Kanzaki Kaori's sharp senses immediately detected the gaze directed at them, and both Stiyl Magnus and Tsuchimikado Motoharu quickly turned around.
"This guy." Stiyl clicked his tongue in annoyance, but he had no intention of making a move. Setting aside whether he could win, he could not afford the consequences of acting recklessly here.
"Youth, we meet again." Kanzaki Kaori spoke calmly, her beautiful and composed appearance carrying the dignified presence of a Valkyrie.
"Yo, Arata-chan." Tsuchimikado Motoharu waved with a grin, greeting him casually.
Arata revealed a faint mocking smile as he looked down at them and said, "Tsuchimikado, I did not expect you to be cooperating with hostile forces outside Academy City and even bringing them here to spy on my residence. Do you not think I should eliminate this threat for the sake of public safety?"
As he spoke, the surrounding air instantly became heavy and viscous, as if everything had sunk into a swamp.
This was the effect of dispersed telekinetic pressure.
Kanzaki Kaori and Stiyl instinctively resisted the pressure, and a stack of rune cards appeared in Stiyl's hand.
"Youth, we have no intention of hostility. Could you please hear us out first?" Kanzaki Kaori said helplessly as she looked at Arata, who seemed ready to escalate the situation at any moment.
"Wait, wait, let us talk this through." Tsuchimikado Motoharu raised both hands quickly, a drop of cold sweat sliding down his forehead. "Arata, for the sake of our long friendship, let us have a proper conversation. You are currently in a very complicated situation."
"You came for Index, did you not? I already understand what is going on." Arata descended and landed on the rooftop, half closing his eyes as he observed the three of them.
"Things are not as simple as they appear. That girl is our companion. More precisely, she is our colleague. We all belong to the 'Necessarius' of the Anglican Church," Tsuchimikado Motoharu said directly with a serious expression.
"Oh, a group of comrades chasing one of their own. What an interesting situation." Arata spoke with amusement. Even though he already understood the truth, he found a certain enjoyment in deliberately provoking them.
Kanzaki Kaori's expression stiffened slightly, and she explained the situation step by step with a trace of helplessness in her eyes.
The three of them carefully explained everything to Arata, including the fact that Index's memories would be erased once every year.
"That is the situation. We hope you will cooperate with us. Please." Kanzaki Kaori lowered her gaze slightly, her hands clenched tightly. No one could understand how much pain she was enduring.
Despite possessing overwhelming power and bearing the magic name "Salvare000," she was still unable to save someone close to her.
Stiyl turned his face away, his expression filled with frustration.
Arata slowly formed a cold smile and shifted his gaze toward Tsuchimikado Motoharu.
"Tsuchimikado, is that truly how you understand this situation?"
"What do you mean, Arata?" Tsuchimikado Motoharu asked, his expression turning puzzled.
"You people are naive, almost laughably so. Your explanation is filled with contradictions, half truths, and completely unfounded claims," Arata said mercilessly.
"What did you say? Are you refusing to cooperate even after hearing everything?" Stiyl's expression darkened as he spoke.
It was understandable for someone to be hostile before learning the truth, but refusing even after hearing a full explanation was unacceptable.
"If that girl ends up dying because of your stubbornness, then tell me, are you still human? Or just a monster abusing power as you please?"
"You talk too much," Arata replied calmly, glancing at Stiyl.
An invisible telekinetic force struck instantly, sending Stiyl flying several meters before crashing onto the ground.
"Stiyl!" Kanzaki Kaori's expression changed, her hand instinctively gripping the hilt of her sword. Even though she wished to avoid conflict, she would not hesitate to fight if necessary.
"Do not raise your voice at me. I may be reasonable, but that does not mean I have no temper," Arata said coldly. He then looked at Tsuchimikado Motoharu. "You should already be aware of the flaws in your explanation."
"Arata..." Tsuchimikado Motoharu's expression became serious. His usual playful demeanor disappeared completely. It was the first time he had seen Arata display such intensity.
"Sigh. Fine. I had my suspicions for a while, but I did not want to think about it too deeply. Our explanation does contain serious inconsistencies."
Kanzaki Kaori and Stiyl, who had just stood up again, looked confused.
"What do you mean?" Kanzaki Kaori asked, unable to understand.
The situation had taken an unexpected turn.
"Index loses her memories every year? That is nonsense. Human memory is divided into different regions. The part responsible for storing knowledge and the part responsible for personal recollection are separate. Even if she stored 103,000 grimoires, it would not interfere with her personal memories. Do not use 'perfect memory capacity' and '103,000 grimoires' as an excuse. That is not how it works."
Hearing Arata's explanation, Kanzaki Kaori's expression turned serious. Although she did not understand the scientific details, she understood the implication.
"What proof do you have?" she asked in a steady voice.
Arata did not answer directly. Instead, he looked at them with a mocking smile.
"Placing 103,000 grimoires inside one person's mind is already an unstable factor. What if that individual betrays you? Would that not place the Anglican Church in an extremely dangerous position?"
Tsuchimikado Motoharu lowered his gaze. When he had first learned about this, he had come to the same conclusion. Any organization would consider such a risk.
"..."
"Do not tell me...!" Stiyl's expression immediately turned grim.
"This is only your speculation. Do you have concrete evidence?" Kanzaki Kaori's expression shifted drastically, though she forced herself to remain calm.
"Of course I have evidence. But before that, I have a question for you, Kanzaki Kaori. I have heard that you are a Saint, correct?"
Arata's lips curved into a cold smile, and a sharp light flickered in his eyes.
A Saint is a human who possesses a body similar to the Son of God and is granted a fragment of divine power.
This so called Sacred Mark is both a symbol of identity and a medium that allows them to draw upon power from a phase, even receiving favor from the laws established by God.
This kind of power exists across multiple mythological systems. In Norse mythology, individuals with similar traits are referred to as Valkyries.
According to certain theories, the entity known as God, the earliest existence to reach the realm of a Magic God, has either disappeared or left this world entirely.
Which means that Sacred Marks are not necessarily untouchable.
If that is the case, could something like this be taken by force?
Would it be possible to seize it using "Words of Infinite Deception"?
Note: for those who were saying updates are slow, mass release from 1st june.
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