"Selene, please—you've got to save Index!" Kamijou Touma's voice was desperate, his eyes filled with hope the moment he saw her, as if he had just grabbed onto a lifeline.
After hearing him explain what had happened, Selene—whose hands were already itching for a fight—didn't hesitate to step in.
Even though she knew about the [People-Clearing Field] suggestion spell, Selene still double-checked with Touma to make sure there was absolutely no one else inside the dormitory. Once she had that assurance, her smile turned mischievous. "Kamijou, if I end up demolishing your place, don't blame me."
"I-it's fine," Touma stammered, though his expression clearly said otherwise. "As long as Index can be saved, do whatever you have to."
"Alright then. Don't worry, I'll pay for any damages." The words had barely left her lips when Selene vanished from sight.
A thunderous BOOM followed immediately after. Touma's jaw dropped as he watched half of his apartment building vanish into smoke and rubble. "Wha—my place…"
Then he remembered—Index was still in there! "Index!!" he shouted, sprinting toward the wreckage.
...
"Tch... lucky bastard," muttered Stiyl Magnus.
From above, he had witnessed the spiky-haired boy jump from the seventh floor, only to be caught midair by an elegantly built girl. He couldn't help but mutter in disbelief. Still, he decided not to question how she had bypassed the [People-Clearing Field] spell—retrieving Index took priority.
His goal was simple: recover Index. There was no need to waste effort killing Kamijou Touma.
"Ugh… the elevator shouldn't have stopped, right?" Stiyl grumbled, remembering that in emergencies, elevators were automatically disabled. The thought of carrying an unconscious girl down seven flights of stairs made him grimace. He wasn't Kanzaki; he didn't have her physical strength.
"Fine, I'll at least try it first," he muttered. But just as he moved to lift Index, his instincts screamed danger.
Acting on pure reflex, Stiyl grabbed Index and dove forward.
BOOM!
The explosion behind him erupted with terrifying force. The air itself seemed to roar, a wave of pressure smashing against his back.
Using his own body to shield Index, Stiyl hit the ground hard and winced. Ignoring the pain, he turned his head toward the smoke-filled corridor. As the dust cleared, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"That's… raw physical power?!"
The corridor beneath him was split apart with massive cracks spiderwebbing across the floor. The walls were caved in, and half the dormitory was nothing but rubble.
The sheer destructive force made Stiyl's blood run cold. Sweat began to bead on his forehead.
The girl standing amid the smoke was dressed in Tokiwadai's summer uniform. Her limbs were covered in sleek white armor, but otherwise, she looked perfectly composed. The moment she spotted him, her lips curved into a cocky smile.
"Where's your little flame trick now?" Selene taunted. "Come on, magician of the magic side—show me what you've got."
"You… how do you know who I am?" Stiyl took a step back, his cigarette trembling slightly as he eyed her warily. "An esper from Academy City? Damn it, why isn't the [People-Clearing Field] spell working on you?!"
"Magic? Please." Selene smirked, lifting her hand as faint arcs of energy danced around her fingers. "This is Academy City. My territory. And you think your parlor tricks can compare to science?"
"Don't underestimate magic!" Stiyl snapped. Whether out of anger or intimidation, he knew he couldn't afford to hold back anymore. "You wanted to see true magic? I'll show you."
Selene tilted her head, her tone laced with mockery. "Still holding a hostage, huh? So this is what magicians are like."
Under Selene's relentless taunting, Stiyl carefully set Index down, his expression grim.
"Construct—one of the five elements that make up the world… O great primordial flame…"
"Maximum Output—Innocentius, the King of Witch Hunters!"
With a thunderous roar, flames surged violently, devouring the oxygen around him. A massive sphere of fire materialized from nothing, blazing with an infernal red glow. At its center, a pitch-black, tar-like humanoid figure took shape—the core of Innocentius.
As the fiery giant roared and lunged toward Selene, Stiyl scooped up Index and began retreating. He knew this spell couldn't last long. Though he tried to look composed, panic filled his mind. Kanzaki, you'd better be close! If you don't get here soon, I'm the one getting buried!
With another furious bellow, the fire giant expanded in size, its temperature surpassing three thousand degrees Celsius. The air shimmered with heat, and metal fixtures along the hallway began to melt and warp.
Its burning eyes locked onto Selene. The fiery colossus surged forward, conjuring an enormous crimson cross, which it brought down toward her with devastating force.
But Selene didn't dodge. She didn't even activate any ability. Instead, she met the blow head-on, her eyes glinting with anticipation.
There was no satisfaction quite like meeting raw power with raw power.
She clenched her fist and swung—a single, brutal, lightning-fast punch straight into the descending cross.
BOOM!
The corridor, already weakened by the earlier blast, could no longer hold together. The floor buckled, the walls caved in, and the entire section of the building collapsed with a deafening crash.
The fiery cross shattered instantly under Selene's strike, and her fist continued forward, slamming directly into the core of Innocentius.
With a dull thud, the dark humanoid burst apart like a popped balloon, disintegrating into glowing embers that scattered across the ground.
Then came the aftermath—a tremendous reverse shockwave that ripped through the air. The remnants of the flame were swept backward as though pulled by invisible force, merging into a furious backdraft that hurtled toward Stiyl.
Despite the imminent danger, Stiyl didn't abandon Index. He stepped in front of her, spreading his arms as crimson magic circles flared into existence around him. Like a blazing ring of fire resistance, the flames exploded outward, colliding with the incoming shockwave.
The clash was deafening. The impact pushed Stiyl backward, his shoes scraping across the floor, leaving two long black streaks of burnt concrete behind.
He clenched his jaw, straining against the overwhelming force. His entire body screamed in pain, his magic circuits burning from overuse—but the thought of the girl behind him, the one he swore to protect, drove him beyond his limits.
"RAAAAHHHH!!"
With a roar of defiance, Stiyl unleashed every last drop of his magic power. The resulting surge forced the flames forward, pushing back Selene's shockwave. The seventh-floor walls crumbled and burst outward from the sheer force of their collision.
"Is this… a power-up scene?" Selene blinked, momentarily stunned. She had planned to hold back—she wasn't here to kill anyone, after all. But seeing Stiyl's sudden surge, she sighed. "Wait, isn't that supposed to be the protagonist's move? I'm not even the villain here…"
Then she paused. "…Okay, maybe I am the villain. Whatever."
With that, she casually suppressed the remaining flames, seized both Stiyl and Index by the collars, and leapt out of the wreckage.
Landing effortlessly on the ground, she dropped the two in front of a wide-eyed Kamijou Touma, who had just arrived. "They're all yours," she said offhandedly. "Oh, and take this." She tossed him a small, glowing purple crystal. "Keep it close—I can teleport to you anytime."
She glanced toward the battered Stiyl, her tone turning almost teasing. "You care about her, don't you? So why all the dramatics?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Stiyl scoffed, looking away.
"Don't play dumb," Selene said coolly. "Since I got here, you've looked at that girl at least ten times with those worried eyes. And in the end, you nearly got yourself killed protecting her. Do you think I'm blind like Kamijou?"
Her gaze sharpened. "So tell me—why attack her? What's your real goal? Don't tell me you're some kind of sadistic freak."
"...Tch!" Stiyl turned his face aside, refusing to answer, though the truth was written all over his expression.
"Wha—wait, you mean this guy actually cares about Index?!" Kamijou stammered, completely dumbfounded.
Selene didn't respond. Her eyes flickered upward, sensing something. "…So, she's here—the one with the blade."
Without another word, she jumped—straight up, planting her feet against the wall at a near-vertical angle, her body defying gravity. She gazed into the distance, eyes narrowing with excitement.
"Compared to you, flame boy, she's the real opponent worth fighting."
Far away, on the rooftop of a distant skyscraper, stood a tall figure with long black—no, perhaps violet—hair, a blade resting calmly at her waist. Feeling Selene's gaze, she turned sharply, eyes locking on her from across the skyline.
"...Kanzaki Kaori," Selene murmured, a fierce grin spreading across her face.