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

In the seventh school district of Academy City, the sky outside the window was still faintly bright. Touma Kamijou pulled the girl into a chain restaurant.

He deliberately chose that noisy restaurant frequented by students. The restaurant was brightly lit and bustling with noise. After finding a seat in a corner and settling the girl in, Kamijou raised his hand.

"Excuse me…"

"Hello...what would you like to order?" The waiter brought two glasses of ice water and placed them on the table, then took out a small board and a pen from his apron.

"Uh... this hamburger patty... this bitter melon... snail... what is lasagna?" Touma Kamijou looked at the hamburger patty he had been wanting to eat, but his eyes were involuntarily drawn to the brightly colored and refreshing-looking dish below, so he read it out aloud.

"This is a new dish invented by our chef after he returned from France last week. He said that this chewy and crunchy snail, paired with cooling bitter melon and refreshing lasagna with mint, is perfect for this summer~" the waiter introduced with a warm smile, then turned to the side and pointed to the man operating the machine in the kitchen.

"Oh~ then one of these will do... Mr. Kamijou wants to follow the trend too, so we can have the hamburger patties next time... Oh right, give her a hamburger patty... Hmm, and a pudding too!" Kamijou Touma, sweating profusely from the heat, swallowed hard after hearing the introduction. However, he didn't forget about the girl's food and ordered a hamburger patty and pudding.

The dishes were served, and Touma Kamijou thought that the day's events were over. Little did he know that the real challenge was just beginning.

"First, hold the chopsticks in your hand, then... then use your fingers... um... spread them apart like this... hey, right! Hold them like this..."

The girl was learning with extreme seriousness, but her movements were frighteningly clumsy. Kamijou had to be fully focused to prevent her from throwing food or hurting herself.

Just as Kamijou poked a few pieces of meat with his chopsticks, preparing to put them in his mouth, a discordant commotion arose from the other end of the restaurant.

"Huh? You want to know about 'Level Upper'?"

"Yes~ I accidentally saw your comments online~ If it's possible, could you teach me?" A girl with short brown hair stood in the aisle, pleading with her hands clasped together.

"I have no idea what that is..." The boy sitting in his seat ate green beans with a spoon, his voice muffled by the chewing. "You should go back..."

"Don't say that..." The girl's lips twitched upon hearing this, and she lowered her body even further. Just as she was about to argue, she was rudely interrupted by the boy.

"Aren't you annoying?" The boy frowned, put down his spoon, looked at the pleading girl in front of him with annoyance, and waved his hand: "It's bedtime for the brat now..."

The girl's brow twitched, and she tightened her grip as she clasped her hands together. This caused the petite girl with brown hair and twin tails beside her to hurriedly pull out her armband, preparing to stand up. Kamijou Touma also rose from his seat and walked over there.

"Huh—? I'm not a child~" The girl's voice became even louder, causing Touma Kamijou to stop in his tracks. Even the parfait that the girl who had just put on the armband hadn't swallowed yet was spitting out.

"It's definitely not small..." The boy who had been playing on his phone turned around, sat down, and leaned forward, his gaze slowly shifting downwards. "I really like you~"

"Huh? Really?" The girl squirmed happily on the spot, which made the boy even happier.

"But..." The boy grinned wickedly, slowly raising his right hand towards the girl's shoulder. "I still can't just hand it over to you for nothing~"

"stop!"

A loud shout rang out, and Touma Kamijou stepped forward. Although he hadn't known the girl named Misaka Mikoto for long, he couldn't help but intervene in what was happening before his eyes.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment as everyone looked at Toujou. Misaka Mikoto stood frozen in place, while Shirai Kuroko quickly moved behind the students and pulled out several steel needles. The thugs were further enraged and angrily surrounded them.

"Who are you, kid? Trying to be a hero and save the damsel in distress?"

"You're asking for it, aren't you!"

The anger instantly shifted to Kamijou, who inwardly groaned. His only intention was to prevent the violence from escalating; he didn't want to cause trouble, and even less did he want to expose the white-haired girl.

"It's a misunderstanding, I just..." he tried to explain, but more of his fellow student thugs came out of the restroom behind him. After seeing his classmate's angry expression, they immediately surrounded Touma Kamijou.

"You're misunderstanding me! Beat him up!"

A fist came flying. Kamijou barely dodged it, but there were more of them, and in the shoving, he knocked over tables and chairs, making the scene even more chaotic.

Misaka Mikoto reached out to help, but Shirai Kuroko stopped her. "Onee-sama~ You can't help~"

Although Misaka Mikoto was stopped, Kamijou knew that if she used her ability, things would get even worse, especially since the white-haired girl was still in the corner! He quickly came up with a plan and shouted provocatively at the thugs.

"Come out and fight me one-on-one if you dare! You'll have to pay for anything you break here!" He had barely finished speaking when he turned and ran out of the restaurant. This run seemed more like a provocation. Sure enough, the thugs chased after him, shouting and cursing.

"Don't run, kid!"

Kamijou burst out of the restaurant and ran wildly through the night streets, pursued relentlessly by several thugs. He deliberately chose to weave through alleys and crowded areas, trying to shake them off, but they wouldn't let him go.

Before they knew it, the chase had lasted for more than ten minutes, and Touma was cornered on a wide bridge spanning the Seventh School District. There wasn't much traffic on the bridge, and the sidewalks were empty, leaving nowhere to hide. Touma hurriedly turned around, only to find that everyone had vanished without a trace, not even a sound.

"Damn it, did I finally shake them off?"

Kamijou leaned against the bridge railing, panting heavily. He thought he had shaken off the thugs and was just about to take a break.

Just then—

Sizzle—!

A streak of blue-white lightning ripped through the night sky, emitting a faint glow, and a young girl walked slowly towards her. Her short, brown hair was sticking up from the lightning, and she wore a white, pointed-collar, fitted shirt, over which was a beige V-neck sleeveless knitted wool vest, a gray A-line pleated skirt, white slouch socks, and dark brown loafers.

It was Misaka Mikoto, who had just been acting cute in the restaurant, but now she looked disgusted, carrying a black backpack and walking over like she was on a runway. "What are you doing?"

Misaka Mikoto stood a few meters away, her schoolbag held behind her shoulder with her left hand. "Want to be a good person protecting delinquents? Or pretend to be a passionate teacher?"

"Um... those thugs didn't catch up... could it be because..." Kamijou Touma was panting heavily, raising his left hand like a primary school student raising his hand to ask a question in class.

"Yes, because I find it troublesome..." A flash of lightning crossed Misaka Mikoto's forehead, and a strand of hair stuck up; she reached up and smoothed it down. "So I got rid of it..."

She spoke these terrifying words in a calm tone. Touma Kamijou swallowed hard and straightened up. He had met this person a few days ago when he was being approached by delinquents and thugs. Touma had used the "We're acquaintances, sorry to bother you~" strategy, but she had seen through his ruse on the spot.

With a single electric shock, she knocked the thugs and delinquents to the ground, but she was surprised to find that Touma Kamijou seemed unaffected by the shock. That's right, while Touma Kamijou appeared to be rescuing a damsel in distress, he was actually distracting the thugs, and she ended up dealing with them herself.

"I knew it..." Touma Kamijou sighed, rubbing his forehead with his right hand.

"Hey, do you know what a 'rail gun' is?" Misaka Mikoto pulled a coin from the pocket of her pleated skirt. The coin reflected a halo of light under the night sky and didn't look polished; it was probably a game coin.

"rail...gun?"

"Also known as 'A Certain Scientific Railgun'," Misaka Mikoto smirked. "Utilizing Fleming's laws of motion, it fires projectiles using electromagnetic energy..."

She raised her hand and flicked the coin into the air. A burst of electricity shot from the air behind her, and as the coin fell to a suitable position, she tossed it away, launching it at incredible speed. "For example, like this..."

"If launched at three times the speed of sound, even using game coins would have considerable power," Misaka Mikoto said, withdrawing her hand and placing it on her waist. "However, these coins will melt within fifty meters due to air friction..."

"Is this how you drive them away?" Touma Kamijou looked at the Railgun that was clearly passing through the air, but a clear burn mark had already been left on the ground.

"Don't treat me like an idiot..." Misaka Mikoto glared at him angrily. "Of course I know how to deal with those Level 0 powerless individuals."

Touma Kamijou sighed. That's just how she is. They've known each other for almost a month, but she still doesn't know her name, because she didn't come here to be friends with Touma Kamijou.

She always comes to challenge Kamijou Touma to a duel with the burning determination to defeat him today. Kamijou Touma always manages to brush her off with perfunctory answers, but he has never lost.

He'd probably be satisfied with just losing to her once. But Touma Kamijou's acting is really terrible; last time he pretended to be defeated, she ended up chasing him around all night in a fit of rage.

"But what exactly did I do to offend you?"

"I will not allow any human being in this world to be stronger than me! That reason alone is enough!"

Touma Kamijou scratched his head: "I know perfectly well that you're one of the strongest Level 5s in this city..." He looked up at the girl, "But you'd better not sound so condescending..."

"Seriously, you talk like you're so strong..." Misaka Mikoto's eyebrows twitched, and lightning flashed between her brows.

"Hey! I'm level 0 too..." Before Touma Kamijou could finish speaking, a bolt of lightning struck. He didn't have time to think and blocked the lightning with his right hand.

The bolt of lightning vanished instantly upon contact with Touma's hand, leaving nothing behind. Only the steel beams nearby, still crackling with electricity and radiating heat, indicated that a powerful electric current had just passed through.

"So?" Misaka Mikoto raised her gaze to the unharmed Kamijou Touma. "Since you're a Level 0, why are you completely unscathed?"

"How should I put it..." Kamijou Touma relaxed his raised right hand, looking at Misaka Mikoto with a sharp gaze, "Should I call it bad luck, or just bad fortune?"

Touma Kamijou clenched his fist. As the cool summer night breeze dissipated the heat that had been shielding him, his anger at being attacked for no reason was revealed. His voice was angrier than ever: "You're really unlucky!"

Misaka Mikoto, who had never seen Touma Kamijou with such an expression, was startled, instinctively swallowed, and took a small step back. Looking at her retreating step, Misaka Mikoto suddenly felt a surge of anger and irritation, an emotion that spread through her trembling teeth.

A thunderbolt fell.

Without warning, all the lights on the entire bridge, and the entire block within sight, went out instantly.