"Ugh~ An unfamiliar ceiling!"
"You'll get used to it soon enough."
"Hm? Where am I? I feel like I forgot something… You… ah! You're that Samuel! Why am I here? Where is this?"
Index sat up groggily on the bed, spotting Samuel leaning against the door, instantly snapping to attention.
"You passed out yesterday, so I brought you home!"
"Oh… is that so? Thanks!"
"No need to thank me—I'm the one who knocked you out!"
"???"
Index froze, her expression shifting to one of betrayal, as if saying, "I thought you were a good person."
"No need to look at me like that. Let me introduce myself properly. My name's Samuel, about seventeen years old, a member of Academy City's Board of Directors. I'm a scientist—think of me as a magician in your world. Index Librorum Prohibitorum, I'll be straight: I'm after the 103,000 grimoires in your head. I tried unlocking the Index yesterday, but failed. The Anglican Church put some tricky safeguards on you. Though… with this level of protection, it's not impossible some cutesy archdemon's involved. Whatever, that route's a dead end. It's like high-strength tempered glass—even a bomb wouldn't crack it."
Samuel spoke casually, eyeing Index as she edged toward the window to escape.
Bang~
The Walking Church's repulsion cushioned her impact against the glass, and she stumbled back onto the bed.
Her silver hair spilled across the sheets, her sprawled form bathed in bright sunlight streaming through the window, like a scene from a masterpiece painting.
"Don't bother escaping. Honestly, I'm not planning to imprison you—though locking up a cute little girl does have a certain thrill! My goal's just the 103,000 grimoires in your head and you, the Index."
"Isn't that the same as targeting me? Looks like I'm in quite a dangerous spot! But don't worry—with the Walking Church, you can't touch me. I suggest you let me go, or you'll face a lot of trouble."
Index puffed out her chest—barely noticeable under her habit—her head tilting with a hint of pride. She was confident Samuel couldn't breach the Walking Church.
"Hm… the trouble you're talking about… you mean them?"
Samuel clapped, and a holographic screen appeared, showing two holding cells.
One was bare, with Stiyl carelessly tossed on the floor.
His wounds were treated, but he remained unconscious, in a vegetative state.
The other was different. Twisted, reality-warping light wings bound Kanzaki Kaori, suspending her in midair. Her already provocative outfit, accentuated by the wings, exuded an alluring charm.
"Why such a huge difference in treatment?!"
Recognizing her pursuers, Index tilted her head, puzzled by the contrast between Kanzaki's tight restraints and Stiyl's casual discard.
"That woman's a Saint."
"A Saint?!"
Index understood the weight of that title—a nuclear bomb in the mystical world, a rare and immense power for any sect or magical society.
With fewer than twenty Saints worldwide, she hadn't expected one to be among her pursuers, let alone defeated and captured.
"Who… what are you?"
Saints, born with the Power of God, shared a physiology akin to the Son, Jesus, making them superhuman.
That a Saint was so easily defeated and captured shocked Index to her core.
"I already introduced myself, didn't I? Samuel, scientist, Board of—"
"No, not that! What are you?!"
"Hm… Level 6, one who, with a mortal body, hears the will of God!"
"What… that's impossible…"
Index couldn't comprehend it. "With a mortal body, hearing the will of God" was unthinkable for a magician.
Saints wielded divine power due to their non-human physiology, akin to the Son, Jesus—born close to divinity.
Even Saints could only channel divine power briefly, their bodies unable to sustain it long-term.
Magic itself was humanity's pursuit of divinity, refining oneself through knowledge to approach godhood.
Powerful magicians were living grimoires, steeped in mystery.
"That's what Academy City's always been chasing. You didn't know? Oh, right—you're from the magic side."
"That's not what I mean! It's… impossible! A mortal body… hearing God's will? That's…"
"You're stuck on appearances. Why assume 'mortal' is limited to what you know? My body's stronger than a Saint's. In your Crossist terms, call me an Original Man. You think the Original Man is a god? Why? If it's the 'first human,' isn't it still human? You think the Son is a god? But he descended as human. Even if he ascended as the Son, why wasn't he human later? It's because of… 'belief'! You believe, or he believed, that 'human' has limits. So you don't believe in 'a mortal body hearing God's will.' But here I stand. You've read 103,000 grimoires—you should understand concepts well. So… do I look human to you?"
Samuel chuckled, light wings unfurling behind him, their reality-twisting lines shimmering with strange radiance.
"You… you…"
Index's eyes widened, her emerald pupils trembling. Reflected in them wasn't Samuel, but a golden-red angel, its wings stretching endlessly, one tethered to the planet beneath.
Yet… her instincts screamed: Samuel was human.
Despite the angelic figure her eyes saw, her soul—bearing the wisdom of 103,000 grimoires and countless sages—insisted he was human.
"Now… do you still think I can't handle the Walking Church?"
***
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