In Academy City, the Paradise Project begins.

Page 31

"The power of a saint?"

Kanzaki did not answer. She took a deep breath and began a unique breathing technique: her abdomen contracted as she inhaled, and her chest expanded as she exhaled, the rhythm as regular and deep as the tides. With each breath, a pale blue magical aura began to appear around her.

In an instant, a chilling sound of bones reforming echoed from within Kanzaki's body. Her blood vessels revealed eerie golden patterns beneath her skin, and her muscle fibers expanded and contracted at a visible speed. Higashino saw blood seeping from the corner of her eye, but her gaze was sharper than ever before.

Is this... the power of a god's child who transcends mortals?

Kanzaki's body temperature rose sharply, and her breath condensed into frost in the night air. The concrete ground beneath her feet cracked under the pressure, and spiderweb-like cracks spread outwards for more than three meters.

"Only Flash!"

This sword-drawing technique was completely different from before. The sword light was no longer a simple physical attack, but carried some kind of higher-dimensional power. Higashino felt a burning pain in his retina and had to close his eyes.

Click——!

The sound of shattering glass echoed through the abandoned factory. Higashino suddenly opened his eyes and saw spiderweb-like cracks appear in the air in front of Index; the Mobile Church's absolute defense had been breached for the first time!

"Now!"

Higashino shouted, unleashing his full power. Silver ripples appeared deep within his pupils, his temples throbbed, and a warm liquid welled up in his nostrils.

"Technique rewriting!"

An invisible force pierced through the cracks in the mobile church, heading straight for the magical formula deep within Index's throat. Higashino's vision was blurred due to his overload, but he clearly "saw" the complex magical structure—the one that periodically erased Index's memories.

Found it... this is it...

His abilities, like a scalpel, precisely cut into the core of the procedure, beginning to modify its most fundamental operational logic. Blood gushed from his nose, dripping down his chin, but he paid no heed to wipe it away.

"Hold on for three more seconds..."

Higashino gritted his teeth and whispered.

At this critical moment, a sudden change occurred!

A cold, emotionless voice, like the turning of precise metal gears, suddenly rang out:

"Warning, Chapter 3, Section 2. A direct threat of sabotage has been detected against the core of the spell, classified as a maximum emergency. Threat target locked."

The voice didn't come from Index's mouth; it was more like an inhuman declaration that vibrated directly in the air.

At the same time, Index's fingers, which had been gripping Higashino's clothes tightly due to nervousness, suddenly loosened, and her body stiffened as if controlled by invisible threads. The light in her eyes instantly vanished, replaced by absolute, mindless indifference.

Her long silver hair stood on end amidst the violently surging torrent of magic, dancing wildly in the air against the laws of physics, like a golden ocean exploding with static electricity.

Higashino's heart felt as if it had been gripped by an icy hand, and his abilities instantly ceased functioning. "Damn it..." An unbelievable thought exploded in his mind:

My ability was actually detected and identified as a threat, triggering automatic recording!

Chapter 43 Memory Resonance

The moment the automatic book started, Higashino immediately created distance.

If it gets too late, the automatic book-writing spirit frame might use magic to instantly kill you, and then you'll have nowhere to cry.

The automatic book ignored Higashino's departure. A huge golden magic circle slowly swirled beneath her feet and around her. As she floated up, her cold gaze swept over the three people below, her pupils devoid of any human emotion. Finally, she accurately locked onto the greatest threat—Higashino Yu—who was attempting to intrude into her core spell.

A cold, mechanically synthesized Latin chant resonated in the air, announcing the command for the next step:

“Executo Magca– Susprus Dracons!” (Spell Execution: The Dragon King's Sigh!)

Stiyl stared in shock, his eyes wide: "Oh no! It's the Dragon King's sigh!"

Kanzaki Kaori was on the verge of her limit. Her body trembled violently from the immense strain of using the power of the Child of God. Blood kept spilling from the corners of her mouth and the cracks in her skin, but she still gripped her sword tightly with unwavering will, pointing it at the automatic book that was suspended in mid-air.

"Higashino!" she managed a low growl, her voice hoarse from pain and internal bleeding, "Now, is it even possible?!"

The intense headache made his vision blur, but the connection between his ability "Cognitive Reconstruction" and the link that Index had just established was not broken by the activation of the automatic book, and the anchor point had already been planted.

It firmly locks onto the key nodes in the core technique of automatic bookkeeping.

He knew that rewriting it would be more difficult than before, and he would need to create flaws.

“A man can’t say no, Stiyl!” he shouted with all his might.

"I know without you saying it!" The mage suddenly tore open a stack of rune cards in his hand, and crimson flames instantly boiled and erupted like an angry ocean! He poured all his magic power into it, summoning a torrent of fire even larger than before.

"Maxima Flammae Iudicium!" (Maximum Flame, Judgment!)

A blazing pillar of fire roared and shot into the sky, condensing into a giant flaming sword several times larger than before, which slashed down fiercely at the suspended automatic book!

However, the Automatic Book of Books didn't even blink. A thin, yet indestructible, golden magical barrier appeared around her, unfolding instantly. It wasn't a "mobile church," but rather a targeted defensive spell instantly constructed by the Automatic Book of Books using its knowledge of magic.

"Sanctus Andreas Scutum!" (The Shield of St. Andrew!)

The massive, flaming sword crashed into the golden barrier, yet it didn't cause the slightest ripple!

The massive flaming sword was swallowed and annihilated as if by an invisible black hole, not even a ripple could be stirred on this barrier, and it vanished into nothingness the moment it made contact.

"Completely ineffective?!" Stiyl's eyes widened in disbelief, the backlash from the instant depletion of a large amount of magic power causing him to sway slightly.

"Ordinary magic and physical attacks are ineffective against her!" Kanzaki gritted her teeth, enduring excruciating pain as if her body were being torn apart, her voice filled with anxiety, "I must break through with even greater power!"

However, Higashino Yu didn't even have time to think of a solution! The Automatic Scripture's "gaze" had already locked onto him once again!

"Trajectoria Corrigo – Recaptio Intentata!" (Trajectory correction and recapture complete!)

New golden light gathered at her fingertips once more.

"Now, seize the opportunity!" Kanzaki Kaori roared! She had squeezed the power of the Child of God to its limit, and dense beads of blood seeped from her skin. The Seven Days Seven Blades were drawn once again!

Only Flash!

In an instant, her body seemed to merge with the surrounding space, and time seemed to stand still. Only the knife in her hand drew a trajectory that transcended the comprehension of ordinary people.

This strike concentrated all her power and will, compressing the power of the "Child of God" into a single point and unleashing it in an instant! The blade light was no longer in the form of a slash, but transformed into a pure torrent of energy, a beam of light condensed to the extreme that could cleave through space!

“St. Andrew—”

The golden magical barrier "Sanctus Andreas Scutum!" (Shield of Saint Andrew!) instantly unfolded once again as if by instinct! Kanzaki's "Only Flash" energy beam slammed into the same point of the barrier!

Boom! ! ! !

This time, it won't be swallowed up in silence!

The surface of the golden barrier, powerful enough to annihilate Stiyl's fire magic, twisted and vibrated violently under Kanzaki's ultimate spatial slash!

Soon, dense, spiderweb-like fine white cracks appeared on the defensive barrier.

Although the defense was successful, the restoration of the barrier this time was far from as easy as before!

It flashed violently, like an overloaded circuit, its stability and energy density showing a significant decline and stagnation in an extremely short instant! Kanzaki's full-force attack did indeed shake it! But it was only "shaken".

"Pfft—!" Kanzaki could no longer hold on, and a large mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs gushed out. She fell heavily backward like a puppet with its strings cut, and her sword fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

Kanzaki struggled to sit up, but her strength receded like a receding tide, and she felt incredibly difficult to even move a single finger.

It's now!

Higashino Yu saw it! Although Kanzaki's "Only Flash" did not break through the barrier, the energy barrier that fluctuated violently in that instant was like the strongest dam being breached, creating a barely perceptible but crucial floodgate!

This makes the previously established links much clearer and more understandable.

In order to maintain this momentary defense, the automatic book created a fleeting gap in the protective barrier of its core operation! This gap was not for defense against external physical or energy attacks, but for concentrating computing power to stabilize the spatial structure and defend itself, thus creating a tiny gap at the logical level!

Higashino Yu's eyes burned with a final madness. Ignoring the excruciating pain tearing at his brain and the blood streaming from his nose, he used every last bit of his will, spirit, and even life force to maintain the link he had previously established!

The procedure constitutes complete interference!

With his abilities running at full power, the once impregnable defense of the Automatic Bookkeeping Core Technique now appeared to him like a pyramid with a crack torn in it!

He finally saw clearly that behind that gap was the core of the magic that bound Index.

In addition, there is the vast ocean of magical knowledge, enough to engulf the entire world!

However, Higashino doesn't have time to focus on the 103,000 magical books right now; the opportunity to solve the problem is right in front of him.

that's it!

His spirit, like a sharp arrow, surged towards the core with all its might.

"Warning! The critical zone of the core technique has been subjected to deep unauthorized intrusion! The underlying database structure is at risk of contamination! Level 1 defense countermeasures activated!"

A piercing alarm rang out deep within Higashino's consciousness!

Almost at the moment his spiritual tendrils touched the core...

“Buzz—boom!!!”

The ocean of knowledge composed of 103,000 books of demonic cultivation suddenly changed, and an unimaginably vast amount of information crashed into Higashino's spiritual sea of ​​consciousness!

Countless runes, spells, images, and fragments of laws, whose meanings were unclear, twisted, bizarre, chaotic, and complex, flooded into his brain like a burst dam!

“Ughh ...

Higashino Yu let out an unprecedentedly shrill scream! His body convulsed violently, as if he were having an epileptic seizure, and blood gushed from all seven orifices at the same time!

My brain felt like it was being crammed with countless pieces of junk information, my thoughts were being torn apart, crushed, and churned! My vision was filled with endless, swirling, unfamiliar runes and meaningless text! The pain in my brain transcended the physical realm, striking straight at my soul!

No… my consciousness… is dissolving… This is… the weight of 103,000 grimoires… Why… is this happening…?

Despair, like a cold darkness, instantly overwhelmed all his senses, and he felt himself falling deeper and deeper into an abyss.

However, just as Higashino's spirit was about to be completely overwhelmed and assimilated by this vast and chaotic torrent of knowledge—

“Buzz………………”

A strange resonance, seemingly emanating from the very depths of the world, quietly resounded in the deepest recesses of his consciousness!

Higashino and Index's consciousness resonated.

Those chaotic fragments of magical knowledge that flooded his brain and were enough to overwhelm a mortal's will... were suddenly drawn and organized by an invisible force!

A blurry, purely luminous phantom of a girl seems to have resonated in some strange way with Higashino's spiritual connection point in the deepest part of this ocean of pure knowledge!

Like two keys accidentally fitting into the same complex keyhole! The massive data flow of the 103,000 magical books in the knowledge base itself formed a violent yet unexpected "bridge" in this subtle moment of connection!

A torrent of knowledge was crashing into his brain, making him feel like his head was about to explode. However, it was as if there was a filter, which made him feel less uncomfortable than before.

Higashino has no time to consider these sudden changes; this is his last chance!

An invisible domain unfolded, enveloping the two of them. Higashino used his remaining power to completely erase the magic circle binding Index's throat and attempted to rewrite the underlying logic of the Automatic Book.

"Warning! Core database information! Core logic loop has encountered unpredictable interference! System... logic conflict! Handling... overflow... critical error—!"

For the first time, the automated secretary's cold, detached announcement sounded intermittent.

Finally, it worked...?

Higashino Yu's consciousness was already somewhat blurred, and his body was beginning to fall backward, unable to support itself.

However, the rewriting seemed to have failed; this "error," which went beyond the system's design logic, lasted only a fleeting moment. The highest security protocol of the automatic book's ultimate defense system was instantly triggered!

The cold, mechanical, and relentless final alarm in Japanese echoed through the ruins:

"Ultimate emergency protocol triggered—underlying information architecture disorder detected! Execute final emergency measures: forced system reset and isolation!!!"

"Anathema Restitutio Et Solatio Totalis!"

(Forced reset and complete isolation!)

"boom----!!!"

A massive surge of energy erupted from the automatic book in an instant!

Higashino, Stiyl who was swept away, and Kanzaki who was seriously injured and fell to the ground were pushed away again as if by an invisible giant wave!

The space seemed to have undergone a complete "formatting" and reboot.

When the storm subsided.

Index regained her composure.

The previously flowing silver hair, now devoid of all magical support, fell and spread out smoothly like a pure snow waterfall.

The chaotic, flickering golden light in her eyes rapidly faded, solidified, and then went out completely, revealing a pair of empty, blank human pupils beneath, devoid of all luster and consciousness.

Her suspended body lost all support, and like a broken-winged angel, she fell silently and gently to the cold ground.

"...System...isolation...entering...deep...hibernation..."

A faint, almost audible mechanical voice disappeared as her consciousness faded completely.

The automatic book-writing function has stopped operating.