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

The Academy City, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, turned fiery red, the orange-yellow light blurring the blood on the ground. Touma Kamijou ran desperately from the stairwell entrance.

"What?! What happened?!" he asked breathlessly, his gaze falling on the wound on Index's back, his face instantly turning deathly pale. "This...this is...!"

The girl looked up at him, her lips moved, but she couldn't utter a complete sound. She simply pointed to herself, then to Index, her eyes filled with a bewilderment and helplessness that even she herself couldn't understand.

Touma Kamijou understood instantly.

"An enemy?! Index...!" He rushed forward, carefully examining the wound; it was cold and wet to the touch. "No... she's lost too much blood... she needs immediate treatment!"

He gritted his teeth, quickly took off his coat, and pressed it hard against Index's wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but with limited success.

Index's eyelashes fluttered.

Her emerald green eyes slowly opened, but the depths of her pupils had lost their usual warmth. In their place was a cold indifference, devoid of any light.

"I belong to the Library of the Priestess, within the Church of Necessary Evil, Zero Sanctuary of the Anglican Church. My official name is Index-Librorum-Prohibitorum, but I'll simply call it Index..."

"What are you talking about?" Touma Kamijou quickly straightened Index's body, lifting her wound off the ground.

"We need to get her to the hospital first..." His mind raced, and he carefully picked up Index, rushed down the stairs, and through the dimly lit hallway.

The gray-haired girl silently stood up and followed behind Touma Kamijou. Her steps were steady, and she remained close behind.

As the sun completely sank below the horizon and night fell, the streetlights of Academy City lit up in unison.

Touma Kamijou carried Index out of the dormitory building and ran towards the nearest public phone booth. The gray-haired girl followed quietly behind.

"Hold on! I'll call an ambulance right away..." Touma Kamijou gasped as he rushed to the phone booth. He supported Index with one hand while reaching into his pocket with the other... empty. His phone had been broken that morning.

"Damn it..."

He looked around, hoping to borrow a phone from a passerby. But just then, an idea suddenly struck him.

A hospital? Index is a member of the church. Her wounds were inflicted while being hunted by mages. After all, did Index legitimately apply to enter Academy City? What would happen if she were sent to a regular hospital…? Would she be treated as a monster? Would scientists discover her magical abilities? Or… might she simply be beyond treatment?

He stood there, stunned, as if the weight on his back had suddenly become even heavier.

"Touma?"

Index's voice suddenly rang out, no longer a cold and indifferent voice, but a familiar, weak and trembling girl's voice.

"Index? You're awake?" Kamijou carefully laid her down and leaned her against the phone booth.

The silver-haired nun's pupils regained their emerald green color, though still dim, at least they had regained human warmth. She breathed with difficulty, each breath sending a tearing pain through the wound on her back.

"Did I... just 'awaken' again?" Index looked pained, but quickly masked it with a smile.

"Hmm." Kamijou nodded. "You said you need healing magic, but you can't use it yourself. You need to find someone who can use magic... but this is Academy City, where would you find a magician?"

Index was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Not a magician... is fine too. As long as you're an ordinary person who 'hasn't undergone superpower development,' theoretically... it's possible to use magic."

"What do you mean?"

"Magic... is a set of spells and rituals designed to enable 'those without talent' to do the same things as 'those with talent'..." Index's voice grew weaker and weaker. "Superpowered individuals... because their brains have been modified by drugs and electric shocks... their physical structure is different from that of ordinary people... so they cannot use magic. But ordinary people... as long as they know the correct method... can."

Kamijou's mind raced. An ordinary person who had never received any superpower development, in this Academy City with 2.3 million students...

"Teacher!" He looked up abruptly. "Tsukuyomi Komoe-sensei! She's a teacher, not a student, so she shouldn't have received any special training!"

Index nodded, but then frowned. "But... magic is dangerous. If the steps are done incorrectly... the caster's neural circuits and brain... will be burned out..."

"It's better than letting you die here!" Kamijou picked her up again. "Tell me, what does she need to do?"

"I need... my knowledge." Index rested her face on Touma's shoulder. "Among the 103,000 grimoires... there is a complete record of healing formulas. If I guide her... and she follows along... she might succeed."

Just then, the gray-haired girl who had been standing quietly to the side spoke up. "Can... I?"

Kamijou and Index both looked at her.

The girl was still wearing those ill-fitting casual clothes, her gray eyes calmly fixed on the wound on Index's back. Her expression remained unchanged, but Touma noticed that her fingers were trembling slightly.

"You..." Kamijou hesitated for a moment.

He knew the girl was no ordinary person. When they first met, the surrounding buildings were destroyed as if a cake had been scooped out, and she was sitting in a deep, circular pit, with glowing particles floating around her.

Moreover, she even chased away the magician who was chasing Index today. Although it is unknown whether her ability is a superpower or magic, she is definitely not an ordinary person.

"Kamijo Touma..."

"Stop talking..." Kamijou interrupted her, turning to look at the gray-haired girl. "Can you help me take her to the teacher's house?"

The girl nodded and silently walked to the other side of Index, helping Kamijou Touma support Index.

It seems she just did something.

But then what?

Index was still injured, and blood kept flowing.

She didn't know what to do.

This feeling of powerlessness, this sense of "being able to do nothing even though you seem so capable," is stuck in my chest, making me feel suffocated.

She just ran after them, in the darkness, towards that unknown direction. She just followed, watching anxiously, waiting for someone to tell her "what to do next".

Night had fallen, and the streets were nearly deserted. Touma Kamijou carried Index on his back, with the gray-haired girl supporting him from the side, as the three of them navigated through the labyrinthine old alleyways.

Index's breathing grew weaker and weaker, each breath laced with blood. Kamijou could feel the warmth slowly draining from his back.

"Hang in there! We're almost there..." he whispered, unsure whether he was comforting Index or himself.

"Touma..." Index's voice was almost inaudible, "If...if I die...please don't...feel guilty..."

"You won't die!" Kamijou practically roared. "I absolutely won't let you die!"

Index didn't answer. She simply pressed her face gently against Kamijou's back. The gray-haired girl watched this scene silently. For the first time, a clear, almost "confused" emotion appeared in her gray eyes.

She didn't know the answer to that emotion. All she knew was that, at that moment, she didn't want this silver-haired nun to die.

I don't want this person... who just became a "friend" to disappear.

Finally, they arrived at the extremely old two-story apartment building that had survived the Tokyo air raids. A washing machine sat openly in the hallway, and the air was filled with the smell of old wood and dampness.

"The teacher lives on the second floor, at the very back..." Kamijou gasped as he began to climb the stairs.

Every step felt incredibly heavy. The weight of Index, and the even heavier fear of possibly losing her, made it almost impossible for him to breathe.

The gray-haired girl was still supporting him, her movements incredibly steady, supporting Index and Touma together.

Finally, they stopped in front of the door with the name "Tsukuyomi" written on it.

Touma Kamijou took a deep breath and kicked the door.

"teacher!"