Volume 31 - CH 8(4/4)
This CAD only allowed the selection of one type of magic.
The aiming processes were handled by the machine.
In order to reduce the burden on the caster, this magic didn’t include the process of specifying its range . The Area of Effect of this magic ?was a circular region centered at the targeted ?area with a radius depending on the amount of applied Interference Strength.
Miyuki was only required to choose how much power to release with this magic.
Since it was her first time to actually use it, she decided to use 80% of her power for casting this magic. With the exception of the magic ‘Cocytus’, which freezes the soul, she rarely resorted to unlocking as much as 80% of her maximum Interference Strength.
The Magic Sequence construction was completed and the first of these sequences of magic ‘hit’ the target. That was definitely the response Miyuki felt.
The magic effect didn’t show up immediately. The modified phenomenon distorted reality approximately 0.8 seconds after the magic was activated. This was rather slow, given that the average standard of magic activation speed was 0.5 seconds.
However, none of the people watching the main screen in the command room could afford the extra thought. All of them simply held their breath at the scene unfolding on the screen.
An icy surface.
An endless ice field that filled the entire screen.
Appearing in the mid-summer sea, it wasn’t even a frozen island, but a land [25] ?of ice.
The land of ice, which imprisoned the ‘Hull’ destroyer in its center, had grown in an instant to a radius of 10 kilometers. The area turned out to be visibly larger than even Miyakijima.
‘Glacial Age’, was ?the new magic created by Tatsuya exclusively for Miyuki.
As the name implies, it plunged the world not just into an Arctic winter, but into an ice age. Its power was too much for just one destroyer, either way you look at it.
This magic was more suitable for imprisoning a large fleet.
[It was] Magic capable of rendering a big armada immobile with one hit .
Magic capable of destroying naval forces the size of an entire fleet with one application is called ‘Strategic-Class Magic’. But if in this definition, the word ‘destroying’ is replaced by the word ‘neutralizing’, would such magic be considered Strategic-Class, or not..?
Having recovered from the shock caused by the scene that filled the main screen, the command room staff turned their awestruck gazes to Miyuki sitting in the innermost part of this room.
Miyuki, the only person here who kept a calm state of mind, misunderstood all those gazes as awaiting further orders.
“Please display on the main screen the destroyer, which is 30 kilometers to the west.”
“Y-yes.”
Following Miyuki’s order, the staff member in charge of the Enemy Search System turned in a hurry to the console and made some manipulations on it.
The island of ice, which imprisoned the ‘Ross’ destroyer, had a radius of 5 kilometers, while the amphibious assault ship ‘Guam’ got captured into an ice field with a radius of 1 kilometer. Seemingly, at the third attempt Miyuki was finally able to adjust the power ?to some degree.
In less than a minute, the USNA naval forces involved in this surprise attack were completely suppressed.
(This was predictable to some extent, but.. this is definitely at the Strategic-Class level. Moreover, the scale is even larger compared to the original version..)
Looking at the ‘Glacial Age’ cast by Miyuki, Tatsuya mentally ‘grabbed his head’.
The original, which Tatsuya recalled for comparison, was Bezobrazov’s ‘Tuman Bomba’.
To be more precise, it was a monologue comparing the scale of ‘Chain Casting’ utilized in ‘Tuman Bomba’ with the scale of ‘Chain Casting’ proliferating [26] the magical sequences of Miyuki’s ‘Glacial Age’.
( In my version, the magic power doesn’t dissipate pointlessly, but in the end, it’s Bezobrazov who created the Chain Deployment System for Magic Sequences . So that man should have definitely noticed that ‘Glacial Age’ uses his ‘Chain Casting’.)
And without doubt he will realize that Miyuki’s ‘Glacial Age’ is superior to his ‘Tuman Bomba’ in terms of the proliferation scale of Magic Sequences.
(Since he is a man with such an inflated pride.. I just hope this doesn’t cause him to enter into yet another annoying rivalry.)
Despite such thoughts, somewhere in the depths of Tatsuya’s consciousness was the belief that Bezobrazov would certainly intervene in this battle.
(Again! Stolen again!)
Just as Tatsuya thought, Bezobrazov sensed the invocation of ‘Glacial Age’. However, the reason for his anger was a little different from what Tatsuya thought. Bezobrazov was angered because the new spell ?used a part of ‘Tuman Bomba’ ? the magic created by himself.
For Bezobrazov, the Chain Deployment System for Magic Sequences, which Tatsuya (privately) called ‘Chain Casting’, was exclusively part of his ‘Tuman Bomba’, and not an independent technique. For him, Ichijou Masaki’s ‘Ocean Blast’ and Miyuki’s ‘Glacial Age’ were nothing more than plagiarism of the processes that form his ‘Tuman Bomba’.
Magic created for military application is never open to the public, so there are no intellectual property rights like a patent right. Even if the process of the magic or some part of it was misappropriated, it wouldn’t be possible to claim infringement of rights.
But emotions are another matter entirely.
When you have no legally protected rights, you’re not pleased when someone makes use of your original [technique] ?without permission. Especially when the person who used something of yours without permission is your hated enemy.
Bezobrazov had already planned since the start - July 30 th - to intervene in Edward Clark’s sneak attack on Miyakijima. Well, a more appropriate expression would be ?take advantage of? rather than ?intervene in?.
Merely shooting at Tatsuya with magic won’t work against him, no matter how unexpectedly it is done . Even though it kind ?of offended him to admit, but one can’t turn away from the facts. His pride wouldn’t allow him to be defeated again. Bezobrazov was full of determination to kill Shiba Tatsuya ? this time for sure.
Bezobrazov speculated that his sudden attacks didn’t work because Tatsuya had memorized the waves emanating from his magic. It wasn’t Shiba Tatsuya who defended against the first strike he launched at Izu. However, starting from the second strike, he suffered a painful counterattack even before the completion of ‘Tuman Bomba’. Bezobrazov believed that when ?magic was activated, magicians emit something like individual waveforms that are unique to them , and Shiba Tatsuya is able to distinguish between them.
In that case, will it be possible to terminate Shiba Tatsuya if someone creates a situation where he won’t be able to detect a surprise attack? Since there will be a shootout with powerful magic on the battlefield, where it will be necessary to urgently respond to something else .
That was the conclusion made by Bezobrazov. Following this ?line of thinking, he was watching like a hawk for the right opportunity.
And just at that time, large-scale magic was activated using the ‘Tuman Bomba’ technique. Bezobrazov, although feeling furious anger, mentally shouted ?this is a chance!?
Bezobrazov requested the General Staff to execute the previously prepared plan.
Following the order received from the East Siberian Army Headquarters, a hyper-sonic missile was launched from the Birobidzhan missile base, located 150 kilometers west of Khabarovsk. The target was Miyakijima. With its speed exceeding Mach 20, there were less than 5 minutes before impact.
The Japanese Self-Defense Forces detected the launch of the missile, but as soon as the expected landing point was determined, they canceled the interception. Even with modern technologies, the chance of succeeding in shooting down a hyper-sonic missile is about 50%. When it was identified that the missile wouldn’t fall on Honshu [the Main Island], the Self-Defense Forces calculated that it would be more profitable not to shoot it down, but to let it fall in territorial waters and then use it in diplomatic negotiations.
Three minutes after the Birobidzhan missile base launched a hyper-sonic missile, the ‘Kutuzov’, which was lurking underwater 40 kilometers south of Miyakijima, surfaced to a depth of 50 meters and launched several Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs) one after another.
The ‘Kutuzov’ was the most-advanced missile submarine of the New Soviet Union. It could launch missiles from a deeper depth as well, but in this case, it was decided to launch from a shallow depth and at close range, prioritizing reliability over stealth.
Six missiles were launched in total. They ultimately accelerated to Mach 2 and there was about a minute and half left before impact with the west coast of Miyakijima.
Tatsuya constantly allocated half of the capacity of ‘Elemental Sight’ to monitor any threats approaching Miyuki . He always watched for the appearance of physical phenomena and signs of magic capable of harming Miyuki. Since he cannot foresee the future, remotely activated magic that can instantly overcome long distances and suddenly appear right next to the target can only be detected shortly before its activation. However, if it’s an object or phenomenon moving in physical space, Tatsuya is able to detect it with a high degree of reliability almost in the moment that it begins to move towards Miyuki.
Even now, Tatsuya recognized the hyper-sonic missiles at the Birobidzhan base and the SLBMs from the ‘Kutuzov’ at the moment they were launched. He didn’t destroy the missiles targeting Miyakijima immediately after they launched because he had the feeling that he should wait until the very last moment.
It was merely an intuition, with no concrete basis. Although it was a gamble, he had a certain confidence that he could manage to take care of everything in time ?? even if it would be at the last moment.
Besides, there wasn’t much time left to say that ? he should wait ?.
Missiles approached the airspace of the island.
(I think that’s the limit.)
Without taking his Silver Horn out of the holster, Tatsuya used the thought-operated CAD built-in his combat suit to activate ‘Decomposition’.
Since he was empty-handed, there was no need for visual aiming. So he aimed using only his magical perception.
First, the six SLBMs were decomposed down to the level of their ?chemical elements.
Then, he immediately aimed his magic at the hyper-sonic missile. It was difficult to track such a missile with the conventional Weapons Interception Systems, but for Tatsuya, it was no different from stationary targets because he aimed at its information.
Like the previous SLBMs, this missile wasn’t nuclear.
There were no chemical or biological agents, and there weren’t any ‘non-nuclear’ harmful chemical elements in them either.
All missiles that targeted Miyakijima were decomposed into tiny pieces on the level close to the Buddhist concept of ‘minutest particles’.
With the assistance of the stationary large CAD located in Khabarovsk, which was designed to activate ‘Tuman Bomba’, Bezobrazov sensed Tatsuya’s magic being released in the sky above Miyakijima.
That magic had an extremely strong Interference Strength that broke down the SLBMs to the level close to molecules without leaving any fragments.
(Good, everything is going according to my calculations!)
When someone has just used magic that distorts reality so much, even if it was their own magic, it will be difficult for some time for them to recognize other magic.
This was a common consideration among present-day magic researchers, including Bezobrazov.
(The effect of the large-scale magic that froze the USNA warships should still remain.)
(This is my chance!)
Those thoughts raced through Bezobrazov’s mind immediately after the destruction of the missiles fired from the submarine ‘Kutuzov’ and a moment before the destruction of the missile fired from the Birobidzhan base.
Preparations for the activation of ‘Tuman Bomba’ were already completed.
(Die!)
Bezobrazov casted ‘Tuman Bomba’ at the same moment that Tatsuya’s magic finished destroying the hyper-sonic missile.
At the same time as he was ?casting ?‘Decomposition’ aimed at the hyper-sonic missile, Tatsuya sensed signs of magic that hadn’t been activated yet and pulled his Silver Horn out of its holster with his right hand.
In one motion, he raised his right hand directly above his head, pointing the large gun-shaped CAD into the sky, and pulled the trigger.
‘Tuman Bomba’ is an aggregation of a myriad of Magic Sequences. Moreover, each of those Magic Sequences is slightly different, so they can’t be grouped together and decomposed at once. Even if Tatsuya erases part of them with ‘Gram Dispersion’, the remaining countless Magic Sequences will still be activated independently of it. Simply put, it would be like lowering the power from 100% to 99%.
However, in the Chain Deployment System for Magic Sequences, which Tatsuya named ‘Chain Casting’, the entire process starts with a single Magic Sequence. Before the chain starts deploying, ‘Tuman Bomba’ can be completely neutralized by destroying the first Magic Sequence, which can be called the ‘master copy’. Tatsuya already obtained the structure of the Magic Sequence to be decomposed in the previous confrontation with Bezobrazov. So if he knew the coordinates where the first Magic Sequence would appear, before the magic is ‘unleashed’, he could nullify it.
For example, like now.
- ‘Tuman Bomba’, activation.
- ‘Gram Dispersion’, activation.
Copying the Magic Sequence and arranging the position of this copy in adjacent coordinates [27] .
Before that process was completed, Tatsuya’s magic for Information Bodies Decomposition decomposed the Magic Sequence ?of the ‘master copy’ [or the first Magic Sequence at the beginning of unfolding chain] for the entire process of arranging .
With this, Bezobrazov’s ‘Tuman Bomba’ was completely blocked by Tatsuya.
(Still not activated..?)
(Or was ‘Tuman Bomba’ just canceled ?)
Bezobrazov was severely shaken because there was no longer any response from the ‘Tuman Bomba’, which had definitely been activated.
(Impossible! How can this be!?)
(Did he separately destroy several thousands of Magic Sequences?)
(It’s impossible. No human has the processing power to do that!)
(What kind of trick did he use?)
(Did he create a virus for destroying the Magic Sequences with high speed?)
One might say that this magic was the meaning of Bezobrazov’s existence, and after its misfire, his consciousness was completely absorbed in this issue.
His emotions were saying ?I can’t believe it? and ?I don’t want to believe it?, while his pride as a scientist retorted ?You can’t just escape from reality?.
Bezobrazov found himself trapped in that dilemma .
The only thing that Bezobrazov could do to come to terms with his emotions and pride was to convince himself by giving a scientific explanation for the failure to activate ‘Tuman Bomba’.
Therefore, he didn’t notice.
That he had already been caught in the sight of someone else’s magic.
The muzzle was already pointed at his heart, and right at that moment ? the trigger was already being pulled.
In late June, when Bezobrazov attempted an attack on First High School, during school hours, Tatsuya was able to acquire ‘personal information’ about this Soviet magician.
When Tatsuya was six years old, he became the subject of an experiment in an attempt to create an artificial magician by his biological mother . ?As a side effect of the Mental Design Interference carried out during that experiment, Tatsuya completely stopped forgetting anything. In fact, this can’t really be called something good, but since then, Tatsuya has been able to freely extract accurate data from his memory ? regardless of its complexity or quantity.
From Bezobrazov’s ‘personal information’ , Tatsuya located him in a laboratory ?at the Khabarovsk’s Institute of Science. He wouldn’t have been able to find Bezobrazov so easily ?if he hadn’t remembered everything about ?the attack two months ago . Of course, he could have located ?Bezobrazov by using the remains of ‘Tuman Bomba’ still floating in the Information Dimension to search , but he wouldn’t have found the location in such a short time.
While searching, he probably could even have been struck by a second or third wave of missiles . Since there was a high probability that while he was engaged in the search, he wouldn’t have the mental resources left to detect the missiles and deal with them.
Bezobrazov was sitting inside a box shaped CAD that looked like a railway container, which was located inside a building resembling a small astronomical observatory.
This CAD had simpler construction than what Tatsuya ‘saw’ last time, but they had similar basic functions.
Last time, Tatsuya limited himself to only inflicting damage on Bezobrazov’s mind by destroying his CAD while he was connected to it. This was done to keep the world’s military balance intact.
But now, he wasn’t going to be so condescending anymore.
Although doing that could lead to a harsher future, but for his own sake, and for the sake of Miyuki, he had to sever all the threads of fate leading to Bezobrazov.
Now that ?Tatsuya was so determined & resolute.
(Obtaining information on the state of the magical defense of the laboratory.)
(Obtaining information about Bezobrazov’s magical defense.. his ?personal Zone Interference is absent.)
He returned the CAD to the holster and turned his right arm north-northwest ? in the direction of Bezobrazov. He did so because, based on the results of the observation, ?the thought-operated CAD which was built into his combat suit was more suitable than the Silver Horn for his next attack .
Tatsuya tightly clenched his extended right hand into a fist.
(Construction of the Magic Sequence for Zone Interference decomposition.. completed.)
He extended the index finger from his right hand that was clenched into a fist — as if counting ?One?.
Over the distance of approximately 1,700 kilometers, the magic which decomposes Information Bodies was activated.
The Zone Interference field surrounding Bezobrazov’s laboratory disappeared.
(Construction of the Magic Sequence for Data Fortification decomposition.. completed.)
In addition to the index finger, he now extended his middle finger.
The magic of Data Fortification neutralization was activated. All structural materials of the laboratory’s roof and walls became open to magical attacks.
(Construction of the Magic Sequence for the building’s Information Structure decomposition.. completed.)
He stretched out his third finger ? the ring finger.
The decomposition magic of matter was activated and the laboratory in the form of an observatory, located 1,700 kilometers from here, disappeared without a trace ? turning into a cloud of dust.
(Construction of the Magic Sequence for the CAD’s Information Structure decomposition.. completed.)
The fourth finger was stretched out ? the pinky finger.
The decomposition magic of matter was activated. The large CAD in which Bezobrazov was located turned into dust, without a trace, just like the laboratory.
(Construction of the Magic Sequence for personal Data Fortification decomposition.)
With this, Tatsuya extended his thumb. Now all five fingers on his right hand were extended.
After the magic of Information Bodies decomposition was activated, the Data Fortification that protected Bezobrazov’s whole body was removed.
(Construction of the Magic Sequence for decomposition of the human body’s Information Structure.. completed.)
Tatsuya clenched his right hand into a fist again , as if squeezing something invisible.
‘Mist Dispersion’ hit Bezobrazov’s unprotected body.
The magic defense of Bezobrazov’s personal laboratory suddenly disappeared.
All of the structural materials of the laboratory’s roof and walls, furniture and equipment, the entire interior ?? everything crumbled, turning into sand.
The large CAD where he was located (including the case, console, and electronic equipment) lost its shape and crumbled in the same way.
Only at that moment Bezobrazov finally realized the situation. However, immediately after the realization, he was forcefully cut off from the connection with the functioning CAD, which caused a severe blow to his mind.
Perhaps, he could be considered lucky because he avoided the sense of agony and despair after his consciousness became blurry.
Bezobrazov’s contour became blurry along with his clothes. The shape of his body got distorted, its colors faded and scattered. The next moment he disappeared from this world in a flash of a barely noticeable passing flame.
Even after Bezobrazov was erased from this world , the battle still wasn’t over. There were still Parasites on the island that should be ‘cleaned up’, but for Tatsuya, the missile base and submarine of the New Soviet Union, which launched missiles at the island, had higher priority. Without Tatsuya, it would be extremely difficult to counter them all.
?Abandoning the counterattack? wasn’t an option. Giving up and accepting the situation ?would only invite further attacks. The only one who protects your dignity is yourself. That’s the same whether for individuals or nations.
Tatsuya once again took out his Silver Horn. Unless it was an opponent with extremely strong magic power such as Bezobrazov, ?long-distance magic sniping is easier to do by aiming and forming images with a gun-shaped CAD .
Tatsuya turned back to the south. Based on the trajectory of the SLBMs, it was clear that the submarine was hiding underwater south of the island. No more than five minutes had passed since it launched the missiles. It shouldn’t have moved far.
(..Boat’s name ‘Kutuzov’. Located forty kilometers south of Miyakijima, at a depth of fifty meters. Currently not moving.)
The submarine ‘Kutuzov’ didn’t move from the missiles’ launch point. Probably as Tatsuya worried, they’d planned to launch a second wave of missiles, or maybe they were ordered to observe the battle’s outcome.. In any case, it was convenient for Tatsuya that the submarine stayed in the contiguous zone [28] .
(Receiving information about the submarine’s structure.)
Tatsuya analyzed the structure of the submarine, paying particular attention to the design of the propulsion system.
‘Kutuzov’ was propelled by non-electromagnetic type pump-jets . Modern military vessels use mostly electromagnetic propulsion engines, perhaps the non-electromagnetic type were used here as a countermeasure against magnetic detection systems.
Regardless of the reason, a propulsion system with lots of moving mechanical parts was much better for Tatsuya.
Allowing him to choose a specific method of destruction.
(Decomposition level, dismantling into ‘interchangeable parts’.)
Among all the variations of decomposition magic, dismantling something into parts that were made interchangeable from the very beginning was the easiest and least burdensome.
Tatsuya pulled the trigger on his Silver Horn.
This inflicted massive damage to the ‘Kutuzov’ propulsion systems. Although it didn’t cause fatal damage to the hull of the submarine, underwater repair was impossible.
Unless something was done, they would be stuck underwater. The ‘Kutuzov’ didn’t have a nuclear reactor onboard, so it didn’t have any equipment for producing oxygen from sea water. Sooner or later, oxygen reserves will run out and the crew will die.
The ‘Kutuzov’ had no other choice but to surface.
Next, Tatsuya destroyed all the missile launchers in the submarine, just in case. But the word ?destroyed? didn’t mean that he blew them up or took them apart. He just cut the wires to the hatches opening & closing mechanism.
Thus, there was no longer any need to worry about attacks with SLBMs.
Without waiting for the ‘Kutuzov’ to surface, Tatsuya turned toward the opposite direction.
He aimed his Silver Horn at the Birobidzhan missile base over 1,700 kilometers north-northwest from here, and 150 kilometers west of Khabarovsk.
(Reverse tracing of the missile’s information.)
Using ‘Elemental Sight’, he traced back in time the information about the recently decomposed hyper-sonic missile.
In an instant he traced the missile’s trajectory, which had traveled for 5 minutes at a maximum speed of mach 20, and reached the underground missile silo where the missile was launched from.
From there, he expanded his ‘field of vision’ horizontally.
The image that appeared in Tatsuya’s mind looked like aerial footage, allowing him to see through the ground (like an X-ray).
(Visually confirmed 6 unmanned missile silos underground.)
There were six underground missile silos at Birobidzhan missile base, which was surprisingly few. Perhaps there were many such bases scattered throughout the vast territory of the country , ready to attack an enemy. It seemed that instead of preventing the neutralization of missiles prior to launch by using mobile launchers, the idea of geographical distribution of stationary launchers was put into practice. It was a luxury that only a large country with excessive territories can afford.
Even if he destroyed this base, there was a possibility that the next attack would come from another base. However, he would think about ?that if it really happens . The current situation was where he should pull the trigger to send a warning to the enemy.
(Targeting - 6 underground missile silos.)
There was also a missile control facility underground, but this time he didn’t target any manned facilities.
This was done to avoid escalating the situation. Tatsuya judged that this will be enough to achieve his objective.
(‘Mist Dispersion’, activate.)
Tatsuya released magic that decomposes matter down to the level of chemical elements.
Six underground silos simultaneously exploded near Birobidzhan, located 1,700 kilometers away, and the reason was obviously not the missiles’ self-destruction.
None of the people present at the site understood that these explosions were caused by an increase in pressure resulting from the instant evaporation of all solids: heavy metals, synthetic polymers, chemical elements in compound semiconductors, multilayered plywood partitions, artificial stone, and so on.
The rising pillars of dust looked just like a volcanic eruption without the fire.