Chapter 6
The swung fist impacted another one.
The physical positions switched in an instant, with offense and defense seamlessly switching between one another.
Tatsuya and Yakumo were engaged in their daily morning bout.
They weren’t just taking turns battering one another.
Besides direct attacks, there were also left and right hooks that came from above and below, karate chops and palm strikes. Avoiding the attack, seizing the opponent’s extended limb, all while fending off the opponent’s other limb that was seeking to dislodge the counterattack at the last possible second.
In terms of martial arts right now, Tatsuya and Yakumo were equals.
Both of them extended their right arms.
With both attacks simultaneously missing one another, the two of them were now in a position where their backs were to one another.
Tatsuya shifted his center of gravity and raised the leg he was originally putting all of his weight on and took a step forward.
The expected elbow strike failed to arrive.
He turned.
Just like Tatsuya, Yakumo had pulled back to a safe distance.
Seeing that they both used the same sort of attack, executed the same evasive maneuver and ultimately created an unnecessary gap between the two of them, the obligatory wry smile – There was no time for any of that.
Tatsuya stepped towards Yakumo.
In terms of techniques, the two of them were neck to neck.
Tatsuya also held the edge in terms of physical prowess.
Strategy was where he fell far behind Yakumo.
In summation, the only path to victory lay in a continuous stream of attacks from Tatsuya to avoid giving his opponent any opportunity to devise any stratagems. Any situation that created unnecessary separation between the two left Tatsuya in an unavoidably inferior position. As soon as he stepped into the gulf and was prepared to swing his fist forward, Tatsuya felt that Yakumo’s presence was wavering.
Tatsuya had suffered quite a bit recently at the hands of this technique. He forcibly suppressed his frustration and activated Gram Demolition.
Yakumo’s wavering body quivered briefly before disappearing. Tatsuya’s Gram Demolition managed to nullify Yakumo’s ability.
Tatsuya fully extended his five senses and sought the location of Yakumo’s actual physical body.
Right? Or was it the left?
Even someone as strong as Yakumo shouldn’t have the time to sneak all the way behind him.
Tatsuya’s analysis was perfect.
But Tatsuya’s hypothesis was flawed.
Yakumo was standing right in front of him.
He was thirty yards behind the place Tatsuya aimed at.
It only took an instant to land the decisive blow.
The forestalled fist once again flew out.
Normally, this was an unreachable distance, but Yakumo had also taken into consideration that the moment the blow landed, there was still the possibility of mutual defeat.
Except, Yakumo’s body was not advancing with his fist.
Completely blindsided by the fist that was displaced from the body, Tatsuya’s body was flung into the air by Yakumo’s throw.
"Whew, scary, scary."
Yakumo finally released Tatsuya’s joint after throwing Tatsuya to the ground while espousing words that didn’t sound like he had been holding back.
Since his wrist had been captured, Tatsuya was unable to execute a perfect landing. While he managed to dull the impact and prevent any fractures, he still took the blow and needed to cough a few times in order to restore his breathing to normal.
"...Master, that was?"
Hearing the words Tatsuya spoke after finally getting to his feet, Yakumo rubbed his temple with one hand as he replied back. –Probably because he was wiping away the sweat.
"Hm, I didn’t think you would be able to break through Mirage Cloak."
While his tone remained as though he were joking, his astonishment was dead serious. His feint with the after image wasn’t something that was planned ahead of time and was a spontaneous creation. That was because Yakumo never imaged that Tatsuya could break through Mirage Cloak.
"So that technique is called Mirage Cloak, eh...Master, that’s no ordinary illusion technique, is it?"
"So you did see it."
Although Yakumo was sighing in an exaggerated manner, he failed to hide the fact that he was highly pleased. –Most likely, he never planned on hiding it in the first place.
"Your ability to read an opponent’s technique may be a threat to your enemies, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way to take advantage of this."
"Like your earlier illusion?"
"Mirage cloak was a technique originally designed to shield against eyes that are not of this world.
As for its design.... Well, you go ahead and ponder on your own. If it’s you, you should be able to grasp it in an instant."
Tatsuya didn’t tell Yakumo to stop beating around the bush. Part of the reason was because asking about the techniques of others was forbidden, but what drew his attention even more was Yakumo’s choice of words.
"Master."
"Hm? What’s with this serious expression all of a sudden.... Well, you’re always like that, but now you’ve got that scary voice too."
There was a fine line between praise and mockery when it came to that line about always wearing a serious expression, which Tatsuya finally chose to ignore because he was unable to decipher which one it was – which meant he did nothing whatsoever.
Somehow, Yakumo’s expression seemed less than pleased, which probably denoted that he made the right decision. Furthermore, Tatsuya wasn’t in the mood to play along with his jokes (?).
"Earlier, you spoke of things that were out of this world."
"Ah, so that’s what this is about."
There was no need to complete the half-finished sentence.
His reply left no room for misinterpretation, as if he had predicted that Tatsuya would ask this question.
"Our enemies are not restricted to just humans. It isn’t that rare for some of them to strike a bargain with forces beyond this world."
While this was the expected answer based on their earlier conversation, this response ran counter to the knowledge he already had.
"However, one of my friends who is an Ancient Magic user claims that encounters with actual spirits are rare occurrences...."
Tatsuya wasn’t saying this because he believed one person over the other, but because he wanted an answer that he could believe.
"I recall that Tatsuya-kun’s friend is the second son of the Yoshida Family. While his words are also true...in your case, I believe you didn’t consider the matter thoroughly enough."
Yakumo temporarily halted speaking there. After receiving the request to think things a little more thoroughly, Tatsuya immersed himself into a sea of considerations and arrived at a solution after a short period of time.
"Mikihiko’s words are correct, but at the same time, imperfect. Is this what you’re referring to? Actual run-ins with bona fide spirits are extremely rare, but incursions because someone else provided the impetus are not that infrequent, am I right?"
"I’ll give you the minimum passing grade."
As befitting his words, Yakumo’s expression was far from satisfied.
"Hm...I guess even a sage like Tatsuya-kun would fall prey to association bias and cognitive traps."
Apparently, the bar was set quite high and the scoring much more ruthless.
Even so, Tatsuya felt that it was too shameful (and not embarrassing) to be called a "sage" to the face and prayed that this would not be repeated.
It was a testament to how unruffled Tatsuya was when being praised in spite of his mistake.
Still, Tatsuya’s poise was brushed aside by Yakumo’s following words.
"You too should have had a brush or two against creatures that do not exist in this plane. In regards to what you modern magic practitioners refer to as SB Magic, what do you think they use as a medium?"
A small "Ah" escaped Tatsuya’s lips.
"I see you connected the dots. What modern magicians refer to as Spiritual Beings are legitimately 'creatures from another world'."
This was indeed a blind spot. Tatsuya focused on Yakumo as he continued to explain.
"Ah, conscious thought and self-awareness are both secondary. Bacteria does not have consciousness or self-awareness, but it is able to enter the human body and affect the operations of the human body enough to impact health. In addition, they even have the incomplete ability to self-replicate. However, even if they don’t fulfill the requirements of a 'living creature' at the intellectual level, that’s not enough to deny that they are 'living creatures' with the ability to infect the human body."
"You are saying that Spiritual Beings – nothing more than isolated spirit bodies removed from physical phenomena also qualify as 'creatures not of this world'?"
"Strictly speaking, they are more like creatures who do not possess a physical body. In addition, has anyone proven that spirits do not possess thought of their own?"
"...It is true that no one has done that. On the other hand, I know of one person who might."
Furthermore, Tatsuya had personally beheld that friend of his manipulating spirits right in front of him. In comparison to receiving orders and having the spirit decide on their own, it made more sense that the entire process was incorporated inside the Magic Sequence and the spirit possessed consciousness of its own.
"Master, may I ask another question?
"Go ahead."
"Modern magic believes that a Spiritual Being is an information body isolated within the information dimension from its natural phenomena. Since it originated from natural phenomena, it is possible to use Magic Sequences to recreate the original effect. This is the current theory behind Spiritual Magic."
"Pretty much. Modern magic is truly impressive if it’s capable of coming up with this kind of theory."
"Then, for the parasites that latch onto the spectral forms of human beings and cause mutations, where do their information bodies come from?"
After hearing Mikihiko’s words, Tatsuya suspected that Parasites were information bodies that could affect the human Eidos. Yakumo’s allusion to bacteria and diseases only served to deepen that impression.
"Parasites...what an English way of putting it. Alas, I am unaware of where these information bodies originate. Given that they are able to affect human spirit, I would imagine they came from a similar origin."
"Information bodies from the human spirit...."
"I believe, regardless of whether the monster comes in humanoid or beast form, the only thing that can cause the living creatures of this world to alter in such a fashion must come from demons originating from spirit information bodies. Afterwards, just as how the physical manifestation of these spirits have one step in our world and the alternate shadow of this world, demons originating from the spirit also straddle the mental landscape and the aether. The reason that spiritual encounters are infrequent is not because they don’t exist, but because we are not equipped with the ability to observe the human spirit. While this line of thinking would definitely be heresy in the eyes of London, these are my true feelings on the matter."
As expected of a major authority on Ancient Magic, that name wasn’t just for show.
It had been a long time since Tatsuya thought that way.
Two days later, Leo was still confined to bed. The average person would already be in a critical state of unconsciousness, so not being able to check out of the hospital for three to four days was considered normal. On the other hand, people would be more worried that he was pushing himself too hard or being reckless if he was actually able to leave the hospital so quickly.
At least, that’s what Tatsuya thought.
However, on some level, it was only natural that there were people who didn’t think that way.
"Leo-kun, how is he feeling...?"
Mizuki was precisely the type who didn’t think that way.
"He should be alright. They said that there were no signs of external injuries besides some bruises, and there’s no sign of fractures or internal pain. Unless you believe that Erika is lying?"
As a side note, Tatsuya actually suspected that the currently absent Erika was being less than truthful.
"That’s not what I meant...."
Still, based on Mizuki’s temperament, even if she harbored such a thought, there was no way she would be able to accuse her friend of lying.
Even if the person in question was not present, scratch that, it was precisely because the person in question was not present that she avoided talking behind their backs.
Also, the reason that Erika wasn’t in this place – the classroom before class begins, was not because she was watching over Leo at the hospital, but merely because she hadn’t arrived at school yet.
Yesterday, she also rushed in just before the bell rang.
Today was probably going to be a similar case.
"Now that you mention it, Mikihiko isn’t here yet either."
This comment was not made with any prior considerations in mind. This was only because while he was ruminating over why Erika hadn’t arrived yet, he just remembered that Mikihiko was still absent.
At those words, Mizuki’s face turned a little stiff.
Tatsuya quickly reined in his facial muscles that were on the verge of relaxing into a grin and debated over whether to say something or remain stoic. He truly believed that what Mizuki was worrying about could not possibly come to pass, but he was unable to judge if this was a good time to broach the subject.
"Good morning~."
"Good morning, Tatsuya, Shibata-san...."
Just as Tatsuya was bewildered over which action to take, Mikihiko and Erika entered the classroom wearing equally exhausted expressions.
Just as the two of them sat down, the display monitor flashed the signal that class had started.
During lunch break that day, Tatsuya and his group behaved a little differently than normal. Instead of going to the cafeteria, Erika was slumped over her desk. If one paid careful heed, small snores could be heard emanating from her.
There was no way to take a nap during class because they were logged on to their terminals, but now she was fast asleep.
Mikihiko said "his head was buzzing" and immediately left for the infirmary after finishing lunch. It appeared that his headache, and not murky state of consciousness, was also brought on by overexhaustion.
Since he expected this to be simple exhaustion, he left everything regarding Mikihiko to Mizuki.
Then, as for Tatsuya himself,
"Shizuku, sorry for calling you so suddenly."
"Hm, what’s up?"
"Well, Tatsuya-kun said he had something he absolutely had to ask Shizuku."
He asked Honoka to ring up Shizuku by phone.
"My apologies for calling you at such a late hour. I wanted to send an e-mail, but I felt that this definitely needed to be communicated directly."
Even smaller handheld devices in modern communication systems could depict images that were almost like face to face conversations. The image that came through his personal handheld device was Shizuku, who was also using a similar device to communicate. While it has only been a short month since they last saw one another, she seemed to have visibly matured a little bit.
"No worries. It’s only 8pm over here."
The young girl on screen squinted her eyes as she smiled. As usual, this was a rather vague expression to read, but by now they all knew that this smile meant she was exceptionally pleased.
Honoka and Miyuki vengefully glared at their own terminals.
Unfortunately, Tatsuya had put Shizuku on the main screen and vice versa. Personal handheld devices differed when viewing through the main screen or side screens in that it was difficult for the latter to differentiate facial expressions.
"So, what’s up?"
"Ah, I heard from Honoka that you also have a vampire incident near you. If you are aware of any details, I was wondering if you could divulge them."
Shizuku’s head lilted to one side on the screen.
"...Shizuku?"
"...Ah, that incident. Um, are there really vampires appearing in Japan?"
"What do you mean by Japan?"
"They’re still treating it like an urban legend over here in America. At the very least, there’s no media coverage."
Though somewhat different from myths or storybook creatures, vampires, or more accurately spirit-devouring demons, truly existed.
Given that an actual entity was relegated to a rumor, something must be afoot. In other words, this incident was still being censored in the USNA. There was now a possibility that the web was more complex than he previously imagined.
"Rumors are fine. I would like to know as much as possible."
"Did something happen?"
Shizuku leaned forward on the screen.
Tatsuya deliberated over when to inform the young girl on foreign soil by herself that one of their friends had been attacked.
"Leo was attacked by what we suspect to be a vampire."
Yet, he immediately made the decision that she had the right to know.
In the end, Tatsuya himself was unable to explain why he made that choice.
This may have been an instinctive response.
Alternately, he might have felt a premonition of what is to come.
"Fortunately, his life is not in danger."
"How...?"
Still, causing the person on the other side of the line to worry needlessly was not his original intention. Though Tatsuya added another sentence to help alleviate the shock Shizuku felt, they unfortunately seemed to fall on deaf ears.
"No, he’s actually fine, so please don’t have that look on your face, alright? Leo used his own strength to repel the perpetrator, except he was slightly injured by his opponent’s special powers during that time. Currently, he is resting in the hospital."
Tatsuya’s "comforting words" definitely failed to constitute anything remotely capable. Any words like hospital rest would only inflame her unease if she was of a weaker constitution.
"Really? Thank goodness...."
Thankfully, Shizuku was not the type to sink into despair or pessimism. Seeing Tatsuya give an energetic nod, she sighed in relief.
This type of conversation could only be achieved through video calls.
"I see, so that’s why Tatsuya-kun wants to know about anything related to this."
Tatsuya once again gave the affirmative to Shizuku’s words that were not phrased as a question.
"However, that doesn’t mean you have to investigate too much."
Before all that, he absolutely had to remind her about this.
"If you could tell me anything you are aware of, that would be more than enough."
"But you believe there are clues in America, right?"
"More like hunting for clues. To be honest, I believe that the perpetrator of the vampire incident came from America."
Shizuku was not the only one to betray her astonishment.
He hadn’t even informed Honoka or even Miyuki about this leap in logic.
"That's why I don’t want you to do anything dangerous, Shizuku. Definitely avoid doing anything that would put you at risk. Information from your end is not absolutely critical."
"...Got it, I won’t act rashly. So, please wait for me without any high expectations."
"I wanted to ask just in case, you are telling me not to have high hopes about collecting information and not about doing anything reckless, did I get that correct?"
"Of course."
Though Shizuku was neither an idiot nor a bumbling fool, he still didn’t feel completely at ease even after reminding her one more time.
Based on Erika’s knowledge, currently there were three organized groups taking action against the serial vampire incidents in the city.
The first group was headed by the police, with the police department’s special investigative unit (basically the Japanese version of the FBI) leading various public safety divisions on the hunt.
The second investigative group consisted of members from the Ten Master Clans, with the Saegusa Family leading the way and the Juumonji Family right behind them. They had the backing of the Internal Affairs (Cabinet Department of Information Control) and assisted the police in a half official, half civilian role. The only difference was that, contrary to normal, the "civilian" half held the advantage.
The third group was the private vigilante team assembled by the Chiba Family with the famous authority on Ancient Magic, the Yoshida Family, in support.
In short, this was Erika’s group.
"Wouldn’t it be better if we joined forces with our senpais...?"
The nature of the request from the Chiba Family to the Yoshida Family might not be official business, but the request for aid itself was completely by the book. In response, Mikihiko was immediately appointed as a liaison, to which he voiced the same question that he asked for at least the 10th time since yesterday.
Needless to say, the target for his words was his partner in this operation, Erika.
"I believe that we would be much more efficient if we had access to the Anti-Crime System provided by the street cameras."
"No worries. Even the police, who have the greatest access to the surveillance systems, have yet to sniff out a trail."
"Then in terms of manpower, I think that cooperating would be much better than trying to solo this."
"Which is why I asked you for help, right?"
"No, not just the two of us...."
Mikihiko gave up trying to convince the rapidly advancing Erika and quickly sprinted to catch up until he was standing shoulder to shoulder with her.
"We won’t find anything by just meandering around pointlessly...."
He was talking to himself, but also grumbling at the same time. This wasn’t a volume that Erika could hear, but she would probably ignore this even if she heard him. If pressed for a reason, this was the real reason why Mikihiko was selected as Erika’s companion.
The Yoshida Family was a clan that passed on Ancient Magic in the Shinto style. While not completely the same as families specializing as Onmyoshi, their combat prowess was still outstanding. Originally, this country traditionally allowed easy access to techniques among religious groups. Based on the fact that a Shinto style group was using talismans as a medium, they were not a stickler for the rules.
After hearing from Toshikazu that a scientific approach to the investigation yielded little results, the commanding officer from the Chiba Family (Toshikazu and Erika’s father), decided to rely on the skills that Ancient Magic users excelled in and formally requested cooperation from the head of the Yoshida Family, which was their closest friend among the Ancient Magic families. Since the head of the Chiba Family was a "mysterious eccentric" who personally believed that he was "useless without magic abilities", he probably felt that "the occult could only be combatted with supernatural powers".
Based on that, Mikihiko wasn’t accompanying Erika as a guide, but as a "fortune teller".
"Miki, which way?"
Coming to a stop at the intersection, Erika turned her head to ask.
I really wish you could be a little more polite, Mikihiko mentally sighed to himself as he placed the less than meter long, more like three feet long, wooden staff on the road. As a side note, after Lina decided to jump on the bandwagon for "Miki", he officially gave up trying to change it.
Rather than calling it a wooden staff, it was more like a thin, long wooden cane covered in tiny characters written in black ink. The tip of the cane was almost perfectly round.
He put a hand on one end to make sure it stood straight and then lightly removed his hand.
While it was perpendicular to the ground, the ground beneath was pavement, so a simple wooden cane would not be able to pierce through.
Yet, without any supporting struts, Mikihiko’s wooden cane was standing upright on the ground.
Mikihiko fell back three steps and swiftly turned around. The moment his body turned around, the wooden cane lost its unseen support and clattered to the ground.
With a sorrowful sound, it rolled across the ground and finally pointed towards the right of the intersection.
"This way...."
Erika walked in the direction that the cane pointed in. Forget waiting for her companion, she didn’t even bother to turn her head.
Mikihiko chuckled wryly and picked up his cane before hurrying after Erika. Just before catching up to her, he suddenly seemed to recall something and pulled out an information terminal from his inside pocket. The terminal was set on broadcast. After verifying that the terminal was still broadcasting his position to the information network that he registered at beforehand, he put it back into his pocket.
The wry grin vanished from Mikihiko’s face. He had a premonition that they were getting closer to their target.
He slowed down after closing to one step behind Erika and pulled out the terminal again while maintaining the same distance.
He called out a list of location names. After dragging another new entry into the list, Mikihiko replaced his terminal and walked alongside Erika as they advanced.
He wore a large overcoat and a hat pulled down by the brim. Beneath the hat, there was a gray cloth with a pattern of black bats that covered the entire face. Charles Sullivan, he who had been bestowed the name of Demus Second with Stars, was currently using all of his strength to flee for his life.
However, no matter how he tried, he could not escape the pursuit. The hunter chasing him was not from Stardust, but an executioner bearing the name of the brightest star in the night sky.
A Magician with flaming red hair and golden eyes chased after Sullivan. After transforming into Angie Sirius, Lina had already been immersed in psion noise several times. Every time, she felt that she was going to lose Sullivan’s trail,
"High Commander, take the next right."
But Sullivan’s location was completely locked on by the psion radar that was emanating from the mobile base disguised as a news van. In this regard, the USNA was a step ahead of Japan. With a radar that could identify psion wave signatures, it was practically impossible to escape from within the radar’s sensitivity range. Furthermore, so long as Lina had that miniature, hand held radar signal broadcaster, fleeing out of radar range was out of the question.
"Clara, Rachel, switch to Sullivan’s forefront."
Lina called out into her transmitter. Clara and Rachel were the nicknames for Hunter Q and R, respectively. Lina, who hated referring to people as letters, was the one who gave them those names, as they were not their true names. Of course, "Clara" was spelled with a "C" and not a "Q", but Lina didn’t really care since they were only nicknames.
Twenty to thirty meters ahead, the aura of magic combat intensified. The two of them were currently stalling Sullivan’s progress. For Lina, this was the simple matter of a single step. She was now completely in control of Sullivan’s position.
Despite the late hour, the streets were not entirely void of people. Still, this failed to warrant any concern when they were engaged in pursuit that rivaled the speed of a motorcycle. Completely ignoring the possibility of police intervention, Lina pulled out a small blade – a dagger.
Maybe it was because their movements were too fast, but the scattered pedestrians failed to take notice of the dagger. Also, the non-reflective dark coloring would have been inconspicuous even in broad daylight. Without bothering to hide her intention, Lina threw the dagger forward.
This dagger was a Weaponized Integrated CAD. Just the act of throwing was enough to activate Move-Type Magic, allowing the user to manipulate its thrown trajectory towards the target. The dagger Lina hurled changed directions several times in the air before flying towards Sullivan’s back.
An instant before the dagger began its flight, Sullivan was aware that even a vampire’s physical ability wasn’t enough to dodge the dagger in time. However, if it was himself with his mental powers restored, then he should be able to cast Trajectory Alteration in time.
With this in mind, Sullivan concentrated on the dagger and willed it to fly towards one of the hunters closing in on his turned back. Friendly fire indeed, Sullivan thought mentally. Now, the dagger en route should have altered its flight path towards the hunter’s back.
A soundless scream of terror slipped from Sullivan’s lips.
His Trajectory Alteration ability completely failed to affect Lina’s Move-Type Magic.
The difference in interference strength was simply too great.
Knowing that his ability was ineffective, Sullivan hurriedly raised his right arm, where Lina’s dagger sank deeply upon impact.
Sullivan’s body stiffened.
His back was slashed to ribbons by R’s combat knife.
Those would have been fatal injuries on a normal person.
Yet Sullivan swept his arms around and sent R and her combat knife flying.
At this time, the masked Magician appeared. Those golden pupils peeking out from behind the mask beheld Sullivan’s eyes.
Lina halted and unholstered a pistol.
All of a sudden, the shadows in the street released an electrical attack towards Lina.
Q, R, and Lina were completely unable to detect this surprise attack before it sprang.
Nonetheless, the electric shock merely gave off a flash and faded away before coming into contact with Lina’s body.
Lina had activated Wide Area Disruption on reflex and nullified the vampire’s magic.
During this time, Lina’s arm remained in its aiming position.
The muzzle was directly pointed at Sullivan’s heart.
Lina’s finger tightened on the trigger.
The bullet, reinforced by Data Fortification, ignored every semblance of defense and destroyed Sullivan’s heart.
Lina did not dwell on this success for very long and began moving again.
Her eyes were locked onto the gradually disappearing image of the vampire who released the electric attack.
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