Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 07 - Yokohama Disturbance Chapter (II)

by Sato Tsutomu

  Secret Sword "Tetsuzan".

  Usually, the "blade" was the only concept set inside the blade with a Magic Sequence from Move-Systematic magic set to guide the blade's slashing motion. —If the weapon wasn't "Ikazuchimaru".

  When Ikazuchimaru was used to activate "Tetsuzan", not only the blade, but swordsman was also included within the magic's targets.

  At the same time that the blade was set as a concept, the "swordsman wielding the blade" was set as another complementary concept, thus realizing the possibility of high speed attacks and slashes without trembling.

  When he swung the sword downwards, his body already knew how to move. Through thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of repetitive motions and practice, the slashing action had already been carved into his very body by the time he learned this technique.

  The general consensus was that the eldest son of the Chiba Family was not as talented as his younger brother.

  In reality, Toshikazu himself believed that Naotsugu was a prodigy and he was not.

  Precisely because he wasn't a genius, he relied on a determined training regime unknown to other people to earn the ability to use Ikazuchimaru's Tetsuzan technique, "Lightning Tetsuzan".

  Because this was a technique taken to the logical extreme, once he initiated "Lightning Tetsuzan", he could only follow through with the motion. This is why he made sure no one saw him practice.

  For this reason, many people mistakenly believed that he was a slothful individual while he actually earned this secret sword through his incredible diligence.

  The bipedal tank whose pilot's seat was cut in two finally went silent.

  The other bipedal tank turned its other body to meet Kirihara, who was closing in while pressed low to the ground.

  He was still a step away from entering close quarters combat.

  The muzzle of the machine gun pointed at Kirihara, but no bullets spat out.

  Behind Kirihara, a kodachi came flying to impact on the machine gun and knock it off the bipedal tank's shoulder.

  Diagonally behind Kirihara, Sayaka readied another kodachi and threw it.

  The Howitzer was also taken out.

  The two kodachis returned along their flight axis back into Sayaka's hands.

  Knife throwing.

  Although Sayaka belonged to the Kendo Club in school, her father was a Magician who used kenjutsu in live combat. She learned kenjutsu techniques and rudimentary lessons from home. Among those lessons, her area of expertise lay in knife throwing.

  In a head on confrontation, a woman could not avoid being on the weaker end when it came to wrist strength. For example, the Sonic Blade favored by Kirihara relied heavily on wrist strength. It was too difficult for her to control the tachi using magic with her magic technical ability. Yet when it came to knife throwing, that had nothing to do with wrist strength so long as she could match her magic with the throwing motion. With this in mind, she trained relentlessly to be able to use this magic.

  Since there was a huge opening after the initial throwing motion, this was not something she dared to use against swift opponents but would be perfect against this sort of large, plodding opponent.

  Seeing that the firearms had been taken out, Kirihara took the last step forward.

  A giant saw was being brought down on his head.

  However, he had already seen through its trajectory.

  His body naturally began to slide and Kirihara's blade bisected the bipedal tank's left leg.

  Sonic Blade.

  His favorite magic easily sheared through the armor plating designed to withstand land mines and anti-armor rifle rounds.

  The tank body came crashing down.

  Kirihara cut off the pile driver at the base as he fell back and then looped around the side to plunge the blade into the pilot's seat.

  The feeling that traveled across his hand told him he penetrated flesh.

  Kirihara's face twisted slightly as he pulled the blade out and leaped far away from the bipedal tank.

  The expression on his face was most definitely not a smile.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  After searching the APC's wreckage, Tatsuya removed a 30 cm long box from the vehicle.

  "Is this it?"

  He held the box in front of the camera as he asked this question.

  "Yes, that's it. Put it in front of the analyzer...... Yep, looks like it."

  A reply came back across the display on the camera.

  "That's the Magic Booster."

  "It looks like a normal box."

  "Connection and operation are completely done through a ritual feedback loop, so there's no mechanical outlet."

  On the other side of the display, Sanada continued explaining to Tatsuya, who was frowning with suspicion at the flat box that only had a handle.

  "You said that the APC's anti-physical magic barrier was being amplified by this booster, right?"

  "That should be the case. Although it's only speculation on our side, but it fits."

  Sanada expressed his agreement towards Yanagi's speculation on the matter.

  "Then our enemy's identity becomes obvious. Well, not that there were any other possible culprits anyways."

  "Although this is insufficient as evidence, we are neither the police nor judges. Though even if we did know their identity, our plan of action probably wouldn't change."

  On the other side of the display, both of the captains broke into evil smiles.

  He really didn't want to turn into those people, Tatsuya thought with a little hesitation before verifying his next set of orders.

  "Then, are we to sink the Great Asian Alliance's camouflaged combat vessel?"

  "Sinking it in the confines of the harbor is a bad idea. We would impact the harbor's functions too heavily."

  Of course, he was aware of that possibility. He was only joking when he mentioned sinking the vessel, but that appeared to have provoked an answer that was more serious than he anticipated, hence Tatsuya was slightly apologetic.

  "Then are we conducting a boarding action?"

  Yanagi asked Kazama, who replaced Sanada on the monitor.

  Somehow, he got the feeling that boarding the enemy vessel with such a tiny force had already turned into a predetermined event, Tatsuya thought.

  It was only now that he remembered that these acquaintances of his — his current superiors — did not know the meaning of a joke, or maybe they were the type of people who had become accustomed to accomplishing things that most people would assume was a joke.

  "We'll put that off until the end. There are public figures in the plaza before the bus station who have called in helicopters for evacuating civilians. After handing the area over to the unit from Tsurumi, head to the bus station and provide cover for the evacuation."

  "Understood."

  Standing next to Yanagi, Tatsuya saluted at the same time and thought what a courageous bunch of public figures those people were.

  Even if they were evacuating, remembering to take civilians who had not evacuated yet was certainly a praiseworthy gesture, he thought.

  "Also, the public figures who called in the helicopters are called Saegusa Mayumi and Kitayama Shizuku. If the two of them have any requests on site, please do your best to accommodate them."

  Hearing these familiar names in his ear, Tatsuya barely suppressed a coughing fit.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Almost at the same time, the other locations also ascertained their enemy's identity.

  Although the wreckage that Erika smashed was a dead loss, Miyuki, Erika, Leo, and Mikihiko were crowded in front of the other bipedal tank that was undamaged save for the pilot seat that Leo slashed open. Mikihiko was the one who called the other three over.

  "In regards to this bipedal tank, I don't think it's moving just through machinery."

  "In other words, they applied other sorts of spells?"

  "Exactly."

  It wasn't anything special for Miyuki to use a more formal tone with bo
ys (this was not always the case, as she might adopt a different tone in different circumstances).

  Maybe for the same reason, Mikihiko was never able to speak casually around Miyuki (he was always like this).

  "The limb motions for these three were amazingly human-like. The bipedal tank's body is dominated by the pilot's seat and has too many structural differences compared to the human body. They couldn't imitate human motions even if they wanted to because doing so should lead to loss of mobility."

  "Even so, these guys still manifested 'overly' life-like motions, right?"

  Mikihiko nodded without hesitation at Leo's question.

  "Their mobility is not just coming from pistons, gears, or electricity. I believe that there's also some force at work here to enable the limbs to mimic human motion."

  "In other words, they're using magic? What kind of magic?"

  "Probably Senshi Shihei Jutsu."

  "Senshi Shihei Jutsu?"

  Erika turned the unfamiliar name over in her mouth as she tilted her head.

  "Is that the humanoid servant magic from the Onmyo System? I heard it originally came from the Daoists."

  Hearing Miyuki's answer, Mikihiko couldn't help but nod in admiration.

  "Indeed. Senshi Shihei Jutsu involves cutting paper into human shapes, then sprinkling magic on it to turn them into soldiers."

  The latter half of that explanation was for Erika.

  "In other words, our enemy comes from the Great Asian Alliance?"

  Yet Erika flung the magic's explanation to the back of her head and directly announced the enemy's identity.

  "Aren't we jumping to conclusions here? Magic from the Onmyo System may also hint at traitors from within."

  "No, I think there's an 80 to 90% chance that Erika is on the right track."

  Although Leo expressed his question with a caution that seemed entirely unlike him, Mikihiko still shook his head and expressed his support for Erika's opinion.

  "This may sound strange, but Ancient Magic was also mainstream at one point...... Among those who emphasize tradition, there are skills that enjoyed considerable popularity over the years, and also skills that have become outdated. In the past 10 years, you cannot find shikigami with actual physical bodies no matter which branch of Ancient Magic you look into within the country. In our country, Senshi Shihei Jutsu has already been abandoned as magic. In order to grant bipedal tanks the full range of motion to use saws and pile drivers, the more magic that is present the better. If it was me, I would enchant the pile driver and saw themselves. Even we Ancient Magic users are not so stubborn as to insist on using abandoned magic despite knowing that there is wasteful excess within the magic."

  "I'm not talking about who's more stubborn and all that."

  Seeing Mikihiko starting to overthink this — or at least become overly conscious, Leo's expression turned a tad stiff as he waved his hands.

  "In summation, the ones controlling the bipedal tanks are Magicians from the Great Asian Alliance? OK, got it."

  "Ah, no, well...... I guess that's how it is."

  Mikihiko likely realized that he was projecting his anger within his words and sheepishly shut his mouth. Still, his expression altered swiftly as he dropped another bombshell to the other three.

  "Eh? You want Shibata-san to go over there?"

  After receiving the request over the loudspeakers on the transmission terminal, Mayumi involuntarily shouted back.

  "......OK. Well, I guess you have a point...... Fine, I understand. But let's make sure we get her opinion on the matter first...... Yes, I think putting it to her directly would better. Shibata-san."

  Mayumi removed the terminal from her ear and passed it to Mizuki.

  "Yes, what is it......?"

  "Miyuki-chan's group would like Shibata-san to head over. They have provided an in-depth explanation, so please listen carefully before making a decision."

  Normally, Mayumi and Mizuki did not meet very frequently. Thus, when receiving the transmission terminal that was accompanied by something close to a mission briefing, Mizuki could only helplessly and carefully, no, more like fearfully receive the terminal.

  "Ah, Shibata-san?"

  "Yoshida-kun?"

  Now that she knew it was Mikihiko on the other hand, Mizuki's expression relaxed a few degrees.

  If Erika was on the other line, there was no telling when she would say something outrageous whereas Mizuki would still grow anxious when speaking to Miyuki for no apparent reason.

  Still, why was she relaxed around Mikihiko — Mizuki had not discovered the meaning for this for herself yet.

  "I would like to borrow Shibata-san's power."

  On the other side, Mikihiko's tone was a little anxious. —Actually, he seemed rather excited.

  "Eh, power?"

  "The enemy is using Ancient Magic called Senshi Shihei Jutsu to command their mobile armors. Since their magic differs in nature with my own, I'm having a hard time grasping the enemy's magic. However, with Shibata-san's 'eyes', I think that you can read the enemy's movements faster and locate the core of the enemy's magic faster than I can. Once you locate the core, I can use my magic to nullify the enemy's Senshi Shihei Jutsu. That's why I hope that Shibata-san can get over here as soon as you can. Of course, this will be dangerous, but I will definitely protect you."

  "—!"

  Speechless, Mizuki turned completely red.

  She understood very clear that there was no ulterior meaning in that.

  But—

  "See, Mizuki. Yoshida-kun will definitely protect you, right?"

  "—!"

  "—!"

  Once Miyuki's voice came across the terminal, an aura of silence seemed to have been passed across as well. Both of their brains were flooded with images of the other person's face and, in an awkward silence that gave them fits, time seemed to stop.

  "......Of course, not just Yoshida-kun, but the rest of us will protect you to the best of our ability."

  The frozen time was restored when Miyuki broke the silence.

  Overhearing the transmission, Mayumi could not help but remark privately, "Miyuki-chan really is an S......"

  "Y-Yes! We will all defend you!"

  Mizuki softly nodded at Mikihiko's hysterical cry that seemed to speak on so many levels.

  "I understand. I'm heading over right now."

  Removing the terminal from her ear, Mizuki let out a huge sigh and handed the terminal back to Mayumi. After that, she lightly bowed to Mayumi before jogging off to the "front line" where Mikihiko and company were stationed.

  Chapter 12

  By 4:30 PM local time, the battle was starting to turn around.

  Originally, the invading army never planned to get bogged down for a long fight.

  There was only one invading vessel in the shape of a camouflaged cargo ship; they were not working very closely with the soldiers who infiltrated ahead of time. The initial objective of the surprise attack was the National High School Magic Thesis Competition, but due to the fact that insufficient forces were committed, only partial damage was caused to the building. Even so, they originally anticipated only police resistance as they took control of key objectives and kidnapped civilians, hence they only invested a small force. However, a major miscalculation came from the fact that the Magic Association organized volunteers for defense much faster than they expected.

  Of course, there was also the fast reaction time from the JSDF. One hour after mobilization, a battalion of reinforcements had appeared to shield the fleeing civilians.

  Since the nearby enemy started retreating, the battle turned into a peace-keeping sweep. Beyond verifying the identities of evacuating civilians, the situation was improving rapidly.

  However, the young men and women stuck in the heart of the maelstrom had no inkling of this.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  "Kurosawa-san? ...Yes, OK. ...Yes, thank you."

  After speaking with someone, who must have been the butler from her
home (Kitayama Family), Shizuku removed the transmission device from her ear. Simultaneously, the sound of a helicopter's engine could be heard.

  "Saegusa-senpai, the company's helicopters will be here shortly."

  Hearing Shizuku's report, Mayumi raised her face from the messaging terminal she was staring at with a grim expression and put on a cool smile.

  "I got it. Kitayama-san, you go ahead and take the women and families with children first. Inagaki-san, please accompany her and provide support for Kitayama-san on board. Also, Inagaki-san, could you please coordinate and direct the people who haven't evacuated yet? Ichihara and I will also lend a hand. Mitsui-san, please monitor the surroundings."

  Crisply giving out a series of orders, she quietly heaved a small sigh. The already fussy civilians who were being evacuated slowly would undoubtedly be displeased.

  There were a lot of people who balked at having a child controlling the evacuation process.

  So far, they hadn't encountered anyone creating a scene because they were afraid that they couldn't board the helicopter in time, but if there were any delays from the incoming helicopters, then tensions and anxiety would definitely rise.

  Originally, two helicopters arriving at the same time would have been ideal, but she couldn't tell the helicopter that arrived first to just wait overhead.

  "What are you doing wasting time here? Seriously."

  Looks like Mayumi first needed to wrestle down her own anxiety.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  The CO of the invasion force didn't bother to hide his grim visage at the continuously worsening situation of the battle. In order to succeed, this operation called for a solo ship to blitzkrieg the enemy nation, accomplish all the objectives, and evacuate before the enemy could respond. According to this design, the first phase of the mission was a complete success. While the enemy's fast response time was within predictable parameters, the strength of the civilian resistance surpassed all prediction. Based on the original plan, they should already have shifted to the withdrawal phase, but while they were bogged down with the resistance from the volunteers, the enemy's encirclement was complete.