MKnR 04 - Nine School Competition (II)

8/12/2019 MKnR 04 - Nine School Competition (II)

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Modern Magic:

Hell of Fire and Water (Inferno): A magic which reverses the heatenergy within a set area. Areas of bitter cold and scorching heat occurconcurrently in adjacent regions.

Niflheim: A Wide Area Deceleration-Attribute Oscillation-SystemMagic. The s ecific heat of the material within the area! regardless ofattribute "#hase$ is cooled evenly. As a result! a large mass of cold airwhich contains a fog of li%uid nitrogen! Diamond Dust "&ce 'eedles$!and dry ice articles is formed.

Dry Blizzard: A magic which collects the carbon dio(ide in the air to roduce articles of dry ice. The dry ice flies at high s eed byconverting the thermal energy roduced by the free)ing rocess into*inetic energy.

Thunder Sna e !ath (Slithering Thunder"): +i*e ,Dry li))ard !stones of dry ice are roduced and water va or is condensed. Thiscombination magic utili)es Oscillation-System and Dis ersion-System

Magic to melt the ice! creating a fog of carbon dio(ide which has ahigh electrical conductivity through which a static charge is runthrough.

#u$ture: A Dissi ation-System magic which eva orates all li%uidwithin an object. &n the case of living organisms! body fluids willeva orate and the body will e( lode. All fuel will va ori)e in internalcombustion engines or fuel cells. Since nearly all machines have afluid of some *ind! such as lubricants! coolants! hydraulic fluids! oils!

or battery fluids! they will instantly be destroyed by ,/( losion orsim ly sto wor*ing.

Flight Magic: A magic to move through the air via gravity control. &twas once thought to be im ossible! using a very short duration "adefault of 0.1 seconds$ of magic invo*ed in ra id succession! thedifficulty caused by an increasing &nterference Strength was cleared. &tis ossible to continue flying so long as the o erator2s Magic #ower isin su ly.



%ani"hing &loud"' Fog Di"$er"al (Mi"t Di"$er"ion): y interferingwith the structural information! this magic decom oses substances intomolecules such as ions and the basic elements. Direct interference intothe structural information of an object is a form of magic of thehighest difficulty

Magic Di""olution ( ram Di"$er"ion): This magic ta*es a Magic3itual and decom oses it into a grou of #sion articles without ameaningful structure. Due to the nature of a Magic 3itual acting onthe information of an object accom anying a henomenon! if theinformation has not been e( osed! it is im ossible to interfere with themagic. On the other hand! if the Magic 3itual is decom osed! the

henomenon will not occur. To analy)e the magic before the magic isactivated in the resent age where invocation ta*es a fraction of asecond re%uires the ability to ,See and analy)e the magic structure.Since the user is ty ically re%uired to understand the magic being used

beforehand! it is thought utili)ation of this magic is im ossible.

Magic Di"mantling ( ram Demolition): A mass of com ressed#sion articles are thrown directly at an object and e( lode. AnyActivation Se%uence or Magic 3itual recorded into the #sion

&nformation ody is blown away. Though it is called magic! it issim ly a cannonball of #sions that has neither structure nor a Magic3itual to modify an event! so it is not affected by 4one &nterference.5urthermore! the ressure of the cannonball also re els the effects of6ast 7amming. &t has no hysical effects and cannot be hindered byany obstacle.



Nine School" &om$etition :

Official 'ame8 *Nation+ide Magic High School ,thletic"

&om$etition- . As its name suggests! students from 5irst to 'inth 9ighSchool gather from all around the country. &t is a team com etitionwith fierce magic games.

:ni%ue events include ,S eed Shooting ! ,6rowd all ! , attleoard !,&ce #illars rea* ! ,Mirage at ! ,Monolith 6ode ! si( in total.,Monolith 6ode is men2s only! ,Mirage at is women2s only.※

The number of eo le artici ating in each event is three er school!and each layer can artici ate in two events. The com etition is heldover a eriod of ten days. There is also a set of games in which onlyfreshman lay in! the ,3oo*ie Division "the Official Division has nograde restriction$. The ,3oo*ie ;ames will be held from the fourth tothe eighth day. <ictory or defeat of the school is determined by thetotal oints. 5irst #lace receives fifty oints! Second #lace receivesthirty oints! and Third #lace receives twenty oints. S eed Shooting!

attle oard! and Mirage at award ten oints to 5ourth #lace. Accelall and &ce #illars rea* reward five oints for each victory of any

team who ma*es it to the third round. The rimary game of the 'ine-Schools 6om etition! Monolith 6ode! grants one-hundred oints for5irst #lace! si(ty oints for Second #lace! and forty oints for Third#lace due to it being a team game! thus giving it the most weight "The3oo*ie ;ames are worth half the oints and are added to the overallran*ing$.



Day Date . Di/i"ion:

0 123 (Wed) 4fficial

,S eed Shooting Men2s=Women2s #reliminaries > 5inals Tournament, attle oard Men2s=Women2s #reliminaries

5 126 (Thu) 4fficial

,6rowd all Men2s=Women2s #reliminaries > 5inals,&ce #illars rea* Men2s=Women2s #reliminaries

3 127 (Fri) 4fficial

, attle oard Men2s=Women2s Semi-finals > 5inals,&ce #illars rea* Men2s=Women2s #reliminaries > 5inals +eague

6 128 (Sat) Ne+comer

,S eed Shooting Men2s=Women2s #reliminaries > 5inals, attle oard Men2s=Women2s #reliminaries

7 129 (Sun) Ne+comer

,6rowd all Men2s=Women2s #reliminaries > 5inals,&ce #illars rea* Men2s=Women2s #reliminaries

8 121 (Mon) Ne+comer

, attle oard Men2s=Women2s Semi-finals > 5inals,&ce #illars rea* Men2s=Women2s #reliminaries > 5inals +eague

9 12 (Tue) Ne+comer

,Mirage at Women2s #reliminaries > 5inals,Monolith 6ode Men2s #reliminaries +eague

1 120; (Wed) Ne+comer

,Monolith 6ode Men2s 5inals Tournament

1200 (Thu) 4fficial

,Mirage at Women2s #reliminaries > 5inals,Monolith 6ode Men2s #reliminaries +eague



0; 1205 (Fri) 4fficial

,Monolith 6ode Men2s 5inals Tournament

S$eed Shooting: Amongst the #layers! this game is called [Quick Draw] . A clay target is shot into the designated s ace and destroyed by magic. One-hundred red and white targets are released and the#layers com ete by destroying their colored targets. &n the#reliminaries! #layers only com ete to destroy as many targets as

ossible within a five minute time limit. eginning at the ?uarter-finals! the scoring system is ut into lace as contestants com eteagainst each other.

&ro+d Ball: Amongst the #layers! this game is called [Crowd] . A @centimeter diameter foam ball is shot into the com etition area usingcom ressed air. #layers com ete by using a rac*et or magic to forcethe ball to hit the o onent2s court. set lasts B minutes! and a ball isshot into the court! covered in a trans arent bo(! every C0 seconds!leading to balls being on the court simultaneously. Women have B

sets er match while Men have 1 sets.

Battle Board: Amongst #layers! this game is called [Surfing] . Thisgame originated as a method for training the naval forces. #layersreceive a board similar to a surfing board and must com lete threela s on an artificial channel three *ilometers in length by ma*ing fulluse of magic to ro el them forward. #layers com ete for victory.According to the rules! use of magic to interfere with other layers is

forbidden. The #reliminaries consists of si( races! four layers each.Two Semi-finals games are held with three contestants each. A layoffwill be held to determine third lace! while the to #layers from eachSemi-finals race will com ete one-on-one in the 5inals.

Ice !illar" Brea : Amongst #layers! this game is called [Pillars Break] /ach #layer stands on a tower four meters in height! defendingtwelve illars contained in a twelve meter s%uare area while attac*ingtwelve illars in the o osition2s field. #layers com ete to destroy the



o onent2s illars before their own are bro*en. There is no need to usethe body! since #layers com ete remotely with magic! so #layers maywear whatever they wish! with the only restriction being that ,&t Must

'ot Offend #ublic Order or Morals . &t is said the Women2s #illarsrea* had become a 5ashion Show in recent years.

Mirage Bat: Amongst #layers! this game is called [Mirage] . &t is awomen2s only game. A hologra hic s here is rojected in the air! and#layers must com ete by using magic to rise into the air and hittingthe orbs with their stic*s. Though this com etition has the fewestnumber of games of all in the 'ine-Schools 6om etition! the lay

time is ty ically the longest. During the game! #layers mustcontinuously invo*e magic to lea into the air. &t is said the burden issimilar to running a full marathon. The 'ine-Schools 6om etitionMirage at is an event held only amongst women. With their elaboratecostumes and how they fly around! they are often li*ened to fairies.

Monolith &ode: Amongst #layers! this game is called [Monolith] . &tis a men2s only game. At the com etition site! called a [Stage] ! magic

is used to fight over the [Monolith] ! with each team having three layers. The outcome is determined by s litting the monolith in theenemy encam ment and transmitting a concealed code. Any attac*sother than magic are forbidden. rea*ing the monolith re%uires that it

be struc* with a s ecial 'on-Systemic Magic. Due to the nature of theevent! this game is the most o ular amongst the 'ine-Schools6om etition.



Chapter 8

&t2s the fourth day of the tournament.

There2s a brea* before the finals! five days from now! and the fight between the st Eears in the 'ewcomer2s attle will ta*e lace in themeanwhile.

So far the results stand with 5irst 9igh being at number one with BC0 oints! Third 9igh being at number two with CC1 oints! and the ositions of third lace and below being a wild free-for-all betweenthe other schools. The difference between first and second lace is a

massive 1 oints. 9owever! the battle is such that even that ointdifference could otentially be reversed if Third 9igh is able to winthe 'ewcomer2s attle by a large margin! which for them is notim ossible. 6onversely! even if 5irst 9igh doesn2t manage to win! yetthey avoid a huge difference in oints! final victory would still betheirs.

The aim for every school is overall victory! but in this case! as onlyhalf the oints gained from the 'ewcomer2s attle will be added to the

overall ran*ing! to the com eting st Eears what they are fighting forin the 'ewcomer2s attle is their own glory. The s irit in thesematches is in no way inferior to the finals themselves.

The order is the same as the finals.

Today2s events are S eed Shooting "?ualifier! 5inals$ and attle oard"?ualifier$.

They differ from the finals in that the schedule for S eed Shooting

includes the women2s event in the morning and men2s in the afternoon!with everything being finished in one stretch "the reason being that theS eed Shooting finals is carried out straight after the o eningceremony! and there2s no way to finish everything by the morning.$

'ot just S eed Shooting! but 6AD adjustment cannot be carried out inthe middle of any event! so the major wor* of fine tuning whilstlistening to the contestants2 s ecifications is done by the engineers in

between matches.

That2s why engineers are basically always around the layers they2re



res onsible for during the match. &n order to ensure as much as ossible that contestants from the same school in the samecom etition are not com eting at the same time! the 6onvention6ommittee have made numerous adjustments to the timetable.

9owever! in events li*e 6rowd all where many matches would occurin a day! overla s can2t be hel ed! and engineers would often be airedas a duo of main and sub.

This can occur even in the same com etition! and one engineer cannot be res onsible for another match occurring at the same time.

/ven if that match ostensibly occurs at an unrelated time.

F F F

G9ono*a is in the last race huh......G

GEesH &t2s in the afternoon! so it doesn2t clash with the women2s S eedShootingHG

9ono*a! grinning earnestly while subtly emitting an overbearing ressure! made Tatsuya relive the heat of being o ular.Tatsuya was res onsible for the women2s S eed Shooting! women2s&cicle Destruction! and Mirage at.

9e didnIt get himself assigned to that host of women2s events becausehe was a womani)er! but because there was a strong bac*lash againsthim from the men2s st Eear division.

'ot only that! but he was in high demand amongst some of the

women2s st Eear contingent.5or e(am le Miyu*i! 9ono*a! Miyu*i and 9ono*a! Miyu*i and......inother words! those two had a ealed rather earnestly.

ut here lay a roblem.

Miyu*i2s sheer magic ower was most suited for the com etition &cicleDestruction.

oth her classmates and the council *new full well her roficiency inslowing down vibrations. When all is said and done! cooling magic is



retty much second nature to her.

Miyu*i2s artici ation in &cicle Destruction was decided! as well as inMirage at as the star athlete and ace of the women2s team J the

roblem was what 9ono*a would artici ate in.&n terms of 5irst 9ighIs ractical results! in first lace was ShibaMiyu*i! second was Kitayama Shi)u*u! third was Morisa*i Shun! andfourth was Mitsui 9ono*a. Therefore amongst the st Eear femalestudents 9ono*a ran*ed right alongside both Miyu*i and Shi)u*u in

ractical e(cellence! but in truth her s*ills were not articularly suitedfor a s orting magic com etition.

9er s eciali)ation in magical illusions involving mani ulating lightwas im ressive! but Shi)u*u2s ability in high out ut vibration andacceleration was more suitable for &cicle Destruction.

&t was a given from the start that Tatsuya would be res onsible forMiyu*i. 'ot even the seniors were foolish enough to try and challengethat.

So in order to be loo*ed after by Tatsuya! it2s most reliable to get intothe same com etitions as Miyu*i! but for the number one! number two

and number three to layers to a ear in the same com etition is nota very sound strategy. ......or rather! it2s im ossible.

Therefore it would fall to a com etition which does not overla ! butunfortunately! Shi)u*u was also more suited for S eed Shooting. Thecom etition had initially called for contestants to enter in their field ofe( ertise! so you could say she had little ho e of being consideredfrom the start.

5ollowing that train of thought! it was decided that 9ono*a wouldcom ete in attle oard and Mirage at. "The organi)ers had at firstfloated the idea of attle oard and 6rowd all! but due to her ownwishes and the vocal su ort of her friends! she was able to get intoone event with Miyu*i.$ ......&n a situation li*e this! with her line Gtheevents won2t clashG! just what is 9ono*a really trying to say! Tatsuyawondered.

ut even if the time was com atible! from a team ers ective!

changing the engineer res onsible at this late stage was im ossible.And even if today was alright! on the si(th day J the third day in



terms of the 'ewcomer2s attle J no one could guarantee that therewouldnIt be an overla between &cicle Destruction and attle oard.

9ono*a too should have been well aware of that! but......

&t seemed that Miyu*i was not about to come to his rescue today.5aced with 9ono*a on one side and his sister on the other! each with adifferent motive! Tatsuya sighed and came out with a bifurcatedres onse.

G......&2d li*e to maintain your 6AD in truth! but that2s not ossible! so&2ll watch your race at the least.G

G3eallyL &t2s a romiseHG

Someone gave a small ominous laugh. Tatsuya *new more than wellwhose voice that was! but his consciousness chose to retend hedidn2t.

5rom an outsider2s ers ective! maybe he really was a 2womani)er2...... robably.

F F F

Although the arties involved would never thin* of it as 2trivial2! fromthe ers ective of the main story! this was just a side e isode.

When the curtains rise! one must be absolutely focused.

With the final chec*s com lete! Tatsuya handed over the dedicatedS eed Shooting 6AD sha ed li*e an elongated rifle! and confirmed itscondition with Shi)u*u.

The 6AD absorbs sions from the magician! which the #sion&nformation Aide transmits into the Activation Se%uence. &f a roblemoccurs in this rocess! no matter how well the other arts are serviced!it2s ointless.

&f the roblem occurs with the hardware it has to be re laced with as are device! and if the roblem lies in the software it has to berewor*ed on the fly.

G'n...... erfect. &t feels better than my own.G



As both her face and voice were rather dead an! after initially being aired with Shi)u*u! Tatsuya had sometimes been confused as towhether she was serious or not but now he was retty much used to it.

asically! she doesn2t lie.&n the worst case! she would sim ly remain silent.

GTatsuya-san! you won2t consider being hiredLG

9owever! in cases li*e these! he still can2t get used to whether she2sserious or jo*ing.

G&f you2re in a osition to jo*e li*e this right before the match! you2ll be just fine.G

G&t wasn2t a jo*e.GG......G

y the way! what she was saying had the meaning of Gformallysigning on a contract to erform 6AD maintenanceG.

Shi)u*u had as*ed him Gwon2t you be hiredG more than 0 timesalready. 6onsidering her ersonality! Tatsuya had thought it a longrunning gag! but now it seemed that wasn2t the case.

G&t won2t be an e(clusive contract so you don2t have to worry.G

&n order to ma*e references for 6AD arrangements! Tatsuya had ta*enher 6AD in hand and adjusted it.

efore that! the one who had maintained Shi)u*u2s 6AD was afamous engineer who could be ran*ed amongst the to five in thecountry.

Or rather than Shi)u*u! it would be more accurate to say the Kitayamahouse.

When Tatsuya had first heard he was not sur rised! but then againShi)u*u2s family were 2e(tremely rich2 after all.

&n the first lace! the mages of the Kitayama house did not hold thesame restige as the Ten Master 9ouses or the 00 5amilies.

Shi)u*u2s mother! a magician! had fallen in love with her millionairefather at first sight! and after much strife they were finally married! atwhich! the aternal lineage turned u no mages J her young brother



having some measure of ractical ability but not enough for truemagic.

Whether because of those circumstances! in contrast there was

Shi)u*u J her raw magic otential being e(traordinary.Shi)u*u2s addiction to Monolith 6ode could be said to stem from herfather2s financial rowess! being able to tour the country seeing magiccom etitions every year.

G......& thin* &2ve said this numerous times! but that would re%uire me tohave a license wouldn2t itLG

When Tatsuya had not res onded Shi)u*u had resented him with

down ayment and contract fees which! even considering his ositionas art of Taurus Silver and the considerable income that came with it!was an un recedented sum.

&f he had been just a normal student! that da))ling amount would havemade his eyes water.

ut although doing this as art of a school event meant he received nocom ensation! it would have been different if he too* it as a real jobwith remuneration. &t2s not illegal to wor* without a license! but in theeyes of the world! he would be seen as a 2fa*e2.G& understand.G

As always! Shi)u*u gave a dutiful nod.

ut whether she truly understood was doubtful.

What it was for Shi)u*u only she herself *new! but for Tatsuya it wasa conversation that significantly lowered tension in the moments

before the match.

Well! whatever the effect! as long as nothing adverse ha ened it2d benice.

They had gone through strategic meetings many times before.

5or Shi)u*u! Tatsuya had devised a 6AD and a secret lan to go alongwith it. "The dNbut of the 2 lan2 was meant to be in the finals of thetournament! but still.$

GEou2re u ! Shi)u*u.GGEeah.G



There was only one thing to say in this moment before her time.

GAlright! do your bestHG

GEeah! & willHG

&t was sim le! but that was also a strategy of last resort.

F F F

G&s this seat availableLG

GAh! Miyu*i. &t2s fine. ;o right ahead.G

&n truth that %uestion had been as*ed to the sitting girls by various eo le for a while! but unli*e the one as*ing now all had variousulterior motives "if you don2t mind sitting between +eo andMi*ihi*oH$. &n this rather menacing way! /ri*a had scared offcountless lying chic* cruisers and *e t the seat vacant.

The order in which they sat was Mi*ihi*o! Mi)u*i! 9ono*a! vacant!/ri*a! +eo. They had left Miyu*i2s seat in the middle because if theywere not on guard some un*nown shady character might a roachfrom either side. At first /ri*a had been reluctant to sit ne(t to +eo!

but at Mi)u*i2s subtle argument that +eo and 9ono*a were not only indifferent classes but hardly *new each other! she had been finally

ersuaded. That incident almost but not %uite resembled the nowadaysrare event called a catfight.

efore Miyu*i had come! the four e(cluding 9ono*a had beenloo*ing over the schedule of the 'ewcomer2s attle! and were holding

a am hlet intended for the audience "9ono*a was a contestant so shehad no need to rechec* at this oint$.

After loo*ing u to greet Miyu*i! Mi)u*i returned to loo*ing at the am hlet! but not before noticing 9ono*a2s faint e( ression.

G......9ono*a-san! are you re aredLG

G&t2s fine. My race is in the afternoon.G

9ono*a answered Mi)u*i with a slightly forced smile.

Miyu*i re lied to that in an incredulous tone.



G9o-no-*a. &f you2re this nervous before the match! you2ll be in bigtrouble later you *nowLG

G:u! & *now but......G

GEou2ll be fine! 9ono*a. Onii-sama said so as well didn2t heLGGEe! yeah......G

GEou came to see this to ta*e your mind off your race didn2t youL 5ornow! let2s cheer Shi)u*u on.G

G......yeah! you2re right.G

5rom her rather e(aggerated nod! it was evident she wasn2t totallyrela(ed. That serious-to-a-fault way of thin*ing was a strong oint ofher ersonality! so you could almost say it was unavoidable tension.G......um! did & say something unnecessaryLG

At Mi)u*i2s follow-u ! devoid of malice! 9ono*a sim ly lowered herface.

F F F

A bit away from those st Eears! or rather their boisterous lay! the BrdEear trio Student 6ouncil and #ublic Morals 6ommittee chiefs weregathered.

GMari! is it alright for you not to slee LG

G&2m not sic*. As long as & don2t have to fight &2ll be fine. More thanthat! Mayumi! is it alright for you to be away from your dutiesLG

G&t2s fine. &t2s not li*e &2m *ilometers away! and if anything comes u &can be informed instantly.G

Saying so! Mayumi brushed away the hair hanging over her chee*.

That act revealed the receiver in her ear for voice communications.

GStill! if it were just Mayumi it would be business as usual! but for&chihara to be away as well ma*es me wonder.G

G'o roblem. &t seems &2ve been forced off duty today.G

G......your jo*es are hard to understand as ever! &chihara.G



At that tongue in chee* answer! Mari was sus icious for a moment ifthere was any dissatisfaction at that su lanting of their staff role.

Of course! she *new full well that wasn2t the case.

Su)une bore overall res onsibility for the o erations staff "althoughthere are only four eo le in that ca acity$! but individual strategic

lanning followed division of labor. The greatest res onsibility wasdivided! with male staff going over strategies for the men2s matchesand female staff going over strategies for the women2s matches.

Today2s com etition was the women2s S eed Shooting contest! underthe charge of Su)une.

J ut! this was an event which didn2t allow for fine strategies in thefirst lace! being largely de endent on technical ability. &t wouldn2t befar off the mar* to even say brute force. Any staff involvement wouldmerely detail the selection of magic to match the characteristics of thecom etitor! and the setting of the 6AD to suit! but...

...this was a region which overla ed the wor* of the technical staff.

5urthermore for the st Eear women2s S eed Shooting! the 6ADmagic selection! settings and all! Tatsuya handled everything from

lanning to e(ecution.That being said! Su)une had been aware of the lan and a roved itfrom the start.

She wasn2t the ty e to be ut on the bac* foot by something of thislevel.

G'ow then...... come to thin* of it! this will be the first time & seesomething he2s engineered used in a combat ca acity.G

At Mari2s words brimming with curiosity! Mayumi also loo*ed over atthe arena with interest.

GThat2s true. During my time! he was a great hel . &2m loo*ing forwardto seeing how a 6AD he2s adjusted from the start will erform.G

GStarting with Kitayama-san! it seems he2s become very o ular withthe team.G

Su)une2s words held no e(aggeration.

&nitially amongst 5irst 9igh2s st Eear women2s team! with the



e(ce tion of Miyu*i! 9ono*a and Shi)u*u! Tatsuya being in the sameyear! and furthermore a 6ourse C student! seemed to rovo*e analmost allergic reaction from the other members when it came togiving him their 6AD for adjustment.

ut after a few ractices with the 6ADs he calibrated! any suchnegative feelings com letely vanished.

#erha s it2d be more suitable to call that change of heart 2being blownaway2.

G&t seems that today there are also a few contestants who have broughttheir own 6ADs.G

At Su)une2s words! Mari made a sound of sur rise.G9ey hey...... wouldn2t that cause roblems in the matchLG

GThat2s just another sign of Shiba-*un2s ama)ing control. &t seems he2llservice them after the match is over.G

Service refers to the adjustment of the 6AD.

The contestants using Tatsuya2s com etition adjusted 6ADs were even bringing him their ersonal 6ADs to adjust. 5urthermore! rather than

just one or two! it was more li*e the entire female st Eear team.G9is fans seem to be steadily increasing.G

GThe good natures of eo le come out in the strangest of laces.G

oth Mayumi and Mari! e(changing a glance! shared a small chuc*le.

F F F

&f Tatsuya himself had been faced with Mayumi2s remar* 2his fans areincreasing2! he would have vehemently denied it.

&n fact! during social events! he went out of his way to avoid women"or so he felt$.

'eedless to say however! he didn2t ossess any such 2divine ears2.

9is attention was focused solely on the shooting range Shi)u*u now

stood at.



9e did not ossess 2eyes2 li*e Mi)u*i.

9e did however have the ower to analy)e data structures.

The data structures he had himself written and rogrammed into the

6AD were all in his head.&f she ut her hands even slightly together! while he could not erceivethe 2hand2 he could redict the 2result2.

Shi)u*u too* her stance.

The lights on the start ram began to light u .

"&t seems this time itIs alright.$

There was no evidence of the tam ering which had caused roblemssuch as in Mari2s case! Tatsuya thought! yet he didn2t divert his 2eye2.

F F F

The moment all the lights came on! a clay target flew into the air.

And the moment it entered the scoring area! it was blown a art.

The ne(t target was shattered in the middle of the area.

'e(t! two were simultaneously destroyed at either end.

A sigh rose from the audience. &f one loo*ed closely! Miyu*i and theothers were also sighing in relief at this brilliantly smooth start! lettingout the breath they had been holding.

Shi)u*u2s eyes didn2t deviate for a second.

She sim ly ga)ed straight ahead! almost as if not loo*ing at thetargets.

G:wah! ama)ingHG

&n contrast to /ri*a2s sim le admiration!

G......is the Magic Activation 4one set for the entire areaLG

Mi)u*i as*ed Miyu*i and 9ono*a rather doubtfully.

GThat2s correct. Shi)u*u is able to tag all solids that enter the area withmagic vibratory waves! destroying the target. y generating



com ression waves inside the target! it undergoes re eated artiale( ansion and contraction. &f this ra id heating and cooling isre eated! it2s only logical that even solid roc* would wea*en andcolla se.G

GTo be recise! she sets numerous e icenters within the scoring area!which generate the virtual waves that give rise to the vibratory waveswithin the targets. 3ather than directly a lying the waves to thetargets with magic! she has set u an area which causes the

henomena of a lying such waves to the targets. The moment thewaves from the e icenter come into contact with such a target! thevirtual waves become real waves within the target and affect it in

reality.GAs 9ono*a and Miyu*i carried out their olite commentary whilsttheir eyes remained fi(ed on the shooting range! Mi)u*i sim lynodded.

F F F

G......is the mechanism involved.GWhether by chance or necessity! the Brd Eear trio was also having thesame conversation at the same time.

GAs you *now! the effective scoring area in S eed Shooting is a cubeof 1 meter ro ortions set in the air. Shiba-*un2s Activation Se%uencesets another cube within this which is 0 meters on each side! with thevertices and the center! nine oints in total! being designated as

e icenters.GThe one who had first made that e( lanation was Tatsuya. Su)une had

been shown the lan.

G/ach oint is labeled with a number! and when that number is enteredinto the live Activation Se%uence! virtual waves s read from that

oint.

The reach of the waves is si( meters. &n other words the moment the

magic is activated! all targets within a si( meter radius from thee icenter will be destroyed.G



G......it rather feels li*e it2s using unnecessary force...... is Kitayamaalright with those settingsLG

GAlthough it has to be said that Kitayama-san is better *nown for her

ower than her recision......GAt Mari2s ause! Su)une was wearing her ty ical cool o*er face. utwithin her eyes! the shadow of a sym athetic laugh could be found.

GThe aim of this magic is not to com ensate for accuracy! but rather toincrease s eed at the e( ense of accuracy.G

G......&n other words! you2re im lying that a more in oint aimingsolution is ossible rightL #lease elaborateLG

GThe feature of this magic is that it is coordinated by numbers.G3eturning her ga)e to the st Eear before them! Su)une began here( lanation to Mayumi2s %uestion. 9er fluent re ly was robably

because she had gotten an answer after earlier as*ing the e(act samething.

G&n S eed Shooting! the osition of the contestants and the distance!direction and si)e of the scoring area is always the same. &n otherwords the focal oints necessary in this magic to set the virtual cube inrelation to the distance! and viewing angle of the layer! are constants.

Therefore there is no need to enter variable coordinates se aratelyeach time! but instead you can sim ly in ut into the ActivationSe%uence the number you desire and instantly invo*e the magic. 5orthis rough degree of aim! using the au(iliary aiming systems built intothe 6AD! it2s ossible for the o timal oint to be automatically ic*edout.

5urthermore! this magic doesn2t re%uire changes in duration or owereither. There isn2t any need. &n truth! they2re treated as constants by theActivation Se%uence. The contestant! just by selecting a oint with theaid of the 6AD without needing to thin* of any other variables! cansim ly ull the virtual trigger and end u destroying the target.G

The shoot was a roaching the end.

'ot a single target had been missed.

GSince there2s no need to hysically interface with the controls! merelyinvo*ing the magic will fully reali)e the otential of effect. & do



believe the continuous Activation utili)es Multicast as well.G

The shoot drew to a close.

5inal result! erfect.

GThe ro er name of the magic is 2Active Air Mine2. &t seems to be aShiba-*un original. Well! all the numerous elements jammed in ma*ethe final Activation Se%uence %uite a beast! but Kitayama-san2sformidable magic ower ma*es u for it.G

G......it2s retty much the e(act o osite of Mayumi2s magic isn2t itLG

G......coming u with a se%uence li*e this is %uite something.G

Mayumi2s voice held not so much admiration as outright ama)ement.

GStill...... it2s rather intriguing.G

On the other hand! Mari2s voice was filled with interest.

G&n battle the relative osition between you and your o onents will by no means remain the same! so from the view of mar*sman magicit2s not %uite combat worthy! but...... if instead of setting the cube inthe air! you center it as a s here around yourself! wouldn2t it serve veryadmirably in all directions as an active shieldLG

GThe roblem is activation duration. &f you set it too short the timingwill be difficult! but too long and you ris* yourself being caught in thearea of effect.G

Des ite these issues resented by Mayumi! Mari2s enthusiasm didn2tdam en in the slightest.

GThat will be u to the o erator2s s*ill. As you said! if you2re able togauge the timing you can set the duration to be short no roblem.

......alright! immediately after this &2m going to nab him and install it by tonight.G

G......try not to cause any roblems for the com etitors.G

Mayumi2s voice as she res onded was now 00 ama)ement.

F F F

G;ood wor*.G



As Shi)u*u returned from the shooting range! Tatsuya offered uwords of raise along with a towel. The engineer isn2t the manager sothere2s no need for him to have a towel handy! but he wasn2t one to fallfor such etty ride.

G&t was somewhat anticlimactic.G

She wasn2t blustering in any way J it seemed she really felt so.

Whilst wi ing the sweat from her brow! Shi)u*u had a slightlydissatisfied loo*.

Still at the same time! her joy was lain to see "it wasn2t li*e she wastrying to hide it or anything anyway.$

The %ualifying score needed for the 'ewcomer2s attle was yearlyaround P0 .

ecause it was im ossible to score any higher than what she hadgotten! regardless of the borderline she would obviously advance tothe finals.

G& don2t thin* anything went through the blind s ots! as e( ected theydidn2t try such obstinate uns orting things.G

The magic Shi)u*u had used did not cover the entire scoring area. Thearea around the outer edges could be considered blind s ots.

9owever! as seen from the erformance of the machine launching theclay targets! there were no last minute changes to the trajectory of thetargets. &f a target had not assed right through the scoring area! theentire shoot would have to be redone out of issues of fairness! a

blunder on the art of the tournament committee. Due to the nature ofthe com etition! that was a ris* they didnIt need.

They had made a strategy covering even that eventuality so it wasn2t articularly a big concern! but not having to rely on that bac*u wassomething to be relieved about after all.

GTatsuya-san! you worry too much. To try for that they2d have todeliberately robe for the blind s ots! something too high level for the

'ewcomer2s attle.G

Shi)u*u2s words were only right.

Tatsuya ut such things out of his mind! and switched to Shi)u*u2s



ers ective.

GAt first we2ll go according to lan. ut from the %uarterfinals on will be match format. &2ll service your 6AD in the morning! so be sure to

let me ta*e a loo*.GG;ot it.G

The format between the %ualifier and finals is different. The %ualifieris to see how many of the 00 clay targets you can destroy in fiveminutes! a test of the s eed and reliability of your magic. &n the finalshowever! it2s a test to see which layer can destroy the most targets

being fired into the same area. The factors of s eed and reliability are joined by raw ower and the ability to overcome interference fromyour o onents. As er the nature of this com etition! the magic younormally use will also change accordingly.

De ending on the ty e of magic to be used! it2s not uncommon tochange the s eciali)ed 6ADs used for the com etition themselves.

Tatsuya was now ma*ing re arations for the ne(t contestants J forthe ne(t match that would follow! and the one after that.

Shi)u*u went alone to the storage tent to fetch the 6ADs used for thetournament finals.

F F F

GAll three of them %ualified huh......G

ac* in the tent which served as the head%uarters of 5irst 9igh!

Mayumi went over the results of the S eed Shooting reliminaries.Whilst loo*ing! Mayumi gave a small solilo%uy.

GMaybe the st Eear girls this year are just of a s ecial levelLG

/ight names had %ualified for the finals from a reliminary of twentyfour.

Three of those eight names were from the same school! having made itthrough to the finals of the 'ewcomer2s attle! an un recedented

number.





G......Tatsuya-san! is everything alrightLG

eing last in turn! Shi)u*u refle(ively s o*e u when Tatsuya rushedin as she sat in the waiting room "although since she was in a tent! it

couldn2t strictly be called a 2room2$.Maybe it was a tric* of the mind! but it seemed to her that he was alsoslightly out of breath.

G&t2s fine.G

With that short answer! Tatsuya began a final chec* of the 6AD.

As Shi)u*u loo*ed on J or rather stared J he ra idly scrolledthrough the monitor of the adjustment device ensuring there were no

abnormalities! before finally meeting Shi)u*u2s eye.G& thin* you already *now! but this is a totally different model fromthe ones used in the reliminaries. There2s almost no time now! but ifthere2s even the slightest discomfort! &2ll re-adjust it as much as

ossible so lease feel free to tell me anything.G

Ta*ing the 6AD from Tatsuya! Shi)u*u too* a stance and afterre eatedly ulling the trigger with her finger two! three times! she utthe 6AD down.

GThere2s nothing of the sort. 3ather! it fits so well it2s almostfrightening.G

G& see.G

She didn2t thum her chest or anything! but at Tatsuya2s relieved loo*!Shi)u*u2s e( ression filled with fighting s irit.

GThe other two won didn2t theyLG

GEeah.GThe other two! referred to her teammates who had already gone.

Those two who had along with Shi)u*u advanced to the finalstournament! seemed to have cinched a win in the semi finals as well.

G&t2s fine.G

Once again! Tatsuya used the same words! but with a differentmeaning.





G&f Shi)u*u erforms as usual! you2ll definitely win.G

GOf course.G

At that Shi)u*u gave a brief! yet far more vigorous than usual nod.

GTatsuya-san has already made all the arrangements & need for victory!so all that2s left is for me to ta*e it.G

GThat2s the s irit.G

Without challenging her early declaration of success! Tatsuya saw heroff with a smile.

F F F

G&t2s finally Shi)u*u-san2s turn.G

G9ey hey! if even Mi)u*i is nervous how should & co eLG

G ut aren2t you all e(cited as well /ri*a-chanL &f Shi)u*u-san winshere! three of the final best four will be from our schoolHG

GAren2t you a bit too nervous regardlessL Shi)u*u is definitely goingto win after all.GAt that confident affirmation! mingled with a teasing remar* fromMiyu*i to 2ta*e a dee breath and calm down2! Mi)u*i obedientlycleared her mind and inhaled.

G......& wonder if this also counts as a sort of romise.G

G......& guess even Mi)u*i-san can be layful at times.G

3ather than as a result of the dee breathing! but more from notwanting to cause Miyu*i and 9ono*a any more worry! Mi)u*i finallyregained her com osure.

G& wonder what *ind of twist we2ll see this time.G

9earing Mi*ihi*o2s voice bearing a hint of e(citement! /ri*a made a2huhL2 e( ression.

G;ood oint. What will jum out this time! & can2t even begin toguess.G

The one who actually res onded aloud was +eo.



G9is mind is almost li*e a jac*-in-the-bo(.G

GEou can tal*.G

5or Mi*ihi*o to loo* forward to and show interest in magic was

something /ri*a hadn2t seen for a long time.Whether this change had been brought about sim ly by watching thecom etition with others! she couldn2t say. #erha s without her*nowing! something had ha ened between Tatsuya and Mi*ihi*o......without voicing anything aloud! /ri*a ondered such things.

G/hL That2s......G

rea*ing her out of her train of thought and bac* to reality was a

%uerulous voice.GWhat is itLG

GThat 6AD.....LG

Mi*ihi*o2s ga)e was fi(ed on the 6AD Shi)u*u held under her arm bya stra .

That rifle sha ed 6AD at first glance! with the e(ce tion of the stra !was no different from the 6AD the other contestants were using. utthe area of the gun where ammunition would normally be stored wasthic*er than the others.

Mi*ihi*o2s school traditionally didn2t lace much em hasis on 6ADs.They still mainly utili)ed magic activated by charms. ut ever sincethe accident last year! Mi*ihi*o had obsessively been studying u onmodern magic technology.

To com ensate for what he had lost.

The result of that had been evident in his test results.Mi*ihi*o had considerably more confidence in 6ADs thancom arable modern mages.

&f his eyes werenIt mista*en.

G&s that...... a general ur ose 6ADLG

G/h! you2re *iddingLG

GEeah! well! it is.GG&2ve never heard of a general 6AD sha ed li*e a rifle before. 5irstly!



isn2t combining au(iliary sighting systems into a general systemtechnically im ossibleLG

&t was only natural that +eo! Mi)u*i! and /ri*a would as* one

%uestion after another.ut Mi*ihi*o sim ly shoo* his head with confidence.

GThe arrangement of the body ortion just above the trigger of the6AD is without a doubt 5+T2s general ur ose 26entaur2 series. The6entaur series is a ty e which doesn2t have any interfaces on the main

body and can be used without any e(ternal in ut devices! but theconnector has had a gri and au(iliary aim assist system attached.G

GEou really *now your stuff.GMiyu*i2s words as she turned around and grinned confirmedMi*ihi*o2s observations.

G/hL Then! that isLG

GEou2re right /ri*a. That2s s ecially handcrafted by Onii-sama. &t wass ecifically made to incor orate au(iliary aiming systems into ageneral ur ose 6AD.G

At Miyu*i2s roud words! the *nowledge that the 6AD was a s ecialmade-to-order model! /ri*a was rendered s eechless at the amount ofeffort that must have ta*en.

G& don2t thin* & could feel any more sur rised but...... just what is it allforLG

GOf course! for the match.G

9ono*a2s brief answer was not near enough to satisfy +eo2s! and the

other three2s %uestions.ut no subse%uent e( lanation followed through.

As if by common consent! the si( of them faced forwards. The signalfor the start of the match began to light u .

F F F

3ed and white clay targets danced in the s*y.



Shi)u*u2s targets were the red ones.

The three red targets that twisted through the air and entered thescoring )one! flew together towards the centre and shattered.

GMovement system...... no! that2s wrong. 6onvergence systemLG&n the tent used by each school as a head%uarters! large monitorscovering every as ect of the com etitions gave full view of thematches underway.

oth Su)une and Mayumi were watching Shi)u*u2s match on themonitor with their full attention.

G6orrect.G

This time! all red targets which entered the scoring area were beingdrawn into the middle and destroyed.

GThat2s the magic used in the %ualifiers isn2t itLG

GEes. &t2s a continuous invocation of convergence magic and vibrationmagic.G

Two of the white targets collided and bro*e a art.

The o onent from Second 9igh was using an orthodo( tactic oftargeting the clay itself using movement magic! and turning it into a

bullet to hit other targets.

Although orthodo(! its effectiveness had been am ly demonstrated by ast erformances.

ut from the outset! the majority of the targets being removed fromaround the outer area were white.

Since most of those had been hit around the outer edge! the roblemlay not in the technical ability of the contestant but rather...

G& get that the area of effect is able to recogni)e the targets on a macrolevel and enhance the density of red targets in the centre viaconvergence! whilst dis lacing the white targets from that centre

but......G

The basic form of 6onvergence Magic wor*s by defining e(istings ace via the Magic 3itual! then ta*ing that defined 2data2 and

selectively mani ulating it via designated coordinates using that sameMagic 3itual.



5or e(am le! Mayumi2s magic which utili)es dry ice to ma*e bulletsand send them flying! in order to create a sufficient number of bullets!initially also uses 6onvergence Magic to gather carbon dio(ide.

&n this case! carbon dio(ide is collected in one lace while other gasesare ushed aside! but this does not mean a high density mass of carbondio(ide is made! as the 6OC rather flows through designatedcoordinates whilst other gases are drawn out.

&n the same manner! Shi)u*u2s magic re laced carbon dio(ide with redtargets.

A s ecial )one J in this case! the centre of the scoring area J was setu as a 2s ace where red targets are gathered2 by that Systematic6onvergence Magic.More s ecifically a s%uare s ace C0 meters er side! comfortablycovering the entire scoring area and more! was magically altered to

become a 2s ace with a high density of red clay targets in the centre.2

The volume of that area is huge! but as the total number of clay targetsat any one time is small! there isn2t a large burden on the o erator.What is modified isn2t the s ace itself! but rather the distribution of

clay targets within that s ace.The modification of data via the Magic 3itual results in red targets

being drawn to the centre of the area! while white targets are re elled.The targets the Second 9igh contestant directly controlled werenItaffected by such minor interference! but the targets the Second 9ighstudent tried to hit! due to not receiving any magic from her! had theirtrajectories changed by Shi)u*u2s magic and as a result! white targets

began to be missed.

The rules of the S eed Shooting tournament finals state that as long asyou do not directly attac* your o onent! interference is allowed. utas the clay targets fly for only short irregular eriods! it2s very hard to

bloc* your o onent and shoot your own targets at the same time.There were many cases when vacillating between sni ing andinterfering resulted in self destruction! but as Shi)u*u2s Systematic6onvergence Magic flawlessly lin*ed disturbing the o onent anddestroying one2s own targets! it was a very s*illful strategy.

While few! there are some e(am les of this strategy being used in the



ast! all of which shared one effect. As strong interference strength isneeded! the strategy involves the selection of an a ro riatecontestant. Therefore while the window of o ortunity is small!Mayumi had also firmly studied this tactic.

So what Mayumi was as*ing concerning this magic was not that initself.

G ut then! how is she able to turn on and off the Systematic <ibrationMagic at the endLG

&f multi le targets flew together! they would shatter as is.

&f a red target was alone however! vibration magic was used to destroy

it.&t had been configured as a single magic! so for her to be able toinde endently trigger the Systematic <ibration Magic to destroytargets was eculiar.

G& wonder if it2s been scheduled that multi le targets would flytogether before the <ibration Magic has a chance to triggerLG

Mayumi2s tone as she reasoned to herself said that not even she believed it.

There2s no merit to a lying such a time difference.

G#res! & did say it was 2continuous invocation of Systematic6onvergence Magic and Systematic <ibration Magic2 didn2t &LG

With a sly smile! Su)une corrected Mayumi2s misunderstanding.

Mayumi immediately understood the meaning of those words.

And u on reflection! immediately cried a rebuttal.

G'o wayH The systems in a s eciali)ed 6AD should only be able tostore one single Activation Se%uenceHLG

GEour doubts are well founded! e(ce t that2s not a s eciali)ed 6AD! but a general one.G

Su)une2s answer only brought Mayumi still more confusion.

GThat2s im ossibleH The hardware! OS and architecture betweens eciali)ed and general 6ADs are totally different.

And au(iliary aiming devices are subsystems which only fit within the



architecture of a s eciali)ed 6AD.

6onnecting an au(iliary aiming device to the body of a general 6ADis technically im ossible isn2t itLG

Mayumi2s stressful s eech gradually settled down! but from the blushof her chee*s it was still ossible to glim se her raw e(citement.

Su)une2s smile! now calm and mature! turned into something to sootheher com anion.

G& thought so too. ut! & guess it really is ossible. This isn2t somethingoriginal to Shiba-*un! but was announced in ;ermany a year ago.G

G......one year ago! isn2t that retty much state of the artLG

G&t2s best if you2re not sur rised sim ly by this much! #res. 9e2s beingreal coy about it! but Shiba-*un has something even more cutting edgein store.G

G9ahh...... Well! if it2s confidential it can2t be hel ed. ut for him totell 3in-chan about it and not me is a bit of a shoc*.G

GThe #res is a contestant. &2m sure he sim ly didn2t want to u set you.G

G& guess...... if & had *nown about a techni%ue li*e this in advance! &certainly might have become a bit agitated.GAs their eyes returned to the monitor! the scores of both layers andthe remaining time were dis layed onscreen.

With the cloc* tic*ing down! victory had already been decided.

F F F

"B0 seconds remaining$

9aving been re eatedly training these ast two wee*s! racticing overand over! she was now able to measure e(actly the flow of the 1minutes of the com etition.

The moment red clay flew into the blue s here rojected by hergoggles! Shi)u*u triggered her 6AD.

The target shattered.



The com etition allows the use of the rotective goggles to double asa sighting aid. &n fact! the number of com etitors who don2t do so arerare. "The case of layers li*e Mayumi who have their own sightsaside.$ 9owever! rather than aiming directly at the target! Shi)u*u2sfunctioned as a 9MD "head mount dis lay$ in order to distinguishs ace. Or rather! it should be called Tatsuya2s.

As with all the unorthodo( techni%ues Tatsuya had ro osed! Shi)u*uhad also been u))led with this at first. 9owever! ossibly because shehad no actual com etition e( erience! she fortunately didn2t ta*e anytime to get used to it. Once she was comfortable! it matched her more

erfectly than any other e%ui ment or techni%ues than she would have

believed.Anyway! it was easy.

There was almost no stress associated with the normal use of magic.

Shi)u*u herself was aware that her wea*ness was fine control.

That was why she had re%uested her 6AD engineers to add featuresthat assist in the smoothing of detailed settings.

/ven at the e( ense of s eed! her aim was to ensure that her 6ADwould be able to out ut ower at a reliable level.She was confident her own ability could com ensate for the s eed of

rocessing.

9owever Tatsuya2s Se%uences made detailed settings unnecessary.

3ather than ma*ing u for her shortcomings! the conce t was toma(imi)e her advantages.

The intent ca itali)ed on her rocessing ower to continuously triggera Se%uence at high s eeds! and her ca acity to build large Magic3ituals.

The result was the 6AD she now held in her hand.

She had been sur rised at his being able to connect an au(iliaryaiming system to a general ty e 6AD! but she had been even moresur rised at the Activation Se%uence s eed.

&n terms of rocessing s eed! general 6ADs lose out to s eciali)edones.



This was not so much common sense! but rather a matter of structure.

;eneral and s eciali)ed 6ADs differ both in their hardware andsoftware.

The difference between them! between a dedicated rocessor andgeneral rocessor! is similar to the difference between a dedicatedsu ercom uter and a general one.

6om aring 6#: erformance in terms of s eed! a generic ty e willnever be the e%ual of a s eciali)ed ty e. This difference in level canusually be felt clearly.

And yet J this 6AD demonstrated s eed no less to that of a

s eciali)ed 6AD."1 more seconds$

JA target came flying.

JShe ulled the trigger.

JMagic activated.

JAnd the target shattered.

This rocessing s eed! even when com ared with the s eciali)ed6AD used during the reliminaries! showed almost no difference.

Tatsuya had said the tric* was because 2it was limited to only twoSe%uences2.

Since it had been designed e(clusively for the com etition! he wasable to use a tric* that would not be viable for daily use.

Shi)u*u could not understand the detailed theory.

She didn2t thin* it necessary.Magic was a tool.

The 6AD was also a tool.

A tool just needs to be usable.

Any more than that! could be left to the e( erts.

The last two targets weren2t shattered by the 2Air Mine2! but by +oo6ast 6onvergence magic.

G#erfect.G



6onfirming her erformance aloud! Shi)u*u gave a smile of trium h.

F F F

'oon.

&nside 5irst 9igh School2s tent! a jubilant atmos here filled the air.

GThat was brilliant! Tatsuya-*unH What an ama)ing achievementHG

9aving been atted and sla ed on the bac* countless times! Tatsuyawas growing tired. 7ust as Mayumi2s slender figure suggested therewas no actual ain involved! but her ersistence was certainlywearying.

G......#res! lease calm down a little.G

Ma*ing eye contact with Su)une in a lea for assistance! sheimmediately began to remonstrate with Mayumi.

?uite the de endable sen ai J if not for the fact that she had gonealong until being as*ed for hel ! ma*ing her feel rather more li*e a2 artner in crime2.

GAh! &2m sorry.G

#erha s having too much fun and finally coming to her senses!Mayumi immediately sto ed the sla ing. ......but it didn2t seem li*eshe intended to let him go anytime soon.

GStill! that was truly astoundingH We too* all first! second and third lacesHG

G......the winner! runner-u and third lace are all contestants! not me.GGOf course Kitayama-san! A*echi-san! and Ta*igawa-san were alsoama)ingH /veryone did so wellHG

At the Student 6ouncil #resident2s broad smile! the st Eear women2sS eed Shooting team bowed in unison with a ha y 2than* you2.

G ut at the same time! your own achievements are no less. They werewithout a doubt s ectacular.G

Although without Mayumi2s sheer energy! Mari also joined in the raise with a good natured face.





G9m......e(cessive humility is also un leasant you *nowLG

At Mari2s chiding! accom anied by a slightly chilling glance! Tatsuyasim ly shoo* his head reluctantly.

G&t2s not humility.GGThen what is itLG

G& just don2t want the shame of having my name registered as thedevelo er of a magic & can2t even use.G

6ertainly! if one is *nown as the develo er of a new ty e of magic!they are often as*ed for demonstrations.

&f one is 2unable to use2 a magic they develo ed themselves! sus icionswould arise that maybe the magic was actually develo ed by others.Tatsuya2s reason was not unjustifiable! but......

G......7ust how then did you manage to confirm the o erative readinessof a magic you can2t useLG

uilding u a magic by theory alone is sur assingly non-standard but!even if it were ossible! to let another use a magic that was not testedand verified as functional was the wor* of a mad scientist who ignoredall the ris*s! and it was e(tremely immoral.G&t2s not li*e & can2t use it at all. &t2s just that it would ta*e me far toomuch time to set u ! to the oint it2s not really at the level you couldsay & can truly 2use2 it.G

GWell well! Mari! Tatsuya-*un! let2s not %uarrel over such a thingnow.G

Seeing Mari re aring more ammunition to throw at Tatsuya2s

comebac*! Mayumi intervened between the two.GWe2re finally bac* to a good start. Tatsuya-*un! lease hel the othercom etitors just as much.G

As Mayumi ta ed his shoulder with a smile! Tatsuya gave a modest bow.

F F F



The erformance of 5irst 9igh SchoolIs women2s S eed Shootingteam had created a stir in the other schools.

There was an enthusiastic feeling of 2we can win this year2 throughout

the 'ine Schools Tournament! es ecially Third 9igh School! whothought of the accident in the women2s attle oard 2we feel bad forthem! but this is a chanceH2 J While such thoughts may seeme(cessive! they were shared amongst the others.

GSo Masa*i! 5irst 9igh2s erformance! you don2t thin* it was due tothe ersonal s*ill of those girls themselvesLG

Of the twenty eo le gathered J all the st Eears of the Third 9ighSchool 'ewcomerIs attle contestants J

G&t has to be said! the magical ower of the winner! that Kitayama girl!is astounding. &2m sure she would have won either way. ut the othertwo! & don2t feel were anything s ecial. &f the results had been decided

by magical ower alone! &2m sure they wouldn2t have gone so far as toclaim second and third lace as well.G

G'ot to mention that the advantage in attle oard lies with us thisyear! seeing how & thin* 5irst 9igh only has one st Eear in it with a

articularly high level.GThe results of the attle oard so far had seen the two guys fromThird 9igh School both %ualify! and of the two girls they sent forthone had %ualified. y contrast only one of the men from the three 5irst9igh School sent %ualified! and the one girl they sent %ualified too.

G&t2s as 7ouji says. We don2t lose out in terms of the %uality of ourcontestants. &f that2s so! there must be some other factor.G

G&chijou-*un! Kichijouji-*un......what do you thin* it isLGAt the %uestion from the girl who had lost to 5irst 9igh in thesemifinals of the S eed Shooting! both &chijou and Kichijouji madeeye contact! confirming their sus icions.

G&t2s robably! their engineer.G

Kichijouji res onded out loud.

GThe engineer for their women2s S eed Shooting team is robably

%uite the ace.G



G& concur. 7ouji! the device that winner girl used......did you noticeLG

GEeah......that was a general ur ose wasn2t it.G

Kichijouji2s answer! aside from the two of them! made a considerable

im act on the other Third 9igh st Eears.G'o way......& mean! it had au(iliary sights attached rightLG

GThat2s rightH &2ve never heard of a general ur ose device sha ed li*ea rifle eitherHG

GThat2s true. Whichever ma*er2s catalogue you loo* through! you2dnever find anything li*e that would youLG

At the objections being raised! &chijou remained somber.

G......certainly! something li*e that has never commercially a eared.9owever! e(am les of general devices with integrated sighting aids doindeed e(ist.G

GEou gotta be *idding......G

At &chijou2s words! stunned voices floated through the air.

&n fact a strong air of disbelief ermeated throughout! until Kichijoujicame out with his own su ort.

G&t2s new technology! only just announced in Dusseldorf last summer.G

G7ust last summerHL That2s frea*in2 state of the artHG

GEeah! & didn2t *now either until & loo*ed into it for this thing.G

G'ot even &chijou *new! there2s no way we would......G

An uncomfortable silence followed. Sur rise! an(iety! doubt......andawe.

G......Kichijouji-*un sure *nows a lot though. As e( ected of our brain.G

The words of that female com etitor were intended to loosen u theheavy atmos here.

ut Kichijouji remained unmoved.

GSure......but! the rototy e unveiled in Dusseldorf was not meant to be a ractical model. The o eration was sluggish! accuracy was low J from a technical stand oint it was sim ly an e( eriment that had



been cast aside.G

Kichijouji *notted his brow as he re lied! his voice bitter.

GThe device the winner 5irst 9igh2s Kitayama-san used however fully

combined the strengths of the s eed and accuracy of a s eciali)ed ty ewith the versatility of a general ty e. &f that was all the wor* of oneengineer......that2s not the level of a high school student anymore. &t2salmost monstrous.G

GMasa*i! for you to describe someone that far......G

G&t2s hysically im ossible for a single engineer to be res onsible forevery com etitor though......G

G6om etitions that guy is res onsible for in the future are li*ely to be beastly. &t2s very li*ely our devices will be handica ed by at least twoor three generations.G

At Kichijouji2s ominous s eculation! silence reigned amongst thegathered teammates.

F F F

Tatsuya! who was at this moment receiving such unjust treatment fromthe athletes in their rival schools without any *nowledge "obviously$after finishing a late lunch roceeded to the girls2 attle oard course.

#lanned for the afternoon were the fourth to si(th races.

9ono*a would a ear in the si(th. &f he only needed to *ee hisa ointment with her! there should be no need to come so early.

GAh! Shiba-*un! what2s the matterLG

At the sight of him accom anied by Miyu*i and Shi)u*u! A)usa tiltedher head. 9er osture was so similar to a s%uirrel holding a nut thatdes ite his melancholic mood! he couldn2t hel but twitch a smile.

At his careless chuc*le he consciously tried to tighten his li s! butthere wasn2t enough tension. &n resignation! he rela(ed.

G......Eou were ma*ing fun of me just now weren2t youLG

G'ot at all. & was just im ressed by 'a*ajou-sen ai2s diligence.G



G......Eou really are ma*ing fun of me aren2t youLG

eing glared at with those half-lidded eyes so much li*e a childsul*ing forced Tatsuya to loo* away to hold bac* his laughter.

G......&t2s fine! & don2t care.GA)usa *e t glaring at him for a while! then with a sigh! muttered toherself.

This was robably something she went through every day.

Somehow! her figure also e(uded an air of melancholy.

+eaving her li*e that would ma*e one feel terrible.

GJ& really wasn2t ma*ing fun of you.G

G......3eallyLG

G3eally.G

G3eally reallyLG

G3eally.G

eing loo*ed at with sus icion J due to the height difference!straight u J by A)usa! Tatsuya showed a strong front.

Seeing that roud bearing! A)usa finally seemed to relent "was shefooledL$ and smiled.

GAlright. ecause & believe in Tatsuya-*un.G

Saying so as she laughed at him! she drifted over to his side.

Tatsuya *new without even loo*ing.

The image of Miyu*i2s eyebrows rising floated into his mind.

"Ooh boy......$&t seemed his sister would be in a retty bad mood tonight as well! hesighed to himself J although he couldn2t resent her for it! it did ainhim a little inside.

JThat aside.

GSo! what2s the matterL There2s still two more hours before Mitsui-san2s match.G

G& felt rather uncomfortable outside! so & came here for some shelter.G



As A)usa tilted her head again! ne(t to Tatsuya! Miyu*i laughed.

G......Onii-sama is too concerned.G

At those %uestioning eyes! Miyu*i2s tone suggested 2it can2t be hel ed2.

GThey2ve become very motivated! so &2m sure the end result will be just fine.G

On his other side! Shi)u*u reassured him.

GAh! ahhh! is that what it is......G

;uessing the circumstances immediately! A)usa was retty shar too.

The mono oly of Shi)u*u and the others had been the subject of raise even throughout lunch.

'ot just the e(ecutives! but the seniors who had the day off and had been watching that day went to com liment the three! yet the numberof eo le who also went to mention Tatsuya2s achievements were notinconsiderable.

At that! the men2s S eed Shooting team had begun burning with ane(traordinary rivalry.

That in itself! as Shi)u*u said! was not undesirable.

&f they become fired u and increase their desire for victory! as long asthey arenIt idle! it wor*s as a lus.

ut being stared at with eyes that seemed to burn with vengeance fortheir dead father! made you want to tell them to get a life.

Of course! to say such a thing out loud would lead to a fight. &n orderto avoid unnecessary trouble! he had come to the com etition venue asearly as ossible.

The location of the 'ine Schools Tournament was the southeast areaof the 5uji Armed 5orces Training ;rounds. While it2s called an area!the 5uji training grounds were huge to begin with! and sim ly moving

between venues would end u being a considerable hi*e. Without thatmuch land! it would be im ossible to re are for areas such as the

attle oard course and the Monolith 6ode battlefield.

The attle oard course was a winding flume circuit of a ro(imately

three *ilometers.



With two sets for the two genders! as well as the s ectator standsmeant that %uite a bit of land was needed just to ma*e this course.

When considering moving around the venue! the attle oard course

had been constructed right at the edge of the area rovided for the 'ine Schools Tournament in order to avoid having to by ass that largecourse on the way to other venues! and it can safely be said that therewere no com etitors from other events around such as those

artici ating in the concurrent men2s S eed Shooting.

G& could also have gone bac* to the dorm! but & decided since &2ll becoming here anyway & might as well see if there2s anything & couldhel with.G

G3eallyHLG&t wasn2t just A)usa who raised a cry.

#erha s overhearing from somewhere! 9ono*a suddenly came flyingout from the com etitor2s area.

GThen lease! by all meansH 9ave a loo* at my 6ADHG

3ecently! under the influence of Tatsuya! 9ono*a had also begancalling her device not 2Assistance2 but 26AD2. At 9ono*a2s momentouslea Tatsuya had almost laughed out loud again. Tightening his faceagainst the im ulse! he scolded 9ono*a.

G9ey! come on 9ono*a. That way of s ea*ing is *inda rude to 'a*ajou-sen ai you *nowLG

9ono*a2s attitude! and her words just now! couldn2t hel but be ta*enas some level of dissatisfaction at A)usa2s wor*.

G/h! ah! &2m very sorryHG

9ono*a lowered her head in a hurry.

GDon2t worry about it. & *now you didn2t mean it in that way.G

A)usa shoo* her head with a dry smile.

9er tone was almost sisterly.

3esisting his urge to laugh this time was a difficult tas*.

The average time for a attle oard round was about 1 minutes.





To be sure! the midsummer sunshine was inclining in from the west tothe e(tent that facing that way directly would be uncomfortablyda))ling.

Due to water s lashing on the glass and bloc*ing their view! however!few com etitors o ted to use goggles or sunglasses.

A)usa had felt that narrowing the field of view would only be adisadvantage! but 9ono*a had ta*en the goggles without hesitation.

G......come to thin* of it! why has Mitsui-san re ared so many o ticalActivation Se%uencesLG

&t2s rare for an engineer to issue Activation Se%uences.

With the e(ce tion of Tatsuya! who lans out the Activation Se%uencelineu himself! normally engineers install Se%uences based on thewish of the com etitors.

A)usa had *nown too that 9ono*a was ade t with illusionary magicof the light wave system from her rofile! but due to the nature of thecom etition! A)usa had honestly believed there was no lace forillusionary magic.

GThe rules of attle oard state that interfering with other layers viamagic is rohibited. 9owever! interfering with the water and thusindirectly interfering with other layers is not.G

G......what does that meanLG

Des ite being as*ed re eatedly by A)usa! Tatsuya had only returnedan evil smile.

The signal for the start of the si(th %ualifying race of the 'ewcomerIswomen2s attle oard came on.

&mmediately after.

The audience in near unison turned away from the waterway. As if litu by a flash! the water surface oured out light.

One com etitor fell overboard.

The others had their balance disru ted whilst in the midst ofaccelerating! and one lone figure dashed to the front.

As if e( ecting the situation J although it has to be said that she wasthe one who created the situation J wearing dar* goggles! that lone



figure was 9ono*a.

GAlright.G

+oo*ing u at Tatsuya! who gave a voice of affirmation! A)usa2s face

was full of ama)ement.G......Was this Onii-sama2s strategyLG

Miyu*i2s voice as she removed her sunglasses was also filled withwonder. " y the way the sunglasses the three of them wore had beenissued beforehand. Miyu*i and the others had been mystified as totheir ur ose! but ut them on anyway.$

GTo be sure! it2s not rohibited by the rules but......G

Shi)u*u2s voice had a hint of re roach in it.One couldn2t hel feeling that this was rather against the s irit of fair

lay.

9owever the yellow flag which would indicate any significant unfair lay remained unwaved! and the match continued. The red flag thatsignaled a layer2s dis%ualification for rules violations li*ewiseremained unused.

&t meant that the tournament committee deemed 9ono*a2s magic! andTatsuya2s strategy! a legal move.

G......#erforming o tical magic on the water2s surface! & didn2t e( ectthat at all.G

9er ersonality straightforward at all times! A)usa muttered inadmiration.

G&nterfering with the water surface! whether to generate waves or

vorte(es! affects the consciousness and orientation of othercom etitors yet it is allowed since it com lies with the rule that 2youmay affect another com etitor via magically targeting the watersurface2. Doing something li*e free)ing the water solid or boiling itwould certainly be too dangerous! but & did find it strange that no oneuntil now had used it to cause di))iness.G

&f one is suddenly blinded without any warning! it ta*es a while torestore vision.

Meandering slowly along the course! unable to s rint due to their



obscured vision! the difference between 9ono*a and the other layerswas already decisive.

F F F

G......&t2s in the bag.G

G......Who thought of this strategyLG

Mayumi who was watching through the monitor did not e( erienceany discomfort as the monitor automatically adjusted the amount oflight dis layed! yet now while she was calmly assessing the originalityof that tactic she remembered her initial sur rise "although calmsur rise is a bit of an o(ymoron$.

5ollowing behind Mari2s mutter and Mayumi2s %uestion! Su)uneanswered.

G&t was Shiba-*un.G

G/h! but & thought Tatsuya-*un wasn2t involved in this matchLG

9earing that answer! Mayumi tilted her head as if going 2huhL2

Su)une2s re ly was ossibly a bit too olite.

GThe one who submitted the lan in the first lace was Mitsui-san. utthe one who decided the Activation Se%uence lineu and brushed uthe finer details of the strategy was Shiba-*un! or so &2m told.G

Su)une2s deliberate mention of him 2deciding the Activation Se%uencelineu 2 was because of the erce tion that doing so was the e(ce tion!not the rule.

G......it really is one thing after another with him! isn2t it.G

A touch of re roach could be heard in Mari2s voice.

GWhat2s the matterL Eou seem somewhat dissatisfied.G

Mari didn2t answer Mayumi2s %uestion.

9owever! her silence itself s o*e volumes on what was on her mind!

G......#lanning is very im ortant. As the masters say.G

5rom what Mayumi could tell! Mari was cran*y at being shown a



tactic she hadn2t thought of. 5or Mari who rided herself on being astrategist! it decidedly wasn2t very fun.

G&t2s a tactic no one has thought of for nine years! so this is the oint

where you should be nice and im ressed.GG.....& am im ressed. That2s why &2m so annoyed.G

eing cut into by Su)une! reluctantly! Mari admitted her jealousy.

Mari was magnanimous enough to acce t it! so Su)une let her off fornow.

GStill! this is a one-off strategy isn2t itL & wonder what he2ll do for thefinalsLG

Mari didn2t come u with a follow through! so Mayumi res ondedinstead.

G'o worries. There2s no way that man hasn2t thought that far ahead.G

GThatIs true. This is also just a strategic move for the ne(t match.G

Seems li*e it was a needless an(iety.

F F F

GEeah......seems li*e &2ve done something bad to 9ono*a.G

Watching 9ono*a ta*e the lead from her earlier move! and maintain itall the way until the finish! Tatsuya muttered in a bitter voice. 'e(t tohim! Miyu*i loo*ed u at her brother2s clouded face.

G......What2s the matterLG

Their a earance was noticed by others! and A)usa s o*e u toTatsuya.

GAh! nothing......G

9is answer was evasive! or in other words an e(cuse.

Still! he didn2t become silent.

GShe could have won this race easily based on her s eed

alone......there was no need for the confusion.GGWell......even so! she did ta*e the lead than*s to her initial da))le! so



couldn2t you still call it a successful strategyLG

A)usa! not *nowing the nature of Tatsuya2s regret! tilted her head.

GWhen you stand out so much! it2s going to mean you2ll be mar*ed by

the other contestants......GGThe semis are a race between three eo le......it2s a ossibility that inthe ne(t match! the other two will air u .G

Miyu*i com lemented Tatsuya2s words.

5inally! A)usa understood what they were worried about.

GOh! is that what it was.G

And laughed at their concerns.

GSomething li*e that......&2m retty sure it2d be a disadvantage rightLG

At Miyu*i2s countering hesitance! A)usa merely shoo* her headha ily.

GThat won2t ha en! since we2ve been mar*ed from the start.G

G9aahh......G

She had said it so cheerfully that for a moment Tatsuya wondered ifshe was actually roud of that.

JWell! just for a moment.

9owever insensitive he was! he wasn2t so far gone as to not reali)e shewas just comforting them.

F F F

G& wonH & won! Tatsuya-sanHG

As soon as she rose from the waterway! 9ono*a immediately hurriedover to where Tatsuya and the others were without even changingfrom her wetsuit! ho ing all the way.

GAh! yeah. We saw. Well done.G

Aware of the other staff who had come down to greet their teammates!

Tatsuya hastily ut both hands out in front of him while congratulatingher in an attem t to calm her down.



ut it had the o osite effect.

GThan* you so muchHG

#erha s misunderstanding! 9ono*a clas ed the hands Tatsuya held out

and stared u at his face! tears of joy threatening to s ill out from hereyes. /ven Miyu*i didn2t e( ect her to show her emotions sostraightforwardly.

While Tatsuya stood fro)en from a lac* of e( erience with suchthings! 9ono*a really did start to cry.

GWhenever it comes to com etitions! & become so wea*......& hardlyever win com etitions in athletic meets or tournaments li*e these.G

&t was the first time he heard of this. &f that were true! then maybeusing the strategy in the 'ewcomer2s division wasn2t such amiscalculation after all.

ut as Tatsuya stood hel lessly loo*ing left and right! behind 9ono*athe figure of Shi)u*u waving her hands flew into view.

5rom her a earance! it seemed she was saying 2that2s not the case! notat all.2

With his hands still firmly gras ed by 9ono*a! and establishing line ofsight with Shi)u*u! she began to mouth words to him. 9er limovements read 2she2s tal*ing about during rimary school2.

"A story from their rimary school days! huh......$

Tatsuya sighed whilst loo*ing towards heaven.

She robably didn2t intend to lie or anything......but her conviction was just a little too intense.

Des ite the icicle glare Miyu*i directed at him "that is to say icy cold!and very shar $! he still re%uired some time to regain his com osure.

F F F

oth in athletics and on the board! if one does not have the will thenvictory will be uncertain.

&t2s the same with magic com etitions.



+oo*ing at the success of one2s teammates and thin*ing 2now it2s myturn2 is a system which raises the will ower of the team! and is li*e amagic bullet which boosts morale.

2Will ower2 is lin*ed with 2fighting s irit2! but 2fighting s irit2 alsoeasily lin*s to 2futility2.

efore the girls2 eyes! such an event was occurring.

GMorisa*i-*un was the runner-u ! but......G

Mayumi2s words were wra ed in disa ointment.

GThe other two missed the cut huh......G

Mari2s words continued the disa ointed trend.

At the close of the first day of the 'ewcomer2s Division! in themeeting room! the Brd Eear e(ecutives stood before the results of themen2s S eed Shooting ran*ings and let out a collective sigh.

GThe results of the men2s and women2s are reversed......G

G& wouldn2t say that. Third 9igh too* first and fourth lace! so the girlsstill give us a ositive balance.

Eou2re being just a little too essimistic.G

Su)une2s sober analysis countered Mayumi2s gloomy remar*s. &t wasall in an effort to dis el the stagnant mood.

G......3ight. As &chihara said! it2s not good to be too negative. &n thefirst lace! the results of those girls are far more than we could havee( ected. We must be ositive about the lead they have given ustoday.

G ut the slum with the guys isn2t just in 2%uic*draw2. &n 2surfing2 aswell! only one guy %ualified com ared to two girls.G

At Mari2s remar*s! in a tone as if reminding herself! Katsuto agreedwith a grim loo*. " y the way 2%uic*draw2 is a nic*name for S eedShooting! as 2surfing2 is for attle oard.$

G&f their oor erformance continues li*e this! even if we do well thisyear it2s ossible we2ll be disadvantaged in the years to come.G

GThat losing would become a habitLG

G&t is a ossibility.G



At Katsuto2s oint! both Mari and Mayumi bitterly fell silent.

eing leaders of a Magic 9igh School! es ecially the e(ecutives of5irst 9igh who rided themselves u on victory! they were unable to

live with the easy thought 2we did good enough this year2.GThe mens2 side may re%uire some su ort.G

GStill 7uumonji! even if you say su ort what can we do at this latehourLG

Mari2s rebuttal to Katsuto2s murmur was bitter.

&t was certainly a 2late hour2.

The 'ewcomer2s Division had already begun. &t wasn2t ossible tochange the staff or com etitors anymore./ven when she glanced at him! Katsuto had no re ly.

That atmos here however! rather than being at a loss! gave theim ression not of mere silence but that a lan was forming.

F F F

At last tomorrow! or rather 2today2 already! was Miyu*i2s turn.

There had been no move from the organi)ed crime related sabotagewarned of by Ka)ama since the incident involving Mari! but Tatsuyacouldn2t ut it out of his mind.

&f his hy otheses were correct! the 2enemy2 had tam ered with the6ADs just rior to the com etition. &t was a low ossibility for more

sabotage to be carried out overnight! but it never hurt to double chec*.5or the enemy2s actions to be immediately undetectable by him! theyheld very high s*ill.

5inishing the final adjustments! he systematically tightly loc*ed the6AD! then further added a tri le loc* before finally sto ing wor*.

There isn2t a trace of any other erson.

'ot just humans! but no other life signs could be detected at all.

&n regards to the enemy! it would be e( ected that security here is



much higher.

Ka)ama and his subordinates! the elites of the &nde endent Magic-/%ui ed attalion were secretly hel ing behind the scenes! so even if

there was an attem t! a direct attac* was unli*ely to succeed.Without wandering around unnecessarily! he roceeded through theentrance of the hotel "of course! re%uiring bio-metric identification$!and went straight to his room.

efore he entered! he noticed at the door.

9is only roommates were non-breathing machines.

At this time of night! when he was confident the minute hand of the

cloc* should be announcing a date change any time now! thereshouldn2t be any sign of life aside from him in the hallway J but heturned the *ey and wal*ed inside regardless.

G9ey now! just what time do you thin* it isLG

:nli*e usual! his slightly stern voice sei)ed the initiative.

:nli*e usual! his osture suggested this wasn2t something that could be let off with a smile.

:nli*e usual! the one on the receiving end of all this must havereali)ed that as well.

9er shoulders trembling! Miyu*i hastily got u off the bed she had been sitting on! and fearfully loo*ed u at her brother.

GA lac* of slee will reduce your ability to concentrate. /ven if it2syou! where careless mista*es may not necessarily lead to defeat! thatwon2t always be the case.G

G&2m very sorryHGeing scolded by Tatsuya in earnest! Miyu*i bowed dee ly in a voice

verging on tears. 9earing his sister li*e this! seeing her li*e this!Tatsuya was sim ly unable to *ee u his tough stance for any longer.

G......&t2s good you understand. 'ow come on! let2s go bac* to yourroom. &2ll escort you there.G

#erha s his voice was a little too forceful! as when Miyu*i timidly

loo*ed u ! she refused to loo* at her brother2s face.



GMiyu*iLG

G......Onii-sama! for a bit! just a bit! could & have a little of your timeLG

G......7ust a little.G

A com etition in obstinacy would be a waste of time.

Tatsuya *new from rior e( erience that his sister was rather assively aggressive in this way.

G& heard from Shi)u*u. Onii-sama! you turned down the honor ofhaving your name added to the 2&nde(2.G

G'ot formally at least.G

G3ather than formally or anything! you were rohibited weren2t youLG

GEeah.G

At Tatsuya2s brief affirmation! Miyu*i! as if struggling withsomething! stood whilst biting her li a while.

G......Was that! u on the orders of our AuntLG

GEeah.G

Another brief affirmation.

Miyu*i! once again teary eyed! loo*ed down.

GThe investigative owers of the Magic :niversities are very high.The gossi sites mas%uerading as news sites of normal mediaorgani)ations can2t even begin to come close. They2re almostcom arable to military or intelligence agencies.

Develo ers of new magic in addition to being given access to theresources of the :niversities are also granted various rivileges! but

their identity is also e(amined in detail. &t2s in order to root outnational s ies and terrorists. &t2s an investigation on a totally differentlevel to high school admission. &t2s not unli*ely they2ll discover notonly my identity as 2Silver2! but 2Shiba Tatsuya2s2 identity as a Eotsubawhich the Eotsuba themselves have been bloc*ing so carefully.G

5aced with his sister2s tears! Tatsuya e( lained in a slightly cool voice.

&t was not only because he had to be uncom romising in the face of

her tears! but because he had to convince himself.G......G



5or a while! her head bowed! Miyu*i said nothing.

Tatsuya felt relief at not hearing her sob anymore.

GTo be sure! just entering the 'ine Schools 6om etition carried some

ris* of my identity coming under scrutiny. 9owever! leaving my namein the Magic /ncyclo edia is far different from being in a high schoolcom etition. The 2;uardian2 of the Eotsuba e(ists as a shadow. Do youthin* for such an outcast to be in the limelight would be acce table toour AuntLG

Miyu*i *e t silent. She didn2t even mouth any words of comfort.

That was her answer to his %uestion.

G5or now! & still don2t have enough ower. &n a head on situation! thereis a ossibility & could defeat the 2?ueen of 'ight2 Eotsuba Maya. My2Decom osition2 has good com atibility as a counter to her 2'ight2after all.

ut the me as of now! even if & could beat our Aunt! & can2t doanything about the Eotsuba. 5orce of arms alone! the threat of violencealone is not enough. &f & dis lace our Aunt! another worse mani ulatorwould sim ly show u in her lace. At this moment! & can onlyfollow.GThose words weren2t so much to convince his sister! as for himself.

As he tried to satisfy himself that way!

Miyu*i! moving from the front!

embraced him.

9er face shining with tears buried itself into his chest.

Such an a earance might be better described as 2clinging2! yet thatwas somehow ina ro riate.

G......&2m on your side.G

GMiyu*i......G

G& will always no matter what! come what may! be on your side.







Chapter 9

&t was the fifth day of the 'ine Schools 6om etition and the second

morning of the 'ewcomers Division.Tatsuya arrived in front of the arena that was busy re aring for the

'ewcomers DivisionIs &cicle Destruction.

Several large cranes were unloading meter ( meter ( C metericicles from large battlefield vehicles s ecially modified for this

ur ose. Seeing this would naturally cause eo le to believe that thedays where su er robot anime became reality were not too far off.

G......&f we could com letely ignore energy efficiency! that is.GGOnii-samaL What are you tal*ing aboutLG

As if to reject this outrageous line of thin*ing! Tatsuya involuntarilystarted muttering to himself.

G'o! it2s nothing.G

She did not ursue this vague answer.

G+et2s go %uic*ly.G

GEes.G

Originally! this was only a sto ing oint along their route to thecom etition location.

Tatsuya urged Miyu*i onward towards the resting area located on theto floor of the Arrow Tower.

F F F

There was still B0 minutes until the start of the first round in themorning.

When Tatsuya entered the arena! there was still lenty of s are time.

G;ood morningHG

......Still! the layers for the first round were already there.G;ood morning...... Sorry for ma*ing you wait so long.G



GOh lease! & was the one who came too early.G

The layer for the first round of &cicle Destruction! A*echi /imi!smiled as she shoo* her head and swe t a loc* of her ruby red hair

bac* from her face.G;ood morning! /imi. 9ow early did you get u LG

G;ood morning! Miyu*i. 5or some reason! & wo*e u before the alarmwent off. &t2s li*e & haven2t recovered from yesterday2s e(citement.G

9er other name was /milia ;oldie. 9er full name was A*echi /milia;oldie /imi. /imi was a %uarter ritish stoc*. 9er nic*nameG/mmyG! rather than originating from her 7a anese name G/imiG!

robably came from her ritish name G/miliaG.A Magician2s ability was heavily influenced by genetics.

Due to the connection between magic and national ower! eachcountry jealously guarded its magic bloodlines and either officially orunofficially forbade international marriages between Magicians. "Thiscountry that su erficially allowed freedom of marriage belonged in theGunofficialG category.$

Eet! in the generation of Tatsuya2s grand arents! allied countriesactively encouraged international marriages between Magicians. Thegoal was to GcrossG Ge(cellent stoc*G to Gdevelo G su erior Magicians.

The ensuing result was that over half of the current students at magichigh schools boasted bloodlines from Western /uro e or &ndia.

+eo was one of them! and the female student *nown as A*echi /imiwas another.

As could be inferred from her words! she also a eared in yesterday2sS eed Shooting com etition. This was the second day in a row shewas wor*ing alongside Tatsuya. esides Miyu*i and the two others!/imi was the first one on the Women2s Team to jell with Tatsuya. 5orTatsuya! she was also the most rela(ed young lady on the team.

After the two of them e(changed greetings! they delved into girl tal*as Tatsuya smoothly removed the 6AD from the case he was carrying!

erformed a cursory e(amination! and handed it to /imi.

This was a clumsy loo*ing! shotgun-sha ed S eciali)ed 6AD thatmeasured 10 cm in length and com letely dwarfed a young lady2s



hand.

The wea on loo*ed %uite heavy! but because recoil wasn2t an issue!the weight was significantly lower than a normal firearm than*s to its

lightweight materials. Eet /imi2s movements were li*e somethingstraight out of a Western flic* as she swung the gun around and too*aim out the window.

G....../imi! you2re not ritish! but American! aren2t youLG

G9ow many times do & have to say this! no. 'ow even Miyu*i issaying this tooL My grandmother2s family was *nighted by the Tudorsthemselves.G

6ontrary to the content of her words! her tone remained un erturbed.She maintained her current osture and started to su ly the 6ADwith sions. Somewhere along the way! the safety was removed. 7ustli*e Morisa*i2s ?uic* Draw! this was an entirely different ty e of

ristine 6AD drawing.

G9ow is itLG

G9m...... 'ow & *now how Shi)u*u feels.G

/veryone in the st Eear Women2s Team *new about the fact that theOjou-sama from the wealthy Kitayama 5amily wanted to GreserveGTatsuya.

GAre there any roblemsLG

GEe ! it2s erfectHG

/imi rela(ed her osture and smiled in delight.

A art from her ruby hair and moss green u ils! her outward

a earance was thoroughly 7a anese. /ven among her eers! she wasthe one who had the most childish im ression. 3ather than calling herearlier smile GdelightfulG! a more innocent GteeheeG was robablycloser to the mar*.

G& have no idea what you2re tal*ing about......G

/imi tilted her head at Tatsuya2s muttering! but her smile didn2t fade inthe slightest. One of the chief reasons was li*ely because she had no

idea what he was tal*ing about.GAt least let me run a few calibrations. 6an you ut on the ear setLG









Although the first round got a little tense at one oint! victory wasfinally achieved with three icicles still left in allied territory.

S ea*ing of which! the ending result was that /imi was currently dee

in dream land without any o ortunity to com lain that G&t2s toodar*>G or G&t2s too cram ed>G.

This was the fifth event! which was the second event for the femalestudents from 5irst 9igh. They were currently in the resting area

before the match began.

"& seem to recall saying something very similar recently.$

Tatsuya thought of this! but was still forced to say it aloud.

GShi)u*u...... Are you really wearing that uniform during thecom etitionLG

GEeahLG

When Shi)u*u re lied with an G&s something wrongLG e( ression onher face! Tatsuya really wanted to cover his head and was com letelyat a loss.

&cicle Destruction involved the layers standing on four meter tall

latforms and defending the C icicles in their own territory thatmeasured C s%uare meters while simultaneously *noc*ing down ordestroying all their o onent2s C icicles.

The layers were strictly using long range magic! so there was no needto move their hysical bodies.

&n other words! the layer2s wardrobe layed no role in this event." esides the uniforms that hinder the gri on their 6ADs.$

The only criterion for wardrobe was that it Gmust be decentG.And the ensuing result was that J while unintentional J at some

oint Women2s &cicle Destruction became a fashion show.

&n addition! when Kanon a eared for the Official Division on thesecond and third days! she was wearing a fairly normal s orts uniform.She wore tights! a mini jac*et! an ade%uate shirt! as well as long soc*sand tennis shoes.

On the other hand! /imi was dressed li*e a joc*ey! com lete with awhite collared shirt! red riding jac*et on the u er body! tight women2s





was the most effective strategy! he would ruthlessly ado t that as hiscourse of action.

7ust li*e this match.

The moment Shi)u*u a eared on the latform! the audience raised aclamor li*ely due to her outfit.

9owever! the erson in %uestion was steady even if a light bree)e hadgra)ed her face as she lifted her left arm before her chest! the tamotoheld firmly in lace by the obi.

Shi)u*u2s 6AD was just li*e the one she normally used! with thecommand console facing the inside of her arm.

&n the recent age! most female Magicians used 6ADs with commandconsoles facing towards the outside. Des ite the height of fashion!Shi)u*u still referred to use the feminine inward facing console!which befitted her status as an Ojou-sama. Still! given her usualtaciturn and emotionless nature as well as the occasional mercilesssnar*ing! this honestly gave eo le an incom atible feeling.

&f voiced aloud in front of aforementioned young lady! this wouldundoubtedly end with a beating. Tatsuya adjusted the focal oint onthe monitoring device and set these thoughts aside.&n the following time eriod!

Shi)u*u2s mission was to focus entirely on this match.

Tatsuya2s mission was to gather his attention entirely on her.

F F F

GMiyu*i...... Aren2t you going where Tatsuya-*un isLG

9ono*a i ed u from beside her. At this time! Miyu*i was sitting in adifferent section of the stands reserved for layers and au(iliaries thatwas not art of the normal audience stands and was atiently waitingfor the match to begin.

7ust as she did during /imi2s match in the first round! the moment

Tatsuya entered the monitoring room! Miyu*i s lit a art from him.



&t was erfectly natural for layers from the same school to cheer ontheir teammates from the monitoring room! butJ

G&cicle Destruction is a solo erformance. Sooner or later! Shi)u*u and

& will meet on the field! so wouldn2t it be unfair for me to snea* a ee*at her trum cardLG

&n terms of trum cards! there were certainly o ortunities during ractice to see them. /ven 5irst 9igh wasn2t e(travagant enough to re are several large scale ractice facilities for the 'ine Schools6om etition.

So! what Miyu*i was actually referring to was something else.

They were fated to be o onents. Miyu*i didn2t want to see Tatsuya!who was serving as their mutual technician! worry needlessly aboutsuch trivialities. This was robably Miyu*i2s real concern.

At the same time! she didn2t want Shi)u*u to be distracted by her resence.

9ono*a and Shi)u*u were close friends and rivals since elementaryschool. :ntil middle school! 9ono*a saw Shi)u*u as her strongesto onent and conversely! Shi)u*u also saw 9ono*a as her mostformidable o onent.&n their cohort and circle of friends! no one could match them in termsof magical talent.

: on entering high school and receiving official magic training! both9ono*a and Shi)u*u yearned to meet someone other than each otherwho could ush them to their limits. Eet! somewhere in the de ths oftheir hearts! a stubborn belief that could not be eradicated told them

that they would never meet someone who mirrored their talents.&n the same school! in the same tutoring class! there were no childrenfrom the Ten Master 6lans! but several children from the G'umbersSystemG. Still! none of them was worthy of being a new rival.

9owever! u on entering the high school entrance e(amination! theirGconceitG was thoroughly annihilated.

y this divinely crafted young lady sitting ne(t to her.

ased on their grades on the standardi)ed magic tests! 9ono*a wasfourth lace behind Miyu*i! Shi)u*u! and Morisa*i. &n 9ono*a2s



o inion! even if Shi)u*u didn2t count! she didn2t feel that she was anywea*er than Morisa*i.

The first subject in the high school standardi)ed e(am was a sim le

techni%ue involving ten rocesses. "Only someone of 9ono*a2s caliberwould be able to call Gten rocessesG as sim le.$

There was no real stress from the techni%ue and Morisa*i only sei)edthe advantage because of his su erior s eed. &f this was a morecom le( techni%ue with additional rocesses! 9ono*a was adamantthat she would have out erformed him.

Eet Miyu*i was an Ge(ce tionG.

She ossessed the overwhelming ability and strength that made jealousy itself ludicrous.

/ven if someone claimed she was from the Ten Master 6lans! 9ono*awould undoubtedly hold that to be true.

ut that was only natural.

JThat was what 9ono*a thought when she first beheld Miyu*i2smagic in the entrance e(amination area.

9ono*a was com letely unaware how close she was to the truth! roving beyond doubt how utterly Miyu*i2s magic astounded andoverwhelmed her.

This im ression followed her for the ne(t four months in school and!rather than being diluted! only intensified even more.

9ono*a felt that even the solitary Shi)u*u would not be able to calmlymani ulate her magic normally if Miyu*i stood before her.

When she learned that Miyu*i was being switched to Mirage at forthe Official Division! and thus avoided meeting her on the field!9ono*a let out a huge sigh of relief.

As she thought bac* to the time of the entrance e(am! 9ono*a wasnaturally reminded of the first time she saw GhimG.

&n reality! 9ono*a2s first encounter with Tatsuya was not the incidentthat occurred shortly after the day of enrollment. &t was not the timewhen /ri*a and com any were arrayed against them! with 9ono*acasting magics against school rules that would have landed her in a



world of trouble with the #ublic Morals 6ommittee 6hief had Tatsuyanot intervened. 9ono*a had encountered Tatsuya long before thisincident.

6oincidentally on the day of the entrance e(amination! not justMiyu*i! but Tatsuya was also in the same testing grou as 9ono*a.

This air of siblings was not outwardly similar.

9ono*a didn2t ossess the e(cess mental finesse to remembereveryone2s names.

The reason Tatsuya left a lasting im ression on 9ono*a wasn2t because he was Miyu*i2s older brother.

9is technical scores were only so-so.3egardless of s eed! strength! scale! every subject was thoroughlymundane and una ealing! to the oint that they could be labeled as

below average.

9owever! his magic was so beautiful it was breathta*ingH

9ono*a was inca able of analy)ing Magic Se%uences li*e Tatsuya.

'either was she li*e Mi)u*i in her sensitivity towards sions and ushions.When com ared to normal Magicians! 9ono*a! who s eciali)ed inlight wave oscillation magic! was only acutely sensitive towards themagical side effects that created light wave bac*ground noise.

An overabundance of interference or remnants of Magic Se%uenceswould all form into sur lus sion surges and oscillate in the em ty air.When hotons interact with these res onses! the ensuing result is light

wave noise.ut this caco hony was wholly undetectable in his magic.

&n other words! there were no e(cess materials in his Magic Se%uence.9is Magic #ower was e( anded to its limit and entirely devotedtowards henomenon rewriting! ma*ing for a magic that wascalculated down to the last detail.

9ono*a thought that it was a wor* of ure art.

9itherto! she had never seen such a beautiful iece of magic.



Afterwards! even though she bore witness to Miyu*i2s dominatingmagic! she still couldn2t forget that magic.

That2s why 9ono*a felt dee ly betrayed when she saw the lac* of the

eight etal flower on Tatsuya2s breast during the student orientation.This was the reason why 9ono*a nursed an overly antagonisticattitude towards Tatsuya2s grou that day.

JWhy are you on that side "6ourse C$HL

JWhy aren2t you on this one "6ourse $HL

9ono*a2s eyes were blurred by this illogical fury.

True! in terms of s eed! strength and scale! every category clearly sethim far from the standards "of a 6ourse student$.Eet! the fact that GheG who could weave such wondrous magic had to

be satisfied with being a mere Gsubstitute "Weed$G! 9ono*a felt thatthis was utterly unforgivable.

G......9ono*a! what2s wrongL2

Shoc*ed! 9ono*a turned to her side to find Miyu*i watching her inconfusion.

She must have noticed that 9ono*a had fallen into an odd state ofsilence in the middle of their conversation.

GS-Sorry! it2s nothing.G

/ven she would sus ect herself if something of that sort hadha ened. When she considered her actions as well as her misdirectedGanger dis lacementG and the reason why she consciously noticedGhimG! 9ono*a blushed to the roots of her hair and droo ed her head.

F F F

G&t2s finally Kitayama2s match.G

G+oo*s li*e she2s carrying a ;enerali)ed 6AD.G

Two ladies from the Women2s Team brass were hunched shoulder to

shoulder in front of a screen at the avilion. Su)une! who wasoverloaded with wor* from the unending stream of results! sighed as





&mmediately afterward! her o onent2s magic came rushing towardsShi)u*u2s field.

This was a o ular tactic involving Move-Ty e Magic to blit)*rieg

the o onent2s field./(ce t Shi)u*u2s icicles stood roc* solid against her o onent2s magicand didn2t shift at all.

F F F

G9o! Data 5ortification.G

/very 9? was e%ui ed with a widescreen monitor that could analy)ethe magic being used as well as the ty e of magic used and itsstrength. Much li*e a heat dis lay! the various dis lays were e( ressedthrough various shades of color.

:sing this function! it was a sim le matter to determine the offensiveand defensive ositions.

Data 5ortification.

/idos was a record of the current status of an information body.Through this information body! arts of the information or even theentire whole could be re licated and rojected bac* into the target to

rotect the /idos from being altered any further. This was *nown asData 5ortification within the 6ounter Magic field. The co ied ortionsfrom Data 5ortification ossess the ability to revent magic fromaffecting the target.

Shi)u*u used Data 5ortification to em hasi)e the target2s locationGright thereG. As the screen lainly dis layed! her o onent2s Move-Ty e Magic was nullified by Shi)u*u2s magic.

G?uite the direct confrontation.G

GWasn2t this recisely how Mari redictedLG

Su)une! who overheard the conversation! couldn2t hel but thin*8 G'otreally! & hardly thin* that this strategy was created solely to lay with

your heads......G Of course! this thought couldn2t be assed to themesmeri)ed observers.



GStill! & thin* that for Magicians with high interference strength li*eKitayama-san! rather than using Data 5ortification! she should usewide area interference as a 2frontal assault2.G

G ased on yesterday2s results! Kitayama also has high magic ca acitythat is hard to find. She shouldn2t feel any stress from co ying the/idos. Also! for &nterference-Ty e Magic! Data 5ortification is moreefficient com ared to wide area interference.G

On the screen! her o onent once again tried to use Move-Ty e Magicto attac*! but was nullified just as before.

Simultaneously! just as the attac*ing magic faded awayJ

Three of the icicles in the o onent2s field shattered.G......What just ha ened right nowL Mayumi! did you catch thatLG

Mari as*ed in confusion! but Mayumi turned around without anyconfidence in her e( ression.

G& can only guess based on the data from the screen......G

Obviously! observing the analysis was vastly different from feeling themagic from the front lines.

G& thin*! that may have been the a lication of 23esonance2.GThe monitor was unable to *ee u with the effects of indirect magicon the target! so the only way to narrow down what magic was usedwas through the surrounding environment.

GShe shifted the irregular fre%uency from the Oscillation Magic intoher o onent2s field and loc*ed the fre%uency just as it started toresonate with the icicles and raised the out ut at the same time! thus

creating resonance. & thin* that2s how it was.GGSo that2s how she did it...... To avoid 6ounter Magic! she didn2tdirectly attac* the icicles using magic attac*s! but used the ground as amedium. While they both used the ground as a medium! whencom ared to Kanon2s 2Mine ;enesis2 that relied urely on hysical

ower! this is a much higher level techni%ue. Sometimes & really can2ttell who the u erclassman is.G

G#recisely because finding the resonance oint ta*es some time! sheused Data 5ortification to buy time. She loo*s very ade t with





interfering Magic Se%uence if using regular intervals! then analternate method would have to be used to identify the target2sresonance.

This was not reliant on monitoring devices! but done while com ilingActivation Se%uences into Magic Se%uences. That was the art thatTatsuya was res onsible for.

This techni%ue was created by adding a new rocess into theG3esonanceG magic that Shi)u*u was familiar with. Eet! Shi)u*u wasable to wield this at will. Obviously! this level of s*ill was notobtained by just training in school! but honed through long hours of

ractice outside of class.

As another icicle colla sed in the enemy2s field! one of the alliedicicles colla sed as well.

9owever! this was only her o onent2s Glast gas G. Tatsuya could tellwith a glance.

The o osing layer threw everything she had into that last attac*.She most li*ely *new the writing on the wall! but des erately wantedto avoid being defeated without *noc*ing down a single icicle.

Tatsuya watched Shi)u*u2s bac* with his own eyes and not throughthe monitor.

The sions she was releasing were not ruffled in the slightest.

'o sense of wavering! no hint of ride. At the same time that shevigorously defended her own territory! she retaliated against hero onent2s field.

#robably because she wasn2t fi(ated on her o onent for some bi)arre

reason. She was fighting in a manner that ut anyone watching her atease.

9er o onent! who had e( ended all her energy! did not ut u anyfutile resistance.

The three icicles in the enemy2s territory shattered a art li*e a sandcastle standing against the incoming tide.

F F F



Miyu*i2s match was the last one in the first round.

This was a long wait from early morning! but since lunch time was

also figured into the time! this didn2t feel that long for her.S ea*ing of Tatsuya! he was also u since morning and this was histhird match! so he was hardly GwaitingG.

Miyu*i and Tatsuya were the only ones in the resting area for layers.

9ono*a and Shi)u*u were nowhere in sight.

They had mentioned during lunch that they would be cheering her onduring the match. 'ow! they robably already met u with /ri*a2screw.&n recom ense! which was hardly the issue at hand! &sori and Kanon aswell as Mayumi and Mari came to su ort her.

"&t2s a huge cheerleading arty......$

Tatsuya wore a hel less loo* on his face as he murmured in the rivacy of his mind. Of course! he actually said something else.

G&2m glad that you all came to cheer on Miyu*i! but...... 6hief!shouldn2t you be in bedLG

GWhat! even you2re treating me li*e an invalidL &t2s not li*e & have toho around and dance! so there2s no roblem.G

Eet! it was still a serious injury. Tatsuya swallowed those words anddirected the conversation towards Mayumi.

GOh...... Then shouldn2t the #resident be at the avilionL & thought theMen2s Team is still in the middle of their event.G

G'o roblem. & left that to 9an)ou-*un. &2m also ste ing down twomonths from now! so it2s not a good idea to rely on me for everything.G

This was a valid argument! but smac*ed of someone feigning silliness.

Still! their resence wasn2t going to negatively affect the match! socontinuing this conversation would do more harm than good.

GMiyu*i! we have so many reliable sen ais here to cheer you on! ma*e

sure you2re not more an(ious than usual.G#fft! someone was snic*ering in the bac*! but Tatsuya chose to ignore



that.

A arently! he was doting on Miyu*i too much. ut for Tatsuya! hissister was always "logically$ going to be his sister.

G#lease do not concern yourself. ecause Onii-sama is by my side.G5ollowing that! Miyu*i raised her head and ga)ed at her brother whomshe had com lete faith in. &n her ears! all other sounds becameinaudible.

F F F

Miyu*i2s a earance on the latform threw the crowd into andemonium.

GThat! incredibly! that is......G

G ut suits her %uite well. What do you thin*! KanonLG

G& say! that2s sim ly gorgeous.G

Tatsuya tuned out Kanon and &sori2s conversation li*e it was a ;M

and focused on re arations to monitor Miyu*i2s status. &n the blin* ofan eye! the re arations were com lete. Tatsuya eered towardsMiyu*i and suddenly reali)ed8 G3ight! that2s what everyone is staringat.G

Miyu*i was dressed in a fine white ha*ui aired with a crimsonha*ama. 9er hair was held bac* by a white stra .

True! the hairstyle was slightly different and if in lace of a 6AD sheheld bells or a sa*ai! she would be even more stunning. &t was that*ind of garb.

Originally! she was already gorgeous and now aired with thiswardrobe! she gave off an almost divine aura.

'o! erha s she had already sur assed divine ossession and was nowa roaching the realms of the gods themselves.

GOuch! her o onent seems to have been submerged.G

G'othing they can do about that. /ven & must admit that & can2t hold acandle to that. ......Ah! unless that was the goal all alongLG



Mayumi and Mari2s voices from behind him were lainly directedtowards himself. Tatsuya turned around and re lied.

G y goal! you mean whatL There2s nothing articularly astounding

about using that attire for magic ceremonies.GStill! his answer was literally the answer to a literal %uestion! but therewas clearly a mismatch in what both sides wanted to communicate.

G......Tatsuya-*un2s family follows the Shinto systemLG

This time the %uestion was even more off the mar*. After Mayumi2sunrelenting ursuit! Tatsuya didn2t hesitate as he shoo* his head.

G9ardly! it2s sim ly because we2re 7a anese.G

G......3eally! maybe! fine.GMayumi reluctantly nodded. Tatsuya left with a G+et2s end theconversation hereG and turned bac* towards the monitors.

Tatsuya2s words themselves were hard to deny and were fairly logical.

Eet! if someone witnessed the entire rocess! they would immediately be able to tell that he wasn2t being uniform the entire time.

They were both *imonos! but Tatsuya had a conflicted view ofShi)u*u2s tamotos yet didn2t %uestion his own sister2s mi*o getu .Tatsuya2s sensibilities on this J objectively s ea*ing J were indeedsus icious.

F F F

Miyu*i was wholly unaware of the drama unfolding on the bac* stage J well! that was only to be e( ected J as she calmly waited for thestart signal.

G5alse startsG were a major violation of the rules.

eing overly enthusiastic could subconsciously activate magic! whichwas your own fault. Well aware of this fallacy! Miyu*i wasn2t fired uduring the waiting eriod li*e all the other layers! but wasconcentrating on restraining herself.

......&n the eyes of others! this was a G osture of silenceG.



The signal lights on both ends of the arena flashed red.

Miyu*i o ened her faintly closed eyes and ga)ed directly at the enemyfield.

A sigh arose from the audience.And not just in one area either! but from nearly the entire arena.

Sur risingly! it wasn2t the young men! but the young women who weremesmeri)ed by that fiery ga)e.

This was no longer the atmos here e( ected from mere s ectating.

With a ologies to the other layer! the entire audience was fi(ated onMiyu*i2s every move.

The signal light flashed yellow! and just as it turned greenJ

An intense sion light flooded the entire area without heed to allied orenemy territories.

Eet! the arena J had turned into two different seasons.

An absolute chill enshrouded Miyu*i2s field.

A burning heat wave flooded her o onent2s field.

The icicles in her o onent2s field started to melt.9er o onent was des erately trying to a ly cooling magic with noa arent effect whatsoever.

9er own osition had turned into a fro)en hell that sur assed thewinds of winter.

9er o onent2s field transformed into a scorched urgatory thatrivaled summer2s might.

Still! all of this lasted only the briefest of moments.

Swiftly!

9er field was com letely envelo ed in chilling mist.

While her o onent2s field was devoured by the rising steam.

F F F



GThat can2t be......G

G&nferno......LG

ehind him! Tatsuya could hear Mari and Mayumi2s murmurs and

groans.They were certainly s ot on! Tatsuya thought! yet he didn2t turnaround.

Tatsuya2s ga)e was still loc*ed on the dis lay of Miyu*i2s bac* fromthe monitoring device.

Medium-Scale Oscillation-Ty e Magic G&nfernoG.

y dividing the target area into two sections and decreasing the *ineticand rotational energy of all objects within one section! this sur lusenergy could be released into the other section in the form of heat.This way! conservation of energy was still maintained while a lyingthe rinci le of reverse entro y from thermodynamics.

Occasionally! this magic served as the test for A-3an* Magicians.Many testers shed bitter tears at their inability to wield this highlydifficult magic! but for Miyu*i! this was merely a triviality that shecould mani ulate at will.

Since this was originally an area-of-effect magic! there was no need toworry needlessly about magic lea*ing outside and brea*ing the rules.Still! the very definition of magic forced Magicians to be e(tremelycareful even with the sim lest of techni%ues. &f an incident were tooccur! she would immediately be dis%ualified from the match! whichwould rom t him to intervene by any means necessary. This waswhat was running across Tatsuya2s mind as he watched Miyu*i.

9owever! he a eared to be agitated over nothing.The tem erature in the enemy2s field roc*eted ast C00 degrees6elsius.

5lash free)e icicles that were formed in a hurry were nothing morethan rough ice cubes with countless oc*ets of air within. These

oc*ets would ra idly e( and when heated! causing the icicle itself tocrac* des ite the icicle becoming more fluid under the heat.

Suddenly! the tem erature sto ed rising.





&mmediately afterwards! a shoc* wave burst s read across the enemyfield.

Miyu*i had switched magics.

She was com ressing and releasing the air./very frail icicle within the enemy field shattered as one.

F F F

There were a total of B@0 contestants and QC technicians. While someschools waived their right to tactical advisors! the number of total

artici ants in the 'ine Schools 6om etition still e(ceeded R10students. &f there was a ball "or even ban%uet$! this number of eo lecould still be managed! but that was ractically im ossible to achieveon a daily basis during the main event.

rea*fast was done buffet style on a first come! first serve basis.+unch consisted of bentos being delivered to each school2s avilion orengineering vehicles! though some eo le chose to ta*e them bac* to

their rooms. Dinner was served in the three dining halls over threese arate sessions! with each school getting one hour to dine. "Theschools dined se arately to avoid their tactics lea*ing to otherschools.$

Actually! dinner was the only o ortunity for the entire school team tocongregate in the dining hall.

This one hour of dinner was an invaluable time for sharing the day2strium hs and regrets.

Tonight! at the 5irst 9igh tables! a clear line was drawn between lightand dar*ness.

Dar*ness covered the corner where the st Eear male layers weregathered.

+ight enshrouded the corner where the st Eear female layers weregathered.

And among the dense jungle of female layers! the small dash of red"or maybe green is more a ro riate in the jungleL$ was! of course!



Tatsuya.

GMiyu*i! that was totally awesome.G

GSo that2s 2&nferno2L The sen ais were com letely shoc*ed. &t2s saidthat even A-3an* Magicians have roblems with that ability.G

G/imi! nicely doneH Eour first match was a little tight though.G

G6avalier gear with carbine stance! niceHG

GShi)u*u was great tooH Eour *imono with tamoto was sim ly beautiful! then you forced your o onent steadily into a corner.6ool>HG

While the 'ewcomers Division 6rowd all only clinched one Second#lace and one Si(th #lace! yielding a Gso-soG result! the dominating

erformance from the &cicle Destruction layers allowed all three toadvance to the third round! continuing the trium hant erformancefrom the S eed Shooting event. This caused the female layers to bas*in a festive mood.

The format of the &cicle Destruction event had CR layers in total! withC matches in the first round and @ matches in the second round. With

three eo le advancing to the third round! 5irst 9igh laid claim tofully half of the layers still in the field.

The three victors from the third round would then engage in a roundrobin to decide the ultimate victor! though based on the currentsituation! there was a strong ossibility that all three of those ositionsmay be claimed by layers from 5irst 9igh. &f so! that would truly bean astounding feat. The very fact that this remained a distinct

ossibility made it Gim ossibleG for them not to be beside themselveswith joy.

The u erclassmen all wore smiles that said GWhat are we going to dowith you guysG as the underclassmen danced around in joy.

GShiba-*un! Shi)u*u2s ability was a 23esonance2 variant! rightLG

The st Eear female student who came over was not one of the layersTatsuya was res onsible for. 9e was aware of who she was! but was

not overly familiar. Wholly ill at ease "Miyu*i vetoed his re%uest to sitelsewhere$ as he dined! Tatsuya was suddenly the center of attention



and finally managed a somewhat ordinary re ly.

GThat is correct.G

?uite the detached re ly but even so! his voice was slightly gentler

than usual. While they were eers in the same cohort! the other ersonwas a 6ourse female student that he rarely interacted with normally.Tatsuya was ta*ing recautions not to frighten her off by accident.

:nfortunately! this caution brought about a crescendo in res onse.

GSo the Activation Se%uence was really designed by Shiba-*unLG

G& heard that Shiba-*un develo ed the techni%ue Shi)u*u used duringS eed Shooting! rightLG

GShiba-*un also devised the strategy for &nferno too.GG3umor has it that Shiba-*un was also the mastermind behind9ono*a2s flashbang strategy.G

The continuous stream of %uestions gave him no room to maneuverand continuously drained his mental facilities! not that there wasanything Tatsuya could do about it. Still! they were currently in astimulated state which li*ely used the current festive mood as stress

relief for the continuous an(iety from the com etition. 5rom another ers ective! this e(aggerated raise may even be seen as flaunting inorder to raise their self-confidence to combat that feeling of uneasethat couldn2t be easily dis elled. Tatsuya could understand that feeling!so he intentionally avoided dam ening their enthusiasm and atientlycontinued to listen.

GThat2s great...... &f Shiba-*un was my su ort! & could robably wintoo.G

9owever! this hrase was still ta*ing things too far and couldn2t beignored.

Des ite this! he robably shouldn2t be the one who ointed this out.Tatsuya glanced subtly at Miyu*i! who was sitting beside him.

G'anabi! & thin* there2s something wrong with that sentiment.G

: on being gently re rimanded! this female student immediatelyreali)ed that her words could be easily mista*en for her dissatisfactionwith her su orting technician.



9er attitude did a com lete P0 as she frantically rose to her feet! babbling the entire time! and searched the u erclassmen for theengineer res onsible for her. : on discovering the engineer smilingand waving at her! she finally let out a dee sigh of relief! boweddee ly in a ology! then returned to her seat.

G&-& s o*e oorly.G

G'ana! you can2t lace your own inade%uacies all on the 6AD.G

GTeehee...... 3eflecting.G

The volume level for the young ladies2 conversation had dro edconsiderably! but didn2t nearly %ualify as whis ering.

G ut there is no doubt that than*s to Shiba-*un! &2m erforming much better than usual.G

This time it was Ta*igawa! a female student that too* Third #lace inS eed Shooting! who s o*e u . /imi nodded e(cessively at this.

GOn some level! 6AD calibration is the same thing as telling yourdar*est secrets! isn2t itL And towards a male engineer to boot......While & did thin* li*e that in the beginning! but to have Shiba-*un bemy engineer is sim ly incredibleH 9ere2s to the boys who were willingto yield Shiba-*un to usHG

Tatsuya could only smile wryly at the massive misunderstandinghidden behind that innocent smile.

9owever! there were also eo le who couldn2t muster even a wrysmile.

GAh! heyHG

With a violent GbangG! one of the boys stood u .9eedless of anyone trying to sto him! Morisa*i ic*ed u hissilverware and headed towards the catering area before leaving thedining hall altogether.

F F F

6oincidentally at the same time.



Though it wasn2t a sum tuous feast! there was an entire array of highclass 6hinese cuisine J far more lavish than any high school ban%uet

J s read across the table that was surrounded by a crowd of dismale( ressions. There was a colossal difference between the lu(uriousgold and red decorations and the dour faces of the men resent.

G......Wasn2t Third 9igh su osed to be favored for the 'ewcomersDivisionLG

They were conversing in /nglish.

GWe finally managed to force Watanabe to bow out! but...... &f thiscontinues! wouldn2t 5irst 9igh trium h againLG

9owever! the eo le resent showed clear signs of mi(ed /uro eanand /ast Asian heritage.

G&f the favored candidate wins! the house will be hemorrhagingmoneyHG

GThere are a lot of <&#s in the casinos this time. /ven if we do ayout! this isn2t a small sum for us. We2ll robably be facing a ga ingdeficient in the beginning of the business %uarter. &f that2s the case......G

The men eered at one another with grave e( ressions.

G....../veryone here will be urged by head%uarters. ased on the si)eof our loss! the head may do the honors himselfHG

One of the men murmured softly as he eered at the sna*ing dragonembroidered with gold thread in the middle of the hanging a(le.

A heavy silence fell over all the men.

GDying might be the best thing that could ha en to us......G

Someone muttered.&n a voice %ua*ing with terror.

F F F

:nli*e magic related s orts events! gender differences didn2t really

im act magic com etitions./ven so! when ta*ing into account that hysical abilities still hold the





&t was the si(th day of the 'ine Schools 6om etition and third day ofthe 'ewcomers Division.

The first match of the third round in &cicle Destruction was about to

ta*e lace.Mayumi glanced at the time and waited for Miyu*i to ta*e the stage.

F F F

Turn bac* the cloc* for a few moments.

As Tatsuya and Miyu*i were headed towards the resting area for &cicleDestruction! two students from Third 9igh a eared before them.

oth of them were male students.

One of them matched Tatsuya2s hysi%ue in terms of height andshoulder width! to the oint that it was e(tremely difficult to tell thedifference. 9owever! that student had a much more stunninga earance.

The other student was significantly shorter. Than*s in art to theschool2s re utation for em hasi)ing martial abilities! this did not giveoff a wea* im ression.

They a eared to have noticed Tatsuya at the same time and directlywal*ed towards him.

G& am &chijou Masa*i! Third 9igh! st Eear.G

The taller one s o*e first.

5or eo le that have just met for the first time! his tone was slightlyoverbearing! but ama)ingly! Tatsuya didn2t seem to mind.

While both of them were st Eear students! &chijou Masa*i naturallyfit into a leadershi role and seemed to e(ude the charismatic aura of atrue leader.

oth his eyes were focused on Tatsuya.

G+i*ewise! Kichijouji Shin*urou! also from Third 9ighIs st Eear.G

The shorter youth s o*e olitely and identified himself with a moretraditional air! though his eyes teemed with a challenging glint.



G5irst 9igh! st Eear! Shiba Tatsuya. So! the 26rimson #rince2 and26ardinal ;eorge2 in the flesh! what may & do for youLG

'o sense of malice.

Slightly different from sheer enmity.Still! there was no %uestion that this was not a friendly attitude.

Strictly s ea*ing! it was a na*ed fighting s irit.

7ust li*e Masa*i! Tatsuya also res onded in a tone that would beconsidered overly rude for first ac%uaintances in his usual manner.

Tatsuya felt that utting on a mas* of false friendshi would beinsulting to these two.

G9o...... So you *now of ;eorge2s re utation as well as mineL Wellthat ma*es this sim le.G

GShiba Tatsuya...... A hitherto un*nown name! but & shall never forgetthis name. Eou are robably the most ingenious technician since theadvent of the 'ine Schools 6om etition. &2m afraid we are lac*ing inmanners here! but all we wished for was to meet you once.G

G& am honored to be called a 2genius2 by the rodigy that discoveredthe 6ardinal 6ode at age B...... ut you are right in that this is againstthe norm.G

As for his own manner of s ea*ing! he re lied bac* in a fran* andstraightforward fashion.

Eet! neither of them a eared irritated. They came with absolutedetermination and maintained a osture one usually reserves for aserious o onent.

GMiyu*i! go ahead and re are.GTatsuya did not lift his eyes from these two as he gave his instructionsto Miyu*i. Tatsuya estimated that they would be here for a while.

G& understand.G

Miyu*i bowed towards Tatsuya and de arted for the resting areawithout s aring Masa*i a single glance! as if the air did not e(istwithin her dimension. There wasn2t even a hint that she was

intentionally avoiding them J that was how erfectly she renderedthem to non-e(istence.



5or an instant! Masa*i2s eyes followed Miyu*i! but swiftly reverted bac* to Tatsuya.

G......2#rince2! isn2t your side about to beginLG

The s lit second of wavering and reluctance did not esca e Tatsuya2seyes. &nwardly! he let out a small breath.

:nwavering! Tatsuya2s eyes forced Masa*i to re ly.

G......We will a ear in tomorrow2s Monolith 6ode.G

Eet! the one who re lied for him was Kichijouji.

Kichijouji was the cham ion for the 'ewcomers Division S eedShooting event! while Masa*i was favored to clinch the crown for the

'ewcomers Division &cicle Destruction event. 'aturally! it wase( ected that each school would commit their aces to the Monolith6ode event.

GWhat are your lansLG

Although he wanted to as* what he was referring to! there wasn2tenough time left.

G&2m not res onsible for that.G

That being said! he had no obligation to reveal any details! so he wentwith the abstract answer.

G&s that so...... That2s unfortunate. One day! & wish to line u againstthe layers you2re res onsible for. Of course! we will trium h.G

Kichijouji2s words caused Tatsuya to feel GAre you throwing downnowLG. ut he %uic*ly thought otherwise! since these guys originallycame to challenge him in the first lace.

GSorry for ta*ing your time. We loo* forward to meeting on the fieldof battle.G

efore Tatsuya could res ond to Kichijouji! Masa*i made thisdeclaration and wal*ed ast Tatsuya with Kichijouji.

JSo they2re still a rude bunch in the end. Tatsuya thought as heheaded towards the resting area where Miyu*i was waiting for himwithout turning his head in the slightest.





GWhat were they u toLG

The first thing Miyu*i as*ed when she came out of the changing roomwas about the earlier scene.

GScouting! & thin*L Still felt ointless though.GTatsuya tilted his head and chose to re ly in neutral terms and handedMiyu*i the 6AD he had re ared for her while she was changing.

&f there were any e(traneous distractions before the match! this wouldonly negatively im act the match itself! so Tatsuya moved to curtailthe conversation with haste. Eet! after Miyu*i heard Tatsuya2s re ly!she burst into laughter as if finding some rofound meaning in his

words.G& thin* that2s their declaration of war! Onii-sama.G

9e wasn2t ignorant of what his sister was referring to. 9e himself feltthose two came to s ecifically challenge him.

ut in Tatsuya2s eyes! this was a ointless gesture.

G......Eou don2t believe meLG

/ven though Miyu*i rolled her eyes u ward and outed sul*ily! thiswasn2t something he was going to let slide so easily.G'o! well...... &2m not a contestant! rightL & don2t believe these tworenowned individuals who have e(tended their re utations beyond thesco e of magic high school students would view a nameless ersonli*e myself a rival.G

G3ivalG was based on the assum tion that they ac*nowledged that both sides were e%ual.

Objectively s ea*ing! from outward a earances! he wasn2t even inthe same strata as those two. Su erficially! com aring themselves withhim was a ridiculous notion. 5urthermore! they didn2t a ear to havediscovered his secrets either.

Ordinarily! it was fran*ly im ossible for the G6rimson #rinceG orG6ardinal ;eorgeG to see him as an o onent J Tatsuya thought.

: on seeing her older brother actually thin*ing this way and not out

of humility! the sister sighed dee ly.G......Onii-sama! underestimating your own abilities would be fatal in



battle. /(actly how highly you are valued! how greatly you arewatched! even how much other schools view Onii-sama J howfiercely their antagonism burns because of Onii-sama2s s*ills andstrategies J & thin* Onii-sama should consider all of this objectivelyonce more.G

5or Miyu*i! this was an e(ceedingly rare! and blunt! counsel.

This was a com letely une( ected boldness and unimaginablere roach. Tatsuya could only stand there and watch her blan*ly.

This was the third time Miyu*i used her mysterious beauty toca tivate the hearts of the audience at the same time that she wieldedher terrible might to van%uish the enemy.

F F F

On the waves where attle oard would be decided! the first round ofthe Women2s semifinals was about to begin.

The layers were already at their starting ositions.

9ono*a2s figure was among them.G9m>G

G............G

GThat2s a little......G

G............G

GOK! that! uh......G

G............GGWhat the hec* are you two doingLG

All three layers were side by side at the starting line. &n the stands!/ri*a was humming in frustration while Mi)u*i was utterly silent byher side. 5inally caving! +eo as*ed reluctantly.

G&sn2t that just>! a little strangeL All the layers are wearingsunglasses.G

G/ri*a-chan! those are called 2goggles2......G



&ndeed! just as /ri*a and Miyu*i said! not just 9ono*a! but the othertwo were wearing dar* rotective goggles as well.

G&sn2t that obviousL This is the most reliable countermeasure to

9ono*a-san2s light magic.GMi*ihi*o2s analysis was grounded in common sense! causing /ri*a toado t a G9ow boring>G e( ression as she laughed mirthlessly.

G......What2s wrong with thatLG

G ut>! doesn2t that mean they fell for Tatsuya-*un2s strategyL attleoard layers don2t use goggles because the water dro lets may

interfere with their sight. This is a *ey reason. Eet they %uic*ly

ado ted goggles after being flashed once...... There should be otherways to counter light magic......G

G&s 9ono*a-san lanning on using the water to obscure their visionLG

/ri*a nodded in disinterest.

9owever.

GThat2s hard to say...... & doubt that Tatsuya will rely on such amundane tactic.G

G......#ossibly.GMi*ihi*o2s words seemed to rouse some of /ri*a2s interest.

This time! no flash occurred immediately after the start.

GShe2s slow out the gateHLG

G'o! she2s right behindHG

As they navigated the sna*ing tunnel in front of the observation dec*!9ono*a was in second lace entering the first shar curve.

G/hLG

At this location! the layer in first lace too* an odd route.

'ot only did she massively reduce s eed! she even drew close to themiddle of the route.

9ono*a also decelerated! but too* a stee er angle that just barely

cleared the bend and snatched first lace from the layer who too* theroundabout route.



GWhat! just ha enedLG

'ormally! layers either reduced s eed drastically and hugged theinside route! or too* a wider angle but controlled their deceleration.

The route ta*en by the other layer could be described as amateurish. 'ot only did she drastically reduce s eed! she also left a huge assinglane.

G......There seem to be shadows floating in the waterways.G

5ollowing +eo2s observation! /ri*a s%uinted and shouted out.

GAh! there it is againHG

This time it was a wide arc way.

The layer that 9ono*a assed once again left a huge ga between herand the wall and slowed down more than necessary to ass the angle.The ensuing result left her farther and farther behind 9ono*a.

G......'o wonder! so that2s how it is.G

G/h! whatLG

/ri*a as*ed Mi*ihi*o! who was nodding in a reciation.

GTatsuya2s intent was to have the other layers don goggles that areshaded against light. This oint coincided with /ri*a2s guess.G

Mi*ihi*o s o*e with animation! as if com letely abandoning his usualirrational stubbornness.

G9owever! this isn2t for using the water s ray to occlude their sight! but to ma*e the dar* areas harder to erceive.G

GSo that2s whyH &llusions can also be used li*e this......HG

G&ndeed. y turning the lit areas dar*er! you are able to mani ulateyour o onent2s moves. :ltimately! magic de ends on a lication......G

G......Would the two of you care to enlighten me as well instead ofamusing yourselves.G

At +eo2s dis leased voice! Mi*ihi*o finally stirred from his daydream.

GSorry! sorry. &n other words! Tatsuya2s strategy is......G

F F F



GShiba-*un2s strategy is very sim le.

9e used light wave oscillation magic to control the light along thewater route.

The rotective goggles already restricted vision considerably. This isnow com ounded by the dar*ened route! causing eo le to misjudgethe distance to the edge! hereby forcing the o osing layers awayfrom the dar*ness....... &n summation! he narrowed the area the layersdared to navigate through.G

9attori! with Kirihara in tow! was holding the fort in lace of Katsuto!who had gone to observe the Men2s &cicle Destruction event. Theywere currently listening to every word of Su)une2s e( lanation.

G/ven if the mind says otherwise and claims that the water2s surfaceshoulder is wider! it remains a difficult tas* to override hysical

erce tion. At the same time! regardless of who the layer is! anyonewould have a harder time raising their s eed along a narrow corridor.Thus! this strategy is grounded in denying the other layers from

bringing out their full otential.G

G...... ut! wouldn2t 9ono*a-san be affected herselfLG

GThat2s why she has re eatedly trained under similar conditions.G9attori2s %uestion rom ted a sim listic answer.

G......;enerally! the user remains unaffected by the magic itself! so noworries.G

GDon2t rela( just yet. Shiba-*un said that 2the width of the water way isfi(ed! so use your body rather than your eyes to memori)e it2.G

9earing Su)une2s re ly! Kirihara muttered.

G......So rather than being a clever strategy! it turned out to be a fullfrontal assault anyway....... This could only come from someone withone hell of a mean strea*.G

Kirihara2s im ression caused Su)une to burst into laughter.

F F F



After the morning matches! the avilion reserved for 5irst 9igh turnedinto an ocean of festivities.

All three artici ants in the 'ewcomers Division Women2s &cicle

Destruction third round won.&n the round robin ortion of the event during the afternoon! every

layer came from 5irst 9igh.

9ono*a also advanced to the finals for attle oard. This was a resultthat could only be described as GdominatingG.

The only eo le who couldn2t join in the fun were the ten layers fromthe st Eear Men2s team.

&f they com eted normally! the male members would surely achievesimilarly im ressive results. That being said! their blind animosity ledto re eated mental errors that only increased as their numbersdwindled and their frustration mounted! throwing them into a viciouscycle of self-destruction.

Among them! the three layers from &cicle Destruction J Miyu*i!Shi)u*u! and /imi! as well as Tatsuya! the technician res onsible!were not resent because they were summoned to one of the hotel2sconference rooms.GWe2re ressed for time! so &2ll *ee this short.G

Mayumi was the one who called them here. She was the only onewaiting for them.

G:ntil now! no school has ever mono oli)ed the round robin ortionof this event. Shiba-san! Kitayama-san! A*echi-san! your

erformances have been e(em lary.G

#olitely! calmly! and frantically! the three of them dis layed threedifferent attitudes as they bowed in than*s to Mayumi2s raise.

G&n recognition of this feat! the board has a ro osal. They say thatregardless of what the standings for the round robin are! our schoolwill receive all the oints anyway! so there2s no need to lay this out.All three of you will share 5irst #lace collectively.G

The three of them loo*ed at one another! with Tatsuya smiling

sardonically in the bac*.





Mayumi smiled to console her and nodded before turning to Miyu*iand Shi)u*u.

G&......G

Shi)u*u s o*e u first.GWant to com ete.G

9er eyes burned with fiery determination as she loo*ed Mayumi in theeye.

GAfter this! how many o ortunities will & have to go all out againstMiyu*i...... & don2t want to miss this chance.G

G9ow unfortunate......G

Mayumi dro ed her ga)e to the ground and sighed.

GWhat does Miyu*i-chan thin*LG

G&f Kitayama-san wishes to com ete against me! & have no reason torefuse.G

Mayumi *new very well that Miyu*i was made of sterner stuff that belied her a earance! so she was com letely unsur rised by thisres onse.

G& understand...... Then! & will re ort to the board that A*echi-san haswithdrawn whereas Shiba-san and Kitayama-san will engage in a duelto decide the final round. The match should be the first one of theafternoon! so you had best ta*e this o ortunity to re are.G

After Mayumi finished s ea*ing! the first one to bow was Tatsuya.

As he left the conference room! Miyu*i and Shi)u*u immediately bowed to Mayumi and left right behind him. /imi frantically bowed aswell and said8 G&2ll ta*e my leave.G

F F F

The stands were overflowing with s ectators.

The changes in the 'ewcomers Division Women2s &cicle Destruction

event were %uic*ly announced and intentionally set as the first matchof the afternoon to avoid conflicting with other events.







ut the combatants involved didn2t thin* so.

"& can2t get in......H As e( ected of Miyu*iH$

Shi)u*u2s G3esonanceG was com letely rejected by the enemy field.

&n com arison! Miyu*i2s heat wave was envelo ing Shi)u*u2s field.

GData 5ortificationG is a counter magic used to revent magic from assing through and altering the /idos.

&t was unable to revent the hysical effects from magic.

/ven if the magic couldn2t directly influence the icicles2 tem erature!the heated air would cause the icicles to melt. &t was only a matter oftime.

"&n that caseH$

Shi)u*u stuc* her left wrist with the 6AD attached into her rightsleeve.

She ulled out a istol-sha ed S eciali)ed 6AD in her hand.

This was the final trum card that Tatsuya had re ared for Shi)u*u.

Shi)u*u ointed the mu))le towards the front row of icicles in

Miyu*i2s field and ulled the 6AD2s trigger.

"Dual-wielding 6ADsHL Shi)u*u! you managed to accom lish thatL$

Seeing Shi)u*u2s left hand also holding a istol-sha ed 6AD! Miyu*iinwardly wavered.

Wielding multi le 6ADs simultaneously was her brother2s trademar*ability. &t was an e(tremely difficult techni%ue that was almost

Guni%ueG.Miyu*i believed that! for someone who could so easily lose control ofmagic li*e herself! it was far too soon for her to challenge that abilitythat demanded absolute control of her sions. At the same time! shewas terrified of infringing u on her brother2s favored techni%ue.

9owever! at the current moment! Shi)u*u was wielding a second 6AD before her very eyes.

Without arousing interference from the sion signal waves! the second6AD com leted its Activation Se%uence.



&nstantly! Miyu*i2s magic sto ed.

The sustained magic was curtailed in mid translation.

'ow! Shi)u*u2s new magic stormed forward.

G#honon MaserHLG

9earing Mayumi2s gas ! Tatsuya rivately a lauded as if this newmagic had nothing to do with him8 GShe certainly is well versed inmagicHG

The front row of icicles in Miyu*i2s field started to give off whitesteam.

5or three rounds! Miyu*i2s icicles were untouched J at the magicallevel J by her o onents! and were now damaged for the first time byenemy attac*.

Oscillation-Systematic Magic G#honon MaserG J a high level magicthat raises the number of su ersonic oscillations to form a %uantumheat ray.

/ven if this was the tactic that Tatsuya gave Shi)u*u to defeat

Miyu*i...... 9is e( ression remained oddly dar*. 'ot because Miyu*i was in danger of being defeated.

ut because he *new better than anyone else that relying on this levelof strength to sur ass that sister of his was nothing more than a i edream.

She faltered for all of one second.

Acting in concert with Shi)u*u2s newly sustainable magic! Miyu*ialso switched magics.

The rising steam from the icicles J the sublimation of ice halted.

'ot because she bloc*ed the heat ray formed by the shootingsu ersonic waves! but because an absolute chill that sur assed the heatof G#honon MaserG had materiali)ed itself.

Miyu*i2s field was instantly enshrouded in a sublime! white mist.

The mist gradually drifted towards Shi)u*u2s field.



Miyu*i *new that Shi)u*u would raise the inference strength on GData5ortificationG.

Des ite this. 3egardless.

"......Alas! you are too naive! Shi)u*uH$The flowing mist was Gcold airG. Tem erature change J magic that

revented melting had no effect on this magic.

G......2'iflheim2 .......That2s im ossible! rightL What magical dimensionare we in here......G

Mari said in ama)ement.

Tatsuya shared that sentiment! but remained silent on the issue.

Wide Area 5ree)ing Magic G'iflheimG.

At the basic level! this techni%ue ignored heat and a earance! usingmagic to uniformly cool down all the objects within a set area. /venso! in terms of racticality! this magic could be used to createDiamond Dust! Dry &ce #articles! or even large clouds of nitrogen gasin a inch that could be advanced towards the target.

+i*ewise! its strength was building towards the strongest level.

The nitrogen mist assed through Shi)u*u2s field and vanished nearthe other end of the arena.

On one side of Shi)u*u2s icicles J the side facing Miyu*i that is!nitrogen was coated on its surface! creating GdynamiteG on the icicles.

Miyu*i disabled G'iflheimG and once again activated G&nfernoG.

Shi)u*u2s GData 5ortificationG could only affect objects that originallye(isted within the area and thus had no im act on newly a liedmaterials.

+owering the tem erature of nitrogen gas roduced a cooling effect.+i*ewise! ra idly heating nitrogen li%uid at tem eratures fare(ceeding normal room tem erature would instantly eva orate thenitrogen.

/( anding it to Q00 times its si)e.

With a huge roar! Shi)u*u2s icicles colla sed as one. &t was un*nownwhether the roar came from the icicles hitting the earth or the roar



itself caused the icicles to fall! or even if it was caused by the gase( losion.

The very fact that the icicles were shattered into tiny ieces testified to

the ferocity of the e( losion.The judges were robably stunned by this scene unfolding before theireyes.

9ence they hesitated briefly before announcing the end of the match.

F F F

G6ongratulations on your victory! 9ono*a.G

Shi)u*u! who had returned to their room first! congratulated 9ono*a!who was fresh from her ost-event medical e(amination.

GThan* you...... &t was a nice try! Shi)u*u.G

GEeah...... ut & can2t acce t it.G

9er soft words would li*ely rom t some eo le to sus ect8 G&s that

trueLG ut 9ono*a was her close friend from childhood! and there wasno way she could misinter ret Shi)u*u2s meaning.

GShi)u*u......G

9ono*a wra ed her arms around the slightly shorter Shi)u*u and ulled her into a hug.

Arms dangling! Shi)u*u dove into 9ono*a2s embrace.

G/ven though & never thought & had a chance from the beginning.G

G3eally......G

G ut! there was nothing & could do.G

G............G

G& still can2t let it go! 9ono*a......G

G......Eou gave it your all.G

This ersisted for some time.

G......Than*s. &2m OK now.G



Shi)u*u said as she se arated from 9ono*a.

There were no tear trac*s on her face.

G&s that so......L Shi)u*u! want to grab some teaL &2m a little hungry.G

G......OK.G

G;ive me a second to change! alrightLG

Shi)u*u smiled in embarrassment and nodded as she watched9ono*a2s sunny attitude.

The moment 9ono*a ste ed into the cafeteria! she was immediatelycaught between a roc* and a hard lace and struc* immobile.

She loc*ed ga)es with Miyu*i! who had arrived beforehand.

They couldn2t just retreat li*e this! but even so! it2s not li*e they could just nonchalantly sit down ne(t to her. This terrible situation almostcaused 9ono*a to burst into tears.

G6ongratulations on your victory! 9ono*a.G

While Miyu*i2s warm smile was no less brilliant than usual! there wasstill a little stiffness in her u er li . They were unable to GactnormallyG and! while there were some degrees of difference! Miyu*iwas no e(ce tion to this either.

G9ono*a! congratulations.G

&f 9ono*a hesitated now or ut on a stilted smile! this would onlyworsen the mood. &n order to deny her that o ortunity! Tatsuyaimmediately addressed her in his usual tone and simultaneouslydis elled the aw*ward atmos here around them. 9owever! by doing

so he also cut off 9ono*a2s ath of egress.GAh! err! than* you very much......G

GTatsuya-*un! may we sit with youLG

Shi)u*u bro*e the ice here.

GOf course! lease do.G

Tatsuya said as he rose and ste ed behind an em ty chair. Miyu*i

ic*ed u the teacu s and moved the tray before sitting down in anadjacent seat from her revious osition o osite Tatsuya.



G#lease.G

GThan* you.G

Shi)u*u didn2t hesitate and sat down in the chair Tatsuya ulled out

for her J directly across from Miyu*i.9ono*a blushed as Tatsuya did the same for her and sat down.

After 9ono*a and Shi)u*u ordered a ca*e set from the waitress that just ha ened to ass by! Tatsuya once again loo*ed over the two ofthem.

GThis one2s on me. +et2s call this the celebration for ta*ing 5irst andSecond #lace.G

G/h! reallyLGG......Then! &2ll do just that.G

While 9ono*a hesitated briefly! Shi)u*u merely nodded inacce tance. She seemed to com rehend that Tatsuya2s real intentionwas to console her! so there was no reason to refuse.

Seeing her friend rebound faster than she e( ected! 9ono*a breathed asigh of relief and finally focused her attention on her own situation.

G:m! well......G

G9mLG

GWell! & was able to win all than*s to Tatsuya-*unH Than* you somuchHG

After all the attention was drawn bac* to herself! 9ono*a falteredeven more than earlier when she reali)ed that she hadn2t than*edTatsuya for everything yet. She was finally able to deftly do so aftergreat ersonal difficulty.

Seeing her li*e this! Tatsuya smiled and nodded his head.

G7ust a little.G

9e wasn2t being humble nor was he denying her words! he just didn2twant to blow it out of ro ortion. 9ono*a didn2t ta*e issue with thewords Gjust a littleG robably because she understood the meaning

behind his smile.

After verifying this! Tatsuya wi ed away his smile and turned his ga)e



on Shi)u*u.

G9owever! & do need to a ologi)e to Shi)u*u.G

G/hLG

Shi)u*u stared at Tatsuya with a G& have no idea what you2re tal*ingaboutG e( ression.

GDisregarding the final outcome! this could have turned into a moreeven contest...... My estimation was too naive. &t was too strenuous ademand for you to com letely master 2#honon Maser2 in two shortwee*s.G

GAh! that...... 'o! that2s not Tatsuya-*un2s fault at all. Also! without

that! & would have had no chance to retaliate at all.G5ully com rehending why Tatsuya was a ologi)ing! Shi)u*uvigorously shoo* her head.

G&t was my fault & couldn2t control it. & should be the one a ologi)ing.&f & could wield it at will! that would have made for a much bettermatch. As an ine t o onent! & also e(tend my a ologies to Miyu*i aswell.G

G#lease don2t be li*e that. At the time! & was very sur rised. Eou wereable to use such an advanced magic ability while dual-wielding 6ADsat the same time.G

Miyu*i smiled and shoo* her head. Afterwards! she teasingly glared atTatsuya.

GOnii-sama! were you really trying to ma*e me loseLG

At this fairly com le( to answer %uestion! Tatsuya immediately

res onded.G......& just wanted the both of you to bring out your ma(imum

otential.G

And the result was this dignified but brilliant rejoinder.

#om ous! but it was no lie.

Miyu*i *new this very well! but understanding this was one thing! being satisfied with this answer was another thing altogether.

GSeriously...... Does this erson not care about his own sisterLG



G& do believe you would be truly indignant if & went easy on you.G

Anyone could encounter their friend teasing an older sibling! but thiswas an e(tremely rare occurrence for Miyu*i. 9er words not only

brought about Tatsuya2s rebuttal! they also caused 9ono*a andShi)u*u to burst into laughter.

F F F

&t was the seventh day of the 'ine Schools 6om etition and the fourthday of the 'ewcomers Division.

Today was the reliminaries of the 'ewcomers Division Monolith6ode event! which was widely regarded as the most im ortant eventwithin the 'ine Schools 6om etition. Eet! the audience2s attention wascom letely concentrated on Mirage at.

Since this was an event that only young ladies artici ated in! theiruniforms consisted of colorful s ande( that was covered by flowingminis*irts and sleeveless vests or jac*ets. When com ared to thefashion show "cos lay contestL$ that Women2s &cicle Destruction

resented! this was another feast for the eyes of a different caliber.

3ather! the young women in these uniforms were dancing through thes*ies.

&n terms of sheer beauty! this event was undoubtedly first among allmagic com etitions.

Thus! it was erfectly natural to receive massive attention "andscrutiny$ from the male fans.

That being said J if this wasn2t Tatsuya2s mental reaction! he felt thathe was also the subject of many a curious ga)e.

This was no lustful ga)e that he was fighting against! but the collective" ric*ly$ hostile ga)es filled with enmity.

G......Eou2re certainly dimwitted when it comes to your own affairs.G

The layer that com leted her re arations for the first match s o*e to

Tatsuya in a teasing manner.GWhile & don2t deny that &2m a little slow in some regards...... Eou have



some idea! SatomiLG

GOf courseHG

She was Satomi Subaru from 5irst 9igh st Eear 6lass D! and! of

course! a 6ourse student. Satomi was actually her surname! as thetwo of them were not close enough for Tatsuya to call her by heractual name.

G/veryone came to see Shiba-*un.G

She was a young lady that was somewhat similar to Mari. To be recise! they were both more o ular among their own gender thanwith those of the o osite gender.

9owever! at the end of the day! they were only GsomewhatG similar.Also! if the two of them stood side by side! they would still give offdifferent im ressions to others.

+et2s assume both were dressed in swallowtail suits.

Mari would give off a Gbeautiful lady dressed in men2s clothesG vibe.

While Subaru would definitely categori)e as a Gbeautiful young manfrom the trou ersG.

3egretfully! that was robably their defining difference.&t remained a mystery as to whether Subaru was conscious of this

oint! but it was true that her tone and mannerisms had a masculinetinge to them.

/ven so! this was hardly a GrudeG im ression! but as her reviouswords im lied! she was an e(tremely erce tive young lady.

G&n both S eed Shooting and the subse%uent &cicle Destruction! we

sei)ed all three of the to s ots. & thin* anyone watching could see thathighly efficient 6AD software layed an integral art in that. That2swhy everyone wants to *now who the technician res onsible is.G

G...... ut! anyone can find out who the technician on duty is withoutmuch research.G

GThat2s true. Shiba-*un! the other schools are now very wary of you.G

&f what Subaru said was true J and there was no reason to thin*

otherwise J then things were ra idly rogressing in the direction thatTatsuya wanted to see the least.



;enerally! eo le are forced to act in conditions where they are notfully re ared. That2s just Ghow life wor*sG.

Des ite that! he was woefully un re ared for this situation.

According to the lan! GShiba TatsuyaG was only su osed to berevealed ost graduation.

GThen...... &t2s my turn to ta*e this by storm. 9onestly! with this 6ADin hand! there2s no reason & can be defeated in the reliminaries.G

As she aced continuously towards the entrance! Subaru raised herright arm with a GbraceletG that seemed to flash in the sunlight. Overone shoulder! she revealed a daring smile.

Tatsuya gave her a thumbs u and watched her de art.As she said herself! Subaru was ractically guaranteed to trium h inthe reliminaries.

:sing the 6AD he calibrated.

While he didn2t want to be in the ublic eye so much! he couldn2te(actly just mail it in either.

As a 6ourse C student J as a Weed in the system! nobody save forone erson laced high e( ectations on him! but now he was out ofo tions.

'ow! he had Mayumi and Mari who nominated him for the 'ineSchools 6om etition! Katsuto who su orted this decision! 9attoriwho bac*ed him des ite his own ersonal feelings and Kirihara whowas willing to be a guinea ig des ite the danger. Then there were9ono*a! Shi)u*u! and all the other female layers who werede ending on him as well as J and Miyu*i! who unconditionally

believed and su orted him.

Once entwined! these social lin*s could not be so easily GdissolvedG!even by him.

F F F

Mirage at involved four eo le at a time in the reliminary round!with the si( victors from each round advancing to the ne(t round.



/ven though this was the event in the 'ine Schools 6om etition withthe least amount of matches! this did not im ly that this was an easiertas* for the layers.

Ta*ing into consideration that there were three rounds! each lasting 1minutes at a time! this was the longest event in the 'ine Schools6om etition. &ncluding the five minute brea*s s aced between! theevent could last a ro(imately one hour. 6om ared to &cicleDestruction and Monolith 6ode that had no time restrictions! this wasan es ecially long duration.

Also! during the match itself! the layers had to use sustainable magicand continuously lea into the air. The stress laced on the layers

themselves easily rivaled that of a marathon.And to to it all off! there were two matches in one day alone.

&n terms of hysical stamina! this was a more unishing event than6rowd all or Monolith 6ode.

With the layers2 e(haustion in mind! there was a large interval forresting between the reliminary and elimination rounds! which could

be said to be a uni%ue feature of this event.

The first match was set at P AM. With two arenas going at the sametime! the reliminaries would be finished around noon.

The elimination round would start at Q #M. This was the only nighttime event in the entire 'ine Schools 6om etition.

Some may %uestion why the 'ine Schools 6om etition forced the reliminary and elimination rounds into one day rather than s littingthem across two days. There was! of course! a method to the madness.

Mirage at was an event that involved swinging a bat towards the orb-sha ed holograms "Strictly s ea*ing! they were three dimensional orbimages. Modern imaging techni%ues technically ossessedfundamental differences with holograms$. &n other words! the layerhad to identify the illusion floating ten meters off the ground whilestill grounded! otherwise there was no way to com lete the event. Thisevent was not suited to be conducted under the burning sun. 9ence anairshi was de loyed during the third match to avoid letting the sun

interfere with the event.



Mirage at was designed to be conducted during night time.

&n order to avoid letting the layers2 bodies cover the rojecting lights!the BD rojector was set ato the cylindrical light towers that

surrounded the arena. 5rom this alone! one could fully understand thiswas intended to be a night event.

F F F

After the end of the second match J as e( ected! both 9ono*a andSubaru advanced J Tatsuya was headed bac* to his room to ta*e a

%uic* na .The two layers had already returned to their rooms and were soundaslee .

&n this event! restoring lost stamina was absolutely critical.

As the technician! Tatsuya didn2t need to rest hysically! but this was agood o ortunity to rela( his nerves. 9e toyed with the idea of usingthe Slee ing Doc*s! but elected to yield that to the layers first and

returned to his room! ulled the curtains! and lay on the bed.3ight now! the third match of Mirage at was rogressing. 9e wasvery fortunate to be assigned the first and second matches. /venthough it was only one more hour! this hour had a huge im act onrefreshing himself mentally and hysically.

9e also wished that Miyu*i2s Official Division reliminary was earlyas well! but that was out of his hands. Tatsuya abandoned that thoughtafter ta*ing into account how meaningless that consideration was.

9is hysical body wasn2t tired! so he didn2t have to force himself toslee ! but allowed his mind to wander.

As he lay on the bed with his eyes closed! Tatsuya thought bac* to thescene from yesterday morning.

&chijou Masa*i and Kichijouji Shin*urou J while they were of thesame age as he was! they were both rodigies that were renowned inthe world of magic.

&chijou Masa*i J Three years ago! when the ;reat Asian Alliance



invaded O*inawa! the 'ew Soviet :nion also too* military action onSado! where the young man of a mere B years volunteered for thefront lines and! alongside the current head of the &chijou 5amily!&chijou ;ou*i! used G3u tureG to annihilate many enemy soldiers. 9ewas a Magician who ossessed live combat e( erience.

While the scale of the battle was %uite small "to this day! the 'ewSoviet :nion denies their connection with the militants that invadedSado$! he was awarded the title Gthe 6rimson #rince of the &chijou5amilyG for his e( loits. "9ere! G6rimsonG raised him for the factthat Ghe was bathed in blood and fought to the lastG rather than being aderogatory GbloodthirstyG label.$

Kichijouji Shin*urou J A genius Magician that identified theG6ardinal 6odeG! which had only e(isted in theory! at age B. asedon his surname Kichijouji and the G6ardinal 6odeG he discovered! hewas given the title G6ardinal ;eorgeG and was held to be one of therising stars behind theoretical Magic Se%uences who were *nownthroughout the field.

The fact that both of them registered at the same school in the samecohort was a coincidence that bordered on criminal.

5or the two of them to team u during Monolith 6ode was already aninvincible combination! at least for the 'ewcomers Division.

Morisa*i and com any deserved to be itied. Tatsuya viewed thingsthat were not connected to him more mercifully.

&f only there was some way to close the ga .

"G3u tureG is a magic that ossesses A-3an* destructive ower......Maybe.$

The &chijou 5amily2s far-famed ability G3u tureG was a Dis ersal-Systematic Magic that va ori)ed all fluids within the target2s body.

Once the fluids from a biological target were va ori)ed! the bodywould tear a art.

5or internal combustible machines! once the fuel eva orated! the carwould immediately e( lode. This was also the case for battery li%uid./ven if there were no flammable li%uids on board! there was stillengine oil! lubricants! coolant. There was ractically no machine that



didn2t use some sort of fluid. Thus! as long as G3u tureG was activated!the &chijous could destroy any machine at will.

This was the erfect magic for both anti- ersonnel and anti-armor

combat. G3u tureG was designed solely for military use! so naturally itinfringed u on the rules for Monolith 6ode.

"That being said! he is still the ne(t head of house for one of the TenMaster 6lans and ossesses the roud title G6rimson #rinceG! so hewouldn2t just rely on G3u tureG as his trum card...... S ea*ing ofwhich...$

9e shifted his thoughts from two eo le who signed u for Monolith6ode and declared war in front of him to the Monolith 6ode eventitself.9e didn2t have to devote all his energy into creating countermeasuresfor Third 9igh yet.

3ight now! 5irst 9igh2s second match was about to start.

"They already too* the first match and the second match is against thelowly 5ourth 9igh. /ven they can2t screw this u that bad......$

Tatsuya2s eyes remained closed as he surrendered to his drowsinessand drifted off to slee .

F F F

Tatsuya wo*e u shortly after noon and headed for the com etitionarea! only to find the area covered by a rattled atmos here.

Scratch that! it was a com lete state of anic that envelo ed the avilions.

5irst 9igh2s avilion was the center of it all.

GOnii-samaHG

The moment he ste ed into the avilion! Miyu*i ran over to him as ifthis was a redetermined event. Shi)u*u was right alongside her.

GMiyu*i...... Shi)u*u too! weren2t you two with /ri*a2s grou LG

According to the lan! before 9ono*a got u J she had to re are for



the finals around 1 #M J Miyu*i and Shi)u*u should have beenwatching Monolith 6ode with /ri*a and the others.

Eet! the two of them were here! which im lied that......

GWhat2s going onL Did something ha en during Monolith 6odeLGWithout waiting for an answer! Tatsuya immediately followed u withanother %uestion.

There was no reason to as* if something had occurred! the very moodtestified that an incident occurred.

Tatsuya had an in*ling that this was li*ely worse than he had feared.

GEes! there was an accident! but......G

GMiyu*i! that was no accidentHG

As Miyu*i hesitated to s ea*! Shi)u*u forcefully overrode her wordsas she interru ted.

GThat was intentionally over*ill. &t was blatantly against the rules.G

Although she *e t a tight rein on her tone! Shi)u*u2s eyes betrayed herfury.

GShi)u*u...... This is not the best time to ma*e wild accusations. Wedon2t have roof that 5ourth 9igh intentionally did this.G

G&ndeed! Kitayama-san.G

ehind them! Mayumi interjected into the conversation.

G&t is hard to imagine that this was urely an accident...... /ven so! wecannot jum to the conclusion that this was remeditated. &f we hurtlesus icions around blindly! some eo le who do not *now any better

may assume that2s the truth.GThis may be a little im olite! but that was certainly a worthy argumentfrom the u erclassman leadershi .

As he saw Shi)u*u reflect u on that gentle re rimand! Tatsuya alsothought! GThe #resident does have a few tric*s u her sleeveG.......:nfortunately! Mayumi immediately s%uinted at him from theside.

G......&s there a roblemLGG......Eou were just thin*ing something im olite! weren2t youLG



"9-how shar ......H$

Tatsuya faltered slightly at how ade tly she saw through him.

Still! when he stood there! his life e( eriences belied his actual

hysical a earance.G'o! & was just thin*ing! as e( ected of the Student 6ouncil#resident......G

9e wore a mas* of honesty and feigned that he was being unjustlysus ected in order to carefully gauge her reaction.

G......&s that soLG

While her eyes remained sus icious! Mayumi reined herself in at least. 'ot only was she unable to find any chin*s in Tatsuya2s acting! shealso felt this wasn2t the right time to ursue this issue.

GThen! what2s our injury situationLG

GSo you reali)ed from the conversation alone that Morisa*i-*un andthe others are injured......G

Mayumi sighed! her e( ression had Gwhat a troublesome issueGwritten all over her face.

G......They are seriously injured. The event was held in an urban settingand they were crushed beneath the rubble from a ruined building thatcrumbled when the attac*s from 2 attering 3am2 struc*.G

G......&f used against eo le in closed environments! the magicG attering 3amG rates as A-ran* in destructive ower. This is on acom letely different level than the danger encountered during attle

oard and is a blatant violation of the rules.G

The G attering 3amG that the two were s ea*ing of was also *nown asG#oint urstG! which was a magic develo ed through #K research.This magic functions by rewriting the /idos of the target object anda lying a massive Weight-Ty e Magic on a single oint. When usedagainst buildings! the target re%uirement was usually a wall or theceiling! or at least a Gsingle surfaceG that was se arated from any

illars and also re%uired a colossal magic ca acity as well as highinterference strength.

&f sim ly destroying a building was the goal! it was more efficient to



use Move-Ty e Magic and sling a hammer around. &n com arison!G attering 3amG was a highly demanding magic that! besides SMagicians! was not something that could be casually treated li*e a toy.

GAgreed...... /ven if they were wearing military-use rotectivee%ui ment! that2s not going to hel against tons of roc*s and dirtfalling on to of you. Than*s to the rotective helmets and theobservers casting +ight Weight Magic in time! disaster was averted......The three of them have undergone magic healing! but even then thiswill ta*e two wee*s. They are confined to bed for the ne(t three days.G

Still! Mayumi avoided ma*ing a judgment on whether the accidentwas truly intentional and subtly altered the direction of the

conversation.G......&t2s more serious than & imagined.G

Tatsuya could sym athi)e with Mayumi2s stance on not voicing ano inion and thus avoiding the need to ursue the issue.

G&ndeed. This may be a little rash! but once & saw the magic healersgoing! that was a horrible sight.G

7ust as she said! this was a somewhat harsh o inion regarding theinjured members.At any rate! the fact that Mayumi faltered so badly was also a clearindication that she was robably not on guard against Tatsuya.

GWait! &2m still unclear on this oint. Were all three in the same buildingLG

This may not have been a matter Tatsuya needed to worry about! butin Monolith 6ode! the ty ical strategy called for either one erson on

the attac* and two on the defense or vice versa. Tatsuya had a hardtime figuring out what situation would call for all three members ofthe team to be struc* down by the same attac*.

GThey immediately suffered a sur rise attac* once the match wasunder way. &t wasn2t that they couldn2t find anyone before the startsignal! but it was that they didn2t have a chance to. Setting aside2 attering 3am2 for now! there2s no %uestion that jum ing the gun is aclear violation of the rules.G

The one who answered was the fuming Shi)u*u.



G& see...... &n that case! then the board will be busy too.G

G ecause they weren2t able to revent it...... 3ightLG

Seeing Tatsuya grin evilly! Miyu*i tilted her head as she as*ed in

confusion.Miyu*i was too sincere and honest to com rehend Tatsuya2s twistedline of logic.

GThis isn2t anything too im ortant. 3ather! setting an easilydestructible ruin as the starting location was one of the *ey causes ofthis accident J we2ll call it an accident for now. The board may electto scra Monolith 6ode from the 'ewcomers Division altogether.G

G......That2s also true.GMiyu*i nodded in rofound agreement to Tatsuya2s reasoning. At thistime! Mayumi jum ed bac* in.

GThere are indeed calls for a halt to this. 9owever! the ending result isthat the reliminaries are still going on for all the schools besides usand 5ourth 9igh. The worst case scenario is that our school will betreated as withdrawn from the second round of the reliminaries.G

9earing Mayumi2s words! it was Tatsuya2s turn to turn his head.GWhat do you mean worst case scenarioL The layers are unable tocom ete any longer! so aside from withdrawing! & don2t see any othero tions......G

GOn this oint! 7uumonji-*un is currently negotiating with the board.G

G3eally......G

After the commencement of the 'ine Schools 6om etition! changing

layers was forbidden. &n other words! since the other side violated therules! they were going to re%uest an e(ce tionL

/ven so! the Monolith 6ode team members consisted of the st Eearmale students with the to three magic technical scores. /ven if theyfound re lacements! victory remained elusive. 3ather than loo*ing forre lacements! a better o tion would be an unorthodo( re%uest toremove the scores from Monolith 6ode from the aggregate score.

ehind these vague res onses! Tatsuya made this consideration.

'aturally! Mayumi had no idea what dar* lots were running through



Tatsuya2s mind.

GJTatsuya-*un! & wish to s ea* with you.G

Mayumi2s voice contained co%uettish overtones. She must be

thoroughly unnerved by this chain of accidents and wassubconsciously loo*ing for something or someone to rely on.

At ractically the same time! his sister fi(ed a burning ga)e onTatsuya. 9e really wanted to dig a hole and hide as he thought &didn2t do it! don2t glare at me! why aren2t you glaring at MayumiL .

ut there was no way he would be caught dead saying that.

G6an you come with me for a momentLG

Does this mean she was worried about other eo le overhearing their rivate conversationL

The burning ga)e doubled in intensity! but Tatsuya feigned ignoranceas he followed right behind Mayumi.

F F F

Although they were inside the avilion with a wall se arating themfrom the outside! it was only made of cloth after all. 5rom this

ers ective! this served as a oor sound barrier.

Eet! this was the realm of magic that reversed the laws of reality.Mayumi slowly built u a magical barrier that revented their voicesfrom traveling outside.

G?uite the erfect sound barrier.G

G3eally......L 9m hm! than* you.G

Mayumi sat down with a slightly embarrassed e( ression whileTatsuya also ulled u a chair and sat.

GThen! let2s cut to the chase......G

G<ery well.G

G............G

/ven though Mayumi claimed time was of the essence! she refrainedfrom s ea*ing. Since the two of them alone would arouse all sorts of



roblems! Tatsuya finally o ened u .

GEou sus ect that this accident is also related to the revious sabotageincidentLG

G......Ees. On that to ic! & would li*e to hear Tatsuya-*un2s o inion.Tatsuya-*un mentioned before that Mari2s incident had a high

robability of the 6AD being tam ered with! rightLG

Mayumi finally wor*ed u the courage to as*! to which Tatsuyanodded and re lied8 GEes.G

G&f they were using the same tactic this time! that would fully e( lain5ourth 9igh2s actions...... 9ow do you thin* we should go about

roving thisLGGOur only o tion is to catch them red handed! all other o tions are notviable.G

G6an2t we...... orrow 5ourth 9igh2s 6ADs and loo* them overLG

GThis would be fine if traces of the rewritten Activation Se%uenceremained...... ut given the ominous silence from the alreadydis%ualified Seventh 9igh! this seems unli*ely.G

G3eally......GMayumi2s ga)e dro ed down to her ten interlaced fingers on the tableto .

Tatsuya watched her ose and considered that he caused her somedisa ointment here. Mayumi didn2t raise her eyes and continuedas*ing.

G......&f this layed out according to Tatsuya-*un2s assum tions and our

school is the subject of sabotage...... What do you thin* the motive isL<engeanceL 3evenge for the incident in s ringLG

So that2s the real item that Mayumi was concerned about! Tatsuyathought.

Tatsuya ossessed the intelligence in his hands to dis el this concern.9e *new that this situation was not caused by remnants of G lancheG!the terrorist organi)ation that they shattered! or any relatedorgani)ations. &f he revealed everything that he *new! he would beable to alleviate Mayumi2s an(iety.



Eet! whether revealing everything was truly the best choice! hehesitated briefly over this decision.

G......This is unrelated to the incident in s ring.G

5inally! Tatsuya elected to lay one card from his hand.G/hL What ma*es you say thatLG

Mayumi %uic*ly raised her head and as*ed bac*! her voice betrayingher ho es and rayers that he had some basis for saying so.

Tatsuya ossessed the ower to reali)e that ho e. At the same time! hewas denied the o tion of laying everything out on the table.

GThe day before commencement...... 'o! the date had alreadychanged. At any rate! the night before the o ening ceremony! severalmiscreants sought to infiltrate the dorms. There were a total of three!each e%ui ed with firearms.G

G......That2s the first &2ve heard of thisHG

GThat2s because a gag order has been issued. y ure coincidence! &was on station when this occurred and may have su lied someassistance...... & also have some assing familiarity with their

bac*ground. The ones who struc* at this year2s 'ine Schools6om etition a ear to be a criminal organi)ation out of 9ong Kong.G

The classified ortions were filled in with a few white lies.

Mayumi didn2t sus ect his words at all.

GThis time may have been coincidental...... ut lease refrain fromsuch dangerous behavior in the future.G

G&f ressed for an answer! & feel that &2m always getting dragged into

things.GMayumi ga)ed sus iciously at Tatsuya shrugging his shoulders. ut!as she %uic*ly reali)ed! this wasn2t the time for that.

GOK...... 9aven2t you been as*ed to *ee this under wra sL Than* youfor telling me.G

G&n return! lease don2t let this s read.G

G& *now. & romise.G

Mayumi raised her right hand as if she were solemnly swearing a vow.



At this erfectly natural yet mischievous action! Tatsuya almost burstinto laughter.

G....../ven though & *now & shouldn2t say this but & still want to say! &

feel a lot more rela(ed.GG......&ndeed! those words cannot be heard anywhere else.G

G'o worries. & only say that in front of Tatsuya.G

Keh! how should he inter ret thatL Tatsuya agoni)ed over that oint.

Don2t tell me that she was lin*ing this bac* to the Gtrustworthy little brotherG line from several days agoL

As usual! Mayumi2s thought attern remained a com lete mystery toTatsuya.

F F F

GWhat2s the situationLG

G7ust as lanned. 5irst 9igh will have to withdraw from Monolith

6ode.GEo*ohama! 6hina Street! the highest floor in some hotel. 5ive menwere seated around a round table with tea sets in a large room chieflydecorated in red and gold.

On the wall! there were images of a dragon in flight sewn with goldthread.

GMonolith 6ode is the single most valuable event. /ven though the

'ewcomers Division is only worth half the oints from the OfficialDivision! this is still a major blow.G

The men nodded with smiles lastered on their faces. 9owever! their allor was terrible and every one of their smiles was forced.

F F F

Afterwards! Mayumi re%uested8 G&n order to avoid anic from





/ven so! the young ladies %uieted down gradually as they watchedhim wor* as if nothing had ha ened. All of this Miyu*i beheld withher own eyes as she nodded in lace of her brother and revealed asatisfied smile.

The greatest beneficiary from his normalcy J or even feignednormalcy J and its ensuing effect! was actually 9ono*a.

&nitially! after hearing the GincidentG surrounding Morisa*i and theothers! her face had turned com letely ale. Eet! after watchingTatsuya lug away and attend the tactical meeting as if nothing hadoccurred! she gradually settled down as well.

The change was so com lete that now Tatsuya was the uneasy one.

GThere are no strategic adjustments from the reliminary round. &n theend! Mirage at is a test of stamina.G

Still! even if he felt uneasy! there was nothing he could do at this oint.

The match was about to begin. 9e was ressed for time at themoment! so he could only table his unease and focus his concentrationon the battle ahead.

GAvoid getting into a battle of attrition. The only thing you need to dois calmly ma*e any necessary adjustments.G

:nder Tatsuya2s watching ga)e! Subaru nodded in an e(aggeratedfashion.

G9ono*a! don2t e( end energy on e(cess techni%ues. 7ust as we racticed! there are fa*es created from illusion magic that serve towaste your stamina.G

5orewarned! it was 9ono*a2s turn to nod.

GThe only thing the two of you should be thin*ing is how to releaseyour s ecialties to the fullest. Don2t worry! *now that we already own5irst and Second lace right here.G

At Tatsuya2s daring roclamation of victory! both of them nodded indelight.

F F F





formed.

9ono*a was e(tremely ade t at reading light waves U strictlys ea*ing! the subtle changes in the /idos of the light waves. This gave

her a tremendous advantage during the elimination round.The instant before the red orb materiali)ed! 9ono*a had alreadyactivated her magic.

The other layers could only watch hel lessly as she sei)ed theinitiative.

The ne(t orb materiali)ed.

The color was blue. That color was lit for the longest time! so they

were the easiest oints to score.5ive layers started their Activation Se%uences.

The first into the air was Subaru.

/veryone started their Activation Se%uence at the same time! but thefirst two to finish them were the layers from 5irst 9igh.

6om ared to the layers in the event! it was the technicians on theouter erimeter that were furious at this outcome.

Since the difference was so s lendidly dis layed before their eyes!they were forced to admit the cause was the differences in 6AD

erformance.

Since every school had an u er ceiling in terms of machinery! therewas no significant difference in hardware ca ability.

Thus! the only difference lay in software erformance.

&n other words! the strength of the technician.

GDamn itH 9ow can he fit such a com licated action into such a tinyActivation Se%uenceHG

Someone cho*ed out in the bac*. They were robably using a Kirlianfilter "a filter that could bring the sion density and activity into thevisible s ectrum$ to ta*e ictures of 9ono*a and Subaru activatingand rocessing "from the start of the Activation Se%uence to the

beginning of the rocessing hase$.

They lea ed straight into the air J com letely ignoring the effects of



gravitational deceleration J towards the rojections! sto ed at theorbs! then immediately returned along the same a(is after scoring the

oint and landed after e( ending all inertia.

Throughout this chain of movements! regardless of whether it was9ono*a or Subaru! they never mani ulated the 6AD once. &n otherwords! everything from the layer lea ing into the s*y than*s to theActivation Se%uence onward was com letely written into the 6AD.

The smaller the Activation Se%uence! the faster the rocessing s eed.

+i*ewise! the less Activation Se%uences that needed to be rocessed!the less strain was laced on the layer as well.

They were using the minimal Magic #ower to accom lish henomenon rewriting at the fastest ossible s eed.

G&t2s as if we2re u against Taurus Silver himself out hereHG

'o one *new who made that comment in the ensuing ruc*us.

GA-chan! what2s wrong......LG

A)usa turned around to find Mayumi studying her strangely. Studying

the wide-eyed! etrified her.G'o...... &t2s nothing.G

Seeing A)usa curl into a ball! Mayumi re lied with an G&s that soLG!and turned bac* to observing the contest.

A)usa2s reaction was well within the normal boundaries of her behavior! so there robably wasn2t anything to it.

9owever! what was different was that something other than her usual

embarrassment currently ca tured her heart."......As if! we2re u against GTaurus SilverGL$

Somewhere! someone made that com laint.

Mi(ed into the middle of all the shrie*s of delight and dismay! forsome reason these articular words wormed their way into A)usa2sears.

"That fully manual Activation Se%uence adjustment...... 6onnectingthe main systems from the ;enerali)ed model to the subsystems of the



S eciali)ed model is the current cutting edge research...... The abilityto use +oo 6ast on ;enerali)ed 6ADs...... G&nfernoG...... G#hononMaserG...... G'iflheimG...... /very one of these are high class magicsthat have never had their Activation Se%uences ublished......$

5or someone who was also aiming to become a Magic Artificer! A)usastarted thin*ing bac* on each Gtour de forceG that shoc*ed the crowdtime and time again.

"As ifL We2re u against Taurus SilverL

'o! that...... &f it wasn2t Taurus Silver himself! this is sim lyim ossible......$

J & wonder how shoc*ing it would be if he turned out to be a7a anese teenager li*e us J

Suddenly! his voice rang out through A)usa2s memories.

G......What2s the matterL &f you2re not feeling well! go ta*e a brea*HG

G'o! really! it2s nothing......G

Mayumi2s an(ious and concerned ga)e was drawn towards A)usa whohad suddenly lea t out of her seat. Eet! A)usa was beyond caring atthis oint.

The words that clearly rang out from her recollection. Maybe! thatwasn2t a guess at all......

"9ow is it ossibleL 9ow is it ossible how is it ossibleL 9ow is it ossible how is it ossible how is it ossible how is it ossibleL$

Those words occu ied all of A)usa2s consciousness.5ar away from those troubled thoughts! two of her underclassmenraced out to a dominating lead to greet the end of the first session.

F F F

&n the end! Mirage at for the 'ewcomers Division turned out just asTatsuya redicted! with 9ono*a and Subaru in sole ossession of 5irst



and Second #lace. &mmediately after the end of the match! Tatsuyawas summoned to the conference room without any o ortunity to

arta*e in the fruits of victory.

&nside! the u erclassmen waiting for Tatsuya were wholly unli*e his"female$ eers who were delirious with joy! u erclassmen who werethe utter masters of their emotions and hid them beneath solemne( ressions.

Mayumi! Mari! Katsuto! Su)une! 9attori! A)usa.

/veryone from high command in 5irst 9igh was resent.

&n addition! Kirihara and &sori were also on the flan*s.

;iven that team members just suffered serious injuries! it was onlynatural that they could not a ear delighted! but even so theire( ressions were a little stiff J as if dreading what was coming ne(t./s ecially 9attori! who a arently was at wit2s end about whate( ression to ado t! so he chose to form a mas* with his own face!with a thoroughly ill at ease e( ression.

This could not turn out well! so Tatsuya mentally fortified himself.

G;ood wor*. Than*s to you! we obtained a far better result than anywe could2ve ho ed for.G

Mayumi used a normal J more li*e official J choice of words.

efore she said this! Tatsuya2s *een senses ic*ed u how she andKatsuto e(changed a glance in a blin* of an eye.

GThat2s all than*s to the layers2 diligence.G

Tatsuya also re lied bac* in a vague fashion. 9e hadn2t felt this sort of

tense atmos here since he first enrolled here.GOf course! credit is due to Mitsui-san and Satomi-san as well as allthe other students who tirelessly trained to achieve this result.

9owever! everyone ac*nowledges that Tatsuya-*un2s contribution isnothing short of outstanding.

We didn2t suffer a single setbac* in any of the three events you wereres onsible for...... &n terms of oints! the fact that we are guaranteed

at least Second #lace in the 'ewcomers Division is all than*s toTatsuya-*un.G



G......Than* you very much.G

Tatsuya e(ecuted a short and rudent bow.

They *e t their eyes from matching as they waited for the other

erson to s ea*. Eet! Mayumi didn2t cut to the chase.Tatsuya slowly raised his eyes to find Mayumi using her eyes to stoKatsuto.

There a eared to be something difficult to s ea* of that Katsutowanted to clarify.

What was it that warranted such a level of indecisionL

5inally noticing that Tatsuya was intently watching her! Mayumiseemed to cave and briefly shut her eyes.GAs & said earlier! even if we withdrew from Monolith 6ode! we arestill guaranteed Second #lace in the 'ewcomers Division. 3ight now!there2s a 10 oint difference between 5irst 9igh and Third 9igh. &fThird 9igh ta*es Second #lace or higher in Monolith 6ode! theywould ta*e 5irst #lace overall in the 'ewcomers Division. We wouldretain 5irst #lace if they only achieve Third #lace or below.G

This way! there wouldn2t be a huge ga in the ran*ings for the 'ewcomers Division! which was Tatsuya2s objective all along for thecombined score.

So what were they so an(ious aboutL

Also! why was he summoned in the first laceL

Tatsuya was also starting to fret now.

G efore the 'ewcomers Division! didn2t we assume this would be

enough......GMayumi could already detect his growing dis leasure from his voice.&n the midst of her su ressed e( ression! there were hints of aslightly harried loo*. What came out was an an(ious! frantic voice.

GSince we2ve come so far!G

/ven so! she wasn2t settling down to re-e(amine the situation! butrushing for the finish line.

At this oint! Tatsuya finally reali)ed what they were going to as* of



him.

GWe wish to charge for 5irst #lace overall in the 'ewcomersDivision.G

At some oint! Mayumi2s tone had reverted to her normal level.GAre you aware that Third 9igh is dis atching &chijou Masa*i andKichijouji Shin*urou for Monolith 6odeLG

At Mayumi2s %uestion! Tatsuya re lied with a succinct GEesG.

G/(actly...... Setting aside &chijou-*un for the moment! Tatsuya-*unmay *now more about the details surrounding Kichijouji-*un. Withthose two teaming u ! the chances of them being u set in the

elimination round is e(tremely remote. &f we withdraw from Monolith6ode! our chances of trium hing in the 'ewcomers Division vanish aswell.G

So! they wanted himJ

GSo Tatsuya-*un...... May we rely on you to re lace Morisa*i-*un andthe others in Monolith 6odeLG

JThe GthingG that Mayumi wanted him to do coincided e(actly with

what Tatsuya surmised.G......May & as* two %uestionsLG

GOf course! what is itLG

9e was already 0 certain! but this was a good o ortunity to verifythings! Tatsuya thought.

GThere are still two matches in the reliminary round that have beene(tended until tomorrow! correctLG

GEes! you2re right. Owing to this! tomorrow2s schedule will change aswell.G

G& thought that re lacing layers are forbidden even if the starterssuffered injuriesLG

GAfter carefully considering the situation! a s ecial e(ce tion wasmade.G

What an unsur rising answer.

Still! even if all these answers were antici ated! acce ting them was an



entirely different story.

G......Why meLG

This was no %uestion! but a subtle rejection in and of itself. &t was just

that he was facing u erclassmen! so he had to at least observe theforms and could not sim ly say G'oG.

Mayumi robably redicted that Tatsuya would answer this way andstill hadn2t come u with a method to ersuade him! hence she *e t

beating around the bush. 6urrently! she wore a forced smile asted onher miserable e( ression.

G& just thought that Tatsuya-*un was the strongest candidate......G

GDisregarding your grade in technical s*ills! in live combat abilityalone you are undoubtedly the mightiest among the st Eear malestudents.G

Mari! who until this moment had left the negotiations to Mayumi!noticed that the situation was turning blea* from Mayumi2s vagueres onse! and threw her weight behind the G ersuadingG side.

GMonolith 6ode is not 2live combat2 J it is a 2magic com etition2where hand to hand combat is forbidden. &2m sure everyone is wellaware of this without me ointing it out.G

Des ite this! Tatsuya still didn2t ca itulate.

GOn magical fighting strength! & thin* you are also in the highest tieras well.G

Mari glanced at 9attori! who *nitted his brows with a thoroughlymiserable e( ression.

This was a merciless! but effective angle of attac*! so Tatsuya wasforced to abandon his e(cuse of being Ginca ableG. 9owever! he stillhad another card u his sleeve.

G ut &2m not a layer. &n terms of re lacements! we should still haveother layers that have only com eted in one event.G

'ow! even Mari was at a loss.

G/ven if we ignored the ride from the 6ourse students! by grabbing

a re lacement 2 layer2 from the ran*s of the 2au(iliaries2! you woulddamage the confidence of future artici ants as well.G



This was robably the issue that was causing them the most headachesand also the one they didn2t want to address.

The 'ewcomers Division did wonders for educating new students.

/ven if they trium hed this year! they could not guarantee that thiswould not negatively im act the Official Division in the ensuingyears! which was essentially utting the cart in front of the horse.

&f the re lacement for one of the rimary layers turned out to be anau(iliary! and a 6ourse C student to boot! this would have a shatteringim act on not just the other layers! but also the ride of the collective

body of 6ourse students.

Mayumi and the others had no rejoinder for this.

9e was the master of the field! Tatsuya judged. 'ow was the time forhim to tactfully decline and bow out! andJ

GDon2t be naive! ShibaHG

Katsuto2s booming voice rang out.

5or a time! Tatsuya was unable to res ond.

9e was tem orarily unable to discern e(actly why he was being

scolded.While it was true that his words were so histry laden with logic! itwas logic nonetheless.

&f they de loyed him! even if victory over Third 9igh wasn2tattainable! Second #lace in Monolith 6ode was still ossible.

The difference between gold and silver in Monolith 6ode was a altryR0 oints. &f they ca tured Second #lace! then they would li*ely carry

the 'ewcomers Division.ut in that case! no matter how you sliced it! Tatsuya would become

the *ey contributor that made the 'ewcomers Division victory ossible.

This would be an absolutely unacce table result to the 6ourse students still dwelling in their elitist world. /ven if he was eliminatedduring the reliminary round! they would not suffer a 6ourse C studentli*e him to re resent them in Monolith 6ode.

GEou are already a member of the re resentative team.G



9owever! Katsuto2s words fell recisely on the wea*est oint ofTatsuya2s defense.

G3egardless of whether you are a layer or au(iliary! that is not

im ortant. Eou are one of the C0 re resentatives selected out of theC00 st Eear students.G

Katsuto2s alternate meaning.

&n other words! Tatsuya2s resence had already dealt a huge blow tothe 6ourse students and brought about severe shoc* and anic.

G&n light of this emergency! our leader Saegusa has selected you as there lacement.

As a member of the team! once you have acce ted this res onsibility!you also have the obligation to fulfill your duty as a member.G

G ut......G

/ven so! he still had to res ond. Otherwise! they......

GAs a member! you should not go against your leader2s decisions.

&f the judgment was erroneous! then we who aid the leadershi will bring it to a halt.

Members other than ourselves have no lace to object.

&ndeed...... 3egardless of whether it2s myself! the erson in %uestion!whoeverHG

Tatsuya stared at him blan*ly and dro ed what he was going to say.

Tatsuya finally com rehended what Katsuto really wanted to e( ress.

The message Katsuto was driving across was that regardless of who

objected and regardless of what the outcome was! the brass would ta*efull res onsibility for the fallout.

GDo not cower! Shiba. Do not worry that you are a substitute. Sinceyou have been selected! go out there and do your duty.G

These words were not just restricted to the 'ine Schools 6om etition.The 'ine Schools 6om etition never had a re lacement olicy in thefirst lace.

JDo not use your status as a 6ourse C student as an esca e route. JDo not loo* for e(cuses.



JDo not ut yourself in a osition of wea*ness and wallow indes air.

Do not worry that you are a substitute J that2s what this meant. Do

not concern yourself with your substitute "Weed! 6ourse C student$status! these are what those words entailed.

All his egress routes had been denied.

Also J since they2ve already gotten to this oint! he had no lans to bac* down.

G......:nderstood. & shall do my best.G

Mayumi and Mari both rela(ed.

Katsuto solemnly nodded.

GThen! who are my teammatesLG

&n front of the u erclassmen! his tone was noticeably softer.

To be recise! he was intentionally using a firmer tone than usual uuntil now.

GThat2s u to you.G

GAh......LG

Tatsuya was not feigning ignorance. 9e was once again unable tocom rehend what was being said.

GThe last two members will be decided by you.G

The same instructions were re eated in a different manner. Katsutoadded a few words as if he had just thought of something.

G&t would be best if you could decide now! but if you need some moretime to consider! then come bac* an hour from now.G

9earing Katsuto2s words! Tatsuya almost blurted out! GEou2re just thesame.G

This was the case in A ril when they sac*ed G lanche2sG base. 9egave full authority to an underclassman as if nothing was out of theordinary.

&f he could avoid ta*ing full res onsibility! then this would only be atactic to reserve himself. Eet for Katsuto! the only thing he had was



res onsibility here! so there2s no reason he could treat this socavalierly. 3ather than calling this a by roduct of his leadershitraining! it may be more a ro riate to say this was his nature......Abandoning these useless thoughts! Tatsuya focused bac* on the to icat hand.

G'o! if & just need to choose! & don2t need any time......G

Tatsuya had already selected two re lacements in his head from theroster.

G& just don2t *now if they will agree.G

G+et us handle that.G

......Again! refusing was not an o tion.Today was the first time Tatsuya learned that the eldest son of the7uumonji 5amily had such a forceful ersonality.

G&s anyone alrightL /ven if & choose eo le from outside the teamLG

Tatsuya2s mood lightened considerably as if he was allowed to be asfrivolous as ossible.

G/hL That2s a little......G

GThat2s fine. This is already an un recedented e(ce tion! so by now!no one will care if two more are added.G

G7uumonji-*un......G

Mayumi hel lessly glanced at Katsuto. On his art! Katsuto waswholly un erturbed by this.

GThen! & choose Eoshida Mi*ihi*o from 6lass -/ and Saijou+eonhart! also from 6lass -/.G

G9ey! ShibaHLG

9attori %uic*ly tried to interject! but was held bac* by Su)une2s raisedhand.

GThat2s fine. 'a*ajou.G

GEes! resentHG

Katsuto didn2t bat an eyelid at A)usa2s e(aggerated res onse.

G#lease call Eoshida Mi*ihi*o and Saijou +eonhart here. The two of



them should be at this hotel! though not with the normal cheerings%uads.G

At first glance! he was bold and unconstrained J while this was also

true! he was also someone who aid attention to the minute details.That being said! it was true that unofficial members and students thatweren2t art of the cheering s%uads and were also residing in this hoteldid count as oddities. 5or eo le doing their due diligence! this wassomething worthy of devoting some attention to! so it was hardlysur rising that he *new. /ven so! Tatsuya was still im ressed withKatsuto2s *nowledge.

G......Tatsuya-*un. 6an you tell us why you chose themLG

Since she abandoned the res onsibility for ersuading Tatsuya toKatsuto! Mari was in no osition to object at this oint.

'evertheless! she was still unable to acce t this answer! maybe evensus icious that something was afoot as she as*ed this.

GOf course. A big reason is that & have ractically not trained orinteracted with any of the male team members.G

Tatsuya was only res onsible for calibrating the Women2s team! so itwas true that he had never observed any of the men racticing.G& am utterly unfamiliar with their roficiency and wea*nesses. Thecom etition is tomorrow. &t is by far too late to start investigating!devising strategies! or doing calibration.G

G......Do you *now these two very wellLG

GEes. We2re not just in the same class J we also understand eachother very well.G

G9m...... Eou have a oint. Since we can rely on other technicians forcalibration! if teammates don2t understand each others2 strengths andwea*nesses! teamwor* would become a serious issue.G

As Mari considered this! she suddenly revealed a com letelyune( ected! mischievous e( ression.

GThen! that2s not the biggest reason! so what is itLG

At Mari2s curious %uestion! Tatsuya didn2t hesitate and immediatelymade a stand.



GAbility.G

GWhaLG

This intre id answer caused Mari! Mayumi! Katsuto! and Su)une to

loo* u on Tatsuya with rofound interest.

F F F

G9ey! Tatsuya...... &s it trueLG

3ather than being confused! +eo wore a forlorn e( ression as here eated this %uestion for the um teenth time.

GSetting aside #resident Saegusa for the moment! do you thin* ;rou+eader 7uumonji would s in such a com licated lieLG

Tatsuya was getting ready to give u answering this %uestion.

G/ven if you said setting aside the #resident! & still don2tunderstand...... Oh! so it2s really true.G

:ntil now! +eo was still s*e tical as he heaved a dee sigh.

To his side! Mi*ihi*o was highly distracted as his eyes drifted!evidently unsure where to loo*.

GMi*i! settle down a bit.G

GMy name is Mi*ihi*o.G

After conversing with /ri*a as if rearranged! a disgruntled Mi*ihi*osat down on the bed.

They were in Tatsuya2s double room. The entire brass went and ersuaded the two of them to acce t J more li*e coerced J andTatsuya called them over to ma*e lans for the future.

With /ri*a and Mi)u*i following along! this does seem a littleG rearrangedG.

Miyu*i! 9ono*a! Shi)u*u were tied u by /imi! Subaru! and theirteammates and were currently loc*ed in a s iral of GmadnessG.

G ut...... 9aven2t Mi*ihi*o and & made no re arations whatsoeverLG

G/(actly...... 5orget about the 6AD! & don2t thin* we even have



uniformsLG

Mi*ihi*o2s face was a little ale. Owing to his sudden selection! hewas a little timid and mystified at his com letely une( ected elevation

as a 6ourse C student to starter for the 'ewcomers Division. 'ot thatMi*ihi*o would ever be caught dead admitting that.

+eo2s coloring was normal! but he had sha*en off his usual jo*inge( ression. 9e didn2t loo* articularly energetic.

esides Mi*ihi*o! Tatsuya was sur rised to find that even +eo was alittle daunted! but he didn2t choose to alter the lan of attac*. Don2teven dream of throwing everything to me! Tatsuya thought.

G3ela(. They didn2t re are a uniform for me either.GGWait! that2s hardly a comforting thought.G

Tatsuya waved his hand at +eo2s ready retort.

G&t2ll be OK. /ven if there2s nothing we can do about it! just rela(.G

G'o! that2s not what & meant.G

This time it was /ri*a2s turn to snar*.

Those two certainly share the same interests! Tatsuya thought.

G5ine! you2re right. 9onestly! that2s all & can say. Don2t worry about it.We2ve already ut 'a*ajou-sen ai in charge of the rotective gear andtunics. A earances can be retty deceiving and she2s %uite acom etent erson. &2m sure she2ll have the erfect uniforms for us.G

'obody had any comment for that. 'ot that anyone was going to callinto %uestion whether her com etence belied her a earance.

G&2ll handle the 6ADs. & guarantee that &2ll only need an hour er erson.G

6om letely calibrating a 6AD from scratch to the oint that it wascustomi)ed for a Magician usually re%uired tri le the amount of thetime.

Eet! neither +eo nor Mi*ihi*o seemed articularly astounded.

On one hand! they weren2t wholly aware how im ressive Gone hourGactually was! and on the other hand! they had already seen so manyGshoc*ersG in the ast four days that they already thought GTatsuya2s



omni otentG.

G&s that OKL &sn2t it already #ML Eou still need time for your gear!rightLG

/ri*a was the only one of the four who was aware how time-consuming 6AD calibration was. Thus! she was the only one loo*ingon with concerned eyes.

GThat2ll be fine. & only need 0 minutes.G

+oo*s li*e their worries were groundless. Once more e( eriencingfirst-hand how ridiculous he was! /ri*a heavily sighed.

GTen minutes! eh! ten...... Why do & even bother worrying about you.G

G:nfortunately! in reality! we don2t have that much time.GG/hLG

/ri*a comically ortrayed a carefree e( ression! but u on hearingTatsuya2s blea* words! she %uic*ly became an(ious again.

G3egardless of how you describe this! we are an im rom tu lineuwith no tactical lanning.

We have no time to ractice! so we must do our fine tuning in battle.

6harging into the fray with only a rough battle lan is li*e heading inthere blind.

5or me! this is sim ly the last resort.G

3ather than saying that Tatsuya was discouraged! it was more li*e hewas ranting.

/ri*a rela(ed somewhat and nodded.

G......So that2s how it is. Tric*ery is Tatsuya-*un2s s ecialty.GGThat2s going a little too far.G

Tatsuya could only droo his shoulders and smile at /ri*a2s overblowndescri tion of his shortcomings.

GWell...... &t2s ointless to com lain any further about something thathas already been decided. While &chihara-sen ai and 'a*ajou-sen aiare scrounging u the necessary materials! let2s go over our strategy.G

GEou were the one who said we couldn2t come u with a lan.G



Seeing /ri*a nit ic*ing Tatsuya2s words! Mi)u*i barred her ath witha ve(ed e( ression on her face. "She was just standing in front of her.$

G/ri*a-chan...... At the very least! lease don2t hinder Tatsuya-*un.G

GOuchH Mi)u*i! & was just trying to liven u this totally deadbeat>atmos here......G

GEes! yes! as this deadbeat> atmos here is fading away! lease be%uiet. 9e already said we2re running out of time! /ri*a.G

3ecently! Mi)u*i had finally figured out the *ey to dealing with herfriend! so she wasn2t being ulled this way and that li*e she was in the

ast.

G9m......G/ri*a uffed her chee*s at being scolded! but mercifully remainedsilent. 'o matter what she said or what attitude she ado ted! shestayed because she was sincerely worried about Tatsuya! +eo! andMi*ihi*o.

GOur first to ic is the formation itself.G

Tatsuya com letely ignored the interru tion and *e t going.

G&2m on offense! +eo is on defense! while Mi*ihi*o will use guerrillatactics.G

GOK. ut what am & su osed to do on defenseLG

G& want to *now too. What do you mean by guerrillaLG

At this oint! +eo and Mi*ihi*o had either acce ted their fate or wereearnestly getting e(cited. The highest robability was that they were

just trying to muddle through it. 3egardless of the reason behind their

com letely different and roactive attitude! Tatsuya continued hisfluid e( lanation.

GThe defense2s job is to rotect allied territory from enemy assault.

/veryone *nows the victory conditions for Monolith 6ode! rightLG

At this %uestion! +eo answered without much confidence.

GTo render the o osing team unable to continue! or transfer the codehidden within the monolith into the terminal! rightLG

GThat is correct. &n order to transfer the code hidden within the





GOK! OK! /ri*a-chan! rela( a little. +eo-*un! lease don2t get tooe(cited.G

Than*s to Mi)u*i2s intercession! the two of them avoided a head on

conflict.G......So & understand the 2*ey2 ortion. ut how do we go aboutdenying the enemyLG

+eo recovered his com osure and as*ed a new %uestion.

G&s *ic*ing and unching off limits as wellL &2m not e(aggerating here! but long range magic is not my strong oint.G

GThen use this.G

As he said this! Tatsuya ulled out that GswordG.G......Wait! & thought direct contact was forbiddenLG

When +eo said this! Tatsuya handed him a thin little boo*let.

GA manualLG

Why are you handing me thisL 7ust as he was about to as*! +eonoticed a dog leaf on one of the ages and abandoned his %uestion tofli o en that age.

G3ules for Monolith 6ode! eh......LG

The rinted rules for Monolith 6ode were all over the age! rangingfrom a sim le e( lanation to newcomers without any reconceivednotions to a more detailed lay-by- lay of an actual com etition.

G&t2s enumerated here that attac*s caused by objects under the effect ofmagic are not against the rules.G

GSo...... &f an object is in flight due to magic...... &sn2t that...... & got it.GThe basic setu of this GswordG involved se arating the blade in themiddle! with half of the blade maintaining a set distance from theother half and flying through the air at will. 5rom a magic systems

ers ective! it may be more a ro riate to describe this as the bladee(tending through the air. 5rom outward a earances! this was half ofa bro*en sword flying to and fro through the s*y. Since there was no

hysical connection between the two halves! this fulfilled the

condition for Gobjects in flight due to magicG.



GTatsuya! did you create this thing because you *new about this aheadof timeLG

At +eo2s sincere %uery! Tatsuya could only chuc*le wryly and sha*e

his head.GEou overestimate me too much...... This was made urely on a whim.&2m not in the habit of creating malicious tric*s day and night.G

&t seemed that neither +eo nor /ri*a was wholly satisfied withTatsuya2s e( lanation! but time was of the essence! so he chose toignore it.

GThis Wea oni)ed &ntegrated 6AD J 2Mini 6ommunicator2 has

already been calibrated for +eo2s ersonal use. &2ve already adjustedthe variability of the distance and duration li*e we s o*e of earlier! sodon2t mess u the controls.G

G/hL Eou mean we2re doing a live test in combatHLG

G/verything tomorrow would be the same thing as live combat.G

Tatsuya switched his tone and aused before ado ting an enigmaticsmile.

G esides! & guarantee that this time it2ll be far easier to use than lasttime.G

G5ine! ho efully this won2t be a roblem.G

5acing Tatsuya2s evil smir*! +eo fearlessly too* the GMini6ommunicatorG from him.

G'e(t is Mi*ihi*o2s role......G

GEe ! Tatsuya! what should & doLG

Mi*ihi*o rose from the bed. Although he was initially indecisive! hewas now very roactive! or maybe he was sim ly motivated now.

eing roused to action was infinitely referable to how he was before! but Tatsuya didn2t touch on this and focused on his mission briefing.

G;uerrilla tactics will entail roviding su ort to either the offense orthe defense.G

After delivering this sim listic answer! Tatsuya continued to as*.

GEou are ca able of other long range magic li*e the earlier lightning-



based magic! correctLG

GWell! yeah......G

Mi*ihi*o vaguely re lied.

5amilies that had inherited Ancient Magic had a strong tendency tohide their own magic abilities.

&n modern magic! than*s to the categori)ation and systems a roachto magic! with a notable e(ce tion for a few S Magicians!confidentiality has become a mere formality. 9owever! due to theingrained values system! this could still be seen at the subconsciouslevel.

'onetheless! they were headed into battle tomorrow! so if theycouldn2t be honest with one another now! they would be in dire straits.

GThe destructive ower for lightning magic is 6-3an*! rightLG

G......That2s a magic that was only meant to disable the target! so it onlyrates as 6-3an*. Since it hasn2t been ublici)ed yet! there is no actualrecord in the ran*ings.G

G:n ublished! huh...... Wouldn2t that be a huge roblem if we used

that tomorrowLGG'o...... There should be no roblem. The theory behind it is notsecret! but the Activation rocess is. &f & avoid talismans and only usea 6AD! we should be OK. ......Tatsuya.G

GWhat2s u LG

GTatsuya...... Eou said this before! rightL My...... The Eoshida 5amily2stechni%ue is too verbose! so & cannot wield magic in the way & desire.G

GThat is correct.G/ri*a stared at them with widened eyes. 'e(t to her! Tatsuyadecisively J more li*e ruthlessly J nodded.

Mi)u*i covered her mouth with both hands.

/ven +eo was struc* s eechless.

The techni%ue that the famous line of Ancient Magic users hadlaboriously develo ed over many generations had just been judged to

be a Gblemished roductHG Without a certain degree of confidence! no



one dared to ma*e that assessment.

Otherwise! they were fools of the highest order that believed solely inthe su eriority of their own techni%ues.

Obviously! Tatsuya did not belong in the latter category.G......Then Tatsuya! can you tell me a more efficient techni%ueLG

G& won2t tell you! & will configure one.G

G......&2m sorry! the difference esca es me.G

GThe magic you used was li*ely a variant of 2Thunder 6hild2. What &can do is remove the unnecessary ortions within the techni%ue andreduce the number of com utations while maintaining the

henomenon rewriting ability and alter the Activation Se%uence toma*e that Magic Se%uence ossible! that2s all. At the end of the day!this is still the magic that Mi*ihi*o is comfortable with.G

G......So you weren2t jo*ing when you said you can com rehendanything you see. &t is a variant of 2Thunder 6hild2. &n order to hide thewea*ness of the techni%ue! additional layers were added on to disguisethe original ability. 9owever! this may tie into the unnecessary

ortions that Tatsuya s o*e of.G

GThere was a time when longer casting times re%uired certain defensesto avoid interference. 'evertheless! with the advent of 6ADs and therise in casting s eed for modern magic! individual counter s ells have

become obsolete since the magic that is being activated remainsun*nown. Thus! the real counter to modern magic doesn2t lie in thety e of magic! but counter magic that can eradicate its effectiveness inthe first lace.G

Mi*ihi*o made a small noise.Ama)ingly! his smile was in no way self derogatory.

G9aha! so that2s how it is...... Ancient Magic was su osed to ossesssu erior fire ower! but now they cannot stand against modern magic.G

GThat2s incorrect! Mi*ihi*o.G

G/hLG

GAncient Magic and modern magic are not se arated by su eriority orinferiority! but by their individual strengths and wea*nesses.



&n a head-to-head match-u ! modern magic commands a devastatingadvantage in casting s eed! but from the ers ective of sur riseattac*s! Ancient Magic boasts su erior fire ower and secrecy.

Didn2t /lder Kudou also say thisL The *ey is how you use magic. Thereason & recommended you was because & thought that your magicwould serve as an incredible ambushing tool.G

GAmbushing tool! eh...... That2s the first time &2ve heard of that.G

Mi*ihi*o closed his eyes and ruefully murmured. Afterwards! as ifdis elling all his doubts! he o ened his eyes again.

G& understand. & will use this techni%ue without the talismans! so &2ll

rely on the 6AD instead. Tatsuya! we2ll go with your suggestion. & believe in you.G

GThan*s! Mi*ihi*o. Since you said that! there2s one other thing &wanted to as* of you.G

GSure. This can2t be hel ed! rightL 'ot that & lanned to *ee it a secretanyway. My father was the one who brought me here! so even if oursecret got out! it2s not li*e they have the right to com lain.G

GDon2t worry on that account! my li s are sealed.G

GAh> ......Me too. & romise that &2ll never let this s read.G

G+i*ewise.G

G&2m good for that too! as you *now.G

esides Tatsuya! everyone resent who had been silent until nowaffirmed their intent to *ee his secret.

After viewing the last erson "/ri*a$ with considerable sus icion!

logic finally trum ed emotion as Mi*ihi*o nodded towards Tatsuya.G&2ll *ee this short. 6an you use 2<isual Tuning2LG

Mi*ihi*o re lied after a short ause not because he was unwilling! but because he was totally shoc*ed.

G......Eou *now about that tooL Did Ko*onoe-sensei tell you that aswellLG

GMaybe.G

G......Eou certainly gave me a scare there! Tatsuya. Well! the answer is



a definite yes. While &2m inca able of erforming 25ive Sense Tuning2!if it2s only two at a time! & can still use 2Sense Tuning2.G

G<isual is good enough! Mi*ihi*o. &n that case! our lan of attac*

is......GTatsuya didn2t noticeably change his volume! but Mi*ihi*o seemed tonaturally crouch closer.

As romised! the calibration of +eo2s 6AD too* less than an hour tofinish.

After receiving his ersonal 6AD and wea oni)ed calculation device

from Tatsuya! +eo o ted to do some training to get used to the newmodel. /ri*a volunteered to be his s arring artner as they headed forthe outdoor training facility.

The hour was late! but /ri*a said that with +eo around! nothing wouldha en to her or otherwise. So Tatsuya com romised.

#resently! Tatsuya was calibrating Mi*ihi*o2s 6AD at lightning s eed. 'e(t to him! A)usa was staring at him in shoc*. As the user! Mi*ihi*owas also resent as he stared wide eyed at Tatsuya2s uni%ue calibrationmethod and ty ing s eed. Eet! the subject that astounded A)usa wasnot so su erficial.

3ight now! Tatsuya was assembling an Activation Se%uence that too*into account the traditional re%uirements for Ancient Magic andada ting them for use in modern magic. GTranslatingG the techni%ueitself wasn2t a articularly daunting tas*. Much li*e using a clumsymachine translation! aw*ward details and minor errors would bescattered all over the lace.

/ven A)usa was able to fi( errors li*e those.

Eet the calibration being dis layed before her eyes was nothing shortof a com lete rewriting of the Activation Se%uence.

y fully com rehending the transformation rocess from ActivationSe%uence to Magic Se%uence! he was rewriting the ActivationSe%uence without sacrificing any efficiency from the Magic Se%uence.

The Activation Se%uence is the blue rint for the Magic Se%uence.3ewriting the Activation Se%uence im lied that the Magic Se%uence



was also being rewritten. 'ot only did the magic have to be finelytuned to the individual Magician! the e(cess details in the MagicSe%uence also had to be runed to increase efficiency. That level ofrewriting had long sur assed GrevisionG or GconfigurationG and hadascended to the realm of GinnovationG! which was the same thing asim roving the very magic itself.

efore he began! A)usa honestly wondered whether this was even ossible when she learned from Tatsuya what he was attem ting toaccom lish. Eet before A)usa2s own eyes! he by assed anye( erimental verification or live testing and roceeded directly toe(tracting the very essence of magic from the Activation Se%uence

and began cutting away at the unnecessary ortions and redesigningthe Activation Se%uence. This was recisely what was unfolding onthe editing machine.

/ven A)usa! who had volunteered as Tatsuya2s aide in lace of theusual technician res onsible for the 'ewcomers Division2s Monolith6ode event! felt owerless before this insane industry. 3ight now! theonly thing she could do was e(amine the coding language for thefreshly minted Activation Se%uence as her gnawing doubts steadily

solidified into conviction.

9e J Shiba Tatsuya J had e(ceeded the standards of a high schoolMagic Artificer.

Scratch that! he had long since sur assed the boundaries of what itmeant to be a Magic Artificer.

9e must beJ +eaving A)usa milling in confusion behind him! Tatsuya used one fullhour to com letely rewrite Mi*ihi*o2s ersonal Activation Se%uence.



Chapter 10

The fifth day of the 'ewcomers Division dawned with a bewildering

atmos here.An un recedented malicious act had occurred during Monolith 6odeyesterday! seriously injuring the layers from 5irst 9igh to the ointthat they were unable to com ete. :sually! the remaining two matcheswould end in their ca itulation! but than*s to the board2s intercession!a re lacement team was allowed to com ete on the following day.

Monolith 6ode used a variable rotation format with each school

com eting in four matches and the four schools with the mostvictories advancing to the elimination round.

&n the event of a tie! totals were recalculated with uncontestedvictories e(cluded. &n the event of a tie! there has been a recedentwhere two schools fought it out to determine who advanced. &f therewas no direct contest! then the school with the smaller amount of timeneeded for victory would advance.

The current standings were Third 9igh with four victories! /ighth9igh with three! 5irst! Second! and 'inth 9igh each with twovictories. 'inth 9igh too* less time to achieve two victories thanSecond 9igh. One of 5irst 9igh2s victories included 5ourth 9igh

being dis%ualified! so they couldn2t sim ly advance with two victories.

&n today2s s ecial matches! if 5irst 9igh defeated Second and /ighth9igh! then the schools that advance would be 5irst! Third! /ighth! and

'inth 9igh.

&f they beat Second 9igh but lost to /ighth 9igh! then 5irst! Third!/ighth! and 'inth 9igh would advance.

&f they lost to Second 9igh but were able to beat /ighth 9igh! then5irst! Second! Third! and /ighth 9igh would advance.

&f they lost to both! then 5irst 9igh would not advance to theelimination round. Second! Third! /ighth! and 'inth 9igh wouldadvance instead.

...That was how this event was going to lay out.3egardless! if 5irst 9igh defeated Second 9igh! then Second 9igh



would be eliminated rather than advancing without a win! henceSecond 9igh vigorously rotested this arrangement. On the otherhand! if they beat /ighth 9igh and went easy on Second 9igh! thenthe 'ine Schools 6om etition would be accused of cutting insidedeals.

G&n other words! to lease both sides! we just have to lose bothmatches...G

G&f we2re heading out! we2re going out to win it. &f we lose! thenma*ing the e(ce tion becomes ointless.G

G+oo*s li*e & don2t need to worry on that account.G

The fact that 5irst 9igh2s re lacements were not registered layers wasthe source of much confusion and gossi .

3ather than selecting their substitutes from the to ten re resentativesof their cohort! they went with a member of the technician team aswell as two newly recruited members.

Some wondered! did 5irst 9igh hold bac* another e( ert on Monolith6odeL &n that case! why wasn2t this erson ut forth as a starter forMonolith 6ode in the first laceL /ach of the schools was mystified

by 5irst 9igh2s intentions.And now! the three of them who wal*ed onto the arena only arousedmore curiosity.

G...Don2t you thin* we2re a little too cons icuousLG

Mi*ihi*o seemed unable to settle down. 9earing this! Tatsuyaresolutely curtailed his words.

G&t is only natural for layers on the field to draw the eyes of thes ectators.G

GWell! that2s not what &2m tal*ing about...G

Mi*ihi*o shoo* his head at Tatsuya retending to be ignorant! des ite*nowing full well what he was tal*ing about and cautiously eered at+eo.

GThat2s really eye-catching...G

+eo *new what that loo* im lied and dro ed his own ga)e to waist



level.

The ruc*us from the stands vindicated +eo2s sus icion. "That beingsaid! it2s not li*e they could tell what was being said.$

Their rotective gear and helmets were the same as the other schools.GA swordL &sn2t direct contact against the rulesLG

ut the resence of the Mini 6ommunicator threw the crowd into anu roar.

+eo2s GswordG was actually a Wea oni)ed-&ntegrated 6AD. 9owever!less than 0 of the crowd was actually able to discern that detail.<ery few eo le! even among the layers and engineers! *new of the

e(istence of Wea oni)ed-&ntegrated 6ADs! which was hardlysur rising in and of itself.

&n addition! magic written into the Wea oni)ed-&ntegrated 6ADusually involved buffing its martial ability J the Gwea on2sG ability.G ladesG usually im roved cutting ower. GS earsG buffed their

iercing force. G3odsG strengthened their stri*ing ower. GShieldsGem owered their defensive abilities.

Ta*e GSonic ladeG for an e(am le! some of the o tions includeGS eed oostG! G#enetration oostG! G5ortifyG! G3eflectG! but all ofthese were used to raise "the original wea on2s$ martial nature andincor orated into the Wea oni)ed-&ntegrated 6AD.

As a GswordG! the ty ical o tions include cutting ower and armor enetration! so whichever ower it was it still directly correlated withthe wea on2s hysical attac*. Anyone familiar with 6ADs was

justified in their reasoning that this was against the rules for Monolith

6ode.Eet! +eo was not the sole focus of attention.

G...There he is.G

GEeah. 'ever thought he would a ear as a layer on the field.G

GTwin istols! with a bracelet-model on the right wrist...Simultaneously o erating three 6ADsLG

G9e2s not your average 7oe. & don2t thin* he2s bluffing here. Doesn2t it



loo* li*e both are long-barrel model S eciali)ed 6ADsLG

GThey don2t loo* li*e stealth wea ons! so he2s robably dual-wieldingtwo S eciali)ed 6ADs. ut most eo le choose to use ;enerali)ed

6ADs when o erating magic from different systems...GGSo you can o erate multi le 6ADs at the same time. Show me whatyou2re ca able ofHG

Masa*i and Kichijouji2s conversation embodied the erce tion fromthe majority of the viewers. /ach school2s layers and au(iliaries wereall watching Tatsuya.

This was the infernal su er technician that won 5irst #lace for every

event he was res onsible for.&n contrast to the fervent cheers of su ort from the Eear female

layers! the Eear male layers loo*ed on moc*ingly.

They were silently rooting for the o osing team.

6uriosity reigned over all other thoughts now.

&n the midst of this! the match against /ighth 9igh commenced.

F F F

GSo we2re u against /ighth 9igh in a wooded area! eh...G

G;enerally... That2s to our disadvantage.G

Mari murmured with eyes glued to the screen while Mayumi re liedas she watched the rogression.

Monolith 6ode was an event that laced the layers against each otherunder variable outdoor conditions. The 'ine Schools 6om etitionused five scenarios8 Woodlands! oulders! O en #lains! <alley! and:rban Setting.

Among the magic high schools! /ighth 9igh laced the mostem hasis on outdoor training! so the Woodlands were li*e their homecourt. The settings were randomly generated! but even under thesee(ce tional conditions! the fact that a favorable setting was ic*ed forone of the schools that originally ossessed an unearned victory



definitely raised concerns that someone was mani ulating the odds.

JEet! neither Mayumi nor Mari or any of the other members of the brass gathered in the avilion were articularly worried.

&t was ublic *nowledge within 5irst 9igh2s command level thatTatsuya trained under the G'injitsu S ecialistG Ko*onoe Ea*umo. Awoodland setting with lots of visual obstructions was an ideal locationto bring out the merits of GninjitsuG to the fullest. This was alsocommon *nowledge.

9owever! for the o osing school that was wholly unaware of thisGfactG! this was a titanic miscalculation.

etween the starting locations J where the monoliths were erected Jthere was a distance of a ro(imately P00 meters.

&n full rotective gear and carrying a 6AD! layers needed at least fiveminutes to thread through the ga s within the woodlands.

When ta*ing into account that they needed to be constantly on guardagainst enemy movements and assault! the time was easily severaltimes higher.

3egardless J less than five minutes into the match! combat bro*e outnear /ighth 9igh2s monolith.

The layers2 activities were closely monitored by anti-cheatingcameras. The recorded images would be dis layed on a large screenfor the audience. &n arenas with large numbers of visual obstructions!the audience was reliant on these images to follow the unfoldingmatch.

6urrently! the large screen hanging from the s*y dis layed Tatsuya2s

image a earing before the defender from /ighth 9igh.G9e2s fast...HG

G#ersonal AccelerationLG

At Kichijouji2s murmur! Masa*i also as*ed aloud! his eyes still loc*edonto the screen.

The image a eared briefly before the cameras! and then lea ed out ofthe frame in the ne(t instant.

The defender on the other side fell to one *nee.



The camera switched over to find Tatsuya flan*ing the defender to theright side and s rinting for the monolith.

G'o! it doesn2t loo* li*e he used Move-Ty e Magic... AhHG

The defender raised the mu))le of his 6AD towards Tatsuya. Tatsuya2searlier attac* a eared to only have tem orarily u set the defender2s

balance.

The S eciali)ed 6AD sha ed li*e a short-barrel istol started itsActivation Se%uence.

&mmediately! in the frame s ecifically designed to show sion motion!a ra idly e( anding! non- hysical shoc* wave J a sion e( losion J

shredded the defender2s Activation Se%uence into nothing.7ust then! Tatsuya2s left hand was holding a 6AD.

5rom the rear! his right hand was em ty.

ut in the image now! Tatsuya was running with the 6AD in his righthand ointing towards the defender.

GWhenLG

Did he drawL Masa*i omitted the last few words.

ut Kichijouji2s answer wasn2t directly on the money.

GWait! don2t tell me... ;ram DemolitionHG

GDid you say ;ram DemolitionLG

The defender was shoc*ed into immobility by his disintegratedActivation Se%uence. Tatsuya *e t an eye on his o onent and clic*edthe trigger in his right hand before the monolith.

G'iceH The monolith is o eningHG

Seeing Tatsuya lug in the s ecial code that served as a *ey and s litthe enemy monolith in two! 9ono*a was fairly dancing with joy.

G...Odd.G

y her side! Shi)u*u wrin*led her brows in confusion.

GShi)u*u! what2s oddLG

&n the crowd of Eear female students! /imi as*ed Shi)u*u.



GThe monolith has been o ened! so why is he retreatingLG

7ust as Shi)u*u said! Tatsuya didn2t a roach to co y the code in themonolith but altered his ath and duc*ed bac* into the cover of

dar*ness within the forest.G'ow that you mention it... 9ey! Miyu*i! what do you thin*LG

G/ven Onii-sama would be hard ressed to in ut all 1 C charactersunder constant enemy harassment.G

The shell-sha ed *eyboard worn on the left wrist was also the terminalused to in ut the code. /ven if Tatsuya ty ed at lightning s eed! hewould still need some time to in ut all 1 C characters on the tiny

*eyboard.GEou2re right... This is the first time &2ve seen someone use the *eywhile the defenders are araly)ed.G

7ust as Shi)u*u muttered with dawning com rehension! the fro)endefender came around and hustled into the trees after Tatsuya.

G7ust now... That was...G

When Tatsuya used 6ounter Magic! no one was more astounded thanMari herself.

Mari was anting and unable to s ea* coherently. The sur rising thingwas that ne(t to her! Mayumi was able to re ly blandly.

G;ram Demolition... & had an in*ling you were ca able! Tatsuya-*un...And you didn2t disa oint.G

GMayumi! you *now what that wasLG

Mayumi glanced at Mari! who was itching to a roach! and swiftlyloo*ed bac* towards the viewing screen.

G;ram Demolition uses com ressed sion articles to directlydetonate the target by charging forward without using the &nformationDimension. This 6ounter Magic is accom lished by forcibly blowingaway all the accom anying Activation and Magic Se%uences Janything that has traces of magic sions recorded on it.

This is a magic that demolishes the record of magic ";ram$! hence thename ;ram Demolition.



While it is called magic! this is strictly a sion cannon ball that ma*esno attem t to use Magic Se%uences to alter reality. This way! ;ramDemolition is not restricted by Data 5ortification or wide areainterference! and the cannon ball2s own ressure would reject anyeffects of 6ast 7amming.

Since there2s no actual hysical effect! hysical obstructions can donothing.

This way! the magic that your o onent is casting is forcibly blownaway by the sions.

&n order to halt that *ind of furious charge! a multi-layered defensivewall of sions might barely hold u .

esides its rather short effective range! there are almost nowea*nesses. Along with ;ram Dis ersion! ;ram Demolition is *nownas one of the strongest 6ounter Magics within 'onsystematic Magic...

ut there are very few eo le ca able of erforming this feat.

& cannot do it either.

Since this isn2t an interference ability but a true dis ersion! & amunable to create that *ind of force with my sion count.

&n summation! it2s a su er heavyweightHG

G...&n other words! it2s li*e a huge brute swinging around a giant macewith all his strength! rightLG

9earing Mari2s roundabout descri tion! Mayumi burst into laughter.

GTo be able to say it li*e that! you2re %uite calm about it! MariH9owever! you2re largely correct. During the match with 9an)ou-*un! &thought Tatsuya-*un was a more delicate! finesse ty e... & neverimagined that he was actually a front line bruiser.G

GThen! during the incident on the way here! it was really...G

G& believe that2s what ha ened. & didn2t see it at the time! but didn2tMari witness itL There were at least ten overla ing Magic Se%uencesduring the incident! but they were all dis elled instantly... /(actly howhigh is his sion count...G

/ighth 9igh2s formation consisted of one defender and two attac*ers.



The two attac*ers s lit into two aths. One of them reached 5irst9igh2s territory.

GAh! Tatsuya-*un! hurryHG

G;o! +eo-*unHG5irst 9igh2s territory! which contained 5irst 9igh2s monolith! was in asetting that allowed the audience to easily ic* out all the details.

:nder /ri*a and Mi)u*i2s ga)e! +eo dro ed into a combat stance before his monolith and drew the GswordG from his waist.

The attac*er2s figure could be seen in the shade of the trees.

9e held a S eciali)ed 6AD similar to the ones his teammates werecarrying.The attac*er2s intent was clearly to overwhelm +eo! the defender! theno en the monolith in one go.

The attac*er aimed his 6AD at +eo.

While +eo swung the Wea oni)ed &ntegrated 6AD GMini6ommunicatorG hori)ontally.

oth occurred at the same time.

G/(cellentHG

GDamn! that guy2s retty goodHG

oth /ri*a and Mi)u*i eru ted into cheers.

A flying metal board traced an arc as it flew through the trees and sentthe attac*er rolling with a direct blow from the front.

ased on the coordinates of the trees! +eo had already calculated his

effective range and used the se arated blade to stri*e away at theattac*ing layer.

After restoring the GbladeG as one! +eo ointed the GswordG towardsthe s*y.

The GbladeG in his hand shot forward and came to a halt high in thes*y.

GOh J Ah JHG

With a roar! +eo swung the GbladeG downwards with a s eed that



matched the radial motion and bestowed the final blow to the attac*erlying on the ground.

GWhat! was thatLGWhile her %uestion may seem stern! Su)une2s %uestion clearly

ortrayed that she lost a little of her usual coolness.

GThat would be the GMini 6ommunicatorG J a Wea oni)ed &ntegrated6AD and original magic that Shiba-*un ioneered.G

A)usa! who was on hand last night during calibration! answered inres onse.

G oth a Wea oni)ed &ntegrated 6AD and an original... & wonderwhat2s the designLG

9earing A)usa2s concise e( lanation! Su)une nodded re eatedly.

G& see! that is a novel conce t. Eet! for Shiba-*un at least! this seemsli*e a coarse system.G

G6oarse! is itLG

Su)une atiently e( lained to A)usa! who was tilting her head to oneside.GEes! this magic has obvious limitations regarding the user2s hysicals ecifications and usable environmental situations...G

The third layer from /ighth 9igh was re eatedly bac*trac*ingthrough the forest.

While the setting was the woodlands! this wasn2t the 5uji forests

themselves. #arts of the hills in the arena were artificial! with trees and lants trans lanted here! and it was only intended for training ur oses.

9alf a century had assed since the trans lanting hase! and the foresthad naturally grown on its own. Still! this wasn2t a dense jungle where

eo le could easily get lost P00 meters in.

ut the reality was that the layer from /ighth 9igh was ho elessly

lost.GWhere the hell are you! you SO H Sto s*ul*ing around and get your



butt out hereHG

The layer from /ighth 9igh made no attem t to disguise the agitationin his voice as he attem ted to use magic to remove the ultrasound

waves.The strength of the ultrasound waves was not even worth mentioning.

The only noticeable effect was a slight ringing in the ears.

That being said! this ringing was irritating to the e(treme.

While the layers were wearing military-grade rotective helmets!they were only standard infantry gear intended to rotect the headfrom shoc* and ressure! so there was no function to bloc* va ors or

sound waves. The helmet rotected the face! but there were smallholes to allow sounds to reach the ears.

:nder attac* from ultrasound waves! the only counter was to use yourown magic to defend yourself.

The layer from /ighth 9igh returned his team 6AD to the holsterand ulled out a cell hone-sha ed ;enerali)ed 6AD he re ared fromhis oc*et. 9e lanned to use this to defend himself from theultrasound waves and advance on 5irst 9igh2s osition!

9owever! regardless of how long he wal*ed! he never found theenemy field.

9e never even noticed.

:nder a constant barrage of high and low fre%uency sounds! hisattention had been entirely drawn to the high fre%uencies! enabling thelow fre%uencies to wrea* havoc in his inner ear.

9is vision was restricted as he endlessly turned left and right Jcom licated by the fact that he had no o ortunity to reestablish his bearings and his senses were out of whac*. This would naturally resultin the situation where he was utterly unable to gras his currentlocation.

&f someone noticed they were lost! they would immediately consult acom ass! but if they were gradually misled by their senses! it wasinfinitely more difficult to correct the roblem without being aware

that one was misled in the first lace.



The layer from /ighth 9igh had fallen into the time-honored tra*nown as GhubrisG.

Mi*ihi*o was the one res onsible for laying this snare.

S irit Magic G/cho Ma)eG./ven if he wanted to retaliate! than*s to his scrambled senses! hecouldn2t even tell where the caster was. Scratch that! even if he wasfunctioning normally! he had no chance of sniffing out Mi*ihi*o2slocation.

That was because Mi*ihi*o initiated this sound wave attac* throughthe s irits.

&f he caught the source of the magic! the only thing he would findwould be the osition of the floating s irits.

The ower of absolute stealth.

This was one of the greatest wea ons within GDivine /arth MagicG!the branch of S irit Magic Mi*ihi*o belonged to.

ehind the aimlessly wandering layer from /ighth 9igh! Mi*ihi*ocalculated that it was about time to e(ecute the ne(t hase of the

mission.After luring the defender away from the monolith and dee into theforest! Tatsuya was mulling his o tions and trying to decide whetherhe should attac* directly or assist in other theaters.

&f he chose to attac*! he must win the necessary time to in ut the codeafter swiftly inca acitating his o onent.

&f he chose to assist! he must continue to draw the defender2s attention!

hereby buying time for Mi*ihi*o to in ut the code.9e aused for an instant to consider.

Tatsuya elected to attac*.

9e drew the 6AD on his left and clic*ed the trigger after ointing ittowards the ground.

After activating magic to lighten his weight! he lightly ta ed off theground and s rang along the treeto s with the ease of a s%uirrel.

Once he used magic! his o onent should be able to easily in oint



his location.

The use of magic would create unavoidable side effects through thechange in /idos.

A s*illed Magician could not only identify the caster2s location basedon the ri les of magic! but even the magic used as well. 9owever! forsuch a wea*ly a lied magic li*e this! could the layer from /ighth9igh even detect that he used Weight-Ty e MagicL And if so! could heascertain that Tatsuya was bounding along the treeto sL

5or Tatsuya! that would be the most convenient outcome.

As he moved between trees! he didn2t cast magic while lea ing.

As if his legs had s rings attached to them! he didn2t even cause thetrees to sha*e.

As e( ected! the defender had already arrived at the oint where hehad lea ed off the ground.

9is ga)e was scrolling u wards.

ehind him! Tatsuya s%uee)ed the trigger in his right hand.

On the widescreen that showed sion movements! the image de ictedthe defender from /ighth 9igh as he was inundated with sions from

'onsystematic magic.

The defender staggered briefly! then colla sed.

G...23esonate2! eh! 'onsystematic Magic.G

GSo he used biological waves and the sion wave to create resonancein order to inca acitate his o onentLG

9earing Kichijouji2s words! Masa*i nodded.

G&t a ears that he2s calibrated the right hand to use 'onsystematicMagic and the left hand to use Weight-Ty e Magic and is using theminterchangeably.G

G;eorge... Don2t you thin* this guy2s 'onsystematic Magic containstraces of Ancient MagicLG

GEou thin* so too! Masa*iL &s it Shugendo... Or even 'injitsuLiological waves J historically *nown as 2chi2! is actually %uite



similar to the magic he2s using.G

G& thin* that even those Ancient Magic users wouldn2t con eo le withthe term 2chi2 these days.G

G9oL 'it ic*ing isn2t very becoming of you! Masa*i.GThe defender hadn2t com letely lost his mobility. 9e was stillsomewhat conscious. Still! in his current condition! he was no longerable to *ee u with Tatsuya.

:sing a bent tree branch2s otential energy! Tatsuya too* a giant lea .As he flew overhead! he clic*ed the trigger in his left hand and didn2t

bother to ado t a landing osture. 9e arrived in front of the monolith

in a blin* of an eye.The image of Tatsuya o ening the shell and in utting the code wasdis layed all over the screen.

Off in the distance! the wails of the su orters from /ighth 9igh could be heard! but Mayumi turned to loo* at Mari.

Mari also turned to catch Mayumi2s ga)e.

G...9e won.G

G...9e actually won.G 'ow! 5irst 9igh was guaranteed to advance to the elimination round.

Eet for some reason! neither one of them seemed overjoyed at thatthought.

After receiving the code! the ending whistle rang out shrilly.

As 5irst 9igh2s banner was raised into the air! the stands where 5irst9igh2s su orters sat turned into a com lete bedlam.

GWe wonH We wonHHG

GAma)ing! ama)ing! ama)ingH &t was a com lete victoryHG

G6ongratulations! Miyu*iHG

GEour brother did itHG

The shrill shrie*s of joy came from the Eear female layers.

&t was as if they had ca tured the cham ionshi already.



There were also cheers and congratulations being swa ed in thenormal stands! but much more subdued.

GWhew... My heart almost sto edHG

GWhyL Weren2t Tatsuya-*un! +eo-*un! and Eoshida-*un all safe andsoundLG

G'ah! & felt that besides Tatsuya-*un! the others were really tight...G

G/hL 9owLG

GEou as* how... Well! in a lot of ways.G

9earing her friend2s abstract and incom rehensible words! Mi)u*itilted her head in a comical fashion.

GEou2re weird! /ri*a-chan.G

At being seen as a weirdo by Mi)u*i! /ri*a had do)ens of e(cuseslined u to defend herself! but ma*ing her friends an(ious wasn2t/ri*a2s favorite astime! so she decided to let it slide just this once.

F F F

The ne(t match! between 5irst 9igh and Second 9igh! was set B0minutes from now.

While he felt that the brea* was rather short! Masa*i didn2t have toworry about this since he was unli*ely J "certainly$ J not going tomeet them in battle today. On the other hand! he should robablywelcome the idea of 5irst 9igh2s layers e(hausting themselves. Eet!the moment he thought of this! he found the idea des icable andimmediately erased it from his thoughts.

The ne(t setting hadn2t been announced yet.

After the match! Masa*i was still sitting on the observation dec* andcouldn2t hel but engage Kichijouji in conversation.

GSo! what do you thin* of that matchLG

GMasa*i isn2t as*ing about the team as a whole! but 2him2! rightLG

9is words corrected for him! Masa*i could only smile wryly.



GEou2re right. ;eorge! if it was you! how would you handle himLG

G& feel that he2s very accustomed to the battlefield. 6ombat movement!surveying the battlefield! ositioning... 6om ared to his magical

abilities! those are the things we should be watching out for! aren2ttheyLG

GWhat about his magicLG

G+et me thin*... While & was shoc*ed by 2;ram Demolition2... ut thatfinal 23esonance2! even though he got the erfect sur rise attac* from

behind! he wasn2t able to render his o onent com letely unconscious.&sn2t that an o ening we can e( loitLG

GEeah...GG'ow that & thin* about it! at first contact he li*ely used Weight-Ty eMagic to disturb his o onent2s balance J but he may have wanted toto le his o onent com letely! but was only able to force him to one*nee.

That was also the case with the +ight Weight Magic he used to jumto the trees. 7ust that alone was not sufficient to hold his weight.

To a certain degree! erha s he2s unable to wield strong magicsL

This may be a side effect from using high erformance 6ADs for solong! he may be unable to use his full strength with inferior models!

but we may never *now.G

GThat2s ossible. With that *ind of su erlative s*ill! he would naturallyuse the state-of-the-art hardware. Than*s to his sudden elevation as asubstitute! he didn2t have the time to get used to the wea*er models.G

GWe don2t *now all the details! but that2s not necessary! is itL At anyrate! from a magic ers ective! & thin* 2;ram Demolition2 is the onlything we need to watch out for. 3ather than following the e(am lefrom the layer of /ighth 9igh! we should definitely ta*e heed not tofall into the same strategy.G

GSo you mean that we do not fear him in a head-to-headconfrontationLG

G/(actly. &f we could only force him to meet you man-to-man... &f we

could do that! then Masa*i2s trium h is assured. 5or e(am le! if ourmatch is set on the 2O en #lains2! we would win ten out of ten.G



F F F

During the resting eriod for the layers of 5irst 9igh! Mi*ihi*o wasdistracted as he re eatedly sat and rose from his seat.

GMi*ihi*o... 6an you settle downLG

The calibration for the GMini 6ommunicatorG was just com leted. Asif ree(amining its weight! +eo was waving it around as he saidlistlessly.

G+eo... Eou2re truly a carefree sort. Well... /ven meeting eers fromother classes that we2ve never met before.GThose words seemed to be s%uee)ed out of Mi*ihi*o. :nder aGWhatLG ga)e from everyone! Miyu*i revealed a charming smile.

G& never *new that Eoshida-*un was so shyHG

Tatsuya shrugged and sat in a rela(ed osture. ehind him! Miyu*istood there massaging his shoulders and turned a da))ling smile onMi*ihi*o.

G& thin* that Mi*ihi*o2s reaction is erfectly normal. 9e is an innocentyouth after all! Miyu*i.G

GAyaH 3eally! Onii-sama. Miyu*i has never seen a shy Onii-sama before! has sheLG

Seeing Tatsuya turn his head and ga)e at her with narrowed eyes!Miyu*i2s smile only widened. During this time! her soft! white fingersnever sto ed to gently caress and massage her brother2s shoulders.

J So &2m shy! damn itH J

J ut seeing you guys li*e this only ma*es me even more mortifiedH J

...:nable to voice this aloud! Mi*ihi*o could only suffer through thisin silence.

S ea*ing of which! Mayumi and A)usa assed through the covering"made of the highest %uality cloth from the C st century$ and came in.

Seeing the siblings li*e so! both came to a halt! with A)usa2s face



turning hotter with each assing second.

While Mayumi failed to blush o enly! she loo*ed at Tatsuya as if shesaw a dirty stray crawling in the filth.

G...Somehow! & feel li*e &2m being mercilessly condemned! or is thatdisdainLG

GEou2re thin*ing too muchHG

When Tatsuya turned to face her directly! Mayumi ruthlessly bit thosewords out! then %uic*ly coughed to retend to clear her throat.

y the time she turned around! Tatsuya already rose.

"Somehow...This child seems li*e a soldier...$

The ti s of his toes were slightly a art! his bac* ramrod straight! bothhands were crossed behind his bac*! as if this ose was erfectlynatural for him. Was this an(iety! rudence! or overconfidenceL

'othing seemed out of lace on him.

3ather! it made her feel li*e her own actions were undeniably childish.

G...Seriously! don2t worry about it.G

&n the end! Mayumi still defended herself des ite her overwhelmingreluctance to do so! causing her to slightly des ise herself and wish fora swift end to this tas*.

GThe setting of the ne(t match has been decided.G

GSo you2ve come s ecifically to tell us. Much than*s.G

Tatsuya lightly bowed to Mayumi and used his eyes to as*8 GWhereLG

G:rban district.G

Mayumi2s words struc* Tatsuya s eechless.G...This is still the case des ite what ha ened yesterdayLG

GThat2s because the setting was selected randomly. &2m afraid theydidn2t even ta*e it into consideration.G

G& see...G

&t was %uite im ressive that the board was willing to be so candid!Tatsuya thought! but he chose not to voice this.

G&2ll hurry over immediately. The 6AD calibration is already done.G



GThan* youHG

Mayumi nodded her acce tance while +eo and Mi*ihi*o immediatelystarted re aring.

The re arations only included buc*ling on the rotective jac*et!helmet! and 6AD they too* off earlier.

That was all the re aration necessary.

They threw on the jac*et! closed the )i er and tightened the buttons.

G:h! Shiba-*un...G

As Tatsuya adjusted the 6AD and holster! A)usa as*ed him a %uestion.

GWhat is itLG

GWhat are you going to do with... Saijou-*un2s 6ADLG

GWhat am & going to doLG

G ecause... Wouldn2t it be hard to use 2Mini 6ommunicator2 in close%uarters! such as rooms or stairsL That magic can only cause the bladeto float in the air! so its strength is still reliant on the user2s armstrength! rightL While the blade does ossess the advantage of2e(tension2! if there isn2t sufficient room to swing the wea on! thenthere wouldn2t be any advantage in its design... At least! that2s what &heard.G

G5rom &chihara-sen ai! correctLG

Tatsuya2s words saw right through her! causing A)usa to blush! but fora wholly different reason than before.

GAs e( ected of &chihara-sen ai! that was %uite the accurate analysis.9owever! lease don2t worry on that oint. There will still be room toswing a sword in the interior. /ven if we can2t use a ten meter longsword! one meter will wor* just as well.G

6atching Tatsuya2s signal! +eo nodded with a G7ust leave it to meGe( ression.

F F F

The match between 5irst and Second 9igh com letely ignored the



incident yesterday and set their res ective monoliths inside two buildings J s ecifically! the third floor in five floor buildings.

This stubborn refusal to acce t their own res onsibility and error once

more reminded everyone that the bureaucracy from the magicuniversities was %uite olitically minded.

J9owever! neither the res onsibility nor the blame for yesterday2sGaccidentG would fall in the la s of the management board.

5or Tatsuya at least! enclosed locations with lots of cover from ryingeyes were infinitely referable to wide o en areas! so he wasn2tcom laining.

6urrently! Tatsuya had infiltrated the to floor of Second 9igh2s building. 9e snuc* between the detection of the defenders and loo edfrom the neighboring buildings into this one by ho ing along theroofto s without using magic. #recisely because he was engaged in

urely hysical activities! he eluded the detection of the defenders ashe closed in on the target.

Due to the fact that he was assing between the shadows of the buildings and maintaining a stealthy rofile! Tatsuya s ent a

considerable duration of time. /ven if they lost this match! they wouldstill advance to the elimination round. That being said! the format ofthe elimination round itted the first seed against the fourth seed! andthe second seed against the third seed. Meeting Third 9igh in thesemifinals was com letely different than ta*ing them on during thefinals. Tatsuya estimated that time was still in short su ly eventhough he left Mi*ihi*o behind to su ort +eo.

GMi*ihi*o! can you hear meLG

G3eceived! Tatsuya.G

While Monolith 6ode didn2t forbid the layers from using wirelesscommunicators! very few schools too* advantage of this. That was

because! even if the contents of the message couldn2t be deci hered!modern techni%ues were %uite ca able of in ointing the sender2slocation.

On to of that! a three man team using wireless communicators could

easily run into the situation where one or more of the members wereout of range. ;enerally s ea*ing! wireless communicators bore little



value in this com etition.

Des ite this! Tatsuya still rudently chose to use this service!undoubtedly for some ulterior motive.

G+et2s begin. We2re relying on you to find the monolith2s location.GGWe can2t hold out here forever. 9urry u HG

G:nderstood.G

The other side a eared to be loc*ed in combat.

Tatsuya mani ulated the bracelet on his right wrist and brought usummoning magic.

+eo swung the GMini 6ommunicatorG hori)ontally with gusto.

The metallic iece was R0 cm long and C cm wide J art of the blade flew through the air in an arc and rushed towards the layerfrom Second 9igh. The wea on2s lac* of weight was made u for byadditional arm strength in the swing. +eo cho ed the attac*er2s legsfrom beneath him.

The attac*er fell to the earth. &f this was Glive combatG he wouldimmediately ste forward and bestow a finishing blow. 9owever!Monolith 6ode forbade close %uarters combat.

GMi*ihi*oHG

/ven *nowing he couldn2t hear him! +eo still signaled Mi*ihi*o! whowas GwatchingG the scene unfold through the s irits.

&n res onse! a ball of lightning formed in the air.

And struc* the rone layer from Second 9igh.

Eet! +eo didn2t have the s are time to e( ress joy over ta*ing out one erson.

'oticing that his body was under the effect of Move-Ty e Magic! +eohurriedly shouted.

G9altHG

The voice activated 6AD on his left wrist received his command

through the micro hone embedded in his helmet. &n terms of wieldingtwo 6ADs simultaneously! so long as the two activated magics were



from different systems! no interference would occur between the two.

5ortunately J in only a handful of situations J +eo2s ersonal 6ADwas a highly durable and reliable 6AD that had the rocessing ower

from two generations ago! so it fulfilled the conditions forcom etition-use 6ADs in the 'ine Schools 6om etition. /ven if thedubious nature and slight time delay for the voice recognition systemwere not u to Tatsuya2s standards! in this situation! ersonal habitstrum ed that concern! hence +eo was using his ersonal 6AD aftersome "massive$ adjustments to the Activation Se%uence.

7ust as lanned! even though +eo2s 6AD was the Glatter oneG! it stillmanaged to invo*e defensive magics before the enemy2s Move-Ty e

Magic launched its attac*.5rom where he was standing J setting the oint where his feetcontacted the ground! he fortified his body2s connection to thecorres onding coordinates. This was the same tactic that Mari usedduring attle oard! though on a smaller scale. Mari2s magic allowedthe body freedom of movement while stabili)ing herself relative to themoving board. :nli*e this! +eo2s sole ur ose was to solidlyGstabili)eG himself to the ground without moving a single muscle. Thisonly lasted for a short instant.9owever! because this was a massively downgraded a lication! thiswas still able to counter the magic his o onent was in the rocess ofcasting.

This building was designed after a school dorm.

5rom the bro*en windows! their o onent2s figure could be seen assing through the corridors.

+eo ulled bac* his right hand and fell into a lunging osition! but hiso onent had already fled.

6autiously a roaching the rone and convulsing layer! he removedhis rotective helmet.

According to the rules! once an o onent lost their rotective helmet!they were forbidden from ta*ing any further action during the match.

"OK! now we2ve ta*en out one of them...$

/ven *nowing he had no way of sending this message! +eo still





Tatsuya silently began to move.

Through his GcontractedG s irit! Mi*ihi*o detected that Tatsuya alsosuccessfully GsummonedG.

"Seriously! how are you a 6ourse C student! Tatsuya......L$This thought formed in one corner of his mind as Mi*ihi*oconcentrated on the far away s irit.

&n reality! in magic terms! distance osed no real barrier. 5or the giantinformation dimension! hysical distance wasn2t even an issue.

Originally! only 'onsystematic Magic that directly fired sionswithout using the information dimension would be restricted by

hysical distance.Eet! human beings are limited by the five senses as well as theire( eriences.

&f the hysical distance was very large! there would be a GdistantG erce tion.

This erce tion of distance becomes a magic2s GrangeG.

With that *nowledge in mind! magic also becomes less effective.

Thus! for casting magic on remote targets! the *ey lay in the erce tion that the target was right before the caster.

On this oint! S iritual Magic referred to the connection betweencaster and s irit J once synchroni)ed! they could feel the ro(imityof the s irit. &n other words! S irit Magic was something that couldeasily circumvent the range issues for magic.

J7ust li*e this.

"......& see him.$

<isual Tuning.

9e wasn2t summoning the s irit over and reading the recordedinformation. &nstead! he was using the connection through theinformation dimension to directly receive the visual informationthrough the active s irit. This was *nown as S irit Magic2s GSenseTuningG. When restricted to vision only in order to romote clarity!

this techni%ue was *nown as G<isual TuningG.



G5ound him! TatsuyaHG

Eet! ne(t came the tric*y art.

Mi*ihi*o was maintaining the connection to two s irits J the one

following Tatsuya and the other on +eo! as he transmitted this toTatsuya.

"That was fast...... So he found it already.$

S irit Magic was %uite convenient! he thought leisurely as heheightened the tension in his body.

'o matter how you described it! he was concealing himself by

hanging from the ceiling.#robably because the building was intentionally set in a state ofconstruction! there were many e( osed air vents inter-crossed over theroom where Second 9igh2s monolith was located. Tatsuya hung fromone of them and watched the defender cautiously o*e his headaround beneath him.

9e must have detected the source of the signal! but he never imaginedthat his o onent was lur*ing in ambush above him.

Maybe not! Tatsuya thought.

&n his eyes! the defender2s e(treme agitation created this tunnel vision.

9is breathing was ragged li*ely because he ran u the flights of stairs.

9e certainly didn2t feel li*e someone suited for defense. At this juncture! he was su osed to be cheered at his o onent2s ine titude!as ity would most definitely be hy ocritical.

9e toyed with the idea of letting the defender ass! but he ultimatelychose to release his gri ! twisting in the air to re are for his landingand ulling out the 6AD from his right at the same time.

9e s%uee)ed the trigger immediately u on hitting the ground.

The defender didn2t even have a chance to turn his head.

The activated magic was sim ly a sion shoc* wave. 5or a fewseconds! the techni%ue would inca acitate him by creating concussion-

li*e sym toms.





G9e should easily be able to avoid those attac*s...... Why didn2t heeliminate his o onentLG

G&2m sure he has his reasons.G

Mari glared at Tatsuya with a eeved e( ression on her face whileMayumi calmly rebuffed her words.

GWhat do you meanL 9e used 23esonance2 during the last match andsomething else to ta*e out 9attori. Shouldn2t he have more tric*s uhis sleeveLG

GSu osedly! he cannot use the magic he used against 9an)ou-*un because the hardware re%uirements for the com etition-use 6AD are

unable to e(ecute his abilities. +i*ewise! wasn2t his 23esonance2 attac*from the last match unable to com letely silence his o onentL

Mari! have you forgottenL

Eesterday! we forced Tatsuya-*un into the re lacement2s role! so heonly had one night to re areH &n that one night! he had to calibrateSaijou-*un and Eoshida-*un2s 6ADs and also had to iron out astrategy that too* full advantage of their talents......

& can understand that Mari2s irritation comes from the fact that youhold Tatsuya-*un in high esteem. 9owever! & thin* it is irres onsibleto have towering e( ectations without giving him the necessary timeto meet those e( ectations.G

GWell...... OK......G

Mari nodded slightly! signifying she was reflecting on her words.Suddenly! she aused.

G......S ea*ing of which! Mayumi.G

GEeah! what2s u HG

5eeling an icy aura of vengeance manifesting! Mayumi couldn2t hel but shiver.

Still! this may be e(actly what Mari was loo*ing for.

GEou were %uite ready to come to Tatsuya-*un2s defenseHG

GWhaHL 'o! what are......G

G'o need to be ashamed about it. 9owever...... & thin* even you would



be in for a hard fight against that sis-con level......G

G& already said that wasn2t itHG

While Mari2s objection was derailed by a tangent during a ty icalconversation "more li*e nit ic*ing$ for female high school students!those sentiments were echoed by someone else with another

ers ective among the audience.

G&n the end! he only used 2;ram Demolition2! 23esonance2! 2#hantomlow2! and Weight-Ty e Magic! eh...... & can understand not using

2Decom osition2! but isn2t he s*im ing too much by not using 5lash6ast or /lemental SightLG

GSensei! you should *now that he has reasons for *ee ing those underwra s! rightLG

G ut! 5ujibayashi...... 5orget 5lash 6ast for now! even if he used 2/yesof the S irits2! none of those third-rate Magicians watching him wouldhave any idea what he just did.G

Dr. Eamana*a and +ieutenant 5ujibayashi from the &nde endentMagic-/%ui ed attalion were dee in conversation in the audiencestands. &f someone familiar with the conce ts overheard theirconversation! they would undoubtedly lea out of their chair insur rise. Eet! since they were wearing incons icuous summer clothes!these two could easily have been mista*en for a cou le J which wasim ossible! since they loo*ed li*e a doctor and his nurse "&n 7a anese!GsenseiG could be used to address a teacher or doctor$. &f anyoneoverheard a series of foreign terms! they would robably thin* theywere s ecific terms from sychology or a related field. 'o one around

them aid them any articular heed.GDes ite this! if someone saw what should not be seen! this wouldraise a warning flag among the shar er s ectators. 6om ared toSensory Magic! 2/lemental Sight2 is more li*e a Su er ower. ased onthe situation! it may draw more attention than even 2Decom osition2.G

The G/yes of the S iritsG they were tal*ing about J G/lementalSightG referred to Tatsuya2s ability to identify the Glandsca e "color$G

of the information dimension./ach of the 5our Major Systems and /ight Major Ty es of magic



rojected Magic Se%uences onto the /idos through the informationdimension.

Thus! Magicians who wield modern magic have the ability to lin* to

the information dimension. y connecting to the informationdimension and verifying its Ge(istenceG J Tatsuya2s senses could besaid to e( and the field.

And...... this Ge( ansionG had dire conse%uences.

Anything with a hysical body in this world had their /idos im rintedin the information dimension.

Also! this wasn2t done through the five senses! or as if he could Gsee

throughG this e( anded information dimension and the subsystem2ssignals to ull out the targets he needed. 3ather! he was able toidentify each and every /idos and target them se arately.

&n other words! no one could esca e from his /lemental Sight.

The term G/yes of the S iritsG was actually a misnomer that became art of the technical jargon due to its long service.

The first scholars who translated this term initially used the adjectiveG/lementalG! but that was mista*en to mean the noun G/lementalG!giving rise to G/yes of the /lementalsG! which was shortened to G/yesof the S iritsG. Of course! there were many eo le who caught ontothe mista*e! but since G/yes of the S iritsG was more magicallyinclined than G/lemental SightG! the name stuc*. This was a slightlyunscientific way of a roaching the issue! but that was the reason whythe term was never corrected.

While this Gmista*eG was the source of much friction between

s ecialists and non-s ecialists...... 3egarding the fact that no oneste ed forward to correct the issue! the jury was still out on whetherthis was mystifying or worthy of des airing over.

J ac* to main line J

Eamana*a *new e(actly what 5ujibayashi was tal*ing about./lemental Sight was the same as GMist Dis ersalG in that they were

both highly classified.

Des ite this! Eamana*a was still reluctant to acce t that.GSince he2s not allowed to disclose this! we2re robably in the same



boat......G

They were neither sim le nor innocent enough to sim ly come andsu ort Tatsuya. 'or was Tatsuya fragile enough to ainfully

ublici)e that which was forbidden before everyone resent. On this oint! Eamana*a! 5ujibayashi! Ka)ama! Sanada! and Eanagi were all erfectly clear. 'onetheless! there were always e(ce tions. &f acatastro he bro*e out and classified magic was forced out into theo en before ublic eyes! they had to be on hand to handle thesituation. That was why they were here bending all their focus andenergy towards Tatsuya2s match.

Thus! they had no right to critici)e the Eotsuba 5amily2s clandestine

nature! which was recisely Eamana*a2s oint. 3egardless of howmuch Eamana*a wanted to see Tatsuya cut loose and show the world amove or two! there was nothing to be done.

GStill! & thin* that he may get around to 5lash 6ast. Against the 2#rince2or the 26ardinal2! & don2t thin* even he could handle them with such awea* 6AD.G

As if finally soothing Eamana*a2s demands! 5ujibayashi ended theconversation there.

'ot all the audience members were focused on Tatsuya alone.

A considerable amount of eo le were watching +eo. /s ecially because he was the first one to wield a Wea oni)ed-&ntegrated 6AD inthis com etition that both da))led and bewildered the audience.

+i*ewise! several s ectators were also watching Mi*ihi*o! who hadaccurately Gseen throughG the 1 C character code from range. Amongthe crowd of s ectators who remained oblivious to what ha ened!one childhood friend was the e(ce tion.

G3eally! Mi*i...... Eou2re just li*e you were before.G

G/h! what is the same as before! /ri*a-chanLG

Mi)u*i tilted her head in interest at /ri*a2s involuntary muttering./ri*a vaguely re lied bac* to muddle the issue! then fell dee into herown thoughts.

/ri*a and Mi*ihi*o2s relationshi went bac* farther than Mi)u*i



reali)ed! so of course she *new e(actly what Mi*ihi*o was doing.

While Sense Tuning was by no means a small feat! before hisunfortunate accident! the so-called G rodigyG Mi*ihi*o could use that

as easily as he breathed the very air itself. 'evertheless! after thatincident occurred! he was never able to freely wield magic the way heused to.

"Seriously...... Eour mental trauma had long since healed.$

Occasionally! eo le would say that hysical injuries were easy toheal! but mental wounds closed slowly.

&n reality! hysical injuries were also se arated between those that

could be saved! and those that couldn2t.At the same time! mental trauma should be the same.

"Mi*i...... Did you noticeL Today! you are just li*e you were at your ea*H$

/ri*a didn2t ossess the ower to identify s irits! nor was she e%ui edwith the eyes to see the s irits themselves.

Thus! she was unable to directly confirm whether S iritual Magic had

succeeded. That being said! she was a daughter of the 6hiba 5amily!renowned for endlessly training in anti- ersonnel magic combat.

ased on the minute and subtle changes in motion! line of sight! ande( ression! it was ossible to identify to some degree when someoneused magic! what they were targeting! and whether they succeeded.

The daughter of the 6hiba 5amily used her air of GSwordsman2s/yesG to behold that Mi*ihi*o had cast his desired magic at long last.

":nbelievable...... 9urry u and reali)e this. Eou2ve alreadyrecoveredH$

#resently! Mi*ihi*o had recovered his GabilityG! but not hisGconfidenceG.

She could read that much from his stolid e( ression. This was the roduct of many years of forced interaction during their childhoodyears.

'ow! all he needed to do was renew his confidence. All he had to dowas believe in himselfJ



G....../ri*a-chan! what2s wrongL /ri*a-chanHG

G/hL WhatLG

GWhat do you mean G/hL WhatLG. What2s u with you shutting

yourself away all of a suddenL Are you worried about somethingLGG/h! yeah! now that you mention it! & am a little worried. Didn2t & justsay this one was closeL 9o efully! the ne(t match will be A-OK>.G

Mi)u*i was successfully misled by her words and started tal*ing aboutGS ea*ing of whichG! G'e(t timeG! GWe2ll cheer them onG. SettingMi)u*i aside for now! /ri*a once again delved into her inner sanctum.

F F F

The seeding for the elimination round had been announced.

5or the first match of the semifinal round! Third 9igh was u against/ighth 9igh.

&n the second match! it was 5irst 9igh vs. 'inth 9igh.

The results for the rotating reliminaries were 5irst #lace8 Third 9igh!Second #lace8 5irst 9igh! Third #lace8 /ighth 9igh! and 5ourth #lace8 'inth 9igh. According to the rules! the semifinals should have ittedThird 9igh vs. 'inth 9igh and 5irst 9igh vs. /ighth 9igh! but since5irst 9igh already crossed swords with /ighth 9igh in the

reliminaries! they made another e(ce tion here.

The elimination round would begin in the afternoon.

While Tatsuya2s match was the second one in the afternoon! theycouldn2t afford to miss out on Third 9igh2s match.

&t was still a little early for lunch! so Tatsuya carried a bento bo( andaccom anied Miyu*i bac* to the hotel.

J&t didn2t a ear that they could enjoy their lunch in eace at the avilion.

+eo and Mi*ihi*o had already evacuated bac* to their rooms to avoidthe chaos.

/ven though 9ono*a wanted to join them! if her resence caused an





G......As e( ected of the 'ine Schools 6om etition. Eou can e( ect tomeet celebrities everywhere.G

'ow he was interested in their conversation. This thought only flashed

through Tatsuya2s mind briefly because he was well aware that thissituation called for rudence.

GDo you *now himLG

G9e rates as an international celebrity.G

At his side! Miyu*i urged him to answer. Tatsuya originally lanned toanswer as they wal*ed.

Still! while he sto ed to recollect his thoughts! he didn2t dare to

actually Gobstruct the dateG! but another fearless challenger a eared.A shrill voice caused both Tatsuya and Miyu*i to halt their footste s.

G'ii-samaH What are you doing hereLHG

A familiar voice in a com letely unfamiliar olite tone of voiceaddressed the young man.

G'ii-samaL Then this erson is /ri*a2s......LG

Miyu*i switched her ga)e from /ri*a! who was stom ing towards theyoung man! to Tatsuya in ho es of confirmation.G&f my memory serves! he should be her second brother. The 26hibaKirin2! 6hiba 'aotsugu. 6urrently studying at the :niversity of

'ational Defense! and re uted to be one of the finest magic closecombat s ecialists in the world within a range of three meters.G

GSo he2s that ama)ing. ..... ut! & would thin* that having such an older brother would be a great source of ride for /ri*a! but this o en

animosity seems out of sorts.GG6orrect. While there are rumors that 'aotsugu is an a ostate withinthe 6hiba 5amily...... Eet & hardly find /ri*a the ty e to be a stic*lerfor the 2formalities2.G

G&ndeed.......G

As the siblings were discussing this! /ri*a was in the rocess oftearing her brother a new one. -- And wholly ignoring Mari to one

side.G'ii-sama should be in Thailand serving as a swordsmanshi trainer







/ri*a ruthlessly curtailed her brother2s words and glared at Mari! whoshe had "li*ely consciously$ ignored until now! before turning bac* to

'aotsugu.

G3eally! how a alling...... 'ii-sama! *nown as the 6hiba Kirin! wouldactually abandon his duty for this *ind of woman......G

G....../ri*a! at the very least! & am still your sen ai at school. & don2trecall slighting you in any way to deserve being called 2this *ind ofwoman2LG

: to this oint! Mari atiently endured in silence! but finally bro*eher silence to interject.

Eet /ri*a com letely ignored Mari2s words.GS ea*ing of which! & do believe that 'ii-sama fell from grace afterstarting a relationshi with this woman. A swordsman that masteredthe Arts of the Thousand lades neglected to ractice his training and

became infatuated with those etty magic tric*s......G

G/ri*aHG

5or 'aotsugu! that must be a taboo subject. 9e shed his gentle natureli*e an actor removing a mas*. 5aced with this blistering castigation!/ri*a %uivered in shoc*.

G&n order to hone the talent! one must always absorb new techni%ues.

This is what & believe and have always done.

This has nothing to do with Mari.

After hearing Mari got hurt! & was the one who could not sit still.

/ven so! Mari told me that it2s fine if & couldn2t ma*e it.

&n s ite of this! from the very start! as a daughter of the 6hiba 5amily!you should be ashamed of your behaviorHG

G............G

She bit her li in silence! but even so! /ri*a never shifted her ga)efrom 'aotsugu.

G6ome! /ri*a. A ologi)e to Mari.G

G......'ever.GG/ri*aHG



G& refuseH &t2s true that 'ii-sama dro ed his official tas* to come hereHAnd all because of that womanHG

Once again! the tables turned.

G&2ll never budge on this ointH 'ii-sama started to degenerate aftergoing out with that womanHG

/ri*a swiftly ivoted and fled from her brother with ra id footste s.

F F F

G/ri*a-chan! hold u ! /ri*a-chanHG

y the time she reached the elevator J and com letely out of sight ofthe lobby! /ri*a finally turned around to face Mi)u*i2s voice.

Then! she o ened her mouth to form an GOhG.

G......Tatsuya-*un. Miyu*i as well...... Don2t tell me both of you heardthatLG

9er tone and e( ression were both ty ical of /ri*a.

Eet! Tatsuya2s instincts told him that /ri*a was barely holding bac*her tears.

G& a ologi)e...... We didn2t mean to.G

GTatsuya-*un! this time you foot the bill.G

GWhatHL ......5ine! you win. #lease be merciful.G

G'egotiations com lete.G

/ri*a revealed her usual flighty and carefree smile.;iven that she had already ado ted her usual facade! if Tatsuya overly

am ered her! she would only raise her guard! which would defeat theentire ur ose.

G/ri*a! have you eaten lunchLG

G9mL &t2s still early..... /h! OK. & haven2t eaten yet! so let2s gotogether.G

At Miyu*i2s %uestion! /ri*a gave a noncommittal answer.



GOnii-samaLG

G5ine. We were going to eat in the room anyway. &f you don2t mind!would you li*e to join usLG

GSure! &2ll goH Mi)u*i! want to come tooLGGOK! then e(cuse me.G

G#lease! you2re not a bother at all.G

G/hL That2s not what & meantHG

GSeriously...... Tatsuya-*un! ic*ing on others is too much.G

Mi)u*i was still in a bad mood because she was used as a tool tolighten the mood.

9owever! she wasn2t really holding it against him! this oint wasobvious. Tatsuya smiled wryly as he too* a large bite out of hissandwich.

Mi)u*i and Tatsuya both retended to be oblivious to what ha enedearlier! so they didn2t raise the subject again.

GThen...... Tatsuya-*un! Miyu*i! Mi)u*i! do you guys have anythingyou wanted to as* me aboutLG

Still! the erson in %uestion J /ri*a! was ready to reo en #andora2so(.

GThe erson going out with Watanabe-sen ai seems to be /ri*a2s older brother.G

Miyu*i was the only one who deftly answered the conversation in acarefree manner.

GEe . That stu id brother of mine! it2s both itiful and infuriating atthe same time that he2s been conned by that woman......G

G&sn2t he a world-class swordsmanL /ven if you don2t raise him! &don2t thin* you should refer to him as 2stu id brother of mine2! rightLG

G/hL ......Ah! so that2s how it is. &f it2s Tatsuya-*un! it wouldn2t besur rising if you *new about 'aotsugu 'ii-san.G

G/-ri-*a. /ven though you2re with us! you don2t have to change yourwords! OKL &sn2t it 'aotsugu 'ii-samaLG



GAh>! forget about thatH That2s totally not li*e meHG

/ri*a wra ed her hands around her head and buried her head into the bed.

A arently! the term GdecorousG caused her no end of embarrassment.......6om ared to that! he was ho ing that she would be moreembarrassed about burying her head into a illow that a man uses.Tatsuya thought worriedly.

GOK! OK. So /ri*a li*es 'aotsugu-san.G

G............G

/ri*a wasn2t the only one who fro)e.

Miyu*i2s frost bomb instantly turned Tatsuya and Mi)u*i into icecubes.

G......'o way in hellHG

/ri*a lea ed to her feet and screamed.

Owing to the fact that her face was buried in the illow as she startedto re ly! the only words they heard was Gin hellG. To be able tores ond so swiftly in that situation was certainly worthy of raise.

Miyu*i laughed merrily as if a cornered beast had let out a furious! buteasily understood! bellow.

And dro ed an even more e( losive bomb.

GSo! /ri*a. Eou turned out to have a rother 6om le(HG

GWha......G

/ri*a ga ed at that.

The following e( losion far sur assed her critical oint.

G& don2t want to hear that from youH Eou hardcore bro-con girlHG

JAs to what ha ened afterwards! Tatsuya and Mi)u*i *e t that tothemselves.

F F F



G......9ey! Tatsuya! you2re loo*ing retty bad! ehL Are you alrightL

GSomehow! you loo* e(hausted......G

When Tatsuya arrived at the audience stands! the first thing he heard

was +eo and Mi*ihi*o commenting on him.G&2m a little tired. &t2s nothing really! it2s more emotional e(haustionthan mental stress. &2ll be fine if & concentrate during the match.G

Tatsuya waved his hands in a casual manner. On the other side!Miyu*i and /ri*a sat down as if nothing had occurred.

ehind them! Mi)u*i2s actions were slightly sus icious! but neither+eo nor Mi*ihi*o noticed! since all of their focus was on the

u coming match.G......Sorry. +oo*s li*e we2re letting Tatsuya draw all the fire.G

Mi*ihi*o *indly "intentionallyL$ misinter reted this.

G'o! that2s hardly the case. 3ela(! don2t worry about it.G

While the words Gthat2s hardly the caseG meant nothing of the sort! thefact that Tatsuya chose to res ond in a dubious manner showed that healso ossessed a slightly twisted ersonality.

GAs long as you2re alright. Tatsuya really too* it too far last round! sodon2t ush yourselfHG

G&2ll *ee that in mind.G

& am not worthy of such a *indhearted friend! Tatsuya thought.

G&2m *ee ing tabs on that as well! so don2t worry about it.G

9e never intended to have such an honest friend worry about him so!

hence Tatsuya made an earnest effort to nod his head in agreement.Still! once the match began! how grave his face became was no longerim ortant.

Their attention J of course! Tatsuya included J was currently drawnaway by the match between Third and /ighth 9igh in the Groc*yGsetting.

Sur assing all their e( ectations! the match was a com lete landslide.

Actually! it may be more a ro riate to describe this as a solo erformance.



5ollowing the GO en 5ieldG! the Karst-li*e G ouldersG had the leastamount of obstacles in the setting. While there were large boulders

jutting out across the area! their difference in height wasn2t noticeable!nor were there any trees to obstruct vision.

One layer moved out of Third 9igh2s field and leisurely aced from between the boulders.

9eedless of any hostile fire! &chijou Masa*i GadvancedG whiledisdaining to rely on any cover.

'or was /ighth 9igh just standing there hel lessly as theycontinuously unleashed magic on Masa*i2s osition. /ven the attac*erwho was advancing on Third 9igh2s osition from the shadows of the

boulders was ouring on the fire./ven so.

Masa*i2s ace faltered not.

The roc*y fragments hurtled by Move-Ty e Magic were thrown away by even stronger Move-Ty e Magic.

Weight-Ty e and Oscillation-Ty e Magic fired at him were nullified by a wide area interference barrier that e(tended in a one meter radiusaround him.

As if moc*ing the G ointless gesturesG! Masa*i2s ace was slow andleisurely.

G......2Armor of &nterference2! eh. Move-Ty e Wide Area &nterferenceshould be the 7uumonji 5amily2s s ecialty.G

+eo and Mi*ihi*o were both struc* s eechless by this over oweringmight. On the other hand! Tatsuya was the master of himself as he

raised Masa*i2s strengths.

GTo be able to freely wield this ty e of magic without breathingraggedly li*ely re%uires more than a large ca acity within the magiccalculation area. +oo*s li*e he2s very ade t at 2cyclical breathing2. &guess that should be called innate talent.G

When continuously using the same magic! cyclical breathing referredto the s ace between when one magic ends and the ne(t one begins.

The less overla between the first and second magic! the less stresswas laced on the Magician. Magicians who e(celled in shortening the



dead time between the two were *nown as Gade t at cyclical breathingG.

Miyu*i was also a Magician Gade t at cyclical breathingG! but in

Tatsuya2s eyes! Masa*i ossessed a talent that rivaled Miyu*i2s.&n face of the unyielding defense! the attac*er from /ighth 9ighsto ed his assault.

9e frantically hid and charged towards Third 9igh2s osition.

9e gave u on bringing down Masa*i and chose to assault the enemy2smonolith in ho es of ulling out a victory from the jaws of defeat.

Alas! his choice was overly rec*less.

#robably because it was made in a anic.With his attention com letely in front of him and e( osing hisdefenseless bac*! how could someone li*e Masa*i let this o ortunitysim ly ass byL

After suffering a oint blan* e( losive shoc* wave! the attac*er from/ighth was flung face first into the dirt.

G6onvergence-Systematic 2 ias 3elease2. Sim ly using com ressionand release would be sufficient...... 9e2s certainly someone who li*esto ut on a show.G

G ias 3elease! rightL &2ve never heard of that magic.G

GThat2s because it2s a highly convoluted and inefficient! second ratemagic.

5or e(am le! it2s li*e um ing air into one side of a can and sealing it!then o ening the other end towards the target. 6om ared with normal

air! that sort of concentrated com ressed air would stri*e with greaterforce and higher control over the direction of the force! so these aresome ossible advantages. ut if it2s only to increase the out ut! itwould be far better to sim ly increase the amount of com ression. &fhe wanted to add vectors to the attac*! then direct contact with thecom ressed air would be sufficient.

......'o! he2s trying to decrease the ower of the blow! hence he used acombination of the two.

eing over owered is truly a hassle in this circumstance.G



Tatsuya revealed an ironic smir*.

Miyu*i gave him a loo* that said G&sn2t Onii-sama the same wayLG! buthe retended to be oblivious.

While Tatsuya was e( laining the mechanics! Masa*i continued toclose in on /ighth 9igh2s osition.

+i*ely arriving at the conclusion that sim ly waiting was no solution!the two remaining defenders combined their strength to challengeMasa*i.

The boulders s lit a art and rushed towards Masa*i.

The 3elease-Systematic Magic used by the layers from /ighth 9igh

set off a shower of electrons from the minerals! causing s ar*s to eru taround Masa*i2s feet.

3egardless of the scale of the former or the difficulty level of thelatter! both were of the highest caliber magic J which was noe(aggeration.

When Tatsuya2s team dueled /ighth 9igh! their victory only a earedeasy because they never gave their o onent the chance to ut their

best foot forward. &f it was a head-to-head shootout! the battleundoubtedly would have been a very stiff contest.

9owever! Masa*i easily nullified their full frontal combined assault.

The scattered fragments were flung away by a s here of reversevectors centered around Masa*i! while the electric discharge wassu ressed before it even started.

A bloc* of air hammered into the layers from /ighth 9igh.

: on contact with the released com ressed air! the two of them wereswiftly and easily inca acitated.

The ending signal sounded immediately.

5or the entire duration of the match! Kichijouji and their otherteammate stood stoc* still in Third 9igh2s field and contributednothing to the overall result.

G9e has far e(ceeded our e( ectations! this 2#rince2 of the &chijou5amily......G



Mayumi said to Katsuto as she shifted her ga)e away from the screen.

9er usual com anion Mari wasn2t resent.

6urrently! Mari was reoccu ied to the oint that Gwhoever disturbed

her would rue that dayG.Originally! she should have been confined to bed rest! but Mayumi andthe other members of the brass turned a blind eye.

GSomehow & feel that he2s very similar to 7uumonji-*un.G

/ven if someone said they were similar! this would robably be a hardsentiment for Katsuto to res ond to.

As e( ected! before he was able to re ly! Su)une had joined theconversation already.GThat may be intentional. The combat dogma for the &chijou 5amilyrevolves around roactively controlling the initiative through mediumto long range bombardment. Today in the rotating reliminaries! heused long distance attac*s to annihilate the defenders. & don2t have areal basis for this but...... & thin* this may be &chijou-*un throwingdown the gauntlet.G

GA challengeLGAt Mayumi tilting her head! Katsuto answered her.

G&2m not certain if he2s conscious of my style! but & thin* he2s callingout Shiba to 2trade shots with him if he dares2.G

G9m...... & can understand that feeling.G

Mayumi2s e( ression seemed to say8 how childish.

Tatsuya2s strengths lay in mobility! analysis! and his ability to sur rise.

6om ared to his Magic #ower! it was his combat ability that was morestri*ing! which the two matches today clearly testified to.

9ow could Tatsuya be ta*en in by such blatant baiting! Mayumithought.

Eet! Katsuto didn2t receive that wordless communication! so hecontinued onward.

GShiba will most li*ely acce t that challenge.GG/hL Tatsuya-*unLG



GAt the original distance! he has no chance of victory. This may be hisonly o ortunity.G

G& don2t believe it! that2s sim ly......G&n the audience stands far from the main avilion! of course there wasno way for Katsuto2s o inion to reach Tatsuya2s ears. 'onetheless!Katsuto2s oint was mirrored in Tatsuya2s mind.

9e was also aware that this may be Third 9igh2s! and KichijoujiShin*urou2s in articular! real intention8 to reveal the only way for himto emerge victorious while at the same time forcing a directconfrontation.

The tric*y art was! besides acce ting their o onent2s invitation! 5irst9igh didn2t have any other o tions that had a higher chance forvictory.

"Well layed! G6ardinal ;eorgeG......$

GSeriously! what *ind of defensive ability is thatHG

G&n the end! the only thing we caught a glim se of was &chijou-*un!which was our mista*e. This way! we have no way to lan for ourencounter.G

+eo and Mi*ihi*o must have misinter reted Tatsuya2s comment.

The two of them seemed to be overwhelmed by Masa*i2s strength! butat least they were better off than he was. 9e was in the rocess of

being devoured slowly by this %uic*sand hell! so they undoubtedlysuffered less mental stress than he did.

G&n regards to Kichijouji-*un! & have a rough estimate. & have no ideaabout the third erson though.G

GOh! reallyLG

Tatsuya roceeded to correct their misinter retation.

GThe 26ardinal 6ode2 that Kichijouji Shin*urou discovered is afundamental code used in Weight-Ty e Magic and he a eared inS eed Shooting.

Thus! his favored magic would robably be 2&nvisible ullet2! whicha lies increased weight to select oints.G



G6ardinal 6odeLG

GSo he2s not altering the target2s /idos but only a lying increasedweight to a certain ortion! but is that ossibleLG

GWell...... +oo*s li*e this e( lanation will ta*e some time! is thatfineLG

At Tatsuya2s %uery! +eo hesitated briefly! but Mi*ihi*o immediatelynodded.

GWithin Magic Se%uence research! there is a theory *nown as the26ardinal 6ode 9y othesis2.

There is considerable o ular su ort behind this theory. There are the

5our ;reat Systems and /ight Major Ty es! 2S eed2! 2Weight2!2Movement2! 2Oscillation2! 26onvergence2! 2Dis ersal2! 2Absor tion2! and23elease2 as well as their corres onding ositive and negative oles fora total of @ fundamental Magic Se%uences. This theory believes that!through the various combinations of these @ Magic Se%uences! anymagic from any of the major systems can be created.

Meanwhile! the Magic Se%uence that serves as the basic building bloc* is called the 26ardinal 6ode2.

&n summation...... &t is ca able of constructing any and all theSystematic magics. Strictly on this oint! the theory is incorrect! butthe 26ardinal 6ode2 truly e(ists.G

G......The theory is incorrect but the code e(istsLG

G......Sorry! you lost me.G

5aced with Mi*ihi*o and +eo2s res onses! Tatsuya waved his hand asif to say GDon2t be hastyG.

G6alm down! let me go over it again slowly.

There is magic within the 5our ;reat Systems that cannot be created by the @ 26ardinal 6odes2 no matter what combination you try! hencethe 6ardinal 6ode theory is incorrect. Then again! based on itsfundamental rinci les! there does e(ist a Magic Se%uence that isca able of being a building bloc*.

Within modern magic! certain effects will ta*e lace after redefiningthe status of an object after henomenon rewriting.



While the driving force behind the change has been defined within theMagic Se%uence! this driving force would not e(ist without adefinition of what ha ens after the magic has affected the target.

9owever! 6ardinal 6odes are able to create the driving forcethemselves.

&n other words! 6ardinal 6odes are Magic Se%uences that literallydefine 2S eed2! 2Weight2! 2Movement2! 2Oscillation2! 26onvergence2!2Dis ersal2! 2Absor tion2! and 23elease2.

Thus! rather than having an overall effect on the /idos themselves!these act on a single object J and render them ossible.

6urrently! the only discovered 6ardinal 6ode on record is the onefrom Weight-Ty e Magic.

And the one res onsible for that discovery is Kichijouji Shin*urou ofThird 9igh J 26ardinal ;eorge2.G

9earing the last few words! Mi*ihi*o dis layed a cowed e( ression.

GKichijouji Shin*urou! no wonder & thought that name soundedfamiliar...... So he2s 26ardinal ;eorge2HG

Seeing his face! Tatsuya thought8 GDamn it.G 3egardless! he hadalready said the words! so there was nothing he could do about it.

G/(actly. So &chijou-*un isn2t the only one we have to be on guardagainst. While it is true that talented researchers are not necessarilytalented users! so long as he is ca able of wielding the 26ardinal 6ode2!he will be a fearsome o onent.G

Magic that relies on the 6ardinal 6ode has no need to define thealtered henomenon that is mandatory in normal magic because thedriving force itself has been defined. :nder this condition J whereforce is a lied unilaterally! the magic that directly involved Tatsuyain Monolith 6ode! 2 attering 3am2! and 2&nvisible ullet2 share thesame characteristics! but 2 attering 3am2 re%uired additional force Jes ecially on the oint of attac* J in order to rewrite the entire

henomenon. 6om ared to that! 2&nvisible ullet2 had no need torewrite the surface that force was a lied on J regardless of whetherit was a wall! the surface! or even the human body. 2&nvisible ullet2was a magic that directly im roved the force itself.



'ot rewriting the entire /idos! the Magic Se%uence needed to rewriteonly the necessary ortion was naturally going to be smaller. ecausethis was not altering the /idos of the target itself! 2Data 5ortification2

J abilities that defended against rewriting the /idos J was unable todefend against it.

Smaller Magic Se%uences and the ability to influence the /idos ins ite of Data 5ortification ma*es this a owerful advantage for usingthis ty e of magic.

5ortunately! 2&nvisible ullet2 was ham ered by the absolute necessityof visual confirmation. 3ather than relying on the /idos! a directconfirmation of the object was a necessary! but ironic! handica .

Owing to this handica ! cover was a useful defense against the attac*sfrom 2&nvisible ullet2. While Wide Area &nterference is viable! Data5ortification is no defense! so be very carefulHG

G;ot it. & will be e(tra careful.G

G9o...... & still don2t understand one oint.G

After Mi*ihi*o nodded in understanding! +eo olitely o ened hismouth.

GWhat is it +eoLGGThis doesn2t really have anything to do with the match...... Tatsuya!earlier you said something about 2there are magics that cannot beconstructed by the @ 6ardinal 6odes2! rightL &n other words! Tatsuya*nows all @ of the 6ardinal 6odesLG

Though his attitude and tone might claim otherwise! +eo was no foolin his own right.

Setting aside general *nowledge! he was still highly intelligent.Tatsuya was well aware of this! but was still caught by sur rise by this*een statement.

G......6urrently! Kichijouji Shin*urou is the only one who hasdiscovered a 6ardinal 6ode. & only *now that there are magics withinthe 5our Major Systems that cannot be created by the 6ardinal 6ode9y othesis.G

GOnii-sama! isn2t it time to goLG





Gla*eG to eva orate and increase the un leasantness.

The Ancient Magic res onsible for creating this G arrierG of mist wasunrelated to the level of moisture and sim ly congregated the va or in

the air. /ven if the tem erature was raised! this would only increasethe amount of water va or and ma*e the mist even thic*er. G arrierGMagic naturally included the GSealingG conce t! so even mani ulatingthe air currents would only cycle the air filled with mist.

5undamentally! trying to sustain magic on a vague target was one ofthe wea*er areas of modern magic.

&n order to use modern magic to dis el this GMagical MistG! they hadto identify the magic that Mi*ihi*o used to create this area JG arrierG! otherwise no countermeasure would be effective. The newstudents from 'inth 9igh a eared to be lac*ing in their *nowledge ofAncient Magic.

esides having a slightly denser cloud of artificial mist hanging overthe area! there was nothing that sur assed the laws of nature.

Since there was no arado(ical effect! there were no signs of themagic wea*ening. +i*ewise! there was no effect that loc*ed eo le in

lace.The only as ect directly being restricted was visibility andsubse%uently! mobility.

The attac*ers from 'inth 9igh advanced along the cliffs withtre idation. Tatsuya too* a %uic* glance before diving into the mistand easily arriving at 'inth 9igh2s osition.

The mist intentionally became thinner around his immediate osition!

which wasn2t a roblem to maintain if he was only wal*ing %uic*ly.Then again! even if there was )ero visibility! that would ose little roblem to Tatsuya anyway.

9ere! he didn2t have to worry about the audience watching him! so hecould freely use his vision to identify the entities around him.

+oo ing behind the unsus ecting defender from 'inth 9igh! Tatsuyafired the G*eyG into the monolith.

: on hearing the Gouter lidG of the monolith falling away! thedefender frantically whirled around! but Tatsuya had long since



evacuated.

This time! Tatsuya didn2t need to summon the s irits.

Mi*ihi*o was the one controlling the s irit that u held the barrier of

mist. Within this mist! nothing could esca e Mi*ihi*o2s GeyesG.The match between 5irst and 'inth 9igh ended in 5irst 9igh2s victorywithout a single shot being fired.

F F F

The finals would ta*e lace after the com ensatory round.

3egardless of how long matches lasted! each match for Monolith 6odenever e(ceeded B0 minutes. Thus! the finals were comfortably set forB8B0 #M! which was two hours from now.

Tatsuya was in charge of 6AD calibration! so he o ted to stay in thecom etition area for the ne(t two hours! but Mi*ihi*o and +eo neededto blow off some steam! so they left the com etition area.

JThere2s no way he could last if he saw those siblings stic*ingtogether li*e glue again. Maybe that was the reason why......

They arranged to meet u one hour before the match! so how theys ent their time until then was their ersonal choice.

+eo said he wanted to grab a bite from the cafeteria before heading bac* to his room to rest.

Mi*ihi*o wasn2t as gluttonous! so he elected to visit the tourism roomon the highest floor of the hotel.

The hotel was erected near the 5uji /(ercise ;rounds! so the tourismroom had a direct view of Mt. 5uji.

The GDivine /arth MagicG of the Eoshida 5amily was Ancient Magicthat belonged to the Shinto System and more s ecifically the branchconcerned with /arth Deities within the Shinto System "deification ofthe country$.

Mt. 5uji had a s ecial meaning for Magicians who used AncientMagic from the Shinto system.







9e was ta*ing in and releasing the air in controlled motions.

And he wasn2t breathing in and e( elling! but e( elling and then breathing.

After ta*ing two or three breaths Mi*ihi*o2s body was suffused with ower. This wasn2t li*e the GcrumbsG from sions or ushions! but wassomething closer to the original oscillations of the waves! also *nownas a G owerG called G ranaG.

Mi*ihi*o erfectly absorbed the rana surrounding the ea*s. Afterverifying this with her own eyes! /ri*a let out a restrained smile thatwas wholly unli*e her.

JA somewhat lonely smile.G/ri*a......LG

GSee! you still have it in youHG

G......&2m sorry! but & have no idea what you2re tal*ing about.G

This wouldn2t be the first time someone had s outed some abstractcomment without s aring a thought towards others! but today!Mi*ihi*o felt that it was more li*e his fault for not understanding her.

GMi*ihi*o-*un! have you noticedL Today! you were able to wieldmagic li*e before the incident! when you were *nown as the 2 rodigyof the Eoshida 5amily2HG

G/hLG

G'o! you2re not the same as before! you have made great stridescom ared to then. 3egardless of whether it was Sense Tuning! the

barrier of Mist! the absor tion of rana! they have become as natural

as breathing for you.G9e didn2t say8 how is it ossible.

+i*ewise! Mi*ihi*o didn2t say! why would you say that.

9e was well aware what sort of GeyeG the GSwordsman of 6hibaG/ri*a ossessed.

G&sn2t that wonderfulHG

With a sudden G ahG and a sla on the bac*! Mi*ihi*o nearlystaggered.



G&n this state! Mi*i has nothing to fear from Third 9ighH ;o get themHG

GMy name is Mi*ihi*oHG

/ri*a suddenly reverted to her usual state and de arted without a

re ly. Mi*ihi*o finally rela(ed as he called out his usual res onse toher retreating bac*.

/(actly why he did so or what he was concerned about did not crossMi*ihi*o2s mind.

F F F

Tatsuya! who should be stuc* with his sister li*e glue "that was onlythe wild mass guessing from their teammates$! was summoned to theentrance of the grounds shortly after the two de arted.

GOno-sensei! than* you for your hard wor*.G

9aru*a was the one who called him out here.

G9ey! saying than* you for your hard wor* to an elder...... Eou2reaware of what you2re saying! rightLG

At Tatsuya2s mischievous smir*! 9aru*a2s shoulders droo edhel lessly.

G......& guess that2s what my osition has turned into...... A su ortingactor whose secrets have been e( osed! only to be buried within the2ignorant masses2......G

GWhat are you tal*ing about. Eou2re s outing nonsense.G

G'o worries. &2m a nonsensical woman anyway.GG......& thin* it2s about time you returned what & laced in your *ee ing.& don2t have much time.G

Seeing Tatsuya reach out a hand! 9aru*a layfully sighed.

/ven if she didn2t say it! her e( ression clearly said8 G6an2t youcoo erate a little.G Des ite this! she understood that time was of theessence! so she obediently handed the electric carrier "carry-on

baggage with electric wheels attached to facilitate movement$ over toTatsuya.



GSeriously...... & really wish someone would actually reward me alittle. &2m a life counselor! not an errand boy.G

GOur sensei was the one who as*ed Ono-sensei to do this! not me.

Still...... +et me thin* for a moment. &f you2re unha y with thesetrivial tas*s! allow me to as* you something more in line with youractual job.G

G'o! it2s not li*e & wanted an actual tas*.G

G&t2s ta(-free income...... Eou really don2t want itLG

9aru*a2s eyes s ar*led with an easily understood wavering.

......&s this sort of *ind dis osition "and not G ersonalityG$ truly suited

for intelligence wor*L Tatsuya watched her in a taunting manner.9e didn2t have to wait very long.

G......& give u . &t2s our duty to assist students deviating from the right ath. This isn2t the time to say &2m off duty or & haven2t got the time.G

So! she was loo*ing for an e(cuse to ma*e this easier on herself!Tatsuya thought.

9oweverJ

GAlas! that2s not the tas* & had in mind. &2m referring to your other lineof wor*.G

G......What e(actly do you want me to doLG

9aru*a was immediately on high alert.

&s it really alright for her to be this trans arentL This time! Tatsuya wasseriously concerned.

5orget it! even if she messed u by feigning silliness and unishedwith GthisG and GthatG! those were not related to him in any way.

G'o 9ead Dragon...... & want to *now the current 9? for the 9ongKong &nternational 6riminal Organi)ation 2'o 9ead Dragon2.G

9aru*a frantically glanced around them and closed in on Tatsuya as ifshe was going to hug him.

G9ow do you *now about 'o 9ead DragonHLG

While her tone was agitated! 9aru*a didn2t forget to lower her volumeas she as*ed him. Still! even if she as*ed! this wasn2t a %uestion he



could answer. Tatsuya2s relationshi with Ka)ama and the &nde endentMagic-/%ui ed attalion was still classified. That was a direct orderfrom their aunt! the current head of the Eotsuba 5amily. /ven if heanswered with something li*e G& heard it from somewhere elseG! therewas no guarantee that some trace of this relationshi could not bee( osed.

G&t2s only natural that & would investigate the cul rits intending to dome harm.G

9ence Tatsuya chose this vague answer that could be a lied towardsanything. 'evertheless! 9aru*a correctly inter reted this to mean therecent obstructions in the 'ine Schools 6om etition.

G......What devilry are you u to nowL 2#ublic Safety2 and 2&nternalAffairs2 have both been mobili)ed for this case. There2s no need forShiba-*un to act on thisHG

9aru*a was still whis ering. 5rom their osture! any bystander wouldmista*e this for a troublesome relationshi .

Miyu*i osed no difficulty! so long as 9ono*a! Shi)u*u! or any of theothers didn2t see them! Tatsuya thought.

G6urrently! there are no wheels in motion. Still! if retaliation becomesnecessary! but the enemy2s location remains un*nown! that would be alittle troubling. ......S ea*ing of which! & thin* our current ro(imitymay cause some misunderstanding.G

9aru*a %uic*ly jer*ed bac*.

Maybe this came from an elder2s ride! but she was using a lacatingsmile to cover her internal discomfiture.

&t2s about time to seriously advise her to abandon the intelligencewor*! Tatsuya thought.

......That being said! he never thought of retracting his re%uest.

G......&nsurance! is itLG

GThat inter retation would be acce table.G

After carefully e(amining him! she swiftly nodded.

G......:nderstood. ;ive me one day.GG&m ressiveH Eou only need one dayLG



This was ure! worry-free raise.

9aru*a was someone who wore her heart on her sleeve and could onlysmile in embarrassment.

F F F

As Tatsuya dragged the electric carrier bac* to the avilion! thestudents on duty all ga)ed at him with interest. 6om letely ignoringthe fact that he was the center of attention! Tatsuya retrievedsomething from the bag.

G......Wind brea*ersLGMayumi a roached Tatsuya with nary a thought and as*ed as shee(amined the object in his hands.

G'o! these are mantles.G

Tatsuya raised the blac* fabric and unfurled them.

&t was a Western mantle that would e(tend to the floor even onsomeone of his height.

GThose tooLG

GThose are robes.G

After de ositing the blac* mantle on the table! this time he ulled outa gray fabric. This one was a long robe with a hood attached.

GWhat...... e(actly are you going to do with theseLG

There were GLG mar*s floating all over the avilion. Only Miyu*i

could tell at first glance and couldn2t hel but burst into laughter.GThat2s for the match. Than*fully! they made it in time.G

GOnii-sama! wouldn2t that be against the rulesLG

Setting aside the com letely confused Mayumi and the others! Miyu*ias*ed Tatsuya with a degree of seriousness.

G& don2t believe there will be a roblem since we handed in the 6ADsin time. The rule boo* didn2t say that we are forbidden from wearinguniforms inscribed with magic themselves.G



9earing his answer to Miyu*i! the number of GLG mar*s on Mayumi2shead increased by one as she as*ed Tatsuya.

GMagic inscri tionsLG

G6orrect. This is done by combining the rinci le of /ngraving Magicwith the mediums from Ancient Magic. The mantle and robe includeenchantments that facilitate the user using magic.G

GSu lementary effects...... There should no roblem if no s ecifictechni%ue was incor orated within......G

5eeling Mayumi2s ga)e! Su)une nodded as she re lied.

GThere is no violation here. S ecifically! there isn2t a rule for

something that com le(.GG&f there is a roblem! we can just abandon them. &t2s not li*e wecannot give battle without them.G

Mayumi slightly creased her eyebrows as Tatsuya turned around.

G9ey! Tatsuya-*un.G

9er an(iety far outweighed the unease in her voice.

GSince we2re still in the com etition! everyone has *e t a lid on thecelebratory mood. The moment we advanced to the finals! our victoryin the 'ewcomers Division was already assured. So lease! don2t ushyourself too muchHG

G:nderstood.G

/ven without her saying so! Tatsuya had already largely given u onthis match.

J ecause at this time! we haven2t......

After leaving the e(amination of the mantles and robes to &sori "the&sori 5amily were renowned for their e( ertise in /ngraving Magic!not that &sori himself hid his ersonal interest either$! Tatsuya left the

avilion to rela( himself.

When he was a ointed as one of the substitutes! the mission hereceived from Mayumi was to clinch 5irst 9igh2s victory in the

'ewcomers Division.



The moment they advanced to the finals of Monolith 6ode J in otherwords! right now! Tatsuya had already accom lished his objective.

9e was carefully warming u to revent injury during the match.

ruises or scratches were meaningless to him! but if there was a majorfracture or artery being severed! he had to ta*e recautions against hisclassified abilities automatically activating.

/ven if he could voluntarily halt the rocess! whether he could do soin time was another story. 9is ersonal restoration ability wouldimmediately com lete the re air rocesses in the blin* of an eye.

The 'ine Schools 6om etition was being recorded. /ven if no one

could consciously catch the instant this occurred! future laybac*scould still ca ture the moment.

As if reminding himself all over again! he continued to wor* throughhis e(ercises. During this! Miyu*i also left the avilion! but seeing asshe wasn2t on urgent business! Tatsuya allowed himself to finish hiscalisthenics.

GOnii-sama! lease ta*e this towel.G

She handed him a sublimely wet and cold towel.

Miyu*i had been standing for a considerable amount of time in the bla)ing summer heat! yet the towel felt as if it was freshly removedfrom the icebo(...... : on learning that this was her area of e( ertise!this fact was no longer sur rising.

y aying attention to all the minute details! she was certainly a sisterwho am ered him! Tatsuya thought.

&n normal circumstances! hordes of men would undoubtedly ursueher at the cost of their lives.

'o! even in the resent! his sister was still robably ca able ofsending men to their doom with a word. /ven setting himself aside!though he would robably be the first man into the breach! Tatsuyafelt a slight chill as he considered his sister2s future.

GOnii-sama! is there something on my faceLG

/ven though she didn2t seriously believe that something was on herface! Miyu*i had no other way of interrogating her brother who was



watching her with an indeci herable e( ression.

JTatsuya didn2t answer. Answering would only muddy the issue.

GOnii-sama......G

At Tatsuya muddling through the %uestion! Miyu*i didn2t ressonward.

G......&t2s almost time for the finals. Our ne(t o onent will be adifficult one......G

G......&ndeed.G

luffing was irrelevant at this oint.

/ven if this wasn2t a com etition and live battle instead! with bothsides going all out without restrains! Tatsuya had no confidence that hecould Gtrium hG over the two of them at the same time! nay even if hewas against &chijou Masa*i alone.

G:nder a state of restricted ower and ability ...... for one who belongsto the side that restricts such as myself! to go and say such a thing isillogical! and may arouse your dis leasure! but......G

Miyu*i hesitated briefly as she slowly droo ed her head! losing hernerve to s ea* each time.Then! she resolutely raised her head and shyly declared.

G....../ven so! & have faith that Onii-sama will not lose to anyoneHG

Without waiting for Tatsuya2s re ly! she turned bac* to the avilionwith the lightness of a s arrow. Watching his sister2s de arting figure!Tatsuya stood there for some time.

"Seriously! as you will......$

As Miyu*i herself said! she was one of the *ey cogs within the systemthat limited Tatsuya2s abilities.

One of the *ey reasons behind why he was unable to use his truestrength to dis lay his indomitable might was undoubtedly Miyu*i.

That being said! Tatsuya didn2t believe J that Miyu*i was so willful.

5aith that he would not lose to anyone was the ho e of she who

wished of him to remain unbeatable.Tatsuya2s intellect was not mature enough to com letely understand



the subtleties behind this.

Eet! Tatsuya could understand these feelings.

Maybe he should say he was able to understand it only because

Miyu*i was the one who made the wish of him.This was not someone giving orders or instructions! but a mentalcharacteristic that was naturally e( ressing itself.

As you will! referred to e(actly that.

Defeat was no longer an o tion in the ne(t match.

ut as the saying goes! easier said than done.

'o matter how he calculated the matter! the odds were stac*ed againsthim. Tatsuya couldn2t hel but sigh at this.

F F F

After the end of the consolation game! the setting for the final matchwas announced to be the GO en 5ieldG.

9earing this! both sides had e%ually illuminating reactions.&n Third 9igh2s avilion! there were even cheers of victory.

GEou called it! ;eorge.G

GWe got luc*y! Masa*i.G

While they managed to rein in their reactions to the news! the two ofthem failed to hide their elated smiles.

G'ow it comes down to whether that guy ta*es the bait......GG9e will. On the o en fields with no cover whatsoever! he has no othero tions save throwing down in a one-on-one shootout.G

G9e2ll try to brea* through there because that guy has 2;ramDemolition2 as a trum card! eh......G

G#recisely! Masa*i.

While his tactics smac* of ambushes and sur rise! in reality

everything is founded on a com le( series of calculations.



&f he *nows that there are no direct countermeasures! he may stillchoose the road less traveled and elect to s ring out a sur rise attac*.

9owever! since he can still use 2;ram Demolition2 as a direct counter!

logically! he would choose the avenue of attac* that has the highestchance of success.G

GWhile you will su ress the defender and the guerrilla.G

GThe defender isn2t the roblem. 9is 5ortifying Magic seems legit! butthere2s nothing else to write home about.

The guerrilla layer...... Seems to s eciali)e in Ancient Magic. asedon his name! he2s most li*ely a Magician from the 2Eoshida 5amily2.

The fact that he remains a com lete mystery does give one ause! butwhen com ared to Ancient Magic! modern magic owns the decisiveedge in s eed. Without any cover on the o en lains! this is definitelyin our advantage.G

G5urthermore! you still have an ace in the hole with the 26ardinal6ode2.G

G:nfortunately! our o onents sei)ed the 'ewcomers Division crownfrom us...... ut at the very least! Monolith 6ode will belong to usHG

G/(actly! leave it to meHG

9earing Kichijouji2s words! Masa*i nodded boldly.

GThe 2O en #lains2 without a hint of cover...... This will be a harsh battle! Onii-sama.G

Miyu*i2s words e(em lified the thoughts running through everyonewho came to cheer them on.

G'o! it2s far better than the valley or urban settings. We would neversto if we started grousing.G

9is words not only bewildered Miyu*i! even his teammates J +eoand Mi*ihi*o turned around in confusion! rom ting Tatsuya tolaunch into another e( lanation.

GThe &chijou 5amily2s 23u ture2 is a techni%ue that transforms li%uidsinto gas! using the e( anding force to wrea* havoc.

5or members of the &chijou 5amily! using water va or to initiate



e( losive attac*s is the sim lest of tric*s.

5or &chijou-*un! the valley arena is synonymous to re aring agigantic *eg of e( losives for him. +i*ewise! an urban setting would

be filled with water i es.On the other hand! the o en lains have no fluids that can be turnedinto 2e( losives2. /ven the 2#rince2 himself wouldn2t be able to call uwater from underground to create e( losions.

Of course! the woodlands or roc*y areas would be more referable......ut we should be than*ful that it wasn2t the valley! which would be the

blea*est condition for us.G

While the Eear students all wore a GSo that2s how it isG e( ression!the u erclassmen still wore grim faces.

G......Still! you2re still forced to fight on an o en field with no coveragainst a Magician who s eciali)es in bombardment! so thisdisadvantage remains.G

GShiba! do you have a lanLG

After Mayumi2s %uestion! 9attori also s o*e u .

9attori actively stri*ing u a conversation with Tatsuya was anincredibly rare event.

Similarly! Tatsuya wasn2t able to com letely hide his shoc* at thisturnout! hence his res onse was half a beat slow.

G&f they insist on using their original tactics! honestly & don2t see howwe can turn that around...... 9owever! &chijou-*un seems to be

articularly fi(ated on my resence. &f & can get into close combatrange! then & have a few o tions.G

G&sn2t close %uarters combat forbiddenLG

G&2m in the clear so long as & don2t touch him. & have a few tric*s umy sleeve.G

At Kirihara2s %uestion! Tatsuya smiled without much confidence.

F F F





G......& thin* /ri*a2s the one who2s being watched right now.G

'e(t to /ri*a! Mi)u*i shyly hun*ered down.

GSorry! sorry. & just couldn2t hel myself there. & romise to sto

messing around now! so cheer u ! OK Mi)u*iLGGSeriously...... #lease doHG

After she could feel the ga)es "she didn2t have the courage to visuallyverify this$ around her stabbing towards her turn bac* to the arena!Mi)u*i finally raised her head.

G ut! what e(actly is thatLG

Since there were no obstructions on the o en lains! the audiencecould directly view the entire arena. /ven so! the distance was still farenough that details were hard to ma*e out! so everyone was watchingthe large screens for details on the layers2 e( ressions! just li*e in theother com etitions.

/ri*a was watching the images on the main screen that de ictedMi*ihi*o and +eo standing in 5irst 9igh2s territory.

After watching for a few more seconds! she shoo* her head as if to say

Gmight as well raise both arms nowG.G'o e. & still can2t tell what they2re trying to do. Since this is Tatsuya-*un after all! &2m sure he2s not just doing this for show.G

G......+ots of 2s irits2 are gathering on Eoshida-*un2s robes......G

G9uhLG

An une( ected res onse answered her murmuring. /ri*a turned to oneside and suc*ed in a breath as she saw Mi)u*i remove her glasses and

an incredible light dancing in her eyes.While a minority in the audience believed that +eo and Mi*ihi*o2sgarb was out of date or from the wrong century! very few eo lelaughed outright in derision. The thought that dominated the minds inthe audience was what were the GrobesG and GmantlesG being used for.

Still! for their o onents! they couldn2t just use the word GcuriosityG towave it off.

GAre they just doing this for showLG





9earing their teammate2s s eculation! Masa*i and Kichijouji bothshoo* their heads.

GThat guy *nows ;eorge2s bac*ground...... &s this his solution to

2&nvisible ullet2LGG&t2s true that my magic doesn2t have much in terms of enetrating

ower...... Still! it2s not so sim le that a mere iece of cloth can standagainst it! so it2s hard to believe that he would rely on such anamateurish countermeasure.G

GOr this is done to ma*e us thin* there is some strategy at wor* hereLG

GThat ossibility is not altogether )ero! yet......G

Masa*i2s words became vague.G......& don2t understand. Was he saving this all this time for thismoment......G

Kichijouji bit his li . &t was recisely because he rided himself on hisintellect that he was articularly frustrated.

GWe advance rec*lessly! but forcing ourselves to contem latesomething that cannot be discovered now is ointless. There is always

some degree of ris* when using force to win.G&n order to cut through Kichijouji2s befuddlement! Masa*i s o*e u ina forcible tone.

Des ite this! Masa*i himself wasn2t immune to this er le(ity.

What aroused curiosity from the audience was nothing short of asource of great wariness to the enemy.

The layers and au(iliaries were oblivious to this! but there wasanother reason behind the ruc*us.

The reason came from the observation dec* near the board chairman2sroom.

A com letely unforeseen visitor had arrived.

GKudou-senseiH Why are you hereLG

/lder Kudou! who usually watched the matches from the screens inthe <&# lounge near the main head%uarters! had ersonally come to the



visitors2 observation dec*.

G/ven & li*e to occasionally come here for a loo*.G

Kudou 3etsu nodded generously to the board members that all stood

to welcome him and sat in the leather chair that was hastily re aredfor him.

GOf course! it is our honor to host you here! but......G

ut! why nowL &n face of this silent %uery! /lder Kudou fran*lyre lied.

G&t2s nothing really. & just noticed a rather interesting young man.G

The moment before the match begins was undoubtedly the time whena layer was at their most nervous. 'o matter how confident they wereor how great their odds were! all things became %uestionable at thistime. This was no layoff that was the best of a series! this was singleelimination where everything came down to the line in one match! soit was only natural to be uneasy at being uncertain of their o onent2sstrength.

That being said! their nervousness vanished the moment the startingsignal sounded.

Once the battle was joined! there was no room for further doubt.

Once the signal was lit! both sides began bombarding one another.

They were using long range magic attac*s.

The audience was overjoyed at this result whereas the su orters in5irst 9igh2s stands were shoc*ed into silence.

There were a ro(imately @00 meters between the two fields.The distance was shorter than the woodlands or valley settings! but interms of range for firearms! this was still a stretch for the effectivefiring range of assault wea ons. This was the range for sni er rifles.

At the same time! both sides were firing at one another with 6ADssha ed li*e automatics as they steadily a roached one another ste

by ste .

Tatsuya was dual-wielding twin istols just as he was during the reliminary and semifinal rounds.



On the other side! Masa*i had swa ed out the ;enerali)ed 6AD heused during the semifinals for a S eciali)ed 6AD.

While the 6AD in Tatsuya2s right hand was res onsible for

interce ting enemy attac*s! the 6AD in his left was retaliating.3eali)ing this! Masa*i abandoned his defense and concentrated onattac*ing.

The ensuing result was!

The originally dis arate gulf in fire ower widened even further.

6om ared to Masa*i2s GshotsG that ossessed the ower to decisivelyend the engagement! Tatsuya2s GshotsG could do nothing save try and

tie u his o onent.9owever! his attac*s were not telling. This level of Oscillation-Ty eMagic was too wea* to rate actual defense! as a Magician2sunconscious Data 5ortification would rotect themselves.

The number of attac*s was also overwhelmingly inferior.

Des ite having many tric*s u his sleeve! Tatsuya was undoubtedlywea*er in terms of ure technical s*ills. Eet! not only was he e( osinghimself to his o onent2s attac*s! he was accurately shooting downeach of the incoming attac*s at a distance that the na*ed eye could

barely ascertain. 7ust this oint alone was awe ins iring.

GSuch courageHG

A nameless Eear B male student %uietly gas ed.

G&s he really a 6ourse C studentLG

A female layer as*ed one of her teammates.

The u erclassmen were e( ressing their sur rise not because of thestrength of his magic! but because he maintained his mentalconcentration des ite suffering severe bombardment from hiso onent.

Eet J Mayumi! Katsuto! Su)une! A)usa! 9attori...... /ach of themwore grim faces.

3ight now! both sides were still feeling each other out! but every ste

Tatsuya too* forward ut him more and more on the defensive andsubse%uently! he was retaliating less and less. This oint was blatantly



obvious to all of them.

6om ared to the layers and members of 5irst 9igh! Kichijouji felt an

altogether different shoc* in Third 9igh2s territory.Tatsuya was currently using Oscillation-Ty e Magic.

Eet! in the three matches leading u to this moment! Tatsuya wasusing 'onsystematic and Weight-Ty e Magic.

"9e managed to alter the design of his Activation Se%uence in a meretwo hours......L$

Kichijouji shoo* his head to dis el the cobwebs.

'o matter how s*illed his 6AD calibration s*ills were! the calibration rocess had no bearing on the match itself.

What determined the outcome was only how he chose to wield theresult of his calibrations.

This was not the time to a reciate his calibration s eed. That was theG er le(ityG that may lead to an accident in battleJ

G#roceed as we discussed! &2m heading outHG

G:nderstood! leave the rear to meHG

9e hadn2t even noticed his hubris towards the enemy team before hiseyes. Kichijouji loo ed around Masa*i2s rear and charged towards5irst 9igh2s territory.

Since Kichijouji charged out of allied territory! the match had entereda new hase. 'onetheless! the audience2s attention was largely still

focused on Tatsuya and Masa*i2s ongoing struggle.To be able to endlessly release owerful magic! Masa*i2s talent wastruly worthy of raise.

3egardless! Tatsuya2s G;ram DemolitionG that unerringly struc* downMasa*i2s magic was even more moving.

5ew members of the audience were aware of high level 6ounterMagic li*e G;ram DemolitionG. G;ram DemolitionG demanded an

e(cessive sion count! so even researchers s eciali)ing in the field hadfew o ortunities to catch a glim se of this magic.



/ven without *nowledge on the subject! the large screen thatdis layed the sion movements clearly showed the scene of brilliant

sion shells stri*ing! shattering! and then erasing the 6om ression-Ty e Magic Se%uences.

This was a glorious! dreamli*e image that set one2s heart aflame.

Magicians who could erceive the sions and the s ectators who ossessed latent magic talent had no need for the large screen andcould only bow before the sions wildly dancing in a storm of magic

before their eyes.

:nbound by reason or logic! they were held s ellbound by thiss ectacular air show.

#resently! Tatsuya focused all his attention on shutting down each ofMasa*i2s attac*s.

/ven so! he still too* note of Kichijouji emerging from Third 9igh2s osition.

+i*e a chain reaction J in reality this was a direct result of seeingKichijouji2s advance! Tatsuya2s hitherto steady ace accelerated to arun.Masa*i didn2t anic in the slightest at Tatsuya2s change of ace andcalmly launched 6om ression-Ty e Magic at Tatsuya.

9is run failed to ado t any evasive maneuvers.

&t2s not li*e his o onent was using his eyes to aim! so that degree ofevasion was meaningless.

As he ran forward! Tatsuya concentrated on the mass of energy formedto alter the /idos in the air and sent a bullet made of sions J G;ramDemolitionG straight into the mass! shattering Masa*i2s magic before itcould materiali)e.

'onetheless J with the distance between them drawing ever closer!aiming was more sim listic. While hysical distance was not a directfactor! the closer the hysical target was! the easier it became to

erceive its ro(imity and e(istence.

/s ecially when aiming air-li*e objects that are not usually visible.The closer the target was! the easier it became to ta*e aim.



Of course! in this situation! the only target at hand was Tatsuyahimself.

5ifty meters from Masa*i! Tatsuya ground to a halt and was unable to

com letely nullify Masa*i2s attac*s.The com ressed air that Tatsuya failed to bring down came crashingtowards Tatsuya.

Tatsuya relied on his five senses to detect their trajectory and deftlyused his hysical techni%ues to avoid them as he continued to advancetowards Masa*i.

:nable to advance straight forward! the do)ens of yards between them

became an insurmountable wall for Tatsuya.

GSo! he2s finally reached the oint where he can2t hold bac* any more.G

Seeing Tatsuya forced into a corner! Eamana*a actually remar*edha ily.

G#lease be serious! sensei. /ven Tatsuya-*un can2t rely on only his fivesenses to com letely detect the early warning signs of magicinvocation and &nvisible ullet. ;iven the current situation! we canstill use a 2si(th sense2 as an e(cuse in lace of 2/ye of the S irits2.G

At 5ujibayashi2s vigorous defense! Eamana*a smiled devilishly.

G3eallyL That2s true! while he can fool those third and fourth ratescrubs...... &t2s hard to imagine he could ull a fast one under the eyesof that gentleman.G

Eamana*a2s line of sight was resting on /lder Kudou! who waswatching the match with abundant interest from his seat in thechairman2s lounge.

5ujibayashi only s ared him a %uic* glance before switching bac* toTatsuya.

Kichijouji was loo ing around the fringe of the arena as he advancedtowards 5irst 9igh2s monolith. When he came within 00 meters of5irst 9igh2s territory! +eo barred his ath.

5inding it odd that the defender was so far forward! Kichijouji fired



off an G&nvisible ulletG as he ruminated on this.

'o! more li*e he was about to fire.

GWhaLG

&n front of him! a blac* wall obscured his ga)e. +eo had removed hismantle and held it unfurled before him.

A metallic late flashed towards Kichijouji2s flan* li*e a storm of blades.

5acing the flying blade from the Wea oni)ed &ntegrated 6AD!Kichijouji immediately activated Move-Ty e Magic and s rang

bac*wards to avoid the blow.

On its heels! a owerful gust chased after him.Kichijouji used Weight-Ty e Magic to reduce inertia his body wassuffering and used the force of the wind to reduce the gust attac*.

"9ow meddlesomeH$

Kichijouji muttered in his mind and aimed the G&nvisible ulletG atMi*ihi*o.

9e chose to first remove this ir*some fire su ort.

9owever! the moment his ga)e fell across the gray robes! he wassuddenly unable to detect the target2s ro(imity.

+i*e a heat wave disru ting the focal oint of a camera! the grayfigure became fu))y and hard to gras .

"&llusionsHL$

They had ta*en advantage of the fact that G&nvisible ulletG re%uired

visual confirmation. The moment Kichijouji reali)ed this! he alsodetected the blade of the GMini 6ommunicatorG slashing downwardsat his head. :nable to dodge! he could only close his eyes and awaitthe im act.

G;ahHG

Eet! +eo was the one who cried out in ain as if all the air had beenforcibly e( elled from his lungs.

The blade +eo swung was sent off target and buried itself into theearth. +eo was flung aside by the blast and crum led to the floor.



GMasa*iHG

9e was savedH S aring the words of than*s! Kichijouji called out thename of his rotector.

Kichijouji! who had com letely fallen into the enemy2s tra ! was luc*ed out of danger by Masa*i! who was still bombarding Tatsuya2s osition.

9is fingers %uic*ly danced across the screen of his 6AD as Kichijouji brought u Weight-Ty e Magic.

The force of gravity abru tly intensified! sending Mi*ihi*oG lummetingG downwards hel lessly.

Kichijouji abandoned fi(ating on his favorite magic and oured on themagic to crush Mi*ihi*o into the earth.

6om letely su ressed! Mi*ihi*o could only e( el the crushed air outof his mouth.

Tatsuya did not idly watch this scene ass by.

The s lit second that Masa*i diverted his attention to Kichijouji!Tatsuya immediately closed the ga to within 1 meters.

5or someone with Tatsuya2s hysical s*ills! this was but a altrydis lay of his rowess.

Eet! his target still remained one ste away.

Masa*i2s face clearly betrayed his agitation.

3ather than being a anic brought on by terror! the instincts of asoldier who had survived the battlefield told him he was in danger.

A continuous chain of si(teen com ressed air bullets! far sur assingthe limits laid down by the rules! came swarming towards Tatsuya.

The 6ounter Magic ;ram Demolition was a techni%ue that usedcom ressed sions as bullets to forcibly eradicate Magic Se%uences.

Due to its forceful nature! this was a highly inefficient techni%ue.

:n*nown to the common man! Magic Se%uences also differed instrength.

The Magic Se%uences forged by someone of Masa*i2s caliber couldnot be so easily disassembled! so overwhelming force was used to



forcibly annihilate it! which re%uired an outrageous amount ofcom ressed sions. /ven for Tatsuya! this was not an inconsiderablesum! though it was far beyond what an average Magician could

roduce even if they s ent the entire day wor*ing at it.

Eet in this instant! he had to dis el @ shots.

/ven though Tatsuya instantly made the call that ;ram Demolitionwasn2t going to ma*e it in time! he resolutely refused to useGDecom ositionG. 9e stubbornly stuc* to his orders to *ee classifiedmagic under wra s.

9e hid the fact that he was ca able of Gdecom osingG informationstructures through G;ram Dis ersalG and met the attac* with G;ramDemolitionG.The ensuing result was a given.

After bringing down R of the shots! the last two hits struc* home onTatsuya2s body.

Seeing Tatsuya begin to crum le towards his feet! Masa*i s at outGShitHG in dee regret.

While in a com lete flight or fight mode! he had released magic thatsur assed the rules for destructive ower. 9e reali)ed this oint themoment he released his magic.

This was only a few seconds after the fact! so the anel of judgesmight not have noticed yet.

The red flag hadn2t been raised yet! but he was rofoundly aware thathe was about to be dis%ualified for violating the rules.

That reali)ation caused recious seconds to sli from Masa*i2s hands.

9is mind was com letely blan* as he concluded that there wasnothing he could do to avert that.

*Multi$le ri< fracture= >i/er ru$tured= Ma""i/e internal <leeding=-

*&om<at le/el dro$$ing <elo+ o$timal condition"-

*,uto #e"toration ,<ility ? ,uto ,cti/ate-*Magic Se@uence ? A$loading-



*&ore Cido" Data ? #etrie/ing from "torage-

*#e"toration ? &ommence &om$lete-

JThis se%uence was com leted even before Tatsuya could evenconsciously reali)e this.

Subconscious signal rocessing vastly outstri ed conscious signal rocessing in terms of s eed.

y the time he reali)ed he was colla sing! his flesh had already beenrestored.

Within easy gras of his fingers! a air of motionless legs could be

seen.Tatsuya had no clue why Masa*i stood there fro)en and com letelydefenseless.

6urrently! that reason did not concern him.

efore he even too* the time to dwell on that subject! his body hadalready risen to its feet.

9e too* a ste forward with his right foot and stretched his right arm ast Masa*i2s face that was a alled with shoc*.The right hand that stabbed forth was never intended to stri*e Masa*i!and just as it assed Masa*i2s ear!

An e( losion that was on the same level as a flash bang s rang fromTatsuya2s right hand.

The roar rendered the observation dec* utterly silent.

/ven Kichijouji! who was still loc*ed in combat! couldn2t hel butsto his actions and turn to loo*.

On Tatsuya2s right hand! his thumb was ressed tightly against the tiof his inde( finger as he held his inter-crossed fingers before him.

:nder the ga)e of the all the layers! judges! s ectators! andsu orters! Masa*i san* to the floor while Tatsuya owerlessly fell tohis *nees.





GWhatL What the hec* just ha enedLG

9er face and voice unified in com lete anic! Mayumi in%uired of herneighbors.

'o one answered her. 'either Su)une nor A)usa could answer Mayumi2s %uestion.

G......9e sna ed his fingers and then am lified the volume.G

The answer came from Katsuto! who was directly across from Su)une.

G......That sounds about right. 9e sim ly am lified the sound wave.Such a caco hony would li*ely ru ture his eardrums and thesemicircular canals! thus inca acitating &chijou-*un. 6ertainly wellwithin the confines of the rules.GSu)une said after Katsuto.

GWhile the sound was am lified many decibels higher! the magic thatwas used earlier was solely from the Oscillation System. That2s whyTatsuya-*un! who doesn2t e(cel in activating magic at high s eeds!could still accom lish this in such a swift manner.G

GThat was obvious right from the startH Anyone could tell that fromseeing the right handHG9owever! Mayumi2s mood seemed to blac*en even more at thesee( lanations.

G& am as*ing why was Tatsuya-*un able to rise after sustaining&chijou-*un2s attac*s that should have cri led himH

Wasn2t Tatsuya-*un ta*en out right thereHL

9is counter with 2;ram Demolition2 was clearly not in time! rightHL

9e should have ta*en at least two hitsH

So why has Tatsuya-*un ta*en damage that is beyond the ma(imumthreshold for destruction and is still able to continue to fightHLG

GSaegusa! calm downHG

Mayumi too* the news that Tatsuya might have sustained terribleinjuries e(tremely oorly! as evidenced by her ashen face. Katsuto

tried to calm her in a solemn voice.G& saw the same scene! but the truth of the matter is that Shiba stood



on his feet and moved in a manner that someone with grievous injuriesis sim ly inca able of and defeated the enemy. ased on his currenta earance! he a ears to have suffered damage from the sound attac*he released and not any other major injury.G

G ut......G

G&sn2t Shiba an e( ert in anti%uated martial artsL 3umor has it that theolder styles contained hysical arts that could strengthen the body andtechni%ues that could mitigate blows directed towards the body. Thisis robably something similar to that.G

G............G

/ven though she wasn2t entirely convinced of the veracity of Katsuto2swords! Mayumi still recovered her calm.

GOur *nowledge does not ma*e u the entirety of the world. Magic isnot the only 2miracle2 out there.

&n addition! the match isn2t over yet.G

G......Eou2re absolutely correct. & a ologi)e! 7uumonji-*un. Sorry! 3in-chan.G

As Mayumi was reconciling with Su)une! the battle entered a new hase.

G'o matter when & see his Self-3estoration! the sight always im ressesme to no end.G

5ujibayashi turned a half s*e tical loo* at Eamana*a! who washa ily remar*ing on the situation J albeit with an a ro riatelylowered volume to account for the crowd around them.

G......Did you really see Self-3estoration actually activatingL &! for one!didn2t see the sion waves generated by s ell activation.G

G'either did &. & doubt Kudou-sama noticed either. That being said! thes eed of his Self-3estoration ability has long since sur assed therealms of human cognition s eeds.G

After reaching this oint! Eamana*a finally noticed 5ujibayashiglaring severely at him.

GAh! no J & didn2t see anything. Of course & didn2t see Shiba Tatsuya-



*un use some sort of theoretically im ossible Self-3estoration ability.Seriously! his endurance is su erhuman. 9ow interestingHG

Eamana*a said lightly while indulging in delighted laughter.

5ujibayashi stared at him in er le(ity.G3egardless! lease don2t call him in so you can run e( eriments onhim. 9e2s one of the only two eo le in this country! and rumored to

be among the 10 or so recious assets with Strategic-6lass abilitiesHG

GSomehow! & don2t thin* he2s such a wea*ling that he2d fall a art afterone or two e( eriments.G

GWhether he would fall a art is not the roblem hereHG

At this merciless scolding! Eamana*a %uic*ly shran* his nec* in.G5ine! but no matter how we slice it...... 9e used that thing! just li*e5ujibayashi said he would.G

G&ndeed! &chijou-*un is sim ly too tough an o onent with a low%uality 6AD. & thin* that even 5lash 6ast would be legitimate here.G

GSingle Systematic 5lash 6ast! eh. Oh well! at least he managed to*ee our secrets.G

The ones who wanted 5lash 6ast to remain a secret were the Eotsuba5amily and not the &nde endent Magic-/%ui ed attalion. Thisability was considered too unethical for even the military to ado t.

The &nde endent Magic-/%ui ed attalion labeled Tatsuya2s originalmagic as classified. /ven in the direst straits! Tatsuya stuc* to his gunsand never used GDecom ositionG! only activating his #ersonal3estoration ability! which was something that no one could identifyeven if they saw it anyway. This way! Tatsuya only drew the attentionof the masses. Otherwise! from the military2s ers ective! a ri)edmilitary asset li*e Tatsuya should be constantly rotected from theinfluence of foreign elements.

At the same time! that would also severely limit his ersonal freedom.&f the situation develo ed in that direction! the military would beforced to consider o osing! no! flat out countermeasures againstTatsuya. While his words were ir*some! Eamana*a actually heaved a

sigh of relief at the current outcome.GThe 6AD in his left hand is calibrated for Oscillation-Ty e Magic



recisely to cover for this. 9e2s just as rudent as always.G

G&f that2s a high school student! there is something seriously wrongwith this world. ut! 5lash 6ast...... &f he was an enemy! that sort of

s eed would be a terrifying threat.G5ujibayashi e( ressed her sincere ac*nowledgement of Eamana*a2swords.

G&ndeed...... That2s ractically brainwashing the brain into carving theimages of the Activation Se%uences into memory! then directlyrecalling the Activation Se%uence from memory without the aid of a6AD. This ability com letely by asses the need for the 6AD tos read and read the Activation Se%uences......

&n his situation! the calculation area in his consciousness has ta*en thisto the ne(t level. y being able to construct Magic Se%uences frommemory! he also avoids the time needed to construct Magic Se%uencesin real time...... This way! he has absolutely re laced the deficit in

rocessing s eed.G

GMore li*e made u for and then some. Do we even have someone inthe troo that can beat the s eed he just dis layedL /ven Eanagi! who

shares the same systematic talent! is only barely able to match him.GG......True! & can2t thin* of anyone else.G

The two of them were no longer watching the match.

They were solely focused on Tatsuya! who was still *neeling on theground.

Kichijouji was utterly anic stric*en.

9e could not believe the scene that lay before his eyes.

Masa*i was stretched out on the ground.

/ven though his o onent! Tatsuya! was also *neeling on the floor!light still dwelt within his eyes.

&n other words......

"Masa*i! lost......L$

This was an altogether unbelievable sight.



An im lausibility that sim ly couldn2t occur.

Originally! even if there was a minuscule chance the team could lose!the ossibility that Masa*i would fall was ractically )ero.

GKichijouji! watch outHGKichijouji sna ed out of it u on hearing his teammate calling out tohim from their original osition and activated G+ightning 3odG magicon refle(.

The grass became the focal oint of the lightning attac* and groundedout the electrical force.

Kichijouji finally reali)ed that his o onent! who should have been

crushed into the ground by Weight-Ty e Magic! was anting as thelong robe whi ed about him and glaring at him.

When the roar reached his ears! Mi*ihi*o had no idea what had justha ened.

9e didn2t have the leisure to ersonally witness his surroundings.

Still! when the ressure forcing him into the ground suddenlyvanished! he %uic*ly rolled to a safe distance and got to his feet and

s ontaneously ado ted evasive maneuvers.Then! he finally too* a good loo* around him.

+eo had been *noc*ed unconscious.

Tatsuya was on both *nees. /ven though he hadn2t fallen! he didn2tloo* li*e he could continue.

And ne(t to him! &chijou Masa*i stretched out his full length on theground.

"Eou did it! TatsuyaH$

Mi*ihi*o once thought that Tatsuya could find a way throughanything yet on the other hand! he also felt8 G/ven Tatsuya is......G5ired u by the achievement before his eyes! Mi*ihi*o lea ed u withrenewed vigor.

'ot that Mi*ihi*o2s condition was any better.

Maybe! he was the worst off of the three.

A shar ! stabbing ain accom anied each laborious breath.



/ven if the ribs weren2t bro*en! he robably couldn2t avoid minorfractures.

Due to the e(orbitant amount of time under stress! he was a little light-

headed right now.9is bac* was still in ain from being violently thrown to the ground.Mi*ihi*o cursed the hardness of the earth des ite the grass in the

rivacy of his mind.

9owever J he was not about to surrender.

&n the worst case scenario! he still had to go one on two.

'o! fear had no lace in his heart! this was the savage truth of reality.

/ven so J defeat was not an o tion.Tatsuya con%uered the G6rimson #rinceG.

At the very least! he was going to show him that he could ta*e downG6ardinal ;eorgeG J it was this GobstinacyG that drove Mi*ihi*o tostand on sha*y legs.

9e mani ulated his 6AD to release a lightning attac*. At the sametime! he channeled magic into the gray robe he wore J sions that

had been digiti)ed.9is image was consumed by the s irits of GshadowG hidden in hisrobe.

Shadows are not synonymous with dar*ness.

The outline of an object could be traced by its shadow.

As inde endent information bodies of GshadowG! the s irits of shadowcould disru t the light and dar*ness that made u the silhouette! in

order to ham er an o onent2s ability to identify and aim at the target.The s ell originally belonged to the Eoshida 5amily and him bye(tension! but Tatsuya was the one who rovided the robe assu lement! rewrote the software of the 6AD to its current ea*condition! and suggested that he use this s ell to distort his image.

&t was all than*s to Tatsuya that he could come close to matching his revious self J though /ri*a believed that he had sur assed his ast

J in terms of magic.5or someone with his family bac*ground and history to be forced into





Most ;enerali)ed 6ADs use two numbers and a confirmation *ey fora total of three *eys to begin an Activation Se%uence.

9igher %uality models! es ecially the high tech smart hone ones! had

features that included auto com lete and selection of high efficiencymagics! so one *ey stro*e was all that was necessary to activatemagic.

Eet today! Mi*ihi*o hit over 1 *eystro*es.

That was 1 times as many as moves the usual ;enerali)ed 6AD needsfor magic invocation.

'evertheless! Mi*ihi*o used a fraction of the normal time to com lete

the ste s for Ancient Magic.Since the number of *ey stro*es for each Activation Se%uence was thesame! Mi*ihi*o had no need to hit any e(tra *eys. 9e wasn2t lanningon combining five magics into one Magic Se%uence! he was settingfor the continuous activation of five magics.

This was a techni%ue that unfolded in increments.

&t wasn2t a sim le Magic Se%uence that had five magics crammedinside. &nside the code for each magic! there lay instructions to beginconstructing the ne(t Magic Se%uence.

/ach magic would verify the surrounding conditions and ass thatonto the ne(t s ell! which was a mandatory and critical ste for allMagicians who wielded S irit Magic.

This continuous chain of movements didn2t re%uire individualverification! but would rocess everything in a single! uninterru tedstring.

That was the answer that Tatsuya gave Mi*ihi*o.

The earth groaned beneath his hands.

Kichijouji was aware that the groaning was not caused by the AncientMagic user stri*ing the earth with his hands! but because he hadactivated Oscillation-Ty e Magic in the ground.

&n s ite of this! the GMagisterG-li*e a earance and movements as wellas their accom anying effect was sufficient to allow Kichijouji to



mista*enly erceive that Gthe earth shoo* when the alm struc* thegroundG.

6rac*s formed in the earth beneath Mi*ihi*o2s hands and rushed

towards the location where Kichijouji had lost his balance.The ground was not hysically tearing a art! but was being se arated

by the force e(erted within. Theoretically! this was a conce t heunderstood.

ut for un*nown reasons! his mental calculations seemed to have losttouch with reality.

Kichijouji used a combination of Weight-Ty e and Move-Ty e Magic

and sought to esca e through the air.9owever! his feet were unable to leave the earth.

;rass was firmly wra ed around his an*les.

J9e didn2t *now of any magic that could command the lants li*eanimals.

9is heart wavered at the idea of being attac*ed by un*nown magic.

This was done by sim ly commanding the air currents that brushedover the earth2s surface to create the image that the grass had wra edaround the target. Eet! Magicians who were only familiar withSystematic Magics would never believe that this was sim ly aGcoincidentalG J instead of actually changing the direction of thecurrents! all that was necessary was the erce tion of beingGentangledG J brush of air.

The crac*s in the earth arrived beneath his feet.

Kichijouji could almost feel the grass ulling him into the earth.These were all illusions.

&n order to esca e from these illusions! Kichijouji gathered everyounce of Magic #ower at his command into a lea ing s ell.

JAnd com letely ignored the ossibility that all this wasunnecessary.

9e had no need to tear through the cumbersome grass jum to such a

height.



Kichijouji was overcome with relief at esca ing the mossy hell thathad risen to his chin by s ringing into the s*y. &n this articularmoment! his consciousness had com letely overloo*ed Mi*ihi*o2s

resence. The o onent whom he was loc*ed in battle with currentlydid not e(ist within his attention.

This was the decisive o ening.

Mi*ihi*o had continuously activated 1 magics.

G/arthsha*erG! G/arth S litterG! GWild 9airG! GAnt 9ellG.

Those were the first four s ells that Mi*ihi*o used.

And for his last attac*! GThunder 6hildG! this one was going to swat

Kichijouji from the heavens as it came hurtling down from above.

GEou bastardHG

:sing his hands to hold him u ! Mi*ihi*o confirmed the *ill shot. Atthis time! magic launched by the last member from Third 9igh cameflying towards him.

Dirt and dust iled ato one another as they came rolling forward! also

*nown as Move-Ty e Magic G+and TsunamiG.6om ared to the original conce tion of the magic! this was really adownscaled +and Tsunami. Maybe it was because the user wasn2t wellversed in this magic! or he toned down the fire ower because of therules.

'onetheless! for Mi*ihi*o! who had already sustained considerabledamage from Kichijouji! this s ell had sufficient ower to finish himoff.

9e might be able to summon the s irits still burrowed in the earth tore el the oncoming dirt! Mi*ihi*o thought J then swiftly gave u .

Alas! he didn2t have much Magic #ower left.

While it was called S irit Magic! the Gs iritsG themselves didn2tactually ossess any ower. S irits were ultimately information bodiesand nothing more than mediums used to influence the /idos.

So! we still lost...... 9e thought as he watched the earth rush towardshim. Suddenly! Mi*ihi*o2s vision was obscured by dar*ness.



With the heavy sound of something colliding into a metal wall! theearth returned to its original osition.

Mi*ihi*o raised his head towards the blac* flying object that bloc*ed

his view.There! he found his teammate waving his hands and shouting at him.

The flying edge of the Wea oni)ed &ntegrated 6AD had traveled along distance to ta*e out Third 9igh2s last layer.

G......Did we winLG

G......Eeah! we did.G

Mayumi as*ed as if muttering to herself! to which Su)une re lied inthe same manner.

That became the signal.

'o one *new who started cheering.

One erson set off two others! then four eo le! eight eo le! thechain reaction continued onward.

5inally culminating in an e( losion.

5irst 9igh2s disorderly cries seemed to merge together and sent theobservation dec* roc*ing.

This was a ure and innocent e( ression of emotion.

&t was a sound that both serenaded the victors and bestowed thecrushing blow of judgment towards the defeated.

9owever! this rec*less celebration %uic*ly ta ered away.

Meanwhile! in the front row of 5irst 9igh2s su orters.The figure of a young lady could be seen as she clas ed both hands toher mouth as she watched the arena with tears of joy tric*ling downher chee*s.

Seeing her brother stagger to his feet and wave at her! she was at a lossfor words and could only ga)e at him.

As if to su ort her! the a lause gradually s read around her.

Shortly afterward! the a lause s read from the stands for 5irst 9igh2s





arena overhead and was unable to ca ture any details of the layers2e( ressions.

GThen! you2re telling me...... Eou just too* &chijou-*un2s magic

attac*sLGG& was defenseless! rightL That2s why it too* me so long to get u .9mL Mi*ihi*o! you bro*e your li . Are you OKLG

GAh...... Eeah! &2m OK....... Sorta.G

Mi*ihi*o could only stand there stu efied at this disjointedconversation and unbelievable confession. 9owever! +eo was in ane(cellent mood! so he didn2t ay much attention to Mi*ihi*o2s

bewilderment.GS ea*ing of which! Tatsuya! you OKLG

G9mL Sorry! could you re eat thatLG

G& said! Tatsuya! you OKLG

GAh...... /ardrums are ru tured on one side. 3ight now my ears aren2tdoing too well. 6om ared to that! Mi*ihi*o! what2s wrong with youLEou loo* li*e you2ve seen a :5O.G

Mi*ihi*o was currently engaged in a mental struggle over GWas he thestrange one! no! that2s im ossibleG.

G:h! Tatsuya! you didn2t hear...... our earlier conversation! did youLG

G&2m sorry. &2m reading li s right now to get a hint of what2s going on. &did however catch the art about +eo getting hit by a largemotorcycle.G

G......So! do you have any %uestions for himLG

As if trying to end his mental struggle once and for all and rove thathe was erfectly normal! Mi*ihi*o as*ed Tatsuya with considerabletre idation! but......

G?uestionsL About whatLG

Tatsuya2s answer sent Mi*ihi*o loo*ing s*yward in des air.

GMi*ihi*o! what2s the matterL Don2t be so melancholy. We wonH Weare the cham ions! the cham ionsHG

GEou2re right......G





Chapter 11

The celebrations for both the 'ewcomers Division and overall

victories ha ened at the same time.The three re lacements who too* 5irst #lace and were directlyres onsible for the trium h in the 'ewcomers Division were allinjured in the finals! so this wasn2t e(actly the time for rec*lesscelebration. /ven with that in mind! the real reason was even thoughoverall victory was assured! re arations still needed to be made fortomorrow2s Mirage at event! hence they didn2t have time to reallycelebrate.

Than*s to 5irst 9igh2s newcomers turning the table! the difference inscore between 5irst and Third 9igh grew even further.

6urrently! the difference was R0 oints.

5or tomorrow2s Mirage at event! 5irst #lace earned 10 oints!Second #lace received B0 oints! Third #lace gets C0 oints! and5ourth #lace nabbed 0 oints.

5or tomorrow2s reliminary round and the finals for Monolith 6ode!5irst #lace obtained 00 oints! Second #lace received @0 oints! withThird and 5ourth #lace each receiving R0 oints.

ased on tomorrow2s result! 5irst 9igh2s overall victory might becomea certainty before reaching the final day.

The layers and technicians were overwhelmed with wor* trying to rocure the essentials "such as the uniforms and 6ADs for theMonolith 6ode layers$! so any member with time on their hands wasalso thrown into the fray.Tatsuya intentionally avoided using G3estorationG on his ru tured righteardrum and received the usual medical treatment from the infirmary.Afterwards! he used Self 3estoration to fully re air the damage andcovered it u with the medical atch issued to him. 6urrently! he wasalone with Miyu*i and busy re aring for tomorrow.

'one of the other team members! es ecially the u erclassmen! *new

that he had fully recovered! so they were still in the throes of worry.While Tatsuya felt slightly guilty about deceiving them! he had his



reasons as well. &n atonement! he chose to silently endure thediscomfort caused by wearing the ear rotector in the scorching heatof summer. J9e was %uite aware that such a trivial matter did notconstitute as atonement.

Still! even though they were Goverwhelmed with wor*G! this could notcom are to the sheer madness from the day before.

Scratch that! maybe it wasn2t even close.

Eesterday evening! he had to fully e%ui two eo le from scratch Jthree! including himself J 6ADs included! which created a level offrantic industry rarely seen in this field.

Although Miyu*i had switched from the 'ewcomers Division to theOfficial Division! she was originally slated for Mirage at anyway! soher re arations roceeded a ace. /vents outside of their control hadcost them a day! but that wouldn2t affect the outcome by much.

GDon2t force yourself! Tatsuya-*un! ta*e a brea*. Eou already ushedyourself too hard yesterday.G

GMiyu*i-chan! you too. &f you always wor* so hard! we2ll never stoincurring injuries.G

Tatsuya e( ertly com leted the 6AD e(amination. Along withMiyu*i! he was ractically forcibly e( elled by Mayumi and Su)une!drawing today2s activities to a close.

F F F

/lsewhere! at this time during the same night! another grou of eo lewere lagued by insomnia as they were bac*ed into a corner.

GAt this oint! 5irst 9igh2s victory is ractically written on the wall...G

G5uc* thatH Do you want to give u L Do you want to sit down anddieLHG

G&f 5irst 9igh wins li*e this! we2re going to lose over a billion. &n :.S.dollarsHG

GWe2d be better off dead in the face of that *ind of lossH 9? was neverinterested in this lan because u on failure! the loss in ca ital would



be enormous. We were the ones who forced this lan through. 'ow! ifwe2re luc*y we would be turned into 2;enerators2! and anyoneunworthy would become 2 oosters2 to slave away for the organi)ationuntil the day we die.G

The men sitting around the table turned fearful ga)es on the fourfro)en men standing in the four corners of the room.

GWithout this lan! we might not be able to meet our %uotas... but &thin* we overreached ourselves.G

GThis isn2t the time to say thatH ...&n that case! let2s do it! by any means ossibleHG

G9e2s rightH We already s ent considerable energy forcing the favoredcandidates to lose their matches. y now! we shouldn2t hesitate toado t more brutal tactics. /ven if our customers are sus icious! solong as we don2t leave any evidence behind! those are only em tyaccusations at the end. 'ow! we go all the way or bustHG

GSend agents to the assistants. 5or tomorrow2s Mirage at! force all of5irst 9igh2s layers to withdraw J by any means ossibleHG

GThey won2t die if they2re luc*y. Otherwise! & guess they weren2tluc*y.GThe men loo*ed at one another with maniacal smiles on their faces!their thoughts in accord.

F F F

The ninth day of the 'ine Schools 6om etition. The leasant weatherthat lasted until yesterday too* a turn for the worse! with thic* cloudsthat hinted of rain covering the s*ies. &t was a dar* and overcast day.

Still! there was no blinding sunlight with the dar* clouds in the s*y!creating erfect conditions for Mirage at. 5or the layers! Miyu*iincluded! this forecast was undoubtedly Ge(cellent weatherG.

GWhile this is an ideal condition for Mirage at... Eet & somehow feelthat this is the harbinger of conflict.G

9earing Tatsuya murmuring to himself as he watched the s*ies!



Miyu*i creased her brows.

G&s something else going to ha en...LG

GSince their goal remains a mystery... 'o evidence of something afoot

does not guarantee that nothing will occur. 3egardless! Miyu*i doesn2tneed to worry. 'o matter what ha ens! only you! & will rotect to theabsolute end.G

Tatsuya2s words had no su erfluous meaning.

5or Tatsuya! his sole ur ose was to safeguard Miyu*i.

To be brutally honest! in Tatsuya2s mind! sacrificing the other layerswas nothing more than a method to the madness.

9owever J Tatsuya robably gave than*s that no one was around tooverhear their conversation.

&f a third arty was resent... &f someone saw Tatsuya watching thes*y and! out of his sight range! Miyu*i droo ing her head inembarrassment while wearing a thoroughly delighted smile as shedrifted towards him! they might re ort the siblings for the crime ofGhomicide by headachesG.

F F F

Miyu*i was set to a ear in the second match.

Actually! a earing in the first match with the ma(imum amount ofrest was the best case. ut now that Tatsuya thought about it! noteverything goes their way! so they should be than*ful that she wasn2t

scheduled for the third match.The two of them chose to observe the first match from the au(iliaryobservation dec* on the side.

While there was a R1 minute brea* between the first and secondmatches! moving from the main audience stands to the com etitionarena was a waste of time.

The layers from the other schools a arently thought the same! given

the way they were congregated around one side of the arena.





as a Magic Artificer.

Eet at the same time! she also wished to learn how to control this airof GeyesG that often saw sim ly too much. Within the limits set for

6ourse C students! she wished to receive the fullest amount of training.While still immature! but recisely because she saw this as herGstrengthG! this certainly did not %ualify as running away. And

recisely because it wasn2t fully develo ed yet! /ri*a believed thatusing su orting tools and e%ui ment was the right a roach.

#recisely because of this.

G3ome wasn2t built in one day. +i*ewise! you won2t fully control your

abilities in one shot and! though & shouldn2t be the one to say this!doing so usually ruins your body as well. Mi)u*i! this could causeirre arable damageHG

That2s why she chose such a stern lecture.

GEeah... ut! if & avert my eyes at a time something that & must see isvisible! & thin* that2s also incorrect...G

&n s ite of this! Mi)u*i still *e t her glasses on her la .

GWhen Watanabe-sen ai was injured! if & was watching carefully! &might have rovided some assistance to Tatsuya-*un and the others.G

G...So this time! you2re *ee ing watch in case another incidentoccursLG

G/(actly. Eou *now...... & thin* Miyu*i will be erfectly fine. That2s because if something was wrong with Miyu*i! there2s no way thatcould esca e Tatsuya-*un2s eyes. 9owever! he2s sim ly unable tohandle all the other layers today. &n addition! he was overwor*edyesterday. So if...G

G&f the other layers ran into trouble! Tatsuya-*un wouldn2t just sitthere twiddling his thumbs either. That2s most li*ely the case... 9eloo*s cold on the outside! but he2s a good guy inside.G

GTatsuya-*un2s warmth comes from loo*ing after his friends...HG

GEes! yes! & got itHG

"&f not towards his GfriendsG! he would definitely be the sort to ma*ethe coldest! most objective decisions.$



/ri*a *e t that thought to herself. She ressed both alms together infront of her and sought to comfort the slightly annoyed Mi)u*i.

Mi*ihi*o! who was sitting on Mi)u*i2s other side! interjected u on

hearing their conversation.G& understand /ri*a2s concerns towards Shibata-san and share the same

belief that Tatsuya has. Shibata-san2s 2eyes2 are undeniably the mostreliable tool to revent someone using S iritual Magic to hinder thecom etition. Since we have a barrier erected around us to dam en theeffects of ushion light! & don2t thin* any residual after effects willlinger.G

9earing the unnatural eagerness within Mi*ihi*o2s words "accordingto /ri*a$! /ri*a revealed a mischievous smir*.G9m>...L So Mi*i will rotect Mi)u*i nowL

&f something ha ens to Mi)u*i! Mi*i will ta*e full res onsibilitynowL

Of course! that2s the ty e of res onsibility men will ta*e for women!rightLG

GWha! this isn2t the time to tal* about thatHG

eet red! Mi*ihi*o2s furious rebuttal wholly ignored his usualobjection to his nic*name.

S ea*ing of Mi)u*i! she was also blushing a dee red and seemed to be at a loss for words.

G...Eou truly are an evil womanHG

On the other hand! /ri*a utterly ignored the sighs and annoyed

scoldings coming from the other side of her seat.etween +eo! who was currently being ignored! and /ri*a! who was

feigning ignorance! the usual lively conversation started. At this time!the bell for the second round started.

oth of them wore an GunsatisfiedG e( ression and used their faciale( ressions to convey their meaning while shutting their mouths toavoid distracting the layers and the other members of the audience.

Afterwards! shortly after the second round began! that incidentha ened.



oth Kobaya*awa and another layer lea ed at the same time towardsa green orb in the s*y.

:nfortunately! the other layer reached the target first.Kobaya*awa used magic to sto her lea ing momentum.

9er body came to a sto in the air.

'e(t! she sought to use magic to return to her starting location! butfound another layer had already landed at that location.

:nruffled! she decided on the closest landing s ot and switched theMagic Se%uence to land there.

9owever! her body that was su osed to move in a diagonal attern J fell directly downwards through gravity2s influence.

/ven the s ectators in the audience could see Kobaya*awa2se( ression falter as she began to fall.

Shoc*.

#anic.

Terror.

The magic that was su osed to su ort her failed to activate.

Magic had su orted her life to this day! yet suddenly betrayed her atthis critical moment. She forgot to even struggle as she lummetedtowards the surface of the la*e.

/ven though it was the water2s surface! this was still a 0 meter fall.

&f the landing was oor! this might be fatal.

'or did Kobaya*awa a ear to ta*e any stance to re are for landing.5ortunately! this was an athletic com etition with two or three layersof safeguards in lace. There were emergency res onses in lace if a

layer suddenly lost control of their magic and began to fall.

The staff on hand immediately released S eed-Ty e Magic.

5rom the moment Kobaya*awa started to fall until the staff usedmagic to catch her body! robably less than a second had ela sed.

Still! she was less than half way from the water2s surface.



This was more than enough to com letely crush her confidence.

With itying eyes! Tatsuya watched them carry away his unconscious

sen ai on a stretcher.The greatest reason why young men and women lost their ability touse magic was because of ha)ardous situations caused by magicfailure and the subse%uent distrust towards magic in general.

Magic is a ower that deceives the world.

Magic itself e(ists outside the truth of the world! hence the dece tion.

/ven so! if everyone could use their GeyesG to see magic li*e Tatsuya!

then they could easily believe this dece tive yet truthful ower. 'evertheless! for most Magicians "es ecially the chic*s and sa lings$!magic was an immutable! invisible e(istence. /ven if they could seethe sions! they couldn2t see how magic was interacting with theirworld. &n short! they were clueless beyond theoretical *nowledge.

J When &2m using magic! is this really my own ower J

/very Magician-in-training came across this %uestion during their

education. 'o! this sus icion. Once magic failed to materiali)e!resulting in danger that relied on magic to avert! this sus icion ra idlyturned into belief.

J See! magic doesn2t e(ist J

This belief.

Once this idea was im lanted into a Magician! magic would forever beout of their reach.

Magic was such a fragile e(istence that balanced on the ti s of themental scales.

"...Kobaya*awa-sen ai is li*ely bro*en for life.$

As if to comfort the utterly ale Miyu*i! Tatsuya cradled her shouldersinto his chest as he murmured to himself.

When in gravity2s gras and at the moment of ince tion!Kobaya*awa2s e( ression was covered with terror.

&t was someone else. /ven if he made that distinction! reali)ing that



someone had forever lost their recious abilities certainly left a bitterafter taste.

As if ressing a burning brand to the ga ing wound! his messaging

terminal in the chest oc*et started vibrating and arrested hismelancholy.

Miyu*i! who was ressed tightly against him! turned a shoc*ede( ression towards Tatsuya. 9e calmly removed the fold u deviceand ressed it to his ear.

GTatsuya! it2s me! Mi*ihi*o. ;ot a momentLG

G...Ah! no roblem.G

/ven though the lights clearly showed that the sound waveinterference module on the device was wor*ing! Tatsuya still loweredhis volume.

G:nfortunately! during the earlier incident! & was unable to detect anymagic at wor*.G

G&s that so...G

GSorry for disa ointing you...G

G#lease don2t worry on that account! & failed to notice anything either.GG9owever! Shibata-san has something she wants to say to you.G

GMi)u*iL Eou mean! her glasses were offLG

Tatsuya2s tone contained a level of astonishment that wasn2t feigned.

Eet! Mi*ihi*o didn2t immediately re ly!

GTatsuya-*un! this is Mi)u*i.G

ecause someone else had ta*en hold of the hone.GMi)u*i! did you see anythingLG

Are you OKL Those words were stuc* in Tatsuya2s throat.

Still! Tatsuya believed that this would be tram ling over Mi)u*i2sgood intentions.

As someone affiliated with magic! she made the conscious decision touse her GvisionG.

Then! in%uiring about the results was what a member of the magic



world li*e him should res ond with! Tatsuya thought.

GEes! well... On Kobaya*awa-sen ai2s right arm... maybe near whereshe was wearing her 6AD! & saw a light! no! more li*e a 2s irit2

bursting a art.GG3eally... Eou saw that. So! you said this 2s irit2 burst a artLG

G:h...... Ees! that2s the feeling & got. +i*e a really old electronicscattering s ar*s everywhere! something li*e that......G

G& see. So that2s it! & get it now... So that2s how they did it.G

Tatsuya got a muddled image of what snare their GenemiesG laid forthem.

G:h! Tatsuya-*un...LGA arently! his nodding movement could be detected through hisvoice over the hone.

A somewhat hesitant! but very ho eful voice "from Mi)u*i$ traveledacross the other end of the line.

G/(cellent find! Mi)u*i. This is an invaluable iece of informationHG

GThan* you! you are very welcomeHG

efore Mi)u*i could as* her burning %uestions! Tatsuya re lied first.Afterwards! Mi)u*i2s an(ious voice came bac* over the line.

F F F

:nfortunately! in the first match! 5irst 9igh was forced to withdraw in

the middle.Tatsuya de arted 5irst 9igh2s avilion that was currently suffused in agloomy aura and made his way to the 6AD e(amination avilionstaffed by the board.

9e left Miyu*i in the layer2s resting area J even in the avilion! itstill counted as a GroomG.

ased on the modus o erandi! it seemed highly unli*ely that they

would stri*e in two consecutive matches! and they hadn2t directlyassaulted the layers themselves. On the other hand! layers usually





At the same time! even if that was the case! no one would fail tounderstandJ

The sinister smile on his li s.

The board member who was on the receiving end of this violence hadtouched that which cannot be touched J the scales of the dragon.

6om letely ignoring the crowd around him! Tatsuya coldly s o*e tothe man crum led on the floor.

GWhat did you lant inside Miyu*i2s 6AD during the e(aminationLThat2s not a ty ical virusHG

The man2s face shoo* even harder now. This level of terror and des air

went beyond someone loo*ing Death in the eye. This was the face ofthe condemned being read their sins in the de ths of hell.

GSo! this is how you tam er with the 6AD software. Owing to therules of the com etition! no 6AD can avoid coming through this

bottlenec*.G

&n the crowd of security ersonnel who arrived to subdue Tatsuya! theforemost one overheard Tatsuya2s muttering and suc*ed in a breath.9e turned his ga)e on the man res onsible for 6AD e(amination whowas currently subdued by Tatsuya. The officer2s eyes graduallyswitched from watching a victim to ga)ing at a otential sus ect.

GStill! you aren2t the only one res onsible for all the shenanigansduring this com etition! are youLG

:nder Tatsuya2s *nees! tears tric*led out of the corner of the man2seyes as he wea*ly shoo* his head.

GOhL Eou choose silenceLG

Tatsuya e( ressively formed the fingers of his right into a *arate cho before the man2s eyes.

The finger ti s a roached the man li*e the fangs of a sna*e.

Tatsuya2s right hand slowly stal*ed towards the fallen man2s throat.

Seeing this! everyone resent was mesmeri)ed by the sight and! forsome reason! they were all thin*ing about the same thing.

They were visuali)ing the same event.



The young man2s fingers would easily tear through this iteoussinner2s s*in! gouge out the throat! and ass merciless judgment amida sea of blood...

GWhat is going on hereLG7ust before this tragedy could lay out to its inevitable conclusion! anelder2s com osed voice released everyone from their stasis.

There was no sense of intimidation or majesty instead! the voice assed over them li*e a s ring bree)e as it swallowed the toweringmurderous intent and neutrali)ed it.

GJKudou-samaHG

9is demons e(orcised! Tatsuya reined in his demonic aura! retractedhis hand and *nees before rising to bow towards /lder Kudou.

GMy terrible a ologies. & have disturbed you with an unsightlydis lay.G

GEou are J 5irst 9igh2s Shiba-*un. Eesterday2s match left an indelibleim ression. So! what2s going on hereLG

5eeling Tatsuya retract his fangs! someone sought to arrest the young

man res onsible for this chaos! but a colleague in the front ran*s whooverheard Tatsuya2s words restrained him.

GDue to the illegal activities directed towards our school2s 6ADs! & amcurrently interrogating the a rehended sus ect.G

G&s that so.G

Anyone who had been held in lace by his demonic aura andmurderous intent *new this was a lie.

&nterrogate wasn2t going to cut it.9owever! /lder Kudou chose not to ursue that issue and merelyinclined his head at Tatsuya2s words.

GThis is the 6AD that was tam ered withLG

G6orrect.G

The old Magician once *nown as the GwiliestG removed the 6AD fromthe e(amination device and held it before his eyes before nodding inagreement.



G...&ndeed! an abnormality is resent. &2ve seen this before. While & wasstill in the service! during the battles in the /ast 6hina Seas! theMagicians in the ;uangdong Army used this sort of ;olden /lectronSil*worms.G

As he said this! he directed a chilling ga)e towards the man on theground.

This cold voice sent the man crawling bac*wards.

G;olden /lectron Sil*worms ass across connections to invadeelectronic devices. &t2s a S magic that disables recision wea onry.G

S Magic was the name given to magic that used self-regulated

immaterial e(istences! also *nown as Gs iritsG! as a medium. /lderKudou briefly recalled his e( eriences and slowly unmas*ed thismagic.

GThe sil*worms don2t rewrite the rocess itself. &nstead! they interferewith the out ut signal and may even alter the signal. This delays thes ell activation by ham ering the electronic mechanism withouttriggering the OS or anti-virus rograms. #rior to identifying the;olden /lectron Sil*worms! our forces suffered terribly under its

effects... Were you aware of thisLGG'o.G

At /lder Kudou2s in%uiry! Tatsuya avoided any unnecessary movementand maintained an Gat-easeG stance as he re lied verbally.

GThis is the first &2ve heard of the term ;olden /lectron Sil*worms.9owever! & immediately detected a foreign element intruding on thesystem & designed.G

G& see.G9earing Tatsuya2s words! /lder Kudou revealed a delighted smile.

Still! by the time he turned his ga)e on the er etrator! this smile hadmor hed into a redatory smile that a veteran Magician of a hundred

battles turned on a ha less foe.

G'ow! where did you come across the s ell for ;olden /lectronSil*worms...LG

With a screech! the s y attem ted to flee the scene! but was %uic*ly



brought down by the guards who originally came to arrest Tatsuya.

GWell! Shiba-*un. &t2s about time for you to return to the stadium. 7ust

use the bac*u 6ADs for now. Since this *ind of situation hasoccurred! there2s no need for further e(aminations. S ea*ing of which! board chairmanLG

At these sudden summons! one of the older gentlemen behind him Jthat being said! he was still a do)en years younger than /lder Kudou

J hurriedly nodded his head.

G5or such an unsavory individual to infiltrate the staff is a scandal ofun recedented ro ortions. Afterwards! & would li*e to hear youre( lanation.GThe chairman loo*ed ready to faint! but still managed to re ly in theaffirmative. /lder Kudou turned from his band of followers and oncemore turned a delighted ga)e towards Tatsuya.

GShiba Tatsuya-*un! & would li*e to s ea* with you sooner or later.G

GDefinitely! if the o ortunity bec*onsJG

G&ndeed! allow me to loo* forward to this 2o ortunity2.G

This was the first encounter between Tatsuya and Kudou 3etsu.

F F F

: on returning to 5irst 9igh2s avilion! Tatsuya was acutely awarethat the loo*s sent his way had develo ed minute! yet definitive!

changes. JMaybe! he should say they have Greverted to their original stateG.

The reason he said minute was because they were trying! but failed! tohide their subtle glances. They felt guilty about seeing him in adifferent light! yet could not su ress the wavering in their hearts.

Tatsuya was no fool.

9is emotions were merely s*ewed in a certain direction! with one articular half becoming es ecially sensitive.



9ence! he was slow to acce t good intentions.

Eet very ade t at ic*ing u hostility.

6urrently! he was very accustomed to reading the glances thrown his

way. &t was the bewilderment! terror! and avoidance one e( eriencedwhen encountering an unidentified outlier.

GOnii-sama...G

Among them! one young lady did not shun him and a roached himwith subdued voice and e( ression.

GSorry! & made you worry.G

That was the only ga)e that luc*ed his heartstrings.

G9ow can that beH Wasn2t Onii-sama enraged on my behalfLG

At the same time as she shoo* her head vigorously! her brushed hair arted slightly.

GThat was fast. 9ave you heard the detailsLG

Tatsuya gently adjusted the loose strands and caressed his sister2shead. Shyly! Miyu*i di ed her head! but still answered her brother2s%uestion clearly.

G'o. That2s because! whenever Onii-sama is actually furious... &t2salways because of me...G

9er clear answer trailed off into a sob. Tatsuya used one hand tostro*e his sister2s face and gently raised her head.

G.../(actly. & will only anger for your sa*e.

ut! Miyu*i. &t is erfectly natural for an older brother to be furious

for a young sister.&n my heart! that is the last scra of something 2 erfectly natural2.

So! Miyu*i! you don2t have to be so sad.G

Tatsuya released his right hand and ulled out a hand*erchief! whichhe used to dab at the tear corners of his sister2s eyes.

G esides... Wouldn2t it be a shame for your tears to ruin such a beautiful ma*e u jobL Today is an aus icious day when you will

ascend to the stage.G



GDon2t say that... Seriously! Onii-sama. &2m not the only one com etingtoday. This is called blatant favoritismHG

&n s ite of the wry smile! the brilliancy of Miyu*i2s smile was second

to none.At least! that2s how Tatsuya saw it.

Seeing his sister2s smile restored! Tatsuya was satisfied and at ease.9is hands dro ed from his sister2s face to her shoulder as he directedthem inside. When he lifted his head to loo* at the avilion! hesuddenly felt another subtle change in loo*s he was receiving. Thistime! the change was in a more interesting direction.

9idden within the secret glances in their direction!Was a lu*ewarm ga)e that was both irritated but unable to ta*e theireyes off of them.

GAh! Tatsuya-*un.G

#resently! as if the Student 6ouncil #resident s o*e on behalf of allthe students resent! Mayumi used an es ecially cold voice and ga)eto welcome Tatsuya.

GWhen & heard from the board that 2one of the students from yourschool abru tly assaulted someone2! & was at wit2s end trying to figureout what ha ened... So! a arently a certain sis-con brother flew intoa rage when someone attem ted to act against his beloved littlesisterHG

While this wasn2t a very flattering way to describe the circumstances!Tatsuya got the distinct feeling of someone in the ath of a tornadoand feeling the cold wind ni ing at him. 3eali)ing that he was in a

com letely inferior situation! Tatsuya hel lessly chose to ma*e atactical retreat.

Thus! he %uic*ly retreated into the wor* room allotted for technicians.

This way! Tatsuya finally managed to avoid being ostraci)ed within5irst 9igh! though whether this result was brought about by his ownwill... /ven he was not able to say.

F F F



The day bro*e over a dar*ened s*y and showed no signs of turning forthe better by the time the second match started around 8B0 AM.

G&t2s a fine day today... 9o efully! this will continue into the evening.G

GMight get sunny around the evening.GGThough starlight resents its own challenges... Oh well! still betterthan a rainy day.G

The siblings2 conversation seemed to assume that advancing beyondthe reliminaries was a statement of fact. 9owever! A)usa! who wassitting in a nearby chair! seemed com letely GindifferentG with this.

;enerally! the difference in strength between Eear and Eear C

students e(ceeded the difference between Eear C and Eear B students.This was because customi)ed magic education officially began at thehigh school level.

Thus! if not resent during the 'ewcomers Division! rarely do Eear students a ear in the Official Division. :sually! layers that weresuddenly romoted to the Official Division from the 'ewcomersDivision had a tough time getting through the reliminaries! not tomention lacing in the standings.

That being saidJ

"That sort of common sense robably doesn2t a ly to Miyu*i... Andon to of that! there2s Shiba-*un as well.$

/(cluding her more timid nature! A)usa was undoubtedly one of theto tier Magicians "chic*s$ in her cohort. The fact that she wasselected as one of the brass within 5irst 9igh des ite her wea*er

ersonality was a testament to her s*ills.

Eet in A)usa2s eyes! Miyu*i ossessed the ower to challenge for 5irst#lace.

7ust the sister alone was already a formidable o onent withsu erlative s*ills! now there was an older brother who was fullysu orting her.

/ven Mari! the favored cham ion! would be hard ressed to defeat hereven in ea* condition.

While A)usa was contem lating these other details! in reality! she was



the technician res onsible for the third match! which is why she washere so early to hel ma*e any final 6AD adjustments and systemdiagnostics.

The Official Division2s Monolith 6ode and Mirage at were the finaltwo gender e(clusive events in the 'ine Schools 6om etition! so eachschool2s ersonnel were busy re aring for the events.

5irst 9igh chose to air one layer with one technician to handle thesetwo events.

To be brutally honest! as a Technician! Tatsuya was also A)usa2so onent.

9owever J before the first shot was fired! regardless of who won orlost! A)usa2s will to com ete had com letely eva orated.

The earlier incident.

The board sent word that Tatsuya assaulted some of the staff. : onlearning this! she was more GterrifiedG than shoc*ed.

3ather than being sur rised! somewhere in her heart she *new J Gif itwas himG.

/ven though they were nothing more than recent! casualac%uaintances! A)usa believed that Ghe wasn2t the ty e to act violentlywithout causeG. On the other hand! if he did have a reason! he wasn2tthe sort to hold bac*.

This readiness to resort to unbridled savagery chilled A)usa to thecore.

A considerable ro ortion of magic usage fell within the urview ofthe military! both in terms of military strength and active deterrents.A)usa was erfectly clear on this oint. ut regardless of whether itwas the military or ublic safety! this was still an institutionali)edGviolenceG. &n order to activate this GviolenceG! the res onsibility wasdivvied between the decision ma*er! the one who gave the orders! thee(ecutors! and the su ervisors.

Eet! he was willing to ma*e the decision! e(ecute! and bear the fullres onsibility.

#erha s! he wouldn2t even bat an eyelid if the man had to die Je(ecuted with his own hands.



She was absolutely terrified of that ice-cold heart forged of steel.

The shoc* came afterwards! when he shared the details behind hisactions.

9e came across illegal 6AD modifications and a rehended thecul rit on site.

The tear-stric*en! tortured e( ression on 9ira*awa! the Eear B studentwho served as Kobaya*awa2s Technician! was dee ly im rinted intoA)usa2s eyes. That sort of harrowing regret was easy to imagine andcould resonate with anyone.

She hadn2t noticed that the 6AD was tam ered with. Due to this! a

layer suffered a major accident! culminating in an e(ce tional eer ossibly bidding farewell to her owers forever and being doomed to a bro*en life. &n the face of that! she... &f she was in 9ira*awa2s shoes!she might have fled the scene and cried herself to slee in her hotelroom! A)usa thought.

&t was an undeniable fact that Tatsuya was a 6ourse C student and! atthe same time! a GdunceG.

9is technical scores hovered just above assing.

During the s*ill e(aminations after school commenced! roughly fivestudents failed every year! so even if his grades were closer to G rettyterribleG instead of Gfairly oorG! there was nothing to be done.

Eet! the reality was J when e(cluding the GstrengthG based onartificial conditions li*e e(aminations and based solely on theMagician2s ability to ada t fluidly to various situations! his assessmentwas com letely inverted.

3egardless of whether it was develo ment! analysis! calibration! orcombat.

9is strength went GbeyondG 5irst-6lass.

/ven if they didn2t e(clude his Magic #ower and assessed him basedon his ability to a ly Magic! he was the true GvaledictorianG worthyof standing at the to of the yramid.

ThenJ

"Our GgradesG... G6ourse studentsG! what of theseL What2s the oint



of differentiating between G6ourse studentsG and G6ourse CstudentsGL$

During the 'ine Schools 6om etition! after watching Tatsuya at a

close ro(imity! A)usa started seriously considering this %uestion.And remained bewildered.

That was the unease coming from her faltering values system! hithertounchallenged and held to be truth! which had suddenly become vagueand untrustworthy.

A)usa never held herself as an elitist who too* ride in her G loomGstatus and derogatorily loo*ed down at the 6ourse C students as

GWeedsG.At least! she wasn2t conscious of it.

Des ite this J her e(ce tional magical talent and her identity as as*illed magic high school student J she still too* G rideG in theselabels.

5or Magicians gro ing their way through life! confidence in their ownmagical abilities was synonymous to the courage that sustained themthroughout their journey to bla)e a new ath as Magicians. /ven ifA)usa wasn2t consciously aware of this oint! the fact remained thather confidence as a Magician undeniably su orted her throughout herlife.

This wasn2t restricted to just magic. 5or youngsters! anyone would begreatly uneasy about such mur*y conce ts li*e GtomorrowG or theGfutureG recisely because they lac*ed the Ge( erienceG or Gtrac*recordG! hence they relied on their Gself-confidenceG and Gself-

esteemG.5or A)usa! those things "Gself-confidenceG or Gself-esteemG$ originatedfrom her GmagicG and ultimately gave her status as a Gtalented studentwithin the magic high schoolsG. To be recise! her self-confidence andself-esteem were born out of her Gmagic gradesG.

That being said! both self-confidence and self-esteem could only wilt before the s ectacle that was Tatsuya.

9er test scores as a Eear student were lainly su erior! butregardless of whether as a combat Magician! Magic Artificer! or even



Magic 3esearcher! she never got the in*ling that she was better in anyway. /ven her own uni%ue talents! which she rivately felt could rivaleven Mayumi or Mari! aled in front of Tatsuya.

Still! A)usa felt that she didn2t need to stress out over this feeling ofself-abasement.

She was more than 0 sure that Tatsuya was GhimG.

JAgainst GhimG! feeling inade%uate was only natural.

JAgainst GhimG! feeling diminished was ludicrous.

A)usa used this to convince herself.

" ut everyone doesn2t *now yet...$

#recisely because no one *new! this feeling became more rominent!

ecame more obvious.

Surely the other Eear students in his cohort felt the same.

As a 6ourse student who was outshone by a 6ourse C student Jwhat did their GgradesG even signifyL

GA-chan! it2s best not to dwell on that for too longHG

A)usa was startled when someone suddenly greeted her from behindand swiftly turned around to find Mayumi smiling wryly at her.

GThat thing! is s e ci al.G

Des ite referring to her underclassman as a GthingG! her tone was %uitewarm.

GThere will be some children who sim ly cannot acce t this...... ut ashigh school students! they must learn to acce t things that they do not

agree with. /ven if it2s true that 6ourse C students cannot match6ourse students in technical s*ills! it is also true that Tatsuya-*unhas sur assed our level.G

G/hL ut...G

9earing these shoc*ing words! A)usa was struc* s eechless.

True! Tatsuya2s level was above her! A)usa thought. J/ven if she wasagainst GhimG! she was forced to admit she would have some regrets.

ut Mayumi2s level was also su erb! and A)usa didn2t thin* she would



lose to Tatsuya in any way.

G&t2s not li*e &2m com letely out of his league.G

Maybe seeing through A)usa2s bewilderment! Mayumi smiled wryly

once more.G5rom an aggregate magic ers ective! & should have the edge. &f itturned into a shootout! so long as & *ee a wide berth! & can still do it.G

After down laying her words! Mayumi2s e( ression eased somewhat.

G9owever! there are areas where & am un%uestionably behind. 5or6AD related s*ills! even though &2m not far behind! &2m definitely nomatch for him. :nfortunately! he also holds all the cards in terms of

magic *nowledge.GMayumi added carelessly! as if the u erclassmen2s com lete loss offace didn2t concern her in the slightest.

G/veryone is roficient and lac*ing in different areas! so there2s rarelysomeone who2s su erior in every single way. When & say Tatsuya2slevel is higher! & mean that his *nowledge and s*ills in magicengineering are unrivaled.G

Mayumi caught A)usa2s eye in order to carefully e(amine A)usa2sga)e.

GOn the other hand! regardless of whether it is myself or A-chan! bothof us tower over Tatsuya-*un in magic technical ability! so there2s noreason to be so de ressed. The contents of the magic s*illse(amination each ossess their ur ose! just as the test scores are notre resentative of a erson2s value! test scores are only one art of a

erson2s value.G

A)usa wordlessly listened to Mayumi2s words.

GThen again! heh...G

Whew! this time Mayumi actually let out a sigh.

GThose that fully believe in 2their own su eriority2 tend to be unwillingto acce t that they cannot sur ass someone in every way. They evenforgot that the actual difference between 6ourse and C studentsoriginally arose because they needed to differentiate the grades forthose who assed the entrance e(am and who could receive



instruction.G

Somewhere! somehow! A)usa2s eyes widened. 9er mind had gonecom letely blan* at Mayumi2s une( ected words.

What did she mean forgetL This was the first time she had ever heardthat the difference between 6ourse and C students was caused byeducational differences.

G&n the end! it was still a uniform issue... &n the beginning! it wassim ly because the number of students e(ceeded e( ectations andthey couldn2t change all the embroidery in time......G

G/h! reallyLG

G9uhL Eou didn2t *nowLG9earing the real story for the first time! A)usa received a whollydifferent shoc* than before and remained silent. 9earing Mayumimurmur! G3eally! it a ears that not many eo le *now......G! A)usacould only *ee nodding.

GDid you *now that 5irst 9igh used to acce t 00 students each yearLThey had to acce t more Magicians to follow international standards!so 5irst 9igh increased their student body si)e. The government at thetime must have wanted immediate results. Adding new students at the

beginning of the ne(t school year would have been fine! but in reality!they added more students in the middle of the term.

9owever! the school was unable to increase the number of educatorsin the middle of the term. So! their tem orary solution was to teach thetheoretical *nowledge to the students who joined in the middle of theterm! then begin technical instruction during the second year. This

became the 6ourse C student system.9owever! once the 6ourse C students enrolled! there was an error inthe orders for school uniforms. ecause of this! the Eear studentswho were tem orarily set as 6ourse C students had to suffer theindignity of wearing uniforms without the school emblems. This led toan une( ected misunderstanding...... The 6ourse C student system wasmeant to be a laceholder until they could enter the ne(t level. Theywere sim ly students who were enrolled after the original s ots were

already filled. Eet! they were gradually seen as re lacements. Also! the lan that called for increased students ultimately failed to rovide the



ade%uate instructors! resulting in the misinter reted 2re lacementtreatment2 eventually becoming reality. This is the true face of the6ourse C student system.

The uniforms also suffered the same fate. &n order to cover u theerror! no one bothered to correct the issue after the original lan wasscra ed. This is the truth behind the matter. &n hindsight! creating twodifferent uniforms was a com lete waste...... Since everything is doneautomatically until the school emblems are affi(ed! it would bechea er to have one uniform design even if the measurements differ.G

Once she started! the words just wouldn2t sto .

A)usa2s sincere o inion after hearing Mayumi2s e( lanation changeddrastically.The dee antagonism between G loomsG and GWeedsG that had causednumerous instances of friction actually originated from such a trivialmatter.

These words definitely must be *e t from Miyu*i! A)usa thought Jthe outcome was too terrifying to imagine.

G...#lease! don2t tell Miyu*i-chanLG

Mayumi seemed to arrive at the same conclusion.

A)usa nodded in agreement without another word.

F F F

Miyu*i was wholly unaware of the fact that she was seen as a

dangerous individual by two sen ais on the Student 6ouncil. She wasstanding in the arena and ha ily waiting for Mirage at to begin.

That was because this was the first time in the 'ine Schools6om etition that her brother2s time and energy were solely devoted toher.

'ormally! by the time they returned home! their lives were restrictedto each other.

There was limitless time for the two of them to be alone.



Eet in the dorms of the 'ine Schools 6om etition! this wasim ossible.

'ot that her unfulfilled desire was bursting from the seams "at least!

that2s what she thought$! but after s ending such a long time in asu ressed state! her joy was magnified in this instance.

&n the bo( reserved for related ersonnel! her brother was watchingher.

And watching only her.

Somehow! she felt that she could soar into the s*ies without the aid ofmagic.

She rendered the na*ed! lustful ga)es directed towards her uniformthat left none of her curves to imagination into oblivion. There was noreason to care! because all stares other than Tatsuya2s own werenothing more than trash. Turning the audience into beans J or evenonions and carrots J was a widely *nown tactic that was ratheruseless to eo le who suffered from stage fright "anyone ca able ofturning eo le into beans wouldn2t have stage fright in the first lace$.Eet for Miyu*i! she honestly believed that all ga)es! save for Tatsuya

alone! were utterly meaningless.She *new very well that her brother admired well-taught and culturedindividuals regardless of gender as she ado ted a truly im eccable

osture.

With such an incredibly beautiful young lady falling into a dancer2s ose! many young men within the audience alternated sighs as theiremotions ran ram ant. At this rate! they were going to have to call forthe stretchers before the match even began.

#ossibly under the influence of the audience2s warm rece tion! des itethe sheer im ossibility of this! the signal for the commencement of thematch did go off a few seconds early.

Miyu*i2s frame lightly soared into the s*y.

/very layer for Mirage at re ared two uniforms.

One was a brightly colored uniform that could be seen beneath the brightest rays of the sun.



The other was a colorful uniform that glowed beneath the night s*y.

The reason behind the designs was to revent midair collisions between layers and it became an unwritten rule based on revious

e( erience.The rimary color that covered Miyu*i was a dee magenta.

A tiny shade off and this would be a hel lessly coarse color! butMiyu*i wore this with an aura of nobility.

'either did the cosmetics with :< rotection ta*e away from herelegance.

9er fair and graceful form was still develo ing! but when she

e(tended her slim limbs! this ainted a glorious vision of her beautifully curved bosom and slender waist! all of this combining togive off intimate charm of a blooming flower rather than a sheeranimal desire.

'o two ways about it! her beauty was breathta*ing.

'o one was going to second anyone anything as they all lea edtowards the targets. Among them all! only one erson could be worthyof the term GfloatingG.

Miyu*i ca tured everyone2s ga)e once more.

&f this match was judged by the beauty of dance alone! she wasun%uestionably 5irst #lace.

Eet! as e( ected of the Official Division with its numerous aces! the 'ine Schools 6om etition could not be underestimated.

GSomeone is actually leading against Miyu*i-chan...GWhen the signal sounded to end the first round! Mi)u*i held her breathand seemed to e( el out a series of GdisbelievingG words.

GThe layer from Second 9igh who is first lace... /ven if she isn2t aS Magician! but lainly! she has refined the 2+ea ing2 s ell into a

s eciali)ed magic s ell...G

G'ot just that. She also ta*es her trajectory into account and neatly

obstructs Miyu*i2s ath. 3ather than calling her an e( ert in 2+ea ing2!she2s more li*e an e( ert in 2Mirage at2! rightLG



Mi*ihi*o and /ri*a both shared Mi)u*i2s shoc* while they offeredtheir own o inions.

GThat2s because the layer from Second 9igh was another favored

candidate to ta*e the crown alongside Watanabe-sen ai...GG6an2t say anything about being noticed after that cons icuous dis lay.Also! the ride of the Eear B students is on the line.G

9ono*a and Shi)u*u! who were in the normal audience stands today!each e( ressed their agreement from different ers ectives.

G9owever! this is not the end.G

+eo2s bright declaration seemed to blow the de ressed air around them

to the four corners of the earth.

&n the ne(t round! Miyu*i managed to ma*e u for lost ground ande(ited the second round in 5irst #lace.

9owever! her lead was slim. Miyu*i still had strength within her! buther o onent a eared to be ma*ing adjustments for the third round aswell.

<ictory was still uncertain.While it has been said that magic has become more constrained due toa limited number of combinations! for someone to be able to fightMiyu*i to a standstill at the high school level sur rised Tatsuya to noend.

GThis country is so small yet so broad at the same time...G

Tatsuya muttered to himself in front of Miyu*i! who was busy

regulating her breathing.&nstead of watching his sister! he directed his ga)e towards Second9igh2s bo(.

...7ust then! someone suddenly yan*ed his sleeve.

+oo*ing down! he found Miyu*i standing from her chair and watchinghim with eyes that shone with a brilliant glint.

GJOnii-sama! may & use thatLG

9er eyes! her voice! and her slim fingers that clung to his sleeve sent



the message! G& don2t want to loseG.

She wasn2t just a beautiful! adorable GdollG. Tatsuya delighted inseeing her e( ression that carried such a owerful will.

9er mouth naturally arted and her eyes narrowed slightly.G...Of course. All is as you will.G

9e originally re ared that as the ace in the hole for the finals.

Still! Tatsuya abandoned his original game lan and nodded his assent.

G/hL Miyu*i2s 6AD has changed.G

Seeing Miyu*i standing on the field of the final round! /ri*a was thefirst to notice the change.

:ntil now! Miyu*i held her usual smart hone-sha ed 6AD! yet nowshe wore a bracelet-sha ed 6AD on her right wrist.

G ut! she loo*s li*e she2s holding a 6AD in her left hand too...G

Mi*ihi*o also too* a loo*. &n their grou of friends who weremystified by this turn of events! 9ono*a was the only one who nodded

em hatically.GEes... Miyu*i wanted to try that long ago...G

GThatLG

9earing Shi)u*u2s %uestion! 9ono*a re lied bac* with a longinge( ression that was mi(ed with frustration.

GThe secret wea on Tatsuya-*un re ared only for Miyu*i. A secretwea on that Tatsuya-*un devised that only Miyu*i can control. This

will be a shoc*er... DefinitelyH /veryone resent here! without a singlee(ce tionHG

What e(actly is it J before Shi)u*u could ma*e her in%uiry! thesignal sounded for the start of the third round.

The bracelet on her right wrist was only the bac* u . The real one wasthe smart hone-sha ed S eciali)ed 6AD held in her left hand.

The sim listic command interface only contained the on and off buttons. Once the starting signal went off! Miyu*i swiftly ta ed the



on switch.

A tiny Activation Se%uence started s reading out.

The se%uence never halted nor aused as it re eatedly began

rocessing automatically.5ollowing that! Miyu*i2s body started floating into the air.

The layer from Second 9igh was directly in her ath.

9er trajectory would lace her to Miyu*i2s lower left.

Owing to her o onent2s faster rising s eed! Miyu*i would end ucrashing into her if she continued forward.

Miyu*i used her accelerated flying s eed to avoid the collision.

The audience raised a clamor after Miyu*i eliminated the orb andslightly turned in lace as she became still in midair.

During her lea ! she had a lied additional Magic #ower to accelerateagain.

The gas s from the audience only reflected their cursoryunderstanding of the basics of magic.

9owever! Miyu*i aused briefly in the air then immediately roceeded towards the ne(t target without landing. Once this scenewas im rinted into their eyes! the cheers were shoc*ed into silence.

Two! three! four...

The other layers who had to continuously jum bac* and forth acrossthe 0 meter height had no way of com eting against Miyu*i! whoonly had to move arallel to the earth.

After she had sei)ed the fifth oint! the audience2s fro)en vocal cordsfinally started to thaw.

G5lying-Ty e Magic...LG

Some unidentified individual murmured aloud.

/ven the layers could only stare in ama)ement as they ga ed at thes*ies.

With the layers not even ma*ing any jum ing or landing sounds! this

soft grumble reverberated throughout the silent arena.



With bat in hand! Miyu*i2s a earance too* on that of an avengingangel of heaven! but never lost her grace and beauty.

GTaurus Silver2s...LG

The whis ering started a chain reaction!G ullshit! how can that be...G

GThat was just released last month...G

And %uic*ly ri led through the crowd.

G ut that...G

G'o doubt about it! that2s 5lying-Ty e Magic...G

Without a single e(ce tion! everyone2s eyes were glued to the younglady dancing through the s*ies.

&n the s*ies! a fairy was walt)ing over the la*e.

9er arms s read out to maintain her balance and her lovely legsswayed lightly to change her stance as if the s ring bree)e itself washer dancing artner.

Actually flying through the s*ies was nothing short of revolutioni)ing

modern magic! and no one was more a ro riate to erform thismiraculous feat said to be Gim ossibleG than this beautiful young lady before them... Sur assing age! gender! and even the enmity! all weremesmeri)ed by the young girl dancing through the s*y.

They were all touched by this magic that sim ly went beyond modernor ancient magic.

y the time the ending signal sounded! this s ellbinding magic wasn2tdis elled until the young lady landed before them.

J&n Mirage at2s reliminary round! first arena! second match!Miyu*i stormed into the finals by a dominating lead.

F F F

The audience finally recovered their wits when the layers startedleaving the arena.





o timisticLG

G& don2t thin* this is the time to %uibble over the methods! rightLG

G& agree. One hundred deaths or so would be enough. The com etition

would be forced to end rematurely.GGOnce the com etition ends! we would have to return the original bets.While there will be some loss! that2s well within our limits.G

GWon2t our customers bal* at thisL Setting aside the guys from our lineof wor*! those wea on merchants will be a hassle. Those guysmaintain close relationshi s with various governments around theglobe.G

G&t doesn2t matter what e(cuse we give to the customers. 6urrently!rather than worrying about the merchants of death! we should be moreconcerned about the organi)ation2s urging.G

G/(actly... Will it be OK just leaving this to 'umber QLG

G#eo le with only a modicum of ability are no match for a 2;enerator2.:nfortunately! no wea ons could be brought in! but 'umber Q is ahigh s eed model. Once the limiter is removed! that thing can easily*ill anywhere between 00 and C00 eo le with its bare hands.G

GSo we are all in accord...L Then remove the limiter.G

F F F

Once the tide of enthusiasm ebbed! the man removed the 6AD andslowly rose in a crowd that was slowly de arting for other matches.

The e( osed eyes give off an GemotionlessG im ression.

'o! this wasn2t a blan* e( ression! wasn2t this li*e he lac*ed emotionsin the first laceL

&t was an utterly lifeless Ge( ressionG.

Suddenly! the man2s body started sha*ing.

&n a flash! he activated ersonal S eed-Ty e Magic.

efore the Magicians around him could detect the charged magic aura!the man ounced towards the man who just assed by him.



9is outstretched fingers lunged downwards li*e claws towards theun rotected bac*.

JAfterwards! the stage switched to the e(terior of the observation

dec* without anyone being the wiser.

y the time that man! G;eneratorG 'umber Q! had gras ed thesituation! he was only three meters off the ground.

The first target he chose after receiving the *ill order had managed toavoid his attac* even though his bac* was facing him. /ven if this wasa full frontal assault! this reaction s eed was not something merehuman cognition could accom lish.

Through ersonal S eed-Ty e Magic! Magicians could sur ass the hysical movement limits of flesh.

Eet magical acceleration ultimately was only hysical and not directlyaccelerating J biological reactions! signal relay for the nervoussystem! the brain2s rocessing ability J the mental rocessing s eeditself.

9uman senses sur assed hysical motion! so it was ossible tomentally control hysical movements that have been accelerated

beyond normal limits. 9owever! the reverse was not true. &n otherwords! Magicians were still biological organisms with u er limits.While magical acceleration had no glass ceiling in terms of magic!there was still a finite amount that the brain could command.

&n that case! his accelerated movements cou led with chemicallyenhanced mental rocessing abilities shouldn2t be something thatnormal humans J even humans who could wield magic wereultimately mortal J should be able to handle.

Eet the reality was that his stabbing forearm was caught and used as afulcrum to throw 'umber Q into the air using his downward force asadded momentum.

7ust li*e he was doing a somersault over a horse! he went heads overheels in the air. During the instant he was u side down! a owerfulforce smashed 'umber Q ast the railing of the observation dec* and

sent him hurtling out of the arena.



This was Move-Ty e Magic that intentionally omitted the accelerated rocesses.

9e was almost *noc*ed unconscious by the blow and by the time he

recovered his senses! he had nearly reached the end of the trajectoryand was about to collide with the ground from a height of C0 meters.

'ormally! this situation called for an individual to huddle into a ball orflail about in a anic as they hel lessly lummeted to the earth! butthis man was a G;eneratorG.

9e was a reconstructed individual J created through a combinationof surgery and magically crafted medicinal herbs! hereby eradicatingfree will and emotions and com letely controlling all thoughts andflushing all unnecessary thoughts that might obstruct magic activation.A biological wea on forged to wield magic in the heat of battle.

A Magician re- ur osed to be a tool for using magic! a G;eneratorG.

Terror and anic held no meaning to tools.

'umber Q calmly J more li*e coldly a lied &nertia 'eutrali)ationMagic.

6asting deceleration right now would be li*e hitting the emergency bra*es! but injuries would be unavoidable. 6om ared to that! reducinginertia could hel mitigate some of the damage caused by the severeshoc* u on contact. This was the result of almost instantaneouscalculation.

The magical herb2s effects not only adjusted ersonal consciousness!emotions and erce tion! they also im roved hysical mobility. yusing the elasticity within his feet as well as the muscles within his

thighs and arms! he com letely absorbed the shoc* from his fall.GEou were able to ma*e it in time even under those conditions. Eou dohave a few tric*s u your sleeve.G

On all four limbs! 'umber Q raised his face towards the source of thevoice and found the man who had thrown him into the air.

GWho are youL ...'o! never mind. 'ot li*e you can answer anyways.G

6a tain Eanagi of the &nde endent Magic-/%ui ed attalion let out a







G3ather than her eyesight! & thin* it2s a matter of sensitivity. Do youneed me to recommend a good life counselorLG

GSee! aren2t you two sim ly birds of a featherLG

Se arated by 'umber Q! Eanagi and Sanada glanced at one another.They both frowned almost simultaneously.

F F F

6om letely unaware of the dangerous situation behind the scenes!Tatsuya leisurely returned to his hotel room and ate an early lunch.

After the match! while Miyu*i was showering! the board re%uested toins ect the 6AD with 5lying-Ty e Magic installed u on it with nary aguilty loo* in his direction. 5or a brief instant! he toyed with the ideausing /lder Kudou2s name to terrori)e the oor fellow! but suchmischievous behavior li*e retending to *now a higher authority to

ic* on the wea* was a astime unbecoming of him! so he discardedthat idea and obediently handed over the 6AD.

Other than that! he wasn2t arty to any strange circumstances.While he was conscious of the vast amount of stares directed towardshis sister and himself! so long as the vermin osed no direct threat! the

best a roach was to leave them alone.

After handing the 6AD over! Tatsuya o ted to return to his ersonalarea.

/ven if he *new about Sanada and Eanagi2s surre titious intervention

to avoid a massacre! Tatsuya2s actions li*ely wouldn2t differ by much.To be blunt! even if do)ens of foreign s ectators were slain! Tatsuya

robably couldn2t care less.

To be recise! even if a sen ai from the same school was sacrificed!his emotional reaction would not sur ass that of slight GregretG. Thus!it was hard to imagine he would choose to act.

Miyu*i2s slightly sorrowful e( ression e( ressed that which could not

be said through her voice or attitude. 'eedless to say! he was in the middle of it.



+ong story short! Miyu*i! who was always meticulously loo*ing afterhim! was currently standing before Tatsuya.

GWhile always being neat and tidy is one of Onii-sama2s merits! & still

wish that you occasionally leave a small mess to bring out the value ofloo*ing after you.G

Today! Miyu*i2s mood was buoyant. 6urrently! she was humming alight tune and wearing a delighted smile as she merrily wi ed downthe table with a cloth. This was the direct conse%uence of being unableto loo* after her brother for nearly a wee*.

GMiyu*i! is there anything you would li*e me to do for youLG

There was no dee er meaning to this %uestion after lunch. 9e wasonly doing so out of a sense of obligation.

GSomething & want Onii-sama to doLG

'evertheless! Miyu*i2s eyes widened as she fell into deecontem lation with a joyous e( ression on her face. Seeing thisune( ectedly intense reaction! Tatsuya sensed he may have made agrave error.

Miyu*i ta ed her fingers against her chin and tilted her head this wayand that in thought until! having thought of something! she blushedfuriously as she ee*ed u at Tatsuya2s face from the chair to his side.

G...;o ahead and tell me.G

/ven though there were traces of a wry smile tugging at the corners ofhis mouth! Tatsuya still gently urged her on. 5illed with tre idation!Miyu*i o ened her mouth.

GEou said earlier that & should ta*e a na after lunch until the finals...G

G&ndeed! while not absolutely critical! you should slee for a little bit ifyou can. /ven if you cannot fall aslee ! just lying there would be fine.

Don2t tell me you don2t want to ta*e a na L ;iving your body time torest is integral.G

GEes! of course & will listen to Onii-sama2s instructions... ut! that...G

G9mLG

G:m... &f ossible! can you stay with me... #lease...G



&n the end! she was highly embarrassed.

6om letely red! Miyu*i2s head droo ed.

G...Miyu*i is such a s oiled child.G

G...6an2t &L Miyu*i just wants to be s oiled by Onii-samaHG

G...Of course. 9owever! & will draw the line at singing a lullaby! OKLG

Miyu*i slowly raised her eyes to Tatsuya while she used her hand totry and %uell her violently beating heart.

9er early s*in was a dee red from the ga s between her dar* hair tothe roots of her ears.

Des ite their sibling relationshi ! they were still young adults in thes ring of their lives! so using the same bed was totally out of the%uestion.

5ortunately! even though the room had only one official occu ant! thiswas originally a double room. The machinery that too* u themajority of the s ace had been shifted to the com etition grounds.

Tatsuya unfolded the bed from the wall and swiftly arranged it forMiyu*i2s use. This was almost entirely automatic! so there was noneed to call room service. ";iven that this was no normal hotel! the%uestion remained whether they would show u even if summoned.$

Once Miyu*i dove under the covers! Tatsuya ulled u a chair and satdown beside the bed.

Miyu*i shyly smiled as she watched him. &n return! Tatsuya alsosmiled as he gently caressed his sister2s sil*en hair.

+ess than a minute later! Miyu*i was well on her way to the ;arden of9y nos.

5our hours assed after Miyu*i fell aslee ! but Tatsuya did not budgefrom the bedside. &t was as if he was loyally fulfilling Miyu*i2se( ectations for him to remain by her side! yet Tatsuya never felt thiswas a trial.

Miyu*i was sound aslee ! her slee ing face e( ressing heroverwhelming relief. : on reali)ing that this was an e( ression of the



com lete trust she had in him! his heart grew a little warmer alongwith his embarrassment.

/ven if they were siblings! Tatsuya and Miyu*i only started living

together three years ago. &n other words! they became bona fidesiblings only three years ago. efore that fateful summer three yearsago! even if they were living under the same roof! they racticallynever interacted with one another. Their current ro(imity wassomething strictly forbidden by their mother just as she denied anynormal sibling interaction. Still! that may have been somethingdecided by the Eotsuba 5amily.

Tatsuya had no intention of s routing any com laints on that regard.

&t2s not li*e that function remained within his mental landsca e.9owever! losing all his childhood memories about being treated li*e afamily member was still galling! so saying that he was dis leasedwould be right on the mar*.

The adolescent years were accom anied by im ulsive anger! tears!falls! mista*es and other embarrassing memories if *nown by otherfamily members. Eet for Tatsuya! who never enjoyed the lu(ury ofthese memories! Miyu*i became a Gbeautiful girl one year youngerthan he wasG by default. Since he was forced to see her in an im artiallight from the onset! Tatsuya was well aware that she was a classy!

beautiful young girl from the start.

&n s ite of this! the affection that s routed forth from the de ths of hisheart only identified Miyu*i as a young sister. The only true emotionthat dwelt in the realm of his consciousness was the familial love he

bore for his sister.

'o memories! only affection. Occasionally! Tatsuya would ruminatethat memory loss robably felt a*in to this. Of course! he was alsoaware that he didn2t %ualify for that condition.

&t was an unconditional affection unfettered by memories of any sort.

#recisely because of this! Tatsuya blindly! fiercely and des eratelyloved Miyu*i. 9is other emotional im ulses could not be e( ressedthrough fury or hatred. Only his love for Miyu*i was trulys ontaneous and absolute.

Tatsuya was wholly unaware of this. &t wasn2t that he forgot himself!



but because this was the result of cold! hard calculations that hisactions became unsto able. Once he determined something wasnecessary! he wouldn2t even sto to contem late G&s this necessaryG./ven if he would weigh the cost and benefits! social norms wouldn2teven brea* his stride.

Tatsuya ic*ed u the smart hone laced on the coffee table. SinceMiyu*i fell aslee ! he once more went over the coded message that5ujibayashi sent him. Within the message! there were detailsconcerning the truth behind the interference during Mirage at as wellas the mass murder attem t on the s ectators after the end of thesecond match.

5or Tatsuya! this was sim ly unforgivable. Those who lottedMiyu*i2s fall deserved to die a thousand times over.

Tatsuya stored the smart hone in his breast oc*et! rose from hischair! and eered over the edge of the bed.

9e softly caressed Miyu*i2s hair.

Miyu*i laced her hand over Tatsuya2s own.

GMiyu*iLG

'o res onse. She wasn2t awa*e yet.

Miyu*i turned on her side and naturally slid Tatsuya2s hand onto herface.

Seeing that slee ing face flushed with ha iness! Tatsuya also smiled.

ehind that smile! he made the conscious decision to defend this eaceful! slee ing face no matter what the cost.

This was not determination! but a conscious decision.

F F F

y the time the finals rolled around! the morning weather had givenway to a clear night s*y.

The light of the hanging moon outshone the stars2 brilliance.

5or those who had to identify lit orbs from below! these were not ideal



circumstances.

G9ow is your conditionLG

G5lawless! Onii-sama. My energy is com letely restored! so & would

li*e to use 5lying-Ty e Magic from the get go.GGAs you wish. 5ly to your heart2s contentHG

GEesHG

Tatsuya gave her a thumb2s u as he watched Miyu*i bound towardsthe com etition arena.

GMiyu*i-chan2s in a good moodHG

A)usa! who had entered the bo( as an au(iliary member! commentedto Tatsuya as she watched Miyu*i standing on one of the landing

latforms in the la*e.

:nfortunately! the layer A)usa was res onsible for had fallen short.

5irst 9igh! Second 9igh! Third 9igh! 5ifth 9igh! Si(th 9igh! and 'inth 9igh each contributed one contestant to the finals.

'o school had multi le layers in the final round.

As the final women2s com etition! each school was ready to give ittheir all.

/(cluding Mari! who was still in the hos ital! every heavyweight inthe women2s division was resent on stage.

Since Third 9igh only advanced one layer into the finals! so long asMiyu*i laced within the to three! 5irst 9igh2s overall victory was aforegone conclusion. /ven the su orters were going all out.

G#leasantly facing a com etition is a good thing. +oo*s li*e Tatsuya-*un made doubly sure of that.G

On the other side! Mayumi s o*e u with a smile on her face. 9erwords shouldn2t have any dee er meaning! but that smile seemed tosignify something that she didn2t want Tatsuya to *now about.

G& hear that Miyu*i-chan didn2t use the 2Slee Doc*2. Did she getenough restLG

At Su)une2s innocuous %uestion! Tatsuya fought to *ee his o*er



face.

G5ive hours should be enough.G

G3eally! must have been a dee slee then. Did she slee on a bed in

the hotelLGTatsuya was s eechless. One couldn2t hel but sus ect that the s ea*er*new all along as she intentionally made this iercing %uery.

GAh! it2s startingHG

5ortunately! before the silence turned aw*ward! everyone2s attentionwas drawn towards the arena.

At this oint! he should seriously give than*s for A)usa2s innocent ersonality.The lightly colored uniforms were brilliantly lit u by the waveringreflections of light from the la*e2s surface.

Among them! Miyu*i2s choice of a uniform fashioned after the shadeof sa*ura blossoms was articularly eye-catching! and not only

because she stunned everyone by casting G5lying-Ty e MagicG in the reliminary round.

&n the faltering light! the audience closely followed her with their eyesin fear that her figure would vanish into the shadows if they blin*ed.

Mirage at! also *nown as 5airy Dance.

The term GfairyG has been overused when a lied to young ladies! but robably no one would claim that describing Miyu*i as Gfey-li*eG wastoo cliche.

The ruc*us died down li*e the ebbing tide.

There was no need for the event ersonnel to wave their messages tosignal the crowd to %uiet.

efore everyone2s breathless ga)e! the finals for Mirage atcommenced.

When the start signal went off! si( young women flew into the s*ytogether.

They did not lea off the ground. 'one of them bothered to loo* for a



landing s ot.

G5lying-Ty e MagicHL All the other schoolsHLG

GAs e( ected of the 'ine Schools 6om etition. They figured out the

Activation Se%uence for 5lying-Ty e Magic within a mere si( toseven hours.G

On the heels of A)usa2s sur rised shrie*! Tatsuya murmured words ofadmiration.

That being said! Tatsuya actually wasn2t really astounded.

The board li*ely chose to lea* the s ell details to the other schools.

#robably as retaliation for Tatsuya2s assertion that the board was guiltyof illegal activities.Since the 6AD was stored there! he had ta*en this ossibility intoaccount.

GSeems li*e each school is following Taurus Silver2s ublici)ed detailsto the letter.G

Su)une wrin*led her brows as she watched the s*y.

G......9ow ludicrous. This isn2t a techni%ue that can be mastered thefirst time you activate this. 6om ared to layer safety! victory seemsto be more im ortant......G

Mayumi said with a disgusted e( ression.

GThat2s no roblem at all. &f they used that techni%ue directly! even ifsomething went sideways! the 2safety device2 should *ic* in.G

Tatsuya2s voice was %uite rela(ed as if he was saying8 GWait and seeHG

Si( young ladies danced in the air.

This was a 5airy Dance befitting its name.

The audience was dee ly drawn to the lines crossing in the s*y as theywatched! mesmeri)ed.

9owever! as the audience gradually calmed! they were shoc*ed by anune( ected wrin*le in the match.

They were all flying through the night s*y.



5rom a magic ers ective! it was difficult to tell the difference in s*illwith 5lying-Ty e Magic.

Eet! the only one scoring was the layer from 5irst 9igh.

'one of her o onents could *ee u with her ace.S eed! fluidity! grace.

She turned in air! drifted arallel to the ground! dove and rose.

efore that free and lovable dancing! the others alternated betweentrailing behind her or sim ly getting out of her way.

At some oint! the dancing fairies had fallen into clearly defined roles!with one leading ballerina and five su orting dancers.

Miyu*i was honestly caught off guard by her com etitors using5lying-Ty e Magic.

Well! only a little.

The 5lying-Ty e Magic that her brother develo ed could only reachits full otential if it was a s ell that Ganyone could useG. On this

oint! Miyu*i *new this better than anyone.

Still! something that anyone could use was inherently different fromsomething that everyone could use in the same way.

efore the match! her brother had already warned her about the ossibility of other schools also using 5lying-Ty e Magic.

9er brother warned her with a smile on his li s.

At the time! that must have been because he had faith that no onesur assed her in terms of *nowing the intricacies of this magic!Miyu*i thought.

uoyed by that faith! Miyu*i danced through the s*ies at will.

elow her! the e(hausted layers fell one by one.

When the first layer lost their balance and wavered in the s*y! theaudience shrie*ed in terror.

Eet! seeing the layer gradually descend to the ground! the s ectators breathed a sigh of relief. They just witnessed a crash landing in the



reliminaries. 6om ared to the audience! the board was robably evenmore relieved.

Of course! this was because there was a Gsafety deviceG built into

5lying-Ty e Magic.When the influ( of sions from the s ell caster di ed below half! theG<ariableG ortion of the Activation Se%uence automatically switchedto a soft landing at = 0 of g.

&n 5irst 9igh2s bo(! Tatsuya finally rela(ed as he thought! GThan*goodness they didn2t add any oddities to the rogramG.

9e couldn2t believe that they were roving the safety values of 5lying-

Ty e Magic at the 'ine Schools 6om etition with so many witnesses.Might as well use this for this month2s romotional ur oses.&nternally! Tatsuya reveled in an evil smile. efore his eyes! another

layer had dro ed off the stage.

&n the end! two eo le bowed out of the first round.

These two also withdrew from the match.

During the second round! another erson withdrew.There were only three individuals in the final round.

y this stage! so long as Miyu*i didn2t withdraw! 5irst 9igh2s overallvictory was guaranteed.

The most reliable tactic was to stand somewhere and sim ly not doanything.

Still! within 5irst 9igh2s bo(! no one advised her to ta*e the GreliableG

route.6urrently! the score was a com lete landslide.

'eedless to say! it was in Miyu*i2s favor.

Though the overall victory was e(tremely im ortant! no one in 5irst9igh felt that they needed to sacrifice ersonal victories either.

Su orted by faith and cheers! Miyu*i danced through the s*y in thefinal round.

/ven if she couldn2t see it! she could clearly feel her brother2s



rotective eyes on her.

Miyu*i understood that so long as that e(isted! her wings shall notfail.

9er un inned wings s read out and blended together with the otherlights.

Soon afterwards!

Two layers suc*ed in ragged breaths as they *nelt on the landings ots in the la*e.

The sole actor left in the night s*y! Miyu*i continued to erform the5airy Dance.

efore her outstretched hand! the last orb vanished into oblivion.One beat of silence.

One frame of stillness.

The bell signaling the end of the match was drowned beneath a stormof a lause.



Chapter 12

5irst 9igh clinched the overall victory before the final day and

decided to ost one the celebration until tomorrow. "AgainL Anyonewho said this was rom tly ignored.$

Tomorrow! the finals for the Official Division2s Monolith 6ode! one ofthe most o ular draws of the 'ine Schools 6om etition! wouldcommence.

5irst 9igh2s re resentatives advanced to the finals after ta*ing first inthe reliminary round. 'either the layers nor the au(iliaries had the

time to attend the arty.9owever! since there was only one event remaining! it was also truethat most of the members had lenty of time on their hands.

As Miyu*i owerfully contributed to 5irst 9igh2s overall victory withher erformance in Mirage at! this time she was the center of thecelebratory tea arty held in the conference room.

Mayumi and Su)une hosted the event! with the female layers ma*ingu the majority of those in attendance. That being said! it2s not li*ethere were no boys resent. The uninjured Eear male students werecongregated in a corner and holding their cu s in a dejected manner."The Eear C and B male students were busy re aring for tomorrow2scontest.$

'ot only were Mi*ihi*o and +eo resent! /ri*a and Mi)u*i could beseen as well. Mayumi li*ely had another ur ose in mind. "/ri*a triedher utmost to decline! but was forcibly conscri ted by Miyu*i.$

Eet! for some reason! there was no trace of Tatsuya.G...So! he said not to wa*e him until morningLG

GEes.G

GThat2s no sur rise.G

GSince he2s been %uite active lately...G

As the Eear female students were in a grou discussing a certain

young man "they were /ri*a! Miyu*i! Shi)u*u and 9ono*a$! a Eear Ccou le a roached.



G9mL Eour brother went to bed alreadyLG

&t was Kanon and &sori.

G&ndeed! he said he was %uite e(hausted.G

GThat... would be true. And he2s injured as well.G

9earing Miyu*i2s answer! &sori nodded dee ly. Once he raised his eyesand loo*ed towards Miyu*i! his eyes slightly widened.

G9mL &sn2t this /ri*aLG

GKei-sen ai! have you com leted the calibrations for tomorrowLG

G'o! ta*ing a breather... Though it2s more li*e Kanon dragged meout.G

&sori could only smile wryly at these slightly moc*ing words. 'e(t tohim! Kanon wore a slightly irritated e( ression which was notcom letely caused by the earlier verbal e(change. There a eared to

be something dee er as well.

G...Ah! /ri*a *nows &sori-sen aiLG

G6hal* it u to family relations.G

Still! /ri*a didn2t hold Kanon2s mood against her! or more li*eintentionally retended not to notice! as she turned to Miyu*i.

GThe 6hiba 5amily is greatly indebted to the &sori 5amily.G

GThat2s certainly not trueHG

G'o need to be shy! that2s just how it is! objectively.G

Seeing &sori frantically sha*e his head! /ri*a ado ted a more teasingtone.

GMy 6AD was also develo ed by the &sori 5amily. S ea*ing of which!didn2t &sori-sen ai ma*e it for meLG

S ea*ing of which! /ri*a ulled out her 6AD that was sha ed li*e aretractable olice baton out of nowhere.

GWell! & guess... ut only the 2/ngraving2 ortion.G

GEou designed the /ngraving s ell yourselfL That2s incredible...G

GKei is a geniusHGWhen Mi)u*i e( ressed her sincere admiration! Kanon was so roud



that she momentarily forgot her dis leasure. &sori could only shylymurmur once more8 GThat2s definitely not true.G

F F F

y the time his absence had ceased to be a to ic of conversation!Tatsuya sli ed out of the hotel and advanced towards the ar*inggarage reserved for officers on base. The other arty was already therewaiting for him.

G9ow rude! to leave a woman waitingHG

GMy a ologies.GThis was hardly the time and lace! but since he was in the wrong Jless on the gender issue! more on his tardiness J Tatsuya fran*lya ologi)ed when scolded.

Maybe she was disa ointed that Tatsuya didn2t offer any e(cuses! but9aru*a didn2t com lain as she gestured for Tatsuya to get in the carshe was leaning against.

After Tatsuya slid into the assenger seat! 9aru*a sat behind thewheel.

oth the interior and e(terior of the vehicle remained dar*ened.

9aru*a didn2t bother to glance at the ignition and directly ulled out asmart hone from the storing s ace on the door.

Seeing this! Tatsuya also ulled out a terminal from his jac*et oc*et.

This was not the uniform for the au(iliaries! but a itch blac* jac*etwith two bulges beneath the arm its! which 9aru*a retended to beoblivious to.

G7ust the ma data is sufficientLG

G&f you have the list of members! can you ass those to me as wellLG

9aru*a sighed. Tatsuya started sending data towards her terminal.

Seeing the dis lay! 9aru*a2s eyes widened in shoc*.

G&s that not enoughLG



G'o! that2s %uite enoughHG

9aru*a hid her e( ression and mani ulated her own terminal.

Tatsuya s*immed over the data sent to him and said.

GMuch obliged.G

7ust as Tatsuya slightly nodded and was about to ress the button too en the car door!

GThis is insurance! isn2t itLG

9aru*a as*ed stiffly.

G&ndeed it is.G

y the time this concise answer assed to 9aru*a2s ears! Tatsuya2s bac* was already facing her.

As he watched 9aru*a drive the electric double-door s orts carthrough the main e(it! Tatsuya removed the gau)e covering his rightear and headed towards another car. efore he could ta on thewindow! the car door on the assenger side automatically o ened.&nside! a woman near 9aru*a2s age sat in the driver2s seat.

GWho was that womanLG

GAgent from #ublic Safety.G

Tatsuya easily revealed 9aru*a2s identity and smir*ed at 5ujibayashi.

GThough she insists that her day job is that of a life counselor.G

5ujibayashi burst into laughter.

GSo she2s a art-time agent.G

G& thin* she2s fine on the ability end. 6om ared to seasoned veterans!roo*ies fresh out the door tend to be more reliable. They usually stic*to confidentiality down to the letter! so & feel safer as*ing them fortem wor*. At any rate...... Acce ting side jobs is slightly unethical!

but money tal*s and merit wal*s J & guess that2s just how it is.G

9earing Tatsuya nonchalantly s ea* such blea* words! 5ujibayashis%uinted at him J her eyes remained calm.

GSometimes! why do & get the feeling that you should be 0 yearsolderLG





series of circumstances involving Kudou himself that ultimately led tothe establishment of this rule.

When he retired! /lder Kudou held the ran* of major general.

Ka)ama2s greeting was not out of res ect for his status as an elder ofthe Ten Master 6lans! but done in regards to his ran* based on military rotocol.

Ka)ama was a -ran*ed Magician and also a member of the magicalcommunity that had the Ten Master 6lans at the innacle. That beingsaid! he identified himself as a Magician using the Ancient MagicG'injitsuG! so he had a rather chilly relationshi with the Ten Master6lans! who were the e itome of modern magic. "'aturally! his

relationshi with his subordinates within the battalion was anotherstory altogether.$

Thus J assuming this was the right way to ut it J Ka)ama2s attitudemight be res ectful! but never sur assed the boundaries of being mereGformalitiesG.

GEou2re dismissed.G

GEes! sirHG

Ka)ama ordered the soldiers on duty who brought the tea out of theroom and redirected his ga)e to /lder Kudou.

GSo what may & do for you todayL 5ujibayashi is in the field right nowand not resent.G

G& certainly don2t believe that seeing my granddaughter re%uires goingthrough her su eriors... &t2s nothing really! & hear that it2s rare for youto come from Tsuchiura! so & came to see you.G

G&2m honored.GSeeing Ka)ama use the word honored but fail to e( ress anyres ectful attitude! Kudou smiled wryly.

GEou still disli*e the Ten Master 6lans that much.G

G&2ve said that was a misunderstanding.G

GAnd &2ve said there2s no need to hide it. Magicians who wield AncientMagic li*e you are 2humans2 who have inherited the wisdom of theages! unli*e us! who are Magicians forged to be humanoid wea ons.



&t2s erfectly understandable for there to be some resentment.G

Ka)ama2s brows furrowed when he heard the word GhumanG beingelongated on ur ose.

G...Turning ourselves into wea ons is e(actly the same thing theancient Magicians did to themselves. There2s no great difference

between you and &. &f & do bear any resentment! that would be directedto humanity in general. & believe that this idea is something forceddown the throats of children and the younger generation.G

G9m... So you too* him inLG

Kudou calmly rebutted Ka)ama2s fiery words.

G...9im! as inLGGShiba Tatsuya-*un. &sn2t he the son of Miya whom you ac%uired fromthe Eotsuba 5amily three years agoLG

G.........G

&nstead of being struc* s eechless! Ka)ama2s silence would be morea tly described as Ghighly irritatedG.

G&t2s hardly sur rising that & would *now about it! rightL Three yearsago! & was conveniently the chairman of the committee for the TenMaster 6lans and currently remain a magic advisor to nationaldefense. Also! though it was for a short eriod of time! both Maya andMiya were my students.G

GThen you should also *now this. The Eotsuba 5amily has notrelin%uished their hold on Tatsuya. 9e remains a Eotsuba guardian.Only under the conditions that his role as a guardian is notcom romised is Shiba Tatsuya allowed to artici ate in militarymissions. esides guardian res onsibilities! the Eotsuba 6lan is notallowed to assert their recedence. That is the agreement we have withthe Eotsuba 5amily.G

GDon2t you feel that it2s a wasteLG

GWhat do you mean by a wasteLG

Seeing Kudou lean forward and as* in a cons iring manner! Ka)amafeigned ignorance as he re lied.

/lder Kudou did not fly into a rage and merely smir*ed.



GEesterday2s match was %uite entertaining. While & hear that it was theonly successful e(am le! & didn2t imagine that it would be that

owerful.G

3etired Major ;eneral Kudou watched Major Ka)ama2s eyes li*e ahaw*.

GSometime in the future! he will become our country2s invaluablemilitary asset along with the scion of the &chijou 5amily. 3elegatingsuch a su erb individual to a mere rivate bodyguard! wouldn2t youconsider that to be a wasteLG

G...Sir! do you wish to wea*en the Eotsuba 5amilyLG

GSince it2s you! &2ll be blunt.GAt Ka)ama2s %uestion! Kudou maintained his thin smile and nodded.

GThrough a series of chec*s and balances! we revent the ossibilityof Magicians losing control of themselves. This is written within thedesign behind the Ten Master 6lans.G

Ka)ama2s silence im lied that! for him! Kudou2s words were all *nownfacts.

G9owever! at this current rogression! the Eotsuba 5amily will become too owerful. At Shiba Tatsuya-*un and his sister2s currentgrowth rate! in the near future! Maya will still be around! ShibaMiyu*i will become Eotsuba Miyu*i with Shiba Tatsuya continuing asher guardian. &n this scenario! the Eotsuba 5amily may become ane(istence that will ecli se the Ten Master 6lans. 'ay...G

9ere! /lder Kudou aused and shoo* his head.

G/ven in our current redicament! based on the fact that they ossessuni%ue abilities unmatched by other families and have a select bute(tremely owerful grou of Magicians! the Eotsuba 5amily arealready a s ecial entity within the Ten Master 6lans.G

9earing Kudou2s words! Ka)ama wore a sarcastic smir*.

GThat2s recisely because they loyally obeyed your directive increating 2Magicians who are humanoid wea ons2. 5rom a ure combat

ers ective! it is only natural that they are so s ecial.G

GAnd therein lies the difficulty.



7ust as you say! Major Ka)ama.

They originally e(isted to develo new wea ons! but they are nolonger li*e that.

Something that only e(ists as a wea on will someday be e(cludedfrom the world of men.G

GSirHG

Ka)ama curtailed /lder Kudou2s em hatic words.

GSir! just as you *now the details on my side! so too do & *now a fewthings on your side. & *now the real reason why you are so interestedin Tatsuya2s situation.G

This time! it was Kudou2s turn to fall silent.GThus! lease allow me to ma*e a suggestion and a correction.G

G...#lease do.G

G& believe that there is no need to ity Tatsuya. 9e is not a docile labrat to be itied. 3ather! he is someone who is reluctant to be viewed inthat lens.G

GThat2s your suggestionLG

G&ndeed. 'ow for the correction... &t2s not the near future. Tatsuya isalready an invaluable asset within the military. Saying this may seemli*e &2m romoting my own men! but in terms of military ower!Tatsuya is on an entirely different level than &chijou.

5or oint defense situations! &chijou Masa*i rivals an entire armored battallion2s combat strength.

Eet! Tatsuya alone ossesses the might of a strategic warhead.

9is magic is restricted by several layers of limiters and is a bona fidestrategic wea on.

And handing all the res onsibility to him alone seems to be an overlyheavy and cruel burden.G

F F F



&n the car s eeding towards the east! Tatsuya did not double over andsnee)e re eatedly.

The electric car that 5ujibayashi was driving J to be recise!

5ujibayashi2s car that was being directed by the navigational system!was coursing east along the central highway and reached Eo*ohama before midnight.

'orth of Eo*ohama 9arbor in the east side of town! a s rawling6hinatown still bordered the high rise since the end of the C st century"des ite the multi le military conflicts between 7a an and 6hina$. &twas here that the car carrying the two of them came to a halt.

G...We *now hostile agents are crawling around over here! yet & don2tsee any loc* down or security chec* oints. What are the oliticiansthin*ingLG

5ujibayashi ga)ed at the streets in 6hinatown and muttered infrustration. 'e(t to her! Tatsuya merely shrugged.

GThat2s because on the surface! this area is one of the rimaryhead%uarters for olitically o ressed 6hinese who fled the country.G

GThat2s a blatant lieHG

GThat2s why & said on the surface.G

G/verything should have a limit. While we technically won! since notreaty was formally signed! from a legal stand oint! we are still on awar footing with the ;reat Asian Alliance and are only in a ceasefireright now. /veryone *nows that this is a nest for s y activity! but noone wants to deal with it.G

GThen again! maybe the number of 2 eo le2 is rising right now.G

&n contrast to 5ujibayashi2s nattering! Tatsuya re lied in an easymanner.

5ujibayashi heard J or thought she did J something dee er in thatanswer and widened her eyes as she stared at Tatsuya.

G...Do you *now somethingLG

G'o! sim ly a wish! that2s all.G

As if signaling an end to the conversation! Tatsuya turned his bac* toher.



The current direction he was facing led him to the highest building inthe city.

The cost for construction was staggering! but from a hysical

ers ective! it was indeed the tallest s*yscra er.:ntil the middle of the century! this area was *nown as G9arbor <iew#ar*G. 'ow! with three towering s*yscra ers built in the area! onecould see Eo*ohama 9arbor and the sea from there.

The building2s name was the GEo*ohama ay TowerG! which theresidents affectionately shortened to G ay TowerG. &t included hotels!sho ing centers! civilian offices! television stations and relatedfacilities. The community for Magicians *nown as the G7a aneseMagic AssociationG also set their eastern branch here rather than inTo*yo. "Main 9? was in Kyoto.$

6laiming that this tower was only for civilian use was a mere coverthat even the citi)ens in the area could see through. Since this towerwas in a erfect location to *ee an eye on all the shi s entering To*yo

ay! this building also housed the offices for 'ational Defense and thenaval olice disguised as civilian com anies.

&t was rumored that the Magic Association2s eastern branch was in the building so that they could join the defense if an incident occurred. JEet regardless of whether it was Tatsuya or 5ujibayashi! both *newthat this was no GrumorG! but cold! hard GfactG.

G+ieutenant! than* you.G

G+oo*s li*e & really should a ly for overtime.G

The time was near midnight.

5ujibayashi laced a small information terminal on an emergency e(itthat was normally only accessible from the inside and was not covered

by security ersonnel. 9er other hand fiddled with the 6AD.

The door mechanism originally didn2t have a connection ort or data jac*! so 5ujibayashi used a hac*ing rogram to gain access to the door by modifying the electric conductivity of the door.

Than*s to 5ujibayashi2s interference! the internal surveillance systems

failed to detect their resence.



F F F

On to of the highest floor in the Eo*ohama ;rand 9otel J financed

by bac*ers out of 9ong Kong and built in 6hinatown in the first halfof the century and had no correlation to the hotel before reconstruction

J there was another floor that most customers were oblivious towhere men were frantically re aring to move out of a room.

This room was originally reserved for the eastern branch of the 9ongKong-based criminal organi)ation G'o 9ead DragonG and served astheir o erational 9? for eastern 7a an.

The 9ong Kong financier who ran this hotel had been com romised by 'o 9ead Dragon long ago! hence referring to this lace as theo erational 9? for criminal activity wasn2t so far off the mar*.

/ven calling this moving would be a stretch! as the only things beingshifted around were account boo*s that weren2t recorded into devices.Since these were highly classified account boo*s that couldn2t berecorded into systems with e(tensive safety arameters! they couldn2tsim ly be handed off to minions to be ac*ed. This was why several

middle-aged "and a roaching the twilight of their years$ men wereusing sil* hand*erchiefs to mo away their sweat as they clumsilylugged around luggage with hands covered in jewels and rings. &f anoutsider was resent! they would have found the scene to bee(ceedingly comical.

Of course! for the eo le in %uestion! this was no laughing matter.

GDamn it... We2ve still got moreHG

One of them sto ed wor*ing and started cursing furiously.GS ea*ing of which! & can2t believe the ;enerator was ta*en outwithout inflicting any damage...G

GThat was com letely une( ected. We didn2t thin* that 7a aneses ecial forces would shamelessly crawl out of the ground.G

GThus forcing us to try and evacuate in the middle of the night.G

GThey2re so full of themselves after just winning one battle...G

/veryone resent wished to e( ress the words hidden in their heart to



hel vent their an(iety.

GOne day! we will avenge ourselves u on the 7a anese military! butfirst we must get rid of that *id.G

GEou2re tal*ing about the son of a bitch who ruined our entire lanLGGShiba Tatsuya rightL Who is this guyLG

GWell... We don2t *now all the details. We could only find his name!address! school! and a earance. 5orget family situation! we couldn2teven get a list of family members. Only thing we *now about his

arents is that they are em loyed! all others remain in the dar*.+i*ewise! we have no ersonal data beyond normal every day

trivialities.GGThe hellL This country counts as one of the countries with e(tensive

ersonal databases on the international stage. /ven loo*ing at thecivilian databases should yield at least some data! isn2t this e(tremelyoddLG

GMaybe we should see this as instead of classifying ersonal data!anything related to 2Shiba Tatsuya2 has been systematically erased. &can2t thin* of any other ossibility.G

The high-ran*ing members at the 'o 9ead Dragon eastern 7a anese branch eered at their com atriot who s o*e u and wordlesslyglanced at one another.

G...Maybe he2s not an ordinary high school student...LG

G&f they wanted to systematically alter every ersonal database at thecivilian level! this would re%uire e(ce tional clearance at the highestlevel. Otherwise! they need the influence to intervene at the highest

level of government.GGSeriously! who is it...LG

They sto ed ac*ing their luggage. Suddenly! they heard muffledscreams.

&n the corners of the room! four men could be seen.

They were the ;enerators lent to the eastern 7a anese branch to serveas ersonal defenses.

&n order to rotect against foreign attac*! they rovided four different



ty es of magic defenses. The ;enerator res onsible for Data5ortification on the walls was recisely the source of these screams.

The reason was blatantly obvious.

The south facing wall had a ga ing hole in it.This was not caused by a collision! incision! or even a crac* in thewall. The only remnants were the steel bars and structure hangingloosely with some uffs of yellow dust and settling cement.

The screams were caused by the destruction of Data 5ortification andthe subse%uent feedbac* to the caster.

Still! the ainful sounds only lasted for a few seconds.

The brass swiftly noticed the cause of the screams. 'o 9ead Dragon was not sim ly a criminal organi)ation! they were acriminal organi)ation that abused magic.

&n order to rise to the u er echelon! an individual must fulfill thecondition of being a Magician.

They had to mani ulate and identify magic.

9ence they were able to com rehend what unfolded before their eyes.

The /idos surrounding the ;enerator who let out those iteousscreams J this was a Magician2s natural defense that unconsciouslys read out to automatically rotect oneself with Data 5ortification Jhad been stri ed away.

'o! the im ression was more li*e the armor was being eva orated.

&n the ne(t instant! the ;enerator2s whole body was suffused by static-li*e contour and started fading.

At this time! the s ace the ;enerator2s body used to occu y burst intoa small flame.

efore the s rin*lers could come alive! the small flame intermi(edwith orange! blue! and ur le swiftly disa eared.

What fell to the rug was sim ly ashes.

The ;enerator2s entire body disa eared and this was all that

remained.The brass was so terrified that they forgot to scream.



They eered at one another with horrified e( ressions.

All of a sudden! the tele hone rang.

The sound came from the hidden land line that only the brass had

access to.One of them ic*ed u the hone with e(treme tre idation.

There was no image. Only the sound came across the dis lay monitor.

G9ello! everyone from 2'o 9ead Dragon2s2 eastern 7a anese branchHG

The voice that came across the s ea*er was that of a young man J ateenager.

F F F

Tatsuya and 5ujibayashi ascended to the roof of the northern buildingof the Eo*ohama ay Tower.

9ere! along with the broadcasting antenna for the television station!there was also a wireless communication device.

5ujibayashi connected her terminal to the wireless communicationdevice and ra idly ta ed the screen.

G...OK! we2re in. &2ve rerouted every wireless communication throughhere.G

GAs e( ected of the 2/lectron Sorceress2. This oint remains immuneto imitation regardless of what & try.G

GThan*s. & would be in serious trouble if someone could imitate me so

easily.G5ujibayashi ado ted a su erficial smile that obviously didn2t comefrom the heart.

G9ave we already cut the lineLG

G6a tain Sanada already has that end covered.G

Tatsuya ulled out the s ea*er attached to the information terminalwith his left hand. After unching in the number 5ujibayashi assed tohim! he ressed the last *ey to enable voice communication.





There are indeed similarities between the way he and the ;eneratorsconducted their lives! Tatsuya thought.

#recisely because of this! within the remnants of the emotions left to

him! the dominant emotion he felt was disgust.They were a harmful! un leasant e(istence.

Tatsuya never hesitated when destroying such a GdeviceG.

Silver 9orn 6ustom! GTridentG.

This was Tatsuya2s favored instrument! that which brought out thefinest of his magic. Tatsuya s%uee)ed the Trident2s trigger.

9is original magic! the military secret GDecom ositionG activated.

This s ell bro*e the wall2s basic com onents into owder.

y creating a hysical hole in the wall that served as medium! heo ened a hole in the GsealedG conce t that rotected the room from theeffect of e(ternal magic.

Tatsuya2s GviewG of the interior had never been clearer.

When the activated magic was forcibly destroyed! the ;eneratorshoo* from the blow.

:nder normal circumstances! the Magician wouldn2t suffer from thefeedbac* even if the magic was destroyed.

This was li*ely a by- roduct of their inability to consciously terminateor halt magic by themselves.

9e coldly surveyed the scene while his attac*s J *illing intent did notfalter.

9e noticed that one of the ;enerators released Wide Area &nterferenceto rotect the five members of the brass while the three others ado tedWide Area &nterference to defend themselves.

9e s%uee)ed the Trident2s trigger.

9e set the GWide Area &nterferenceG from the ;enerator injured by thewall2s colla se! the Gouter shell of the /idosG! and GfleshG as thevariables and lugged them into the Magic Se%uence.

The rocesses for all three magics were com leted in a s lit secondwith no time lag in between.



The first rocess decom osed the target2s rotective Wide Area&nterference.

The second rocess decom osed the target2s Data 5ortification used to

rotect the body.The third rocess decom osed the flesh down to the atomic level.

The decom osition was so com lete that it was no longer recogni)ableas a biological entity and left no traces that this was a living being.#roteins were bro*en down into hydrogen! o(ygen! carbon! nitrogen!and sulfur the bones were rendered down to hos horus! o(ygen! andcalcium everything including blood! the nervous system! storednutrients! even waste was decom osed down to the molecules andions.The lighter elements! with hydrogen at their head! esca ed through thehole in the outer wall to the outside.

The flammable elements interacted with o(ygen and burst into flames.

This scene was so surreal that it seemed li*e the human bodys ontaneously ignited.

Eet! the reality was that it had vanished rather than being consumed bythe flames.

9e had incor orated three consecutive Decom osition magics into oneMagic Se%uence and com letely annihilated a Magician2s flesh and

body along with its naturally occurring magic rotect barrier.

GTrident... Seriously! this must be what they call having your hairstand on end...G

This was the S eciali)ed 6AD s ecifically customi)ed to activatethree consecutive magics.

Within the Magic /ncyclo edia! the term GTridentG was allocated toanother magic.

9owever! within the &nde endent Magic-/%ui ed attalion!GTridentG referred to this merciless tri le Decom osition magic as wellas the 6AD that o timi)ed the rocess.

Tatsuya didn2t hold 5ujibayashi2s tre idation or words that sli ed out



of her mouth against her and merely *eyed the waiting informationterminal and lin*ed to voice communication.

Once they invaded the wireless communication device! the

authentication system in the dedicated line lost all meaning.G9ello! everyone from 2'o 9ead Dragon2s2 eastern 7a anese branchHG

Tatsuya s o*e in an unnaturally cheery voice.

F F F

The e(ecutive who ic*ed u the hone failed to hide his befuddlement as he glanced at his eers.

This was a line reserved for e(ecutive use only! as well as a direct lineto the main 9?. Only a branch chief or e(ecutives from the main 9?would *now of this line! as ordinary members were unable to accessthis line. There weren2t any teenage e(ecutives in 'o 9ead Dragon.9ec*! there weren2t even twenty year old e(ecutives in theorgani)ation.

G...Who are youLGThe voice didn2t contain an interrogator2s edge. Was this because hewas %ua*ing on the inside after watching a human body disintegrateinto the aetherL

GMuch obliged for your wor* at 5uji.G

The voice belonged to a teenage youth! but the tone was unmista*ablyadult.

GAllow me to return the favor.G

When these words fell! the Wide Area &nterference rotecting the brassdisa eared without a trace.

'ot only the man who was holding the hone! but everyone still in ossession of their wits beside the magic devices glanced towards onecorner on refle(.

efore their eyes! a dimly lit flame ignited and swiftly vanished.

The s rin*lers reacted to the multi le heat sources and inundated the



area with high ressured s ray.

The ;enerator that should be standing there had vanished without atrace.

GWhereL 'umber R! where did that come fromLGOne of the e(ecutives stammered his words in reverse order.

Magicians are able to detect what magic was being used and where theattac* came from based on the effects of henomenon rewriting.

'ormally! there would be no way that they could fail to detect wheresuch a owerful magic that could reduce a human body down to theatomic level came from when the target was so close to them.

/ven if they couldn2t accurately in oint the distance! they should atleast be able to locate which direction the caster was in J yet thise(ecutive had com letely anic*ed and was unable to do anything.

6om ared to those who *new no fear J ;enerators had already losttheir ability to falter! so they remained stolid in the face of theircomrade2s destruction.

'umber R2s slow! lodding movement ointed towards the bro*enhole in the wall.

Across the street was the highest oint on this street.

Another e(ecutive %uic*ly snatched u a sni er rifle.

After raising the o tical lens to his eye! he raised the magnification.

On the roofto of the Eo*ohama ay Tower! a youth was artiallyvisible beneath the illuminating moonlight.

9e raised the magnification to the ma(.

/ven though he couldn2t see the youth2s features because of the ridinggoggles in the way! he could see the e( osed li s smir* at him.

Seeing that twisted smir*! the man immediately screamed and fell tothe floor.

9is eye had been slashed by the shattered lens from the sco e.

Still! the men didn2t have the leisure time to worry about theirmoaning comrade who clutched at his eye.

G'umber R! 'umber @! *ill himHG





GDon2t bother. 3ight now &2m the only one you can s ea* with.G

The same voice traveled along the original hone.

G9ow is this ossibleL /ven the wireless signal... 9ow did he...G

GAll & did was converge the electronic waves. As to how & did this!there2s no need for you to *now.G

They understood erfectly well the meaning behind his words.

Still! all those words did was solidify their sense of dread.

G'ow! let2s cut to the chase.G

With this diabolical declaration! the man clutching one eye wassurrounded with static.

The man2s face twisted in utter des air.

9is face remained twisted J as he turned into ashes.

Since the s rin*lers had already inundated the room thrice with water!there was no longer any s ontaneous combustion.

The men watched with fro)en e( ressions their comrade who wasdenied even a funeral yre.

One man des erately made for the e(it.Static swarmed around from behind him as his outline came a art andhe vanished.

The last three remaining members of the 'o 9ead Dragon2s eastern7a anese branch finally reali)ed that their lives were held in the almof a demon.

They couldn2t hel but arrive at this e i hany.

GWait... #lease wait a secondHG

The man who served as the chief of the eastern 7a anese branch sei)edthe hone and shouted into the s ea*er.

G5or whatLG

9e hadn2t actually thought his words through.





9e didn2t believe his o onent was going to let him go.

'o one who could eradicate men li*e mere numbers ossessed amerciful dis osition.

Still! contrary to e( ectations! a res onse came down the line.GWe! we swear to never interfere with the 'ine Schools 6om etitionagainHG

GThe 'ine Schools 6om etition ends tomorrow.G

G'ot just the 'ine Schools 6om etitionH We will leave the countrytomorrowH We will never again ste foot into this countryHG

G/ven if you leave! others will still come bac*! rightLG

G'o 9ead Dragon will abandon 7a an com letelyH 'ot just eastern7a an! but western 7a an as wellHG

GDo you have the ower to ma*e such a romise! Douglas 9uangLG

The moment the o osing side called out his name! the man2s heartalmost sto ed from the blow. /ven so! 9uang des erately *e ts ea*ing.

G& am the boss2s confidantH The boss can2t sim ly ignore my wordsHG

G&n what wayLG

G& once saved the boss2s lifeH Eou owe the man who saved you a favor!that is our customHG

GSo you lan to use that 2favor2 to bargain for your life.G

Two loo*s shot towards 9uang.

They contained the hatred and *illing intent reserved for traitors.

9owever! 9uang didn2t have the time to worry about that.

GDidn2t you lan to use that favor to win bac* your life from your bossLG

G'oH The boss wouldn2t abandon me even if & didn2t do thatHG

GSo you claim you have that much influenceLG

G&ndeedHG

G y what do you ma*e this claimLG



GThat...G

G'o 9ead Dragon J the headless dragon. That name does notoriginate from your own organi)ation! but was a lied to you by other

organi)ations because your leader never a ears before thesubordinates. /ven those that re%uire ersonal unishment are firstrendered unconscious before being ta*en to a rivate room. ?uite thethorough rocess indeed.G

9uang was consumed by a fear that was altogether different from theterror that came from death or being disintegrated.

9e *new too much about his situation.

Whose tail did he tread on this time.GSince you have so much influence! surely you must have seen theleaderLG

3egardless! he didn2t have time to contem late this.

&n order to live! he must follow the ath that this demon had ointedout to him.

G& have been granted an audience.G

GWhat is your leader2s nameLG9uang shut his tra .

That was the dee est secret within the organi)ation.

The terror and loyalty that have been engraved u on his soul throughthe assage of the years overrode the terror before his eyes.

ut only for a moment.

G7amesHLGAnother one of his com anions disa eared from this earth.

A destruction so com lete that he wasn2t even ermitted to die as ahuman being.

This reminded him of the blas hemy that their leader used to e(ecutethe damned and sent a similar chill u his s ine.

GSo that was 7ames 4hu! eh. My a ologies to the &nter ol agents

ursuing him across the globe.G



GWait...G

G&s it your turn now! Douglas 9uangLG

G#lease waitH ...Our boss2s name is 3ichard SunHG

GAnd his ublic ersonaLG

G...Sun ;ongming.G

GAddressLG

9ong Kong2s u er class residential sector! name of the office building! fre%uented nightclubs! 9uang held nothing bac*.

G...That is everything & *now.G

GAnd my %uestions come to a close. Than* you very much.GGThen! you believe meLG

GAh! you are undoubtedly one of 'o 9ead Dragon2s leader! 3ichardSun2s confidants.G

rought to the brin* of e(termination! 9uang2s entire body seemed tosag as his e( ression sang of his deliverance.

This recently revived ho e!

G;regoriHG

Was swiftly crushed with the annihilation of his last remainingcomrade.

G...WhyHL We too* no lives. We didn2t even *ill anyoneHG

F F F

G...We didn2t even *ill anyoneHG

A rather logical defense s routed through the other side of the hone.

ut that was merely the result.

They cons ired to commit mass murder! but their lans were derailed by Eanagi! Sanada! and 5ujibayashi.

Eet Tatsuya didn2t oint this out.

GAnd why does that concern meHG



GWhat...LG

G9ow many you have slain or let live means nothing to meHG

Tatsuya had reached the end of his tether in laying out this lifeless

erformance! so he was no longer disguising his voice.9e had already obtained all the intel he wanted! so there was no needto lay out this farce any longer.

GEou dared to touch that which cannot be touched.

Eou dared to sully my scales.

5or that alone you all deserve to erishHG

G...Eou demonHG

GEou are the ones to than* for unshac*ling the demon! Douglas9uang. 6onsciousness may be the force that ro els strength! butemotions ta*e that strength one ste further.G

'e(t to the s ea*er! Tatsuya lightly laughed at himself.

9is laughter mi(ed with the evening wind and accom anied the coldwords of damnation that devoured all ho e.

GEou have touched u on my last remaining emotion and than*s toyou! & finally unleashed the 2#ower of the Demon2.G

GEou say the #ower of the Demon...L This magic! it cannot be! Demon3ightHLG

That statement became 9uang2s last words.

9uang2s voice cut off from there.

The entity that made u Douglas 9uang was utterly e(tinguished from

this world.



Chapter 13

The last day of the 'ine Schools 6om etition dawned.

The only event slated for today was Monolith 6ode. The first matchfor the elimination round would begin at AM! and the second matchheld at 0 AM. At #M! the consolation match for Third #lace would

be held! followed by the final match at C #M.

The awards and closing ceremonies would begin at B8B0 #M! with the 'ine Schools 6om etition officially coming to a close at 1 #M.

The com etition officially ended at that time because there was still a

ban%uet to be held at Q #M.Differing from the meet and greet before the o ening ceremony! the

ban%uet after the closing ceremony was the real o ortunity for theschools to mingle and interact with one another.

Also! this ban%uet annually saw the birth of several cou les in longdistance relationshi s.

This was not only a chance for high school students to meet one

another! but also an e(cellent o ortunity to interact with famousfigures in the magical community. Eear B students es ecially too* careto ta*e advantage of these two areas as much as ossible.

Eet! for the four schools that advanced to the elimination round! thosedetails could wait until after the event.

'one of the schools were in any hurry.

/verything that could be done had been done! so both the layers and

the au(iliaries were calmly waiting for the beginning of thecom etition.

5irst 9igh2s avilion was no e(ce tion. 6entered around Katsuto! whowas calmly sitting there with his eyes closed! there were lenty ofan(ious individuals or those struggling to contain their e(citement as

layers and members all waited for the summons to the first match.

There were the three layers! 7uumonji Katsuto! Tatsumi Koutarou!and 9attori ;youbu along with the three technicians that accom aniedthem. &sori was also among their number.



Off to the side! the brass could be seen centered around the Student6ouncil members li*e Mayumi! Mari! Su)une! and A)usa.

Kanon headed the Eear C and B layers.

Those that were unable to enter the avilion waited eagerly in thesu orting stands for the layers to a ear.

'onetheless! regardless of where one cast their eyes! Tatsuya2s figureremained elusive.

F F F

G&s it OK if you don2t go to su ort themLG

G......There2s still some time left.G

9earing 5ujibayashi2s %uestion! Tatsuya gul ed down his food andre lied.

ased on his instructions last night! Tatsuya re orted to Ka)ama2sroom after brea*fast.

9owever! the owner of the room had disa eared for some secretrende)vous in the morning. While he was waiting! he sat down andacce ted 5ujibayashi2s invitation to a second brea*fast. J9e was adevelo ing teenager with a ravenous a etite! so sandwiches with afew sweets were nothing for him.

Within the boundaries of decorum! they chatted as they gathered uthe lates. At this time! Ka)ama returned with Sanada and Eanagi intow. 9e returned a vague salute to Tatsuya and 5ujibayashi! who both

stood and saluted him! before waving them to ta*e a seat. Ka)ama satdirectly across from Tatsuya! Eanagi too* a seat ne(t to 5ujibayashi!and Sanada grabbed a chair ne(t to Tatsuya. "Tatsuya already heardfrom 5ujibayashi that Eamana*a had already returned to Kasumigaura

ase J which had already been u graded from station to base.$

G;ood wor* last night.G

After briefly e(changing greetings! Ka)ama s o*e u .

G'o! & should be the one than*ing you. & a ologi)e for troublingeveryone with ersonal business.G



GThis is hardly a ersonal matter for you. S ea*ing of which! & wasalso attac*ed.G

GAlso! we obtained critical combat data last night. eeline range

roughly C00 meters. &t is very rare to obtain data for long rangemagic that successfully sni ed human targets at this range. 5orsomeone li*e you who e(cels in e(treme long distance recisionattac*s and OT9 "over the hori)on$ sni ing! this distance may not besatisfactory! but & am very leased with this observation data.G

Eanagi and Sanada both reassured Tatsuya when he stood u and bowed.

G7ust so. Also! &nternal Affairs and #ublic Safety were bothe(ce tionally leased with our gift last night. Eou successfullycom leted your mission! so don2t worry if it was a little ersonal.G

Acce ting Tatsuya2s salute! Ka)ama left it at that.

G......9owever! is the intel surrounding the leader of a criminalorgani)ation that valuableLG

+ast night! he intentionally reached out to the criminals with amoc*ing tone des ite the fact that this behavior ran against his

ersonality because those were Ka)ama2s orders.GThat2s because this is no sim le criminal organi)ation.G

G............G

GTatsuya-*un! how familiar are you with the 2Sorcery ooster2LG

At Tatsuya2s wordless interrogation! Sanada o ened his mouth.

G&2ve heard the name before. That is a brea*through Magic Am lifier

introduced by criminal organi)ations within the ast few years. To behonest! & find this highly sus icious......G

GMagic Am lifiers do e(ist. On some level! referring to it as a2brea*through Magic Am lifier2 is absolutely correct.G

GS ea*ing of which! is it ossible to am lify magic to that degreeLG

While he didn2t believe that this was the *ind of situation whereSanada would discuss groundless rumors at length! Tatsuya still found

it difficult to dis el the GdubiousG first im ression./ven though Magic Se%uences were a GsignalG that included rocesses





G&nduction Stones are created from a crystalli)ation of neuronschemically synthesi)ed from the molecular level. Since the differencesin structure may im act the conversion ratio! the em hasis is lacedon the structural com osition rather than the hysical characteristics ofthe neurons. That being said! currently there are no re orts ofsuccessful develo ments of &nduction Stones without relying onartificial materials.G

9earing Tatsuya2s res onse! Sanada nodded in satisfaction.

GEou are correct. 9owever! the ooster2s core contains an &nductionStone that is not forged from artificial neurons.G

GThen what is it......G

GA human brain.G

Sanada2s answer silenced Tatsuya.

GTo be recise! it2s a Magician2s brain.G

G...... ut when they used neurons from animals! the remaining sion articles in the brain should interfere with the user2s ability to achieveinduction. This should also be true when using a human brain.G

The reason Tatsuya was struc* s eechless did not arise from theunethical nature of their discussion.

9e was well versed in the cases at the dawn of 6AD develo mentwhere they conducted e( eriments on animals and humans.

The results from these e( eriments that blatantly ignored ethics!conscience! and beliefs established the techni%ue for chemicalsynthesis of &nduction Stones.

'evertheless! 'o 9ead Dragon managed to overturn theseconventional beliefs.

Tatsuya was astounded by this turn about.

GThey are com letely different from normal &nduction Stones. /achooster is s ecifically designed to use one ty e of magic! so the ty e

of magic differs based on the s ecs for the oosters. Still! scaling onsome level could be achieved. ased on our estimates! remnantthoughts left over from the roduction rocess may lay a role inaltering the ty e of magic. y creating the same owerful emotions



during the roduction rocess! similar oosters can be created.G

G......Such as introducing massive ain to the brain to rovo*eoverwhelming fear! am & correctLG

GMost li*ely.GG......&t2s the same conce t as curses.G

G& agree. oosters may have been born from the same basis as curses./ven though we use magic as wea ons and added Magicians to themilitary hierarchy! our goal was to create a rototy e unit rather thanusing Magicians as mere arts. & am a Magician as well. Along with6a tain Sanada! 6a tain Eanagi! +ieutenant 5ujibayashi! all units and

ersonnel in the unit are basically Magicians. ;enerators are stilltolerable! but creating and disseminating things li*e oosters isabsolutely unforgivable.G

GSetting aside the emotional ers ective of the roblem! ca acityenhancers li*e Sorcery oosters also ose a threat to the military.Since the 'orth American &ntelligence Agency "'A&A$ shares thisview! they have already reached out to &nternal Affairs. Mibu e(tendshis than*s! Tatsuya.G

Ka)ama su lied this final iece as the conversation drew to an end.

F F F

Once Tatsuya arrived at the s ectator stands and began loo*ing for anem ty s ot! a small bloc* of ice came hurtling towards him from thefront.

9e frantically caught the ball of ice and! by the time he lowered hishand! his eyes caught Miyu*i loo*ing bac* at him.

Abandoning all retense of not noticing her! Tatsuya obedientlyadvanced to the front row where an em ty seat waited for him.

G......Such a violent greeting.G

GThat2s because Onii-sama retended not to notice usHG

......Tatsuya had no rejoinder for that.



Well! the real reason he retended not to notice was to avoid doinganything else that would draw attention to himself from the audience!

but he clearly understood that this e(cuse would not fly with his sister.

Still! that reason was largely for Miyu*i2s benefit. ;iven thee( ressions on the faces of their eers and u erclassmen! this wasmost definitely not the case for them. J+u*ewarm e( ressions of itywould lease no one.

GOh! the layers are coming.G

GEou were just in time! Tatsuya-*un.G

The one who answered Tatsuya wasn2t Miyu*i! but 9ono*a who was

sitting on her other side. Miyu*i was busy utting on a smiling face todis el the lu*ewarm ga)es sent their way. &n order to ma*e u for thelost o ortunity to s ea*! she edged closer to Tatsuya as she sat down.

The first match of the elimination round itted 5irst 9igh against 'inth! coincidentally the same line u as the 'ewcomers Division.

'inth 9igh li*ely ho ed to avenge their defeat here. All three layersdis layed high morale.

&n com arison! 5irst 9igh2s three layers resented three differentimages.

Katsuto remained im assive! Tatsumi2s thoughts remained a mystery!while 9attori wore a serious e( ression as he eyed the enemy teamwith a challenging glint in his eyes.

Their com letely normal a earance brought on an aura ofreassurance.

G6om ared to us! they certainly give off a rela(ing feel...... Such ishow eo le are on another level.G

G'onsenseH & never doubted that Onii-sama would trium hHG

GEour grou erformed admirably! Tatsuya-*unH Eou were allcourageous and honorable in the e(treme.G

Tatsuya didn2t mean anything in articular with his comment! but hewas a little lost when they rovo*ed immediate words of reassuranceor encouragement.

Still! they *e t their voices down since the match was about to begin



in order to avoid attention! but that didn2t guarantee they would besuccessful all the time. That2s why they say watch what you say "L$.Mindful of this! Tatsuya chased away these distractions from his mindand concentrated all his attention on the match.

JShi)u*u staring at him with a dis leased e( ression may also have layed a small art in that.

J:nrelated to this drama! the match began.

The match too* lace in a Karst-li*e G oulderG setting.

With the starting bu))er! 9attori emerged out of 5irst 9igh2s territory.

With a liberal mi( of +ea ing Magic! he stormed towards the enemyterritory with a s eed that sim ly couldn2t be done with ure legwor*.

'inth 9igh2s res onse was e(tremely sluggish.

Dis laying high morale counted in their favor! but 5irst 9igh sei)edthe initiative.

Seeing their bla)ing fervor! 'inth 9igh robably lanned to launch a reem tive stri*e.

9owever! with their o onent2s une( ected charge! their delayedres onse was filled with doubt.

They debated over whether they should immediately ta*e out theattac*er and ca ture a numerical advantage.

Or! should they leave the retaliation to the defender and roceedtowards the enemy territory as lanned.

5irst 9igh2s objective was recisely to sow the seeds of doubt in their

minds.9attori sto ed halfway between the two areas and began to releasemagic towards the three layers from 'inth 9igh who were stilldragging their feet.

With the rising air currents! white mist formed over the heads of the layers from 'inth 9igh. The mist swiftly coalesced and felldownwards as if unable to su ort its own weight.

9ail formed from dry ice crashed downwards.



6onvergence 3elease Move 6om ound Systematic Magic GDryli))ardG.

This was the basic form of the s ell that Mayumi used during S eed

Shooting.This magic too* the heat energy "latent heat$ released when loweringcarbon dio(ide to solidifying tem erature and turning solid andtransformed it into the *inetic energy for dry ice ellets! so the higherthe tem erature! the greater the velocity. 3eleased from the outer

eri hery of the defensive erimeter J boulders rovided no coverfrom dry ice ellets released directly overhead. Since they were allwearing rotective helmets! ice bloc*s the si)e of the fingerti

wouldn2t cause any major injury! but multi le hits could lead to a mildconcussion.

At the current rate! their inability to retaliate would lead to theirdemise! so one of the layers from 'inth 9igh s read out a magical

rotective barrier over their heads to rotect them J an imaginaryobstruction that would reduce the s eed of the descending articles to)ero.

The shield formed by that layer would only reduce the s eed to )eroonce. After the article came to a sto in the air! gravity would onceagain ull it down to the earth. The dry ice 9attori created was formedfrom free)ing the surrounding air and causing the moisture to solidifyso they would fall to the earth li*e a dri))le on to of the layers from

'inth 9igh and the surrounding boulders. Once the misty air absorbedthe released carbon dio(ide! this formed a continuous layer of fog.

Due to the boulders surrounding the immediate area! it was very

difficult for the fog to migrate anywhere other than 'inth 9igh2s osition.

/ven though the fog wasn2t thic* enough to hinder visibility! havingthe entire body suffused in wet! cold air was certainly going to beun leasant. Another layer started venting the air current in ho es ofdis elling the side effects of Dry li))ard.

9owever! 9attori had already activated his ne(t magic.

9is s ell used the friction caused by slightly vibrating the dust articles in the ground to alter the electrical current in the dirt! then



am lifying and releasing the charge.

While one of the Eear students from /ighth 9igh also attem ted thesame ty e of magic in a similar setting! the sheer strength and

racticed motion of the same s ell were li*e night and day.A crescent sha e seeming to trace 'inth 9igh2s magic defensive

erimeter began to glow in an area that was roughly five meters wide.

6ountless flashes of light intermi(ed with one another li*e a herd ofsmall sna*es swarming forward.

3egardless of whether it was the ground mi(ed with sand! the looselygrowing grass! or even the rolling stones! anything covered by the fog

of carbon dio(ide became charged by the moisture.The electric sna*e outside the magic defense barrier ignored the magicand dove straight for the layer from 'inth 9igh.

6om ound Magic! GSlithering SandersG.

6om ound Magics are not sim ly magics that have multi le s ellswoven into one Magic Se%uence. 3ather! it is a combination of theeffects of multi le magics where the aggregate whole rovides agreater effect than the sum of its arts.

9attori was not renowned for using e(ce tionally strong magic!un aralleled rocessing s eed! or multi-casting. &nstead! 9attori wasan incredibly versatile Magician who could stably choose from anassortment of magic to fit any scenario herein lay his advantage.

With so many different assortments at his dis osal! 6om ound Magicgreatly benefited from his versatility! and was a erfect method to

bring out 9attori2s otential.

One of the three layers from 'inth 9igh lea ed into the air to esca ethe electric current.

:nfortunately! the layers res onsible for the defensive barrieroverhead and venting the air currents were half a beat slow inswitching to +ea ing Magic.

The electric light ensnared the layers2 feet.

/ven though the rotective boots were insulated! the rotective vestitself was not. "9igh insulation would ham er air ermeability.$



The fog that was inundated with carbon dio(ide clung to the layers2 bodies.

The layer who was wielding wind magic was able to %uic*ly switch

targets and sought to use the wind to blow away the moisture in orderto lessen the blow. :nfortunately! his com atriot who was holding themagic defense barrier wasn2t so fortunate and suffered a direct hit fromGSlithering SandersG.

'e(t to the layer who colla sed on the ground! his com anion fell toone *nee.

9e gave u on his immobile leg and maintained this osition to wieldhis 6AD.

Someone cried out in ain in the air.

The layer who had lea ed into the air to avoid the electric attac* wasstruc* by an invisible hammer and crashed bac* to earth.

Tatsumi Koutarou! who used Single Systematic Magic but s eciali)edin interference strength! had cast S eed-Ty e Magic on him. yinstantly a lying downwards gravitational ull! the o osing layerimmediately hit the dec*.

At the same time! the layer from 'inth 9igh activated 6onvergenceMagic.

&t was un*nown whether he was unaware of his com anion2s redicament or whether this was as e( ected of a team that advancedto the elimination round.

9attori was the target of the com ressed air ellets being fired.esides s ecial circumstances li*e being underwater or in a vacuum!

air e(isted in almost every scenario! hence its combat a lication wasa o ular choice.

Than*s to the rules limiting attac* o tions and destructive ower!Monolith 6ode largely favored com ressed air ellet attac*s.

The highly com ressed air ellets that formed outside of 9attori2sdefensive erimeter J shattered into ieces against an invisible wallthat materiali)ed before 9attori.

9attori was not the cause of that.



That was Katsuto casting G3eflectorG from R00 meters behind him.

This Area of /ffect Magic ignored solids! fluids! and gases and createda force field that reversed motion vectors.

6om ared to normal Targeting Magic! Area of /ffect Magic was evenmore challenging.

The difficulty comes blurring of the lines.

The difference between changing a target2s ro erties and the ro erties of an em ty s ace was ractically none(istent. Thedifficulty arises when trying to differentiate between which areasneeded to be rewritten and which areas cannot be.

5or targets such as walls! ceilings and railings! the artitions can beseen easily. 9owever! trying to create a distinction in the outdoors fora s ecial location was many times more difficult.

Still! if this was offensive magic! the difficulty can be lessened bysetting targeting arameters within the Activation Se%uence.

On the other hand! defensive magic was restricted in that it had tofulfill all the conditions without *nowing the nature and distance ofenemy attac*s as well as having limits on area! volume! and sha e.

Such as a shield to rotect yourself.

Or a wall to defend your teammates.

y setting the Magician as the origin! a res ective distance could be lotted to the target.

;enerally! this was as far as one got.

9owever! Katsuto set 9attori as the rotective target in an outdoor

setting with no reference oints without the need for su orting tools.9e had created a erfect G3eflectorG from R00 meters out.

This was an outstanding s atial awareness.

The 7uumonji 5amily too* the ne(t ste to hone their natural talents ins atial awareness. Their ability to wield multi le ty es of Area of/ffect defensive magic has earned them the title GStonewallG.

9attori activated his ne(t magic.

Against the attac*s from 'inth 9igh! he didn2t even bother to defend



himself.

The construction of this Magic Se%uence was wholly de endent onKatsuto2s un%uestionable ability to defend him from enemy attac*.

The dust on the ground too* to the s*ies.Sand was sent s iraling into the air by the wind.

Ten meters ahead of 9attori! the dust storm grew in strength and s eedas it advanced u on the o osing layer before falling u on him infury.

S eed 6onvergence 6om ound Magic! G+inear SandstormG.

With the first dust article raised into the air as the center! this Area of/ffect offensive magic constructed layers and layers of com le(ityaround the center as it s un around.

The converging sandstorm *noc*ed the layer from 'inth 9igh to thefloor.

F F F

GThat match was at an incredibly high level......G

Tatsuya used the ending signal as a ;M and said in e(hilaration.

The match itself was a com letely one-sided affair.

9is comment on level was in regards to the magic used as well as itsa lication.

/s ecially 9attori! whose s*illful use of magic techni%ues was enough

to rom t him to ho e GMiyu*i learns a thing or two from himG. "9edidn2t say Ghe could learn somethingG! because he had arrived at theconclusion that he was inca able of imitating that level of s*ill.$

Tatsuya never overly underestimated 9attori. /ven though he haddefeated the man in a match! that was only because he sei)ed theinitiative and got under his guard. Tatsuya recogni)ed this from acom letely objective ers ective.

6om ared to Magic #ower! his magic a lication was even mores*illful. Tatsuya already had an in*ling of this given his many



o ortunities to see 9attori in action.

Still! that earlier dis lay of might honestly e(ceeded his e( ectations.

"& am still a long ways off from getting an accurate read on others......$

G'e(t match will be the finals.G

:tterly ignorant of Tatsuya2s mental struggles! 9ono*a innocentlyo ened u .

5or her! it was only natural that the Student 6ouncil <ice #resident boasted great s*ill.

The word GnaturalG shoo* Tatsuya out of his reverie.

&sn2t it only natural to not read others accuratelyL 9e was only a highschool student after all.

Tatsuya2s mental status was still stuc* in his ersona as the S ecial+ieutenant from the &nde endent Magic-/%ui ed attalion from lastnight and it was only now that he reverted to the high school studentShiba Tatsuya.

GThe finals begin at #M! and it2s a little early for lunch......G

GWill you ta*e us for a few cold drin*s! Onii-samaLG

GAgreed. &ce cream would be even better.G

9earing Miyu*i2s suggestion! Shi)u*u swiftly assented.

9e had no duties as a technician today.

'or did he have to worry about any hindrances from any criminalorgani)ations.

Occasionally! it wasn2t bad to indulge in the life of a high school

student J Tatsuya thought and made his decision.G& saw a concession truc* earlier! would that be acce tableLG

GEes! let2s goHG

Tatsuya tossed aside any thoughts regarding how others would see oneyoung man leading three beautiful young ladies and led Miyu*i andcom any to the ice cream concession area.

F F F



The finals for Monolith 6ode was set for the G<alleyG.

&n order to ass along the board2s decision! Mayumi visited the layers2 resting area.

Surely a sim le matter li*e assing the word along didn2t necessitatethe Student 6ouncil #resident2s a earance.

&n reality! if that2s all there was! Mayumi robably wouldn2t show u in erson.

G7uumonji-*un! are you hereLG

After s ea*ing into the intercom near the entrance! someoneimmediately re lied with G3ight awayG.

Shortly afterwards! Katsuto a eared wearing a vest and rotectiveleggings as he used his head to raise the cloth hanging over thedoorway.

GA ologies for my wardrobe.G

GDon2t worry. &t2s not li*e you2re indecent.G

Katsuto was covered in the scent of alcohol.

And not because he was drin*ing.

That must be because his deodorant contained alcoholic content. 9edelayed coming out immediately robably to s are Mayumi the scentof sweat clinging to him. While he wasn2t a feminist of any sort! hewas undeniably a gentleman. &t was just li*e Katsuto to notice all thesmall details without mentioning anything aloud! Mayumi thought.

GSo! what is itLG

Mayumi had set aside her official business and was busy ruminatingover nonsensical things when Katsuto2s %uestion shoo* her bac* toreality.

GThe setting for the finals has been decided. 6an you come with mefor a minuteLG

&f this was all there was! one sentence would have been sufficient.

Eet! Katsuto didn2t as* GwhyG or Gwhat forG as he %uietly followed behind Mayumi.



Mayumi led Katsuto to the same room where she s o*e with Tatsuyathree days ago.

7ust li*e three days ago! she erected a sound roof barrier and started

s ea*ing %uietly with the already seated Katsuto.G5ather sent a coded missive. A arently! this is the directive from theclan meeting.G

G9oLG

G+oo*s li*e 7uumonji-*un hasn2t received it yet! rightLG

G6orrect.G

Though Katsuto2s res onse was une( ected! but coded missives fromthe clan meetings generally too* a considerable time alone to deci her.The 7uumonji 5amily must have felt that even though this was the

brea* time between matches! the ca tain being absent for a long eriod of time would rouse sus icion. That was Mayumi2s ta*e on thesituation.

Mayumi and Katsuto were on a different footing than the othermembers on the team.

This difference was not because they were the Student 6ouncil#resident and 6lub ;rou +eader! but because their social standingwas inherently different.

Mayumi was a direct descendant of one of the current Ten Master6lans.

Katsuto2s standing was even more uni%ue.

'ot only was he a direct descendant! but! unli*e Mayumi! he was also

the heir of the 7uumonji 5amily.Among all the students in the 'ine Schools 6om etition! only Masa*icould stand on e%ual footing with Katsuto.

GTwo days ago! didn2t Tatsuya-*un defeat &chijou-*unLG

G......So whatLG

Katsuto2s %uestion wasn2t Gwhy are you bring this u G! but Gso whatG.

'ay! in reality his %uestion was a mere formality.

GThe Ten Master 6lans stand at the innacle of this country2s







&f they let u on the attac*! surely they would be instantly engulfed bya decisive attac*......

/ach ste increased the ressure a little more! forcing them to cling

onto that belief and urged them to ress the assault.Though they were unable to enetrate that wall! they should still havee(hausted the defender somewhat. Eet com ared to the three anting

layers from Third 9igh! there was nary a sign of fatigue on Katsuto2s art.

When there were only a altry 0 meters or so between the two sides!Katsuto finally came to a sto .

9e sto ed his slow! lodding advance!And bunched all his energy together to *ic* off the floor.

A boulder-li*e body flew through the air while arallel to the ground.

9e cast S eed Move Magic on himself! then ado ted a shoulder tac*le osition as he crashed into the enemy layers. 9is im ermeable barrier remained active the entire time.

One of the layers from Third 9igh was sent flying by the sudden

im act against this indomitable barrier.Katsuto2s gigantic frame didn2t sto for even a second before changingcourse for the ne(t enemy.

efore this insurmountable barrier and the overwhelming interferencestrength attached to it! magical defenses and momentum shifting

became meaningless.

The layers from Third 9igh were hel lessly smashed aside as the

Monolith 6ode finals drew to a close.This com lete victory served to crown 5irst 9igh2s overall victorywith a fresh crown of laurels.

Seeing Katsuto raise his hands in res onse to the a lause! Tatsuyaand his friends also a lauded! but were all unable to s ea*.

Dominant was no longer sufficient to describe what just ha ened.

esides terrifying and tremendous! no other words would suffice.



The tactic itself was sim le.

Sim le enough to describe this as a trial by brute force.

Eet that magic J was not Gsim lyG brute force.

9e continuously cycled between the 5our ;reat Systems and /ightMajor Ty es at irregular intervals while creating new barriers J anawe-ins iring GdifficultG brute force.

GAma)ing...... So that2s the 7uumonji 5amily2s 2#halan(2! eh......G

esides ordinary e( ressions! even Miyu*i had nothing left to say.

This showed that she was shoc*ed by what just ha ened.

9e could understand that sentiment.

ut disagreed with her words.

G'o...... & doubt that2s the original 2#halan(2.G

Multi-layered Defensive Magic G#halan(G was ractically anothername for the 7uumonji 5amily.

9owever! most eo le never got a chance to catch a glim se of thismagic.

That2s because! in general! there was no need to create a barrier thatdefended against all major systems and ty es of magic.

:nder the condition that multi le Magicians were attac*ing the sametarget! more attac*s would lead to an increase in the variability in thety es of attac* magic and increase the ris* for magic interference. Allof this was well *nown.

&t wasn2t that Tatsuya had beheld this magic before.

&n the earlier match! the multi-layered barrier that Katsuto cast didinclude magic from all systems and ty es of magic.

That truly was G#halan(G.

Still! Tatsuya wasn2t able to acce t this conjecture so easily.

GThat final attac*...... &t2s hard to imagine that was the original ur oseof the 2#halan(2.G

3ather than calling this a lea of logic! this was closer to his intuition.

/ven if he believed that the real #halan( was reserved for something





Chapter 14

&n star* contrast to the atmos here two wee*s ago "or to be e(act C

days ago$! the hall was filled with a eaceful air.While it2s easy to roclaim a neutral s irit! it2s not so easy in ractice!and it would be a lie to say that there were none with the thoughts ofvictory or defeat occu ying their mind.

ut now! the fierce com etitions of the ast 0 days were over.

The dress code for the festivities was their usual uniforms.

Once again forced to ta*e u his ill-fitting bla)er! he thought! GAt leastif it comes to dancing will this be betterLG A thought which had endedu similar to that of digging his own grave.

G#o ular! huhLG

6oming u to him with an evil smile was Mari! who had beenofficially discharged one day earlier.

GThan* you. To tell the truth! &2d far rather be ta*ing it easy.G

As if saying it couldn2t be hel ed! Tatsuya glanced over at his sister!who was surrounded by a crowd two! three layers dee .

5ellow students! event organi)ers! base officials who rovided thevenue! the e(ecutives of com anies that s onsored the tournament.

Those were inevitable! but with the inclusion of media rofessionals" roduction com anies! commercial com anies! talent agencies$ alsodressed u as officials! it made one feel li*e as*ing what's the bigidea? to the organi)ers of the arty.

Truthfully he would have li*ed nothing more than to forcefully utthose noisy and rude eo le away! but with a shrewd "frostyL$ loo*!Su)une had warned him against such an a roach! so he *e t a low

rofile for the moment.

G&2m not tal*ing about your sister.G

9earing Tatsuya2s natural re ly! Mari chuc*led sadly.

GThe one &2m referring to is you! Tatsuya-*un.G

5rom Mari2s oint of view! Tatsuya made a tired face.



Although nowhere com arable to the crowd around Miyu*i! Tatsuyahad been constantly sought out from the start as well.

Most of them were unac%uainted adults.

&t wasn2t that he had never seen them before.Due to his wor* at his father2s com any! des ite his age! he *new theface of businessmen %uite well.

Still! it was only on the level of a Ghigh school studentG.

As a resident of the laboratory! he was not necessarily involved on the business side! but com ared to general em loyees in the same industryhe had far more contact than Gjust a littleG.

Of those who had come to tal* with him! he *new more than half ofthem by sight.

GWasn2t that the resident of 3o)en2s 7a anese branchL This would bethe first time he tal*ed to a high school student huhLG

G& wouldn2t *now. &t2s also my first time here at the 'ine Schools6om etition after all.G

G5air enough.G

As Mari gave her wic*ed grin! Tatsuya felt a twinge of annoyance. J &n the threshold of around P0 or so.

G......Well! there2s no hel ing it. & don2t *now why you2re so reluctant! but just as you can tell a fa*e gem sim ly by loo*ing at it! when yousee the real deal you can immediately tell that too.G

G......G

GDon2t ut on such a dissatisfied face. The dance is about to start soon.5rom there on! it2s students only. 7ust be atient a little longer.G

Ta ing his shoulder! Mari wal*ed over to the drin*s table.

She seemed to be in a good mood for some reason.

5ar more im ressive was that des ite ushing herself as always evenafter being wounded! she now seemed to have made a full recovery.

"So a lover has that *ind of effect huh......$

Although he himself had no e( erience! Tatsuya couldn2t hel but sayso to himself.



Around a minute after that! she left the arty with 'aotsugu! andTatsuya uncharacteristically was left to onder on such things.

Doing so! he felt li*e sighing.

To be certain! very soon! the time allocated for adults to wor* theirtric*s on the innocent would be over.

Eet even so his mind was heavy. The reason was the dance.

Truth be told! students li*e Tatsuya were the e(ce tion.

As the bigwigs left! the venue seemed to rela(! and a carefreeatmos here filled the air.

The soft sound of wind and string instruments began to flow.

At the enthusiasm of the organisers who had re ared an evening oflive music! the young men immediately res onded.

Ma*ing full use of the trials they had gone through they too* thehands of the girls they had grown closer to! and roceeded to thecentre of the hall.

&t was unfortunate they weren2t in dresses! but such a fact was utterlyirrelevant to them.

The common dress code for the girls of the nine schools was a sil*organdy inner gown "worn under their jac*et$! which fluttered gentlyas they moved.

As e( ected! Miyu*i was being swarmed by boys both from schooland from without.

&t seemed no one was ca able of staying away.

ecause she was surrounded u until the last minute! she robablyhadn2t been able to get a single word out.

:nli*e Tatsuya! Miyu*i had been firmly taught manners on how to actat a ball "Git2s not a 2dance arty2HG$! so rovided ro er rocedure wasobserved she was unli*ely to refuse a dance artner "naturally! thatdidn2t mean she2d dance with just anyone$! but rather it seemed the

boys were being embarrassed on their own.

5rom within that crowd! Tatsuya2s familiar face became visible to







G......&chijou-san! you weren2t able to tell Onii-sama and & weresiblingsLG

Miyu*i2s voice as she s o*e to Masa*i! as she su ressed her laughter!

seemed somehow ha y.G/h! no! that um...... yes.G

As Masa*i gave u trying to find an e(cuse! Miyu*i loo*ed on with asmile.

9e wasn2t %uite sure what had caught her interest! but it seemed to himthat &chijou had suddenly become sensible in Miyu*i2s eyes.

That being said! it only meant he was now considered on the level to

be a ossible dance candidate.GEou can2t just stay standing here forever! so Miyu*i! why don2t yougo dance with &chijouLG

At Tatsuya2s words "or more recisely the Gdance with &chijouG art$!Masa*i loo*ed u shar ly.

9is eyes shone in antici ation.

After Miyu*i2s giggling bout subsided! she tilted her head in Masa*i2sdirection as if as*ing Gwhat will you doLG.G6ould you lease......accom any me for two songsLG

With a reverential voice! Masa*i bowed deferentially to Miyu*i.

G#lease ta*e care of me as well.G

3eturning the bow! Miyu*i too* Masa*i2s roffered hand.

As he too* his osition Masa*i! his face glowing! nodded to Tatsuya in

than*s.Seeing that! Tatsuya thought Gwhat a mercenary guyG.

The romantic comedy"L$ Masa*i was acting out was no concern toTatsuya. "As long as Miyu*i was GalrightG with it.$

That was why he was able to acce t it so easily.

When it came to himself however! even in the best of conditions! hewas unable to deal with such things.





decided to bite the bullet.

G......9ono*a.G

GEesHG

Tatsuya made his re arations.

G......want to danceLG

&t too* a com aratively long time to get those words out! due to hislac* of self-confidence.

G;ladlyHG

Eet! 9ono*a seemed more than ha y enough.

After that Tatsuya was ut through his aces with Shi)u*u! then /imi!then Mayumi! until finally he slum ed against the wall e(hausted.

Mayumi was articularly tough.

9er sense of rhythm was %uite uni%ue.

/ven as a com liment! it couldn2t be said that Tatsuya was a terriblygood dancer. Since he had never racticed! it was only to be e( ected.9owever! he never made a fumble such as ste ing on his artner2sfoot. On the contrary! his ste s were im eccable.

During their dance Shi)u*u had muttered that he Gdanced li*e a dancemachineG! words which could be ta*en as a com liment or not eitherway.

Stringing together observed behavior then re roducing and addingsome bits Tatsuya2s dancing was! beauty or elegance aside! erfectly

and technically accurate.&n a sense however! Mayumi was the e(act o osite.

9er e(ecution and ste s were com letely off.

3ather than tone-deaf however! it was more that she had an ingenioussense! such that des ite her movements being subtly off for eachsound! her dance still elegantly moved along with the flow of thesong.

ecause of that! Tatsuya was forced to match both Mayumi and themusic! going along with the rhythm of the two and shunting his ste s



as necessary.

Any normal erson would sim ly try and match their artner andsim ly ho e everything wor*s out one way or another! but since his

body didn2t *now the dance and Tatsuya was sim ly re roducing themovements in his head! doing something li*e that was too much.

Eet even after Mayumi left Tatsuya e(hausted! going off to loo* foranother artner in high s irits! numerous girls started hanging out

before him meaningfully.

9e wasn2t nearly com arable to Miyu*i! who after her dance drew artners li*e a shining star! but after his success in Monolith 6odethere were %uite a few girls who too* an interest in him.

+oo*ing at his drained a earance however! they uniformly gave himsym athetic loo*s.

:nfortunately for him! although he himself robably didn2t realise! just as he was considering going bac* to his room! with im eccabletiming a glass was held out in front of him.

GTha......than* you.G

9e suddenly sto ed tal*ing! because that erson was com letelyune( ected.

GEou seem tired.G

G......haah.G

GEou don2t attend events li*e this oftenLG

GThat2s......it2s as you say. This may be resum tuous! but 6hairmandoesn2t seem li*e the ty e who bothers with this much either.G

G&2ve gotten over it.GThe erson s ea*ing to him was Katsuto.

9e held a non-alcoholic beer in his hands.

Somehow feeling li*e he had to go along with him! Tatsuya too* adrin* from the glass he was assed.

ut the real deal came after.

GShiba! come with me for a bit.G9anding his em ty glass to a waitress assing by "not /ri*a$! Katsuto



turned around.

&t meant he wouldn2t ta*e no as a res onse.

Dro ing off his em ty glass the same way! Tatsuya followed.

&n the same garden where they had caught the intruder on the o eningnight of the tournament! the two of them silently stood there with notanother figure in sight.

&t wasn2t a com lete silence.

&t seems someone had o ened a window.

The sound of music could faintly be heard.

That soft sound lent the atmos here a serene air.

G&s this alrightL & thin* the celebrations are about to begin soon.G

As Katsuto sto ed with his bac* facing him! Tatsuya threw a casualremar*.

After the arty! a victory celebration in honour of 5irst 9igh wasscheduled.

This rivilege was given to whichever school won the overallcham ionshi .

As both an e(ecutive and *ey layer! Katsuto2s attendance was ofcourse mandatory.

G9ave no concern. We2ll be done shortly.G

+oo*ing bac*! Katsuto re lied.

Did he mean this wasn2t a weighty matterL

&f that had been the case! there should have been no need to ta*e himout from the midst of the arty.

Or erha s J he sim ly meant it wouldn2t ta*e long.

......5rom the loo*s of things! Katsuto meant the latter.

GShiba! are you from the Ten 5amiliesLG

At that sudden %uestion! Tatsuya was almost ut on the defensive.

'ot in the sense of being lost for words! but rather re aring for battle.



&t was still forbidden for his identity to be lea*ed out at this stage.

G'o. &2m not.G

Katsuto2s loo* indicated he would not forgive any dishonesty.

The reason Tatsuya was able to deny Katsuto2s assertion however! was because that was true.

9e was not one of them. /ven though the blood of the Ten ran throughhis veins! he was never considered one of them.

&t was a sim le fact.

GJ& see.G

After watching Tatsuya in antici ation for a while! Katsuto noddedim assively.

Tatsuya did not *now whether Katsuto had been convinced with hisanswer.

GThen! as discussed in a family meeting! here2s my advice to you asthe vice re resentative of the 7uumonji house.

Shiba! you should join the Ten 5amilies.G

G......GG9m......how about the SaegusaLG

G......by how about! would you be referring to! how about marrying inLOr the li*eLG

G&ndeed.G

Katsuto2s magic G#halan(G! as o osed to Tatsuya2s original magicGDecom ositionG! are li*e natural enemies.

The moment one barrier is ierced through! another ta*es its lace.

&t would be endless.

Whilst watching the finals! Tatsuya recalled the un leasantness ofwhat would be a war of attrition should it come to it......but thesewords now! utterly une( ected! brought with them a whole new set ofhorrors.

JThis sem ai is without a doubt! my natural enemy.



J&n many! many ways.

G......in regards to being #resident Saegusa2s artner! was 6hairman7uumonji2s name not considered as wellLG

GThat was certainly brought u too.G

G......is #resident Saegusa not your ty eLG

G'oL Well Saegusa does have! cute charms! in her own way.G

G......G

Tatsuya could no longer find a re ly.

GAh! Shiba! are you erha s concerned about her ageL Mm......thenhow about Saegusa2s little sistersL

The last time & saw them was two years ago! &2m sure the two of themhave grown u to be s lendid ladies.G

G......:nli*e the #resident and 6hairman &2m just a sim le high schoolstudent! so all these tal*s of engagement and marriage are a bit much.G

G&s that soLG

Katsuto lightly turned his head.

G......9owever! you should not have too much of a rela(ed attitude toall this. Winning against one of the ne(t heads of the Ten 5amilies in ahead on confrontation is not something as sim le as you2d thin*.G

& don2t want to be told that by youH Tatsuya almost retorted.

Tatsuya2s confrontation with Masa*i had been reci itated by Katsuto

in the end after all.G......& su ose &2ll be heading bac*. Shiba! don2t ta*e too long.G

3ather than not believing! it was more that he didn2t want to believeJ

"That guy......don2t tell me! that was all Gs ur of the momentG......L$

Watching his bac* as he om ously returned to the hall! what aterrifying erson Tatsuya thought.

GOnii-samaLG





final iece however.

GOnii-sama! won2t you join me for the last danceLG

:nder a dome of moonlight and starlight! wearing a clear smile even

Tatsuya rarely saw! Miyu*i bowed gracefully.That beautiful smile broo*ed no resistance.

G......Then! shall we head bac* before the song finishesLG

G'o! that would be a waste of time.G

Miyu*i too* Tatsuya2s hand.

GWe can hear the erformance from here just fine.G

Ta*ing a dee breath! she huddled closer to him.GThese shoes should be alright even on grass.G

Wordlessly! Tatsuya laced a hand around Miyu*i2s bac*.

As if entrusting herself to his care! Miyu*i laced her hand onTatsuya2s shoulder.

Their bodies touched.

;ently wra ing his hand around her bac* and dee ly embracing her!Tatsuya too* a ste .

The two figures s un under an endless starlit s*y.

As they s un! Tatsuya2s face was all Miyu*i could see.

Miyu*i2s face was all Tatsuya could see.

The scenery! the stars! the moon! and the dar*ness!

&n all this wide world which was revolving around them! Tatsuya and

Miyu*i were the only ones in it.







Afterword

This is a story that is urely fictional.

The stage that the story is set in is very similar to the real world.Although real or historical figures! organi)ations! countries! districtsas well as other names which have significance or names that ma*ereference to something are used! even if the names are similar! there isstill no relevance with the real world whatsoever.

Of course! although such a thing is obvious! un*nowingly! & justwanted to ut this out there! and this turned into the Rth volume.

Did you! the readers! enjoy itLWhen & use names that e(ist as ro er names in reality! a small art ofmy consciousness hesitates because & feel uneasy about *illing off allthe enemy characters.

...9owever! & totally understand that saying this feels li*e a com letelie! therefore & thin* & should just sto right here.

S ea*ing of ro er nouns! &2m really ine t at creating names forcharacters from foreign countries.

&t is recisely because the story is set in a stage that is really similar tothe real world that there are even more troublesome matters toconsider.

Western /uro ean names still have lenty of reference materials so it2sstill fine! however what if it2s names from Southeast Asia! &ndia!#ersia! Africa! or even South America.... What am & to do thenL

6urrently! it seems li*e it will not turn into a roblem! however oneday & will definitely hit a bottlenec*.

& wonder if there are any good methods to solve thisL

...Alright & will sto all my nonsensical com laints here! ne(t & wouldli* i h * ll h h i l d i h *i f

Documents

MKnR 04 - Nine School Competition (II)