Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 25 - Escape (II) - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday there were no special movements either within the country or abroad. There seemed to be a break in the confrontation between Tatsuya and Edward Clark. But at the same time, Raymond’s conspiracy was progressing behind their backs.

Saturday, June 15, a suburb of the United States of North America, Dallas, Texas.

The National Particle Accelerator Laboratory was located here, equipped with a long linear particle accelerator with a total length of about 30 kilometers.

From the very morning, this accelerator was preparing to conduct a secret experiment.

The essence of the experiment was to create and evaporate micro black holes, based on the Extra-Dimensional Theory. Last time the same experiment was conducted in December, 2095 but the goal at the time was to get clues about the magic that converts mass into energy.

But this time the goal was not to observe the energy generated by the evaporation of micro black holes. Even the successful creation of a micro black hole was not required. Today's secret experiment was to draw out the presumed agent that would enter the laboratory.

However, for scientists, the long-awaited permission to redo the experiment was a valuable opportunity. They were burning with enthusiasm, because they did not want to waste this opportunity.

To deal with the agent, neither the Intelligence Staff nor the Counter-terrorism Unit were involved. It was the Magician Unit STARS under the command of the General Staff Office.

If there really is an agent, they were considered to have high magic skill. This is also the reason STARS is involved, other units aren't involved, since the strategy was strongly proposed by STARS in the first place.

"Jacob, is there any unusual activity?"

"Nothing unusual, Commander. There is no one that looks like a secret agent at the moment."

The Commander of the Third Squad of the STARS, Captain Alexander Arcturus, was present in the security room, from where it was possible to observe all the premises of the laboratory. The individual he is communicating with is First-Class, First-Lieutenant Jacob Regulus of the Third Squad*.

[previously referred to as "Regulus".]

Regulus was in the accelerator control room, and watched the neighborhood to detect the agent when he showed suspicious activity.

"Understood. Keep watching."

"Yes, sir."

"Commander."

When Arcturus broke off the walkie-talkie, a member of the Constellation Class spoke to him. The STARS are divided into classes in descending order: class of the first magnitude, class of the second magnitude, class of constellations, class of planets and class of satellites.

This hierarchy was separate from the army’s ranks, and it often happened that a junior officer from the constellation class was under the command of a senior officer from the class of planets.

"What is it?" Arcturus briefly asked his subordinate and continued.

"Is there any evidence that Japan was involved in this case of First Lieutenant Fomalhaut? I can't believe the Japanese agent could still be active since that time."

Such doubts increased because of the delay that arose at this stage of the operation because there were no signs of an agent appearing.

The members of the Constellation class have been guarding the National Particle Accelerator Laboratory for some time now. They have been there in the days before the actual experiment. To be specific, they’ve been there since last Sunday. And now it is almost time to start the experiment, and they have not seen any hint of the enemy, so, of course, they will become skeptical about it.

Last year, the Japanese army, using parasites, managed to create weapons in the form of autonomous humanoids.

To avoid the morale of his subordinates from dropping, Arcturus decided to reveal some information to them with a relatively low level of secrecy.

Is it a stand-alone weapon that uses parasites?

To avoid the morale of his subordinates from dropping, Arcturus decided to reveal some information to them with a relatively low level of secrecy.

Is it a stand-alone weapon that uses parasites?

"After this, one can only think that all this was prepared in advance.

Though the basis for the claim isn’t sound, it is probable that the Japanese army was involved in the case surrounding First Lieutenant Fomalhaut."

However there is a misunderstanding behind his reasoning. Initially, these autonomous weapons, using Parasite Doll puppets were a modified concept of the use of a Shikigami* technique.

[The magic of manipulating objects under which they behave as if they "came to life".]

But shikigami and artificial spirits could only move the physical body, and did not demonstrate any magical abilities. In addition, they could not seize control of the physical body controlled using the electronic brain.

For this reason, their actual use was not realized until they got a parasite of their own.

In other words, if you want to correctly use a parasite as a weapon when its one step away from completion, at first a parasite doll is required for development.

Not only this, but all the "justifications" provided by Regulus that he had transferred to Arcturus and Base Commander Walker, were supplemented by "circumstances" that were distorted with superficial facts. And they firmly believed that "The Japanese agent will definitely participate" in the repeated experiment with the Micro Black Holes.

"I’m here... Excuse me!"

This member of the constellation class also had no doubt in these distorted justifications.

Meanwhile, no suspicious person had yet to enter the laboratory. No, to be more precise, they were not "not detected", but they simply were not considered "suspicious".

And it was quite natural. Because this suspicious person had a badge issued by the National Research Agency.

Raymond Clark, who, using his father's connections, received a pass not as a mere guest, but as a temporary worker, watched the majestic view of the particle accelerator from the roof of the office building of the laboratory.

Raymond was the one who invented the non-existent Japanese agent's involvement to make today's experiment happen. To create a military force for the confrontation against Tatsuya, he decided to once again create parasites. For this he used Regulus’ thirst for revenge.

Regulus, who disagreed with the fact that his friend Fomalhaut was ruthlessly executed, was a perfect way to set all of this up by using his anger. And by just using some "hints", Regulus acted exactly as expected by Raymond.

Regulus and Arcturus, as magicians, are far superior to him, but they are taking part in this farce, and thus in the script that he wrote. Magicians belonging to the elite group "STARS", whom he would never be able to reach, played the comedic part on the stage he created. Raymond came to see this show from the front row.

However, a serious element was definitely present to the comedy, which will not make him laugh. Raymond came to make sure it was going to happen.

He was not satisfied with the broadcast that was provided by Hli?skjálf, he wanted to see everything directly. To satisfy his curiosity and the feeling that he had achieved something.

All the real lab staff were busy experimenting, because they thought they would not be given another chance for this. There was no one who would rebuke Raymond for only standing on the roof, leaning over the handrails.

11:00. The planned time for the experiment.

In the experiment itself, the STARS did not participate. Regulus, located in the accelerator control room, could not intervene either.

From the very beginning, Regulus was not going to interfere. He was not interested, whether the experiment would end with success or failure.

His mind was busy thinking about who could have lured Fomalhaut into this trap.

And he was not just thinking of the agent who pushed the experiment that caused the parasites to appear. By grasping the agent, you will be able to find out which organization he works and destroy it. He sincerely believed this.

While Regulus was watching to see if someone who was behaving suspiciously was in charge of the experiment, the scientist gave the command to launch the particle accelerator.

The linear particle accelerator began its work, absorbing a huge amount of electricity.

A proton beam is injected into both ends of the accelerator and is accelerated until they collide with one another.

The experiment ended in an instant. They could repeat the procedure until the required data was received, but only the first test run was performed, and the second run was not.

No, there were no problems with the accelerator. Just that the experiment went successful after the first attempt.

Immediately after hearing a voice indicating the start of the experiment, Regulus, who was sitting in the accelerator control room, got his field of vision filled with darkness.

For a moment he thought that the electricity went out. But this suspicion lasted only a moment. The next moment Regulus felt a strong pain and an oppressive feeling.

"Something" was invading "him". Something tried to penetrate itself into him. But not physically. He intuitively realized that it was not an invasion of the physical body. However, this pain was completely different from Mental Interference attacks that he had in training.

If Regulus was an experienced woman, he would surely compare this to the pain of defloration. But he was a man. He could not imagine what he could compare this excruciating pain to.

Trying to avoid not only pain, but also other bad feelings, as something from the outside was trying to get inside of him, Regulus with all his power tried to repel this "something". Regulus does not have any aptitude for Mental-Interference Magic, and he did not know how to control his body when his mind was being used to manipulate his limbs.

Instead, he tried to use a special type of Psion control, that opposed Mental Interference Magic, Non-Systematic magic, and afterwards used Release-Type magic to shoot an electrical shock into himself.

However, neither the spell against Mental-Interference Magic nor the Non-Systematic magic had any effect on the invader. And the electricity that was meant for suicide was never even released The invasion continued.

It felt as if the invading "something" had no will of its own. This

"something" is trying to merge with him.

Suddenly, "intrusion" became "assimilation". The pain was gone. The oppressive feeling weakened.

"...Is this a parasite!?"

Suddenly, fear erupted in him. Regulus screamed with all his strength.

However it was like the last light of a fading candle.

Suddenly it became quiet. Fear and anger about the fictional agent plunged into the bottom of his consciousness, and his mind became tranquil.

("...My name is Jacob Regulus.")

("...I/we are called 'parasites' by the people of this world.") So Regulus became a "parasite".

Arcturus, in the security room, immediately after the experiment, clearly felt something trying to penetrate his mind.

"A spirit...?"

He did not feel pain and oppression like Regulus because he was a user of magical spirits. Arcturus was a specialist in Movement-Type Magic and could also perfectly summon spirits using Ancient magic.

This Ancient Magic used the spirits inside him so that he could use their power. Perhaps modern people have the impression that this magic allows you to become a demon to use their power.

Arcturus has long been accustomed to this feeling, when something lives inside of him, penetrating him from the outside. He was not confused when the "something" tried to invade him against his will. Because he had the means to deal with what was invading his mind.

The miscalculation of Arcturus was that the invader, the parasite, did not possess its own "Ego".

This "something" possessed another spiritual entity besides itself. But it had no desires itself. So he could not distinguish it from himself.

Without any intention, it simply sought to get inside. As if water were seeping through a dry cloth, it bit into his heart.

Arcturus’ heart became overcome with fear when he realized that the spells known to him had no effect on the invader. He tried to summon a spirit and expel the "something". However, the spirit did not answer Arcturus’ call. The place "Inside" Arcturus was already occupied by this invader.

Something from the outside once again got inside him.

He and the "something" from the outside merged.

Suddenly, "intrusion" became"assimilation".

Arcturus felt as if he had been filled by something. It was a sense of true alignment that could not be achieved by just summoning spirits.

(...So this is the true fusion of man and spirit...) It was his last thought as the pure Arcturus.

("...My name is Alexander Arcturus.")

("...I/we are called 'parasites' by the people of this world.") So Arcturus became a "parasite".

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts."

On the roof of the lab office building, Raymond writhed in pain.

"It hurts so much."

He persistently complained about the pain aloud.

It was an acute pain, as if something from the outside invaded his mind.

For Raymond, who had never been trained to resist Mental-Interference Magic, it was an unbearable pain. He noticed only the pain, not the oppressive feelings from the pressure of this "something".

However, Raymond's strong ego resolutely rejected the intruding essence in his mind from the outside.

Intense pain was the result of intense resistance. And he couldn't stop it because he didn't even know he was resisting.

"It hurts so so much..."

This incessant pain destroyed his mind.

Raymond was fortunate that his ego had loosened its resistance.

The resistance of the ego decreased, so the speed of the invasion increased.

Raymond lost his strength and he could no longer writhe in pain and scream the word "hurt", he just lay still on the floor of the roof.

Raymond looked like a corpse, he had no more desires.

The invasion was fast.

The assimilation went quickly.

"Something" penetrated Raymond and because he stopped resisting, his desires were pulled on from within.

This "Something" took the shape of Raymond's intentions.

Without any abilities, Raymond could not be the main protagonist. But in fact he really wanted to be the main character.

Raymond wanted to play an active role in something romantic, like a heroic saga.

To conquer space with magic. He thought that this was pretty romantic.

And Shiba Tatsuya, who denies Raymond's saga, was a hindrance to him.

It was impossible for him alone to force Shiba Tatsuya to surrender. For him, even the power of "Sirius", the strongest magician of the STARS, does not pose a threat. So he was looking for the power of parasites.

If the magicians from STARS assimilated with the parasites, they can force Shiba Tatsuya to surrender.

...That's what Raymond thought.

For this purpose he prepared this "scene". To defeat Shiba Tatsuya with the power of parasites...

("...That's Raymond’s/our wish.")

("...Raymond/We wish to defeat Shiba Tatsuya.") ("...My name is Raymond Clark.")

("...I/we are called 'parasites' by the people of this world.") ("...Raymond/We will make Shiba Tatsuya surrender.") So inside Raymond, this distorted desire became an oath.

The parasites were once again summoned to this world.

Not only these three assimilated with the parasites. Team Orion that consists of three people, who were patrolling the building outside, were also captured by the parasites.

After completing the experiment, 5 people, besides Raymond, returned to the STARS base in New Mexico, and none of the people around them noticed anything.

Raymond returned to his home in California with a carefree face.

Sunday, June 16th.

Kudou Minoru again came to the warehouse where the Parasite Dolls were stored

It was still an early time, the streets were dark and quiet. No one in his family knew he was here. His father, brothers and servants must think that Minoru is sleeping in his room.

No one rebuked him at home for the other day when he went to Tokyo to visit Minami, skipping school. Only his grandfather Kudou Retsu was concerned and asked Minoru about the circumstances, but after hearing the explanation, he could only briefly answer with a short "Understood".

Except for his grandfather, he was not interesting to anyone, neither to his father, nor to his brothers. This is what Minoru thought when he saw their reactions.

As he thought, even less attention was paid to him the next day. Perhaps they mistakenly decided that despair had awoken in Minoru. Or, thinking that he could die at any moment, decided to let him do what he wanted.

Minoru was grateful for this erroneous judgment. Now he regretted the time he spent on unnecessary communication with his family and the maid.

He wanted to cure Minami. Minoru’s line of thinking was completely overwhelmed by this idea.

Minoru did not understand why he is trying so hard. No, maybe he actually knew, but he tried not to realize it. Perhaps it was a kind of obsession, as if he were motivated by frivolous feelings, such as love at first sight, or rather love in 3 days.

Unlike the last time, he opened the door with magic and entered the warehouse. This magic was the result of the practical use of "Electron Golden Silkworm", which he discovered in the knowledge of Zhou Gongjin. This magic was used by Chen Xiangshan to infiltrate the Kanto branch of the Magic Association. However, this version of the magic was more advanced than the one Chen used, so this one did not turn on the alarm.

Cool dry air enveloped Minoru’s body. Like last time, there was no atmosphere of mystery.

"After all, nothing else remains..." Minoru unwittingly said this to himself.

There was no answer to that from the inside. Because these words were not facts but just words used to strengthen his determination.

Minoru went to the "coffin" located in the depths of the warehouse.

The corpse of an Eastern man was kept in a frozen state.

It was part of the group of parasites sealed by Tatsuya and Mikihiko in the artificial forest of First High in the winter of last year.

It wasn't some coma or lethargy, it was a real dead corpse. To keep the parasite inside, various symbols and drawings were carved on the corpse's skin.

This corpse provided the parasites in the parasite dolls.

By weakening the seal so that the parasite could be partially free, they sought to ensure that the parasite trapped in the corpse would send a copy and create a new identity.

This copy is then locked in another doll or corpse, and the original corpse is sealed again.

This way, the former ninth laboratory, now known as the Ninth Laboratory for the development of magic, produced parasite dolls.

Even now that the production of parasites is frozen, the subordinate families of the Kudou continued to update this carved spell every 12

hours.

The update time is 6 AM and PM respectively. The current time is 4:00.

It was a time when the effectiveness of the spell began to weaken.

Minoru pressed the switch on the wall of the coffin. The lid of the coffin was automatically opened.

The corpse was dressed in white clothes. For Minoru it was like an invitation. He didn't want to see a disgusting naked male body there, which was also dead.

Minoru put the right palm on the chest of the frozen corpse, which was rock solid. A heartbeat, of course, was not felt.

Through his palm, Minoru sent Psions to the frozen corpse. Pushion waves could be felt after a few seconds. The inactive parasite in the corpse woke up.

Minoru swallowed deeply and his breathing became ragged. He clenched his teeth and lips, and held his breath.

Having overcome his hesitation, Minoru abolished the spell used for the seal, that was placed on the corpse.

The next moment, "slime" made out of light came out of the body.

This was the only way to describe this spectacle seen by Minoru. A glowing, muddy light formed an intangible shapeless creature. In terms of size, it is better to call it "mucus" rather than "slime".

The "Slime" tried to attack Minoru. Minoru didn't try to avoid it. On the contrary, he moved his hands to the side, as if showing that he was inviting this slime, this parasite, into his body.

On the summer sweater worn by Minoru, symbols and geometric figures appeared in the center of his chest.

The sweater is imbued with magical properties, that was made by Minoru himself.

The parasite flew into the sweater, as if it were sucked in.

A voice of agony burst out of Minoru’s mouth.

Because of the feeling of being invaded, Minoru made a twisted face and he sat down on the floor of the warehouse.

He sat down, crossed his legs, throwing his left foot on his right thigh.

The so-called Lotus position.

Keeping this posture while baring the pain, Minoru activated cooling magic.

He lowered his body temperature just enough to create a death-like state.

The target of this magic was himself.

Having brought his body to a state close to death, Minoru directed his consciousness inside himself.

His near death condition was needed to suppress the potential rejection of the parasite. Continuing to stay conscious, he tried not to miss this initiative.

At the same time as the parasite invaded him, ravaging his mind, Minoru was trying to rule over the parasite.

He wasn't going to give the parasite a single drop of his desires. He was going to get the power of the parasite by only using his will.

(I won't lose a creature that doesn't even have an ego!) Being extra careful to not destroy the parasite, he used a spell enslaving the parasite inside himself.

(I will no lose to this feeling.) (If I’m overcome even a little bit, there is no point in continuing to be the same person!)

Minoru mentally shouted to himself, battling the parasite.

(If I can’t even save myself, how do I expect her to stay the same!) He decided to become a "parasite" to prevent Minami from dying.

He wanted to get rid of his own weak body. But Minoru didn’t want to renounce his humanity for this. He did not succumb to the temptation that the knowledge of Zhou Gongjin had warned him about.

He wanted to make sure he could keep his mind, his ego, from becoming a "parasite".

If he could ascertain that the human mind can defeat the parasite, even though it has given the body to the parasite, he will be able to use this method to treat Minami.

It was a kind of self-sacrifice where he used his own body for an experiment.

Or, it was a ritual for gaining the power of demons, by sacrificing his body.

This decision may have helped him to accept the fact that he had already said goodbye to his old life.

However, Minoru expected to win. No, his will led him to an absolute success.

He couldn't find another way. He knew there was no other way, because he possessed the knowledge of Zhou Gongjin. And once there are no other ways, there was nothing left but to succeed in this spell. Failure was unacceptable.

This strong desire was the greatest weapon in the hands of Minoru.

If it was necessary to simply kill this spiritual form, the decisive factor could be certain magical techniques. For example Miyuki’s "Cocytus" is able to destroy the fusion between a body and a parasite.

But if you want the parasite to comply, this method will not work

The enemy was not the same as ghosts like that of Zhou Gongjin, which are the remains of reason, that have lost their lives.

It was a living being that has no material form, but possesses the instincts to search for prey and to reproduce.

In order to tame it as a part of yourself, you need to strengthen your heart so that you’re not overcome.

This blind determination drove Minoru to this point.

However, his strong will brought him victory at a competition that was reckless.

(...Obey me, become a part of me!)

Assimilation with the parasite ended simultaneously with the mental screaming of Minoru.

("...I am Kudou Minoru.")

("...I hear a voice associated with me.") ("...It whispers 'become one with us'.") ("...But.")

(...I'm me.)

(...Not 'us'.)

Even after merging with a parasite, Minoru remained "Kudou Minoru".

He canceled the cooling magic previously applied to his physical body and fell on his back. The frostbite was instantly healed.

This regeneration ability was a bonus from becoming a "parasite".

He somehow realized that an organ had formed behind his forehead, which had not been there before.

But at the moment it had no influence on the consciousness of Minoru.

Minoru started to laugh. He laughed cheerfully, lying on the floor of the warehouse.