Chapter 7: The Witch-Hunting King

“W-Whoaaa!?!?”

To skip the preamble—

Kamijou had attempted a desperate jump from the second floor of an apartment building to escape the towering giant composed of fire and heavy oil—The Witch-Hunting King, Innocentius.

A leap from a second-story window isn’t exactly enough to guarantee injury, but it’s not something you’d casually try either. Only someone like Kamijou, who had survived more than a few deadly situations, would choose such a move.

However… Kamijou is unlucky.

He landed—right into the bicycle parking area.

“Hiiih—WaaaAAAAAaaaaaahhhhh!?”

Trying his best to balance and wedge himself between two bikes, Kamijou, a man cursed by misfortune itself, was never going to stick that landing. Though he managed to land on one of the seats, it launched him right out into the street in front of the apartment.

“…!!”

But even that didn’t stop his momentum.

He reflexively tried to break his fall with his arms, but his trajectory was clearly headed straight for the roadway.

“Ki-yaaAAAA!?”

A shrill scream—probably a girl’s—echoed through the air.

In that instant, Kamijou collided with someone mid-air, killing his forward momentum.

As a result, Kamijou ended up pinning the girl to the ground. That’s when he became keenly aware—his face was buried in something soft.

…Then, the realization hit him.

This softness… it’s a woman’s chest.

“…U-Um. Could I ask… what exactly you think you’re doing…?”

---

Chapter 1: I Don’t Know What Predetermined Harmony Is
Theory_is_broken.

Episode 5: The Witch-Hunting King
Magician.

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The experiment confirmed it—Black-and-White Sawblade: Jagged Edge had gained the ability to affect fluids.

The underlying mechanism—well, that would take a while to explain, so to keep it simple: the ability’s interference strength (?) had increased, allowing it to now affect even smaller molecules.

Apparently, as long as the ability was active, even fluids couldn’t pass into the “fracture” zone. Supposedly, this is because a force field exists within the fracture that “separates two physical bodies.” According to Semeumi-san: “If we develop it further, it might even be usable for airflow manipulation.”

So yeah—turns out that strengthening an ability can greatly increase its versatility. Watching Semeumi-san and the others squeal, “We might actually hit Level 5!” with innocent glee honestly made me want to help them more.

…Still, spending the entire afternoon up until the final bell on experiments was exhausting.

I got a ride back to District 7 in a lab vehicle, but told them to let me off early so I could get familiar with the area. I wandered the city for a bit on my way home.

It was already too late to make curfew.

I’d already messaged the dorm supervisor to let her know the experiments ran long, so I figured I might as well enjoy the twilight atmosphere of the city.

And while I was strolling through this mostly-empty student district—

“Hiiih—WaaaAAAAAaaaaaahhhhh!?”

A completely pathetic scream echoed from nearby, and I reflexively stopped walking.

It looked like I was near some student apartments. There was a bike lot right next to them. What was—

“…!!”

I was just about to scope the area out more carefully when—

A boy suddenly came flying right at me.

There wasn’t even time to brace.

I was slammed hard to the ground and barely managed to get an arm out to cushion the fall.

…Ouch…

Pretty sure I slammed my elbow, and on top of that, I took a direct hit to the chest. If I didn’t have boobs, my ribs probably would’ve cracked. That was… seriously dangerous.

Damn it, and I’m pretty sure I let out a deep, masculine “GUWAHH!?” scream from the shock. While looking like Reicia-chan, no less. What a disgrace…

I finally shook off my confusion, but the guy who crashed into me didn’t seem to be doing so well. Judging by his build, he was probably older than Reicia-chan… Did he see the Tokiwadai uniform and jump at me? Crap. I shouldn’t have been wandering around at this hour in this body.

No matter how much I keep telling myself that this is Reicia-chan’s body and I am a guy on the inside, there are still pervs out there who will get excited just from the appearance…

But seriously, what the hell is this guy—

Nngh.

…Wait. No. No way. Did this guy just—grope my chest!?

He jumps out of a bike lot, crashes into a girl, and then has the nerve to grope her boobs like it’s nothing—what kind of acrobatic pervert are we dealing with here? Still lying beneath him, I grabbed him by the collar and, maintaining the dignity of a proper young lady, said:

“…Um. Could I ask… what exactly you think you’re doing…?”

…………

And then, I had to cut myself off mid-sentence.

Why?

Because I recognized the boy in front of me instantly.

“S-SORRY!!”

The spiky-haired boy—also known as the flying pervert boob-groper—Kamijou Touma, shook himself free from my grip and immediately dove into a full-on dogeza.

No way… I can't believe I was the one who got lucky-perved by Kamijou… And now, for the first time, I really feel it. That I’m a girl now. Up until this point, I’d been thinking more like I was just “borrowing Reicia-chan’s body,” but now—

Yeah. It’s true that I’m borrowing Reicia-chan’s body, but without her consciousness present, this body is also mine… right?

………………………………
When you think about it calmly, realizing you’re a girl because the protagonist of the story accidentally groped you is… kinda hilarious, isn’t it?

“L-Look, it wasn’t on purpose!! That uniform—are you from Tokiwadai!? I’ll explain or apologize later, just please get out of here! If you need proof, just ask that self-proclaimed Level 5 ‘Biribiri’—she’ll vouch for me!”

Kamijou was rattling all of that off at me in one frantic breath.

…Huh? Wait a minute—could it be Kamijou doesn’t realize it’s me? …Well, that makes sense. Ever since that day, I’ve run into Kamijou several times whenever I went shopping, but I always made sure not to stand out—T-shirt, jeans, ponytail, and fake glasses.

Right now, though, I’m wearing the Tokiwadai uniform and a pair of black-and-white dress gloves. My hair’s styled normally too. Of course he wouldn’t recognize me at first glance…

"Kamijou-san. It’s me… Um, it’s me. Reicia."

Saying that, I pulled out the fake glasses I kept stashed in my pocket just in case and put them on. …They were cracked from the earlier impact, but when I tied my hair back into a ponytail with my other hand, Kamijou finally seemed to make the connection.

“Huh…? R-Reicia? Why are you dressed like that? Is this cosplay?”

“What do you mean ‘why’—this is the normal version. Everything up to now was cosplay.”

I said it like a joke, and Kamijou just stood there dumbfounded.

…And now, about that thing he said earlier—“Run.”

"…Looks like you're caught up in something pretty troublesome, huh!"

As I said that, I opened a fracture in midair.

The next moment, a railing—freshly severed—came flying from Kamijou’s apartment like a thrown spear.

“Wha—!?”

However, it stopped right before it could pierce Kamijou’s head.

The evolved Black-and-White Sawblade: Jagged Edge could now affect fluids as well.

And any fracture created within a fluid would remain active for as long as the ability was maintained. That’s the kind of “force” we’re talking about here.

In other words, a force field that separates two physical objects is generated within it.

Used creatively, it could act as a transparent wall capable of deflecting most things. Well… for now, it can barely block firearms.

“…Now then. You told me to ‘run’ just now, but—Kamijou-san. I’ll have you know, I’m surprisingly competent.”

Now that my identity was out, there’s no telling how far the information might spread. So as much as I’d like to cling to it, it’s time to retire the honorific speech. I’ll stick with the refined, noble tone of a proper lady instead.

As for whoever threw that molten railing just now… well, I don’t even have to check. The timing, the power—it all adds up to one conclusion: The Witch-Hunting King, Innocentius.

Now I remember.

That’s right—I’d forgotten. This world is the world of A Certain Magical Index. That means the incidents that were written about in the novels also actually happen here.

It’s not just that the characters are wandering around—I’m not just bumping into them in my everyday life—these extraordinary events are real, and sometimes, they appear right in front of you like this.

I was so caught up in my own situation that I forgot.

I’d forgotten to notice when someone else was in danger.

………………………………………………………

I guess I’m going.

Of course, Kamijou’s going to activate the sprinkler system, douse the runes, and take care of it. He doesn’t need me. I know that.

If I butt in recklessly, I might end up putting Reicia-chan’s body in danger. I’m only borrowing this body—I don’t have the right to put it at risk on a whim. I know that too.

And yeah… I’m aware I’m being stupid.

But at the same time… I also knew how this incident would end—its truth, its outcome, and the sacrifices it would demand.

Fights that never needed to happen would erupt, Stiyl and Kanzaki would be hurt, and in the end, Kamijou would lose his memories.

That easygoing, selfless comrade of mine.

……

Even though I might be able to change that ending if I just went with the boy standing in front of me right now, I was about to ignore it all—run off to safety on my own…

And be okay with that?

If I helped Kamijou here—if by some miracle I could preserve his memory—then the events of the main story would continue with him retaining his knowledge of Imagine Breaker and the “thing inside it.” That could twist the future, maybe even lead to something worse.

In that sense, what I was about to do could be seen as meddling with a future that was, at the very least, guaranteed to reach a minimum level of success.

——But if I let that “maybe it’ll mess things up” fear stop me from helping someone right in front of me—
Then no matter what I tried to say to Reicia-chan later… it’d all be hypocrisy.

Right now, I’m the one moving Reicia-chan’s body, but it’s her body.

Every decision I make matters. There’s no room for excuses or denial.

So, really, there’s only one answer I can give.

I silently apologize to Reicia-chan in my heart.

No matter what happens, I swear—I’ll return this body to her safely.

…So just this once—please, let me use it for my own selfishness.

“Reicia… what’s that…?”

“…………Level 4 Ability: Black-and-White Sawblade – Jagged Edge. It may fall short compared to Railgun, the Electromaster, or Mental Out, the psychological manipulator… but that doesn’t mean I’m some third-rate nobody who’ll fall behind a bunch of weaklings.”

In that instant, even as I maintained the Fracture Shield I had generated, I launched another extension of the fracture through the air.

It shot forward in a straight line, targeting the burning giant of fire and heavy oil standing in the second-floor hallway of the apartment—and sliced it into pieces.

But The Witch-Hunting King, Innocentius, immediately repaired itself and returned to its original form.

“No good, Reicia! Just destroying that thing won’t get us anywhere! It’s got self-repair! I know it’s hard to believe, but you have to destroy all the runes scattered around the building or we’ll never stop it!”

“…Runes? Is this some kind of self-hypnosis-based psychic?”

I muttered vaguely. …Somehow, I feel like a lot of people interpret magic that way.
And then, I sliced at the giant again.

“I’m telling you, it’s pointless—!”

“No. It isn’t pointless.”

I spoke while maintaining my ability.

It was true—I couldn’t kill The Witch-Hunting King, Innocentius. At least, not with my own power. Think of it like a projected image from a film reel. You can distort the shape of the picture by attacking it, but you can’t erase the source.

But at the same time, it was also true that damaging it caused a lag before it could repair itself.

If I kept slicing it apart the moment it regenerated—

Then that would bring about a result close enough to death.

“…Go, Kamijou-san! I’ll pin down that big brute!”

“…! I owe you one!”

As I watched Kamijou run off, I began to think.

…Now what should I do from here…?