A A-
Although the NSU had withdrawn its fleet, it was impossible to say for sure that the military threat had already passed. It will take several weeks for everyday life to return to normal.
Classes at all high schools of the National University of Magic have already resud, but extracurricular activities were limited to 4:30 p.m. Classes in schools of magic ended at 3:20 p.m., so extracurricular activities were reduced to about 1 hour.
Of course, First High School was no exception. The Student Council and the Disciplinary Committee involved in supervising extra-curricular activities also completed their work before 5 p.m.
Shortly before 4:30 p.m.
Erika, Leo, Mizuki and Mikihiko were waiting for individual Cabinets on the platform of the station closest to First High School. Miyuki and Lina have been leaving the school separately from everyone lately, and today they left a little earlier than the rest.
It was Shizuku's and Honoka's turn first, they already got into separate Cabinets and left. The others were now waiting for the next Cabinet to arrive.
Ah, there she goes.
The individual Cabinets didnt have an arrival schedule, but during the busy hours the next free Cabinet appeared within five minutes. This station was mainly used only by students to co to school and go ho. At the mont, the rush of passengers has already passed, and only these four remained, but still the next Cabinet arrived at the station just five minutes after the departure of Honoka's Cabinet.
Ok, I'm next.
Mizuki went to the opened door. The order in which they sat down was strictly defined. Apart from Honoka, who needed to go in the opposite direction, on the days when Miyuki and Tatsuya werent with them, their order was this: Shizuku, Mizuki, Erika, Mikihiko, Leo.
But today there are also so differences from the usual order.
Miki, show her out.
Erika didnt suddenly just ask, but ordered Mikihiko to escort Mizuki.
Uh!?
Co on, hurry up. Even if there are no other passengers, your slowness is annoying.
Well, if she doesn't mind...
Although Erika's demand was completely unreasonable, Mikihiko sohow agreed too quickly. On the contrary, he looked like he wanted to do it.
Um, but... it doesn't feel right.
Mizuki looked shyly at Mikihiko, but even without her confirmation it was obvious that she didnt like this idea.
No, Mizuki. After all, the danger isn't over yet.
But regardless of Mizuki's opinion, Erika was adamant.
Co on, hurry up.
Uh-huh...
As a result, Mizuki and Mikihiko surrendered under the pressure from Erika and sat in the sa Cabinet.
The Cabinet with Mizuki and Mikihiko inside left the platform. Seeing them off with his eyes, Leo briefly asked Erika:
... What are you up to?
What are you talking about?
Erica replied without turning to face Leo.
Im talking about the reason you told Mikihiko to accompany Mizuki.
I already said, didn't I? Because of the danger.
Erika was still staring in the direction of Mizuki's retreating Cabinet.
Leo frowned at the tense atmosphere.
You didn't say anything about any danger yesterday. Is sothing bothering you now?
Erika finally turned to Leo.
... I wish, but it was a wasted experience.
Imdiately after these words, the next Cabinet arrived at the platform.
Erika walked over to him and looked around.
Leo, let's go for a little ride together.
What are you doing so suddenly?
If you're going, then let's go. I'll tell you inside.
Erika said, and sat down in the Cabinet transportation system.
Leo scratched his head nervously, then he crossed the road on the sliding bridge blocking the front of the Cabinet, went into the Cabinet through the opposite door and sat down on the seat next to Erika.
It had been more than 10 minutes since Tatsuya got on Wingless, the electric motorcycle, and started the pursuit.
At the entrance to Lake Saiko, Tatsuya saw the car with the carriers of Minami's and Minoru's Eidos with the naked eye.
As he accelerated, he caught up with the car on the right side. In the driver's seat, he saw a man with the face of Minoru holding the steering wheel. Although persons under the age of 18 can obtain a license to drive a four-wheeled vehicle under special conditions, but Minoru unlikely t these conditions.
But that wasnt the problem now.
Using his psion waves, he activated the built-in CAD in his suit with full ntal control, and considered the activation sequence he devised.
The magic was Gram Dispersion, specifically configured for use against Parade. It was a sequence of Decomposition magic corresponding to the Kudou family's spell.
It will decompose the magic sequence that builds a visible illusion, even if Minoru himself cant be seen with the naked eye.
Tatsuya released the magic.
A visual noise ran across Minoru's face, and the outline of his entire body beca blurred.
This doesnt an that the body of the carrier with the image of Minoru was destroyed.
The magic sequence that ford the image of Minoru, stripped of its information body structure, began to dissipate.
After the haze of psionic particles cleared...
Kudou Soushi! After all, it's a fake!
Tatsuya didnt even bother to look at "sothing with the image of Minami" sitting in the passenger seat.
The Minoru turned out to be a fake. So, Minami shouldnt be real either.
Tatsuya slamd on the brakes, deciding to go back to the hideout located in the center of the Sea of Trees.
At the sa ti, Soushi turned the steering wheel to the right.
Tires squealing, the large passenger car made a sharp approach towards Tatsuya.
Which made the car spin.
As if knocked down, the electric motorcycle flew off the road.
Guided by Tatsuya, Wingless flew to the side along an arc.
But in fact, the motorcycle wasnt hit by the car.
He took off by himself, with the help of flight magic.
Tatsuya turned Wingless, the flying electric motorcycle, 180 degrees in the air and brought it back to the road.
Then he looked in the rear-view mirror. There he saw that the car had stopped, turning sideways.
Furthermore, the car driven by Soushi began to turn around, apparently in order to pursue Tatsuya's motorcycle.
Using his psion waves, Tatsuya activated the suit's built-in CAD.
At the sa mont when the magic was activated, two wheels fell off one side of the car, and that side slamd onto the road with a crash.
Moreover, this car will no longer be able to prevent Tatsuya.
But Tatsuya remained vigilant, realizing that instead, Soushi himself could attack him with so kind of restraining magic.
The tilted car without two wheels was getting smaller and smaller in the rear-view mirror.
So ti had already passed, but Soushi hadn't released any attacking magic.
Tatsuya arrived at the hideout Minoru used at about 5:45 pm Before entering the Sea of Trees, through the suit's communicator he inford Hyougo about Soushi as he was directly on the move. At the mont, one of Hyougo's father's subordinates, Hanabishi Tajima, has already been sent there for insurance.
Tatsuya left the motorcycle on the side of the road. But it turned out that this was no longer necessary. Unlike last ti, the barrier no longer interfered with him.
The barrier itself, distorting the sense of direction, still existed. But its functions have significantly weakened.
This could happen due to the lack of a master who needs to be hidden. Either that, or the chanism that continuously maintains the magic could've weakened due to several breakthroughs of the barrier.
But that wasn't what he needed to think about now. Tatsuya stopped in front of the entrance to this exotic one-story wooden house, and opened the door.
Tatsuya's expectation that this house would be completely abandoned turned out to be wrong.
Imdiately after opening the door, his perception caught subtle signs of a presence.
These signs of a presence were very similar to human ones, but the life energy in them wasnt felt. Tatsuya didnt have the so-called ability to sense otherworldly
phenona," but it seed to him that if you encounter a ghost, you will experience exactly the sa impression as now.
It was impossible to ignore this creature. Tatsuya simply had no other choice.
The ghost-like thing turned its attention to Tatsuya. Tatsuya realized that it was waiting for him.
He couldnt afford the unnecessary battles, right now.
And at the sa ti, he shouldnt lose sight of the slightest clue.
In addition, if the owner of this presence is an enemy, then it will be faster not to wait for him to prepare a trap, but imdiately rushed over to him.
Tatsuya went deep into the mansion, in the direction from which the signs of presence were felt.
Honoka returned ho around the sa ti that Tatsuya entered the hideout that Minoru used.
She lived alone. Her parents were alive and well, but ever since Honoka went to elentary school, they were often away from ho, almost living at work.
Honoka's and Shizuku's mothers were close friends from a young age, and Honoka's mother often left her off at Shizuku's ho. And during her high school years, she almost lived at Shizuku's house when her parents were away for work for long periods of ti.
The Kitayama couple treated Honoka like Shizuku's sister. In particular, the care of Shizuku's father, Kitayama Ushio, manifested itself in such a way that Honoka began to feel shy about this when she grew up. Honoka began to live alone when she entered First High School, no doubt, mostly due to the fact that she decided that she couldnt use the good nature of Shizuku's parents forever.
When Honoka finally decided to live in a separate apartnt, this caused a slight disagreent.
The first thing Kitayama Ushio said was, I'll buy you an apartnt.
When she refused, he offered to arrange for her a luxurious apartnt, which he described as follows: it has a reliable security system, and the managent company is apart of my group of companies. That is, he tried to buy Honoka an apartnt not an apartnt room, but a whole apartnt complex.
She refused this too. Then at least live in a securely guarded apartnt, said Ushio, and ordered his subordinates to find suitable apartnts. They found more than a dozen options.
After discussion with her parents, Honoka chose one of these options, and now she lived in this apartnt. This apartnt had a huge rent and was too spacious for one person to live in. The security system in it, although it wasnt the latest in technology, but it was enough to protect the girl living alone. This apartnt was also conveniently located for visiting the school.
Therefore, she had no fear of anyone getting in, while she wasnt at ho.
Besides, even though she was a sorceress, in terms of perception and way of thinking, she was closer to an ordinary girl. When she ca ho, she didnt even think about being wary of suspicious people.
A shadow crept up to Honoka from her blind spot, silently and unnoticed, and grabbed her from behind
Kya (mm-m-m)...
Her mouth was covered with a rag, and she didn't have ti to scream clearly.
She didnt even have ti to think about holding her breath, and she inhaled the substance applied to the rag, which deprived her of her freedom of thought.
Miyuki, who left school a little earlier than her friends, was already at ho and had changed into her ho clothes.
She had learned about Tatsuya's absence at ho even earlier from the ssage he left her. There was a longing in her heart to hear his voice, at least through audio communications, but the strong feeling I shouldnt bother Onii-sama sohow held her back.
At that mont, Miyuki heard the sound of an incoming call.
Miyuki rushed to the desktop terminal with hope.
However, the monitor on the small terminal installed on the desk in her room didnt display Tatsuya's na.
Pixie, what's wrong?
The caller was Pixie, who currently lived in the Student Council room at First High School.
Miyuki-sama.
Tatsuya ordered Pixie in his absence to obey Miyuki's orders. At the mont, Miyuki was considered a temporary mistress for Pixie, but Pixie didnt call Miyuki
mistress. Pixie... more precisely, the Parasite inside Pixie considered only Tatsuya to be her exclusive master.
She simply followed the orders of Tatsuya, and when the need arose, it was Miyuki who she reported to.
Mitsui-sama was
kidnapped.
The sa was true for this ergency alert.
What!?
Miyuki involuntarily switched to a high tone of voice.
Miyuki didn't lack any experience with getting into various unusual situations, but the abduction of her classmate was completely unexpected for her.
In itself, kidnapping isnt really a rare cri. Their number has significantly decreased after the installation of outdoor caras, but so far there are about 60-80
cases per year. And last year, for example, there was a major human trafficking incident by a major gang, and the total number of victims exceeded 200 people.
But Miyuki couldnt even think that her friend would be the victim of criminals.
They lived in a world in which life was far from calm, but at least in their country public safety was not at a level where living in fear of criminals for people is everyday.
Pixie, do you know what the situation is now?
However, Miyuki quickly regained her composure. Miyuki was born only 17 years and 4 months ago, but her life, to put it mildly, was already filled with all sorts of events. And such a career" wasnt an empty boast.
Mitsui-sama
deprived of
freedom
of will
with the help of
narcotic
substance. Two
abductors
removed
her
from the building. At the mont,
they
are moving
on foot.
The parasite living inside pixie has awakened and got its personality based on the
thoughts of Honoka. Therefore, Pixie and Honoka were spiritually connected. For her part, Honoka couldnt watch Pixie due to a lack of computational abilities, but Pixie was able to track the experiences that Honoka was experiencing in real ti.
Tatsuya ordered Pixie not to spy indiscriminately on Honoka's personal life. Through the path connecting Pixie and Honoka, Pixie saw the state of Honoka, even without having the intention to do so. Therefore, Tatsuya placed a restriction on it.
But now Honoka was in danger, it was an ergency.
Pixie's body was a machine that couldnt produce psions. The Parasite living inside Pixie couldnt sustain its activities without the supply of psions from the outside. And the largest source of psions for Pixie was Honoka.
If the activity of the Parasite stops, then it will reset the personality. For a living being, such a suspension of activity is tantamount to death.
In other words, Honoka's security was a vital issue for Pixie. In order to ensure the safety of Honoka, Tatsuya allowed Pixie to monitor Honoka's activities to a minimum extent.
Andnt. They
just
got in
the car.
With the addition of
the driver,
the number of
abductors
increases
to three.
Okay. If they try to do any harm to Honoka, stop them with telekinesis.
Yes, I will obey. The terms of
lifting the ban on use are
accepted.
Check the map to track the exact location of Honoka. If you think that the kidnappers have arrived at their hideout, then let
know about this place.
Yes, I will obey.
Miyuki ended the conversation with Pixie and phoned Hanabishi Hyougo, Tatsuya's personal butler.
Minoru' s hideout was a one-story house, but this house was quite extensive and had many rooms.
Tatsuya temporarily left the house, walked around, made sure that he didnt have a back entrance, and re-entered the front entrance.
He didnt take off his shoes. The floor was clean, but Tatsuya didnt care that he could have trampled on dirt. For him, this house was a target for search and not a
place of residence.
Tatsuya spent about five minutes inspecting the outside of the mansion, but that didn't bother him either. Not because he followed the proverb slow down - you will continue," but because this detour was useful in the form of knowledge that no one will run away through so secret exit while he is inspecting the house from the inside.
The owner of the previously detected signs of presence was found relatively quickly.
Fujibayashi-dono?
In the back of the house, in a windowless room that looked like a storeroom, Tatsuya was waiting for Fujibayashi Nagamasa, head of the famous Fujibayashi family, magicians of ancient magic and ninjutsu users," father of Senior Lieutenant Fujibayashi Kyouko from the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion. Tatsuya took off his helt, which he was still wearing, put it under his arm, and spoke to the creature that looked like Nagamasa.
Shiba-dono. You ca too?
There wasn't an accusatory tone in Nagamasa's voice.
I detected an anomaly in the barrier.
But even if Tatsuya was accused, he wouldnt have experienced any feelings of guilt.
Fujibayashi-dono, are you here for the sa reason?
Tatsuya asked in a friendly tone, but his eyes burned with a bright fire.
No. I'm here according to plan.
The fire in Tatsuya's eyes flared up even brighter, while his eyes narrowed to a stern, sharp look.
Does this an that from the very beginning you planned to deal with this without ?
Tatsuya's manner of speech had lost respect for his elder. However, Nagamasa showed no concern over this.
Sort out...? Hmm, in a way, this is the correct expression. I ca here to deal with the situation that led to this ss.
Your goal isnt to capture Minoru, but to let him escape?
Tatsuya asked a question that wasn't directly related to Nagamasa's words.
It was our Fujibayashi family who gave the forr Ninth Laboratory the spell, which later beca the basis of Parade.
Nagamasa also spoke on a topic unrelated to Tatsuya's question.
The indisputable fact is that it is based on the Matoi spell, created by Kokonoe Yakumo's predecessor, however it is Shadow Twins of the Fujibayashi family that connects it with modern magic. We also transferred many other techniques to the forr Ninth Laboratory.
So what? I have no desire to listen to these complaints.
Tatsuya listened to everything his opponent said.
This is in no way a complaint. We dont cling to gross profits, like the traditionalists.
You want to say that you have such a lofty goal as the search for truth?
There were faint signs of ridicule in Tatsuya's voice.
The search for truth. Exactly.
But Nagamasa agreed, becoming absolutely serious.
Shiba-dono. Do you know what the art of shinobi is for?
I dont know.
Tatsuya answered dryly and briefly. The thought read in his voice: I didnt co here to answer questions."
In an era when electronic equipnt wasnt yet invented, the art of shinobi represented a technology for intelligence and assassination. Spies and killers were both shinobi using ninjutsu and not using it. And they did nothing else.
Even if they were unhappy about it?
The shinobi who lived at that ti may have been pleased with such a life. Despite the attitude towards them, their skills were considered important and necessary.
The art of ninjutsu" is of great importance in our ti.
Do you really think so? With the spread of electronic equipnt, the number of places where shinobi can actively operate has significantly decreased. And with the developnt of modern magic, capable of activating quickly and reliably, ninjutsu"
was forced out, even from the sphere of intelligence.
Ancient magic is excellent for surprise attacks, so it still plays an active role in assassinations.
We wouldnt be able to live a normal life if we were only killers.
If you arent here to buy more ti, then tell
what you're getting at.
In response to Tatsuya's demand, voiced with undisguised annoyance, Nagamasa didn't make a displeased face, but rely nodded, saying "good."
According to its usefulness, ninjutsu cant defeat modern magic. Useless techniques are considered obsolete, and their fate is to disappear without a trace.
Before that happens, we will incorporate ninjutsu" into modern magic, developing it into a technology that ets modern needs. Our predecessor believed that it was the duty of our family, the Fujibayashi, as followers of the supre shinobi of the Iga clan. The developnt of ninjutsu." That is our goal.
What does all of this have to do with Minoru?
Kudou Minoru is the completed form of the magicians from nine, whose goal was to create new techniques by introducing ancient magic into modern magic. At the sa ti, he's a mber of the Fujibayashi family, possessing secret knowledge in modern magic. We cant allow him to fall into the hands of the Ten Master Clans or the Self-Defense Forces.
But Minoru shouldnt have a direct relationship with the Fujibayashi family.
For a shinobi, blood connection isnt important.
In his own words, Tatsuya didnt try to convince Nagamasa. He was just trying to extract useful information from him. Hearing his answer, Tatsuya decided that further attempts would be hopeless, after which he turned his back on Nagamasa and walked away.
He wasnt wary of an attack from behind. From the very beginning, Tatsuya saw that Nagamasa didnt have a physical body, and therefore couldnt attack him.
The image of Nagamasa, which was left behind by Tatsuya, vanished into thin air.
As Tatsuya expected, there was no attack from behind.
Tatsuya rounded his eyes in surprise, quickly put on his helt and rushed towards the entrance of the house.
That's when he had heard the sound of an explosion and an intense fire blocked his way.
6 o'clock in the evening is the ti when dusk will soon co. Although the sumr solstice was quite recent, and the days were still long, but now the lighting was bad due to the fact that the sky was covered with clouds.
Perhaps it will rain heavily.
If you want, take an umbrella from my house.
Mizuki and Mikihiko talked as they walked side by side along the road leading to Mizuki's house and ran along the riverbank.
?
Or you can wait at my house. Father isnt supposed to be ho yet.
Mizuki said, and giggled involuntarily. This isn't the first ti Mikihiko has accompanied Mizuki ho, and has already managed to "get acquainted" with her parents.
The attitude of Mizuki's father towards Mikihiko at that ti was rather severe.
Mizuki's mother had even reproached him for his childishness later. Mikihiko reacted to this with understanding. Shibata-san is a girl, so this is a father's natural behavior, he thought with a wry smile. However, he couldnt deny that this incident left him with the realization that it would be difficult for him to cope with this again.
N-no, it's too late. I'll just escort you to the entrance of your ho.
Okay.
Mizuki' s face appeared to be regretful, but she imdiately smiled again.
Mikihiko froze for a mont at Mizuki's smile. However, he quickly ca to his senses and smiled back shyly in response.
Creating a delicate atmosphere around themselves, causing embarrassnt to passersby, Mizuki and Mikihiko walked along the waterfront.
And this good mood was spoiled not by Mizuki's mother or her father, who returned ho earlier than he should have, but by three n, radiating an ominous aura.
The people around them just idly strolled and chatted with each other, and these three purposefully approached them. Simultaneously Mizuki's and Mikihiko's faces changed while they stopped.
Despite their ominous feeling, these n looked quite ordinary. Their age was from 30 to 45 years, in appearance. They didnt emanate a sense of rudeness. On the contrary. It was the feeling of so subtle, refined deception.
Mikihiko noticed the abnormality of these people by the disguise they were wearing,
and Mizuki, without even taking off her glasses, saw an aura of the color that usually ans trouble. All three n's faces showed admiration for the reaction of Mikihiko, who imdiately went into a fighting stance, and Mizuki, who hid behind him.
One of the n suddenly flew forward. Not jumped," but flew."
To avoid this, Mikihiko hastily jumped to the edge of the road, lightly hitting Mizuki with his back. Mizuki staggered, and Mikihiko held her with one hand. When he raised his head, he saw that the man had blocked the road to the station.
It was such a quick action that he didnt even notice how the activation sequence was deployed. From this, Mikihiko already realized that these three were strong and dangerous magicians. Mizuki also intuitively sensed their danger.
Two in front, one in back. Squeezed in pincers, Mikihiko turned to them sideways, his back to the river. He covered Mizuki with his back.
What do you want?
Two on the right, one on the left. Behind the river, in front of the wasteland.
Mikihiko turned to the two n on the right, who blocked the path to the side of Mizuki's house. He didnt expect to get an answer or start a conversation. They weren't sowhere in the mountains, distant from civilization, but right inside a residential area, albeit at the very edge of it. He spoke in order to buy ti, in the hope that passersby would call the police.
However, the n didnt answer.
Mikihiko swung his left hand down sharply.
With that sa hand he caught the tal fan that had flown out of his sleeve.
Slightly opening this unique CAD with one hand, Mikihiko pressed the index finger of his right hand on one of the tal strips that made up the fan.
The wind began to swirl around Mikihiko and Mizuki. This vortex of wind isolated them from the wind that was blowing on the left side of Mikihiko, which had so
kind of aerosol impurity.
In fact, this aerosol impurity was a drug that paralyzes the victim's free will.
The magic that had isolated them from the attack of the suspicious n, Mikihiko released instinctively.
The n's faces changed. The carefree faces expressing the thought that they arent rivals to us quickly changed into the facial expressions of people ready for battle.
Who are you!?
Mikihiko didnt know everything about this attack, down to the ingredients of the narcotic substance. But the fact remained that they had been attacked. It was obvious malice, so Mikihiko called out to the opponents in a stern voice.
His shout was made reflexively. He didnt expect to get an answer.
But contrary to expectations...
Horsehead.
The question of Mikihiko was answered by the man on the left, who had previously released the magic that created the poisoned wind.
Horsehead?
Mikihiko had no idea what that na ant. This question seized hold of his mind, and his concentration on the enemies weakened.
In other words, it created a gap in his defenses.
The enemy on the right threw a thick needle. More precisely, it was a thin sharpened wooden stake.
Mikihiko knocked down the stake, which was given speed and penetrating power by movent magic, with his right hand.
He wasnt injured. Through a gap in the torn fabric of his school uniform sleeve, one could notice that his right hand was shimring with a dull glossy sheen.
Protective magic covering his skin with the Elent of tal" from the system of the Five Elents. If you look only at the effect, then this form of ancient magic was similar to the strengthening magic in which Leo was good at using, however, they differed in the principle of action.
Good thing I learned this...!
Mikihiko learned this gold armor technique" from his father last month. At the end of May, when Mikihiko went into battle with a detachnt of the Self-Defense Forces, which was led by Toyama (Tooyama) Tsukasa, he felt the need for more close combat techniques. He turned to his father for advice and as a result received this magic. You could tell that his sense of danger worked here, despite the fact that this situation was different from the intended one.
The enemy attacks didnt end there. On the contrary, the thrown stake seed to be only a distraction.
The man, who was standing next to the one who threw the stake, rushed forward, approaching 10 ters in 2 steps, and swung his right hand diagonally from the bottom left to top right.
It looked as if in his right hand, there was only the hilt of a dagger.
But Mikihiko wasnt fooled by this.
He staggered back, holding his right hand out in front of him. A thin, barely noticeable cut appeared on his sleeve.
Glass Dagger!?"
The hand that was peeking through the slits in the sleeve stopped glistening and returned to its original skin color.
The golden armor technique could cover only one part of the body at a ti. Another disadvantage was the short duration it could be used. And for repeated application, a certain amount of ti was required.
Of course, Mikihiko hadn't forgotten. The next magic, prepared in advance in anticipation of the completion of the armor technique, he activated imdiately after receiving a blow with the glass blade.
Sorry!
That's all he could say now. Without waiting for Mizuki's answer, he suddenly pulled her close to him, clasping her waist.
Mizuki froze. She didnt say anything. No, she didnt have ti to scream.
Mikihiko's magic activated.
The air mass, located between Mikihiko and the man brandishing the glass blade - a mber of the Horsehead squad nad Henry Fu - suddenly exploded.
A gust of wind struck not only Henry, but also Mikihiko.
As if riding this wind, Mikihiko jumped while still holding Mizuki.
He leaped over the restrictive fence, and jumped from the embanknt into the river.
Although it was called a river, in reality it was more of an artificial channel. It was narrow and not deep, and its course was weak.
With the help of magic activated while jumping, he briefly managed to stand on the surface of the water, but the next mont he plunged knee-deep into the water.
Shibata-san, I'm sorry. Be patient a little longer.
Again apologized Mikihiko. As he spoke, his fingers moved, preparing a new magic.
Don't worry about it.... Yoshida-kun!
Mizuki uttered a warning in the form of a shout.
But even without it, Mikihiko had already noticed that the Horsehead was chasing them.
The grass on the bank swallowed up the lightning that had attacked them.
Lightning was created by the magic of the release system released by Iggy Ho - a mber of the Horsehead squad. And Mikihiko defended himself against it with help from the modern magic, Lightning Rod." Mikihiko's CAD outwardly looks like it's intended for ancient magic, but it also contains activation sequences of modern magic.
Leaving Iggy on the bank, the other two jumped into the river. Upstream was Gabe Shu, who had previously released a cloud with a narcotic substance. Down by the river stood Henry Fu, the one brandishing the glass-bladed dagger.
Such a change in the situation wasnt much of an improvent.
The raging flas attacked Tatsuya, penetrating deep into the mansion, which Minoru used as a hideout. The fire spell was activated outside the mansion by Fujibayashi Nagamasa.
Tatsuya initially could only use the magic of Decomposition" and Restoration."
The magic activated by the artificial magic calculation area had a very low power of interference with the phenonon, so it couldnt cover the entire house to put out the fire. By using Mist Dispersion," which decomposes substances to the level of chemical elents, he couldnt eliminate combustible substances," because they will be decomposed into combustible elents," which in turn can be more combustible, even to the point of explosive combustion.
Relying on the heat resistance function of the Freed Suit, Tatsuya ran straight through the fire.
When Tatsuya ran out of the mansion engulfed in fire, a hail of shuriken ca flying at him. There were twenty of them.
Shurikens flew from four different directions, and with different ti intervals.
Tatsuya dodged them, flying into the air.
Hovering in the air, he found the silhouettes of the enemy.
In all four directions there were opponents with the appearance of Fujibayashi Nagamasa.
Tatsuya furrowed his brow.
But besides this, there were no further delays on his part.
Tatsuya's magic pierced four human silhouettes.
And it wasn't Decomposition."
A armor-piercing psionic projectile." Non-systemic magic, firing a compressed psionic mass. This magic, developed under the leadership of Yakumo, existed both in the form (variety) of the projectile's flight in normal space (physical dinsion) and in the form of its movent along the information dinsion. Now Tatsuya was using a variation with flight in normal space.
The distance between them was about 20 ters. In less than half a second, four psion bullets penetrated four human silhouettes.
Four of the Nagamasa's simultaneously disappeared.
All four of them were illusions... Is this Twins?
Tatsuya muttered to himself as he dodged the hail of stones that ca flying at him from behind.
Tatsuya noticed Nagamasa's use of "Twins" while talking to him in the mansion. So
he wasn't surprised.
Although it looks similar to Parade, but it's sothing completely different...
Such a bitter thought crossed Tatsuya's mind as he descended to the ground.
Nagamasa's Twins" (or as he called it himself - Shadow Twins") was different from both Minoru's and Lina's spells. Perhaps it doesnt have enough power to fool
Elental Sight."
However, this magic made it possible to simultaneously create several doubles capable of functioning as batteries for invoking magic. But the most problematic part was that the connection with the real body was cut off.
This isn't a transford object. Maybe... are these Shikigami from spirit magic?
He didnt know how it worked, but he assud that an image was being created from the independent information body of the shadow, and the operator was controlling the magic from afar, hiding behind the projections.
If you apply reverse tracking to the information close to the exit point of the magic sequence, then you can find out the location of the real body, but...
... It won't be that easy," thought Tatsuya, destroying the next double that appeared behind him.
To test this, he directed his sight" at the source, which had fired stones with the help of speed magic. But there was no one there. When you chase the information, if it just moved, then the real body can be tracked. But in this case, it seems that the information continuity was cut off using so kind of invisibility technique. Tatsuya rembered that Yakumo demonstrated a similar technique.
It wont be possible to track the target through the information dinsion, if you dont catch the necessary information directly during the activation of magic. Also, Nagamasa only used magic at the sa ti as the shuriken or stones were fired, disabling his remote control of the magic imdiately after they were fired.
Consequently, this battle turned into a guessing ga of when and where the next magic will be launched. And Tatsuya at the mont had the role of currently lagging behind.
While he spends ti and effort here, Minoru continues to escape.
Tatsuya was forced to fight not only with Nagamasa, but also with haste in his thoughts.
Stakes and lightning bolts flew from the bank. From above the wind blew with drops of narcotic substance. While a blade was coming from behind.
Mikihiko repelled the attacks of all three mbers of the Horsehead squad, by controlling the water from the river.
The stakes were simply fought off with water balls.
Against lightning, he created a veil of thick fog.
Against the narcotic wind, he defended himself by using a wall of reverse waterfall"
- when water rushes from the bottom upwards.
Against the enemy attacking with a glass dagger, he defended himself with a water whip, divided into 8 parts.
However, to repel long-range attacks and to prevent the enemy from reaching close-combat range, Mikihiko spent all his strength, so he wasnt able to counterattack.
Behind him, Mizuki could hardly restrain the trembling. Although it was now the middle of sumr, it was already evening, and the river, although shallow, had a current. If you stand knee-deep in water for a long ti, you can freeze. Mikihiko understood this, so his impatience increased too much.
... No, that won't do. Stop being nervous, Mikihiko. Impatience is absolutely forbidden.
But it's better to risk everything to escape, isn't it? Fighting off the temptation to do so, Mikihiko ntally scolded himself.
At this point, Mizuki received no damage, except for a slight loss of temperature from the river water. Although this was precisely because of Mikihiko's protection.
He himself was well aware of this.
... ...If he hurried now, all his efforts would be in vain Mikihiko turned to himself.
...It's not just a coincidence that we were attacked here.
...This is the way Shibata-san goes to school.
...Their target isn't , but Shibata-san.
With such thoughts, despite his nervous exhaustion, he could continue the battle by completely going on the defensive.
Mikihiko's patience was rewarded with the arrival of reinforcents.
From the bank of the river there was a loud noise from an impact. The sound was like a thin tal stick striking strong wood.
Ah! You, the Chiba swordswoman! Why are you here!?
Imdiately afterwards, Iggy Ho's confused cry was heard.
You want
to answer that?
The voice that responded belonged, of course, to Erika.
Mikihiko! Mizuki! Are you okay!?
Then they were hailed by another voice, coming from the direction of the station, a
little behind Erika.
Leo!?
Even before Mikihiko had ti to reply, a large human figure jumped from the embanknt.
Leo landed in the river with a large splash.
I take care of that!
He pointed to the assassin from the Horsehead squad nad Henry Fu, who was stunned by this spectacular appearance of reinforcents.
Watch out! He has a dagger made of glass!
Aha!
Leo bellowed enthusiastically, and lashed out at Henry, who had already recovered from his shock and was standing up.
He didnt scream Panzer! like usual. Because right now Leo was using the CAD
with ntal control, that he received from Ernst Rosen last sumr. Intense psionic light enveloped Leo without the usual cry, and he attacked the dagger.
Now, with the exception of Mizuki, the battle turned into a three against three format.
Mikihiko turned to the remaining enemy, Gabe Shu.
During the course of the battle with the Nagamasa doubles, Tatsuya was lured from the courtyard of the hideout into the Sea of Trees.
Despite the na Sea of Trees," this forest wasnt so dense that it was impossible to move between the trees. Even an ordinary person (non-magician) didnt have to
worry that he would get stuck here if he turned off the road.
But it was an indisputable fact that the trees made movent difficult. People who arent accustod to acting in the forest wont be able to fight here at a decent level.
And three-dinsional spatial maneuvering with the help of a flying suit was generally excluded.
Perhaps this might have been unexpected for Fujibayashi Nagamasa, but Tatsuya didnt have any difficulty moving among these obstacles. He's accustod to acting on the basis of information received from Elental Sight," replacing the visual information received from ordinary eyes. He had also reached a level where he didnt experience inconvenience even when working with non-visual information received from electronic devices, instead of information received from magic.
In addition, the possible firing angles were limited to trees, so the location of Nagamasa's magic batteries were easy to read.
Visible light, infrared rays, and radio waves are blocked by trees, so searching with the naked eye or detecting with the suit's sensors was even more difficult than under normal conditions.
Using Elental Sight" to determine the coordinates is much easier. At the ti of magic activation, the magician and the source of activation are connected informationally. If it is the sa as before
firing off shurikens or stones, and if we can accurately predict the mont of its appearance, then we can say in advance that the reverse tracking will be successful.
The Double appeared in the shade of the tree.
But Tatsuya turned his sight" backward, behind him.
There was no attack from the front.
Shuriken flew back to the right.
Before he could even take a step to evade, the connection with the spellcaster had already been interrupted. Signs of magic activation began to emanate from the double
in front.
No, this doesn't fit."
Firing a psion bullet, he destroyed the double.
The fact is that the double, who stood in front, tried to activate camouflage magic with a delayed activation.
Signs of magic activation appeared from behind.
Attack by non-lethal sound waves."
Looking back, he counterattacked with an Armor-Piercing Psion Bullet.
Sustained?"
The double didnt disappear.
Sound waves with a frequency close to the upper limit of a person's hearing hit Tatsuya.
However, Tatsuya's helt automatically blocked sound waves that cause discomfort and interfere with ntal concentration.
If you look only at the direct impact, it was a aningless attack.
Tatsuya squeezed psions 3 tis stronger than during the last attack.
Counter-Magic Spell / Gram Demolition.
A powerful stream of psions blew the double away.
Imdiately after, a chain wrapped around Tatsuya's legs.
That senseless attack turned out to be a distraction.
Sparks and lightning emanated from the chain.
However, the next mont the chain disappeared.
The damage to the suit and the wounds under the suit also disappeared.
Sothing shook in the shadows of the trees.
Tatsuya turned his hidden beneath his helt toward this shaking.
To the left of Tatsuya a new double appeared.
This double tried to shoot stones shrouded in fire.
Tatsuya's sight grabbed onto this image."
Tatsuya read the double's information while he was connected to the real body.
From information about the current mont to information about what was a mont ago.
And even further. Only a mont in the past.
Rewind.
Rewind.
Revealing the past
Reviews
All reviews (0)