Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 15/Chapter 5

 Title- Chapter 5: Defeat the Person with the Strongest Black Wings. Dark_Matter.

Volume 15

Previous Chapter → 4

Next Chapter → Epilogue

Part 1 (Translation)
Because of BLOCK’s collapse, things have settled down for now.

Tsuchimikado is taking care of wrapping things up, Musujime is off taking care of her wounds, and as for Unabara, though it’s not known where he has gone or whatever he is doing, his situation can be called safe at least. Accelerator who, having nothing to do (and no motivation for that matter), took a railcar back to District 7 and bought a can of coffee from a random corner store.

At this time, his phone rang.

On the screen it shows ‘Entry 3’, Tsuchimikado’s number, but after connecting it was someone else calling.

“Thanks for your effort, Accelerator. BLOCK’s plan to assassinate the General Superintendant is finally over. This is all thanks to you people from GROUP.”

“So it’s you.”

Hearing that voice, Accelerator answered in an impatient voice.

“I’m fortunate to have such capable subordinates.”

“… So you really want to die, huh.”

“No no, this time I’m thanking you from the bottom of my heart. Due to that, in addition to usual rewards you receive from your job I’ll give you some useful information as a personal gift.”

“Useful information?”

“That’s right. A bit of information related to Serial Number 20001 – Last Order’s life.”

Part 2 (Translation)
Uiharu Kazari and Last Order are sitting at an open-air café.

Last Order, who came out looking for a ‘lost child’, walked too much that her legs are sore and is currently half-lying on a table. Uiharu next to her has sat down and challenged the shop’s specialty – the extra large sweet cream-puff.

“So, have found the person you’re looking for? Did your ahoge finally stop reacting with that biribiri reaction?”

“… This here that Misaka has isn’t a ahoge! Misaka Misaka says in a tired voice.”

But, a child who’s around ten years old has that cluster of hair that stood up, and is waving in the autumn wind. That’s unquestionably the ultimate ahoge!

“Uu… I’m sure I felt him around here somewhere. But suddenly he went off somewhere, Misaka Misaka is feeling down due to doing all that work for nothing.”

Last Order, who’s like a deflated balloon suddenly raised her head.

Did she find that person? Uiharu thought, but that wasn’t the case.

A few girls walked past, and Last Order is staring at the key chain that’s a free gift from a nearby fast-food chain store.

“Mi-Misaka really want that! Misaka Misaka have no wallet on her so can only use look at Uiharu nee-san with her puppy dog eyes!”

“Ah, geez. Didn’t you come out looking for someone?”

“Yeah, and he’s in that fast food shop, Misaka Misaka can feel - ”

“It’s not alright to lie you know! Besides, I’ve just finished that extra large sweet cream-puff, and I’ve only just started. I can’t leave now.”

“How could you be this relaxed! Misaka Misaka bangs on the table repeatedly and mutters.”

“Ah, don’t you have the left over change from the taxi?”

“Ah! You’re right! Misaka Misaka takes out the paper note and charges towards the fast food shop!”

Before the voice finishes echoing Last Order has already left the café. Uiharu can only wave a handkerchief and say loudly “Remember to come back!”

As Uiharu is about to start her attack on the ice cream section a voice came from beside her:

“Sorry to bother you, ojou-san.”

Uiharu hurriedly put down her spoon and turned towards the voice. There stands a teenager who gives off a vulgar sense of style. On his right hand is some kind of mechanical claws.

On that teenager’s face is a warm smile that doesn’t suit his appearance.

“Um… may I ask who you are?”

“Kakine Teitoku. I’m looking for someone.”

While he’s talking, the teenager who calls himself Kakine brings out a photo.

“Do you know where this child is now? Her name is Last Order.”

“… …”

Uiharu stared at the photo for a few seconds. Then she looked back and forth between Kakine and the photo, and finally shook her head.

“Sorry, I haven’t seen her.”

“Is that so?”

“If you are in a hurry, I suggest you should go to the nearest Anti-Skill booth and ask there.”

“You have a point. But before that, maybe I’ll keep looking myself for a while.”

Kakine says as he turns to leave.

Uiharu has lowered her head, and is about to start her attack on her ice cream once more.

“Ah, right. I have something I forgot to mention.”

“?”

Without waiting for Uiharu to raise her head, the next sentence came with a blow to her head.

“I knew you were with Last Order! You idiot!”


 * bang* The impact spread from her temple.

Before she realised she got hit Uiharu already fell down from her seat. She subconsciously kicked over the table when she fell and knocked over her chair. Her extra large sweet cream-puff, which only had a few bites in it, scattered onto the floor like squashed fruits.

Around them, people passing by screamed.

Uiharu, who still doesn’t know what has happened, her first thought is to stand back up.

But Kakine’s foot viciously stepped onto her right shoulder and pinned her back down.

“That’s why, I didn’t ask ‘do you know her’, but instead ‘where did she go’!”

Kakine put all his weight onto his foot.

Crack. As she felt the heavy touch the pain of bone rubbing each other is being felt passed throughout her body. Then her shoulder dislocated.

Uiharu unconsciously in her pain wants to roll over, but Kakine’s leg is like an unmoving steel beam.

Now rather than say Uiharu is whimpering, it’s more like screaming. But Kakine isn’t moved by this at all.

“You didn’t discover me and told Last Order to [Escape], I understand that you aren’t that capable. Even though I’m a scumbag I prefer not to involve normal people. If you had cooperated with me in the first place I wouldn’t have to use violence.”

Now is an afternoon on a holiday, and around the open-air café there’s a lot of people. But they all only look on from afar and none of them tried to help.

But they can’t really be blamed.

On Uiharu’s arm is a Judgment’s armband. Truth be told Judgment members are only a group that takes care of incidents inside school grounds. Even if the organisation has elites they also have weaklings. It’s a shame that for students that don’t know the truth, those with armbands are like people who protect the peace, like people from the police or the army. If someone like that can be easily defeated, what can they do even if they charge in to help?

There’s no help for Uiharu here.

Kakine put more strength into his leg, forcing his shoe deeper into Uiharu’s shoulder.

“… But! I have no mercy for my enemies. If you didn’t know anything, and is only around Last Order by chance then I wouldn’t have to do this. However, from the instant you decided to protect her on your own will it becomes another matter entirely. So please, ojou-san: don’t force me to kill you right here.”


 * gacha kara kara* The dislocated bones are forcibly being moved, and the pain floods over her body.

When she finally reacted to her pain and try to withstand it Uiharu’s eyes are already filled with tears. The complaint why does she have to go through this, the fear of facing an overwhelming and unstoppable violence, and regret for not being able to solve this situation. These negative feelings are mixing together and pushing down on Uiharu’s mind from the inside.

There is only one way that’s prepared for her to be released from this.

“Where is Last Order?”

In her hazy mind that’s filled with pain, there is only Kakine’s voice.

“Tell me, and I’ll let you go.”

In the maze that has no exit, someone has finally pointed the way out. For Uiharu that’s covered by the darkness that’s called violence, she desires this finish point so much. Her sense of responsibility as a member of Judgment and her personality as ‘Uiharu Kazari’ is being shattered by that one thought of ‘being released from this pain’.

Her lips have finally moved.

With tears running down her cheeks she slowly opened her mouth.

She knows she should stay silent, but she could not accomplish that.

And so, while hating her own uselessness, she declared her final intention.

“…? What?”

Kakine furrowed his eyebrows. He doesn’t seem to understand the other side’s intention.

Uiharu said once more with trembling lips,

“Can you… not… hear me?”

Using what energy she has left.

“I said… that child is at a place where you will never see. I’m not… lying.”

It’s like she’s using all her energy to toy with her foe, she said while poking her tongue out.

Kakine Teitoku went silent.

“… Very well.”

As he said that he moved his leg off Uiharu’s shoulder.

But his foot did not go back onto the ground, instead it aimed at Uiharu Kazari’s head.

“I’ve told you before. Though I don’t attack normal people I have no mercy toward my enemies. If you understand that and yet still decides to refuse cooperation, then there’s nothing I can do.”

Kakine Teitoku put all his strength into his foot that’s hanging above her.

The foot is like it’s going to crush an empty can.

“Farewell.”


 * Boom* A large wind pressure makes Uiharu close her tearful eyes subconsciously. This is all she can do right now.

But, Kakine’s foot did not crush Uiharu’s head.

Another explosion rang out across Academy City.

The gale that swept towards them is like a blast wave. Uiharu opened her eyes and sees an ATM machine and shards of its glass and walls. The twister made of those shards smashes against Kakine Teitoku at an incredible speed. Kakine who took this blow head on stumbled, and the foot that was going to crush Uiharu ended up stomping the floor a few millimetres away from her head.

From inside the completely destroyed ATM machine pure white paper notes is being spitted out, flying in all directions like an angel’s wings.

In the middle of all that, Uiharu heard it.

“… Seriously. Is that all it takes to satisfy you, scumbag?”

Passionate, white, insane.

That’s the voice of the demon-like strongest Level 5 in Academy City! “Let us raise the stakes some more. While we’re at it I’ll teach you what it means to be a Villain.”

Part 3 (Translations)
“That hurt.”

Kakine Teitoku directed his gaze from Uiharu Kazari to Accelerator.

“That was irritating. No wonder you’re the Number One, you’re the most irritating one I’ve ever met. It was the correct choice to come and kill you first.”

“For a lil’ chicken that’s afraid of fighting me head on and has to look for a ‘bargaining chip’ you sure talk big. From the instant you wanted to go after that brat the difference in our combat power is obvious.”

“Are you stupid? She’s only an insurance. Who would fight a bastard like you with an even chance of winning or losing? That’s too troublesome, and you’re not worth that.”

This is Academy City’s Number One and Number Two.

Accelerator and Kakine Teitoku, neither of them has held any information back.

As for cleaning up the aftermath, naturally someone will take care of that later.

“For a pig like you, you should go be a stuffed pig on a food platter where you belong.”

“It’s laughable, you lapdog. Do you really think that by protecting some weaklings you can become a ‘good guy’?”

“Ha, so you still don’t understand.”

Accelerator threw his modern crane to one side and said lowly,

“Fine, now is a good time to teach you something: even Villains have standards!”

Boom! A loud explosion rang out.

Accelerator and Kakine Teitoku clashed head on! The blast wave that exploded out flattened everything; bystanders got knocked down and glass windows are broken. Even in this mess for these two the only ones in their eyes are their opponent.

The result for this round is clear.

Kakine Teitoku who took the attack head on got blown backwards, and smashed into a café making a racket. But Accelerator only felt displeasure, since the other side seemed to have avoided a head on clash.

“So you’re the esper that can control any vectors.”

A voice came out of the café that looked as if it has been hit by a bomb.

“Then, what if you were to smash into a large mass that can’t be moved regardless of all the vectors you can gather? Guess that wouldn’t work, as long as my vectors are being controlled it’s meaningless.”

Completely unhurt.

Kakine Teitoku who’s walking out of the shop has some kind of cocoon around him. No, those are wings! Six wings like that of an angel’s are spreading behind him slowly.

Accelerator can’t help but furrow his brows.

“That doesn’t suit you, you unoriginal idiot who can only copy myths.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, I know.”

Before their voice stopped echoing they clashed once more.

Against Accelerator who controlled the vectors beneath his feet and charged, Kakine Teitoku spread his wings and flew almost twenty metres away onto the centre of the road.

On the other side, Accelerator swept his arm in front of him and slashed through the air. The vectors of air flow are now totally under his control. Boom! A hurricane with wind speed of 120m a second blasted towards Kakine like a cannon shot.

“?!”

Waving his dexterous wings, Kakine tried to avoid the attack, but a *click* sound reached his ears. When he looked he found Accelerator have already closed the distance between them. As for how or when, before Kakine even figured that out Accelerator had thrust his right hand towards Kakine’s chest.

“Did you know, that everything in this world is made of elementary particles?”

As Kakine said that he retracted his wings to protect himself. When Accelerator came into contact with the wings it disintegrated automatically into countless white feathers and stopped the attack aimed at Kakine.

“Elementary particles are something even tinier than molecules and atoms. There exists roughly these types of particles; mesons, leptons, quarks, and hadrons made of antiparticles and quarks. The world is made of these elementary particles.”

“However,” Kakine said in a soft voice,

“That kind of common knowledge does not apply to my ‘Dark Matter’!”

Boom! Accompanying gale winds the six wings behind Kakine instantly recovered its form.

“The ‘Dark Matter’ I create is matter that does not exist in this world. It’s not matter ‘not yet discovered’, nor ‘matter that theoretically exist’, but matter that is undeniably ‘does not exist’.”

A matter made by esper ability that cannot be classified by science.

Facing these white wings that seems to have come from a different world and defies the laws of physics, Accelerator’s will is not shaken.

Who cares what they are, they will all be chattered by the ability to manipulate vectors.

“OK, then I’ll blast you apart along with your ‘Dark Matter’.”

With one more step forward, Accelerator can tear apart Kakine Teitoku’s heart.

However,

“You still don’t understand.”

As Kakine finished his sentence his white wings lets out a ‘swoosh’ and projected a brilliant white light.

“?!”

A burning pain forces Accelerator back away from Kakine involuntarily. At the same time he noticed the change in the situation.

Accelerator who can reflect all vectors was actually hurt by an outside attack.

“That was ‘refraction’. Light or electromagnetic waves change direction when passing through narrow gaps; this is common knowledge even in high school textbooks. Using multiple gaps at the same time will make the waves interfere with each other.”

Simply put it’s by refracting light through the countless unseen gaps on the wings to change the nature of sunlight and use it to attack Accelerator. It’s not that the white wings give off light itself, but light are changed by refracted through it.

“Ah, the value of things depends on how you use them. So, how does it feel to be burned to death by sunlight?”

However,

“… Go back and study up on physics, you idiot. No matter how you refract sunlight it doesn’t change the nature of it into something like a beam of light that kills.”

“Hm, that is indeed the case with the normal physics of this world.”

Kakine’s six wings curled up and are gathering strength.

“But! My ‘Dark Matter’ is matter that does not exist in this world! It completely disobeys the laws of physics of this world. Sunlight that gets refracted by the ‘Dark Matter’ will also have its own set of laws! Foreign bodies are like this, just by mixing in a little bit the world will completely change!”

Fwoom! The six wings blew up a gale wind towards Accelerator. Accelerator used his ‘reflect’ to subdue the wind while trying to figure out his opponent’s aim. When he looked closely, he found that Kakine is smiling.

“-- Reverse calculations, complete.”

“!?”

When Accelerator heard that he tried to dodge, but the six wings have already begun to strike. Unlike before, the six wings this time is solely used as blunt weapons for hitting.

A series of *gacha gacha* exploded out from Accelerator’s body.

Accelerator, who can reflect all vectors, got blown over 10m away, until he hit one of the trees on the sidewalk. The thick trunk of the tree got snapped with one blow.

“Oof…!?”

(So the sunlight and wind from before is all for…!!)

“Accelerator, you said before you can reflect everything, but actually that’s incorrect.”

Kakine’s wings spread soundlessly.

The wings that are over 20m long are like giant swords, aiming at Accelerator who flew up to a rooftop and struck down like a enormous tower collapsing.

“If you reflect sound then you can’t hear anything, and if you reflect physical objects you cannot hold anything. You subconsciously established a ‘filter’ that sees everything as ‘harmful’ or not, and use your reflect to push away anything that could harm you.”

Accelerator spat out the blood in his mouth, and blew apart the water cylinder on top of the building with one stomp and jumped aside using the rebound.

The white wings that struck down impacted onto the building, and split the building from top to middle into two. Large dust clouds swelled outwards from there.

“The sunlight and wind that is affected by the ‘Dark Matter’ have been infused in it 25,000 different kind of energies. Then by observing your ‘reflect’ and filtering system that judges which energies are deemed ‘harmful’ or not and use the energies that is ‘subconsciously accepted as not harmful’ to attack you.”

Even if Accelerator changes his rules which reflect is based on, Kakine Teitoku will immediately use his Dark Matter to inspect the change. The repeated attack and defence this way will only make Accelerator’s wounds get worse and worse.

“Such is ‘Dark Matter’.”

Kakine Teitoku smiled and spread his wings.

“This space which has been affected by foreign bodies is no longer the world that you know!”

Faced with this taunting, Accelerator controlled the air flow and made four twisters behind him.

Clash!

Accelerator’s twisters swept away Kakine’s wings, and Kakine’s wings blew apart Accelerator’s twisters. The buildings which are made of steel beams and cement are trembling from the blast waves and shakes continuously. Suddenly, the two are longer where they were. The two of them continuously attacked each other and moving in parallel down the main road at an extreme speed. Occasionally they flew towards a windmill electricity generator, and occasionally they kicked streetlights away, and fly down the road in a frightening speed.

“Even though I’ve finally snatched the ‘Pincet Glove’, studied the UnderLine, and planned many other things, but none of them worked. Guess killing you, the Number One off, is the fastest and most efficient method.”

Kakine says while waving his wings that spans several tens of metres long.

“What? You maggot, you’re still on about rankings at a time like this?”

“This has nothing to do with rankings! I only want the right to directly communicate with Aleister!”

Accelerator ignored Kakine’s words and stomped onto the gravel road, and then kicked the rocks that were sent flying up using a karate kick.

Boom! A loud explosion rang out.

The vectors of the pebbles were changed and were fired off faster than a Railgun, but vanished after a few millimetres. However, the blast waves did not vanish, and the attack felt as if it will tear the very air apart. But, Kakine also put strength into his wings and scattered the blast waves. The waves of attacks between the two clashes against one another, sending a ‘tsunami’ of air throughout their surroundings and blew streetlights and advertisement signs flying.

“That bastard Aleister has many plans in place at the same time. Even the most promising plan for him once he found it doesn’t work he’ll switch to another plan immediately, then when the time is right he’ll go back to the original plan. Just like a spider web, no matter which path you choose sooner or later you will end up back on the same path.”

Accelerator and Kakine who was flying parallel down the road suddenly changed paths and chose the shortest route to smash into each other. A four-lane crossroad is blocked completely due to the clash between those two. Nobody complained, and nobody dared to complain. Everyone here have the instinct that if they dare to speak up they will die.

The silhouettes of the two swept past each other.

A few seconds later, the air exploded and an explosive blast rang out.

“If that’s the case then there is only one efficient path to take. Destroy all other plans that are prepared, so that Aleister have no other path to take. Then, as long as I’m not the ‘Spare Plan’, as long as I am the centre of the plan then Aleister can no longer ignore me! I don’t want to destroy this city, it is still useful. That’s why I’ll start from devouring the core, and in the end take control of this city!”

Accelerator’s and Kakine’s blood flew around the air.

“So, only by killing off me, who’s the ‘true centre’, can you take over the plans.”

The two of them stood facing each other, slowly gauging their opponent.

If Kakine can say such rhetoric then he must be confident of the truth in the fact that Aleister have many plans.

And for Kakine to have done what he did, naturally he have his own reasons. As for this point, Accelerator didn’t try to figure it out. In the Darkness of Academy City, there is more tragedy than stars in the night sky. Chances are one of them is what twisted Kakine’s personality. Just like how Accelerator killed 10,000 SISTERs for the ‘Experiment’. Just like how Accelerator is willing to give up his live to save one person.

“Bullshit.”

Accelerator continued, while on that train of thought:

“Maybe you think what you’re saying is nothing less than the absolute moral truth, but everything that’s coming out of your stinking mouth is complete bullshit.”

“Ha. Even though you have the right to directly communicate with Aleister, you have no idea the value of that right! People like you have no right to say that about me.”

“At the moment you spoke of those words, you’re one of those common filth that passes themselves as great villains.”

“That doesn’t sound convincing.”

Kakine Teitoku said uninterestedly.

“I don’t want to lay hands on normal people either. If I’m in a good mood I’ll even let ‘bad guys’ off. Having said that, I don’t really care if those people live or die. Aren’t you the same? In our battle just then, how many spectators and bystanders have got hurt? Cement and asphalt were travelling at over the speed of sound, and blast waves wiped out everything. That’s the kind of battle between us.”

“… …”

“Including the brat that shielded Last Order, they are all the same. You don’t have to right to lecture me, murderer. In order to battle with me, the you that kill off bystanders have no right to lecture me. Don’t tell me you truly believe you are exempt from your own ideals.”

“Ha, ‘to battle with you and killing off bystanders in the process’, is it?”

Even when accused of this question Accelerator smiled leisurely.

“What a scumbag. It’s because you have no aesthetics that you can those kind of boring words.”

“Huh?”

“In the end, do you understand why you’re Number Two and I’m Number One?”

As he laughs he spreads his arms out wide.

“Between me and you, there’s a impassable wall separating us.”

Kakine is fuming at his comments, but he also noticed it.

Their surroundings.

True, that the battle between Accelerator and ‘Dark Matter’ have made the road a mess. The glass from the buildings has shattered, traffic lights have been blasted off, and trees have been blown away and are sticking out of the cement buildings.

But, something is missing.

And that is tragedies.

Glass shards rained down from above, but there were no-one hurt. A sweeping gale has twisted the path of those shards into falling elsewhere. The advertisement signs have miraculously protected those that were to slow to run away. The others are the same, with not a single person hurt. Though it’s uncertain, on their way fighting to this point probably not a single bystander was hurt.

(Im…impossible!)

Kakine felt his throat went dry.

“Are you saying… that you protected them all?”

Thinking back, the first sneak attack could have been much more powerful. But if that was the case, Last Order’s companion at that time would also have been hurt.

This is his way of doing things.

Even in a death match between the Number One and Number Two Level 5s, even on a battlefield where a slight mistake could get you killed, Accelerator have protected those normal people who he have never met.

“Don’t joke around! Are you saying everything was in your grasp from the beginning?!”

Accelerator showed impatience, as if saying ‘of course’, and taunts Kakine for his incompetence that he could not do the same.

“Are you angry, you lowlife?”

Towards Kakine who’s shocked, Accelerator impatiently said:

“Now this is what should be called a Villain.”

If after doing this much one is still called a Villain, then just what does a Hero in Accelerator’s mind have to do?!

“Stop pouting nonsense, Accelerator --!!”

Kakine Teitoku roared out and increased the power in his six wings. Changing the lengths, the structure, the white wings spread out and transformed into six lethal weapons that aimed at six of Accelerator’s vital points.

Facing these, Accelerator only smiled.

“Bring it on.”

“These are more than enough to bring you down, since I’ve already figured you’re your filtering system. That sham of your defence cannot stop this!”

“Indeed, you can control matter that doesn’t exist in this world.”

Accelerator only wagged his index finger and made a ‘feel free to do your worst’ expression.

“The laws written in school textbooks don’t work on them, and light and electromagnetic waves that come in contact with the ‘Dark Matter’ gets twisted into energy that can’t possibly exist. So by using energy calculation algorithms based on rules of this world will definitely have flaws.”

The killing intent between the two has risen dramatically.

This crossroad is now fully saturated with the breath of death.

“Then all I have to do is include them in my calculations. To change the laws of this world into a new world that includes your ‘Dark Matter’, and rewrite a new algorithm then it’s checkmate.”

“Using your Vector Change… to control my Dark Matter…?”

“Don’t you think I can do it?”

“Ha, do you think you can gauge the entirety of my depths just by doing that?”

“Your depth is actually quite shallow.”

“…!?”

“Shallow to the point I don’t even need to try and gauge it!”

A sound of explosion ripped through the sky.

It only took an instant for the two to clash.

The victor in the match between the Number One and Number Two has been decided.

Part 5
[End Volume 15 Chapter 5]