A Certain Magical Index New Testament Volume 13

The answer to his confusion was far too incomplete.
However, the words still stabbed into his heart.
“If Kamisato Kakeru is ‘exiling’ all of the Magic Gods, then wouldn’t Othinus be in trouble
too?”

♦

“Pant, pant.”
Someone was out of breath.
It was a girl.

It was Misaka Mikoto.
The colors of evening had already changed to those of late night. She had somehow made
her way back to Tokiwadai Middle School’s student dorm, where she arbitrarily deflected
the questions of her roommate Shirai Kuroko who was concerned she had been hurt in
the downpour of glass. She entered the bathroom, leaned her back against the door, and
took deep breaths to restrain the chaos in her mind.
But it was no use.
It did not seem to work in the slightest.
For one, she could not keep up the deep breathing. She could only manage the shallow
panting of a stray dog.
This was not caused by the abnormal strength of the Magic God known as the High Priest,
by the scale of him coming back with the Arrowhead Comet after being ejected into space,
by the single strike from the surface that had intercepted the falling object, or by the flash
of light and shockwave that had covered the entire city.
This was something much closer to her.
And more importantly, something much further away.
(What…was that?)
At the very end, she had heard a sound from the boy who was leaning on her shoulder.
(What in the world was that?)
There should not have been anything they could have done.

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There was no way she could have used her power as the #3 to intercept that one hundred
meter comet approaching at max speed. That boy seemed to have something sleeping
inside him that could endure even her power, but it should not have been able to do
anything there.
It should not have been able to.
But in that final moment, the boy had held his palm up toward the comet as if to oppose
it.
She had heard a sound like cracking plastic coming from his arm.
What if?
What if Academy City had done nothing and time had simply been allowed to pass? What
would have happened then?
How would that boy’s right hand have changed and what would it have caused?
“He’s so…”
With her back still against the door, Mikoto looked down at her hands.
She had seen glimpses of it.
For example, that incident during the Daihaseisai. For example, the driving force that led
him to face the source of World War III all alone. For example, for example, for example,
for example.
But…
Her power, her value, and her existence had been entirely rejected by the High Priest and
then later reaffirmed by Kamijou Touma.
She thought about all of that.
Her heart had been repeatedly torn into. She would not have been able to stand up had
she been alone. She had only been able to return to her dorm room and she had only been
able to remain the Ace of Tokiwadai and Academy City’s #3 because of that boy.
But at the same time, something had ripped her heart apart and left deep claw marks
there.
Finally, she covered her face with her hands, bit her hidden lips, and forced out a
suppressed yet definite voice.
“He’s so far away!!!!!”

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AFTERWORD

If you bought each volume one by one, welcome back. If you bought them all at once,
welcome.
This is Kamachi Kazuma.
Instead of someone tricky like St. Germain, this was a direct battle with the High Priest,
a true Magic God. It doesn’t matter if he’s weakened and brought down to a trillionth of
his power. I wrote the manuscript while aiming for a battle that overwhelms Kamijou
from beginning to end.
I also explained why the Magic Gods of the true Gremlin were focused on Kamijou and
what their goal was. In New Testament Volume 12, St. Germain said the Magic Gods
envied Othinus, but that answer was fully revealed this time.
If a magician is created to grant some wish, then a Magic God is what remains after the
wish is granted.
If their magic name were entirely fulfilled, what would remain for them?
I moved this story along while thinking about that.
Also, Misaka Mikoto was an important part of this story.
She’s been with us since the very first volume, a lot of information has been presented
along the way, and she has accumulated a number of emotions. Sometimes she is
becoming aware of her romantic feelings, sometimes she is feeling the shock of being
pushed away, and in New Testament 10, she gave Kamijou a pat on the back to see him
on his way. But “right now”, what is she thinking, what is she worrying about, and what
is she trying to overcome? My answer to that is Misaka Mikoto’s troubles here in New
Testament 13.
How far can the title of Academy City’s #3 take her?
Has she perhaps fallen behind?
When words like magician and even Magic God are being used like normal, wouldn’t she
feel the fear of possibly being left behind and not being able to walk alongside the person
she longs for (and had thought she was courageously seeing on his way)?

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And now that the hurdle had been set up, how will she overcome it? There are a number
of options there. She could make sure Kamijou can do his best by giving him an everyday
life to return to. She could decide everyone has fields they excel in and therefore support
him only in the areas where her skills lie.
But given Mikoto’s nature, I want her to keep at it from head on. I want her to keep
running after Kamijou’s back no matter how hopeless or reckless it seems.
It was those feelings that guided the direction of the story here. How did you like it?
I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and to my editors Miki-san, Onodera-san,
and Anana-san. The key to this one was to see how much of a monster we could make the
High Priest, so that probably put an even larger portion of the burden on the illustrations
than usual. Thank you so much for sticking with me even when I made you go to all that
effort.
I also give my thanks to the readers. I think a battle with a Magic God is less about a
comparison of strength and more about seeing how insane they are, but what did you
think? I’ll be glad as long as you felt like you really didn’t want to fight someone like that.
It is time to close the pages for now while praying that the pages of the next book will be
opened.
And I lay my pen down for now
Raise your hand if you thought the fight against the Magic Gods would continue a lot
longer than this!
-Kamachi Kazuma

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