Chapter 14
At that moment, when Tatsuya tried to take off with the help of the magic of flight, the top and bottom were swapped. He stood in the clouds of the evening sky, and on top was the smooth surface of the freeway.
Logically, it was an illusion.
In a state of heightened vigilance from this ability, which managed to cover his mind with an illusion in an instant, Tatsuya interrupted the activation of flight magic and began to prepare to use “Gram Dispersion” to dispel this illusory vision.
But at that very moment when he interrupted the magic of flight...
The inverted world become normal again.
“I have the feeling this illusion technique ..."
With the word “feeling," Tatsuya expressed a certain atmosphere, the distinctive features of magic, which he couldn’t clearly describe.
Words weren’t important at the moment. The problem was that he remembered this magic of illusions.
Tatsuya activated the magic of flight. This time, he didn't interrupt it immediately before activation. Gravity control was already in effect.
However, he decided not to take his feet off the ground.
Again, heaven and earth changed places just before activation.
The magic of flight is, roughly speaking, “falling” in a chosen direction, by changing the gravity vector.
If Tatsuya were already in the air, he would lose his sense of direction and couldn’t control the magic of flight. But Tatsuya didn’t lose his awareness of where the top, bottom, left, and right were, because he could feel the surface of the road through the soles of his feet.
“Interference with the sense of direction is almost the same as that of “Kimon Tonkou.” So, the techniques borrowed from the same source as that of "Kimon Tonkou” were introduced into Ninjutsu?”
If the purpose of the illusion was to not allow Tatsuya to take off, then in this situation, the goal can be considered fulfilled. However, now that the magic of flight was in the process of execution, he couldn’t cancel the illusion. Tatsuya considered the sequence of illusion magic which continued to operate, and from the history of the activation process he determined the place where this magic was released.
Tatsuya canceled the flying magic and at the same moment released “Gram Demolition"
When “Gram Demolition" is released on a magician who isn’t using magic on himself, it doesn’t have the effect of canceling magic.
However, this action has the effect of smoking out a hidden enemy. The flow of psions under high pressure shakes the psionic field enveloping a person. And this
concussive wave spreads into the surrounding space in the form of random vibrations.
If the caster applied the illusion magic in motion, “Gram Demolition” would seem to be a simple shot into the void, however, apparently, this enemy didn’t want to hide completely.
Tatsuya was confronted by a thin-built man in monastic attire. Tatsuya knew this man by sight.
The one who had used the illusion to prevent Tatsuya from going any further was Kokonoe Yakumo, whom he called “Master.”
An open-top car with Raymond behind the wheel in which Minoru and Minami got into, drove slowly through the grounds of the Yokosuka naval base.
“Raymond. Have you had any problems with your stay in our country?
It was already eight o'clock in the evening, so there were few people on the inner road of the base. As well as people driving cars too. So there was no need to worry about eavesdropping.
“Problems?”
Raymond asked Minoru. At the same time, no pretense was read in his voice.
“You were harassed by the police in Osaka, weren't you? I thought the search activities were still going on.”
“Oh, that's what you mean. As long as we don't leave the base, there won't be any problems.”
The USNA Army had the right to use the naval base at Yokosuka, but it wasn’t subject to extraterritorial rights, allowing them to not comply with Japanese laws.
However, it was also a fact that it was difficult for the police to obtain the right to conduct an investigation on the territory of a military base. Minoru, who didn’t know what the relationship between the army and the police easily agreed with this, deciding that it was so.
“Minoru, you also got here safely. Tatsuya never caught up with you?” - Raymond asked with a big smile.
"Yes, that expression on his face is familiar to me," Minoru thought, and answered:
“He's probably still pursuing us.”
And after a short pause he added:
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Tatsuya-san appears over our heads right now.”
“In the airspace of a military base? Even Tatsuya won't go that far...”
Raymond shook his head at first...
“... No, Tatsuya can, and probably will do it.”
... and quickly corrected his opinion.
“So we better hurry.”
Having said that, Raymond increased the speed of the car.
While Minoru and Raymond were talking, Minami sat silently beside Minoru.
Raymond never talked to Minami.
“Master, what is the meaning of this?”
The fact that Tatsuya spoke in an accusatory tone with the very first phrase was perfectly reasonable under current circumstances. Without any warning, he was attacked by an illusion.
“Well, don’t be so angry. Maybe we should talk a little?”
Yakumo wasn’t eager to respond properly. Having come to this conclusion, Tatsuya again tried using the magic of flight to go in search of Minami.
But Yakumo's spell again prevented Tatsuya.
“Master! Have you decided to side with Minoru!?
Naturally, Tatsuya raised his tone.
Yakumo's usual slick grin disappeared from his lips.
“Kudou Minoru and Sakurai Minami-jou have already arrived in Yokosuka. Perhaps they are already boarding the ship.”
“That's why I have to hurry.”
“Why?”
“What?”
From his manner of speech Tatsuya's politeness finally disappeared.
“Tatsuya-kun. Why do you need to hurry?”
“If they go out to sea, it will become a predicament.”
“Into a dilemma? But your own actions have already grown into big problems.”
“...”
Tatsuya was cornered by such a counter-argument.
“The special forces are looking for you. There hasn't been any armed shootouts on public roads in our country, even during the war. And the explosion of a helicopter and four burnt corpses. The police won’t be able to turn a blind eye to such an incident.”
“.....”
“Leaving a car with broken wheels near Lake Saiko was also a bad decision. The second son of the Kudou family has already given evidence to the police and caused a commotion in the Magic Association. And you started a fire that began in the Aokigahara “Sea of Trees.” The fire department rushed there at full speed.”
“That...”
“You should be well aware that excuses like “I didn’t do it,” and “it wasn't my fault”
won’t work here. And it's not only about today's events. Automatic dolls were blown up near the hospital in Tofu. Do you know what kind of excitement was caused by just a few demons being released? The death of Kudou Retsu and the related unrest in the army was also indirectly caused by your quarrel with Kudou Minoru. It can also be argued that the confrontation around Minami-jou also has to do with the fact that the events on Miyaki-jima didn’t go unnoticed.”
“... Is that why you are interfering with me now?”
“Do you think I should let you go?”
In response to Tatsuya's question in a desperate voice, Yakumo replied coolly, without moving an eyebrow.
“Minami-jou is still a human being, right? Is this not proof that Kudou Minoru respects her opinion? He himself is undoubtedly a demon, but he doesn’t harm Minami-jou.”
“That is... do you mind if Minami becomes a Parasite?”
“It's not for me to decide. Whether to remain human or not depends on her own
choice. This isn't something that you or Miyuki-kun should get involved in.”
Tatsuya clenched his teeth tightly, closed his eyes briefly, then opened them wide.
“Kokonoe Yakumo. Don’t disturb me!”
“No, I will disturb you. I'll make sure you keep me company for a while longer.”
?
?
Tatsuya forcefully pushed off the ground and flew up.
However, Yakumo's illusion prevented him from flying more than 10 meters, and as a result, he fell back to the ground.
Minoru and Minami moved from the car to a small boat. It was a common rowboat without a roof, which had a small motor with a propeller attached. Raymond operated the lever that was mounted on the stern that turned an old-fashioned rudder.
It was impossible to cross the Pacific Ocean on this boat. Apparently, a larger vessel awaits at sea. Minoru didn’t ask about this, so as not to interfere with Raymond's control of the boat.
But contrary to his concern, Raymond spoke himself.
“Looks like Tatsuya didn't make it.”
“Will we be boarding the ship soon?”
Raymond words seemed like an ominous omen, so Minoru, feeling some impatience, asked this question.
“Yeah, soon enough.... Oh, there it is already in sight.”
Although Raymond said this, Minoru didn’t see any ships in the vicinity.
“Submarine...?”
Minami muttered, sitting next to Minoru.
Hearing her voice for the first time in a long time, Minoru looked again at the surface of the sea.
“Over there...?”
In the place where he was looking, some kind of dome-shaped object was barely visible from beneath the water.
“Noticed, finally?”
Raymond answered Minoru for some reason with pride in his voice.
“High-speed transport ship fully submersible type, “Coral." Well, it would be easier to call it a transport submarine.”
“Fully submersible type?”
- Yeah. And the vibration damping function... Oh, let's talk about it when we are inside.”
Without slowing down, Raymond tilted the engine forward to lift the propeller and rudder out of the water.
They drove directly to the dome - the back of the transport submarine.
Raymond grabbed the slender pole, which only became visible as they approached it.
It seems that it served as a signal, because a gap appeared in the curved hull of the submarine - a large hatch opened.
“Alright, let's get in.”
Raymond jumped off the boat.
Minoru also stepped onto the hull of the submarine. Through the soles of his feet he could feel the sensation of a soft surface that wasn’t as slippery as he had expected.
He extended his hand to Minami and helped her off the boat.
They followed Raymond up the steps that led down from the opening hatch.
Behind them, the crew dragged the small boat inside the ship.
The hatch closed automatically when they descended the stairs.
Raymond turned and spread his arms wide.
“Welcome to the USNA Naval Transport Ship, Coral.”
Raymond said this to Minoru and Minami in a dramatic, theatrical tone.
Tatsuya, who had been forced to fall by Yakumo's illusion, barely managed to land on his feet. Repositioning himself after landing, he flew again, but this time horizontally to the East. He wanted to fly up immediately after he got out of the area of effect of Yakumo's illusion magic.
But the illusion again forced him to interrupt the flight. Turning in flight, he stopped by braking his feet on the road. Having slid back a few meters, he raised his head and looked at Yakumo, who continued to stand quietly.
Tatsuya's right hand reached into his belt. He pulled “Trident" out of the holster and aimed the “barrel" at Yakumo.
The image of Yakumo slowly wavered and dissipated like smoke.
Tatsuya kicked his feet off the road.
But not to take off.
He rushed forward and lunged with his fist one meter to the left of the place where Yakumo disappeared.
A soft breeze curled around Tatsuya.
The air around Tatsuya suddenly became heavy and viscous like oil.
Tatsuya's index finger pulled the activation switch on his CAD, which had the form of a trigger.
But not to blow away the air that enveloped his body.
And in order to erase the magic that gives the viscosity to the air, and return freedom to his body.
Tatsuya lunged with his left hand.
Not with a fist, but with his palm forward.
The left palm, with fingers held together, pointed upward, struck a space that seemed to be empty.
There was a sound.
And it wasn’t the sound of a hand striking another hand. It was a high-pitched echo, like a metal hammer striking a shield.
The transparent haze cleared, as if blown away by this sound. In its place, the figure of Yakumo appeared, blocking Tatsuya's left palm with his right hand.
Tatsuya jumped back.
The throwing knife-kunai, thrown by Yakumo from his left hand, only pierced Tatsuya's afterimage.
Tatsuya returned the “Trident" from his right hand to the holster. Instead, he pulled out a combat knife with hand protection. He abandoned his favorite CAD because he decided to switch to close combat.
The output of activation sequences can be made using the suit's built-in CAD with full mental control. Instead of his usual CAD in the form of a pistol, he chose to take a blade in his hand. Tatsuya came to the conclusion that Yakumo couldn’t be defeated by magic alone.
Yakumo grinned and threw another kunai.
Tatsuya didn’t evade it, but deflected it with the knife in his right hand.
Tatsuya tried not to take his eyes off Yakumo. But as soon as he turned his gaze to the kunai for a moment, Yakumo disappeared from his sight.
Tatsuya switched his perception to “Elemental Sight."
However, at that very moment, nine Yakumo's appeared in his “field of vision.”
They ran and jumped around Tatsuya.
However, in reality, only the dull landscape of the highway was visible around him.
Occasionally cars drove by, avoiding the lane where Tatsuya was standing.
“Is this the “Multiple Mirage Matoi?” - muttered Tatsuya.
He gathered Psions in his left hand and squeezed it into his palm.
He stretched his left hand forward.
And immediately released nine psionic shells at once.
Nine compressed psionic balls pierced the physical space along the coordinates where each Yakumo should have been.
The eight Yakumo, which he “saw" in the information dimension, disappeared, and the remaining one appeared, but in a slightly different place.
The ninth appeared right in front of Tatsuya.
Yakumo appeared swinging his short kodachi sword down.
Tatsuya took the slash on the blade of his knife.
“Not bad.”
After the blades were crossed , Yakumo's lips curved into a grin.
Tatsuya's face, still hidden under the helmet, didn't change.
Tatsuya extended his left hand.
Yakumo stepped back with a big leap to dodge Tatsuya's left hand, which tried to grab his wrist.
“So, you want to capture me? Do you think that if you grab me, you will know where I am, even if I use illusion techniques?”
Tatsuya's face, hidden under the visor of his helmet, didn’t express any concern that he had just been shown exactly what he was planning on doing.
With the gliding motion of his feet, Tatsuya moved closer to Yakumo.
The image of Yakumo trembled and disappeared.
Ignoring this, Tatsuya lunged with his right hand holding a knife.
There was a scrape of metal on metal. At first there was only sound.
Yakumo's figure appeared next. He held the kodachi horizontally, sliding it over Tatsuya's knife.
Tatsuya extended his left hand forward again, but Yakumo removed his right hand from the handle of the kodachi and used it to deflect Tatsuya's left hand.
Tatsuya's hand protection that was built into the knife handle, struck a small part of the kodachi.
The kodachi, which was now held only with the left hand, fell out of Yakumo's hand.
Tatsuya threw the knife away and reached for Yakumo's collar with his right hand.
Yakumo waived his right hand from top to bottom.
In his right hand, a small ball came from somewhere.
When this ball hit the road and exploded, it became clear that it was a smoke bomb.
Thick smoke appeared between Tatsuya and Yakumo.
Yakumo's figure disappeared into the smoke.
At the same time, even when Tatsuya “looked” at the informational dimension with his “sight,” he still couldn’t detect Yakumo's Eidos.
“Now that was pretty scary. But can you see me now?”
The voice was heard as if it came from the front.
Or was it heard from behind?
No, you could hear it from the front and behind, on the left and right, from above and below... so, in general, from all directions. But for Tatsuya, the voice sounded as if he had just misheard and in fact didn’t hear anything.
Tatsuya didn’t even try to find the real Yakumo by searching for the source of the voice.
His mind went back to the past, but at the same time he was looking at the present.
Chasing the present from the past.
False information superimposed on the present, and information about the present, obtained by scrolling from the past.
Tatsuya lunged with his left fist, and was stopped by Yakumo's right hand.
“How delightful.”
Yakumo praised.
A car was approaching Tatsuya and Yakumo. The driver's face could be seen through the windshield, eyes wide open with shock.
Tatsuya and Yakumo jumped in different directions to dodge the car.
At that moment, Tatsuya realized that up to this point, Yakumo's illusions had been diverting passing cars, so that they wouldn't interfere with their battle. Tatsuya realized that he was finally able to overcome the limits of Yakumo, to which he could simultaneously fight with him and control the car drivers.
Yakumo leaped over the railing of the overhanging road.
Tatsuya followed him and jumped down from the highway.
When Kuroba Mitsugu brought Fujibayashi Nagamasa to the shores of Lake Kawaguchi, he was subjected to fierce pressure from his son and daughter.
“Otou-sama, please, tell me what is the reason? Why don't you send reinforcements to Tatsuya-san?”
“I've told you many times why. Tatsuya-kun has already defeated an illegal squad of saboteurs from the USNA Army, and got rid of the pursuit of the Special Forces.”
“But isn't he also hindered by Kokonoe Yakumo-sensei? I believe that you need to send help, regardless of whether he needs it or not.”
The Kuroba family monitored the situation around Tatsuya, by employing the superpower users of “Clairvoyance” and “Remote Sensing.”
“Clairvoyance” is the superpower of distant vision, and “Remote Sensing” is the superpower that allows you to hear from afar. They are both simply powers of perception of physical signals. Such abilities weren’t enough to break through the
illusions of Yakumo, but Tatsuya occasionally broke through these illusions, so the observers were able to identify the opponent that Tatsuya was fighting.
All of the information received by the Kuroba family was also forwarded to the main house. Among all the people associated with this incident, probably only Miyuki wasn’t aware of the changes in the situation.
“I agree with nee-san!”
Fumiya complained in a heightened tone, agreeing with Ayako's words.
“Now the main enemy of Tatsuya-niisan is time. It's not important for Tatsuya-niisan to win or lose, but to get out of there as quickly as possible! I believe that our help won’t be completely useless!”
“Fumiya. Indeed, as you said, Tatsuya-kun's main enemy is now time. However, the real enemy standing in his way is a man known as one of the best users of ninjutsu of our time. Trying to fight him with a large number of people isn’t the best option.
Most likely, if you go there to help, then, on the contrary, you'll only hinder Tatsuya-kun.”
Mitsugu tried to dismiss Fumiya's protest, at first glance, with plausible arguments.
And he realized that it worked when he saw an expression of frustration on his face.
“Otou-sama, I don't think so.”
However, Ayako wasn’t convinced.
“Kokonoe-sensei is a ninjutsu user. The field of application in which “ninjutsu”
performs well is the magic of illusions based on interference with the mind. Yes, I don’t have the aptitude to use mental interference magic, but Fumiya, possessing high compatibility for this magic, can become good support for Tatsuya-san.”
“Maybe you're right...”
Mitsugu was a loving father. He valued the abilities of his son and daughter like no other.
In fact, he also believed that Fumiya would be able to compete with Yakumo. Thus, only because Ayako was his daughter, Mitsugu couldn’t deny her arguments, which coincided with his true feelings.
“In addition, there are also many "ninjutsu users" in our family who have learned from the teachings of the Koga clan. It may be too much of a burden for just Fumiya, but it seems to me that with the support of Otou-sama's subordinates, he will be able to at least detain Kokonoe-sensei.”
This was also entirely consistent with the opinion of Mitsugu. And he answered:
“You can't. Maya-san... the head of the main family forbade it.”
Finally, he revealed the true reason.
“Toushu-sama!?” - Ayako and Fumiya asked in unison.
“Why!?”
This question was also asked simultaneously by two voices.
“... I wasn’t informed of the reason.”
Sensing the slight displeasure in Mitsugu's voice, Fumiya realized that his father really didn’t know the reason.
It also seemed to be an unwelcome outcome for his father. Realizing this, Fumiya decided not to go further into this matter.
But his sister Ayako had the opposite opinion.
“I see. Then I will ask for the reason directly from Toushu-sama.”
“Nee-san!?”
Fumiya tried to stop Ayako's rebellious behavior.
But Mitsugu didn’t interfere with his daughter's selfishness.
“Actually... If it's Ayako, then Toushu-sama will probably tell the truth.”
“Thank you for your permission, Otou-sama. Then, I'll go make the call.”
Having said that, Ayako stood up.
“Nee-san, wait for me!”
Fumiya, too, hastily jumped up and followed her.
The place where Tatsuya and Yakumo had jumped was close to some kind of comprehensive high school. The grounds of the schoolyard were extensive, and the whole landscape was covered with greenery. Yakumo led Tatsuya over there.
But he led him, not just running away. He retreated, choosing the perfect moments to attack. Tatsuya couldn’t ignore him, and was forced to follow Yakumo into the courtyard of the high school.
There were no signs of the presence of other people inside or outside the school building.
At this time, the school staff could still be here. Conversely, it would be strange if there were still students here at this time.
However, it seems that in this school, students and staff also went home early due to the fact that the state of emergency hasn’t yet been completely lifted. But maybe the school was even left closed or was out for summer vacation a little earlier.
It wasn’t known why the decision was made. Only the result was known. The grounds of this school were completely deserted. At least that's what Tatsuya's perception said.
Yakumo may have felt the same way. Tatsuya himself realized this when he burst into the school grounds, and Yakumo undoubtedly learned about this fact from a much greater distance. At least, that was Tatsuya's impression.
That is, Yakumo was concerned beforehand about not involving unrelated people in the showdown. But on the other hand, this meant that he no longer intended to restrain his techniques and abilities.
Tatsuya was in the same situation. Although he felt that the battle still wasn't serious in the true sense of the word, but to the extent that it is possible in a battle not to the death, he stopped holding back some time ago.
More precisely, Tatsuya thought that he wouldn't repent if it came to the decision to kill Yakumo. Honestly, he didn’t want to kill Yakumo for Minami's sake. Tatsuya didn’t believe that Minami was more important or valuable than Yakumo.
But since neither Tatsuya nor Yakumo had any intention of retreating, even the worst outcome could be expected.
And giving up the chase was Tatsuya's best choice in order to avoid this “worst outcome.”
“This is a request from the sponsor-sama.”
When Ayako asked Maya on the phone about the reasons for the ban on sending reinforcements, she answered her without hiding the facts.
“Sponsor-sama?”
Ayako didn’t hide her surprise on the videophone screen. And it was only natural. It was extremely rare for sponsors to interfere with the Yotsuba family's work, which was already in the middle of completion. In recent times, such cases, one can only recall the acceleration of the resolution of the “Vampire Incident” that took place last winter.
Besides, this time it’s not even “work.” Nor should the issue of returning the servant of the Yotsuba family have anything to do with the sponsors. Even Maya herself didn’t expect interference.
“Yes. I would like you to refrain from further participation in these events tonight."
Approximately in this form there was a request if you remove the extra details. The request didn’t say that we should directly stop Tatsuya-san, but that we can’t send out anymore help yet.
The Yotsuba family isn’t subordinate to the “sponsors." They have a relationship as a client and a contractor, and they have almost equal positions, not the same as in the subcontract.
Moreover, this relationship is not established from a position of power, where the Yotsuba family would take a dominant position. In terms of power (brute force), the Yotsuba family is higher, but the sponsors are superior in terms of political and financial influence. So even when the request came in the form of a “request," Maya couldn’t reject it.
“... Does that mean we’re leaving Minami-san?”
“In the request from sponsor-sama it was spoken exclusively about “tonight.” We aren’t going to abandon Minami-chan.”
“I said something stupid. Please forgive me.”
“I understand your feelings, Ayako-san, but I can’t allow reinforcements to be sent today.”
“As you say.”
“Fumiya-san, did you understand everything?”
“Yes, Toushu-sama.”
After asking for the opinion of Fumiya on the monitor, Maya ended the telephone conversation with Ayako.
“And yet... what are these gentlemen really thinking about...?”
She spoke in such a tone as if she was talking to herself, but she was clearly speaking to Hayama, who was standing behind Her.
“Perhaps they very much want to cleanse our country of the Parasites?”
“I think it would be quicker to destroy them rather than let them go abroad.”
In fact, Maya’s dissatisfaction with the sponsors' instructions was no less than that of Ayako.
“Perhaps the gentlemen thought that eliminating Kudou Minoru took too much time.”
“If so, they would have said so then...”
Following the rules of decency, Hayama kept silent, without reacting in any way to Maya’s dissatisfaction, which she expressed like a young girl.
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