Fiamma’s eyebrow twitched.
He glanced beyond the shattered walls, down toward the surface far below. Though the golden skies illuminated it, he couldn’t see past it. Maybe dust and vapor particles were overlapping in the air, forming a screen. The sight looked like the smoke shooting from the minds of those causing wars and killing one another, covering the world.
“…That’s a bold assumption.”
Fiamma of the Right shook his third arm.
He gripped the remote-control Soul Arm tightly to receive the support of that boundless knowledge.
Clear hatred shone in his eyes.
“This world is twisted. Control will never appear again. Even the basic four aspects ruptured beyond repair without me to fix them. Remaining resources, clashes between tribes, differences between religions, food shortages, state warfare, the destruction of the environment—all of it is tangled together so badly it’s now impossible to resolve them one at a time, in order.”
“…”
“And you would so boldly claim that I couldn’t reap the amount of malice I expected? You must be joking. That’s the sort of rubbish someone who didn’t know the meaning of the word malice would say!! The war is still going on, you know. And this great conflict is making everyone act to their hearts’ content!! Nations, tribes, religions, genders, languages, capital, bloodlines, talent—every single one of those little thorns pricking everyone’s minds has begun to spill into the outside world!! …You want to believe that people’s hearts are really that pure deep down? Humans would most certainly do all these things—what part of their hearts are you even looking at?!”
“You’re right. I can’t see people’s hearts from the outside. Maybe a human’s essence really is something dark and grimy. Maybe I just don’t realize it, and even I have malice inside me I’d never want to believe was real.
“But,” noted Kamijou.
He would not end there.
“A human’s true nature is greater than that.”
“What…?”
“How can you say for sure people only have one side to them? If we have black malice deep in our hearts, then who are you to say we don’t have another side to us besides that?”
That’s right, thought Kamijou. A person’s heart was host to an incorrigible expanse of darkness. Humans were creatures who thought about more than just connecting with others. They also had qualities that led them to avoid others for many reasons: to protect themselves, to ensure their safety, to possess something. They were made so they could naturally take action that would hurt or eliminate others.
But light slept in that space, too—an equal amount or perhaps more. The kind of goodwill you’d normally be too embarrassed about to mention out loud. The level of justice that didn’t even feel the need to make itself known. Those sorts of things surely existed. You just couldn’t see them—but they were absolutely there.
It wouldn’t make sense otherwise.
If human hearts really only held malicious intent for killing and taking from others, civilization would have died out by its own hand long ago. The fact that they’d survived this long, the fact that history continued without interruption, clearly proved that the will to connect was stronger than the will to destroy.
“I didn’t need a reason.”
Touma Kamijou made a fist with his right hand again.
“It’s not because I was strong—you failed on your own. People don’t need a reason to be able to fight for those they hold dear. They don’t need special powers to be able to fight for what they want to protect. That’s the power that saved me.”
“For no reason?” Fiamma watched Kamijou as if looking at something unbelievable. “That conclusion only applies to us. For example, assume a nuclear missile is about to launch. We have the control key, and the console is right in front of us. Sure, we don’t need a reason to put the key in and stop the missile from launching. But people that don’t have the key can’t do anything to stop it.”
“Nobody needs a key.” The argument didn’t even take a second to come out. “You could just stick a wire into the keyhole. Or you could pop open the console’s lid and plug a laptop cable in, too. And you could probably shoot a cannonball at the missile just before it launches. There’s always more than one way to solve something. It doesn’t give you a reason to stand idly by and wait silently as the missile launches…Everyone has the right to fight—fight for something you’d die to protect, even if you have to take on the entire world.”
That’s absurd, muttered Fiamma. For the first time, he’d been forced to realize that this creature called Touma Kamijou was fundamentally different from what he’d expected.
“You’re gonna give Index back.”
A declaration.
Touma Kamijou took a big step forward.
“And not just that. The UK and Academy City—and the Roman and the Russian Churches. All that quibbling, all the fighting between science and magic, all the countries crushing one another in World War III—I’m ending all of it right now.”
“You think you can?”
As if to counter Kamijou’s approach, Fiamma of the Right spread his third arm wide.
His lethal arm whose destructive force increased depending on people’s hostility.
“Do you think you can win this enormous war without losing a single thing?! This pathetic world war is nothing but prep work. And the purification of the surface has already begun in response to the Star of Bethlehem. You still think you can score a free victory?!”
“Sure I do.”
On one side, the shadow leader of the largest denomination of Crossism, thoroughly bolstered by the aerial temple, the Star of Bethlehem; the worldwide malice, brought into focus through World War III; the knowledge from the 103,000 grimoires; the natural gifts of God’s Right Seat; and the flesh and blood of that singular right arm he’d severed and stolen.
On the other, a high school student who had a unique right hand but otherwise no special traits.
Yet, there was no need to be afraid.
And so, Kamijou advanced ever forward.
“Unlike you, I believe in how strong humans are.”