A Certain Magical Index: The Primal Spirit Descends to My Side

The Academy City at night is unlike the daytime, appearing particularly eerie. Especially in this old residential area, with the night wind blowing, the sound of Touma Kamijou kicking the door echoes in the silent corridor, carrying an almost desperate urgency.

A flurry of footsteps came from inside the door, which was then pulled open a crack. Tsukuyomi Komoe's youthful face peeked out from behind the door; her short pink hair was slightly disheveled, and she was wearing loose green pajamas, clearly having been woken up.

"Wow! Kamijou? It's so late..." Tsukuyomi Komoe rubbed her eyes, glancing around. "Are you starting a part-time job at the newspaper now?"

"Who would carry a nun and drag a white-haired girl to deliver newspapers... I have something important to ask the teacher for help, please let me in..." Seeing that the teacher was much more relieved, Touma Kamijou lifted Index up on his body and squeezed towards Tsukuyomi Komoe.

"Wait, wait a minute!" Teacher Xiaomeng's eyes widened instantly, all sleepiness gone. "You're putting me in a difficult position, suddenly saying you want to come into my room... not because my room is dirty, but because it's full of beer cans and cigarette butts..."

Komoe's interception seemed effortless; Touma Kamijou carried Index on his back and rushed into the house, the gray-haired girl following closely behind. Komoe's room was small, a typical layout of a run-down apartment, with beer cans piled on the floor and ashtrays overflowing with cigarette butts.

"So what you said was true? Teacher..."

"It might sound strange to ask now, but Kamijou, do you dislike girls who smoke?"

"That's not the problem, is it?" With the girl's help, Touma Kamijou laid Index down on the tatami mat.

"Eek—!" Tsukuyomi Komoe looked at the nun that Kamijou Touma had placed on the ground, the line she was about to ask stuck in her throat. Because there was a short but deep wound on the back of the nun.

Index's face was horribly pale under the light, her breathing was weak and rapid, and the fabric of her nun's robe was soaked with blood, the dark red area still slowly expanding.

Looking at Index like this, Touma Kamijou clenched his right hand so tightly that his palm ached.

He was completely of no help.

Because as long as he stays in the room, his "right hand" might be able to remove the healing spell.

"...Teacher! I'm going to use a public phone outside!"

"...Huh? But...Kamijo...there's a phone here..."

Ignoring Komoe-sensei's questions, Touma Kamijou opened the door and left the room.

Faced with the choice of leaving, Touma Kamijou gritted his teeth in anger.

He started running wildly through the streets at night.

He held the right hand that could create and destroy miracles, yet couldn't even save a girl.

After Touma Kamijou left the room, Index's pale lips moved slightly.

"…What time is it now according to Japanese standard time? Also, what is today's date?"

"It should have been around 8:30 pm on July 20th... uh..."

"...You answered me without looking at the clock...Is this time accurate?"

"There's no clock in my room. I'm a teacher, and my internal biological clock runs in seconds."

"........."

"What's there to doubt? As long as you maintain a normal routine and exercise regularly, your biological clock can be controlled."

Ms. Komoe answered in a matter-of-fact tone. It seems that although she is not a superpowered person, she is, after all, a resident of Academy City, and her "common sense" in medicine and science is different from that of ordinary people outside.

Index lay motionless, only moving her pupils to look out the window.

"...Judging by the positions of the stars and the angle of the moon...the angle in the direction of Sirius is consistent, with an error of only 0.038 degrees. The current time is 20:27:13 GMT on July 20th. It is the end of Mercury time, and the Gemini interval has not yet completely ended. Please make a final check."

"Well, to be more precise... oh, you can't get up!"

Teacher Xiaomeng was busy stopping Index from sitting up. After all, sitting up in this situation was practically playing with fire. But when Index glared at her, Teacher Xiaomeng was too scared to move.

That look wasn't terrifying, nor was it sharp.

It was shockingly empty—like a mirror that reflected nothing, or a container whose soul had been removed.

There was no sign of human presence.

"Rest assured, the method of revival can be carried out." Index faced the small table in the center of the room and continued, "...The end of Gemini, Mercury's time. The direction is east. The ruling element is air, and the angel is Raphael..."

"Ah..." Teacher Xiaomeng's startled voice was particularly clear in the room.

Next, Index started drawing on the small table with her blood-stained fingers. Even without having seen a magic circle before, it was clear that it was a diagram with strong religious connotations. The already timid teacher, Xiaomeng, was so frightened that she couldn't utter a word.

Index drew an octagon in blood on the small table, filling the entire surface. Inside the octagon, she drew a star-shaped symbol called a six-pointed star, and in the center, she drew the Mercury symbol.

Next, she drew mysterious symbols of some unknown language all around. Perhaps it was to match the incantation Index was whispering. Asking about the time beforehand was probably because the magic circle had to change with the time of day and the seasons.

Index, who was drawing a magic circle, didn't look like someone who was seriously injured at all.

Perhaps it was her heightened concentration that allowed her to temporarily forget the pain.

The sound of blood gushing from Index's back sent chills down Teacher Xiaomeng's spine.

"What...what is this...what is this?"

"Magic," Index replied with a single sentence, then added, "From now on, I will use your hands and body. As long as you follow my instructions, no one will suffer misfortune, and you will not be hated by anyone."

"What...what are you saying? Please lie down and wait for the ambulance! Ah...bandages...bandages...the injury is so severe, we should bandage the nearby arteries to stop the bleeding..."

"That level of first aid couldn't completely heal my wound. I've never heard of an 'ambulance.' Is it possible for an ambulance to completely heal my wound within fifteen minutes and fully replenish the life energy my body needs?"

“…………”

Even if we call an ambulance now, it will probably take about ten minutes to arrive. Taking her to the hospital will double the time. Besides, it's impossible to complete treatment immediately upon arrival at the hospital. Although we don't know what "life energy" is, we are certain that even if the wound is completely sealed, it's impossible to restore lost strength.

Moreover, even if the wound were stitched up immediately, the pale-faced girl would probably die of weakness before she could regain her strength.

"Please cooperate with me."

However, Index spoke these words with a very calm expression, though blood was flowing from the corner of her mouth mixed with saliva.

There was no imposing presence, no sense of tension. But that excessive "confidence" and "calmness" was all the more frightening. It felt like a broken machine unaware of its malfunction, still diligently operating; every move Index made seemed to be aggravating her injuries.

...If we resist her, it might make things worse!

Ms. Komoe sighed. It was clear from her eyes that she absolutely did not believe in "magic." However, she had been warned by Touma Kamijou: "Keep talking to her, and under no circumstances let her faint."

"Then what should we do? First of all, let me tell you, teacher isn't a magical girl, okay?"

"Thank you for your help. First of all... what is that... that... that black thing?"

"Huh? This is the game console's memory card."

"???...Okay, whatever. Please place that black thing in the center of the dining table."

"It's just a small, low table; calling it a dining table sounds weird."

As she spoke, Teacher Xiaomeng placed the game console's memory card in the center of the small table, following the instructions. Then she placed a mechanical pencil lead box, an empty chocolate box, two library books, and two candy toys.

Although Teacher Xiaomeng was completely confused, Index, who was on the verge of collapsing at any moment, remained serious.

Under the gaze of a pale face and eyes as sharp as a Japanese sword, Teacher Xiaomeng dared not utter a single complaint.

"Is this magic? It feels like playing house."

It really does look like a miniature version of this room. The memory card is this small table, the two library books are the bookshelves and wardrobe, and the two toy figures are positioned exactly like the two people in the room. Index grabbed a handful of small glass beads and scattered them on the table, and they landed exactly in the same spot as the beer cans scattered on the floor.