This had originally been a secret technique meant to take on every last Magic God at once.
Even if the one taking the damage had a limit to their imagination, her enemy’s mind
would be mercilessly blown away by enough energy to create the universe ten times over.

Down on all fours, Karasuma Fran...no, the red jewel demon borrowing that poor victim’s
body forgot all about charging toward Hamazura in his Processor Suit and tensed up when
she thought about what this meant.

Why was she alone unharmed?

That was not Coronzon’s doing. Aleister had called her a touchstone. She was practice for
saving a possessed avatar. That was why Aleister had not killed her. She had been
intentionally removed from the list of targets and spared.

Aleister had control of the scene.

There was no overturning things with trickery at this point.

“Now, then.”

“...”

“Oh, don’t pretend to be a mere beast, Coronzon. You were always a whisperer. Although
I will admit it is more frightening when the demon-possessed shout unintelligible
nonsense instead of just making pathetic threats.”

“...You can’t.”

This was a new voice.

It did not belong to the short bikini girl, but it also did not belong to Lola Stuart. It may
have been an unprovable voice that sounded different to everyone who heard it.
“You can’t possibly do it. All you know is failure and defeat, so how can you save some—?”

“X-rays.”

Aleister cut her off while holding the baby to her chest with one arm.

She sounded like she was trying to decide what to cook for dinner.

“CT scans, MRIs, blood tests, gas chromatography, ultrasound, centrifuges, transmission
electron microscopes, polymerase chain reaction DNA tests, and...yes, how about I
prepare a cyclotron particle accelerator as well? With all that, slicing up Karasuma Fran’s
body and inspecting the contents would be a simple task. ...From head to toe, I can inspect
every last molecule of her body. And that will tell me where your filthy traces have taken
root and what I must attack to eliminate your influence.”

Spiritual Tripping only used the spell user’s gesture to paint a picture of the “weapon” in
the target’s brain and create a foothold for influencing them.

Could it really go this far?

Did a forcibly implanted imagination really have such a wide range?

“It’s no Imagine Breaker, but I suppose I will reveal a little trick of mine. Do you know
what this is?”

Aleister’s right hand moved. As soon as her fingers seemed to mime holding a pencil, the
target’s scenery was entirely changed. The illusion danced like a spinning pen. It
resembled a pencil, but it was not one. It resembled a highlighter, but it was not one. It
resembled a tablet stylus, but it could not be one of those either. The target desperately
tried to picture some other image to muddy the implanted one, but she could not keep up.
As much as she wished otherwise, she could tell the color, shape, weight, texture, and
sheen all accurately narrowed in on a specific “weapon”.

And once she knew what it was, there was no escaping the image.

Just like someone trying to forget the phrase “purple mirror” and only focusing on it all
the more. She knew she was only restraining herself, but she could not control her own
thoughts.

“Are you trying to bind me...human?”

“A single visual fixes the image in your mind, captures you in its grasp, and robs you of all
freedom. Using this sort of exchange to seal off your opponent’s options and guide their
thoughts into a dead end is a fundamental part of magical combat. And real experts place
a great emphasis on the fundamentals. A true chef will train their skill to the point that
they can surprise a guest with a simple fried egg.”

There was clear mockery in that smile.

It was the look of someone who had already secured their method of killing.

“That big bang...well, it was technically ten times that, but it created a great many things.
Radiation was one of those and it is a powerful medicine that can be used for good or bad.
As a powerful medicine, it cannot be taken lightly, but when used right, it can become a
‘weapon’ that saves the life of someone who cannot be saved by any other method.”

That grim reaper who had taken the form of a girl had robbed his opponent of her foolish
hostage strategy that used her own body as a shield.

After all...

“A gamma knife. When a brain tumor is surrounded by the delicate organ and is thus
inoperable, this medical tool can pass through their body and accurately burn through
just the miniscule target. Oh, my apologies. Was that explanation unnecessary? I am sure
someone as wise and knowledgeable as you was already well aware of all that.”

“...”

“And don’t worry. No matter how much Karasuma Fran struggles, 'I will accurately excise
you and only you. Until not a speck of you remains. So rest easy and struggle all you like.”

-Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Volume 19 Chapter 4 Part 9