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Chapter 4 [The Two Stone Tablets]

Thwarting the FBI's attempted kidnapping plot against Mayumi was not a very difficult mission for Lina. But it was quite time-consuming and laborious, leaving Lina with little to no time to focus on what was taking place on Mt. Shasta. 

If it had not been for the unnecessary meddling of the FBI, which had been playing under the strings by the staff of the opposition party's presidential candidate, then the ensuing turmoil on the West Coast could have been prevented. 

The evening of June 29th. Despite it being evening time, it is still bright outside. With the summer solstice having just passed, sunset is still a long way off. 

During their surveillance of FAIR, Haruka and Louis Roux witnessed members of a digging team come out from behind a waterfall with excited faces while carrying what appeared to be stone tablets in hand. 

The size of them is slightly larger than that of a letter-size paper. They aren't very thick. Compared to the hands holding them, they are each about the width of a finger. 

There are two stone tablets, each held by one of the pair. Perhaps they are heavier than they appear. One is white, while the other is black. From where they were standing, in the shadows of the trees, it was difficult to discern the smallest shades of color. 

Haruka turned up the sensitivity of her directional microphone. Beside her, Louis with an earbud in one ear was similarly fiddling with the volume. 

[…This is it. Good job.] 

They heard Laura commending one of the people who had dug out the black stone tablet after she received it. 

Haruka and Louis exchanged looks. It seemed that FAIR had found what they were after. 

[And what should we do with this one?] 

The excavator holding the white stone tablet gestured it forward and asked Laura. 

Haruka and Louis brought their attention back to listening in. 

[…I'm still not sure. Let's bring it along and examine it just in case.] 

With that, Laura motioned for them to leave. 

"How do you want to proceed now?" 

Haruka asked Louis. 

"I think we should leave with what we have for now." 

She then added this. It was her judgment that she had fulfilled the request, having gotten enough evidence to call the job done. 

"Miss Fields, could you please deliver the data of the evidence to headquarters?" 

Haruka had no objections to the instruction. 

"What are you planning to do next, Mister?" 

She just couldn't shake the bad feeling that he was about to scare out a snake by poking at the brush. He himself doesn't mind if he gets bitten. However, he also didn't want anyone else to get caught up in it. 

"I can't let FAIR have that black stone tablet. It's just a gut feeling, but I'm sure of it." 

"…Are you going to try to take it away from them?" 

"Let's split up here. You should go to headquarters quickly." 

Not answering the question in this case was a clear affirmation. 

The words "That's reckless" threatened to escape from Haruka's mouth. 

"Okay. Take care, mister." 

But she ultimately didn't say it. 

Haruka quickly left the scene. 

As soon as she went behind the shadows of the trees, Louis couldn't feel even a hint of Haruka's presence. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

Laura, who is carrying the black stone tablet herself, with a member holding the white stone tablet right behind her, was feeling a mix of excitement and impatience as they headed for the open land where their self-propelled car is parked. 

She kept her expression and demeanor calm as usual. So, at least to the members of the digging team, she seemed calm and collected. But, secretly in her heart, she was beginning to feel frustrated with the discrepancy between her desire to bring back what had been uncovered as soon as possible and how fast, or rather, how slow, her pace is. 

Mt. Shasta is a famous tourist destination, but unlike other mountains it has been left for the most part untouched by people. 

This area is situated off from both the tourist routes and the mountain hiking trails, which means that there are no well-maintained trails. The trail that Laura and the others are on right now was created as a result of their frequent visits. Because it is not a maintained trail, the ground is not level, and the undergrowth has not been completely cleared, so it is necessary to pay close attention to whether there is anything underfoot. 

They're walking on a mountain trail, which inherently makes it more difficult to walk as quickly as they would otherwise on level ground. And on top of that, the conditions on this trail are terrible. To make matters worse, what they have in their hands is weighing them down a bit. Therefore, they naturally couldn't advance as quickly as they wished 

Normally, this wouldn't trouble Laura so much. But now, she had just obtained a treasure, a "Guru's Stone Tablet," which is more valuable than any sacred relic, and her mind was occupied with the desire to deliver it as soon as possible to Rocky Dean, the leader of FAIR, who took her as his lover. 

Was that desire out of loyalty or love? Or perhaps something else entirely? 

In fact, Laura herself is not sure. However, within her, the desire to devote herself to Dean comes first. 

If she were to give a name to this emotion, the word "obsession" might fill the role. 

Obsession narrows one's perspective. 

Perhaps it was because of this that she was late in noticing the signs that someone was stalking them, which is something she would normally have detected much earlier. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

Ono Haruka was once a disciple of Kokonoe Yakumo. 

Not as one of Yakumo's monastic disciples, but as a ninjutsu user, a ninjutsu disciple, in other words. Although Yakumo himself prefers to be referred to as a "Shinobi" in the old-fashioned sense of the word. 

Haruka came to become his disciple after an incident where her superpower — the unique ability that she, as a BS Magician possesses, which "completely erases her presence and makes her imperceptible to others" — went haywire, and Yakumo took notice and offered her a helping hand. 

So, the initial reason she became Yakumo's disciple was to learn how to control her special ability, which came to be known as "Perfect Concealment." Nevertheless, Yakumo is a ninja. It was inevitable that she would learn ninja techniques one way or another, however, Haruka was not only taught how to control her superpower, but also in the ways of classical martial arts. 

It was not her goal to become a ninja, but instead to gain the skills needed to control her superpower. 

Yakumo respected this and kept her martial arts training at a reasonable level. Only that it was "reasonable" by Yakumo's standards. By the time she left Yakumo's guidance, she had acquired the physical aptitude of a soldier from a scout unit. 

She relies almost exclusively on her superpower to become "imperceptible" when sneaking around or tracking people in the city. But once she's away from the city, in the mountains and forests, her ninja training comes in handy. This is why Haruka has shown better results in the last few days than Louis, who was trained by his father, a veteran security guard (a mercenary, essentially) who works for a private military company.10 

Given that background, it was no surprise that Haruka made it down the mountain much faster than FAIR's team and found a place where she could get access to a regular phone signal. 

"…Hello, Miss Gagnon. This is Detective Fields." 

As soon as the other side picked up the call, Haruka started talking on her own. Regardless, they are having a videophone call, so she knows who she's talking to by recognizing their face, but she still said her name because that's called business courtesy. 

[Hello. This is Gagnon. Did something happen?] 

"Yes. I called because I believe the situation is urgent." 

On the screen, Charlotte prompted her to "Go on" as her complexion changed. 

"FAIR managed to get their hands on the artifact they were after. We have it on video." 

[I see. Good work.] 

"But Mr. Roux insisted on trying to take the artifact from them, so we had to split up in the mountains." 

Charlotte's expression grew increasingly tense. 

[So, Louis is currently…] 

"Yes. He is chasing after FAIR and may have already entered into conflict with them." 

[Thanks for the heads up. Miss Fields, please come back as soon as you can with the video evidence.] 

Charlotte followed without pause, without hiding the urgency in her tone. 

"Understood." 

She had no intention of coming to the rescue in the first place, so Haruka had no objection to her instructions. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

(The game is not over until you leave the forest and get into the car.) 

This is what Louis thought to himself as he chased after Laura and her group under the cover of the trees. 

His magic is "Doppelgänger." It creates a kind of duplicate, a simulacrum11 of himself, with illusory offensive power. While its main use is to create the illusion of an attack and inflict damage, it is not impossible to give the simulacrum physical interference power as well. 

Due to the problem of Louis' own magical power, the physical output that can be given to the simulacrum of himself is less than the arm strength of the average adult male. But that should be enough to carry away the stone tablet in Laura's arms. The simulacrum itself has no mass, so it can move at a reasonable speed. 

That leaves one problem: Laura is a witch. As one, her magical perception is very high. There is also the fact that witches excel in the art of attacking the main body of a person through a magical connection. 

If he could find an opening, he would be able to take the stone tablet. 

But, as a witch, it may be easier for her to track down Louis' simulacrum, that is his duplicate, than his blood and flesh counterpart. And it's also possible that, at the moment if his true self were to touch the stone tablet, Laura could attack him via the stone tablet that she herself had been in contact with. 

It has been less than a month since their previous encounter, when Louis tasted bitter defeat at the hands of Laura. It happened at that time, he was hit by her witch's magic through his fleeing duplicate. 

(…Wouldn't I have a better chance against that witch if I used my own body rather than "Doppelgänger's" duplicate?) 

The idea incidentally popped into Louis's mind. 

Louis felt that it might be a surprisingly good idea. 

In other words, what if he were to flip things around, have the duplicate act as the decoy while the main body takes the stone slab? 

Although he would be thrusting himself in the midst of more than a dozen enemies — thirteen, including Laura, to be precise — he could manage the disadvantage by using his duplicate as a diversion to somehow split them up. 

(—Let's go with this.) 

His intuition was increasingly warning him that he shouldn't let them bring back that stone tablet. He was prepared to take some risks. 

With that in mind, Louis resolved himself. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

"Charlee, have you had any luck getting in touch with Louis yet?!" 

At FEHR headquarters in Vancouver, the leader, Lena, was unusually unnerved. 

"Negative. It seems that he turned off the mobile signal on his device." 

Even Charlotte could not hide her uneasiness. They lost their composure after a phone call from Ono Haruka, a.k.a. Luca Fields, who alerted them to an unplanned action that Louis Roux had taken. 

"And I told him not to overdo it…" 

She was understandably apprehensive in sending Louis back for a similar job to the one in which he had been injured by Laura Simon's magic. So, right before he was about to leave again, Lena repeatedly stressed to him "not to overdo it." 

"I'll contact Miss Fields. Let's make an additional request for her to stop Louis." 

"…No, that is not possible. When we asked for her to allow Louis to accompany her, we agreed to her condition that if things were to become dangerous that she could escape on her own. To ask her to turn back now would be a breach of our contract." 

Charlotte put forth a distressed suggestion, but Lena didn't go along with it. 

"Yes, you're right…" 

Charlotte admitted her mistake. She was ashamed that she had suggested a breach of contract when she herself is a lawyer. 

But they couldn't just sit back and do nothing. What Louis is trying to do is just too risky. Lena is much more concerned about it than Charlotte is, evident by how pale her face has become. 

"—Lena, how about asking Mr. Tookami to help us?" 

"Ryousuke?" 

Lena's eyes, which had been filled with anxiety, now have a mix of surprise. 

"His skill in close combat is one of the best we have. Especially in terms of defense, he can use his exceptional ability to counter both physical and magical attacks. Under the current circumstances, I think he's the best suited out of all members to rescue Louis." 

"But even if we ask him to go, it would take time…" 

"Yes, it would take almost half a day by self-propelled car. In that case, let's rent a small-sized plane. I know of a light aircraft that we can borrow, and I'm sure it will be ready in no time." 

Charlotte's suggestion made Lena think twice. This time, she didn't dismiss the suggestion immediately. 

"But we'll need a lot of luck to find Louis before it's too late…" 

Charlotte mumbled the "before it's too late" part. 

However, whatever she was trying to say was not lost on Lena. 

"—I'll take care of that." 

The heightened sense of urgency fueled Lena's decision. 

Charlotte knew immediately what Lena meant by "I'll take care of that." 

"Lena, that's dangerous! You can't send your astral body to where a 'witch' is, the risk is too great." 

Charlotte then hurriedly attempted to stop Lena. It's a common belief that witches are more adept at attacking the mental body than the physical body. While the astral body is not the spirit itself, it is richly defined by characteristics of the spiritual body. Therefore, any damage to the astral body would directly translate to the spirit. 

"No. The situation that Louis is in is much more dangerous." 

But Lena shook her head with her eyes conveying a strong glint of resolution. 

Seeing the expression on her face, Charlotte had to give up trying to dissuade her. 

"Now it remains to be seen whether or not Ryousuke will agree to help us…" 

Lena muttered gloomily, 

"I think we'll have no problem on that point." 

To which Charlotte dismissed her concern as unnecessary, with an oddly calm expression on her face. 

"If it's you asking, Lena, I'm positive that Mr. Tookami will say yes immediately without a second thought." 

She then said this right after. 

With a slightly puzzled expression, Lena reached for the switch on her videophone. Fixed landlines have mostly lost their place to mobile phones for quite some time, but with the spread of the videophones, they have regained their preeminence. 

Selecting Ryousuke's name from the list of contacts on the display, Lena brought her finger atop of it. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

After what happened yesterday, both Mayumi and Mari chose to hole up in the hotel for the day. They had their meals at the hotel's restaurant and by room service. 

This left Ryousuke with a whole day free to do his own thing. Since he is well acquainted with the area, he would have no trouble being alone. He really wanted to meet with Lena, but he has already caught the attention of the police who now have their eyes on him, so he refrained from doing so. 

Although he is a victim in this case, Ryousuke knows that the police here are very sensitive to crimes related to magicians. He knows that the police here are just as nervous, if not more so, not only about crimes committed by magicians, but also about crimes committed against them. 

It was five years ago. At the time the flames of anti-magicism12 were first kindled on the East Coast in the former USA territory. Whether he was in the wrong place at the wrong time or in the right place at the right time, the mayor of Vancouver at the time was a rather frank and outspoken radical humanitarian. 

He always openly and with the utmost vehemence denounced the Anti-Magic Movement as a violation of human rights and declared himself opposed to the humanist groups that were at the center of the Anti-Magic Movement. So, in a sense, he openly challenged the prevailing "sentiment" of the time. 

The Anti-Magic Movement naturally took issue with him. Protests that bordered on terrorism were rampant in Vancouver. 

But the mayor refused to budge in any way. He thoroughly contested the Anti-Magic Movement, and he was committed to protect the human rights of magicians equally with those of non-magicians. It was due to the mayor's political stance that Lena chose Vancouver as the place for FEHR's headquarters. 

On the other hand, he has also severely cracked down on crimes committed by magicians. As in a show of his political belief that "magicians are just as human as anyone else," the mayor was highly reticent of being seen as favoring magicians. Consequently, the police adopted a strict approach to crimes in which magicians were involved, whether as perpetrators or victims. 

Even with the change in mayors, this policy has been maintained. Part of it has to do with the fact that the unauthorized use of magic in public spaces is treated much more harshly here than in any other municipality. 

When Ryousuke was still oblivious about this, at the time he was still earnest in his university studies here, he once used magic to catch a purse snatcher he happened to witness. The magic itself was not one that launches a projectile, rather, it was a magic that wraps a barrier around his body, that is to say "Reactive Armor." Given it was in response to the purse snatcher pulling out a gun on him, it would've been justified self-defense straight away in any other municipality in America. 

But the police in this city are different. Although he has never been sent to a detention facility, he did have to spend a few days going to and from the police station to prove he was acting in self-defense. It was then, in fact, when he and FEHR — that is when he and Lena crossed paths, when they came to his support. In that sense, it wasn't all that bad of an experience for him. 

Nevertheless, the incident was enough to instill in Ryousuke a reluctance towards the Vancouver municipal police and any potential problems that come with them. It might come as no surprise that this is why he had become overly cautious of them. 

With that being said, he was preparing to headout for dinner after settling on a cheap restaurant that doesn't aim at tourists. It was at that moment that his phone rang with an incoming call. 

American hotels have a built-in device that allows you to connect your cell phone to the in-room terminal and use it like a landline phone. The service allows video calls to be made without the need to change the phone number, while eliminating the need for the hotel as an intermediary. Since the service relies on the data of the mobile terminal, the name of the caller registered on the terminal is also displayed on the incoming call screen. 

The caller is registered as "Milady." 

Ryousuke jumped at the opportunity and pressed the accept button. 

The person who appeared on display was unmistakably Lena. 

"I'm here, do you need me for something!?" 

Ryousuke opened the call with a tense tone. 

[Good evening, Ryousuke. Were you heading out somewhere?] 

Lena was completely unfazed by Ryousuke's gusto. For her, it was not just with Ryousuke, this kind of behavior is a regular occurrence with those she talks to. 

"I was just thinking of eating out for dinner. I'm not busy in any way." 

Ryousuke was essentially saying, "You can ask me anything." 

[I'm glad then. May I ask you for a small, no, a big favor…?] 

"I'll accept it! Anything you want!" 

Lena's words were filled with hesitation and remorse, to which Ryousuke responded with his vigorous acceptance. 

—Without even asking what it was about. 

[Okay… could you please come to the south terminal of the airport? We can discuss the details there.] 

Lena hesitantly continued. Her feelings of guilt were temporarily replaced with surprise due to Ryousuke's attitude. 

"I'll be right there." 

As if it were a matter of course, Ryousuke agreed without a second thought. 

True to his word, Ryousuke showed up at the south terminal of the Vancouver International Airport in the fastest possible time. This terminal is dedicated to the arrival and departure of non-scheduled flights by corporate or privately owned planes. 

This is where Lena had been waiting. Beside her is Charlotte. And beside Charlotte is a middle-aged man whom Ryousuke is unfamiliar with. 

"…Louis did what!?" 

After hearing about the situation from Lena and Charlotte, Ryousuke's eyes widened and his voice nearly cracked. 

Within FEHR, Louis is someone with whom Ryousuke has a close bond. Being both martial artists, and having both special magics of their own, they found a kindred spirit in the other. 

"Yes. Ryousuke, I am terribly sorry to be forcing such a dangerous task upon you…" 

"Please, there is no need to worry. Louis is my friend too. Milady, I have already told you before. I am happy to accept any task that Milady asks of me to do." 

"—Thank you very much. But, Ryousuke, be careful. Please don't forget to take care of yourself and not do anything dangerous." 

"I'm fully aware. I'd never do anything to worry Milady." 

Ryousuke resolutely made a promise, or rather a pledge. 

There must have been no need for further reassurance. After nodding toward Ryousuke, Lena communicated with Charlotte by an exchange of glances. 

"Mr. Tookami. He will take you to Mt. Shasta aboard a light aircraft." 

Following Charlotte's lead, the pilot beside her introduced himself. Ryousuke responded with an introduction of his own, and they shook hands. 

"Over there, I arranged a car with someone to drive you from the nearest town. Mind you however, that the driver is not a FEHR member, so expect only minimal support." 

"Understood." 

"Before that, I want you to have this." 

With that, Charlotte handed him a device big enough to be held in one's hand. 

"Is this…?" 

Ryousuke said this while staring down at the device on his palm. It is a rather basic device with two buttons, one large and one small, along with a mini indicator. 

"It's a flight device." 

At Charlotte's answer, Ryousuke muttered, "This is…" 

"It's easy to use. To activate it, you just have to press the large button while pouring in Psions. To stop, press the small button. Until you press the small button, the device will continue to run." 

"Can't I just jump off with it?" 

"No. This is just for emergency use in the unlikely event that there is a problem with the plane." 

Ryousuke asked a simple question to which Charlotte replied in a dismayed voice. 

"Lena just told you to take care of yourself and not do anything dangerous, remember? Please don't even consider doing anything stupid." 

"Yes, ma'am." 

Charlotte wasn't the only one to give him the hard stare, Lena gave him an anguished look, and Ryousuke hurried to straighten his posture. 

"Milady, I'm off." 

"Be careful. Take care of Louis for me." 

After being sent off by Lena, Ryousuke went with the pilot to the light aircraft on the runway. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

Around that time, Louis was running recklessly through the forest in order to escape from FAIR's pursuit. 

He had already lost track of where he was. 

All that Louis could think about was getting away. 

(—Should I get rid of this?) 

He briefly turned his attention to the white stone tablet he was holding under his left arm. 

In the end, he was unable to snatch the black stone tablet from Laura. He had succeeded in distracting Laura with his "Doppelgänger" duplicate, but the beastly man at her side sensed his approach. 

During the struggle with that man, Laura also took notice of him and took advantage to escape. The best he managed was to seize the white stone tablet from one of the other members of the group caught in the confusion of the situation. 

But it seems that it wasn't a total waste of time. Because they are still persistently chasing after him like this. 

Louis didn't think they were after him. They must want to get the white stone tablet back. 

If the white stone tablet was something they didn't mind being stolen, Laura would have given priority to getting away with the black stone tablet. 

But Laura didn't relegate Louis' pursuit to her subordinates, and took direct command of it. She is clearly obsessed not only with the black stone tablet but with the white stone tablet as well. 

(What is up with these stone tablets anyway?) 

(Could it be that they are Relics?) 

While he was thinking this, a fissure suddenly appeared in the ground before him. He stopped in his tracks, then turned his flashlight on and peeked down. It was a small cliff about two meters deep, under which was a stream. 

If he were to follow the stream, it would almost certainly lead him to the foot of the mountain, as long as he made no mistakes on the way up and down. Having lost track of his current position, Louis took the plunge and jumped off the cliff. 

Fortunately for him, he did so without injuring his legs. Glancing to his left and right, he found a cave facing the stream. 

It is barely big enough to fit a person, rather than call it a cave, it would be more apt to call it a depression in the cliffside than anything. Louis decided to briefly hide here regardless in order to regain some of his strength. 

He decided to examine the stone tablet for the time being. If it is something like a Relic, then he would get some kind of reaction if he poured Psions into it. But that would greatly increase the risk of being discovered by FAIR. So, he decided to only use non-magical means. 

First, he took pictures of the stone tablet with his terminal. He took pictures at the highest resolution he could, at all angles, making sure not to miss a single spot. Next, he used the audio recording function and lightly tapped the stone tablet here and there to record the sounds it made as it reverberated. Even if he doesn't manage to bring the stone tablet with him, the information from the data should be able to tell them a bit about it. 

There were no visible marks or anything that could be interpreted as writing, the surface was just so smooth that it was hard to believe that it had been buried underground. But just to be sure, Louis concentrated on the touch with his fingertips as he slowly stroked it. 

Then he felt it. 

There was a discrepancy. There weren't any bumps or dips. It's different from friction. In some areas his fingers easily slid in certain directions, and others not so much. 

Assuming that this was intentional, he wondered if it retained its original condition even after being exposed to sand and pebbles while it was buried. On the other hand, they could also be minor scratches caused while underground. 

(…I guess there's not much I can do here.) 

Louis concluded that it was beyond his grasp. 

He would have to bring it back and let them study it. So, he has to find a way to bring this stone tablet back. 

Having thought this, Louis exited the cave. 

His breathing and pulse were calm. The break was sufficient. Relying on the faint light from his flashlight, he made his way down the stream, walking as close to the rock face as possible so as not to be seen from above. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

By the time Louis was taking a break in the cave, Ryousuke was mid-flight aboard the light aircraft. 

It's a single-engine propeller plane. During the last century, this type of light aircraft was usually powered by a reciprocating engine, but nowadays, electric motors are the norm. The plane on which Ryousuke is aboard is also powered by an electric motor. 

Two hours have passed since the plane took off. They were nearing the sky above Mt. Shasta. 

"Excuse me, could you please drop the altitude?" 

"…Understood." 

The pilot looked skeptical, but complied with Ryousuke's request without asking why. 

Ryousuke eyeballed the in-flight map on the plane that showed his current position in real time against the map data on his terminal that showed the estimated position of Louis based on Haruka's report. 

"I'm going to jump. Please circle the plane while maintaining your current position." 

"What? Are you serious?" 

This time, the pilot understandably asked back. 

"Don't worry. I can deal with this, I'm a magician." 

"…Understood." 

There were two reasons why the pilot relented so easily. 

First, he was somewhat accustomed to such recklessness from magicians. He is a pilot who was procured through Charlotte's contacts. In other words, he was a business collaborator of hers from her days at the FBI. He is still in touch with the FBI. He sometimes takes agents on flights, such as the ones that attacked Mayumi and company. Ryousuke is not the first magician whom he has met to have asked to jump out of an airplane without a parachute. 

And the second, from his experiences when helping the FBI with their secret operations, he has learned not to pry into the affairs of his "clients." 

Because if he were to, chances are that he might get involved in a dangerous situation. 

Fortunately, he has never gotten caught up in any danger himself, but he has heard plenty of rumors about "smugglers" who have ruined themselves due to needless curiosity. In particular, he is well aware of the dangers associated with magicians when they are involved. 

This is why, despite being mid-flight, he did as Ryousuke asked and opened the cabin door remotely. Of course, he did this after having sufficiently lowered the altitude of the plane while depressurizing the cabin. 

"Thank you very much. I'm sorry, but if you could, please close the door behind me." 

Ryousuke said so and jumped out of the plane, to which the pilot simply replied, "Roger." 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

Immediately after jumping out of the light aircraft, Ryousuke pressed the activation button on the flight device that Charlotte had given him. 

Once the Activation Sequence stored in the device had been read, he activated the flight magic with his right hand. 

This is the first time Ryousuke has used flight magic. He has never received any instruction, let alone a VR simulation. Having no idea he would be able to fly freely from the start, all he could think about was slowing the speed of his fall. 

The flight magic satisfied his intention without trouble. In mid-fall, Ryousuke was relieved to find that his impromptu attempt went so well. 

There was no rush. He believed that even if the flight magic did not work properly, that he wouldn't be hurt upon landing if he were to use "Reactive Armor." 

The altitude for the light aircraft above ground level — not the altitude above sea level — is around 200 meters. After taking air resistance into account, the speed upon impact with the ground would be about 200 km/h. 

"Reactive Armor" has a fully functional inertial neutralization function. Even if a self-propelled car or train traveling at 200 km/h were to collide with the caster, they would not suffer any damage. Whether it's the body being hit by a huge, massive object or the body hitting itself, the receiving impact is the same. 

As such, he was not worried about injuring himself, but he used flight magic nevertheless since it would be more pleasant for him if he could make a smooth landing. 

So, as soon as he landed, he was ready for action. 

One of the advantages of electric propeller planes is their comparatively low noise level. A far cry from the noise that a reciprocating motor engine makes. Because light aircraft do not fly fast enough to produce noise from the friction and turbulence themselves, the only noise that can be heard from the ground is that of the propeller cutting through the air. 

So FAIR, having scattered running around in the mountain forest, would not have noticed the light aircraft that had brought Ryousuke. And although a particularly sensitive person might have noticed the activation sign of the flight magic he used after jumping off, his descent only lasted a little more than ten seconds. It is more likely that no one had noticed. 

Even so, Ryousuke thought he should move away from this spot immediately. 

His friend Louis Roux might be in danger right now. There was no time to waste. 

But right after thinking this, he stopped. 

(Where exactly is Louis…?) 

Alas, Ryousuke does not have the ability to instantly pinpoint a specific person in such a vast mountainous terrain. 

He realized, at this stage of the game, that he had forgotten to ask for this vital piece of information. 

(How the hell am I supposed to find Louis to help him?) 

Ryousuke stared — or rather, glared at his terminal with a troubled expression. 

It's clear in his head that he should use it to call Lena or Charlotte to ask them. 

But he felt embarrassed to do so. He feels like an idiot. 

(Wouldn't it just be straight-up embarrassing to say I forgot and only remembered when I got here?) 

(…Let's not call Milady.) 

Ryousuke went through his contacts on the terminal display and brought up Charlotte's. 

But before he could press the call button, 

[Ryousuke. I asked you not to do anything dangerous like that…] 

Ryousuke heard Lena's plaintive voice. 

Normally he would have welcomed this, but considering the timing he was tempted to dismiss it as a figment of his imagination. 

But Ryousuke knew that he was not imagining things. 

"—That's a misunderstanding, Milady." 

He looked up to the air and addressed it. 


There, floating above him, was Lena, her entire body glowing faintly. 

A beautiful woman made of light was floating in the darkness of the night. 

No, if one were to be honest when describing her appearance, she would be a "beautiful girl of light," but in any case, her image seemed almost divine. 

An astral body projection. 

The Lena floating in the air is an astral projection. 

"You know my magic, right? That height was not a danger to me." 

Ryousuke said so in a boisterous tone, but he was flustered at heart. 

Despite what he said being completely true, it is nothing more than an excuse. 

He wanted to avoid making Lena angry, but he was more concerned with not making her feel sad somehow. 

Mid-air, Lena exhaled a sigh. 

Fortunately enough, there was no anger or sadness on her face. 

[You know that it is a matter of course that you could have gotten hurt in the end. Magic is not a hundred percent reliable.] 

Her words were a reproach to Ryousuke. 

What her tone conveyed, however, was a sense of resignation as she thought "It can't be helped…" 

"I understand, Milady. I'll be more careful from now on." 

[You're quite smooth-tongued, Ryousuke.] 

While that came as an exasperated assessment from Lena's lips, Ryousuke took it wholeheartedly without a care in the world. 

"More importantly, Milady. Did you appear in this form so that you could tell me where Louis is?" 

Ryousuke changed the subject. 

[Yes.] 

Lena didn't feel the need to drag on with the sermon either. She understood the priorities of the moment. 

[Louis is going down the stream up ahead. He's about a mile from here.] 

Lena extended her right arm level as she said this, pointing to a spot about 30 degrees diagonally to the right from the direction of the summit. 

A mile is not that far, even by foot in the mountains — Ryousuke thought so. He took a shot in the dark when he jumped, but fortunately he wasn't that far off. 

"Thank you very much." 

[I can't guide you all the way, but I'll be back to tell you if he changes routes.] 

After saying this, Lena disappeared as if dissolving into the air. There are actually two types of Astral Body Projection, the first being the [Out-of-body experience], consisting of displacing one's consciousness from their physical body, and the second being the [Astral Projection], where the Psions of the projection point are interfered with to create a Psion Information Body, to which one's consciousness is then transferred, and the technique that Lena used is the latter, where "dissolving into the air" could be a literal description of what happened. 

After watching Lena until she had completely disappeared, Ryousuke picked up his rucksack, packed with essentials such as medicine and rations, and ran headlong in the direction she had pointed. 

Not a sliver of starlight could reach him once he stepped into the dense, overgrown forest. 

But there was no hesitation in Ryousuke's steps. 

He never slowed his pace as he ran. Be it in a city, surrounded by inorganic objects, or in a mountain forest, where the only obstacles are natural objects, and he didn't encounter any impediments unless when he was in complete darkness. This is because he can see the spiritual energy, the "ki,"13 that is emitted by the trees and rocks around him. 

Ryousuke, who is inherently an unbalanced magician, is not endowed with the perceptive ability to "see" Information Bodies like that of Tatsuya or even Minoru. 

Instead, in lieu of mastering magic, with his martial arts training, he has honed his senses to be able to perceive the "ki" of things instead of "seeing" the Psion Information Bodies. For him, rather than places surrounded by man-made objects such as cities and industrial plants, it's places filled with "ki" such as these mountainous forests where he is now, that are his home ground. 

While also sensing the "ki" of the surrounding natural objects, Ryousuke ran and searched for any "signs" he could find. He regrettably doesn't possess the supernatural ability to sense the presence of a person more than one kilometer away from him. He can, however, sense the presence of anyone who gets within about 50 meters of himself. And if he were to get half that close, he would even be able to distinguish whether he knows them or not. 

While in a city, he tends to shut these senses so as not to be overwhelmed by the presence of others. However, because of where he is right now, there is no need to do so right now. 

(Huh?) 

Ryousuke stopped when his senses caught the presence of someone. Once he hid his body behind a thick tree trunk from the direction of the presence, he resumed moving, careful not to make a sound. 

He has now gotten close enough to discern the presence. 

His caution paid off, as it was not Louis. It's not entirely impossible that it was a third party. But he was almost certain it was FAIR. Their erratic pacing is characteristic of an inexperienced hunter in search of prey. 

(It appears to be them.) 

Louis is being chased around by FAIR. Ryousuke became convinced of this once again. 

(Should I take them out? No…) 

Ryousuke sensed that it was a duo. 

They did not seem to notice Ryousuke. If he were to ambush them now, he would surely be able to defeat them. 

But they are heading in a different direction from where Lena pointed. 

Ryousuke moved away from the duo who appeared to be a part of FAIR. His priority is to meet up with Louis. 

About a hundred meters later, Lena's astral body re-emerged and guided him to a revised route. 

After having run for about 10 minutes, 

"Louis!" 

Ryousuke had finally found Louis. 

When he met up with Ryousuke, Louis was drained to the brink of exhaustion. He must have strained his nerves fleeing alone in the dark mountains. 

There was no sign of visible bleeding. He did not appear to have sprained his foot, nor was he limping. He did however appear to have a few bruises here and there, perhaps from having taken a fall. 

There was no visible bleeding. nor did he appear to have sprained his foot or limped around. Still, there were a few bruises here from a probable fall. 

"Ryousuke… why are you here?" 

Louis tensed up for a moment, but he must have picked up that it was Ryousuke by his voice before even seeing him. There was no wariness in his voice, just surprise and doubt. 

"I'm here at Milady's orders." 

Although it's a "favor" per se, it's no different than an "order" as far as Ryousuke is concerned. Rather, he was willing to be ordered around by Lena. Perhaps it was due to this that their interpretations were swapped. 

"Milady's orders…?" 

Louis has known Lena the longest. He knows that she is not the kind of person who would throw her members into this kind of dangerous situation with "orders." This is why he felt a strong discomfort with what Ryousuke said… 

"And you came here to help me?" 

But he reminded himself that now was not the time to dwell on that. 

"That's right." 

"Thanks. But I gotta say sorry, I don't think I'm gonna be able to run anymore. Take this back with you." 

The presence of an ally may have caused him to finally relax from his tension. The color drained from his face as the fatigue set in and Louis handed the stone tablet to Ryousuke. 

"What's this?" 

"It's something FAIR unearthed from the cave behind a waterfall." 

"So you succeeded in taking it away from them?" 

Louis shook his head at Ryousuke's words of praise. 

"Not quite… there's no doubt their main prize is the black stone tablet that is with Laura Simon right now. I couldn't take that one. The best I could do was take this white stone tablet from one of her men." 

"Still, it's an important piece of evidence. All right, I'll hold onto this." 

Ryousuke lowered his rucksack and tucked the stone tablet into the empty space, then he offered Louis some of the water and rations he had inside. 

"For now, drink. Eat if you can as well." 

Louis promptly downed the water and swallowed the jelly-type ration. 

As Louis slipped the empty containers into his pocket, in front of him, Ryousuke crouched down, holding his rucksack in front of his chest. 

Louis looked quizzically at him. 

"What are you waiting for? Get on." 

"Wa-…!" 

Louis almost shouted out involuntarily, but covered his mouth in time. 

"Are you planning on carrying me on your back? 

Then he restated in a whisper. 

"In your current condition, this is faster." 

"Don't be stupid! There's no way we can escape like this." 

"You are the stupid one here. This is not something you should've dealt with alone." 

Ryousuke asserted this in a strong tone of voice. 

Louis was utterly stunned by how serious he was. 

"Milady's orders are to bring you back safely. I'll absolutely fulfill her orders. No exceptions." 

After seeing Ryousuke's blind devotion, Louis gave up trying to persuade him. 

He obediently climbed onto Ryousuke's back. 

Louis is 176 cm tall. Ryousuke is 180 cm tall. They both weigh about the same. Although he shouldn't be much of a burden to him, Ryousuke started to run down the stream faster than Louis did when he was alone. 

And he did this without a flashlight to see in front of himself. 

"He-Hey!" 

Louis, unable to contain his shock, involuntarily called out to Ryousuke." 

"Shut up, man. You'll bite your tongue." 

Louis became silent. Not as much in concern over biting his tongue, but more to avoid interrupting Ryousuke's focus. 

The stony path along the stream was not as silent as one would expect. The sound of the stones scraping against each other followed in percussion with Ryousuke's steps as he raced down toward the foot of the mountain. 

However, his steady march lasted only for less than 15 minutes. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

White smoke wafted out of Laura's mouth as she stood amidst the trees. 

She had a stone tablet tucked under her left arm and a long, thin pipe in her right hand. The shape closely resembles that of a Japanese tobacco "kiseru" pipe. 

However, what Laura was exhaling was not cigarette smoke. 

It is the smoke of a narcotic she herself has concocted — the smoke of a "Witches' Elixir". 

She puffed on her pipe, inhaling deeply before slowly exhaling the smoke. 

Laura had been staring at the smoke with unfocused eyes, when suddenly she blinked rapidly and pulled the pipe away from her mouth. 

"I see a narrow trickle of water. FEHR's thieving cat is moving down a stream." 

She had been seeking the whereabouts of Louis Roux, the person who had stolen the white stone tablet from them, with her witchcraft. 

"Where is this stream, ma'am?" 

A female subordinate inquired in response to Laura's words. 

"That way." 

Laura didn't seem to take offense, and just pointed her pipe to her right. 

"We will head over at once, ma'am." 

Having received Laura's answer, the subordinate pressed a switch on her earpiece and began to run in the direction the pipe was pointing. 

The other members present followed behind her. 

Last of all, Laura started walking at a slow pace. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

Ryousuke was surrounded. 

At first, they were only chasing him from behind. Noticing the enemy in the rear, Ryousuke prioritized escaping in part because of having Louis on his back. 

And that was a mistake. 

Because three people lurked ahead in an ambush. Upon taking notice, Ryousuke decided to bulldoze his way through. However, as he was advancing, the three ambushers fell back at the same pace as he was moving forward. 

The pursuers and the ambushers were keeping a constant distance from each other. By the time the natural suspicion set in, he was also pinned on both sides. At the top of the low cliff, there were enemy figures. 

Front, back, left, and right, three in each direction. An encirclement of twelve people in total. 

"Louis, can you move?" 

Ryousuke stopped to speak to Louis on his back. 

"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks to you, I'm better now." 

Louis got off of Ryousuke's back as he said this. 

"But, Ryousuke…" 

His unspoken question being, "What are we going to do?" 

"We'll force our way through. It's the only way." 

Ryousuke answered succinctly as he slung his rucksack back on his back. 

Perhaps they heard his answer, for the twelve people surrounding him burst out in hostility and signs of magic being activated ensued from them. 

A flashpoint. 

Yet the setting briefly remained in status quo as a new character appeared on the stage. 

Laura Simon, dressed in clothing not quite suitable for mountain hiking, appeared at one side of the cliff. 

She is wearing a long black dress as dark, if not darker than the night. 

Underneath, where there should be mountaineering boots or even sneakers peaking through, were her bare feet in sandals. 

In her right hand she is holding a long, thin pipe, similar to a Japanese tobacco kiseru pipe, and under her left arm is a black stone tablet. 

"Good evening, my thieving cats. Why if it isn't Louis Roux, the sub-leader of FEHR, and you must be… Ryousuke Tookami, am I right?" 

"Oh, you know me? If it's not the lover of the lord of the rats?" 

Laura raised her eyebrows. She puffed on her pipe to compose herself, then exhaled the smoke with a mighty huff at Ryousuke. 

He was at a distance where her breath and the smoke could not reach. 

But about ten centimeters from Ryousuke's body, a psionic light flashed. 

"Heh… so it looks like it can block that much." 

Laura muttered in admiration and mockery at the same time. 

The current phenomenon was caused by Ryousuke's [Reactive Armor] reacting to the curse Laura launched at him. 

Originally, the individual armor magic [Reactive Armor] was expected by the military to be able to block physical attacks. Therefore the former Tenth Institute did not provide Reactive Armor with the ability to defend against Mental-Interference Type Magic. 

However, having spent a long period of time in the company of Lena, who excels in powerful Mental-Interference Type Magic, Ryousuke has adapted to this type of magic. He can distinguish between the harmful and non-harmful Mental-Interference Type Magic and block them accordingly. In this way, his [Reactive Armor] has evolved. 

Yet, even if he had prevented the attack, Ryousuke doesn't have a moment to spare. 

Laura didn't use a CAD, nor was there any trace of her having focused her attention on him. All she did was exhale smoke. 

And the fact that she had cast magic in such a way slightly shocked Ryousuke. 

(Is this woman some kind of psychic? Nevertheless…) 

What Ryousuke had heard about Laura Simon of FAIR, was that she is a witch — an Ancient Magician to be exact. 

In general, Ancient Magicians are at a disadvantage when it comes to the speed in which they can activate magic. Ryousuke has been considering his tactics with this in mind. 

But in the case of psychics, they are the exact opposite in this regard. In a match between a magician and a psychic, their speed is their greatest weapon. Making the countermeasure fundamentally different. 

Besides, even a psychic would need time to focus their mind. That earlier attack by Laura didn't even have that extra time. 

(…There's no point in worrying about it now. There wouldn't be much I could do anyway.) 

After a short deliberation, Ryousuke took up his stance. 

He lowered his waist slightly. It was for the sake of easing blood flow, but unbeknownst to him, he had assumed a fighting stance. 

"Tookami of FEHR. I have no desire for your blood tonight." 

But Ryousuke was taken aback when Laura spoke to him in a diplomatic tone. 

"Give us what that man has taken from us. Do that and we'll let you be on your way." 

"…The thing was never yours to begin with." 

"If it weren't for us digging it up, it would have remained dormant in the ground. Possibly for all eternity." 

"But that doesn't mean it's yours to take." 

"The same is true for you. You also have no grounds to take it to your organization." 

"Unlike you, I follow the law. I'll take it to the proper authorities." 

"Because you believe that this is government-owned land? If so, you're very wrong, Tookami. This land has not always been owned by the government. This land doesn't belong to anyone. The same goes for the stone tablet you have right now, it doesn't belong to this country which has only existed for slightly more than 300 years. Only the people who left it behind can claim ownership." 

Ryousuke couldn't come up with the words to refute what Laura was saying on the spur of the moment. What Laura is talking about is a categorical denial of the current social system. It is not something that those who live and enjoy the privileges of society should be able to wave around. 

However, her weak argument that "this land doesn't belong to anyone" resonated strangely in Ryousuke's heart. 

"—In that case you can't claim ownership of the stone tablet either, can you?!" 

With Ryousuke at a loss for words, it was Louis who objected instead. 

"Don't let her get to you, Ryousuke! There's no way they're acting for any righteous purpose!" 

Louis' words brought Ryousuke back from his hesitation. 

Purpose. 

Use. 

It's precisely because he doesn't know what this stone tablet is or what kind of power it holds. 

Surely that is the question to be asked. 

"—Is it safe to say that negotiations have failed?" 

The tone of Laura's voice dropped. 

Perhaps this is a cue for her to order her subordinates to attack. 

Faster than she could have said it, however. 

Ryousuke threw down his rucksack and kicked off from the ground. 

His body soared toward the top of the cliff. Despite having difficulty with magic besides [Reactive Armor], Ryousuke can at least still use a simple [Leap]. 

The opponent he is leaping towards is Laura. The standard practice when outnumbered is to neutralize the commander. 

However, this being the standard practice, the opponent would also be wary. 

The man who is standing next to Laura shielded her from Ryousuke's flying kick. 

His reaction speed looked almost abnormal. Even though he doesn't appear to have a well-developed physique, his legs felt as if they had just kicked a tire. 

"Grr!" 

The man growled like a beast, baring his teeth as he swung a punch at Ryousuke. No, it wasn't a clenched fist, but a nail-clenched hand that he lashed out at him with. He moved almost like a large, combat dog. Though he didn't have the appearance of one, which would make him almost like… 

"A werewolf…?" 

Ryousuke's voiced impression was not far off the mark. 

This man was originally a superpower user with the [Physical Boost] ability that only enhances his physical strength. However, without his muscular strength or his perception speed being amplified, all it does is simply make him sturdier. It only means that he is less susceptible to injury, so it isn't like he is any better at performing simple manual or physical labor, let alone at fighting. 

But this is why Laura took notice of him. As an Ancient Magician, a witch to be exact, she knows of a technique called [Úlfhedin]. It removes the limits on the human body, allowing for the individual to overcome their animal instincts — heightening their survival instincts. While it's possible to mentally influence someone towards that effect, it can be achieved with certain types of drugs, doing such things like forcing a person to forcibly unleash his or her physical potential is one of the unique characteristics of the magic. 

An ordinary person using this [Úlfhedin] would be forced to reach a power and speed beyond anything they would use on a daily basis, thus quickly exhausting their body. It might result in minor injuries such as inflammation of muscles, but usually it will result in torn tendons or broken bones, rendering their body unable to move. 

But for a person who has [Physical Boost], which enhances their physical strength, this would allow for their body to be able to withstand even the most extreme power and speed. Not only can [Úlfhedin] bring out the limits of the body's potential, it is also a step or two less demanding than having [Physical Boost] bring out one's power and speed that exceeds the limits of the human body. Even if only one's physical strength is enhanced, the full performance of [Úlfhedin] can be demonstrated. 

This was beneficial not only to Laura, but also to the man. He was willing to become a beastly soldier or even a witch's servant if it meant he could make good use of his superpower. Thus a man who was worried about his uselessness became Laura's servant, her "familiar." 

As a matter of fact, this man is not the only one who has been doctored by Laura. The number of FAIR members stands at less than a hundred. Much like a street gang, their numbers are constantly fluctuating, so not even Dean, the leader, knows their exact numbers for certain. 

Of these, only about a third are actual combat-level magicians. The remaining sixty or so have some magical talent, but are unable to use magic on a practical level — this man who became "possessed by a wolf spirit14" is one of those. 

Of the remaining sixty or so, more than twenty of them were chosen by Laura to be empowered. 

The characteristic feature of the Ancient Magic "witchcraft," is the interference of phenomena encompassing human beings. Rather than affecting natural phenomena, it focuses on altering the consciousness and emotions of human beings, as well as the disposition of their physical bodies. Many people often associate "witches" primarily with the [art of flight], an art which is different from Modern Magic. In "witchcraft," however, the [art of flight] is not mainstream, but rather an exception. 

As such, FAIR has made use of Laura's "witchcraft" to procure strength from low-level magicians, who weren't previously of use to them. 

Half of the members of the excavation team were chosen from such people. And the man who attacked Ryousuke isn't the only one who has had the [Úlfhedin] magic used on them. 

Laura brought her mouth to the ear of a 20-year-old or so young man stationed next to her and whispered to him in a foreign language. With a superpower similar to Physical Boost, this young man is another low-level magician compatible with [Úlfhedin]. 

Laura brought her lips away from the ear of the man she was whispering to. 

Madness filled the young man's eyes. 

A feral cry erupted from the young man's mouth as he joined the attack and lunged at Ryousuke's back. 

He wrapped his arms around Ryousuke's neck in an attempt to strangle him. 

However, the young man's arms couldn't touch Ryousuke's neck. 

There is a gap of about five centimeters. 

It is protected by his [Reactive Armor]. 

Ryousuke elbowed the young man behind him to break free. 

His elbow connected. 

The young man, whose mind had become like that of a beast, couldn't ignore the pain that shot through his bones. He stumbled backwards off of Ryousuke's back. 

The man who initially attacked Ryousuke grabbed him. 

Ryousuke, who had already recovered his stance, met the man with a straight fist. 

His fist, covered with the anti-object barrier of his individual armor magic, has a hardness that surpasses steel. 

No matter how much his body has been strengthened, there was no way he could endure it. 

Ryousuke's fist hit the man's solar plexus, knocking him unconscious regardless of what Laura's magic had done to him. 

Turning around, Ryousuke delivered a front kick to the young man who tried to strangle him. 

His body bent like a broken stick and crumbled to the ground. 

In no time, Ryouysuke neutralized the both of them. 

He surveyed his surroundings, looking out for the next enemy. 

He caught sight of Louis struggling in the lower part of his field of vision. 

Knives and stones fly via Movement Magic. Fireballs made from phosphorus and taser sparks magnified into small-scale lightning strikes were unleashed. 

Louis was not in close combat, but he was under a magical crossfire. 

Seeing this, Ryousuke jumped down the cliff. 

He had to abandon his attack on Laura, since saving Louis is the priority at the moment. 

Ryousuke stood at the foot of the stream acting as a shield against the knives and stones. 

Neither the fireballs nor the lightning strikes could break through Ryousuke's magical armor. 

—But this was a bad move. 

Ryousuke has no ranged magic attacks. His only means of attack is to hurl himself into hand-to-hand combat with his unbreakable armor. 

Now that he was back down by the stream, Ryousuke could do nothing but shield Louis. It is the same for Louis, who could not afford to use [Doppelgänger]. 

They are stuck in a predicament. 

In the midst of all this, Ryousuke suddenly felt an unprecedented surge of Psion Waves. 

The magic he was dealing with now was, to put it mildly, second-rate. 

Ryousuke had yet to witness Tatsuya and Miyuki's magic. But he has seen Mayumi's magic up close. 

The magic being used by FAIR in this crossfire is nothing in comparison to Mayumi's, nor is it even on the level of the magic used by those from the New Humanity Front that had attacked him a while back. 

But now, the waves coming from the top of the cliff are not at all inferior to the ones from Mayumi. 

The source of the waves was Laura. 

She is probably planning to pull off a big move to put a stop to this. 

(…I can withstand it myself.) 

(But Louis…) 

The Tookami's — the "Toogami's" [Reactive Armor] is an individual magic. 

It can only protect its user. 

(…If only I could use [Phalanx]…) 

With the magic of the "Juumonji," which is still one of the "Numbers" and not an "Extra," he would be able to get them out of this predicament. He would be able to break out from this with ease, while also protecting Louis. 

For the first time in his life, Ryousuke felt frustrated for being an "Extra." 

—At that moment. 

—A goddess of salvation descended. 

Suddenly, a glowing figure appeared out of thin air. 

Emanating from her came a wave of soft light that brought peace. 

The crossfire ceased. 

Everyone present but Laura had appeased expressions as if all their anxieties had been cast away. 

Even Laura, for her part, had stopped constructing her magic. 

Perhaps her magic requires "negative emotions" as its energy input. 

It must have been disrupted by the wave of tranquility emanating from the "goddess." 

"Milady…" 

Ryousuke muttered, overwhelmed with emotion. 

The "goddess" was Lena. 

It was Lena's magic that neutralized the other ten magicians belonging to FAIR, except for the two that Ryousuke had knocked out, while also hindering Laura. 

Mental-Interference Type Magic [Euphoria]. 

It's a magic that transmits Pushion Waves along with Psionic Waves to induce a euphoric state of stupor. Its maximum target range is around 90 meters in radius. The maximum number of targets that can be affected is around 30 people. 

And this is not Lena's greatest magic. 

All the way from Vancouver, reaching Mt. Shasta approximately 1,000 kilometers away. 

She can send her astral body across such a distance, incapacitate ten people, and obstruct the "witch's" magic. 

Yet, this was still far from Lena's limits. 

[Ryousuke, Louis, it's now or never.] 

"Milady, my deepest gratitude!" 

"Thank you very much." 

Ryousuke and Louis verbally thanked her and started to move. 

Ryousuke didn't miss a beat and picked up his discarded rucksack. 

Ryousuke and Louis made their way down the stream. 

Until they were out of sight, Lena's astral body kept the members of FAIR, Laura Simon included, riveted in place. 

As Lena's astral body disappeared, [Euphoria]'s effect wore off. 

"—Son of a bitch!" 

Glaring at the space where Lena's astral body had been floating, Laura spat out a curse. 





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