Kamijou and Itsuwa cut through the housing complex and went out through the back door.
"Itsuwa, are the other Amakusas not able to come yet?"
"S-sorry. I didn't think anything like this would happen. I contacted them earlier, but they'll be here by tomorrow morning at the earliest. If only we were in Japan where we could use the 'vortexes' of the transportation spell 'Miniature Pilgrimage'…"
The path they were on was devoid of rioters and it almost looked like they could have made it all the way to Palace of the Popes without incident.
But they had no idea when a crowd of rioters would block their path and it was better not to walk long distances. It seemed Tsuchimikado was right about changing their target to the closer pipeline.
"Th-this way."
Itsuwa was showing Kamijou the way while holding her spear.
He thought the "walls" on either side looked even taller than usual, and on closer inspection there were stone buildings built on top of the normal ones here. Because the buildings looked almost like fortifications and their walls were stained black making them look like some kind of bulwark, it was hard to tell what kind of buildings they were at first glance. The houses, shops, and churches all looked like fortresses on the outside.
"Um, I know where the place Tsuchimikado-san mentioned is…but is the pipeline connecting to the Vatican really there?"
"Don't ask me…" Kamijou muttered as he looked at his phone.
Tsuchimikado's voice sounded cheerful.
"Well, the method of reading leylines is pretty different between cultures, but I'm fairly sure about this."
Apparently, the point they were headed for was near Kamijou and Itsuwa. Since it was a fair distance from Tsuchimikado, he was leaving the severing of the pipeline to them.
"Hey, what does this pipeline look like? It doesn't stick up from the ground or anything, right?"
"A leyline is a current of power through the earth. The types of power and the directions it flows in can be quite different, though. It isn't uncommon for a power that is crucial to a certain sect to be completely meaningless to another. That's why the method of reading them is so different between cultures."
Kamijou tilted his head to the side in confusion at the voice coming from the speaker and Itsuwa explained that it was a bit like the use of ingredients in the foods of different cultures.
The black ham used in Western cooking was completely ignored in Japanese cooking (recent innovations notwithstanding). In a similar fashion, sensing and drawing out the needed type of power from all the different types was the key to using leylines.
As Itsuwa smoothly explained all this, Kamijou surmised that she may specialize in Amakusa-type leyline spells.
"Y'see, Kami-yan. There are no parts of the Earth that are necessarily better than other parts. It's us humans that put value on it like that."
"So an amateur like me wouldn't be able to tell it's there, huh."
"Anyway, a leyline important to the Roman Catholic Church is connecting Avignon and the Vatican. But it's a distorted line that was created by people destroying and rebuilding the terrain," Tsuchimikado explained. "Leylines are fairly easily moved. In fact, that's the whole idea behind feng shui."
"Sigh. I don't really get this whole leyline thing, but is it a line directly carved in the earth?"
"As I said, by destroying the terrain, you can alter the leyline. The trick to telling between good land and bad land in feng shui is based on where there are mountains, what direction rivers are flowing in, and things like that. And nowadays, filling in rivers and destroying mountains isn't that rare of an occurrence."
"Magicians that use the earth have to work to make sure that important magical points aren't destroyed like that," Itsuwa added.
(…That sounds like a pain in the ass.)
"But you can also change the terrain in a calculated way. It's a bit like choosing which type of leyline you want to make stronger out of all the different types in the area. But if you screw up, balance can be lost and that can be disastrous. Because of that, it can only realistically be done as a huge project on a national level."
"So that's how the Roman Catholic Church's pipeline was made…"
"As I said, there are many different types of power flowing through the earth in many different directions. That's why it can be hard to find a specific line if you have no hint to go on." Tsuchimikado spoke smoothly. "But if I know I'm looking for a line that connects the Palace of the Popes and the Vatican, I have some criteria to search with. It's like having a car navigation system leading you there. Anyway, if you can just destroy that pipeline, it would be a huge help. Um, Itsuwa, was it?"
"Y-yes!!"
"Just to make sure. You know the method and spell to destroy the pipeline, right?"
"U-um…I follow the Amakusa style, so I know all the standard spells of Shinto, Buddhism, and the Christianity…"
"That'll be enough. You take care of it as soon as you spot the pipeline."
Kamijou was merely confused by their exchange.
"Wait. Can't I just take out the leyline or pipeline or whatever with my right hand?"
He had a power known as Imagine Breaker.
He could destroy any supernatural power whether it was magical or psychic in nature.
But Tsuchimikado disagreed with Kamijou's view.
"I'm not so sure your Imagine Breaker can negate leylines, Kami-yan."
"Eh?" Kamijou looked shocked. "But leylines are…um…magical…right? So…"
"Yes, but…" Tsuchimikado interrupted him. "I just can't figure out what your right hand really is. You say it can negate any magic or psychic power. But take an occult power like a human's 'life force' for instance. You can't kill someone just by giving them a handshake, right?"
"Well, no…"
"I get the feeling there are some odd 'exceptions'. And leylines are most likely one of those exceptions. I highly doubt you can obliterate the entire Earth just by touching the ground."
But at the same time Misha Kreutzev avoided being touched by Kamijou's right hand and Kazakiri Hyouka was subconsciously afraid of it.
"…"
Kamijou silently stared at his right hand.
(Exceptions…? How does that work?)
When he thought about it calmly, Kamijou realized that he didn't know any details about how his power worked. It may have been because he had lost his memories, but he may not have known before losing his memories either. At the very least, none of the "knowledge" left after he had lost his memories contained any hint he could find an answer in.
But right now severing that pipeline took precedence.
He pulled himself together and looked ahead.