In Academy City's 7th District, there stood a building cloaked in urban legend—a windowless structure that few had seen from the inside. Within that sealed facility, suspended upside down in a ten-meter-long life support chamber filled with red fluid and encased in reinforced glass, a man in green surgical robes slowly opened his eyes.
He was known as Aleister Crowley—once considered the greatest magician of the 20th century, and paradoxically, also seen as the one who had most deeply betrayed magic itself. Now, in the present, he served as the secret master of this scientifically governed city—Academy City's General Superintendent.
Before him, a holographic projection replayed footage of Su Mo's earlier lecture. As the students listened to Su Mo explain concepts like electroweak unification, Yang-Mills gauge theory, parity violation, and the potential applications of radioactive decay, even Aleister's normally impassive expression showed a flicker of emotion.
Behind him, a radiant figure with glowing angelic wings shimmered into existence—Aiwass, the Holy Guardian Angel.
The air inside the chamber seemed to stir without wind. Aiwass smiled faintly, amusement in her voice.
"This Su Mo… he's even more of a heretic than you are, Aleister."
"The world condemned you for turning your back on magic in favor of science, but they never understood. Your strength was still rooted in magic. Science was just another tool on your board."
"But this one—this Su Mo—he's different."
"He's an esper who interacts with magic without being harmed, and he accepts it without resistance."
"He's a magician more obsessed with scientific theory than most scientists themselves."
"In this city that you built as a façade for your plans, this city of science… he's the only one who's truly chasing the spirit of scientific inquiry."
There was genuine interest in Aiwass's tone now. At first, she'd been curious about Su Mo only because of his unusual resistance to phase friction. But after observing his behavior, her attention had shifted—from his body to his mind.
Compared to Aleister, Su Mo was the real anomaly. A true renegade. Most magicians who dabbled in science only treated scientific tools as disposable familiars—low-grade instruments to supplement their spells.
Even Aleister, for all his manipulation of science, still remained a magician at his core. He merely used science to reach his goals.
But Su Mo? He had fully embraced both paths without contradiction. He had pierced through the surface of both disciplines and chased after their true essence.
In Academy City, despite all its advanced technology, the scientific community had long since stagnated. The city relied on the leftover brilliance of the previous century's breakthroughs. Real theoretical progress had stalled.
But Su Mo stood apart.
He didn't just push forward practical applications—he was constantly testing, questioning, and validating the fundamental theories themselves. With his unique esper ability, Gravity Manipulation, he could reverse-engineer equations from results—solving problems from the answer backward. While it might lack the originality of true theoretical physics, it yielded results most scientists could never dream of achieving.
Aiwass didn't know exactly how far Su Mo had progressed, but she was certain of one thing—he had already surpassed most of the researchers in Academy City.
It was an ironic twist. In this so-called scientific city—this "magic-side monastery" disguised as a technological utopia—the one man truly exploring the cutting edge of science… was a magician.
Aleister's expression remained unchanged despite Aiwass's words.
"An undercover agent from the Roman Orthodox Church who has fallen so deep into science… naturally, the Pope would never tolerate it."
"In that case, he can be recruited. He's a valuable piece for me to use."
To Aleister, science didn't matter. Academy City didn't matter. Even magic itself was expendable if it got in the way of his ultimate goal—to destroy the Magic Gods and defy fate for the sake of his long-lost daughter.
Aiwass, Su Mo, the entire city—they were either tools or obstacles. Nothing more.
Su Mo, with his unexpected capabilities and unique position, clearly belonged to the former.
As for Su Mo's beliefs and ideology… Aleister noted them, but he didn't care.
Aiwass chuckled.
"That's just like you, Aleister. Always the same."
"But I wonder… is Su Mo really just a chess piece?"
"You are, after all, the man doomed to fail no matter what."
"Better be careful that your own arrogance doesn't let something truly unpredictable slip through your fingers."
Aleister's expression didn't change. He was a man fated to fail—that much he had long accepted.
But sometimes… even in failure, the seeds of success could be born.
"All people, men and women alike, are like stars," he muttered.
"And even if one star dies… the wheel will keep turning."
"No matter what, everything will be pushed toward the final goal. So, there's no such thing as an unexpected variable." Aleister was absolutely certain of this. For him, failure was nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, failure was something he accounted for in his plans. So, Su Mo's actions didn't strike him as a threat at all; on the contrary, they were well within the system he had designed. Every plan, every move, ultimately served his final objective.
After saying this, Aleister closed his eyes again, no longer paying attention to Su Mo. Aiwass, on the other hand, watched the footage several times with great interest, his eyes full of curiosity.
...
At that moment, after finishing his class, Su Mo paused, his expression shifting slightly. The power of [The War God of the East] from Verethragna allowed him, through the aspect of the Wind Incarnation, to hear someone calling his name. The source of the voice was quite unusual—it came from that windowless, doorless building.
The power was unique: even in a sealed environment, as long as there was the slightest movement of air inside, it was enough for the power to work. Su Mo guessed it must have been Aleister mentioning him. He considered it, but didn't recklessly teleport straight to Aleister's side, nor did he deliberately try to eavesdrop. Still, the wind carried most of the conversation to him.
"Trying to use me as a pawn?" Su Mo chuckled to himself. He wasn't surprised by Aleister's words. "I just wonder who's really the tool here!" After all, while Aleister was using him, wasn't he also using Aleister?
In the real world, mutual exploitation was nothing unusual. It had nothing to do with status or identity; only those with value would be used, and exploitation was often mutual. If it weren't for the threat posed by Academy City, Su Mo wouldn't have been able to obtain so much magical knowledge from the Roman Church. It was only because Aleister was taking the heat up front.
Thanks to Aleister absorbing the pressure from God's Right Seat, Su Mo could remain calm and collected. With someone taller holding up the sky, he could take this chance to quietly grow stronger, aiming to fully equip himself before stepping into the spotlight.
"Since I'm working so hard to help you out, it's only fair you take on some of the pressure from the magic side for me!" Su Mo thought to himself, especially with the upcoming Index incident in mind.
Rescuing Index from the hands of Kanzaki Kaori and Stiyl Magnus would be easy enough. Even unlocking the collar inside Index wasn't impossible. The real challenge was dealing with the pressure from the Anglican Church afterward. Their leader, Laura Stuart, was no simple character, and Su Mo wasn't ready to face that cunning fox just yet. If Aleister could take on that pressure, all the better.
With his mind made up, Su Mo left the classroom. By now, the students had already gathered on the sports field, lining up for their tests—it was the day of Academy City's routine physical examinations. The students who didn't have class earlier had already finished, while those who had just attended Su Mo's class were only now queuing up. Once their abilities were tested, they'd have the afternoon off, so the girls were especially eager to line up.