More or less continuing the trend of the first eight episodes, we get an action-packed episode this week to follow up a mostly humorous one. Not that there weren’t comedic moments, but the focus was on Touma’s ability and the advancement of the plot.

Oriana Thompson turns out to be a pretty damn good magician – a wizard, in fact, but Tsuchimikado and Stiyl’s reckoning. She does out some pretty good punishment to the both of them with her counterspells, leaving Stiyl down for the count and Tsuchi bleeding profusely. By contrast Touma gets a chance to really show off his ability here, both as a defensive weapon and as a protective one.

While Tsuchi and Touma chase Oriana throughout the town, finally, tracking the source of her magic to the stadium where the “Junior High Ball Toss” is about to occur, Index is pretty well out of the loop. She only has one short scene in the park with Komoe, though she does manage to look absurdly kawaii in her cheerleader uniform (well, the both do). The best moments are saved for Biribiri though, part of a team of 20 girls going up against a team of 200 very depressed-looking middle school boys – including an undercover Touma and Tsuchi. Touma manages to keep Biribiri from triggering Oriana’s trap spell, but Fukiyose stumbles onto it – and only a blast of imagine breaker saves her life. She’s left as yet another casualty, but the star of the scene is the blush on Biribiri’s face as Touma leans over her prone form.

Next week looks to get Index back into the fray, and Stiyl comes off the disabled list. Appears we’re going to get a second straight action-heavy episode.