Chapter 175: From Indigo Emerges the Iridescent
"This is bad—things are escalating."
The voice came through a dragonfly-shaped micro-robot. It was Baba’s voice.
"What’s the matter, Mr. Baba?"
At the sound of Reicia’s question, Kamijou, Misaka, and Shokuhou all turned toward the hovering device.
T:DF Type—Dragonfly. A small communication unit capable of staying airborne. Baba was currently operating dozens of these identical drones across the city to monitor the unfolding battle.
"The intel’s from the unit tracking Index. That Oriana woman’s interference made tailing her a real pain, but..."
He grumbled under his breath before continuing.
"The Book of Kihara just showed up near Index. Looks like she got backup in the nick of time—some magician allies, apparently—and they’ve already engaged in combat."
"That’s terrible!! Mr. Baba, connect us to that unit immediately!!"
──The Book of Kihara inherits all forms of technology and knowledge.
The fact that Stiyl and Kanzaki—who had been separately contacted for aid—managed to arrive in time was good news for Shiren. But if their magic were to be absorbed by the Book, it would become an even more unstoppable monster.
To defeat it, they’d need a power that couldn’t be copied through inheritance—something like an esper ability from the science side.
"Tch... you people are demanding, you know that!? Alright, I’ve linked the feed, Shiren!"
"Stiyl, Kanzaki, can you hear me!? That ‘Original Text’—its power lies in the inheritance of knowledge! If you use magic, it’ll instantly copy your techniques! Don’t let it see your spells! Don’t fight—"
A deafening crash!! cut her off mid-sentence.
"…Damn it. The drone we sent there just got destroyed. We’ve lost visual on the situation."
"Baba, give me the coordinates. We’re heading there. If it’s the Book of Kihara, the science side has a better shot at dealing with it, right!?"
"No need for that," Baba replied.
At that very moment—
A white-and-black figure descended gracefully from the sky, her uniform fluttering like a lab coat with wings.
"Ugh… that was so scary… Ah, h-hey!"
"—Sorry to keep you waiting, Shiren. Leave the transport to the battlefield to me."
Kuriba Ryouko—or rather, her Doppelgänger.
Above her head hovered a “flying ship,” woven entirely from pure white threads.
"……I guess you could say this is a ship that came at just the right time?"
"Was that supposed to be clever?"
A brief scuffle followed between the two, though it ended quickly—thanks to an unexpected malfunction caused by something known as a “Result Twister,” or so the story goes.
Final Chapter: I Don’t Know Anything About Predestination - Theory “was” Broken.
Chapter 146: From Indigo Emerges the Iridescent - Bluer Than Indigo.
──At the same time, on a road somewhere in District 7.
"…They gone?"
"Yes. It seems Index and the others have withdrawn from the combat zone. Now we can fight without holding back."
"Yeah. Still—"
Stiyl and Kanzaki exchanged words, their gazes fixed on the man standing before them.
The Original Text.
The Inheritance.
Even through Shiren’s fragmented transmission, it was clear that the existence before them wasn’t something they could handle easily.
"I’ve never even heard of an Original Text taking human form before."
"Oh yeah? From where I was standing, that brat earlier didn’t look all that different to me."
"…Watch. Your. Mouth. You. Pile. Of. Paper."
Killing intent flared from Stiyl like a sudden spark. Kanzaki, standing beside him, rested a hand on the nearly two-meter-long sword at her waist—steadying both it and him.
"Stiyl, don’t take the bait. You heard the transmission earlier, didn’t you? It mimics spells. Until we find its weakness, we should avoid using magic as much as possible and buy time."
"You’re too soft, Kanzaki. Why should we be the ones dancing to its tune?"
The next moment, the outlines of Stiyl and Kanzaki blurred—like drops of paint dissolving into water.
A transparent veil spread between them and the Book of Kihara. The world itself seemed to twist and vanish. From within that warped scenery, Stiyl’s voice echoed:
"It probably just observes and copies what it sees. But if that’s all it can do, it won’t be enough to break through our craft."
A powerful whoosh!! followed as the transparent veil—or rather, the mirage-distorted space—expanded at accelerating speed.
"Oh, look at that… Didn’t think you could pull that off. A fire-user projecting a mirage that big would normally roast himself alive."
"That’s the difference between esper powers and magic. Consider it a free lesson."
Stiyl’s voice rang out from the void—
—and with a fwoooosh!!, molten, red-hot asphalt rained down upon the Book of Kihara.
"Whoa!? This is… the trace of magic, huh!?"
Almost immediately, the Book’s right arm began to writhe, swirling with four-colored marbled light. A metallic clack—like gears locking into place—echoed as a silver staff materialized in its left hand.
──Sparks burst through the air, each flickering with a pattern resembling floating numerals.
The molten asphalt—the residue of Stiyl’s flame magic—was scattered effortlessly.
"Tch. As expected, that barely scratched it. Still, looks like it made him stop moving for a second."
Within the shimmering mirage field, Stiyl muttered to himself. Though invisible to the Book of Kihara, he could still clearly perceive its form within the warped domain.
This mirage wasn’t a mere optical trick caused by heat distortion—it was a spell that created a mirage.
Because of that, it didn’t obey the laws of physics and could be imbued with special conditions, such as “rendering the user invisible to the enemy while remaining visible to allies.”
In other words—
(Since I can’t show my magic directly, I’m limited to small-scale attacks like that. But you wouldn’t know, would you? That over here, we’ve got a monster who can wipe out an entire magical organization barehanded—without even using a single spell.)
"If we’ve brought the fight to this state, then victory’s on our side!!"
──The Book of Kihara was now under invisible, supersonic assault.
A harsh clang-clang-clang!! rang out as blades clashed in rapid succession—it was likely Kanzaki’s sword biting into the Book’s body. As expected of an “Original Text,” its defense wasn’t as simple as it looked—but even that stalemate wouldn’t last forever.
(It first saw Innocentius—the Witch-Hunting King—and yet didn’t attempt to replicate it. That means it doesn’t just ‘recreate observed phenomena using available resources,’ but actually learns and internalizes the techniques it experiences firsthand. If that’s the case, then as long as I don’t reveal my runes, there’s no problem. Visual deception alone will suffice.)
It was easy to forget, but Stiyl Magnus was an agent of Necessarius—the Church of Necessary Evil—and a first-rate magician in his own right.
A battle between magicians wasn’t merely a clash of destructive forces—it was a contest of intellect and experience. Reading your opponent’s habits, background, and structure through the faintest cues was an essential skill.
(And that probably applies to the physical prowess of Saints as well. Unless it understands the principles behind a Saint’s power, it won’t be able to mimic—or rather, inherit—it.)
Even when facing unknown powers or uncharted territory, a magician who couldn’t reach an answer through logic and accumulated knowledge would’ve died long ago. Stiyl, of course, was not one of those.
(So then, if all I have to do is keep the runes hidden—)
Gurgle, gurgle—
Like bubbling oil, fire and heavy fuel gathered before Stiyl’s eyes, taking shape into a giant.
It stood two meters tall, its body resembling molten rock sculpted into human form. In its hand, it held a blazing cross.
"Pierce him!! King of Witch Hunters—Innocentius!!!!"
With a fierce motion, Stiyl hurled the fiery cross straight toward the Book of Kihara.
Already struggling to endure Kanzaki’s relentless assault, the Book barely noticed the flying cross at the last second. He twisted his body to evade—
"…And why would you assume that cross is actually where you see it?"
By the time he moved, the fiery cross was already buried deep in the Book’s torso.
A mirage.
Magic capable of completely erasing its presence—or subtly shifting its image just enough to throw off perception, even through sound—disrupting the enemy’s ability to react.
"GuaaAAaaaaAAaaAAAhhh!?"
"Checkmate, paper bundle. Sure, your ‘Original Text’ can’t be destroyed by this magic—but that just means there are countless other ways to take you down!!"
The fiery cross embedded in the Book began to unravel, transforming into countless tendrils of flame that coiled around his body like restraints—
"—Yeah, no. I see now. So that’s how you’ve been distorting the scenery, huh."
Just as his entire body was engulfed in fire, Stiyl met the Book’s gaze.
It happened in the very next instant.
CRACKLE—!!! Sparks exploded around the Book, accompanied by countless glowing numerals bursting outward like arcs of lightning. Along with them, numerous phantoms of rune cards scattered through the air.
"What…!?"
"Hey, did you forget already? I’m the ‘Original Text.’ As a basic function, I’m equipped to detect and draw power from ley lines and the surrounding field. Did you really think the scraps of paper you spread out to form your formation wouldn’t disturb those ley lines at all?"
—The Original Text’s detection ability.
Using it, the Book of Kihara had reverse-engineered the ley line interference to locate the rune cards’ positions—without relying on normal senses.
And once he became aware of their existence, the Original Text “Book of Kihara” could, without question, inherit that technique.
In other words—
"I. Can. See. You. Bratty. Little. Punks."
"!!"
CRACK!! With a sound like shattering glass, the fiery bindings were blown apart.
Even so, Stiyl and Kanzaki’s coordination wasn’t so weak as to falter from a single disruption. The instant the restraints broke, Kanzaki’s steel wires shot forward, tracing out a new formation to continue the bind.
Even hurried, her speed reached that of sound itself. No ordinary human should have been able to react in time.
…No one, that is—
"Didn’t I just tell you? I can see it. You really don’t listen, huh."
—Within that blink-of-an-eye world that transcended sound, the Book of Kihara moved.
"────!?"
"You thought a Saint couldn’t be inherited, did you?"
CLANG!! With a resounding impact, the Book’s right arm stopped Kanzaki’s Seven Flashes dead in their tracks.
(This man… he’s already acquired knowledge about Saints…!)
In that supersonic moment, the Book spoke.
"My original source—the one I inherited from—is the self-aware Original Text that Oriana Thomson, the modern Western magician, accidentally created. Naturally, it comes preloaded with data on things like Telesma, the power of angels, and Saints. And really, the so-called ‘Telesma’—the divine energy Saints possess—is nothing more than a physical trait that allows it to dwell within. Adjust the flow of power drawn from the ley lines, and reproducing that becomes child’s play. Don’t you think you’ve been resting a little too easy on your blessed position, genius?"
A thunderous impact echoed—like a cannon shell being fired.
The shockwave was so powerful it blew away even the heat lingering from the mirage spell. Kanzaki was hurled backward, sliding across the ground with tremendous force.
"……!!!"
Of course, understanding the principle behind a Saint’s ability to harbor the angelic power known as Telesma didn’t mean one could easily reproduce it.
Saints could contain that power only because they were born with physical traits resembling those of the “Son of God.” To imitate a Saint, one would need a complete understanding of the divine biological structure—a level of anatomical insight no ordinary magician could acquire in an instant.
But this “Original Text” was different.
As the creation of Kihara Kazuta, it carried within it the accumulated knowledge of human evolution itself. Alongside its forbidden logic, it possessed an understanding of the world’s natural laws—grotesquely warped, yet undeniably vast.
And with that distorted knowledge, it could calculate and replicate even one of the deepest secrets of the magic side: the concept of a “Saint.”
"Kaori!"
"I'm fine!! …However, this has become quite the problem."
Though sent flying, Kanzaki was already back on her feet, twin blades of the Seven Heavens Seven Swords raised in a ready stance. Her footing was steady, her resolve unshaken.
Yet across her cheek ran a vivid red mark—the trace of a powerful blow. Wiping the corner of her mouth with her fist, Kanzaki exhaled sharply, sweat glistening on her skin as she muttered in a low, tense voice:
"…It seems we must accept it. The world’s first ‘Saint’ born from an Original Text."
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