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Chapter 8

It was already later than 8 PM. However, the Department of the Self-Defense Forces, which is responsible for planning land, air and sea operations, continued its work at the same pace as in the daytime. The NSU fleet left the sea area near the Noto Peninsula, but a ceasefire agreement has not yet been signed. Although there had been no declaration of war before, Japan and the NSU were already at war. As long as this military tension doesn’t disappear, the lights in the command sections won’t go out.

Of course, the command of the 101 Battalion from the National Self-Defense Forces was no exception.

The commander of the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Kazama was summoned by the battalion’s commander, Lieutenant General Saeki, and arrived at her personal office. Kazama wasn’t a part of the battalion commanding officers, but occupied the position of Saeki’s dedicated subordinate.

Kazama himself did not oppose this role and waited at the ready in his office to arrive at the command headquarters at any time upon request.

“Lu Ganghu, who entered the country yesterday through Matsue, was neutralized today in the city of Komatsu.”

“Was he arrested?”

Kazama supported the conversation with a short question.

“No, it looks like he was killed. This was done by Lieutenant Chiba Naotsugu, a student from the Defense Academy, temporarily assigned to the guerrilla infantry platoon from the First Division.”

“Is this the “Illusion Blade” who was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, even though he is still a student? By killing Lu Ganghu he is worthy of being called one of the world's top elites among melee magicians. Honestly, I would like such a talented fighter to join my battalion.”

Saeki listened to Kazama’s eulogy with a lack of interest on her face. There was simply no place in her mind for Chiba Naotsugu. If Lu Ganghu had been killed by another officer, even by a policeman or a civilian, Saeki’s face would be exactly the

same now.

“In general, we should rejoice that we were able to prevent any sabotage in advance, but.. such negligence of Lu Ganghu was beyond my expectations.”

Saeki complained.

Depending on how you listen to her words, you could hear in them the expectation that Lu Ganghu's “sabotage” (murder of Liu Li Lei) would end in success.

Kazama didn’t pretend that he hadn't heard these reckless words, but simply ignored them.

He learned about this expectation of Saeki the day before yesterday.

In truth, Saeki and Kazama had previously received information about Lu Ganghu's infiltration into the country.

Senior Lieutenant Fujibayashi Kyouko, acting as Kazama's adjutant, was known as the “Electron Sorceress” among the people aware of her abilities. This ambiguous nickname meant that she was a magician capable of skillfully using magic to interfere with electricity and electromagnetic waves. At the same time, this nickname was a reference to her unsurpassed hacking abilities, which she used to play with information networks like a toy.

Zhou Gongjin’s network possessed not only anti-hacking tools, but also magical protection. But Fujibayashi’s ability won out in the area of electronic networks. Saeki and Kazama received all correspondence between Chen Xianshen and Minoru (posing as Zhou Gongjin) with the help of Fujibayashi.

Saeki and Kazama were aware of Lu Ganghu's plans to infiltrate the country. They knew both the place and the time. They could have caught Lu Ganghu when he came ashore. Kazama even wanted to send his subordinates to the port of Matsue.

But Saeki didn’t allow Kazama to send soldiers. Moreover, she ordered not to share this information with anybody. Saeki, though reluctantly, tried to help Lu Ganghu’s sabotage in this way.

Kazama, of course, asked about the reason. In general, command orders in the army should not be discussed. But he simply could not accept an unreasonable order — he

was such a “wrong” military. Many were cold toward Kazama due to the fact that when he was “green,” in battles he often did more than was ordered. And his character has not improved despite this bitter experience.

Saeki didn’t try to avoid the answer and explained to Kazama the course of her thoughts.

..NSU sent their fleet south, ostensibly to pick up Lieutenant Liu

..Whatever their true purpose, the NSU military actions will lose their pretext if Lieutenant Liu disappears.

..But even if there had not been an NSU invasion, the presence of Lieutenant Liu is a great risk.

..There is a great chance that she will be returned to her homeland, and

“Thunderclap Tower” will be aimed at our country.

..If Lu Ganghu kills Lieutenant Liu, it will benefit Japan.

..The Self-Defense Forces will be the subject of public criticism due to their inability to protect refugees. The loss of international reputation is also inevitable.

..But the benefits of removing Lieutenant Liu from the country outweigh all these disadvantages.

... After all, Ichijou Masaki-kun from the Ten Master Clans joined in watching over Lieutenant Liu.

... And if it is not possible to prevent the assassination of Lieutenant Liu, then criticism will also fall on Ichijo-kun, who is at the same base as her.

..The killing of an escaped magician by a magician agent. In this case, it can be expected that the Ten Master Clans will be subjected to much harsher criticism than the Self-Defense Forces.

These were Saeki’s thoughts on the subject.

Kazama reluctantly had to humbly become her accomplice.

But the result wasn’t what Saeki expected. Lu Ganghu was killed, not even reaching

the base, and his subordinates were captured one by one.

“Lieutenant Chiba’s presence wasn’t part of my calculations.”

In such a phrase, Saeki admitted that she was naive with such defective plans.

“It seems that the guerrilla infantry platoon was originally sent to capture Kudou Minoru.”

Kazama’s words included an attempt to comfort her.

Saeki seemed to understand this, and looked at Kazama with doubt in her eyes urging him to continue.

“And Kudou Minoru is supposedly hiding in the Aokigahara Sea of Trees.”

“This information has been refuted after a search operation conducted by the guerrilla infantry platoon from the First Division.”

“This unit is simply devoted to His Excellency Kudou, they don’t have skilled magicians of ancient magic. They won’t be able to overcome the barrier.”

It seems that Kazama believed that Minoru is still hiding in the Sea of Trees. Saeki already understood that. But she didn’t understand why he brought it up.

“Are you satisfied that we aren’t chasing him?”

It seems that Kazama had no intention to talk in riddles. He immediately made clear what he was talking about.

“Are we?”

Saeki was unable to predict Kazama’s question because its content was completely unthinkable.

“Why should our 101 Battalion deal with Kudou Minoru’s arrest?”

Saeki’s counter-question was rather an indirect refusal to Kazama’s offer rather than an expression of her doubts.

“Chasing killers and kidnappers isn’t part of our duties.”

“But we’ll be able to determine his location if I go.”

There was no doubt in Kazama’s words. Indecision or vanity wasn’t there either.

He was called a “Forest Combat Expert” not only because he was excellent in guerrilla warfare. The ancient magic “Tengu-jutsu,” which Kazama has perfectly mastered, showed its highest efficiency in mountain forests.

Kazama was sure he could find Minoru while he was in the Sea of Trees (forest), no matter how powerful the barrier was in hiding him.

However, Saeki’s answer was still negative.

“I’ll say it one more time Lieutenant Colonel. This isn't the responsibility of our 101

Battalion.”

“You don’t care that we are disregarding the Parasite strong enough to kill Kudou Retsu? In addition, if we are the ones who catch Kudou Minoru, then we’ll rub the Ten Master Clans noses in it.”

“We don't have any intentions to touch Kudou Minoru as long as he doesn’t show hostility toward the state.”

Saeki concluded with a harsh tone.

Kazama expressed surprise by widening his eyes and raising his eyebrows.

But he didn't ask anything out loud. Therefore, Saeki could ignore the doubt expressed by Kazama, but she didn’t do that.

“..While Kudou Minoru keeps running away, Special Officer Ooguro.. more precisely, Shiba Tatsuya will be busy chasing him, and won’t be able to be distracted by other things.”

“Other things? Are you worried that Tatsuya might do something unnecessary?”

Was Kazama’s incomprehension real or fake?

In any case, Saeki just sighed.

“Lieutenant Colonel, you should have already seen the information provided by the

Mitsuya family. It says that Shiba Tatsuya is planning an attack on Midway Prison, owned by the USNA.”

Saeki called Ichijou Masaki “kun” and Tatsuya simply by name. Kazama’s attention got a little hooked on this fact, but he didn’t ask about the reasons.

Instead, he asked:

“Are you helping Kudou Minoru to prevent Tatsuya from going to Midway Island?”

“I won’t deny your indication that inaction is passive support. However, Shiba Tatsuya doesn’t pay attention to restrictions imposed by the authorities. I don’t think that a simple ban on leaving the country will be effective in his case.”

“That’s really true”

Kazama mentally agreed.

In Tatsuya’s case, he is able to not just illegally and without permit leave the country (by hijacking a plane or boat for example). He can just go and fly himself. But even if a hidden departure from the country will be disclosed, it won’t be possible to ban him from entering back or put him in jail. He is Japan’s greatest military power, their most powerful strategic weapon.

“Lieutenant Colonel, don’t try to do anything about Kudou Minoru.”

“I understand.”

Kazama straightened up and gave such an answer after Saeki repeatedly reminded him about this.

Illegal MAP (Illegal Mystic Assassin Platoon). Illegal and covert squad of assassin magicians. This is a squad of magicians specializing in assassination missions that cannot be made public. It's made up of three platoons: “Coalsack,” “Cone Nebula,”

and “Horsehead.” This formation wasn’t officially recognized as soldiers of any country, but in fact they were a detachment of magicians under direct control of the

USNA Army Joint Chiefs of Staff, so if you look at subordination they could be considered fellow comrades of Stars. If you look at it from an official point-of-view it's like comparing legitimate children and illegitimate ones (from another mother).

Since their system of command was the same to a certain degree, it is not surprising that they were commanded by the same officer somewhere on some level. The commander of the Horsehead squad sent to Japan, Al Wan, sent an email asking for further instructions from a Stars Commander, Paul Walker, because Walker was their contact and intermediary transmitting instructions from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

To be more precise the current actions of the Illegal MAP weren’t dictated by unified opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but only by the hostility to Japan of some of its officers. It was a faction arguing that it was necessary to eliminate Shiba Tatsuya, a dangerous Strategic-Class magician who is threatening the hegemony of the USNA.

Colonel Walker was entrusted with command of the Illegal MAP, as an influential officer supporting this tough course.

The answer from Walker came when the date had already changed in Japanese time, after midnight and already past 1 AM on July 12th. This was to be expected, given the time difference between time zones. However, it was clear that the members of the Horsehead squad were already waiting for an answer, because they all unceremoniously stared at commander Al Wan who was deciphering the encrypted message in their hideout.

“Hey, don’t act like whining school children! I’ll read it to you right after finishing the decryption!”

Al Wan seemed to have unpleasant feelings because they were hovering around him, so he yelled at his subordinates, chasing them away as if a big dog was shaking off water. Even the youngest soldier in the Horsehead platoon was over 30 years old, so the phrase “don’t act like whining schoolchildren” undoubtedly suited this situation.

Al Wan’s subordinates obediently retreated from his back. But this didn’t mean they felt guilty and apologized. Aluminum cans of beer or whiskey, which were in the hands of more than half of the unit, spoke volumes about their level of cultural development.

Illegal MAP was an irregular unit. From the beginning nobody expected from them the same discipline as from regular troops. The commander himself also didn’t

expect this from his subordinates. But Al Wan’s facial expression totally changed after he finished the decryption, raised his head and looked at his subordinates drinking alcoholic beverages.

“Commander, what did the bosses write?”

“What was actually expected.”

He answered appropriately, but his face was expressing the words “isn’t it obvious?”

“Plans do not change. We’re ignoring Angie Sirius.”

“So our target is only Shiba Tatsuya?”

Another subordinate asked in at least a polite tone. The Horsehead squad consisted of 10 people including the commander. The one who asked this was one of the two women in the squad.

“Yes. We will continue to act according to the previously agreed plan. Ellie along with Julia and Frank, you’ll take Mitsui Honoka. Gabe, Henry and Iggy will be handling Shibata Mizuki. Bart, Charlie, Don and I are remaining in this hideout as reserves.”

“Roger that.”

“Commander, are we going to use hostage-taking tactics, after all?”

“We will simply be brought back for re-education if we don’t use them.”

Al Wan was referring to brainwashing when speaking of “re-education.” The trick is when it’s needed to use hostages as bait to lure and kill a target, it's a common tactic to which all three squads of Illegal MAP constantly resort to in their missions.

“But in that case, isn't just one hostage enough?”

Bart Lee, who was Deputy commander of the squad, expressed his doubts about the approved tactics. It wasn’t the first time he talked about this. He returned to the same topic he raised during the tactics discussion last night.

“The Target is Shiba Tatsuya from That Yotsuba. I don’t know how much their title

“Untouchable” reflects real situation, but we don’t know about his real abilities, so we can’t treat the matter casually.”

“Bart, everything has already been decided. Although we aren’t soldiers now, we must obey the commander’s decision. Right?”

A member of the squad named Charlie Chan, who spoke with Al Wan in a friendly tone from the very beginning, turned to Bart Lee. But his voice was more “teasing”

than “reproaching.”

Bart Lee fell silent with a disgruntled face.

As one could understand from this conversation, the Horsehead squad was far from being a friendly and close-knit team.

But no one in the squad was bothered. The squad commander Al Wan didn’t care about that either.

“Bart, you can go alone if you are so sure of yourself.”

“..You are the commander. I will follow your instructions.”

Illegal MAP was a unit where it was easy to dispose of each and every member, if they started doing something reckless. It was believed that they weren’t made test subjects in experiments, because they are more useful in their current form.

The atmosphere inside the squad doesn’t matter as long as they are able to eliminate designated targets. This wasn't the opinion of only the members of Horsehead squad, but also the rest of the Illegal MAP members who thought this way.

Early Friday morning, July 12th.

“Onii-sama, we’re leaving.”

“Yes, be careful. Lina, Miyuki is in your care.”

“Leave it to me.”

Tatsuya watched Miyuki and Lina who went to First High School. It wasn’t yet 7

o’clock in the morning. They left the house earlier than usual because Miyuki needed extra time to remove the disguise she's been using lately.

Tatsuya didn’t go to school today either. After the two girls had left, he immediately went to the laboratory located on the underground floor of their high-rise apartment building.

Fujibayashi Kyouko visited Tatsuya yesterday as a representative head of the Fujibayashi family. He received documents containing the activation sequence for

“Parade” and explanations of how to use it from her, as well as information about

“Sekirei Hachijin” aka. “Stone Sentinel Maze” — barrier construction techniques using East Asian continental ancient magic. It is highly likely the hideout where Minoru is currently hiding was built by Zhou Gongjin with the use of the “Sekirei Hachijin” technique. It was necessary to overcome both “Parade” and “Sekirei Hachijin” to find the location of Minoru and return Minami.

Truth be told, it is only a hypothesis that this barrier was created using the “Sekirei Hachijin” technique.

Tatsuya has been analyzing “Parade” and “Sekirei Hachijin” since yesterday to come up with techniques to neutralize these two magics.

“The magic “Parade” is roughly understandable. The Problem lies in “Sekirei Hachijin”..”

Tatsuya voiced aloud the results of yesterday while sitting at the desk in his laboratory.

He received the activation sequence of “Parade” and the guide to its use from Fujibayashi yesterday at about 9 o’clock yesterday. Tatsuya understood the data recorded in the format of modern magic without difficulties.

Even if you subtract time for food, bathroom, and sleep, no more than 10 hours passed from the moment Tatsuya began the analysis. And yet Tatsuya has almost figured out how the magic “Parade” of the Kudou family works.

“But still .. I didn’t expect the difference with Lina’s “Parade” to be so great. Now it’s clear that can't be overcome with such an approach..”

In terms of editing and processing the copied Eidos and superimposing it on the original Eidos to hide it, the “Parade” of the Kudou and Lina's family were the same.

However, there was a process of turning a copy of the edited and processed Eidos into an artificial Spiritual Being (artificially created independent information body), which was added to the Kudou family's spell. As a result, the caster is able to perform activities such as maintaining, restoring, changing, and moving this “Parade” after the magic is activated.

With such a construction of the Magic Sequence, it's possible to attract the enemy’s attention to the disguised copy of the information body, and you can further mislead the enemy by distancing the copy from the original. The copy and the original would be located in different places, so if you destroy the disguised information body, you won’t find anything under it. In addition, if you make additional changes to the disguised information body already recognized by the enemy, the enemy won’t even be able to aim at it.

So, now that this mechanism has become clear, it will be possible to neutralize the Magic Sequence of “Parade” even if it cannot be seen. If Minoru hasn’t made any significant changes to the Kudou family spell, even an indirect hit by “Gram Dispersion” should be able to decompose the Magic Sequence.

But, Tatsuya hasn't tried this in practice yet. He already knew the real (not the one's forged by “Parade”) coordinates of the hideout where Minami is kept. If they didn’t move anywhere in the last three days, the hideout is inside a zone with a radius of 100 meters located in the Aokigahara Sea of Trees. However, Tatsuya, who already visited that forest area personally, wasn't able to locate their hideout at that time.

The East Asian continental ancient magic “Kimon Tonkou,” is a magic that distorts the sense of direction. “Sekirei Hachijin” is a large-scale barrier magic technique that is constructed from people who were killed at the moment they experienced strong emotions of anger, and then buried in specific places. It is this anger that feeds

“Kimon Tonkou” and allows it to persist for a long period of time. If Tatsuya doesn’t overcome this barrier, he won’t be able to reach the hideout where Minami was brought to.

Even if it is possible to drive Minoru out of his hideout, it will still be difficult to

catch him without a way of neutralizing “Kimon Tonkou.” If it isn't possible to correctly ascertain which direction the enemy is fleeing, then such a chase wouldn’t yield any results.

“Still, if I'm not able to overcome “Kimon Tonkou,” that is, “Sekirei Hachijin,” I won’t be able to detect Minoru and Minami.”

Tatsuya muttering to himself, determined his future course of action.

Minoru got up an hour earlier than usual and went on a hideout inspection. He just wanted to get rid of his drowsiness under the pretext of checking the barrier.

Minoru barely slept last night.

The reason for this was the frustration at his miscalculation that Lu Ganghu couldn’t provide him with any extra time, as well as the resulting nervousness. Minoru planned to leave this hideout while Lu Ganghu was causing a disturbance.

He believed that it wouldn't be long before Tatsuya was able to find this place. For now, “Parade” and “Sekirei Hachijin” are still able to deceive Tatsuya’s “sight,” but Minoru felt he didn't have much time.

It wasn’t some kind of “vague” feeling. After assessing the extent of the damage his Magic Sequence received, he believed that it was only a matter of time when his magic would become useless.

Raymond suddenly spoke to him that night through the Parasite’s telepathic network, and Minoru accepted his offer precisely because of this nervousness. Minoru only realized his condition after he finished this conversation and laid down in bed.

The reason he couldn’t sleep was from the regret that he succumbed to Raymond’s persuasion so easily. Raymond offered Minoru a means of escape from Japan, while taking Minami with them. A military vessel of the USNA Army will be used for this purpose.

Minoru accepted the invitation without asking Minami for her opinion.

Minoru noticed his haste and rashness only after the conversation with Raymond was over.

But he doesn’t regret accepting Raymond’s offer itself.

Minoru regretted that he had not been able to cancel his response so far.

Minoru who was feeling this way could contact Raymond at any time. No tools, complex procedures, or ceremonies were needed to use the mental connection between fellow Parasites. This connection was usually always active, but Minoru has forcibly blocked it.

So when he noticed that he hadn’t yet received Minami’s consent to this, he could easily release the lock and report the refusal.

But Minoru didn’t. He only continued to worry about it while lying in bed, but ultimately he left everything as it was.

He knew why he was doing this.

In fact, he wanted to take Minami with him somewhere far away.

“..But I made a promise. “

He promised he wouldn’t force her.

He will immediately return Minami back to Tatsuya and Miyuki if she wants it.

Minoru once again swore to himself.

“That’s why I can’t be caught.. until I hear Minami-san’s answer.”

Minoru came to the conclusion when he was thinking about this.

“' Parade' alone won't be enough to escape successfully.”

He decided that this hideout would not last long, because his perception as a

“magician” informed him that Tatsuya would break through “Parade” in the near future. Therefore, he feared they’ll reach him quickly. There was no way he could successfully escape from this barrier using “Parade” alone.

“What should I do? I currently don’t have time to think of a new magic.”

“Think.”

“Think, Kudou Minoru.”

Minoru looked around at the surrounding walls of green leaves, and then looked up at the bright cloudy sky. He did this not in search of a hint. It was a kind of conditional gesture to help get rid of the mental impasse he was in.

However, the artificial sky reflected in his eyes brought him inspiration.

The light reflected from the Earth’s surface was scattered in the air, and even on a clear day it created a bright white cloudy sky, like dull glass.

This was an obvious sign of the barrier wall being here.

“I can't escape from Tatsuya-san's "sight" while using only 'Parade.'”

“So I need to combine “Parade” and 'Kimon Tonkou?'”

“This place is still hidden thanks to not only my "Parade" alone. “Sekirei Hachijin”

built by Zhou Gongjin also doesn’t allow Tatsuya-san to approach.”

“I can't take "Sekirei Hachijin" with me.”

“But in my current state, I am still capable of deploying "Kimon Tonkou" and

"Parade" simultaneously”

“'Kimon Tonkou'” is magic that deceives sense of direction."

“But Tatsuya-san is probably also preparing measures against "Kimon Tonkou" as well..”

“..But even if he is, I can still use them.”

Minoru has cheered himself up. However, the wrinkles have not completely disappeared from his frowned forehead.

“The question is what to take as bait (on which the copied Eidos will be attached) ..”

The most important parts in his escape plan were still missing.

Friday, July 12, 2097, 7:00. A secret meeting of the top brass from the National Self-Defense Forces Intelligence Department began with one simple announcement.

This meeting wasn’t on schedule and even more so it was not official. Such informal meetings are held only when necessary. The Army Intelligence Department Command meets only in response to situations that require discussion. This indicated the Intelligence Department realized there had been some kind of emergency.

“Although we were not able to capture specific agents undercover, it was determined that an illegal squad of assassin magicians of the USNA Army had infiltrated the metropolitan area.”

“Illegal MAP ..?”

The activity of the killer squad who even inside the USNA Army is called “illegal”

was a problem, known as an “emergency.”

“What is the basis of the belief that someone has infiltrated our country, even though no agents have been found?”

The question was asked by the Deputy Director, whose existence was not known outside the Intelligence Department..

“Information about people, most likely members of Illegal MAP, were found in the Arrival Records dated 10 July.”

.. answered Chief Inukai from the 10th Counterintelligence Division of Intelligence Department in the capital region without getting up from his chair.

By the way, the name “10th Division” did not mean that it was “tenth in order.”

There was a meaning hidden in this name, that the Tooyama family from the 18

Assistant Houses, who is from the numbered families of 10, was secretly cooperating with the military.

“July 10th ..? That means they seized the moment.”

No one asked the Deputy Director to explain the meaning of his words. Following the withdrawal of the NSU fleet, the government announced the normalization of sea and air traffic at 9:30 on July 10th. The fact that foreign agents could take advantage of that time period when control is weakened was quite predictable, therefore the vigilance of the Security Services was increased at airports and seaports.

But at that time a stream of guests poured into Japan, who have been waiting to visit this country for a long time, thus it was impossible to thoroughly check each and every person in such an environment.

..All department heads present at the meeting shared this regret.

“What is the size of the infiltrated squad?”

Chief Onda asked Inukai from the 1st Special Issues Department.

“They went through the border checkpoints of the country, so it’s no longer entered into the country but illegal entry.. A total of ten people were counted, presumably all of them are agents. We know that Illegal MAP consists of three squads. This means that one of these squads has been sent in its entirety. Take a look at this.”

Inukai said and typed a command on a console. The last phrase was addressed to all present.

Passport data was displayed on desktop displays installed in front of each meeting participant. It was a ten-page file, a page per person. Some of those present took out

“smart glasses” from holders mounted on the table.

Inukai continued his speech after waiting for the attendees to finish reading the data.

“You can’t trust these passports too much, but judging by the distinctive featu-->>

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