On the very top of the Windowless Building, Aleister Crowley, a male with long white hair and wearing a green hospital gown, floated upside down in a large container filled with a strange fluid. When Musujime Awaki arrived with Nagato and Accelerator, he stared straight at the group, no expression on his face.
Awaki stepped away from Nagato and Accelerator once they arrived. Nagato gave her a brief nod in thanks and she nodded back, disappearing. Nagato calmly walked up to the container where Aleister Crowley floated, his face expressionless. Accelerator was beside him, hiding his actual emotions behind a look of cool hostility.
No one spoke, until Aleister Crowley broke the silence.
"Necessarius's most powerful magician, code named Shadow Assassin, and seventh-ranked magician in the world by fighting power. Welcome. The same goes to you, Accelerator."
"Aleister Crowley, I presume?" Nagato said, his voice cool and business-like. "Why have you called us here?" If he was surprised that Aleister Crowley knew his code name, he did not show it.
"It has recently come to my attention that Accelerator is also a child of magic, not just an esper."
"How long have you known?"
"If you, your brother Yahiko and Laura Stuart were hoping to surprise me about an eighteen-year-old plot, I already knew about it. Although, I had yet to know which esper was also a magician. Three days ago, there was a flow of magic that was not from the magicians in this city. The source was traced back to Accelerator, much to my surprise."
As if. He never seems surprised, Accelerator thought. "Why did you call us here then?" He asked.
"You should already know what I'm going to ask. I see that your ability is back. Will you fight for the Science side that you have been in all your life, or will you fight for your father's side, the magic side?"
Choosing to answer later, Accelerator replied with a question of his own. "I know that a child born of science and magic will not find a place in either world, and be targeted constantly. Will you guarantee that I will not be targeted by you once the war is finished?"
"If you fight for the Science side, you will give us a large advantage in the war. I make no guarantees, but I will not send anyone to kill you after the war. I cannot say the same for the magicians or anyone in the city that rejects magic."
"That's all I need to hear. I will fight for the Science side."
"What about you, Shadow Assassin?"
"I fight for family and friends, not for the Romans. If you push me to choose, I will fight for the Science side."
"Your Necessarius comrades will join you, will they not? And Imagine Breaker?"
"They will fight if I ask. And there is the matter of Hakutsuki Haruka."
"She is a pure magician, although she has no ties to the Catholic Church. Do you know which side she shall fight for?"
"She has bonded with those in the Science side. She should be fighting for the Science side."
"The Romans will send the declaration in exactly 13 days. Goodbye."
Awaki reappeared and transported the two out of the Windowless Building. Aleister Crowley watched them go, a small smile curving across his lips. "Did they really think they could surprise me? The only reason I didn't target Accelerator in the first place was due to his ability and reputation. This war will truly be an interesting spectacle to watch. Two archangels bringing their fight down to Earth. Will darkness triumph over light, or will it be vanquished?" He fell silent again, floating in the container of fluid.
***
Awaki deposited Accelerator ungracefully onto the ground, making sure to set Nagato on the couch, and disappeared. Accelerator sat up, rubbing his head.
"That little…"
"Looks like she doesn't like you very much," Nagato said, laughing at Accelerator's angry face.
"Of course she doesn't. There's a complicated past. I'm guessing this is part of her revenge from me beating her up months ago."
"Oh, you guys are back? I left breakfast in the kitchen if you're hungry." Yoshikawa said, looking into the living room. Nagato and Accelerator shook their heads at the same time. Yoshikawa sighed. "Well, now I know where Accelerator gets his unhealthy habit of not eating."
"Don't forget the coffee," Nagato said with a smirk on his face.
"Oh, right. That too. That reminds me, I need to buy a lot more coffee when I go grocery shopping today or else you guys will go crazy. Just saying, your coffee supply is close to zero, Accelerator. Nagato drank the majority in these few days."
"How many cans are left?"
"Two."
"Fine by me." Accelerator went into the kitchen and grabbed the two cans, tossing one to Nagato when he exited.
Nagato opened the can and drank it all in one swig. "Ah, now I feel much better. Accelerator, we have 13 days to train. I'm not going to hold back, so prepare yourself for literal hell. We start now."
Accelerator groaned internally, but followed Nagato out the door.
***
Nagato had put up the blue dome again, although under the sunlight, the dome was transparent, an occasional rippling of blue light the only reminder it existed. Accelerator went over to Nagato.
"Won't everyone look up at the rooftop and see us?"
"No. This particular barrier blocks anyone else outside from seeing what's going on inside. To a regular bystander, they'll just see the rooftop. Essentially, we're invisible. Although to a trained magician, we'd be seen easily."
"I see. Where do magicians get their spells from?"
"Spell books and grimoires. Although some are passed down orally. Spell books are the easiest way to learn since anyone can read them. Grimoires are similar to spell books, but are way more powerful. Only the purest or the most powerful of magicians can lay their eyes on the pages, since they are written by ancient power. Index has read and memorized 103,000 grimoires."
"Is she really powerful?"
"I don't even know. She does have a really strong photographic memory. Whatever the case, she is pretty powerful. She doesn't outrank me since she is unable to use some powerful magic in some grimoires."
"Did you read any grimoires?"
"Yeah. I wouldn't call myself pure, but I am powerful. My memory's not that good, so I couldn't memorize much. I did learn some really powerful offensive, defensive and healing spells from your father though. Once I learned all of that, I became a pretty powerful magician. Here's one thing you need to know: a magician's power isn't based on the spells you know. It's based on your heart and mind. Your will also plays a part. If your will is weak, you can easily lose control of the spell and end up killing yourself."
"So I need a strong heart, mind and will."
"Yeah. Don't ever lose your control or temper during a powerful spell, or you'll end up destroying yourself. Also, at first, your magic level will be low, so don't cast too many spells. Once you start training, your magic level will increase so you can expand the number of spells used before you have to take a break."
"This makes almost no sense," Accelerator grumbled.
"Trust me, once I get you started on using magic, it'll all make sense."
"What's a grimoire anyway?"
"Books that contain old, ancient power. They cannot be destroyed, but they can be sealed away."
"Barely makes any sense, but okay. Also, what did Aleister Crowley call you—Shadow Assassin?"
"It's not much of a code name. It's the name my targets gave me."
"Why?"
"I usually get dispatched to assassinate rogue magicians or to kill demons. Striking under the cover of darkness and shadows is the best idea since no one can see you. That's what I always do."
"That seems interesting."
"Perhaps if your magic training goes smoothly I'll teach you how I usually work."
"Alright. Also, what's with the 'seventh-ranked in fighting power?'"
"In the world, I'm ranked seventh in fighting magic. Your father was third. In terms of overall magic power, we are on low ranks."
"So who's at the top for overall magic power?"
"There are a lot of them. The first two in fighting power are also in the same ranks as magic power. Next comes the 4 members of God's Right Seat. Either that, or it's the Roman Catholic Pope. I don't study them that much, so I'm not so sure. They do have enough power to render the earth to ashes though."
"I see."
"With the amount of power you'll have when you're done training, I'll risk letting you read a grimoire."
"Is it okay?"
"I'll show you a weaker grimoire called the Moonlight Codex. Your father wrote it."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It wasn't that powerful of a grimoire, but he recorded some really good spells in there. Index memorized it, so she can show you."
"Well, what's the point of letting me read a grimoire if you don't know what's going to happen to me?"
"I know you won't be affected by the grimoire. Yahiko put a spell on it, so it's sentient. It'll recognize you since you're his son."
"Even if I'm an esper?"
"Doesn't matter what you are. Blood runs deeper than that. No matter what happens, family is still family. That's what Yahiko told me."
Nagato was facing away from Accelerator, staring out at the city again. Accelerator couldn't see the expression on Nagato's face, but his tone of voice was strange. It wasn't cold, but it wasn't warm either.
I don't get him. Still, he's related to me. Remembering that Stiyl had told Kanzaki that Nagato never got over the loss of his brother and sister-in-law, he didn't push Nagato to say anything else about his parents.
Nagato turned back to Accelerator, his face expressionless again. "I'm getting nowhere reminiscing about the past."
"You seem so cut off from the world."
"It doesn't really matter. I keep to myself and nobody pokes their head in my business. Very convenient for me."
He's more of a recluse than I was before I rescued the brat.
"Well then, should we start? I think I can remove the bind on your magic powers."
"Don't you remember what happened hours earlier?!"
"Why do you think you can reflect magic?"
Taken back by the question, Accelerator stayed silent, considering the possibilities. Nagato replied for him. "Your esper ability was being reinforced by magic. It takes magic to reflect magic."
"You said you put a bind on my magic."
"Half-truth. In reality, that bind allows you to use a bit of your magic, but not all of it. From this morning's training, you should be able to control your magic yourself."
"Fine, but you're the one telling the brat what happened if this kills me."
"I know what I'm doing. Concentrate."
Nagato spoke a spell, and Accelerator felt a rush of energy flow through him, and another wave of pain. Concentrating, he forced the magic to work with his ability, instead of clashing with it. Eventually, the flow of energy faded, but Accelerator felt more powerful than ever.
Nagato watched with approval. "See? I told you I knew what I was doing. Well, you've mastered the ability to keep your esper ability and magic from clashing. Using them together or separately without them clashing is something different entirely."
"How do you know all this?"
"Research and study. Not to mention I've studied espers ever since you were born."
"How are you going to teach me then?"
"Starting from the very beginning, of course. The first time we trained, I taught you hand-to-hand combat. Back then, you only used your normal strength, reflexes and speed. Right now, your magic is enhancing your reflexes, strength and speed. With the right training, your magic will make you the best hand-to-hand combat esper. Eventually, you'll be able to use your magic for only one move, making that one extra-powerful."
"Let's get started then."
"I'm going to put you through literal hell. I will not give you a break unless you fall unconscious."
Remembering what Nagato had put him through in the morning, Accelerator prepared himself for another brutal session.