by Sato Tsutomu
—Just like this.
(......I see him.)
Visual Tuning.
He wasn't summoning the spirit over and reading the recorded information. Instead, he was using the connection through the information dimension to directly receive the visual information through the active spirit. This was known as Spirit Magic's "Sense Tuning". When restricted to vision only in order to promote clarity, this technique was known as "Visual Tuning".
"Found him, Tatsuya!"
Yet, next came the tricky part.
Mikihiko was maintaining the connection to two spirits — the one following Tatsuya and the other on Leo, as he transmitted this to Tatsuya.
(That was fast...... So he found it already.)
Spirit Magic was quite convenient, he thought leisurely as he heightened the tension in his body.
No matter how you described it, he was concealing himself by hanging from the ceiling.
Probably because the building was intentionally set in a state of construction, there were many exposed air vents inter-crossed over the room where Second High's monolith was located. Tatsuya hung from one of them and watched the defender cautiously poke his head around beneath him.
He must have detected the source of the signal, but he never imagined that his opponent was lurking in ambush above him.
Maybe not, Tatsuya thought.
In his eyes, the defender's extreme agitation created this tunnel vision.
His breathing was ragged likely because he ran up the flights of stairs.
He certainly didn't feel like someone suited for defense. At this juncture, he was supposed to be cheered at his opponent's ineptitude, as pity would most definitely be hypocritical.
He toyed with the idea of letting the defender pass, but he ultimately chose to release his grip, twisting in the air to prepare for his landing and pulling out the CAD from his right at the same time.
He squeezed the trigger immediately upon hitting the ground.
The defender didn't even have a chance to turn his head.
The activated magic was simply a psion shock wave. For a few seconds, the technique would incapacitate him by creating concussion-like symptoms.
In combat, a few precious seconds was the difference between life and death, but this was a competition that forbade direct contact. Tatsuya kept an eye on his unbalanced opponent and ran towards the target Mikihiko pinpointed for him.
It took him less than 10 seconds to pass two rooms and reach his destination.
Noticing that the defender was finally on the move, Tatsuya pointed his CAD directly at his feet.
Each floor was three and a half meters high.
There were approximately seven meters between the third and fifth floors.
This was well within the firing range of the "key".
He squeezed the trigger.
A subtle change in Eidos traveled along his hands.
Prudently, Tatsuya took the stairs opposite from where he came and descended to the next floor.
With his sight synchronized with the spirit, Mikihiko easily saw the code carved within the monolith.
He looked away.
Right now, Leo hadn't made contact with the enemy yet.
Mikihiko prayed for a little luck as he started to input the code he visually received from the spirit.
When the ending whistle sounded, Tatsuya was busy dodging the "Kamaitachi" magic the defender was shooting at him.
Leo had his back to the monolith and was prepared to throw everything he had into one last charge.
"Whew...... That went down to the wire!"
Mayumi let out a satisfied breath of relief to which Mari responded with a displeased disposition.
"That guy...... Was he screwing around near the end?"
"Eh? Really?"
"He should easily be able to avoid those attacks...... Why didn't he eliminate his opponent?"
"I'm sure he has his reasons."
Mari glared at Tatsuya with a peeved expression on her face while Mayumi calmly rebuffed her words.
"What do you mean? He used 'Resonance' during the last match and something else to take out Hattori. Shouldn't he have more tricks up his sleeve?"
"Supposedly, he cannot use the magic he used against Hanzou-kun because the hardware requirements for the competition-use CAD are unable to execute his abilities. Likewise, wasn't his 'Resonance' attack from the last match unable to completely silence his opponent?
Mari, have you forgotten?
Yesterday, we forced Tatsuya-kun into the replacement's role, so he only had one night to prepare! In that one night, he had to calibrate Saijou-kun and Yoshida-kun's CADs and also had to iron out a strategy that took full advantage of their talents......
I can understand that Mari's irritation comes from the fact that you hold Tatsuya-kun in high esteem. However, I think it is irresponsible to have towering expectations without giving him the necessary time to meet those expectations."
"Well...... OK......"
Mari nodded slightly, signifying she was reflecting on her words. Suddenly, she paused.
"......Speaking of which, Mayumi."
"Yeah, what's up!"
Feeling an icy aura of vengeance manifesting, Mayumi couldn't help but shiver.
Still, this may be exactly what Mari was looking for.
"You were quite ready to come to Tatsuya-kun's defense!"
"Wha!? No, what are......"
"No need to be ashamed about it. However...... I think even you would be in for a hard fight against that sis-con level......"
"I already said that wasn't it!"
While Mari's objection was derailed by a tangent during a typical conversation (more like nitpicking) for female high school students, those sentiments were echoed by someone else with another perspective among the audience.
"In the end, he only used 'Gram Demolition', 'Resonance', 'Phantom Blow', and Weight-Type Magic, eh...... I can understand not using 'Decomposition', but isn't he skimping too much by not using Flash Cast or Elemental Sight?"
"Sensei, you should know that he has reasons for keeping those under wraps, right?"
"But, Fujibayashi...... Forget Flash Cast for now, even if he used 'Eyes of the Spirits', none of those third-rate Magicians watching him would have any idea what he just did."
Dr. Yamanaka and Lieutenant Fujibayashi from the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion were deep in conversation in the audience stands. If someone familiar with the concepts overheard their conversation, they would undoubtedly leap out of their chair in surprise. Yet, since they were wearing inconspicuous summer clothes, these two could easily have been mistaken for a couple — which was impossible, since they looked like a doctor and his nurse (In Japanese, "sensei" could be used to address a teacher or doctor). If anyone overheard a series of foreign terms, they would probably think they were specific terms from psychology or a related field. No one around them paid them any particular heed.
"Despite this, if someone saw what should not be seen, this would raise a warning flag among the sharper spectators. Compared to Sensory Magic, 'Elemental Sight' is more like a Superpower. Based on the situation, it may draw more attention than even 'Decomposition'."
The "Eyes of the Spirits" they were talking about — "Elemental Sight" referred to Tatsuya's ability to identify the "landscape (color)" of the information dimension.
Each of the Four Major Systems and Eight Major Types of magic projected Magic Sequences onto the Eidos through the information dimension.
Thus, Magicians who wield modern magic have the ability to link to the information dimension. By connecting to the information dimension and verifying its "existence" — Tatsuya's senses could be said to expand the field.
And...... this "expansion" had dire consequences.
Anything with a physical body in this world had their Eidos imprinted in the information dimension.
Also, this wasn't done through the five senses, or as if he could "see through" this expanded inf
ormation dimension and the subsystem's signals to pull out the targets he needed. Rather, he was able to identify each and every Eidos and target them separately.
In other words, no one could escape from his Elemental Sight.
The term "Eyes of the Spirits" was actually a misnomer that became part of the technical jargon due to its long service.
The first scholars who translated this term initially used the adjective "Elemental", but that was mistaken to mean the noun "Elemental", giving rise to "Eyes of the Elementals", which was shortened to "Eyes of the Spirits". Of course, there were many people who caught onto the mistake, but since "Eyes of the Spirits" was more magically inclined than "Elemental Sight", the name stuck. This was a slightly unscientific way of approaching the issue, but that was the reason why the term was never corrected.
While this "mistake" was the source of much friction between specialists and non-specialists...... Regarding the fact that no one stepped forward to correct the issue, the jury was still out on whether this was mystifying or worthy of despairing over.
— Back to main line —
Yamanaka knew exactly what Fujibayashi was talking about. Elemental Sight was the same as "Mist Dispersal" in that they were both highly classified.
Despite this, Yamanaka was still reluctant to accept that.
"Since he's not allowed to disclose this, we're probably in the same boat......"
They were neither simple nor innocent enough to simply come and support Tatsuya. Nor was Tatsuya fragile enough to painfully publicize that which was forbidden before everyone present. On this point, Yamanaka, Fujibayashi, Kazama, Sanada, and Yanagi were all perfectly clear. Nonetheless, there were always exceptions. If a catastrophe broke out and classified magic was forced out into the open before public eyes, they had to be on hand to handle the situation. That was why they were here bending all their focus and energy towards Tatsuya's match.
Thus, they had no right to criticize the Yotsuba Family's clandestine nature, which was precisely Yamanaka's point. Regardless of how much Yamanaka wanted to see Tatsuya cut loose and show the world a move or two, there was nothing to be done.
"Still, I think that he may get around to Flash Cast. Against the 'Prince' or the 'Cardinal', I don't think even he could handle them with such a weak CAD."
As if finally soothing Yamanaka's demands, Fujibayashi ended the conversation there.
Not all the audience members were focused on Tatsuya alone.
A considerable amount of people were watching Leo. Especially because he was the first one to wield a Weaponized-Integrated CAD in this competition that both dazzled and bewildered the audience.
Likewise, several spectators were also watching Mikihiko, who had accurately "seen through" the 512 character code from range. Among the crowd of spectators who remained oblivious to what happened, one childhood friend was the exception.
"Really, Miki...... You're just like you were before."
"Eh, what is the same as before, Erika-chan?"
Mizuki tilted her head in interest at Erika's involuntary muttering. Erika vaguely replied back to muddle the issue, then fell deep into her own thoughts.
Erika and Mikihiko's relationship went back farther than Mizuki realized, so of course she knew exactly what Mikihiko was doing.
While Sense Tuning was by no means a small feat, before his unfortunate accident, the so-called "prodigy" Mikihiko could use that as easily as he breathed the very air itself. Nevertheless, after that incident occurred, he was never able to freely wield magic the way he used to.
(Seriously...... Your mental trauma had long since healed.)
Occasionally, people would say that physical injuries were easy to heal, but mental wounds closed slowly.
In reality, physical injuries were also separated between those that could be saved, and those that couldn't.
At the same time, mental trauma should be the same.
(Miki...... Did you notice? Today, you are just like you were at your peak!)
Erika didn't possess the power to identify spirits, nor was she equipped with the eyes to see the spirits themselves.
Thus, she was unable to directly confirm whether Spiritual Magic had succeeded. That being said, she was a daughter of the Chiba Family, renowned for endlessly training in anti-personnel magic combat.
Based on the minute and subtle changes in motion, line of sight, and expression, it was possible to identify to some degree when someone used magic, what they were targeting, and whether they succeeded.
The daughter of the Chiba Family used her pair of "Swordsman's Eyes" to behold that Mikihiko had cast his desired magic at long last.
(Unbelievable...... Hurry up and realize this. You've already recovered!)
Presently, Mikihiko had recovered his "ability" but not his "confidence."
She could read that much from his stolid expression. This was the product of many years of forced interaction during their childhood years.
Now, all he needed to do was renew his confidence. All he had to do was believe in himself—
"......Erika-chan, what's wrong? Erika-chan!"
"Eh? What?"
"What do you mean 'Eh? What?'. What's up with you shutting yourself away all of a sudden? Are you worried about something?"
"Eh, yeah, now that you mention it, I am a little worried. Didn't I just say this one was close? Hopefully, the next match will be A-OK~."
Mizuki was successfully misled by her words and started talking about "Speaking of which", "Next time", "We'll cheer them on". Setting Mizuki aside for now, Erika once again delved into her inner sanctum.
◇◇◇
The seeding for the elimination round had been announced.
For the first match of the semifinal round, Third High was up against Eighth High.
In the second match, it was First High vs. Ninth High.
The results for the rotating preliminaries were First Place: Third High, Second Place: First High, Third Place: Eighth High, and Fourth Place: Ninth High. According to the rules, the semifinals should have pitted Third High vs. Ninth High and First High vs. Eighth High, but since First High already crossed swords with Eighth High in the preliminaries, they made another exception here.
The elimination round would begin in the afternoon.
While Tatsuya's match was the second one in the afternoon, they couldn't afford to miss out on Third High's match.
It was still a little early for lunch, so Tatsuya carried a bento box and accompanied Miyuki back to the hotel.
—It didn't appear that they could enjoy their lunch in peace at the pavilion.
Leo and Mikihiko had already evacuated back to their rooms to avoid the chaos.
Even though Honoka wanted to join them, if her presence caused an endless stream of well-wishers from their cohort to tag along, then fleeing the pavilion became meaningless. Shizuku stopped her by whispering this in her ear.
Finally shaking off the intrigued gazes — the majority were warm looks directed towards Miyuki — the siblings quickly moved away from the competition area and found a rare scene waiting for them in the hotel's lobby.
"Hm?"
"Wow......"
In the corner of the lobby, Mari was standing there with an embarrassed flush on her face.
Next to her, a slightly older young man was standing there.
Definitely less than a ten year difference. He was probably in his early to mid-twenties.
The siblings both knew that Mari was rumored to have an older lover.
Was this young man her partner?
He had a medium build without being overly tall, though he was slightly taller than Tatsuya. As could be attested by other people around him, his lanky build wasn't that of an athlete, but someone who has gone through martial and combat training. This was an obvious distinction in the siblings' eyes.
According to conventional wisdom, his delicate features labeled him a beautiful young man. While Mari's features were more neutral, she still qualified
as a beautiful young woman. The two of them were a match made in heaven.
Suddenly, Tatsuya slowed down his pace.
"Onii-sama?"
Miyuki, who was half a step ahead now, turned her head to look at him.
Tatsuya was not playing a joke, nor was he planning anything devious like eavesdropping.
The young man's face was slightly familiar. After searching his memory for a moment, he stopped completely.
"......As expected of the Nine Schools Competition. You can expect to meet celebrities everywhere."
Now he was interested in their conversation. This thought only flashed through Tatsuya's mind briefly because he was well aware that this situation called for prudence.
"Do you know him?"
"He rates as an international celebrity."
At his side, Miyuki urged him to answer. Tatsuya originally planned to answer as they walked.
Still, while he stopped to recollect his thoughts, he didn't dare to actually "obstruct the date", but another fearless challenger appeared. A shrill voice caused both Tatsuya and Miyuki to halt their footsteps.
"Nii-sama! What are you doing here?!"
A familiar voice in a completely unfamiliar polite tone of voice addressed the young man.
"Nii-sama? Then this person is Erika's......?"
Miyuki switched her gaze from Erika, who was stomping towards the young man, to Tatsuya in hopes of confirmation.
"If my memory serves, he should be her second brother. The 'Chiba Kirin', Chiba Naotsugu. Currently studying at the University of National Defense, and reputed to be one of the finest magic close combat specialists in the world within a range of three meters."
"So he's that amazing. .....But, I would think that having such an older brother would be a great source of pride for Erika, but this open animosity seems out of sorts."
"Correct. While there are rumors that Naotsugu is an apostate within the Chiba Family...... Yet I hardly find Erika the type to be a stickler for the 'formalities'."