"Dammit, Index. Why do you have to disappear right after we meet up? Where did you get off to?" muttered Kamijou Touma as he glanced around every which way.
The underground mall was relatively empty since the curfew had passed. It was still a world of bright fluorescent lights where day and night were indistinguishable and the weather was a complete mystery, but the changes in the flow of people and the type of music played in the stores gave some sense of the flow of time.
Kamijou was not even sure why Index had left the student dorm and headed to the underground mall.
When they had met up, their conversation had been as follows:
"Academy City's structure is so complicated, annoying, and confusing. It was really hard finding you, Touma. But that's fine now. Let's get home, okay?"
"Wait, why did you go to so much trouble to find me? …Well, if I had to take a guess, I'd say you were hungry."
"Touma, you idiot!"
"Gwahh!! Did you just try to bite me all of a sudden!?"
"If you think the only reason I do anything is because I'm hungry, you are sorely mistaken!!"
"Yeah, but the times when you do things for any other reason are the exceptions!!"
"You are too inconsiderate, Touma. The white-haired guy I met before coming here fed me hamburgers without even asking about my situation. You need to be as nice as him."
"Is that so? Well, I have nothing to do with someone like that. Oh, did you actually thank him? And did he give you anything else?"
"Mh. Yes, I thanked him. But now that you mention it, he did lend me this."
"Oh, it's just some pocket tissues."
"Ah! He must be having trouble right now without this cutting edge daily item! T-Touma, I need to go return this!!"
"Eh? But it's just some tissues. And I doubt he wants them back after you've wadded them up like-…wait, stop running off and listen to me, Index!!"
It would have been quickest to call her cell phone, but that nun had likely left it off as usual. Kamijou wandered around the underground mall and poked his head inside a nearby fast food restaurant and other stores, but he did not find Index.
(She seemed to be looking for someone. Maybe she figured he isn't down here anymore so she went up to the surface.)
Then again, that nun had a perfect memory, so there may have been no real reason to think she would get lost in Academy City.
Kamijou headed up the stairs and left the underground mall.
"Huh!? It's raining…" muttered Kamijou as he looked up into the night sky.
The falling raindrops were soaking the black road surface. It was the end of September, so the air had grown quite cold.
(I don't think I had a futon hanging out to dry. I hope Index remembered to close the window before leaving, though. Well, finding Index comes first.)
Kamijou headed off at random while still looking up at the night sky that was covered with a thick layer of clouds. It was raining, but not enough to need an umbrella. When he thought about how near his dorm was and the fact that the dorm umbrella stand was full because he would buy a cheap convenience store umbrella whenever it rained, he really did not feel like heading back to the underground mall to buy some rain gear.
(Is it just me or are there a lot of Anti-Skill members around here?)
Whether due to the time of day or the weather, there were surprisingly few students on the dark road. The only people he saw walking around were Anti-Skill.
The Anti-Skill members wandering around wore defensive armor made of layered plastic and shock absorbing polyurethane. Their equipment had to be waterproof, but Kamijou felt a bit sorry for them when he saw them walking around in the cold rain without an umbrella.
(Hmm. If we're out here late enough, they'll probably try to lead us home. I know how to slip past them…but Index doesn't. And after speaking to her, they would probably take her to an Anti-Skill station. I need to take her home before this becomes a problem.)
Kamijou was just about to look away from the Anti-Skill members.
But before he did…
He heard an odd noise.
"…?"
Kamijou stopped moving.
An Anti-Skill member covered in defensive equipment had suddenly collapsed to the ground without warning. As he lay face down, the man sank into a puddle on the wet road. And yet he did not move an inch. No matter how waterproofed that equipment was, that was not a normal reaction. For example, would anyone be stupid enough to leap straight into a water puddle while wearing a raincoat?
(…Is he unconscious?)
Kamijou had no idea how uncomfortable the official Anti-Skill uniform was.
But if it was anything like a mascot suit at a theme park, the wearer could easily end up dehydrated and with heatstroke. Kamijou felt a bit chilly, but it was possible things were different for a person wearing all that thick equipment.
(Not good.)
Kamijou's gaze raced around the area.
There were no normal students around, but there were plenty of other Anti-Skill members.
Even so, Kamijou still headed for the collapsed man.
And then…
It started happening all over the place
Kamijou heard a thudding noise. It was the sound of a human collapsing to the ground. And it did not stop there. He heard the sound again and again and again.
"Wha-…?"
Kamijou looked around in confusion and then froze in place.
All of the Anti-Skill members patrolling the road had collapsed. They had not been struck by any kind of impact. They had simply collapsed to the ground. And yet they were not moving a finger or even trembling slightly. Kamijou could tell even from a distance. They had been rendered completely unconscious.
"Wait…what the hell is going on!?"
He now frantically ran forward.
He headed for the first Anti-Skill member that had collapsed. The one who had collapsed face down in a puddle seemed to be a man. Kamijou thought he might suffocate in his current state, so he moved the man out of the puddle and rolled him face up.
The man's body was heavy.
Kamijou could not tell whether it was due to all his gear or if the man was simply heavy.
(What about the others…?)
He ran around, but none of the others seemed in danger of suffocating. He wanted to drag them all to the underground mall, but he simply did not have the strength. A human was as heavy as a sandbag.
He would also have trouble calling in people to help. He was on a fairly major road, but Academy City was essentially a collection of school districts. With the exception of the entertainment districts for the teachers, most everything shut down at sunset. The only stores with lights on in the area were the convenience stores and restaurants that had been given permission to remain open at night. The last train and bus had already left and not a single car was driving down the road with 3 lanes on either side. It could not have felt more hopeless. So many people had collapsed and yet there was no sign of it causing a disturbance. Kamijou felt he needed to abandon the idea of anyone else doing something about it.
(This is the kind of situation Anti-Skill is supposed to deal with…)
Kamijou peered own at the face of one of the Anti-Skill members.
His body was so thoroughly covered in nonmetallic parts that Kamijou would not be able to tell if he was injured without removing them. But at the very least, his clothing did not appear to be dyed with red. Kamijou placed his hand against the man's neck to see if he had a pulse as he had seen done in movies. Kamijou felt the reassuring sign of that pulse of life. He placed his hand across the man's mouth and felt him breathing.
As far as Kamijou could tell, the man's life was not in danger.
But if he was not injured, what had caused this?
(Was it some kind of knockout gas? No…)
If so, Kamijou could not explain how he alone was fine.
At any rate, this was not something an amateur like him should be making a judgment on.
He had to call an ambulance.
Kamijou pulled out his cell phone, dialed a three digit number, and was connected to the call center. Merely pressing the call button to that emergency number made him nervous, but this was not the first time he had called it. His mind was in a state of confusion, but he somehow managed to explain the situation.
Afterwards, he closed his folding cell phone.
After standing up, he put the phone into his pocket.
And then…
"…Ksshh…"
He heard static coming from the ground. Kamijou looked down. The collapsed Anti-Skill member was still completely motionless. What sounded like static over a radio was coming from his shoulder.
"Kssshhh….to the city. I repeat…kssshhh!! …The gate has been destroyed! The intruder is headed for the urban area… Can anyone here me? My unit was taken out by an unknown atta-…gwah!?"
The sound cut off with a noise like a TV being turned off.
The sound had been coming from a radio. The speaker had likely been another Anti-Skill member located elsewhere. Kamijou was worried about the man's situation, but the rectangular device was now producing nothing but flat static. At first glance, it looked like an undecorated cell phone, but it must have worked completely differently. Kamijou felt no desire to touch it.
(What was that…?)
Kamijou looked around.
He recalled one of the staticky words he had heard.
(…Intruder.)
That meant someone had come to Academy City from outside. He had no way of knowing if that was related to the collapsed Anti-Skill members before his eyes. But whether it was or not, the same fear entered Kamijou's mind.
(Is Index okay…?)
Not all enemies of Academy City were necessarily magicians, and not all magicians were necessarily after Index. But she was still the first thing that came to his mind.
(Not good.)
Kamijou's thoughts changed course.
Just in case, he felt it would be best to meet up with her as quickly as possible even if just to see she was safe.
But then…
"?"
Kamijou felt a small impact against his gut.
It seemed someone had run into him…but the impact had been oddly low. It had been at the bottom of his gut rather than in the chest.
He looked down.
It had been a small child that had run into him. She was quite a bit shorter than Kamijou. She looked to be about 10 years old. She had almost shoulder length brown hair.
He was pretty sure her name was…
"Last Order, right?"
"Uuh…" came her moaning reply.
Her reply was muffled because she had her small face pressed up against Kamijou's shirt. It seemed more that she was clinging to him than that she had bumped into him. Even through his shirt, he could feel that she was trembling and that her body temperature had fallen due to the rain. She was a lot wetter than he would have thought possible from the sprinkling rain.
(What happened?)
Kamijou looked puzzled.
"Help…"
Last Order looked up at Kamijou while clinging to his shirt.
Her large eyes were horribly bloodshot and a clear liquid flowed onto her cheek.
Even though the rain was still falling on her, the line running down her cheek was clearly different.
She…
She cried out…
"Please, help him! says Misaka as Misaka begs you!!"
Two girls crossed paths, connecting the paths to two different espers.
Those two paths should have been perfectly parallel lines that never crossed.
When their paths gather at a single point, the true story begins with Academy City as its stage.