The next day, February 5th. Right after entering Class 2-E, Tatsuya was visited by Shippou Takuma.
"Shippou, is something wrong?"
Faster than Tatsuya could ask, a voice filled with curiosity greeted Takuma, and the owner of said voice was the Club Activities' senior, Tomitsuka.
"No, it's just... I wanted to express my gratitude to Shiba-senpai." Takuma uncomfortably replied so.
Well, such feelings of discomfort were perfectly understandable. It was a well-known fact that Takuma had caused quite the commotion back in April with his series of duels. His recent change of attitude was unanimously acknowledged by not only the freshmen, but even the upperclassmen. Even so, his rudeness to Tatsuya was still fresh in their memory. This was made evident by the numerous inquisitive looks that people gave him whenever he talked to Tatsuya.
In addition to this, Erika and Leo also gave him gazes of ill will. Although Mikihiko had come to Class 2-E today, his look bore the same unfavorable feelings as Erika's and Leo's.
"Gratitude? I don't remember doing anything worth being thanked for?"
What saved Takuma was that Tatsuya apparently didn't hold a grudge at all. It was quite the opposite in fact, having seen Takuma's efforts during the Nine Schools Competition, he now had a better opinion of him.
"Umm... I heard that Yotsuba-dono recommended my family as a replacement for one of the Ten Master Clans..."
"My apologies, but this is the first I've heard of it." Tatsuya wasn't pretending, he genuinely wasn't aware of it. To begin with, the fact that a ‘replacement' was needed meant that one of the current Ten Master Clans had stepped down from their seat. Just what kind of incident had occurred? Tatsuya couldn't help but wonder.
"Even if it's just as a replacement until a proper selection is made today... I'm still extremely grateful. Thank you very much!" It had probably been extremely embarrassing for him, after immediately finishing his sentence, Takuma went back to his own classroom at full speed. Tatsuya was vaguely aware of the fact that Takuma was sensitive about everything related to the Ten Master Clans. However, to think that it brought him such a level of happiness... Tatsuya was reminded once again of the fact that every person had a different sense of values, and of what was important.
Today was the day of the Ten Master Clans Selection Meeting, an event that only took place once every 4 years. Along with the Ten Master Clans, the respective Heads of the 18 Assistant Houses could be seen. Aside from the Kudou Family, everyone was present.
"Well then, the Ten Master Clans Selection Meeting can begin." Following Futatsugi Mai's declaration, all the members stood up.
"First of all, as per the tradition, if anyone present here has an objection or feels dissatisfaction at the current line-up of Members of the Ten Master Clans, please remain standing. If you don't have any, sit down within the next minute."
The primary voting is a peculiar tradition of the Selection Meeting. Even if only one person remained standing, then papers would be distributed and the ballot would move on to the actual voting. The vote would decide who would become the 10 Houses that would be the most suitable to hold the title of Ten Master Clans, and the counting would be done under the supervision of 3 Members of the current Ten Master Clans as well as 3 Members of the 18 Assistant Houses for a total of 6 Members.
However, this would be a ‘signed vote'. The criteria for choosing the next Ten Master Clans would be the power carried by each House at this point in time. However, ‘Magical Power' wouldn't be the only factor in this, for the ability to support the Nation would also be required.
Even if you were to vote for an unsuitable House, you wouldn't lose your Number. However, the following 4 years would have your House bear the penalty, or rather, stigma of not having discerning eyes.
Following Mai's instructions, the first 10 Members around the table returned to their seat.
The current Heads of the 18 Assistant Houses also started to sit one by one.
When the second hand of the clock had done a 180°, the unexpected happened. The Heads of the Kuki Family and the Kuzumi Family sat down.
Those two had been expected to vote for the now dismissed Kudou Family's inclusion in the new Ten Master Clans, so this action struck a blow to the other members of the 18 Assistant Houses who hadn't foreseen this turn of events. The members who were still standing up looked at each other. One by one, people sat down as if stopped dead in their tracks. When 50 seconds had elapsed, there was no one left standing. When the one-minute mark was reached, Mai stood up once again.
"Then, for the next 4 years, the Ichijou Family, Futatsugi Family, Mitsuya Family, Yotsuba Family, Itsuwa Family, Mutsuzuka Family, Saegusa Family, Shippou Family, Yatsushiro Family and the Juumonji Family will be known as the Ten Master Clans. Everyone, I expect your continued cooperation." The other nine members of the table stood up, and following Mai's words, bowed.
The 18 Assistant Houses who were surrounding the new Ten Master Clans joined in a round of applause.
Once the selection of the new Ten Master Clan ended, it was part of tradition that the 18 Assistant Houses leave to allow the Ten Master Clans to discuss about their new organization and structure. However, when the Heads of the Kuki, and Kuzumi Families tried to leave, Mai called them to a stop.
"Kuki-dono, Kuzumi-dono, please wait for a moment."
"Futatsugi-dono?"
"Is something the matter?"
"There is something I would like to ask of you two. Would you mind giving me a little bit of your time?"
The Heads of the Kuki and Kuzumi Families nodded. When the other Members of the 18 Assistant Houses finished retiring, only the Ten Master Clans' remained, as well as two families bearing the Number ‘Nine', for a total of 12 names.
"What did you want to ask of us?"
"Futatsugi-dono, allow me to take it from here."
The one who stopped Mai had been Shippou Takumi, the newest member of the Ten Master Clans.
"Kuki-dono, Kuzumi-dono. Even though my family was bestowed the honor of being part of the Ten Master Clans, quite frankly, we don't have the numbers that would be required to fulfill our duties. Normally we would have to take the supervision of the Kyoto area in Kudou- dono's stead, but this is too big a duty for my family in its current state."
"In that case, why don't you ask for Yotsuba-dono or Futatsugi-dono's help? If Kyoto is a problem, then Ichijou-dono also has responsibilities towards this area." Takumi shook his head with a smile at the proposal by the Head of the Kuki Family.
"That is also an idea. However, I want the Kudou Family to continue to watch over the Kyoto-Shiga and the Kii Peninsula. Of course, the Shippou Family doesn't plan on only making demands. I would like every one of the ‘Nine' to lend my family their strength." After a moment of wide-eyed surprise, the Heads of the Kuki and Kuzumi Families smiled broadly.
"Understood."
"I will consult about this matter with Makoto-sama, we will definitely have a positive answer."
"I'm counting on you."
Takumi bowed deeply, the Heads of both the Kuki and the Kuzumi Families also bowed politely.
After their departure, a somewhat relaxed mood drifted in the conference room.
"Well then, let's continue the Master Clans Conference."
"A counter-plan to the Humanist ideology right?" Mai's words invited this question.
"No, before that we have to talk about this suspicious ship spotted near Izu." The one who had interrupted was Gouki.
"Ichijou-dono... There's no hurry now is there?" Although Isami reproved him with a shocked expression, "If it is a terrorist ship, I can't imagine the other side will keep waiting." Gouki didn't yield.
"I don't mind, Itsuwa-dono."
The one who answered with this was Kouichi, who had regained his usual composure overnight.
"Then let's hear more about this matter." Although Kouichi's attitude was the same as ever, it appeared that Gouki didn't want to associate with him anymore. For someone like Gouki, secret communication with the enemy was an inexcusable act.
"There was no reaction when searching for a Magician on the freighter Yotsuba-dono gave us coordinates for. Neither weapons nor ammunition were found on board."
"Did you find anything?"
"There is a possibility that explosives were being transported. Since it's also possible that the ship will be used for escape purposes, we plan on keeping it under observation."
"How about the USNA's movements?"
Taking Gouki's momentum, this time it was Katsuto's turn to question Kouichi.
"An agent has been dispatched. In other words, the group that has betrayed the USNA has been found out, but they're not being that tactful about things. It's quite possible that this duty wasn't an order from the USNA Government itself."
"In other words, a favorite hunter of theirs is on the prowl, hiding somewhere?"
"The cruiser that Yotsuba-dono received information on was confirmed as outside of territorial waters. He could unexpectedly be hiding out there." Hearing Kouichi's answer, Isami wore a pensive expression.
"If it's at sea, should I go and poke around? It should be possible to camouflage it into an accident using the natural disaster excuse."
"The problem isn't so much the hunter from the USNA, but the terrorists that have infiltrated our country."
At Isami's proposal, Atsuko brought forth a diametrically opposite opinion.
"That is certainly the case. We have no evidence of their presence at the moment, but we also don't have any evidence of their absence. It's really worrying that we don't even know if they're lurking about."
Raizou was supporting Atsuko's argument.
"They might even be targeting this very Master Clans Conference for all we know." This must have been a pure coincidence. However, it was the truth.
Immediately after Raizou had said this, an overpowering sound accompanied by powerful vibrations invaded the conference room.
February 5th, 2097 A.D., 10:33 A.M. It was currently break time between second and third period at First High.
A buzzing sound came from Tatsuya's pocket as he was heading towards the Practice Room, it was an emergency signal.
Taking out his terminal and confirming the contents, you could read on his face that something terrible had just happened.
"Sorry, go on ahead without me!" Tatsuya left his classmates, among which was Mizuki, and dashed towards the Practice Room.
Tatsuya, who had received his teacher Jennifer Smith's blessing to leave early, met Miyuki on the way towards the main gate.
"Onii-sama also received the emergency signal?"
Miyuki, whose face had lost all trace of color, asked Tatsuya with a short sentence.
"Let's go."
Tatsuya answered with an even shorter sentence. Although Miyuki had nodded and was about to hasten her pace, a voice called her from the behind.
Minami came out of the entrance, accompanied by her classmate Saegusa Kasumi, as well as her sister Izumi and last but not least, Shippou Takuma. All of them were related to the Ten Master Clans. All of them, with the exception of Minami, were blood-related to the Ten Master Clans.
"Miyuki-senpai." Izumi ran towards Miyuki.
"Izumi-chan, too."
"So it wasn't a false alarm then!" Miyuki nodded to her question. Izumi started to tremble uncontrollably.
"We're going to see what happened for ourselves. What about all of you." Tatsuya, who was just a step away, asked the freshmen.
"I'm coming too." Takuma immediately answered so.
"We're going as well" Kasumi grasped her trembling sister's hand. Minami came closer to Miyuki. So that she could shield her at a moment's notice.
Leading the group, Tatsuya and the five other people hastened towards the station.
During the same time, at Third High.
"Masaki, what happened!" Masaki had dashed out of the classroom after having asked permission to leave early. Kichijouji, who had run after him until he was out of breath, asked such.
"My old man has been attacked." Regretting even the time spent looking back, Masaki answered.
"An attack? But... Right about now it should still be in the middle of the Master Clans Conf..."
"I'm saying that the Master Clans Conference was the victim of a terrorist attack."
"What did you say!" Seeing Kichijouji at a loss for words, Masaki turned around.
"I can't be sure about what exactly happened from the emergency signal alone. I only know that he's still alive. I'm heading there by helicopter. I'm counting on you to watch over Akane and the others."
"A-alright, I get it! Be careful, Masaki."
"Yeah, I know." Masaki wasn't heading home, he was heading towards the company heliport.
Simultaneously, at the Magic University.
"Saegusa-san, something the matter."
During a lesson that was in the form of a debate, the female teacher called out to Mayumi.
"My apologies, Sensei. Could I borrow your ear for a moment."
With a dark expression floating on her face, Mayumi walked with quick- steps towards the teacher's desk.
She discreetly showed the teacher her terminal which was still displaying the emergency signal. Just as the teacher was about to raise her voice, she managed to keep it under control with a gesture, she then brought her ear close.
"I recall the people in my family were rather anxious. My older brothers might even attempt to go on-site, I would like to go back home and try to have everyone settle down." The teacher nodded with a serious look. Not letting her classmates feel any ambiguity, Mayumi announced with a smile and a slightly apologetic expression that she had to leave for familial business.
The explosion had occurred right behind the conference room's doors, crimson flames licked the walls. However, those flames were extinguished at once.
"Juumonji-dono, exemplary."
Not a single member of the Master Clans Conference had a bruise. Both the heat and the impact were completely hampered by Katsuto's heatproof shield.
"Mutsuzuka-dono as well, as expected."
The erasure of the flames was caused by Mutsuzuka Atsuko's Heat Manipulation. For the Magicians of the ‘Six', putting out a flame that couldn't even melt steel was child's play.
""We should probably head towards the exit. If we get buried alive, it'll be too much of a bother to escape." While Futatsugi Mai was prohibiting the oxidation of the structure from the heat so there would be no spreading of poisonous fumes, she made that comment with a composed voice.
"Agreed. It seems like a considerably large-scale suicide-bombing operation has begun." While Mitsuya Gen had several magics' on stand-by, he nodded to Mai's words.
"Puppet terrorists! Such a terrible thing they've done."
Gouki clicked his tongue intensely upon seeing the suicide bombing continue. Puppet terrorism was basically suicide bombing using humans as puppets to perform the act. Using Magic or drugs to make human dolls out of human beings, there were also ways to deprive someone of self-control with magic. What Gouki sensed was the latter, a magic that controlled the flesh. He felt slow-moving presences in the first floor's lobby, as well as the corridors of every floor, it seemed to be going downward.
Although the Ichijou family and the Magicians of the ‘One' were skilled in Magic that interfered with the flesh and body, magic that manipulates the movement of the body has always been forbidden. There have been examples of ‘losing one's number' for those who ignored that law. That is why even if Gouki understood what exactly was happening, he didn't know how to stop this wicked thing known as Puppet Terrorism.
"This is bad." Sensing that the floor was about to collapse, Yatsushiro Raizou executed Gravity-Control Magic. It wasn't comparable to the one used for Flight Magic, and lifting an area of this size which lost all support required tremendous effort.
"Let's make haste."
Everyone nodded to Kouichi's words, Maya, Mai and Atsuko left the room, the ten Magicians aimed for the outside as a group.
Aiming at the bombers who were roaming around in the corridors, Ichijou Gouki unleashed ‘Rupture'.
"They aren't suicide bombers. They're just manipulated corpses carrying bombs."
The flow of insults that Gouki, who had just blown off a corpse's arm to obstruct the detonation procedure, was spitting in an angry voice, surpassing the others' expectations. To prevent getting buried due to the crumbling floor, the leaders of the Ten Master Clans decided to go to the rooftop and jump off from there while disposing of the occasional corpse bomber they encountered. It was Mitsuya Gen and Saegusa Kouichi who were the fastest in taking action towards the bombers. There was a technique that originally allowed one to perform up to a maximum of nine different Magic Sequences at the same time, then store them to allow a simultaneous, instantaneous release of all of them. ‘Speed-Loader', using Kouichi's ‘Octet' allowed him to maintain 8 different Magics from 4 different Systems on stand-by and select which Magic he needed to deal with a wide variety of situations instantly. The walking corpses could not even hope to approach them.
The odd time an explosion couldn't be prevented, the multi-layered defensive wall ‘Phalanx' was the perfect tool. Raizou's Gravity-Control Magic was there to prevent the ground from suddenly falling under their feet. Atsuko's Heat Manipulation Magic could erase any fire.
Futatsugi Mai would remove the poisonous fumes, Maya was acting as a flashlight in those lightless corridors once the flames were put out. Itsuwa Isami and Shippou Takumi didn't have a chance to do anything.
It was impossible for those bomb-carrying corpses to kill or even wound any of them. The Family Heads had already noticed this fact.
"It's going to be tough finding a countermeasure to the Media." Gen complained all the while making Swiss cheese out of the corpses.
"I guess we have no way of deceiving them at all."
While putting out a wall of flames, Atsuko made a comment with a tone of resignation.
"Although we managed to get a photograph of the fact that it was corpses who were holding the bombs... I think revealing this to the public would have quite the negative effect." Isami, who had given up on any hope of getting a turn at doing anything, he agreed while taking photos.
"Still, I doubt purposely injuring ourselves would help much, if at all." Hearing Maya's point, Raizou shrugged his shoulders.
"Shall we hide until the flames of their fury cool down." Raizou's comment which might have been either a joke or a serious statement, no voice of objection came. February 5th, 2097 A.D., 10:30 A.M.
The number of victims of the Hakone XXXX Hotel's terror bombings came out to be 22, and it became a disaster with as many as 34 casualties.
Furthermore, the number of uninjured people was 33. The number of Magicians among them was 27.
The harshest criticism came from the public opinions of those who claimed that the Magicians had prioritized their own well-being above that of others.
(Electronic version of the newspaper dating from February 6th 2097 A.D.)
this volume 17 and 18 are updated and complete?