Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 31 - Future Arc - Chapter 9

Chapter 9 
Japan time, 9:45 AM, August 4 th , 2097. 
Just over 30 minutes after the battle began, all of the American troops that landed on Miyakijima were annihilated. 
They weren’t annihilated in the sense that there were no survivors. After restraining the injured enemy soldiers, the [island] defense squad provided them with treatment, but all of the survivors were humans. Every single Parasite, without exception, was exterminated . 
There were also no Parasites who escaped destruction after leaving their physical body. Tatsuya didn’t overlook a single one of them. 
In this way, the ‘Battle on Miyakijima’ ended with the total victory of the Yotsuba family. 
Although it wasn’t an authorized operation and was treated formally as a «rebellion of traitors», it turned out that the USNA’s Armed Forces was no match against this group of civilian magicians in a head-to-head battle. This fact shook the military officials of each country (Japan included), and made the notorious ‘Yotsuba’ even more infamous throughout the world. 
However, this fact wasn’t the only thing that made the world tremble . 
 
“Onii-sama! No, Tatsuya-sama. Thank you for your hard work.” 
Tatsuya returned to the command room about five minutes after the battle had ended. 
Stopping just before embracing him, Miyuki rephrased her «Onii-sama» to «Tatsuya-sama» and welcomed him with a gracious bow… The staff here seemed to act as if they didn’t hear anything. 
“Miyuki, thank you too for your hard work.” 
Miyuki broke into a big smile in response to Tatsuya’s words about her hard work. This smile had the perfect balance of a sophisticated lady and pure maiden. 
“Thank you very much. Tatsuya-sama, are you injured?” 
At first glance , Tatsuya’s combat suit had no scratches. It got a little dusty, of course, but there were neither any traces of bleeding nor blood on him . 
“Everything is fine. I don’t even have a scratch on me .” 
“I am relieved to hear that.” 
Backing up her words, Miyuki stopped looking anxious about his health . She smiled charmingly once again and turned toward the main screen. 
“By the way, Tatsuya-sama, what should we do with that?” 
Miyuki’s eyes were pointing at the 3 split images showing the USNA warships that were stuck in ice. They were the destroyers ‘Hull’ & ‘Ross’, as well as the amphibious assault ship ‘Guam’. 
“At the end of the battle, Katsushige-san advised them to surrender. We’re waiting for the answer now. If the other party agrees, cancel ‘Glacial Age’.” 
“Understood.” 
“Command room, please connect me to Miyuki-san.” 
As if overhearing their conversation, Katsushige opened audio communication. There was no video feed, possibly because he used the transmitter in his combat suit while re-broadcasting the signal through the Mobile Base. 
Just in case, they looked at the additional screen showing the island, and saw Katsushige standing on the pier of the east coast . From there, only the Superstructure [29] of the  ‘Guam’ was partially visible offshore ,  but it seemed like Katsushige wanted to monitor the enemy’s movements with his own eyes. 
“Katsushige-san, did the American military respond?” 
The one who replied was Tatsuya, not Miyuki. 
“Tatsuya-kun, so you’ve already returned to the command room.” 
Katsushige expressed no complaints that the reply wasn’t from Miyuki. 
“Like you said, we received the response from the captain of the amphibious assault ship ‘Guam’, [navy] captain Annie Marquis, and they accepted disarmament. The two destroyers also agreed to disarm.” 
“They agreed not to surrender, but to disarm? They have quite the stubborn captain.” 
After hearing Tatsuya’s lines, Miyuki showed an expression as if she wanted to ask what he meant. 
“As civilians, we don’t have the authority to capture military property or take Prisoners of War. It will be equally difficult to deal with either issue.” 
But even without Tatsuya’s reply to Miyuki’s unspoken question, Katsushige’s words enabled her to understand the main point. 
“First of all, I’m going to request that they leave the ship without weapons. Therefore, I’d like you to cancel the magic that froze the sea. This is Miyuki’s magic, right?” 
“That’s right. And, that is a reasonable suggestion.” 
Tatsuya expressed his consent with Katsushige’s words and looked toward Miyuki. 
Seeing Tatsuya’s gaze, Miyuki nodded. 
The next moment, a strange thing occurred in the sea. No, considering the current season and Latitude, it would be more apt to say that «everything returned to normal». 
Ice fields with a radius of 1, 5, and 10 kilometers disappeared in an instant. Not only was the speed at which it melted evidence towards it being  unnatural, but there was also no observed temperature drop in the sea waters. Conversely, the surrounding waters, which had been cooled by the appearance of the ice field, returned to its original temperature. 
“Katsushige-san, you may continue the negotiations.” ? Said Miyuki into the microphone in her usual voice, as if nothing happened. 
“Understood.” 
Katsushige replied in an amazed tone, as if saying «Sheesh, you guys are…» 
 
The ‘Guam’ captain, Annie Marquis had completely lost all willpower to resist. 
A natural disaster attacked her ship. It was nothing like any magic she knew. 
The scale  was different. 
It was no exaggeration to say that it happened in an instant, but the giant body of the ship with a length of over 300 meters was trapped in ice . Everything  inside of the ship escaped the cold corrosion [30] , but its exterior got completely frozen up to the deck . Even the seawater that was inside the ship’s electromagnetic propulsion systems was frozen, rendering the ship totally immobile. 
Everyone knew without being told that it was the work of a magician on the targeted island. However, in this state they couldn’t counterattack. The immobile warship that couldn’t move was the same as a fixed target, and they [the ship] are doomed to be shot after their [the ship’s] attempt to counterattack. First of all, the turrets and missile hatches were frozen , rendering them non-operational. 
Not long after,  there was an incoming radio communication advising them to surrender ? captain Marquis didn’t take long to accept. Or in this case, she didn’t have any other choice. Even so, she pretended to think about it for about 5 minutes in front of her subordinates. 
Immediately after that, not only captain Marquis, but also the crew members were dumbfounded once more. 
They witnessed the ice that had imprisoned their ship, as well as the ice field [20 km in diameter] that had surrounded them, disappear . 
Everyone in the crew felt as if they were having a dream, or more likely ? a nightmare. 
Since they felt that no human would be able to win against that, no one was against the captain’s order to leave the ship. 
“Doctor, wouldn’t it be better for you to also get off the ship.” 
Subordinates of Annie Marquis started to leave the ship, not on combat vessels such as the previously used assault boats, but on emergency inflatable boats. Watching their figures leave on screen from external cameras, Marquis urged Edward Clark, who remained in the Combat Information Center (CIC), to abandon the ship as well. 
“It’s inevitable in such circumstances… But can I return to my cabin for a moment? I’d like to get my personal belongings.” 
“No problem, as long as it’s not a weapon.” 
“It’s not a weapon. Then, excuse me.” 
It was evident from Clark’s behavior that he was unsuccessfully trying to hide his dissatisfaction. She could see right through his feelings ? in reality, he completely disagreed with the order to leave the ship… and with the decision to surrender. 
But this is exactly what reassured Marquis. She was the kind of person in this situation who thought « If he behaved without trying to hide anything at all, however, it would be evidence of an attempt to deceive me ». 
Marquis left the CIC after checking the ship’s internal security system to make sure that no one else remained there and all the engines were shut down. 
She wasn’t mechanically ignorant, but she doesn’t have the same knowledge as a technical specialist. Hence, captain Marquis failed to notice that the Information System of her ship had been hacked by Clark’s crew. 
Shortly after the CIC was vacated, Clark returned there with his accomplices. For Clark, who was in control of the ship’s ‘electronic brain’, it was easy to ascertain how many people were left on the ship and where they were located. 
His ‘accomplices’ weren’t foreign soldiers, whom he lured with the promise of [acquiring the USNA] citizenship, but non-commissioned naval officers and soldiers who had been bribed before the voyage started. There wasn’t a single Parasite among them. All of them had the necessary skills  needed to operate a warship, which means that Clark had planned for an escape before the operation had even begun . 
Of course, this didn’t mean that he expected that they would be defeated from the very beginning. However, he certainly made preparations in case of defeat. Clark understood that his position in the USNA was deteriorating day by day. That was why he knew very well that this operation was a huge gamble ? it was going for a ‘home run in the bottom of the ninth’ to overturn the whole situation. 
Clark probably thought  that if he loses here, there’s no place for him to return to in the USNA. 
And he was right to worry about his situation in the USNA . As it later turned out, both the Pentagon and the White House planned to discard Clark ? regardless of the result of the operation. 
If one thinks calmly, it’s not that difficult to understand. Edward Clark may have had great influence in the underworld  as the mastermind behind the ‘Seven Sages’, but in public society, he was no more than an employee of a government agency. Hli?skjálf ? the source of his power as the mastermind behind  the ‘Seven Sages’ ? could also be disconnected at any time if the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the USNA Armed Forces wanted to do so. 
In contrast to him, Tatsuya was a wielder of Strategic-Class Magic, which currently had the most destructive power in the world. On one hand , this magic could really shake the hegemony  of the USNA . On the other hand, it could be expected to serve as a deterrent for the New Soviet Union and Great Asian Union to the west of Japan. The USNA’s intelligence services had already learned of recent events, which showed that Tatsuya was currently at odds with the Japanese military. Experts at the Pentagon believe that Tatsuya could be used as a strong ally for the USNA in the Western Pacific. 
In addition to his military value, the White House economists expected that Tatsuya’s Stellar Furnace technology, if it can be obtained, would bring significant benefits to the USNA economy. The American business community wasn’t satisfied with so-called, ‘Renewable Energy’, which was unstable . 
Consuming as much energy as they desire, whenever they want, anywhere in the country.  Many people believe that the Stellar Furnace would be the catalyst for regaining the «rich society of mass production and consumption» that they once enjoyed. Although no one really dared to talk about it openly, many thought that way. 
Judging by his relationship with the USNA, Clark’s choice to steal the warship and flee in this scenario wasn’t wrong. 
Once he saw through the external cameras that the inflatable boat, which captain Marquis had boarded, was quite a distance away from the ship, Clark ordered his crew to restart the engine. The Emergency Code, which was given to the ship captain, which forcefully freezes all the ship’s functions, can’t be used wirelessly. So, even if captain Marquis tried to get back on board, she was already too far away to get there in time. 
“Launch missiles aiming at the east coast of the island.” 
Clark’s order wasn’t about trying to carry out Tatsuya’s assassination. The evidence showed that he aimed at the east coast, not the west coast, where it’s known that there are housing facilities for people related to the Yotsuba. Clark tried to cause confusion and make time for his escape by attacking the ‘Prisoners of War’ and the defense squad, waiting for the inflatable boats from the ‘Guam’ to land. 
Eventually, this decision led to Clark’s death. 
“Go south at full speed.” 
“Roger. Full speed ahead.” 
The sailor, responsible for the navigation and control of all the mechanisms on the ship, at the direction of Clark, immediately increased the power output of the electromagnetic propulsion systems to maximum. 
“Doctor! The VLS hatch won’t open!” 
At the same time, the non-commissioned officer who took control of the ship’s weapons system reported the first incident that occurred on the amphibious assault ship ‘Guam’. 
The ‘Guam’ missile system used vertical launchers. If the hatch that protects the missile doesn’t open, it won’t be able to launch. 
“It can’t be helped. The missile attack was canceled .” 
Clark quickly abandoned that idea. After all, it was meant to just be a distraction, so  there was no need to stick with the attack. 
He turned to the sailor responsible for navigation in order to hurry up with the departure. 

But before he could say a word, the ship’s Condition Monitoring System alert came on. 
“What happened!?” 
Clark raised his voice to shout over the piercing  howl of the siren. 
“It’s flooding! There are multiple cracks in the outer shell of the ship!” 
The voice of the sailor who answered was even louder and more hysterical than Clark’s. 
“Bulkheads emergency closure!” 
“No good, that won’t make it in time!” 
The CIC fell into a panic. 
“The cracks are expanding! The ship is breaking apart!” 
Immediately after the ominous scraping, Clark felt a great shaking and floating feeling. 
The chair he was sitting on was tilting. 
Clark realized that the ‘Guam’ was sinking. 
“……” 
He failed to vocalize anything because his thoughts were cut off there. 
Perhaps, he was fortunate. 
Edward Clark didn’t have to experience the frosty and unbearable torment of death by drowning. 
Clark’s life ended the moment that the sinking of the ‘Guam’ became apparent to everyone. 
His corpse will never be found and lifted from the depths. 
His death will never be confirmed by finding his bones scattered on the sea’s bottom . 
His body disappeared at the same time that he lost consciousness. 
It was decomposed to the level of chemical elements, some of which dissolved in the sea water, while the rest dispersed in the form of bubbles. 
 
Tatsuya holstered his Silver Horn, which was just recently aimed at the main screen, showing the sinking amphibious assault ship at the moment. 
All of the staff in this command room were excellent magicians from the Yotsuba family. Particularly, they were selected among those gifted in Extra Sensory Perception [ESP]. Despite that, there were only three people who felt signs of magic being released from Tatsuya’s body. 
“Thanks for the good work, Tatsuya-sama.” 
One of them, Miyuki, thanked Tatsuya for his work in a reserved tone. The staff of the command room, who heard her voice, were suspicious that neither the joy of victory nor open praise was present in her voice. However, they were immediately convinced that as the next head of the family, she probably did that because she’s currently in front of others. 
There were only 3 people who noticed that Tatsuya had sunk the ‘Guam’ using ‘Decomposition’. 
However, it was only Miyuki who realized that Edward Clark had been erased with ‘Mist Dispersion’. 
Edward Clark was a potential magician, but his power was weak, so Miyuki doesn’t think that decomposing his body was such a burden for Tatsuya. 
However, it was only about the load on his magic power. 
As for Tatsuya, he wouldn’t feel any repulsion against erasing people, but Miyuki never thought about that. 
“Thank you. This completes the battle. I believe it’s alright to think so.” 
Tatsuya responded to Miyuki’s praise  with an expression that made it seem as if nothing had happened. 
“Miyuki, declare our victory to everyone.” 
Before Miyuki’s face clouded, Tatsuya urged her to fulfill her role as Supreme Commander. 
“No, that should be Tatsuya-sama…” 
Rounding her eyes, Miyuki shook her head. 
“Miyuki.” 
But after Tatsuya called her name once more, she was reminded what her role was. 
A female member from the command room staff put a microphone stand in front of Miyuki. 
Miyuki turned to the microphone stand with a straightened posture and faced the camera. 
Tatsuya stepped back to get out of frame. 
The sub-screen projected a medium shot with Miyuki. 
Miyuki looked at the camera in front of her with a dignified expression, and began to speak in a calm voice. 
“In the name of Shiba Miyuki, the next head of the Yotsuba family, I’m declaring that the battles have ended.” 
Miyuki then took a deep breath. 
 
“We are the victor!” 
Cheers rang out in response to Miyuki’s proclaration. 
It was happening everywhere on Miyakijima, especially on the northeastern coast. 
It wasn’t only a cheer for victory, but an enthusiastic voice for the young and beautiful leader. 
“I, Shiba Miyuki, on behalf of the family head, Yotsuba Maya, would like to thank everyone for how bravely and persistently  you fought. Thank you very much.” 
On the screens set up everywhere on the island, the image of Miyuki switched to a full-length shot of her. 
A beautiful woman gracefully bowed to everyone from the screen, and she was flawless from every angle ? from the tip of her toes to the top of her head, and even to the tips of her hair. 
The island was engulfed in an increasingly fervent cheer. 
 
The broadcast to the whole island with  Miyuki in the main role was over, so  the camera pointed towards her was switched off. 
Tatsuya, after thanking and praising Miyuki for her work, walked over to the staff member responsible for handling communications. 
“Excuse me. Can I take over here?” 
The female staff member , whom Tatsuya approached, was older than him. Nevertheless, she didn’t seem offended by his informal tone. Everyone in this room observed Tatsuya’s true strength, which was demonstrated by him less than an hour ago. She offered up her seat to Tatsuya with such a respectful attitude, as if she was bowing to the emperor. 
With accustomed hand movements, Tatsuya used his usual method to connect the communicator with a satellite link. 
 
“ My name is Shiba Tatsuya, a Japanese magician.” 
The message began with such an ordinary greeting. 
“ Today, at 9:41  AM on August fourth, Japan time, with magic, I destroyed the Birobidzhan’s missile facilities in the New Soviet Union. This was an act of self-defense against the hyper-sonic missile that was launched from the Birobidzhan base and targeted Japanese territory ? Miyakijima ? where I’m currently staying.” 
However, the following words were far from ordinary. 
“ The missile was destroyed before it hit its target, but I couldn’t ignore the threat of  a second and third missile attack being launched.” 
“ There was no time for negotiations. Since it’s possible that  while looking for the people responsible to negotiate, subsequent missiles could’ve been launched.” 
“ For that reason I decided, and carried out, the destruction of the missile launch facilities.” 
“ At the same time as the missile attack, we were attacked by the Strategic-Class Magic, ‘Tuman Bomba’. In order to prevent the damage caused by this magic, I magically sniped Igor Bezobrazov ? a nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magician of the New Soviet Union.” 
“ As a result, I do not deny that Igor Bezobrazov may have died.” 
“ I will repeat. This was an action of self-defense. It wasn’t an act of terrorism, which violates the international legal order. It is a totally legitimate act, and the responsibility of its consequences must be borne by the New Soviet Union, who carried out the illegal attack, and Igor Bezobrazov himself.” 
“ I have no intention of using my power for acts of terrorism, destroying the legal order. I swear that I never will be involved in any acts of terrorism, whether now or in the future. However, if we are attacked again or exposed to an imminent threat and I find it necessary for self-defense, I will not hesitate to use force.” 
“ I hope that you all understand ? I have sufficient military power for self-defense. I can deal with unjustified attacks directed at me, without large-scale explosions, indiscriminate slaughter, and significant destruction of infrastructure.” 
“ No matter where they choose to attack from in this world.” 
On this part Tatsuya intentionally changed his tone. 
“ Once more, this is my declaration. I want peaceful coexistence with magicians and non-magicians. But when I need to use force to defend myself, I will never hesitate to use it.” 
This voice message was sent directly to private news sites as well as to the Government Public Relations Agencies of the USNA, the New Soviet Union, the Great Asian Union, the Southeast Asian Confederacy countries, Australia, and others, not to mention Japan. 
This message was sent at 10:00 AM Japan time. It was 9:99 PM on the USNA east coast, but less than 10 minutes after reaching America, not only internet news sites, but also major TV networks reported it as breaking news. 
About an hour later, the New Soviet Union denied the content of the message as groundless, stating there’s no facts about any launched missiles nor was there any destruction on the base. 
However, as if they had been waiting for it, the USNA Department of Defense released satellite images of the destroyed Birobidzhan missile base. As a result, Tatsuya’s message gained credibility, allowing it to be accepted by the world as an indisputable fact. 
Taking advantage of this, the USNA Department of Defense claimed that the surprise attack on Miyakijima was the result of a fake order fabricated by the New Soviet Union agent, Edward Clark, and that soldiers involved in the surprise attack were victims deceived by Clark. Together with the somewhat of an apology to the Japanese government, they’ve requested to ‘keep presence of mind’ and not escalate the situation. 
Tatsuya didn’t deny the USNA government’s claims. 
The whole world recognized that Tatsuya possesses a deterrent power that is equal to, or surpassing the Strategic Forces of the so-called four superpowers: the USNA, the New Soviet Union, the Great Asian Union, and the Indo-Persian Federation. 
 
Even after Miyuki declared that the battle had ended on the island, and Tatsuya sent out his message to the world, in reality, not all of the series of battles were ‘cleared up’. 
The New Soviet Union missile submarine ‘Kutuzov’, which launched Ballistic missiles from the sea towards Miyakijima, had given up after being disabled and surfaced about an hour later. 
The New Soviet Union soldiers, who had escaped from the submarine on emergency boats, were rescued by Miyakijima’s defense squad as castaways unrelated to the battle, while Tatsuya decomposed and sank the ‘Kutuzov’ .