Chapter 3: Closure. Battle_Cry.[Part 3]

Shirai Kuroko was stunned.

After sending that irritating nun and her onee-sama back to the surface, she went down to the underground street for a look…Kamijou Touma and the girl with little presence had already disappeared.

(How troublesome…should I start looking around here?)

Luckily, she could no longer hear the sounds of a battle. But as for when a battle would arise, nobody knew. And also, there were several civilians here.

In terms of threat level, Kamijou and Kazakiri were in most danger since they were targeted, but the people here may have been hit by debris, and she couldn't leave them alone like this.

In comparison to the people who were directly involved in this, it seemed more important to rescue these outsiders.

After pondering for a while, Shirai decided to save these people in front of her first.

(The value of life is the same for everyone. I know that onee-sama is worried and wants me to find them, but it doesn't seem right to leave these people here like this.)

Shirai sighed and walked towards the students who were locked underground and terrified.

The material that dropped from the ceiling was unexpectedly light, and the Anti-Skill members who were buried alive weren't too heavily damaged.

The Anti-Skill members lying around were injured, but at least no one was killed as they start to stitch or bandage their wounds.

Kamijou helped Anti-Skill move the materials off them, and ignored Anti-Skill's attempts to stop him as he ran off where Kazakiri and Sherry had gone. There were many department stores there, and each of them were linked to one another, and each basement level of the department stores were also linked to one another, creating a complex map that was like a spider web, completely different from the straight path from a while back.

(Damn it, what's going on…)

Kamijou was definitely mindful that Sherry called herself a member of the Anglican Church, but what bothered him even more was Kazakiri Hyouka.

Originally, she hadn't seemed to realize that her body was abnormal.

The moment she had seen herself in the mirror, she had screamed as if she had seen a monster.

To Kamijou, Kazakiri seemed to have just found out about the secret regarding her own body, and was now confused.

(…If so, this means that it's not Kazakiri's esper ability? Or rather that's her power that she's unaware of? Damn it, I'm all confused now. Is it alright now that she's like this now? But even if I want to heal her…damn it, what should I do?)

Thinking about this, Kamijou inadvertently stopped.

That mysterious appearance of Kazakiri appeared in his mind. Even if he wanted to save her, he didn't know how to. He couldn't even get an answer for such a basic question.

(Should I stop Sherry or find that escaped Kazakiri? Damn it, what should I do?)

After being troubled for quite a while, Kamijou pulled out his phone.

Anyway, there were too many things he didn't understand about Kazakiri Hyouka. If Kamijou wanted to ask someone with even more knowledge than him regarding esper power from the science side, there was only one best candidate.

Tsukuyomi Komoe.

Kamijou thought, she should be able to do something. However, the phone couldn't get any reception. Thinking about it, when he was at the playground, he couldn't hear the contents of the conversation properly.

(Anyway, I got to get near a base station first.)

Kamijou looked around, and then walked forward. After walking for a while, he saw a sports shop. There seemed to be something like an antenna on the side wall.

Kamijou moved to a position below the antenna, and the phone could finally get reception.

After just two rings, Komoe-sensei picked up the phone.

"Ah! Kamijou? Good! Good! I finally contacted you! Kamijou, where are you right now?"

"You're looking for me, sensei?"

"Himegami tried to call you, but it seemed like there was bad reception."

Kamijou tilted his head as he recalled. So that call was made by Himegami.

"Kamijou, Kamijou. Sensei got something to say to you…"

"Sorry, sensei, I'm in a rush here as well. Can you hear me out first?"

"Eh…? Sensei's going to say something important…alright, what do you want to say?"

Komoe-sensei didn't insist and let aside instantly. Deep down, Kamijou earnestly said his thanks.

Kamijou basically explained Kazakiri's situation to Komoe-sensei. Of course, he purposely left out her name and the gunfight, just asking, "Is there a power that will create these symptoms?"

But Komoe-sensei pondered for a while, and then said,

"…Kamijou, you're talking about Kazakiri Hyouka, right?"

Spot on with just one sentence.

On hearing this, Kamijou was speechless. Komoe-sensei seemed to feel relaxed as she said,

"Mm, to be honest, what sensei wants to say is regarding her."

"Eh? Sensei checked up on Kazakiri? Why?"

"Kamijou, sensei will tell you that the school has a so-called security system. Besides, since there's an esper development program inside the school, and that there's an increase in trend of strange crimes recently, it's natural to investigate an outsider who's not a transfer student and yet appeared here, right?"

Komoe-sensei also mentioned that since that nun had interacted with Komoe-sensei several times, the nun wasn't investigated.

At this moment, Kamijou remembered those words that Himegami said at noon near the school gate.

—But the records indicate that I should be the only transfer student.

"Next, regarding Kamijou's question…there is such an esper. Like for example, those with the Metamorphose ability can change their bodies according to their will."

"So this means that Kazakiri is…"

"No, Metamorphose is an extremely rare ability, there are only three people with this ability in Academy City. And Kazakiri Hyouka is not one of these three."

Komoe-sensei's voice became slightly stiff.

"Also, there're some things about Kazakiri Hyouka that can't be explained with the Metamorphose ability."

"What do you mean?"

Deep inside his heart, Kamijou had a bad feeling about this.

Whether it was correct or not, Kamijou couldn't tell.

"Kamijou, sensei just said that the school has a security system. There are many things similar to surveillance cameras around the school."

Komoe-sensei paused for a while, then continued,

"However, none of the cameras caught sight of Kazakiri Hyouka. We contacted Anti-Skill and checked the satellite images, and yet we couldn't spot any suspicious people…at that time, that Kazakiri Hyouka that appeared beside you, when did she get inside the school?"

"What…?"

"Did you see her leave the cafeteria when she disappeared? Sensei didn't see it. It's like she vanished into thin air…"

"Wait…wait a second! Does that mean that Kazakiri is an esper who has both the Metamorphose and Teleport abilities at the same time?"

"Kamijou, having too many abilities will cause too much burden to the brain, it's confirmed that it can't happen. But sensei's next hypothesis may be even more unbelievable than having multiple abilities."

For some reason, Kamijou was afraid to continue listening.

But he couldn't avoid the problem. Kamijou swallowed his saliva and asked,

"Komoe-sensei, what's your guess?"

"Sensei's guess is…"

Komoe-sensei slowly said,

"It has a lot to do with the AIM diffusion field—"

On hearing that, Kamijou didn't have much of a deep impression on it.

"AIM…it's that energy that espers unconsciously let out, right?"

"That's right. If I want to add on, it's that the AIM diffusion field is extremely weak, such that a machine is required to detect it, and the energy released by each esper is different."

"Then what does that have to do with Kazakiri? Is it that the energy that Kazakiri unconsciously lets out will create such a shocking phenomenon?"

Komoe-sensei didn't answer Kamijou's question, and continued,

"Didn't sensei say it this morning? In order to carry out research for her classmates from my college days, sensei was carrying out research regarding AIM."

At this moment, there was the sound of paper being ruffled,

"Revealing the contents of other people's theses is prohibited, but sensei believes that your mouth is sealed tight…the contents of this research thesis is regarding the additional effects of multiple AIM diffusion fields gathering at the same place."

The more Kamijou listened, the more he was unable to understand what Komoe-sensei was trying to say. Did these things really have anything to do with Kazakiri Hyouka? Was she just grumbling or having a conversation? Just as Kamijou was thinking about this, Komoe-sensei said,

"Kamijou, if you use a machine to test a human, you can get many values, right?"

"Eh?"

"The generation of heat, heat lost, heat absorbed; The reflection of light, refraction, absorption; The creation of electric flow within humans and the creation of electric fields; the amount of oxygen used up, the amount of carbon dioxide released; and more basically, weight and mass…sensei believes that it's impossible to list them all—even if the machines used are different, we can measure tens of thousands of values."

"And so what?"

Kamijou noticed the surrounding darkness and prompted Komoe-sensei to continue on.

"This is just sensei's guess…"

Komoe-sensei paused for a while, then continued,

"If we look at it from the other way, if we gather all these human values, wouldn't we form a 'human'?"

"What…?"

Kamijou was utterly shocked, unable to say anything.

"There are all sorts of esper in Academy City. Every esper will subconsciously let out a weak energy. Even though the energy everyone lets out is weak, if they are all gathered, it may create a complete significance. It's like any English letter like 'B' or 'P'; on their own, they have no meaning on their own, but if we are to arrange many of them together, we can create significant words like 'select' and 'start'. Sensei feels that this is the basis for forming Kazakiri Hyouka. 'Kazakiri Hyouka' is like numerous English letters stringed together to form a command code that's entered into a computer. Every student in the city provides a letter, and these letters will form a code, which in turn forms a process."

Komoe-sensei said.

On first glance, it seemed like Kazakiri Hyouka vanished into thin air.

But what if that was not the case?

What if Kazakiri Hyouka had never existed right from the beginning?

If we reversed the thoughts.

What if it was not because there was someone around that there was a body temperature, but that because there was a body temperature that one assumed that there was someone around?

Pyrokinesis brings body temperature, telekinesis brings touch, sonicwave energy brings sound. All sorts of AIM diffusion fields form numerous numbers and letters, forming a code and creating a 'process', perfectly creating a human shape on this world.

"Wait…wait a second! That's ridiculous! What values to form a human…didn't you say it before, sensei? There are tens of thousands of them!"

"Yes, but Academy City has 2.3 millions espers, right? Like the pyrokinesis espers being in charge of body temperature unknowingly, the electrogenerators unknowingly being in charge of the electric flow within humans. All these add up to form the process called Kazakiri Hyouka."

Komoe-sensei said this without any hesitation, rather confident of it. Kamijou gasped.

Starting from the fingertips, he was gradually losing heat.

He even forgot that he was right in the middle of a battlefield, where the enemy could be lurking anywhere.

Truly, if one could use telekinesis to create the energy required to flick a finger, perhaps it was possible to create the sense of touch of a skin's tension. By manipulating the vibrations in the air, 'sound' could be created. By manipulating the refraction of light, one could 'see' shape.

"Himegami said that she often heard of people saying that they witnessed an 'incomplete Kazakiri Hyouka'. At that time, maybe Kazakiri Hyouka was like a phantom that existed on a different plane. In terms of coding, it's like a command that can't be executed due to the lack of a few letters. Thus, it can't be captured with sight or smell. The senses can't capture it, but there is that feeling. The Kazakiri Hyouka research lab that was said to exist in Kirigaoka was originally set up to thoroughly investigate this phantom that doesn't really seem to exist, right? If not, it's an AIM diffusion field research facility."

A phantom that seemed like it didn't really exist.

Kamijou recalled the hole on Kazakiri's head and inadvertently shuddered. After that, he remembered something.

"But Kazakiri herself doesn't seem to notice this. She always thought of herself as a human, so when she noticed that her body was abnormal, she ran away in fright. If Kazakiri wasn't human right from the beginning, wouldn't this be abnormal?"

"What's unreasonable?"

"What…?"

"Sensei is asking, if she thought that she was human right from the beginning, why would she need to suspect whether she's a human?"

"This—"

—How is it possible? Kamijou was dumbstruck.

According to Komoe-sensei's guess, Kazakiri Hyouka may be something created by the AIM diffusion fields generated by the 2.3 million espers in Academy City…

In other words, it had absolutely nothing to do with her will.

Even her own thoughts were an illusion created from the outside world.

"In conclusion, Kazakiri Hyouka isn't human, but a physical phenomenon created by the AIM diffusion fields."

Komoe-sensei's words spun Kamijou all around.

"Damn it…how can there be such a thing…that's too much."

"Too much? Kamijou, your thinking here is wrong."

"…What? Sensei, are you trying to tell me that it's stupid to have feelings about a natural phenomenon?"

"On the contrary, Kamijou, if you're going to continue to say this, sensei will have to lecture you."

For some reason, Komoe-sensei seemed to be angry.

"Kamijou, sensei will tell you this. If this guess is accurate, Kazakiri Hyouka is not a human. Even if she has everything that a human needs, she can't be called a 'human'. No matter how much she tries, her nature is such that she's a non-existent illusion that will disappear on the slightest touch."

Komoe-sensei paused for a while, and then continued,

"But why a human?"

Komoe-sensei sounded rather emphatic.

"Sensei never talked to Kazakiri Hyouka, so she has no right to express her thoughts, but in your eyes, how do you view Kazakiri Hyouka? Do you also think that Kazakiri Hyouka is just an illusion that has no life, feelings, basically just a thing appearing in front of you?"

"…"

No, that wasn't it. Kamijou recalled. Kazakiri looked rather happy when she was with Index. Kazakiri, who was often scared by Kamijou's words, seemed like she had her own intentions, and could act according to her own thoughts.

"Do you think that Kazakiri Hyouka isn't something that's important, that it's alright even if she's to vanish? A human, not a human; a real, a fake; are you going to use these to form prejudices against her?"

No, of course not. Kamijou concluded. Kazakiri had looked rather painful. She was just a simple, lonely girl, who saw the truth that she had never known before, was unable to accept this cruel truth, was all confused and could only run into the darkness.

Kamijou gritted his teeth.

He couldn't just do nothing.

Even if she was just an illusion that would disappear once his right hand touched her.

There was no reason on Earth to decide she should just vanish.

"Hoho, that's the way. Sensei likes those honest sheep the most."

Hearing Komoe-sensei's laugh, Kamijou slightly heaved a sigh of relief, and then thought of another question.

The thing regarding the friend whom Komoe-sensei was helping in regards to the research on AIM diffusion fields.

"Sensei, I want to ask something. Does that friend of sensei want to research on the truth regarding Kazakiri?"

"Sensei's not too sure about this. Sensei only knows that that friend is researching the interference caused by multiple AIM diffusion fields. As for whether the person found out about Kazakiri Hyouka, sensei doesn't know. However, at least sensei hasn't heard of any research relating to Kazakiri Hyouka. The hypothesis just now was just made based on the information sensei's friend provided."

"…"

"Hm? What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything? Don't worry, sensei won't tell this to her friend. Even if she says this, it won't affect the completion of the thesis."

"But, even though I can't determine the value, this should be something important to a researcher, right? If sensei's friend is to find out about Kazakiri, the friend won't remain silent for long…"

"Hahaha, that's true. If the hypothesis is true, Kazakiri Hyouka's existence will be a huge discovery in the AIM field. The one who found it may end up leaving their name in the history books. But if so, Kazakiri Hyouka will be locked into the icy room. Kamijou, do you think that sensei wants this to happen?"

"This…"

"If you really think so, sensei will really be disappointed. Kamijou, who do you think this Komoe-sensei is? Even though I'm so simple that it borders on naivety, but as a teacher, this is the biggest pillar of support in my heart. Sensei's job scope doesn't involve selling out her students' important friends to increase her reputation."

Komoe-sensei used the words 'important friend'.

How much significance that held, Kamijou finally understood.

"Hoho, don't make Kazakiri Hyouka cry due to sadness."

After saying that, Komoe-sensei hung up the phone.

Kamijou Touma lowered his head and stared at the cell phone for a while, then folded it and slipped it into his pocket.

He was clear on what he should do.

His mind understood where he should go.

"However…"

Kamijou couldn't help but grit his teeth.

He couldn't handle that stone golem by himself. The difference in strength was too great. Once that thing stamped and created a giant shockwave, Kamijou would be unable to stand up and have to prowl onto the ground.

(Hurry up! Calm down, quickly find an answer! Damn it, if I fail, Kazakiri will suffer!)

Kamijou understood that it was not that easy to find a way to settle things, but he forced himself not to stop. He was thinking about any possibilities now.

A surprise attack.

(No, the impact of that stamp will spread out in all directions with that stone golem at center. Even if I'm to get behind, I can't avoid the attack!)

A weapon.

(That won't do as well. Is there any weapon that can blow that several-ton stone golem? A knife or a metal rod can't even do anything to it! Anti-Skill may have rockets or something like that, but an ordinary high school student can't possibly use that!)

Kamijou Touma was starting to panic, scratching his head wildly. If he couldn't think of any good ideas, it didn't matter even if he was to scratch all his hair off. With every passing second, the sweat of anxiety continued to increase. That uncomfortable feeling made Kamijou want to let out a beast like roar.

Suddenly, from the mirror image on the glass window beside him, Kamijou saw someone standing behind him.

"!?"—

Kamijou turned his head around at a wind breaking speed.

Standing in front of him was…

"Ha…"

Kamijou inadvertently laughed. No, he was just letting out all the air that was accumulated in his lungs, naturally laughing it out. Ignoring his will, his face moved.

For a while, his face was just holding an expression of disbelief. After a while, he was finally able to show a smile.

"I see—"

The boy smiled.

"—I'm so stupid. Isn't this something that anyone can think of, Kamijou Touma?"

With a smile full of self-confidence, the boy made up his mind.

The final trump card to fight against that stone golem was right in front of him.