Part 1
The white snowy plain was wrapped in silence.
Accelerator's song had ended. The end of the cane supporting his body slipped. Accelerator's entire body was covered in red blood as he fell from his knees. That white hell would not allow its color to be changed, so he alone was dyed in the colors of his wounds and pain.
His throat had exceeded its limit and his raspy breaths made it sound like his throat had been scraped over with a filed. He must have been injured internally as well because a red liquid occasionally flowed out with his breaths.
He could not sing any longer.
The tubes within his body had something sticky filling them up.
However, Accelerator's dark red-stained lips loosened a bit.
(That's right.)
He did not need to sing any longer. After all…
"…Are you okay?...says Misaka as Misaka asks a question."
His vision was hazy, but he heard that small voice.
Those words came from the girl whose voice he had wanted to hear for quite some time. That sentence had been spoken by the girl who just before could not maintain consciousness and whose life could not be guaranteed. Her voice was quiet, but Accelerator could tell she had retained her core.
Her existence was a trembling one that could disappear at any time and was frighteningly unreliable, but now a pillar that would not disappear had been set up at its center.
Last Order had been stabilized.
She would no longer suffer at the hands of unreasonable violence.
Accelerator reflected deeply upon that truth. The next thing he knew, he was moving. The Level 5 who had once been called Academy City's strongest monster stretched out his trembling hands and embraced Last Order's small body that was still limp and without strength.
He embraced her tightly.
He embraced her so as to never let her go again.
"…Thank goodness…"
Those words leaked from his mouth.
His voice was trembling and not just because the inside of his body had been torn to shreds.
"Dammit. Thank goodness. Thank goodness…!!"
One would not have thought that it was in Accelerator's nature to speak those words.
However, what exactly was Accelerator's "nature"? Perhaps this was who he truly was. Perhaps before all the tragedy and before Academy City's darkness swallowed up that young Level 5, his nature had been that of a child that commonly smiled and commonly cried.
Even after being overwhelmingly dyed in evil, that had remained unchanged within Accelerator.
It had remained.
Perhaps that was what Yoshikawa Kikyou and Yomikawa Aiho had seen and decided that the society of adults needed to protect.
As Last Order had only been conscious intermittently for quite a while, she did not know the details of the situation.
But that did not matter.
As Accelerator embraced her, Last Order brought her small hands around to his back where she gently stroked him.
She was accepting him.
Most likely, it was the same as when she had first spotted what remained within him.
"…"
Accelerator thought as he made sure of that warmth he had finally regained.
It was true that the world was cold, harsh, and too filled with malice to do anything about.
However, there was also salvation there.
If you just stretched out your own hand…if you simply gritted your teeth and continued forward, there was definitely a light that would await you after you struggled and struggled and struggled. The world was not so hopeless that it even robbed you of that ray of light.
"Misaka apologizes for interrupting this emotional reunion," Misaka Worst said with thorns of warning in her tone, "but it doesn't look like this god damn war is going to have a happy ending to it."
Accelerator felt something was wrong before he even turned his head to check on his surroundings.
He had an unpleasant feeling like something cold was piercing into him through all the skin on his body. No, perhaps it was the opposite of that. It may have been that the trembling within his body was flowing out through his skin. It did not matter which it was. At any rate, it was not coming from his usual 5 senses. It felt like his body's sensors and the calculative circuits in his brain were malfunctioning because he was forcibly taking in information he was not supposed to be able to take in.
He could feel an immense pressure coming from above.
It felt like an incredibly concentrated form of what was emitted by Unabara Mitsuki, the water angel, and those parchments.
Accelerator looked up into the heavens while still embracing Last Order.
A giant fortress was floating there.
The golden light filling the sky was being swallowed up by the fortress. Accelerator thought he could feel the pressure of that immense power that was concentrating in one spot. He could feel where it was aimed. That mass of unknown power was being aimed at the earth.
He had no idea what meaning that fortress had.
He did not understand what effect sending that power to the earth would have.
However…
"…I doubt anything good would come of firing that."
It was possible whoever was firing it was not after simple destruction. Perhaps it could produce some kind of special effect. Even so, the result would be the same. If power that great was sent down to the earth, how far would the damage spread? And if he assumed it was something other than a purely scientific energy due to the feeling in his skin, Accelerator could not reflect it.
If it made it through, everyone would die.
Accelerator, Misaka Worst, Last Order…everyone.
"…Fuck that."
Immediately after he muttered those words, there was a sound like an explosion and wings that were black like ink erupted from Accelerator's back. Those black wings were the symbol of his anger. That tremendous power was full of mysteries. He doubted it was created simply with the help of the Misaka Network and he had no idea if Last Order could forcibly shut it down. Whenever those wings had appeared, Accelerator had been in a state where he had pretty much completely lost his mental balance. They appeared when he simply wished to kill the enemy before his eyes even if it meant casting aside everything he believed in. The killer intent erupting from his chest had trampled over the world in the form of those black wings. That was the kind of power it was.
It was as if the wings had been squeezed from his body by the pressure from the fortress in the heavens.
It was just like when he had confronted Aiwass.
However…
"…Misaka Worst." Accelerator's words were as quiet as a whisper. "I am going to stop that. Can you protect that brat?"
"From the Russians? Or from Academy City?"
"From everything."
Misaka Worst sighed at that ridiculous order. Making an enemy of both sides was essentially the same as telling her to fight every single force taking part in World War III.
However, she pulled a metal nail out of her pocket with a malice-filled smile on her face.
"Well, Misaka was going to bring them to tears anyway, so this does not change what she must do. And if we can analyze the information from the song within Last Order and the Misaka Network, we might be blessed with a chance to obtain technology that Academy City does not have."
Last Order may have felt uneasy at the confusing situation that was developing around her. Her small hands grabbed onto Accelerator's clothes.
"Where are you going? says Misaka as Misaka asks a question."
Her eyes wavered as she looked up from within his arms.
Most likely, she understood what Accelerator was about to do. And because she understood, she was trying to stop him.
"You're not going anywhere, right? says Misaka as Misaka checks to be sure."
"Don't worry. It'll all be over soon."
Accelerator did not say that he would be back or that he would be returning.
The monster with the black wings gently removed the small hands from his clothes one finger at a time. It was as if he were shaking off the final bonds that kept him anchored to the surface.
"No," said Last Order in a small voice. "I want to always be with you, says Misaka as Misaka begs you."
"…Yes."
Accelerator admitted it.
In the very, very end, he responded with a childlike smile on his face.
"I wanted to always be with you, too."
With a sound like cracks spreading across ice, the monster's wings changed color. The ink-like pitch black changed to a snow-like pure white. Starting from the base and spreading to the tips, the outer color and the inner essence all changed in an instant.
Just above his head, a small ring of the same color appeared.
That was his transformation.
With that mental change, he became a source that spewed forth a unique power into the real world.
Accelerator put his hands on Last Order's small shoulders, lightly pushed, and floated up into the sky due to the recoil like an astronaut in zero gravity.
Last Order's small hands stretched up into the sky toward Accelerator.
But she could not reach him.
Accelerator was already floating a few meters up.
Convinced that he had done the right thing, Accelerator flapped his white wings. His 100 meter wings used more than just the power of the wind. They also converted some more unknown energy into lift. He emitted no force down at the earth, but he still shot up like a bullet.
In an instant, Accelerator reached a point 3000 meters up and scattered the thick clouds that were hanging in the sky.
At the same time, the fortress in the heavens made its move.
The mass of golden power that was being taken in from above and stored underneath was mercilessly thrown downwards. Accelerator could feel the pressure on his cheek as a stinging numbness. Just like his white wings, that power truly was not a normal power. Most likely, his reflection would not work on it. It would just pierce straight through like when he had been defeated by Aiwass.
But so what?
Accelerator moved his white wings even more and his speed of ascent shot up. With no tricks up his sleeve, he headed straight for the falling golden mass. There was a slight smile on his lips.
(I see.)
Accelerator finally realized it.
(So this is what a fight to protect something is like.)
Immediately afterwards, the two massive powers clashed at an altitude of 8000 meters.
Part 2
A tremendous shock shook the Star of Bethlehem.
The golden light had exploded.
"What…?"
But a great disaster did not assault the earth as Fiamma of the Right had expected. Nor was the earth dyed gold like the heavens. The great amount of Telesma that was fired down from the Star of Bethlehem was obstructed by something.
"That should have reached the necessary output!! That should have created the amount of destruction on the earth needed to complete the conditions for my strategy effectively supporting my victory!! What happened…!?"
The tragedy he wished for had not occurred.
Instead of recognizing the increase in malice, the tragedy had been held in check which had wiped the dark parts from the people's hearts.
It may have been nothing more than a temporary excited feverishness similar to the global unity felt only during a sports festival.
But even if it was only for a moment, the people of the earth felt that they were all the world needed.
They felt that anyone offering salvation while looking down on them should just fuck off.
"Is that enough for you?"
Kamijou Touma stepped forward with his fist still clenched.
He took one, two, three steps.
"It's time for you to give it a rest with this illusion of yours."
He suddenly charged forward.
He did not need any tricks. He just approached in a straight line from the front. In response, Fiamma of the Right used everything he had to swing around the third arm that was the symbol of his power. The tremendous power contained within it was too great for Imagine Breaker to negate. If Kamijou failed to turn aside its trajectory, he could pulverize the boy's entire right arm. That may have been what Fiamma was thinking as he tried to eliminate the obstacle before his eyes using brute force.
However, Kamijou did not stop.
The instant the attacking third arm struck his right fist head on, that oddly shaped arm that was Fiamma's greatest weapon was blown away.
Fresh blood and flesh flew through the air.
He had finally managed to have his third arm incarnated, but it now lost its physical shell and trembled painfully in midair.
"What!?"
Intense pain must have assaulted him like an avalanche because the skin of his face became greatly distorted as he cried out.
Kamijou's power had not been increased.
Imagine Breaker was nothing more than Imagine Breaker.
Fiamma's third arm that responded to malice had been weakened to the point that it could be destroyed by even Imagine Breaker. Small pieces of virtue had spread like ripples until they had filled the entire surface of the earth effectively breaking the core that supported Fiamma's power.
The power that made Fiamma of the Right special no longer existed.
It was doubtful whether he could use his direct attacks with his third arm or his evasion using instantaneous horizontal movement over kilometers.
Given that, he had no way of stopping Kamijou Touma's advance.
"Tch!!"
Fiamma held out Index's remote control spiritual item. He was trying to use the knowledge of the 103,000 grimoires to intercept Kamijou. His defenses must have been weakened by the loss of his special power because a terrible headache stabbed into him, but he ignored it and continued searching through the knowledge. The light in his eyes said that he would kill the enemy before his eyes no matter what.
But then Fiamma heard a voice.
It was the voice of the grimoire library that he was supposed to be contacting magically.
(Warning: Chapter 88, Verse 1. An abnormality has occurred to the main body as it carries out the search. Due to receiving too great an external stimulus, operation efficiency has been significantly impeded.)
"…!?"
Index Librorum Prohibitorum's main body should have been safely stored in St. George's Cathedral. If an external stimulus had caused an error, an Anglican magician must have done something.
His final means of attack had been cut off.
That was the difference between the two of them.
That was the decisive difference between the one who continually refined his power as the one who would stand above all others, and the one who got help from others and continually struggled in an attempt to stand up to the one who stood above all others.
A mere high school student clenched his right fist and ran toward the king who controlled the world.
He headed deeply and sharply up to that throne where no one else had ever been allowed to get near.
That was when Kamijou's footing suddenly sank.
The Star of Bethlehem was weakening.
With the power supply from Fiamma of the Right cut off, it had naturally begun to collapse.
In the very, very end the thing that had stopped Kamijou Touma's legs from advancing was…
(Misfortune.)
Fiamma's lips twisted up eerily.
He once more focused on the remote control spiritual item in his hand.
(I just need 5 to 10 seconds. In that time, I can forcibly rearrange the configuration of the grimoire library!! I don't care if the high burden burns away the 103,000 grimoires. I just need to wash away the enemy before me!!)
"Oh…"
But Kamijou Touma's advance did not stop there.
The boy yelled out and charged even further forward.
"Oooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!"
With a great noise, Kamijou jumped from the footing that was even then about to crumble away.
He jumped to cross over the cracks separating the two of them.
He headed forward toward Fiamma like an arrow.
And then Fiamma knew.
He knew essentially what kind of existence the enemy before him was.
(Fuck that…)
Index's remote control spiritual item would not make it in time.
That enemy would not give him the time needed for that.
(I am trying to create various phenomena using the miracles and blessings of the Son of God to their fullest and this bastard doesn't care!? He has the power to just walk straight over all the vague things such as fortune and misfortune on his own!!)
"If you don't think even a single person can be saved without using your method…"
Words flowed from the bottom of Kamijou Touma's gut.
Instead of fighting against his fierce emotions, he put all of his strength into his right fist.
"…then I first need to destroy that illusion of yours!!"
A great noise exploded out.
Kamijou's fist slammed into Fiamma's face that had never once received an attack from anyone and Kamijou's powerful enemy was knocked to the ground with no loss in momentum.
The remains of the third arm that were trying to cling to that world finally completely disappeared as if melting into the air.
At the same time, the remote control spiritual item he had used to control Index fell from his hand.
Part 3
Fiamma of the Right losing his third arm had a major effect on his fortress, the Star of Bethlehem. Frequent large tremors stirred up unease even more than before. The fortress had been continually ascending, but it now stopped where it was. The source of power allowing that much mass to float was disappearing. At that rate, it would eventually start to fall. If he did not escape before then, there would be no saving him.
While collapsed on the ground, Fiamma looked at his own hand.
The remote control spiritual item was gone.
The shock of the punch had knocked it from his hand. The spiritual item had fallen through the cracks on the floor. It was probably still within the fortress, but Fiamma had no idea where.
If he only had that, he could fight back with normal magic.
Fiamma thought that, but he had no strength left in his arms or legs. Now that he had lost his third arm, Fiamma was no different from a normal human. A light concussion was enough to inhibit his movements.
He heard a voice in his dim consciousness.
It was coming from the speakers set up in various parts of the Star of Bethlehem.
"We had no time, so…um, Sasha-san was it?...anyway, she and I have already escaped using the containers. You need to hurry, too. The Star of Bethlehem has started to fall. The fortress itself is starting to wear down in places, so the number of usable containers is limited."
Through the broken floor, he could see the bottommost floor of the fortress. After a few wire mesh floors, there was nothing but the sky below. The escape containers were hanging down below, but most of them were unusable. Some of the containers themselves had been crushed and some of the lowering hook portions had been destroyed preventing them from functioning.
There was probably only one usable container.
And that usable container that was unreliably shaking was a small one only about the size of a phone booth. It was not a large container that could carry over 50 people at a time. Only one person would be able to fit inside it. Having lost his third arm making him a mere human, Fiamma could not lower himself down from such a great height under his own strength.
Kamijou Touma and Fiamma of the Right.
Which one would get in the container and which one would be destroyed along with the fortress?
The answer was so obvious he did not even need to think about it.
(…So this is it.)
That was Fiamma's only thought.
If every person living in that world would reject salvation, he no longer cared. He had followed the path he had chosen for himself and he was fine with simply continuing on to his own destruction.
Strength slowly left his entire body and he closed his eyes.
And then someone grabbed his collar.
"Hey, let's go."
It was Kamijou Touma.
He forced Fiamma up with his bloody body and then started walking dragging Fiamma's limp body along with him.
"…What are you…doing…?"
"We don't have time. The Star of Bethlehem has started to fall. If we don't escape, we'll get wrapped up in its destruction."
"Do you not understand the situation?" Fiamma said while completely at Kamijou's mercy.
He used his chin to point in the direction Kamijou was headed.
"The escape containers are unusable. Only a single personal one is in a state where it might be functional. It's either me or you. Only one of us will be saved."
"So it seems." Kamijou sighed and then continued speaking. "So you need to escape. At any rate, we don't have time, so let's hurry."
"…"
This time, Fiamma was simply left speechless and he stared at Kamijou's face.
As he did so, Kamijou dragged Fiamma down to the bottommost floor and headed for the escape container.
Kamijou was serious.
There was no reason to make a bluff in that situation. If he simply abandoned Fiamma, the man behind it all, and got in the escape container, Kamijou would survive. He would become known as a hero by everyone. No one would criticize him for leaving Fiamma to die. In fact, most people would likely praise him for finishing off the man who had caused all that tragedy.
And yet…
Why would he say those words in that situation?
No matter how many times he thought through it, Fiamma could not figure out the answer. And while he still had no answer, they arrived at the escape container. Kamijou very carefully reached his hand out for the container door. The container was not destroyed by his right hand's power.
Kamijou opened the door and put Fiamma inside the container without any hesitation.
It was not normal.
Fiamma tried to slip out of the container, but his body was too badly damaged to move.
Fiamma shook his head without even thinking.
He himself did not understand what he was trying to deny.
"…Is this really okay?"
"Is what?"
"I am a person who does not understand just how vast the world is."
"I see," said Kamijou with a slight smile.
Until the end, Fiamma did not understand why he was smiling.
"Then go find out on your own from now on."
Kamijou locked the container door from the outside. Immediately afterwards, the container slid down a short rail and was thrown out into the sky.
For a bit, Kamijou watched the container grow smaller as it fell.
Finally, he lifted up his gaze as if he were shaking it free of the container.
The final container had been ejected.
There was no longer any safe way of escaping from the fortress.
Suddenly, he heard a great roar. The direction of the raging wind changed. Kamijou instinctually covered his face with his hands and then spotted a single fighter. It was a type of aircraft called a VTOL craft that could rise vertically and come to a stop in midair like a helicopter.
He recognized the person sitting in the cockpit.
It was…