Kanzaki Kaori

Night.

"Gah!?" A miserable cry suddenly rang out. Kamijo Toma watched Index run off on her own after biting him, his face full of speechlessness.

Helplessly rubbing the bite mark on his arm, he blew on it again and again.

"Honestly, I've taken in a little ancestor here..." Kamijo Toma sighed helplessly. He was quite troubled by everything he had encountered so far, yet his good-natured personality made it impossible for him to simply ignore it.

"Ding dong—ding dong—" The traffic light changed from green to red. Then, without warning, the lights in the surrounding buildings suddenly went out. Instinctively sensing danger, Kamijo Toma stopped before the intersection.

"There's... no one?" He looked around. It was not yet late at night, yet somehow, all the pedestrians around him had vanished.

"Tap... tap... tap..." A series of footsteps came from behind him. He instinctively turned around to look.

A girl slowly emerged from the darkness. She had long black hair tied into a ponytail that fell to her waist, a tall, slender figure, and fair skin. She wore a T-shirt tied at the waist and always wore jeans.

However, the right sleeve of her jacket, shoulder included, had been cut away, exposing her smooth, flawless midriff.

The entire left pant leg of her jeans had also been cut off from the root of her thigh. The bizarre outfit somehow gave off an unusual sensuality.

"Don't worry. I merely placed a mark that makes people avoid this area."

"You're...!?" Kamijo Toma swallowed nervously as he asked. He had already made a guess in his heart—she was probably one of that red-haired magician's companions.

"My name is Kanzaki Kaori."

"If possible, I would rather not give you my other name."

"Another name?" Kamijo Toma asked in confusion.

"My magic name," Kanzaki Kaori replied indifferently.

Hearing that, Kamijo Toma recalled his clash with the red-haired magician. Calling out a magic name did not merely mean one was about to use magic—it also represented a name of slaughter.

"Let me be direct. Before I state my magic name, I hope you will return that child to me. Leave now and do not involve yourself in this. Otherwise, you will die!"

"What if I say no?" Kamijo Toma clenched his right fist and stared directly at Kanzaki Kaori, showing no intention of backing down.

"Then there is no other choice." Kanzaki Kaori silently placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. Along with the sound of a blade leaving its sheath, the blades of a windmill behind Kamijo Toma were severed before he knew it.

Only the tremendous crash when they hit the ground snapped Kamijo Toma back to his senses.

"What was that just now?" Swallowing, Kamijo Toma felt a cold bead of sweat slide down his temple. His undershirt was already soaked with sweat.

If he had been the target just now, he had no confidence he could have avoided that slash.

"I'll say it again. Leave now. Do not involve yourself in this." Kanzaki Kaori continued to ask indifferently. She seemed unwilling to harm the person before her and had already warned him multiple times.

"Are you kidding me? Facing people like you who hurt Index, there's no reason for me to surrender. I'll protect that child!?" Although his legs trembled slightly, Kamijo Toma still chose not to run away.

A trace of gloom flashed through Kanzaki Kaori's eyes. Hadn't she once protected Index just like the person before her?

Now, Index had forgotten friends like them after having her memories erased. Who could understand the bitterness of being misunderstood like this?

"Is that so? Then I will keep asking, no matter how tiresome it becomes." Kanzaki Kaori's hand once more touched the hilt of her sword.

A humming sound rang out again. The fierce blade wind formed tangible air pressure that assaulted Kamijo Toma, yet it circled around his body, shattering the ground without harming him in the slightest.

"The slashing speed of my Seven Heavens Seven Blades' woven attack, Seven Flash, is capable of killing someone seven times in an instant."

"It would not be an exaggeration to call it a sure-kill attack." Kanzaki Kaori explained, intending to make the person before her understand just how terrifying an opponent he faced.

If he retreated now, no one would be hurt.

"Damn it! I couldn't even see a single strike." Kamijo Toma gave a bitter smile, but still gritted his teeth and looked at his right hand.

As long as I use this right hand...

"I received Stiyl Magnus's report. For some reason, your right hand can nullify spells. However, if your right hand cannot touch it, then you cannot nullify the spell, can you?" She had noticed that Kamijo Toma still intended to take a gamble.

Kanzaki Kaori continued, saying that they had already obtained the information. Kamijo Toma's advantage was gone.

What do I do? Do I force my way through? Kamijo Toma thought as he broke into a sprint toward Kanzaki Kaori.

"Seven Flash." The indifferent words left her lips. Kamijo Toma, who had rushed at her, was instantly sent flying and crashed heavily onto the ground. Yet his only wound was a shallow cut on his cheek.

That was not holding back—it was an entire ocean of restraint!

"Why?" Kamijo Toma forced himself upright and continued walking toward Kanzaki Kaori.

"What?"

"Why, when you clearly have the power to kill me so easily, do you keep letting me go again and again? You call it a sure-kill attack, but you're hesitating too, aren't you? You're still someone with a conscience!"

"Then you should know this—your group has been chasing that child everywhere and even cut her. That kind of thing is absolutely unforgivable. You know it, don't you? You erased that child's memories."

"Why make things difficult for a child? What exactly are you trying to do!?" Kamijo Toma roared, unable to understand why a group of people would hunt down a child.

"I... I don't want to do this either! What gives an outsider like you the right to blame us? If her memories aren't erased, that child will die!?" Kanzaki Kaori punched Kamijo Toma in the face, venting the anguish in her heart.

She did not want this either. Chasing after her dear friend—despite all the wonderful memories they had shared in the past, she was now being treated as an enemy by that very friend.

Wasn't all of this to protect that child? Why should she be blamed by someone who knew nothing of the truth!?

"What do you mean!?" Kamijo Toma asked in astonishment, ignoring the pain in his face as he hurriedly pressed for an answer.

"That child possesses perfect memory. She is a library of grimoires that has memorized one hundred and three thousand magic books. Do you understand? The capacity of the human brain is surprisingly small, but people unconsciously organize their brains by forgetting 'unnecessary memories.' That is how humans can live normally. But Index cannot do that. She has the peculiar constitution of 'perfect memory'; whether she wishes it or not, she stuffs everything before her into her mind. Whether it is pedestrians on the street or however many leaves there are on the roadside trees, no matter how complex something is, she remembers it all after seeing it once and never forgets it. She can even properly distinguish and preserve those memories."

"If that child's unnecessary memories are not erased, she will die!"

"How could that be!?" Kamijo Toma's face was full of disbelief. In other words, no matter what happened, Index would eventually forget him? If she did not forget unnecessary memories, she would die!?

"HAHAHAHAHA!!! This is too interesting! A magician is teaching a student from the science side about the brain, and getting it absurdly wrong at that. One dares to say it, and the other dares to believe it." A wild burst of laughter came from nearby, making both of them instinctively turn toward its source. Rod was slowly walking over, with Index hanging from one hand.