[One]

It was an unheard of event.

June 18th 2097, early in the morning on Tuesday.

An uproar was created by a members of STARS, a magical unit under the direct command
of the Joint Staff Headquarters of the USNA Army, at the STARS headquarters located on
the outskirts of Roswell, New Mexico.

This wasn't a one man job. STARS are divided into twelve units, and each unit has a First
Class Star Captain.

Three of the twelve units caused unrest and were led by their Commander.

Luckily, only a few senior officers participated in the uprising. But this did not lessen the
situation.

◇◇◇

Lina came to Japan 71 hours ago.

At the STARS headquarters, where Lina had escaped from, the battle between the STARS
members was still going on.

STARS classify their soldiers as First-Class Stars, Second-Class Stars, Constellations,

Planetary and Satellite Class. Members of STARS, who are the strongest, focus more on
fighting than on magic.

Those who tried to kill Lina were - Captain of the 3rd Unit, Alexander Arcturus, First
Lieutenant of the 3rd Unit, Jacob Regulus, Captain of the 4th Unit Charlotte Vega, and
Second-Lieutenant of the 4th Unit, Leila Deneb.

Those who helped Lina escape were - Major Benjamin Canopus, Second-Lieutenant Ralph
Algol, and Second-Lieutenant Ralph Hardy Mirfak.

Among them, Mirfak had left the base with her, using the prototype for a Flying Car.

Therefore Canopus was facing three people, Arcturus, Regulus and Vega.

And Deneb, who was pursuing Lina until she escaped, was busy with Algol.

"Leila!"
Deneb was going after Algol after she fell from the loading platform of the prototype, which
was carrying Lina. Vega screamed when she saw Lina leave. She also jumped out into the
street to go after her, who had escaped from the warehouse storing the prototype, but she
could not ignore Canopus and remained here.

"Major Canopus! Don't you know that Major Sirius is a traitor?"

Canopus didn’t know if those lines from Vega were used to confuse him, or because she
seriously believed this. He thought that these were probably the last of the parasites, but that
was only him guessing.

Second Lieutenant of the 11th Unit, Ariana Lee Shaula claimed that members from the 3rd,
6th and 11th Unit, excluding herself, had become parasites. She was saved because of her
mental defence due to her affinity with Mental Interference Type magic. As part of this, her
ability to notice parasitic magic waves was also high. Canopus thought her guess was
reliable.

As Shaula said, Vega and Deneb of the 4th Unit are not parasites. But if this uprising is led
by a parasite, Vega, who isn’t a parasite, was still likely to listen to this information.

It's no secret that Vega is not friendly with Lina. Many of STARS also understand that this is
due to jealousy.

It may be because of the influence of Vega, but Lieutenant Deneb from the 4th Unit also
rebelled against Lina. Likewise, Lieutenant Spica from the 4th Unit does not take such a
blatant position as Vega and Deneb, but it was not so difficult to see that their internal
thoughts are similar.

Perhaps this feeling was being exploited.

Military personnel should not act through sympathy. Personnel is trained to be tough at any
time.

However, people are weak to their own interests.

If a good reason is given, someone will easily be deceived.

He may not have had the same emotions as them, but he could understand the source of
their reaction.

It wasn’t easy for Canopus to understand this, but he had seen many examples of it before.

"A Captain should not say that a Major betrayed STARS! Captain Vega, your actions are
worrying!”
Therefore, through replying to Vega, he expressed that they were not being convincing.

Vega's answer was ‘Double Press’, a Weight Type magic. This is a magic that can apply
pressure from two different directions at the same time and is usually used on opposite sides
in order to compress a target from both sides. Canopus countered using ‘Press’, also a
Weight Type magic, thus defeated Vega’s magic. Instead of canceling the magic itself, he
defeated the other's magic by identifying the magic and conflicting the event by modifying it..

"... ..."

A surprised sound came out of the Vega’s mouth. Reversing the effect of magic of the
enemy by making its definition fail are included in the training of STARS. Of course she
knew that. However, in order to deliberately create a ‘faulty definition’, it is necessary to read
the enemy’s magic and accurately predict the magic used by the enemy, either by releasing
magic at the appropriate coordinates or by using the enemy.

The first, albeit not very precise, requires some difficulty.

The latter means that he needs to read the enemy, that is, to accurately follow and know
what they are doing.

The surprise that Vega showed was an opportunity for Canopus.

To stop Vega, Canopus closed the gap between them. He didn’t want to cut her using
‘Molecular Divider’, but to deprive her of her freedom using a blow at close range.

But Canopus stopped at his fourth step.

Having just enough time to look behind him, he put up a ‘Mirror Shield’ diagonally behind
him.

His shield works against high-energy weapons like the laser light bullet fired by Regulus.

The laser bullet he reflected caught Regulus's face.

Shocked, he could feel the cold sweat on his back.

Regulus was in a hurry and moved with his armed device.

Until now, Regulus had not been actively attacked by Canopus. Was Canopus unable to find
Regulus' location or was he simply prioritising Vega or Arcturus?

Regulus attacks with a sniper.

However, the current Regulus is under pressure.

Regulus’ specialty is "laser sniping". When using this ability to shoot a shot, the enemy
magician knows where he is. Immediately after an attack, the risk of being discovered by the
enemy is the same as when firing live ammunition, but it is less dense than ordinary magic,
making it capable to be shot from far away, even to the point where the eyes can’t see.

Regulus understands the flaw in his magic well. Every time he shot, he needs to run away
from that place with a rifle-shaped weapon.

It was true that he hadn’t gotten attacked, except by Canopus’ counterattack.

But this counterattack weakened his mind.

The light bullet that hit Canopus' 'Mirror Shield', has long since been cancelled by Regulus.

Regulus had to calm down.

Needless to say, laser light moves at the speed of light. The time it takes between departure
and arrival is practically zero, and it is already too late to block or reflect the laser using a
shield if it has already been shot.

There are two types of shields against energy bullets.

One blocks energy above a certain amount. This is the usual type.

The other reflects electromagnetic waves. ‘Mirror Shield’ is this type.

For laser bullets, the latter is more effective. ‘Mirror Shield’ reflects only the light that is
coming in, it doesn’t do anything with the light going out. Even the usual anti-energy shield
will not interfere with the attacks of ‘Laser sniping’.

In principle, it is possible to block the bullets of energy, by using ‘Mirror Shield’ immediately
before shooting. ‘Laser Sniping’ has an inevitable temporary lag because of the initial Magic
Invocation. So if you deploy Mirror Shield right after activating Laser Sniping, it can be
blocked.

Lina's ‘Mirror Shield’ is capable of deflecting projectiles straight to the ground in order to
spare allies from being hit by the recoil. Canopus’ ‘Mirror Shield’ is able to reflect the
projectiles at nearly a 180-degree angle. The reason why the angle of reflection is not clear
is because there is a bit of ‘movement’ in magic. If it were to be described in degrees, it
would be something like ‘180 degrees plus or minus three degrees’. If there was no
movement, Regulus would have been hit.

He felt fear of being shot by the laser he fired.

This was gradually damaging Regulus’ mental strength.

Lieutenant Leila Deneb and Captain Ralph Algor from the First Unit were having a martial art
match in a place two hundred meters from the storehouse where Canopus and Vega were
located. Deneb jumped on the vehicle that was carrying Lina, by using Movement Type
magic, but was blocked by Algol, who was hiding on the loading dock, and they both fell on
various types of joints.

Deneb and Algor almost simultaneously got up and began a useless battle without asking
any questions. Deneb believes that Algor is collaborating with the ‘Traitorous Sirius’ ─ which
is true except for the ‘Traitorous’ part ─ So Deneb's judgment was not mistaken, which is
what he was thinking. Algol was satisfied and didn’t pay any attention to any other enemies
or his allies, just on his fight.

Deneb aimed with the gun in his right hand and pulled the trigger.

But at that moment Algol was no longer in his line of fire. He had instantly turned the
distance of ten meters into zero, capturing the knife that Deneb held.

Algol grabbed the big combat knife. The knife had a blade that was about 30 centimeters
long and unlike a survival knife, this one’s thick top had no ordinary shape. The long handle
was curved at the top, to attach itself to the opponent’s knife.

Deneb and Algol both prefer the same type of magic battles.

They were well prepared for the battle, using high speed Movement Type Magic. And Deneb
was already levitating using magic.

This is a flight magic technique developed by Taurus Silver. Flying magic is a technique that
allowed free flight, continuing to periodically activate Gravity Control Type magic in less than
one second. STARS applied this to their Movement Type magic.

When constantly activating Movement Type magic in a very short time. If the destination of
the movement is not defined, the Movement Type magic is automatically destroyed without
showing any of its effects but this Gravity Control magic can carry the user along a linear
trajectory in whichever direction the user wants to move. With this technology, STARS
managed to solve the problem of CAD delays that prevents sudden movement from which
the melee magician suffers.

Thus, Deneb, who was in a state where she could move at any time with the help of this
technique, could have been hit if she had thought about attacking Algol. However, Deneb got
Algol’s knife in the blade guard held in her left hand.

Even if she stepped back using Movement Type Magic, Algor, using the same technology,
would catch her in the next moment. She also thought that it would still be difficult, even if
she avoided it. But more than that, warlike feelings prevailed in Deneb.
Deneb believed in the betrayal of Lina from the bottom of her heart. She was desperately
disgusted with Lina's name ‘Sirius’.

The title ‘Sirius’ is a symbol of The Military Magician of the USNA. The betrayal of Sirius is a
disgrace to the pride of a magician belonging to the USNA troops. Deneb was incredibly
angry, but was also misunderstanding the situation.

Deneb aimed her pistol at Algol.

Algol's left hand stretched, and Deneb's pistol was caught between the blade of the knife
and the handle of the knife held in the other hand. A forward-curved long handle usually
wasn’t seen in a normal combat knife.

Before Algol could get to her wrist, Deneb freed her hand from his grip.

Deneb retreated a few meters before letting the gun fall to the ground.

Algor had a surprised voice and told her,

"What is this!"

"Ha ha ha ha! I guess a knife can also be used like that!"

A knife with a long handle is a special object, used to intercept the attacks of the enemy.

Algol was focused on the knife.

"But this is!"

“Ha ha ha ha ha! A half gun, half knife! ”

Algol moved, leaving residual images behind. The next moment he appeared on the side of
Deneb.

Algol cut diagonally with his knife.

Deneb's right hand was empty. She tried to catch Algol with the knife in her left hand.

The left hand of Algol delicately changed its trajectory.

He deliberately faced his knife to that of Deneb’s.

Getting rid of the knife and making it useless.

The tip of the knife, which Algol had in his right hand, pointed at Deneb’s left flank, which has
become wounded.
Deneb's face was horrified.

Canopus was unable to observe the battle of his subordinates. Even if he knew the situation,
helping them is impossible.

At the moment, the situation was chaotic. Being one on three, they did not want to waste
their numerical advantage.

Negate the Gravity Type magic by using the same magic.

Reflect Regulus’ ‘Laser Sniping’ using ‘Mirror Shield’.

Intercepting Arcturus’ 'Dancing Blades' with 'Molecular Divider'.

Violent face-to-face fighting continues with the three First-Class members.

It was a tough battle, even with the skill of Canopus.

If it were a real war, he might not have had any difficulties so far.

If Canopus was serious, he could have already won.

Although Captains have the same basic abilities, Major Canopus and Captain Vega differ in
their Class abilities. Canopus is a man who was supposed to be stronger than even the
previous Sirius in the event of a battle on land. Vega has no chance of winning a direct fight,
in which each other's figure is visible. In fact, Vega's face had already been unclearly hidden
ever since his fight against Lina.

Regulus was also an opponent of Canopus: "He cannot be ignored, but he is not a
significant threat."

The ‘Laser Sniping’ used by Regulus has a structural flaw that takes about one second from
activation to launch.

And Regulus also happens to rarely use other magic besides ‘Laser Sniping’. While Regulus
does narrow down the range of tactics that he can use, if you use Canopus’ skill, it is not
difficult to simultaneously confront Vega.

Even when fighting Regulus and Vega, and with the handicap that ‘He Can't Fight Seriously’,
this battle would have ended in a victory for Canopus in a short time. But that would be true
if it was only the two of them.

Arcturus was a powerful enemy.

Captain of the 3rd Unit, Alexander Arcturus. A Magician who acquired both the modern
magic of STARS and the Ancient Magic of the indigenous peoples of North America — both
with high affinity. Although he could not use Spirit Magic because he was assimilated with
the parasite, he received a net gain in fighting power, by completely using the force of the
parasite.

Canopus blocked the light bullets of Regulus and urgently went after Vega.

However, Canopus was forced to retreat by a strong wind.

This was because of Arcturus.

The killing power is low. Although this is magic aimed at destroying the enemy's position, in
order to escape from a local gust of wind with a diameter of 2 meters and 60 meters per
second, Canopus had to dodge by more than 5 meters.

Going after the dodging Canopus, was not an arrow, but something more dangerous.

‘Dancing Blades’ made from obsidian, are sharply designed and shaped.

Usually, Dancing Blades uses an embedded knife-shaped CAD. That is why it is so easy
and accurate that you can do it with a single Magic Activation.

But this does not mean that the weapons used for Dancing Blades is limited to CADs. The
one creating the magic is the magician, not the CAD. This is an absolute principle that does
not change in any magic.

First, ‘Dancing Blades’ is a magic that uses the weight of the object to make it move, and
any weapon that has this can be used. It doesn’t even have to be a knife. Realistically, even
a stone on the side of the road could be the ‘bullet’ of the ‘Dancing Blades’.

Four object simultaneously came to Canopus with different trajectories. All of them were
knocked down by ‘Molecular Divider’.

Obsidian, cut in half, fell to the ground. The object defined as the object for ‘Dancing Blades’,
was compromised, and the magic was forcibly interrupted due to the collapse of the
definition.

But the attack of Arcturus did not end there. Using his magic, Arcturus moved after every
attack he made, making it difficult for Canopus to find him.

When the wind blew, bird-like feathers danced around in the shape of an Eagle’s head.
These are feathered darts made from synthetic fibers and titanium needles. These ultrathin,
high strength fiber don’t just cut the human skin, but also any protective skin depending on
speed.
Dozens of feathers rode the wind and attacked Canopus. Arcturus specializes in Spirit Magic
and Movement Type Magic. In particular, it is his ability to incorporate these magics to create
and control an airflow. These feathers were not being controlled, but rather they just followed
the air stream.

‘Molecular Divider’ can not interfere with gas. As each feather got blown away by the wind,
they couldn’t be knocked away.

Canopus fought with magic that explodes a great amount of compressed air. He forces the
wind away, which doubled as a protective shield, and he once again rushed Vega.

Regulus just looked behind him to see the back of Canopus.

Is it because his attack look aggressive that they cannot overcome the three to one
stalemate?

Such an assumption emerged in Regulus' brain.

A large machine, which is used for training, danced in the air.

This was done by the Gravity Control Type Magic of Vega.

Canopus can do this as well since it belongs to the Weight Type Magic System. Even when
the CAD system is in operation, he should be able to do it while staying on the same
position. But his mind was currently focused on the large machine flying towards him.

So Regulus decided to take action.

Armed with an integrated CAD in the form of a rifle, he pulled the trigger.

From starting the Activation Sequence to the Magic Activation took around 2 seconds.
Although this weapon uses a specialized type CAD, it was still quite fast.

Initially, Laser Sniping was a technique Regulus was good at, making him surpass the usual
magic speed and power, combined with the enhanced performance of exclusive CAD
systems. Under the influence of the parasite, this improved even further.

However, the time required to amplify the bullet used for the laser beam is mechanical, not
physical so it cannot be shortened. This time can be reduced by starting with a higher level
of Laser energy, which is possible if you improve the power to change an event by becoming
a parasite.

But for this to happen, should Regulus have to change his already existing armed devices to
allow for higher power consumption. Or should a completely new armed device be created?
Three days ago, Regulus became a parasite. In just three days he was unable upgrade the
devices he prefers.

However, if Canopus is currently occupied with Vega, he shouldn’t be able to counterattack

the attack even if it has a temporary delay. This is what Regulus was thinking.
But just before that, when he was about to launch a laser bullet.

Canopus disappeared from Regulus’ scope.

He hadn’t gone invisible.

Instead of the silhouette of a man, his view was being obstructed.

Something was reflected on the hangar, where Regulus himself was hiding.

The laser had been fired.

It’s impossible to deal with energy bullets coming at you at the speed of light if you are
unprepared.

Having been perfectly reflected by hundred and eighty degrees, the energy bullets destroyed
the armed device, and burning fragments came in to his right eye.

Screaming furiously, Regulus retired from the battle.

(Back to Canopus)

When he heard Regulus’ scream, Canopus knew what had happened.

He didn’t ignore Regulus. When he approached Vega to take her out, Regulus attacking him
was inevitable. Canopus simply did not try to hide himself, which Regulus had expected.

But no doubt the battle will become easier with this. Regulus’ magic is nothing to be ignorant
of, and now instead of a 1 versus 3, it became a 1 versus 2.

Immediately after that, he heard two noises in his eardrum.

Moving his eyes in the direction of where the sound came from. He retreated at the same
time and went away from Vega. This was an act of security, which he had made
unconsciously.

There he saw Algol and Deneb both fall.

In his heart, Canopus screamed out to Algol because he felt responsible.

Because Deneb was not the only one who staggered and collapsed. Algol also collapsed
next to her. He looked the same as Deneb after their fight, but from a distance it became
clear that he was trying not to excessively hurt her.

From Canopus’ position, it wasn’t possible to see Algol's back which was stained with blood.
No, if you look carefully, you could probably see, but in a situation where you have to be
wary of the attacks of the enemy, you don’t have the luxury to check.

But he realized that a new enemy had attacked Algol.

This is because his opponent was aiming at himself.

The force field of a thin, sharp, deformed ‘Molecular Divider’ extended to Canopus.

He cut off the force field with the same magic.

(Lieutenant Spica!)

Before even seeing the enemy who released this magic, he already knew the identity of the
operator.

A modified version of his ‘Molecular Divider’, ‘Molecular Divider - Javelin’ is only used by one
person in STARS.

The First Lieutenant of the 4th Unit of the STARS, Zoe Spica.

Beyond Canopus’ line of sight, a woman, who wore the military uniform in the summer
despite it being early in the morning, pointed at Canopus with her right hand.

A metal, non-curved nail was attached to the tip of her extended index finger. She kind of
looked like a Japanese singer pointing at a crowd, but it was her stance when using
‘Molecular Divider - Javelin’.

Again, the narrow molecular destruction force field extended to Canopus. But instead of it
being narrow and having a limited range, this ‘Molecular Divider’ could also be used at mid
range, thus expanding its range.

Canopus once again cut off the head of the attack while also cutting Vega’s gravitational
field, which he tried to do with his own version of ‘Molecular Divider’.

No, the expression ‘Molecular Divider’ cutting the ‘Gravity Control Magic’ could be
misleading. Gravity Control is a magi’"Molecular Divider’ also changes the nature of space.
Both magic collapsed due to a collision between Event Modifications that ‘change only the
gravitational field in normal space’ and ‘change only the electromagnetic properties of
normal space’.
At that moment, the ‘Molecular Divider’ of Canopus was also interrupted. Because Arcturus’
Tomahawk was approaching him.

Canopus jumped off to the side with full force and activated ‘Molecular Divider’.

Tomahawk destroyed the residual image of Canopus.

Tomahawk, turned over in the air and continued to go after Canopus, who was now standing
on the ground once more.

Initially this was not possible for ‘Dancing Blades’. ‘Dancing Blades’ is a magic that allows
you to pre-program the trajectory of an object in advance, but not the ability to remotely
control the object.

By applying Spirit Magic, he could create a kind of interactive state with a weapon, making it
able to give it his thoughts and rewrite the new ‘blades’ by doing this. This was the original
skill of Arcturus, the magician holding magic of both ancient and modern times.

The increase in power usage that comes with rewriting magic definitions cannot be avoided.
The trajectory can only be changed a maximum of five times. However, the trajectory itself
does not have to be a straight line, or a parabola, because ‘Dancing Blades’ is able to move
up and down, and turn around. With a normal weapon like a grenade, one would not be able
to take out all their enemies, but if you could even change the trajectory of something just
three times, not even the full five, then it would be far more potent.

Because of the parasite in Arcturus, he cannot use Spirit Magic. However, even though he
has lost his ability to access independent Information bodies, which is defined as the ‘spirit’,
this did not mean he lost his ability to use Ancient Magic. His Ancient Magic skills that do not
use independent Information bodies have improved, because of his assimilation with the
parasite.

Canopus intercepted the attacking Tomahawk with a sharp blow with his knee.

No matter the speed, the swing itself barely had any power. So it was more like swinging
with a stick than with a sword.

However, Tomahawk, which was magically strengthened by Arcturus’ thought, fell apart.

The blade similar to a Japanese sword could not cut everything easily. Canopus’ original
device did not cut similarly to a normal steel blade. The blade is simply the guiding tool, the
blade that actually cuts is made out of magic. If the force that divides the intermolecular
binding can be formed, then the vague shape of the blade doesn’t matter.

Tomahawk, that was divided into two parts, ceased to fly above the ground.
Even if it is being controlled through thought, if it loses its form, it will return to being a
regular armed device, making the magic fail.

His pursuit of Arcturus was interrupted. Since ‘Dancing Blades’ requires material objects as a
carrier, there is a limit to the number of ‘bullets’ that can be prepared in advance. Arcturus
called forth such ‘bullets’.

Canopus could not find out the place where Arcturus was hiding. However, Arcturus’
temporary attack had disappeared - this was a prime opportunity to reduce the enemy’s
combat power.

Now the enemies that Canopus focused on were Vega and Spica.

Spika’s ‘Molecular Divider - Javelin’ had the same characteristics as that of Canopus’. But it
is only natural that it only has limited impact when the enemy knows its workings.

Canopus decided to focus on Vega, who was the more problematic enemy in the first place.

Canopus released a plasma bullet of air as a pretext so Spika would have to deal with that,
but he also hit Vega with ‘Molecular Divider’.

Vega, even when wary of ‘Molecular Divider’, was completely defeated, and then she got hit
by the plasma bullets. Canopus did not increase the plasma density too much as to avoid
fatal injuries, but it was still powerful enough to temporarily paralyze her entire body.

Vega fell on her back. She did not seem to have completely fainted, but it seemed that she
was unable to move her limbs freely.

Canopus looks back at Spica. He was going to finish off Spica and finally take Arcturus on in
a one on one.

But what Canopus saw, was not just the silhouette of Spica, but also other people.

"Major Canopus, I want you to stop your resistance."

A new figure came into his sight.

Second Lieutenants Ian Bellatrix and Samuel Alnilam.

Two members of the 6th Unit in STARS, who got infected by parasites in the Micro-Black
Hole experiment that was held the other day, were seen dragging the wounded and
unconscious Algol who was in bad shape.

Spica was surprised. For her, this reinforcement was surprising.

"... ... Are you referring to a hostage?"

Canopus spoke to Arcturus in a tone that did not hide his disgusted feelings.

“We had captured Shaula beforehand.”

Arcturus did not answer his question, but instead extended his other hand.

“Major Canopus, your goal is to allow Major Sirius to escape, your goal has been
accomplished, do you still think this battle that only increases the amount of injuries is
smart?”

"It was you who caused senseless turbulence."

Canopus answered by condemning the silent Arcturus.

But reasoning doesn’t apply to people taken over by parasites, and Canopus knew this.

Canopus took out his Japanese looking armed device in the form of a sword.

"...Stand down."

"We guarantee your safety."

"Only for my body?"

To the sarcastic question of Canopus, Arcturus replied with a funny look.

“I do not plan to make you part of our group.”

◇◇◇

Contrary to the expectations of Canopus, he was not taken to a prison cell, but to a separate
room, which the senior officer of another department used when they visited the base.

Of course, his weapons, including his armed devices, were taken, but escaping does not
seem to be difficult. CAD is a must-have tool for modern magic users, but it is not necessary
when conjuring magic. Although there are ways to make magic more difficult to use, a
general method of making magic unusable has not been developed. Although he had heard
stories about the possibility of preventing Magical Invocation of others by using a special
magic related to Mental Interference Magic.

However, Canopus did not leave the room, so as not to escape. No food was brought to me
for several hours, so he spent the night alone with just mineral water, which was in an
equipped refrigerator.

When the messenger came to get him, it was already at 21:00.

He appeared between Lieutenant Bellatrix and Lieutenant Alnilam and appeared in the office
of the Colonel.

There is a chair in front of the Colonel’s table.

Surrounding Canopus were on one side, Arcturus and Vega and on the other was Major
Capella from the 5th Unit, who sat there with a muzzle aimed at his face.

"Major Canopus, wait.”

Following the words of the Colonel of the base, Walker, Canopus sat down in front of the
table after saluting.

“Well, Major Canopus, it seems like your alleged injuries were worth it since you managed to
help Ralph Hardy Mirfak get out of the base.”

Canopus' face contained a surprised expression.

Walker expected such a reaction.

"Surrounding Major Sirius’ departure, this was done through formal military facilities and
directed by Colonel Balance, so it isn’t your fault."

In other words, it was not possible to ask Lina to return.

The surprised expression disappeared from Canopus' face and he regained his poker face.

“I think you know that the higher ups have agreed to take out the Japanese Strategic Class
Magician, Shiba Tatsuya.”

"I am aware of this."

Dothey want to eliminate Tatsuya as a threat us, or include him in the USNA’s global
strategy, taking the risk that he could be threat? The higher ups of the USNA army could all
agree that these were the main two options.

“But you can understand that his Strategic Class Magic is too strong and should not be
used”

"............"

To Walker's speech, Canopus responded with silence.

Walker lightly touched his eyebrows, but immediately returned to the original administrative
view and resumed with the conversation.
“I think we should eliminate Tatsuya, Captain Arcturus and Captain Vega also agree”

“Colonel, their states of health should cause serious concern.”

But Canopus was unable to spark any form of suspicion in Walker.

"Major Canopus, it is true that they have become parasites, but their loyalty to this country
has not changed. That is my core belief."

When he was looked at, Arcturus clearly turned his face.

“As for the treatment of Captain Arcturus, it is currently under review.”

Walker did not listen to the warning of Canopus.

At this point, Canopus was convinced that Walker was mentally being controlled by a
parasite. Instead of it being a complete psychological take over, which would turn their
partner into a puppet, a part of his thinking was definitely being influenced. By influencing the
mind and stimulating the desire and crisis that he felt, Walker could be controlled as to their
liking. ── Canopus suggested so.

“Major, it seems that you cannot approve the killing of Tatsuya.”

"Even if him becoming an enemy is inevitable, we should not take cowardly measures such
as assassination."

“... ...But do you think such a naive thought should actually be followed upon?”

“I don't think it makes sense to deny naive thoughts.”

Canopus did not disagree with using dirty tactics. There are things that cannot be solved by
just talking. Canopus knows about this to a certain extent from his own experience, so he
doesn't need to say this.

But pride is necessary. If you indulge yourself with the unlimited use of the excuse ‘because
it is necessary’, the army will quickly turn into a group that simply focuses on violence. These
were Canopus’ thoughts.

"...Major Canopus. Do you want to take a plea deal?"

Walker didn’t bother trying to convince Canopus and changed the subject.

"Is this about the court cases?"

"That's right."
The interrogation of the higher ups found that he did not participate in any illegal bidding.

Afterwards, after Walker confirmed this, the tension that Canopus felt started to drop.

Walker continued on about the plea deal by expanding its range.

“If this becomes a military-legislative conference, headquarters will have to come as well.
This is inevitable if we consider the special nature of our division. If a military council were to
convene in current times, it will surely lead to quarreling between the opposing parties,
hindering the impact any military operation can have.”

Canopus wanted to disagree with Walker's assumptions.

Of course, it can come to this. Nevertheless, the likelihood that this situation will lead to the
council becoming dysfunctional is low. The higher ups are not so stupid.

Usually Canopus would have told him this. But when he took his current position into
account, he couldn’t afford to give a negative opinion.

“If you recognize the injuries you gave to Lieutenant Regulus, we will consider Lieutenant
Mirfak to have went missing because of the mission he is taking, and we will also promise to
reduce the punishment for Lieutenant Algol and Shaula.”

"What punishment will I specifically get?"

Canopus already started defending himself.

“A one-year prison sentence.”

This is a pretty harsh punishment for justice. However, given that the parasite is disturbing
Walker, Canopus believed that imprisonment, which can physically distance him from them,
would be convenient for them.

"In addition, we will treat the punishment as a penalty during an undercover mission, so it will
not scratch your military history and won’t harm your family."

"...Well, I have two conditions."

“Fine. Let's make it an even trade. ”

Walker's voice was unexpectedly soft. Was his subconscious mind resisting the thought
manipulation or was he trying to avoid breaking the deal because of Canopus’ combat
value?

Both were probable theories.

“I want to be imprisoned in Midway Prison.”

"... Why?"

Walker had a perplexed expression. The military prisons on Midway Island are the most
unpopular, and are completely isolated from society - a place where criminals with highest
offenses are sent to.

"Isn't that more comfortable for the Colonel?"

Canopus felt this was ironic because it allows him to not worry about being disturbed.

Walker momentarily made an angry face, but that offensive expression disappeared almost
immediately.

“Well, let me decide after hearing what your other condition is?”

“Lieutenant Algol and Shaula, I would like it for them to come with me.”

"Won’t they both be offended by going to Midway prison?"

"Will they be punished there?"

Canopus did not move because of the disgust he felt with Walker.

"─ ─ I accept your terms and will meet you halfway with Capelle being your guard till you get
there.”

Erase that expression on your face, that’s what Walker was trying to tell him.

After this conversation, Captain Arcturus and Captain Vega smiled.

Major Capella, who was sitting across from them, was always capricious.

The imprisonment of Canopus, Algol and Shaula was officially accepted on the next day to
happen as soon as possible.

Many people felt suspicious about this abnormally fast decision that was made by the
Pentagon.

But there were none who tried to prevent this decision, including Colonel Balance.
[Two]

Sunday morning, June 23rd, 2097.

Angie Sirius, the High Captain of ‘STARS’ whose real name is Angelina Kudou Shields was
currently on board of a small VTOL plane.

Angelina, commonly known as Lina, fled from the base of their headquarters because of the
members that had assimilated with parasites and she was therefore branded a rebel.

She fled to Japan under the direction of Colonel Balance and with the help of the Kuroba
family, who she stayed with for a couple of days, but last night she spent it in Tatsuya’s and
Miyuki’s apartment.

But now she was moving to a new place where she could hide. Miyaki Island was located
around 90 kilometers to the north of the South Sea, and about 50 kilometers to the east of
Miyake-jima. This small island is also called the ‘Newest Island of the 21st Century’ because
it was formed because of the activities of an underwater volcano in the first year of the 21st
century. Despite it being small, the area has grown to be about 8 square kilometers, which is
almost the same size as Tokyo.

This island has become a new shelter for Lina.

Miyaki Island is the private property of the Yotsuba Family, but to be precise, it is owned by a
real estate company controlled by the Yotsuba. Regardless of the technicalities, it still has
the same result.

There is a special story behind the acquiry of the island by the Yotsuba family.

Originally, this was a supply base for the Japanese Navy. But due to volcanic activity, it was
abandoned in the 2050’s . After the end of WWII, it became a secret prison exclusively for
military magicians and was entrusted to the Yotsuba Family as they were the only ones
capable of managing magicians of such military caliber.

The Yotsuba acquired Miyaki island, while also taking over the secret prison.

However, the prison was relocated to a different side of the island because of volcanic
activity on the eastern side of the island. The place of transfer was decided on some time
ago, and finally, as of last month, the transfer of prisoners was completed and the facilities
were refurbished.

Also on the eastern side of the island, which was not used as a prison anymore, a plan was
made for constructing buildings that were going to be used for magical research. Although
the construction was supposed to start in April, the power plant that uses the Thermonuclear
Fusion Reactor that was designed by Tatsuya will also be built in the area.
Another small VTOL came that carried Tatsuya and Miyuki. Despite the main reason for
visiting being that he wanted to check up on Lina, Tatsuya also wanted to inspect the place
where the plant was going to be built.

At the end of last month, he had decided to implement his ESCAPES plan here. Tatsuya
visited Miyaki island several times to understand both the topography and the climate to
check if he had chosen the right spot. He was sure that it was necessary to check whether or
not there were any environmental conditions that he was unaware of.

“Thank you, Miyuki-san, Shields-san, we will be landing soon.”

Hyougo, who was controlling the compact VTOL, informed them. In this VTOL there currently
were six people, with the exception of the pilot, and there is no partition between the pilot
and passengers. The voice of Hyougo came right to Tatsuya.

“It's pretty broad, it also has an unusual infrastructure which is quite unexpected.”

Lina, who saw the island for the first time, gave her impression of what she saw.

"Well ... this has changed a lot."

Miyuki had been here in the past, so she could not hide her surprise of the scenes before
her.

"You have been on this island?"

"Well, four years ago."

When she visited four years ago, there only were prisons in the coastal zone in the west,
and most of the island was rocky and sandy.

However, the now more developed Miyaki island has airfields with short runways in the
northern part of the island, geothermal power stations in the center and more than 10
middle-class buildings in the eastern part.

Tatsuya was also struck by surprise, but for different reasons that Miyuki..

(... is that a stone refinement plant?)

(There also is an advanced computerised building in the center...)

Tatsuya found a building with the characteristics similar to the FLT laboratory in Tokyo.

And suddenly he was convinced.

A new Yotsuba home will be built on this island.

Maya didn’t tell Tatsuya the full plan.

Only that the new plant for his ESCAPES project will be built on Miyaki island.

So, the part of the plan that included building the second home of the Yotsuba here was
unknown to him.

It seems that the Yotsuba house is trying to build a private research laboratory here next to
the upcoming open experimental facility. And, perhaps, among the researchers gathered
here for the ESCAPES project, they are thinking of including particularly prominent people
from the Yotsuba house, to achieve even further development of magical technology.

A small VTOL landed on the helipad. The runway here is not long enough for large aircrafts
to land and take off, but if it’s a VTOL or a compact aircraft with less than 50 passengers, it
can take off and land sufficiently. The Yotsuba were serious about the development of this
island.

As expected, there were no trains or monorails. The four were driving a self-propelled
vehicle prepared by the Mashiba, one of the branch families of the Yotsuba clan that runs
the prison, which was on the west side of the island.

They walked around the volcano, where there was little activity going on, and arrived at the
residential district for prison management. On the way there, as before, they saw cliffs of
lava, and the coast, filled with stones. The development of the island seemed to have a
strong focus on the east side of the island.

About half of the prisoners were left here, and a large part of the management staff has also
left this part of the island. This was bound to happen when most of the guards moved on to
the new prison.

Personnel management facilities remained full. The residential buildings were also ready to
be occupied.

"Ho.... This is more like an apartment, not a hotel."

They got the impression that Lina was looking through the room with satisfaction. So
Tatsuya and Miyuki had no objections to her first impression.

"Food can also be purchased in the refrigerators and warehouses, you also don’t have to
worry about clothing for the foreseeable future."

"...OK."
Lina looked suspicious because she was worried that Tatsuya only picked things men enjoy
to see. However, Mirfak, who is her subordinate and also a man, would not have done such
things, so her worries may be unnecessary.

“This facility area doesn’t only have places for residency but also convenience stores,
training rooms, rest rooms, etc. do you wish to look at them?”

She assumed that this was just a warehouse that at times could be used by the prison staff.

Tatsuya asked Lina for what she wanted to do with his eyes. Today's visit is to ask the
manager if they can use the prison on Miyaki island as a shelter for Lina. Lina thought that
she had no choice in the matter, but that was her misunderstanding. If Lina had said, ‘I don’t
like it’, the Yotsuba house would have prepared a different shelter.

"... Can you show me around?"

Even here, Lina misunderstood that she had no right to refuse. She was going to hold off on
the inevitable tour but she ended up agreeing to it anyways.

"Hey... Tatsuya, are you sure I can live here?"

This was the first thing Lina said after they had returned to her room

"That would certainly be the best."

Although she felt that it was strange to respond, Lina still told the other side in order keep the
conversation going:

"It would be nice to say that I dislike it ..."

Lina's voice sounded tired. This was probably mental fatigue, not physical fatigue, probably
from all the surprises she has gotten this day.

She never felt so luxurious as she feels now with all of the services available to her.

Because she could get anything she wanted.

There is nothing she could think of that could cause any inconvenience she may have in the
future.

Same for this room. Apart from the fact that she can't leave the area, she finds it more
comfortable than her place at the STARS headquarters. This was not what Lina imagined
after her life threatening situation.

"Besides, I guess I’m glad that you showed me something like that...?"
Lina's eyes had been moving around uncontrollably.

The places she visited with her host as a guest wasn’t just the prison facility. She also got to
see the laboratory that was under construction.

Bypassing the personnel manager, Tatsuya, Miyuki and Lina headed to the eastern part of
the island, where they were going to use a helicopter. Not only when they wanted to tour the
facilities, but whenever it came to transportation for Tatsuya, Hyougo took the initiative to
take care of it himself. In the two months that Hyougo served Tatsuya, it seems he has found
something that is worth dedicating his loyalty to Tatsuya to.

The place where they went to was a factory for processing induction stones, which was the
only thing Lina could focus her eyes on when they flew by.

The induction stone is the heart of the CAD system. Its main method of manufacturing it is
widely known. Technology related to CADs, developed as a military technology, was not
protected by a patent but was not completely open to the public. However, technological
leaks have become more common, because of spying between developers, which no longer
made them confidential.

However, this is only the technology used for the basic induction stones and although these
induction stones can be manufactured using these published methods, it was still difficult to
produce high level induction stones.

The induction stone is the component meant to connect the psion and electrical signals.
However, not all induction stones convert these signals the same and they have to be
adjusted depending on the design, and the efficiency will also change during its final check.

An induction stone may differ in its efficiency to convert signal, so an induction stone, that
was produced in different way, may have a higher rate of converting signals. Some stones
are able to convert weaker signals, while others may have the ability to accurately reproduce
a signal.

For example, Rosen MagiCraft from Germany, McGregor Wand from the UK, America's
Maximilian Device were companies that were highly appreciated for their general level of
their induction stones, in that order, but in terms of their ability to accurately reproduce the
signal, the Japanese FLT is considered the leading global company. ── And the
characteristics of all induction stones made directly by the military and national research
institutions were not known in detail.

The design of an induction stone is a serious intellectual asset of every company and
country. It was unheard of to show the production factory of induction stones to outsiders
because this was considered to be the common sense for the magic industry. Lina's words
about ‘such things’ reflected this ‘common sense’.

“If you understand this, wouldn't you be indifferent about getting closer to it?”
"... I don’t want to be separated, and I want to see everything from the beginning to the end."

Lina tried complaining about it. However, her tone lacked the strength.

She did not know how long she needed to hide on this island.

If the delays in her current conversation would last for too long, all tension would disappear.

And if she wasn’t correctly paying attention, any information might go past her and could
cause unnecessary problems in the future.

Lina could not completely deny that she was given many resources.

"That's right."

He easily accepted what Lina said and looked back in the direction of the facilities.

The facility manager gave us a glance and gave us an envelope, which Tatsuya took with his
hands.

"Lina, this is the key to your room"

"Oh, thanks ..."

Lina opened the envelope and looked at what was inside.

A gold key card could be seen.

“With this card you can freely use all the amenities on the island, including food and
shopping, reissuing one would be possible even if it got lost, but that would be a little
troublesome.”

"I understand, I will be careful."

Lina took the card with both hands.

“If you need anything, call me with the fixed terminal in your room, you can use it to contact
me, Miyuki, Ayako or the Yotsuba Family.”

"Ok."

"What else do you want to do?"

“I don’t know, but I'll call you if I need something.”

"Please do that."

Tatsuya returned to Miyuki.

Miyuki, who was standing behind Tatsuya at an angle, stepped forward.

"Well, Lina, soon... I'll be back to see you again."

"Yes, that’s right, thank you very much."

Lina shook her hand at her, while also looking a little shy.

Miyuki smiled and turned around for a bit.

◇◇◇

"Tatsuya-san, there is something that I would like you to see."

Tatsuya, who was planning on heading to the parking lot, was followed by Hyougo who
followed him.

Today he didn’t have any other plans besides taking a tour around the island. So Tatsuya
answered: “That’s fine.” and he instructed Hyougo to take him to the warehouse.

The place where Hyougo brought Tatsuya along with Miyuki to was a garage next to the
runway.

There was only one peculiar four-wheeled car that was painted blue.

"This is an unusual design, not that of your average car ..."

As Tatsuya said, the center of the car’s body was part of the engine, because the engine
wouldn’t fit otherwise. In the case of a hydrogen engine or an ethanol engine, it could have
been designed to be in the middle of the car, but in the case of an electric vehicle, it was
important to place it either at the front or back wheels, but still, this was definitely a
self-propelling car with electrical driving features.

“This car is an ‘Air Car’.”

"... Do you mean that this machine has incorporated Flying Type magic in it?"

He had no base for his suspicions, but when he focused his eyes on Hyougo, it seems like
he was correct.

“The development itself was something that was launched two years ago along with your
flying motorcycle Wingless, but it was finally completed."
Indeed, Tatsuya had developed a new Magic Sequence for flying magic that could be used
for heavy objects back in April. Nevertheless, he had been busy with various things, such as
Miyuki’s succession as the next Head of the family, which he had already put in a corner of
his consciousness.

“Since this vehicle has already been registered as a self-propelled vehicle for use on public
roads, it can be used in daily life.”

"Can it also be used for getting to this island?"

"Of course, I will come to get you as soon as you call."

He answered with a subtle expression, but Tatsuya didn’t think that this was going to be a
problem from the very beginning.

"Onii-sama, do you want to try it out?"

Miyuki recommended that he’d make a test drive.

"No, let's stop for today."

Tatsuya shook his head, with a bit of hesitation. However, he was not interested in the ‘air
car’ at the moment.

"I will check it out tomorrow."

"Of course, then I shall explain the workings of the machine when the time comes."

Tatsuya hated that Miyuki would be left unattended for during the trial run. Tatsuya decided
that testing the Air Car would come when Miyuki was away.

◇◇◇

When Tatsuya and the others were visiting Miyaki Island.

Despite it being a Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense
suffered from a turbulence.

There was a confidential demand made by the USNA to Japan via a diplomatic route.

It was a request for cooperation to search for Major Angie Sirius, who fled to Japan. It was
decided that if she were to be found, she would be protected by and transferred to the
embassy.
The Japanese government protested against the USNA for having such a high-ranking
officer enter without prior notice. Though it was argued that her visit wasn’t for military
purposes, and even if it was a lie, it was clear that no one could be blamed anymore.
The Japanese government promised the USNA to search and protect Angie Sirius.

“Although the demands of the United States are bold, they also seem to be good at the
same time, but will the 101st Brigade be required to get involved?”

“Lieutenant Colonel Kazama, I'm too tired for this, can you just stop playing ignorant?”

"Sorry."

Despite his response, he still had an amused face.

However, simply by moving his facial muscles, ironic feelings were flowing from his pupils.

As the person in question whose face suffered from mental fatigue ─In other words, Saeki
glared at Kazuma with a look of exhaustion.

However, no further apology came from Kazama.

Saeki was the one who took the initiative.

"I know that Major Sirius is being protected by the Yotsuba family."

"Have you heard that from them?"

“It was more of a warning than a message.”

"Angie Sirius is under their protection, the Defense Forces aren’t allowed to get involved… is
what you are trying to say...?"

"It looks like that’s the case."

Seaki nodded with a bitter expression. This time, Kazama was in sync with her.

"Do you think Special Officer Ooguro is involved?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel, I think so."

Tatsuya, as ‘Special Officer Ooguro’, and Lina as ‘Angie Sirius’, when regarding the
exchanges that occurred between them, both Seaki and Kazama knew about what took
place in the winter of last year.

The USNA’s nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magician ‘Angie Sirius’. The only reasons
why the Yotsuba Family would want to protect her was because of Tatsuya’s involvement.
That was Kazama’s reasoning. ── Though his reasoning isn’t wrong, it is unlikely that
Kazama, who doesn’t know about the connection between the Yotsuba Family and Colonel
Balance, would think so.

"Special Officer Ooguro… no, are you going to request for Tatsuya to hand Major Sirius
over?"

“Ultimately, she will be handed over to the USNA.”

Despite Saeki giving a formal answer, it didn’t answer Kazama’s question. However,
Kazama was fully aware of Saeki’s true intentions with this response.

In other words, it will take some time before she will be handed over.

The plan is to use Lina as a bargaining chip.

Sirius is a nationally recognized Strategic Class Magician. One of the trump cards belonging
to the USNA.

The US military’s trump card can’t just be Sirius alone, but when it ends up in the hands of
the enemy, it can become quite the threatening situation.

Getting it back ─ or disposing of it ─ if so, there is a possibility of drawing out a small

concession.

"... Why did Sirius end up abandoning the USNA?"

Strategic-Class Magicians are individuals who may become a threat to the state. They need
to be carefully managed to such an extent that such things won’t happen.

Kazama’s question was reasonable.

“Unfortunately, detailed information is not available.”

The National Defense Forces have also released spies to the United States. Despite the fact
that they are in an alliance with one another, this wouldn’t mean that they wouldn’t engage in
intelligence gathering activities. People who think that an alliance is something eternal and
absolute are not suitable for military or political affairs.

However, that same awareness can be applied to both sides. Just as Japan is wary of
American spies, even more so, America is also wary of Japan’s spying activities. Information
related to the escape of a nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magician isn’t supposed to
be easy to obtain.

“Is it dangerous to go out without knowing the circumstances?”

“It is, that’s why I want you to ask him yourself.”

Get Sirius and ask questions later, that’s what she was thinking .

Kazama learned of a vague danger associated with the idea given by his superior officer, but
wasn’t able to explain his reasoning.

"I’ll ask Tatsuya if I’m able to meet Sirius."

"Why do you need to ask?"

He wasn’t able to understand what she wanted to say and wondered.

She conveyed the order, ignoring Kazama’s confusion.

"Lieutenant Colonel Kazama, order Special Officer Ooguro to hand over Major Angie Sirius."

"What should we do if Tatsuya refuses?"

"We should try to avoid any tough measures. However, the will of the National Defense
Forces is that Sirius cannot be kept inside the country. Please tell him that so there’s no
room for misunderstanding."

In other words, even if the government or foreign forces try to take Sirius, the 101st Brigade
won’t lend its power to Tatsuya.

"I understand."

He had never expected Tatsuya to rely on them.

Also, he understood in theory that genuine soldiers aren’t candidates the same as foreign
officials are whom the government would admit asylum for.

But at the same time, Kazama did not think that this was the correct answer.

◇◇◇

It was late in the afternoon, but Tatsuya and Miyuki, who had just returned from Miyaki
Island and got home, immediately went to see Minami.

Along the way, they passed through quite a few magicians from the Juumonji Family, but
Tatsuya pretended not to notice. It also seemed like it was their main priority to capture
Minoru, and not to protect Minami.

“I want you to keep a close eye on the hospital ward.”

Miyuki, on the other hand, voiced her displeasure in the lack of protection around Minami’s
room.

When Tatsuya knocked on the door of the room, any dissatisfaction Miyuki had,
disappeared.

"Could we enter Minami?"

“Yes” “Don’t” “Is Miyuki-senpai with you?”

Confusion was all over Miyuki and Tatsuya’s faces..

All they heard were answers from three different people.

They opened the door after hearing Minami’s consent.

Looking near the bed, it was easy to see who were in the room.

The first was Kasumi, who was near the bed and was donning a disgruntled face, probably
because she saw Tatsuya.

Izumi expressed her joy with a full smile, probably because she saw Miyuki.

They were the Saegusa Twins, who were their underclassmen in high school.

"Izumi-chan, did you come to visit Minami-chan as well?"

“Yes, when my classmates are hospitalized, I just can’t stop thinking about them being
away.”

The role of the Saegusa Family was decided upon during the meeting between the families.
It was decided that they were the ones to intercept and capture Minoru. What became clear
is that protecting Minami was not a part of this.

"Thank you for being so considerate."

So Miyuki responded with a beautiful smile.

It wasn’t really necessary, but they came for Minami. Anyways, these two came to see
Minami as a classmate, not because of the missions assigned to the Saegusa Family.
Because of this, Miyuki actually felt grateful for them being here.

"Wow! You are too kind..."

Izumi let out a shy, but impressed voice. It could be said that this was more about her being
happy, than sad. It was a bit overdramatic, but the feelings behind it were true.
Neither Tatsuya nor Miyuki gave her a disappointed look. Minami was sitting on her bed,
pleasantly surprised by her words. And only Kasumi, the twin sister, looked at her with a cold
gaze.

Tatsuya walked towards Minami and sat next to her.

Behind Tatsuya was Miyuki, and behind her was Izumi.

As a result, they had switched places with Kasumi and Izumi.

"So Minami, how are you?"

He stood next to her bed. There was a chair placed next to her bad, but it had a pillow in it
with her leg resting on that pillow, so neither he nor Miyuki sat down.

"Yes, I think I’m gradually getting better."

It wasn’t clear if her sense of touch had fully returned, but could he be sure of this when he
hadn’t done a complete check up?

It is clear that she has recovered some of her strength, since she no longer requires the help
of the auxiliary exoskeleton— an auxiliary, wearable type of power device that was designed
for medical use. However, her sense of touch can’t be measured by only looking from the
outside.

"That’s good..."

When she heard that Minami’s symptoms had improved, Miyuki could finally remove the
hand that was clutched to her chest and she exhaled.

"Is this true?"

Tatsuya also relaxed his mouth a little.

“Maybe it won’t become worse, but please stay a bit more patient and wait till you’re fully
recovered.”

"Yes."

Although he didn’t know if Minami was actually going to listen to his advise, but at least from
the surface it looked like she wasn’t lying.

"What has the doctor said?"

“That I can leave the hospital in about two weeks.”

To Miyuki’s question, Minami responded with a calm tone.

"Does this include rehabilitation?"

"I have not heard anything about this."

If she stays here two more weeks, she’ll have been hospitalized for about a month. Tatsuya
wondered if he should bring PIxie back home in order to help Minami.

"Is that so? But if rehabilitation is necessary, then we can help you at home, can we not?”

There is no need to help her, but he added this quickly afterwards so Miyuki wouldn’t be
bothered.

“We will help you with everything”

"That’s too much!"

This time Minami was in a bit of a panic.

Maybe because of the situation, but when he heard that Minami’s reaction was the same as
before, Tatsuya realized that she had somewhat recovered.

“I don’t want to bother you, so..."

"So..."

Miyuki and Minami didn’t really know what to say.

So an unexpected offer came from Izumi.

“Miyuki-senpai, if you don't mind, I would like to help with her rehabilitation after her
discharge.”

"Izumi-chan?"

"Sure, if you don’t mind."

When you consider it, Izumi’s intentions weren’t evil, probably. In the end Tatsuya didn’t
mention it.

Izumi saw Minami as a classmate and she wouldn’t use that as a chance to get inside
Miyuki’s house.
"Izumi...you’re not trying to use this as a chance to get inside of the President’s house... are
you?"

However, Kasumi didn’t refrain from asking the question.

“That is out of the question! How could you think of such nonsense!"

Afterwards, Izumi’s voice and face both looked upset.

Izumi opened her eyes and looked at Kasumi.

Izumi didn’t look completely defeated, but she was definitely averting her eyes from Kasumi.

“....President, when Izumi is coming to your house, I shall accompany her.”

Miyuki replied with ‘Thank you both’ and an ambiguous smile to Kasumi's words.

The two of them left the chamber, probably to get Izumi away from Miyuki.

The three people watch as the twin sisters leave and they all had a similar smile on their
face while doing so.

Although they were a bit much, you can’t hate them for it. That was the kind of smile they
had.

Minami's classmates are some nice girls. However, to her, Izumi can be perceived as
someone that can be loved, but she can also be a bit over the top.

Tatsuya took a chair from the corner of the room and sat down.

Miyuki sat on a stool that was originally next to the bed.

"Still, I am grateful that they came to visit you..."

Miyuki wasn’t the only one who thought this.

Tatsuya completely agreed with it.

To the Saegusa, Minami was just being used as a bait.

This should not be condemned. This was a decision made during the meeting between the
Ten Master Clans, and if you think about, the Saegusa Family shouldn’t have even been
involved in the matter.

Koichi was thinking about his own position among the Clans, so he decided to help out.
However, the Saegusa will help Minami. So this was the right thing to do in their position.
"The two of them aren’t suited for it."

Tatsuya didn’t explain what he meant with the word ‘it’, but neither Miyuki nor Minami failed
to understand what he meant.

Neither Kasumi nor Izumi are suitable for the Ten Master Clans. Their sister Mayumi is a
little more suited for being in it, but that’s because she gives more priority to her position and
responsibilities. However, Kasumi and Izumi aren’t as focused on status, rather they focus
more on kindness.

In short, it isn’t necessarily ‘bad’.

"I don’t think it‘s bad, I envy them a little."

The word that Miyuki had let out was evidence that she felt the same as Tatsuya, who was
thinking the same way.

"By the way, Minami"

He suddenly changed the subject.

"Yes, what is it?"

Although he suddenly said her name, Minami wasn’t surprised at all.

"Have there been any abnormalities up until now?"

"Are you asking if Minoru has made contact with me since then?"

"That is part of it."

"I have not seen any suspicious visitors appear."

As soon as Minami added: “I also haven’t seen him in my mind” Tatsuya said,

“I don’t think Minoru has given up, maybe he is preparing something? For example, he could
be collecting teammates."

Miyuki looked a bit hectic when she looked at Tatsuya’s face

"The possibility exists."

It’s been a week since the last raid. In the meantime, he has not touched the bait that had
been set out.
Although he hasn’t been able to confirm it, it seems like Minoru has inherited the knowledge
of Zhou Gongjin.

Every family that holds the number ‘Nine, including the Kudou family, rarely discusses things
with other families, making it difficult to gather allies. However, it would be possible to do this
by using the underground networked that had been created by Zhou.

“Maybe I should ask our aunt about a way to seal parasites.”

Miyuki and Minami both weren’t completely sure what Tatsuya was thinking.

When Tatsuya mentioned a technique to seal parasites, Minami wasn’t completely sure what
he meant.

But Miyuki had a suspicion.

"Onii-sama... do you think Minoru-kun is going to increase the number of parasites he has?
Like what was done in the incident during last winter?"

"I do not think that Minoru would attack people at random, but I think he will try to acquire
more power to overcome his current obstacles, be it through other people or through
something not human.”

Miyuki couldn’t deny Tatsuya’s guesses. And not just Miyuki, Minami also couldn’t deny it. Of
course there was a voice in the back of their head telling them he’s wrong, but this wasn’t
because of Tatsuya being wrong, but rather their own human weakness.

“Onii-sama, I have been thinking about this but ... Shouldn't you also warn Erika and the
others about this?”

"... Yes, that would be smart."

Tatsuya wore a difficult face.

Erika, Leo and Mikihiko had met Minoru last fall. To them, he was not an enemy, but a
friend. They wouldn’t be alarmed if he were to suddenly appear before their eyes..

Minoru can hide the presence of the parasite itself. Perhaps Mikihiko would be able to notice
its presence, but Erika and Leo were more likely to be deceived.

In the end, they decide that these three people should be informed.

"Like them, I would have also been deceived... Should I tell them myself?"

“No, I’ll do it, but I’m going to be testing the Air-Car tomorrow, so please wait for me at
Einebrise after school.”
"... Are you sure?"

It was as if Miyuki was asking her Master for permission, because he was busy with fighting
the world.

“The risk of being overheard will definitely be lower than if we were to talk at school, it may
be possible to ask the owner to lend us his help.”

"The owner ...?"

The real purpose behind Einebrise is to gather and sell information, and the owner himself is
also involved in the acquiry of information, but Tatsuya did not know the specifics.

However, Tatsuya was convinced that the owner wouldn’t be stubborn. He could notice that
the owner listens to the hierarchy of society, which Miyuki wasn’t all too familiar with.

"No, I understand."

Miyuki did not know what the owner was truly like. If this was necessary, then Tatsuya would
have told her. It didn’t need to be explained to her, because she figured it wasn’t necessary
for her to know.

“I will be waiting at Einebrise with Erika and the others… Oh Onii-sama, should I also tell
Mizuki, Honoka and Shizuku to come?"

“I don’t want the number of people to know to increase too much, but… it would also be risky
to leave them alone… fine, please invite them all to come.”

"Of course."

Miyuki had discussed everything Tatsuya, and then they looked at Minami.

"... What is it?"

Turning their eyes to her, Minami felt a bit anxious, because they were staring at her, without
opening their mouth to speak.

"Although it may be a bit sudden..."

It was Miyuki who was going to ask Minami.

"What do you, Minami-chan, think of Minoru-kun?"

"What ...?"
It was like Minami’s face stopped working.

Her thoughts were temporarily paralyzed by the unexpected question.

"It seems that Minoru-kun seems to like Minami-chan."

"He likes ..."

Her thinking ability was currently impaired, so Minami could only mutter a few words.

"Minami doesn’t like him?"

"Do I like him?!"

Minami raised her outraged voice. It seems like her level of excitement got so high that she
was starting to regain consciousness.

“I never thought about him in that way!”

"You just didn't think about it?"

In his own words, Tatsuya wondered about Minami’s response.

“So is it that you don’t care about him or that you haven’t thought about it?”

"We aren’t that curious about it."

"............"

She could not understand what Tatsuya and Miyuki were trying to say.

She did not understand any of this.

"We’re not demanding an answer, but if you like Minoru ... ...."

"You must decide what you wants to do."

"If so ... are you prepared to fight Minoru?"

Minami herself was confused, but at the same time, she wore a sad face.

"We have to fight."

Tatsuya’s reply also had a strong tone.

"I think I want to try defeat Minoru without killing him as much as possible, but I won’t be the
only one looking for him."

Minami became quiet and small.

Minami didn’t know that she was being used as bait by the Clans and the Saegusa Family.
However, she at least knew that she was involved in the mission to capture him.

She didn’t forget about Izumi who was talking about becoming her ‘escort’, but because she
grew up in an unusual environment, she merely believed that her visit and her actions were
just her acting as a classmate.

“In addition, Minoru is strong, the reality is that trying to catch him would be a naive dream.”

"So I have no say in the matter."

“In the head, the answer is obvious, but what about the answer in your heart?”

"............"

The question that Minami could not answer.

“This is what I’m trying to say: Minami, Minoru gave up being human to save you, but he did
this without your consent, so you don’t need to comply.”

"............"

"However, it will not be so easy to capture him; you know Minoru."

".... Yes"

Minami was quiet and tried to hide her face, because she knew what they were trying to say.

"If you like him, that’s natural, you are human, so you don’t need to be ashamed of
anything."

Miyuki held Minami’s hands.

"...... Yes"

Minami lifted her face and smiled faintly at Miyuki.

"But if you do not have special feelings for Minoru-kun, then I would like you to make that
decision."

“Prepare to not be disturbed, when Minoru could be taken out in front of you.”
She ended her speech.

Tatsuya did not want Miyuki to say the word ‘kill’.

"If I told you that I... I like him… Then I would like you to capture him without killing him."

Tatsuya showed a little bit of sadness and crouched.

"In this case, the likelihood of casualties appearing, will increase."

Minami’s complexion changed.

"I apologize! I shouldn’t have said that!"

"Minami, calm down"

Miyuki, who was next to Minami on the bed, was trying to support her.

Minami sat there on the bed and tried to apologize. It seems like she has not recovered
enough to make any sudden movements.

“I don’t think that was a stupid comment, even I don’t completely understand the feelings I
currently have even though I was able to a long time ago.”

"That’s not true!"

Miyuki exclaimed this while looking at Tatsuya with strong will in her eyes.

"I don’t know if I have any special emotions for him."

It was clear that Minami hadn’t really thought about it, and what she said was merely what
she had just thought of. But even if we were to point this out, Minami would have denied it.

"I understand."

So in the end, Minami was overwhelmed by the question and was unable to correctly answer
Tatsuya.

[Three]

Monday, June 24th.

Like Tatsuya had planned in his schedule yesterday, today he was going to visit Miyaki
Island again.
The main purpose of his visit was to test the ‘Air-Car’, but there wasn’t anything very special
about the testing. This was because it worked as predicted. ── In addition, in this case, the
‘Air’ in Air-Car was misleading, technically it would be ‘flying’, but they used ‘air’ as to avoid
any confusion in names, even though it doesn’t really use the air to fly.

"I did not expect that it could dive underwater."

“The engineers have said that the level of airtightness of the vehicle should not cause any
problems, even if it were to go into outer space. Its flight height exceeds 6000 kilometers in
terms of still being able to function, but because of the gravity of the Earth affecting the car’s
body, it seems that it stops working. "

"I probably won’t go underwater unless it’s necessary."

To the excessive speculations, which Hyougo had given him, Tatsuya couldn’t help but
smile.

"The two-door style also increases its airtightness because it reduces the amount of
openings, right?"

The door of the car does not open like a regular door, but it has a design that allows you to
slide the doors backwards. In addition, the window glass is thick and tinted. And its overall
design also improves its airtightness.

“There is also another point to it, since normal airplanes can only be used on land, low
altitudes and above sea, it can still come in handy in some situations.”

"Like I said, I don’t intend to go up into the stratosphere or dive into the sea in the Air-Car,
unless I need to."

“Although I’m a bit more old-fashioned, it will still suffice as the main method between Japan
and the Island, especially when using the walking on water mode.”

“Is this a mode that automatically elevates the vehicle tens of centimeters above the
ground?”

"Yes, when considering this, a license for a small boat to navigate the ocean should be
enough, so we won’t have to worry about the government taking action."

Tatsuya was 18 years old, and he had already acquired a license for small vessels without
water restrictions, as well as a license for a 4-wheeled vehicle. It goes without saying that
the license to operate the vessel should not be an aerial vehicle, but if its water mode is
being used, it should basically act like a boat or hovercraft, which could be argued that it can
be used by Tatsuya.

"Understood."
If anything happens, he could just fly away. Tatsuya, lacking in legal reasoning, was thinking
in such a way.

"Hey."

A voice came from the side, and when he turned around, he saw Lina standing a couple of
meters away.

"Lina, what's wrong?"

The master of the voice was Lina, who was forced to observe the testing of the car.

"Can I really go after this?"

"I don’t really understand what you’re trying to say...."

"What you have just shown me is a secret military-type vehicle."

"Lina, what are you talking about?"

Tatsuya looked back at Lina with a strange look.

“Since the Yotsuba is a private organisation, the Air-Car does not fall under ‘Military
secrets’.”

“What are you saying! Even if it isn’t an army, that won’t change the fact that it is a military
organization! ”

“That is a misunderstanding - we are not a military organization, we could resort to violence

if compensation was given, but that is only our secondary job, the Yotsuba family primarily is
a research organization.”

"What kind of a joke is that? For someone to be feared around the world for their side job!?"

“They don’t have to be afraid of the possibility of this happening to them.”

"You have the power to destroy a fleet, a base and a port all with one attack!"

"This is my personal strength, not that of the Yotsuba family."

Lina, with wide opened eyes, stared at Tatsuya and didn’t know what to think.

Lina couldn’t believe what Tatsuya had just said, when he declared the power to kill tens of
thousands as his own. He is essentially taking full responsibility for killing that many people
without trying to share the burden.
The responsibility can be divided. ‘Scorched Halloween’ is an incident that occurred during a
military conflict. The use of Strategic Class Magic was decided by the military, and the
responsibility could be said to lie with the boss.

However, even if that were the case, he still says that that power belongs to him, so the
result would only be attributed to him.

No matter who is responsible, the result still remains the same.

Tens of thousands of people died.

(Or maybe Tatsuya doesn't think about this....?)

(No, such a thing is impossible.)

Tatsuya is not one of those people who ignore reality. They hadn’t known each other for
long, but Lina did understand Tatsuya to a certain degree. Tatsuya accepting the fact that he
is a mass murderer, that would be insane…..

"...It isn’t a military secret and I can leave you whenever I want, is that so..."

Lina decided to drop the topic. She is also a Strategic Class Magician, so if she continued
digging they could come to a topic that she’d rather not talk about.

"Anyways, Tatsuya, I have a favor."

"If I can grant you it depends on the favor itself, so let’s discuss it first."

They currently were in a warehouse, or since the Air-Car, which is registered as a

four-wheeled self propelled vehicle -- With a legal license plate -- is stored here, we should
call it a ‘garage’. But it is quite big, so a ‘hangar’ would also work.

There was a table in the corner of the building used for recreational means with four chairs
around it. So Tatsuya went to the table and Lina followed him.

Hyougo drew a chair backwards and looked at Lina.

Tatsuya was sitting on the other side. Lina couldn’t help it, so she sat down on the chair that
was prepared by Hyougo.

Hyougo then served Tatsuya and Lina tea.

Tatsuya thanked him for his help and then turned to Lina.

"So what do you want?"

Although she still was a bit hesitant, she refrained from showing that.

"I’m not a prisoner, right?"

"Of course."

“If you could, I would like you to give me back the CADs that I gave you when I came here. ”

"Why?"

Lina was looking forward to this question, but when it came to actually answering it she
lacked some of the energy.

"I don’t feel safe being unarmed."

Depending on the mood of those who hear it, this disturbing dialogue could be interpreted as
hostile. But in the current situation, when she was being protected by this person, she
wouldn’t try to imply such a thing.

But Lina wasn’t able to come up with a convincing reason, because she was worried that
she didn’t want to lie to herself and to the others, even though they probably wouldn’t get
mad.

In addition, she thought that they could take advantage of her in several ways. These were
the things Lina was thinking about. But if she said these things, her face would definitely
become red.

"Being separated from them shouldn’t be uncomfortable."

"This is a matter of my feelings!"

In response to Lina's strong attitude, Tatsuya could do nothing but laugh. In short, Lina gave
in to Tatsuya, but he didn’t think about taking advantage of it.

"Well, I think I can understand"

"Finally!"

"But I cannot agree on this request."

"What do you mean?"

“We cannot allow the USNA Army's CADs to be used in Japan, there is a possibility that they
have built a tracking device into it without your knowing.”
"Wow....."

Lina returned with a comical reaction. However, she was serious about it.

“However, I have prepared alternative CAD systems for you.”

Hearing Tatsuya’s words, Lina was surprised.

"Eh? You were prepared, did you prepare them in advance?"

“I'm trying my hardest to protect you, but my opponent is the USNA. So you use it for
self-defense.”

"Tatsuya ... you’re a terrible person..."

Lina was looking at him with tired eyes.

“We didn't keep it a secret, Lina was just being impatient.”

Tatsuya gave a quick response to Lina’s eyes

“You’re too much, but I guess I prefer that over this being a tense situation.”

Lina's argument would have sounded very profound, but she would be more convincing if
she didn’t have a red face.

"There is a CAD adjustment facility here, so we can do it there."

"...Are you going to be doing the adjusting?"

"Don’t worry, I’m more than used to it."

"Ah... I remember, Tatsuya was part of ‘Taurus Silver’. "

"That's true."

He got up.

Lina finished her tea and chased after Tatsuya, who had already left the table.

◇◇◇

Lina and I moved from the Air-Car hanger to the adjustment facility which was next to it,
while also being near the stone refinement facility. However, they didn’t use the Air-Car to
get there, but rather an SUV with a hydrogen engine.
"I think I will have Lina use this."

Before entering the control room, Lena was taken to a small room that looked like a meeting
room. Here, Tatsuya showed her a gold choker along with a silver bracelet.

"It doesn’t have buttons...... Maybe this is FLT’s thought-controlled device?"

"You are well informed."

Tatsuya praised Lina, but she didn’t seem to pay attention to the flattery.

"In the States, FLT’s device has been quite the popular topic..."

The CAD, which works without the usage of buttons, was first commercialized by Rosen
MagiCraft in Germany, and then immediately in Japan. So a third company has yet to
appear. At present, only Rosen and FLT produce these CAD systems, but FLT’s version of
the fully thought controlled CAD has been dominating the market as of late.

“The USNA has tried to make their own version, but none have been as good. How does it
work?”

Lina's confession was unexpected to Tatsuya. They were supposed to have the scientist
who designed the Brionac with them. Tatsuya doesn’t know their name, as he doesn’t know
who it is, but their scientific knowledge is clearly shown when looking at the Brionac.

If you have such technical capabilities, you should be able to develop CADs using thought. It
can be argued that it won’t be long till they develop one and release it on the market.

But Tatsuya stopped thinking about that and answered her question.

“The FLT CAD system uses already developed, advanced contactless technologies that
have already been commercialized.”

"Does it work using a Psion wave?"

"That's right. Because it doesn’t need to function like a Specialized CAD, it can be done
using one type of Activation Sequence. This is a Non-Systemic formula for Magic Activation,
which bypasses many hindrances.”

"Is that the only thing?"

“This limits the output to just one type, making it act like a switch. We can say that the thing
making it works is the choker, but it isn’t the thing casting the magic."

"This is the same mechanism as a Weaponized-Integrated CAD."

When Lina pointed this out, Tatsuya confirmed this.

"The choker is structured in such a way that it acts as an auxiliary device to the bracelet."

"So, how can I differentiate what I want to cast?"

“All you need to do is incorporate the magic number you wish to use as a variable into the
non-systematic magic formula, and the desired formula will be transferred to the bracelet
CAD."

(T/N: This whole explanation was incredibly vague to me so I tried to make it as

understandable as possible.)

"...... In other words, just by thinking ‘What magic number do I want to use?’ it will activate?"

"Roughly speaking, that is correct."

Lina was excited because magicians who engage in hand-to-hand combat usually find
manipulating a CAD to be a hindrance.

CAD is a tool used to speed up the activation of Magic. By creating a Magic Sequence using
a CAD, a magicians gained the ability to deal with a large number of soldiers armed with
firearms.

However, this made your operating speed the decider between victory and defeat on the
battlefield. A Specialized CAD can cover these shortcomings, but this would leave out a
plethora of other types of magic which needed to be used.

FLT's fully thought operated CAD was a tool specifically made to solve these issues. Their
devices, unlike those of Rosen, use two separate devices that work in conjunction with each
other. While this may seem to be an inconvenience to use two devices, it also means that
you don’t have to use your hands at all to manipulate the CAD.

“You seem to like it. The device can be connected with four CAD systems, but at least one of
them needs to be a general type.”

“Clearly."

He thought that there was a possibility that the ability to manipulate both the general and
specialized type CAD using one device could have gone over Lina’s head, so he mentioned
it anyways.
It isn’t easy to be able to distinguish between the general and specialized type.

So he couldn’t predict what Lina would say when he mentioned it.

Tatsuya went straight to the CAD adjustment room, while Lina moved to the changing room
right next to it. This facility also has the regular device that uses the headset and the hand
panel, but Tatsuya found that when using a brand new CAD it should be measured using the
bed-type measuring device. Lina had gone to change her clothes to prepare for this.

"Tatsuya, this... why"

Lina, who entered from the dressing room, was wearing a long white shirt without buttons,
that stopped at around 15 centimeters above the knee, exposing a part of her thighs.

Her hair wasn’t tied up and fell down her back, she was also wearing slippers that you would
find used in hospitals. She was also crossing her arms around her chest, while acting a bit
shy and hesitant.

"...Is this alright?"

"What is alright?"

"...What I’m wearing?"

Lina was blushing and turned away because of the shame she felt after thinking about her
question.

Of course, even if you show such a cure figure, Tatsuya's attitude wouldn’t change.

"Haven’t you used this type of measuring device?"

“It was obligated that we should take more precise measurements once a month.”

This means that STARS have a similar machine on base, but once a month isn’t enough in
Tatsuya’s opinion. Miyuki, who’s magic power is still growing requires more precise
measurements at more frequent intervals. While it will be less frequent for those in their
twenties, and even more so for those above their thirties. These were Tatsuya’s thoughts.

"Would you wear a bathing suit during these measurements?"

"That isn’t going to make me wear a bikini, but..."

"I don’t care about that."

Lina was still hesitating a bit. If you thought about it normally, it wouldn’t be more
embarrassing to wear a long T-shirt over a swimsuit which shows of a person’s bodily shape.

Why is she so flustered... When thinking about it, Tatsuya could only guess

Maybe Lina wasn’t wearing anything under her shirt...?

When he told her to change, Tatsuya never ordered her to ‘take off her underwear’, and
there isn’t anyone in this facility that would have told her this.

But if you are Lina, who thought that underwear is normal when you use a bed type
measuring device...Given that she was handed a long T-shirt, she might have thought that ‘I
have to take them off’.

"...It’s fine like this."

However, he couldn’t tell Lina that ‘underwear can be worn’ right in her face. Saying such
things makes both of them embarrassed. But Lina would be even more ashamed. It may be
better to just let it go and ignore it.

"Well, please lie down over there."

Tatsuya was being more aware of his tone than usual.

During the examination, his suspicions deepened even further that she hadn’t worn any
underwear. Tatsuya’s eyes caught evidence of it through the thin cloth, but he did not stare.

That is why Lina did not notice. Without causing any meaningless trouble, the adjustment
was completed successfully.

On Lina’s neck, a choker-type device hung. No, because the device perfectly went around
her neck with no excess material, the better expression would be ‘fit’. The golden glow it
gave off was the same color as that of her hair, and it looked good on Lina. At first glance, it
looks like a luxurious necklace, but it goes without saying that it isn’t one. Lina also noticed
this, but she didn’t seem to care.

“I will be coming back tomorrow, so tell me then if there are any inconveniences.”

"OK".

Lina raised her right hand and responded to Tatsuya, with a silver bracelet on her other
wrist.

"Sorry to cut you off, but the car is ready."

"I understand."

He had a bitter smile on his face and went to the hanger, where Tatsuya started the Air-Car

The car body, floating a few dozen centimeters from the ground, flew over the sea while
maintaining its relative height.
 ◇◇◇

When Tatsuya entered Einebrise which was close to First High, Miyuki and his friends
immediately spotted him.

"Oh, Tatsuya, come here."

"Tatsuya-san, we’ve been waiting!"

Erika and Honoka, welcomed Tatsuya at the same time.

He slightly raised his hand and answered them, and then set in the chair next to Miyuki.

There are no other customers in the store. Before Tatsuya came there, Miyuki had already
‘made reservations’.

"It was just a favor, Tatsuya-san."

The owner put a small glass pot on the counter with iced coffee in it. Honoka quickly got up
to get the pot and brought it back to their table.

While Tatsuya started to talk, the owner said: “Call me when you’re going to leave” and
retreated to the back of the store.

Ever since Tatsuya entered the cafe, he noticed magic that prevents eavesdropping. It was
comparable to a sound barrier.

Everyone thought that this was necessary.

Everyone knew that Tatsuya wasn’t here for idle chit-chat, so it seems that the content is
important.

“I was being careful with the owner around, so let's move on to the main subject.”

Tatsuya told them while Honoka was pouring coffee into his cup.

The eyes and ears of his friends were all turned towards Tatsuya.

"Minoru has become a parasite."

Tatsuya suddenly stated the topic of the conversation.

“What?” “You’re lying” “Are you serious?”

Erika, Leo and Mikihiko, who were acquainted with Minoru, rose up one after another.

"...Minoru, as in Minoru-kun who was Second High’s representative at the Thesis

Competition?"

"That's right."

Mikihiko, who was calmly replied to by Tatsuya, was surprised.

"...Why should that be?"

Erika gave Tatsuya a sharp look.

She had no doubt that Tatsuya was telling the truth. She tried to be skeptical, but it was just
matter of how these things work.

“Why, I’m not sure, but I know that Minoru has abandoned his humanity and has become a
parasite.”

"Can you tell us what you know so far?"

Leo had calmed himself down immediately. However, his curiosity wasn’t inferior to Erika’s in
any way.

We need to know ── This was being said by his eyes.

Although this is rarely seen in Leo, it didn’t change what Tatsuya was going to do. From the
very beginning he intended to tell them about the origin of Minoru becoming a parasite.

"Him becoming one has to with the reason why Minami is hospitalized."

"...Why does that have to do with anything?”

"The reason for Minami being hospitalized has to do with her suffering significant damage to
her Magic Calculation Area, which mean that she can’t fully recover."

This fact that Tatsuya has just confided in them, didn’t only surprise Leo, who asked the
question, but also everyone beside Miyuki.

"Now there is no concern for her life, but when activating powerful magic, the symptoms can
definitely get worse."

"...Oh."
Leo, who was lost for words, could only muster this much. Minami is a member of the
Mountaineering Club, which Leo is also a part of. Among them, after Tatsuya and Miyuki, he
felt closest to her.

"I don’t want to explain everything, but there is one more thing I need to talk to you guys
about."

"...Why did you have to go and say that...”

When you look at Leo, who was gritting his teeth, it did not look as if he was convinced by
Tatsuya’s words. But he also showed great composure even in this situation.

"Minoru became a parasite as a means to treat Minami."

"Wait, Tatsuya."

Mikihiko wasn’t able to say this next line immediately.

"...Then what you’re saying is that, Minoru-san was trying to use a parasite to treat Minami,
and used himself as a guinea pig?"

"That’s what he told me himself."

"That idiot….That’s insane."

Mikihiko fell into an quiet state.

"I'm serious."

Tatsuya was ruthless in his explanation.

“In short, he tried to get Minami to do it as well?”

Erika anticipated what Tatsuya was trying to say.

"Minoru tried, but Tatsuya managed to fend him off, right?"

Leo added another question on top of the other.

"Yes, I managed to get rid of him the first time."

"Tatsuya, you... could you lose?"

"I will try not to, but he is not such an easy opponent."

Even before that question, Tatsuya never claimed that ‘he couldn’t lose’.
"That is, you won’t be beaten, but you mean that you might not be able to protect Minami,
isn’t it?"

"That's right."

Erika's words highlighted the truth,

"But there is one more thing I want you to know about."

Then, he continued.

“Erika, Leo, Mikihiko. I think there is a chance that he will come in contact with you in order
to get to Minami.”

"Does he want to make us his cooperators?"

"If we’re talking about people that he knows that also know Minami, you guys are most likely
to comply."

"...Well, it’s true that if you hadn’t told me, I would have probably helped him."

Leo was the first to admit it.

"I wish to help Minami."

Erika also agreed.

"It is surprising that Minoru-san is a parasite, I guess it is hard to distinguish a person from a
parasite."

However, Mikihiko had a dissatisfied expression. It seems that his inability to distinguish
demons from people hurts his pride as an Ancient magician.

"I also didn’t know that he was a parasite until he revealed his identity himself"

"...Right."

Although you could say he is better than Tatsuya at this area, he couldn’t really say he was
much better.
“Your ability to sense parasites may be higher than mine, but the Kudou family has magic
that let’s them disguise their Information Body. And even though he has become a parasite,
he still has the magic of ‘9’."

“No, no matter what anyone might say, I’m not sure if I can sense them better than you, so I
understand that I need to stay vigilant.”
"I know I can trust you."

"By the way ..."

Erika had a ‘I'm bored’-look.

"What?"

Tatsuya did not ignore her.

"Did the parasite Minoru use come from the same place the ones before did?"

"No way, were we invaded by the United States again?"

“No, this is one of the parasite we sealed last time. The Kudou family had taken one from the
ones we sealed before.”

Answering the question of Erika, Tatsuya told her this first.

"...In fact, Lina has come to Japan."

After hesitating, Tatsuya finally decided to reveal this secret.

"Lina is here?"

"Onii-sama​."

Honoka and Miyuki raised a surprised voice.

Honoki’s astonishment is purely because Lina is visiting Japan.

Miyuki, on the other hand, was surprised that Tatsuya didn’t keep that a secret, even though
they are his friends. Despite the fact that she was in public, her surprise was great enough
for her to mutter ‘Onii-sama’.

Fortunately, Erika and others had also experienced a strong shock, so no one noticed that it
was strange for Miyuki to call Tatsuya her brother, and not her fiancé.

"Lina’s visit to Japan has to do with the recurrence of parasites in the USNA."

The power of this massive bomb that he just dropped was so great that no one found a way
to respond.

"Parasites in America..."
These were the only words Mikihiko could muster. The remaining four people, Erika, Mizuki,
Leo, Honoka, were lost for words.

"The parasites I just told you about have no real connection to current situation, at the
moment, but if these newly developed parasites from the USNA were to invade Japan, it
could mean that they may get involved in our current fight against Minoru."

“Okay... Is there a way to disable these parasites? If you needed my strength, then..."

"I shall ask the former Head of the Kudou family for seals that we can use on the parasites."

"That honorable Kudou is an old man, isn’t he?"

"Former Head....?"

Erika and Leo point out the connection between the Kudou and Minoru and questioned his
reliability.

"It is possible that I won’t like the techniques he will offer, so in that case, I shall rely on you,
Mikihiko."

Tatsuya doesn’t want to rely on the techniques of the Kudou, because it is likely that Minoru
is already familiar with those methods.

Undoubtedly, the Kudou family has magic that can seal parasites. Otherwise they wouldn’t
have been able to create the Parasite Dolls.

But Minoru is also a Kudou magician. Of course, he may know the technique used to capture
the parasites. Even now he could be trying to find a way against this method. No, any
countermeasures may have already been completed. This was Tatsuya’s thinking.

"At that time, use me in any way you’d like."

Mikihiko was empowered by Tatsuya’s confidence in him.

Measures against demons - the mission of an Ancient magician. Such a conviction was held
in Mikihiko’s heart.

◇◇◇

Tatsuya didn’t come to Einebrise using his amphibious car ‘Air-Car’. Once the Air-Car he
used to come back from Miyaki Island was placed in the garage of his apartment, he came
to the nearest station using public transportation. Naturally, this was also the way he
returned home.
Neither Tatsuya nor Miyuki had much to say. It’s not impossible to be wary of
eavesdropping in their current respective positions, but that isn’t the main issue. As they
talked intensively before he arrived at Einebrise, the reason for his tense feelings grew
stronger.

Although it is rare for these two people to come home without talking to each other, returning
to their own house helped them relax. When Miyuki talked about the events that happened
at school, Tatsuya talked about his impression of the Air-Car and when Miyuki asked about
the drive the usual atmosphere returned.

However, the atmosphere was killed by a phone call.

It wasn’t the call itself, rather it contents.

“-- In other words, the place where Angie Sirius requested protection, the National Defense
Forces wishes for her to be transferred from there?”

"I don’t want to get into a dispute."

On the video phone screen, Kazama moved his hands to appease Tatsuya.

"To hide Major Sirius who is a soldier of the USNA in a private organization, it goes without
saying that the National Defense Forces can’t accept that.”

"That is reasonable. However why is Lieutenant Colonel telling me such an obvious story
that I already know?"

“Tatsuya, I know that you’re protecting Major Sirous. The Yotsuba Family informed me of it."

So it’s useless to feign ignorance… Kazama said this with a gaze.

"Please make your request to the Main House."

Although Tatsuya remained indifferent. He didn’t affirm nor deny what Kazama said, nor did
he nod upon the request.

Kazama’s stern eyes became visible towards Tatsuya’s non-cooperative attitude.

"Special Officer Ooguro."

From Kazama’s words, the friendly tone aimed at his younger friend disappeared.

"Even if your position has improved within the Yotsuba Family, the contract between the
National Defense Forces and the Yotsuba Family concerning you is still valid."

Tatsuya silently looked at the middle of the display.

“With the exception of being Shiba Miyuki-sama’s escort, you must give priority to the orders
of the National Defense Forces.”

"Lieutenant Colonel Kazama. I’m not sheltering Major Sirius. If you are saying that the
Yotsuba Family are protecting Angie Sirius, please send your request to the Main House.”

"What?"

From Tatsuya's voice, Kazama was surprised.

“In addition to accompanying Miyuki, the Yotsuba Family also recognizes the priority order
established with the National Defense Forces, as this is the contract that was established
between the Yotsuba and the Defense Forces. However, there is no agreement that I must
obey the army."

"Special Officer, are you betraying the army?"

“The position of the Special Officer was given to me by the Defense Forces when they
needed me. The only thing I’ve done was swear an oath when I joined the command of the
army five years ago in Okinawa."

"......Tatsuya. The Defense Forces can’t allow a civilian to protect Angie Sirius. You need to
understand this."

"I do not have Major Sirius, again, if you are trying to say that the Yotsuba Family is
protecting Angie Sirius, please make a request to the Main House."

In the end, both Tatsuya and Kazama avoided a definite breakdown.

This was the result of mutual recognition of the other’s value.

◇◇◇

The new building that had recently become the home of Tatsuya and Miyuki, was built as the
Tokyo headquarters for Yotsuba Family. It not only included residential areas, but also
included various other facilities. One such example is a room for magic training in the cellar.

There was no other person in this room. There is a reason for this, it’s because it was
already late at night and he used his title as ‘son of the Family Head’ -whether or not this is
true-.

Tatsuya was going to use this room to develop a magic to seal parasites. While he could
learn a method from Maya, or the Kudou Family, it would most likely be a technique that he
himself couldn’t use. Even if his position in the Yotsuba Family has improved, it didn’t mean
he could use magic other than ‘Decomposition’ and ‘Regrowth’.
Tatsuya, however, did not give up on the possibilities he had. Of course, he couldn’t use the
usual magic, except for ‘Decomposition’ and ‘Regrowth’. But by using his Artificial Magic
Calculation Area, he could imitate magic at a lower level of power.

But this is when you’re talking about magic in the modern sense.

Traditionally, the ability to manipulate psions to change an event, was considered magic.
Tatsuya’s ability to manipulate psions is only second to certain other gifted magicians, but it
still surpasses ‘first-class’ magicians.

The body of a parasite is actually a Pushion Information Body. So there is no possibility to

directly manipulate it.

However, the parasite hangs around in the body, and when it loses its pushion core, it will
stop working. A pushion is the particle that is formed through thought and emotion, and at
the same time it is the particle that binds the physical body to the non-physical spirit. So the
spirit gives commands to the body, and in reverse, the body gives information to the spirit.

In other words, its existence interferes with the thought that the mind is an Information Body.

Outer-Systemic Magic, which directly interferes with the spirit, is activated by using a Magic
Sequence that also uses spirits. This is indirect evidence that it can interact with an
Information Body.

So Tatsuya was wondering if he could find a way to seal a parasite, an information body,
using Outer-Systemic Magic.

If you manage to only hit the parasite with it, any physical damage would be avoided. At
least this is what he came to know when he was up against parasites that weren’t in an
assimilated body.

The Armor-Piercing Psion Bullet, which he created to harm the parasites that were
assimilated with people, could weaken the parasite, but wasn’t able to completely
incapacitate them.

(......I can’t get a clear image.)

After using several objects, which he had used previous times to get an idea, he came to the
conclusion that he didn’t know what it was supposed to look like. So he felt that he needed
something.

(If I could practice with the real thing, it might be a little different...)

As far as he knows, the Yotsuba and Kudou families have actual parasites. The Yotsuba’s
are used for experimentation, while those of the Kudou were used for the Parasite Dolls.
(Although I probably can’t borrow any, if I remain here, it’s likely that I won’t be able come up
with a proper method.)
.
However, it is also needs to be a proper technique. Because if it ends up being subpar, it will
be useless. Staying here might also become a waste of time.

(...Do I have to ask Master for help?)

He didn’t want to be indebted to Yakumo, but this wasn’t the right situation to be stubborn.
Tatsuya decided that he was going to visit Yakumo’s temple tomorrow.

◇◇◇

Early Tuesday morning, June 25th.

Tatsuya visited Yakumo’s temple after a long time.

He hadn’t contacted him in advance, so he wasn’t going to complain if Yakumo wasn’t here.

However, an unexpected reception was waiting for Tatsuya.

Despite his new home in Chofu not being that far away from the temple, Tatsuya took the
opportunity and used his bike ‘Wingless’. He didn’t wear ordinary biking clothes, but rather
his ‘Freed Suit‘ which was developed by the Yotsuba. He didn’t bring his specialized CAD
this time but planned to use his fully-thought operated CAD that is integrated into his ‘Freed
Suit’.

Despite the fact that he had just passed the gates, the usual fight with the disciples didn’t
take place.

There were no signs of anyone being here.

Immediately after Tatsuya thought it was suspicious, something finally came to him and hit
him.

However, the thing that attacked him wasn’t something physical.

And it was also showing its hostility.

He intercepted the hit using ‘Gram Dispersion’.

Gram dispersion deconstructed the structure of the attack.

(An independent entity.... is it a ‘familiar’ or a naturally occurring ‘evil spirit’?)

In a rare case in the world, an entity with a dense psion structure can arise. Tatsuya had
learned this from an Ancient Magician who trained him while he was at the Yotsuba Family
house.

Usually, independent information bodies don’t have the ability to intervene with events
because they are just a mass of psions, but when that amount exceeds a certain level, they
will be able to. The Magician that taught him would also call them God, fearful of calling them
a Demon. Using them they developed magic that could change events using an independent
information body which now is known as Spirit Magic and Summoning Magic. This is what
the Yotsuba magician had taught him.

The independent information body, which had been blocked by Tatsuya, changed directions
and attacked again.

Tatsuya realized that there were two things attacking him.

This ‘spirit’ is an independent informational body made up of ‘wind’.

And the other ‘spirit’ is controlled by human will.

(Is it his doing?)

But the hostility of the spirit is far too serious. The attacking power of the independent
information body is at the level that it would be deadly for even Tatsuya. Thinking about
trying to eliminate the threat in front of him, Tatsuya went in to destroy the ‘wind spirit’ itself.
However, he discarded that thought shortly after, without releasing his ‘Decomposition’
magic.

He didn’t stop the battle, because he thought that Yakumo was controlling it.

Instead Tatsuya decided to use Non-Systemic Magic and began to compress psions in his
hand.

The compressed psions became a kind of net, with small grids in it.

He threw the ‘net’ at the ‘wind spirit’. It tangled the ‘spirit’ up for just a second and it then tore
the net apart.

The spirit that escaped its restraints continued to attack, turning itself into a ‘wind blade’.

Tatsuya quickly jumped to the side.

Red blood flowed from his left arm, and the clothing near his shoulder was ripped open.
The ‘opponent’ is a transparent air blade. Even when he tried to avoid it, he couldn’t do this
completely. But it clearly was abundantly powerful and if he hadn’t been wearing his bullet-
and shockproof ‘Freed Suit’, his left arm would have been torn off.

But the suit was torn and stained with blood for only a second.

He had already healed from his wounds and his clothing was back to the way it was before
the fight. This was the effect of Tatsuya’s ‘Regrowth’.

If he was facing an actual magician, this moment could have created an opening. However,
the ‘spirit of the wind’ kept attacking without a moment’s rest. Was this ‘Continued Attacking’
natural for the spirit, or did the operator know about his abilities?

Once again, the wind blade was coming towards him.

He opened his right hand to face the independent information body and formed a shield in
front of him.

Hitting the shield of highly compressed psions, the wind spirit was blocked. Giving up on the
air blade, the independent information body returned to its original form.

It failed to tear up another part of his ‘Freed Suit’.

Tatsuya closed and squeezed his right hand together.

Psions gathered around the wind spirit.

The independent information body was being surrounded by a psion cloud.

This cloud, which was growing to such an extent that it currently was about the size of a
large passenger car, then became the size of a ball that could fit in the palm of his hand.

This spherical ball with a substance that is invisible to the naked eye looked like a crystal
ball. The ‘spirit of the wind’ was now confined in it.

He sighed, while making sure that the ‘spirit’ had not left the ball.

Tatsuya began to check his surroundings, but his momentary lapse of attention gave the
wind spirit an opportunity.

The moment was almost instantaneous.

It began to release a large amount of pressure, from the inside of the ball.

Tatsuya threw the sphere in his hand straight up.

Lowering his right hand and using his moment to raise his left hand.

The ball burst open. The ‘spirit of the wind’ had exploded itself.

The shock wave created by it went right above Tatsuya’s head and spread throughout the
area, making ripples in the sky.
"Are you okay?"

A shadow suddenly emerged behind him. The famous ‘Ninjutsu’, the head Priest of this
temple, Kokonoe Yakumo, was applauding and talking to him.

"If you would have payed a little more attention, the ball would have been completed."

"Master, good morning."

"Oh, good morning, Tatsuya-kun."

And he is the adversary whom he visited in search of advice this morning.

"So, why are you visiting your master today, Tatsuya?"

As if nothing had happened, he asked a question as to continue the conversation.

“It’s about what you did just now.”

Yakumo responded with a bitter smile.

"Have you come to learn how to seal parasites?"

"Do you already know the situation about Minoru?"

"I also know that new parasites have appeared in the USNA, which will be more annoying
than before."

"Excuse me... so... can you tell me the sealing technique?"

"No, I can’t teach you it."

Yakumo’s ‘playful’ reply, depending on the receiver, could make someone explode out of
anger.

"Is that true?"

However, Tatsuya tried to dig deeper.

Although Tatsuya calls Yakumo his ‘Master’, he isn’t one of his students in the art of
‘ninjutsu’. So Tatsuya has always been asking Yakumo for favors. But he has no actual right
to learn magic from him.

"Have I taught you anything so far? Previously, you almost had it all by yourself, so I can’t
believe you did that well on your first attempt. "
At the same time, he didn’t turn him away.

“Is the ball a thing that is just used to push the independent information body inwards and
keep it there?”

“Are you sure you applied the technique properly?”

"So, you can seal a parasite with it?"

"You managed to single out the wind spirit from my technique; I think that is enough to
capture the parasites."

Although it depends on Yakumo’s mood, he would advise him on how to train his technique.
But considering that he isn’t a student, he should be glad with this much help.

"Then why didn’t you stop when I captured it just now and before it exploded?”

"It doesn’t matter, if we had continued for another ten hours, you wouldn’t have been able to
stop the self-destructing."

"Is it because we need more time?"

"No, no, practicing repeatedly isn’t the important thing when training the ball, rather it’s more
about the technique itself."

Tatsuya couldn’t ask him for further explanation. Tatsuya and Yakumo have known each
other for five years. Tatsuya knew what he was like and also knew that it was impossible to
receive any more clues.

"I understand... I will try to invent that myself."

“When you do, try practicing with the help of the second son of the Yoshide family.”

With the amount of knowledge he has gained this morning, Tatsuya was more than satisfied,
because it was more than he had expected.

[Four]

"I want to see Miyuki-senpai's face..."

"What are you saying?.. You just met her this afternoon in the Student Council Room."

"But Kasumi-chan, isn’t it better to have tea time together while we just wait here?"
The mansion where Tatsuya and Miyuki lived wasn’t that far from the hospital where Minami
was admitted. Quite the distance to walk, but using a car it would take less than 5 minutes.
Since she heard that from Minami, she quite often grumbled like that.

"I don't want to go. He’s at the Prez's house."

And that's Kasumi's answer. Somehow, it has become her typical answer.

Both of them were in small restaurant beside Chofu-Aoba Hospital where Minami was being
treated. Ever since their role was decided after the last Ten Master Clan conference, the
Saegusa have been reserving this restaurant. This restaurant’s business model made it only
available for reservation in the first place, so having a temporary base in this restaurant is
the most suitable course of action that didn't disrupt its economic activity.

The Saegusa's role was to ambush and capture the parasite, Minoru. In case capturing him
proves difficult, they were permitted to execute him instead.

The Ten Master Clans decided that letting a parasite loose in society was a sin and that
killing the culprit is something that couldn't be avoided. Both Kasumi and Izumi didn't want to
kill him if they could, but they're convinced that if he was to be left like that, killing him is
something that couldn't be helped. Tatsuya thought that those two weren't suitable to be a
member of the Ten Master Clan’s, but now there is no doubt. They're definitely educated as
a Ten Master Clan members.

"Anyway, will he really come?"

They weren't debating the issue of whether to kill Minoru or how to capture him, they had
already accepted that this is something unavoidable.

"I think he will."

"Really? ...Even Minoru isn't that foolish."

"I think he is even smarter than Kasumi-chan."

"It's true that Minoru is smarter than me, but Izumi's school rank isn’t much different from
mine!"
"Then I don't have to help you with general-study homework anymore, right?"

"W-wait! That's unfair! We're not talking about that!"

"You said that’s unfair..."

"What I wanted to say was even Minoru should be wary about the ambush!"

Kasumi said that before Izumi finished her line.

Izumi chuckled and stopped teasing her twin sister.

"That's obvious. Maybe he even knows that we're staking out here."

Kasumi felt relieved that Izumi stop teasing her with saying "right?" to her.

"Even so, I think Minoru will still come."

"Eh? Why?"

"It's because he’s had a sickly body since childhood. He doesn't have much attachment to
things."

"...Right. I remember he often said that he wanted to be more selfish."

Kasumi and Izumi didn't meet Minoru that often. Also, compared to other children they knew,
his personality wasn't so attached to things.

From their point of view, Minoru lacked the willfulness of a child.

"With that kind of personality, Minoru even discarded his humanity for Sakurai-san. That
intense feeling... Unfortunately, we won't able to understand it. What I can understand is that
he definitely won't give up."

"So, Izumi doesn't know it too..."

"Right. As a girl, that's really unfortunate."

"Girl... Yeah, Izumi is a girl but I think that feeling should be the same whether you’re a boy
or a girl. Leaving aside feelings matter, the most obvious problem is Sakurai-san is guarded
by the Yotsuba, Juumonji, and Saegusa, right? Will he really come despite the enemies? Or
is he that blinded by love?"

"Kasumi-chan, being 'blinded by love' isn't like that."

"Eh? Is that so? Isn't it feelings of love that makes one lose their reasoning and common
sense?"

"The dictionary indeed worded it like that. To lose reason means to lose the ability to know
the opponents' weakness. To lose common sense means to lose the ability to reflect one
self’s position with themself, their opponent, and their family in society.”

"Oh, so it's like that."

"What makes me think that Minoru will still come despite knowing about the ambush is not
because he's losing himself in a panic.”

"...So, why?”

"Because Minoru-kun definitely..."

Izumi then tried to hide her voice. Not only with her voice volume, but her expression clearly
meant "Something that can’t be said loudly."

"He's not scared of the Yotsuba, Juumonji, and Saegusa. That's what I think."

"...Minoru-kun wasn't such an overly-confident person from what I know."

Maybe it was because of Izumi, she also spoke with a low volume voice.

"With his ability, it isn't necessarily overly-confident."

"That's... Well if it's us (the Saegusa family), maybe he could do it."

"The current Minoru-kun, has the parasite’s power. In addition, whether or not it’s true, he
even has a mainland ancient magician’s ghost."

"...Isn’t that ghost part too far-fetched?"

"...Anyways."

Even Izumi didn't really believe in the case where he absorbed Zhou Gongjin. She didn't
thread down Kasumi's objection.

"I believe Minoru has definitely become stronger.”

But at the same time, she didn't express the necessary things to emphasize their vigilance
against Minoru.

In the end, it wasn't clear whether Kasumi agrees or disagrees with Izumi.

"Izumi-chan, Kasumi-chan, he's here!"

The two stopped their discussion the moment Mayumi called out to the both of them.

"What about Sakurai-san?!"

Kasumi asked Mayumi whose voice she heard from the back of gallery-room door about
Minami's safety.
It seemed that instead of Izumi, who worked together in Student Council Room, Kasumi was
closer to Minami as her classmate. Or maybe, it's that Kasumi was just a simple person.

"It's okay. He will be captured before sneaking into hospital."

"By the Juumonji Family?"

Izumi asked that. But if she didn't ask it, Kasumi would.

"No, by our subordinates."

Kasumi was like ‘good job’ with her facial expression and the light of her eyes. But then she
expressed something with her eyebrow after she heard that

“It seems they couldn’t hold their feet for even one second. Currently, the Juumonji Family
are moving towards the scene. They should somehow be able to hold him back. They
contacted their father but it's taking some time before he's able to come to the scene.
Juumonji-kun already notified them but he won't be there for another in 5 minutes."

"In other words, our role is to hold him back, right?"

Kasumi and Izumi weren’t just passively listening to what Mayumi was saying. They were
taking out their bracelet CADs and putting them on their wrists, communication-goggle to
their eyes, donning protective vests ー with bullet-protection, slash-protection, and
impact-mitigation feature protection.

"Preparation complete."

"Me too."

"Okay. Let's go."

Mayumi fully opened the remaining half of the already opened door and went to the scene
with Kasumi and Izumi following her.

◇ ◇◇

When Mayumi and the twins arrived at the scene, the fighting had already ended.

There were four magicians laying down on the road. Kasumi and Izumi got closer in order to
check their pulses and breathing.

"They're alive!"

"This side too. They aren't heavily wounded."

"Where did Minoru-kun go?"

"The last time we saw him, he was heading to the right lane. We were both ordered to
protect them here."

The right lane had no gate that lead to hospital. Whether he wanted to break the window or
sneak from the rooftop. In any case, Mayumi thought it's obvious that Minoru didn't run away.

"Okay. I'm joining the chase too. You two, please go back to your post."

The two magicians that Mayumi asked were from the Juumonji Family. All the magicians that
were lying down on the road were from the Saegusa Family.

"Please do so."

The magicians from the Juumonji Family bowed and went back to the front of the hospital
back door. The task that was given to them was to prevent any intrusion. They came here to
help the Saegusa Family, but considering their task, their current position was too far from
hospital back door.

"Please look after these two."

"Onee-chan, are you going alone?!"

"That's dangerous!"

Kasumi and Izumi wanted to stop their sister, but Mayumi answered with a serious face.

"We can’t just leave injured people here. Even though it's not a critical injury, they are
unconscious. Also, there’s no guarantee that Minoru won't come back to hospital back door."

Leading people to believe where he went and then strengthen the least guarded posts. That
was a common pattern. Those two couldn't refute what their sister said.

"...Roger that, onee-chan.”

"Onee-sama, please be careful."

"Yeah, you too."

Putting her goggles back on, Mayumi went towards the right lane of the hospital road.

◇ ◇◇

A sudden surge of magic is what Mayumi chased after, running along the road leading to
hospital.
Lightning sparks flashed through the air.

The distance is about 50 meters. The night sky was filled with a thick cloud, releasing
lightning from the darkness.

The target was two magicians. They were people who Juumonji had introduced to her.

One of them was wounded and bled from one of his feet. He crouched to cover the wound.

The other guarded and deployed a magic barrier to defend from the lightning attack.

Usually, the release-type magic would end after being blocked. Modern magic attacked from
the starting point to the target’s position in order to make it effective, regardless of the
opponent's magic phenomenon rewriting. And it's only for that.

But this lightning wasn't simply just a flow of electricity. It flowed at a slant for several meters,
giving off the impression of a snake. It wasn't breaching the magic barrier but crawling
around it from the top to the side.

Giving form to the phenomenon. In exchange for using high resource magic by mimicking
lifeform movement, it's a technique that also gave the magic a high degree of control. It’s an
ancient magic technique which is not available in modern magic. In this case, the dispersed
lightning kept being re-used.

It was definitely a high-level technique, but no matter how you looked at it, it seemed more
effective to have several lightning strikes. Mayumi, who looked at that moving on top of the
magic barrier as if it were a snake, immediately realized that it was just her perception.

The magicians from the Juumonji Family’s magic made the barrier in the form of half-sphere
dome. Even as it crawled to the side, it wouldn't breach the barrier. But when she thought
the lightning-snake was ineffective, it made a ring on the outer barrier and bit its own tail,
fixing itself in that position.

After seeing this, Mayumi finally understood the target of this magic. This magic was to stop
them.
Just looking at the effect of the lightning snake, it would be ineffective against a magic
barrier. But if the barrier was cancelled, the people who took shelter within it would be
immediately attacked by lightning.

The lightning snake seemed to make a ring on top of the barrier but instead, it fixed itself to
this position. If the barrier caster wanted to move the barrier around, he would have to fight
with the lightning snake.

There was one more lightning attack from the cloud. There was more to it than just the first
attack. It continuously made three attacks.
The lightning attacks also took the form of a snake and joined the siege against the Juumonji
magicians trapped in the magic barrier.

The magic barrier was tied up with three encirclements. The first lightning snake has
disappeared but the consequent attacks dropped to six different positions and entangled
themselves to encircle the magic barrier.

Mayumi shot a psion-bullet to lightning's target position.

Mayumi's psion-bullet was just like Tatsuya's Gram Demolition but with less power.

However, her skill for precision when shooting a target is second to none. She lived up to her
nickname precisely as the ‘The world’s leading expert at casting remote precision magic’.

Mayumi's psion-bullet precisely got to the position of the established platform. It's the
singularity (or discontinuity) caused by long range magic invocation. Mayumi's psion-bullet
took down that information body’s structure platform.

Mayumi's magic, other than four systematic and eight types of modern magic, her
psion-bullet which classified as non-systematic magic, along with her special inborn sensory
magic. Long range visual sensory magic ‘Multiscope’. It's classified as magic, but in
Mayumi's case, its ability was an inborn specialty to her. It can also be used as an ‘ESP’ or
extrasensory perception, which is a superpower type of magic.

For her, this was an exception. ESP had the same root as magic. However, for many people,
wielding magic and ESP at the same time should be impossible. ESP, by just using thoughts
to rewrite phenomenon and bend it to its caster's will. In exchange, it's limited to several
patterns of phenomenon rewriting. Modern magic has been achieved by adjusting the
functions of the mind used from supernatural powers so that they can be applied to a variety
of event modifications. But other than using thoughts, it depended on many other factors and
steps to invoke magic.

Looking at a similar viewpoint, Tatsuya's ‘Regrowth’ and ‘Decomposition’ are close to

superpowers. With the limitation of the inability to invoke other patterns of phenomenon
rewriting, it too matched Tatsuya's situation. Just like the explanation of superpower/ESP
before, Tatsuya's ability to rewrite phenomenon was limited to things while his inability of
phenomenon rewriting versatility fit the description of superpower/ESP holder.

But Mayumi was able to use both. She might be classified as another irregular magician just
like Tatsuya.

Mayumi was currently using her ‘Multiscope’ in full power. The information currents that
flowed to her from different angles placed a huge burden in her mind. Since the full power
usage would make her mind misty, even in just several minutes, she rarely used it like that.
She used it despite knowing the consequences because she believed Minoru was hiding
around that area.

No matter the irrelevance of distance when it comes to casting magic, usually it's impossible
to have such a high density and high technique lightning attack invoked from afar. He must
be around here.

(Found him!)

Did her tenacity yield results?

Or did her strong thoughts show the result.

Within her unique power, ‘Multiscope’, she saw the back of a boy.

She didn't see his face. Even though it was only his back, there's a shadow of someone who
was both beautiful and suspicious.

Mayumi moved her viewpoint to see the face for confirmation.

Just when she ‘saw’ the face, whether it's a coincidence or he felt the sight, he turned to the
side.

However, that single moment was enough.

Mayumi ran her fingers across her CAD that was on her wrist.

The magic she invoked was the same as her nickname, ‘Magic Sniper’,

She created platforms in the air and from there, invoked bullets of dry ice. (EN: platforms:
mid-air gun batteries)

Three platforms which all fired at Minoru.

Using long range sight, she was sure that she got Minoru.

Mayumi then found he wasn't there.

Mayumi's ‘Multiscope’ didn't lose track of Minoru.

He was in the air.

Mayumi created new platforms and invoked dry ice once more.

But the shadow in the air used complicated steps to dodge most of bullets.
Minoru landed on the hospital rooftop.

Mayumi left only the bird-eyes view angle from her ‘Multiscope’, and prepared magic that
would capture Minoru as she leapt to a higher floor.

Mayumi left her allies who were still trapped by the lightning-snakes and headed to hospital
rooftop.

◇ ◇◇

"Will Onee-chan okay?"

"Even if the opponent is Minoru-kun, Onee-sama won't be easily defeated..."

Kasumi asked and Izumi replied without much confidence but regardless, there was no sign
of her uneasiness. Voice-volume wise, she wasn't worried.

Currently, the strongest Saegusa magician was probably Mayumi. Their father, Kouichi
never really compared their children in term of power so it isn't known for sure. But
compared to their brothers, it's proven that Mayumi was the most powerful. Even if Kasumi
and Izumi fought together against Mayumi, they still couldn't win. Using their combined
power and their trump card, ‘Multiplicative magic’, they still wouldn't be able to win.

They were nonchalantly talking because other than talking and guarding around the area,
there wasn’t really anything to do. Their father’s subordinates had their emergency treatment
already. After all, they weren’t fatally wounded in the first place. Looking externally, there
wasn't any indication that they broke their bones. There’s one who hit his head but there's no
brain damage. The part where it's swollen was iced down and instead of seeking treatment
from the ambulance, they were waiting for the relief team to arrive. They didn't say it loudly,
but if the relief team came too late, they would bring those two to the hospital instead. Both
of them were thinking the same thing.

"Anyways, they're still not coming."

"Not coming indeed..."

Soon enough, those two became impatient. It was obvious from Kasumi’s appearance, but
Izumi too had a fickle personality. Maybe it was Izumi who often went at her own pace.
Whatever it is, they were at their limit as far as patience was concerned.

They both looked at each other to confirm whether or not they had the same thought.
Just like they confirmed with each other, both of them headed to the hospital backdoor
together. As they were asked to help carry the injured, at that very time, they shouted a
different word.

"Look out!”
Instead, the warning proved to be counterproductive. The two people guarding the backdoor
looked at Kasumi and Izumi instead.

They were distracted as magic was casted from the darkness.

Blazing Sparks fell from the sky above. Magic that forcibly draws electrons out in the
extreme, ‘Spark’. It seemed like basic release-type magic but required high phenomenon
rewriting power. For common magicians, the quality of a spell is usually very low. Having
ionization of vapor gas within a fixed volume is the best they could do.

On the other hand, the ‘Spark’ that attacked these two people engulfed them and entirely
converted to plasma. Precisely, it engulfed them from chest to foot while their heads were
left unharmed. They lost control of their body, convulsed and laid down on ground.

"Who's there?!"

Kasumi shouted that while invoking magic. An intense flare shone through the coiling
darkness between the street lights.

She shouted ‘who’ but she was convinced that it was Minoru. If it wasn't Minoru and instead,
another person, she wouldn’t have been as surprised to shout like that.

The bright flare that should take away his resistance power, against the flare, but Minoru just
narrowed his eyes without covering them with his hand.

The strong light made a shadow of him, which emphasized his inhumane beauty.

"Minoru, stay still!"

Kasumi invoked ‘Freeze Air Bullet’. The air cooled down and compressed, then used as a
bullet as it loses its heat.

Like Mayumi's favorite magic, ‘Dry Meteor’, but instead of using carbon dioxide, it was just
using air. Although the compound element uses nitrogen and oxygen as the main ingredient
to make the freezing point lower than carbon dioxide, the compressed bullet has a different
effect than dry ice bullet.

Simultaneously, Izumi deployed zone interference around them for defence.

The flare's light went out and once again, Minoru's body sunk into darkness.

Kasumi's ‘Freeze Air Bullet’ hits a magic barrier and was crushed. The air that was confined
using magic expanded, along with a sudden temperature drop by several tens of degrees
below freezing.
But that sudden temperature drop also couldn't enter Minoru's magic barrier. The invisibility
of the magic barrier was lost when the air became mist and latched onto the magic barrier. It
was known then that Minoru's magic barrier had a fixed hardness.

Minoru attacked at the same time that Kasumi's ‘Freeze Air Bullet’ was crushed. The zone
interference that Izumi deployed worked. Zone interference wasn't magic. It's a defense
technique that uses one’s own phenomenon rewriting power used continuously.

If the enemy casted magic on it, they should have hard time getting past it.

Izumi was using her full power to neutralize Minoru's magic. But her effort was easily
overcome.

An electrical discharge was moving through the air. Just like the attack on the Juumonji
people, ‘Spark’, however this time the power was toned down due to Izumi's zone
interference.

But even so, the enemy's magic wasn’t less dangerous. The spark discharge from plasma
attacked Kazumi and Izumi.

Kasumi diverted the plasma as a way to defend themselves from Minoru's attack.

"Izumi, are you okay?!"

Running to Izumi who had lost the battle of zone interference, Kasumi held Izumi.

Izumi grabs Kasumi's hands which held her shoulder.

"Kasumi-chan, we can't do this separately."

"I know, Izumi."

Kasumi didn't misunderstand what Izumi wanted to say.

In this situation, it was 2 vs 1, they weren’t attacking one by one. They're fighting with
cooperation.

What Izumi meant wasn't simply a number advantage. They weren’t fighting as two people
but rather combining their power into one. Unless they did that, they wouldn't have any
chance at defeating Minoru. And Kasumi understood her perfectly.

The twins entangled their fingers. Kasumi's right hand and Izumi's left hand, perfectly
matching their palms.

The twins then faced each other as their other hands did the same.
From Kasumi's left hand to Izumi's right hand, psions flowed in.

From Izumi's left hand to Kasumi's right hand, psions flowed in.

From their locked hands, two people’s psions circulated in their bodies.

Minoru invoked magic above the twins.

But Minoru's magic failed. The zone interference around the twins defended them with
incomparable strength as opposed to before.

"Get ready.”

Izumi whispered.

"Leave it to me!"

Kasumi answered.

Izumi operated her thought operated CAD on her wrist.

This ‘multiplicative magic’ didn't decide who the main or who the sub is. In many cases, it
was Kasumi who invoked magic while Izumi created zone interference. But in this
‘Multiplicative Magic’, even if the roles are reversed, the effect is still the same.

A light source appeared within the darkness. Minoru’s body is illuminated by the light but it
isn’t strong enough to blind him. It only served as an illumination.

Minoru made a confused expression. Confused because such magic didn't have any
attacking power.

Of course, this was only preparation. It is a procedure that makes it easier for targeting the
magic.

Next, magic was invoked. Minoru didn't just stay still but the confusion made his decisions
slower. This time, Izumi was faster.

There was sudden gust swirling above Minoru. The air, while keeping it at current
temperature, was being compressed in an instant.

Izumi didn't shoot that compressed air at Minoru but released it downward.

Due to adiabatic expansion, the air flowed with a sudden temperature drop and attacked
Minoru.
‘Cold Storm’, Izumi created her new magic because of her admiration towards Miyuki and
her freezing magic.

"Ouch, so cold!"

"Sorry!"

Izumi answered her with a stiff face. It's because both of them felt the cold. She has only just
learned ‘Cold Storm’ so she hadn't perfected the defense for it.

"It's okay. So, did we get him?"

Kasumi didn't have to ask Izumi because Izumi was also looking closely at Minoru.

Minoru, under the light, just stood there.

No movement.

But he didn't go down either.

If he didn't have any more power, it would be strange for him to not have fallen down. If his
body became rigid, it's still impossible for him to stand still like that.

"Kasumi-chan, once more!"

At the same time Izumi shouted that, there's a change in Minoru.

The frost that overwhelmed his hair and his shirt suddenly disappeared.

Even with the disappearance of the frost, he was entirely dry.

Minoru stretched his right hand to Izumi.

"Let's go!"

Kasumi shouted that to Izumi impatiently. But unlike before, it's Kasumi who took the
initiative. Compound element which consist of 90% nitrogen, blew towards Minoru.

‘Nitrogen Storm’. Magic that reduces oxygen concentration to an extreme and blows the air
to induce oxygen-deficiency syndrome.

Minoru defended against ‘Nitrogen Storm’ with his shield and neutralized the downstream
draft.

"ーーーー"
Izumi saw Minoru move his lips. Kasumi didn't realize it and because of the downstream,

Izumi didn't hear what he said.

But somehow, Izumi knew that Minoru said ‘This time it’s my turn.’

Izumi felt the sudden magic invocation. At the same time, there was a breeze blowing.

Izumi then impatiently deployed an anti-physical barrier.

The wind stopped at the outer barrier. However, it started blowing again from inside the
barrier. There's no way wind could slip the anti-physical barrier. Kasumi and Izumi were
already too late when they felt the wind.

Kasumi starts to collapse.

Izumi was shocked and tried to hold Kasumi. She was purposely holding her breath but due
to this, she started to inhale again.

After that, Izumi's consciousness was engulfed in darkness.

Before Izumi and Kasumi dropped down on the road, something invisible caught their
bodies. With that, they were put down gently on the road.

The one who caught and also made them unconscious was Minoru. Using move-type magic
to stop them and weight-type magic to cancel out gravity. Using convergence-type magic to
decrease oxygen concentration. This is basically the same as ‘Nitrogen Storm’ that is used
by the twins. These two magics weren't used to break through the twin's defense, but he
made use of the same type of magic to make it harder for the enemy to recognize the attack.
This technique was something he got from Zhou Gongjin.

Minoru increased the oxygen concentration and blew the air into twin's nose. This was a way
to forcefully send oxygen into their lungs.

Those two coughed and started to breathe normally again.

Minoru used the following magic. Against the twins, who are now in a half-conscious state
and lacked the power to resist, he used ancient magic to make them sleep. Those two
closed their eyes. Their breathing was normal which was the opposite from when they were
unconscious.

Minoru breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that. He had no intention to harm those two.
Even he was reluctant to use offensive magic.

He knew why the Ten Master Clans wanted to catch and subjugate him. But he didn't have
any intention to antagonize them into a direct conflict.
All he wanted was to just save Minami. After confirming Minami's will, he would make
Minami a parasite if she accepted. And then both of them would hide and live in peace. He
would happily return her to the Yotsuba too, if that’s what she wanted. He believed that the
Yotsuba would stand to protect their kin, whatever the other clans complained about. That's
why, whatever the attack, he wanted to solve it as peacefully as possible. Toward Kasumi
and Izumi, who were his childhood friends, he was in distress when it came to attacking
them. He wanted to attack them with the least painful attack and defeat them. The pain he
caused could be treated simply with an emergency kit and he didn't think that was an
acquittal from his guilty feeling.

With the persistent bad after-taste, he headed towards the hospitals backdoor.’
His intention was to kidnap Minami so there's no sugar-coated word for that. Today, he
intended to bring her with him regardless of her will. After all, he thought that there was no
time to convince her otherwise. He calculated that Tatsuya should already be on his way
here.

Minoru stretched his hand to grab the hospital backdoor handle but he suddenly leapt
backward a great distance.

Dry ice bullets shot through his afterimage.

"Minoru-kun, surrender!"

Minoru looked above where the voice came from.

"So, the illusion has broken down..."

Minoru whispered that in response. Mayumi was looking down at Minoru from the rooftop of
the hospital.

◇◇◇

Mayumi, who chased after Minoru, jumped up to the rooftop.

She arrived at opposite edge of rooftop.

The moon and stars couldn't be seen because of the dense clouds. From this height, one
could see the clouds in the center of the city due to the city lights. With this dimmed light,
Minoru could be seen rising upward.

Minoru still had his back to Mayumi.

Even when she emitted psions as a sign for her to attack, Minoru still didn't face her.
"Minoru-kun, stay still! If you don't resist, nothing will happen to you! Your problem, I will
listen to you about it!"

Even after Mayumi shouted that, Minoru didn't react. Let alone preparing to attack, he didn't
even try to defend.

Mayumi was at a loss. Even she was hesitating to attack a defenseless enemy.

But she couldn't just let this slide. Minoru had become a parasite. She hasn’t confirmed with
her own eyes but she didn't believe Tatsuya would lie. She just didn't think Tatsuya had a
bad personality, bad enough to lie about this. And a parasite couldn't be left like that.

"Minoru-kun, put down your CAD and raise your hands up!"

Mayumi decided to press Minoru to surrender.

Minoru reacted for the first time. He only moved his body to side and looked at Mayumi. His
side face showed a suspicious, wicked and also unworldly beauty smile towards Mayumi.

Correction, not unworldly but inhuman.

Mayumi didn't doubt the fact that Minoru became a parasite.

But this time, she really was convinced that Minoru changed and became an inhuman
existence.

She no longer hesitated.

From twelve established platforms, she created them to corner Minoru, and they unleashed
dry ice bullets.

Shoulder, chest, stomach, hip, thigh pierced by bullets ー no, they slipped through.

(Illusion!? So this is "Parade"!?)

‘Parade’. Kudou's magic that created a fake existence in the information dimension in order
to disorient the enemy's magic attack.

After their role was decided, Mayumi was told about this magic from her father, Kouchi.
Just what she heard, she couldn't really differentiate between real and fake. Mayumi, with
‘Magic Sniper’, saw Minoru from 6 different angles. But there was no difference from all
angles.

(If I can't find his real body, then!)

Mayumi's favorite magic was long range precision sniping. If the target couldn't be found,
she couldn't use it.

But she's not only ‘The most outstanding long-range precision sniping magic user’ but she
also had the ‘Versatile’ nickname, the eldest daughter of Saegusa, the strongest of them.

Mayumi couldn't use a ‘pinpoint’ attack.

(‘Parade’ is magic that creates a phantom in one's position around that area in order to slip
through enemy's magic...)

Mayumi heard about ‘Parade’s’ characteristics.

(Then, Minoru's real body should be around this rooftop!)

Mayumi prepared other magic. She used magic one step before it changed to be dry ice,
‘Dry Blizzard’.

Area of effect magic that made carbon dioxide within 3 meters upward and hailed down at
negative eighty degrees Celsius.

It covered about two-thirds of the rooftop area. But even with that attack, Minoru didn't show
any indication of having been damaged.

However, Mayumi only used that to narrow down her target. Mayumi shrunk her makeshift
cage to lock down the vapor gas. It was to prevent the vapor from leaking out.

Within that, the dry ice sublimated instantaneously.

The carbon dioxide concentration was high and it made the temperature several tens below
zero degrees Celsius as it covered half of rooftop.

Mayumi gradually let the gas leak while narrowing down the cage. She simultaneously
sharpened her mind to that area.

If Minoru was within that area, he would have to defend himself. Even if he could fake his
information, he shouldn't be able to fake the singularity created by magic invocation. ーThat's
what Mayumi thought.

But the opposite of what she deduced, there was no indication of magic invocation.
In exchange, she found out that familiar powerful magic was invoked on the ground.
The position where the magic was invoked was the hospital backdoor. It was her sisters.

It was Kasumi and Izumi’s ‘multiplicative magic’.

(ーI've been deceived!)

Mayumi finally realized the gimmick. Minoru's real target was to enter from the hospital
backdoor. Minoru's illusion was a dummy to make her distance herself from the backdoor.
The illusion feature was a full virtual projection, isolated magic platform, and maybe with
magical sense jamming. Without wavelengths from the powerful ‘multiplicative magic’,
there's no way to know about that psion isolation wall.

Mayumi left the vapor gas cage as it was and ran to the backdoor of the hospital.

(Kasumi-chan, Izumi-chan!)

Mayumi made an effort to not shout. Kasumi and Izumi were taken down. The worst possible
prediction was becoming reality.

But now, her priority was to capture Minoru. At least, if she didn't repel him, her sisters
couldn't be treated.

The target was Minoru who held his hand to grab the door handle.

Mayumi secured a large amount of carbon dioxide on the rooftop and shot dry ice bullets.

Minoru leapt back a large distance. Mayumi's attack only hit his afterimage.

"Minoru-kun, surrender!"

As Mayumi shouted that, Minoru looked above.

Minoru didn't answer and he didn't make any sign of obeying Mayumi.

Mayumi didn't hesitate to shoot him with dry ice bullets.

(Again?!)

Her attack passed through Minoru's body and broke down as they hit the ground. This was
Parade. Mayumi knew it immediately.

Mayumi compressed carbon dioxide without making it fixed. Ten meters into the air within
four directions made a sphere with a diameter of ten meters.

She threw that sphere at Minoru.

As soon as it touched the road surface, the ten-meter air ball expanded in a five-meter
radius.

It didn't scatter more than that. Her sisters were outside of its radius. Mayumi didn't forget to
make sure of that.
The carbon dioxide concentration was about mid-level poison. If the parasite has the same
functionality as a human, then the parasite should have to inhale this air. Minoru shouldn't be
able to evade that.

Mayumi made a weak breeze within that half-sphere. It wasn't even at the level of a gentle
wind. Its direction wasn't in one direction either. It looked random, but actually, it was a
complex regulated weak air draft.

That current stopped at a certain point. At a height of one hundred seventy to one hundred
eighty centimeters and at a width of fifty centimeters. About Minoru's size.

Mayumi made the platform within that half-sphere dome and concentrated fire to that point.
Minoru's hidden presence started to appear.

Within the dimmed city’s light, a boy was seen standing there.

Parade was broken.

Mayumi increased the power and density of her shooting. She prepared an abundance of
carbon dioxide for the next attacks. The bullets that were previously used sublimated and
have become a new resource.

Unexpectedly, Minoru raised his right hand.

Mayumi wondered if it's a sign for surrender.

Within that motion, it couldn't be said it didn't result in some sort of opening.

That's why, Minoru's counter-attack was carried out regardless of Mayumi’s circumstances.

Minoru's illusion that was hit by Mayumi's ‘Dry Blizzard’ already disappeared.

Mayumi didn't look at the disappeared illusion anymore.

That's why she didn't realize that there was large shadow that appeared in its place.

The shadow had four legs.

The neck and head formed, with a narrow tail on its opposite side. That silhouette looked just
like a tiger.

Fangs grew from its open mouth and released thunder instead of a roar.

Mayumi was disrupted and looked at it.

The shadow beast that was cladded with thunder was already in front of her.

Mayumi couldn't do anything as the beast pushed her down.

The beast bit Mayumi with its fangs.

Blood didn't gush out from Mayumi's body because she was attacked by an electrical
discharge which made her unconscious.

Mayumi's body, which seemed like it had been snapped, was wobbling.

"Oh no!"

Minoru shouted it.

"Mayumi-san!"

Mayumi's body was falling down.

Minoru was thinking about saving her as he started to invoke gravity control magic in order
to catch her.

But before he could deploy his magic, a person caught Mayumi's body as she fell.

Mayumi falling down was completely outside of Minoru's calculation.

He impatiently tried to deploy magic to save Mayumi.

But before he did that, she was saved by a person with an imposing physique.

Mayumi's body was held in mid-air as that person was controlling gravity and inertia to land
on the road’s surface without making any noise. That person literally shut out all noise when
landing. But in Minoru's mind, he heard it as if the landing made the earth tremble.

"Juumonji-san..."

That person was the current head of Juumonji Family, Juumonji Katsuto.

Katsuto shows his back to Minoru while still holding Mayumi.

He gently put Mayumi's body on the road.

Minoru didn't attack Katsuto from behind. --No, he couldn't.

He was overwhelmed with Katsuto's back as if he wanted to say, ‘Wait a minute.’

Katsuto stood up and turned around.

Minoru activated Parade at once and left only his illusion.

But even if he evaded, it would be meaningless.

An invisible wall came out from Katsuto. With the size of two tatami, about one-point-eight
meters in length and width, a hardened transparent magic wall chased Minoru fiercely.
Minoru impatiently leapt to the right.

The wall didn't affect anything except physical objects and it didn't give any influence on
physical energy. But because of this ‘solid objects won't be able to pass through this invisible
wall’ feature, it's known that illusions don't exist in the physical space. Katsuto's wall broke
down Minoru's illusion and grazed Minoru's body as he disappeared into darkness.

Having evaded Katsuto's attack, Minoru prepared for his next magic. By absorbing Zhou
Gongjin, Minoru used his newly found magic to mislead direction, Ghost Walker.

At the same time, he ran to the left. If Ghost Walker succeeded, Katsuto would see him
running in the opposite direction.

But his magic only worked for two seconds. He was stopped by an anti-physical wall.

(Ghost Walker is not effective?)

Minoru thought that but immediately knew it's his misunderstanding.

Katsuto's magic wall had a width-diameter of four meters and a height of two meters in the
form of a dome.

The wall that closed off all directions.

Magic that mislead one’s direction like Ghost Walker became useless.

From above, the wall descended. The cylindrical cover was dropping downward.

Against the pressing magic wall encirclement, Minoru deployed an anti-physical barrier to
resist.

Against the wall with a width-diameter of four meters, he focused all of his might on his
shield size of fifty centimeters.

Katsuto's wall and Minoru's shield broke simultaneously.

Minoru leapt to escape the ‘cage’.

The moment he landed, his one thigh was pierced. Katsuto, who had the nickname ‘Iron
Wall’, attacked Minoru. Katsuto dispersed his power to a wide area wall as Minoru was just
barely able to offset the power difference by countering him with a concentrated small area
wall/shield. In order to combat such fighting power, Minoru was required to use a great
amount of his own magic power.

But Minoru didn't have time to wait for his power to recover.

Katsuto also wasn't so naive to give Minoru a break.

Before the consequent attack came, Minoru already invoked his magic.

‘Cloudless Thunder’.

Among his favorite release-type magic, this magic was the most powerful anti-personnel
magic. For the already exhausted Minoru, this magic wasn't something that he should use
lightly. In spite of that, any half-hearted attack wouldn't be effective against Katsuto.

A large amount of air molecules was changed to plasma. Then, an electron shower fell
towards Katsuto.

But it didn't reach Katsuto.

Just in that small lapse of time, the surge of negative ions were obstructed by a magic
barrier.

That was within Minoru's calculation.

It wasn't a bluff. Minoru knew from the start that Cloudless Thunder wouldn't be able to
damage Katsuto. This way, Katsuto would stop his continuous attack for a moment and he
would then use this opportunity to take the initiative.

(What do you say to this one!)

Minoru took out a talisman ー Commanding Sign, and it started emitting black light from his
pocket towards Katsuto.

From Commanding Sign, a black beast with four legs leapt out and attacked Katsuto.

It was a Shadow Beast that Zhou Gongjin used as offensive magic which was arranged to
resemble western ancient magic, a ‘Hellhound’. If classified with modern magic, it could be
said to be an outer-systematic magic because the damage would come from its fangs and
claws which would result in creating the fact of wounding the victim.

(This is an astral-side attack of outer-systematic magic. An Anti-physical shield wouldn't be

effective!)
The black compound body was coming to attack Katsuto.

But the jet-black Shadow Beast didn't touch Katsuto's body as it disappeared the moment it
touched a magic wall.

(...Juumonji's magic wall contains a feature that not only defends against any physical
phenomenon, but also includes one to maintain the original phenomenon.)

Minoru didn't panic with this result and instead, he calmly analyzed it.

Juumonji's magic wall, Phalanx. Instead of the defense power it had, Minoru was warier for
its zone interference power.

The caster was able to deny any phenomenon rewriting that occurred within the interference
zone.

Illusion and compound bodes too, were magic that projected an image. Without power that
overcame Katsuto's power, it wouldn't able to pass through Katsuto's barrier. Even though
Minoru had adsorbed Zhou Gongjin's technique and the speed invocation that came with his
parasite body, his power was still the same as before. Minoru possessed strong
phenomenon rewriting power but unfortunately, it was still not enough to breach Katsuto's
barrier.

Minoru scattered his clones and nimbly ran around. This wasn't Parade but just illusion
magic. The reason for that was to preserve his power. As Katsuto was distracted, he invoked
several magic.

ーSpark, Cloudless Thunder, Plasma Bullet, Hot-wind Blade.

The magic he is most used to.

ーNitrogen Storm, Dry Blizzard.

Using the Saegusa siblings’ magic to surprise Katsuto, Minoru was using various magic’s to
attack.

Regardless, all of his attacks couldn't breach Katsuto’s barriers.

And within the small time span in-between those attacks, he deployed offensive type
Phalanx.

Not concentrating at one point but instead, scattering to all the phantoms.

One of them successfully hit Minoru.

Offensive type Phalanx was a pinpoint invisible barrier that deployed continuously to attack
and breach the enemy defense. If it was only one, it wouldn’t be much different from
weight-type magic. Minoru used an anti-physical barrier to offset Katsuto's attack.

Because of the offensive-type Phalanx. He couldn't use Ghost Walker.

Minoru released his shield and at the same time, he invoked acceleration magic.

Katsuto’s attack-type barrier deflects off of Minoru’s body.

Minoru held the pain that almost made him lose consciousness and used the momentum
from the impact to fly upward.

Several bones broke, with his internals heavily wounded, Minoru casted anti-gravity magic
on himself.

Minoru ascended into the darkness using the momentum.

Despite his wounds, he broke through the low altitude of clouds to escape.

◇◇◇

Mayumi and the Saegusa twins were taken to the hospital where Minami was. When Miyuki
and Tatsuya arrived, Kasumi and Izumi were still asleep. Mayumi had never completely lost
consciousness so she was already awake, so she was just lying on her bed and talking,
because this was the only thing she was able to do.

"In any case, it seems that no one died."

"I think Minoru didn’t mean to cause any serious harm."

Mayumi had a self deprecating smile when she heard these words.

"...Minoru's goal is to get Minami-chan, he doesn’t want to get in a serious confrontation with
us, probably."

"If you had been his opponent, you wouldn’t have lost."

Miyuki’s attempt to comfort her with were matched with a harsh and sad reply.

"Senpai...."

"...Sorry, I wasn’t strong enough."

Mayumi finally seemed to notice that she was venting her own frustration too much.
"No... I think it's not necessarily a bad thing to lose."

Mayumi's face showed that she had a hard time replying to Miyuki.

"...Have you ever lost before Miyuki?"

"...Yes, I have...but..."

"Sorry, I said something odd."

"By the way, is Minoru still being followed?"

Tatsuya decided to change the subject because of the awkward atmosphere.

"Yes, the Juumonji Family is still in pursuit."

Mayumi was glad to be able to say this, so she responded happily to Tatsuya’s question.

"Juumonji-kun said so.."

Mayumi had calmed down a little. She wasn’t being mocked for her defeat and she also
didn’t have any regrets.

"In the end, Minoru’s attack.... Katsuto managed to fight him off without getting hit, so we’ll
just have to be glad with that."

"Although Juumonji-san’s skills are definitely excellent… I think his fight would have been
more difficult if it was just him on his own."

Mayumi raised her head when she heard Miyuki.

"We can assume that after his battle with Kasumi-chan and Izumi-chan, and then with
Mayumi-senpai, Minoru-kun was considerably exhausted, and there is no doubt that
Juumonji’s fight would have been much more difficult for him.”

“Really... Is that so? Yes, you’re right, Miyuki-san, thank you.”

Mayumi smiled at Miyuki, and Miyuki answered with a small bow.

◇◇◇

When Kasumi and Izumi woke up, Tatsuya and Miyuki spoke to the both of them before
returning home. They didn’t got to see Minami. It was already evening and Minami was
sleeping due to exhaustion because of her rehabilitation.
"It seems the twins have gone home."

Looking at the screen of the mobile terminal in the living room, Tatsuya told Miyuki about
what he had read.

"It seems to me that if someone would leave the hospital without even staying for one
night...isn’t that a bit too fast?"

“Maybe they weren’t able to have a good night’s rest when they know that the Yotsuba ‘own’
the hospital, and not their own Saegusa Family.”

"Well, yes that may be true..."

To that reply, Miyuki gave Tatsuya a bitter smile.

As a result, Tatsuya also started smiling. Perhaps she thought that her ‘reply’ was a ‘failure’.

"By the way, Onii-sama, do you think they would be able to capture Minoru-kun?"

In her consciousness, Miyuki thought that ‘she had to change the topic’. However, even now,
Miyuki was still very concerned about the possibility of catching Minoru.

"It will be difficult."

His answer was concise and pessimistic.

This wasn’t because of the power that Minoru has acquired. ─

“The magic that Juumonji uses is suitable for basic protection, which is indicated by his
nicknames as ‘the iron wall’ or ‘the Capital’s Final Defense’. Although its power is
unparalleled in interception and reflection, it is unsuitable for work that requires tracking and
capturing.”

"When you say that, I remember that they weren’t used to track the parasites during the
original Vampire situation."

“Everyone has their strong and weak points, don’t they, so maybe Juumonji is better for the
actual fight rather than trying to catch him?”

"Oh, Onii-sama, I don’t think they are the same thing."

"...I know you do."

Tatsuya laughed a bit, and Miyuki responded with a smile

“Besides that, what do you think of Minoru.”

The joking smile that Tatsuya had on his face disappeared.

Miyuki also had a subtle expression.

“In order to invade the hospital, he was limited as to not cause any damage to the hospital
itself. When you take this policy into consideration, his only possible ways of entering would
be the main entrance, the back doors, or to enter from the roof. He would have probably
gone through the roof, which Juumonji could have used to lure him into a trap."

“However, when he uses ‘Parade’ and ‘Ghost Walker’, magic that both disguise the user,
wouldn’t that have made it difficult to grasp his position?"

“For Juumonji, it isn’t necessary to know where Minoru is exactly.”

"...Huh, what does that mean?"

“The barrier magic that Juumonji uses doesn’t just protect the inside from what happens on
the outside, it can also be used as a means to restrict him in- and outside of his barriers.”

Miyuki, holding her hand in front of her mouth, let out an audible ‘Ah’.

“I don’t know the exact details of how big Juumonji can make his barriers, so I don’t know if it
can become tens of meters in size. But by predicting his actions and surrounding the area,
Minoru wouldn’t be able to escape from his ‘Guard’.”

"So, as long as you know where he is coming from, Juumonji can do it..."

“He can be caught regardless of any magical camouflage that he is using.”

“However, in situations where it is difficult to grasp his location, it would be hard to act as a
‘Guard’.”

"I think so too. So unless my reasoning is wrong, it would be hardly possible to capture
Minoru if he is trying to escape.”

When he said those words, he had a bitter smile on his face because he thought of the
severity of the situation.

"Of course, the same story goes for me, when he tries to escape using the combination of
‘Parade’ and ‘Ghost Walker’.”

"Is that so...?"

“The quickest way to capture him might be to add extra manpower, as to create an
appropriate ‘net’... Maybe the Saegusa Family and the Kudou Family could help us in this
endeavor.’

◇◇◇

"That was difficult..."

He sat down and signed with both relief and regret.

It was only ten minutes ago that he was able to get away from the pursuit unit led by the
Juumonji Family.

Because of the healing ability he had gained from the parasite, his wounds had already been
cured.

Minoru’s thought that he could have done this on his own, but when he saw Juumonji, he
was convinced that he had to ‘run away’.

However, he is currently still being disguised by ‘Parade’. Although it is something that would
definitely keep him hidden, he couldn’t be too sure that he had escaped his pursuers. But it
also seems like nobody is able to see through his ‘Parade’ using the security cameras.

Nevertheless, despite the fact that he wasn’t completely safe, he felt that he could at least let
go of his stress, giving Minoru enough time to look back on today’s failure.

He didn’t intend to underestimate the Ten Master Clans, however, the results from tonight
clearly showed that he had. He believed that it was possible for him to take Minami all by
himself.

In reality, he couldn’t even make it into the hospital. He was able to take out the three sister
of the Saegusa Family, but the head of the Juumonji Family prevented him from getting
Minami.

Mayumi, Kasumi and Izumi were not easily defeated. It might have seemed like a crushing
victory, because he did it in a relatively short time, but all of them were much stronger than
he had anticipated.

Both Kasumi and Izumi shouldn’t have given him such a hard time if they were by
themselves. Even if they both faced him together it shouldn’t have been a threat.

But the moment the two used ‘Multiplicative Magic’, it had pushed him into a corner.

Izumi’s magic, ‘Cold Storm’, which made her own body freeze, was enough to make him to
lose his sense of security. If the parasite he had absorbed didn’t have a healing ability, then
he probably would have been held back at this stage.
Even if he had known about ‘Cold Storm’, and that his opponents were good at this magic,
he couldn’t have come up with a counter to it that easily.

Mayumi was even stronger than Kasumi and Izumi. It was completely unexpected that she
would be able to defeat his ‘Ghost Walker’.

He had no idea that she was that capable.

And lastly, Juumonji Katsuto. He didn’t know much about him. He was familiar with him
because they had shared mere greetings in the past, but that was it.

He really was just like an ‘iron wall’. Even now, when he was looking back on the fight, he
didn’t know how he would be able to beat Katsuto.

His fight against the Saegusa sisters before that was no excuse.

Of course, those battles had exhausted him.

However, he predicted that they would come and therefore decided to attack today.

And although he was exhausted after his fight with Mayumi, he wasn’t sure how he would be
able to go through that man. He didn’t think that he would lose, but he also didn’t think that
he could beat him

(...For me, Tatsuya may be an even stronger opponent...)

The abilities of ‘Phalanx’ completely invalidate any illusions and tricks.

His tactics were limited to ‘fighting him at range’ and ‘attacking him head on’’.

── I can't do this alone.

Minoru was depressed while riding the train back to his hideout.

[Five]

The day after Minoru attacked the hospital, Tatsuya received a call from Maya.

He boarded a VTOL that Hyougo was driving and then through the underground passage
which leads to the Main House. When Tatsuya arrived, it was just about to be noon at the
Yotsuba Villa.

"We’re here early."

Getting called here early isn’t strange, what is strange is that Maya personally called him and
not through a third party.

“In fact, we have received important information from our Pentagon collaborators and I wish
to discuss this information with you.”

Even if there were any changed within the USNA, the Pentagon will remain the same as it
was.

"I didn’t know that we had any collaborators from within the Pentagon."

Ayako never informed Tatsuya about Colonel Balance. She clearly distinguished her love for
Tatsuya from her professional morality as an information gatherer of the Yotsuba Family.

“I will introduce them to Tatsuya in due time.”

Although Tatsuya’s status as being the son of the Family Head was recognized, he still
hasn’t been informed of the Yotsuba Family’s dealings.

"That’s okay."

"Yes."

After these words from Maya, they went back to the topic at hand.

"They say STARS have sent out an execution team.”

"Execution, not capture, that seems a bit surprising."

It was almost certain that STARS would send out a tracking team to locate Lina. It has been
a week since she has escaped, if anything Tatsuya thought this response time was rather
delayed. But for the purpose of the mission to be an assassination, that was
unexpected. Lina is a nationally recognized Strategic Class Magician, and while the USNA
has one of the strongest military forces, she is still a valuable asset.

“It wasn’t the Pentagon’s decision.”

“Is STARS using their own authority?”

"That is how it was understood."

“The USNA seems to be having a serious internal conflict, isn't it?”

"Yes, that is correct."

Tatsuya is still unaware of what kind of confrontation it is, but if STARS see Lina as a
nuisance, then it is inevitable that they would want to assassinate her for her betrayal. It was
clear that Maya had more information about the USNA’s internal affairs but didn’t feel it was
necessary to explain it here on the spot.

“Do you know the exact route of their intrusion?”

“If you knew, would you be able to handle it?”

Maya answered Tatsuya’s question with another question.

“If you insist, I will take care of it.”

Tatsuya didn’t hesitate in his reply. Maya couldn’t help but smile when she heard his answer.
Both of them would show no hesitation when it comes to murder.

STARS were trying to attempt an illegal act of assassination in Japan, otherwise known as a
sovereign state. So on the contrary, if you were to kill them, would they have any right to
complain? Perhaps these were Tatsuya’s and Maya’s true thoughts.

“Unfortunately, we have not been able to determine their invasion route, but we know when
they will be arriving.”

"What time?"

"This evening."

"...Well, I guess I know why we don’t have the time to investigate."

"That's right."

Tatsuya’s current bitter face was strange, but could be explained by Maya saying these
things with an elegant voice and holding her hand in front of her mouth.

“...We aren’t completely prepared. We have set up surveillance and guards at the airports
and air force bases, however, making a show out of it might draw unnecessary attention to
the situation. Also, we haven’t done anything to prevent them from coming from the sea,
because I think them coming this way is unlikely."

“Is there a problem with us being at the airports outside of the Tokyo metropolitan area?”

He quickly pointed out the concern he had and brought it up.

"That's right."
Maya had no intention of tricking me. At the same time, she didn’t give off the impression
that she was impressed. I guess it’s natural for me to figure things out to this degree.

"I cannot tell you everything, so let’s just say that if something happens, you will go there
immediately."

"Understood."

Tatsuya did not object to this arrangement.

"Well then, do you have anything else you need to know?"

Although this was quite unexpected for her to say, Tatsuya did not panic.

"Should I eliminate them?"

"Normally, this would be okay, but ...I think the government will have a different opinion."

"I understand. I will try to capture as many of them as possible.”

"Yes, please do so."

When Maya rose, it was a sign that she was done with meeting.

Tatsuya got up and bowed to Maya at a 45 degree angle.

◇◇◇

After escaping from the Juumonji pursuit team led by Katsuto, Minoru got off the train and
entered a private café. He waited to see if he was still being pursued or not.

Instead of it being a cafe where he was treated by staff and seeing other guests in the cafe,
it was a fully automatized cafe full of service robots. These monitored everything using the
cameras in their eye.

However, since Minoru changed his face using magic, he won’t get caught by the cameras.
In the first place, trying to avoid cameras in the modern world is near impossible when going
to public places.

In addition to offering drinks and snacks, this private cafe also offered access to several
network services and limited video software. However, Minoru did not order anything
besides drinks.

In order to kill time, he decided to use a device that he had acquired. According to the
knowledge gained from Zhou, this device gives the user vague information that can be used
to such an extent that it can be used to predict future events. However, getting a perfect
prediction is near impossible.

He took a cloth out of his bag that was around his waist.The cloth had five colors on it,
green, red, yellow, white and blue.

The device told Minoru a number of abstract words, including ‘good fortune’, ‘south-west’,
‘island, ’‘sky’ and ‘port’.

(The sky and the port could be referring to airports, then if you take ‘south-west’ into
account, as well as ‘island’… is it referring to an airport near an island south-west of here? If
so, which airport?)

Two airports that came to mind were likely candidates to Minoru. This was just his intuition,
not actual solid proof, but he still chose his destination.

The next thing he wanted to know was the ‘time’. The results: ‘Night’ and ‘Today’.

He still had some time to spare but he didn’t have the exact location. So, he decided to make
his preparations and headed out early.

Minoru left the cafe and went to a private train that went to the airport.

◇◇◇

The sun was just setting in Kansai when it was already later than 7 PM.

Had the sky been clear, it would still be faintly light out. However, due to cloud coverage, it
became dark fairly quickly.

A direct flights from Los Angeles had just arrived at Kansai International Airport. One man
and a boy exited the plane. There were other American Passengers as well but this
Anglo-Saxon appearance was quite inconspicuous.

The information that Maya had told Tatsuya was correct. The only mistake was that this was
not an execution team but a team sent in advance. A young man wearing dark glasses, well
if you looked closely you could see that he had a prosthetic eye. This was Lieutenant Jacob
Regulus. The only person sent from STARS.

Raymond Clark was the boy who was with him. This visit wasn’t an order given to him by his
father. It was decided through ‘discussion’ with the parasites.

Raymond became a parasite with a distorted obsession to bring Tatsuya down. With that
strong desire, he took the initiative of ordering the parasites to assassinate Tatsuya.

"It seems that there is a train station."

Raymond, who used a fake passport to get through customs and had arrived in the lobby,
pointed this out to him.

("Do you want to use the train?")

Regulus asked this through telepathy.

"You idiot!"

Raymond warned him by actually speaking to stop him from using telepathy.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Regulus apologized to Raymond.

By using telepathy, you don’t have to worry about microphones on audio capturing devices.
But on the other hand, you run the risk of magicians or other ‘supernatural beings’ being able
to notice you.

A microphone has a limited effective distance. If you know who you are looking, you can
catch their voice even if they are far away if you filter the sound by the voice you’re
searching for. But if you don’t know who you’re looking for, it’s impossible.

On the other hand, telepathy has no restrictions in terms of distance. The extent to which a
person can catch it depends on their ability, but it is technically the same as magic in which it
is not bound by physical distance.

But the number of people that can talk telepathically is very small, and it would be very easy
to pick up on their true identity if they continued to speak this way.

So before they left the USNA, they had a talk and decided not to use telepathy. However,
telepathy is a natural form of communication for parasites. He had accidentally used
telepathy because he wanted to speak to Raymond. So he was definitely in the wrong.

And their lack of vigilance was caught.

◇◇◇

“This is the police force at the Kansai Airport. We have just caught a telepathic transmission.
It appears that the likely suspects are the ones that have just arrived from the USNA”

One of the magicians that belonged to the police force, Kurosawa, that came to support the
airport’s security detected Regulus’ telepathy and had immediately made a request to the
command center.
"Could you please confirm this... The magician you are speaking of is not included in the
passenger registry. It could be that he used a fake passport. Kurosawa, could you describe
the individual?"

“There are two people. One twenty-year-old man and an adolescent boy. Both white. The
man is wearing sunglasses and has gray hair. The boy has blond hair. The person using the
telepathy was the gray-haired individual. It also seems like they are heading for the train
platform."

“Understood. Please keep watching them and don’t lose sight of them. Also, please try to
take a picture of them to confirm their identity.”

"OK."

◇◇◇

"Raymond, we are being followed by the police.”

"What!?"

Regulus was the first to notice that they were being tailed.

It would seem that an undercover policeman is following them, but Raymond wasn’t able to
notice because he wasn’t familiar with investigation and being chased.

"Sorry, I think my use of telepathy screwed us."

However, Regulus is an elite magician form the USNA’s STARS. Moreover, he is a sniper,
which requires good observation skills that can be used during a mission. So he was able to
quickly determine that they were being followed.

"What do we do, Ray?"

"We have nothing to work with, so our options are limited."

"True. Even we couldn’t have sneaked weapons with us."

Even if he was from STARS, he wasn’t arrogant enough to think that he could take a
weapon into another country. So being unarmed, the only thing they could do was to go the
USNA’s embassy here in Tokyo.

"Do you have your passport on you?"

"I do."

Raymond answered Regulus' question with a hesitating voice.

"Fine, let’s run for it!"

They left their suitcases behind.

◇◇◇

“Two people who we suspect to be illegally immigrated magicians have left their suitcases
and have started to flee.”

The policemen informed Kurosawa.

The policemen who were monitoring the two people did this using a communication device.

"Track them. Send me a photo of their luggage. Then bring it here.”

"Understood".

The policeman controlling the information terminal during this operation sent a photograph of
the suitcase to be used as evidence.

“Data collected.”

"Permission to use magic while in pursuit."

“Granted.”

As soon as they heard these words, the policemen were in hot pursuit.

◇◇◇

"Stop right there!"

An uniformed police officer jumped through the air and was quickly approaching them.

Regulus, who had noticed first, warned Raymond.

"Are you out of your mind?"

Why does this Japanese officer make such a flashy move in the middle of a big crowd of
civilians! This was a completely unexpected event for Regulus.

It is rare for this movie-like scene to play out, especially since Japan and the USNA have
similar standards that includes using magic as inconspicuously as possible while in public,
on the grounds that it might have a psychological effect on them.

But this situation was difficult to circumvent, even if it had been known in advance.
Raymond was making gestures to the policeman.

The policeman was suddenly blown away. This was due to Raymond’s power of
psychokinesis which he obtained after becoming a parasite.

"Raymond!"

"There is no way around it!"

Regulus stopped blaming him..

Of course, they didn’t have a choice, so was this the only thing they could do?

They had disguised themselves as immigrants as to hide their ability to use magic and so
they could enter the country without any problems.

There was signs of magic activation. It seems that the policeman, who they had thought they
had gotten rid off, was already back. What’s more, there were signs of other people that
were ready to capture them. This was probably the support sent by the police.

He turned around. He had never thought that their first step to invading Japan would be like
this. The airport is in a metropolitan area. They had chosen this airport because they
wouldn’t stand out as much here. However, them being caught was his mistake, but even
then who could have expected that it would come to this.

We hadn’t asked for support from our local collaborators, we were reckless, to think we could
enter this country so easily.

Such regret went through Regulus' mind.

However, this wasn’t the time to think about this.

"Raymond, I’m going to go through the encirclement."

Regulus used self-acceleration magic and made a dash through the crowd.

Raymond followed him closely behind him using the same magic.

They arrived at a taxi, which could also be used as a guide.

"Steal the taxi."

"Alright!"

Raymond responded positively to Regulus’ instructions.

Regulus was already ready for battle. He was a First-Class magician that belonged to
STARS, the strongest magical unit in the world. So he wasn’t afraid of the cops. Raymond
was neither a soldier nor a police officer, but he is simply someone ‘who isn’t afraid’, which
also works in the current situation.

They had quickly decided to take the taxi, while also expecting some resistance from the
driver.

However, when they looked back at the taxi, it had turned into a large, luxury, black
passenger car. It seems that it had been disguised.

("Get in!")

Raymond and Regulus look at each other. The voice now was broadcasted telepathically, as
it became evident that it was from another parasite.

Raymond followed Regulus.

Regulus rushed to the black car and opened the back door.

Raymond opened the passenger door.

When the two entered, the large sedan immediately started driving.

A strong magic was covering the entire self-propelled car.

"Is this.. ‘Parade’?"

Regulus muttered in telepathy.

"Yes, but please refrain from using telepathy."

Regulus stared at the back of a boy who was sitting in front of him.

And then he became surprised.

He almost forgot to breathe.

He had never dreamed that such a beautiful boy really existed.

If we’re just talking about beauty, his face wouldn’t lose to that of Angie Sirius - Lina.

However, Lina’s beauty exudes a sort of friendliness that is easy to approach while this boy
gave off the impression of being difficult to approach.
But the beauty of this person wasn’t that of a simple boy, but of a model-like man.

He wondered if angels could even have such beauty… Regulus also wondered if he was
daydreaming too much.

"There is a possibility that we can’t complete disguise our telepathy."

The boy didn’t seem to care about Regulus’ piercing gaze and continued on. He was
probably used to being looked at like that.

“Oh, I'm sorry, you’ve saved us, thank you.”

They slightly lowered their head, while sitting.

“My name is Jacob Regulus."

He noticed that he hadn’t introduced himself and did this in a panic. I noticed that I did not
introduce myself, and in a panic I gave him a taste.

"My name is Kudou Minoru."

"I'm Raymond Clark."

Raymond was looking around and decided to join in on the conversation.

"The Kudou, as in the Kudou from the Ten Master Clans? "

Raymond was quite knowledgeable thanks to Hliðskjálf.

"Yes, and you are a member of the ‘Clarks’ that are responsible for the Dione Project?"

"Yes, yes... I’m that Raymond."

"Okay... by the way, do you have somewhere you want me to take you?"

When Minoru mentioned this, Regulus was knitting his brows.

"... The police have probably gone to the hotel we booked."

"Well, both of your passports are useless now."

Regulus showed a surprised face, he had already thought that they had been photographed
and that their fake passports had become invalid. However, he couldn’t believe someone
else would have already thought about the same thing.
“Should I prepare a place to stay and a new passports for you guys? Of course they would
show your American citizenship and when you entered the country.”

To Minoru’s proposal, Regulus was more vigilant than ‘grateful’.

"I thank you for saving us, but why are you trying to help us?"

To ask Regulus’ question, Minoru had a cold, but happy smile on his face.

"Because I am one of you."

Regulus had considered this as well. However, he didn’t think this was the only reason.

“Besides, there is something that I want you to help me with.”

"I'm sorry, what?"

Raymond wasn’t as vigilant as Regulus.

For a parasite, Raymond thought that this was strange. Parasites are all pieces of the same
consciousness, because of this, they also have the same goal. So it is impossible to have
different thoughts that vary from the general consensus.

"There is a girl that ‘I want to be with’.”

"A lover?"

It was as if Raymond’s eyes started to shine when he heard this topic.

“No, it currently is only one-sided… I don’t plan to forcibly take her. So I will give up if she
doesn’t want me.”

"Wow.... You’re pretty patient, huh... I can respect that."

When it came to Minoru, Regulus was somewhat skeptical.

The idea of ​abandoning a companion is one of the primary instincts of a parasite. So this
was more like the human mentality than that of his own.

Furthermore, Regulus wasn’t able to read his thoughts or feelings like he could do normally
with the other parasites.

There is no doubt that Minoru is a parasite, that goes without question.

However, Minoru is clearly different from us

To Regulus, this was something he was sure of.

◇◇◇

The illegal immigrants using telepathy broke through the police siege and fled the scene. It
was reported to the Futatsugi Family through the police, and this information was shared to
the Ten Master Clans.

"Was it at Kansai?"

In the middle of the night, just before the date was going to change, Tatsuya received a
phone call from the Main House.

"Yes. The Kuroba Family has taken charge of the search. So you can go about your normal
duties in Tokyo and Miyaki Island as usual.”

“If the illegal immigrants are from STARS, they will probably be targeting Lina. Okay, I
understand."

“We will send you the photographs of the immigrants that the police made. One of the
suspects is Raymond Clark. "

That was surprising

"What does Raymond Clark have to do with it?"

"It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but from the psion observation data that we have obtained, it
seems like Raymond Clark is a parasite."

“Have you been able to discern the parasites using a radar?”

“This is the result of our research.”

“Of course, it is thanks to Tatsuya-san that we were able to obtain the parasite that we use in
our experiments.”

After the ‘Vampire Incident’, in last February, he had managed to seal a parasite during the
Steeplechase event and had handed it over to the Yotsuba. Tatsuya thought that this
situation was rather ironic, but didn’t mention it.

Besides, for Tatsuya, there is no reason to say this. In the end, all that matters is that they
managed to develop a way to track the parasites.

"Can’t you find Minoru using this method?"

“We are adjusting the radar that Kurebayashi created for Kudou Minoru. Please wait a little
longer."

Kurebayashi is the third butler of the Yotsuba Family and is the general manager of the
Yotsuba Family’s technical department. He is also an excellent magician and was one of
Tatsuya’s first teachers who taught him about magical engineering.

"I understand, I expect nothing less from you."

“Your words are too much for me. By the way, has Major Sirius been doing well?"

"It seems that she hasn’t gotten bored yet."

"Is that so. If she requires anything, let me know and I shall take care of it."

"I'll tell Lina that."

"Goodbye."

After that simple goodbye was said, the screen got dark.

He wasn’t in the living room, but in his own room. It was early in the morning so Miyuki was
still in bed.

He was the only one that was relevant to the situation, so Miyuki didn’t need to be there.
Instead he was thinking about speaking with Ayako.

Thinking about it, the other immigrant must have been someone that belongs to STARS.

So it is natural, that given the distribution of the roles in the Yotsuba Family. It is likely that
Ayako will become involved in the situation.

Both Ayaka and Fumiya are good at information gathering. But unlike him, they still have to
attend school. However, if they were to choose, he felt that the mission would be given
priority over school.

It didn’t really matter if they came for Tatsuya. His ‘Elemental sight’ is a magic that goes
along perfectly with searching. So this should made the search for the parasites far easier.
Rather, it can be said that it was made for it.

The problem is that Ayako has no real defense she can use against parasites.

She can damage the host of the parasite like normal, but that won’t do any damage to the
parasite’s real body.
If she was facing a member of STARS, then she would be fine. But even if the situation is
ever unfavorable, she would be able to run away.

(However, if they encounter Minoru...)

(... Maybe I am thinking too much.)

The Kuroba Family was only ordered to search for the parasites and the STARS members
that entered Japan illegally. They aren’t searching for Minoru.

Tatsuya wasn’t aware that the advance team had already joined up with Minoru.

◇◇◇

Minoru took Raymond and Regulus to Chinatown. It was a small area. Before the war, this
city was one of many in Japan, but after the war, it was the only one that remained.

This base wasn’t like a beach, so, open to the public. Those who worked there didn’t care if
ownership of the base had changed, they simply obeyed without asking any questions. They
were satisfied with their current owner, especially when he had the ‘key’ that could open the
main gates. And after he had gained Zhou’s knowledge, he was also in possession of the
‘key’.

Another thing that was odd about the building was that it also looked like a normal Chinese
building.

It was the next day already, Thursday June 27th, when Minoru was discussing things with
Raymond and Regulus.

"... Our goal is to find the whereabouts of Major Sirius, who has temporarily escaped."

Minoru had asked Regulus about this matter. But he didn’t answer immediately since they
weren’t using telepathy.

“If it is possible, I would like to take Major Sirius on on my own. It will be difficult, so I will wait
for my companions to arrive.”

"Are they in Japan already?"

“They will arrive in four days, on the 1st of July, at night at the Zama Military base. The only
problem with this strategy is that the Japanese have been strictly controlling the area since
last February. When they arrive, they won’t be able to move immediately, because they need
to find some information first.”
The event that they are referring to last February is the assassination mission that was given
to Canopus to eliminate Gu Jie, so that he couldn’t be taken by the Japanese. After this
incident, the military officers there have tightened their defence and have put extra security
and surveillance on all of the USNA’s movements in Japan.

"I understand, I will try to find the place where Major Sirius is."

“I thought that Haruaki was the eldest son of the Kudou, who will also be its future Head, so
how much authority do you truly have?”

This was something Raymond said while sitting from the side.

“You are very well informed; did you learn that through the Hliðskjálf?”

Raymond was shocked to hear this statement.

“You know about Hliðskjálf?”

An ambiguous smile was seen. For a regular person, this smile wasn’t so much ‘funny’ but
rather ‘mysterious’.

"I also have various sources of information"

"............"

"Thanks for your collaboration.”

Raymond settled down with a strange face, next, Regulus went back to the initial
conversation.

"So, what can we do for you, to get you your girlfriend back?"

"If you were able to, I would ask you… But..."

He had a bitter smile.

Regulus, on the contrary, was offended. He thought his abilities were not to be taken lightly.

But even when he thought this, he knew that there must have been a reason behind it.

"She is a member of the Yotsuba Family."

Regulus had to be sure, so he asked in a serious tone.

"When you say Yotsuba, do you mean ‘that’ Yotsuba?"

“Yes, I am talking about the ‘Untouchables’, that Yotsuba. Although she is only a servant,
she is the assistant of the next Head of the Yotsuba Family.”
Raymond muttered: “A friend of Miyuki...?”, But no one commented.

"She is currently in a hospital in Tokyo, but the Ten Master Clans have been guarding the
area to catch me, who has become a parasite."

“Does this mean that not only Yotsuba, but also the other Ten Master Clans are there?”

"Yes."

Minoru answered Regulus’ question without hesitation.

"In particular, the Families there are the Saegusa and the Juumonji."

Last night, although he did end up getting hurt, he still thought of a way to get past the
Saegusa and the Juumonji.

“The problem isn’t the Juumonji or the Saegusa… but Tatsuya-san... you know him, don’t
you?”

Regulus: "Oh, I know."

Raymond wanted to say something, but he decided to listen to the rest of the story.

"I know how to get past the Saegusa and the Juumonji, but when Tatsuya gets there, I can’t
get to her."

The other day, it was a draw. Yet, Minoru knows for himself that Tatsuya wasn’t serious. If
they both had the intention to kill each other, then he didn’t have the confidence to beat
Tatsuya. It was the opposite. He felt that, the more he faced him, the worse the fight would
become for him.

However, if he does fight Tatsuya seriously, it will not help his chances in convincing Minami.

This dilemma befell Minoru.

In addition, there was something else which Minoru hadn’t thought about.

They drawed last time. However, by doing so, Tatsuya can invent magic that is very effective
against parasites.

Although he had learned a lot by obtaining the knowledge of Zhou. But he had nothing that
was completely new. On the other hand, Tatsuya has the Yotsuba, the Fourth Research
Institute and Japan’s main Ancient magician, Kokonoe Yakumo.

Deep down, what Minoru is really afraid of isn’t just Tatsuya’s power, but also the people
around.
"Well, do you want us to face Tatsuya?"

This question about Tatsuya was the next to be asked by Regulus.

“You don’t need to be knock him down, the only thing you need to do is keep him busy and
drag him away to somewhere while I go and take her.”

"So you want us to act as bait?"

"That's right."

"This is ridiculous!"

This was Raymond.

"You need to get rid off Tatsuya, otherwise, if we do it, it will provoke him to come searching
for us!"

Raymond's hysterical tone got Minoru thinking.

“None of that matter, because I will have the parasite transplanted in her by the end of that
day or I will give her back to the Yotsuba family.”

But the tone which explained this to Raymond remained calm.

"Don’t be lazy! If you really like this girl, don’t half-ass it!”

"Hey, Raymond..."

Regulus tried to calm Raymond down. However, his voice did not reach Raymond’s ears.

"Don’t let everything in this world hold you back and bother you!"

"Raymond, calm down!"

Regulus strongly pulled Raymond's shoulder back and forcibly shut him up.

"Sorry, Minoru."

"No, I don’t mind."

As he said, Minoru didn’t seem to care about Raymond’s outburst, at least on the surface.

“I also think that Tatsuya is an opponent who needs to be defeated, but for now, let’s give
priority to Minoru’s goal.”
"I would be glad if you did that."

"Okay… but if I get the chance where I can take him out, you wouldn’t mind, right?”

"Yes, that’s fine”

The answer Minoru gave to Regulus, was given after a slight delay.

◇◇◇

On this day, Tatsuya spent some time in the morning on Miyaki Island and then went to First
High School in the afternoon.

While the lessons were still going on, he went to the library, but after school he didn’t go to
the Student Council Room, but to the Public Morals Committee Headquarters.

"Mikihiko, are you here?"

"Since when have you been at school?"

Mikihiko was surprise because he hadn’t seen him around.

"Since noon."

While he was answering Mikihiko, a little shadow tried to silently pass him.

"Kasumi, how are you doing?"

Tatsuya asked her.

She quickly stopped her feet.

"...I’m fine, sorry for worrying you.”

"Okay, that’s good."

Kasumi bowed her head to Tatsuya and quickly left the headquarters.

"...Did something happen?"

It was natural for Mikihiko to wonder about the scene that had just played out in front of him.

"It wasn’t anything too serious, anyways I want to ask you for a favor."

"And you’re asking me...?"

"Oh, you still remember what you said the other day, don’t you?"

Mikihiko’s complexion changed. So Tatsuya’s favor has to do with parasites.

"...Yes I do."

“The day before yesterday, Minoru showed up at the hospital where Minami has been
hospitalized.”

"Well then..."

Then, Mikihiko’s eyes opened wide.

He quickly locked the door of the headquarters and set up a barrier that also ‘closed’ the
room.

“...Now that’s taken care of, Tatsuya, let's sit down and talk. "

"Okay."

Mikihiko and Tatsuya sat across from each other at a long table.

"Uh... That day, did Kasumi fight with Minoru?"

“Yes, no one had any major injuries, but she slept for awhile because of magic. The only
thing we were worried about were the consequences of that magic, because they were
rendered unconscious by oxygen deficiency, but this didn’t seem to have any long term
effects."

"Okay..."

Tatsuya himself was relieved, that, after he was done with his explanation, Mikihiko was also
satisfied with the story and likewise felt relieved.

“So what do you want me to do? If you want me to help catch Minoru-san, then I’d be happy
to help."

Mikihiko has had a firm belief from the very beginning that dealing with parasites is a job for
an Ancient Magician.

"I may ask you to help me with the parasites later, but for now I would like you to help me
with some magic practice."

"Helping with practice?"

Tatsuya explains the contents of the training and that he would like to practice it here at
school.

“Since you only have time off after school, can we do it after you’re finished with your
Committee duties?”

"What are you talking about?"

Tatsuya was a bit confused.

Tatsuya knows that these duties are important for her sister.

So for him, he thought that everyone would think of these duties similarly.

However, Mikihiko’s thoughts on the importance of extracurricular activities in high school

were clearly different, making Mikihiko smile strangely.

“I don’t know what you think, but I think your training is more important that my work at the
Public Moral Committee, and it’s about time for me to decide on my successor anyways, so
this is the perfect opportunity.”

Thus, Mikihiko had accepted Tatsuya’s request.

◇◇◇

Generally, it is found that magicians can work either in daylight or at night. But parasites do
have a preference.

They prefer not to be in the sunlight, kind of like a vampire, so they sleep during the day and
work in the night, especially if nothing important needs to be done.

Also, they don’t experience jet lag. Regulus was interested to know about what had changed
after becoming a parasite. But since he isn’t a scientist, he wouldn’t know the real difference.
He was merely interested in it in the moment and decided to go to bed.

At this time, the door to his room opened and he could hear a knock, but he already knew
who it was.

When Regulus slightly opened the door, Raymond stood there, alone, which he had
expected.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course."
Honestly, he didn’t really like the time, but it seems like his visit was about something
important. Regulus thought this and then fully opened the door.

"So what is it?"

"It’s about Minoru."

“What’s wrong with him? I didn’t see him make any particularly suspicious movements. ”

"Is that true?"

It seems that Regulus' words weren’t enough to convince Raymond.

"Minoru is strange."

"Why’s that?"

Raymond had only said a few words. But he needed time to think about what he wanted to
say next.

"...Our telepathy isn’t able to communicate beyond national boundaries."

"And?"

"However, when our telepathy is shared, then we should share the same intentions, even for
other parasites, this should be the same. But he is different."

Raymond and Regulus became parasites after the micro-black hole experiment that was
conducted this month.

On the other hand, Minoru became one by modifying a parasite that was created during the
black hole experiment that was conducted a couple of years ago.

But, despite this fact they are both parasites, the same creatures. But they weren’t. This
wasn’t merely Raymond’s intuition, but he could actually feel it.

In addition, the parasite that is being used by Minoru, originated from the same laboratory in
Dallas. So their origin shouldn’t be that different.

"Raymond, what do you want to say?"

“Why does Minoru disagree with us?"

Raymond responded to the question of Regulus.

"... Is this about Shiba Tatsuya?"

“Yes, our intentions were all to eliminate Shiba Tatsuya, but Minoru didn’t agree?”

“We haven’t discarded the idea of eliminating Tatsuya, we’re merely rearranging our
priorities.”

"But it isn’t that too simple of an explanation, we had already decided that his elimination
was our top priority."

“When we discussed this we were still in the States, and, like you said, our telepathy can’t
cross national borders.”

Raymond got silent when he was confronted with his own logic.

“We are united with each other through our intentions, desires and will.”

This conversation shows the different sides to a parasite. The one side shows the parasite
before it fuses with a person, the other shows the parasite before the person it has inhabited
starts to erode.

"The strong will of Minoru leads him to save the woman he loves, so it isn’t surprising that
this is his top priority."

“I can’t believe that! Our main goal should be Tatsuya!”

"You shouldn’t say it like that...."

Regulus, like Raymond, believes that Tatsuya should be neutralized. But this is because
Regulus himself thinks that they need to eliminate the ‘Strategic Class Magic that is a threat
to their country’.

Raymond originally had the opinion that he wanted to ‘forget about Tatsuya’ and not ‘kill
Tatsuya. This opinion was affected by the strong intent of the STARS members, who
recognized that his ‘Material Burst’ is a threat that should be removed.

While the parasites have united with similar goals, their reasons can differ. It is certain that
the individual with the strongest ‘wish’ will take the initiative but this doesn’t mean that all the
parasites are governed by this ‘wish’. For example, Minoru’s involvement in this operation
does mean that Regulus and Raymond will not be ignored if he takes the initiative.

"...I understand, then I will discuss this topic with Minoru through telepathy.”

"...If you think so, then that’s fine.”

Last night they had confirmed that Minoru could hear their telepathy. So if Raymond,
Regulus and Minoru could all hear it, then when Minoru and Raymond were talking, Regulus
could also listen-in.

This is the characteristic of someone that was going to take the initiative so Regulus has no
reason to stop Raymond.

◇◇◇

Minoru suddenly woke up in the middle of the night. This wasn’t because his biological clock.
He was awakened by a unexpected voice, that he heard in the depths of his heart.

(── Wake up, Minoru/we.)

When he was awakened, he had little smile on his face.

(Raymond? Why?)

Minoru also didn’t recognize him as ‘we’ like the other parasite do.

(You aren’t surprised? I think this is the first time we’ve talked in this collective
consciousness.)

(This is the first time I’ve spoken here, but it isn’t the first time I’ve heard your voice.)

(That can’t be.)

Minoru laughed at Raymond’s surprise

(I thought telepathy didn't cross national boundaries?)

Minoru wasn’t going to mock the other side for his surprise. This was proof that his intentions
hadn’t been interfered by Raymond and the others.

(That thought is wrong. Telepathy can even cross borders. It’s just that your intentions don’t
influence me. Abroad telepathy is useful, but I just don’t belong to your consciousness. This
mysterious restriction weirdly enough doesn’t occur when humans use telepathy.)
(I didn’t know about such a thing...)

(It is possible that when the parasite and the human fuse, the human’s consciousness won’t
be overwritten.)

Raymond wasn’t the only one that remained silent. In the collective consciousness, Regulus
was also surprised.
(It doesn’t matter now, even if I am connected with your consciousness. I wonder, does this
have anything to do with my intentions differing from those of yours?)

(Why... Where are the parasites who were previously in this country not with you/us?)

(There is one other parasite. But he is completely sealed away, still, from time to time, I can
still hear him screaming while he is being used as a lab rat. I want to go and rescue him, but
that would be impossible for me.)

The parasite he is talking about has been sealed away by the Yotsuba Family. Their Mental
Interference Magic that has sealed it is dangerous for parasites. Plus, he couldn’t figure out
where the parasite was being held.

It was like this screaming was warning sign.

To make sure no else tries to come rescue him.

(No, I/we don’t think that’s stupid, we understand.)

Since he wasn’t hiding his thoughts, this reaction was genuine. This was probably
Raymond’s voice of reason coming through.

(You understand?)

Again, he asked the question. But really, Raymond wanted to make Minoru talk more, so
naturally he asked more questions.

(We are separate beings, we all have our individual thoughts, but our goals should be the
same.)

Minoru understood but disagreed.

Minoru knew what kind of person Raymond was.

But Minoru still refused.

He didn’t want to become a parasite, but he needs one for his goals. So the only reason he
uses one is to treat Minami.
He didn’t want to be rude to Raymond by continuously disagreeing. But Raymond keeps
saying ‘we’ and Minoru just doesn’t want himself to be included in that.

(We're going to kill Tatsuya, I/we all have this common intention!)

Finally, their true intent came out.

These weren’t the thoughts of just Raymond and Regulus. They didn’t seem to notice
themselves, but their consciousness was still connected to the ones still in the USNA, even
though they didn’t think this was possible.

This was a statement. In one moment, the various different thoughts all became one and
were directed at the ears of Minoru.

Among them, the intention to eliminate Tatsuya was the most dominant.

It wasn’t just Raymond, but also the members of STARS who recognizes the threat of
Tatsuya’s Strategic Class Magic.

However, Minoru confronted this massive wave of thoughts that had come towards him and
instead of submitting, he reminded himself of his own, strong ‘desire’.

He has no intention to leave Minami the way she is right now. He just wants to save her from
her fate. This was the reason that he abandoned his humanity.

Because of someone other than himself, he had changed.

Personality is formed by nature. Desire and impulse are the base of your spirit. How to
control it, what to do, what not to do, what to forgive, are all connected to society and the
people you are with. And if you listen to the desires of the people around you, you change.

In doing so, you throw away the thing limiting you, and become someone that can help
others── With greed at its core, Minoru was able to maintain his ‘self’ even though it wasn’t
‘for himself’ but for ‘someone else’s sake’.

It was a long battle.

It was also an instant battle.

In the world of the mind, there is no duration of time. The time had several points in it, so it
wasn’t a chronological line. Therefore, the battle was both ‘long’ and ‘instant’.

At the end of the eternal battle that happened in a single moment, Minoru was the one left
standing.

(Raymond, you’ll help me, won’t you? First, we’ll get Minami. Tatsuya comes after that.)

(I/We will obey Minoru’s will.)

Minoru continued to be himself until the end.

But, you couldn’t say that he was completely the same.

Human beings will be affected if they continue to hear the same thing a dozen times or even
a hundred times. Even if you deny it, your empathy will gradually decrease.

This was not related to human weakness. He had continued to be himself, even if he isn’t
human, by reminding himself of his goal that he originally.

But even so, he had been exposed to hundreds of whispers to get rid of Tatsuya.

(We will deal with Tatsuya-san afterwards.)

Before he knew it, Minoru’s consciousness had also changed and had deteriorated.

[Six]

There was some trouble with the entry of illegal immigrants through the Kansai International
Airport and yet, Japan was mostly peaceful.

Though a fierce battle took place between Minoru and Raymond in the spiritual dimension,
the general public was none the wiser.

The recent aggressive protests from anti-magic organizations are in a lull.

The handing over of Major Sirius to the USNA wasn't strictly required, whereas the Great
Asian Union couldn't afford to meddle with the Nansei Islands section. On the surface,
matters pertaining to diplomacy were quiet despite the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the
Ministry of Defense both feeling uneasy.

Regarding the Great Asian Union, something that would shake the world was announced on
Friday, June 28​th​.

Miyuki and Tatsuya heard the news that shocked the world.

"Breaking news!"

While having breakfast in the morning right before school, they turned back to the tense
voice that had come from the newscaster.

They put down their chopsticks and faced the TV.

"For an, as of right now, unknown reason, the Great Asian Union and the New Soviet Union
are at war."

Miyuki was completely shocked. If she still had her chopsticks in her hands, she would have
surely dropped them on the ground.
On the other hand, Tatsuya who had also put his chopsticks down was listening to the news
seriously.

“Late last night, the Great Asian Union invaded along the Lake Khanka border, where they
started advancing south towards Ussuriysk. The New Soviet Union mobilized the military in
the Far East that was stationed in Vladivostok. They collided 30 kilometers from Ussuriysk
and the battle still continues."

Miyuki looked at Tatsuya with awkward movement.

"Onii-sama, this seems like a very serious matter..."

He looked away from the TV and into the eyes of Miyuki.

"This is a military clash that has occurred in an area close to Japan, so the impact on
our country will be inevitable."

Tatsuya’s voice had a tension that was different from usual.

The newscaster reappeared in front of the camera.

“The aim of the Great Asian Union is to capture the southernmost part of the Primorsky Krai
Region. The region, especially Vladivostok, is geopolitical meaningful to them as it allows
them to remove the threat of a knife at their throat and paves the safe removal of the threat
to the Goryeo Autonomous Region."

A map was being displayed on the TV. When they saw this, the words of the caster became
that much more convincing.

“Why is Vladivostok being aimed for via this current route, so invading down south, when the
forces in the Goryeo Autonomous Region are closer and could have been mobilized?"

“The Great Asian Union have suffered a massive loss to their naval forces because of the
Yokohama Incident, they haven't recovered enough to attack Vladivostok from the south;
though if forced to they would use the navy from there which is indispensable."

"That’s correct."

To the explanation of the caster, Tatsuya agreed.

“Have the Great Asian Union been preparing for an invasion ever since this moment?”

“I think the Great Asian Union had started preparations for a full-scale attack more than a
year ago. Basically, after the Nichia Peace Treaty was signed, which was beneficial to
Japan. In addition, a rumor that had been going around the last few days via military officials
mentioned that the central government of the Great Asian Union needed a military
achievement to restore its prestige."

"...?"

The news correspondent seen on the news feed was now discussing the military capabilities
of both countries.

“The New Soviet Union has Dr. Bezobrazov, a nationally recognized Strategic Class Magic,
who has been rumoured to be deceased or has at least been inactive in his work.”

"I hadn’t thought about that."

At the time, Tatsuya had a sneaky smile, but this disappeared when he saw Miyuki, who was
still completely serious about the situation.

“If we take the military capabilities of both countries into consideration, the New Soviet Union
wins in terms of quality and the Great Asian Union wins in terms of quantity. In addition, the
military forces of the New Soviet Union are widely spread out in East Asia, Central Asia and
Eastern Europe. The Siberian military is located further north than the rest of the troops. The
Great Asian Union calculated that so long as the opposing Strategic-Class Magician isn't
able to fight, then they have enough forces to attain victory.”

“To which extent do you have information that indicates that Dr. Bezobrazov won’t be part of
this war?"

“It’s impossible to say with complete certainty. It has only been a week since magic, that
looked like the New Soviet Union’s Strategic Class Magic, had been seen at Tokyo’s First
High, and we haven’t heard a thing about it since.”

“A story has also been going around that the strong magic that had been used on the Izu
Peninsula in the beginning of this month was also associated with the New Soviet Union.”

"That's true. These unexpected attacks could have been committed by Igor. I think there is a
reasonable likelihood that Dr. Bezobrazov was involved in the situation."

“The fact is that Dr. Bezobrazov, who was trying to call for world peace using the Dione
Project, was a participant in an unexpected attack on the Izu Peninsula …”

“Do you expect this to have any influence on the future?"

The assistant, who hadn’t said anything before, was panicking a little. Maybe the director
had instructed him to ‘not discuss the Dione Project’.

"That's right."
The newscaster, like the assistant, was trying to change the topic.

“The Great Asian Union’s army will engage in battle before the Siberian troops will arrive. In
other words, the outcome of the battle will depend on its length.”

“Then, does the New Soviet Union want to turn this into an endurance race until
their reinforcements get there?"

The newscaster finally got back to the previous topic, so the Dione Project topic was
forgotten about.

"I think so".

"Will the Great Asian Union use Strategic Class Magic?"

“I think it might be the time to truly introduce Liu Li Lei, to not just the battle, but to the whole
world.”

Even though discussion about the current story continues, Tatsuya and Miyuki left as he
escorts her to school from the house.

Although Miyuki was also worried that they were going to be a bit late. She was also
wondering how Tatsuya was going to be spending his time during school, when he’s free.

"Onii-sama, what are you going to be doing today?"

So Miyuki decided to ask Tatsuya.

"I haven’t received a call from Lieutenant Colonel Kazama, so I’ll go to FLT."

"You aren’t going to see Lina?"

“I could.”

This was undoubtedly because of the conflict that has just occurred between the Great Asian
Union and the New Soviet Union. So Miyuki was anxious.

◇◇◇

And Tatsuya’s expectations were right.

"It is regrettable how the situation from before that damaged the trust we have in one
another still continues. However, as you know, an emergency has occurred. Will you be
coming to the base any time soon?”

"I will."
To Kazama, the request seems to have gone well, with Tatsuya nodding in reply after he
had just returned to his apartment.

Even if Tatsuya were to fight against the National Defense Forces, nothing would come of it
and that in such a case, there isn’t a reason to fuss over such a matter.

"I regret my previous actions."

He didn’t know what Tatsuya’s true feelings were on the matter, but nevertheless, he
lowered his head while saying these words.

◇◇◇

At the same time Tatsuya was watching the news about the military conflict going on in the
Far East, Minoru, who had won the fierce battle the night before, didn't imitate as if he had
gone to sleep. Both Raymond and Regulus hadn't awoken yet, due in part because of the
nature of the Parasites and not because of jet lag.

"They should probably listen to this...."

This may lead to opportunities, is what Minoru was thinking.

(If the military conflict is prolonged, the Ten Master Clans would have to move their attention
to the Sea of Japan, where if something were to happen in the southern portion of the sea,
they'd end up having to deal with it instead of focusing on me...)

If the TV commentator is right, the war was triggered by Tatsuya's counterattack on Igor,
which gravely harmed him.

(It’s ironic that Tatsuya’s ruthless response to Igor’s actions has given us this opportunity.)

Minami, who was injured by an attack of Igor and the influence of Igor's defeat which still
floats about, could cause Tatsuya to lose his chance to defend Minami.

Minoru agreed with Raymond’s reasoning.

◇◇◇

Tatsuya cancelled his scheduled visit to Miyaki Island and FLT and headed towards
Kasumigaura Base, the Headquarters of the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion.

Of course, Tatsuya reported this to Maya, whom he talked to directly, in which she thought it
be a good thing that relations with the National Defense Forces be restored. This was
partially because it would be difficult to let go of the ability where the National Defense Force
could mobilize soldiers in great number.
"Lieutenant, I have arrived."

After he had arrived, Tatsuya greeted Kazama.

With Fujibayashi present as his adjutant, Kazama also saluted to Tatsuya.

"The main reason for my coming here today is because I want to hear about Bezobrazov.”

When the villa in Izu was attacked, Tatsuya found out that Kazama knew that the individual
responsible that was taken care of wasn't Igor. However, what happened as a result of the
attack on First High wasn't reported to the military. It was reported to the Main House.

Tatsuya never spoke again about the information, whether or not it was passed on from the
Yotsuba Family to the National Defense Forces, which it eventually wasn’t.

“I didn’t attack Igor directly, instead I decomposed a large CAD that was in operation, so it is
possible that he received some damage.”

"Are you talking about the train-type CAD that you mentioned the other day?"

"That's right."

“If you destroy these CADs while someone is connected to them, could it make them suffer
from mental damage through their Magic Calculation Area? And if so, was Bezobrazov
connected to his CAD and thus received damage?"

"That is likely, since we have not seen any signs of ‘Tuman Bomba’ being used since then.”

"Hmm..."

Kazama decided that it would be a good idea to remember this.

"...So what do you think, how great is the probability that Igor has died?"

"I’d say it isn’t even a single percent."

"So, basically, it’s zero?"

"Rephrasing it like that is okay."

After saying this, Tatsuya added that ‘The likelihood of any accidental deaths having
occurred was non-existent.’

“So do you think that after some time, Bezobrazov will be able to reappear during the
invasion by the Great Asian Union?”
“If the military leadership of the New Soviet Union thought that they themselves, without
Bezobrazov, were able to see sufficient battle results as of right now, they would have done
so already, but they know that they can’t without him.”

"How long do you think it will take for him to recover?"

"Going off our previous encounters when I forcibly disconnected him from his CAD, I’d say it
would take ten to twenty days for him to recover."

Today is Friday.

The attack from Tuman Bomba on First High took place the Thursday before.

“So another attack can be expected in a few days, or another week.”

"I would think so."

"...I understood."

Tatsuya didn’t come here today just for this, he also wanted to discuss something else.

"Lieutenant, I also have something that I want to talk about."

"Go ahead."

"As you may already know, parasites have come to this country again."

“I know, we’re talking about the one from the Kudou family, right?”

"New parasites have appeared in the USNA."

"What...?"

Doesn’t it seem like the National Defense Forces have no knowledge of what has transpired
in the USNA?

In any case, he didn’t want to waste any time.

"There was a rebellion within STARS at their base headquarters the week before and it’s a
fact that members of STARS have been possessed by parasites."

"...Is this information you have heard from Major Sirius?"

"No. We were given this information by Angelina Kudou Shields’ relative, Kudou Retsu."
Tatsuya again insisted that he didn’t have ‘Major Sirius’.

"...Really...”

They still hadn’t restored their relationship enough for this to be told.

"And, apparently, it seems that at least two parasites have infiltrated Japan."

"What..."

This surprised Kazama even further.

“The police who were standing guard at the Kansai International Airport detected illegal
immigrants using telepathy, and these two passengers were on a direct flight to Japan. And I
think that one of them is an infected member of STARS."

"... I need to tell Her Excellency(Saeki).”

"I think that would be wise."

The police in the Hanshin area didn't keep the information to themselves. It was reported to
the National Police Agency, where it was then reported to the Ten Master Clans. Whether
the police would share information with the military is a subtle thing. At times, it’s not a good
thing for the police to borrow the power of the National Defense Forces. So in all likelihood,
there was a high possibility of Saeki eventually purchasing the detailed information through a
private route.

"So who is the other person?"

"The other part of the duo is Raymond Clark."

"...Is that true?"

“I have confirmed this with a photo taken by the police, so there is no mistake.”

"Lieutenant."

Fujibayashi, who had previously stood silently in the back, opened her mouth, when she got
a ‘weird’ reaction.

"Is this Raymond Clark related to Edward Clark?"

“Yes, he is the son of Edward Clark, the creator of Project Dione.”

Tatsuya once again told them what he knew.

“He is one of the ‘Seven Sages’ who uses the information collection system ‘Hliðskjálf’,
which is the backdoor to Echelon III. He also used this system to reveal my identity as
Taurus Silver.”

“...Wait, Special Officer, this is far too much information, my head can’t keep up with this.”

"The main topic starts now."

Tatsuya ruthlessly refused her, and in a way whispering: ‘I won’t let you take a break’.

"Continue on."

"So, I, as a member of the Yotsuba Family, request for cooperation with the National
Defense Forces’ Independent Magic-Equipped."

Their eyes emitted a strong light, when they heard that he made the request as a
representative of the Yotsuba Family.

"We believe that it is highly likely that the parasites that have entered Japan are going to
collaborate with Minoru."

When she heard Minoru’s name, all blood vanished from Fuyibayashi’s face. It was likely
that she already knew about Minoru, but in the end, Tatsuya felt that there was no need to
take her feelings into consideration.

"Moreover, it is unlikely that only one person from STARS have been sent to Japan to
conduct illegal activities."

When mentioning this, Tatsuya excluded Raymond from this number of people.

He isn’t taking Raymond lightly, he predicts that when Raymond became a parasite, he
gained power that can’t be ignored.

Tatsuya just doesn’t think he is one of them, and they will only use the power of STARS.

“We should send reinforcement there without fail, so that we can be in the immediate area.”

"I think so too."

His guess was logical, so there was no objection.

"Minoru’s goal is definitely to get Minami, who is one of our members."

Tatsuya shifted the focus of the discussion from STARS to Minoru.

“If STARS were to join Minoru in going after Minami, it’s possible that she can't be defended
with the power of the Yotsuba Family alone.”

"Do you wish for us to send soldiers for support?"

"No. If STARS attempted to invade either the military bases in Zama or Yokosuka, would the
military be able to stop their intrusion?"

The Yotsuba Family monitors the private and metropolitan airports and air bases.

But it’s only the National Defense Forces who can monitor outside of this area, for even if
they can't get inside, it would take time and effort to do so in the current situation.

Whereas its more reasonable to trouble the military to monitor the bases to prevent the
intrusion of foreign troops for illegal activities, for it is something that should be easier for
them to do since they’re allies.

“─ I understand. I will pass this military order on to Her Excellency.”

The reason that he didn’t demand any alternate conditions from Tatsuya was because he
understood that should be the work of the National Defense Forces.

"By the way, what do you think about the recent war?"

"Do you mean who I think will win or lose?"

“That's right."

"The New Soviet Union will win."

Tatsuya didn’t show any doubt, and he replied immediately. He had time to think about it
before he came to the base.

"Please tell me your reasoning."

“The invasion of the Great Asian Union is based off uncertain information about the absence
of Igor. But this very thought is wrong. The moment he joins the battle, the morale of the
soldiers of the Great Asian Union will fall."

More specifically, this is the moment Tuman Bomba will be used.

He didn’t need to say this, because they already understood this.

"Hm... so you don’t think the possibility exist that the conflict will be settled before
Bezobrazov returns?"
“There is no definite difference between the military forces of the two sides, whether it be the
military of the New Soviet Union deployed in the Far East or that of the Great Asian Union's
military. Even then, if the Great Asian Unions were to use ‘Thunderclap Tower’, it would be
difficult to win in such a short period of time and that only time would tell who would be
victorious.”

Furthermore, ‘Thunderclap Tower’ is a magic attack that was used by their previous
nationally recognized Strategic Class Magician. Its destructiveness can be compared to
‘Scorched Halloween’ ─ ‘Material Burst’ ─, but Liu Li Lei, the granddaughter of the previous
user of this magic, Liu Yunde, also uses this Strategic Class Magic, making her the Great
Asian Union’s newest nationally recognized Strategic Class Magician.

"If the New Soviet Union were victorious, they would try to invade Japan ─"

As he said this, he looked straight into Tatsuya’s eyes.

"Can the National Defense Forces depend on you if that time comes?"

“No problem, you can count on me.”

Even at a time like this, Tatsuya didn’t hesitate.

When he needed the power of Toudou Aobo, he had made an agreement to deter any
military campaigns of other countries. So even if Kazama hadn’t asked him as a member of
the 101st Brigade, he would have still taken the necessary measures.

But he did not need to say this. It was a good opportunity to make it look like Kazama was
‘borrowing’ his power.

◇◇◇

The day after the invasion into the territories of the New Soviet Union by the Great Asian
Union.

In the New Soviet Union's coastal region of the Far East, the New Soviet Union's forces were
on the retreat.

The world was paying attention to the conflict and among them, it’s said that Japan has been
observing with strong interest and vigilance.

The rules prohibiting the use of nuclear weapons since World War III by the International
Magic Association are still in effect.

The International Magic Association would only intervene when ‘dirty nuclear weapons’ are
going to be used. These specifically are biological weapons and chemical weapons that
pollute the environment, large-scale bombs that produce harmful residues, and
thermobaric explosives that release harmful substances. Modern war is mainly based on
old-fashioned bullets, bombs that clear debris, and expensive ‘environmentally friendly’
high-power explosives. If the military can afford them, electromagnetic weapons and laser
weapons will also be utilized.

In other words, you could say that old-fashioned weapons are still mainstream. But what is
also common, is that a war can take a long time if fought against a ‘decent’ army. In this
case, ‘decent’ would mean ‘stable’.

Thus, in order for one side to defeat the other in a short period of time, weapons that the
other side don't possess are needed.

The source of victory is Liu Li Lei, the user of ‘Thunderclap Tower’, a Strategic-Class Magic.

The Great Asian Union predicted that the Strategic Class Magician from the New Soviet
Union couldn’t make a move, which is exactly what the military experts had also deduced.

However, victory wasn't settled in just one day. The Great Asian Union introduced their
Strategic Class Magician on the first day to promote dominance on the battlefield. However,
‘Thunderclap Tower’ isn't a magic that can encompass every battlefield. Even with the
existence of such a magic, its use is difficult to utilize in land battles where the enemy is
approaching friendly forces.

As such, Strategic-Class Magic isn’t always as convenient as other people in the world
believe.

Today is Saturday. In contrast to the previous time period where this day was for leisure,
some middle and high schools are still open on these days.

First High is one of these high schools. Tatsuya had dropped Miyuki off at school in the
morning and Minami was still in the hospital with no set date for her release by the Yotsuba
Family. Despite Tatsuya no longer being a ‘Guardian’, he still accompanies Miyuki to school
as a bodyguard.

Even though Tatsuya doesn't need to be in close physical proximity to Miyuki in order to
protect her, he still feels weary about Igor's attack from the time before. Therefore, escorting
her is an effective countermeasure every morning, and because of his strong personality, he
likes doing it.

After escorting her to First High, Tatsuya went back home to change out of his school
uniform and into more rough clothes. He then took the air-car straight to Miyaki Island. His
first goal was the magical research laboratory, as he was worried about keeping his eyes off
Lina for too long.
Sure enough, Lina had gotten bored already.

"...Tatsuya. What are you doing?"

"Creating a new magic."

It was for no particular reason─ to Tatsuya ─ that Lina came to the place where he was
working.

"You’re only using a computer?"

“Is that surprising? Doesn’t the engineer who created the ‘Brionac’ also do something
similar?”

Brionac is a magical weapon that uses the FAE theory as the basis of its workings to make
the Strategic Class Magic ‘Heavy Metal Burst’ able to work in close range combat.

In Japanese, it is called the theory of controlling phenomenon after they have been created,
but Free After Execution is a better way of expressing it. The phenomenon produced as a
result being transformed by magic is already a phenomenon that was not originally in this
world, and immediately after transformation, the shackles of the laws of physics are loose.

This is also the theory behind his Baryon Lance, but Baryon Lance was created with the
Brionac as a reference. Tatsuya felt strongly about the creator of the Brionac as his
opponent and deep within his heart he would like to meet this person.

“Surely Abby is also remodeling magic at her own desk.”

Is the engineer who developed the Brionac an ‘Abby?’ ── Tatsuya secretly wrote down the
name in the notepad in his heart.

"Although when you create a new magic, don't you repeatedly experiment?"

The engineer, seems to still be still creating new magic. ── Tatsuya also adds this to the
notepad in his heart.

"Even this magic, is not created from scratch."

Every time Tatsuya would hear about ‘Abby’ the engineer, he would get interested, all while
answering Lina's questions.

“Since I had the opportunity to see Tuman Bomba a while ago, so I thought that I could apply
it to another magic that we can use as well, since Tuman Bomba is too complex to use
easily.”

Tatsuya ment this in the sense that ‘it cannot be used easily because a large machine is
required’, but Lina interpreted it as ‘the amount of magical power required is too high so it
can’t be easily used’.
But her interpretation wasn’t wrong either.

"...Eh?! Wait a minute… The magic you are trying to create, is it a Strategic-Class Magic?"

After a single beat, Lina spoke out of tone.

"The classification is as such."

Whether Tatsuya had gotten used to it, there was no such thing as him laughing out loud.

"Amazing."

Lina's shoulders sharply rise while laughing, "I'm amazed."

"Great Bomb... No, I wonder if it's 'Material Burst'. Even though you also have a deterrent
magic, are you trying to acquire a new Strategic-Class Magic? Are you going to become a
Demon King?"

"Is Lina a gamer?"

"Even if you don't play g-games, everyone knows what a ‘Demon King’ is of course!"

The number of people who wish to treat him as a Demon King have increased, and Tatsuya
was starting to get a little tired of it.

"I myself won't be using the magic."

"Eh, is that so?"

"It's as you say, Lina. Strategic-Class Magic, it's not enough to have one. Such a thing, even
though it’s useless due to its limited use, it comes with a catch the size of a mountain."

"I know."

Lina ignored the context and strongly agreed.

"When it's completed, it will be used by another magician."

Tatsuya hid his wry smile with a seemingly plausible expression.

"I know that there are those who can use it. If his or her name were mentioned, they would
become a new Apostle’ and the current amount of depressing things will decrease a little."

"Well."

Lina was too distracted by his ‘shamelessness’ to be able to pay attention to the essentials.
A new nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magician is to be born in Japan and in one
sentence: It will bring great change to the military balance of the world.

◇◇◇

Tatsuya only stayed on Miyaki Island during the morning.

The new Strategic-Class Magic isn't complete yet. Tatsuya doesn't think so highly of himself,
that he thinks he has the ability to create a new magic in a day or two. Besides, he has a
new magic that's far more important to complete than the new Strategic-Class Magic.

“I would like to train with you today.”

"That’s fine."

Saturday afternoon, in the exercise forest after school.

With Mikihiko as his partner, Tatsuya wants to work on completing the ‘Seal Ball’ that
Yakumo had suggested.

The magic would compress the parasites that are expelled from the body and confine them
in the mind.

The magic would compress the parasites that are expelled from the body and confine them
within the mind. The ‘Seal Ball’ is a physical seal by means of having the parasite confined
by getting sucked into it like a curse; where the spirit of the parasite is decomposed and then
incinerated. Even then, further steps in the process are required. But once trapped,
Tatsuya's job is finished and an expert can take over.

Overall, the training itself is self-explanatory.

Mikihiko summons spirits and deliberately pours in power to create a runaway state. Tatsuya
would then go and restrain them with Non-Systematic Magic to compress the spirit, putting it
into a stable, frozen state. In addition, the Information Body is covered with Psions that are
then mixed with the spirit, combining everything together.

Is it like trying to contain radioactive waste by surrounding it with glass?

A separate container, an object for sealing, needs to be prepared beforehand. Thus,

enabling the preservation and storage of the parasite that would then later be separated
from the container, and then processed thus rendering it harmless. This prevents the
parasite from flying away and eroding the mind of other humans.

"I can feel that I’m getting closer."

Tatsuya had started on Thursday and was far from completing the magic. He was getting
there little by little while tinkering with it.

"Is that so?"

Tatsuya doesn't respond to the praise that was given to him by like he always does, but he
still recognizes that the magic has progressed since his time compared to when he visited
Yakumo.

"Yes, I’m sure of it."

"...There’s no point in being negative. I will help you as much as you want."

"As much as I want..."

Tatsuya wasn’t dissatisfied with these words and they continued training.

Thanks to the help of his friend, Tatsuya managed to get to even closer to the completion of
the ‘Seal Ball’.

[Seven]

It was Sunday morning when Tatsuya received word from Fujibayashi.

"Special Officer. The USNA military has notified us that a transport plane from Hawaii will
arrive at the Zama Base tomorrow. They used their agreement for the search of Major Sirius
with us to make the arrangement."

“Well it seems like we have no time to rest.”

"I guess you could say that."

As expected of STARS, they used their agreement with Japan in order to send more
reinforcements to find Lina. However, given the fact that this request came directly from
STARS shows that the influence of the parasites has grown considerably within the USNA.

Fujibayashi had a very concerned look on her face.

"Well, please tell me when you would like me to go there."

“Special Officer. No... Tatsuya. Do you really plan to take them all on by yourself?"

"It will be okay if I go alone, I have been working with someone to perfect a countermeasure
that can be used against parasites.”

"Is that person from the Yotsuba Family? Or one of your school friends...?"
“My family is focusing on something else.”

Tatsuya didn’t give a clear answer, he didn’t want them to bother his friend that he needed.
Although he had come closer, ‘Seal Ball’ is still unfinished, so he still needs someone that
can capture the parasite itself.

Fujibayashi decided to just drop it.

She thought Tatsuya had no intention to tell them anything, but that he ‘will catch the
parasites’.

"...When will you be there?"

"As soon as they get there tomorrow, immediately after their arrival."

"Okay… Tatsuya, please be careful. If you need any support, Major Yanagi will be on
standby."

"I understand, if support is needed, I will be counting on him."

Saying this, Tatsuya tried to make the mood less dire.

However, Fujibayashi understood what he truly meant.

Tatsuya won’t be relying on their support.

"Yes. But I hope that won’t be necessary. ”

She didn’t want to leave this situation up to luck. It was her job to trust her own judgement to
make sure her troops would succeed.

Still, she couldn’t force herself to say any of this.

Having finished the conversation with Fujibayashi, Tatsuya decided to leave.

Even while she was there during the call, Miyuki was still uncertain on some areas.

“Onii-sama... What should I be doing tomorrow?”

Six months ago, the old Miyuki would have never had asked this. She would have either
expected to tag along with Tatsuya or make up an excuse to join him no matter what. But
Miyuki has since realized that she is one of Tatsuya’s weaknesses and she doesn’t wish to
be a burden to him anymore.

“Look after Minami.”

This was Tatsuya’s decision. He doesn’t believe that Miyuki needs to fight against STARS

It’s not that he thinks she is inferior to them, because he knew she wouldn’t be beaten by the
top of STARS.

However, he doesn’t want her to take any unnecessary risks. This was the true intention
behind Tatsuya’s words.

If you attack, it is inevitable that you will also be attacked.

So not getting involved is the best solution.

However, the situation with Minoru is different. If she defends Minami from Minoru, it won’t
get her involved with the USNA.

This would also mean that the USNA’s parasites won’t go after Miyuki.

“We still haven’t confirmed Minoru’s whereabouts. I want you to keep an eye on things at the
hospital, while I am fighting another battle.”

“Understood.”

Miyuki had heard what he had said.

However, she knew what his real intentions were.

Miyuki also understood that she didn’t want to bother him while he is completing his mission.

"Onii-sama, I will do as you say."

Having understood this, Miyuki promised to follow Tatsuya’s instructions.

◇◇◇

Minoru, who had left Regulus and Raymond behind, headed to Nara alone. Zhou still has
some connections in Nara that Minoru was able to use. Last autumn, he had collaborated
with Tatsuya to uncover a part of it, but the power of ‘wealth’ was still useful for ‘ordinary
people’, who posses no magical power.

Minoru is currently residing in a private house that belongs to such an ‘ordinary person’.

"He really was a strong opponent...."

Thinking about Zhou, Minoru started to talk to himself.

Like Minoru said, he really was a formidable opponent.

But now because of him, Minoru was able to move around comfortably.

He made it as far as he could safely, but he is now about to enter the territory of the Kudou
Family, who are waiting for him.

His destination was the Ninth Research Institute, or rather the 9th institute used for magical
research, the place where the magic of the magicians of ‘9’ has come from.

Here, he intended to take more of the sealed parasite dolls that have been kept here.

After the fight against the Saegusa and Juumonji families, Minoru strongly realized his
limitations. Even though he made an agreement with Raymond and Regulus, they had their
own work to do, but two extra men won’t make that big of a difference. And he also wanted
to have his own people.

So, Minoru realized that he should use the parasite dolls.

Even though the production of the parasite dolls was stopped, because of the ethical
reasons behind it, since a parasite doll, like the name suggests, is a parasite and something
that dangerous shouldn’t be used as a magician, this didn’t mean that the Kudou Family
stopped perfecting the ones they already had.

The parasite dolls, which were damaged during its test, were repaired and sealed in the
warehouse of the former Ninth Institute. Even if they were sealed, he could just unseal them,
but the problem lies with trying to escape, which would be difficult to do with just his own
power.

Even after the Kudou Family stepped down from the Ten Master Clans, the Ninth Institute
still remained under their control.

Even if they don’t know that Minoru would go for the dolls, the former Ninth Institute will still
be heavily guarded by the Kudou Family.

His grandfather Kudou Retsu must be waiting for him.

If you don’t enter a tiger’s den, you can’t get its cub.

And the former Ninth Institute is definitely a ‘tiger’s den’.

◇◇◇

The head of the Yotsuba Family, Yotsuba Maya, entrusted the investigation of the illegal
immigrants to the Kuroba Family.
Kuroba Mitsugu, the family head of the Kuroba Family had two excellent twins.

The older sister, Kuroba Ayako. And the younger brother Kuroba Fumiya.

They were both second year students at Fourth High School and go to school on the
weekdays.

When Maya asked them to lead the investigation, they thought that ‘If the task is given to us
by the Main House, we can give it priority over school’.

But they weren’t having a lot of luck with the current guessing game that they were playing.

Sunday, June 30th.

Ayako and Fumiya had come to Kansai International Airport.

"We haven’t gotten any good leads."

"Even when we looked at the identity of the illegal immigrants who had been photographed,
they barely had any information about what happened after the fight."

Ayako, who had no real gratitude for the work the police had done, listed her problems with
them to her younger brother.

Their direct contact in the case was Kurosawa, the person who discovered Regulus and
Raymond. After they had dined with him and learned about what happened during and after
the time of their discovery, it was up to them to continue their search.

By the way, the one who invited them to dinner was Kurosawa himself.

"It seems like you knew that police officer from before, didn’t you?"

"It was just a coincidence that I knew Kurosawa from before.”

Her familiarity with him has to with a previous mission.

Ayako stayed near Tatsuya for a month during the summer holiday when she was in junior
high school three years ago. In this vacation, she was in a school that was for girls of the
same age.

Of course, work was involved. It was a disgusting investigation.

Ayako had finally completed her mission to clear out an unlawful criminal organization that
was brainwashing upper-class children to turn them into their operatives. At the time,
Kurosawa was still in training but was also investigating this case. That’s when they met.
The dinner bill was paid for by the Kuroba Family. After leaving the police station, the two of
them were having tea alone.

"But in the end, this didn’t give us any clues, did it?"

"It wasn’t without any clues."

Fumiya asked Ayako to explain with an impressed expression.

“The two men suddenly disappeared from sight after they closed in on a manned taxi and
none of the people pursuing them had seen them enter a passenger car. And while the men
were recorded leaving, they had a different appearance than what was recorded at the
airport. When that car drove off, the cameras outside of the airport didn’t see that same taxi
again."

Fumiya interrupted his sister and looked in the eyes.

"Does this look like a situation where magic has been used?"

"...The Kudou Family’s ‘Parade’."

“Yes, and there is only one person from the Kudou Family who would cooperate with
parasites.”

"He became a parasite the other day and fought with the Yotsuba. Kudou Minoru, it can only
be him."

Ayako answered Fumiya, and she was convinced that this was the correct answer.

“The illegal immigrants are people from STARS that have come to Japan.”

To Fumiya’s claim, Ayako showed agreement.

Fumiya and Ayako reported their hypothesis that the STARS members that invaded the
country were being helped by Minoru of the Kudou to their father, who is the head of their
family.

As a result, their father told them to stop investigating, then he instructed them to return and
to go to the former Ninth Institute to give them this information and to patrol the area at night.

Needless to say, they were giving priority to going to the Institute.

"...Anyways, I wonder if the Kudou Family is going to help us?"

While they were in the car heading to the Institute, Fumiya unconsciously let out her
skepticism. They were in a car, not a taxi, one their family used. Fumiya and Ayako had left
the convenience of their home to go live in an apartment. They didn’t go to Kansai by train
today, but they used a car that they had taken when they left their family’s home. It took
some extra time, but this was natural when you consider that the Institute was located in a
rather awkward place outside of the city.

"I hope we get to speak with His Excellency, and not with his son."

These words by Fumiya were more like a monologue, but Ayako still answered him.

In addition, the ‘son’ refers to current head of the Kudou Family, and the father of Kudou
Minoru. His Excellency refers to Kudou Retsu.

He is revered as the leader of the Japanese magical world, and is give the title the
‘Patriarch’, but Tatsuya hates this name and calls him ‘His Excellency’. He also used to be
the general of the National Defense Forces.

Ayako and Fumiya used to call him the ‘Patriarch’, but when they heard that Tatsuya calls
him ‘His Excellency’, they also started calling him this.

Since they used a car and not the train, and because they hadn’t had dinner, it was already
dark when they arrived at the former Ninth Institute. They currently were in the sunniest
period of the year, but the sky before the rain season is always cloudy, which prevents any
sunlight from going through.

Like they had thought, Kudou Retsu had been waiting for them, and he had immediately
responded to Ayako’s offer and let them in.

Ayako and Fumiya walked to the living room. In a short amount of time, they had explained
why they came to the former Institute, despite it being a Sunday.

"There currently is some tension in our family, especially when we think about what Minoru
has done..."

Among his grandchildren, he liked Minoru the most. But he felt sad that, although he was
blessed with magical talent, he wasn’t able to demonstrate it because of his health.

Perhaps other grandchildren wouldn’t like to hear this.

But maybe they already know this.

From an objective point of view, it cannot be said that Retsu gave everyone in his family and
adequate amount of love. Perhaps in the Kudou Family, he had only directed his love to
Minoru.

"It's already late. Would you like to have dinner here?"

Having finished their conversation, he made a suggestion to Ayako and Fumiya. The two
may have felt sorry for him that he was alone in such a situation and Ayako felt that Fumiya
also wanted to. So she didn’t have the courage to refuse them.

"I’d gladly get some food ready for you."

"...Thank you. Then we shall accompany you."

In the end, Ayako accepted his invitation as to not hurt their feelings.

◇◇◇

(The sun will be setting soon...)

Minoru was hiding in the shadows, while observing the Ninth Institute from a distance.

The area was now completely dark, because the sun was about to set.

And thick clouds covered the sky.

Indeed, this really made him look like a demon.

When a person meets a demon and gets defeated, the demon becomes stronger.

Minoru started to go over the operation and his objective.

There currently are only a few Ancient magicians with the ability to bind parasites to a body
in Nara. Most of them were magicians who came here with the help of Zhou and his
connections. Since he wasn’t around anymore, they decided to head back to the mainland.

Tatsuya and Katsuto have no way of completely binding a parasite. They may have some
other means to subdue one of them, but in that case it would escape by using the method of
igniting itself. This self-destruction does destroy the body, but the parasite itself will not be
destroyed. This was also part of the reason why he wanted to get more parasites.

Minoru walked to the front gate of the Institute.

Normally the attack he was about to use was suicidal.

But even if he had used it, he wouldn’t die because his body would be able to heal him.
Using magical power beyond your own limit while also using this magic at point-blank range.

Instead of getting a wound that could kill him if left unattended, he demonstrated his power
by breaking the gate with only one blow.

◇◇◇
Ayako and Fumiya who had just finished their meal looked towards the direction of the Ninth
Institute.

Retsu did as well but it was only Fumiya that jumped up.

"Why isn't the proximity alarm working?"

In other words: ‘Why isn’t the alarm warning us that a suspicious person is approaching?’

"... Could it be related?"

When no one else said anything, he answered his own question.

There was a magic barrier that was supposed to be practically undetectable.

The field interferes with magical waves. It covers a vast area around the Institute and about
half of the outside area. They realized how serious the situation was.

“It is a cover-up barrier which was setup by some of the best of Japan.”

"Your Excellency, I think Minoru has come."

It was Fumiya who reminded Retsu why the barrier could have been turned off.

“If it is Minoru, his aim must be the Parasite Dolls.”

“Do you mean the humanoid weapons that were tested at last year’s Steeplechase Event?”

“Did you know?”

“Yes, I had some involvement in it.”

Ayako turned it into a quick interrogation.

"Oh, then that would make this somewhat easier."

After answering Ayako’s first question, Retsu started monologuing about the past:

“Was Fumiya the one that stopped us that time...? Well, sorry, the parasite dolls are sealed
in the warehouse on the north side, could you help me? I will come as soon as I have
finished checking up on the situation on the inside of the institute.”

"We understand."

There was no real reason for the two of them to obey him.
However, Kudou Minoru is also an enemy of the Yotsuba Family.

If Minoru is going for the parasite dolls, then his aim must be to build up his own military
strength by getting extra followers.

So it is the natural duty of the Yotsuba Family to prevent an enemy from obtaining more
military strength.

"Let's go, sis!"

"Okay."

Ayako agreed to Fumiya’s plan of action.

◇◇◇

The security of the former Ninth Institute was not an opponent that Minoru could take lightly.
But ──

(This nothing compared to Mayumi-san and Juumonji-san.)

It only took a short while but Minoru arrived at the warehouse where the sealed parasite
dolls were kept.

The other day, when he became a parasite, this kind of lock wasn’t here. He saw the electric
lock and felt that he had been careless.

(── No, wait.)

Just to be sure, he decided to take a couple of steps from the gate that leads to his new
helpers to make sure he couldn’t get hurt, and released ‘Golden Electron Silkworms’ that he
had gotten from Zhou.

‘Golden Electron Silkworms’ got near the electric lock.

Immediately after that, a powerful electrical discharge could be seen near the lock.

(... That is dangerous)

It seems like the current voltage is strong enough to be able to kill someone.

Even Minoru, if he had accidentally touched it, he would have been incapacitated for a while.

(You wouldn’t be able to activate any protection magic fast enough if you were to be
attacked by this… Is that the intended purpose?)
Perhaps it had been set up by his grandfather, Kudou Retsu.

As expected of the former ‘best in the world’.

Nevertheless, Minoru noticed that the electrical current had destroyed part of the console so
he decided to use ‘Golden Electron Silkworms’ again, and again he created some distance.
Being close to such a high electrical current still is very dangerous. However, the console
had been damaged by the previous discharge, so his ‘Silkworms’ could enter now.

He once again used ‘Golden Electron Silkworms’.

The electronic circuit of the console that was used for the electric current had indeed been
destroyed.

The silkworms were able to activate the signal to open the door, and they were Minoru’s
invitation inside.

At the same time when he passed through the door, Minoru’s afterimage was attacked.

Unlike the other day, it seems like they had also placed guards inside of the warehouse.

Moreover, these weren’t one or two people. Instead, he felt the presence of 5 or 6 people,
coming for his head.

(It’s great that they thought this far ahead, but this won’t be enough to stop me.)

In his mind, as someone from the Kudou Family, he felt that he couldn’t kill these people.

The battle was over in less than a minute.

The six magicians had all lost consciousness.

◇◇◇

Fumiya and Ayako did not go directly to the warehouse, like they said they would.

Instead they went to a nearby parking lot where their personal vehicle was that they used to
get here.
Fumiya grabs his CAD that best brings out his ‘Direct Pain’.

"Young master."

“Kudou Minoru has shown up! Contact the Yotsuba Family head and my father, after that,
wait here and make sure we can leave if necessary!”
"I understand."

Without further instructions, the black clothed young man turned away, having understood
his purpose.

Fumiya took the black knuckle-duster from the glove compartment near the back seat.

He put it on his right hand.

Slightly changing, this specialized CAD fit perfectly inside of his hand.

"Sister, if you will!"

"I understand."

Ayako points to the north side of the site.

"That'll be enough."

From their current position to the warehouse.

"I will go by roof."

"Well, my older sister shouldn’t push herself too much."

"I will remain vigilant."

Fumiya have her an anxious smile, and then Ayako sent him away using ‘Mock
Teleportation’.

Fumiya disappeared.

And he almost instantly appeared again on the roof which was 8 meters away.

◇◇◇

Minoru sensed powerful magic being used towards the warehouse.

(Mock Teleportation?)

It isn’t a magic used for direct attacks but more often used to send fighters to certain
locations faster.

Someone was on the roof.

However, Minoru didn’t care about that and instead focused on the magic he was working
on.

"──Done!"

Suddenly, he said this.

Immediately after that, a hole appeared in the ceiling of the warehouse.

The material, able to withstand explosives, was destroyed by his magic in mere seconds.

The magic he was using is called ‘Oxidation Decay’, this kind of magic is a specialty for him.
It removes electrons from solids and deprives them of intermolecular bonding. Although it’s
power wasn’t as great as when Minoru used it himself, with his new abilities through the
parasite, the magic has become more practical to use.

“Kuroba Fumiya!”

Minoru watches as this figure jumped to the other side of the hole he just made. He
recognized him from last year’s Rookie Monolith Code event.

Fumiya didn’t respond to Minoru and thrusted his fist out forward.

(A knuckle-duster?)

A black painted glove was attached to his fist, but he was more than ten meters away.
Minoru was confused and didn’t know what Fumiya was doing.

Suddenly, Minoru was struck by immense pain.

(Was I struck in the stomach somehow?)

Minoru changed the controls of his body, more directly, the connection between the brain
and the nervous system in order to cut off the pain.

(The pain won’t go away!)

However, his abdomen is still in pain.

(This is bad!)
Feeling threatened by this unknown attack, Minoru fired off a series of ionized air bullets
called ‘Plasma Bullets’ at Fumiya.

However, Fumiya quickly shot down all of the ‘Plasma Bullets’, and once again thrust his
right hand towards Minoru.
"Goodbye!"

Feeling an incredible amount of pain, Minoru put his right hand over his right eye.

He had a pain in his right eye that felt like it had been crushed, but this sensation didn’t line
up with his findings that his eye was fine.

Minoru kneels down in pain.

(I lost?)

His head was filled with the feeling of defeat.

How could this happen?

Without any ‘hope’, and in order to achieve his goal, Minoru used a spell that was basically a
self-destruction spell.

◇◇◇

Fumiya’s ‘Direct Pain’, which directly damages the mind, was very effective against
parasites.

It was unexpected that he couldn’t defeat Minoru with one blow, but he was kneeling down
with two shots. Even if someone was looking at this from the outside, it would have been
clearly shown that Fumiya was one step away from victory.

However, when Fumiya was about to launch his third ‘Direct Pain’, he felt a strong sense of
danger.

It wasn’t just his intuition, he could tell that a large area around the warehouse was caught
up in Minoru’s magic.

(Really!? NOx Out!?)

Fumiya yelled this in his heart.

‘NOx Out’ is a magic that causes NOx, or nitrogen oxide, to appear around him.

Specifically, it is an absorption magic that forces oxygen and nitrogen in the air to combine.
The compounds produced nitrogen dioxide, which is extremely toxic, and is mainly used with
magic to create nitrogen monoxide. However, nitrogen monoxide is also toxic. If you breathe
it in, you lose consciousness in a few minutes. Because of this feature, it is called ‘NOx Out’
or ‘Knockout.
The effect of this magic on humans is not only a loss of consciousness due to nitric oxide. By
consuming a large amount of oxygen in the air it also creates an oxygen-deficient condition.
In enclosed spaces, this magic can cause a large amount of damage.

Minoru designated the whole warehouse in his range and released his magic. He didn’t need
to specify any safe zones around him, which one would normally do.

(Are you trying to commit suicide!?)

Fumiya felt insulted, but he had yet to take in the fact that parasites could rely on their vitality
and healing power when they used this ‘repulsive tactic’.

He went to the entrance and pressed the button to open the door. He was lucky that Minoru
had only destroyed the external console, and that the system on the inside was fine.

The door’s logistics worked without a problem and it opened smoothly.

When Fumiya jumped out of the warehouse, he still moved away by about twenty meters
just to be safe.

◇◇◇

Minoru’s body had stopped working after the nitrogen monoxide affected his central nervous
system and he was exposed to oxygen deficiency. But the parasite within him did not lose its
ability to recognize what was going on around him.

(You guys, go!)

Minoru ordered the sixteen parasites to start fighting.

Minoru has just released all their seals. They were only frozen in the first place, so once
unfrozen they were ready for combat.

In the meantime Minoru returned the nitrogen oxide in the warehouse back to normal oxygen
and nitrogen.

When the air became breathable, his healing ability started working automatically.

He collapsed face down and began to raise himself with his own hands.

“If I had been a human being, I would have been defeated.”

Minoru muttered this in a bitter and weak voice.

◇◇◇
It took Ayako only a minute to travel fifty meters.

Their true enemy was in a one on one battle.

But it seems like there were also other magicians here. These were Ancient magicians from
the mainland.

Ayako’s ability is not suited for direct confrontations. Her ability to use wide-area magic is
great, but this isn’t the right situation for it.

Nevertheless, she wasn’t about to hide or run away. She is capable enough to support the
magicians fighting alongside her.

She cut off the enemies who were attacking one by one, and she took a breath. These
fighters weren’t necessarily weak, but they were decently competent. Ayako thought that the
minimum requirement needed to defeat her would be competence.

There were also some fighting alongside of her. There was one person, who was facing
seven enemies. However, those seven people weren’t fighting at the same time, and they
kept getting knocked down one by one. They had no cooperation at all.

In addition, the attack patterns of the enemies were all the same. Ancient magic is a type of
magic that is an expert at controlling the opponent’s five sense, and beating them with a
surprise attack that they couldn’t block. But this magic still loses to modern magic in terms of
speed.

The leader of the enemies is probably using this. Nonetheless, Ayako was being attacked by
a variety of things, such as fireballs, electrical shocks that emit light, and wind that can
influence the air currents.

"I wonder if they are being controlled?"

Magic, which deprives the enemy of their own ego to turn them into a slave for battle, exists
in the Yotsuba Family. The fact that their leader can control them to such an extent shows
his aptitude.

She made herself remember that Kudou Minoru has the ability of hypnotic suggestion. She
made a mental note and resumed her battle.

But before she could even take three steps, Fumiya was seen jumping out of the warehouse.

The parasite doll leading the attack on him was a female doll.

Ayako knew her.

It wasn’t a combat magician.

A parasite doll. A human-like existence that uses demonic magic.

A number of parasite dolls followed the female doll and attacked Fumiya.

Another group split off and faced Ayako.

◇◇◇

Fumiya shouldn’t be trying to defeat the parasite dolls. Minoru is the one who is in control of
the group. These dolls are an autonomous weapon, so if you were to defeat Minoru, you can
overwrite their previous orders with the help of the Ninth Institute.

However, even if Fumiya tried to slip past the parasite dolls in order to get to Minoru, the
parasite dolls would not allow it.

As soon as he jumped in the air in order to escape, two parasite dolls followed after him at
an even greater speed. Fumiya noticing the signs of magic, jumped to the side, but the
parasite dolls took notice of his movements and mirrored his own actions.

These parasites specialize in specific magics. In respect to that, they are closer to being
supernatural-power users than magicians. The mobility of one of these parasite dolls is
specialized and clearly surpasses Fumiya’s skills.

(Can they feel pain?)

Fumiya launches ‘Direct Pain’ at the approaching parasite doll.

But there was no change in the behavior of the parasite doll.

(Did I miss?)

Fumiya was feeling frustrated.

In this interval, two parasites caught up with him.

One of the parasite dolls waved their left hand, and steel threads extend out from inside its
wrist.

Fumiya reflexively cast a shield to deflect the attack.

The steel threads, hidden in the darkness, wound around Fumiya from above the shield.

The other parasite had a spear type weapon, but at the end it had two separate blades with
a narrow space in between.
Light appeared between the two blades.

The parasite doll threw the short spear that was simultaneously releasing an electric
discharge.

Fumiya headed straight towards the parasite doll that cast the steel threads.

The threads loosen as he gets closer, and by rotating himself counter-clockwise, he

unwound the steel threads.

The other parasite doll is coming up from behind Fumiya, with their blades drawn.

Fumiya leans forward to avoid the blades, but in the next moment the parasite doll with the
steel threads wrapped its arms around Fumiya.

The parasite doll falls to the ground with its arms still wrapped around Fumiya.

Fumiya tried to use ‘Direct Pain’ on the parasite that clung to him.

But──

Again, it had no effect.

(This won’t work on them!?)

Fumiya finally figured it out, his ‘Direct Pain’ is a magic that directly attacks the mind and
makes the body feel pain. The parasite dolls cannot feel this pain, because it is housed
inside a humanoid machine, with no pain receptors.

Before the impact Fumiya casted ‘Inertia Control’ but it was insufficient. He was only able to
reduce the damage enough to avoid fracturing any bones.

“Fumiya!”

Ayako’s desperate scream stopped Fumiya from thinking about his current situation. When
he looked in Ayako’s direction, she was completely surrounded by three parasite dolls.

Her ‘Mock Teleportation’ has no function that allows you to slip through physical obstacles,
so she is unable to get away.

Ayako had called out to him because she was concerned about his fall, even though she
herself was in danger.

“Get out of my way!”

Fumiya was boiling with anger.

So he yelled out to her.

Fumiya was able to shake off the parasite doll attached to him but using ‘Acceleration
Magic’, the other parasite doll was struck in the face as Fumiya passed by it.

"That was a warning!"

He cut the face of the parasite with a knife he had in his hand. His CAD has two parts, the
one is used for his actual CAD, the other part can be used to carry a weapon.

He didn’t chase the parasite that he had just stunned.

Instead, he activated self-acceleration magic.

He quickly reached one of the parasite dolls that was surrounding his sister.

Right before his fist made contact, a repulsion field was cast on that parasite doll. This
ended up destroying it’s core.

With the source of its power turned off, the doll stopped working.

The parasite was shaking silently and then continued to fall down.

Fumiya, who had broken a part of their setup, pushed through using his knuckle-duster CAD,
and stretched his hand towards Ayako.

"Ayako, we’re going to leave!"

Turning around, Ayako noticed that she was no longer being contained.

Ayako used this opening to cast ‘Mock Teleportation’, and they both disappear from the
area.

And right before Fumiya left, he thought he heard Minoru scream.

◇◇◇

Minoru recovered from his paralysis with the healing powers of the parasite inside him. He
now turns his attention to the outside of the warehouse.

The battle continues, and it’s clear that none of the parasite dolls have been destroyed yet. It
seems that using the parasite dolls against Fumiya was the right call. Minoru’s goal today
was to strengthen his fighting force, so he has no need to win the fight. He plans to make his
escape while the parasite dolls keep his opponent occupied with ‘Ghost Walker’.
Minoru heads towards the entrance of the warehouse, and suddenly feels sluggish as if he
was drunk.

(Is ‘NOx Out’ still in effect? No, that’s not it.)

Minoru doubted so, but this is without a doubt a symptom of nitric oxide, and it was magic
used by someone other than himself.

‘NOx Out’ is normally a very small scale magic, so this would need to be in effect in the
vicinity of Minoru’s head. He had perfected this intricate magic without it being taught to him
by others.

Minoru generated a descending air current and blew the nitrogen oxide and oxygen
deficiency that was occurring around him. And as he searched for the magician who
attacked him, he senses someone near him.

“Grandfather!”

The man stood not more than two meters away from Minoru.

Minoru couldn’t believe that Retsu was able to appear so close to him without him realizing
it.

“I didn’t expect that you would be able to notice me… it truly is regrettable.”

Retsu was behaving as if he wasn’t in front of an enemy.

“I didn’t really appreciate you, did I?”

Retsu was filled with remorse and sorrow.

“I don’t think you have realized your worth. You never really understood what you were
looking for.”

“I loved you.”

“I felt sorry for you.”

“I thought, at least, that I must protect you.”

“But…..”

He turned and lifted his face, as if to look at the sky.

It seemed like he was trying to stop himself from tearing up.

"I must have been mistaken."

The words telling him the opposite couldn’t leave Minoru’s lips.

── That’s not it grandfather.

── You have done nothing wrong grandfather.

In the end, however, he couldn’t say this.

He felt that he is no longer able to talk to his grandfather like that when he is no longer
human.

“I know you were the kind of person that wished to accomplish something in your life, rather
than stay sick in bed. My affection for you must have felt like a burden to you.”

"............"

"But, Minoru..."

His tone suddenly changed.

"I can’t accept the way you are now!”

His regret has become his enemy, and his enemy can’t be left alone.

"I can’t call you a human anymore, and I will not overlook the existence of this demon that
looks to take revenge on this world."

"Grandpa, I'm still me!"

He had no intention to harm the world. But as Retsu spoke, he was unable to keep quiet.

“The Ten Master Clans have decided to capture you without killing you, but if you are to be
imprisoned, it likely that you will be treated like an experimental animal. It would be too much
for me to bear.”

Minoru was shocked to hear all of this from his grandfather.

He also understood his grandfather’s intentions.

“It's a pity, but your grandfather will be your guide to the netherworld.”

Signs of magic could be sensed.

Minoru’s human heart tried to accept what was coming.

But his spirit as a parasite refused to perish.

Minoru suddenly regained consciousness. Or it might be better to say that he has regained
his sense of reality.

It felt like he had been sleeping, while standing.

The fighting was still going on outside the warehouse.

The time spent listening to his grandfather didn’t seem like it lasted more than a few minutes.

He looked around his own body.

His clothes were covered with burns and tears, but his wounds were already healed, so even
now the parasite’s healing power was doing its work.

He looked up.

In a direct line in front of him.

A lone figure was lying on the floor of the dark warehouse.

Who is that? Was the first thing to came to mind.

But he got a response quickly after that.

"Grandfather!​"

He yelled and ran up to him.

Although he fell on his stomach, he quickly grabbed him with his hands.

But no matter how much he tried to move his shoulders and wake him up.

He knew.

My grandfather is dead.

I killed him.

"NOOO!"

A scream came out of his mouth.

Minoru’s heart was in anguish.

His heart felt as if it was breaking, because he recognized the horrible fruits of his labour.

Minoru, who attacked the Ninth Institute, left the institute with fifteen parasite dolls.

What was left behind, was a piece of Minoru’s heart and a former great magician ──

It was the corpse of Kudou Retsu.

◇◇◇

“His Excellency Kudou has died….”

Tatsuya learned about what happened at the Ninth Institute late that night when Fumiya
called him.

"Yes… I couldn’t do anything...."

"That’s wrong, Fumiya."

Tatsuya wanted to try to calm Fumiya down.

Tatsuya’s words is what Fumiya needed.

To Tatsuya, it didn’t seem like he had done anything wrong.

"You did well, in addition to fighting Minoru, you also had to deal with a group of parasite
dolls, so your retreat was inevitable."

"... Is that true?"

"Yes."

"... Thank you, Tatsuya-san."

“Don’t worry too much about His Excellency. This was originally an issue for the Kudou
Family, and that there is no need for the Yotsuba Family to take responsibility for what
happened at the former Institute.”

"Okay..."

Then Ayako, who also came on screen, also reacted to the words of consolation.

This call was taken in Tatsuya’s room, so Miyuki wasn’t here to hear the news.

It was already late in the evening so he decided to tell her tomorrow.

Tatsuya also wanted to analyze the information given to him while it was still fresh in his
mind.

──Minoru stole fifteen parasite dolls.

Tatsuya is familiar with the parasite dolls’ fighting abilities. They can share a single will with
their telepathic abilities, and become a stronger fighting force when they work together.

Moreover, it is the parasite Minoru, who has these same abilities and is leading the group. It
isn’t too hard to imagine, but this will not be an easy opponent to deal with.

[Eight]

On Monday at First High, the entire school and possibly all Magical High Schools are
mourning the death of Kudou Retsu, respected as an ‘Old Master’ whom was a symbolic
existence to the Japanese Magic Community.

Earlier in the day, during lunch, Tatsuya was at a lunch table discussing about Kudou Retsu
with his friends.

"I didn’t know that he was sick..."

After Mizuki said this, Honoka tried to change the topic.

"Did you know, Tatsuya-san?"

"No, I didn't and even when I was talking on the visi-phone with him I didn’t notice that he
had a special condition."

The cause of death was announced to have been death from illness, as it would be a
plausible reason, since it couldn't be said that he was killed by his grandchild because the
child would be made out to be a monster by others.

"Is that so...?"

"Are you and Miyuki going to attend the funeral?"

To Erika's question, Miyuki opened her eyes.

"I haven’t heard anything about that… But why would we?"

"Since you are a member of the Ten Master Clans, and Tatsuya is your fiance, I don’t think it
would be weird for you guys to be invited to the funeral."

"Oh, I see, I forgot about that."

Leo’s expression showed that he was convinced of Erika’s reasoning.
"If I am invited, I will attend, but it would be to pay my respect to him for helping me during
the Nine Schools Competition two years ago."

Tatsuya was talking about the time he assaulted a member of the board who was trying to
use ‘Golden Electron Silkworms’ on Miyuki’s CAD.

In fact, there was another big problem during last year’s Competition, but he hadn’t ever
talked about it, so it was unnecessary to mention it now.

"Ah, that is important ..."

When this situation was mentioned, Shizuku remembered what had happened two years
ago during the Nine Schools Competition.

She remembered how she was defeated by Miyuki.

But the topic of the Nine Schools Competition isn’t a happy one. This year’s Competition was
canceled, and it can’t be said that Tatsuya was uninvolved in the matter.

“The Competition may have been canceled this year, but in a sense it also gives us the
opportunity to mourn the Master.”

However, the girl that mentioned this wouldn’t really care about this ─ No, Erika may have
been trying to say the opposite.

“Rather, it would be the opposite, because he liked the Nine Schools Competition.”

Thus, Tatsuya and Erika had the same line of thought.

Lunch break had ended and everyone was getting up from their chairs.

"Hey Miyuki, Tatsuya?"

Erika wanted to talk to Tatsuya and Miyuki about something.

"What is it?"

"Uhm"

Erika had a dry mouth when she wanted to respond to Miyuki’s question.

She immediately realized that it was difficult to ask them this in front of everyone.

“If you want to talk, use the headquarters of the Public Morals Committee. No one should be
there currently.”
Mikihiko mentioned this.

He seemed to have an idea about what Erika was trying to ask.

"Let’s go, Miyuki."

"Okay Onii-sama, Erika, shall we go?”

Tatsuya got Miyuki, and Miyuki got Erika.

"Okay."

Naturally, Erika had no problem with this idea.

As Mikihiko said, the headquarters was empty.

Using the key belonging to the Student Council President that Miyuki has. She, Erika and
Tatsuya entered the room.

Miyuki then created a sound insulation field that covers the entire room.

They sit down at the long table and it’s completely clean going of Mikihiko's personality to
keep things tidy compared to the mess that existed when Tatsuya had first entered the room.

Then Erika started talking,

"I heard about what you’re doing tonight from Mikihiko."

Miyuki turned around and looked at Tatsuya’s face, who was sitting next to her. He didn’t
look particularly surprised and just sat there.

"What will you be doing, Miyuki?"

She wanted to know what Miyuki will be doing tonight, because this was something Erika
didn’t know and was interested in.

"I will accompany Minami-chan until Onii-sama returns."

"To watch out for Minoru?"

"Yes."

"Then I want to do that too."

Erika wanted to go. Not as a guide, but to fight.
"Can I come?"

She knew that she was asking a lot from them.

"To Minami?"

"Yes."

"Tonight?"

"Yes."

Erika continued to speak quickly after this.

"I know Leo will be near Mikihiko in order to protect him so he wouldn’t be defenseless."

Tatsuya hadn’t heard this part of the story from neither Leo nor Mikihiko. Perhaps they were
going to mention this to him after school.

"Do you really understand what you would be doing?"

"Of course."

He knew that Erika can be both brave and reckless, so Tatsuya treats her like Leo.

"If you really understand what you’re getting yourself into, then I would like your help.”

Erika, who anticipated Tatsuya to be opposing her request, was somewhat surprised.

Erica looked from Tatsuya to Miyuki.

"How about you?"

“Erika: I'm not used to fighting, like Onii-sama, so I can’t protect everyone, even if you are in
a tough spot, are you still fine with that?”

"No, on the contrary, I wasn’t going to be protecting you either."

"...So what do you think, Onii-sama?"

Miyuki left the decision to Tatsuya.

“What Erika does, doesn’t really bother me.”

Tatsuya looked at Erika.

"Are you prepared for what’s to come?"

"Of course."

To Tatsuya’s provocation, Erika responded with a fearless smile.

This was a bluff made by Tatsuya. He didn’t believe that Minoru would be making a move on
the hospital anyways based off the events of the day before.

The ones at a higher risk will be Mikihiko and Leo.

◇◇◇

That night, near midnight, a starry sky was out.

The moon hasn’t come out yet. But it was supposed to come out at around midnight.

Tatsuya is at a parking lot, at a large park two roads across from Zama Base. It’s on the
other side of the base where the base isn't visible from the parking lot.

"Leo, are you good?"

Tatsuya saw Mikihiko and Leo arrive together and he just asked this even though he wasn’t
really worried.

"You don’t need to worry about Mikihiko, so don’t force yourself for my sake too much,
okay?"

Leo, who was listening to Tatsuya, seemed displeased.

“Originally, I didn't want to involve you and Mikihiko.”

"But you need us?"

To this question from Mikihiko, Tatsuya reluctantly had to admit that he was right.

Mikihiko would have probably been a little more subtle and say something like,

"If I was alone, and if you were busy, I could still be attacked, but with Leo there, that risk
would disappear."

Though Mikihiko uses distance magic, by use of a spell, if he were to get attacked in a
counterattack it would be up to Leo to get involved.
"I didn’t have a choice."

He knew that complaining now was useless. He had already confirmed Leo’s resolve after
school.
In addition, it could be troublesome if he needs to be concerned about Mikihiko while moving
around the base, so having someone protect him is perfect ── And at the moment, Tatsuya
finds Leo more reliable than the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion.

“I will rely on you this time, Leo, so protect Mikihiko for me, okay.”

"Yeah, leave it to me."

"Oh, I will."

He got on his motorcycle. Both the ‘Freed Suit’ and the motorcycle ‘Wingless’ that Tatsuya is
wearing and riding are developed by the Yotsuba Family. The strategy for this night is
supposed to be unrelated to the 101​st​ Brigade. Though reinforcements have been deployed,
they won't appear unless a real emergency appears, otherwise they are set-up in hidden
positions.

"I’ll be back."

He closed the visor of his helmet and started his motorcycle.

A USNA military transport airplane had just arrived and it has slowly been moving down the
runway. Fujibayashi had looked before at the arrival and departure records and found
nothing and that no other military aircraft had landed in over a week and that this is the only
one.

(It’s about time they came.)

A parasite was definitely on board of the plane. Like Minoru, they emit an unfamiliar wave
pattern. But is it really the same?

(Four parasites in total, less than I expected but only one of them stands out because it
posses a high level of magical power....)

Tatsuya, who was observing with Elemental Sight, did all of this while on his motorcycle
along to road beside the base and chose to switch ‘Wingless’ to its flight function before the
parasites got off the plane.

◇◇◇

Getting off of the transport aircraft that landed at Zama Base is Alexander Arcturus, the
Captain of the STARS' Third Unit.

(Have we been spotted...?)

One of the people in the vehicle, Arcturus, started to monologue. He didn’t say this out loud,
but in his heart.

He can feel that there's movement nearby, but can't make visual contact within his line of
sight.

If he is being watched by a magician, this could explain it.

So he used the magic, ‘Multi-scope’, that allows the user to monitor the area without blind
spots from various angles, and it’s made out to seem like a number of relay cameras in the
air. It is the same as being monitored simultaneously by multiple magicians, though this
doesn't mean that there is no particular direction.

Arcturus now felt something but he wasn’t able to discern what it was or where it came from.

However, he could still feel it.

It seemed as if he was staring at a God or Devil.....

This was probably the reason that he was distracted by this ‘gaze.’

"What is it?"

“Is that a motorcycle or….​”

Arcturus was not aware of the approach of a strange flying object, until one of his
co-passengers told him.

A small silhouette could be seen on a monitor in the plane.

When the alert system automatically used its automatic zoom and night vision function, they
saw that an ‘object’ was approaching their vehicle.

A motorcycle was flying across the sky, with the shadow of a single person on it.

The person raised their arm that looked like it was holding a handgun.

Suddenly a hole appeared in their transport vehicle.

The person then jumped off the bike.

Jumping off its motorcycle onto their vehicle, and then into the cabin through the hole that he
had created.

Moments later, the alarm system inside of the plane went off.
 ◇◇◇

Tatsuya who was flying towards the transport aircraft and pulled out his specialized-type
handgun CAD from his suit holster.

His ‘Silver Horn Custom Trident’

He used his ‘favorite CAD’ to activate ‘Decomposition’.

He created a hole just large enough for him to jump through into the plane.

He switched his ‘Wingless’ to its autopilot mode, and jumped into the hole.

Landing on the floor of the plane in a slightly prone position. Immediately after this, the hole
in the wall of the transport plane disappeared.

It was repaired with ‘Regrowth’.

He locked himself in the room of the plane so as not to let any Parasites out.

An American soldier in the cabin who was sitting there didn’t know what to do and neither did
Tatsuya immediately.

But this soldier was a parasite.

Tatsuya rushed at the parasite who was closest to him.

He holstered both CADs.

He had a thin, short, needle-like knife that he held with his right hand with a fine patterns
carved onto the narrow blade.

The parasite, who Tatsuya was going for, started to activate magic to try to fight back.
Then Tatsuya stuck out his left fist, and not the fist holding the knife.

But before impacting the parasite, the left fist that was clenched before, now opened.

At point blank range, the parasite was defeated with an ‘Armor-Piercing Psion Bullet’,

The parasite let out a scream.

And it was then pierced under its left clavicle that Tatsuya had held in his right hand.

◇◇◇
"It’s coming... !!"

In the parking lot, two roads across from the base, a seal that Mikihiko had prepared
reacted.

This seal allows him to find out that a parasite was nearby.

The thin, short, needle-like knife Tatsuya had, was a tool that has a curse on its blade.

In Mikihiko's left hand is a fan, the item paired with the cursed knife.

He pulls out a charm that's reacting in his right hand and activates a sealing technique.

◇◇◇

The parasite that had been convulsing, stopped as if it were like a puppet whose strings had
been cut.

The parasite collapsed on the floor still with the knife pierced under its clavicle.

The inside of the body had been disturbed by the Psions from the ‘Armor-Piercing Psion
Bullet’, meanwhile the sealing technique was causing the spiritual and physical links to start
trembling as it was flowing in.

Even if the knife were removed, the sealing technique couldn't be removed since it’s been
engraved into the bone.

With the magic skills of Mikihiko, he was able to have the parasite remain asleep in a state of
suspended motion.

Did we just hear our colleague scream?

All the American soldiers reached for their waist all at once immediately.

They all reached for their guns without any hesitation.

Tatsuya then decomposed more than 20 assault carbine and submachine guns at the same
time.

Once they lost their guns, in their heart, the American soldiers drew a blank.

Tatsuya then went on to ‘process’ the second parasite during this time, and thus the
repeated convulsions and weakness appeared when it was being sealed.

He then moved onto the only owner of the magical power that was alarming.

◇◇◇
Arcturus couldn't understand what was going on in front of him.

Suddenly a hole opened up inside of the transport vehicle and disappeared as if he was
dreaming.

However, the attacker who jumped through the hole hadn’t disappeared.

A distance away, newly added colleagues, former Stardust members were sealed in a short
time.

Those from Stardust with an experimental body are just awaiting death.

They were supposed to escaped from their inevitable deaths when they became parasites.

The friendly soldiers on-board aimed their guns at the intruder.

They weren't parasites, but to them it looked as if the intruder had killed one of their own
even if he was just in a sealed state.

The number of muzzles pointed at the intruder was over 20. No one would be able to escape
from them within such a narrow plane. Even if one were to be wearing a bulletproof vest, at
this range, they wouldn't be okay when shot at.

Then, at that moment, a powerful magic was used throughout the cabin, it wasn't just
powerful, it was accurate, with no waste, a truly pristine magic.

More than 20 assault carbine and submachine guns fell apart into pieces. The magazines
spit out bullets and those rolled out over the floor. No bullets were fired from the guns.

Once again, the unexpected situation that Arcturus was seeing, was the killing of his friends
by once again, a marvelous magic.

Then Arcturus took out his Tomahawk to slash at the intruder.

His forte is to fight at mid-range with ‘Dancing Blades’. Though he originally is well-known for
his use of Spirit Magic to remotely control weapons to attack his enemies, for this, magic of
the Mental-Interference System isn't great for direct attacks. Fighting in such a narrow space
as a magician isn't good.

But he isn't a weak ‘magician’ that can only use magic. He was inexperienced in melee
combat with a Tomahawk until he had joined STARS.

Wielding his Tomahawk, grasping it and swinging it down in intervals.

He thought that even though the intruder wouldn't be defeated with a single blow, they
wouldn't be able to avoid the timing of the swings.

However, not only did the intruder not get hit, they disappeared from right in front of
Arcturus.

He then turned to look at his back.

What Arcturus saw was a scene where he saw that his third friend was grabbed and a knife
was stabbed under their left clavicle with the intruder’s right hand. He then saw that his
friend’s body started to convulse.

── Thus, his last companion had also been sealed.

It wasn't the intruder in front of him that was using magic to seal them.

Even if he were to defeat the intruder in front of him, the sealing wouldn’t be stopped.

This thought flashed through Arcturus’ mind.

Arcturus threw the Tomahawk in his hand.

The Tomahawk broke through the wall of the transport vehicle and it flew into the sky.

◇◇◇

Tatsuya looked back at the signs of a strong magic.

The third seal had completed and there was nothing more to do beyond that and it was only
natural for him to go after the final and strongest Parasite.

However, the magic from the fourth person wasn't directed at him.

Unbelievably, the Tomahawk broke through the wall of the plane and flew out into the night’s
sky.

Wondering what the person was trying to do, Tatsuya used his Elemental Sight to trace the
Tomahawk.

He then pulled out his knife to attack the person, his opponent being Alexander Arcturus, the
Captain of the STARS' Third Unit.

When consciously releasing Elemental Sight, the information appears in Tatsuya's ‘eyes’.

Unlike with Lina and Minoru, he doesn't possess the ability to camouflage his information
body.
He attacked Arcturus' knife that was coming at him.

His ‘Freed Suit’ includes a fully thought-operated CAD that was attached to his CAD
holsters.

At point blank range, Tatsuya ‘decomposed’ Arcturus’ knife into sand.

An ordinary soldier, not a magician nor a parasite appeared behind Tatsuya.

Tatsuya turned his body and threw the solder at Arcturus from where he was standing.

Arcturus catches the soldier.

Tatsuya then releases a penetrating shock-wave from his first upon the back of the soldier.

In martial arts, Tatsuya’s technique is but an imitation of that of a master but his also
incorporates magic.

Even if it was an imitation, this still made the power the same.

Arcturus’ bulky body, at 185 centimeters tall, was knocked back.

Tatsuya reaches out, pulling the soldier by the neck with his right hand and then, in reaction,
thrust out his left hand at Arcturus.

An ‘Armor-Piercing Psion Bullet’ was in his hand.

Arcturus gasped.

Stretching out the fourth dagger with his right hand, Tatsuya tried to pierce Arcturus’ left
clavicle.

But Arcturus’ left hand blocked it.

Though the ‘Armor-Piercing Psion Bullet’ is effective, it wasn't enough to make Arcturus lose
his combat strength.

In fact, he started to collect plasma in his right hand.

This would result in Lightning strikes that are used in Ancient magic.

(So since you are still able to counterattack, does this mean you still have some kind of
independency from the parasite?)

Before the electric shock was released from Arcturus’ right hand,
Tatsuya struck out his left hand at Arcturus’ solar plexus again.

Arcturus started to collapse.

The electricity that was once in his right hand, had disappeared.

Once again Tatsuya had repelled Arcturus, managing to allow for him to pierce under the left
clavicle with the knife in his right hand.

Confirming the operation of the sealing technique.

Tatsuya then escapes from the transport through a hole in the floor, without confirming the
results with the naked eye.

◇◇◇

"Something’s coming!"

While raining his voice, Mikihiko tensed up.

Leo fully focused his five sense while asking, “what?”

Then he caught the sound of something cutting through the wind.

An object was approaching at high-speed.

Even at this speed it wasn’t as fast as a bullet or missile, but it still exceeded 200 km/hr.

It was still moving quicker than a baseball that’s been hit or even slightly faster than a tennis
ball that’s been served at high-speed.

Leo had decided to apply his experience in dealing with such speeds.

Leo's eyes grasp that a Tomahawk, the something that Mikihiko yelled about, was
approaching.

It was a rotating Tomahawk.

In the corner of his eyes, he also caught the appearance of several soldiers that were hiding.

But Leo did not wait for them.

It was an instinctive behavior for him to stand out in front of the Tomahawk for Mikihiko.

This wasn’t his survival instinct.

But his fighting instinct.

"Siegfried!"

Leo hardened himself.

Extending both hands of his hands towards the object, his hand was able to grasp the
Tomahawk, thus intercepting Arcturus’ ‘Dancing Blades’.

The product an Ancient Magician strengthened, Leo was able to catch this with his
reinforced body when using Siegfried.

As a result, Leo's Convergent Reinforcement Magic was able to overcome the trump card of
Alexander Arcturus, the Captain of STARS' Third Unit.

Leo confirmed that he had completely stopped Tomahawk; Leo then got down to the ground.

However, he did not release the Tomahawk that he was holding at the top of the blade and
at the handle.

Mikihiko didn't notice that Leo had become his shield.

He concentrated on sealing the parasites. It must have been due to him being convinced
that Leo would protect him.

Thus, Arcturus who tried to intrude through Zama Base was sealed along with three other
parasites.

◇◇◇

An aircraft carrier made port at Yokosuka Base where the USNA’s Armed Forces are
stationed.
They arrived at night due to departing for training in advance, which is what was reported to
the Japanese side.

But they had not been notified of this.

The state-of-the-art multi-seat VTOL fighter was on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier.

The Japanese army did not know that this was a plane launched from a super-large sized
submarine with a flight deck.
The Japanese military wasn't informed of this and didn't know that the aircraft that was
supposed to have a radar interception officer and a weapons system officer, instead had
several female officers aboard the multi-seat fighter aircraft.

These three women were,

Charlotte Vega
Zoe Spica
Leila Deneb

The female officers from STARS were turned into parasites after Lina left the USNA. They
infiltrated the Yokosuka Base on Monday night of July 1​st​, 2097.