255. Fuwa Aika vs Kanzaki Kaori; Reason Behind Index Memory Erasure Revealed.

After Aika and Kaori agreed to his proposal, later on, everyone moved out together. Kaito then asked Manaka for help in creating a vast reality marble so they could fight freely.

Returning to the location of District 17, where Misaka and Accelerator fought, Manaka then released a reality marble similar to Shirou's Unlimited Blade Works.

The second it activates, surrounded area quickly changes from a modern city landscape into golden grassland with sunset orange sky that looks very panoramic... which shocked Kanzaki, Styl, and Touma, who also followed them into Reality Marble. Of course, this creation was assisted by a chat group system that helped hide their existence from the magic god because the reality marble itself is magic that affects reality and space in the world.

Aleister also helped them, controlling the city system to make sure that no one would get close to the area where their battle going to happen (although he's also watching directly).

...

"What kind of magic... is this?!" Styl muttered in shock after witnessing this miracle, "The space in reality was overriden and expanded?"

"Indeed." Kaori nodded in agreement, also amazed by the reality marble that, in his opinion, should be close to a magic god domain, "Reality Marble magic... as expected, none of the number 1 Esper partners were simple."

"What a terrifying magic."

Kaori solemnly looked at Aika, "Are you also capable of doing this magic?"

"No, no, I am far from Manaka, and this magic is kinda unique to her identity. She's literal one man army among our group and in some aspects even stronger than our leader." Aika shook her head, "Meanwhile, I am just like the second weakest among the group since I usually stay in the base and act like brain of the group."

"Second weakest... I see." Kaori sighed in relief, but then got curious, "Then, can you tell me why you want to challenge me? Your real reason."

"To see how far I am from a saint like you." Aika simply answered, "We are not going to fight for death, but I hope you take me seriously."

"Naturally."

As one of the good natured saint, Kanzaki Kaori likes fairness and actually respects Aika for her wish to fight. Compared to the complete fallout with number 1 Esper, these conditions were much better and less destructive in nature.

After saying that, both Kanzaki Kaori and Aika unsheathed their weapon and then rushed toward each other at the same time...

*Clank*

...!!!

Aika's first attack was a swift slash from above her left shoulder, but Kaori easily parried it from the lower right side.

*Clank*

Kaori then countered by pulling back her arm and stabbing, which, in response, Aika also easily deflected to the side, shifting the saint's balance temporarily.

*Clank*

Seeing this opportunity, Aika also launched a slash from below, but Kaori was unfortunately far faster than her and parried it.

All of this exchange happened in a matter of seconds... showing how intense their fight has become.

*Clank* *Clank* *Clank* *Clank*

Just in a minute of confrontation, both of them already trade hundreds of slashes back to back, which causes a mini shockwave to surround the area all the time.

None of them was back down either, and they were relentlessly pursuing each other.

The fight continues for several minutes inside the reality marble... as both of them entering the stalemate. Kanzaki Kaori uses Amakusa Style swordmanship to the fullest, while Aika exerts a mixed swordmanship of west and east that she learn directly from Arturia and Miya to fight her back.

*Clank* *Clank* *Clank* *Clank*

Stabs, cuts, and attacks from below, both of them kept moving back and forth towards each other, which caused them to keep moving around.

Anything unlucky enough to cross near them would get slashed, but fortunately, everything is still contained within the reality marble. None of them is unscathed; both Kaori and Aika pretty much bleed on some part of their body, albeit it's just a shallow wound inflicted by each other.

*Clank* *Clank* *Clank*

...

"What an amazing fight." Touma reacted, "I don't know what happened because they are moving too fast, but I hope Aika will win."

"I admit my lover has grown so much, but she's actually losing right now." Kaito wryly smiled, proud but also helpless with his first official lover strength, "She simply couldn't keep up in physical strength."

"Eh? Really?"

"Indeed. Aika-san got stronger, but her opponent's physical strength is even stronger." Sakuya nods in agreement, "Unless she uses some props or trick, I doubt Aika-san can defeat the saint."

Styl also nodded and then commented, "However, managing to keep up with Kaori-san in a pure swordmanship duel is an amazing feat. You need to know that all saint has monstrous physical strength, yet that woman can keep up with her in a stalemate for a while."

...

At first glance, the two seem evenly matched, but the audience and Aika herself know that she is at a big disadvantage the longer the fight goes on.

So far, Kanzaki Kaori has only used Strengthen Magic and Saint's physical strength, while Aika has used Exodus Strengthen Magic and two types of Haki just to keep up with her opponent.

Even so, Kaito was proud and relieved of his lover's progress. Aika should belong to the 5* strength realm right now just from swordmanship alone, and definitely belongs to the top 10 members in the chat group. Even Kaito couldn't say he could defeat his lover when it came to swordmanship alone.

*Dash*

Sure enough, not long after their talk... Aika is the first one to run out of breath and decide to retreat temporarily. Noticing Aika's weakened condition, Kanzaki Kaori also retreated to give her opponent a chance to breathe.

"Huft... huft... huft..."

Despite only competing in pure swordmanship, Kanzaki Kaori grew a respect toward Aika during their fight, who managed to keep up with her in full strength (besides stigma release), and she even had a chance to learn an ability from her.

"You are amazing, Miss Fuwa Aika." Kanzaki Kaori sincerely praised her, "Outside of a fellow saint, you are the first opponent that able to keep up with me for so long."

Hearing her praise, Aika didn't feel happy in the slightest and complained, "What a monster you are, Kanzaki Kaori. You even learn armament haki during our fight."

Kaori just smiled, but then her nodachi turned black to show she indeed had figured out Aika's technique, "Ability to imbue willpower to physical strength. A very good ability."

Along the way in their fight, Kaori even figured out how armament haki works, putting Aika at a more disadvantageous situation during the fight. Aika wasn't surprised, though, since Esdeath managed to figure out Haki on her own; a monstrous saint who can fight against an angel like Kaori could replicate such a feat easily.

...

"If we... continue our fight this way, I-I will definitely lose." Aika said while trying to keep her breath steady, "So, let's end our fight with our strongest move."

"I agree." Kaori nods in agreement, "It's fine for me."

After reaching an agreement, the two took a step back simultaneously... preparing the decisive attack for this brief duel.

While not activating her saint stigma, Kanzaki Kaori prepared multiple strengthening buffs for herself. On top of that, she also started laying steel wire around, preparation to use her signature technique seriously, as she respected Aika as an opponent.

Meanwhile, Aika also responded seriously, transforming her katana into her familiar Exodus Greatsword form that boosts the most output among other custom forms. This was the 'sword form' used by the next generation of Exodus magicians to slash the Genesis Tree... and naturally, the strongest form no doubt.

*DASH*

As they stare and nod at each other, both of them rush toward each other with the strongest move they could make. Kanzaki Kaori unleashes her signature main attack, which is the highest respect she could give to Aika.

[Nanasen!]

Using the physical strength of the saint and the prepared 7 wires earlier, Kanzaki Kaori 'split' those wires into thousands to surround and cut the enemy with a very dense slashing attack. Seeing this, Aika didn't falter; she increased the output of her magic to the point she felt like burning herself.

"I don't have a name habit for skill, but [Exodus Slash!]."

...!!

Unlike sophiscated attack like Kaori, Aika simply releases maximum output of magical energy through her greatsword to her enemy. Despite the simplicity, this attack couldn't be underestimated. Exodus magic is the magic that can be used to cut down the divine tree, Genesis that trying to absorb the planet. In maximum output, it is definitely able to sink an island at a minimum!

When both forces meet, it creates a surreal scenery where Aika and Kaori's magic clash with each other in equal forces... shaking the whole reality marble despite being strengthened by Manaka herself.

*RINGG*

....!!

Unfortunately, after a few seconds of stalemate, Aika is losing the clash due to her primary weakness, her physical strength. Aika simply couldn't keep up with Kaori's magic and physical strength output, as she's already released magic power beyond her limit. Then, the whole thing exploded toward Aika's side, causing her body to be blasted away simply by the inertia of energy... leaving her gravely injured in the process.

*BOOM*

...!!!

""Aika!/Aika-san!""

In the end, Aika lost her consciousness in the confrontation, but fortunately, Kaito hurriedly caught her in the blast and even blocked the rest of Kanzaki Kaori's stray attack. Ravel also hurriedly activated her sacred gear to heal Aika, and feed her Phoenix Tear... stabilize Aika's condition.

Meanwhile, Kanzaki Kaori just watches the whole process, doesn't feel happy at all, and even feels apologetic to her opponent. She might be winning, but her situation isn't good either. That final confrontation also injured her, albeit none of them were fatal... while she's almost killing Aika.

>>>>>

After Aika was rescued from the aftermath, Sakuya and Ravel brought her back to their apartment, leaving Manaka, Kaito, and Touma facing them alone.

Manaka has also released the reality marble, although there's still nobody around since Stiyl's rune magic to disperse civilians is still in effect.

"We won. Now give us Index-san." Stiyl stated, "You guys are losing."

"Don't give them Index, Kaito!" Touma resisted, taking a step retreat with Index was carried with his back.

"Of course I won't."  Kaito shook his head and stared at Kaori, "My only promise is to let you guys go... and since you win, we will solve the Index situation so she wouldn't need to go back to the church at all."

"You broke your promise?" Kaori's face quickly became ugly.

Although her stamina doesn't seem to be consumed much against Aika, she still doesn't want to fight Kaito. She can tell that Kaito is whole different level than Aika, and something within Kaito even inflicted intense pain on her saint stigmata. Therefore, anything hidden inside Kaito would be dangerous enough to kill her at full power!

But remembering Index's situation, Kaori was also truly afraid that they would be too late to save her, resulting in unintended consequences.

*Sigh*

"I am not. I can show you the record that I just promised to let you go, not let Index go." Kaito scoffed and declared arrogantly, "Kanzaki Kaori... Do you really want to fight me?"

...?!?!

At that moment, Kaito released his full momentum (mana and haki) toward her, and Kanzaki Kaori felt genuine fear toward the man in front of her.

Current Kaito was stronger than Kaito before entering this world... he's almost reaching 7* after exploring more deeply about the concept of creation ability after getting a clue from the system.

After figuring out his creation's extended capability with the help of an Academy City scientist, the current Kaito could create "conceptual matter" to help him, not only physical matter anymore. For example, he could create elements, such as fire, water, or wind, around him instantly as a means of defense or attack.

With the help of system information, he could even rub a mini black hole or extend space around him like Gojo in Jujutsu Kaisen, albeit with much weaker proficiency. And if necessary, Kaito could even extend the Imagine Breaker effect to the area around him simply by making an energy medium connected to his soul, making him completely immune to any magic attack below conceptual attack from any angle, similar to the Oath of Judas weapon in Honkai Impact 3.

"We give up." Kaori said decisively and asked, "But how do you plan to save Index from her situation? According to the church, Index need to be reset as soon as possible, otherwise she would die from being overloaded with memory."

"Pffft... all of you should read more books." Manaka teased, "There's no such thing as being overloaded with memory. The human brain is amazing, you know. We can contain 140 years of memory without any trouble whatsoever."

???

"But it was a mission given by the archbishop..."

"That's right." Kaito nods in agreement and adds, "Your archbishop must have fooled you guys." 

?!?!

""What?"" (Touma/Styl/Kaori)

Like in the original, Kaito and Manaka later explain how they were deceived by their archbishop church of England, Laura Stuart, regarding Index's situation... and explain that the human brain has extraordinary capabilities and does not require annual memory erasure.

Kaito also explained that it must be a conspiracy, as the Necessarius church's main goal was to make the grimoires harder to access, as well as because of their fear of Index betraying them... they also make her unable to access her mana. This is also the reason behind Index, who can't use magic, despite having 103.000 magic books in her head.

After that, like in the original,  the situation developed the same; Kaori and Styl refuse to believe the truth at first and choose to find out the truth on their own. Kaito and others naturally has expected it, hence he let them go and told them to visit their apartment if they agreed to let them save Index from the church.