by Sato Tsutomu
Nevertheless, their magic was never completed.
Genzou's magic was faster.
The abilities of the four magician's and Genzou's were nearly equal. Regardless of that fact, Genzou was one to two steps ahead since his magic was already active.
Genzou kept his knife level and waved it like a flag. As anticipated, the response mowed down that side in a flash. In front of the waving blade, four enemy magicians fell, their necks spouting blood.
Genzou's magic was "Grim Reaper". It was the type of mind manipulation magic that implanted a specific image in the victim's mind. That image was "death". To the victim who had been given a premonition of death, the display of a symbol of that image was strong suggestive magic. It did not matter if the first image was only an arbitrary one. Direct or indirect contact made no difference, time and distance were also not barriers. As long as the victim was able to recall that image, a suggestion could be amplified a thousandfold to affect even the flesh.
Aside from ridding one's own memory of the image, any kind of protection was meaningless. Adversaries who met Genzou killed themselves off in the second encounter. In order for this magic "Grim Reaper" to activate, a direct meeting with the victim was necessary. For the magic to be completed, Genzou had to be aware of his foe and his foe had to be aware of him. Being plunged into your own personal valley of death was the first effect of this magic.
While regretting that the presence of the four magicians meeting their doom could not be prolonged, Genzou leveled the knife to strike them down. The director of the Kunlunfang Institute, the Dahan government's chief of military affairs, and the other Dahan dignitaries who quivered in this place simultaneously crumpled down, vomiting blood from the neck.
(This is way too quick)
Looking down on the horde of dead bodies before his eyes, Genzou soliloquized deep in his core. For this past half year, he had steadily cornered them to this end; Genzou was confident in the amount of terror he had generated in them. Nonetheless, the way the ultimate target had been brought down left him with the feeling that it might have better if it had been an even more painful way to die.
Unexpectedly.
As dizziness overcame him, Genzou went down on his knees.
He hurt like his head was split open,
(Wrong...)
In the midst of intense pain, Genzou deduced that the pain did not come from his body, but was rather sent to his body from his mind. The repeated use of "Grim Reaper" had exceeded the limits of his mind's ability to use magic.
(I will never return to Japan.)
It was unsubstantiated. The limits of an individual's magic calculation area could not yet be objectively measured by individuals. Nevertheless, Genzou was convinced of it. He who could manipulate the death visions of others felt death closer to him than ever before in his life.
Genzou sent strength into his trembling knees and stood up. In this facility, over one hundred people, the main body of all the employees and magicians who worked there remained.
(Looks like I shall be able to collect my fare to cross the Sanzu[26].)
Genzou bared his teeth in a grin and laughed.
(Miya, Maya, forgive me.)
As Genzou sought his next prey, he apologized in his heart to his beloved daughters whom he would never see again.
Thus, the Yotsuba's revenge ended. In the aftermath, only tragedy lingered.
Yotsuba Maya lost her ability to procreate due to the injuries she received at this time. Regeneration treatment had progressed to the point of manufacturing limbs and transplanting them, but reviving her natural female abilities was beyond them.
Due to her inability to have a child, the Yotsuba clan and the Saegusa clan dissolved Maya and Koichi's engagement. Saegusa Koichi had forever lost his right eye and his beloved simultaneously. As for Koichi, cloning and transplanting techniques had advanced enough to restore his eye. Nevertheless, Koichi rejected that possibility, for he could not live on alone unmarked as if nothing had happened.
In the aftermath of this incident, Miya broke her body from overusing her mind manipulation magic before she turned twenty like a penance. She was repeatedly in and out of the hospital and lived her life under medical care for ten years.
In response to Maya's tragedy, the Yotsuba enacted a policy of attaching guards to clan members who possessed an especially superior disposition for magic. The post was not assumed by temporary guards who worked for money; these guards risked their lives to fulfill their duty throughout the lifetime of the one they protected — thus the Guardians were created.
In regards to the secret feud between the Yotsuba and Dahan; on the Yotsuba side, there were thirty dead. From this war, the Yotsuba lost the head of the family and half of its fighting strength.
On the other side, Dahan's dead were approximately four thousand. For the sacrifice of a mere thirty people, the Yotsuba clan assassinated four thousand: cabinet ministers, high class bureaucrats, officers, magicians and researchers; as for the continent of Asia, it had all its research results on modern magic annihilated.
Due to this damage, Dahan suffered an internal collapse after one year and the Great Asian Alliance unified the continent of Asia.
As for East Asia, the antagonism between the North and the South came to a resolution; as for the northern hemisphere, a resolution for the world wide border conflicts was jury-rigged.
It was the end of World War III.
And among those who knew the truth about the collapse of Dahan, the Yotsuba were feared as "Untouchable".
Afterword
Once again, truly, thank you very much to those who read "Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei". To everyone who picked it up for the first time, from now on, I hope you’ll stay with me.
The 8th volume this time is an "episode zero" story about the past and a short story about an organisation even further back. The short story "Untouchable" was written originally to be the preamble and so, the short story was made to be shorter. The short story was sent to the end of the volume on the advice of editor M Ki-san but, this order truly does make the unusual circumstances of Miya and the Yotsuba stand out more I think.
Speaking of short, when I submitted my paper manuscript by visiting M Ki-san and he said "the paperbacks are supposed to be of about this length" and I ended up shocked. Probably ignorance by the short length of the[ir] career. I must reflect on my thoughts. …While I may have said I reflected on my thoughts, I won’t be restricted from making the best of it.
I don’t particularly think the reason of "the longer the novel, the more it’s worth reading due to the value" is valued but, so too are there times where I complete a novel and it ends up longer. Like with the Dengeki Bunko Magazine serialisation, at first, I insert my conscious and I can finish it like that but, but if I don’t do it within the limitations, I tend to unconsciously pack everything in it seems.
A good (or bad, whichever works best) example of this would be the audio drama that goes on sale this month. When I was given a chance to request the manuscript for the drama CD, I proposed thinking "I want to do the past scenes of the reminiscence chapter as a full scenario" and it was approved, it received the "OK" for the drama version of the whole thing and I thought, they must have made a mistake. I thought it wouldn’t end up as just one volume, perhaps it would be finalised as three or four sets – and that’s simply thoughtlessness as it disregards cost.
Luckily, it ended up being an interactive DVD but they kept me in suspense until it was set in stone so once again, I offer my apologies.
Nevertheless, I received assistance from all involved resulting, in effect, an audio drama that the fans can look forward to I believe.
It’s become somewhat like advertisement for the audio drama DVD but rest assured, I believe this novel will also surely be received satisfactorily. –To everyone who picked up this book, I hope that you will all feel that it is "interesting" from the depths of your heart.
Well then, please look forward to the ne
xt novel, Volume 9 – Visitor Chapter (I). Thank you very much.
(Satou Tsutomu)
Translator's Notes and References
↑ Туман-бомба: Mist Bomb
↑ This means elder brother. Normally, a younger sibling would use an honorific with it. I am using the word because using my elder brother would indicate intimacy between Miyuki and Tatsuya that she doesn't feel.
↑ Father. I am using the Japanese word because normally someone like Miyuki would use Otou-sama.
↑ A female Japanese snow monster
↑ descriptions given later indicate that this guy and his friends are in their late teens or early twenties
↑ A deep bow with the forehead on the ground given to beg forgiveness
↑ Large Japanese drum
↑ A polite way of saying uncle
↑ Father without any honorifics.
↑ No real English equivalent; the idea of hitting your opponent in the stomach and having the impact transfer all the way to the back.
↑ Lieutenant is not an air force rank.
↑ 'Four' and 'death' have the same pronounciation in Japanese.
↑ 'Striking at a distance' by projecting your ki, without physical contact. Kinda like a Hadouken.
↑ Two-factor Theory of Emotion
↑ Туман-бомба: Mist Bomb
↑ 伯母上: archaic formal term of address for Aunt, made by combining the japanese word for aunt (Oba) with the honorific Ue. Still used nowadays in the upper echelons of Japanese society, albeit extremely rarely. It carries immense respect, which can be further increased by the addition of '-sama'. See Japanese honorifics: Ue for more details.
↑ An honorific that lies between '-san' and '-sama'. When attached to a name it roughly equates to 'lord' or 'master'. See Japanese Honorifics: Dono for more details.
↑ Prisoner of war
↑ By Yamamoto Tsunetomo, on the way of the samurai. [1]
↑ A city in China. See Quanzhou for more details.
↑ Literally Great Han's or Great China's
↑ An island between Korea and Japan. See Tsushima Island for more details.
↑ The Kunlun Mountains have both a mythical and physical existence. The institute either has a physical location in the mountains or has named itself the equivalent of the Mount Olympus Institute
↑ This is the Japanese term used address a cousin in respectful manner.
↑ This Japanese term is an archaic and highly respectful form of addressing an elder brother, used by both younger siblings and their spouses.
↑ a river in Japanese mythology that the dead cross over; coins are buried with the deceased to pay for the crossing.
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