Volume 30 - CH 9(2/4)
It was the "bat-man" who, despite having a concussion, tried to shoot Tatsuya with a spring-loaded dart. The knife cut through his throat, causing a mortal wound.
The first man he defeated - the red-haired man - didn't move. It seems that the battle has come to an end.
Causing a faint airflow, Tatsuya blew out the smoke screen into the corridor, which by that moment was still in the cell.
“Coalsack was completely destroyed, without being able to attack normally...“
With undisguised surprise in his voice Canopus murmured, who stood up on the other side of the toppled over table.
“Coalsack is the name of the team of these guys?”
Tatsuya asked Canopus, just to keep the conversation going.
“Yes. Coalsack Squad from Illegal MAP. One of the best squads for illegal assassinations in the States...“
Canopus looked at Tatsuya not with admiration, but with wariness in his eyes.
“Assassins shouldn't attack head on, right?”
Tatsuya meant that you should not be afraid of assassins attacking directly head on. But this wasn't a manifestation of modesty or, conversely, complacency. This again was only an attempt to keep the conversation going.
“Better tell me, does the Coalsack squad have only ten people?“
This is the only thing that Tatsuya asked. Simply put, he wondered if there were still enemies left.
“Yes. There is also another Illegal MAP unit called the Cone Nebula, but their specialization is seduction. It is unlikely that they will be sent in the current situation.“
“Understood.“
Tatsuya scanned the room with "Elemental Sight." He did this to make sure there were no other traps or ambushes, but he discovered something else.
“Major. Under the bed there is someone bound. This, incidentally, is it not your ally?“
Canopus rushed to the bed and peered under it.
“Ralph!“
He pulled a red-haired youth from under the bed - Ralph Algol. But he showed no signs of awakening, even when Canopus tried to shake him. Perhaps he was pumped full of some kind of drug.
Canopus untied Algol and put him on his left shoulder so that the upper half of his body hung down from behind, and he clasped the legs hanging in front of him with his left hand.
“It seems that there is nothing that threatens his life, but wouldn’t it be better to leave him here?“
“No, we'll take him with us.“
Canopus didn't listen to Tatsuya's advice.
But Tatsuya didn't particularly insist on his words. He didn't try to convince Canopus.
“Was the subordinate you wanted to pick up, only this one?”
Tatsuya asked instead.
“Sorry. There is one more.“
“Okay. Let's hurry.“
Canopus nodded in response to Tatsuya and ran with Algol on his shoulder.
Second Lieutenant, Ariana Lee Shaula, stationed in the female sector of the prison, was saved without any noticeable resistance. Unlike with Second Lieutenant Algol, Second Lieutenant Shaula wasn't bound or unconscious.
Tatsuya suspected it was a trap. But was there a trap or not, in which case his actions would be the same.
A+A-
“Let's steal a car. Do you have anything in mind?“
It was necessary to somehow get to the place where the air-car was parked. It was possible to take off with a “load” of three passengers, but mobility was greatly reduced.
It was unclear whether Canopus and Shaula would be able to protect themselves from shelling without CAD, and Algol still hasn’t woken up. Therefore, I would like to avoid the departure using the flight function of the Freed Suit.
“In front of the armory there is a general purpose vehicle.”
Shaula answered the question of Tatsuya.
“I saw it from my room window. Here.”
Anticipating the question of “how do you know this,” Shaula tried to lead Tatsuya and Canopus behind her.
“Wait. Point out the direction from behind me.“
But Tatsuya stopped her, overtook, and turned his back to her.
Shaula's face showed that she was confused. She could not understand why, at their first meeting, he had been completely open before her, turning his back.
She looked puzzled at Canopus. But Canopus only shook his head and didn't answer.
Canopus guessed the true identity of Tatsuya. Information about Tatsuya was imprinted in his memory in the form of a person who constantly showed vigilance of the highest category. Therefore, he was even worse than Shaula, and didn't understand why Tatsuya now showed such a lack of vigilance.... However, in the case of Tatsuya, this only meant that he could "see" including behind him.
As expected, there were soldiers in front of the armory.
About fifty people. Amount equivalent to one platoon. Too much for ordinary security.
Obviously, they were waiting for Tatsuya and those whom he led. Judging by what he
"saw," among them were even some quite powerful magicians.
They were on the other side of the building and were not visible with physical vision.
However, not only Tatsuya saw them, but they also noticed Tatsuya's group. The entire platoon of soldiers simultaneously aimed their gun barrels forward.
The weapon of each of them wasn't just a simple rifle, but a weaponized-armed device.
The unfolding activation sequence belonged to the magic of the movement system called "Bend Trajectory." This magic bends the trajectory of a flying object once. In
other words, it's bending magic. The main scope of application is shooting at enemies hiding behind obstacles.
Tatsuya pulled out Trident and pulled the trigger.
Bullets fired from the weaponized-armed devices simultaneously with the activation of Tatsuya's magic.
Bullets flew straight without bending the arc. This was the result of Tatsuya activating
"Gram Dispersion" by targeting the magic sequence of “Bend Trajectory” which activated in an area that lies within 100 meters in front of them.
These weaponized-armed devices didn't allow for automatic firing. Even if the CAD
provided a certain level of automation, the processing speed of the magicians using it didn't allow for them to keep up with this pace. In other words, all of the fired bullets flew straight, and fell into the void. The soldiers began to withdraw the following activation sequence.
But Tatsuya's next magic activated faster.
Blood spurted from the joints of the right foot of half of the fifty soldiers, and with a slight time lag the same thing happened with the remaining half. The resulting damage caused everyone to lose their balance. And a moment later the same thing happened with their left feet, and as a result, everyone simultaneously fell to the ground.
After that, in addition to everything, he made holes in their hands, which completely deprived the entire platoon of the defense detachment from combat readiness.
Previously, Tatsuya was already forced to abandon non-fatal attacks once, but now he didn't do the same, because he thought again about the fact that the destruction of a whole platoon could have undesirable consequences.
Since the opponents were magicians, there remained the risk of a counterattack, even if they could not move their limbs. But if this happens, then Tatsuya was ready to become serious again. Not in the sense that he was ready to take a hit to himself, but in the sense that he was ready to kill if they ended up counterattacking.
After making sure that the guards were temporarily neutralized, Tatsuya ran around the corner of the building.
Canopus and Shaula followed him with tense faces. For the two officers from the Stars elite, Tatsuya’s fighting power seemed unimaginable.
“Molecular Divider... Javelin?“
Shaula muttered. Obviously, she confused the magic of Tatsuya's partial decomposition with the magic, “Molecular Divider Javelin” used by First Lieutenant Zoe Spica from the fourth unit of the Stars. The effects of these two magics were indeed quite similar.
Under the dark evening sky, when even in the west there were no signs of the sun, Tatsuya and his three companions ran to the general purpose car. Canopus sat in the driver's seat. Behind him, sat Shaula, and still not awake Algol, was seated next to her.
Tatsuya took weapons from several nearby soldiers and stood next to the front passenger seat door.
Canopus looked at Tatsuya with suspicion, trying to look at him to urgently take his place, but he took out Trident and went to the armory.
"... The absence of people is confirmed."
There was no one inside the warehouse.
"... Getting information about the material of the object."
In the case of disassembling weapons or military equipment into parts, first you need to identify the information about the mechanical structure of the target object. The more complex and larger the object, the more information data is there.
When using "Regrowth," in addition to the information about the structure of an object, information about the materials that make up the object is also needed.
However, in the case of "Mist Dispersion," decomposing an object to the level of chemical elements, processing is possible even with the presence of only information about the materials that make up the object. Regardless of the size and mechanical complexity of the object. In the case of the "decomposition" of a large-scale object, Tatsuya will have less load when decomposing an object into chemical elements than when disassembling it into spare parts.
Tatsuya activated Mist Dispersion, choosing as a single target the entire armory depot and all the weapons stored in it.
The contours of the three-story building without windows floated...
And the next moment the building disappeared, as if it were an illusion.
The remains of the armory depot dispersed in the form of dust swirling in the wind.
Seeing an approaching cloud of dust, Shaula hastily closed the window next to where she was sitting in the car.
Tatsuya quickly got into the passenger seat and said to Canopus, who was staring at him with round eyes from being astonished at what he just did.
“Drive.“
In front of the gate leading out of the prison complex, they were waiting for about the same number of soldiers as there was in front of the armory depot.
But Tatsuya's reaction this time was different.
He slowly pulled out a grenade he "confiscated" from the soldiers in front of the armory depot.
“Hey, what are you doing?!“
Ignoring the nervous Canopus, Tatsuya opened the window and pulled the clip out of the grenade. The handling of this type of weapon was exactly the same as 100 years ago.
?
The grenade was thrown with his right hand, and was accelerated by magic and flew straight towards the line of soldiers who stood in their way.
The enemy magician tried to influence the trajectory of the grenade, but Tatsuya easily
“decomposed” the magic sequence of their magic, “Vector Reversal”, which they used to try and stop the grenade.
An important principle when using magic is the rule that one and the same object or phenomenon cannot be simultaneously affected by several different magics. If you violate this rule, then in most cases the required force of interference in the phenomenon will increase, which ends up increasing the load on the magician. In addition to this, only one type of magic will work successfully. In the worst case scenario, all attempts to apply magic to the object will fail.
This principle is strictly respected in organized combat groups such as the regular army.
Therefore, in this case, only one magician tried to stop the approach of the grenade with magic.
And his magic was neutralized. Although such an unexpected development of events caused confusion, but he was prepared enough to try again to stop the grenade with the same magic.
But this one extra time was the last.
The second "Vector Reversal" was neutralized by Tatsuya, and the grenade reached the area above the heads of the soldiers.
But the problem didn't end with one grenade.
Tatsuya picked up four grenades when he was in front of the armory depot. And he threw all four grenades one after another at the soldiers who stood in a line opposite the gate to block their escape path.
The grenades successfully exploded three meters above the heads of the guards.
Shrapnel rained down on the soldiers from above.
To protect themselves from the shrapnel, they crouched, raising their hands above their heads.
The field of view of the soldiers shifted from the car carrying Tatsuya and the others.
When they looked up at the sound of the horn, the car that had just seemed small due to range was already right in front of them.
The guards, who where lined up in a row, reflexively jumped out of the way of the fleeing car.
The line was built from about a quarter of the soldiers gathered at the gates.
The remaining three quarters rained down a hail of bullets on to the car.
However, this stolen car, although it was a general purpose vehicle, was actually an armored military vehicle. In addition, to the fired bullets, only about 10% of them reached the targeted vehicle. In other words, the shooting from the guards didn't cause significant enough damage that could stop the vehicle.
The car with Canopus behind the wheel passed through the gates (which were the same gates where Tatsuya decomposed a pass-through iron door), thus escaping the prison complex.
After escaping from the Midway Prison complex, they were not pursued by either ground equipment or helicopters. Of course, the American army didn't overlook the invasion and jailbreak. It’s just that at the moment they were recovering from their losses and were regrouping.
“Stop here.“
Seeing the air-car, Tatsuya asked Canopus to stop the car.
Taking the place of the driver of the air-car, he left the door open and shouted to Canopus and Shaula:
“Get in.“
These two weren't frozen in confusion. Canopus pulled Algol from the back seat, putting him on his shoulder and ran to the air-car.
Shaula climbed into the back seat of the air-car and helped put Algol inside.
“Its okay if you don't close the doors.“
Nodding in response to Tatsuya’s advice, Canopus darted around the SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle)-like vehicle and sat in the front passenger seat.
Tatsuya pressed a button and all four doors closed simultaneously.
“What is this? An amphibious vehicle?”
Canopus asked instinctively, examining the interior of the car. Its windows were affixed and unopened, and in the place where ordinary cars had a trunk, equipment of unknown purpose was installed.
“No.“
Tatsuya answered and activated the flight magic.
“This is a flying car.“
Canopus swallowed, and Shaula screamed softly. With such background noise, Tatsuya sharply raised the air-car into the air.
“A notification about their return came from Mr. Shiba’s air-car.“
After the words of the signalman on the bridge, there was a noise of whispering.
“Thirty minutes after departure... that is, it took 20 minutes directly to work? Do we know what damage was done to Midway Prison?”
Colonel Michael Curtis, captain of the nuclear submarine carrier Virginia, asked the intelligence officer.
“Anti-ship, anti-aircraft and anti-personnel gun crews completely destroyed. The weapons warehouse also completely disappeared...“
The scouts reacted so quickly because Captain Curtis had previously ordered information to be collected at Midway Prison.
“Are the prison buildings themselves intact?”
The captain asked the intelligence officer in a slightly surprised tone.
“No serious damage was noticed.“
"This is a surprisingly good result..."
Captain Curtis thought so at first, but quickly changed his mind.
"Such limited damage can be interpreted as proof that the attacker could afford it."
"Midway is not only a military prison, but also a supply base, going as an addition to Pearl and Hermes."
"In just 20 minutes, and given that he restrained himself - this is a complete defeat..."
"... Tatsuya. If you weren’t a guest of Uncle, and we would have to fight with you, then all the power of Virginia wouldn't overcome you, and we would eventually go to the bottom."
"I would prefer to continue to have a good relationship with you."
“Prepare for a quick ascent. Prepare the take-off deck for the arrival of the air-car. And report this to Mr. Shibata.“
Captain Curtis hid his concern in the depths of his heart, and gave crew members orders to play a part in this mission.
About seven minutes have passed since the return signal was sent. In the sky above the sea around the surfaced Virginia, an air-car silhouette appeared.
Out of the dark night sea floated the gigantic hull of the Virginia. The air-car didn't circle around, but simply hovered in the sky during a flight over this nuclear aircraft carrier.
The outer shell of the Virginia parted, exposing the flight deck.
The air-car descended vertically and landed silently on the flight deck.
Crew members ran over to them.
Canopus was the first to leave the aircraft through the door of the front passenger seat,
and after him, Shaula through the rear right door.
Canopus pulled the unconscious Algol out of the car. The running crew members helped him and laid Algol on a stretcher.
Only after that did Tatsuya leave the air-car.
“For starters, congratulations on the successful completion of the first phase of the mission.”
Katsushige turned to Tatsuya, who came out from behind the back of the team members who had already started refueling (charging ultra-high capacitors) of the air-car.
“Thank you.”
Raising the visor of his helmet, Tatsuya answered Katsushige's congratulations.
“You're going to leave again soon, right? Leave the report to the main house to me.”
“Thanks.“
Tatsuya bowed slightly in response to Katsushige's suggestion.
“If possible, could you please convey a message about the rescue of Major Canopus to Miyakijima?”
Raising his head, Tatsuya asked Katsushige.
“Unfortunately that isn't possible. There is currently no person on Miyakijima capable of receiving telepathic messages.“
During this operation, all communication with the main house was carried out using the special abilities of telepaths. There were only a few subordinates in the Yotsuba family with telepathic abilities that allowed them to communicate at such a great distance, and all of them were directly subordinate to the head of the family. In this case, one of such valuable employees was temporarily handed over to Katsushige by the main house.
“Okay.“
“In the message that will be sent to the main house, I will add a request to relay the
message to Miyakijima.”
Tatsuya's request wasn't feasible, but in return Katsushige promised to remind the main house to let Miyuki and Lina know the news.
Charging the air-car was pretty fast. Less than ten minutes after the landing, Tatsuya again lifted the car into the air.
A telepathic communication session with the main house took place immediately after his departure.
The news of the rescue of Canopus was immediately transmitted by the main house to Miyakijima.
Immediately after receiving reports of the attack on Midway, a bustle began at Pearl & Hermes Base in preparation for sending soldiers.
The original target was a counter-offensive against the enemies who attacked Midway Prison Base.
However, in a subsequent report it was said that the attackers had abducted Major Canopus and Second Lieutenants Algol and Shaula, after which they fled in a small-sized aircraft. Therefore, the goal of sending fighters and destroyers with anti-aircraft and anti-submarine weapons changed to a pursuit of the offenders.
While all the soldiers of the base (both sent and remaining) were very busy with preparations, Raymond (civilian) visited Minoru, who is in a separate room of the medical center allocated for Minami.
“Was it Tatsuya who attacked Midway?”
Although this topic (preparation for the operation) wasn't very suitable for a friendly conversation, Raymond clearly showed unhealthy interest in this.
“Most likely.“
Minoru answered him.
“Only Tatsuya-san knows how to hide traces of magic perfectly.”
“You mean, besides you?”
“My abilities are just the art of deception. I can't hide as skillfully as Tatsuya-san does.“
Minoru with a serious face shook his head in response to Raymond's joke.
“I see.“
With a distressed face, Raymond answered.
“Come on do not talk about it.“
However, he quickly regained his usual cheerful face. The current situation was rather chaotic, but it developed clearly as the "Seven Sages" — Raymond S. Clark liked.
"It appears that major Antares and Lieutenant Sargas were also sent to intercept on the destroyer Chevalier." ...Or what's it's name?" "Shaurma"?
Minoru, it seemed, wasn't at all interested in which name was correct, but Raymond could not leave this question open, so he took out a mobile terminal and sent a search request.
“Yeah, all the same, the “Chevalier.” And along with it, the “Shangri-La” will leave the port. It seems that they are going to send more than ten fighter class aircrafts "Horned Owls" [Eagle Owls].“
“Really!?“
The Shangri-La is an aircraft carrier assigned to the port of Pearl & Hermes Base. It is the "runway" of this base. The Horned Owls, code-named F-141, is the main strike force of the Shangri-La aircraft carrier. These are multi-purpose combat aircrafts with superior stealth system effectiveness.
In total, there were 60 “Horned Owls” on the Shangri-La. This means that more than one-sixth of them will be sent. Therefore, Minoru's surprise was natural.
“That alone says that Tatsuya was considered dangerous. In my opinion, this is a reasonable decision.”
Minoru didn't argue with these words of Raymond. Minoru fought with Tatsuya only in one-on-one magic battles. But it was thanks to a direct encounter with him that he realized that the true value of Tatsuya manifests itself at a tactical level and higher.
What just happened on Midway Island was direct evidence of this. Tatsuya was a threat that could destroy a military base without even using his Strategic-Class magic.
Therefore, the reaction of the USNA army should not be considered an exaggeration.
“I don't think that this base will be able to delay Tatsuya... Oh, it seems that Chevalier and Shangri-La left the port. Major Antares and Lieutenant Sargas are moving away.“
The port wasn't visible from the window of the infirmary window, so Raymond, apparently, sensed this through a channel connecting the Parasites.
“Minoru, in my opinion, now is the time.”
Raymond's phrase was unsaid.
“For what?“
Although Minoru asked, he somehow understood what Raymond wanted to say.
“If Tatsuya gets here, this time you won't be able to escape. You're not going to fight him again, are you? So now is your chance. Now only Lieutenant Spica is left at this base.“
Raymond was telling the truth.
On this surface base - an artificial island - he can’t hide. No matter where he hides, he cannot escape from Tatsuya's "sight". Both Parade and Kimon Tonko have their limitations, and won't be particularly useful in this situation. If he was going to continue to run away, there was no choice but to go to sea.
“...It's useless.“
But Minoru shook his head helplessly.
“Minami-san can't move now.”
Minami is still recovering from the damage caused by the excessive use of magic that occurred the other day. The fact that she spends most of the day in a dream is the protective function of the body, which calms the violence of the, magic calculation area
by suppressing conscious activity and, thereby, reducing the stimulation of the subconscious region. If any irritating factor begins to act on it from outside, then consciousness will forcefully wake up, which is highly likely to serve as a trigger for overheating the magic calculation area.
“So you're the only who need to escape, Minoru. As long as you stay alive, you will always have a chance to get your girlfriend back.“
Minoru blinked his eyes in surprise.
Raymond's behavior this time wasn't as cynical as usual when he looked at everything around him as an interesting show. It seemed to Minoru that for some reason, Raymond was sincerely worried about him and Minami.
“No... after all, it's impossible.”
But Minoru didn't agree with Raymond's proposal.
He felt that if he parted with Minami now, he would never be able to even get close to her again. Both Tatsuya and Miyuki are not such irrational opponents. They will no longer give him a chance to take advantage of.
And above all, he absolutely didn't want to part with Minami.
But not because he wanted to cure her. And not because he wanted to take responsibility for the deterioration of her condition. In truth, he was simply attached to her.
“Minoru...“
Raymond no longer said anything that could pass as appeals to escape. Whether he changed himself, or it was a temporary whim, but it seems that he sincerely worried about Minoru.
“...Good. So I'll go with you.“
“What!? No, that won't do!“
Raymond's words shocked Minoru.
“Raymond. By the way, it is you yourself who have to run! If Tatsuya-san catches you,
then the Dion Project will be considered a Parasite conspiracy!“
There was no direct connection between the Parasites and the Dion Project. However, Tatsuya would easily be able to distort the truth in order to destroy the conspiracies directed against him. Minoru felt a certain sense of fear from Tatsuya, confirming that he was able to do something like that.
“If something like this happens, then it will be a problem for not only you and your father. This could escalate into a question of confidence in America, which, in turn, will disrupt the world order!“
Minoru has always been driven by personal feelings. For this reason, he didn't regret that he had gone astray... that he had ceased to be a man. But he didn't want to create problems for society.
“Well, good. That will be interesting too.“
Raymond had an innocent smile on his face. Such a face meant that he perfectly understood what he had said to Minoru.
“Raymond!“
“I'm not a human being either. I don’t care what will happen to the human world. The truth is that the Dion project was actually a conspiracy at the national level. So, if America is subjected to international criticism, then they're right.“
“But...“
“Minoru.”
After breaking an objection to Minoru, Raymond grinned.
“Instead of observing the affairs of states and the world as a whole, I would rather like to see what future awaits you.“
Minoru's eyes widened when he heard these unexpected words from Raymond.
“You two... how could I put it better... so romantic. You want to watch more than any pair of films. In truth, I’m even envious.“
“...“
“So I want to know how your story ends. And I want this story to have a happy ending.“
Raymond smiled shyly.
“Minoru, in order to eventually arrive at a happy ending, you must escape now.”
“Raymond...“
Raymond, who organized the second coming of the Parasites into this world by skillfully manipulating false information.
And Minoru, casting aside his humanity, killing his beloved grandfather, and causing a lot of chaos.
Despite such a backstory from these two, an atmosphere of kindness and understanding has now developed between them.
... However, in this world there is not only kindness.
“That would be problematic.“
Minoru and Raymond spun around at that voice and the sound of a door swinging open.
They were so carried away with their conversation that their attention didn't notice anything but themselves.
Therefore, they had the imprudence not to notice the approach of their fellow parasite.
They turned to see Zoe Spica holding up the index finger of her right hand.
Blood spurted.
“Minoru!“
The “Molecular Divider Javelin” pierced Minoru’s chest at the very moment the door opened.
“The wound is non-fatal.”
“What are you...!?“
Spica looked coldly at Raymond, who had faltered.
“Be silent.“
“...!“
“We must not allow damage to the States. You t-->>