A Scientific Urban Detective.

Chapter 1019 Pursuers and Magic

Seeing that Aunt Misaka Misuzu actually thought that Kamijou Touma and Index were participating in a chasing competition, Lin Wuming was naturally pleased and did not correct her.

"Well... I guess so?" Lin Wuming narrowed his eyes as he spoke, sending out a clone to secretly follow them.

Lin Wuming knew perfectly well that it couldn't possibly be a competition event; Kamijou Touma was being chased and beaten!

Misaka Misuzu raised her hand to touch her cheek, looking troubled: "Academy City is such a place... no matter how many times I've been here, I can never fully get used to the atmosphere here."

“From the perspective of people outside Academy City, that’s probably true, right?” Lin Wuming nodded. “But for us, this is just an ordinary daily occurrence. So please don’t worry, Auntie.”

Whether Misaka Misuzu still has concerns remains unknown.

But for Touma Kamijou at least, this level of chase is already commonplace.

Aside from the fact that the pursuers behind him were armed and genuinely unafraid to pull the trigger, everything else felt similar to how Touma Kamijou used to play "hide-and-seek" with groups of armed, powerless thugs.

Oh, and there's also Index by my side; the two of us have to escape the enemy's pursuit together.

As expected of a nun who had fled halfway around the world, Index's seemingly petite frame actually possessed considerable stamina and leg strength. She was able to keep up with Touma Kamijou's pace throughout the entire journey, and even maintain steady breathing, allowing her to chant the "Sound of Exorcism" at any time.

It was precisely because of the assistance of the "Index of Forbidden Books" that the number of mages among their pursuers was extremely small—all the enemies who attempted to cast spells were dealt with remotely by Index's "Sound of Magic Breaking" during the chase.

Even Touma Kamijou's "Imagine Breaker" barely had a chance to make a move.

It was precisely because of this screening process that the pursuers behind them were almost entirely gunmen.

"Isn't this making things more dangerous?" Touma Kamijou couldn't help but remark after realizing this.

After all, neither Index's "Index" nor her own "Imagine Breaker" can withstand bullets.

"It's not like Nameless and Misaka; those two are truly fearless of bullets..."

Thinking about this, Touma Kamijou suddenly realized: "When I was crossing the intersection just now, did I run into Mumei and Misaka? Speaking of which, why did Misaka next to Mumei change again? Just how many clones does that Bilibili have?"

While internally complaining, Touma Kamijou felt an urge to turn back and find Lin Wuming.

With Lin Wuming's strength, I'm sure he can easily deal with the pursuers behind him!
"Touma!" Index suddenly called out from beside her.

The two's tacit understanding made Touma Kamijou react immediately—there were no passersby around, and the pursuers behind them were about to open fire again!

"Damn it! What are they trying to do?!" Touma Kamijou began to move in a zigzag pattern—even though he felt it wouldn't be very effective.

The reason I haven't been hit by bullets all the way here is not because I was lucky or because the enemy's marksmanship was too bad.

On the contrary, it could be said that the enemy's marksmanship was actually very accurate; they simply didn't want to hit themselves.

After all, the enemy's objective was to "beat Kamijou Touma up," not to kill him outright.

Throughout this journey, Touma Kamijou was actually quite frustrated. Whenever the enemy didn't have a gun, Touma would turn around and charge, determined to fight them with his fists!
But now...

Gunshots rang out behind me.

And as expected, the bullets didn't hit them; they merely propelled Touma and Index in a specific direction. Bullets don't discriminate, and although they weren't actually hit, Touma dared not disobey the enemy's bullets and had no choice but to follow their direction, turning into a small alley.

But as soon as he entered, Touma Kamijou realized that he wasn't a directionally challenged person like Lin Wuming, so he immediately recognized where he was.

Similarly, Index, who possesses "perfect memory," also remembered this alley.

"Touma! This is a dead end!" Index exclaimed.

“Of course I know that! But…” Kamijou Touma responded loudly.

Then, driven by a barrage of bullets, they were forced to run into this dead end.

Touma Kamijou and Index looked at each other, both seeing helplessness and despair in each other's eyes.

While he might not lose his life, judging from the current situation, he's likely to get a good beating.

With the dead end, surrounded by walls on three sides, right in front of them, Touma Kamijou and Index slowed down and turned to face the approaching pursuers.

—I should have asked Nameless for help just now!
Touma Kamijou felt a pang of regret. This was not the time to save face or cause trouble for Lin Wuming!

Just then, Index suddenly grabbed Touma's sleeve: "Touma, watch out below..."

Index spoke rapidly, and Touma Kamijou, as if sensing the impending crisis, pulled Index backward while swinging his right hand across the room!

As it turned out, his judgment and response were effective.

A complex and ornate magic circle flashed across the ground where they had just been standing.

Immediately, flames shot into the sky!

Thanks to Touma Kamijou's use of "Imagine Breaker," the flames around him and Index were successfully extinguished.

The fact that it could be erased by "Imagine Breaker" shows that the flames were undoubtedly a magical effect.

However, before Touma could even breathe a sigh of relief, the flames he had just extinguished returned with renewed force.

“The magic circle on the ground!” Index continued.

The fire magic circle here is very similar to Stiyl's "The Witch Hunter"—the magic circle is the core, and the towering pillar of fire is merely a magical effect produced by it.

The best way to completely eliminate this magical effect is to destroy the magic circle directly.

Ignoring his image, Touma Kamijou extinguished the flames around him again and then pounced on the ground, using Imagine Breaker to destroy the magic circle.

The flames that filled the alley suddenly disappeared. If it weren't for the lingering scorching air and the pungent smell of burning, one might even doubt whether the flames they had just seen were an illusion.

The pursuers who had followed earlier were wiped out by the towering flames, and now they lay on the ground, charred black, their fate unknown.

(End of this chapter)