Chapter 8
[Direct Intervention]
Sunday evening, September 19th. While Tatsuya was resting at his Miyakishima residence, he received a phone call from Kazama, who first expressed his gratitude again for the earlier treatment and informed him that he would be supporting Tatsuya in his efforts in respect to the Tibetan War.
"A regiment commander providing support to me, a civilian?"
[Consider it as a token show of support from the Independent Magic-Equipped Regiment.]
This manner of address and language from Kazama with Tatsuya is not limited to this formal talk, it is an example of how their relationship has developed. Tatsuya has grown since his time during the earlier Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion days, he's now an adult and the circumstances in which they interact is based on a whole new set of rules and regulations.
"If you say so, then I'll be happy to have the support."
[It'll be our pleasure. I would also like to inform you that, as of today, you are authorized to use Tribhuvan Airport in Kathmandu.]
"Thank you very much for hearing my request. I'll be making use of it as soon as I am able."
[That is great news.] Just then, the business smile on Kazama's face gained a hint of authenticity. No doubt he must have realized Tatsuya's intentions to fly to Kathmandu shortly to intervene in Tibet. [I ask you to be careful, still. It would appear that the Greater Asia Union has not yet given up on their assassination attempts on your person, Shiba-san.]
Tatsuya caught the implied message from Kazama's choice of words, "Did something happen to that effect?" An incident must have occurred.
[There have been reports that, this afternoon, a Greater Asia Union operative has been identified in Mr. Ichijou Masaki's apartment and subsequently captured. They're currently being held at the Asaka base.]
"In Ichijou's you say?"
Masaki is Japan's second Nationally Recognized Strategic-Class Magician, making him a prime target for the Greater Asia Union. However, for him to be targeted at this time seemed a bit incongruous.
[It would appear there was an attempted brainwashing of Ichijou-san by said agent, with the intention of having Ichijou-san make an attempt on your life.]
"Brainwashing...?"
"Was he drugged?," Tatsuya wondered. Tatsuya wondered. By nature of his position,
Masaki should be under military monitoring. Not strictly the same kind of monitoring Tatsuya is under, but so that his safeguard could be ensured. Long-term confinement, which is required in the traditional methods of brainwashing, would have not been possible. Any kind of attempt to deny Masaki access to the outside world would have been impossible, for that matter.
[The culprit has been identified as a magician of the Greater Asia Union, which specializes in brainwashing through magic.]
"With magic? On Ichijou?" There was genuine astonishment in Tatsuya's voice. Tatsuya had always held Masaki's magical talents in high regard. It was difficult to believe someone like him would fall so easily for magically induced brainwashing, of all kinds.
"Do you have the name of the culprit?"
[The person who subdued them claims to be Lan Caihe of the Bāxiān.]
(What a surprise, Bāxiān again)
Tatsuya mused to himself in his thoughts. He had only heard of their name since a while ago, but recently they have incessantly crossed paths with each other. Lan Caihe marks their third officer that has been neutralized. This suggests either that the Greater Asia Union is experiencing either a serious personnel depletion, or that internal power struggles are providing more opportunities for the group to have novel targets to go against.
"How did they know that they are one, and who are the Bāxiān?"
Another point of note was that a person who knew Bāxiān's true identity was also unexpectedly in Masaki's close vicinity. Did the NDF anticipate that Masaki would be targeted by the operative unit? Or did they notice the signs of brainwashing and narrowed their suspects to the Bāxiān?
[From what I understood, it was a matter of coincidence. The person who subdued them was Liú Lìlěi.]
"She did?" Tatsuya was aware that the Ichijou family had the former Nationally Recognized Strategic Class Magician in their custody. He didn't expect she would be allowed to frequently come and go to Tokyo at her own convenience with Masaki's younger sister.
[Indeed, I first imagined it had been arranged by the NDF, but no, it was purely coincidental.]
"I see. I'm glad to hear it was taken care of before any crisis developed." Tatsuya was honestly glad, it was nice to have problems, solve themselves from time to time, coincidence or not.
[Yes, this time we might have avoided a disaster in our hands, but we can't deny that it also shone a spotlight on our border control issues. It is a disgrace.]
"I am aware of the possibility that a new agent may be sent to us. I'll exercise extreme caution."
[I wouldn't be surprised if it was limited to just you, Shiba-san. In any case, please be careful.]
Kazama ended the call with such a polite remark.
Tatsuya was by himself in his second house today. Miyuki and Lina were in the Chofu home because of university classes. He wasn't able to return to Tokyo because he was expecting guests.
Seventy percent of the western area of Miyakishima is private land of the Yotsuba family. While the entire island is owned by the family, the northeastern and southeastern coastal areas are open to companies affiliated with the Stellar Reactor plant.
The southwest area is mostly vacant, with the exception of the Virtual Satellite Elevator platform. Which consists of one engraved magic circle, a large CAD system for ultra-long distance [Mock-Teleportation] and automaton for transporting supplies.
The magic circle itself is the same as before, a huge engraved circle of 200 meters in diameter concealed under 30 centimeters of level compacted sand. The reason for sand instead of pavement or a retractable roof is simply ease of maintenance. Some things are more convenient to fix quickly and cheaply, than to spend time, effort and money to prevent breaking.
Tatsuya stood before that sandy platform covering the magic circle.
Precisely at the appointed time, 8:00 p.m., the very faintest, artfully obscured signs of magic, unrecognizable to anyone but Tatsuya, arose in the center of the platform, followed immediately by the appearance of a young man of inhuman beauty, Minoru, the collaborator Tatsuya had been waiting for.
The adjective "inhuman" goes beyond metaphor; Minoru is, by definition, no longer a human being, his communion with a pure-information life form has made him a Parasite. Still, the otherworldly beauty is a factor from his human days.
He just came from his home, Takachiho, the Orbital Residence, a satellite orbiting at an altitude of about 6,400 kilometers, to pay Tatsuya a visit.
"Minoru, thank you for your hard work."
"Good evening, Tatsuya-san, let me return this to you first." He held out his hand holding the Wand. The cintamani stone at the tip was the master key to the ruins of Shambhala scattered all over the world. "The links to all the grimoires from the Mt. Shasta ruins, with the exception of that one, have been registered here." With a nod, "Alright," Tatsuya accepted the Wand.
Minoru set down his backpack and opened the airtight container. "And here," he then took out the contents, "Is the grimoire of that magic we discussed."
"So, I assume there wasn't a problem removing it."
Tatsuya received the black tablet and immediately placed it in a calton bag for transporting paintings. He didn't make the slightest pause to check whether or not the tablet had the provisionally designated [Last Flame] recorded on it, or even if it was a special stone tablet that had the function of a grimoire.
Minoru didn't seem to take offense to that lack of doubt on Tatsuya's part.
"Miyuki is unfortunately not here with me, but I can at least offer you something to drink. What do you say about a short break?"
"I'm sorry, I'll have to refuse, Minami-san is waiting for me."
Turning down Tatsuya's light-hearted, or to put it bluntly, unbothered polite invitation with a wry smile, Minoru returned back up into the sky.
The Yotsuba family's Miyakishima branch comprises an eight-story twin building, with the residential wing housing Tatsuya's second home on one side and the island administrative building on the other, the de facto family branch. Returning from the Virtual Satellite Elevator platform, Tatsuya walked into, not the residential building, but the administrative building.
For much consideration he receives as the effective administrator of the branch, he still doesn't hold all the privileges over the others. Many places within the building require multiple security checks just to enter. The underground storeroom to which he was headed is among the areas that are subject to the most stringent inspection.
After having sealed the grimoire tablet tightly in his personal safe, Tatsuya received a call summoning him back to the ground level. Mobile communication signals could not reach him under there. It was passed on to him through the interphone switchboard from an operator in the communications room. Tatsuya instructed the operator to wait and headed for the nearest communications booth.
It was a call from the Main House, Butler Hanabishi was the one who appeared on the monitor of the videophone.
That was not Tatsuya's personal butler, Hanabishi Hyogo, but his father, who shared the same surname, Hanabishi Tajima. He ranks second only to Hayama in the family butlers, and is specifically delegated to manage and direct the combatants under the control of the Yotsuba, who are not part of the family.
[I apologize for calling so late in the evening. However, I have received information that needed to be brought to Tatsuya-sama's attention as soon as possible.]
Tajima is one of those related to the Yotsuba family who most favored Tatsuya, no less because his son is under Tatsuya's command. Since that summer, when Tatsuya displayed his power to the world, the Yotsuba family in its entirety no longer took Tatsuya lightly. Yet, there were still some who have yet to find favor with Tatsuya out of a sense of apprehension.
"You have my attention."
At Tatsuya's prompting, Tajima gave his report without further preamble.
[This was a report sent by a USNA local agent dispatched to Mt. Shasta: Laura Simon of
FAIR has discovered another ruin at the northwestern foot of Mt. Shasta apart from the ones we had designated for surveillance. Rocky Dean, who accompanied her, appears to have obtained some powerful magic.]
Failing to react immediately, there was Tatsuya, "...Northwestern foot of Mt. Shasta? Do you have the exact location?"
[I will send the data.] His promptness suggests he already had the data ready to be sent in anticipation of Tatsuya's request.
Scanning the data right away, Tatsuya confirmed himself that it did not refer to the ruins of Shambhala.
(Could these be ruins of the Kla-Klo...?)
According to the records of the ruins of Shambhala under the Potala Palace, the ruins on
Mt. Shasta were a frontline stronghold against an enemy they referred to as "Adversaries". Tatsuya's group referred to them as "Kla-Klo", as is recorded in the Kalachakra Tantra.
Whatever their actual name was, if the ruins at the foot of the northwestern mountains are contemporary with those of Shambhala, it is highly likely that they are those of the group they referred to as Kla-Klo. That would give them hard evidence of the presence of the Kla-Klo in the vicinity of Mt. Shasta.
[We were not able to ascertain what kind of magic Dean had acquired,]
Judging that Tatsuya was perhaps unable to immediately coalesce his thoughts, Tajima continued on his own initiative.
[The reports mention that a Stars detail was deployed, but were ultimately unsuccessful in capturing Laura Simon and Rocky Dean, due to interference from the Triad.]
"I now understand the situation. You're allowed to lift the surveillance on Mt. Shasta. We'll leave Laura Simons and Rocky Dean in the hands of the Stars and FEHR." Now out of his reverie, Tatsuya finally made a clear decision.
[As you wish, sir. With the suspension of the surveillance, how should we proceed with the personnel we have gathered?]
[Would it be possible to reassign them to monitor the Triad to see if they are passing on any grimoires like the Guru Tablet, or any relic for that matter, to the Greater Asia Union?"
[Absolutely. I'll issue an order to that effect.]
"Thank you for your service."
The call with the butler Hanabishi Tajima is disconnected. Tatsuya sat still in front of the monitor for a while, pondering.
After a moment, he raised and went to his home in the residential building. When the clock marked midnight, he went back to the administrative building, to the communications room.
Tatsuya greets the on-duty operator, who panicked momentarily seeing who entered the room, asking them to establish a transmission with Takachiho by laser communication.
"Minoru, this is Tatsuya."
[Tatsuya-san, was there something wrong?] Minoru displayed clear concern at the call, they had just met face-to-face four hours earlier.
"I now know what Laura Simon was doing on Mt. Shasta."
It was Minoru who spotted Laura in the northwestern foothills of Mt. Shasta and made the report to Tatsuya. However, neither of them at the time knew what she was up to.
Their priority was the ruins at the eastern slope At that time, the priority for both of them was the ruins of Shambhala, located underground at the eastern mid-slope of Mt. Shasta. They concluded that since she had appeared in a completely different place from the known ruins, Laura and her purpose could wait until later.
Tatsuya's unusual behavior seemed to have led Minoru to realize the mistake they had made. A very human expression of worry appeared on his face as he asked Tatsuya, [What happened?]
"It appears that Laura Simon was looking for the ruins of the Kla-Klo."
[The Kla-Klo? That witch was scouring for the ruins of Shamballa's opposing force?]
"And it seems she found them. I received a report that Laura Simon discovered magic-related ruins at the northwest foot of Mt. Shasta, and that Rocky Dean has acquired the magic of said ruins."
[They got the magic of the ruins...] Tatsuya spoke so matter-of-factly, as if it were just a side-note, while Minoru was aghast with the news. [...What kind of magic could it be?] "I have no idea. All we have to base our assumptions on is that it would be a magic tailored against Shamballa."
[Do you want me to investigate...?]
"That's actually why I called you." Tatsuya fixed on Minoru's eyes through the camera, "Minoru, do not touch this matter just yet."
[Eh...?] The words came as quite unexpected to Minoru, to the extent he thought he misheard what Tatsuya had just said.
"We'll leave it to the Stars and FEHR to sort out whatever magic Rocky Dean has acquired at the ruins. I'm asking that you don't intervene, at least not until we are positive of the nature of the magic."
[...Are you worried about what would happen to me?]
"You might think I'm diminishing you, but I simply don't want to risk losing you." Minoru, naturally, didn't feel offended.
[Do you think the Kla-Klo had a dangerous magic in those ruins?] Minoru hid his appreciation for the high regard in Tatsuya's eyes, and asked a question, attempting to ascertain what Tatsuya's real concern was.
"We know the ruins on Mt. Shasta were the front line stronghold and a sort of weapons depot in the struggle against their adversaries. If we assume them to be the Kla-Klo, then it would be fair to also assume that their ruins on Mt. Shasta had equally powerful weapons to resist their opponents' domination.
[I see... you have a good point.] Tatsuya's logic was straightforward enough that Minoru could accept without a second thought.
However, that was just the bridge to what Tatsuya was really trying to get at, "My biggest concern is based on the theory that the Shamballa civilization may have used Parasites as a tool for magic output."
[A tool for magic output...?]
"Parasites have many advantages against regular human mageists in terms of outputting magic. When limited to a specific magic, they are able to keep powerful magic active for long periods of time. Unlike humans, they do not require regular sleep. They do not require communication apparatuses to maintain coordination with other parasites. In a civilization where magic is at the foundation of society, where they have the technology to turn humans into parasites and vice versa, we could envision a system in which criminals are turned into parasites, enslaved, and forced to use magic."
Tatsuya spoke in "maybe"s, but he personally knew of a similar system, this time using mageists rather than parasites, that existed in this world, at this age.
[You already thought of that much...?] There was no sense of admiration in Minoru's voice, but rather a touch of trepidation. Though he could see how a person would reach that conclusion with logic, it still brought him some unease at how easily these possibilities came to Tatsuya. In ways Tatsuya's mind seemed callous and ruthless even to the individual who abandoned his humanity by becoming a parasite.
Tatsuya did not notice that Minoru looked at him as if he were a monster. Or perhaps Tatsuya, who is much familiar with the darkness that has trapped magians, simply does not care about it.
"We are in pure speculation at this point, but in the case that the Shambhala civilization was built on the sacrifice of parasites, the quickest and most effective way to destroy that society is to attack the parasite base."
Minoru audibly exclaims. He finally understood Tatsuya's point of concern.
[So you believe that the Kla-Klo might have magic to subjugate us, Parasites, hidden in their ruins...?]
"Yes. I'm aware that you are a special case among Parasites, Minoru. Even if such magic existed, I don't think you'd be enthralled by it. That said, there is no need to take unnecessary risks."
[...Alright. Neither I nor Minami-san have any obligation to the USNA. So, as long as it doesn't affect us, we'll just keep an eye out for it.]
Tatsuya responded to Minoru's unfeeling statement, with a satisfied nod, "Please, and thank you."
◇◇◇
September 19, 5:00 p.m. local time. The group of four, Lena, Ryousuke, Arya and Louis Roux, returned overland from the foothills of Mt. Shasta, California, to FEHR headquarters in Vancouver.
If not sleeping, Lena was in a permanent brooding mood during the long trip by self-driving car. Her downcast expression made it difficult for the other three to ask her for more details of what had happened.
Only when asked by Gagnon, who had been taking care of the headquarters while the leader was away, what had happened did Lena finally open what had become a sealed gate at that point to answer.
"Rocky Dean obtained an ancient magic that had been buried."
"Do you mean he found a magical artifact, one that is a true relic?" Ryousuke asked the question. Neither he nor Lena were aware that a black tablet acted as a kind of grimoire to impart magic. At the incident of the outbreak of [Babel], all Tatsuya disclosed to Lena was that "FAIR had caused an incident of magic misuse".
"...I'm not sure. I feel like I might have seen visions of ghosts from the past haunting Dean, but it could've been nothing more than a nightmare."
"Ghosts...?" Arya muttered. There wasn't a note of skepticism, but she clearly wondered on the use of the term.
"...Could it be that those lingering thoughts were ingrained in the ruins and it was them that gave Rocky Dean this old magic?" Ryousuke reflected, in a low voice, not entirely sure. Arya and Louis looked at him, as if endorsing his insight.
"That... might have been it..." Lena didn't outright dismiss the idea. She too felt that Ryousuke's interpretation of her visions had merit. Ryousuke was too busy trying to soothe Lena's emotional turmoil to even pretend to be proud of the reactions of Arya and Louis to his insight. His fanatical devotion to his saint is unparalleled even among FEHR members. Possibly his intrinsic nature collaborated in this way.
"I'm not sure. What I can say is that Dean appears to have a very strong affinity for this magic."
"You mean he has a high aptitude for it?" Gagnon interjected between the two.
"Yes, that's what it felt like... I think it might have been similar to the magic he is already familiar with, just in a higher order."
"Would the magic he's familiar with be his [Dionysus]?" Louis inquired.
Lena responded, "Yes, presumably."
Arya reservedly raised a question, "...I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the name. What kind of magic is this [Dionysus]?"
Lena, Gagnon and Louis exchanged looks. Not that they didn't know, they were just checking if no one else was going to explain it.
"[Dionysus] is a mental interference magic that targets a group of people," During that pause, Ryousuke took upon himself to answer the question. "We don't know what exactly it does, but rumors say that it puts the group into some kind of inebriated state, where they lose self-control and reason. There are other rumors that say it may just be a form of hypnosis that induces mass hysteria." Since Ryousuke had never seen [Dionysus] in action with his own eyes, he only has hearsay on the subject. "Rumors also suggest it might be a psychic ability and not magic, because it does not need to target a specific person to be activated."
"On that psychic factor... could it perhaps be some form of active telepathy?" Arya verbalized her thoughts
"We don't have many accounts of Dean using magic in the incidents we have observed, so we don't actually know much about it," Louis answers her with an expressive shrug of the shoulders. "The only fact we know with certainty is that it causes a collective behavior where people do things they would otherwise think twice or thrice before. The name [Dionysus] itself gives a clue as to what phenomenon it interferes with."
"So, magic in a higher order compared to that one... it would create massive riots." Arya inadvertently gave voice to her musings. Although it was more of a soliloquy from her part, it didn't take out the fact it was a bull's-eye on what Lena's concerns were.
There was a shared sense of panic in the room as Lena turned completely pale.
"─Let's capture Dean and neutralize him. Whatever magic he's got, he'll be no threat once we get him locked up," Ryousuke blurted out decisively, in an attempt to comfort Lena. He was the youngest of the group. And that was probably one of the main reasons why he, in his early twenties, could shout out embarrassing childish interpretations of heroic speeches without any reservations.
"...How tough? We can't go and put cuffs on him if we don't know in which hole he is hiding," Gagnon, appearing to be nauseated with second-hand embarrassment, yet keeping her cool, points out the obvious issue.
"Then let's ask the Magian Company in Japan for help; they will not be able to ignore the fact that FAIR has acquired some dangerous magic," Ryousuke proudly concluded despite not having any solid evidence to back up his claim.
◇◇◇
Morning of September 20th. Tatsuya contacted Fujibayashi in Izu by phone and instructed her to monitor the movements of the American Honmen and the Triad, before getting into his private jet and flying out of Miyakishima to Kathmandu.
The aircraft followed a flight route that avoided the GAU airspace and, with a maximum speed of Mach 7, touched down at Tribhuvan Airport in Kathmandu, the capital of the IPU Republic of Nepal after about two hours.
Officials of the federal government were there to meet him at the airport. There were no federal or republican military personnel among the reception group, as Tatsuya is ostensibly unaffiliated with the military.
Yet, despite being a civilian with no official titles, his status as an international public figure is as undeniable as the list of people and organizations who wish him dead. As far as Tatusya was from an helpless individual, who solely relied on others to defend him, as a policy, governments are averse to the emergence of crisis in the event that a foreign public figure is assassinated in their borders. Fearing a scenario where Tatsuya could be that victim, the IPU federal military ensured to slip elite combat magicians among the civilian officials holding Tatsuya's reception.
Tatsuya was well aware of this. Also that the IPU's invitation was effectively to use him as a leverage in their war against the Greater Asia Union over Tibet. For that reason, the high alert around him doubled as surveillance to ensure that he would not act against their interests. It should be expected that he would have at least enough able-bodied people following him in the shadows until he reached the battlefield proper.
Among them was the figure of a female mageist, Saptarṣi, whom he had met on his way back from his recent visit to Lhasa, who did not seem to recognize Tatsuya as one of the duo of unidentified magicians at that time. And he didn't attempt to divulge the fact, either.
Although Tatsuya agreed to join the civilian observers, he had no intention of staying in the IPU or in Tibet. After a brief stopover at the observer camp today for a short meeting, he will be back at this airport on the same day to board his private jet "Raisen" for his flight back to Japan.
As an insurance policy in case of trouble, he has Raizen marked as a target for the [Mock-Teleportation] at the magic circle at Miyakishima. Should he be involved in an incident or lose his mobile vehicle due to an attack targeting him while in Tibet, he could return to Raizen's side using [Mock-Teleportation], which he had recorded in a Magistore.
Tatsuya also brought with him magistores for [Protective Shield] magic and his Recognition Inhibiting Magic [Aidoneus] to offset the deficiencies in magical abilities.
Carrying a single attaché case containing his magic tools for self-defense, Tatsuya climbed into the luxurious camper provided by the IPU government.
The camper provided to him was of the same model as those used by other members of the civilian observer group. With the exception of McLeod, who expressly has brought his own vehicle from his homeland, all of the magicians reside in more or less identical conditions.
The camp of the civilian observer party, composed of magicians of neutral nations, was situated approximately 150 kilometers from Kathmandu. Tatsuya took the wheel himself. The road was not paved, but the ground was leveled for the entire journey. Without any problems along the way, it would take only two hours to reach the campsite.
Of course, he was not traveling all by himself. Even if they are in the rear, they are still in a war zone. Two armored vehicles, one at the front, other at the back, escorted him in his path.
Tatsuya's camper, flanked by the two armored vehicles, drove nonstop through the deserted fields, avoiding the active fighting zones, to a camp where top-ranking magicians from more than a dozen countries had gathered.
Incidentally, what would be the most effective way to kill a magician?
Guns are not always definitive. Neither are bombs or missiles. If they know they are being targeted, the basic principles of barrier magic will prevent bullets, cannonballs, artillery, intense heat, fragments, shockwaves, and so on. Not to say magic defenses are absolute; if exposed to values higher than the defined strength of the magic, they will be broken through. But in many cases, magicians have survived attacks that would have been fatal to non-magicians.
How about poisoning, then? Magic can easily alter the composition of toxins in the body into other substances or break into harmless compounds. Magic is originally an exercise in the perception of an event as a whole, not in individual analytical cognition. Even if the exact chemical composition of a toxic substance is not known, the definition of "render any toxic substance harmless to oneself" is enough to activate magic. Unless it causes immediate death, or incapacitates the magician before he or she can respond, and lasts enough for the poison to be fatal, then poisoning is also not necessarily a guarantee.
In short, if a magician is able to recognize the threat and has the opportunity, they can use their magic to respond. With that in mind, what is the most effective way to kill a magician?
The correct answer is a surprise attack─an undetected attack that delivers a fatal blow to the target. A conclusion apparently also reached by those who were currently attempting to assassinate Tatsuya.
The single file line of armored vehicles and campers were suddenly hit with a missile strike.
The missiles were small, coated with expensive electromagnetic wave-absorbing material. Similarly, the launching platform of said missiles, was a highly advanced stealth drone. Using such an expensive system against 2 armored vehicles and a civilian camper would be egregious in a cost-benefit analysis.
What was more surprising, however, is that both systems were never reported to be in the service of the Greater Asia Union.
Regardless of the investment made, the ambush was not successful. Even an aircraft made to be invisible to radar could not escape detection by Tatsuya's "eyes".
That said, by the time he noticed the situation, Tatsuya didn't have spare time to warn his armored escorts. Making the judgment on the spur of the moment, he forgot about his escort and used [Regrowth] on his attaché case for self-defense.
The case split open, revealing what appeared to be sand tightly packed inside. That was not mere sand, of course. It was a solid object, simply "decomposed" by Tatsuya.
The "sand" instantly morphs through [Regrowth], covering Tatsuya's entire body in the shape of the flight combat suit it once was─the Freed Suit.
The Freed Suit is a combat suit with a built-in flight device developed exclusively by the Yotsuba family, based on the Mobile Suit developed by the Independent Magic-Equipped Regiment, Battalion at the time.
"Freed Suit" was a provisional name given to the project during its development, which eventually became its official name as the primary user, Tatsuya, continued to refer to it as such. Whereas its specifications of power assistance and data-link functions are inferior by comparison to the Mobile Suit in service of the National Defense Forces, this suit offers greater protection and stealth performance.
Tatsuya activates the stored shield magic sequence in the Magistore as soon as the Freed Suit envelops his body.
[Protective Shield] activates, encasing the shape of the suit in a magical barrier.
Tatsuya cannot construct a wide variety of magic sequences, but he has extremely high event interference power.
So high, in fact, that the single layer of [Protective Shield] magic, deployed with the assistance of the Magistore, was as strong as what a magician of the "Tenth", enhanced with an emphasis on defensive power, could produce.
The missiles directly struck the escort armored vehicles, as well as the camper Tatsuya was aboard. The warheads were designed to prioritize the generation of high-heat gas rather than the fragmentation, causing the three vehicles to burst into flames in the blink of an eye.
The armored cars had magicians on board as well. Who were unfortunately caught by complete surprise and their vehicles were engulfed in flames unopposed in what could be described as a split second. They didn't even have the opportunity to use magic to defend or evade the attack in time.
Having consequently left them to die, Tatsuya took pictures of the three vehicles on fire and the stealth drone flying away on the sky after completing its job, then returned to the side of his private plane at Tribhuvan Airport via [Mock-Teleportation], just about an hour since he left it there.
Aside from his Freed Suit, Tatsuya also brought Wingless, the airbike, in a similar composite state. Its development overlapped with the Freed Suit. And just like the suit, "Wingless" was also a provisional designation for the airbike project, which was still in use despite numerous revisions and modifications made to the vehicle.
The initial versions of wingless had a flight device installed as an extra feature for emergencies. In the current version, it truly lives up to its "Airbike" designation, prioritizing flight as its main operation and ground transportation being more of an supplemental feature.
It uses the same flying principles as the AirCar, altering the vector of acceleration of Earth's gravity to allow it to move freely in mid-air. In contrast to earlier models, which relied on the same principle of flight magic, the cruising speed and range have been dramatically improved.
Due to the size limitations of the Casting Assistant Device (CAD) and battery, however, it does not offer the same level of magic assistance as the AirCar in higher flight performance. For instance, its maximum altitude and top speed are significantly lower than those of the AirCar. Nevertheless, the AirBike Wingless still delivered unparalleled performance to any other means of personal transportation.
Tatsuya reported the attack to the IPU official who had arranged the camper for him, handing him a copy of the video recording of the immediate aftermath of the attack. Then hopped onto the back of his newly reconstructed Wingless thanks to [Regrowth], and set off once again for the camp.
At the civilian observer camp, the two "Apostles", McLeod and Schmidt, awaited Tatsuya's arrival. They were surprised to see Tatsuya on a motorcycle instead of a camper, but when they heard the news of the attack on the way, McLeod as well as Schmidt lost the color of their faces.
"...I'm glad you made it out safely," The pale Schmidt expressed her apparent genuine relief for his safety.
"─Did you manage to identify the attacker?" Whereas, McLeod, looking equally pale, expressed greater interest in the identity of the assailant.
"I wasn't able to identify the attacker, but I did record the weapon that was used," Tatsuya replied. Then, looking solely at McLeod, asked, "Would you like to see it?"
"...No, thanks. I don't need it." Schmidt hesitated a bit before declining Tatsuya's offer. She didn't want to get involved in more problems. "I'll get some documents from my car about the group activities to bring you up to date."
"Alright. And you, Sir McLeod, would you like to watch it?"
"...I'll take a look. Please, let's do so in my car."
"Then, if you two excuse me. Professor, I'll be joining you in your car later."
"That's fine. I'll be waiting for you." After replying to Schmidt, McLeod led Tatsuya to his camper.
"Isn't this stealth drone of the model in service of your intelligence agency?" Tatsuya asked McLeod after playing the recording to him in his camper.
"Seems to me as much. I can't think of anything else than a drone assassination attempt by the Defense Intelligence Service (DIS)." McLeod accepted Tatsuya's conclusion with far more ease than could be said to be warranted.
"Sir McLeod, I'd like to clarify that I have no intention of acting against the interests of your country." McLeod scanned Tatsuya's face to gauge his intentions. "I have given a copy to the official at Kathmandu who provided me with the camper, but I am able to dispose of the data if you wish."
Tatsuya stated that he could destroy the data in the hands of a third party. And McLeod had no reason to doubt that he could not.
"...I suspect that was the work of 'The Knights'" McLeod, in response to Tatsuya's unspoken request, disclosed the identity of his suspected assailant.
"The Knights... Could you be referring to the Magical Secret Society of the 'Knights of the Logres'?"
"That is actually a common misunderstanding from outsiders, people often refer to them as 'Knights of Logres' when the official name is simply 'The Knights'"
"I wasn't aware of that."
"I must say, sir, I feel relieved. There are things that even you, Mr. Shiba, don't know," McLeod said with a smile, and Tatsuya responded with a wry smile of his own.
Knights of Logres, or The Knights, is a British magical secret society that is anti-royal and anti-government, designated as a terrorist organization by the British government. Their political stance reflects the complicated history of the British royal family, making it difficult for even their fellow Englishmen to understand them.
Their central tenet is based on the legend of Britain's establishment and the resurrection of King Arthur. However, it's unclear whether they refer to the pre-Christian or a post-Christian Roman version of the Arthurian legend itself. All else that is publicly known about The Knights is that they systematically propagate a blend of druidic magic and Christian mysticism systems, and that they are armed with the advanced modern weapons against the current British government.
"The Knights seem to believe that you, Mister, have become a powerful ally of our government," McLeod remarked with a most gentlemanly British sneer. "Well, that's what was spouted by the organization that actually wishes to remove you from the board, Mister."
"I see. I assume you don't share the same sentiment as them, is that correct?" Tatsuya asks indifferently, without any hint of preoccupation or hostility.
"My country attaches great importance to the cordial relationship we share with you, Mister." McLeod gave his answer with a dignified air.
"Then I suppose you wouldn't mind if I eliminated The Knights?" Tatsuya did not seem particularly enthused with the use of the words "I" and "eliminate" followed by the name of the magical secret society that the UK government has been having its hands full with.
"I believe the British government would positively endorse such an action from you,
Mister."
"Thank you very much for this conversation... Should we have Professor Schmidt join us now...?"
"Yes, let's."
The conversation ended without escalation, with a settlement being reached between Tatsuya and McLeod.
That day ended with Tatsuya receiving first-hand information about the current situation of the conflict. As McLeod and Schmidt were also briefly returning to their home countries today, Tatsuya joined them in a British military transport helicopter with his AirBike.
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