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| “ | The darkness was necessary in this city with nowhere to hide!! There must be a dark space beyond prying eyes where people can soothe their wounded minds and bodies before returning to the light once more. I won’t vouch for all of it and I have no interest in letting the dark side take control of Academy City. But still!! There were people who could only find peace of mind in that stagnation!! | „ |
| ~ Norito Neoka to Touma Kamijou. |
Norito Neoka is a major antagonist in the light novel series A Certain Magical Index: Genesis Testament, serving as the main antagonist of the Christmas Day Arc.
He is an influential member of Academy City's governing board and a primary benefactor of the city's criminal underworld known as the Dark Side. He finds himself at odds with the new Board Chairman's intentions going forward with Academy City and attempts to stop the dissolution of the Dark Side by any means necessary.
Appearance[]
Neoka is described as a handsome and muscular man around the age of 30. He also wears a fancy suit which gives him the look of a high-profile entrepreneur or a famous actor instead of a businessman or executive. He also gives off the impression of a homeroom teacher rather than a principal or vice-principal.
Personality[]
| “ | Which means I’ll have to kill all of you. You could have avoided this fate if you hadn’t spied on me here. On the other hand, some dead kids to blame on Anti-Skill is sure to get the bored common folk on my side all the easier. | „ |
| ~ Neoka to Mikoto Misaka, demonstrating his ruthless and conniving nature. |
Norito Neoka outwardly behaves like a noble and selfless philanthropist, deeply involved in firefighting, disaster prevention and a wide range of charitable endeavors and volunteer programs. However, this public image serves as a carefully crafted façade. Beneath lies an extremely corrupt, manipulative, arrogant and twisted clean freak who has robbed some many people of their futures and ruined so many lives while pretending to be on the side of justice. Behind the scenes, Neoka orchestrates tragedies from the shadows, using volunteer work as a shield to manipulate others—especially children—without ever soiling his own hands.
When confronted by Touma Kamijou and Mikoto Misaka, Neoka displays a polite and courteous demeanor, even after casually telling them that has to kill them in order to eliminate all witnesses. Cunning and calculating, Neoka treats people as disposable pawns and demonstrates a callous attitude towards those he manipulates, having no qualms with discarding Hoshimi Maidono after she fails to capture Last Order. He also shows no signs of remorse or concern when Maidono caused mass destruction and death throughout the city, though he did tell her to have a little restraint. Neoka is also highly cautious and avoids any direct interaction with his pawns as he sees as a sign of his own intelligence.
In addition to his cautiousness, Neoka is extremely meticulous and prepares for any potential setbacks. When Maidono's kidnapping attempt is foiled by Touma and Anti-Skill is coming down on his head, he attempted to escape while setting off a fire and explosion at his home, intending to fake injuries and abuse his connections to make it look like Anti-Skill tried to kill rather than capture him and stall the resulting investigation to get a chance to destroy any incriminating evidence. He is also very ruthless and is fully willing to resort to murder to protect his interests, even casually stating that pinning the blame for some dead children on Anti-Skill would get the public on his side.
When he is belittled by Othinus who calls him a former rescue squad member, Neoka instantly sheds his veneer of politeness and becomes wrathful and vulgar, revealing a fragile ego underneath all his bravado. During his battle with Touma, its revealed that Neoka is a deeply delusional man whose past shaped him into a cruel person with a warped set of ideals. He claims the dark side is a necessary component of Academy City and its function. As such, he seeks to prevent its dissolution at any and all costs. As an elite member of the rescue squad, Neoka rescued many people who eventually became objects of societal scorn and curiosity; individuals who, under his guidance, vanished into the city's darkness and became part of its criminal underworld.
In Neoka's mind, the dark side serves as a sanctuary for society's outcasts where they can hide from the public's prying eyes and take their time to soothe their wounded minds and bodies before returning to the light once more - a "bedroom full of gentle darkness", as he describes it, beyond the reach of the sun. He even states that is willing to become a demon that does not belong in this city of science in order to protect the dark side. Despite his manipulativeness, it seems that Neoka did genuinely have good intentions and tried to advocate for the people who are made pariahs by repelling the malice of the city. Ironically, in his quest to eliminate that very malice, Neoka became somebody who thrives on it, using the city's darkness to fuel his own ambitions.
Biography[]
Past[]
In the past, Norito Neoka was an elite member of an unnamed rescue squad in Academy City. He had saved many lives during his tenure, however, the people he would save later become targets of people's curiosity. Eventually, they would become a part of Academy City's dark side in order to escape the curiosity and scorn of others. Disturbed by this, Neoka would dedicate his life to repelling people's malice and protecting the people he had rescued.
At some point in time, Neoka would become a member of Academy City's Board of Directors and establish himself as a charitable and kind philanthropist, being involved in several volunteer programs.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Minimum Collision Theory: By accessing knowledge from R&C Occultics, Neoka is able to use magic, which he mistakenly believes to be a method of utilizing elementary particles, their collisions and collapse, to simplify the world's composition and manipulate visible phenomena. However, it is actually an esoteric method based on associations between the seven metals of antiquity, the seven classical planets and seven of the ten Sephirah, enabling him to influence the 22 paths of the Sephiroth and affect the world. By creating a fictional angels, formed by adding "-el" or "-yah" to German words, Neoka inserts an invisible Sephirah into the tree and alters the world to produce the desired result through sanctified vocalization. He channels this power through a pair of card-sized guns with glass barrels that contain tiny, haloed girls called filaments, who change appearance and unleash effects when he speaks their name and a command involving specific metals and paths.
- Feuerel: Derived from the German word Feuer ("Fire"). The girl takes a red form with a glowing halo before unraveling to produce flame-related phenomena, such as fireballs or intense flames which appear from thin air then spiral and gather around Neoka's right hand. It can also create a targeted explosion and supersonic shot that scorches the air and obstacles in a straight line, capable of melting a coin to the color orange. Chant: "Construct a fictional port between Au and Cu, aka Path 14."
- Wasserel: Derived from the German word Wasser ("Water"). With this, Neoka can produce water which is gathered around his right hand. The water is compressed to increase its pressure, producing a straining sound like an old rope as it gathers around the hand. By gathering flames around the other hand with Feuerel and bringing both hands together, Neoka can combine the two to produce a powerful steam explosion, with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees several times over. Chant: "Construct a fictional port between Hg and Ag, aka Path 20."
- Windel: This spell creates a powerful gust of a wind which whirls around Neoka, allowing him to stand at the center of a steam explosion (produced through a combination of Feuerel and Wasserel) without harm. Chant: "Construct a fictional port between Pb and Fe, aka Path 8."
- Erdeel: Derived from the German word Erde ("Earth"). This spell causes the ground to swell up and produce a thick rock shield around Neoka. Chant: "Construct a fictional port between Sn and Fe, aka Path 9."
- Lichtel: Derived from the German word Licht ("Light"). The girl in the barrel becomes a glowing white light before breaking apart, with the light being unleashed from the muzzle in a powerful beam that is described as a warship-class weapon which could accurately shoot down ballistic missiles. Chant: "Construct a fictional port between Pb and Au, aka Path 7."
- Schmetterlingel: Derived from the German word Schmetterling ("Butterfly"). This spell produces a swarm of glowing butterflies that swallow up targets in torrent and can corrode metal. Chant: "Construct a fictional port between Au and Hg, aka Path 16."
- Explosionel: The girl in the barrel transforms into a mass of red, unravelling in the air, and is fired onto the ground to create a destructive explosion. Chant: "Construct a fictional port between Fe and Au, aka Path 12."
- Schneidel: Derived from the German word Schneid ("Cutting"). The girl in the barrel becomes lead-colored and on emerging from the tube, shatters and transforms into razor steel blades which scatter out like a shotgun blast.
Abilities[]
- Gifted Intelligence: Neoka is a very cunning and intelligent person. Being a former rescue squad elite, Neoka is trained in the proper use of rescue equipment and has some degree of medical knowledge, as well as great field experience. He is a highly proficient manipulator and has used his charisma and influence to gather many pawns, including Hoshimi Maidono.
- Peak Human Condition: As a former elite rescue squad member, Neoka possesses considerable physical training, maintaining his physical abilities even after becoming a member of the Board of Directors.
- Hand-to-Hand Combat: Neoka is shown to be a quite adept hand-to-hand combatant. During his battle with Touma Kamijou, after discarding his spiritual items, Neoka managed to go toe-to-toe with him and even nearly overpowered him.
Trivia[]
- Though it isn't confirmed, its implied that Neoka was once a member of Therestina Kihara Lifeline's rescue squad MAR.
