Freadia Strikers

Freadia Strikers (フリーディア＝ストライカーズ) is a member of Necessarius and the supervisor for the Amakusa's admission test in Toaru Majutsu no Index SS: Necessarius Special Admission Test.

Her actions in the sidestory make her out to be the direct antagonist in the narrative. She portrays a -like character, as she relentlessly chases down the Amakusa Christians as part of her mission, convinced of their guilt, while they seek out the villain and all the while trying not to harm her.

Appearance
Freadia has blonde hair, tied up at the back. She wears a red outfit described as half-way between a dress and a suit.

Personality
Freadia is a ruthless, stubborn, suspicious and vindictive individual. She is perfectly willing to use methods that would put herself at risk to achieve her goals, as shown by her use of a highly dangerous artifact from Sword Sanctuary and her method for defeating Emilie Fordia.

In spite of this, she has shown that she is quick to forgive and holds no grudges, as exemplified by her behavior after the Amakusa Christians have been cleared from their frameup by the conspiracy of the Dusk Waiting to Awaken, Pound Economy countries and Cynthia Exment. She even smiled while presenting the Amakusa Christians with the spiritual item that represented their inclusion into the Anglican Church, despite still recuperating from her injuries.

Background
Freadia left her parents when she was young, as her parents, magicians themselves who were highly immersed in magic yet hated it, were imprisoned by the Anglican Church due to fears that they'd leak high-level magical techniques after their attempt to leave the magic side, though she didn't grow to hate the organization because of this.

When Freadia undertook the entrance exam for Necessarius, she had to escape from a broken submarine fitted with explosives in the North Sea within a time limit.

Toaru Majutsu no Index SS: Necessarius Special Admission Test
In early September, around the time of the Pound Economy summit, Freadia was assigned to be the supervisor for the Amakusas' admission test to Necessarius. At 7PM, while eating in a pub in London, she contacted the Amakusas via her crystal radio and gave them instructions for the test, answering questions they had before they started. Once they had arrived at the underground station at Lambeth and Freadia finished answering their questions, the test began.

Freadia continued to observe them, mentioning that the test was easier than the one she had when she joined. She continued eating and occasionally chatting with them, up to the point when some static briefly occurred over the connection. At that point, another party began intercepting the communications and fed in a fake communication line, pretending to be the Amakusas. Not noticing the deception, Freadia continued to monitor the imposters, believing them to be the real ones, right up to when they completed the test and obtained the pass, at which point the voices from her crystal radio ceased. Realizing what it likely meant, Freadia turned the dial to activate the curse but it was reversed, causing the core to break to her annoyance. Fitting in a new core and finishing her dinner, Freadia contacted her superiors, requesting reinforcements and told them that the Amakusas should be eliminated when found.

Heading to the underground station, Freadia was unable to pick up any traces of the Amakusas. Requesting assistance via her crystal radio, Freadia began marking possible locations and detours on a map. As she was doing so, the voice on the other end questioned her use of communications based on a precious metal curse since it didn't seem like it had stable rules with an unknown basis, but she replied that she had her reasons, remarking that was healthier for diversity to spread.

Leaving the station, Freadia met with Flack Anchors and his team, whom she had been told was the closest team available. After a short introduction and warning him to remove anything that would cause problems with her curse, she asked him what he thought the enemy was after. Asking if she was testing her colleagues in a situation like this, Flack said that the grimoires in the repair room of the city library were probably the ideal targets for quick and sure use of the free pass. Since it was close by, they decided to head there on foot. As they did, Freadia briefly wondered about how the Amakusas planned to escape afterwards but decided to focus on the library for now.

After they arrived at the city library, Freadia told Flack where the repair room was and allowed his men to head in, with the traps deactivated. As she slowly followed, after looking at the cases held by Flack and his men, she noticed no footprints or signs of disturbance. When she arrived at the repair room, Flack told her that the Amakusas weren't there and that they likely hadn't arrived. As Freadia said that if that were the case they could just wait for them to arrive, she trailed off as she thought back on where they could have overtaken them, thinking how things didn't add up. As she pulled her head out from the door to the room, she was struck in the back of her head by Flack and fell to the floor. Flack then pulled out a gun from the case he'd been carrying, mentioning how there was a way to slip through the surveillance network. Freadia realized then he'd had her lead him there and that the operator who had introduced him to her had been a fake. As she reached for her handbag to use her crystal radio, Flack shot her, sending her rolling down the stairs.

She later came to in the stairway and found that someone had applied bandages to her wounds. Checking the repair room, she was surprised to find it untouched. Trying to remember what had happened, she recalled some vague memories about Flack fighting some Asians and wondered if there had been some infighting between enemies. She found Flack and his men on the first floor, unconscious and bound, and realized that the Amakusas did it. Not considering their actions enough to trust or ignore them, Freadia prepared to use her radio but stopped as she turned the dial. Thinking about how the enemy had used her method against her, she decided to use a different means and looked for a phone.

When Necessarius reinforcements arrived, Freadia accompanied them as they transported Flack and his men to the Sword Sanctuary. After explaining the situation, she left the customization worker to deal with Flack and his men while she went to get treatment for her wounds. While her hand was being treated, she opened up her crystal radio and found to her annoyance that the core had been replaced. Thinking that it likely happened while she was unconscious in the library, Freadia inspected the stone and realized that as it didn't have a particular big output, the one who wanted to use it was probably within the Sword Sanctuary.

Finding the worker bound with cables, Freadia learned that Flack's body was actually a wax doll and that a girl had come out it. Realizing it was the Amakusas' work, Freadia and the worker began searching the facility as reinforcements arrived. She instructed them to check every locked door and break them down if there wasn't a key. She asked how strong the doors were, to which the worker replied they had Hrungnir which could break down any barrier with a single blow.

Eventually they arrived at the last remaining door, to the records room. Informed that Orsola Aquinas had attempted to contact her, Freadia told the others to ignore it and to break down the door. Entering the room, they found Itsuwa lying injured on the floor. Seeing her crystal on the table with Eastern writing around it which prevent her from picking it up, Freadia realized that Itsuwa injured herself after making sure that they couldn't finish her off and had to care for her before dealing with the stone.

When Itsuwa came to, strapped to a bed, Freadia informed her that things had played out as she had hoped and promptly asked how to remove her stone from the table. As Itsuwa looked around, Freadia, annoyed at being ignored, told her that Necessarius had polished the skills it needs to obtain information and that she should tell her sooner rather than later if she wishes to retain her dignity. Itsuwa told her that the pattern was a Mandala which created an illusion of the stone - hence why they couldn't grab it. When Freadia asked for proof, Itsuwa told her to check her pocket. On checking it, Freadia found the stone and told Itsuwa that she had no more reason to protect her and felt like killing her there and then, however Itsuwa asked if that was the case even when the true perpetrators were still on the loose.

Freadia asked if she was talking about her fellow Amakusas, to which Itsuwa asked how, if she assumed the Amakusas stole the free pass, she would explain her sneaking into the Sword Sanctuary, as destroying records would be meaningless as they are kept elsewhere as well. Freadia replied that it didn't prove someone else was behind it, saying that she might be searching for a VIP address to carry out an assassination and that although Flack was the one who attacked the library, they could have been working with him, and that they still don't know where he is. Itsuwa then asked Freadia what she thought Flack was trying to do in the library, as she should have realized no grimoires were stolen, and if it were a plan like she thought, why would they take a long route in obtaining the information. Saying that the enemy had evaded the Anglican Church while the Amakusas reached them first, Itsuwa said that they'd likely simulated this and knew what the Anglicans would do, while the Amakusas could betray their expectations, and that the Anglicans should add them into the investigation if they really wanted to resolve this, otherwise they'd just continue to lose to them. Freadia noted the risk of her running away that moment she was let loose and on removing the restraining belts, told her to remove her clothes. As Itsuwa was taken aback by the statement, Freadia repeated her words, then as Itsuwa was trying to keep her balance pushed her back onto the bed and started removing Itsuwa's clothes, intending to apply a collar-like curse to restrict her actions, since they no longer needed to keep her alive. As Itsuwa expressed distress, Freadia asked her if she was the type whose heart rate was affected by other girls, to which Itsuwa replied it was more unnatural not to be bothered by someone starting to take off one's clothes. After Itsuwa took her shirt off herself, Freadia applied the curse to Itsuwa's back. Expressing the need to hurry but saying she couldn't bring her out in front of everyone else after being deemed a problem, Freadia told Itsuwa to sneak along after her. After Itsuwa retrieved her shirt, she followed Freadia to the surface while explaining the information she had regarding the Dusk Waiting to Awaken, the Necronomicon and R'lyeh.

On reaching a vehicle, Freadia threw Itsuwa some keys, claiming she didn't want to hold the steering wheel and keep the crystal radio targeted. Itsuwa tried the key but it didn't work and looked round to see Freadia behind her holding the radio's dial. Freadia said that though the people she mentioned may be behind this, she isn't clear of suspicion and her presence was much too dangerous. Itsuwa then realized that Freadia tried to make it look like she had tried to escape before killing her as it would have caused problems otherwise. After Freadia asked her if she'd thought she'd play the role of the stupid policeman forever, Itsuwa asked her back if she really was the one to create this situation, pointing out that though her communication spell using Freadia's crystal radio was cut off, the recipients would have still felt a headache when it was. As Itsuwa took a step forward, Freadia turned the dial thinking she was bluffing, but suddenly lost sight of her. Looking down the manhole which Itsuwa had disappeared down and realizing her comrades must have been waiting, Freadia turned the dial on the radio but stopped short of attacking, having a bad feeling. Taking a flare from the car, she dropped it down the manhole, revealing a similar pattern to the one before. She considered that they might have analyzed how her radio worked and made a spell to turn it back on her, though the pattern was actually made to trick her into thinking that while the Amakusas removed Itsuwa's curse and made their getaway.

After Itsuwa escaped, Freadia became aware that something was taking place in the Strait of Dover, but decided not to head there as they would be on their way to somewhere else once they got there. Intending to overtake and crush them, Freadia turned to the stockpile of spiritual items within the Sword Sanctuary. When asked which one she wanted by the worker, Freadia asked for the most dangerous one, specifically a set of armour designed to bring one's magic power close to the absolute limit. After the worker asked if she really understood what she was doing and pointed out she shouldn't take unnecessary risks as she was still needed to make the security arrangement for the pound economy summit, Freadia asked him if he was going to help her with it or not, to which the worker complied, seeing as she would probably steal it if he refused, telling her to be sure to get back at the Amakusas. As the Amakusas were fighting the Dusk Waiting to Awaken forces at Stonehenge, Freadia launched a sudden attack which brought down most of the combatants in the area. She then coldly turned to Itsuwa, who was still moving, swiftly moved to her location and using claws made of smoke, sliced at her. As Itsuwa lost the strength in her legs and tried to grab Tsushima's rapier, Freadia attacked again, this time without moving towards her but extending her claws and swinging them down at Itsuwa. As Itsuwa struggled to block them, the claws burst and the smoke surged into her, damaging her body from the inside.

Freadia continued to move emotionlessly towards Itsuwa and Itsuwa, realizing what Freadia was doing, knowing that she was unlikely to get through to her and how she couldn't ignore her treating that lightly, tried to think of a way out, and symbols that could cut open the armour without damaging her  force. Drawing a circle, Itsuwa leapt back as Freadia stepped into it and poured water over her rapier, intending to use a Mass-related spell to destroy the armour without killing her. As Tatemiya let out a cry to distract Freadia, Itsuwa stood and charged forward, but strength suddenly left her legs and she collapsed. Freadia then repeatedly brought her claws down until she lost consciousness.

After the defeated Amakusas and Dusk Waiting to Awaken members were gathered up for transportation, Freadia removed her armour, pale and sweating. Looking at Itsuwa regaining consciousness, Freadia told her she was tough but she should have given more thought before picking a fight with them, telling her to be glad that it ended before the knights got involved and that torture awaited her now. Itsuwa smiled slightly and replied that if she was really a skilled hunter who was honest enough to accept a truth she didn't like then the path ahead would be more painful for her, saying that it didn't matter what they investigate - they would only find the truth about what had happened, what the Amakusas had done to help and how late Freadia was to arrive, though she commended her last attack. Freadia asked if she still thought she had a chance of joining Necessarius, to which Itsuwa told her to investigate as much as she wanted and that she could already see her expression clouding over. Wiping away her sweat, Freadia told Itsuwa that she was heading for the Tower of London and she should enjoy the time she had left while she could.

At that moment, the vehicle's container was suddenly sliced open by a sudden attack from outside. As Itsuwa saw that the other vehicles had been taken out as well, she shouted at Freadia, asking if the Anglicans were trying to eliminate them to hide her failure, to which Freadia yelled back, thinking that Amakusa reinforcements had come to rescue Itsuwa and the others. After being thrown from the truck as it crashed into a field at the side of the road, the two hid themselves as the attacker came over to search the truck. As Itsuwa mentioned that the attacker didn't look like they were finishing everyone off, Freadia claimed it was because they attacked in order to save her. Looking at the attacker wandering round, Itsuwa realized that they were searching for someone and that since they hadn't found who they were looking for, they were likely after Freadia. Itsuwa asked her what would make someone target her but Freadia claimed she didn't know anything. The two then noticed the attacker dragging the others to a single spot. Realizing that she was taking them hostage to execute one by one until Freadia came out, Itsuwa asked for Freadia's cooperation in order to save their comrades.

As the attacker announced her intention to execute the hostages if Freadia didn't show herself, Itsuwa and Freadia crawled to a piece of the truck, hoping to find something that would be of use but without success. Failing to find anything useful, Itsuwa pulled out a telescope and the two observed the hostages, the damaged left by the first attack and the attacker. The attacker then dragged Tsushima out, declaring her intention to carry out her threat.

Freadia asked Itsuwa what she was planning to do, seeing as it didn't seem like an idle threat. Itsuwa replied that what they must do hadn't changed and that the only chance they had was to find out what kind of spell the enemy was using and send it out of control. Freadia doubted they had time for that seeing as she was about to begin but Itsuwa argued that if they failed they wouldn't be able to save any of them. As Freadia was about to stand up, Itsuwa warned her that the attacker had no reason to release them so she shouldn't think about surrendering to save them as they would likely be silenced afterwards, threatening to kill her if she tried. Freadia asked about the first one seeing as she was an Amakusa, but Itsuwa replied that there wasn't a way to save her and that their only way was to work out how to defeat the magician while listening to her screams, asking if she thought it wouldn't affect her. She then told Freadia if she understood to stop complaining and help her, saying that they didn't know who might be next. Hesitating briefly, Freadia nodded and said she'd check the cut the magician had made for information.

After checking the damage to the truck, Freadia returned to Itsuwa just as the magician had cut off one of Tsushima's legs. She told Itsuwa that there was no roughness to the cut and that there was a small repelling force between the cut and her jewel, meaning the attack was also related to jewels. Itsuwa pointed out the dials on the scabbard that allowed the magician to change her blade's shape and properties, and asked what they meant. Freadia said that the dials likely contained stones arranged like a gear and their arrangement is what changed the properties. Itsuwa frantically asked what religion it was based in, to which Freadia mentioned that the magician had chosen a Western European design, saying that the fur and leather she was wearing likely had a meaning as well, stating that Celtic and Norse cultures were the two most well-known ones with both of those. As Itsuwa panicked thinking about how there were many legends in just those two, Freadia pointed out that the fact they didn't have a single answer was one itself.

Freadia then mentioned how if someone is injured by a certain sword, the wound will never heal unless the jewel attached to the hilt is applied to it, and that this story has spread despite no one knowing where it came from. Pointing out the fact that the pair of sword and stone, Freadia told Itsuwa that they should be able to save the hostage by using the scabbard at the setting which caused the wounds, and that since the properties of the two are linked, they could add something into it to make the magician lose control. The two devised a plan involving Itsuwa scattering Mandalas drawn on parchment into the wind to make the magician think the dial setting was different from what it was, either incapacitating her from incorrect use or getting her into a position where Freadia could use her crystal radio on her.

Deciding that the arranged plan might fail, Freadia thought up another plan, not telling Itsuwa since wouldn't agree to it. After showing herself to the attacker, Freadia held up the Vase's trapezohedron and her crystal radio components in her hand to meet the incoming blade of light. Using the two, she overwrote the connection with the stone on the scabbard with one to the trapezohedron in contact with the blade, forcing it to take on a form so terrible that the effects of the stone designed to summon Nyarlathotep would count as healing. The resulting pitch-black explosion sent both of them flying. Freadia ended up lying collapsed on the grass with severe injuries. The right half of her body was blackened and she was unable to move it properly. Not able to turn her head, she looked at Itsuwa and said that if she was taken out like this, the enemy had to have been too, meaning she could rest easy. She then responded to Itsuwa's concern, saying that she could have this curse broken if they get to an Anglican cathedral. She was then carried away by Ushibuka.

When Itsuwa showed her the ID they found in the attacker Emilie Fordia's pockets, Freadia remembered the conversation she had with her colleague at Sword Sanctuary, about how she couldn't take unnecessary risk seeing as she was needed for drawing up security plans for the summit of the pound economy leaders - plans which are kept secret from all but the planners until the event to avoid leaks and potential attacks. Looking at the collapsed Emilie, Freadia considered that her method was not one for extracting information but rather for eliminating it. As she was required to gather information on the VIPs involved in case they secretly attempt to bring in dangerous people and items, Freadia deduced that the attacker was from the pound economy.

Once Freadia made contact with Necessarius, she cleared things up so the Amakusas could move freely through London as they moved to stop Cynthia Exment. After Cynthia was defeated, a wheelchair-bound and bandaged Freadia presented Itsuwa and the other Amakusas with a silver and red rosary, the symbol of the Anglican Church, saying that the Amakusas' usefulness had been acknowledged and that they looked forward to working alongside them.

Abilities
Freadia's speciality is folklore that has fallen into the "cracks" and has no clear religious basis. She is particularly focused on stories involving a cursed jewel which would kill each of its owners despite having no real history to it, which she uses as the base for her primary Magic, using her crystal radio to transmit curses. Though a curse is used to attack someone remotely by linking cause and effect, the story of the jewel seemingly lacks that cause. Having vague rules, it holds the possibility of breaking through the upper limit that one with clear rules would have despite being easier to use.

While using the prototype armour from Sword Sanctuary to push her magic power to it's absolute limit, endangering her, Freadia was able to knock out nearly all of the Amakusa and Dusk Waiting to Awaken members fighting around Stonehenge with a single attack and run close to 50m in a single breath, arriving ahead of her sound. She also used extendable claws made of a compressed blackish-purple smoke, which didn't cause bleeding wounds but caused strength to leave the foe's body and could cut through defensive magical symbols. The claws could also burst and the smoke flow towards the foe's body, causing internal damage similar to Freadia's crystal radio curse but of a higher density.

Crystal Radio
Freadia uses an old, antique crystal radio (鉱石ラジオ), about the size of a handbag and covered in amber wood and velvet, which has had the crystal replaced with a modified version of a precious metal famous for killing of each its owners. As well as being used to transmit a curse to incapacitate or kill, it can be used for communication providing the curse is neutralized. It is set up so the curse can be brought back into operation if the tuner's balance is intentionally thrown off.

Prototype surgical armor
Freadia also made use of a dangerous prototype armor from Sword Sanctuary, considered by a worker there to be the most dangerous tool within the stockpile of risky spiritual items. It has a western design and is based on the official model used by the knights, however it uses the opposite concept. Instead of having magic power passed to the armor to increase mobility, it is meant to increase it's wearer's magic power to the absolute limit. It connects to the wearer and interferes with the route of their force as it circulates through their body through the blood vessels, creating a new path and sending it from the body into the armor and back into the body, enabling a method of converting  force impossible with a single body.

In sending the force through the armor, it creates the illusion that one has a special constitution, making the wearer forget they are still themselves - the absolute limit to how much  force can be converted remains the same and the user will still die if it is all converted. By falsifying the number, the wearer can convert large amounts of force into Magic, bringing them into the danger area while deceiving themselves. However once that deception can no longer be maintained, the wearer would immediately perish from exhausting their force.

The armor also appears to cause the wearer's movements to become cold and mechanical as well as making them appear expressionless, likely due to interfering with their force.

Others
She also carries a thin chain with various tools used by jewel appraisers on it, such as a loupe, a small paintbrush, a white light made from several LEDs, a piece of thick black paper about the size of a business card and others.

Design Evolution
Appearing in only a single volume so far, Freadia's design remains the same throughout the series. In designing her, Haimura Kiyotaka took a chic route to create a contrast with Itsuwa's fairly "light" look. According to Haimura, one could perhaps call her a blonde-haired blue-eyed Betty Boop.