Leo, chasing after Tatsuya, saw the flashes of thunder and psion light from the battle and suddenly froze. With almost no delay, Miyuki immediately stopped as well. Pixie, in the body of a machine, took a few steps to come to a halt.
"Saijou-kun, be careful."
"That's my line."
Leo spoke in a joking tone, but his eyes were already sweeping left and right.
"We're surrounded.....or something. It seems like it if nothing else. I'm empty handed for now, but what should we do Miyuki-san?"
He had no far-sight or infrared perceptions. He had done no particular training either, but observing his surroundings he could vaguely make out the signs of others' maneuvers .
"Let's intercept."
Miyuki's reply was short and straightforward.
"......That's pretty aggressive."
Leo's reaction wasn't quite as enthusiastic.
"Is that so? But there's nothing to be afraid of you know? Even if things get out of hand, Onii-sama will come over and help immediately."
"Ah~, of course, of course."
Her reasoning was very cute however.
His eyes narrowed as he unintentionally muttered.
"Though, I don't want to bother Onii-sama either......"
As Miyuki debated back and forth to herself, she called out to Pixie.
"Pixie, stay behind me."
"Yes."
Turning towards the thicket on the left, Miyuki gave instructions. Ordered by Tatsuya to obey Miyuki, Pixie complied with minimal verbosity and moved into position.
The mobile terminal CAD in Miyuki's left hand was already on standby. As Leo wondered just when she had reached for it, he found himself looking at her with admiring eyes once again.
To his credit, his gaze didn't remain fixed indefinitely.
He was an 'unconcerned' type, but even if not Miyuki herself would have ignored it without noticing the eyes of any save Tatsuya's.
Her awareness was already focused on the enemy.
Miyuki's fingers moved smoothly. The thumb of her left hand gripping the CAD danced across the force feedback panel.
There was no warning.
The air of the forest gleamed. Glittering shards of ice formed on trunks and branches and fell to the ground. It was a phenomenon known as thin ice, or diamond dust. February, inland, in a forest at night; needless to say it would normally be impossible given the conditions.
There were none who mistook it for a natural occurrence however.
It was a magic which formed an area of diamond dust in a 100 meter radius instantaneously. This was neither an offensive nor defensive magic however. Unsure of the intent of the other party, Miyuki was merely declaring her territory.
By merely forming a thin layer of interference, the weather had changed. In the Yokohama incident of October, Mari had evaluated Miyuki's magic as 'worthy of Tactical level'.
Strictly speaking, that was incorrect. Miyuki's magic wasn't 'worthy of' tactical. It was tactical.
Miyuki's magic abilities, rather than enhancing an effect, were more specialised towards suppressing an area.
—Power sufficient to, even unintentionally, dye the world white as far as the eye could see—
That was Miyuki's magic.
In this situation, Leo was truly impatient.
To him, a fight was the means by which 'talks' were resolved.
Like in Yokohama, in a situation where it was clear the opponent had no interest in words, strength would immediately become the 'mediator'.
If it was the enemy who had underestimated them and come over, he would not be stingy in 'correcting' them with his fists.
If it was an acquaintance in trouble, he would 'lend a hand' in a rough violent manner.
It may be called 'uncivilised', but fighting had always been a staple of negotiating.
In the face of Miyuki's power, however, nevermind their claim; the enemy's very existence would be blown away.
Rather than a cat toying with a mouse, it would be more like an elephant crushing ants.
They would be far too pitiful to be considered opponents.
That was against Leo's style.
"Miyuki-san, I'll take these chumps on. Just back me up until Tatsuya arrives!"
In this darkened frozen world, a focused fighting spirit blazed forth.
There was no hostility, only willpower. No negative feelings, simply purpose.
The other party were professional fighters incomparable with typical city thugs, yet nonetheless he threw down the gauntlet before Miyuki. His mind was probably already made up.
"Oh? Then, I'll leave things to you."
At Leo's words, Miyuki lightly stepped back.
The frigid air permeating the forest however lingered.
Like I'll lose to these guys, Leo psyched up.
From the shadow of the trees and thickets, men in field uniforms wielding large knives materialised one after another.
After around ten, the newcomers ceased.
No more flashes had been seen in the direction they had been heading towards, and the din of battle was no longer audible. It seemed things had settled one way or another.
"Panzer."
Muttering 'hurry up, Tatsuya' in his mind, Leo spoke the voice command to deploy his activation sequence.
Ironically, that became the signal.
Wordlessly, soundlessly, one of the encircling soldiers sprang forth.
Fast! Leo barely had time to think before the knife thrust.
He repelled it with his left arm.
Both Leo and the soldier were startled.
Yet neither of them lost a beat.
The soldier's free left hand shot towards Leo's face.
Although he had a bit of time Leo followed his instincts and immediately threw himself to the right.
A shockwave hammered the side of his face.
Eardrums — stable. Vestibular system [6] — minor damage.
While checking the damage he received, Leo rolled over and sprang up. He really would have liked to distance himself further, but his opponent was not so permitting.
The moment he was on his feet, the knife was already flashing in. If he had still been on the ground, the knife would have approached from above and it would have been checkmate.
The blade was aimed at his shoulder — it seemed the opponent was not intent on killing a fellow Japanese high school student — and Leo intercepted it with his arm.
The 'penetration' magic on the knife clashed with the 'fortification' magic on the faux leather sleeve.
The knife having failed to strike Leo's skin, he proceeded to slam a fist into the soldier's chin. It was a superb left hook.
The power of the strike, strengthened by genetic manipulation and then even further by relentless training was enough to knock out the seasoned soldier in a single blow. The movement of the other nine soldiers, however, was not affected.
Without a moment's pause, more knives came flashing in from both sides. Just one had been barely manageable, and now there were two of them. Furthermore, the lengths of the blades were different.
Even a master swordsman would have found it difficult to deal with that combination of blows. And despite his superhuman reflexes and however fast his reactions were, Leo was no master swordsman. In order to learn to wield Usuba Kagerou, in the short period of time Leo spent in the Chiba dojo, he had acquired the sword ability of a black belt. But there were limits. The rich soil of his capabilities could only do so much against the storm.
Trusting in his magic, Leo focused on the enemy to his left.
He shut out the sight of the knife approaching from the right.
Sliding under the slim sword aimed at his clavicle, he sprang up and swung his left arm around.
The impact of Leo’s punch on the opponent’s nose was almost simultaneous with the sound of blade ringing on blade.
"—Thanks for the assist."
Leo’s flicker punch had merely grazed the enemy’s face, and was far from decisive.
The attacking two soldiers jumped back out of reach.
One of them was empty handed.
The knife he had held was stamped firmly under Leo’s foot.
"You seemed like you were in trouble."
What had knocked it out of his hand was Erika’s sword.
"Well, even if I hadn’t jumped in it seems Miyuki was ready to cover you."
Looking back, Leo saw Miyuki merely return a faint smile. If Erika hadn’t arrived in time, it was likely the enemies’ arms would have been frozen solid.
Leo felt an involuntary shudder.
"Where’s Tatsuya?"
Trying to suppress the feeling, he changed the subject.
"He’s having fun with the guys who were circling around back."
Erika purposely replied in a loud voice.
As per her intention, the soldiers seemed rather agitated.
"Miyuki, Tatsuya-kun said for you to link up with him."
"What about Pixie?"
Still on the sidelines, Miyuki replied to Erika’s message in a slightly flustered voice.
—Although this was not the time to be laughing, Erika couldn’t help but feel a laugh coming up her throat.
"Pixie will assist us. Pixie, instructions should have come from Tatsuya-kun already right?"
"As per Master’s orders, authorisation for use of psychic powers, confirmed"
"And there it is. Miyuki, just leave this place?to?us."
Despite the situation, Erika was perfectly content to make a show.
"Then, please take care."
Miyuki’s reply was brief, then she left without looking back.
"Ahh~h……do you even know where he is? Well, that would be rather insensitive."
"You two over there."
Leo’s face too was different from before, a fearless expression welling up.
Although he himself was desperately trying to suppress it.
"Now then……it’s been left to us, so shall we clean up?"
Aware of the change in Leo, and deliberately not pointing it out, Erika gripped Mizuchimaru. At that moment.
"No, that’s enough. Erika, sheathe your sword."
A new player appeared on the stage.
Erika sharply drew a breath.
The tall shadow who came out from the darkness of the artificial forest was,
"Jikei-ue [7] ……"
Erika’s second eldest brother, Chiba Naotsugu.
The reason Tatsuya called Miyuki to his side was not purely because he was worried about her. Of course such an element always existed, but consciously at least the reason was different. He had perceived a situation occurring beyond Leo and Erika’s abilities to deal with. In order to handle it, Miyuki’s powers would be necessary.
And the situation he had predicted had occurred.
Right behind him, Miyuki gasped. –Devastation was spread out before her.
In front of Tatsuya, in twos and threes, lay the fallen bodies of the defence forces. Although they didn’t know, these were the combatants sent by the Kudou.
This was not Tatsuya’s handiwork.
Rather it was the Parasites, now engaged in battle with Lina.
"Lina, get back!"
"Useless talk!"
Tatsuya was not merely watching either. He was in the midst of the engagement as well.
Lina was attacking a group of Parasites head on. Their number was six. Factoring in the number of opponents cleared up already, it was more than the amount calculated by Pixie.
If they had been six ordinary opponents, the fight would have been over. The name of Sirius wasn’t just for show, and as the one whose main mission was the hunter of rogue magicians ‘Sirius’'s specialty could be said to be magic combat. Normally, these numbers could never trouble ‘Sirius’ to this degree.
Yet Lina was struggling. If Tatsuya had not been constantly decomposing the magic raining down upon her, she might have been done already.
Lina’s greatest weapon was her activation speed.
Faced with that overwhelming speed, most opponents would be defeated without being able to lift a finger. That was Lina’s specialised style. Even her habit of arming herself with handguns was to match this.
The Parasites however could work magic literally just by thinking it.
Magic born of images.
Without the need for activation sequences or other such media, it was like a ‘psychic power’.
While this was a strength to them, it was also their weakness. The variation in what they could exercise was limited. It seemed there was also a limit to the images the monsters could visualise, although for reasons different from humans.
One of the merits of modern magic was increased variation. In return for sacrificing speed, an increase in stability and diversity was achieved. Countless experiments and practical situations had proved this was a beneficial trade off. That was why development had progressed so far in this direction.
However while it was a boon to those in small groups or alone by allowing a limited number to respond to a range of situations and focus their efforts, in cases like ‘burn the enemy in sight’ speed was definitely a more important factor.
CADs were tools developed to satisfy both diversity and speed. Even amongst CADs, however, the existence of the specialised type, which traded variation for speed, showed just how major a factor it was.
Both the three Parasites earlier, and the six now.
The advantage couldn’t be said to be something simple like double.
According to Lanchester’s square law, the war potential of an attacking group in terms of firepower was equivalent to the number of soldiers (or weapons, or combat units) squared. Relating this to combat magic, per unit time the number of magic attacks three could output against one was 9:1, or a difference of eight; in this case the potential magic difference between six and two was 36:4, or a difference of 32.
Such a difference could only mean trouble.
The reason Tatsuya and Lina could face off against that numerical advantage was because they could overturn the difference in potential magic difference per unit time. As it stood, however, they could not take the initiative, and both Tatsuya and Lina were forced to focus on defence. Tatsuya in particular had his hands full just decomposing all the magic coming at them.
He had summoned Miyuki because he had predicted this situation beforehand.
"Miyuki!"
"Yes, Onii-sama!"
Those were all the words the two needed.
Simply by calling her name, Miyuki knew what her brother required of her.
From Miyuki’s body, or more precisely from the coordinates where Miyuki’s body was present a torrent of heavy interference power was released.
Zone Interference.
With no definite event modification goal, it was anti-magic solely for the sake of disabling other magic.
A magic which prevents others from modifying events. A technique to shut down all magic except your own.
Lanchester’s square law was established for cases where attacks were scattered and interspersed. It couldn’t be applied to that overwhelming pressure.
Miyuki’s Zone Interference made the area a magic null zone.
In the face of that both Tatsuya and Lina switched to narrow, high density magics.
Their interference strength was only enough to counteract Miyuki’s.
Mounting a direct attack against Miyuki within her zone would have been difficult even for these two, but otherwise despite significant reductions in number and speed they were still able to activate magic.
The interference power of the Parasites however couldn’t compare to those two, or rather the three of Tatsuya, Miyuki, and Lina.
Tatsuya and Lina continued to activate magic in succession.
Lina’s magic targeted six. Tatsuya’s magic targeted 12. Half of Tatsuya’s shots were meant to break down the magic of Lina, who was aiming to kill the Parasites’ hosts, but his Gram Dispersion was only in time to dissolve half of Lina’s magic sequences.
As a result.
Three of the Parasites were hit by Lina’s magic and slain,
While three of the Parasites were pierced by Tatsuya’s magic and self-destructed.
Magicians of the blade.
This was the second name given to those of the Chiba house, for the close combat techniques combining swordplay and magic.
Using magic in close combat was not something unique to the Chiba.
The Martial Magic Arts developed by Stars prior to their separation from the Marine Corps was probably earlier. As if to counter the USNA, the New Soviet Union developed hand to hand magic techniques blanketed under the name Commando Sambo (although this had by now fallen into disuse).
During the tumultuous formation of the Indo-Persian Union, in the northern regions centered around Delhi, traditional Jamadhar daggers were given modern redesigns and used as weapons.
But as far as it was known, close combat techniques used with magic developed outside of Japan had all been created around assisting ‘ranged magic’ and firearms. The main idea was, while advancing, to output attacks comparable to firearms while exerting defence against opposing firearms.
On the other hand the ‘sword arts’ practiced by the Chiba lay in using techniques to augment the main system of close combat. By casting on oneself to close the distance from ranged weapons to hand to hand, then attacking with swords which were superior at that distance to both knives and bare hands, the opponent would be quickly subdued. These skills, excelling in both surprise and stealth, were a great advantage in guerrilla warfare and antiterrorist operations for both the Japanese military and police.
The swords techniques themselves had not been devised by the Chiba. At the same time as military applications for magic were being studied in Japan, various magicians had been experimenting with the idea of combining swords and sorcery. The Chiba had simply structured it to be easy to learn.
By organising it to be simple to pass on, however, ‘techniques’ became ‘arts’. This was groundbreaking for its transmission. The previous head of the Chiba was praised as the ‘modern (Kamiizumi) Nobutsuna [8] ’, and for their achievement the Chiba house became respectfully known as the ‘magicians of the blade’.
In the background, it was said that up to 70-80% of the magicians in the army and riot police were learning the Chiba blade arts.
Amongst those were the guerrilla infantry platoon of the defense forces First division, the ‘Sword Corps’. They belonged to the Kudou faction, but at the same time they were a close combat unit using short ranged magic and swords, and compared to other infantry units had received training from the Chiba for a longer period of time.
To them, the Chiba were like their master. Although they knew nothing about Erika, who was not publicly acknowledged, they naturally knew about Naotsugu who was famous as the ‘Chiba Kirin’. Not just knew; the commander of the squad had been personally introduced to the sword through Naotsugu.
And so,
"Assistant instructor……"
The reason they had frozen the moment Naotsugu arrived onto the scene was for that reason.
In terms of military rank, the squad commander as a regular officer outranked the student Naotsugu.
Right now, however, the hierarchy was martial.
Naotsugu stepped through their unmoving ranks, and stood to face Erika.
Erika appeared daunted.
However, she immediately rallied and looked back strongly.
Even if it was bravado, for both Erika and Naotsugu, this was a milestone.
Erika had directed her sword at Naotsugu.
This didn’t mean they were literally pointing blades at each other.
Both of their swords were still aimed at the ground.
Yet everyone could sense that the two were at knifepoint.
Naotsugu was aware that this sister of his, born of a different mother, had always been relying on him.
He had considered this understandable.
Children were not so strong that they could live without depending on anyone — he had always thought so. To him, there was no one who was forceful enough to ‘become an adult without needing anyone else’.
Normally, these would be the parents. Parents are the ones a child unconditionally relies on.
But for Erika, this was not the case. Her mother was weak, and her father had not been content to play that role from the start.
In truth, Naotsugu also hated his father. The reason he was so absorbed in what Erika called ‘frivolous’ pursuits was partially due to the spite he felt towards their father. Why had this man’s brothers and sisters, looking at he who abandoned his obligations as a parent, not found anything strange with it. Rather, as the head of one of the Hundred Families, it had been seen as something natural.
It may have been then that he felt sympathy for this half-sister of his. In the family he alone had been gentle with her, spoiled her, encouraged her, and raised her to be able to stand on her own two feet.
It seemed the time for his sister to finally become an adult had come, Naotsugu thought.
He experimentally released a blast of sword pressure. While it was a spiritual technique, when used by a highly skilled practitioner it could actually manifest cut skin and blood flow along with the illusion of being cut.
Erika deflected Naotsugu’s sword pressure with pressure of her own. By deflecting, rather than dodging, she was declaring she could face him straight on.
Involuntarily, a smile drifted onto Naotsugu’s expression.
He raised his right hand.
When it appeared he was lifting his weapon, his sword was already swinging towards Erika.
It wasn’t that he had acted faster than the eye could see.
By minimising preceding actions and blurring the line between preliminary act and the true act, he achieved this ‘earliness’. This was a phantom blade technique, which took advantage of the blind spot in the opponent’s recognition. A skill realized by merely moving his limbs, the sword of the genius.
Erika’s blade intercepted that slash of Naotsugu’s.
He had intended to stop his blade in the beginning, but now he held the course. Countering Naotsugu’s ‘earliness’, by her outstanding senses and reaction rate, was Erika’s ‘speed’.
A clear smile now broke out onto Naotsugu’s face.
The tension coloring Erika’s eyes darkened.
She gripped her sword two handed against the sword Naotsugu had swung with one, and pushed back hard.
Abruptly, the pressure disappeared.
Without a moment’s delay, Erika caught herself.
Not bothering to correct their posture, the siblings faced each other again.
Then Naotsugu turned around and faced away.
Wary of a surprise, Erika slipped a slight ‘opening’ into her stance.
Yet no blow came to take advantage of that opportunity.
"Jikei-ue……?"
Naotsugu did not respond to his sister, and instead raised his sword towards the sword corps.
Dismay filled their faces.
They took positions, but their reactions were notably duller than Erika’s.
—He held no fondness for them.
The smile on Naotsugu’s face disappeared.
"National Defence Academy special warfare technology research division, Reserve second lieutenant Chiba Naotsugu."
Keeping his sword raised, Naotsugu declared his name, rank and affiliation. (By the way, to achieve the rank of second lieutenant while still in school, and a sophomore at that, regardless of being in reserve, was exceptional even for a magician and could only come through having true achievements.)
"I am currently carrying out my mission of escorting civilians who have become the target of terrorists. Please state your name, rank and affiliation!"
At Naotsugu’s apparent about-face, Erika exchanged glances with Leo.
"If you have been mobilised for the purpose of harming civilians, that will be construed as an act of rebellion against democracy. I will oppose you with all my might."
Listing the Ten Master Houses and the Hundred Families under democracy was really stretching it. They pursued the interests of magicians more than that of the general public after all.
Those were Erika’s thoughts upon hearing Naotsugu’s speech, and Naotsugu himself felt so too.
There was no hesitation in the aura he now emitted however.
With the addition of Naotsugu’s blade, the situation had shifted into a stalemate.
The confrontation between Naotsugu and the Sword Corps was interrupted by an explosion of Psions a short distance away.
"Erika, Leo, take care!"
"That’s the Parasite’s true body!"
Slightly blurred from the speed of speech, an impatient voice flew from the communication device.
They were Mikihiko’s and Mizuki’s voices.
As a warning, it was incomplete.
"Jikei-ue! It seems a Parasite's true body is heading towards here!"
Erika however deduced what the two were trying to say.
The ones who became wariest as a result of Erika’s words were probably the Sword Corps.
All things considered, the probability Naotsugu had not received a full briefing on the Parasites was high.
Erika was both impatient and hesitant as to whether she should try to explain their threat or not.
Spreading her awareness in all directions right down to the level of her feet, Erika turned to face Naotsugu.
At that moment, whether because she had perceived accurately or by chance.
The ground behind Erika exploded. A figure leaped up from amongst the raining sand and debris.
"Earth release!?"
It was Leo who cried aloud. Of the techniques commonly known as the 'art of five releases', one of the first-class schools of Ancient magic, Ninjutsu, was particularly adept at using the five elements of 'wood', 'fire', 'earth', 'metal' and 'water' as a medium for reconnaissance, flight and ambushes. That variation was a duality of ninjutsu and Japan itself, but after ninjutsu and its 'art of five releases' became famous, internationally all magic using these five elements came to be blanketed under the terms 'wood release', 'fire release', 'earth release', 'metal release' and 'water release'.
In short, just because this attack came from underground did not automatically make it actual ninjutsu. It was just as likely this was Ancient magic from the continent. There was no time to ponder that now however.
The target of the emerging man was not Erika but the one opposite her, Pixie.
A blade resembling a thick hatchet swung down upon Pixie from the underground assailant.
"Shield!"
Leo jumped in front of her. The hatchet the man had swung took Leo in the left arm, and was caught in the protector of his CAD.
"Leo, that's a Parasite!"
Hearing Mikihiko's warning, Leo whipped his arm around and flung both the hatchet and Parasite away.
After his bitter experience, he made sure not to touch the thing's body directly. But even Leo's strength was not enough to disarm it. The Parasite brandished the hatchet again.
The monster's feet however never kicked off the ground.
A sword was pierced through its chest.
Erika, having impaled the Parasite with Mizuchimaru, wore a faint smile as if saying 'whoops'. Perhaps she remembered Tatsuya's entreaty not to kill. She had opposed his words at the time, but it still was what it was.
The attack had not only come from the ground. The moment Naotsugu's attention had been diverted by the events occuring behind Erika's back, a soldier had sprung from behind the sword corps with blade in hand.
That he appeared like a soldier was an illusion. Dressed in a navy blue costume indistinguishable in the darkness, the man had deprived a sword corps soldier of his weapon and rushed towards Pixie. The leap was assisted by weight systematic magic. The man's body didn't make a parabola with the ground, and closed in on Pixie faster than gravitational acceleration.
The blade held overhead never fell. In the middle of his spring, the man was knocked aside by a kick from Naotsugu.
The flying jump kick was so brilliant it was hard to remember that Naotsugu was actually a swordsman. The beautiful form wouldn't have been out of place in a karate dojo poster. Erika had always accused Naotsugu of wasting time with 'frivolous magic', but evidently he had been involved in various other aspects such as martial arts as well.
A murmur arose from the sword corps. The soldier whose blade had been taken was collapsed. He had likely received an attack from this man. The feedback from the kick had been considerable, but Naotsugu carefully walked towards the man now lying on the ground. He had been hidden carefully enough that even Naotsugu had not noticed him before the attack. There was no such thing as too much precaution.
Such attentiveness was quickly rewarded.
When Naotsugu reached a distance of three steps away, the man's body suddenly burst. Naotsugu jumped back, but he was inevitably caught up in the spraying gore.
At this unforeseen development, Naotsugu was at a loss. Behind him, Erika and Leo also frowned. The sword corps were stunned. Nobody in that place noticed the Psion wrapped Pushion mass which issued from both the impaled man and the ruptured body.
"Pixie, link up with me!"
Breaking the spell was Tatsuya's rough voice issuing through the communication devices.
"Of course."
Pixie turned to the direction of the Psion explosion, the direction that Miyuki had headed towards and where Tatsuya was likely right now, and began running.
"Honoka, please follow Pixie."
From the voice communicators set to group communication mode, Tatsuya's voice flowed again.
"Got it!"
Honoka's voice was terse.
"Erika and Leo, don't move from there. Tell the people there likewise."
"Eh......right."
"O-Ok."
Erika and Leo replied in voices suggesting they had not yet fully recovered.
Overhead, the two Psion and Pushion lumps chased after Pixie like clouds blown by the wind.
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