Chapter 74

◊ ◊ ◊

The bridge of the camouflaged amphibious vessel, also known as the command center of the invasion force, was covered by a solemn and heavy atmosphere.

"The mobile force was completely destroyed...?"

The tactician had just finished giving his full report to the CO who was staring at him, but he still fulfilled his duty as an advisor.

"Based on the reports we received, an aerial unit using Flying-Type Magic attacked and destroyed our entire force."

"..."

"...Also, there is an unconfirmed report..."

"Of what?"

"Communications from the mobile forces mentioned "Mahesvara"."

"Did you say "Mahesvara"!?"

Over half of the crew on the bridge widened their eyes so much that it was incredible none of them popped from their sockets.

"There were troops in the mobile force who participated in the battle 3 years ago."

"..."

"...Did something happen?"

One of the remaining staff members questioned the tactician who made the report rather than the commanding officer.

"—What a pack of lies!"

However, the one who replied was the CO himself.

Three years ago, an unidentified demon smashed them at Okinawa.

Among the soldiers who returned through prisoner exchange, none dared to utter that title.

The upper echelons of the Great Asian Alliance military officially denied his existence.

They forbade the soldiers from mentioning that name. It was a nightmare better left buried.

Yet, no matter how they denied him with their lips, the nightmare had become reality and was baring its fangs at them.

◊ ◊ ◊

Fully utilizing the mobility of the flying detachment from the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion, they swept to the rear of the enemy forces engaging the volunteer forces and outflanked them.

Only 40 soldiers were committed to the front, which was only the size of a small company, but the movement speed of troops that defied conventional wisdom practically multiplied their numbers 2 to 3 times.

Also, there was no need to worry about casualties.

The pitch black armor that they wore — the Mobile Suit, prided itself in its bulletproof properties.

In addition, all troops in combat were highly capable Magicians, so their magic defenses from interference strength were also solid.

Even so, they couldn't block everything the enemy threw at them. Personal armor brought along its own weight limitations no matter what, and when compared with the armor on tanks or combat vessels, there was plainly going to be a durability difference. Hence some of them occasionally took hits.

Or were injured in explosions.

Sometimes their torso or abdomen was shot through.

However, so long as they did not die instantly they could not be stopped. Soldiers who fell in a pool of blood because of enemy fire would get back to their feet in the next instant as if nothing had happened.

There was no sign of injury on their bodies, nor were there bloodstains on their equipment. Not only that, there weren't even holes in their armor.

The tall soldier dual-wielding silver CADs pulled the trigger of the CAD in his left hand and the fallen soldiers would recover.

Released from the clutches of death, the soldiers attacked like Asura made flesh.

The invading troops could not believe their eyes.

They plainly dealt fatal damage, but that truth no longer existed.

They even suspected if they were daydreaming, or in the vilest of nightmares.

Their sense of reality was being eroded by the cause and effect relationship they beheld with their eyes.

The left hand holding the silver CAD was reviving the soldiers in black — even though they had no idea what was going on, all of the invading troops instinctively aimed their weapons at the soldier wielding the silver CAD.

However, not one shot struck their mark.

Bullets and shrapnel dissipated like mist in the air. Anything that the right hand pointed at faded away into dust.

— Divine Left —

Soldiers on the brink of death would revive when the left hand fell upon them.

— Demon Right —

Man and machine faded into oblivion before that right hand.

Three years ago, soldiers from Hong Kong used English phrases to get around the gag order from above. Today, that term spread like wildfire through the invading forces.

— Mahesvara! —

Their morale drowned in a rising tide of horror.

◊ ◊ ◊

The enemy's attack slackened at an unnatural time.

Based on Katsuto's estimation, there should be some time left before the enemy broke away and fled.

Still, even though this was ahead of schedule, Katsuto was not one to let this opportunity slip away.

"The enemy is falling back!"

Among the volunteer units formed primarily from the Magic Association, he definitely belonged to the youngest strata.

Irrelevant to this, Katsuto naturally held the command for this position.

There were people present with keen eyes that could see past his appearance to discern his true age.

Yet, no one objected to the leadership qualities that he possessed.

Of course, the fact that his Magic Power utterly surpassed anyone present played a dominating role in that decision.

Everyone present knew that had he not joined the battle, the side that would be pushed to the brink of disaster would be their own.

Nonetheless, it wasn't through his power alone. Power was actually the secondary reason.

The volunteers acknowledged Katsuto as their commander because his roar dispelled their weakness. In reality, supply lines were integral to winning a war, just as the degree of training for soldiers was also important. Highly efficient troop transportation, delivery of supplies and communication were all vital in war.

However, after excluding all of those, the bottom line still came back to morale.

The soldiers' fighting spirit sometimes led to victory despite inferior conditions.

At least for land based battles, the fact that morale was integral to victory will likely remain unchanged for a long time.

Thus, it was up to the commander to access that rare ability to evoke the soldiers' fighting spirit.

"Press forward together!"

Complying with Katsuto's orders, an array of magic was released together.

There was no mutual interference that led to magic nullification because everyone was using Gravity-Type Magic to bombard the enemy.

For the invading troops that were frantically trying to retreat, this attack was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Most of the infantry and Magicians who had not boarded the mechanized units were taken out.

The APCs and bipedal tanks that managed to sustain the barrage began to flee with a small group of soldiers and Magicians.

Standing on top of an overturned bipedal tank, Katsuto continued to use Phalanx to attack while swinging his arm forward.

"Advance!"

That was the order to pursue and deny the enemy any chance to regroup.

The volunteers' morale reached the high water mark.

◊ ◊ ◊

Just like Katsuto, Masaki had no idea that the enemy was starting to collapse because of the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion's attacks from the rear.

Still, he too grasped that the winds had changed and seized the opportunity almost at the same time that Katsuto did.

Just as Katsuto served in the leadership capacity for the volunteers, Masaki also proactively directed the battle and was standing at the forefront of battle to protect his comrades.

Currently, he was standing at China Street's north (Black Tortoise) gate. This street was the result of redevelopment after the war with large buildings that could serve as walls, leaving only the four gates in the north, south, east, and west for entry. This wasn't a disorganized redevelopment and probably was the result of meticulous planning.

This might be for closing down shop, or to seal the gates for defense. The latter was more probable.

The four gates that were usually open because of an endless stream of tourists were currently shut tightly.

Masaki didn't plan on being picky. Still, he was a little irked that they were blatantly living on foreign soil, yet were only protecting their own people and even turning this into a stronghold (?).

Still, the reason he stood before the northern gate wasn't because he wanted to vent his frustration.

"Open the gate! Otherwise, we will assume you are in league with the invaders!"

The reason Masaki stood there fully prepared for battle was because the enemy had fled into China Street.

There was no telling when bullets would fly in his direction. They might even be accompanied by grenades or magic.

Nor was there a guarantee that powerful explosives or magic that could break through these magical defenses wouldn't come flying from above.

Hence he stood alone while on heightened alert and was ready at a moment's notice to unleash his magic.

Even though he said otherwise, Masaki had long since made the decision to forcibly breach the perimeter when the time came.

If the gates opened immediately upon request, then surely they wouldn't have fled to this street in the first place.

Even if the people living on this street weren't in cahoots with the enemy forces, then the enemy troops must have seized the door mechanism first when they entered. It was highly unlikely that the unarmed civilians could offer anything beyond token resistance.

However, after his cry, the doors gradually opened before Masaki's astounded gaze.

A small group of people came out led by a young man with an aristocratic air about him who was five to six years older than Masaki.

They were bringing the bound invaders with them.

"My name is Zhou Gongjin." [A famous military general and strategist during the three kingdoms]

The young man announced his name. "...Zhou Gongjin?"

"That's my real name."

Young Zhou was used to this sort of reaction. Seeing Masaki tilt his head, the young man laughed pleasantly.

"My apologies. I am Ichijou Masaki."

Ignoring the older man's self-introduction too long was discourteous, so Masaki panicked a little, but after considering their mutual positions, he cautiously identified himself.

In response, the young man bowed deeply and gestured for the prisoners of war (strictly speaking, they were captives and not prisoners of war) to be handed over to Masaki.

"We are not in league with the invaders. In fact, we are also victims. To prove our point, please allow us to offer our assistance."

The young man wore a sincere expression as he pleaded his case.

Here, at least on the surface, there appeared to be no trace of falsehood.

Yet Masaki didn't entirely believe him.

Still, he didn't sound like he was putting on an act.

Young Zhou insisted that they allowed the invaders to enter solely to lower their guard before capturing them.

This logical argument certainly had its own weight.

On the other hand, exactly how did they manage to subjugate fully armed soldiers?

He definitely couldn't lower his guard.

This was the impression Masaki had of Zhou.

That being said, Masaki did not have the authority to comprehensively investigate any random individual.

In addition, on the surface, their assistance would put an end to the conflict in this sector.

Masaki expressed his thanks to Zhou and cooperated with the other volunteers to take possession of the bound enemy soldiers.

However, Masaki did not notice that this action would remove him from the front lines.

◊ ◊ ◊

The interior of the helicopter that was flying inland along the coast was completely silent.

For some reason, the atmosphere was one where everyone was afraid to speak.

Still, there was no way they could just sit there and withstand that unnatural silence.

"...Despite this happening to my own body... Even now I still find this hard to believe."

The one who started muttering to himself was Isori.

"...What the heck just happened? What did he do to achieve such a result?"

Not directed towards anyone in particular, the other person who expressed his own bemusement was Kirihara, the other person in question.

"Why not simply see all of that as a hallucination. That might be more persuasive."

"But, that wasn't a hallucination. I almost died, your leg was torn to shreds, those are the indisputable facts."

Silence descended once more. Once more coming to grips with those profound facts, the atmosphere was even heavier than before.

"...Shiba, just tell me this."

Finally, that was probably the right way to describe this.

Mari asked a question of Miyuki, who was the only one among them who knew the truth.

"What would you like to know?"

The tone of the response was incredibly calm.

Yet, she was unable to disguise the stiffness of her expression. No, maybe she never intended to hide it in the first place.

It was possible that Miyuki was intentionally wearing a chilly, crystal expression.

"How long will Tatsuya-kun's magic last?"

Using magic to heal was only a temporary measure. That was the basic rule of healing magic.

By constantly recasting the magic during its effective period and repeatedly cheating the world, this was the only way to finally stabilize the illusion of healing in the actual world.

If the effective time was short, then a fresh application of healing was immediately necessary.

"It's perpetual."

However, her answer was completely unexpected.

"There is no need for recasts like conventional healing magic."

Miyuki's response encompassed all of Mari's concerns and was voiced specifically for Isori and Kirihara to hear.

"There is no restriction in motion. They are able to completely function as normal."

"Is such a thing possible?"

Mari wore a skeptical expression at this reply. "You don't believe me."

"It's not that I don't believe you..."

Mari wasn't the only who couldn't comprehend this.

"I am very thankful that he saved Kei... But I've never heard of healing magic that results in complete healing after one cast. This runs counter to the basic laws of healing magic. Is he really healed? Does that even qualify as healing magic? What the hell did Shiba-kun do!?"

"Kanon-chan, calm down."

Mayumi gently coaxed Kanon to rein in her excitement.

"Miyuki-chan, please don't think poorly of her, OK? Kanon-chan is just really worried about Isori."

Hearing Mayumi's interjection, Miyuki smiled slightly in response.

"Still, I am very intrigued by exactly what he did. Since this isn't healing magic, what exactly..."

"Mari! Inquiring about other people's magic is forbidden!"

Just when the atmosphere turned a little congenial, Mari's statement immediately disrupted the balance and prompted a severe warning from Mayumi.

"Thank you, Saegusa-senpai. However, I think it's fine."

Yet Miyuki expressed her gratitude towards Mayumi's concerns but also mentioned that there was no need to worry on their behalf.

"I believe that it's only natural to think I would mind. Nonetheless, if it's only to explain this to everyone here, I think Onii-sama wouldn't object."

This was also a subtle hint to keep this to themselves. If they could not keep this a secret, then this would be as far as the conversation proceeded.

"I'll keep my mouth shut."

"I won't tell anyone."

With that, both Mari and Kanon replied in this manner. The other members also swore likewise.

"I will keep anything I heard confidential, even towards Nakura." In the end, even Mayumi spoke up.

"Oh, it's hardly anything that outrageous..." Miyuki revealed a rare, wry smile.

No matter how Mayumi swore to keep her secrets, in the end, this would still flow into the ears of the Saegusa Family.

Even then, Miyuki judged that this would be OK.

At the end of the day, it's not like anyone could replicate this anyway. "The magic that Onii-sama used was not healing magic."

Sitting in an upright posture, Miyuki quietly began. This way, even the listeners reflected her posture.

"The name of the magic is "Regrowth". Changes in the Eidos can be rewound up to 24 hours in the past, copying and rewriting the Eidos from before any damages or harm from external sources were incurred, then using Magic Sequences to rewrite the current Eidos. The rewritten target will adhere to the updated information and restore itself to before any harm was suffered."

Miyuki paused for a moment after saying this and looked over everyone else.

"Now that I mention it, does everyone know why the effects of magic are only temporary?"

After asking the question, Miyuki continued without giving anyone a chance to respond.

"The effects of magic are not eternal because the restorative powers of Eidos are at work. The restorative power of the Eidos tries to revert itself to before any external alterations occurred. However, the rewritten Eidos from "Regrowth" is only the target's own information from before. If you're being rewritten by your own Eidos, there is no need to revert to the time of injury and will remain in this world in a state where the injury never happened. All of this becomes as if nothing had ever happened."

Mari and Kanon exchanged a glance. Mayumi blinked several times.

Isori's body went stiff and Kirihara wore a gobsmacked expression.

There were all sorts of expressions, but the sentiment being expressed was all the same.

"...Then, Tatsuya can heal any injury in one try, is that it? That's almost impossible to believe. Even for Tatsuya, this is..."

Mikihiko was the one who verbalized his internal monologue. "Not in one try, Yoshida-kun."

Miyuki smiled and denied his words.

"It's practically instantaneous. In addition, the target is not restricted to biological organisms. Onii-sama can restore anything, regardless of whether it's the human body or a piece of machinery."

Miyuki was highly entertained by Mikihiko standing there with his jaw doing its best to reach the ground, but at the same time, a lonely smile appeared on her face.

"Because of this magic, Onii-sama cannot freely wield other magics. Since his magic territory is dominated by this divine ability, there is no room for any other magic."

Although she described it as divine, no one present believed that was an exaggeration.

This was no exaggeration, this was a "miracle".

"...That's why Tatsuya-kun seems so unbalanced."

"Ah... With such a high class magic on hand, it's not surprising that other magics would be obstructed..."

Miyuki only told them half the truth. She opted against revealing the other half.

That was why she only wore a lonely smile as she watched her easily misled senpais converse with one another.

"...But isn't that amazing. He can eliminate any major injury suffered in the past 24 hours, right?"

Kanon's sudden interjection broke through the doom and gloom.

"Indeed. It doesn't matter if it's a disaster area or battlefield, there are countless people who need help. He could save thousands, even tens of thousands of lives."

As he finally grasped the meaning behind all this, Isori warmly agreed with Kanon.

"Yeah! Compared to that, not using any other magic is only a minor hassle. Why is such an incredible power kept under wraps? You see, he could save so many more people with this. Rather than becoming infamous through taking the lives of others, he would be renowned for saving others. He could be a true hero!"

"Is that so... The power to erase any injury, no matter the severity. And you dare to insinuate that such a magic would come at no cost?"

A complete contrast to Kanon's excitement, Miyuki was terribly calm, her face devoid of any expression.

Her chilly, piercing gaze seemed to root Kanon to the spot.

Although this was the first time they saw this, no matter if it was Kanon, Mari, Mayumi, it suddenly dawned on everyone that Miyuki was using that crystalline expression to cover her wildly rampaging emotions and forcibly projecting an aura of calmness.

She, was in the throes of grief. She, was furious beyond all reason.

"Onii-sama reviews the catalogue of changes in the Eidos to completely copy the Eidos. To do this, he must read all the stored information regarding the Eidos."

Miyuki's voice was still ever so calm to the point of being objective.

Yet, Mayumi and Mari, Kanon and Isori, everyone present who heard her words felt a chill crawl up their spine.

"And that, of course, includes the victim's pain." Someone sharply inhaled.

"Pain is not read from an intellectual perspective. The feeling of pain, the signals of pain that travel through the injured body's nervous system, are directly transferred to your own side as direct information. That information does not pass through the brain, but is directly imprinted on your mind."

Cough, someone began hacking. This was not intentional, merely a biological side effect of being unable to breathe.

"Furthermore, all of that is condensed into an instant as it is transmitted. For example... In this situation, the time elapsed between Isori-senpai being wounded and Onii-sama arriving to use magic was approximately 30 seconds. Onii-sama used about 0.2 seconds to review all the changes in the Eidos. In that brief instance, the condensed pain that weighed on Onii-sama's mind is about 150 times Isori-senpai's suffering."

"One hundred and fifty times..."

A surprised gasp spilled from Isori's lips. He couldn't even begin to imagine that degree of pain.

In addition, Isori was also questioning whether he could master himself in the face of that sort of pain.

"The longer the duration of the wound, the greater the condensed pain. In order to erase an injury suffered one hour ago, the caster must suffer pain 10,000 times greater than the original."

While Miyuki was not channeling her rage at anyone other than herself, her gaze still drifted towards Kanon.

"Onii-sama must pay this price each time he heals someone else. With that in mind, do you still wish for him to wield this power for others?"

She was exceptionally calm, but also in a towering rage.

She was more enraged at herself than anyone else.

That was because the willful individual who requested her brother to use "Regrowth" was none other than herself.

◊ ◊ ◊

"Captain, allied forces are retreating!"

"Is that so."

Hearing his subordinates report, Great Asian Alliance Special Ops Captain Chen Xiangshan's voice did not betray a hint of surprise or regret or anything else at all. He merely nodded his head, not because he had already predicted that there was a high probability of allied defeat, but because he had already taken into account this possibility when plotting out his objectives. There was no correlation between achieving combat objectives and victory in battle. He had climbed to his current position because he had always followed that creed.

"Currently, we will now begin Plan B."

There were 20 soldiers accompanying him. Although their numbers were few, each one of them was a specialist at disrupting enemy assets from the rear gathered from back home. They were of an entirely different sort than the infiltrators he originally brought with him.

"Lieutenant Lu."

Despite his mishap earlier, after taking into account his raw fighting ability, Chen still called out the name of his most trustworthy subordinate.

"I know you may think otherwise, but do not consider taking vengeance. Fixating on a relic of unknown value was a misstep from the outset."

"Understood."

No matter what his own thoughts on the matter were, Lu Gonghu perfectly modulated his voice when he responded to his superior officer. He was wearing his original equipment, the enchanted armor called the "White Tiger Armor".

"Move out."

In accordance with Chen's order, the unit quietly began to advance.

Their target lay ahead of them, the Kantou branch of the Japanese Magic Association in the Yokohama Bay Hills Tower.

◊ ◊ ◊

The heavy atmosphere on board the helicopter that Mayumi and the others were riding on was broken when Mizuki suddenly gasped.

"Mizuki, what is it?"

Miyuki, who was the center of the foreboding silence, gently asked the first question probably because she felt that it wouldn't do to keep going like this.

"Well, near the Bay Hills Tower, I thought I saw the flare of a bestial soul..."

Despite sitting in the helicopter, Mizuki occasionally removed her glasses to scan the ground. Although she only did so because she thought there might be the off chance she would catch something, this time she was definitely on the right track.

"Bestial? As in a bloodthirsty, violent sort of way?"

While directing his question to Mizuki, Mikihiko pulled out a talisman from his breast pocket before getting a reply. Mikihiko activated the spell, put it up to his eye and looked through the talisman at the Bay Hills Tower.

"Enemy attack!?"

Surprise caused his voice to hitch. "Is that reliable?"

"I thought the enemy retreated before the volunteers' attack?"

Erika and Kanon immediately followed up with their own questions. Mikihiko nodded at Erika's question, but shook his head at Kanon.

"A small number of enemies launched a surprise assault from the rear with a terrifying amount of spell power. We have to turn around quickly, the Magic Association is in danger!" The last comment was directed towards Mayumi.

A hint of indecision floated across Mayumi's eyes as she looked to Mari.

"Mayumi Ojou-sama."

Nakura's voice came from the co-pilot's seat.

"There's an emergency call on the line reserved for the Ten Master Clans from the Magic Association."

"Patch it through."

Mayumi seized the ear set from Nakura.

Through the ear set, she heard the Magic Association member report the same dire situation that Mikihiko spoke of. Although the enemy numbers were few, there were limited Magicians at the Magic Association at this moment. At this rate, they wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

Mayumi swiftly made a decision as if hesitation never crossed her mind.

"Nakura, turn towards the Magic Association."

Without waiting for a reply, Mayumi operated her own terminal and established a connection.

"Saegusa, what's going on?"

Katsuto's anxious voice that came down the line contained traces of frustration and confusion. Mayumi knew that Katsuto must have received the Magic Association's plea for help as well.

"Juumonji-kun, we will head towards the Magic Association." Mayumi skipped the preliminaries and spoke quickly.

"The helicopter will immediately turn around, so we won't take very long. Juumonji-kun, you focus on defeating the enemy forces."

Katsuto didn't know that Mayumi's group was evacuating by helicopter, nor did Mayumi know that Katsuto was leading troops at the front line.

However, Mayumi believed that Katsuto definitely wouldn't sit idly by while the situation worsened. In addition, she knew that he would enter the battle and would serve as an essential part of the armed forces.

Even Juumonji Katsuto was not someone who could be in two places at the same time. He could not possibly defeat two enemies that came from different directions at the same time.

"I'm relying on you!"

"Leave it to me!"

After cutting the feed, the helicopter turned around and advanced forwards.

The surprise attack from Chen's detachment completely caught the Japanese forces unprepared. This wasn't because it was a surprise assault using a small detachment of troops, but because they had kept so many elite forces in reserve.

The Great Asian Alliance troops attacking along the coastline are currently (estimated) to be in a completely inferior position. The hillside forces were crushed by the volunteers under Katsuto's command and the inland forces had all been captured because of the betrayal at China Street. The troops at Sangechō were in complete disarray because of the flying troops in black. There was simply no additional troop strength left.

And yet, they were definitely being attacked by a small group of elite soldiers. Their size did not surpass one squad in strength, yet every single one of them was incredibly capable in battle. Especially that warrior garbed in white, Chinese-style armor who didn't even flinch at machine gun fire from APCs and broke through barricade after barricade until he reached the summit of the hill.

Alighting from the helicopter, Mayumi and company caught sight of him.

"That guy!?"

Seeing that soldier in white armor, or to be more precise, after feeling the aura he was giving off, Mari made a sound of pure astonishment.

"It's that man from before... I think he is called Lu Gonghu. Guess he managed to escape."

Mayumi squinted her eyes as she used Sensory-Type Magic to inspect the man's face.

"Lu Gonghu!?"

"Erika, do you know who he is?"

Erika nodded in raw excitement at Leo's inquiry. "He's a strong one!"

"Eh~"

Still, upon hearing Erika's concise answer, Leo didn't seem cowed in the slightest and his eyes seemed to glow even brighter. Because of this, the pair of upperclassmen felt a headache eclipsing their initial worries.

Catching sight of the approaching enemy unit, Miyuki pulled out her CAD.

"Miyuki-chan, STOP!"

Mayumi was completely focused on Erika, but managed to catch wind of the danger in time and frantically stopped her.

"Do you want the Magic Association members' magic to fail as well!?"

Miyuki's favored magic targeted whole areas. Magic with weak interference strength would fizzle away when Miyuki unleashed her magic. If she could identify each individual situation, then she might be able to differentiate them enough to avoid interfering with allied magic, but Mayumi considered this to be impossible at a range where men looked to be the size of ants.

"Don't worry, I will end this in one strike!"

Sure enough, Miyuki's response implied that she was about to unleash a cruel attack that paid no heed to allies in the line of fire.

How could she say something so horrifying despite that adorable appearance, Mayumi felt her headache worsening.

"No, if something goes sideways, is Miyuki-chan the only one who will pay the price?"

While Miyuki's thoughts on Mayumi's comment revolved around

"there's no way I would miss any of them", Miyuki still obediently put her CAD away since Mayumi was concerned on her behalf after all.

"Miyuki-chan, please protect the branch headquarters itself. I know this seems like I'm leaving all the responsibility to you, but the only one who can hold the fort is probably Miyuki-chan."

"Understood."

Although Mayumi's "request" strategy was plain to see, Miyuki still accepted her new mission.

"Kirihara-kun and Mibu-chan will accompany Miyuki, and can the two of you protect Shibata-san as well?"

This arrangement was blatantly taking Kirihara's recent injury into consideration, but Kirihara didn't object as he accepted his charge.

"Isori-kun, Kanon-chan, and Yoshida-kun, you three take care of the enemies besides the warrior in white."

After saying this, Mayumi glanced at Mari. "Mari."

"Ah, we'll handle that guy. Erika, Saijou, you two are with me." Mari nodded at Mayumi and looked towards Erika.

"I was going to do that even without you saying so!"

Leo chose to forgo saying anything, but he nodded gravely as he stood next to the combative Erika.

The White Tiger Armor that Lu Gonghu wore was a device enchanted through the Chinese Ancient Magic Daoism and could amplify his Steel Qigong. When wearing this White Tiger Armor, Lu Gonghu's world-renowned might as a close combat Magician could be put on full display.

The APC that replaced a standard barricade opened fire with its autocannon at Lu Gonghu with shells equivalent to high powered rifles, but Lu Gonghu brushed them aside easily. Not only were the areas covered in armor like so, even the uncovered portions were also the same. That was the result of amplifying Steel Qigong. The White Tiger was closest to "Gold" in the Five Phases. In this white armor, the Steel Qigong that covered Lu Gonghu entirely was strengthened further. With him in the vanguard breaking through every obstacle in their way, the ambush troops were drawing closer to the side branch of the Magic Association.

However, in front of the final barricade, Lu Gonghu caught sight of that accursed young woman. Lu Gonghu was thankful for this unexpected opportunity to avenge his earlier shame. Although he had acquiesced to Chen's order, the desire for vengeance burned fiercely within his bosom. Both his injuries across the ribs and back were fine so long as he wore the armor. Lu Gonghu charged towards the young woman twice responsible for his failures — Mari.

Holding her favored triblade that she received from the Magic Association — Mari always carried this hidden weapon on her, she prepared to meet his charge. Mari held the blade in her left hand while her right hand carried the CAD that was normally in her left hand. There were two kodachis attached to her belt along with many bottles of chemicals. The female combat uniform she wore was also lent by the Magic Association. Mari's equipment could cover all the bases, but Mari was clairvoyant on how long she could last against Lu Gonghu operating at peak capacity.

Completely indifferent to Mari's ability, Lu Gonghu took a slashing attack from Erika on his flank.

Yamatsunami. The speed was too quick for Lu Gonghu to dodge. No, if he had noticed Erika from the outset he still could have pulled it off, but tunnel vision prevented Lu Gonghu from doing so.

The speed was too quick for Lu Gonghu to dodge. No, if he had noticed Erika from the outset he still could have pulled it off, but tunnel vision prevented Lu Gonghu from doing so.

Forced to respond to the sweeping odachi, Lu Gonghu raised both wrists to parry Orochimaru's attack. Rubble scattered everywhere at Lu Gonghu's feet from the impact. After the force from Yamatsunami was transferred into the ground, Lu Gonghu's Steel Qigong repelled the blade's attack.

"Ha!"

Someone let out a roar behind Lu Gonghu.

Synchronized with Leo's roar, Usuba Kagerou came sweeping in. The stroke was aimed towards the lower half of the body where Lu Gonghu's legs were.

If this was a full frontal assault perpendicular to the ground, Lu Gonghu might have ignored the attack completely based on the thickness of the blade. However, since it was an attack that ran parallel to the ground, the black shadow of the carbon nanotubes was reflected in Lu Gonghu's eyes.

Lu's body flew through the sky. He sent a flying kick with the force of a cannon ball at Leo and although Leo aimed at Lu's body and tried to turn his horizontal slash to a vertical one, there was no way he was going to make it.

"Heh?"

A short "hmph" came from Lu Gonghu's mouth as he slid through the sky.

While taking a shot at Leo, Mayumi's magic caught up to Lu Gonghu. Each of the shots carried little weight, but several hundred shots impacting on him would definitely send him flying. Lu Gonghu's flying kick was diverted from its course and just managed to miss Leo's side. The moment he landed would be a perfect opening for an attack. — Except no one was in position.

"Armor!"

Just as Leo's voice activated sequence ended, Lu Gonghu's twin fists impacted directly on Leo's chest.

It was a Tiger Claw launched with eye dazzling speed.

Leo's body flew sideways and crashed into one of the cars that acted as part of the barricade.

"Damn it!"

Erika's Orochimaru swung downward.

This time, Lu Gonghu easily dodged the downward swing of the sword.

The downward swing of the odachi did not violently impact on the ground, but bounced upwards and sliced towards Lu Gonghu's abdomen. Inertia was not restored upon the swing downwards, but rather, concurrent with the slice upwards. This was one of the alternate techniques of Yamatsunami.

"Yamatsunami Tsubamegaeshi".

Nevertheless, while the weight of the blow was maintained, its speed was not; therefore, it was unable to break through Lu Gonghu's Steel Qigong. The blade slid across Lu Gonghu's abdomen as he bore down on Erika.

Erika's left hand released Orochimaru and used her forearm to eat Lu Gonghu's attack.

Both Orochimaru and Erika were sent flying.

For a tiny instant, astonishment crossed Lu Gonghu's features.

There wasn't much sense that his blow connected, so in that instant, Erika must have activated Orochimaru's inertia cancel ability.

Yet, unlike Leo, Erika crashed into the roadblock and didn't get back up. If the inertia was entirely canceled, then even running into the barricade itself should yield no injury. This must be because the ability wasn't able to completely absorb the blow.

Lu Gonghu immediately concentrated everything on Mari.

However, that tiny fraction of an instant was enough to present a golden opportunity.

By the time Lu Gonghu's eyes rested on Mari, her right hand shifted to reveal three thin, circular containers held between her fingertips.

Lu Gonghu immediately held his breath. He had not forgotten the magic that caused him to suffer so much. If he only held his breath while in the throes of oxygen deprivation, the air with lower oxygen content would still pass into the lungs and ravage the body. Hence Lu Gonghu plugged his esophagus and physically held his breath.

Yet on Mari's side, she wasn't using the same tactics either. Her advantage over others lay not in overwhelming magic power or swift activation speed, but her versatility in multiple magics and the ability to combine them to simultaneously chain multiple magics, a high class technique that was extremely difficult for her opponents to defend against. At First High, Hattori might possess a similar ability, but in terms of anti-personnel combat, Mari's complexity and versatility put all others to shame. Her expertise lay in striking at exposed sensory organs, such as auditory, olfactory senses in order to take away the enemy's fighting ability using magic. Thanks to these skills, Mari was able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Magicians who were direct descendants from the Ten Master Clans like Katsuto and Mayumi. The three of them together were known collectively as the "Triumvirate".

Lu Gonghu's White Tiger Armor was a traditional piece of Chinese armor and was not airtight, which was something that couldn't be helped for magical devices enchanted with Ancient Magic. Traditionally, airborne weapons were not used in the heat of combat where friend and foe were locked in close quarters, which was why the execution of the White Tiger Armor did not take that into account.

Yet, there was a Magician here who used airborne attacks in close combat range with nary a regard to the "traditional" way of doing things.

Manipulating the air flow, Mari combined the chemicals wafting from the three small containers and sent a smell that induced drunkenness into Lu Gonghu's nose that led directly to the olfactory organ.

Lu Gonghu's body had undergone poison resistance training, so he was able to overcome the chemical's effects. However, just as his physical body was recovering, the triblade was bearing down on his throat. Seeing the black string attached to the blade — "Pressure Slash" closing in, Lu Gonghu chose evasive action over parrying the blow.

Thus, Lu Gonghu flipped backwards while kicking his feet outward. Although this was a kick with no technique and pure force, he easily sent Mari's body hurtling through the air.

While taking evasive action to avoid the incoming repulsion field blade, he relaxed his wind pipe.

His eyes that were facing skyward caught sight of a white block flying towards his head.

The size was about a child's fist and the dry ice was dropping at a speed that the eye could follow, so Lu Gonghu used his right fist to meet the block.

The second Lu Gonghu's palm came into contact, the dry ice block reverted to carbon dioxide and began to condense as it rushed towards Lu Gonghu. The high density carbon dioxide rushed into Lu Gonghu's wind pipe and filled his lungs.

That was Mayumi's anti-personnel finishing strike "Dry Meteor". It was a magic that combined all four processes of carbon dioxide convergence, condensation, acceleration and release. The magic relied on the shock wave and carbon dioxide poisoning to render the enemy immobile.

One of the finest close combat Magicians fell before the onslaught of the young woman nicknamed the "Magic Shooter" for her prowess in long-range precision shooting that ranked in the top 10 in the world.

"Mari, are you hurt?"

"Erika! Leo! You guys alright?"

Kanon and Mikihiko came running forward. Isori was following behind Kanon with an exhausted visage. They appeared to have taken care of all the other enemies besides Lu Gonghu.

"I'm fine, thanks to the armor."

"Kanon, I think they're OK."

Mari immediately replied. Mayumi turned her eyes toward the barricade's side.

"Leo looks to be fine as well."

Leo clumsily clambered off the ground and was joking with Mikihiko. The armor created by Fortifying Magic must have kicked in in time.

"...I'm OK too."

The last person, Erika, lay on the ground while grumbling. "Erika!?"

Mikihiko frantically hurried over while concern flooded Leo's face.

Just as Mari turned her gaze to her, Erika leaped off the ground to her feet.

"Erika, are you well enough to stand?"

Erika's surprising action rendered Mikihiko and Leo speechless as their jaws dropped whereas Isori asked her in concern.

"I'm OK. Just a mild concussion, so I lost consciousness for a bit there."

Following that, Erika sighed deeply. "Man, I still lost."

Rather than being pleased that the enemy was defeated, she cared far more that she was beaten in battle. Such a comment that befitted Erika's personality perfectly caused Mikihiko and Leo to relax and break into laughter.

◊ ◊ ◊

Chen Xiangshan was walking along a corridor leading to the Magic Association side branch by himself. Although this was a special operation, he was making no attempt to hide the sound of his footsteps and was just walking normally. Although he had not taken the elevator or escalator from the first floor and was only taking the stairs, he had yet to be discovered by anyone.

All of those watchful gazes were concentrated on his subordinates drawing all the attention by the hillside. He knew of this and never doubted that for a second, because he had arranged for this to happen from the very beginning. In his conspicuous white armor, Lu Gonghu was the perfect bait.

Ghostwalker was a magic that selected positions based on fortune. Still, much like how ninjutsu was seen as solely a physical attribute despite its nature as a high class ability, the Ancient Magic - Ghostwalker also had a side of its own.

It was a magic that manipulated the vectors. Based on the user's wishes, this secretive magic could redirect other people's attention to the desired location.

People with their vectors scrambled would never locate the target. Much like someone who intended to walk straight forward but was actually walking in circles, or maybe seeing a carriage plainly in walking distance but never able to catch up. Ghostwalker was a specialized branch of mental interference magic.

Unrestricted by physical parameters, consciously manipulating the target's direction was the basics of Ghostwalker. Thanks to the assistance of his subordinates, Chen easily reached the Kantou branch of the Japanese Magic Association.

He pushed against the door only to find that the door was locked. This was within his calculations. Chen quickly removed a terminal and pressed it against the key pad. He was using Gold Electron Silkworms to break through the locking mechanism and bypass this physical barrier. Although the alarm sounded because the locking mechanism was breached, Chen didn't mind in the slightest because he had plenty of time before the Association members returned. The moment Chen stepped into the side branch of the Magic Association — he was surrounded by a surreal, chilling air.

"So that is Ghostwalker. I learned something new today."

A delightful and charming voice traveled to Chen's ears. He was unable to move freely despite the fact that he wasn't frozen, so he had to force himself to look towards where the voice came from.

Standing there was an impossibly beautiful young woman, and she was no artificial projection that could only be found in the realm of the fey. And she was smiling coldly at him.

"Shiba Miyuki..."

"Since you already know my name, that means you are the ones who have been troubling Onii-sama recently."

For some reason, Miyuki's voice contained a feeling of assurance.

Despite the questions Chen had on the subject, he opened his mouth to ask another question.

"Why are you here? Did my magic not take effect...?" Miyuki's smile seemed to raise the temperature somewhat. Just this alone was enough to send Chen's heart beating wildly. "That's because I received a warning. Be careful of the vectors." Chen's eyes widened. That implied that someone had already seen through his magic.

"Honestly, just this warning alone was rather hard to comprehend. Since I was warned to watch the vectors, I might as well as be on guard against all 360 degrees. I know I'll get something this way."

That's complete bull crap, Chen thought. If that alone was sufficient to break Ghostwalker, then the technique would have gone extinct long ago. Yet — the reality was that his spell had been broken. Just as he was considering this, Chen's body detected a different chill than the cold air that was surrounding him.

"Fortunately, we have a Magician on our side who can see the unseeable, so we could catch your figure even if we couldn't see your magic."

That was entirely different from guarding every vector! Chen wanted to point this out, but his mouth was unable to utter a single sound.

"Regardless, since you are the perpetrator, I'm sure everyone would be more relaxed if you disappeared."

Miyuki revealed an adorable smile as if she was incredibly pleased. Within that smile, Chen realized what his fate would be.

It was only now that Chen discovered that his body temperature was dropping at an unnatural rate.

"You can take a small nap. I've made great strides so I guarantee you will not sleep forever."

Accompanied by that voice, Chen's consciousness was submerged in darkness.

◊ ◊ ◊

At the same time that Miyuki captured Chen Xiangshan, Tatsuya and Yanagi were closing in on the enemy's jugular.

Although Katsuto and the volunteers under his command were also aggressively pursuing the enemy, they were doing so by foot and didn't possess the sheer mobility of Tatsuya's group.

Under the conditions where soldiers were capable of independent flight, the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion fully utilized this revolutionary application of flying troops to its utmost as they outflanked and cut off the enemy from the flank and rear.

Originally, the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion was an experimental unit meant to test the newest magical techniques for military purposes.

Using Mobile Suits to achieve maximum flexibility on the battlefield was right up their alley.

Since the modern era, offensive weaponry continued to outstrip defensive weaponry in performance. Tank armor could be destroyed by infantry carrying guided missile weapon systems, and infantry had long since learned to adopt scattered formations.

With the enemy in a scattered formation, each detachment could be taken out one at a time with sufficient mobility and attack power.

Rather than destroying each unit, they were taking out the troops that made up each of the scattered units.

Using a new tactic only made possible by the Mobile Suits' mobility and firepower from their equipment, the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion routed the enemy invaders.

Rifles with increased penetration.

Guided missiles with warheads tipped with gas that only expanded in flammable directions.

The Electromagnetic Particle Cannon that used electromagnetic power to fire high temperature metallic particles.

Weapons that could not be created without magic due to component or design issues were demonstrating their might.

Of course, magic was equally active.

Of all the magic present, one of the most noteworthy was Captain Yanagi's "Thousand Tatami".

And Tatsuya's "Mist Dispersal".

Certainly, the sight of a metallic block weighing several tons repeatedly flipping over was awe inspiring, but no matter how impressive, Yanagi's "Thousand Tatami" was only support magic and lacked the power to deliver the finishing blow to the enemy.

In contrast, "Mist Dispersal" was considerably more mundane and quiet.

There was no sound or emitted light.

To reduce the chance of triggering a gunpowder or fuel explosion, he raised the degree of decomposition so that the easily flammable materials would not ignite.

All he did was erase them all.

Dissipated to dust, transformed into steam and then scattered. That was all he did.

Just like that, the very existence of the enemy and their machines faded.

The magic that did not even leave behind a corpse completely shattered the enemy morale.

They had only been in contact with the enemy for 15 minutes.

That was already the enemy's limit.

Unable to bear the loss in manpower and the even greater collapse of morale, the invading army broke completely.

1.↑ BC = Bio-Chemical, in case you are wondering

2.↑ S&D = Search & Destroy, in case you are wondering again.

3.↑ One of the principal Hindu deities, worshiped as the destroyer and restorer of worlds and in numerous other forms

4.↑ A famous military general and strategist during the three kingdoms