power filled the magic sword’s scabbard and the power that had been used up little by little was replenished.

She was preparing it for use.

She was preparing the power that would destroy the world.

“I will draw it.”

“Then do it.”

“At the very least, I will have this victory.”

“Even if you do this, it will not be a victory for you.”

Kamijou Touma said no more.

He took a step forward. And another. With that momentum, he charged forward. He charged straight toward Marian Slingeneyer.

She should have had time.

Marian Slingeneyer should have been able to draw Dáinsleif.

And yet...

“Gh...kh...!!”

“See, you can’t do it,” spat out Kamijou Touma.

He tightly clenched his right fist.

“That is because you are strong. You do not feel indebted. If, after your revenge, you or the entire world are gone, who will mourn for Bersi?”

Nothing more was necessary.

The gold scabbard and the boy’s fist crossed.

With a dull noise, it was all over.

Part 5

“It’s over...?” muttered Kumokawa Maria as she sat on the floor.

The circular ring had been sliced to pieces and the roof of the domed facility had been torn apart as well. It had been supported by artificially raised air pressure, but the framework seemed to be just barely holding it up for the moment. Of course, they had no idea how long that would last.

Kumokawa suddenly felt a great cold.

The destroyed domed ceiling had let in the -20 degree weather, but it was also possible Kumokawa Maria’s senses were finally returning to her.

That battle had made her doubt whether she was actually sensing anything properly.

The battle had been greatly distanced from the standard of Academy City and even those from outside Academy City could probably have noticed that it was different. Kamijou Touma, the one who had caused it, cut across the ring that had been casually sliced to pieces. He was headed for Dáinsleif which had fallen from Marian Slingeneyer’s hand.

“Wh-what are you going to do?”

“I can destroy even this,” Kamijou said without turning around. “Marian couldn’t draw it, but someone else might be able to. They might be able to hold back the fear and control it. In that case, I cannot allow it to get out. Who knows how destructive it is.”

As he answered, he unhesitatingly walked over to the magic sword that was the source of all that fear.

Kumokawa Maria felt that everything would finally be over once he destroyed it.

The chain of superhuman battles between Kihara and Gremlin in Baggage City would finally be over.

Kamijou crouched down in front of the magic sword and Kumokawa Maria asked him a question.

“How did you get here? How did you find out about what Gremlin was doing here? It seemed to be a different theory from what Academy City uses.”

“It was Bersi.”

His quick response sent pain into Kumokawa’s chest..

Kamijou continued.

“I never actually met him face to face, but he left various hints around Baggage City that led me here. Also, I still find it suspicious that a mere high school student like me was able to get here from Hawaii with no help.”

How much of it had that man planned?

It may be true Kamijou Touma’s intrusion had saved Baggage City from the worst possible ending. At first glance it all looked like a part of that magician’s plan and that he had left everything for Kamijou Touma to resolve in the very end.

However, what if Kamijou Touma had ended it all sooner?

What if he had broken the illusion sooner?

Things may have ended differently. Bersi’s own objective may have been destroyed and all those tragedy might have been avoided.

Kamijou Touma had been manipulated by Leivinia Birdway and he wanted to rid himself of that.

However, had he done the right thing?

This time he had not been manipulated by anyone, but he did not know the answer to that question.

That was how perfect Bersi was.

If Kamijou Touma had succeeded, that was good. If he had failed, Bersi had his own conclusion prepared.

He cleaned up after himself.

Was it a pure ideal or was the conclusion too pure and should be resented?

“Do you know what kind of person the magician known as Bersi...or as Kihara Kagun was?”

“I do,” replied Kumokawa Maria after she brought her own breathing under control.

As stated before, Kamijou Touma was an outsider this time. He may have simply wanted to know who the man was that had helped him and who had driven Marian on.

“I do not know much, but I do know. I may not even know whether he was good or evil in the end, but I do know him. He is the one that saved some lives including my own and – for me at least – he was a teacher whose mystery was worth pursuing.”

“I see...”

Kamijou stopped moving for a moment.

In a small voice, he spoke a truth that still had not changed.

He did not simply shout it.

His low voice seemed to carve it into him.

“I wasn’t able to save him.”

He learned a lesson in failure.

As if swearing to absorb as much of it as possible, he said it again.

“I wasn’t able to save him.”

“It’s fine,” replied Kumokawa Maria without hesitation. She seemed to be getting over something. “It was such a ridiculous death. He had this satisfied look on his face. I’m sure that was best for him. If it had stretched on any longer, it would have just lowered the purity of his happiness.”

Of course, it was not actually that simple.

Of course, it was not something with a clear explanation.

For a while, Kamijou did not move.

But remaining stopped would not change anything. If he did not move forward, the battle that began in Baggage City would never end. That was why Kamijou headed forward. He reached out his right hand. Toward Dáinsleif. He would bring it to a certain end by destroying that great power.

But...

A slender female hand grabbed Kamijou’s right wrist to stop him.

Kamijou had no idea when the person had appeared.

“Wha—?”

He let out a questioning voice.

A girl of about thirteen or fourteen stood so close that he could feel her breath. The girl had white skin and wore a fur coat that was open on the front and an outfit of black leather. However, two other things she wore drew the eye even more.

The first was a wide brimmed hat with a pointed tip like a witch would wear.

The second was an imposing eyepatch covering her right eye.

Whoever she was, Kamijou concluded she was from the magic side and he went on full alert because she had grabbed his right wrist.

However, what happened next went well beyond anything he could have expected.

The eyepatch girl whispered to him.

“...This isn’t over yet.”

Immediately afterwards...

Without hesitation...

The girl tightened her grip, crushing Kamijou’s right wrist and severing his hand.