Published at 26th of March 2019 2:11 am

Volume 9, Chapter 6

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

The swung fist impacted another one.

The physical positions switched in an instant, with offense and defense seamlessly switching between one another.

Tatsuya and Yakumo were engaged in their daily morning bout. They weren’t just taking turns battering one another.

Besides direct attacks, there were also left and right hooks that came from above and below, karate chops and palm strikes. Avoiding the attack, seizing the opponent’s extended limb, all while fending off the opponent’s other limb that was seeking to dislodge the counterattack at the last possible second.

In terms of martial arts right now, Tatsuya and Yakumo were equals. Both of them extended their right arms.

With both attacks simultaneously missing one another, the two of them were now in a position where their backs were to one another.

Tatsuya shifted his center of gravity and raised the leg he was originally putting all of his weight on and took a step forward.

The expected elbow strike failed to arrive. He turned.

Just like Tatsuya, Yakumo had pulled back to a safe distance.

Seeing that they both used the same sort of attack, executed the same evasive maneuver and ultimately created an unnecessary gap between the two of them, the obligatory wry smile – There was no time for any of that.

Tatsuya stepped towards Yakumo.

In terms of techniques, the two of them were neck to neck. Tatsuya also held the edge in terms of physical prowess. Strategy was where he fell far behind Yakumo.

In summation, the only path to victory lay in a continuous stream of attacks from Tatsuya to avoid giving his opponent any opportunity to devise any stratagems. Any situation that created unnecessary separation between the two left Tatsuya in an unavoidably inferior position. As soon as he stepped into the gulf and was prepared to swing his fist forward, Tatsuya felt that Yakumo’s presence was wavering.

Tatsuya had suffered quite a bit recently at the hands of this technique. He forcibly suppressed his frustration and activated Gram Demolition.

Yakumo’s wavering body quivered briefly before disappearing. Tatsuya’s Gram Demolition managed to nullify Yakumo’s ability.

Tatsuya fully extended his five senses and sought the location of Yakumo’s actual physical body.

Right? Or was it the left?

Even someone as strong as Yakumo shouldn’t have the time to sneak all the way behind him.

Tatsuya’s analysis was perfect.

But Tatsuya’s hypothesis was flawed. Yakumo was standing right in front of him.

He was thirty yards behind the place Tatsuya aimed at. It only took an instant to land the decisive blow.

The forestalled fist once again flew out.

Normally, this was an unreachable distance, but Yakumo had also taken into consideration that the moment the blow landed, there was still the possibility of mutual defeat.

Except, Yakumo’s body was not advancing with his fist.

Completely blindsided by the fist that was displaced from the body, Tatsuya’s body was flung into the air by Yakumo’s throw.

“Whew, scary, scary.”

Yakumo finally released Tatsuya’s joint after throwing Tatsuya to the ground while espousing words that didn’t sound like he had been holding back.

Since his wrist had been captured, Tatsuya was unable to execute a perfect landing. While he managed to dull the impact and prevent any fractures, he still took the blow and needed to cough a few times in order to restore his breathing to normal.

“……Master, that was?”

Hearing the words Tatsuya spoke after finally getting to his feet, Yakumo rubbed his temple with one hand as he replied back. – Probably because he was wiping away the sweat.

“Hm, I didn’t think you would be able to break through Mirage Cloak.”

While his tone remained joking, his astonishment was dead serious. His feint with the after image wasn’t something that was planned ahead of time and was a spontaneous creation. That was because Yakumo never imaged that Tatsuya could break through Mirage Cloak.

“So that technique is called Mirage Cloak, eh…… Master, that’s no ordinary illusion technique, is it?” “So you did see it.”

Although Yakumo was sighing in an exaggerated manner, he failed to hide the fact that he was highly pleased. –Most likely, he never planned on hiding it in the first place.

“Your ability to read an opponent’s technique may be a threat to your enemies, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way to take advantage of this.”

“Like your earlier illusion?”

“Mirage cloak was a technique originally designed to shield against eyes that are not of this world.

As for its design…… Well, you go ahead and ponder on your own. If it’s you, you should be able to grasp it in an instant.”

Tatsuya didn’t tell Yakumo to stop beating around the bush. Part of the reason was because asking about the techniques of others was forbidden, but what drew his attention even more was Yakumo’s choice of words.

“Master.”

“Hm? What’s with this serious expression all of a sudden…… Well, you’re always like that, but now you’ve got that scary voice too.”

There was a fine line between praise and mockery when it came to that line about always wearing a serious expression, which Tatsuya finally chose to ignore because he was unable to decipher which one it was – which meant he did nothing whatsoever.

Somehow, Yakumo’s expression seemed less than pleased, which probably denoted that he made the right decision. Furthermore, Tatsuya wasn’t in the mood to play along with his jokes (?).

“Earlier, you spoke of things that were out of this world.” “Ah, so that’s what this is about.”

There was no need to complete the half-finished sentence.

His reply left no room for misinterpretation, as if he had predicted that Tatsuya would ask this question.

“Our enemies are not restricted to just humans. It isn’t that rare for some of them to strike a bargain with forces beyond this world.”

While this was the expected answer based on their earlier conversation, this response ran counter to the knowledge he already had.

“However, one of my friends who is an Ancient Magic user claims that encounters with actual spirits are rare occurrences……”

Tatsuya wasn’t saying this because he believed one person over the other, but because he wanted an answer that he could believe.

“I recall that Tatsuya-kun’s friend is the second son of the Yoshida Family. While his words are also true…… In your case, I believe you didn’t consider the matter thoroughly enough.”

Yakumo temporarily halted speaking there. After receiving the request to think things a little more thoroughly, Tatsuya immersed himself into a sea of considerations and arrived at a solution after a short period of time.

“Mikihiko’s words are correct, but at the same time, imperfect. Is this what you’re referring to? Actual run-ins with bona fide spirits are extremely rare, but incursions because someone else provided the impetus are not that infrequent, am I right?” “I’ll give you the minimum passing grade.”

As befitting his words, Yakumo’s expression was far from satisfied.

“Hm…… I guess even a sage like Tatsuya-kun would fall prey to association bias and cognitive traps.”

Apparently, the bar was set quite high and the scoring much more ruthless.

Even so, Tatsuya felt that it was too shameful (and not embarrassing) to be called a “sage” to the face and prayed that this would not be repeated.

It was a testament to how unruffled Tatsuya was when being praised in spite of his mistake.

Still, Tatsuya’s poise was brushed aside by Yakumo’s following words.

“You too should have had a brush or two against creatures that do not exist in this plane. In regards to what you modern magic practitioners refer to as SB Magic, what do you think they use as a medium?”

A small “Ah” escaped Tatsuya’s lips.

“I see you connected the dots. What modern magicians refer to as Spiritual Beings are legitimately “creatures from another world”.”

This was indeed a blind spot. Tatsuya focused on Yakumo as he continued to explain.

“Ah, conscious thought and self-awareness are both secondary. Bacteria does not have consciousness or self-awareness, but it is able to enter the human body and affect the operations of the human body enough to impact health. In addition, they even have the incomplete ability to self-replicate. However, even if they don’t fulfill the requirements of a “living creature” at the intellectual level, that’s not enough to deny that they are “living creatures” with the ability to infect the human body.”

“You are saying that Spiritual Beings – nothing more than isolated spirit bodies removed from physical phenomena also qualify as “creatures not of this world”?”

“Strictly speaking, they are more like creatures who do not possess a physical body. In addition, has anyone proven that spirits do not possess thought of their own?”

“……It is true that no one has done that. On the other hand, I know of one person who might.”

Furthermore, Tatsuya had personally beheld that friend of his manipulating spirits right in front of him. In comparison to receiving orders and having the spirit decide on their own, it made more sense that the entire process was incorporated inside the Magic Sequence and the spirit possessed consciousness of its own.

“Master, may I ask another question? “Go ahead.”

“Modern magic believes that a Spiritual Being is an information body isolated within the information dimension from its natural phenomena. Since it originated from natural phenomena, it is possible to use Magic Sequences to recreate the original effect. This is the current theory behind Spiritual Magic.”

“Pretty much. Modern magic is truly impressive if it’s capable of coming up with this kind of theory.”

“Then, for the parasites that latch onto the spectral forms of human beings and cause mutations, where do their information bodies come from?”

After hearing Mikihiko’s words, Tatsuya suspected that Parasites were information bodies that could affect the human Eidos. Yakumo’s allusion to bacteria and diseases only served to deepen that impression.

“Parasites…… What an English way of putting it. Alas, I am unaware of where these information bodies originate. Given that they are able to affect human spirit, I would imagine they came from a similar origin.”

“Information bodies from the human spirit……”

“I believe, regardless of whether the monster comes in humanoid or beast form, the only thing that can cause the living creatures of this world to alter in such a fashion must come from demons originating from spirit information bodies. Afterwards, just as how the physical manifestation of these spirits have one step in our world and the alternate shadow of this world, demons originating from the spirit also straddle the mental landscape and the aether. The reason that spiritual encounters are infrequent is not because they don’t exist, but because we are not equipped with the ability to observe the human spirit. While this line of thinking would definitely be heresy in the eyes of London, these are my true feelings on the matter.”

As expected of a major authority on Ancient Magic, that name wasn’t just for show.

It had been a long time since Tatsuya thought that way.

◊ ◊ ◊

Two days later, Leo was still confined to bed. The average person would already be in a critical state of unconsciousness, so not being able to check out of the hospital for three to four days was considered normal. On the other hand, people would be more worried that he was pushing himself too hard or being reckless if he was actually able to leave the hospital so quickly.

At least, that’s what Tatsuya thought.

However, on some level, it was only natural that there were people who didn’t think that way.

“Leo-kun, how are you feeling……?”

Mizuki was precisely the type who didn’t think that way.

“I should be alright. They said that there were no signs of external injuries besides some bruises, and there’s no sign of fractures or internal pain. Unless you believe that Erika is lying?”

As a side note, Tatsuya actually suspected that the currently absent Erika was being less than truthful.

“That’s not what I meant……”

Still, based on Mizuki’s temperament, even if she harbored such a thought, there was no way she would be able to accuse her friend of lying.

Even if the person in question was not present, scratch that, it was precisely because the person in question was not present that she avoided talking behind their backs.

Also, the reason that Erika wasn’t in the classroom – even if this wasn’t the classroom before class begins, was not because she was watching over Leo at the hospital, but merely because she hadn’t arrived at school yet.

Yesterday, she also rushed in just before the bell rang. Today was probably going to be a similar case.

“Now that you mention it, Mikihiko isn’t here yet either.”

This comment was not made with any prior considerations in mind. This was only because while he was ruminating over why Erika hadn’t arrived yet, he just remembered that Mikihiko was still absent.

At those words, Mizuki’s face turned a little stiff.

Tatsuya quickly reined in his facial muscles that were on the verge of relaxing into a grin and debated over whether to say something or remain stoic. He truly believed that what Mizuki was worrying about could not possibly come to pass, but he was unable to judge if this was a good time to broach the subject.

“Good morning~.”

“Good morning, Tatsuya, Shibata-san……”

Just as Tatsuya was bewildered over which action to take, Mikihiko and Erika entered the classroom wearing equally exhausted expressions.

Just as the two of them sat down, the display monitor flashed the signal that class had started.

During lunch break that day, Tatsuya and his group behaved a little differently than normal. Instead of going to the cafeteria, Erika was slumped over her desk. If one paid careful heed, small snores could be heard emanating from her.

There was no way to take a nap during class because they were logged on to their terminals, but now she was fast asleep.

Mikihiko said “his head was buzzing” and immediately left for the infirmary after finishing lunch. It appeared that his headache, and not murky state of consciousness, was also brought on by overexhaustion.

Since he expected this to be simple exhaustion, he left everything regarding Mikihiko to Mizuki.

Then, as for Tatsuya himself,

“Shizuku, sorry for calling you so suddenly.” “Hm, what’s up?”

“Well, Tatsuya-kun said he had something he absolutely had to ask Shizuku.”

He asked Honoka to ring up Shizuku by phone.

“My apologies for calling you at such a late hour. I wanted to send an e-mail, but I felt that this definitely needed to be communicated directly.”

Even smaller handheld devices in modern communication systems could depict images that were almost like face to face conversations. The image that came through his personal handheld device was Shizuku, who was also using a similar device to communicate. While it has only been a short month since they last saw one another, she seemed to have visibly matured a little bit.

“No worries. It’s only 8pm over here.”

The young girl on screen squinted her eyes as she smiled. As usual, this was a rather vague expression to read, but by now they all knew that this smile meant she was exceptionally pleased.

Honoka and Miyuki vengefully glared at their own terminals.

Unfortunately, Tatsuya had put Shizuku on the main screen and vice versa. Personal handheld devices differed when viewing through the main screen or side screens in that it was difficult for the latter to differentiate facial expressions.

“So, what’s up?”

“Ah, I heard from Honoka that you also have a vampire incident near you. If you are aware of any details, I was wondering if you could divulge them.”

Shizuku’s head lilted to one side on the screen. “……Shizuku?”

“……Ah, that incident. Um, are there really vampires appearing in

Japan?”

“What do you mean by Japan?”

“They’re still treating it like an urban legend over here in America. At the very least, there’s no media coverage.”

Though somewhat different from myths or storybook creatures, vampires, or more accurately spirit-devouring demons, truly existed.

Given that an actual entity was relegated to a rumor, something must be afoot. In other words, this incident was still being censored in the USNA. There was now a possibility that the web was more complex than he previously imagined.

“Rumors are fine. I would like to know as much as possible.” Shizuku leaned forward on the screen.

Tatsuya deliberated over when to inform the young girl on foreign soil by herself that one of their friends had been attacked.

“Leo was attacked by what we suspect to be a vampire.”

Yet, he immediately made the decision that she had the right to know.

In the end, Tatsuya himself was unable to explain why he made that choice.

This may have been an instinctive response.

Alternately, he might have felt a premonition of what is to come. “Fortunately, his life is not in danger.”

“How……?”

Still, causing the person on the other side of the line to worry needlessly was not his original intention. Though Tatsuya added another sentence to help alleviate the shock Shizuku felt, they unfortunately seemed to fall on deaf ears.

“No, he’s actually fine, so please don’t have that look on your face, alright? Leo used his own strength to repel the perpetrator, except he was slightly injured by his opponent’s special powers during that time. Currently, he is resting in the hospital.”

Tatsuya’s “comforting words” definitely failed to constitute anything remotely capable. Any words like hospital rest would only inflame her unease if she was of a weaker constitution.

“Really? Thank goodness……”

Thankfully, Shizuku was not the type to sink into despair or pessimism. Seeing Tatsuya give an energetic nod, she sighed in relief.

This type of conversation could only be achieved through video calls.

“I see, so that’s why Tatsuya-kun wants to know about anything related to this.”

Tatsuya once again gave the affirmative to Shizuku’s words that were not phrased as a question.

“However, that doesn’t mean you have to investigate too much.” Before all that, he absolutely had to remind her about this.

“If you could tell me anything you are aware of would be more than enough.”

“But you believe there are clues in America, right?”

“More like hunting for clues. To be honest, I believe that the perpetrator of the vampire incident came from America.”

Shizuku was not the only one to betray her astonishment.

He hadn’t even informed Honoka or even Miyuki about this leap in logic.

“That's why I don’t want you to do anything dangerous, Shizuku. Definitely avoid doing anything that would put you at risk. Information from your end is not absolutely critical.”

“……Got it, I won’t act rashly. So, please wait for me without any high expectations.”

“I wanted to ask just in case, you are telling me not to have high hopes about collecting information and not about doing anything reckless, did I get that correct?”

“Of course.”

Though Shizuku was neither an idiot nor a bumbling fool, he still didn’t feel completely at ease even after reminding her one more time.

◊ ◊ ◊

Based on Erika’s knowledge, currently there were three organized groups taking action against the serial vampire incidents in the city.

The first group was headed by the police, with the police department’s special investigative unit (basically the Japanese version of the FBI) leading various public safety divisions on the hunt.

The second investigative group consisted of members from the Ten Master Clans, with the Saegusa Family leading the way and the Juumonji Family right behind them. They had the backing of the Internal Affairs (Cabinet Department of Information Control) and assisted the police in a half official, half civilian role. The only difference was that, contrary to normal, the “civilian” half held the advantage.

The third group was the private vigilante team assembled by the Chiba Family with the famous authority on Ancient Magic, the Yoshida Family, in support.

In short, this was Erika’s group.

“Wouldn’t it be better if we joined forces with our sempais……?”

The nature of the request from the Chiba Family to the Yoshida Family might not be official business, but the request for aid itself was completely by the book. In response, Mikihiko was immediately appointed as a liaison, to which he voiced the same question that he asked for at least the 10th time since yesterday.

Needless to say, the target for his words was his partner in this operation, Erika.

“I believe that we would be much more efficient if we had access to the Anti-Crime System provided by the street cameras.”

“No worries. Even the police, who have the greatest access to the surveillance systems, have yet to sniff out a trail.”

“Then in terms of manpower, I think that cooperating would be much better than trying to solo this.”

“Which is why I asked you for help, right?” “No, not just the two of us……”

Mikihiko gave up trying to convince the rapidly advancing Erika and quickly sprinted to catch up until he was standing shoulder to shoulder.

“We won’t find anything by just meandering around pointlessly……”

He was talking to himself, but also grumbling at the same time. This wasn’t a volume that Erika could hear, but she would probably ignore this even if she heard him. If pressed for a reason, this was the real reason why Mikihiko was selected as Erika’s companion.

The Yoshida Family was a clan that passed on Ancient Magic in the Shinto style. While not completely the same as families specializing as Onmyoshi, their combat prowess was still outstanding. Originally, this country traditionally allowed easy access to techniques among religious groups. Based on the fact that a Shinto style group was using talismans as a medium, they were not a stickler for the rules.

After hearing from Toshikazu that a scientific approach to the investigation yielded little results, the commanding officer from the Chiba Family (Toshikazu and Erika’s father), decided to rely on the skills that Ancient Magic users excelled in and formally requested cooperation from the head of the Yoshida Family, which was their closest friend among the Ancient Magic families. Since the head of the Chiba Family was a “mysterious eccentric” who personally believed that he was “useless without magic abilities”, he probably felt that “the occult could only be combatted with supernatural powers”.

Based on that, Mikihiko wasn’t accompanying Erika as a guide, but as a “fortune teller”.

“Miki, which way?”

Coming to a stop at the intersection, Erika turned her head to ask.

I really wish you could be a little more polite, Mikihiko mentally sighed to himself as he placed the less than meter long, more like three feet long, wooden staff on the road. As a side note, after Lina decided to jump on the bandwagon for “Miki”, he officially gave up trying to change it.

Rather than calling it a wooden staff, it was more like a thing, long wooden cane covered in tiny characters written in black ink. The tip of the cane was almost perfectly round.

He put a hand on one end to make sure it stood straight and then lightly removed his hand.

While it was perpendicular to the ground, the ground beneath was pavement, so a simple wooden cane would not be able to pierce through.

Yet, without any supporting struts, Mikihiko’s wooden cane was standing upright on the ground.

Mikihiko fell back three steps and swiftly turned around. The moment his body turned around, the wooden cane lost its unseen support and clattered to the ground.

With a sorrowful sound, it rolled across the ground and finally pointed towards the right of the intersection.

“This way……”

Erika walked in the direction that the cane pointed in. Forget waiting for her companion, she didn’t even bother to turn her head.

Mikihiko chuckled wryly and picked up his cane before hurrying after Erika. Just before catching up to her, he suddenly seemed to recall something and pulled out an information terminal from his inside pocket. The terminal was set on broadcast. After verifying that the terminal was still broadcasting his position to the information network that he registered at beforehand, he put it back into his pocket.

The wry grin vanished from Mikihiko’s face. He had a premonition that they were getting closer to their target.

He slowed down after closing to one step behind Erika and pulled out the terminal again while maintaining the same distance.

He called out a list of location names. After dragging another new entry into the list, Mikihiko replaced his terminal and walked alongside Erika as they advanced.

◊ ◊ ◊

He wore a large overcoat and a hat pulled down by the brim. Beneath the hat, there was a gray cloth with a pattern of black bats that covered the entire face. Charles Sullivan, he who had been bestowed the name of Demus Second with Stars, was currently using all of his strength to flee for his life.

However, no matter how he tried, he could not escape the pursuit. The hunter chasing him was not from Stardust, but an executioner bearing the name of the brightest star in the night sky.

A Magician with flaming red hair and golden eyes chased after Sullivan. After transforming into Angie Sirius, Lina had already been immersed in psion noise several times. Every time, she felt that she was going to lose Sullivan’s trail,

“High Commander, take the next right.”

But Sullivan’s location was completely locked on by the psion radar that was emanating from the mobile base disguised as a news van. In this regard, the USNA was a step ahead of Japan. With a radar that could identify psion wave signatures, it was practically impossible to escape from within the radar’s sensitivity range. Furthermore, so long as Lina had that miniature, hand held radar signal broadcaster, fleeing out of radar range was out of the question.

“Clara, Rachel, switch to Sullivan’s forefront.”

Lina called out into her transmitter. Clara and Rachel were the nicknames for Hunter Q and R, respectively. Lina, who hated referring to people as letters, was the one who gave them those names, as they were not their true names. Of course, “Clara” was spelled with a “C” and not a “Q”, but Lina didn’t really care since they were only nicknames.

Twenty to thirty meters ahead, the aura of magic combat intensified. The two of them were currently stalling Sullivan’s progress. For Lina, this was the simple matter of a single step. She was now completely in control of Sullivan’s position.

Despite the late hour, the streets were not entirely void of people. Still, this failed to warrant any concern when they were engaged in pursuit that rivaled the speed of a motorcycle. Completely ignoring the possibility of police intervention, Lina pulled out a small blade – a dagger.

Maybe it was because their movements were too fast, but the scattered pedestrians failed to take notice of the dagger. Also, the non-reflective dark coloring would have been inconspicuous even in broad daylight. Without bothering to hide her intention, Lina threw the dagger forward.

This dagger was a Weaponized Integrated CAD. Just the act of throwing was enough to activate Move-Type Magic, allowing the user to manipulate its thrown trajectory towards the target. The dagger Lina hurled changed directions several times in the air before flying towards Sullivan’s back.

An instant before the dagger began its flight, Sullivan was aware that even a vampire’s physical ability wasn’t enough to dodge the dagger in time. However, if it was himself with his mental powers restored, then he should be able to cast Trajectory Alteration in time.

With this in mind, Sullivan concentrated on the dagger and willed it to fly towards one of the hunters closing in on his turned back. Friendly fire indeed, Sullivan thought mentally. Now, the dagger en route should have altered its flight path towards the hunter’s back.

A soundless scream of terror slipped from Sullivan’s lips.

His Trajectory Alteration ability completely failed to affect Lina’s Move-Type Magic.

The difference in interference strength was simply too great.

Knowing that his ability was ineffective, Sullivan hurriedly raised his right arm, where Lina’s dagger sank deeply upon impact.

Sullivan’s body stiffened.

His back was slashed to ribbons by R’s combat knife. Those would have been fatal injuries on a normal person.

Yet Sullivan swept his arms around and sent R and her combat knife flying.

At this time, the masked Magician appeared. Those golden pupils peeking out from behind the mask beheld Sullivan’s eyes. Lina halted and upholstered a pistol.

All of a sudden, the shadows in the street released an electrical attack towards Lina.

Q, R, and Lina were completely unable to detect this surprise attack before it sprang.

Nonetheless, the electric shock merely gave off a flash and faded away before coming into contact with Lina’s body.

Lina had activated Wide Area Disruption on reflex and nullified the vampire’s magic.

During this time, Lina’s arm remained in its aiming position. The muzzle was directly pointed at Sullivan’s heart.

Lina’s finger tightened on the trigger.

The bullet, reinforced by Data Fortification, ignored every semblance of defense and destroyed Sullivan’s heart.

Lina did not dwell on this success for very long and began moving again.

Her eyes were locked onto the gradually disappearing image of the vampire who released the electric attack.

◊ ◊ ◊

Afterwards, they used divination to point the way two more times. After walking for approximately ten minutes, the two of them heard the light sound of running footsteps. They were the sounds of rubber heeled shoes, with one set of footsteps fleeing and the other steps in pursuit.

One of them was probably a runaway, the other likely the pursuer.

The two of them exchanged a glance.

Then, without exchanging any further signal, the two of them rushed out.

With different methods, they had arrived at the same conclusion. --They found it.

Erika was slightly ahead, with Mikihiko right on her heels.

As she ran, Erika reached into the thin, long box she wore over her back and pulled out a naked sword that was not sheathed. As a replacement for the blade, the entire body of the blade was covered in engravings, given that it was a weapon forged by the Isori Family. This was a gift from Isori Kei to Erika as a replacement for the overly conspicuous Orochimaru. While unable to achieve the same power as Orochimaru, it was still equipped with the ability to execute Inertia Cancel.

On the other side, Mikihiko held a wooden cane in his right hand while his left, about two fist lengths away from his right, was quickly flung outwards. Shooting out of his sleeve, a fan like object was now clasped in his left hand.

The object that appeared to be an iron fan contained thin, paper-like strips of metal linked together at a single point. Each strip of metal was covered in engravings of various incantations and formations.

These strips combined to form the iron fan that was the conduit for psions favored by practitioners. The tassel extending from the fan went all the way into the sleeve, where it was connected to the device containing the Activation Sequence that replaced any need for incantation.

This was also a type of CAD. Based on Tatsuya’s suggestion and Mikihiko’s own ideas, this new type of Ancient Magic supplemental CAD was designed to streamline the process where Ancient Magic utilized both incantations and talismans.

The two of them prepared for immediate combat and closed in on the footsteps. Occasionally, their rhythm was greatly disrupted because both of them were prepared for battle.

Even without this, Erika’s pace was still faster. Taking a shortcut along the small alley between the neat row of buildings and entering the small park used for evacuation purposes (actually, more like the temporary evacuation location during disasters), the two of them finally caught sight of their target.

There were two humanoid figures clashing against one another. One wore a large overcoat and a hat to obscure any hint of facial and physical features and the other wore a mask to cover everything around the eyes.

Both of them appeared to be feminine.

“Miki, you take care of the one in the coat. I’ll handle the one in the mask!”

Based on Leo’s testimony, the one in the coat and hat was more likely, but someone walking around in the dark of night and wearing a mask to hide their features was also highly suspicious. Most importantly, even from afar, the large blade in the woman’s hand as well as her expert handling of said weapon caused Erika’s sense of wariness to spike.

Without resorting to Personal-Acceleration Magic and only relying on the Engraving Magic that increased the blade’s strength, Erika slashed towards the masked woman. Even though magic was not used to accelerate the blade, this was still a degree of speed that was extremely difficult to avoid on physical abilities alone except by a small portion of people who were masters in martial arts.

That woman’s handling of the blade was certainly first rate, but not high enough to be rated as a master.

Hence even if she was able to take one of Erika’s blows, there should have been no way for her to dodge it. –If she was just a normal human being, that is.

A flash of light.

Erika’s blade touched nothing but air while her target had already moved three meters away from her.

The light wasn’t a physical manifestation, but the psion light that accompanied the activation of magic. After taking notice of that, Erika was entirely unfazed that her attack had been dodged.

The only detail worthy of shock was the magic’s speed.

Erika was confident that her opponent had not detected her attack until the instant before the blow was struck. In short, during the short instant when she raised her sword and struck, her opponent was able to select a magical response, activate it, and successfully avoid the attack.

The masked Magician shifted to a spot directly beneath the street lamp. There was no way to tell, nor was there a need to, whether the person in question actually cared that someone witnessed her present.

That picture was deeply engraved in Erika’s eyes and consciousness.

What drew her attention was not the alluring feminine features that mocked the mask’s ability to hide them, nor the well-toned physical body that could be seen in spite of the heavy clothing, but the color of her hair that was illuminated by the street lights. It was a color that one could not associate with human beings, an unholy color.

Dark enough to mistake as black, a hair of the darkest red.

Along with the golden pupils that seemed to draw one in, peeking through the gaps of the mask.

“—Attacking!”

Her swordsmanship training activated as if on reflex and broke free from that draw. Erika rallied and broadened her vision, taking the entire body of the masked Magician into view. Erika reduced the preparation work down to a minimum and sprinted towards that woman.

She chose not to use any Reinforcement Magic. Against this type of opponent, magical assistance would only achieve the opposite effect, so she relied on her instincts and ability to read her opponent.

Without using magic, Erika used a speed that was positively magic- like to close in on that woman.

On the masked Magician’s side, traces of wavering could be seen. Without any hesitation, Erika raised her sword.

The masked Magician released another magic light. This wasn’t Personal Acceleration Magic, but a Personal Move-Type Magic.

Erika didn’t have the ability to identify the Magic Sequence in an instant.

In comparison, Erika possessed a set of piercing eyes that belonged to a trained swordsman.

Without waiting for her opponent to finish the motion, she had already determined the direction of movement in that same instant and altered the path of her sword.

Her sword swung hard in the reverse direction and passed over the dark crimson hair of the strange woman who was directly beneath the direction of the swing.

She activated the Inertia Cancel Ability and reined in her swing.

The masked woman maintained her crouching position and leaped horizontally.

Erika forcibly halted her pursuing footsteps. Right before her, a dagger hit the ground.

Taking advantage of Erika’s inactivity, the masked woman rose from one knee.

The dark red tresses fluctuated wildly.

Erika’s sword without a blade had sheared through the head band holding back the masked woman’s hair based on speed alone.

The scattered strands were chest length. The light wind caused her hair to flutter, giving an altogether unholy vibe to her appearance.

(If her skin is also black, she would be like Kali come again……)

After briefly considering this, Erika kept her guard up as she carefully examined her stalemated opponent. Her appearance might seem like a joke, but her skills were unquestionably first class. As for her magical skill, right now, that earlier performance in that solitary instant was enough to rate her beyond first class. Erika’s competitive spirit told her that at this current rate, she would lose the initiative and be forced onto the defensive, culminating in a crushing defeat that was beyond imagining.

The outcome could be fatal if she overlooked any opportunity. Fortunately, the woman appeared to be quite distracted. Even with this tense standoff with Erika, her ultimate attention was still directed towards the cloaked “vampire”.

The woman was acting on her own, whereas Erika and Mikihiko moved as a team.

Erika concluded that there was an opportunity to exploit in there. The masked woman and young swordswoman watched each other. Behind Erika, a roar of thunder could be heard.

The golden pupils flicked away from Erika. In that instant, Erika swung her blade forward.

Behind him came the sound of rushing wind.

Mikihiko perfectly understood how capable Erika’s techniques were. Even though he was not formally trained in swordsmanship, Ancient Magic and traditional martial arts were deeply entwined to the point that it was almost general knowledge.

Within the Chiba Family, it was not an exaggeration to say that Erika’s abilities were second only to her father and older brothers. However, in terms of pure swordsmanship, she had already surpassed her father’s technique and was hot in pursuit of her genius second brother.

And versus Erika’s slash, her opponent dodged that attack instead of taking the blow. Based on this alone, the opponent Erika was up against was no random scrub. However—

(……The one over here isn’t a pushover either.)

There was no chance for him to offer any aid.

The opponent that squared off against him was just as Leo had described: hat worn low, white cloth mask, long overcoat.

She was not holding a weapon, though she might be concealing one. Still, this was enough to constitute a threat.

Leo’s body had not contained any blatant injuries save for ordinary bruises. There were no signs of lacerations or burns. In other words, Mikihiko believed that his opponent didn’t utilize fire, thunder, or blades against Leo during their conflict.

Any weapon involved would have to be a blunt, bludgeoning tool. Otherwise, she may have resorted to her fists.

Up until now, the angles of attack were within their predicted parameters.

That being said, if anything did escape their notice, it would have to be the enemy’s outlandish speed and strength.

Restricted to Fortification Magic, Leo was a first class practitioner.

The female vampire – Mikihiko assigned his opponent a gender for simplicity’s sake – swung her fist towards Mikihiko. The heavy gloves worn over the hands prevented her from inflicting any external injuries, but in recompense, they could provide telling blows on an opponent’s internal organs.

As expected, Mikihiko extended his iron fan (shaped CAD) and tapped on of the metal strips with a finger.

(Wataboshi.)

Soundlessly incanting the spell, the activated psions were passed along his fingertip and activated the spell.

The demon fist was accompanied by rushing wind. Even through the overcoat, that slender wrist contained unimaginable power and possessed almost sonic speed.

Although Mikihiko had obtained superior physical abilities thanks to intense training, there was still no way he could avoid a blow traveling at the speed of sound within that time frame.

--A block of compressed air rushed towards Mikihiko before the physical blow arrived.

--Caught along the wind, Mikihiko’s body lightly floated away.

He avoided the fist’s trajectory by moving with the air flow. Immediately following on the heels of the air flow, the punch closed in. This was the application of the Ancient Magic concept “Riding the Wind” by combining gravity nullification and inertia cancel into phenomena alteration.

Mikihiko moved to his opponent’s flank and at the same time he touched down because the effect vanished, he swung the cane he held in his right hand upwards at his enemy’s outstretched right wrist, taking aim at the joint.

Originally intended to shatter the wrist with the downward blow, the cane snapped in two with a clean break.

He subconsciously felt the numbness traveling along the cane back to his hand while the other half prompted him to let go of the broken staff.

(“Barrier”? Or is this “Withering?”)

Mikihiko proactively leaped backwards to avoid the scything karate chop, and immediately pulled out a throwing dagger from his hidden pocket. He hurtled what could only be called a tiny throwing blade at his opponent’s outstretched wrist.

Unfortunately, the small blade only poked a hole in the overcoat and failed to pierce any further before bouncing back.

(“Barrier”, eh!)

There wasn’t any sign of magic activation in response to the thrown dagger, which meant that his opponent normally surrounded herself with a projectile repellant field. Mikihiko’s analysis led him to believe that the uncommon power behind those punches and slashes was probably also tied to this barrier.

(In that case……)

He moved his finger and opened the first metal strip that was previously sealed.

At the most easily accessible slot, he had prepared the most complex spell.

Within Mikihiko’s knowledge, there was no magic technique complex enough to create a barrier that blocked physical matter and magical energy.

Although the chance that there were multiple barriers involved was definitely not zero, it was still worthy of putting it to the test.

(“Thunder Child”.)

Thunder Child – or more traditionally known as “Thunder Spawn”, was a magic that recreated a small scale thunderbolt in a small space.

This was only an inferior imitation of the true magic that actually manipulated the clouds, “Thunder Cloud”, but its discharge and voltage were just as powerful.

A roar of destruction resounded through the sky and sped over the sky to the other end where it lay over the head of the vampire and released the electricity. The instant the magic activated, a hit was already predetermined. Electricity homed in on the vampire’s head at 100 million meters per second.

The ensuing sound could only be described as a beast yowling in pain at the volume of fabric being rent. Swiftly, the voice was changed to a more fitting masculine voice. The light that permeated the target after the strike was transferred to the hands of the female vampire as she held her head. Her fingertips cackled with sound and released sparks. There, electricity in excess amounts of what Mikihiko produced was being gathered.

(Dispersion-Type Magic!)

Extracting electrons from within an object was one of the techniques in the Four Major Types and Eight Systems and was a fundamental technique in Dispersion-Type Magic. Since part of the electron’s “phenomena” was replaced, Dispersion-Type Magic was able to channel higher amounts of electricity compared to electric abilities from Ancient Magic.

The electricity ran amok as it tried to hit Mikihiko as he rolled back to avoid the blow.

When comparing Dispersion-Type Magic from modern magic with electric magic from Ancient Magic, the power of the former was greater at the cost of less control. Mikihiko was only able to avoid the first blow thanks to this. Still, when literally faced with a power that moved at the speed of electricity at this range, Mikihiko wasn’t confident that he could keep dodging forever.

Mikihiko regretted his unconscious error at leaving one aspect of his opponent’s attack unaccounted for as he started designing defensive magic. Mikihiko wasn’t trying to match her power and merely tried to create a dense block of air as a magic shield.

However, this was a state where his opponent had already cast magic.

Somehow, she managed to cast magic without resorting to Activation Sequences and there was no sign the spells weakening.

In short, this was true magic. There’s no time--.

Mikihiko had already come to grips with his hopeless situation, but that doomed future did not come to pass.

--It was as if a storm had extinguished a candle flame.

--A shot of psion information body vanished along with the electricity in the vampire’s hand.

The masked woman raised her left arm to block Erika’s downward swinging sword.

Accompanied by a dull sound, the impact failed to give an impression of a bone fracture or shredding through the flesh. There was probably a lightweight composite metal or cushion body armor – something like a bracer involved.

Even if there wasn’t a killing intent involved, Erika didn’t show any mercy.

Her opponent held a gun in her right hand. Even if her opponent’s mask was hilarious, she had undergone rigorous training as combat personnel and not merely as a Magician. –Wariness permeated every inch of Erika’s consciousness as she willed her body to squeeze out an extra ounce of power.

The bracer that drew closer to the chin dipped – only because the downward striking blade had been retracted.

Before the wrist holding the gun could be raised, Erika shifted to her opponent’s left flank.

Half a beat before the raised gun could be aimed, Erika had already struck the gun.

Thanks to the suppressive nature of silencer, the gunshot was very light.

The masked woman reached out with her left hand towards Erika’s face.

She formed a circle with her thumb and middle finger.

Before her open hand, a small ball of electricity danced around. Erika automatically activated Personal Acceleration Magic.

Her body achieved a degree of motion that surpassed common sense.

Retreating to avoid the electric ball, Erika lunged for the Magician’s eyes before the muzzle could be pointed at her.

Got her, Erika thought.

Just as this thought crossed her mind and as Erika stepped within striking distance of her sword,

She was knocked aside by a sudden force that rose from feet level and was only conscious of what had happened in the next moment.

The shock caused her consciousness to loosen her grasp on the sword for only a brief second.

Erika immediately recovered her footing.

However, her opponent failed to take advantage of the opening for a follow up attack.

The masked Magician pressed her right shoulder with her left hand. Maybe it was Acceleration-Type or Move-Type Magic, but before she was blown away by her opponent, Erika managed to connect a vicious blow with her bladeless sword against her enemy’s right shoulder. The masked Magician kept a hand on her shoulder while she gazed in the direction of Mikihiko and the vampire’s ongoing brawl.

To be precise, she was looking even further. She was watching a young man riding atop a motorcycle with a silver CAD pointed at the vampire.

The youngster’s face was obscured by the helmet, so his features could not be identified.

(Tatsuya-kun……?)

In spite of this, even barely keeping a weak grasp on her consciousness as she maintained a combat stance, Erika clearly beheld with her eyes the form of her classmate beneath the street lights.

Erika, Mikihiko, and the vampire.

Taking in the sight of friend and foe intermixed with one another, Tatsuya looked towards the masked Magician as if drawn by those golden pupils of hers.

The masked Magician raised her left hand at Tatsuya. Like a seal, the premonition of magic invocation was already at her fingertips in an instant.

However, that premonition faded away as the world was being overwritten.

Those golden pupils were greatly shaken.

Three times she attempted to activate different sorts of magic, and three times they were blown away.

Everyone heard an “Ah”. The one who called out was Mikihiko, and there was no need to state the reason.

The vampire was fleeing.

Hidden beneath the visor, Tatsuya’s gaze drifted from the masked Magician.

Only for the briefest of instants.

The masked Magician was not going to let that instant pass by. The next technique wasn’t magic.

Even if his gaze was averted, so long as it was magic, nothing could escape Tatsuya’s “vision”.

In other words, the masked Magician also noticed that detail.

The swaying right hand that held the gun pointed downward spat out a bullet.

Aimed around her feet, sparks flew and immediately turned into flashes.

The dull sound of gunshots resounded five times, until the masked Magician was entirely obscured by the flashes.

Tatsuya directed his magic at the masked Magician’s body.

He aimed at her legs and attempted to use Decomposition Magic – or at least that was the plan.

The information body that should have depicted the actual physical form only contained surface data and no actual content.

While there were records of color and outer appearance, there was no related information on mass, physical design or chemical composition.

Tatsuya suspended his magic and lowered his arm.

After the flashes faded from the park, there was no sign of the masked Magician or the vampire.

“Are the two of you alright?”

Abandoning the pursuit, Tatsuya climbed off the motorcycle and removed his helmet before checking on the others’ situation.

Mikihiko appeared to have been spared any physical injuries. Erika on the other hand……

“……I’m getting a little embarrassed at the stares.”

“Ah, sorry.”

Copying the example set before him with Mikihiko blushing and turning around, Tatsuya followed suit.

This was not to say that there was much in the way of revealed flesh. The protective undergarments appeared to be undamaged. It’s just that there were cuts and tears all along the clothes and near the chest area and there were hints of her curves showing.

Just like an overly excited rock band on stage.

This alone would hardly qualify as indecorous, since this was comparable to wearing a swimsuit on the beach or while swimming, but wearing this on the street would probably be a little embarrassing.

“……Hey, can you lend me a coat or something?”

Way to show off your caring side. As if hearing someone say this, Mikihiko frantically took off his short jacket and threw it over to Erika’s side. (Tatsuya was wearing a shoulder holster under his coat, so he wasn’t able to do so.)

“Thanks, I’m good now.”

She wasn’t in the nude, nor was she anywhere close to semi-nude. “Too exaggerated” was Tatsuya’s undisguised feelings on the matter, but perhaps this was another sense of aesthetics. In the end, this was far better than being completely brazen or lacking in shame.

“Erika, are you hurt?”

She seemed fine based on what he could see, but he still wanted to ask her to be sure.

“Thankfully I wore under armor. Otherwise, I’d be in serious trouble.”

The phrase under armor was certainly out of date, though Tatsuya wasn’t sure if it was a blessing or a curse that he knew “under armor” referred to something else. Rather than the heavy gear worn beneath armor that served as protection against impact and skin lacerations, the “under armor” that Erika referred to was a set of underwear made of synthetic rubber that possessed multiple qualities like being bulletproof and slashing resistance. Unlike heavy Kevlar, there were advantages like a minimal restriction on movement as well as remaining inconspicuous even when worn beneath regular clothing. On the other hand, strictly from a material perspective, the form fitting design was not popular among those who wished to hide their physical features. Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue with other clothes on top, but this time, the suit posed a hazard to any accompanying eyes rather than the person in question.

“There appeared to be Kamaitachi mixed in with the gust.”

“I believe you’re correct. Seriously…… That accursed mask. She’s going to pay for my clothes next time we meet.”

“Still, your opponent’s collar bone appeared to be causing her great pain.”

“This is this. That is that.”

As Tatsuya said, Erika was not solely on the receiving end and had managed to get in a vengeful strike of her own. Though the blow was slightly shallow, Erika’s blade definitely made contact with the masked Magician’s right shoulder before she was blown away by the gust.

Even if Tatsuya had not personally witnessed the occurrence, he still would have accurately deduced the proceedings based on the masked Magician’s appearance as well as the extent of damage done to Erika’s clothes.

“Now that you mention it, Tatsuya-kun, why are you here?”

Given the look on her face, this was a question that Erika was burning to ask from the very beginning rather than something she just happened to stumble upon. As for how to answer that, Tatsuya pondered several different angles before finally settling on the direct answer. –Largely because this was the more interesting one.

“Why are you asking me? Obviously because I received Mikihiko’s message.”

Mikihiko face faulted and sent a “You traitor” look at Tatsuya. “Hm~~”

However, in the face of that level of displeasure, Mikihiko reluctantly turned his eyes back to Erika.

“So that’s how you were able to make it in a nick of time. Nice work, Miki.”

The phrase was complimentary on the surface, and this was a situation where congratulations were in order.

Obviously, the only responses Mikihiko could muster under that context were “Ah” and “That”.

No matter how he heard it, the voice that wiggled into his ears failed to sound positive.

“Speaking of which, when exactly did you make contact? I, don’t think I was ever aware of this.”

“............”

Of course she never heard about this, since they never told Erika in the first place. Having Tatsuya follow their signal was entirely Mikihiko’s independent decision. Naturally, he also had to report all their findings to Tatsuya. Upon reflection, even Mikihiko himself would be hard pressed to explain how he arrived at this conclusion.

Under Erika’s cold gaze, cold sweat rolled down Mikihiko’s brow.

This was exactly like “a frog frozen under the eyes of a serpent”. It looked like he was unable to extract himself by his own power, Tatsuya concluded with a mental “That’s far enough”.

“Guys, I apologize for barging in on your conversation, but shouldn’t we relocate?”

Hearing another voice break into the conversation, Erika blinked twice and reluctantly pulled out a mostly undamaged information terminal.

“I believe people are converging here?”

At Tatsuya’s hint, Mikihiko frantically removed his own information terminal.

Erika verified the time. Almost five minutes had elapsed since they made contact with the vampire and masked Magician. The other groups would probably arrive shortly.

Mikihiko unfolded the pursuit display. The bright lights indicating allied investigators were advancing along irregular lines, a clear indication that they were definitely not acting in concert with the other investigating teams.

“You don’t have approval from the Clan Meeting, do you?”

While they were not part of the investigative team led by the Saegusa Family, they acted on anything worthy of punishment.

Still, if at all possible, it was worthwhile to avoid notifying the Saegusa and Juumonji Family’s investigative team that they had engaged in combat within their jurisdiction. This could prove to be especially troublesome if they ran afoul of the previous Student Council President.

While the two of them agonized over this, Tatsuya was preparing to evacuate without a care in the world.

“Erika, need a ride?”

Once again boarding his motorcycle, Tatsuya asked aloud, “Sure, thanks.”

To which Erika jumped onto the backseat and wrapped her arms snugly around Tatsuya’s waist.

“Tatsuya, what about me?”

“Sorry, over capacity.”

In response to Mikihiko’s agitated question, Tatsuya flipped the engine switch.

“You’ll get fined for riding without a helmet!”

Hearing the shout rom behind him intermixed with frustration (and not a small amount of unwillingness to admit defeat), Tatsuya sped off on the motorcycle. (Speaking of which, the fine for not observing the duty to wear a helmet no longer existed in the 21st century. Instead, the driver could be charged with vehicular manslaughter depending on the extent of the passengers’ injuries.)

After losing his jacket and being left behind, Mikihiko could only stand there blankly for the moment.

◊ ◊ ◊

After returning to the mobile base that was disguised as a news van, Angie Sirius – or Lina’s current form, gave the order to retreat even before she took a seat.

No one questioned her orders because this was the expected action. The moment she sat down, the mobile base soundlessly began to move. Still, the interior of the vehicle was filled with confusion, an almost “I want to ask but am too afraid to speak up” type of atmosphere. The ruin of her hair and the dirtied boots caused by the flash practically screamed that she “fled back”. Nonetheless, the word “flee” was simply incompatible with the High Commander of Stars, “Sirius”.

“Major.”

The interior possessed enough height to constitute a ceiling, but in spite of this, the two other members still bent at the waist in front of Lina.

“We are terribly sorry.”

The reason the two of them were apologizing was because they fell behind during the pursuit. Lina engaged the vampire on her own because her two companions were unable to keep up with her speed.

“Don’t worry. Although a third party interfered, I bear the responsibility for letting the target get away.”

“……Thank you very much.”

“In addition, we successfully carried out Sergeant Sullivan’s punishment, so we can’t chalk this up as a complete failure. Have we recovered the Sergeant’s corpse?”

“Recovery confirmed.” “Is that so?”

Hearing the voice from behind the two before her, Lina relaxed and nodded her head.

“Immediately autopsy the Sergeant’s corpse. Also, were you able to identify the other one I was pursuing?”

However, she immediately tightened her expression and asked the next question.

“I am very sorry. Although we were able to record a psion wave signature, there are currently no matches in our database.”

“So it’s not a deserter…… Otherwise, the psion wave signature may have changed.”

“I’m afraid it’s probably the latter.”

“Understood. Continue the pursuit based on the recorded psion wave signature.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Upon hearing this response, Lina ordered the two before her to return to their seats and leaned back into her chair.

Lina pressed a hand to her right shoulder and cast Healing-Type Magic on herself. Fortunately, she was able to keep a stoic expression in front of her subordinates thanks to her magical disguise, but she had fired a gun while the collarbone was cracked, causing a full blown fracture that was painful enough to almost reduce her to tears.

(How come I never heard that Erika was so strong!? And Tatsuya used some sort of mysterious ability to completely nullify my technique…… What the hell is up with Japanese high school students these days!?)

Completely ignoring her own age, Lina complained bitterly in the privacy of her own mind.

◊ ◊ ◊

“Huh? From Oba-sama?”

After sweeping a glance over her older brother, who had hurriedly left the house after glancing at the information terminal from his pocket and just returned while explaining the situation, Miyuki couldn’t help but ask this question.

Immediately after the question, she flushed in embarrassment after realizing her improper behavior.

Still, Tatsuya felt that her question was only a natural course of events, so he wasn’t going to chide his sister over such a minor detail.

“There’s something I wish to discuss with Oba-ue.”

In other words, could you please call her for me, was Tatsuya’s request to Miyuki.

The majority of those working for the Yotsuba Family were aware that Tatsuya was Maya’s nephew. At the same time, they also knew that Tatsuya served as nothing more than a tool. –Except, only a select minority had access to the information that he was being utilized as a weapon. In light of this, even if Tatsuya reached out to his aunt via phone, the call would inevitably be curtailed.

In other words, forget Tatsuya, not even Miyuki knew the number for the direct line. The information control surrounding the Yotsuba Family was several times more intense than the government, and that was no idle exaggeration by those in the know.

“So long as Onii-sama says so...... Can you give me a minute?”

“Ah…… I’ll go change as well.”

Even though they were related by blood, the occasional phone call or video call failed to materialize. That was the type of existence that their aunt (and other family members) was.

“I apologize for calling you so late.”

“That’s fine. Compared to that, it’s quite rare for Miyuki to call me by phone.”

As usual, Maya appeared on the screen of the video call with her customary, age-defying beauty and mysterious smile. Hayama stood by her side, dressed neatly in a three piece suit. While Tatsuya pondered the oddity of having Hayama attend a family call, Tatsuya was also standing next to Miyuki in a black suit, so they were probably about the same.

After the usual customary words of welcome that carefully masked the mounting agitation, Miyuki used an objective tone – a definite chore for her in this case – to convey the highlights of Tatsuya’s message.

“Tatsuya too? This is also something rare.”

Choosing to forgo any attempt to hide her interest, Maya allowed Tatsuya to speak.

“Oba-ue, there’s actually one thing I would like to ask you and another I would like to request.”

“Go ahead.”

Maya nodded in an excellent mood. Well, at least from her appearance, at least.

“In that case, allow me to go right ahead…… Oba-ue, can you please tell me how the Kudou Family’s Counter Magic “Parade” works?”

Next to Tatsuya, Miyuki emitted a small sound while shock suffused her face.

On the screen, Hayama raised one eyebrow significantly. Unable to mask her expression, Maya burst into laughter.

“Come now…… Tatsuya, “Parade” is one of the Kudou Family’s closest guarded secrets. Did you think I would know this secret?” Amid her laughter, Maya deflected the question.

“Oba-ue once learned from Elder Kudou directly. Even if you do not know the Magic Sequence, I’m sure you at least know the ins and outs, correct?”

After establishing that “she couldn’t teach him”, Tatsuya continued pushing with his own question.

“Counter Magic “Parade” applies Data Fortification on your own Eidos and rewrites or alters your appearance. To be precise, it is a Magic Sequence that applies a different appearance or a fake mask on the Eidos and creates a false appearance, using the new appearance to mask the original in order to protect the real form from hostile magical effects, correct?”

Not only was he pushing on, he also supplied his own hypothesis.

“……”Alteration” Magic is something that cannot be achieved in the real world, but I think you are already aware of that, no?”

Maya responded directly to Tatsuya’s hypothesis. Just this alone was sufficient to inform Tatsuya regarding the truth of his words, but this wasn’t enough to satisfy Tatsuya.

“Rather than using “Alteration”, a simple adjust at the visual level using Light Refraction Magic would be enough. The problem lies in that Light Refraction Magic cannot escape my “eye”, hence where the issue lies.”

“Onii-sama, that……”

The one who responded verbally while looking completely astounded was Miyuki.

“I can’t believe that there’s an opponent who cannot be identified by Onii-sama……”

“Not only that, they also avoided Mist Dispersal.” Pale faced, Miyuki was struck dumb.

As if she also received a blow, Maya wrinkled her brows in an instant on the other side of the screen.

Though she swiftly recovered her smiling visage, the tangent in the conversation had been dispelled.

“If Mist Dispersal is useless, then Trident should have no problem.” “Can Parade be cast on top of itself?”

At Maya’s suggestion, Tatsuya once more ventured another question. Yet, Maya’s response referred to a wholly unrelated topic.

“By my recollection, when it came to Parade, it was sensei’s younger brother who was more adept at Parade than sensei himself.”

“Thank you very much. Oba-ue, it appears that I will be unable to handle this incident alone. Here, I formally request for reinforcements.”

“Is that the request you would like me to grant?”

Across the screen, aunt and nephew caught each other’s eye.

“……Very well. It is true that things have progressed far beyond our initial estimates.

I will allow you to make contact with Major Kazama.” Tatsuya bowed and retreated out of the video screen.

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