Nighttime in the Seventh District always carries a peculiar kind of quiet.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing to that girl?!"
Mikoto Misaka's voice rang clearly in the deserted streets.
The red-haired man—Stiyl Magnus—suddenly looked up, surprise flashing in his eyes.
"'Disperse Bystanders' should still be in effect…"
he muttered under his breath. Then, frowning, he glanced over at the two girls who had appeared out of nowhere.
"I'm asking you a question!"
Mikoto's fingertips crackled with bluish-white electricity as she slowly advanced.
Kuroko also snapped to high alert, her fingers resting on the metal needles strapped to her thighs.
Stiyl's gaze swept over them, pausing briefly on the school emblem of Tokiwadai on Mikoto's uniform.
"So, you're espers from Academy City…"
He let out a short laugh.
"This doesn't concern you. Leave now."
"You think I could ignore someone passed out on the ground right in front of me?"
Mikoto closed the distance to about ten meters, faint arcs of electricity forming a barely visible barrier around her.
"Kuroko, make sure that girl is safe."
"Understood, Onee-sama!"
Kuroko immediately teleported away with the unconscious nun.
"What?!"
Stiyl's eyes widened. He snapped his fingers, igniting the paper card in his hand with flames.
"Your opponent is me!"
Mikoto swung her right hand, releasing a bolt of lightning at Stiyl. He leapt back, conjuring flames at his former location to block the attack.
"This is my final warning…"
Seeing his target vanish to who-knows-where, Stiyl was out of patience, his expression darkening. Pulling more rune cards from inside his coat, he growled:
"Hand over that nun, and you can leave unharmed."
"Hah?"
Mikoto raised an eyebrow.
"You really think a threat like that will work on me?"
Stiyl said nothing further. Flicking his fingers, he scattered several cards. In a flash, the entire street was illuminated by firelight! Countless fiery serpents surged from the cards, attacking Mikoto from all directions.
"Watch out, Onee-sama!"
Kuroko reappeared alone, evidently having secured the nun somewhere safe. She gasped at the sight of the fire.
"Hmph!"
Mikoto stood firm, giving nothing more than a simple snap of her fingers. A violent electromagnetic field burst out from her in all directions, twisting and shredding every incoming flame serpent. Still, she frowned slightly—these flames weren't being generated from the man himself, but rather from those strange cards.
"You're not an esper, are you?"
Mikoto murmured, narrowing her eyes.
"So how do you have these flames…"
Suddenly, realization hit her.
"Y-you're a magician?!"
"Huh?"
Stiyl's eyes flickered with shock. How does a person on the science side know the word 'magician'?
"Well, doesn't matter how you found out. Looks like we won't be settling this nicely…"
He gazed at Mikoto with a grim expression.
"I am Stiyl Magnus, a magician under the Anglican Church's 'Necessarius' special unit. My magic name is 'Fortis931.' Let this prove why I am the strongest!"
Declaring his magic name signaled that he would fight at full strength. As a rune master of the Anglican Church's special unit, Stiyl had fully deciphered the 24 existing runic letters and even developed 6 new runes. He was particularly adept at flame magic.
Stiyl gave Mikoto no time to process. He formed a quick hand seal, chanting an ancient incantation. The embers on the ground began to rearrange themselves, coalescing into a gigantic fist of flame that smashed toward Mikoto.
"Tch!"
Mikoto was momentarily shocked to confirm he really was a magician. She'd heard Rei Ao mention the existence of magic, but she'd never truly believed it until now—and it made a big impression. Still, this was no time for questions.
She sprang backward. From her pocket, she pulled out a coin. Pinching it at her fingertips, she aimed at the flaming fist.
Railgun!
Accelerated by electromagnetic force, the coin tore through the air with a blazing orange trail, piercing the fiery fist and heading straight for Stiyl's face.
"!!"
Stiyl hastily jerked his head aside. The coin, trailing fierce wind, grazed past him. The resulting blast left a scorched black streak on the pavement. He stared in disbelief.
"A science-side esper… this strong?"
"Looks like your flames can't handle this,"
Mikoto said with a confident smirk, brandishing a few more coins in her hand.
"Now tell me—why are you after that nun?"
"Hmph."
Stiyl gave a cold chuckle. Though taken aback by Mikoto's power, he had no intention of losing. He suddenly hurled an entire stack of rune cards into the air. They arranged themselves automatically, forming a complex magic circle. Intense magical energy flared, distorting the air around them.
"Fortis931!"
When he completed his incantation, a massive pillar of flame—several meters wide—burst forth from the center of the magic circle, surging toward Mikoto like a living creature.
"Another one, huh?"
Mikoto glanced at the few coins she had left but decided against using Railgun again. Instead, she raced along the street, leaving a string of fiery explosions in her wake. Her mind raced—those cards were the key. The flames weren't coming from him directly, but from those cards acting as a medium… just like how she needed a coin for Railgun.
With that insight, Mikoto abruptly changed course. Instead of dodging, she charged straight at Stiyl. He clearly hadn't anticipated a head-on assault. In a panic, he redirected the flame pillar to chase her. At the last moment, just before the flames engulfed her, Mikoto slammed on the brakes, whirling around to face the roaring inferno.
"Zzzzt!"
A powerful electromagnetic barrier flared before her, colliding violently with the flames and unleashing a dazzling burst of light.
"Now!"
Maintaining the barrier with her left hand, she raised a coin high in her right.
"Rumble!"
Thunder boomed overhead. Mikoto harnessed the electromagnetic fields of the entire neighborhood, calling forth a bolt of lightning from the sky.
"You think lightning will help you against flame?"
Stiyl growled, forcing more power into his magic.
"Who said I was attacking the flames?"
A cunning grin flickered across Mikoto's lips, and she pointed her finger—not at the blazing fire, but at the rune cards.
Multiple lightning strikes crashed down in an instant, aimed squarely at the floating rune cards rather than Stiyl's flames.
Under the barrage of lightning, the cards burned and crumbled into ash. Deprived of their medium, the flames began to vanish at once.
~~~
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