Even if I transform, I will never be captured.

Satella was amazed by her own cleverness!

Did I really think I was this clever and quick-witted?

At this moment, Satella felt triumphant, as if she were Zhou Yu before the Battle of Red Cliffs, strategizing and winning battles from afar, effortlessly annihilating everything in her path!

What a pity! If only there were a beauty comparable to Xiao Qiao to help him show off at this moment...

"that……"

Just as Satella couldn't help but rub her cheeks with smug satisfaction, the freckled girl sitting opposite her spoke up somewhat awkwardly:

"My name is Yuuki Asuna. Haven't we met somewhere before?"

Satella: ⊙▽⊙

She's here! A beautiful girl who rivals Xiao Qiao!

……

……

"Is this Touma's hometown?"

The boy, dressed in a white monk's robe, spread his arms wide, his large sleeves unfurling like a fluttering white butterfly, and ran in a very girlish manner to a house.

In short, this is a very ordinary Japanese house.

A standard Japanese detached house, a two-story building enclosed by a wall about one meter high, with a garden and parking space.

"[Kamijou]...That's right, this is the one!"

Index glanced at the name on the doorplate and nodded in confirmation. However, the door was naturally locked, and a key was required to enter, which Index did not have.

Only then did she remember that she seemed to have a travel companion with her...

but……

"Huh? Where did everyone go? Where did that starry-eyed person go?"

Index looked around, but couldn't find Misaki Shokuhou. Thinking of a certain possibility, she became a little flustered.

"Could it be that we've been ambushed by the enemy?"

Just as she was thinking this anxiously—

"Whoosh!"

Page 3

"Whoosh!"

With a panting sound like a dead dog, Misaki Shokuhou slowly emerged from around the corner.

She was hunched over, her posture making it seem as if a rope was tied around her waist with a ton of cargo attached to it.

"So... you're clearly a magician, so why do you also have such physical strength?!"

As she swayed and staggered to the front door of the Kamijou residence, Misaki Shokuhou deflated like a punctured balloon, her entire body slumping down, uttering intermittent complaints:

"Shouldn't so-called magicians be people who only meditate all day and have extremely poor physical strength?"

"So, starry-eyed, do you have some misunderstanding about magicians?"

Index gets excited as soon as the topic turns to anything related to her profession.

"Although magicians use magical power to cast spells, magical power doesn't arise from nothing. It's a power generated by performing various magical operations within the body. In other words, to become a qualified magician, one must first possess a remarkably strong physique. Moreover, many spells can strengthen the body, such as the 'Baopuzi' in my mind..."

Index's eloquent commentary lasted for five minutes, giving Misaki Shokuhou a chance to get a proper rest.

Then she interrupted Index, who was about to continue, and said, "Alright, let's go inside quickly."

After saying that, he took out a silver key, opened the door, and went inside.

"Hey, wait a minute, Starry-eyed, you weren't even listening, were you?"

"What's the point of listening? What you're saying isn't scientific at all."

"I was just saying, your science stuff isn't magical at all! ...Wow! Starry-eyed, why did you suddenly stop?"

Index, who was walking and shouting, bumped into Misaki Shokuhou's back and immediately cried out in dissatisfaction.

"nothing."

Misaki Shokuhou withdrew her gaze from the closed window on the second floor, the curtains drawn.

"Go in."

After saying that, she gently pushed open the door to the room.

"Waaah..."

Index was the first to crawl under Misaki Shokuhou's arm, then covered her nose and let out a low moan.

Perhaps because no one had lived there for a long time, the house was filled with a stuffy, hot atmosphere, and this heat also carried a strange, foul odor, like that of rotting fish.

Once it found an outlet, the pent-up energy surged out towards the door, nearly making Misaki Shokuhou vomit.

"What exactly happened?" Index used the sleeve of her nun's robe as a mask and sobbed, "Could it be that Touma's parents didn't clean the house properly before they left?"

Misaki Shokuhou's approach was more direct. She took out a universal remote control that could operate the air conditioner from her bag containing more than a dozen remote controls, and then turned on the ventilation function of the air conditioner in the house.

Buzz!

Amidst the whirring of the machines, the stale air in the house was quickly expelled.

"I never imagined that the remote control I always carry with me could do this kind of thing..."

Misaki Shokuhou let out a sigh of relief and casually placed the remote control on the table, but before that—

"Wait a moment!"

Index loudly stopped her.

"Whatever you do, don't touch those things on the table!"

"?"

Reminded, Misaki Shokuhou looked at the table and saw several pottery local specialties on it.

For Misaki Shokuhou, this at most only showed that her master had some peculiar tastes, but there was nothing strange about it. However, Index showed a rather solemn expression.

"This is... just as the silver-haired man was right, this is the ceremony site!"

"Oh? You've already discovered that magic circle? Then let's destroy it quickly!"

Misaki Shokuhou said excitedly, she couldn't wait to return to her true form and reunite with Satella.

"Don't make things sound so simple. Magic is a very precise science, and the more complex the magic circle, the more difficult it is to operate..."

"No need for detailed instructions, I don't understand them anyway. Just tell me how to do it, we're in a hurry."

Before Index could launch into another long-winded speech, Misaki Shokuhou interrupted her just in time.

Index puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction, but she forgot that she was no longer that cute, petite girl, and so this is what happened—

The 1.8-meter-tall, blue-haired boy with squinty eyes pouted his thick lips and puffed out his slightly stubbled cheeks...

Well, anyway, Misaki Shokuhou subtly shifted her gaze away.

—It's unbearable to look at!

However, Index didn't ramble on any longer: "In short, I need to carefully examine the overall layout of the magic circle first, and then dismantle it bit by bit, starting from the key locations."

Misaki Shokuhou nodded indifferently, placed the remote control in a safe spot, and followed Index, wandering around the room.

The room was filled with religious decorations such as giant masks from South America and small Moai statues.

The bathroom was a damp, dark space with a plastic turtle on the floor—probably a toy that could be lifted up in the bathtub. However, because of its strange placement, it gave the impression of a basement where children were imprisoned.

The curtains in the entire room were drawn, making it very dimly lit. After walking around, even a novice like Misaki Shokuhou felt that the whole house exuded a gloomy and eerie feeling.

This made Misaki Shokuhou exclaim, "How on earth did Kamijou's parents manage to live in such an environment?"

"I find it even more incredible that Touma's father was able to unintentionally set up a large-scale magic circle like 'Angel's Fall'."

Just as they were saying this, Misaki Shokuhou and Index arrived at the kitchen doorway.

Because the stench was coming from inside, this was the last place they investigated.

"Once I figure out the layout here, I'll know how to dispel this magic circle!"

Standing at the kitchen doorway, Index said with great enthusiasm.

Misaki Shokuhou seemed relieved upon hearing this, but just then—

Suddenly, it was as if a vengeful ghost had emerged from the shadows.

Behind the door frame where Index was leaning, a thin shadow appeared silently.

Page 4

—Satella's memory is correct; in the "A Certain Magical Index" anime, there is indeed no danger in Touma Kamijou's hometown.

But she forgot that there is something called "modification".

What anime presents to viewers is not necessarily exactly the same as the story that actually happens in a novel.

Thus, the first variable in Satella's plan was created.

"My angel...my angel...I will follow your instructions and offer you a sacrifice!"

Like a madman repeating incoherent words, the serial killer known as Hino Kamisaku, hiding in Touma Kamijou's old house, raised his curved sword at the two girls.

Angel Fall Revised Edition 3: Touma Kamijou's Role

night.

Student dormitory of Tokiwadai Junior High School, 7th School District.

The night was quiet, and a silver moon quietly passed through the clouds. Suddenly, without any warning, two figures appeared outside the dormitory, in mid-air.

If outsiders saw this scene, their first reaction would probably be either to shout "There's a ghost!" or to close their eyes, unable to bear watching the two people fall to the ground and be smashed to pieces.

However, the two figures in the air remained quite calm.