"This student, don't judge me by how I look. I'm actually pretty strong. Since the enemy came for me, I have no intention of hiding behind students."
After saying that, Ren lightly patted Kamijou Touma's raised right hand.
As expected, all of his magic instantly failed. Kamijou Touma's ability also worked on him. It really was a bug-like existence. Ren then walked straight toward the red-haired man.
The magic in this world was different from the one in DanMachi. There was no need for long chanting, but its power was naturally weaker.
The red-haired man flicked a flame, and a wave of fire rushed toward Ren.
"Danger." Kamijou Touma instinctively tried to stop it.
In the next moment, Ren released water. Water and fire collided, instantly filling the area with thick white smoke.
Misaka carefully memorized the scene. Inside the barrier, she could not transmit the data to the Misaka Network, but she could do it afterward.
She wanted to know what magic really was and what kind of results the analysis would give. She was extremely curious.
"Magic? You're not from Academy City?" The red-haired man stopped and looked at Ren, trying to figure out what kind of person he was.
"Yes. I only learned magic recently. Just think of it as some unorthodox method." Ren waved his hand, preparing to continue fighting.
"Is that so?" The red-haired man was about to use magic again.
"Stiyl, step back. You're not his opponent." A woman appeared. She wore one short pant leg and one long pant leg, creating a very strange contrast.
"Yes." Stiyl trusted her judgment.
"Uh, hello. I'm Ren."
"Kaori Kanzaki." After saying her name, Kanzaki drew her long blade. A terrifying amount of power burst from her body, and the ground cracked beneath her feet.
"Impossible to track. Misaka is shocked by the target's strength." Misaka No. 8790 murmured softly.
Dolly and No. 1 watched in confusion. Ren had brought them out to see the world, but this was seriously impressive. Magic was amazing.
Boom—
Kanzaki's blade struck the ground. The cracks spread violently, all the way to the barrier.
"You can see through my attack?" Kanzaki's expression turned more serious than ever before. The speed she had just unleashed was already beyond the speed of sound. Yet the moment her blade was about to touch him, Ren calmly sidestepped.
This was clearly telling her one thing. His strength was overwhelming. If she did not go all out, she would never defeat him.
"Single Glint." Kanzaki Kaori took her stance.
Ren did not attack. Or rather, he could not. His opponent showed no opening at all. If an ordinary person moved at this moment, they would probably be killed instantly.
"Huh? He's not attacking?" Kamijou Touma was still at the level of street fights and could not clearly understand the situation.
"Single Glint is one of Kanzaki Kaori's most powerful techniques. It looks like she's charging up, but in reality, she can strike at any moment. Trying to interrupt her now would cost several lives," Stiyl said from the side.
"Aren't they enemies?" Dolly asked curiously. They had been fighting fiercely just moments ago, yet now they were standing there talking. It felt strangely unnatural.
"Misaka is also curious about the relationship between the two sides. Misaka finds this very confusing," Misaka Number One said as she looked at them.
Kamijou Touma scratched his head. He was fighting to protect Index. In truth, he did not even know who the other side was.
"We don't know him," Stiyl said bluntly.
"You can fight without knowing each other? He doesn't look like a bad person," Dolly said, even more curious. The two people fighting were the same. Although they were exchanging blows, the battlefield had never spread to this area.
"He wanted to hurt someone, so I stopped him," Kamijou Touma said. His belief was simple. If he saw someone who needed help, he would never ignore it. In simple terms, he liked to meddle.
"It's not hurting her. If we don't deal with it regularly, Index will die," Stiyl said, his voice growing more agitated.
"Die? What do you mean?" Kamijou Touma asked urgently. He could not understand.
"Hand her over to us. We'll take care of it."
"No," Kamijou Touma refused without hesitation.
"You've only known her for one day," Stiyl said as he looked at Kamijou Touma. Most people would have run away long ago after encountering something like this.
"Even so, I can't," Kamijou Touma insisted on his principles. He didn't care which side he belonged to. He only did what he believed was right.
"What a weirdo," Dolly said. It was her first time seeing someone like this. After thinking about it, if he ever encountered people like them, he probably wouldn't stand by and do nothing either.
"Misaka thinks the battlefield is more important. Misaka is fascinated by the fight," Misaka 8790 said, staring intently at the two combatants.
"Single Glint. Even all Seven Glints won't work?" Kanzaki Kaori was truly shocked. Her opponent was actually using pure muscle to withstand her blade. She was a Saint. After releasing her power, her speed could surpass the speed of sound. Such speed, combined with overwhelming strength, was only barely enough to keep up with him.
How was this possible. She had more or less learned about the Twenty Saints, yet there was absolutely no one named Ren among them, and he even dared to catch her blade with his bare hands.
The fight grew more and more intense. Blood flew everywhere. Kanzaki Kaori was not having it easy either. Taking one punch from Ren felt like being slammed by an airplane, no, it was probably even worse.
"This is bad. I have to stop them," Kamijou Touma said as he moved forward.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed. If you step into that kind of battle, can you even see what they're doing," Stiyl shouted and quickly tried to stop him.
"Do you want them to keep fighting until one of them dies. I can't accept that," Kamijou Touma said without any hesitation and rushed straight toward the center of the battlefield.
"Is he an idiot," Dolly tilted her head as she looked at the two Misakas.
"Maybe he's just a good person," Misaka Number One said softly. She remembered Ren. It was his help that saved her from death. Meeting someone like that in a moment of despair was incredibly precious and rare.
When an attack came flying at him, Kamijou Touma instinctively reached out with his right hand. The magic attached to it was erased, but the raw force behind the blow still made him suffer.
Sensing someone approaching, Kanzaki Kaori quickly pulled back. She clutched her stomach, blood leaking from the corner of her mouth. She had taken two punches, and it was far from pleasant.
As for Ren, his entire body was covered in blood. His clothes had been slashed into rags.
"Brother Ren," Dolly and the Misakas shouted together. They were deeply worried about him and stared at Kanzaki Kaori with undisguised hostility.
Ren immediately cast healing on himself. The wounds on his body began to recover at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"This is…"
"Um, you're not enemies, right," Kamijou Touma stepped between the two of them. His right hand touched Kanzaki Kaori's sword, and the magic attached to the blade was instantly erased.
"What did you do," Kanzaki Kaori jumped back in shock. She had already felt something strange earlier, a sensation of her magic failing. Now she understood. It was this boy's doing.
"Uh… this should be because of my right hand." Kamijou Touma said awkwardly. He had meant to calm things down, but instead the misunderstanding only grew bigger.
"I'm not an enemy. I'm just very interested in magic, and in Saints, so I came here." Ren clapped his hands, and all of his injuries had already completely healed.
"Who exactly are you?" Kanzaki Kaori looked at Ren. What he was using was clearly magic, yet on the magic side, she had never heard of someone like him.
"Ren. A self-taught magician. Right now, I'm affiliated with Academy City." Ren replied with a smile.
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
Seeing Ren nod, Kanzaki Kaori did not say anything more. Instead, she signaled Stiyl to leave. Their goal was not to start a war with Academy City, but to take Index back.