Chapter 115

--The Intelligence Bureau's facilities were attacked, and the contained Parasite had been killed--

Tatsuya suppressed the urge to immediately contact Mayumi with a detailed report, instead going to the bathroom for the time being. Rinsing off the sweat from his regular training under the shower, he considered his next move.

Miyuki still hadn't been told.

He had just come back from Yakumo's temple. This was perfectly routine, and just because he had checked his mail before entering the shower she shouldn't have inferred anything from it.

(No...

It'd be useless to try and hide it.)

Should he just keep quiet, Tatsuya considered, then immediately rejected the idea.

He wouldn't be able to keep anything from his sister's sharp intuition very long. And it would be one thing if it were completely unrelated, but Miyuki was just as involved in this matter as Tatsuya was.

Deciding to not sneak around and openly come clean to his sister, Tatsuya exited the shower.

Tatsuya's fingers flew over the console of the workstation in the basement. If it were to be described in words, it wouldn't be 'brilliant', but 'accurate', and 'fast', rather like his personality.

It was a Saturday, so they only had a few morning classes. But if the investigation ended up dragging out, Tatsuya had considered skipping.

In that case, it would be something natural for him (he himself considered it to be 'natural'.)

In Miyuki's case, it would be something natural for her, as well (to her however, it would be more due to 'necessity'), and since skipping today would have been entirely of her own free will, she had wavered until the last minute.

Fortunately, he found the data they were looking for immediately.

Although he was unauthorisedly accessing the Defense Forces server, the resistance of the local system (local here meaning, not standalone, but merely localised) against the hacking program made by the 'Electron Sorceress' Fujibayashi Kyoko was decidedly inadequate. Compartmentalising information in this way as a risk countermeasure meant that, whilst specific sections may be vulnerable, leaks would not impact the whole; it had both merits and demerits.

Well, since it had led to a favourable result for Tatsuya this time, he could afford to be graceful.

The video which was recorded therein, contained something shocking.

Not in the sense of ruthlessness or cruelty causing a physiological impact, but that the identity of the one who had gone and caused everything had a considerable impact on the siblings.

Under the cover of darkness, a petite figure invaded.

Illuminated by the light of the alarms was a masked, flaming haired girl.

With a single glare of her golden eyes, the plain clothed soldiers were blown away, then she proceeded to carve a complicated pattern four times towards the door. As she then stepped aside, the door crashed down.

On the other side was a small room. The width was about enough to fit two single beds, and the low ceiling was 2 metres tall. On the far side were three bunk beds.

Deprived of movement, in a straitjacket, legs tightly bound, a man was lying on top of the third bed. While he looked different due to being completely pale, from his face he was unmistakably the Parasite who had identified as Marte.

A pale mist emitted from the girl's mouth. It seemed the room was kept rather cold.

In her hand, the knife had been replaced by an automatic pistol. The single shot she fired hit Marte right in the chest.

All of a sudden, the man's body combusted.

The source of the flame had likely been the bullet. It was probably a magic which blazed on the condition the bullet stopped inside the target's body.

The flame haired girl, Angie Sirius, fired more shots into the top and bottom beds. Clearly, this was a killing with no regard for recovering the 'content'. The objective had been not merely to erase the 'container'; it was an 'execution'.

While watching the girl calmly walk away off the camera, Tatsuya sighed unconsciously.

He knew that Sirius' tasks included the neutralisation of rogue magicians. He also knew perfectly well that humane treatment for magicians was all just empty talk, but he couldn't help sighing nonetheless.

The entire affair was highly unfortunate.

Inflicting the role of a merciless killer on a 16 year old girl, just what were the USNA military brass thinking.

Even the Mafia was more considerate in their personnel selection. This was no different from religious and fundamentalist nuts who drove boys and girls to terrorism in the name of holy war.

"Onii sama, that was...

Lina wasn't it?"

Miyuki had been informed of Sirius' secret, 'Parade'.

She could tell from that rough image that the killer was Sirius-- Lina. "Probably."

Miyuki seemed to be in shock, but Tatsuya could find no words to soothe her.

There was nothing he could say about the murder itself. He didn't believe he was qualified to do any such thing. He himself had undertaken missions he could not reveal, and amongst the dirty work to be done, assassination could be said to be one of the more cleaner acts.

At the same time however, it was lonely dismal work.

Unless there was a great compatibility in terms of personality, it would be far too heavy for a teenage girl. Unable to bear the weight, her heart would break down little by little.

And from what Tatsuya had seen, Lina was no killer.

From the voice and look Miyuki gave him, she was of the same opinion.

At this rate, there may come a time when she is lost to the darkness.

Fortunately(?), what happened next was further shocking enough to blow such melancholy away. All of a sudden, another figure walked into the monitor screen of the Third Counterintelligence Division's video server Tatsuya was hacking into.

With blond hair and blue eyes, the young man appeared to be an Anglo-Saxon. He looked childish, but his age was probably around that of Tatsuya's.

Holding her hands to her mouth Miyuki let out a sound of dismay, but Tatsuya remained calm.

This workstation had been intended for hacking, and was completely isolated from the other systems as well as running on a dedicated line. There were no mics in the room, nor cameras. Sound and visuals could only flow one way, so there was no way of observing this place from the other side of the connection.

"Hello, you can hear me right? I'll speak on the assumption you can."

Sure enough, the youth reflected in the monitor began to speak without attempting to establish communication.

"Let's start off with introductions. My name is Raymond Sage Clark. One of the 'Seven Sages'."

Miyuki's hands, which had at some point found their way to Tatsuya's shoulders, tensed.

Tatsuya was aware that the sensation included tenseness of his own. "I've heard about you from Tear*... No, Shizuku. Nice to meet you,

Tatsuya." (*The kanji for 'Shizuku' means 'teardrop' )

It seemed this boy was a fellow student of Shizuku in her exchange. Furthermore, someone she had provided information to.

If Shizuku's information source had been Lina's mentioned 'Sage', little wonder even off-record information could be accessed. But, just what was his purpose?

Going as far as to expose himself to Tatsuya.

There was always the possibility it was a video dummy, but Tatsuya's intuition told him it was the real Raymond Sage Clark.

"Let's speak bluntly. ...

Ah, that's a pretty nice phrase."

Raymond was speaking Japanese. 'Speak bluntly' was fluent, if not a bit incorrect. There was nothing 'blunt' about his speaking anyway.

"The one who told Angie Sirius about this place was me."

Tatsuya reflexively wanted to point out 'your use of idiom is completely wrong', but there was no way to convey that unfortunately.

There was no doubt that 'this place' referred to the Third Counterintelligence Division.

"Since before I said anything, she already knew about this place, anyway."

The hell is that, Tatsuya thought. You're not telling someone anything if they already knew.

Once again, there was no opportunity to retort. Tatsuya decided to see the video through to the end.

"And now, I've got something special for you."

'Exclusive news' was pretty informal Japanese. It was as if he had been learning Japanese from some news room.

"I think it's something you'll be quite interested in. The price is my repayment to you for watching, is what I'd like to say but since we're wrapping up I'll give it to you free."

Although Tatsuya knew he couldn't hear, he still muttered 'it's not like I asked you' under his breath.

That was all he had time to spare however.

"The anti-magician movement currently raging in the States, and which is about to spill over into Japan was orchestrated by one of the Seven Sages: Jiedo Sage Heigu."

Being hit with this news all of a sudden, even Tatsuya couldn't suppress his surprise.

"Jiedo Heigu, aka Gù Jié. A stateless Chinese, and leader of the international terrorist organisation 'Blanche'. The boss of that Blanche Japan branch branch leader whom you caught, Tsukasa."

As the names lined up one after the other,

"He was also the previous leader of the international crime syndicate 'No Head Dragon', and his grandson Richard is a senior in that same group. Within the organisation he is referred to as the 'Black Sage' , or 'Big Man Heigu'.

Tatsuya was transfixed to the screen.

"Ah, so you know, just because we're both Sages doesn't mean we have any connection to each other. The Seven Sages isn't the name of some group, but rather refers to the seven operators who have access to Hliðskjálf."

It wasn't like conversation--questions were possible, yet he willed him to hurry up.

Hliðskjálf... He had only heard a rumour of it once. It was a rumour, no more seemingly more real than an urban legend, yet it was true, apparently. Was this the same thing as that which he had heard in the rumour?

"Hliðskjálf is"

With impeccable timing as if reading Tatsuya's thoughts, Raymond proceeded to describe it.

"An additional extension of the global observation system 'Echelon III'. It's a backdoor into Echelon III, so I suppose you could think of it as a hacking tool which allows you to lurk within the system? What would you say Tatsuya?"

'What would you say' he asks, even though there wasn't the slightest chance of an answer.

Of course Raymond was perfectly aware of that as well, so he continued without waiting for one.

"As for where Hliðskjálf itself is located, not even us operators know. It may even be that it's simply a program, with no physical hardware to be found."

Raymond shrugged on screen. The gesture looked like it came straight out of some anime.

"Anyway, Hliðskjálf collects information from all over the world with an efficiency surpassing Echelon III's main system and brings it to the operators. The operators seem to be chosen by the system itself, and there seems to be no discernible selection criteria. Apparently it's completely random."

Raymond mimicked twirling a pipe. He was probably rather disappointed he had forgotten to bring an actual prop.

"To try and think of something they have in common, I suppose it'd be the financial security to access advanced information systems on their own? It's not like you'd need to be a millionaire or something, in terms of Japan or the States something along the lines of the standard of living of an average middle class would be enough."

This was completely unbelievable.

That was Tatsuya's impression from Raymond's explanation so far.

Just what were the creators of Hliðskjálf thinking. It was inconceivable that they were merely hackers doing this for the pleasure of it.

"Well to be honest, it's not much of a system. Hardware wise Hliðskjálf is completely dependent on Echelon III, and it's merely the data processing which is more efficient; it can't access data which is in storage since it's merely an interception system. By the way, there's a system guard in place which prevents saving any of the results to some external storage. The information which can be obtained is limited by the brain of the operator. At best, it's something which grants information gathering capabilities, and allows its operators to take the name of 'Sage'."

Even with just that though, it was a serious threat.

It could be said now that all data of importance was moved through a network of some kind.

Just, what data were there which wasn't communicated at least once. "Not to mention, using Hliðskjálf poses a risk to its operators. In order to streamline the search, Hliðskjálf uses two agents: Huginn and Muninn. The search history of the operator is recorded in Muninn. Anything one operator searches for will be known to all the other operators. The reason I know of Jiedo Heigu is due to Muninn."

At this point, Tatsuya thought 'Oh my'. Theoretically speaking, that would mean it was possible the identity of Raymond Clark was known to Jiedo Heigu as well.

"Due to the loss of the Japanese branches of both Blanche and No Head Dragon, Heigu lost the means to meddle with Japan. The reason Heigu sent the Parasites to Japan was to cause an escalating turmoil, under cover of which, he could rebuild his bases of operations."

In the video, Raymond had dropped his performance. It seemed this was a serious matter to him.

"I have come to the conclusion that his aim is the elimination of magic from society. If he can push out magic technology, magically underdeveloped countries like the Great Asian Alliance can even the balance of military power at a stretch. They would be dominant in a non-magical world, and I believe that is what Heigu and those who are behind him are plotting."

Although seemingly overdramatic, Tatsuya concluded it was logical as a whole. It had been Tatsuya's own feeling that the Great Asian Alliance seemed to want to eradicate magic technology.

"That is not a world I desire. ... It's fine if you laugh and call me a romanticist, but I truly believe that magic is something which will lead to the advancement of mankind."

Although he knew there was no way the other side could hear, Tatsuya couldn't help a spit-take. Somehow, a fundamental part of the boy just didn't seem to match with that opinion.

"And so, from here on out, I'll try and continue providing information you may find necessary. Tatsuya Shiba--Strategic class magician, God of Destruction'The Destroy'."

At that exaggerated nickname Raymond bestowed upon him, Tatsuya frowned with all his might.

--Don't give me a name that sounds like the boss of some crappy video game. Was it possible that this boy was an 'otaku' of universal language.

"We may have gone juust a bit over time. To summarise, for this matter I offer my help in the destruction of the Parasites."

Hardly just a bit, Tatsuya thought, but the monitor didn't switch off.

"About the information on Jiedo Heigu. It's up to you if you'll believe it or not. Whether you'll trust what I'm about to tell you right now is up to you as well. If you do however, I'd like you to repay me by completing a few tasks."

For a moment, Raymond was silent. Not in the sense of dramaticism, but from what was reflected in the screen due to tension.

"Tomorrow, the night of February 19th your time, all active Parasites will be drawn to the back outdoor training grounds of First High. I'd like you to destroy them there."

No evidence had been presented, but by this stage Tatsuya was already prepared to take Raymond up on his offer.

"You should note that I've already relayed this information to Angie Sirius as well. Whether to cooperate or not, is once again all up to you."

He wasn't particularly thrilled about this gesture of consideration, but unfortunately there wasn't exactly any way to object either.

Raymond spoke no further, then the monitor suddenly went dark. An exhale was heard overhead.

Miyuki appeared to have been holding her breath. Tatsuya had been too.

"Seems that we'd better leave soon if we don't want to be late." Rising and looking back, Tatsuya called Miyuki along.

◊ ◊ ◊

Year 1 Class E's 2pm class was practical.

Although it's called a class, as usual there was no teacher present. Students just operated their CADs on their own following guidance shown on the wall monitors. The students themselves were already familiar with this, and there was now an ease due to being free from a teacher's eyes. Of course there were those who simply gave up; whether one did so or continued persevering was up to the individual.

Most of the boys kept it up.

In order to keep not raise attention Leo was delayed in arriving to the practice room; looking around and seeing the figures of Mikihiko, Erika and Mizuki he proceeded inside.

"... You're late, Leo."

"Quiet you."

While Mikihiko's voice had softened considerably as of late, his reproof contained a hint of sharpness; Leo responded with a fearless grin.

That grin soon switched to an 'oh?' expression. "What about Tatsuya?"

To his inquiry, Mizuki replied "It seems he has a visitor?"

Her tone was rather questioning since Mizuki was unsure as well. "Visitor? At school?"

As Leo echoed with raised eyebrows, Mizuki could only return a vague smile.

"More importantly, let's get this over with."

Erika spoke up from the side in a carefree voice. Discernible underneath her indifferent tone was a warning not to step into private matters.

"You're right. Today's task seems like it'll be quite challenging."

Saying so, Mikihiko began setting his CAD. Erika considered it someone else's business, Mizuki was slightly anxious, and Leo felt a slight twinge; their smiles each contained their own respective feelings.

Meanwhile Tatsuya, with his moody pokerface, was sitting on a sofa in the drawing room.

Across from him sat a middle-aged man in a luxury suit. His expression was plain moody.

As those two displeased visages faced each other, it was unlikely either would attempt a conversation.

The one who ran out of patience first, having being forcibly called out of class, was Tatsuya.

"Aoki san, would you please state your business?"

His tone couldn't be said to be polite, nevermind his wording; the temper evident in Aoki's seemed to step up a notch.

Aoki as well, since it was Tatsuya, couldn't help letting his feelings show. As the one who dealt with the underground economy and guarded the Yotsuba treasury for over ten years, Aoki's mask shouldn't have a single crack, nevermind going as far as to impair his speech.

Aoki should have known more than anyone, how letting his emotions out like this would impair his mission. But the hierarchy of the Yotsuba had been too deeply ingrained into him,

Such consciousness had turned no few people into idiots.

"... I'm in the middle of class at the moment, so if there's nothing important I will excuse myself."

"Wait."

At Tatsuya's ultimatum, Aoki finally opened his mouth. Considerably reluctantly too.

"The other day, you purchased a 3H-P94, did you not?"

The business-like way of speaking Aoki adopted was understandable. Tatsuya found it humorous, but didn't laugh. Such petty retaliation was, in all likelihood, just his way of coping.

"To be exact, it was the day before yesterday."

In the same way, Tatsuya responded in a business-like manner. Unfortunately, his resolve would be lost almost immediately.

"The madam wants it. We'll reimburse you twice the amount, so please hand it over immediately."

Tatsuya rapidly stood up, and confirmed with a sharp gaze there were no eavesdroppers.

Since there was always equipment for the observation of magical power in magic high schools he could not use his 'Eyes' freely, but his naked eyes were also trained for such a feat. In any case, there had been none listening in to their talk.

Tatsuya took out from his pocket, his mobile terminal, and connected a cable into it, holding out to Aoki the other end.

Thinking about it--no, even if you didn't this was pretty presumptions behaviour, but realising Tatsuya wasn't about to say anything Aoki with a frown nonetheless took the cable and plugged it into his own terminal.

"Aoki san, are you sick?"

The first message he sent over was this unexpected thing.

Aoki's reflexive reaction was to get angry, but sensing the unusual pressure emitting from the other side he inadvertently kept himself under control.

"Today is a Saturday. If you had waited just four more hours you could have called me somewhere with no people. Why would you run the risk of discussing House matters in the drawing room of a public school? I'm sure you know it's an order from my Aunt that my links with the family are to be kept absolutely secret."

Large cracks began to appear in Aoki's mask of calm. The edge of his lips was trembling finely. His complexion was also pale.

Tatsuya knew there must have been reasons for such carelessness. Avoiding places Miyuki would be, preserving hierarchy, all could account for such unreasonableness.

Aoki should have realised Tatsuya would see through all that. And yet, the movement of his pen as he wrote a reply was the only answer.

"I would just like to carry out madam's orders as soon as possible. More importantly, please bring out the 3H right now. I can leave straight after."

"There's no way I can do that. Even if I transferred ownership to you, the loan agreement with First High would still be in effect. The reason I brought the 3H-P94 in the first place was to prevent it being taken away by a third party. I will take responsibility for it myself. Please tell Aunt that."

Aoki's face shifted from red to blue. This generally signaled an incoming tantrum.

"Are you going to disobey your orders?"

At Tatsuya's stinging words however, Aoki deflated.

Seeing this change in him, Tatsuya stood up. He judged there was no longer any reason for him to remain.

"Wait. No, please wait."

It seemed Aoki didn't intend to leave just yet.

Looking closely, the arrogance, which had earlier filled his face, no, his entire body had disappeared. Tatsuya didn't think for a moment he was having some sort of existential revelation. Looking in his eyes however, his attitude had completely changed.

"I apologise sincerely for my conduct earlier."

Saying so, Aoki bowed low to Tatsuya. He was still seated on the couch, but there was no misunderstanding that he really was apologising.

"Please raise your head, Aoki san."

As he spoke, Tatsuya returned to his seat. It didn't mean he was responding to Aoki's sincerity. In the first place, Tatsuya didn't feel much sincerity at all. However, he was interested in what Aoki had to say which would cause him to become so serious.

"Tatsuya kun, rather, Tatsuya dono, it's exactly as you say. Since the loan agreement was a prerequisite for the purchase, it stands to reason that you cannot just take it away. I'm sorry for asking something so unreasonable."

"It's fine."

As Aoki bowed again, Tatsuya inclined his head to match. He replied with just that because what Aoki had stated was so obvious, anything he said could end up being construed as sarcasm. In any case, the fact that he didn't consider it a problem anymore seemed to have been conveyed to Aoki, who raised his head without prompt this time.

"I would just like you to understand this. Madam isn't asking for your 3H because she's taken some fancy to it. It seems she thinks it'd be necessary for some kind of research."

"I understand."

"I won't impose on you any further. Again, I realise you must feel the need to keep that near at hand. If at any point you feel like letting go of it however, please consider handing it over to madam. In that case, I will of course provide appropriate compensation."

It wasn't hard reading the lines behind Aoki's proposal. It seemed whatever the case, his Aunt didn't want Pixie falling into someone else's hands.

"If you're willing to accept, we will be happy to the promised amount, plus an additional 10% of what you spent every year."

"Every year?"

He didn't think they'd go this far. It was still only a drop in the bucket for the Yotsuba, but from global rates it was a princely sum.

"Yes, every year. Specifically, we would like to make contractual conditional purchase reservation with you which automatically renews every year."

Not just a verbal promise, but even a contract. Both to Tatsuya, and the Yotsuba, 10% of the purchase amount was peanuts. The purpose of the contract then, was more for Tatsuya to keep his end of the bargain.

In other words, claiming ownership. It was an offer behind which the seriousness of the Yotsuba-- of Maya could be glimpsed.

"As I'm sure you know, I'm still a minor."

"I will relay things to your father."

Meaning that Aoki would sort through the legal details himself. "Got it. I don't mind."

There was no disadvantage in Aoki's proposal for Tatsuya. Rather than further harming his image in the view of his obstinate Aunt, it'd be better to make a compromise here Tatsuya thought.

◊ ◊ ◊

Having accompanied Aoki all the way to the entrance, Tatsuya went back to the practice rooms. Although half of the two hour class had passed already, he felt he should still be able to make attendance.

His feet stopped however before he entered the corridor. "Lina."

The face of the transfer student, whom he hadn't seen for a while, was notably worse for wear. There were no physical cues such as gaunt cheeks or bags under the eyes visible. It was impossible to find any sign of adverse health.

But her luster had gone. She was holding on to her usual act, and someone who knew little about her would have been fooled yet by her utterly gorgeous looks. But someone who was familiar with her--even if only to Tatsuya's degree--would notice the absence of the overflowing spirit which had truly made her shine, and the difference was palpable.

It seemed the mental fatigue was stacking up. She must be under immense pressure.

Now however the shadows added a frail transience to her beauty, and increased her charm in a different way from usual. Even Tatsuya who normally took little interest in a girl's appearance--or rather, was utterly accustomed to them, couldn't help but feel admiration.

"Tatsuya."

Nonetheless, it wasn't to the point his reactions were delayed.

At his name being called, he adjusted his gaze to look into those sapphire eyes.

"Did you hear?"

"Yeah."

They were talking about the information obtained from the Sage. The one which said that tomorrow night, the Parasites would be led to the outdoor training grounds in the back. Their words were brief, but the intent was fully received by both of them.

"Do you know who it was?"

"No."

So it appeared he had not shown Lina his face, Tatsuya inferred from that answer. It made sense. If the USNA army became aware of the Sage's identity, they would stop at nothing to hunt down that veritable fount of knowledge.

"I see, that's a pity."

"I suppose. Not that it matters."

Cutting to the chase, Lina looked at Tatsuya with challenging eyes. "Tatsuya."

Firm and bright.

A gaze with as strong a will as that night they were killing each other. "I will not hold back."

He already knew, but Tatsuya found himself realising again. Regardless of his own preference, an alliance had not been an option from the very beginning.

"I know. The worlds we live in, are completely separate after all."

Tatsuya's answer was a classic (old fashioned) line often found in romance novels (or movies), synonymous with a farewell.

The reason he chose such an easily misunderstood line was because of those secretly listening in.

Lina visibly swallowed her retort. With just a little delay, she seemed to have noticed Tatsuya's intention.

Some colour however had returned to Lina's pale complexion. Somehow, Tatsuya felt that the red now dying her cheeks held a different meaning from before.

"Such an idiot!"

Spitting those words out, she spun around on her heels,

And it was impossible to tell whether she was simply playing along with Tatsuya's act,

Or if those had been Lina's true feelings. Tatsuya was clear of one thing now however.

--With a sigh of acceptance, he reigned himself to a detention practical after school.

◊ ◊ ◊

Yotsuba main house.

As Hayama served afternoon tea, an electronic sound denoted an incoming call. Seeing Maya's nod, Hayama picked up the classic voice communication terminal and pressed it to his ear.

"Aoki. ...

So, you failed.

...It is a fact it seems you were unable to carry out Madam's orders. Well, such circumstances cannot be helped. ...

I do no believe there is any hurry. Tatsuya dono is unlikely to change his agreement over something of this degree. ...

Very well.

I shall inform Madam. ...

Good work."

"...What news from Aoki san?"

After Hayama set down the terminal, Maya asked. With a look of not wishing to have to convey unpleasant news, Hayama bowed to Maya.

"Apologies, Madam. We were unable to procure the 3H."

The failure had been Aoki's. But as the head butler, Hayama could be said to be Aoki's superior. Aoki's bungle was his shame to bear.

Maya's answer held neither forgiveness nor reproach. "Tatsuya san's name had come up."

What she took interest in was this point. "Tatsuya dono had purchased the 3H."

As Hayama answered, a wry smile appeared on his face.

"Apparently Tatsuya dono did not wish for it to fall into the hands of others. He has entered into an ownership lend-lease agreement with First High."

Still, that had been the next best alternative had Maya not been able to get ahold of Pixie itself.

"...I wonder if he knew. Or was it just coincidence?"

"I do no know."

Maya's expression was slightly puzzled. But she immediately cleared her mind.

"...Well, if Tatsuya san can take good care of it I don't mind."

"Aoki has said that if Tatsuya dono ever decides to let go of it, we are contracted to purchase it."

"Yes, that would be good."

Hayama faced Maya and bowed lightly. Although Maya had not blamed Aoki, much less Hayama from the beginning, he nonetheless showed his gratitude for her leniency towards the mismanagement.

"Still, it really would have been nice to have a sample on hand..."

At Maya's mutter Hayama, with a look suggesting 'we should just leave things be' spoke up.

"Madam, I'm sure there is no need for me to say this, but it's best to have as little as possible to do with those creatures."

Maya's ironic smile was a reminder she was lovely still. "Because they're rather distasteful?"

"As you will."

"They're very important sponsors after all." At Maya's sly smile, Hayama frowned.

"I know what you want to say, Hayama san. I have no intention of causing discord. I only do this because I believe that obtaining a 'Parasite' is necessary for the Yotsuba."

"Does Madam believe then that studying the Parasite, will bring us closer to the mysteries of Mental Interference?"

"Yes. Just what exactly is the mind, is a question the Yotsuba have been endlessly pursuing. It's said that the Parasites are individual mental information bodies. Information on substance, structure, location...even if only a little, it should give us hints as to the true nature of the mind."

Understanding Maya's reasoning, Hayama bowed. Maya returned to the original topic.

"By the way, what are the movements of the other spirits?"

"According the the report from Kurobane dono earlier, the spirit which had been purged yesterday night has already been resurrected."

"Already? That's quite early."

"There must have been a reason for the rush. Kurobane reported it seemed the spirits were preparing for battle."

"I see...any idea against possibly whom?"

Floating on Maya's face as she queried Hayama was a barely repressed smile.

"Judging from their modus operandi, they will be aiming for their compatriot trapped in the doll."

"At this point it's not so much that trouble finds him, but almost as if he goes after trouble himself."

Needless to say, Maya's words referred to her nephew.The person in question would no doubt violently protest that, but here there was no one who voiced dissent.

"Do you know when it will be?"

"Kurobane dono anticipates it will be tomorrow night, around First High school."

"It would still be prudent to keep an eye on the surroundings

then... alright, please organise a group. The leader can be...

Ayako chan should be fine. The goal isn't a fight after all."

"Certainly."

Hayama clapped his hands, calling for a maid to serve Maya in his place, before heading towards the communications room to relay Maya's orders.

◊ ◊ ◊

Although it was not a relatively late hour, Saegusa Mayumi was a examinee.

Today was February 18th, Saturday. One more week until the entrance exams for magic university. Her chances of not making it were practically zero, yet nonetheless it was a fact she had little time for much else.

That the 'vampire incidents' had seemingly subsided for now was good news for her mental state.

Making up on her weak areas in the school library, by the time she returned home the day had almost passed.

Being welcomed back by a slightly timid young servant, Mayumi immediately noticed.

"Is Father back?"

"Yes, m'lady."

Being well trained the maid didn't fumble her words or the like, but Mayumi could perceive that what had frightened her was her father.

(To scare a young girl like this...Father, just what are you doing?)

Although she felt irritation in her heart, to display it would only disturb the staff more.

"Alright."

Mayumi smiled at the maid, then proceeded to her own room.

At that time in his study, the household head Saegusa Koichi turned a face filled with ill-concerned frustration to his confidant Nakura.

"...So you're saying, the one who invaded and killed the Parasite the

Third Counterintel division had captured was the Stars' Sirius?"

"There is little doubt."

In the light of his master's anger, there was no trace of fear in Nakura's face. While he was courteous, unlike the interactions between Hayama and Maya, there was a business-like aspect to be found. Nakura was not a family member of the Saegusa, and would be more aptly described as a mercenary. He was not inextricably bound to Koichi's side.

Sometimes he was assigned as a guard for children, such as with Mayumi, or sometimes sent to accomplish missions which lay outside the law such as intel gathering. That was how he was treated by Koichi, as an Extra number.

"But even for the Stars' Sirius, for them to simply waltz in and kill the prisoner so easily is too much. The Intel division wasn't slacking off either. Could your source have been mistaken?"

As Koichi spoke with disgust, Nakura calmly rebutted.

"The Intel division of the defence forces is by no means incompetent. Had we been the ones to attempt an infiltration of the Third Counterintel division's building, we would not have found the security to be lacking. Rather, it's simply that the Stars are just that good. There's a reason they're known as the most powerful force of magicians in the world to date."

Being spoken to as if been chided as a child, Koichi's expression became increasingly sullen. Not to the point of losing it and yelling at Nakura however.

"Sir, if I may be so bold, I believe it's time we cut our losses. The benefits to the Saegusa's continued involvement in this diminish by the day."

"...You're right."

Koichi calmly considered Nakura's calm advice.

"It seems the Kudou are also moving in this matter. I had considered asking them to supplement our depleted forces, but pulling out may be for the best."

"As you say."

"Tell our dispatched members to return to their normal duties. Nakura, dismissed."

"Excuse me."

As Koichi began operating an encrypted communication terminal by himself, Nakura left the study.

◊ ◊ ◊

AD 2096, February 29th, Sunday.

Eight Parasites would be moving. Tatsuya did not unilaterally trust this information from across the sea.

He had endlessly researched regarding a boy named Raymond Clark amongst the students in Shizuku's exchange school.

The face on the photo stored in the school server was the same that which had appeared in the video.

But that alone did not guarantee Raymond Clark was telling the truth. Just as you would not dismiss all anonymously supplied information as false, you wouldn't trust all information just because it had been supplied by someone who gave their true identity.

Nonetheless Tatsuya had gone over the specified location--the outdoor training field of First High. This was because he had no other significant leads.

He awaited, leaving things in the hands of chance. Even if it ended up being false and he wasted the day, it wasn't much of a big deal.

In the exceptionally large grounds behind the school was an artificial forest. To be technical that was also part of First High, but it was difficult to tell where the artificial forest came to an end and the natural forest began. Especially so at night.

The time was almost 7pm. Maybe it didn't quite qualify as night yet.

Unlike in the inner city however where bright lights eclipsed the darkness, in this forest with no street lamps in sight it wouldn't be wrong to think it was nearing nightfall.

To prevent trespassers entering by mistake, a high fence surrounded the training grounds. If a normal citizens wandered in and was hit by magic shot during training, it would be all kinds of problematic.

However even without the fence, it was unlikely any locals would enter. It was well known within the neighbourhood that this was the practice field of First High.

Besides there were no households around unrelated to the magic high school. When First High had been established here, the government had offered compensation to transfer residence to all those who were unrelated to magic, who couldn't use magic, or who wanted nothing to do with magic. All those who remained knew very well the risk of setting foot in that field.

That was also why there was no particular security system. There was nothing to steal considering it was just an artificial forest, so there was no pressing need to keep out intruders.

"Can you get over it?"

Looking up at the three metre high fence, Tatsuya inquired his companions. The only direct entrance in was a back gate from First High, so having exited the school the only way in was scaling the fence. Entering from outside was simple, but entering from inside would require dealing with the school's difficult to deceive monitoring system. While systems were of course in place to detect thieves entering from the training grounds, if suspicious people entered not only from outside but inside as well there would be far more cause to investigate.

"Of course, Onii sama."

"No problem."

"Something like this'll be a piece of cake!"

At Tatsuya's words Miyuki, Erika and Leo replied in the affirmative. "It is possible."

Last of all, the one to whom the question had originally been posed to, Pixie, answered.

Tatsuya's companions tonight were these three, and one doll.

--Originally, Tatsuya had not planned on bringing Miyuki. Erika as well, since she had been involved thus far, had only been supposed to be informed of events.

But he knew that knowing about such events, there was no way they'd simply wait quietly at home. When leaving Miyuki had tagged along as if it were only natural, and at the specified time Erika had casually just turned up; at both these times Tatsuya had not protested. He knew that resistance would only be a pointless exercise in futility. Rather he had given up, and immediately set about incorporating his friends into his strategy.

Turning his focus to the training grounds again, he felt the air of the forest stir. The other plays seemed to have gone up the stage already.

Whilst pretending to operate his CAD--he didn't forget to keep confidentiality at this stage--he pulled the sequence for 'Leap' from his memory and jumped over the fence.

Amongst the shadows of the forest, the four+one moved as a single entity. They did not spread out to search for the target. In an area of this size, in this darkness, separating would have little benefit and only run the risk of them being defeated individually.

Even if that hadn't been the case, it had been proven in Aoyama that regrouping under such circumstances would be an arduous task. It wasn't impossible that the opponents wouldn't be coming out on alert, but even so there was no sense risking it. If they couldn't find the Parasites like this, they would simply come back tomorrow and search steadily again.

Not to mention, Tatsuya had the feeling that they would appear. It was not a prediction.

Nor an inference.

Although he had no basis, Tatsuya was certain as he clove through the trees. The light of their torches only illuminated a small part of the ground, but there were none who stumbled amidst the dead branches and tree roots. Possibly because there were no new tracks whilst straining their eyes they simply proceeded on at the same pace as if it were day, for about 15 minute.

"Tatsuya san, please stop."

From the communications device fitted to his ear, the voice of Mizuki came through. In conference mode, the words reached all of their headsets.

"38 degrees to the right of your current direction, I can see the aura of Parasites."

Instead of accompanying Tatsuya and the others, Mizuki was on a rooftop overlooking the training grounds providing navigation with her 'eyes'.

"I see them too! Two men and a woman, three in total."

Using the aura Mizuki had spotted, Honoka's magic applied to a camera activated. The image aquired via optical magic was as clear as those taken from close range in broad daylight, and was delivered to the group's terminals via wireless.

If not for the unique talents Mizuku and Honoka possessed as magicians, a search scheme of this type would be impossible. Having determined that their utility was indispensable to the mission tonight, Mikihiko had been assigned as an escort for the two. Mikihiko himself had not been unhappy with this placement. He understood full well how important his role was, and knew that he was perfectly suited for the job.

"Ah! From the opposite direction, a masked girl is approaching the Parasites!"

Honoka's report rang in. With the Parasite's aura becoming visible, it seemed Lina had sprung the attack.

Tatsuya signalled with his hands. Miyuki, Erika, Leo and Pixie nodded.

The next moment, Tatsuya became a gale blazing through the forest.

Erika followed right behind him whilst Leo, checking side to side, started running with Miyuki and Pixie.

◊ ◊ ◊

Tatsuya's group, the band of Parasites, as well as Lina and her backup team.

Gathered in this forest right now were these three forces, both Tatsuya and Lina thought.

Tatsuya knew that there was a faction in the defense forces who wished to capture a Parasite, but he recognised they were under the influence of the Saegusa. Being warned through Mayumi, with the Yotsuba undoubtedly moving to keep them in check and having received a large blow from 'Angie Sirius', Tatsuya determined that they should been in pretty bad shape. At least, they would be in no condition to interfere tonight.

In fact however, under the shade of the trees, a different group approached both Tatsuya and Lina.

They were a guerrilla infantry platoon of the defense forces First division, specialising in close combat, known as the 'Sword Corps'. As the name implied they did not use firearms, but were a group which launched surprise attacks using sword type devices.

Their mobilisation was due to a range of circumstances, what with Tokyo being under the First division's jurisdiction, the nature of the mission requiring covert action, as well as them being under the influence of the Kudou. No, that last reason may have been the biggest of all.

Tatsuya was not omniscient. Something unknown couldn't be calculated for, and naturally the wrong response would result. That the Kudou elder would be interested in the Parasites as weapons, and that he could assemble a force in only three days, was not something he could have have known.

And furthermore, there was another. Rather, one more person. One shadow, tracking the Sword Corps.

Now, within the training grounds of First High, these five powers raced towards their inevitable collision.

◊ ◊ ◊

As the Stars captain 'Sirius', the mission must be fulfilled. Underpinning Lina now, was this pride alone.

It wasn't as if she had known no setbacks before coming to Japan. In the juvenile education program provided by the Pentagon, she had gotten only Cs in algebra and biology. In the combat class, within the same group, there were monstrously developed female soldiers of the same age who she just couldn't seem to beat. She had not done well in pilot training either.

But she had never once lost in magic.

The captain of Stars, Angie Sirius.

One of the most powerful magicians in the world.

Everyone had praised her, and she had supreme confidence in her skills herself.

But here in Japan.

She had lost to those siblings.

The first battle had been of her choosing.

Having withdrawn in her own time, it had been a 'successful retreat'.

The second time she had faltered in the face of Tatsuya's 'kamikaze' attack, and though she had lost to the ambush, even though strategically she was defeated she had not been bested by magic.

In the single combat with Miyuki which followed however, it was her defeat.

In spite of the adverse conditions, Lina did not think of them as an excuse.

In a head on clash, she had lost to Miyuki.

That defeat had further spurred her fighting spirit. Unfazed, she had vowed vindication.

However,

In that fight for redemption,

Lina had been hammered by Tatsuya.

Luring him out into a one-on-one, even going as far as to pull out 'Brionac', she had still lost.

Even as she felt chagrin towards him, there was neither enmity or resentment. Where Tatsuya had put Lina to shame was not in the speed of her restraint.

The fight itself had been very fair. Rather, she had the advantage.

She had lost to Tatsuya not just in terms of magic skill, but also in conviction...Lina accepted that.

But without a doubt, that defeat had shaken her to the core. She was one of the most powerful combat magicians in the world, Sirius.

Therefore she had been selected as the captain of Stars, the position which cared neither for age nor gender but was given to the USNA's strongest based on power alone. In the case said magician wasn't in the army, even if plotting and subterfuge was required they would be conscripted in as the Stars captain and 'Sirius'.

The chances of those defeats leaking out to the world at large was slim. In the first place both Tatsuya and Miyuki, as well as those who had accompanied them, were keeping quiet. Tarnishing the name of Sirius was not their goal.

Yet even if nothing was known to others, she had to face the fact she lost with dignity. In order to redeem herself, Lina had to demonstrate her abilities and fulfill her duties as 'Sirius'.

If she were to be able to continue as Sirius.

For the sake of the girl within her who was lost the moment she had taken the Sirius name, Angelina Shields.

◊ ◊ ◊

When Tatsuya had closed enough to see with his own eyes he saw Lina; masked, flaming haired and golden eyed taking on the three Parasites alone.

Although the Parasites could cast magic without the need for activation sequences, merely thinking it into being, Lina wasn't giving an inch. In terms of attack ratio, Lina was dishing out seven blows for every three the Parasites managed to get in. If it weren't for one of the Parasites having a dangerous ability, the battle may have been even more skewed

The ability was pseudo-teleportation.

In terms of magic, it combined complex inertial dampening and high speed movement techniques.

By using the trees for mobility, it was possible to move in three dimensions, popping up and firing off magic.

The magic attacks held low interference power, and were nothing before Lina's magical might, yet she could not merely do nothing and every time she raised defensive magic, some of the attacks from the other enemies would get through. Tatsuya judged the situation in an instant.

He had no intention of assisting Lina, but Tatsuya halted, and aimed 'Decomposition' at the Parasite using teleportation.

Many magicians aim magic using the five senses. Even when using perceptions outside the five, their aim would be the location of the target.

That was normally.

Tatsuya however could aim at the information itself. Even if the location of the target changed rapidly, as long as the information itself was recognisable the aim would not be hindered.

The pseudo-teleportation had no effect on Tatsuya. "Leave it to me!"

That wasn't the case just for Tatsuya however. Catching up to the now stationary Tatsuya, then passing him, Erika activated inertia control.

The pseudo-teleportation held a threat only if the opponent's hands, feet, and above all eyes could not keep up. On the other hand, if the opponent's speed exceeded that of the operator, such three- dimensional maneuvers were merely wasted acrobatics.

Erika grasped the Isori house made and Tatsuya adjusted (not that she asked him to) downsized version of 'Orochimaru', the integrated CAD armament 'Mizuchimaru', and accelerated straight ahead.

Her destination was exactly where the Parasite, who had just kicked off a tree trunk, would land.

With extraordinary dynamic vision, her body control not lost even under the effect of an inertial canceling technique, her footwork propelling her forwards without any wasted motions, she was able to calculate the exact moment the opponent would hit the ground.

In terms of magic power, the Parasite was probably ahead. But Erika's might as a martial artists overturned the difference. Erika swung Mizuchimaru.

Without an ounce of hesitation, the honed blade cut the Parasite down.

Tatsuya modified the aim of his partial decomposition, shooting out the limbs of another Parasite which was now aiming a telekinetic attack at Erika, and as she delivered the final blow he held out his left hand towards the fresh corpse.

Mikihiko would maintain a barrier which prevented the Parasites from exiting their hosts. He had set up a simple altar on the roof of the school building. The reason Mikihiko was positioned on the rooftop was not only to escort Mizuki and Honoka, but also because he could project remote barriers.

The effects of the barrier were imperfect however. It wasn't a matter of Mikihiko's skill, it was a fundamental flaw of the technique itself. Originally, barriers could not be constructed like this.

As long as the host survived, the Parasite could not flee from it's vessel. In other words, once the hosts died the Parasites were free to escape. Even if they could secure the bodies, they could not contain the Parasites themselves. Before Erika fully killed the Parasite, it was necessary to process it.

A mass of psions shot from Tatsuya's palm, and ripped the psions away from the body of the Parasite. No, a closer image would not be 'ripped' but rather 'scattered'.

Tatsuya, Miyuki and Mikihiko had examined the results of previous engagements, and deduced that the Parasite's were a core of Pushion information bodies with a thin layer outside; schematically speaking analogous to a fibrous layer of Psion information bodies coating a Pushion centre; this led to the hypothesis that they consumed Psions whenever they used magic.

Destroying the Pushion body itself was difficult for Tatsuya. That had been proven twice now.

He had discovered however that he could cripple them.

And while Mikihiko would have difficulties sealing a Parasite alone, when stripped of magical resistance and weakened it was a different story.

"Mikihiko!"

Tatsuya called out into the hands-free headset. It wasn't necessary. Thanks to Honoka's optical magic and Mizuki's 'eyes', Mikihiko was already fully aware of events transpiring in the field.

Mikihiko 'seeing' what was happening, and calling down a bolt of lightening from the heavens, was almost simultaneous with Tatsuya's call. The lightening struck the dead body of the host, and seared the skin black. Remaining on the skin were carved a series of characters and regular geometrical patterns.

"Nice shot!"

Erika shouted out with delight. In Tatsuya's sight, the no information was leaking from the host body.

However, he didn't share Erika's joy just yet.

He fired more shots at the Parasite he had disabled.

The body of the host, left to it's biological response was flailing around wildly.

Another flash of sealing retribution struck down. The body, hit by Tatsuya's Psion bullets, stopped moving. That made two Parasites sealed.

At the edge of his vision, different thunder roared. Rather than Ancient lightning, it was a blitz of modern magic.

He saw a body charred by Lina's magic. It was probably already just an empty shell.

"One escaped. Mizuki, do you have it?"

"I'm sorry, keeping track of everything from here is..."

When he reflexively inquired into the headset, the answering tone was apologetic. Thinking about it this was natural; as Mizuki's vision couldn't extend to that which she couldn't physically see, she couldn't enlarge and view distant objects.

"I see. Sorry, I asked something unreasonable. Don't mind it."

Following up to Mizuki, Tatsuya turned to Lina and Erika with a bitter look.

"Angie Sirius."

That she was upset behind her mask was not an illusion of Tatsuya's. "What."

But this time, she seemed willing to talk. Her voice had changed as well, was this another effect of 'Parade'?

"Try not to kill them until they're sealed. The cleanup will be troublesome."

She was momentarily at a loss for words. She intuitively understood that Tatsuya hadn't said 'troublesome' simply to look bad; he truly did simply view a person's life and death as a 'hassle'. --Not that it changed Lina's answer.

"It's not my problem. I am merely here for the deserters."

While she had consciously changed her tone, it was still possible to tell from her intonation Tatsuya thought.

Of course, what he said was completely different.

"The duty of Sirius is it... well, that's why we want to seal the bodies.

One's escaped."

"That is not included in my mission."

Stubborn as ever. And negotiating with someone unwilling to listen had never been Tatsuya's strong point. His stance had always been 'if you don't want to listen then fine do what you like, and so will I'. However, he had to get her to listen in this case. Tatsuya persevered as he suppressed the urge to heave a sigh.

"Mission you say, but the one you killed just now seems like an Asian born and bred. Was he really a deserter?"

Tatsuya wasn't completely certain that wasn't the case. It was a bluff really. But Lina was clearly upset. His guess appeared to have hit the mark.

"...Even if not a deserter, he was guilty of aiding them."

Yet even now, her stubbornness refused to relent.

"I'll say it again, the Parasites are no concern of mine. All I'm here for is to fulfill my role as Sirius."

Saying so, Lina disappeared into the forest.

Holding back an urge to shrug, Tatsuya turned to Erika. "So she came out, that Sirius."

Erika came leaping over. Knowing that she smiled without holding a grudge over the events of three days ago, Tatsuya could be smile wryly in turn.

After her grin of triumph passed, the smile vanished,

"That was...

Lina wasn't it? Although she looked completely different."

And Erika asked with a straight face.

"If she looked completely different, why would you think so?"

"Her actions, I guess. The way she moved and carried herself, it's all so familiar."

"Good point..."

Tatsuya had to admit Erika's powers of observation. The illusory magic 'Parade' which changed everything from face to build had been seen through by something so trivial.

Still, he couldn't be stuck in admiration forever.

"I think you understand already, but keep it a secret. That being said, I'd like to apply what I said to Lina to you as well."

"Don't kill em?"

"Yes. You heard the explanation. As long as the host doesn't die, the Parasites cannot escape from within them. We put up a barrier to prevent escape, but neutralising without killing is still the best way to make sure."

Tatsuya's request was reasonable. Erika understood that. "I'm sorry. It's unfair on you Tatsuya kun, but I can't do that." However, Erika--Erika shook her head.

"One who is prepared to kill by the sword, must also be prepared to be killed. Thinking about that moment...I just can't purposely prolong their pain without killing them."

The reason was completely different from Lina however. It was personal, and her true feelings.

"It'd be different if they could be saved without killing them, but sealing them is the same as killing them isn't it? So even if they're no longer human, I want to take them down without drawing out their suffering."

There was no nervousness in Erika's expression, or her eyes. Her determination however was resolute.

"Guess it can't be helped."

Killing was an absolute to Tatsuya. Whether one was killed after being inflicted with suffering or not, the end result of being killed did not change; this was Tatsuya's reasoning.

He didn't try and sway Erika however. Values were an individual matter.

Some of which did not bear another's meddling. "Well, I'll just have to work extra hard."

That exterminating the Parasites would require such contradictory commitment didn't cross Tatsuya's mind.