The siblings’ home was within the zone of automated control, but Honoka’s apartment was just outside the area for automatic vehicular control. After using the information terminal to summon the automatic car, there was no way to take Honoka home. In the end, the four of them got on the light rail at the station.
Even with their rather shocking attire, thankfully they did not receive any undue attention in the city.
At least, not any more than anticipated (when accompanied by Miyuki, being completely inconspicuous was frankly impossible).
Tatsuya’s group got into a section with four seats on the train.
"Um, Tatsuya-kun……"
Since the act of boarding the train was so very natural, it wasn’t until after the train departed that Honoka had a question. Even if they were going in the same direction, they couldn’t get off halfway between stops……
"I’ll take you home."
Upon hearing him utter the words she earnestly wished him to say but was unable to ask him do so, even the multiple instances of Honoka trying to be polite were unable to hide her radiant expression.
There was no way to alter seating arrangements in the cabin that the four of them sat in.
Miyuki sat next to Tatsuya, with Honoka sitting directly across from him.
Tatsuya glanced over at Pixie sitting diagonally across from him (for some reason, she was being treated as a customer rather than cargo), before turning his eyes back to Honoka since she had fallen quiet from the beginning.
"…...Onii-sama, it’s probably about time to say something, otherwise I don’t think Honoka can hold it in any longer?"
Seeing Honoka’s anxiety spike after Tatsuya looked at her, Miyuki spoke up from his side.
"Ah, my apologies."
Tatsuya appeared to be unaware. After being pushed into a tight spot by his sister, Tatsuya acknowledged his error with an apologetic look on his face.
"Thank you for all of your hard work tonight, you three."
The words of praise were only the icebreakers, and proof of this was that Pixie had been included within. Still, this may be because he took into consideration that Pixie had also contributed quite a bit, but given that Tatsuya didn’t differentiate between humans and robots, this sentence clearly wasn’t given too much thought.
"So, Honoka. How should I put this……? Are you feeling a little strung out?"
There was no need to say this, but the next line was obviously an inquiry. Though somewhat confused at the sudden question, Honoka still shook her head.
"Really…… Pixie, if you are exhausted…… That phrase seems a little out of place. Do you notice any of the psions or energy reserves that make up your body being consumed?"
((Consumption is within naturally recoverable parameters, Master.))
"I see……"
"Onii-sama, is something lingering on your mind?"
"Not to the point of lingering……"
After shaking his head at his sister, Tatsuya once more looked towards Honoka.
"Earlier, when Pixie released that powerful burst of psychokinesis…… Honoka, do you have any idea what happened?"
"……No, what are you referring to?"
Honoka’s eyes were filled with unease as she asked this.
True, the inferences behind this line of questioning were anxiety inducing.
That being said, of course Tatsuya had no intention of fanning the flames of uneasiness.
"I would like you to calm down and listen to me carefully."
The fact that this had descended to the point where an intentional icebreaker was required troubled Tatsuya himself to no end.
"The instant Pixie released that burst of psychokinesis, psions were provided for Pixie from Honoka."
"Eh?"
Honoka’s jaw dropped at Tatsuya’s words.
"……So Honoka was providing energy for Pixie?"
"No, it didn’t feel like that."
In a rare showing, the voice Tatsuya used to answer Miyuki’s question was not filled with confidence.
"This is similar to the process where psions are inputted into the CAD in order to deploy the Activation Sequence. Might have been something like priming…… Or maybe even resonance."
Honoka darted a fearful look at Pixie.
Pixie – the 3H-P94 unit with a Parasite on board, paid little heed to that. That being said, there was no way to tell the real situation since there was no change in expression.
A Magician transferred psions to a machine.
This phenomenon itself was perfectly familiar to Tatsuya, no, to modern magic users as a whole. However, that was a phenomenon that occurred with machinery constructed according to the systems developed by magic engineering "to do it this way". That function was not installed on the 3H.
Robots do not have powers beyond those granted to them by humans. By themselves, they were unable to learn new functions.
This phenomenon…… Must have not have been caused by Pixie’s "mechanical body", but by her "real body" instead. Any other explanation was too outlandish.
It was perfectly natural for Honoka to feel uneasy and afraid.
"Mizuki did say this before…… That there is some sort of connection between Honoka and Pixie. Furthermore……"
Suddenly, Tatsuya stopped speaking.
Faced with her hesitant older brother wearing a bitter expression on his face, Miyuki responded with an alarmed look.
As if needled by an unspoken question, Tatsuya’s face seemed to give up the struggle and continued speaking.
"……Furthermore, the medium involved appears to be Honoka’s hair decorations."
"Huh?"
Honoka was wavering between surprise and fear earlier, but now she was entirely astounded.
Astonishment was not restricted to her alone.
Miyuki was also scrutinizing the rubber bands holding Honoka’s hair with great attention.
"To be precise, it should be the crystal within. As to how this occurred, I have no idea……"
Honoka caressed the crystals in her hair decorations with both hands.
This was an unconscious reaction that didn’t have any ulterior motive involved.
However, Tatsuya’s hypothesis was immediately proven by the ensuing reaction.
On Pixie, in the middle of the torso area, a spiritual light emerged.
The light was not blinding. From a visual perspective, the strength was about the same as a lantern.
Still, given the suspicion about their mutual connection, this coincidence was a little too perfect.
Tatsuya and Miyuki’s eyes both fell upon those hair decorations.
Honoka covered her hair decorations with both of her hands.
This was as if she was terrified that they would be taken away from her.
"The cause can be set aside for now…… A method to control that needs to be found first."
Tatsuya spoke in a tone that one used to comfort wary little animals.
Wariness turned into surprise as Honoka returned his look.
Tatsuya’s eyes drifted from Honoka to Pixie.
"At any rate, bringing Pixie back looks to be the right idea."
The high school force led by Tatsuya and company were not the only ones active tonight. The Saegusa and Juumonji force were inactive since Tatsuya had neglected to inform Mayumi and Katsuto about this action, but the many people in the Chiba force were activated on Erika’s orders. In spite of this, the sole reason that Erika’s group was the only one to arrive was because they were the strongest unit of those mobilized tonight. Erika, Leo, Mikihiko. Though their individual assessment was not spectacular, their combat capabilities towered over their peers. This was not just restricted to high school students, but adults as well. Even excluding techniques associated with weapons, their individual prowess was still in the top tier.
However, since this was an independent action, they were stuck in a situation where they had to guard the bound Parasites while awaiting evacuation…… Except unwanted guests found them before their getaway vehicle arrived.
"Hey, what are you guys doing!?"
Two young men wearing police uniforms parked an automatic vehicle (equipped with a motor) near the streetlight before running over and shouting out a question.
Seeing these two, Mikihiko revealed a harried expression and Leo pouted in irritation, whereas Erika remained silent but retaliated with a belligerent gaze.
"What is this!? You guys should be high school students. What the heck is going on here!?"
Seeing the two men lying on the ground with their wrists bound behind their backs, the taller one shouted shrilly. In truth, this was probably a policeman’s natural reaction upon finding citizens bound at night while lying on the ground.
"No, that’s just……"
Feeling that this was a legitimate question, Mikihiko was frantically looking for excuses.
"Aren’t you guys the ones who should be saying who you are?"
However, Erika’s riposte bulled right over that question.
"What did you say!?"
"Hey, Erika!"
Faced with unexpected resistance, the men’s rage seemed to intensify while Mikihiko turned an "unbelievable" look at her.
"Mikihiko."
A hand reached out to grab his shoulder.
When Mikihiko turned his head, he found Leo standing there with a highly entertained smile.
"Didn’t you hear me? I will ask again. Who are you?"
Erika snorted at the intimidating glares shooting out from beneath the police caps.
"Don’t you know? There shouldn’t be any policemen in this area because such an order was given. That idiot older brother of mine can’t possibly slip up at this juncture."
There was no evidence to support Erika’s words.
If faced with real policemen, this wasn’t a joke that should be bandied around.
In spite of this, the young men in front of her blatantly faltered.
"What nonsense is this?"
The faltering was wiped clean in an instant, but Erika didn’t miss that brief second. It wouldn’t have mattered even if there hadn’t been a reaction.
That’s because her words were not just bravado.
"If you wanted to disguise yourself, you should have chosen to be plainclothes detectives. In that case, hearing you out wouldn’t have been an issue."
Erika was highly exaggerating about the hearing you out part.
The taller young man was about to explode at her, but his colleague stopped him. They switched places and the slightly shorter man stepped forward. Of the two, this one was shorter but far bulkier, and the intimidation factor was a lot higher.
"Looking for an excuse to flee is useless. You are suspected of assault. Let’s take a walk."
"Hey~. So you’re playing it out to the end."
Nonetheless, Erika was completely fearless. She continued to level a dismissive, challenging glare at them.
"Alas, I captured these two on the spot during an attempted rape. I believe this constitutes a citizen’s arrest. Thus I am waiting for the real police to show up. There is no room for counterfeit policemen to appear here, un-der-stand?"
Mikihiko could only watch in admiration at his childhood friend reply so flippantly with a very logical argument. Even someone knowing this was a con would be misled. –Which was why he was a beat slow in detecting the hidden presence around him.
"Miki!" "Mikihiko!"
Without a sound – that was not an exaggeration, there literally was no sound – a black shadow attacked from above his head. The attack came from the wall surrounding the cemetery, and by the time Mikihiko realized this, it was already too late to meet the attack.
Mikihiko felt the blow land on his shoulder.
After being knocked flying by the sudden attack, he subconsciously took action to recover himself.
Leo raised his arm to the level of his head, to meet the oncoming downward swing of a rod. Just the sound alone was enough to tell the might behind this strike, and a normal person would undoubtedly suffer broken bones from this, but Leo took the blow as if it was nothing. Not only that, as his opponent touched the ground, he immediately retaliated with an iron fist of his own that fairly severed the air around him.
"Tch!"
Unfortunately, his fist barely brushed against the ambusher’s body before being retracted.
In the flickering street light, Mikihiko saw an arc of lightning.
That man was apparently wearing a coat that shocked an opponent with high voltage electricity on contact.
Pressing his fist, Leo leaped back a step.
He saw the man wielding the rod prepare to pursue.
"Leo, get out of there!"
Mikihiko took the opportunity to swing his left wrist down. He used his customary hand to grab the fan-shaped CAD that fell out of his sleeve.
Just as Mikihiko was about to release magic to support Leo against the man attacking him, an object came flying from the flank to strike his CAD.
Though the CAD didn’t fall, the spell had still been interrupted.
The object that had interfered with Mikihiko’s spell traced a loop before returning to its original position.
He finally realized that it was a boomerang of some sort, which would then automatically return to the hand of the thrower. Of course, if that was just a simple boomerang, there would be no way for it to return once it came into contact with the target. This must be some sort of magical weapon.
After taking an unexpected jolt of electricity, Leo rolled back on the street to avoid the downward blow of the rod before pulling back and resetting his posture.
Mikihiko didn’t have the leisurely time to worry about Leo.
There was more than one enemy.
He heard the "Psh" sound of compressed air being released and two connected cannonballs that looked like soda cans from a while ago come flying towards him from the street.
Mikihiko used the seal of the wind to meet the cannonballs.
The cannonballs stopped in mid-air. However, in the next instant, a net was deployed from the cannonballs and rushed towards Mikihiko. On the eight points of the octagon, there were miniature rockets to replace the arrested momentum.
What the hell is that!? Those were Mikihiko’s undisguised feelings.
The speed wasn’t all that impressive, but he had no idea what trickery lay within that net. Mikihiko used a "Leaping" spell to dodge the net.
Unfortunately, there were shadows waiting for him in the sky. The human silhouettes hurtled round throwing weapons.
Like a game of chess, this was the perfect arrangement.
For any normal Magician would it would have been "checkmate" right there.
Yet, the current Mikihiko was a far cry from normal. He had already recovered the strength that earned him a reputation as a child genius and had even progressed further.
In mid-air, Mikihiko used the air as a jumping board to "Leap" again and avoid the attacks of the three round projectiles and their master.
Still in the air, Mikihiko looked down upon the head of the man wielding a thin, long object – most likely a whip of some sort.
Finally, it was Mikihiko’s turn.
He extended his bent leg.
His foot came into contact with the man’s forehead.
The action itself became the "seal" to activate magic.
Through the point of contact between foot and forehead, a web of lighting spread out and encapsulated the man’s body.
Once more stepping off the wind, Mikihiko landed on top of the wall.
There, he looked for Leo and Erika’s figures.
Leo had recovered from that early surprise attack. Facing the opponent wielding the rod, he was engaged in a fierce battle using his bare hands. The reason why he had not suffered any injury from the electric attack was probably because he had wrapped himself with something. The other man also had a certain degree of skill, but in terms of speed and power, Leo was superior.
The problem was Erika.
The two who first struck up a conversation weren’t very adept at acting, but their fighting skills were quite capable.
No matter how he put it, Erika actually had to defend against their attacks. They must be wearing special armor beneath their uniforms, though the uniforms themselves may also be custom made.
Still, durability alone was insufficient to stand against Erika’s sword strikes. Each time they came into contact with Erika’s sword blows, something would flitter off the surface of the clothes. Warily, Erika continued to slowly press her attack forward.
If the weapon she held was any longer, then she probably wouldn’t need so much time. Unfortunately, the weapon she had today was a short rod that could morph into a wakizashi. Erika was avoiding dust that was most likely some sort of poison, so there was no chance she could close into close quarters.
Thanks to him seizing a higher vantage point, Mikihiko finally noticed something.
The three of them were being slowly pulled away from the bound Parasites.
In addition, the distance between the three of them was also growing. If this continued, the captives might be taken away before support arrived.
Even if this was pushing it a little, they had to take care of this quickly.
The next instant after he made up his mind, no, it was likely their enemy had also judged that they couldn’t hold out much longer.
In terms of timing, Mikihiko’s assessment and their opponents’ judgment were of an accord.
The enemy was one step ahead.
They heard the sound of something falling to the ground.
Leo kicked aside his opponent while Erika unleashed a chain of razor sharp blows to pull away from her opponent.
"Get down!"
The same time that call rang out, a cocoon of air wrapped around Erika and Leo.
That was the defensive barrier Mikihiko had devised.
The explosive that had fallen from above detonated before coming into contact with the ground and unleashed a thick smoke that obscured the street lights.
The sound of heavy metallic objects falling continued.
Mikihiko called the wind to blow apart the smoke.
They immediately found out what had happened.
Metallic arms trailing down from the sky grabbed the Parasites’ bodies and swiftly retracted. The source of the lines came from a pitch black flying ship hiding in the night sky that had appeared at some point in time.
The silence of it all was astounding, and there was no sign of magic being used. Without a sound or any sign of magic waves, none of them had noticed the unidentified flying ship flying overhead.
The bodies of the captives vanished into the ship.
Mikihiko saw Erika ready herself to slash upwards. Though her slashes were not the same level as Strategic-Class Magic, she might be able to shatter the fuel compartment and cause a crash.
"Erika, stop!"
However, thanks to Mikihiko’s intervention, Erika reluctantly stood down. She also knew very well that it would be a catastrophe if the flying ship crashed here.
While their attention had been drawn away by the flying ship, their ambushers’ shadows also disappeared. Needless to say, the counterfeit policemen’s party were of the same affiliation with the flying ship.
"What a headache……"
Mikihiko nodded as if in complete agreement, to which Erika responded with a particularly brilliant smile.
"So what are we going to tell Tatsuya-kun?"
Mikihiko was asking Leo for help.
Leo shrugged when Mikihiko looked at him.
"It’s already so late, I don’t think we should trouble him, right?"
Leo shrugged again at Mikihiko’s gaze.
"Ha, you’re right. At this hour, might as well tell him tomorrow."
Their hollow laughter was mixed into the slight wind that blew towards the center of the city at night.
"We have captured the specimen."
This was the headquarters of the JSDF Intelligence Department 3rd Division located in the basement of one of the buildings in Ichigaya.
Upon hearing the report from the deployed stealth airship, the assistant director in charge of this entire operation – this department did not employ the JSDF’s ranking system and used entirely falsified ranks – nodded as his expression seemed to sigh in relief.
"Though there were a few surprises, we still accomplished our objective."
When the agents disguised as policemen had been knocked unconscious by mere high school students and a HAR, the first thing that flashed across his mind was "demotion". Now that he might have avoided ruining his superior’s mood, the assistant director could relax.
He knew very well that the "specimen" they had captured was the "vampire" that disturbed the peace, but he was unaware that the real identity of the vampires was actually Magicians who had been possessed by monsters called Parasites. Nor was he aware that one of the captured vampires was a retired soldier from the USNA born in Mexico and that the reason for his retirement was that he lost his magic due to an injury suffered during training. The assistant director had simply been ordered to capture a specimen of the vampires.
The reason why they were observing Tatsuya was because the higher ups told him there was a higher probability they would come into contact with the vampires if they shadowed Tatsuya’s group. Though as to why a high school student, despite being known as Magician larvae, would have a link to vampires, that reason was beyond him. His subordinates being instantly nullified immediately dispelled the preconception that they were just high school students, but the mystery in regards to why high school students were so strong only deepened. Still, it looked like they would no longer have to trouble themselves with ridiculously strong high school students. That was the reason why the assistant director could breathe a sigh of relief.
Their task was only to temporarily "safeguard" the specimen. Any procedures beyond that were done by his superior, the director. One of the tricks to the organization’s continual survival was not questioning their superior’s tasks. The request for obtaining the specimen didn’t come from the government but from their sponsors, and the assistant director was somewhat aware that the real client was that particular family from behind their sponsor, but he really didn’t want to know.
"As ordered, transport the target to the 'icebox'. Just in case, up the dosage."
After ordering his subordinate to use low temperature anesthesia used to induce hibernation on Magicians to nullify the Parasites before moving them to the facility, the assistant director returned to his seat to report to his superiors the result of his mission.
"That damnable Koichi, still so enamored with intrigue. It’s practically part of his personality now."
Just listening to the words may give the impression that this was a complaint, but after hearing her grandfather utter this phrase in a highly entertained voice, Fujibayashi pretended not to hear anything.
The sudden intrusion of the 3rd Division’s stealth craft shocked Fujibayashi, but she dealt with the aftereffects as swiftly as usual. She immediately used the flying ship’s wireless signal to pinpoint the organization it was affiliated with.
Likewise, infiltrating the connection to the basement in Ichigaya was just business as usual. As expected of someone whose talents earned her the name "Electron Sorceress".
"Sir, what is Saegusa-san’s goal here?"
She chose to the word "sir" and not "grandfather" here to observe protocol while on the job. Kudou Retsu understood this, so he didn’t make a point over the formal reference of "sir".
"I’m not privy to what Koichi is thinking. Though I do have a few guesses on worst possible scenarios."
That being said, he had no intention of playing along with his granddaughter’s speech pattern as Elder Kudou continued to speak as if addressing kin.
"Worst, eh……?"
"Hm. Kouchi knows that Maya is interested in the Parasites, so he may have wanted to seize control of it."
"The lady from the Yotsuba Family has expressed interest?"
"In the Yotsuba Family, the side branch Kuroba Family is responsible for gathering intelligence. Furthermore, the Kurobas apparently adopted assassination against the Parasites and investigated quite a few things afterwards."
"A side branch responsible for gathering intelligence…… The Yotsuba Family is certainly unique."
"Well, the 28 families were originally just like side branches for the development and research of Magicians. Indeed, no other family besides the Yotsuba Family has adopted the side branch system."
Elder Kudou wore a self-depreciating smile as he probably recalled his own origins. Fujibayashi made no attempt at any third rate words of comfort and merely waited for her grandfather’s next words.
"Setting that aside…… Knowing that the Yotsuba have an interest in the Parasites, Koichi would then act. That guy will want to surpass the Yotsuba by any means possible. How tragic it is that the demon from 30 years ago has still not been exorcised yet……"
In Fujibayashi’s eyes, the way Elder Kudou said this was as if he himself was revisiting the past. Knowing that wasn’t a very pleasant recollection, she used a slightly stronger tone to recall her grandfather from his memories.
"So what are we going to do?"
"What do you mean by going to do?"
"I believe that allowing the Intelligence Department 3rd Division to go rogue isn’t a wise course of action."
"That’s true…… If they were able to handle it any better, leaving them alone wouldn’t be a problem."
As Fujibayashi predicted, Elder Kudou had returned from the world of his memories and his mind was fully focused on the present.
"Kyouko, can you anonymously leak some intelligence to the Yotsuba?"
"I think I can."
"Then that should be enough. Maya will think of what to do from here on out."
Saegusa Koichi’s plot would be foiled by the Yotsuba. Knowing the backstory, Fujibayashi felt that this was a cruel punishment. Still, Fujibayashi had no intention of disagreeing with her grandfather’s proposal as she immediately turned back to the controls.
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