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Chapter 9

The clock on the nuclear-powered submarine carrier, Virginia, was changed to the local time of the destination.

And now this clock showed the time: exactly 17:00. Tatsuya left the cabin and headed for the bridge, accompanied by the guard/surveillance soldier assigned to him.

Nobody forbade him to enter the bridge.

“Tatsuya.“

On the contrary, the captain of the ship, Colonel Michael Curtis, turned to him and addressed him extremely friendly.

He was the nephew of Wyatt Curtis and Tatsuya's most influential assistant during this mission. But Captain Curtis liked Tatsuya even without all that.

“We reach Midway Island in about an hour.“

“I see. Everything is on schedule.“

Tatsuya came to the bridge to confirm the start time of the operation, but the captain answered him before he even managed to ask.

“Preparation won't take much time. How about a conversation over a cup of coffee?“

As Captain Curtis said, preparing for a sortie should not take more than thirty minutes.

“Yes, with pleasure.“

Tatsuya had no reason to refuse.

The captain broke into a smile, called his senior assistant, and informed him that he would leave the bridge for a short while.

As a result, Captain Curtis led Tatsuya to the captain's cabin.

The captain’s cabin on the Virginia was so spacious that you wouldn’t even think that you were inside a submarine. Before the war, the Virginia itself was an ordinary giant

nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The internal space was of appropriate dimensions.

They sat at a table opposite each other, and the captain personally made coffee for himself and Tatsuya. Although the coffee was brewed automatically, its taste was excellent. It was an automatic coffee processor with an AI. The opinion that automatically brewed coffee loses in taste to brewed by hand is probably a prejudice.

“Tatsuya, the time is almost here.”

“Yes. I don’t even know how to thank you and the senator.“

“I understand that you wanted to give priority to Pearl and Hermes, but...”

The tone of Captain Curtis was a little apologetic. He was clearly a sincere and kind person.

“... We have already agreed on everything at the very beginning.“

“Don't worry about anything,” Tatsuya meant.

“Really. That was the deal. Therefore, you do not need to belittle your abilities.”

Said the captain and smiled broadly.

From this sincere smile, even Tatsuya slightly raised the corners of his lips.

“In addition, I can see at close range the combat abilities of the developer of flight magic. I'm so excited.“

The captain's eyes were filled with passion bordering on lust.

“Flying infantry and flying military equipment is a revolution in military technology.

With the presence of flight magic, even the methods of warfare themselves began to change. The presence of magicians in war will only grow. At the same time, the thinking of commanding officers is also fundamentally changing. And I have the honor to be on the scene of these changes. For me, as a military man, this is an endless grace.“

“What I'm trying to do is my own personal battle. I didn't think that it would be useful to someone from a tactical point of view.“

“No, we are here to change our awareness of what is happening. "Battle" is a group affair. The strength of an individual cannot be compared with the strength of a group of people. This principle has not changed, even when magic was used in battle. "Warriors, worth thousands of men" existed only in fiction. Even the most prominent soldiers had limited mobility.“

Captain Curtis realized that he was overexcited, and broke off to take a sip of coffee.

“Even the cavalry could not instantly move from one edge of the battlefield to another.

Using motorcycles doesn’t help much either. Although many other devices have been developed that increase the maneuverability of the infantry, but being bound by the restriction of movement on the ground, in the end, all these tools were only a substitute for horses. The magic of flight has broken through this limitation.“

“But even with flight magic, you won’t be able to move instantly.”

“In comparison with conventional means of transportation, this can be called one instant.“

This was Tatsuya's real opinion, not his modesty. However, Curtis insisted that it was a

"fallacy."

“Everything in the world is relative. Nothing ends in an instant. The mobility of flying infantry is “instantaneous” in the sense that it exceeds the response speed of ground units. A powerful unit suddenly appears right in front of you and turns the situation on the battlefield. For front-line commanders, there is no more terrible nightmare. And if this, moreover, is a single soldier, then ordinary common sense cannot be applied to him at all. Because it's like a war against Superman. In this case, all prepared measures become useless and you need to come up with new ones from scratch.“

Captain Curtis grinned, this time with an insidious grin.

“Therefore, I look forward to your battle. After all, it will serve as a model for developing response tactics.“

Even after the nuclear-powered submarine aircraft carrier arrived at the designated point and stood in standby mode, Tatsuya didn't advance for some time. But it was

conceived.

Tatsuya started July 22 at 19:30 local time. An air-car driven by Tatsuya flew into the dark post-sunset sky.

Midway Island is not one island, but a formation from Sand Island, Eastern Island and many very small islands. So perhaps it’s better to call it the Midway Archipelago.

Midway Prison is a large facility on the Eastern half of Sand Island. Tatsuya saw this object with the naked eye 10 minutes after departure.

There was no anti-aircraft fire.

"The stealth system seems to be demonstrating its designed effectiveness."

The main improvement of the new air-car was the stealth function. It was implemented on the basis of an artificial Relic, also used in the Stellar Furnace. The relic retained a magic sequence that prevented detection/recognition, and allowed it to deploy advanced stealth magic around the air-car's body, regardless of the driver’s magic skills.

The continuous operation time at this stage of development is about half a day. When the total operating time is 12 hours, for further use it will take 12 hours of downtime.

However, the time limit is reset if there is a pause of 12 hours or more whether or not the time limit is reached. For this mission, that was enough.

Tatsuya landed the air-car on the Northwest coast of Sand Island. From there, he headed towards the prison buildings in the "Freed Suit." The "Freed Suit" was also equipped with a stealth function, but not as good as in the new model of air-car, where the artificial Relic was used. When Tatsuya tried to fly over the high fence encircling the prison grounds, a piercing alarm suddenly sounded.

The turret mounted on the roof of the prison began to turn.

Tatsuya had heard from the Mitsuya family that the only weapons in Midway Prison were Fleming launchers and the soldiers' personal weapons. But now something else was turning, aiming directly at Tatsuya...

"Pulse Laser Cannon!"

It was an anti-aircraft laser cannon, going far beyond the use of anti-infantry.

Tatsuya didn't have time to think that he might've been deceived.

He activated his magic exactly at the same moment when he recognized the type of weapon.

A moment before the pulsed laser cannon was able to lock its aim on Tatsuya, the outline of the turret disappeared, scattering in flashes of lightning.

Tatsuya's decomposition magic, "Mist Dispersion" decomposed the barrel of the cannon and the pedestal on which it was mounted on down to the level of chemical elements.

The lightning flashes were caused by the fact that the electric current supplied to the cannon for charging the laser lost the conductor through which it moved and chaotically scattered throughout the gas cloud from the metal elements that were decomposed.

"That was dangerous..."

The bulletproof function of the Freed Suit is only resistant to physical bullets, and doesn't have heat resistance sufficient to withstand a high-energy laser. Depending on the aiming speed and rapid-fire of the laser cannon, there was also a risk of falling into an endless cycle of getting shot through the body at the same time as "Regrowth" is activated.

The endless cycle of damage and self-healing for Tatsuya, able to repair any damage, is a situation he should be most wary of. If he was to continue using “Regrowth” without stopping, then sooner or later his magic calculation area will no longer be able to withstand the continuous activation, and will ultimately overheat. Or rather he won’t be able to activate “Regrowth” at all. He will probably be able to withstand activating dozens of times, but if he does it hundreds of times in a short period of time, then the probability of activation failure immediately rises. This was one of the few ways to overcome Tatsuya's invulnerability.

The sense of danger made Tatsuya's perception sharpen even more.

The information about all anti-aircraft and anti-personnel weapons mounted on the roof and walls of the entire complex was instantly and simultaneously displayed in his

"field of vision".

"Mist Dispersion - Activation."

He activated the previous “Mist Dispersion” reflexively, only with his own invocation power.

This time, he relied on the help of the built-in CAD in his suit to “decompose” 12 gun platforms at the same time. They also included anti-aircraft installations, for which Tatsuya was now in their blind spot, as well as automatic gun turrets installed underneath the ground in the complex.

All interception weapons installed at Midway Prison, including Fleming anti-ship launchers, disappeared without a trace in five consecutive activation's of Tatsuya's decomposition magic.

Hovering in the sky above Midway Prison, which had been deprived of its weapons, Tatsuya began to use “Elemental Sight” to search for the building containing Canopus.

Tatsuya got “information” on Benjamin Canopus in February this year, after he prevented him from grabbing Gu Jie. As expected, while there was half of the Pacific Ocean between them, Tatsuya couldn't determine the location of a person he had contact with only once. But now, knowing what to look for on this island, on a specific territory, Tatsuya easily discovered him.

On this territory, about 1x1 km in size, there were ten strong-looking (from an unassuming point of view) buildings.

"Five buildings among them are prison blocks. One building is the administration office, two buildings are living quarters for personnel and soldiers, one building is the armory, and another is a training center."

Information about the person sought-after - Canopus - was found in the very center of the entire complex. The right place was on the third floor of a three-story building, at its southern end.

Tatsuya once again looked at the information about the internal structure of the aforementioned building.

At a short distance away from Canopus there were ten armed soldiers. These were prison guards. It wasn't clear whether they had gathered in one place to protect

Canopus, or to prevent his escape?

Canopus was the only prisoner on this floor. On the first and second floors there were eight prisoners. Of course, the prisoners were all male magicians.

"It goes without saying that my invasion is already known. If I enter from the roof, they will probably come to meet me."

There was also an option to outwit them by breaking in from the first floor. But now every second counted. Also this here wasn't his only mission. His real goal, in general, was the Pearl & Hermes base.

Tatsuya decided to attack from above, according to the expectations of the guards.

The muzzle of weapons pointed at Tatsuya coming down from the heavens. These short-barreled weapons resembled a PDW (Personal Self-Defense Weapon).

For soldiers guarding the building, preferring ease of use instead of power was a smart choice. In addition, when the enemy is Tatsuya, even if they were high powered, there would be no point.

The weapons fell to pieces on the roof of the building, even before one of them had time to shoot.

Caught in an unexpected situation, the two soldiers froze for a moment, but soon quickly reached for a waist holster.

But faster than they could do it, Tatsuya pulled a pistol-shaped CAD from his belt and aimed at them.

The custom modified Silver Horn "Trident".

At the same time as Tatsuya pulled the trigger, tiny holes appeared in the joints of the arms and legs of the two soldiers.

The soldiers made muffled screams, and fell in different directions - one on his back, and the other face down.

He used Trident instead of the built-in CAD in his suit because he knew about the surveillance cameras.

The wounds that neutralized the soldiers looked like the traces of invisible bullets passing through them.

In order to create the impression that the invader with a hidden face and dressed in a completely black suit is using such a magic, Tatsuya decided to use his CAD in the form of a pistol, which can be easily connected with these “invisible bullets.”

Taking one of the pistols from an unconscious soldier, Tatsuya went through the door leading down the stairs.

There was no ambush on the way from the roof to the third floor.

But he didn't even have time to take one step down from the roof, as a certain sixth sense (not "Elemental Sight") - an intuitive sense of danger - made him get down and put his left hand in front of his face.

The field for modifying phenomenon, spread out from around his palm to decompose the bullet that flew at him from the wall opposite of him.

It looked as if the bullet ricocheted off that wall, but there was no bounce sound.

But Tatsuya wasn't surprised or puzzled. Along with the decomposition of the bullet, he read and analyzed what the magic properties activated by the enemy were.

The bullet was wrapped in a reflective force field the size of the bullet. It was magic, endowing the properties of bouncing, like a rubber ball, but it reacted only to certain substances. In this case, the installed condition for the rebound was assigned to the drywall, which covered the walls and ceiling.

A bullet flew right towards the side of Tatsuya, who was crouching on one knee, which made a sharp sound. Next, without any pause, the next bullet landed one step from where he stood. Apparently, when aiming, they relied on chance to some extent. So, was the first shot, which hit right on target, also an accident?

The fourth bullet didn't come.

Tatsuya didn't let them shoot.

From below, one could hear surprised screams and the sounds of PDW's falling apart all over the floor.

Of course, this happened because of Tatsuya's handiwork.

Confirming audibly the temporary neutralization of the enemies, Tatsuya ran down the stairs.

The enemy soldiers during this time managed to snatch pistols. Obviously, the local soldiers were quite well trained, as they didn't remain stunned or stand in a stupor after an unforeseen situation. However, at the current moment, they still didn't have time to aim.

Tatsuya pulled the trigger on Trident.

Holes appeared in the limbs of three soldiers who where in the first-row trying to shoot. Modern medicine can heal such wounds (cut nerves), but for this it is necessary to undergo treatment in a hospital. Simple first aid won't help restore mobility to their limbs. Moreover, from the dreadful pain caused by the decomposition of nerves, the victims of this attack lose consciousness. Even if someone manages to avoid the loss of consciousness, then usually no one is able to maintain the clarity in their thinking.

As if not paying attention to the comrades who had lost their combat readiness, two soldiers from the second row sent cylinders at Tatsuya, reminiscent of large flashlights.

Tatsuya recognized the psionic wave noise (cast jamming) which he was bombarded with coming from these "flashlights."

"Psionic wave noise (cast jamming) that obstructs the reading of activation sequence output from a CAD?"

Tatsuya not only felt, but understood this.

"An anti-magician device that mimics the nature of Antinite. But the effectiveness is lower than that of real Antinite"

Tatsuya erased the psionic wave noise by activating his decomposition magic without using his CAD.

Almost immediately after that, he pulled the trigger on Trident.

Blood spurted out from the extremities of not only the two soldiers who aimed, the

“Sorcery Disrupters” at Tatsuya, but also from the extremities of the remaining three soldiers of the defense detachment.

Before Tatsuya, no one else was left standing. As a precaution, he scanned the bodies of all the soldiers of the defense detachment with his “sight,” and using decomposition magic, he made all their weapons and explosives unusable.

After that, Tatsuya used magic to destroy the lock on the door of Canopus's cell.

The Trident, which was in his right hand, was put back in its holster. In his left hand, he continued to hold a pistol that he took from one of the previous soldiers he encountered.

Tatsuya opened the door to the cell, but didn't go inside, and remained standing still.

After about ten seconds had passed.

From the far corner, located in a blind spot when viewing from the entrance, a tall figure emerged and stood in front of Tatsuya.

The man's chin was smoothly shaved, and his brown hair was neatly combed. There were no signs of exhaustion in his light brown eyes. There wasn't any noticeable

“shabbiness,” which is usually associated with people who are labeled with the word

“prisoner”.

“Major Benjamin Canopus, I presume?“

Tatsuya knew who this man was. It was necessary to ask to somehow start a conversation.

“Right. And you are?“

“I came at the request of Senator Wyatt Curtis.”

“From Grand?“

Tatsuya was momentarily confused by the incomprehensible reply of Canopus, but in the end he decided to interpret this word as an abbreviation for granduncle (cousin).

This may have been respectful treatment used by the family, but Tatsuya had enough understanding to know that he was referring to Wyatt Curtis.

“I was asked to give you this.”

Tatsuya handed Canopus the ring handed over to him by the captain of the Virginia.

?

Canopus looked for a few seconds at the emblem engraved on the signet of the ring, after which he put it on the little finger of his left hand.

“Certainly this is...“

Canopus nodded slightly. The ring seemed to be enough to prove whose messenger Tatsuya was.

“The request that I received was to help in your jailbreak.”

“Understood.“

Canopus didn't ask about the reasons and the identity of Tatsuya. Tatsuya decided that Canopus apparently could not go against Wyatt Curtis's directions.

Although Canopus didn't refuse, he remained in place and asked:

“If you don't mind, then could we also take, with us, my subordinates who were captured with me?”

“Accepted. Do you know where they are imprisoned?“

“I know. I'll guide you.“

“Good. Here, take this.“

Nodding in response to Canopus' offer, Tatsuya handed him the pistol he picked up from the soldier on the roof.

“... Are you sure?“

“It can't be a replacement for a weaponized armed device, but just in case, it's for self-protection.“

Canopus preferred a weaponized armed device which combines a CAD and sword in the form of a Japanese katana. After Tatsuya's words, he frowned slightly because of the sense of caution that came from Tatsuya who might know of his fighting style.

“Thanks, this will help.“

But in the end, Canopus answered only this, and headed to the stairs.

Canopus led Tatsuya to another prison building, located 200 meters from the previous one.

They weren't attacked along the way. Canopus made an extremely surprised face when he saw that the pinpointed stationary gun turrets were wiped out, but Tatsuya who was walking behind him didn't see this.

The building was about the same size as the one in which Canopus was imprisoned, but there were many more cameras. Apparently, the previous building was intended for senior officers, and this building - for prisoners with a lower status.

Canopus moved along the corridor, from time to time looking for signs of someone's presence. Then they got to the stairs and went up to the second floor. In the end, they stopped in front of a door located approximately in the middle of the corridor on the second floor.

“Right here.“

Silently nodding back at Canopus' words, Tatsuya pulled out a combat knife with knuckle guard.

While swinging the knife down, a force field of decomposition magic was formed on the cutting edge of the knife.

The knife cut through the lock on the door without any resistance.

“Molecular divider? No...“

Without responding to Canopus' murmur, Tatsuya threw open the door to a room more like a guardhouse than a prison.

Walking past Tatsuya who was holding the door, Canopus cautiously entered the cell.

“Commander!“

“Ralph.“

But Canopus' tension eased when he heard a voice coming from the back of the room.

A slender young man with shortly-cut red hair hurriedly ran to Canopus. It was Ralph

Algol, the second lieutenant from the first detachment of the Stars, who was directly subordinate to Canopus.

Canopus slowly followed toward the young man.

When there was only one step between them, Canopus stopped and held out his hand for a handshake.

But the young man suddenly pushed off the floor and rushed past Canopus.

He tried to attack Tatsuya with a knife in his hand.

However, immediately after the figure, looking like Ralph Algol, began its rapid advance, a psionic stream rushed into him.

The face of the young man changed.

The physique and hair color remained the same, but he now had the face of another person.

“Gram Demolition!?“

Canopus' voice was too loud for a whisper.

The effect of "Gram Demolition," released by Tatsuya, wasn't only limited to removing the masking magic from a person who turned out to be not a young man, but a middle-aged man. The gait and posture of this man also became somewhat insecure.

Tatsuya lunged with his knife in the direction of the man who had lost the ability to control his body normally due to the psionic flow.

He struck the man in the body, not with the knife blade, but with the titanium alloy knuckle guard embedded in the handle. Having received a blow into the solar plexus, the man's eyes rolled back and collapsed to the floor.

“This looks like a member of the Coalsack squad...“

Canopus turned the collapsed man over and frowned, recognizing him.

Tatsuya heard him, but didn't ask for an explanation of what "Coalsack" was.

The situation didn't allow this.

Through the remaining open door, something the size of a fist flew into the chamber.

“Grenade!?“

The cry of Canopus described in a word what Tatsuya saw.

Canopus knocked over the table and lay down behind it.

While Tatsuya threw the grenade away with magic. The lack of magic power activated by the artificial magic calculation area using Flash Cast, in this situation was more than compensated for by the excessive activation speed.

But the enemy was also strong. The grenade thrown away by Tatsuya, flying through the doorway, bounced back inside the cell. And it didn't bounce off the door, because it was open. The fact was that in the doorway an anti-object barrier was deployed.

Tatsuya activated gravity controlled flight magic.

Explosion power is inversely proportional to the cube of distance. Before the explosion, they usually lie on the floor to avoid direct contact with fragments, but if we take into account the distance to the epicenter of the explosion in the current situation, then the distance from the grenade falling to the floor to the ceiling was greater than the distance that would be if they lay on the floor.

In addition, the process of forming an air cocoon, reducing air resistance during flight, was built into the flight magic spell. This cocoon was strong enough to withstand a headwind relative wind at a speed of several hundred kilometers per hour. Therefore, one could expect that it would serve as a shield against the relatively weak explosion of a hand grenade.

However, Tatsuya's quick wits in this case were not particularly useful.

The grenade exploded. The blast wave wasn't so strong.

Instead of exploding into fragments, thick black smoke began to disperse in all directions.

"Smoke grenade."

Tatsuya abruptly canceled the flying magic and jumped to the floor. If the enemy’s goal was to block his field of vision, then remaining near the ceiling, he would be an easy

target.

The results of the smoke analysis were displayed on the screen integrated in the visor of the helmet.

... non-lethal...

... There are no paralytic components...

... There are no tear components...

... there is little damage to the respiratory system and the cornea...

"In other words, it's just a smoke screen to block the view."

Tatsuya felt the disappearance of the anti-object shield that blocked the doorway.

The field of view displayed on the visor of the helmet automatically switched to infrared mode. However, the silhouettes of people trying to get into the room were not visible.

But Tatsuya’s “sight” at the same time caught the “image” of a person approaching quickly and soundlessly.

The silhouette, represented according to the information data, wore a stealth suit, equalizing the emitted infrared rays with the temperature of the outside air. To ensure visibility, ultrasound was also used. The man seemed to be a particularly advanced master, since he didn't wear special glasses for visualizing ultrasound. Just like a bat-man.

But in any case, since this person sent a weapon at us, you just need to counterattack.

Tatsuya repelled the enemy fist with his right hand that was holding a knife, after which he grabbed the enemy by the forehead with his left hand. And he activated vibrational magic, which sent a wave of vibrations through the palm of his left hand.

This wave of vibrations was produced by his artificial magic calculation area, unable to deliver high power. In other words, the injury won't be fatal.

But there was enough strength to cause a concussion.

The “bat-man” had his legs buckled, and he collapsed to the floor. Given that he

received a blow to the head, such a drop looked strange, but Tatsuya didn't even pay attention to it.

First of all, because he didn't have the time for it.

Following the fallen man, the next enemy was approaching. More precisely, not even one or two. There were eight of them in total.

"Is that already above my limit?"

Until now, Tatsuya fought so as not to kill the soldiers of the defense detachment. The work entrusted to him was the rescue of Canopus and the destruction of the Parasites.

He wasn't asked to kill the American soldiers who were not infected with Parasites.

Although there was no ban on killing, Tatsuya didn't want to produce unnecessary discontent.

However, this wasn't a priority over accomplishing the mission.

From outside, a cannonball flew into the room. It was an iron core, similar to a shot put competition. However, it flew at Tatsuya in a direct trajectory, and not in an arc, as in competitions. Its speed exceeded 200 km/h. There were no signs of magic working during its flight. It seems that the shell was accelerated by magic only at the time of the shot.

Something flat, reminiscent of a card, was also approaching with a curved trajectory. At first glance, it was just a piece of plastic, but the edges of this card were covered with high-strength resin, sharpened to perfect sharpness. There was no signs of magic visible here too. Probably, at the moment of throwing the card, its speed, angle and rotation were set by magic so that the trajectory of free movement intersected with the given target.

Both of these attacks were designed to make it difficult to detect with magic.

Tatsuya “decomposed” the ball and the card, and shot the hearts of all eight attackers.

Sensing the intent o-->>

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