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Chapter 1

Local time, July 22 nd , 2097 night.

Midway base (combining a prison and supply base) fell. The Pearl and Hermes base was exterminat ed. The news that the two bases located on Northwestern Hawaiian Islands were attacked, one after the other in quick succession, shocked the White House and the Pentagon.

Thanks to the strict information control of the White House, this news was kept secret from the public. At the same time, the White House asked the Pentagon for a detailed report on the situation.

Because of that, the Pentagon ? the Department of Defense was placed in a difficult situation. As of July 23 rd , the USNA military’s General Headquarters ?still weren’t able to answer the question of who the attacker was. The Midway base answered only that they were raided by a single flying soldier, who alone destroyed all of the interception cannon turrets and took three prisoners away . ?There was no clue as to who the ‘air soldier’ was, not even a photo left behind.

The Pearl and Hermes base was in even more disastrous state, as the personnel at the base were wiped out. The soldiers who survived the sortie [2] ?only witnessed an unidentified flying object, and the only thing that can be considered a clue was the record of the communication exchange by ?the captain of the aircraft carrier ‘Shangri-La’. The voice was also subjected to advanced electronic processing because even the highest-performance computer owned by the American Army failed to restore the original voice print.

However, all of this didn’t mean that there were no assumptions about the identity of the attacker.

The combat flight suit was clearly superior in its features compared to the ‘Thrust Suit’ developed by the USNA Armed Forces. Besides, the person had high enough skills to master it perfectly . From these two facts, the USNA military had pretty much determined that the attacker’s identity was Taurus Silver ? the developer of flying magic, which was an alias for Shiba Tatsuya.

But there was no evidence. Regardless of whether there was any evidence available or not, they couldn’t just expose the fact that their two bases fell to a single attacker, not to mention that he was an eighteen year old boy.

Regardless of the criticism from the White House, ?the Pentagon couldn’t answer anything but ?the details are unknown?.

Thus, the Pentagon, which supervises the American military, decided to shelve the question about the raid on military bases in Northwestern Hawaii Islands. However, it was only natural that there were people in the USNA who couldn’t just silently observe such a situation and do nothing.

Perhaps, Edward Clark was the most impatient among them. ?He also speculated that it was Tatsuya who attacked Midway base, as well as Pearl and Hermes base. Clark interpreted those attacks as a power demonstration, carrying a warning from Tatsuya regarding the conspiracy aimed at his ‘neutralization’ (as the user of the Strategic-Class Magic, ‘Material Burst’) by force.

Clark believed that Shiba Tatsuya bragged, as if saying: ?I have the power to cause serious damage to the USNA without using Strategic-Class Magic?. Therefore, he feared that his position in the USNA will be jeopardized if there will be more people in Congress and the government considering that demonstration as a threat.

Even without considering Project Dione, he had no excuses for his secret conspiracy with Bezobrazov, who targeted Tatsuya and carried out illegal surprise attacks on the Japanese mainland.

Even though Clark was actually against Bezobrazov’s surprise attacks.

- There is only one way to survive.

- Kill Shiba Tatsuya, who has become a clear threat to the States [3] .

- At this point, it is kill or be killed.

This is how cornered Edward Clark had become.

But actually, he had cornered himself by his own actions.

Local time July 23 rd .

Clark first called William McCloud in England to discuss plans for further action . McCloud was his like-minded colleague on Project Dione from the beginning, who maintained a cooperative relationship even after their cooperation with Bezobrazov ?had ended.

McCloud was ?the most reliable partner in the so-called ? plot to eliminate the Strategic-Class Magician, Shiba Tatsuya ?. At least that’s what Clark thought. However..

(..Why? Why doesn’t he answer?)

McCloud didn’t answer Clark’s call.

The number Clark used was allocated exclusively to him, and should connect him with McCloud’s private office. ?If McCloud was in his office, he would know it’s from Clark. Even if McCloud was out of the office, he would receive ?a notification about the incoming call on his mobile terminal.

However, McCloud didn’t answer his calls for the whole day, nor did he call back . ?This only made it seem like he was being denied contact.

(Why?! What’s happened?)

Clark had even thought that he was betrayed. But even if that were the case, he couldn’t do anything about it . If you compare America and England by national power, America was clearly stronger. However, McCloud was one of the nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magicians of the ‘Thirteen Apostles’ and a key figure in the British government. Clark, on the other hand, was only a government official. Clark couldn’t incite the USNA government into putting pressure on the British government.

(As it is now, I alone have to set the Pentagon in motion.)

According to Clark’s loss-gain calculations , there was no need to convince the government to force Britain (their closest ally) to take hostile actions. A plot to eliminate the Strategic-Class magician who threatens America’s hegemony in the Western Pacific on behalf of a rival state (that being Japan) would be enough to convince the government.

(In that case, it might be necessary to reveal the existence of Hli?skjálf.. but there is no choice).

Edward Clark was one of the main developers of Echelon III ? the Army SIGINT [4] system for signal interception, wiretapping, and intelligence assessments using cryptography . And Hli?skjálf was a hacking system that used the backdoor that was left by Clark in Echelon III thanks to his position as a developer. If the existence of Hli?skjálf was revealed, Clark would likely be sentenced to life in prison for treason. There was also a strong possibility that he would be executed without trial if his brain was scanned.

But if he continues on like this, he has no future.

Clark was determined to make a deal with the government by revealing everything to them.

Local time July 24 th , afternoon.

Edward Clark arrived at the Pentagon.

He was visiting the Secretary of Defense, Liam Spencer.

He was able to get an audience with a key minister from the federal government because he was well known and highly regarded within the Department of Defense as a developer of the Echelon III system. It was also a show of confidence ?for the initiator of Project Dione, which once cornered Shiba Tatsuya ? the Strategic-Class Magician, who was the biggest problem for the American military at the moment.

After a short greeting, Clark immediately went into the main topic.

“Sir [5] . There’s no doubt that Japan’s Strategic-Class Magician, Shiba Tatsuya was responsible for the surprise attack on the two bases — Midway, as well as Pearl and Hermes.”

“ The magician responsible for ?the Great Bomb magic.. that is, ‘Material Burst’ which caused Scorching Halloween, huh? ?What is this conclusion based on?”

“I have no evidence, but circumstances indicate that it was that man’s work.”

Clark wasn’t frightened by the Secretary of Defense’s question. However, he forgot to breathe for a while after the next line from Spencer.

“Did you figure this out using your vaunted Hli?skjálf?”

“..You knew about Hli?skjálf?”

Clark was barely able to squeeze out this question.

“Edward Clark. Do not underestimate others. You’re not the only information network expert working in the Department of Defense.”

“You want to say that you knew about me, but I was overlooked?”

“I don’t know what all of you were doing specifically. It was ascertained that hacking using Hli?skjálf doesn’t cause harm to the system, so it was left as is.”

There was no need to consider whether Spencer was lying or not. He said ?all of you? rather than ?you?, which meant Secretary Spencer knew about the ‘Seven Sages’ activities.

Clark realized that he had been dancing on the government’s palm. He was overlooked because they considered that the ‘Seven Sages’ activities didn’t conflict with the USNA government’s interest. If the ‘Seven Sages’ were judged to have posed a threat to the administration at the time , all of the operators (including himself) who took hostile actions against the government would, without doubt, have been eliminated.

“So? What do you think we should do if it’s that Strategic-Class Magician who attacked the Northwestern Hawaiian islands?”

When asked about this, Clark was reminded that he wasn’t in a situation to be in shock of how ?conceited he was in the past. ?His position was in much more danger than he expected, so he had to show his usefulness.

“We should no longer hesitate to perform military action. Shiba Tatsuya is very likely staying on the island where the construction of the Stellar Furnace plant is underway. This is an opportunity.”

“Hmmm.. The Japanese government wouldn’t be silent about an attack on the capital’s suburbs, ?but the chance of success for a surprise attack on an island over a hundred kilometers offshore is not low ..”

Spencer paused for a moment.

“However.. could it succeed?”

Then, he asked such a question, piercing Clark with his sharp gaze.

Clark unconsciously gulped.

“..I understand that he’s far from an easy opponent.”

“Right. The opponent is a user of the magic which blew up more than a hundred military vessels, both large and small at the same time, including a naval base. Having numbers is practically meaningless .”

“Sir. I believe that your conclusion is a bit premature.”

Spencer raised his eyebrows as if demanding an explanation with his gaze .

As if waiting for this chance, Clark leaned forward and continued :

“Surely, attacking Shiba Tatsuya with a large fleet would be meaningless. Sending in a large formation of bombers would also make them easy prey for his magic. But that magic, ‘Material Burst’, only causes a very powerful explosion at one point. He wouldn’t be able to cope with attacks from multiple directions, all at once.”

Clark spoke with a burning passion in his voice.

Unfortunately, Spencer didn’t seem to be impressed.

“Why would you say that?”

Clark couldn’t immediately answer that question, which was asked in a cold, rather than calm voice.

“It’s just an optimistic speculation that he can’t use the Strategic-Class Magic ‘Material Burst’ in rapid succession. All we know about ‘Material Burst’ is that it converts mass into energy, ?but this is also nothing more than mere speculation based on the observed results. I guess the mass must be converted directly into energy in order for it to generate such destructive power.”

“....”

“In fact, neither the mechanism of this magic, nor its limits are known to us. Or am I wrong?”

Clark couldn’t argue with Spencer’s point.

“..But we can’t just turn a blind eye to the one who committed terror attacks against the States.”

The only thing that he could do was change the argument in this way.

“From this point of view, you are absolutely right.”

That tactic turned out to be correct.

“Nevertheless, I can’t authorize an operation that will sacrifice a large number of American officers and men ? Mr. Clark, do you understand what I mean?”

“I understand.” ? ?Clark nodded right away, but then added:

“Speaking of which, Sir. Should we also avoid non-human sacrifices ? ”

“What a strange thing to say. Mr. Clark, our military forces are made up of citizens of the States, and those who have civil rights and responsibilities as citizens of the States are all humans.”

Thus, Spencer replied in response to Clark’s question.

After finishing the meeting with the Secretary of Defense, Clark immediately flew to Brazil. After spending the night on board , in the morning of July 25 th , local time, he arrived at the Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport and then went to the USNA Embassy in Brazil. From there, he, along with the guide from the embassy, took a domestic flight to the Campo Grande International Airport in the west of the country.

He arrived at the destination, the headquarters of the Western Military Command of the Brazilian Army, at 4:00 PM local time on the same day (or at 4:00 AM on July 26 th , Japanese time).

There, Major General Filho, Chief of Staff of the Western Military Command of the Brazilian Army, and Major Miguel Diaz were waiting for Clark .

Miguel Diaz is one of the ‘Thirteen Apostles’, nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magicians, and a user of the Strategic-Class Magic, ‘Synchronized Linear Fusion’. He was the one who applied his Strategic-Class Magic against the base of armed guerrillas at the end of March this (2097) year, which triggered the series of Strategic-Class and large-scale tactical magic usage on battlefields across the world .

At that time, there was still an aversion to actually utilizing Strategic-Class Magic on battlefields. That is why, after ‘Synchronized Linear Fusion’ was utilized , the international community accused Brazil of massacring ?non-combatants. Brazil denied the accusation of committing a massacre, but they couldn’t ignore the unstoppable critique, so they’ve refrained from using ‘Synchronized Linear Fusion’ in subsequent battles.

It’s not hard to imagine that Miguel Diaz was dissatisfied with this course of events. Diaz was a regular officer of the Brazilian Army. Needless to say, the utilization ?of Strategic-Class Magic wasn’t his decision. This was the result of following orders from a superior officer. However, the Brazilian government, which was blamed by the international community, announced that Diaz will receive punishment.

Even though the punishment turned out to be just a two-week house arrest, Diaz still couldn’t agree with it. At first, the Brazilian Government had taken a firm stand in relation to the international public opinion, but as they couldn’t resis t the ever increasing criticism, they punished Diaz as an excuse. For Miguel Diaz, it was as if he was forced to bear the sole responsibility for it.

Of course, the government didn’t forget to follow up with him ?? to keep him happy ? as their valuable Strategic-Class Magician. During the time of the ‘home arrest’ h e was provided with a large sum of money as an allowance, he’d also invited his entire family to a high-class resort that was regularly visited by senior government officials. Of course, all of the costs were covered by the government. Apart from that, Diaz was provided with entertainment available only to the privileged class of politicians, which included: granting special membership in the aforementioned resort and introduction to high-end semi-legal clubs in the capital . In addition, it’s been firmly promised to him that as a military officer, he’d be promoted in rank the following year.

F rom an objective point of view, it can be said that he was provided with the maximum amount of support . Perhaps it worked, because the worst-case scenario ? Diaz’ defection from Brazil ? was avoided. However, the conflict between them ?wasn’t completely resolved.

Diaz wasn’t the only one that ?was dissatisfied. High-level officials from the government, who made concessions with lowered heads, were also hiding ill will in their hearts. In truth, what politicians actually thought about him was that ?he’s just a weapon?.

They were unable to completely conceal their contempt, even if they tried to. Those thoughts [6] of the officials strengthened Diaz’ alienation from the government . Currently, the relationship between the Brazilian government and Diaz ?was considered to be at an all time low.

There, Clark found an opening that could be taken advantage of.

“Major Diaz. My country needs your power.”

In response, ?Diaz just silently stared at Clark.

Still, Clark saw a positive response in his silent demeanor.

“We are planning a large-scale military operation against Japan.”

“Isn’t Japan your ally?”

This question of Major General Filho was a natural reaction to such an unexpected statement by Clark.

“It’s indeed as Your Excellency says, but our target is not the Japanese government or its military. It’s the terrorist who illegally attacked our military facilities.”

“The terrorist who attacked your bases is hiding in Japan, isn’t he? Does the Japanese government know that?”

Clark showed slight hesitation while answering Major General Filho’s question .

“..They probably don’t know.”

“Probably? Or did you just not ask?”

Filho showed an exaggerated surprise.

“Then the Japanese government wasn’t informed about the dispatch of your ?troops, right?”

“The Japanese government will almost certainly not respond to the request of handing the terrorist over to us, because the acts of terrorism against our military facilities were committed by ?Shiba Tatsuya, their unofficial Strategic-Class Magician.”

“Shiba Tatsuya?! As in, the one known as Taurus Silver?”

This time, the surprise from Major General Filho wasn’t feigned.

“ Is it confirmed that he committed the acts of terrorism? Besides, this is the first time that I’ve heard that he’s a Strategic-Class Magician.”

The fact of Tatsuya being a Strategic-Class Magician already became an open secret among the upper echelons of the USNA . Even in Japan, it was well known among the heads of the Ten Master Clans and their close associates.

However, this wasn’t public information. From a global perspective, most countries still didn’t know about it.

“Shiba Tatsuya is a Strategic-Class Magician who used the mass-to-energy conversion magic, ‘Material Burst’, which caused mass destruction and mass slaughter ? the event globally known as ‘Scorched Halloween’. This is reliable information.”

“Scorched Halloween.. So he’s the user of that magic? ” ? Major General Filho repeated after Clark, stunned. Meanwhile, Diaz still kept silent.

“..But I haven’t heard that your country’s bases were hit by large-scale magic. If the magic that was used in the Far East two years ago was utilized somewhere, I don’t think that you could hide it, no matter how strict the information control is in your country . ”

Clark immediately showed a bitter look after that comment from Filho.

“..Shiba Tatsuya didn’t utilize ‘Material Burst’ in this terrorist attack.”

“So, what’s the basis for concluding that the attacker was Shiba Tatsuya?”

Clark looked down to avoid eye contact with Filho.

“.. Based on the circumstances, ?there’s no doubt that he’s the perpetrator of the attack.”

“In other words, you have no evidence, right?”

Filho cornered him by asking that question.

Clark failed to answer immediately.

“ Mr. Clark . Do you plan to eliminate the Strategic-Class Magician, who’s a potential threat to your country, by exploiting the excuse ?of ?someone attacked your military bases?? So, your Project Dione was for that purpose from the start, wasn’t it?”

“Your Excellency Chief of Staf f. Isn’t that good enough?”

It was Diaz who saved Clark, who had a hard time answering.

“For an informal operation, clear justification isn’t needed. The ?sense of a threat ?is enough to send troops. Given our diplomatic relations with Japan, a secret operation will be even more convenient for us than an official request for assistance in an invasion operation . And in the worst-case scenario, everything can be reduced to my willful decision, which will minimize the damage.”

“Major, are you all right with this?”

No wonder Filho asked this question. Diaz explicitly declared that ?in the worst case scenario? he’ll take full responsibility. Filho’s question clearly showed concern for a subordinate who might fall into a desperate situation.

“My current situation isn’t much different.”

Diaz answered with careless words, ?which could be considered as criticizing the government.

“?You’re right.”

However, Filho didn’t blame Diaz.

Filho was also dissatisfied with the government’s approach to curb the international criticism of using Strategic-Class Magic by portraying him as the ‘bad guy’.

“Besides.. well, no.”

“Besides what Major? You don’t have to be reserved just because you’re in front of a guest.”

“..A magician who cannot use magic is worthless. Like I, who can’t use ‘Synchronized Linear Fusion’, am worthless. ”

“ Major, it’s not that you can’t use magic, it’s just that you’re not allowed to at the moment . ”

“ No opportunity to use it. Don’t have the ability to use it. ?The result is the same.”

“Even if you don’t use it, it’s still a deterrent. That’s the worth of strategic weapons.”

“Nevertheless, the government took into account international public opinion , ?criticizing the use of ‘Synchronized Linear Fusion’ in battle. Is this not tantamount to admitting that I can no longer use my Strategic-Class Magic? The guerrillas probably think so too.”

After the Third World War, Brazil was the only state in the South American continent that retained its political system.

In other areas, armed groups, barely taking control of small lands of several hundred square kilometers, still wage an ongoing struggle for territory. If we take, for example, the Japanese Awaji Island, which has an area of about 600 square kilometers, only about 10% of the armed groups on the South American continent have control of an area larger than this island.

The opponent whom Diaz released ‘Synchronized Linear Fusion’ against was a large armed group from that 10%. The Brazilian government didn’t recognize the opponent as a state, so calling them guerrillas wasn’t a mistake.

“Your Excellency Chief of Staff . I don’t want to sit around idling away . If North America creates an opportunity to use ‘Synchronized Linear Fusion’, I’ll be happy to oblige. My little brother definitely feels the same way.”

Major General Filho thought about Diaz’s appeal for only a short time.

“Miguel, what you say is right.”

This time, Filho called him not by his rank, but by his first name. Even so, the tone remained that of a senior speaking to his subordinate. The change in name didn’t indicate any sense of familiarity, it was likely due to other reasons.

“A demonstration on the effectiveness of ‘Synchronized Linear Fusion’ will also benefit our military . Mr. Clark .”

“Yes?”

Clark didn’t get confused because of such an abrupt change of the topic.

“How long will this unofficial operation of yours against Japan last?”

“It will be settled within a month at the longest.”

“I see.”

Filho nodded and turned his gaze again to Diaz.

“Miguel. With my authority, I give ‘Major Diaz’ a month’s vacation. Also, during this period he ?isn’t obligated to report on his location. Tell that to Antonio too.”

“I understand, Your Excellency .”

Miguel Diaz stood up and saluted Major General Filho.

The question of why they talked about ?Major Diaz? and Miguel Diaz as completely different people puzzled only Clark’s guide.

After stopping the Great Asian Union’s invasion, the New Soviet Union’s Strategic-Class Magician, Igor Andreevich Bezobrazov, remained in Khabarovsk instead of returning to Moscow.

He didn’t move from his current position in the Far East because he was looking for an opportunity to eliminate Tatsuya. Bezobrazov already made two attempts (in early and late June) to kill Tatsuya by hitting him with the Strategic-Class Magic, ‘Tuman Bomba’, ?although he failed both times. Instead , he got the opposite effect. The valuable clones that assisted ?with ?‘Tuman Bomba’ and the train-mounted large CAD, that can be called a mobile base to cast ‘Tuman Bomba’, were destroyed. Bezobrazov himself tasted full defeat, suffering serious injuries in the process . ?Due to his excessive pride, Bezobrazov was extremely obsessed with taking revenge to wash away the humiliation he has suffered due to his defeats.

In Khabarovsk, which is near Japan, Bezobrazov was collecting information about Tatsuya’s movements, but there were other reasons for choosing this place to stay rather than Vladivostok, which is closer to Japan. Khabarovsk has been the central city in the Far East of the New Soviet Union and its predecessor since the days of Tsarists Russia. In the first half of this century, that position was lost to Vladivostok for some time, but after World War III, Khabarovsk started playing the role of the eastern capital of the New Soviet Union.

Vladivostok may be faster for gathering information about Japan and the Great Asian Union, ?but speaking for the latest information gathered by the New Soviet Union all around the world, it was easier to ?obtain in Khabarovsk.

Bezobrazov wasn’t only paying attention to Japan.

To begin with, the first one who considered Tatsuya as a threat, and offered their cooperation to remove him, was Edward Clark from the USNA. Although the USNA is internally split into two factions ? those who support Shiba Tatsuya’s elimination, and those who oppose it ? Clark won’t sit idly by. Bezobrazov was sure of that.

He stayed in Khabarovsk instead of Vladivostok to quickly learn about news from both the USNA and Japan. Therefore, considering the capabilities of the New Soviet Union military intelligence, it was only natural for Bezobrazov to obtain this information on the day of July 26 th .

(Clark seems to have gone to speak to Miguel Diaz.)

Bezobrazov’s first impression of this was that Edward Clark seemed to be cornered.

(He failed to move any Strategic-Class Magicians from his homeland, so he decided to borrow a Brazilian one..?)

Bezobrazov knew that Angie Sirius had fled the USNA and was now hiding somewhere.

In addition to Sirius, the USNA also has two other nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magicians, Eliot Miller and Roland Bart, who were the trump cards that defend important strategic points ? the military bases in Alaska and Gibraltar, hence they can’t be moved so easily.

However, it’s hard to believe that the USNA had only those three Strategic-Class Magicians on hand. ?Almost certainly, they should have other unofficial Strategic-Class Magicians ? maybe even more than a dozen.

( For some reason he cannot move them..? No, I think that he simply failed to get ?permission for that.)

Perhaps the faction that is against hostilities with Shiba Tatsuya now has a dominant position within the USNA .

(..Anyway, it’s not a big deal.)

At this point, ?Bezobrazov interrupted his thinking. He didn’t care about the situation with either Clark or the USNA in general.

(This is a chance.)

Bezobrazov’s goal was to kill Tatsuya. It was absolutely necessary for him to achieve this in order to overcome the sense of humiliation deeply lodged in his mind ? by any means necessary.

(For the USNA, attacking the territory of Japan is a big gamble. For them, failure will be unacceptable. They will use a significant amount of troops for this operation.)

(I don’t know anything about Clark’s military talents, but he will likely involve several experts for assistance, and it’s unlikely that their attack will be repelled easily.)

(No matter how strong Shiba Tatsuya is , he won’t be able to afford to focus his attention on anything else during a surprise attack on him.)

(I’ll unleash ‘Tuman Bomba’ above that man’s head when he engages the invading troops . ) [7]

Bezobrazov decided ?to bury Clark along with Tatsuya.

Conspiracies around Tatsuya occurred even in Japan.

“..Major General Saeki, isn’t that a bit forceful?”

“Why do you think so, Chief of Staff?”

Near the evening of July 26 th , ?Major General Saeki, Commander of the Army’s 101 Brigade, had an interview with the Chief of Staff while visiting the Army’s General Command Headquarters.

“Although the entire territory of Miyakijima is private land, it’s still Japanese territory belonging to the Kanto region. Isn’t it natural that our ?troops have to be stationed there for defense?”

“ Exactly, it’s private land . In the absence of an imminent threat, we can’t station the troops there without the owner’s permission. ?It’s not like you can’t understand this reason.”

“That island was attacked by an irregular force at the beginning of -->>

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