SWITZERLAND
A large Catholic Church with large stone walls and pillars as well as an enormous court yard was the rendezvous point for Galeazzo. He had managed to escape Academy City and smuggle himself and two unconscious girls into Switzerland. He hitchhiked a passing worker truck and dropped off at the closest point to the church. He hiked his way up, carrying both girls in his arms. The large stone rooftop appeared over the top of the hill he was making his way up on. When he finally reached the first steps into the church, the Pope came out to greet him with a smile. He walked down the stairs and kissed Galeazzo on both sides of his cheeks as a greeting and brushed his hand over the two girl's heads.
"Well done, Galeazzo."
Galeazzo nodded his head, but he knew Abbondino was left behind. If it weren't for him, he wouldn't even be in Switzerland with the targets.
"Is something wrong?" Asked the pope.
"...No. Everything is fine."
"Good. Come in boy, have something to drink..."
The two entered the church and the big heavy entrance doors closed by themselves as they entered the church. Galeazzo followed the Pope to the courtyard in the back. A servant brought them two glasses of wine as they walked through the back doors of the church. On the ground was a large symbol known as the Fruit of Life. With the help of ancient Geometry, a hyper cube was etched within the fruit of life. Writings in Latin were etched around the rim of the circle.
"This is where the end will begin." Said the Pope throwing his arms out to the side.
Galeazzo looked at the magnificent scenery surrounding him. This magic literally uses the spiritual power of the earth. The formations made onto the ground would tap into the energy source and ultimately end the world with the help of a certain Grimorie, Book of Ends.
"In a matter of time, humanity will pay for its sins, and God will finally be restore to his original glory!"
Galeazzo took a couple of sips from his glass watching the pope gloat about his plans.
The Pope's plans were to use this Church in Switzerland, due to its optimal geographical location, and the fact is was extremely easy to create ley lines branching off into every Catholic Church in the world, thus equally spreading the destruction globally. Even the Vatican Square in Rome will be destroyed by the spell, but this did not stop the Pope's ambitions. He was fully aware of the consequences.
The plane Touma and Mikoto are on is now flying over the borders of Academy City. A flight attendant came down the aisles with a food cart handing out snacks and drinks.
"Mikoto, there's a food cart. Do you want anything?"
"I'll have a Yoshinomi Cider"
Touma asked for Mikoto's cider and an iced coffee as well as a bag of peanuts. Touma paid for the refreshments with his Academy City debt card, praying that it would work. Somehow, it passed through. He handed the cider to Mikoto and hesitantly opened his iced coffee. He popped open the can, and tried to pour it into a plastic cup. Amazingly, nothing spilled. Mikoto watched him as he tediously tried to drink his beverage. He brought the cup closer to his mouth and...
The airplane made a sudden jolt as it hit a small turbulence. Touma jolted up with the plane spilling his coffee on himself.
"Right when I thought I had a break, such misfortunes always come back to me. *sigh..."
Mikoto laughed a little inside.
Touma changed into a new shirt and sat back down in his seat. Mikoto stared through the window at the ocean flowing below them. It was roughly a 12 in half hour flight to Switzerland. After landing, they were to wait at the airport for Tsuchimikado and the rest.
Mikoto immersed herself into her thoughts as Touma laid his head back. Then a question occurred to Mikoto regarding Index.
"Neh, Touma."
Touma turned.
"Who is this Index girl to you? I m-mean, how important is she to you...?"
"Hmm? Uh, well. I guess I care for her. I mean, she is a human being and her life is in constant danger..."
"No, that's not what I meant."
"Eh?"
"This girl lives with you and you care for her. I-Isn't there at least some kind of intimacy happening? I-I mean, not like that, but i-is she like... I-I-I...-"
"No not at all!" Denied Touma waving his hands.
Even though he has girls all around him, he doesn't even understand the meaning of any of it... But I confessed to him earlier, so this puts me in a different position then the others?
"In actuality, Index is a good friend. Although she is constantly raiding my fridge and forcing me to spend my own hard earned cash, she has become an important part of my life, kind of like a little sister I guess... Why?" Replied Touma.
"...Nothing"
Gosh, why did I ask that question. It's so embarrassing!
"Hey, what's with that strange face, Mikoto."
"Nothing, really it's nothing!" She denied forcefully turning back to facing the window.
"..."
*gulp, when a girl looks troubled and says it's nothing; it almost certainly spells out doom for a guy...
But Touma was just misunderstanding everything...
The sun was setting in Switzerland. A beautiful hew of colors shown over the church Galeazzo and the Pope resided in. Under the church was a lavish living area. It had a dining hall, kitchens, and several large bedrooms. The Pope ordered the construction workers to make an especially a large one for himself.
Galeazzo retired to his room which was decorated in a very European style. He had given up the two girls to some servants who locked them up into another room. Galeazzo sat on the soft bed and sighed. Though he was a faithful "servant of God", he began to have some doubts. The Pope never asked him about the whereabouts of Abbondino. Even though his instructions were not to hesitate to abandon each other, Galeazzo was not a cold blooded. Even though he knew their plan would kill millions of other people around the world, his mind was fixated on the well being of Abbondino. He sighed heavily and changed out of his black robes and into some more comfortable sleeping attire. He walked over to a table with a large glass bottle of Scotch and poured out some into a cup. He had one cup, then two, then... The bottle of Scotch was gone.
Galeazzo began to feel woozy and collapsed onto the soft bed and fell asleep.
The sun had finally disappeared into the horizon and the black night quickly enveloped the sky. Touma sat uncomfortably as Mikoto clung to his arm when she fell asleep.
She really isn't aware of what she is doing right now, does she...
Touma tried to shift slightly in his chair, trying to not awaken the possibly violent electro-master clinging to him. He tried to wiggle his arm away from Mikoto, but she was glued to him. Touma looked at her peaceful face. He unconsciously blushed, unaware of the funny feeling in his gut and gave up trying to escape.
A couple of giggling girls to his left in the middle aisle caught his attention. He turned to see what they were so jittery about and noticed they were talking amongst themselves about he and Mikoto. He overheard them calling them a cute couple and how romantic they looked. Embarrassing beads of sweat dropped down Touma's neck as he tried to ignore the group of girls.
Only 8 hours left on the plane and they would land.
"Such misfortune."
~CHAPTER END~
