by Sato Tsutomu
This magic which had cemented Maya’s place as one of the most powerful magicians in the world, earning her the names ‘Devil of the Far East’ and ‘Queen of Night’ is a Convergence type Systematic magic which controls the distribution of light in its area of effect. Its power is especially amplified in a closed space such as rooms or tunnels.
The apparent process of this magic first forms countless tiny balls of light floating in the darkened area, which are then shot out as rays.
The attack appears like a shower of lasers, but the power of Meteor Line has no connection with the energy of the light. Even the amount of light is irrelevant.
The essence of the magic lies in forcing the redistribution of light, where the coordinates, for light to be in, are set as little balls ,and lines are then drawn between them.
Anything in the path of the space the light passes through is modified as the light is transmitted: regardless of the hardness of the object, heat resistance, plasticity, or resilience, a hole is drilled through. Not even highly transparent glass holds an optical transparency of 100%, and cannot escape the event modification that ‘light has passed through’ and therefore ‘a hole was made’.
Looking at the logic behind this magic, rather than the phenomenon itself, it can be concluded that the magic interferes with the structural information of the object via the distribution of light, directly vaporizing solids and liquids without affecting heat or pressure; in other words a type of decomposition magic which decomposes into gas. Since it’s defined as a ‘ray of distributed light’, it cannot be defended against via blocking, reflecting, or refracting. Since the light doesn’t come from any particular direction, it cannot be shielded against by magic either. Even if one were to cover themselves with a spherical shield in all directions, it cannot alter the movement of photons and the phenomena ‘light has become a line’ will still be produced, resulting in a hole.
Just as it’s impossible to defend against by magic which shields against physical phenomena, it’s almost impossible to defend against Meteor Line with anti magic. Since it’s mediated via the physical phenomenon called light, preventing it purely via anti magic such as interference over an area is extremely difficult. If one’s interference strength in the single element ‘distribution of light’ cannot exceed Maya’s, ‘Meteor Line’ is unstoppable. As ‘distribution of light’ is Maya’s innate magic, interfering with it is far too high a hurdle. And once the magic has been activated, even if one tries to cause interference in the area of effect, the phenomena rewriting effect that ‘light has moved’ has already taken place.
Not even the Phalanx of the Juumonjis, which perfectly combines defense against physical forces with defense against magic, can hold against it. Due to that Maya stands invincible in a fight between magicians, and is regarded as one of the ‘strongest magicians in the world’.
However—as ‘Meteor Line’ operates by indirectly affecting the structural information of an enclosed space, it decisively loses out to Tatsuya’s ability to directly interfere with structural information. The magical barrier through which light passes crafted by ‘Night’ via interfering with the structural information is easily shattered by interference which directly affects the structural information.
"I can’t even say it’s unlikely I would be killed by him. But however much Tatsuya is able to betray the Yotsuba, he will never be able to betray Miyuki. And Miyuki will never oppose the Yotsuba."
"Miyuki-sama is deeply dependent upon Tatsuya-dono though. Should the time ever come that Tatsuya stands against the Yotsuba, I cannot think that she would ever oppose him."
His brow furrowed in concern, Hayama refuted the words of his mistress.
But there was no sign that Maya was disturbed.
"It’s fine. Even without brainwashing, it’s not particularly difficult to push someone’s thoughts in a particular direction. You don’t need an explanation do you, Hayama-san?"
There was pity in the smile now upon Maya’s lips.
"Miyuki will never be able to escape from the responsibility she has imposed upon herself. She was raised by my sister to be like that after all. And Tatsuya will never be able to do anything which causes Miyuki pain."
"……But, in order for that."
"Yes. It's unfortunate for the other children who are candidates, but it cannot be anyone except Miyuki. So that Tatsuya, that monster, will not turn against us."
"Miyuki-sama must receive the position at any cost then."
"There’s no need to fret, Hayama-san. I have everything already planned out."
Maya smiled broadly.
With a deep bow, Hayama left the room.
It’s commonly thought that the Yokohama Incident of 2095 was the extension of the invasion of Okinawa in 2092, and their subsequent defeat of three years ago (in other words, their ‘failed campaign’) — an attempt to redeem themselves.
However, for the events following the invasion of Yokohama to come to a close in the same way as the ‘Battle of Okinawa’ can only be called the irony of history.
Chapter 16
August 11th, AD 2092 / Okinawa - Battlefield
Tatsuya, accompanied by the Onna Airborne under the command of Kazama, had driven the invading enemy to the water’s edge.
Normally, it’d be ‘Tatsuya accompanied the Onna Airborne’.
However that single petite magician who stood alone at the head of a solitary infantry platoon, his form hidden beneath a full-faced helmet and Armored Suit as he annihilated the enemy, could only be seen as such by both friend and foe alike.
The battlefield was an utterly one-sided slaughter.
Yet at the same time, it lacked all the characteristics of a slaughter.
No blood sprayed.
No bodies flew.
The stench of burning flesh, the explosions capable of tearing men apart, were all absent.
The entire battlefield was dominated by an uncanny silence.
The bullets fired by the invaders, their grenades, portable rockets; all dissolved in the air as they flew towards the defenders. Shells, bombs, and missiles; all shared their fate.
The enemy soldiers still stubbornly resisting, still madly pulling their triggers also one by one blurred, warped; faded.
The soldiers following behind Tatsuya were no longer even firing now; they merely stared at the fantasy playing out before them.
Seeing their comrades disappear one after the other, the invading troops experienced the same disconcerting mockery of reality.
The instinctive fear which should have arisen from the sight of violent death was not stimulated, and despite being eaten away by unutterable fears, surrender did not cross their mind.
That was just what Tatsuya desired.
If the enemy had high level magicians on their side, they had not unilaterally been deployed yet. It didn’t have anything to do with the Japanese side, but rather could be said to have stemmed from carelessness following the success of the invaders’ initial attack.
—All of which was meaningless to Tatsuya.
Currently, his spirit was one of frenzy.
All hesitance towards death and destruction had been removed.
It was as if he no longer remembered murder as a taboo.
He killed and destroyed as easily as he walked.
Rather, he obliterated.
Even he could feel conflict from such wide reaching slaughter. But that conflict could not touch his immovable heart.
The sight of his sister on the brink of death had impacted him deeply to the core.
The moment one passed that threshold, his magic was as helpless as anything else. It was the first time he had attempted ‘Regrowth’ on others, but from previous experience and the knowledge that his own flesh and another’s flesh were all similarly ‘matter’ he knew that restoration was possible.
But not even his ‘Regrowth’ could call someone back from death. Life and death was an irreversible cyclic process, the changing of state from ‘al
ive’ to ‘dead’ being purely intrinsic. ‘Regrowth’ could restore a body back to a perfect state, but the dead do not come back to life. Such an inherent truth was clearer to none other than Tatsuya himself.
Even if the heart had already stopped, the brain shut down, the throat torn open, if that was the extent of their injuries then revival was still possible. Even an instantly fatal wound, as long as rebuilding the body and restarting the circulation of blood would have had even the faintest chance of resuscitating the person, his ‘Regrowth’ could be said to give life to the dead.
But once the state of death had been established, he was helpless.
If he had not made it on time……that fear had been enough to drive even him into a panic. To Tatsuya, for whom not even his own death could induce ‘true fear’ — more accurately, he had been deprived of such an emotion — the fear of losing Miyuki was all the more amplified for there being no other fears to temper him and shook him strongly, deeply, and utterly. However calm he appeared, he was currently seething with rage.
In the absence of any other emotions he was simply calmly, methodically retaliating without hesitation.
In a manner of speaking, it was a rational frenzy.
A madness dominated only by one purpose.
Allowing the enemy no surrender, his madness greedily devoured the lives of all within his path.
While the routed enemy frontlines could only be said to be in a state of collapse, their chain of command was yet intact.
The enemy commander, determining that holding a bridgehead was no longer tenable, ordered a retreat out to sea.
The invasion forces fought to be first into the landing craft on the beach.
To escape the grasp of the devil even now advancing towards them step by step.
Not knowing that there also, Death awaited them with his scythe held high.
Faced with the sight of the enemy fleeing and no longer counterattacking, Tatsuya halted.
Suddenly remembering their role, the Onna Airborne assumed formation and prepared to shoot.
Yet faster than the command ‘fire!’ could be given, Tatsuya activated his ‘power’.
It’s not that there aren’t magicians who would emit enough interference for it to be visible.
A truly excellent magician uses no more force than absolutely necessary to achieve the desired event modification without otherwise altering the ‘world’, while a magician with equal power yet inferior skill will occasionally cause unintentional event modifications from time to time. The side effects in this instance however were purely physical.
The soldiers pushing into the small amphibious assault crafts, as well as the boats themselves disintegrated and scattered into the air. The visible distortion was caused by the boats’ sudden evaporation, forming gaseous layers of different densities and refracting light.
The soldiers who had been scrambling to board the next craft stopped moving.
The patter of water could be heard as they threw their weapons into the sea.
The sound spread, as if a chain reaction.
A white flag was raised.
By raising the naval flag of the Great Asian Alliance at the same time, they were evidently banking on protective status as POWs[18].
Behind Tatsuya, instead of the order to shoot, the order to hold fire was given instead.
Seeing that, Tatsuya raised his right hand towards the white flag.
"Stop it, you fool!"
A hand appeared along with the voice.
In order to escape that hand, Tatsuya lowered his arm and twisted around.
However his right arm, which should have escaped, was firmly gripped by another hand sprouting from the left.
"The enemy does not intend to fight any further!"
He knew that perfectly well without being told.
He could not see the face of his captor due to the full face helmet, but it was a voice he had not heard before.
At the least, it wasn’t Captain Kazama or Lieutenant Sanada.
In any case had Kazama attempted at any point to restrain him, Tatsuya would have had no intention of sparing the enemy regardless.
Up to if the enemy were indeed trying to surrender, exterminating the enemy before a formal surrender was established and hostilities properly ceased.
Fortunately, there were still enemies who held weapons in their hands.
"I said stop!"
But Tatsuya was unable to pull the trigger on his CAD.
His vision suddenly spun around, and he lost the target coordinates for decomposition.
He felt a strong impact on his back.
He realised that he had been thrown.
He immediately made to rise, and just as quickly realised that he was already being held down.
"Any more at this point would be mere butchery. I won’t allow it."
A handgun was held to the nose of his helmet.
"Calm yourself Special Lieutenant, Yanagi, stow that gun."
Tatsuya recognised the voice this time. He also recalled the designation ‘Special Lieutenant’. Should the need arise to mobilise civilians into actual combat, it was a rank given for the sake of convenience. The voice belonged to none other than Captain Kazama.
"Special Lieutenant, do you remember the conditions for your mobilisation?"
Naturally, he knew those too.
His head, previously boiling, cooled down a little.
His battle lust subsided, and with it the desire to slaughter and destroy.
"Understood."
With that reply he showed that he had unhooked his finger from the trigger of his CAD, as Yanagi removed the knee he had pressed to Tatsuya’s back.
◊ ◊ ◊
At the surrender of the landing force and their disarmament relief began to spread not only amongst Kazama's troops but also amongst the soldiers sent to intercept them; despite being understandable, it proved to be premature.
"A message from HQ!"
A communications officer rushed over to Kazama. His face, the helmet removed, was pale.
"A detachment of the enemy fleet is approaching from Aguni! Two high speed cruisers, and four destroyers!
It's too late for interception! Their artillery is estimated to come into range in 20 minutes! We have to get away from the coast as fast as possible!"
His articulation was rather excitable, but that was understandable given the situation.
"Get me a communicator."
In contrast, Kazama gave his order in subdued tones.
"Sir!"
The soldier's voice was far louder than necessary.
The disarmed soldiers, holding their breath, looked at their captain. That none of them attempted to make a break for it was a disappointment to Tatsuya. It may have been that due to his undisguised bloodlust, none of the enemy soldiers were feeling particularly enthusiastic about taking their chances.
"This is Kazama. Could some torpedo boats......no antiship aircraft are available either? What shall we do with the POWs then?......Understood."
Putting down the communicator, Kazama took a deep breath.
"In 20 minutes time, this area will fall within range of enemy guns! All units take charge of the prisoners, and evacuate inland!"
Tatsuya couldn't believe his ears.
With no transports, and the number of prisoners far outnumbering their own troops, just how did he intend to make enough progress in 20 minutes?
Kazama's face, with his helmet removed, showed no sign of agitation. His determined visage was a mask of iron.
Even without ESP however, it was evident that he found the order to move the prisoners a bitter pill to swallow.
"Special Lieutenant, return to base for now."
That terse instruction, given in that emotionless voice only served to support Tatsuya's conclusion.
Or at the least, he thought so.
He had said return, but he meant escape.
"Do you know the exact positions of the enemy cruisers?"
Instead of complying with Kazama's instructions, Tatsuya inquired with his helmet still on.
"We do indeed, but......Sanada!"
But why, Kazama didn't ask.
Rather, he called over the one carrying the tactical information terminal.
"I'm linked to our maritime radar. Shall I transfer it to our Special Lieutenant's visor?"
"Before that."
Tatsuya interrupted between Sanada's question to Kazama.
"Did you bring the armament device with the extended range sequences you showed me on that day?"
Sanada raised his visor, and exchanged a glance with Kazama.
Kazama nodded, and Sanada looked back at Tatsuya.
"I don't have it here, but if we have it lifted in by heli it can be here within five minutes"
"Please bring it as soon as possible."
At the latest, Sanada would have said, but Tatsuya cut him off with rather typically boyish haste.
Tatsuya then turned to Kazama, pulled out a wired communications line from his still fully enclosed helmet, and held it out.
Kazama merely raised his eyebrows but without a word put his own helmet back on, then connected them by plugging the wire into his terminal.
"I have a way to destroy those ships."
This secret talk he had been approached with in the presence of his subordinates began with a bombshell.
"However, I don't wish for it to be seen by the troops. Could you leave Lieutenant Sanada's device here, then move everyone out?"
Kazama could not see Tatsuya's expression.
Voices didn't carry over very well along the wired communicator either.
All he had to judge with was tone, and the slight association he had had.
"......Very well. However, Sanada and I will remain here."
"......Understood."
How will you command the withdrawing soldiers then? Tatsuya thought, but immediately put out of his mind as none of his concern.
As Kazama gave the order to pull out, giving command to the officer who had restrained Tatsuya before, Tatsuya awaited the arrival of the armament device.