Published at 26th of March 2019 2:11 am

Volume 13, Chapter 7

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

August 15th, the eleventh day of the Nine Schools Competition. As with the ten days prior, Tatsuya rose from bed at the same time, had breakfast within First High’s tent as usual, and commenced the final inspections on the contestants he was responsible for like always.

Today’s schedule included the Women’s Steeple Chase starting at 9:30am, with the Men’s Steeple Chase scheduled for 2:00pm. The registration deadline was set for 5:00pm the previous day. Originally, the assumption was that schools that scored too low on the hierarchy would not attend, but the end result was such that most of the male and female contestants in their second year or beyond had all registered to attend.

Tatsuya was responsible for all the female students in Year 2 as well as Mikihiko for a total of 6 individuals. Working for six may sound strenuous, but setting aside the technicians from Year 1, it was originally intended for six people to cover the CADs for 24 people. It just so happened that everything was concentrated in the morning, as the average workload was not especially great.

He started working at 7:30am and was finished with maintenance by 9:00am. Furthermore, during this time, he was not continuously working since there was sufficient time for rest in between, though he may appear taxed in the eyes of any bystander. Hattori and Isori occasionally asked him “You OK?” Thus, no one suspected anything was amiss when Tatsuya wished to retire and rest without watching the women’s competition upon completing his duties.

A competition like the Steeple Chase was wholly unobservable from the exterior. Each contestant must wear a signal transmitter to determine if they stepped out of bounds, and this also served to declare who was running around in circles. Still, even if miniature flying cameras were deployed, they wouldn't be able to capture anything from above due to the dense foliage, therefore leaving various cameras to capture approaching contestants as the only recourse.

Owing to this reason, many individuals planned from the very onset to observe the action from the widescreens set within the conference gala. Although such coldhearted individuals were the decisive minority among the contestants and auxiliaries, Tatsuya’s situation enabled him to depart with only compassionate gazes seeing him off.

At 9:20am, the eyes of the representatives and audience members were gathered at the starting line. Each of the nine schools had dispatched a dozen people for a grand total of 108 young women gathered together and neatly lined up on the starting line. The women’s outdoor gear was accompanied by a wide vest along with sturdy boots, gloves, and various protective gear such as a hat that served as a helmet, protective goggles, joint protectors, etc. While the equipment seemed extraneous, this was essentially work clothes that clung to the body. With so many people gathered in one place, there was a particularly dazzling effect.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Tatsuya slipped from the hotel and walked towards the parking lot. This was not the parking lot opened for use during the Nine Schools Competition, but the military one instead. No one would be the wiser if he was only approaching it.

Tatsuya rendezvoused with Pixie en route. She was dressed in a plain dress with loose long sleeves that was properly collared, comfortable around the waist that fell to ankle length, leaving no trace of the body uncovered. Fortunately, in this era, wearing such a getup even at the height of summer was nothing to raise an eyebrow over.

Tatsuya had called Pixie over because he would require her to locate the Parasites, but Pixie was accompanied by another young woman whom Tatsuya had not specifically summoned.

“Minami, why are you here?”

Upon being questioned, Minami bowed to Tatsuya before answering. “This is an order from Miyuki-sama.”

“Miyuki?”

Just now, Minami said “Miyuki-sama” instead of “Miyuki nee-sama”. This was no slip of the tongue; this was clearly intentional. In other words, Minami was not currently acting in the capacity of his underclassman at First High nor as her alias as a cousin, but as a servant of the Yotsuba. Tatsuya correctly divined Minami’s purpose.

“Miyuki-sama declared that she herself would not be able to provide any assistance to Tatsuya-sama during the competition and therefore wishes this one to assist you.”

Minami’s expression was steadier than normal. This was not the tender, albeit somewhat bemused, expression of a younger girl, but the face of a Magician able to stand on her own two feet. Setting aside whether this was her own choice or not, this was actually what Minami should appear like.

Tatsuya discarded any notion of dismissing her. She wished for her strength to be of use, and in truth there were areas she could be of assistance. The idea that “what can a 15-year old young girl do……” was far too arrogant, and, technically speaking, Tatsuya himself was nothing more than a 17-year old youth. “Understood. Follow me.”

“Acknowledged.”

Minami never seemed to consider that she might be asked to leave.

Within the car Fujibayashi provided, Tatsuya changed into the Mobile Armor

(Minami kept her back to him while he was changing) before inquiring with Pixie regarding the Parasites’ location.

“There.”

The instant Pixie’s thought reached Tatsuya, 16 spots of light also flashed on the map in front of Tatsuya’s eyes. Using the transmitter on board the engineering vehicle, Pixie had sent the intelligence directly to the screen contained within the visor of the Mobile Armor’s helmet. Tatsuya had already made sure that Pixie and the engineering vehicle were synchronized the night before.

The number of the lights coincided with the amount Tatsuya had verified in Nara as well as the number that Pixie detected several days ago. This implied that Pixie had a complete grasp of the Parasites’ location. Currently, “they” were arrayed in a formation within the stadium’s center near the finish line. With Miyuki in the lead (Tatsuya judged that Miyuki would be leading the pack), the quickest scenario…… Or likely the worst scenario would have her encountering the first

Parasite.

(--In that event, the first Parasite must be defeated within 8 minutes and the entire troop eradicated within 20 minutes.)

Tatsuya allotted this much buffer time before turning to Minami. “Minami, remain here and prevent outside interference.”

“Understood.”

Minami obediently inclined her head when receiving Tatsuya’s order. That being said, her eyes betrayed her own opinions on that order. Minami was likely assuming Tatsuya desired for her to stay beyond the line of fire. This was a dangerous misunderstanding.

“Minami, Pixie has the vital role of locking onto the Parasites’ location.”

“Yes.”

She seemed to understand that point, which is why this time she answered in the affirmative with a slightly confused air.

“However, that does not mean this identification is one-sided.” Minami’s eyes widened in comprehension.

“The Parasites can also detect Pixie. Just as Pixie knows that dolls have sensed her, those commanding the dolls will also realize that I am locking on to them through Pixie.”

Tatsuya gazed deeply into Minami’s eyes as if to carve his warning within the bottom of her heart.

“This vehicle may come under attack.”

“Understood.”

Minami nodded with a mildly anxious expression on her face.

◊ ◊ ◊

At 9:29am, Tatsuya released a real IFF signal for the Fuji Instructional Team and departed from the engineering vehicle at the same time, advancing towards the practice forest for the Steeple Chase under the guise of the Mobile Armor.

9:30am. At the starting line, podiums that stood two meters tall were installed every 100 meters. From these podiums, 41 shots rang out together to announce the start of the Steeple Chase.

The majority of the contestants proceeded cautiously, with the detachment from Eighth High entering the forestry first. This was likely because they were Eighth High students who frequented outdoor training and proudly believed that “forests were their home territory”.

As if unwilling to concede defeat, a Year 3 student from Third High sprinted forward. Though this was probably because she had yielded to the burning anxiety to beat First High, this spirited young woman sprang into the air – and promptly fell into a trap.

◊ ◊ ◊

Tatsuya switched off his IFF signal and pushed the Mobile Armor’s stealth capabilities to the maximum threshold while he concealed himself near the outer edges of the practice forest. He charged into the Steeple Chase’s arena the moment he heard the signal round go off.

The Parasite dolls were scattered across the latter half of the 4 kilometer long route. Seeing this formation, Tatsuya seemed to feel that they were trying to bait him in. This was practically saying “if you can take down all the dolls before the contestants arrive, then bring it”. It appeared that he was dancing to someone else's tune.

(It would be arrogant in the extreme to think oneself to be omniscient, but at least this facilitates matters for me.)

Even if his speculation was correct, he was planning on accepting this gambit. Regardless of what this faceless manipulator was planning, Tatsuya’s objectives would be fulfilled once he incapacitated the Parasite dolls and eliminated any threat they could possibly pose towards Miyuki.

Tatsuya kept himself close to the ground using Flying-Type Magic and proceeded towards the closest Parasite doll in the formation.

◊ ◊ ◊

Shortly after she began running, the audience stands placed before a giant video screen ahead of her erupted into laughter.

Generally speaking, there were three rules governing the Steeple Chase. First, obstructing other players was prohibited. Being caught hampering other players would result in immediate disqualification. Nonetheless, since vision was so limited for the reasons stated above, the chances of being caught affecting other players was quite low, to the level that “being caught was purely luck”. Thus, rather than calling this rule a punishment, it would be more appropriate to call this an unwritten agreement.

Second, there was no leaving the area proper for the 4 kilometer race. Each contestant wore a transmitter that was connected to the Fuji Practice Facility’s independent GPS, allowing the competition committee to verify where each contestant was moving. In addition, each contestant would be aware of where they were currently located. The visor would offer assistance when prompted by the contestant to display the map and current position. Even if they were about to step out of bounds, an audible warning would also be emitted from the helmet.

Third, leaping to branch height was forbidden. Fundamentally, moving across the trees would no longer be Steeple Chase. This was the logic as “What is the fastest way to pass through a maze?”

“Vaulting over the walls.”

The GPS system was also three dimensional, so this could also calculate how high the contestants were jumping. Still, the only certain method to see if the jump exceeded the height of the branches would be through long distance observation devices, so here a simpler solution was used instead.

Strictly speaking, nets were set all over the place as obstacles. Accidentally leaping too high would result in being ensnared within the nets even before reaching the branches – as can be seen on the screen right now.

The one who ran afoul this was the contestant from Third High, the female student who took the bronze during Mirage Bat. The fact that these details were also broadcasted was surely a distressing outcome for the person in question, but was definitely highly entertaining. Just as a butterfly was caught within a spider’s web, this strangely alluring scene was likely one of the reasons behind this as well.

This scene was not only played on this screen, but was broadcast over the network. The version displayed to the entire country was subject to approval from the JSDF, so only the network within the base could view this right now. On the other hand, so long as they were within the base, anyone would be able to see this even if they were at a distance. Across the forest, this scene was also being shown on the opposite side of the hotel within the conference room for high ranking officers in the command center.

“An unidentified Magician has breached the perimeter.”

“Do you have a visual?”

“Negative. There are no cameras available.”

“A recording will serve. Put it on at once.”

“Yes, sir!”

However, the soldiers’ attention was not drawn to the piteous state of the female student, but another person altogether.

The scene playing out over the network in real time was from an altogether different location in the practice forest.

Short clips were being shown of a group of green figures passing through the trees of the dark forestry.

“Can this be brightened further?”

“Yes, adjusting now.”

The recording brightened as it was switched to an overhead cast. Within the picture that had grown brighter but allowed the outlines to blur, this man wore a uniform superficially similar to their own, but varied in a multitude of areas with their own Flying-Type combat uniforms.

“That is the new Mobile Armor developed by General Saeki’s faction.”

“Then, that intelligence turned out to be accurate?”

Robotic weaponry capable of using magic was a plan first proposed by the Kudou Family.

However, the magic weaponry being field tested during the current Nine Schools Competition was a plan formally sanctioned by the JSDF, but a covert operation in its entirety. Even hampering this experiment would not be subject to discipline by high command.

Opposing the Kudou Family – or rather Kudou Retsu himself, there was a high possibility that General Saeki would secretly dispatch saboteurs to thwart this experiment, so there were very few individuals within this unit who honestly harbored doubts regarding this intelligence. That being said, their shock at witnessing an incident where the Japanese military risked internal strife could be excused given their perspective.

These were no selfish men. Had their goal been mere prosperity, these men had far eclectic methods.

Clearly knowing that this would only do them a disservice – that is, hampering their advancement, they stuck to their guns in an act of pure patriotism. They believed that peace for Japan demanded a decisive victory over the Great Asian

Alliance, and for this, they needed to convince the droves. They solemnly vowed that should persuasion fail, they would be forced into silence.

Nevertheless, this process ultimately needed to be realized through peaceful methods. The JSDF was there to protect Japanese interests, so inciting internal conflict was damaging national interests and hereby betraying their oaths. Thus, they had decided that regardless of the outcome, they would never resort to weaponry. They were hawkish towards the Great Asian Alliance and not towards their own countrymen. That was their stance.

From their perspective, that General Saeki was willing to commit magical assets to obstruct the opposing faction was utterly astounding. This experiment carried a certain degree of danger, so there were elements within their group who felt that they should avoid the women’s competition at the very least and only conduct the experiment during the men’s competition.

Yet, faced with their rivals’ uncompromising stance at ruining this experiment, they could not help but feel that this was unacceptable even if no one was injured here – though the reverse was also true.

“Contact Kudou’s engineer. Allow them to retaliate, but be careful not to kill the saboteur.”

“Understood, I will order them to avoid dealing lethal injuries.”

Colonel Sakai, leader of the hawks, was concerned for the safety of the Magician who was being used as a pawn. Although they stood in opposition to one another, he still gave the order to prevent the loss of a valuable asset to this country’s future.

Kudou Makoto, head of the Kudou Family, frowned when he received the message coming from the experiment site.

“Forbidden from killing the saboteur……”

He had no objection to the order “do not kill the Magician”. However, when the time came, these people would use “you are all Magicians” as a reason to push Magicians to the brink of extinction. Clearly, innovating Parasite dolls was to avoid this coming to pass, yet here was a Magician trying to obstruct this plan. Makoto could not suppress the boiling rage he felt towards this Magician.

“Switch the dolls’ target to the invader and order them to act in concert to subdue the invader. Allow them to use any attack so long as they do not endanger human lives.”

Makoto vented his irritation on the chief developer standing on the opposite side of the line, though in actuality he was ranting at the Magician who was seeking to hamper them.

“Makoto-sama appears to be in a rage.”

The chief developer who had just been chewed out wore an impatient expression as he turned to his assistant.

“However, it’s true that he is getting in the way.”

The screen showed a Magician wearing a teal-colored Flying-Type combat uniform leisurely avoiding the trees as he sped directly towards the Parasite dolls. It appeared that this Magician possessed some sort of ability to accurately pinpoint the location of the Parasite dolls.

“Set the invader as the target and set the objective to capture. In addition, the dolls had detected something, correct? That must be this guy’s assistant, so send someone to bring them in.”

The chief developer ordered the Parasite dolls to capture Tatsuya while also giving orders to the private militia of the Kudou Family temporarily under his command to capture Pixie.

◊ ◊ ◊

Tatsuya stamped the group as he came rushing through the trees to stand before the Parasite doll and aimed his CAD at the body. Nevertheless, in the next second, Tatsuya was flung backwards by a powerful force before he could use any magic.

(This guy...... is very fast!)

Without crashing to the ground, he unexpectedly swam through the air for a moment. Using this brief moment that was rendered longer due to accelerated cognition, Tatsuya began analyzing the reason why his opponent got the jump on him.

During the exchange earlier, the Parasite doll’s reaction was noticeably higher than Tatsuya’s own. From detecting the other’s silhouette to beginning to move, this speed was beyond human capability. This gave the impression that this was not only the superb information processing speed of an electronic brain, but a machine built specifically for combat.

At first glance, the slender body boasted little in way of power. Yet, in Tatsuya’s recollection, this body garbed in female combat fatigues contained both might and agility that belied its outer appearance.

There was no helmet or cap because the short strands of hair were sensory devices for air and water currents. There were no goggles or protective visors because the eyes were designed to protect the light sensory devices within. The skin was composed of bulletproof composite material, the joints were rotors capable of swift motion, all coupled with a cooler beauty than even Pixie. This feminine robot was……

(Female combat servitors. So those were still being developed?)

Combat servitors were designed to be combat weaponry to replace infantry. Prototypes were already capable of using infantry weapons and researching was ongoing, although their primary utilization was for security missions in high risk areas. Tatsuya, however, had heard that development had ground to a halt. The reason being that rather than adhering to the human form, it was far more efficient to succumb to non-humanoid automatic gun turrets with more fluid mechanics.

Female combat servitors crafted for military use specialized in processing intelligence during combat. Nevertheless, this still should not result in Tatsuya being hit before activating his own magic.

There was no specific reaction point; the entire body was pushed away by pressure exerted evenly everywhere. This was the familiar feeling of being subjected to an attack through Acceleration-Type Magic. Also, this acute speed and coarse Eidos design –

(Single Systematic Acceleration-Type – No, this is telekinesis!) Tatsuya adjusted his posture in mid-air to brace for impact.

His back collided solidly with a tree trunk. The shock was less than expected, though that was probably the armor cushioning the blow. This level of damage did not necessitate the use of “Restoration”.

Tatsuya slid down the tree trunk to the floor and immediately adopted a fighting stance. Acceding to his own instincts, Tatsuya sprang off the floor. There was no chance to use magic, no time even for Flash Cast, so he could only use psions to enhance his muscles to explode away from his original position.

His assessment was rewarded by successfully avoiding the attack. A crater appeared at his earlier position as if a gigantic mallet had hammered home.

(This is also Gravity-Type Magic. This sort of primitive Magic Sequence is definitely telekinesis.)

The Parasite he fought against last winter also possessed similar inclinations. That entity did not use “magic”, but relied on “ESP”. Magicians abandoned “ESP” and received “magic” in exchange. Overwhelming speed was sacrificed for versatility, accuracy, and stability. Tatsuya felt that the opponent before him took this to the logical extreme.

(So, the Parasites rely on ESP as weapons!)

Maybe this was the entity’s specialty, but optimism was something to be wary of.

Tatsuya operated the keys to his beloved Trident and set Gram Dispersal for Loop Casting. Decomposition Magic “Gram Dispersal” could destroy the structure of the Magic Sequence and reduce it to the original state of psion noise. The CAD activated and wrote the Eidos that differed from typical Magic Sequences into Tatsuya’s specialized Magic Calculation Area.

The Parasite doll’s body released psion light. Tatsuya’s eyes did not perceive the light itself, but the structure and Magic Sequence formed by aforementioned light.

The Eidos fired at his legs contained the meaning “contort”.

Before the “meaning” transformed into “phenomenon”, Tatsuya’s spell decomposed the Eidos itself.

The entity inhabiting the doll betrayed an aura of shock. Perhaps, this astonishment was not only felt by the doll but the operator as well, thus causing the doll’s reaction to unexplainably falter. Forget following up; the enemy hadn’t even activated the defensive field that was fired at Tatsuya during their first exchange.

At the same time that Tatsuya reached this conclusion, he was drawing closer to the servitor. Adjusting his body at the same speed that his thoughts were flowing, Tatsuya let fly his fist towards the doll’s chest.

An oscillation wave composed of psions permeated the female servitor through the palm, temporarily canceling the psion barrier enveloping the Parasite’s main body and revealing the spell that connected the Parasite and the doll.

(Replication complete.)

Tatsuya used the concept of Restoration Magic to replicate the spell.

Recovering, the Parasite doll struck back with superhuman force with its servitor arms, but Tatsuya had already finished his replication objective and jumped to one side, dodging the doll’s attack.

Although it held the advantage since its physical body was that of a servitor, the human body held the advantage for manipulating its physical form thanks to endless practice.

He would use martial arts to surpass machinery, human determination to overcome demonic power.

Gathering strength into his left hand, he held it into a fist as he moved it to waist height. Tatsuya visualized a miniscule sphere being compressed within his hand.

He released the fist, as if pushing out the compressed sphere, without decreasing the distance and directly reached out his palm towards the Parasite doll from just beyond arm length.

Tatsuya sent an anti-Parasite psion pellet flying towards the electronic brain of the Parasite doll.

After stripping the psion defense barrier, the Parasite’s pushion Eidos was left completely naked.

The spell connecting the Parasite and the female servitor had also been disrupted, so the Parasite was about to be set free.

If this was a human body, psions would not be concentrated only in the bosom area. Furthermore, the human body shuts down the moment all psions are lost and could no longer sustain the Parasite as a host. However, the female servitor was a machine whose performance would not be affected by psion loss and could continue acting as the Parasite’s host if psions were replenished.

Tatsuya used Restoration Magic.

This magic replicated a previous Eidos and imprinted the replicated Eidos onto the current one.

This was not restricted to physical properties of the Eidos. So long as this Eidos was crafted with psions, this method could be used to replicate and imprint.

Tatsuya pumped a minute amount of psions into the female servitor and used the replicated loyalty spell to once again reconnect the Parasite and the female servitor. The recording of the Magic Sequence was a perfect replication, so theoretically it would remain loyal to the Kudou Family. Nevertheless, the Parasite’s compatibility values would not change, so there needed to be enough psions in order to move.

Tatsuya’s assessment was right on the money.

After receiving the minimal amount of psions, instead of turning into a composite of psions and pushions and flying away, the Parasite went into hibernation within the female servitor.

◊ ◊ ◊

Of the Kudou Family’s private militia that was dispatched to bring in Minami and Pixie on board the engineering vehicle, everyone was capable of using modern magic. The kinetic force at their disposal easily rivaled that of infantry rocket launchers.

The goal of the former 9th Research Facility was to develop modern magic that had incorporated elements from Ancient Magic. Yet, besides the three families inaugurated with the “9” in their name, none of the Magicians from the former 9th Research Facility were able to ingrain magic that took advantage of the specialties from Ancient Magic. This was exactly what exasperated the traditionalists, as all of their traditional elements were incorporated into new magic instead.

The Magicians who came from the former 9th Research Facility but failed to obtain the number “9” possessed power that was in no way inferior to their modern counterparts. By all rights, the magic at their disposal should be more than sufficient to subjugate a medium-sized vehicle and abduct the passengers within.

However, given the results, they never even touched the engineering vehicle Pixie was on.

From the very onset, one second after they consciously prepared to attack, the engineering vehicle seemed to recognize the harbingers of their magic through the active psions and was enveloped within a powerful magic barrier.

Reading the signs of magic invocation prior to the actual casting was a high level skill only wielded by well-trained Magicians. However, the strength and accuracy of the magic barrier that extended along the vehicle was even more astounding.

Simply touching the barrier would not result in pain, numbness, or injury. They would only be pushed back with equal and opposite force.

Trying to alter the phenomena surrounding the car would also be rejected by the strength of the interference emanating from the barrier.

Attempts to heat, shake, or apply pressure to the vehicle along with the barrier were met with no success.

Even when they enhanced their bodies with Fortification and Acceleration-Type magic and charged, the vehicle remained stolid.

As a last gasp, they opened fire even knowing that this would bring security down on their heads, but to no avail.

As expected, there was no way to completely obscure the fact that gunshots were fired even with silencers. The security forces were closing in, so the private militia was forced into ignominious retreat.

Needless to say, the magic barrier that had repelled the Kudou private militia was erected by Minami.

The “Sakura Series” were genetically engineered to emphasize defensive barriers with reverse kinetic properties. As a member of the second generation, she inherited the outstanding capabilities of the first generation and was able to erect barriers with additional stability.

Minami had undergone combat training within the Yotsuba Family, so detecting the signs of an oncoming magical attack was a matter of course for her. That was because the Magicians who served the Yotsuba Family adopted “detecting the signs of an oncoming magical attack as a matter of course” as their standard.

In addition, the capabilities of Minami’s magic barrier would not be found wanting against even descendants of the Ten Master Clans or maybe even eclipsed them. While she was unable to perform the Juumonji Family’s high class barrier magic such as “Phalanx”, as a single layer of defense, her magic barrier was the equal of Katsuto’s own barrier.

Her defensive barrier was proof against impact from tank shells or the heat from missiles, so mere bullets from handguns or automatic rifles stood no chance.

◊ ◊ ◊

Tatsuya prudently used his “eyes” to examine the servitor that had fallen to the ground and verified that it had entered hibernation.

He had stumbled upon this method last night. After overhearing Yakumo, Kazama and Fujibayashi’s conversation, he came up with the idea of taking full advantage of Kudou’s spellwork.

His information detection ability could also be used on sound. Words would also be recorded as Eidos within the idea dimension.

Maybe, Yakumo had sought this outcome from the very beginning, but even if it were otherwise – in other words, even if this was completely eavesdropping, Tatsuya did not give a fig. His personality was not “adorable” enough to feel guilty over something like this.

The spells to create these dolls would obviously contain the spells to restrain these dolls.

In short, the spells that created these dolls were one and the same with the spells restraining these dolls.

Through Pixie, Tatsuya found out where on the dolls the Parasites were hosted. Since they utilized the female form for both combat and household chores, emulating real human beings to be precise, their fundamental design should be roughly similar.

Four limbs, motors installed at the waist and neck, sensory devices plugged into the head, fuel batteries set within the torso, and the electronic brain sitting where the human heart would be. Given that the Parasite dwelt in the electronic brain, it stood to reason the spell linking the Parasite and the female servitor would also be there – at least that was the conjecture, with no chance to test this hypothesis before taking to the field. Still, Tatsuya seemed to have come out ahead on this gamble.

“Pixie, how far is the closest Parasite doll?”

“Two Parasite dolls are on approach vectors from your 4 o’clock and 7 o’clock positions. Master, please be careful.”

The last part of that almost caused Tatsuya to chuckle. This was not out of shock, but rather out of warmth. Somehow, Pixie seemed to be growing more lifelike……

Though perhaps it could be said that she was becoming more and more like Honoka.

Parasites – independent Eidos from humans.

Perhaps they held the key to unlocking true understanding of the “spirit”.

◊ ◊ ◊

Five minutes after taking off, the players were largely congregated together by school.

At four kilometers in width, the track was broad enough on sheer area alone, with thick trees separating areas into smaller zones. Even if all 108 people ran equidistant to one another, they would probably quickly lose sight of one another.

Furthermore, this was the first time this event had ever been held, so there was no telling what the initial zone would look like or where the traps might be. Contestants being disqualified along the way could only be chalked up as unavoidable circumstances, so players from each school set mutual checkpoints along the way. It was perfectly understandable that each school adopted this strategy.

Each of the schools were approximately tied at this point. Up until this point, each school was essentially groping their way forward. Despite this, they had still traversed a quarter of the track up until this point, their speed wholly thanks to the magic at their call.

Now that each school had more or less gotten a grasp of the course, acceleration was imminent.

“Kanon, you’re charging too fast!”

Tomoko voiced her complaint at the accelerating Kanon, but Kanon never slowed down her footsteps.

“I’ve gotten a rough grasp for the feel of this course! My guess is that the other schools are about the same!”

Kanon shouted without bothering to turn her head. Her unstated rebuttal was “we don’t have a chance if we don’t pick up the pace”.

“Everyone, it’s OK! Don’t push yourselves too hard!”

She added that phrase before continuing to speed up, repeatedly using Leaping Magic to avoid the tree roots, landing in areas with sparse grass and immediately following up with a tiny version of “Mine Genesis”. The ground sank before her eyes, with precipitous amounts of dirt falling into the hole from the trees.

Holes and dirt showers. This was a trap that most likely intended to bury the unfortunate prey alive. Kanon smirked proudly before jumping over the hole.

Her right foot immediately sank into the soft mud upon landing. “Oh, damn it!”

Kanon hurriedly tried to reactivate the recently terminated Leaping Magic a multitude of times. Her left leg kicked off in midair, allowing the right foot to spring free of the mud, but accompanied by a white rope around the ankle.

Kanon’s body had completely left the ground.

The white rope was pulled straight upwards while the other end seemed to be tied within the soft mud.

Kanon’s body was tied down by the rope and came to a stop in midair. Since the set parameters could not be met, the Jumping Magic fizzled, ultimately resulting in

–

“Wah!”

--Kanon’s body tilting forward and landing back into the mud. “Chiyoda-senpai!”

The team from First High caught up to Kanon because she fell into a trap. With Subaru in the lead, the sound that emanated from witnessing this disastrous scene was one of astonishment rather than fear.

Kanon rose from the mud. That being said, everything from the chest down was still buried in the mud.

She yanked both hands from the mud and placed her right hand on the left wrist. The mud erupted.

A mud spring many times more furious than the falling splatter erupted with Kanon’s figure as the epicenter.

Detecting the signs of magic beforehand, Miyuki quickly erected a reverse kinetic magic barrier. Thanks to her timely crafted transparent barrier, eleven female students were spared being drenched in mud.

This explosion came from the personal Acceleration-Type Magic “Speed Ripper”. Needless to say, the caster was the one at the epicenter, Kanon.

Standing in the middle of the crucible shape in the ground (of what was a muddy pond) was a perfectly immaculate Kanon with her head bowed. Forget the mud, not even a speck of dust was visible. She had likely set her body and clothes as the launching point for “Speed Ripper” and sent all of the mud and dust flying. Even the rope tied around her ankle was nowhere to be seen.

The tiniest of mishaps while using this sort of magic like this would result in accidentally tearing all the hair off of one’s body and suffering unimaginable pain. Another possibility may be shredding every ounce of clothing, leaving an equally horrific outcome. However, Kanon seemed to have wielded this magic with an excellent grasp of skill.

Kanon used a freshly cleaned hand to push her protective goggles up and rubbed at her eyes. The goggles’ sealing properties were up to par, so mud should not have gotten into her eyes. Yet….. Any young lass would like want to bawl her eyes out after being dunked into a mud pit.

Before the eyes of her seniors and juniors, Kanon carefully replaced her goggles at a normal pace before raising her head in direction of the finish line.

Anyone watching her back could tell she took a deep breath. And then –

“—Is this a freaking joke!? What kind of military training is this?!” Kanon shrieked hysterically and rocketed out of the crucible-like hole. “……Let’s be off.”

“……Yes.”

After Subaru finished speaking next to Miyuki, the two of them led their teammates racing down the course.

◊ ◊ ◊

“This is impossible! Is that guy even human?”

The chief of development for the Parasite dolls howled in anguish within the operational lab.

His proud creations were being retired one after another.

Two Parasite dolls struck from the flanks at speeds that not even Magicians from the Ten Master Clans could react to by firing oscillation waves. These two dolls possessed the demonic power of “sound” and could use subtle oscillation waves at will to disturb an enemy’s sense of balance, or use violent oscillation waves to shatter their hearing. Correction, if wielded at full power without any thought given towards time requirements, being released at high efficiency would manifest Phonon Mazer even without a specified Magic Sequence. The demonic power at their disposal was just that powerful.

The attacks from his beloved dolls were taking effect. The dolls’ attacks penetrated the shock absorbent layers on the newest combat armor devised by the military and wounded the Magician’s innards. Just now, the lurch from the Magician was definitely not for show, but he was able to counterattack in the next second even after sustaining the attack.

The first strike was Ancient Magic, a sort of Nonsystematic Type Magic known as “Surge”. The chief of development had no idea why this was all that was necessary to deal damage to the Parasite dolls, but for now he was able to hypothesize that this was some sort of attack. Nevertheless, the ensuing direct attack after drawing to close combat range –

“What the hell is this guy doing? What just happened?”

It was nothing more than a mere palm strike on the Parasite doll’s chest. This mystified the chief of development as to why that was enough to send the Parasite doll into stasis. The Parasite was not released, nor was the servitor’s body destroyed, but this was still sufficient to bring the machine to a halt.

If this technique was enough to send shivers down one’s spine, then yonder body of flesh and blood that was able to continue fighting after sustaining multiple injuries from demonic powers from the Parasite dolls was even more horrifying.

“Could this guy truly be immortal…… An actual vampire?”

The conference room reserved for high-ranking officers within the general headquarters building was also suffused with the same befuddlement that ran rampant through the Operations Lab.

“This Magician…… What is his body made of? This is far beyond the level of being able to withstand blows.”

The observation cameras were currently showing a four-on-one battle. Through the network, the Mobile Armor had noticeable indentions in the limbs and back. One of the dolls operated a metal ball and sent it flying in for a direct hit on the Magician’s body while another doll sent mercury pellets shooting out from 18 different positions on the body that also penetrated the Mobile Armor.

Yet, in the next instant, this Magician struck back at the Parasite dolls as if nothing had occurred.

“Mahesvara……”

One of the members present murmured. “What?”

Colonel Sakai posed the question.

“Colonel, during last year’s disturbance at Yokohama and the defense of Okinawa four years ago, do you know of the combat Magician who was called “Mahesvara” by the enemy?”

“……Now that you mention it, I have heard of this person. Annihilating mobile weaponry in one blow, able to recover from any enemy attack without any lasting effect…… Could it be him?”

“Based on the situation, “Mahesvara” is a Magician who is connected with Major Kazama.”

“Major Harunobu Kazama from the 101st Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion……”

Equipped with the Mobile Armor developed by the 101st Battalion and a Magician whose durability was such that men considered him immortal. The details were aligned.

“Why has such a monster appeared at a high school tournament……?”

The Nine Schools Competition was a highly important event for Magicians, but this was nothing more than academic entertainment for the JSDF. Even if the experiment went awry, at most there would only be four or five injuries among the students. Colonel Sakai did not believe that Saeki or Kazama were really concerned about the loss of life.

Unable to divine General Saeki’s true purpose, Colonel Sakai felt a chill crawl up his spine in warning.

◊ ◊ ◊

The engineering vehicle that Minami and Pixie were on was currently in a tight spot.

The private militia from the Kudou Family (not that Minami was aware of their identities) had been scattered by the security forces that had appeared from the base. However, this time it was the security forces from base clamoring to get inside.

From security’s perspective, this was a logical demand. This was because, given the events of the previous year, another unidentified organization had infiltrated the JSDF’s base and even opened fire. Though the group they wanted to arrest and detain were the ones who had opened fire, their reaction to question why the other group was fired upon was also logical progression.

Despite this, Minami could not comply with their demands. Actually, it was alright if she did comply, but allowing unrelated military forces to witness the interior of the vehicle would complicate things for everyone.

“I’ve already said, we are the victims here. I don’t see the reason that we must comply with your interrogation.”

“This is a military facility, we have the right to police the premises! If you are innocent, then immediately disable the protective barrier and open the door!”

This banter was going back and forth for a while (speaking of which, the voice that was projected through the camera had been altered). Even if the current situation persisted, the protective barrier could last another hour. Furthermore, Tatsuya had given her a CAD that was fully operable through thought, so even if they suffered sudden magical attack, she was still able to alter the barrier on the fly.

Nonetheless, Minami personally wished that the situation did not escalate any further.

(Tatsuya-sama, please return quickly……)

Minami never considered to inquire ideas from the currently embattled Tatsuya – which was nothing short of hampering Tatsuya’s battle, so she could only sit there and allow the situation to stagnate.

◊ ◊ ◊

Fifteen minutes after the race began, each school was no longer congregating together to challenge the course and had split into three groups racing for the finish line.

The leaders from First High’s detachment were Kanon, Subaru, and Miyuki. Kanon had competed in Track and Field during 3000 meter hurdles, but as for her specialty in magic, she was someone who was more accustomed to the feeling of running while clearing obstacles. Subaru’s specialty lay in “leaping”. Miyuki deftly manipulated Flying-Type Magic close to the ground in order to avoid the obstacles.

The three of them were currently slightly more than two kilometers from the starting line and were about to progress into the second half of the course. Subaru, who had been lightly tapping off of the tree trunks while progressing forward, suddenly came to an abrupt halt and landed near a group of fruit trees.

“Subaru, what happened?”

Catching up to Subaru, Miyuki also stopped and began asking the other girl. Although this was a race, this was still a competition where the sort of hidden obstacles for this route remained unknown. Once they had discovered something, paying it no heed was foolish in the extreme. It was precisely for this reason that they had split into twos and threes instead of advancing alone.

“Take a look at this.”

Miyuki and Kanon looked towards where Subaru was pointing and both frowned. There, there lay what appeared to be a female body.

“—That’s a female combat servitor.”

Kanon said the object’s real identity out loud. She was not someone who carried the look of technical expertise, but given that she was from the Chiyoda Family, a lineage that specialized in combat within the Hundred Families, it was highly probable that she had seen something similar before.

“Looks to me it has stopped moving. What do you two think?”

Miyuki immediately grasped that this was a Parasite doll that had been taken out by Tatsuya. However, she betrayed no hint of this to her cohorts and only described the scene that lay before her.

“Looks the same to me.”

“Perhaps it wasn’t recovered from an earlier training exercise?”

This sentiment came from Subaru. This speculation seemed to hold water despite being utterly impossible, but Kanon was none the wiser.

“……At any rate, there’s no need to worry since it isn’t moving. Maybe it’s just to put us on our guard and slow us down.”

This was Kanon’s assessment. Given that she had already reached this conclusion, there was no need for Miyuki to voice any dissent.

“So?”

“Let’s move on before we waste any more time.”

Kanon took off at a run after saying this, with Subaru and Miyuki quickly following.

◊ ◊ ◊

(They’re more capable than I imagined…… This is taking much longer than expected. Given the distance until Miyuki reaches this location, there’s probably only 10 minutes of buffer time left.)

Surrounded by the Parasite dolls, Tatsuya ruminated to himself.

Compared to where he ran across his first Parasite doll, his current location was quite close to the finish line. He had already incapacitated every Parasite doll between here and the starting line. So long as all 16 Parasite dolls ceased to move, then this incident could be counted as finished “in his eyes”.

Amid the incoming superpower (the Kudou Family referred to this as “demonic powers”) attacks coming from all directions, Tatsuya charged forward while only protecting the vital areas of the head and heart and swiftly came into contact with the first Parasite doll.

The high speed movement from the servitor sliced Tatsuya’s arm practically to the bone, but his other hand directly retaliated against the doll.

Instantly, the process that shut down the Parasite began to take effect.

Supported by the purely cognitive CAD, Tatsuya called forth the supporting Activation Sequence for Gram Dispersal from the Trident still sitting in its holster and dispelled the magic being directed towards his head. Next, he jumped over the fallen Parasite doll before him and temporarily escaped the enclosure before using “Restoration” to recover his arm to its original state. His Restoration was a magic that caused the enemy to scream “cheater”, but this did not mean it was omnipotent or invincible.

Restoration was accompanied by pain.

This was an important element that could affect concentration and prevent magic invocation. He had already grown accustomed to pain, but even he was not able to avoid the temporary hesitation brought on by pain.

Utilizing a full backup of Restoration could block the pain, but under those circumstances, Restoration would temporarily monopolize the entire Magic Calculation Area, crucially delaying any counterattack.

It was precisely for this reason why Tatsuya shielded the vitals that impacted life and death. So long as his psions were not exhausted, he wouldn’t die even if suffered a fatal injury. However, if he did suffer a life threatening blow, then his survival instincts would automatically initiate a full backup and put every other magic ability on hold. If the opponent was a first rate Magician and Tatsuya had no support, the circumstances would only grow more and more dire. The combat prowess of the Parasite dolls was in no way inferior to first class Magicians, and the activation speed of their superpowers was superior to modern magic as well.

Nevertheless – the fact that he was still able to spell out these depressing words while still conscious indicated that he still had strength to give.

Once Tatsuya grasped the method to incapacitate his enemies without releasing the Parasite within, the Parasite dolls ceased to become a threat.

The reason why Parasites that had latched onto humans were so difficult to deal with was because the death of the host would immediately release the Parasite’s main body, and Tatsuya had no method of directly harming the main body.

That being said, if the Parasite’s host was a female combat servitor, then being damaged was a far cry from death. Furthermore, so long as there remained a minute amount of psions within the frame, the Parasite would enter hibernation as to avoid harming the main body.

Tatsuya was exposed before the crossfire of superpower attacks and suffered tremendously. Overcoming his own blood and pain, he forced the 12th Parasite doll into hibernation.

(The last four…… Are over there!)

◊ ◊ ◊

“Only four Parasite dolls left!”

The horrified reports shouted by his subordinates caused the chief of development for the Parasite doll experimental team to almost bite down on his lips hard enough to draw blood. He had no idea what Tatsuya – what “Mahesvara” was assessed as. Yet, what the chief of development did know was that if a single Magician was able to crush 16 Parasite dolls, this would undeniably leave a mark of failure upon the Parasite doll development project.

“However, the four remaining ones…… The initial four will not be such easy prey……!”

The chief of development muttered to himself as he gazed at the images being broadcasted to him by the Parasite dolls.

These words sounded both hollow and unwilling to back down, causing his subordinates seated to his sides to watch with deep unease.

◊ ◊ ◊

The instant after Tatsuya detected the four Parasite dolls, a cannonball the size of a man’s fist shot towards him before he could use magic. Through his Eidos senses, Tatsuya “beheld” the cannonball that flew at a speed almost beyond the human eye to follow. Diameter at 12 centimeters, weight, five kilograms, speed clocked at

400 kilometers per hour. Although its speed was much lower than that of a bullet, the energy contained within was highly unusual.

Tatsuya reached out with his right hand to catch the cannonball. Crafted from dirt, the ball shattered the moment it came into contact with his hand. This was not simply crumbling, but exploding outwards in the form of tiny pebbles. This was done by deconstructing the dirt that made up the cannonball down to the level of pebbles, using the scattering motion to release the kinetic energy within.

Tatsuya used his specialty to deflect the enemy’s opening attack, but there was no time to catch his breath. His opponents created a field as thin as silk and sought to shoot it towards him. Directly in front of him and to the flanks were two repulsion fields, an attack that shared a similar theoretical background with Weight-Type Magic “Pressure Slash”. That these fields were precise enough to rend and tear without a blade or steel wire to serve as a base must be thanks to the precision of their mechanical frames.

Once more, Tatsuya was forced to pre-emptively go on the defense. Gram Dispersal nullified the Parasite dolls’ Pressure Slash. At the same time, he entered close quarters combat range with another one of them.

His opponent held a large blade that measured 30 centimeters in each hand. The weapon itself posed no threat to Tatsuya, but the problem lay in the speed of the slashes.

(Swift–)

Purely in terms of speed, this easily rivaled Erika’s personal acceleration magic. (Nonetheless–)

She had “skill”. While her movements were precise and without extraneous movement, that was all it was, and the exactitude of the movements could be easily predicted. Tatsuya avoided the left and right combo and activated Gram Dispersal. The acceleration magic empowering the machine immediately lost its effect, lowering the doll’s movements to the level of “ordinary humans”.

That’s one down. Tatsuya thought as he was about to strike out with his right hand, but – “What!?”

A repulsion barrier manifested in front of the blade-wielding Parasite doll. This did not come from the frames that had cast Pressure Slash, as it was the fourth Parasite doll who had cast the barrier.

Tatsuya was rocked backwards while the blade-wielding Parasite doll retreated as well. Gathered together, the four Parasite dolls formed a diamond formation. The foremost was built for high-speed close quarters combat, the right utilized compressed dirt as cannonballs, the one on the left hand side wielded Pressure Slash, with the fourth one bringing up the rear with repulsion barriers.

A cannonball sped towards where Tatsuya had recovered himself. Tatsuya used Flying-Type Magic to bolster his jump to one side to avoid the attack, but a razor sharp flying blade was sent his way. After Tatsuya deconstructed the magic blade and charged forward, he was met by two gigantic blades supported by a transparent barrier as a shield.

(These ones have a high degree of cooperation.)

This was practically as if all four of them were of one mind as their teamwork was markedly different than the 12 that had already been retired, leaving no opening for Tatsuya to attack.

◊ ◊ ◊

“Excellent, Prime Four, that’s the way!”

Within the Kudou operation lab, the chief of the Parasite doll development project was highly energized by this outcome.

“Just like that! Cut him!”

Filled with trepidation, his subordinates prodded the animated chief with a question.

“Um…… Chief, weren’t we ordered not to kill him?”

“Ah? Are you all blind? That Magician possesses powerful regeneration, cutting off a limb or two won’t kill him.”

The chief kept his eyes glued to the screen and responded in a tone that brooked no argument. The pupils fixated on the screen danced with madness.

◊ ◊ ◊

“Master, to your right!”

A telepathic voice rang out in his brain. Acceding to those instructions, Tatsuya swiftly tilted his body to the left, allowing the dirt cannonball to slip by his right shoulder and hurtle into the rear.

“Reloading will take 50 seconds. A flying blade is on approach from the left, please avoid by stepping one meter to the right.”

Tatsuya followed these avoidance instructions and the flying blade formed by Pressure Slash indeed passed 30 centimeters to Tatsuya’s left.

“Pixie, can you tell how the enemy will attack?”

Tatsuya used the armor concealed within his glove to deflect the mobile Parasite doll’s blade and asked Pixie over the transmitter.

“Incoming cannonball aimed for the head…… Correct, Master, I can hear them speaking to one another.”

“Speaking? Are you telling me that they are not acting on their personal judgment?”

Using concepts from fisticuffs, Tatsuya lowered his head to avoid the cannonball while defusing the enemy’s personal acceleration spell at the same time. The right hand holding the spell that disabled the enemy servitors was a hair away from making contact, but was blocked by the enemy barrier at the last second.

“Those four are constantly exchanging thoughts while acting.”

As Tatsuya was being blown back by the repulsion barrier, Pixie’s answer to his earlier question was passed to his ears. This answer gave him a deeper insight into the situation. This was not one brain controlling all four limbs, but more like one mind was controlling “the four of them” by splitting into four partitions.

Additionally, Pixie was able to intercept the Parasite dolls’ “conversation”. In that case, they were much easier to deal with.

“Pixie, transmit enemy chatter.”

“Acknowledge.”

◊ ◊ ◊

“How did it suddenly turn out like this?!”

The chief shouted in confusion, though this time his subordinates shared his sentiment.

The attacks coming from the first four Parasite dolls crafted by the former 9th Research Lab – the Prime Four, were no longer leaving their mark.

The dirt cannonball was being blocked by the enemy’s hand just as he was avoiding the attacks from the Gravity Dagger (they also referred to the Pressure

Blade’s flying edge as the G-Dagger). The highly mobile Parasite doll’s attacks were being dodged as if her blows had been telegraphed to the enemy, who also voluntarily retreated just as the repulsion barrier began to manifest. While their side had not reported any major damage, it was plain that their enemy was now clued in to the movements of the Prime Four.

For the first time, the Magician wearing the Mobile Armor seized the initiative on offense. The dolls altered their combat pattern by leading with two shots from the G-Dagger towards the legs, but they were immediately dispersed shortly after being fired.

The chief and his minions were wholly unaware of what happened, but even if they stopped to think, the Parasite dolls would not cease their activities. Once an autonomous weapon received its orders, they would continue their mission until receiving fresh commands or ordered to desist.

On the screen, the agile model was assaulting the enemy and the artillery model cupped its hands in preparation. The blade was a feint as the real blow would come from the shot. Yet, the Magician in the Mobile Armor seemed to know this from the very get go and passed to the side of the blade-wielding servitor.

The Eidos of the repulsion barrier began to form – and abruptly vanished with the information seas.

The Magician in the Mobile Armor appeared before the artillery model and laid his right hand on the cannonball. The cannonball turned into dust and slipped through the Parasite doll’s fingers.

Like a human being, the artillery model stood stock still in amazement.

The left hand of the Magician in the Mobile Armor had already landed on her chest.

“How can this be possible……?”

The researchers screamed in disbelief – or were perhaps unwilling to believe, as the devices monitoring the artillery model within the Prime Four indicated that the servitor had shut down.

The four Parasite dolls possessed flawless coordination on the attack. This was precisely thanks to their superb compatibility, made all the weaker when one of them was removed from the equation.

◊ ◊ ◊

“Slashing, right hand, right leg, left leg.”

Even without Pixie’s guidance, Tatsuya had already recognized this attack pattern. The artillery model’s responsibility was to restrain the enemy with long range attacks, so now Tatsuya could concentrate on dealing with the enemies’ magic once that restraint was no longer in place.

After Tatsuya used Gram Dispersal to deconstruct Pressure Slash, he rushed the sword-wielding Parasite doll. He abolished the protective barrier in front of him and stretched his hand towards the blade. For the Parasite doll, this should be beyond their anticipation – this must not have been programmed into their electronic brains. There was no way of telling whether the delay arose from the machine or the demon within.

Tatsuya seized hold on the blade.

New Damascus alloy – a compound created from nanometer-long silicon tubes – abruptly crumbled into sand. Not only did this apply to the blade he caught hold of, but the other blade he had not touched also suffered the same fate.

Since magic was used to disintegrate the weapon, there was no need to lay hands on the weapon in the first place, but this did serve to be a more shocking scene to bear witness to.

As he was the instigator, Tatsuya naturally felt no astonishment at this turnout. Rather than approaching the disarmed servitor, he instead stepped towards the Parasite doll in charge of the defenses stationed to the rear. Without taking advantage of the Mobile Armor’s abilities, Tatsuya needed only one step to close the five yard gap between them.

The repulsion field that served as the protective barrier spread out again. Without paying any heed to variety, the speed at which this superpower could deploy the protective barrier was much swifter than Tatsuya.

Yet, the magic at Tatsuya’s fingertips was not restricted to only disrupting magic being invoked, but also abolishing magic that had already been completed, so an ability that could merely erect a barrier held little meaning against him. Without any accompaniment on offense, just this alone was not going to constitute a threat against Tatsuya.

The defensive servitor fell into hibernation.

The remaining servitors were the agile model used for close quarters combat and the frame built for close range fire support. Right now, they were nothing more than prey dancing in Tatsuya’s palm.

◊ ◊ ◊

“Master, congratulations!”

Pixie suddenly released a loud cry over their telepathic connection, almost causing Minami to accidentally disable her magic barrier.

“Here too……”

This passionate outburst seemed wholly incompatible with an alien creature, and thus Minami only mumbled to herself. Not that she was aware of this, of course.

“Pixie, has Tatsuya-sama defeated all the Parasite dolls?”

Rather than being concerned for Tatsuya’s wellbeing, her followup question seemed to be a verification that contained no hint of worry.

“Correct. Master has caused my kin to all enter hibernation.”

It was only now that Pixie returned to vocal communication, but Minami paid that detail no heed.

“While I really wish he could come back quickly, but……”

At this point, Minami realized that even if Tatsuya suddenly returned now, that may only serve to pour oil on the fire.

The security troops were still deployed outside around their car.

Under these circumstances, if a masked soldier in full combat regalia with an unknown affiliation appeared, this may result in a fiery outcome –

Just then, Minami’s portable terminal emitted a ping to alert her about an incoming call.

Who could this be? Minami thought as she glanced at the sender. Originally, she held low expectations as she surmised this must be an anonymous call, but the screen betrayed her expectations as the name “Kuroba Fumiya” appeared on the screen.

“Hello?”

How does he know my phone number? Minami thought in bemusement as she answered the phone.

The barrier continued to persist.

“This is Kuroba Fumiya. Are you Sakurai Minami-san?”

“I am.”

“Thank goodness I got through to you. I sincerely apologize for looking up your phone number without your permission. Setting that aside, I would like to double check something.”

“No, I don’t mind at all if Kuroba-sama knows my phone number – what did you need to check?”

“Currently, is the car covered by the protective barrier and surrounded by security yours, Sakurai-san?”

“Please call me Minami…... Your assessment is correct.”

A somewhat confusing air came across from the other side of the terminal, but the conversation continued unabated.

“……Minami-san, you’re not acting as a decoy, are you? In short, is there a need to keep security here?”

“Not only do I not want them here, they were causing me tremendous hassle……

Furthermore, Fumiya-sama, please do not call me “Minami-san”, a simple Minami will suffice.”

“……We can discuss that part another day. Setting that aside, I will knock out all the security forces over there. Please sustain the protective barrier until then.”

“Understood, we’re counting on you…… Also, please call me Minami. After all,

I’m only a maid and Fumiya-sama is one of the candidates to be the next head of house.”

“…..Then I shall begin. This should take less than 5 minutes.”

The tone of Fumiya’s parting words was rather kind.

“We won……!” Once Minami heard these words, it was hard to tell whether those words reverberated through her.

◊ ◊ ◊

As he looked towards the familiar psion waves, he could see a particularly sturdy magic barrier. After noting the possibility and verifying, he discovered that it was indeed one of the “Sakura series” affiliated with the Yotsuba named Minami, who was currently staying with Tatsuya.

Fumiya could roughly estimate what had occurred. That vehicle likely belonged to his esteemed “Tatsuya onii-san” and served a purpose in the experiment to destroy the Parasite dolls. In that case, the security forces must be barred from access and they could not add on to Tatsuya’s burden.

(All of you certainly are terribly unlucky.)

Fumiya pulled out a glove-shaped CAD. Currently, he had the appearance of a typical male student in high school, but chose not to appear before others. He persuaded himself that any “disguise” would be unnecessary.

Fumiya was currently 20 meters from the vehicle. In truth, “Direct Pain” could easily hit the targets at this range, but he had crawled to extreme close range to prevent overdoing his attack.

All of you are seriously unlucky – Fumiya internally said to the security guards before mercilessly applying Direct Pain to the security guards crowded around the vehicle.

◊ ◊ ◊

By the time Tatsuya returned to the engineering vehicle, he was struck speechless by the security guards lying haphazardly around the car. Fumiya had alerted his subordinates from the Kuroda Family to clean up the mess, but the men in black were only just arriving.

Making sure that there was no one else present, Tatsuya climbed on board and stowed the Mobile Armor within the “coffin” as he was instructed before pressing the self-destruct button. He then departed the scene with Minami and Pixie in tow.

Just as Fujibayashi said, not one of the security guards laying around the car were injured.

Not that Tatsuya was there to witness that.

◊ ◊ ◊

The fundamental difference between Steeple Chase and any normal Track and Field exercise was that there was no way to tell what happened to the other contestants. A normal cross country race would also have limited mobility, but at least the route was clearly defined and a person’s position could be determined by who was ahead or behind. However, there was no clear path in the Steeple Chase, vision remained obstructed by the foliage, and, aside from the few teammates that were close by, there was practically no way of ascertaining the status of other players.

In spite of this, the transparent protection visor could be relied on to report how many people had arrived at the finish line. At the corner of the map display, the number of people who had already arrived remained at zero.

There was only 200 meters until the finish line. Miyuki was certain she was in the lead.

Running by the side, Kanon was of the same mind.

Kanon suddenly picked up speed and Subaru also began the final sprint so as to not fall behind.

Miyuki hesitated for a moment. Her current speed was not intentionally dialed down; this was simply the maximum speed if one was going to remain on guard for traps. Moving any faster raised the possibility of running afoul of one of the traps. Should she emphasize safety, or risk it all and strive for first place –

“Ah!”

“Wah~!”

Just as Miyuki was debating this, a series of shrieks came from ahead of her.

Multiple automatic turrets spat out a continuous stream of paint pellets, causing Kanon to crash to the earth after taking multiple hits. The paint pellets possessed no penetrating power, but on the other hand, the kinetic force of the pellets were transferred entirely into the impact. There was simply no way to remain upright while absorbing these shots from below the waist to the flank, so the only thing Kanon could do was go to ground in a defensive stance to avoid injury.

Meanwhile, Subaru was hit in midair by a web canister and was brought down ensnared within the net. As the magic Subaru used was not “Flying-Type” but “Leaping”, part of the descending force was mitigated by magic, hereby allowing her to take less of a blow than Kanon. Nonetheless, the sight of her flailing about in the net was probably much more shameful for the young girl than what Kanon was going through.

“I…… I don’t think they need to deploy military training at a place like this……”

Kanon groaned in pain, but it was hard to say if her words were meant as a complaint or just grousing since her tone signified that she was more than up to the challenge. Miyuki judged that this should not constitute a problem for either of them and alerted the two of them to her decision.

“Excuse me, I’m going on ahead.”

Neither of the two replied, though there was blatantly an aura of “you heartless person~!” emanating around them.

That being said, Steeple Chase was an individual competition. Even if they were schoolmates, they remained competitors during the race given that they only teamed up out of mutual benefit. Miyuki fully adopted her merciless stance (not really) and once more started running for the finish line.

Out of the corner of her eye, she carefully monitored the map.

The number of people who reached the finish line remained at zero.

And so, Miyuki became the first one to cross the finish line. Relying on sheer determination, Kanon managed to get back in the race and cleanly finished as second. Having spent much more effort getting free of the net, Subaru had to settle for eighth. As for the other notable members from First High, Honoka and Shizuku combined to capture fifth and sixth.

Share