by Sato Tsutomu
Both Orochimaru and Erika were sent flying.
For a tiny instant, astonishment crossed Lu Gonghu's features.
There wasn't much sense that his blow connected, so in that instant, Erika must have activated Orochimaru's inertia cancel ability.
Yet, unlike Leo, Erika crashed into the roadblock and didn't get back up. If the inertia was entirely canceled, then even running into the barricade itself should yield no injury. This must be because the ability wasn't able to completely absorb the blow.
Lu Gonghu immediately concentrated everything on Mari.
However, that tiny fraction of an instant was enough to present a golden opportunity.
By the time Lu Gonghu's eyes rested on Mari, her right hand shifted to reveal three thin, circular containers held between her fingertips.
Lu Gonghu immediately held his breath. He had not forgotten the magic that caused him to suffer so much. If he only held his breath while in the throes of oxygen deprivation, the air with lower oxygen content would still pass into the lungs and ravage the body. Hence Lu Gonghu plugged his esophagus and physically held his breath.
Yet on Mari's side, she wasn't using the same tactics either. Her advantage over others lay not in overwhelming magic power or swift activation speed, but her versatility in multiple magics and the ability to combine them to simultaneously chain multiple magics, a high class technique that was extremely difficult for her opponents to defend against. At First High, Hattori might possess a similar ability, but in terms of anti-personnel combat, Mari's complexity and versatility put all others to shame. Her expertise lay in striking at exposed sensory organs, such as auditory, olfactory senses in order to take away the enemy's fighting ability using magic. Thanks to these skills, Mari was able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Magicians who were direct descendants from the Ten Master Clans like Katsuto and Mayumi. The three of them together were known collectively as the "Triumvirate".
Lu Gonghu's White Tiger Armor was a traditional piece of Chinese armor and was not airtight, which was something that couldn't be helped for magical devices enchanted with Ancient Magic. Traditionally, airborne weapons were not used in the heat of combat where friend and foe were locked in close quarters, which was why the execution of the White Tiger Armor did not take that into account.
Yet, there was a Magician here who used airborne attacks in close combat range with nary a regard to the "traditional" way of doing things.
Manipulating the air flow, Mari combined the chemicals wafting from the three small containers and sent a smell that induced drunkenness into Lu Gonghu's nose that led directly to the olfactory organ.
Lu Gonghu's body had undergone poison resistance training, so he was able to overcome the chemical's effects. However, just as his physical body was recovering, the triblade was bearing down on his throat. Seeing the black string attached to the blade — "Pressure Slash" closing in, Lu Gonghu chose evasive action over parrying the blow.
Thus, Lu Gonghu flipped backwards while kicking his feet outward. Although this was a kick with no technique and pure force, he easily sent Mari's body hurtling through the air.
While taking evasive action to avoid the incoming repulsion field blade, he relaxed his wind pipe.
His eyes that were facing skyward caught sight of a white block flying towards his head.
The size was about a child's fist and the dry ice was dropping at a speed that the eye could follow, so Lu Gonghu used his right fist to meet the block.
The second Lu Gonghu's palm came into contact, the dry ice block reverted to carbon dioxide and began to condense as it rushed towards Lu Gonghu. The high density carbon dioxide rushed into Lu Gonghu's wind pipe and filled his lungs.
That was Mayumi's anti-personnel finishing strike "Dry Meteor". It was a magic that combined all four processes of carbon dioxide convergence, condensation, acceleration and release. The magic relied on the shock wave and carbon dioxide poisoning to render the enemy immobile.
One of the finest close combat Magicians fell before the onslaught of the young woman nicknamed the "Magic Shooter" for her prowess in long-range precision shooting that ranked in the top 10 in the world.
"Mari, are you hurt?"
"Erika! Leo! You guys alright?"
Kanon and Mikihiko came running forward. Isori was following behind Kanon with an exhausted visage. They appeared to have taken care of all the other enemies besides Lu Gonghu.
"I'm fine, thanks to the armor."
"Kanon, I think they're OK."
Mari immediately replied. Mayumi turned her eyes toward the barricade's side.
"Leo looks to be fine as well."
Leo clumsily clambered off the ground and was joking with Mikihiko. The armor created by Fortifying Magic must have kicked in in time.
"...I'm OK too."
The last person, Erika, lay on the ground while grumbling.
"Erika!?"
Mikihiko frantically hurried over while concern flooded Leo's face.
Just as Mari turned her gaze to her, Erika leaped off the ground to her feet.
"Erika, are you well enough to stand?"
Erika's surprising action rendered Mikihiko and Leo speechless as their jaws dropped whereas Isori asked her in concern.
"I'm OK. Just a mild concussion, so I lost consciousness for a bit there."
Following that, Erika sighed deeply.
"Man, I still lost."
Rather than being pleased that the enemy was defeated, she cared far more that she was beaten in battle. Such a comment that befitted Erika's personality perfectly caused Mikihiko and Leo to relax and break into laughter.
◊ ◊ ◊
Chen Xiangshan was walking along a corridor leading to the Magic Association side branch by himself. Although this was a special operation, he was making no attempt to hide the sound of his footsteps and was just walking normally. Although he had not taken the elevator or escalator from the first floor and was only taking the stairs, he had yet to be discovered by anyone.
All of those watchful gazes were concentrated on his subordinates drawing all the attention by the hillside. He knew of this and never doubted that for a second, because he had arranged for this to happen from the very beginning. In his conspicuous white armor, Lu Gonghu was the perfect bait.
Ghostwalker was a magic that selected positions based on fortune. Still, much like how ninjutsu was seen as solely a physical attribute despite its nature as a high class ability, the Ancient Magic — Ghostwalker also had a side of its own.
It was a magic that manipulated the vectors. Based on the user's wishes, this secretive magic could redirect other people's attention to the desired location.
People with their vectors scrambled would never locate the target. Much like someone who intended to walk straight forward but was actually walking in circles, or maybe seeing a carriage plainly in walking distance but never able to catch up. Ghostwalker was a specialized branch of mental interference magic.
Unrestricted by physical parameters, consciously manipulating the target's direction was the basics of Ghostwalker. Thanks to the assistance of his subordinates, Chen easily reached the Kantou branch of the Japanese Magic Association.
He pushed against the door only to find that the door was locked. This was within his calculations. Chen quickly removed a terminal and pressed it against the key pad. He was using Gold Electron Silkworms to break through the locking mechanism and bypass this physical barrier. Although the alarm sounded because the locking mechanism was breached, Chen didn't mind in the slightest because he had plenty of time before the Association members returned. The moment Chen stepped into the side branch of the Magic Association — he was surrounded by a surreal, chilling air.
"So that is Ghostwalker. I learned something new today."
A delightful and charming voice traveled to Chen's ears. He was unable to move freely despite the fact that he wasn't frozen, so he had to force himself to look towards where the voice came from.
; Standing there was an impossibly beautiful young woman, and she was no artificial projection that could only be found in the realm of the fey. And she was smiling coldly at him.
"Shiba Miyuki..."
"Since you already know my name, that means you are the ones who have been troubling Onii-sama recently."
For some reason, Miyuki's voice contained a feeling of assurance.
Despite the questions Chen had on the subject, he opened his mouth to ask another question.
"Why are you here? Did my magic not take effect...?"
Miyuki's smile seemed to raise the temperature somewhat.
Just this alone was enough to send Chen's heart beating wildly.
"That's because I received a warning. Be careful of the vectors."
Chen's eyes widened. That implied that someone had already seen through his magic.
"Honestly, just this warning alone was rather hard to comprehend. Since I was warned to watch the vectors, I might as well be on guard against all 360 degrees. I know I'll get something this way."
That's complete bull crap, Chen thought. If that alone was sufficient to break Ghostwalker, then the technique would have gone extinct long ago. Yet — the reality was that his spell had been broken. Just as he was considering this, Chen's body detected a different chill than the cold air that was surrounding him.
"Fortunately, we have a Magician on our side who can see the unseeable, so we could catch your figure even if we couldn't see your magic."
That was entirely different from guarding every vector! Chen wanted to point this out, but his mouth was unable to utter a single sound.
"Regardless, since you are the perpetrator, I'm sure everyone would be more relaxed if you disappeared."
Miyuki revealed an adorable smile as if she was incredibly pleased.
Within that smile, Chen realized what his fate would be.
It was only now that Chen discovered that his body temperature was dropping at an unnatural rate.
"You can take a small nap. I've made great strides so I guarantee you will not sleep forever."
Accompanied by that voice, Chen's consciousness was submerged in darkness.
◊ ◊ ◊
At the same time that Miyuki captured Chen Xiangshan, Tatsuya and Yanagi were closing in on the enemy's jugular.
Although Katsuto and the volunteers under his command were also aggressively pursuing the enemy, they were doing so by foot and didn't possess the sheer mobility of Tatsuya's group.
Under the conditions where soldiers were capable of independent flight, the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion fully utilized this revolutionary application of flying troops to its utmost as they outflanked and cut off the enemy from the flank and rear.
Originally, the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion was an experimental unit meant to test the newest magical techniques for military purposes.
Using Mobile Suits to achieve maximum flexibility on the battlefield was right up their alley.
Since the modern era, offensive weaponry continued to outstrip defensive weaponry in performance. Tank armor could be destroyed by infantry carrying guided missile weapon systems, and infantry had long since learned to adopt scattered formations.
With the enemy in a scattered formation, each detachment could be taken out one at a time with sufficient mobility and attack power.
Rather than destroying each unit, they were taking out the troops that made up each of the scattered units.
Using a new tactic only made possible by the Mobile Suits' mobility and firepower from their equipment, the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion routed the enemy invaders.
Rifles with increased penetration.
Guided missiles with warheads tipped with gas that only expanded in flammable directions.
The Electromagnetic Particle Cannon that used electromagnetic power to fire high temperature metallic particles.
Weapons that could not be created without magic due to component or design issues were demonstrating their might.
Of course, magic was equally active.
Of all the magic present, one of the most noteworthy was Captain Yanagi's "Thousand Tatami".
And Tatsuya's "Mist Dispersal".
Certainly, the sight of a metallic block weighing several tons repeatedly flipping over was awe inspiring, but no matter how impressive, Yanagi's "Thousand Tatami" was only support magic and lacked the power to deliver the finishing blow to the enemy.
In contrast, "Mist Dispersal" was considerably more mundane and quiet.
There was no sound or emitted light.
To reduce the chance of triggering a gunpowder or fuel explosion, he raised the degree of decomposition so that the easily flammable materials would not ignite.
All he did was erase them all.
Dissipated to dust, transformed into steam and then scattered. That was all he did.
Just like that, the very existence of the enemy and their machines faded.
The magic that did not even leave behind a corpse completely shattered the enemy morale.
They had only been in contact with the enemy for 15 minutes.
That was already the enemy's limit.
Unable to bear the loss in manpower and the even greater collapse of morale, the invading army broke completely.
Chapter 13
The Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion finally caught sight of the camouflaged vessel that served as the enemy base.
The enemy invested approximately 20 large APCs with wheels, 60 bipedal tanks, and 800 combat personnel that included large numbers of Magicians.
Although this was insufficient to capture a territory, this was more than enough firepower for one battle. However, they were currently mired in a state of annihilation where all APCs and bipedal tanks were destroyed and infantry losses exceeded 70%.
The force on the front line responsible for routing them was the same 40 man flying unit.
The Yokohama Incident was approaching its final stage.
◊ ◊ ◊
Completing his role as the commanding officer for the volunteers, Katsuto received a communication from the Magic Association side branch.
"The enemy vessel is departing our shores!"
Hearing that report, Katsuto's brows slightly furrowed to portray his astonishment.
"The enemy should not have been able to retreat yet."
Currently, there were no longer any enemy combatants still fighting anywhere in sight.
The unit they were fighting just a moment ago had fled after leaving a rear guard behind.
Even the surviving members of the rear guard had surrendered.
Even so, they couldn't possibly have boarded all the remnants on such short notice.
There should still be enemy forces remaining along the coastline.
"The enemy appears to have abandoned any attempt at recovering their remaining forces. Shall we turn to eradication?"
The communications officer, whose age was roughly the same as Katsuto, asked Katsuto this question with his eyes sparkling. After bitter, continuous fighting with lots of allied losses, a vengeful spirit was only to be expected.
That being said, it was precisely for this reason that Katsuto shook his head.
"That is not our responsibility. We do not have to take unnecessary risks, so leave the rest to the JSDF."
"—Understood!"
He probably wasn't satisfied with that answer, but he didn't disobey the Magician from the Ten Master Clans responsible for leading them to victory.
From the young man's mouth, the order was issued to all volunteer units to cease combat operations.
◊ ◊ ◊
The battalion from Tsurumi came from the north, whereas a unit from Fujisawa was finally on approach from the south. From the west, there was the garrison from Tsuchiya with elements from the Fujisawa units.
Unable to sustain the pressure exerted from all three fronts, the enemy abandoned all attempts to recover the amphibious units and began to re
treat.
Not that Yanagi ever intended to allow the enemy vessel that was frantically hoisting anchor to escape.
"Leave the enemies that haven't escaped to the squads behind us. We're taking the fight to the enemy vessel and taking it down!"
While it was possible to use the Mobile Suit's aerial mobility to fly over the enemy remnants on the ground and board the enemy vessel to directly assault the interior, Yanagi opted not to use that strategy due to the inherent risk and waste of time.
Using the soldiers armed with rifles that had amplified penetration power as escorts, he pulled the soldiers armed with guided missiles tipped with directional gas detonators into the center and formed an assault unit.
However, just as they were about to take flight, a voice called for him to desist.
"Captain Yanagi, please do not launch a direct assault on the enemy vessel."
"Fujibayashi, what's going on?"
Fujibayashi was the one who interjected over the intercom.
"The enemy vessel is using hydrazine fuel batteries. Sinking that vessel in Tokyo Bay would negatively affect the water quality too severely."
Yanagi lightly clucked his tongue. He wasn't going to ask why she knew something like this.
Grasping the streaming beam of electrons and using magic to backtrack the target was one of Fujibayashi's favorite magic tactics.
Fujibayashi was able to tell the difference between normal Magicians and "Boosters" simply by reading the weak brain waves from up to 1 km out. Thus, identifying the molecular composition of the massive store of fuel without any radiation screens posed no challenge for her.
"So what are we going to do?"
"Fall back, Yanagi."
"Commander?"
The transmission target suddenly changed, prompting a surprised outburst from Yanagi. This did not originate from the alteration to the change in target, but to the order itself.
"Do not misunderstand. We are not ending the battle here. Leave the cleanup of the enemy remnants to the units from Tsurumi and Fujisawa, your group is to return immediately."