by Sato Tsutomu
"..."
"...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 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 wou
ld 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[4]."
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 ho
urs 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."