Chapter 319: The Great Daihasei Festival Begins
"George, I need a favor from you."
Inside the hall, Aleister, suspended upside down within the life-support system, smiled as he spoke to George.
George waved his hand dismissively:
"No need to be so polite. You've taught me well during this time, so naturally, I'll fulfill my duties. Just tell me what to do, and the dangers and details involved."
"The Academy City is about to host the Daihasei Festival. Two scheming magicians will secretly infiltrate during the event. One of them is even a high-ranking member of the Roman Catholic Church.
It seems they want to use the occasion to trade a spiritual item called the Stab Sword.
Laura Stuart, the Archbishop of Necessarius, fears that the Roman Catholic Church intends to use this item — which can kill Saints — against them.
So she wants our help to stop this transaction."
Aleister explained the background of the event.
He originally had no intention of interfering in matters between the Roman Catholic Church and Necessarius. To him, all magicians in the world were enemies — his goal was to create a world without magic.
However, since he was officially cooperating with Necessarius at the moment, it wouldn't look good to refuse.
Besides, this was a good opportunity to train Kamijou Touma, so he agreed.
"So you need me to kill those two magicians?"
A trace of interest appeared on George's face.
Lately, he had been studying magic related to the creation of spiritual items, so he was well aware of the Stab Sword — a top-tier spiritual item.
The so-called Stab Sword was essentially modeled after the famous Spear of Longinus — the lance that pierced Jesus — and thus had special effects against Saints in this world.
As long as the target was seen, regardless of distance, this item could be used to kill a Saint. However, it only worked on Saints and had no effect on others.
Hence, it was also known as the most evil spiritual item.
It was said to have been lost long ago.
In this world, "Saint" was not a magic-user rank, but a specific term referring to those who had inherited the power of the Son of God, like Jesus.
Naturally, Saints were among the most powerful beings on the planet — comparable to nuclear weapons on the magical side — and a single Saint could conquer a fully armed modern city.
They possessed physical traits similar to the Son of God, could use parts of His power, had immensely strong bodies, could move faster than the speed of sound, were unmatched in close combat, and wielded vast magical power, making their magic far superior to that of normal magicians.
Currently, there were fewer than twenty Saints in the entire world.
If the Roman Catholic Church obtained a spiritual item like the Stab Sword — specifically designed to kill Saints — Necessarius's Saints would be in grave danger.
"No need. A student from our Academy City will team up with a magician from Necessarius to stop the trade. Your role is a backup — if they fail, then you step in."
Aleister smiled.
In fact, if it were merely about trading the Stab Sword, it wouldn't be much of a concern. That thing only worked on Saints and had no effect on Espers.
So even if the trade succeeded, Necessarius would be the one to suffer — it wouldn't affect his plans.
What he worried about was whether the Roman Catholic Church had come to Academy City solely for the Stab Sword... or if they had a bigger plot in mind.
Just to be safe, he decided to have George in place — in case something really happened and he couldn't act or didn't have time to call for reinforcements, George's power from that day would be more than enough.
"No problem. What are the names of the two magicians?"
George nodded. It didn't seem very dangerous.
"Lidvia Lorenzetti and Orsola Aquinas.
Lidvia Lorenzetti is a devout Roman Catholic from Vatican's clergy and holds a high-ranking position in the Roman Catholic Church. She is the buyer of the Stab Sword.
Orsola Aquinas is a well-known freelance courier in the magical world, skilled in tracking and counter-tracking magic. She's the delivery person.
But you don't have to worry about tracking them. Once they enter Academy City, they'll be under my surveillance. I'll inform you immediately."
Aleister explained.
"Alright, that makes things easier."
George nodded.
Aleister's floating-line information system had 50 million nano-sized mechanical monitors distributed across every corner of Academy City.
Nothing that happened in the city could escape his notice.
On the day of the Daihasei Festival, George, wearing an earpiece, flew out of a windowless building.
The earpiece was connected to Aleister, who would notify him the moment the magicians from the Roman Catholic Church and the one transporting the Stab Sword entered Academy City.
At that point, Kamijou Touma — representing Academy City — and the magician from Necessarius would join forces to stop them. If they failed, George would act.
He had met Kamijou Touma before. He wasn't one of Academy City's Level 5 Espers — in fact, he was a Level 0 Esper — but his right hand had the ability to cancel any magic or supernatural power.
"Quite lively!"
Walking through the streets of Academy City, George saw nearly all the students, dressed in their respective school uniforms, out on the streets.
There were also many outsiders, along with food stalls and snack carts lining the roads.
The Daihasei Festival was a large-scale, week-long sports festival held jointly by all the schools in Academy City each year. With over 1.8 million participants, it was one of the few times the city was open to the outside world.
In other words, during these seven days, even non-residents could enter and tour Academy City.
So many parents used the occasion to visit their children.
All participating students competed by school, and all events were based on contests between Espers.
There was also full television coverage broadcast globally.
Though the competitions were ordinary athletic events, the permitted use of superpowers (within limits to avoid endangering spectators — ironically, high-level Espers often couldn't use their powers freely) turned it into a dazzling superpower showdown.
According to Aleister, the purpose of this was twofold: to showcase the power of Espers so the magical-side churches wouldn't act rashly, and to attract talent.
"The two magicians haven't arrived yet. You can go have a look around. The Daihasei Festival here is quite fun.
Or maybe go find your friends — I noticed you got along well with Misaka Mikoto and the others."
Aleister's voice came through the earpiece. George nodded:
"Alright, just notify me when they arrive."
He knew Aleister wanted him to interact more with Academy City's students and ideally build strong friendships with them, so he would be less likely to betray the city and join the magical side.
(End of Chapter)