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Chapter 8

August 4 th ?2097 AD.

This day, the world was reminded of magic’s power once again.

The power, with which one magician can overwhelm even a large country.

August 4 th 8 AM.

The amphibious assault ship ‘Guam’ crossed a line 24 nautical miles from the coast of Miyakijima. ‘Guam’ then continued sailing to the west. One of two accompanying destroyers ? ‘Hull’ ? reduced its speed, while the second one ? ‘Ross’ ? sped up and changed direction to the southwest.

The Japanese Self-Defense Forces, who identified these two destroyers as the amphibious assault ship’s escort, were confused by that change. Someone even wondered if it was ?just their misunderstanding that the USNA’s ships intended ?to attack Miyakijima.

While the Self-Defense Forces were in a state of confusion, the owner’s of Miyakijima (the Yotsuba family) weren’t confused.

8:20 AM. On Miyakijima’s west coast, at the former ‘monitoring facility’ that had prevented felony magicians from escaping and has now been converted into a command room for the private security on the island, an officer at this command post responsible for monitoring the sea reported in a tense voice :

“‘Guam’ will enter into our ?territorial waters soon. At their current speed it’ll take them about 5 minutes.”

“The intercepting squad is ready for battle.” ? Reported through radio by Tsutsumi Kanata, guardian of Shibata Katsushige, who was tasked with command of the defense by Maya.

“Kanata, calm down a little. The sortie begins only after the opponent makes their first move .”

Katsushige felt Kanata’s impatience in his voice from the speakers and reminded the latter to not make a false start.

“I know, Master. I haven’t forgotten that we need a justification for our self-defense against an attack.”

Kanata’s tone used for the pronunciation of ?master? sounded in no way serious, like summoning some keeper of a coffee-shop, but there was no doubt about his loyalty to Katsushige. So instead of repeating the warning, Katsushige turned his eyes toward the main screen, which extended over the entire wall in front of him.

There was no window in this command room. The main screen, which usually showed the outside view, was now displaying a variety of information about the island’s surroundings. Katsushige now stared at the displayed USNA warships data with concentration from above his multi-function Commander’s Seat.

“‘Guam’ has slowed down.”

After reading this on the main screen at the same time as the operator’s report, Katsushige manipulated the intercom built into the Commander’s Seat.

“Tatsuya-kun, the enemy ships have made their move. Could you come to the command room with Miyuki-san?” ? Katsushige said over the intercom.

Parting with Tatsuya after breakfast, Miyuki led Minami, Erika, Leo, and Mikihiko to a shelter located on the underground floor of the residential building.

Even though it was called an ?underground shelter?, it was as spacious and well-maintained as the above-ground floors. The room was equipped with 4 large-scale displays showing the entire territory of the island. With the presence of all kinds of amenities for a comfortable stay, this shelter was even better than any of the guest rooms above.

As for now, nothing unusual has been seen on the island.

The only difference from usual was that civilians (who weren’t combat personnel of the Yotsuba family) were evacuated from the plant construction site located on the east coast.

But today was Sunday, when the plant construction and test operations were stopped anyway.

However, there were dispatched reinforcement combatants in place of the evacuated scientists and engineers. Actually, there were more people than usual.

The USNA warships weren’t in sight yet. The cameras available from the shelter only showed the coast with some limited range. Specifically, its [cameras’] perspective was limited by the skyline 8 kilometers off the shore and 5 meters above sea level. Meaning, the territorial waters’ borderline, located 12 nautical miles (?22 kilometers) off shore, wasn’t in the field of view of the cameras.

Although the image from the cameras cannot be called ‘peaceful’, it hasn’t escalated the feeling of tension yet. That was probably why Erika got bored, took her eyes off from the display, and turned to Miyuki.

“How close are the enemy ships?”

“Minami-chan, do you know?”

Miyuki redirected Erika’s inquiry to Minami.

“..Three kilometers from our ?territorial waters.”

Minami wasn’t sitting on a chair, but standing before a console for centralized control of all equipment in this room. Using a keyboard on the information terminal, she received a response from the Military Affairs Information System located in the command room. It wasn’t possible to make that kind of search ?from rooms for civilian accommodation in this ?shelter. It was only possible because this place ?was intended as a VIP room used by the next head of the family.

“Three kilometers from our territorial waters means to the coast. It’s about.. umm..”

“It’s about twenty-five kilometers, Saijou-senpai.” ? Minami politely answered after Leo invited himself into the conversation.

“Twenty-five kilometers. It’s still outside the launchers range.”

By ‘launchers’ Leo meant ‘Fleming Launchers’ that had been used as a warships’ main weapon for ground bombardment during the previous war. ‘Fleming Launchers’ are able to launch large bombs using an electromagnetic launching mechanism, which commonly have a range of 20 kilometers.

“But it’s in range to use missiles, if they have them.”

This time, Mikihiko responded to Leo’s line.

“If they aren’t shooting yet, it means they’re planning on landing. Sakurai-san, what type of ship is approaching ? destroyer or landing?”

Minami glanced at Miyuki.

Receiving a confirmative nod from Miyuki, Minami answered Mikihiko’s question with: “It’s an amphibious assault ship”.

“I see, it’s indeed a landing operation. Instead of indiscriminate bombing , they’re specifically targeting Tatsuya.”

Hearing Mikihiko’s guess, Erika snorted as if to mock them.

“Anyway, they’ll switch to indiscriminate bombardment soon. As if they would succeed with assassinating Tatsuya.”

No one objected to her. Leo and Mikihiko made a nod with convinced faces. While Miyuki showed only an inhumanely beautiful smile .

The conversation ended here. As if waiting for a lull in the conversation, the door of the room opened suddenly.

“Tatsuya-sama.”

Miyuki, who had stood up even before the three-fold sliding door had fully opened, welcomed Tatsuya with a polite bow. Minami, who was slightly late, also hurried to give him a bow .

No one there was surprised at Miyuki’s quick reaction. Even if it seemed so mysterious or irrational coming from another persons’ perspective, for Tatsuya and Miyuki’s friends , it wasn’t so surprising anymore .

Erika, Leo, and Mikihiko were already accustomed to this incomprehensible ability to detect each other. Even through the door, that was made of gamma-ray shielding alloy covered by synthetic polymers that had a neutron shielding .

“Miyuki, Katsushige-san is calling. Come with me.”

Tatsuya didn’t even look at his friends and addressed only ?Miyuki, but none of them complained. This was because there was an atmosphere around Tatsuya, as if forcing it to be taken for granted.

Tatsuya was wearing an ultramarine blue colored ?flight armor suit, which at first glance could easily be mistaken for black. This was another version of the ‘Freed Suit’ developed by the Yotsuba family. This suit, along with a helmet, covered the entire body in armor, and now only the face shield of his helmet was raised.

The ‘Freed Suit’, used by Tatsuya before, could be called the ‘Civilian Version’ with a design that looked like an ‘unusual riding suit’ which one could wear even downtown and not seem suspicious.

In contrast [with the ‘Civilian Version’], now he was obviously wearing a combat suit emphasizing the armor on vital points, and there was also a handle of the melee knife exposed on one side. As opposed to the ‘Civilian Version’, it should be called the ‘Soldier Version’. This suit breaks many regulations allowed for civilians, and if the authorities caught one wearing this, they’re going to be treated as criminals. But whether the authorities would be able to arrest him or not is ?another question.

As this appearance clearly indicated that the battle was approaching, Erika and the others naturally thought that Tatsuya came to get Miyuki for something related to intercepting the enemy.

“Erika, Leo, and Mikihiko.”

However, Tatsuya didn’t forget or ignore those three.

“You guys stay here. If there’s something you want, Minami will take care of it for you. Don’t rush out into battle with the enemy.”

After Tatsuya made his statement loud and clear, Erika and Leo just shrugged their shoulders. Their reaction was equal to the confession ?don’t expect us to be obedient?.

“Mikihiko. Keep an eye on them for me.”

“Ah, yeah. I understand.”

After putting pressure on Mikihiko , Tatsuya left the room with Miyuki.

Mikihiko was the one forced to take responsibility in this situation solely because of the character traits of the 3 of them.

When Tatsuya entered the command room, Katsushige was changing out of his summer blazer and into a combat jacket (which had bulletproof, blade-proof, resistant to chemical weapons, and explosion-proof functions).

Katsushige’s trousers were made from the same material. It was similar to a flight armor suit, but in contrast to Tatsuya’s one-piece jumpsuit-type, it consisted of two parts. Both of its parts were pressed down by the jacket’s elastic belt, providing some airtightness, though not with the efficiency of the ‘Freed Suit’ or military Mobile Suit.

Nevertheless, it had the functionality needed for high-speed movements during short distances. It was sufficient for Katsushige who, unlike Tatsuya, was able to protect himself with magic alone.

“Sorry I made you wait.”

After locking up the belt and zipping the jacket’s collar, Katsushige turned around and replied:

“No, I’m sorry for suddenly calling you while [dressed] like this.”

With this, the greeting was over.

“Actually, the amphibious assault ship ‘Guam’ stopped just before it entered territorial waters.”

They refrained from such unproductive things like ‘competing for an apology’ and immediately proceeded to the main topic.

“I’d like to hear your opinion about the enemy’s intention.”

“Please tell me about the destroyers’ status.”

Tatsuya asked back instead of answering Katsushige’s question.

“The destroyer ‘Hull’ stopped about thirty kilometers east off the island, while ‘Ross’ is heading west at around fifty knots alongside the island’s southern border.”

“‘Guam’ seems to be waiting for ‘Ross’ to get into position.”

Upon hearing Katsushige’s answer, Tatsuya immediately expressed what he thought Katsushige would say next .

“Are they going to do a pinch attack with the two destroyers from east and west? But ‘Ross’ and ‘Hull’ are just naval melee escort ships mainly equipped with anti-aircraft and anti-submarine weaponry. They may have some missiles loaded which can be used for bombardment, but considering its capacity, there won’t be many. Unless they are going to use nuclear missiles.. Are they planning to launch a nuclear attack?”

“They very likely won’t use nuclear missiles. I don’t think that the USNA government would turn a blind eye to it.”

Tatsuya’s answer had another meaning.

Katsushige didn’t miss it.

“..Are you saying that the enemy is prepared to use large-scale magic that is comparable to a nuclear attack?”

“It’s just a guess.”

“Even if it’s so, it doesn’t mean that we can sink them with a preemptive strike.”

“Miyuki and I will be preparing for long-range magic attacks from the destroyers.”

Tatsuya glanced over his shoulder towards Miyuki.

Miyuki nodded confidently.

“Okay. I’ll leave that to Tatsuya-kun and Miyuki-san. Meanwhile, I will repel ?the landing forces at the coast, as planned. ”

After telling this to Tatsuya, Katsushige turned to Miyuki:

“Miyuki-san, please sit here.”

Saying that, Katsushige encouraged Miyuki to take the Commander’s Seat.

“Isn’t that seat entrusted to Katsushige-san from Oba-sama?”

“I got permission from the family’s head yesterday.”

“But..”

“Miyuki, just accept it thankfully. This Commander’s Seat has the functionality you need.”

Tatsuya added some advice to Miyuki who was hesitating. No, it was more like instructions rather than advice.

“If Onii-sama, that is, Tatsuya-sama, says so..”

Because of his unexpected advice, Miyuki inadvertently called Tatsuya ?Onii-sama?, but fortunately, neither Katsushige nor anyone else in the command room found this to be strange.

Right before she was going to take the Commander’s Seat, Miyuki made eye contact with Katsushige once more.

“What about Katsushige-san?”

“I’ll take command from a mobile command base on the northeast coast.”

The mobile command base that he referred to was an armored van with a built-in Tactical Data-Link System connected to the computer in the ?command room.

“With a flight device it won’t take much time to get there. Besides, it’s certainly more convenient to be near the site. ”

“I understand, please be careful.”

“Thank you.”

Katsushige left the command room with his helmet under his arm.

Miyuki sat down on the Commander’s Seat and looked up at Tatsuya standing by her side.

“Tatsuya-sama, please tell me about the functions of this seat.”

“Strictly speaking, this desk has a special function , not the seat.”

“Desk?”

Miyuki made a dubious look.

That was only to be expected. There was nothing in front of the Commander’s Seat that’s installed on a circular platform and elevated one foot higher from the surrounding floor. Miyuki’s sitting figure was now in sight of the surrounding staff from head to toe.

“It’s faster to show you rather than explain it to you.” ? Said Tatsuya and moved behind her diagonally to the right.

Miyuki followed Tatsuya with her eyes, while still having ?a dubious expression.

Tatsuya stretched his right hand over Miyuki’s shoulder toward the inner side of the right armrest.

Miyuki froze because it felt like an attempt to hug her from behind.

Tatsuya’s right hand pushed an inconspicuous button that was placed on the armrest’s inner side.

Then he removed his hand and straightened up.

Immediately after that, the wall that surrounded the back of the seat in a circular arc began to move from the left side of Miyuki to the front. After passing half of the circle and stopping before the Commander’s Seat, the wall started moving toward the seat.

Approaching a distance of 10 centimeters in front of Miyuki’s hands , the arc wall transformed into a desk, surrounding the seat in an arc from the armrests’ base on either side.

“This is..?”

Surprised with this exaggerated gimmick, Miyuki rounded her eyes.

“I honestly think they’ve been playing around too much..”

Seeing Tatsuya smile wryly, she realized that it probably wasn’t his design.

“The engineer responsible for reconstructing this room was probably a special effects maniac or something like that.”

Miyuki seemed relieved to know that Tatsuya also felt that this gimmick was strange.

“..So, what useful functions does it have?”

“Here.”

Tatsuya, who ‘escaped’ outside the moving desk, reached out and touched a button that appeared on the table from Miyuki’s right side.

The outer side of the table opened, and a mechanical ‘arm’ resembling a microphone stand extended out in front of Miyuki.

“Tatsuya-sama, what is this?”

“Miyuki, do you have the CAD that I gave you last night?”

“Of course.”

Miyuki took out a CAD in the form of a compact handgun from her purse placed on her lap.

“Insert the CAD here.”

The tip of the ‘arm’ that Tatsuya pointed to was shaped like a small pistol rack . When a gun-shaped device is inserted there, its ‘barrel’ is automatically clamped on both sides, thereby fixing it in place. The handle remains outside, so the CAD can be controlled even when it’s installed on the rack o f ?the ‘arm’.

“This arm has the function of expanding the CAD aiming assistance. If you aim the ‘muzzle’ (when the CAD is set on the arm) to any image on the main screen, the Tactical Computer in this command room will transmit data on the target’s position in a format suitable for the Activation Sequence to the CAD. Needles to say, your CAD is already compatible with this system, so it can receive and utilize the Tactical Data. While sitting here, you can freely aim at any object within a fifty kilometer radius, as if you’re seeing it with the naked eye.”

“Just like Tatsuya-sama does with ‘Elemental Sight’?”

Miyuki already realized that this system was designed specifically for her. Tatsuya who has ‘Elemental Sight’ doesn’t need such a system. Actually, Tatsuya doesn’t even need ‘Third Eye’ as an extended CAD with additional aim-assistance. With only a broadcast or satellite image, it’s enough for Tatsuya to aim at the target. One could tell that this system acted as a [technological] replacement to the process of acquiring positional information, like ‘Elemental Sight’ does.

If you are asking if other magicians with this system could imitate Tatsuya ? it would be impossible. Ordinary magicians couldn’t apply magic to any distant object or area, located 10 kilometers away, even having location data in the form of an Activation Sequence. That would require magic power comparable to the ‘Thirteen Apostles’ such as Bezobrazov of the New Soviet Union , or like the amount of magic power ?that Miyuki possesses.

“With increased performance of the Enemy Search System connected to the Tactical Computer, it’s possible to even reach the other side of the earth. As for the current system, a fifty kilometer radius is the limit.”

But who installed this system here? Miyuki didn’t think it was created based on Tatsuya’s idea ?because he’d be against making magicians part of the weapon system . ?At the very least, Tatsuya would never consider using Miyuki as a part of a weapon.

Then it was probably Maya who ordered the installation of this equipment, and to use Miyuki for military purposes..

Miyuki stopped thinking further. Who conceived all this? What are their motives? For now, it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that this system will be helpful in the upcoming battle.

Thanks to this system, Miyuki will be able to help Tatsuya.

“..I understand. I will master this system so that I can be useful to Tatsuya-sama.”

Miyuki, for the time being, decided to think about it from this perspective.

8:50 AM. ?Finally, the amphibious assault ship ‘Guam’ has started military actions. Small high-speed boats descended from the hull to the sea surface through the stern slipways ?one by one. And those were n’t landing crafts for unloading military equipment, but assault boats [20] ?intent on delivering combatants carrying weapons.

There were six such boats in total. In addition to the crew, each boat carried 50 fighters, totaling 300 people ? about two companies. This was rather small if we take into account that the ‘Guam’ was capable of delivering more than 1,000 soldiers. But given that the operation was unofficial, anyone who knew the current circumstances would applaud the fact that ?they were able to gather so many people?.

The assault boats weren’t departing sequentially, but launched simultaneously after all 6 of them were on the sea’s surface. Nevertheless, they didn’t arrange into a formation. Those boats spread out and started advancing separately toward the east coast of Miyakijima. They seemingly didn’t arrange into a formation, so as to not concentrate their attack on a narrow space, while their simultaneous start was to avoid the boats being destroyed one by one.

Even so, that was just six small boats. In theory, two companies should have enough troops to take an 8 square kilometer island. However, if they are distributed between 6 boats with a capacity of 50 people, the defending side should be able to sink them if it has 20-30 magicians capable of using long-range attack magic. Moreover, these magicians don’t necessarily have to be users of powerful magic, such as Tatsuya or Miyuki.

Even without resorting to magic, if the coastal defense ?was equipped with modern anti-naval weaponry, those boats ?wouldn’t even have time to get to the shore.

Even the captain of the landing ship ‘Guam’, who belonged to the USNA Armed Forces, had to understand that to some degree. As if to confirm this, simultaneously with the launching assault boats, unmanned attack fighters flew off the deck of the ‘Guam’.

They were about 5 meters long ? slightly larger than a small truck. For weaponry, they had only machine-guns (12.7 mm caliber ) with the size of a high-caliber sniper rifle. It would be better to call them Gun Pod Drones instead of unmanned fighters.

They had single-type jet engine and canard type clipped delta wings with winglets, while their fuselage shape were similar to HiMAT [21] ?? the unmanned experimental aircrafts from the second half of the last century.

These drones rely on a tactical philosophy of ?using quantity and mobility? for eliminating light-armored aerial forces, infantry, and unarmored vehicles. Thanks to their small size, they can be loaded in large quantities on board landing ships, which have smaller hangars than aircraft carriers. For each boat, six drones were dispatched for air support. Plus eight drones were left circling above the ‘Guam’ as its guard.

Shibata Katsushige, who took position in a hollow on the other side of a hill along the coastal road, and kept track of the enemy’s movements in real time through an information link between the command vehicle and the command room.

The enemy’s assault boats penetrated deep into territorial waters, and were visible from the coastline even with the naked eye.

“Don’t attack yet.”

However, Katsushige has not yet given permission for interception. At this point, the only concrete measures taken against the invasion were the landing-obstruction fences installed last night along all of the possible landing sites. In less then one evening, they were able to construct a sturdy fence on par with the one installed along the national border against illegal immigration. This was only possible ?thanks to the convenient technology called magic, which in principle allowed them ?to make more preparations, but no aggressive measures, such as the installation of naval mines, were taken. So far, the Yotsuba family has avoided actions violating Japanese domestic laws.

There were blocks of wave-breakers piled up on the north and east coasts of the island. Military boats, used for amphibious landing, could overcome such obstacles, but the price for breaking through them would be very high. The first assault boats that reached the island were heading toward areas without wave-breakers, which could be called the logical choice.

Since their choice was logical, it was also natural to be vigilant of their opponent being prepared [with a welcoming party].

Actually, there was only sturdy fencing installed along the waterfront. There were no aggressive actions taken, like: hidden mines or turrets, or applying lethal-level, high-voltage current to the fencing.

However, the overly cautious enemy fired at the fencing with a grenade launcher even before approaching the shore. And it wasn’t a single shot, but a simultaneous salvo of ten grenade launchers.

The fence had been severely damaged.

The attack was so redundant that even the warehouse building near the coast was damaged.

The incident was a clear action of sabotage to private property.

“?Start the counterattack.”

After confirming the damage, Katsushige gave his subordinates permission to open the battle in a calm and collected voice.

There weren’t only Parasites among ?the soldiers sent from the ‘Guam’ landing ship.

Edward Clark promised in a secret talk with the Secretary of Defense that he ?will not use humans with USNA nationality for the next assassination operation?. At that time, Clark had intended to procure troops for the assassination from the Parasites, but at the stage of actually recruiting soldiers, the total number of Parasites turned out to be far less than he expected.

Therefore, Clark procured about 200 soldiers of foreign nationality who hoped for naturalization [in the USNA] by using the acquisition of citizenship after a successful operation as bait. Among them were even magicians, although they were low-level.

Around 90 people were the Stardust members, who themselves wished to become Parasites for the sake of prolonging their lives.

There were also nine members of the Stars, including the surviving Parasites of the Stellar-class: Captain Rigel of the Sixth Unit, Second-Lieutenant Bellatrix, and Second-Lieutenant Alnilam.

The commander of the assault boat landing party that was first to arrive on Miyakijima was Sergeant Alejandro Mimas, a Satellite-class member of the Stars born in the former Mexican territory. He was dispatched to Japan in the winter of 2096 and was seriously injured in a fight with Tatsuya. Sergeant Mimas turned into a Parasite because he wanted retaliation against Tatsuya.

This assassination operation was long-awaited for Mimas. He was one of the most active participants who signed up for this mission. Mimas’ boat was the first to reach the shore because under his pressure, the crew drove the boat extravagantly, without being distracted by caution.

It was Mimas who ordered the use of grenades against the fencing that prevented landing. He had a short temper even when he was human, but when he became a Parasite, that inclination intensified immensely .

Speaking of the effects of P arasitism : when he was a human, Mimas was a magician who mastered the heating of objects by Systematic Oscillation-type magic. Like pyrokinesis, this magic could freely heat objects in the user’s field of vision. However, it wasn’t the only magic that he could use. He also mastered the Stars’ secret magic — ‘Molecular Divider’.

However, assimilation with the Parasites altered his abilities. As observed among ?many of the Parasites, their magic skills become highly specialized in a small number of magics. In Mimas’ case, his skills were more inclined towards the magic called ‘Bio Ignition’ [22] ?a Heating-type magic.

As the name suggests, ‘Bio Ignition’ literally causes ignition of the bodies of living beings, but for some reason, has no effect on the corpses of organisms or materials derived from organisms. For example, a live tree can be burned, but coal cannot be ignited. This is another unsolved mystery of the technology called ‘Magic’.

In return, Mimas gained incomparable power in battle against humans. Besides, he was able to activate that magic with very little Interference Strength . The reason for this was probably due to the aforementioned limitations ?of this magic. With ‘Bio Ignition’, he was able to kill a superior magician, which his magic normally couldn’t penetrate because of insufficient Interference Strength.

In this situation, his ‘Bio Ignition’ wouldn’t have any effect on the artificial fencing. Although, in the landing party he commanded there were magicians with the ability to attack remote targets. However, Mimas couldn’t destroy the obstacle with his magic, so he made a hasty decision and gave the order to destroy it with conventional weapons.

“Begin landing!”

Mimas ordered as soon as the assault boat docked on shore. At the moment, he was so eager for revenge that he only looked forward. He didn’t even order the search for enemies, which he should’ve done before landing.

One by one, the soldiers began to go ashore. More precisely, it would be more correct to say ?they began to descend?, since the deck was above ground level. But in fact, most of the soldiers simply jumped from the edge of the deck to the paved surface. It seemed like Mimas’ attitude was contagious, because they didn’t show vigilance in relation to their surroundings.

Suddenly, such a heedless landing party was hit by a storm of arrows.

They didn’t rain down from above.

Short arrows about 50 centimeters long were striking like horizontal rain from one side.

There were about 30 arrows in each wave flying from the shadows of the warehouse in short intervals. The magician membe-->>

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