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

At 7:40 a.m., at the 7th School District Security Guard Branch, Aiho Yomikawa stuffed the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth and casually brushed the bread crumbs off her uniform.

On the desk in front of her lay a detailed map of District 7, with several red circles marking key locations around the abandoned warehouse area. "Ironclad, are you ready on your end?"

"Okay, okay!" Ironclad Soryu frantically checked the buckles of his bulletproof vest, his voice trembling with barely concealed tension. "But Professor Huang Quanchuan, are we really going to take action against that 'giant spider'? How many of them are there...?"

"That's why we need to act early in the morning." Huang Quanchuan interrupted her, picking up the walkie-talkie on the table. "Between seven and eight in the morning is when they change shifts. The people on night shift are exhausted, and the people on day shift aren't fully awake yet. We want to choose this time."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the ten security guards in the room who were fully prepared for action.

"Moreover..." Huang Quanchuan grinned, "We're not going to confront them head-on. We have reliable intelligence that their acting leader, 'Snake Valley,' will be at the stronghold this morning. As long as we take him down, the rest of the rabble will naturally scatter."

"Operation codename 'Spider's Nest'." Huang Quanchuan pressed the call button on the walkie-talkie. "All units, take note. Depart in five minutes. Target: Building 4 in the abandoned warehouse area on the west side of the 10th School District. Repeat, target: Building 4. The targets for arrest are the acting leader of the incapacitated armed group 'The Great Spider,' and all members involved in the recent violent incidents."

A few crisp replies came through the walkie-talkie. Huang Quanchuan opened the car door and glanced back at Tie Zhuang, who was still organizing his equipment. "Let's go, Tie Zhuang! If you dawdle any longer, I'll leave you here to write your report."

"Coming, coming!"

Two dark blue police armored vehicles started their engines, kicking up a light dust in the early morning streets, and headed west of the 10th school district.

At the same time, on the third floor of a student apartment building in the Seventh School District, Kofumi stood in front of the wardrobe, her fingers gently tracing the collar of the red leather jacket.

The leather felt softer than she remembered. She picked up the jacket and draped it over her shoulders. The size was perfect; the shoulder line fit snugly, and the sleeve length was just right. She turned around in front of the mirror, and the girl in the red leather jacket in the mirror seemed to overlap with herself two years ago, standing in front of a secondhand shop window, her heart fluttering.

Gufa Meiwei zipped up her jacket.

The morning air still carried the chill of the previous night. As Gu Famei turned into the alley leading to the abandoned warehouse area, her footsteps echoed through the narrow lane, and her red leather jacket stood out conspicuously in the morning light.

Then she stopped. Two figures were waiting for her at the end of the alley.

Shirai Kuroko leaned against the wall, her arms crossed, the hem of her school uniform skirt swaying slightly in the morning breeze. Misaka Mikoto stood beside her, holding a can of coffee she had just bought, her eyes widening slightly when she saw Kofun Miwei's figure.

"Koufu-senpai," Shirai Kuroko straightened up, "you really did end up on this path."

Kofumi Miwa didn't answer, she just watched them quietly. Her gaze swept over Shirai Kuroko's serious expression, over the can of coffee in Misaka Mikoto's hand that had stopped steaming, and finally landed on Mikoto's clenched fist.

Misaka Mikoto bit her lip. She had so much to say: it's too dangerous, let me go with you, you're not alone, and so on. But looking at Kofun Miwei's calm face, all those words stuck in her throat. She suddenly realized that Kofun-senpai wasn't the type to act impulsively.

She came because she had to; some things, bystanders can never make decisions for the people involved.

Mikoto looked down at the armband in her hand, the disciplinary committee armband she had borrowed from Kuroko, which she intended to give to Kofuku-senpai. She tightened her grip on the armband for a moment, then looked up and walked over to Kofuku Miki.

"Then at least..." Mikoto paused, then reached out and pressed the armband onto the sleeve of Kofumi Miwa's right arm. "At least wear this."

Kofumi looked down at the armband that Mikoto had pinned on her right arm and frowned.

Mikoto took a step back, looking her up and down. A red leather jacket, a green and white armband, and those unwavering eyes. She suddenly smiled. "Senior Kofuku, so cool."

Kofumi looked up at her.

"I can't do something like that. I care a lot, but I pretend I don't. I'd probably just keep pretending I didn't see it. But you're different, senior. You can walk right up to him with your disciplinary committee badge on and all. So—"

She turned to Shirai Kuroko: "Let's go together."

The fourth building in the abandoned storage area, at 8:03 a.m.

Hei Qi Mianliu pushed open the iron gate, and the warehouse was filled with the mixed smells of smoke and sweat. Several thugs who hadn't slept all night were sprawled on the dilapidated sofa. Hearing the door open, a tall, thin man leaning against the wall suddenly sat up straight.

"Who is it! Disturbing my sleep!"

The noise startled the others, and several thugs stood up, rubbing their eyes, their expressions changing from confusion to impatience.

Hei Qi Mianliu ignored them and walked straight into the depths of the warehouse. His gaze swept over the graffiti on the walls, over the playing cards and loose change scattered on the low table, and over the old television still humming in the corner. Everything was almost the same as when he left, only older, more broken, and dirtier.

"Looking so lazy first thing in the morning! I'm here to settle things..."

"Uh... Boss, he..." The tall, thin man's eyes began to dart around, "He's the one from last time..."

Before the words were finished, heavy footsteps echoed from deep within the warehouse.

Snake Valley emerged from the shadows. He was a size rounder than Black Wife Mianliu, with a rough spider tattoo on his left arm, a half-collapsed pompadour, and a few greasy strands of hair plastered to his forehead. Behind him followed more than twenty thugs wielding iron pipes, baseball bats, and chains, each with a menacing glint in their eyes.

"I think you all already know, but I'll say it again... I'm very strong."

"Ah, you are indeed very strong... but even a Devil Fruit user is the same!" Hebi Valley grinned, "It's impossible to overcome the sheer number of weapons!"

"stop!"

Kofune Miki appeared in the doorway, walking in with her back to the sunlight. Kurozuma Watari glanced over, noticed the disciplinary committee badge on Kofune Miki's arm, and smiled. "Pretty cool, huh..."

"Sister Kofuku?!" Snake Valley exclaimed in surprise, attracting Kofuku Miwei's attention.

"Hebi-dani-kun, you've become quite a despicable man..." Kofunomiy said mockingly with a laugh, "Not only do you bully the unarmed, but you're also armed..."

"Shut up!" Snake Valley roared angrily, his sore spot touched. "What do you know, you who abandoned us to become a disciplinary committee member?!" He waved his hand, and everyone around him raised their pistols. "Come on! Let them see what we're made of!"

The moment the pistol was raised, it was covered in steel needles. And without a trace of anyone appearing, Snake Valley realized, "It's a spatial ability user! Quickly activate the ability debuff!"

"What you said..." Misaka Mikoto tossed the coin in her hand, and as it landed in front of her palm, it was magnetically bound and launched outwards in an instant, smashing through the wall and destroying the bread cart carrying the weakened abilities. "Is this it?"

"You don't expect us to fall into the same pit twice, do you?"

The immense kinetic energy resulted in devastating destruction; a huge hole was torn open in the wall, and the outside wind was even rushing in. Snake Valley was completely stunned, utterly clueless about how to command the battle to win, and could only roar in despair, "Charge! Take her down!"

"But, but! That guy is Tokiwadai Academy's Railgun!"

Like a stone stirring up a thousand waves, Misaka Mikoto's reputation as one of the strongest Level 5s in Academy City was already deeply ingrained in people's minds. Now, upon hearing that the Railgun, one of the Seven Strongest, had appeared in front of him, the thug was so frightened that his legs went weak.

Seeing his morale crumbling, Snake Valley gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, drew his pistol, aimed it at the members of the Giant Spider gang, pressed it against the back of one of their heads, and began threatening the rest of them. "I told you to do it! If you don't want to fight, I'll kill you before they do!"

Seeing this, Shirai Kuroko appeared directly on the front lines, pulling out three steel needles and holding them in her hand. As a member of the Disciplinary Committee, she absolutely could not allow anything that could potentially cause injury or death. Kofumi Miwa stood in front of Shirai Kuroko, shaking her wrist.

"You guys hold your horses... Let me shine a little once in a while, okay?"

Kofumi's gaze swept quickly across the warehouse, her X-ray vision silently unfolding. On the second floor, in the shadows at the end of the left corridor, she saw a thug crouching nearby.

"At the end of the left corridor on the second floor..." Kofumi lowered her voice, and Shirai Kuroko nodded in understanding. The steel needle was moved directly in that direction, and sure enough, there was a person pinned to the wall. The pistol in his arms slid off the steel plate and fell to the ground.

Kofumi glanced at Mikoto and nodded slightly. This junior usually seemed impulsive, but her judgment in battle never disappointed.

Snake Valley's face flushed crimson, his teeth grinding together, but he could only endure it. "You—!"

"Stop talking nonsense," Kuroki Mianliu cracked her knuckles and took a step toward Snake Valley. "You want to fight? Come on, let me see if your fists have gotten any tougher after being the boss for two years, besides resorting to these underhanded methods."

Snake Valley gritted his teeth, pulled out a baton and swung it around, yelling at his men, "What are you all standing there for! Get them!" The twenty-odd thugs snapped out of their shock and, as if waking from a dream, brandished their weapons and charged toward Black Widow Mianliu and Kofumi Miwei.

Hei Qimianliu didn't retreat. He took a step forward, slightly turning his body to dodge the first swinging iron pipe. At the same time, his right hand reached out, grabbed the other man's wrist, and twisted it outward. The moment the iron pipe flew out of his hand, his left fist had already smashed into the second man's abdomen.

"Hey! What's wrong?! If you don't stop them from rushing over here, I won't have any motivation!"

The man groaned and bent over, and the woman in black seized the opportunity to strike him on the back of the neck with her elbow, knocking him to the ground. Without pausing, she used the momentum to turn and kick the third man in the back of the knee, the dull thud of dislocated bone accompanied by a scream. The moment that man knelt on one knee, the woman in black's knee was already upon his chin.

Kofumi leaned against a concrete pillar, her pupils slightly contracted. With her X-ray vision fully activated, every enemy hidden behind the shelves, every sneak attack approaching from the side or rear, was imprinted in her mind before it even happened.

"The two on the right," she said calmly.

Without turning her head, the woman in black grabbed the iron pipe she had just seized and swung it behind her. The pipe spun and struck the first man in the face, the crisp sound of his nose breaking echoing clearly in the warehouse. Before the second man could react, the woman in black was already upon him, delivering an elbow strike to his temple, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Behind the shelf directly in front, there's a dagger in the left pocket, and three chains to the left rear."

"The one in front is yours!" The woman in black darted around to the side of the shelf. "This one's mine!"

A thug wielding a dagger rushed out from behind the shelf and lunged at Gu Famei. She didn't dodge; her right hand gripped the thug's wrist holding the knife, while her left hand simultaneously drew a police baton from her waist, swung it around, and struck the thug's knuckles. The dagger slipped from his hand, and before he could even scream, the baton struck his knees a second time. The man fell to his knees with a thud, and Gu Famei stepped on his back, handcuffing him.

To the left rear, Hei Qi Mianliu had already dealt with the three men with iron chains. He had taken the three chains, tied them together, and thrown them on the ground. The three men were then piled up in the corner like a human pyramid.

Kofumi brushed the dust off her hands and headed toward her next target.

"Is that your ability?" The woman in black paused for a moment, then laughed. "Not bad..."

"Right..."

"Hmph! I won't lose to you!"

Snake Valley watched as his most elite men fell one by one, and fear finally showed on his face. His hand gripping the baton began to tremble as he backed away, glancing left and right for an escape route. But Kofumi had already blocked the back door, and Kurozuma Miyuri was walking towards him.

"So, what's the next step?"

"Hahaha..." Snake Valley hysterically brandished his baton, "You think you've won just like that?!"

Snake Valley lifted his leather jacket, revealing a ring of detonators and explosives strapped to the bottom, with cotton thread as a fuse, and the jacket was tightly bound with duct tape.

"Explosives?" Shirai Kuroko quickly shielded Misaka Mikoto behind her. "What era are you from...?"

Snake Valley gave a wicked smile, reached for a flip-top lighter, lit it with a snap, and placed it next to the cotton thread. "If you take another step forward, I'll blow you all to smithereens!"

Kurozumi Mianliu sighed, walked step by step towards him, and casually took off her black leather jacket, revealing a large spider tattoo on her back. As Kurozumi Mianliu approached, Snake Valley trembled incessantly.

"Ugh, this is so troublesome..."

"Don't come any closer... I'm going to set it on fire!"

"Snake Valley, those were truly enjoyable times..."

"No, don't come any closer..."

"We were all doing silly things together... what happened next?"

As the black-haired woman, Mianliu, drew closer, Hebi Valley recalled the time he had spent with her—fighting evil together, helping the weak, and though there were few of them, they had been happy together every day. This caused his hands to tremble violently.

Yes, what exactly happened? Snake Valley looked at the person in front of him and finally remembered why he had followed him back then and why he had created the Great Spider organization with him.

Black Wife Mianliu's body swayed, and a spinning uppercut struck Snake Valley in the abdomen, shattering the detonators and causing the gunpowder inside to hiss and spill out.

"What on earth happened, Snake Valley...?"

"I... I have no choice, no other way... This is the only place that can accommodate us. In order to gather the members of the Great Spider, in order to maintain the Great Spider, I have to transform into the Black Widow!"

Snake Valley clutched his stomach, curled up on the ground in a ball. Seeing Snake Valley kneeling on the ground while his hands continued their groping, Black Widow Mianliu frowned, gritted her teeth, and took a step back.

"So... now that things have come to this, your existence is superfluous—!" Snake Valley suddenly sprang to his feet, pulling a dagger from his robes and wielding it like a hammer, aiming it at Black Widow. Black Widow angrily met Snake Valley's dagger head-on, throwing a punch.

Snake Valley's face turned from liver-colored to ashen. He opened his mouth to say something, but Black Widow didn't give him a chance. A clean, decisive abdominal strike sent him sprawling like a shrimp, saliva mixed with stomach acid dripping from the corner of his mouth. Immediately afterward, Black Widow released her right hand, clenched her left fist, and delivered an uppercut to Snake Valley's chin.

Snake Valley's massive body crashed to the ground, the back of his head hitting the concrete floor, his eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness completely.

"Snake Valley, a place to find refuge, is a place where one can express oneself..."

The security guards' operation was over. Kofumi walked through the thugs lying sprawled on the ground towards Kurozuma Myanryu. She took a pair of handcuffs from her waist and stood before Kurozuma. Kurozuma Myanryu turned and looked at her. Morning light streamed in through the cracks in the high window, casting a straight beam between them.

"Ah...it's over, it's over~"

"Come on..." Kurozuma Watari brought her hands together and stretched them out towards Kofune Miwei. Kofune Miwei looked at the hands, but the handcuffs on her wrists didn't budge. Seeing this, Kurozuma Watari spoke again, "Miwei..."

Gu Famei raised the handcuffs, the rings gleaming coldly in the beam of light. She snapped the rings open, the crisp sound echoing clearly in the warehouse.

"Kurozumi Misaki, I am arresting you on suspicion of organizing violent activities and participating in multiple assaults..." Her voice was calm, and she enunciated each word clearly, "as a criminal caught in the act."

Kurosawa Miyu looked at the handcuffs on her wrists and laughed. Looking at Kofuku Miyu's clothes, she sincerely complimented, "Red really suits you..."

Kofumi's fingers twitched slightly, and the handcuffs clicked shut. Her fingertips touched his skin, and the warmth emanated from them, just like that night three years ago when they shared takoyaki on the convenience store steps.

"But...don't you feel like this leather jacket is too tight around your chest?"

"That's because I drink that every day..."

Kurosawa Mianliu was taken aback for a moment, then laughed. The two exchanged a glance and understood each other's meaning. They both bent down at the same time, their eyes meeting and their noses touching.

"Musashino milk is definitely the best!"

After saying that, the two of them laughed at the same time. Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko, who were standing to the side, looked at their chests awkwardly.

"As expected, the topic eventually veered towards breasts..."

"But why can't I bring myself to hate it?"