Volume 10, Chapter 8

This chapter is updated by Novels.pl

The sun rose after the night of the frenzied maelstrom of high energy psions and diamond meteor blows.

Even though it was Sunday, Tatsuya still came to school. To his side, Miyuki flanked him as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

Regardless of whether in the past or the present, the fact that school was open on Sundays remained unchanged. School was still accessible on Sundays primarily for students participating in club activities, but also for students who had received permission to use the library, labs, or even the practical skills facilities.

That being said, their target was not the club rooms, gymnasium, library, or lab.

Tatsuya and Miyuki’s target destination was the Student Council Office. “Looks like no one’s here yet.”

As Miyuki said, there was no one in the Student Council Room. Hearing his sister’s murmurs, Tatsuya chuckled quietly for some strange reason.

“Only in stories does the mediator take the stage last. Reality isn’t like that.”

The retort that sprouted from Tatsuya’s mocking tone was certainly third rate. Miyuki’s smiling assent “You must be right” was simply to humor him out of politeness.

Still…… Tatsuya himself was aware of the absurdity of his joke. The reason for his laughter was because he was usually the one being summoned, whereas today he was the one who sent the summons. This little detail was the only oddity, so it didn’t matter if he was citing the plot of a novel.

On the other hand, he didn’t have a whole lot to prepare despite his invitations. Then again, it wasn’t like he had to wait too long.

“Good morning, Tatsuya-kun, Miyuki.”

One of the people they were waiting for showed up right on time. “Ara, Erika. You’re not with Yoshida-kun?”

“That was just a coincidence! ……Is it just me, or do I sense a little bit of malice here?”

“It’s just you.”

On the other side from where the female students were having their heart- to-heart (?) conversation,

“Were you waiting for a long time?”

“Hardly, we just arrived. My apologies for calling you guys out here on a Sunday.”

The guys were engaged in the customary small talk.

“For some reason, I get the feeling that Miki and I are treated differently…… Ah, whatever. So what’s up with today? It’s a rare sight for

Tatsuya to summon us on a day off.”

It was indeed a rarity. It was hardly atypical for high school students to act their age and go on an outing during their days off, but under those conditions, Tatsuya was usually the one being invited.

Speaking of oddities, Erika’s eyes were drifting all over the place from the get go, probably because she found the numerous data gathering devices on the walls of the Student Council Office to be rather jarring. Seeing her like this, Tatsuya recalled that this may be the first time she ever came into this room.

“Let’s wait a little while longer. We can start after everyone has arrived.” “Who else is coming?”

“Ah, we’re almost all here.”

In response to Mikihiko’s query, Tatsuya replied in the affirmative. As if on cue to Tatsuya’s words, someone knocked on the door from the outside. Within the student body, she was probably the one who was most familiar with this room, to the point that she was almost the mistress of the Student Council Office, so no one would find it amiss if she entered without knocking. Even so, she turned out to be a surprisingly (?) well-mannered individual. Someone might question her “common sense” in knocking rather than using the intercom, but Tatsuya also opened the door personally rather than using the remote, so they were both in the same boat.

“I apologize for calling you out here on such short notice.”

Just as Mikihiko was about to voice aloud his question of “why are you greeting them personally”, his question was immediately dispelled upon the door swinging open. That was because Mayumi and Katsuto appeared in the doorway.

“Yoshida-kun and Chiba-kun? Were the two of you called here by Shiba- kun as well?”

In place of Mayumi, who stood frozen in shock and not inconsiderable wavering, Katsuto presented a simple question.

“Ah, yes.”

In place of Erika, who was suddenly at a loss for words, Mikihiko was the one who gave a concise answer.

“Then, let’s begin.”

Tatsuya reinforced his words and urged everyone to their seats.

“Can you start with an explanation first? Why did you call Saegusa-senpai and us here at the same time?”

“I concur. I would also like to hear your reasoning first.”

Interpersonal feelings had a karma-like quality. Good intentions, malice, and enmity were all replied back in kind. Calculating the proper category and preparing the appropriate response would be the adult approach, but being unable to discern the other side’s intentions made this rather difficult to prepare for.

Mayumi’s attitude was an exemplary model of an emotional reflex. Personally, she bore no displeasure towards Erika, though to be precise, she didn’t really bother herself with Erika’s actions. That being said, she already responded to the blatant enmity that Erika was flaunting. Seeing her like this, Tatsuya couldn’t help but mentally add, “You’re two years older than her, can you please adopt a more logical stance?”

“In regards to the vampire we have been hunting, I have one detail I need to report to everyone present.”

However, Tatsuya didn’t really care if they were set on opposing one another. He didn’t attempt any meaningless arbitration and quickly dived into his conversation.

“Then let’s hear it.”

First one to react was Katsuto. Rather, it would be more appropriate to say that no one save Katsuto had a reaction.

“Last night, I interjected a synthetic molecular transmitter that sends out a set electronic signal every three hours into the vampire’s body.”

The transmitter was placed inside the tranquilizer pellet as a fallback plan in case the tranquilizer failed to take effect. However, the actual situation had far exceeded initial estimates, forcing him to rely on this insurance policy. That being said, just Tatsuya alone would be hard pressed to maximize the utility of this insurance.

“At most, the transmitter will last three days. While the signal strength is very weak, we should be able to capture the signal if we utilize the antennae placed on the street cameras that are used to detect illegal electronic signals.”

This time, everyone had a reaction. Actually, it was more like there was no way they could sit still.

“Just a minute, Tatsuya-kun. Last night? Where?” Mayumi’s eyes bulged outwards.

“How did you find it?”

Unlike her usual frustrated tone, Erika’s question was more of a reprimand.

“You say synthetic molecular transmitter, just where did you get your hands on something like that……”

Mikihiko murmured in a daze as everyone brought their own question to bear on Tatsuya.

While Tatsuya personally believed that these were all legitimate questions worthy of asking, he wasn’t ready to divulge the entire process and background. In order to do so, he would not be able to avoid touching the tip of the iceberg for the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion’s equipment as well as Lina’s secret identity.

“This is the signal frequency.”

As he said this, Tatsuya placed a card in front of each of the four.

“Senpais’ group and Erika’s group should all be able to access the observation antennae, correct?”

“……So we’re to find its location, right?”

Tatsuya wordlessly nodded at Mayumi’s question. “……Why are you giving this to us?”

Tatsuya wasn’t dull enough to miss that the “us” Erika spoke of referred to the team formed by the Saegusa and Juumonji Families as well as the group formed by the Chiba Family. Even so, he had no intention of pointing out the obvious. Still, it was Tatsuya’s goal to pass along the data he had collected so far to the four in front of him, so he continued his explanation in spite of Erika’s query.

“In regards to the identity of the vampires we are hunting, they appear to be Magicians who deserted from the USNA Army.”

The four of them betrayed looks of “how can this be” as well as “that makes sense”.

The unknown force that was hampering their investigation. That sort of atypical individual and organizational strength told Mayumi and Erika that this was no ordinary criminal organization. It would make a whole lot of sense if the vampire’s real identity was that of Magicians who deserted from the USNA military.

“In addition, there’s more than one of them. There are at least two deserters and maybe as many as ten or more.”

“Ten people deserted from Stars?”

“No, Erika. They may still belong to the USNA Army even if they are not affiliated with Stars.”

“Eh, is that true?”

“Saegusa…… Stars is a unit comprised of only the Magicians with the highest combat rating in the entire USNA Army. That implies that there are also Magicians in the USNA Army that do not belong to Stars.”

Tatsuya corrected Erika’s misinterpretation while Katsuto did the same for Mayumi. The two beautiful women were surprisingly birds of a feather (?), but would definitely throw a tantrum if this was said aloud. Tatsuya concluded that he should keep this to himself.

“—Even if they are not members of Stars, they are still trained opponents augmented by the vampire’s powers. They will not be easy opponents.”

“That’s right. Even excluding the creature’s power, they are not opponents we can take lightly.”

Katsuto said heavily.

“However, even if they are not Magicians from Stars, this does not change the fact that they are from the USNA Army…… I thought that any country with Magicians attached to the military would keep them on a short leash, or does the USNA Army have more relaxed discipline?”

Mikihiko’s comment was slightly off topic from the discussion at hand. Nevertheless, Tatsuya probably also had a few words on this point. He was not “agreeing” with the topic, but actively answering this question.

“No, maybe you’ve got it backwards.” “Backwards?”

“The Parasite’s influence is greater than even the military’s control. Isn’t it more like the Parasite has completely altered a human being? If that metamorphosis exceeds flesh and bone and encroaches on the mental level, then it would hardly be surprising if there’s a change in values after infestation.”

“That’s…… true. Then, why did the Parasite flee?”

“Probably because it felt that there was no further reason to remain or that its goals could not be fulfilled within the military. We have no way of knowing until we capture the Parasite and interrogate it.”

“Goal, eh…… Beyond just parasites, the goal of most creatures would be to satisfy their hunger or bolster their numbers, but there’s no point in dwelling on that now. Anything we come up with would only be pure conjecture. Compared to that, if it’s not because of their relaxed discipline, then the situation is far graver.”

“Indeed. In other words, how can they expect to instill discipline in the military if there are deserters?”

“……In the end, what are we going to do?”

Just as Tatsuya and Mikihiko were getting embroiled in their conversation, Erika sulkily interposed. Once they looked around, they found Mayumi also wearing a fed up expression.

“I never planned on saying that.”

Tatsuya failed to betray any sign of awkwardness at being accused of going off tangent, nor did he cough to break the ice. He immediately used a perfectly natural tone to make his announcement.

At this response, Erika wasn’t the only one who wore an “Eh?” expression.

“At any rate, I don’t plan on turning a blind eye at my friend’s suffering, but at the same time, I don’t intend to personally avenge him either. If Public Safety and the police force can handle this then there’s nothing else I need to do, nor would I have any complaints as to any punishment on behalf of the Clan Meeting. Of course, I have no problems either if the

Chiba Family decides to solo this endeavor.”

Already on his feet, Tatsuya dropped this as he left the table.

Seizing the initiative before Mayumi could say anything, Katsuto said a few congratulatory words to Tatsuya.

“It’s not easy for everyone to gather together. Let’s talk a little more before taking our leave.”

“Is that so? Then, could I trouble you to lock the doors and windows?” “Leave that to me.”

Tatsuya bowed to Katsuto and gave a meaningful glance at Miyuki before leaving.

As for Mikihiko’s desperate plea for help communicated through his eyes, Tatsuya chalked that up to a misinterpretation and ignored it.

◊ ◊ ◊

Meanwhile, at the same time as Tatsuya left the campus. “Lina, it’s about time you got out of bed!”

Chastised by her roommate, Lina finally crawled out of bed.

Ten minutes ago, she had reluctantly got out of bed after her roommate ruthlessly confiscated her blanket. Now, Lina was sitting before the table still clad in her pajamas.

“Seriously…… Even for a Sunday, you’re taking it too easy.”

Utterly befuddled, Silvia set a mug of warm millk laced with honey in front of Lina. Lina slowly used her powerless hand to move that cup to her mouth. Letting out a breath after looking at the honey milk, Lina was finally awake.

“Thanks for the food…… Silvie, did we get anything from HQ?”

Her tone had completely transformed to that of the Stars High Commander. –Except her light sleepwear and haphazard hair belied any sort of authority on her part. Still, even her lazy appearance could not detract from her beauty, such was the absolute authority of “true beauty”. Silvia could only chuckle wryly, finally choosing to bite her tongue because she too acknowledged “that’s just how it is”.

“Currently, we have received no new information. However, I don’t believe that we’re going to get off without a reprimand……”

“You think so too, Silvie……”

Hearing Silvia’s answer, Lina gloomily lowered her head and covered it with both hands. When matched with her age, that posture of hers simply screamed unreliable. Even knowing that this would rub salt into the wound, Silvia couldn’t help but strike up a conversation.

“Lina, exactly what happened last night? Even if they were Satelite class, there are still members with Stars designation, but four of them were neutralized in one instance…… Among them, two sustained internal lacerations, concussions, and bone fractures. They have all been injured to the point that returning to active duty on this mission seems impossible.”

“Wah……”

“On top of that, we lost communication with you for over three hours, practically full blown MIA……”

“Wah……”

Silvia probably didn’t intend to do this, but the contents of her interrogation were pressing Lina for her behavior.

“Don’t tell me…… You lost?”

That was the finishing blow. Lina, who was just covering her head with both hands and making small noises, suddenly keeled over on the table. This situation completely flabbergasted Silvia, who had inadvertently landed a critical hit.

“I can’t go on. I don’t have the confidence to continue the mission. I will return the title Sirius.”

“Huh, ah, Lina…… High Commander!?”

Before the teary-eyed and thoroughly depressed Lina, even Silvia was starting to panic.

“N-Nothing of the sort. High Commander, you have always carried out the duties of Sirius with distinction.”

Silvia had intended to just ask Lina a routine series of questions and only just realized that she had pushed Lina into a depressive cycle. Frantically, she tried to console Lina.

“How could the High Commander lose to a high school student, right?”

Currently, Silvia really wanted to sigh aloud. It appeared that Lina was completely immersed in a black morass of negativity. Despite the words “losing to a high school student”, under normal circumstances, Lina was still of the age that she should be attending high school herself. Setting that aside, her current tear stricken appearance was perfectly befitting of a young girl her age that could be seen anywhere, Silvia thought with a particular sort of understanding.

“Well, that’s right, you were just unlucky this time.”

Even so, there was no way Lina could continue her task if this situation continued. “Sirius” was the mightiest fighting force in their arsenal. In an effort to get her to rally, Silvia kept trying to console Lina.

“Of the Shiba siblings you spoke of last time, which one defeated the High Commander?”

“……Both. Just as I caught Tatsuya, Miyuki interfered.”

“Oh! As expected, those two aren’t normal high school students.”

“…...There’s no way in hell that those two are “normal high school students!”

“When faced with atypical Magicians, it is true that would be too heavy of a burden for Satellite Classes.”

Silvia swapped “high school students” for “abnormal high school students” and substituted “abnormal high school students” with “atypical Magicians” in an effort to remove the catalyst for Lina’s shock and boost her recovery.

“It wasn’t just the two of them!”

Suddenly, Lina raised her head in a vibrant manner. It appeared that Silvia’s plan of action yielded some unexpected results.

“Besides Tatsuya and Miyuki, three ninjas also came out of nowhere!” “Ninjas……?”

Silvia was aware that ninjas – or “Ninjutsu Practitioners”, were another term for a type of Ancient Magic user. The source of her (mental) shock was not because she viewed the word “ninja” as a suspicious fabrication, but more because of Lina’s sudden fervor.

“While I know that Tatsuya has connection with ninjas, but I never thought that such skilled ninjas would intervene at that time!”

“Y, yes. That’s true……”

“The data files from intelligence only mentioned that “a ninja serves as Shiba Tatsuya’s trainer”! How was I to know that ninja was Master caliber!”

“……Where did that intelligence come from?”

“I heard the man mention it himself. If I knew there was the possibility of such a tricky opponent interfering, I would have devised another location for this engagement. This is plainly a mistake on part of the intelligence unit. I originally wasn’t someone with an intelligence background, so it would be very difficult for me if I don’t receive accurate intelligence. Right, Silvie!?”

Just as Sivlia planned, Lina had successfully escaped from that vicious cycle of negativity. As a price, Silvia was forced to listen to Lina’s tantrum and complaints.

“Silvie, sorry about earlier……”

Thanks to a thorough rant of her displeasure, Lina had completely reverted to her usual self. By the time she mastered herself, the first thing that crept up on her was a personal loathing for her display.

“No worries. It’s unhealthy if you don’t vent once in a while.”

Seeing Lina slightly dip her head, Silvia smiled and shook her head before refilling the mug of honey milk. Those words only flattened Lina’s self- esteem even more, but Silvia meant nothing by that. At her young age, she had already learned that sitting through a superior’s complaints was one of the duties of a subordinate.

“Though we have no new orders from HQ, there’s still a few reports I need you to go through. Ah, no, you’re fine just like that.”

Lina probably wanted to “freshen up a little”. Silvia waved her hand at her superior, still dressed in her night clothes, as if requesting her to remain seated.

“First, the four who were injured last night…… Titan and Enceladus avoided major injury, so we’ll observe them for one day and if there are no lingering issues, they should be able to return to active duty. Mimas and Iapetus are as I said earlier and I doubt that they will be able to return to the mission.”

“……If the two who have suffered serious injury can recover to a mobile state, arrange for them to return home.”

“Then there’s just me. Next from Commander Canopus, it doesn’t seem likely that we will be able to mobilize more people from Stars to Japan.”

“……I see.”

“The Joint Chiefs appear to want Stardust as support, at least that’s the rumor.”

“Do they plan on adding pursuit units?”

When compared to the practical magic systems developed by the Four Systems and Eight Major Types, the research in regards to utilizing special abilities in the Sensory System as magic was slightly behind. Even within a specialized group like Stardust, Magicians who specialized in search and pursuit were hard to come by. Even in the entire USNA military, it was hard to say that they had enough personnel. Now, with this already limited resource invested in Japan, the Joint Chiefs simply didn’t have any more troops at their disposal to supply additional pursuers.

“No, they’re sending special ops.”

As expected, Silvia’s response denied Lina’s question.

“While I agree that Stardust’s firepower would probably be insufficient to handle the situation at hand…… But there’s nothing we can do.”

The difference in capabilities between the Satellite Class and Stardust was not significant. The disparity was that Stardust troops were unable to sustain the augments and could break down at any moment. After augmentation, they displayed prowess on par with Stars members. Still, the Satellite Class units mobilized for this mission to Japan were also picked more for martial abilities, and when compared to them, Stardust’s firepower was noticeably inferior. This was the reason why Lina heaved a sigh.

“This is a report from the other side, but the mobile units don’t have anything worth reporting.”

Silvia also concurred with Lina’s assessment, but since there was nothing they could do about the situation no matter how long they thought about it, she progressed to the next report.

“Since we are placed in a situation where we must take care of the deserters first, we’ll just have to leave the other side to other teams. Still, why haven’t we fished up anything?”

The other side referred to the investigation behind the “titanic explosion” caused by Strategic-Class Magic, tasked with identifying the user of what the USNA diplomats and military personnel named the “Great Boom”. The mobile units were the intelligence units that had infiltrated Japan ahead of time in universities and high schools under the guise of transfer students or within the major power in the magical devices industry, Maximillian Devices.

“Speaking of which, we haven’t had a chance to speak with Mia in a while.”

The name that passed across Lina’s recollection and lips was the other individual from the mobile unit who lived next door by the name of Michaela Honda. Although she was also of Japanese descent like Lina, her appearance differed in that she looked completely Japanese. Currently, she infiltrated Maximilian Devices as a salesperson under the alias Aya Honda.

“Over the last couple of days, she looked like she’s been out late in the evening. Today is probably work related as well.”

“We’re the same as well when it comes to being about at late hours……

Plainly, she’s quite diligent even on a Sunday.”

Lina and Silvia exchanged smiles. While her job as a salesperson for Maximillian Devices was only a disguise, she appeared to be quite popular among the college crowd as the two of them recalled the last time Mia was grousing about her situation.

“She appears to be headed for First High tomorrow. Something about tagging along when they return the CAD maintenance equipment.”

“Eh?”

However, Lina’s smile stiffened when she heard of Mia’s itinerary for tomorrow from Silvia. As Stars’ High Commander, Lina disliked anyone seeing her current disguise as a normal high school student, much like how an elementary child mentally resists any parental visit to school.

“Since she’s scheduled to visit during lunch, would you be able to catch her during lunch break?”

Without any real life experiences at school, Lina wasn’t sure why she was so nervous about this, but Silvia knew much better than Lina herself why this was case when she made this proposal. Seeing Lina avert her eyes in confusion, Silvia smirked in secret.

◊ ◊ ◊

“Tear!”

Amid the ruckus, a call from behind her prompted Shizuku to turn her head. On the American West Coast, it was Saturday evening on January 28th. At the moment, Shizuku was at a house party being thrown in her dorms.

“Ray.”

After verifying the male (more like “boy”) waving his arms in an exaggerated manner, Shizuku slightly raised her hand.

His name was Raymond S. Clark.

After Shizuku transferred from abroad, he was the first among the male students to strike up a conversation with Shizuku. Since then, he was the white (Anglo-Saxon was a rare sight on the West Coast) classmate who always stuck with Shizuku for some unexplained reason.

Shizuku thought he was properly gesturing with his hand to come over. Since he surprisingly knew how to keep his distance and wasn’t particularly irritating, Shizuku’s perception of him wasn’t overly negative.

On another note, the nickname “Tear” also started with Raymond. When asked what “Shizuku” meant during her self-introduction, Shizuku had explained that her name referred to the “drop” in either a “teardrop” or “dewdrop”, to which the nickname “Tear” was supplied for her. Shizuku wasn’t particularly fond of this nickname, but when she asked her female classmates “Does she look like a crybaby?”, and their answer turned out to be “Because you really fit a pearl’s description”, she wasn’t really in a position to decline any further. –Because she was embarrassed. As a result, since she didn’t dislike the name “Tear”, she resolved to leave it be. Somewhere along the way, Shizuku’s nickname settled on “Tear”.

Her internal monologue ended there.

“That dress looks amazing, Tear. You’re even more dazzling than usual.” “Really?”

Faced with Ray’s unfazed smile and compliment, Shizuku kept her usual stoic expression. Actually, it was more like she was tilting her head to one side out of amazement.

A mushroom head of black hair that was allowed to grow long waved lightly back and forth.

Ignoring Ray’s eyes that were growing warmer by the second, Shizuku glanced at her own clothes.

The dress was long enough to brush along the floor. Her back, shoulders, and both arms were revealed.

She also wore a long pair of gloves that seemed a little out of date.

While Shizuku had heard of shops in the USNA that carried the latest fashion, she was surprised to find them more antiquated than she imagined. There were also dresses found all over the place today that mandated a corset, but fortunately Shizuku’s dress was not like that.

“Your suit matches you well, Ray.”

Although she heeded the store attendant’s recommendation and bought the dress, Shizuku still didn’t understand which part of her dress stood out, so she replied back with customary phrases. To her, Raymond’s tuxedo was a little out of style (it would have been outrageous on someone from her country), but perfectly matched his appearances that wouldn’t have been out of place on a young noble, so her words of etiquette weren’t forced.

“Thank you! It is my honor to be complimented by Tear.”

In addition, Shizuku wasn’t going to object to his obvious pleasure at those simple words. For some reason, Raymond’s honest display of his emotions reminded Shizuku of her younger brother. In terms of race, teenage Europeans should look more mature than Asians of the same age, so even though Raymond was of the same age, he was still a little immature in Shizuku’s eyes.

(……No, it’s not that Ray is immature, it’s because Tatsuya is wiser than his years.)

After turning that over in her head, Shizuku once again looked at Raymond.

“Are you alone?”

“I don’t plan on accompanying any woman besides Tear.”

Speaking of which, tonight’s party wasn’t the type where those without a date couldn’t attend.

“I wasn’t referring to girls.”

At the moment, Shizuku followed her own curiosity and clarified Raymond’s misunderstanding.

And thus, Raymond became flustered in a very interesting way. “Eh? Uh, yeah, if you mean by myself then I am alone…… I think?”

Shizuku really wanted to tell him not to ask her, but managed to bite her tongue.

Seeing the boys behind Raymond making all sorts of elaborate hand gestures (Shizuku was unaware of this, but they were urging Raymond on), there was no need to state that he was blatantly lying. In spite of this, Shizuku didn’t have the heart to berate him.

“Um…… Tear, in regards to the thing you asked me about before.”

Maybe it was because he detected that the atmosphere was rapidly turning for the worse, Raymond made an obvious attempt to change the subject.

“Ray.”

This was exactly what Shizuku wanted, but she felt that this wasn’t the right place to have that conversation.

“Let’s move somewhere else.”

Hearing Shizuku forcefully call out his name, Raymond could only shut his mouth and repeatedly nod his head at her proposal.

Even though this was a house party, this was the place selected as a residence for the young lady of the Kitayama Family. In comparison to the typical house party that could be found anywhere, it was much more luxurious. The party extended beyond indoors all way into the yard, but given the hour, most of the attendees had already departed.

Shizuku wore a knit overcoat over her dress as she walked beneath the wintry sky filled with stars. For a Japanese female, her height wasn’t overly short, but by American standards she was positively “petite”. The American coat she wore extended from her shoulders all the way to the waist, but there was still a small, sneaking suspicion whether it could block the cold.

She manipulated the CAD in her handbag and created a warm temperature area around her surroundings. Along the way, she also incorporated Ray into the field as well. The warm temperature area would also help contain the sound of their voices.

“Thanks, Tear…… Magic is certainly convenient thing.”

“This level of magic isn’t all that rare.”

In terms of compliments, Shizuku felt that it was a little overblown, but Raymond massively shook his head.

“Tear, you just came to this country, so you might not have noticed, but for us, magic isn’t something that can be used like this. It is practically impossible to see magic used in the everyday setting within this country. Magic is used to exemplify one’s power, it’s an object to demonstrate one’s knowledge, and even to exalt one’s status.”

“So you think it would be a waste, right?” “Hahaha…… Well, pretty much.”

At Shizuku’s blunt assessment, Raymond laughed so hard he bent at the waist. Still, this uproarious laughter seemed slightly unnatural.

“Besides military purposes, this country’s magic research is reserved largely for fundamental research. Social services and daily activities are looked down upon as unworthy. If there’s massive profit involved, that might not be the case. Because of this…… No, sorry. We didn’t come to talk about this.”

Although he usually looked to be carefree, he also had his own worries. Shizuku wordlessly waited for him to continue.

“Then, let’s get back on topic.”

Raising his head, Raymond’s expression was so sharp he seemed like another person altogether.

“First, the “vampire” incident is indeed true.”

He, Raymond, was the “knowledgeable student” she told Honoka about as well as the source of intelligence she promised to Tatsuya.

“Although the cause remains unclear, I have uncovered all the related information.”

“Go ahead.”

“Of course. This is highly classified information, but last November in Dallas, they conducted an experiment based on string theory to create and evaporate a miniature black hole.”

“String theory?”

“Sorry, I don’t know all the details.” “That’s fine. And then?”

Surely she could get those details if she asked Tatsuya, right? Shizuku thought as she encouraged him onward.

“The specifics of the experiment remain unknown, but what is known is that these “vampires” materialized after the experiment was conducted.”

Shizuku pondered this for 5 seconds before opening her mouth.

“So Ray, you believe that there is a causal relationship between this experiment and the appearance of the vampires, correct?”

“Earlier, I said that the cause was unknown.”

Here, Ray stopped momentarily to organize this thoughts.

“I believe that it was the black hole experiment that summoned the vampires.”

There was no way for Shizuku to divine exactly where Raymond got this information and what was the basis for this belief. Still, within this brief exchange, Shizuku clearly understood he had a special power to uncover the buried truth. Whether this was his personal ability or came from an organization was unimportant to Shizuku at this point.

“……I see. Thank you.”

The important thing was that his information was trustworthy.

“You’re welcome. After all, this is Tear’s request. If there’s anything else I can do for you, you are always welcome to discuss it with me.”

In the eyes of a bystander, it was obvious what Raymond was trying to do. As for Shizuku herself, she believed that “he was only curious about her right now”. –Whether this dullness was a natural trait or something acquired from her recent friends was anyone’s guess.

◊ ◊ ◊

For Tatsuya, this was the rare Sunday that he could spend at his leisure, though it wasn’t like he could go have fun in his uniform. Tatsuya and Miyuki opted against taking a detour to hit the stores and first came home.

Today, they weren’t using the motorcycle, but the bus instead. Sitting shoulder to shoulder like they usually did in the bus, Miyuki gloomily watched the side of her brother’s face as he watched the passing scenery.

In regards to this incident, Tatsuya was also in the throes of a headache. Rather than calling it a headache, he was berating himself to be more careful. Compared to normal, it was very rare for Tatsuya to beat himself up over what-ifs and maybes.

I wish he could discuss it with me, Miyuki thought.

She didn’t believe that she could help very much, nor did she believe that she had the power to alleviate her brother’s woes.

However, she still wanted to hear what concerned him. Even if she could not take away his burdens, at the very least she was capable of lessening his headache, Miyuki thought.

I wish he would do that, Miyuki prayed as she kept looking at the side of her brother’s face.

“I’m too naïve……”

Was this wish passed along to him? Tatsuya lightly murmured. “Onii-sama?”

Keeping a tight grasp on her agitation and hopes, Miyuki pretended to be oblivious and naturally raised a question to Tatsuya. The words “what are you concerned about” were never asked, never stated.

“I thought the result didn’t concern me, so now I’m stuck in this sorry position. Everything is now reactionary. There are these clues at hand, but the core pieces are unknown.”

While Tatsuya’s speech was rather vague, Miyuki instinctively knew what “clues” Tatsuya was referring to.

“You mean…… Lina’s situation?”

Tatsuya couldn’t help but widen his eyes at someone directly pinpointing what he was thinking about.

“What a pain…… I really have no secrets in front of Miyuki.”

That’s not true! Miyuki furiously stifled the urge to scream from the back of her throat.

Often, Miyuki had no idea what Tatsuya was thinking. Nevertheless, Miyuki convinced herself not to vent her agitation on her brother and instead work towards understanding him.

“I knew from the very beginning what Lina’s goals were. I even had the opportunity to interrogate her, or forcibly manufacture the opportunity. Despite this, I left it by the wayside because I didn’t want to cause any upheaval in our lives and now have missed the opening.”

Tatsuya wore a self-depreciating smile.

Miyuki withstood the pain in her heart and silently waited for her brother to continue.

“No…… I do know. Even if I had acted immediately, there’s no guarantee that suffering could have been avoided. There is the possibility that the situation could have worsened. But…… In the face of a friend being injured, I can’t help but consider what if……”

Hearing Tatsuya’s confession, this time Miyuki couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t because her brother had bared his heart to her, but in regards to the contents of her brother’s words.

“Onii-sama….. You’ve grown kinder.”

“Miyuki? What’s with this all of a sudden?”

“No…… Onii-sama was originally a kind person. It’s just a little hard to find sometimes.”

“Sorry, you can explain that to me in plainer terms?”

Seeing Tatsuya’s bemused expression, Miyuki already decided not to hide her smile any longer.

“So there are some things that even Onii-sama doesn’t understand. Even Onii-sama doesn’t understand himself?”

“Of course, I think you’re appraising me too highly. There are a myriad things I don’t know, and my face is something I can see only with the help of a mirror. A created image with the right and left flipped.”

“As expected of Onii-sama, you don’t try to put on a brave front here. In other words,”

Miyuki dramatically lowered her voice here.

Despite knowing that he was walking straight into his sister’s ploy, Tatsuya still strained his ears to hear.

“Onii-sama cannot forgive himself for letting Saijou-kun get hurt. While our time has been limited, Onii-sama doesn’t want to do anything violent towards Lina, who has become our friend. Onii-sama, Miyuki is very happy. Happy because Onii-sama has these heartfelt feelings for someone other than myself. You have more humane emotions than you believed yourself to possess.”

Tatsuya sat straight forward and closed his eyes.

Miyuki found it hilarious that her brother was adopting such an easily discernible way to disguise his embarrassment.

That he was willing to show this side of himself to her caused Miyuki to feel truly overjoyed.

◊ ◊ ◊

“Yoshida-kun, we’re getting a reaction from Tokyo Tower Park. Presently, it is moving towards Iigura Crossing.”

“Understood. I am currently located near Toranomon Station near Sakurada. I will proceed immediately to Iigura Crossing.”

“Please get there in ten minutes.” “Understood. ETA is two minutes.”

The transmission was cut short. They looked like they were going to make it this time. Understanding this, Mayumi let out a sigh of relief.

The result of the discussion prior to noon culminated in a system that had Mayumi responsible for information control while Katsuto and Erika led the mobile units. Everyone was clear on the fact that internal strife held no benefit for anyone.

Nonetheless, neither side was willing to take that first step forward, so everyone’s independent actions only resulted in the situation where they were hindering their own companions.

On that level, they really had to thank Tatsuya’s cloak and dagger play that forcibly established a stage where a compromise could be hammered out. – On Mayumi’s part, she was highly put out that Tatsuya was treating her like a child.

(Just you wait. I’m going to give you the bitterest chocolate ever on Valentine’s Day.)

Satisfied with the mental image of discomfiting Tatsuya, Mayumi turned her attention back to the display monitor.

Unfortunately, the transmitter Tatsuya supplied wasn’t very strong. To be precise, it was horrible, though it was true that the observation antennae could capture the signal waves.

However, in a metropolis well connected by the public transportation system, the target could cover a whole lot of ground in three hours.

Furthermore, the signal was only emitted once every ten minutes. In short, they had to catch the target within this time frame.

This time, it was only after they used the street cameras’ observation system that they found out for the first time that they could not pursue the vampire using the street cameras alone. Much like legends and fiction, the camera could not snap a picture of their head. Still, legends and fiction weren’t entirely mistaken. No matter how they adjusted the focal point, they could only get a murky picture of the vampire’s body.

This was especially the case above the neck. There was no way to differentiate facial features. The street camera system was designed to be a pursuit tool that was founded on the basis of facial recognition, so it was practically pointless if it could not differentiate facial features.

The task force from the Saegusa Family concluded that since there was no sign of mechanical failure, the target probably used magic to disrupt the optics.

This was the reason why the target had eluded them three hours ago and six hours ago. Thus, the hunt continued deep into the night.

Fortunately, this time they seemed to be right on the money.

Mayumi coordinated the collapsing ring of pursuers while opening a line of communication with Katsuto, who was still investigating in the Shiodome District.

◊ ◊ ◊

Early in the week, Tatsuya found a rather familiar sight these past couple of days plopped in front of him in the classroom.

Erika was sprawled over her desk. She might have been better off coming to school later, since she seemed completely exhausted.

(Scratch that, did she pull an all-nighter?) “……Um, shouldn’t we wake her up?”

Mizuki, who met them earlier at the station, asked him quietly.

She was so soundly asleep that even normal speaking volume failed to rouse her. Although Mizuki knew this at a glance, it was precisely Mizuki’s style to lower her volume even so.

“Just let her sleep.”

Tatsuya’s reply was fairly simple. To be precise, it was the practical response.

Even if they managed to wake her, it was plain that she wouldn’t have access to major mental facilities prior to noon, though in reality, Tatsuya really didn’t have the spare energy to worry about other people’s mental framework at the moment.

◊ ◊ ◊

In order to address Tatsuya’s lack of spare energy, we must return to half a day before.

Actually, coincidentally after Tatsuya and Miyuki finished dinner, the telephone rang.

Right now, this wasn’t exactly an odd hour for a call. –At least for the side who received the phone call.

However, this was late at night for the American West Coast and approached the time for the day change. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Tatsuya was a little nervous over what happened.

“Hello, Shizuku? Did something happen?”

As predicted, the one who appeared on the screen was Ashe. However, her appearance that came through the picture was wholly expected.

Shizuku looked like she was wearing her pajamas. Following the height of fashion, her sleeping garment failed to include a robe.

Answering the phone in the living room was a bad idea. The large, high definition image projected a brilliant picture that was in no way inferior to real life.

Maybe it was because they were pajamas, but the light luminescent material was not covering much of Shizuku’s slim figure.

Tatsuya had seen Shizuku’s swimsuit during the summer, but the picture Shizuku presented now was even more alluring.

This was probably the effect of the faintly discernable hinting at the hidden portions. It was one thing if nothing could be seen, but the effect was aggravated when the curves were being hinted at.

Based on the image, Shizuku wasn’t wearing underclothes. Although the massive amounts of lace and trimmings covered up the important parts, if the article of clothing was slightly out of place then even the unmentionables would be revealed.

Under normal circumstances, even Tatsuya would raise an eyebrow. Fortunately, concern carried great weight on his part right now, so he wasn’t awkwardly flustered.

“Shizuku? What are you doing!?”

Yet, even someone of the same gender who caught a glimpse of this, Miyuki, was blushing – that’s how much she was flustered.

“Ah, Miyuki, good evening.”

“Stop with the greeting! At least put on a robe!” “……It’s OK, right?”

She wore an expression of skepticism, but Shizuku obediently pulled on a robe slowly.

“Sorry for the late hour.”

Afterwards, she once again started the conversation anew after bowing her head.

“It’s not that late over here…… Wait, have you been drinking?”

Shizuku’s tone sounded tired but there was something strange, like an odd lint in her voice.

“Drink what?”

Of course that would be, no matter how much Tatsuya wanted to finish the comment, he opted to swallow his words. That was because he realized that voicing that aloud had achieved nothing since the dawn of time.

“Never mind, what were you speaking of?”

Her cognitive powers seemed to have declined as well, but she wouldn’t have called for no reason. Tatsuya determined that it was best to get the information from her as quickly as possible.

“Hm, I think I should tell you sooner rather than later.”

Tell me what? Surely he should be praised for discerning the topic without blatantly asking the question.

“Do you already know? Impressive.” “Please praise me more.”

Hearing Shizuku use a plain tone to flirt, Tatsuya suddenly felt a strong sense of powerlessness wash over him.

(……Who allowed Shizuku to drink?)

Shizuku was clearly inebriated. Given that, she appeared to have become more childish.

“No, you’re quite amazing, Shizuku. Then, what have you found out?”

It was not his intent to pressure the other side who was calling at a late hour (from her end), but it was probably better for everyone involved to end the call as soon as possible. Even if she was drunk, she wasn’t wasted enough to lose her memory.

“The reason behind the vampire’s appearance.”

Still, this was a more central piece of the puzzle than he had expected. Tatsuya and Miyuki both leaned forward.

“String…… That is, something string related to black hole experiments.”

“Huh? Black hole? Shizuku, what are you referring to?”

Immediately afterward, since there were a few unexpected and vague terms being bandied about, there was an array of question marks dancing over Miyuki’s head.

Exactly – over Miyuki’s head.

“I don’t know. I was planning on asking Tatsuya.”

“Using string theory as a foundation to create miniature black holes? You are referring to the annihilation effect, correct?”

Tatsuya verified in a low, stiff voice. “That’s it. You got it.”

Shizuku seemed to have missed the alteration in the tone (there was no physical sign she picked up on that), but Miyuki timidly peeked at her brother’s expression.

“So they did that……”

His voice was steady as usual, no, perhaps more calm than his usual tone.

Yet, that was because Tatsuya had suffered a serious shock, a detail that no one else could understand save Miyuki.

“What is that?”

At this point, Miyuki really wanted to hang up. Using “It’s very late” as an excuse, she planned on terminating the call because she didn’t want to sour Tatsuya’s mood any worse than it was.

Unfortunately, before that could happen, Shizuku had already voiced a concise question,

“A detailed explanation would be too complex so I’ll be brief.” Tatsuya also began his answer.

“It is an experiment designed to extract energy out of a miniature version of an artificial black hole. Scientists believe that during evaporation process of black hole creation matter will be transformed into thermal energy. Their goal was to verify this.”

Her attempt to terminate the conversation a failure, Miyuki had no choice but to listen to her brother’s explanation, but her heart was completely frazzled by the term energy transformation. The warning they received from their aunt rang once more in Miyuki’s mind.

“That’s string theory? That’s how they can extract energy from other dimensions?”

Of course, Shizuku was oblivious to Miyuki’s concerns and was simply immersed in the back and forth as a drunk scholar.

“No, the process of extracting energy is in itself unrelated to other dimensions. That’s because they have predicted the evaporation of the miniature black hole that has nothing to do with its creation process. String theory refers to the idea that this world is like the outer layer of another world of a higher order. In terms of physical energy, only gravity can permeate the dimensional barrier, so gravity allows most forms of energy to leak into other dimensions. This theory also implies that our dimension is only able to observe energy from higher dimensions at a much smaller scale. However, the tiny distance at the atomic level will still initiate a reaction with similar objects prior to leaking to another dimension and will have a greater gravitational attraction than normal. Thus, based on string theory, creation of a miniature black hole can be accomplished with minimal energy. That is the theoretical background behind the experiment to create an artificial black hole on a miniature scale using string theory.” “……Miyuki, did you get that?”

“Alas, no. I don’t really understand it either.”

Seeing Shizuku shaking her head back and forth, Miyuki also smiled wryly and shook her head.

“But Onii-sama, how does this topic relate to the vampires……?”

Afterward, Miyuki hesitantly ventured forth a question while glancing upwards at her brother’s face at a close proximity.

Tatsuya glanced downward towards his sister and flicked his eyes over to Shizuku’s image before talking about a series of seemingly unconnected points.

“Energy is not required if the phenomenon alteration was done by magic. Nor is there any sign of physical energy being supplied. Everyone also believes that there is no ethereal energy within this physical realm that can be converted into physical energy. Nevertheless, Move-Type and Acceleration Magic have clearly altered energy values before and after magic invocation. Based on this, magic is not bound by the conservation of energy. Through magic, we can plainly see this law being circumvented.”

“I recall that this is known as one of the greatest paradoxes within modern magic.”

“That was the proposition, though the consensus is that the proposition itself was imperfect.”

Tatsuya darted a quick glance at Shizuku’s expression over the monitor. Her speech was rather peculiar – almost as if she was stuttering. Regardless, there was no sign that she was going to fall asleep any time soon. Given how the light of curiosity danced across her eyes, there was little chance she would accept an excuse like “Let’s talk about it next time”. Inebriated individuals were a little stubborn like that. After considering this, Tatsuya elected to continue.

“You are correct, Shizuku. Superficially, this appears to subvert the law of conservation of energy. In the first place, the law of conservation of energy is a deduced law, so it is impossible for physical phenomena to run counter to this.

So long as magic brings about a physical reaction, then at least restricted within those conditions, the law of conservation of energy should still be observed. While there may be short periods of time during psion activation where the law seems to be circumvented, energy conversation is still observed when taking the entire process into account post fact. Thus, when magic brings about a physical phenomenon, then within that event, the law of conservation of energy should still apply. Of course, the law of conversation of energy refers to the concept of energy remaining constant within a closed system. If there’s a record of fluctuating energy levels, then that must mean there is an observation error or that the system is not a closed one.”

“Magic has observed that this world is not a closed system…… That certainly brings to mind string theory from our earlier conversation.”

“I see! So the energy needed for magic is supplied by an alternate dimension?”

“Recently, we’ve seen a growing number of magic researchers supporting that theory. I too subscribe to this line of thinking. Working under the assumption that string theory is true, then we should consider what it means if gravity is the only force that can pass between alternate dimensions. What I am about to say has no theoretical basis and approaches pure speculation……”

Miyuki and Shizuku wordlessly watched Tatsuya’s contemplative look.

“It is a possibility that gravity that acts in the alternate dimension is what supports the dimensional barrier. Under the assumption that magic breaks through this barrier, energy might be removed from the alternate dimension. While it is true that magic is a phenomenon that does not require energy, that does not guarantee that no energy is involved whatsoever. Even within observable parameters, there is a tendency for magic to fail when the total magic output is zero.”

Mystified, Miyuki and Shizuku kept their eyes locked on Tatsuya as he looked inward.

“Most likely, the Magic Sequence reverses the insufficient energy needed for phenomena alteration and extracts that insufficient energy from the alternate dimension. In regard to the physical energy supply that cannot be observed, then if we assume that the energy from the alternate dimension has ethereal qualities, or more simply magical energy, then the law of conservation of physical energy is observed after the Magic Sequence is completed.”

Although they did not completely understand what Tatsuya was saying, the two young ladies perked up their ears because they felt that his words were of vital importance to Magicians.

“The other side of the dimensional barrier contains a dimension filled with magical energy and, in order to prevent this energy from leaking to the physical dimension, gravity supports the dimensional barrier and prevents any leakage. However, magic can penetrate this barrier in order to make up for the deficiency in energy by drawing from magic energy. – My belief is that this is the system that solves the major paradox to modern magic. On the other hand, based on the miniature artificial black hole developed through calculations in string theory, gravity acting on the dimensional barrier would be wasted by the creation of the black hole. In that case, the dimensional barrier fluctuates the instant the black hole materializes.”

“The dimensional barrier fluctuates…… What happens then?”

“Magical energy that is beyond the control of Magic Sequences may seep through……?”

Divided by the image, Miyuki and Shizuku shared a glance. The high definition camera and monitor displayed the terror that reflected in their eyes.

“Energy spontaneously structures itself and forms an information body. If not, the universe would have already turned into homogenous nothingness.

Magical energy from an alternate dimension should follow a similar pattern. The moment the dimensional barrier weakens, the possibility that magical energy from an alternate dimension invading this world in the form of information bodies is not zero. At least, that is my perspective.”

On the other side of the monitor, Shizuku’s body was shaking slightly.

On this side, Miyuki latched onto Tatsuya’s arm as if she never wanted to let go.

◊ ◊ ◊

Mikihiko finally showed up in class after the second period was over. “Is it done?”

He wasn’t late.

Today, he was also being cared for in the infirmary.

“Tatsuya…… I hate you.”

Initially, the tone was out of concern, but what came afterwards was a heavy tone of complaint.

“Hey, that’s not very friendly.”

While the words were probably in jest, the emotions laden within were definitely true.

After overhearing those words, Mizuki shrank back in fright.

“If all I’m going to do is complain, you might as well let me vent it all out. After that, do you know how painful my memory of that ulcer was……?”

“Saegusa-senpai just sat there smiling without a single word, Erika shut her mouth with a totally displeased look on her face…… I was the only one who had to keep talking.

That empty feeling was like sitting on pins and needles.” “Didn’t Juumonji-senpai say anything?”

“Do you think that kind of person would do something so trivial like interfering?”

In that case, that’s true.

Mayumi, Erika, and Katsuto all acted in concert with their “personality”.

“Well…… There’s no real reason, but I understand that must have been a tough time for you.”

Mikihiko seemed to be a little healed by Mizuki’s undisguised words of comfort.

Next to Mizuki, Erika remained sprawled over her desk.

Erika finally revived around lunch time. Maybe because she was finally revitalized, she grabbed onto Mizuki and started complaining.

“Did you hear? Up until now, there was only one of them fleeing, but now suddenly there are three of them. Don’t you think that’s devious?”

Probably taking into account how terrible it would be if someone accidentally overheard them in the cafeteria, Erika skipped lunch and dragged Mizuki into an empty classroom – the lab that Mikihiko frequented.

“Um, is that so?”

Mizuki nodded to follow along, but in reality, she wasn’t entirely sure what Erika was referring to.

She hazarded a guess that this was about the “vampire” incident, but she wasn’t aware of the specifics. “Do we count vampires by ones or twos?” was the thought running through Mizuki’s head.

“……Before that, you better hurry to the cafeteria. Lunch break is almost over, right?”

“I’m not really hungry.”

That’s because you’ve been asleep the whole time! Mizuki really wanted to point that out, but felt that doing so would throw Erika into an irretrievable sulk, so she opted against it.

(Ha…… I give up.)

She wasn’t fasting – not that she pursued that habit (?) – Mizuki absconded from lunch. There was no physical education or technical skills class later today, so skipping out on one meal wasn’t going to be that detrimental, she told herself. Compared to that, there was something she was more worried about.

“Hey, Erika-chan. Why did you get into a fight with Tatsuya?” In that instant, Erika’s shoulders started shaking.

“W-what are you talking about, Mizuki. We totally aren’t. Definitely not.” She massively shook her head and waved both hands.

As a result of letting her hair grow out since spring, her long ponytail – Erika’s favorite hairstyle – also danced back and forth with her head.

“There’s no need to panic…… It’s not like I thought Erika-chan did something to Tatsuya.

Even if you cause a fuss, wouldn’t Tatsuya just smile and accept it?

So if Erika-chan was the reason, there is no way there could be conflict between the two of you.”

“Um, well, I’m really not sure if that was a compliment or an insult……”

Just like her words, Erika wore an “unable to decide” expression as she lodged a protest. Probably.

“I am doing neither. I am merely stating the situation as it is.” On the other hand, Mizuki decisively pressed on.

“Even if you put it like that, I still feel I can’t accept that!” “Yes, yes. At any rate, I don’t think Erika-chan is the reason.” The indignant riposte that was lacking in fervor was easily ignored. “Mizuki, you’ve gotten stronger……”

“If you don’t want to talk about it, do you think I will stop asking?”

Erika’s attempt to use a comedic line to muddle the issue was met with a fastball right back at her.

Powerlessly, Erika slumped down.

“We’re really not fighting…… It’s just that I’m feeling awkward from my side.

I don’t plan on dragging this into tomorrow, so can you go easy on me today?”

Her head tilted, Erika weakly peeked out between the gaps between her hair and arms.

Hm~, Mizuki also tilted her head slightly and tapped her index finger on her chin.

Her hair had a slight tendency to curl inwards and the shoulder-length tresses matched her head’s swaying motion.

Swiftly after she did so, her head straightened.

“Since you are able to say that you’ll be back to normal by tomorrow, I guess that’s OK.”

Her mood appeared to be headed in the direction that Erika’s was hoping for.

“Yeah, seriously…… Ah~, how annoying.”

Originally, even Erika didn’t believe that nonsense about returning to normal by tomorrow.

After coming to some sort of realization, Erika rose with a lethargic expression.

“In the end, we were probably only flirting with Tatsuya. We plainly never requested Tatsuya-kun to “lend us a hand” and worked under the assumption that even if we didn’t say anything, he would still chip in to help. So I was furious~ when I saw that he was also helping that woman and keeping a foot in either camp…… Damn it, I’m getting embarrassed again.”

In between the gaps of the arms covering her face, a hint of a blush could be seen. Her embarrassment was not just restricted to her words.

Seeing this oddly adorable appearance, Mizuki sighed deeply.

“……What, that sigh of yours was like saying “you amaze me from the bottom of my heart”.”

“While I’m not sure if it’s from the bottom of my heart, the first part is true.”

Mizuki rolled her eyes in response to the sharp glance Erika sent her way from beneath her fingers.

The edge gradually disappeared from Erika’s eyes.

Mizuki shifted herself so she was right in front of Erika (she just changed the orientation of her seat) before reaching out and plucked away the arms covering Erika’s face.

“So in the end, you’re just stubbornly stuck in a pit of self-loathing…… I think this sort of thing qualifies as a 'soliloquy'.”

“Ouch! Mizuki mercilessly stabbed my chest with her words~.” “I’m being very serious.”

“……I’m sorry.”

Though there was no emotion behind those words, Erika’s body seemed to shrink even more.

“To put it bluntly, Erika-chan, you can’t rely on Tatsuya-kun to take the first step to approach.”

“……Just like I thought?”

“I’m not certain if you’re really in pursuit or not, but if all you do is hide, then he’s really going to put you to one side, right?

In the first place, Miyuki-san occupies everything in Tatsuya’s head. Even if you don’t make any overt gestures, if you don’t at least make an effort to remain in his field of vision, then will he even remember you?”

“……That, is a definite possibility.”

“I think I can safely say that the idea of Tatsuya actively paying that kind of attention to Erika is definitely false. I’m certain that you’re actually missing out if you start off with that assumption.”

“Yeah…… You have a point.

That guy has nerves of steel and calling him slow on the uptake would be too kind to him. With him as an opponent, being embarrassed won’t get me anywhere.”

Erika tightly clenched her fingers.

Seeing this, Mizuki revealed a warm, nurturing smile.

This was the scene that greeted Mikihiko when he walked in. “Ah, so it’s true that you guys didn’t get anything.”

As soon as he entered, Mikihiko uttered these words.

Before the two of them could ask “what are you talking about?”, Mikihiko pulled out two sandwiches from the plastic bag in his hand.

“Here, Erika, this one has tuna, potato and carrots. Shibata-san wants the egg sandwich, correct?”

“Eh, how?” “T-thank you.” “You’re welcome.”

That was in response to Mizuki’s reply. “No reason in particular.

If you don’t eat anything, you’ll still be hungry even if you did nothing but sleep, no?”

Afterwards, that reply was for Erika’s question. “Ho~…… Miki, you’re becoming more observant.”

“I would like to say you’re welcome, but these are from Tatsuya. Since you appear to be avoiding him, he had me bring them to you.” Hearing Mikihiko’s words, Erika and Mizuki exchanged a glance. “So he didn’t forget……”

“Looks like you’ve been put off to one side……”

Suddenly, Erika sprang up in a determined manner. “W-what is it?”

Erika adopted a victorious posture before the wide-eyed Mizuki.

“If you have your own thoughts on the matter then so do I, Tatsuya-kun!

I will not resign myself to being treated like empty space!” “You clearly fled when he was paying attention to you.” “Miki, did you say something?”

“Nope. I just said that you better eat quickly.”

Mikihiko pulled out his own sandwich and replied back without sparing her another glance.

As expected of childhood friends. Even though he occasionally stepped on a landmine, he was still adept at handling Erika.

At any rate, Erika calmed down and took a seat. Immediately afterward, the three of them started eating their sandwiches.

“Ouch……!”

All of a sudden, Mizuki’s face tightened as she quickly shut her eyes. Erika deftly caught the egg sandwich that fell from her fingers. However, since that was more reflex, both she and Mikihiko kept their eyes on Mizuki, who was in the throes of pain. Mizuki removed her glasses and pressed her hands to her eyes.

Broken groans slipped from her mouth.

“……What is…… This…… This sort of aura, I’ve never seen……”

Noticing that something was amiss, Mikihiko hurriedly pulled out a talisman and cast a barrier that blocked out spirits. Although it was against school rules to bring CADs onto campus, no one present gave a damn about that right now.

“This, “demonic” presence……”

They weren’t psions, but pushion waves. This was why Erika couldn’t possibly know and Mikihiko was only aware after focusing himself.

Pure “demonic” waves permeated the barrier and came through.

Given its ability to penetrate the lens, it was not surprising that power of this strength was able to affect Mizuki’s eyes.

“Shibata-san, put on your glasses.”

However, with a barrier was in place, the protective lens should be able to fend off the waves.

As Mikihiko suspected, Mizuki was able to adopt a relaxed posture after putting her glasses back on.

With that, they finally had a spare moment to contemplate what happened

–

--Pale faced, Erika and Mikihiko exchanged a look. “Don’t tell me, the vampire is here at school?” “How brave! Miki, where is it?”

Springing to her feet in a lively manner, Erika paid no heed to the clatter of her chair falling to the ground. She advanced on Mikihiko with a vibrant expression.

“Erika, relax.”

Mikihiko also rose and used a calm tone to deliver a solemn response.

“First of all, we need our equipment. I don’t feel secure with just talismans.”

“……That’s true. Mizuki, wait here in the classroom.”

“I’m going too.”

Erika made the obvious request, but Mizuki shook her head. “Mizuki?”

“I have a feeling that I’ll be better off if I go. As for a reason…… I’m not really sure.”

Her tone remained gentle, but contained a mettle that could not be dissuaded.

“……Understood. However, please don’t leave my side.”

“Miki?”

Erika’s eyes widened at Mikihiko’s unexpected words.

Still, his words were the product of careful thought instead of being purely circumstantial.

“One person alone would be easy prey, whereas a group can handle attacks more easily.

In addition, Shibata-san’s eyes should prove a major asset.”

“Ha…… Miki, then you shall bear the responsibility of protecting

Mizuki.”

Any more words on this subject would just be a waste of time, so Erika started walking towards the office where CADs were held. Mikihiko was one step behind her. Both he and Mizuki knew that this wasn’t the time and place for any teenage romantic scenes. Nonetheless, in order to make sure Mizuki wasn’t left behind, there was nothing he could do except make sure he held her hand in his – that was how Mikihiko persuaded himself.

◊ ◊ ◊

Lieutenant Silvia, call sign “Mercury One”, served as Major Angelina Sirius’s support during her mission to Japan. That being said, taking care of Lina was not listed among Silvia’s duties.

The members of Stars were categorized into 1st Class Planets, 2nd Class Planets, Constellations, Comets, and Satellites. Among them, 1st and 2nd Class Planets as well as Constellations were treated as frontline fighting troops, whereas Comets and Satellites typically filled the role of auxiliaries or undercover agents. Of course, that was just how the roles were divvyed up on paper since Lina was given an undercover mission despite her status as a 1st Class Planet.

As a “1st Class” member of Comet “Mercury”, Silvia’s duties typically resided in supporting from the rear, such as utilizing magic to gather and analyze data. For this mission, her data analysis abilities were highly prized among her compatriots and, unlike the embassy, she was specifically preparing to secretly analyze the psion wave signature.

Her current task revolved around identifying the masked individual who gave Lina the slip after their fight. In order to verify whether another shared a similar psion wave signature with their target, she was singlehandedly pouring over all relevant information regarding people affiliated with the USNA military and government.

As a core component of CADs, the sensory stone possessed the function to translate psion signals into electric signals. Furthermore, regardless of whether it was a Magician, trace psions would still be released even if they weren’t doing anything. After the sensory stone had finished translating the psion signal into an electric one, the pattern could be recorded electronically and broadcasted on a projector. However, when compared with the flat image on the projector, there might still be a few minute differences when trying to convert the image back into a psion wave signature within a short period of time. This was why a Magician trained in psion wave signature identification was deployed to this task instead of delegating it to someone who was not a Magician.

In the end, it was practically impossible to gather data for all the USNA military and government officials, but pretty much every Magician was included within. Also, individuals who were not Magicians but still under the Stars’ umbrella were also included. Silently praying that she wouldn’t find a match within this group, Silvia continued her examination.

First, she verified that no one within Stars had this psion wave signature. Anyone from other frontline forces not affiliated with Stars that bore similarities all had alibis. Shortly after noon, Silvia discovered something worthy of note around lunch time.

(Huh? This can’t be……)

◊ ◊ ◊

As Lina dined with her classmates from Class A – and not with Miyuki’s group, she was struggling with what she should do afterwards. Lunch break only lasted one hour, and there were only 30 minutes left. They will probably be finished with their meal in five minutes. Normally, they would find another place for tea or pop into the Student Council as a part-time member, but today –

(……Maybe I should go see Mia.)

She was Lina’s neighbor and, on some level, a comrade as well. Today, Michaela Honda, or “Mia” for short, was visiting First High under the guise of a salesperson from Maximillian Devices. Preoccupied as she was with pursuing the deserters, Lina hadn’t seen Mia in the past couple of days. Although she didn’t have any reason in particular, this was still an excellent opportunity to catch up.

While her brain was ruminating on this, Lina’s hand motions and expression never revealed what was on her mind as she continued to converse naturally with her peers until the last empty plate had been removed.

(This is!?)

Lina instinctively wanted to stand up, but she immediately caught herself just as she lifted her waist. Fortunately, her classmates assumed that she was correcting her posture and paid her no heed. Lina put on a polite smile and furiously clamped down on the agitation running through her mind.

Just then, an alien wave surged outward. Seeing as how her peers around seemed oblivious to the matter, it probably wasn’t a magical aura but a pushion wave instead. Lina only noticed because she came into contact with this multiple times recently in combat. This was the presence of the masked individual, the “vampire”. She also had a rough grasp on direction. It was coming from beyond the door where the workers were coming out of.

(That’s right, Mia!)

The moment she thought of the location, everything she was considering floated across Lina’s mind. Right now was precisely the time Mia was visiting First High. As a member of the transportation crew, she must have received access to those doors.

“—Sorry, I just remembered that I have something to attend to. I’ll catch you guys later.”

Lina politely excused herself from her peers and rose from the table.

◊ ◊ ◊

(It turned out to be an Illusionary Contact Formation…… Looks like it was a mistake to rate them too lightly as a normal high school.)

A wordless voice came from the Maximillian Device’s trailer. The rebounding pushion wave was like the flapping of a bee’s wings, a noise that could not be heard with human ears. This was the “sound” formed from the collective consciousness of the vampires. Within this “voice”, 70% was in the affirmative and 30% was in dissent. The jumbled and disparate voices could not separated so easily.

(Do you think they noticed?)

The formation spread out along the wall and doorway. There was only a momentary disruption when the hidden pushion wave and the disguised psion waves. There were only a few Magicians who could identify pushion waves and, setting that aside for the moment, their psion wave signatures were just like human beings.

Within the trailer, the vampire’s body sprouted a new question that was answered by the pushion waves from within her. If a third party capable of detecting these thoughts was present, then the observed individual would seem like they were talking to themselves. This time, the response was

90% dissenting – their belief was that they had not been detected. (I think so too…… Still, we shouldn’t have come here.)

In order to maintain appearances, her disguise that allowed her to brazenly access First High was truly an excellent opportunity. Still, when taking her true objectives into account, walking onto First High’s campus filled with sensory devices and Counter Magic carried unnecessary risk. Her outer appearance did not allow her to refuse this task, but she might have been better off avoiding this place even if she had to abandon her outer persona...... Unease began mounting around her.

◊ ◊ ◊

After lunch, Tatsuya arrived on the school rooftop.

Owing to Erika’s sour mood today, it turned out to be Tatsuya, Miyuki and Honoka taking lunch together.

From a certain perspective, he appeared to be in a situation where he had a flower on each arm. Scratch that, he was precisely in that situation. After all, neither Miyuki nor Honoka bothered to hide their attraction. It wasn’t that they weren’t planning on hiding it, but more like they never intended to do so from the very beginning.

There was nothing he could do about it, but even someone with Tatsuya’s heart would feel a little uneasy at the furtive glances sent his way. Owing to this, he elected to flee from the cafeteria.

The rooftops of First High’s campus bore some semblance to an aerial garden, complete with fashionable benches, and were a highly popular site at school.

Still, given the high tide of winter, few braved the biting chill of the outdoors to come up here.

Today was fairly humid, but as temperatures go, it was overly chilly. In spite of this, they were the only three on the roof. Someone might point out that magic could be used to combat the cold, but except for a token minority on campus, most people were forbidden from carrying CADs. Furthermore, no one was foolish enough to “use magic without a CAD” simply to safeguard a location during lunch break. Regardless, the three of them belonged to that token minority. Currently, Miyuki employed magic to block the chill and allowed the three of them to enjoy a comfortable moment.

Once again for emphasis, Miyuki’s magic operated while covering all three of them. Miyuki’s magic condenses oxygen to create cold air. Even if she reversed the direction, a trivial task like keeping the cold that hadn’t even reached freezing point outside was a piece of cake for her.

In other words, there was no way it could be cold.

Even so, Honoka had her arms tightly wrapped around Tatsuya’s arm so that not even a gap could be found.

The instant Honoka made her move (?), Miyuki gave a startled look – though it was more like a chilly gaze of her own, but now she also took hold of Tatsuya’s other arm as if to contest Honoka’s claim.

Thanks to this, Tatsuya was now completely immobile, as if both of his arms had been tied down.

Now Tatsuya would be simply adorable if he blushed slightly here, but even with both sides pinned down by breasts of significant curvature, Tatsuya still wore his customary wry smile that seemed to say “what can I do”. Many were the male students who believed that no one in his position could complain even if they were stabbed in the back right then and there.

Likewise, Miyuki and Honoka lapsed into silence for some unknown reason. Upon closer examination, the two of them were blushing to the tips of their ears. Since it wasn’t because of the temperature, then that must be the reason, so wouldn’t they be better off letting go of their hands, Tatsuya thought. – With that line of thinking, even if he dodged the insensitive label, there was no way he could avoid the accusation of being oblivious to a woman’s heart.

Nonetheless, even if the situation had turned into this, Tatsuya wasn’t going to dwell on the matter forever. Since the two of them were no longer speaking, Tatsuya started to organize the data regarding the current incident in his head.

Initially, he thought that the “vampires” were attacking humans with some goal in mind. Based on the current situation, the only known information was that they attacked humans with high magical properties and took away blood and spiritual energy.

Why were they attacking Magicians? And what was the point in taking blood?

In the end, why did they arrive in Japan after fleeing the USNA military? Did they have to remain in Japan to accomplish some objective, or was there a third party forcing them to do something here.

Unable to find an angle to tackle these questions, he somehow shifted to the true identity of the “vampires.”

(Based on the identification system of the Ancient Magic practitioners, we should be correct in that the real identity of the “vampire” is actually a “Parasite”.)

(According to sensei’s hypothesis, there is a good chance that Parasites are formed from the independent information bodies splintered off from the human psyche.)

(Shizuku’s information on the USNA’s miniature black hole experiment being the catalyst also seems trustworthy.)

(In that case, this incident was caused by information bodies invading from an alternate dimension…… Was my theory spot on?)

(The problem is the connection, or lack thereof, between the information bodies invading from another dimension and the information bodies formed by the activity of the human psyche.)

(The bottom line is, where is the true form of the “psyche”? Another dimension? A higher dimension? Or even “nowhere”?)

(In that case, then where is the Idea? The Eidos?)

Noticing that he was drifting into a cognitive dead end, Tatsuya slightly shook his head and tried to reorganize his thoughts.

(There are two possibilities.)

(First, Parasites invaded from an alternate dimension.)

(Second, uncontrolled energy trickled in from another dimension and stimulated the previously dormant Parasites that dwelt in this world.)

(Lastly, so long as the Parasite – well, given our lack of knowledge on the real identity of the independent information body derived from the activity of the human psyche, this is about as far as we can go, eh.)

(Given that premise, what I should be considering is how to discover and deconstruct it.)

(If the information body came from the psyche, there is a high chance that its composition is made up of pushions.)

(So considering my capabilities, there are still enemies that I cannot decompose even if I can perceive them, eh……)

His train of thought was derailed by Miyuki’s unexpected movement. “Miyuki, what’s wrong?”

Her earlier action was not because she couldn’t hold it back any longer, but an involuntary act of uncomfortableness.

Hearing Tatsuya’s voice, Honoka noticed that this wasn’t because he was coddling Miyuki and also separated herself from her previously snug position at Tatsuya’s side. Immediately, her body started shaking because the magic that held back the chill had dissipated.

“Ah, I’m terribly sorry.”

Miyuki used her empty hand to quickly manipulate the CAD. The cold air fled at once.

However, Miyuki’s expression remained listless. “No, compared to this, what happened?”

Tatsuya’s actions betrayed no hint that he was affected by the cold.

With his Self-Restoration Magic coupled with literal training from hell, Tatsuya had no reason to put on a brave front in the face of the chill. Compared to this, he was more concerned about his sister’s odd behavior.

“……There seems to be the feeling of some sort of uncomfortable wave brushing over the skin…… No, that’s probably my imagination.”

Miyuki apologetically shook her head as if she was feeling guilty about disrupting Tatsuya during his down time. Still, Tatsuya did not move to accept Miyuki’s apology.

“Uncomfortable wave? Was it a psion wave or a pushion wave?”

Coincidentally matching up with his earlier contemplation, Tatsuya couldn’t simply write it off as a misinterpretation. Nevertheless, this question was rather pointless.

“I do not know…… Yet, seeing as how Onii-sama didn’t notice, I guess it should be pushions?”

So long as it was a psion wave, it was impossible to escape Tatsuya’s detection.

Completely overturned. While that thought ran across Tatsuya’s mind, he immediately made the connection that this wasn’t the time to think of such leisurely thoughts. There was a mountain of classified secrets kept in the terminals of a magic high school that was directly affiliated with the national magic universities, so from a protection standpoint, safeguards on par with the magic universities were required and had been implemented. Countermeasures for suspicious individuals, hidden recordings or eavesdropping aside, there were also serious countermeasures in place for magic.

A sudden burst of pushion waves hinted that someone might have tripped the countermeasures. The government agencies would definitely step in if this place was usually inundated with magic waves that triggered discomfort. Given that that this feeling was largely unnoticed, the owner of this wave possessed the power to rein in their pushion waves.

Just being uncomfortable alone wasn’t sufficient grounds to determine that the owner was a harmful individual, but there were even fewer explanations for an optimistic outcome. That didn’t need to said given the situation at hand. Among their possible opponents who could cause Miyuki to feel discomfited, there was a high chance that they were up against the “vampire”.

Just as he was ruminating over how to uncover the source of that pushion wave and what was the best method to approach that hurdle, his information terminal beeped. This was the sound of an incoming call. Tatsuya moved the receiver to his ear.

“Tatsuya-kun, it’s terrible!”

Before he could say anything, this phrase burst forth from the receiver. Even if nothing critical was happening, a more timid individual – assuming they didn’t “fall over” just after the word “terrible” – might have flown into a panic. Under normal circumstances, one might think that declaring a name should come first, but this wasn’t the time and place. Likewise, this was an excellent opportunity for Tatsuya to chime in.

“Saegusa-senpai, do you know the precise location?”

The transmitter fired into the vampire’s body last time had not expired yet. So long as the invading creature was the same vampire as last time, they should be able to use the campus’s Local Positioning System (LSP) to lock on to the target’s current position. As the previous Student Council President, Mayumi should know the password to the LSP control mechanism (of course, this was a blatant violation of her duties as the

Student Council President).

“The vampire is on campus – Ah, this will be much easier if you already understand. The earlier signal is progressing from the side door towards the staff’s loading dock for the Practical Skills classes. Today, there should be employees from Maximillian Devices scheduled to demonstrate the new examination equipment.”

(In other words, they have infiltrated that group.)

Despite being pertinent to his earlier considerations, Tatsuya set aside questions like why the vampire chose this moment to appear or what their goals were and swiftly stood up.

Immediately afterwards, he activated the Flying-Type Magic device at his waist and jumped over the railing.

Miyuki quickly followed suit with her own Flying-Type Magic.

Lacking a personal Flying-Type Magic device, Honoka was left behind on the rooftop.

◊ ◊ ◊

Besides members of the Student Council and select members from the Public Moral Committee, students were forbidden from carrying CADs on campus.

To compensate, students left their CADs in storage and removed them after school.

It was fairly difficult to remove the CADs from storage when school wasn’t out. During the incident in spring, anyone with eyes could tell that it was an emergency, so special exceptions were made for CAD removal. Unfortunately, only a tiny proportion of the students and faculty detected the anomaly today. Regrettably, the staff at the storage room was not included, so Erika and Mikihiko’s requests were denied.

--If they were the only people there, that is. “Yoshida-kun, how…… Ah, you guys also noticed.”

Katsuto arrived while Erika was arguing with the staff. “Juumonji-senpai.”

No matter how much Erika danced to her own tune, there was no way she could ignore Katsuto. Unrelated to their positions as underclass or upperclassman, this was because of the difference between their skills and status.

Erika retracted her body but left her hands on the counter while Katsuto slightly leaned forward. Just by this alone, the employees – the school staff on duty had already been overwhelmed by a student’s presence.

“There’s been an emergency, I wish to retrieve my CAD.”

In reality, the Club Activities Group had also been unofficially awarded the right to carry CADs, but Katsuto politely observed the rules after relinquishing his position to Hattori.

“B-But, it’s not the scheduled time yet……”

“It’s an emergency.”

Even so, he seemed like someone who wasn’t going to be bound by the rules. Faced with a female employee earnestly trying to uphold her duty, Katsuto once more applied pressure. Finally, a fine adult piteously caved and lost all color to her face.

“Leaving it alone may result in serious consequences. Please return my CAD.”

“……Please wait a moment.”

Chiding the employee as “weak” would be rather inappropriate. If not for an equally ferocious character, there was no way to stand against Katsuto’s will.

“These two are my assistants.” “……I understand.”

Still, that posture was truly pitiful.

◊ ◊ ◊

After running here with her heart in her throat, Lina hurried after Michaela’s trailer after it came into sight. Originally, she was highly resistant to the idea of her acquaintances catching her in a high school uniform. It was one thing for someone to just see her wearing the uniform, but she would be incredibly embarrassed if someone caught her in an actual high school setting with a uniform on. Lina’s given mission was to infiltrate as a high school student. Thanks to her other mission hunting down the inhuman deserters, her intelligence work was currently on hold. In addition, her true identity had been uncovered by the targets of her investigation, Tatsuya and Miyuki. One thing that worried Lina to no end was whether she still had to disguise herself as a high school student.

Yet, even with Tatsuya and Miyuki in the know about her identity, her peers and professors seemed to be oblivious on the matter. It appeared that Tatsuya and Miyuki had no intention of revealing the true face of “Sirius”. As to what were they planning, Lina had no idea. Under the situation where she had no way of preventing the two of them from revealing the secret, keeping the details under wraps was the best possible choice for her.

Right now was the time she had to make sure she avoided any suspicious behavior that was out of line with high school students.

Thus, Lina struggled with herself regarding whether she should visit Michaela at the trailer for Maximillian Devices.

Still, simply reminding Michaela was not even a choice in Lina’s mind. Though this might be somewhat naïve, she was unable to ignore her duty towards her comrades. Caught between her duties towards her comrades and her mission, Lina was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She had adopted an attitude that avoided enemy detection, but had neglected to be wary of her surroundings.

Even if she could see Michaela descending from the trailer at a distance, Lina didn’t feel anything in particular as she sighed.

◊ ◊ ◊

While it was a specified location, Tatsuya and Miyuki hardly descended from the sky with a violent roar. There was no doubt that the vampire responsible for causing a ruckus in the capital had invaded the school, but in reality, there didn’t seem to be much chaos. The target must be under observation since triggering the security alarms, and employees from Maximillian Devices would follow legitimate channels to enter the school. Reckless actions were forbidden without a valid excuse.

Neither was continuous observation a good tactic for Tatsuya. This was also the first time that Tatsuya was up against a magical creature and not a

Magician.

Haphazardly initiating combat contained the possibility of revealing classified spells and techniques. Just imagining the cover up and gag orders alone was causing him to feel downtrodden.

At the very least, things would be facilitated if they knew who was the “vampire” infested by the Parasite. Maximillian Devices operated in teams of six employees. If they moved together as a group, there was no way to identify which one emitted the signal. Even so, causing all of them and any additional witnesses to disappear – in this case, it would be more like “eradicate” – was also out of the question. Hidden in an empty classroom in the science wing, Tatsuya and his sister kept a close eye on the mobile lab near the docking area (the modified trailer used for storage).

“Lina?”

Involuntarily, Miyuki said this aloud. Before his sister spoke, Tatsuya was already aware of Lina’s presence tailing the trailer, but now he renewed his attention on the blonde transfer student.

Today, the day after yesterday – their “duel” occurred near midnight, so anything before dawn was considered to be yesterday – yet here she was attending school like nothing had happened. Special forces from large countries were expected to be made of sterner stuff, but here she was also making careless moves unbefitting her status.

There was no sign that this was a premeditated action. Her focus was too lax, to the point that she failed to detect their eyes on her. She gave off the impression that she was in the throes of indecision.

Tatsuya kept an eye on her without any specific reason just as a woman wearing a suit walked towards Lina from her previous position near the trailer.

Based on Lina’s lip movements, she appeared to have said the name “Mia.” Tatsuya assumed that this woman must be the USNA agent sent to infiltrate Maximillian Devices.

Based on yesterday’s interrogation, Lina said she was hunting for vampires. This wasn’t for appearances’ sake, she actually faced off against them. Yet at the same time, she also said that while they were aware that the deserters fled to Japan, they were unaware of their actual identities. There was a high chance that a vampire was disguised as one of their agents, making their identities that much harder to identify.

(Hard to imagine that someone like Sirius of Stars would be unable to identify her target even after repeated head-on confrontations with her target……)

As he thought this, Tatsuya risked using his “sight” to sweep over that woman.

Immediately afterwards, he felt it. Within his amplified senses, there were traces of another observer searching around.

A massive amount of “spirits” danced around that woman’s surroundings.

◊ ◊ ◊

In regards to Angelina Sirius’s unexpected request for contact on First High’s campus, Michaela Honda felt a surge of confusion and anxiety. Although they shared the same mission in identifying the mysterious Strategic-Class Magician, Lina and Michaela belonged to different command structures. Lina was her superior in terms of rank, but it was hard to imagine her giving Michaela any sort of order. In this regard, Lina was a little of a purist. Putting it lightly, she wasn’t contaminated by society, and putting it negatively, she was simply stubborn. That being said, Michaela had no idea what Lina would request her help for. Lina was the High Commander of Stars whereas Michaela was simply a technician.

Even so, there was no way she could ignore her direct superior. Doing so would have been practically screaming she was suspicious. Michaela stepped off the trailer and earnestly tried to assume an air of normality as she walked towards Lina.

Towards the spirits that kept hounding her, she waved her hands like someone trying to fend off a pest.

◊ ◊ ◊

The sight of the female technician attempting to avoid the spirits that would be invisible to your average Magician solidified Mikihiko’s belief that she was the one.

“It’s definitely her. There’s no way it could be wrong.” Hearing Mikihiko’s muffled voice, Katsuto wordlessly nodded.

“That’s Lina, I think. So…… She’s the leader.”

Her whispers barely containing her fury, Erika already held her equipment in the shape of a wakazashi.

Although Tatsuya and Miyuki knew this was a misunderstanding, it was perfectly natural for her to make this assumption.

“There’s a barrier in place that blocks sight and hearing, but they can’t lie to machines……”

“In that case, let me do something.”

Mikihiko and Katsuto exchanged nods. Behind Mikihiko, Mizuki was completely unable to hide her dismayed expression and shuddered.

“Erika, not yet.” “I got it.”

It was true that she was a little distracted, but she still kept her calm while replying. Upon hearing this, Mikihiko threw the talisman he held in his hand. Six strips of paper arrayed in the shape of a fan slid over the ground at a low altitude. The talisman landed after forming a perfect hexagon around the trailer.

“I’m starting.”

Unlike the theories behind modern magic, the magic he invoked was a wide area magic that inhibited the senses.

◊ ◊ ◊

“Mia…… What’s wrong?”

Seeing Michaela wave her arms as if she was shooing insects, Lina tilted her head in bemusement.

There would be no confusion if this was still summer. Nor would it be odd in spring or fall, but this was the heart of winter. Without any hint of warmth, the temperature was bone chilling. Indoors was one thing, but there should be no way that any pests would be flying outdoors.

“No, it’s nothing.”

Just hearing the voice alone might mean exactly that without any ulterior meaning. Yet, her expression blatantly faltered and, depending on the time and place, that would have been a grievous misstep. That was what Lina believed.

Lina also believed that exactly what was the mistake Michaela made wasn’t important at this point in time.

Still, she was now forced to indicate to Michaela that they had to leave this place. Although Lina’s instincts screamed at her to verify the source of Michaela’s wavering, logic demanded that she first ensure Michaela safely escaped the vampire’s threat.

This indecision weighed down Lina’s actions. Fortunately (?), there was no longer any need for her to wrestle with this any longer.

“—What’s this? We’re surrounded!?”

The fact that they were encompassed within a wide area magic for sensory inhibition immediately drew Lina’s attention.

◊ ◊ ◊

“Is that a barrier!?”

Even Miyuki was shocked that the large trailer she was watching suddenly disappeared from view. Seeing his sister turn her head towards him in question, Tatsuya nodded in the affirmative.

“Must be Mikihiko. Quite an impressive technique, actually.” “Yoshida-kun?”

Unrelated to Course 1 or 2 students, Miyuki was unable to hide her surprise that a first year high school student could devise such a complicated and powerful formation that befuddled the senses.

“Its effects lie in cutting off sight and hearing.

Looks like it can’t affect physical movement though……”

He was slightly uneasy at leaving Miyuki in the dark about the proceedings ahead of time, but he couldn’t afford to waste the painstaking effort involved in creating this stage. Tatsuya temporarily reestablished connection with the line that previously lay dormant.

“Saegusa-senpai, this is Shiba.” “What is it?”

The response was immediate. She must have remained on the line the entire time.

“Please turn off the recording devices near the docking area leading towards the practical skills building.”

This would have been an outrageous request even for the daughter of the Saegusa Family if these were the streets, but within the confines of the school, then on some level Mayumi was still able to manipulate everything as she saw fit.

“Why...... Even if I asked, you probably wouldn’t answer me anyways.”

“Please.”

“Ha…… OK, it’s off.”

If one thought about it for a moment, Mayumi actually coddled Tatsuya very much.

Then again, Tatsuya pampered Mayumi as well, so this was more like “tit for tat”, or maybe “mutually beneficial”.

“Let’s go, Miyuki.” “Yes, Onii-sama.”

After exchanging a glance, Tatsuya and Miyuki flew out of the classroom window from where they were hiding.

◊ ◊ ◊

Instinct alone enabled her to avoid the white blade that flashed before her eyes.

Pushing Mia to one side, Lina used that push off to flip backwards herself. Though covered in dust, she still pulled out the old information terminal from her inside pocket. As she slid to her side, Lina opened the terminal. A flat, Generalized CAD appeared from within. Erika never hesitated – it was perfectly natural for infiltrators to be equipped with outlandish equipment for surprise attacks.

Without sparing Lina a glance, Erika sprinted towards the fallen Mia and pointed the sharp end of the wakazashi at her while holding it in one hand.

“What are you doing, Erika!?”

Lina activated magic that was designed to blow Erika away.

That magic encountered a counter magic barrier erected against it – and was blocked from phenomenon alteration.

“Katsuto Juumonji!?”

The solemn giant appeared before her when she whipped her head around in shock. Though his physical stature wasn’t overly outrageous to her, his very presence seemed to tower over her.

Intelligence had identified his strength as something to be wary of ahead of time. Still, after encountering him in the flesh, it was hard not to be awed by the fact that someone of his caliber was lurking around her. During the instant that Lina’s attention was drawn to Katsuto, Erika had already made that final step.

“Mia!?”

The desperate cry that bemoaned her comrade’s fate was swiftly replaced by the astonishment one feels when witnessing an unbelievable sight.

Mia had caught the blade of the wakazashi barehanded. Without using any CAD, her palm was wrapped in barrier magic.

She had seen that magic before. This was the same magic that the mysterious individual in the white mask employed.

“What is going on here……?”

“Lina, can you hear me!?” “Silvie?”

“Thank goodness! I finally got through.”

This wasn’t a conversation held over a communication device. Instead, this was a type of magic that Silvia excelled in. Without using the physical body as a medium, she used aerial vibration to convey her voice. So long as she could lock onto the target, she could ignore any physical obstacle and communicate without transmitters or recording devices no matter how great the distance.

Strictly speaking, it was more efficient as a method of listening in, but even on its own merit as a transmission tool, signals could be passed along through aerial vibration in the ears without worrying about someone listening in. While there was no hope of listening in private, the magic’s practicality cannot be denied given the lack of time to converse over a receiver.

“I have uncovered the identity of the individual wearing the white mask from earlier.”

Even with Michaela and Erika keeping each other at bay during their stalemate, Lina’s consciousness was still drawn away by Silvia’s voice.

“It’s Michaela! The masked individual’s true identity is Michaela Honda!” Lina’s mind went blank, if only for an instant.

“—Mia, so you were the one in the white mask!”

For Lina, Michaela was simply a teammate. She just so happened to be someone who roomed next to her and occasionally spoke with her over tea.

Even so, the fact that Michaela was the one who had repeatedly clashed against her struck Lina a heavy blow.

Still in a standoff with Erika, Michaela glanced at Lina, who wore a rather human expression. Yet, this was no look of protested innocence or regret, but a cold, inhuman gaze of someone warily regarding an enemy.

“No need to waste your breath at this point!”

Erika was of the belief that the vampire and Lina were in cahoots. She wholly ignored what she imagined to be Lina’s feigned shouts of dismay and swung her wakazashi at the openings in Michaela’s defense. When she closed in to one step away from her opponent, the horizontal swing Erika directed towards Michaela’s neck level magically changed direction to avoid Michaela’s blocking arm and stabbed towards Michaela’s chest.

Astounded by this turn around, Michaela could only wear this expression as she looked down towards her chest.

On some level, this was the expected result.

Despite receiving training in close quarters combat, Erika was still a Magician.

While he received martial arts training, Mikihiko was still a magic practitioner.

In addition to her magical education, Erika was at heart a swordswoman. In the domain of the sword, when wielding blades or fists in combat, Erika’s skills were several levels higher than the Magicians that Michaela had been facing against up until this moment.

Yet, in the next instant, it was Erika who wore a grim expression. Heedless of the skirt she wore, Erika raised a leg to kick out at Michaela’s waist. She used this push off to extract her wakazashi and leaped backwards to a safe position.

Michaela slashed with her right arm to dispel Erika’s afterimage. Her fingers curled like talons with a pyramid-like force field around them. Before Erika and Lina’s eyes, the puncture hole in her chest swiftly recovered.

“Healing Magic!? She can heal that degree of injury instantaneously!?” “Looks like we’re up against a real monster.”

In the face of Lina’s dismayed shout, Erika spat out her own response while keeping her eyes glued onto Michaela.

“Then, how about this?”

The voice emanated from the trailer’s shadows.

Accompanied by that voice, the chill of the wintry air sharpened. With perfect precision, the frost roared towards Michaela.

Michaela was completely frozen without any time to muster a physical or magical response.

“Miyuki?”

This astounding sight prompted Erika to relax both her stance and tone. The figure who appeared before her was unquestionably Miyuki, with Tatsuya materializing behind her.

“What’s going on!? Lina, are you OK!?”

“I’m fine now, but please dispatch any special forces currently on standby. We may have to force our way out.”

“—Understood. I’ll make the arrangements.”

In response to the agitated queries from Silvia regarding her safety, Lina quietly replied back with her orders.

Just as Lina and Silvia were conversing, Tatsuya walked before Lina. “Offline.”

Lina swiftly said one word and immediately broke off her connection with Silvia. Though this might be meaningless, it was still an effort to hide her trump card. Tatsuya should have witnessed what Lina said, but he never bothered to raise that subject.

“Lina, she appears to be someone you’re familiar with, but I will be taking over custody.”

Tatsuya said as he walked towards her former neighbor who had been turned into an ice statue.

“You…… killed the people from Maximillian Devices?”

Hearing Lina’s question, Tatsuya formed an expression that was just short of a grimace.

“No need to assume the worst. I only let them sleep for a little bit.”

The employees from Maximillian Devices weren’t conspirators, given that they were oblivious to Michaela’s true nature. They were simply normal people caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. While a situation where they created a ruckus might create a beneficial opportunity for Lina, she was honestly glad that they would be spared any additional hazard.

“Just a second here. I’m going to be in a little bit of a bind if you just cart her off.”

In place of Lina, who could only reluctantly back down given her limited options, Erika looked to contest the spoils of war.

“Though this might seem silly in Tatsuya-kun’s eyes, we have our own reputation to consider. If that woman is truly the one who hurt Leo, then I can’t hand her over even if it’s you, Tatsuya-kun.”

While not overly belligerent, there wasn’t a single bit of wasted effort in the way she held that wakazashi. This was an obvious hint that she could immediately resort to a combat situation with minimal effort.

Rather, there was no need to scrutinize so carefully, as her eyes told the whole story.

Erika was 100% serious here.

“I’m not necessarily going to press custody either.” Regardless, this was a misunderstanding of epic proportions. “Eh?”

As expected, Erika adopted a bewildered expression as if she had been faked out by Tatsuya’s response.

“Weren’t you going to investigate that woman and dispose of her?”

Lina worried her lip at the words “dispose of”. She had no right to speak here and her expression clearly showed that she was trying to convince herself of that.

“All we want is the result of the investigation.”

Tatsuya never bothered with Lina’s expression. His eyes were focused on keeping Erika and Katsuto in his line of sight.

“I will contact my side for that.”

In response to Katsuto’s reply, Tatsuya nodded in assent. Tatsuya glanced at Katsuto and Erika,

Miyuki watched Tatsuya and Erika, Katsuto kept his eyes on Tatsuya and Lina, Erika was eyeing Tatsuya and Miyuki.

Only Mikihiko was observing the entire scene, so of course he was the first one to detect the anomaly.

“Watch out!”

The hurriedly issued warning was kept short due to the pressing nature of the situation. In spite of this, the warning still achieved the desired effect. Katsuto cast a barrier to block the electricity being generated by the Dispersal System in midair while Tatsuya employed Counter Magic to dispel it.

Miyuki and Erika both whipped their heads towards the caster who released the magic.

As the two of them stood there in bemusement, the woman responsible for releasing the magic remained frozen. A human being of flesh and blood, no, even nonhumans would have found it impossible to cling onto their consciousness – that, was public knowledge.

Yet here, all of this was overturned. The ice statue was covered in electricity.

“Self-destruct!?”

Lina was the one who released that mournful groan. “Everyone down!”

Katsuto and Tatsuya called out at the same time. Tatsuya covered Miyuki while Mikihiko threw his arms around Mizuki. Katsuto, Erika, and Lina all crouched down in defensive positions.

Bursting through Miyuki’s ice, Michaela’s body was wrapped in flames. Like a paper held before the flame, they were immediately extinguished.

Afterwards – the dancing ashes dissipated before magic shot towards Tatsuya, Miyuki, Lina, Erika, and Katsuto from previously empty locations.

Right now, the wintry sky might be covered in dark clouds that heralded the coming of snow at any moment. However, the thunderbolts from the rain were not coming from the clouds, but from seemingly random locations. This was not lightning, given that its speed was far short of tens of thousands of meters per second and was well within the visible spectrum. At most, this was about the speed of an arrow shot from a bow.

Still, even an electrical ball of this was size was sufficient to render all movement impossible. Taking ten shots from these at the same time would definitely result in death.

Furthermore, even if the speed was slow enough for the eye to follow, there was no time to erect defensive barriers when fired at a distance within ten meters. The reason they could block the first attack was because there were still traces remaining of the barrier created to block what they had mistakenly assumed to be a suicide attack. If this attack had been launched out of the blue, there was no way they could have all escaped unscathed. In addition, the danger was still present.

Before Miyuki could turn her head, Tatsuya had already used magic to erase the flash that suddenly appeared behind her back.

The electric ball gathered over Erika’s head was dispersed by the charged ice particles Miyuki created.

Katsuto blocked the flash while Lina’s plasma neutralized the current.

There was no trace that an Activation Sequence was involved. Regardless of whether it was the electric ball or force that applied the rotational motion, both were phenomenon alterations that resulted from Magic Sequences forged by psions.

By using the phenomenon alterations in the air that caused electrons to converge as a premonition, they barely managed to hold out against the attacks that could appear from anywhere.

Again, there was no sign of a Magician. At the very least, they weren’t within Tatsuya’s “vision”. Given that they could elude Tatsuya’s “vision”, their opponent was no Magician. (So this is a Parasite!)

Magic was something released from the pushions floating in the Idea’s seas.

Mikihiko and Mizuki were sequestered a little further away from the other five in the shadows of the trailer.

The flashes in the sky dissipated in front of Tatsuya and his companions. This was what Mizuki beheld with her eyes, since she was unable to see the magical harbingers and fallout. All of the magical shockwaves were being cut off by the barrier. Based on her earlier experience, Mikihiko arrived at the conclusion that this was absolutely necessary for Mizuki. Thanks to this, the two of them were able to avoid the lightning strikes. After abandoning the confines of flesh, the information body appeared to be unable to perceive light and sound, thus forced to use magic waves to feel out the world.

Their friends’ predicament was not as fortuitous. The Parasite’s attack was scattered because of its inclination to launch surprise attacks. Tatsuya’s group was not being overwhelmed, but neither were they able to retaliate since they had no idea where the next attack was coming from. The monster’s attacks failed to tell on Tatsuya and company, nor could they land a decisive strike on their opponent.

“How strange…… Why hasn’t it fled yet……?”

Mizuki’s ears caught wind of Mikihiko’s words.

Upon hearing this, she suddenly started paying attention to details that hitherto escaped her grasp.

As to why the vampire – or Parasite, repeatedly used ineffective attacks.

While there was no way to ascertain if the Parasite possessed a will or judgment, assuming this was their innate nature or mechanical reflex, then there must be some sort of reason forcing them to keep up this obstinate assault.

Exactly why is that?

This question kept floating around in Mizuki’s mind.

Before the phenomenon alteration could occur, Tatsuya had already broken down the Magic Sequence devised by the Parasite.

Maybe it was because there was no replacement, but in the beginning he had not been able to grasp the key components of the Activation Sequence deployment. Now, Tatsuya was able to perfectly intercept the Parasite’s magic attacks.

After obtaining the necessary opening to launch a counterattack, his mind also found the leisure to begin analyzing the conundrum at the same time.

“Shiba, what do you think the reason is?” It was the same for Katsuto.

Right now, with Miyuki, Erika, and Lina in tow, Katsuto and Tatsuya were arrayed in a formation where everyone had their backs to one another. Though they were unable to see each other’s faces, this was not going to disrupt their ability to understand each other’s questions.

“I’m not certain if this is its intent or innate ability, but there must be some reason why we must be kept here.”

“So it could flee whenever it wants to.”

“At the very least, I have no way of restraining it.” “Likewise. In the end, we don’t even know where it is.”

Katsuto was pretty much in the same boat as Tatsuya. Even if their perception through the Idea told them the target was right there, they had no idea how to handle it in the physical world. There was no clearly defined target in the material world. There was a very fragile connection to any physical existence, which gave the impression that there was only a frail thread that barely maintained the connection in order to invoke magic.

In addition, their opponent was a quantum information body. Tatsuya couldn’t break down its design even if he could identify the target, which left Tatsuya with no viable means of attack.

“Lina, do you know anything?”

As he said this, Tatsuya turned and pointed his CAD at Erika before pulling the trigger. By her side, the magic harbinger dissipated like mist.

“……The true form of the vampire is a nonphysical entity known as a

Parasite.”

She had planned on maintaining her silence even in the face of Tatsuya’s interrogation, but swiftly reevaluated that this wasn’t the time and place.

Lina replied back in a bitter tone.

“The definition coined at the London Conference. I already knew that.”

Yet, Tatsuya’s rejoinder was so shocking that it struck Lina dumb for a solid ten seconds.

“……Really, you guys. Don’t tell me that all high school students in Japan would say the same thing.”

“Relax. By all standards, we are exceptions.”

Whether Lina could understand the hidden nuances behind his reference as exceptions rather than special remained unknown.

“Well?”

Since Tatsuya himself wasn’t clearly conscious of this, it would hardly be surprising if Lina missed it.

“Parasites possess the human body and bring about mutations in humans. Though there seems to be some connection with its compatibility with the host, the Parasite’s movements seemed to be based off the host’s self- preservation instincts.”

“In other words, it wants to possess one of us.” “Most likely.”

“How?”

“Uncertain, which is why I’m hoping someone will teach me.” “……How very useless.”

“Well, excuse me!”

During this rough exchange of insults, Tatsuya and Katsuto still cooperated to completely nullify the Parasite’s attacks. Regardless, rather than hoping, Tatsuya held the belief that the Parasite’s energy was finite.

The information body’s energy transfer system remained a mystery to him, but Tatsuya felt that it was highly unlikely that their opponent could endlessly release magic. Once it arrived at the conclusion that it couldn’t possess one of the five people in Tatsuya’s group – either through consciousness or instinct – it might elect to try and find another host elsewhere. Of course, that being said, purposefully allowing a possession was out of the question. He wasn’t arrogant enough to put himself on such a pedestal.

--Any strategy that would yield a breakthrough remained elusive.

“Shoot…… Erika’s being targeted.”

Keeping Mizuki safely at his back, Mikihiko was completely focused on watching his companions as those words involuntarily slipped from his mouth.

“Did it notice that Erika is only one who can’t hurt it…...”

The foundation of Erika’s magic techniques favored close quarters combat against physical foes. Beyond long range shockwaves that could weaken an enemy, she didn’t possess any other abilities to counter enemies without a physical body.

Mikihiko might be loath to admit this, but he was seriously growing worried. If he was any calmer, he might have noticed Mizuki overhearing his every word, a realization that would have immediately prompted him to stop his careless words.

“If we at least knew where it was, then there would be some way to retaliate……”

At Mikihiko’s muttering, Mizuki steeled herself. “Yoshida-kun, please remove the barrier.” “Eh?”

Mikihiko’s panicked response was not because he had forgotten about Mizuki’s presence, but rather because of the unexpected nature of her request.

“Shibata-san, what are you planning?”

“I might be able to tell where it is exactly.”

At these words, Mikihiko finally realized that he had been verbalizing his internal thoughts out loud. A terribly rueful expression crossed his face.

Yet, Mizuki seemed not to care. Buoyed by a fierce will, she pinned Mikihiko in place with her upward gaze.

“……I can’t, the stimulation would be far too strong for you. Even if I suppressed the demonic aura, there would still be side effects. I don’t even know what will happen once the barrier comes down and you stare directly into that demonic aura. In the worst case scenario, there is the chance of going blind.”

“Since the moment I chose to become a Magician, I have long resolved myself to face that risk. Erika-chan is in serious danger, no? If I don’t provide any assistance now, then the power I hold will truly become pointless. My very purpose for being here becomes null and void.”

He knew exactly what Mizuki was trying to say. Mikihiko was educated under precisely the same set of values.

However, Mizuki was a young girl born to an affluent but mundane – mundane referred to the fact that her family was not magically gifted – family who just happened to manifest her ancestor’s natural ability to see spirits. Her bloodline was so thin, her family so peripheral that if she had not been born, their connection to their magical practitioner of an ancestor would never have been known. She should have been raised by a pair of parents who knew nothing of the ways of Magicians.

There was no reason she should have been so resolute. She was a young woman who didn’t need to bear such determination.

You cannot say these words – say things like that, Mikihiko wanted to say. Those were words that were more befitting of people like himself who saw themselves as nothing more than that which accompanied magic, who used magic to obtain livelihood and recompense from their fellow man, and not the words of a young girl who just so happened to be born with magic. At least, that was how Mikihiko felt.

Setting aside that he was only a “young man”, this was what Mikihiko was considering.

“……I understand.”

Finally, he could only bow before Mizuki’s request. How ironic was it that he had been given a shove from behind by the very same restrictive values that bound him as a scion of a famous magical family.

Mikihiko pulled out a folded cloth from his sports jacket pocket and handed it to Mizuki. Seeing Mizuki accepting the cloth without fully comprehending, he motioned for her to “try and spread it out”. That cloth was surprisingly thin and its area barely covered a shawl. This was an artifact for magical defense that was based off the “Ofudas” in Shinto artifacts.

“Wear that around your neck. If you feel in danger, immediately pull it over your eyes. This should have the same effect as the glasses Shibata-san wears.”

Persuaded by Mikihiko’s stern tone, Mizuki tied the thin cloth around her neck without skepticism.

Now, Mikihiko reached out with one hand and untied the cloth from her head and shifted it so that both sides were symmetrical on her shoulders as the cloth fell before her chest.

Mizuki seemed to be overly nervous at the slight touches to her head and shoulders, but Mikihiko seemed intent on something else.

“Promise me you will never force yourself. Erika would never want someone to sacrifice themselves for her.”

“……I promise.”

With Mikihiko’s eyes locked onto her, Mizuki forgot her embarrassment and nodded.

After hearing Mikihiko’s whispered words, We’re going in, Mizuki tightly clasped the two ends of the cloth that dangled down.

A simple yes seemed like such a short reply, but she had to give it her all so that her voice didn’t quaver.

Mizuki was so terrified that she couldn’t even tell herself not to be afraid. Yet amazingly, she never even thought of running away.

For some mysterious reason, Mizuki sincerely believed that this was to be her role.

Mikihiko muttered something that Mizuki could not understand. In the next instant, a wave of chaos came rushing forward.

She didn’t even have time to register the pain in her eyes. Mizuki felt pain stabbing all over her body.

She couldn’t even tell which part of her body was in pain. Pumping strength into her buckling knees, she opened her eyes.

On an average day, how much had she missed by closing her eyes – Mizuki finally got that kind of feeling.

Before her eyes that beheld another world, there was a foreign object sticking out like a sore thumb.

Mizuki’s instincts told her that was the Parasite.

The magic shot out by the Parasite vanished when it came into contact with Katsuto’s barrier.

Mizuki was able to see the tiny threads that seemed to be hidden in that electrical attack.

The long, thin strands stalked towards Miyuki, Lina, and Erika, but were blocked aside by Katsuto’s barrier and torn to shreds by Tatsuya’s shots.

Mizuki had no basis for this, but she believed those thin strands tucked inside the electrical attack would invade the human body through the body’s electrical current.

She could only watch. “There.”

Her mouth moved on its own as her wrist spontaneously pointed. Mizuki was like the audience on the other side of the silver screen as she watched this sight.

“Approximately 20 meters above Erika-chan’s head, one meter to the right, 50 meters to the rear. That is the point of contact.”

Mizuki pointed out the hole in the world that enabled these strands to slip out.

Mikihiko didn’t even bother to waste time on speaking as his fingers danced across the CAD. It was a fan-shaped equipment. He opened the talisman that recorded Yamashina’s flames, infused his psions, and deployed the Activation Sequence.

Anti-demon magic, Karura-En – specifically designed to counter things that were not information bodies. The independent information body that formed its “flames” shot towards the coordinates that Mizuki pointed at.

While Tatsuya was aware of the concept of “ignition” despite the lack of any materialization of “something burning”, he truly witnessed the magic launched against the detached information body had brought harm to the Parasite.

While that was the enemy’s situation before his eyes, Tatsuya could help but be caught by surprise.

SB Magic – the fundamentals of Spirit Magic were known to Tatsuya. Using free floating, independent information bodies in the Idea to interfere with information bodies that have been separated from the phenomena, then materializing the physical effects of the independent information body was the system how Spirit Magic worked.

Right now, the magic displayed by Mikihiko functioned along the same theory. The difference was that the materialization effect was not happening in the physical dimension but in the nonphysical dimension.

For magic that was designed to act upon the information body, this was neither rare nor astounding. The magic he wielded to break down information bodies was the same and was magic that, on some level, overwrote the information body itself.

However, Mikihiko’s magic used one of the cornerstone principles behind the systems of magic theory by utilizing the fact that “if phenomena are accompanied by information bodies, then the information body that accompanies the phenomena is recorded in the Idea”, thus using the information body that tagged along and not interfering with the physical dimension to directly interfere with the Idea. The “combustion” never occurred in the physical world, but something in the Idea was rewritten to “being burnt”.

The systems of magic were all about using magic to turn a concept on its head. Nonetheless, what shocked him even more was that coordinates of the Parasite that had hitherto been dancing in and out of his grasp were suddenly clearly within his vision. There was a sense of an imaginary value suddenly being granted a real value.

The term Schrödinger’s Cat flashed across his mind.

Whether the cat in the box was alive or dead could only be verified by opening the box. Contrary to the original creator’s intent, this thought experiment had a unique approach by using an observer’s observations to determine the veracity of the truth. Regardless of whether one subscribed to the Copenhagen or Everett theory, the fact remained that the undeniable truth was that the observer was uncertain of the truth.

In the case of the Parasite – that which was called a “monster” of an information body, once it had been observed by an observer, wouldn’t the same sequence of events be repeated by a third party?

Through Mizuki’s vision, has the existence that previously dwelled in the nonphysical dimension grown stronger?

If that’s the case……

(This time Mizuki is in danger!)

There was no way that the Parasite would be ignorant that someone’s eyes possessed the power to alter its very composition.

Tatsuya frantically concentrated on his “vision”.

Within his mind’s eye, the scene he was most worried about was unfolding.

He thought about this for less than a moment.

Tatsuya raised his left hand that wasn’t holding a CAD towards Mizuki.

When you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.

This was public knowledge even without Nietzsche’s words. In order to look into a passage you must see through, then there was the possibility of an opponent seeing you through the passage.

Just as Mizuki caught sight of the Parasite, so too did the Parasite catch sight of Mizuki.

“Incoming!”

Hearing Mizuki’s loud, almost grim warning – or rather, it may have just been a tragic cry – Mikihiko quickly erected the barrier.

“Where is it!?”

Mikihiko pushed the barrier to its maximum strength as quickly as possible while he queried Mizuki for the Parasite’s current position.

The defensive magic he cast almost on reflex was the same barrier he deployed earlier.

This magic primarily veiled them against the enemy.

The durability against invasion was low and once discovered, its veiling power was decreased by half.

Mikihiko himself was well aware of the need to press the attack from their side.

Yet, Mizuki had no time to answer the question. She was pressing both hands to her eyes. Mikihiko didn’t have the heart to reprimand her.

Mizuki had never stood toe to toe with the “demonic”, and Mikihiko knew she was nothing more than an inexperienced young girl. This was the reason why Erika asked Mikihiko to protect Mizuki, and why Mikihiko fully planned on doing so. In the face of the “demonic”, it was only natural that Mizuki was reduced to this state, which was why they pulled so far back in the first place.

As the Parasite approached to a range where even he wasn’t sure he could survive, Mizuki went to pieces just as was expected, so he wasn’t going to berate her.

In addition – there was no time.

The Parasite extended a “thread”. Although Mikihiko couldn’t see the thread, he was sure that “something” mixed in with the light was trying to seize hold of Mizuki.

It wasn’t like there was nothing Mikihiko could do. Even if he couldn’t see the actual body, he still possessed techniques that could severe the spiritual effects. Originally, Ancient Magic practitioners like Mikihiko were more accustomed to combating the spiritual than physical phenomena.

Nonetheless, at the same time, the traditional artes of Ancient Magic required a long time to activate. The decisive lack of speed during critical situations was one of the primary reasons why modern magic had become mainstream while Ancient Magic had fallen by the wayside.

In spite of this, Mikihiko was still launching the anti-demon magic “Exorcism Cut” at the breach in his barrier. Though its strength paled in comparison to ritual magic, the magic’s speed rivaled that of the artes used by Magicians of the Forbidden Sect.

Forming into a blade, the psions shredded the threads sent forth by the Parasite.

Unfortunately, this was only a temporary measure.

Even if this could break the curse, there was no way of damaging the source.

Immediately, several other threads slinked towards Mizuki.

Mikihiko knew that this was a losing cause, but still let fly with Exorcism Cut.

--However, before the blade could be swung.

Swifter than Mikihiko’s Exorcism Cut, a rampaging gale of invisible light blew away the actual body along with its “threads”.

The cloth that she borrowed from Mikihiko successfully kept away the uncomfortable wave motions that seeped past her glasses.

Yet, the amazing thing was that not feeling “uncomfortable” didn’t mean she was unable to see them. Several shimmering strands of dark light billowed down from the figure in the sky, like a crab dancing in the wind.

Even so, none of this diminished the terror she felt. Also, there was another flaw.

Even if she closed her eyes, she could still see it. Even if she didn’t want to, she could still see it.

There were thin tentacles that wanted to rush towards her. Those were the things she could see. Both the biological and inherent horror were enough to send her normal thoughts screeching to a halt.

She could sense that Mikihiko was shouting, but as to what he was shouting, she remained oblivious.

If she had kept going any longer, her mind would have suffered horribly.

Maybe when compared to her body rotting away, her mind would be devoured first.

What saved her then, was the oncoming tide of brilliant psions.

Much like the scene that greeted her eyes half a year ago in that lab, but this time the force was even more overwhelming.

Although this was barely in the nick of time, there was no such thing as running out of active psions during a battle where magic was being wielded.

His right hand was stronger with Decomposition magic, but unlike Gram Dispersal, for Gram Demolition it didn’t matter which hand he used even without a CAD. In that instant, Tatsuya gathered the maximum amount of psions in his left hand.

As he suspected, thanks to the event with Mizuki’s vision, the creature’s existence in this world was stabilizing. As it drew closer to her, the fluctuations in the Parasite’s coordinates became much smaller, and the scattered points began to congregate.

Even if the information body existed, the Parasite that once baffled Tatsuya regarding its location and how it could be killed could now be fully analyzed.

Still, there was no time for him to convey that message. The tentacles that Mikihiko was severing – in Tatsuya’s imagination, it looked like an irregular protozoa extending filamentous pseudopods – immediately regrew and reached towards Mizuki.

Alas, he had no other options. --He slightly squinted his eyes,

--Took aim at the target and imagined the shot.

--Tatsuya released the block of compressed psions he held in his left hand.

With the palm set as the firing point for Gram Demolition, the storm of psions stampeded towards the Parasite and sent both it and its tentacles flying.

“Shibata-san, are you alright!?”

Mikihiko’s voice was so stunned that he sounded like he was on the verge of jumping to his feet. Hearing this, Tatsuya lowered the left arm he had raised.

He bitterly gritted his teeth at the expected result of him calling on his Nonsystematic magic.

Gram Demolition contained the word “demolition”, but in practice the magic was more like using the pressure of a psion tide to flood away the information body.

In situations where the target was a Magic Sequence, the technique could strip a Magic Sequence’s functions through the Eidos, hereby creating its magic nullifying effect as Counter Magic.

The majority of Magic Sequences would collapse under the strain of the information matrix being shattered at the moment of impact, hence the name “Demolition”, but in reality, the psion tide from Gram Demolition did not possess the ability to destroy information bodies. When faced with a target that had a sturdier design than Magic Sequences, there was a high possibility that the information matrix would be blown away rather than destroyed.

Even with those realizations in mind, Tatsuya still chose to use Gram Demolition at that time.

In order to save Mizuki.

Because Tatsuya really couldn’t think of any other solution. “It got away……”

Tatsuya didn’t respond to Katsuto’s murmur. By using Gram Demolition in that situation and removing the Parasite from the field, there was a rising possibility that they might have lost the chance to deliver the final blow. Tatsuya had already turned over that scenario in his head, but the result still turned out this way.

“Ah, oh well. Although it got away, it didn’t emerge unscathed. Since no one was injured, I think this result is satisfactory.”

Katsuto’s words weren’t all meant to be comforting. When faced with an expected attack from the Parasite, they still managed to escape without casualties. It’s just that this particular encounter was a snare that they devised. Maybe their opponent never planned on fighting in the first place.

Since they elected to take a battle that wasn’t necessary and wasn’t unavoidable, the bottom line was for there to be no casualties. The primary objective was to capture the target, the secondary objective was to annihilate the enemy. If the above could not be achieved, then at the very least they needed to obtain new clues to help unmask their enemy’s capabilities.

In other words, from Tatsuya’s perspective on their combat priorities, their net gain was effectively zero. The most they could say was that their score wasn’t negative.

(What a disaster……)

Tatsuya forcibly made sure he didn’t say this aloud. If he said this,

Miyuki would worry. Mizuki would blame herself. Erika would be hurt.

For Tatsuya, this was nothing more than rubbing salt into an open wound. There was no way Tatsuya would do something that would leave such a mess on his hands.