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Chapter 12

Having coped with the suicidal attack of Fujibayashi Nagamasa with the help of newly developed magic, Tatsuya set off to leave the Sea of Trees.

But he stopped, not even gone five meters..

The holes that Tatsuya made in Nagamasa with partial decomposition magic were tiny, but there were many. The bleeding was significant, and some of the holes also touched important nerves. If he left him like this, he wouldn’t live until morning.

In general, he had already decided to erase this opponent, but the circumstances in which he didn’t do so from the very beginning haven't disappeared. It was an adversary, which was extremely undesirable to kill.

However, for the same reason, Tatsuya didn’t want to help him with, “Regrowth.” As soon as the wounds disappear, Nagamasa will start to interfere with Tatsuya again.

He was an adversary who, under current circumstances, is difficult to deprive of consciousness, and Tatsuya had no means of restraint.

“Still, have to leave him?"

Just as Tatsuya was about to head for the exit again, there were signs of another person that appeared in front of him.

“The supreme shinobi from the school of the Iga clan, the head of the Fujibayashi family defeated? Well, to be able to do something like that is quite natural for someone who belongs to the direct family line of the Yotsuba family.”

Black gloves and black coat, despite the middle of summer. The suspicious man in an obliquely worn black felt hat spoke in a haughty tone without any greeting.

“Kuroba-san, how long have you been here?”

The man who suddenly appeared before Tatsuya was Kuroba Mitsugu, head of the Kuroba family, a side branch of the Yotsuba family.

“Just got here. I was only able to get here because you broke the barrier.”

“Kuroba-san, that barrier wouldn't have deterred you, even if it functioned.”

“I'm not being modest. If that barrier was functioning properly, significant workaround methods would be required.”

That meant that he still knew a way to overcome the barrier. And that isn’t all. Only the father of Ayako possessed the technique of approaching at a short distance so that the enemy doesn’t catch any signs of magic use. Tatsuya was delighted with this, but at the same time he couldn’t help but be wary.

“Did you come here on orders from Oba-ue?”

“No. I came to ask you something.”

“You have?”

The question that surfaced in Tatsuya mind wasn’t “what did you want to ask?” but

“questions at such a time?”

However, even if it was necessary to return to the pursuit of Minoru, he couldn’t ignore Mitsugu. This would cause even more inconvenience for him than killing Nagamasa.

So, Tatsuya obediently waited for Mitsugu to speak.

“Tatsuya-kun.”

Tatsuya's eyes widened slightly. As if removing the jester mask, Mitsugu called his name without any hostility or hatred in his voice. It was the first time Tatsuya had heard him say that.

“Why are you pursuing Kudou Minoru with such zeal?”

“Really?” - such a thought now slipped into Tatsuya's head. To be honest, it was not a very pleasant question for him. But he answered the question without much thought as to why this particular question is unpleasant for him.

“To bring Minami back.”

He had no other reason to pursue Minoru. The fact that Minoru is a Parasite wasn’t a reason for Tatsuya to be hostile towards him. As long as Minoru hasn't been captured by the general consciousness of the Parasites, and hasn't started to do anything that violates Miyuki's calm, Tatsuya will only need to return Minami.

“Where does such zeal come from for the return of one servant?”

Mitsugu reused the word “zeal".

“How do I look to the others now?” - Tatsuya thought, looking at the circumstances from the outside.

“I don't know.”

Tatsuya answered quickly and without hesitation.

This was a consequence due to the fact that he had already suffered enough doubts.

Since Yakumo asked him about the reason why he is trying to save Minami, Tatsuya has been constantly searching for an answer to this question within himself.

But he couldn’t find an answer.

If a superficial answer were enough, then it would be simple.

Because that is what Miyuki wants.

Also in order to eliminate Miyuki's sense of remorse for feeling guilty for letting Minoru slip right out from under her nose, allowing him to abduct Minami.

But were they really the only reasons? Asking this question, he couldn’t answer it right now.

He wasn’t going to compare Minami with the deceased Honami.

Minami and Honami are different people.

“I know that. I understand that. It is definitely not an attempt to make up for the fact that I failed to save Honami... I think.”

“Then why do I want to return Minami?”

“I don’t know.”

“... Ah, yes, I see now...”

Now Tatsuya, although it's already late, he noticed why he thought that this question was so unpleasant.

It's because he didn’t understand his heart.

And because he was reminded that he's running around, not understanding the

meaning of this activity.

Tatsuya's actions have always had a purpose.

The goal has always been clear: for Miyuki's sake.

Of his own free will, he wanted to protect Miyuki in the present and future.

But... really?

... Is “my own will" my own?

... And what if the “Real me" is empty?

... And maybe this empty vessel is just filled with the task of “protecting Miyuki”?

This suspicion was also the reason why this question was unpleasant for him.

“Master Yakumo also asked about it. And I've been constantly thinking about it ever since. But I still don't understand.”

Tatsuya honestly voiced his feelings to Mitsugu. For some reason, he thought he should do it now for Miyuki's sake.

“... I see.”

Mitsugu responded in a tone of deep understanding.

Mitsugu knew that Tatsuya didn’t understand it. Somehow he sensed it in Tatsuya.

“Up until now, I have always believed that you have no heart.”

Tatsuya really experienced a lack of emotions after the structure of his mind was interfered with thanks to the use of a secret technique. But Tatsuya sensed that Mitsugu's words had a completely different meaning now.

“But it seems I was wrong.”

But the very essence of what Mitsugu said Tatsuya didn’t understand.

... A person without a heart has no doubts.

Tatsuya still lacked the life experience necessary to grasp Mitsugu's unspoken words.

?

“Tatsuya-kun. I hate you.”

Instead of those unspoken words, Mitsugu suddenly openly expressed his emotions.

“I'm aware of that.”

Tatsuya wasn’t upset. He really knew this, not bluffing. But he couldn’t say that he fully understood the reason for his hatred.

It's about your way of life, when you go above the responsibilities bestowed upon you and over the rules that apply to everyone. No, you don't even go above them, you just smash them down with your strength. The lifestyle you have urges us, the people who live by these responsibilities and in line with these rules, to say: "You're mocking us, right!?"

“... But I'm not mocking you.”

“I know. You, who were born with the power of absolute destruction, don’t understand the feelings of weak ordinary people who can’t confront the whole world alone. Similarly, I can’t understand your feelings. Feelings of the owner of the power capable of bringing the world to its knees, but at the same time thinking about this world.”

“......”

Tatsuya in confusion didn’t know what to say.

“I wouldn't lift a finger for you”

Piercing Tatsuya with his gaze, Mitsugu took a shallow breath.

“... I won't lift my finger.”

With disgust in his voice he expressed the conclusion of the phrase.

“I understand,” Tatsuya didn’t say aloud. It seemed to him that such an answer didn’t correspond to the current situation.

“Therefore... Help will be provided not with my hands.”

Mitsugu said and raised his left hand to the height of his face.

A group of men in black clothes appeared from the shadows of the trees.

Nine men in black came out of the shadows of nine trees.

“Leave them to deal with the state of Fujibayashi Nagamasa.”

“...Well.”

For Tatsuya, this was too unexpected.

Not the appearance of the men in black. But the fact that Mitsugu himself offered him help, without an order from Maya.

“Ayako and Fumiya also asked me to give you a message.”

“What is it?”

“ 'I want you to tell Tatsuya-san about where Kudou Minoru is going.' In particular, it was Ayako who was very worried about Sakurai Minami. The Kuroba family is also helping you here because Ayako begged for it.”

“......”

“I don’t know the final destination of Kudou Minoru. But right now he is heading for Odawara.”

“Thank you very much for this.”

“I will give your gratitude to my children.”

Mitsugu said, and turned his back to Tatsuya.

Tatsuya bowed to Mitsugu's back and ran to “Wingless,” the electric motorcycle that had been left outside the forest.

It took 20 minutes after the end of her conversation with Miyuki. Erika arrived on the outskirts of the city of Yamato.

During the Third World War, before the American army had yet to withdraw its troops deployed around the world, it was where the airport of the American naval base was located.

When America became known as the USNA and withdrew their troops to its territory, this airport went to the nearby air force base of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. It wasn’t a shared base, such as the Zama base, located in the metropolitan area. This base was used only by the Japanese air force.

But America remained an allied nation for Japan, this hasn't changed. Even if there were any secret contradictions between them, ordinary civilians didn’t know about it.

Therefore, the presence of Americans in this city didn’t seem strange to anyone.

“These guys are almost indistinguishable from the Japanese...”

Erika muttered with annoyance in her voice as she left the Cabinet station.

It was quite natural to choose agents from personnel in such a way that it would be difficult to distinguish them from the inhabitants of the place where these agents would be sent. If they sent agents to Japan with racial characteristics other than Japanese, they could pay for underestimating the Japanese.

However, these arguments didn’t console Erika.

“You can’t go on foot, there could be an ambush anywhere...”

The realization that instead of hidden enemies, one should be more afraid that any pedestrian could turn into an enemy, greatly depleted mental strength. When the

enemy isn’t visible, the nerves aren’t so tense. And when you see someone, but you don’t know if he is an enemy or not, you have to watch your entire field of vision with caution.

“I don't think we should worry about it.”

With his usual good-natured tone, Leo turned to Erika, who was looking around with her sharp eyes, trying to break up the tense atmosphere.

“We know where the enemy hideout is. It's better to focus on them rather than on thoughts of an ambush, which may not even be there.”

Erika turned away with a gloomy and seemingly offended face.

“...Erika?”

“So, Leo can say something sensible...? What if it's now for life?”

“Hey!? Have I exhausted my supply of stupidity!?”

Erika pointedly turned away even further after Leo's joke.

“Oh shit! How infuriating!”

Leo swore only in his thoughts. He was able to wisely not say it aloud thanks to reflexively activating the “brake” based on his instincts.

If he said out loud that he was “pissed off,” it would have led to an awkward situation. At the moment, Erika and Leo were alone. There was no Mizuki to hold them back by stepping between them, nor was Mikihiko, who was a target for Erika to switch to.

Mikihiko walked Mizuki home, and stayed there to wait for the police to tell them the details. In fact, Erica and Leo were supposed to stay for the police proceedings, too.

But Erika, worried about Honoka, took advantage of the Chiba family's dojo connections and called the police officers who trained there. She asked them to come to Mizuki's house, while she and Leo went to the place that Miyuki had told her

about.

“Erika! Let's call a taxi!”

Leo asked Erica, his voice filled with despair. They didn’t have to walk to the location where Honoka was being held. On the contrary, it was better to get there as quickly as possible.

Erika, as usual, didn’t answer. Fortunately, the awkward atmosphere was ended by the intervention of a third party.

“Erika-ojousan!”

From a car that abruptly stopped in front of Leo and Erika, there was a shout from a man who looked like he was 25-35 years old.

“Shoji-san?”

Erika's eyes widened slightly as she saw the man's face leaning out of the front passenger window.

The car was a regular sedan... at least in appearance it was an ordinary commercial model, but the man wore a SMAT assault suit.

“Shoji-san, did you join SMAT?”

“Yes. I completed the training last month, and starting this month I’ve been in service.”

Listening to their conversation from the side, Leo roughly understood the connection between them. This man named Shoji was a disciple at the Chiba family dojo.

Apparently, when he heard Erika was joining them, he went to pick them up... more precisely, was forced to go.

“...This person may be a member of the Guard..."

Leo couldn't believe it when he first heard about it. In the dojo of the Chiba family,

there is a group called “Erika's Guard," honoring Erika as a “Princess General."... It isn’t necessary to explain why she wasn’t just a “Princess."

The loyalty of these people to Erika might have been even stronger than to her father, the master and the dojo owner. Leo had already managed to see their unity with his own eyes during the “Vampire Incident” last winter. If you look at this Shoji with such thoughts in mind, you could actually see the signs of admiration, reverence, or even deification in his eyes as he looked at Erika.

“But enough about me, hurry and get in. The detachment is already prepared for the beginning of the assault.”

“I see. Leo, let's go.”

The recently annoyed face has already disappeared. Erika dexterously jumped into the disguised patrol car, and called for Leo to follow her.

The members of the Horsehead unit, who failed in the abduction of Mizuki, arrived at their hideout shortly before Erika's group.

As the representative of the three-man team sent to kidnap Mizuki, Henry Fu reported to commander Al Wan about the circumstances of the failure of the operation. The other members of the unit who listened to his report didn’t give a single ridicule to those three.

“Commander, maybe we should change our strategy?”

Julia Ma, who kidnapped Honoka, suggested to commander Al after Henry finished the report.

“The response rate of the target's environment far exceeded our expectations.”

“Isn't that just a coincidence? If they had previously calculated our actions, they wouldn’t have left Mitsui Honoka alone.”

Ellie Chao intervened in the conversation - another woman in the detachment who also participated in the abduction of Honoka.

“The fact that we were prevented cannot be ignored. First of all, as far as we knew in advance, Shibata Mizuki was supposed to return home from school alone. We didn’t have information that she would receive support.”

Julia objected, dismissing Ellie's suggestion.

“That could also be a coincidence.”

“Like Ellie said, it could have been a coincidence. But if such a random factor is causing such difficulties for us, then as Julia said, it would be foolish to ignore it.”

Continuing with Ellie's counter-argument, Al Wan acknowledged the arguments of both. But he didn’t stop there.

“The strategy was based on the fact that we will have two hostages. But we could only get one, so change is inevitable, as Julia said.”

“But can we lure the target with only one hostage?”

Asked Don Yang - one of those who didn’t participate in either of the abduction operations.

“If there is only one hostage, then it will simply end up helping him. Because we can’t kill a hostage to stop the target from resisting. One hostage to lure out the target, and the second to make the target obedient. Still, we need at least two hostages.”

Frank Wu, the third person in the Honoka kidnapping group, answered Don Yang.

Also it was not only Julia, who had been in favor of a change of strategy from the very beginning, who agreed with this opinion, which supported the decision of the commander of the detachment.

“So...? Commander, what exactly are we going to do?”

To the question of the Deputy Commander Bart Lee...

“Let Mitsui Honoka go in the form of a booby trap.”

...Al Wan replied in a tone that said, “isn't it obvious?"

While the members of the Horsehead squad were discussing how to use Honoka, she herself sat next to them with an expressionless, serene face.

Her mind was paralyzed by a narcotic substance mixed with the help of Al Wan's magic. She didn’t sleep, but she wasn’t awake either. It was a kind of intermediate state. Ears perceived voices, but she couldn’t actively think about the information received.

Her resistance to brainwashing has been lowered to zero.

As such Al Wan began to inspire one thought in Honoka.

...Kill Shiba Tatsuya.

If you omit the minor details, then the thought was reduced to such a short phrase.

Honoka shouldn’t have been able to resist it.

“...No...”

“What?”

Honoka's barely perceptible mumble could not be understood not only by Al Wan.

But also, Bart Lee, Charlie Chan, and all the other members of the squad present here (except for Gabe Shuuya and Iggy Ho, who stood guard outside) cast dubious glances at Honoka.

“I can’t... kill... Tatsuya-san...”

“Julia, give her some more of the drug.”

Not surprised by the presence of resistance, which shouldn't have happened, Al Wan immediately gave the order in a completely cold-blooded tone.

Further administration of this drug threatened to result in irreversible consequences and side effects. But no one objected to such a cruel and insensitive order. Also, no one showed any indecision in their actions. Julia Ma filled a syringe with the substance and headed towards Honoka.

But before she managed to administer the injection, Honoka showed such a violent reaction, which in principle shouldn’t be possible for a person under the influence of this narcotic substance.

She suddenly opened her eyes wide ..

“NO! I won’t let you touch Tatsuya-san!”

... and screamed at the top of her lungs, hurting her throat in the process.

?

?

This was probably due to a sense of devotion — the blood heritage of the Elements.

Or was it a miracle caused by feelings of love?

The room in which Honoka was being held was flooded with bright light.

The visual field of the members from the The Horsehead squad filled with light of randomly changing colors.

This light didn’t have a destructive effect on human bodies.

Neither did it have any powers of suggestion, or the effect of unconsciousness.

It simply made it impossible to see anything with ordinary vision, since the violent flickering completely covered their whole view.

“Everyone out of this room!”

They chose an abandoned one-story building, as their hideout, which was used as a branch office for some company a couple of years ago. All eight members of the Horsehead squad ran out of this meeting room and moved to the adjacent office space. The last one to leave the meeting room was Bart Lee who closed the door behind him to isolate the light.

Soon after, Iggy Ho, who was standing guard, ran into the office with an assault rifle in his hands. They came to Japan without weapons. Looks like he took it from the enemy who attacked him.

“Enemies, a lot of them!”

Iggy's stomach was bleeding. At a glance. all those present realized that it was a gunshot wound, moreover, a fatal wound. They didn’t hear the sound of gunshots, probably because the enemy used high-end silencers.

Only one battle group could use such equipment.

And it wasn’t the police.

It was the army.

There was an explosion outside.

It was the sound of a bomb being detonated by each of them to destroy evidence.

After the illegal MAP infiltrates a foreign country, making such a bomb is always the top priority.

By the sound of this explosion, everyone understood that Gabe Shu had made himself self-explode, so that information from his brain wouldn't fall into the hands of the enemy.

“Leave! Iggy, you know what you have to do.”

Al Wan ordered the seven members of the squad to flee, then he looked Iggy Ho in the eye and reminded him of what he himself knew.

Iggy pulled a bomb out of his pocket that fit in his palm, and shoved it into his mouth and smiled.

Al Wan didn’t take away the kidnapped Honoka to be used as a hostage. Instead, he took an assault rifle from Iggy's hands and ran into the underground tunnel that was used to deliver supplies.

At the same moment as the door to the office was kicked in, Iggy Ho pressed the detonation button of the bomb he had prepared to blow his head off.

Sitting in a camouflaged patrol car, Erika heard the faint sound of an explosion coming from the front.

She turned to the person sitting next to her, who was Leo.

Leo also turned to face Erika.

They exchanged glances, and confirmed that the sound wasn’t an auditory hallucination.

“What happened over there?”

In a strained voice, Erika asked Shoji, who was sitting in the front passenger seat.

“It seems that some other organization has rushed into the kidnappers' hideout instead of us.”

Shoji also couldn’t hide his tension.

“Another organization? You mean, not the police?”

“The probability that it's the Department of Public Safety isn't zero, but...”

“Army.”

“Probably.”

Shoji immediately agreed with Erika's hunch, that was said in the form of statements.

After that, there was no other conversations in the car.

A camouflaged police car stopped in front of a living wall of SMAT agents in assault suits.

And in front of that wall in the battle formation were soldiers of the Self-Defense Forces with assault rifles. The muzzles of those rifles weren't pointed at SMAT, but at the sky.

The line of soldiers parted. Two young women emerged from the gap in formation.

One of them was in a high school uniform.

“Honoka!”

Recognizing the girl as her kidnapped friend, Erika rushed over to her side. Leo followed her.

“Honoka, what happened!? Don't you recognize me?”

Honoka just looked at Erika with a dazed, vacant stare.

Erika's face turned pale at the sight of her unnatural behavior.

“She has only a temporary paralysis of mental functions caused by a narcotic substance. According to the examination, this drug won’t leave irreversible consequences or side effects. So she will be alright.”

To reassure Erika, this explanation was given by the smiling female soldier who accompanied Honoka.

Both Erika and Leo recognized the face of this female officer.

“It's you, from that time in Izu!”

After this shout from Leo, Toyama Tsukasa smiled even wider.

“Why did you save Mitsui...?”

Toyama Tsukasa's real name is Tooyama Tsukasa. She is the daughter of the head of the Tooyama family of the Twenty-Eight Families. Rank – Petty Officer. Duty station

- the Intelligence Department of the national Self-Defense Forces.

In May of this year, she led a team planning an attack on Tatsuya, who was secluded in a villa in Izu.

Erika and Leo, with the support of Mikihiko and Honoka, stopped them. At that time, the two also fought with Toyama Tsukasa personally. That's why they knew her by sight.

They interfered with the work of the Intelligence Department and even gave her a personal bitter experience of defeat, so she must have had some thoughts about it.

However, Tsukasa's smile didn’t show any negative emotions at all.

“I'm in the counter-intelligence unit. Our main task is to prevent foreign intelligence activities and sabotage.”

“... So, you don’t bring your personal feelings to work?”

Erika asked in a tone that voiced her suspicion that there is something wrong. Leo didn’t see any lies in Tsukasa's smile, but Erika was apparently able to, because she was also a woman.

“In truth, I also had personal motives. My boss ordered me to restore our honor after failing in Izu. But at the same time we didn’t know who we were saving.”

“... Oh, I see...”

When such details were revealed, Erika's drive was reduced to nothing. She didn’t want to save Honoka with her own hands. Also, after the recent battle, I didn’t really want to fight again. In any case, Honoka was saved. And, at first glance, there was nothing to complain about.

“... Does Honoka need medical attention?”

For starters, she decided to ask this.

“No. After 3-4 hours, the effect of the drug will pass by itself.”

“For now, I will believe her words and wait for 4 hours. If Honoka doesn’t recover during this time, then we can take her to the doctor," thought Erika.

After making sure that Honoka was safe, Erika was finally able to look around. She frowned after seeing that the soldiers of the rescue squad were carrying the corpses of their comrades-in-arms.

“You have some pretty big losses...” Leo muttered. He looked at the dead soldiers with pretty much the same expression as that of Erika.

“Indeed...”

Tsukasa replied with a humble expression, although Leo's words weren’t a question, but a statement.

“We were confronted by only two of them. Despite this, our casualties are four people killed and even more wounded. Although all were covered with shields. I even lost a little confidence.”

“You're from the Eighteen Assistant Houses, aren't you? Besides, an expert on shield magic? Were they such strong opponents?”

After the incident in Izu, Miyuki told Erika and the others about Toyama Tsukasa's true identity, and scolded them for “getting into trouble.” But even if Miyuki didn't tell them about it, they could roughly estimate the power of Tsukasa's individual shields by seeing them used in combat against her.

On that occasion, Erika and the others neutralized Tsukasa's unit with a surprise attack that took advantage of the wooded terrain. If you looked at the results by itself, it was an easy victory, but Erika thought that it wouldn't have been so easy if it happened in an open area.

Although there were also obstacles blocking the view in the form of the walls of the building, but compared to the forest, there was less room to maneuver. Moreover, if we talk about a surprise attack... in this case, the side conducting the surprise attack had to of been the Self-Defense Forces. It seemed to Erika that with only two people on the defensive side, the four victims of the attacking side was too many.

“I expected that they would be strong, but it seems I was naive. As expected from the Illegal MAP... Rumors about their notoriety didn't turn out to be idle chatter.”

“Illegal MAP? So that's the name of the team these guys are called?”

“An American illegal commando force made up of magicians. It is believed that by killing some important people from the NSU army, these guys provoked a serious local conflict between USNA and NSU. I also heard that this incident was considered by the Tribunal of the American army, and they were finally disposed of.

“Dangerous guys, then...”

“Yes, you're right.”

Tsukasa responded to the mumble of Leo.

“You seem to be fighting with them too. You're lucky that you were able to do it without casualties. They probably retreated because they didn’t want to stand out too much. After all, it could interfere with the achievement of their real goal.”

“Their real goal?”

“The murder of Shiba Tatsuya.”

Tsukasa immediately answered Erika's question.

From what she heard Erika was confused even more.

“The Horsehead squad... ah, yes, that's the name of one of the Illegal MAP units sent to our country... Well, they cer-->>

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