But.
What if she said that doing so required a specific sacrifice?
What if she said that she wanted to exile the boy named Kamijou Touma and cut him into pieces alive?
them--
Can you accept this fact and live in the "happy world"? Can you live every day with a carefree and carefree smile?
"They will collapse. "
"Overall," he said decisively.
It was as if she could see what other people were thinking.
"If they knew that their current happiness was built on 'killing an innocent boy', their hearts would collapse. This is only natural. Isn't it because you can't tolerate this that you stand up to all kinds of unreasonable things regardless of good or evil? Are you going to put on a nonchalant expression and push things that you absolutely cannot accept onto others? This doesn't make sense either."
Kamijou Touma had no idea how much importance he held in the hearts of others.
Witnessing everyone laughing and merrily in a world without Kamijou Touma like this, honestly, made him think that he shouldn't be that important.
No matter where I go, I am still an ordinary high school student.
There are six billion people in the world, so it's not surprising that there are countless people who are "as capable as him" and "more capable than him".
"That has nothing to do with it."
"Overall" he said softly at this time.
It was as if it was going to cut off Kamijou's thoughts.
"Even if they are small things that anyone can do. Even if you are there by chance, as long as you are in the moment, even if it is someone else, they will make exactly the same choice. Even if those A and B can be combined in any way, if it is someone else who lends a hand, maybe that person will join the circle instead of you. "
What she said were really just little things.
A trivial fact that has nothing to do with the "future of the world" or anything like that.
"In fact, at that moment, in that scene, the person who rushed out to help them regardless of everything was you. Even if those things could be done by anyone, everyone is still very grateful to you for actually coming."
Kamijou Touma—
The whole person froze.
The General went on slowly:
"You will definitely get help. The word 'karma' is not only used for bad things. The path you have walked will definitely help you. Even if everyone hesitates and worries, sheds tears, or even quarrels with important people, they will still choose to help you in the end... After all, they are not bad guys. Even if they have lost control because of taking the wrong path, they are not crazy people who can't find any chance to understand. So, in the end, everyone will still come. If they know that you are about to be crushed by the smiles of the whole world, they would rather give up everything and stand by your side. Just like you have always done."
"..."
"So, Othinus sealed that part. She changed the settings so that karma doesn't work properly. This is called distortion. It's completely unreasonable. If you can freely manipulate people's good and evil, then there is no need to resurrect people. You can just let everyone think that a world full of corpses is a happy place from the beginning. What that guy did was just this kind of low-level cheating."
The boy did not reject the discourse of "overall".
He listened carefully and thought with his head.
But.
That's why.
"If that's the case, it's even worse..."
"Um? "
"If her arrangement is so perfect that I am cornered and there won't be even a tiny flaw, then maybe it won't hurt to try to make a scene. I'm bound to fail anyway. However, if it's true as you said, that this perfect world has contradictions and can become an opportunity for a breakthrough, then it's even more impossible to ask them for help! Because, they might give up, right? They might give up the happiness that will never come back according to common sense, right? Absolutely not!"
"Overall" simply responded with a "hmm".
The girl was still sitting on the bed, swinging her feet back and forth.
She said:
"...You, once it comes to troublesome things like human lives, you become very stubborn. "
"What did you say?"
"So, think about the situation in a simple way. In short, put aside the inexplicable things about the ethics and mysteries of life. "
At this point, "The Whole" suddenly approached Kamijou who was sitting on the ground.
She got so close that her lips would touch if she wasn't careful.
As if in a provocation.
"Everything we have built up so far has been taken away by this sudden behind-the-scenes mastermind, Othinus. Are you really not bothered at all?"
Simple questioning.
A very simple question.
So there was no packaging for the words, and they pierced Kamijou's chest directly and sharply.
Kamijou fell silent.
The sun had completely set and the stars were shining brightly in the sky.
Time is not passing any faster.
It was because Kamijou remained frozen in place.
that's all.
that's all.
that's all.
Kamijou Touma slowly opened his trembling lips.
It was like tears flowing from frozen tear glands.
Chapter 196. She will say goodbye silently
A long-lost acquaintance.
It's been a long time since I last heard someone listen to the voice of his heart.
Long time no see...someone breaks the cocoon woven by Othinus.
Overcome thousands of difficulties and obstacles.
From the farthest end, he trampled the three extremely heavy words "impossible" under his feet and completely rescued Kamijou Touma who was trapped in this birdcage called despair.
--turn out to be;
I have always thought that this behavior of meddling in other people's lives is willful and reckless.
It's not just a form of self-satisfaction.
It also helps these desperate companions get what they need.
This is not just a one-way salvation.
It is a warmth that comes from both sides.
That's right—
This is something the boy should have known.
However, due to the pain created by Euthinus, it was natural that these things were completely forgotten.
No...it's not so much forgotten.
It is more accurate to say that he was completely lost in this world where "no one needs Kamijou Touma".
This is not a parallel time and space, nor is it another possibility of the world.
It was a hoax perpetrated by Euthinus.
One that caused Kamijou Touma to give up his personality and his ability to think.
It has become a toy scam.
And this moment.
When Misaka's integrated consciousness transcended the miracle, she appeared in front of Touma.
The world that appeared at this time has completely changed.
The boy finally heard the [voice].
What he had always wanted to hear.
In this lost paradise where I have no place;
The sound you really want to hear.
So far.
Although the clip has not yet been edited, it still remains on the conversation between the two.
but--
The audience knows.
The situation is broken.
Next.
Kamijou Touma no longer had any reason to be confused.
What he was worried about.
The world in which there really was no place for him had been shattered.
Even if the world is rewritten by Othinus.
Even if everything in this world forgets his existence.
Even though there is another guy named Kamijou Touma who enjoys his terrible but happy life.
But...
He still has reasons to stay in this world.
"But this is very strange, isn't it? Since he is a perfect demon god, why couldn't he foresee the existence of this life form?"
Watching the video of Kamijou Touma crying and Misaka Integrated Consciousness awakening him,
In the Ultraman world, GUYs member Aihara Ryu is puzzled: "If this world is really ruled by gods and even human consciousness is rewritten, then there should be no one in this world who knows anything about Kamijou Touma...but what happened in the video?"
As he said this, the violent and rough man's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said in a voice of sudden enlightenment: "So that's how it is - I understand... I'm afraid this guy doesn't have the ability he claims to have. What he just said is just bluffing!!"
What a perfect devil, what an orderly utopia that can handle everything, it's all bullshit!
"She is trying to deceive Kamijou Touma with this, hoping to completely erase the only thing she cannot control in this world... But in reality, she has countless flaws, so at this critical juncture, the world she created will be destroyed?"
Academy City on the scientific side, the Magical Index homeland... At this moment, Hamazura looked at the screen in front of the TV and said as if he understood something: "But... if that's really the case, she shouldn't be so careless as to expose her shortcomings in front of Kamijou Touma."
"In this case, this is probably an oversight. Misaka's integrated consciousness is probably one of the few flaws in this beautiful world created by the Demon God."
"It is precisely because of this that she was able to appear in front of Kamijou Touma instead of completely disappearing like this... But - in just such a short moment, when she appeared, all this was enough."
Kamijou Touma has always been a guy who puts himself below others.
Because he has such saintly thoughts in his subconscious mind.
Even facing the Misaka integrated consciousness that came to save his soul, he still found it difficult to come to terms with what he had witnessed.
Even though he had completely understood the truth of this virtual world, he knew it was a false reality.
Everything he did at the risk of his life was just something that could be accomplished in an instant with the devil swinging his gun.
What a sin, what an absurdity, this is the power of the demon god, it is something that Kamijou Touma will never be able to do in his lifetime!!!
Don't ask why the emotional outpouring of Kamijou Touma in the video while facing the Misaka Integrated Consciousness was summarized so abbreviatedly, because the text version of what he said in the video would have to be more than 2,000 words. The emotions are there, but the cat coins have all been stolen, and the editor should be reported to Iron Fist.
After these indescribably touching words, everything fell silent. Everyone was moved by the true emotions expressed by Kamijou Touma in the video. They cried non-stop with snot and tears streaming down their faces.
In the world of Pokémon, Suicune sighed, tears flowed from the corners of his eyes, and he burst into tears as he watched the scenes in the video, and started screaming.
All the oppressed Palus in the Palu continent threw away their shovels and hammers on the spot and looked at the boy in the video in silence and choked with tears.
Looking at those places with few viewers... Oh my god, is this person crying really the murderous gun demon? That's really exaggerated, my friends.
That's right...Othinus is indeed very strong.
The world she created is indeed a peaceful one.but--
This kind of comfort kills everyone's true self.
Only some superficial things remain.
"Honestly, I feel more at ease now."
She said so.
"If someone says something like this and you still respond like a gentleman, I honestly can't do anything about it. I'll probably decide that I've underestimated the human species and just give up on it."
"…So what?"
Kamijou muttered unhappily.
"No matter how much I scream and how angry I get, the situation won't change. I can't do better than Othinus. Even if I destroy everything here and pretend nothing happened and return to the so-called 'original world', my heart will surely be overwhelmed by guilt. What's the point?"
"I suppose so."
The girl called "General" admitted it straightforwardly.
"It's a miracle after all. I, a resident of the scientific camp, really don't understand it. I think that guy must have reached a higher level. Although my calculation ability cannot be underestimated, even if we bury our heads in thinking hard here, I don't think we can get a better answer."
"In that case—"
Kamijou was about to express his opinion, but the "general" interrupted him and added:
"But,"
simply.
Simple.
"Let's get to the bottom of this."
Her tone seemed to indicate that she had wanted to talk about this from the beginning, but Kamijou did not immediately follow up.
Her dumbfounded expression seemed to say, "You finally got here?"
"Why do you have to unconditionally put 'you' at the bottom when comparing yourself to 'everyone'?/escape"
The meaning of this sentence.
He totally didn't understand.
In front of the dazed Kamijou Touma, "General" placed his index finger on his temple, rubbing it while continuing to speak.
"It doesn't matter who you prioritize, as long as you decide for yourself."
The girl said simply.
It was as if to negate everything that had happened before.
"It doesn't matter if I make myself a priority just for once."
she--
Said the "Overall" who has seen the most deaths.
"If you think that saving everyone equally is the right thing to do, if you want to lend a hand to those who are suffering from unreasonable pain and holding back their tears, then in addition to helping others, you should also save your own life. Don't talk about being self-righteous. This is not something that can be easily put on the scale."
"…"
"You yourself have come this far. The plan to kill about 20,000 replicants to create the Absolute Power (Level 6) should be considered the right thing to do if we only consider the big picture. However, even if we put numbers on it, you still can't accept it. However, you must be well aware that the wrong behavior from a macro perspective saved many lives and souls. This is not a problem at all."
Kamijou Touma replied, "Yeah," and let out a breath.
It's not that he is unable to accept the "overall" opinion.
But I'm afraid to accept her opinion.
To do so would be to give up on this miraculous situation.
"But even if I return to my 'original world' this way, I will probably still collapse. Having to put on a smiling face in front of everyone who knows nothing about me - sooner or later I will be unable to hold on."
"Perhaps."
"Overall" is still not denied.
Not only that, she also said:
"Then, just don't hide it. After all, hiding the fact that you can't save everyone is not the same as returning to the so-called "original world". You have such naive thoughts just because you don't want to disappoint others. Am I wrong? /escape"
Kamijou laughed when he heard this.
He felt that he seemed to gradually understand the key point of the problem.
"…I will probably be slaughtered by them."
"Then apologize. Explain everything and apologize to everyone."
"Overall" said in a lighthearted tone.
"That's what you've always done, right? You've opened the hearts of powerful enemies who were filled with hatred because of an irreversible tragedy. It's no different than that. Since you can end a war with this, even if things don't go well for a while, you can always get back to the way they were. To be honest, this is more "your style." It's more like you to do this, rather than putting on a false smile because you're afraid of getting others angry, and then gradually breaking down from the inside out."
For quite a while.
Kamijou just sat there, unable to move.
This world must have everything, and everyone except Kamijou Touma was saved.
However.
Needless to say, it was a world that was not friendly to Kamijou Touma.
so.
"…Is it okay just because of this?"
Finally, the boy spoke in a low voice.
The "overall" girl listened quietly.
"Can I really challenge this dazzling world just for this reason?"
"sure. "
She answered immediately with a smile on her face.
"No matter what you do, you can't take back the 'original world' where Kamijou Touma enjoyed his youth, so just destroy it all and rebuild it. So-called interpersonal relationships don't always go up. Sometimes they sink. But as long as you can float up in the end, you will win. Just think of it this way."
Misaka Network's "overall" said nonchalantly.
"not to mention. "
She paused.
"If everyone is angry with you, I will accompany you even if I am fanning the flames. No matter if I will be regarded as the evil demon or something, let's start with the two of us. It's okay to take it slowly, let's put the broken circle back together. This matter is not easy, not only will it leave scars in people's most vulnerable parts, but it will also be directly linked to the life and death of many people in the world. However, it will be resolved in the end. Until then, I will accompany you to the end☆"
Can't see the future.
No one can predict what will happen in the future.
I'm afraid that from a historical perspective, the choice to destroy a person here is overwhelmingly correct. As for Kamijou Touma who wanted to defy this trend, he was simply an absolutely evil person who was unable to abandon his petty desires and wishes and was at the mercy of them.
But.
"…Go back."
Kamijou Touma lowered his head.
Whispered a few words quietly.
This time.
Finally it is no longer "like".
The boy shed the tears he had been holding back until now and spoke softly.
"No matter how self-righteous he is, even if I can't bring happiness to others... I still want to go back there..."
To say evil or whatever.
An ordinary high school student who can be found everywhere speaks a trivial truth. Even though it is hopelessly cheap, ugly, miserable, and boring... it is a voice without a single falsehood.
The girl narrowed her eyes slightly.
I can't let it go no matter what.
Even though I know it will make others unhappy, I can't let go.
Knowing that she was valued so much, she would definitely not be unhappy. On the contrary, if he gave up easily and mechanically like comparing numbers on documents, it would make the girl unhappy.
That's right.
To be honest, she was having a tantrum.
In a sense, it's very human.
"Then it's decided."
The "general" shrugged and quickly concluded.
Her tone was as relaxed as if she was saying she wanted to play a little after school.
"Go and surprise the true God who is so proud of his victory."
"...Um."
Kamijou Touma slowly stood up.
He looked at a certain point.
Door to a student residence suite.
The things to do didn't change. He was always running through there into the world.
so--
"Let's end it all - fight with God."
The simple sound of opening and closing the door echoed all around.
This is the ending that all the audience have been waiting for.
But at the same time...there is something that no one wants to see appearing on the screen.
Wait until Kamijou Touma runs out of the room.
The picture never moved away from the video interface.
The video remains frozen at this frame.
Frozen on this side of Misaka's integrated consciousness.
Freeze at the moment when her body gradually glows, as if she is about to collapse.
Her monologue and inner emotional changes gradually replaced Touma's perspective...
Chapter 198: I gradually begin to understand you
Light...
Blinding light.
When Kamijou Touma pushed the door open and rushed out.
When everything is settled.
In a corner where no one notices.
The girl who saved Kamijou Touma's soul.
The collective consciousness of the Misaka sisters who had come into contact with Kamijou Touma several times.
Her existence began to collapse and disappear along with the light that appeared from her body.
The light flickered and gradually disappeared into nothingness.
"What…what's going on?!"
Witnessing this scene, the audience in front of the screen couldn't help but feel their hearts aching for a moment.
Before their eyes—
The Misaka Integration's consciousness seems to be on the verge of collapse! ?In this world where everything was created by Euthinus. ]
[Misaka's integrated consciousness is definitely different.]
[It will be optimized and erased. ]
These common sense are easy to guess.
But it is precisely because the triggering conditions of this common sense go against the normal historical trend.
so--
Everything will get out of control.
But...what is the situation that caused this?
"Why...how did the situation turn out like this?"
Looking at the scene before him, Kamijou Touma couldn't help but feel fear.
Seeing this scene, Kamijou Touma couldn't help but be afraid.
Looking at the scene in front of him, Kamijou Touma was extremely worried.
I'm worried about the safety of this noble man who woke up myself in the video, woke up myself in reality, and woke up the guy named Kamijou Touma to "try to be selfish and emphasize the importance of myself to the friends around me"!
What is going on?
"Tsk, are you kidding me? Don't you even understand the most basic theory of cause and effect?"
Accelerator finally couldn't stand the look on the face of this idiot who had beaten himself into a moron and saved the little devil several times.
As a top student and the most valuable psychic in Academy City's research, he naturally saw through the truth of it all at the first moment.
Although it may not be an exact match, it should be pretty close.
"Please, in this Academy City known as the City of Progress, are the courses you take at school just to teach you to run around in various rituals and festivals to deal with the thorny problems of magicians?"
"That kid told me that among the ways these clones communicate, there's something called the Misaka Network."
"And this thing called Misaka Network, given the nature of Academy City, there must be some high-tech stuff hidden in it."
This might be the first time that Accelerator has come into contact with Kamijou Touma in real life. What this guy said was very complicated, and his topics were like a series of cannonballs, throwing a lot of content in front of Kamijou Touma.
Some of them are professional terms, and some are reasonable inferences he made. For Mr. Kamijou, who is more practical, these are actually very difficult to understand.
"This... Hey! So what exactly do you mean by all this?" Kamijou Touma couldn't understand and couldn't help but shout out.
Afterwards, he failed to successfully wait for Accelerator's response.
The answer came from a voice-over narration edited by the system.
This explanation is embedded in the perfect place.
It tells the truth.
It also verifies a cruel truth.
In the reality rewritten by the devil.
The existence of Misaka Integrated Consciousness..will also be repaired;
[Essentially, this body is borrowed and belongs to No. 10031.]
[Something invisible seemed to be separating from the body, gradually decomposing and peeling off.]
[The current "overall" is a thinking life form that considers the result of "more than half of the 20,000 replicants being killed" as "a part of learning". ]
[Once Othinus rescues all 20,000 people, the "overall" will be seriously distorted.]
[At this rate, even though her existence itself will not be destroyed, it will probably become "something else" just like the information is overwritten.]
"In fact, I have a method that can quickly motivate young people."
"It's obviously his words. Just say this and he will definitely fall into the vicious circle of rescue again without hesitation."
Gentleness and kindness are programs written into Kamijou Touma's genetic code. They are true treasures that cannot be erased from the boy's heart no matter how many times he has been reborn or tortured.
So -
Just say that...
As long as you say "Please save me who is overwhelmed by the world", everything will surely fall into place....
Accompanied by confessions.
In the video, a painful but happy smile appeared on the girl's lips.
"But how can I say such a thing? Once I say it, I'm done for."
[…I think the boy would clench his right fist just by hearing this. Even if he knew how many people he would have to become enemies with, he would take all the blame on himself and choose to help the "overall".]
[…Moreover, she is the one who integrates the consciousness and self-existence of more than 20,000 "sisters". In addition to the state of mind of the "sisters" when they faced death, perhaps even the "extra time after death" was recorded. In other words, the rule that "only the dead know the true feelings of the dead" does not apply to her. If she can "generally" extract the feelings of the "sisters" and tell them what they were thinking at the time, Kamijou Touma should be relieved. ]
[… In addition, the "overall" data also records the words and deeds of some people Kamijou Touma is familiar with. Moreover, she is a collection of electric ability users. For example, copying the "voices of those people in the original world" to the memory card or hard drive of the mobile phone and letting Kamijou listen to it can also impress him. As long as Kamijou is angered by "the real and fake have been reversed a long time ago, and now the 'voice' you hear has been regarded as a fake", it will be easy to make him recover his fighting power. ]
However, this time we cannot do that.
It is because of this thought that the "overall" hides this card.
White petal-like objects peeled off from the borrowed flesh, scattering all over the dark room with a "clack, snap, snap, snap" sound.
The only thing that remained there was her smile of slight relief;
And that message to Kamijou Touma.
"If he relies on me in this situation, the boy will definitely slowly collapse. /returnNow is the time for him to hold on by himself. Don't spoil him."
....
The picture is bleak.
Axis.
Return to Touma's perspective.
The boy ran in the sunset.
Run out of this building.
He ran through every corner he used to walk through.
There was no more confusion in his eyes.
This is an unusual transitional plot, as the boy's emotional recovery highlights how important these words from Misaka Integrated Consciousness are to him.
But now...I am returning with the swaying picture.
Everyone knows the final outcome.
The figure with the habit of speaking programming English must have died.
Wait until she appears in front of Kamijou Touma again.
It must be the Misaka integrated consciousness that has been perfected and has never encountered the Accelerator incident, and is truly forged by the combination of 20,000 sisters.
She dragged her soul, which was about to be repaired by the power of world harmony, and forced herself to come here.
"But the spirit she left for Kamijou Touma was enough. The boy who almost fell off the endless cliff woke up. This is the best ending."
"Perhaps this is the best reward for the kindness shown by Kamijou Touma."
Witnessing this scene, in the world called Black Clover, Julius, the Magic Emperor, sighed softly and applauded at this brilliant and sincere friendship.
"However, this emotion cannot be transformed into power to drive you to become stronger. If you want to defeat an absolute master who is thousands of times stronger than you, perhaps there is no way for others to do so."
This is absolute. After all, reality is cruel. There has never been such a fantasy that one could scream and shout just because he saw something burning and then use all his skills to trample a demon that is much stronger than himself under his feet.
If it exists, it means that this world is too outrageous. The world of Toaru Majutsu no Index is a self-contained world with a stable order, clear distinction between the strong and the weak, and no rifts to exploit.
The images in the video also illustrate this point very well.
Kamijou Touma suddenly woke up.
Rushed to Othinus.
Tried to punch her.
Then... without any suspense, he was killed.
Even the little tune that had just accompanied his awakening was completely wiped out by this blow, and the entire scene was like a vacuum zone.
Something exploded in the boy's arms.
"...————!"
After a long while, a loud "bang" sounded and it hit Kamijou's bones directly. By the time he realized what was happening, his body had already flown into the air like a football.
presumably.
Such a development had already clearly emerged in Othinus' mind.
The most Kamijou could do was to slightly change the trajectory of his flight and fall.
He floated in the air for several seconds.
What does it mean that this level of human mass has remained in the atmosphere for so long?
Before the terror could consume reality, Kamijou's back hit the dirt of the playground.
These descriptions are not exaggerated at all.
A large amount of dark red liquid seemed to be squeezed out from the boy's internal organs and spit out from his mouth.
sand
Can't breathe.
Even if I wanted to breathe in, my body seemed to be blocked by something and I couldn't move smoothly.
"Gaa! Keke! Guaa!"
He turned over from his back to face down and put his finger deep into his throat. Although the amount of blood loss was horrible, it was still necessary to ensure that the trachea was unobstructed. He spat out the blood clot stuck in his throat and barely recovered his breathing.
"What's the matter?"
The blonde girl's voice slid into Kamijou's ears.
It came from a place even farther away than before.
"You like easy-to-understand battles, right? If so, you should enjoy them. What do you mean by retreating?"
Othinus never moved from where he was.
She just raised the "spear" gently.
That's all.
With a "bang", a huge hole opened in the night sky.
Like a dark moon.
Something cracked. The scene Kamijou had witnessed before—the empty, dark, flat world—peeked out from the hole.
There is no signal.
In order to crush a mere teenager, the moon fell onto the night playground without hesitation.
rustle
rustle
Kamijou jumped to the side with all his strength. He no longer cared about looking good. He had to get as far away from that vortex of destruction as possible, even if he had to roll on the ground to gain distance, even if it was just a centimeter or a millimeter.
The sound disappeared.
A hemispherical pit with a diameter of several dozen meters appeared on the ground. This was not a trace of damage caused by the explosion, but a hole was dug in the shape and mass of the dark moon.
(To get closer.)
There was a fierce light in the boy's eyes.
Turn defense into offense.
Kamijou changed his mind, reversed his steps, and made a sharp turn.
(I have to get close to him no matter what! If I get close to him, then Othinus will have to hold back to avoid getting hurt! I only have my fists, and I can't attack or defend unless I overcome my fear and rush in forcefully.)
"Too slow."