Index Manga 142

Chapter 142

01

Top right: A Certain Magical Index Volume 23 goes on sale November 12!!
Right: The counterattack begins!!
Down the center: When hit, hit back in the Item way.
Credit: Story: Kamachi Kazuma  Art: Kogino Chuuya
        Character Designs: Haimura Kiyotaka

02


SFX: Drag

Text: What is Hamazura carrying!?

SFX: Thud

03

Mugino: It's best not to think about what's inside the sleeping bag.

Shiage: I wish I could keep myself from thinking about it.

SFX: Gashunk
SFX: Roarrr

Shiage: Sigh.

Shiage: This electric furnace is for disposing lab animals.
Shiage: The heat of 3500 degrees sterilizes the corpse in no time.

Shiage: Even the DNA is destroyed, transforming a human into mere ashes.

04

Shiage: I wonder what kind of person they were.

Shiage: Did that sleeping bag contain...
Shiage: a Level 0 underling like me?
Shiage: Or was it a bigshot esper from the team Item was fighting?

Shiage: Were they even an enemy?
Shiage: It could've been a normal student who got caught in the crossfire.

Shiage: Hell, Mugino might even kill an ally who screwed something up.

05

Shiage: Item? School?
Shiage: I shouldn't worry myself over every little thing those dangerous secret teams do.
Shiage: I'm only here because it's the only way for me to survive in this city!

Rikou: Hamazura.

Box: Takitsubo Rikou.
Box: AKA, AIM Stalker.
Box: A primary Item member with the great power of a Level 4.

06

Shiage: I'm sure it was her power that led her astray...
Shiage: but I'm still so damn jealous as a Level 0.

Rikou: Hamazura.
Rikou: What's wrong?

Shiage: What even is a human life?

Shiage: Goddammit.
Shiage: When did our lives become so worthless?

07

SFX: Roarrrrr

SFX: Beep beep

Shiage: Takitsubo.
Shiage: Head back to the hideout without me.
Shiage: The cleanup is going to take a while longer.

08

Shiage: It's not the prettiest river...
Shiage: but it's better than being dumped in the automated trash disposal.

09

Shiage: I'm the worst.
Shiage: It's not like I even feel bad for whoever was in that sleeping bag.

Shiage: I'm just afraid that I could be next.
Shiage: I was only creeped out that I could be disposed like that if I died.

Thugs: Hey.

SFX: Wham

10

Shiage: Ow.
Thugs: Oh, I was right.

Thugs: I recognize you.
Thugs: You're from District 7's Skill Out, aren't you?
Thugs: I thought they were wiped out.
Thugs: Not that it matters...
Thugs: since we'll crush you here.

Thugs: Did you know, Skill Out,
Thugs: that we were having some trouble getting by not long ago?

Thugs: Your boss...
Thugs: Komaba, was it?
Thugs: He was a real pain in the ass.
Thugs: Barely let us get any "work" done.

Shiage: Are these those burglars who target student dorms!?

SFX: Wham

Thugs: So we're gonna smash your face in until they can only call you Boy A.
Thugs: Get the picture now?

11

SFX: Thud

Shiage: Son of a bitch!!
SFX: Wham

12

Shiage: Shit!?

SFX: Thwam

SFX: Grab

Hanzou: This way, Hamazura!

13

Shiage: You're...
Shiage: Hanzou!?

Hanzou: We gotta get out of here, dumbass!!

SFX: Pant pant

Hanzou: Did you forget the rules of the back alleys?
Hanzou: Getting caught up in winning and losing only leads to death.
Hanzou: If you want to escape with your life, then give up on winning!

14

Shiage: Why did you save me?

Hanzou: Because we used to hang out together.
Shiage: But I ruined Skill Out.
Shiage: And I ran away from my punishment!

Hanzou: That's not for you to say.

Hanzou: Also...
Hanzou: surely you've noticed.
Hanzou: We don't hold it against you.
Hanzou: And we don't think it was your fault.

Hanzou: At that point, Skill Out was done for no matter who was in charge.

15

Hanzou: I haven't lived an honest enough life to get hung up on the past.

Hanzou: But.
Hanzou: I have to admit...
Hanzou: it was fun back then.
Hanzou: When I worked up a plan, you got us some wheels, and Komaba led the attack.

Shiage: Yeah.

Shiage: It's true.
Shiage: It was a shitty life, but things were fun back then.

16

Hanzou: What are your plans now?

Shiage: I dunno.
Shiage: I feel like it's all the same no matter what I do.

Shiage: Nothing would be the same even if I went back to Skill Out.
Shiage: There's nothing worthwhile there anymore.

Hanzou: Wait.

Hanzou: Take this.
Hanzou: Based on that fight...
Hanzou: I'm guessing you don't have any real weapons.

SFX: Slap

17

Shiage: This is a ladies gun.

Hanzou: What's that matter?
Hanzou: A good weapon is hard to use.
Hanzou: If it feels too comfortable, you'll just spill more blood.

18

Shiage: I always feel out of place here.

Mugino: You're late, Hamazura.

19

Shiage: Wait, where's Frenda?
Mugino: Missing.

Mugino: Maybe dead, maybe captured.
Mugino: We don't have time to find someone new, so Item will have to be a three-girl team for now.

Mugino: School's down to three too, so we can easily recover from this.
Rikou: Hamazura, you're hurt.
Shiage: It's nothing much.
Mugino: We have Takitsubo, after all.

Shiage: What are you going to do?
Shiage: School stole the Tweezers, right?

Mugino: They did.

Mugino: So now it's time for us to strike back.
Mugino: We can locate them at any time with Takitsubo's AIM Stalker.

20

Mugino: Item exists to keep the higher ups and secret teams in line!
Mugino: So let's do our job, shall we?

Rikou: Should I search for Dark Matter?
Mugino: Yes.
Shiage: What's Dark Matter?
Saiai: School's leader.
Saiai: The #2.

Saiai: This must be super hard for you, Takitsubo-san.
Saiai: Since you need Body Crystal to use your power.

Rikou: Not really.
Rikou: This is normal for me.

21

SFX: Gather gather

Rikou: Beginning AIM Diffusion Field search.
Rikou: Locating similar AIM Diffusion Fields.
Rikou: Narrowing report to just the one applicable AIM Diffusion Field.

Rikou: Search will be complete in 5 seconds.

22

Rikou: Result:
Rikou: Dark Matter is inside the building.

SFX: Crash

23

Kakine: Oh.
Kakine: You're all here, just like I was told.
Text: Kakine Teitoku is back!!
Bottom: To be continued in the Shounen Gan Gan December Issue - Tuesday, November 12

Mugino: Dark Matter.