# 21 - The Star of B'Tselem
Source: [Crunchyroll](https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GRVNZK5PY/a-certain-magical-index)
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
**[00:01] ---**
Y-Your Holiness, what are you doing?
**[00:04] ---**
Have to hurry...
**[00:06] ---**
The citizens have been
seized upon by their anxiety,
**[00:09] ---**
and are starting to march on the Vatican.
**[00:13] ---**
I know. You need not say anything.
**[00:17] ---**
Hi there, my dandy gentleman.
**[00:20] ---**
Can I assume your position
is still the Pope of Rome?
**[00:24] ---**
Is that you, Vasilissa? The cardinals
are about to convene a papal conclave.
**[00:30] ---**
They must have decided that
my authority is already lost.
**[00:35] ---**
It will take more than
my words to put a stop to this war.
**[00:41] ---**
Nonetheless, you have stood forward.
**[00:45] ---**
Oh, sorry about that. I'm in the
middle of bringing the dissenters,
**[00:49] ---**
who were trying to sell out
our beloved Sasha, to tears.
**[00:52] ---**
Go easy on them. They are our brethren.
**[00:55] ---**
I knew you would say that. So, how are
you planning to bring this war to an end?
**[01:02] ---**
To do what must be done.
But not as the pope over a flock of two billion.
**[01:09] ---**
I just have to do what I should
as an adherent of Roman Orthodoxy.
**[01:15] ---**
I made a promise to that
mercenary, after all.
**[01:21] ---**
It appears that the Lord still
intends to give me more trials.
**[01:31] ---**
So, what to do? A being like yourself
has been identified within Russia.
**[01:38] ---**
The Archangel "Power of God," Misha Kruezhev.
**[01:42] ---**
Once the encroachment begins,
tragedy will befall everyone in that area.
**[01:49] ---**
What will you do?
**[01:52] ---**
Nothing. I only undertake
that which interests me.
**[01:59] ---**
I don't mind going. But
I do have one condition.
**[02:03] ---**
Please don't take any
action against my friends.
**[02:06] ---**
As long as they arouse no interest,
it will be my pleasure.
**[02:09] ---**
If you do hurt them,
then I will become your enemy,
**[02:13] ---**
even if it means destroying us all.
**[02:17] ---**
How naive of you to threaten me.
**[02:20] ---**
You might instead attract
my interest by saying that.
**[02:33] ---**
Wh-What was that?!
**[02:37] ---**
An angel...?
**[02:42] ---**
"A Certain Magical Index III"
**[02:49] ---**
"#21 The Star of B'Tselem"
**[02:52] ---**
Imagine, coming all the way to Russia
and still savoring something like this.
**[02:57] ---**
Yeah, it's handy that some things taste
the same all over the world.
**[03:04] ---**
We got this far by blending in
with the human smuggling brokers,
**[03:07] ---**
but this is probably
as far as we're getting by car.
**[03:11] ---**
Let's take a different route to sneak
into the Russian base where Fiamma is.
**[03:20] ---**
What'sa madder?
**[03:22] ---**
Oh... Are there really
this many people fleeing
**[03:27] ---**
to the Elizalina Alliance
of Independent Nations?
**[03:29] ---**
The opposite might be true, too.
**[03:31] ---**
Nobody wants to be a citizen
of a vanquished nation.
**[03:37] ---**
Let's hurry and put a stop
to this war as soon as we can.
**[03:40] ---**
Huh?
**[03:41] ---**
I mean, Fiamma is the one pulling
the strings behind the scenes, right?
**[03:44] ---**
Let's kick that bastard's ass,
bring a quick end to the war,
**[03:48] ---**
and return peace to the world!
**[03:52] ---**
Right. Let's slug Fiamma good,
and rescue Index from him.
**[03:57] ---**
Now that that's decided,
let's get a move on and finish eating!
**[04:05] ---**
Now's my chance!
**[04:07] ---**
Let me pay for that with my body!
**[04:09] ---**
Why are you licking your lips
with stars twinkling in your eyes?
**[04:19] ---**
What is this?
**[04:21] ---**
The privateer base has
been wiped out in no time flat.
**[04:24] ---**
Is he of one of those
Academy City esper folks?
**[04:28] ---**
No, he isn't.
**[04:33] ---**
That takes care of that for now, I'd say.
**[04:37] ---**
Let me ask you again, who exactly are you?
**[04:41] ---**
Acqua of the Rear, has-been
mercenary miscreant.
**[04:46] ---**
Hmm? Something's coming this way.
**[04:51] ---**
They're Academy City forces.
**[04:53] ---**
It appears they're here
to occupy this territory.
**[04:57] ---**
What should we do? Drive them off?
**[04:59] ---**
No. If they're just defending the village,
we're better off not resisting.
**[05:05] ---**
I'm not sure exactly
who you're supposed to be,
**[05:08] ---**
but you can't just keep shoring up
the defenses in one spot forever, right?
**[05:12] ---**
Mm-hmm...
**[05:13] ---**
Then it's better to let Academy City's
forces establish themselves here.
**[05:19] ---**
The place will be occupied for now,
**[05:21] ---**
but these guys will be able to
defend the place for several months.
**[05:24] ---**
Mm-hmm.
**[05:26] ---**
But Hamazura, I thought you were
on the run from Academy City.
**[05:31] ---**
That can't be helped.
This is to protect the village.
**[05:34] ---**
Okay, we're getting out of here.
Oh, I almost forgot...
**[05:40] ---**
Thanks. Because of your arrival,
myself, the villagers,
**[05:45] ---**
and the girl I have a crush on
all came away with our lives.
**[05:50] ---**
I'll thank you properly someday.
**[06:03] ---**
It looks like an instruction manual.
**[06:05] ---**
It is?
**[06:06] ---**
Do you understand it?
**[06:08] ---**
N-No, just that it looks like
**[06:10] ---**
a list of what appear to be
magical conversion provisions.
**[06:14] ---**
What to do to make a Roman Orthodox
spell work in the Russian Church style.
**[06:19] ---**
Huh?!
**[06:20] ---**
Unlike Madam Elizalina,
I don't know much about magical things.
**[06:25] ---**
Magic? What the hell is he talking about?
**[06:32] ---**
Does this mean something exists
that I can't understand? If so,
**[06:38] ---**
it could end up being the key.
**[06:42] ---**
Who's this Elizalina?
**[06:44] ---**
A sorceress--or was she a magician?
**[06:47] ---**
Either way, this Elizalina twerp
can decipher this parchment, right?
**[06:54] ---**
Mm-hmm. If she can speak, that is.
**[06:57] ---**
Right now, she's in a
bed at a field hospital.
**[07:01] ---**
I don't plan on staying here long,
nor on doing any killing.
**[07:05] ---**
When will Sleeping Beauty be up?
**[07:08] ---**
If things go smoothly, one to three hours.
**[07:11] ---**
All right.
**[07:18] ---**
They're spies.
**[07:19] ---**
If I'm going to leave the kid here,
**[07:21] ---**
I have to make sure to arrange
a nice, clean environment for her.
**[07:27] ---**
The place where you guys
stand isn't the only hell.
**[07:33] ---**
This level of darkness
is still pretty weak sauce.
**[07:38] ---**
Pathetic, isn't it?
**[07:40] ---**
It turns out that bailing on them
halfway through was the best choice.
**[07:45] ---**
It's all right. Right now,
you're still fighting to keep me safe.
**[07:51] ---**
So it's not pathetic at all.
**[07:56] ---**
What's this?
**[07:58] ---**
He says it's the key
to the car parked up ahead.
**[08:01] ---**
No, I couldn't.
**[08:02] ---**
If I accept this, it will mean
you aided us in escaping.
**[08:12] ---**
He says you can start the engine
without using the key, then.
**[08:17] ---**
You don't say.
**[08:27] ---**
Hamazura, they're coming!
**[08:30] ---**
It's 500 meters to the border!
**[08:44] ---**
W-We made it.
**[08:49] ---**
You're kidding, right?!
**[08:52] ---**
Is this the end?
**[09:04] ---**
Accelerator?
**[09:06] ---**
Tch, I'm in the middle
of searching for spies,
**[09:09] ---**
and you have to drag
in outside problems I don't need.
**[09:13] ---**
Tell me everything. I want to hear it all.
**[09:24] ---**
I don't know what to say.
**[09:26] ---**
I'd like to do anything I can,
**[09:28] ---**
as far as restorative magic goes,
if I wasn't so mentally exhausted.
**[09:32] ---**
Restoration... magic...?
**[09:35] ---**
Here's the bottom line. I can probably
handle the girl in the track suit.
**[09:41] ---**
The little girl over here
will be more difficult.
**[09:43] ---**
That's all.
**[09:45] ---**
Huh? How do you mean?
**[09:48] ---**
The two of them each have their
own separate toxins built up.
**[09:52] ---**
The smaller girl has toxins continuously
injected into her on a permanent basis,
**[09:57] ---**
so even if they're removed temporarily,
they'll be replenished in no time.
**[10:01] ---**
But once they're removed from
the track suit girl, she should do better.
**[10:06] ---**
S-So then, you're saying
Takitsubo will get better?!
**[10:13] ---**
She will?
**[10:15] ---**
That's terrific, Takitsubo!
**[10:16] ---**
Hamazura, I can't breathe.
**[10:18] ---**
Sorry. But I'm... I'm...
**[10:23] ---**
I'm neither surprised, rattled, nor angry.
**[10:26] ---**
I could stamp my feet on the ground,
screaming at the top of my lungs,
**[10:30] ---**
but that won't change
this situation for the better.
**[10:34] ---**
Either way, I know that time is short,
so I just have to do what must be done.
**[10:40] ---**
I don't care what course
of treatment you plan for them,
**[10:44] ---**
but answer my question before
you get to them. Can you read this?
**[10:50] ---**
I'd say I could possibly read it
if you gave me enough time.
**[10:54] ---**
Want me to hold onto it?
**[10:56] ---**
Nope. All I need to know is
that you can decipher it.
**[11:00] ---**
You concentrate on treating them.
**[11:03] ---**
Uh...
**[11:04] ---**
I don't have time to waste, either.
I'm taking off now.
**[11:08] ---**
Do you have any clues?
**[11:10] ---**
If I don't, I'll find one.
**[11:21] ---**
Where are the spies that I flushed out?
**[11:23] ---**
They're being interrogated,
but it isn't going very well.
**[11:27] ---**
You don't say.
**[11:28] ---**
Would you care to see?
**[11:30] ---**
Nah, I'm going to run down
a more reliable source of information.
**[11:40] ---**
Is there something I can help you with?
**[11:43] ---**
Cooperate with me.
**[11:44] ---**
With what? Why? How?
**[11:47] ---**
I found and recovered a number of bugs.
**[11:50] ---**
They're yielding bits and pieces
from the small timers.
**[11:54] ---**
You're going to sort
through that information.
**[11:57] ---**
On what grounds does
Misaka have to cooperate?
**[12:00] ---**
Ugh... The folks back in Academy City
**[12:03] ---**
are going to use the
Misaka Network to do *something*.
**[12:07] ---**
As they were replacing the network
that started causing trouble for them,
**[12:12] ---**
you came after the lives
of myself and the kid.
**[12:16] ---**
But yours is going to end up
the same way--at a dead end.
**[12:21] ---**
That's the way the people
who applaud as successful
**[12:24] ---**
the killing of 20,000 puppets see the world.
**[12:28] ---**
You have to know it won't be used
for any respectable purpose.
**[12:33] ---**
So Misaka must work with you?
**[12:35] ---**
Join forces with the most
malicious partner there is, of all people?
**[12:39] ---**
Okay then, negotiation time.
**[12:42] ---**
The Dark May Project.
**[12:45] ---**
You mean...
**[12:47] ---**
The project that tried to enhance
other espers' Personal Realities
**[12:50] ---**
by applying the method
I use to control my ability.
**[12:55] ---**
For you to become an irreplaceable resource,
**[12:58] ---**
you had to obtain a capacity
that the other Sisters didn't have.
**[13:02] ---**
What are you going to do?
If you analyze the way I fight,
**[13:06] ---**
you might find a way out of this.
**[13:10] ---**
Indeed. That truly does
sound like this Misaka.
**[13:15] ---**
I'll find a lead to eliminating
the kid's symptoms.
**[13:20] ---**
You'll stumble upon a route other
than the one where you'll only get used up.
**[13:25] ---**
That's why we'll fight Academy City.
Why we'll outwit them.
**[13:30] ---**
We now have a mutual interest.
**[13:32] ---**
Now that that's clear,
stop being a baby and get going.
**[13:36] ---**
This Misaka must admit,
**[13:37] ---**
after being tuned solely
to kill Academy City's 1st-ranked,
**[13:40] ---**
and with everything she's been put through,
**[13:43] ---**
she never imagined the day would come
when she'd have to force a smile.
**[13:47] ---**
Sorry about that. That was my mistake,
for falling for their bullcrap.
**[13:58] ---**
What was that?! When the villain
makes a face *that* sheepish,
**[14:03] ---**
it makes this Misaka's reason
for being seem so much less important!
**[14:08] ---**
Who are you calling a villain?
Even after perfecting it like I did,
**[14:11] ---**
I still wasn't able to keep the kid safe!
**[14:14] ---**
There's not a single reason
for me to stick with it anymore.
**[14:18] ---**
Simply taking the most
easy-to-grasp side isn't good enough.
**[14:22] ---**
You and I are both monsters,
deliberately set to evil by Academy City.
**[14:29] ---**
Far from opposing them,
mastering the ways of evil
**[14:33] ---**
was simply chugging right
on down their rails, wasn't it?
**[14:37] ---**
Which is why now, I'm going to
hit back at them in the true sense.
**[14:41] ---**
So I don't care if I wind up doing
stuff out of character for me to that end.
**[14:48] ---**
Please.
**[14:53] ---**
What are you, dense?! Incredible!
That stupid deadpan look is incredible!
**[15:04] ---**
I know it's Misaka's,
**[15:07] ---**
but it's also *your* first time gripping
someone's hand like this, right?
**[15:12] ---**
No.
**[15:13] ---**
Huh?
**[15:14] ---**
I've done it plenty of times before.
**[15:18] ---**
With a really awful kid
who looks a lot like you.
**[15:33] ---**
An attack by Academy City?
**[15:35] ---**
The Russian army has also
started attacking. This is our chance!
**[15:39] ---**
We can take advantage of the
chaos to sneak onto Fiamma's base!
**[15:47] ---**
Why do you think the Russian army
is coming to the base's defense?
**[15:51] ---**
It's because Fiamma doesn't want to move.
**[15:54] ---**
Either he doesn't want it
known that he's in hiding here,
**[15:57] ---**
or he's conducting some kind
of magical operation.
**[16:00] ---**
So what do we do, exactly?
**[16:02] ---**
We steal a powered suit!
**[16:04] ---**
If you want to applaud me, I'll listen
to you in bed as you stroke my head.
**[16:10] ---**
Hey, wait up!
**[16:11] ---**
Damn it.
**[16:14] ---**
Still, it's strange.
**[16:16] ---**
When we snuck in earlier, there were
a bunch of Russian Church sorcerers.
**[16:20] ---**
Why wouldn't they be placed here?
**[16:23] ---**
Why would they act like they're
intentionally luring Academy City in?
**[16:28] ---**
Hmm? Isn't it obvious? To invite you
and your all-important right arm along.
**[16:35] ---**
I can't have you getting caught
in the attack and losing your right arm.
**[16:40] ---**
I intentionally left a gap open
to recover you nice and quickly.
**[16:49] ---**
I always thought he got out
of there all too readily before,
**[16:52] ---**
and it turns out he was
just letting me get away?
**[16:57] ---**
Those crybaby spies sure weren't
much of a challenge, huh?
**[17:02] ---**
That was no fun!
**[17:04] ---**
Deceptive practices
are still the same as always.
**[17:08] ---**
Deprive them of any chance
they have to make sound judgments.
**[17:13] ---**
What do you think of what
that weepy bastard had to say?
**[17:16] ---**
Everything about it sounded contrived.
**[17:18] ---**
The Russian army was always going
to take advantage of this war
**[17:22] ---**
to invade the Elizalina Alliance
of Independent Nations,
**[17:25] ---**
which they were out for anyway.
**[17:28] ---**
It's strange that they would send
spies at all, under the circumstances.
**[17:31] ---**
The circumstances were exactly
why there was a mission.
**[17:35] ---**
They had to deliver classified
documents to designated points
**[17:38] ---**
before any full-scale aerial bombing.
**[17:42] ---**
Once they got there, they'd meet
with someone who needed this.
**[17:46] ---**
By which I mean someone who
knew how to decode and use this.
**[17:51] ---**
Misaka is getting puffy all over
at such a self-serving development!
**[17:56] ---**
Shut up! The designated point
**[17:59] ---**
was the Russian army's frontline base,
near the border, right?
**[18:03] ---**
I'm going to go raid it.
You can do whatever you want.
**[18:08] ---**
What are you doing with Last Order?
**[18:10] ---**
What would happen
if I left you in charge of her?
**[18:13] ---**
Probably stuff you couldn't bear
to see, to ward off boredom.
**[18:18] ---**
There were two remote
control magical items for her.
**[18:22] ---**
Fiamma took the one from the royal family,
**[18:24] ---**
but the puritans' item is still here.
**[18:26] ---**
Also, it's clear who was in possession of it.
**[18:32] ---**
You're trying to use the puritans'
magical item to keep Fiamma
**[18:35] ---**
from misusing the knowledge
in the 103,000 grimoires
**[18:38] ---**
by interrupting his item, aren't you?
**[18:42] ---**
Deliberately messing around with her body.
**[18:46] ---**
Supposing your delusion is actually true,
**[18:50] ---**
I am the head of this organization.
**[18:54] ---**
How far do you think you could deal
with this on your own?
**[18:59] ---**
If that were the case,
**[19:01] ---**
then at minimum,
I would destroy the leader, right here.
**[19:04] ---**
I see, I see. That's something else.
**[19:09] ---**
But will circumstances stand by
and wait for that to happen?
**[19:12] ---**
What?
**[19:17] ---**
Caution... Chapter 4...
Connection by remote user confirmed...
**[19:26] ---**
Automatic purge of
risk factors now commencing...
**[19:38] ---**
Don't hold back.
**[19:40] ---**
If you've secured Sasha Kruezhev,
then commit, already!
**[19:44] ---**
I have finished readying the attack.
**[19:46] ---**
You will not be able to
observe the military situation.
**[19:50] ---**
Academy City's trademark control
will no longer work.
**[19:54] ---**
This will become a true war.
**[19:56] ---**
Whatever the case, as long as
I achieve my goal, it will not be a problem.
**[20:02] ---**
Patriarch of the Russian Church.
You'd go to these lengths to become that?
**[20:07] ---**
Never mind about me, where are *you* right now?
Not on that base, I'm sure.
**[20:12] ---**
Your signal has disappeared
from those coordinates.
**[20:17] ---**
You will find out very soon.
**[20:19] ---**
Like it or not.
**[20:33] ---**
What is this?!
**[20:37] ---**
What?!
**[20:45] ---**
What I was getting ready was not
some giant magical item or facility;
**[20:49] ---**
it was the space to scoop this up.
**[21:12] ---**
Y-You do realize...
**[21:14] ---**
just how much of a risk
you're taking by doing this, right?
**[21:17] ---**
The question of how risky
it is doesn't matter.
**[21:21] ---**
Between those who are doing their
best to kill a run-of-the-mill high-schooler
**[21:25] ---**
and those who are doing their best
to save a run-of-the-mill high-schooler,
**[21:29] ---**
which side would you want to take?
**[21:31] ---**
Which side would you feel proud to take?
**[21:36] ---**
Ugh, this just isn't my style.
**[21:43] ---**
What is that?!
**[21:53] ---**
No way. Why is he...?
**[22:00] ---**
Are you kidding me?!
**[22:06] ---**
The pilot is safe.
**[22:35] ---**
Well now...
**[22:37] ---**
...how am I going to get up into the clouds?
**[22:44] ---**
Are you...?
**[22:46] ---**
"Misaka's serial number is 10777,"
**[22:50] ---**
says Misaka, kindly answering Big Sister,
who doesn't know what to say.
**[22:57] ---**
I'm guessing you're with one of
Academy City's Russian co-op outfits?
**[23:01] ---**
"Since the withdrawal there is complete,
**[23:04] ---**
the choice was made
to spend some private time,"
**[23:07] ---**
says Misaka, reporting her leisure-time mood
while holding a dangerous rifle.
**[23:13] ---**
Private...?
**[23:15] ---**
"Big Sister, are you not on private time?"
**[23:17] ---**
asks Misaka, seeking confirmation.
**[23:21] ---**
Well, I'm not here on business...
**[23:25] ---**
"Preview"
**[23:26] ---**
Wings of ice spread across the night sky.
A giant aerial fortress.
**[23:29] ---**
Divine punishment meted out.
What tidings do the angels and stars bid?
**[23:34] ---**
Next time, "Gabriel."
**[23:36] ---**
When science and magic cross paths,
the story begins.
**[23:41] ---**
**[23:43] ---**