outward.
"Sir, should we deploy the Board-authorized heavy suppression armor units? With that kind of firepower, even magicians would be reduced to ashes along with the buildings."
"No, hold off for now. This situation isn't that simple. That nun-looking woman holds a high rank in the Roman Catholic Church. I don't believe all the rats have shown their tails yet."
"According to the Board's intel, the 'Croce di Pietro' is involved. That's a sacred relic of the Roman Church—a big fish and a juicy lure. The Church won't abandon it so easily."
Kihara Amata shook his head with a cold sneer. "Plenty of cannon fodder will come swarming like moths to a flame, just like summer insects in the garden. All we need is a lampshade and a front-row seat to the carnage..."
"Did we catch that magician who broke through our lines earlier?"
"Temporarily... no. Our teams can't keep up. Several squads of armed robots were wiped out. Our weapons are ineffective against him..."
"Useless trash!"
Kihara shoved the subordinate aside, a feral grin spreading across his face. "Keep chasing the one who escaped. Post a bounty in the dark side network. Let the scavengers add their flames to this grand festival."
"As for the two still here—watch them carefully. I don't care what their goal is, but we must disrupt their plan and ensure they don't use this chaos to escape. Lock down the entire block, sewers included—don't leave a single corner unchecked!"
"Evacuation magic, huh? Then deploy more robotic units. What, you think suggestion magic works on machines?"
"Yes, sir!"
...
Thump thump thump—
"Let's not talk about your Roman Catholic drama. During the Daihasei Festival, Academy City's response was far quicker than you promised."
"I can pay more." Lidvia Lorenzetti fell silent for a moment in the face of Oriana's obvious dissatisfaction.
"Heh. Do you even have money? Spare me." Oriana chuckled. "As a professional courier, I'll fulfill the delivery contract. But you'd better keep your promise."
"Otherwise..." Snap!
A wind blade split the wall. Oriana shoved Lidvia inside and said coldly, "Even if it means opposing the Roman Catholic Church, I'll kill you."
"If I fail, you won't need to. I'll offer my life to the Lord." Lidvia pressed her hands together, her gaze calm but firm. "I, Lidvia Lorenzetti, swear in the name of the Lord that every word exchanged with Oriana Thomson is the truth."
She understood Oriana's doubt.
Oriana was a famous free agent on the magic side. Her prices were steep. Lidvia, by contrast, was quite poor—her global missionary work and charity for the needy had drained her funds. She even pawned the silk robe and platinum staff personally granted by the Pope to finance her travels...
What truly convinced Oriana was Lidvia's belief: to make the world a better place.
The 'Croce di Pietro' was the means.
Once activated, it would make everyone feel happiness no matter what. With everyone united under the Lord, conflicts and divisions would vanish. There would be no science side, no magic side—just harmony. That was Lidvia's vision, and she dedicated herself to it.
Oriana was persuaded by that vision, but now, with God's Right Seat interfering, her instincts screamed that the Vatican higher-ups might not share Lidvia's pure ideals.
"I'll draw their attention and stall until 6:30. The rest is up to you." Tapping her disguised cargo, Oriana said coolly, "This is where we part ways..."
"Found you!"
"Hm?" Oriana turned to see three pursuers. She blinked in mild confusion. "A team of Academy City students and a British Puritan magician? What is this combo?"
"You really ticked us off, dragging us around like dogs!"
"Courier Oriana Thomson," a tall red-haired priest stepped from the opposite street. Flames flickered in his palm as he narrowed his eyes seriously. "Drop the Croce di Pietro and surrender peacefully."
"Oh my, Necessarius... Wind Symbol III!"
As engine roars grew louder from the street, Oriana and Lidvia exchanged a glance. Oriana bit down on another blank spell tag and flung it instantly. A moisture-laden whirlwind manifested in midair, spiraling toward the three opponents blocking their path.
"Watch out!"
Biu!
"Nice one, A-yan! Let's go!" Kamijou Touma's delinquent ally, Tsuchimikado Motoharu, charged forward with a laugh.
"Even the Anti-Skill units are after you. We must end this quickly," said Stiyl Magnus, fire suddenly blooming in his hands. His red hair blazed in the reflected glow.
"My hand holds fire, its form is a blade, its duty—judgment. Flame Sword!"
Crackle!BOOM—!
Then, a thunderous explosion erupted. The ground quaked as the three turned their heads toward the source—several streets away, a column of lightning shot into the sky. Massive, sky-blue bolts arced out like the branches of a World Tree, visible even in daylight.
"Such exaggerated discharge... is Biri-biri taking an exam or something?"
Lowering his smoking right hand, Kamijou Touma twitched at the corner of his eye. He recognized that power.
...
"Aaaagh! Damn it! Heresy! Blasphemy! This is sacrilege against the Lord!"
A shrill scream rang out. Once again blasted by Alyssa's railgun, the withered green-robed figure smashed through the arcade and crashed into another building.
Crash!Rumble!
"Lightning below, human above!"
Pushing aside the rubble, the Terra of the Left slowly stood. His green robes were torn in multiple places.
His arms, shoulders, torso, and thighs were covered in lacerations from rebars and debris. Swollen, bruised, and bleeding, his disfigured face looked even more monstrous.
Thud!
Lightning crackled blue and white as Alyssa landed before him, her expression curious as she stared at the dirt-covered grotesque figure.
"Huh? The plasma cannon didn't melt you? But your physical body is so weak... That doesn't add up."
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