02x05 - Lotus Wand

[bunniefuu]

I'd gone to save Orsola,

who had been captured by the Roman Orthodox Church, by myself...

...or so I thought I had, but Stiyl?

Tatemiya?

And even Index?!

Then I guess that means that none of us

meant to allow this incident to end with such a lousy outcome, huh?

"A Certain Magical Index II"

I gazed at the coin I had flipped

If it's heads I go, tails I stay

Let me know your answer first

"Please, won't you tell me?"

But the angel continued to smile in discernment

Wander on! There's nobody to lead you by the hand

The answer handed down from God is one of woe

Yes, that is what your gift from God is

Once you overcome it, you'll start to see, so right now... (Look for it by oneself, no buts about it)

No buts!

Focus on att*ck!

"# Lotus Wand" Focus on att*ck!

"# Lotus Wand" Forget about defense!

"# Lotus Wand" Do the honorable thing, as we annihilate the enemies of the Lord!

Do the honorable thing, as we annihilate the enemies of the Lord!

Th-They wouldn't...

Just to avoid the Sheol Fear...?

Damn!

Damn...

Is there no end to them?

This way!

Toma!

Hurry!

For the moment, it looks like we're all safe.

Can you walk, Orsola?

You are the worrying type, aren't you?

I have not been injured that severely.

W-What do we do?

I-I don't think my Sheol Fear will have any effect on them

with their ears punctured like that.

And I can only use Spell Intercept against one person at a time.

My men seem to be holding their own,

but when people start launching su1c1de att*cks like this,

nothing scares me more.

If...

If I had the Book of the Law here,

I might be able to find us a way out of this.

Indeed, just by declaring that the seal had been broken

on the Book of the Law's angel techniques,

we could use it to negotiate.

However, the Book of the Law supposedly being stolen

was a ruse on their part to ensnare us.

Thus, even having the text here in Japan at all would be strange.

--Oh, it is! --Oh, it is!

It's true that not even you can decipher the Book of the Law.

Meaning you had to at least view it, in order to have read it.

And if so, it would be odd if the Book of the Law's original text

were not stored intact somewhere within your memory, right?

Mm-hmm. It's in there, left alone, without me deciphering its code--

No way! If you do that,

she will remember the content of the Book of the Law!

If that happens, she'll be stuck with even more magicians

coming after her than there already are!

Huh? Are you worried about me?

Kamijo Toma!

W-What?!

You have to become stronger! If this incident carries over

and she gets done in, I'll burn you, body and soul,

until there aren't even any ashes left!

Damn...

So, tell me, what does the decryption process

for the Book of the Law involve?

Oh, right...

Well then, I will now tell you.

We will not actually make any use of the Book of the Law's power.

We just have to indicate our willingness to use it at any time.

It is based upon Temurah, which is to say, letter substitution,

but there is an irregular rule

that is deeply connected to the number of lines.

First, the twenty-two Hebrew letters are placed into two lines.

taking note of the line number above them...

Huh?

It's all right. I pretty much get all of it now.

Um, what is it that you have "gotten"?

This is not the correct way to decipher it.

It is a dummy solution, set up as a trap.

The frightening thing about the Book of the Law

is that there are more than methods of decoding it.

What's more, for every method, it forms different sentences,

each of which are also dummies.

It's not that nobody can read the Book of the Law--

it is a grimoire that everyone can read,

but everyone is induced into deciphering incorrectly.

It can't be...

Depending on how you think of it, you might have just been saved.

Say, if we tell them now that we really don't know how to decode it,

do you think they'll let us off the hook?

Probably not, huh?

Now that they've seen this much of the darkness, they can't back down.

There must be a back door somewhere!

No matter how I look at it,

I doubt that while taking on that great a number,

you could move freely about the premises.

I've come up with a bit of strategy, you see.

Strategy? Ah, I see. So that's what this is.

Oh... so after you came strutting in here like the hero,

you're now using your friends as decoys to get this far, are you?

Orsola Aquinas said something about you acting based on trust,

not because of any deception.

That is absolutely laughable, isn't it?

Here the reason you're still breathing

is because you tricked someone into being your decoy.

No...

I do trust them. If possible, I'd be glad if they would trust me--

that I can settle my problems myself.

You think that by eliminating me, the commander,

you can stop all the att*cks?

Well, all right. I was just starting to grow bored myself.

I think I'll just occupy myself by shattering your fantasy!

All things in harmony. Fifth of the Five Elements,

symbolizing peace and order...

...deploy this crosier!

Icon one, in accordance with the laws of the Son of God and the cross,

join that which is at odds with he who is at odds!

A coordinate att*ck? Teleportation?

That staff...!

I see you finally figured it out.

When you do harm to this, it in turn does harm to something else.

Kind of like this!

D-Damn!

Just where are those att*cks coming from?

Yikes!

Don't think you can evade me forever in the same fashion.

Once I anticipate your move and set up the space to att*ck from,

you charge into it all on your own.

This is unforgivable.

The church of the cross's original purpose

was to help others, and that is how it spread.

But to turn that around, and use force to do something like this...

You're "using force to do something like this" to bash away at me.

Do you take offense at being beaten?

The bishop's crosier is an alteration of the mace,

once used to smash through an enemy's armor.

What is wrong with using something for b*ating to b*at something with?

Modern western magic has had a dimension

of church-of-the-cross trickery about it from the start.

The fact that anyone besides us uses it is what is unusual.

Ultimately, dogma outside of Roman Orthodoxy

"A Certain Magical Index II" Ultimately, dogma outside of Roman Orthodoxy

"A Certain Magical Index II" is no dogma at all!

"A Certain Magical Index II"

Anyhow, you're in my way!

No more whining,

just die in our assembly line already, if you please!

That's the att*ck I've been waiting for!

It can't be...

I'm going back...

...to that place... once again?

No!

I'm not about to go back!

I'm not about to go back!

No way!

I hate to do this to you while you're trying so hard,

but it looks like it's all over.

It's gone quiet outside.

It sounds like your plan was to defeat me and make some deal

while they were holding their own outside as decoys,

but all too easily, the fantasy appears to have come to an end.

Yeah.

Exactly right.

Your fantasy is over, Agnese Sanctis!

Huh?

I used cards for this.

We may not be much in the way of numbers, but still...

...the Amakusa are not a bunch to be trifled with.

I mean, by using the placement of the rune cards,

to construct an even greater figure,

thereby turning the entire church itself into a giant magic array...

...they employed everything around us to form multicomponent magic arrays.

It's a sneaky trick I couldn't have come up with.

I told you, we had a strategy.

These guys weren't running around to act as decoys;

they were just placing these cards around the premises.

Hmph! We still have you beaten in sheer numbers.

If we all come crushing down on you at once...

What are you all waiting for?! Go at once!

Th-They're wavering...

Even though if we push en masse, we can b*at them.

They act as a result of what they believe.

This should be good, shouldn't it?

What do I do?

What am I supposed to do?

What method?

What timing?

What w*apon?

How do I choose?

It's over, Agnese.

You must realize it yourself by now.

Your illusion of self-confidence d*ed a long time ago.

Toma!

Toma! Wake up! Toma!

A-Are you awake?

Kanzaki?

I had planned on leaving directly, but...

What's that?

A note card?

I-It was nothing, really.

After all, I have the chance to speak to you directly.

There is no need for this note.

Call it an after-action report--

I came to keep you updated on Orsola Aquinas.

Should I have left you alone, instead?

I'm listening! Please!

Orsola Aquinas, as well as the Amakusa,

have arranged to become affiliated with the English Puritans.

Avoiding Roman Orthodox retaliation and assassination

appears to have played a large role in this.

Which means that Orsola being in danger remains unchanged?

No. The English Puritan Church disclosed

the false decryption method that Orsola possessed.

They figure that if her erroneous interpretation is known,

any concerns about her regarding the Book of the Law will disappear.

Hmm? But you said the Amakusa were affiliating themselves

with the English Puritans, too, right?

Yes. It seems there was a segment of them

that had been hoping for this development.

And after I gave them a strict order not to follow after me, too.

Oh, right. You're a member of the English Puritans too, huh?

Of all the...

So um, I mean... I apologize, for all of this!

Huh? For what?

You know, how um... that is, for my own personal reasons,

I put you to all sorts of trouble over all of this, you could say...

Yo, Kami!

I came to see you!

I brought you some deluxe convenience store pudding

topped with melon to snack on! Huh? What's up, missy?

Looks like the time has finally come for you to apologize to Kami.

And doing it all clichéd and royal at that, like,

"I will pay you back for all the trouble I caused you," or,

"please, ask anything you want of me," I'll bet,

with you offering suggestions!

Man, it's like "The Grateful Yet Horny Crane."

I-It is not!

Then again, missy, you were gonna strip down eventually, right?

I-I was not! And what do you mean, "eventually"?!

Huh? Then, you were gonna apologize

by wearing whatever he wanted you to?

Aren't you the service-minded one!

Just shut up and get out of here!

Okay, okay. Third wheel getting out of the way.

Who are you calling a third wheel?!

U-Um...

I-I know I must have this straight, but...

...you paying me back, or owing me, or anything as ridiculous as that

is only something that Tsuchimikado is joking about, right?

Well, I ask you, what else would you have me do?

I am always placing such an unbearable weight upon your shoulders.

And this time, the matter was ours, to boot.

We are way past the point where I can just bow down

and have you forgive me.

Hmm... There's really nothing to worry about, is there?

We've gotten through our problems safely for the time being.

"Our"?

Huh? Me and the Amakusa. Ah, and the English Puritans, too, I guess.

Not to mention Orsola, Index, Stiyl...

...as well as yourself.

As of now, that's who "we" are, right?

As far as the English and the Romans,

things must be pretty tangled up for you,

but for an amateur like me, honestly, I can't tell them apart.

It's not really as though I've taken the side

of the English Puritans, which Index is a part of.

For now, I'm just taking the side of the English Puritans

Because Index is a part of them.

It's likely that if Agnese came asking for my help, I'd go help her.

She may have been on the wrong side of things this time,

but there's no rule anywhere saying that she has to stay

on the wrong side, you know.

The Roman Orthodox Church intends to settle this up

as a case of a rogue militant faction led by Agnese Sanctis.

The Roman Orthodox Church itself wishes to explain themselves

by saying that they never meant to assassinate Orsola.

They still have to answer for not keeping a tight rein on their men,

if they want bygones to be bygones.

Looking back, you seemed to be fully aware

of the Roman Orthodoxy's true intentions.

So then, why didn't you tell me to save Orsola from the start?

It's so complicated.

No, not fully.

Who knew that Orsola's decryption method was incorrect?

But for my part, it worked out either way.

Let's suppose, Stiyl...

...that if we had failed to rescue Orsola in this instance,

would anything, in fact, have changed?

If she had been taken back to the Roman Orthodox Church,

her subsequent execution would be waiting for her regardless.

Either way, the Book of the Law would never have been deciphered.

In that case, Archbishop, why did you personally request

that the crucifix got to Orsola?

Say what you will,

but you fully meant to save her from the start, did you not?

I-I did not! The only reason I ever butted in

was in the interest of the English Puritan Church!

And that interest would be...?

Kanzaki Kaori.

Becausae Kanzaki possesses tremendous power,

and a well-developed sense of justice,

she is someone who is likely to act on her own.

She ventured awfully close to peril in this instance.

You've received the reports on what happened

to those fools in the knight's order, right?

Yes.

Henceforth, we're going to require some new leg-irons for her.

Not some negative leg-irons, like,

"We will do harm unless you do as you are told,"

but more like "do as you are told,

and we will protect the Amakusa from the Roman Orthodox Church."

See? There is no finer interest, is there?

Why, that little vixen...

I can change even the destiny that entwines me

so I have everything in my hand!

If I lack the power to not be outdone by anyone

I can always destroy that illusion

The laid out system backup install is okay

Fields unknown even to God become opened

It's a "living form" that not even data

from , memories in a moment's miracle can infer

In a Magic∞world exciting time or space there's no limit

I want the power it takes to protect somebody

I can change even the destiny that entwines me

so I have everything in my hand!

"Preview"

"Preview" A stolen travel case lies hidden in the darkness of Academy City.

A stolen travel case lies hidden in the darkness of Academy City.

When Shirai Kuroko comes into contact with a part of it,

she learns a terrifying truth.

Next time, "Remnant."

When science and magic cross paths, the story begins.