A Scientific Urban Detective

As golden light blazed in the corridor, the flames ignited by Stiyl gradually extinguished, and the "King of Witch Hunters" quickly vanished into thin air.

The previously favorable situation took a sharp turn for the worse. Touma Kamijou couldn't help but swallow hard, clenching his right fist in preparation.

"Stiyl, for the sake of Index, I'll let you off," Aureolus said. "Leave this place, and I'll forgive the losses you've caused me."

"Ha!" Stiyl scoffed. "Are we just meeting for the first time? How can you say such foolish things! Without completing the mission, Necessarius will never leave!"

"Is that so? That's truly regrettable," Aureolus shrugged helplessly. "I need to retrieve Index and don't have time to waste with you, so…"

Aureolus raised his hand and pointed at Stiyl: "Heart stop beating, die!"

Stiyl was about to retort, but immediately clutched his heart, his face pale, only able to utter fragmented, incoherent sounds.

——What is this? A curse?

Touma immediately noticed his companion's abnormality. Because it was a battle between magicians, it was reasonable for anything strange to happen.

Touma was mentally prepared, so he decisively pounced forward, right hand clenched into a fist, and slammed it into Stiyl's back.

Thump!

The heart resumed beating.

Stiyl immediately took a deep breath, as if someone who had been suffocating had finally caught their breath.

Without time to feel grateful for surviving, Stiyl immediately summoned a flame sword and slashed at the enemy.

Stiyl's "resurrection" took Aureolus by surprise, causing him to be a half-beat slow. Although he dodged the flame sword's strike, a scorched mark was burned into the suit on his chest.

"Who is this guy? An esper?" Aureolus finally took Touma seriously.

"Coincidentally," Stiyl grinned, "this guy is Index's current guardian."

"You actually entrusted Index to someone from this city?" Aureolus said coldly. "Then, die together!"

"I won't let you get away with it!" Touma waved his right hand again, dispelling the enemy's curse.

This time, it was his turn to take the lead.

"Another one in a wheelchair…" Seeming to recall some unpleasant memories, Aureolus's expression became even uglier.

He took out a new silver needle and stuck it into the acupoint at the back of his neck: "It doesn't matter, espers are all the same…"

"Hahahaha!" Stiyl burst into laughter upon seeing this. "Just as Lin Wuming said, Touma Kamijou, just follow the planned course of action."

Stiyl became increasingly arrogant, his tone full of disdain: "Let's make this quick, we still need to save someone. We don't have time to waste on this guy."

"Huh? Oh!" Touma also immediately thought of something, revealing a look of sudden understanding. "But will it really go so smoothly?"

"Don't worry, you've seen it yourself, this guy is just a coward who needs to rely on acupuncture to anesthetize himself."

Although Stiyl said he wanted to make it quick, he was actually very patiently chatting with Touma.

"His 'magic' doesn't work on your right hand," Stiyl said. "Once his silver needles run out, he's done for!"

"What nonsense, my silver needles…" Aureolus couldn't help but glance at the needle case in his hand, his face suddenly turning pale.

He realized that from the moment he wavered and wanted to confirm the number of silver needles, the situation had become terrible!

——I must forget these distracting thoughts!

Aureolus took out another silver needle, preparing to stick it into a specific acupoint.

But this action was stopped by a flame sword being swung at him.

"Don't forget about us, Aureolus, we're still in the middle of a fight!"

Aureolus's mind became increasingly chaotic——I must stop him!

Retreat first, regroup in a safe place and come back…

No, clearly I have the advantage right now, why should I run?

Do I really have the advantage? My biggest flaw has already been seen through!

No, this isn't a flaw, my 'Ars Magna' is flawless!

But without these silver needles…

Calm down, calm down! Quickly calm down! Staying calm is the only way to maintain the 'Ars Magna'!

Retreat, return to a safe place, calm down first, then seal this memory, then I'll still be invincible…

"Hey, how can you be spacing out during a fight?" Stiyl's voice startled him awake.

Aureolus came back to his senses and suddenly realized that Stiyl's wheelchair-bound partner was gone!

Touma Kamijou's original figure transformed into an illusion, dissipating into the air.

And he himself had quietly approached Aureolus's side.

"I don't know what to do, but anyway, let's punch him first!" Touma endured the pain in his feet, suddenly stood up, and swung his fist at the enemy's face!

"No, block him!" Aureolus shouted.

An invisible barrier appeared in front of Touma Kamijou, but its performance against "Imagine Breaker" was comparable to air.

Touma did feel a slightly stronger air resistance, but then he effortlessly sent his fist through.

Pfft!

The familiar feeling and feedback force, Touma didn't know how many people he had beaten up with this right hand, so he knew very well——this punch, hit hard!

"Got him!" Touma clenched his fist and cheered, completely unconcerned that he had also fallen to the ground because he couldn't stand.

Immediately afterwards, with a bang, a fireball flew past Touma's scalp.

Smashing the needle case that had fallen from Aureolus's hand.

"Stiyl! Are you trying to kill me!" Touma turned his head and glared angrily.

"We're in the middle of a fight right now, don't be so delicate," Stiyl strode over. "Instead of complaining, you should punch him a few more times… although I think this guy has already lost his fighting ability."

"Damn it…" Aureolus struggled to stand up.

Various supernatural phenomena crackled and flashed around him——electric light, sparks, and even black lines that seemed to be spatial cracks…

But Touma, who was close at hand, didn't feel the slightest threat, but instead saw more clearly——this guy, was already "broken".

"You think…" Aureolus suddenly sprang up from the ground in a strange posture, glaring at Stiyl who was gradually approaching, while carefully searching the ground, trying to find a silver needle that could still be used…

"You think…" After searching in vain, and confirming that there were no silver needles to use, Aureolus actually grinned, "That I'm done for just because you destroyed my treatment needles?"

As he said that, Aureolus's fingernails instantly lengthened, and the ends became sharp like steel needles.

"Touma Kamijou!" Stiyl's heart tightened, and without caring about anything else, he immediately pounced over.

Upon seeing this, Touma didn't care about anything else either and pounced up together.