by Sato Tsutomu
Whilst doubling over the inside zone, Miyuki released the outer area.
The forcibly slowed air molecules returned to their original speed.
The air, once contained in a small area was freed in a great rush of pressure, and engulfed Lina in a blast.
The traces of a large scale phenomena alteration disappeared.
According to her instinct, Lina flattened herself on the ground and cast an objective barrier above.
A blast wave washed over the top of the shield. The high-speed air flow threatened to lift her shield and all off the ground, and after holding by applying major inertial increase magic several times whilst remaining prone, Lina raised her head and looked for an opportunity to counterattack — or rather to assess the situation.
Lina had no intention of leisurely(?) waiting for a chance to arise.
Up to this moment, she had been entirely on the back foot.
Her opponent was a mere high school student, while she was the captain of the world's strongest unit.
Naturally such pride had been there, but now more than that, the awareness that she was losing ground brought its own mental pressure.
If she didn't retaliate at least a little, she would be overpowered.
Unless one has an overwhelming defensive magic, in a magic battle offense was stronger than defense. So went the theory.
Lina felt the wind pressure weaken. It wasn't so much due to cancellation of the magic as the blast which occurred as a result; after all that compressed air had been released, it was little wonder the wind had dropped.
Lina gripped her combat knife in her right hand.
Her gun had been taken, but this knife capable of operating 'Molecular Divider' had not.
The armament device of the magic developed by the previous Sirius, and now the trump card of the Stars.
When materialised, this magic, similar to an extended virtual area, must surpass the opponent's interference power.
Furthermore, since winning by halves wasn't an option, it would actually have to be a rank higher.
At the very least however,
(This should be enough to get Miyuki's attention!)
With her left hand which was still flat on the ground, she scattered daggers where Miyuki couldn't see.
She canceled her inertial increase, then rising up at full speed,
(Molecular Divider)
On her knee, she swung her knife.
She activated the virtual area almost simultaneously. At that time, Lina felt an overwhelming interference strength surpassing anything she had ever seen burst into the space between her and Miyuki.
The virtual area, in the midst of being formed, was overrun by the torrent of interference.
She knew that she would be stopped. It might even be said she had counted on it.
"Dancing Blades!"
Even before confirming that Molecular Divider had been disabled, Lina activated her next magic.
Her discreetly scattered daggers rose and flew forwards in the blink of an eye.
By grazing the ground, they avoided the space dominated by Miyuki.
(If you're able to stop four blades attacking from the front and back in this darkness, please go ahead and try!)
Sensing magic tinged objects closing in at high speed Miyuki canceled her offensive magic sequence partway, and switched to an area defensive magic.
The daggers approaching Miyuki lost their flight momentum and fell to the ground.
Her magic which indiscriminately defended against all directions was more difficult than one which targeted an area, far more difficult than one which targeted individual objects, yet Miyuki as she was now could pull it off with ease.
It could even stop this attack filled with the magic power of the Sirius, Lina.
If her control had been tied up in Tatsuya's seal as usual, it would have been hard for her to defend against that.
She most likely wouldn't have been able to manage the control needed for such a dense technique.
If she had challenged Lina to a battle alone, she would have lost alone...thinking that, Miyuki offered a prayer of gratitude in her heart.
(Onii-sama is watching over me...I won't lose. I can't lose!)
Seeing her elaborately devised surprise attack crushed through sheer power, Lina felt a rising sense of both trepidation and exhilaration.
Her mind suddenly returned to that saccharine sweet, heartburn inducing sight from earlier.
At that time, she had thought he was merely messing around with the fight.
But at that time, Tatsuya had certainly whispered something to Miyuki.
Thinking about it, it was fully possible Tatsuya had been informing her about 'Dancing Blades'.
She had seen Tatsuya decompose five incoming blades at once.
It was not a sequence for any intermolecular force neutralising magic that she knew, but from the results, she guessed that it must have somehow undone the bonds holding molecules together.
But that wasn't the point.
What was critical was that it had targeted multiple projectiles closing in at the same time, and dealt with them at the same time. What had stopped her attack, was not Miyuki's strength alone.
(I see...so he won't make a move, but he'll go ahead and speak. Not bad!)
Miyuki thought.
I absolutely cannot lose.
Lina thought.
I'll have to go full force.
The two of them cried out at the same time.
"Miyuki!" "Lina!"
"This is it!"
The world froze.
The world burned.
The magic of the two repainted reality itself, as two worlds collided.
Glinting with crystal light, an endless plain of ice and snow.
Roaring with thunder, an infernal storm of fire and lightning.
A hell which froze the air in eternal winter, 'Niflheim'.
A hell which consumed the air in scorching purgatory, 'Muspelheim'.
On one hand, an area magic which slowed down the vibration of gas molecules freezing not only water vapour and carbon dioxide, but right down to nitrogen as well.
On the other hand, an area magic which decomposed gas molecules into plasma, and furthermore, by forcibly separating the ions from the electrons, created a high energy electromagnetic field.
The sheer cold cooled the plasma back into gas, and the molten plasma reverted the frozen air.
The fury of the two powers now clashing created an aurora on the ground.
It really was a very pretty sight.
Almost enough to make one forget that life and death hung in the balance.
Tatsuya, his finger on his CAD trigger, carefully scrutinised the scene. If either side lost control, he would immediately erase the spells.
He expected substantial difficulty in canceling the magic of these two at the same time, but he was a magician who specialised in restoration and decomposition. He fully intended to surpass such absurdity.
In the midst of that aurora, as fire and ice met in what seemed like an eternity of mutual destruction, in less than a minute the tide was revealed.
The cold air was expanding, and the plasma was shrinking.
In the first place, Miyuki was a magician who excelled in large scale magic over a wide area.
On the other hand Lina's power was focused on individual objects, excelling in severe magic on those.
From the beginning, this sort of engagement had favoured Miyuki.
Adding to that however Lina had already fought the vampire and then Tatsuya, making this her third consecutive battle.
Even though she herself was not aware of symptoms, fatigue was already setting in.
With her opponent holding the advantage and herself handicapped, the result was clear.
The match between Miyuki and Lina had never been a competition of magic power, but was to be decided by who could keep calm and make the most rational decisions.
"Kuh..."
&nbs
p; She herself likely knew this as well. Lina groaned painfully.
And moved her hand to her back. She pulled out another armament device. Multicasting in this situation, however skilled a magician she may be, was pure suicide.
"That's enough, you two!"
Shouting out, Tatsuya pulled the trigger of his CAD.
His 'Gram Dispersion' dispelled both Miyuki's 'Niflheim' and Lina's 'Muspelheim' at the exact same time.
The cold and hot air rapidly mixed, creating a gale which would cause both frostbite and burns. Bracing himself for the severe pain he was sure was incoming, the storm of sheer cold and scorching heat was blocked right before him by an invisible wall.
"Onii-sama! That was far too reckless!"
Her face pale, Miyuki came running up.
Stunned, Lina could only stare.
For those two, protecting themselves from the thermal aftermath was a piece of cake regardless of fatigue. However, that sort of thing was impossible for Tatsuya. It was at times like these that Tatsuya, who looked with indifference on his own talents, was somewhat envious of the skills of ordinary magicians.
"My my...Tatsuya-kun, what will you do now?"
Having made no move to defend himself yet nevertheless appearing unharmed, Yakumo spoke in mock surprise. —No, looking at how muddy his disciple following after him was, he had likely dived into the ground. The so called Earth Release jutsu.
"Master...what do you mean?"
He knew how Yakumo had escaped the heat and cold, but he didn't understand the question. Towards Tatsuya who had replied straightforwardly, or rather reflexively, Yakumo showed a truly surprised face.
"Well, you know...the victory conditions had been decided as when one side surrenders, or is rendered incapacitated. This was a match originally conceived by you, and now that you've gone and wrecked it, what will you do?"
Tatsuya had no words to reply with.
In that situation, if he had not intervened it would have gone against the condition of 'no killing' and so he had no regrets concerning the intervention itself.
But the entire match after all had simply been an excuse to slip around regulations.
The fact was, their treatment of Lina was a very messy situation.
As an actual soldier, Lina had guaranteed rights as a prisoner of war. If she had remained incognito that wouldn't have been an issue, but Tatsuya had heard from her own mouth that she was the 'Stars captain', and a 'USNA army major' not to mention acknowledging it himself before that. Her rights as a POW couldn't be ignored.
Even without a legal state of war, practically speaking anyone captured during a military operation had the rights of a POW. Adding to that, Tatsuya's group as civilians technically weren't allowed to apprehend the soldier Lina.
If he could prove his connection to the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion they could take her prisoner, but unfortunately there was no chance his highly classified status would be brought to light over an incident of this scale.
If they interrogated or detained Lina without legitimate right, they could only offer the USNA political excuses. This wasn't even beginning to consider punishment.
Of course on the other hand, they could raise the issue of Lina attacking civilians, but unfortunately a magician's rights to be protected as a civilian were still greatly restricted. In a court of international law, Tatsuya and co would be heavily disadvantaged.
Yet that being said, considering the future, there was no way they could just let her go without doing anything. How in the world will we sort out this situation...Tatsuya thought as he felt a headache approach.
"It's fine as my loss."
However, there was no need for that worry. A helping hand extended from the most unexpected place.
"At that moment, I most certainly was being overpowered. If I had transferred capacity to another magic in that state, I likely could have been overwhelmed by Miyuki's magic and lost my life. At the least, I would have been in no condition to fight further."
Turning to Tatsuya and Miyuki, Lina gracefully acknowledged her own defeat.
"So it's my loss, Miyuki. Tatsuya, I have no intention of any further undignified resistance."
However, the feeling of relief was premature.
"It was a promise. I'll answer whatever you ask. However..."
"However what?"
"However, my replies will only be 'yes' or 'no'. Anything which cannot be answered by that, I cannot disclose. You interfered and changed the conditions agreed to between Miyuki and I, so let me change our conditions my way this much Tatsuya."
She was rather more stubborn than he had thought.
At Lina who was smiling so radiantly one would hardly think she had lost, Tatsuya could only nod.
(To be continued)
Afterword
Once again, truly, thank you very much to those who read "Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei". For the first-timers, I would like to take this opportunity to say please put up with me until the end.
The subtitle this time is "Visitor Arc". A variety of "visitors" pulls the protagonists into a maelstrom of incidents. A bigwig guest character also makes their appearance. The protagonists also have a victim amongst them. I showed, in this case, a complex development of a three-way struggle + a. It is also slightly like romance novels (feel free to object). This way, it will tell a slightly different story of magical high school students compared to the previous eight volumes, but I think it surely will be well received.
Now then, I shall leave everybody with something unacceptable. ―I am sorry but this time, the story is divided into three [(I), (II) & (III)] separate volumes. There will surely be some backlash from those who say, "but the Reminiscence Chapter was one volume". I could not fit the "Visitor Chapter" into just two volumes. No, rather, to Dengeki Bunko, (as long as there is not too much content) there is no maximum page count so there was the possibility that I could have finish it off I think but… due to various circumstances, it ended up as you see. You may have to wait a little more than usual until the episode’s end but, accordingly, it is my intention and thought to create something that everyone will be able to fully enjoy.
The schedule for this one has been tighter than usual. I predict the schedule for (II) and (III) will be busy. To all those involved, I apologise in advance. And I also thank you. So that this story may reach all those who continue to read it with pleasure without further delay, please, definitely cooperate with me next time as well.
Now then, to all the readers who took this book in hand, once again, my gratitude. I pray that next time too, the "Visitor Chapter (II)" will catch your eyes.
Satou Tsutomu
Notes
↑ Xenophobic: Anti-foreigner
↑ Kokonoe: 九重 includes the character for 'nine'.
↑ Tatemae: 建前 eg PR, the thing from Henneko
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