Tatsuya's group steadily made their way to the entrance of the wind hole that leads to the ruins.
"There seems to be fewer people around here," whispered Fumiya to Ayako. He has improved his sign detection ability over the past couple of years."
"The military at least is very active," Tatsuya picked up on the whisper and responded.
"Yoshida-kun seems to be working hard as well."
"It appears so. I'm not sure why, but he's putting up a good effort."
Miyuki commented and Tatsuya responded.
"And that figure that is running around so energetically but with a very weak presence, is that Erika-san?" Ayako asked him.
"Yes. Though it seems like is sticking to support this time instead of using her sword."
"Ugh, that's scary… I think even us ─ well, except Tatsuya, of course ─ could deal with an attack like that in the middle of a forest."
Lina couldn't help herself but to express her thoughts on Erika's performance
There was no argument about it.
◇ ◇ ◇
The Mt.Fuji Keepers of the Shambhala ruins were thrown into a state of panic.
One by one, their comrades were being incapacitated by a squad of sword-wielding fighters.
Whenever they attempted to shift the tide with magic, their efforts were negated by the other side's better skilled magicians.
So it happened when they used this country's conventional magic as well as the remnants of Shambhala's techniques at their disposal, it was neutralized by the proficient utilization of the more sophisticated modern ancient-style magics.
Most threatening of all was the presence of a scout of small build, they located their positions without needing to disable their concealment magics. Leaving them with nowhere to run.
"…Why did the National Defense Forces turn against us?" One of the Keepers expressed their frustration at this unthinkable situation. They would never have expected to be targeted by the military or the police.
They are under the auspices of Hazumi Asuha, one of the hands at the reins of the country's politics; One of the Four Great Elders, whose wills are those of the country. The Hazumi family name's influence is permeated in this country's history far back as the Heian period (794-1185), long before the recent emergence of the Senate and the Four Grand Elders.
The Keepers were so used to the shade of the Hazumi's umbrella that they couldn't imagine a world outside.
Be it the imperial court or the shogunate in the old days, or the military or the police in the modern age, they were immune from external threats. The idea of being policed and detained had never crossed their minds.
"Why!?" That cry was not uncommon among them.
◇ ◇ ◇
Upon arriving at the wind hole, Tatsuya led his group into the entrance until the end, where he said, "Fumiya and Ayako, please stay here and keep an eye out for us."
Fumiya looked disappointed with those words, but his sister spoke up before he could say anything, "Of course, with pleasure."
Tatsuya knew Fumiya would be disheartened. It wasn't his intention to withhold the legacy or the location of the ruins from them. It was simply too early to expose them to the legacy of Shambhala.
In Tatsuya's view, it wasn't something that people of the modern world, including himself, could handle.
He won't risk dooming the entire army marching into the ruins. Not having anyone left to guard their exit wasn't an issue, but since he has two dependable mageists offering their help, it wouldn't hurt to ask them to stay behind as a lookout and a backup in case of any unforeseen problems.
Tatsuya dug a way to the ruins just as he had done yesterday. If they came earlier, within the Eidos 24h period, he would've been able to reform the tunnel in an instant with [Regrowth], but alas, he proceeded to create a new one. Equipped with the knowledge of yesterday's venture, Tatsuya ably dug a second tunnel without any hesitation slowing him down.
Breaking into the ruins, or rather, using the key to open the door, went without a hitch, just like yesterday.
Now comes the problem. To confirm their situation, he pointed the Cintamani stone at the tip of the wand towards the stone tablet on the wall.
"As I thought," Tatsuya grumbled in his mind.
Whoever tries to access the tablet will be attacked by residual thoughts. Same even if without the intent of acquiring the magic, just opening a channel is sufficient for the attack.
Tatsuya's goal was not to acquire the Shambhala magic right here and now, as it would put too much pressure on his magical calculation area, he wanted to open a channel so that he could access it whenever and wherever he wanted to. He found a clue for a way for doing so without risking overloading his magic calculation area in the bloodstone he found lodged in Laura Simons' ear.
Said stone was processed in a way to form an external terminal for a so-called module that operates magic sequences. ALthough the processing of the stone is rooted in ancient-style magic, it was possible to replicate the same function with a Magistore, an Artificial Relic. Tatsuya was checking to see if he could get a response to it.
"…These residual thoughts feel like something fabricated," Miyuki mumbled in a whispering tone.
"Fabricated?"
"Inorganic, I mean; without personality or character… It doesn't feel like it was anything natural or living."
Miyuki's perception ability is not the same as those one would characterize as psychic. She cannot communicate with the residual thoughts known as "ghosts" or " apparitions," but she can tell by some details, such as what kind of thoughtform (Pushion Information Body) it may be.
In which case, taking her previous words into consideration, that those residual thoughts may be in some way "fabricated," Tatsuya wondered if it stemmed from a human entity, but was somehow altered into a magical trap.
Despite the idea presumed from using a once-human object as a tool, Tatsuya does not find the concept to be cruel or inhumane. The residual thought is not the person themselves. It is merely information etched in time and space; An afterimage left in the information dimension, one could say. It is not even a pure information lifeform, like the main body of a parasite. In the strictest definition, it is the same as a magic sequence.
Besides, this was not Tatsuya's first experience with a trap that utilizes residual thoughts. At an earlier point, in this same Aokigahara forest, there was a trap using the residual thoughts of the dead, [Sekihei Hachijin], built by the once stubbornly difficult to pin down enemy, Zhou Gongjin. Later it was used again by the former head of the Fujibayashi family, Fujibayashi Nagamasa, in an attempt to interfere with Tatsuya's ability to "look" for Minoru, who was on the run after abducting Minami.
Except that, unlike that time, Tatsuya couldn't just wipe out the residual thoughts with [Astral Dispersion]. [Sekihei Hachijin] was only an obstacle set in his path, so there was no problem in destroying it. But right behind these residual thoughts, is the legacy of Shambhala crafted by an still uncharted, extremely ancient method. There was no way to ascertain that [Astral Projection] would not cause collateral damage when the magic is of an entirely different system. He has to carefully consider his options and possibilities before proceeding.
"They must have fashioned the residual thoughts to keep people from getting their hands on the legacy, so that's probably why it feels the way it does." After this brief reflection, Tatsuya shared his thoughts with Miyuki and Lina.
"So, we'll have to move ahead even though we know there's a trap?"
"Yes. That's where Miyuki comes in. Can you help me?"
"I'd do anything. You only need to ask."
Though it may come as a canned response from Miyuki at this point, there was nothing metaphorical or exaggerated about her statement. She would not hesitate to destroy the ruins of Shambhala, a precious cultural heritage of mankind, for Tatsuya's sake.
"From my experience in Bukhara, I'm guessing that the moment I access the ruins, I'll probably be trapped in some kind of enchantment. It is possible that I might act as if I am delirious. As soon as I start acting out of control, or if I don't come back after five minutes without giving any signal, I want you to put me to sleep with [Icy Thorns] and take me out of the ruins."
[Icy Thorns] is a controlled form of the mental freezing magic [Cocytus]. It locks the subject in a state akin to a sleep from which they are unable to wake up without the permission of the caster. In doing so, it takes precedence, displacing prior mental-interference magic and its effects. Tests show that it can detach and repel other magic sequences whose interference target is the mind.
It also demonstrated its effectiveness against a magic of the Shambhala system when used to subdue a female mageist from FAIR who dispersed [Babel] over the west coast of Oakland, California.
Even if he failed to escape from the illusion set up by the residual thoughts by himself, Tatsuya could rest easy knowing [Icy Thorns] would take him away.
"I will, rest assured."
[Icy thorns] is a magic device defined to put the target to sleep. Unless they possess a very fragile mind or spirit, there would be no further harm done. For Tatsuya, who boasts an adamantine spirit, this concern is wholly absent.
If anything, there was some concern that [Icy Thorn] may not necessarily work on him, but even if it fails to put him to sleep, it was expected to still be effective in dispelling the trap of residual thoughts.
Lina waited until Tatsuya and Miyuki had finished their exchange before asking, "Tatsuya, and what about me?"
"I want you to keep an eye for any other trap or surprise attacks. Well, I don't think anyone will get through Fumiya and Ayako, but there is a possibility that the enemy might have some other route to get in here."
"So I'm here 'just in case', right?" Lina already acts as Miyuki's bodyguard in a tacit agreement with the Yotsuba family, who pay her tuition, livelihood, and other expenses. Tatsuya's order was basically an extension to what she has been doing.
"OK, leave it to me." So, she naturally agreed.
Now that every actor had their role assigned, Tatsuya finally set out to access the ruins.
He reached out and touched the stone tablet inlaid in the wall with the jewel of the master key.
And, as expected, he was blocked by what felt like a thin veil.
Physically, the jewel and the tablet are in direct contact. However there was no information exchange between. The residual thoughts covering the ruin walls were blocking his access.
Upon recognizing the obstruction, Tatsuya perceived an interference by illusory magic. He consciously disengaged his reflexive defenses, which attempted to nullify the magic.
As soon as he did, he was pulled into a hallucination.
◇ ◇ ◇
Tatsuya found himself amid complete darkness in a cave. The only reason he knew it was a cave in this absence of light was because this was a hallucination, not reality.
He could tell which way was in front and which way was behind. Which may be a suggestive illusion produced by the hallucination. A feeling of needing to move forward crept into Tatsuya's consciousness. He did not try to resist it.
His own intuition whispered to him that he would not be able to achieve the legacy unless he cleared this hallucination by performing the steps as requested.
His body is still holding the wand back in the real world, but right now, the feeling in his palm is of something else.
That shape and weight. The hallucination apparently transformed accordingly with his memories, and the wand in his hand was replaced by a pole of about 180 centimeters. He was told to fight with it.
He has not seen anything since a while ago. It also seems that he won't be able to rely on magic.
He walks forward in the complete dark and silent cave.
Being immersed in darkness brought Tatsuya more of a sense of nostalgia than fear.
When born, he was unable to use magic.he wHe was not born with magic. Nor was he able to use his "eyes" from the very beginning. It was not until he was in the mid-five years old that he was able to recognize the information he "saw" and associate it with an object in reality in what amounts to [Elemental Sight].
In contrast, his regular combat training began far too early. By the time he was three years old, his combat training reached a serious level.
Tatsuya vividly recalls that time, when his most important task was not to lose his nerve no matter what happened. Even under fear of death, he could not panic and unleash a [Material Burst]. In fact, the bulk of the training was not for him to grow stronger, but to instill as much discipline in him as possible, so that he would always be calm and keep himself in check. Becoming stronger was only a means of achieving a measure of self-security, so that he would not be intimidated by violence.
Considering that fact, the Artificial Magician Experiment was not the only reason for Tatsuya's unflappable personality. Even before the experiment, he grew up training to be that way.
Overcoming the primal fear of darkness was part of the training program to control his panic. When this exercise was later rendered meaningless with the opening of his eyes to [Elemental Sight], the nature of the task shifted to sharpening his intuition to detect danger without relying on this super-sensory perception.
Which is why being plunged into darkness without his [Elemental Sight] was a reminder of those early childhood days. Not a single of those were fond memories, but a sense of nostalgia doesn't necessarily require the memories to be positive or negative.
The veil of darkness and silence was lifted without anything happening. Did the trap system built into the residual thoughts determine from Tatsuya's reaction that the darkness was ineffective?
A presence moved.
In this illusionary world composed only of thoughts, changes in presences and signs were more straightforward and easy to grasp than in the real world.
The assassin is coming to attack him. Not unarmed. Although not visible, Tatsuya could tell that he was carrying a dagger-like weapon.
Tatsuya has the reach advantage with the 180cm pole, but the knife is easier to wield in the tight confines of the cave. Overall, past the pluses and minuses of the weapons, they were evenly matched.
There are four assassins in total. Two in front and the other two behind. All popped up out of nowhere. It would appear that this world of illusions is entirely consistent with the laws of physics. A shame, Tatsuya wouldn't have anything to worry about if that was the case and they all attacked him at once, but perhaps there are some rules to this world that have to be followed.
There are four assassins in total. Two in front and the other two behind. All popped up out of nowhere. It would appear that this world of illusions is entirely consistent with the laws of physics. Else they could have just attacked him all at once the moment they appeared. Perhaps this world has rules that even the illusions have to follow.
For his worth, Tatsuya didn't stop to reflect on such a thing. It flashed through his mind only for only a moment.
Because, as soon as he had estimated the numbers and armaments of the enemy, he charged into combat.
The assassins attacked him from both front and back at the same time.
Tatsuya met them with the reach of his weapon. Thrusting his pole forward and backward, he stopped his opponents' attacks one after the other.
The assassins' presence did not disappear. Tatsuya's counters connected but it did not have the force to finish them off.
Tatsuya voluntarily moved forward. [Regrowth] was unavailable in this hallucination, and in all likelihood, he could not fight without regard to sustaining damage as he had done in the past. But that does not mean that he cannot fight without it.
In account of the narrow confines of the cave, swinging the pole is out of consideration, so he thrusts it out in sharp, precise strikes. Adopting something of a short spear fighting style, he delivers quick accurate blows to his enemies, putting pressure on two of the four assassins.
Presences diverge on the left and right. However, there wasn't much space between the two presences. The "in a narrow cave" definition seems to limit the enemy as well. Or rather, they seem to maintain this limited environment in the illusion for the sake of setting him in this position.
Tatsuya, who until then had been exclusively fighting with thrusts, swung his pole horizontally, striking the assassin on the left and using the recoil of the blow to deliver an even more powerful blow to the assassin on the right. Running between them, he used the other end of the pole to drive a thrust in from the left.
Stopping and looking back, the front-and-back pincer attack was now turned into a frontal attack.
The ratio was still one to four, but the situation had improved considerably with this new positioning, as he didn't need to worry so much about his rear.
The narrow space of the cave was now to Tatsuya's advantage.
The fact that he could not see was no longer a handicap.
By sticking to counter tactics and taking advantage of the narrow terrain, Tatsuya took out the four assassins one by one and cleared this stage.
Now with the four assassins defeated, Tatsuya looked around for any other signs of trouble, and after confirming that no new attackers had appeared, he resumed his march forward.
The cave snaked left and right in wide meanders. This made it difficult to see what was straight ahead, and in this absence of light, created the perfect terrain for an ambush.
Tatsuya was bracing himself for a larger group assault this time, but no matter how long he waited, no additional assassins appeared, and then a light became brighter ahead.
Suddenly the narrow cave tunnel ended into a wide open space. We were not on the ground. It is still underground, where moss or something is making the walls luminous. Ahead of him, a surface of water spread out.
Looking back, he found that the passage he came in had somehow been sealed by rocks. Without even a sound to announce the change.
As irrational as it may seem at first, this is after all a hallucination. Looking for rational consistency is misguided from the start.
With no other way to go back, he could only go forward, through the lake.
Tatsuya stops to briefly think about Miyuki back in the real world.
It probably hasn't been five minutes outside since he got this hallucination.
Although a possible different flow of time was a cause for concern, he was not yet at the stage of losing his footing.
Tatsuya stepped into the subterranean water vein.
The water was shallow and there was little current. Tatsuya didn't expect it to remain that way for long.
There should be an event waiting for him up ahead. With that in mind, he waded through the water.
He walked for what felt like five minutes. The bottom of the vein began to deepen.
Carefully, Tatsuya kept moving forward trying not to get caught in the depths.
Nevertheless, he lost his footing and sank into the water. The depth took a sudden nosedive. This wasn't like he walked off an underwater cliff. The topography had simply suddenly changed.
Tatsuya did not panic, he kept himself calm ─Just as he had been trained to do.
(…I am in a hallucination. This water is an illusion. My body is safe at the ruins. I will not drown!)
At the same time as he declares this in his mind, the suffocating feeling disappears. In this world, the right "frame of mind" can take on a literal meaning.
His feet find footing on the waters' bottom. Instead of immediately floating to the surface, Tatsuya takes up a stance in that situation. Whoever set this ill-meaning illusory trap wouldn't merely plunge him into the water and call it a day.
And sure enough, there was a figure approaching rapidly through the water.
It wasn't fish-shaped. It was a human figure. But it was fast. Much faster than what an underwater propulsion device can achieve. It seemed to be comparable to the speed of a dolphin or orca.
(──!)
The speeding figure closed in for an attack, and he reflexively blocked it with his pole. After defending himself did he realize that his pole was now, for some reason, a trident-like spear─or should it be called a three pronged harpoon?
One more thing.
(Is that… a merman?)
If his vision underwater was anything to go by, the figure, who swam away after a single strike, looked just like the half-fish man depicted in the media.
They of course didn't stop at just that; the merman charged in another attack.
And this time, there were two of them (it?)
Tatsuya could not swing as swiftly in the water as he could on the ground. Meaning not only counterattacks would be unlikely, but even defending may prove a challenging task. He somehow managed to fend off the combined merman attack with his harpoon. But that was all he could do. By the time he thought he had defended himself, the merman was already swimming away. They were too fast.
Had he not recognized that breathing was unnecessary, he would have been long gone at this point. But now, if their number increased to three, he didn't think he would be able to handle it.
And staying in place here he would be just prolonging his doom.
So Tatsuya decided to move forward.
While walking along the bottom of the water, and dealing with the merman's attacks in the process, he realized something.
The merman were not trying to impale Tatsuya with their harpoons.
They were attacking him, to keep him from going above water.
And considering that this is a world where the ground rules are strictly enforced on both friend and foe alike, surely it would be the most reliable and easy way to kill a regular human being.
Fortunately for Tatsuya, the casters of this illusion magic had designed the traps with an ordinary person in mind.
Or rather, perhaps this had the intention of singling out the unusual.
Only those with an exceptional mind can look past what they see, hear beyond what sounds they perceive, or feel further what contacts their skin, and take in what is the real truth…
These thoughts crossed Tatsuya's mind as he waded through the water.
Right after Tatsuya realized the half-fish-half-man duo's intentions, the depth of the water began to change. Gradually, the water became shallower and shallower. From that point on, it took him less than ten minutes to reach the shore.
By now it was clear that his sense of time had been thrown off. Yet Tatsuya was willing to go along with this hallucination until the end, wondering if this trap was more than just the obstruction he earlier assumed. He was curious; who in the world had set this trap, and with what intention? Besides, I was curious.
At the far end of the shore, there was an upward tunnel. Tatsuya sat on the very steep slope, showing no signs of fatigue.
There was no way he could be tired. His body hasn't moved a single step from the ruins.
A bright light suddenly shone from up ahead. Was he finally reaching above ground, or was there a strong source of light? Regardless of the answer to those questions, Tatsuya's legs had no reason to hesitate.
His field of vision opened up.
He was now in a valley of crystals. But the shimmering was not from light striking precious gems, exposed to the eyes, but at the threatening sharp edges and tips of what appeared to be quartz.
It resembled the broken glass some embed at the top of the front walls of a house as an improvised security measure. That but spread all over the walls, cliffs and even ground.
In this world of illusion, he is wearing the same clothes as he is in the real world, which are combat gear. They're made to look like a regular jumper, pants, and trekking shoes, but all of them are highly bulletproof and stab-resistant.
It is partly thanks to these clothes that he was not injured by the knives of the assassins at the cave and the harpoons of the half-fishermen. Although he didn't suffer a direct hit, he couldn't very well prevent any and all damage.
The fact that the combat suit's real-life performance was demonstrated even in this false world said less about the illusion having an extremely high sophistication and more about Tatsuya's perception that "an attack or object of that kind would not cut or punch through".
The sole of his combat-rated high-cut shoes is robust enough to withstand stabs from a combat knife. As long as Tatsuya's perception of its resistance does not falter, walking through this crystal valley, with its knife-sharp tips lined up pointing upward, will not penetrate the soles of the shoes.
In short, it was a matter of whether or not he could maintain a firm resolve.
It was that simple.
Tatsuya placed his feet on top of the sharp tips of the countless transparent blades. They were not uniform, it was a difficult platform to walk on.
However, Tatsuya walks on them as if he has no weight on his body.
magic th He can do the same in the real world with magic, why would it not be possible here? He has no reason to suspect everything since he's in a hallucination.
The dazzling glimmer of light that pierced his eyes did not stir a single ripple in his heart.
This "ordeal" so far was the easiest for Tatsuya so far.
The crystal valley gave way suddenly to a field blanketed in snow as far as the eye could see.
Something must have realized that the "mountain of needles", that is, the valley of blades, presented no obstacle, and immediately switched to the next stage of the "ordeal".
A violent blizzard blew down on him, blocking his vision and robbing him of his body heat.
However, unlike with the water, hypothermia from a blizzard wasn't an immediate issue, as it is the case of drowning. It's more the nuisance of being pushed and almost swept away by the force of the wind, rather than being cold. In this illusory world, obstacles that directly obstruct action can't be easily circumvented by switching perceptions, just as it happened with the resistance of water.
But the reason Tatsuya stopped walking was not because he was unable to overcome the force of the wind.
Tatsuya swung his 180cm pole horizontally.
A dull thud could be heard as the hit connected with a white figure around one meter in height, which tumbled to the snow.
A white wolf blended in with the color of the snow. Judging from the color of its fur, the first guess was an Arctic wolf, but it was considerably smaller, the withers seemed to be between 60 and 80 centimeters tall. Judging from the size, the guess shifted to the extinct japanese wolf species.
That wolf earlier leaped at Tatsuya, was knocked to the ground, only to get right back up again. Tatsuya was sure he struck with enough force to kill a large dog with a single blow, but it seems it wont make this easy for him.
The wolf wasn't alone, before Tatsuya knew it, he was surrounded.
They couldn't have sneaked up on him without him noticing. He was constantly scanning his surroundings for any presence.
Out of nowhere, six new figures emerged from the blizzard.
Tatsuya was surrounded by a pack of seven wolves, on the soft snow that hindered his footwork, and in the midst of a blizzard that limited his visibility.
That said, Tatsuya didn't consider it an unreasonable situation. This was a hallucination, and the fact that, despite popping out of thin air, they still waited until he took a grasp of their presence and did not attack him all at once made it fair in a way.
Wolves pounce on Tatsuya, three of them. One aimed at his leg, another at his arm and the third at his neck.
Tatsuya was also moving in concert. Actually he was the one who moved first.
With the initiative advantage, Tatsuya evaded the attack on the leg, knocked off the wolf aiming for his right hand that wielded the pole, then grabbed the wolf leaping at his throat by the neck with his left hand.
Japanese wolves tend to be light, no more than 20 kilograms in weight, and the wolf Tatsuya caught weighed about as much.
But that was its weight at rest. The force behind that attack suggested it was twice or even three times that weight.
And Tatsuya didn't take it head-on either, when he grabbed the wolf by the neck, boosting its momentum by rotating his own body to the side clockwise and throwing it down on the snow.
He swung the pole, right on top of the wolf that had come for his right arm.
Striking down two wolves with the pole without a break. He feels their bones breaking through the length of the pole.
A different wolf bites at his leg.
He kicks it in the mouth before its fangs can tear through his clothes. No ordinary clothing would've held up that well.
He brings the pole down on the head of one of the wolves creeping at his feet.
With this, three wolves down.
Running around on the snow, Tatsuya swung his 180cm pole at the wolves that came at him one after the other.
Once Tatsuya had eliminated all seven wolves, his battle suit was bitten through in several places, and bleeding at some of those.
As if waiting until the battle was over, the blizzard stopped right after. Though at this point, it's more likely it was as much part of the stage as the wolves, and vanished once it has been cleared.
With a clearer view, Tatsuya could see that he was in what looked like a clearing in the woods. He could have sworn these trees had not been there earlier, but he knew from the start that it was pointless to worry about continuity anymore.
A single trail runs into the forest.
That must have been set for him to follow.
With no other options, and more importantly, no time to spare, Tatsuya followed his cue and set forward along the path.
Without any ambushes or attacks to slow him down, Tatsuya was soon out of the forest.
Past it lay a river of lava. In the red-hot lava, rocky stretches of various sizes appeared at short intervals. A person could jump over the rocks without much difficulty. These stepping stones must be the new path.
Tatsuya surveyed the layout of the footholds and identified a serviceable route, then jumped to the nearest foothold.
Though described as stepping stones, he didn't need to worry about balancing his body on one foot, the size of the stepping stones was quite generous. Some were large enough that it took a few steps to cross, while others were more than ten paces wide.
And so, Tatsuya crossed the set route on top of the lava without a break.
During his traversal, the searing hot air hitting his body indicated that the red-hot lava under him wasn't there just for show, even if just in this illusory scenario.
If anything falls there, expect it to be incinerated instantly. But since he doesn't have any way to prepare for the unpleasant intentional possibility that he might suddenly lose his footing, or that it collapses under, he just decides to ignore it.
Across the flowing lava is a volcanic landform with fire, smoke, and steam billowing out of places. Beyond that point, he could not see. Tatsuya continued to cross the red-burning river anyway, thinking that a new route would appear after clearing this section.
About halfway up the channel, there was a larger landmass, almost like a small island by comparison. When he jumped onto it, Tatsuya stopped.
Not to rest.
On the opposite side of the islet, there was something crawling up out of the lava. It glowed in a faint reddish-black light, radiating high heat.
It climbed onto the islet and stood up on two legs with two arms, radiating heat equivalent to that of a lava river it came from.
Between both shoulders was a small raised area. There were no eyes, nose, or mouth, or even a neck, but it could be called a head, in a way.
Its height to the top of its head was more than 200 cm, but not more than 250 cm.
So, a giant made of lava.
That should be this next adversary.
Rather than waiting to see what his opponent would do, Tatsuya took the initiative and closed in. There was no telling if others would follow like last time, and he wanted to avoid dealing with multiple opponents at the same time. Plus, this lava giant in all likelihood appeared to be stronger than a wolf or a merman.
If magic was available, approaching wouldn't have been necessary, but he accepted that his current only option was the more direct and risky approach.
As his adversary emitted heat, he would take damage by coming into contact with it. Thankfully he had his handy pole, which should not burn up. It was fair to assume at this point that the 180cm pole was a representation of the Wand that acts as the ruins' master key.
At first glance, the Wand appears to be constructed of wood, but its material has yet to be determined. They've run a whole battery of scientific testing to find out what it is, but neither sound waves, nor electromagnetic waves, nor radiation produced any result. That is, there was no reaction.
No reaction means it is unaffected. If that wand was transformed into the pole as he believes, it should not even be scorched by the heat of the lava.
For what it's worth, this hallucination is surprisingly fair.
It's not as unilateral as he expected, the characteristics and capabilities of his equipment and garment, as well as his physical abilities, reflect the real-life counterparts. Is that a reflection of the personality of the caster who designed this illusion, or their limitations beyond a modified projection of reality?
Which of those two? Or was there another answer to it? That is something to be considered once he was done with it.
Tatsuya brandished the pole at the lava giant. He didn't have training specifically in staff combat, but his close combat training program involved the use of a cane with a shorter length. Those skills were transferrable enough for him to use the pole without issue.
This wasn't a match between martial artists to begin with. There is no need for fine technique. What it is about is efficient coordination of the torso, limbs for effective delivery of force. And if you can do that, you can use your force to kill your opponent. Making full use of this principle, paired with his skills and experience, Tatsuya engaged in an evenly matched deadly combat against a lava giant with power befitting a giant.
The tip of his pole shattered the lava giant's knee. Its hulking frame tilted greatly, and Tatsuya, without missing a beat, struck the giant with his full force. The giant staggered and backed up to the edge of the stretch of rock.
Tatsuya's pole was driven into its head.
The giant tumbled down into the river of lava.
Tatsuya quickly leaps back to avoid the lava splash.
He kept his guard up.
But the lava giant did not come back up.
And there was no sign of any new attackers.
Tatsuya finally relaxed and proceeded to jump to the next rock in his path.
Having crossed all the way to the other side, without a pause, Tatsuya began to climb the volcano.
After clearing the past stage, he could see the volcano in its entirety.
It wasn't particularly tall. Maybe three or four hundred meters at a casual glance. Fire, smoke, and steam were only billowing out around the base of the volcano, and the area a little further up the slope was forested, another one.
His next enemy appeared some time after he entered that wooded area. Unlike the half-fish and lava giants, this time the enemy was not some fantasy creature, but groups of people armed with swords.
Their physique was normal. Although they have highly developed physical abilities, they do not stray from what is feasible for a human being with unusual abilities like flying or diving into the ground.
But they had skills, teamwork, strategy, preparation and field at their advantage.
Those factors combined made them much more formidable to face than the non-human beings such as the half-fish or lava giant.
Their swords were shorter than average, which suited the obstacle-ridden environment.
They always attacked in small groups of four or five to seven or eight, one after another.
A group of four jumped on him at once from the shadows of the trees, and Tatsuya, using a tree as a shield, took them down one by one.
One had to wonder if that sequence was orchestrated, because a fifth attacker came down from the top of the tree he was using as a cover.
Tatsuya was able to promptly respond, not so much because of his skill as due to the greater reach of his weapon.
At another location, Tatsuya was attacked simultaneously by a group of six, two each from three different sides, all seeking to separate his head from his shoulders. On that occasion, his weapon reach proved a hindrance instead, making the fight harder than it needed to be.
Luckily, they were not like the lava giant, he wouldn't be hurt on contact, so he worked his way through with a mixture of hand and footwork feats.
This continuous assault continued throughout the climb until he was out of the forest.
By that time, the number of enemies he had defeated had reached exactly one hundred.
The illusory volcano that Tatsuya is climbing is an active volcano, as evidenced by the lava flow and volcanic landforms at its base. The area near the summit is a volcanic wasteland. There are no obstructions blocking his view.
Tatsuya has a hunch that the summit would be the goal.
This illusory world is not being maintained by an external illusion. Tatsuya had already confirmed yesterday that there is no magical interference in the ruins from the outside. ─Conversely, it was also identified that there is an outward transmission originating from the ruins.
This hallucination gives off the same smell as the [Maya] illusory power used by the group guarding the Bukhara legacy. Perhaps this magic shares the same roots. In some respects, it seems to go beyond both modern and ancient-style magic.
That said, there should be a limit to the quantity and quality of the illusion. From how much he has experienced here so far, this should be running out of steam soon.
Although it could also easily have been wishful thinking on his part, Tatsuya's feeling that the next one would be the last stage was solidifying the higher he climbed.
Finally, the summit came into view.
Standing there was the figure of a young man.
A figure that Tatsuya was very familiar with, but at the same time, a figure that he had never seen in person.
Standing by the volcano's crater was none other than himself.
His doppelganger.
Same face, same height, same shoulder width.
Not just in appearance. He was wearing the same clothes and holding the same 180cm pole in his hand.
Only that there were no tears or holes in the doppelganger's clothing, however. No wounds. No shed blood.
Meanwhile, Tatsuya still bled from the wolf attack on the snowfield and burns in his hands from the lava giant encounter.
His doppelganger self was spotless, unharmed. In contrast with his current self.
The two Tatsuya clashed with identical weapons.
With no magic, only the simple 180cm pole, without edge or even a pommel for striking, at their disposal, they clashed with each other in a fierce battle. The contest between Tatsuya and his doppelganger could hardly be described as an exhibition of sophisticated techniques.
It was a violent, brutal, unadorned exchange of murderous intent. If there had been, say, guns in their hands instead, then the battle would have been much simpler, cold, detached, or, to put it nicely, calculated.
But all they had was a blunt weapon and an enemy.
A weapon that will not kill the enemy unless you put all your strength into it with the explicit intention of killing.
A weapon that requires all one's energy to deny the other's existence.
And so the two Tatsuyas wield such crude weapons in an effort to deny one another.
Just like their appearances, their skills are perfectly matched. Presumably, the system projecting this illusion replicated Tatsuya's combat skills by analyzing how he had fought up to this point.
Poles were swung from both sides, fists exchanged, and kicks thrown.
Despite his opponent being a copy of himself, Tatsuya was at a disadvantage. Deprived of access to [Regrowth], he was handicapped by the wounds inflicted by the wolf pack and the burns inflicted by the lava giants. The hundred-man assault on the way to the summit for certain only worsened the already existing damage.
A regular person would likely feel unable to move due to the pain.
His not-so-mirror image was clean and unharmed, close to Tatsuya's top physical condition.
Tatsuya was being gradually pushed back, each attack forced him to retreat.
Eventually, he was driven to the edge of the volcanic mouth. It is logically impossible with an opponent of the same skill level to reverse the situation.
He is in a hallucination. Everything here is an illusion, the volcano and the lava flaring beneath him.
Even if he fell, he would not die. Likely he would be pulled out of the illusion or have to start all over again. Considering the trap nature of this illusionary world, the odds are on the latter.
(I guess anyone who knows me would think that I'd be fine with starting over…)
There is one major difference between Tatsuya and his doppelganger.
Tatsuya knows Tatsuya better than anyone else.
His doppelganger only knows Tatsuya for as long as he has been here in this illusion.
From the fearless and daring way Tatsuya has fought his way through this illusion, one would assume at a glance that he was a man who did not fear death.
But in reality, Tatsuya is terrified of death. He is obsessed with living. He was only able to fight in that seemingly daredevil fashion in both the real and the illusionary worlds because he was confident that he would not die.
Death, to him, is something to be avoided.
Because, after all.
If he dies, he will not be able to protect Miyuki anymore.
No matter if it is a false death, Tatsuya just can't accept it.
─But the doppelganger that apparently only copied Tatsuya from how he behaved doesn't know that.
Dropping his fighting will and killing intent, Tatsuya lowered his arm, inviting the doppelganger to push him into the crater.
Tatsuya was hit in the center of the chest with a powerful blow and fell backwards.
Ignoring the pain in his chest, Tatsuya raised both legs using the pole as support, and caught the doppelganger's neck between his legs.
Crossing his legs and twisting his body, he locks a neck hold. And like that, Tatsuya spins forward.
Using the momentum from his forward roll, he threw the doppelganger into the crater with his legs.
Tatsuya would've almost tumbled into the crater as well, if he didn't manage to grab the pole still lodged on the rim of the crater.
After crawling safely away from the collapsing craterside, Tatsuya dropped to both knees and coughed violently.
In the real world, he would have suffered a cracked sternum with that blow.
In this hallucination he felt just as if he did.
He pulled out his pole and stood up, using it as a support.
In front of him now stood a figure dressed in an old-fashioned taoist garb that he could've sworn wasn't there before.
Unlike the previous entities that had stood before Tatsuya, this figure was half-transparent.
Tatsuya knew intuitively that this "man" was the central force creating this hallucination.
A man dressed in an old chinese-styled taoist outfit.
At the foot of Mt.Fuji.
Not much material for a good deduction.
But Tatsuya did not doubt his intuition.
This man was the original creator of the system of the illusionary world.
And his name is…
"…Are you Xu Fu?"
Xu Fu, a notable Taoist monk who came to Japan under the order of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China and founder of the Qin Dynasty, to procure the elixir of immortality. Of the many legends surrounding Xu Fu throughout Japan, a number say that his place of rest is on the outskirts of Mt.Fuji.
In her analysis of [Babel]'s syntax, Tsukuba Yuuka hypothesized that that magic was introduced from the Iranian plateau, passing through Japan before reaching the west coast of North America.
Perhaps the lore of the Shambhala tradition was more firmly rooted two to three hundred years ago than it is today.
And perhaps Xu Fu crossed the sea chasing down that trail that leads to the legacy of Shambhala.
Then, he may have arrived at the site of these ruins before they were buried by the Jogan eruption.
The key to these ruins was inside, behind the closed doors. And, without a master key, like the Wand, he was unable to open the doors.
Xu Fu, who sought the heritage of Shambhala and failed to obtain it, must have mingled with an earlier generation of the ruins Keepers family and placed a curse on the legacy stored here so that no one could take it away.
(…No, it doesn't matter what happened.)
Tatsuya stopped trying to guess what may have happened 2,300 years ago. He wasn't interested in the romanticism of ancient history.
The phantom in taoist garb has yet to reply, and Tatsuya had no intention of repeating the question.
All the trials set by this illusionary world have been cleared. The Illusionary Trap has been broken through.
Assuming this ghost to be the center of the illusion, which he was certain is unrelated to the legacy of Shambhala propper, he had a path to eliminate not the illusion, but the entire system that produces it, without disturbing the legacy.
Tatsuya stopped engaging in the hallucination and turned his attention inward to his own inner self. His magic, which he could not access in his hallucination, was indeed there.
Tatsuya activated the [Decomposition] module secured in his magic calculation area.
─Activate [Astral Dispersion].
He spoke in his mind.
The illusion does not only interfere with Tatsuya's mind. It also interferes with his five senses.
Otherwise, he would be doubly aware of both reality and illusion. It was impossible to completely pull his consciousness into the illusory world.
In other words, the center of the illusion exists in the real world in a form that can interfere with events that constitute part of the physical entity called Shiba Tatsuya. The pushion information body that creates the illusion is accompanied by the psion information body that provides the basis for its existence in the real world.
[Astral Dispersion] dissolves these psion information bodies. Removing the structure that anchors pushion information bodies in the physical world.
It does not destroy the Pushion information body, just banishes it from this world.
The man in the old-fashioned taoist garb disappears. The already thin presence of the mere shadow of a man disappears completely shortly thereafter.
Concurrently, the illusionary world and the hallucination world begin to collapse.
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