Volume 22, Chapter 7

For Katsuto today was the first Sunday in a long time without work for the

Ten Master Clans.

In the morning he slowly completed his homework from the Magic University, had breakfast, and now relaxed listening to music. Listening to classical analog stereo tracks could be called the only hobby of Katsuto. At the end of the 21st century, analog recordings were an expensive pleasure, but due to constant demand from connoisseurs, they were still released every year, mainly with orchestral music. Katsuto was one of these connoisseurs.

Katsuto did not have a special "audio room" with soundproofing or something like that. He felt uncomfortable in an environment with complete blockage from noise. You could say he was a man who, instead of playing in a concert hall, prefers an outdoor concert.

Lying on the couch in an open spacious room, he listened to his favorite symphony through a stereo system that looked antiquated, but inside was crammed with modern components that improve the sound quality.

Honestly, Katsuto preferred live chamber music and solo, but, unfortunately, he had no time to learn to play himself, nor the time to call the musicians. Not only he, but all the people of the Juumonji family almost did not have free time, spending it on maintaining their bodies in a state corresponding to their title "The Power of a Thousand."

-Katsuto, I'm sorry that I'm disturbing you.

-Father.

The former head of the Juumonji family and Katsuto's father, Juumonji Kazuki entered through the open door. He was only 44 years old. Although he was still too young to retire, he was forced to do so because of the fate that inevitably awaits the carriers of the trump card of the Juumonji family, so he took the chance, and handed over the management of Katsuto's family in the February 2097 Master Clans Conference.

-Come Tooyama-dono.

-Tooyama-dono?

Kazuki called "Tooyama-dono" only the head of the Tooyama family, Tooyama Shinobu. Feeling suspicious, why not Tsukasa, and personally her father, Katsuto stopped the recording and went to the living room.

? ? ?

Tatsuya arrived at the tip of the peninsula of Boso. From the mountain road, with his "Elemental Sight," he looked at a facility similar to the prison camp, located on the slope opposite. There were magicians in prison who he must now save.

Tatsuya received this order from Maya last night. However, Tatsuya left home only this afternoon.

He was not going to blindly follow Maya's orders, there was no need for this. But this time he did not sit still for such an emotional reason. Because he did not feel the need to go against Maya's orders.

He delayed the departure because he did not know where to go. At the time of their conversation yesterday, neither Maya nor the entire Yotsuba family have yet determined where the captured agents of the USNA Army are being kept.

Tatsuya returned to the back of the truck, the driver of which was Hanabishi Hyougo. To his surprise, he had the license to drive large trucks. Hyougo said with a smile that he could legally move any heavy equipment, and it looks like he was not joking. Tatsuya thought he would not be surprised if he could fly a large airplane.

Hyougo was also the one who gave him information about this place. On the phone instead of a specific place, instead reported the meeting place, but it seems that it was not done because of possible spying, but that Tatsuya got into the truck in advance.

Hyougo was not in the driver's seat, but descended from the cab and waited for Tatsuya. Seeing how he nodded, he quickly turned to the rear of the cargo bay. This cargo compartment in the form of a large box, outwardly looking like simple aluminum, was in fact made of titanium alloy and ceramic composite armored plates. When Hyougo pressed the button on the remote that was held in his hand, a door opened on the back wall of the body and a small ladder moved out of the resulting passageway.

- Tatsuya-sama, please.

Hyougo invited him to enter the body. It was not dark inside. It seems that it was designed so that the lighting is switched on simultaneously with the descent of the ladder. The space inside the body resembled a research laboratory.

There was a black electric motorcycle with a full fairing, and something like a riding suit hung on a hanger on the wall.

"It's ... a mobile suit?"

"As expected from Tatsuya-sama." You could understand at first sight.

Looking not so surprised, Hyougo nodded. Who was surprised here is Tatsuya. He reflexively analyzed the parameters of the suit using Elemental Sight.

-You were able to accurately reproduce the Mobile Suit of Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion...

-Full recreation was impossible. We did our best to add the function of establishing a connection with the CAD assistant in ultra-long targeting, but the power amplifier function had to be sacrificed.

Already aware of this Tatsuya was experiencing a slight shock now. This mobile suit, disguised as a normal commercial suit for riding, could connect with the "Third Eye."

-However, due to the sacrifice of the power amplifier function, the effectiveness of protection and stealth has become higher compared to the original. I'm sure it's much better than the original suits for Tatsuya-sama, who prefers to act alone.

Although the Mobile Suit was the development of a Independent Magic- Equipped Battalion, this did not mean that only national self-defense forces had such technologies.

For example, the USNA Army, with a delay of 3 months from the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion, developed the so-called "Pulling Suit", a flying armored suit with characteristics similar to the Mobile Suit.

But in the private sector, the first to develop a flying armored suit was the Yotsuba family. Even if you do not pay attention to the fact that flying magic was originally developed in the FLT laboratory under the auspices of the Yotsuba family, this indicated that it has unimaginable technological power.

-Also, this motorcycle has the function of establishing a connection with this flying suit.

-That is, you can fly on this motorcycle?

-That's right.

Tatsuya sent a "look" to the motorcycle. The very concept of riding an open bike meant that the rider would not be protected from the sides and from behind. But he realized that the protective properties of the front armor was not inferior to the performance of armored vehicles. The entire motorcycle, including tires, was made of exceptionally strong materials. It was a military model, outwardly disguised as a commercial model of a well-known brand.

"Tatsuya-sama, this suit has no name yet." Could Tatsuya-sama come up with a name for him?

- No, I, perhaps, refuse.

Tatsuya was not touched, but was surprised. As the future wearer of this suit, Tatsuya would be ashamed if the chosen name was not suitable.

It was not necessary to ask again that this suit was intended for Tatsuya. This means that the Yotsuba family assumed that an abyss might grow between Tatsuya and the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion. They predicted that in the future it may be impossible to freely use the Mobile Suit.

The main weakness of Tatsuya was a weak defense. Even with regeneration, close to invulnerability, in combat you can face a situation where you cannot immediately use "Regrowth". There are also cases when priority should be given to the destruction of the enemy. A highly effective protective suit was an ideal means for Tatsuya to demonstrate his fighting qualities to the maximum.

In this costume, unlike the Mobile Suit, you will not feel uncomfortable in the city. Even with a helmet on, he looked just like a little unusual sled suit. And if you throw a jacket over it, even the feeling of conspicuousness disappears completely. This flying suit was made just for Tatsuya. There was no doubt about that.

-In that case, you can use the temporary name from the development stage: "Freed Suit". If you ever get a good name, I'd like to hear it.

For Tatsuya "Freed Suit" was enough. This probably meant "A suit freed from restrictions". It seemed strange, why not "Suit free from restrictions", but this, apparently, was just a problem of consonance.

However, the chatter about what to call it would only cause a series of new questions and answers, which would take time away. Thinking about this, Tatsuya decided to keep silent.

The name does not matter. But the benefit of this suit was obvious.

Tatsuya refused the phrases like "I accept this with gratitude" and silently began to change into the Freed Suit.

Unlike the suit, the black motorcycle had a name. It was called Wingless.

This meant that he would fly, even without wings. "Someone has a pretty good fantasy," thought Tatsuya.

Saddled on "Wingless", he went to the prison where the captured agents were held. On this mission Tatsuya went alone. Hyougo remained in place in the event of an emergency, and according to plan the released agents, will themselves have to steal a car from the prisoners of war parking lot.

Lack of support did not bother Tatsuya. From the very beginning, his fighting style had a single action. Although there are no friends who will help in combat, but with it there are no comrades in arms which you need to take care of.

You need to think only of yourself. Under such conditions, he can fully demonstrate his combat power.

Keeping to the legal speed to avoid unnecessary trouble, he still quickly saw the target building.

To check the recently received toy, Tatsuya decided to jump the surrounding prison fence on a black motorcycle.

? ? ?

Tooyama Tsukasa left the private residence in Karuizawa for a secret prisoner of war base on the peninsula of Boso, not because she wanted to do something with captive magicians of the American Army. She was just looking for a way to escape from that place. She managed to slip away before Shiina and the plainly not informed military men were interrogated.

Prisoners, who did not work brainwashing, were not valuable for Tsukasa. With prolonged constant exposure to drugs and other substances, it is possible that something would have happened. However, there is a high probability that before this magical abilities will be compromised, and the destruction of their personality is likely. There was no hurry in their use, and it was not so inhuman that it was so destructive to human lives. At least, she thought so herself.

It is necessary to get rid of the caught agents. Penetrating into a foreign country with an illegal mission, they must be ready for this. Tsukasa thought so.

There was no question of liberation. Survivors can disclose the fact that the Japanese army used brain-washed prisoners as puppets. If they are not executed, the probability is high that the facts about experiments on human bodies will surface, which will cause unpleasant consequences.

Well, only she alone will be punished for this story, but to put the army, let alone the whole of Japan at a disadvantage was impossible. Because the Tooyama family cannot live without Japan, and "Tooyama Tsukasa" cannot live without Tooyama's family.

The matter is not that inaction is evil, the fact is that among people there was a widespread tendency to the appearance of bad thoughts about what would happen if nothing was done. And the more busy a person is, the stronger this inclination is for him.

-... Right. It will be best to get rid of them as quickly as possible. Tsukasa muttered, being alone in this room. It was a rest room for the "jailers", but all the staff were now at their posts.

In turn, the room where the captured agents were held was completely airtight. If deadly substances enter the ventilation system through the ventilation system, then the room will immediately turn into a gas chamber. She stood up with the intention to go to the camp director and ask him to carry out the execution.

It was at that moment that an alarm sounded.

- What could have happened?

Although Tsukasa was talking to herself, but the soldier rushing into the room gave her an answer.

"Sergeant Tooyama, we have an invasion!" Come forward, please!

The wounded soldier was the rank of sergeant. Having made sure that the title is lower than her, Tsukasa asked for the current situation.

-What is the scale of the invasion? You cannot answer by security forces?

-Only one invader was discovered, but this is a powerful magician! Some guards cannot stop them!

"Really?" - the thought in Tsukasa's head rushed past. But she quickly abandoned her "delusion."

The Yotsuba family should not benefit from the attack on this camp.

-I got it. Where is my outfit?

-I brought it with me.

Tsukasa took the sergeant's dark glasses with an information terminal function built into one of the lenses, and also with a built-in microphone and an earphone in one ear.

The glasses displayed information about the coordinates of the offender and the soldiers sent to intercept him. Allied soldiers were within the normal range.

"I'm starting support." -Said Tsukasa and activated the Tooyama family magic.

? ? ?

Having received from the terminal in the security room the data about the place where the captive agents are held, Tatsuya, first of all, just in case, destroyed the ventilation system with "decomposition".

"What is this place where prisoners are locked in gas chambers?"

From the very beginning he did not have good impressions about this place, so he decided that this is an place where illegal experiments are conducted.

"It looks like I really cannot hold back". Tatsuya muttered in thought. Nevertheless, he did not hold back from the very beginning, because it was an place in the mountains, of which the immediate vicinity was deserted.

He pointed the CAD "muzzle" at the security guard who got in his way. His suit was built with a full mind control CAD, but in this battle, he preferred to use a more customary for him CAD, which has the form of a pistol.

Specialized CAD custom modification " Silver Horn Trident" instantly derived the activation sequence.

Activated for an even shorter moment "Decomposition" pierced the soldier who had tried to intercept him.

He did not kill him. However, soldiers, getting holes in the joints of the hands and feet, could not rise, or even crawl. Well, there were no attempts, because they lost consciousness from acute pain shock.

There was reinforcements. Tatsuya reflexively tried to attack them.

The soldiers who appeared from around the corner of the corridor were surrounded by anti-magic barriers. There was a difference in the strength of the barrier, but the soldiers were exactly the same as the previous ones. Tatsuya decomposed the magic barrier and immediately after that tried to "decompose" the soldier's body.

However.

Immediately after he decomposed the barrier, it was instantly rebuilt. The soldier counterattacked from a rifle of increased power.

Instantly changing the magic, Tatsuya decomposed the bullets and, using the capabilities of the suit to accelerate, left the line of fire. There was no shelter in this corridor. He decomposed part of the ceiling and jumped into the hole. A group of three soldiers followed him.

Tatsuya bent over the hole and activated Gram Dispersion. The anti-magic barriers of the three soldiers disappeared. And they were instantly rebuilt. The next moment the barriers disappeared again. And before they were again rebuilt, the magic of Tatsuya's decomposition managed to make holes in the bodies of soldiers.

Six barriers destroyed and four holes per person. A total of 18 phenomenon modifications at the same time, which for the current Tatsuya was not difficult.

But these altered barriers were just an annoyance.

"This is not Phalanx"

If you think about the regenerating magic barriers, then anyone will remember the famous Phalanx of the Juumonji family. But this magic was not Phalanx.

Tatsuya saw Katsuto's Phalanx in action. Therefore, he could draw such a conclusion. The current barrier magic was very similar to the magic of the Juumonji family, but it was still another spell.

"The only thing that comes to mind is that it's magic from the same Tenth Lab"

Descending from the opening in the ceiling, Tatsuya continued to run along the corridor.

"The Magicians developed in the Tenth Laboratory, is the Tooyama family involved in these events?"

The present magic was the same as he had seen the day before yesterday in the course of an attack on the etiquette school. Does this mean that the Tooyama family was secretly pulling strings in that attack too?

"Maya said not to deal with them ... But if they tried to hurt Miyuki, that's another conversation"

With the advance into the interior of the building, the frequency of collisions with the guards increased. All the emerging soldiers were surrounded by these magical barriers, but they could no longer stop Tatsuya's advance.

"This is troublesome magic, but it has good compatibility with me"

Calmly assessing the enemy's magic, Tatsuya finally reached the prison zone.

? ? ?

"Why is my magic ... the magic of the Tooyama family not working!?" - Tsukasa's supportive interceptors cried mentally.

The magic of the Tooyama family is the projection of many simultaneous personal magic barriers. This spell, using the body of the person being protected, as a starting point, builds a magic barrier around it.

Since the goals of magic are registered in advance, there is no need either for direct observation or for resetting the coordinates. If the abilities of the magic operator allow it, this magic armor can be summoned many times over many people.

By itself, this spell is designed to help important people escape. This magic should be used to cover important government figures from bullets and explosions in case the enemy penetrates deep into the country.

The Tooyama family is the last line of defense of the central government. That is why, unlike the "last line of the capital's defense," the Juumonji families, they are called "the last line of defense of the central government." The government is understood not as a building, but as people engaged in politics. If you let the people who are at the top of the control apparatus run away, you will still be able to counterattack. Using this concept, the magicians of the Tooyama family were developed.

The Tooyama family should only protect important government people. Ordinary citizens are not their goal. Proceeding from this position, the Tooyama family is forbidden to appear on the political scene. It is for this reason that the Tooyama family, having entered the 28 families, never tried to become one of the Ten Master Clans.

This magic was developed with such an extremely negative motive that the goal must escape and civilians should be sacrificed, but this does not mean that it cannot be used for such a positive purpose as deterring enemy soldiers. If you activate this magic on targets identified as allies, the soldiers, having received powerful magic protection, superior to their abilities, will be able to concentrate on the attack. Thus, magic protection can be received even by people who are not magicians.

The visor, which was now on Tsukasa's head, was intended just for this. It was a technology developed by the Intelligence Department of the National Self-Defense Forces. With the help of this technology, the Tooyama family was able to free themselves from the label "magicians only used for escape."

The Tooyama family also wanted to make a positive contribution to the development of the state. Because of this nature of the magic activation, when the point of reference is other people, the Tooyama family has a birth defect in which they equate many other people to themselves, which causes the boundaries of identity to become blurred. More precisely, this defect was deliberately grafted.

Nevertheless, they still had a desire to contribute to the organization to which they belong. No, perhaps the desire to help the group was strong precisely because their "individuality" was blurred.

And the magicians bearing Tooyama's surname to fulfill this desire were the result of bidding with the Intelligence Department of the National Self- Defense Forces. Tsukasa became the second generation of this treaty. In its second generation, the presence of Tooyama became irreplaceable for the intelligence department.

When trying to arrange a sabotage in another country, the detachment will almost always contain magicians. Because magic is a force that can be considered as a military potential, concentrated in the hands of individuals. Therefore, it is inevitable that counterintelligence will require the presence of forces capable of resisting such diversions.

With its magic, which allows them to protect with magic barriers even people who are not magicians, the Tooyama's family quickly increased its presence in the counterintelligence unit.

Soldiers defending positions counted on the magic of Tsukasa. The realization that her magic cannot help them will seriously reduce their morale. And this can lead to the breakthrough of defensive positions.

That's why Tsukasa could not afford an anxious expression.

Because of her congenital defect, psychic abilities began to decrease from the feeling of anxiety. But, while retaining the poker face *, she hardly avoided major problems. [From the translator: Using such words is not my whim, but the author's style. I thus conveyed the moment that the author used the English word in the Japanese text.]

But, regardless of her zeal ...

The results in which the enemy cannot be stopped, could only be called a complete failure.

? ? ?

The prison, which contained agents of the USNA Army, was in a block surrounded by a spiral corridor.

If they were in a separate building, it was faster to penetrate outside. The prison and the surrounding corridor had a structure, as if it were a courtyard inside the building, and in the center of this courtyard was the prison building. Confronting the guards, Tatsuya invaded this yard.

However, going so far, there is no longer any need for such stupid things as the straightforward passage of this corridor.

Tatsuya aimed Trident at the inner wall. The decomposition magic pierced the wall of the corridor. In the next moment, in all the walls, up to the prison itself, holes appeared of a size sufficient for a person to pass.

Then he directed Trident to the ceiling. The splintered pieces of the shattered ceiling crashed into the guards. Tatsuya "saw" that anti-magic barriers immediately switched to anti-object.

In this case there will be no victims. But getting out of such a blockage will be problematic. This situation was convenient for Tatsuya.

He ran to the prison. From there no one still tried to run out despite the fact that he had already provided them with a passage. It looks like they were in a state in which it's impossible to escape.

Tatsuya's guess was confirmed, but it was far from the worst option. The captives were only paralyzed by medical preparations. If, for example, they had cut off their limbs, it would be difficult to get them out of here.

He directed his "Elemental Sight" at a drug that paralyzed the bodies of prisoners. Fortunately, they used the same drug on them all.

If so, you can manage at once.

Tatsuya focused on the concept of the relevant substance and activated decomposition magic. The substance of the drug, which corresponds to this concept, was decomposed at the level of individual chemical elements.

Some of these chemical elements were harmful to human bodies, but the main thing now was that the paralysis began to recede.

The next woman who came to herself, after a violent cough, passing into vomiting. After waiting for her to catch her breath, Tatsuya turned to her.

"Can you stand up?" If you can, then tell your companions. You are released.

- I'm in ... order ... This voice, Tatsuya Shiba?

Tatsuya frowned inside his helmet. This suit did not have the function of changing the voice, but the face under the helmet was not visible.

- Do you know me?

It was hard to believe that you can understand only by voice what it is without knowing this person for a long time.

"I, ah-oh, I'm a warrant officer, Sylvia Mercury First of the Stars, USNA army." Last year I spent some time in Japan as adjutant of Lina.

"Lina's adjutant?" Everything is clear.

Tatsuya did not think that she was lying. It is inconceivable that soldiers who are on an illegal mission, would so easily open their personalities. But they must have known that they are already known, like the soldiers of the army of the USNA. If the drugs paralyzed the prisoners, they could also use the appropriate drugs for interrogation.

In addition, if she can recognize Tatsuya's voice from several words he said, this only proves that she really worked with Lina.

-I was ordered to release you. If this is possible, I would like you to walk on your feet.

"It's possible." Now I will tell this to my colleagues.

It seems that the nausea has already receded, and Sylvia responded with a firm voice without coughing.

Following Tatsuya, they ran from the prison building.

Nobody attacked him from the back. As expected, there were no stupid people among the agents of the American Army.

It seems that the soldiers who met them were among the last. The cases of resistance on the way back were very rare.

Seeing a troops transport truck, they ran to it. It seems that they went through a good training, because by this time, by their running it was clear that they had already recovered.

Tatsuya entered coordinates in the truck navigator of the place where Hanabishi Hyougo waits for them.

-The place where my assistant is waiting is marked in the navigator. You can escape if you follow this person's directions.

After a few hesitations, Sylvia nodded.

"... I will not ask about the reasons." In fact, we would not have escaped execution if not for your help, thank you very much.

Sylvia saluted Tatsuya. Tatsuya responded with the same salute in the army style.

As he watched the truck with Silvia's group, Tatsuya returned to the camp building.

It was not a problem to escape right now. It is impossible to determine who committed this attack, having only an image of a figure in a riding suit and a darkened helmet. Before exposing himself to Sylvia to prison, he first destroyed surveillance equipment, including hidden microphones.

Moreover, studying the structure of the internal premises through the terminal in the security room, as insurance, he recorded the experiments conducted here on people. It was not data from the experiments themselves, but the recording of corpses discarded after use in experiments. Even if they find out that he was the attacker, this data will be enough to negotiate.

He returned to the camp in order to erase in advance all the records pointing to him, in order to avoid unnecessary time spent on it in the future. This was not necessary, but it was better to do this in order to avoid subsequent cleanup.

He aimed Trident at the top floor of the building. The decomposition magic turned the roof of the buildings management room into dust. Using the function of the flight suit, Tatsuya penetrated the command post from above. In the leadership room, where the roof suddenly disappeared, was the camp director and several staff personnel.

... All of them raised their hands.

- We surrender. We are not able to withstand your combat power.

Tatsuya nodded and answered in a magically synthesized voice. With the help of Flash Cast, he reproduced the magic on which Sylvia specialized. Possessing a weak interference force, he could not control it at a level where the voice is reproduced in the ears of the target, but he could capture the voice inside the helmet and create air vibrations right next to his face.

- You will delete all the surveillance system data.

Not wanting to test fate, the director immediately replied: "I understand." Tatsuya reached out to the terminal next to him. He did not intend to trouble himself with working on him. He simply cast magic to all information bodies that have electromagnetic properties.

Suddenly looking away, he saw the operator looking at him with fear in his eyes. Tatsuya did not react to this and returned his gaze to the commanding captain.

-Where is the magician of the Tooyama family?

-... Sergeant Tooyama is in the next room.

Although for a moment the captain hesitated, he remembered that he was in a position where he could not refuse t-->>

next page