Chapter 4: A Certain Freeloading Forbidden Index. Arrow_Made_of_AZUSA.[Part 9]

August 31 8:15 PM.

In fact, Yamisaka Ouma was standing on the roof of the hotel the stupid cat wouldn't budge from. He was sitting on the floor with his back leaning on the water tower. Index was tied up and lying on her side.

Yamisaka looked up at the sky and clicked his tongue. According to the information he had, there may be satellites monitoring the inside and surroundings of Academy City, but up till now, he hadn't even gotten a single disturbance, let alone disruption. The security system in Academy City couldn't be this inept; it seemed that they were just waiting for now.

(...Doesn't matter anyway, I'll just break through their trap after I get what I want.)

Yamisaka already knew that it would end up like this, so he didn't feel surprised.

He sighed and opened his tightly shut eyes.

Right now, if there had been anyone nearby, they would have been so shocked that they would forget to breathe.

He didn't have any terrifying expression, nor did he have any unique prosthetic eyes.

His eyes were so normal.

Those eyes didn't match the image of a self-proclaimed magician fighter in a black suit. It was a pair of pure eyes that could only be suited for a boy who hadn't seen the dark side of the world.

Yamisaka took out a photo from his suit.

The person in the photo was a woman who was unrelated to Yamisaka.

She was older than Yamisaka by 2 or 3 years, and she was at an age where she could no longer be called a girl. She was extremely skinny, and had white skin, and she gave the impression that she would faint if she stood under a hot summer sun for more than 30 minutes.

In fact, this impression wasn't wrong. She had already been ill when he had first met her. Also, what she had wasn't an ordinary illness, but a cursed disease that the medical world couldn't figure out. In terms of Eastern context, it was like some voodoo spell that was cast using a mirror and a sword, and in Western context, it was a magic that was 'similar to a curse'. However, it didn't matter what they called it; basically, this woman was in a condition where there was no cure for her, and she could die any second.

But the dying woman didn't ask Yamisaka to save her.

That woman couldn't do anything, and could only reveal a tired smile.

Yamisaka and that woman weren't related. They weren't relatives nor friends. Both of them would occasionally talk to each other in the garden of the hospital, and that woman didn't even realize that Yamisaka's a magician. Yamisaka didn't even have any need to step up for that woman. There was no reason for him to risk his life.

But to Yamisaka, up till then, he had always thought that magicians were all-powerful.

It was because he hadn't wanted to face any setbacks that he swore to be a magician.

Yamisaka didn't care whether that woman was dead or alive. But if he couldn't even save a dying woman, could he call himself 'all-powerful'? Could he still boast that he 'wouldn't meet any setbacks' again? He wouldn't be stopped by such a simple thing. He wouldn't let such a simple thing force him to give up on his goal.

It was just that.

It was just a simple idea.

"...Humph."

Yamisaka placed the photo back into his Western suit. He then closed his eyes as if he was shutting off all human emotions. He lifted his head up. To Yamisaka, whose 5 senses had been enhanced, closing one or two of his five senses wouldn't be a hindrance to him.

Index was right in front of him. The girl who was presumably all tied up should be still lying on the concrete surface, but she got right up, sitting down cross-legged and giving an unhappy look.

"Hm, that was surprising. You managed to undo two knots within such a short time. Rope binding spells aren't my specialty, but it's not easy for a lesser demon to escape from my ropes."

Though the ropes that were intertwined on Index were as thin as cables, they were authentic Shimenawa (literally: enclosing ropes). In other words, she was locked in a very small boundary.

Facing such a perilous situation, Index didn't show any fear on hear face.

"Thus the rope is a culture of torture that the Japanese came up with, such an erratic manner of tying isn't going to force me to say anything."

The girl said casually.

Rope binding. Though it looked ordinary, it was a cruel method of torture that was so powerful it could kill. For example, when one tied a convict's wrists up and left him for two days, the convict would see the palms start to swell because of the lack of blood flow. At that point, the psychological torture could be a lot worse than the physical torture.

Index glared at Yamisaka.

In fact, the girl who kept the 103,000 grimoires in her head was already used to this kind of crisis. So her body had some sort of resistance. For example, she could adjust her breathing to let her enter a state of anemia to decrease the pain.

But the effect was still limited.

If her blood flow was sealed up and she saw her hands and feet start to rot, she didn't believe that she could maintain her sanity. Of course, nobody has this belief.

Although Index had another defense system that even she didn't know of, unfortunately, this system had been destroyed by that boy's right hand.

At that moment, Yamisaka sighed.

"I see. As expected of an Anglican Church member of the branch that specializes in hunting witches and torture. You won't submit even if you turn into ash?"

"...Turn into ash...That's a lousy way of hinting."

"No, I don't have that idea at all. In fact, I don't intend to torture you."

"If you don't intend to torture me, why did you tie me up so tightly? Such a method of tying me is pressing down on my blood vessels and lungs. If you don't intend to kill me, you could have just tied my thumbs slightly so that I can't move."

"I see. As expected of an expert."

Yamisaka casually replied, and he reached his hand out to undo a few of Index's knots according to her directions. Such an action shocked Index. As an enemy, he was really too nice.

But Yamisaka merely said casually,

"I said it before, I'm not here to torture you."

But he added on,

"But I do want to take away a grimoire from your head."

Index glared angrily at Yamisaka.

It was her responsibility to protect the 103,000 grimoires in her head.

"Alright."

Facing the girl's stare, Yamisaka looked rather carefree and said,

"It'll take some time to prepare. I have to prepare a boundary to increase the effects first."