"Impossible?!"
Stiyl's expression shifted drastically.
"She saw through the principle behind rune magic?"
A psychic from the science side?
Mikoto gave him no time to recover. The metal manhole cover at her feet was suddenly lifted by her electromagnetic power.
"I've already figured out your tricks. This ends now."
She hurled the manhole cover at Stiyl, who hastily tore open a few remaining defensive rune cards, conjuring a shield of flame in front of him. But Mikoto had predicted this move: a Railgun blast hit the shield. The powerful impact sent the manhole cover crashing straight through the flaming barrier, slamming into Stiyl and knocking him backward.
"Gah!"
Stiyl flew like a cut kite and smashed into a wall.
"Ugh!"
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, splattering the ground.
"Onee-sama is amazing!"
Kuroko, who had been watching from a distance, cheered.
Mikoto, however, didn't let her guard down—because Stiyl's expression looked off. It wasn't the despair of someone who had lost; there was a note of grim resolve in his eyes.
"You have no idea what you're getting yourselves into…"
Stiyl forced himself to stand, pressing his bloodstained fingertips to the wall and drawing a complex symbol.
"If that's how it is… then I'll show you some real magic!"
As he finished the last rune, the entire wall ignited with eerie blue flames. From within the fire, a vague humanoid outline began to form—a towering, three-meter flaming giant stepped out of the wall. Though it had no features, its head turned toward Mikoto, radiating a suffocating sense of pressure.
"King of Witch Hunters…"
Stiyl gasped, forcing out the words.
"Devour her!"
"!!"
The fiery giant let out a silent roar, swinging a massive arm down at Mikoto.
"Wha—?!"
She barely managed to dodge. A moment later, the ground where she'd stood was melted into a deep pit.
"What is that thing?!"
Mikoto's eyes went wide. A living creature made of flame? Her understanding of magic took on a whole new dimension.
"Onee-sama!"
Kuroko tried teleporting over to help, but a sudden wall of fire rose, blocking her.
"Stay back!"
Mikoto shouted in warning. Kuroko's ability wasn't best suited for direct combat. Meanwhile, Mikoto was thinking furiously. The flaming giant was magic-based, and the rune symbols were key. If she could find the core rune…
Her gaze fell on the faintly glowing rune at the giant's chest, then darted to Stiyl, who stood pale-faced some distance away. A plan formed in her mind.
In a sudden burst, Mikoto dashed toward a nearby street lamp. She pressed her palm against the metal pole, sending a powerful electric current through it. All the streetlights along the block suddenly blazed with intense brightness. While the sudden glare disoriented the enemy, she flicked a coin.
Railgun!
A streak of orange tore through the night sky—not at the giant, but straight at Stiyl. Forced to defend, Stiyl had no choice but to command the flaming giant to retreat and shield him. At the moment the Railgun was about to collide with the giant, Mikoto whipped her right hand. An arc of electricity carved out a strange path, bypassing the giant and striking Stiyl!
"What—?!"
He tried to twist aside, but the lightning still grazed him. Paralysis flooded his body, forcing him to his knees, and his concentration broke. The flaming giant let out a soundless wail, its form starting to collapse.
Mikoto seized the chance: she yanked every piece of iron around them—signposts, railings, trash bins—wrapping them around the giant in a makeshift metal net.
"It's over."
She panted, striding over to Stiyl.
"Now tell me: why were you after that girl?"
Stiyl painfully lifted his head, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. He'd lost to an esper from the science side—someone he had dismissed.
"You think… this is the end?"
"Our people… will be here any minute…"
He didn't finish. A dark figure descended from above, landing silently between Mikoto and Stiyl. Under the moonlight, a tall woman with her hair tied back into a ponytail stood up slowly, an over-two-meter-long Japanese sword hanging at her waist.
"Kaori…"
Stiyl's weakened voice called out to his partner.
"That's enough, girl from the science side,"
the newcomer said calmly, one hand on her sword's hilt.
"I don't want to hurt you, but we must take Index with us."
"And who are you?!"
Mikoto felt a pressure unlike anything before. This woman was ten times more dangerous than that red-haired magician. Still, Mikoto squared her shoulders, electricity arcing across her fingertips once again.
"Don't even think about it! As long as I'm standing, you're not taking her anywhere!!"
For an instant, something like admiration flickered in the woman's eyes. But then her gaze hardened.
"Then… my apologies."
A single flash of steel. Mikoto didn't even catch the woman's motion. She instinctively deployed her strongest electromagnetic barrier, only to hear it shatter like glass.
"Zsst… boom!"
"Onee-sama!!"
Kuroko cried out, teleporting just in time to catch Mikoto as she was sent flying.
"Ugh!"
They tumbled to the ground. Mikoto finally snapped back to her senses, staring at the woman Stiyl had called Kaori.
Kaori turned toward Stiyl.
"How are you holding up?"
He grimaced.
"Other than being a bit numb, I'll live."
He was relieved now that Kaori had arrived. Kaori Kanzaki, just like him, was from the Anglican Church's special unit, "Necessarius."
She was also a top-ranked magician in London, the former leader of the "Amakusa-Style Remix of Church," and—more crucially—one of fewer than twenty "Saints" in the entire world.
That status granted her mastery of the massive sword at her waist, "Shichiten Shichitou (Seven Heavens Seven Swords)," and formidable swordsmanship.
Saints—fewer than 20 people worldwide—were akin to walking nukes in the magic side, each bearing a "stigma" bestowed by God. When a Saint unleashed that stigma's power, they surpassed ordinary human limits, able to seize an entire city alone.
So Stiyl felt confident. He couldn't imagine any esper standing a chance against Kanzaki.
~~~
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