Chapter 4: Stop Sign. Beast_Body,_Human_Heart.[Part 5]

Kamijou finally managed to move through the hole and into the underground passage.

It would have taken too much time if he had needed to find something that could be used as rope. He let go of the thick fire hose and continued to run through the dark passage.

(Damn it! These guys always like to make things difficult for me! It's already so difficult and yet they're making things even more difficult!)

Ellis' footprints could be seen everywhere on the concrete floor. Looking down through the dark passage, he couldn't see Kazakiri Hyouka, nor could he hear any footsteps.

After thinking of the last smile that Kazakiri had left behind, Kamijou tightly gripped his own fist.

A hand that slays.

A dream bubble like girl that would disappear on being touched.

(Can't let it end like this. I can't let it end on such a stupid note!)

Though Kazakiri had said that she voluntarily became a monster, that wasn't the case. She really wasn't human, but she shouldn't be considered a monster.

Was it because Kazakiri wasn't human that she couldn't even shout for help?

Was she limited in tears such that she could only endure this pain silently?

(It…shouldn't be like this!)

Kamijou gritted his teeth as he moved forward.

There were rectangular concrete pillars on the underground train track, separating the uplink and the downlink. No matter how much he ran, Kamijou would always see the same thing, making him feel extremely frustrated.

Suddenly, the pillar besides him collapsed.

It was like a giant's hand pushing a block down; and it was obviously not a natural phenomenon.

"Cheh…!"

Kamijou saw the pillar fall towards him and hastily jumped sideways. A terrifying collision sound could be heard, and the dust scattered from the concrete.

"As expected, you won't be finished off just like that…"

A voice could be heard through the darkness. Kamijou coughed as he turns his head around. Dressed dirtily and dragging her feet, Sherry Cromwell was standing in front of him.

Both of them were about 10m from each other.

Kamijou frowned. Sherry, who signified violence, had disappeared.

"Ho…hoho…hohohoho. I let Ellis go on first. Now, Ellis may have found his target, huh? Maybe he might have turned it into rubble."

"You…you bastard…!"

Kamijou lowered his body and clenched his fist.

Sherry could control Ellis without the need for chalk. However, it felt like a dual-screen broadcast on a television, it was rather draining mentally.

Once she saw Kamijou's reaction, Sherry smiled.

"That's right, that's the way. I'll play with you here and won't let you find Ellis."

On hearing these words, Kamijou finally understood Sherry's intentions. She wanted to restrain Kamijou here, the only person who had a way to beat Ellis.

Kazakiri Hyouka should have passed through this place, but there was no sign of her.

Maybe Sherry had purposely let her off. Kazakiri should be one of the targets, but Sherry gave up rather well, intending to focus on Index alone.

Also, it seemed that to Sherry, Kamijou was the only opponent for her. As she didn't have time to care about others, the magician let Kazakiri go.

Kamijou remembered what Sherry had said.

"I need something that will cause a war to start, so I have to let a lot more people know. I'm from the Anglican Church, understand that—ELLIS!!"

Since Sherry wanted to create such a huge commotion in Academy City, it was a hassle to ask her who the Anglican Church wanted to fight with.

However, was that really what the Anglican Church was thinking?

At least, Tsuchimikado, Kanzaki and Stiyl shouldn't have had this intention.

"…What are you planning to do? I don't know what's really going on, but isn't there a balance between the magic and science sides? Why are you challenging us on purpose? What's the meaning behind this?"

Hearing Kamijou's question, Sherry just smiled.

She laughed mockingly,

"I don't know if you have heard of how espers' bodies will corrode if they try to use magic?"

"What?"

That answer didn't match the question and made Kamijou frown.

"Don't you find it strange? Why does everyone know about this?"

Sherry's words pierced Kamijou bit by bit.

"Because we tried it before. About 20 years ago, the Anglican Church and Academy City each had a certain group of people that wanted to work together. We gathered all our technology and knowledge in one place to try and combine powers and magic to create a new form of spellcaster, and in the end…"

Without listening to the end, Kamijou could guess the outcome.

Once the espers tried to use magic, their bodies would self-destruct. The 'Misawa Cram School' students and Tsuchimikado were the best examples.

"Then what happened after they tried…?"

"Sort of annihilated. The higher ups of the Anglican Church realised that we were in contact with the science side, so they started to hunt us down. Just the fact that we were exchanging knowledge and technology was enough to be a reason for us to be hunted down."

Kamijou remained silent.

Trying to let science work together with magic, or trying to prevent science from working with magic, these weren't meant to hurt others.

"Ellis was my friend."

Sherry muttered.

"At that time, Ellis was one of the espers that Academy City sent in."

Kamijou frowned. Ellis was also the name of that stone golem. If so, what was Sherry feeling while she called the stone golem Ellis? Most likely, only Sherry knew this feeling.

"Ellis was covered in blood after he cast a spell that I taught him. After that, the 'knights' rushed in with the intention of annihilating us. In order to help me escape, Ellis got hammered down by the knights."

The dark subway was as silent as a chapel.

Sherry said slowly,

"We have to maintain a clear distance from you people, otherwise, forget about arguments and conflicts, just wanting to understand each other would cause misfortune. If the magicians and scientists can't live together, the same tragedy will occur once again."

Thus, there had to be a war.

"Damn it, this is too unreasonable. You want to start a war to protect both sides? No, in fact, you really don't want to start a war, right? You would have completed your objective even if you don't seriously start a war. Can't you just make both sides feel that 'seems like a war is starting' or 'danger's right at our doorstep'?"

"You smart-alec brat, what do you know? Stop looking at me with that expression."

Though Sherry denied it, Kamijou firmly believed in his idea. To avoid having both magicians and scientists have a decisive conflict against each other, even her oxymoronic request could be achieved without the need to trigger a war. Both sides just needed to grasp each other's taboos and not try to understand each other.

At least what he could be sure of was that two groups that had no common point wouldn't be able to create either love or hatred.

With this, not only would they not stand off against each other.

It could also prevent the friction caused by trying to work with each other.

'Magicians and scientists should be far away from one another'—maybe Sherry's theory was correct, and whatever Kamijou's argument may be, it may come off as selfish and stubborn. However, Kamijou was unable to accept Sherry's view no matter what.

Because if that really happened, he would be separated from Index.

No, in order to create the 'spark', she would be killed.

Though it may have sounded stupid and self-centered.

Kamijou was unable to let go of this no matter what.

No matter what.

Sherry Cromwell pulled out a piece of white oil pastel from her tattered robe. Wary, Kamijou watched every single action that her fingers did, feeling suspicious in the meantime. If what Sherry said was true, she should be unable to create 2 stone golems. And after sealing off Ellis, Kamijou was able to punch Sherry away, which showed that Sherry had no spells that were stronger than Ellis.

Suddenly, Sherry shook her messy hair and said in delight,

"Hoho, can't believe that you didn't figure it out. Good thing this place is dark."

"What?"

Kamijou inadvertently asked back. Sherry slightly swayed the oil pastel in her hand. Right now, she was unable to create any stone golems, and even if she was to write texts on the floor or the walls, it would only cause the place to collapse.

"Oh my? Don't you find it strange? It's so dark here, so why would I choose to appear here and even talk with you for a long time? Normally speaking, wouldn't it be more effective for me to carry out an ambush by hiding in the darkness and waiting for you to move through?"

Kamijou was shocked and speechless. Right now, the only thing Sherry could do was to bring down the wall beside her hand. Both of them were about 10m from each other, so it should be safe.

"Oh yes, about this place. Now why would I choose this place? There's only one road here, and you can't possibility miss it. Now why would I specially wait for you here?"

But if that theory was correct, how had she caused the pillar beside Kamijou to collapse a while back?

"Basically, this is it! Watch this!"

Shua! Sherry swung the oil pastel along horizontally at a speed as if she was cutting the air.

Suddenly, the entire underground road let out a dim glow.

(This is…?)

Kamijou was shocked. Actually, the walls, ceiling, all the places that could be seen had markings that Sherry had drawn with her oil pastel, including the areas behind Kamijou and Sherry. Though it didn't extend out to the entire subway, at least the markings covered about 100m in distance.

There were numerous magic arrays even on the floor, like raindrops from a ceiling.

(Oh no…this magic array, don't tell me it's Ellis…!)

Kamijou couldn't help but tremble. Looking closely, all the magic arrays that covered the road were of similar shapes, they looked like tiles.

According to Sherry, she couldn't create 2 stone golems at the same time. If that was the case, there couldn't possibility be a new Ellis appearing here.

But what was Sherry planning? To run all the way here…

If the magic array to create a stone golem failed, it seemed like it would cause the floor to collapse. Right now, the magic arrays covered the entire road, and that meant…

(Damn it…does she intend to cause the entire tunnel to collapse?)

It was said that to demolish and blow up a building, they wouldn't use a huge explosive, but would set up many small ones all over the building before triggering them all. These magic arrays had a similar effect.

How many magic arrays were there? Assuming that every magic array was about 1m in diameter, just arranging them all, there would be 100 of them. The walls and ceiling were all crammed with magic arrays, and who knew how many there were. If they were all independent spells, it was impossible to negate all the magic arrays just by touching one or two of them.

So Sherry had stayed here with the intention of preparing this. By setting up this trap, she didn't even need to get near Kamijou, she could just cause the surrounding area to collapse with a single order.

"The earth is my companion. The darkness surrounded by the earth is my stronghold."

Sherry Cromwell said in a singing like manner.

Since Sherry had drawn so many magic arrays, once the order was executed, she should be caught up in the collapse as well. but she would most definitely have created many escape routes. Maybe the rubble would avoid her and create an oval-shaped safe zone.

Maybe the way the place would collapse would be well-planned, just nicely creating an exit to the surface.

"Cheh…!"

Kamijou slackened his jaw. Right now, it was too late to escape behind or run towards Sherry. Since the enemy had already set up a trap, she would not be so nice so as to prepare an escape route.

Seemed like even Kamijou's anxiousness was within Sherry's expectations. She just shouted out confidently,

"COLLAPSE LIKE A MUD PUPPET!!"

In response to the shout, the magic arrays nearby let out even more light. The entire path was like a snake's stomach, moving along slowly and disgustingly.

(Damn it…what to do…?)

He would definitely die if he was unable to escape. The magic arrays that covered the entire place couldn't be erased one by one with his right hand. Besides, he couldn't even touch those magic arrays on the ceiling. Even if he was to negate the magic arrays on the walls and floor, if he couldn't even prevent the most dangerous part—the ceiling from collapsing, he would still be buried alive anyway.

Thinking about this, Kamijou suddenly stopped.

The magic array on the floor?

"SWALLOW THE FOOL IN FRONT OF ME! BURY HIM INTO THE MUD! I WANT TO USE HIS FLESH AND BLOOD TO CREATE YOUR BODY!"

Sherry shouted as if she was pressing down the final trigger.

The walls and ceiling started to crack, like a balloon expanding from within. In truth, it was because the vulnerable ceiling was unable to withstand the overwhelming weight of the gravel.

"Ugh—!"

Kamijou rushed forward while the cracking balloon-like ceiling looked like it was about to break. He had only one goal—where the caster, Sherry was standing. It was likely the only safe zone, but no matter what, it was impossible for Kamijou to get there with his feet alone.

"Thus, my target's not there!"

Kamijou clenched his fist, bending down as he continued to run, staying close to the ground. He had only one target, not Sherry Cromwell, but a certain magic array that was extremely close to him.

Kamijou remembered what Index had been grumbling about in the cafeteria.

"Hey, Touma, do you know? During English rituals, when one wants to cast an original spell on a Cross-like idol that's infused with Telesma, the inside of the Chapel and the position of the caster are very important! In fact, the caster will create a defensive barrier to prevent the body from being damaged. The set-up and positioning are important, once they deviate from the original position, the secondary defensive spell will be affected by the main spell and will be unable to work. Touma, do you know the golden ratio? Say it, it's common knowledge."

(That magic array is the only one without any significance!)

That was right, the magic arrays on the walls and ceilings were meant to cause the subway to collapse, burying Kamijou alive. This could be understood.

But why would there be a need for a magic array on the floor? Even if the floor was destroyed, it couldn't bury Kamijou alive.

(If so, that magic array is the only one with a different purpose!)

Understanding Kamijou's intention, Sherry Cromwell's expression changed as she frantically waved her oil pastel to give a command to the surrounding walls and ceiling. However, it was too late. Kamijou avoided the collapsing wall, passed through the tilted pillar, aimed at the magic array on the floor and raised his right hand.

After that, he hit it without hesitation.

Like water stains after a block of ice was broken, the magic array vanished without a trace.

Another pivotal spell to Sherry's plans had vanished.

If that magic array was meant to create a safe zone in this collapsing situation and protect her own life, if it disappeared now, she wouldn't dare to command a collapse.

"Cheh!"

Sherry hastily raised her oil pastel and waved it in the air. The ceiling that looked like it would collapse at anytime let out a creaking sound and was tightly secured.

PA! At that moment, a strong and forceful footstep could be heard.

Sherry panicked and frantically turned her eyes from the ceiling to the front. Like water bouncing off rock, Kamijou had leapt off the ground and was already in front Sherry.

Sherry quickly waved the oil pastel.

However, Kamijou's fist was a lot faster, easily hitting Sherry's face.

Sherry's body swayed along with her hair and robes, rolling on the subway track a few meters before finally stopping. After spending so much time to prepare all the traps, they were useless; this caused her to look extremely anxious and nervous.

"…Ugh, damn it!"

Sherry stumbled one to two steps back and cursed to herself. The oil pastel in her hand was trembling slightly as well, the force of her fingers was about to break the oil pastel in half.

"Don't stop me! I must create the 'spark' to this war! Why can't you tell that this is the most dangerous situation!? Academy City's security has even been getting loose nowadays, and the Anglican Church allowed that Index to go out of hand! The situation now is like what happened to Ellis! We caused quite a tragedy, and this time, it involves the whole of Academy City and the Anglican Church! I suppose you know what the outcome will be!!"

Sherry's voice bounced a few times through the dark underground before reaching Kamijou's ears from all angles.

Her motivation was the death of a friend.

Because of that, Sherry felt that when scientists and magicians got too close, tragedy would be the only result. Forget about disputes and conflicts, sometimes, just the thought of wanting to improve friendship would bring about the opposite effect. In Sherry's view, for the science side and magic side to not have any further conflicts, the only way was for both to be involved in their own territory, completely isolated from each other, and to chase away everyone from the other camp.

In order to do this, Sherry wanted to create a spark for war.

This was to prevent both sides from trying to understand each other. This was because Sherry knew that the kind way of thinking would only cause the situation to worsen and create tragedies.

Sherry didn't really want to create a war. As long as she could create a 'spark', her objective would be achieved.

Thinking about this, Kamijou sighed with disdain.

"How ridiculous. Can you justify your actions? What did Kazakiri do? What feud does Index have with you? You're going about proclaiming that you don't want conflicts, BUT HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE YOU GOING TO KILL?"

Kamijou roared, releasing all of the pent up negative feelings inside him.

As he couldn't agree with it, he roared,

"YOU WANT TO GET ANGRY, OKAY, NO ONE WILL STOP YOU. BUT YOU'RE TAKING IT OUT ON THE WRONG TARGET!! WHO WILL LEARN FROM THIS!? YOU'RE UNHAPPY, I UNDERSTAND THAT! I BELIEVE I WON'T BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND YOUR FEELINGS! BUT IF YOU'RE GOING TO POINT THE FINGER AT ANYONE, YOU'RE GOING TO END UP CREATING THE CONFLICT THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THE MOST!!"

Ellis' death could be attributed to the minority group of scientists and magicians who had worked together, and the Anglican Church who had viewed these people as a dangerous group of radicals.

After understanding all this, what were Sherry's thoughts?

Was she going to take revenge for her friend?

Or was she going to swear that she wouldn't allow the tragedy to repeat itself.

"…I don't know." Sherry Cromwell bit her teeth hard as she said,

"DAMN IT! I REALLY HATE EVERYTHING! I WANT TO KILL EVERYONE WHO KILLED ELLIS! I WANT TO BURY ALL THE SCIENTISTS AND MAGICIANS TOGETHER! NOT ONLY THAT, I DON'T WANT THE MAGICIANS AND ESPERS TO FIGHT EACH OTHER! MY MIND'S BEEN A COMPLETE MESS SINCE THE BEGINNING!!"

This contradicting roar echoed throughout the dark passage.

She seemed to have heard of it herself, and continued on in a self-loathing tone,

"THIS ISN'T MY ONLY BELIEF! EVERYTHING FEELS LOGICAL, THAT'S WHY I'M IN PAIN!! I DON'T JUST LIVE FOR JUST ONE RULE! I CAN'T LIVE LIKE A MECHANICAL PUPPET! YOU WANT TO MOCK ME, FINE GO AHEAD! THE NUMBER OF THINGS I BELIEVE IN ARE AS MANY AS THE STARS, EVEN IF ONE OR TWO ARE GONE, IT WON'T BOTHER ME A SINGLE BIT!!"

However, Kamijou Touma just responded,

"Why haven't you realized it yet?"

"...What?"

"Your words are really contradicting. You believe that your heart is having so many contradictions, that you can accept all sorts of ideas, that your belief will waver...maybe you're thinking that way. But you're wrong. Actually, you had only one belief right from the beginning."

Kamijou said it, the only answer that Sherry herself hadn't thought of, "Anyway, you just don't want to lose your friend, right?"

That was right, the 'beliefs' that Sherry Cromwell had were as many as the stars in the sky, and the contents were contradicting each other. But the basic source was the same. All her beliefs came from what happened to her friend, and all her thoughts had been bred and derived from there.

Even though her beliefs were as many as the stars, the thoughts for her friend hadn't changed a single bit.

"Stand on one side and think carefully! If you can't, then think about it some more! Didn't you use those dirt 'eyes' to spy on us? What do you think? Do Index and I look unhappy together? It's alright even if we don't separate from each other completely! Even if we don't do anything, we can remain happy together forever!"

Wasn't Kamijou's and Index's relationship what Sherry had always wanted? Why must she break such a relationship?' Kamijou would definitely not say those words, for Sherry had only one wish, and that wish couldn't be fulfilled anymore. There was no substitute for the wish, and if someone had tried to tell Kamijou to replace his relationship with Index with someone else, Kamijou would definitely sock that guy good.

Thus, Kamijou didn't mean this.

What Kamijou Touma was trying to say was,

'We don't need your help! So stop taking away my important friend!'

Sherry Cromwell's shoulders jerked.

She knew that her wish couldn't be fulfilled any more, but she should remember how important that wish was. As it had been taken away, she understood the pain behind it even more.

Sherry's face distorted due to sadness.

Kamijou's words were very simple, it was not hard to understand. Though they were rather immature words, they touched Sherry's heart, for she had let out a similar shout before.

"INTIMUS115—I'LL SACRIFICE EVERYTHING TO MY LOST FRIEND!!"

But right now, her angry roar rejected Kamijou's idea.

She shouted her magic name.

She should be able to understand Kamijou's feelings.

However, Sherry Cromwell had numerous beliefs , and among them were things that she didn't want to understand. No, she did this, perhaps because she could understand Kamijou's thinking. The person right in front of her had everything that she had lost, and obviously, Sherry wanted to personally drag this person down to Hell. For such a belief to exist even among the numerous number of them wasn't strange.

SHUA! She waved the oil pastel in her hand.

Lines appeared on the walls beside Sherry, and the walls collapsed like paper clay. A large amount of dust flew about instantly blocking both people's sight.

Seeing this grey-screen fog like dust heading towards him, Kamijou inadvertently felt like retreating.

But at that moment, Sherry broke past the dusty fog and arrived in front of Kamijou. She grabbed the oil pastel and dashed at Kamijou like a bullet.

Kamijou was shocked. Anything that touched that oil pastel, no matter steel or dirt, everything would be material for Ellis. Maybe even human flesh.

"DIE, ESPER!"

She cursed like a devil and yet looked like a child about to cry.

(Ah, I see.)

In reflex, Kamijou gripped his right hand and thought of something.

Most likely, this wasn't her ultimate attack. If this attack could definitely kill Kamijou, she would have done it right from the beginning. And when Ellis had been held down by Anti-Skill, she hadn't gotten hit by Kamijou so easily, let alone set so many traps in this subway.

Sherry Cromwell's beliefs were as many as the stars in the sky.

She had said that every single one of them sounded logical, thus it was extremely painful.

In other words...

"You hope that someone can stop your belief?"

BAM! Kamijou's fist crushed the soft oil pastel into bits.

The fist didn't slow down a single bit, and even though it slightly deviated, it headed towards Sherry Cromwell's face.

PAM!! Sherry's body slammed onto the floor of the subway, letting out a terrifying sound.

Kamijou slowly walked towards Sherry, who was lying beside a pillar. Seemed like she was unconscious now.

(Well...has Ellis finally stopped?)

Kamijou didn't dare to find out himself. Even if he was to wake Sherry up and question her, it was unlikely that she would tell the truth. Whether her answer was a 'YES' or a 'NO', it wouldn't ease Kamijou's insecurity.

(Damn it! Looks like I have to check it out myself!)

For added security, Kamijou decided to pick up some waste electric cables and tie Sherry's hands and legs up.

After tying Sherry's hands and legs, Kamijou ran down the path.

After running inside for a while, there was a heavy vibration within the darkness.

There was no need to ask where Ellis had gone.

"..."

10 seconds later, Sherry Cromwell slightly opened her eyes.

In truth, she wasn't unconscious.

Sherry was wondering, why hadn't she been killed? Since she knew that she had no right to complain even if she was killed, Sherry had done a frontal attack that was no different from suicide.

Right now, though she was rather contented, she didn't know which belief would appear next, since there were still as many as there were stars. She might break away from these bonds and start hunting down those people again.

As she more or less understood what the boy had meant, she had some thoughts of not wanting to hurt others. But on the other hand, a completely contradictory thought appeared in her mind.

Having her hands tied up behind her, Sherry shook her body to cause the oil pastel to fall out from her clothes.

(Ellis...)

Sherry lied on the floor, using the hand behind her to pick up the oil pastel. At that moment, Sherry thought of something. Right now, Ellis was in automatic mode, and wouldn't accept her orders. In other words, even the most basic order of 'self-destruct' would be ignored. Unless they destroyed the 'secret code' safety mechanism or destroy more than 90% of Ellis' body, Ellis wouldn't be stopped.

Angry and regretful, Sherry waved her last oil pastel.

She couldn't create 2 Ellis at the same time. In other words, as long as the current Ellis wasn't destroyed, Sherry was unable to create a new one. And this meant that for Sherry, who was now tied up, there was no way to escape.

(Ellis...)

Unable to move, Sherry Cromwell gave a meaningless command to Ellis.

Was this order to destroy the target? Or to abort the mission?

These two thoughts appeared in her heart at the same time.