Tsuchimikado Motoharu finally called. Because the number was different, Stiyl was suspicious at first when he saw the screen. He seemed to be calling using a new phone.
Hearing Tsuchimikado's words, he had definitely been attacked by Oriana. In the end, his phone and the spell 'all-around reality array' were both destroyed. Right now, his body condition was such that he couldn't use magic twice consecutively. Most importantly, Oriana's flashcard that was needed for the 'all-around reality array' had been destroyed.
"…"
Though Tsuchimikado said 'I'm alright,' if he was really alright, the magic array wouldn't have been destroyed so completely. And upon hearing Tsuchimikado's weak voice, one could sense his pain.
Stiyl shook the cigarette in his mouth,
"Then, what do we do next? If we can't use the 'all-around reality array', we've basically no idea what to do now."
"About this nya…but, I do know…that Oriana is acting carefully now, and will want to erase any doubt in her heart. 'Anyway', she might keep her distance from us. Bluffing…seems to be rather effective nya. Now, she won't be walking. I guess she should be taking an auto-bus that has a fixed route, or an underground train, a tram, a monorail…anything that can get her to the end point straight away…"
His breathing was rather shallow, as his voice continued on and off.
"Right now, Tsuchimikado's in this subway…"
Kamijou flipped through the tour guidebook of Daihaseisai.
It was the map of District 5. The nearest underground passageway to Tsuchimikado was still the underground station. They had to get onto the line that went from District 5 to District 7.
"…Since there's no other lead, we can only check on this. If we know which ride Oriana's taking, we might be able to carry out our search with a better method…"
"It's because we don't know about this that's making this troublesome for us. Anyway, let's go, Stiyl."
"Nya…I'll also…sneak in and check on security…if the enemy is anxious, so careful that she'll check the security cameras…it'll be great nya."
The trio said what they wanted to say, and the line was cut.
Oriana Thomson was on an underground train.
(If I get onto this train…)
This underground line moved from District 5 to District 7. The distance wasn't long, and if she wanted to gain some distance, she'd have to switch to an auto-bus later.
(Should I run far away? Or should I wait and see? Or should I set some traps and wait for the response?)
Oriana's mind continued to think of several solutions. Though it was troublesome, if 'Kanzaki Kaori' really took part in this battle, she'd likely get hit back if she was not careful.
(Until a good countermeasure appears, I wish I have the time and a place to think of this carefully.)
Through the windows, there was nothing to see in this underground setting. Oriana sucked her tongue.
After a while, she finally reached the end of the line, the entrance to District 7.
When the auto-doors opened, she sprinted out onto the platform, ran up the stairs that led to the surface, slid her ticket into the ticket gate, and dashed out of the station.
Her next destination was the auto-bus station that was somewhat far away from here.
The sports day atmosphere of Academy City was still prevalent. There were many people around, families with children holding balloons, elderly couples there to see their grandchildren, everyone looked like nobody was hurt. But Oriana's mind wasn't peaceful enough to confirm that she was safe just like this.
She had to follow a special procedure to confirm whether there was an assassin.
(Hm, I don't have to mind about it if I'm so easily tricked by that guy. But this is really irritating. I really want to get this over with.)
She looked around and walked into a lane that was a bit far from the road. Because this was a combination of tall buildings and narrow streets, though the weather was fine outside, sunlight couldn't shine in, and may even cause people to feel chilly.
Right now, Oriana's intention was to walk into an alley that no one was in to confirm whether there were any assassins after her.
Of course, if the assassin was to follow Oriana into the alley, he'd be alerting his presence to her. Thus, the assassin would have to work hard, like contacting several allies to set an ambush at the exit of the alley, or activate a spell that had a surveillance effect. Oriana wanted to look for those minor 'action signals' that the assassin may show, and check whether she was being followed.
(Hm, though we're basically tricking each other, I'll have think of new tricks if my actions are revealed. Isn't this too troublesome?)
Like Oriana, the assassin may purposely send a fake 'action signal'. The idea would be to make her think that she got away, and catch her when she was off guard. As a courier in the magical world, chasing after people, as well as being chased, it was a response that she was very familiar with.
No matter what, even with the tiniest movement, as long as there was a response, it meant that someone was following her.
She exhaled.
(It's going to take some time for the preparation of the Croce di Pietro to be complete. What should I do? Hm, it's much more interesting to think of ways to counter Kanzaki's spells. But then, in this situation, what's the point of 'getting one over' that Saint? Should she run away, should she hide…or should she go and bury the opponent?)
As Oriana was thinking of this, she overlooked something.
There was a fork with an even smaller path on the road.
Somebody was walking out from the path.
"Himegami, we'll be late if we don't take a shortcut—YA!!"
"!"
Both sides collided with each other.
The petite girl that was like a primary school student jumped back after knocking into Oriana's abdomen, only to knock into a black-haired PE attire clad girl that was moving backwards.
Oriana immediately got ready to tear a flashcard, but she held onto it. The one who knocked into Oriana was a 135cm tall girl who was wearing a cheerleading uniform.
Because of the impact caused by the cheerleader girl, the plastic cup that originally had fruit juice in it was knocked out of the black-haired girl's cup. With a soft 'wa' sound, it landed on her hair. The fluid that wet her shirt dripped onto the petite girl's head.
"Komoe-sensei, you really like to look for trouble."
"So…sorry! But sensei is all drenched herself! Ah, this lady, are you alright?"
The drenched cheerleader girl looked up at Oriana, looking slightly worried as she asked.
(Magician reinforcements…maybe not.)
From the attire and actions of the girls, Oriana simply hypothesized.
She revealed her normal smile.
"Ah, this nee-chan is alright, I'm more worried about you instead. It'll be rather exciting if you're to walk on the streets like that."
"Ah! Himegami-chan's drenched as well."
"Komoe-sensei too. Something pointy is on your chest."
Komoe-sensei frantically covered her flat chest with both hands. Seeing Komoe-sensei blush, the black-haired girl again looked at her chest.
At this moment, Oriana saw it.
The chest of the black-haired girl.
The short-sleeved T-shirt was now transparent, thanks to the fruit juice that had been splashed on her. One could see that she was wearing a pink based green butterfly knotted bra.
However, she was not concerned about that.
On the inside of her PE attire, there was something else. The thin chain hanging around her neck looked like a necklace. That chain was in her PE attire. Fastened at the bottom of the chain was a large, silver…
—Celtic Cross that was refined by the Anglican Church.
Oriana didn't know what that Cross did.
She also didn't know what abilities that black-haired girl had.
In this situation, she only knew one thing.
(A magician from Necessarius!?)
In Academy City, there might be counterfeit Crosses being sold as decorations. Some children may wear Cross earrings and necklaces without understanding the meaning behind it. Thus the Cross itself wasn't rare.
But,
It would not be strange if it was from the world renowned Roman Catholic Church, but for the Anglican Cross to exist in Japan, where a church didn't even exist, that was another topic in itself. To specially import it from England, the circumstances should be abnormal. Normally, ordinary people didn't possess some sort of spiritual barrier. Besides, the name of that barrier was—
(The Anglicans'…Walking Church!? To think that she has the same type of defensive mechanism as that Index Librorum Prohibitorum? This monster—!!)
Her hands immediately geared into action.
Oriana put a flashcard that was sealed by the thin metal ring near her mouth. She bit it and tore it down in one go. The red words 'Soil Symbol' appeared on the paper, as the unstable grimoire 'original' started to activate its magic.
BOOM!!
A blunt explosion could be heard.