Lord, Forgive Me for My Sins

Crimson light illuminated the enormous sewer.

The massive blast kicked up a tremendous shockwave and violent gale, directly destroying the surrounding passages.

"Boom—"

The Stone Giant's upper body was directly vaporized, leaving nothing behind.

Rubble rained down like a storm.

"Hehehe, hahahaha! A Certain Scientific Railgun, nothing special!"

Its power was indeed formidable, but not truly overwhelming.

"I told you, as long as the earth remains—Alice remains!"

The rubble on the ground was drawn in once more as if by magnets, then flew back to fill the damaged areas. Within seconds, the Stone Giant had returned to its original form.

"Alice possesses power akin to angels and the Progenitor of Humanity. Before such power, your attacks are nothing more than this!" Shirley sneered.

"This isn't your ability. Someone enhanced your magic," Mikoto said. "Let me think... was it the Roman Orthodox Church? Or Lucia's side? No, neither seems right."

"What are you talking about? This is my own power." Shirley inexplicably felt disgusted by Mikoto's words.

"Looks like you don't know either," Mikoto said. "Have you been used without even realizing it?"

[Was it Coronzon?]

[Fire Right Seat is possible too.]

[In the world of A Certain Magical Index, there's no shortage of people stirring up trouble.]

[It could also be a Magic God acting on a whim.]

[That's possible too. Such huge changes have happened to the world; the Magic Gods might have become interested in it.]

[This is getting more and more interesting.]

[This Hyper-ranker doesn't seem to be under Mikoto's control, does it?]

[Didn't they say earlier? This thing has a will of its own.]

Then, the Hyper-ranker's body changed once more.

The ground began to tremble.

It was not caused by magic, but by the sound of countless metal components being dragged by powerful magnetic force.