Vento stood on a metal bridge.
The bridge spanned a large river. The structure was made of metal and asphalt, so it was very dreary. Due to the pouring rain, the dark river below was swollen with muddy water that was surging noisily.
"Cough cough cough…"
She coughed wetly again and again.
Thick blood spilled through the gaps of the hand covering her mouth. Vento looked at her bloody hand. It was trembling.
(What…is this…?)
She did not know what was causing this. She did not know what was happening to her, how much damage it was doing to her body, or whether she would recover or not.
(My body…is specially made… But this has…never happened before. This is not due to that…)
She coughed some more.
More blood splattered onto the already wet road surface.
The pouring rain caused the makeup around her eyes to run a bit. The cloth known as a guimpe that covered her hair was also in disarray. Some disheveled hair could be seen sticking out onto her forehead.
(So is this…a new…magical attack? No…it isn't. This is Academy City. A magical attack here…is unthinkable. And there is no sign of…a spell having been put together. More importantly, I can intercept anything like that…)
"…!!"
A large tremor ran through Vento's body.
All pain left her.
This was not because her condition had improved.
It was the opposite. Something had happened that took priority.
She felt pressure. But not on some specific part of her body. She felt like her skin, her organs, and even every last one of her blood vessels was being squeezed.
The source of this pressure was a certain "presence".
This gigantic presence shook Academy City itself. The presence displayed no hostility. It was not looking at Vento. The situation was similar to a leopard or lion yawning in front of one's face. Even with no hostility on display, the puny human could only tremble and sweat.
She did not know where the presence was coming from.
The scale was simply too great. It seemed to be enveloping the entire city. Perhaps there was no point in a human searching for the presence of a ferocious beast from within the beast's stomach. The presence was so intense that Vento could not even grasp its outlines. This was the worst possible type of opponent.
And…
(This strange presence is continuing to grow!?)
That was the most frightening aspect. This gigantic being shook the world, warped the several "layers" piled on top of each other, and blew away the magical laws that stretched out alongside that space. And the pressure was continuing to grow as if to say this was only the beginning. Not even a Christian Saint could manage this much. That left the question of how to interpret this phenomenon.
(Is this…Academy City's…final line of defense…against the occult?)
This must have been why Aleister had seemed so calm.
This was not good. Vento had paralyzed almost 90% of Academy City's functions, but this ace up the sleeve could overturn it all. However, she had been thinking it had all gone too easily. Without something like this, the science side could hardly be said to rival the magic side.
"…This…doesn't matter. Whatever happens, I must carry out my mission."
Vento uttered a short word under her breath.
It was her younger brother's name.
That was all it took for Vento to recover somewhat from the trembling assaulting her body. The fear of not knowing why she was coughing up blood was alleviated. Calm returned to her thoughts. A strong core returned to her shaken heart.
(I have already taken away 90% of the city's functionality. I still have the advantage. This just means Aleister is feeling cornered enough to bring out his secret weapon.)
"I can win this," Vento concluded while wiping blood from her mouth.
(He can no longer receive any secret assistance. I don't know what position Kamijou Touma holds in this city, but not even Aleister can prevent his death.)
Anti-Skill and Judgment who protected the city had been annihilated. That type of person tended to receive her attack first. She had begun to forget with the appearance of this great new foe, but Vento had made great advances since she arrived.
She only needed to kill her target.
She only needed to kill Kamijou Touma.
(I hate science.)
Vento thought while placing her hands on the railing.
(I loathe science.)
She hated science for what it had done to her here. She loathed science for being unable to save her brother's life.
Vento wiped her mouth with her arm and took a long, deep breath.
New life entered her damaged body.
Just as she started to leave the bridge to quickly kill Kamijou Touma…
A tremendous roar exploded out.
Some long distance attack had been fired. The buildings near the firing site were all destroyed. The attack continued diagonally for about 10 kilometers before striking another building.
(What was that…?)
This attack had no connection to God's Right Seat or the Roman Catholic Church. The invasion unit should still be outside the city.
Academy City must have had a problem other than her.
Vento frowned, but did not have the leeway to worry about it too much.
"…"
She produced a hammer wrapped in barbed wire from thin air and grabbed it.
The piercings in Vento's face qualified as "metal piercing flesh", so they possessed the attributes of the nails used to hold the Son of God to the cross. Needless to say, the hammer represented the hammer used to nail the Son of God to that execution device.
A single noise had prompted her to prepare for battle.
The sound of footsteps.