This work is based (mostly) on the work of Kazuma Kamachi and other writers. A translation from Baka Tsuki was used in its creation and I claim no ownership over their work. Please Read, Review, and Enjoy.

It was a dark, windowless room, completely devoid of what one would call natural light. It was a room that was completely isolated from the outside world, with no way to enter or exit the room except via a certain level 4 esper's teleportation ability.

The building that contained said room was an ominous looking tower made up of materials that have been known to deflect impacts from tactical railguns and could even survive the force nuclear fallout if needed.

It could have been said that this room was the most impenetrable of fortresses known to the general populace of mankind.

"… This is quite a gloomy place you have here… You know that right?"

It was in such a room that the female magician known as Styx Magnus found herself.

Styx was a fourteen year old who was well-versed in the art of runic magic and possessed an affinity for fire magic. She had blood red hair that fell down her back in an untamed fashion, with piercings on her ears and several pieces over her face. She wore an incomplete all black nun's habit with numerous pockets, both seen and hidden to the eye.

Styx looked around the room with a critical eye before she sighed.

God… Why do I have to be here? If I had known that I was going to be dragged back here, I would have prepared first. Those idiots had me go all the way back home the long way and then turned me around to send me right back here.

Styx was currently a member of a magic organization known as "Necessarius", The Church of Necessary Evil. The magic organization was a branch organization connected secretly to the Church of England, and was responsible for the containment of magic threats against England.

The reason she was so irritated about her presence, not only in the room where she found herself, but also in the city in which the building that contained the room was contained, was because the city was Academy City. Academy City was a city that was based entirely on a foundation of science, and rejected the very idea of the existence of the supernatural and, by extension, magic.

Styx's presence in this city was akin to having a fantasy book on the same shelf as a book explaining the in depth complexities of quantum physics. To Styx, who had spent most of her life amongst magic, the feeling of being in a place where by rights she should not exist was one that felt utterly unnatural to her.

Styx sighed again and reached up to rub the back of her head.

Why am I even here? Representative my ass, I can barely keep myself from shivering here. I might be a cold hearted bitch that can kill a person in a moment's notice, but still…

Styx looked infront of herself with a stony expression, but she could not still her heart as it skipped a beat.

The area before her was so large that Styx found it hard to describe it as an in-door area. There were supposedly no normal lighting fixtures within it, but the room was somehow being lit from the numerous flashing screens and buttons from the machinery all over the room. Thousands of flashing electrical cables and glowing tubes of liquid were gathering toward the center of the room like blood vessels racing towards the heart of a body.

And the 'heart' in this case was an enormous glowing cylinder that stood in the exact center of the room.

It was a cylinder that was four meters in diameter and just over ten meters in height. It was supposedly made of a special reinforced glass that would not shatter under any condition and filled with a strange red liquid.

Supposedly, the color of the liquid was supposed to be that of a weakly alkaline recovery fluid, but to a magician like Styx, whose area of expertise did not include the science behind such things, it looked disturbingly like blood.

Inside the cylindrical tube of blood red liquid, a human wearing a green surgical cloak floated upside down with a smile.

There was no word beside "human" that Styx could have used to describe the human that was in that tube. They were a silver-haired "human" that appeared to be a beautiful woman but also somewhat masculine; like an adult but also somewhat childlike; like a holy saint but also the most depraved criminal.

Styx briefly wondered if the human in front of her had simply obtained all of the possibilities that a human could be, or had they given up on all those possibilities in an attempt to obtain something more?

Regardless of how I think of it, this thing can only be a "human".

"All those who have come here before you and have observed my form have each come up with an explanation similar to yours, so it is not something you need to spend too much time thinking upon."

The "human" in the cylinder spoke as if they had read Styx's mind with a knowing smile on their face. Styx clicked her tongue in annoyance, but said or thought nothing about it as the "human" in front of her chuckle in amusement.

"Now then… I suppose you'd want to know why I called you here then..."

The General Director of Academy City, the "human" named Aleistera, spoke with a stern tone that was filled with a lightheartedness that threw Styx off whenever she heard it. A

"There is a… situation that has arisen within my city that has become too… complicated for me to act freely in."

A bead of sweat formed on Styx's brow as the gaze of the General Director fell upon her. Still remaining stony faced, the magician took a deep breath before sighing.

"…This is regarding the power known as Gray Matter, if I am correct in guessing?"

Gray Matter: The Source and Destroyer of Darkness.

It was a name Styx had heard before but had never grown familiar with. It was not due to a lack of interest in the name but rather due to both a lack of information about said name, and a greater interest in the context the name had been used. Due to both of these factors, Styx could only assume that this power was great one, akin to a primal force of nature.

And now that same power had somehow found its way into the hands of a magician like her.

Aleistera, in the meanwhile, nodded their head, which was a bit disorientating for Styx who was right side up compared to Aleistera's upside down

"This situation wouldn't have been a problem for me at all if it were an esper-only issue, because it would be one of the espers that I 'owned', so to speak. As long as it's a citizen of this city that creates a commotion in it, there would be at least 70,632 ways to handle it and clean up..."

… Not giving a concrete answer I see.

Styx felt no emotion invoked from by the "human's" the explanation. She was utterly uninterested in any form of Academy City procedure and was only listening so as not to appear rude.

The human did not seem to notice Styx's disinterest, yet changed the subject anyway.

"Now then… the situation that I am referring to started out within the realm at which I could deal with it by simply sending in one or two of my 2.3 million espers in to resolve it. I chose not to do so simply because I felt that it was not a considerable threat on day to day life in the city."

"… And that changed."

The human in the cylinder smiled knowingly at Styx as the magician finished their thought.

"The complication in the situation arose when a magician decided to interfere where they need not be. This has caused the situation to become one where I cannot act freely."

The human made a slight gesture as if to demonstrate their annoyance.

"It would be easy to send in my espers to simply crush the magician and resolve the situation, but that would only lead to complications regarding the order that Science and Magic are currently maintaining."

An inhuman smile crossed the human's face, and Styx could not help but feel that it fit the human all too well.

"Because… Esper's defeating mages would mean that Science can fight against Magic."

Styx silently frowned and tried her best to not focus on the human form in front of her.

The two worlds, both the one of Science and the one of Magic, had spheres of influence that they strictly adhered to. Regardless of whether it was called "ESP" or "Magic" it was because both sides agreed not to study or interfere with each other so as to maintain the stability of the world around them and not be at each other's throat at a regular basis.

So if Academy City, the bastion of science, took action against any magician, the Magic side would not remain silent, regardless of whether or not the magician was in good standing with the magic side or not.

Any form of Science interacting with Magic could lead to some sort of discovery that would render either side weaker as a result.

It was like having one country defeat a rouge agent from another, and due to the encounter, said country would be able to learn secrets about the other. It would be indirect espionage.

… That is all well and good, but where does that leave me?

Two weeks ago, Styx had entered Academy City, unannounced to the powers that be within the city, and had an encounter with an esper that ended with her complete and utter defeat. From the explanation that the human had given, there should have been some sort of repercussion due because of that, yet Styx had seen no sign of such a thing happening.

From the time she had left this city two weeks ago, Styx had worried that because of her stupidity both the world of Science and the world of Magic would be going to war with each other, but her fears had yet to be answered.

So all the red haired magician could do was sigh in annoyance.

As long as I beat the fool who came here, the Magic side should be satisfied enough to overlook what I did before. That just means that I have to beat that fool.

As if on some kind of unseen cue, the human known as Aleistera smiled and waved their hand in front of themselves is a sort of summoning motion.

"Just to make sure you do not die due to not understanding the 'battlefield', how about some information about the building where the magician is holed up in?"

Suddenly, as if to display the technological capacity of the room, several holographic displays appeared in front of Styx, each sporting computer like graphics that showed various images and documents. All of the images and documents seemed to be related to each other, and one of the screens caught the magician's attention.

The image displayed a building that looked as if it belonged in Academy City, and in a caption underneath the picture, the words 'Misawa Cram School' were set in plain black font.

The human named Aleistera gestured with an open hand at the holographic images that swirled around Styx.

"Now then… Amongst those images that you see, you will find everything that could help you with this 'battle'. There are the initial blueprints that we have had on file since the creation of the building, various satellite images we have taken over the years, as well as several street level images. There has been an extensive analysis of the interior of the building since the situation has escalated, but due to our incompatibility with magic, we have no idea as to what sort of magic you should be expecting."

… Look down on me more why don't you?

Sighing in annoyance again, Styx began to look over the data provided. She noted many of the strange events that concluded with the appearance of the magician, most of all the events related to the power known as Gray Matter. She even clicked her tongue when she saw one of the images relating to it.

"So… It really is here, isn't it?"

Aleistera chuckled in a playful way.

"Are you speaking of the Gray Matter? Yes it has been confirmed to me by several sources that the true Gray Matter is indeed here, and it is somehow related to what is going on in Misawa Cram School."

Styx stared at the image which she had clicked her tongue at for several more seconds before sighing.

So if Gray Matter is somehow related to what is going on within Misawa Cram School, then there is a good chance that those things are involved as well. Those-…

"Akuma… right?"

Styx's eyes shot up to the encased human, who was smiling in a contented manner.

"Because of the power Gray Matter possesses, it is forever tied to those poor creatures, though few would actually feel such sympathy for them. It follows simple logic that the appearance of Gray Matter means the appearance of Akuma."

"…Che!"

Styx looked back at the screens in front of her after she clicked her tongue, her mind racing in a mixture of fear and anger.

What in the world am I supposed to do about this?! If those things are actually there, I will barely have a chance. I can kill two or three of those things if I focused on it, but if there are any more than that… I won't be able to do this-…

"Before you give into panic, Miss Representative, I would like to inform you that you will not need to fight alone."

Again Styx's eyes locked gazes with those of the human in cylinder.

H-How can they-…?

"Read your mind? I would love to say it is a trade secret, but the reason is that your face is just too easy to read."

Styx grimaced at the insult the human sighed out, but did nothing else in response to it. Instead, she gestured an open hand at the human in the cylinder.

"You were saying something about me not needing to fight alone?"

The human began to smile slyly again as she nodded.

"Ah, yes. I hope it calms you that there are currently two individuals in the city currently that can assist you in attacking Misawa Cram School and the magician within. The first of the two is another member of your magic side."

Styx raised a perplexed eyebrow.

"Another magician? I thought I was the only representative of the Magic side that was assigned to this situation. I came here not only with orders from my organization, but also the blessing of the Roman Catholic Church. Why would they do that and just send another person as well?"

The human in the cylinder shrugged in the face of Styx's question.

"I am not indulged with the specifics of Magic politics, but to me, it seems that you are the official representative on which all the blame is placed, and the other is the unofficial representative, who does all that work."

Styx clicked her tongue in annoyance yet again.

Well I hope that this bastard is at least useful. If not, he'll just be getting in my way.

Styx looked up at the human in the cylinder.

"So… that's one possible helper. Who's the other?"

The human in the cylinder again gave an inhuman smile that did not look out of place on their face.

"Well… I doubt a proper explanation of them is moot, seeing as the two of you are already acquainted."

Styx briefly raised a perplexed eyebrow, but her entire body froze as she caught on to what the human was talking about. A spot in the back of her head and the entire right side of her face began to throb in a dull memory of pain. The magician clenched her hands into fists and bit her lower lip.

"No…"

The human in the cylinder tilted their head to the side, the inhuman smile still on her face.

"No? No what? No you will not use her to fight? Wouldn't that be such a waste though? Such a convenient power is yours to use, yet you don't want to use it? What problems do you have with making your life easier?"

Styx looked up at the human in the cylinder, her annoyed state clear in her eyes.

"What problems do I have? Isn't that obvious? You just explained one of the biggest problems with using her to fight the magician. If I were to use one of your espers to help in defeating a magician, wouldn't that defeat the purpose in my coming here to this city in order to prevent an encounter between science and magic?"

The human in the cylinder chuckled.

"Well I am perfectly fine with that girl encountering magic, as I'm sure you already know. I allowed for her to encounter you two weeks ago, after all, and I'm also allowing for that boy to stay with her as well. If I had a problem with her encountering magic, I wouldn't have allowed for either of those things to happen."

Styx grimaced again.

"It doesn't matter whether you are fine with it or not. I can clear up this situation by myself, without any help from you or anyone else. Gray Matter might pose a small problem, but with enough preparation I'll be able to beat it. It's in the hands of a second rate magician anyway, so I doubt that it will even get any use."

The human in the cylinder sighed and shrugged.

"Well it is your discretion as to what tools you wish to use, but… Did you refer to your enemy as a second rate magician?"

Styx sighed and began to rub the back of her head.

"Yeah I did. This magician is undeniably second rate. They pulled of an incredibly stupid stunt, and couldn't have the decency to not get tracked after doing it. If they had any pride of a magician, they would have at least made it hard to find themselves."

The human in the cylinder grinned again, and waved her hand in the summoning motion from earlier. Another holographic screen appeared in the air before Styx, this one containing an image of a person.

"Is this the second rate magician you were talking about?"

Styx opened her mouth to respond, but her entire body froze once she looked at the picture in front of her. After she did, she could do only one thing.

"Fuck me…"

The human in the cylinder gave another inhuman smile.