Kamijou was dumbfounded when he saw the large number of powered suits blasting through walls as they walked through Avignon ignoring the complicated arrangement of small streets. One of the cliff-like buildings towering above was destroyed and he could see "them" on the other side of the rubble.
Those things should not be in the normal world.
No institution other than Academy City should have been able to develop powered suits of that level.
They had anti-barrier revolver shotguns in their hands.
They blasted through the buildings and cars in their paths and mercilessly turned their guns on the rioters that recklessly attempted to fight back.
The shotguns fired shells from those gun barrels that a human fist could easily fit inside.
People were easily mowed down as the shotguns fired.
But that most likely wasn't done with live ammunition. Kamijou didn't know how it worked, but it seemed the anti-barrier revolver shotguns could use different types of shells. Perhaps the types of shells were divided between the even and odd chambers in the revolving cylinder, and it rotated two chambers at a time. That way, it could be changed between odd mode and even mode.
They were shooting blanks.
But the shock wave from the great explosion this caused was enough to knock the oxygen from a person's lungs and knock them to the ground. When the first line of vigorous rioters was silenced, the second and third lines of approaching rioters paled and started running about in panic.
The powered suits didn't let them go.
The suits walked past the townspeople who were curled up shaking in the corners of the street and, if they showed any sign of resistance, the suits would mercilessly fire a blank in their direction knocking them back with a warhead of sound. While the rioters were rendered ineffective by this, the powered suits would connect their shotguns to a metal backpack-like part on their backs to automatically reload.
(…What's going on?)
The situation was so crazy Kamijou could do nothing but watch.
(Didn't Tsuchimikado say Academy City wasn't going to act? And now that they have…Why did it have to be like this!?)
Oyafune Monaka had said that the leaders of Academy City hadn't dared to deal with the problem in Avignon and were just going to let the chaos worsen.
Apparently the moment to act had come.
Now that the needed amount of damage had been done by the chaos, they were ending it all as if by flipping a switch.
Kamijou bit his lip.
The leaders of Academy City.
The board of directors.
And the one controlling them who was truly at the top of the science side.
"I see. So it's come to this." Terra said sounding amused.
And with those words, the atmosphere that was colored by shock was refocused on Terra.
Tsuchimikado held his handgun up as smoke came from the barrel and there was so much hostility coming from him that it felt like the hostility alone could pierce Terra.
"Well, the ones manipulating the C-Document in the Palace of the Popes are just normal magicians, so this really could end badly. I wish I could have gotten a bit more battlefield data for my precedence spell 'Execution of Light', though. Oh, well."
As Terra spoke, he didn't look towards Kamijou or the others and walked seemingly aimlessly through one of the large holes in one the housing complexes opened by the powered suits.
"Wait!!" Tsuchimikado yelled, but he jumped to the side directly afterwards.
Before Kamijou could figure why, a huge blast that probably came from an attack by one of the powered suits came from within the housing complex.
Kamijou's tiny body was blown back in the blast.
The hole Terra had gone through was filled with flames.
"Ow…!?"
"A-are you all right!?"
Itsuwa frantically grabbed Kamijou's hand.
Kamijou grabbed her hand to get up and Tsuchimikado called out to him.
"Can you move, Kami-yan? We need to get to the Palace of the Popes!!"
"Those powered suits are from Academy City, right!? I thought they weren't going to move! This has gotten really damn complicated! Can we really just leave without stopping them!?"
"Going after Terra comes first!! And they're after the C-Document, too. All this chaos might die down once that spiritual item is destroyed!!"
"Damn it. Do they really plan on stopping all this chaos?" Kamijou muttered in annoyance.
In Avignon there were the rioters affected by the C-Document and the powered suits. Which side did he truly hate?
"C'mon, Kami-yan. That God's Right Seat member may still be taking us too lightly, but with things the way they are, they really are going to flee. This is our only chance to destroy the C-Document!!"
"Fuck," Kamijou swore.
At that time, a number of powered suits stepped into the narrow road out of the now flame-filled hole Terra had left through.
It should be fellow Academy City people inside of them, but the barrels of the weapons were squarely aimed their way.
Apparently, they weren't taking the time to check what side everyone was on. They were just attacking everyone in the city of Avignon.
"…Kami-yan, let's split up here. Itsuwa was it? You and Kami-yan head towards the Palace together."
"Tsuchimikado?"
"It seems there are two problems here in Avignon. I thought we could just leave the powered suits alone for now, but that option is gone. Kami-yan, you chase down Terra and do something about the C-Document. I'll stop these Academy City idiots."
"But there's…"
Kamijou was going to finish that with "no way you can do that", but Tsuchimikado cut him off.
"They aren't complete enemies. Sure, I'll have to fight briefly, but I'll be looking for a chance to talk with them. And I'm better at this kind of tactic than you."
"…Damn it."
"Go, Kami-yan!!"
"Damn it!!"
Kamijou ran along the narrow road with Itsuwa as he yelled. Behind him he heard the sound of the powered suits operating and (Tsuchimikado must have done something) a repeated sound of ice shattering. Kamijou gritted his teeth knowing that Tsuchimikado became covered in blood even when he used magic once, but he couldn't do anything about it now.
He ran through the narrow streets of the old city of Avignon.
The scent of gunpowder and smoke filled his nose.
He saw fleeing people and powered suits chasing them down.
(What the hell is going on!?)
This made the demonstrations and riots look like nothing. As Kamijou watched the overwhelming violence of military action, Kamijou thought the blood vessels in his head were going to burst.
Itsuwa knew the location of the Palace of the Popes from her earlier investigation of Avignon. He looked in the direction she indicated and saw a silhouette he guessed had to be it in the distance.