A Scientific Urban Detective.

Chapter 1022 Apostolic Cross
"Imagine Breaker" plus "A Certain Magical Index" equals a complete magician nemesis—Oriana has fully realized this and is considering retreating; at least for now, Oriana can't think of any good way to break out of the current predicament!

In theory, using a wide-area attack spell to cover the two opponents would at least give her a chance to escape or regroup and fight again, even if it didn't defeat them.

Unfortunately, Touma Kamijou won't give her that chance.

Since the start of the war, Touma Kamijou has been trying every means to get close to Oriana. If it weren't for her continuous use of magic to slow her down, he probably would have already been right in front of her.

In this situation, Orianna simply didn't have time to construct a large-scale spell.

She was surrounded by walls on three sides, and her only way out was blocked by Touma Kamijou. If she could still use her previous "Wall Walking Technique," she might be able to escape, but the nature of the Shorthand Codex meant that Orianna could not construct two identical spells.

There's no way they can escape now...

"Hmm?" Oriana suddenly thought of something and looked at the two people opposite her again.

—Although they are known as “magicians’ nemesis,” neither of them has effective ranged attack methods!
Therefore, Touma Kamijou has no choice but to personally charge into battle time and time again.

Furthermore, they lacked effective means of restriction and restraint; if it weren't for the terrain, they wouldn't have been able to stop Orianna if she wanted to leave. Since that's the case…

"Well, I'm not playing with you guys anymore, see you later~" Oriana tore off the sticky note she had just written on. "I'm going now, bye-bye!"

"She's trying to escape!" Index shouted.

Kamijou Touma immediately lunged forward.

But it was too late. A whirlwind suddenly appeared beneath Oriana's feet, carrying her into the air. Touma's right hand swung out, but he only managed to catch a sliver of the whirlwind's aftershock...

"Index, do you know where she'll end up?" Touma Kamijou quickly turned around and asked.

Index shook her head: "Her magic just now was only for escape, and she didn't care about landing at all, so it's impossible to predict."

"Damn it," Kamijou Touma said in frustration. "I finally found her... but she doesn't seem to be carrying the 'Thrusting Sword,' and I don't know where she hid it."

Touma Kamijou hasn't forgotten their true purpose for this trip. The "delivery person," Oriana, isn't the ultimate goal; the goods she's transporting are the real focus.

“A spearhead sword? What’s that?” Index asked.

Touma Kamijou then remembered that Index had joined the group halfway through and was unaware of the background, so he briefly explained the current situation.

After all, Index had already been involved in the incident, and Touma Kamijou had witnessed her strength firsthand, knowing that this girl was not as weak as he had imagined.

"So, do you think the 'Thrusting Sword' will actually pose a threat to the Nameless One?" After figuring it out, Touma Kamijou consulted an expert as well.

“Lin Wuming is certainly not a saint! Unless a miracle occurs, he could not possibly have any connection with a saint.” Indick said without hesitation, then frowned, “But that ‘Thrusting Sword’… are you sure you didn’t mishear me, Touma, or just made it up?”

"Why would I do something like that?" Touma Kamijou retorted. "As for mishearing... I, Motoharu Tsuchimikado, Stiyl, and Saito Kenmiya all speak Japanese perfectly, so it shouldn't be possible, right? Why would you say that?"

“Because I’ve never heard of this magical artifact, ‘Thrusting Sword,’” Index said. “If it could truly counter a Saint, it shouldn’t be so obscure.” Having mastered the knowledge of 103,000 grimoires, Index’s brain was practically one of the largest databases in the magical realm. Not only did she possess knowledge of grimoires, but she also had some knowledge of famous magical artifacts from history.

“If the message came from the headquarters of the Church of Necessary Evil,” Index asked, “then where did the headquarters’ source come from?”

"You mean..." Touma Kamijou understood Index's implication, "I told Stiyl... Damn it, why is the power out again?"

I took out my phone, only to find that the screen wouldn't light up and it had automatically shut down.

Orianna ran away, and when she tried to contact Stiyl, she found that her phone was malfunctioning; even though Touma Kamijou was already used to his bad luck, he couldn't help but want to smash his phone at this moment.

"Touma." Index handed her a cell phone.

"Oh right, I also prepared a phone for you." Touma Kamijou paused for a moment, then immediately beamed with joy.

Because Index is not good with modern technology, her phone is practically just a decoration, serving almost the same purpose as a brick. To the point that Touma almost forgot about it.

"Let me see... Great, you remembered to charge it!" Touma Kamijou checked the phone's battery and signal strength, and breathed a sigh of relief.

I'm afraid that Index, that machine idiot, will really treat her phone like a brick, carrying it with her no matter if it's charged or not.

"The next question is, do you have Stiyl or Tsuchimikado Motoharu's numbers saved?" Touma Kamijou opened his contacts.

Modern mobile phones have convenient contact systems, so few people bother to memorize long phone numbers, and Touma Kamijou certainly wouldn't waste his brain cells on that.

But the side effect is that if the phone itself stops working like this, his interpersonal relationships will be severed instantly...

"There's nothing here except my number?!" Touma Kamijou wailed as he saw the empty contact list.

“Touma, Touma,” Index poked Touma with her finger, “the number you’re talking about, is it the eleven-digit number used to contact other people through this machine?”

"yes……"

“Steel told me that,” Index said.

"What's the use of this? If it's not in the contacts, who would..." Touma Kamijou suddenly paused, "Oh right, perfect memory!"

Fortunately, Steele's phone worked perfectly, and after a series of twists and turns, the two sides finally made contact.

“Now there’s some bad news,” Stiyl said without mincing words after making contact, “The crisis surrounding ‘Thrusting Sword’ has been resolved. According to information from headquarters, it has been confirmed that there is no such spirit weapon.”

"This should be good news, right?" Kamijou Touma said.

“The spirit armor itself does exist,” Steele said, “but it’s not the ‘Thrusting Sword,’ it’s the ‘Apostle Cross.’”

(End of this chapter)