Toaru Majutsu no Index: New Testament

Volume 4, Main.31

The plant factory containers were piled up, and twenty meters above, Kihara Kagun and Kihara Byouri started to battle. Kihara Byouri was the first one to take action, and she shot out the nails. The skyfish-shaped right hand construct shot out like a sniper bullet. It was aimed for Kihara Kagun's brain and heart before piercing through it.

That should have been the case.

However, he wasn't hurt. There wasn't any blood flowing. Kihara Kagun landed back hard, but he didn't look injured at all. It wasn't because his body's recovery was fast, but because he wasn't hurt at all. He casually walked over, and pointed his index and middle fingers as he shook his right hand like he was trying to rip the air apart.

A blunt sound rang out.

Kihara Byouri couldn't understand what happened at all.

However, it was obvious. Her right arm had been sliced off from the shoulder. After that, Kihara Kagun's finger showed a bluish-white laser blade that was several meters long. Right now, it looked like his two fingers were holding onto a huge shaver blade.

"Ha, haha!!"

Kihara Byouri laughed.

The right hand that had been sliced off wasn't bleeding at all. The unnatural sliced off surface actually started to rise up.

"Form Change. Reference: Yeti!!"

A large and furry arm that didn't match Kihara Byouri's appearance at all flew out. Kihara Kagun became wary. His thoughts stopped for a moment as something unexpected happened. Kihara Byouri used that chance to slam a fist over above Kihara Kagun.

The containers were crushed.

With the sound of an impact, Kihara Kagun was smashed together with the containers he was standing on.

He was definitely dead.

Whether it was in the flesh or the bones or the heart, the festering feeling continued to tell her.

Even though that should have been the case.

"Is that all?"

A voice entered her ears.

After that, all the voices vanished.

Several bluish-white lights danced around, and the crushed plant factory containers were sliced into different parts, removing the many restraints on his body. Appearing there was Kihara Kagun standing below. He looked up at Kihara Byouri from below as he said that.

There was no sign of injury at all.

There were no signs of bleeding.

"What's going on...?"

"Are you still drunk over getting that so-called #2 power? Whether it's the element or some other things, the overall conclusion is that it's way too easy to achieve it if it's just like that."

"What did you get...? I can't see the Kihara you have! You, who took part in the near-death experience research, seemed to be proud of it when you're about to sleep. This is a skill that my own hands couldn't get!!"

Kihara Kagun didn't answer.

Kihara Byouri turned her right hand into a skyfish and continued to shoot out large nails more than three times. However, it couldn't deal any damage to Kihara Kagun, and he hadn't used super speed to dodge them.

He was hit directly.

His head, heart, stomach, all the critical vital points were hit, and that wasn't all.

No, Kihara Kagun slightly adjusted his body, or rather, protected his own vitals.

And then...

Kihara Kagun took action while Kihara Byouri was confused. He didn't move up from below, but continued to slice the plant factory containers around him. He forcefully pulled Kihara Byouri down from those positions in such a manner as if he was slicing mountains.

Kihara Byouri continued to close in on Kihara Kagun cautiously as she fell together with the metal remains of the containers, and thought.

(That's strange. I know this because I'm a Kihara. Kiharas all have a huge relation to science. On the other hand, not all of science is bound to Kihara. In a certain sense, their strategies can be deduced...!!)

The right hand was equipped with the yeti construct, but it was immediately crushed by Kihara Kagun, It seemed effortless to him, since he didn't appear harmed at all. He continued to move forward in large steps as he didn't even bother to dodge. His right index and middle fingers were kept together, and a bluish-white laser blade came out from them before it started to swing without pretense.

(Can't give up...!! Kihara Kagun's power, what form of science is it...!!?)

Her thoughts stopped.

Kihara Byouri's face was shifted to the side.

It was tilted.

Whether it was the skull or the brain, They were rolling gracefully like they were in a cylinder.

The brain was destroyed.

It was death.

At that decisive moment, a new development suddenly occurred.

"Form Change. Reference: Little Gray."

The lips that rolled back into the body let those words slip out.

The front end of Kihara Byouri's fingers expanded out like an airship. They became as large as oranges. If there was a need for another comparison, it would be roughly as big as a toddler's scalp.

It was a function to build the brain.

And because of that, there was a consideration to allow residents of Academy City to use it.

After that, that inexplicable power was activated. Kihara Kagun was involved in a rather destructive explosion.

The right hand became like a giant's arm, and on the left hand, the five-brained monster slowly smirked.

The gray dust and the flying snow danced around as she said, "In the beginning, this was an ability to create a brain, a side effect of that experiment. That experiment itself was a failure. It's true that the brain is part of the body. Simply put, the brain can't operate as a brain if it doesn't go through my body."

That smile was lacking, but after a while, the face would be complete.

"Well, I can only use the power at Level 2 or Level 3. The initial driving concept was that if I want to hold people up and punish them, I just need about five people. I can also use the wave-shaped attack to peel off flesh and blood from the bone. I'm really fine with that, but the effect was rather good, wasn't it?"

The heart wouldn't stop even after being wrecked like that.

The brain wouldn't stop even after being sliced off.

If it could be created, it could be replaced. If it could be used, it was fine even if it was lost. Kihara Byouri. She had become an existence that was more than why humans were humans.

"...This is a Kihara. We use science as a base humans exist on, use these methods and create breakthroughs through areas that far exceed expectations. Can you understand the essence of it?"

"Of course, I knew that."

Kihara Byouri's smile froze as the man's voice came from behind.

Suddenly, she noticed it.

The gray dust was scattered about. Kihara Kagun, who should have been blown to bits, was standing with all his limbs intact. His coat and shirt had all been blown away as he stood in the -20 degrees region with his upper body naked. However, his upper body wasn't bleeding at all, just like before.

"...When did you repair it?"

"It was never damaged in the first place. It will never be damaged. My body can change like that."

Kihara Byouri's legs trembled.

What made Kihara Byouri more uneasy than the current battle ability was the completely unknown situation that she couldn't understand at all. Amongst the Kiharas, she was a Kihara in the higher group. Even if it was something different from her profession, she could tell what sort of scientific theory was behind it. However, she couldn't understand the current situation at all. She couldn't understand what was in front of her.

Kihara Byouri herself was an existence that could create brains or hearts, and that alone would be illegal. Amongst all the facts of science she knew about, none of them could explain Kihara Kagun's current situation.

What was it then?

Without borrowing any power or laws, such a person could actually distort reality. Why was that?

"No..."

Kihara Byouri muttered.

There were such things—rules that even she, who was well-versed in all sorts of science, couldn't understand. In the wide field of science, what kind of existence existed outside? Kihara Byouri herself may only know one or two of them. In Baggage City, she once tried to pursue such things.

Yes

"Don't tell me, you're...a member of Gremlin...!?"

In that realm that could roughly be called the world of science, even to the Kiharas, who had exhausted all means to have that breakthrough, it was a realm nobody was able to touch before.

Magic.

Or rather, the magician controlling it.

"What are you talking about?"

In contrast, Kihara Kagun pointed his right index and middle fingers and smiled.

The bluish-white blade appeared again.

"I'm a Kihara, you know? What will you do if your opponent is something you can't imagine?"

"An, an external method...ugh!!"

Having been defeated, Kihara Byouri said what she could think of without a second thought. At the same time, she was wondering whether that kind of existence was something she was unaware of. She then analyzed the situation in front of her again...

(If he really has the ability to nullify all damage, he wouldn't have chosen this day to attack me. He could have revealed his real name to Academy City, snuck back in and killed all the Kiharas. There must be some special characteristics to Kihara Kagun's defense. It should be possible to deduce this from his actions.)

Kihara Byouri used the assumption that magic itself was a supernatural power that contrasted the ones made in Academy City to build her thoughts according to an esper who could take on Academy City.

(Kihara Kagun deliberately used his vitals to take my attack. In that case...)

"..."

Kihara Byouri changed her right hand to a skyfish, and shot out a thick nail.

However, this wasn't aimed at Kihara Kagun's vitals, but his shoulder. To create a little graze that would normally be ignored, this nail flew at a very high speed as it peeled off part of Kihara Kagun's skin.

It was just like what she thought.

This time, he was injured. Blood came out of his shoulders.

"I don't understand the composition, but it's true that you can nullify fatal attacks. That's your defense! In that case...!!"

"So you're trying to kill me by creating lots of non-fatal wounds and let me bleed out a lot, aren't you?"

His weaknesses were completely exposed, but Kihara Kagun's expression still remained dry.

"In Norse mythology, there are a lot of stories about putting gemstones on the hilt of the sword. It seemed that it could become some sort of talisman, and it had the effect of healing the damage sustained in battle... But for me who is not well-versed in that, I can't do anything other than dodging all fatal attacks."

As he was a derivative of science, Kihara Kagun could understand this thing that couldn't be justified and continued.

"But this could still be useful. Let's talk about a dueling sword called Whitting. When in battle, this sword will scatter when its owner is at a disadvantage, and amongst them, a miracle would occur...it's a spell that can accurately avoid damage and cause the sword to be sharper. When both are assembled, the sword's destructive power will increase exponentially."

He pointed his right index and middle finger, and raised that several meter long sword horizontally.

"...If you want to kill me by non-fatal attacks, you will need a minimum of twelve hits. That would be enough. I can kill you 52 times. What I got in battle wasn't a guess, but a belief. Why don't you normally use such a power? Or is it that if you had only this level of freedom, you would have to rely on your persona as the woman Kihara Byouri...? It may be a threat, but even so, you should be losing yourself already, aren't you?"

"Ugh!?"

"The proof is that you're increasingly unable to get rid of the #2. You continue to command the electric signals. However, the things created by the #2 still have his own presence. And then, this is just like a rejection in a transplant. Kihara Byouri's consciousness is being chased away by an artificial body. Is the limit one hundred seconds? Five hundred seconds? I don't think it's that long. If I continue to kill you during this time, you still won't be able to do anything in the end even if you understand all sorts of danger, as you're still relying on the #2. As time goes by, you will wait on and crumble to a certain extent. After that, you will end up destroying yourself. Your so-called physical body may not be killed, but your spirit will be worn out."

"...Form change. Reference: Loch Ness."

She transformed.

Kihara Byouri's body was rumbling.

It looked like she was transforming into something big. As foreboding, all sorts of reassembly happened in her body.

"Both you and I are most likely near immortal. However, there are some clear distinctions. The ability to recover from injuries or to thoroughly erase them. It may look trivial, but there's a huge difference, especially when we're in a battle of attrition here."

"..."

"If I win, my body can be patched up! But if you win, you'll remain injured. That's why I never thought about winning. Let's blow each other up, and die together! It'll be great. Let's end this! As for you, you can only win. Whether you win or not, this will continue to be a stalemate!! This difference decides everything. To put it, it's like winning in rock-paper-scissors or this kind of battle. The situation will be the same!!"

Kihara Byouri's body continued to expand.

The savage dragon and the knight.

This was a common depiction in many legends, and Norse legends loved to build such stories, but she probably wouldn't understand it when she didn't understand magic.

"...That's not it, Kihara Byouri."

And then, the magician who was able to show the unique trait of the dueling sword Whitting bowed slightly.

Or rather, the hero in Norse mythology.

The man named Bersi.

"I said it right from the beginning. I would take revenge for the boy whom you degraded into a murderer. I came here for that. In that case, victory wouldn't matter. You, who prompted that murderer, and me, who killed that murderer; once we continue to fight, my aim will be achieved."

"How is this poss..."

As Kihara Byouri groaned, the man lifted his head.

Kihara Byouri was trying her best, but she was about to collapse.

That was what he thought.

That teacher.

"Thank you, Kihara Byouri. It's unexpected that you have the power of the #2. If that wasn't the case, you would have used other means to strengthen your body. If this power with such characteristics could be integrated, I suppose this battle of attrition would end. Your unorthodox doctrine was just as I expected. You wanted to head for that decisive victory."

A loud noise was ringing out.

And...

The knight and the savage dragon fought each other, and both sides tried to perish together.

There was no way to attain redemption.

At the same time, he faced the murderer boy who couldn't be saved and was killed.

And completed that little revenge.