Chapter 83: Angel VS Angel

《Wait… wait, wait, wait, hold on a second… what the hell is happening to me right now…!?》

《Shiren? Is something wrong? …Well, I can sort of tell it’s something really bad, though.》

《…“Bad” might not even begin to cover it.》

White, blue, silver… I don’t even know what color it is. I can’t put it into words. But for some reason, the phrase “pale platinum glow” just popped into my head. Why? Why would I think of something like that? It feels like the expression was prepared from the start, just waiting for this moment.

…No, wait. It was prepared from the start.

That’s right… why the hell did I forget? How could I have forgotten this!?

《………Gu…ard…ian…An…gel…Aiwass………?》

That was the exact description used when “that thing” appeared in the novel! The one time it showed up, the author called it exactly that!

《…Huh!? Shiren, wait just a second. Did you just say Aiwass!? You mean that Aiwass!? Aleister’s secret weapon!? Even back in the “New Testament” era, it was an unfathomable existence!》

《But… but that glow… I can’t see it as anything else…》

I don’t know why I think that. I just… know it. It’s this strange, absolute certainty inside me: nothing else fits that dangerous radiance but Aiwass.

“…I had planned to reach into that ‘Dragon’ lurking deep inside Kazakiri to begin with… but now… oh-ho, this changes things, doesn’t it? So that’s it… it looks like this is what Aleister was after all along, hmm?”

And there it was.

For the first time, the ever-fixed, pasted-on smile faded from Kihara Gensei’s face, replaced by something new — true delight.

“Fuha… look at this… kukuku… are you watching, Aleister Crowley!? The thing you longed for… schemed endlessly for… turned the entire world against you for… and pursued with everything you had… It looks like it’s sitting right here, in my hands now, doesn’t it!? Can you even imagine something this entertaining!?”

《…Judging from his reaction, I’d say we’re not mistaken. And he even mentioned the “Dragon”…》

…Either way, there’s no way we can handle something like this on our own.

With that thought, I sprinted at full speed toward Kamijou-san’s position. Honestly, even with his Imagine Breaker, I wasn’t sure if he could do anything against this… but if we combine it with Sogiita-san’s power and our abilities, maybe… maybe there’s still a chance.

“Reisia! Misaka just stopped moving all of a sudden!”

The moment I joined up, Kamijou-san rushed over to us. His gaze was fixed on Mikoto-san, who was standing there, completely still. Something was crackling and gathering on the right side of her face, reshaping her back into that warped, monstrous form again… Kamijou-san was probably trying to dispel it while she was immobilized.

From the looks of it, though, it was more like “I can erase it, but it just regenerates immediately, so it’s pointless.” If that’s the case… this is going to be a nightmare.

“Kazakiri-san’s in the same state. It’s probably because of Gensei-san… but I think it’s temporary. We need to act while we still can…”

“Oi! You’re that Reisia chick, right?”

With a thud like a superhero landing, Sogiita-san finally arrived on the scene. As energetic as ever… Well, to be fair, we’d only seen him during the opening ceremony before this, but still. Honestly, it’s kind of amazing he even bothered to show up to that ceremony in the first place.

“Kamijou gave me a quick rundown. Sounds like you’ve got guts, huh? Can’t say the same for the guy hiding behind you, though… but hey, watching our guts in action should set him straight.”

“…Kamijou-san?”

I feel like I’m not making the best first impression here…

“I-I did say you were a good guy, though…!”

“Well, whatever. We’ll see what you’ve got in actual combat. Heads up — it’s coming!”

The instant Sogiita-san readied himself… BOOOOM!!! That mysterious power radiating from Gensei erupted with overwhelming force.

A massive burst of glowing energy shaped like a giant hand came surging straight toward us, trying to sweep us away.

“Like hell I’m letting you!!”

Kamijou-san stepped forward to intercept it.

GOGGGGYYYYYIIIIINNNN!!!! A tremendous impact rang out.

Even colliding directly with Imagine Breaker, the platinum glow didn’t vanish. If anything, Kamijou-san was slowly being pushed backward, his feet scraping against the ground, his upper body bending under the sheer force pressing down on him.

“…Kamijou-san!!”

Seeing things going south fast, I immediately used my wind-manipulation-derived sonic telekinesis to reinforce him. Like my storm ability, this counts as a “byproduct” of esper power, so it wouldn’t get negated near Kamijou-san’s right hand. But…

《…Damn it, still not enough output!!》

《And since Kamijou’s in the middle of it, we have to hold back the force, or we’ll hurt him…》

《Right. Sogiita-san gets it too — he’s been carefully adjusting his own attacks so they don’t get canceled out by Kamijou-san’s right hand or accidentally hit his body.》

“Under Fourth, Another Four! That’s it!! Use that as a shield for Spiky-Hair!”

Then, Baba-san’s voice cut through the chaos.

…O-oh, of course!! If Sogiita-san’s avoiding Kamijou-san and Imagine Breaker, then we can just set up a barrier of our soundwaves between them instead! That way, there’s no risk of cancellation!

“Understood, Baba-san!”

Vrrrmm… A defensive barrier of sound waves spread out around Kamijou-san.

Normally, something like this could easily shred the human body to pieces… but unfortunately for the enemy, this was being controlled by a Level 5 esper. Keeping it tuned so it wouldn’t harm a human body was well within their ability.

『Uwah!? …Was that Reicia and Shiren!?』

As a drawback, voices were also blocked by the sound waves, but with our esper perception we could tell what was going on. Communication wasn’t an issue.

"Kamijou-san. We’ve deployed a barrier with our abilities. Please hold out a little longer!"

On top of that, this barrier was also supporting Kamijou-san’s posture. He should be able to withstand it a little longer. All that’s left is—

"Sogiita-san!! Put everything you’ve got into it!!"

"Yeah! Leave it to me!!"

Whoosh.

There was the strange sensation of air being sucked away.

No, that was just an illusion. It wasn’t like Sogiita-san was manipulating air. And yet… there was this bizarre feeling, as though some kind of substance—something that filled the world just like air—was being drawn into him.

"Super────Ultra Hyper Miracle Gigantic Admiral──"

A radiance.

It was a "black radiance." An overwhelming light that swallowed even light itself. This was… "powerful gravity"?

…No, if it were gravity, then we should be getting pulled in too. Not to mention the air should be dragged along as well. …No, seriously, what the hell is this…?

"────Gravitical Incredible Paaaaaaaaanchhhhh!!!!"

DOVAOHHH!!!!

The black radiance clashed against the brilliance unleashed by Gensei, twisting its trajectory and detonating midair.

The resulting blast sent the platinum light hurtling into the sky, where it burned and melted the side of some building before vanishing. …Yikes.

…Wait a second.

《That’s strange》

We had somehow managed to hold out, but something felt off to me.

《Aiwass’s attacks… are they really something you can just barely survive like this?》

This is that Aiwass, remember? The very existence that Accelerator-san, who could wield black wings, struggled against with every ounce of his strength—and even then, only barely managed to strike back with his transformation ability or whatever it was.

And yet, that being is "matching" a single right hand at this point in time?

If Aiwass were really using its power as-is, no matter how conservatively estimated, each strike should at least be on par with an angel’s blow. …Putting aside Sogiita-san, who honestly makes no sense whatsoever, Imagine Breaker shouldn’t be able to hold its ground even temporarily.

And yet in reality, we even had the time to pull off little tricks here and there. …Power-wise, it felt more like Index’s Dragon Breath, right on the edge of what Kamijou could manage to negate.

When you’re up against it, the pressure makes it hard to believe otherwise… but the facts make it clear: this is a far weaker imitation of the original.

Is it because it hasn’t taken Aiwass’s full form?

Or maybe it just doesn’t have the total volume of power?

Either way… this enemy isn’t the real Aiwass.

While releasing the soundwave barrier I’d placed around Kamijou-san (which took a fair bit of concentration, by the way),

"I can tell. This isn’t an opponent we can’t beat. If it’s us, then—"

It was in that very next moment.

Chapter 2 – I Won’t Choose Between Two Options – PHASE-NEXT.
Episode 69: Angel VS Angel – White_Wing.

──It happened in an instant.

The moment I found a shred of hope and heard those words—right after that. Just for a split second, I let my attention slip toward the statement. A gap so brief it could barely be called an opening in my resolve—

"Hyoh."

ZUGA!!!! Gensei-san’s demonic arm shot forward.

Completely outside my awareness. Struck right where I wasn’t looking, we hesitated for just an instant—

《We’re escaping at full speed!! From our position, we can still avoid this!》

《No, we can’t!! Kamijou-san won’t be able to dodge! With his stance, he can’t brace himself! He’ll take the hit head-on!!》

《You… tsk! What a hopeless do-gooder you are!!》

We abandoned any thought of dodging and instead attempted to defend ourselves with the "fracture"—the technique we’d just mastered that could sever even AIM fields.

We gathered our calculations, prepared to swing it at sufficient speed to make it in time—

"Yo. Got some nerve pullin’ that crap, huh?"

GOGGGHHHH!!!! The platinum brilliance was swept aside.

…No, not exactly swept aside. Its trajectory had just been nudged, slightly shifted. That alone was enough to protect us… but honestly, this guy probably didn’t even intend to protect us.

"If that’s how you wanna play it, I’ll crush you for real. You good with that?"

Kakine Teitoku.

…Somehow, despite being on his knees moments ago, he seemed to have recovered enough to stand.

Well, I doubt his injuries were actually healed, but similar to Accelerator-san, who could speed up his body’s recovery through vector control, he probably had some way to force himself back into the fight.

"Bring it on, you little ‘Spare Plan’ wannabe."

"…Sounds to me like you’re beggin’ to get smashed into the pavement."

"Second-ranked guy!"

Trying to keep the increasingly agitated Kakine-san grounded, I called out to him.

Since he hadn’t told me his name yet, I had no choice but to refer to him by his ranking. Despite his irritated scowl, he still had enough composure to respond to me.

"Another Fourth Rank, huh. So, what, you volunteering to be one of my pawns too?"

"If that’s what it takes, I don’t mind."

Yeah, yeah, I get it. That’s how these dark side types are—always throwing jabs and sarcastic quips, even in the middle of chaos. Been working with Baba-san for a while now, so I’m used to the vibe.

"……"

"We’re short on manpower. We can’t suppress Gensei-san with just us. Please lend us your strength!"

"…Could you maybe think about the difference in level here for a sec?"

"Huh?"

…What’s he talking about?

"Tch. You’re throwing me off, damn it… whatever. Just make sure you’re worth the trouble, got it?"

Apparently having convinced himself, Kakine-san swung his wings wide.

Three pairs of wings scattered countless feathers, creating vicious wind currents that launched toward Gensei-san from all directions.

Each feather, despite the overcast sky, shone with a rainbow brilliance, illuminating the battlefield. I could only guess how insanely destructive they were, but…

Rather than fear or relief, what I felt most in that moment was awe.

"…It’s beautiful."

Reicia-chan seemed to feel the same way.

No, seriously, this sight didn’t even seem of this world. The fact that this could be artificially created through Ability Research alone… yeah, that’s plenty to justify his status as the Number Two.

"…A visual the kids’ll love, huh."

"?"

"If you can still say that after seeing this, you’ve got guts."

And then, suddenly, I saw nothing.

Because the very next instant, each feather flared with a blinding light.

We hastily used the "fracture" as a shield to protect our eyes, but beyond its barrier, I could see air rippling from heat distortion. Almost certainly an attack using laser-like beams.

"Fine. I’ll lend you my strength. Be grateful, got it?"

"Tch, what an arrogant bastard… but damn, you’ve got guts. All right, let’s put ‘em together and crush that old man!!"

"…Uh, starting to feel like Kamijou-san’s getting a little out of his depth here…"

"Focus, Kamijou. This battlefield’s at the point where catching friendly fire could kill you in an instant."

At Reicia-chan’s cold remark, Kamijou-san widened his eyes with an "Eh!?" and I hurriedly added,

"Don’t worry! They’re both Level 5 espers… though, uh, the enemy is kind of on an entirely different le-ve-l."

Kamijou-san. Kakine-san. Sogiita-san. Us.

And against us stood Kihara Gensei, wielding a fragment of Aiwass’s power.

…No backing down now. No—we’re going to take him down!