People collapsed one after another.
Amid the cold rain, the only sound ringing through the streets during that dark, dark night was that of bodies collapsing without resistance, without any great noise, without shed blood, and without a single scream. They were all adults wearing armored outfits designed to absorb shocks. The bright light of the streetlights reflected off the firearms that sank into puddles.
They were members of Anti-Skill, the group in charge of Academy City's law and order.
After collapsing, they did not move.
Not even a finger.
Meanwhile, the sound of small footsteps could be heard.
The slender silhouette of a woman walked through the rainy city while weaving between the victims who lay collapsed and motionless on the wet roadway.
The woman who appeared below the streetlights did not have an umbrella. The narrow, threadlike rain struck her slim feminine form. She wore a women's outfit called a kirtle that the dress was originally based off of, a narrow leather belt around the waist, and detachable sleeves that extended from her wrists to her upper arms. They looked something like a gaudier version of what bank and post office workers wore on their arms. On her head, she wore a headdress made of a single piece of cloth that completely covered her hair.
Someone with a bit of an interest in history or archeology might have recognized her outfit as that of French townspeople at around the 15th century.
But since it was primarily colored a bright yellow, it could hardly be called historically accurate.
The sound of metallic objects clinking together could be heard.
They were coming from the piercings on her face. Not only did she have piercings in her ears, but also on her nose, lips, and eyelids. When she parted her lips and stuck out her tongue, a chain fell out. The narrow necklace-like chain was attached to a piercing in the tip of her tongue and it stretched down to her waist. An accessory modeled after a cross hung at the end.
She had gone through with all of that in full knowledge that it would ruin her features.
In the Christian Church, the idea of piercing oneself with metal had deep meaning. The Son of God had died a martyr after being pierced by nails and a spear. If you carefully chose the places pierced, it was possible to freely put together different spells.
"Hm."
The woman with holes in her face looked around the area and then kicked up a radio lying on the ground near her feet. She caught the rectangular device in one hand as it flew through the air. She frowned slightly when she felt the muddy water on it.
After spinning it around in her hand like a handgun, she brought the radio's microphone up to her mouth.
She spoke as if whispering in someone's ear.
"Hiiiii, Aleister."
All she received in reply was the staticky voice of a bewildered Anti-Skill member. But she ignored him and continued speaking to someone who did not seem to be listening.
"I'm sure you can cut in on these normal lines. I'd like it if you would hurry up and speak with me."
She then heard the sound of the line being switched over.
The sound quality grew much clearer.
"What do you want?" asked a new voice.
"If you're willing to listen, I figure we can have a chat."
"Just to be sure… Do you really think I will fall for such a low level provocation?"
"Oh? I crush three of your board of directors and you still call it 'low level'?"
The woman spun the radio around in her hand.
A bit of disappointment was visible on her face.
"There are only 12 members of the board of directors, right?"
"They can be replaced. All of them if necessary."
"Now that isn't what I wanted to hear."
"And I have the power to make them give in to me."
"Y'know, Aleister. I had thought you didn't actually exist. I thought you might be some kind of hologram or some strange machinery jammed inside a corpse."
"Such fantastical ideas. You are more suited to being an inventor than a scientist."
"I had decided that your views were just the combined views of the board of directors, but it looks like I was wrong. You're showing no sign of panic." The woman then muttered quietly, "Maybe I need to crush a few more members of the board of directors."
The person on the other end of the radio did not say anything to stop her.
It was as if he was announcing that kind of threat meant nothing to him.
"Well, whatever. Do you know who I am?"
"No, but I am having your identity investigated as an insurgent."
"God's Right Seat."
The woman smoothly voiced the name of one of the deepest portions of the magic side.
That was a name that sank into the deepest, deepest, deepest, deepest, deepest, deepest, deepest, deepest, deepest darkness of the Roman Catholic Church. Only a handful of the 2 billion members of that world's largest sect knew of its existence, and even those that did would be immediately executed if they were deemed unworthy of that knowledge. That was how steeped in secrecy that term was.
But Aleister smoothly replied.
His voice displayed no emotion.
"Oh? I vaguely remember hearing about a terrorist group with that name."
"Hmm."
"If you are only trying to make a name for yourself, don't you think this is a bit too reckless?"
"You can feign ignorance if you like, but at the very, very end, try not to regret not begging for your life here."
"Are you sure you are not taking this city too lightly?"
"Oh? Are you not aware what state your city is in? Has it already lost the ability to send out reports? My bad, my bad. I have no way of counting how many enemies I crush. Ha ha. I guess the operators have collapsed too."
"…"
"60%. 70%. 80% is probably going too far. But either way, 100% will have collapsed before long. Anti-Skill and Judgment is what you call them, right? I'll have your head before long since you only have those pathetic things to protect you. I hope you understand that it's all over for you."
"Heh."
"?"
"If you honestly think that is enough to break Academy City's defensive network, you truly are naïve. It seems you understand nothing about the true form of this city."
"Is that so?"
"You are not the only one to have a trick up your sleeve. And you might be taken out before you even realize it."
"No matter who they are, I can crush anyone who opposes me. That was decided from the moment I was born."
It looked as if the two were holding a conversation, but each one was only speaking one-sidedly to the other.
The woman brought the wet and muddy radio closer to her mouth.
"I am Vento of the Front. The ultimate weapon among 2 billion people." She gave her ultimatum. "I will crush everything tonight. You, Academy City, Imagine Breaker, the Index Librorum Prohibitorum…everything."
With those words, the woman naming herself Vento crushed the radio in her grip.
The "human" named Aleister was inside a room of the windowless building.
A cylindrical life support device was placed prominently in the middle of the square space. He floated upside down inside. The red liquid filling the cylinder soaked into his entire body through his mouth and nose. It interfered with every single cell in his body.
The room had no proper illumination. Normally, the only lights were the small pilot lamps for the machines filling the walls of the large square room. Those lights would look like stars in the night sky. However, the large space was now illuminated by red warning lights that were intermittently flashing.
As stated before, the room had no proper illumination.
The red light was being produced by the countless errors displayed on the many monitors. That meant there were enough anomalies occurring throughout Academy City to produce that much light.
It was all caused by a single magician.
It was all caused by a single member of God's Right Seat.
She had caused all this in Academy City, the city that had remained unshaken even by that Croce di Pietro.
"…"
In just a few dozen minutes, about 70% of Anti-Skill, the group meant to keep the peace in Academy City, had fallen victim to attack. Their life signals showed none had died, but if that windowless building fell before they came to, it did not matter. Transmissions reporting damage or requesting aid were being sent from around the city, but it would be too much trouble to reply to every single one.
The city was dying.
But…
Even so…
The expression that appeared on the "human" named Aleister's face was a smile.
It was an unexplainable smile in which any and all emotions could be seen yet to which none seemed to fit.
"Interesting," he whispered. "Most interesting. This is why I cannot give up on life. It looks like an opportunity to use it has arrived. The timing is a bit too early…but when bound to a plan, irregularities are the greatest entertainment."
As he seemed to toy with those feelings by rolling over them in his mouth, Aleister sent countless commands from within the life support device and to the meters outside. He took control of a radio transmitter and sent out a passcode on a certain frequency to contact those that crawled through the darkness of Academy City.
"Hound Dog…Kihara Amata," said Aleister.
After a brief reply, he gave further orders.
"It is time for the Imaginary Number District - Five Elements Institution…The AIM diffusion field. It may be a bit early, but use Fuse Kazakiri to crush 'them'. Blow off her arms and legs if necessary, but recapture Serial Number 20001 and immediately take her to the specified point. …Be quick but courteous." With a smile, he added, "Now, it is time for a long-awaited and wonderful, wonderful show."