Index's Role

Fiamma of the Right’s laughter did not stop.
“Hey, Nikolai. Did you think I of all people was using what I had at my disposal
for the sake of Russia? Of course I wasn’t. If anything, it was the opposite.”
“You bastard…”
“I use what I have at my disposal for my own goals. Buying time is difficult,
Bishop Nikolai Tolstoy. And a role like that does suit you. Now you can just
fight Academy City on your own and be destroyed on your own.”
“Heh.”
Nikolai’s emotions exploded.
However, the primary emotion was not rage.
It was joy at seeing that what he had prepared for just such a moment had not
gone to waste.
“Are you an idiot, Fiamma!? You have made a fundamental mistake! Did you
forget that your floating fortress was created with Russian Orthodox spells!?”
“…”
“The 200 magicians I sent to you were all acting as my pawns. Did you think I
would not add in any tricks? With a single order from me, that fortress will
immediately fall apart and the countless parts will rain down on the surface.”
While members of God’s Right Seat could use special magic normal people
could not, they could not use the spells that normal magicians could. That was
one of the reasons Fiamma had asked for help from Russian Orthodox
magicians. In other words, normal spells were necessary for the construction of
that fortress.
And the same applied to the removal of the traps Nikolai had made sure were
mixed in with the construction spells.
“What will you do, Fiamma?” Nikolai asked in a teasing manner.
That man continued to rise in position by taking advantage of any situation, so
he was used to that kind of strategy.
“I don’t know what you want to use that fortress for, but it must be a necessary
part of your plan since you took such meticulous care in getting it up there. Can
you really let it be destroyed?”
Nikolai knew he had won.
He had the absolute advantage.
“If you go along with what we in Russia want, that fortress will not be
destroyed. I’m just saying that things have an order of priority, Fiamma. Russia
comes first. If you have time left over after that, then you can carry out your own
plan. Of course, that’s only if it does not cause Russia any trouble.”
“Ha ha,” Fiamma laughed quietly.
Nikolai frowned.
That wasn’t what he had expected.
That had not been a laugh of desperation. Fiamma had uttered the type of laugh
that one gave after hearing a bad joke.
In other words, it had been a sarcastic laugh.
“If that was the only plan you could come up with, then you aren’t even fit for
the position of bishop.”
Immediately afterwards, a sound like some kind of fiber being ripped apart filled
Nikolai’s ears. He had a bad feeling. The magical lines needed to disassemble
the fortress’s construction spells were being severed.
“A mere member of God’s Right Seat cannot use normal spells. While that’s
true, it doesn’t add up, does it? After all, why do you think I attacked England in
order to gain the remote control spiritual item for the 103,000 grimoires?”
“You don’t mean…?”
His throat went dry.
He could feel the advantage he thought he had slipping from his hand like a
lively fish.
“Of the four great elements, I rule over fire, but it does not end there. I have
determined that each of the four great elements is at the farthest point in its
directions but also has the other elements within it. I have gathered everything I
need to use magic.”
“You can use it…? You can use magic other than your power as a member of
God’s Right Seat!?”
“While all that did have to be detached in order to become The One Above God,
it’s basically an issue of using the right thing at the right time. If you divide
things up appropriately, it is not impossible to store up knowledge as a human.
And once it is all complete, the sacred light will naturally wipe away the human
knowledge like the puny darkness it is.”
Fiamma continued speaking in order to finish off the shallow bishop.
“In other words, my request for magicians was a means of gaining knowledge of
the techniques for the necessary spells and to make you Russians lower your
guard. …So unfortunately for you, your role ends here. The lifeline you tried to
cling to has just been destroyed. I’ll take care of the 200 magicians, so don’t
worry about that. Just accept defeat.”
The connection ended.
It had been severed from the other side.

- To Aru Majutsu no Index Volume 21 Chapter 7 Part 7