Leep

Leep (リープ) is an Egyptian Magician who appears in Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index SS. Also known as the Priestess of Bastet (バステトの巫女), she seeks the Book of the Dead within Index.
 * Appears In = Novel|Novel Debut = NT Index SS}}

Appearance
Leep is brown-skinned with long black hair. She also has vertical slits for pupils similar to a cat.

She wears a pink camisole dress that reaches almost down to her ankles but is made of thin material, such that her entire body is almost visible though it. She also wears a black hooded cloak that hides her silhouette with a cat ear design on top of the hood, it's hemline desgined to look like golden ankhs also known as Egyptian crosses. She wears a black fur belt, from which lozenge-shaped gold ornaments are hanging. The end of this belt hangs behind her, making her look like she has a tail. Finally, Leep is bare foot.

Personality
Leep is shown to be quite caring to the person she looks up to, curious to know more about her. Likely extending from this desire, is the willingness to harm others to gain her goals.

Background
In the past, Leep had looked up to someone, the Priestess of Sekhmet, whom she saw like a strict older sister. Since that person refused to take on apprentices, Leep learned her techniques through observation rather than being taught by her. However after that person died, Leep realized she knew nothing about her, as she had never revealed her past to anyone, and despite wanting to tell the world about her, had no way of determining if it was truly accurate.

Wanting to learn about the person's life and tell about what sort of person she had truly been, Leep wanted to read the Book of the Dead that was written by her and placed at her grave. However she found that tomb robbers had stolen parts of the book, leaving it incomplete. Because of this, she sought diagrams and parts from another version of the Book of the Dead in order to complete it.

Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index SS
Prior to meeting Index, she discreetly sets up a variety of things for Index to see related to Egyptian mythology, in order for her to reconstruct the Priestess of Sekhmet's Book of the Dead inside of Index. After doing so, she was going to Sphynx in order to peer inside Index's mind and figure out if the reconstruction has been success, and if so, allowing her to read the life of the Priestess of Sekhmet through her Book of the Dead.

Despite her efforts, she is still noticed by Index who demands her to come out. Leep says to her that she wished to use Sphynx, attracted by name Index has given to the cat, in order to peek through her mind. Index reveals that Leep, referring to her as the Priestess of Bastet, is trying to reconstruct the Book of the Dead grimoire inside of her head and demands to know why, pointing out that with the methods she uses, she should already have the original with her. With a fierce smile, the girl says she only needed to know if the grimoire had been properly put together in head, as using Sphynx failed, she'll have to use other methods. She then says that Index isn't totally correct as she is not a priestess of Bastet but that of Sekhmet, the goddess of shed blood and slaughter, who is symbolized by the lioness and is sometimes seen as identical to Bastet, goddess of fertility and production.

Then, claws appear from her from bloody fingertips, the priestess becomes entranced to awaken a mindset that is similar to that of Sekhmet, a goddess with a concentrated extraction of all the most frightening aspects of woman. Here, she gains strength of a lion, partially transforming her physical body, which allows her to wield claws and fangs. As she laughs in a trance, she claws on her chest, drawing her blood, fulfilling her role as a servant of Sekhmet. Using this power of hers, she charges toward Index. As she swings her arm toward her, Index moved her lips, making Sekhmet think she had heard Index speak. It is actually a technique to allow a magician to perform high speed incantations. Index has transmitted her thoughts to the girl through the movement of her lips.

Index merely surprised the girl, but this surprise allowed Index to confuse her. And as her body acted in high-speed, and hesitation to her actions can become dangerous. Thus, the girl falls terribly, and screams in pain afterwards. Index looks down upon the fallen girl and says that she is not the priestess of Sekhmet, hence the reason why she must be Bastet, goddess of fertility and production, a cat goddess not a lion goddess, as she used cats to steal information in her original plan. Index says that Sekhmet is in her head, as the girl constructed the Book of the Dead there, a grimoire that is custom-made for each person who dies. The girl tries to tell Index to be quiet but Index presses on, asking why she wanted to read the deeds and sins of the dead person named Sekhmet.

The girl mentions diagrams, and says she had the priestess of Sekhmet's Book of the Dead, though it was incomplete as they were missing on account of grave robbers. Hearing this, Index understands that she sought for the lost illustrations and diagrams, things that are difficult when transmitting grimoires. Regardless, the priestess promise to reach Sekhmet, and truly understand her.

And then, Index's voice changed. It is the voice of the Priestess of Sekhmet, calling out to Leep, the Priestess of Bastet. She tells her to become a freer magician instead of being trapped by her. The voice says that she was confused on how much she looked up to her as she is not that kind of person, though says she was happy when she did. The voice says that it was the reason why she refused to take on an apprentice and yet continued to partially responded to what she wanted. She apologizes for not outright refusing her as she was afraid of losing her. This however was not a conversation with the dead Priestess of Sekhmet, but instead it is like a recording directed specifically to the Priestess of Bastet, showing her feelings toward her, and Leep, the Priestess of Bastet is merely listening to her. The voice says that she was truly happy Leep became the Priestess of Bastet instead of Sekhmet, and says that she should cover people in a shower of blessings rather than someone like her who covers people in a shower of blood, and says that she is her greatest hope, as she had far surpassed her. And thus her illusions were broken with a tearful smile.

It is unknown what fate befalls Leep after she loses consciousness.

Abilities
Leep makes use of Magic based on Egyptian Mythology, involving the cat goddess Bastet. She is capable of manipulating cats, using the fact that they are seen as Bastet's messengers, acting as agents to communicate between man and gods, and use them to steal information.

By entering a trance and by harming herself, she can also use the power of the violent lioness goddess Sekhmet, sometimes identified with Bastet, who grows intoxicated with the shedding of blood, both from her enemies and herself. While using this power, she acquires bestial claws, high speed and strength enough to tear through a person's body with a single swing of her arm.

She is also capable of making dust momentarily form a descriptive text.

Quotes

 * (To Index regarding her goal, from NT Index SS):  Bastet will reach Sekhmet… I have to. I will take back…the diagrams…and truly understand her. And to do that…I must…I must…!!"''