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

The small student dormitory was now filled with an eerie atmosphere, like some kind of meeting room. The silver-haired nun who called herself Index had been rescued from the balcony railing and was sitting unceremoniously at the low glass table in the center of the room.

Her emerald green eyes scanned the room like searchlights, passing over the cluttered bookshelves, the haphazardly placed game consoles, and the white-haired girl sitting quietly on the edge of the bed, looking back at her with gray eyes.

"So, if you can make sure my Index is well-fed, I'll be very grateful to you." Index looked away, put her hands together, and spoke to Kamijou Touma, who was still confused by the balcony adventure and the bed misunderstanding.

"Why would I do that? What good would it do me to increase your affection? If it triggers some weird conditions and I end up on the 'Index Route,' I might as well just cut it off and start over!!" Kamijou Touma scratched his spiky hair in frustration, feeling like his brain was seriously overloaded.

"Uh...is this a slang term? Sorry, I don't think I understand what you're saying." Index tilted her head, looking puzzled, like a kitten seeing a mirror for the first time.

As expected of a foreigner, he doesn't understand Japanese otaku culture. Kamijou Touma sat casually on the tatami mat.

"But if you kick me out, I'll probably collapse after three steps, right?" Index added, her tone as flat as if stating a fact.

"Collapsed? That's none of my business."

"I will use my last strength to write my will, which will include a portrait of you."

"What...?"

"If I were rescued, I might say that I was imprisoned in this room and tortured beyond recognition... and as for those clothes, I would say that you forced me to wear them." Index pointed to the oversized shirt that belonged to Touma Kamijou on the white-haired girl.

"How dare you threaten me! You actually know a lot about otaku culture, don't you?!" Touma Kamijou jumped up and down in anger.

"Hmm?" Index tilted her head again, looking completely innocent.

He was utterly defeated by her. Touma stormed into the kitchen, furious, and threw the last remaining, suspiciously smelling food from the refrigerator into the wok, stirring it haphazardly. "Heating it up won't kill anyone, will it?" he thought resignedly.

When a pot of "unspeakable stir-fry" was placed in front of Index, she didn't seem to mind at all and devoured it in no time. During a break in the meal, Touma Kamijou finally couldn't help but ask the question that had been lingering in his mind for so long.

"...By the way, this is the seventh floor, why are you hanging on my balcony?"

"Because someone is chasing me..."

"Someone is chasing you? Who is it?"

Of course, Touma Kamijou had no intention of getting involved in this mess for a girl he'd only known for thirty minutes. But now, it seemed impossible to completely pretend to be an outsider.

"Hmm... I don't know either. Maybe it's the 'Rose Cross' or the 'Golden Dawn'. I can guess which organizations they are, but I don't know their names... and names don't mean anything to them anyway."

"Them?" Touma Kamijou repeated, completely bewildered. Was the opponent a group, an organization?

However, Index herself, who was being chased, remained remarkably calm. After humming in agreement, she continued, "They are a magic society."

"Huh? Magic...? Uh... what's that? Did I hear that right?"

"Ah... huh...? Uh... is my Japanese strange? I mean magic! magic cabal!"

"Uh..." After she explained it in English, Touma Kamijou was even more confused: "What the hell is that? You mean that mysterious new religion, an organization that uses the doctrine that 'those who do not believe in the founder will be punished by heaven,' and makes people take strange drugs and then brainwashes them? That sounds really dangerous."

"There really is magic!" Index emphasized, raising her hands.

"Okay, let's assume there's magic..." Touma Kamijou ignored her interruption and continued, "Then why were you being chased by those people? Was it related to your clothes?"

Touma Kamijou was referring to the ultra-luxurious pure white silk robe with gold thread embroidery worn by Index. In other words, he was asking whether it involved religious beliefs.

"...because I am listed in the Index of Banned Books."

"what?"

"I think what they really want are the 103,000 grimoires I own."

"One hundred and thirty thousand grimoires?" Touma Kamijou frowned. "What exactly are you referring to? Something like a Chinese dictionary?"

"Well, the Book of Lamentation, the Book of the Nameless, the Book of Cannibalism, the Book of the Dead... those are probably the most representative ones," Index listed.

"You said there were 103,000 copies... Where are they?"

"I have all 103,000 books with me now."

"What?" Touma Kamijou looked around. There were no demon-related books anywhere, only game magazines, manga, and summer homework scattered on the floor, tossed into a corner of the room. "...Are you going to say that only idiots can't see those books?"

"Even if you're not stupid, you won't see it! It's pointless if everyone sees it."

Index's every word was cryptic, making him feel like he was being played. Touma Kamijou had been patiently enduring it all, but now he finally couldn't take it anymore.

Perhaps even the idea that "someone is pursuing me" is just her delusion. If she were to actually jump off the roof of an eight-story building due to her wild imagination, and then fail and get stuck on the balcony, you should definitely avoid having anything to do with that kind of person.

"Isn't it strange to believe in superpowers but not magic?" Index pouted, dissatisfied. "Besides, are superpowers really that amazing? Even if you have some special abilities, it doesn't give you the right to look down on others!"

"...Yes, you're right. It's just some simple tricks, but to use them to categorize people is a really bad idea!" Touma Kamijou looked down at his right hand. "However, for the people in this city, superpowers are like a kind of spiritual support, so don't take it too seriously. In fact, I'm part of this group too."

"Good thing you know, you idiot! Humph, why make your head a mess? You can bend a spoon with your hands."

"Can I shut your mouth that keeps talking?" Touma Kamijou paused for a moment, looking at Index in front of him.

"Violence won't scare me..." Index covered her head with her hands and backed away. "Besides, you keep talking about superpowers, what superpowers do you have?"

Kamijou was a little troubled.

I rarely have the opportunity to explain the "Imagine Breaker" ability to others. Moreover, since this ability only reacts to supernatural powers, it's futile to explain it if the other party doesn't accept the concept of supernatural powers at all.

"With just a touch of this right hand... any special ability, whether it's a nuclear-level fireball, a strategic-level railgun, or a divine miracle, will be destroyed, just like that."

"Huh—?" Index picked at her ear with her little finger, mockingly. "Someone who's never even heard of God's holy name is telling me they can destroy God's miracles. This is a bit difficult for me..."

"Ugh, I'm so angry! I can't believe I was mocked by some fake magical girl who said something like 'Magic really exists, but I can't prove it to you.' I'm really furious..."

Upon hearing Touma Kamijou's muttered remark, Index seemed to get angry as well.

"I...I'm not a fake magical girl! Magic really exists!"

"Then prove it to me, you Halloween bastard! I'll use my 'Imagine Breaker' to destroy your magic and see who's stronger! You delusional fantasist with a head full of wild dreams!"

"Fine! I'll show you!" Index huffed, raising both hands. "This is it! This outfit! It's an ultimate defensive barrier called 'Mobile Church'!"

Index raised her hands, allowing Touma Kamijou to see clearly the nun's robe she was wearing, which resembled a fine teacup.

"What 'mobile church'? I don't understand! You've been spouting technical terms like 'Index to Forbidden Books' and 'defense barriers' since just now. Can't you explain them to the listeners? It's so unfriendly! Have you ever heard of 'explaining complex things simply' or 'teaching according to aptitude'?"

"You...you don't even want to understand, yet you come to complain to me?" Index waved her hands. "At this point, facts speak louder than words! You can take a kitchen knife and stab me in the stomach!"

"Fine! I'll stab you right now... Huh? What... what are you doing! I'd better stab you right now! Are you trying to get me?"

"Ah! You don't believe me at all, do you?" Index's shoulders heaved with excitement. "This garment contains all the essential elements of a church, so it can be called 'a church in the form of clothing'! The way the fabric is woven, the way the thread is sewn, the way the embroidery is decorated... everything has been meticulously calculated! A mere kitchen knife couldn't even scratch a hair on my head!"

"Since this is also a supernatural power, does that mean your clothes will be ruined if I just touch them with my right hand?" Touma Kamijou showed his right hand, where the "Imagine Breaker," capable of eliminating all supernatural powers, resided. He didn't believe in magic or barriers at all; he just wanted to use his unique "abnormal" ability to end this absurd conversation.

"That depends on whether your ability is real or fake~ Hmph..." Index laughed disdainfully, clearly not believing that Touma Kamijou's right hand had such power. She had absolute confidence in the defense of the 'Mobile Church'.

"I'll fight you to the death!" In a moment of impulsiveness, Touma Kamijou was provoked by Index's disbelieving expression and grabbed her shoulder with his right hand.

A strange tactile sensation came over me, as if all the impacts were absorbed by a soft and dense invisible barrier, and the feeling was like grasping a cloud with a solid body.

Nothing happened to the clothes. Index looked at her clothes and then looked up with a disbelieving expression.

"Nothing happened~ Hehe~" Index closed her eyes proudly and struck a pose with her hands on her hips.

But the next second—

Touma Kamijou's mind went blank for a moment as a terrifying possibility occurred to him. If Index was telling the truth, if this garment really was a barrier maintained by supernatural power...

No way?

Amidst screams, the pure white nun's robes seemed to be dismantled from their most basic structure, instantly transforming into countless neat pieces of fabric, scattering across the ground like withered petals. Index, who had been enveloped in them, stood there wearing only her nun's hood.

The silver-haired nun stood frozen in place, her fair skin exposed to the air, her emerald eyes wide open, her small mouth slightly agape, as if her brain had completely shut down, unable to comprehend what was happening before her eyes—something that could never have happened.

"Ah...this..."

"No—!"

"Whoa! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I didn't expect it to actually happen...!" Touma Kamijou turned around in a panic, frantically pulled a blanket from the closet and threw it over, then immediately turned to face the wall, his face flushed and his heart pounding.

Oh no, I've made a huge mistake!