Toaru Majutsu no Index: New Testament

Volume 6, Chapter 8: The Simplest Structure in the World. One_on_One.

Part 1

“Hey,” called out the Lightning God Thor.

He was in the portion of Academy City’s District 11 that functioned as a shipping distribution base for land routes. Evening had already fallen and the mountains of large containers piled up here and there were tinted orange.

“Sorry about asking you to see me off.”

He was speaking to Kamijou Touma. That boy had fought a fierce battle against Leivinia Birdway after being shot in the side, so he really should have been heading back to his hospital bed as quickly as possible. But that boy had a reason to continue on even after the primary problem had been resolved.

Namely...

“If I don’t make sure that you all have left the city, I won’t be able to sleep.”

“Ha ha. I guess not.” Thor laughed lightly. “Marian Slingeneyer and Mjölnir have already left. At times like this, it’s the job of the one with direct combat ability to stay behind as a rear guard. That lets me take this slight detour.”

“Is this the place you use to get in and out?”

“When you get down to it, the fundamentals are important. It’s easier to slip by in the area with the most stuff going in and out. We could of course buy a first class ticket for the airport in District 23 and enjoy a comfortable flight, but the risk is too high if we get caught.” He shrugged. “Plus, this district is trying to optimize and speed up the shipping distribution process, so everything is automated except for a few engineers. Apparently, the drivers coming in from outside Academy City just have to attach a rented device to the trucks electronics and the trucks will be automatically unloaded while they sip on coffee and read the newspaper at the rest area at the edge of the district. And the same goes for the drivers from within Academy City. And that system means there are no human eyes to see us here. That makes it perfect for the occult to sneak in.”

It was a city surrounded by a wall in a country surrounded by ocean.

That alone would have made it one of the most difficult places to infiltrate in the world. But Gremlin had crossed so many national borders and walked through so many parts of the world that they could do it with ease.

That may have been an amazing skill.

But it only meant they were completely cut off from ever being truly at rest.

“We will leave Fräulein Kreutune in Academy City. She ate something weird and then something about her was distorted. I don’t know if you call it her physical makeup, her conditions, or her attributes, but you get the picture. She no longer has any value to Gremlin. But I wonder what Academy City thinks. I suppose she is no longer an impediment to them now that there is no danger of her eclosing. They likely have no more reason to capture her and lock her up.”

“What if they try anyways?”

“We did some damage to the windowless building, but it was Fräulein Kreutune herself who destroyed that wall. And she has now become curious about the outside world. Even if they try to shut her away, she will escape to chase after the curiosity that wells up within her. Failing to capture her and causing frequent incidents that draw attention is not what they want. My guess is she will be free to stay with...what were their names? Oh, right. Last Order and Fremea. And most importantly,” said Thor. “I would say that was an ending much more suited to be called ‘saving her’ than if we had forcibly dragged her away to the other side of the world.”

“I see.”

Kamijou let out a slow breath.

And then he asked a question.

“Are you sure this is what you wanted? Completing that spear is what the Magic God Othinus wants most of all, right? There is no guarantee the details of what happened here will remain a secret forever. And even if they do, I have no idea what Othinus will do now that her plan has gone awry.”

“I can manage,” said Thor simply.

He did not hesitate despite knowing it was something that could never be resolved simply.

He gave a smile and changed the subject.

“Now then. The problem related to Fräulein Kreutune has been mostly resolved. The monsters of Gremlin and Ollerus’s group have left. Academy City’s dark side has...well, I honestly don’t really know. But as I said before, I doubt they will do anything to cause more of a commotion. We have managed to take care of all of the problems that had stacked up like some kind of puzzle game.”

“Thor? What are you-...?”

“I’m saying...”

He grinned.

The Lightning God Thor gave a smile larger than any he had shown before.

“It’s about time we got down to the real issue, Kamijou Touma.”

An explosive noise rang out.

Arc fusion blades energetically shot out from the five fingers on Thor’s right hand.

“Thor! What are you doing!?”

“Don’t act surprised. Remember what I said? The situation around you is pathetic. Everyone leads you around like a trained monkey so they can use your right hand for their own purposes. ...And from the beginning, I said I would betray you. I want to fight you for my own reasons. This has nothing to do with Gremlin!!”

Kamijou thought his comprehension of language was beginning to fail.

But it was not.

One of his basic assumptions had been wrong.

Thor had not been risking his life in those fights in order to resolve the problems. He had been trying to resolve those troublesome and annoying problems to gain the benefits of risking his life in those battles.

Kamijou finally understood that.

But he shook his head.

“I have no reason to fight you. We couldn’t have saved Fräulein Kreutune without you! If anything, I owe you. So why does it have to come to this!?”

“You’re thinking about this wrong, Kamijou-chan. Anger and hate are not the only reasons to fight. It is not only the bad guys who clench their fists and go in for the punch. You should know that better than anyone, so you can’t stop me from doing this. But most importantly, I’m all fired up. My engine has been running full-throttle ever since I first heard about you.”

Thor smiled as he swung his arm to point at Kamijou with the tip of one of the arc fusion blades.

He did nothing but smile.

“When two ridiculously huge powers collide, damage will spread to the surrounding area. My fights can be described using horrible words like ‘war’. But Kamijou-chan, what about that power of yours? You’re just a high school student and yet you’ve saved quite a few people! You even ended World War III!! You’ve survived this far fighting Gremlin!! And the wonderful power that did all that is the ability to negate!? Oh, I can’t wait. My next stage of growth is finally, finally coming into view!! I can have a battle amidst such stinging tension that I have no idea who will win...and as a conflict between a ridiculously huge power and a negating power, it won’t even cause that much damage!! Has there ever been a more convenient or profitable battle than this, Kamijou-chan!?”

Was that why?

Was that why Thor had gotten so mad in that fast food restaurant and started to punch Kamijou?

Had he snapped because the opponent he had been looking forward to facing for so long had disappointed him in not even being able to immediately decide to save a damsel in distress?

My enemy...

certainly has become pathetic.

“To be honest, I was pretty disappointed when I first saw you. If you hadn’t made such a wonderful comeback at the last second, I might have turned you to ash along with the hamburgers. But you have an excellent look in your eyes now. You’ve regained that look. That is the look my enemy needs. The kind of fight that is satisfying no matter who wins is finally looking like a real possibility. I need a fight like that to get what I want.”

“Why...?” asked Kamijou in a scratchy voice. And then his voice grew to a shout. “You were legitimately mad about the circumstances Fräulein Kreutune was in, right!? You did what you did because you really did want to free her form her pain and suffering, right!? So why are you talking about working to benefit yourself? Why are you trying to start an unnecessary fight!?”

“I’m not the kind of wonderful person you seem to think I am. I am a member of Gremlin, remember?” Despite seeming to mock himself, Thor did not hesitate to answer. “Basically, I want power. There is a limit to what you can obtain training on your own, but you start to find the opponents available to you growing very limited once you reach a certain level. ...I can think of a few people who are stronger than me, but fighting them could easily end up destroying an entire city or an entire country. That would leave a bad taste in my mouth. It’s been hard finding a way to meet the requirements for the next step.”

“...”

“Do I want power so I can save someone or do I want to save someone so I can gain power? That has gotten so jumbled up inside me that not even I know the answer, but that is the essence of what I am. I keep repeating the cycle to gain more and more power, and I reach my hand out to save whoever needs saving during the process. ...I have no simple power from some special source, but I continue to reach my hand out and that ultimately builds up more power within me. In that way, I am quite a bit different from you.”

But was that exactly why?

Had he decided someone similar yet fundamentally different would make the optimum opponent?

“Tho-...”

Kamijou started to call out to the boy, but he trailed off.

His body wavered.

Pain once more exploded from the wound on his side he had almost forgotten was there.

“...Oh, that’s right, that’s right. I had thought you could resolve this in top form, so you get some points taken off there. To be blunt, it’s inelegant and it’s an obstruction. It’ll lower the number of experience points I get for this battle, so I can’t just ignore it.”

The possibility that the fight could be put off flashed through Kamijou’s mind.

It could possibly be put off at least until his gunshot wound healed.

But that was not the case.

Thor used the hand not producing arc fusion blades to casually reach around behind him. He pulled out something that had been tucked into the belt of his pants.

The object felt more like plastic than metal.

It was a tool meant to kill.

It was a handgun.

“I swiped this from one of the engineers at customs. I don’t really know much about guns, but this is the same caliber, right?”

“You can’t mean... Wait, Thor!! Don’t...!!”

Kamijou frantically tried to grab the gun away from him, but he was too far away.

Before Kamijou reached the other boy, Thor pressed the gun’s barrel against his own side and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

A dry gunshot burst out.

A spot of dark red liquid appeared on his upper body and the stain slowly spread across his clothes. Thor staggered, but he did not collapse. He no longer needed the gun, so he tossed it aside and looked back at Kamijou.

He appeared to be enjoying himself.

He was smiling.

“O-ohh...ohh... Amazing. I avoided hitting anything important, but the core of my body is still shaking like crazy. Well done running to the battlefield in this state. I’m glad to see all the more how extraordinary you are.”

“Thor...You idiot!!”

This was hardly leveling the playing field.

Kamijou had been shot in the side too, but he had received surgery at the hospital and received first aid from Cendrillon to stop the bleeding. The wound could reopen at any time, but he was still in a better position than Thor who had only just been shot.

But Thor did not seem to care.

Kamijou had no idea how this “growth” Thor had mentioned worked, but he seemed perfectly willing to risk his own life to obtain those experience points.

“Okay, Kamijou-chan. Don’t try any kind of boring excuses like ‘I refuse to fight so I will not clench my fist’ or ‘come and punch me until you are satisfied’.”

Thor shot arc fusion blades out of his left hand as well.

He spread the ten beams of light out like wings.

“If you need a reason, then use my wound. If I am not treated soon, I will die. You have no choice but to fight me seriously even if it brings tears to your eyes!!”

The final battle began with the Lightning God Thor who was in charge of direct combat within Gremlin.

Or...

Perhaps he had been unable to become anything except the one in charge of direct combat because he could only face the world in this way.

Part 2

District 11 was located on the eastern edge of Academy City and it functioned as a shipping distribution base for land routes. Kamijou and Thor were in a place where the long and narrow containers for large trailers were piled up. Normally, those containers would be checked for legality and safety at customs and then repacked into midsized and small containers to be transported through the streets of Academy City.

They had turned one portion of that area into a battlefield.

Unlike other parts of the city, there was no risk to unrelated people’s lives, so Thor did not restrain himself from shouting out loud.

“Ha ha! Mjölnir! Perform final connection check! Once it is done, begin supply!!”

An explosive noise burst out.

The arc fusion blades extending from his ten fingers suddenly extended to over 20 meters long. That was enough to cause the air to expand and send out great gusts of wind.

Thor casually swung his right arm horizontally.

He sliced through the containers piled up to the side like they were paper scraps and they came crashing down towards Kamijou.

But...

He had no time to worry about those countless containers that collapsed as if filling a valley once their foundation was gone.

(Shit!!)

Kamijou silently cursed, held the wound on his side that was beginning to hurt, and did his best to clench his right fist. The five arc fusion blades moving with Thor’s right hand had already almost reached him. He did not know if he could fully negate those reinforced arc fusion blades. He might not be burned even if he couldn’t, but the overwhelming speed at which they moved could easily knock his fist back hard enough to dislocate his shoulder.

(Then I need to eva-...!!)

He did not even have time to think.

When Kamijou tried to crouch down and duck under the blades, Thor swung his left arm down diagonally. This cut through the containers even further and the 10 fusion blades approached even closer both horizontally and vertically.

Which meant...

“Oooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Ducking down was enough to avoid the right hand arc fusion blades that were being swung horizontally and he stopped the left hand ones with his Imagine Breaker fist.

And the instant the blades struck his fist, a great shock shifted the bones of his wrist. A sharp pain shot through it like that of a tooth being worn down to treat a cavity. The arc fusion blades did not disappear. Kamijou doubted this power was Thor’s alone. If what he had shouted beforehand was accurate, he was receiving a continuous supply of power from elsewhere.

(So it’s like Innocentius!!)

By the time Kamijou gritted his teeth, Thor had already disappeared from in front of him.

He heard an explosive noise.

And then a laugh from directly above.

“Ha ha.”

The containers that had toppled down like a house of cards were still raining down above Kamijou’s head. A figure was clinging to one of them while upside down.

It was the Lightning God Thor.

Without bothering to stop the momentum of being repelled by Kamijou’s right hand, he had expanded the air with his arc fusion blades to move his own body. He had forcefully leapt up over Kamijou’s head and clung to the bottom of one of the containers falling like an avalanche.

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!! Amazing. You’re so amazing! You withstood my first attack without destroying anything!!”

Thor spun around while still upside down.

His axis of rotation was unstable like he was a poorly-made pinwheel firework. This made his blades of destruction slice through everything in all directions. The falling containers were sliced, melted, crushed, and skewered before being thrown into the distance and ultimately destroyed.

He is my target.

I will not let anything else hurt him.

That seemed to be what his actions were saying, but his 20-meter blades easily reached the ground. They were headed for Kamijou. The unstable axis of rotation seemed to lower the “density” of the blades, so Kamijou was able to frantically leap through the gaps between them.

(Dammit!! His range is greater, his freedom of movement is greater, and his power is greater! Stopping his attacks with my right hand hurts my wrist, but I don’t see any other way of dealing with the attacks!! How am I supposed to stop Thor!?)

Suddenly...

The spiral of destruction ended.

But this did not provide any relief.

Now that he had dealt with all of the midair containers, Thor stopped moving and looked directly at Kamijou. His were the eyes of a bird of prey watching a small animal flee. He then kicked off of the bottom of the container he was clinging to.

He fell.

He charged straight towards Kamijou with his ten arc fusion blades at the ready.

“God dammit!!”

If Kamijou tried to stop those arc fusion blades approaching from above at such great speed, his movements would be sealed. The next attack would slice him in two.

He practically threw himself to the ground in a frantic attempt to evade.

Those ten fingers were like a folding fan with no paper attached. The arc fusion blades spreading out from his wrist in a fan shape sliced into the ground.

It was practically a miracle Kamijou managed to slip through a gap between them.

A part of him wondered if Thor had intentionally let him escape because he did not want the battle to end so easily.

Standing up would have taken too long, so Kamijou rolled away from Thor and frantically tried to think.

(What do I do? If I fight a defensive battle, I’ll just end up cornered. Without something that lets me get my fist in attack range, I’ll just be gradually worn down!!)

A hot pain was spreading from his right wrist. He had no idea how many more times he could stop Thor’s attacks. He would not be surprised if he heard a cracking sound and the bone broke or the joint dislocated.

“What’s wrong, Kamijou-chan?” With a thin, thin smile on his face, Thor held up the arc fusion blades coming from his hands. “Was Fiamma of the Right really only this strong? Was Carissa and the Curtana Original? I don’t like overestimating people, but surely they were much stronger than this.”

“...”

Kamijou started to say something.

But then he heard a dry cracking sound.

It was an odd noise like cracks entering a thin plastic board and it was coming from Thor. After the sound happened two or three times at irregular intervals, Kamijou finally realized what it was.

“Wait...Don’t tell me...!!”

“What? Is it that strange to hear someone cracking their joints? Being able to crack your knuckles or your neck isn’t really something to be proud of in my opinion.”

“Can your body not keep up with the burden of your movements...no, with the output of those blades!? If so...!!”

“C’mon now. Thor-san is not some special-made person with any ridiculous power like the power of a Saint or the power to save the world. And unlike Othinus, I’m not a Magic God. Just to be clear, I’m just a magician. And yet I am trying to reach the same level as those worldwide top rankers. I have to push myself a bit too hard somewhere along the line.”

By adding boosters to his arms and legs, he could jump up to the top of a pile of containers in a single bound.

Most of it was probably waving them around without being able to properly control it, but it was theoretically possible if he could properly control the thrust vectors.

But...

It would only be the ends of his arms and legs receiving that powerful thrust. If he finely controlled that tremendous power and quickly moved at acute angles, it would have a horrible effect on his shoulders and the joints of his thighs. Also, making that jump from a stationary position would surely bring out cries of pain from all the blood vessels and organs in his body.

He did not have some ridiculous means of solving that such as having a naturally extra sturdy body.

Nor did he break his way through that problem with a trick such as using some kind of spiritual item or wearing an anti-G suit.

And even if he did...

That would not completely ensure his safety. In fact, that could be seen as ignoring the disadvantages and risks and focusing on the advantages.

“The pain? Don’t worry about that, Kamijou-chan. When I’m enjoying myself, none of that matters.”

“Why are you going this far...!?”

“Because I can reach it.”

He tilted his head which made an odd noise in either the joint or the cartilage.

He seemed confused why Kamijou would even ask that question.

“If something is too far away to ever reach, you just give up. But that was not the case for me. By stacking everything up, I made it close enough to grasp the stars in the night sky. It is a bit dangerous, but it’s as easy as climbing up on the table and standing up on my tiptoes. Then I can reach the cupboard. There’s no need to call in my parents to get it for me. And so...” continued Thor.

He stretched his arms out horizontally to the left and right.

“Times ten.”

An ominous noise came from the arc fusion blades.

“I can reach even further. Times ten again.”

The change that occurred in that area filled with piled-up containers was too large for Kamijou to grasp with the naked eye. The arc fusion blades extending left and right from Thor’s ten fingers stretched to about 2 kilometers in length.

“Do you understand now, Kamijou Touma? This is who I am. A personal fight of mine can reach the level of a war. I have made it this far. And that is a wonderful thing. But this is not my goal. Because now I can see the area beyond what I thought was the goal and thought I could never reach.”

He held the power to completely destroy an entire district with a swing of his arm.

He personified war with his personal power.

He was in charge of direct combat.

While clearly showing off his increased power, Thor broke into the core of the issue.

He saw through the slight movement in Kamijou’s gaze.

“...You stretch out your arm too. It may be tough, but if you climb up on the table and stand on your tiptoes, your fingertips will be able to reach it. It’s worth at least trying, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The handgun,” said Thor simply. “The one I shot myself with is lying nearby. I’m sure the idea flashed through your mind. My blades are too long. Your fist’s range is too short. After all, this is 2 kilometers...2000 meters. You want something that lets you ignore distance. And you know for a fact my body is not all that sturdy. If you shoot a bullet into me, it will make a hole. I proved that myself.”

“...”

“But another thought entered your mind, too. A handgun is a very certain weapon. Too certain. You might be able to win if you use it, but you might accidentally kill me. ...You are right to hesitate, but you are also missing something. Have you forgotten that I am a member of Gremlin?”

The air grew cold.

The same thing that had hung in the air of Baggage City briefly tickled at Kamijou’s nose ominously.

“We can no longer use Fräulein Kreutune. That final piece of the spear is no longer there to draw Othinus’s focus. You have no idea what that Magic God will do without an objective. And if she makes her move, it will all be over. Hawaii and Baggage City were horrible, but that was still controlled destruction. But what about next time? Will she start indiscriminate attacks wherever she can reach? Or will she use the FCE data to target some of your friends?”

“...Thor.”

“I am the final key. Do you not like that fact?” said Thor with a thin, thin smile. He prepared a new reason to fight. “I am the final key to find Gremlin’s headquarters. I am the final key to solve this without any more sacrifices. ...So what will you do? Is it your idea of justice to let me escape due to your personal circumstances and morals?”

“Thooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooorrrrrrr!!”

“You have only one chance,” said Thor clearly and slowly as if speaking to a foreign tourist who had only just learned the language. “Will you begin to take the offensive here or will you remain on the defensive and constantly have to catch up? It is no exaggeration to call this a turning point for the fate of the world. And if that is not enough of a reason for you, you will end up on the side of those being killed as the world begins to sink.”

It was moving.

A definitive “flow” was moving.

“Let’s go, Kamijou Touma. Show me the determination that once saved 6 billion people!”

Part 3

Kamijou Touma was about 3 meters from the handgun.

That distance was short enough that a single leap to the ground was enough to reach it.

On the other hand, Thor’s arc fusion blades were 2 kilometers long. A single swing could slice Kamijou’s body in two. They were both a single action away from ending the battle.

But...

If you knew how the other would act, it was not difficult to take the initiative.

(Too bad.)

Thor had no reason to hesitate.

District 11 was almost fully automated to optimize and speed up the shipping distribution work done there. He had already knocked out the engineers in customs, so he could cut through the entire district horizontally without causing any human damage as long as he was conscious of where the rest area for drivers was on the edge of the district. That was why Thor had ultimately chosen this area.

It was a stage for pure combat that he could only use once.

He had not wanted to waste that perfect stage on the preliminary work of fighting Ollerus’s group and Gremlin.

And that was why he felt slightly disappointed in the outcome.

Thor swung his arc fusion blades down not at Kamijou but at the midpoint between Kamijou and the handgun. He swung those beams of light down mercilessly as they sliced through piles of containers and distant cranes.

(So you head towards the simple source of power in the end. I had hoped you might be able to come to a different conclusion than me.)

If that had happened, surely some other conclusion would have been reached.

If Kamijou headed straight for the handgun, he would be sliced apart by the arc fusion blades. Even if he stayed put, he would not last long. He would be finished in the next attack.

He had the power to negate.

That was something different from the power to create destruction.

(I had hoped you could show me something different than what led me to Gremlin!!)

The conclusion was just about to be reached.

It was the simple yet boring conclusion of the one using more powerful and greater violence surviving.

But just before it did...

A high-pitched noise rang out.

It was the sound of Thor’s arc fusion blades being repelled by Kamijou’s right fist.

“What...?”

If Kamijou had leapt for the handgun and stretched out his right hand to reach it, he could never have repelled the blades.

But those massive arc fusion blades had indeed sliced through not just the nearby containers but the entire district.

Which meant...

The choice Kamijou Touma had ultimately made was...

“You don’t mean...!!”

In his surprise, Thor moved almost by reflex. He ignored the right hand that had been repelled and attacked with the arc fusion blades extending from the five fingers on his left hand. They sliced through automatically controlled trucks and forklifts as they moved horizontally towards Kamijou’s upper body.

But...

Once again...

With a high-pitched noise, the swing of a fist forcibly altered the trajectory of Thor’s arc fusion blades.

Each time Kamijou did so, a tremendous burden had to be put on his right wrist.

“You gave up on the handgun!? But you’ll only be worn down if you continue on the defensive!!”

“...Is that really the case?”

Kamijou gave a peaceful smile as he held back up his creaking right hand.

This time, he truly was smiling.

“Those arc fusion blades follow the movement of your fingers. But is that only a one-way thing? Even in my desperate struggles to block them, I saw what happened. I saw your arm get repelled just like the arc fusion blades did.”

“Damn you...”

“Those blades can slice through anything. They weren’t made to catch on anything. What you’re doing is like taking a metal baseball bat and swinging it at a concrete wall at speeds you can’t control. Receiving these ridiculous attacks is wearing down my wrist, but the same goes for you! Your wrists are at their limits too, aren’t they!?”

His 2000 meter reach held no meaning in this fight.

Both Kamijou and Thor were injured when the attacks were repelled.

In that case...

“Before, you asked me if I really had no reason to pick up the handgun,” said Kamijou as if spitting out the words. “I’ll give you my answer. No, I have no reason. I’m not perfect. Even without a grand reason, I will think about reaching over to pick up a nearby gun if I’m in danger. But that isn’t the case here. Whatever your reasons may have been, you risked your life to save Fräulein Kreutune! There has to be a way to resolve this without anyone killing anyone!!”

“...I see.”

Thor smiled.

He had been smiling ever since the fight began, but this one was somehow different.

“Interesting. You really are interesting. Even if you stand in a position from which you can reach the stars in the night sky, you would show us some different answer. You would follow a different path than the one that led me to Gremlin.”

“Thor?”

“That’s right!! My enemy has to be at least on this level!!”

There was no signal.

Thor casually swung his arc fusion blades toward Kamijou, slicing through the much too vague concept of the “scenery” as he did so. Rather than simply trying to defend, Kamijou kept in mind what would cause the most damage to Thor’s wrist as he used his fist to knock those blades to the side. The blades struck each other and lost a bit of their momentum. Kamijou used that as an opportunity to move forward a bit and slam his right hand into them once more.

An ominous creaking sound came from within Kamijou’s body.

The same had to be coming from Thor’s body as well.

“!!”

Even if things were controlled by subtle tricks on the surface and even if it appeared they were pushing the momentum back and forth with skill and cleverness, it was something else that would decide whether Kamijou or Thor won. As the pain was amplified with each consecutive strike, who would reach their limit first? Whose wrist would give out first? That was what it came down to. Even if one of them had an overwhelming advantage in everything else, they would lose it all if that one point was overturned. That was the essence of this fight.

After 5 or 10 strikes, a truly strange noise came from Kamijou’s right hand.

He did not make it to 20 strikes.

With a decisive cracking noise, all strength suddenly left the five fingers of that hand. The commands he was sending from his head were not reaching the hand, and it simply hung loosely down, ignoring its skeletal structure.

The joint had been dislocated.

“Ha ha.”

Thor’s laughter reverberated throughout the area.

In response to the change in Kamijou’s right wrist, his attacks ended.

“Ha ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.”

The battle was over.

The Imagine Breaker power residing in Kamijou Touma’s right hand would likely still function whether the joint was dislocated or not. But if he received such tremendous impacts on the hand with the joint dislocated, the flesh would be crushed around the wrist and the hand might even eventually come off altogether.

And that was simply from an anatomical point of view. Receiving an impact to that dislocated wrist would also send intense pain running through it. He could easily pass out if he felt that pain repeatedly.

But...

“...You got me,” said Thor.

“Yeah.”

“Damn, and I really thought this would be checkmate. I guess I really can’t see anything else when I have that carrot hanging down before my eyes. But I guess that’s just the kind of spell it is.”

Thor shrugged and spread his hands out like wings.

Those wings were broken.

Or more accurately, Thor’s wrists were.

Thor’s colorful arc fusion blades flickered a few times like a neon tube reaching its lifespan, and then they disappeared as if dissolving into the air.

Kamijou had no idea where Thor’s limit was. It was possible he could emit arc fusion blades from his feet as well.

And so he asked.

“What will you do now?”

“Continue this of course.”

“I thought so.”

With his dislocated right hand still hanging down, Kamijou took a step towards Thor. He slowly but surely walked forward.

“We need to finish this.”

Finally, his walk turned into a run.

And his run turned into a dash.

That spiky-haired boy was not throwing himself into that fight because he had Imagine Breaker. Even if he could not use his right hand, he still had his left hand, right leg, and left leg. So he could still fight. He would end this ridiculous fight Thor had prepared so that Thor’s gunshot wound could be treated. For that reason, Kamijou charged towards the magician.

“...Sorry, Kamijou-chan.”

Suddenly, Thor began muttering something.

But Kamijou had already made it right up to Thor. He was at such close range that any attack would hit.

And so...

“Thor is more than a mere lightning god.”

It was too late.

A dull sound rang out.

Kamijou’s body flew through the air and slammed forcefully into the ground.

Part 4

His mind was hazy. The scenery in his vaguely shaking vision was covered in the orange of evening. It took quite a long time for Kamijou to realize he was collapsed on his back.

“Thor is...”

He heard a voice coming from somewhere.

The voice was coming from somewhere outside the range of Kamijou’s vision.

“...currently known as the #2 in Norse mythology and as the war god that rules over thunder and lightning. But a different view can be seen in the earliest legends. I guess you could say he was involved in agriculture and refining metals. He was the god that helped with the production and manufacturing that supported the culture.”

What had happened to Kamijou?

What had he been hit with in that final moment?

Kamijou desperately tried to gather information, but it did not go well. His head had been completely shaken, so he was unable to even grasp the supporting pillar needed at the base of thoughts.

“But things change based on people’s circumstances. Ruling is a lot easier when the god at the very top is a war god that protects the military rather than a god that protects farmers and manufacturers. Being known as the most distinguished god holds a lot of meaning. So at that point, Thor became a lightning god. Originally, he was in control of all forms of weather, the seasons, and natural disasters, but he became a god who can only boast of his cheap destructive power.”

Only Thor’s words continued.

“Do you understand, Kamijou Touma?”

His words continued calmly.

“To befit the original meaning of the name, I headed down a certain path. If that girl hadn’t taken such ridiculous measures to gain knowledge even if she had to pull out one of her eyes and hang herself, I could have stood at the top of Gremlin.”

Kamijou could not gather his thoughts.

He could not come to any conclusion.

Thor spoke softly to him.

“You defeated Thor as a lightning god...but that was as far as you got. You could not reach the level of the Almighty Thor.”

He had lost.

He had been defeated.

After hearing the words from someone else’s mouth, Kamijou finally grasped the situation he was in.

Even with both his wrists broken and his arc fusion blades unusable, that monster had easily defeated Kamijou. And now he spoke with a light tone.

“But don’t worry too much about what’s to come. I may have made it sound like no one knows what the Magic God Othinus will do with her route to completing the spear destroyed, but it isn’t like I don’t have a guess. Since I’ve won, I’ll take responsibility for winning. ...To be honest, you try too hard. You’re protecting the world too much all on your own. Take this chance to get some rest and let yourself relax.”

Kamijou’s hazy vision turned toward something.

He could not find the boy anywhere in the orange-tinted scene.

“Thor...?” he muttered, but no one responded.

The boy had disappeared at some point.

At that point, Kamijou Touma’s consciousness cut out.