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Chapter 6

July 8, 2097, 0:00 AM Japanese time.

The Far Eastern fleet of the New Soviet Union left the port of Vladivostok.

"The fleet of the New Soviet Union is approaching."

After this news, many enterprises and educational institutions located in the regions on the coast of the Sea of Japan took steps to suspend work and study.

People living along the coast in Sanin, Hokuriku, and Tohoku were ordered to advised to prepare for evacuation to shelters. The areas surrounding the cities were also encouraged to remain vigilant.

The Yokohama incident that took place the year before last was a sudden event –

there was no time to prepare, and people were not afraid of the approaching army until after the fact. By the time most people knew about it, it was already over – and Japan had won. In contrast, this time the New Soviet Union advanced openly, putting heavy pressure on the people and damaging their psyche.

At noon Japanese time, the New Soviet Union’s fleet stopped 30 nautical miles north-west of the Noto Peninsula. It was a convenient spot, located on the border of two adjacent waters.

The Soviet fleet was as follows:

Two ships with Fleming launchers as their main armament, designed to attack ground targets.

Four ships with anti-aircraft and anti-ship rocket launchers.

Four ships with weapons to combat submarines and anti-ship rocket launchers.

Twelve small ships in battle formation.

An aircraft carrier with two destroyers as escorts following 10 nautical miles behind the rest of the fleet.

Against this fleet, the Japanese army sent four ships with anti-aircraft and anti-ship rocket launchers as well as six ships with anti-ship rocket launchers and weapons to combat submarines. In addition, each of the nearby cities (Maizuru, Kanazawa, and Niigata) had 8 small ships ready for combat.

Both sides had submarines that might have detected each other somewhere under the water.

The New Soviet Union’s requirement had not changed since the day before –

they demanded the extradition of Liu Li Lei, a war criminal who killed many civilians with large-scale magic.

In response to this demand, the Japanese government had offered to hold a meeting in the International Criminal Court. They had responded from the perspective of human rights, stating that a unilateral New Soviet Union court was unacceptable to the rights of the refugee. However, the International Criminal Court had not functioned for more than half a century – it was currently a nominal organization, which, while technically existing, had no power.

Still, despite the government’s stance on protecting human rights, the government received criticism for defending Liu – “Is it reasonable to endanger the lives of citizens for the sake of a foreigner?” they argued. However, when the news showed photos of Liu, the voices scorning the government lost their support as people felt sympathy seeing that Liu was just a 14-year-old girl. This might have been helped by the fact that Liu was beautiful.

Liu Li Lei was still at Komatsu base.

And today, Ichijou Akane visited Liu with her father, Ichijou Goki - head of the Ichijou family.

Local time: July 8, afternoon. Masaki and Kichijouji were on Sado Island.

They had arrived there early in the morning, but not because they weren’t aware of the movements of the New Soviet Union’s fleet. The reports claimed the enemy was aiming west of Noto Peninsula, but Masaki trusted Kichijouji’s opinion and instead headed to Sado Island while leaving the duty of guarding his sister while looking after Liu Li Lei to his father.

Masaki and Kichijouji stood on the upper observation platform of the lighthouse, located on the northern coast of the island. From there, it was possible to see the approach of enemy ships without letting themselves be detected easily.

“George... Will they really come here?”

Masaki asked Kichijouji this while looking at the horizon. Doubt had inevitably crept into his voice – the New Soviet Union’s fleet was located north-west of the Noto Peninsula in a location similar to what the reports had predicted. Masaki was ready to repel this fleet with great enthusiasm by using the new magic he had received yesterday, but Kichijouji had strongly insisted that the New Soviet Union would not invade Kanazawa or Komatsu, but rather Sado Island. Masaki could not ignore the words of his best friend, so he left the neighborhood of Kanazawa and Komatsu to his father and headed to Sado. However, the Ichijou family’s news and information network reported that the enemy fleet continued to be northwest of the Noto Peninsula

– they would have to turn sharply east to head for Sado Island at this point.

"..At this rate, the new magic will be for naught” – this was the thought Masaki’s impatience associated with.

“They will come. I'm certain.”

In response to Masaki’s doubt, Kichijouji was somehow still unnaturally filled with confidence.

Kichijouji had wondered why Sado Island was attacked from the day he lost his life – his hometown and his parents. His conclusion was that the Island of Sado held significant military value.

The distance from Sado Island to Honshu was 30 kilometers, and though the island was not in Japan’s face, so to speak, it was still an island, and its proximity to the mainland made it a slightly unexpected target. Soldiers have to be sent by land – and there was enough space for invading troops, as well as a port ready for use by warships. It could be called a springboard for the New Soviet Union to invade Japan.

Rather than capture Hokkaido and move south, Sado Island provided a more effective base for conquering the central part of Japan.

When setting up a beachhead, the main challenge would be to ensure air supremacy, but that would be a problem everywhere. This possibility of an attack was a serious problem for Japan, as despite the attack from five years ago, there was only a single small defense unit deployed there.

In any case, Sado Island should have had a base for intercepting hostile naval forces because of its special situation. The main reason it didn’t was likely because of overconfidence of the self-defense forces with the Niigata base nearby. Though this

gave some safety to the island, the forces still had to travel to the island, which took time. This made it an especially appealing target for the New Soviet Union.

But Kichijouji also had another rationale for his actions.

“The Japanese fleet is not weak. The New Soviet Union does not want to face it. Even though the Great Asian Alliance has already surrendered, its troops are not completely disabled.”

“Is that why they are planning a surprise attack?” Masaki asked.

“Exactly, Masaki.”

The National University of Magic and its nine subordinate schools all responded to the approach of Soviet fleet by closing school indefinitely, regardless of location.

This was not for the same reason as conventional educational institutions, in which the evacuation of students, teachers, and other staff was given the highest priority. It was a measure organized to allow their presence in the defense force as volunteer magicians.

Tatsuya should have appeared at the 101 brigade because of this, but instead he stayed home with Miyuki after visiting Minami at the Aoba clinic.

“Onii-sama, thanks for waiting.”

After Miyuki finished cleaning the dishes from their lunch and dressed up, she came to the living room to get Tatsuya.

“Got it.”

Tatsuya, who was following the current situation through military data transmissions and communications, turned off the wall display and stood up.

Together, they walked down to the underground garage and drove to the Aoba clinic in Chofu in Tatsuya’s new favorite car. The road they drove on was empty due to the Soviet invasion, so the drive only took 5 minutes.

“Minami-chan, may I come in?”

“Please do!” Minami answered energetically. She was wide awake after hearing Miyuki from outside the hospital room. She seemed like a different person compared

to the time she first went to the hospital, but this was natural as she was to be discharged the next day. Physically, she was nearly recovered.

“Tatsuya-san, Miyuki-san, thank you for coming. There are currently no anomalies.”

When they entered the room, Yuuka - the eldest daughter of the Tsukuba family, one of the side branches of the Yotsuba clan - spoke to them. The Yotsuba clan did not discriminate against either sex when choosing the heir, and she was the heir of the Tsukuba branch.

“Yuuka-san, thanks. Your help was appreciated.”

Tatsuya and Miyuki had asked Yuuka to guard Minami for them while they ate their lunch. Miyuki thanked Yuuka in past tense to indicate that they were once again taking the role of guarding Minami.

“It's my pleasure.”

Yuuka got up from the couch, currently pushed against the wall. Yuuka had brought it in order to have more comfortable seating, and the hospital room was spacious enough to hold it, but the couch did not belong to Yuuka – it was paid for by the main house.

The couch had been in the room for 1 week, the amount of time Yuuka had participated in Minami’s defense.

“I will be in the guard room on this floor, then.”

“Later, I will also go there.”

With a slight wave of her hand at Tatsuya, Yuuka left the room. Miyuki exchanged glances with Tatsuya, and after a bit of hesitation, she sat down on the sofa Yuuka had gotten up from. Tatsuya did not follow her – the sofa was single – and instead sat on the stool.

“Looks like you're prepared to be discharged,” Tatsuya said.

“What kind of preparation even is there... there isn’t enough baggage to make it tough...”

As Minami said, the suitcase at the entrance was very small, and considering she usually acted as a maid, it was unsurprising she would be ready.

“Tomorrow at 11 o'clock, right? If school’s closure was only for today, then it will only be me here to pick you up,” Tatsuya said.

“Why waste so much time!” Minami exclaimed.

“It doesn’t take much time.”

Minami opened her mouth several times before closing it, trying to come up with a way to deny the help. In the end, she only sighed a little and closed her mouth, realizing she would not be able to convince Tatsuya.

“Um, Tatsuya-sama...”

Still, she couldn’t suppress her desire to ask a question.

“Speak.”

Hearing that, Minami asked her question.

“..Is it really okay for you to not go to the base?”

What she really meant to ask was, “why are you here?”

“It’s all good. They sent someone as a replacement for me.”

... He cannot leave this location to others.

... He will personally protect Minami.

So, Minami understood Tatsuya’s answer.

The high-speed transport catamaran Midway went along the aircraft carrier Independence’s course for some time, but they eventually split up as Midway turned south and west. The ship headed for an area about 90 km south of Boso Peninsula.

On that ship, Regulus, Raymond, Vega, Deneb, Spica, and the twenty Parasites of Star Dust all headed towards Miyaki Island.

"Are they already starting?"

Minoru, though still at Zama Base, was able to “feel” the course of the Midway transport vessel change, signaling that the attack on the Star Reactor Plant was underway.

Minoru was still inside the USNA transport aircraft. The plane was damaged and could not fly, and the cargo compartment hid the body of the sealed commander of the third detachment of Stars: Captain Arcturus, as a Parasite.

Minoru had been relentlessly trying to remove the seal on Arcturus. He was currently at the final stage.

“After this, his consciousness has to awaken!”

After preparing the spell, Minoru sent it into Arcturus’s mind. The sequence of the mental intervention magic he had prepared for the last several hours entered into Arcturus’ pushion information body through the psionic information body connecting the physical body to the mind.

Once the spell activated, Minoru felt Arcturus’s mind awaken. Though his body was still asleep, Minoru finally felt Arcturus’s spiritual body react.

"Well... Now it’s just a matter of time before the seal falls apart on the inside."

Based on his “inherited” knowledge, Minoru thought that the cracked seal would collapse from outside pressure if the shell was not repaired.

"That's just..."

Something bothered him. He had aroused the mind of the man named Alexander Arcturus - the seal on the parasite was extremely strong, and its system was different from the spells of Zhou Gongjin and the Kudou Family, so he had used a spell to awaken the human mind.

In Parasites, the original human mind merged with the body of the parasite, so there was a non-zero chance of the human mind rejecting the parasite if only the human mind is awoken.

"...Even if this happens, they should simply merge again."

Arcturus’s brain had already adapted to the parasite, so Minoru convinced himself the reaction rejecting the parasite would not kill him.

Using Parade and Ghost Walker, Minoru hid himself and walked out of the plane.

Ghost Walker covered the weakness of Parade – the unnatural refraction of light – by deflecting people’s attention.

Remaining invisible, Minoru walked through the base’s gate and crossed a nearby park on foot before getting into a van parked on the opposite side of the road. The car,

brought from Nara on the orders of Kudou Makoto, was designed to transport valuable materials or drugs requiring temperature control. Now, however, it had been filled with parasite dolls disguised as dummies.

Masaki and Kichijouji did not have chairs or anything else to sit on while they waited on the observation deck of the lighthouse. There was the large CAD shaped like a suitcase, but it wasn’t big enough for a high school student to sit on.

They were young enough that they didn’t tire much from standing, but their youth did not affect their minds and they began to become bored and more relaxed. Still, they did their best to stay vigilant and overall were carefully watching for the New Soviet Union’s invasion fleet.

“They’re moving!” Kichijouji exclaimed while watching the movement of the Soviet fleet through a tablet terminal.

“Where!?” Masaki exclaimed.

“Small high-speed ships accompanied by ships with weapons designed to attack ground targets simultaneously began to move to the east. They have.. monstrous acceleration. They will reach our location in less than an hour.”

Hearing the answer, Kichijouji, Masaki sighed and said:

“Estimated maximum speed of about 140 knots...? Approximately the same speed as our fastest ships, I guess. What about the interception forces?”

Kichijouji began digging for information from the tablet to answer Masaki’s question.

“It looks like our missile destroyers are restraining the enemy destroyers and are not letting them do anything. Komatsu base aviation is being used to deter enemy aircraft carrier fighters. Eight small ships departed from Niigata base, but.. the unfavorable outcome is undeniable.”

“So we use it?”

“Yeah.”

Kichijouji nodded to Masaki.

“We’ll interfere with the enemy operation. Before Bezobrazov attacks with Tuman Bomba, you’ll hit them with Ocean Blast, Masaki.”

“Yes, I'll do it!”

Masaki nodded back in response to Kichijouji.

Tatsuya and Miyuki were still visiting Minami at Aoba Clinic. Though Miyuki was with them, Tatsuya was an eighteen-year-old boy and Minami was a girl turning seventeen later in the year, so Tatsuya’s long stay in the small hospital room (when compared to the side of the Yotsuba houses; the hospital room was relatively large for a hospital room) created an awkward atmosphere. Tatsuya left and went to the security room to get rid of the feeling.

The hospital was mostly under the Yotsuba family’s control, and the floor Minami’s room was on was reserved for individuals associated with the Yotsuba.

Because of this control, this floor had an additional security system installed in addition to the security equipment set up by the hospital. Among other purposes, this system was designed to track information from all over the hospital and display it in the floor’s guard room.

“Ara, Tatsuya-san. Good job.”

As Yuuka said she would be earlier, she was waiting for Tatsuya in the guard room.

“Yuuka-san, thank you for your help. Are you replaced soon?”

“According to the schedule, I am, but I want to stay her for a while today.”

Though at times it made her seem impermanent, Yuuka was punctual. She was not the type of person to work overtime without a reason.

“Okay. To be honest, it will help me quite a bit.”

Tatsuya was thankful for the help, but he understood Yuuka’s reason for staying.

“In the current situation, that Ministry of Defense Bureaucrat cannot prioritize personal conflicts.”

Yuuka was referring to Shibata Katsushige when she said “Ministry of Defense Bureaucrat” - the next head of the Shibata branch of the Yotsuba family. Katsushige’s direct combat ability was probably the best among the side branches of the Yotsuba, and his inability to participate in the current battle against Minoru due to the situation with the New Soviet Union was definitely a hit to the force protecting Minami.

“..Listen, you think he’ll attack today, right?” Yuuka confirmed.

“I just do not know exactly when.”

Tatsuya answered with an indirect confirmation.

“I wonder if it was Kudou Minoru who created this situation.”

“Hardly. Still, there is a chance that he knew about it in advance, so he is probably prepared.”

“Maybe.”

They both expected that Minoru would attack today, and they both thought that this time, he would come with help.

“He’ll come with more than the Parasite dolls, right?” Yuuka asked.

Tatsuya had learned from Fumia and Yuuka from his report to Maya, but regardless of where they learned it, they both knew that Minoru had stolen Parasite dolls from the Kudou family.

“Minoru is no longer underestimating us,” Tatsuya answered vaguely.

“And yet, I wonder if there won’t be any trick to split our forces up. Do you think there’ll be an attack on Miyaki Island?”

“We know that at least 1 member of Stars is a Parasite, so there’s not a small chance for that to happen,” Tatsuya answered.

Lina had drawn Tatsuya’s attention to the possibility that the plant on Miyaki Island would be attacked, and Tatsuya was not the only one from the Yotsuba aware of the possibility of an attack on Miyaki Island. In addition to this, Lina had also confirmed that the soldier who had entered the country through Kansai International Airport was First Lieutenant Jacob Regulus of Stars.

“However, the other Parasites expelled were sealed in Zama, and since then, no military aircraft have flown in from the USNA. Local staff should be able to cope with defending Miyaki Island on their own,” Tatsuya continued.

Tatsuya had no way to know that new Parasites had penetrated the country from Yokosuka’s base. He also had no way to know that the soldiers infected by the Parasites had been transferred from the transport plane to a high-speed transport

vessel via a submarine. None of the Yotsuba were aware of these facts – even Maya herself.

“In an extreme case, it will be possible to count on the help of Shields-san,” Tatsuya concluded.

Neither Tatsuya nor the Yotsuba were omnipotent – they were far from even reaching omniscience, and did not know the whole situation.

The catamaran Midway rested low on the surface of the water and had a long form, and being fast, it also was somewhat stealthy. Still, even if it were possible to hide from radar detection, the high-performance cameras located on the stratospheric platform would still detect them, so they should not have been able to come close to Japanese territory without being detected – even if their target was a small island.

“Lieutenant Regulus. Have you ever had such an effective optical camouflage before?” Vega asked.

In fact, Regulus had neutralized the observation systems around Japan by modifying both visible light and all other electromagnetic waves around the ship, providing a powerful optical camouflage.

“This spell was given to us by Kudou Minoru to ensure the success of this operation,”

Regulus answered honestly.

By nature, the Parasites could not keep secrets from their comrades, but even if it was possible, even Regulus was too surprised with his new magic to even think about deception.

“Your magical skill improved dramatically after being given a single sequence of magic?”

Spica’s question was one Regulus had asked himself.

“Isn’t it because we are Parasites? Our minds are connected, so perhaps when we share sequences of magic with each other, we also share the skills in using them.”

“Isn't it weird?” Raymond butted in.

“What’s strange about it?” Regulus asked.

“When a magician becomes a Parasite, they tend to specialize in the same magic as they did before.”

Raymond had more knowledge on this than the others because of his use of Hli?skjálf.

“Isn’t that because we keep the personality?”

Raymond shook his head at Deneb’s question.

“I don’t doubt Parasite individuality, but we, the Parasites, are parts of a whole. In other words, I’m talking about a division of labor.”

“Are you saying that’s why sharing skills is weird?”

This time he nodded at Regulus’s question.

“Giving another Parasite the ability to use one’s skill is like using one’s skill through the Parasite, so its weird – then again, Minoru is weird for a Parasite. He’s different.”

“I don't like this...” Vega mumbled after she heard Raymond's reasoning.

"It’s like Kudou Minoru is using Regulus as a familiar," she thought.

“..At the moment, focus on successful implementation of the mission. Regardless of the nature of the optical camouflage magic, it’s proven useful by allowing us to get close to Miyaki Island.”

The five Parasites present understood what Vega meant without saying it.

They were all there, and Minoru wasn’t.

Minoru smiled wryly while being driven from Zama to Chofu in the van he had received from the Kudou family. Though the beautiful and bewitching smile belonged to Minoru, the image of Zhou Gongjin peeked through.

Vega’s suspicion on the transport vessel had been correct. To ensure the success of the Stars’ sabotage mission, Minoru used optical camouflage magic through Regulus.

Regulus believed he was using the magic himself, but in fact Minoru was controlling the magic.

No matter the knowledge Zhou Gongjin had possessed, Minoru would not have been able to do this if he tried it on a person. He could have made a puppet like Gu

Jie, but it would have been difficult to make the puppet act as if it had free will.

However, unlike people, Parasites had a common mind that blurred their ego, so Minoru was able to use Regulus as a medium from which to activate the magic.

Minoru saw no reason to be discrete. He didn’t consider Regulus and Raymond to be close – he only saw them as prisoners of Parasites, and himself the Parasite’s master.

He did not help Regulus and the others because they were Parasites. He helped them because their actions would give him a chance to abduct Minami. Still, the help went both ways – despite the lack of feeling, it was a mutually beneficial relationship, and this has not changed.

They helped each other to help themselves reach each of their own goals. He didn’t care what they thought of him, because they would alienate themselves from each other once they reached their goals.

Minoru felt a breeze as the car entered Chofu. The van he was in, loaded with Parasite dolls, was not alone. Five cars of the same make and model were making their way to the same destination on different routes. Minoru knew this through traffic control information, and not some psychic line of communication with the Parasite dolls – despite his powers, modern technology was still convenient.

"Minami-san, wait for me ...!"

All that was left was to wait for a convenient moment. Minoru hoped that the sabotage of the Star reactor plant would at least be partially successful, for he needed a good distraction.

When Minoru arrived in Chofu, Minami had changed her hospital clothes for casual everyday clothes and left her room with Miyuki.

They sat across from each other across the table in the visiting room. On the table lay a folding tablet the size of an A4 sheet of paper (210x297 mm, ~8?x11in).When unfolded, it became closer to the size of an A3 sheet (420x297mm). This terminal held all the second-year textbooks for First High.

The above makes it clear what they were doing: Miyuki was helping Minami with her studies.

Last week the final exams for the first semester were held. Minami, unable to take them due to her special circumstances, received the right to take the exams separately when she returned. However, she still needed to understand the content she had missed.

She had not had time to study during the first half of her month of hospitalization, so now she had to make up for lost time. Modern school education was not taught by a teacher and was instead student driven – the amount of knowledge learned depended on the student’s drive for studying at the terminal. Unfortunately, Minami was not one to easily grasp magic theory.

Unable to listen to Minami’s agonizing sighs, Miyuki decided to take on the role of a teacher and help Minami. In contrast to when she was learning from the textbook, Minami sat with a straight face listening intently to Miyuki explaining the topics gracefully and with a smile. This was in no small part due to her feelings of guilt at having made her mistress take on the responsibility of a tutor. She was worried about wasting Miyuki’s time, so she focused too intently on Miyuki’s every word as she read the texts and studied the graphics. Ironically, focusing too much on the action of listening distracted her and her learning productivity slowed down.

Suddenly, she heard her name whispered in her ear. Her eyes clouded over, and her face showed surprise.

“..Minami-chan, what happened?” Miyuki asked, concerned. Minami hastily focused on Miyuki.

“I apologize!”

“Don’t overstrain yourself... is something bothering you?”

“No, nothing like that! I was just a distracted. I sincerely apologize for...” Minami started.

“You don't need to apologize.”

Miyuki interrupted the second attempt to apologize with a smile.

“Let's take a break. Want some tea?”

“Oh, let me!” Minami said, jumping up to go to the vending machine.

With a slightly bitter smile, Miyuki allowed Minami to do what she wanted.

At the lighthouse on Sado Island, Masaki pointed the aiming device for Ocean Blast’s CAD at the sea.

“Ah! Communication should now be established.”

Hearing Kichijouji, Masaki turned the aiming device towards the left.

“I see them! It’s just.. there are only six outlines of ships. Weren’t there twelve?”

“I need to correct the scaling. I’ll do that now.”

Kichijouji used a tablet terminal connected by cable to the monitor and console to adjust the image projected by Masaki’s glasses.

“...it’s fine now!”

“Keep the sight in this position,” Kichijouji said as he got out another information terminal.

Using this, he sent a prewritten encrypted message to the Kanazawa base, reading:

“Requesting permission to conduct an attack."

Kichijouji saw the figures of ships heading north out of his peripheral vision - the high-speed warships from Niigata base. They were still accelerating, and their current speed was over 50 knots.

“George!?” Masaki shouted in urgency.

“Not yet!”

Kichijouji told Masaki to wait, as they had not yet received permission to attack.

“But it’s time!”

“No!”

Kichijouji tried to restrain the impatient Masaki from attacking without permission.

Masaki raised his glasses on his forehead and turned to Kichijouji, but Kichijouji opened his mouth to ask Masaki to return to aiming. However, at that moment their faces froze at the same time.

Beyond the horizon – directly above the friendly ships – signs of widespread magic appeared. Both Kichijouji and Masaki remembered the psion waves from the magic

three months ago that caused the explosion over the sea. At the time, Ichijou Goki had overheated his magic calculation area trying to block the magic.

The sound of an explosion roared, and water burst up above the horizo-->>

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