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Volume 1 to 11
OT1 = Nice to meet you. This is Kamachi Kazuma.

Right about now, I’m starting to feel incredibly embarrassed about referring to myself with a penname. To people who have done things online: it’s a bit like revealing your handle to the world for the first time. Come to think of it, this book got its start online.

The magicians in RPGs and such that can create balls of fire or revive the dead at the cost of some MP are quite convenient, because the term “magic” lets them do whatever they want. But (for the sake of argument) let’s assume magic actually existed. What kinds of people used magic throughout history? What kinds of rules exist behind the term "magic"? This all started when I typed “magician” and “actually exist” into a search engine in an attempt to answer those questions. It came up with things like “how to control a black cat with silver vine powder” and “voodoo witch doctors used fugu poison to create zombies that had a state of apparent death”. I got interested when I realized that the workings of the occult seemed an awful lot like science. Dengeki Bunko’s light novels treat magic like it's normal, so I thought that a novel that went deeper into the idea of magic might be a new idea.

…Really, this is a work that was more about my personal interest rather than an idea marketed to a certain type of reader (that is, I didn’t try to come up with some catchy topic). My bowed head will never be raised when in front of my editor Miki-san and my illustrator Haimura Kiyotaka-san who both stuck with me on this. I am truly thankful. And to you readers who picked this book up, I am very grateful that you stuck with my long, drawn-out writing style for this long.

I hope that Kamijou Touma and Index will live just a little longer in your hearts. And I pray that I will get to make a 2nd volume.

For today, I lay down my pen.

…It’s actually still December 26, 2003.

-Kamachi Kazuma OT2 = To the readers who read the first volume, it's been a while.

To the brave souls who read from the second volume, nice to meet you.

I'm Kazuma Kamachi.

It's now time for the afterword. According to some readers, the first thing they read is the afterword. In other words, the afterword is the second synopsis. Anyway, please read the afterword, and if you like it, you may bring it to the counter to buy it. However, please let me warn the readers who like to read the afterword first: the following content does include some plot spoilers, so, to the readers who haven't read the main content, it is best that you don’t read this first. The following content of the afterword is written to those readers who read the afterword at the end and the brave souls who don't care about whether they know the content beforehand.

The main theme of this volume is “BAD END”.

To be blunt, Aureolus Izzard is a failed version of Kamijou Touma. When I was writing, I thought that if Kamijou Touma failed in the first volume, he would have become such a person. The reason I created Himegami was also to create a tragic girl who could never be the heroine. As the story went on, the murderous atmosphere became extremely intense. However, what's different is that in the first volume, even if they were enemies, at least they would listen to the main character before fighting. However, in this volume, even the second heroine didn’t like to listen too much, let alone the Big Bad.

As for magic, the story revolves around the key term Ars Magna.

Even though in the story, I made it to be the real essence of an alchemist, it was actually made up by me. In fact, it was said that the Bosnian sect of Alchemy (who created the concept of turning lead into gold) appeared in the late Roman period, but Ars Magna was created in the 17th century, so the time difference between them was quite large. The 17th century was the time when alchemy was widespread, and was also the time when fake magicians used it to fool nobility out of their money. In other words, Ars Magna was like a new religion that rode the wave of alchemy. In fact, the goal of Ars Magna wasn't to create gold or make an immortal elixir. The concept was "Humans are incomplete gods.” In other words, through training and becoming complete, humans could become gods. It really fit the mold of a new religion. From the term God that's used now, one can find that such alchemy was mixed into Christian culture.

In the story itself, the spell Aureolus used to turn his imagination into reality was closer to the Zurich alchemist sect. This sect mixed in some psychiatric views of Jung, and the goal was to “do alchemy in the mind”, which really sounded ambiguous. Also, there's another alchemist sect called Vienna, but this sect included some sexual magic rituals that were quite erotic and shouldn't be included in Dengeki Bunko (laughs). One reason why alchemist sects were so abundant was said to be because “the nature of alchemy” itself was a mystery. But in fact, perhaps the commonly accepted reason was that alchemists lied to the rich saying they could turn lead into gold, but failed and had to offer all sorts of excuses to appease their anger.

After writing so much, in the end, what did I want to say?

What I wanted to say was that after researching so much into alchemy, I really used very little information. In order to increase Index's role, I even wanted to add a “kitchen alchemy trick plot”. But, I guess I decided against including such a minor subplot.

Finally, I want to thank the related personnel in this story.

Miki-san, who's in charge of editing, is someone really intimidating who forced me to write a story within 17 days. He still followed me through until the end of this story that has loopholes all over it, and I'm really grateful for him. As for Haimura-san, the illustrator, actually, I’ve never met him. A comrade I’ve never met, though that sounds cool, I really want to meet him and thank him. Anyway, let me rehearse it on paper. Thank you, Haimura-san. And to the readers who bought this book, thank you for your support. I hope that we can meet next time. At this point, let me put my pen down.

Misaka Mikoto didn't even have a chance to appear in this volume (tears).

~Kazuma Kamachi OT3 = To those who have been buying each book from Volume 1: welcome back.

To those who took this chance to buy all 3 books: welcome & thank you very much. This is Kamachi Kazuma.

…Yes, this book is called A Certain Magical Index. Those of you who have finished reading can have a nice laugh now. I’m sure you’re wondering what is with this magnificent (and pointless) trick. Those of you who started by reading the afterword just need to read the actual book. That will answer your questions. But before you throw the book at the wall, let me make some excuses. There are a few parts of this book that touch on magic. Of course, one of those is the scene with Index in it, but there are actually other sections that give explanations regarding magical systems. I guess you could say the theme this time was the technique of everyday magic where there is magic but is never referred to with the word “magic”. This technique is primarily used in fairy tales and the like, but I tried using it this time. As the author, I would like it if you have all your friends read the book and then have discussions over where the magic talk was hidden. To be honest, I’m a “rule junky” that loves these kinds of hidden rules that have nothing to do with the main topic but still exist to the side. A real life example is the decoding of ISBN codes.

There should be the letters ISBN followed by a number on the back of this book. Most people know that the number refers to the name of the book, but I don’t think very many people think seriously about what the number means. If you go look, A Certain Magical Index (1) is 4-8402-2658-X. With just that, you can’t figure anything out, but let’s compare it to another book. Suzuki Suzu-sensei’s Umibe no Usagi is 4-8402-2631-8. Oh. The 4-8402-26 is the same. And Minase Hazuki-sensei’s Kekkaishi no Fugue that debuted the same month as my series is 4-8402-2659-8. It is only one number off from my 4-8402-2658-X. In that case, you might think the 4-8402-26 refers to Dengeki Bunko and the numbers afterwards are the order of release. However, Hayama Tooru-sensei’s 9S (1) is 4-8402-2461-7. Oh? The previous assumption would say that should have been 26. If we look further, we find that Takahata Kyouichirou-sensei’s HHO (01-03) is 4-8402-2414-5. That’s 24 again. Those two books with 24 were released in 2003 and the others with 26 were released in 2004. In that case, those two digits seem to indicate the year. The fact that it moved from 24 to 26 in one year is most likely because the next 2 digits refers to the number of titles released in that year. Dengeki Bunko releases about 10 books a month, so they release 100-200 titles a year. I’m guessing the number jumped from 24 to 26 because 25 was used as a cushion for when the number of released titles reached three digits. I’ve written this all out fairly confidently, but that’s probably not the correct answer. In fact, it’s highly likely that I’ve made a major mistake. But that’s fine because I’m in this to enjoy imagining different rules rather than to find the correct answer. If you read all this and got interested enough to look at the back cover, then I suggest you look into the number known as the JAN code. It seems that is hiding a certain set of rules behind it too, so it would be perfect to kill some time. Now a rule that currently has my interest is the spines of Dengeki Bunko books. It seems they are color coded by author, but what is the rule behind the color coding? 1. It is a definite choice based on color psychology.

2. The colors are simply put in rotation based on the order the authors make their debuts. 3. It is based on the whim of the editors.

When I thought about it, I ended up choosing number 2, but what do you all think?

I give my great thanks to my editor Miki-san and my illustrator Haimura Kiyotaka-san. It is definitely those two who gave color to this book that is so full of holes it’s like a bee hive. On my own, I’m like a small bird without any wings, so I hope we can continue to get along. And I give my greatest thanks to you who have picked up this book. It is most certainly due to you that I stand here now.

I now pray that this book will always stay in a corner of your bookshelf.

I also hope that it remains in your precious memories.

And I lay my pen down for now.

20,000 Sisters…Did I end up breaking a record for the most new characters?

-Kamachi Kazuma

OT4 = To the readers who continued to buy each book in this series, it's been a while. To the rich readers who bought all four books at one go.

I'm Kamachi Kazuma.

Unknowingly, it's already the 4th volume. Though it's been only a year since I started out when I think through this calmly, four volumes should be enough to call this a 'series'. This makes me really understand that the value of a year can't be underestimated. Thinking back about it, I already devoted 1 hundredth of my life to writing 'Toaru Majutsu'. With this title alone, I even thought what sort of occult was involved. The readers who read this volume should have discovered that the main topic is 'summoning spells'. Actually, there are all sorts of 'summoning spells'. There are those necromancers that can spirit dead souls into their bodies to those talismans that can input the power of Mercury. There are all sorts of summoning methods. Speaking of summoning Angels and Demons, I would always think of praying in front of a magic array, but in Christianity (according to legend anyway), it's a lot more simpler. According to the Christian saying, there's an Angel and a Devil in everyone's heart, so there's no real need to specially summon them in the first place. In manga, they often had a situation 'when someone is hungry, a little Angel and a little Devil will appear near the top of the head and spin around arguing'; so that is actually based on actual documents.

Haimura Kiyotaka-san, who's in charge of the illustrations, and Miki-san, who's in charge of the project; I really like to thank you two for helping me for so long, and I'm sorry for bothering you two. The pros of this book were created by the two of you. I really look forward to working with you two in the future. Finally, I'll like to thank the readers. It's thanks to the readers support that this series can rival a weekly manga series in release. While saying this, I like to ask for the readers support in the future. Right now, I like to thank everyone twice. I hope that when you close this book.

I hope that the illusion of the next volume will open in your heart.

For today, let me put my pen down.

-Summer holidays is too long. This doesn't feel like a school life story.

Kamachi Kazuma. OT5 = To the readers who bought each book from the first volume on, it's been a while. To the brave souls who bought all five books at one go, nice to meet you.

I'm Kamachi Kazuma.

This volume is a collection of short stories. In terms of structure, this volume has the content posted on Dengeki HP (heavily modified) and three new stories. The time flow in the story itself is already slow, and this volume is the slowest of them all. Overall, I spent 5 volumes writing about summer. In this story, there's no specific magic keyword or female protagonist that the story revolves around; it's revolved around the day August 31st in Academy City. Since it's a collection of short stories, I have to do somethings that I can't normally do. So I let a certain character become a protagonist and added some hidden themes that link the story together (for example, making Misaka an urban legend among bystanders), and I had fun with it. Actually, there's a lot of stories that are suitable for this collection of short stories. For example, Index and Stiyl's past, Kamijou and Aogami Pierce and Komoe-sensei's past, Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko's past. But for this volume, I'll leave it as secrets. If there's a chance in the future, I'll tell these stories next time. Haimura-san, who's in charge of the illustrations, and Miki-san, who's in charge of the project; thank you for taking care of me for so long. I'll like to thank both of you in this volume. I'm really grateful for it.

Finally, I like to thank the readers. This immature Kamachi is able to write 5 volumes thanks to everyone's support. I'm really grateful for it. Then, as I remain grateful that this book has earned your affection, I hope that it can add on some entertainment in your life. At this point, allow me to set my pen aside.

Oh yes. Right now, the oldest female protagonist is Komoe-sensei...is that really alright? Kamachi Kazuma. OT6 = To the readers who took the huge risk to buy 6 books at one go, nice to meet you. To the readers who read each book one by one, it's been a while.

I'm Kamachi Kazuma.

It's the 6th volume already. The protagonist, heroine, antagonist, ending, and the story behind the stage; there's a lot of descriptions here that are slightly different from the previous volumes. As for what changed, I'll like the readers to understand it as they read it. The key magic term here is 'golem'.

This gimmick is like a slime; it's something that appears often in games, thus it gives a feeling that it isn't glamourous, that it shouldn't be considered a final stage boss. However, in History (or what were seen to have existed), the golems were amazing things. It was said that the magic required to create a golem uses the blueprint of how God created Humanity, and only those who fully understood that Kabbalah can use it. In other words, it's like the Philosopher Stone, basically meaning that 'one can be considered the strongest if the person can create one'. All the golems have a safety feature on it, and once the caster doesn't need it, the caster can easily turn it back into dirt. This is likely how the self-destruct mechanism of the huge robots came about. Haimura-san, who's in charge of the illustrations, and Miki-san, who's in charge of the project; I really like to thank you two for not abandoning this Kamachi even when you're busy. Finally, I'll like to thank the readers who bought these books. It's thanks to everyone that this Kamachi can earn a living. Then now, let me be secretly happy that you liked this series.

And let me secretly hope that you won't abandon this series.

At this point, let me put my pen down.

-In the end, did the Imagine Breaker protect the girl's illusion? OT7 = To the studious readers who read seven volumes in one go without feeling painful, nice to meet you. To the readers who continued to buy the books ever since the first volume was released, it's been quite a while. I'm Kamachi Kazuma.

Writing these books one at a time, I've unknowingly written seven books. The day this volume is released is the 8th of September (Note: This is when the Japanese version was released.), and time continues to move so slowly. Most of the battles in this work were mostly one-on-one fights, so this time, there's group interaction involved. The key word related to magic here is 'magic book'. Since the female lead of this work has the responsibility of being the 'magical library', it seems that I should have added more to this idea. Anyway, the term 'magic book' comes up quite a lot in this volume. Besides that, I tried to emphasize many characteristics of various groups. If I can induce your imagination and you're able to think of numerous powerful moves that several groups use and the thoughts and culture behind them, I'll be very honored. I'll like to thank these two people: Haimura-san, who is in charge of illustrations, and Miki-san, who's in charge of printing. I'll leave myself, who hasn't made any self-improvement, in your hands. I'll also like to thank the readers who bought these books. Although I've been going around the same spot without improving at all, I'll continue to struggle and roll on the road to improvement from now on. I hope that everyone will continue to show me some compassion. Then now, let me be thankful that this work is able to last all the way to the seventh volume. And I look forward to continuing on with this work.

At this moment, let me sign off first.

Once the story revolves around magic, Mikoto and Komoe-sensei have no involvement at all! -Kamachi Kazuma OT8 = To the studious readers who read all the volumes one by one, it's been a while.

To the readers who bought all the books at one go, nice to meet you.

I'm Kamachi Kazuma.

It's the 8th volume. The theme this time is very simple—superpowers. This time, I actually made some changes to the story: Kamijou Touma would originally be the only one to appear in this story. Hearing this, you might be wondering about some things. However, please don't read too much into it. Besides, 'that role' can't be explained in a few words. In this volume, some unresolved from Volume 3 and 5 were mentioned. On first glance, this is completely unrelated to magic, but the antagonist, Musujime Awaki, has questions that I feel involve several factors related to magic. Why do Misaka Mikoto and the Misaka Imoutos have such a difference in power? Other than humans, is there really nothing that can observe and analyze the surroundings to create superpowers? Basically, what's the significance of observing and analyzing the phenomenon? Considering the storyline and protagonist viewpoint, I couldn't answer these questions in this volume, so I can only wait for another opportunity. Haimura-san, who is in charge of illustrations, and Miki-san, who's in charge of printing. I'll like to thank both of you. Thanks to you two, this book can be on the shelves of bookstores. I'll also like to thank the readers who bought these books. Thanks to you, this book is able to make it's way onto your bookshelves. I'm grateful that this book is still in a corner of your mind.

And I hope that the next volume won't be forgotten as well.

At this moment, let me sign off first.

...Misaka Mikoto. I thought that she would have more opportunities to appear in this volume. —Kamachi Kazuma OT9 = To the readers who continued to buy the books ever since the first volume was released, it's been quite a while. To the studious readers who read nine volumes in one go, nice to meet you.

I'm Kamachi Kazuma.

Everytime, I felt that it's like a curveball. This time, it's a curveball as well, and the interesting thing is, what kind of curveball was tossed? The keywords related to magic here are things that are rather basic. They are 'magic book' and 'magic array,' and these are common terms that were used in the volumes up till now. The story is set in Daihaseisai — which is an extremely large-scaled sports meet. How do you feel about it? I had nearly forgotten about how a sports day is like, so when I was writing this book, I was worrying about what a sports day would be like as I worked on this book. I'm happy to be able to write something that gives the feeling of a sports carnival. I'll like to thank these two people for their help: Haimura-san, who is in charge of illustrations, and Miki-san, who's in charge of printing. Without these two people, this work wouldn't be complete at all. I look forward to continuing work with them. I'll also like to thank all the readers. Without you, it's impossible to produce this work. Please continue to give me feedback and support. And now, this volume ends here.

I hope you'll continue to read the next volume.

At this moment, let me sign off first.

Come to think of it, who's the main female protagonist this time?

-Kamachi Kazuma- OT10 = To the readers who continued to buy the books ever since the first volume was released, it's been quite a while. To the studious readers who read ten volumes in one go, nice to meet you.

I'm Kamachi Kazuma.

It's finally the tenth volume now, but the time now is still September. Remembering that the first volume was at the end of July, the time that has passed in the novel is really slow. Also, for those who have finished reading this volume, this is the volume where time moves the slowest. Of course, it's slightly faster compared to the earlier ninth volume. The magic theme this time isn't really any different from the ninth volume, it's just further elaboration on the 'constellation'. Spells that use 'constellation'-it's basically astrology, with the development of astronomy on the science side, the basic rules of this area of knowledge would be changed, and would cause new differences. And as Ptolemaism and Copernican theory change, the common knowledge about 'stars' would be overturned, which means the changes would be really big. Considering the dynamics of this series, which revolves around the conflict between science and magic, I guess I can't ignore this, so I stealthily slipped this in. As the times are different, whether Uranus and Pluto exist would largely affect the divination rules and results. Such a situation should be similar to quantum theory. To Haimura-san, who is in charge of illustrations, and Miki-san, who's in charge of printing, I'm sorry for troubling you two all the time. Please continue to support me in the future. At the same time, I would like to thank all the readers. I'll continue to write on. Please continue to give me feedback and support. And now, this volume ends here.

I hope you'll continue to read the next volume.

At this moment, let me sign off first.

...Come to think of it, it's October now, isn't it time for winter clothing?

-Kamachi Kazuma- OT11 = To the readers who collected each book in this series, it has been a while.

To the readers who bought all 11 books at one go, nice to meet you.

I'm Kamachi Kazuma.

Though I kept saying that I'm rather free, it's now the 11th book. This time, that...there's no change in season, and the penalty game has to be delayed. This time, it's a holiday trip. Not Kanzaki Kaori, but the other Amakusa members. Though it's a fleet battle, it's not a cannon war, but fire boats. This really is a changeup that slightly differs from the norm. As for the scenario, there should be a certain organisation behind it. A petite girl and tall girl that appeared once have joined in as main characters this time. In a complete sense, there's a lot less new characters, but because of that, there's a lot more excitement to this story. On the magic side, those are mainly based on two certain organisations. Others include the legend of the Cross, and a slight mention of the Twelve Apostles. The so called fireboats aren't fabricated, in reality, such a tactic existed. That was before the real torpedo was unveiled. The English Navy seemed like they really stuffed the large ships with gunpowder, and rushed in with the ships unmanned. Though that battle had to be won, it was truly a large scale. To Haimura-sensei, who is in charge of illustrations, and Miki-sensei, who's in charge of printing, I'm sorry that I've been causing trouble to you two often. Because of the change in story, it probably took a long time to search for information. It's been hard on you two. And to Miss Yoshimi and Miss Fukushima Yuuko, who were supervising the Italian language, allow me to express my thanks. At the same time, I would like to thank all the readers. I'm grateful that everyone read on till the last page. And now, this volume ends here.

I hope you'll continue to read the next volume.

At this moment, let me sign off first.

There'll definitely be a change of seasons and the punishment game next time!

-Kamachi Kazuma-

Volume 12 to 22
OT12 = To those who have been buying each volume one at a time: welcome back.

To those who bought all 12 volumes at once: welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This is (supposedly) a series where comedy and battles cross paths, but this volume was focused on the comedy. I feel it was nice and heartwarming through and through. I came back to Misaka Mikoto’s punishment game that wasn’t touched on in Volume 11. Sometimes this kind of atmosphere that lacks any real conflict is nice. The theme this time was the changing of clothes.

There is the literal example of the characters changing from their summer uniforms into their winter uniforms, but you could also say the overall flow of the series itself is “changing its clothes” in various places with the appearance of a certain character (or rather, group). Since this occurred mostly within Academy City, it mostly became a science side story. So…well, that white boy is the same as always. I think he will be appearing more and more from now on.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and my editor Miki-san. This volume came with the annoyance of the characters changing their clothes, so I am truly thankful they stuck with me. And I give my thanks to the readers. It is wholly thanks to all of you that I am even writing this afterword.

Now it is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened. And I lay my pen down for now.

Th-the punishment isn’t over yet!

-Kamachi Kazuma OT13 = To those who were reading one book at a time, thank you very much.

To those who definitely finished reading the twelve books at once, I truly thank you so much. This is Kamachi Kazuma.

With this, the changes (TL: implied but not stated 'in appearances') is complete! Besides, this time around was nothing but battles. No heartwarming scenes at all. Over there is bad luck and even here one sees nothing but fights; and I believe there is the occasional brutal atmosphere. I wrote in such way that the protagonists and the antagonists respectively went through paths completely different from the other. However, I believe when the protagonists were to change places this time, the interactions with the enemy characters might change. Of course, there's the possibility of a fight not happening since then. The occult keyword this time is [Angel]. However, there are no precise meanings up to this point for [Magic's story] and [Science's story]. It's simply that points of view and incidents simply do not branch into two, but in the first place obscured the barriers delimiting each other's domains. It might be also interesting to examine where in the world and what's the extent for these barriers, and how much of those barriers have been obscured. With the number of barriers being expressible as the number of walls between organizations, truth is I think I can grasp the [on this work, great change worldwide] which I don't mention much. Thank you also to my illustrator Haimura-san and in-charge Miki-san. I think a devotion to comedies and battles for the composition of this series is a big adventure, and I thank you both for staying with me. And thank you, too, for all the readers. I'm no match for those expecting for a comedy, but I truly thank you so much for staying on this book's adventure. And so, now we close the pages here,

And as I think of only giving out the next pages as soon as possible,

Today, I'll leave the pen aside.

One of these days their paths will cross again.

—Kamachi Kazuma SS = To the readers who bought each book one at a time, it's been a while.

To the readers who bought the entire series at one go, we meet for the first time. I'm Kamachi Kazuma.

This time, it's a little different. This volume is numbered as SS. Editor-sama's request was 'write a story you can't normally write'. I wonder if I'm successful this time? Thus, there's no key word about magic or science; it's impossible for this volume. Also, I don't know if the readers have realised that the ending of each chapter has a subtle spice to it. The hedgehog head actually using something else other than his fist, and that white guy having an intention to join a group; there's a lot of developments in the volume that didn't exist before. The basic script is about how after the main events that happened, the scraps of information are added in to form a linear story. This is the series of 'stories that can't be written normally'. I'll be very happy if the readers can accept this lack of balance.

I'm very grateful to the illustrator Haimura-san and the editor Miki-san. It's because of your activeness that I can write this side story like another story. I'll look forward to working with you two again. And I'll also like to thank the readers for buying this side story.

And now, this will be the end of SS.

I hope the the next volume will be the main story again.

I'll put my pen down now.

-Kamachi Kazuma- OT14 = To those who have bought the books one at a time: Welcome back.

To those that have bought them all at once: Welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

Now then, a lot happened in Volume 14. A lot of problems that haven’t really been touched on yet in the series because I guess you could say I’ve been holding back on using them showed up here. The overall theme was “groups”. I guess the occult keyword was something like the “Final Judgement”. Some things dealt directly with it while others were indirectly related. (Some easy to understand ones were Original Sin and the Mass.) …Actually, I get the feeling that pretty much anything in the Christian Church is related to the Final Judgement. But I guess this time around it was “a little closer to the surface” than usual. If I have to choose one side or the other, this was a magic side story, but since a lot of Academy City’s new weapons showed up I think I made it so those of you who like the science side could relax too. Many thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and the one in charge of the project Miki-san. There were a lot of things for you to complain about, so I truly thank you for sticking with it. And this time I would like to thank Manaka Junichi-san. His lectures on the workings of stealth fighters and the field of the military in general were very helpful. And I would like to thank Fukushima Yuuko-san. Her supervision of the Italian was a huge help. Now, to you, the reader. Including the SS, there are now 15 books in the series. It is all thank to you that I’ve come this far. Please keep reading in the future. And now you will be closing the pages.

I pray that you will open the pages of the next book.

And I will lay my pen down for now.

Now, what is the difference between “神上” and “神浄”…?

-Kamachi Kazuma OT15 = To those who have bought the books one at a time: Welcome back.

To those that have bought them all at once: Welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

Volume 15 was all out science. The seven Level 5’s, an agricultural building, nanodevices, unmanned attack helicopters, a satellite, computer viruses, Skill-Out… It feels like all of the science side keywords that had appeared bit by bit throughout the series all came at once. This volume’s theme was “the dark side of Academy City” and “emotionless story”. Also, Accelerator’s villainous trip down the path of evil was an important point. I call him evil, but the aftertaste he leaves you with isn’t so bad. I was going for a refreshing feeling regarding him once you had flipped through all of the pages. I wonder if I succeeded. I think this volume had the most new characters introduced in a single volume (if you don’t count the Sisters) so far. But the circle of characters didn’t end up expanding. I suppose that’s one of the differences between Kamijou Touma and Accelerator. Many thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and the one in charge of the project, Miki-san. It ended up being a rather messy story, but I thank you for sticking with it to the end. I would also like to thank all the readers. As usual, I’ve digressed quite a bit, but I truly thank you for flipping through all the pages this far. And now you will be closing the pages.

I pray that you will open the pages of the next volume.

And I will lay my pen down for now.

…It feels like you could call the white one a chivalrous thief or something.

-Kamachi Kazuma OT16 = To the readers who bought the books one by one, it’s been a while.

To the readers who managed to read through all 17 volumes at one go, we meet for the first time. I’m Kamachi Kazuma.

Also in this afterword, I guess sooner or later, it’s more or less going to be my 20th time doing this soon. I added a bit of all the good things as if it was customary, and this time, it felt rather out of place. The topic this time is about the ‘chosen ones’. One of the occult keywords is the term ‘Saints’. The ‘Divine Mother Worship’ is the underlying difference in foundation between this battle between Saint and Saint. For the ‘Saint Destroyer’ spell that Itsuwa (and the rest of the Amakusa members) used, one has to go back to Volume 9 to understand the concept behind this. When the Saint Kanzaki suddenly returns to drastically change things as the female Supreme Pontiff-sama and Tatemiya acting as the strategist, they were able to win this battle. This volume has a lot of information that relates to the core of this story. It'll be interesting to recollect the hints here. Where did I put the hints in this story, and where does the information overlap? Once you find that out, perhaps you'll grasp a small part of what will happen in the future.

Thank you as always to my in charge, Miki-san, and illustrator, Haimura-san. I really regret that there were a lot of unexpected things happening, and I sincerely thank you two very much. And I’ll like to thank all the readers as well. As I continued to tumble back and forth behind the scenes, I thank you readers very much for bearing with me all the way till now. And now, this volume ends here.

I hope you'll continue to read the next volume.

At this moment, let me sign off first.

It feels that Itsuwa's becoming less and less like an ordinary girl.

Kamachi Kazuma SS2 = To those who have read through the books one at a time: welcome back.

To those who read through all of the books at once: welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This is SS2!! I wrote these stories as events that weren’t in the main story but are nice to know. I wonder how well I did. I think this one displayed the world of the series from all sorts of angles with the Magic side, the Science side, and even the normal side. The overall theme was the passing of the days and months, and the key word was Gemstone. Surprisingly, this volume takes place over almost an entire year.

The story of the Gemstones was completed here in SS2, but those who have read to the end must be wondering about some things; for example, “Is the Gemstone story really complete?” or “Why wasn’t that person collected with the others?” You’re right to ask those things because, while the Gemstone storyline was solely in SS2, there are other storylines that haven’t been declared yet. It may be fun to speculate about various things. Oh, right. About the two people with the highest rank who appeared in this volume. Those two are basically the kind of characters who are against the rules in this kind of battle story. As for why, well… they have no real battle procedure. I suppose there is the forceful approach of going with a great frontal attack of power that exceeds the total amount of unexplainable power, though. Speaking of unusual people, there were two ninja in this volume. This world does have that area and that kind of angle in it. The ninja here ended up having a confusing talk about the ways in which ninja are not the same as samurai and what to do about it. It might be fun to look further into their story, but that might be difficult because they are characters with a subtle rule about staying side characters. In a way, they’re further below the surface than the magicians. Personally, I feel that the strongest character this time was Misaka Papa, but what did you think? He is from yet another section that is separate from the main Index series, and he changes the world via means other than battles. That said, it isn’t that he doesn’t fight; he just has a different way of fighting. He isn’t the kind of good person who denies fighting itself. He rashly interferes with the foundations of society, so he might be even more dangerous than the children who merely clench their fists and punch each other. Also, one person who could oppose Misaka Papa is Kamijou Touya. Those dandies have their own way of fighting. Well, one of them is a corporate warrior who's never promoted and is even used by his own subordinates, and the other leaves the finances to his wife, so they’re rather difficult dandies. …Come to think of it, if you follow SS Volume 1 to Volume 2, you will be astonished to see how little they are connected. I suppose you can just barely make a connection with the destruction of Skill-Out. It makes me want to make fun of myself for saying the two SS volumes are a “series”, but I felt it would be more interesting to do away with that kind of definition and restraint in order to make it a stage where anything could happen. As such, if a third volume ever comes out, I’m betting the connections between SS volumes will fade even more. Many thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and my editor, Miki-san. The setting kept changing, which made this difficult, not to mention how many chapters there were, so thank you for sticking with it. I would also like to thank all the readers. Thank you for reading this SS that I started solely on the idea of destroying the theory that each volume ends after a short period of time. And now you will be closing the page.

I pray that you will be able to open the cover of the next volume.

And I will lay down my pen for now.

A lot is happening that Kamijou-chan doesn’t know about, you know?

-Kamachi Kazuma OT17 = To those who have bought the books one at a time: Welcome back.

To those that have bought and then read through all 19 books: Welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

Volume 17 contained tons of England which had been mentioned and seen here and there previously. With the royal family, the knights, the church, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the magic cabals, and even the dangerous actions between nations, a lot was packed into this volume. As this was a story about England, it of course had knights and princesses in it. St. George is the English name of a real saint. With the help of Haimura-san, the story in the opening art and the main text was based on the real legend with some changes to fit more with the English knights and to make it more picture book-like. By the way, (and a certain character mentions this a bit) the historical St. George’s sword was apparently not named Ascalon and the knight and princess outfits were made more picture book-like. Just think of it as a story from a picture book from within the world of the series.

Many thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and my editor Miki-san. I am truly thankful that they went along with my special experiment with the opening art. I would also like to thank all of the readers. Thanks to all of your support as you flip through these pages, it looks like I’ll be able to write a 20th book.

And now you will be closing the pages.

I pray that you will be able to take the 20th volume in to your hands.

And I will lay my pen down for now.

Next up is the battle between knight and mercenary!!

-Kamachi Kazuma OT18 = To you who have followed along in order from the very first volume: Welcome back. To you who read all 20 volumes together at once: Welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

Finally, the 20th book! And this completes the English Royal Family arc!! This afterword will discuss content from both Volumes 17 & 18! What did you think of this story about the legendary British blade of Curtana? With a certain mercenary’s appearance in Volume 17, the word “knight” was quite prominent, but Volume 18 focused more on the word “queen”. By the way, the Curtana does exist, so make sure to check that out. It is used in the coronation of the British monarch even today. I feel that the queen in this story, Elizard, is the ideal leader. She is the perfect queen who possesses the strong points of First Princess Rimea, Second Princess Carissa, and Third Princess Villian. In the story, the queen wonders why her daughters are all at such extremes, but she was only able to say that because she possesses what the three have in perfect balance. The princesses may strongly resemble something from a picture book or a fairy tale. Brave Third Princess Villian who was oppressed by her sisters is especially like the stereotypical heroine from a picture book. Other than the royal family, there were glimpses of where Silvia, who appeared in SS2, fits into the story and the magic cabal boss who appeared on the pages of Dengeki Bunko Magazine also made an appearance here. If you have time, make sure to check those out.

My thanks go out to my illustrator, Haimura-san, and my editor, Miki-san. It must have been tough to go through all those difficult battle scenes, so I am truly thankful. And I also give my thanks to the readers. It is thanks to your support that the protagonist Kamijou Touma was able to make it through 20 volumes. Make sure to stay with him in the future, too.

Now it is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened. And I lay my pen down for now.

There are multiple types of beast maid outfits in this world.

-Kamachi Kazuma OT19 = To those who have continued reading from Volume 1: welcome back.

To those who bought the 21 books all at once: thank you very much.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

As explained at the start, this story is closely related to Volume 15. This volume is full of science terms and the suggestive term DRAGON that appeared at the end of 15 is central to this volume’s story. Aiwass mentioned it at the end, but there are many different types of heroes. There is Accelerator who is a villain who wishes for good more than anyone else and there is Hamazura Shiage who crept up to being a hero from his position as the dime-a-dozen small fry type of character who is clearly just going to get killed. They are different types of heroes than Kamijou Touma, so I couldn’t help but enjoy having them appear so suddenly. …They so effectively stir things up because the main storyline is Kamijou Touma’s story. Just think of this part as the story of a villain and a thug for contrast. With the previous appearances of Shirai Kuroko and Acqua of the Back, it seems I just love characters that risk their lives to protect something that is important to them. The subtitle for the epilogue was originally going to be Hope_in_Hand, but I decided that Brave fit the protagonists much better. My thanks go out to my illustrator Haimura-san, my editors Miki-san and Fujiwara-san, and Iwakura-san who helped with the design of the powered suits. I feel like the unique feel of the villain side that Accelerator and Hamazura Shiage are involved in came out much better in the illustrations than it did in the text itself. I am truly grateful for all their help this time as well. And I give my thanks to the readers as well. It’s thanks to your support and acceptance of my way of doing things that I have been able to continue this irregular series where the feel of each volume can change so drastically. There are a lot of things I want to try from here on out, so please keep reading.

Now it is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened. And I lay my pen down for now.

What kind of battle will unfold for those protagonists who have taken bravery into their hands?

-Kamachi Kazuma OT20 = To those who have continued reading from Volume 1: welcome back.

To those who bought the 22 books all at once: welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

The war between science and magic is finally here! Previously, it was a war within a single country, but this time the scale of the fight has been increased even further. Kamijou Touma, Accelerator, and Hamazura Shiage are looking at a single war from their different viewpoints. And the world is full of other people who are less recognized but who are also risking their lives in the fight. I changed the construction of the story a bit from the usual focus on a single protagonist to show that stories of dangerous fights can be found anywhere you look during a war on a worldwide scale. As the story came to its end, the hearts of all the people slowly started to come together in a single direction. That flow will not be exterminated. In a large fight, do not make “excuses” and do not stray from your path. That is most likely the most important thing needed for all the protagonists to have victory in the large flow that is a war. Whether they succeed or not, watching over their actions is quite moving.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and my editors Miki-san and Fujiwara-san. Things have gotten even more complicated in this story. With science, magic, good, and evil all mixing together, I’m guessing it was difficult to decide what overall direction to take the illustrations in. I am truly thankful that they have gone along with my ridiculous requests every single time. And I give my thanks to the readers. To be honest, I doubt I would have been allowed to write a story like this in the very first volume. I truly thank you for supporting this environment that lets me do whatever I want.

Now it is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened. And I lay my pen down for now.

How many protagonists are there going to be?

-Kamachi Kazuma OT21 = To those who have continued reading from Volume 1: welcome back.

To those who bought the 23 books all at once: welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

It’s been split in two!! …You’re probably wondering what that was all of a sudden, but this book was split in two. Originally, this was to be the halfway point of A Certain Magical Index Volume 21 and there would be just as many pages following this part, but my great editor gave me the sage advice that the book would be a bit too thick that way, so it was split in two on short notice. This afterword was put together fairly quickly, too. Because it was split down the middle, this volume ended up prominently featuring that girl who appeared in Volume 4. A lot of different characters stood up to her in succession and I am quite moved that the people of this series’ world have come so far. One person is heading for the resolution of his problem, one has yet to find the clue to solve his problem, and one has been thrown into an even more chaotic hell. The protagonists have been dropped into very different situations, but I think you will enjoy what happens regarding them in the next volume.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and my editor Miki-san. I think the intensification of the war made my illustration requests that much more difficult. I am very thankful that they stuck with me this time, too. And I give my thanks to the readers. 23 books is quite a lot and it’s all thanks to you that I’ve come this far. Please keep reading.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened. And I lay my pen down for now.

But Misha is not the only archangel in the world of this series.

-Kamachi Kazuma OT22 = To readers who have followed this series book by book, long time no see.

To readers who bought all twenty-four books at once, nice to meet you.

I’m Kamachi Kazuma.

This time, it’s Volume 22. So now the "God’s Right Seat" arc has finally concluded… Starting back in Volume 11 with Vento of the Front, no matter what, this is an arc that has spanned ten novels. This is a good opportunity to talk about the three main characters.

About Kamijou Touma:

He’s a "relative" character at all times. If there are no magicians or espers who possess supernatural abilities around him, the ability to "negate" them can’t be shown. It’s the same when ideals clash with ideals; most of the time, you aren't taking the initiative but rather reacting to your opponent. If Touma’s opponent were a normal person who has an unshakable resolve, Touma will probably suffer defeat. Also, against that kind of opponent, "there is no reason to clash". Now, if the Hamazura Shiage who has grown somewhat defeated Kamijou in a normal fight, there will probably be a balance between the three main characters. That would be very interesting; what do all of you think? In this volume, there are probably many readers who feel that Kamijou isn’t quite like how he is in previous volumes. Though, compared with character growth, the main reason is probably more due to his opponent being too abnormal. If we look at it as "The ability which can restrain a strong power is more powerful", then Kamijou Touma’s position has risen. Originally, he’s an undefined character.

If he finds that his cat has gotten lost, he’ll do all he can to try and find it. If there's a threat to the world, he'll also use all his strength to stop it from happening. Even though he acts in a serious manner, as the nature of the event changes, the direction that he’s serious towards also changes. Kamijou is then such a magical character. Also, in this series, there have been several characters that can be called "Kamijou’s opponent". These are all characters that were made by taking some aspect of the character Kamijou Touma as a base, but with some changes added. In other words, Kamijou himself has many sides to him to begin with. The impression that the world of "Toaru Majutsu no Index" gives is that there are no overarching plot or characters that specifically pertain to it. Some are just picking various characters as the main protagonist and then telling the stories around them (this is especially true for SS2). Though every protagonist has a story that makes them shine for one moment, Kamijou Touma gives the feeling that for him, from the battlefield with shells flying past to having a Chinese hotpot cook-off, he would be a suitable character regardless of the situation… but that’s not saying that he has many talents. Having a "so-called main character" who knows nothing but still charges ahead would probably make this story easier to write. If he is forcibly made into a "specialist of a certain area", then when it comes to problems outside his specialty, there would be deeper questions to worry about. About Accelerator:

From another perspective, Accelerator who's been written as a "dark hero" has traces of a Saint in him. He has the kind of feeling that a person who has committed a great sin but then stepped onto the difficult road to redemption in order to redeem themselves gives off. As proof of surpassing his trials, his wings have completely changed colors… I’ve wanted to try writing a scene like this for a long time now. From the bottom of his heart, what Accelerator wants is not a lover but a family. In spite of knowing nothing about what a family is, he's still been able to act as a parent for Last Order (though it’s unknown whether as a father or a mother), although there are some contradictions with how he acts as a child around Yomikawa and Yoshikawa (most prominently, the scene in Volume 15 where Yomikawa takes the gun out of his hands). While being a symbol of his past, the title of a "Villain" had also given him a good reason to run away. In this Volume 22 where he surpasses being chained down by "Good" and "Evil", he undoubtedly will now head towards the direction of a "family". About Hamazura Shiage:

In this war, regardless of it involving Kamijou Touma or Accelerator, both of them have been dragged into something beyond common sense. So, this character has the job of making the readers feel the atmosphere of "war". Needless to say, what's been entangling him are his grades at school—i.e., being branded as a "Powerless Person (Level 0)"- though after seeing the results of the schools’ teachings and the system scans, being called by the upper levels of Academy City as "the typical child whose future has been misled by adults" would not be wrong. He's personally shattered the chains that were holding his heart down, and, at the same time, has saved his companion who's being weighed down by the chains of being an elite "Level 5". Despite the fact that we’re talking about the Hamazura Faction that’s not on the Science side or the Magic side, the topics coming up are getting close to the core of everything. The so-called "specifically made potential espers who can rise to Level 5"... "Dark Matter" is a special exception, so it can’t be verified, but no matter if it’s Accelerator or the "Railgun", apart from being simply biological resources from the industrial point of view, they're simply "delicious", no? The seventh Level 5 who appears in SS2 should be fairly powerful, but why is he only the seventh? Regarding this kind of question, from this point of view, the answer should be more obvious… At first glance, the fifth seems to have little value, but when used in disciplines such as sports and medicine, there'd be great benefits. …And, though this is only in jest, in terms of relationships and all related matters, I feel that Hamazura has made the most progress. In this type of situation, the only main character who can answer questions like “But haven’t you already chosen >insert person here<?” is probably him. A certain spiky-haired boy somewhere else seems to have gotten into this problem as well. Thank you to Haimura-sensei, who's in charge of illustrations, and Miki-sensei, who's in charge of printing. Because it’s the conclusion of the "God’s Right Seat" arc, there are many large-scale scenes, and the illustrations have probably gotten harder to draw. To have listened to some of my more troublesome requests, many thanks. Finally, thank you to all you readers out there. For the "God’s Right Seat" arc to have a story this grand, your help and support plays a crucial role. To have supported my impulsive settings and developments, I am very grateful. Then, we will conclude here this time.

Hope you'll flip open this book next time as well.

I’ll sign off here.

Next time: “The world that has been saved”!!

Kamachi Kazuma.

Volume 1 to 11
NT1 = To both those who are picking up one of my books for the first time and those who have picked up all of my books so far: welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This is the first book of the new numbering. The first book is Science-only and Index doesn’t really show up, but don’t worry about that. The normal theory is going to be ignored quite a bit like that from now on, so make sure you check out how things are in this first volume.

The theme this time was technology that goes beyond a certain scientific line, and the book was basically powered suits and a cyborg rampaging around. The world in the series is divided between the science side and the magic side, but Academy City went beyond the line of the definition of the human body for two reasons. First, the problem they had was now on too large a scale. Second, after winning the war, they had destroyed the balance of the world.

Now about the Five Over. I feel that it is something that goes against the theory of a battle story.

But, as described in the novel, science and technology continue to advance, so what was cutting-edge yesterday may not be so today. I decided to put it in to demonstrate that.

Currently, the Five Over has a more powerful gun than #3, but, if the two were to fight, #3 would win due to application.

But that isn’t an absolute, because science and technology will continue to advance.

On the other hand, #3 has a wall called the Parameter List.

I suppose I could say that this is becoming a world of the functionality of machines vs. the ingenuity of humans. Which is stronger, and how long will one side’s superiority last? …Now, I wonder how long #3 can continue reigning.

The cyborg may have been a bit different from what you, the readers, were imagining, but she got that way by this design process: I freely design the physical body -> I freely add in bird wings, fish gills, or whatever I want -> I decide what characteristics I most want to bring into Academy City.

Her battle strategy is basically asking the question “Which is stronger: one Level 5 or a thousand Level 4s?”

But the source of her power is still just one person, so it exhausts her quite a bit.

By the way, I think the first appearance of a clear cyborg instead of just a fake hand or a cane in this world was the short story by Narita Ryougo-san that was in a special volume of A Certain Scientific Railgun.

When writing the main story, I had wanted to bring in a cyborg, but I was worried that having cyborgs walking around Academy City would mess up the power balance, but thanks to him, I made my decision. I decided that it was okay for incidents like this to occur in a city that had Nayuta-chan in it, so I had a cyborg that had been altered for the war against the intentions of the creator of the cyborgs.

Thank you very much, Narita Ryougo-san.

One of them was a cyborg that altered her outer silhouette and the area her power could be used from while rearranging the inside of her body, and the other was a powered suit that altered the outside of his body and optimized the inside of his mind. As was stated in the novel itself, it’s rather hard to draw a clear line between the two. Which do you, the readers, feel would be harder to accept?

My thanks to my illustrator, Haimura-san and my editor, Miki-san. With a girl that carried thousands of arms with her and a sexy guy who wears the right thing at the right time, I feel that there were a lot of troublesome new concepts this time, but you two always stick with my selfishness, so thank you very much.

I would also like to thank Narita Ryougo-san for bringing cyborgs to this world and Akitaka Mika-san for designing the powered suits.

And a huge thanks to all you readers. The numbering may have been reset to 1 and I may have gotten carried away and made the first volume a more side story-ish volume, but I think I was only allowed to do this because of your support. I plan on doing whatever I want with the story from here on out, so keep on reading.

And now you will be closing the page.

I pray that you will be able to open the cover of the next volume.

And I will lay down my pen for now.

At long last, Birdway has joined in with the main story…!!

-Kamachi Kazuma NT2 = Umm, to those who started buying with the very first Index novel, to those who started buying with New Testament, to those who bought all of the volumes at once, to those who bought both the New Testament volumes at once, and to everyone who bought this new novel in any of the various paths there: hello.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This is the second volume of New Testament. This time, the contents include a bit of a rethinking of magic which is one of the roots on which the setting is based. Also, the view of who ‘they’ are has been made a little more clear and the meaning of Kamijou Touma’s second death has been referenced just a bit…In both cases, I feel it is kind of like dragging something from behind the scenes out to the forefront.

One of the themes is in the word “radiosonde”, but that just refers to a disposable weather balloon. Given that, is it a little easier to understand what ‘they’ did this time?

A lot of people may be realizing that the power balance is crumbling both on an individual level and on an organization level. At first glance, Aleister’s interference seems to be hindering the protagonists, but there are also problems that occur when it is no longer there. In a way, the construct of the children fighting while being protected by the power of the adults has been destroyed and now they must stand up for themselves in a world where they will receive no assistance. …When I put it that way, it kind of makes it sound like the second death was him freeing himself from the stairway that is the process of a boy’s growth. Of course, that is the incorrect route, but it may be fun to enjoy that as a parallel explanation.

I had the Five Over last time and, by pure coincidence, something related to Mjölnir this time. I can almost see Biri Biri-san looking worried. But just like the science side’s Pyrokinesis and the magic side’s flame swords are two separate things, I felt that it would not be surprising if the magic side had its own person with a representative electrical attack method. In fact, I felt it would be strange if it didn’t, so I made one. Having a large scale but being difficult to use corresponds more to Mugino than to Mikoto, though.

I give my thanks to my illustrator, Haimura-san, and to my editor, Miki-san. It’s probably because I wanted to have a bustling atmosphere in this one, but so many characters made an appearance. It must have been difficult to decide which scenes to cut out. I am truly thankful.

And I give my thanks to all the readers. I was trying to make this one overall more lighthearted by putting in so much comedy, but I think the basic setting behind the scenes actually made it a rather bitter story. This was yet another story that would have been difficult to construct in a debut volume. I am thankful that I have been allowed to just do what I want.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

Mikoto is finally joining the fight!! …Although it’s because I haven’t put her in the fight up until now.

-Kamachi Kazuma NT3 = To those who have bought the volumes one at a time: welcome back. To those who bought them all at once: welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

New Testament has reached its third volume! The stage for this volume is the Hawaiian Islands. I put a bit of a restriction on how things were presented, but that was to go along with a certain gimmick.

The occult keyword was people-controlling magic.

However, as also indicated in the volume, I don’t think there is any type of occult that would make an investigation more of a pain in the ass. Even if someone acts in accordance to the spell user’s instructions, it can be unclear whether that is actually the occult or if they are cheated by planning it together earlier. The issue might be similar to the question of whether a supposed genius dog is actually doing the calculations in its head.

Since I was dealing with the remnants left by World War III, I of course went with Russia. Since I was going with the Russian Orthodox Church, I went with a fairy. However, I felt something like the Lorelei was too straightforward, so I did some research to see if there was a more twisted one. What I found was the Leshy. Like many other fairies, the Leshy has a frightening side of not hesitating to kill, but it has a bit of charm too.

And of course Cendrillon uses a similar method to Vasilisa from the Russian Orthodox Church, so I guess you can check that out too.

We’ve really started to get into the Imagine Breaker countermeasures now.

I think you will be able to sense a different feel to those who appeared at the end than with the Russian remnant types.

I give my thanks to my illustrator, Haimura-san, and my editor, Miki-san. This story was probably a bit of a pain due to having so many people in it. I am truly thankful that they have stuck with me this far.

I also give my thanks to all the readers. It is thanks to all of you that I am allowed to write these stores that are such a pain. I am truly thankful.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

The name of the Magic God has finally appeared.

-Kamachi Kazuma NT4 = To those who have bought the volumes one at a time, it’s been a while. To those who bought them all at once: nice to meet you.

I’m Kamachi Kazuma.

It’s the fourth book already!! This volume didn’t use the old chapter concept of the past. This was to create an effect where the reader won’t be able to predict what will happen next or know who would die, and created a rule to reveal everything near the end. This little gimmick that requires one to think drove the entire story this time.

This time, the main theme was about the relations between micro and macro. But as the story isn’t divided into individual chapters this time, it may be difficult to comment on different episodes. Thus, this time, I’ll break the rules and describe the characters that appeared. I will then use the understanding of these characters who drove the story to conclude this story again.

Kihara Ransuu.

A researcher working on the development of chemicals that affect the brain. I created this character by looking from the angle of what kind of skill was needed to create the #5 Five Over.

The skill itself was rather complicated, but he was the most mentally sane amongst the Kiharas that appeared here, and was someone who would easily understand people. He was in the middle-low tier of his family, and worked by looking at the people who were watching a sports ceremony and considering about those things. It would be very lucky of him if he could get any information as a Kihara.

There were lots of extreme real illusions in this story, but he was originally skilled at controlling emotions of a certain kind. For example, he could use a command like 'I don’t know why, but the door handle just feels strangely scary → I don’t want to go out’ to limit his target’s movement before killing them off with a gun or a knife. This was his fighting style.

He himself said that he felt that real illusions were made to kill time as it’s too boring to suppress the enemy early.

…In the end, he met someone with a similar ability, and was finally bound in that loop of illusions like he was facing a mirror.

Kihara Enshuu.

She looked like…damaged goods from the Kihara family, but in fact, she was a girl who used her intelligence to rise to the top of the group. Graphs did appear around Enshuu on the monitors, and that’s the function of the smartphone hanging on her neck which could add on to the information semi-automatically.

My initial concept was to make a Kihara robot. But as I thought about it, there was no robot that could talk in the exact same manner as a human, so I made some changes to her design (though it’s like observing a world where microbes on Mars are talking to each other in Japanese…). If I couldn’t let her think like a human, I might as well set her up as a human. On first glance, it looked like humans were using some program to create this ability. But if it’s not a girl, the person using it would become like a person that was controlled by the program… In fact, there are cases where people end up in such a situation due to over-reliance on things like weight control appliances and fortune-telling sites. In the end, is it still considered a curse?

On a side note, my final impression on Kihara Enshuu is that of an extremely ordinary girl who’s able to transform glamorously with the power of the Kihara!

Kihara Byouri.

She has often been called an aunty, but she’s a big sister wearing pajamas… What age will the so-called 'aunt' in light novels nowadays be? This is a character who liked to play sick, full of mysteries, and also a boss character born from the Japanese tradition of transformation. I like a powerful foe that’s tough to beat and something I can use to rest my back on, so her trait was the phase adjustment to deliberately show that she couldn’t stand up. It’s this reason that Kihara Kagun would keep his guard when around her. This time, she used the power of the #2. But even without using his power, she could just use the knowledge and skills of a Kihara and modify her own body rampantly.

In the end, Kihara Byouri was basically formed from the change of phase with the anticipation of the attack from the science side. So if she was attacked by something out of science, that battle strategy which required transforming a few times and slowly becoming stronger wouldn’t work.

Kihara Kagun.

The ace this time. He wasn’t just limited to working on near-death experiences originally, but also about everything related to life and the soul that wasn’t supernatural. He explained them through scientific means and tried to conclude that a human’s life really existed, and that it wouldn’t change in value because of standings or sudden changes in situation (basically, this Kihara’s aim was good…just the aim). However, during his experiments, he created the skill to easily turn a human life On-Off, and realized that if he continued with his experiments, even if the value of human life never changed, it would be held at a very low baseline, and thus will be researched.

As a researcher, he undoubtedly killed the most number of people amongst the Kiharas. But the total damage he had done was 0 for he revived the dead, which made him someone with such amazing experience.

He looked…thoroughly like a kind teacher who ran off to seek revenge. But after thinking through it, this guy may have gotten the power to take revenge, but he did agree with the Radiosonde Castle and the Hawaiian Islands incidents. He helped the audience at Baggage City, but he also did take part in the action in Baggage City. He can be considered to be like the other Kiharas when it comes to achieving a good objective and destroying everything to achieve the means… In other words, this Kihara was released because he protected the children from the killer on the road, but finally couldn’t control his own actions.

…Thus, because such a thing happened, Kumokawa Maria concluded that the 'sorry' wasn’t said to her, but to others. In fact, Kumokawa Maria was one of the others. That’s because the teacher she spent so much time to find no longer existed.

Bersi.

We’ll be giving a cross-analysis to distinguish him from Kihara Kagun. As he had a defensive spell that completely nullifies fatal wounds, he was a problematic character who didn’t mind about other people’s personalities or habits and would interfere through small actions. Logically, if someone with ordinary emotions ended up in such a situation, the mind would collapse first. However, I avoided the above-mentioned problem by stating that his research became useful in such an attack.

He could nullify all fatal attacks, but he also had a sword spell that increases its destructive power every time he was attacked. Thus, when facing a fierce attack by the enemy, he could use a spell that has an infinite ceiling. This is different from Accelerator in that it's not the control of just one attack, but that the thing that’s worth noting is that once the power increases, he could maintain such destructive power when fighting the enemy in the future. As his name suggested, he really was an inflating bastard.

However, he wouldn’t be able to fight skillfully if his attack power wasn’t fine-tuned. Thus, he’s not used to attacking others. It’s because of this that he used his fists to fight in the beginning. This could be somewhat seen from the way Kihara Kagun wished to fight with his target on equal grounds until death.

On a side note, Kihara Ransuu and Útgarða-Loki, who were dealt with easily at the beginning, would be the natural enemies to Bersi.

Útgarða-Loki.

The illusionist on the magic side. Like Sigyn and Marian, he was originally a magician who wasn’t supposed to take part in direct battle. As for why such people were gathered in Baggage City, I suppose everyone understood from the explanation of a certain plan in the ending of the book? In other words, Gremlin didn’t want to win. What’s important was to accurately adjust the environment in Baggage City that got involved in the battle.

To Gremlin, they had no need to take action in Baggage City, but the Anti-Academy City Science Guardians said that they wanted to replace Academy City and create a global standard for supernatural powers, and brought their weird interests into this discussion and made use of them.

Sigyn.

The person who was defeated at the start of the battle. She originally could not only give suggestions to her allies, but also give wrong suggestions to the enemy and cause them to self-destruct. She can choose between which method to use.

Instead of magic, she’s actually more apt at analyzing the opponent’s logic and fill in the holes like an expert in debating. Her skill in making up for logic could also be used for magic, and that's how she got in to this industry (?).

She would just suggest, and then only claim responsible when it succeeds. It’s because she continued to remain so irresponsible that she wouldn’t have any hesitation to betray her allies when she has such a weak sense of camaraderie even if she didn’t end up like what happened in the volume. This was a character that should surprise the audience because she didn't get modified into a chair or table by Marian, whom we’re about to talk about.

Marian Slingeneyer.

The culprit who brought the level of bloodiness in this story to this level. A fanatic at modifying human bodies… But one can tell from the drama when she pulled out Dáinsleif that she originally didn’t specialize in modifying human parts.

It’s mentioned in the work, but deliberately modifying the enemy's human parts into terrifying shapes was a strategic choice in battle to shake the enemy’s will to fight.

Thus, she could modify everything that’s not human too. She could modify them into handsome men and pretty ladies. If she just wanted tools, she could make it out of minerals, if she wanted something to have calculation capabilities like a missile, then she would make it out of lifeforms. Anyway, it’s roughly those kinds of rules, I suppose?

…But since this is a girl who finds solace in using those kinds of tables and chairs, if she would make beautiful men and women according to her senses, it would be something very shocking I suppose.

Through the explanation of Dáinsleif in the text, lots of people will be thinking that ‘if that’s the ability of the item that came with it, what’s the actual ability of the item itself?’ But like what Stiyl said in his Side Story, if they could randomly create a powerful spiritual item, it’ll be impossible to achieve balance if they don’t control it. Try to use these words to understand. On a side note, the Dáinsleif mentioned here is different from the Gungnir mentioned somewhere else. In the original legend, it was prepared for a human king to use. Thus, there’s no need to view it as a connecting spell for gods to use gods’ weapons and link it to the holy tool Mjölnir.

Able to modify people that freely yet succumb into panic when her partner Bersi died…that’s her trait. She had an extreme personality of having a clear line between friend and foe and was somewhat insane at times. Even so, what if the final road really becomes her redemption…?

Saflee Opendays.

The most normal person amongst the competitors in the Natural Selector fighting tournament. A person who simply used wrestling moves. The current 1-versus-1 gimmick of the global martial arts tournament lost its luster with the psychic interference from Academy City (Esper powers were viewed in part as a form of entertainment in the Daihaseisai). She came all the way to Baggage City simply to find sponsors.

Thus, her aim wasn’t to win the Natural Selector, but to do whatever she can to shine in this tournament filled with many people with strange powers, in order to leave an impression on those rich enterprises and investors. Thus, even though the stage shifted from an official tournament to street-side fighting, and eventually turned into a war between science and magic, her attitude did not change at all.

From the way she’s concerned with the refreshing feeling that comes with destruction, perhaps she has a personality which makes her focus on show business ethics in her original profession?

Oumi Shuri.

Looks like a 10-year-old, but this is only because of things like the Clostridium botulinum bacteria. She’s actually a 30+ aunty. A ninja with a cheerleader outfit, a school bag, and a gardening trowel as her main weapon, her traits are a mess. This was a measure to deliberately stand out and attract the enemy’s attention… But it really brought a lot of trouble to the illustrator. Even though I call it messy, but if it's actually drawn as messy, it would be really embarrassing. However, if it was too neat, it would deviate from the intent of the text. I feel that designing her image was a difficult C+ different.

Normally, characters of this kind would be of a low level (expendable). Genins should be in charge of protecting the Jounin of the higher levels (that’s why the management could survive and built on such accomplishments to achieve their standings). However, Oumi Shuri herself overturned such a theory. She didn’t get abandoned, but also made an amazing feat of surviving.

Naturally put, she still focused on protecting her allies and subordinates, but as the forces that first appeared were eliminated, she was running around berserk and far from her original thought process… The Kouga themselves secretly had people in Academy City, but they had a vastly different target from the ones here. From this, we can tell that the Kouga were largely divided.

Kumokawa Maria.

Fresh blood, illusions, human modifications, a ninja that tried to act young, a biological weapon, a shape shifting boss, the absolute cold of -20 degrees Celsius… In such a rampant hell, she was the ever important oasis. The panties-servicing younger Kumokawa sister. She’s armed with a fighting style of Capoeira, breakdance, and pole dance. But even though she gave such an impression, there wasn’t much mention in the text. Most likely, it’s because she was worried that she would be exposed. The few illustrations of her caused a change in the hell in this volume!...But this girl looked like she was suffering, which was the jumping feeling or the moving weight or whatsoever.

Her ability’s called Violence Doughnut, an ability to increase the centrifugal force in her by 0.5 to 2 times, and she’s a Level 2. Centrifugal force, one of the basics when fighting, increases destructiveness, but her bones and muscles are as only tough as a human's, so her trait was that her bones will snap if she punched really hard.

She was often saying some amazing things, but Kumokawa Maria wasn’t really active. However, that’s likely a characteristic she shares with her older sister Seria. From the point mentioned in New Testament 2, that she couldn’t do anything to prevent the 20,000 clones from dying even after knowing about it, one can understand the standpoint of these two sisters.

Kamijou Touma.

As everyone knows, he’s safe as he’s the protagonist. However, one of the main themes this time was to break the rule that with Kamijou around, all his allies will be saved. Thus, the key term, Kamijou Touma, was used for all sorts of things. Even in this story, there were lots of emphasis on the term itself.

However, I beilieve the boy’s existence that appeared at the end had an obvious difference to the Kamijou Touma from before. The fact that the 'ordinary chapter format' only making a reappearance there was because of the meta reasoning that the rule of the icy world that controlled this place was replaced by something else.

…Although there is actually more shocking 'damage' lying in wait for him further down the road.

As for the character who appeared as a Boss-level opponent and caused the damage, I’ll deliberately abstain from commenting. That’s a twist which’s for the benefit of the development of the series and for those important characters to continue to appear.

I’d like to express my thanks to my illustrator, Haimura-san, and my editor Miki-san. After I came up with the gimmick, Haimura-san probably spent a lot of thinking time to choose which illustrations to use for which scenes. The designation of the RPG-style shape shifting boss-type which would have meaninglessly increased the illustrating difficulty would have him yelling "NO!". I’ll have to really thank him this time.

Also, I’d like to express my thanks to the readers. As I selfishly used my thoughts to break out of the safety zone and nearly caused the pillar of support sustaining the story to collapse, I faced this problem which a series would have when it runs on for too long but isn’t going to be resolved easily. I’ll give my heartfelt thanks to everyone for giving me the courage to tackle this problem.

And so, this volume ends with this page.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

A Valkyrie appeared, but I’ll explain it in this volume, so please relax.

Kamachi Kazuma NT5 = To those who have bought each novel one at a time, it’s been a while. To those who bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This is the fifth volume of the New Testament series. This volume is a story about the Ichihanaransai that has only ever been mentioned in the past. Gremlin, Imagine Breaker, how Ollerus and Othinus relate to each other, and more. This one has pieces of explanations about a lot of the major themes of New Testament.

After his bitter experiences in Hawaii and Baggage City, this volume has Kamijou Touma standing in a position where he wants to trust people but cannot blindly trust people. Ollerus, Birdway, and Thor. There are plenty of people nearby he could ask to explain the situation to him, but he has now realized simply listening to what they say is not enough.

When faced with the question of what to do about people who do not bring their honest beliefs into play and instead calmly deceive him, Kamijou has chosen to deceive them right back.

If he can succeed in that, I get the feeling he will have taken another step in his growth as a person. But these are people who standard methods never seem to work on. Will they really allow that boy’s growth to proceed quite so easily?

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and my editor Miki-san. The festival preparations meant there were a lot of construction tools and pieces of plywood lying around, so that theme must have been a lot of trouble with all the small details in the background and the difficult atmosphere to express. I am thankful as always.

And I give my thanks to the readers. What did you think of having the story back in Academy City for the first time in a while and having a school event featuring as one of the themes? I hope you will stick around for the next volume as well.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

By the way, do not forget that a main theme was seen in the prologue.

-Kamachi Kazuma NT6 = To those who have bought the novels in order one at a time: welcome back. To those who bought them all at once: welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

Saints, a Valkyrie, a magic cabal boss, a former human table, the Level 5s from #1 to #4 (and #5 too?), a lightning god, a Magic God, and Fräulein Kreutune. This story had quite the cast of characters, so what did you think? With the main girl in the story, Cendrillon, and the white rhinoceros beetle, this time I had the theme be the limits of what is “human” from both the science and magic sides.

Also, the driving force behind Thor is a similar type to what drove Accelerator when he first appeared. He would have become something like that if he had continued growing without leaving that path.

In a few places, characters that have few lines and don’t seem to have many appearances at first are surprisingly deeply involved with certain story threads. If you have time, why don’t you try to search those out?

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and my editor Miki-san. Not only did this have a lot of battles, but everyone had their own gimmicks. I bet it was an extremely difficult novel for them. I am truly thankful that they stuck with me for this volume, too.

And I give my thanks to the readers. How did you like finally having another story with Academy City as its stage? I hope you stick with me from here on out, too.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

I get the feeling Cendrillon will be easy to use in a lot of different ways.

-Kamachi Kazuma NT7 = To those who have bought one volume at a time: welcome back. To those who bought them all at once: welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

Okay! This was a science side story!! But with Kamijou Touma in a leading role, it cannot be said to be wholly science. Then again, it didn’t have any magic mixed in, so it falls along an odd line. This may be one of the benefits of having that spiky-haired boy walk through so many different worlds in the course of the incidents he has experienced.

Here in Volume 7, I brought out a lot of the material I had been building up since the start of New Testament. I had been thinking for a while that this kind of surprise turn of events wouldn’t be too out of place if the series continued this long. And one of the reasons I added New Testament to the title was because Academy City has finally made it “this far”.

A boy who sacrifices everything to get vengeance for his step sister, a brain that rules over the darkness with nothing but her speaking skills, a cyborg that uses up multiple brains to keep a single body running, an AIM thought being that abandoned her physical body, a gathering of the Level 5s, and even an artificial heroine who can freely lead around all of the heroes. …I think this volume was filled with a lot of crazy people that just scream “Made in Academy City”. What did you think?

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and my editor Miki-san. With a cyborg and a formless final boss, this had to be one of the most troublesome volumes to deal with. I am truly thankful that they stuck with me this time as well.

And I give my thanks to all the readers. I think it is thanks to how accepting you all are that I can write these stories that lean all the way to one side or the other of magic or science. I hope you will stick with me from now on too.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

Heroes must work on a floating exchange rate. It causes problems when there are too many of them.

-Kamachi Kazuma NT8 = To those who have bought one volume at a time: welcome back. To those who bought them all at once: welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

The series with the New Testament label is already on its eighth volume. The fight with Gremlin has continued for that long.

This time, the focus is placed on Kamijou Touma’s small objective of saving those he confronts even as he is caught up in a major battle.

At the same time, focus also falls on Ollerus and Othinus.

Someone has to fight back against Othinus somehow, but who can hurt such a terrifying opponent and how? When faced with that question, Ollerus and Fiamma of the Right attacked as a combo that doesn’t play fair. All of the foreshadowing laid out in the background of New Testament volumes 5 and 6 was used for this one-shot attack. How did you like it?

Perhaps because of her beauty, Freyja is a popular goddess in Norse mythology, but she is a mysterious existence with many other sides to her. Among those are more aggressive traits such as being Odin’s lover and having free control over half of the gods’ army of Einherjar. But this time, I used the most basic trait of being a goddess that gives birth to life.

No matter how great a mission a hero has, I hope they do not crush this kind of character underfoot along the way.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and my editors Miki-san, Onodera-san, and Anan-san. The stage this time had to have required a lot of work in a different way from Academy City. I am thankful they continue to stick with the unreasonable things I write.

I also thank all of you readers. I think this is the first time the story has taken place in Tokyo but not in Academy City. I think you will see many different stages from now on as well.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

Now, what will happen to the world that was ended without hesitation? -Kamachi Kazuma NT9 = To those of you who bought one volume at a time, welcome back. To those of you who bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

Ideally, every incident would end in a single volume and the only exception would be the occasional two-parter, but here we are at the middle of a three-parter. As you know if you have read the volume through to the end, the next volume will be a boss rush of all the monsters Kamijou has dealt with thus far!! You can look forward to seeing a high school boy’s actions after he carelessly makes an enemy of the world for the sake of the troublesome circumstances of a single girl!!

Anyway, this volume was completely focused on the battle with Othinus. I was wondering what a battle with a god would be like. The simplest and flashiest method would have been to have her call in an army of the monsters and gods from her mythology, but then I wondered if keeping things simple was the way to go if it’s supposed a battle against an existence known as a god.

As a result, I decided to smash both the chronology and understanding of the protagonist to pieces. I will be deeply moved if you felt you could never win against that.

On the other hand, simply writing a battle that leaves no hope is not enough, so I gave Kamijou a strategy that is based in a familiar concept. That is why I used RPGs and retro shooting games as examples. …After all, this is a story of a lowly human challenging a god. Rather than a head-to-head competition of tricky logic, I thought having Kamijou bring out this “common” sort of thing with a serious expression would create a contrast between them that shows his high school boy side.

After repeating the loop for thousands or even tens of thousands of times, Kamijou has quickly reached the position of a martial arts master in a kung fu movie or an ancient little girl that speaks like an old woman. But I figure Kamijou’s personality and manner of speech would stay the same even as an old man, so I had him make it through the entire thing with no real change there. Of course, if he was an old man and still acted so energetically, that might give him the position of a martial arts master in its own way.

And just as the Will said in the novel, this truly became the story of Kamijou fighting for his own sake.

Can Kamijou Touma never make any selfish demands?

He had to ask that question after being driven into quite an extreme situation. I thought I would show his human side in a story like this and I felt it was fine to finally show him crying, but what did you think?

I must thank my illustrator, Haimura-san, and my editors, Miki-san, Onodera-san, and Anan-san. I used many different methods to destroy Kamijou’s sense of good and evil and his comprehension, so the illustrations had to be really difficult. I am thankful that they stuck with me.

And I must thank all the readers. I was finally going to have a Magic God going all out, so I wanted to have a type of battle you couldn’t see otherwise. What did you think? I just hope you enjoyed it.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

Okay, everyone. It’s time to see a truly lovestruck blonde-haired, green-eyed goddess.

-Kamachi Kazuma NT10 = If you bought each volume one by one, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

We’ve finally reached the tenth volume since the New Testament label was added. As mentioned in the previous volume’s afterword, this had the highly irregular three-part structure, but I thought it would make a good ending to settle everything with Othinus.

“I will protect you even if I make an enemy of the world.” Such a hackneyed, overused, and unarguably cool phrase. This volume’s theme was trying it out for real.

That made this volume about a boss rush. I focused on breaking through the center of a true hell in a world with no redos and on Kamijou Touma taking his revenge after doing nothing but lose in the New Testament series. With Marian’s Dáinsleif, Almighty Thor after he broke from the shell of the lightning god, and Magic God Othinus’s crossbow that once took the life of the protagonist, I added in everything I could that had been built up in New Testament.

In New Testament 9, Kamijou Touma learned he was not a hero of justice but a normal high school boy, but in this volume, I wanted to show that being a normal high school boy doesn’t mean he can’t challenge the world.

Even as he shivers in the cold, is soaked in blood, and exchanges blows with the allies he had previously relied on, the protagonist continues to fight for a single girl. How did you like it?


 * '''Chapter 9: V.S. “The One who Bears White and Black Wings and Opposes the World” — Round_01.

When you hear the term “boss rush”, you might think the enemies will gradually grow stronger at each new stage, so I immediately sent in one of the strongest. I even showed a superweapon hidden in the shadow of Endymion to make even his entrance exciting.

I also immediately used the badly damaging attack method of using the left hand to swing a weapon on top of the right hand to show that this would be a truly hellish boss rush.

I quite like Amano Kaguya who is neither good nor evil and views the earth’s events from an outsider’s perspective, but I’m not sure I’ll ever have a chance to really use that in a story.


 * '''Chapter 10: V.S. “The Fury of Two Billion” — Round_02.

After Academy City’s #1 comes the Agnese Force. I figured that sequence would have you laughing and asking what Agnese could possibly do, so I used the surging inflation spell that multiplies personal magic by two billion to quickly corner Kamijou.

My main purpose was to show at an early stage that letting your guard down for an instant would get you killed this time. Or to put it more simply, I wanted to write a scene of Kamijou spinning through the air and dislocating his shoulder!


 * '''Chapter 11: V.S. “The Nuns Wavering in God's Majesty” — Round_03.

Now for the Russian Orthodox Church. Their power aside, the important point with them was being the first opponent in the boss rush that Kamijou barely knew and thus would show no kindness.

The Seven Deadly Sins spell they used is meant to weaken pagan gods by defining them by one’s own set of rules, so it is a lot like Ollerus’s fairy spell. However, the Seven Deadly Sins spell would probably tend more in the demon direction (Their power is looked down on, but they remain a symbol of fear. In some cases, they become seen as an even greater force.), so it might have led to Othinus retaining her powers and gaining an even crueler personality.


 * '''Chapter 12: V.S. “The Four Demon-Slaying Swords” — Round_04.

After the Romans and Russians, it’s the Anglicans. The last of the three Christian groups has the most vertical freedom. Regardless of his right hand, Kamijou Touma fundamentally cannot defeat a Saint, so he chose the frightening tactic of taking the path with a 100% chance of death.

The difference between him and Bersi is that he (in a way) completely trusts Kanzaki Kaori. The most important point is how the Priestess looks somehow happy even as watching spoiled Kamijou throws off her pace.


 * '''Chapter 13: V.S. “The Blacksmith who Releases the Magic Sword” — Round_05.

Dáinsleif was never truly used in New Testament 4, but now it attacks at its full specs. Partially calling in all sorts of hells and endings seems like complete inflation of power to me, but I decided to go for it anyways because the dwindling of people’s faith acts as a sign or omen of coming destruction in a lot of religions.

By the way, as I wrote this, it scared me how quickly the user would run out of their stock of summons when using this attack.

And if Marian had not made a limited barrier before the battle, something similar to Angel Fall in the old Volume 4 might have happened.


 * '''Chapter 14: V.S. “The Police of the Front Stage” — Round_06.

The opponent Kamijou Touma completely lost to was not a monster from the magic or science sides. It was a normal soldier who had gathered as much normal power as possible. This functions as an important brake in this series. If he can ever defeat someone like that without thinking, the series is as good as over.

The ghillie suit is a truly terrible combination from a moe perspective and it’s a pain to describe in detail, but I really wanted to put one in somewhere!

Sergeant Ingrid’s sneaking was partially a way of showing how skilled she was, but then it was made fun of by Lessar and Vasilisa later. That is another important balancer in this series.


 * '''Chapter 15: V.S. “The Merciless Scientific Vanguard” — Round_07.

The rush of Five Overs. There was no way he could win, so I made some drama as they ran away. The theme of this chapter was a reckless elopement. I was trying to make the hopeless situation seem as refreshing as possible by bringing up far-off dreams such as the bakery and flower shop.


 * '''Chapter 16: V.S. “The Heaven-Sent Child Loved by Electrons” — Round_08.

In a way, this was another revenge match from New Testament 9, but this time it happened with Kamijou losing.

The main point here was Mikoto defeating Kamijou’s argument with a similar yet different argument to the Will’s in the previous volume. The gist of it was “from whose perspective is it a perfect world?”

Kamijou could only overcome the ultimate argument with his selfish desires, but Mikoto saved him in a different way than the Will by pointing out that everyone else has their own selfish desires and it’s too simple to think mechanically forcing salvation on everyone is the best option.

By the way, the final attack was because I decided to go with a “special attack hidden behind seemingly kind and accepting behavior” similar to rubbing their head and exploding, kissing them on the forehead and exploding, or hugging them and exploding.


 * '''Chapter 17: V.S. “The Master of the Library and the Magic Queen” — Round_09.

Kamijou Touma’s tension lessens the closer his relationship with the person is and that showed its true value here. …I just wish there had been a character there to make fun of Birdway for loving her big bro so much!!

And since I was making Birdway into a pseudo magic god, I kind of regret not giving her the costume along with the lance.


 * '''Chapter 18: V.S. “The One who Opposes the Magic God” — Round_10.

As any reader who has made it this far could probably guess, getting off easy for two or three battles is a sign of things are about to get much worse. This time it was Silvia going yandere after Ollerus’s defeat. She went all out with breaking a large tree through his body and throwing over the bag of blood he had become to restrict the actions of her partner. She was so angry that she went for hand-to-hand while completely ignoring her well-reasoned spell using a clothesline shown in New Testament 6. She likely wanted to feel the sensation of his flesh being smashed to fulfill her desire for revenge.

On the other hand, Brunhild was (scarily) calm. Kamijou and Othinus gave up on talking right away, but she is the type who can be reasoned with. If they had persuaded her, the battle may have developed in a different direction.

If Kamijou is the current one who understands Othinus, then Ollerus is the one who best knows her past evil deeds that are wrapped in mystery. First she took his chance to reach the level of magic god and then she took the special power remaining in his body. Othinus had twice taken everything from him, so I thought him forgiving her would hold an important point in this story.

Ollerus had lost all his power, but I made sure he did not let that weakness show. The important point is how lonely he is as the one who could not understand her.


 * '''Chapter 19: V.S. “The Hammer-Wielding Almighty God” — Round_11.

Almighty Thor defeated Kamijou in an instant at the end of New Testament 6, so I think this was an important revenge match for him to overcome.

He said not to view his ability as mere teleportation, but Musujime Awaki might be able to do something similar in her perfect mode. It isn’t for nothing that she was determined to reach Level 5 if not for her trauma.

Thor looked up to Kamijou Touma not for the power in his right hand but for the environment he is placed in and how bravely he chooses to throw himself into that environment. Thor automatically evades all attacks and takes the optimal position, but that means he must abandon the weak and his allies and only he can hide in safety if something happens. With all that and his conflict with “brooding” Touma in New Testament 5 and 6, it hints that what he truly longs for is not the strongest sword but the strongest shield.

Kamijou became a “battered shield” after he made decisions that anyone could have made if they thought about it and ultimately made an enemy of the world to save a lonely goddess. To Thor, he may have looked like a giant mountain after gradually gathering up all of those experience points. To that “obsessed mountain climber”, he must have looked like the greatest peak.


 * '''Chapter 20: V.S. “???” — Round_12(Secret).

In that cold world where everyone had announced they would kill Othinus, who would the final enemy be? After a lot of thought, I decided on Magic God Othinus herself rather than some other murderous person.

She decided a monster like herself should not be saved.

To Kamijou Touma who wanted to save that girl no matter what, no other enemy could have been as powerful. And when she became his enemy and rejected salvation, there was a line I definitely wanted to have him say: Don’t run, Othinus.

That isn’t a line you would normally hear from a protagonist to a girl who is almost entirely cornered, but Kamijou himself chose suicide in New Testament 9. Because he knew how she felt all too well and because he understood her, he was able to speak more harshly. I thought that would express their strong bond better than some flowery words.

With Othinus as his enemy, the final barrier he had to overcome was of course the crossbow. He was only able to be pushed onwards in New Testament 9, so I wrote this while thinking he could only stand on his own once he overcame this attack.

Also, the president’s speech was exciting, wasn’t it!? A bit sad that it would be changed to a headmaster or board chairman’s speech in a school story.

Speaking of the speech, I used it to stretch out the beginning of the fight because a drawn out battle against the crossbow was impossible. I was trying to make it like a duel in a Western or jidaigeki. That’s also why there was almost no dialogue between Kamijou and Othinus in the battle scene.

I wrote this while swearing I would give the volume a happy ending, but I still gave that punishment to view the happy world in the very end. Just hearing that may sound like a light punishment, but if you re-read New Testament 9, you should find its true value and see humanity’s ironic counterattack against Othinus.

It was a happy ending but it had what could be seen as the ultimate punishment, so I will end this with a line from the novel.

“Despite all that, you chose to face the world, Othinus.”

I give my thanks to my illustrator, Haimura-san, and my editors, Miki-san, Onodera-san, and Anan-san. Writing nothing but exciting battles increases the amount of work and the readers will gradually get used to it, so this had to be another difficult volume for them. Thank you very much.

I also give my thanks to all of the readers. I’d been holding off on “I’ll destroy that illusion” since starting New Testament, so how did you like having it released here? This was a story of hope where the small bits of good make up the majority even when the world seems harsh and filled with hostility and hatred. I hope you enjoyed it.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

By the way, how did you like her lovestruck side?

-Kamachi Kazuma NT11 = If you bought each volume one by one, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

Let’s start with some inside information! This series was leaning pretty heavily toward the transcendent global magical battle centered on Othinus that ended last volume, so this story was mostly meant as a correction to bring things back into balance. That’s why the topic was entirely science side and the battle would only resolve extremely personal problems no matter who won or lost. Basically, I turned the rudder in the exact opposite direction from the last couple of volumes.

And the protagonist this time was Shokuhou Misaki. I had actually planned out her past early on but later realized it would be difficult to actually use. However, I decided it would be a waste to never use it when I already had the idea, so I worked to reconstruct the story.

Shokuhou herself (much like Mikoto) is a difficult character to use because she’s almost too convenient, but after the personal breakthrough that was New Testament 9, I decided I could handle a tricky psychological battle using her and had her actually enter the fight this time.

Before, she was something like the other family’s girl visiting Dengeki Bunko while Mikoto was staying over at Dengeki Daioh, so she had felt like a guest instead of an actual family member, but this might have broken free of that.

However, I thought the readers would be disappointed with a story that takes place entirely in the past, at least timeline-wise. Instead, I had Shokuhou pursuing “those days” along with the reader while afraid that her past may have changed. I was hoping to make a story that left you unsure what the truth was as the story progressed and I hope you found it thrilling.

As for the enemy character, Mitsuari Ayu, I actually used an initial rough for Shokuhou that Haimura-san submitted. I thought nothing could be more perfect for a girl who could not become Shokuhou and insisted that he use the design. I am truly grateful.

Her name means “honey ant” because there is a famous ant that gather so much sweet honey inside itself that it swells up like a ball and can’t walk on its own. (Its stomach grows translucent too, so it’s surprisingly pretty. It’s something like a glass ball.) I named her that because she first shows up in that three hundred kilogram form, because she filled herself with so many emotions that she couldn’t move, and because I wanted to include the character for “ant” to act as a counterpart for Shokuhou.

With Shokuhou, I initially wanted to give her family name a queen bee motif, but most everything I could think of there had already been used. I finally settled on her current family name with the idea that she eats into the entire societal structure and not just the queen at the top. I apologize to anyone who was shocked when they first saw a name meaning “bee eater”, but I did put some actual thought into it.

As for Shokuhou and Mitsuari’s given names meaning “control and pray” and “love and joy” respectively, you might be able to catch a glimpse of where their hearts lie and what their differences are by comparing them.

Both of them control people’s minds, but neither of them looks down on people’s minds or hearts. Sometimes, they will risk their lives to fight for those things or start down the wrong path because of them. I wanted to write a story about girls like that.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san, my editors Miki-san, Onodera-san, and Anana-san, and for the first time, all of the Dengeki Daioh staff starting with Fuyukawa Motoi-san. I relied on a lot of people to flesh out what was nothing more than lines of text in the plot and eventually create the beloved character named Shokuhou Misaki. Without all of their help, I would never have finished this story centered on her. I am truly grateful.

I also give my thanks to the readers. As I already said, I wouldn’t have given the go-sign for this story without the success I felt from New Testament 9 and this might have forever remained nothing but an idea in my notes. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me the push I needed.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

But the connection between Kumokawa Seria and Kamijou Touma is still a mystery!

-Kamachi Kazuma

Volume 12 to 22R
NT12 = If you bought each volume one by one, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

The theme this time was St. Germain!! He is pretty well-known as far as magic goes, but I had not touched on him yet because of his distance from the leaders of modern Western magic cabals like Mathers and Crowley and because doing any research will turn up as much material treating him like a con artist as material treating him like a mysterious individual.

But I wondered if I could mix both the pure and impure sides of him in this series and thus New Testament 12 was born.

The real themes were lies, acting, theatre, and roleplaying. For better or for worse, I think these are unavoidable factors in the occult. Not so much in pure religion or mythology, but definitely in the ritual magic organized by the same intellectuals that attended high society parties.

To accentuate this theme, I added a liar on the ally side, too. He was fully relying on that lie, but as he overcame a harsh reality, he grew enough to cast off that shell, stand on his own two feet, and announce his own name. And with that truth, he defeated St. Germain who wielded lies. That was the kind of story I wanted to tell.

People have various reasons to lie.

St. Germain did, Kanou Shinka did, and even Frenda did in her appearance from the past.

Each of those reasons approaches the true meaning of lying or acting. Take the lie Frenda told Kanou Shinka, for example. If you focus on why she did it rather than the words themselves, you might just realize that there are several different types of acting.

I kept the conclusion with St. Germain vague instead of giving a clear answer, but I do have a definite answer as the author. Was he(?) a rare sort of magician or was he just an incredible con artist? Make sure to give that some serious thought. Also, the Agitate Halation Project in New Testament 7 may look merciless at first glance, but you can also view this story as the answer to what kind of threat that project could have been a countermeasure to had it not been driven out of control by Yakumi Hisako.

As an experiment for this story, I kept Kamijou Touma in an assistance role.

That’s why he was beaten up by Hamazura Shiage and why he let Kanou Shinka have the finishing blow.

It may seem like nothing but bad news for him, but I think his “What are you talking about? The hero here was you” line in the epilogue shows how much he has grown from always insisting that he do it. What did you think?

I also focused on Frenda so that this novel would correspond with New Testament 1.

I wasn’t exactly hiding it, but when I created Frenda Seivelun in Old Testament 15, I asked Haimura-san to make her extremely cute so no one would immediately peg her as the character who would die. …But that made her one of the most popular characters even among the massive number of characters in this series, so I could not help but realize this was the work of a true professional illustrator.

And so I have defined Frenda as a character that is neither good nor evil. That may be quite a rare position in this series. Since we generally see her working on the dark side, she may seem more weighted on the evil side, but I think she has a number of different sides to her that are all of equal weight. If you start wondering where exactly she wanted to return to so badly that she was willing to betray Mugino, Takitsubo, and Kinuhata in Old Testament 15, you might be able to imagine a side of Frenda that isn’t pure evil.

Then again, I learned after the fact just how powerful a trait “a beautiful but dead girl” is. There really is a lot to learn about constructing characters.

Speaking of characters, I dug deeper into the character of Kihara Noukan this time. He seems to be a step above the other Kiharas, but his driving force of “focus on nothing but being a Kihara” is also Kihara Enshuu’s primary ideology and his feelings for the originals are irrational and fantastical things that go beyond scientific formulas. Despite being at the core of the Kiharas, he also has one paw outside the realm of pure science. He walks through the darkness alongside Aleister who has mastered and yet hates magic. I hope you were able to think about the character of Kihara Noukan based on the various glimpses you had of him.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and to my editors Miki-san, Onodera-san, and Anana-san. With the Dianoid, the Power Lifters, the many St. Germains, and the plant armor, there were a lot of difficult elements this time. I truly am grateful they put up with it all.

I also give my thanks to the readers. With the various Magic Gods, including Othinus, have you started to realize how Gremlin works yet? The setup is complete, so a full-scale clash with the Magic Gods will finally begin next time. I hope you will keep reading.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now

It’s about time for Mikoto to have her turn in the spotlight, isn’t it?

-Kamachi Kazuma NT13 = If you bought each volume one by one, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

Instead of someone tricky like St. Germain, this was a direct battle with the High Priest, a true Magic God. It doesn’t matter if he’s weakened and brought down to a trillionth of his power. I wrote the manuscript while aiming for a battle that overwhelms Kamijou from beginning to end.

I also explained why the Magic Gods of the true Gremlin were focused on Kamijou and what their goal was. In New Testament Volume 12, St. Germain said the Magic Gods envied Othinus, but that answer was fully revealed this time.

If a magician is created to grant some wish, then a Magic God is what remains after the wish is granted.

If their Magic Name were entirely fulfilled, what would remain for them?

I moved this story along while thinking about that.

Also, Misaka Mikoto was an important part of this story.

She’s been with us since the very first volume, a lot of information has been presented along the way, and she has accumulated a number of emotions. Sometimes she is becoming aware of her romantic feelings, sometimes she is feeling the shock of being pushed away, and in New Testament 10, she gave Kamijou a pat on the back to see him on his way. But “right now”, what is she thinking, what is she worrying about, and what is she trying to overcome? My answer to that is Misaka Mikoto’s troubles here in New Testament 13.

How far can the title of Academy City’s #3 take her?

Has she perhaps fallen behind?

When words like magician and even Magic God are being used like normal, wouldn’t she feel the fear of possibly being left behind and not being able to walk alongside the person she longs for (and had thought she was courageously seeing on his way)?

And now that the hurdle had been set up, how will she overcome it? There are a number of options there. She could make sure Kamijou can do his best by giving him an everyday life to return to. She could decide everyone has fields they excel in and therefore support him only in the areas where her skills lie.

But given Mikoto’s nature, I want her to keep at it from head on. I want her to keep running after Kamijou’s back no matter how hopeless or reckless it seems.

It was those feelings that guided the direction of the story here. How did you like it?

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and to my editors Miki-san, Onodera-san, and Anana-san. The key to this one was to see how much of a monster we could make the High Priest, so that probably put an even larger portion of the burden on the illustrations than usual. Thank you so much for sticking with me even when I made you go to all that effort.

I also give my thanks to the readers. I think a battle with a Magic God is less about a comparison of strength and more about seeing how insane they are, but what did you think? I’ll be glad as long as you felt like you really didn’t want to fight someone like that.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now

Raise your hand if you thought the fight against the Magic Gods would continue a lot longer than this!

-Kamachi Kazuma NT14 = If you bought each volume one by one, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

We’re already fourteen novels in since the New Testament title was added. This time, I put together a story meant to investigate the character of Kamisato Kakeru, owner of World Rejecter, by using a disaster that befell the Birdway sisters. (I think most of the readers must have laughed at the idea of an Antarctic parasite as ridiculous, but then what was your first guess as to what it actually was?) You can probably already think of several characters who act as opposites to Kamijou Touma, but this time that comparison was based on the power that acts as one of the bases for his character.

Kamijou Touma should have been a normal high school boy, so what made him stray from that position?

I think the true charm of this novel was to give a satisfactory explanation of Kamisato Kakeru’s history but then to have that idea rejected and destroyed.

This series has always provided the thrill of having the protagonist destroy a nicely built-up miniature garden. (Once it looks complete, it can be hard to go back and change it even if you know there’s something wrong with it.) In other words, the true essence of this series is not to convince someone with a logical argument but to take that next step and use the power of emotion to destroy a fully-constructed dead-end. With Kamijou and Kamisato and with Leivinia and Patricia, there are a lot of intersecting lines and it all looks pretty complex, but the structure of the story may have actually gone back to where it all started.

But another important point might be that the school was targeted in Volume 13 and the dorm was targeted here in Volume 14. When a series keeps running for a long time, you end up creating safe areas that I suppose you could call sanctuaries. Pay special attention to the stages for the slice-of-life scenes. I think making a move on those places is a small change and a small bit of growth for me.

The destruction of the school came from the High Priest’s “playfulness”, but Kamisato intentionally broke into those sanctuaries. I thought that might make him a new sort of enemy for this series. (In the previous volume, he rejected the assumption that there was only one special right hand, instantly killed the seemingly absolute enemies that were Gremlin, and used the phrase “normal high school boy” in a new way. In this volume, he gave his theory about the connection between the special right hand and the relationships with the girls and he also finished off a certain dog. I also violated a few more of this series’ small sanctuaries, so if you have the time, you might enjoy searching them out.) So if he makes any further moves from now on, he might destroy some other sanctuaries. And I’m sure that would be a great shock to the hearts of Kamijou and those around him.

As Kihara Noukan said, Kamisato Kakeru is an individual who, for better or for worse, stirs up the current state of affairs and brings a new wind into the stagnant world. Just like Kamijou Touma did against the world’s science side and magic side. And you must not forget that Kamijou Touma overturned massive systems such as Academy City or the Anglican Church in order to get back at them and protect someone’s smile. Anyone who has been following along this long should already know that thrill.

What sanctuary will be destroyed next?

And will that choice save someone just like it did for Kamijou Touma?

Destroying and breaking things may have a negative nuance, but that is not necessarily the case in this series. After all, the protagonist’s power is Imagine Breaker. What will the destruction of these sanctuaries bring? What will Kamisato try to do and how will Kamijou respond? What will Kamijou say and what will Kamisato shout back? I hope you will wait with both unease and anticipation in your hearts.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and to my editors Miki-san, Onodera-san, and Anan-san. Thanks to the Kamisato Faction, the number of characters is increasing by quite a bit once again. Sorry that keeps happening. Thank you very much for sticking with me.

I also give my thanks to the readers. I have to apologize for how this turned out if you were hoping for Niang-Niang and Nephthys to end up friends with everyone, but I was going for something that would make you think this was the right answer. You be the judge on that one.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

What did they ever do about dinner?

-Kamachi Kazuma NT15 = If you’ve been reading the volumes one at a time, welcome back. If you had the courage to buy them all at once, welcome.

This is Kazuma Kamachi.

New Testament is already at Volume 15! As I mentioned in Volume 14’s afterword, I think this was another volume of Kamisato Kakeru and those around him destroying the “sanctuaries” that had settled into place in this series. I think I placed most of the main characters in a position where they couldn’t maintain the usual look on their face. The only exceptions are the girls of the Kamisato Faction who (should have) looked most suspect at first glance.

The Kamisato Faction first appeared in Volume 14, so they are quite shallow and I expect a lot of readers thought they were mostly just a symbol. But what they’re doing isn’t that much different what the people on Kamijou’s side do. My experiment for Volumes 14 and 15 was to see how different a character looks if you’ve seen them gradually built up as a protagonist or if you haven’t.

So now that you’ve seen Kamisato Kakeru’s character over the course of two volumes, your impression of his environment may have changed. But as the writer, I didn’t do anything special. The main point is that he “looks” different just by having his character built up like that. …In other words, this is something that can influence people’s impression of a series as a whole, yet it’s something the writer can’t do intentionally. By building things up, the characters become more appealing and you can dig deeper into the world building. All of that is great, but it also works against you when you’ve built up certain expectations and have “sanctuaries” you can’t move even if you want to. They all start piling up like a falling block puzzle game. This has strengthened my desire to work toward opening up some breathing room in that sense.

This story was set in Academy City and involved a variety of technology, but the overall theme was more related to magic. To be more specific, I took my material from the concept of “sacrifice”. It was touched on in the novel, but people often have a grim view of sacrifices since the idea of living sacrifices has become so prominent. But since we have to specify “living” sacrifices, there are of course non-living sacrifices. I focused more on those.

The most obvious one was Salome, the naked raincoat girl(!?), but I also added in some other characters, gimmicks, and situations that included the symbolism of sacrifice. Combine that with my focus on destroying “sanctuaries”, and this volume may have had an overall ominous atmosphere or unstable image.

For the Kamisato Faction, I tried to use a naming system I hadn’t used in the series before, but…hm. I think I may have gone a little overboard there. Yet when I look in baby name dictionaries, I find them recommending even crazier names as if it’s normal. Is this what they call the flow of time? I try to give my protagonists relatively easy to read names since their names appear the most often, but I’ve started worrying over what qualifies as “easy to read” with some of these modern names I’m seeing.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and to my editors Miki-san, Onodera-san, and Anan-san. This threw in a ton of characters instead of focusing on a single point, so it must have been hard to adjust for that. Thank you very much for sticking with me.

Also, Kasai Shin-san designed the A.A.A. Mikoto Version. He has helped here and there with mecha-related stuff. I get the feeling that none of the illustrators that work with me are your average person, and he is no exception. Anyway, thank you very much!

I also give my thanks to the readers. This story involved drawing on a bunch of past characters and parts of the setting, so it might have been harder to read through than normal. I was trying to create something enjoyable by having everything build up in a positive direction even as the sanctuaries were destroyed. I leave it to you to judge how I did. Thank you yet again.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

Is it just me or did Salome actually have the strongest mind?

-Kamachi Kazuma NT16 = If you’ve been buying one volume at a time, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

New Testament has reached Volume 16!! In the Old Testament, this was around where they fought Acqua, wasn’t it? I hope I’ve been able to make even bigger waves than that, but what did you think of the story this time?

The standard form of an Index series story is to have a magician or esper attack the completed stage of Academy City, so it’s pretty rare to have the entire city conquered by the violence of numbers like with the Elements.

As a combination of translucent crystal and mimicry life forms, the Elements use “invisibility” which is quite difficult to use in manga or anime. But when I researched mimicry, I learned that what looks like it to us is oftentimes entirely useless when it comes to bugs hunting each other or is actually sending some kind of signal between the bugs. You sometimes find the world is a much deeper place when you research something.

The method of dealing with them differed between chapters. Sometimes the characters ran around on the rooftops and other times they slaughtered them with great firepower. By switching between schools and shelters between chapters while remaining in Academy City, I was trying to present the problems and tasks in stages while also showing different faces of the same city, but which chapter’s school and shelter spoke to you the most?

The idea that the holder of the right hand rules over the girls has been spoken of since Kamisato appeared, but it finally rose to the surface at the ending.

And of course we also have Kamijou’s response.

You could say something similar about New Testament 9, but I wrote this while thinking that Kamijou Touma’s courage to say these things (even when he has no realistic basis for it) points to the real meaning in and reason for having him as the protagonist. “I’ll show this piece of shit world just who Kamijou Touma is.” That’s a line he wouldn’t have been able to say so easily in Volume 1. Now, what did you think?

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and my editors Miki-san, Onodera-san, and Anan-san. And to continue from last volume, I need to thank Kasai Shin-san for the A.A.A. design. Anyway…Elements! A city full of barricades and wires!! But then there’s the girl’s swimsuits and the A.A.A. variations!! This was probably a difficult volume for the illustrations. I am truly grateful they all went along with my ridiculous demands.

And I give my thanks to the readers. This one was divided about half and half between the characters and the situations (and not the locations so much), but what did you think? Thank you for reading this far.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

Hmm. If you let your desire for revenge waver, I guess you’re doomed to “disappear”.

-Kamachi Kazuma

A perfect miniature garden exists to be utterly destroyed.

The world is now faced with a certain problem: Go save Kamisato Kakeru. NT17 = If you’ve been buying one volume at a time, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

With this, New Testament has reached 17 volumes too. And this marks the end of the story revolving around Kamisato Kakeru. The owner of the right hand becomes the ruler of the girls. The theme here was Kamijou and Fran’s escape through chaotic Academy City in order to break that curse.

Unlike Volume 16, I changed my focus when putting together the battles. Instead of letting the situation carry him along, I put in a lot more scenes of Kamijou clenching his fist and charging right in. I tasked myself with seeing how many people he could save that he did not really need to save. And you could even say that Kamisato Kakeru and the 100 girls fall into that category. I like them both, but which one tugged at your heartstrings?”

Fran was a character that grew from me wondering what we called UFOs before that word existed and how we handled them. The rabbit-ear antennae were an idea from Haimura-san, but I thought it really worked with her cover story if her design included an element of the moon rabbit.

When people saw a strange light in the night sky, they would fear some important event was occurring, or they would try to use it by gaining special knowledge that supposedly poured down from the distant planet (or the moon and the sun as well when using the magic side’s terminology). When you look at all that, using horoscope results to create protective charms isn’t all that different from creating a special device to communicate with UFOs.

Including her, a few girls in the Kamisato Faction had their family names revealed this volume. Maybe that will change your impression of them?

I’m betting some of you think there are too many girls in the Kamisato Faction so you can’t remember all their names, but Kamijou Touma’s acquaintances have grown several times that size. That too was part of the experiment this time.

Useful Spider was the exact opposite in that they were an important part of the story and yet almost nothing was given about their names or what they looked like. They acted as a contrast to the Kamisato Faction. I think by making the individuals fade away in a group, they gain a different sort of presence. They are the faceless people who think normal things like normal and do not hesitate to take action. That might be a lot like what Kamisato Kakeru would have been if he had never gained a special power in his right hand.

As for the occult, I used the sense of mystery from the UFOs while also getting back to the basics with the magic, such as with Crowley’s hexagram. With Ghost Girl Maya, ghosts manifesting through incense is an idea everyone has probably heard of, but I added in the modern scientific(?) explanation of low-frequency waves that has followed after the plasma and electromagnetic wave theories. I think the charm of this series is in how those things can mix together.

I wrote this story as one to break free of a lot of things. For example, Kamijou spat out everything about his frustrations about what happened with the High Priest and Kamisato. In addition to Kamijou, I also followed that theme with Fran’s answer to Kamisato. I think her and her surroundings may have broken through some things concerning the strange and abnormal-looking Kamisato Faction, creating more of an affinity there. Really, I just hope you found her cute.

But in the end, they are still the Kamisato Faction. I didn’t reveal the answer even at the very end, but I hope you will all debate whether “she” survived or was killed.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and my editors Miki-san, Onodera-san, and Anan-san. There was a huge variation in characters this time! This had to have been even more of a pain than the Amakusas. Thank you so much for sticking with me to the end.

And I give my thanks to the readers. Putting in so many heroines actually creates a large burden. The connection between Kamijou Touma and Kamisato Kakeru was even more experimental than usual, so it may not have gone down smoothly. Still, as long as you enjoyed seeing a surprising side of Kamijou Touma and his friends, I couldn’t ask for anything more.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

I’m still trying to figure out how to delve into the new territory of a brokenhearted girl.

-Kamachi Kazuma NT18 = If you’ve been buying one volume at a time, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This will be the 18th volume since New Testament began. After biding his time, it’s Aleister Crowley’s time to shine. But instead of the straightforward power of a Magic God, I focused on the strength he had built up “as a human”. After all, he’s the leader of Academy City, so of course he’ll have some largescale gimmicks and I wanted to build up the one large stage that has been present throughout the series.

Crowley is treated very differently depending on the book you are reading and some of them highlighted the more mischievous (can you really call it that?) stories introduced in this novel. People having a variety of facets depending on what part of them you look at is an important pillar of thought in this series, but I think Crowley is the greatest example of that.

Whether he succeeds or fails, the result is always pointed in a single direction. Without letting his surface emotions get the better of him, he is always looking to his Thelema, the will hidden deep in his soul. Simply put, whether he wins or loses, his emotions remain unmoved and he continues calmly toward his goal at the exact same speed. That makes him a truly cruel enemy for a battle series and I also wanted to show the strength that symbolizes his life of setbacks. But what did you think?

…The Battle of Blythe Road that appeared in this book was an internal conflict in which the leaders of the world’s largest magic cabal fought for supremacy in the foggy city of London. It sounds full of romance when you look at that explanation, but the actual events and result were apparently a complete mess, so I changed things a bit to push it more toward the fictional side. (Not to mention that the “real” magic they used was not the kind that let them shoot fire or fly around on a broom.) I thought it would be best to shift the timeline and make the daughter the cause. If you’re interested, it might be fun to look into the details for yourself, but I will say you might feel disillusioned after learning about that struggle for power.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san, to my editors Miki-san and Anan-san, and to Itou Tateki who I had work hard creating the overall image of the stage this time. With the stage and the enemies, I think there were a lot of fairly amorphous things in this one. That must have been extremely difficult to illustrate. Thank you for sticking with me.

And I give my thanks to the readers. In a way, this volume returned to the basics and I tried to give it a structure that summed everything up with a battle in the end. I hope you enjoyed it.

As reference material for the magic in this volume, Magick in Theory and Practice (by Aleister Crowley, translated by Shima Hiroyuki, Uematsu Yasuo, and Eguchi Koretaka) and Liber 777 (by Aleister Crowley, translated by Eguchi Koretaka) were very useful. Thank you for the excellent reference material.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

I’ve taken a liking to the double high-class ladies. Combining is the romance of men. Learn to appreciate it.

-Kamachi Kazuma NT19 = If you’ve been buying one volume at a time, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This is New Testament, yet we’re already at Volume 19! This one was centered on Hamazura and focused on Academy City’s dark side for the first time in a while. The previous volume revealed that there was never really any clear division between the magic side and science side and began to shake up even the dark side of Academy City, so I thought I could enjoy that period of change.

I had Hamazura be the main character with Accelerator bringing the important points into focus and then having them both meet up with Kamijou and Aleister in the end. That last part would be the major difference between this and OT15 and 19. I thought it would create a new sense of exhilaration if I made Academy City’s dark side look isolated but then show how the root of it all was tied into the previous volumes’ story.

What did you think of that?

I worked hard to make sure that Hamazura’s Processor Suit and Aneri’s assistance would look like something fun to use. By comparing it to a dance game and having him do incredible Chinese martial arts moves, I tried making it sound like Hamazura did not really understand what he was doing and was simply using the best words he could to describe his impression of it.

I have already written AI characters with Mina Mathers in the previous volume and Maxwell in the free novels on my official site, but I tried to give Aneri a unique personality as the “silent girl”. But she is different again from Abyss in Boo Boo, so I think the main point is that she has grown into a seemingly-obedient but actually rather wild and rebellious AI that confirms the bathroom function in the interrogation room or refuses to give any advice because she does not want Hamazura to get along any better with the people around him.

For Coronzon’s “minions”, those two should have been the obvious examples once you knew Lola was behind it all.

With Index and A. O. Francisca, I wanted to have them one-shotted by something built up over the previous volumes instead of some new concept or weapon introduced in this volume. It would have been one thing if Hamazura had defeated her, but since Aleister was doing it, it kind of had to be like this.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san, to my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, and Nakajima-san, and to Kasai Shin-san who designed the Processor Suit. To think I would write a volume where the protagonist spends the whole time as a masked man. …I think that restriction had to be even more difficult than Girl Aleister, Lola, Lilith, or A. O. Francisca (the Futakuchi Onna). I am truly grateful that you keep putting up with the crazy things I do.

And I give my thanks to the readers. Mina Mathers did not die when she should have and Lilith herself went on a rampage. What did you think? Perhaps she should have been allowed to step down from the stage after everything was tied up so emotionally, but I thought this series’ Aiwass would not allow that just because her surroundings had set everything up so perfectly. If you place his benevolence and malice on the scale, it would tilt just slightly toward benevolence. I hope you could accept this kind world.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

But make no mistake; this series’ Aiwass is not a particularly good person.

-Kamachi Kazuma NT20 = If you’ve been buying one volume at a time, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This time, the great war in England has finally begun. OT17 and 18 was a dragon slaying morality play with a lot of focus on the England side, but the focus this time was on the magician who was continually attacked by England. You might discover something new if you compare the two stories. The most obvious element was the exoticism represented by Ra-Zeus, Isis-Demeter, and the others. While the stage was set in England, the magic theme was non-Christian. The British Museum is very convenient when it comes to that. Egyptian Mythology is attractive, but I was worried doing just that could not hold the readers’ interest, so when I found some information linking it to Greek Mythology, I went with that. It was based in Egyptian Mythology, but I could also mix in a hint of Greek Mythology which has become a part of the foundation for Japanese-made Western-style RPGs. I think that worked pretty well, but now it is time to expand on that for the “rift” of intolerance and refusal to understand that leads people to mistake the meanings of words.

As the series continues, the protagonist naturally meets more people, whether they are enemies or allies. So how are you to maintain the appropriate level of tension? My answer is to use Great Demon Coronzon’s dispersion. I attempted a number of approaches this time. The Index world is a very convenient miniature garden with plenty of gimmicks and gadgets thanks to the obvious line between magic and science, but what did you think this time?

What kind of power can fight against a Great Demon who obstructs the world’s bonds?

Looking at it like that, you should be able to see why it is so meaningful for Kamijou Touma to be the protagonist. The path that Aleister paved and Kamijou Touma has overcome is becoming a great power that will bring everyone together and corner Coronzon. I thought we could observe a glimpse of that here.

The boss this time was Orsola Aquinas. I had London as the stage and people were being driven mad by the atmosphere of hopeless war, so who would be the most frightening one to be affected? She naturally came to mind when I asked that question. Normally, Orsola advocates nonviolence and works to deepen mutual understanding with her words, so I thought seeing this transformation after the events of OT7 would show a side of Great Demon Coronzon’s disgusting control different from Karasuma Fran or Index.

The difference between good and evil is paper thin.

I hope you can see the two sides of Orsola when you compare the dragon slaying morality play of OT17 and 18 to Aleister’s point of view seen in NT20. You might see something that lies in wait for the entire series.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and to my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, Nakajima-san, Yamamoto-san, and Mitera-san. Just London would have been difficult enough, but I also mixed in Greek and Egyptian Mythology, which had to be a lot of trouble. I think illustrations have more power than text to excite the readers as they remember the old characters. Once again, thank you very much.

And I give my thanks to the readers. We are back to London, the city of fog, magic, and the Golden. …Don’t overlook how that phrase changed depending on the character using it. It has been a while since we last saw this stage, but how did you like it? If Aleister Crowley and Magic God Othinus were joining the fight, I knew I couldn’t just follow standard practice and I was prepared to go in full throttle, but at this point, I hope you enjoyed the magic battles between the top players in the series.

It is time to close the pages for now…is what I would normally say here, but I actually wrote a little more after this. I hope you enjoy that as well.

I pray we can see each other again in the next story.

What’s this? Have I awoken to plants as well as bugs…???

-Kamachi Kazuma NT21 = If you’ve been buying one volume at a time, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This is Part 2 continuing after New Testament 20. The focus was on England last time, so I shifted the focus to Scotland this time. The Golden cabal included the Amen-Ra Temple, right? And that’s a must(?) in a story about Mathers, right?

The idea of indestructible original grimoires has existed as far back as the very first volume, but the way they can be used has been expanded on a lot by Unabara, Xochitl, Mina Mathers, and Qliphah Puzzle 545. And the A.A.A. is convenient, but I’m a little afraid I won’t be able to keep track of all its different variations!! And the strange logic of putting a scantily clad girl inside some kind of mecha suit feels like a part of Japanese culture at this point.

Unlike New Testament 18, which focused on Aleister, this was all about the battle with Mathers. He was another person with (I guess I should say weird) legends on the same level as Crowley, but this was how I summed him up in the story. Because experts always focus on the fundamentals, I steered away from having him use impressive and difficult magic and instead stuck with the more popular(?) concepts. Anyone who has been following the novels this long should see the four Symbolic Weapons and the Lord of the Flies as the basics! And I personally like that I used the French name of Belzébuth to match Mathers’s base of operations. …That local name variant is similar to what I did with Magic God Othinus. I really do think I made the right decision not using the more masculine-sounding Odin or Woden… Incidentally, a demon named Biondetta appears in my other series Blood-Sign.

New Testament 20 ended with the idea of everyone joining forces to defeat Mathers, but no matter how much she wore herself down to pave the way to victory, I knew the final battle had to be done with his own strength if he was to overcome his trauma. They ended up fighting by throwing miracles back and forth like a snowball fight, but for experts on their level, that was the same thing as getting back to the basics.

And Mathers was not his only trauma.

If I was going to bring Christianity-hating Aleister to center stage, I really wanted to show him finding salvation by overcoming that trauma. The story shows Aleister working in the Golden cabal and Academy City, but Christianity was always at the foundation of everything he did. And I knew it had to be Orsola who gave him forgiveness. She can finally do what she was meant to do! And I made it so her words only resonated in Aleister’s heart because she had made a major error in New Testament 20 and was thus not a perfectly good person. Everyone has their doubts in life. I hope everyone had their emotions steadily shaken while we followed Orsola, Kanzaki, and Aleister’s journeys.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and to my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, Nakajima-san, Yamamoto-san, and Mitera-san. I also give my thanks to Kasai Shin-san who provided the A.A.A.’s motorcycle design and to Itou Tateki-san. Not only were there tons of legendary magicians, but there were also plenty of handmade invention weapons. Not to mention the occult car chase and the miracle duel. This was something like making your spicy food less spicy by dumping in tons of sugar instead of just cutting back on the spices, but I thank you for sticking with me once again.

And I give my thanks to the readers. Since I thought the scales were tilting too far in the magic side’s favor with Aleister and the Golden cabal rising to the forefront, I decided to make some slight adjustments, but what do you think of the balance I set up? The clash between magic and science really is the best part of this series. I hope you all enjoyed it.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

Shokuhou Misaki always felt like she was borrowed from Railgun, but now I think she’s finally made a place for herself here.

-Kamachi Kazuma NT22 = If you’ve been buying one volume at a time, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This makes 22 volumes since the numbering reset for New Testament. This was the Vs. Coronzon volume!!

Unlike the previous group battles, Great Demon Coronzon handled almost all the fighting herself, so how did you like that? It was mentioned in the story, but NT20 represented the Aeon of Isis with all the activity by Greek and Egyptian gods from before Christianity, NT21 represented Osiris with everything coming down to the power of the Christian bible, and NT22 represented Horus by moving beyond even that. Although it was kind of moving back and forth a lot since Coronzon was using Enochian Magic as a starting point… I included a lot of things from the Aeon of Horus like Nuit, Hadit, Probationer, the Cake of Light, the driving out of the different powers, 11, Babalon, the scarlet power (Are you really going to make me spell it out? I’m talking about that time of month!!), and more.

This time, I was aiming to release the bowstrings that had been pulled taut leading up to this. I think the most obvious example would be Hamazura moving to the forefront after acting as a spectator or observer in NT20 and 21, but there was plenty more than that and I hope you enjoyed it. …I couldn’t fit in a natural way for Last Order to make an appearance, so I used Will-chan instead as a part of that. She calls Accelerator unfaithful, but is she really one to talk?

There was also a bit of talk about the Sephirothic forces and Qliphothic forces. For example, Shokuhou went a bit yandere by holding onto the severed right hand, but that was the result of the normally-positive emotion of love taking an odd turn. Keep in mind that this does not mean the root emotion is tainted. It might look evil, but that was the result of a Sephirothic force going haywire.

On the other end of things, Coronzon helped Hamazura and gave him a lecture on magic while knowing that using magic would harm an esper, so that came from the wicked Qliphothic forces, but it ended up saving Hamazura and Fortune.

The tricky part about the microcosm of the human mind is that starting from the good side of things does not always lead to a good result. The Sephiroth seems holy, but if you use it wrong, you can lose control. (Think of someone harming others while insisting no one can complain because they’re “doing the right thing”.) I added in some twists with some other characters as well, so it might be fun to look into what kind of forces were motivating the other characters. Like the oddly subdued Kanzaki, wishy-washy Nephthys who ended up supporting anyone and everyone, and Niang-Niang who just likes to cause accidents.

I will wait until some other time to discuss Anna Sprengel in more detail, but I am focusing on making her a character who initially seems like she reigns over everything as a great ruler but is actually full of holes. She might look similar to Birdway who is young on the outside and perfect on the inside, but she is actually the opposite. After all, she is the one who led to the creation of the Golden cabal, so instead of someone who reigns supreme and coldly pushes everyone else away, I wanted to give her an oddly powerful allure that draws you in like a black hole. What did you think?

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san, to my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, Nakajima-san, Yamamoto-san, and Mitera-san, to Itou Tateki-san, and to Kasai Shin-san who designed the A.A.A. I expect this one was a lot of trouble with all the major attacks it involved. As always, sorry for causing you so much trouble.

And I give my thanks to the readers. How did you enjoy the story of Great Demon Coronzon and Aleister Crowley? Nothing would make me happier than if those big bosses remain in your memory.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

Now, who was it that went without food for three volumes straight?

-Kamachi Kazuma NT22R = If you’ve been buying one volume at a time, welcome back. If you bought them all at once… how many even is that now?

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

22 Reverse!! I went with a bit of a weird numbering system this time. The old series was about everything leading “up to” the end of the world with Fiamma of the Right, but I think New Testament stands out by showing that the world really will be destroyed when it’s destroyed like with Othinus.

And speaking of Othinus, I also had beings known as gods coming to the forefront, I included Kamisato Kakeru’s “new territory”, and with Shokuhou Misaki and Aleister, I even tried writing stories about the past that were so hard to write because Kamijou Touma had lost his memories. If you reread New Testament as a whole, I think you will see that what happens “after” the end of the world is a lot more dynamic.

Shokuhou herself only really appeared in the novels starting in New Testament.

Like with Saten Ruiko from the Railgun side story, she was one of the characters I had come up with the idea for but would have a hard time saying is really my character, so I was relieved when I found I could write her properly.

Overall, I think I achieved a lot more freedom in a number of directions when compared to the old series that simply followed the present Kamijou along a single path, but I think I will leave it to all of you to judge whether I made enough of a difference to warrant the numbering reset in New Testament.

Now, about 22 Reverse.

In this volume, I thoroughly placed Kamijou Touma in the center.

He was driven by a reason to fight while Accelerator and Hamazura Shiage could not stay silent despite not having a real reason. That seems like an unusual structure. It’s the reverse of usual, isn’t it?

And since Aleister has withdrawn from the center stage, I was also aiming to shift the foundation of the world from Magick to a different system. I think of it like big data, AI speakers, or other terms that create a clear distinction between before and after.

…And I’ve been thinking for a while that Perfect Queen Shokuhou Misaki’s character shines through a lot more when she takes unexpected damage and is driven to the edge. It’s like how adding weight can put the scales in balance or something. Maybe she’s the captured princess type.

Shokuhou has always been referred to as the Queen of Tokiwadai’s largest clique, but that was an important point in this story since it was about how far she could fall from that position. And to make the fall all the more painful… it’s cruel, but I had to lift her up beforehand. That’s why I had her dress up in a gorgeous dress, find out that Kamijou knew about their past, and get a bit of a lead over the others.

I guess because of the dresses, this volume was really a back festival for everyone from Mikoto to Anna.

And with Index and Mikoto as well, I had them wear princess dresses to add to the symbolism of the “princess” as the person needing saving and the reward for defeating the villain. That might be even more obvious if you think of it like the slaying of a dragon that was used as a theme for OT 17-18.

Since he could not rely on Imagine Breaker this time, I got to write a dirtier battle for the first time in a while and it was quite refreshing. But this was always who Kamijou Touma really was, right? NT 20-22 were about a large war, which made it hard to write about the mental state of the single boy named Kamijou Touma, so I went all out with it here.

How horrifying a thing is it when Kamijou Touma and Imagine Breaker actively bare their fangs? This might be another obstacle the boy needs to overcome.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san, to my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, Nakajima-san, Yamamoto-san, and Mitera-san, and to Itou Tateki-san. We start off with a bunch of dresses and a fancy party! …I imagine this was a tough one. Thank you yet again.

And I give my thanks to the readers. How did you like the New Testament series? The world was blown apart, lots of Magic Gods showed up, Kamisato caused trouble, the Golden magicians filled London, and there was a lot going on with the state of the world in addition to the characters. I would like nothing more than for at least one character to have found a place in your heart.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened… but what will even happen next time?

And I lay my pen down for now.

How many times did I get carried away and nearly let Shokuhou Misaki die?

-Kamachi Kazuma

Volume 1 to Current
GT1 = With that, it’s time to introduce myself anew. This is Kamachi Kazuma.

A numbering reset!! This marks the start of the Genesis Testament series. We start with a shaken world now that the old leaders of Lola and Aleister are gone, and since the numbering has been reset, we might as well make it so you can enjoy the story starting from here.

The special event here is Christmas Eve!! I hear it can be overshadowed by Halloween these days, but you still want to do something fun then, don’t you? The time of year puts it during winter break, but I still included his homeroom teacher and his awful classmate to give it more of a school life feel.

This doubles as a Volume 1 that has to explain the series as a whole, so I included a dynamic esper powers battle and went on to include magic as well. You have to have both science and magic for this series, right?

And the focus was on angels, which are actually focused on a fair bit in this series.

I-I finally used German words in a battle, but don’t laugh! Since they once had their No. 1 Temple in Germany, I thought that would be the simplest hint. Not to mention the R&C name that doesn’t even try to hide it. Although that uses the English spelling. I imagine a lot of people saw it coming from the moment they saw the Table of Contents.

In the battle against Maidono Hoshimi, I think summoning a high-speed unmanned freight train to throw at her enemy stands out above even moving the ground and skyscrapers around. And I thought I could show off her complex by having her insist that her power is stronger than the Railgun in terms of pure destructive power.

Also, I especially like how you can see just how twisted Academy City is in how Kamijou saying that he “certainly wouldn’t want your power” so thoroughly shattered Maidono’s pride. Yes, no one is going to look up to you if you only have destructive power. Who children admire can become a piercing attack when it works against you. And no matter how much money is moving behind the scenes and no matter how much risk of death there is, that admiration is what matters most to the people on the front line. Level 5 and 6 are no more than a standard used to gather admiration based on a common set of values, so they do not always seem like a necessary goal to the people who have seen a wider variety of viewpoints after fighting so many deadly battles in the past.

She cannot use chopsticks.

She cannot do what she had always taken for granted.

That was a bombshell that threatened to eliminate the value of all the pride that Maidono (who was once the class rep who could do everything impeccably) had stored up.

To put it another way, no matter what your official Level is, you win in the end as long as you become someone people admire. Take that into account, and you should have an easier time seeing what Kamijou Touma and Accelerator are trying to accomplish no matter how much it harms them and their everyday lives. There is no reason to push themselves so hard and they could safely retire, but they choose not to. It’s a simple thing, but I think the way they risk everything to have their way is the most entertaining part of the children’s society.

Online fortunetelling and online stores for magic goods might seem absurd, but there are actually some sites just like that. Sending not just your own information but information on your crush seems really dangerous to me, but I guess everyone has different values. Partially because the setting has almost always been in Academy City or London, I thought it would be fun to have a magic cabal run amok using the internet as their base and keeping the location of the headquarters a mystery. This is an age full of dangerous toys like herb mixing and 3D printers. …Just like VR goggles, 3D printers are interesting from a technical standpoint but seem to still be a step away from really taking off.

About Accelerator, this was the answer that naturally came to me when I was wondering what he would want to do first if he gained the absolute authority of Board Chairman. If he had no one standing in his way, he would obviously want to crush the dark side and lower that burden from his shoulders. In NT22 Reverse, he regretted that he could not be the kind of #1 who made a good example for everyone, but that is all the more reason why I think he would do exactly that once he had the freedom to do what he wanted. How did you like it?

And then there was the sticky little girl who came in for the attack. I debated with myself on whether to have her do that last part while still small or in her proper form. To be honest, she would not have appeared in the Prologue if this were NT23. I think it would have been enough of a surprise for her to show up at the end to reveal that the villain who had made a move on him outside of Academy City had now made her way inside the city. But with the numbering reset, I tried to make it work as a single closed loop within this one volume. As far as playfulness goes, she is on the same level or even greater than Aleister and Othinus in their prime, so I do think this was the right answer. It seems wrong for Anna to be seriously scheming in the shadows. But unlike Leivinia who has a playful side but also makes her authority known as her organization’s boss, I wanted to make Anna more decadent and “sticky”. …But in that sense, Fiamma of the Right was more the serious schemer type. Maybe his life went off the rails because he did not have enough playfulness in his heart.

I give my thanks to my illustrators Haimura-san and Itou Tateki-san and to my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, Nakajima-san, and Hamamura-san. This day only comes once a year. Yes, it is Christmas Eve, which has to be a real pain for drawing backgrounds!! …I really am sorry for all the trouble I cause you. I do hope you stick with me, though.

And I give my thanks to the readers. How did you enjoy Christmas Eve in Academy City? On this special day, I do hope you were turning the pages while wishing happiness for the characters. I am truly grateful you continue to read these books after all this time.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

You and junk food really are a perfect match, Kamijou Touma.

-Kamachi Kazuma

GT2 = If you’ve been buying one volume at a time, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

It’s Christmas day! In GT1, I got a lot of ordinary people involved to take a look back at the scale of the city and how its law enforcement works, so for GT2, I had the powerful characters push away the ordinary people to focus on a battle between the elites.

The #3 joined the battle in the previous volume too, but once the #5 shows up, you really see more political power and concern for their surroundings, don’t you? I had her repeatedly change clothing between her school uniform, the nurse uniform, the Santa costume, and the Mitsuari Suit(?), but that was to lighten the overall mood that could have been pretty heavy when done straight, especially as a continuation of the last volume. Lighten up! The one flaw is that using Shokuhou a lot doesn’t leave Shirai Kuroko any room to appear. Hopefully I can find some way to let them coexist.

Shokuhou shines most when Kamijou is around. She might think he ruined everything and she might be angry with him, but that queen’s body still rejoices. I am still learning more about how to use Shokuhou who is basically visiting semi-permanently from Railgun, but I think her cutest point is how she might seem to be cleverly manipulating everyone else, but she fails to notice how she herself is being manipulated. (We never made a joint rule about this or anything, but thinking back, the original novels, the various manga, and the anime all have a lot of scenes of that queen being beaten up and losing badly, don’t they?) She can satisfy both the doms and the subs depending on which side of her you’re looking at, so we’ve really raised one hell of a girl here.

Mikoto and Shokuhou can never seem to get along, but I think their biggest difference in the original novels is whether or not they’re willing to get help from an enemy without any reconciliation. (When it comes to controlling your allies without any explanation, Mikoto is actually in a gray zone herself since she has a tendency to not tell anyone what’s happening and run off to fight on her own, meaning she decides for her allies that they will not participate. It seems to me that she’s so sensitive to having her friends controlled because she subconsciously fears that will boomerang back and criticize her own actions.) In that sense, the rules of the battle change when Shokuhou is around. You might be able to see their distinct fighting styles if you compare GT1 and GT2.

Also, Kamijou’s way of fighting by tearing down the barriers between enemy and ally is different again from both Mikoto and Shokuhou’s styles. He rushes to the scene on his own much like Mikoto, but he’s been doing that for ages without feeling the slightest twinge of guilt about it, so that might be where the difference comes in.

The setting this time was that District 7 hospital.

This may be the first time that place has been the primary setting in the main series. It isn’t the same as his dorm or school, but I wrote the manuscript while hoping it could feel like a place where Kamijou could relax. Did you notice how weird Kamijou is for feeling like the hospital is his home away from home?

And this time I had her use her right hand and him use magic. You could call it the shocking “Wait, did he just use magic!?” counterattack. When I looked back, I realized St. Germain was one of the few magicians who had left the story without being saved, so I made sure to mercilessly save him this time.

What remains at Kamijou Touma’s core once everything else has been stripped away?

In a city where your esper power determines your worth and in a world where everyone focuses entirely on his right hand’s special power, I thought it would be most astonishing for him to display the ordinary power to bring people together. That just seems like who Kamijou Touma has to be. …And being so sure about that is another upside to being able to write this series for so long.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and to my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, Nakajima-san, and Hamamura-san. Christmas ended up lasting more than one volume, so I probably used up a lot of what had been stockpiled for the occasion. Thank you so much for going along with my nonsense every single time.

And I give my thanks to the readers. It is up to all of you to decide whether Kamijou Touma was successful or unsuccessful this time. It took some doing to work out a way to explain the fragmentary information on that era-hopping magician St. Germain, but I ended up really liking him. I hope he will remain somewhere in your hearts. Thank you so much for reading this far!

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

Writing about flavors is hard too, but it’s so easy to forget about the winter cold if you aren’t careful.

-Kamachi Kazuma GT3 = If you picked them up one at a time, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This one was about Academy City’s dark side. But I tried to make it different from before by adding in Anti-Skill’s viewpoint and some Christmas magic! Operation Handcuffs was first mentioned in GT1 and you can see how it turned out here. I hope you enjoyed the thrills and dark humor only possible on the dark side.

Instead of following the flow of the story, I think it would be easier to get the big picture by focusing on the people who created that flow. So let’s take a look back at the new villains who were introduced.

Vivana Oniguma.

A Japanese torture enthusiast who hides red tape bondage below a Meiji or Taisho hakama. She is the dark side’s conscience. Hamazura thought of an expert as someone who “earnestly faces what parts of science they wish to preserve” and that is exactly what she is. Her last name has no real meaning. I just thought it was neat how you could take the word “enigma” and only change it a little bit to get the very Japanese-sounding name of oni + guma (bear).

Since she chose nonlethal methods against bad people and was willing to sacrifice her life to save a child she had never meant, she may have shared Kihara Noukan’s enjoyment of the pointless things in life. But if Vivana were to talk about romance, I bet she would spell it using kanji.

Benizome Jellyfish.

A paparazzo who gets scoops by any means necessary. Her last name comes from the fact that she’s an unseen assassin who drifts through the late-night city like a jellyfish. Her focus on paper tabloids in an age of video sites and social media comes from her idea of justice.

The pen is mightier than the sword. Ironically, I think that saying only sounds beautiful in an age when the sword is in fact mightier. So maybe the meaning of the phrase would change in an age when the pen really is mightier. In that sense, I think Benizome was someone who was obsessed with the mightiness of the pen. Just like a villain who is so fascinated with the sharp edge of their sword that they continue to test it out on random passersby.

Hanatsuyu Kaai and Hanatsuyu Youen.

When creating a pair of twins, I think you have two options for their primary mentality: the two of them are an inseparable pair or they want to become their own independent people. So in this case, I gave the two sisters conflicting views. Kaia the Decomposer wanted independence enough to destroy herself in the process and Youen the Carrier wanted to be together forever even if it meant forever restricting her sister. They were both killers who took lives for no reason. Since they stayed true to the gruesome side of the dark side from beginning to end, I think you could say they were too pure in a certain sense of the word. Which is exactly why I showed no mercy in what happened to them. I think failing to die was the greatest punishment for both of them.

Ladybird.

An android created from scratch. Ladybird is another word for ladybug. I referenced the idea that their coloration was meant to make humans like them, but apparently that orange with black spots coloration is actually a warning color similar to a wasp’s stripes instead of protective colors meant to blend into their surroundings. They want to show off how violent they are to keep their enemies away and to say they would not be a tasty treat.

Strongest physically, purely science, a true Kihara brand, lives in a limited world with no interpersonal relationships, short with a flat chest, a racing swimsuit that shows off her figure, and an immature mentality. She was partially designed to contrast with Frillsand #G who will be discussed next.

You saw how she met her end, but I quite liked her casual interactions with the old Kihara. I think forming a connection unrelated to good and evil is a very dark side thing to do. But on the dark side, having a connection like that does not mean you can fully trust them.

Frillsand #G.

A childcare ghost and one willing to kill to that end. This is not the first time artificial ghosts have appeared in this series since there’s also Kazakiri Hyouka and Maya of the Kamisato Faction. Yes, and the G simply stands for ghost! There are many ways of explaining ghosts, including physical fireballs made of plasma, holograms, or brain malfunctions caused by ultrasonic waves, but I went with this one.

If you see a ghost, bad things will happen. If you take a ghost photo, you will be cursed. Those are the gold standards, but a newer cliché in ghost stories is your phone dying or your map and facial recognition apps getting buggy. I’m sure that’s just a way to isolate the people in the story, but I think it’s fascinating that ghosts get more abilities as technology advances. But that makes me wonder if you could convince someone there was a ghost around if you made a cyber attack on their phone while they were trembling in the darkness. Or maybe you could create a haunted room by sticking an illegal wireless router on the other side of an old apartment’s thin wall. Although I’m not sure why a landlord would do that since it would only drive down the value of the room. Or could you make a new kind of haunted house like that? There are plenty of devices that jam phone signals and you could probably design the patterns on the wallpaper to make the camera’s facial recognition malfunction.

Since Maya wore Japanese-style burial garb, I went for a Western doll look this time. And to create a gap from that appearance, I gave her a curvy figure. The concept of beautiful ghosts is so common that you just have to make your spirit of the dead sexy, right!? But instead of the Western evil spirits that can be driven out with the cross, she is more like the Japanese Mary-san who will follow you around no matter what you try to do.

Speaking of a doll like Mary-san, I’m more drawn to the compact scary stories or cursed items like the Kokkuri-san or Kotoribako than the one that hides under your bed or the powerful old lady that races down the highway. But if I had to choose one of the more monstrous types, I guess I would go with Hasshaku-sama. Maybe I just find it easier to imagine things with a clearly-defined ritual or tool.

I think the rampage and accidents by the nameless Anti-Skill officers will also stand out in this volume. If everything that went different from normal really was due to the Coins of Nicholas sending people down different routes, then all of that came from the coins given to Anti-Skill. Did those kind teachers have some unspeakable feelings lurking deep inside them, or did they phrase their wish poorly and end up with a result they never wanted? That is up to your imagination.

I give my thanks to my illustrators Haimura-san and Itou Tateki-san and to my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, Nakajima-san, and Hamamura-san. I doubt it was easy mixing a white coat, a gas mask, and a festival yukata into the same outfit. Thank you so much!!

And I give my thanks to the readers. How did you enjoy this GT dark side story where Christmas refused to end? I hope you enjoyed the mixture of science and magic and of light and dark. Thank you yet again!!

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

He really does have bad luck with (little) girls, doesn’t he?

-Kamachi Kazuma GT4 = If you picked them up one at a time, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

Christmas is over and the story has reached the 26th!! How did you like it? Since GT3 was so dark and gloomy, I made sure this one had Kamijou Touma running straight toward the center of the incident. Kamijou Touma and Hamazura Shiage both did their best, so what made the results so different? I think you can imagine what exactly it was Kamijou Touma found after he risked his life to fight for a complete stranger while saying he would do so even if she was a villain.

I also tried to use the Between the Lines sections to visualize the process of the various theories being proposed and then gradually narrowing in on the truth from chapter to chapter.

Since I had Stiyl show up for the first time in a while, I decided now was the time to have him make a harsh decision. He wouldn’t be our sketchy smoker priest without that. And it’s also just like Kamijou to not even consider cutting ties with him or plotting revenge. That aside, rune magic sure is convenient, huh? By choosing and carving the rune, dyeing it, and destroying it, you have a clear visual and physical side to the preparation, activation, and deactivation of the magic. The only real problem is that it’s a little too powerful and versatile, so it creates a character who’s too convenient to use all that much.

Accelerator’s trial was first mentioned in GT1 and it was underway in the background of this volume. Without Anna Sprengel around messing everything up, things actually go quite well for the #1.

A mother and her daughter was another theme this time, so I focused on Helcalia in the first half and Melzabeth in the second half. That may be something you haven’t seen much in the series so far. I also wanted to see how much I could build up Melzabeth’s presence without actually having her appear until the very end. What did you think of that?

I give my thanks to my illustrators Haimura-san, Itou Tateki-san, and Kasai Shin-san who did the Five Overs. I also give my thanks to my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, Nakajima-san, and Hamamura-san. The sand magic isn’t very visually impressive for the effect it has, so that may have been a challenge. And then there was the terrifying Logistic Hornet. Thank you for going along with my nonsense again.

And I give my thanks to the readers. How did you like this story of Kamijou Touma in America, where he doesn’t understand the language? I think the real Americanness isn’t found in the big cars and motorcycles, but in Othinus’s comment: “I have a soft spot for these American toys. Especially two-wheeled ones ridden standing up.” But what did you think? Until next time!!

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

A fictional president needs to be able to pilot a stealth fighter, don’t you think!?

-Kamachi Kazuma GT5 = If you picked them up one at a time, welcome back. If you bought them all at once…um, how many volumes is the entire series by this point?

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This one was mostly an Operation Handcuffs rematch, but I also let the mysterious storybook girl Alice Anotherbible go nuts as a guest heroine. She is a lovely girl with a bright smile, but I think you should have sensed a scarier side of her as well.

Alice and Anna are both selfish girls who put themselves first, but while Anna and the Handcuffs villains are dangerous people with a short temper and a penchant for causing explosions, Alice is always smiling and seems more stable. The problem is no one can predict what will happen once she finally does explode with anger. They do say, after all, that even the Buddha will eventually run out of patience, but maybe someone like her isn’t who they had in mind with that saying. …Or is she more like a gentle mother of indeterminate age?

What is the difference between Kamijou Touma and Hamazura Shiage?

This question was referenced a bit in GT3 and 4, but the answer is found here in GT5. Hamazura rushed into battle without trying to determine what was causing it all and did not consider the possibility of converting that evil power into something good, so he placed himself on his opponent’s field and couldn’t stop the tragedy. But things would have been different if he had been dragged into it all on his own, without the Coin of Nicholas’s interference. Protecting what matters to you does not always make things better. And sadly enough, increasing your position only on the side of good does not always give you more options to work with.

I think the most prominent difference between before (GT3) and after (GT5) was Hanatsuyu Youen. Her actions were easier to predict when she was separated from Kaai, who is more violent and loves being self-destructive, but Kamijou still compromised with her quite a bit. With Kaai in GT3 and Kamijou in GT5, Youen proved to be easily influenced by anyone who makes a real attempt. I hope you saw just how cute that little villain is.

Everyone has a good and a bad side, so I decided to show a different side of Anti-Skill this time. I was wondering how they would face the villains after having their headquarters destroyed in Handcuffs. Before, I had mostly shown rogue units motivated by an extremist form of good, so this time I went the other way and introduced an Anti-Skill officer who compromises with the darkness and makes use of the villains. Being flexible and avoiding direct conflicts can increase your options. That might sound nice, but I hope you saw just how sinister an adult organization like that can be. It might be fun to consider what the real difference between Kamijou and Tessou is.

And whether they were good or bad, it was the ghosts who never strayed from their convictions. Kihara Hasuu was a scientist in GT3, so it seems ironic to me that he failed to die within the bonds of the science side, returned as a ghost, and was ultimately finished off by an angel. Unlike the other villains, a benevolent salvation would have the opposite effect on him. I feel like you wouldn’t have anything left if you removed his toxic side.

On the other hand, Frillsand #G had a fairly ominous scene at the end of GT3, but I think it was obvious whether she would choose to focus on her revenge or choose to save the children that Drencher had risked his life to protect. I think it’s important to remember that she was created as a childcare ghost first and the ability to fight external enemies was only an extension of that. None of it was revealed in detail within the story, but that kind ghost had gathered all the tools needed to take revenge on those involved in Handcuffs but threw them all out so she could instead oppose the great malice threatening those small lives. I hope she made you realize that Hamazura and Sodate weren’t the only ones who had inherited Drencher Kihara Repatri’s spirit.

I give my thanks to my illustrators Haimura-san and Itou Tateki-san and my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, Nakajima-san, and Hamamura-san. This was a GT3 rematch, but I imagine that made it difficult to design the new enemies so they could still stand out. Thank you for going along with my ridiculous demands yet again.

And I give my thanks to the readers. Did you find the Handcuffs villains or Alice Anotherbible more frightening? I hope you also had some thoughts about the smaller changes to the world, like the collapse of R&C Occultics and Accelerator beginning his new prison life.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

I don’t think there’s anything cuter than a lonely villain girl pouting her lips.

-Kamachi Kazuma GT6 = If you picked them up one at a time, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This time, it’s December 31, the countdown to the end of the year!! From the moment the word “countdown” came to mind, I knew the story had to be set in either Shibuya or New York! And since I hadn’t resolved the 49-yen New Year’s Tokyo survival life within GT5, I decided to make it a part-time job story. From that starting point, I built up a story that could fit the main theme I wanted to do: What are the members other than Alice like and how strong are they?

Shibuya appeared in Intellectual Village and was passed through in Boo Boo. I honestly went back and forth a lot on whether I wanted Kamijou running around Shibuya or Akihabara. They’re polar opposites! I think it would have been entertaining in a different way to have Aradia and the Bologna Succubus jumping between Akihabara’s buildings. But I went with Shibuya because I preferred the idea of no one noticing the danger even though two strangely-dressed magicians are slinging extreme spells at each other in an ordinary city. I will let all of you decide if I made the right decision there.

This one revealed that the Transcendents of the Bridge Builders Cabal are all magicians strong enough to rival the entire magic side and their goal is to make the world a better place. But if you compare them to the Magic Gods who are satisfied creating an ideal world on their own, you can see how they have basically min-maxed their diffusion and destruction skills. The irritating thing for them is that they can destroy everything with ease, but they can’t remake it all afterwards. They’re so reluctant to play their one and only card that they were even caught in Othinus’s destruction of the world and killed. (Because if the Transcendents had killed Othinus in that dark space, they couldn’t have remade the world like she did.) With that in mind, can you see why they’re so terrified of Alice whose innocence makes her impossible to predict? She has the destruction button right in front of her, after all.

Aradia, the Bologna Succubus, and Good, Old Mary.

I designed them so you could compare them and make some good guesses about the average and basic specs of the Transcendents. And after working that out, it might be a fun mental exercise to also imagine just how extraordinary Alice was for what she did in GT5 and what the difference is between a standard Transcendent who uses their great charisma to start a cult or riot vs. Anna Sprengel who created the giant IT company R&C Occultics and used it to mess with the entire world.

I give my thanks to my illustrators Haimura-san and Itou Tateki-san and my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, Nakajima-san, and Hamamura-san. This one had the Transcendents! And a second Anna!! All the magic side characters with a weirdly powerful presence about them must have made this one tough. Thank you again for everything.

And I give my thanks to the readers. How long has it been in real time since my debut novel? And in the story we’ve finally reached December 31!! Yes, the endless in-story year is finally over!! …Ahem, thank you all for staying with me to the end of that year. I hope very much you will see Kamijou Touma and the rest in the new year as well.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

Did you notice I changed how I spell Lucifer?

-Kamachi Kazuma GT7 = If you picked them up one at a time, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This time, I focused on Academy City at New Year’s. I hope you enjoyed the strange scene of everyone visiting a shrine in a city of science. And once you were tired of that Japanese meal, I supplied a Western meal with the Bridge Builders Cabal Consulate.

Come to think of it, it might be unusual for me to have three days pass in a single novel.

I used Aradia, the Bologna Succubus, and Good, Old Mary in Volume 6 to give you a baseline for how strong Transcendents are, but here in Volume 7, I feel like I focused more on what makes them unusual. Their idea of mechanically deciding to save anyone who meets conditions A, B, and C is actually the complete opposite of Kamijou who will reach out his hand even without a reason to do so. …I also had Kamijou himself shift up a gear by saying he would find a reason if he didn’t already have one.

I felt like Good, Old Mary could seem too much like the frog-faced doctor if I didn’t use her right, so I made sure to mention in the novel how they differ. The frog doctor fights only to save lives, which I feel makes him something Good, Old Mary couldn’t be even if she tried since she is also a powerful fighter. Think of it like a multitool being convenient, but it can never be treated like a simple corkscrew or screwdriver when one of its tools is a knife.

Also, the Bridge Builders Cabal is a gathering of Transcendents who carry tremendous destructive power but whose bodies aren’t necessarily sturdy enough to survive that power, so I think they would have more accidents than a normal magic cabal. Like someone blowing themselves up by failing to sufficiently restrict the backlash of their spell or someone’s head getting caved in during a boke and tsukkomi routine. In that sense, mama might just be one of the most valuable people in the organization. …Would that make her more like the Dagda even though she’s a mama character?

I think another important point this time was the Accelerator family and the Aleister family. One of them is having a normal heartwarming time, but the other is growing more and more bizarre. Not one of that group is a normal human, not even Aleister since he’s borrowing the body of a great demon! But maybe it’s a testament to Aleister Crowley’s broadmindedness that he fits right in there. I mean, can you imagine him getting along with a normal person?

I give my thanks to my illustrators Haimura-san and Itou Tateki-san and my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, Nakajima-san, Hamamura-san, and Matsuura-san. January 1 is a day for dressing up!! That and all the Sisters walking around in Academy City couldn’t have made it easy. Thank you again.

And I give my thanks to the readers. Happy New Year! It’s January 1!! Now, the shrine visit is a standard event, but it’s surprisingly hard to make it cute. Kamijou ended up buried in identical girls begging for New Year’s money and the Tokiwadai girls were dressed in furisodes, so I hope you felt an enjoyable atmosphere there. Anyway, thank you.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

I love how easy it was to get Tessou to show her true colors.

-Kamachi Kazuma

SS Collections/Special
SP = To those who are always purchasing these: welcome back. To those who for whatever reason are starting here: welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This is a collection of old stories from various magazines, so there is no single occult keyword for this book.

The plans to create each of these came about for different reasons than the main series and each one was sent out to the world under different circumstances. Whether they are the same as ever, different from normal, or just how they are in general are things I will leave to you all to determine.

Since each individual story is independent of the others, I will split up the afterword as well.

Stiyl Magnus.

This one takes up the most space by far of the stories in this book and the circumstances of its creation were probably the most twisted.

It focuses on Stiyl, so it is basically a magic story, but as those of you who read it through to the end know, science is involved at the root of things. I think this gives it a nice Index-y feel to it.

Mark Space.

I suppose you could say this is a portion of the Stiyl Magnus story. It was only published in an even smaller magazine than Dengeki Bunko Magazine, so it may be the rarest of the stories in this book.

Its protagonist is simply a member of a magic cabal and it touches on the formation of those organizations, so it may be the oddest of the group.

Kamijou Touma.

This story was published in a special Toradora vs Index magazine. I was told to make a light story that got across the atmosphere of the series to those who had never read it, but the next thing I knew, it had aliens in it.

However, I think it still explained the basic flow of the series. Kamijou Touma’s misfortune gets him wrapped up in some incident, science and magic forces collide, and it is all resolved by a battle in the end.

While the Martian microbes clearly do, the Tattva the magician uses is also related to space.

Uiharu Kazari.

I was asked to make a short story of A Certain Scientific Railgun featuring one of the side characters (i.e. not Mikoto) and I ended up going with the unexpected human drag chute. And since she seemed like the least likely character to do something like this, I chose Uiharu.

When I first put together the last scene, things grew and grew as I wondered what I should do. My editor kept telling me Uiharu couldn’t pull off action-y things like that and so I needed to give her some kind of help, so I added a few little items to help here or there.

As usual, my illustrator Haimura-san and my editor Miki-san were huge helps, but this time so was Fuyukawa Motoi-san, Mine-san, Ogino-san and the others. I am truly grateful.

I also thank all of you readers. I get quite a few requests for short stories for magazines, but I think it’s thanks to your support that I can do basically what I want even within those.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

But aren’t there also the Official Pirate Books and A Certain Prophecy Index…?

-Kamachi Kazuma AA1 = This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This book collects some of the TV anime and movie bonus novels. It focuses mostly on the magic side, so fans of that side of the series should feel right at home with it. I hope it reaches a variety of readers including those who have never before read these and those who want to enjoy them again.

The main series is featuring a lot of rare magicians such as the Magic Gods and the Golden cabal’s members, so reading these bonus novels might help remind you what a “normal magician” is like. Personally, I always enjoy expanding the setting by writing about magicians from the outside world who clearly live a different life than Kamijou. Like the tour guide and the jeans shop owner. And I have nothing but thanks for allowing me to do this enough to say “always”. I love looking at the magic side as a whole and thinking about what specialized jobs would be necessary there. I hope I have created a wide-open world outside of Academy City where everyone is working toward their own personal goals.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and to my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, Nakajima-san, and Hamamura-san. I also give my deep thanks to the anime staff who provided a space for these bonus novels to exist. I think of these as a culmination of everyone’s efforts and not just the product of a single person. I am grateful for this opportunity for as many people as possible to read them.

I also give my thanks to the readers. It has been a long while since I jumped the gun and included Brunhild in the main story because I loved her so much. So many people who never managed to read the bonus novels were asking who she was, but now I can finally provide an answer! There are a lot of characters I like in these bonus novels, like Ellasone and Cynthia, and now it should be fair game to have them show up as much as I want. Whether this was your first time reading them or you were rereading them, I hope you encountered at least one character that tugged at your heartstrings. Thank you very much!

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

Kamijou really is reckless for charging into this magical world with nothing more than his fist to protect him, isn’t he?

-Kamachi Kazuma AA2 = We put out a second one if you can believe it. Yes, this is Apocrypha Archives Volume 2!

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

The stories included in here are science side stories with Misaka Mikoto in the lead. They’re mostly the Index anime bonus novels. The first one was my very first attempt at a bonus novel. That was also when I established the rule for writing a Railgun (science side) novel for the Index (magic side) anime. (Not that these novels only include science stuff.) The rule of writing an Index novel for the Railgun anime branched off from there. As a side note, I then had to wonder what kind of bonus novel to write for the Accelerator anime. I ultimately decided to reveal a certain story from the past instead of focusing on magic or science.

With Mikoto in the lead for the entire collection, this one might appear more popular than Apocalypse Archives 1, but the material it covers is pretty dense. It even includes a lot of high firepower anti-railgun weaponry like an orbital weapon and a hydrogen bomb. What you see here is Misaka Mikoto and Railgun as I see them. After reading the undiluted original text, you might be able to tell just how much effort Fuyukawa-san and the rest of the manga staff put into making it all easier to read. Characters like Xochitl, Tochtli, and Lessar appeared in the anime recently, so make sure to go back and check that out again. Cold Game was published in Dengeki Daioh to commemorate 10 years of Railgun. Mikoto tends to be the one being pursued in the novels, so I had her be the pursuer in that one. That story came about when I thought about how someone could match Mikoto head on using something other than pure firepower.

I give my thanks to my illustrators Fuyukawa-san and Haimura-san, my Bunko editorial team, the Dengeki Daioh editorial department, and everyone who worked on the anime. It is thanks to all of you that Academy City’s background has continued to expand to the point that it’s halfway to being an open world. Thank you so much!

I also give my thanks to the readers. A chance to collect bonus novels like this has got to be a rarity. I have nothing but thanks for letting me work in the special field of bonus novels so much that I can actually figure things out through trial and error. I am truly thankful!!

It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

And then she goes to Kamijou while thinking firepower is a form of communication, huh?

-Kamachi Kazuma XO = It’s been a while. This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This here is the Kamachi Kazuma 10th Anniversary Special Project!! I was asked to write a book that threw in as many of the series I’ve written as possible. It’s also meant as an advertisement for all of the books I’ve spent ten years writing, so if you’re interested, make sure you head out and pick up all those books!!

Anyway, I knew I had to gather together the characters from several different series, but instead of creating an original universal timeline just for this, I asked myself if one of the already existing series would fit the bill. I ultimately chose the Norse world of The Circumstances Leading to Waltraute’s Marriage. It was an untapped goldmine of convenient ideas I could use, so it’s useful when I’m having trouble.

I wrote The Circumstances Leading to Waltraute’s Marriage with the personal goal of writing short stories for Dengeki Bunko Magazine that focused on comedy instead of battles, but to be honest, I also wanted to familiarize the readers with Norse mythology because Index was about to reach that territory at the time (with the anti-Othinus stuff). I of course succeeded if you simply picked up the book, but I also think I succeeded if word got out that I was writing a story focused on Norse mythology.

Instead of the new characters, I think the main point in this novel was the chemical reactions seen when characters from different series were allowed to interact, but I also didn’t feel like writing a simple love comedy story with no real context. Since I was using The Circumstances Leading to Waltraute’s Marriage as the baseline, I decided to add in trivia about Norse mythology and the destruction of the world to show off the chemical reactions between the characters.

Hel is a wonderfully mysterious topic and one of my favorite people(?) alongside the Valkyries. That may be why about two “Hel-chans” have already appeared in Index.

Also, when you line up all these characters, you can tell that, for some reason, I find girls wearing a long, white, dress-like outfit to have a powerful mystique. A character like that already stands at the center of a few different series. …I’m not going to dig too deeply into my psychology here, so let’s back up some. But first, one more point. Heavy Object’s Princess has short hair, wears a military uniform, and has medium-sized breasts (i.e. not huge but not flat either). In other words, I intentionally took her in the opposite direction of my usual tendencies. …Her most notable feature is the special suit, but that was actually Nagi Ryo-san’s idea and she wore something like a fighter jet’s anti-G suit in the original draft. If you look at all this, you might be able to tell how I was trying to throw in everything Index did not have in order to create a second series to follow it.

I give my thanks to all the illustrators and to my editors, Miki-san, Onodera-san, and Anan-san. I don’t think I would have been able to create such a self-indulgent celebration if I simply wrote the manuscript myself. I am truly thankful that they have helped keep me going for ten years, that they gave me free rein in the name of a celebrating the tenth anniversary, and that they gave me this project.

And I also give my thanks to the readers. It is undoubtedly because all of you enjoyed it so much that I was able to produce so many different worlds and characters. I am hoping they will continue to live on in your hearts in the future, too.

And I will end this here.

Now, what to do for the twentieth anniversary?

-Kamachi Kazuma VO = Okay, this is Kamachi Kazuma!

You probably already know, but this story started as a dream project where we decided to do some kind of crossover between A Certain Magical Index and Cyber Troopers Virtual-On!! If you think there had to be something really twisted to how this got started, let me tell you I was shocked by the odd power of connections I felt when the offer first arrived. It made me wonder how big or small this industry is. It’s Virtual-On but there aren’t two levers? Where’s the jump cancel button? Why are they fighting over points instead of wearing down each other’s gauges? I’m sure a lot of you were asking those questions, but that’s because we prepared a whole new rulebook for this dream project instead of using the rules of the existing series. It might be surprising, but the overwhelming majority of these suggestions for “a different sort of Virtual-On” came from the Sega. …At first, I thought I should build up a world that strictly followed the Virtual-On side of things (and the more I looked into that, the more material I found to use), but when Watari-san saw the plot I had come up with, he sliced it in two and said I should do more of my own thing with it. I’m not sure how to explain what I felt then, but it really rattled me and reminded me that this was nothing like my usual jobs.

So I ended up basing the story on the Index side of things while having fun with the Virtual-On material I had.

If you asked me what my favorite Virtuaroids are, I would have to say Temjin or Fei-Yen. That might be cliché, but I think I may tend toward the ones with less idiosyncratic controls. That said, I’m a lot more interested in the Tangram than the Virtuaroids themselves. It chooses who to be with, it has incredible power but doesn’t show it off and usually hides in an extradimensional place, it gets all tsun-tsun and drives away any strangers who approach, and it only has a connection with L’Ln Plajiner who created it. That round thing sounds like a shy tsundere to me. Maybe what grabbed my attention was how it has such a clear character even though it’s inorganic(?).

I give my thanks to Watari-san and everyone else from Sega, to Katoki Hajime-san who not only designed the Second Plajiner and the other units but directly handled the illustrations as well, and to my editors Miki-san, Onodera-san, and Anan-san. I love wasting resources and talent like this. You often hear that the attention a book gets before release is important these days, but I think this should take care of that nicely. Thank you very much.

I also give my thanks to the readers. What did you think of this crossover that began as a dream project? I tried to keep things in the usual Academy City setting while bringing the battles to a scale I normally can’t use. I hope you enjoyed it.

And I will end this here.

I hope the prefix of “dream” can be removed someday.

-Kamachi Kazuma Railgun = This book is meant to celebrate 15 years of Railgun, so it ended up like this. When we were first deciding what to do, there was apparently a lovely suggestion from Straight Edge to Daioh saying I should write a full novel. And so I finally got to write Railgun for Dengeki Bunko!! Thanks so much to Fuyukawa-san and everyone in the Daioh editorial department!!!

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

To jump straight into some inside information, the plan was originally to have Chapter 4 be the entire novel. Chapters 1 and 2 would have been the search for the missing sister in the supposedly safe School Garden and Chapters 3 and 4 would have been the fight for survival and climax atop the airborne School Garden. But the usual editors instructed me to turn it into a short story collection where each chapter was dedicated to a character from the usual four: Misaka, Shirai, Uiharu, and Saten. F-for real!? That’s why I had to rework the structure from the ground up. I’m kind of amazed it came together as well as it did.

Anyway, while I was rereading the manuscript to rework the story, I realized how convenient Judgment is. Thanks to that, it may look more like the book is following Judgment activities rather than Tokiwadai stories. I had the group of four go through some of the standard ideas, like a detective story. (Honestly, I can’t even remember if I really had Saten written as the victim in the original plot for Level Upper or if that was a position she took on when Fuyukawa-san turned that plot into a manga, so I never really expected the four of them to fit together as a group like this. The credit there goes to Fuyukawa-san for completing the story as a manga and to the anime staff for expanding the world from there.) But from that perspective, wouldn’t Shokuhou be something of a gang leader with her large organization and Hokaze as her bodyguard? It might make a fun mental exercise to compare her to Leivinia Birdway.

Shokuhou Misaki was born(?) in Railgun and Mikoto refers to her as a she-fox a few times in this one. I’m not sure why, but if I have to compare her to an animal, I think of a fox rather than a cat or a dog. Maybe because she’s beautiful, keeps her cards close to her chest, and can disguise herself as anyone, yet is strangely dutiful and always keeps her promises.

But what kind of animal would Mikoto be? A dog? A cat? I get the feeling people’s opinions would be split on that one. I have my own thoughts on the matter, but I think I’ll keep them to myself and let all of you discuss it instead. Maybe she is such an interesting person because she has so many sides to her, including both protagonist and heroine.

Resanerié Sadis Dialine came from the fact that it has been said Tokiwadai would fail a real princess if she took the entrance exam and didn’t have what it took. Railgun has been blessed with more than one spinoff and media mix project showing Tokiwadai from the inside, but I realized we still hadn’t seen a truly royal Tokiwadai student. That made for a convenient way of building up a boss for Mikoto to fight, so I went with it. I couldn’t decide if I wanted her to be from an empire, a principality, or a kingdom, but I finally chose an empire.

I decided on her power pretty quickly, but since she needed to be able to overwhelm Mikoto in a direct fight, I had a hard time deciding what kind of weapon to give her. I was ultimately drawn to the halberd’s dubious legend of being well-known and looking cool, but having so many different functions that it was hard to learn and everyone but the elites gave up trying to use it. I also love the way it looks like a child’s invention where they combined all the weapons they like into one ultimate weapon but gave no thought to how you would actually use it.

I also realized I had never included a girl in horse riding clothes in anything I’ve written, so I ended up with a formidable foe who would sacrifice everything for a more unorthodox, but no less precious, life. I hope you will all accept her.

Oh, right. I’m sure some of you will be appalled that this horse girl doesn’t use a whip as her weapon, but try to forgive her. She sees the riding crop as a precious memento carrying so many happy memories with her partner, not as a weapon meant to inflict pain and subdue an enemy. Also, it wouldn’t be a good fit for her power and even with a metal whip she would have to throw it away every time it rusted over.

I give my thanks to the illustrators Haimura-san, Fuyukawa-san, Itou Tateki-san, Kogino Chuya-san, Yamaji Arata-san, Nogi Yasuhito-san, Tachitsu Teto-san, and Kisaragi Nankyoku-san. I also give my thanks to my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, Nakajima-san, and Hamamura-san and to everyone else involved like the Daioh editorial department. Academy City has many sides, but I think the transformations it underwent this time were especially impressive. I mean, Musashino Milk and an angry mob of girls shouting guilty both exist in the same city! I cannot thank you enough for drawing so many different versions of Mikoto and the others and illustrating this world that shows a different side of itself in each chapter. Thank you so much!!

I also have to give some extra-large thanks to the readers. This novel left me feeling lightheaded at times as I went back and forth between the anime footage and worldbuilding information to write a novel version of a spinoff manga that exists independent from the original novels, so thank you so much if you thought this looked interesting and picked it up.

It is time to close the pages for now while praying (even harder than usual) that the pages of the next book will be opened.

And I lay my pen down for now.

Come to think of it, I haven’t done tea ceremony, flower arrangement, or calligraphy girls yet. Three sisters maybe?

-Kamachi Kazuma

Toaru Kagaku no Accelerator
AccelV12 = Hello, this is Yamaji Arata. A lot has happened in about 6 years and 12 volumes. I’m not a great writer, so I’ll use bullet points to express my joy and thanks. >It was a huge shock when I received word I’d beaten the competition for the spinoff manga of a series I read and watched. >I just about fell over when I received word an anime was being made by such a wonderful staff. >When I learned the OP would be done by The Sixth Lie who I already loved, I was so happy I had no idea what was happening and ran out into some nearby woods. Some wasps chased after me. >When I leanred the ED would be done by sajou no hana who I also loved, I climbed to the highest point in the nearby park and bowed in the direction I guessed sajou no hana might be. >Vol. 11 Ch. 58’s cover was my way of showing thanks to the members of The Sixth Lie and Vol. 12 Ch. 59’s cover was the same for the members of sajou no hana. How many ants are there? What is the thread around Last Order’s little finger tangled around? There isn’t enough space to give the answers here, but there is a meaning to both of them, so look carefully.

>I was so happy when I saw “Screen 7 – A Certain Scientific Accelerator” on the movie theater schedule when they did the prescreening of Episode 1. >The Sixth Lie x sajou no hana concert was so much fun. The power of their songs was incredible. >The anime was fantastic. I had to hide in the bathroom after the final episode so my wife wouldn’t see me cry. >Drawing the fight against Musujime-san in the manga’s final chapter was a lot of fun and it looked so cool! >I need to thank Kamachi-san, my editor, and everyone involved in the manga. >I need to thank everyone involved in the anime. > I need to thank all of you who continued reading the manga to the very end. >I’m glad I’m writing this afterword and managed to give the manga a proper ending. >And last but not least, I need to thank Accelerator, Last Order, and everyone else who showed up in this manga. 07/06/2020 Yamaji Arata