Chapter 13: [Extras]
The leader of the New Humanity Front, Kurenai Anzu, was captured by Fumiya, and that day was sent to the Yotsuba family's compound in Shimoda on the Izu Peninsula.
This was where the Yotsuba family had set up a backup base when Tatsuya decided to build the Industrial Magic Academy along the southeast coast of the Izu Peninsula. The Yotsuba family had bought the facility before it was set to be sold, and converted it into a fortress that doubled as a prison. The renovation and refitting of the original facilities had been completed last summer, before the completion of the Industrial Magic Academy.
Some might wonder why the Yotsuba family felt the need for a prison or even a fortress.
That was under the expectation that the Industrial Magic Academy would be a treasure trove of magic technology 68 that would be extremely useful and a highly valuable target for military and criminal organizations alike.
Both the military and economic superiority were determined by fundamental technology plus technology commercialization. Neither fundamental technology nor technology commercialization on its own could win the competition. The Industrial Magic Academy's goal of developing human resources who could be economically independent by integrating magic with industrial technology also led to the accumulation of technological commercialization that linked the basic technology of magic with putting them into practical use. This was an important aspect that had been lacking in magic studies up until now.
Unlike Miyakijima, the Industrial Magic Academy was located on a land peninsula. It was accessible to anyone. Moreover, there was a famous tourist spot nearby, so it was hardly remarkable to see outsiders coming and going.
Although the academy was unlikely to become a target for illegal activities soon after it opened, it was certain that it would be targeted as soon as it started gaining momentum. The need that the Yotsuba family had felt to be prepared for an attack by a criminal group in order to protect the intellectual property of the Industrial Magic Academy, as well as the Magian students and the experts who attended and taught there, wasn't wholly unwarranted.
Under this expectation, it was necessary to build a facility in advance to house the combatants and a detention center for the outlaws who came to attack them.
However, undoubtedly it wasn't in their plans to have the facility operational by taking in prisoners this early. But it was just the perfect place to hold the captured members of the New Humanity Front. Given the possibility of an eventual release, it would be inadvisable to take them to a highly secretive location. Prior to Kurenai Anzu's capture, the other members captured at Hida-Takayama were also held in this facility.
Meanwhile, at the Yotsuba's main house that night, a discussion was taking place about the handling of the captured Kurenai Anzu and her subordinates. Joining in the discussion were a total of four people, namely Maya, Hayama, Hanabishi, and Kurebayashi. Hayama and the other two composed the innermost circle of butlers, the ones who were privy to the secrets of the Yotsuba family.
"Was there anyone among the captives who could be of use?"
A preliminary question came from Maya.
"The leader, Kurenai Anzu, has some interesting abilities, but I don't think our family can have someone under control, when this someone is a subordinate of one of the Senate's Four Great Elders, Kashiwa-sama."
Hanabishi, the butler in charge of the combat division, answered the question.
Maya flashed a glance at Hayama.
Hayama gave a silent, reverent nod. At the same time as he was the head butler of the Yotsuba family, he was also an agent sent by the Senate to supervise the movements of the Yotsuba family. Maya alone was the sole person in the Yotsuba family who was aware of this fact.
"Aside from Kurenai Anzu, there are six individuals who seem to be of use. Well, though all of them are of a grade of expendability. I'd still say it was quite a bountiful crop."
"As far as research subjects go."
Following Hanabishi, the head of the research department, butler Kurebayashi, remarked.
"So, Kurenai Anzu is our best pick. She is a rare talent in our eyes. In addition to the unique psychic-like magic of her [Inherent Time Acceleration], she also has the makings of a Medium as well."
"A Medium?"
Maya displayed a piqued interest.
"Yes. And it's not the type that is sensitive to residual thoughts, it's the type that is sensitive to other people's formulas."
"What can it do, exactly?"
"It allows you to stock other people's formula in yourself and release it at a different target. Although, obviously, it requires practice to do so."
"Oh, with this……."
"Yes. It's a great talent to be used as a relay point for magic. She is also highly suited to be a [Hex Reversal] caster. I suspect that this talent was the reason why Kashiwa-sama had chosen to send her to Izayoi Shirabe."
"Indeed……. It would be a shame to let her go, then."
"Certainly. If the circumstances permit it, I would like to study her carefully for about a year before releasing her."
"Unfortunately as it is, I fear that won't be possible."
Maya let out a wry smile at Kurebayashi's honest exposition of his own greed as a researcher.
"We'll leave those six then to Hanabishi-san's care……. That leaves us with the other nineteen, what should we do with them?"
Twenty-four members of the New Humanity Front had been captured four days ago. Six of them were to be kept by the Yotsuba family, but they had to decide what to do with the other nineteen, Kurenai included.
They were the suspects in the theft, but on the occasion of their capture, the Yotsuba family wasn't in compliance with the law. So, they couldn't just hand them over to the authorities.
"The best way would be to have the National Defense Forces take them in."
"And how would we handle that?"
Hanabishi expressed his opinion, and Maya pressed for a specific plan.
"On this occasion, the Ichijou family is cooperating with the National Defense Forces. If we hand over the captives, together with the credit for the capture, to the Ichijou family, they will take care of the rest."
Hanabishi's answer was met with Hayama's nod from beside him.
"Would that be all right with you, Kurebayashi-san?"
"Yes, Oku-sama."
"Then, we'll be leaving it at that. And as for negotiating with the Ichijou family…… Oh well. I guess I'll leave it to Tatsuya-san."
"I guess that would be acceptable."
"Just let's wait until next week to bring the matter to the Ichijou family, Kurebayashi-san."
Then turning her eyes in a meaningful gaze to Kurebayashi.
"Until then, I guess Kurenai Anzu will be left under my care, am I correct?"
Kurebayashi's face was filled with anticipation.
"Yes, though the time may be short and unsatisfactory."
"A welcome good fortune, nevertheless."
Kurebayashi bowed in a grandiose fashion.
"I guess that's about it…….. Oh, that reminds me."
Maya added, with a tone that suggested that it had just occurred to her.
"Did you find anything about the Extras of the [Second] Institute, Fukami, for instance?"
The sub-leader of the New Humanity Front turned out to be of a family of Extras from the Second Institute.
"We are letting them enjoy the swim 69 at Kuroba-sama's own discretion."
The answer came back quickly from Hayama.
"Mitsugu-san is?"
Kuroba Mitsugu, the head of the Kuroba branch of the Yotsuba family, was close in age to Maya — although Maya was five years older than him — so they referred to each other as "Mitsugu-san" and "Maya-san".
"Would he not prefer to capture them?"
"No, it's not that. I'm sure Mitsugu-san has his own ideas for them. Leaving it as it is sounds fine. Just keep an eye on them."
"Yes, I will make sure to pass that on to Kuroba-sama."
"Well, everyone. Thanks for your work."
With a satisfied nod, Maya left the small dining room that the meeting was hosted in.
Hanabishi and Kurebayashi went back to their respective jobs, while Hayama accompanied Maya to her private study.
Almost all the members of the New Humanity Front had participated in the mission to steal a Relic at the foot of Mount Norikura. Currently, only nine of them, including sub-leader Yasuhiro Fukami, were still on the loose.
These nine were all hanging their heads crestfallen in their hideout on the coast of Tokyo Bay on the Bousou Peninsula.
Today was Monday, June 7th. Some of them had hidden the fact that they were magians and got regular jobs. But despite taking time off from work to gather there, they'd been wasting their time since morning doing nothing.
The bad news that struck them was that their leader, Kurenai Anzu, had been captured.
"……Why did that Yotsuba family have to appear?"
One of the remaining members muttered idly.
"We still haven't confirmed that it was the Yotsuba family that took the leader……."
Another man countered with a whimper.
"The monster from the Yotsuba family showed up at the mansion where the leader was hiding, and right after that, she was captured! Are you saying that this is just a coincidence!"
The retorted voice was more of a scream than a rebuttal.
"Will you stop!"
Fukami, the sub-leader, put a stop to the futile argument.
"We'll get the leader back. That is why I asked you all to meet here. We don't have time for squabbling amongst ourselves."
"You say you want to get her back, but we don't have a clue where the leader is being held, or even who's got her. How are we supposed to get her back?
The other man, the one who insisted that she wasn't necessarily being held captive by the Yotsuba family, interrogated Fukami.
"If we keep waiting for reliable information to come, it might be too late. In my opinion, we have no other choice but to aim at a definitive target."
Fukami's wording was arrogant, but here and there, his tone would exude a touch of nervousness.
"Even if you say that we have to aim at a definitive target, we don't have a single clue about her whereabouts……"
The man must have realized that there was no time to spare. There was no power in his voice to refute.
"I'm not looking for her whereabouts. Because we're not going to rescue her, they're going to let the leader go."
"……How the hell would that work?"
This question was asked by the young man who had assumed that the kidnappers were the Yotsuba family.
"First, we will assume that it was someone affiliated with Shiba Tatsuya who took the leader away from the mansion where he was being sheltered. Given the circumstances, that is the most likely possibility."
This time, no one raised an objection.
"The daughter of the Saegusa family works at that man's company."
Mayumi's employment with the Magian Company had been a common rumor among those involved with magic. This knowledge was not limited to only Fukami, there was no one here who was unaware of this fact. In the strictest sense, it wasn't a "company", but there was no one, here or elsewhere, who cared about that.
"……Are we going to take Saegusa Mayumi hostage?"
One of the more discerning members asked Fukami. Granted, it wasn't that hard to deduce Fukami's thoughts given the current context.
"That's right."
"……Even though the person is a direct descendant of the Ten Master Clans?"
"I don't mean to make light of Saegusa Mayumi's abilities. But no matter how skilled a magician she may be, she will not be able to show her potential if she is taken by surprise. Furthermore, she might be able to notice and prevent an attack by magic, but she should not be prepared for a surprise attack by something different from magic."
"You're going to use gas in the city center!?"
A shout of surprise came from his companions.
"That woman is living in the corporate housing of a company affiliated with the Yotsuba family. There's no need to involve unrelated people in this."
What Fukami said was a rather crude reasoning that seemed to suggest that it was okay to involve anyone affiliated with the Magian Company.
But there were no objections. This was a glimpse into the fact that the New Humanity Front was, after all, a criminal organization.
Wednesday, June 9, 2100. The hour was almost 6:30 p.m.
At Industrial Magic Academy, where Mayumi worked, the work schedule was super flexible. She could come to work at any time and even leave work on her own accord. However, Mayumi essentially arrived at work at nine o'clock and left at five in the afternoon. With the company housing located within walking distance, she usually arrived back home before 6pm.
But today she had a meeting with an advertising company that dragged on, and it was past six in the evening by the time she left the office. She usually stopped for tea or shopping on the way home, but today she went straight home without taking any detours.
It was the season with the longest days of the year. And with the sky clear this evening, it was quite bright even at this hour. The streets weren't as crowded as the ones around her parents' house near the center of Tokyo, but it wasn't so much that there were no figures to be seen around town. Even though it was later than usual, there should have been nothing dangerous.
To keep herself fit and healthy, she went to work on foot instead of using a scooter or a bicycle. Today, on her way back from the Industrial Magic Academy, just as she was about to enter the premises of the company housing—
—All of a sudden, she was stricken with dizziness.
(Anemia……? No, this is……)
Mayumi's ace up her sleeve in anti-personnel battles was a magic trick where she shot a mass of dry ice at an opponent's face, vaporizing it just before it hit, sending carbon dioxide into the opponent's respiratory tract, causing oxygen deprivation as well as carbon dioxide poisoning.
For that reason, she worked on what to do in case she was attacked with a similar magic. As well as what subjective symptoms to expect when exposed to toxic gas, and the steps to take if she detected that type of attack.
(With the clean air in the sky, toxic gases, can……)
She surmised that the symptoms she was suffering from were caused by a gas that had an intoxicating effect.
Mayumi attempted to blow away the poisonous gas that must have gathered around her with [Descending Whirlwind], a movement-type magic that created a downward current by drawing in a large amount of air from the upper sky.
But she realized it a little too late.
Her consciousness couldn't concentrate enough to put the magic into operation.
If at this time, the CAD Mayumi was carrying had been of the conventional button-operated type, there would have been a possibility that she could have activated the magic even from that state.
However, while the fully thought-operated CAD system eliminated the need for manual manipulation, in contrast, it required a clear and distinct awareness of the contents to be put into operation. In that state, with a foggy consciousness, the necessary operations for the output of an activation sequence didn't proceed smoothly. That was one of the "unexpected pitfalls" that often occurs with technological advancements.
Mayumi slumped down on the street. She was half unconscious. She could discern a figure of a person rushing towards her from the shadows, but she was unable to make out the face, and it seemed unlikely that she would be able to resist or escape.
(Pl…ease…… Some….one……?
Mayumi was also a young woman. Even with her consciousness in a daze, she still felt the fear rising within her.
No, it was because she was in a state where she couldn't resist that her fear was even more overwhelming.
(Some, one…….! Tatsuya-kun…… Juumonji-kun…… Mari……. Anyone would be good…… Please……!)
A kouhai to rely on. A friend to rely on. And yet, neither of those people should have been around to help her today.
With her thoughts constantly wandering, Mayumi sought out someone nearby who could help her.
(Hel…p…… Tookami-san ……!)
"What are you doing there! Stay away from Saegusa-san!"
Mayumi couldn't help but wonder if she was hearing things. She feared that it was nothing but a convenient auditory hallucination.
With her vision blurred, she saw what seemed to be Ryousuke running towards her, and as if the last string had snapped, she lost consciousness and collapsed on the street. 70
Ever since Tatsuya had asked him to travel back to Vancouver as an emissary to Rena Fehr, Ryousuke had been unable to concentrate on his work.
The time for it had yet to be specified. But he was sure that it wouldn't be much longer. Ryousuke really wanted it to be as soon as possible. To put it more simply, he was caught up in the desire to see Rena again as soon as possible.
Ryousuke had just talked with Rena, the astral body, the other day, but he still felt like he missed the real thing. No, it was probably because he had just met the astral body, that was so close to the real thing, that made him yearn to meet her even more.
That must have been reflected in his attitude. Because, this afternoon, he was kicked out of the office by the new director of the school at last. Not really dismissed, but instead ordered to deliver some important documents to a lecturer at a certain technical college who was going to cooperate with the Industrial Magic Academy, taking the opportunity to also renew his passport.
Originally, he had planned to return sooner, but he unexpectedly lost time at the university where he went to deliver the documents. It just so happened that it was the same university Ryousuke had attended for only one year.
On his way home from the university, he got caught up with a former instructor of his — a different teacher from the one he had delivered the documents — who asked him all sorts of probing questions. As they talked, that instructor apparently became very interested in the Industrial Magic Academy. Securing educators was one of the top priorities of the Industrial Magic Academy. So, he couldn't just disregard it and ended up talking with them until this time.
With "Since it's already this late," he was told to go home directly, but even so, he arrived back at the company house later than usual. But, as it turned out, that, coincidentally, turned out to be a good thing; a stroke of luck — if you will.
In front of the company housing premises, Mayumi was slumped down and suspicious figures were closing in on her. It was no surprise that Mayumi couldn't discern the appearance of the assailants. They were all wearing gas masks.
By the time he noticed it, Ryousuke had also inhaled a small amount of gas. But fortunately, he noticed it quickly. It was probably because the concentration of the gas was still low at the place where he noticed it. Before his body could suffer the effects, Ryousuke wrapped himself in a magic shield.
The Tookami family was an Extra of the "Ten". The original name of the family was [Toogami].
And the very reason why [Toogami] was stripped of its number was the magic that was now protecting his body.
Individual Armor Magic [Reactive Armor].
Magicians to protect key locations and key individuals, that was the aim of the Tenth Research Institute. But the [Toogami]'s [Reactive Armor] was only capable of protecting the caster themselves.
Hence the stripped number. Hence an Extra.
But, from another point of view, even if it was only to protect oneself, the [Reactive Armor] still had a strength befitting a magician of the "Ten".
As a matter of fact, the [Tookami] were somewhat different in nature from the other Extras that were discarded as defective goods. Having failed to fulfill their role as the "strongest shield" guarding the axis of the nation, the [Toogami] were instead repurposed to operate as suicide attackers that could single-handedly charge into enemy territory unaided.
In the end, the [Toogami] were eventually discarded as [Tookami] because they had showed no promise of having enough decisive power to affect the course of a war, but their magic had undergone improvements, or rather modifications, to a level that wasn't inferior to that of either the [Juumonji] or [Tooyama].
The fact that it could be activated instantly without having to rely on CADs was one of those. The system differed slightly from psychic abilities. It was possible to first form a psionic membrane — a non-systematic magic shield that only covered one hand — and then use it as a stepping stone to deploy a full-fledged magic shield that enveloped the entire body.
Another one of its unique properties was the selective permeability. The Individual Armor Magic was formed along the body, wrapping the caster in a magic shield with no gaps. The shield, designed for the battlefield, was also effective against toxic gases.
However, if gases were completely blocked out, the narrow interior of the shield would quickly run out of oxygen. The selective permeability was designed to prevent that and allowed the caster to maintain the shield while fighting. The Reactive Armor's shield allowed for the optimal ratio of oxygen/nitrogen mixture for respiration to pass through while allowing carbon dioxide to escape. While oxygen and nitrogen mixtures were allowed to pass in both directions, carbon dioxide could only be expelled.
The only irony was that because it was made to be so versatile, it was unable to be redeployed as often as it was originally envisioned, and thus was unable to achieve its potential to be used for suicide soldiers. As far as Ryousuke and his father were concerned, it could be said to be a blessing.
Covered in that Individual Magic Armor, Ryousuke rushed to Mayumi's side.
Those suspicious people in gas masks, members of the New Humanity Front, were ahead of him, but Ryousuke was able to kick away their attempts to reach Mayumi and stood with her at his back.
He wouldn't pick her up.
He couldn't.
The Reactive Armor was an individual armor magic. It protected only the caster, and repealed all others. And, by repel, it didn't mean that it was like a porcupine that hurt everyone who touched it. It was just that it didn't let anything inside.
It was possible to hold things, or even people, through the shield. But since he didn't have a sense of touch when holding through the shield, he didn't know how much force to apply.
Also, the shield was impervious to solids. It didn't nullify momentum, it controlled matter exclusively. From the outside, the person wearing the shield was wearing transparent metal armor that didn't deform in any way.
As long as he didn't have to worry about the other person, he could carry someone. But he couldn't do anything when the person was a woman who couldn't be handled roughly. Even if it was to keep her away from danger, he couldn't do anything that might hurt her.
"?!"
A member of the New Humanity Front yelled, "Get out of my way!" as he attacked with a weapon that looked like an extendable baton.
Given that they were speaking through gas masks, their voices were muffled and Ryousuke couldn't understand the words.
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
As he said so in return, Ryousuke caught the downward swinging baton with his left forearm raised in front of him.
The blow delivered in combination with weight-type magic was much heavier than it looked. If he had caught it in a normal condition, he would, at the very least, have escaped with a broken bone. If it was poorly executed, it would have crushed his arm and shattered the bone into a thousand pieces.
Yet Ryousuke suffered no damage at all. His left arm, which had been struck with a blow with crippling pressure, was only slightly lowered.
The magic of individual armor, Reactive Armor, was a magic that strengthened in response to attacks received. Actually, Ryousuke's shield was broken at one point by the blow of the baton with amplified inertial mass. In the next moment, however, the shield was redeployed with high defensive strength against "attacks with magic that amplified momentum".
Although hidden behind a gas mask, the man who had driven the baton into him still had an agitation etched on his young face. But each member of the New Humanity Front must surely have been undergoing rigorous discipline in order to attain their goals. Regardless of the validity and productiveness of their goals.
The young man of the New Humanity Front immediately proceeded to make his next move. He took a small backward step, and this time, he stepped forward, using all the weight of his body, and swung the baton down on Ryousuke once again.
However.
This time, he couldn't even make the arm that caught the blow move slightly.
Ryousuke swept the legs of the young man, who was frozen in the stance he struck the baton into — a side-effect of the self-weighing magic.
It was more of a low kick than a judo foot sweep 71 .
The young man's body spun a quarter of a turn around his waist, suspended in midair, and then fell onto the paved road in an upward position.
Without a moment's delay, Ryousuke launched a follow-up attack.
He linked the low kick directly into a stomp, and drove it into the solar plexus of the man he knocked down.
The young man let out a "guh" in a cry of agony from behind his gas mask, his limbs twitched seemingly once in a spasm, and then stopped moving altogether. The loose limbs indicated that, if he wasn't out cold, he was surely close to it. All of them wore gas masks, though one of them was possibly a woman, judging from their body shape.
"This isn't good……." Rousuke thought when he looked at them.
It wasn't about the fact that he was being surrounded.
It was the fact that the assailants — the New Humanity Front were still wearing gas masks.
(That alone means that the gas they used doesn't diffuse easily…….)
(If that happens to be the case, that means that Saegusa-san is still breathing the toxic gas.)
Ryousuke had zero knowledge or skills to determine the composition of the gas.
(How bad is the risk of aftereffects?!)
Furthermore, Ryousuke didn't know the identity of the other party. Naturally, he didn't know their purpose.
They somehow didn't seem to intend on killing her right away, but whether or not they even cared about Mayumi's health once they had achieved their goal was unclear.
(If I leave it in this state, wouldn't it increase the risk of aftereffects?)
He couldn't leave things as they were now, Ryousuke decided.
It wasn't that he was just not very good at it.
To put it bluntly, he wasn't good at it — he was terrible at it.
Maybe that was just the way it was. He had never studied systematic magic in depth in his life.
He was never trained in the use of magic — not at home with his parents, nor at Magic High School, let alone Magic University.
The Extras were something of a taboo in the Japanese magic community. And while there were other cases like the Yotsubas, who had earned the nickname "The Untouchables" for their power and capacity to "do anything", the Extras were a reminder of the inhumanity of the past half-century. By extension, they were a topic that had become forbidden to be mentioned. In layman's terms, they were regarded as "a dark history that we didn't want to remember".
In the minds of those involved in magic, discrimination against Extras was seen as something to be frowned upon. On the other hand, anything reminiscent of Extras was of a tacit consensus to be avoided. Their names, identities, and even the particular magic that led to them being stripped of their numbers.
Because of that, Ryousuke was taught by his father only how to consciously control Reactive Armor so that it wouldn't be invoked. As Reactive Armor was a special magic that could be invoked without the use of a CAD, unlike other magic, his father was especially strict and nervous about it.
Still, given that the individuals from the younger generation such as Ryousuke had little or no awareness of the taboo against Extras, he would say that perhaps his father's education was wrong. If the person himself thought so and regretted it, then it was something that Ryousuke didn't know, but when it came to his younger sister who was seven years younger than him, his father had made a big change in his education policy.
However, the fact was that, as a teenager, he didn't aspire to be a magician and didn't pursue any kind of formal education in magic. He immersed himself in learning martial arts rather than magic.
So, with the exception of Reactive Armor, for which he was forced to thoroughly practice the control of, he was incapable of using any magic at a satisfactory level. And, even though he tried to learn magic on his own after meeting Rena (and even learnt magic from his FEHR friends in order to help her) he was still terrible at magic.
(Even so, with a magic of this degree!)
Ryousuke activated [Descending Whirlwind] while maintaining his Reactive Armor.
A mass of fresh air was pulled down from the sky and directed at the ground, becoming an outward swirling wind that blew away the gas that had stagnated — which was the idea.
Ryousuke gave a fleeting glance behind him. Mayumi, with disheveled hair, showed no signs of getting up. Perhaps the effects of the poisonous gas wouldn't wear off as soon as the gas was removed from the area. He had no other choice but to believe that the situation had been improved.
The New Humanity Front didn't miss the small gap that was presented when Ryousuke averted his eyes. Two ropes were thrown at Ryousuke from both sides. No, those were not ropes, but thin chains. There were also small weights attached at regular intervals along it.
In particular, it was a portable weapon made for magician use called [Flexible Chain]. By finely applying acceleration magic to each of the weights, the chain could be manipulated to move as if it were a living thing. It didn't require much magical power, but it was a weapon that called for a good level of technique in its use.
And it seemed that the two members of New Humanity Front had that technique down pat. The undulating chains coiled around Ryousuke's arms, sealing off his movements — or so it seemed.
(This much is a piece of cake!)
He had experienced situations like this many times before in his training with weapons. In his high school days, one of the many martial artists of several schools he had learned under had been an old man who had inherited the technique of "catching rope 72 ". The manipulations of the rope used by this master were much more complex and refined.
(At least when it came to bindings, there were no gaps like this!)
Ryousuke waved his right arm several times in an elaborately intricate manner. At first glance, it looked like an act of desperation, swinging his arm recklessly without thought, but in fact, it was in accordance with the principles of his martial arts.
Of course, the New Humanity Front casters didn't just sit back and watch. He tried to stop Ryousuke's movement by applying magic to the weights on the chains.
But the chain was wrapped around the surface of the individual magic shield armor. That was the space where Ryousuke's magic was acting on. With having the Reactive Armor in operation, Ryousuke's Event Interference Force prevented the New Humanity Front's magic from reaching the weight of the chain.
The chain that was wrapped around Ryousuke's right arm loosened and came off.
Ryousuke made a mighty lunge towards the man with the chain wrapped around his left arm.
He covered the distance of three meters at once and drove his right fist into their solar plexus!
Ryousuke's fist, having acquired the intensity of an iron fist with no exaggeration thanks to his Reactive Armor, knocked the man unconscious with a single blow.
At that moment, hints of powerful magic emanated from one of the three still standing.
A magic power that rivaled Ryousuke's Reactive Armor was released.
Instead of aggregating the magic power in a narrow space like Ryousuke's magic, it filled a wide space with a radius of at least ten meters.
Mayumi was at the center of the area where the magic was about to take effect, with Ryousuke included in this area as well. It didn't have enough interference power to breach his magic armor. It instead engulfed him with the entire shield of Reactive Armor.
A cloud of black smoke was formed.
His field of vision was immediately covered in smoke.
Ryousuke intuitively figured out that the smoke was the product of the enemy's magic.
Another thing he intuitively figured out was that this black smoke wasn't just blocking his view.
The black smoke hadn't managed to penetrate into the Reactive Armor.
Mayumi, however, was being directly exposed to this black smoke.
(ngh. Again!?
Ryousuke activated Descending Whirlwind.
He aimed the wind down at Mayumi's position, blowing away the black smoke — for a moment.
The smoke quickly returned and covered Mayumi's body and Ryousuke's vision.
(Damn it…… Again!)
The shield covering Ryousuke's body bounces back incoming bullets. The enemy seemed to have a caster who could accurately pinpoint who and where they were even in this smoke screen.
Ryousuke ignored the gunfire and cast the descending whirlwind magic a third time.
However, it only ended in a repetition. Amidst the thickening black smoke, Ryousuke rushed to Mayumi's side.
Then, once again, he used magic to blow away the black gas.
Right after his vision had been cleared, Ryousuke deactivated his Reactive Armor.
On Mayumi's side, the first man he had taken out was still lying on his back.
Ryousuke ripped the gas mask off from that person, and instead of putting it on himself, he put it on Mayumi's face.
With this, he breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he wouldn't have to worry about Mayumi being exposed to any more of the toxic gas.
And that was a major oversight.
Before he could deploy his Reactive Armor again, one Flexible Chain wrapped around Ryousuke's neck.
He couldn't form a shield that closely aligned with his body. In order for Ryousuke to activate his individual armor magic, he needed a gap of at least three centimeters around his body, with the exception of the soles of his feet on the ground.
If the body was in contact with a liquid, or even a solid, Reactive Armor could only have been deployed in a way that completely incorporated it. However, the maximum distance that an individual armor shield could be built was 30 centimeters away from the body. Given that the chain was more than three meters long, it was impossible for the magic to cover it. Reactive Armor was a magic that required the shield to be deployed before entering into combat.
Ryousuke thought that he could overcome the situation by defeating the caster who was controlling the chain.
However, the chains were fixed on him in a stretched form, meaning that he was unable to get close to the caster.
The black smoke grew in concentration and engulfed Ryousuke.
He closed his eyes and held his breath, though there was nothing more he could do.
It was all over.
At that moment he was about to give up.
A gust of wind came down, blowing away all the black smoke!
A [Descending Whirlwind] far more powerful than Ryousuke's magic.
Whether or not the caster was caught by surprise from the unexpected turn of events, the flexible chain that was wrapped around Ryousuke's neck undeniably had loosened.
He unfastened the chain with his hand and reactivated Reactive Armor now with a clear field of vision.
The enemy gave off signs of severe aggravation and tried to produce a black smoke with magic that covered the entire area.
However,
Not only this man, but all the enemies, including the man with the flexible chain and the woman with the gun, were bombarded with a barrage of dry ice.
The barrage that seemed indiscriminate only targeted the limbs with great accuracy.
The man with the flexible chain and the woman with the pistol fell down, blood pouring from their limbs.
The blood wasn't so much as gushing. It was just enough to stain their long-sleeved, ankle-length clothes. Their clothes probably had a simple bulletproof function. Their bones didn't appear to be broken either. But the shock of the impact had caused serious damage to both of them. Neither of them got up, let alone tried to crawl away.
Only the caster of the black smoke was able to withstand the barrage of dry ice. Still, there were several spots of blood on his left and right arms. It didn't look like he used a magic barrier to protect himself. His clothes probably had a higher bulletproof capability than the other two. Also, seemed to be simply more persevering.
For a moment, Ryousuke was overcome with an impetus to look back. The current barrage was probably, no, definitely Mayumi's doing.
Saegusa Mayumi's alias was [Elfin Sniper]. Her use of dry ice shooting was well known, reaching even the ears of Ryousuke, who didn't have much contact with the Japanese magic community.
The technique he saw was far more impressive than what was in the rumors. The fact that it could produce such a large amount of dry ice from carbon dioxide, which accounts for less than half of the 0.1% present in the air, suggested a capacity and Event Interference Force well beyond Ryosuke's wildest expectations.
(So, this is the Ten Master Clans…….)
But Ryousuke fought back both the urge to look back as well as the jealousy and other emotions, and charged at the caster of the black smoke.
Ryousuke felt that a magical attack was about to be unleashed against him.
But he didn't stop. He didn't even adopt a defensive posture.
The magic of Extras, that, more often than not, posed a heavy burden in life.
But now, he put his faith in it.
Ryousuke thrust out his fist in a straight line!
Sheathed in the individual armor, Ryousuke's fist broke through the magic shield of the opponent and drove into the solar plexus of the magician that was creating the black smoke.
The man collapsed without as much as letting out a cry.
When the man fell on his face and hit the road, the impact knocked the gas mask off his face.
"This guy…..?"
Ryousuke recognized the face of that man.
Fukami Yasuhiro, the man who had barged into his apartment the other day, claiming to be an Extra of the "Two".
"……Tookami-san."
Ryousuke was addressed from behind by a strangely muffled, reticent voice.
The voice was a little different from the one he usually heard, but he could still tell it was Mayumi's.
Ryousuke turned around— and almost burst into laughter.
Mayumi was wearing the gas mask. The combination of the smartly styled lady's suit and the tacky gas mask was quite unbalanced, no, surreal.
Seeing Ryousuke's twitching face, she must have realized her condition, because Mayumi hurriedly removed the gas mask.
"Oh, um."
With the gas mask in one hand and an embarrassed red face, Mayumi didn't bother to wait for Ryousuke's reply before she continued speaking.
"Thank you very much for saving me."
Saying that, Mayumi bowed her head politely.
Ryousuke was a little embarrassed to be thanked once again.
Nevertheless, he couldn't just remain silent.
"Errm… are you hurt? Are you feeling okay?"
Somehow Ryousuke managed to come up with a safe line.
"I'm not injured. I feel fine too……."
At this point, Mayumi tilted her head slightly. Her flushed face had its usual complexion back.
"It sort of feels like nothing happened, I feel…… I don't feel much different than usual."
The word that Mayumi stopped herself from saying was "refreshed". She rephrased it to imply that she was still feeling her usual self even though she was tired after work.
"I see. I guess the effects of the chemicals of the gas wear off quickly. But still, what kind of gas has effects that wear off in such a short time…..?"
Ryousuke racked his brains in bewilderment.
The second half of his line was delivered more as a soliloquy.
"Well……."
That was why Mayumi didn't respond to Ryousuke's question directly and clearly. But she did have a different answer in mind. It was evident in her expression, but Ryousuke, engrossed in his own doubts, failed to notice.
Mayumi was attacked by the New Humanity Front right in front of the Industrial Magic Academy's company housing.
Actually, the full story was caught on the surveillance camera of the company housing, and the footage was being watched in real time at the Tokyo headquarters of the Yotsuba family.
"Well, it looks like it's settled, then."
"The members of the New Humanity Front should be picked up by the police soon."
Ayako reacted to Lina's muttering with a keen insight.
"The police are already on the move?"
Hearing this, Miyuki queried Ayako.
"We reported it a little while ago. Our side is all ready to go."
"Preparations were made by Fumiya-kun?"
"Yes, as planned."
Ayako flashed a wicked smile.
"Mayumi would be furious if she knew that we knew about the planned attack, right?"
Lina had a similar expression on her face as she laughed.
"We were well prepared for any emergency, and as it turns out, no real harm was done. I don't see a problem with that."
Ayako boasted in a clear tone in response to Lina's tongue-in-cheek criticism.
"You say there was no harm done, but wasn't that gas actually something pretty nasty?"
"It will be fine. You know, even with normal treatment, the aftereffects should be gone in a month."
Ayako's line was quite unsympathetic.
Only that she wasn't an acquaintance of Mayumi. And considering the nature of the Kuroba family, it was probably unavoidable that she would be unsympathetic to others if it was necessary to achieve her goals.
According to the plan Ayako had mentioned, the five people Ryousuke had defeated, as well as eighteen members of the New Humanity Front, excluding their leader, Kurenai Anzu, would be found in a small bus parked near the Industrial Magic Academy's company housing.
"Well, in the end, nothing really happened anyway……. It was Tatsuya who healed Mayumi, wasn't it? It's hard to imagine how she could suddenly join the battle like that after passing out unless it was Tatsuya's magic."
"Tatsuya-sama must have been watching the same images on Miyakijima."
Miyuki simply answered Lina's question.
"Let's get out of here. Hurry up!
On a street not far from the company housing of the Industrial Magic Academy, Fumiya gave his command to withdraw.
All of his men were draped in black suits and sunglasses, while Fumiya wore a brightly colored, luxury suit, high-soled leather shoes, and luxury brand sunglasses. At first glance, their style was reminiscent of the members of a classic crime syndicate 73 .
Even at the best of times, this sort of outfit would keep the average citizen at bay, but right now, that wasn't the reason why there were no people around.
Fumiya got into a luxury Japanese self-driving car. It was a luxury sedan, but it was also commonly used as taxis, making their presence a relatively common sight. With this, there was little risk of being singled out by the type of car alone.
A small chartered bus was parked nearby. Inside were eighteen unconscious members of the New Humanity Front. These were the ones captured by Fumiya and his team in Takayama, Hokkaido, that had been held in the private prison built inland on the Izu Peninsula. They were staged to look like they all fainted after accidentally inhaling the toxic gas that they themselves had prepared.
"Waka-sama 74 , we're done with the cleanup."
Instead of taking for granted the report of the black suit sitting in the passenger seat, Fumiya confirmed for himself that the wards, which had been keeping passersby away, had been lifted.
"Alright, we're off."
The three sedans carrying the Kuroba family's task force pulled away.
By the time that the police arrived, five minutes had passed.
The police arrived at the front of the Industrial Magic Academy, on the spot where Mayumi had been attacked and Ryousuke had fought, less than ten minutes after the incident occurred. To be more precise, the police arrived eight minutes after Ryousuke defeated Fukami Yasuhiro. Both of them waited there, personally reporting to the police in order to show their innocence.
And it was now just past 9 p.m.
"Hmm……. They finally let us go."
Leaving the police station, Mayumi spoke to Ryousuke with a tired smile as she gave a big stretch.
It was around 6:30 p.m when they were taken to the station. The questioning lasted for more than two hours. Whether this was long or short, neither Mayumi nor Ryousuke were able to judge. This was the first time for both of them to be questioned as suspects.
The surveillance data provided by the management of the company housing proved almost immediately that Mayumi had been attacked and that Ryousuke had come to her aid. However, they were still under suspicion of excessive self-defense.
The men Ryousuke had struck had not only broken bones but also internal trauma. The men and women who had been hit by Mayumi's barrage had severe frostbite on their wounds. Certainly, enough for the suspicions of excessive self-defence to be warranted.
In addition to that, the fact that Mayumi had no after-effects from the gas also made the whole matter trickier. The camera showed black smoke, but the police weren't convinced that the gas had been dangerous enough to cause serious harm.
Thanks to residue collected from the road surface, which indicated that the gas had been used in a manner likely to cause severe aftereffects, and to the efforts of the Saegusa family's and Magian Company's attorneys pressuring the police, they were finally released at that time.
Meanwhile, the eighteen people who were found unconscious in a small bus nearby were initially thought to be victims of some crime. But since a canister of the toxic gas that caused memory loss was found inside the bus, they would be interrogated as soon as they regained consciousness, under the consideration that they may be criminals.
"Yeah……. I didn't think it would take this long."
Ryousuke looked at his wristwatch and voiced his dismay. He left most of the housework to the home automaton, so it wasn't like he had to bother with cooking for himself, but tonight he was in the mood to just take a shower and go directly to bed.
"Tookami-san, would you like to go and eat out?"
It was Mayumi who suddenly brought up the idea.
"Eating out, you mean? With me?"
As Ryousuke asked incredulously, Mayumi just nodded with a smile.
"Yes. I'd like to treat you to something to thank you for helping me today."
"Eh, well, It's fine, there's no need. You also saved me back there when I was in danger, so……."
Ryousuke hurriedly declined Mayumi's offer to let her buy him dinner.
"……Being with me is the part you don't like?"
But when she said that with a lonely look on her face.
"No, no! It's not that! Not at all, really."
Ryousuke became nervous and even more panicked.
"So, I guess you'll be fine with going with me, then?"
"Ye-, yes! I'd be happy to."
Thus Ryousuke ended up having dinner with Mayumi at a restaurant near the company housing.
…….Perhaps this could be deemed to be an instance of a seductress' living up to her name.
Ultimately, Ryousuke went to the same restaurant as Mayumi, and she ended up covering the bill of the meal.
Furthermore, both of them maturely enjoyed the aperitifs and digestifs 75 as adults, and while they got drunk to a reasonable degree, it didn't develop into a case where they ended up in the same bed.
It was 8:30 p.m., and Mayumi and Ryousuke were still busy trying to prove their innocence to the police.
Tatsuya was at the table of the VIP restaurant in the Yotsuba family's Tokyo headquarters building, having a late dinner, well ahead of Mayumi and Ryousuke. As the name implied, this restaurant was reserved for only the Yotsuba family's VIPs and their guests.
Sitting around the same table were Tatsuya, Miyuki, Lina, Fumiya, and Ayako.
The attendees had planned to have this dinner together two days before, and since Miyuki and Ayako had insisted on "I want to treat you to my home-made cooking", so they all agreed to use this restaurant this time.
After everyone had finished their aperitifs — Fumiya and Ayako were technically underage, as tomorrow marked their twentieth birthday, but neither of them were new to drinking due to their work — Tatsuya asked the other four, "Have you seen the footage from two hours ago?"
"Yes, we did. Lina and Ayako-san were watching it with me."
"I haven't seen it, but I know what happened."
Miyuki, and then Fumiya, answered Tatsuya's question.
The "footage of two hours ago" referred to the footage of Mayumi and Ryousuke defeating the remaining members of the New Humanity Front that attacked them.
"Right."
Tatsuya nodded and shortly after, the hors d'oeuvres 76 were served.
Once everyone had a plate of hors d'oeuvres in front of them, Tatsuya resumed the conversation.
"Regarding the matter of having Tookami deliver Dr. Chandrasekhar's letter of intent to Rena Fehr, instead of having Lina accompany him, I'd like to ask Saegusa-san to do it. I want to hear your opinions on this."
"You don't think I should go?"
Lina questioned Tatsuya's words outright.
"I thought of having you, Lina, keeping an eye on things from the shadows so that Tookami doesn't find out."
Lina nodded at Tatsuya's answer sounding somewhat disappointed, "Oh I see…… Alright".
"Huh, So Tatsuya-san also thinks that Tookami Ryousuke is untrustworthy, too, I see."
Ayako followed Lina's lead.
This time, Lina shook her head in agreement with Ayako's line, "Yeah, that's right".
Their assessment of Ryousuke seemed to be unanimous: "I don't trust him".
"I thought he put up a pretty good fight today, though, didn't he?"
Fumiya disagreed with the two.
"He risked getting himself injured to put a gas mask on Saegusa-san, didn't he? Couldn't you at the very least give him some credit for his spirit of camaraderie with his colleague?"
"That wasn't a spirit of camaraderie, that was just being reckless and naive."
Ayako retorted to Fumiya.
"Even so, he certainly acted to save his colleague despite the risk to himself."
"Fumiya-kun, do you think that Tookami-san could be trustworthy?"
Miyuki asked Fumiya after he seconded Ayako's rebuttal.
"I think I can trust him enough to do it."
"He's a spy from FEHR, remember?"
Lina pointed this out.
"As long as we don't forget that's what he is, we'll be fine. I'm not implying that we should trust him fully in any way."
"Yeah, you're right."
Tatsuya cut in at that point.
"The thing is, this conversation isn't about whether he is trustworthy or not in the first place. The only reason Tookami is set up as an emissary is because we can use that guy for this."
"……So you're saying that his possible betrayal is accounted for in the estimations?"
Ayako asked Tatsuya, without failing to conceal her wonderment.
"There’s no betrayal, since we considered Tookami as a FEHR member from the very beginning."
"……If that's so, then why are you using Tookami-san?"
Miyuki took the place of the inquirer.
"Because it's in FEHR's best interest to cooperate with Society."
Tatsuya's answer was clear-cut: since it would be in the interests of FEHR, Ryousuke would faithfully execute his role. He was chosen under that pretext.
"Then why are you asking me to keep an eye on him?"
This wasn't fault finding on the part of Lina, it was a genuine question.
"It's not to keep an eye on him. I want you on the lookout."
"……What's the difference?"
"Don't you think that there's a risk that the partnership between Society and FEHR could be interfered with?"
Miyuki's line was both a question aimed at Tatsuya and an answer to Lina's question.
"I'm considering having Saegusa-san accompany him in order to prevent the Japanese authorities — the government, military, and Magic Association from interfering. And Lina would have to be on watch in order to deal with any interference that may occur inside the USNA."
Lina appeared to be satisfied with Tatsuya's answer.
"I understand……. Okay, Tatsuya. But who will take care of escorting Miyuki in the meantime?"
"It's just a letter of intent, for now. I don't think it'll take much time. Meanwhile, I'll stay by Miyuki's side."
Miyuki's eyes lit up when she heard that line.
"Lina, you will be returning to America after a long time, right? You can take your time there."
Miyuki's words came across as a seemingly superficial consideration for Lina, but her true intentions were clear to all who were present, including Tatsuya.
While the table was filled with laughter, the waiter brought the next dish.
The pleasant atmosphere created by the warm laughter lit up the table until the end of the dinner.
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