Published at 11th of May 2019 2:32 am

Volume 20, Afterword

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

If you’ve been buying one volume at a time, welcome back. If you bought them all at once, welcome.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

This time, the great war in England has finally begun. OT17 and 18 was a dragon slaying morality play with a lot of focus on the England side, but the focus this time was on the magician who was continually attacked by England. You might discover something new if you compare the two stories. The most obvious element was the exoticism represented by Ra-Zeus, Isis-Demeter, and the others. While the stage was set in England, the magic theme was non-Christian. The British Museum is very convenient when it comes to that. Egyptian Mythology is attractive, but I was worried doing just that could not hold the readers’ interest, so when I found some information linking it to Greek Mythology, I went with that. It was based in Egyptian Mythology, but I could also mix in a hint of Greek Mythology which has become a part of the foundation for Japanese-made Western-style RPGs. I think that worked pretty well, but now it is time to expand on that for the “rift” of intolerance and refusal to understand that leads people to mistake the meanings of words.

As the series continues, the protagonist naturally meets more people, whether they are enemies or allies. So how are you to maintain the appropriate level of tension? My answer is to use Great Demon Coronzon’s dispersion. I attempted a number of approaches this time. The Index world is a very convenient miniature garden with plenty of gimmicks and gadgets thanks to the obvious line between magic and science, but what did you think this time?

What kind of power can fight against a Great Demon who obstructs the world’s bonds?

Looking at it like that, you should be able to see why it is so meaningful for Kamijou Touma to be the protagonist. The path that Aleister paved and Kamijou Touma has overcome is becoming a great power that will bring everyone together and corner Coronzon. I thought we could observe a glimpse of that here.

The boss this time was Orsola Aquinas. I had London as the stage and people were being driven mad by the atmosphere of hopeless war, so who would be the most frightening one to be affected? She naturally came to mind when I asked that question. Normally, Orsola advocates nonviolence and works to deepen mutual understanding with her words, so I thought seeing this transformation after the events of OT7 would show a side of Great Demon Coronzon’s disgusting control different from Karasuma Fran or Index.

The difference between good and evil is paper thin.

I hope you can see the two sides of Orsola when you compare the dragon slaying morality play of OT17 and 18 to Aleister’s point of view seen in NT20. You might see something that lies in wait for the entire series.

I give my thanks to my illustrator Haimura-san and to my editors Miki-san, Anan-san, Nakajima-san, Yamamoto-san, and Mitera-san. Just London would have been difficult enough, but I also mixed in Greek and Egyptian Mythology, which had to be a lot of trouble. I think illustrations have more power than text to excite the readers as they remember the old characters. Once again, thank you very much.

And I give my thanks to the readers. We are back to London, the city of fog, magic, and the Golden. …Don’t overlook how that phrase changed depending on the character using it. It has been a while since we last saw this stage, but how did you like it? If Aleister Crowley and Magic God Othinus were joining the fight, I knew I couldn’t just follow standard practice and I was prepared to go in full throttle, but at this point, I hope you enjoyed the magic battles between the top players in the series.

It is time to close the pages for now…is what I would normally say here, but I actually wrote a little more after this. I hope you enjoy that as well.

I pray we can see each other again in the next story.

What’s this? Have I awoken to plants as well as bugs…???

-Kamachi Kazuma

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