by Sato Tsutomu
"The result of you not listening to Onii-sama."
It was Miyuki who responded to Lina. That blunt, frigid voice silenced Lina for the time being.
"Even though Onii-sama had told you not to kill them, you just mindlessly slaughtered the Parasites' hosts and now the bodies are rampaging free. Lina, how do you intend to solve this misconduct?"
Figured she wouldn't stay quiet at that.
"What misconduct! I was simply fulfilling my duty!"
"Then please settle the cleanup yourself. Can you? Even if you are unlike Onii-sama, do you have no idea how to solve things nonviolently?"
Ever since the combat earlier, a dangerous air had been simmering between these two beauties.
This was just a continuation of that.
"I'll do it! Just watch!"
Casting caution to the winds, Lina took the challenge.
"Hey, Lina."
However one looked at it, she had to be stopped. It was far too reckless for someone who had no idea how to begin countering the thing to just jump in.
Thinking that, Tatsuya called out in a pacifying tone.
"Shut up! Tatsuya, you keep quiet!"
For what good it did.
"I absolutely must make this mission a success! If not, then just why am I even here!"
The tantrum Lina threw was directed not only against Tatsuya. Hearing her cry, he himself realized that.
'Here' was not simply this location. Rather right here, right now she stood not as 'Angelina Shields' but as 'Angie Sirius' — that was what she meant.
At some point Lina's hair had reverted to gold, and her eyes to blue. Her 'Parade', which had not faltered even under Miyuki's heavy Zone Interference, had been released.
She was giving her all as 'Angelina Shields' to fulfill her mission as 'Angie Sirius'. Trying to be a 'Sirius'.
Glimpsing the heavy burden on her, Tatsuya was hesitant to follow up.
In that moment, Lina launched a magic attack of her own.
A veritable barrage, shot after shot ravaged the air and encountered empty space.
That was only natural.
Lina's magic was meant to modify physical events. She was simply not equipped with magic to fight an information body.
‘That’'s awareness turned towards Lina.
In Tatsuya's vision, the nine heads were now arrayed against her.
No sooner than that, a storm of magic fell.
It was all Tatsuya could do to try and bring them down.
When they had fought the Parasite information body at First high, only one person had been possessed and there was only one spirit.
That had already been difficult.
Now there were nine.
He could not expect to weather the storm.
No, on the contrary, there was no way that he alone could have stemmed the onslaught from 'that'.
Behind him, Miyuki was maintaining a supportive interference area over the place where 'that' existed. But even though Miyuki could 'sense' the Pushion information bodies, she could not 'see' them. Because of that, the interference area had to be loose. If she increased the field to cover all possibilities, it would interfere with Tatsuya's own magic.
That barely tenable situation continued, yet it was far too risky for the allied forces to relent even a little.
He felt a squeeze on the back of his jacket. Miyuki was also uneasy.
Although they knew that having lost their hosts the Parasites were now 'consuming' magic and had to run out of power at some point, not knowing just how much longer they had to hold out sapped their willpower considerably.
At this rate, Miyuki might end up the same way as Lina.
Because of her recklessness, Lina was now locked down under a shell of Data Fortification.
Not being able to launch an effective attack from their end was too big a handicap.
Magic which interfered with physical events was useless.
Physical attacks were completely out of the question.
If possible, mental magic might—
(—There's no choice.)
Clenching his teeth, Tatsuya decided to throw the dice.
"Mikihiko, can you see the situation?"
"Yes. I'm assembling a seal as fast as I can, so please hold out a bit longer."
The voice which answered from the communication unit was even more hurried than Tatsuya's.
"What is the likelihood that your seal could suppress this?"
The reply came after a pause.
"......Honestly speaking, not even fifty percent."
His confession was anguished.
Hearing Mikihiko's answer, Tatsuya did not think any less of him. In a direct confrontation, Tatsuya knew that he was not someone who would make rash promises.
"Mikihiko, just temporarily is fine. Could you suppress it for 10 seconds?"
At Tatsuya requesting for the first time, not just Mikihiko but everyone listening in on the communication gasped.
With no backup or proof, it was just a simple plea. In a (bad) sense, it was blind faith.
Yet it was not something he would do if he did not trust them.
"......Got it."
At least, that was what Mikihiko felt.
"For 10 seconds, I'll keep it down no matter what. I'll signal, so Tatsuya please do your own thing."
He had a plan, and he needed 10 seconds for it.
In order to secure that time, his power would be necessary.
Mikihiko was inspired by the trust Tatsuya was placing in him.
"Tatsuya-san, I'll also help!"
Honoka's firm voice followed Mikihiko's.
It was not in rivalry. There was one simple intent, that she wanted to be his strength.
"Alright. Mikihiko, on you."
"OK......3, 2, 1, now!"
As he shouted, Mihiko unleashed his Anti-demon・Garuda flame.
The 'flame' expanded around 'that' — the nine-headed dragon the Parasites had combined into, and wrapped around the information bodies. It was like two serpents fighting each other.
Beneath them, Pixie was mentally pushing 'that' back. The Psion bonds holding Pixie were being replenished as fast as they were being consumed. Honoka saw that the Psions had almost completely captured Pixie's lower half.
Of course, Tatsuya wasn't just silently watching.
At the signal from Mikihiko, Tatsuya stretched out his arm not holding his CAD.
That arm,
Took hold of Miyuki's waist,
And pulled her in close.
"——!"
A silent scream. Or maybe a cry of delight.
In that instant both Miyuki's Zone Interference and Tatsuya's Gram Dispersion ceased, but Mikihiko and Honoka,
As promised kept 'that' at bay.
Held in Tatsuya's arms, with an expression of astonishment on her face, Miyuki looked up at him.
As his sister looked up, Tatsuya himself moved in closer.
As their foreheads touched, and their eyes melted together,
As their noses touched, and their lips came closer and closer,
"Miyuki, *look*!"
Tatsuya whispered firmly to Miyuki.
An invisible light flowed from him to her.
An invisible light flowed from her to him.
Between them, their auras pulsed.
"I see it, Onii-sama!"
It may have been that those were not words spoken from the mouth, but enounced from the heart.
Their communication lasted but an instant.
More than half of the 10 seconds still remained.
Tatsuya's left hand held Miyuki's head to his chest.
Both of Miyuki's arms were wrapped around him.
Tatsuya's right hand pointed at 'that'.
Within Miyuki's consciousness, the figure of 'that' was now clearly discernible.
Tatsuya's ability to 'see' information bodies.
Miyuki took Tatsuya's 'sight' to view 'that',
Released their seal,
and unleashed her inherent magic.
Outer systematic・Mental Interference magic, 'Cocytus'.
Magic to freeze the spirit.
Miyuki's magic struck the spirits themselves, stilling the Pushion information bodies--
—and bereft of a vessel, 'that' shattered into nothingness.
Chapter 17
Even though she had no way to view the spirits' true bodies, Lina sensed that 'that' had perished. The mass of 'information' had stopped — frozen, then crumbled. If being able to manipulate Psions within the dimension of information is the norm for magicians, there was no way a magician of the highest calibre like the 'Sirius' would not notice the collapse of such a high number of Psions.
"Lunar magic.....?"
And although she herself could not use Mental Interference magic, by using her magic sensitivity it was possible to guess from the result what sort of magic had been used.
Lunar magic is what English speaking magicians use to refer to a particular branch of mental interference magic, that which specifically targets and directly damages the spirit, and is named for one of the most famous Outer-systematic mental attack magics 'Lunar Strike'.
Lunar Strike, of the magics outside the Mental Interference system, unusually has its processes formulated out; since it is used by Stars of the 'First Class stars' rank then in the event that they became the enemy, the method of counteracting it was taught.
Naturally Lina had seen Lunar Strike countless times and thus although it was her first time seeing Cocytus and she did not fully understand its mechanisms, she was able to deduce that it had caused fatal damage to the spirit.
That, and that the caster had been Miyuki.
"Lunar magic of this power......Miyuki, you......no, just what are you two siblings?"
Still on the ground, Lina muttered.
If she had used this magic during their duel......thoughts like that did not fully materialise in her mind. Shock still took up too much of her thought processes for now.
Actually, Miyuki was in a similar state.
Half lost in ecstasy, she was still firmly held in Tatsuya's embrace. In addition to that she had gone all out with her magic for the first time in a while, as well as having seen the world through Tatsuya's eyes; she was likely still drunk with it all.
The two who were previously in a bad mood were now in a state of chaos; this was a chance. Tatsuya took the communication unit from his ear and switched it off.
"Lina, do not reveal what you saw just now."
Looking down at her, his voice was low and intimidating.
"W-What, suddenly......"
If she had been her normal self, such overbearing methods would have been counterproductive. But as Tatsuya expected, Lina was not her normal self.
She had been under enormous stress, and now with the disappearance of the target which had been such a tense load on her she had fallen into a state of collapse. It was a perfect condition for 'persuasion'.
"In return, we'll pledge to keep the identity of Angie Sirius secret. This applies not just to me and Miyuki, but everyone else involved in the incident today."
Lina gave no reply.
Blue eyes jittered between Tatsuya's. Gradually, he could see cognitive processes coming back.
Duty.
Suspicion.
Defensiveness,
Vindication.
Various thoughts flickered through her eyes, as within her (psychologically) rationalisation dawned. Tatsuya wasn't particularly skilled in psychoanalysis nor was he a telepath so he wasn't perfectly clear, but he intuitively knew that Lina was trying to convince herself somehow.
Her conflict didn't last very long.
"I have no choice in the matter do I?"
"It's not like that."
Tatsuya refuted her resigned words. He didn't elaborate on the consequences of her refusing either however.
Suspicion nurtures anxiety. Those unspoken words, or rather his unspoken action, were the final push.
"Fine......if it keeps you quiet, it's not a bad deal for me. I'll remain silent about you two. ......No one will listen to what I have to say anyway."
That last phrase was mouthed quietly, so Tatsuya didn't hear. He didn't ask for clarification.
He was carrying Miyuki who was still limp; when she suddenly came to and started wriggling around he told her 'calm down' as they turned away from Lina.
Only faced away, not moving.
Immediately before Lina could call out in suspicion to Tatsuya,
"Lina."
Tatsuya called out to Lina instead.
"Is there something else?"
From her words alone it could be interpreted that Lina was still annoyed, but her voice was not as sullen as her words.
The air of being cornered a while ago had disappeared.
"If you wish to retire from the Stars......"
"Eh?"
"If you ever wish to quit being a soldier, I think I could help. No, it's not that I have any power, but there are people I know who could be of service."
"Tatsuya? Just, what are you saying?"
Lina didn't angrily burst out 'it's none of your business' or laughed out 'don't be a fool'.
"It's not that I particularly want to quit the Stars......to stop being 'Sirius'."
She simply answered in wonder.
"I see."
Without looking back, Tatsuya curtly replied, then began to walk.
"Wait, Tatsuya! Why did you say such a thing!?"
Not turning around to Lina who called out in a loud voice,
"Sorry, I said something strange."
He merely spoke those words, and proceeded on.
The mechanical doll accompanying him likewise took no notice of Lina.
Only Miyuki, still held in Tatsuya's arms, looked back over his shoulder, giving Lina an anxious look.
◊ ◊ ◊
As Tatsuya's form disappeared into the dark night, Lina returned to herself with a sigh.
Realizing she had simply been motionlessly staring at Tatsuya's back, she rose from the ground in a hurry.
Why had her eyes been so resolutely following his back......the moment such thoughts entered into her mind, Lina vigorously shook her head.
(It's just because he said something so weird. That's obviously it!)
Unconsciously, she had been fixed on his form all the while.
As soon as she was aware of her own actions, she also became aware of her flushed cheeks and the racing of her heart.
The fact was that she had merely been dragged into a 'misunderstanding' of her own making, but having in a sense fallen into his trap Lina was in no position to make a sober objective analysis. She was now being held captive in a psychological state similar to the suspension bridge effect.
In order to deflect the mortifying thought of 'love' from her consciousness, Lina desperately searched for anything else to think about. As a result, her mind fixated on his last question.
Tatsuya's puzzling proposal.
Wondering just why would he say such a thing, Lina tilted her head.
Was it because her face, her form, being attacked by monsters and having to dispose of her fellow countrymen, seemed to be in pain?
If that was the case then he was mistaken, Lina thought.
Being forced to turn her hand against her 'family' certainly caused her chest to ache.
Yet Lina believed her actions were merciful. That she was bringing them salvation.
She had long since learned that humans' dignity was something precious.
—It was difficult work, yet someone had to do it.
—She would not run from it.
—If a powerful magician fell to evil, then the only one who could oppose them was the strongest, Sirius, in other words only she herself......
(......Only she herself?)
Having never thought the matter over, Lina's thinking now stumbled.
Disposing of those fallen magicians before they gave birth to ne
w victims. As the strongest, she was indeed the most suited for the task.
There had been no doubt in her mind — until now.
She now knew that was not an absolute.
Even if she didn't do it, those two would.
Even if she hadn't put herself through all the pain, the guilt of killing her brothers, those two would—
(I see......that's why I was so lost, so impatient.)
The cobwebs which had clouded her mind for most of the month now melted away as if the sun had dawned.
Even if she herself doesn't do it, someone else would.
For Lina, it was like discovering something unimaginable.
She realized that her future she had thought to be decided, unchangeable, was something she could choose for herself. The straight road she had always thought lay before her suddenly branched — and with it came both anxiety and hope.
Having finally awakened from her illusion, Lina stayed wrapped in confusion for a while.
◊ ◊ ◊
Tatsuya's destination was the location of the two previously sealed Parasites. But someone had already gotten there first.
Two groups faced each other.
One was a black-clad group, led by an old man deeply wrinkled with years yet standing firm.
The other was also black-clad, led by a young lady in a black one piece dress.
Although facing each other, it didn't mean they were hostile. The group led by the girl, at any rate, showed no hostility towards the group led by the old man. That was probably because the girl, their leader, herself showed no hostility towards him.
Rather, the girl looked at the old man with respect. —At least, apparently.
"Your Excellency Kudou, it is an honor to see you."
The girl came forward and curtsied gracefully. Despite the elegance, however, there was no modesty. The light within her eyes was far too strong for that.
"My name is Kuroba Ayako. I am but a lowly member of the Yotsuba, and I serve at our Head, Maya's, convenience."
Raising her head, Ayako gave a playful smile.
A provocative yet withdrawn, enigmatic smile.
As expected, however, Kudou Retsu did not rise to the bait.
"A representative of the Yotsuba, is it. You seem solid, despite your youth. It appears you already know about me. Or should I introduce myself regardless?"