Samuel didn't press Index further. If external methods couldn't extract the grimoires, and Index herself couldn't speak, there was no point.
With Automatic Writing—or rather, the "collar" controlling it—still active, Index was silenced.
Automatic Writing was a pseudo-personality born from Index's soul interacting with the 103,000 grimoires' dangerous mysteries, existing to protect her.
The "collar," a tool of the Anglican Church, enhanced Automatic Writing to safeguard the grimoires from being taken.
The "collar" was complex. Even with Samuel's Calculation, cracking it was no easy task, and triggering its self-destruct could destroy both Index and the grimoires. Samuel wasn't willing to risk that.
"Well, I get why they'd need Imagine Breaker. Hm…"
Imagine Breaker, at its core, was an ultimate exorcism relic crafted from a Saint's right hand. Replicating it wasn't impossible for Samuel if he understood its structure.
The best approach would be to chop off that arm, but considering what lay beneath, Samuel decided against it.
"Hm… maybe make contact and study it slowly? Tch… Aleister, that Hanged Man, played me again… Fine, let's go meet that famous former Pontiff!"
Leaving the unconscious Index, overwhelmed by the grimoires' uproar, Samuel headed to his "prison."
"Awake, Your Holiness?"
At Samuel's voice, Kanzaki Kaori opened her eyes.
"Who are you?"
"Don't you magicians ever listen? I've introduced myself already! Samuel, Academy City Board of Directors, esper, scientist…"
"That angel… it was you!"
Kanzaki's gaze locked onto Samuel. As a Saint, she trusted her judgment.
"…Angel? That form fits human terminology, I suppose, but it's just one of my manifestations."
Samuel leaned against the wall, his eyes brazenly scanning Kanzaki's body without restraint.
No need to hide it—after all, what's wrong with a man being a bit perverted?
"Hm…"
Kanzaki squirmed under his intense gaze—not out of disgust, but discomfort. It was the first time someone had stared at her so openly.
"What's your goal?"
"What's your goal in Academy City? That's mine."
"You're after Index? Are you a magician?"
"I told you—I'm an esper, a scientist!"
"Impossible. Espers can't learn magic. What do you want with Index?"
"Hm… to keep her as a pet?"
"What did you say?!"
Kanzaki instinctively tried to summon the Power of God within her, but her strength wouldn't respond.
"The Power of God…"
"I know a thing or two about it. Keeping you from using it? Easy enough."
Samuel smiled, watching Kanzaki struggle futilely.
Her efforts were in vain. Though a learned Saint with knowledge of many divine systems, she couldn't break Samuel's restraints with her expertise.
"Stop struggling. I think Index is better off with me than going back with you. I'm no saint myself, but… at least she won't die!"
"We're Index's friends! We'd never…"
"Erase all her memories… how's that different from death?"
Samuel cut Kanzaki off, his expression unusually serious.
Memory erasure, leaving the mind blank—was that any different from death for the person experiencing it?
It only minimally satisfied those who cared about her. At least she was still "alive," right?
"What do you know? What do you understand about her situation?"
Kanzaki shouted, agitated. Did she not know the difference between memory loss and death?
But…
"There's no other way!"
"Uh-huh… go on, give me your lecture!"
Samuel's tone turned flippant again, his carefree demeanor infuriating Kanzaki.
Not that she was angry at him—she realized she couldn't muster anger toward him, likely due to some magic.
But his cavalier attitude, dismissing their pain, looking down on their choices as if he understood everything—that enraged her.
"Have you heard of Perfect Memory?"
Kanzaki's voice was weak, her demeanor helpless, far from the image of one of the world's fewer than twenty Saints, the magic side's "nuclear bomb." She seemed like an exhausted, ordinary girl.
"Yup. Academy City's got a few with it."
Many Level 5s had computational power rivaling supercomputers, but not Perfect Memory. They could recall what they cared to, but not everything.
Perfect Memory meant remembering everything seen, important or not.
Such individuals were rare, even in Academy City.
And Samuel… was one of them.
As long as Calculation was with him, he passively recorded everything, like a silent chronicle of time.
"Over 85% of her brain capacity is occupied by the 103,000 grimoires of the Index. She relies on the remaining 15% to function. With Perfect Memory, if she keeps 'remembering' like a normal person, her brain will overload quickly. Human brain capacity is smaller than we think. Our brains can operate for nearly a century because they sort memories, discarding 'useless' ones. You don't recall what you ate for dinner a week ago, right? Everyone organizes their brain unconsciously. Without that, you can't keep living."
"So, you think if her memories aren't erased, she'll die?"
Though Samuel had guessed their reasoning, hearing it made him want to laugh.
"Isn't it obvious? Every leaf on a tree, every face in a crowd, the shape of every raindrop falling—she can't forget anything. Her brain would be clogged with useless memories in no time." Kanzaki's voice was icy. "With only 15% capacity left, and Perfect Memory, it's a death sentence. Since she can't 'forget' on her own, we have to force it, or she won't survive."
"Pfft~ Hahaha, sorry, I shouldn't laugh, but… I can't help it!"
"What are you laughing at? You…"
"A bunch of magicians messing with mysteries, lecturing me—an esper, a scientist—about the human brain with half-baked data? Hahaha, I'm dying! You're not trying to make me laugh to death so you can escape, are you?"
***
If you enjoyed this story, don't forget to drop 5 stars and your power stone. And if you want to read more than 70 chapters in advance, feel free to visit: pat reon . com / KangTL