Chapter 3: The Descent of the Angel that Harms This World[Part 2]

Kamijou Touya was walking on the beach, dyed red by the sunset.

His face looked tired, and sweat flowed down his entire body. He had been running around, looking for the missing Kamijou, but even though he was extremely tired now, he wouldn't allow himself to rest. Dragging his tired legs, he continued to walk on the beach.

He didn't look like a magician at all.

He didn't look like a fighting expert at all.

"...Dad."

Kamijou called out to Touya.

That moment Touya's tired expression turned around, it became one of relief and delight.

A completely normal expression.

An expression of an ordinary father who had just found his lost son.

"Touma!"

After five seconds, Kamijou Touya barely managed to make an angry look.

"Where did you go!? If you wanted to go out, why didn't you tell us!? Your mother was worried about you! Didn't you say that you got summer heatstroke? Are you alright? Are you hurt? Do you feel like vomiting?"

Less than a second in, the angry lecture had become concern for Kamijou.

That was to be expected.

Touya wasn't angry at Kamijou because he hated him.

Fathers always get angry at their children because they were worried.

Kamijou gritted his teeth.

If possible, Kamijou really didn't want to force Touya to say it aloud. Kamijou didn't want to ask Touya whether he was the culprit behind Angel Fall. Kamijou just wanted to pretend that nothing had happened, follow Touya back to the resort and continue chatting away as per usual.

But he couldn't do it.

The Angel Fall incident had to be settled.

Even if he had to go up against Touya, even if he wanted to stop Touya's dream from happening, even if he would be hated by his own father, even if he couldn't talk to Touya like family members do, it was alright.

Kamijou had already decided.

He would definitely save Kamijou Touya.

Kamijou didn't know what Touya's aim was, but he didn't want his father to enter the bloody world of magic. Kamijou knew what a magician was, and he knew how terrifying those people were. Kamijou didn't want to imagine numerous magicians, including Misha, coming to hunt Touya down.

So, this had to be settled before Misha arrived.

Angel Fall must be removed.

"...Why?"

Thus, Kamijou spoke up.

Kamijou was extremely careful not to let his voice tremble, and not to let himself cry.

Seeing Kamijou like this, Touya frowned.

"Why must you step into the magic world? Aren't you a person from the normal world? Why must you touch that stupid magic? What were you doing, damned dad!"

Hearing Kamijou say that, Touya's smile froze.

"What are you saying, Touma, the important thing now is—"

"Stop acting dumb! I'm asking you why did you do those things that only magicians will do!"

Like a cut string, the expression disappeared from Touya's face.

It was not the expression of a magician sensing danger. It was the expression of a father when his son found out something he shouldn't have done.

"...Before I answer this, let me ask a question. Touma, you don't have to tell me where you went. Let me ask you, is your body alright? Are you hurting anywhere?"

Facing the dual-layered sunset on the sky and the sea, as if the world was burning, Touya asked Kamijou that.

Kamijou was shocked that he still asked such an unimportant question at this critical moment.

Just like a father.

"Seeing you like this, you should be alright, right?"

Kamijou Touya heaved a sigh of relief.

"Alright, where should we begin?"

Kamijou remained silent.

He couldn't think of what to say. He couldn't possibly be expected to say something. However, Kamijou didn't look away from his father, not even once.

Like a toy without a battery, Touya's face lost all expression.

To Kamijou, the man in front of him seemed to have aged by ten years.

"I myself felt...that it was a stupid thing to use that method to achieve my wish."

Touya finally started to explain.

"Hey, Touma. You may not remember it because you were sent to Academy City right after you graduated from kindergarten," Touya seemed to recall something. "But do you still remember when we were together, what the people around us called you?"

"...?"

Kamijou frowned.

Having lost his memory, he couldn't even remember anything in July of this year.

Touya was about to say something before holding it back.

After pausing for a while, he said, "They called you a god of pestilence."

Touya said that with a devastated expression that looked as if he wanted to kill himself by biting his tongue.

As a father, he actually had to say that fact to his own son. Touya revealed a regretful expression.

"Do you understand, Touma? Ever since you were born, you held misfortune. That is why you were called that. But do you understand, Touma? That was not just teasing by children who had no real ill will."

Touya gritted his teeth.

"Even most adults called you that. There was no real reason for it. Just because you held misfortune, they called you that."

Kamijou couldn't help but hold his breath.

It was impossible to see the expression on Touya's face.

No delight, no happiness, nothing could be seen at all.

"The children believed that just by having you around, other's gained misfortune. Because they believed that, they would throw rocks at you just because they saw you. And the adults did not stop them. When they saw your injuries, it did not make them sad. It instead made them sneer at you. They would urge the kids to hurt you even worse."

Touya continued on with the blank expression. Kamijou couldn't tell what he was feeling.

Maybe Touya was deliberately trying not to show any expression. Behind his mask was an insuppressible agitation that couldn't be held back. That emotion definitely couldn't be shown in front of his own son. Maybe one could tell his determination here.

"The children believed that when you left, their misfortune would also leave. Because they believed that, they would avoid you. Even the adults believed that. Do you remember, Touma? A man buried in debt once chased you around with a knife trying to stab you. When the TV stations heard about it, they used a paranormal show as an excuse to show your face on TV without permission and treat you like a monster."

The world, now dyed orange, looked like a blazing inferno of hell.

The man standing in the middle of the flames chose to keep this icy feeling that didn't have any emotions in it.

"That is why I sent you to Academy City. I was scared. I wasn't scared of the whole fortune and misfortune thing. I was scared of the reality that people would act violently towards you as if it was the natural thing to do just because they believed in that."

Touya started to cry painfully without any expression.

"I was afraid that superstition would kill you one day, Touma. So I sent you to a world without superstition."

Thus, Touya himself had cut the bond between family members.

As long as he could protect his own son, it was alright even if they couldn't live together.

"But even in that forefront of science, you were still treated as having misfortune. I could tell just from reading the letters you sent. It did seem the malicious violence was gone, but that was not enough for me."

Touya smiled.

"I wanted to destroy your misfortune itself. However, that was clearly a wish that could not be granted with the methods of even the forefront of science."

Even though he knew that it was a wish that couldn't be granted.

Kamijou Touya wouldn't give up.

"Only one path remained to me. I reached out to the occult."

Then, Kamijou Touya stopped talking and remained silent.

Kamijou started to think. Touya said that he had activated Angel Fall to remove the misfortune from Kamijou. But what did he intend to summon an angel for? Did he simply wish to talk directly to God and hope that God would hear his prayer? Why did he get so many people involved, switching all the inside and outside of all the people in the world for...?

Upon thinking about it, Kamijou understood.

The switch of the inside. In other words, Kamijou Touma's title of an unfortunate man would end up with somebody else.

It was not important whether the angel would descend.

Kamijou Touya only wished to switch the inside and outside.

"...You bastard."

But that method had its pros and cons.

As the identity of Kamijou Touma would be switched with others, Kamijou Touma wouldn't think that Touya was his father. Not only that, a stranger would become Kamijou Touma, and walk around in his own family as the son.

Even so, Kamijou Touya was willing to make that sacrifice for his own son.

Even if he had to get the entire world involved.

Even if his own son would never ever call him dad again.

Even if the entire family wouldn't be able to gather happily again.

Kamijou Touya had chosen to protect his own son.

Even if he became a sinner, he would protect his son from the pain of that invisible misfortune.

"YOU BASTARD!!!"

Kamijou couldn't help but roar.

Touya revealed a surprised look, but that made it even more unbearable for Kamijou.

"That's right, I'm unlucky!"

Kamijou said with disdain.

"Just this summer vacation alone, I almost died a few times, and I even just had my entire right arm sliced off! If I have to compare it to everyone in class, I suppose only my summer was this unfortunate!"

Kamijou paused, and then continued.

"But have I said that I regretted this!? Did I say that I didn't want this unfortunate summer vacation!? Stop joking around!! My summer vacation is unfortunate, but so what!? Is that little thing enough to make me regret!?"

That's right.

The one who had saved Himegami Aisa from Misawa Cram School was Kamijou Touma.

That's right.

The one who had saved Misaka Imouto from the experiment was Kamijou Touma.

Also...

The one who had protected that radiant smile of that white nun should also be...

Even if he only got involved because of others, even though they were just cases of misfortune, Kamijou had the right to brag about it. On the other hand, if Kamijou was too lucky and hadn't gotten involved in all that, just thinking of the aftermath was enough to make his break out in cold sweat.

"If I hadn't been so unlucky it's true that I could live longer, and I wouldn't have to face the gates of death several times." Kamijou glared at Touya and said, "But can that be considered fortune? Living a normal everyday life so casually, and yet not finding out that others are suffering, drenched in blood as they cry for help. Casually living, is this really fortune?"

"That's why, don't stop me!"

"I don't want to be that lucky guy. Instead of living a carefree life and not knowing about the pain of the people around me, I'd rather be unfortunate and get involved in the pain of those people."

Kamijou Touma said.

"Don't think that I'm an unlucky person. I'm the luckiest person in the world!"

Kamijou's face was showing a smile.

A ferocious, savage, rough and inelegant smile.

But it was the best and strongest smile.

With such a smile, Kamijou had made such a declaration.

"..."

Touya.

Kamijou Touya couldn't say anything.

In this orange world, the waves could be heard, and Touya laughed. He continued to laugh, laugh, laugh and laugh.

"Haha—"

Then, Kamijou Touya revealed a slight real smile

"What the heck."

Touya just said in a half-joking tone.

"So you were always that fortunate, Touma."

Kamijou nodded his head without hesitation.

Touya finally looked like he was free of his burden.

"I'm such an idiot, I only knew how to make things worse. I nearly took my son's happiness away."

After feeling relieved, Touya started to mock himself.

"But actually, I didn't do anything. I was an idiot. What can I do, going around collecting those memorabilia? I definitely understood that those strange cosmic forces are all superstitions."

"Eh?"

His father's words made him frown.

But Touya didn't notice his son's bewilderment.

"Those lucky charms that the gift shops sell were said to what, protect the family, excel in academics, these are all exotic crafts. If I could remove that misfortune of yours like that, your misfortune isn't worth bragging about. I won't go about buying that stuff, and instead just get some snacks. Your mom will be happy as well."

"Hold, hold on a minute."

Kamijou was stunned for a second, and then continued.

"Didn't you trigger Angel Fall? Where's the ritual site? Since your aim of removing my misfortune is gone, you should be able to remove Angel Fall right?"

However, Kamijou's words only puzzled Touya.

"Angel Fall? What's that? Some modern lingo? Or is that a singer's name?"

"...Hold, wait a minute!" Kamijou seriously stared at Touya's face and asked, "Do you know where mom is?"

"Why are you asking that all of a sudden, Touma? She may have went back to the resort, right?"

Kamijou was stunned.

His father's face didn't look like he was lying.

Touya really thought that Index was his wife. But that didn't make sense. If Kamijou Touya really triggered Angel Fall, he shouldn't be affected.

(Wait, think fast! What did I miss out? The situation now is too weird. Dad's explanation seems like he just bought a lot of charms for his son.)

But there was no time to think.

Kamijou's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps on the beach.

Kamijou lifted his head up.

"...Misha Kreutzev!"

When did she appear? On that beach without any hiding spots, a girl wearing red clothes and a red cloak suddenly appeared. Seeing this blond girl that had black straps and even a ring around her.

Misha didn't respond to Kamijou's shout.

The girl just faced Touya silently.

They were about a hundred meters away from each. Kamijou recalled the attack last night, and his spine started to freeze in fear. The terrifying Hino Jinsaku had been sent packing like a stray cat by the overwhelming power of Misha. One hundred meters wasn't a distance to Misha.

But Kamijou still believed that everyone could talk it out. He still believed so.

He casually walked forward, stood in front of Touya, and then said, "Hold on, Misha. Something's not right. My dad wasn't switched by anyone, but he didn't notice that the people around him got switched. This means that he got affected by Angel Fall, but I don't know why--!?"

Before he could finish, Kamijou's throat dried up.

His body was trembling.

From the petite body of Misha Kreutzev, there seemed to be something spraying out. Kamijou's feet were just nailed to the floor. His stomach could feel a tremendous pressure, his breathing was erratic, and his heartbeat was getting faster. There was a sense of pain deep within his brain that was like fireworks, and he stopped thinking.

Did Misha's pores let out poisonous gas? Of course not. Misha didn't do anything, but that was enough to force Kamijou to be unable to move.

Killing intent.

The killing intent alone was enough to turn Kamijou to stone.

The tremendous pressure that was released made him feel like the surrounding gravity was increased by ten times.

Slowly, Misha raised her slender hand and reached for the belt strap on her waist. She drew out the L-shaped crowbar. Seeing that blunt tip, Kamijou could feel that Touya was so fearful he forgot how to breathe. The blunt and heavy tip looked even scarier than a sharp blade.

"Hold it—Misha...listen to me!"

Kamijou still tried to talk to Misha, but Misha didn't respond.

A gust of wind blew by, and Misha's bangs started to wave.

Behind the bangs, the eyes that looked like lightning were completely emotionless.

If Hino Jinsaku's eyes could be said to be wild and agitated, Misha's eyes were the complete opposite. They were no longer a human's eyes. A human couldn't possibly have those eyes that covered all emotional sense. It seemed like those eyeballs were two glass balls or crystals.

Misha Kreutzev didn't say anything.

She just stretched the L-shaped crowbar aside, glancing at Kamijou as if she were watching him.

He was numb.

Kamijou didn't say anything now.

The petite girl in red clothes in front of him didn't look like a human anymore. It was as though she was something with human skin over it. Slowly, Misha raised the L-shaped crowbar as if she was holding an axe.

The interrogation tool had fractured Hino Jinsaku's wrist in one hit. Could Kamijou dodge and protect Touya at the same time? Kamijou's body started to tremble, and his palms started to give off disgusting sweat.

But he wouldn't back away.

Kamijou clenched his trembling right hand tight.

Suddenly, Kanzaki's growl came from somewhere.

"Move aside! Kamijou Touma!"

The sound of wind being cut could be heard.

An invisible slash passed between Kamijou and Misha, forming a wall of sand. Misha, who had been holding the crowbar and intending to launch the attack, was instantly distracted. At that moment, Kanzaki appeared between the two of them.

Standing beside Kanzaki, who was giving off killing intent, was Tsuchimikado, who came back.

"It's been tough on you, Kami-yan. Good work. Since you managed to talk it out, back down, it's our job next."

Though it was unknown what Kanzaki and Tsuchimikado did, they seemed to be remaining vigilant.

On seeing Tsuchimikado, Touya's jaw dropped. This was to be expected. Because of Angel Fall, to Touya, Tsuchimikado was an idol who had just made the headlines because of a scandal.

But there was no time to explain this misunderstanding to him.

Though Kamijou was shocked, he was still staring at Misha, who was acting strangely.

"Oi Tsuchimikado! What's with her?"

"Hei, thinking about it, it's really strange!" Tsuchimikado smirked and said, "We thought that people from other religious sects wouldn't tell us their real names, so we never asked. But thinking about it, she shouldn't be calling herself Misha. At that moment, we should have realized that something's up nya."

"?"

"This name: Misha."

Kanzaki carefully glared at Misha and said, "It's a male's name in Russia. It's illogical to use that name as an alias."

Misha herself didn't rebut this.

She just narrowed her eyes and pointed the tip of the crowbar from Touya to Kanzaki.

"What...?"

"We asked the Russian Orthodox, and they said that there's only a Sasha Kreutzev. It seems like she's Sasha before she got switched."

Kamijou stared at Misha.

That was right. Under Angel Fall's influence, she should have switched with someone. But the problem is, who was this girl in Kreutzev's body?

"There are beings that can exist as male and females, Kami-yan. They have no gender. In legend, they either remain neutral or have features of both genders. To them, the 'name' is the reason why God created them, so they can't exchange names with others."

Hearing Tsuchimikado's words, Kamijou frowned,

"Have you forgotten, Kami-yan? What's the name of this grand spell?"

At that moment, Misha widened her eyes.

BOOM! An earth-shattering boom could be heard.

The sunset sky that was dyed orange instantly became a starry night sky.

"Wha..."

Kamijou inadvertently looked up at the sky. Touya stopped breathing.

Night. It was as if something switched off the lights, and the evening sky suddenly became pitch black night. The unlucky symbol of the full moon hung over them. That was strange, no matter what, today should have been a crescent moon.

"W-what's going on?"

"Can't you tell? She turned the evening into night."

Kanzaki said it casually, but Kamijou was astounded.

It was easy to say that she changed the evening sky to night, but that meant that the person in front of them could control the relative positions of the earth to the sun. No, even the orbit of the moon was switched. That meant that the moon and other planets were under control.

Controlling celestial bodies.

Maybe that terrifying ability was so terrifying that people couldn't experience it personally, but this was a power that could destroy the world. For example, if the world's axis were tilted by ten degrees, a fourth of all life on earth would be destroyed. And if the world stopped spinning, the world would be instantly destroyed. The people standing on the world may not feel it, but actually, the world was spinning at a terrifying speed of 1666 kilometers an hour. If it suddenly stopped, it would be like making an emergency brake. The terrifying force could flip all the things on the surface of the Earth.

That meant...

That at anytime, at any place, once Misha decided it, the world would be at it's end.

"Hold, hold on a minute! Can magic do such scary things?"

"For a human, of course not."

With a sharp and icy look, Kanzaki's voice sounded like a blade.

"Summoning the night to strengthen its own element and putting the moon as the main part. Oh, I see. The element of water, the controller of blue, the guardian of the moon, the keeper of the back. The one who buried the fallen city of Gomorrah under a rain of fire in the Old Testament, the one who foretold the news of the birth of the Son of God to the virgin in the New Testament."

At that moment, Kamijou finally remembered.

Angel Fall.

Since it was named as such, it naturally meant that something descended into this world.

"—Your name is Power of God, the twin-winged archangel aligned to the left side of God, right?"

The breaker of God (Kanzaki) said that, but the servant of God didn't reply.

An invisible shell-like thing started to crack, and the invisible skin was molting.

'That thing' completely awakened.