Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 9 - Visitor (I) - Chapter 7.3

Miyuki's prowess with cooling and freezing magic was unrivaled.

However the nature of her magic came from shutting down the motion of molecular vibration, and wasn't derived from the harnessing of snow spirits or ice demons. Of course, it wasn't like in those settings common to fantasies aimed at young kids, where receiving the patronage of such a spirit granted immunity to cold. The point being.

Cold is cold.

Riding tandem in a bike in the midst of this midwinter night, there was no way she wouldn't have been cold.

So—

(There's no problem in being like this, right...it's cold after all.)

While clinging tightly to Tatsuya, pressing her cheek to his back as well as her chest, Miyuki repeated such an excuse in her head.

—Is there any point in making excuses by this time? Was something that was best left unsaid.

Flicking a glance at the headlights of the motorcycle right behind him, if anyone had seen his expression, it could only have been described as 'mischievous'.

From his position he was unable to see Miyuki at all behind Tatsuya's shadow, but he was perfectly able to predict what her actions, condition and expression would be. To him, the feelings the siblings had for each other were something quite of interest.

As the corners of his mouth twitched, he felt a rising tension from next to him. It seemed like his smile had been misinterpreted.

"There's no need for such concern. As long as you follow the agreement, I have no intention of harming you."

"...Considering the position I'm in, are you really telling me to believe that?"

Her eyes fixed forwards, Lina replied in a harsh voice. No, rather than 'harsh' it would be 'stiff'.

"Well, I can see where you're coming from."

Caught between Yakumo and his disciple in the back seat of the sedan, if anyone had seen her position they would no doubt have assumed she was being escorted. Knowing the power of the men sitting beside her, that feeling only deepened.

Yakumo had taken out two Stars in the blink of an eye.

Without any one of them noticing at all, that black clad— ninja had suddenly appeared right behind them. The back of the man gripping the wheel had no openings either.

Even at three to one odds she didn't think they would have been opponents she couldn't defeat, but she knew she would most likely not escape unscathed either.

"But you can be at ease."

Perceiving her tension, and estimating that it stemmed from her vigilance and hostility, Yakumo spoke in a relaxed tone.

For Lina, that was even more disconcerting.

"I have no interest in what happens between you and Tatsuya-kun. My only interest is the proper handing down of our secrets. All I ask of you is, like I said earlier, to not reveal what we taught the Kudou to others. So that those who are not privileged to know do not learn."

"...You don't care even for your national interests?"

"Nope."

"Not even world peace? The future of humanity?"

"Not in the least. I'm a recluse."

"You're a magician as well, aren't you!"

Yakumo's words were simply irreconcilable with Lina's values. And so, she unnecessarily wasn't able to believe him.

"I am a shinobi. Not a magician."

Yakumo replied to her in a calm voice. A decisive refutation.

"...Aren't Ninjutsu users a type of magician?"

"Just because we can use magic, doesn't mean we must become magicians."

She knew what he meant.

She could understand.

Yet even so, Lina could not agree to what Yakumo said.

"In the same way, just because one became a magician doesn't automatically place an obligation upon them to serve their country."

She couldn't agree, but for some reason, she couldn't object either.

The car Lina rode in stopped somewhere at a riverbank.

'Somewhere' was in the sense that Lina had no idea where it was, but guessing from their travel time it should still be within the city or the suburbs. Lina was surprised that such a metropolitan city like Tokyo still had such places.

No lights were visible at all.

With the sedan's headlights turned off, as well as the lights of the bike behind, the place was pitch black.

With no moon, and only the starlight to guide them through the darkness, Tatsuya and Miyuki walked up.

All of a sudden, Lina was attacked by anxiety.

Her CAD had not been taken, but she no longer had her transmitter or communications terminal. She hadn't been subject to a body check, but all her equipment had been guessed and she had had no choice but to obediently hand them over.

She was assured that they would be returned to her later, but for now, she had no way of contacting her compatriots as to her whereabouts. A satellite should have been monitoring her movements, but the ones taking her here were skilled in the art of 'Ninjutsu', well known for their illusionary shadow magic. It was more than plausible they could fool even military grade high resolution satellite cameras.

—It was possible that she had been brought to this isolated place to be confined. In the worst case, she might even be assassinated.

Lina tightly squeezed the CAD at her breast through her clothes.

—In that worst case, she would have to play her trump card.

"I can pretty much guess what you're thinking, but we're seriously going to keep our word so relax."

It took all Lina had to not cry out. Being spoken to so suddenly, she couldn't suppress a shiver. When she turned around, she saw Tatsuya, who had closed in enough for his expression to be visible under the starlight, laughing silently.

"I'm just reminding you of the conditions. If you answer the questions I have, we'll drop you off at the station."

Being the other party, it was a very outrageous laugh.

"That's only if you win."

Naturally, Lina's voice was sour.

"Of course. In that case, we'll carry out the terms as well."

His shamelessness, not decreasing in the least, was irritating her more and more, yet Lina knew that getting all worked up here would only worsen her position.

Tightly clenching her teeth, she set her eyes behind Tatsuya — towards Miyuki.

Eyes overflowing with fighting spirit stared back. Miyuki too was already brimming with motivation.

"Now then...Lina may be dissatisfied with this, but the referee will be Master. All he'll be refereeing however is deciding who wins and who loses, so he won't be pausing the match or interfering partway through."

"I knew that there would be no one but enemies here from the start, so there's nothing to be dissatisfied over."

"That's very good grace."

Tatsuya coolly cruised over her sarcastic comment.

Her frustration had been boiling over, yet now Lina suddenly felt calm.

"Then, this humble servant Kokonoe Yakumo will be your referee for this match. The victory conditions are when one party surrenders, or is rendered incapable of further combat. No killing please. That would only lead to ill-will."

"Understood. That's perfectly fine."

"I'll finish everything long before that."

Miyuki nodded quietly, while Lina gave a spirited agreement.

While their attitude was contrasting, their absolute faith in their own victory was shared.

Everything was on edge.

"Then, shall we start?"

"Master, one moment please."

Unfortunately, someone who was totally incapable of reading the mood was there. Absolutely ignoring the stares Yakumo and Lina were sending him, Tatsuya walked to his little sister.

He approached to within two feet of her, yet still didn't stop.

"Um, Onii-sama?"

Without replying to Miyuki, who was confusedly unable to guess her brother's intent,

One foot.

He continued on.

He finally stopped close enough to be able to hold Miyuki if he stretched out,

—and embraced her.

"Ummmumumum."

Being held so tightly at the waist, Miyuki blushing furiously began to panic. A third party would probably have found that odd, considering how much she had been hugging him just earlier, but to her hugging and being hugged were two entirely separate things.

Tatsuya's other hand caressed Miyuki's head.

Miyuki was no longer capable of sound.

Running his fingers through his sister's hair,

Drawing her face which had ceased all resistance to his lips,

Tatsuya gave Miyuki a kiss on the forehead.

When he finally let go, Miyuki's wide-eyed face was revealed.

There was no embarrassment, only frozen shock.

"This...why..."

"You showed me how to do this earlier, and while it's imperfect, I remembered the gist of it. Although it's only temporary, I restore your power to you. Please compete to your heart's content."

"...Yes!"

At her brother's words, in utter earnest, Miyuki nodded with an indomitable smile.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, master."

Lina, standing next to Yakumo, was making a face as if she had eaten too much and gotten heartburn.

"Lina as well...I know that was rude, but you don't mind a few moments right?"

"You're one to talk...no, it's fine."

Replying to the (in her eyes) now utterly indifferent Tatsuya, Lina answered in her most sarcastic voice.

Miyuki didn't follow behind. It seemed she didn't intend to engage in close combat.

From Lina's observations so far and in the light of this, Lina determined that Miyuki was a typical magician deficient in physical abilities. For the rogue magician executioner 'Sirius', they were the easiest type of prey.

(I'll end this in one blow!)

There had been no starting signal yet, but Lina had no intention of waiting for any such thing. There had been nothing in the arrangements about a signal after all.

Close the gap with self-acceleration magic, neutralise the opponent's magic with Data Fortification, then eliminate in CQC.

Then while Tatsuya and the others were distracted by Miyuki's loss, use high speed magic to make an escape.

That was the plan.

However, she could only let out a silent cry.

One step faster than she could activate magic, a tempest was rushing in.

The moment Lina leaped aside, a torrent of frozen air flashed past. As she raised her head, this time she saw a blizzard howling in from the side. By manipulating air density and creating a wall of vacuum, Lina was able to weather the storm somehow.

"I guess this much isn't enough."

As Miyuki muttered to herself, the night air began to gather around her.

Lina clenched her teeth.

In terms of activation speed, Lina wins over Miyuki.

For Miyuki to have made the first move, meant she must have set up earlier.

Not to mention the two volleys just earlier were sequences designed to maximise speed at the cost of power.

Lina felt shamed twice over.

Both at her intention to exploit her opponent's naivety, and being caught off guard in turn.

She had thought she could win even with powered down attacks and, in fact, she had come dangerously close.

(But now it's my turn!)

The gap was likely in order to cast a stronger magic for the decisive blow. But that would be fatal, Lina thought. As she did so, she simultaneously activated self-acceleration and Data Fortification.

By cladding herself in self-acceleration magic which lowered both gravity and inertia, Lina rushed straight towards Miyuki. Her right hand grasped what had looked like decorative buttons on her jacket.

She hadn't taken out her gun, but this much should be more than enough to take out a high school girl.

Then the moment Lina was five meters away, her intuition screamed for her to halt.

She planted her feet firmly to resist a gale which suddenly threatened to pull her body in.

She applied a static magic on herself to further counter that drag force.

In that position, she triggered movement magic on the buttons in her hand. The buttons, empowered to move at 300 km/h without acceleration, slowed and dropped to the ground before they had traveled even one meter.

Miyuki's senses had felt Lina blazing in faster than the eye could see.

Although she couldn't draw data directly from the dimension of information like Tatsuya, it was possible to perceive the traces of event modification left by magic. This was something any magician could do at varying levels, and anything a magician could do Miyuki could do at the highest level.

Self-acceleration was a magic which caused event modification on the user themselves. Therefore by tracking the traces of event modification in real time, it was possible to determine the position of the caster. Miyuki had learned how to exploit that weakness of self-acceleration from Tatsuya.

Everything so far had proceeded just as planned. Her saying "I guess this much isn't enough" had been deliberate, a suggestive ploy to provoke the other side.

The clincher would be this next magic.

([Deceleration Zone])

The technique itself was rather commonplace. It was a magic widely used both in Japan and abroad to slow the movement of a target object.

But when Miyuki uses this magic, her targets can extend even to gas molecules.

The movement speed of gas molecules is proportional to its pressure. To be precise (although this is still just an approximation) in an enclosed space, the pressure of a gas is proportional to the square of its movement speed. By forcibly decelerating the movement speed of air molecules in a region the pressure falls, and the resulting pressure gradient causes air from the surrounding space to move in.

Rapidly and forcefully.

Not just air, but people and objects were sucked in as well.

If a person caught in this had insufficient power to oppose the magic, they would be deprived of their movement speed and trapped.

And if the person had sufficient interference power to shut down the magic, the greatly decelerated gas molecules would suddenly regain their speed and expansion back to an appropriate pressure would occur; in other words, an explosion.

A magic which originally was only used in battle as a second option to reduce the impact of projectiles when lacking the power to outright stop them, had been wrought into a two-fold anti-personnel magic by Miyuki's overwhelming magic power.

However, Lina held her ground against the raging suction force.

What she had shot out had looked like ornamental buttons.

Merely given some initial velocity there was no way those clumps of resin could break through Miyuki's Deceleration Zone, but more importantly, they had clued Lina in as to exactly just what kind of magic Miyuki was using.

(If that's the case!)

Always be prepared two, three steps ahead of your opponent, was something repeatedly taught to her by Tatsuya on a daily basis. If the plan to draw the opponent into Deceleration Zone and eliminate her there failed, she had planned strategies to take her down outside the area as well.

Whilst doubling over the inside zone, Miyuki released the outer area.

The forcibly slowed air molecules returned to their original speed.

The air, once contained in a small area was freed in a great rush of pressure, and engulfed Lina in a blast.

The traces of a large scale phenomena alteration disappeared.

According to her instinct, Lina flattened herself on the ground and cast an objective barrier above.

A blast wave washed over the top of the shield. The high-speed air flow threatened to lift her shield and all off the ground, and after holding by applying major inertial increase magic several times whilst remaining prone, Lina raised her head and looked for an opportunity to counterattack — or rather to assess the situation.

Lina had no intention of leisurely(?) waiting for a chance to arise.

Up to this moment, she had been entirely on the back foot.

Her opponent was a mere high school student, while she was the captain of the world's strongest unit.

Naturally such pride had been there, but now more than that, the awareness that she was losing ground brought its own mental pressure.

If she didn't retaliate at least a little, she would be overpowered.

Unless one has an overwhelming defensive magic, in a magic battle offense was stronger than defense. So went the theory.

Lina felt the wind pressure weaken. It wasn't so much due to cancellation of the magic as the blast which occurred as a result; after all that compressed air had been released, it was little wonder the wind had dropped.

Lina gripped her combat knife in her right hand.

Her gun had been taken, but this knife capable of operating 'Molecular Divider' had not.

The armament device of the magic developed by the previous Sirius, and now the trump card of the Stars.

When materialised, this magic, similar to an extended virtual area, must surpass the opponent's interference power.

Furthermore, since winning by halves wasn't an option, it would actually have to be a rank higher.

At the very least however,

(This should be enough to get Miyuki's attention!)

With her left hand which was still flat on the ground, she scattered daggers where Miyuki couldn't see.

She canceled her inertial increase, then rising up at full speed,

(Molecular Divider)

On her knee, she swung her knife.

She activated the virtual area almost simultaneously. At that time, Lina felt an overwhelming interference strength surpassing anything she had ever seen burst into the space between her and Miyuki.

The virtual area, in the midst of being formed, was overrun by the torrent of interference.

She knew that she would be stopped. It might even be said she had counted on it.

"Dancing Blades!"

Even before confirming that Molecular Divider had been disabled, Lina activated her next magic.

Her discreetly scattered daggers rose and flew forwards in the blink of an eye.

By grazing the ground, they avoided the space dominated by Miyuki.

(If you're able to stop four blades attacking from the front and back in this darkness, please go ahead and try!)

Sensing magic tinged objects closing in at high speed Miyuki canceled her offensive magic sequence partway, and switched to an area defensive magic.

The daggers approaching Miyuki lost their flight momentum and fell to the ground.

Her magic which indiscriminately defended against all directions was more difficult than one which targeted an area, far more difficult than one which targeted individual objects, yet Miyuki as she was now could pull it off with ease.

It could even stop this attack filled with the magic power of the Sirius, Lina.

If her control had been tied up in Tatsuya's seal as usual, it would have been hard for her to defend against that.

She most likely wouldn't have been able to manage the control needed for such a dense technique.

If she had challenged Lina to a battle alone, she would have lost alone...thinking that, Miyuki offered a prayer of gratitude in her heart.

(Onii-sama is watching over me...I won't lose. I can't lose!)

Seeing her elaborately devised surprise attack crushed through sheer power, Lina felt a rising sense of both trepidation and exhilaration.

Her mind suddenly returned to that saccharine sweet, heartburn inducing sight from earlier.

At that time, she had thought he was merely messing around with the fight.

But at that time, Tatsuya had certainly whispered something to Miyuki.

Thinking about it, it was fully possible Tatsuya had been informing her about 'Dancing Blades'.

She had seen Tatsuya decompose five incoming blades at once.

It was not a sequence for any intermolecular force neutralising magic that she knew, but from the results, she guessed that it must have somehow undone the bonds holding molecules together.

But that wasn't the point.

What was critical was that it had targeted multiple projectiles closing in at the same time, and dealt with them at the same time. What had stopped her attack, was not Miyuki's strength alone.

(I see...so he won't make a move, but he'll go ahead and speak. Not bad!)

Miyuki thought.

I absolutely cannot lose.

Lina thought.

I'll have to go full force.

The two of them cried out at the same time.

"Miyuki!" "Lina!"

"This is it!"

The world froze.

The world burned.

The magic of the two repainted reality itself, as two worlds collided.

Glinting with crystal light, an endless plain of ice and snow.

Roaring with thunder, an infernal storm of fire and lightning.

A hell which froze the air in eternal winter, 'Niflheim'.

A hell which consumed the air in scorching purgatory, 'Muspelheim'.

On one hand, an area magic which slowed down the vibration of gas molecules freezing not only water vapour and carbon dioxide, but right down to nitrogen as well.

On the other hand, an area magic which decomposed gas molecules into plasma, and furthermore, by forcibly separating the ions from the electrons, created a high energy electromagnetic field.

The sheer cold cooled the plasma back into gas, and the molten plasma reverted the frozen air.

The fury of the two powers now clashing created an aurora on the ground.

It really was a very pretty sight.

Almost enough to make one forget that life and death hung in the balance.

Tatsuya, his finger on his CAD trigger, carefully scrutinised the scene. If either side lost control, he would immediately erase the spells.

He expected substantial difficulty in canceling the magic of these two at the same time, but he was a magician who specialised in restoration and decomposition. He fully intended to surpass such absurdity.

In the midst of that aurora, as fire and ice met in what seemed like an eternity of mutual destruction, in less than a minute the tide was revealed.

The cold air was expanding, and the plasma was shrinking.

In the first place, Miyuki was a magician who excelled in large scale magic over a wide area.

On the other hand Lina's power was focused on individual objects, excelling in severe magic on those.

From the beginning, this sort of engagement had favoured Miyuki.

Adding to that however Lina had already fought the vampire and then Tatsuya, making this her third consecutive battle.

Even though she herself was not aware of symptoms, fatigue was already setting in.

With her opponent holding the advantage and herself handicapped, the result was clear.

The match between Miyuki and Lina had never been a competition of magic power, but was to be decided by who could keep calm and make the most rational decisions.

"Kuh..."

She herself likely knew this as well. Lina groaned painfully.

And moved her hand to her back. She pulled out another armament device. Multicasting in this situation, however skilled a magician she may be, was pure suicide.

"That's enough, you two!"

Shouting out, Tatsuya pulled the trigger of his CAD.

His 'Gram Dispersion' dispelled both Miyuki's 'Niflheim' and Lina's 'Muspelheim' at the exact same time.

The cold and hot air rapidly mixed, creating a gale which would cause both frostbite and burns. Bracing himself for the severe pain he was sure was incoming, the storm of sheer cold and scorching heat was blocked right before him by an invisible wall.

"Onii-sama! That was far too reckless!"

Her face pale, Miyuki came running up.

Stunned, Lina could only stare.

For those two, protecting themselves from the thermal aftermath was a piece of cake regardless of fatigue. However, that sort of thing was impossible for Tatsuya. It was at times like these that Tatsuya, who looked with indifference on his own talents, was somewhat envious of the skills of ordinary magicians.

"My my...Tatsuya-kun, what will you do now?"

Having made no move to defend himself yet nevertheless appearing unharmed, Yakumo spoke in mock surprise. —No, looking at how muddy his disciple following after him was, he had likely dived into the ground. The so called Earth Release jutsu.

"Master...what do you mean?"

He knew how Yakumo had escaped the heat and cold, but he didn't understand the question. Towards Tatsuya who had replied straightforwardly, or rather reflexively, Yakumo showed a truly surprised face.

"Well, you know...the victory conditions had been decided as when one side surrenders, or is rendered incapacitated. This was a match originally conceived by you, and now that you've gone and wrecked it, what will you do?"

Tatsuya had no words to reply with.

In that situation, if he had not intervened it would have gone against the condition of 'no killing' and so he had no regrets concerning the intervention itself.

But the entire match after all had simply been an excuse to slip around regulations.

The fact was, their treatment of Lina was a very messy situation.

As an actual soldier, Lina had guaranteed rights as a prisoner of war. If she had remained incognito that wouldn't have been an issue, but Tatsuya had heard from her own mouth that she was the 'Stars captain', and a 'USNA army major' not to mention acknowledging it himself before that. Her rights as a POW couldn't be ignored.

Even without a legal state of war, practically speaking anyone captured during a military operation had the rights of a POW. Adding to that, Tatsuya's group as civilians technically weren't allowed to apprehend the soldier Lina.

If he could prove his connection to the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion they could take her prisoner, but unfortunately there was no chance his highly classified status would be brought to light over an incident of this scale.

If they interrogated or detained Lina without legitimate right, they could only offer the USNA political excuses. This wasn't even beginning to consider punishment.

Of course on the other hand, they could raise the issue of Lina attacking civilians, but unfortunately a magician's rights to be protected as a civilian were still greatly restricted. In a court of international law, Tatsuya and co would be heavily disadvantaged.

Yet that being said, considering the future, there was no way they could just let her go without doing anything. How in the world will we sort out this situation...Tatsuya thought as he felt a headache approach.

"It's fine as my loss."

However, there was no need for that worry. A helping hand extended from the most unexpected place.

"At that moment, I most certainly was being overpowered. If I had transferred capacity to another magic in that state, I likely could have been overwhelmed by Miyuki's magic and lost my life. At the least, I would have been in no condition to fight further."

Turning to Tatsuya and Miyuki, Lina gracefully acknowledged her own defeat.

"So it's my loss, Miyuki. Tatsuya, I have no intention of any further undignified resistance."

However, the feeling of relief was premature.

"It was a promise. I'll answer whatever you ask. However..."

"However what?"

"However, my replies will only be 'yes' or 'no'. Anything which cannot be answered by that, I cannot disclose. You interfered and changed the conditions agreed to between Miyuki and I, so let me change our conditions my way this much Tatsuya."

She was rather more stubborn than he had thought.

At Lina who was smiling so radiantly one would hardly think she had lost, Tatsuya could only nod.

(To be continued)

Afterword

Once again, truly, thank you very much to those who read "Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei". For the first-timers, I would like to take this opportunity to say please put up with me until the end.

The subtitle this time is "Visitor Arc". A variety of "visitors" pulls the protagonists into a maelstrom of incidents. A bigwig guest character also makes their appearance. The protagonists also have a victim amongst them. I showed, in this case, a complex development of a three-way struggle + a. It is also slightly like romance novels (feel free to object). This way, it will tell a slightly different story of magical high school students compared to the previous eight volumes, but I think it surely will be well received.

Now then, I shall leave everybody with something unacceptable. ?I am sorry but this time, the story is divided into three [(I), (II) & (III)] separate volumes. There will surely be some backlash from those who say, "but the Reminiscence Chapter was one volume". I could not fit the "Visitor Chapter" into just two volumes. No, rather, to Dengeki Bunko, (as long as there is not too much content) there is no maximum page count so there was the possibility that I could have finish it off I think but… due to various circumstances, it ended up as you see. You may have to wait a little more than usual until the episode’s end but, accordingly, it is my intention and thought to create something that everyone will be able to fully enjoy.

The schedule for this one has been tighter than usual. I predict the schedule for (II) and (III) will be busy. To all those involved, I apologise in advance. And I also thank you. So that this story may reach all those who continue to read it with pleasure without further delay, please, definitely cooperate with me next time as well.

Now then, to all the readers who took this book in hand, once again, my gratitude. I pray that next time too, the "Visitor Chapter (II)" will catch your eyes.

Satou Tsutomu

Notes

1. Xenophobic: Anti-foreigner

2. Kokonoe: 九重 includes the character for 'nine'.

3. Tatemae: 建前 eg PR, the thing from Henneko