Chapter 10
The current time was 3:30 PM on October 30th, 2095 AD.
Future generations would refer to this turning point as the "Scorched Halloween". The "Yokohama Incident" that instigated this event began at this moment.
After First High's presentation ended, Fujibayashi struck up an idle conversation with Toshikazu in the main hall — they had been together since the morning, so they were almost running out of topics — when suddenly his brow twitched and he broke off.
The terminal reserved for messaging (a security device with no data storage capabilities and strictly reserved for powerful signal broadcast) in his breast pocket was vibrating.
Sending an apologetic look towards Fujibayashi, he turned around to pick up the phone.
"This is Chiba, is it Inagaki? What!? ......Understood, I'm on my way."
Inspector Chiba turned around to find Fujibayashi also finishing her phone call.
"I need to head to the scene."
"I will remain here."
Neither of them asked whether the other person received the same communication they did. Taking it on faith that they were on accord, there was no feeling of incompatibility.
"Sorry! Contact me later if anything comes up."
Fujibayashi nodded and didn't waste her breath as Toshikazu fairly flew towards his car with magic fueling his sprint. —His feet appeared to be moving faster.
"What's the situation!?"
Three minutes after receiving the transmission, Toshikazu roared into the phone slotted in the car for more information as he sped towards the scene.
"The exploding car that plowed into the control building is still burning. There are no follow up suicide attacks."
On the other side of the receiver came a much more composed report.
Even so, the contents of the message were not relaxing.
The target was the Harbor Control Building near Hillside Harbor.
The sturdy construction material itself was able to repel the heat and force from the explosion so there was no need to worry on that account. However, the staff members were all civilians and must be paralyzed into inaction after being on the receiving end of a terrorist attack. In the meantime, while the staff were evacuating and before harbor security could take over, there would be a massive surveillance hole over the harbor proper.
(Too reliant on bureaucracy!)
Owing to resistance from politicians who were hostile to the expansion of organizations such as national defense and police, harbor control and airport control were all relegated to civilian control. Harbors for island nations are synonymous to the national border, so if they hated handing things over to the army, at least there should have been armed police on station. This was something that the Chiba Family, including Toshikazu, had proposed long before.
"The cargo ship moored in the harbor has fired rockets. They appear to be infantry mounted weaponry."
Toshikazu was so shocked that he almost caused an accident as he frantically pulled back on the wheel and roared back into the mic.
"Nationality!?"
"It's registered as an Australian freighter, but based on its shape, it's probably an amphibious vessel for mobile forces."
The registration was falsified.
What the hell were the guys in immigration and the coast guard doing! Suppressing the urge to scream, Toshikazu switched the call.
"......Father? It's Toshikazu. Right now the Yokohama Hillside Harbor is under attack from a camouflaged vessel of unknown nationality. Please request help from national defense. Afterwards, please send Ikazuchimaru and Orochimaru to me ASAP. ......What about Orochimaru? We already decided that it's going to Erika!"
In order to receive further orders from the unit, Fujibayashi headed for her own car. It wasn't that she didn't want Toshikazu to chase after her, she truly was going to stay here. That was because she was using the transmitter instead of the wheel.
Also, Fujibayashi thought, the one who made that prediction last night was none other than herself, but even she never expected things to turn so grave. Based on her initial estimates, she thought that the spies' confederates would attempt to abduct hostages to rescue their comrades.
Thus, Fujibayashi was quite surprised when she heard the number of men and equipment that Toshikazu shifted at her advice. Now, that move seemed to have paid dividends. Was this brawn over brains? Fujibayashi thought with amazement.
The hour pointed to 3:37 PM.
Suddenly, explosions and vibrations shook the conference hall.
The audience had no clue what was going on and had no idea what to do.
"Miyuki!"
At this time, Tatsuya called out the name that held the highest priority in his mind.
"Onii-sama!"
Hearing the response from below stage, Tatsuya took two steps — one to leap off the stage, the second to adjust his posture — to reach his sister's side. Although she was in the second row, Miyuki's reaction was equally swift as she reached Tatsuya's side.
"Onii-sama, what is......"
Miyuki asked hesitantly. Though she was slightly bewildered, she was not shocked out of her wits.
"Must be a hand grenade near the front entrance."
On the other hand, Tatsuya didn't show a hint of anxiety or confusion. Tatsuya had already heard this sort of disruption numerous times when training with the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion. Based on this experience, he didn't even need to access the information dimension to know that the incident occurred near the entrance of the building. While this was no cause for optimism, but now that he had successfully reunited with Miyuki, there was nothing else he needed to worry about.
"Grenades!? Are the upperclassmen alright?"
"The front entrance have security personnel arranged by the Association along with Magicians with combat experience. The average criminal organization stands no chance......"
Despite Tatsuya's answer, he still had a foreboding premonition. Earlier, Fujibayashi had handed him a data card that detailed the possibility that foreign governmental organizations might have a hand in this.
As if to prove his foreboding premonition beyond all doubt, several gunshots were heard.
(Those aren't automatic rifles...... They're high powered rifles used against Magicians!)
The average firearm was rendered impotent against the magic wielded by combat Magicians.
The Juumonji Family's Phalanx was the pinnacle of this and stood as its finest example.
In the latter half of the 21st century, the primary armament for infantry remained firearms, so bullet-resistant magic brought a huge advantage in land warfare.
However, offense and defense always swung back and forth. In order to compensate for powerful defenses, even stronger attacks will be developed. Magic was no exception, as magic was not omnipotent. If the moving object's inertia exceeded the magic's interference strength, then the subsequent magic failure would cause any speed reducing, trajectory altering, or targeting magic to fizzle.
A physical shield that was penetrated would only reduce the blow, but if magic failed to alter the phenomenon then that was the same as having no defenses whatsoever.
The design behind anti-Magician high powered rifles was to introduce high speed rounds with extreme penetration to render defensive magics from Magicians ineffective. However, in order to achieve bullet speeds that would nullify magic from combat Magicians, the technique and development level must surpass typical production caliber by at least 2 or 3 levels.
This is practically beyond even the main armies of smaller countries. Private ownership — without government support — like criminal organizations or terrorists was frankly impossible. Speaking of which, during the assault on Hachi?ji Special Detention Center several days ago, Lu Gonghu's comrades were equipped with high powered rifles. For such attacks to strike at such close intervals hinted at a powerful force backing them. Based on this, the enemy was almost guaranteed to be minions from the Great Asian Alliance, or even soldiers from the Alliance itself. Still, what was the reason for their grand assault?
Tatsuya was slightly perplexed. Without knowing his opponent's goals, there was no way to predict the degree of escalation. Generally speaking, he should "prepare for the worst", but currently the worst had no upper limit. Without knowing the "worst case scenario", there was no way to develop proper countermeasures.
Even if setting the average situation as a prerequisite, this main hall wasn't secure either. Normally, he would be leading Miyuki to the resting area to escape danger.
Yet now, there were Erika and Mizuki in the audience stands.
Although he was only responsible for Miyuki's protection, he didn't want to act solely out of duty.
Also, even if he didn't provide protection, the majority of the people possessed the ability to flee on their own, but he couldn't just sit and ignore the people close to him.
Regardless, maybe this was a blessing or a curse, but his headache didn't last very long.
Accompanied by violent footsteps, a squad toting military-grade rifles stormed the crowded stands.
(How useless!)
Though there was a definite possibility, but they still broke through the perimeter too quickly. Amid the screams, Tatsuya mentally clucked his tongue.
While the audience was still stricken with terror, the first ones to decisively leap into action were the students from Third High still on stage.
Apparently, their topic had some sort of anti-personnel use as they operated the CAD on the stage and attempted to use magic against the invaders.
Several gunshots went off.
Faster than Third High's magic could go into effect, several bullets hit the back wall of the stage.
Seeing the power of the bullets, they were definitely holding the high powered rifles that Tatsuya envisioned.
"Be quiet!"
This roar seemed to hint at their source. If they were foreigners, then smuggling themselves into the country must have been a recent incident. They weren't wearing uniforms or combat gear, but there was an odd sense of conformity. There were a variety of colors, but each of them wore high collared shirts and lanky cargo pants of superb make. No matter how you looked at it, these guys were definitely not your run of the mill gangsters.
Modern magic had already achieved speeds that could rival firearms thanks to the advent of the CAD. However, that was only breaking even based on the "Magician's power", so theoretically speaking, they could not attempt any reckless resistance when the enemy had guns ready.
"Put your gear on the floor."
The invaders appeared to be adept at fighting against Magicians.
It was possible they were Magicians themselves.
Only a portion of incredibly powerful Magicians would rely solely on magic in battle. Magicians could also serve as soldiers wielding guns, and in fact the majority of them were.
On the stage, the students from Third High including Kichijouji — Masaki was not there — regretfully placed their CADs on the ground.
Courage and recklessness were two different things. The students from Third High must have been educated on that point.
Tatsuya was slightly moved by their reaction, but unfortunately an incident was heading right his way.
The siblings who were just standing in the path were particularly conspicuous.
"Hey, you two as well."
One of the invaders pointed his gun their way and walked cautiously forward.
The words were undoubtedly aimed at Tatsuya. Strictly speaking, there was no room for misinterpretation.
(So that's it......)
There were a total of six. Three for primary assault and three in support. Tatsuya didn't point his CAD at the invaders who could possibly be terrorists or mobile forces. After all, he couldn't use "Mist Dispersal" in front of so many people, but the situation might not allow him otherwise.
(Need to try and use other magic to cover this.)
Just as Tatsuya ruminated on this with a blank expression on his face, the invader repeated his angry howl.
"Faster!"
The angry howl was more frantic, but Tatsuya didn't move a whisker. The sort of thinking that abandoned all resistance to preserve personal safety didn't jibe with his education and training.
Tatsuya wordlessly watched the approaching man.
No, his gaze would be more appropriately described as "observed".
There was no trace of fear or unease in his eyes.
He was only observing the man's entire body, the weapon in his hand, and the flashing muzzle.
Probably growing more and more anxious by the cold eyes watching him or subconsciously feeling the tendrils of a nameless dread, the man approaching Tatsuya increased the pressure on the trigger finger.
"Hey, wait!"
He likely failed to discern his comrade's voice.
A volley of gunfire sounded amid the cries.
The bullets filled with discernible killing intent were fired from within 3 meters, causing people to envision an unavoidable tragedy, which only deepened the shock people felt.
A right hand held something before his chest.
That was the sole change in Tatsuya's posture.
Not a single drop of blood flowed down his body.
The bullets that were fired left no traces on the walls, ceiling, or roof.
Spasms broke out over the man's face, as he fired a second, third time.
Each time, Tatsuya's right hand flashed towards another position.
The hand motion was so fast that no bystander could see what he was doing.
By the time anyone could react, they could only see the change in the hand's position as it remained holding something.
"He...... couldn't be catching the bullets, could he?"
Someone woodenly murmured.
"How, is he doing this......?"
Another nameless individual replied blankly.
"Monster!"
The man threw aside his gun because he was stricken by panic.
Setting aside using magic to block bullets, seeing the outrageous sight of someone catching the bullets would naturally create the misconception that guns had lost their use.
However, his fighting spirit was not broken as he pulled out a combat blade and swung it towards Tatsuya. Plainly, the man was a highly trained soldier.
But, the next act shocked everyone even further.
Tatsuya didn't look like he had any time to avoid the incoming attack, so he opened his hand to form a karate chop and slashed towards the man's wrist that was holding the blade.
Tatsuya's karate chop sheared through the man's wrist with no resistance whatsoever.
"Ah!"
A scream started to issue from the man's mouth — but that was all he could manage
Before the sound could fully turn into a scream, Tatsuya's left fist impacted the man's chest.
The blood spewing from the shredded right wrist stained Tatsuya's clothes.
That was all the resistance (?) the man could muster.
Without sparing a glance at the fallen man, Tatsuya leaped backwards and returned to Miyuki's side to protect her.
This unexpected, even unimaginable turnout caused the audience and the invaders to freeze in their tracks.
Not only was all physical activity suspended, even their minds ground to a halt.
Except for one person.
"Onii-sama, I need to clean up the blood stains, please wait a second."
Miyuki's soft words traveled to every corner of the previously silent conference hall.
Her voice did not waver in the slightest.
As if saying that she would "dust off the lint", there was no trace of unease or incompatibility.
That voice also served as a signal for the halted time to move forward.
"On them!"
Security personnel from both sides of the stage unleashed their magic. Although the invaders sought evasive action, but under the well-trained magic attacks from the students selected for the Nine Schools Competition, they were taken out without exception.
Miyuki activated her magic and cleansed the blood stains on Tatsuya's hand and clothes. (Accurately speaking, the moisture was evaporated from the clothes and skin before dispelling the solids.)
Although this was a matter of life and death, Tatsuya never batted an eyelid.
No, "not batting an eyelid" would be incorrect. While it was true that there was no trace of wavering or excitement on his face, he did furrow his brows when he looked at the man collapsed in the pool of his own blood.
Seeing that minute change in expression, Miyuki immediately activated another magic.
The eviscerated right hand and wrist were frozen and the blood pool on the ground dehydrated to a dark red dust.
Tatsuya turned around to find Miyuki smiling gently at him.
Subconsciously, Tatsuya could only smile at his hyper competent little sister.
Seeing her brother smile, Miyuki's eyes glazed over for some reason (from Tatsuya's perspective).
However, this wasn't the time to contemplate something like that as Tatsuya walked towards the entrance.
Immediately, Miyuki was right on his heels.
The siblings completely ignored the man with the severed wrist as they stepped over him.
At this time,
"Tatsuya-kun!" "Tatsuya!"
At the same time, voices from a young lady and man called out.
Normally, the two of them would frown at being so uniform, but this was not the time and place.
Following Erika and Leo, Mikihiko, Mizuki, Honoka, and Shizuku surrounded Tatsuya and Miyuki.
"What's with the hand! Are you hurt!?"
Despite Erika and Leo arriving first, Honoka's frantic question didn't lose out to them in the slightest.
Seeing the earlier hand motion, Honoka consciously realized that there was some theatrics involved, but she wasn't clear on what exactly occurred.
In reality, he didn't catch the bullets themselves, but used "Decomposition" on the physical body of the bullet and the trajectory and thus nullified the shots. Towards his friends who naturally knew nothing about this, Tatsuya said "It's nothing" and raised his right hand to form a fist a few times to show them.
Seeing this, Honoka and Mizuki finally relaxed, but Mikihiko and Shizuku were watching Tatsuya with eyes that clearly said "How did you do that".
Still, Tatsuya did not answer these unvoiced questions (not that he could answer these questions even if asked). He only answered Erika's question.
"Now we're committed...... What's the next move?"
Why does she seem so upbeat about this, the retort was on his lips before he swallowed it since this would waste precious time.
"Regardless of whether we choose to flee or counterattack, the first priority is to take out the enemy at the front entrance."
After he said this, Tatsuya paused for a moment.
"Wait a second, why did you stop?"
He originally wanted to say "So you do appear to be very happy" to Erika, who stood there with eyes sparkling, but after further consideration, he slowly shook his head.
"Splitting up is somewhat better than reacting all the time and taking hits."
"Somewhat" was his only concession towards passive agreement.
Thus, when he realized that not only Erika and Honoka, but even Mizuki and Shizuku lightened up at this, Tatsuya couldn't help but think "Give me a break......"
That being said, this was a state of emergency, so there was no time to lose.
Tatsuya quickly led them towards the entrance.
"Wait a minute...... Just wait a minute, Shiba Tatsuya!"
However, they were unable to depart during the chaos because a voice frantically called them to a stop.
"What is it, Kichijouji Shinkurou?"
Tatsuya ruthlessly asked back.
Yet, Kichijouji was not cowed by Tatsuya's displeasure, or maybe because he didn't have time to be afraid, so Kichijouji continued questioning Tatsuya.
"Was that 'Molecular Divider'!?"
Kichijouji's question caused everyone around them to start chattering to one another.
"Molecular Divider Magic was a secret technique developed by the previous USNA Combat Magicians Commander, Major William Sirius. Unlike magic that weakens the molecular bonds, Molecular Divider Magic is one of the USNA's most classified military secrets!"
It was unknown whether this was a knowledge error, but Kichijouji's interpretation was completely off the mark, but that suited Tatsuya just fine.
"Why are you able to use that! How could you possibly know!?"
"Is this the time and place to discuss something like that?"
At the barrage of questions, Tatsuya intentionally used a tone that seemed to frantically try to maintain the facade — to Kichijouji, this sounded like "there's no need to hide this any longer" — and curtailed the conversation.
Of course, the truth was otherwise. The magic Tatsuya used was not the USNA military's secret magic "Molecular Divider", nor was he using martial arts to allow his bare hands to shear through human flesh. Just as he decomposed the bullets, he used his right hand as the origin and activated Decomposition Magic at point blank range.
However, he was still under orders to maintain confidentiality. Also, this wasn't the time and place to explain.
"Saegusa-senpai, Nakajou-senpai, please evacuate from the area as soon as possible. Although their final goal remains unknown, their primary objective must be to kill or kidnap students with advanced magic skills."
After leaving this warning for Mayumi, who just appeared from the wings of the stage to see what happened, and Azusa, who sat in the last row as one of the judges, Tatsuya departed from the scene.
Just as Tatsuya and company vanished through the doorway, an incredibly violent explosion shook the conference hall.
Chaotic screaming and the furious din combined to shatter everyone's nerves.
Currently, the chaos had not spread to where Azusa stood in the foremost row of the judges' seats.
Not yet.
However, at the current progression, this panic would undoubtedly lead to a stampede with lots of injuries. At this time, Azusa had no idea what to do or how to do anything and could only stand there frozen.
"A-chan, A-chan...... Student Council President Nakajou!"
Someone on stage reprimanded Azusa.
Hurriedly clambering to her feet, Azusa raised her head to the stage.
Standing on one side of the stage, Mayumi took several steps forward, caught Azusa's eyes, and spoke to her.
"At this rate, this will descend into a panic with lots of people getting hurt. So please use your power to settle everyone down."
"Eh!?"
Mayumi's words caused Azusa's eyes to widen.
This was not because she didn't comprehend her meaning.
"But, that......"
Azusa's magic could interfere with the mentality of others and clamp down on panic, making it particularly effective in these situations. However, mental interference magic was a highly restricted branch of magic and was not something adolescents could wield with impunity.
"Isn't your strength reserved for precisely these sorts of situations? Not my power or Mari or Suzune's power, Azusa, right now we need your power."
At this moment, Mayumi wasn't messing around with her words. She said Suzune, not "Rin-chan", and Azusa, not "A-chan".
Normally, decorum demanded that she refer to them as "Ichihara" and "Nakajou", but she could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times Mayumi called her by name. Based on this point alone, Azusa could tell that Mayumi was deathly serious and was earnestly requesting her to use mental interference magic "Azusa Yumi".
"Don't worry about it, I'll take responsibility. The Saegusa name isn't just for show."
Mayumi adorably winked in order to ease Azusa's mind. Calling on the "Saegusa" name was to hold off those in power who could just stand and fret at this chaos.
She could understand that much. That sentence was no lie.
She didn't want to put all the burden onto Mayumi, but this wasn't the time to say that.
Azusa vigorously nodded and turned out, directing her gaze to the squabbling audience.
She extended her hand to the necklace around her neck and pulled out a small pendant from her collar that could have been hidden in an elementary school student's hand. Azusa unclasped the pendant and held it in her left hand.
She took a deep breath and flooded the pendant with psions.
This pendant was the core component of a CAD that was designed to support exactly one type of magic. Only one Activation Sequence was recorded within and, since only one function was necessary, all other components needed for switching Activation Sequences like buttons or monitors were excluded to form a miniature magic staff.
A magic wand forged for one person and equipped with one magic spell.
Azusa activated emotional interference magic "Azusa Yumi". —A clear note that could be heard from front to back spread across the conference hall.
This was a hallucinatory sound.
It was not air, but a subconscious sound of the tides.
It was not the oscillation of psions, but waves of pushions.
Everyone thirsted for the clear reverberation the same way a traveler stranded in a murky, foul swamp felt the first drop of rain and raised their head to wait for the next one. Their entire consciousness was concentrated here.
Before the first echo could disappear into the aether, everyone was subconsciously looking forward to the next note.
People desperately wished for the next sound.
At some point, cognitive processing stopped and listening was all that remained.
This lasted for a mere 3 seconds.
This paltry amount of time was all that was needed for people to switch from a state of panic to a trance.
"I am Saegusa Mayumi, former Student Council President of First High."
The suspended consciousness of the audience was drawn by Mayumi's voice that was amplified by the speakers.
"Right now, we are under attack."
The voice that captured everyone's attention dropped another sentence that sent everyone's expression from blankness to a state of shock.
"An unidentified vessel moored in the harbor is launching rocket attacks. In support of this, mobile forces concealed in the city have also launched their assault."
These were truly astounding words.
For Azusa, if Mayumi hadn't been the one saying this, she would definitely have been skeptical.
But, just as Mayumi herself had said, "the Saegusa name isn't just for show".
If it was her, then she would definitely get wind of the news and based on her standing, she couldn't be sprouting lies. No matter how ludicrous her words were, they must be the truth.
"Earlier, the malefactors we captured should be the invader's comrades. Based on the earlier sounds of explosions, the target is likely the Magicians and magic technology in this building."
Mayumi paused briefly when she reached this point and swept her gaze over the crowd.
Everyone was waiting on her words with bated breath.
"As everyone knows, this conference hall has an underground tunnel which serves as an evacuation route to an emergency shelter."
No one shifted his or her gaze from Mayumi.
"The emergency shelter has the capacity to hold us all."
They hung on to every one of her words.
"However, the underground shelter can only protect against natural disasters and air strikes."
Not just the students, even the adults were completely focused on her.
"It cannot stand against land based military forces."
Even the "powers that be", so used to ordering people around, were listening in.
"We suspect that the enemy has invested Magicians in the units. Unfortunately, the outlook for a shelter to last against magical attacks is not positive."
Now, everyone present knew of Mayumi. Regardless of whether it was her appearance, her competition performance, or the meaning behind her name.
That was why not a single person derided her depressing outlook as "child's play". Taking in account the might of the "Saegusa" name, even the educators gave Mayumi free rein here.
"That being said, fleeing into the crossfire on the streets would be even more dangerous. However, right now the most dangerous option is to remain here."
Immediately, the conference hall quieted.
Mayumi was not foolish enough to waste this opportunity.
"Representatives from each school please begin gathering students from your school. Whether we are going to flee to the shelter or flee the conference hall, there is no time to waste."
A wholly different ruckus spread across the hall. The voices calling out to one another were different in that there was an orderly sequence to them.
"My apologies to the individuals unaffiliated with the nine schools, but please make your own way to safety. I regret to say that we do not possess the power to guarantee everyone's safety."
This may seem like a ruthless statement, but there were no objections or catcalls. Everyone present was related to magic on some level, so when compared to normal plebeians, they generally approached the "abnormal" crowd.
"If you're heading for the shelter, please take the underground passage immediately. If you wish to flee, there are reports that the coast guard is sending ships to the Mizuho Docks."
Mayumi bowed and cut the mic before turning to Azusa.
"A-chan, I'll leave everyone to you. Teachers, please assist Nakajou."
The teachers with Tsudzura at their head nodded. On the other side, Azusa's eyes widened.
"Eh? President, no, Mayumi?"
Seeing Azusa bubbling with questions with widened eyes, Mayumi smiled and nodded.
"It's perfectly clear. A-chan, you're the current Student Council President for First High. Don't worry, I know you can do it. After all, you were the one I personally trained."
Mayumi winked before turning away and hurrying to the resting area with Suzune and company.
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