Chapter 155: No Matter Who We Face
Aleister and Reicia laid the unconscious Kakine down where he was and quickly moved on.
At first, Reicia had wanted to carry him with them, but Aleister had firmly opposed the idea: “Carrying an unconscious Dark Matter user while being chased by Shiren is far too dangerous.” It was such a sound objection that she had no choice but to relent.
For now, an ambulance had already been called. All she could do was trust that Kakine would be safe from further harm…
“More importantly, the real problem is how we’re going to break through Shiren’s defense.”
Aleister said this as if pulling himself back into focus.
“Shiren’s right hand isn’t the same as Imagine Breaker. Whether magic or science, their ability responds to the will behind it. As long as my will is involved, even an attack powerful enough to split the continent could be stopped with nothing more than a snap of their fingers. …And the worst part is, it doesn’t simply ‘negate’—it enforces ‘failure.’”
“…If it were only a clean failure, that would be one thing. But the real danger is catastrophic failure—when everything spirals violently out of control, isn’t it?”
“Exactly. Just a moment ago, my spell was forced to fail. The backlash sent the formula into chaos, and several of my organs suffered serious damage.”
“That’s a shockingly steep price to pay…”
“Science would fare no better. Fire a laser from orbit, and the instant it entered Shiren’s range, it would ‘fail.’ If that failure meant the beam turned back on me, that would be the end.”
“Then we have no options at all! …But earlier, you said White-Black Jagged Edge might give us a chance, didn’t you?”
Reicia tilted her head. Aleister nodded, pleased she had caught on.
“Her ability nullifies will through sound. That means it only works within the reach of sound itself. In other words…”
“If I use the Five_Over: White-Black Jagged Edge, I can manipulate airflow to block the sound. …That’s what you mean, isn’t it?”
“Exactly. Well reasoned, White-Black Jagged Edge.”
“…If Shiren and I had joined forces, Result Twister could have been even stronger, couldn’t it?”
Realizing this, Reicia murmured with faint sorrow.
“There’s no point in indulging meaningless ‘what-ifs.’ What matters now is how you can take their hand again.”
Aleister’s words were mercilessly logical. Reicia almost protested, but swallowed the words.
If she truly wanted to live with Shiren again, then she had to solve Shiren’s problem—even if that meant opposing them for a time. That was exactly what Kamijou Touma had done in the ‘correct history.’
If that was the path, then she too would have to walk it—for the sake of the most important person in her world.
“…I understand. To walk beside Shiren once more…”
Reicia declared, her resolve hardening.
“I will defeat Shiren with my own hands.”
Final Chapter: I Don’t Know Anything About Predetermined Harmony - Theory_"was"_Broken.
Chapter 129: Versus Anyone.
──A few hours earlier.
Shiren Blackguard, who had been sobbing uncontrollably, finally calmed down thanks to the gentle mediation of Kuroko Shirai and Mikoto Misaka. She gave a shy, embarrassed smile.
Her eyes were still red and swollen, but the confusion she’d shown just moments ago had faded. Seeing that, both Shirai and Mikoto let out a quiet sigh of relief. Something abnormal was clearly going on, but until they heard it from Shiren herself, nothing could begin.
“I’m… sorry. That must have been a pitiful sight.”
“No, that’s fine… but what do you mean Reicia’s not here?”
“Yes. Um… before I explain, please don’t be too shocked by what I’m about to say.”
With that preface, Shiren spoke firmly.
“Reicia’s soul has slipped out of me. …That’s the situation, in simple terms.”
Mikoto and Shirai reacted in completely opposite ways.
“H-huh…?”
“…What did you just say?”
Shirai tilted her head, baffled, as if the words simply wouldn’t register.
Mikoto, however, furrowed her brows, instantly grasping just how serious this was.
It was a clear display of the difference in their experience—the depth of science each had immersed themselves in, and how well they understood the strange circumstances surrounding the girl named Reicia Blackguard.
Mikoto, in particular, had witnessed more than enough cases where Reicia’s duplicate personality couldn’t be explained by science alone. She’d even experienced the Dream Ranker incident firsthand, where ‘soul separation’ had been demonstrated scientifically. That made it easier for her to accept this as a possibility.
“…So this is like that night with Kihara Gensei… is that what you’re saying?”
“I don’t know. But there’s no way Reicia could’ve done this to herself—neither through technology nor intention. We’re two people in one. The only possibility is that someone forcibly tore her away.”
Even as she spoke, Shiren was narrowing down the cause.
On the science side, it was impossible. Kihara Amata and Kihara Gensei—the only ones who might’ve been capable of such a thing—were no longer in play. And even if they had been, scientifically controlling a soul would demand massive, specialized machinery.
As for the magic side, it was just as implausible. Reicia was well known enough to have been monitored by the Roman Catholic Church. If such a thing had been possible, someone would have acted long ago. Not even Gremlin under Othinus, nor the level of God’s Right Seat, had the means to interfere with something like this.
And if organizations of that scale couldn’t manage it, then it was safe to assume no individual magician could either.
That left only two possibilities: the world’s worst magician, Aleister Crowley, or one of the Magic Gods.
(…So, either the provisional final boss, someone who can scrap and rebuild the world at will… or some unknown powerhouse from an ‘unread’ domain I haven’t even seen yet.)
The thought alone made her want to clutch her head.
Every option was a monster she couldn’t hope to confront right now. One thing was certain: Shiren herself could do nothing.
“Th-that’s… is that even possible? A personality’s just a matter of neural circuits, right? For it to separate from the body like that…”
“It is possible. I’ve seen someone like that before. Using differences in fluid density to represent values finer than 0 and 1—a density computer, wasn’t it? There was this outrageous researcher who used that to transfer their consciousness into liquid. Astral projection can be scientifically proven.”
“And even among espers, there are those in Shokuhou’s faction who can separate their AIM diffusion fields from their bodies and control them remotely.”
“…………”
Shirai was still half-doubting, but with two concrete examples laid out in front of her, she could no longer dismiss it as impossible.
A split personality vanishing after separating from the body—she had no choice but to build her thoughts on that premise.
“…Even if we assume that’s true, Judgement won’t be able to act. It’s hard enough just to scientifically prove that one half of a split personality is missing…”
“Yes, I understand that.”
Shiren answered Shirai’s frown smoothly. From the start, she hadn’t planned on relying on any official organization. Whether Aleister, a Magic God, or some unknown powerhouse, this wasn’t the kind of enemy a public peacekeeping group could face. If anything, involving them could become a liability.
“I’ll handle this independently—”
“Please don’t misunderstand me.”
Shirai cut her off, clearly displeased by Shiren’s tone. She wanted to make it clear that the justice of this city wasn’t so cold.
“I’m only saying that, as an official organization, we can’t act openly. I’m not saying we can’t do anything at all. It’ll cost me a few written reprimands, but that doesn’t matter when a classmate is in danger.”
She delivered the words in one breath, as if offended she even had to explain.
“That said, our options are limited. For example, we could run bank verifications or search for eyewitness reports. But even that’s better than you wandering around alone, don’t you think?”
“…Yes. You’re absolutely right. I’m grateful, Shirai-san.”
Shiren bowed her head. Shirai nodded back, satisfied. Then, glancing at Mikoto sitting beside them, she continued.
“What about you, Onee-sama? Normally I’d say, ‘leave it to me, since you’re a civilian,’ but…”
“Kidding? You’re already talking about actions that’ll earn you a reprimand. Then let me help however I want, too.”
“I thought so… This time I really don’t have any excuse to stop Onee-sama’s involvement, and that’s frustrating.”
Shirai put a hand to her forehead with a weary sigh, but didn’t argue any further.
“Well then. Who knows what’ll come out of this—demons, snakes. Either way, judging from past experience, it’ll be some kind of monster.”
“I’d prefer it that way. They stole what’s most precious to me in this world. If they weren’t at least a formidable enemy, it would be anticlimactic.”
At any rate, Shiren’s course was set.
She would get Reicia back. For that—
(…Even if it’s God’s own miracles, I’ll overcome them.)
No matter who stood in her way, Shiren swore she would never stop.
No matter who it was.
Comments (2)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.